Running

Chapter 14: Exile

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. I want to own digimon. I want another season. I want to actually see Savers (…? 'Like' the name….) and the other one with Tai in it (apparently). Of course, I would also like to know what these things are about besides the usual 'Save the World' shpveel….

Zhuqiaomon's return to the Southern Quadrant was considered 'timely' at best. Everyone was so happy to see the outline of the great phoenix-raven sovereign in the sky, silhouetted by the world-sphere. There was cheering, general happiness, and celebrating ("Sovereign Zhuqiaomon isn't dead!" was one of the most-heard phrases).

Zhuqiaomon landed before the group who had just returned from training Kiken in the skills of a matrix evolution. The happy feeling quickly died down when they saw the look in the sovereign's eyes.

"Kiken… I will speak to you immediately. Alone."

The voice sent chills down his spine, and Kiken wondered just what he had done that was so wrong.

"I- I…"

"Kiken…."

Kiken bowed his head, giving in. "Yes, Sovereign."

Zhuqiaomon turned and stalked back into the large, central hall, blasting everyone within it into the corridors and slamming the doors shut with a flick of his wings. Kiken stood silently by the doors, not wanting to get any closer to the angered sovereign lest said sovereign lash out at him.

"Kiken. Come closer."

Well, that idea was shot to hell.

When Kiken was suitably close, Zhuqiaomon finally took a good look at him, twitching wings and head as he observed.

"What are you wearing?"

The Tamer shifted on his feet, not lifting his head to meet Zhuqiaomon's eyes as he spoke. "I'm not sure. When Guilmon matrix digivolved-"

"You forced him to digivolve?" Zhuqiaomon cut him off, already turning to get Rika and destroy her.

Kiken heard the movement and threw his head up to confirm his suspicions. He felt panic rising in him, knew that Rika was in charge of the card portion of his training, that she would be held responsible for whatever he had done-

"No! No, I didn't. It's just- there were no digi-gnomes around, so I had to… improvise?" At Zhuqiaomon's look, he hurried on with his explanation. "I- Rika told me that I had to choose a card- whichever one felt right- and wish for the strength to matrix evolve for whatever reason I thought would work. I asked for the strength to help defend the Quadrant, and- and there was this sucking force, pulling my energy to the card- and then Rika told me to stop, the card wasn't supposed to look like that, but I-"

"Wasn't supposed to look like what?" Zhuqiaomon cut in again, eying the card pouch.

"I- it was supposed to be blue with some yellow, not blue with yellow, red, black and green…."

"Hm… continue."

Kiken nodded, lowering his eyes again. "Well- we discussed whether to use it or not, and Catsuramon mentioned something about more than digi-gnomes being attracted to the card, like a warning. But I- I wanted to see Guilmon's ultimate form, know that I hadn't become just a third-rate Tamer, useless except for pep-talks and some card swiping. So I used it, against Rika and the Deva's better judgment.

"Guilmon matrix evolved no problem, but then I was wearing this armour… no one seemed to know how it got there, but everyone- especially Rika- was angry about it. Rika went after me, tried to bring me down- but her attacks just sort of… glanced off the armour, like they were a breeze.

"Then WarGrowlmon de-digivolved, and wanted to come back here to sleep and- oh, I left him out there!"

Kiken turned around to go fetch his partner, but was stopped by Zhuqiaomon's outspread wings. "Kiken."

"Ye-yes, Zhuqiaomon?"

The phoenix-raven eyed him for another long moment, then lowered his head so that Kiken didn't have to crane his neck to look at the face (or, more accurately, beak) of the Sovereign.

"If you ever feel that power again, you are never to use it. Focus on calling one of the digi-gnomes to you instead- apparently they like you. But don't ever use that power. Understand me?"

Kiken nodded, forcing the shivers to stay away from his spine. When Zhuqiaomon lifted his wings and opened the doors, Kiken made a break for Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, and outside.

It was two days later, and though the armour still hadn't disappeared, Kiken and Rika had been able to figure out how to remove it by the night of that day. Unsurprisingly, a mannequin had appeared in Kiken's room, ready to be donned in the armour until he had need of it again.

To their surprise, the armour was in two parts. The chest plate, shoulder plates, and the two pieces of metal that hung off the leather belt and covered his hips, thighs and down to his knees were separate from the rest of the ensemble. The black shirt and pants, gloves, boots, belt and guards for his arm and legs could be worn separately.

The only thing about the armour that changed was, when it was removed, the D-Arc separated itself from his right arm guard, settling back in Kiken's hands.

The material that the clothing layer of the armour was made of was extremely similar to Rika's, and she found herself trying to track down a digi-gnome to 'fix' the skin-tight armour she detested. She had never been big on fashion, but this was one time that she did care what she looked like.

Kiken had taken to wearing the clothing from the armour around. Regardless of how it looked, it kept him cool when he was hot, warm when he was cold, and was just that bit more stylish than whatever else was in his wardrobe.

The next day he had been dragged out to the open area outside the citadel again, and told to get Guilmon to matrix evolve without the use of weird-coloured cards. It had been a struggle at first, but fairly quickly he got the hang of calling a digi-gnome with his mind to aid in the evolution. Upon getting the hang of that, he was then asked to teach Rika how to do the same. Within the hour, digi-gnomes could be seen flying through the air around the two, intensely glad to have not only a purpose to fulfill, but a place to be.

Kiken smiled as one of said digi-gnomes snuggled into his neck as it sat on his shoulder, the faint spark of electricity easily masked by the illusion of softness and warmth which emanated from the glowing entities. Rika rolled her eyes, but had to laugh as Kiken was knocked over by a swarm of the wish-granters. There usually was at least one of the sprites around each of them now, but, on occasion….

"Aw, did the poor Gogglehead get knocked over by the mean sprites?" Rika taunted the other Tamer, smiling good-naturedly at the one who had taken up residence on her shoulder.

The gnome-swarm was still for a moment around Kiken, before they hurtled themselves at Rika. Unprepared, she didn't have time to duck, and subsequently was knocked down next to Kiken. She noticed that now he was laughing at her- which was completely unacceptable.

"Gogglehead…."

Kiken rolled onto his side facing her, lifting his hands up to put some sort of barrier between while trying to signify that it wasn't his fault. Just to make sure, he repeated it aloud.

"You know I don't entirely believe you, but attacking you without proof might not go over well…." Rika let it hang, struggling to stand up without knocking too many of the digi-gnomes off their perches.

Kiken jumped to his feet, free of such considerations as the gnomes had gone to focus their attention on Rika. He lowered his hand, helping her up as he caught some of the displaced gnomes ("Rika's stomach is not a good place to take a nap," he lectured them).

Renamon sat a little ways away, smiling as the two were forced to run from the swarm that had decided to rest- on them. Guilmon joined her, laying on his back and his head, however awkwardly, angled to let him catch a glimpse of his Tamer's plight.

"Renamon, should we be helping Kikenmon and Rikamon?"

The kitsune looked down at her draconic friend, pondering his question for a moment. Instead of answering, she reached over and grabbed a large piece of bread and stuffed it into the other's mouth. Finally, she turned back to the two, and, smiling again, muttered, "Let them have their fun."

Zhuqiaomon paced the room restlessly, waiting on his servants. It was the middle of the night, and he knew that they could refuse his call if they so wished, having spent the last three days dealing with rogue digimon that Rika and Kiken had insisted they deal with. He still wasn't convinced that by preventing the random fights and deletions that were so common in his quadrant they could help prevent any sort of reappearance of the D-Reaper, but he was, frankly, willing to try anything.

The Hazard, after all, typically responded to D-Reaper and vice versa, and Kiken had the annoying habit of taping into the unknown's power at the worst times….

The doors opened and in walked all his Devas, escorting the young human female.

"Hey, birdbrain. Any reason these guys woke me up, or was it just to piss me off?" Rika asked, not caring at the moment about insulting anyone. It wasn't often she found herself in a calming, deep sleep.

Zhuqiaomon spared her but a glance, turning to his Devas. "Is it everything ready?"

"Yes, Lord Zhuqiaomon," all twelve intoned. Rika was surprised to see the sadness in Antylamon's eyes, but ignored it, believing it to just be her sleepy eyes playing tricks on her.

"Well? I'm waiting, Zhuqiamon!"

The raven finally turned to her, levelling his head with her own. "Takato is able to perform a Matrix Evolution, correct?"

Rika nodded, suddenly distrusting the sovereign even more than she did previously.

"And so it will only be a matter of time for him to biomerge, correct?"

"Yes…."

"And he has learned how to use those cards?"

Rika blinked at him, nodding again. Now it wasn't just distrust- it was extreme worry.

"Good. Then, your presence here will no longer be required. We have established a Gate back to your world, through which you will return immediately, with Antylamon as guide. If you have not left the digital world by sun-up, I will send all the Devas after you, and there will be no mercy. Do I make myself clear?"

Rika gapped up at the sovereign, surprise written all over her face. It was, of course, quickly replaced by shock, hurt, and- most prominently- anger.

"The hell, Zhuqiamon! He's still not ready for- you can't really expect him to be-"

"I can expect whatever I want from my servants. You should be grateful, human- as long as you keep her secret from everyone, I am letting you take your partner back with you. Now, Antylamon, escort her to her room to pack and then all the way to the Gate. For your sakes, make it fast- we wouldn't want any bloodshed, would we?"

Antylamon bowed her head, turning to Rika and grabbing the teen by the arm.

"Anty-"

"Please, Rika," Antylamon cut her off, "come with me."

Swallowing the numerous things she wanted to say to the sovereign, most of which would be fairly rude and extremely inappropriate, Rika turned sharply, wrenching her arm out of the Deva's grasp. She stalked out of the room and down the numerous corridors that she had grown accustomed to roaming over the last few months.

Antylamon was quick to catch up with her, and began whispering to her quietly. "Please, Rika, know that we- yes, all of us- argued against Zhuqiaomon. We know that he's not anywhere near ready to take up the mantle of 'Tamer' again, but Zhuqiaomon says that as you learned by chance and experience, that's the best way for him, too.

"Besides…" and here she paused, both of them quieting their steps as they passed the door to the other's room where he and Guilmon no doubt continued to sleep. Once they were past it, Antylamon didn't continue her sentence until they were safely within Rika's room and the door firmly closed.

"Besides, rumour got to Zhuqiaomon about your relationship with him. He believes- and may be right- that as long as Kiken strives to remember more about you, he'll spend less time thinking about Guilmon, which would dramatically lessen his chances of ever biomerging. I'm not saying that what he is doing is right, but please know that this isn't… isn't just because you're human."

Rika, who had been silent the entire time, rounded on the Deva. "Oh? Well, that makes everything much better, that he hates me for being me and not for being human."

She began ripping her clothes off the hangers and throwing them carelessly into a bag, Antylamon and Renamon (who had appeared sometime during Antylamon's explanation) watching and wishing that they could do something to change what was happening. Rika no longer cared about being quiet- if she was being kicked out, she'd prefer to at least say goodbye to her friend, partner and (though she still refused to admit it to herself) love interest.

Wait… "Why is he making me leave in the middle of night, Antylamon?"

"Well… I believe that Zhuqiaomon might come up with a story about you leaving on some kind of mission and then falling in battle. He'll want to keep Kiken on his side, and if the Knight knows that Master Zhuqiaomon kicked you out…."

"Kiken won't be Zhuqiaomon's little pet anymore." Rika finished, glaring at the wall that divided her bedroom from Kiken's. She considered ordering Renamon to tear it down, but Zhuqiaomon's warning suddenly echoed in her mind. No doubt he wouldn't give her the chance to even get to the Gate before sending the Devas after her if she did that.

"Antylamon?"

The rabbit Deva looked at Rika almost nervously, not sure if she should be worried or relieved about the sudden calmness. "Yes, Rika?"

"Why is Zhuqiaomon sending you? And what will happen to you if we don't get the Gate in time?"

Antylamon didn't have an answer to that, though all three in the room knew, if subconsciously, what the answer was. To Zhuqiaomon, she had betrayed him once and was liable to do so again. Should he need to send the other Devas, it was- to him- better for a possible traitor to be caught in the cross-fire than one of this own loyal ones.

Rika finished packing in silence, throwing the bag over her shoulder and carefully not looking down the darkened hallway as they began walking towards the entrance to the citadel. Renamon had gone on ahead of them to inform the guards that they were leaving.

If either Rika or Antylamon had bothered to look, they might have been surprised to see a red head poking around the corner of a partially-opened door, or the quiet, saddened noise that Guilmon made as he watched them walk away.

The three of them stood before the Gate, watching the slowly fluctuating colors which indicated a stable portal. A digi-gnome flew over to settle on Rika's shoulder, cooing to her as it sensed her distress. Rika patted it on the head absent-mindedly, taking one last look around at the place that had become a second home to her.

The Gate was located, appropriately, in the Desert level, atop one of the rock pillars that dotted the landscape. It was still dark, but Rika knew that, within minutes, the Earth-Sphere would cease being the moon and become the sun, and that she had better leave now, instead of the risking the sovereign's wrath.

Yet, she couldn't bring herself to step through the Gate. She knew she was putting all their lives at risk, but, somehow, that next step seemed to be so… final. She knew that it wasn't too far from here that she had first arrived in the digital world for the second time, and that Takato had probably landed in the same area as well.

On the way here, Rika had begun wondering what her family was doing- how they were doing, how they were coping with her prolonged absence, what they would do when she returned. She found herself missing her grandmother, her mother, even the other Tamers and those few friends she had at school. She actually wanted to some degree to go back- but, she was startled to realize, she wanted to come back.

She had grown up here, in the world of the sovereigns, the world where Takato died and Kiken was born. Where Renamon, Guilmon, and the other digimon, for that matter, were born. This world was her home now, too- more so than the 'real' one.

'Home is where the heart is,' as they saying went. Rika thought about it then, standing there before the Gate, and knew, without question that her home- where she belonged right now, where she was needed at that moment- was the very place she was about to leave.

"Antylamon… I can't. I can't go back- I'm need here, I have to stay-"

"Rika," and this time it was Renamon who spoke, "We may be able to return again soon. Zhuqiaomon specified that we must be gone by sunrise. He never said we had to stay away."

"Though he implied it," Rika muttered, hating herself for even considering leaving- and then hating herself for hating herself, as she still had family on the other side, too.

Antylamon looked between the two of them, then back at the sky. She frowned as she watched the Earth-Sphere, noticing the tell-tale differences that indicated morning was approaching, and soon. "If you are to leave, you should do so soon."

Rika and Renamon shared a look and, making up her mind, Rika turned to begin walking away from the Gate. A suddenly explosion before her, however, threw her backwards, into both Renamon and Antylamon, knocking them, the digi-gnome still on her shoulder, and herself, into the portal.

"Drat… he's not going to be happy," a mature, unfamiliar male voice commented as Rika felt her conscious leaving her, Renamon and Antylamon forced back to their in-training and rookie forms respectively. They and the gnome quickly curled up around Rika's arms and neck.

"Ah well… we should leave before those Devas come to make sure they've left," commented another voice, this one female.

"We must report to the master. Come- they will not bother us any longer."

And then there was darkness, a cold, biting darkness that Rika had never experienced before and caused her to nearly convince herself that something had gone wrong. To her relief, it was followed a sudden heat that wrapped around her, protecting her and her three passengers like a lover's arms. It was then that Rika let herself be brought into unconsciousness, enjoying the ride.

Kiken had awoken at the normal time, a few minutes before sunrise. He mused that something felt different that day, but decided not to dwell on it.

"Good morning, Guilmon!"

He had expected a response. Getting nothing, he sat up and looked around the room, surprised to find that his partner was notably absent.

"Guilmon? Come on, boy- let's not play hide-and-go-seek so early, alright?"

Still the silence permeated the room, and Kiken began to worry. He began checking around the room, under the bed and chairs, in the closet, in the bathroom, even out the windows.

"Aw, Guilmon. Where are you?"

Deciding it would be better to see if Rika or Renamon could tell him where his draconic partner had disappeared to (or if they could help him find him), he headed down the hall, ignoring the fact that he was still in his pyjamas which consisted of nothing more than a pair of shorts.

In fact, he had purposefully done so, looking forward to the look on Rika's face when she saw him. He opened the doors to her room, smiling a thousand-watt smile even though it was still dark.

"Rika, Rena- Guilmon?"

Guilmon was laying on Rika's bed, and to his surprise, there was evidence the red dragon-lizard had been crying. Is that even possible? I should ask Rika...

"Guilmon? Hey, buddy, you okay?" Kiken sat down beside the other, resting his hand on the back of Guilmon's neck.

Guilmon let out a howl, burying his head in the side of Kiken's leg. Bewildered, Kiken gathered his partner into a tight hug, trying to reassure the other. "What's wrong?"

"Antylamon, Renamon and Rikamon left when it was really, really dark, Kikenmon. Something feels weird, and bad, and I'm scared, Kikenmon."

The trembling in the usually happy digimon's voice provided serious cause for concern, and Kiken immediately called for the digi-gnomes to see if they knew anything.

Of the many that came, only a few could answer anything that was helpful, which only consisted of something big the Devas and Zhuqiaomon had been working on in the Desert Level and two big, mean digimon near Rika, Renamon and Antylamon.

Now, Kiken was no idiot, and was immediately worried- there were many possibilities those little bits of information brought to mind, and none of them were all that pleasant. And, although he had been told by Zhuqiaomon to ignore that power that he knew was within him and Guilmon, Rika and all of the Devas had told him that in extreme situations and, as long as he only used a very, very small amount, it should be okay to tap into it.

Asking the gnomes to help him, he used this power- the Hazard, as everyone called it- to search out whatever had the gnomes so worked up about the Desert Level. He was surprised to find he could 'see' what the gnomes did, and fairly clearly, should he close his eyes.

He wasn't sure at first, but when the gnomes helped him amplify the signature, he recognised Rika, Renamon, Antylamon and one of the gnomes in a place that he knew would be near impossible to get to now. He felt a kind of fear run through Rika, and, although surprised, tried to reach out to give her some form of comfort.

Apparently it worked, as she relaxed and then-

Before him stood eleven of the twelve Devas, Antylamon being the missing member. Behind them- or, before them, as they were facing away from the gnome that he was looking through, was Zhuqiaomon, glaring at a large, colourful entity. A Gate to the human world, the gnomes supplied for him, and Kiken felt his mouth going dry.

Before his eyes, Zhuqiaomon roared in frustration, taking to the skies and throwing huge amounts of fire at the portal. To his ire, the portal began closing, fast enough that by the time they reached it, it had disappeared and the only thing the fire had left to burn was the desert sands and the Devas.

He felt the gnomes drawing away from the scene, and withdrew the tendril of power through which he had been observing. He felt woosey, unstable. He fell onto his back, Guilmon laying back with him.

"Kikenmon?"

"Hm?"

"Are Renamon, Rikamon, and Antylamon safe?"

Kiken let a small smile on his face. Although he wasn't sure about where they were or why they were going there, he was sure about this. He had made it so. "Yes, Guilmon. They're safe, though I'm not sure when they're coming back. Zhuqiaomon didn't look too happy about something, though."

"Did you think Zhuqiaomon wanted them to leave?"

Kiken blinked, thinking back on what he had 'seen'. "Well… no. Actually, I think he was unhappy because they had left."

That confused Guilmon (especially after what he had seen last night) but Kiken probably knew better, anyways.

"So… what should we do until they get back?" Kiken asked the air after a few minutes of silence, beginning to hear the tell-tale signs of life stirring within the citadel.

Guilmon looked thoughtful, then sat up and smiled. "Guilmon bread, Guilmon bread! It's a loaf shaped like my head…."

Kiken laughed and sent Guilmon to raid what had become the kitchens and prepare everything to make the bread as he went back to his rooms to change.

The moment he door closed he let his face fall, sinking to his knees. He didn't want to mention it to his partner, but something had felt wrong about what he had seen. Why was Zhuqiaomon so angry? Hadn't he sent them wherever they were going? Maybe something had gone wrong, or perhaps….

The fact that what Zhuqiaomon had been angry at was a portal to the human world scared Kiken. He recognized now that Rika, Renamon, Antylamon and gnome had been in one such portal, and that was why it had been so hard to get any sort of lock on their signatures. He desperately wanted to know what was going on, but knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Instead, he tried to shake the feeling that something very, very bad had just happened…. However, he wasn't able to and realized that he wanted Rika by his side whenever the relapse occurred.

He also realized that he was, out of everyone in the citadel, probably the weakest link and most likely to be the first to fall. Her absence unnerved him- he didn't usually feel so weak with Rika around, challenging him and supporting him. So he swore to himself, then and there, that if Rika wasn't back within one month he would do something. What, he wasn't sure- but, he reasoned with himself, the two- no, four- of them should be back long before then.

Standing (and wiping away the stray tear that had made its way down his cheek) he put a smile on his face and went in search of clothes. While she was away, he would train hard and make her proud.

This, he swore out loud, would be the first day of a new stage in his life.

"Rika… Rika… wake up!"

"I'm up already!"

Rika was surprised to find herself back inside Guilmon's shed, the light in the hole from the portal back to the digital world glimmering by her feet. Lopmon and the digi-gnome sat on either side of her head while Viximon sat on her stomach.

Groaning, she sat up all the way as Viximon jumped off her stomach and onto the ground beside the gnome. "Ugh… we're back? What happened…?"

Lopmon looked up at her, a frown on her face. "I do not know, though I believe we were attacked. Not by the Devas, but by someone else, someone with great power."

Rika made a face, looking around for her bag. "Why doesn't it surprise me that there's some new, great evil around?" She found it above her head and began riffling through it, pulling out some normal clothes so she could change out of the bodysuit she was wearing. You never knew what you could find in the Desert Level, after all- or what could find you.

"Coo?" the digi-gnome commented, looking around at the world it had found itself in.

"Just stay with us, little guy, and you'll be fine," Rika told it, quickly changing. The air was cool- it was obviously just barely morning here as well. She slipped a sweater out of her bag and put it on, tucking the gnome inside the jacket (as it was the smallest and warmest) and motioned for Viximon and Lopmon to get into her bag.

"Oh! Is that a new game? Can I play?"

Rika froze, turning to find a familiar white head poking out of the hole down to the portal. "Calumon?"

Calumon jumped up, landing between Lopmon and Viximon and shrinking his ears to fit. "Yuppers! When those other digimon left I wanted to play with you, so here I am!"

Rika groaned, but let Calumon stay in the bag as she zipped it up, knowing that Viximon and Lopmon would keep the little one quiet. She had thought that hiding Viximon would be hard enough, but now she had Lopmon, Calumon and the digi-gnome to deal with.

She would have sent them back through the portal, but as Yamaki had pointed out all those months ago, it had been corrupted by the Hazard and only certain people, herself and Viximon among them, were able to use it.

Rika quickly made her way through the quickly growing number of pedestrians on the street, aiming for home the entire way. The quickest path had the unfortunate side effect of passing directly past what was left of the Matsuda bakery, but Rika had a way around that- she made sure to walk on the other side of the street in the middle of a thick crowd, so that she could not see the ruins.

And she knew they were still ruins, too- Yamaki and Hypnos would have asked the city council to leave them, as a real testament to the horrors of that attack, and the lives lost during it.

When she reached home, she was surprised to find that no one was there. Her mom, she could understand. Rumiko, being a famous model, was forced to travel all over the world. It was strange for her grandmother to be out, but Rika just assumed that the elder woman had some sort of group meeting or council to go to.

It wasn't like they were expecting her home that day.

"Okay, guys. The coast is clear."

The digi-gnome immediately left her jacket, Lopmon, Calumon and Viximon leaping out of her bag the moment the zipper was even a fraction of the way down.

Rika shook her head, heading into her room to unpack while the four digital beings began exploring her yard. Once done, she joined them; looking for what had changed and what had stayed the same, wanting to find something to help her get her bearings.

There was a note on the kitchen table, which Rika picked up, wondering who it was for.

Rika,

I know that this might just be a futile wish, but if you get home and find this note, could you please call me at the number at the bottom of the page? A lot has happened in the last few months and I miss you so much. This is the first job I've taken since you've left, you see, and I was hoping that you would be back sooner. It's in China, so I won't be back for a week starting on the Monday. Well, if luck should have it that you do return while I'm away, I want you to know I… that WE… both missed you, and WE both love you.

Mom

Rika found an eyebrow rising at the plurality of the final line, but then assumed that Rumiko had been referring to her grandmother. Though that didn't explain why the note had changed like that, near the end, going from "I" to "WE". The stress on the word was strange, too, but she didn't let it bother her.

There was, indeed, a hastily-scrawled number at the bottom and Rika was tempted to call it, until she checked the time. Whatever else her mother was, a morning person she was not, especially not before 6.

Just like Ta- Kiken….

Being back in her own world made Rika revert to calling him 'Takato', expecting the bumbling Goggleheaded boy to show up suddenly and just hang around, driving her insane even while she enjoyed his company. That made her think that Kiken was exactly the same, whatever the differences might have been… and that, in turn, made her realize for the first time what she had given up.

About to leave the digital world she realized that that was her home, not here. But now she saw everything that much clearer. She hadn't just given up her home- she had given up possibly her only chance of ever seeing or being with Kiken… of being with Takato.

That and my mission was to bring him back….

Calumon leaped onto her head, Viximon and the gnome taking up positions on her shoulders and Lopmon sat on the table in front of her, reading over the note.

"Rika? Are you alright?"

The sound of Calumon's voice was just one more reminder, as was the presence of the beings on her shoulders and table. She was near her breaking point, she knew- and then cast away all those thoughts.

As Renamon had pointed out, Zhuqiaomon had never banned her, banned them, from returning one day. And, as much as she hated to admit it, his reasoning did make some semblance of sense.

"So," she said aloud, reasoning with herself and those around her, "I'll catch up with everything here, get my bearings and settle everything. Then I'll… then we will all go back. Of course, we have to wait long enough so as to give some time for Zhuqiaomon's plan regarding Kiken to fail, so we should wait for at least two or three weeks. And it will probably take that long to get everything settled over here, anyways…."

Lopmon looked at her worriedly, though the other three made no comment. "What to do mean by 'settled', Rika?"

Rika smiled down at the grey bunny-like digimon, acting very un-Rika-ish. "Well, Lopmon, I realized that I feel more at home in the digital world, and am therefore going to return and preferably stay for a while next time." And here Rika returned to the strong, defiant personality that all were used to. "Besides, I need to give Kiken his daily beatings, don't I?"

Lopmon sweatdropped, though she found no real fault with Rika's plan. Viximon was more or less of the same mind as Rika, and Calumon and the digi-gnome didn't really care what happened, as long as it was interesting and fun and they could somehow help.

And so it came to be that the four digital beings were left the run of the house unless they heard, sensed or saw someone at the door, at which point they were to hide. Rika, meanwhile, decided to head out to Hypnos, check in, and see what had been happening in the few months she had been MIA.

The receptionist was surprised to see her, though perhaps 'surprise' wasn't the right word. It was a new receptionist, one that Rika had never seen before and one that apparently had never seen Rika before.

"I'm sorry, 'ma'am', but you aren't allowed any further without either an appointment or someone from the higher levels accompanying you. Even if you were one of those children I wouldn't be authorized to allow you to enter."

By the way that she had said children, Rika was pretty sure that the receptionist had no idea who the Tamers were, but that was all well and good. It made it easier for Rika to dislike the woman- and therefore not hold back in ranting to her.

Which, of course, Rika did. One good, long rant about how much she hated the current government establishment, how she hated Hypnos, hated school, hated this entire world and most of the people in it, and how she currently hated her life. This was then continued into a rant about how Rika hated impertinent, uptight people who looked down on anyone who was not apparently of their 'class' or did not meet their expectations. A second rant about how Rika couldn't wait to get out of there, but had to get in there before she could get out, was just beginning when the elevator dinged open, letting a number of people exit.

"Nonaka?"

Rika blinked, having not noticed the elevator opening, and turned around to come face-to-face with Yamaki, Riley, Talley, and the entire group of Monster Makers.

She let a smirk turn the corners of her mouth up and raised her hand, eyes glinting dangerously. "Yo, boss-sir."

Riley raised an eyebrow while the others made similar motions of amused confusion. Yamaki turned to the receptionist, who began cowering with fear under his gaze far worse than Rika had made her with her screaming.

"Yuzamua, meet Rika Nonaka-Makino. Nonaka, meet Anateri Yuzamua, our current secretary-receptionist."

Rika looked over her shoulder at the secretary, wondering why she was cowering. It was just Yamaki, after all.

Her unasked question was answered the next second as Yamaki began to loom over the woman, obviously terrifying her. "Nonaka has top-level security clearance, Yuzamua, and has been working here for far longer than you. You are to give her your full cooperation and respect. If not, I'm sure that Governor Itamaki would be interested to hear about your current job, would he not?"

Yamaki paused, then deciding to continue berating the secretary. Somehow, Rika couldn't find the will to feel sorry for the woman, and saw on the faces of the Monster Makers and Hypnos Techs behind her that they shared her opinion.

"Riley, why are you all down here?"

Riley turned to her, frowning. "Well…." She beckoned Rika closer, lowering her voice. "We detected two bio-emergences near the portal by Guilmon's shed earlier. We can safely assume that one was you, but we can't be sure about the other."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "If it's any consolation, I didn't see any fog, explosions, or strange digital creatures that usually accompany a bio-emergence, and I hung around there for a while after I got back."

"Speaking of that, Nonaka," Yamaki interrupted, walking over to them and ignoring the nearly-in-tears secretary behind the desk. "I want to discuss what's been happening recently with you. We'll be up soon, we just have to check out something."

"Actually, sir, if what Rika says it true then we might not need to go anywhere," Talley put in, looking up at her boss.

Yamaki turned to Rika, a questioning look on his face. Rika tilted her head a bit, acknowledging Talley's comment. Yamaki nodded, leading the group back over to the elevators.

They stopped at the tenth floor, which surprised Rika. Instead of finding some sort of meeting rooms, the entire floor was a single, huge room with different dividers, half-walls and pillars littered throughout. "It's a security checkpoint," Riley explained, being the only one to get off with Rika. "We need to get you officially listed as having clearance, and authority, otherwise Yuzamua can make your life a living hell."

"Why did you hire her, anyways?" Rika wondered aloud, allowing herself to be steered over to the first 'station'.

Riley snorted. "We didn't. After everything that's been going on, the City Council and its Governors 'asked' us to have someone reliable positioned somewhere in Hypnos."

"Reliable meaning a spy for them, asked meaning forced or…?"

"Or no more cuts from the budget, however small they may be."

"Ouch," Rika mused, glaring at the black ink on her fingers from the fingerprinting. It could hurt, too- Hypnos was the only agency that had any idea what was going on and might support all her future jaunts back to the digital world. Not that she was going to tell them that, of course.

Riley rolled her eyes, sitting down behind a computer and calling up Rika's pre-existing profile, checking everything and making a few changes. "Understatement. So, what was the Southern Quadrant like?"

Rika sat down beside her, rubbing her fingers on her jeans to get the ink off. "Oh, eventful. Of course, now I have the urge to destroy Zhuqiaomon the next time I see him."

"Trouble?"

"Actually, he was fairly good this time. Just decided that I was in the way and decided to kick me out. It's the only reason I'm back this early."

"Early?" The note of disbelief in Riley's voice was a pretty fair indication of most people's opinion, Rika knew, about what she considered 'early'.

Rika had to think about whether to say anything or not to the Tech. Riley was trustworthy- rantworthy, even- but should, could, Rika tell her everything? Making up her mind, Rika simply replied, "There were some… problems."

"Why am I not surprised? Ah, done," Riley stood up, grabbing something from a randomly placed cupboard and sliding it into a scanner. The small, plastic card then found its way into Rika's hands as they began making their way back to the elevators. "So… what kind of problems?"

"Complicated ones."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Riley sounded disappointed, and Rika resolved to give the main operator of the Hypnos systems a bit more information later.

"Well, you're going to be at the meeting, aren't you?"

Riley nodded, but seemed disappointed. "So, none of those kinds of problems?"

Rika frowned at her. "I might not know what you mean by 'those' kinds of problems, but I… sort-of want to talk to you after the meeting. In private, since I have some questions I would rather others not overhear."

Riley turned to her, smiling her acceptance of the offer down to her young charge. Rika, you have changed.

The doors dinged open again, and Rika and Riley stepped out, Riley leading the way down the long hallway, past the doors to the monitoring room to the conference room.

As they stepped in, Rika couldn't help but feel that she had just entered a room where no one was to be trusted, and immediately put her guard up. As she and Riley took their seats, Yamaki leant forward, tossing two folders down the table at them.

"Read that later," he instructed Rika, who was about to open hers. "Right now, we just need to know what happened."

Rika nodded, leaning back in her chair, closed her eyes, and began to dredge through the memories.

Notes

1. No real notes this chapter. To be honest, there might have been for the first couple sections, but since it's been over three months since I last looked at this thing….?

Ah, another chapter done. I had the first bit done quite a while ago, and only started working on the ending recently. Hee hee… I should go take a shower now….

Oh, if you're wondering about what's up in the real world? That's all next chapter (knowing me, that might be next chapter). AND, since I've recently looked over my notes which I, also recently, found, I realized that this might very well be over soon. Of course, I still have all the original plans from Warp Fusion (how long ago was I planning on doing that? Talk about a bad idea….) but really… oy.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

And, as I'm sure you know though I'll still point it out: I'm hungry. Very, very hungry. Hungry enough to have made really weird mistakes in my typing. So, please, PLEASE feed the author(ess).

We lobr you all!