A/N: Call this an experiment of sorts. I'm not at all certain if I'm going to continue this and it might be a bit beyond my current abilities, but this idea has been swimming around in the back of my head for some months now and for the longest time I didn't think it would go anywhere until some days ago, when I got an unexpected spark of inspiration for a handful of chapters for this idea.

The idea for alternate Rika's appearance came from the 'Revenge of Diaboromon' which has a brief appearance of a background character with short, dark hair whose clothing and appearance otherwise bore a striking resemblance to Rika. As to why I brought Lord of the Rings into this? Apart from my interest in the series, I had some ideas floating around in my head that I wanted to try out and to stretch my wings a little, so I want to see how the two fit together with these ideas. Because of the unique nature of this story, at least for me, I'm posting these two chapters for an introduction as a 'proof of concept' and to see if this has any legs and is worth exploring.

Here's to another journey.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or Lord of the Rings

A Shadow of Memory

A Digmon/Lord of the Rings Crossover by: Crazyeight

Chapter: 01

Takato Matsuki awoke with a start. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, facing away from the piercing blade of sunlight that stabbed into his vision. A bright green slash shot across the darkness of his closed eyes, and he moaned again painfully. Distantly, he heard the sound of his family's bakery from down below and he sighed at a particularly loud noise, a pot crashing.

"Time to get up," he muttered sleepily, sitting up, knowing full well that if things downstairs were as busy as they sounded, he would get an earful if he stayed in bed a moment longer. "Guilmon, let's go!"

Swinging his legs over the ladder of his bunkbed, he slid down, the heel of his foot hitting one of the lower rungs with a sick bang, causing him to hop on one foot toward his dresser with a muttered curse under his breath.

"Man, this day's already off to a good start," he said, digging through his drawer for a fresh pair of pants. Frowning at the lack of sound behind him, he paused and turned. "Guilmon. Are you u-?"

Nothing.

The crimson-eyed boy blinked, somewhat taken aback by the sight of his room staring back at him, devoid of all life save his own. Once upon a time, this would have been normal for him, but some years ago, a harrowing adventure changed things for him and, indeed, the entire world. While he and a select few still remained something unique, the presence of a crimson-scaled, digital dinosaur named 'Guilmon' – a creature he made himself – in his bedroom was by far the least strange thing to him now, and he couldn't imagine life without his digimon partner anymore. They were, despite attempts to the contrary, for all intents and purposes, inseparable. So, finding a lack of said Guilmon sleeping nearby, while not unusual, unnerved him a bit.

"Huh." Scratching at his messy, bedridden hair, he looked about to make sure that he hadn't missed a spot before shrugging. "Well, even digimon have to use the bathroom sometimes."

Still, a part of him couldn't help but wonder if something had transpired in the night and his partner had been made to return to the digital world that birthed him.

It wouldn't be the first time.

He gave a light laugh before tugging off his pajama top and grabbed a blue t-shirt along with a white, long sleeved one. Sliding the former over the latter, he put on a pair of pants and went over to his desk, humming softly to himself. The wall had become more crowded in the four years since becoming a digimon Tamer, with drawings showing increasing skill from his earliest, crude sketches from age twelve to more realistic ones at 16. He smiled idly, snatching up various belongings that he would need for his day. Pen and pad of paper for when he needed to quickly sketch out something for later. Goggles…

A pause. Hang on…

There then sounded an alarm bell in his mind. His goggles. His familiar, yellow-rimmed goggles that he took with him ever since he first brought Guilmon home were absent from their familiar place on his chair. Like Guilmon, this also wasn't completely unexpected, as he tended to misplace them while being occasionally lazy or exhausted (the latter being more common, his duties as a digimon Tamer involved him battling wild, out of control digimon), but still unusual. He cast his eyes about briefly, only to find now immediate sign of them.

"Takato!" came the voice of his mother, breaking him out of his search and causing the boy to jump, startled. "We could use a hand down here!"

"Coming!" he called back, his hand groping about his desk for another item of importance. When he couldn't find it, his eyes joined in the search, only to first frown and then widen in growing horror.

My digivice…!

Gold-trimmed, white and arc shaped with a screen in its center and a large button below; the device that connected him and Guilmon, bringing them both together both mentally and physically in ways that went beyond what mere words could describe. It was one of the most important things in his life.

And it was gone.

"Oh no…" Takato whispered, scrambling for the ladder to his bed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered his friend, Henry Wong, mention to him once about a rule of 'three.' About once being chance, twice being coincidence, but three times being a pattern. Right there and then, he saw a pattern involving his life as a Tamer. His goggles. His digivice. His partner. Missing!

"No, no, no, no, no…" he repeated the word over and over like a mantra, hurling himself up into his bed and throwing his blanket back. Nothing. Not even any unusual weight in the blanket to hint that he carried it up here and it got lost within. Picking up his pillow, he shook at the casing, his desperation growing with each spot he found being empty.

"Guilmon!" His growing fear kicked up another notch. If my digivice is gone, then…then Guilmon…

Jumping down from his bed, he raced toward his bedroom door and threw it open. He barely remembered his feet hitting the stairs and the only noise he associated with their jackhammering thuds was that of his heart, banging away painfully in his chest while every synapse in his brain felt they were firing all at once, causing his eyes to pop wide with each passing moment.

"Guilmon!" he called out, hoping beyond hope that his friend was still in this world. Oh please, oh please… "Guilmon!"

"What…?" came the voice of his father, Takehiro as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes wide with surprise at the sound of terror in his son's voice. "Hey, is everything all right?"

"Guilmon!" Takato panted out. "He's here, isn't he? Please tell me he's here!"

"Guil…who?" Takehiro tilted his head to one side in utter confusion before giving his son a worried smile. "Kiddo, did you wake up from a dream or something?"

Takato's world felt utterly shattered as he heard that. His father didn't know who Guilmon was.

That's…That's impossible. I brought him home. I couldn't have dreamt that. I…

The whole world felt as though it were being flipped upside down, leaving him to totter slightly on his feet before he snapped back to attention.

"Uh… Hey, Takato?" Takehiro asked, his worry magnifying at his son's odd behavior. "Are you all right? You didn't hit your head, did you?"

"Takato!" came the voice of his mother now, poking her head in from the bakery section. "It's about time. Were you planning on staying in bed all day or…?"

Takato didn't give his mother time to finish.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, bolting away from his father before he could stop him and ducking past his mother who jumped back, utterly startled by his unexpected act. Barefoot, he raced through the bakery section and toward the doors, which slid open automatically for him. "I'm sorry!" he called back once more before charging off into the crowd. "I'll explain later!"

"Takato!" he heard his father's yell whilst losing himself in the throng of people. He wanted to kick himself for making his parents upset like this, but the situation was serious now. If the digimon were gone… No. So far it looked to just be Guilmon, though for some reason his parents didn't remember.

Did that mean no one knew what a Tamer was? What digimon were?

What about the others? I've got to find them! I've got to get a hold of them!

Picking up the pace, he raced towards the park where he and his friends met regularly, determined to solve this situation once and for all.

###

"Ouch…"

Takato carefully picked his way through the path of Shinjuku Park, his feet sore from running out into the streets without shoes, and becoming even more so with every rock and twig poking at his soft skin.

"Man, that was really dumb of me," he berated himself before coming to a set of stairs barely kept out of sight by some brush. Pushing past it, he hurried his way up toward the concrete hut he knew lay at the top of the hill, ignoring the tiny pebbles, broken off from the steps due to years of weathering and use, that continued to chastise him for his lack of footwear. Pressing on, he quickly came to the top, where he was greeted by a familiar set of rusty, irony bars. They creaked noisily as he pushed them open, but he found nothing within. It was just as he last remembered seeing it with smooth, stone flooring, paved over by the secret government organization known as Hypnos to hide a portal to the digital world and keep it from growing.

Only…if none of those things happened, then that would mean this is the original flooring from before Guilmon dug it up, he thought, coming to a stop, the cold concrete soothing the tiny aches in his bare skin. His face scrunched up at that, his eyes becoming wet with unshed tears. Guilmon… Guilmon was gone! This wasn't a dream. It was all real.

Again… Just like before when Henry's dad had to send them all back to the digital world. Only this time… This time…

He wiped an arm over his eyes. If all of this was true, then it also meant that none of the friends he made since becoming a Tamer – Rika, Henry, Ryo and Jeri especially – weren't his friends anymore. Rika and Henry probably wouldn't even know who he was. Even if he could become friends with them again, they would think him crazy for telling them about things like the digital world and how they were all supposed to be Tamers. Even Kazu and Kenta, who he knew for far longer, going as far back as the first grade, would think he had lost his mind. He knew for certain on that, having told them about Guilmon back when digimon were still an unknown to the world.

What am I going to do though? I can't figure this out on my own. I'm not good at this sort of thing like Henry is, and Rika…

He paused, thinking briefly on the self-titled 'Digimon Queen' before swallowing, taking stock of his options.

Okay… Well, I've still got to try something! Let's see… unless things are really that different, then I won't be able to get a hold of Henry. He'll be dealing with prep school so he can get into university. Rika should be home though and so is Kazu. Kenta is visiting his grandparents, and Jeri should still be with her parents, so…

He wrinkled his nose. Of course, if the digimon were gone, there was no guarantee that any of that could be the same. Henry was studying hard to get into Standford University so he could further research digimon and the digital world. Rika… Well, she was certainly studying hard, but like him she wasn't sure what she wanted to be other than a Tamer. In fact, she didn't want to be anything other than a Tamer.

Maybe…Maybe that's where there's hope? His eyes rose at that and he wiggled his dirt-stained toes, feeling some measure of new vigor coursing through him. If he could reach Rika, or if she was already on his side and aware like he was, then there was a chance that things would be all right. If nothing else, he knew that he couldn't lose as long as she had his back.

Why wouldn't she remember? he found himself wondering. I mean, I seem to for some reason, so that's something, right?

It occurred to him that if either Rika or Henry or any of the others woke up in a similar situation, they would have tried contacting him.

Great. And here I am without a phone. Well, I guess I can use a payphone. Um… He checked his pockets and found that, in his rush to get out of the house he hadn't thought to grab any change.

Oh, maaan… He heaved a heavy sigh before steeling himself for the journey ahead. Well, no rest for the weary. Those thousand steps aren't going to get any shorter unless I get moving. Maybe I should try Henry's place first after all. Even if he's not there, his sister should be, and if she remembers then she can call Rika and we can go from there.

Nodding to himself that he at least had something resembling a plan, he headed off.

###

"Hellooo!" same a young, feminine voice from the call button outside the main entrance to Henry's apartment complex. In spite of himself, he felt relieved to hear the voice of Henry's younger sister, Suzie. So far it was the first thing all day that had gone right.

"Uh, hi, Suzie. It's Takato. You…" He ran his tongue over his lips. "You remember me, right?"

Please, oh please remember…

"Um… Who?" came the feared response. Takato's shoulders sagged and he punched the wall.

Well, so much for that…

"N-Never mind. Um… Listen, is your brother Henry there? I really need to talk to him right now."

Which would make sense only as long as he remembers, and if he doesn't… Which is…starting to seem like that's the case.

"I'm sorry," Suzie replied, a note of suspicion in her voice. "He's not at home right now. What did you say your name was again? Takashi? Oh! Are you the high schooler who won that Odaiba writing contest? I love your digimon story! That was sooo cool!"

"No, no, I'm just Takato," the teen assured her, scratching the back of his head as he sought to work out a new plan now that this one seemed scuttled. "Um, when Henry gets back, could you have him give me a call? Ah… It's really important." He paused and then gave her his home phone number, figuring that if everything else had been changed so dramatically, he might need to do so as well.

"Do you got it?" he asked once finished.

"Yeah! Do you want me to give him a message or anything?"

"Yeah, um… It's about…" He wracked his brains for half a moment. "…digimon? Yeah. I just have some questions for him about digimon."

"Okay! I'll give it to him next time I see him."

"Thanks, bye." Takato stood back as Suzie hung up, considering his options. There remained Kazu and Rika, both of whom lay a fair distance away on foot, but were possible to reach.

Let's try Rika, he decided finally. If things were as bad as he thought they were, Rika he could at least expect to either have her interest caught or to remember him only as some random weirdo. Of course, there was more to it than that. He wanted to see her again. Needed to.

Yet, a part of him felt afraid to see her again with the way things were. If she didn't remember him…

His heart thumped painfully in his chest, thinking of his best human friend, and he tightened his fists together before wiping an arm across his eyes before nodding to himself.

"All right," he said to himself. "Let's go."

###

The road was long of course, but he knew it well, and he at once relished at the familiar sights and sounds while at the same time feeling the heartache they caused him, knowing what he knew about the situation he found himself in. Here, in this world, he wasn't supposed to have any familiarity with this part of the city or with Rika or her family. He felt a flash of anger at that.

Who could have done this? he wondered. No answer, of course, came to him, but it didn't stop his mind from directing itself toward possibilities. Everything from aliens and time travelers, to evil digimon bent on world domination, as seemed to be the habit of that world from time to time.

Heck, for all I know it could be a clock program that evolved like the D-Reaper did and turned back time on us. If that's the case…then…the digital world is gone? He paused, looking up at the clear blue sky, imagining the world that lay beyond it, meshed within the dimensional warp that flowed between the Earth's vast communication network, gone because there were no Tamers to save it.

But if that were the case, wouldn't the D-Reaper have come through to destroy us too? The logic, though not normally something he tended to pull off as well as Henry, felt sound to him, and he had a sense that even Rika would have felt it made sense. Uncharacteristically so coming from him, but sense nonetheless. If this truly was time travel and things had been changed so completely, what would have happened – actually happened – without the Tamers there to safeguard the world?

Turning a corner, he spotted the entrance to the large, thick gate that was Rika's home. He swallowed.

Moment of truth.

Coming to a stop in front of the door, he raised a hand to knock, only to falter as it abruptly opened up in front of him and he found himself staring into a surprised set of violet eyes.

"Takato?" the girl blinked, and Takato did likewise. It was Rika, or at least the face was right. Her hair on the other hand was completely different. Where before he remembered it as a burning, red color with golden streaks, all tied back into a pineapple-like ponytail, framing her heart-shaped face like the rays of a sunset. Now he saw short, closely cropped hair, almost boyishly cut, and completely black. No ponytail in sight as far as he could see. And her shirt…

His eyes dropped down. She wore a black t-shirt with a red, broken-heart symbol emblazoned on her chest.

Seeing his gaze, she narrowed her violet eyes and crossed her arms together, cutting his sight off from the broken heart.

"Something wrong again with my shirt?" she asked heatedly.

Well, that's something that at least hasn't changed…

"N-No! It's just…" he stammered out before realizing something. "Wait, you recognize me?"

Rika lifted an eyebrow at that, perplexed by this response and she gave him a once over, her eyes hovering over his shoeless feet.

"Of course, I recognize you!" she replied, a hurt look crossing her face before rapidly losing it to growing anger. "Jeez, what's with you? I got a call from your house just now! Your mom is freaking out because you bolted from the place and yelling like you had lost your mind! Are you trying to make her worried?!"

He barely heard her however. Tears stung at the corners of Takato's eyes. Yes, this was Rika all right. A little different perhaps, but this was definitely her. Overcome with emotion, he swept her up in his arms, unmindful of her surprised yelp and held her close to him.

"Oh man, I thought I was losing my mind! Rika, I woke up and Guilmon was gone and so were my digivice and goggles and my parents didn't know who Guilmon was! Then I went to Henry's place but Suzie didn't know who I was…"

"Whoa! T-Takato! Slow…" She grunted suddenly at his tight grip and he abruptly lifted her off her feet. "Put me down!" she quickly amended. "Jeez… Will you try making sense for half a second?! Takato! My parents…!"

"Good morning, Takato," came a voice the boy didn't recognize, but its musical quality struck him and brought him up short. Setting Rika down, he turned and saw a tall man with dark hair smiling at him with what could only be called amusement. Tilting his head to one side, he tickled his memory for something that could help him place a name with the face before him, but for the life of him he had no idea who he was.

Fortunately, Rika was more than willing to help with that.

"S-See, Dad?" she stammered out while sporting a massive blush upon her face. "I told you that he would be all right. He's just a little goofball, that's all. It's why he needs someone like me to keep an eye on him." She glanced back down at his feet and scowled fearsomely. "Seriously? You walked all the way here like that? You better have a good reason for freaking out your mom like that and making me worried!"

"Dad…?" Takato's eyes widened in stunned shock, and the man furrowed his brow at him, as if he saw something about the boy that he missed earlier. Leaning forward, he clasped hold of Takato's shoulder, and at once their eyes locked.

That… This can't be real! Rika's dad… He left her back when we were still kids! He…

His eyes fluttered, and at once he saw a number of flickering images in his mind; his many battles with digimon and the D-Reaper; of his first encounter with Rika, her red hair shining in the sun of the park.

The man smiled and he nodded, as if to himself.

"You feel all right now," he said, and at once Takato did, tension running out of his body in one mad rush. "Do you normally have bad dreams like that?"

"I… N-No. I…" Takato shook his head. "That…wasn't a dream, and neither was Rika."

"I'm what now?" the dark-haired girl asked sharply, her earlier blush deepening. Her hand went straight to his forehead, pushing aside his locks. She pressed her lips together into a tight, thin line. "Stupid… Only you could act like you're being this delusional without a fever."

"I'm…I'm not sick!" Takato protested, his own face heating up now. "I just…" He bit back his final response, remembering that things were different now, wherever he was. A different world. That had to be the case.

I'm really alone here. The weight settled heavily on his shoulders. This Rika wasn't the Rika he knew, however close they might be in this world. There was no way that she would believe him.

Both Rika and her father looked at him curiously, waiting for his answer, and when it became apparent that he wouldn't – much to Rika's growing irritation – the man nodded.

"I've got to get going," he said finally before turning to Rika. "I've got some old shoes and socks he can have. The ones your mother's been telling me to throw out for months now. Set him up and make sure he's all right before sending him off." Leaning forward, he gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you tonight."

"Later, Dad," she smiled, and with that, the man headed off. Once he was far enough, Rika turned a baleful gaze at him.

"All right, you goofy little Muffinhead!" she said fiercely. "What's going on?"

"N-Nothi-! Wait, Muffinhead?! Is that what you call me?"

"Oh for goodness sake…" Rika rolled her eyes and snatching him up by the wrist, promptly began to drag him towards the house. "Grandma!" she called out. "I'll have some of that tea after all! Takato's being a Muffinhead again!"

Oh man… Just what have I gotten myself into? Takato wondered, throwing a look over his shoulder in the direction her father had taken.

7