Disclaimer: And again, I don't own digimon.
DIGITAL MANIFESTKEEPERS
Chapter 5: Getting to Know You…
In another place, far removed from the worlds of the Tamers and the Digimon, in a land of ice and snow, a power is gathering. It is strong now, powerful; but more time is needed before it is ready to strike. So for now, it watches, it waits, as it has for countless millennia before the rise of the digital world. But… and this is a big but… it is becoming impatient. Things aren't what they had once been. The arrival of the digital world, the bastard of human ingenuity and imagination, had greatly upset things in more ways than one. Plans that had been laid had to be scrubbed and new ones made to replace them. Events were now being rushed to their conclusion before the great powers were even ready. The forces behind them could not afford to be impatient despite the circumstances. They had to be careful; so they continued to watch and wait, preparing for the day when their will would be made a reality across the worlds.
Waiting for the Day of Manifest…
Interesting. Very interesting. The shadowed figure watched the scene play out before him again, carefully noting each child's reaction, but paying special attention to one in particular. As the scene shifted to the appearance of a massive, dark-colored reptile a thought played through the figure's mind. I would much rather that it had been the Raven child, a pity that the opportunity wasn't available. The scene shifted onto the black saurian again, pausing as the figure took a moment to look into its cold, yellow eyes. Perhaps this will make up for it. It was sheer luck that one of my agents stumbled across those two. I have never been closer before them. Soon, very soon, we shall have life again; life that will overshadow those pretenders that call themselves SovereignsThe shadows shifted, as though they were agitated by something. I hadn't expected those other digimon to follow them to the other side. I'm surprised that Loki is even aware of their presence; usually he's concerned with the activities of the Aesir. Perhaps they have something to do with this…He did not like where this train of thought was headed. If they are truly aware of the Keepers, aware of their location they will come for them. Their interference would mean danger for my own plans but perhaps there is a way that I can use this to my advantage and still obtain the Keys before Loki or the Aesir do. The figure took a moment to ponder on this before resuming watching the scene that he had obtained from his agent. He wondered about the allies that the Keepers had made in so short a time, but only briefly. They were inconsequential in the long term and had little to do with his plans. Surely nothing to be concerned about, but still, one should never underestimate the opposition.
Perhaps I should send one of my more Advanced servants to claim my prize. It would certainly grant me some amusement.
Turning, the dark figure melted into the shadows, the scene he had been studying now frozen on the image of a boy, his face clenched and flushed, his hand gripping a dark-colored device hard to the point where his knuckles were white.
I'm off to see the wizard…Chris thought lamely. The Tamers had told him a little bit about Hypnos and its head, Yamaki, and his mind was just brimming with ideas. He had the feeling that if anyone could help him and Ryan with their problems it would most likely be the strange and mysterious agency known as Hypnos. Thinking of Ryan though brought him down again. He wondered how he was, and how he was going to react when he woke up again. He had looked pretty bad when Rapidmon whisked him away to the hospital. What was it called again? Saint…
"Hey," said Jeri, looking over at him. "Are you alright?"
"Hmmm?" Chris blinked. His mind had been wandering a little too far off the map again. "Oh. I'm fine. I'm just worried about Ryan; I mean what happened earlier was pretty sudden. I can only imagine what seeing his friend turning into a bloodthirsty monster has done to him. I just wish I knew why it happened…"
"Hey, don't worry," said Takato from next to Jeri. "We'll get this all figured out once Yamaki picks your friend up from St. Jude's…"
Chris frowned, now remembering the name and not feeling very comforted by it. "Isn't St. Jude the Patron of 'Lost Causes'?"
Takato's mind almost froze in its tracks. "Uuuh…"
Kazu snickered and looked over at Henry. "You really know how to pick them, don't you?"
Henry decided that now was as good a time as any to change the subject. "Just what was it that happened back there?"
"Which one?" Asked Chris. "Quite a lot happened in that fight."
"You could start with BlackTerradramon," said Rika. "Or better yet, finish what you guys were telling us earlier 'cause I'm sure that it's related."
"Could the black digivice be connected too?" Asked Kenta tentatively.
"Aaaugh! Of course it's connected!" Exploded Kazu. "Why wouldn't it be? In case you didn't notice earlier, it's a darker shade of black than it was when these guys got here!"
"Wow. Kazu actually makes a good point."
"Can it, Rika!"
Chris rolled his eyes as they walked down the streets, taking a more roundabout route to the place that the Tamers said was the headquarters of Hypnos. They had received numerous looks from the bystanders around them, but no one commented on the strange creatures that walked side by side with the children. Chris had to wonder what kind of adventures these kids had that made people so accepting of the presence of digimon in their lives. It just wasn't the sort of reaction he would've expected since returning to the real world.
Chris found it almost unnerving.
Chris continued to narrate the story from where he and Ryan had left off, pausing every so often to complain to Caramon about tightening his tails death grip on his arm whenever he came to a tense part.
"So anyway," said Chris as he gave his partner what had to be the tenth death glare of the day. "Once the digimon was down Ryan walked up to it. Don't ask why; maybe because of the fact that it was helpless and slowly deleting he thought that it was safe to do that. In either case, he looked it in the eye and," he paused. "Do you guys remember that shadowy thing that separated itself from Apemon when it was being destroyed?" There were nods and a few affirmatives. "Okay then. The digimon vanished, but the 'black thing' that was left over didn't pull a disappearing act like what we saw earlier. It kind of hovered there for a moment and then lunged at Ryan. There was a bright light and then Richoemon screamed." Chris paused to take a breath.
"And then?" Prompted Jeri.
Chris shrugged. "Not much to say, at least for a while. Ryan and Richoemon were both out of it, though Richoemon did wake up after about a day's time acting almost the same as ever, except for being a little exhausted. Ryan remained K.O.'d for the better part of a week, muttering something about Manifestation all the while." Leomon looked at Chris as he said this, but did not comment on it.
Henry rubbed his chin in thought. "Did he say anything about what this Manifestation was after he woke up?"
Chris shook his head. "Nope. Not even when I questioned him about it. His memories were shot full of more holes than Swiss cheese. It was a couple days before he even remembered his own name, never mind mine and Richoemon's."
"So what about 'Tony the Tiger'?" Asked Rika. "You still haven't explained his story, or the digivices color." The others nodded.
"Both Richoemon and Ryan's digivice seemed fine at first, though somewhere down the line his digivice picked up a dark metallic sheen to its otherwise green color," the Tamers raised eyebrows at this. "Then we got attacked by that Azuredramon we told you about earlier. Like we said, there didn't seem to be any reason for his attacking us, he just flew in and started blasting away. We were already a little bit on edge because of what happened to Ryan, and Ryan was a bit more wiry than the rest of us. He…well, he lost it."
Henry's, Rika's, and Jeri's eyes fell on Takato, who listened carefully with a sad look on his face. He knew all to well the consequences of losing control of yourself when it came to digimon, no one better. Chris continued as they rounded a corner.
"To say that we were in trouble is an understatement. What Richoemon turned into was monstrously powerful, and it didn't play favorites either. After it deleted Azuredramon it turned around and proceeded to flatten both Leomon and Metal Dracaramon without breaking so much as a sweat." Jeri's hand crept into Leomon's massive one and gave it a comforting squeeze. Leomon looked down at his Tamer and gave her a comforting smile. Chris continued. "The only reason that we're still breathing is because Ryan managed to get Richoemon to reverse-digivolve."
Kenta pushed up his glasses. "How'd he manage that?"
"We think that there may be some kind of safeguard built into our digivices whenever the digimon that it's keyed to becomes a danger to its partner. Essentially, Ryan threw himself in front of Richoemon as he was about to make his attack."
That got everyone's attention. To a man the Tamers froze in mid-step and looked at Chris, who walked on a little bit further before realizing that the others had stopped moving. Seeing the looks on their faces, Chris immediately regretted telling them that little fact.
Maybe I shouldn't have told them, he thought.
"Leomon," said Kazu. "Is that true? Did that Ryan kid really…"
Leomon nodded. "Though it was foolhardy of him to try, I must admit that it did get results." Kazu thought on that and nodded in agreement. Seeing as how they were still alive he could hardly argue with that kind of reasoning. Too bad Rika didn't think so.
"Why would that kid try something so…so…unbelievably STUPID?" Rika practically hurled that last word at Chris, making him fall back a step. Caramon made a lighthearted attempt at diffusing her temper.
"Hey, wise man once said, if something's stupid, but it works, is it really stupid?"
For a wonder, Rika didn't have anything to say in response to this, though not for lack of trying. Her face went into a frown as she ground her teeth together, looking for something that would get her point across, and found that she couldn't. This, sadly, did not last long.
"Ya gotta admit, Rika," said Kazu almost smugly. "The little lizard does have a point."
Rika's temper snapped like a dry twig. "SHUT UP, KAZU!" She shouted, glaring menacingly at the visor-wearing boy.
"Rika…" began Takato.
"Don't Rika me, Gogglehead! These kids show up out of the blue talking about how they've nearly died so many times, and one of them happens to have a death wish just because his partner freaks out…!"
"Shut…UP!"
Everyone stared dumbfounded at Chris. Even Caramon was a bit slack jawed at his friend's sudden outburst. Chris stood there, his eyes closed and head bowed, his body practically shaking with rage. After a second he breathed deeply, trying to get a hold of himself. Then, when he was sure that he was in control he spoke. "Ryan did what he did because nothing… else… worked. Both Leomon and Metal Dracaramon were down and someone that they saw as their friend was going to kill them, and the Richoemon that we knew was either not there or wasn't listening to us. If you saw your partner about to murder your friends would you have done anything less?" He looked up at Rika, his anger clearly written on his face. "Would you?" He repeated, his voice almost coming out in a whisper. Rika stared back into the boys blue eyes and saw conviction in them. She looked down feeling almost ashamed before looking back up to meet his eyes again. She thought of how Takato had gone up to Megidramon despite the danger to himself. She thought of that time in the parking garage when Gargomon went out of control and nearly killed her, and she thought of all those times with Renamon, before and after she finally came to accept digimon as living creatures. Her gaze softened as her anger faded. She knew that she would do anything for Renamon, even if it meant endangering herself. Hadn't she already proven that when she bio-merged with Renamon for the first time? Why did it get her so angry? She looked over at Jeri and Leomon, remembering some of the things that Jeri had told them about when she had been trapped by D-Reaper. She looked back at Chris, who was still waiting for her answer. Chris, who was expecting to see fury in her eyes, was surprised to see only sympathy and sadness. Quietly, the girl turned and continued on towards Hypnos; Renamon and the others slowly joined her, Takato watching her with worried eyes. He looked over at Jeri who nodded in understanding, and he quickened his pace to catch up with the red haired Tamer. An uncomfortable silence fell among the children.
Chris closed his eyes and breathed shakily. Holy…! Did I just…was that me? His thoughts were suddenly broken as Kazu swung an arm around Chris's shoulder, nearly upsetting Caramon's sense of balance as the boy crushed Chris in a hug of camaraderie.
"Nice job dude. You just told off the Digimon Queen and lived to tell the tale! I've never seen anyone do that and not suffer the wrath of Rika! Not even Ryo! You've got spunk kid, I'll give you that."
"Kazu!" Hissed Jeri.
"What? I'm just telling it like it is…"
"Kazu," warned Kenta in a voice that got the boy's attention. "Why don't you just shut up for once?" Kazu sputtered for a moment, but after seeing the glare Kenta was giving him, something that was even more rare than sight of Rika smiling, Kazu did indeed shut up. While the look on Kenta's face didn't carry the threat of impending doom as it so often did with Rika, the storm clouds that could be seen brewing on Kenta's horizon were enough to give anyone pause. Chris was suddenly glad that he wasn't on Kenta's bad side.
Chris walked mechanically as he thought about how he reacted to Rika's outburst. He hated it when he got angry, and hated it worse when it was focused on someone. He used to pride himself as being laid back and easy going, almost like Takato, but he always knew that there was a childlike naivety about his assumption. Something that brought back memories of what his father had taught him about assuming.
"You do know how to spell assume, don't you?" His father would ask him. He would always answer yes, knowing what his father was getting at, and no matter what he still found a way to make an ass out of himself. He guessed that he could see Rika's view of things. He should have been upset too, but the fact that they all came out of the experience alive, though badly shaken kind of distracted him from the issue.
Open mouth, insert foot, he thought.
Takato walked next to Rika. He was worried about her, something that he knew she wouldn't appreciate but still couldn't help. He seemed to worry about her a lot lately; ever since the Parasimon invasion she had been…different. Not too different, she was still her usual Rika self but there were times that she was more closed up than usual, though not like the way she had been before she became friends with him and the others it was still a little distressing to see. And if Renamon was aware or worried, she gave no outward sign of it, leaving Takato to do the guesswork on his own.
"Rika?" He asked.
No response.
"Um… Rika?"
"What, Takato?" Her voice carried a hard edge to it that made Takato go all cold inside, but he pressed forward in spite of it.
"Are you alright? I mean, you did just lose your temper with Chris a few minutes ago…"
"Why's it matter to you?" She responded coldly.
"I just…don't like seeing you get upset like that. I worry about you sometimes…" Oh great. Why not sign your own death warrant, Matsuki? That's the LAST thing she wants from anyone, especially from you!
He had expected her to be furious, or at least give him the cold, I'm-annoyed-with-you look, but she didn't do any of those things. He was surprised to hear her voice actually lose some of its hardness, taking on more of a sad sound to it.
"I never asked you to worry about me," she said.
"I know," Takato said numbly. This response he had been expecting.
"But…thanks anyway."
"Huh?" Now Takato was confused. Or maybe Rika was. He could only look at her dumbly while she continued speaking.
"I know that I shouldn't have blown up on Chris like that. And his 'little lizard' was right; what their friend did worked and that's all that matters. It's just…"
"Just what?" Takato asked softly.
"It's just that it makes me think about some of the things that Jeri told us when she was the D-Reapers prisoner, and even before then when she lost Leomon. She just gave up on herself. Didn't want to exist. Chris talking about how Ryan jumping in front of his digimon like, it just made me think that he had given up. That he didn't want to see his friend slaughter the others because he couldn't do anything about it. That kind of helplessness, that sense of giving up; I've felt it before when Renamon returned to the digital world and I wanted it to end so badly. I hated that feeling so much…"
Rika…Takato looked at Rika's face, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. With no thought in his mind except the need to lend some comfort, some strength to a friend, he clasped her hand in his own, feeling her stiffen in surprise. She didn't pull away though. With the others so crowded together and set on heading towards Hypnos, no one noticed this little event.
"Rika," Takato began. "Jeri came out of that all right, and now she's got Leomon back. We all got our digimon back, and Ryan's still around despite what happened to him in the digital world. I don't know him that well, but I just know that he'll pull through. I don't know how I know that, but I do, and that's always been enough. He has his friends with him to help him through this just like you have us. Just…tell me that you'll remember that we'll always be there for you no matter what. You don't have to go through that sort of thing alone; we've got your back."
Rika looked a little uncomfortable, but at the same time she looked as though she were thinking about something hard. "Takato…?" She said quietly.
"Yeah, Rika?"
A pause.
"Nothing. Forget it." And with that she dropped his hand, leaving Takato feeling a bit empty inside. Unconsciously, Rika began rubbing the hand that Takato had held.
"HEY GUYS!" Shouted a familiar, annoying voice. Looking up the Tamers and their digimon saw Rapidmon come flying in for a landing. Takato heard Henry exaggerate a sigh. Takato could sympathize. Having digimon walking down the street with them was one thing; having a large, green, and extremely loud one come flying in announcing its presence and theirs to the world was quite another. As Rapidmon landed he de-digivolved back to Terriermon and walked up to his Tamer, who shook his head in exasperation.
"Terriermon, what have I told you about tact?"
"You must have me confused with some other digimon," giggled Terriermon.
"You know what I mean. You couldn't try being a little more subtle?"
"Of course I can be subtle Henry!"
"Yeah, if you can call a cruise missile subtle…" muttered Kazu.
"I heard that!"
"Uh… anyway," said Takato, barging in on the conversation. "How's Ryan?" Terriermon shrugged.
"I don't know for sure. I flew into St. Jude's and had a heck of a time trying to find a doctor that would even talk to me without freaking out. I had to threaten to blow up the waiting room just to get everyone's attention. I swear, the way that they acted you'd think that they thought I was a wild digimon or something."
"Well, I wonder whatever gave them that idea," said Rika sarcastically. Terriermon ignored her.
"Anyway, I stuck around long enough for them to give me a prognosis before deciding to head you guys off at Hypnos. Physically, they say he's fine. He's just unconscious. It's a little to early to tell for sure though."
"Yamaki said that he was sending some agents down here to check up on him," said Henry. "Maybe he'll have more details for us when we get in.
"Yeah, maybe," said Takato.
"After continuing their trek for another ten minutes the Hypnos towers finally came into view. Kenta pointed them out, and Chris regarded them thoughtfully.
"Huh," said Caramon sniffing. "I was expecting it to be sort of taller, or at least a little bit more, I don't know, grand."
Chris ignored him. "So they're really a government agency, huh?"
"Yeah, even Henry's dad works there," said Kazu.
"Really?" Asked Chris surprised.
"Sort of," said Henry sounding a little embarrassed, though Chris couldn't see why. "Before he worked as a programmer, but then some trouble started up with a group of digimon called Devas…"
"Anything to do with this D-Reaper thing that I've heard you guys talk about? That sounds like a story worth hearing."
"D-Reaper came later, though I'm surprised that you didn't hear about it. After all, D-Reaper was a global event."
"Musta happened when I was in the digital world."
"Chris?" Said Kenta. "D-Reaper was in the digital world to. In fact, it destroyed most of the digital world before we beat it."
"How long ago was this?"
"Almost a year ago," said Henry. "When did you get transported to the digital world?"
"It was late September in America when I got shipped to the digital world on the digivice express, but I don't know for sure how long I've been gone."
"Hmmm…" thought Henry as he did some quick calculations in his head. "Even so, you should have heard about it, or at least seen it…"
"Well, what'd it look like?" Asked Chris. "Was it anything like that shadow stuff we saw with the Apemon?"
"Nah," interjected Kazu. "More like a big, red blob. Really gross to look at and not very fun either. Even the Sovereigns were scared of it."
Chris blinked at that. He had no idea what the heck the Sovereigns were. He decided to set question number 146 aside for later. I wonder why Ryan and I never heard about this D-Reaper thing before. If the others are right we should have been up to our ears in…whatever it was. Chris did not feel comfortable with this, but he guessed that he should count his lucky stars that he and Ryan never did run into it. By the sounds of things, it was one really bad mother.
Takato looked over at Jeri. She was being very quiet through all this. Leomon, sensing her discomfort, though not really knowing why this could be, placed a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up at her partner and smiled. Takato turned away with a smile of his own. Whatever else happened, he just knew that Jeri was going to be all right.
He just felt it.
The group entered through the front doors of Hypnos and was ushered towards an elevator without much trouble, though they had to leave Leomon and Guardromon downstairs due to their weight and size (Leomon promising Jeri that he'd be there waiting for her when she came back). The staff of Hypnos was quite familiar with the Tamers, having 'fought along side them' you could say during the D-Reaper crisis; those that weren't as familiar also knew of them, having either seen the ones that appeared on the television screens during the apocalyptic battle or knew of them by rough description. Besides, a bunch of kids walking into a government building with a number of digital life forms with no one trying to stop them had a way of leaving one heck of an impression. If nothing else, it left no doubt as to the nature of their identities that could be summed up in one word: Tamers.
As the doors closed and the elevator lifted, Chris began to hum softly to himself. Caramon looked over at him.
"Nervous?" He asked grinning. Chris stopped immediately.
"Caramon, I'd appreciate it if you didn't broadcast my emotions for all the world to he…" Suddenly the elevator jerked to a halt, causing the children to nearly lose their balance and give a shout of surprise. The elevator's lights winked out a second later and were replaced by a green light that shone from the sides and cascaded over the children before turning off. The normal lights turned back on and the elevator ride resumed as though it hadn't been interrupted. Takato looked over at the red haired girl standing next to him as the others readjusted themselves.
"Um…Rika?" The girl turned to look at him and he glanced downward. Her eyes followed his and widened. Her hand held his wrist in a vice-like grip. Blushing, Rika let go and crossed her arms.
"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. Chris and Caramon, the only ones besides Renamon and Guilmon to bear witness to this raised their eyes in silent amusement.
Ooookaaay…thought Chris. I think I'll stay out of this. Too bad Caramon didn't share his thoughts.
"So," the little lizard began. "When's the w…mmrrgh!" Chris clamped his hand on his partner's mouth, ignoring the strange looks that he was getting from the others. Chris's voice carried a tone that told Caramon that under no circumstances was he to finish that sentence.
"Not…one…word."
Ooookaaay…thought Kazu. That was weird.
The doors opened and the children were greeted by an agent waiting for them outside. He guided them to what appeared to be a blank wall. Rika was about to ask why he had led them there until the wall parted, revealing what looked like a control room.
"Whoa," whispered Takato as he took in the sites and sounds that made up the core of Hypnos, his reaction shared by the other Tamers. Henry Wong looked the place over. Technicians busied themselves with barking orders, replacing circuits, clearing away shattered panels…
"Hey kids." The Tamers turned to see Henry's father, Janyu Wong looking at them with a smile on his face.
"Hey, Dad," said Henry. "What's going on here?"
"We had a little trouble during a recent bio-emergence and now we're trying to get it fixed. No worries." Henry gave the place a once over again. It didn't look like they had a little trouble.
"Wonder if it had anything to do with that 'Black Knightmon' and 'Nightmare Blitzmon' we fought earlier," said Kazu. Chris turned to him, his eyes wide.
"Hold it. Did you just say Black Knightmon AND Nightmare Blitzmon?" Janyu looked at the strange boy, suddenly realizing that he had never seen him before.
He must be one of those children that Henry told me about last night. I wonder where the other one is?
Kazu blinked at Chris. "Uh, yeah. Is that important?"
"Dude," said Caramon. "A Black Knightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon were the ones that were chasing us right before we got here. You can check with Leomon and Ryan the next time you see them."
Leomon? Thought Janyu.
"It sounds as if our problems are related," said a voice behind them. The Tamers turned to find Yamaki standing at the room's entrance. Walking up to Chris he shook his hand and said, " My name's Yamaki. You must be one of the new Tamers that I've been told about."
"I'm Chris, and this is Caramon," pointing to the lizard perched on his shoulder. "And for the record, I don't know what I am when it comes to digimon," said Chris scratching the back of his head nervously. The man simply nodded.
"For lack of a better term, we'll stick with 'Tamer'. Now why don't you all come with me and tell me what you know about this little development. I'm interested in hearing what you all have to say."
"Okay, sure," Said Chris. "But first, could you tell me how my friends Ryan and Richoemon are doing?"
"Yeah," said Caramon. "And what was up with that lightshow in the elevator? That was really messed up!" Some of the Tamers nodded at this.
Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "The lightshow, as you call it, is a security precaution; and in regards to your friends I don't have any information on the boy Ryan at this point except that he's resting comfortably. As for the digimon that the Akiyama Tamer dropped off he's causing quite a buzz for some researchers of mine. Perhaps I'll introduce you to them later and have them fill you in on his condition."
Unconsciously, Chris's hand crept to Ryan's digivice.
Yamaki stopped at a door and opened it, revealing a plain white room with a table centered in it, surrounded by a number of comfortable looking chairs. One of them swiveled around, revealing a tanned boy with striking blue eyes and dark-colored hair. He gave the Tamers a small smile and Yamaki a curt nod.
"Ugh. What's he doing here?"
Ryo's smile broadened. "Nice to see you too, Wildcat."
"Don't call me Wildcat!"
Ryo sighed inwardly but held onto his smile. He turned his gaze to Chris. "So you going to fill me in on what went down with you and your friend in the digital world now?"
Chris nodded. "Looks like. You want the full version or the edited Made – for – TV version?"
"I'll take a risk and go with the full version," said Ryo as the others took their seats. Chris grinned.
"Ok, but I should warn you that there will be no bathroom or snack breaks until the rolling of the credits."
Faintly Chris heard Kazu's whining voice. "Why me-e-e-e…?"
"Heh, maybe I should go now before the curtain ri…"
"AHEM!" The Tamers looked at Yamaki as a screen descended behind him. "Sorry," the head of Hypnos said. "Just clearing my throat."
"Yeah, right," muttered Kazu.
Yamaki clicked off the lights and turned on a projector. An image of Hypnos's tracking system appeared, revealing two distinct signals. Ryo guessed that they were the digimon that bio-emerged earlier.
"As I'm sure that you're all aware, two high level digimon bio-emerged today…"
"Hold on," said Henry. "There were three digimon." There were a number of nods from each of the other children. Yamaki raised an eyebrow.
"Are you certain?" He asked, though he knew that it was stupid to do so. While he may consider the tracking system of Hypnos flawless (compared to his other ventures) these children were the ones on the front lines. They knew what it was they were talking about.
"Of course we're sure," proclaimed Terriermon. "Getting hit in the face by a very large club has a way of speaking realities to a fella you know; unless that is you're telling me that the only thing that got bruised out there was my ego for getting smacked around by an illusion."
"I second that," said Caramon. The two digimon looked at each other and nodded firmly.
"We did fight two digimon not far from here," began Renamon.
"And a third one closer to the park," finished Henry.
"Interesting," said Yamaki. "I'll need whatever information that you have on this third wild one and cross reference it with the most recent bio-emergences that we have in our files."
"If it helps," said Chris. "My digivice stores the stats of a digimon that it scans. Maybe you can use that." Yamaki nodded.
"I'll introduce you to someone who can handle that later, and thank you. For now though, I think you should shed some light on your part in this; earlier you claimed that you were familiar with the two digimon that bio-emerged earlier," Ryo raised an eyebrow and looked over at Chris. This WAS going to be an interesting story.
Chris nodded and brought out his digivice, calling up the newly discovered memory program. An image of a dark-colored version of Knightmon appeared, hovering above his digivice. He showed it to Kazu and Takato, who sat closest to him.
"This one of them?"
Takato was rendered speechless at what must be the biggest coincidence since he had that dream about Rika. He had a feeling that, like the aforementioned dream, this too was no coincidence. It could be the same digimon, thought Takato.
"Yeah, that's tall, dark, and ugly all right," said Kazu. Chris switched over to another image. Nightmare Blitzmon.
"And this one too?"
Rika leaned over the table to get a better look. "Yeah," she affirmed. "He was there too. He gave both dino-boy and the mobile dumpster a run for their money."
"Hey!" Cried Kazu indignantly.
Dino-boy? Thought Chris confused. Oh, right. Guilmon.
Yamaki watched, interested now. He had noticed the differences between this boy's digivice and the Tamers. He should see if the boy would be willing to part with it for a while; the Monster Makers would surely have a field day with it.
"Assuming that these are the same digimon," said Ryo. "And because of the timing there's no reason to disbelieve that possibility, what's your connection to them?"
Chris shrugged. "We don't know. The first time we ever met them they attacked us without waiting to be insulted first. I do remember them saying something about Keepers though…"
"I do recall one of them, the Nightmare Blitzmon I think, saying something along the lines of that," said Renamon.
"Are you sure?" Asked Kazu. "I was there and I don't remember the word Keeper being tossed around."
"Unlike you, I pay attention to my surrounding; especially when I'm in battle," said Renamon in a matter – of – fact voice that left no room for argument. Kazu opened his mouth to retort, found he couldn't, closed it, and then looked to Rika.
"Do you believe that, Rika? I mean you were there too…" Kazu stopped at Rika's icy glare. "Oh, yeah. Forgot that you'd back your digimon no matter what. Ah well, maybe she does know what she's talking about…"
"And I do," said Renamon coolly.
"Well I guess that clinches it then," said Chris, interrupting their exchange. "They're the same ones but I don't know why they could be after us."
"Perhaps it was something that happened during your travels in the digital world that prompted their attacking you," said Renamon.
"Yeah. We kind of established that already. The leading theory is the fight we had with Azuredramon."
Renamon was not swayed however. "The only reason you believe that is because it was the only recent event prior to your encounter with them. Perhaps it was something else." Chris looked down and nervously chewed on his lip.
"Maybe…but what?"
"Well, maybe if you clued us in here…" began Rika sarcastically.
"Alright, alright," said Chris a little heatedly. "I can take a hint. I'll start from the beginning since it's the most logical place to start…"
"I should think so," muttered Terriermon. Henry rapped his knuckles on the dog-bunnies head.
"Terriermon…"
"Ow! Henry!"
The story was a familiar one, though not without its own discrepancies. Chris started off with how Ryan showed him a strange item that resembled a digivice from the Digimon TV show that he claimed emerged from his computer. They had gone over to his house after school let out to check out his computer and for Ryan to give a step-by-step description of what he had been doing at the time. They made it as far as turning on the computer and accessing the Internet before they were almost blinded by a light. There was the sound of electricity popping and sparking and the next thing they knew they had been dumped in the middle of a desert. To the Tamers, this portion of the story seemed right out of the TV show. After that however, the similarities decided to jump ship and swim for shore.
They had landed in the middle of a desert, with only one digivice, no partners, and no food or water. There was also no sun as far as they could see (the closest thing that they saw that approximately approached a sun was an orb that looked like the earth with a bunch of pink beams coming out of it), but the air was still blazingly hot. They had been far from happy about their situation, and Chris admitted that he had been close to panicking by the sudden change in circumstances. Ryan was no better either, and the two had clashed before the first day was even out. It was because of the digivice. Chris didn't trust it since he was sure that it had brought them here, and Ryan didn't want to get rid of it because he was sure that it could get them home. Being dragged into a strange place with no family or supplies, and only each other for company, combined with the oppressive heat wore on their nerves the same way that skin reacts to rough sandpaper.
Blows were exchanged, and words were said that are best left unsaid.
The sudden onset of night had stopped them from their fighting. Not because of the temperature change but because of the fact that it happened so fast. Like snapping your fingers. It caught their attention faster than having a bucket of ice-cold water thrown in their faces. It was around this time that Ryan's digivice started making beeping noises, and upon bringing it out it revealed a compass function. Without anything better to do they decided to follow it, in the hopes that it could lead them to something akin to shelter, or better yet, a way home.
The next day hadn't been too bad. They had come across a small group of rather large boulders and had spent the day 'chilling', as best they could, in their shade. They did some legwork later that night, feeling their stomachs gnaw away at them. And their mouths were no better.
("I remember hearing that a person could go a week tops without water if the conditions were right," Chris told them, thinking back on those times. "The sad part was knowing we weren't going to last that long.")
The next day had been horrendous. No luck with finding shade, or anything else for that matter. Nothing but sand, sand, and more sand; and the ever-present heat too. It was their constant companion, to say nothing about their own companionship. Ryan and Chris had another fight that day, this time with Ryan starting it over the digivice again ("Useless piece of junk," he had called it). Ryan was ready to throw it away and take a run off into the wild-blue yonder and Chris had to chase him down and convince him otherwise, the ordeal leaving both boys crying in the end, but at least they were both ready to continue their endless march. Ryan was silent for the rest of the day.
That night they just collapsed, falling asleep almost immediately and sleeping well past the sunrise. They had to struggle just to get up, and it took some time before they could manage a pace beyond a stagger.
The day was even worse. The heat was bad, very bad. And their bodies cried for food and water; water above all else. The only thing that gave them any relief were those little slips from reality scientists call hallucinations. Chris, who retained something of rationality hadn't taken this as a very good sign and nearly broke down again. Ryan had looked over at him and asked if he was okay, though his question sounded forced. Chris remembered precisely what he had been thinking as he felt tears roll down his cheeks on that day.
('Wasting tears,' he had thought. 'Wasting liquids…')
(Chris felt a tear slip onto his lips. Reflexively he licked it and blinked. It was so salty…)
(It hits him a second later, though until the day he dies he'll never know why he had thought of it; why he even noticed it. 'Maybe I'm finally losing it…'
(Ryan was now trying to get his attention, but Chris hasn't noticed yet. He felt a little lightheaded. He thought)
('I'm not hungry…' The realization had a strange way of freeing up his mind. He felt as though he were walking on air, and wondered briefly if this is what 'getting high' must feel like. A second later he notices that his mouth is producing saliva again. He looked down at the ground, that glaring ground of sand, and spat on it)
("Oh, it was beautiful," he told the Tamers. "And you may think that I'm crazy for thinking so; heck, I certainly thought that I was and I know Ryan thought so too, but never before was I so happy to see that stringy liquid fly from my mouth and darken the sand. Ryan looked at me as though I had lost my mind, and that was when my digivice appeared before us and dropped into my hands. Then one of those pink energy beams—what? Data streams? – Anyway, that was when one of those data streams came by and picked us up, dumping us somewhere else.")
The place that they had wound up in was by far an improvement. Heaven compared to where they had been. The terrain was mountainous, and difficult to move about in, and there was snow to boot. They didn't complain despite the fact that they weren't dressed for the weather (which wasn't too bad, though a bit chilly). All they could think of was the snow. No, the water! All that frozen water! In a fit of near delirium they stuffed snow in their mouths, bringing relief to their parched mouths. It would be almost twenty minutes before they calmed down, and another ten minutes before Chris thought to remember his discovery that they didn't really need food or water. At the moment though, none of these things mattered, so caught up in the sheer joy of being out of that hell of a desert.
After they had relaxed they pulled out their digivices and activated the compass function. Both of their digivices pointed in the same direction.
Chris touched briefly on the next three or so weeks, as not much had occurred during that time. They had been separated later on by another data stream, and during their time apart they had met their partners Caramon and Richoemon (for Caramon, it started out as a rather awkward partnership because he felt forced into it, while Richoemon was just happy to have company that he could call friends). They had fought other digimon, and digivolved to the Champion level for the first time. Between Caramon's Champion form, another data stream, and a bit of too-good-to-be-true-but-was luck Chris and Caramon practically landed on top of Ryan and Richoemon.
After introductions were made and pleasantries exchanged (which basically consisted of Chris giving Ryan one very thorough noogie) they continued to follow their digivices, their hearts fuller and more at peace than they had ever been since they arrived in the digital world. It was about a week or so later that they had met a Centarumon. He was likeable enough, he had offered them a place to stay, and after hearing about their predicament he told them that he'd guide them to a place that was rumored to be a gateway between the worlds. He himself had tried to use it before, but to know avail, but he knew something of their digivices and believed that they would act as a sort of key that would open the doorway to the real world. It was a long shot, but what the heck! It was the closest that the children had gotten to finding a way home since they discovered the compass function. And besides, the path that Centarumon chose was more or less going in the same direction that the digivices were pointing to, so maybe their destinations were one and the same.
They set off with hope in their hearts and stars in their eyes. The group became more friendly; both humans and digimon trading stories from their lives. They were good times, enjoyable ones. The hours and days gradually lost meaning to them until it became impossible to believe that there had been any other moment besides the one that they existed in.
Then reality intruded.
What was now in some of the Tamers minds the 'Famed Battle with Okuwamon' was the hammer blow that started what could be seen as a downhill slide. Centarumon was deleted trying to defend them; something that had left an impression on the two boys that was both good and bad. Chris told the Tamers of Leomon's sudden appearance and of Richoemon's digivolution to the Ultimate level. He told them of the 'funeral' that they held for Centarumon and how Leomon volunteered to be their escort and guide in his place until they found a way home. He spoke of the encounter with the strange Mammothmon two weeks later (at this Ryo's eyebrows shot up) and Caramon's own digivolution to Ultimate, followed by the shadow form that attacked Ryan, and of Richoemon's corruption in his evolution when Azuredramon attacked. Chris ended it off with the attacks and subsequent chase by Black Knightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon that ended rather apocalyptically at the temple that Centarumon had described to them. Everything else after that everyone pretty much knew or, as in Ryo's case, could guess at. Chris sat back in his chair as the others took in what he had told them and exhaled heavily. That was it. Story told.
Done.
Or was it?
Rika looked at Chris and thought over what he had told them. She knew that he had left something out. Probably wasn't important, but…
"Is that everything?"
Chris looked up at the owner of the voice; it was Rika.
"Yeah, that's everything."
Rika gave a small smile. Takato looked at her carefully. It didn't seem like her. It was as if she knew a secret.
"Are you sure?" She asked, her lavender eyes flashing in amusement. Chris suddenly felt worried.
What is she…? A light turned on in the attic. Oh, no…
Oh, yes, The girl's eyes told him. Chris was now regretting having mentioned that little 'incident' back at Rika's house. It wasn't anything huge but Ryan had been pretty angry with his – er – 'slip', and if he told anyone else Ryan wouldn't stop at killing him this time. Gathering his courage, Chris looked Rika in the eyes.
"Yeah," he said calmly. "I'm sure." And with that, Rika shrugged. She didn't lose that odd smile though, and Chris didn't lose his anxiety over the question.
What's going on here? Thought Takato. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was up, Yamaki's cell phone went off. He answered it and listened carefully before hanging up. Looking at the Tamers he said,
"He's awake."
Whew, thought Chris.
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