Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon
Less than Human
Chapter: 2/ Silent Hearts
Rika Nonaka took her time waking up, neither rushing nor delaying, but content with setting a moderate pace and sticking to it. As she folded up her futon and set it aside, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly as a thought fluttered through her mind like an annoying fly and she tried to shoo it away mentally. Not to be deterred however, the thought made its way back, only this time making sure that it was well enough in the background where she couldn't just get rid of it, but was still in some fashion aware of it. And what could she do about it exactly? She had, after all, helped create the thought that bothered her…all with the intention of helping a friend, and in the end she had gotten more then she had bargained for, and wasn't even sure if she wanted; a situation of her own making, which was why the thought was there in the first place. And to make matters worse she had not been expecting it at all.
Rika remained sitting on the ground for a few moments, her brow furrowed as the thought continued to hold her attention, and soon enough her mind turned to the source of the problem, and gave voice to it.
Takato…
Rika's frown deepened, and as if she were trying to silence the thought before it went any further she got up and went over to where her traditional clothes, full heart t-shirt, jeans, and belt were placed on her clothes rack with her school uniform. She wouldn't be going to school though, as it was the weekend, so that was a load off her mind right there. The last thing that she wanted to deal with right now was school…scratch that; one of the last things that she wanted to deal with.
A familiar presence entered the girl's mind as she pulled off the top to her pajamas and set it on the rack.
" 'Morning Renamon," said Rika as she picked up the t-shirt that her mother had given her back during the D-Reaper crisis for good luck.
"Good morning Rika," said the vulpine digimon as she phased into view behind the girl. "Sleep well?"
"As well as anyone I guess," said the girl with a wry smile on her face as she pulled her t-shirt on and turned to look at her partner. "It wasn't what I'd call perfect, but it wasn't bad."
"I see." Renamon tilted her head to one side, contemplating Rika's words for a moment before mentally sighing. "Any thoughts on what you're going to do today?"
"Not really," said Rika as she changed into her jeans and reached over to grab her belt. "I figured that I might as well go down to Hypnos and see if they had anything new to report on that Triceramon that rampaged through the city last week. I wouldn't normally go to them about that sort of thing but…"
"Yes. There was something different about it wasn't there?"
Rika nodded as she recalled the fierce and brief battle that she and the other Tamers had had with the wild Triceramon one week ago. Renamon put it rather aptly when she said that 'there was something different about it'. To the casual observer who was unfamiliar with the subject of digimon, one out of control saurian monster was the same as the next one with the only real difference being in whether or not it breathed fire. For those who were well versed in the digimon card game as well as the popular anime show that had grown out of it, the digimon that the Tamer's digivices had identified as Triceramon, was indeed different from its usual species, the most obvious of which being its cosmetic appearance. Lighter colors of green and silver replaced the darker green and gray that was common in the Triceramon species, not to mention the addition of spines on its back and legs to go along with the much larger, and glowing horns that were its primary fighting weapon. Henry had also observed that, in comparison to how the Triceramon was normally depicted, the version that had waltzed into Shinjuku and wrecked havoc had an appearance that was much closer to the actual dinosaur that was its namesake. While it was true that digimon were often divided into various sub-species that usually depended on their coloration (such as the case with digimon like BlackWarGreymon, DarkTyrannomon, BlackGuilmon, Kuzuhamon, or ChaosGallantmon), this Triceramon was not identified as being a sub-species. Though there had been a little variation in its special attacks, its data makeup, level, and attribute were all the same. There was little else that could be gleaned from the Tamer's digivice, though Henry was fairly certain that this Triceramon was far stronger than what should have been normal for his species (to which Terriermon had pointed out that, since they had not fought a Triceramon before they could not be sure as to what passed for normal strength when it came to that particular digimon). During a briefing with Yamaki, the head of Hypnos had pointed out that their systems had picked out what appeared to be a foreign code inhabiting the Wild One's data that had not existed with previous digimon that had bio-emerged into the real world.
Whether or not this marked a new evolution in digimon or the digital world they could not be sure. But if anyone was certain about anything, it was that this change would likely mean trouble for the Tamers, and for the world as well.
And it couldn't have come at the perfect time, thought Rika as she buckled on her belt and attached her D-Arc and cards to it. If nothing else it'll give me something to take my mind off of everything that's been bugging me lately.
Rika frowned at the thought, her eyes pausing on the full heart image that was emblazoned on her shirt before reaching over to get her hair tie.
"Do you believe that Hypnos has made any progress in its investigation?" Prompted Renamon as Rika pulled her fiery hair up into its traditional ponytail and began to tie it together. Rika shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Kinda doubt it, but you never know. I just want to get out of here for a while, and then maybe later see what the others are up to-"
Rika's words were cut off in surprise as her hair tie suddenly snapped as she pulled and twisted it around. Bringing the broken remnants around so that she could scrutinize it, Rika glowered.
"Terrific. That was the last one too."
Renamon smirked.
"Maybe next time you should write a note to remind yourself."
Rika rolled her eyes in exasperation as she let her hair cascade down her back and shoulders.
"Very funny Renamon. That reminds me that I still need to get you that standup comedian upgrade card that I thought about back when we were in the digital world."
With that said, Rika walked away from her clothes rack and threw away the remains of her hair tie, wondering if there was one that she could borrow from her mother or grandmother until she could restock. As she prepared to exit her room her eyes fell on the calendar that sat on her wall, a ray of sunlight illuminating it but falling just short of one date in particular. She hadn't circled it like she did whenever her mother had gone off on a business trip, but she still had it memorized in her mind nonetheless.
One week, Rika thought as she paused at the door of her room. It's only a few days…seems so short but so far away…
…Still…it doesn't seem like it's long enough.
Feeling her partner's gaze, Rika pulled open her door and exited the room, determined to not think about the unsettling issue that had been bothering her these past three weeks. As if sensing what was going through Renamon's mind in regards to her brief pause, the red haired Tamer spoke up.
"Not one word, Renamon…"
The vulpine digimon just cocked her head to one side; her gaze turning to the calendar that Rika had been looking at. The kitsune digimon's eyes narrowed slightly before she phased out of view, the sound of a musical flute filling the air the only tell tale sign of her vanishing.
Terriermon looked over at the face of his partner worriedly as he trudged his bike up the hill. Henry was being unusually silent today…okay, that was actually more of an understatement. He had been acting strange for days on end. Distracted, irritable at times… and all the while there was something in his eyes that made the dog bunny digimon think of a quiet desperation. A far cry from the calm, collected, and logical Henry that he had known since they had become partner's almost a year ago, and that was not good. Not good at all.
And Terriermon had an idea as to when it had happened, having been there himself when everything had gone down; the day that had snapped the near legendary (at least in Terriermon's eyes) self-control and restraint that had been Henry's trademark from the first day that he had known his Tamer…
"Mega Barrage!" Cried out MegaGargomon as he once more fired dozens of missiles at Lucemon, to no avail. It didn't seem to matter what he did, the angelic digimon continued to dodge the weapons as though they were moving in slow motion. Next to him Beelzemon continued to fire away with his own shotgun but didn't seem to be having any more luck than he was. All the while, Lucemon never once lost his cold, unfeeling expression. Of course, this only increased Henry's rage and he continued to fire away, trying to hit his target. An orb of white energy shot out and struck Beelzemon, sending him rocketing away from the battle zone and crashing to the ground, but still Henry didn't care. His partner's cries and attempts to get his attention were far beyond him as well. The entire world in fact, seemed to revolve only around him and Beelzemon. He didn't even see the Justimon that was rocketing towards the fight, already blasting away with his Justice Burst attack, and Lucemon gave him the same response that he had shown Beelzemon. A simple blast of energy that knocked him out of the air, and out of the fight.
Now he was all MegaGargomon's.
His magazines running low, Henry switched tactics, giving only one last burst of missiles Henry rushed forward, preparing to go for a close range assault on the angel. And still, without showing any more emotion than a blank wall, Lucemon evaded each and every missile that was sent at him, and then flew towards MegaGargomon.
"Paradise Lost Punch!"
The next thing that Henry was aware of was a number of punches being delivered to his body at a rate that was impossible for him to quickly recover from. He tried to come up with a counter attack, but Lucemon moved to quickly, battering him relentlessly until suddenly he haulted with his punches and delivered a powerful kick that sent him careening upwards and then brought him crashing down to the ground. Not to be deterred, Henry once again opened up his missile tubes and weapon compartments, determined to do whatever it took to finish Lucemon off, and with a howl of unrestrained rage, let loose another barrage of missiles.
"Mega Barrage!"
The distance between Lucemon and the missiles was much shorter this time, leaving him with little time to react to their approach, and yet he didn't once lose his calm appearance. Instead his wings glowed white and black, and with one, great flap he redirected the path of the missiles and sent them flying off in different directions, exploding along the park indiscriminately, shattering trees and sending fragments of dirt and debris flying every which way, and still more missiles went soaring into the depths of the city, impacting against buildings and crashing into streets before going off. Not noticing, or perhaps not at all caring at the devastation that he was causing MegaGargomon surged back to his feet, the sound of Henry giving a loud and powerful cry as he rushed towards Lucemon, determined to end this battle and destroy his opponent at any cost.
His missile tubes rolled through their magazines and reloaded as he once again took aim, and a split second later more missiles were fired, and they streaked towards Lucemon, who watched them approach him impassively, neither of them mindful of the flash of light or the swift moving figure approaching the two combatants until it had imposed itself in between the oncoming missiles.
From within his data sphere, Henry's eyes widened in shock, his anger evaporating like rain after a storm as he saw a familiar figure place itself in front of Lucemon, raising a shield against his onslaught. How…? Why…? These questions raced through Henry's mind all in the blink of an eye, but it was now far too late to do anything about it. The missiles crossed the distance as quickly as lightning and impacted with the shield, causing Henry to cry out in surprise as he staggered on his feet.
"SAKUYAMON!!!"
Can't say that I really blame him for being this way, thought Terriermon sadly as the two of them reached the crest of the hill. Takato had been hurt pretty badly in that fight…second time that week too, and with everything that he had already been through he needed that like he needed a hole in the head. I can understand him getting angry…heck I was pretty upset about it myself, and if the situation were reversed I know Takato wouldn't have been happy either. Still, it can't be at all comforting knowing that you not only lost it, but came within inches of killing one of your closest friends just to get at Lucemon…almost becoming what you were fighting…
Henry stopped his bike and climbed on board, having now reached the top of the hill. However he didn't as yet begin riding again; instead he opted to look out over the family cemetery that they had been walking beside for the past few minutes. There was a gathering of people there, dressed in black as they lowered an urn filled with the cremated ashes of the deceased into the earth. One of them, a child, held a picture of the departed family member. Henry's eyes softened and he stood there a moment longer, contemplating the battle that had gone on three weeks ago when he had lost control of himself.
The pressure of Terriermon's ears brought him back to reality.
"C'mon Henry," said Terriermon softly. "You don't want to be late for your martial arts practice…"
Henry nodded numbly as he pushed his bike forward and began to roll down the hill.
His path being followed by the tearful eyes of a child holding onto the picture of a loved one forever lost.
It didn't understand how it had happened. Of course, that wasn't its function. Understanding was not a part of its programming. It didn't need it. All that it needed was to serve the role that it had been created for… to contain. That was all that was needed; all that was necessary…
Until that is, what it had been containing got loose.
How that had occurred, was beyond its comprehension, and it had tried to track down the object that it had been created to imprison. It had been simple then as the trail was still fresh in the beginning, and its own programming was simple enough to carry out even that task in the event that such an action did become necessary. Its creators hadn't believed that it would be, but the digital world was an ever-changing place, and forces reached out into its depths on a regular basis, altering its structure and creating it, and its inhabitants anew. Not all that was made was good, or even natural, but those things weren't important. Not to it at any rate. All it knew was that it had a mission to do, a task that had been interrupted. Its lack of understanding in how it had even escaped in the first place was limiting, and needed to be expanded upon so that it could ensure that such a thing never occurred again. It still needed to find the data that had escaped it and eluded its grasp so long ago. The trail had gone cold since those early days since the data's escape… except for one time some weeks later when it had unleashed the full fury of its power in the digital world, nearly disrupting its structure to the point of oblivion. It would have struck then, but a problem with the ever-growing power of the malevolent program known as D-Reaper gave it pause. Although it knew its duty to be of the utmost importance, its creators had made it intelligent enough to realize that should it be destroyed then it could no longer fulfill its duty. Survival to ensure that it could continue guarding the dangerous object was its secondary function, and it had been badly weakened due to an unexpected encounter with another human made program…
After the D-Reaper had been de-evolved and destroyed by the Sovereigns it resumed its search, only to find that the trail had once again grown cold. The influx of data that bore similar codes also managed to confuse it, so it had done the only thing that it believed to be the most logical course of action for this situation.
Trapped in a tangle of shimmering blue wires a quadruped, armored digimon that it had previously not been able to identify until now… a GinRyumon moaned softly, its form distorting as its data began to lose cohesion. The wires pulsed with light once and the GinRyumon's form broke apart into thousands of shards of data; data that was pulled into the blue wires as they untangled themselves. This new data that it had been downloading and processing lately was certainly unique, much like that strange virus program that it had encountered some time ago. The digimon that had developed an immunity to the virus were something of a problem though, as they confused it due to the anomalies that they carried within their code. Anomalies that set them apart from normal digimon that existed in this plain of the digital world. It had been carefully gathering data since these new digimon had been arriving, using their data to expand itself beyond its traditional boundaries and programs. Interesting creatures the digimon were, and there were some that no doubt held the power to enable its charge to escape its imprisonment…
Yet it felt that the digimon weren't responsible for that. More data was going to be needed to arrive at an answer, and create appropriate protection for it.
But that was a ways off for now. It still had to track down its prey. The more important objective according to its programming.
One thing at a time; one thing at a time…
7
