A/n- *if playing with the controller* *Power Rangers turns on (the new ones. the old Power Rangers rock! you know, the originals...* o.O what the hell?! AAHHHHH!!! HELP US ALL! *Turns off the t.v. and de-programs it from her remote-controller-thingy-ma-bobber* few... *turns the t.v. back on, and finally notices audience* oh! Hi, um, yeah... I got the next chapter up! ^_^ anyways, review it, and tell me what you like, dislike, decide to flame, ect. ect. and I refuse to put up disc-LAMERS because you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that I'm Bandai, or someone else that owns digimon. anything in dream mode is through his eyes. Flashback - same thing. You know the drill. So, yeah, here we go! *Pushes button with a last smile as computer bares it's shiny, pointy teeth, and bites you, chews you up and swallows you up whole so you can view it full screen*



Ryo slept anything but peacefully. As soon as he fell asleep, he was pulled into a horrible dream. It completely horrified him. He cou.... wouldn't wake up...

~Dream~

"Rika. Where are you. Are you there?"

He stumbled around aimlessly.

"Where could she be? Why can't I see anything? Why is it so misty? Wh... huh?"

There's somebody over there. I can see them! But who is it? One, two, th... there's five. Takato? Henry? Kazu! Kenta, Suzie, Jeri, is that you? Answer me! Please! Guys? Rika! Are you there? It's me, Ryo! I..."

Five guys stepped out of the mist. It was those thugs! The ones that hurt her! I could feel my face screw up in anger. The mist began clearing, and we weren't in the real world. But we weren't in the digital either. We were... We were at the Dark Ocean! But how could we be? The mist completely dissolved, and I saw someone behind them. It was Rika! She was lying on the ground. She was so badly hurt... but... something was wrong. Something wasn't right. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks; the absence of the rising of her chest. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't moving. She was really pale. She couldn't be... dead, could she? No... these monsters...they, they were just playing me for a fool. My cheeks were suddenly soaked. I brought my hand up to one. I looked at my wet fingers and realized that I was crying. I tried to run past them, so I could get to Rika. One of them stuck out there fist, and I ran right into it. I lurched forward, not only because of my momentum, but also because of the fist that slammed into my stomach. It hurt like hell. They tossed me around, as though I were nothing. After a while, they stopped. They were gone. As though they had never been there, except for the fact that everything on my body felt as though it were pummeled with hammers. I looked over at Rika. She wasn't there! Nobody was there! Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something... Rika? Rika! She was floating over the ocean. She was almost completely transparent though. She was looking around... She was all right!

"Where am I? Ryo? Ryo! Help me! Please, I don't want to be taken away!"

"I'M COMING! RIIIKKKKAAAA!!!"

I dove head first into the ocean. But the farther out I went to get her, the farther away she got. So I did what seemed right. I swam harder and faster. She kept drifting away. No... I couldn't lose her again... not again. Anything but that. I got tired really fast. After a few seconds it felt as though my body were pulling it self down. I tasted watered down blood in my mouth... I was going under. I could still see her floating figure in front of me. It brought out the courage and strength in me, whatever amount was still left, and I swam up to the top, fighting the pull of the Dark Ocean. She kept floating away. Kept leaving, going away from me. I couldn't see her anymore. I was completely alone, in the middle of what was now utter, impenetrable darkness. I sank under again, this time not resisting the pull. Anything to get away. To not be alone. To be...was that a scream? It came from me, my last breath. I tried to inhale, on impulse, but all I got was a mouth full of watery blood. I couldn't breath. I couldn't see. I couldn't feel my body. I couldn't live... without her.

~End of dream~

Ryo sat bolt upright in the tub, sputtering out the ice-cold red bath water. He had fallen asleep, and while sleeping, his head had slipped under water. He had nearly frozen. He had accidentally left the window open, and it was the early hours of the morning. The clambered out of the tub, shivering and still occasionally coughing. He went into his room. Rika was still sleeping, and he was secretly relieved to see that her chest was slowly rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. He went into his closet and changed into dry clothing. He came back into the room, and she was fine. He smiled, knowing she was still alive. He might as well go to bed. He didn't have anywhere else to go, so he laid on the floor next to her. As long as he was there, she was safe. And as long as she was safe, he was happy.

A/n - *computer spits you out cuz you don't taste good* like? Dislike? Flame? Go ahead. Be my guest. *Shatters the remote against the wall, because it showed her barney lately*