Two years ago

Ryo kept turning his left hand over and over, staring at his fingers as if he'd never seen them before. His skin wasn't even cold. How…?

An ominous creak interrupted his thoughts. Ryo's head snapped up to see the frozen Infermon trying to break out of its icy prison. It was slowly rocking back and forth on its back — Ryo thought he saw a leg twitch. As strong as that thing was, it wouldn't take it very long for it to be mobile again.

"Okay, time to go!" he said, running toward Rika. She was just standing there, gazing sightlessly at the modify card she'd used. Ryo nearly grabbed her as he ran by but then remembered at the last second what touching did to them both. "Come on, Rika, we can figure this out later."

"I'm going, I'm going," Rika grumbled, stuffing the card back in her deck and running after him with one last incredulous look at the frozen Digimon.

After a couple minutes of breakneck running through the field, Rika burst out into wild laughter.

Ryo shot a glance over at her. She'd practically laughed herself to tears already. He'd never seen her laugh this hard. "What's going on over there, Chuckles?" he said between pants as he ran.

Rika had to gasp to catch her breath — both from the running and the hysterical laughter — before she said, "Your...face. Rika, what did you just do to me?" She imitated his voice before erupting into another fit of laughter.

"Oh, real mature, Rika. That doesn't even sound like me."

Behind them, he heard the Infermon roar. It must have broken free from the ice. Fast as they were running, that thing was likely faster. And they didn't even really know where they were going — there weren't any places to hide in this open field.

Rika had gone suspiciously quiet. Ryo looked over to see her grinning evilly at him. And holding a modify card in her hand.

"What are you...No! Rika—"

"Speed activate!"

Suddenly, Ryo felt an unbelievable strength and lightness in his legs. He could run for days! He could run all the way around the world in an hour if he wanted to! With a wild cry, he rushed forward in a burst of speed. It was only after he'd covered an insane amount of distance in a few seconds that he realized he was leaving Rika far behind. He doubled back and jogged in place next to her.

She looked very pleased with herself. Ryo was too energized to care that she'd basically experimented on him without his permission.

"Good," she said, "Now do me."

It was Ryo's turn to laugh hysterically.

"Jeez, are you twelve?" Rika said, rolling her eyes. "Use a Speed card on me. There, better?"

Still with the jittery energy from the Speed card coursing through his limbs, Ryo pulled out his own modify card and swiped it through his Digivice.

Rika let out a whoop and rushed forward in a blur. Ryo quickly caught up. After a few seconds, he chanced a look over his shoulder and found that he couldn't even see the Infermon anymore. It looked like they were going to get away from it, easy.

Their enhanced speed carried them much farther than they ever could have gotten on their own — in a few minutes, they'd nearly closed the gap between them and the blue mountains. Rather than just being a hazy outline on the horizon, the mountains were close enough now that Ryo could pick out details: blue flowers and blue-leaved trees, what looked like a pass running between two of the tallest peaks.

Ryo noticed immediately when the Speed modification stopped working. Instead of zooming past in flashes of color, the surrounding area slowed down into solid detail and texture. His legs felt like he'd suddenly started running in water, like some force was pushing against his muscles, making him work to even take the smallest step. Of course, he was simply walking at a normal pace now; it just seemed painfully slow.

And with the speed went the euphoria that had come with it. Ryo once again felt the weight of their situation press on him — lost without a clear way back to the real world, their Digimon partners missing, their very selves changed in ways they still didn't quite understand. They'd just used modify cards on each other. Like they were Digimon. And it was definitely no fluke, as Rika had proved when she used that Speed card on him — this was a thing they could do now.

In all his travels through the Digital World, Ryo had never heard of anything like this. And, once he thought about it, he could never use a modify card to affect, say, Renamon or Guilmon — only Cyberdramon. So what did it mean that he and Rika could modify each other?

Oh. Shit. What if…?

Ryo stopped to catch his breath and looked around for Rika. She was a little bit ahead since her Speed modification had taken effect after his. But she seemed to be waiting for him — she was standing still, at least, taking in the area.

Just to make sure, Ryo looked back over his shoulder once more. The Infermon was definitely not in their sights anymore, but that didn't mean it wouldn't try to find them later. It had likely seen in which direction they'd been running. If they could make it the rest of the way to those mountains, they'd have a better chance.

He moved carefully toward Rika. At least walking was starting to feel sort of normal again.

"Looks like we lost Infermon, for now, but we'd probably better head into the mountains," he said once he'd caught up to her.

Rika was staring off into space. She, too, had stopped laughing. It seemed the combination of the stress of everything they'd gone through and the euphoria of the Speed card had made them both a little hysterical, in the moment. And Ryo knew that he, at least, was finally starting to feel tired and hungry — he must have been running on adrenaline for a long time.

After some time had passed and Rika hadn't responded or made a move, Ryo started to say something — maybe they should just get it over with, talk about this now — but then Rika snapped out of it.

"Let's go, then" she said. She was gripping her Digivice tightly, its radar still spinning in a useless circle.

They both hiked forward without another word. The tall grasses gradually gave way to scrubby undergrowth and the blue-leaved trees Ryo had spotted from before. Compared to the vast openness of the field, the mountains were a relief. At least here, they had places to hide or take shelter. Of course, that meant anything else could be hiding here, too. But other than the Infermon, Ryo hadn't seen any other signs of sentient life.

Thankfully, the mountainside was full of other life — the trees bore a strange purple fruit, which turned out to not be poisonous when Ryo finally plucked one and ate it out of desperation. The fruit was pale blue inside and tasted slightly sour. Even if it had been the most bitter, sour thing to ever exist, Ryo could have eaten twenty. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something so substantial and fresh.

"You know, there's still a chance you'll end up on the ground, frothing at the mouth," Rika said skeptically as she watched him eat a third fruit. She hadn't eaten any. She'd crossed her arms and was observing him closely.

"You don't have to sound so hopeful about it," Ryo said in between bites.

"I'm just saying, it doesn't look like anything else has been eating those."

"Well, it doesn't look like anything lives here at all, except our friend back there," Ryo said, gesturing over his shoulder.

"That's weird, isn't it?"

"Hmm?" Ryo said around a mouthful of juicy fruit.

"Even during the D-Reaper crisis, there were Digimon here, up until the very end. And this place looks in way better shape than it did back then. Where did they all go?"

Ryo swallowed and threw the fruit's pit into the bushes. "I have an idea about that, actually."

"Oh yeah? Which is?"

"Well, think about the Primary Village."

Rika snorted. "Come on, Ryo. That's not part of the real Digital World. That was just something they made up for the show, to make it nicer." She put on a fake cheery smile. "Hey, kids, it's okay! No one really dies!"

"Okay, Ms. Cynic, I know that," he said. "But the principle is true. Digimon are made of data. If they get destroyed, the data has to go somewhere. It doesn't just disappear."

Rika dropped the fake cheery face. "Well, yeah, but usually other Digimon just absorb it."

"Not if there aren't any Digimon around to absorb it."

Rika fell quiet for a few seconds. "So, you think something happened, some disaster that wiped out most of the Digimon."

"It's a possibility. I mean, we don't actually know what happened after we left that battle." 'Left' was not the right verb for what had happened to them, but what else could he say? 'Abducted by a mysterious force?' 'Disintegrated and then miraculously reassembled?'

"Do you think that's why the landscape looks so different? Like maybe some of that data went back to...the earth? Circle of life and all that crap?"

Ryo shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure. We still don't really know a lot about how the Digital World works. But if the Digimon aren't here, then their data at least has to be here. It might not be as neat and tidy as a playground full of Digieggs, but it's somewhere."

As they walked further up the mountainside, making a path through the lush trees and undergrowth, Ryo wondered what it would mean if that theory were correct. Was the fruit he was eating, in some way, the digital remains of long-dead Digimon? Was that the reason the former battlefield looked the way it did now, because so many Digimon had lost data there?

Rika growled. Or, rather, her stomach made an amazingly hungry noise.

Ryo smirked and pulled one of the fruits off a low-hanging branch. Data or not, it was all they had to eat right now. Wordlessly, he handed it over to Rika. When she hesitated, he took a small bite out it and then handed it back to her. "See? Not diseased or poisoned or infested with maggots."

"Ugh, thanks a lot," Rika said. "Now I'm definitely not thinking about maggots wriggling around in there." But she took the fruit from him and bit into the other, untouched side.


When nightfall hit, they set up camp in a small clearing off to the side of the path they'd been walking. 'Camp' wasn't much, since they didn't have supplies. But Rika managed to set up a small fire — crowing the whole time that she couldn't believe the Boy Scout was having so much trouble getting a fire going — and they found water in a creek a short hike away from camp. They didn't want to sleep too closely to the water source, just in case some other living thing had the same idea. By hollowing out a couple of the fruits, they made flimsy cups that could hold at least a couple mouthfuls of water. After a rough couple of days, even their measly camp was more than welcome.

Ryo stretched out his legs so his toes were close to the fire. Even with the Speed card helping him out today, his feet were aching. The warmth was relaxing. He felt his eyelids starting to shut.

On the other side of the fire, Rika was studying her Digivice and her deck of modify cards.

"Do you think we can Digivolve?" she said all of a sudden.

Ryo's eyes snapped open. He looked over at Rika suspiciously. "Oh, no. No more surprise mad scientist stuff."

Rika waved her hand dismissively. "Calm down. It's not like I have a blue card or Calumon anyway."

"Do you think we're Digimon now?" He couldn't help but imagine a Digivolved Rika. She'd probably have guns for arms, maybe actual fire for hair. Eyes that could shoot literal ice.

Rika stared at him. "I don't know. Never really been in this situation before. But…" she said, waving the Speed card at him.

"I know, I know," Ryo said. He paused. He didn't really want to bring up what had been on his mind since earlier that day — well, one of the things — but they probably couldn't avoid it if they were going to decide what their next step would be. "Rika. Renamon and Cyberdramon…"

"We're not going to find them," Rika said, interrupting him. "I know." She clipped her Digivice to her belt and looked over at Ryo, as if daring him to contradict her.

Ryo paused. Then he shook his head. "That's why the radar has been spinning, right? And why we could use modify cards on each other."

Rika nodded. "Yeah, I figured." She bent her head down to put her cards back into her belt. Ryo realized pretty quickly that she was trying to hide her face from view — his nerves were tingling, and he felt a kind of echo in his skin. Sadness. Pain. Anger.

Rika kicked at a log savagely. "This never would have happened if you hadn't tried to be such a hero."

Ryo felt the exhaustion and stress get the better of him. "Oh, so it's my fault? As if I wanted this to happen?"

"Yeah, you've seemed pretty okay with everything so far, actually."

"Listen, I'm trying to make the best of this situation. And at least I'm not the one who used a modify card on you without knowing what would happen."

"As if you had a better plan for getting away from that thing."

"Oh, you mean that Digimon you provoked without having any real way of defending yourself?"

"I didn't provoke it. It was charging right at us. Probably picked up on how pathetic you are without-" To her credit, Rika stopped there. She seemed to realize she'd maybe crossed a line.

But Ryo had enough. He threw his hands up in defeat. "If you want to talk about this and come up with a plan, great. But I'm not just going to sit here and be yelled at."

After a moment's hesitation, Ryo stood up quietly and started walking away from the fire. He was a little mad, but mostly he was just frustrated. What did he have to do to prove he was on her side? He knew how proud Rika was. But he was in the same situation, just as scared and sad. He'd wanted to say more, but he figured he'd better find another spot until they both cooled off. Arguing wouldn't help. They were all each other had right now.

The loss had felt a lot more real when said out loud. They'd both guessed what must have happened — they'd absorbed their Digimon's data, or at least part of it, after being sucked into that rift. It might even be how they both managed to survive at all.

On one hand, it was a little comforting to think that part of Cyberdramon was still with him. But it was horrible to think he'd never see his partner again. As difficult as Cyberdramon had been sometimes, they'd had a bond. A deep, hard-won bond.

"Ryo," Rika said.

Ryo turned around. She still wasn't looking at him, but he was sure he'd heard her. She'd wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to make herself as small as possible. "Yeah?"

"You...Don't go. I'm sorry. This is hard for you too."

It wasn't a question. That echo he was feeling, she must be feeling too. Another way they were connected now.

"Do you really blame me for what happened?"

Rika shook her head. "I know it wasn't your fault. And I was a pretty big asshole just now."

Ryo walked back to the fire, hesitating before he sat down. "Okay, but are you sure you want me around yet? I can go away if you need to be alone. I get it." He paused. "And I can build a fire on my own, despite what some critics around here might say."

Rika wiped her eyes and then promptly rolled them at him. "Come on, don't be all noble and self-suffering." But there wasn't any bite to her voice, like before. She patted the ground next to her.

Ryo sat down next to her, close but not touching. To his surprise, Rika muttered something and pulled him close enough to her that their shoulders and arms touched, just barely.

It was a little like before — a kind of energy flowed between them. Ryo felt Rika's pain more strongly with contact, but pretty soon it became masked by the feeling of connectedness between them. More than just human touch — their connection was comforting, soothing in a way he couldn't fully explain. Soon, he got lost in the feeling.

"They're not gone," Rika said firmly. "Just...changed. Like you said earlier, our Digivices aren't static yet. So we'll figure out some way to get them back. You know I won't give up until we do, so you better not, either."

"Deal."

Rika didn't say anything, but Ryo felt her start to feel better. He did too.

After a while of sitting in silence, Rika broke contact. She crossed her arms on her knees and rested her chin on them. She shivered. "That's really freaking weird," she said. ButkindofniceIguess, she mumbled into her arms as she turned her head sideways, away from him.

Ryo let out a little laugh. "What was that, Pumpkin? Did I hear you say that you actually enjoyed my company?"

"Oh please," Rika mumbled and shoved his shoulder, knocking him over. But there was a little jolt when she touched him, and she didn't take her hand off right away.

Ryo let out a huge, not-entirely-fake yawn. He stretched and laid down where he'd fallen. "Thanks for the help. Nice sleeping spot. Real cozy dirt right here."

"Oh, just go to sleep already. I'll take first watch."

Once he'd laid down, Ryo realized he was incredibly tired. He didn't even have time to think over what had happened that day. Between the warmth of the fire and Rika's soothing presence nearby, he was asleep in a matter of minutes.