DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).

Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading.

DIMENSIONS

BOOK SIX

Tricks

CHAPTER 32

The Trick to Pranks

WEDNESDAY, 25TH AUGUST 2010

Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

10:02 JST

The soft air of the island was filled with laughter as another day of fun began, most running towards the practically-private beach at top speed, their feet making deep trenches in the dunes. Smirks were worn on some faces, knowing smiles on others, and some just dumbly ran onwards, not knowing what Destiny held in store for them that day. Indeed, even the Angel of that element didn't have a clue, the skills to master knowledge of the vast ocean of Destiny beyond even the Gods. Nonetheless, if she knew what were to happen, she'd probably have tried to prevent it.

"Mari, why do you have a plastic bag?" Mimi asked, bewildered by the determined look on the girl and her boyfriend's faces, the former wielding a white grocery bag.

"Revenge," Ryder answered, the older girl eying them curiously before shrugging, deciding the point wasn't worth pursuing.

"Well, so long as you leave me out of it, go ahead," she said. Mari smiled, nodding.

"Of course, you're certainly not on our list of targets," she joked.

"So who is?" Mimi asked curiously.

"You'll see," Ryder said with a sly grin, continuing to move with his crutches through the soft sand which they easily sunk into.

However, not all were eagerly running for the beach. Takato glanced with a slim smile as Guilmon ran away with the others, glad he was having a fun time. He turned, frowning and walking over to the thing that still continued to concern him: a frowning Rika, leaning against the wall of the traditional home, hand on her stomach bump as she looked off into nothing.

"Rika, don't you want to come?" he asked, bending down like he was talking to a moping child. His enthusiasm in his voice was quickly tiring, and now it had simply become irritation, although he knew he was wrong to direct such irritation at her, particularly given her current state. The last thing they needed was two irritable, saddened teenagers.

"I really don't feel like it," Rika answered, frowning and sighing as she looked up to him. "Sorry, but every morning lately I just wake up and feel tired, depressed, and generally like crap. So just hope I get over it by this evening like I did eventually yesterday, okay?" she asked.

"Hmm…" Takato mumbled. She was right, it had eventually passed and she had eventually joined them, but she continued to seem distant all the same. "Okay," he answered finally. "But I'm not just going to leave you here all alone," he added, sitting himself down next to her. "You'll get bored, for starters," he joked. "Not that I'm any more fun. Well, unless I do something stupid."

Rika shortly held a slim smile. "Nah, you are fun Takato…especially when you do something stupid…but…" she hesitated, her smile going back to a frown. "I don't want to feel that I'm holding you back from having more fun," she continued. "This is your holiday too, after all, and I don't think you want to spend all of it with your depressed, pregnant, teenage girlfriend who is at the trough of a mood swing," she added.

"Wow, way to sell yourself," Chaos said dryly.

"Oh, and I don't want to listen to that either," she added, pointing to Takato's forehead with a slim smile on her face.

"I'll keep him quiet, I promise," Takato said with a grin, before it dampened into a more serious expression. "I just want to stay and keep you company," he added.

"Takato, I don't want to ruin your holiday," Rika answered, sighing. "Go on, go have fun," she insisted, pointing towards the beach.

"But…" Takato began to object.

"Takato. Go. Away. Have. Fun. Now," Rika ordered. "Before. I. Have. To. Set. Renamon. On. You. Okay?" she added, continuing to stress each word in turn.

Takato sighed, nodding in response. "Fine," he answered, bending down and sharing a kiss with her as each gripped the other in their arms, before Takato stood up again, a reluctant look on his face. Despite the fact he would probably be bored out of his mind, he wanted to stay with Rika, hoping that at some point they would stir up a conversation. Then again, there was equally the chance that she would stay quiet all day and he would eventually be forced by Chaos to shoot himself, or worse.

"Have fun," Rika wished. "I'll be out later so you can gawk at my figure," she joked, a full, if a bit sarcastic, smile on her face, a rare sight so far this holiday

He smiled equally sardonically, nodding. "Looking forward to it," he noted, turning and heading away from the home.

Rika sighed, a slim smile remaining after watching him walk away. Anyone else would've gotten really aggravated with her by now. "Why do you keep pushing him away?" Harmony asked, Rika frowning as her concerns were voiced, albeit only in her head.

"I don't," she insisted.

"Rika, as much as I hate to say it, given he's Chaos and all, you can trust him. He won't run away, you can't keep thinking that," Harmony insisted.

"But how do I know? This is Gogglehead we're talking about here, I'm surprised he didn't wet himself regularly back in the early days," she reflected. "He loves to run into things, but when the reality hits him, he's not always so good at keeping it going," she noted with a frown.

"Rika, even if he isn't father material, you know he's going to try his best," Harmony noted.

"I know he will…but…what happens once he realises he's not up to it?"

"But he will stay!" Harmony insisted.

"That's what I thought about Dad," Rika reflected sadly.

"Rika, you can't let your judgements on all men ride on one person's actions," Harmony noted.

"Well duh!"

"So why are you so afraid?"

"Because it has always hurt, and it still bloody hurts, and I don't want another pain like that on my heart, okay?!" Rika insisted. "I became a moody bitch the last time round, what do you think would happen this time? Suicide? Running away from home? Abuse? Heck, every time I get even remotely attached to someone, I suffer from horrible withdrawal symptoms. Sorry, but I just don't want that pain again," she noted sadly. "How can you even be sure we're still together in the future? People change Harmony, and you should know that most of all. The kindest people can become monsters in bad situations, and I don't want to let that happen to him," she finished, sighing as she laid her head back, closing her eyes and hoping to get some sleep.

"Oh Rika," Harmony sighed sadly, as Renamon frowned, seeing her Tamer's range of facial expressions.

Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

10:16 JST

"So she just told you to go have fun then?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow as he ensured he was understanding things correctly. Takato nodded in response, frowning sadly.

"I knew it wouldn't last," Terriermon chirped cheerfully.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded, seeing a frown on Takato's face, the pair sitting on surfboards in swimming shorts, floating in the calm water. The poor surf something which irritated Kai, and overjoyed Davis and Takeru who were glad to escape further embarrassment. Terriermon sat alongside Henry on his board, and Guilmon swam with the fishes below, although not in the way that that phrase normally implied. A number of killed fish occasionally floated to the surface, prompting rolled eyes from Terriermon, and notes about the smell from the two humans.

"Geez, sorry!" Terriermon replied. "Was only a joke!" he added.

Henry sighed, looking back to Takato and continuing their conversation, ignoring his quick-witted partner entirely. "I can't say I haven't noticed it, to be honest. I spoke to Jeri about it last night after dinner, and she has too, and it's really concerning her to see Rika depressed like this."

"Yeah, same, but I really am not sure why. I've got all these ideas of why she's like this, but I can't seem to get any clarification out of her," Takato noted. "And I thought I was the one she was most open to."

"Besides Harmony and Renamon, of course," Terriermon chirped in. Silence ensued as they watched a fish bob to the surface after a short flurry of waves on the surface, before continuing their conversation.

"I mean, it can't just be mood swings," Takato finished.

"Well…Jeri suggested one reason why she could be so depressed," Henry noted, a pondering look appearing on his face as he contemplated the idea the brunette had suggested. It did make sense, but Henry knew it was also a personal issue for Rika, one that she rarely talked about, even to Takato. Indeed, she had fainted once for it.

"Which is?" Takato asked, noting Henry's hesitation.

"Well…Rika's father left her when she was young and her grandfather is absent," Henry began.

"I think her grandfather died of cancer," Takato noted with a frown.

"Yeah, so, has Rika ever had a male figure in her life that hasn't left for some reason?" Henry concluded.

"Not really. I mean, I had pondered that, but even I never really want to ask about that sort of thing. So do you think she doesn't trust me to stay?" Takato asked, a frown still on his face as the board was gently lapped by the calm waves.

"Maybe," Henry said uncertainly, not sure whether he was implanting bad ideas in Takato's head. The last thing they wanted was another depressed teenager.

"But she knows I won't go, doesn't she?" Takato asked, uncertainty shared in his voice. "I mean, we're having a kid together. And…Rey in the future…and all that," he tried to elaborate.

"Yeah, but we're not sure that'll even happen now or not. She could've changed anything, and that one tiny spark of doubt is what must be eating away at her."

"Plus, I hate to break it to ya, but has Rey ever said you're together still at that point?" Terriermon asked.

"Um…I'm not sure?" Takato asked. Henry and Terriermon frowned. "But, she's always insisted we're good parents!" Takato added, trying to convince his friends and reassure himself.

"Which of course, is something that every child from the future continually and endlessly insists to their parents…" Terriermon said, rolling his eyes. Henry gave him a slightly stern look, a frown on his face. Terriermon simply shrugged in response. Takato sighed, looking down into the water, his face reflected in it as a few fish swarmed away from Guilmon's form below. His head came to the surface, poking out curiously.

"Takato, are you okay?" he asked, concern in his eyes at his Tamer's frown.

"Not really," Takato sighed. "Rika doesn't trust me, she doesn't even talk about it and I have no idea what to do next."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Guilmon insisted, a smile on his face. Takato always managed to find a way out of any situation he found himself in, and doubtless he would this time too.

"Wow, that'll help," Terriermon said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Guilmon.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"But seriously Henry! Takato doesn't have a clue what to do, and he's not the most logical of people in situations like this," Terriermon insisted.

"Terriermon, he'll think of something," Henry insisted.

"No, Terriermon's right. What on earth do I do?" Takato asked, feeling completely out of his depth in this new situation as he stared down into the water again, hands round his neck. Terriermon, Guilmon and Henry put their hands on their chins in contemplation.

"You could always marry her?" Terriermon mooted.

Takato's head shot up with a look of surprise, and Henry's head turned round with a look of horror, whilst Guilmon held a look of confusion. Terriermon grinned widely despite all this.

"What?!" Takato stuttered.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded.

"Marry?" Guilmon asked, not sure of the concept.

"What? He wants to prove he'll be there, she's pregnant, and it's going to happen anyway, so why not now?" Terriermon elaborated, shrugging.

"But, Terriermon, they…um…" Henry began to reply, hesitating as he tried to think of something. Takato looked to Henry for a defence in this situation, or at least something to shut Terriermon up. The dog-bunny, by now, had begun to grin widely, amused by how effectively he'd managed to surprise Henry and leave him unsure how to respond to the throwaway comment. "Well…"

"You can't think of a problem with it, can you?" Terriermon said, grinning.

"You can't?!" Takato asked in surprise. "Come on Henry, the idea's insane!" Takato insisted. "I'm sixteen, I can't get married now," he added.

"But you could propose at least," Henry pondered out loud. Takato's eyes widened in amazement, why wasn't Henry defending his case? The idea was truly insane, and why couldn't they see that?

Takato put his hands out defensively. "No, just no! I'm not proposing to Rika yet, I mean, come on…are you guys even hearing yourselves talk?"

"Are you Takato?" Henry echoed, reflecting Takato's point. "I mean, you two have been together for three years so far, you're having a child together, hell, you are both Gods…"

"And once one and the same, much to my disdain," Chaos chirped in, silently voicing the point which Henry didn't know about.

"And you've met the child from the future, and her surname is Matsuki so clearly you and Rika were married at some point."

"But that still doesn't mean I have to marry her yet," Takato noted, still amazed by the odd point. "I mean…yes, I probably will marry her at some point…if we're still a couple…"

"Wow Takato, you sure are confident about your relationship with Rika," Terriermon interrupted sarcastically, rolling his eyes (to the best of his ability).

"Okay, yes, we will definitely marry at some point; I get that but why…now?" Takato asked.

"Because that would prove that you're going to be there for her," Terriermon answered.

"Takato, what's marry? Is it related to Mari?" Guilmon asked naively.

"No, it's…ugh…" Takato began, flustering as he tried to think of how to explain it. "It's when two people love each other very much…"

"And the stalk comes and chucks a baby down the chimney!"

"SHUT UP!" Henry and Takato bellowed, leaving Guilmon more confused than ever.

"What's a stalk?" the saurian asked.

"Guilmon, marriage is where two people who love each other a lot decide they want to spend the rest of their lives together, and so they have this big ceremony called a wedding with all of their friends and family, and one takes the other's surname and then they legally become a couple, and live together."

"Yeah, and at the big ceremony, I eat the cake," Terriermon blurted cheerfully.

"Terriermon!" Henry scolded, irritated by how Terriermon kept making life difficult. "That isn't what happens."

"It's what happened at the last wedding we went to," Terriermon added with a wide grin. Henry sighed, putting his hand on his forehead.

"Oh, who am I kidding, Guilmon will do that anyway," he noted, Terriermon nodding in agreement.

"Before the wedding too," he added.

"Oh, so you want to marry Rika?" Guilmon asked, pondering whether he was understanding things correctly.

"No!" Takato blurted. "I mean yes, but…ugh! I can't take this anymore," he blasted, groaning in anger before loosing his balance and falling backwards off the board into the water with a great splash. Guilmon watched him curiously, Henry watched him with concern, and Terriermon…Terriermon was too busy laughing himself to death to even keep his eyes focused on the subject of his amusement.

Takato surfaced, his hair ruffled and his goggles slightly ajar as he looked up to the other three, all staring at him.

"Right, that's it, I'm going…come on Guilmon," he decided, looking to his dinosaur-like partner as he pulled down his goggles. Guilmon frowned, nodding before leaping into the water alongside him with an even bigger splash. "Maybe Kai has finished teaching the others to surf," he noted, as they began to swim away.

Henry frowned, watching Takato escape the conversation, rather literally too. He sighed, looking down to the board he sat on still, Takato's unoccupied board gently floating nearby. "Was I too hard on him about it all?" he pondered.

"I don't know, but you know what I do know?" Terriermon asked, enthusiasm in his voice.

"What?" Henry asked, concern and reluctance to know the answer in his voice.

"I get his board!" Terriermon said, leaping across to Takato's board. "Now digivolve me, I want to show off my awesome skills!" he cheered.

"You're incomprehensible, and I also get the feeling you want to show off to someone," Henry replied.

"Henry!" Terriermon complained. "Stop with all of that!" he added, a slight blush on his face.

"I really don't get why you like her so much," Henry sighed, continuing to ponder the mystery of his partner as he looked up to the sky above, only a few wispy clouds obscuring its consistent bright blue. "I mean, you never felt this for Renamon," he noted.

"Yeah, but that's different," Terriermon insisted. "She tried to kill me."

"So has everyone Terriermon, so has everyone," Henry joked.

"Well, then I don't know. You willing to tell me you understand love Mr. "Valentine's doesn't really matter, she won't care all that much"?"

"Touché."

"Hey, that's my line!"

Near Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

10:21 JST

"Okay, you distract her, and DarkRenamon will get her, okay?" Mari whispered in Ryder's ear, her voice with a slight sinister tone. The white grocery bag was now absent from her hand. Ryder nodded, feeling rather unsure about the first prank he had done in…ever. Still, it would prove good revenge for being buried alive.

"Okay, but how do I distract her?" Ryder asked unsurely. Mari gave him a look of disbelief.

"Ryder, it's you we're talking about here. Trust me, if I wasn't there to interrupt you, you two would talk for hours on end about everything under the sun, and then-some," she noted, before pushing him forwards sharply, although not sharp enough to make him fall off his crutches. "Now go on," she said, before quickly heading out of view.

"Uh, hey Rey," Ryder said, he and MiniDonmon walking and flying over to the redhead sitting quietly on the beach with Realmon. The pair were previously looking curiously at the time device whilst talking.

"Hey Realmon," MiniDonmon added with a nod.

"Hey," Rey answered, Realmon simply nodding in response as the boy and the bat-like Digimon on his shoulder reached them.

"Um…" Ryder hesitated, fishing for topics before unsurely (and unstably, thanks to his crutches) sitting himself down. He knew it would've flashed through Mari's mind by now that, if they were to do the prank now, he'd be got too, but he just hoped she would restrain herself from such an order. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, pondering as he looked over at the time device on the girl's wrist which they now seemed to be so engaged with.

"Fix it really," she answered.

"Did it just stop working at some point then?"

"Nope, it was like this to start with. As amazing as this device is Ryder, please when you do make it remember to make it better next time," she asked, a slight grin on her face at the concept.

"Fine, but I don't think it'll make much difference," Ryder answered, sighing. "I really don't understand all this time travel stuff. I mean, are you influencing time or aren't you? How can we find out?" he pondered.

"No idea, but…I still haven't got to the event I have to nullify yet," she noted, sighing. "At this rate, I don't think I will. I really know I have to get moving, I know I have to jump on a bit but…I love life like this. It's so calm, so teenage, so…weird. Hell, when I was a kid, I didn't have nearly as many friends as this. There were just D…well…there were a few people," she noted, avoiding the name. She had no idea how telling people now the names of the future could affect them when they finally met them. She hardly wanted her friends to be given strange looks all the time.

"So, this event you have to cancel out…how big is it?" Ryder asked curiously. "I mean, are we talking about, prevent someone from turning right at a junction, or are we talking about preventing someone from dying?" he elaborated.

"It's…well…" Rey pondered, trying to figure out the significance of this particular event. "Well, it is rather important, but once I've fixed things…it'll make things weird I suppose. I don't know what'll happen to me. Will I vanish entirely? Will you guys even remember me? I suppose that's why I'm staying behind too…I don't want to waste what could be my final days," she sighed.

"I see," Ryder answered, glancing across the beach to where a black blur quickly sprang into the air. "Damn, and I was just getting somewhere with this conversation," he thought. Rey raised an eyebrow, seeing his odd glance away, before it all hit her.

"Oh crap," she cursed, Ryder attempting to fun away from her (a rather amusing sight thanks to his crutches) as she was hit by a volley of water balloons from above, soaking both her and Realmon, and inflicting MiniDonmon and Ryder with slight splash damage.

As the water slowly began to soak away in the sand, she pushed herself into the feet, hands in fists of anger. Realmon shook the water off herself in irritation, it splashing gently down into the sand around her.

"Consider that revenge for burying Ryder," MiniDonmon noted cheerfully, his Tamer pushing himself to his feet on his crutches.

Rey's expression faltered, as she sighed. She groaned in irritation before looking down at the sand, reluctantly bring her eyes back up to look at Ryder, MiniDonmon, DarkRenamon and a newly arrived Mari. "I suppose I earned that, didn't I?" she noted.

"To be fair, it was a rather poignant prank, having a heavy weight land down on you from above," Ryder noted.

"Why is t…oh you bast…" Rey cursed, before smiling reluctantly and hesitating. She had to agree, it was a rather poignant prank. "Fine, I'm sorry for that then," she apologised, stressing her words with her arms crossed rather stubbornly. "I'll be more careful next time," she added.

"And that's all we ask," Mari said cheerfully, holding out a towel to Rey with a smile. "Want to help us get the others?" she offered as the girl took the towel.

"Okay, but it's not all going to be water balloons, is it?" the redhead asked, beginning to dry her hair.

Urazoe Residence, Okinawa Prefecture

13:02 JST

"Pebbles?" Rey asked, raising eyebrows at her partners-in-crime as the group arrived back at the house for lunch, the crisp smell of local food cooking filling the air as a redhead and two brunettes engaged in conversation quietly where they sat near each other whilst waiting.

"Well, you see, I noticed how all the Goggleheads wolf down food without thinking. Well, apart from Ryder, he's a rather fussy eater but that's another matter entirely. Anyway, the point is, I pondered what I could replace Tai and Agumon's food with, and so…" Mari explained, a smile on her face as she held the three or four pebbles in her hands. She returned them to hiding afterwards.

"Chaos will be pissed, you know that?" Rey asked, a smile on her face at the concept.

"Of course," Mari answered. "It's all part of my master plan," she added with a grin. "To…err…somehow get several people with pranks," she mumbled unsurely.

"You know, I'm kinda glad you're helping me with this, I would've run out of ideas," Ryder said, smiling.

"No problem, although I'm slightly worried someone might try to get revenge on me," Mari noted.

"Don't tempt me," Rey mumbled.

"So how are you going to get them to eat them?" Ryder whispered as people began to sit down.

"Hmm…I was hoping to just add them to the food that Tai and Agumon eat," Mari noted. "But everyone else will probably notice," she said, frowning.

"You know, we could just add them to the pile, and just continually retcon until you get a situation where they eat them and no-one notices?" Rey suggested.

"If I faint, please catch me," Ryder joked to Mari, nodding in response to the idea.

"Thanks Grandpa," Kai expressed his gratitude as the plate of food was placed down on the table.

"Yeah, thanks," Tai added, the others also putting in their gratitude.

Rika began to put the food on her plate, but noticed something very odd going on. Every time she lifted the food up, she suddenly realised she hadn't. Shrugging, she just kept trying, eventually getting food onto her plate. She went to bite into it, but noticed an oddity across the table.

"Okay, why is Takato staring at me like that?" she pondered, bewildered. Takato, noticing her stare, instantly broke out of it, realising he had been staring at her with only one thought running through his mind again and again and again and again…

"AAAARRGGGHHH!" Tai groaned all of a sudden, proving to be the perfect interruption to Takato's train of thought. Agumon gulped at the same time, his face soon turning red. "My teeth," Tai complained.

"You okay Tai?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow as Tai looked at the rock he had attempted to bite into.

"What the hell? A pebble?" he asked.

"Uh…oh…" Agumon said in realisation, hand going to his mouth. "Tai, I think I'm going to be sick!" he said, rushing from the table.

Tai, all the while, had begun to inspect his teeth. "Oh thank god, not broken."

Suddenly, Ryder fell sideways into Mari's arms, unconscious. Mari looked over him, concern flashing in her eyes. "Ryder, you okay?" she asked.

"Okay, maybe a bit too much energy use with retcon," Rey reflected. "Nice alibi all the same," she added, pondering how the others would just assume he'd also eaten a pebble.

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. What the hell was going on?

Chaos stood and raised the pebble up with him, eying the group in annoyance as he held it out. "Okay, who did this?!" he asked. "Who let the pebble get hurt?" he added.

"Uh, mate, it's a pebble?" Kai asked, bewildered by the God's reaction to it all.

"It's my greatest creation, I'll have you know!" Chaos insisted.

"Hmm…which is more impressive…creating life, or rocks," Harmony pondered, her hands held out like scales as she weighed up the idea.

"Not life, a tiny, tiny bacteria which I had to corrupt and mutate to get it to do anything," Chaos replied. "You cannot claim that as entirely your own," he added.

"Who is more significant, the person who has the idea or the person who makes it work?" Harmony argued back and getting to her feet.

"Okay, mum, dad, shut the hell up," Rey said, standing up herself and glaring at the pair with her hands out defensively to "block" their insults. "I'm pretty sure that Takato and Rika don't want to put up with your bickering, and I think I speak for all of us when I say…We. Don't. Give. A. Crap."

"Humph," Chaos and Harmony huffed, going back to be seated on the floor.

"Ever get the feeling your life just stopped making sense entirely?" Sora noted to Mimi.

"All the time," Mimi answered.

22:05 JST

The night had finally settled in, although the outside world continued to be lit by a dim glow. The sounds of the night had begun: of animals unknown; of waves crashing against the beach; of the winds twisting their way through the trees. Most had resorted to the land of nod, but of those lying on the floor in futons in the few rooms of the home, most in the main room with its doors now closed to the elements, a few stayed awake.

"Ryder," Mari muttered, looking across to the boy in the adjacent futon, the boy by now attempting to get to sleep but having little luck as he had ended up simply staring at the ceiling in contemplation. He turned his head to the side to face her, her hair now down and ruffled by the absence of any need to keep it maintained. MiniDonmon slept on the floor alongside his Tamer, his chest going up and down with his soft snores, whilst DarkRenamon slept against the wall a short distance away.

"Yeah?" Ryder asked, his voice but a whisper.

"I was wondering, and, since everyone else is asleep and all, what can we do tomorrow?" she pondered. Ryder sighed in contemplation.

"I don't know. These pranks seem a bit…cruel."

"Oh come on Ryder, they buried you!" Mari insisted, her voice still a whisper.

"Yeah, you're right there. I was kinda worried we'd end up breaking Tai's teeth though," he noted with a frown.

"Yeah, maybe we should avoid such physical pranks from now on," Mari agreed. "Who do you want to get next then?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm…" Ryder pondered, sitting up in his pyjamas and looking across the group, shortly after followed by Mari in her pale pink pyjamas. Kazu and Kenta were busily snoring away, another incentive to prank them. But Mari's eyeline was more attracted to the girl who seemed to have distanced herself from the group, even in sleep, her partner silently sleeping alongside, both with concerned looks on their faces.

"Chiyo?" Mari mooted.

"Yeah, but how?" Ryder answered. "Wait…I've got an idea…well, it's kind of mean, but…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

A mix of comedy and progress here, which is good after the amount of angst and concern we've had for a while now. Nonetheless, Ryder and Mari are going to begin to regret the harsh nature of some of their pranks…

Also, probably about the first time anyone has thought twice about something Terriermon has blurted out. Well, at least Henry thought twice at first, Takato's still in the "oh my god how could you even consider suggesting that?" stage.

Until next time…