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IMPORTANT NOTICE:
An explanation:
The problem I ran into with Crescendo, and why it hasn't been updated in so long, was that I'd given up on it. By only using two points of view until Chapter 8 – particularly since Ryo and Rika had interacted so frequently, it limited the amount of information that I could convey without Ryo or Rika knowing about it.
Takato was originally supposed to have a large role in the story. But, a few paragraphs just wouldn't cut it. Giving a complex character like Takato a point of view wouldn't be practical without including Jeri, who is obviously an important part of his life, and the decisions he makes. But by the time this is done, everyone'd be distracted from the original purpose, which is Crescendo is a story about Rika and Ryo.
So, I went back to my notes, and came up with a solution. Takato can have his own story. He's meant to play an important role in the ending of Crescendo, and this new story will include his role he's been playing in this story, but that I haven't been able to show. This chapter of Crescendo will be where the two stories really intersect. I couldn't have a scene revealing certain things, ie, Rika's father, as Rika and Ryo don't have access to that information, and they've never met Valn. To have any other character reveal it would lack background.
The new story will not be something you'll have to read to understand the events in this story, nor will you need to read this story to understand the plot of the new one. My hope is that they will add to each other.
I hope you enjoy this update, I'm sorry its been so long. If you've got the time, take a look at the new story. It's called Atlas, and the first chapter has been submitted. The second and third have been completed, but still need to be revised. Atlas will contain the parts of this story that had to be removed, which I believe can function as an independent fic.
'Til next time.
-N
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"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln
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"It would appear that the Kannoa project has made an unexpected development. I recently noticed after looking over the readings of Kannoa's tracking implants an anomaly. For approximately seven minutes, two carriers of the Valn virus were detected. What convinces me that this is not a simple glitch in my systems is that both targets were detected in the same vicinity. Kannoa was not supposed to be able to transmit the virus. Not this early. I am currently testing him to determine whether or not he—"
Valn paused for a moment before hitting the 'backspace' key a few times.
"—it is capable of doing so. This project has been going on far too long for my research to be threatened now. It will not be jeopardized by a second subject being studied by anyone but me. The isolation of this new carrier is of the utmost importance. Yamaki must believe that my research died with Nonaka and I. At least until the elimination of his precious children.—
—His eyes widened when he realized the second subject could be a Tamer. It was supposed to determine who they were—
Could it actually have found them? The disappearance; they went to the digital world. What else could disappear like that?
Valn actually laughed at the mistake the Tamers had made. With the virus he'd recently implemented into the digital world, he had surveillance over nearly all of it.
He quickly hurried to the monitors which kept logs of all entities entering or leaving both worlds.
Valn detected three entities had briefly left then returned, birnging many others with them. He scanned for them in the digital world itself, and quickly found a location. A mountain in a desert. He pinpointed them in and around a small cave some ways up.
"Well now, who do we have here?"
He finally had them. The names of all of Yamaki's Tamers. He recognizxed one of the boys as the one who had been with the redheaded girl Kannoa targeted a few weeks ago in the plaza. He soon found the girl herself.
Of all the Tamers, it would appear Kannoa was near three of them before one became infected. Ryo Akiyama was the one to be infected. The ones in the direct vicinity were Takato Matsuda and Rika Nonaka.
Valn raised an eyebrow as he turned to his pet.
"…huh." He said, intrigued, before returning to his logs.
"When I tested the virus on various animals, one of the few consistencies that existed was that the second-generation carriers developed abilities marginally superior to those of the first-generation ones. This new carrier could prove quite an asset, should Valn get to him in time.
I think it's time you met Mr. Akiyama.
Valn rapidly worked on a nearby terminal to create what he needed which would bring him what he wanted.
"There." He said finally, admiring his work. "That's better."
-
Ryo had mixed feelings about the days that followed.
Really? Is that why you haven't stopped smiling?
Well, he did hurt like hell. But he was getting better. He even got to spend some time with his friends. It was a lot like the last time they were all in the digital world, only without all the impending doom. The only thing that made him happier than seeing Cyberdramon again was that things weren't weird between him and Rika. It had been four days since the attack of that thing that had forced them to flee to the digital world, and, to Ryo's pleasant surprise, led to his first kiss with Rika.
Perhaps the only part more difficult than dealing with the pain in his side was their mutual agreement that while it was most definitely not a mistake; that they wouldn't pursue anything until they'd dealt with whatever was coming after them. Something about clouding judgement.
Ryo smiled a little wider, his eyes still closed. It was the first time in weeks that he was confident that they were going to get through this.
He opened his right eye a little bit as he heard the footsteps that belonged to a Takato-shaped silhouette which appeared to be holding a small bag. Ryo propped himself up farther on the wall, wincing a little as the healing wound on his side caught on his bandages, causing a sharp stinging sensation to shoot up his back.
"Hey buddy." Takato said quietly, apparently not trying to alarm him.
Might as well have some fun.
Fortunately for Ryo, with the limited light only on his left, Takato probably didn't see that he was awake. He did his best to move his right hand to the ground; he'd need the extra strength. He figured tackling his friend to the ground would probably mean an extra two days in this place recovering, and Rika would probably smack him a little after Takato finished killing him, but he double checked his math, and it'd be worth it. Ryo waited for him to get closer.
"Hey, Ryo?" Takato whispered.
Not yet.
"Ryo?"
He was closer now. Ryo squinted through one eye, waiting for his friend to lean in to shake his arm to wake him up.
"Ryo." Takato whispered once more, as Ryo saw his arm begin to extend.
Now!
He pushed with his arms and legs, throwing himself forward, tacking his friend easily backwards, but not before he got what he was looking for: Takato looking absolutely dumbfounded, and as an added bonus, letting out a little yelping noise.
Bing—
"Oof." Ryo muttered as they hit the ground. But he was still grinning as he rolled off his friend and burst out laughing.
"I hate you." Takato finally grumbled, sitting up.
Ryo spent a few more seconds laughting before he finally saw Takato crack a smile and join in.
When they both got control over themselves, Takato spoke.
"How's your wound? You know, before your tasteless little joke."
"Getting better. That didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. Bandages are itchy as hell, though."
"Should probably change them." Takato suggested, reaching for the bag he had dropped that Ryo recognized ad the one with the medical supplies. He'd have felt bad if the look on his face hadn't been so damn funny.
He carefully lifted his shirt, and raised his arm to inspect his wound. He poked at it a little with his other hand and winced, but more so because he was expecting pain, pain that didn't come.
"Cool." Was all he could think of, which he murmured aloud. Takato dabbed some water from the nearby bowl onto the wound to soften the scab, then took a pair of scissors out of the bag.
"Where's Rika?" he asked casually.
"Out killing things with Renamon, Jeri, and Cyberdramon." Takato replied, carefully cutting the bandages.
"Oh."
Rika had been out hunting a lot lately. Everyone had been, really, except for Takato. Rika went out more than the rest, however. Jeri frequently went with her to keep her company. Takato was the only one in the group other than Ryo himself who'd taken any first aid courses, so he was primarily the person taking care of him. Ryo felt bad that this resulted in Takato not getting to spend much time with Jeri. He was very grateful for all the help his friend had given him.
After the bandages were cut, Takato peeled them off, and when they were removed, Ryo was surprised to see that much of the gash had healed incredibly well. Takato tossed the old bandage into the bowl, before presenting a new roll.
"How's life?" Ryo asked casually.
"Crappy as ever, you?"
This took Ryo by surprise. "Oh, I'm—I'm sorry, Takato. I know you'd rather be anywhere else than stuck in a cave." He stammered.
"No, that's not—" Takato quickly replied. "That's not what I meant—I don't mind being here, here. It's just some other stuff's been on my mind."
"Like what?"
"Like why we're here. Like, why us, you know? Like why something chased you, and injured you for protecting Rika."
Ryo didn't remember telling Takato about that. He found it strange that Rika would. "Well, it's just our luck, you know?" he said, trying to sound optimistic. "We'll see it through. We always have."
Takato didn't give a response, but Ryo didn't pressure him for one. He simply sat as his wound was treated.
Takato soon finished wrapping the bandages, and Takato took and used the small safety pin he'd asked him to hold. Ryo put his shirt back on with little difficulty, and prepared to try to stand up. Takato stood up quickly, no doubt preparing to catch him.
To Ryo's own surprise, he didn't fall.
"Well look't that." He murmured in amazement.
Takato flashed him a weak smile before heading outside.
It was then that Ryo noticed a yellow plastic container that must have fallen out of Takato's pocket, either from his prank or when he was crouching.
"Hey, did you drop this?" Ryo called as Takato turned back to face him.
"Oh, uh, yeah…" Takato stammered before he hurried back and took it from him. He noticed Takato inspected it carefully, ensuring it was secure, before turning and leaving, without either a word, or eye-contact.
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Rika and Jeri arrived with Renamon and Cyberdramon back at the cave as Takato was talking to someone on his cell phone.
"Yeah, he is…uh huh… Have you found a way to stop it yet? …No, that's not what I mean…What should we do now? …Besides that…Okay. How long? Hmm. You'll have us home by then? Okay. See you soon." He clicked the phone off by snapping it shut, and stuffed it in his pocket as he stood staring in the distance before he seemed to notice that the girls had approached.
"Hey," he greeted in his casual friendly tone.
"Nothing that had half a chance against us." Rika said with a smirk. "How's Ryo?" She asked, more serious now.
Good call on being extra obvious.
"Better and better. He's asleep right now. Don't get too close to him. He tackled me halfway outside earlier."
"Um," Jeri began cautiously, "I think we're gonna choose not to understand that for now. Where's everyone?"
"Out and about. Probably looking for you guys. They'll be back soon, I'd think."
"So what was the phone call about? Do we have a plan?" Rika asked.
What soon surprised her was that Takato looked shocked at her question.
"Well," he said carefully, "that was Mr. Wong. He said that we shouldn't stay here too long. Whatever attacked you guys behaved at least in part like a digimon. He says we should predict it could follow us here. Mr. Wong says that we'd best keep on the move. But with Ryo's injuries, I'm thinking we're better off in this world."
Something he's not saying.
"Is he well enough to walk?" Jeri asked.
"No, he's not. Besides, there's still that virus out there. Renamon, Cyberdramon, I know we promised to help out here, but it looks like it's going to have to wait a little while longer."
Never knew he was this good at improvising.
Rika had done enough lying herself to know when something was hiding something from her. She decided to get the information the only way she'd consider from someone she respected as much as she did Takato. She'd ask him.
"Jeri, can you sit with him incase he wakes up? I need to talk to Takato about something. Renamon, Cyberdramon, go with her."
Takato sighed visibly, confirming Rika's suspicions. She saw him give Jeri a look before she left, almost an apology.
"What's going on?" She asked simply.
"Huh?"
You're kidding me.
"What you told us Mr. Wong said. That wasn't true, was it?"
"Yeah, it was."
"Takato."
"…no."
Bastard.
Rika hadn't a clue what he was hiding, and had no reason to believe he had anything to do with what happened to Ryo, but hated the fact that her friend had lied to her. Now, of all times. She knew he must have had a good reason for lying, but was almost scared to find it.
"Tell me what's going on." She repeated.
"No." He said defiantly.
"What?" She snapped indignantly.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Takato sighed. There was a moment of silence before he spoke. "Rika, if I tell you everything—it'd be really dangerous. For you, for Jeri, for Ryo, for all of us. But please believe me when I say that I'm still your friend. I can't say what this creature is, and I have no idea what it is capable of. But I will say that you need to stay away from it, and the threat it makes goes beyond itself. If we can't stop it, it is going to make the D-Reaper look like child's play."
Rika said nothing, but still stared at him.
"Rika, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you."
"Yeah, I do." Rika thought carefully. It took her several seconds to come up with the words to express what she wanted to say. "Takato, I know you're a lot smarter than you're ever given credit for, and nobody appreciates that as much as me, but you crossed a line.
"I know."
Everything started to get blurry, but Rika wasn't done just yet.
"Who were you really on the phone with?"
"Not Janyu Wong."
Duh.
"Is Ryo going to be okay?"
"I hope so."
A little bit blurrier.
"How can you be doing this?" she suddenly demanded. "I swear to God if anything happens to him—"
"I didn't do anything to him, and I promise you that I'm doing everything I can to help him. He's my friend too."
Rika suddenly believed him, realizing that Ryo was getting better. She also realized that the reason things were getting so blurry was because she was crying.
"I know he's important to you, Rika. I know about you guys."
Rika looked at him, unsure of what to say.
"Who told you?"
"Kinda figured it out myself…Jeri knew?"
"I asked her not to tell anyone. I'm sorry." It took Rika a little while to realize that she just apologized to him. "Takato, when this is over, you and I are going to have a talk."
"Counting on it."
"What's our next move?"
"We sit tight. Focus on Ryo. He's the priority. That thing is second."
That's how Rika already felt, but she found it strangely comforting to hear it coming from Takato, now, of all people and times.
"And what's our best shot at making it through this?"
"We hide." He replied, certainly not to Rika's surprise. Conventional attacks don't do anything to that thing. We think our best shot is something chemical. We think we have something that might work, but nothing I tried has."
Nothing he tried? We?
Before she could question him further, a scream was heard from the cave.
"Jeri!" Takato shouted as he ran into the cave, only to be knocked backwards by a Devimon flying out.
"Jeri! Renamon!" Rika called. Renamon and Cyberdramon stumbled out of the cave.
"Rika!" Takato and Renamon called as she reached for her Digivice. Renamon became Taomon, destroying it quickly and cleanly.
Rika and Takato ran into the cave.
"Jeri, what happened, are you okay?" Takato asked frantically.
"A gate, it—it opened up underneath Ryo…he fell in, then that thing came out—I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop it, I—" Takato had been hugging her tightly, and suddenly reached for his phone, which he pulled out, opened, and pushed a single button on.
"He's gone. We need a way out now." He said firmly.
Gone?
"What's going on?" Henry called from outside.
"Everybody outside, fast." Takato called, helping Jeri up.
"What the hell is going on?" Rika demanded. Her mind was racing with all the information she'd absorbed in the last five minutes. Everything was happening so fast. But she didn't feel like she had any choice but to trust Takato right now.
Seconds after they were all outside, the gateway to the real world opened up.
"Everybody, hurry." Takato shouted.
They all entered, until it was just Takato and Rika.
"Rika, get in. Please."
"You first." She challenged.
He nodded, and entered. Rika shot a look back to the cave before turning to the gate again.
"Ryo, please be here." She whispered as she entered, too distracted by the pain from the thought of losing him to pay any attention to the pain of the shift across worlds.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in Guilmon's 'house' in the park, with everyone—
Everyone except Ryo.
She sighed inwardly, but still glanced around hopefully, only disappointing herself further. She knew that not having Ryo around was going to be hell. And as she realized that she'd only made it as far as she had because of his support, she knew just how much she cared about him. And for the first time since her father died, she was ready to let someone in.
"Everyone here?" Takato asked.
Rika knew he meant 'everyone besides Ryo', and just couldn't think of a gentle way to word it. She wanted to question him further but reminded herself that if she exposed him to everyone, she might not get anything but another lost friend. And she'd lost too much already.
He's not dead.
That gave her enough strength to go on. When it was confirmed that everyone was okay, Takato didn't get a chance to speak any further before a large thumping noise was heard from the roof, and they all knew what it was.
Oh, shit.
"Everyone, get ready to run. I'll try to draw it off." He looked to Jeri. "Stay with Rika." He then ran outside and headed down the path down the hill, and when the creature jumped down and chased after him, they all took off.
"Where do we go?" Kazu asked frantically.
Jeri ran ahead of Rika, and followed after Takato and the beast.
"Jeri!" Rika and Henry called.
"We can't leave him!"
Rika knew that she was right, and they all headed after Takato. She knew they'd never catch up with them unless Takato led it in a circle – Takato was the fastest of them all, and he was obviously giving his all.
There would be another way you'd find him.
Rika hadn't even considered the possibility that he might get caught until then. She pushed the thought out of her mind and kept running. The trail was easy enough to follow. The park never seemed so big as it did then when Rika ran, the trees seeming to go on forever.
To Rika's surprise and horror, she soon found the monster towering over an unconscious Takato. The creature seemed to sense their approach, turned, screamed, and charged. The digimon all leapt out front to protect their tamers, but when the the creature's charge became a dive, it fell short, beginning to make a choking sound. Rika and the others stepped back as they watched in wonder and fear of what was happening. It soon howled through its obviously pained lungs and ceased all movement.
What the hell just happened?
Jeri, evidently not caring what just happened, ran to Takato's side, checking him for some sign of life.
"Did I do that?" Terriermon asked quietly, but sarcastically as ever.
"That won't hold forever. We'd best get moving." Yamaki called, entering from behind them.
He walked to Takato, indicated the concerned Jeri to move, and picked the boy up, carrying him over his left shoulder. He turned to the other tamers.
"I suspect we have some things we should discuss."
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Hope you enjoyed. Review, please!
-N