A/N: Chapter 3

A Life Without a Legacy

Chapter 3

A week passed before Renamon could return to the digital world. The other tamers had joined her as she headed towards the village they left the albino Renamon in. There was a slight spring in the vixen's step as she neared the village, the thought of seeing the young digimon again bringing an unknown excitement from within.

The gates opened for her as she strode in, eyes scanning for the unique digimon. The village wasn't large so finding him would be easy, or so she told herself as she began her search. It wasn't until a few minutes layer that the worry began to gnaw at her, there was no sign of the albino.

She found herself at the village center, scanning around for the young digimon. She almost didn't sense the other Renamon who approached her, a quizzical gaze on its face.

"You look like you've lost something."

Renamon faced the male before her, gauging him to be in the teenage era of his life. "Yes actually, there's a white Renamon somewhere here, very young. Have you seen him?"

The male snorted savagely, triggering her alarms inside her head. "The abomination was cast out as soon as it encroached on our village. It wasn't here for more than a minute."

"What?" Renamon's disbelief was palpable. "You cast a young digimon out into the wilderness, one who had just lost everything?"

"We don't care for its past. It's an abomination! Death is a mercy!"

Renamon had enough. She could have ripped the male apart where he stood but the albino Renamon needed her. He was out there somewhere, alone. He needed her.

She stormed out of the village, Rika following when she didn't respond to her questions. The others joined them.

"Renamon please, what's going on?"

She gritted her teeth, canines flashing. "They cast him out the same day we brought him here, mere seconds after we left. We must find him!" Her anger was clear, and for good reasons.

They split up after agreeing to help, each tamer taking their partner to begin a search. Rika digivolved her partner just so she could perch on her back, the vixen not slowing her pace for her tamer. She had to find him. She had promised.

He was cold. He was hungry. He was frightened. He was alone. He was injured.

He wept as he huddled under the roots of a fallen tree, cradling his broken arm that he had acquired after trying to escape yet another digimon intent on destroying him. He had succeeded, but only after he slipped whilst running next to a river.

He had smashed his arm against the rocks before falling into the raging current, plunging him over a waterfall. He had managed to crawl out of the plunge pool, shivering from the icy water. He hadn't waited to see if he was still being followed and dragged himself into the cover of the fallen tree he now laid beneath. That was two days ago.

The roaring water still drowned his hearing as he shivered uncontrollably. He wished his parents were still with him. He wished things would just go back to normal. Oh how he wished.

His tears were joined by his low crying, his emotions getting the better of him again. He tried to keep himself quiet in case there were digimon nearby but he couldn't prevent every noise from escaping him.

Each time one did he froze, expecting something to find him. His paranoia gripped him tightly, the restless nights not helping him either. His sobbing escalated as he still struggled to keep quiet.

His sobbing was abruptly halted when he heard a twig snap nearby. He became deathly still, only the odd shiver breaking his stillness, and listened carefully. Something was close by, but what it was or how near it was he couldn't tell.

He just knew it was close.

Kyuubimon was panicking. They had been searching for an hour but had yet to find any hint of a trail. Without knowing what direction he went in they could be searching the area for days if not weeks.

She finally got a breakthrough when she spotted a strange drag mark in the ground. Shrugging Rika off she de-digivolved into her rookie form to study the mark closer. Something light had caused the trail, possibly a tail. Her suspicions were confirmed by what appeared to be paw prints either side of the mark. These too were slightly dragged, meaning whoever made them was injured or greatly depressed. Taking a guess as to who made the trail she hoped he wasn't injured.

Gathering Rika she followed the trail, hope and worry in equal measure.

He was running again. He wasn't sure if he was being chased or not but his fear compelled him to continue. He just knew he wasn't safe anymore.

After the twig had snapped he had waited for another noise. No more came but he decided against waiting for the inevitable. He pushed through his hunger and pain, intent on just running. Maybe there would be someone who would help him, just waiting for him to arrive.

Trees whipped by him as he raced across the ground. His legs had never seen so much use before. His vista was only blurry trees until he burst out of the forest, stopping himself as he saw where he was.

Laid out before the albino Renamon were the smoldering remains of his village. Shattered buildings stood half formed or less while debris covered the ground around them. Wisps of smoke drifted up from various points, dust and ash already settling in a grey blanket.

Having nothing else to do the young Renamon ventured through the remains of the gate. He looked around, his village looking so alien to him given all the destruction. His vision lingered on the remains of his own home, every possession burned to a crisp.

He continued on, past the husks of his friends' homes, and found himself in the village center. Here his gaze found the ruins of the park that sat in the center, each tree reduced to ash and the lake evaporated into a dry pit. His fond memories of this place became soured by the state of his home village, tainted with the destruction.

With a heavy heart he turned around. He had lived here for all of his short life, he may as well stay here. Perhaps his parents would watch over him as he found a way to live in their former home. Or maybe he would just be as alone as he was already.

He crawled under the debris in his own room, instinct drawing him back to his old house, and curled into a ball. He forced himself to sleep despite his hunger, fear and pain. He shivered violently as his damp fur was rustled by a chilly wind. He ignored it as best as he could and focused on sleeping, he managed to drift off after a few minutes.

Renamon sat by a river, hopelessness engulfing her as she traced the trail once again. She noted how it led to the river without turning, a group of three claw marks indicating where someone had gone straight into the icy torrent. Given the nature of the marks it appeared as if the entry into the river wasn't intentional, she could also guess for certain that it was the albino Renamon who had made the trail. Too much evidence pointed towards that conclusion.

The waterfall just downstream placed an ominous cloud of worry over the vixen's head. She had gazed down but seen no trace of the digimon. Rika was recovering from their fast travel, soon they would scale down the waterfall to check for signs. She hoped he had survived, she didn't know what she would do if he hadn't.