Reboot Entry - Rose Hunter

Rose and Hunter contest entry
CD covers of Rose and Hunter


Looking in
By Loren K.


Gathered together in the fields of the digital world, Everyone of the tamers and digimon was gather together, congratulating each other in their own ways after a fearsome fight and victory. Some with hugs, some a good old fashioned punch to the shoulder. But Two tamers stood off to the side watching the others.

As the dark clouds in the digital sky were beginning to break up, Rose turned away from the group with her partner Hatimon taking his place next to her. She looked up to watch the clouds as she ran her hand through her hair, her mind seemingly elsewhere from everyone else. After a moment, she looked back to the ground, looking rather guilty. She then said, "They're really something else. I can see why the gods chose them over us. I can't believe I used to be so stupid… thinking what I wanted was everything that mattered, and nearly killing Hatimon over it. Then they eventually were able to get past us trying to kill them. I could never have done that myself."

Hatimon nuzzled against Rose's leg, looking up to her. As Rose responded by rubbing her ears. "It's because you were able to change Rose. You're better than you were before. And you don't presume to be better than everyone else now." Despite her partner's assurances, she just sighed, still feeling like an outsider in the group.

Hunter was standing close by as well, listening to his sister. He then put his hand on her shoulder and said, "That's just what it took to break you away from where Mother was leading you. You needed the humility anyhow. After that , It might have taken the others a while to see you were different. It's not like they welcomed me with open arms when I first turned sides. Hell, I often thought Reyez still wanted to punch my face in. It's just difficult being outsiders." He looks to Rose when he finished speaking.

Skollmon then stood up on his hind legs and put a paw up to Hunter's side, lifting up Hunter's left arm slightly with his head as he said, "But we're not outsiders! Not anymore. We're a part of them, as fellow Tamers and Digimon. Even if Hatimon and I were never gods ourselves, we part of a whole team with everyone else." Hunter looked down to Skollmon and cracked a smile. "Perhaps you're right. I just didn't really notice when it really happened. It just did." He then pet his partner digimon, rubbing his ear as the light broke through the sky above them, the digital sun shining down from the edge of the clouds.

Rose looked to Hunter, still finding it hard to believe where things were now. "Even someone like me, who's done so much to hurt everyone?" It still sounded a bit too easy to her, to have the others overlook her past, and how many times they've nearly killed everyone that now seemed to be their friends. It was a lot to forgive in her mind, now that she recognized her own faults.

Hatimon answered for her, "Just take a look for yourself. Let's go join the others. You'll know with how the others treat you from now on, and over time." Her tail waved behind her as she smiled to her tamer. Hunter happened to nod in agreement. He then added, "Don't forget I nearly killed them before too. But they no longer hold that over my head. And you saw me with Blondie, and everyone else. They can do the same for you Rose.

Rose looked over to the other tamers, not sure what to think. She really wanted to just what Hatimon suggested, and join the others and find out right now if she really could have been forgiven for it all. However, she still had something to say to hunter while they still had some privacy. "Hunter… Thank you, for keeping your promise."

"Hmm?" Hunter looked surprised by Rose's sudden statement. His eyes met hers as he said, "What promise are you talking about?"

Rose looked back into hunter's eyes, then looked away. "Not a promise you made to me. The one you made to Logan long ago. To watch over me before he went away. Even when I thought you'd abandoned me to join the others. Not to mention your girl Piper." Somehow, these words came out easier than Rose thought they would. She expected to struggle with them, since they'd been so hard for her.

Hunter just smiled as he heard this from his sister. He could tell it was sincere as shrugged and said, "I guess sometimes you have to break a promise for a while, just to be able to keep it in the future. How could I be expected to keep that promise for you, if I was struggling with myself. I needed to get away from mother, just like Logan did before us. I know that my leaving first put me against you too, so I really couldn't keep any promises during that time. But I did come back to make good on them when you needed it most."

Rose shuddered at the thought of that time, when she was as good as broken, even on the edge of suicide. It had taken total defeat to break her down, so hunter and Hatimon could start to rebuild her. It was very weird, but somehow she was now grateful to the others for doing that to her. The thought of it made her laugh, which drew looks from hunter and both their digimon. She then said, "It's funny, I know that everyone had crushed me that day I went on a total rampage. But somehow I'm glad that they did that to me. Cause I'm happier than I've ever been without trying to fight for mother's approval. Or anyone else's for that matter."

Hatimon nuzzled against Rose's leg and said, "I'm grateful too. I was so afraid to lose you, but you came out of it, better than ever."

Skollmon looked between Rose and Hunter. "Maybe that's the way humans evolve. They need to break themselves down, to make themselves stronger."

Hunter looked to his partner, then to their friends as they were starting to look up to the sky and each other, as they had been earlier. "That would explain why they became so strong when we tried to break them. They pulled through and became strong so fast. We were unintentionally helping them."

Rose looked to Hunter, then shook her head. "Still, that doesn't make what we did any better."

Hunter shrugged and said, "Maybe not, but that really doesn't matter any more. When everything is over with, they might see it too. Now come on. Let's stop holding this over ourselves. Or the others might go without us." He then lead the way back to the group.

Rose blinked as Hunter ended the conversation suddenly. She wasn't sure if she was still feeling guilty or not, but she did want to join hunter with the others and followed close behind. She then smiled to herself as she wondered how it took them so long to grow this strong themselves.