I suppose that before continuing onto the chapter, I should take a moment to reply to some of the reviewers, who I've been neglecting. So…

Flamelord99: About that; Ruki and Takato are going to have an interesting, and very weird, relationship with each other, which may or may not involve any of the following: bitter hatred, rivalry, romance, fear, disgust, and friendship.

Katsugi: Yeah, sorry about that. keeps eating by page breaks. Hopefully the new ones I'm using will work.

Mark of Cain: His Adult form is Devimon, but his Perfect form isn't Myotismon.

Mr. Eclipse: As a teenager whose mind is being influenced by his demonic partner, and who's been suddenly thrust into a strange new world, Takato's relationship with other people will be varied and weird. But he will have friends. Some of them will be pretty horrible, though.

Tamers Unlimited

Chapter Five: Day is Night

Takato pulled himself from the rubble fairly easily, since there was very little rubble near him. One of the perks of being a few feet away from the door is the ability to pull yourself outside when things go South.

Nonetheless, he had a brief coughing fit thanks to the amount of dust that had been kicked up.

The first thing he did was glance up at the rest of the building. He sighed in relief; only the ceiling, the floor above, really, had collapsed, not the entire building. So while on one hand, the building's structural integrity was now in a questionable state, the others hadn't had a building fall on them, which was always a good thing.

He gave the dust a minute to fade, before for taking a deep breath and doing something stupid.

He walked right back in.

While he was pretty sure none of the Digimon would give a damn one way or the other over a collapsed ceiling, Ruki and Jenrya might have been hurt.

Something he wasn't sure what to think of.

However, he wasn't really worried about it that much; he figured Kyuubimon probably did something besides stand around while her Tamers life was in danger.

So he wasn't at all surprised at what he found.

In the spot where Ruki and Jenrya had stood, there was a large pile of rubble; large enough for Takato to tell that Kyuubimon was in there as well, even with seeing tufts of yellow fur. In addition, there was another large pile, if you could call it that; really, it was just a few large pieces of debris that had landed on Galgomon. He was still partially visible underneath it.

Takato looked at him for a long moment, before deciding he wasn't a threat. Between the extended beating he'd taken and the collapse, Takato felt fairly certain the fight was over.

He had mixed feelings about that, but he did his best to put them aside for the moment.

He had bigger things to worry about; Impmon was nowhere in sight.

Luckily, that was a problem that was easily rectified.

Takato pulled out his Digivice and fiddled with it for a few seconds; he still hadn't quite memorized the controls. But in moments, the compass appeared. The arrow twirled around the screen for a second before catching onto…whatever it was that allowed it to locate Impmon, and pointing in his direction.

Takato followed the arrow, carefully stepping around the rubble. Within a minute, the compass indicated that he had found his partner. Takato shifted his eyes to the ground. It was hard to tell with the uneven surface of the ground, but was this spot a bit bigger? He honestly wasn't sure; one of the downsides of being so small was that Impmon didn't leave any large piles.

Only one way to find out, he decided. He put away his Digivice and fell to his knees. There wasn't that much rubble; or at least, there were many big pieces of rubble. Takato was able to move most of it, though he quickly began to wish that he had gloves, since his hands were getting hurt.

But it wasn't long before he was able to see most of Impmon's purple body. He just had to move the large piece covering most of Impmon's upper body. He took a deep breath as he prepared to move the large piece, before suddenly moving to the side. He was confused when he realized what he'd done; he'd had no intention of moving. So why had – oh.

With a snarl, Impmon flung the piece off of himself, before letting himself rest on the floor for a second.

"Ow." He said.

"You okay Impmon?" Takato immediately rushed to his partner's side.

Impmon took a deep breath before getting up.

"Never better."

Takato didn't say anything, choosing instead to shuffle through Lee's deck, looking for a healing card.

Moments later, Takato and the rejuvenated Impmon stood together, not completely sure what to do.

"So…should we call the police or something?"

"And what? Tell them some kids and their Digital friends did it?" Impmon shot back.

Takato frowned.

"That's not what I meant. But we don't know if anyone saw us go in; it'd look pretty suspicious if they knew we were inside but didn't call the police."

Impmon mulled that over for a moment.

"They're probably already on their way." Takato added.

Impmon frowned at that.

"I guess you should call, then. Unless someone in the know rats us out, we don't really need to worry; no one's going to believe you're responsible for this."

"Especially when they look it over and find out no bombs were involved. Though a lot of the damage you caused is gonna look suspicious."

"Don't act like I did it alone."

Takato ignored him, choosing to look around instead.

"We should dig out the others."

"What?"

"If people learn about Digimon, they might find out about the two of us. Which would be bad. And the others could point fingers at us."

"That's unlikely." Impmon pointed out.

"But possible."

"I guess."

Impmon was the one to glance around this time.

"Where should we start?"

"With Jenrya and Ruki; Kyuubimon's with them, and she was the only other Digimon in this room that wasn't trying to kill us a minute ago."

"Yeah, but only cause her Tamer was still deciding."

"Maybe, but Galgomon had already made up his mind; Ruki was still mulling it over."

Impmon let out a long suffering sigh.

"How long do you think we have?" He asked, moving toward Kyuubimon's pile.

"Let's call it five minutes, depending on traffic."

"Do you have any strength boosting cards in that deck?"

"Way ahead of you." Takato said, already holding up a card. "Strength Plug-In W, Activate!"

Takato and Impmon quickly got to work digging out Kyuubimon. Well, mainly Impmon; Takato, being only human, could do only a fraction of the work Impmon was capable of.

But even so, neither of them had to do much work; shortly after they began moving the rubble, Kyuubimon also began to help; doing most of their work for them by merely standing up. The rubble fell off her like rain water as she did.

"If you could get out, why didn't you do it in the first place?" Impmon demanded.

"I didn't want any of the debris to land on Ruki when it fell off of me." Kyuubimon replied.

Takato, for his part, ignored their conversation.

"What's the situation?" Ruki asked; all business. She absently brushed some dust off her clothes, but since she was covered in dust, it had no noticeable effect.

"Let's call it four minutes until the police show up; three if they make really good time. Impmon, go dig out Galgomon. Kyuubimon, please help him. Jenrya, if you know of any way to make him revert to Terriermon, and for some reason haven't used it already, please do so now." Takato replied in the same way. He was somewhat surprised at how easily Ruki was able to put aside the fact that they had been fighting only minutes before. Perhaps he hadn't given her enough credit.

"I don't." Jenrya stated. Kyuubimon was already moving towards Galgomon's location.

"Shit. Can you carry him?" Takato asked the yellow fox, as Jenrya lifted himself from the ground.

"Maybe. Though I feel the need to inform you that a huge nine-tailed fox carrying a large humanoid bunny-dog through the streets of the city of Tokyo is going to draw a great deal of attention." She said as she started digging.

Takato winced at that.

"Could you take the roofs?" Takato asked.

"If I was just carrying Ruki, yes, but I'm not sure I want to risk it while carrying Galgomon."

Takato shook his head.

"Jenrya, you need to figure out what to do with your partner. Like, right now."

"I just told you, I don't know how to revert him to Terriermor!"

"Now would be a really good time to figure it out. Meanwhile, I'm going to go outside and call the police so that we don't look too suspicious. One of you, call Yamaki; maybe he can help."

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him that was so obvious Takato was embarrassed he hadn't thought of it earlier. He quickly shifted through Jenrya's deck, but didn't find what he was looking for.

"I'm sure there are cards allowing you to devolve you're Digimon, but I didn't think that would be necessary, especially not on my second day, so I didn't put any in my deck. Neither did Jenrya. Did you, Ruki?"

"No; Kyuubimon can turn back at will."

"Do you have any at your house?"

She looked at me like she was insulted that he asked that, which he ignored. He got the feeling he'd be ignoring a lot of things in the days to come.

"Of course."

"How fast can Renamon get it?"

"Fast enough, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't recognize it on sight."

"Then ask her to bring all your cards, and you can find it." He began to walk towards the door. "If the police show up, I'll try to buy some time."

xxxXXXxxx

Takato sat down with a sigh. He wasn't sure if Ruki and Jenrya had gotten Galgomon out; he hadn't been able to check without looking suspicious. Luckily, for the moment, it wasn't an issue. Yamaki had shown up and was talking with the Police.

No, that's not quite right.

Yamaki had shown up, and was pulling rank on the Police.

Who was this guy?

He made a note to himself that he should find out. If this guy could convince police officers that investigating potentially collapsing buildings was a bad idea, then he was obviously very powerful, and thus, at least potentially, very dangerous. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Something that shouldn't be too hard if he was allowed to join. Takato decided to be on his best behavior for the time being; he was beginning to really want answers.

He was torn from his thoughts when Yamaki approached.

"What happened?"

"Impmon sensed a Digimon, so we tracked it down. It turned out to be Renamon, and due to our previous encounter things quickly degraded to the point that Renamon evolved. Jenrya and Terriermon showed up shortly after and got involved. Due to the situation, he evolved."

Yamaki didn't so much wince as he became still, but Takato caught it anyway.

"I take it from your reaction that I don't need to tell you he was out of control?"

Yamaki didn't comment so Takato continued.

"Well he was. Due to the dangers that quickly became obvious, Ruki and I set aside our feelings and teamed up to deal with Galgomon and Jenrya lent me his deck. Long story short; the combination of two Adults and a supped up Child blew the roof off."

Yamaki's reaction was hard to judge; it was obvious, whatever it was, but Takato couldn't interpret it.

"Anyway, as soon as Galgomon started shooting and cars started exploding, I'd wisely relocated myself to, oh, the doorway. When rocks started falling, I was mainly out of harm's way. After I was pretty sure the rest of the building wasn't going to fall on me, I went back in and tracked my partner with my Digivice. I dug him out, we dug Kyuubimon out, she dug Galgomon out, and we worried about what the hell we were gonna do about Galgomon. I called the cops so they wouldn't be suspicious that I was nearby, and one of the others called you. I went out here to buy time if needed; Jenrya and Ruki worked on Galgomon. No idea if they succeeded, though Renamon was getting Ruki's cards when I came out here."

It was all true. The abbreviated truth, perhaps, but all true.

Yamaki looked at Takato silently for a minute before nodding.

"Stay out here and make sure nobody else goes down."

"Gotcha."

xxxXXXxxx

"Yamaki!" Jenrya said, surprised. He'd been very scared when he'd heard someone coming down.

Yamaki ignored the exclamation, focusing on something he deemed far more important.

"Galgomon's still here." He stated with a frown.

"Nothing's working." Ruki said, still shuffling through her deck. She didn't even look up.

"Then don't bother; I'll tell a van to pick him up." He said, already reaching for his phone.

A quick call later, Yamaki refocused on the Tamers.

"Now explain what's going on."

Ruki raised an eyebrow and looked up.

"You didn't ask Takato?" Jenrya asked, voicing Ruki's question.

"I did, I'm just not sure I trust him."

Jenrya frowned and opened his mouth, but Ruki cut him off before he could say a word.

"I had Renamon attract Impmon's attention, and drew him and his Tamer here. As soon as they noticed me, they apparently decided I was here for a rematch and immediately attacked."

"Was that why you were there?" Jenrya wondered.

"That's not the point." Ruki hesitated before speaking the next part. "They did fairly good…for Rookies."

"That's not what I saw." Lee commented.

Yamaki lifted an eyebrow and turned to the second Tamer. He took that as a sign to continue.

"Takato and Impmon looked to be holding their own when I showed up; Ruki had even made Renamon evolve because before she did Impmon had dominated the fight. Hell, he dominated the fight even afterwards."

"Only because of the huge amount of modify cards he was using right off the bat!" Ruki protested, glaring. They would have worn off momentarily, and Kyuubimon would have crushed him like an insect. And how long were you watching, anyway?"

"Long enough." Jenrya replied.

"Wait. Why are you here?" Yamaki asked.

"Terriermon sensed Renamon, too."

Yamaki nodded and remained facing Jenrya; he'd obviously decided he wanted to hear Jenrya's version instead of Ruki's.

"Takato did indeed make use of a number of modify cards designed specifically to counter Data types, and, more specifically, Child and Adult Data Types. I assume the deck was designed specifically for dealing with Ruki, and while I must agree that once the cards wore off, he would have lost, I believe that was more because of his limited selection of cards than anything else. From what I know of him, he doesn't exactly have a large amount of money to spend on cards. Even so, after he ran out of cards that were useable on Renamon, he still had a number left, which I assume are for situations that didn't come up, probably Virus and Vaccine type Digimon."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's what I would have done. Actually, that's what I did do."

Yamaki nodded in acceptance of that and Jenrya continued as if he wasn't interrupted.

"He showed a…startling amount of ruthlessness, not letting up on Renamon for a moment, but I suppose that's a good thing in a Combat Tamer. His original strategy seemed to be focused around not letting Renamon evolve, which was unsuccessful. However, he showed the foresight of preparing for that, and using his cards skillfully enough to fight on even ground with an Adult, if only for a short period of time."

"But…" Yamaki asked. He knew there was a 'but.' There was always a 'but.'

"But his partner seems to be influencing him a lot more than normal." Ruki chimed in.

"What she said. He's showing an incredible desire to fight, and the ruthlessness and relentlessness of a Virus. He's obviously willing to go pretty far to win." Jenrya agreed.

"Which is not necessarily a bad thing." Yamaki pointed out. "How did he react once Terriermon evolved?"

"He seemed willing to set aside his feelings in order to help." Jenrya said.

"Help himself, at least." Ruki added cynically. "He benefited from his actions more than anyone else did."

Jenrya frowned at her, but continued undeterred.

"He was also willing to protect Galgomon when things got serious."

Ruki had no response for that.

"And he helped us when we were buried under all that rubble."

"We were never in danger; Kyuubimon was there."

"What about afterwards?" Yamaki asked.

"He took control of the situation." Jenrya stated. "He helped with Galgomon, told us to call, called the police to avoid suspicion, and went out there to buy time. He also tried to get Galgomon out of here."

"How'd he do under pressure?"

"Very well, sir; he seemed to thrive in it. Probably more of his partners influence."

"Then what do you think, Jenrya? Would he cut it?"

"Yes, sir; I think he'd make a great Combat Tamer."

Yamaki looked at him silently for a minute.

"Very well, Jenrya; you go to the same school as him, right? Go home, I'll take care of everything here.

"And tomorrow?"

"Bring him in."

xxxXXXxxx

After Jenrya left, Ruki turned to Yamaki.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Yamaki."

"What's not a good idea?"

"Making Takato a Tamer."

"You used his name. He must have made quite an impression." Yamaki said, focusing on the part that interested him.

"I'm serious, Yamaki."

"I know. And I agree. He's been a Tamer for less than two days, and we have no idea how he's handling it outside combat situations. He could be really dangerous if the power goes to his head, especially if he manages to evolve his partner; we all know the power of a Digimon, and he and Impmon have proven they can be a devastating combination even though Impmon's just a child. When he realizes the power he has at his disposal, he could do any number of things; use it to make money, to steal, to get back at those who picked on him, hell, to impress girls. Those are all likely ways for a teenage boy to make use of power. And that's only a teenager fantasies. What could happen if he started to think like an adult and realizes that crime does indeed pay, especially when you have that much power behind you. And those are just the obvious stereotypical male ways to use his power. We know nothing about him, much less what he might do. However…"

"We're not exactly weighed down by our options, are we?"

"No. Digimon are realizing much more frequently and we have a limited number of Tamers."

"A fact that's made even worse by the fact that not all of them are mentally built for combat; hell, some of them aren't even physically built for combat."

"And of the remainder, not all of them want to fight. Takato is risky, and letting him in could easily turn out to hurt us…but it could also help us, and we need help. And if we don't get it, people are going to get hurt."

Ruki was silent for several seconds.

"You're right; he's a gamble, but we're running out of options."

"We've run out of options. The amount of firepower needed to take down Adult Digimon is fairly extreme; too extreme for us to use in one of the largest cities in the world. We need Tamers. I'm not saying we should just trust him, because anyone who's been around the block of human nature once or twice would recognize that as a monumentally stupid idea. I'm just saying that he's got firepower. A lot of it. And he'll only get more as his partner evolves."

"If he evolves." Ruki corrected.

"No…I think those two will evolve." Yamaki said. "I think they're too good not too."

"…I agree. Which is what I'm having problems with. This is his second day, his partners still a Child, and I'm already considering him a potential threat. And we're going to just make him a bigger one. If Impmon becomes an Adult…we could have a major problem on our hands, Yamaki."

"Yeah…I know. Which is why I want you to keep a close eye on him."

"I'm going to be his teacher, Yamaki. Did you think I wasn't going to watch him?"

xxxXXXxxx

It was disorienting. Just Yesterday, he and his partner had been fighting a battle straight out of science-fiction.

And today he was going to school like nothing happened?

Takato had spent the entire day feeling like he'd suffered whiplash do to how suddenly the situation had changed. Several times he'd caught himself wondering if everything had been a dream, but he quickly shook such thoughts away. He knew it wasn't.

He'd brought his Digivice and Deck with him to prove it.

Was this just something he was going to have to get used to? Constantly switching between normalcy and abnormality?

He doubted it, if only because he wasn't sure he'd be able to take it.

Such were the thoughts passing through Takato's mind as he walked out of school. That is, until they were interrupted.

"Hey, Takato-kun! Over here!"

Takato turned towards the familiar voice, and as he'd expected, there stood Lee Jenrya.

"Lee-san…" He suspected he was about to switch back to abnormality.

"Jenrya's fine, Takato; or even just Jen."

"Ah…okay…Jen-kun. Is something wrong?"

'Jen-kun,' something it was going to take some time to get used to, got closer in order to whisper something.

"It's about Hypnos, actually. Have you had enough time to think about it?"

Takato had been expecting someone to approach him about it eventually, but he was a bit surprised that it was Jenrya.

But then, he reminded himself, you only know three people; Yamaki, Lee, and Ruki. Yamaki's the big man in charge; why would he do something like this? This was grunt work. And anyone who wasn't blind has probably realized that he and Ruki don't get along. So who else would it be?

That in mind, he gave his reply.

"Yeah. I'm in." Takato said, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Good." Jen replied. "Do you have some time?"

"Sure."

"Then let's go."

"Let me get Impmon."

xxxXXXxxx

"Where are we?" Takato asked, getting out of the black van. He'd been driven here by someone he assumed worked for Yamaki. He blinked in surprise. "The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building? This is our base?"

"Why not? We're a part of the government, and this is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Government."

"Hypnos is part of the government?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, okay." Takato said, trying to get past that. He took a guess. "And its purpose is to deal with Digimon?"

"It is now." Jen said, but didn't elaborate.

"So, what's the deal with us Tamers?"

"Good question; that's kind of why you're here. To learn about being a Tamer. At its most basic level, being a Tamer simply means being bonded to a Digimon. However, it's a bit more complicated than that, due to the effects of that bond, as well as the current situation."

"Effects?" Takato thought about the weird things he'd noticed himself doing. "It changes you, doesn't it? Your personality…"

"Noticed that, did you? Good job. But…it's a bit more complicated than that. Too complicated to discuss briefly. Luckily, that's what the people upstairs are for. They'll explain better than I can."

Jen and Takato walked into the building. Impmon was hidden in Takato's otherwise empty backpack. One of the guards seemed to recognize Jen, because he nodded at him and let him through.

They went straight through to the Elevator and got inside.

"However," Jen continued once they were away from prying ears. "The current situation is a bit easier to explain. Digimon are Realizing; that's what we call it when a Digimon materializes in this World. In their own World, the Digital World, they exist only as data; they exist, but only in the same way that videogame characters exist. They can't really effect this world; the Real World. However, somehow, Digimon have advanced to the point where they are able to ignore such things and become real. Hence, Realize."

Takato had some thoughts on that issue, about Digimon not being real when they were data and how he wasn't sure he agreed. But he kept them to himself, and silently continued to listen.

"At their most basic level, a Digimon's purpose is to survive and evolve. That's why they come to this world; due to the much lower number of Digimon, their chances of survival are much higher and they can basically run free. In general, this results in them hurting a large number of people. Our purpose, the purpose of both the Tamers and Hypnos, in general, is to stop them, by any means necessary."

Takato had a thought.

"Is that why they bond with us humans? To evolve?"

"We think so. Like you noticed, your bond with your partner is affecting you greatly. But it's affecting him, too. He's becoming more…human, I suppose is close enough. He's learnt your language, for example, though learning a language is generally easy for Digimon. But more than that, he's learning about humans; how they think, how they feel, how they fight. He's doing it in the hopes that it will make him better able to survive."

"Is it working?"

"That's the thing about evolution; you only really know what works best when you look at it in hindsight. However, all signs point towards yes. A Tamer's Digimon is, all things considered, stronger than a Digimon of the same type and level. In some cases…a lot stronger."

"…Because of the cards." Takato didn't quite ask, because it wasn't really a question.

"And the Digivices. But even without them, they're stronger; we're not sure why."

"What's with those things anyway? Why do the cards and Digivices do what they do? Is that another part of Digimon's evolution?"

"Honestly? We have no idea. The Digivices exist independently of the Digimon; we know that much. And the cards are definitely part of this world. So we have no idea why they do what they do."

The elevator reached its destination, and the two Tamers (and the hidden Impmon) walked out.

Noticing that they were almost there, Takato extended one hand and stopped Jenrya. Jen looked at him and raise one eyebrow.

"Before we go in," Takato started. "I have one more question."

"Shot."

"You said we stop Digimon when they realize. How?"

Jen was silent at that. He turned to look forward again, but still didn't say anything. It was only when Takato was about to ask again that he spoke.

"Generally?" He said, turning to look at Takato again. "We delete them."

He closed his eyes for a moment, before correcting himself.

"We kill them."

Takato had no reply for that, and Jenrya didn't want to say anything else.

So they walked the rest of the way to their destination in silence.

xxxXXXxxx

"Hello Takato." Yamaki said as he entered.

"Um…hey…Yamaki-san?" He was honestly unsure of how to address the older man.

Luckily, either he got it right or, more likely, Yamaki simply didn't care.

"I see you accepted our offer." That appeared to be something Yamaki did care about, however.

"…Yeah?" He was also unsure of how to answer that, because it seemed that Yamaki wanted one if the long, uncomfortable silence was any indication.

Well, Takato was uncomfortable. Once again, Yamaki didn't seem to care.

Deciding that not making a fool of himself on his first day was the better part of valor, Takato chose to let Impmon out instead. He gently set down the backpack and unzipped it carefully. Impmon stepped out of it as though he was just getting out of a chair; Takato had been careful not to jostle his partner.

Impmon did complain a bit though, but Takato felt that was more because he felt he was expected to, then because of any other reason.

"You need a bigger bag, kid. It was cramped as hell in there." He grumbled. Takato just smiled casually at his partner.

In Impmon's defense, his partner had indeed expected him to complain.

Takato watched Impmon for a moment, entirely because it gave him a way to avoid looking at anyone else while he put his thoughts together.

"Yamaki-san. Jenrya told me that the Bond between Impmon and I was affecting us both."

"Indeed, that is correct."

"Why? And more importantly, how?"

"Can I assume Jenrya told you about the way Digimon are designed to survive and evolve?"

Takato nodded once.

"That's what the Tamer Bond does. It increases the likelihood of survival and evolution. It increases the likelihood of survival by basically downloading information from the Tamer to the Digimon. Language, customs, mannerisms, information about locations, knowledge of the area, etc. Basically? Everything someone would need to survive in today's world. He probably doesn't care about it much, but when you leave, quiz your partner on some of the things you've learnt in school. I guarantee you this; if you know the answer, he knows the answer."

"And it also increases the likelihood of evolution, I assume?"

"Yes. You've seen it happen three times now, haven't you?"

He didn't clarify, but he didn't really need too.

Takato knew exactly what he meant.

"Kyuubimon and Galgomon."

"Exactly. That is the true power of a Tamer. In the Digital World, Digimon can evolve in a number of ways; generally involving the accumulation and absorption of large amounts of Data. But a Digimon with a Tamer is different."

"They don't need to gather Data?"

"…We don't know. We don't know how a Tamer is capable of evolving their partner. We're unsure if they somehow bypass the need for data, or if a Tamer allows the Digimon to gather large amounts of data in a different way."

"Well, okay. That's interesting, and it explains why my friend here partnered up with me. But Impmon's not the only one being affected. Yamaki…what's happening to me?"

Yamaki was silent for a moment.

"You're synchronizing."

"I'm what?" Takato asked. He understood the word, but he wasn't sure what it meant in this context.

"Synchronizing. A Digimon and their Tamer work best together when they are as one. As such, the closer in personality they are to each other, the stronger they are. And I don't just mean the obvious effect of facilitating teamwork."

"You're talking about evolution, aren't you?"

"Yes. The degree of synchronization directly affects the Digimon's ability to evolve. But even that's not all. By being synchronized with his Tamer, a Digimon's power dramatically increases. We don't know where exactly that power comes from; we presume it's the same place the power that allows them to evolve comes from."

Takato had a sudden realization.

"That's why…" Takato hesitated, wondering if he should really say this. "Ruki and I were stronger then Jenrya wasn't it? He's not as synchronized, is he?"

Takato looked toward Jen as he said that, hoping he didn't come off as too insulting.

Yamaki was still for a moment, as though wondering whether to confirm or deny that comment. But then that moment passed, and he nodded once. Jenrya's face was blank.

"Terriermon is one of the most powerful Child level Digimon in Hypnos. However, Jenrya has a…history with Terriermon's evolved form. So while their synchronization is high while Terriermon stays the way he is, when he evolves, that ratio takes a sudden and sharp decline."

"Ratio? You can measure this?"

"Of course; figuring out how to measure things such as this was one of the first things Hypnos focused on."

"Then I take it one of the reasons I'm here is to get…measured?"

"Indeed."

"And what do my numbers change?"

"Your rank, your power, and your mental stability are all affected by it, though not necessarily in the same ways."

Takato frowned. So these numbers were important. He was willing to bet these numbers would take the same place as money and social status did amongst normal teenagers.

Which meant that if his numbers were low, and people knew, his life would probably suck. On the other hand, if they were high, and people knew, he'd probably be better off for it.

"Who will know what my numbers are?" Takato asked.

"Everyone in Hypnos."

Takato didn't think that was a good idea; he figured the kids with low numbers were probably getting a lot a grief over it.

"And I'll know what their numbers are, too?" He asked, supposing that, on the other hand, it did have some upsides.

"Eventually."

"Then let's go measure me."

xxxXXXxxx

"That's it?" Takato said, honestly let down.

"That's it. What were you expecting?" Jenrya asked with a smile. Takato figured he'd heard this before.

"I don't know. But when we started talking about futuristic, highly advanced scanners and stuff, I kind of expected something a little less…anti-climactic."

Which was what it had been, in his opinion. Basically he'd lain down on a table and had basically been given a CAT scan. Which, he guessed, was practical; it was just so…boring. After which, they'd said he'd have to wait to get his results, and had ushered him away to do some paperwork. He'd carefully read and signed some forms, had been given a card, and had been promptly deemed a new Tamer.

And then they'd kicked him out and told him to come back tomorrow, after school.

Takato felt somewhat ripped off.

"We get that a lot. Yamaki's really big on keeping things as practical as physically possible, which is good, I suppose."

"But also kind of boring?"

Jenrya laughed.

"Just a bit, for time to time."

"I guess it's mostly my fault. I just thought, you know, becoming a member of a secret government organization dedicated to combating threats from another dimension would be a bit less…"

"Mundane?"

"Yes, exactly."

"I understand the feeling. It'll be like that for awhile, actually, until you're deemed ready to combat Wild Ones. Well, except for some of the parts were you learn how to be a better Tamer. Those are pretty cool."

"So I won't be fighting until I'm approved?"

"Yeah."

"How long will that take?"

Jenrya's phone rang.

"One sec." He took it out and answered it. "Jenrya here. Hm? Yeah, he's here."

Takato lifted an eyebrow and pointed to himself. Jenrya nodded once but lifted a figure in order to keep Takato from asking any questions.

"Uh-huh, yeah. Why? What? What? Three? Is Ruki on it, too? Of course she is. Which one is she taking?" Jenrya looked at some of the signs around him. "I'm about…two minutes from the half way point. Have a van waiting for me there…two vans? Why- oh. Already? But-"

Jenrya looked at Takato again, this time more intensely. Takato lifted his other eyebrow in response.

"…No. I don't think that'll be a problem. Just have the vans ready when we get there; we've don't have time to waste."

Jen hung up. Takato gave him a second to be polite; just one. Then he asked his question.

"Who was that? Hypnos?"

"Yeah."

"It sounded like there was a problem."

"There is. Three, to be precise. Three Wild Ones have Realized in three separate locations. One's Ruki's problem. One's mine. And…one's yours."