Digital Collapse
Chapter Three: Change a Little Bit More
'What a strange dream,' was Takato's first waking thought. Without opening his eyes, Takato propped himself up onto his elbows. "Man, I feel like I was run over by Locomon." His skin felt warm, like there was a substantial heat surrounding him.
"Good, you've awaken also!"
Takato turned to the voice and saw… a giant eye staring at him. "WAHHHH!"
"Oh, sorry if I startled you." The doctor pulled the magnifying glass away from his eye and helped the young man to his feet. Around the room, other doctors were helping the tamers to their feet as well.
"Where are we going?" Takato asked while the doctor sat him in a wheelchair. (Which was not really necessary, but is part of medical protocol)
"Mr. Yamaki wanted to talk with you."
(restart, restart)
Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix
(restart, restart)
Henry silently groaned as he moved himself from the wheelchair to one of the plush chairs in Yamaki's office. The leader of Hypnos was standing with his back to them, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window.
He busied himself by rubbing the soreness out of his fingers as the other tamers, his friends, took their seats as well; Takato and Rika were each in chairs like his, and everyone else were spread out on three couches angled behind the chairs.
"Mr. Yamaki, what happened to us?" Takato's voice, despite its bluntness, still carried the respect that Henry has always heard him give the Hypnos team.
"Matsuki, there has been an… accident."
(restart, restart)
Things do not change; we change.
(restart, restart)
Rika tensed up at the businessman's voice. It wasn't that she didn't believe what he was telling them, because she felt it in her very being that it must be true, but that his news shook her very being.
Gone… they were gone…
Yamaki continued on for the next few minutes, explaining the evidence to prove his conclusion.
…didn't he know… care… he's only making it worse… the pain in her heart… it hurts… hurts so much… and it grew worse with each word he spoke…
'Renamon…'
She felt something on her cheek. With a trembling hand, she touched the area under her eyes, where this new sensation was rolling down her face.
Wetness… bringing her hand away, she saw them… tears… her tears… glistening on her fingers.
She had never shed tears for anyone else; not for her mother and grandmother, and certainly not for her father; only for her friends. It still felt so new to her, crying, yet she knew she should.
Around her, everyone else were also in tears, except for him… he just sat there… hunched over.
She finally heard him speak; his voice reminded her of THAT side of him. The side that convinced her that Digimon were more than data… the side that urged us forward when we battled the Devas, the side that created…MEGIDRAMON… the side that fought so hard to save Jeri from the D-Reaper… "No," it was a horse whisper, but one that we could all hear. "He can't be gone. We promised we'd be there for each other, forever." Takato's words halted all other conversations, including Yamaki's.
"Matsuki, they are. The Digital World, and all it's inhabitants have been destroyed." The Hypnos leader said with his monotone voice.
"NOOO!" With that anguished scream, Takato bolted from his chair and ran out the room, moving faster than she has ever seen him move before.
Rika tried to follow him, but her sense of balance had been off sense she woken up. The best she could do was stumble into and down the darkened hallway. Somehow, was able to avoid Yamaki and anyone else she would have seen in the building.
(restart, restart)
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
(restart, restart)
She knew were to find him. It was the place where she first saw him face to face. (Even though she'd felt that she had known him before then)
Still stumbling, Rika made her way along the path, searching for the STUPID Gogglehead that they called their leader… that Gogglehead that she call her friend.
'There he is,' Rika couldn't believe that she reached him first. Even with this 'feeling' that lead her to him, her bad sense of balance SHOULD have slowed her down. 'Now that I think about it, I don't even remember going thru town. I should've passed by the markets on the way here.'
She shook those disturbing thoughts from her mind as she came to a stop next to Takato. He was sitting under a tree along the pathway. His lanky legs were pulled in close to him and his head was buried in his arms.
"You going to be ok, Takato?" Rika shocked herself with the tenderness in her voice but, after thinking about the situation, saw that it was right.
Not answering her, Takato looked up at the path. "It was right over there."
"Wha?" she follows his line of sight but saw nothing but a well worn path. "What're you talking about gogglehead?"
"She drop-kicked him into that fence, then you came from behind this very tree and called him a 'lousy fighter'." He said, patting the tree behind him.
Rika blushed, "Yeah, I think my next words were 'shut up, it's time to fight'." She gave him her slow smile. "Who knew we'd end up being such close friends… saving Tokyo together, among other things."
Both teens sat there for a while, neither willing to say what was truly on their minds. The light wind blew across and made a musical whistling sound thru the chain link fence.
Both tamers look the other in the eye and Rika, ever so slowly, moved closer to Takato. Her arms subconsciously snaked around his, surprisingly warm, shoulders as his did the same around her waist. "Yeah, I miss them too." He whispered into her ear.
The two tamers, one a red-headed tomboy and the other a shy gogglehead, held each other in a gentle hug; moistening the other's shoulder with silent tears.
(restart, restart)
We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.
(restart, restart)
"What do you mean we can't go after them!" Ryo yelled at the Hypnos team; hoping he still looked threatening despite his right arm hanging limp.
Dolphin and Mr. Akiyama were standing firm to block Ryo's path outside. "Boy, you and your friends can barely move without help. What makes you think we're going to let you go wander out there with all those End-of-the-world nutcases?" His father demanded.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Henry, who was still rubbing his hands, was standing at Ryo's side, also trying to get the parents to stop being so hysterical.
"Yes you can." Both boys turned to see, the ever stagnant voiced, Yamaki coming up behind them. "Shibumi, has yet to explain what the D-Arks did to you," the businessman mumbled a few expletives including '# programmers and there timetables' under his breath. "Until he does, I don't want to risk more of you kids out there."
"What about Chumly a Queenie," Kazu said, joining into the conversation. "Sure, Rika would normally kick butt on anyone who'd even look at her wrong, but did you she how she was moving when she went after Takato? She could barely walk, let alone beat up some doomsday punk." Even though his voice was adamant, Kazu's movements were jerky and slow at best.
"A few street thugs are the least of their worries." Everyone jerked back as Shibumi appeared from a nearby door; his baseball cap back firmly in place.
"What do you mean?" Henry asked wearily.
(restart, restart)
Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.
(restart, restart)
Takato and Rika walked side by side; so he could help her stay balanced; as they slowly made their way back to the government building housing Hypnos.
"Gogglehead, If you tell anyone about me tripping and falling on my face you're a dead man." She said with a scowl. "Especially if those someone's that find out are 'Mr. Perfect' and those dweebs Kazu and Kenta!"
"Eh, heh… whatever you say Rika."
When they got near the edge of the part, both tamers began hearing the sounds of looting and mayhem.
"Idiots," Rika muttered. "What do they have to gain from steeling a few TVs that don't even work? If I was given the chance to stop them I'd…"
"But we can't, Rika," Takato interrupted, wishing what he was saying wasn't true. "Right now we are just two teenagers, and sick teenagers at that. Nothing would make me feel better to stop them, but we can't, not now."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it, Gogglehead."
(restart, restart)
While Takato and Rika crossed the road that followed along side the park, neither one of them noticed the electrical sparks coming up form the earth and moving along thru the trees. These sparks traveled from one object to another, pausing for moments before moving on, and finally settling on one small squirrel. This unfortunate woodland creature began to grow, with it's claws elongating, black stripes appearing on it's fur, and it's eyes glowing dark red.
(restart, restart)
'What was that?' Both teens instantly froze in their tracks, Rika feeling a cold jolt running down her spine.
Without a word between them Rika and Takato faced the other side of the street, where the park's tree-line came along the road. The cold feeling getting stronger as they saw the leaves of the trees shaking in the, now, still air.
"Something is coming." She whispered.
"Yeah," he responded.
The few looters, police, and normal people on the streets also stopped took notice as the sound of a falling tree echoed thru the branches.
CHUNK! "AAAAAAH!" Everyone went running as a twenty-foot tree flew thru the air, crashed into the street, and skidded to a halt right next to the two Tamers.
Right behind the projectile there was a monstrous beast. This creature was five feet high at the shoulder and fifteen feet long not including it's tail; which added another ten feet to it's length. It's fur was brown with black tiger-stripes; it's claws were nine inch spikes digging into the concrete; and it's eyes were glowing a dark red. It let out a horrendous screech before turning those glowing eyes onto the two tamers.
"Takato…" Rika said, her arm still draped over Takato's shoulder.
"Yeah Rika?" the goggleheaded tamer said while still staring at the creature.
"RUN!"
With that, both teens bolted down the street; Takato keeping up a good pace, despite holding Rika up so that she wouldn't stumble. The creature followed, keeping close enough to try and bite the Tamer's heels.
"Why's it after us?" he yelled.
"Less talking, more running!" she yelled as she hobbled at his side.
After running for what seemed like forever, they finally left the monster behind by dodging down an alley. Both of them stopped, breathing heavily in the middle of the business street.
Rika was leaning over, supporting herself by propping her arm on her kneecaps. "I think we lost it." She said between deep breaths.
"Yeah… awh, nuts!"
"What! What is it!" Rika jerked her head up, expecting to see the monster come tearing down the street after them again.
"They looted it." She turned to see what he was looking at, and saw the Matsuki Bakery; it's windows shattered and a few pieces of bread laying in front of the building. "Awh man, mom's so gonna blow a gasket when she sees this."
WHAP! "Worry about that later, Gogglehead!" Rika yelled after whapping him on the back of the head. "Like AFTER we get away from the Mega-squirrel!"
Their argument ended right there when they heard the monsters screech coming from… ABOVE!
"RIKA, LOOKOUT!" her goggleheaded friend shoved her out of the way as the monster landed where they were standing earlier.
Rika landed hard on the far side of the road. As soon as she came to a stop, she spun around to see the Goggledheaded Tamer slumped against the outer wall of the bakery. He was conscious but stuck staring up at the monster hunched above him, it's paw raised up and ready to come down in a death-blow. "TAKATO!"
(restart, restart)
Change your thoughts and you change the world.
(restart, restart)
Takato's thought were running at an impossible speed, 'NO! Not like this! I never got to tell her."
It was then that he felt it. The warmth in his skin seemed to erupt into a full inferno. At the same time something small and sparkly floated inches before his face.
(restart, restart)
"Takato…" Rika said again as the dust from the broken wall billowed around the creature. 'Not again… I lost Renamon, I can't lose him as well.' For the third time today, tears openly rolled down her face. She no longer caring if the monster caught her as well.
"Hay UGLY!" Both Rika and the squirrel-monster looked up to the roof of the Matsuki Bakery. There stood the builds young resident; his skin glowing as a mist of data rotated around him, like fairy-dust. "THAT'S… MY… HOME!"
Suddenly, the data condensed around him into a white sphere, and in the back of her mind, Rika heard the words; DATA INFUSION…
The sphere spun faster and faster, widening into an oval shape until the data dispersed into the air around it; revealing the new being inside.
He was still about Takato's height, maintaining the lanky build of the Gogglehead, and the face was the same; but from there on the differences were striking. His skin had turned a crimson red and was scaled like a reptile; the first three fingers of each hand were replaced with two four inch long claws; his feet were about an inch wider, had three claws instead of toes, and had a stark white patch of skin on the top; his eyes were silted and currently very dilated as he stared at the squirrel-creature; and, almost comically, two little bat wings flapped on his head where his ears use to be.
The creature stood up on his hind-legs and screeched as it came eye to eye with Takato.
In a mocking manner, Takato held his hand out palm up and waved the monster toward him. "Lets dance."
The monster lunged forward and Takato leaped forward; meeting each other in midair. Squirrelzilla snapped at him with it's buck-teeth, but the dino tamer reacted by bringing a fist down onto the top of it's muzzle. "ROCK SMASH!" The shock of the punch knocked the creature back down to the street as Takato followed.
Landing a few feet apart, Rika watched the gogglehead wait for Squirrel Kong to get back onto all fours. Once it had righted itself, it screeched as it's tail bristled; the clumps of fur sharpened into hard spikes.
"Takato, lookout!" she yelled as the monster brought the tail around, strafing the buildings in the process, to slam it down on him.
In the blink of an eye, Takato dodged and rushed under Mega-Squirrel delivering a powerful high kick into the creatures belly, launching it into the air.
(restart, restart)
Nothing endures but change.
(restart, restart)
Bringing his leg back down, Takato subconsciously focused his body's excess heat into the top of his foot. A crimson orb about the size of a soccer ball appeared there, as he internally smirked. Juggling it with his feet for the few seconds, Takato then kicked it up to eye level, and spun clockwise with his kicking leg out stretched. "PIRO…… KICK!" he yelled, as his foot came in contact with the orb; launching it at, the still airborne, squirrel monster.
(restart, restart)
Rika watched as the glowing red ball flew thru the air, at an incredible velocity, and nailed the monster. Rika had to shield her eyes from the resulting explosion. When the dust cleared, she saw a perfectly normal squirrel land on the ground and scurry back in the direction of the park. All that remain of the monster was a cloud of erratic data that was soon absorbed into Takato.
"Takato?" she asked, still trying to understand all that she had seen.
Gogglehead looked over at her and gave her his goofy smiled. "Rika!" Moving at a more normal speed, he began running over to the fellow tamer. The smile seemed to spread wider across his red face; his batwing-ears flapping as if they were trying to help him move faster.
"Takato!" as he got within her reach, she moved closer with open arm, and...WHAPPED him once again on the head. "I THOUGH YOU HAD DIED, YOU STUPID GOGGLEHEAD!"
As several black vans pulled up with Yamaki and the Monster Makers leaning out the windows, Takato was laid out on the ground; his swirled eyes starring up at the blue sky.
(restart, restart)
The more things change, the more they remain… insane.
(restart, restart)
(restart, restart)
The quotes were stated by, in this order, Christina Baldwin, Henry David Thoreau, Nelson Mandela, Lynn Hall, Carol Burnett, Norman Vincent Peale, Heraclitus, and Michael Fry & T. Lewis.