Ended up with a alternate opening/prequel/deleted scene for Chapter 15 of the fic linked below, and wanted to post it but wasn't sure where.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
All I'll say is that it's part of a series, and that the Tamers and multiverse shenanigans are involved...
“What the hell was that?” Rika called out, simmering but not seething just yet.
There was something familiar about the sensation, yet it had been unrecognizable enough that Jeri couldn't quite place the sense of deja vu she was feeling. Calling the energy that Lopmon emitted a wave might even have been overselling how sudden it was, but Jeri had started tuning out Rika and Suzie's disagreement and the moment had brought her attention back to them.
“I don't know,” Suzie replied, her eyes dropping to the DigiVice and modify card in her hands.
“What do you mean you don't know?” Rika shot back, slightly raising her voice. “You did it!”
Jeri's eyes wandered to the source of the disturbance, finding Renamon kneeling down to help Lopmon stand upright again, the latter having fallen down after releasing whatever energy Suzie had given her. For a brief moment, Jeri fixated on Renamon, eventually it registering that the kitsune had her attention divided, assisting Lopmon while staring across the yard.
Jeri slowly followed Renamon's eyeline, and then immediately started staring herself. A new individual was standing there, or at least trying to with how her legs seemed to be shaking. Her blue dress and loose ponytail threw Jeri off for a moment, but she quickly started putting the pieces together.
“Rika...” Jeri said softly, to no one in particular.
“I just swiped a card!” Suzie continued.
“Which card?” Rika questioned, the both of them still focused on each other.
“Rika!” Jeri shouted, instantaneously causing Rika and Suzie's attention to snap in her direction, and the other Rika to finally lose her balance and fall on her backside.
Their Rika looked Jeri in the eye, a very reluctant understanding passing between them. Rika buried her face in her hands, ironically telegraphing the mix of emotions that were likely going through her head.
“I can't believe this is happening again,” Rika muttered, almost whining.
“Well, it is, so we have to deal with it, right?” Jeri tried to keep her tone even. The situation was already a stressful one, but she needed to be present to deal with it.
“Right...” Rika fished her cellphone out of her pocket, and started walking in the opposite direction. “I'll call the others.”
Jeri didn't give a verbal affirmation, instead looking forward again. Part of her said to just wait, that this was a problem for Henry and Hypnos to solve and that she had nothing to contribute. Looking at the scared girl wearing her friend's face, however, she knew she had to compartmentalize her self-doubts for the time being. This was her job, and she was going to see it through.
Taking a deep breath, Jeri moved across the yard. At first, this Rika only glanced at her, wide and nervous eyes seemingly more interested in her counterpart. In typical Rika fashion, she was quiet, whatever fear or confusion she was feeling only manifesting in subtle body language. While Jeri couldn't be certain if the girl was about to go into shock, she also didn't want things to get that far.
“Hello there.” Jeri drudged up a warm and friendly smile, her “customer service smile” as she occasionally caught herself referring to it as.
“Hi,” Rika replied, finally looking up at her.
“You're a little out of place here, aren't you?” Jeri crouched downward, eventually sitting and criss-crossing her legs so they could be at eye-level. “But don't worry, everything's gonna be okay.”
Rika took another look around. “Am I dead?”
“Why do you automatically jump to the worst case scenario?” Jeri felt a little bad for the disappointment that she knew had come to her face, but again, it was a very Rika thing to do.
“I'm sorry?”
Jeri refocused and smiled again. “No, it's alright. What you've been through is a bit jarring. I even passed out one of the times I made the trip.”
Rika raised an eyebrow. “What kind of trip did I make exactly?”
“Right...” Jeri paused, drumming her fingers against her chin, trying to come up with the best way to explain the situation. “Given our circumstances, can you keep an open mind?”
“I guess...” Rika eyed her cautiously.
“I'll take it!” Jeri gave a quick thumbs up. “Okay, you know how manga and comics like to play around with the idea of parallel realities, alternate timelines, and stuff like that?”
“Uh huh...”
“So, yeah, that's kinda what we're dealing with right now.” Jeri spoke calmly, fully aware of how she probably sounded to an average person. “Not exactly sure on the how just yet, but I think we accidentally pulled you into our dimension.”
Rika stayed quiet at, and then slowly looked past her. “So that's me?”
Jeri turned around, finding her Rika futzing with her cellphone. She was a terrible texter, so the fact that she wasn't just calling Takato or Henry said a bit about how many different places her thoughts must have been in.
“More or less, yeah,” Jeri explained as she turned back around, eyes lingering on the new Rika's dress and her less athletic frame. “Sometimes these alternate realities are a bit like a fun house mirror.”
“Are those Digimon?” Rika asked without a second pause.
Jeri glanced over her other shoulder, noting Suzie had moved to stand near Lopmon and Renamon, and that all three were watching them. Expressions seemed to vary amongst them, and while there did seem to be traces of guilt on Lopmon's face, curiosity seemed to be first and foremost where Suzie and Renamon were concerned.
“Yep,” Jeri answered. “Do you have them in your world?”
“Yeah, just, uh...” Rika hesitated for half a second. “They just typically don't hang around my house.”
“Right...” Jeri considered the statement, being able to gleam quite a bit from it. Not wanting to dwell but also knowing they had to push forward, she extended a hand to her friend's doppelganger. “I'm Jeri, by the way.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you...” While Rika's words weren't necessarily sarcastic, they were a bit deflated as they shook hands.
“You're still scared, aren't you?” Jeri squeezed Rika's hand, not so tightly that she couldn't pull free, but enough to reaffirm her presence.
Rika nodded. “Am I gonna be able to get home?”
Jeri paused just long enough to gather her confidence. “See your counterpart over there? She's a bit prickly, but she's also one of the best friends I've ever had, and on a good day I like to think the feeling is mutual.” Jeri noted Rika tilting her head, following her words but maybe not tracking what the point of them was. “That's just a long-winded way of me asking you to trust me, because I promise we can figure this out.”
Standing herself up, Jeri gently tugged at Rika's arm and helped her back to her feet. Her legs now steady, there was a pause as she looked Jeri over. What she was thinking, Jeri could only guess, but the fact she was calmer made Jeri feel optimistic.
“Alright...” Rika finally said as she pulled her hand free. “Since I haven't ruled out the possibility of this just being me going crazy anyway, why the hell not?”
“Again, I'll take it!” Jeri chirped, the conversation having been easier than she had anticipated. With that thought, though, another poked at the back of her mind. “Oh, real quick: Don't take anything my Rika says too personally. She's just a little...” Jeri paused, trying to dig up the most diplomatic words possible. “Well, I'm sure you'll be fine.”
“Okay?” Rika raised one more eyebrow.
Jeri decided to withhold any further comments, instead leading the girl over to meet the others. She knew this afternoon was far from over, but at least they were taking some small steps forward.
