Finally, I figured out how to make italics and bold show! But now the spacing is so screwed up, anyways…
Thank you guys soooooooooooooo much for reviewing and answering my question, I just had the worst, horrible, terrible, possible week, I'm in no mood and I really need a break. I took some of your ideas, and it seems that quite a few of you wants Henry to fight after all, pacifist as he is, I'll find a way. Thank you sooooooooooooo much for your ideas, and I'm glad most of you don't have a problem with Rika fainting, I'll keep that in mind for further chapters. Oh and most of you want Henry to have some sort of defensive weapon, no problem, will do!
Aquila Blue: Thank you sooo much for your idea, it makes perfect sense. And I'm going to go with it, stay tuned and thanks a bunch!
Chapter 5: Ryo's Threatening Vision
"Pixi Bomb!" a strong attack blew Dark Vampire's Dark Cannon away. Rika couldn't believe she was still alive, she watched in fascination as the attack sent Dark Vampire banging back and into the river.
Dark Vampire managed to yell before disappearing, "I'll get you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Rika immediately ran over to Ryo, cradling his head on her lap, "Ryo! Talk to me."
Ryo didn't even stir as everyone crowded around them.
"Ryo, man," Kazu said in a shocked voice.
"Is he dead?" Juri whispered.
"I hope not," Henry said.
"Ryo, can you hear us?" Takato asked in a worried voice.
"Ryo?" Kenta asked in a small voice.
"Oh Takato, he's not gone is he?" Guilmon asked.
"Ryo!" Monodramon said with tears in his eyes, "Ryo, no. Wake up."
"Rika…" Renamon moaned. Rika hurried over giving Ryo to Henry and helped her Digimon up.
"Are you okay?" Rika asked.
"Some rest will do good," Renamon answered wearily.
Rika looked over to where Terriermon and Lopmon were trying to wake up. She stomped over, her heart twisting in pain as she looked at Ryo's battered body. Close to tears, Rika managed to choke out, "OH RYO, YOU JERK! WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT!" She reached down and slapped him across the face. The rest of the Tamers gasped in shock.
Ryo stirred and opened his eyes weakly, "Thanks a lot Rika. Thanks a whole lot…"
Rika smiled through her tears, *He's okay…I was so worried…that's so unlike me…but guess I should repay his love for me by at least caring about him.*
"Ryo, what happened?" Monodramon asked.
Ryo moaned in pain, "I'd rather not talk about it."
Rika pushed Kazu aside, "Stop it. Let him rest, leave him alone!" Rika bent down and hugged Ryo tightly, causing him to wince. Ryo was surprise by her display of affection, especially in front of the other Tamers. He slipped his arms tightly around the girl and returned her embrace, his cerulean eyes shining despite in his injuries.
All the Tamers besides Henry looked surprised, even Kenta who had already seen them together.
"What's going on?" Kazu asked in shock.
"I don't feel like explaining," Rika replied, "Do me the favor Henry."
"You know about this?" Takato asked Henry.
"A bit of it I guess," Henry muttered, "A couple days ago I caught them together in the park at midnight, training with their weapons. Then I made them spill the beans. But it's none of my business so I left it up to them to tell you guys."
"I saw them together too," Kenta said, "Today. But Rika said that she'd kill me if I told anyone."
"We've got to get Ryo to someplace safe," Juri said worriedly.
"Is that creep gone?" Ryo asked, struggling to get up, but failing.
"Don't try to move," Rika cried.
"That creep took the best out of you," Takato remarked airily.
"How did you defeat him Rika?" Renamon asked.
"I didn't," Rika said in confusion, "I thought one of you did it, but it doesn't look that way. Ryo and I barely wounded him, then he attacked and knocked out Ryo. Then he fired at me but someone stopped it and managed to knock the freak in the river."
"That someone would be me," a modest voice said, a creature who looked like a round peach ball appeared, fluttering in the air with his double wings. He was also holding a long pike which looked too big for someone who was that small of a size, but the creature didn't seem to have trouble holding it.
"Piximon!" Monodramon cried in excitement, "You're right on time!"
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"Here, these Date Packets will heal all your wounds," Piximon said, passing the strange baubles around to the injured Digimon. They all heal themselves quickly, glad to be relieved of the pain.
The Tamers were in Piximon's barrier (We all remember Piximon, don't we? From Season 01? The ultimate who sacrificed himself for the DigiDestined when they faced the Dark Masters. I adore him so he's back again! Somehow, anyways.) Rika was watching over Ryo who was asleep in a bed. She and Juri had bandaged all of Ryo's wounds the best they could.
"I can't believe that this little thing beat Dark Vampire!" Takato exclaimed.
"Little thing?" Henry said in disbelief, "Piximon's a legendary ultimate Digimon! He's one of the best in the league!"
Piximon chuckled, "Thank you Henry. Now Monodramon, it's been a while."
"Yeah," Monodramon said eagerly, "I'm glad you're still alive and well."
Piximon grunted, "Of course I'm still alive, of all the questions to ask. You DigiDestined were in quite a jam back there."
Rika nodded, "Yes, thank you so much. Ryo and I would've been toast if you hadn't showed up." Rika was usually not so nice to strangers, but she felt a special connection with this ancient Digimon. After all, who wouldn't like Piximon?
"No need to thank me, young miss," Piximon said, placing down some food, "Why don't we sit down and take a break. No one will find you in here, you can tell me all about your problems and a bit about yourself."
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"That's all," Henry said, finishing their story.
Rika was busy healing her own wounds and listening to everyone speak.
Piximon looked grave, "Yes, it is terrible but the Darkness has rose up again."
Ryo stirred from the other room, "Rika……"
Rika dropped her bowl and rushed over, "Ryo, are you okay?"
Both Takato and Kazu sweatdropped.
"What's up with Rika?" Kazu asked in confusion, "She never acts like this."
"Isn't this sweet?" Juri sighed dreamily.
"It's weird," Takato corrected.
Kenta hooked the door with his feet and closed it, "Give them some privacy guys, I don't think we should watch. Rika might hit us later."
"Who's watching?" Henry murmured, he was still discussing with Piximon.
"Since when did Rika care so much about Ryo?" Terriermon asked bluntly.
Renamon gave the bunny a sharp look, "You guys better not make any snide comments."
Piximon smiled a bit, "You should all have some sort of strong relationship between each other. That will make you all strong, whether it's friendship or even love. I'll talk so more later. I have more information for you, but right now you should all rest or freshen up."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Rika…" Ryo said, his voice trailing off weakly.
Rika busied herself with Ryo's food so he wouldn't see the worry in her eyes.
"Rika? Are you mad?" Ryo asked, his blue eyes full of innocence.
"No," Rika whispered, giving him the food and sitting down beside him, "I'm just worried…"
"About me?" Ryo teased gently, "I told you, I'll be fine. And I promised you that I wouldn't leave you and I'm not about to break that promise now."
Rika sighed, "I know, I know. It's just…I wish you'd just let me take the hits that were meant for me. I don't like it when you try to protect me."
Ryo looked confused, "What? You don't want me to help you? Is that it?"
"No," Rika said, "It's just…I feel so guilty when you get hurt because of me, it feels as if I owe you something…"
"Rika, you don't owe me anything!" Ryo said, "I did it because I wanted to, now let's get this straight."
Rika couldn't help but smile at the cute boy beside her, "Okay."
"I'll be fine," Ryo assured, "In the Digital World, all things heal faster.
Rika slipped her hand in Ryo's and closed her eyes in content.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You guy didn't let me finish," Monodramon said, "Piximon's the person who told me the story of Ancient Magic."
Everyone gasped.
"You mean you live through the Dark times?" Ryo said, standing up. Most of his wounds were healed, his shoulder was still rusty, but it was healing fast.
"That's amazing!" Henry said.
"It's rather sad," Piximon said, "If you saw the things that I saw. I have so much more to tell you, but I'm afraid there's not much time."
"Then tell us everything!" Henry said, "It's time to get some facts instead of fighting blind!"
Rika sighed and leaned tiredly against Ryo, the secret was already out and she had nothing to hide. But still, she wasn't going to kiss him in front of everyone. Ryo smiled softly and slipped one arm gently around her waist, pulling her a bit closer. Rika sighed again, murmuring to Ryo, "If Piximon tells us another long story, I don't think my brain will be able to take it."
Ryo chuckled, his sapphire eyes gleaming, "If you fall asleep I'll fill you in later."
Rika made a face at Ryo who had a rakish grin on his handsome face.
"Henry," Kazu yawned, "Would you stop trying to be a smart aleck? All this info is driving me outta my mind, who cares?"
"I do," Henry said frostily, "You'll never stop learning and I intend to use every minute of that."
Takato and Juri exchanged glances and shrugged.
Rika shifted closer to Ryo, it seemed that everyone was stubborn about something. Ryo, for instance, wouldn't leave her alone, not that she minded or anything. Takato was so intent on Juri's safety, vice versa for Juri. Kenta was stubborn about throwing themselves in battle without caution. Kazu was pure stubborn, that's all, on every single thing, from who gets the last slice of bread to who gets the weapon. Suzy was too young to make a fuss. Henry was picky about every bit of information and whether to kill or not. *I guess I'm stubborn too, in my own way, just like everyone else.* Rika thought.
"What do you want to know first?" Piximon asked, "I can tell you just about anything."
Rika's eyes flew open, "Oh, who are the Dark Minions?"
"They're the head servants of the Darkness," Piximon said, "They'll do anything the Darkness says. There are four of them, each one guarding over one of the four parts of a compass. You saw Dark Vampire, there's also Dark Ghost, Dark Python, and Dark Skeleton."
"What?" Takato's mouth dropped open, "More of these things?"
"Yes," Piximon said gravely, "They get much stronger, that's why you must get stronger. There are many more different monsters that the Darkness will send out to you, I could never tell you them all."
"But if we know-" Henry said.
"Yes, Henry, you are always eager to learn," Piximon said, "Hold your horse young man, I'll get to that part. Now I understand that you have weapons."
"Me and Rika do," Ryo said, "A sword and a longbow. We found a spear recently-"
"And I want it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kazu wailed.
"Shut up!" Rika snapped.
"May I see?" Piximon inquired.
Ryo and Rika both took out their weapons plus the spear to Piximon.
The small Digimon inspected each one, "Yup yup yup! No doubt about it, Ancient Magic Weapons, extremely powerful. You must learn how to use them."
"We are using them," Ryo said, looking puzzled.
"Yes, in a very blind way," Piximon remarked, "I'm sorry to say, you have to unleash it's power before you can use it. And that power comes from inside the beholder."
"I don't have any powers inside of me," Rika said, looking dumbfounded.
"Neither do I," Ryo added.
"Ah, everyone has a power inside them, and those who do not have weapons will soon have one," Piximon said, "When you do, you must concentrate to unleash the power from within."
"What?" Takato asked, "What was that?"
"It means we each have a power inside us," Henry said, "Interesting…"
"What about the Dark Minions?" Rika wanted to know, "How do we defeat them? I'm telling you, if that ugly Dark Vampire ever touches me again…"
"And a python!" Kenta gulped, "I hate snakes!"
"You hate anything that crawls," Rika retorted, "but I'm not so fond of snakes myself."
"I've seen snakes here," Ryo said, shivering, "They give me the creeps, spitting poison and hissing their tongues out. Yuck! Some snakes have poisonous fangs. Some have hypnotic eyes. Some have slimy bodies. And some have two heads or more-"
"Shut up!" Rika yelled, "That's gross and Kenta looks as if he'll faint any minute now."
"I'm just stating the facts," Ryo protested innocently.
MarineAngemon hurried over and patted Kenta comfortingly.
"So there's a vampire, a python, a ghost, and a skeleton," Henry pondered, "That sounds like a dead army. Like from some graveyard."
"I don't care who they are, they're going down," Rika confirmed.
"It's not that easy," Kazu protested, "You almost got killed, he almost got you."
Piximon fluttered his wings, ceasing any more arguments, "I'll fix up your weapons, they're badly battered."
"What do they want with the Digital World?" Henry asked curiously, "Do they just want the power to rule..."
"Oh it's much more than that," Piximon said, "The Darkness has already conquered many worlds, but the Digital World is very powerful. When the old DigiDestined fought him and defeated him, he was badly weakened and most of his conquered world, if not all, escaped his wrath. I'm sure that Monodramon or Ryo told you guys that the Darkness managed to escape over the years and killed the DigiDestined. He was still weak after the battles and traveled around the universe, re-conquering some worlds and feeding on the energy. He's back now to secure his power over the Digital World, many are still fighting against him so he has to be strong. Once the Digital World is in his grasp, I don't think any world can stand up to him."
Rika stared at him in disbelief, "You mean that the Darkness doesn't only want the Digital World-"
"It wants the whole universe?" Ryo finished for her, looking equally shocked.
Piximon nodded, "When people get in power, things become more and more scarce and they wish for more and more."
"What a selfish, greedy, dumb fool!" Rika snapped.
Piximon smiled at Rika, "I would watch what you say in front of the Darkness, they don't exactly have the best patience."
"Neither does Rika,"' Ryo joked, receiving a shove on the couch.
"Now I want to do a weapon test here," Piximon said, "To make sure you both have the right weapon."
"What do you mean?" Ryo looked puzzled, sitting up, "Can't we choose whichever weapon we want?"
"Goodness, no," Piximon said, "It's already chosen by destiny, way before you were born."
"But what if I shouldn't have the longbow," Rika wanted to know, "I've just mastered the firing."
"We shall see," Piximon said, "Now, I want everyone to hold up their DigiVices and shout WEAPON ACTIVATION!"
The Tamers shrugged and nodded thrusting their DigiVices in the air, "WEAPON ACTIVATION!"
The Digimon and their Tamers watched in fascination as Piximon held up Ryo's sword. Different colored light flew out from the Tamers' DigiVice. Red from Takato's, purple from Henry's, orange from Kazu's, white from Kenta's, yellow from Juri's, pink from Suzy's, blue from Ryo's, and green from Rika's.
All the light dissolved except for Ryo's, the sapphire light shot by the Tamers and hit Ryo's sword.
Ryo watched in fascination as the blue light spread across his sword. The rusty blade turned new and shiny while the handle was stained with a metallic blue that gleamed in the light.
Piximon nodded in satisfaction when the light faded, "Yes, very good, here you go Ryo. It is yours after all."
Ryo turned his new sword this way and that, "Wow, it's so new and sharp. Thanks Piximon, I guess I made the right choice after all."
"That light was majorly cool!" Kazu said in excitement.
"The light color matches your eyes," Rika said quietly to Ryo so only he could hear, blushing in embarrassment.
Ryo turned and smiled brightly at her.
"Now let's do it again," Piximon said, holding up Rika's longbow this time.
"WEAPON ACTIVATION!" all the Tamers except for Ryo shouted.
*Please, please, please be mine,* Rika prayed.
Rika's green light slammed into the weapon, the whole weapon turned a metallic green and the thread was a light green. The longbow gleamed, looking as good as new, Rika's eyes shone is happiness, "Renamon, look."
"Here you go Rika," Piximon said, noting her happiness, "Take good care of it. You did make the right choice."
"Thanks," Rika said, grinning from ear to ear, "Only I didn't choose."
"What did I tell you?" Ryo said, grinning, as Rika sat down beside him, "Ain't I always right?"
"Shut up!" Rika smirked, punching him lightly on his good shoulder.
"Now we got one last spear here," Piximon said, "Everyone except Rika and Ryo please, I take it that this hasn't been used."
"Yeah," Ryo said, "Renamon found it at an old temple and we were trying to decide who should take it."
"MEEEEEEE!" Kazu pleaded.
"Aw, give it to Kazu so he'll stop his annoying whining," Rika growled.
The Tamers held up their DigiVices again as red light shot out of Takato's DigiVice and kept going until it hit the spear.
Rika giggled softly as Ryo quickly brushed his lips on hers when no one was looking, "Stop it Ryo, I want to see this."
Ryo grinned rakishly, "Sure thing."
Rika wagged a finger at him, smiling and blushing, "Naughty, naughty."
"Be quiet," Ryo retorted, blushing as well and focusing his attention on the weapon.
"Me?" Takato squeaked, "But-"
"I'll take it if you don't want it," Kazu offered hopefully.
"No," Piximon said severely, "The weapon must stay with it's rightful owner. Otherwise the Ancient Magic will NOT work."
"But-" Takato stammered.
"Relax!" Ryo said energetically, "You'll do fine, Takato! I'll teach you."
"Yeah," Rika said sarcastically, "Aren't you happy you'll get to protect Juri even better now?"
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"Now," Piximon said, when everyone settled down, "I'd like to tell you how Ancient Magic works. Now, remember that every time you find a weapon, you should do what you did earlier to ensure that the weapon goes to the right person."
"What happens if you don't?" Kazu called.
"That's why you always should," Rika shot back.
Kazu made a face at Rika until Piximon silenced the two.
"Ancient Magic will be released from inside you to your weapon, from then on, you will be much more powerful," Piximon said.
"Cool!" Kazu exclaimed, "Wicked. Come on out Ancient Magic!"
"Talk about dumb," Rika muttered.
"Anyways, you each will have many powers, those powers I do not yet know," Piximon said, "But it would be most convenient if you got them soon…very soon."
"Yeah, otherwise the Darkness will crush us into tiny pieces," Takato worried.
"The Dark Vampire really had us beat," Kenta said.
"Yeah, and I bet he'll be back!" Juri said in a scared voice.
"We'll beat him," Kazu said casually.
"Yeah right," Henry snickered, "You didn't do anything."
"No kidding," Rika agreed.
Ryo was about to say something when he heard a strange voice in his head.
~I'm watching you Ryo Akiyama, Legendary Tamer.~
Ryo looked around in confusion, "What? Who said that?"
~Your worst nightmare, well warrior, do you think you can stand up to me?~
*Who are you?* Ryo demanded in his head.
~Now why should I tell you, let's play a little guessing game.~ The strange voice teased, playing with Ryo's mind. ~With your sword you still can't beat me. Nothing can beat me so you might as well give me what I want~
*What might that be?* Ryo asked furiously in his head.
~Rika Nonaka…Digimon Queen…~ The voice hissed slyly. ~Your one and only true love. A bit of a dilemma, isn't it warrior boy? Either you stop getting in my way and give me the girl or I'll kill her!~
*Shut up!* Ryo thought angrily, *Don't you dare come close to Rika, if you do I'll kill you!*
~How sweet~ The voice drawled.
*What do you want with her?* Ryo demanded.
~To torture her. Kill her. Make her suffer. Destroy every feeling and emotion she has for you. And ultimately turn you two against each other…No one will be able to stop me with her power harnessed to mine…She'll be your ultimate enemy Ryo Akiyama. Don't even try to resist~ the voice sneered, trailing off.
Everyone was arguing and putting in their opinions when Ryo slammed his fist on the coffee table creating a loud thud which caused all the Tamers to jump.
Rika looked startled as she stared as Ryo, his blue eyes were flashing angrily.
"Ryo, what's wrong?" Kazu asked.
Ryo didn't answer, he got up and stormed out of the barrier.
"Ryo!" Rika kicked back her chair and hurried after him.
All the Tamers looked confused as the two other Tamers left the barrier.
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"Monodramon!" Ryo snapped, "It's time to go!"
Monodramon meekly crawled out, "What's wrong Ryo?"
"It's just time to go and do things my way!" Ryo ordered, "Digi-Modify, Matrix Digivolution Activate!"
Monodramon digivolved to Cyberdramon and Ryo climbed on, "Let's go." Ryo said in a clipped tone.
Cyberdramon was puzzled, it was seldom that Ryo ordered anyone to do anything.
"Ryo!" Rika called, running towards him.
"GO!" Ryo snapped, giving Cyberdramon a shove, forcing the giant Digimon to take flight.
"Ryo!" Rika yelled, "Get your butt down here! Why are you doing this?! Ryo! Answer me!"
Ryo ignored her, his blue eyes intent on the horizon. He didn't want to look back and see Rika or he might change his mind.
Rika stamped her foot angrily, her voice ringing across the land, "Oh Ryo! Don't you dare ignore me! Come back you insensitive JERK!"
Ryo shook his head, urging Cyberdramon on, *I'm sorry Rika, you'll understand sometime, but I've got to do this…* Ryo winced as he heard Rika call him all sorts of names. Using all his will power to keep from turning back around, Ryo Akiyama left the Tamers with his heart tearing.
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"Ryo…" Rika's voice trailed off, biting her lip to keep from crying. She felt Henry gently tug her inside, Rika felt lost inside with no one to guide her. It wasn't until he was gone did Rika realize how much she depended on his presence.
*He left me,* Rika thought bitterly, *He said he wouldn't…* Still, Rika couldn't take her mind off of the way Ryo had acted. He was suddenly so cold and distant.
Henry gently ushered his friend inside, Rika was glad that no one said anything, even Kazu was quiet.
"My my," Piximon said, sighing, "That was quite an outburst. I would have liked it if you guys all stayed together."
"So would I," Rika muttered. She went inside the room where Ryo used to sleep and slammed the door shut.
"Leave her alone," Henry said to Terriermon who wanted to go in, "Let her be."
"Why did Ryo run off like that?" Kenta asked.
"He must have forgotten to do something," Piximon said, "Or he might have had a vision."
"A vision?" Takato asked.
"Yes, some of the old DigiDestined had visions of strange voices in their head and they end up following them. Following destiny, it's called." Piximon said, "I wouldn't worry too much about Ryo. He can definitely see his destiny clearly and he can also follow it well too. He knows what is required of him."
"I'm worried about how Rika will take it," Juri said, "They just got together for a short time."
"Which is why I think it might have something to do with her," Piximon said, "When I helped you guys back there, I did see him and Rika. He's very dedicated all right."
"We don't know much about their relationship," Henry said, "But I do know that Ryo was in love with Rika for a long time. He was the one who taught Rika how to use her longbow………oh yeah, Dark Vampire mentioned something about wanting to capture Rika."
"Really?" Piximon looked surprised and grave, "It's seldom that the Darkness wants any prisoners. He usually just kills. You guys all have to watch out for Rika, she'll be in danger if they're after her. Now I want you all take some rest, it's late. We'll decide what to do later."
With a full stomach, the Tamers drifted off to sleep…
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"Ryo…" Rika murmured, lying on the bed, "Don't cry Rika. If he doesn't care about you, then you shouldn't show that you care either." But Rika knew that deep down Ryo did care, she could see it in his eyes. Those deep, sensitive, gorgeous blue eyes.
"He'll need my help," Rika decided, "I won't let him do it alone. Oh Ryo, please be okay. Renamon!"
"Yes Rika," Renamon appeared.
"We have to go look for Ryo, "Rika said.
"As you wish, I will come with you, of course," Renamon said, "I'm high on energy, so let's go."
"Right!" Rika said, "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"
Rika hopped on Kyuubimon and together the two partners melted into the dark of the night.
*Hang on Ryo, wherever you are…I'm coming…*
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Who should get their weapon next? I don't know why I made Ryo walk off like that, but it just happened, so………oops if it was a mistake. Oh, if any of you readers would like me to e-mail you when I update just say so in your reviews and leave your e-mail. I'm already e-mailing a few people on updates anyways, so more won't be a problem and it might be more convenient for some people. For those of you who never review (glares), you can e-mail me about it! Don't forget to review!