Dark-Angel: Yo peeps! I'm back with another chappie and I promise you this
will be longer! I don't know how many times I have said that, but anyway
I'm serious this will be long.
Sorry if anyone is against the romance in this story, and please don't beat me up if I put a whole lot of it in later chapters, but I want Rika to realise a few things about her life and one of them includes her feelings for Ryo, but that's not all! ^_^
And if anyone is sick of the songs at the end of each chapter, I'm sorry about them, and I might get rid of them if too many people hate them.
Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own Digimon or its characters, unfortunately. As I said before, I could do a lot with it..-_-
Chapter 6
Burning Desires
~~~
~~~The Dark Fortress~~~
"Come, Rika. We will leave this room and talk in the main part of the fortress." Bakemonomon thought for a bit before continuing. "And I will show you some of my friends." After he said this, he smirked. A sly smirk then turned around and walked to the door. Rika instantly followed. She felt drawn to the intimidating Digimon walking in front of her, somehow.
As they entered the room, Rika felt a blast of heat cover her limp body. Compared to the room that they were just in, this was like an oven.
"It's so hot in here. Why?"
"Take a look around you. What do you see?" Bakemonomon answered flatly.
Rika did as she was asked and saw that the whole room had tongues of fire spitting out everywhere. She wondered where they were coming from.
Reading her thoughts, Bakemonomon explained that the fire is supported purely on the lives of the Kitsune. The fire somehow is called by the Kitsune to be power dividers. Those who can withstand the power and force of the fire are worthy to be servants of Bakemonomon. Those who can't, simply perish.
"Oh." Rika replied, enchanted somewhat by the fire. Bakemonomon noticed that she was staring intently at the fire, and decided that is what time to test her powers totally.
"Rika." Rika's head quickly shot up at the sound of her name. "I want you to use your powers to withstand the force of the flames."
"But how?" Rika asked naively.
"Follow the voice in your head. Make sure that you don't do anything stupid." Bakemonomon instructed.
"Yes, Master." Rika started walking towards the fire, not realising how dangerous this was. One little mistake and she would be in serious trouble. She stopped just before she reached the burning flames. She took a deep breath, and then searched throughout her mind to try and find the voice inside of it. Once she was inside her mind, Rika saw an image of her friends and family.
On the far right was Henry and his little sister, Suzie. Rika always felt safe around Henry. She felt that she could trust him better than any of the other Tamers. He was so protective of his sister, and would let himself get hurt before anyone ever got close to Suzie.
Henry was so confident in what he believed was right. He put every little bit of faith that he had into them, and even put Rika in her place more than once. It was also pretty scary, when you really thought about it. Henry, the one that was so gentle and kind, could become a monster when faced with things he knew were wrong, although Rika could never think of him a monster.
Suzie, on the other hand, was a different story. She was young and had yet to face the harsh reality of life. She may have witnessed many disturbing things, for example Leomon's death, but loss was a thing that had never happened to her personally. Suzie had a loving and complete family who, Rika knew, would never let anything harm her. Even though she could be eccentric sometimes, Suzie always carried her calm nature with her wherever she went.
Next to Suzie, Kazu and Kenta stood, being annoying goggleheads as usual. The two boys would probably never know true pain. They were always so contented and cheerful. And they would always have each other. When Rika first met the two, she new immediately that they were close. Always had been, and always would be.
Standing next to Kazu and Kenta were Jeri and Takato, who were holding hands and smiling at each other intently. When Rika had first met Jeri, she thought that being sad was impossible for her. But all that changed when Rika found out that her mother had died when she was very young. Her father had remarried and had a son. Jeri's stepmother was never able to get through Jeri's shell that she had put up, because she swore that no one would take her mother's place. When Leomon was killed, Jeri became depressed, and just sat around, not doing nor saying anything. Rika felt a pain of guilt when she had learnt about Jeri's past. Here she was, worrying about her own problems, when Jeri had been through a lot more pain than herself.
Next to Jeri was Takato. Never willing to abandon his friends or those annoying goggles on his head. When Rika had first bumped into Takato, she was looking for a fight, so she commanded Renamon to attack Guilmon. Being the loyal Digimon that she is, Renamon obeyed willingly, but only found out that Guilmon was impossible to hit. After the three primary Tamers had joined forces, Rika began to see that Takato was a lot more than who she thought he was. He would never give up, no matter how many opponents came at him. He jus kept on going, never abandoning his friends or his partner.
Standing next to Takato was Ryo. Even with his friends, Ryo seemed so different from them. So strong and perfect, never once falling or failing. Rika felt safe when she was around Ryo, but at the same time she was scared. She didn't know why, but she was scared around him. Not the type of intimidated scared, but a different fear of mixed emotions, directed at him.
Rika then saw her family standing close by. Her mother was smiling right at her. A smile only a mother can give. Full of love and warmth. Her grandmother was smiling at her as well, except it was a smile of wisdom and encouragement. That was the smile that Rika drew strength from. It made her full of belief and power. When the time came for Seiko to say goodbye to this world, Rika knew that her loving grandmother would be happy and proud, for she had lived a very full-filling life.
All too soon, Rika quickly pushed the image into the back of her mind, not wanting to be disturbed anymore. She was still trying to find the voice that would tell her how to survive the tongues of fire.
She went deeper inside her own thoughts, only to find an image of a smiling Ryo in there. 'Why is Ryo in my thoughts? I already told myself that I did not want anything to do with him, so why is he here?' Ryo bore his trademark perfect smile that everyone loves, until Rika couldn't take it anymore. She pushed the image back into the deep void in her mind, erasing it completely from her current thoughts. She was trying to find the voice, not an image of Ryo Akiyama, or her other friends for that matter. She could not let her emotions get the better of her. She had already been told by Bakemonomon that emotions were useless and only got in the way of more important things. And Bakemonomon was her Master; she had to listen to him. No, she could not let these feelings ruin the chance of a lifetime.
In the far corner of her mind, Rika found a pulling power that wanted her to come nearer. 'Maybe this is where I will find the voice.'
As Rika drew nearer, the power became more stronger, but she thought that if she could somehow summon it, she would find a way to use her latent powers.
She could feel herself sweating as she came closer and closer to the irresistible influence. When she was almost there, she had to get away from it. It was the most destructive force that she had ever known! It was too overwhelming and vigorous to tap in to. It was impossible.
When Rika retracted her mind, Bakemonomon stared at her, dumbfounded. Rika, the newest breed of Kitsune, had discovered the destructive power in her mind. Fortunately, she could not reach it because of its massive power, but she knows that it exists. 'I have to find a way to make her think that she imagined it, or something. I cannot let her use it, for she still has a potent memory of things the way they were before I took over mind.'
"What happened?" Rika asked, out of breath.
"I don't know. You were doing perfectly fine, until you must have stumbled upon some old painful memory. Nothing to worry about, just as long as you stay away from that area of your mind." Bakemonomon was lying to save his ass from being wiped off the face of the Digital World.
Rika, knowing that he was lying, spoke up. "I know what I felt, and it was no painful memory. Now, I'll ask you again. What was that?"
"I don't know." Bakemonomon lied again; this time his voice had a faint sound of chilly ice in it.
"Yes you do!" Rika also enforced her point strongly, not giving up on this.
"NO, I DON'T!" Bakemonomon looked straight into the young teenager's eyes, again causing them to glow a blood red shade.
"Of course you don't. I'm sorry I doubted you, Master." Rika said absentmindedly, again under his control.
"Now, will you please proceed to finding the voice.." Bakemonomon sighed impatiently.
"Of course." Again, Rika went deep into her mind, trying to find the voice that will lead her into the fire.
Almost at once, a voice spoke to her.
"Young child, do not be afraid to walk into the profound flames. You are the one who will lead the Kitsune race to victory. You cannot and will not fail this test. Walk into the burning fire; do not think about the pain. Stay calm and try to use your mind to fight the blaze."
Rika did as she was told, and walked straight into the burning desire of finding her destiny. Immediately the fire hit her like a thousand knives stabbing her all over her body.
"Don't think about the pain! Use your mind to fight it!" The voice cried out desperately, causing Rika to falter a little. Almost at once, she found herself, and began to walk through the flames, using her mind to control the pain. She enjoyed the feeling of being on top once more. The feeling of being able to not look back at her pleading opponent. She walked confidently through the burning flames, resisting the urge to scream in triumph. She was walking through fire and she was using her mind to control the pain! And this was only the beginning of her limitless potential and power.
~~~Somewhere in The Digital World..~~~
"Hey, Cyberdramon! Great to see you again, buddy!" Ryo ran up to his partner and hugged him. Cyberdramon just growled in return, but Ryo knew what he saw. And he saw that his partner was happy to see him again.
"Ryo, have your reunion later. We need to get to Rika." Renamon said impatiently.
"Oh, yeah. So what is this Dark Fortress place, anyway?" Renamon had told him all about the Dark Fortress and the dangers of it.
"It is a place where all Kitsune Digimon who serve the evil Bakemonomon live. I have been there once, out of curiosity, and it wasn't a pretty place. There is a wall of fire, and Bakemonomon makes his slaves walk through it to see if they are worthy of him."
"How typical of a bad guy. Fire. So, do you think that Rika was taken there?" Ryo asked glancing up at Renamon.
"She has been taken there. I can feel it. I can feel the evil presence of Bakemonomon working and using his mind." Renamon and Ryo both stared at Cyberdramon in disbelief. How could Cyberdramon have felt Bakemonomon's presence when Renamon could not? Surely he had not been there before.
"Um, Cyberdramon? How did you know that?" Ryo looked at his partner curiously.
"A couple of months ago, I travelled to that part of the Digital World. I don't know how I got there, especially because only the Kitsune Digimon are drawn to it, but I came to stop in front of the giant building, commonly known as The Dark Fortress. As I walked in, I came face to face with Bakemonomon, who had the most disturbing energy that I had ever felt. That is probably why I was drawn to it; because of his power. He called upon one of his servants; I think his name was Koryomon. The Kitsune type Digimon appeared from nowhere and, with one punch, sent me flying straight into a Data Stream. Ever since then, I have been able to sense Bakemonomon's power, and what he's doing. Ryo, when you were in the Real World, and you could feel that something was happening to Rika, I was the one who called you to go to the Digital World."
Renamon and Ryo, who were still staring at him, nodded their heads slowly.
"Wow, Cyberdramon, I never knew you cared so much." Renamon managed to say. "We better get going. I don't want anything else to happen to Rika."
Ryo jumped up onto his partner's shoulders, and Renamon materialized into the shadows.
~~~The Dark Fortress~~~
When Rika had finished walking through the wall of fire, she just turned to Bakemonomon, waiting for him to say something.
Bakemonomon laughed quietly, almost inaudibly. "Impatient, are we?"
"Whatever you say, Master." Rika smiled sweetly at her master, waiting for the next challenge.
"Koryomon!" Bakemonomon called to the dark shadows of the room. A fox-human like Digimon materialized into the room, swinging from the ceiling, until dropping down in front of his master.
"Could you please teach Rika a lesson in physical fighting." Bakemonomon demanded the faithful servant in front of him.
"Of course, Master." An evil smile started to form on the young Digimon's features.
*Everyday is a new day
I'm thankful for every breath I take
I won't take it for granted
So I learn from my mistakes
It's beyond my control
Sometimes it's best to let go
Whatever happens in this lifetime
So I trust in love
You have given me peace of mind
I feel so alive for the very first time
I can't deny you
(I fell so alive)
I fell so alive for the very first time
And I think I can fly
Sunshine upon my face
A new song for me to sing
Tell the world how I feel inside
Even though it might cost me everything
Now that I know this, so beyond, I can't hold this
I can never turn my back away
Now that I've seen you
I can look away
I fell so alive for the very first time
I can't deny you
(I feel so alive)
I feel so alive for the very first time
And I think I can fly
Now that I know you
(I could never turn my back away)
Now that I see you
(I could never look away)
Now that I know you
(I could never turn my back away)
Now that I see you
(I believe no matter what they say)*
Dark-Angel: Wow, told you it was gonna be long. What did Bakemonomon mean by physical fighting? All will be revealed in the next chapter!
And if anyone is against the idea of Ryo saving Rika, please tell me. I probably won't make him save her, he'll just show up and try to make her snap out of her little funk, but doesn't succeed. Something else might though..
The song is "Alive" by P.O.D. I hope that wasn't too long for you, I tried I_I
L8ers!
Sorry if anyone is against the romance in this story, and please don't beat me up if I put a whole lot of it in later chapters, but I want Rika to realise a few things about her life and one of them includes her feelings for Ryo, but that's not all! ^_^
And if anyone is sick of the songs at the end of each chapter, I'm sorry about them, and I might get rid of them if too many people hate them.
Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own Digimon or its characters, unfortunately. As I said before, I could do a lot with it..-_-
Chapter 6
Burning Desires
~~~
~~~The Dark Fortress~~~
"Come, Rika. We will leave this room and talk in the main part of the fortress." Bakemonomon thought for a bit before continuing. "And I will show you some of my friends." After he said this, he smirked. A sly smirk then turned around and walked to the door. Rika instantly followed. She felt drawn to the intimidating Digimon walking in front of her, somehow.
As they entered the room, Rika felt a blast of heat cover her limp body. Compared to the room that they were just in, this was like an oven.
"It's so hot in here. Why?"
"Take a look around you. What do you see?" Bakemonomon answered flatly.
Rika did as she was asked and saw that the whole room had tongues of fire spitting out everywhere. She wondered where they were coming from.
Reading her thoughts, Bakemonomon explained that the fire is supported purely on the lives of the Kitsune. The fire somehow is called by the Kitsune to be power dividers. Those who can withstand the power and force of the fire are worthy to be servants of Bakemonomon. Those who can't, simply perish.
"Oh." Rika replied, enchanted somewhat by the fire. Bakemonomon noticed that she was staring intently at the fire, and decided that is what time to test her powers totally.
"Rika." Rika's head quickly shot up at the sound of her name. "I want you to use your powers to withstand the force of the flames."
"But how?" Rika asked naively.
"Follow the voice in your head. Make sure that you don't do anything stupid." Bakemonomon instructed.
"Yes, Master." Rika started walking towards the fire, not realising how dangerous this was. One little mistake and she would be in serious trouble. She stopped just before she reached the burning flames. She took a deep breath, and then searched throughout her mind to try and find the voice inside of it. Once she was inside her mind, Rika saw an image of her friends and family.
On the far right was Henry and his little sister, Suzie. Rika always felt safe around Henry. She felt that she could trust him better than any of the other Tamers. He was so protective of his sister, and would let himself get hurt before anyone ever got close to Suzie.
Henry was so confident in what he believed was right. He put every little bit of faith that he had into them, and even put Rika in her place more than once. It was also pretty scary, when you really thought about it. Henry, the one that was so gentle and kind, could become a monster when faced with things he knew were wrong, although Rika could never think of him a monster.
Suzie, on the other hand, was a different story. She was young and had yet to face the harsh reality of life. She may have witnessed many disturbing things, for example Leomon's death, but loss was a thing that had never happened to her personally. Suzie had a loving and complete family who, Rika knew, would never let anything harm her. Even though she could be eccentric sometimes, Suzie always carried her calm nature with her wherever she went.
Next to Suzie, Kazu and Kenta stood, being annoying goggleheads as usual. The two boys would probably never know true pain. They were always so contented and cheerful. And they would always have each other. When Rika first met the two, she new immediately that they were close. Always had been, and always would be.
Standing next to Kazu and Kenta were Jeri and Takato, who were holding hands and smiling at each other intently. When Rika had first met Jeri, she thought that being sad was impossible for her. But all that changed when Rika found out that her mother had died when she was very young. Her father had remarried and had a son. Jeri's stepmother was never able to get through Jeri's shell that she had put up, because she swore that no one would take her mother's place. When Leomon was killed, Jeri became depressed, and just sat around, not doing nor saying anything. Rika felt a pain of guilt when she had learnt about Jeri's past. Here she was, worrying about her own problems, when Jeri had been through a lot more pain than herself.
Next to Jeri was Takato. Never willing to abandon his friends or those annoying goggles on his head. When Rika had first bumped into Takato, she was looking for a fight, so she commanded Renamon to attack Guilmon. Being the loyal Digimon that she is, Renamon obeyed willingly, but only found out that Guilmon was impossible to hit. After the three primary Tamers had joined forces, Rika began to see that Takato was a lot more than who she thought he was. He would never give up, no matter how many opponents came at him. He jus kept on going, never abandoning his friends or his partner.
Standing next to Takato was Ryo. Even with his friends, Ryo seemed so different from them. So strong and perfect, never once falling or failing. Rika felt safe when she was around Ryo, but at the same time she was scared. She didn't know why, but she was scared around him. Not the type of intimidated scared, but a different fear of mixed emotions, directed at him.
Rika then saw her family standing close by. Her mother was smiling right at her. A smile only a mother can give. Full of love and warmth. Her grandmother was smiling at her as well, except it was a smile of wisdom and encouragement. That was the smile that Rika drew strength from. It made her full of belief and power. When the time came for Seiko to say goodbye to this world, Rika knew that her loving grandmother would be happy and proud, for she had lived a very full-filling life.
All too soon, Rika quickly pushed the image into the back of her mind, not wanting to be disturbed anymore. She was still trying to find the voice that would tell her how to survive the tongues of fire.
She went deeper inside her own thoughts, only to find an image of a smiling Ryo in there. 'Why is Ryo in my thoughts? I already told myself that I did not want anything to do with him, so why is he here?' Ryo bore his trademark perfect smile that everyone loves, until Rika couldn't take it anymore. She pushed the image back into the deep void in her mind, erasing it completely from her current thoughts. She was trying to find the voice, not an image of Ryo Akiyama, or her other friends for that matter. She could not let her emotions get the better of her. She had already been told by Bakemonomon that emotions were useless and only got in the way of more important things. And Bakemonomon was her Master; she had to listen to him. No, she could not let these feelings ruin the chance of a lifetime.
In the far corner of her mind, Rika found a pulling power that wanted her to come nearer. 'Maybe this is where I will find the voice.'
As Rika drew nearer, the power became more stronger, but she thought that if she could somehow summon it, she would find a way to use her latent powers.
She could feel herself sweating as she came closer and closer to the irresistible influence. When she was almost there, she had to get away from it. It was the most destructive force that she had ever known! It was too overwhelming and vigorous to tap in to. It was impossible.
When Rika retracted her mind, Bakemonomon stared at her, dumbfounded. Rika, the newest breed of Kitsune, had discovered the destructive power in her mind. Fortunately, she could not reach it because of its massive power, but she knows that it exists. 'I have to find a way to make her think that she imagined it, or something. I cannot let her use it, for she still has a potent memory of things the way they were before I took over mind.'
"What happened?" Rika asked, out of breath.
"I don't know. You were doing perfectly fine, until you must have stumbled upon some old painful memory. Nothing to worry about, just as long as you stay away from that area of your mind." Bakemonomon was lying to save his ass from being wiped off the face of the Digital World.
Rika, knowing that he was lying, spoke up. "I know what I felt, and it was no painful memory. Now, I'll ask you again. What was that?"
"I don't know." Bakemonomon lied again; this time his voice had a faint sound of chilly ice in it.
"Yes you do!" Rika also enforced her point strongly, not giving up on this.
"NO, I DON'T!" Bakemonomon looked straight into the young teenager's eyes, again causing them to glow a blood red shade.
"Of course you don't. I'm sorry I doubted you, Master." Rika said absentmindedly, again under his control.
"Now, will you please proceed to finding the voice.." Bakemonomon sighed impatiently.
"Of course." Again, Rika went deep into her mind, trying to find the voice that will lead her into the fire.
Almost at once, a voice spoke to her.
"Young child, do not be afraid to walk into the profound flames. You are the one who will lead the Kitsune race to victory. You cannot and will not fail this test. Walk into the burning fire; do not think about the pain. Stay calm and try to use your mind to fight the blaze."
Rika did as she was told, and walked straight into the burning desire of finding her destiny. Immediately the fire hit her like a thousand knives stabbing her all over her body.
"Don't think about the pain! Use your mind to fight it!" The voice cried out desperately, causing Rika to falter a little. Almost at once, she found herself, and began to walk through the flames, using her mind to control the pain. She enjoyed the feeling of being on top once more. The feeling of being able to not look back at her pleading opponent. She walked confidently through the burning flames, resisting the urge to scream in triumph. She was walking through fire and she was using her mind to control the pain! And this was only the beginning of her limitless potential and power.
~~~Somewhere in The Digital World..~~~
"Hey, Cyberdramon! Great to see you again, buddy!" Ryo ran up to his partner and hugged him. Cyberdramon just growled in return, but Ryo knew what he saw. And he saw that his partner was happy to see him again.
"Ryo, have your reunion later. We need to get to Rika." Renamon said impatiently.
"Oh, yeah. So what is this Dark Fortress place, anyway?" Renamon had told him all about the Dark Fortress and the dangers of it.
"It is a place where all Kitsune Digimon who serve the evil Bakemonomon live. I have been there once, out of curiosity, and it wasn't a pretty place. There is a wall of fire, and Bakemonomon makes his slaves walk through it to see if they are worthy of him."
"How typical of a bad guy. Fire. So, do you think that Rika was taken there?" Ryo asked glancing up at Renamon.
"She has been taken there. I can feel it. I can feel the evil presence of Bakemonomon working and using his mind." Renamon and Ryo both stared at Cyberdramon in disbelief. How could Cyberdramon have felt Bakemonomon's presence when Renamon could not? Surely he had not been there before.
"Um, Cyberdramon? How did you know that?" Ryo looked at his partner curiously.
"A couple of months ago, I travelled to that part of the Digital World. I don't know how I got there, especially because only the Kitsune Digimon are drawn to it, but I came to stop in front of the giant building, commonly known as The Dark Fortress. As I walked in, I came face to face with Bakemonomon, who had the most disturbing energy that I had ever felt. That is probably why I was drawn to it; because of his power. He called upon one of his servants; I think his name was Koryomon. The Kitsune type Digimon appeared from nowhere and, with one punch, sent me flying straight into a Data Stream. Ever since then, I have been able to sense Bakemonomon's power, and what he's doing. Ryo, when you were in the Real World, and you could feel that something was happening to Rika, I was the one who called you to go to the Digital World."
Renamon and Ryo, who were still staring at him, nodded their heads slowly.
"Wow, Cyberdramon, I never knew you cared so much." Renamon managed to say. "We better get going. I don't want anything else to happen to Rika."
Ryo jumped up onto his partner's shoulders, and Renamon materialized into the shadows.
~~~The Dark Fortress~~~
When Rika had finished walking through the wall of fire, she just turned to Bakemonomon, waiting for him to say something.
Bakemonomon laughed quietly, almost inaudibly. "Impatient, are we?"
"Whatever you say, Master." Rika smiled sweetly at her master, waiting for the next challenge.
"Koryomon!" Bakemonomon called to the dark shadows of the room. A fox-human like Digimon materialized into the room, swinging from the ceiling, until dropping down in front of his master.
"Could you please teach Rika a lesson in physical fighting." Bakemonomon demanded the faithful servant in front of him.
"Of course, Master." An evil smile started to form on the young Digimon's features.
*Everyday is a new day
I'm thankful for every breath I take
I won't take it for granted
So I learn from my mistakes
It's beyond my control
Sometimes it's best to let go
Whatever happens in this lifetime
So I trust in love
You have given me peace of mind
I feel so alive for the very first time
I can't deny you
(I fell so alive)
I fell so alive for the very first time
And I think I can fly
Sunshine upon my face
A new song for me to sing
Tell the world how I feel inside
Even though it might cost me everything
Now that I know this, so beyond, I can't hold this
I can never turn my back away
Now that I've seen you
I can look away
I fell so alive for the very first time
I can't deny you
(I feel so alive)
I feel so alive for the very first time
And I think I can fly
Now that I know you
(I could never turn my back away)
Now that I see you
(I could never look away)
Now that I know you
(I could never turn my back away)
Now that I see you
(I believe no matter what they say)*
Dark-Angel: Wow, told you it was gonna be long. What did Bakemonomon mean by physical fighting? All will be revealed in the next chapter!
And if anyone is against the idea of Ryo saving Rika, please tell me. I probably won't make him save her, he'll just show up and try to make her snap out of her little funk, but doesn't succeed. Something else might though..
The song is "Alive" by P.O.D. I hope that wasn't too long for you, I tried I_I
L8ers!