Digital Shuffle

by famirad

One night, Takato vanishes, leaving Guilmon behind. With something weird happening at Hypnos, maybe there's more to this than just a missing boy. Jenrya and Ruki must face conspiracies, a Digital World bent on invasion, and new allies with their own agendas. They aren't the first kids to meet Digimon...and these partnerships aren't as magical as they seem. [Tamers AU with 01, WS]

26. Driving the Nail Down

Digital Shuffle
By famirad

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon Tamers.
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, but on the plus side, it's a pretty longish chapter.

Reviews are much appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

Bold for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut
"Dialogue" is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle
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(Driving the Nail Down)

Ryo Akiyama felt like crap.

The pounding headache refused to go away. Several times during the trek from Jenrya's apartment to the hospital he started seeing stars, sparking and swirling. He kept rubbed them away unconsciously, until Jenrya gave him a weird look and asked what in the world he was doing. Like I know, Ryo thought tiredly. He felt like he'd been run over by a steamroller armed with pickaxes. He thought maybe the head wound had something to do with it, but he wasn't sure. Could be the shock of what happened settling in. Maybe it was that and the fact that he'd been running on empty for at least three days straight and the adrenaline kick had died down enough to make him miss it.

He rubbed at his eyes then at his forehead. Didn't help much.

He was glad to be able to sit down, at the very least. The wait until a doctor could see them had been hours, since there were far worse injuries than Jenrya's, and they were lucky to even get a place to sit down in the packed lobby. The smell hadn't been pleasant – too hot, too stuffy, too many people, many who probably hadn't bathed in the last couple of days – and Terriermon had to wait near the door or risk getting sick to his stomach, his nose far more sensitive than everyone else.

It had been late afternoon before Jenrya's name was finally called, which brought them to their current situation: Janyuu sitting in one of the plastic chairs in the little room, Reika playing with Shuichon outside, Ryo cross-legged on the linoleum floor, and Jenrya sitting uncomfortably on the paper-covered bed.

"It's a dislocated shoulder, alright," said the doctor once he took a good look at Jenrya's arm. "Shouldn't be too hard to patch up though."

Jenrya perked up, brightening for the first time all day. "Really?"

"We'll just set it back into the socket and have you wear a sling for a bit. Try not to move it," the middle-aged man said. "I'd say you came off lucky, from that story you told me. Anyway, I need to talk to your father outside, so please wait here until we finish."

Jenrya nodded, turning to Ryo as the two men left. Ryo met his gaze, leaning back against the wall as he rubbed at his eyes again.

"You okay?" Jenrya asked after a pause.

Ryo sighed, trying to massage his temples with his good hand. "Headache is all. Think I need sleep."

"Same here," Jenrya offered a tentative smile. "Well, at least we're not sleeping out in the open tonight."

"Yeah."

Jenrya tilted his head at the unenthusiastic response, studying Ryo. For some reason, he seemed distracted during the trip here and he was curious about what was going on in the other boy's head right now. Ryo was so hard to read sometimes. One minute he'd be just his usual arrogantly sarcastic self, the next…Jenrya kept getting glimpses of something else. Exhaustion. Sadness. Futility. He didn't quite understand it, but then he reminded himself that they did practically have a building fall down on them…even Ryo, who'd seemed invincible when they first met, had to have his limits, right?

Personally Jenrya felt pretty good, ignoring his dislocated arm. The black eye was starting to go down and while he was sporting some impressive scabs on his knees and arms, he felt fine.

"You sure you're okay?" Jenrya asked quietly.

"I'm fine."

"The doctor should look at your head."

"They already bandaged it back at your place."

Trust Ryo to be stubborn. At least that hadn't changed. Jenrya almost smiled, but thought better of it. "I'm serious, Ryo," Jenrya frowned. "It's been days. It could be infected for all we know."

"I don't think it's gonna kill me," Ryo grumbled, but it was half-hearted this time, as if he was too tired to argue with Jenrya right now.

One of Jenrya's little quirks, Ryo reflected as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, was that the guy just didn't know when to quit sometimes. He supposed that was something they had in common, although Ryo tended to channel that trait to different places than the other boy. If it wasn't for this stupid headache, Ryo would probably be annoyed at Jenrya's nosiness, but right now it was weirdly comforting. He didn't think the head-wound was really that big of a deal, since he seemed to be able to take far more damage than that, but it was kind of nice in a weird way that Jenrya was worried about it. Felt nice.

"I talked with your dad," said the doctor as he came back into the room, "and we'll patch up that arm of yours now. Follow me."

Jenrya practically jumped off the bed, paper sheets crinkling, as he flashed a hopeful smile at Ryo. "Think you'll survive without me?" he joked.

The look Ryo aimed him was long-suffering, although the other boy managed a lop-sided smirk. "You're a regular comedian."

"Someone here has to be."

"You know, I could look at that injury of yours," the doctor interjected, gesturing at the bandage around Ryo's forehead. "It's starting to bleed through. You need a proper dressing."

"…Okay, okay. Jenrya first."

"Great. Wait here; I'll come get you after I'm done."

Ryo watched as they left, feeling himself relax once he was alone in the room. It had been a long time since he'd been alone and he couldn't help feeling glad to get a chance to catch his breath, closing his eyes and allowing his chin to droop to his chest, relaxing further. He was thirsty. Hungry too. The headache still ebbed, but the silence and his closed eyes seemed to help a little. Probably dehydrated, which made sense considering their supplies. It explained the headache. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of a doctor poking around in his head, but Jenrya would keep pestering him until he gave up.

He almost smiled at this. Somehow he was starting to get used to Jenrya's nosiness.

A few more minutes of silence in the cramped hospital room. Ryo debated taking a nap, but decided against it – too many strange, unsettling dreams he couldn't quite remember and he was worried he might accidentally punch the doctor if he woke up from one of those. He wondered what Jenrya planned to do from here. Sure, they made it to what was probably the first real sign of order in days, but they were miles away from Ruki and Alice. The Matsudas were closer. Jenrya would probably insist on checking up on them.

Tamayo…

Was she even alive? Ryo always got these strange twisting feelings in the middle of his gut whenever he thought of his guardian. She only had a broken leg, he told himself. Still, even if that was a minor injury (wasn't like it was life threatening), there was those earthquakes. Something worse could have happened, like the building collapsing on her. It made him feel nauseous just thinking about it and it took him a moment before he realized he genuinely cared what happened to her.

Great. When did I start getting a conscience? Ryo definitely didn't need one right now, not when it made him want to do stupid things like run out of here and try to find Tamayo's hospital by himself. Despite how many brow beatings he gave Jenrya about doing impulsive, stupid things, it looked like he needed to follow his own advice. Things hadn't ever been this confusing in the Digital World…

Despite his racing thoughts, he started to doze off when the doctor returned. The door rattled open. Ryo looked up.

"Ready?"

Ryo nodded, getting to his feet. He followed the bearded man down the twisting hallways, keeping close, eyes front. Overhead lights flickered here and there and rain streaked the windows, some with cracks forming spiderwebs in the glass. Most of the rooms they passed were filled with patients, the doctors and nurses working overtime. They ended up in a corner room – little more than a closet – when his doctor turned and told him to sit down in the chair wedged against the wall.

"Let's take a look, shall we? Lean your head back and close your eyes."

Ryo did so obediently. He felt the warmth of the swivel lamp suspended from the ceiling coming closer, movement about his head as the doctor began unwrapping the bandages wrapped clumsily days before.

"Do you remember getting injured?"

"No. I mean, people were getting freaked out when I woke up, but everyone was freaking out and running around at the time. I got off lighter than a lot of others."

"Well, there seems to be a good amount of blood even days after the injury. Can't hurt to make sure."

Ryo didn't reply, waiting patiently for the man to finish. The doctor was still talking as he unwound the last of the gauze and he abruptly trailed off as he caught sight of the wound. Ryo cracked open one eye, but saw nothing. The lamp was right there in his face and he couldn't see anything but a black outline of the man examining his head. After a few seconds of heavy silence, Ryo was starting to get impatient.

"Am I gonna live?" he asked dryly.

The doctor swallowed. "I…this is bigger - deeper than expected."

"Yeah, something was stuck in it, but I didn't get a good look at it before they pulled it out the other day."

The doctor managed to find his voice, leaning in for a closer look, disbelief coloring his words. "I don't understand this at all. I'm going to be frank with you, son, since you deserve to know," he said haltingly. "With this kind of injury, you shouldn't even be walking."

"Really?" Ryo kept his eyes closed, not ready to blind himself again. "Huh, guess I lucked out."

"Realistically speaking, you shouldn't have," the doctor said, hesitant. "I mean, if this injury has been bleeding for days…"

Ryo wondered how bad it was. He almost asked if they had a mirror – a morbid part of him was curious now to see just how terrible it could possibly be. Still, he wasn't too worried. This wasn't like Cyberdramon attacking him: compared to that, this was nothing. Still, he couldn't hide the wince as the doctor, still expressing astonishment, began to clean and properly dress the wound, the warmth of the lamp fading for a moment as it was pulled away. Ryo started to get up as the man finished, making a noise of protest when he was pushed back down by a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, but I would like to do a checkup before you leave. I'm still surprised you're in this condition with that kind of injury."

Ryo grumbled but sat down again, crossing his arms as he went through the checkup. The test of his reflexes proved that he was healthy and perfectly alive. His heart-rate and blood pressure were normal. There was a mild frown as the man examined Ryo's broken fingers (he would probably have to come back and get those taken care of once they had more time). Everything else checked out fine, however, which baffled the poor doctor as he began to shine lights into his ears and eyes. He stopped at the eyes, peering into them as Ryo tried to keep them from watering at the bright light washing out everything into a painful white wall.

"You don't wear contacts or anything, do you?" the doctor asked in confusion.

"No, why?" Ryo was starting to get waspish. He just wanted to go back and get some food and sleep.

"There's something strange with your eyes. It's almost like –"

Ryo was already pushing himself out of the seat. "Is it dangerous?"

"No, I don't think so…but they're rather unusual…"

"Okay, I'll be sure to check them out some other time," Ryo said quickly, eager to get out of here and not particularly interested in a conversation about what an interesting shade of everyday brown his eyes were. "Thanks for the help."

Ryo quickly retreated. The way back to the lobby was narrow and he had to take several flights of stairs to get there, squeezing through the people cramming the stairwell. You know, his head did feel better now that it got looked at by a real doctor. He hadn't been too happy about the way the man kept ogling over him though. Felt like a lab rat. And that thing with the eyes had been kind of weird, now that he thought about it. Ryo shot a passing glance at one of the scuffed mirrors lining one of the walls. Nothing out of place. Just his own blurred reflection, faintly scowling back at him.

It's nothing. Doctor was probably overworked, that's all.

Jenrya and the others didn't react any differently when he returned and Ryo was happy to forget about the incident as they clustered together outside of the lobby to discuss plans. Jenrya's arm was in a sling, but he looked okay other than that, eyes brighter than before and smiling at Ryo as he joined them.

"The damage here isn't too bad," Reika said. "We can probably squat in that little motel across the street if we have to. I checked out the place, and there's no one manning it."

"Sounds good to me," Janyuu said. He shifted Shuichon to his other arm – the little girl had fallen asleep, and was now curled in the crook of his elbow, head resting against his shoulder. "Oh yes…Ms. Otori, does your cell phone still work?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could I borrow it? I should probably check up on the Matsudas and Makinos."

"Sure." Reika handed over the phone.

Ryo didn't want to wait around for wrangling everyone with a game of Telephone. "Gonna go save a room for us before we get beaten to it," he announced and left without waiting for an answer. He was nearly across the street before Jenrya caught up with him.

"Wait up!" Jenrya said. "Don't you think we should stay together?"

Ryo flicked a bleary glance at him. "I'm exhausted, Jenrya. Unlike someone, I don't run on sunshine and rainbows."

"Sunshine and – I do not!" Jenrya exclaimed. Terriermon snickered. His Tamer gave a sigh and changed tactics, still dogging Ryo. "So what'd the doctor say?"

"That I'm supposed to be dead?" Ryo said bluntly.

Jenrya stared at him taken aback, unsure if he was joking or not. He couldn't help relaxing as Ryo snorted.

"Nah. He just kept going on about the bandages and stuff, that's all," he said dismissively. He wasn't quite sure why exactly he was avoiding the whole thing. Jenrya had enough on his plate, he told himself. He wanted him focused.

By now they had entered the motel, pushing open the lobby door. Glass crunched underfoot. Bits and pieces of discarded luggage were scattered across the small office in the front, books and folders littering the floor. Trails of muddy footprints were proof that they wouldn't have the whole place to themselves, but that was fine. Just had to check the locks and make sure they didn't pick a room that was already staked out. The two boys searched, testing locks and listening for creaks. So far they didn't run into anyone. Ryo located an empty room at the end of the far wing and stepped in through the door swinging open, glancing around. It had two worn beds, a TV set, bedside lamps, and a narrow hall that led to what he assumed was the bathroom. He'd be very surprised if the facilities worked, but hey, at least there was a roof over their heads.

Seemed five star to him.

Ryo sat down carefully on the bed closest to the window, leaning back against the pillows with a sigh. He out like a light by the time Jenrya got back from his investigation of the bathroom.

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Jenrya sat down on the bed next to Ryo. He wasn't sure how exactly the sleeping arrangements were going to work, but it was amazing to feel a mattress under him for once. He flopped down, leaning up against the headboard and a free pillow, letting himself relax, careful with the arm in the sling. An actual bed felt like heaven after sleeping on the ground for the past couple of days.

Terriermon scampered up and plunked down on Jenrya's knee.

"You gonna get some sleep too?" Terriermon asked.

His Tamer shook his head. "I'm not that tired."

"So…what's happening tomorrow?"

Jenrya made a small noise of frustration, pursing his lips. "Well, I was kind of thinking we should check up on the Matsudas in person. After we get them, I figure we can head to that location of Ruki's, and then figure it out from there."

"Nice plan."

"Hey, I'm trying," Jenrya poked at his partner's round stomach. "I can't be everywhere at once."

Terriermon leaned back on his stubby little paws. "Right."

"I hope the Matsudas are okay," Jenrya said quietly, gazing up at the ceiling, frowning. "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?"

His partner patted his knee. "That's life, isn't it? You know what I always say when it gets like this?"

"Momentai?"

"Well, yeah, but you're not supposed to finish my sentences for me," Terriermon tried to look put out. He turned serious again. "But really, Jenrya. We'll keep going forward even if it seems like everything – like right now – is holding us back."

"Thanks, Terriermon. I don't know what I'd do without you telling me how it is."

Jenrya expected his partner to laugh it off – like he usually did – and he was a little surprised to hear only silence. The expression on the Rookie's face was tight, strange, and he glanced away quickly when Jenrya looked at him. Terriermon slid off from his perch on his partner's knee, unusually subdued.

"Don't start saying stuff like that," Terriermon mumbled. "You'll jinx us."

Jenrya didn't know what to say and for a second he was puzzled. But then it dawned on him: Terriermon was thinking about Black Growlmon again. He got that far-off, worried look sometimes and it didn't take a genius to figure that he was thinking about his friend again. Well, former friend, Jenrya supposed. But…no, that would be accepting that whatever happened to Black Growlmon and Takato was permanent and that was unacceptable.

"I'm gonna go check up on your sister," Terriermon said awkwardly and hopped off Jenrya's lap. "Get some rest or something." He toddled off, opening the door with one of his oversized ears, and was gone.

Jenrya sighed. It seemed these days that everything was whirling around them like those tornados on TV, around and around until he wasn't sure at all which direction they had been facing originally. He tried to think positively. At least they hadn't seen any of those glowing things earlier…those "Golems" or whatever Ryo called them. On top of that, they had shelter, his arm was going to heal, it didn't hurt as much now, and they were together (okay, mostly together). Jenrya flopped back onto the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. Thinking this positively could be almost tiring – it was definitely a lot harder than just taking Ryo's pessimistic route.

He snuck a glance at Ryo – the other boy lying next to him was completely out, his chest rising and falling steadily. Jenrya turned his attention back to the ceiling. He wondered about his mom and brothers and sisters, realizing that he hadn't thought about them for days. Jenrya frowned silently at this, but before he could start worrying himself silly, he managed – just barely – to halt that line of thought. He had to be smart about this. His mom and the others were probably at their relative's house still. They had to be safe. Dad's not worried. So therefore they must be okay.

Jenrya thought back to the morning of the earthquake. He hadn't had a chance to think back on it much until now and he frowned, remembering how his computer almost seemed possessed at that time. He really wished he'd managed to save all those weird files flooding the machine in that sudden info-dump, but he had left all those flash drives in his bedroom. For all he knew, they were probably all destroyed, along with his computer. He might never find out just what happened that morning.

Takato's okay. He had to be, the pictures he remembered seeing were proof. His friend didn't look too happy in those pictures, but Jenrya reasoned he would be okay once they got him back and got through all of this. His brief smile faded quickly. Who had been that other boy, anyway? He didn't look exactly human; not with that deathly pale skin, and definitely not with those eyes…silver within black where the whites should be. There was something remotely familiar about him, but Jenrya couldn't place it.

At least I've got a face to go by now.

That boy with the weird eyes had something to do with Takato's disappearance, and Jenrya knew at least, with certainty, that he didn't like this stranger. Something about him made Jenrya angry, and it wasn't just the fact that he was holding Takato captive, wherever he was. Something else. Something almost purely instinctive, that cried out Don't trust him, no matter what happens. For some unexplained reason, remembering that dead-looking boy made Jenrya feel as if something had been stolen from him.

That early morning visit from that unseen being…Jenrya wasn't sure if that was the other boy or not. Creature? Digimon? His gut said something else. All he knew was that it was obsessive about him to the point where it got downright creepy and that it somehow tracked him down and attempted to make contact. Maybe I'm going about this wrong. Jenrya was looking at the unknown visitor like an enemy to be battled, when he should try to look at clues like that info-dump on his computer, rather than figuring out how to destroy this "other". Whatever – whoever – it had been, it almost seemed like it wanted to be found out, what with all that data it left in its wake.

Too bad the data seemed random gibberish. If only he had the time and a computer to try to sort it. Maybe decode it. He could've asked his dad for the help – they probably could have cracked the puzzle by now if they had been given the chance.

Jenrya chewed on his lip, deep in thought.

Maybe he could somehow broadcast his location somehow. Not now – it wasn't the time – but later. If his digital stalker was as obsessed as he thought, it would probably come back, especially if he tried to initiate contact this time.

Maybe then he could get answers about Takato and his "friend".

Jenrya at this point wasn't too particular about how he got those answers out. Voluntarily or forced, he didn't care. He had a feeling that Ruki might have congratulated him for finally seeing it her way – the "smart way", she'd told him one time, "where you get a backbone for this sort of thing".

That wasn't particularly comforting.

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"So they're okay then?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe they took this long to remember us."

"Ruki, honey…could you please stop doing that?"

Ruki Makino stopped pacing, turned and planted her hands on her hip, tilted her head and regarded her mother with an annoyed look. "We could be sitting targets," Ruki flared. "I wish we could stop waiting and just do something!"

"Do what, exactly?" Rumiko motioned for Ruki to sit down, but her daughter ignored her and went back to pacing.

"I don't know! Something. Anything."

"We're not in a position to do anything," Alice chimed up, calm as usual. She was sitting daintily on the floor, petting Dobermon. "This is probably the safest location at the moment and moving would compromise it."

Ruki huffed an impatient sigh and finally flopped down next to Renamon. Alice and her logic! "We can't stay here forever. This place only has the most basic stuff we need. That's putting it nicely. The only thing it really has going for it is we're surrounded by concrete."

"It had to be defensible," Dobermon rumbled, his ears twitching in pleasure under Alice's scratches. "Besides, you humans are far too picky about your personal hygiene. It's no wonder you're so susceptible to diseases in the first place; your immune systems are underworked."

Alice must have found something funny about that because she cracked the barest beginning of a smile, the corners of her lips turning up for a second. Ruki was surprised. The smile actually made Alice look alive and happy for the brief moment it crossed her face.

"I never thought I'd hear you telling me I'm too clean for my own good, Dobermon," Alice said.

Dobermon's pointed ears flicked forward as his tail wagged. "Don't get too used to it. Anyway," he went on, sobering, "the important thing is we're safe here. We can transfer to another evacuation point later and have this as a backup."

"He's right," Rumiko said. She paused. "…I wonder how the Matsudas are doing?"

Ruki exchanged looks with Renamon. From what they had heard from the Lees, the attempts to get into contact with the Matsudas hadn't been entirely successful. They could be just ignoring the phone (they would, from what Jenrya told her when he tried warning them) or something could have happened to them. She tried not to think of the latter.

She glanced around at their shelter. It was situated in some kind of blocky half-tunnel – it went deep for almost a quarter of a mile, red emergency lights flickering along the floor, but ended at a sudden dead end. There was a strong metal gate at the front that they found they could lock from the inside with a length of chain, as well as an emergency door leading to the outside toward the back so they wouldn't be trapped. Rumiko tried to make it as comfortable as she could, but there were only so much candles, electric lamps, and a mattress laden with comforters could do.

Ruki decided she didn't care much for sleeping outdoors.

The issue of bathing and the bathroom had been the biggest problem. They were lucky that they were near some kind of abandoned gym, although it was just far enough that Rumiko insisted that if anyone needed to go, they had to be escorted. No arguments, no complaining, just do as she said. With each passing day, Ruki was continually surprised by her mother's strength: the model proved to have a far better head on her shoulders than Ruki had thought. She tackled each problem head-on - whether it was sleeping arrangements, bathroom breaks at ungodly hours or just trying to keep up the general group morale.

Ruki hated to admit it, but she was impressed.

The problem was figuring out how to admit that to her mother.

They saw some people wandering around a few days ago. Rumiko even talked to a few. Most didn't seem to know where to go, one warned her to stay away from the market several streets over – apparently the owner was perched on the roof with a gun, guarding the place from would-be looters – and nobody knew when help was coming. By now, the numbers of the lost were dwindling. The air was still filled with ash (the sky always seemed to weep these days; they had a choice of gray ash and downpours of rain). From what they heard from the others passing by, it sounded like Shinjuku hadn't been hit as hard as other areas of Tokyo.

Ruki didn't have to look up to know the sky still had that faint, blue tint to it.

Odaiba.

She was almost certain that the earthquake was caused by whatever was going on in Odaiba's harbor. Strange things were happening these days and she was convinced they were linked. Zudomon appeared right before all this other stuff started happening. He had to play a part in it, and anyway, she agreed with Renamon – another encounter with him was necessary, inevitable even.

But not alone.

Ryo and Gargomon knew something, she was sure of it. Ryo seemed to love playing that mysterious act of his – although it paled in comparison to Alice's – and Gargomon had mentioned something to Jenrya about that Digimon cartoon and whatever was happening now. What they needed was time and research, both of which were in short supply.

Ruki sighed, nestling up against Renamon for another gray, ashy day. It'd help if Jenrya arrived sooner than later.

Or at all.

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He was tired. More than tired: he was exhausted

But HD4-R had been told to stand here in the shadows, out of the way, and he wasn't to move until ordered otherwise. Like the others – he often thought of them as "brothers" in his mind, although they looked nothing like him – he obeyed wordlessly. It was his purpose, after all. Do what he was told without question or complaint.

All HD's were faithfully obedient to the letter and he wasn't any exception.

The boy shifted his weight uncomfortably from one bare foot to the other, moving as little as possible. He had been standing for so long that his knees felt numb, his legs trembled and he couldn't feel much, if anything, of his feet. Tightening the muscles of his thighs helped a little. This HD was strong. He had to be to live in the Digital World. But it had been almost two days of just standing without any rest and he was starting to get physically weak. He wished the Master would take notice of him standing in the shadows, right where he left him, but no such luck. The Master was very busy with other matters, whatever they were. Maybe it had something to do with that war against the Threat, and something called ENIAC

The boy shivered and shifted his weight again, trying to ignore the pain in his back, arms, legs and feet. They hurt a lot.

"Stay here, HD4-R," hissed the Master when he'd heard whispered news. He looked excited, and his words were distant, as if the boy didn't exist. "Don't move from this spot until I get back."

That was sometime yesterday. No - before that. His lashes fluttered as he blinked furiously, forcing himself to focus.

HD4-R wasn't quite sure why he was standing here. It only seemed important that he do so until commanded otherwise, but, thinking about it, he couldn't come up with a logical answer for why exactly he needed to stand here for hours. Was it punishment? HD4-R thought he was the Master's favorite; he almost never got punished, especially since he'd arrived so recently. He was convinced that he was everything to their Lord. He hoped there wasn't anything wrong – it always made his internals feel unpleasant to think that something upset or worried the Master…the Lord of the entire Future Digital World.

Soon to be Lord of the Past Digital World.

The boy watched Digimon of all shapes and sizes hurry about, scurrying past with hardly a second glance. All of them – the boy included – served their Lord, but the boy was the only one who hadn't ever left the premises to go out and fight this Threat. Even his "brothers" had. Some of them hadn't come back. HD0-K hadn't come back from the Past (whatever that was) and the boy knew somehow he was gone for good. His face was blank, as usual, unfazed by what he had to assume was a full deletion. He would always have new brothers if the Master ran out. There was no reason to be upset if they never came back.

They were nothing and they returned to nothing.

That was the first thing he and his brothers all learned. It was the purest form of truth.

HD4-R tried to amuse himself by watching the Digimon going past him, trying to guess where they were going and why, trying to calculate their trajectories to see if he could predict where they would meet. He didn't know what all the rush was, but he didn't dare ask since he hadn't been given permission for that. He did see two of his HD brothers walk by: one was HD1-TaiK – the tallest of all the HD's, with a shock of unruly thick brown hair that went every which way. The shorter of the pair was HD3-DaiM, who had shorter hair clumped in dark spikes and a healthy tan. The only thing that stood out to the boy in the hall was HD3-DaiM liked to kick balls around for some reason. He called the game "soccer" and played it obsessively. HD1-TaiK had also taken to the "game" once he learned it.

The soccer games could get fiercely competitive. Vicious even. They often injured each other when someone missed the ball and hit a leg or arm, enough to draw blood if they happened to be pulling their kicks. Once someone broke an arm; he was there for that. HD1-TaiK had looked down in mild surprise at the useless arm, shrugged, and went right on playing. HD3-DaiM always bragged about his latest soccer-related scars to his HD brothers.

HD4-R thought they were both mad.

The two came strolling down the corridor with the soccer ball between them, talking loudly until they noticed the other HD boy standing in the shadows. They took one look at HD4-R, understood, and turned the other way, averting their eyes, and resumed their conversation without missing a stride. He was to be treated as nothing until the Master returned. HD4-R wasn't hurt they acted that way toward him. He would have done the same if their positions were reversed.

He continued to stand, trying not to betray his physical discomfort and fatigue as he watched his brothers disappear around the corner.

HD4-R was starving. Thirsty too. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink. It was like he had been misplaced, forgotten. That…hurt, but it wasn't like the pain going through his legs and back. It didn't help he had this itch on his cheek that just wouldn't go away. On top of that, he could feel lightheadedness starting to wrap its claws around his brain. Sometimes the corridor swam around him as his vision tunneled in and out. He found that blinking it away grew less effective over time.

Interesting, if somewhat confusing and scary at the same time. HD4-R hadn't ever felt this way before…but then again, he had been well-cared for since he woke up. More than well-cared for. His brothers didn't receive half the attention he did. He was always proud of that. The Master was fond of him and always insisted on bringing HD4-R everywhere with him. It made the boy feel special.

Right now, however, he didn't feel very special. He felt very alone.

Another two hours and HD4-R was swaying unsteadily on his feet.

He had been eyeing a Lampmon that disappeared through one of the side doors, trying to figure out what she could be up to at this time of night, when he was suddenly aware of the unpleasant sensation of falling. Terror jolted like a kick to the chest. The corridor tilted sickeningly. He thought he was going to purge his stomach – the Master kept trying to teach him the proper words like "dying" instead of "deleted" and "throwing up" instead of "purging" – but there was nothing there to purge since he hadn't eaten in so long.

Why did the Master want him to talk differently, anyway?

"Dying" instead of "deleted". Hardly precise.

The Master sometimes insisted on a stranger's name rather than the proper name of HD4-R. That wasn't very precise either.

He fell and fell and fell –

Ryo landed, hard, on the floor.

He woke up with a violent start, blinking at the carpet and nursing the growing bump as he tried to figure out where he was now. He recognized that ugly carpet, the bottom of what were probably the bed and the nightstand several inches away from his head. How he missed braining himself on that, he had no idea. From the looks of the window, night had fallen, the room dark and still.

Ryo rolled over slowly, rubbing at the back of his head and trying to figure out how he ended up on the floor. The last thing he remembered was dozing off for a bit. He stubbornly ignored that sense of unease signaling he had another one of those nightmares, the ones that always left a bad taste in his mouth, and yet he could never pick out the details. Somehow he'd dozed off and now he was suddenly on the floor. That was the important thing, not some dreams that he couldn't remember. Hey, at least that headache was gone.

Sitting up, he glanced over at the bed and raised an eyebrow. All the beds were taken, with Jenrya asleep on the one Ryo had been on. He was sprawled on the twin as if he owned the whole damn thing.

Huh. Apparently Jenrya was a bed-hog in his sleep. Ryo hadn't rolled off; he'd been pushed off.

He shook his head, hiding a smile. If he had been friends with Jenrya, he probably would have teased him to death about this and never let him hear the end of it. But he knew he would never bring this up to the other Tamer. He didn't hate Jenrya, but he had a feeling that they weren't anywhere near the kind of trust that was between "friends". They…tolerated each other, Ryo guessed. Not enemies, but not quite real allies either. He wondered for a second if they could've been friends if it wasn't for this whole end-of-the-world digital shuffle thing. Maybe. Maybe not.

A yawn. He felt better than before, but it couldn't hurt to get some more in. He started to lie back down on the floor when he paused, just now noticing the sliver of light peeping from the door to the outside. There were voices, too muffled to make out, drifting through the crack. They sounded upset. Someone wasn't happy.

Curious now, Ryo crept to his feet and moved to the door, peeking out the crack. Voices drifted up from the first floor, somewhere at the base of the stairs. He inched the door open enough so that he could stand just beyond the landing, tilting his head and listening.

" – you've got to get out of here!" a woman's voice cried in open fear. "Right now!"

A man's voice now. "I don't understand. What happened?" Janyuu.

"We couldn't get anything from her when we tried talking to her," another woman's voice said, deeper this time. Suma. "Look….?

"Tadako," sniffed the first woman, sounding dangerously close to sobbing.

"Tadako, you're hurt – you're covered in blood," said Suma's voice. "Why don't we get you cleaned up – "

"No!" Tadako exploded. Ryo couldn't see the college student, but he could just imagine her clutching that hamster cage to her chest. Hadn't she'd left with Yasuo and the others? What was she doing here?

Another sniff and Tadako shakily continued amidst a flood of tears. "There was someone called Jenrya Lee with Ryo, right?" A pause, probably Janyuu nodding. "He's got to get out of here! Now! He'll be k-killed like the others if he stays!"

Ryo tensed at this, feeling goosebumps rising. He resisted the urge to wake Jenrya up, remaining kneeling at the landing as he continued to eavesdrop.

"What're you talking about?" Janyuu's voice rose in pitch. "What do you mean my son is going to get killed?"

"A m-monster's coming to get him. He said so, after he killed - killed the others…" and Tadako dissolved into sobs.

A monster? Ryo suddenly felt an odd chill running down his back. The monster was probably a Digimon, trying to track them. He listened in as Tadako managed to describe the creature in between her sobs. It took several minutes because she kept breaking down and for a second, Ryo wished, irritated, that she'd get her act together and just spit it out. When she finally did, Ryo froze. The Digimon matched Black Growlmon's description exactly.

They were in trouble. Serious trouble. Without a word, Ryo slipped back into the room behind him, changing quickly into a fresh pair of clothes and prodding Jenrya's shoulder insistently.

"Jenrya, wake up! Wake up!"

The other boy moaned into the pillow. Ryo continued shaking his shoulder. "We don't have time for this, we've got to get out of here!" Ryo said louder and gave a rough shove. Jenrya sputtered and rolled over, finally awake.

"W…what's wrong?" he stared up at Ryo in a daze.

"Your big friend's onto us," Ryo replied, tight-lipped. "We've got to leave. Now."

Jenrya blinked at him. "What -?"

The other boy simply stared at him meaningfully. Jenrya paled in horror as he suddenly realized just who they were talking about.

"Black Growlmon? He found us?"

"Sounds like it. He's following us somehow."

"He's tracking us," Terriermon chirped up, jumping to his usual perch on Jenrya's shoulder. His little round face was serious. "Probably through our scent."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "He that good? It's been snowing and there's all this ash in the air…"

"He's good," Terriermon said quietly. "And he used to be able to track almost anything Takato asked, if he put his mind to it. I'd say we've got his full attention."

"Wonderful," Ryo muttered. "What is it with you guys and attracting trouble? Now we've got a stalker."

Jenrya seemed to jump at little at the word "stalker", but Ryo didn't appear to notice. He swept about the room, doing everything he could to pack up. He was shouldering a duffel bag with his uninjured hand when Janyuu barged through the door. He glanced at Ryo, frowning, surprised to see everyone up and ready to leave already.

"Ryo, I'd lecture you about how you shouldn't eavesdrop, but we don't have the time." Janyuu had Shuichon in his arm, miraculously asleep. Reika joined him. "We're leaving. Jenrya, you're explaining this on the way."

They trooped out, Jenrya hurrying to catch up to his dad. Ryo hung back as they descended the stairs. Suma and Tadako were sitting on the curb, the larger woman's arms around the student's shaking shoulders. Suma's eyes met and they hardened, slightly. Ryo glanced away – they had overstayed their welcome.

"– we… don't know what happened to Guilmon – Takato's partner Digimon – to make him this way," Jenrya was saying to Janyuu in hushed tones. "He just disappeared. When we saw him again, he was suddenly attacking us for no reason. It's like he's someone else!"

"Something's wrong with him," Terriermon said from Jenrya's shoulder. "He wouldn't ever do anything like this if it was under his own free will. He was saying weird things too last time we saw him – they didn't make any sense. And he freaked out when he got hit by some kind of EMP."

"EMP?" Janyuu gaped. "How - ?"

"Long story," Jenrya sighed. "The EMP knocked down Terriermon, but Guilmon – I mean Black Growlmon – he stumbled around. His color kept changing from black to red."

Janyuu frowned, but he was stopped as Tadako, glancing up from her sheet of unkempt hair, suddenly lurched at the group and grabbed at his elbow. She was frantic.

"He'll follow you!" she sobbed. "He'll come here and kill everyone, just for fun!"

Janyuu shot a worried look at Suma, and tried to pry the girl's fingers off him. She was surprisingly strong, hanging on hard enough to dig her nails into his arm. She squirmed frantically as Suma went to pull her off. "Let go of me! Let go!" Tadako cried. "You don't understand! He's going to get you!"

Reika stepped forward. She tilted her head, hands on her hips as she regarded the younger woman. Suma stopped for a second trying to haul Tadako off Janyuu.

"Tadako, listen," Reika said. "What do you want us to do? What do you want?"

Tadako peered at her shakily through her ragged bangs, cheeks tear streaked. It seemed to take a lot of courage to continue. "…Take me with you," she whispered. "Please."

"We can't," Ryo replied bluntly. Realizing everyone was staring at him, he tried to soften his words. "Tadako, go back. You should go watch over that Chanchan gerbil of yours."

"Hamster," Tadako corrected him automatically. She sniffled. "I want to make sure the same thing doesn't happen here…a-as it did back there."

"It won't," Reika flicked a glance at Terriermon, not quite frowning. "Jenrya and the others have protection from this…monster."

"I'm coming," Tadako looked pleadingly at Janyuu, then at Jenrya. "I have to."

We don't have time for this. Ryo couldn't help an impatient scowl as he watched Janyuu take Tadako aside. The college student would only slow them down: their progress was already hampered by Reika, although at least she had a decent head on her shoulders. She was controlled and acted responsible. Besides, traveling with them was nowhere close to the definition of safe, especially if Black Growlmon was tracking them. Tadako would be better off if she stayed behind.

Reika stood next to him, Yamaki's laptop under her arm. She glanced at him. "Worried?" she suddenly asked.

"We should get going. I've seen Black Growlmon in person, it wasn't pretty."

"Where's your partner?" Reika changed tracks. "I see Jenrya has one. The Makino girl and Matsuda boy do as well. So where's yours?"

Ryo bristled, but managed to keep his anger in check. "I don't have one," he replied, unable to keep the testy edge from his voice. "Digimon aren't really my favorite conversation subject, okay?"

Reika blinked at this, surprised. She studied at him for a long moment with an appraising, calculating expression, for the first time taking a good hard look at the boy. She seemed to come to a decision. "…if we're still alive after all this," she lowered her voice so the others couldn't hear, "and if you still feel that way, come visit Tokyo City Hall sometime," she said, holding up two fingers to mimic the twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. "Ask for Yamaki Mitsuo or myself."

"You want me in Hypnos?" Ryo asked, startled.

"You clearly have expertise. You're too young legally to work," Reika shrugged, "but then again, Hypnos isn't a legal organization to begin with. Think of this as…an invitation. I can't ensure you'll get in, but once everything is over…if and when Yamaki gets back, I know he would be considerably interested in what you know, at the very least. Your help would be greatly appreciated once we've taken back Hypnos from the Wild Ones."

Ryo looked away. "Thanks. I'll remember that." He sounded for once unsure of himself.

Janyuu came back as Suma led an exhausted Tadako away. "Well, that's solved," Janyuu dabbed at his forehead. "…I guess we better get going."

"We've got to double back," said Terriermon. "Black Growlmon's following us by scent and our smell is all over this place; we need to backtrack and give him a fresher trail. We want him following us, not ending up at the hospital, where it's full of people."

Jenrya bit his lip, thinking. "Do you think that will work?"

"He'll follow us," Terriermon said with chilling certainty. "You can count on it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How are the repairs?"

"As well as can be expected, given what we have to work with. We're helping out with evacuations and rescues with the other departments in the building."

"I'm quite frankly amazed we've had to sink this low – rescuing humans."

Vajramon's darkly furred bull's face scrunched up in a frown of distaste. He was lying comfortably amid a nest of pillows, cushions and ripped pages from books, hooves curled behind him. Kincaid cuddled in his strong arms, pressing her face against his heavily muscled chest, resting for the moment. Enjoying this stolen moment away from prying eyes, both human and Digimon. It felt good, being together like this for once. She was surprised that Vajramon – she had to remember he couldn't be called "Nagamora" anymore – allowed her to be this close. She supposed it must be his irritation at being cooped up like this; back in the Digital World, he seemed entirely content to avoid touching her, as if she was made of glass.

It was the whole Deva thing. Vajramon's duty had always come before everything else, even her. True, he'd eased back on the protectiveness once she got promoted to a Deva too, but...still. She'd take moments like this when she could, cradling them close.

"Well," Kincaid said lazily, "if we don't rescue them, we won't have stock for the Golems and the Juggernaut. Besides, we need people to operate Hypnos until then. Can't operate it if everyone's dead."

"True."

"This time I have good news. We can try to move you outside in the confusion. I can't make you another shift-change ring though, so I'm afraid you can't masquerade as a human – sorry," Kincaid apologized. Her eyes drifted down. "How's the hand?"

Vajramon looked down at his injury. The finger that Yamaki blew off in the failed assassination attempt was as healed as it was going to get. It didn't even hurt, although it was humbling to think a mere human could do that to him. "Fine, aside from the price paid for my arrogance and pride. I assumed he was going to attempt something like that sooner or later."

"Still don't see why you chose him of all humans. Surely you knew he was going to be unstable."

The Ultimate heaved one of his rumbling sighs. His hind legs shifted against the comforts of the nest. "That was partially why I chose him. He had a history of letting his emotions get the better of him – heart thinking before the brain, the saying is here. Easier to control if they're not thinking. He was hardly an idiot; as humans go, he was intelligent. There were records of him being a certifiable genius with programming and electronics overall, though he spent most of the time wasting his talents at some other menial human job at the time. But the main reason I chose him was because he survived a Purge."

Kincaid hadn't known that. "No," she breathed, excited.

"Four years ago, we were tipped off by an Illegal wanting to immigrate back to the Digital World. Something about a human paired with another Illegal Digimon. We were to arrange passage back to the Digital World for this informer and ignore her transgressions in exchange for this extremely valuable information. I was already here in the Real World, so I was to deal with this little problem."

"Illegals!" snorted Kincaid in disdain. "They think they can do anything once they've run off without Council approval to the Real World. As if the laws of the Digital World suddenly don't apply!"

"Quite right, my dear. Although in this case, these proved useful," Vajramon looked down at his companion fondly, smoothing her purple hair carefully with a large hand. "Anyway. I had news one of my former subordinates planned to bio-emerge in the area since his family was scheduled to follow, so I had him take care of the pests while he was there. He…got a little out of hand and got carried away. Insisted on playing with them for too long. He hadn't finished off Yamaki when I got there. I spared him since I saw a use for him."

"And?"

"He played the part almost perfectly – couldn't have asked for a better pawn. He built Hypnos for us from the ground up. With Hypnos, he practically gave us the key to this World. He will go down in human history as the worst traitor ever known. If he's lucky, he will go down in Digimon history as the greatest human ever known: an exception to the rule, of course," Vajramon smiled slowly, revealing a row of gleaming fangs. "Losing a finger in exchange for what he has done for us all these years is a small sacrifice."

"Only you could make your own maiming sound noble."

"It all depends on your approach," Vajramon said. "Optimism is a powerful tool."

Kincaid tilted her head back, gazing up at her companion. The Founder blinked serenely down the length of his bull's snout. "Try it sometime," Vajramon said. "You might find it gets better results than that fatalism of yours."

Kincaid only laughed.

"You'll never change," Vajramon offered her a little smile, fangs peeking out. "You amaze me sometimes: you're one of the most infuriatingly flighty creatures I have had the pleasure of knowing."

"Anything less would be an insult to you," Kincaid smirked.

"Moving on, where's your servant, the charming little fellow always tailing you? I quite liked him, despite his impulsiveness."

Kincaid's smirk dropped. The Deceiver turned serious. "I sent Kaminmon out on a search a few days ago. He should be back soon once he finds our target. We have control of the Juggernaut's Digimon slave and I want him actually being put to a use. He could be helping us track down any illegal Biomerges and assist us in legal ones. He could be helping us Purge the Tamers here, rather than wandering aimlessly around the city. Black Growlmon could be dangerous, so – "

"So you're worried about Kaminmon?" Vajramon finished for her.

"He's proven himself time and time again, don't get me wrong," Kincaid chewed her lip, glancing out one of the broken windows. "But we've never encountered anything like this Black Growlmon mutation. He isn't an X-antibody mutation. We don't know what his limits are or how sane he even still is after the Juggernaut's influence. I don't like it when my servants are injured or deleted for no reason. Especially not when we're dealing with some human's upstart slave." Kincaid scowled. "I won't stand for one of their kind causing problems again, not after we spent all that trouble with the last bunch."

"Clearly the Two Generals left an impression on you."

Kincaid crossed her arms over her chest, almost pouting. "It's not fair when they band together."

" 'Fair' coming from you?"

Vajramon grinned now, the gesture almost like a snarl. Kincaid grinned back, with her horridly flat human teeth.

"My point is, it took a lot of time to infiltrate and execute those war criminals. And their Digimon slaves weren't exactly appreciative of the rescue, either. We don't have time to carry out that kind of extraction, Vajramon. Especially not with a mutated unknown like Black Growlmon."

"I…could go after him, you know," Vajramon rumbled nonchalantly. "A chance to stretch my legs, if you will. All this sitting around is dreadfully boring. Gets on the nerves. Even if this Black Growlmon mutation is powerful, he won't be able to stand up to me."

"With all the confusion with the fires…yes, it might work for now," Kincaid mused. "If you could help with the search, I'd be indebted to you."

Vajramon gave a rare, teasing grin. Reaching around, he delicately tilted Kincaid toward him, careful not to injure her in his large hands. His long tongue flicked out and drew a possessively wet trail from her chin up to her cheek, voice thick. "You know how I prefer my debts repaid, my dear."

"A good flirt? Coming from you? Now I know the Digital World really is ending!"

"You're worth the effort. And it's been far too long."

"Even in this human shape?"

A pause. "Well, I'm sure I can hold my nose and make do."

"Ooh, now that's tempting," Kincaid cooed. She held up a hand, deftly blocking Vajramon's snout before he could go in for another lick. "But only after and not before. I want Kaminmon back safely and Black Growlmon at my heels before I repay that particular debt...my dear."

"Very well." Vajramon backed off and got to his feet, hooves clicking as he ducked his horned head from the low ceiling, muscular arms crossed over his chest. "Meet me on the roof when I get back. You want this Black Growlmon conscious or not?"

"I'm not particular – whatever gets him back in one piece."

"Consider it done."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We've got to split into two groups," Terriermon said. "Otherwise even those not fighting will be caught in the crossfire."

"Split up!" Janyuu protested. "But – "

"Dad, we have to," Jenrya cut in. "I don't want you and Shuichon getting hurt. Black Growlmon's probably tracking Terriermon's or my scent. We don't want you getting hurt because of us."

Ryo nodded. "He's right. We can meet up together with Ruki and the others after we've dealt with Black Growlmon."

Janyuu didn't have any choice. Strangely enough, Reika hadn't said anything at all – she only looked at Jenrya and Terriermon with a piercing, calculating gaze and turned away. Jenrya noticed for some reason Ryo couldn't meet the woman's eyes…

They'd talked about something, Jenrya thought, but he had no idea what. It probably wasn't his business and anyway, he had better things to be doing…like trying not to fall off his partner. Gargomon hopped over the rubble, keeping his arms high as he cleared the section of torn concrete. His passengers hung on as best they could: Ryo clinging to one elbow, Jenrya sitting on the edge of a gun-arm.

"So w-what's going to s-s-top Black Growlmon from following us t-to the hideout?" Ryo asked, his teeth chattering as Gargomon lopped along. Compared to Gargomon, riding Dobermon that one time didn't look so bad after all, sore spots or not – at least there hadn't been all this bumping. "Y'know, it's r-r-eally hard to talk w…with all this b-bouncin'!"

"Sorry," Gargomon grunted, and slowed a little, although he never stopped moving. "We need water. Lots of it. The reason he keeps tracking us is 'cause there hasn't been enough rain or snow to completely wash our scent out. Maybe hit him again with Dobermon's EMP at point-blank range – it might mess up his senses better than just water."

"I wish we didn't have to fight him again," said Jenrya. "We can't keep running like this."

Gargomon looked straight ahead. "We will find a way to get him back, Jenrya. We'll find a way to talk some sense into his thick, stubborn skull, no matter what!"

"You think we're far enough that he'll find us instead of the hospital?" Jenrya asked, glancing over his shoulder. Clouds had been gathering overnight and the fires still burning painted the sky a violent wash of reds and purples. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead in irregular drum beats.

"I think so. We should start looking for a place to stand our ground," Gargomon was resolute. "Jenrya, Ryo, I need you guys to start selecting some cards for me once we get there. Don't think I can drive him back without the help."

"But I've only got one hand!" Jenrya protested.

Ryo shot him a look. "Uh, so do I? Between the two of us, we've got two."

"That's not very comforting."

"Hey, unless you want to be slashing cards with a dislocated shoulder, you're gonna have to put up with me helping you," Ryo retorted. "Trust me, you're better off with Option Two."

"Guys, hate to break it up," Gargomon interrupted, "but I think this is it."

They stopped in front of some kind of public fitness center – the remains of it, anyway. Fire had gutted the main structure, with the top floors collapsing into the blackened hulks of the lower ones. The ground was littered with puddles of soggy ash and muddy water. Jenrya eyed the area. There were actually a lot of places to hide, since it encompassed the main building and several relatively undamaged wings splitting off. There seemed to be an Olympic sized pool off to the side, covered with a disgusting gray film of ash and who knew what else; the Tamer was unsure if jumping into that mess would help get rid of Black Growlmon, but it was still worth noting.

Jenrya carefully slid off Gargomon's arm as Ryo did the same.

"Give me your cards," Ryo said. He held out his good hand and took the cards Jenrya offered. He immediately began to flip through them one-handed, unaware of Jenrya's open staring for several seconds. He looked up. "What?"

"How-?"

"Anyone can do it if they practice," said Ryo, going back to looking through the cards. Occasionally he would stop and gesture for Jenrya to take the one on top. "Anyway, you get injured enough, you start picking up how to do stuff without using both hands. Useful trick. Might want to give it a go in the future."

"I'm not ambidextrous, Ryo."

"Me neither," one more card offered and Ryo snapped the rest of the deck together and handed it back. "The rest of these're useless against Black Growlmon."

"Thanks," Jenrya muttered, nettled. He'd spent a long time getting that deck together.

"Any plans here? I don't think the No Plan idea worked too good last time," Gargomon said.

Jenrya thought quickly. Black Growlmon seemed to favor wide open spaces: it enabled full use of his claws, arm blades and that white fire of his. If they could get the high ground or get him someplace where he couldn't maneuver very well, they could get the advantage, since Gargomon was smaller. He could always go back to Terriermon if he needed to squeeze out. Even if Black Growlmon somehow de-digivolved as well, as Guilmon he still would be considerably larger than Terriermon. Maybe we can tire him out. Hit and run tactics instead of openly engaging.

That just might work. But what if they actually won? What happened afterward?

Don't, Jenrya ordered himself. Just concentrate on the now.

"Okay, here's what I think we should do," Jenrya said. "We hit and run. Keep him in enclosed spaces so he can't fight too well. Last time he had the open ground, so we've got to trick him into trapping himself somewhere where his size will work against him. Maybe one of the gym wings. Gargomon, focus on tiring him down."

Ryo gave a cynical snort. "And what about us?" he raised an eyebrow, black eyes glittering. "You got to be in range to have a card slash take effect, first of all. And if I remember right, Black Growlmon was perfectly fine with attacking you. You can't just fight this battle as if it'll be the typical Digimon vs Digimon fight. Assume he could change targets and start going for us at any time."

"He's right," Gargomon said. "What's the range of a D-Arc anyway?"

Ryo rattled off a general guestimate. He added with a shrug, "It'll be too far for you to hear what Jenrya says when he does a slash, I think."

"So long as you guys are out of reach of Black Growlmon, I'll make do with whatever changes happen." Gargomon said. "I'll wing it if I suddenly grow another Brave Shield or something. Whatever happens, I don't want you running in after me, got it?"

Ryo nodded, but Jenrya bit his lip, looking rebellious. "Jenrya, you too. I mean it," Gargomon frowned at him until his Tamer reluctantly nodded.

Jenrya followed Ryo to the gym. There was some kind of overgrown shed off to the side, pilled high with boxes and such, and connected to the rest of the structure with a high catwalk. It would be in range and what was better, they could probably hide for a bit there while Black Growlmon fought with Gargomon. If they got targeted – which they would, Ryo said – they could run across to the main section and help lure their opponent into the trap. It was better then running around on the ground like last time. If this went well, they would be in control of the flow of battle instead of Black Growlmon.

Once on the roof, they settled down.

And waited.

And waited.

A light mist of drizzle began when Black Growlmon finally arrived with the dawn.

"Don't," Ryo hissed a warning, feeling Jenrya shifting from his position lying next to him in their hiding spot. "Now's not to time to go playing hero."

Jenrya reluctantly settled back down.

They watched as Black Growlmon came into the sodden parking lot, stopping short as he suddenly fixed eyes on Gargomon. Gargomon was saying something, but they couldn't make it out from this distance. Whatever he said was lost. Black Growlmon suddenly charged at the other Champion, roaring something and it was all Gargomon could do to dance backward out of the way, raising his gun arms and firing off several spurts. Several rounds tore into the Shadow's arms and legs, but none were enough to stop him from another charge, his head swinging as he suddenly skidded mid-charge, turned and tried to crush Gargomon's ribs with his tail.

"Okay, let's do it," Jenrya said. Ryo had to give him credit – he managed to keep focused and voice steady this time around. "Got the card?"

"Naturally?"

They managed to get the card into the slot of the D-Arc, with Jenrya holding onto it and Ryo guiding the STR-MAX card with his good hand. It sliced through with the typical flare of green.

"Wow, I'm surprised that worked," Ryo remarked. Jenrya shot him an are-you-kidding-me look. "I thought it mattered who held the card and the D-Arc, but I guess it doesn't matter who holds the card. Guess we lucked out this time. Learn something new everyday."

"You were guessing?!"

Jenrya resisted the urge to strangle Ryo.

Across the way, Gargomon back-peddled madly away from Black Growlmon. He suddenly stiffed as the card slash began to take effect and unexpectedly charged at the other Digimon the next second – the Shadow growled in surprise and lunged forward to meet him, only to find his jaws eagerly snapping at empty air. Jenrya watched as Gargomon pulled a surprisingly graceful flip in the air and landed with a devastating double-kick at the side of his opponent's head. Black Growlmon's snout snapped to the side. He went rocketing backward as if he weighed absolutely nothing; rather than simply hitting the wall, he demolished a hole right through it upon impact. Gargomon bounded after him, gun arms firing more spurts of shots into the debris cloud spewing out from the hole.

Jenrya finally noticed his mouth was open. He hurriedly closed it.

"What was that card?" he asked as they hurried got up and moved a little closer so they could actually keep an eye on the battle. "I've never seen Gargomon hit anything with that kind of power."

"STR-MAX," Ryo replied. "Nice card if you ever need to beat the living crap outta someone in melee combat."

They watched grimly as part of the gym's roof abruptly bubbled upward with some kind of impact, the cracked concrete buckling up violently as if it was boiling water. There was a flare of white – fire – from the trashed lobby that was suddenly cut off as another rumble sounded. Black Growlmon suddenly flew out through a new hole, rubble exploding around him, and went skidding, powerful hind legs scrabbling and clawing for purchase. With a defiant roar, the Shadow stood to his full height and snarled defiantly at the hole he'd come barreling out from, claws spread as he snorted twin jets of flame from his snout.

"Damn," Ryo muttered under his breath. "He's out in the open again."

Gargomon came charging out, ducking under the gout of blazing white hot fire spurting at him, and delivered a brutal punch aimed at Black Growlmon's chest, right as the other Champion was already dodging to the side to get more space. The blow grazed his shoulder instead of his chest, and wrenched the upper arm back with a violent pop that Jenrya heard this far out. He winced. Black Growlmon's left claw hung there uselessly and for a moment, the Shadow looked down at it in surprise, as if he couldn't quite understand why he couldn't seem to lift it. Pure rage clouded his face as the realization sunk in.

Keeping one snake's eye on Gargomon, who had taken a step back to gauge his opponent's reaction, Black Growlmon bent his wedge-shaped head down, grasped the shoulder with his fangs and gave it a vicious twist until it popped right back where it was supposed to be. The arm was functional again. Small green data particles from the self-inflicted bite wounds drifted up. They dissolved in the air.

Jenrya felt a little queasy, but he swallowed it away as best he could. They couldn't give Black Growlmon the chance to discover where Gargomon was getting the help from. They had to keep him on the move and too distracted to get a good sniff of the air. Jenrya glanced at Ryo, "Another card!" Ryo put a new card into the D-Arc slot – it was a strange choice, Jenrya thought, before it went into the reader, but Ryo was already pushing it further in before he could get a good look.

They slashed it together.

Gargomon briefly glowed blue one second.

In the next second, he simply wasn't there.

He was standing right next to Black Growlmon.

The Shadow started to whirl around, but instead received a powerful one-two of punches to the side, sending the Champion stumbling backward and crashing into a parked car, flattening it under his weight as he went down. Jenrya frowned – Gargomon was pretty much trouncing Black Growlmon up and down the parking lot with far more ease than he'd expected, especially after their last disastrous encounter with him. Watching the fight draw out – it was increasingly one-sided – Jenrya suddenly felt sick.

Something about this whole fight wasn't right. If Gargomon kept up like this, he'd end up deleting Black Growlmon.

He glanced at Ryo. Ryo watched the battle with that black raptor's gaze of his, watching the Shadow staggering back under the onslaught. It was a miracle he was even still conscious.

With a start, Jenrya realized that Ryo was playing to win, not playing to incapacitate. It was like getting hit by a bucket of cold water. Winning could very well mean deletion – it explained why Ryo had given him that strange card combination he'd never seen before. Why he'd been in a hurry to slash it before he could change his mind.

"I-I've got to stop this," Jenrya jumped to his feet. They wanted to defeat Black Growlmon, not kill him!

Ryo glared up. "Get back down, you're in full view!"

"That card combination's going to delete him!"

Ryo was silent. He didn't look angry. Instead he looked away, back toward the battle, his face just as carefully blank as his voice.

"Jenrya, you've got to look at the big picture. If we keep tiptoeing around him all the time, he'll just keep stalking you and eventually he'll get lucky – it could be you next time. Or your dad. Or your little sister."

"You don't know that."

"You want to wait to find out?" Ryo didn't look at him. "I'm sorry." He sounded like he meant it.

"Black Growlmon's a friend," Jenrya clenched his fists as his side. "He still is."

The other boy sighed. "Friends wouldn't do what he did: you heard Tadako. He'll kill you in an instant if you give him the chance, friend or not. I'm not taking that chance even if you don't agree with me."

"You don't know anything about friends," Jenrya hissed. "You've never had any, have you?"

That hit home.

Stunned, Ryo stared at him, black eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, seemed to be unable come up with the words, and closed it after a long moment. He blinked a few times and then looked away quickly. It was the closest Jenrya had ever seen him come to crying, although he didn't see any tears escaping. He swallowed, for the first time looking his age rather than the cynical, too-old boy from before.

"I'm sorry," Ryo repeated, voice strangely tight. "You can't always count on friends if you expect to survive, Jenrya. Someone has to tell you that."

Jenrya almost felt sorry for him, but then reminded himself that Ryo had been ready to delete Black Growlmon knowing full well the consequences of those cards. He made angrily for the ladder to take him back to the ground.

"Wait!"

Jenrya turned, glaring. Ryo met it head on, almost subdued, although he stood up straight under the glare.

"You're not going by yourself. I'm coming with you."

Angry words were on the tip of Jenrya's tongue, but somehow he swallowed them.

"Fine," he said instead.

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They couldn't afford to wait very much longer. Black Growlmon, unthinkably, was actually losing – to a human's slave, no less, to make matters even more humiliating.

Vajramon felt sorry for the poor former-slave. He truly did. But still, he was reckless and he was honestly letting his thirst for blood get the better of him, rather than letting common sense do its job. Clearly Black Growlmon was outmatched – for the moment – because of whatever upgrades or plugins those infernal humans had used to aid the human-slave, yet he continued to fight rather than counting his losses. Next to Vajramon, Kaminmon pawed impatiently at the ground with a hoof.

"Soon," Vajramon assured his companion, blocking him with an outstretched arm.

He hadn't expected Kaminmon to be easy to find, especially in a city this big, but following Black Growlmon's trail of new destruction saved him the trouble of having to concern himself too much with this task – in fact, it made it surprisingly easy, especially considering the fact that he'd thought he'd have to spend a few days trying to track down Kincaid's servant. Find the trail and surely he'd find Kaminmon not far behind. Luckily he'd managed to catch up to him before Kaminnon tried to take on the rogue Digimon and the humans and their slave. They were now waiting on a roof top overlooking the wreckage of the human gym, giving them a good vantage point of the grounds, although the roofs of the gym itself and the little sheds attached were obscured by debris and general garbage left over from the ground shakes.

Where were the humans? Gargomon was here, which meant his human master had to be in range to actually use those infernal cards to turn the tide of the battle, but, scanning the area, Vajramon could see neither hide nor hair of the little beast. He squinted his eyes. Probably hiding or concealed.

Finally wised up, he supposed. Except for the Two Generals, humans in the past had this ridiculous tendency to stand out in the open and yell orders to their slaves, which only made them a wonderfully easy target.

They watched as Black Growlmon slammed into a chain link fence, crashing through it and tearing it to shreds. Kaminmon strained forward impatiently.

Vajramon held up his clawed hand.

"Go."

Kaminmon's snout widened into a grotesque grin.

"With pleasure, my Lord."

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Jenrya was about to run out to call off Gargomon when he suddenly found himself shoved against the wall, Ryo standing too close for comfort. He was about to demand what that was for – Ryo was really starting to get on his bad side today – when the other boy raised a finger to his lips and shook his head furiously. He continued to keep Jenrya shielded, pressing hard toward the wall as he glanced over his shoulder. Whatever it was finally passed as he let up, pulling away from Jenrya, who finally could breathe after being crushed against the wall.

"We got company," Ryo hissed. "Look."

He backed away enough to let Jenrya peer out, just barely, around the corner. Jenrya froze as he spotted this newcomer – it was that ugly horse-like creature from before with Garurumon, now cantering toward the two combatants with a ghastly cadaver smile. Gargomon's gunfire lifted from Black Growlmon to Kaminmon.

Ryo pushed him back and peeked a bit further around the corner. Black Growlmon looked down for the count, his massive bulk moving weakly as he tried to roll over. But Kaminmon wasn't even interested in fighting him; instead he went for Gargomon, changing his canter into a full blown charge with his fanged head bent down, sharpened hooves clattering harshly against pavement. With a snap the ragged wings on his head flared open, glowing a sinister, shimmering blue.

Gargomon leveled his gun arms, the barrels starting to rotate.

"HYBRIS Tear!"

Kaminmon's wings flashed.

Space seemed to simply rip apart in a neat little hole.

And suddenly Kaminmon simply wasn't there. Another tear sliced down neatly right behind Gargomon, and the enemy Champion came rearing through, delivering a set of stunning kicks with his forelegs that bowled Gargomon over before he had a chance to react. Kaminmon was on top of him before he could get up, his wicked set of fangs snapping only inches away from his face, hooves scrabbling for purchase. It was all Gargomon could do to keep him from actually connecting – Kaminmon had the superior ground, but his hooves on the pavement kept slipping, unable to give him enough grounding to use it to his true advantage.

Ryo was already shoving a card at him. "Here!"

"Why should I trust you?" Jenrya spat back.

"I'm better than nothing," Ryo said. "And nothing's all you got right now. Take it!"

Jenrya scowled but did as he was told…but he made sure to take a good, long look at the card before slashing it.

Feathers exploded into the air with a flash of light, causing Kaminmon to rear back with a spitting snarl of pain and surprise. Gargomon found himself in the air with a set of massive wings – and now with the superior advantage of height. He turned the tables, peppering the Digimon below with gun fire and forcing him to seek cover. Jenrya had to grudgingly admit that Ryo's card choice had been sound, even if he had been trying to delete Black Growlmon earlier.

Gargomon still had control of the air with the wings of light. Kaminmon's own wings were too small to afford him any real height. The most he could manage was a leaping lunge, fangs snapping at the Champion flying just out of his reach. Gargomon flitted out of reach and out of sight, his opponent snapping at his heels. A diving, brutal kick sent Kaminmon sprawling heavily.

Jenrya was starting to think them evenly matched when the sword came spinning out of nowhere.

It clipped right through Gargomon's wings.

Jenrya threw up his arm to protect his eyes as the wings exploded in a burst of blinding light, riddling the battlefield with a rain of glowing feathers. Gargomon dropped down, hit heavily, and went down hard.

It was then that the Ultimate Digimon came casually into view.

Jenrya felt pure fear suddenly strike him. It rooted him to the spot. He'd heard from Ruki and Ryo how it felt to be near an Ultimate when they'd seen Zudomon, but, at the time, a part of Jenrya passed it off as exaggeration.

All of it was true.

This Ultimate was nowhere near the massive size of Zudomon, yet something about his bearing struck Jenrya as terrifying. Surely he had to be able to hear Jenrya's heart beating frantically, or the way Ryo's breathing went rapid and shallow. His D-Arc chose now to inform him helpfully that this Ultimate was Vajramon; Jenrya was just scared that he'd be able to hear his D-Arc's electronic voice from all the way over there. The thought of that terrible head turning in their direction made him tremble.

Vajramon strolled past them, one hand held up almost lazily. A limp, bulky black body drifted behind him in the air, floating along like some kind of twisted puppet on strings. Jenrya covered his mouth with a trembling hand, almost gasping out-loud.

Black Growlmon.

The Shadow looked completely out of it to Jenrya, his snake's eyes half-lidded now as he drifting along behind Vajramon. Next to Jenrya, Ryo stiffened, his black eyes wide.

Kaminmon backed off from Gargomon, dropped down into an impromptu bow of respect, and held his position.

Vajramon came to a halt. "So this is one of the new slaves," he said, huge horns dipping as he glanced down at the fallen Digimon, snout turning to one side and then another as if to get a better view of this rogue element. "Can't say I'm impressed with this new generation."

Gargomon glared. "I know you."

"Oh, I'd be surprised if you didn't," said Vajramon, folding his huge arms over his muscular chest. Black Growlmon bobbed lazily behind him. "Even a rogue like you would be smart enough to know who helped shape a better world around him – even if he is an ingrate about it."

"There's nothing to be grateful for."

"Spoken like a true traitor."

"You betrayed the Sovereigns."

"Ah, but that's where your brilliant skills of deduction are wrong," Vajramon smiled, revealing a full set of fangs. "The Sovereigns fully back the World Council, you see - I do believe it's difficult to 'betray' them when we've been blessed with their advice on multiple counts."

Gargomon gaped at him. "You're lying."

"Hardly," Vajramon met eyes with Kaminmon, "We're done here."

Kaminmon's tuft of mane bristled with anticipation. "What about him?"

"He's useless unless we have his human master," Vajramon regarded Gargomon with a pitying look. "You won't be free unless you're act without their influence, you know. Despite your transgressions, we would be willing to give a full pardon for your crimes if you turn yourself and your master in to us voluntarily. This is the only time I will offer amnesty...I suggest you take it."

This answer clearly didn't please Kaminmon. He snorted, sending out a gust of steam in the icy air, and pawed at the ground with a hoof, making it clear he wanted nothing more than to resume his battle with the other Digimon and be done with it. This offer was too good for a weak traitor like Gargomon!

"This is the way of the Digital World as it is today," Vajramon continued. He looked down his snout with a stately frown. "Today we are more civilized than times past. We can offer rehabilitation instead of a long, drawn out Purge."

Next to him, Kaminmon made another angry snort, but wisely didn't interrupt.

Vajramon turned to go. "You could be a valuable asset to the cause, Gargomon. Much as my associate here would like to prolong your human's suffering for as long as he can, I ensure that your master will be given a mercifully swift and painless execution if you accept the offer of amnesty."

Gargomon gaped at him, unable to believe that they were apparently discussing his own Tamer's death.

"It's the humane thing to do," Vajramon went on, "Otherwise I'm afraid I won't have much control for the method of execution – Kaminmon here, among others, would be more than happy to do the honors, perhaps with less consideration for mercy than I. Because we are civilized, I will give you a grace period to decide and prepare both yourself and your…master," Vajramon made a vague gesture of distaste, "for what is inevitable."

Vajramon trotted past the fallen Digimon, Kaminmon shooting Gargomon a murderous look before dogging after the Ultimate with a swish of his tail, the unconscious Black Growlmon bobbing in the air after the two. Kaminmon's wings flared once more and they disappeared through the portal. Gone.

Jenrya rushed to Gargomon, stumbling over the uneven ground until he could kneel down next to him.

"There's no way I'm turning you in!" Gargomon blurted, almost on the verge of tears. "You know I wouldn't!"

Shaken, the Tamer dropped to his knees next to his partner. "I-I know."

He brought his good arm around and hugged Gargomon as best he could. The Digimon trembled slightly.

Someone cast a shadow over them.

"We should get out of here," said Ryo softly. "No telling if they change their minds and come back."

Jenrya ignored Ryo, focusing on his partner. "I trust you, Gargomon," he said. "You wouldn't turn me in."

Gargomon steeled himself, drawing strength through his partner's words. "I won't let them take you," he said, deadly quiet. "They will try and they will fail."

Jenrya went stock still for a second. He hadn't ever heard Gargomon talk like that before, and it occurred to him that his partner really meant he would delete them in whatever way he could rather than let Jenrya die, maybe even use brutal methods like Ryo had. He tried to remember his partner as the joker he'd been before, back before Takato had vanished, before Guilmon became warped and twisted, and found he had a hard time remembering. Trying to shake off a vague feeling of unease, Jenrya urged Gargomon to his feet.

"Come on, up you go," Jenrya grunted, half-pushing under one arm. The Champion got to his feet heavily.

Ryo was glancing toward the direction Vajramon and Kaminmon had vanished with their captive. "I think we should find out where they're going."

"What, so you can finish him off?" Jenrya scowled.

Ryo's face went carefully blank.

"They want him for a reason; they view him as an asset. He's already out for your blood and that just happens to coincide with their world view of let's all hate humans."

"I won't let Black Growlmon do anything bad to Jenrya," Gargomon loomed dangerously over Ryo. "Or anyone else."

Ryo gazed up at Gargomon, unfazed.

"Which is why I think we should find out where they're taking him. And why. It's one thing for him to just be flipping out and deciding he likes stalking us of his own free whim, but…you saw Vajramon," Ryo gestured. "He used to be on their World Council – he's serving their ends here and that means he'll probably recruit Black Growlmon somehow for their cause. Before it was just bad for us personally that Black Growlmon was stalking Jenrya. But if he ends up in their hands for good, it's bad for us and everyone else."

Jenrya hated to agree with Ryo after what he'd done earlier, but it made sense. But Dad's waiting, Jenrya thought, we've at least got to let him know we're okay. But what about the trail? Gargomon didn't have half the nose Black Growlmon did, but he'd assured him earlier that he could try to track Kaminmon if he had to – and Vajramon positively oozed power, leaking excess all over the place so that it would be hard to miss, for a Digimon. Even so, they still had a short window of opportunity here.

He wavered for a moment, torn.

A glance at Gargomon decided it for him. The poor Digimon was the very picture of misery, his ears drooping as he shuffled his feet, button nose twitching nervously. Jenrya gave him a comforting pat on the barrel of one of his gun-arms.

"I'll be okay, so don't worry about me," Jenrya smiled at him. "Let's just see where they're taking him. We'll take my family over to Ruki's and come back. We'll rescue Black Growlmon."

Ryo started. "Are you crazy?" he hissed. "You spring him and he'll be all over you!"

Jenrya shot him a look. "You said yourself that he'd be an asset to them. Better he be free than let him end up in their hands."

Ryo ran a hand through his hair, frowning and shaking his head.

"Have you even thought this through? For starters, how're you going to carry him? What about his guards? Pretty sure they'll have him heavily guarded and even if you did get past them, how would you get him out without getting killed? And assuming you managed to get him out with everyone in one piece, what are you gonna do with him? Hope that if you sit him down and have a heart-to-heart he'll suddenly do a 180?"

"It's better than him being stuck with the Council," Jenrya said, for the first time feeling utterly sure. "You said that you thought his change was because of Takato," he went on, before Ryo could interrupt. "Well, I think that's only part true – something did happen to Takato, but I don't think a Tamer alone can just force his partner to change without there being some kind of agreement from Guilmon."

Ryo was skeptical. "So you're saying you think you can snap him out of it? Just on a hunch?"

"We don't leave our friends behind," said Gargomon. "He was our friend before all this. We can't just give him over to Vajramon."

Jenrya shrugged. They could go without Ryo if he decided he wanted to dig his feet in and not go on what he probably thought was a suicide mission. Seeing Vajramon, a real flesh and blood Ultimate, just walk in and take what he wanted made Jenrya feel a sense of resolve that had always wavered before. He had been so worried with what he couldn't do, what he didn't know, that he'd lost sight of what was really important, what really mattered: what he could and must do.

After the horrible news about Black Growlmon actually killing innocent people, after the realization sunk in that he really did want to kill them, Jenrya had a feeling that when he snapped out of it, they wouldn't be friends afterward. Friends forgave, but he'd gone too far and forgiveness couldn't be blind. You simply couldn't excuse cold-blooded murder. Those poor people hadn't done anything to him and he'd struck them down – laughing, even, from Tadako's story. He knew that Gargomon felt the same.

But still.

They needed to rescue him, if only to keep him away from Digimon like Vajramon. Whether Takato knew it or not, his partner was an out of control threat, with a growing string of unspeakable crimes behind him. They had to get him back to normal and they couldn't do that with him as Vajramon's prisoner.

Ryo sighed. "It's stupid, it's gonna get you killed, and I'll probably really, really regret this but…I'm in."

Jenrya nodded. Anger and disappointment at Ryo's actions earlier had to take a backseat to focusing on trying to figure out how to get to Black Growlmon. First thing was finding out where they took him. Then they could decide if they'd try to sneak in or launch a full scale attack. Gargomon held out his arms for the two boys, wincing as they accidentally jostled the wounds from the battle with Kaminmon so they could ride him. The gun-bunny sniffed at the air, and gestured west, toward the stark outline of Tokyo City Hall. Toward Hypnos's headquarters.

"Vajramon's heading there. He's not even trying to mask his trail."

"Smug bastard," Ryo muttered.

Jenrya held on as best he could. Gargomon took off at a good pace, splashing through filmy puddles and keeping his head bent down as rain began to pour from the dismal skies. They would succeed; he had a feeling that despite the odds, they would get Black Growlmon back.

A rescue mission for a killer.

Jenrya had no idea how they'd gotten to this point.

To be continued
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