One Choice
Intro: Yes, here's the next chapter! Oh yea, these next few chapters are a little dramatic and kind of sad. Rukato all the way! ^.^ The enemy isn't Daemon, sorry, I was going to use him, but this enemy is a bit more interesting( These next few chapters won't have much Rukato, but it will still be there, the ending has a good chunk of it. Anyhoo on with the story!
Chapter 3
The two let go, and Rika sighed. Takato was blushing, but his eyes were soft and full of love. Rika's eyes were sparkling with happiness, which Takato had never seen before. "I…should go."
Takato blinked. "Why?"
"It's late…" she said, sighing again. She turned her eyes to him. "I promised Grandma I'd be home around eleven…"
Takato smiled. He clasped his hand in hers. "Can I escort you?"
Rika blushed and nodded. "Sure Takato."
All of a sudden there was a loud whirring noise. They looked toward the sky to see a green ball of light streak toward them. "Get down!" cried Takato, pushing Rika and himself to the ground just as the green ball of light streaked over their heads. It flew a few yards and crashed in the park, where a green explosion sparked. Rika got up. "What was that?"
Henry, Kazu, Jeri, Kenta, and Ryo ran outside. "What happened?" cried Ryo, eyeing Rika. Rika scowled and turned away.
"A green comet," said Takato, pointing toward the park. "Crashed over there. It looked like it had green fire on it and digital tumbleweeds were clinging to it."
Guilmon and the other digimon came running. "Takatomon are you ok?"
Takato smiled. "I'm fine Guilmon."
"Green fire?" asked Ryo. "And the digital tumbleweeds? Definitely from the digital world."
"Are we going to stand here or what?" asked Rika, holding up her D-arc. "Let's go!" She started running, Renamon at her heels, toward the park. Everyone else shrugged and followed.
When they got there, there was green fire all over the place. But there was no smoke, nor did it look like anything was burning. "Weird," said Henry, sticking his hand through the fire. He pulled it out, but it was neither scorched nor was there fire on it. "Guys!"
They turned. "What's up?" asked Takato.
"Take a look at this," said Henry, gesturing toward the fire around them.
"Yea, so?" asked Rika. "It's green fire, it's everywhere, we aren't blind you know."
"No," said Henry. "Look closer. The fire's only covering the park, it's not burning it or anything."
"Definitely from the digital world," said Ryo.
They were interrupted when something emerged out of the fire. "It's a digimon!" cried Terriermon. He squinted to see better. "It looks like a Gatomon."
"A Gatomon?" asked Henry. "What's a Gatomon doing in the digital world?"
The cat drew closer, the fire parting as if to make way for it. "I don't think that's the Gatomon we know from the show," said Takato. Guilmon was growling.
The cat reached them, and indeed it wasn't a Gatomon. Or was it? It looked like a Gatomon, except its gloves and tail stripes were blue, and the rest of its body was black. Its eyes glowed like a starry night, and it had no tail ring.
"It's a BlackGatomon," said Henry, looking it up on his D-arc. "It's on the champion level, and it's a virus."
"Very good," purred the BlackGatomon. It had a deep, monotone voice that sounded like a male's. "You must be the Tamers, I figured you'd be here…"
"What are you doing here?" asked Takato. "What do you want?"
The BlackGatomon shook his head. "I do not need you, so you can stay out of this whole thing. I came here for an…errand."
"What kind of errand?" said Rika, coldly.
"Touchy," it scowled and hopped on a nearby branch. "I am searching for someone, and it has nothing to do with you…unless of course, you don't want the pretty little blue and green marble you're standing on to be destroyed."
"That means it has something to do with us," scoffed Kazu.
"So you can just take your cute little kitty butt back to the digital world," growled Renamon.
"Is that a threat?" asked BlackGatomon smugly.
"You bet it is," said Rika, irritated with the tone in the black cat's voice.
"Oooh, it is a threat," sneered the cat. "Well then, bring it on fox girl."
"You've been asking for it," said Rika, whipping out her D-arc. "Digimodify! Digivolution activate!"
Renamon digivolved to Kyubimon. BlackGatomon screwed up his face. "Figures." It jumped high into the air and came down with its foot extended. "Cat Kick!"
Kyubimon easily dodged it and attacked. BlackGatomon tossed her attack to one side with a swipe of his paw. "Is that the best you've got?"
"No," said Kyubimon, panting. She jumped high into the air and was about to unleash her attack when Blackgatomon appeared out of nowhere. "Cat Punch!"
He struck her, hard. Kyubimon fell to ground and landed with an earsplitting crack.
"It's too strong!" cried Henry. "It probably gathered a lot of data from the digital world! You have to digivolve to ultimate!"
"Kyubimon!" cried Rika. She ran over to her beaten Digimon. "Get up, then you can digivolve and kick this cat's butt." BlackGatomon came up, arms crossed.
"Leave her alone," said Rika, whirling around to face it, trying to shield her beloved digimon.
"Touching," said BlackGatomon, paw raised and ready to strike. "The Tamer sticking up for her precious Digimon. I'm so sorry, but I must destroy you…before you become a pest." His eyes narrowed and he thrust his paw. "Cat Punch!"
"Rika!" cried Takato, fumbling for his cards.
Rika shut her eyes tight, but when nothing came, she opened them. BlackGatomon's eyes were wide, and a white dog with pink ears and a curly tail stood in front of her, eyes narrowed, a pink shield around it. "Do not hurt them." It had a manly voice, though not as deep as BlackGatomon's.
"Labramon," said BlackGatomon, his paw still on the shield where it had hit. "You little…"
The dog's shield disappeared. Labramon grinned. "So nice to see you again. I'd never think you'd sink this low however," it gestured toward the Tamers. "Hurting kids. You should pick on someone your own size."
BlackGatomon gave a disgusted look and turned away. "I should've destroyed you when I had the chance back in the Digital World."
"Ha!" laughed Labramon. "You wouldn't have had enough power. I may be a rookie, but I have powers that surpass yours."
BlackGatomon growled in rage. "I'll show you!" He thrust another paw at Labramon, but Labramon cried, "Retrieve Bark!" and blasted BlackGatomon. It was thrust a few yards away and crashed into a tree. It winced and got slowly to its feet.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" cried BlackGatomon, fists clenched. "Someday I'll get enough power and defeat you and become ruler of these worlds!" With that it turned and flew off. Labramon sighed and shook his head.
"Uh," said Takato. "Excuse me, Labramon? What the heck is going on?"
"Ah!" cried Kazu, jumping in Guardromon's arms. He pointed to some bushes. "It's another killer cat!"
Labramon chuckled and a Gatomon came out. This time it was a regular one, with the tail ring. "No, no. This is Gatomon Kazu."
Kazu blinked in surprise. "How do you know my name?"
"I know all your names," said Labramon smiling. "I am Labramon, and just about everyone in the digital world knows who you are."
"Why are you here?" asked Ryo. "I thought you were only sent on important missions."
"You know this Digimon?" asked Henry.
"Sure," said Ryo. "Labramon is a good friend of the Guardians. He helps out a ton of digimon, he's the digimon who turned Cyberdramon back to Monodramon."
"Oh," said Henry.
"Yes," said Labramon. "This is an important mission Ryo. That BlackGatomon is a power hungry little guy with enough power, when combined in DNA digivolution, to destroy two worlds, namely ours. He is seeking to become Bastemon, a strong wizard digimon, which has the kind of power BlackGatomon wants. But to become Bastemon, he needs to DNA digivolve with a Gatomon, which is why this one is with me."
"But why only that Gatomon?" asked Takato.
"I am the only Gatomon in the whole Digital World," said the Gatomon. "With the power to DNA digivolve. BlackGatomon was chasing me, so to prevent the crisis, the Guardians chose Labramon to escort me someplace safe." She paused and shook her head. "However, that sneaky little cat always found us, and so our last resort was to come to the real world."
"But apparently," said Henry, piecing it together. "The BlackGatomon tracked you anyway, so you might need our help."
"Exactly," said Labramon. "Believe me, that little critter will be back."
"Maybe you could stay with one of us," said Jeri happily. "We could keep an eyes on you, and provide safety!"
"Excellent!" said Labramon. "Thank you for your help. But who will take us?"
"I can't, sorry," said Henry. "Suzie will give you the Pwetty Pants treatment…"
"What's that?" asked Gatomon. Terriermon sighed.
"You don't want to know," said Terriermon.
"My mom is still getting used to having Guardromon around," said Kazu. "Mom would throw a fit if another digimon, even a cute one, came to our house."
"MarineAngemon's hard enough," said Kenta, shaking his head.
"I'll take them!" cried Jeri. "It'll be fun!" Gatomon smiled.
"It's settled then," said Labramon. "We will go with Jeri."
"Now let's go home," said Ryo. "It's late."
Takato turned to Rika and waved. "Bye."
She waved back and took off. Ryo watched her with a sad look on his face.
* * * * BlackGatomon arrived at an abandoned building in the middle of town. It had been abandoned for years, it was three stories high, and no one ever bothered taking it down. "Purrfect," said BlackGatomon rubbing his paws together. He stepped inside and looked around. It was shabby, red, dirty curtains were on the floor hanging to the windowpane where the wall and ceiling had caved in. Wood shavings and bricks were scattered everywhere, and the stairs looked crushed. BlackGatomon sniffed. "Humans are so filthy…"
With a wave of his paw the whole place looked good as new, and in the far corner stood a throne with a red carpet before it. "That's more like it. Now down to business."
He hopped onto the throne and seated himself. Muttering some magic words, a crystal ball appeared in front of him. He waved his paw. "To get rid of the little pests, we need to find a weakness." He gazed into it, and saw the Tamers walking in different directions. "Which one has the weakest heart?" He passed over Jeri, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo. Then he came upon Rika. "Confusion yes…but not that confused…" His eyes finally came upon Takato. "Oh yes…he'll do just fine."
He smiled. "The confusion in his heart, the fear…all of that will be his downfall, and his little friends…" He smiled again and got up. "I have much work to do now…for we will be getting visitors very, very soon…"
* * * *
"And this is where I live," beamed Jeri happily. Henry had walked with her to her house, taking Gatomon and Labramon with them. Henry smiled a bit and leaned against the wall. He watched happily as Jeri showed the two digimon around, and she showed them Leomon, who looked quite amused.
Jeri flashed Henry a smile and Henry blushed. After that night of the dance, he and Jeri had gotten closer. At first he only danced with her so Takato would fall for Rika, but now things were different. He now had a funny feeling he couldn't quite place, and he knew Jeir felt the same way.
Henry walked over to Jeri, who was gabbing cheerfully with Leomon and Gatomon. Labramon was off to the side, watching them. Terriermon was chasing Calumon, who was singing his cute little song. "Jeri?"
"Hi Henry!" she said happily, throwing her arms around him. Henry blushed and was a little surprised, but returned her embrace. Leomon grinned.
"Do you think we'll do a good job?" asked Jeri.
Henry nodded and Jeri let go. "I don't know, I have the funny feeling something's going to happen."
"We'll be fine," said Henry. "Don't worry."
Jeri nodded. "Well, I got to go, it's late." She waved. "See you tomorrow!" She walked off. Henry sighed and was about to turn to leave when Jeri came running up again. "Jeri?"
She ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye Henry!" She dashed off. Henry blinked in surprise, Terriermon looked at him amazed. Henry walked around the corner, still surprised. Then he smiled and laughed.
"Henry?" asked Terriermon. "Are you ok?"
"Yea," said Henry, his smile was lopsided, and he was blushing. "Let's go…"
They had walked no more than a few yards when there came a scream. "That sounded like Jeri!" cried Henry, and he started running back towards her house.
He arrived to find Leomon on his knees, weeping and seriously hurt. Gatomon was behind Labramon, who was growling and had a bleeding cut on his shoulder.
"What happened?!" cried Takato.
Leomon looked up, tears in his eyes. "She's gone…"
"BlackGatomon attacked," growled Labramon. "He stole Jeri and left."
"But why Jeri?" asked Henry. "Why not Gatomon?"
"He's got something up his sleeve," growled Labramon. "And whatever he's planning you bet it's not good…"
Henry sunk to his knees. "Jeri…" He pounded his fist. "No…"
Labramon came by his side along with Terriermon. "It's alright, we'll get her back…"
* * * *
Takato was completely unaware of what had happened to Jeri, instead, he had a single rose in his hand and was walking to Rika's house. Guilmon was by his side, totally confused. "Takatomon? What's the rose for?"
Takato blinked. "It's for…"
"Do you like someone?" asked Guilmon.
Takato blushed. "Well…I…um…"
Guilmon laughed. "Oh now I get it!"
"You do?" asked Takato.
"You like Renamon!" he said happily.
Takato sweat dropped. "No Guilmon, I do not like Renamon…"
"Oooo," said Guilmon. "Then who do you like?"
"I don't really know," said Takato, he was still torn between Jeri and Rika.
They arrived at Rika's door and he knocked. Rika opened it and smiled. "Hey Gogglehead." She eyed the rose. "What's that for?"
Takato snapped back from staring at her and blushed. "Uh…well…I…"
Rika was staring at him, smiling. Takato turned redder and shoved it into her hands. "Here….it's for you…"
"Takato, thanks," said Rika happily. Takato blushed and turned. Rika let him run and watched him disappear around the corner. "Silly old Gogglehead."
"Why are we running Takatomon?" asked Guilmon, trying to keep up with Takato. "Do you want to get away from something?"
"No Guilmon," said Takato, slowing his pace. "It's just…"
All of a sudden there was a scream and an explosion. "Oh no! Rika!" Takato turned and ran back toward Rika's house.
When he arrived, smoke and ashes were everywhere, and Renamon's limp body was sprawled in the middle of the front yard, but there was no Rika. "Renamon!"
Renamon lifted her head, tears in her eyes. "Rika…I was too…late…"
Takato came by her side. "What happened?"
"Rika….attacked….gone…" mumbled Renamon. Takato looked around. "No…"
Renamon closed her eyes. "I tried to stop it, but it was too fast…"
"No…" whispered Takato, tears in his eyes.
"Takato," said Renamon. "Please…don't…cry…" She fainted. Tears slid down his cheeks. "NO! RIKA!!!!"
Henry came by, looking thoroughly upset. "Takato! What happened?"
"Rika's gone!" cried Takato. "It's all my fault…I shouldn't have left her…" He clenched his fists.
"No," said Henry. "It's not your fault. We'll find her alright? Listen, Jeri's gone too."
"What?!" cried Takato. Henry had tears in his eyes. "We're checking throughout the town, come on, we'll find them."
Takato stood. "Right, let's go…" Inside, his heart was torn in two pieces, one wanted Jeri, the other wanted Rika. He was torn, confused, and enraged. 'Whoever took them is going to pay,' he thought angrily. He clutched his D-arc. 'And pay very, very dearly….'
End of Chapter 3
Note: Uh oh, Takato not happy. And we remember what happened last time *shudders* MegiDramon…
No that won't make an appearance, don't worry. However, my stupid plot is kind of easy to figure out, sorry-_-;;; Anyhoo, stay tuned for the next chapter (Oh yea, I know it's Rika Nonaka, however, I learned that after I finished the second chapter and didn't feel like changing it, oh well…) Rukato all the way!
Intro: Yes, here's the next chapter! Oh yea, these next few chapters are a little dramatic and kind of sad. Rukato all the way! ^.^ The enemy isn't Daemon, sorry, I was going to use him, but this enemy is a bit more interesting( These next few chapters won't have much Rukato, but it will still be there, the ending has a good chunk of it. Anyhoo on with the story!
Chapter 3
The two let go, and Rika sighed. Takato was blushing, but his eyes were soft and full of love. Rika's eyes were sparkling with happiness, which Takato had never seen before. "I…should go."
Takato blinked. "Why?"
"It's late…" she said, sighing again. She turned her eyes to him. "I promised Grandma I'd be home around eleven…"
Takato smiled. He clasped his hand in hers. "Can I escort you?"
Rika blushed and nodded. "Sure Takato."
All of a sudden there was a loud whirring noise. They looked toward the sky to see a green ball of light streak toward them. "Get down!" cried Takato, pushing Rika and himself to the ground just as the green ball of light streaked over their heads. It flew a few yards and crashed in the park, where a green explosion sparked. Rika got up. "What was that?"
Henry, Kazu, Jeri, Kenta, and Ryo ran outside. "What happened?" cried Ryo, eyeing Rika. Rika scowled and turned away.
"A green comet," said Takato, pointing toward the park. "Crashed over there. It looked like it had green fire on it and digital tumbleweeds were clinging to it."
Guilmon and the other digimon came running. "Takatomon are you ok?"
Takato smiled. "I'm fine Guilmon."
"Green fire?" asked Ryo. "And the digital tumbleweeds? Definitely from the digital world."
"Are we going to stand here or what?" asked Rika, holding up her D-arc. "Let's go!" She started running, Renamon at her heels, toward the park. Everyone else shrugged and followed.
When they got there, there was green fire all over the place. But there was no smoke, nor did it look like anything was burning. "Weird," said Henry, sticking his hand through the fire. He pulled it out, but it was neither scorched nor was there fire on it. "Guys!"
They turned. "What's up?" asked Takato.
"Take a look at this," said Henry, gesturing toward the fire around them.
"Yea, so?" asked Rika. "It's green fire, it's everywhere, we aren't blind you know."
"No," said Henry. "Look closer. The fire's only covering the park, it's not burning it or anything."
"Definitely from the digital world," said Ryo.
They were interrupted when something emerged out of the fire. "It's a digimon!" cried Terriermon. He squinted to see better. "It looks like a Gatomon."
"A Gatomon?" asked Henry. "What's a Gatomon doing in the digital world?"
The cat drew closer, the fire parting as if to make way for it. "I don't think that's the Gatomon we know from the show," said Takato. Guilmon was growling.
The cat reached them, and indeed it wasn't a Gatomon. Or was it? It looked like a Gatomon, except its gloves and tail stripes were blue, and the rest of its body was black. Its eyes glowed like a starry night, and it had no tail ring.
"It's a BlackGatomon," said Henry, looking it up on his D-arc. "It's on the champion level, and it's a virus."
"Very good," purred the BlackGatomon. It had a deep, monotone voice that sounded like a male's. "You must be the Tamers, I figured you'd be here…"
"What are you doing here?" asked Takato. "What do you want?"
The BlackGatomon shook his head. "I do not need you, so you can stay out of this whole thing. I came here for an…errand."
"What kind of errand?" said Rika, coldly.
"Touchy," it scowled and hopped on a nearby branch. "I am searching for someone, and it has nothing to do with you…unless of course, you don't want the pretty little blue and green marble you're standing on to be destroyed."
"That means it has something to do with us," scoffed Kazu.
"So you can just take your cute little kitty butt back to the digital world," growled Renamon.
"Is that a threat?" asked BlackGatomon smugly.
"You bet it is," said Rika, irritated with the tone in the black cat's voice.
"Oooh, it is a threat," sneered the cat. "Well then, bring it on fox girl."
"You've been asking for it," said Rika, whipping out her D-arc. "Digimodify! Digivolution activate!"
Renamon digivolved to Kyubimon. BlackGatomon screwed up his face. "Figures." It jumped high into the air and came down with its foot extended. "Cat Kick!"
Kyubimon easily dodged it and attacked. BlackGatomon tossed her attack to one side with a swipe of his paw. "Is that the best you've got?"
"No," said Kyubimon, panting. She jumped high into the air and was about to unleash her attack when Blackgatomon appeared out of nowhere. "Cat Punch!"
He struck her, hard. Kyubimon fell to ground and landed with an earsplitting crack.
"It's too strong!" cried Henry. "It probably gathered a lot of data from the digital world! You have to digivolve to ultimate!"
"Kyubimon!" cried Rika. She ran over to her beaten Digimon. "Get up, then you can digivolve and kick this cat's butt." BlackGatomon came up, arms crossed.
"Leave her alone," said Rika, whirling around to face it, trying to shield her beloved digimon.
"Touching," said BlackGatomon, paw raised and ready to strike. "The Tamer sticking up for her precious Digimon. I'm so sorry, but I must destroy you…before you become a pest." His eyes narrowed and he thrust his paw. "Cat Punch!"
"Rika!" cried Takato, fumbling for his cards.
Rika shut her eyes tight, but when nothing came, she opened them. BlackGatomon's eyes were wide, and a white dog with pink ears and a curly tail stood in front of her, eyes narrowed, a pink shield around it. "Do not hurt them." It had a manly voice, though not as deep as BlackGatomon's.
"Labramon," said BlackGatomon, his paw still on the shield where it had hit. "You little…"
The dog's shield disappeared. Labramon grinned. "So nice to see you again. I'd never think you'd sink this low however," it gestured toward the Tamers. "Hurting kids. You should pick on someone your own size."
BlackGatomon gave a disgusted look and turned away. "I should've destroyed you when I had the chance back in the Digital World."
"Ha!" laughed Labramon. "You wouldn't have had enough power. I may be a rookie, but I have powers that surpass yours."
BlackGatomon growled in rage. "I'll show you!" He thrust another paw at Labramon, but Labramon cried, "Retrieve Bark!" and blasted BlackGatomon. It was thrust a few yards away and crashed into a tree. It winced and got slowly to its feet.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" cried BlackGatomon, fists clenched. "Someday I'll get enough power and defeat you and become ruler of these worlds!" With that it turned and flew off. Labramon sighed and shook his head.
"Uh," said Takato. "Excuse me, Labramon? What the heck is going on?"
"Ah!" cried Kazu, jumping in Guardromon's arms. He pointed to some bushes. "It's another killer cat!"
Labramon chuckled and a Gatomon came out. This time it was a regular one, with the tail ring. "No, no. This is Gatomon Kazu."
Kazu blinked in surprise. "How do you know my name?"
"I know all your names," said Labramon smiling. "I am Labramon, and just about everyone in the digital world knows who you are."
"Why are you here?" asked Ryo. "I thought you were only sent on important missions."
"You know this Digimon?" asked Henry.
"Sure," said Ryo. "Labramon is a good friend of the Guardians. He helps out a ton of digimon, he's the digimon who turned Cyberdramon back to Monodramon."
"Oh," said Henry.
"Yes," said Labramon. "This is an important mission Ryo. That BlackGatomon is a power hungry little guy with enough power, when combined in DNA digivolution, to destroy two worlds, namely ours. He is seeking to become Bastemon, a strong wizard digimon, which has the kind of power BlackGatomon wants. But to become Bastemon, he needs to DNA digivolve with a Gatomon, which is why this one is with me."
"But why only that Gatomon?" asked Takato.
"I am the only Gatomon in the whole Digital World," said the Gatomon. "With the power to DNA digivolve. BlackGatomon was chasing me, so to prevent the crisis, the Guardians chose Labramon to escort me someplace safe." She paused and shook her head. "However, that sneaky little cat always found us, and so our last resort was to come to the real world."
"But apparently," said Henry, piecing it together. "The BlackGatomon tracked you anyway, so you might need our help."
"Exactly," said Labramon. "Believe me, that little critter will be back."
"Maybe you could stay with one of us," said Jeri happily. "We could keep an eyes on you, and provide safety!"
"Excellent!" said Labramon. "Thank you for your help. But who will take us?"
"I can't, sorry," said Henry. "Suzie will give you the Pwetty Pants treatment…"
"What's that?" asked Gatomon. Terriermon sighed.
"You don't want to know," said Terriermon.
"My mom is still getting used to having Guardromon around," said Kazu. "Mom would throw a fit if another digimon, even a cute one, came to our house."
"MarineAngemon's hard enough," said Kenta, shaking his head.
"I'll take them!" cried Jeri. "It'll be fun!" Gatomon smiled.
"It's settled then," said Labramon. "We will go with Jeri."
"Now let's go home," said Ryo. "It's late."
Takato turned to Rika and waved. "Bye."
She waved back and took off. Ryo watched her with a sad look on his face.
* * * * BlackGatomon arrived at an abandoned building in the middle of town. It had been abandoned for years, it was three stories high, and no one ever bothered taking it down. "Purrfect," said BlackGatomon rubbing his paws together. He stepped inside and looked around. It was shabby, red, dirty curtains were on the floor hanging to the windowpane where the wall and ceiling had caved in. Wood shavings and bricks were scattered everywhere, and the stairs looked crushed. BlackGatomon sniffed. "Humans are so filthy…"
With a wave of his paw the whole place looked good as new, and in the far corner stood a throne with a red carpet before it. "That's more like it. Now down to business."
He hopped onto the throne and seated himself. Muttering some magic words, a crystal ball appeared in front of him. He waved his paw. "To get rid of the little pests, we need to find a weakness." He gazed into it, and saw the Tamers walking in different directions. "Which one has the weakest heart?" He passed over Jeri, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo. Then he came upon Rika. "Confusion yes…but not that confused…" His eyes finally came upon Takato. "Oh yes…he'll do just fine."
He smiled. "The confusion in his heart, the fear…all of that will be his downfall, and his little friends…" He smiled again and got up. "I have much work to do now…for we will be getting visitors very, very soon…"
* * * *
"And this is where I live," beamed Jeri happily. Henry had walked with her to her house, taking Gatomon and Labramon with them. Henry smiled a bit and leaned against the wall. He watched happily as Jeri showed the two digimon around, and she showed them Leomon, who looked quite amused.
Jeri flashed Henry a smile and Henry blushed. After that night of the dance, he and Jeri had gotten closer. At first he only danced with her so Takato would fall for Rika, but now things were different. He now had a funny feeling he couldn't quite place, and he knew Jeir felt the same way.
Henry walked over to Jeri, who was gabbing cheerfully with Leomon and Gatomon. Labramon was off to the side, watching them. Terriermon was chasing Calumon, who was singing his cute little song. "Jeri?"
"Hi Henry!" she said happily, throwing her arms around him. Henry blushed and was a little surprised, but returned her embrace. Leomon grinned.
"Do you think we'll do a good job?" asked Jeri.
Henry nodded and Jeri let go. "I don't know, I have the funny feeling something's going to happen."
"We'll be fine," said Henry. "Don't worry."
Jeri nodded. "Well, I got to go, it's late." She waved. "See you tomorrow!" She walked off. Henry sighed and was about to turn to leave when Jeri came running up again. "Jeri?"
She ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye Henry!" She dashed off. Henry blinked in surprise, Terriermon looked at him amazed. Henry walked around the corner, still surprised. Then he smiled and laughed.
"Henry?" asked Terriermon. "Are you ok?"
"Yea," said Henry, his smile was lopsided, and he was blushing. "Let's go…"
They had walked no more than a few yards when there came a scream. "That sounded like Jeri!" cried Henry, and he started running back towards her house.
He arrived to find Leomon on his knees, weeping and seriously hurt. Gatomon was behind Labramon, who was growling and had a bleeding cut on his shoulder.
"What happened?!" cried Takato.
Leomon looked up, tears in his eyes. "She's gone…"
"BlackGatomon attacked," growled Labramon. "He stole Jeri and left."
"But why Jeri?" asked Henry. "Why not Gatomon?"
"He's got something up his sleeve," growled Labramon. "And whatever he's planning you bet it's not good…"
Henry sunk to his knees. "Jeri…" He pounded his fist. "No…"
Labramon came by his side along with Terriermon. "It's alright, we'll get her back…"
* * * *
Takato was completely unaware of what had happened to Jeri, instead, he had a single rose in his hand and was walking to Rika's house. Guilmon was by his side, totally confused. "Takatomon? What's the rose for?"
Takato blinked. "It's for…"
"Do you like someone?" asked Guilmon.
Takato blushed. "Well…I…um…"
Guilmon laughed. "Oh now I get it!"
"You do?" asked Takato.
"You like Renamon!" he said happily.
Takato sweat dropped. "No Guilmon, I do not like Renamon…"
"Oooo," said Guilmon. "Then who do you like?"
"I don't really know," said Takato, he was still torn between Jeri and Rika.
They arrived at Rika's door and he knocked. Rika opened it and smiled. "Hey Gogglehead." She eyed the rose. "What's that for?"
Takato snapped back from staring at her and blushed. "Uh…well…I…"
Rika was staring at him, smiling. Takato turned redder and shoved it into her hands. "Here….it's for you…"
"Takato, thanks," said Rika happily. Takato blushed and turned. Rika let him run and watched him disappear around the corner. "Silly old Gogglehead."
"Why are we running Takatomon?" asked Guilmon, trying to keep up with Takato. "Do you want to get away from something?"
"No Guilmon," said Takato, slowing his pace. "It's just…"
All of a sudden there was a scream and an explosion. "Oh no! Rika!" Takato turned and ran back toward Rika's house.
When he arrived, smoke and ashes were everywhere, and Renamon's limp body was sprawled in the middle of the front yard, but there was no Rika. "Renamon!"
Renamon lifted her head, tears in her eyes. "Rika…I was too…late…"
Takato came by her side. "What happened?"
"Rika….attacked….gone…" mumbled Renamon. Takato looked around. "No…"
Renamon closed her eyes. "I tried to stop it, but it was too fast…"
"No…" whispered Takato, tears in his eyes.
"Takato," said Renamon. "Please…don't…cry…" She fainted. Tears slid down his cheeks. "NO! RIKA!!!!"
Henry came by, looking thoroughly upset. "Takato! What happened?"
"Rika's gone!" cried Takato. "It's all my fault…I shouldn't have left her…" He clenched his fists.
"No," said Henry. "It's not your fault. We'll find her alright? Listen, Jeri's gone too."
"What?!" cried Takato. Henry had tears in his eyes. "We're checking throughout the town, come on, we'll find them."
Takato stood. "Right, let's go…" Inside, his heart was torn in two pieces, one wanted Jeri, the other wanted Rika. He was torn, confused, and enraged. 'Whoever took them is going to pay,' he thought angrily. He clutched his D-arc. 'And pay very, very dearly….'
End of Chapter 3
Note: Uh oh, Takato not happy. And we remember what happened last time *shudders* MegiDramon…
No that won't make an appearance, don't worry. However, my stupid plot is kind of easy to figure out, sorry-_-;;; Anyhoo, stay tuned for the next chapter (Oh yea, I know it's Rika Nonaka, however, I learned that after I finished the second chapter and didn't feel like changing it, oh well…) Rukato all the way!
