Amethyst Blizzard: I'm back! Apologies for the wait this chapter has caused, but I was held up just because ;)

Hopefully this chappie will be longer and with a lot more action than the others.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters but I do own Stacie, Alicia and Brad and anyone else who I've forgotten (I think that's all). Oh, and I do own my Floramon, here.

Floramon: Yup peeps, I'm here too. So if you have any complaints about Amethyst, please tell me, not her. ;)

A/N: Hmm, no allowance for you for a week, Floramon! I'm not kidding this time!

Devil's Advocates

Chapter 10: The Blue Minion

~*~*~

Stacie, breathing hard enough for the heavens to hear, tried not to let fear overcome relief. Her hands and legs were both free from the chair, and she could see again, which made things a lot clearer, but she still had no idea why the hell Mephismon had done what he'd done. Why would an evil Digimon who wanted to possibly kill her and Ryo with overwhelming power cut her free from the chair he tied her to? It didn't make any sense.

Ryo jerked his head violently away from the scene and stared puzzled at Mephismon. "Why did you do that? I mean, you were the one who tied her there, weren't you?"

Mephismon only smirked an evil smirk and turned on his heel to face the only window in the room. He looked out it and whatever he saw seemed to amuse him, for he was chuckling slightly with mirth. "We are about to have company."

Ryo narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth together. This Digimon wasn't exactly worth coming, was he? He found himself subconsciously clenching and unclenching his fist, which was dangling down his side, just waiting to connect with something. Ryo decided to say something, or else his hand was going to become very sore. "What kind of company? Good or bad?"

Mephismon only chuckled with amusement and a sly smile slowly began to form at the tips of his mouth. "Oh, very good company, my friend. Very good."

Ryo let the tight breath that was just dying to come out of his mouth come and it turned out to be more like a sigh. For the first time, he let his eyes roam around the room before him. It was rather small and it looked like it was a top level of a castle. The ceiling looked like it formed an apex at the top and the walls were rounded and stone grey. The stones were paved carefully and there were a few panels of carvings. Ryo couldn't make out what they meant, but he thought they could have been warnings or stories past down from generations. The only window in the room Mephismon was standing in front of, blocking out the faint light glowing outside.

The two chairs were still back-to-back, although the occupants were both standing and full of apprehension and fear. And the knowledge the 'good' company was on the way only made Ryo feel wearier. The very thought of more pain just gnawed at him like a shark gnaws at its prey. And then there was Rika. Would she have noticed that he wasn't at school? Would she even care? Would she care if she knew what was going to happen to him in a matter of minutes?

Another amused chuckle from Mephismon caused Ryo to become curious as to what the Digimon was looking at. He decided to move closer to the window just to see if he could make out anything beyond the Digimon. But when he did, he quickly regretted it. Mephismon's aura of power suddenly grew and Ryo was knocked backwards onto the ground. A quick flick of the Digimon's wrist told Ryo he was in trouble. One of the knives from Mephismon's knuckles had once again detached and landed right next to Ryo on the ground. Any closer and the knife would've cut right into him.

Mephismon made an obvious croak of his throat. "Curiosity killed the cat, young man. I wouldn't try to do anything stupid if I were you."

Ryo glared at the Digimon's back and picked himself up off the cold ground. "You know, there are a lot of four letter words that are just dying to come out of my mouth right now, but I'm too much of a gentleman to say them."

Mephismon just chuckled and turned around to face the teenager. The knife that was imbedded in the ground made a scraping sound and found its way magically to Mephismon's paw.

~*~*~*~*~

"Hey guys, is it just me or did it get colder all of a sudden?" Takato was now in the lead with the Tamers trailing after him. Alicia and Brad walked a little behind the group. The darkness of the Dark Area made an impenetrable fog around the entire landscape and everyone was having trouble walking in a straight line.

"Well, I would say that it's just you, but I feel it too." Rika was walking behind Renamon and was trying desperately not to slip and fall off the gorge that the group had found themselves walking on.

"Dude, this gorge is really getting on my nerves. If we don't get off it soon, I think I'm going to explode." Kazu was walking behind Rika and was sorely tempted to grab onto her so he wouldn't lose his balance.

"Nice image, Kazu, but I don't think I'd like that happening, so how would you like me to push you off?" Rika was getting quite irritated by the way Kazu was slightly whimpering behind her. She knew it was not because he was a wimp, but because the gorge was very narrow and unstable and at any minute, it might crumble under their feet.

Henry looked carefully over his shoulder at Rika and smiled. "Nice to see you back to normal."

Rika returned the smile and watched as Henry turned back around. He was right, she was feeling a little better about this whole thing, especially since she had brainstormed in her mind the worse possible things that could happen to them. They weren't all that bad, considering at any minute they could all drown in the raging river below. 'Come on, Rika. Don't think like that. Everything's fine.'

There was silence for a few minutes. Sweet silence between friends and comrades. The kind of silence that only grew between people that truly cared for and understood each other. The kind of silence that nobody wanted to break.

All the while, Renamon kept her senses open just in case. In a place like this, the darkness was foreboding. She looked up towards he sky, which was almost completely consumed in darkness, and something twitched her senses. It was vague, but Renamon knew better than to dismiss it. She tensed and the fur on back stood on end.

Rika noticed this and stopped, causing Kazu to crash into her back, and Kenta into the back of his. Kazu yelped in fright and clung tightly onto Rika's shirt, until he realized what he was doing. He coughed and tried to cover up his blush but Rika simply ignored him. She was too busy staring worriedly at her partner.

"Renamon, what is it? What's wrong?"

Renamon tensed even more. "He's coming."

By now, everyone had their eyes on Renamon and waiting for more information. Henry was the first to break the deadly silence. "Who's coming?" As soon as he said this, Guilmon's eyes became slits and he growled violently, Terriermon's head shot up, Guardromon tensed and Marineangemon cowered and sunk into Kenta's shirt.

"Ice Phantom!" A blue flame burst suddenly through the misty fog and headed straight for the Tamers.

Renamon moved swiftly and engulfed Rika in her large fox arms while the others ducked and awaited their fate. But Guardromon knew better. Using his clear view of the flame, he launched his attack. "Guardian Barrage!"

The missiles flew straight through the air and hit the flame head on, causing it to immediately evaporate into tiny molecules. Everyone lifted their heads and breathed hard, staring at the empty space where the flame had just been seconds ago. Then they all stared at Guardromon, who was still looking up at the sky, his expression unknown because of the way he was compiled. Being a machine had its little quirks.

Apart from the Digimon, who were doing pretty much the same as Guardromon, Kazu was the first to recover from the immediate shock. "Guardromon, dude I love you!"

Down the end of the line, Alicia and Brad were flattened against the wall of the gorge, frightened beyond belief at the scene that had just taken place. Being non-tamers, they had no idea of the dangers that had been exposed to them upon entering the Digital World. 

"Fools!" A slightly muffled voice was heard from out of the dark fog. Then a fiery creature was seen, charging at the group. It pierced itself through the darkness and lifted its blue fist. The creature was completely covered in light blue flames that were flaring with fury.  Its eyes were a misty blue colour and its mouth looked like it was stitched up.

Renamon's eyes narrowed as she looked directly at the charging Digimon. "Everyone, take cover. Hug the wall as tight as possible."

The group did so and the Digimon were the only ones left out in the open. The fiery Digimon was staring at Renamon, anger and fury raging in its eyes, and launched itself at her. Renamon evaded the charge, but barely and when the Digimon turned back around, it struck her with a flared fist. Renamon stumbled onto one knee as Guilmon took charge.

"Pyro Sphere!" A yellow ball of energy formed in Guilmon's mouth and was launched soon after. It hit its target, but hardly did any damage as the Digimon was still standing and showed no signs of faltering.

Against the wall, Rika frowned and stepped out. Renamon's eyes narrowed and Rika's D-Power beeped in anticipation. The data formed several inches away from the body of the Digivice and Rika read off it aloud. "BlueMeramon. Ultimate level. It says here he is a member of the Nightmare Soldiers and his attacks are Ice Phantom and Cold Flame."

"Yeah, we know that already. Look at him, he's not even scratched at the least by Guilmon's attacks. We're screwed."

Henry looked at Kazu and frowned. "No, we're not." Terriermon smirked and nodded. He began to glow a slight green and Henry took out a Modify Card. "Digi-modify. Digivolution activate!"

"Terriermon Digivolve to………Gargomon!" The Champion took up the entire width of the gorge and faced BlueMeramon. His guns were raised and ready to fire. "Taste some of this, Frosty. Gargo Laser!"

Bullets started firing mercilessly at the Fire Digimon as he raised his arms in defense. The bullets hit their target and caused minor damage, but not enough to win this battle. Gargomon seized fire and stepped back from the thick smoke he had produced. But when it cleared, his enemy was still standing in the exact same position he had been in since he was attacked.

Henry cringed in anger and slight defeat, but he knew they couldn't give up that easy. They had defeated the D-Reaper, after all. He took out another card and looked at it for a second. "Digi-modify. Phantomon's Shadow Scythe activate!"

A green glow surrounded Gargomon and one of his guns dissolved into tiny bits of data. In its place, a scythe appeared and gleamed once over. Gargomon smirked at his enemy before lifting the sharp axe. "Shadow Scythe!"

The large axe descended upon BlueMeramon and the Ultimate Digimon held his arm up in defense, only to have it sliced off with the Gargomon's scythe. BlueMeramon let out a horrifying, muffled scream and bent down in pain, holding what was left of his flame arm.

The scythe then dissolved into bits of data and Gargomon stepped back, satisfied with the job he had done. If only it was enough to win this battle. "Henry, we have to try something else or else we'll be the ones crying out in pain."

Henry looked at his partner then turned his head to Rika, who was standing next to him. Rika had just to look at him until she understood what the look meant. She nodded and looked to Takato. He too nodded and the both of them pulled out modify cards simultaneously. "Digi-modify. Digivolution activate!"

Renamon, from a kneeled position looked up and began to glow and light blue. Guilmon did the same and the two of them growled slightly. "Renamon, Guilmon Digivolve to………Kyubimon, Growlmon."

Growlmon took advantage of BlueMeramon's kneeled position and grabbed his arms, restraining them by digging his claws into the Digimon's fiery arms. The two straddled until Growlmon had the upper hand. "Going down." The two of them fell down the narrow ledge and landed about ten meters below.

"Dragon Slice!" Growlmon's arms crossed and the knives sliced through BlueMeramon, detaching his other arm, just as Kyubimon gracefully landed beside Growlmon. The two looked at each other and nodded.

"Pyro Blaster." Growlmon's attack was hurled from his mouth to the blue Digimon and Kyubimon began to run. "Dragon Wheel!" The blue energy wrapped itself around Growlmon's and together they hit BlueMeramon head on. The Ultimate dissipated into data that flew randomly into different directions until they vanished completely.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't know about you, but I'm definitely tired of being treated like a kid being babysat while being told not to touch anything that could easily break." Ryo sighed from his 'corner' and made a gesturing motion with his hand. Mephismon had again left the room and told the two teenagers to sit in opposite corners. A strange, almost babyish thing to do, but the Digimon said he'd be watching them and if they tried to escape, he would kill them.

"Yep." Was the simple answer Stacie gave. She stifled a yawn and rested her head against the cold wall of the building. From the looks of it, the building probably was a castle of some sort, but there was much more to think about that where they were going to die. Gloomy, but probably true, seeing as Mephismon was just using them and later would have no use for them at all. "It does seem weird that Mephismon would want to resurrect a Digimon more powerful than him and using nothing to control it but simple teenagers. I mean, what's that going to do for him, and why are we the ones to have to control it? Why are we so special?"

Ryo shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe because there was some significance in the way we were both feeling when we were transported here. You were pretty depressed, right?"

Stacie nodded from the other end of the room. "Yeah. My boyfriend had just broken up with me for someone else. It always seems those little things take the biggest part of you. I mean, it's not like you're going to be single forever, right? You're always going to find someone else, even if they're nothing like your ex."

Ryo pondered this for a moment. "Maybe." He shrugged dismissively. Thinking about relationships only made him think of Rika and the biggest mistake of his life. And he did not want to think about that right now. "If we get out of here alive, what are you going to do after? Are you just going to go back to what it was like before or are you going change somehow?"

Stacie gave Ryo a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean are you going to think more about your decisions, and try to make a difference with what you do. Or are you just going to let life and fate decide what path you're going to take next?"

Stacie nodded in understanding. "I guess I will think about life more carefully and not do things so carelessly. It's funny how some things can make you think about past decisions and stuff." She shrugged. "I've never really thought about how things could have turned out differently before. I use to just do things and that would be that."

Ryo nodded. Somehow, his thoughts seemed to circle back to Rika and how things might be different between them if he hadn't told her so soon and in such a situation as she was in. Hell, she had just found out she had a twin who would be coming to live with her from now on.  What was he thinking telling her with everything coming at her like that? He didn't even what to think about what her mind would be like right now. Everything would probably be circling around in her head right now, but he knew she wouldn't let them take over. She would simply repress or reject anything she didn't want to ever think about. After all, that was how the human mind worked, and Rika was human.

A silence settled between the two then, but was soon disturbed by the presence of the purple Digimon, Mephismon. He materialized into the cold room very much the same as Renamon does. After glancing at both the teenagers to see if they had tried anything, although he already knew they hadn't, he strode straight to the glowing crystal ball resting in the center of the room. He looked into it for a moment and chuckled with amusement, for he saw something he liked. "Very good. So they survived their little test. They are more resourceful than I thought. Better what myself."

With another chuckle, he turned around to face the apprehensive teenagers. They both stared back at him and for a moment two pairs of blue eyes met transparent violet orbs. Those cold orbs seemed almost identical to Rika's and Ryo couldn't help but think of her again. Hoe exactly did she feel about him before he had said anything to her? Had she liked him the way he did? Had she felt the gravitational effect of attraction the way he had and still does?

Mephismon smiled at him and Ryo was pulled back to reality. He ruthlessly thrust the thoughts away again and concentrated on Mephismon. "I have a question, if that's allowed?"

The Digimon nodded for Ryo to proceed.

"If you wanted to resurrect the Phoenixmon, why did you wait so long just to use us? Why not sometime before?"

Mephismon looked at the boy with mirth gleaming in his eyes. "Both of you were in positions where you were afraid to face something. In both cases, it was those whom your hearts belong to, am I right?" He went on without waiting for an answer. "I waited three years exactly for this to happen because I knew when both of you would be at your best. By best I mean cold and ruthless because your hearts have been broken. Three whole years for that one moment."

"Three years………" Ryo echoed.

Mephismon smirked. "Well, didn't you?"

Ryo glared at the Ultimate. He knew he was talking about Rika and how he had waited three years just to have blown his one chance. Why did everything that was said or thought somehow connected to Rika? What was this force of reason that Ryo was feeling?

Mephismon was suddenly alert. "We have company." He gestured to the window, which was now situated on the wall standing between the two teenagers.

Both Ryo and Stacie stood up and came to stand in front of the small window, both standing close. The sight they both saw was amazing. Takato, Henry, Rika, Kazu, Kenta, Alicia, Brad, and the Digimon, including Calumon, were walking straight towards the small castle. And in that moment, when violet eyes met cerulean blue, Stacie turned, cupped her hands around Ryo's face and kissed him.

~

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A/N: Another cliffy, I know, but it just seemed like a good way to end the chapter. ;) Hehe, I'm evil. Anyway, review and tell me what you thought about this chappie and I'll update sooner next time, if I can. It's getting harder to write these days………

Floramon: Sorry for the wait this chapter brought, but Amethyst Blizzard and I will promise to get the next one up as soon as possible, in other words ASAP, but you already knew that ;) Laters!