I managed to complete this chapter amidst birthday cake crumbs after hovering the living room and throwing away wrapping paper and squished chocolate. Ahh, the pleasures of tiding up after a younger sibling. Actually it wasn't that bad; I got some decent cocktail sausages and was allowed to select the music for pass-the-parcel.
Mute: Yeah, but now the Playstation2's broken…
Me: I know! It wouldn't play the darn DVD for the party! First the stupid thing got the film stuck in storyboard mode and then halfway through the movie it said "unable to read disc" and stopped functioning properly! Of course my sister's friends weren't too happy about that and I had to drag the laptop downstairs and play the film on that…
Mute: …and then magically, the film worked and there were no more hiccups…
Me: So when are we gonna fix the Playstation2?
Mute: I dunno, I'm not real remember? What are you asking me for?
Me: …helpful…anyway, I finally completed the chapter and I apologise in advance if Rika seems a bit…weak-willed or stupid in here. I needed to lower her defences down a bit so that-
Mute: Tell them the whole story why don't you!
Me: Fine then, I'll go on to answer a few questions…Takato will not bio-merge to become Sakuyamon because that would be very weird…Sakuymon is an official Rika and Renamon thing…I saw a picture of Anubismon and fell in love with it! It's so cooooool! I don't think it is one of Renamon's mega forms but I think it's perfect for the job!
Mute: Better than Valkyrimon at any rate…
Me: and last but by no means least thank you, thank you, thank you to all the fantastic people who reviewed! I never believed I'd get this many!
Mute: You've forgotten something…
Me: Hmm? Oh right, I don't own Digimon except perhaps in a parallel universe…
******************
The echoing tread of footsteps vibrated the air molecules and produced sound waves, as a young girl ran down the street. Crystalline tears flecked her eyelashes and cascaded down her cheeks as her emotions raged within her, unable to cover the huge void within her. That void was called loneliness; an emotion we have all encountered at some point in our lives. The feeling of being totally alone in the world and the illusion that nobody cares…well now Rika had fallen prey to these terrible thoughts. A very dangerous thing to do when one is alone.
Of course the heavens then decided that now was the appropriate time to open up and drench the downcast teenager in rain. A very thoughtful action that decreased her spirits even more. Cursing the rain, the volatile human lengthened her steps. Perhaps if she kept running fast enough she would leave the feeling behind.
***************
The early rays of sunshine poked through the curtains and tickled the youth's face teasingly, warming the healthy skin beneath their touch.
Grumbling at the prospect of facing the hardship of school, the boy turned over, hiding his face in the pillow in a vain attempt to keep time at bay. Yet the sunlight was persistent and Takato finally submitted to rousing himself into the harsh world of reality. As he did so, vivid images floated into his half-awake mind of the night before. Being in his presence of mind, Takato temporarily thought it all a dream.
He chuckled to himself before reaching up to soothe his tangled locks of hair only to find a pair of goggles in the way. Instantaneously his face fell. How did those get there?
"Boy, I hope I didn't sleepwalk…"
Stretching, Takato quickly got dressed and bundled various creased textbooks into his school bag.
"Wow, what a weird dream I had about Renamon…"
The air flickered in front of him and a shape appeared, unfurling itself and rose to its full height, holding itself regally.
"You called?" she inquired.
Takato backed away in alarm, clonking his head against the bedpost, which successfully woke him up and his sleepy memories. He groaned. How could he be so stupid! Renamon had warned him of this strange teleporting trick of hers, telling him that when he called for her she would be summoned to his side in a matter of seconds. And here he was abusing her charitable goodwill!
"Sorry…" he mumbled averting his eyes to the floor, "I was half-asleep and I called for you without thinking…"
He was silenced however when an outstretched paw offered itself to him, entering his line of vision. Understanding the offer, Takato raised his hand to hers, feeling the vulpine paw enclose his human hand in white velvety-soft digits. He was then gently pulled to his feet with ease.
"Thanks", he said a faint blush illuminating his features.
"You're welcome."
"Hey, do you want me to get you some food? I guess travelling between worlds takes a lot out of you huh? All I have to offer is bread though…"
Takato trailed off noticing that his partner's eyes were becoming watery.
"Oh no did I do something wrong?"
"No Takato…it's just that this is the first time anyone has ever offered me anything out of the pure goodness of their hearts…without asking for anything in return…"
"Oh…", was the immediate response from Takato. Well what else could one say to that statement? Directing his gaze to his sock-clothed feet he managed to mummer, "It's only bread…I'll only be able to smuggle out a few rolls…it's no big deal…"
"Allow me to recite an old saying: It's the thought that counts," retorted the kitsune, folding her arms and cocking her head to one side arrogantly, "now let's go and get that bread now, shall we? Breakfast helps retain concentration during a school day; and I am certainly not going to be held responsible for you collapsing in the classroom. I have no wish for you to get bad grades so I shall of course be willing to tutor and help you with your studies in the evening. Then of course we shall discuss strategies and card combos, practise, and battle any 'new arrivals' to this world."
The lithe form then glided over the carpet, out of the room and down the stairs to locate her promised breakfast.
"And here I was thinking that I was the tamer!" muttered Takato as he followed in a not-quite-so-graceful manner.
******************
Rika smiled as a little more of the unidentified liquid slipped down her throat. She wasn't quite sure what it was, all she knew was that her mum kept it in a bottle in a separate cupboard from the juice and mineral water and drank it on a daily basis after work. For some reason her grandma would often tut disapproval under her breath so only her observant granddaughter would notice. Personally Rika couldn't see what all the fuss was about…
A large white hand shot out of thin air and forcefully ripped the bottle away her hands, propelling it towards the far wall. The force of it coming into contact with the solid surface, divided it into thousands of glass splinters.
Rika stared dumbly at her reflection in one of the shards before the familiar sense of fury invaded her mind and she spun round, snarling.
"What did you do that for! That was good stuff! You-", the Digimon Queen stopped and shivered.
Every inch of Icedevimon was burning with a vast aura of pure rage. And it wasn't the sort of rage she was used to experiencing from him. In battle he fought with a cold yet eager passion reeking with a twisted delight; there was no delight in the magnitude of heated anger he was emitting now.
"You fool! What_exactly_did you hope to achieve by this!?!" he hissed his tone seething with the fury he was feeling.
Rika quickly regained some of her composure and replied coldly, "What do you care? Nobody else does!"
At once the rage started to dwindle; she could feel it, and another emotion was etched on his face. She couldn't quite figure it out but for some reason, while he was standing half-portrayed in the shadows, he looked exactly like her father before he had left her life.
"Do you really believe that?"
"Well duh! Grandma's abandoned me for a bit of sight-seeing, Mom only cares about her work and made the dress because she felt a little guilty and you…well you only need me until you digivolve and become all powerful and then you'll walk out on me…because you won't need a tamer anymore…"
Scarlet eyes widened as they absorbed the mournful violet orbs that seemed to bore a hole into his soul…even though he wasn't meant to have one. Being a fallen angel usually implied the fact that you were evil and that in turn ruled out the possibly of having a heart and becoming emotionally attached to anyone. But then again he had never counted on being influenced by a confused and heart-broken young teen. Ironic really, that he considered himself so strong, only to find himself so concerned over the welfare of a creature weaker than himself.
Rika allowed herself to sink to the floor finding the overwhelming misery within her too much to handle. And she had no idea how to release it.
The ice demon took matters into his own hands and gently knelt down before her. He then carefully gathered her within her arms and held her against his chest, making sure he was not hurting his fragile cargo in the process. White, tattered wings curved around their forms, cocooning Rika off from the outside world so she could concentrate on unleashing her sadness.
Noisy cries of grief racked the slender body as she poured every emotion out; every bit of loneliness she held inside came tumbling out. And the taller just held her and listened as she wept bitterly. Never questioning. Never talking. Just silent.
At last she raised her tearstained face to stare at him.
"But your just data", she whispered.
Icedevimon's sombre face betrayed an amused smile.
"In that case then," he retorted, "it won't matter if you show weakness to a computer program. Because I'm not real…"
*****************
Takato hummed to himself as he bounded down the sun-stroked path. He had survived a whole day of school and made a new friend who just so happened to be a tamer as well!
It had been lunchtime and Takato had discovered Henry secretly feeding his partner, Terriermon, sandwiches. Naturally Takato had hastened to explain that he was a tamer too and called for Renamon. At this point, Henry had stopped his protests (He's a voice activated toy! He's not a real Digimon!) and observed the golden kitsune with admiral, who in turn regarded him reservedly.
The two boys had hastily engaged in conversation resulting in Henry promising to teach Takato various things including card combos after school. The same, however, could not be said for their Digimon. Renamon had tolerated Terrier to a certain extent, pointedly ignoring him, the long-eared Digimon giving up his attempts to start a conversation when she gave him one of her infamous glares.
A sudden beeping sound startled Takato out of his memory as his fingers scrambled around for the source. They closed around the guilty culprit, a violently flashing D-Power and fished it out of it's hiding place. The young boy's immediate reaction was to dive into the nearby bushes and hiss Renamon's name under his breath.
A faint whooshing sound reached his ears and a figure materialised out of the shadows.
"A digital field? Yes… I can sense the wild one…"
"Umm…so I guess we go and fight now huh?"
"Indeed…"
With Renamon's last word ringing in his ears Takato took to his heels while the tall fox faded out of view, ready to reappear at the scene of the battle.
******************
"Terriermon!"
Henry's terrified cry resounded in the exhausted rabbit's head, as he slumped to the concrete floor under the heavy blows of the enraged Gorillamon. The same Gorillamon he had defeated in the computer game as Gargomon. But because of his Tamer's refusal to let him acquire that sort of power Terriermon was at a severe disadvantage. And now he was going to pay the ultimate price for it…
Henry watched from the sidelines in horror praying that his friend would make it through the onslaught of physical abuse.
"Renamon! Do something!"
Henry looked up at the sound of Takato's voice to see a yellow blur race across his vision and deliver a sharp kick between the armoured primate's shoulder blades. This caused Gorillamon to swing round, forgetting about Terriermon, as Renamon stood confidently in front of him, releasing a roar of rage.
Renamon's lips curled into a cold sneer and her muscles tensed.
"Monkey see, monkey do," she teased.
"I'm a gorilla, not a long-tailed flea bag!" howled her opponent, "Energy Cannon!"
Renamon's leg muscles came into play as she leapt into the air, easily dodging the ball of white energy exploding out of the gun on his right fore limb, coming down fast for the counter strike…which he blocked with a powerful punch leaving her reeling.
"Hang on Renamon! Guess this is where I come in…Digi-modify! Power activate!" called Takato as he inexpertly pulled a card through the slot on the side of his D-Power.
Renamon felt a rush of power spreading through her limbs and she jumped up crossing her arms.
"Diamond Storm!" she hollered untangling her arms as shards of pure energy appeared and bore down upon the enemy, battering him severalty but not enough to cause him to break apart into data.
"Energy Lifting!"
Renamon was slammed into the wall and fell into a temporary daze. Dimly she was aware of Gorillamon crowing over an injured Terriermon, nursed in his tamer's arms before Takato shouted at him. She couldn't make out what was said, exactly, but figured it was an insult as the bulky champion spun round angrily, letting off a blast from his gun. Renamon felt the blood freezing in her veins as it didn't take a genius to guess who the target was.
Takato was frozen too, his legs refusing to run as he watched the attack stream towards him. The next second, two gloved arms wrapped themselves around him and his saviour hurtled them both to the ground as the energy went soaring over their heads. The taller of the two then looked down at the boy she had pinned below her, checking for any injuries. Finding none she pulled them both to their feet.
"Are you alright?" she questioned.
"Yeah…thanks…nice save!"
The sound of a primitive snarl from the primate made them refocus their attention on Takato's attacker as he advanced upon them.
"Don't worry, I would never allow any harm to come to you!" declared Renamon, stepping in front of her tamer.
"You've already proved that!" grinned the brown-haired teen before fire leapt into his eyes and determination settled on his features. He drew out a card.
"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"
The vixen sped forwards to produce a volley of punches to Gorillamon's gut at incredible speed. Winding her adversary, she then created another diamond storm and finished off the Digimon, absorbing the particles of data in midair.
"Well done you two! Err… sorry but I'll have to cancel our meeting, Takato, I have to get Terriermon home."
"I understand Henry, I'm sure Terriermon will be fine. See you tomorrow, bye!"
Henry nodded, running off with his partner cradled in his arms.
"Well, that didn't go to badly for our first fight, Takato.."
"Apart from the part when Gorillamon tried to blast me!"
Renamon visibly shuddered at that recollection.
"True, but I'll do anything within my power to prevent such a thing happening again…"
She turned to face him, her eyes hard as the concrete beneath their feet.
"Anything…"