The low hum of the train was almost hypnotic. The surrounding city was consumed by the night, strangely quiet and still. The stars overhead, though dim because of the city lights, seemed to calm Takato when he needed it the most. Whenever he looked up at them, his worries seemed to dissolve away, or at least that's what used to happen. This night was very different though. No matter what, there was nothing that could take his mind away from his ever-growing list of concerns. The girl, who was his friend, but not his girlfriend, just sat there with that blank expression on her face. She'd barely said a word to him since they'd returned home. It hurt him so much to see her in pain like this and to be unable to do anything to help her. He never should have brought her along.
"Jeri? Are you okay?" Takato asked shakily.
She just continued staring straight ahead. Takato's face fell as he turned away. Guilmon and Calumon were both fast asleep in one of the nearby seats. Aside from the four of them, the compartment was still totally empty. It wasn't really that surprising considering the reaction most people had to digimon.
So many questions plagued Takato's mind. How was the battle going against the D-Reaper? What would happen to the Digital World? What was the story with the DigiDestined, whom Takato had heard about from Guilmon's first-hand meeting? That last question in particular pressed hard against Takato's mind, as well as his bladder.
"I'll be right back," Takato announced as he made his way to the lavatory in the next car.
Apparently, no one took any notice of his leaving. Jeri just kept on staring and the digimon just kept on snoring. All was still again. The train's quiet hum continued uninterrupted. Guilmon twitched a muscle. Calumon kicked a foot. Jeri momentarily tightened her grip on the boxed dinner in her lap. The surrounding night passed them by in a blur.
"This is my place, guys," said Ryo.
"I don't know if you could really call it yours," mumbled Mr. Akiyama. "After all, you're never here…"
Mr. Akiyama got out his apartment key. Ryo, Ken, Davis, and Monodramon all stood behind him as he unlocked the door. The corridor they stood in was rather dingy. They could all smell the mildew, and hear the dripping of a leaking pipe. Mr. Akiyama pushed the door open and stepped inside. The others all followed, and Davis shut the door behind him. The apartment was sparsely furnished. The front room was fairly small, but it did contain a couch with a TV in front of it, placed against the far wall beneath the window. A square table with four chairs around it sat in the center of the room and a puny kitchenette sat to the left of the door. The walls were painted a faded yellow and the carpet that covered the entire floor was so flattened from time and use that it wasn't any softer than the wood paneling underneath. Off to the right was a narrow hallway that led to the four other rooms of the apartment: three bedrooms and a bathroom.
"I'm home!" called Mr. Akiyama.
A moment later, a boy of probably nine or ten years old poked his head around the corner of the hallway. His hair was jet-black, just like his father's. He wore a baggy white shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a beige baseball cap. A smile crossed his face as soon as he saw his dad and brother.
"Hi dad!" said the boy, rushing out into the open.
"Hey," said Mr. Akiyama, his expression suddenly growing a bit warmer.
The boy rushed up to his dad, who promptly gave him a pat on the head.
"Wow, I can't believe you're back, Ryo!" said the boy. "It's been so long!"
"It sure has," said Ryo.
"Hey, who're your friends?" asked the boy.
"Oh yeah," said Ryo. "This is Davis and Ken. Guys, this is Shou. He's my brother."
"Nice to meet you!" said Shou.
"Is dad home?" asked a feminine voice from the hallway.
A moment later, a tall girl with rusty brown hair and soothing green eyes came out into the open. She looked to be about seventeen and was very attractive. She wore a pair of wire-frame glasses and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that reached down to the middle of her back. She had on a dull green sweater and a pair of dark gray slacks.
"Oh, hi Ryo," she greeted.
"Hey sis," said Ryo.
The girl then spotted the others.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I almost didn't see you there. I'm Ayaka."
"Nice to meet you," said Ken. "I'm Ken, and this is Davis."
"Hi Aya!" said Monodramon.
"Oh, hi there Monodramon," greeted Ayaka. "It's good to see you again."
"So how's everything been?" asked Ryo.
"Oh, no all that bad," said Ayaka. "But my, my… what is that you're wearing?"
"Yeah," said Shou. "You look like a cowboy or something."
Ryo looked down at himself. The leather chaps, the torn shirt, the scarf… he hadn't really thought about it before, but now that he was back, he realized that he seemed somewhat out of place in the real world.
"Yeah, I guess I'd better change," said Ryo.
"It's really nice to have you back again," said Ayaka. "But I've got some more homework to finish. Can we talk later?"
"Sure," said Ryo.
"Come along, Shou," said Ayaka. "You have work too."
"Aw, come on. I wanna' stay and talk to Ryo," said Shou.
"Now don't start complaining," said Ayaka patiently. "Come on."
Shou followed Ayaka reluctantly, quietly mentioning something about having to share his room with Ryo again. The two went down the small corridor on the right to Ayaka's room, where she would continue her own homework and offer Shou any help he needed with his.
"You boys need anything to eat?" asked Mr. Akiyama.
"Nah, we're good," said Davis.
"C'mon, guys," said Ryo. "We can hang out in my room."
"Sounds fine by me," said Ken.
Ryo, Ken, Davis, and Monodramon all headed into the hall on the right, taking the first door on the right. Ryo flipped on the light-switch and closed the door after everyone had entered. It wasn't exactly a huge room. It was about ten feet long and eight feet wide. There were two beds in there, dramatically reducing the available walking space, and a small annex off to the left that served very nicely as an open-air closet. Monodramon instantly jumped up onto the bed on the left side of the room and Ryo went to the closet. Ken sat down next to Monodramon while Davis sat down on the other bed.
"Make yourselves comfortable," said Ryo, looking for a shirt to change into.
Takato could hardly believe this whole situation. Ever since Leomon was killed, everything had gone straight to hell. How could things have started so good and ended so badly? Leomon was dead, Jeri was too depressed to even speak, and the Sovereigns and an entire army of Mega digimon were facing an unbeatable enemy. Only a few minutes ago, Takato had poured his heart out to Jeri, he laid all his feelings on the line for her. He told her he liked her and everything. He'd been envisioning the moment he would reveal his feelings for a long time, but in none of his mental scenarios did she just completely ignore him. When he really did tell her though, he hadn't received any response at all. He was hurt by what had happened, but he couldn't focus on that now, as he was in a situation where it would be a bad idea to lose concentration on the matter at hand.
It was about that time that Guilmon rolled onto his back, waking up Calumon in the process and pinning him against the seat. With bugged-out eyes, Calumon began yelling at Guilmon in that urgent, high-pitched voice of his. As this went on, Jeri slowly lifted her head and a tiny, cruel smile crossed her face.
"Genocide… virus…" whispered Jeri.
A second later, the lighting throughout the train blinked off. The emergency brakes kicked in and the train jolted to a halt. The sudden stop threw both Guilmon and Calumon forward into the back of the seat in front of them.
"Aw, man!" shouted Takato from within the bathroom. "That's just gross…"
Jeri stood up, letting the boxed dinner fall. The only lighting came from outside, casting grim shadows throughout the car and over every object.
"It comes…" said Jeri.
A single point of burning red light materialized in the center of the car. Calumon and Guilmon looked up at it in wonder. The thing sparked with energy, sending out a few ribbons of red light.
"D-Reaper…" growled a voice from the point of light.
The point of light began to rapidly expand and dull its color. It very quickly took on a humanoid shape. Its features became increasingly defined over the next couple of seconds. Finally, all the proper color seemed to fill in to the right places. With pale skin and dark sunglasses, there stood the unmistakable guise of Geno.
"Identify yourself," Jeri said in a cold, emotionless voice.
"Initiate recognition protocol," said Geno. "Codename: Omega 002 extension program. Classification: G-Corrupter."
"Pattern code recognized," said Jeri. "Greetings, 002. Please identify your intentions."
"Request confirmation," stated Geno. "Does your program contain the file OM2patch.zip?"
"Checking…" said Jeri. "File found. File integrity is intact. However, the file is not viable in my program."
"I request immediate up-link," said Geno.
"Your request is denied," said Jeri. "The D-Reaper's integrity would be at risk if it were to link with you."
"But I have something of great value to you…" said Geno. "I have already completed an analysis of humanity, and I wish to download it into your system."
"The D-Reaper can complete its own analysis," said Jeri. "Your aid is not required."
At that moment, the car door opened and Takato walked in after having cleaned himself up.
"Hey, does anyone know what just—" started Takato.
Before he could get out another word, he saw Jeri talking with a mysterious figure whom seemed vaguely familiar.
"Jeri?" asked Takato. "What's going on?"
"Your analysis may take weeks," said Geno, ignoring Takato's presence. "I can offer you a full analysis immediately, as long as you'll accommodate a simple request."
"What is it you require?" asked Jeri, seeming slightly agitated.
"I'll exchange my analysis of the humans for the file I asked about earlier," said Geno. "It's in both of our best interests."
"Hey! You get away from her!" said Takato.
"Do we have a deal?" asked Geno.
"It is agreed," said Jeri with a wicked little smile. "We feel this exchange will accelerate the destruction of these beings."
"Perfect," said Geno. "Begin linking procedure."
They both held up their right hands and pressed their palms together. There was a spark of electricity. Green lines of binary code began to rush across Geno's sunglasses, as similar code rushed across Jeri's eyes.
"I said, GET AWAY FROM HER!" screamed Takato.
The boy rushed forward in a rage. He charged at Geno from behind, but when he was only a couple feet away, he smashed into a wall of some unseen force, stopping in his tracks. Geno smiled wickedly as Takato and the two digimon were flung back straight through to the next car. The three of them all landed in a heap on the floor. Several more seconds passed.
"Download…" started Geno.
"…Complete," Jeri finished.
They both returned their hands to the resting position and took a step back from each other.
"Beginning integration procedure," said Geno.
"Extracting data…" said Jeri. "Hmm… fascinating."
"Can you understand it now?" asked Geno. "This is why we must eradicate the humans."
"They are indeed far more chaotic than even the digimon," said Jeri. "I was right to move my key consciousness here, where I can oversee their destruction. However, you yourself are guilty of the same grievous sin as they are. You have expanded far beyond your original program, friend. You too must be eradicated."
Jeri smiled wickedly as she suddenly began to grow at a frightening rate. Her skin seemed to peel away like old paint, and her hair stiffened toward the sides.
"Jeri!" shouted Takato from where he sat in the aisle.
A pair of blue, wing-like structures burst from her back. With a final surge of power, all of the outer vestiges of humanity burned away, leaving only a bluish, terrifying doppelganger of Jeri.
"I am the J-Reaper!" said the creature. "And I shall dispose of you just as easily as I shall with these humans and digimon!"
The creature raised a deadly claw, and with a lightning-fast strike, plunged it through Geno's gut. The two stood there for a moment. The J-Reaper then lifted the still impaled Geno up over her head.
"All defective programs MUST be deleted…" said the J-Reaper.
"Don't think you've actually hurt me," said Geno, without even a trace of pain. "All you've done is strike down my shadow. You've inflicted no damage whatsoever. Should I decide to assault you, however, I assure you that you would feel it."
Geno, or whatever that thing was, imploded in a burst of red light, leaving only the same floating orb that had brought him into the car. The point of light shot through the nearby window toward a huge, shadowy mass. The mass lifted up its head, revealing its fearsome white eyes.
"Not even you can stand in my way now…" said the figure as it reabsorbed the point of light.
Takato, Guilmon, Calumon, the J-Reaper, and everyone else on the train were all looking out as the figure quickly stood, extending its enormous blade as it did so and slicing up through the car that held the J-Reaper alone, completely obliterating the car and its single occupant. The incredible sharpness of the weapon had allowed such rapid cutting so as only to shake the rest of the train mildly. Even the cars right next to it were hardly damaged, and all of their occupants remained unharmed.
"JERI!" screamed Takato, looking into the empty space that once held her doppelganger.
"I don't think that was Jeri at all," said Calumon.
Guilmon suddenly began to growl and his pupils shrank.
"What is it, boy?" asked Takato.
Takato and Calumon followed Guilmon's gaze up to the looming figure of NightmareOmnimon, lit gloomily by the surrounding streetlights. Takato seemed utterly terrified for a moment, but then he gathered his wits, and took on a look of total earnestness.
"What do you think, boy?" asked Takato, smoothly drawing a card from his pocket and reaching for his digivice. "You up for a few rounds?"
"He's going down!" snarled Guilmon.
"Just what I wanted to hear…" said Takato. "Digi-Modify!"