Previously:

"Cronus!" Takato called. "Are you okay?"

"I—I think so." Cronus said, standing up with Takato's help. "I felt kinda funny there for a second."

"Did you get any of your powers back?" Takato asked him.

A beat passed. Then, quietly, almost sorrowfully: "No. They're gone."

"It's okay." Takato said, patting him on the shoulder. "We'll all be fine if we stick together."

/ / /

"Reed...he chose to do what he did—lying to us, trying to trade us to that thing…" Cronus went on. "And I think he's the first person I've ever actually hated."

Rika looked away from him, a little ashamed. "Yeah, we hate people sometimes. Was it not like that when you were Guilmon?"

"Not like this." He shook his head "Right now it's—it's just all I can think about."

He looked to her, almost helplessly. "How do I stop feeling like this?"

/ / /

"Have you ever been in love?" Cronus asked suddenly, and though Rika should have been expecting it, it still took her off guard.

She wanted to be honest with him, but she had to evaluate it herself. "Yeah. I think so."

Cronus looked curious, and he spoke again. "Are you still?" he asked.

Here, Rika didn't have an answer for him, except for a defeated shrug. "I'm not sure."

He turned away from her, looking at his shoelaces. "I think Ryo loves you very much."

/ / /

"Ryo…?" Cronus asked slowly, but suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Will feeling love…" Cronus said, his voice barely above a whisper. "…make me—complete?"

Ryo didn't know what to say.

"Cronus…?"

Cronus stood up, dusting the dirt off of his pants. "Forget it. Let's get back to the others."

/ / /

"What's our next move, then?" Rika asked.

"We're splitting up."

/ / /

The knife fell to the floor with a loud clink as he realized what was there. The boy. Glowing. Ruffled blonde hair, eyes so light brown that they were almost red. Just like in the picture, it was him. The cause of all of this. Of everything.

"Carter…?" Reed whispered in disbelief.

/ / /

Reed rolled his eyes, and started out of the room. "One more thing. I think it's about time that I pay another visit to Cronus."

"Very well. Make sure you bring him back in one piece."

"Mmm." Reed mumbled, as he headed out and towards his room.


The Man Behind The Curtain:

The rock that Takato aimed to drag his foot at turned out to have been bigger than he thought, as he could tell from the weight of it that what he could see was only the peak of it breaking the surface of the ground below—the ground that raced towards him as he fell forward.

I'm such a loser.

Takato laughed, and Cronus joined in as he helped him up.

"That was pretty graceful." Cronus noted. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Takato nodded as they started moving again.

"Did you notice anybody acting strange before we left?" Cronus asked.

Takato nodded, wondering when one of them would mention it. "They're all pretty pissed."

"About everyone going different ways?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we, again?"

Takato looked at him. "Because we need to find the remaining Sovereign."

Cronus seemed even more confused. "But we're going to where we know's Baihumon is most likely going to be, aren't we?"

"Right. But I need Kazu and Guardromon to look after Henry and Jeri, I need Ryo and Cyberdramon to get Giz back home, and I'm still hoping Rika and Renamon will come across Ebonwumon." Takato raised an eyebrow. "And you said you wanted to come with me."

"I know." Cronus said quickly and defensively. "And I still do. I was just—confused."

Takato still felt bad about his decision. He still believed it was the right call—more ground needed to be covered to find the last of the Sovereign. But he couldn't help but wonder if there was a better way he could have gone about it. He almost wished he hadn't learned from Giz the last known location of Baihumon.

"Jeri didn't seem mad about it." Cronus said brightly, seeming to be half-trying to change the topic of conversation.

Takato shook his head. "No, she didn't."

In fact, Jeri was the only one, besides Cronus and Ryo, who had been supportive. Kazu, Rika, and Henry had been the ones to disapprove the most. Jeri, however, in addition to telling Takato that she trusted his judgment, had also seemed interested in traveling south.

"She seemed to want to go south." Takato recalled.

"I noticed that too." Cronus replied. "Why did she?"

"I don't know."

"Did you ask her?" the blonde boy inquired.

"No." Takato admitted. He probably should have—it was what a real leader would have done.

"Well aren't you curious as to why?" Cronus now sounded more worried than curious, and more worried than Takato was.

"Yeah, I am." Takato finally said.

"Then why didn't you ask her?"

Takato looked to him. "Because I trust she knows what she's doing."

Cronus appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Because you love her?"

Though he felt confused with the direction of the discussion, Takato nodded. "Yes."

Their trust—Takato felt—hoped, really—was mutual. Jeri's words to him—she trusted him 'because he was him' had been very encouraging for Takato. It was what he needed to hear, and Jeri seemed to pick up on that. Takato could only hope that when Jeri needed support from someone, he would be able to say to her something that made as much a difference as what she said to him.

The walk continued, comparatively silent, and Takato soon noticed Cronus's walking pattern seem to falter, and when he looked at the former digimon's face, he appeared tired and sickly.

"Cronus, is everything alright?" Takato asked. "You've been acting kind of strange lately."

Takato felt bad as he realized that he'd said it almost accusingly, but his suspicions were confirmed with the sigh that Cronus gave. He knew he was about to get the answer, but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the infinite possibilities.

"Cronus?" he repeated.

"I—" the boy stammered, scratching his already messy hair. "Something's happening to me."

Takato could obviously not think of anything to say, and so he remained quiet and still and patient, giving Cronus the time he needed to think. It took more than a solid minute, which felt like longer in the uncomfortable silence.

"Do you remember when you first saw me like this?"

"Of course."

When he'd met Guilmon as a human, Takato had woken up in the digital world, and found out that Cronus had saved him. It wasn't until weeks later, though, that Takato or even Cronus learned the truth about him.

"Well I'm not—" he stammered. "I mean, what I mean is, I—um…"

He paused, then changed his tone completely. "Do you remember all that power I had?"

"Yeah." Takato nodded. It had been what had kept Cronus alive in that place, what kept him and Takato and Mala safe from the people that lived there.

"I don't have it anymore." Cronus explained as if Takato didn't already know.

"Yeah…?" Takato said slowly, as he waited for Cronus to complete his thought.

"It's just—the more human I feel…" Cronus went on, slowly and uncomfortably, his face shifting expressions between every few words. "The more power I lose."

Power?

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just that." Cronus said with a sigh. "Since we've been back in the digital world, I can't keep a balance of power and humanity. When we got here, and I found out I didn't have any of my powers back, I—something broke inside of me. And when Ryo got attacked by the Gaogamon underneath Sarian, I could fight because I just felt so detached from everybody. But as soon as that stopped—back when we met Reed—I was helpless again. And I—the more I feel, it gets worse."

Takato was silent as the events shot through his mind. When he'd first met Guilmon as Cronus, his humanity was giving him strength…he'd put his fist right through Dr. Nonaka. But—now his humanity was weakening him?

"Define 'worse'…?" Takato knew he didn't want to hear it, but also knew he had to.

Cronus just looked down, and shook his head slowly.

"This's been happening since we got back to the digital world?" Takato asked, trying to confirm the details.

Cronus nodded. "Yeah."

Two weeks. One of his best friends was basically suffering for two weeks, right under his nose, and he didn't know anything. But he wasn't there for him. He was busy with the mission, with Jeri, with convincing himself that everyone was alright and ready to keep moving. He wasn't there for him.

While Takato stood still, registering in his mind that maybe it could have been prevented, Cronus spoke.

"Will you choose for me?"

Choose?

Takato raised an eyebrow. "Choose what?"

"If I should stay human, or find a way to be Guilmon again."

Takato was adamant in his answer. "No."

Cronus looked upset. "Why not?"

"Because that's not my decision to make." He tried to explain. "It's your life, and I'll be behind you either way, but you need to choose how you want to live your life. It's more choice than most people ever get."

Cronus sighed. "I'm a freak."

"You're unique." Takato corrected.

"That's a fancy word for 'alone'." Cronus muttered.

Maybe it was. Takato couldn't come up with any retaliation.

"This isn't fair." Cronus protested. "Nobody else in either world is like me. No digimon has to make this choice, and neither does any human. No matter what—even if people are surrounding me, I'm completely alone."

Takato felt terrible that he was unable to console one of his best friends from something that was clearly upsetting him so much. He couldn't do anything to help—couldn't correct the problem, or give an easy answer. Nothing.

"I'm sorry, Cronus." Takato's voice was weak but clear, though hesitant to make eye contact, he did. "I'm sorry that I've been so busy not doing anything that I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." Cronus shrugged. "What you do is important."

"Still." Takato persisted. "If I'd at least made the effort to make sure you were alright back in the digital world, then maybe—"

"I—" Cronus interrupted him. "I don't wanna go back."

"Go back?" Takato repeated. "To being Guilmon?"

"Sort of." Cronus started, uncertain. "To not feeling this much."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong." Cronus said quickly. "Digital life feels emotion, for sure, but—it's not like this. I like this better."

"Nobody's telling you to change back." Takato reassured him.

"But I'm no good to anybody like this." Cronus protested. "I can't fight anymore."

"Cronus," Takato began carefully. "It's never been your ability to fight that's made me appreciate your being around. You've always given me insight into things, gave me support when I needed it…the power was just a bonus."

Cronus didn't look like he believed him. "Really?"

Takato nodded. "And, truth be told, I'm a lot happier being able to have you around everyday than making you hide out in the park, and staying out of sight."

A moment passed, and finally Cronus nodded.

"Alright." He said, his expression remaining solemn. "Thank you."

Takato just nodded as he considered things himself. Personally, he was happier with Guilmon as Cronus—it meant he didn't have to hide him all the time. Why he remained silent, however, was because he wasn't entirely sure what Cronus wanted, or what Takato personally believed was best for him. On one hand, he clearly wanted to live as a human—but on the other, Cronus also wanted the power he needed to protect his friends. Cronus also clearly wanted to remain attached to human emotion, but if everyday human emotions were weakening or maybe even hurting him, what would happen if he were to, say, fall in love?

The rest of the walk was entirely silent. Even as a small village came into view, neither seemed to point it out—at first because of the silence, and with each passing moment, the opportunity to take note of it became less and less reasonable.

"Takato?" Cronus asked, causing him to turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Something's wrong."

Takato looked around. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure." Cronus said, looking around curiously, as if hoping to find something out of the ordinary. "It might be the Sovereign's power nearby."

Takato raised an eyebrow curiously. "You think?"

Cronus shrugged a little. "It's possible."

The pair hurried into the village. After a half hour of asking around, it turned out that while the village was essentially without a name, it was a settlement that was very old—and Takato knew that the village was connected to the Sovereign in some way. He hoped that it was either Baihumon or Ebonwumon—the remaining Sovereign.

None of the villagers they petitioned seemed willing to give them answers, so Takato eventually asked to speak with whoever was in charge of the place—he and Cronus were directed to a small dwelling, where a Kudamon lived. The two entered the weasel-like Digimon's home, who seemed anxious by their presence.

"Hello, sir…" Takato started politely. "My name's Takato Matsuda, and this is my brother Cronus."

It was something of a cover story they'd come up with back in the real world for introductions—they knew it would for the most part be best to keep things as simple as possible, so it was a lie Takato was willing to support since it was in everyone's best interests.

"We were hoping we could speak to you." Takato continued graciously.

"Alright." The Kudamon nodded. "I'll speak to you." He then turned to Cronus, and pointed. "But that must wait outside."

That?

"Uh," Takato was perplexed. "Why?"

"It's alright." Cronus said quietly. "I'll wait for you out there."

While Takato was curious about the Kudamon's opinion of Cronus, it simply wasn't the time to deal with it.

"Something called the Destroyer is killing off the Sovereign." Takato said, not in the mood to sugar-coat the situation. "I know that Baihumon was seen here recently, and I need to know where he is now so I can warn him."

"The Sovereign…?" Kudamon repeated.

"Yes." Takato nodded impatiently. "Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon are already gone."

"So it's finally started…" Kudamon murmured.

"What…?" Takato gave him a look.

"If you are you have any hope of saving the future," the digimon told him. "you'll need to uncover the past, first."

"When did this all start?" Takato asked, frustrated.

"Thirteen years ago."

"Well, what happened?" Takato impatiently asked.

"That question is your journey." Kudamon said quietly. "Not mine."

"We don't have time to go off to take a history lesson." Takato growled. "Something bad is coming, soon, and we need to know where Baihumon is."

"No, we can't trust that you're not an agent of the Destroyer." Kudamon sighed. "Besides, if time is as short as you say, nothing is going to make a difference now."

"Look." Takato said as he stared the digimon in the eye. "My friends and I will stop it. Reed and the Destroyer."

"They can't be stopped." The Kudamon shook his head weakly. "You'll fail."

Takato sighed. "Then I guess I'll die trying." Takato headed towards the door to leave. "Thanks for the help." He added sarcastically.

He pushed through the door, which swung open and hit the wall loudly, and stormed out, Cronus quickly catching up to him and matching his pace.

"Takato?"

Takato was furious with the Kudamon, and the entire village for that matter. He understood their belief and conviction in protecting their village, but Takato was their only chance of keeping the place safe, and they wouldn't give him the information he wanted. It just didn't make sense. Not that Takato was looking for fame or anything, but he and his friends had saved the digital world from the D-Reaper. He thought that that would at least have earned him an audience with the Sovereign when it was absolutely necessary, but apparently not.

"What did he say?" Cronus asked.

"That I'm alone in this." Takato muttered.

"I'll be there for you." Cronus told him. "Always."

Takato turned to him, confused. A moment passed. "Cronus?"

Cronus dropped his gaze to the ground. "So what if Kudamon won't tell us anything… We'll figure it out, together. You're not alone on this. Okay?"

Takato smiled. "Okay."

In the instant he took another step, he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned, to see the Kudamon in the doorway.

Takato withheld the urge to frown at him. "Yes?"

The Kudamon looked at him for several seconds, before turning to Cronus, and giving him the same treatment. "Baihumon's shrine is just a very short walk west of here. Enter it and say a prayer, and he'll appear if you are worthy."

With that, the Kudamon turned back and reentered his home, closing the door firmly as he moved.


The walk was even shorter than Takato expected—just out of eyesight of the Kudamon's village. He saw the shrine, just as Takato described. It was too short for him to enter without crouching, but it only the size of a garage, so he wouldn't mind squeezing in then out.

"I'll try to call him." Cronus suggested, heading in slowly, turning to Takato first for some sign of approval.

"Yeah." Takato nodded. "Okay."

It only made sense to let Cronus say the prayer to call him—he'd have a much better idea of what to say than Takato would, and Takato couldn't afford any slip-ups. He was glad to have Cronus around. But he couldn't stop thinking about what Cronus had told him earlier—being back in the digital world after being turned completely human was doing something to him, and Takato wanted to know what, and more importantly, why.

What if something worse happened to him than feeling sick? Takato needed to know what was happening to Cronus, but he didn't know where to get answers without going to Yamaki, and that was a very slim option since Yamaki had no idea that Cronus was really Guilmon.

Cronus stepped out a moment after he entered, and approached Takato. Takato looked around, worried.

"Did something go wrong?" he asked.

"I don't think so…" Cronus too, looked around intently. "I did everything right."

"Well why isn't he—" Takato stopped. The Destroyer already got to him. "We need to find the others." He finished.

Cronus didn't make eye contact, but continued to stare at a point on the ground.

Takato looked at it, then back to Cronus, who continued to stare. "What's wrong?"

The ground shook, and Cronus tackled Takato out of the way instants before the ground they stood on was overturned.

Dirt was poured over them as something huge emerged from the ground—Takato was terrified, until he realized that that was what they were hoping for. He and Cronus stood up and dusted themselves off, staring at the powerful creature—the Sovereign.

"Baihumon…" Takato murmured, stepping forward. The giant beast looked down at him, and sniffed.

"Is that you, Takato?" he asked.

Takato nodded. "Yes."

"You've grown up some."

Takato smiled. "It's been a few years."

"Why've you woken me up?"

Takato glanced back to Cronus, then up to the Sovereign in front of him. "You're in danger."

"What?" Baihumon laughed. "From what?"

"Something called the Destroyer is hunting you down."

Baihumon stopped laughing, and suddenly Takato felt flush with worry. Takato himself clearly couldn't protect the Sovereign, but he still held onto the hope that his warning would yield some sort of victory.

"Destroyer…?" Baihumon repeated quietly.

"Yes. He has already defeated Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon." Takato said it quickly, as if pulling off a band-aid quickly. An apocalyptic band-aid.

"What!" he roared.

Cronus stepped forward, speaking. "There's a human named Reed who we believe is working with him…he's been seen using powers that can only be described as those matching the defeated Sovereign."

"Who is he?" Baihumon growled. Takato actually took a step back, as Baihumon leaned in, teeth grit. Takato knew that he wasn't being threatened, Baihumon was just trying to get closer to make sure he heard. The intimidation came from the remaining fact that Baihumon was huge and scary.

"We don't know. We think he has something to do with destroying the barriers that separate both worlds."

Baihumon murmured thoughtfully. "Yes, it would seem that that is their eventual goal."

"Eventual…?" Cronus whispered, confused.

"What can you tell us about the Destroyer?" Takato asked, loud and clear. "Does it have any weaknesses? How powerful is it? How can we beat it?"

"The Destroyer…" Baihumon repeated. "It's—"

"I'm sorry, Hero, but that information is classified." A human appeared from what seemed like nowhere. A year or two older than Takato, an inch or two taller. He was dressed in baggy smoke-grey pants, and a black-and-red jacket.

"Reed!" Cronus barked angrily.

Oh, shit.

"Reed?" Baihumon asked curiously, looking to him, then back to Takato. "This is the human you warn me of?"

"He's dangerous." Cronus answered for Takato, not taking his gaze off of Reed.

Baihumon didn't seem concerned though.

"It's…you?" Baihumon asked quietly—as quietly as a giant such as he could.

Reed nodded, raised his right hand, and fired Zhuqiaomon's attack straight at Baihumon's face. He managed to get halfway out of the way, though the red beam left an enormous scar. Baihumon growled, raised a huge paw, and swung it at Reed, who got on one knee, raised both hands, and fired a wave of spiraling lightning at Baihumon, who was destroyed before his fist landed.

Takato stared on in horror and awe at the sight as Reed absorbed the data.

"Yikes." Reed laughed. "And here I was thinking that Azulongmon was the strongest one…Baihumon put up way more of a fight. Too bad his attacks are boring, I'm a big fan of the fire thing that Big Bird was always going on about..."

Takato was mortified. What he had just witnessed wasn't a fight, it was a slaughter—Reed hadn't even been trying.

Cronus charged at Reed, and before Takato could protest, Reed laughed, and fired Zhuqiaomon's flame from his right hand, and Azulongmon's lightning with his left—Cronus went soaring to the ground in front of Takato, unconscious, and Takato moved himself between the two.

Damn it.

"Woah." Reed exclaimed. "That was a good one."

Takato silently scanned through his options. He couldn't win in a fight, he couldn't call for help, he couldn't run, now with Cronus still laying there—

"Well, anyways, thanks again for finding this Sovereign for me, this one's been a real pain in the ass to track down."

Takato's face went red with frustration and anger, but he just couldn't come up with anything to say back to him. Reed was right; Takato had messed up. He should have been more careful, he should have been better armed for a fight. He should have listened to Jeri and Ryo and everyone else that splitting up was a bad idea. If they were all there maybe they'd have had a chance. If only Takato hadn't been so headstrong, if only he—

"Oh—" Reed suddenly said, turning to Takato. "And I'll be taking that burden you've got behind you, while I'm here."

What? Burden…?

Takato didn't need to look to know that Reed was talking about Cronus. Takato instinctively held an arm out sideways defensively as Reed approached.

"Get out of my way, Hero." Reed ordered. "I'm not someone you want to piss off."

"Restore the Sovereign." Takato challenged. "Stop what you're doing. I don't know why you're doing it, and I really don't care. But there's about six billion people who are going to die if you destroy the last Sovereign, and you'll be one of them."

"Well, now that's not true, now is it?" Reed asked indignantly. "Of course you care why I'm doing this. That's what you do, isn't it? Butt into people's own agendas, force your way into things that don't concern you?"

"What?"

Reed ignored him, and repeated his order. "This is the second time I'm telling you to get out of my way. There won't be a third."

"No."

Takato was standing directly between Reed and Cronus, his left arm still stretched sideways as if to protect Cronus, and though Takato was scared as hell, he never wavered.

Reed sighed. "Fine."

In an instant, Takato was being pushed back through the air. A few feet off the ground, yet far enough back that he went over Cronus and behind him. The force itself was nearly painless, but the angle Takato landed on his right arm caused his shoulder to come out of alignment as he came down on it. He grit his teeth as the agony surged through the rest of his body. He looked down to it. It didn't appear to be twisted in any way, but he could see a lump on his shoulder that he knew shouldn't have been there. He lost all control in it, though he possibly was just overcome by the pain.

Reed was advancing on him now, slowly, pace by pace. "Little Takato Matsuda. A joke to all the other kids—under the radar, am I right? Always staring out of the window in class, head in the clouds, right? Where it should have stayed. And for whatever reason, you get a digivice. And your own partner. And the little boy becomes the big hero…

"What, you think you know anything about me?" Takato challenged angrily. But Reed just waved a finger, and Takato was sent forcefully to the ground. He fortunately didn't land on his sore arm again, but it still hurt nonetheless.

"Please." Reed sneered. "I was you. Only I was never stupid enough to pick battles I had no hope of winning. But yeah, Takato, I do know you. I know everything about you. Better than your friends, probably. In fact, I know everything about them, too. I know that you're worried your team will realize you're as powerless as you are. You're worried that your little girlfriend will see how you'll let her down, sooner or later. I know your buddy Ryo is torn between the devotion to his best friend, and to the girl he loves. I know that Rika would die for Ryo, but won't let herself love him back. I know Kazu feels he can't trust any of you enough to share any info his crappy family life. I know that the freak that's laying in front of you wants to remove himself from your life because he's scared you'll hate him for having to babysit him so damn much. And Jeri…" Reed grinned. "Maybe after I'm done with you I'll go find her and get to know her a little better…"

By the end, Takato's blood was boiling, and by Reed's last comment, he was on his feet and charging at him. He managed to get in one solid punch to the side of Reed's face. It wasn't with all his strength, as Takato had to use his left hand, but it was enough to cause Reed to grunt in pain and surprise. After which, Reed quickly stepped back, and dropped his elbow down hard on Takato's back, sending him back down to the ground, face first.

How could Reed have known those things? Did Takato even know them? Kazu…Rika…Jeri…no. It wasn't real, none of it. Takato didn't believe it. What Reed had said about Takato himself—it wasn't true. Reed was just playing mind games. He might know things about him, about his friends—but he didn't know them.

"Whatever you think you know…" Takato said, finding his voice, pulling his face off of the dirt. He spit on the ground, and, to no surprise, there was blood in it. "It doesn't matter—you're in over your head. You think you'll survive the Destroyer? It's gonna make you its bitch right along with everyone else."

Reed scowled, and swung his fist in a punching motion, and even though he was nowhere near close enough for the punch itself to land, a red flame—Zhuqiaomon's flame—shot out at him. Takato rolled to the side, the ground where he lay an instant before singed a solid black.

"You think what you're doing has any meaning?" Reed asked him with a scoff as Takato struggled to get to his feet.

"Whatever it takes to stop you." Takato replied as calmly as he could, concentrating on the pain of his fingernails digging into his palm rather than his arm.

Reed grinned. "Is that what you think, Hero?"

Takato looked at him square in the eye as he climbed to his feet. He realized that he must not have believed what Rika and Ryo and Cronus had said about Reed being insane—he was psychotic. Takato had seen evil things before…Juggernaut…the D-Reaper…Valn…but Reed was something else entirely.

"Who are you? What are you?"

Reed laughed, and Takato saw something move—saw Cronus move, as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Huh!" Reed blurted, amazed. "Isn't this something…"

"Cronus, don't!" Takato tried to warn, the words barely audible over his coughing.

He's got the power of three of the Sovereign. The only thing that could beat them was the D-Reaper.

"Shh." Reed snorted, lifting Takato into the air with a gesture, pulling him forward, and tossing him hard into the side of Baihumon's shrine. "I want to see where this is going."

Takato was certain his arm was broken by the impact of when he hit the wall. A second later, he hit the ground, and he could feel his nose bleeding. Every muscle in his body felt like it was on fire, yet he still found the strength to look up to see Reed standing above him.

"Why did you get up?" Reed asked him.

Cronus didn't answer at first, and a beat passed. "You need to be stopped."

"Maybe," Reed said contemplatively. "But we both know you don't have the kind of power to stop me, or the Destroyer, for that matter."

Another beat, but this time Cronus didn't reply, so Reed went on.

"But you could have the power. You know that, right?"

"W—" Cronus stammered. "What?"

Reed knows about that? Of course he does. He knows about everything about all of us.

"Your powers…" Reed told him. "Are virtually limitless." Reed then turned to Takato, and so did Cronus. "But he's holding you back."

I'm—what?

"I am what I am because of him." Cronus retorted uneasily.

"Weak." Reed replied disgusted. "Depressed. Useless. Overshadowed. You're alone because of him."

"No." Cronus said quietly. "He created me."

"Of course." Reed said sympathetically. "He brought you into this terrible world. Against your will. And then you go off and wind up human, and feel all these emotions you didn't even know existed. The emotions that weaken you. He weakens you. Only thinking of you as a sidekick—a lacky that he has to take care of all the time, just so he can feel good about himself. You could rule this world. You don't need him—he can't give you any answers about what you are—he can't give you power, only take it away from you. You already know that the emotions he put in you weaken you. And I'm sure you know they will kill you. He can't protect you from that. But I can."

Cronus will…die?

"Come with me, Guilmon." Reed ordered loudly. "And I will show you who you are. All the answers you're looking for will be yours."

"Cronus—please…help me." Takato coughed. But Cronus wasn't looking at him.

"Kill him." Reed ordered flatly.

Takato met Cronus's gaze, and Takato's stomach sank farther—Cronus's expression was just—empty. No sign in it that anybody even lived in his body. It was just—

emotionless.

Which in Cronus's case, meant powerful. But when he blinked, something flickered on his face that Takato noticed, and he turned back to Reed.

"No…" it was quiet, and it was unsure, but it was defiant.

"He's what's destroying you." Reed explained, stepping forward. "Your connection to humanity. To weakness. Sever it. Destroy him."

Cronus didn't move, at all, and a terrifying silence swept over the scene. Takato was still on the ground, broken and bruised.

"Then I'll do it." Reed volunteered, stepping forward, his hand crackling with Azulongmon's blue lightning.

He held his hand out, as Cronus stared on blankly. But as Takato awaited his demise, he stared at his friend, and and he once again saw another flicker of expression on his face…but this time, Reed saw something too, and his head turned away from Takato, to something on his right—something that Takato didn't see.

"You…" he whispered, his hand dropping to his side, speaking to someone or something that just wasn't there. "Carter, how are you here…?"

Carter?

There was simply nobody there. But while Takato didn't have the power to question it, Cronus apparently did, and he swung his elbow hard into the back of Reed's head, knocking him down and unconscious.

"Cronus…?" Takato whispered weakly.

"Takato, I'm so sorry," Cronus said quickly as he rushed over. "I thought I could shut myself off so that I could get the power to fight him but then I couldn't find any will to fight and I saw what he was doing to you and I couldn't move and I—" Cronus was nearly weeping as he continued to apologize.

Takato nodded, not really listening as he concentrated on tolerating the pain throughout his body. He coughed as he rolled onto his side, his left arm

"Oh, God…" Cronus said, and though Takato couldn't see his face, he could tell that Cronus was noticing his arm. "Your shoulder's dislocated."

"Yeah." Takato said somewhat sarcastically, followed by a grunt. "I noticed that one."

Cronus didn't reply, but grabbed Takato's hand on his sore arm. Takato winced as he turned to see Cronus, who put a foot on Takato's chest, holding him down. Takato was getting the idea, and he was scared as hell. Cronus was going to reset his shoulder by pulling his arm—sure it had to be done, but Takato would rather it be done in the real world where the doctors could drug him unconscious.

"Cronus, wait, we don't even know if it's—"

"I'm so sorry." Cronus whispered through grit teeth, wincing as he stared at the arm. Takato screamed as Cronus pulled, hard.


Alright, that's the last we're gonna see of Takato for a while…the next three are Rika, Ryo, or both. At least I finally got around to explaining the "The weapon must not love" thing in the story description. Anyways, review, please!

-N