Desolation

Rika's eyes closed tightly, closed for the very last time. The rushing winds soothed around her limp limbs as the ground rapidly climbed closer. "For all that it's worth god……I'm sorry" Rika whispered. FASCHWOOM! A rushing, physical force grabbed Rika and leapt to the ground. The young girl was jolted back from her blank and gloomy future, only to find her sitting in a pair of furry arms. "What the……Renamon, it's you" Rika gasped out.

The yellow fox Digimon winced as she held Rika in her bruised arms; she had sustained numerous injuries while battling Terriermon. "I'm sorry Rika……ugh can't hold on……any longer" Renamon wheezed. The Digimon collapsed in a dark and dank alleyway, dropping Rika near some boxes and dumpster cans. It took Rika a second or 2 to collect herself as she slowly stood back up. A voice scowled in the dark "We'll I'll be……Rika".

Rika's purple eyes weakly searched the darkness for that voice, that very familiar voice. "Henry? Is that you? Oh my god Henry, are you all right" Rika asked. The young Tamer stepped out of the shadows, wiping off a smudge of dirt from the battle. Immediately the female tamer approached the boy, her voice pleaded "Oh Henry I am so sorry". WHAM! Violent fingers smacked across Rika's jaw, the girl winced in pain and fell to the ground.

"YOU BITCH, how could you, you sold us out to the god dam devil Rika" Henry shouted. The enraged tamer screamed on "How dare you even try to apologize, I couldn't possibly think of a sicker joke". Wincing some as she rubbed her throbbing mouth, Rika sighed "You don't understand, he was threatening to kill my family. I had no choice, what was I supposed to do?", Henry growled "Ask us for help". Rika chuckled weakly at that remark.

"I don't see what's so freaking funny, not after what you just did to Takato" Henry snapped. But Rika just as quick to snap back "Are you out of your mind? Renamon couldn't even stop this guy, what good is telling two 13 year old Digimon tamers going to do?". Henry growled "Nothing, your FRIENDS are supposed to do something. But you didn't bother to even try and ask us, you shunned us away and just played along with his sick games".

Tears shiver down Rika's burning cheeks, her jaw throbbing but still she shrieked from it "I HAD NO CHOICE". The boy slammed Rika against the wall of the alley, he yelled savagely at her face "YES YOU DID. You always did, you could always come to us and ask us for help. No matter what the problem or how serious it was. Were tamers Rika, and it's time you started acting like one. No one's impressed by your macho loner bull shit.

Because of your stubbornness to ask us for help, Takato and Guilmon are now in the hands of that sick, demented, freak. You helped him this entire time and all the while kept us in the dark. Even if he was threatening your family, if you told us we could have done something, we could have worked together. But no, instead you decided to do it all by yourself, as usual". The girl screamed and broke herself free of Henry and angrily slapped him back.

"No matter how awful I feel for what I did to Takato he was ALWAYS your friend Henry, not mine, yours" Rika hissed. But as if unphased by Rika's strike, Henry just sighed "Maybe that's because you never gave him the chance". The girl gasped, her mouth opening wide at the horrible realization. "And if this guy is as crazy as he seems, we might be too late for you to get a second one" Henry said. Rika sat on her knees and just cried, cried, cried.

A saddened Henry left the girl in the cold, wet, darkness of the alley, Terriermon quickly followed his tamer. Renamon moaned from her wounds as she crawled next to Rika. But the girl did not respond, she just sat there……sat there and cried. Meanwhile as Henry and Terriermon pondered of their next move, Tallos was already beginning his next move. Takato and Guilmon had been secretly contained inside a hidden government laboratory.

Tallos smirked proudly as he entered the magnificent massive white lab, admiring the endless quantities of gadgetry. A slowly stirring Takato was strapped to a large silver table. Strands were tightly secured around the boy's wrists and ankles, Takato had been stripped down to only a pair of boxers. Bare toes felt cold metal as the young tamer slowly regained consciousness. Tallos stood right before the boy, waving a small neon blue tong like device.


"Good evening Mr. Matsuki, I trust you slept well?" Tallos asked.

Takato frowned "Where's Guilmon?".

Tallos chuckled "I don't think that's any of your concern at the moment Mr. Matsuki".

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS NOW" Takato screamed

Tallos smirked "Well since you asked so nicely, your creature is being contained. Guilmon as you call it, is being placed inside a testing center. For proper experimentation results, we have to make sure it is securely fashioned and ready for testing".

Takato sighed "Please just let him go. You got me, you got what you came here for, so please let him go".

Tallos shook his head "Were getting no where much too quickly. Perhaps a more……scientific approach is in order".

White suited lab men slowly placed patches on Takato's bare chest, and on his bare legs. Each silver patch ran a long red wire from it into a different machine. The dark agent approached Takato with the blue tong device.

Takato blinked "What are these things? And why am I naked? I mean don't you think that's a bit personal.

Tallos laughed "Absolutely priceless, yet ultimately naive. You see Mr. Matsuki, it's quite simple. With all our data and background research on you, there is no information regarding on just how you brought Guilmon to life. Quite frustrating actually. So by rigging you to these machines, we are going to find out the true source of this energy and how we can extract it".

"And just how do you plan to do that?" the tamer asked.

Tallos replied "The human body contains millions of cerebral sensors through out the nerve endings of the body. When in a highly emotional state, the human body can at times generate massive amounts of bio-electrical charges. But the only way we can find the exact location of these charges, is to get you in a highly emotional state. In other words Mr. Matsuki, in order to find the secret of your power, were going to have to do a little digging.

The man flipped his claw fingers along the switches, activating the scanners, radio waves, and other machines. Tallos aimed the tong above Takato's chest. Several men entered the room hauling some sort of container. The container was flat; almost disc shaped and resembled a portal.

Takato blinked "Hey wait a minute, what's that thing?

Tallos grinned "That just happens to be the next evolutionary step in advanced bio-technology; I call it……the Lazarus".

"The Lazarus? Takato asked.

"Yes, my greatest invention. First there was Yugoth, and then there was Juggernaut, and now the Lazarus. This machine has the ability to duplicate the very force that allows Digimon to bio-merge into this world" Tallos said.

Takato gasped "Digital fields".

Tallos nodded "Precisely. By duplicating the same energy field, we now have the necessary means to design and create our very own digital creatures. But first the Lazarus needs to absorb the special energy that lives inside your body. Once I extract it; the energy will instantly transfer into the Lazarus, powering the machine up to reach it's maximum capacity".

The boy blinked "Powering it up? Powering it up to do what?".

Tallos smiled wickedly "I think it's time we got started".

The young boy angrily struggled against his straps, bare legs and arms flexing hatefully against the binding force. The blue electronic tazor device in Tallos hands hummed as it was hovered over the tamer's chest.

"Oh by the way I should mention this, you're going to feel an excruciatingly large amount of pain. It's quite natural, so feel free to scream" Tallos said

The tongs were jammed into Takato's chest, the boy's spine jolted as he screamed like a banshee in agony. Sizzling smells of burning flesh filled the boy's burning, watery eyes. Takato's shrieked at the sting of the energy.

Tallos mocked "Its music to my ears (laughs wickedly and jabs again)".


Elsewhere in the large building, Yamaki paced the floor of the hidden room. The agent had been allowed to stay inside and be apart of the mission, just so long as he remained an observer, nothing more. Takato's horrible screams echoed through out the building like a ghostly moan. Riley gasped "GOD make it stop, I can't take much more of this". Yamaki growled as he heard the horrid howls again and again, sweat dribbled off his frustrated form.

The mirror window showed Yamaki exactly what Tallos was doing to Takato. The man growled as he watched it, feeling cold and dead inside each time Tallos shocked the boy. "For Christ's sake, I can't just sit here and watch this" Yamaki scowled. The room's door buzzed open as Yamaki prepared to leave, but immediately Deacons appeared to stop the agent. Yamaki growled "Get the hell out of my way; I have to stop this right now".

Deacons frowned "You know the rules Yamaki; you are prohibited from disturbing the subjects of Agent Tallos mission as well Agent Tallos himself". But furiously Yamaki persisted "Disturbing? What that mad man is doing to that child is disturbing. This isn't an experiment, it's a freaking torture chamber, how can you possibly justify this barbaric treatment?". An annoyed Deacons simply repeated himself "It is none of your concern".

Fists grappled around Deacons shirt collar as Yamaki yanked him up off his feet, Tally and Riley gasped "Sir". Yamaki screamed "BULL SHIT, this madness has got to stop now. That boy has a family, a family who's probably worried sick about where he is. For all they know he could be dead, and if this abominable experiment continues, I guarantee you he will die. So tell me how your precious government justifies murdering a child?".

"THAT'S ENOUGH" Deacons shouted, he yanked Yamaki's arms off of him and immediately signaled for security. Dark suited men immediately arrived and removed Riley and Tally. Deacons hissed "We granted you access to observe our mission, but instead you choose to be ungrateful. You and your people are forced to evacuate from this city immediately. If you choose to ignore this command, all of you will be fired, arrested, and jailed".

Yamaki jerked his arms away from the security guards and walked out, following his assistants Tally and Riley. The dark suited security force followed them all the way down, out the door, and exiting the building. "So what do we do now sir?" Talley asked. Riley nodded "We can't just let them kill that poor boy, we have to do something before it's too late". But Yamaki could only sigh as he removed his black sunglasses, and stared into the sky.

Yamaki frowned "I'm afraid there's nothing that we can do ladies. However, I think I know someone who can".


To be continued……