For Fluffeh the Great, The Light's Refrain, and The-3-Amigos. Thanks for all your support.

-N

Almost done. Thanks for reading this far, and sorry it took so long to update. I know there's not much Rika/Ryo-ness in this one, but the next chapter'll be the ending, and should answer any questions not answered here or in Atlas.

Peace,

-N

And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow

-Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

---------Samuel Taylor Coleridge

On the list of things Ryo would have expected to see behind the door, what he saw ranked right underneath Santa Claus. Ryo stared at the teenager that was now visible to him; and had no trouble recognizing him. The brown hair, the blue eyes, the clothes—

"You, uh," Ryo stammered. "You're me."

"Impressive, isn't he?" Valn asked smugly.

Ryo was too distracted to respond—he was busy staring at himself. Ryo2 was simply standing there, staring at nothing in particular. He glanced at Ryo, then to Valn, then back to Ryo, obviously uninterested in him.

"Well, what do you think?" Valn asked, slightly impatient.

You think I can actually form a thought right now?

Ryo couldn't understand what was going on. Was it a digimon? He'd heard of ones that could shape-shift, but something in his gut told him that that wasn't the case. It sent chills through him to think of what kinds of procedures Valn performed when Ryo was out.

"What is he?" Ryo asked, still not training his eyes off of Ryo2.

"The new and improved Ryo Akiyama."

Improved?

Ryo suddenly realized what Valn meant when he said he was going to infect a backup.

"You made a copy of me!" Ryo asked indignantly. He finally turned his attention to Valn, who smirked in a way that made Ryo want to beat the life out of him. And he tried. Ryo clenched his fist and prepared to swing at Valn, but was cut short by the elbow to his own neck. Ryo was thrown back to the wall, gasping for air. He placed his hand on his neck, coughing, as he looked up to see his own personal doppelganger standing in front of Valn defensively.

"'Copy' is such a derogative term." Valn sneered. "You see, he's actually quite superior to you."

Ryo was still struggling to breathe, his neck even more sore as he touched it. He stared at his mirror image in terror, moving his own hands to the floor if he needed to push himself up, getting ready to run if his attacker came any closer. He didn't, though, but Ryo stayed ready.

What the hell is this—

"Please, Mr. Akiyama, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead." Valn said, irritated by Ryo's behavior.

"Wh—" Ryo tried through his coughs, "Why aren't I?"

"Because I don't kill people."

Ryo held his breath to stop the coughs so he could actually let the audacity of that thought sink in. He almost laughed when it did. Not kill people? This man's been directly responsible for the deaths of dozens. Apparently Valn realized the thoughts running through Ryo's head, and didn't like them, as he quickly walked over and swung his foot hard into Ryo's jaw.

Upon the strike, Ryo spun around, his face landing on the floor. That was the last thing he remembered before he passed out.

--

Ryo Akiyama woke up on the floor of a rectangular room. He almost wished he didn't , though, because he felt pain when he was conscious.

Ow.

At least he wasn't coughing. His head was throbbing, though, and his neck was still sore. Ryo had no idea how long he'd been out. He sat up, and looked around. The room was a pale green, not much smaller than his bedroom at home. It was empty, however, except for an uncomfortable-looking padded bench against the wall. The door itself was an average size, grey, with a small window in its upper-middle.

Ryo pulled himself to his feet, stumbling a bit when he got up. His head was still spinning, but he forced himself to the door and tried the handle. It was, of course, locked, and he leaned himself against the door to steady himself as he tried to think of a plan.

He knew he had to get out of there. But he knew he probably wouldn't be able to—Valn, and his—

—his things—

—could be right outside. Even if he could find a way out, he had no idea how to get back to his friends, or where they were—

—or where I am.

Ryo slowly walked to the bench, which was backless, but against the wall. He lowered himself onto it as gently as he could, but still his head on the wall, which certainly didn't help the pain. He leaned his head forwards, resting his forehead on his hands. He ran what happened to him through his mind. He was hurt by the monster. The monster Valn made. It infected him, and he thought he was getting better. But then Valn opened a portal, and pulled him back to wherever he was. Then Valn told him what'd been going on, then he beat the crap out himself.

This hasn't been my best day ever.

He sat there for what felt like hours before he felt well enough to stand. He futilely tried the door again, but had no luck. He tried peering out the window; there was another door identical to the one in front of him across the hall, and he could see another to its right. Ryo glanced at his partial reflection in the glass to inspect his wounds, but he couldn't make out any details.

This is just my luck.

Ryo needed to let his friends know what was going on. They must have been worried about him, what with his disappearing act. He sure hoped that Jeri was okay.

I gotta see Rika.

Ryo found the need quite driving. For the few days there were in the digital world, they didn't get to see much of each other because they'd agreed to put things on hold in regards to their relationship until they sorted out the threat. Turned out Ryo was the threat, and he didn't even know it. He had to see her, had to talk to her. There was so much to tell—

You'll lose her. Not that you deserve her in the first place.

Ryo stopped, thinking about what he just realized—if he was still a threat, he couldn't be around her. He cared about her far too much. He made a promise to himself—when he got the chance—if he got the chance, he'd tell her everything. That he was infected with something, that he may still be infected with it, depending on whether or not Valn was telling the truth, maybe even just how much he cared about her.

There he was, Ryo Akiyama, age seventeen, fearing for his life. He sighed at the realization of his weakness. Back in the digital world, before the D-Reaper, he'd been next to fearless. He lived and survived with only Cyberdramon; hell, he wasn't even scared when Rika and Renamon gave him all of their power in the fight against the D-Reaper, a tactic that could have killed him. He had to get out of there. He had to see her.

He walked to the door, the room spinning much less than the last time he stood. Ryo didn't bother trying the handle again, but instead pounded his fists on the door.

"Hey!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Open this thing up!"

He continued to strike it for a good while before he got a visitor. It was Valn, who unlocked the door and opened it, then indicated for Ryo to follow him down the hall.

Crazy bastard.

Ryo noticed that they were the only two in the hall, meaning Valn didn't have one of his pets to protect him. But as soon as he stepped outside the door, Valn pulled out a gun and pointed it at his face, looked him square in the eye.

"I'm going to suggest you don't try anything."

Ryo stared back, seething. He nodded, defeated, knowing there was no other option.

"What are you gonna do with me?"

"That's up to you." Valn replied.

"Meaning?"

"Well, firstly, if you try to attack me again, I'll have one of my pets tear you to shreds." Valn said carelessly. "And I don't imagine that's a very graceful way to die."

Prick.

"So why haven't you?" Ryo asked curiously.

"Because I need your help." Valn answered.

"Right." Ryo muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

The two continued down the hall, and Valn led them to a large room filled with computers. There was a giant screen on the wall, with several terminals below it. The screen itself was off.

"As you've seen, my serum has produced some extraordinary results." Valn said proudly.

"It kills people."

"An uncontrolled variable, I'm afraid." Valn said with a little frown. "Someone carrying the virus seems to have nullified their neural networks completely as their body changes. As it is, by the time they have fully mutated, their brain is no longer functional on its own."

Ryo let that register.

"Then how can they still be alive?" he finally replied."

Valn laughed, taking Ryo a little by surprise. "Essentially, they're not." Valn indicated the terminals below the screen. "These transmit the electrical signals that control the empty pathways in the brains of exposed subjects. Through these, I can remotely force the subjects to behave how I desire them to."

"So you want what, exactly. Control the world? Real original." Ryo taunted.

"Not at all." Valn said defensively. "I certainly don't want that effect to occur in every subject—have you any idea how much energy is required to keep just two subjects functioning? What I want is to only have that effect occur when needed. I need your help to do that."

Ryo looked at him, curiously.

"How could I possibly help with that, let alone why in the hell would I?"

Valn approached the terminals before answering. "Both of those have the same answer." Valn snickered, activating the screen.

Ryo looked up to see the image of a street, as seen from the top of a nearby building. The street itself was busy, and there were a few stores on the opposite side that Ryo recognized. It was just a few minutes away from the coffee store. Ryo stared at the sight for a few seconds before he spoke, fearful his sarcasm would get him another beating.

"Well?" Ryo asked, impatiently.

Valn smirked, still staring at the image on the screen, not turning his gaze towards Ryo at all.

"Just wait." Valn whispered. A moment later, he pointed excitedly at a figure who emerged from an alley. Valn typed at the terminal hastily but not hectically, then stopped, and looked up the figure again, who stopped on the sidewalk. Ryo squinted, but couldn't make out any details of the figure at all. It became even more difficult to see it when people started walking past it quickly.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking at." Ryo said honestly.

Valn hit a few more keys, and the camera zoomed in a bit and sharpened. Ryo now recognized the figure as his copy.

Shit.

His double was strong. Really, really strong. It was probably strong enough to kill someone, and if it was taking orders from Valn, he kept that in mind as a possibility.

"What are you doing?" Ryo asked, worried.

"When someone becomes affected by the virus, their body typically becomes much more powerful, at the expense of their mind. Both subjects were not conscious throughout the entirety of their transformations, however. Their minds deteriorated days before their body even began to change. Their aggressive responses, however, remained, with no mind to keep them in check."

Ryo noticed that there was the same image on the terminal Valn worked at as the one projected above their heads. He saw Valn gently tap three of the people on the image. Ryo looked at Valn, puzzled, then turned his attention back to the screen, the camera feeding it zooming in closer to show Ryo's double grabbing the cane out of the arm of an old man. The man fell, surprised, while the double swung it into the face of a nearby woman, pulling it back nearly instantly to strike a third man in the nose with the end of it. The people in front of him who saw began to run away, and the double took one of those down by throwing the cane at the back of one of their heads. Ryo recognized the three as the ones Valn had indicated a few seconds earlier.

Oh God—

"Make it stop." Ryo said, much more desperately than he'd like it to have sounded.

Valn ignored him, or perhaps didn't hear him, as he stared at the video feed, too intrigued to be bothered.

Ryo too looked back to it. His double swung his right knee into someone's back, followed by landing his left elbow to the back of another's head. The crowd had now moved to a wide circle around him, and the fight itself had moved to the middle of the street. Ryo's double continued to tear through the crowd that seemed simply too stupid to run away.

"Make it stop." Ryo repeated, louder.

The battle continued, and there were only two figures left in the crowd by the time that Valn complied. Ryo's heart stopped when he recognized them as Renamon and Rika. The girl of his dreams was there, capable of dying at the indication given by Valn.

"Please." Ryo asked audibly, not caring how pitiful he might have sounded. "Just let them go."

"Of course." Valn shrugged indifferently, as he reached for a button on a different terminal. Ryo looked to the screen to see his double leap away from Rika and Renamon. He felt incredible relief at knowing they wouldn't be injured there, or worse.

By you.

The last thing the camera showed before it turned off was Rika dropping down to the ground, crying. Ryo's eyes widened. Rika would think that that was him there. Hell, she'd have all the reason to kill him on sight if she ever saw him again. He suddenly felt selfish for worrying about her opinion of him. If she was safer in hating him, then good. That was all that mattered. Ryo had cared about her more lately than ever before. He had to make it through this. He had to stop the double from ever going near her again. He had to tell her how he felt. But there were more immediate issues.

"…Thank you." Ryo whispered, hating himself for saying it to someone who had just murdered more than two dozen people.

"You're welcome." Valn said almost friendlily. "I suppose now's the time to give you some answers. What would you like to know?"

Ryo raised an eyebrow in shock. He had many things he'd like answered, he just wasn't prepared to ask them.

Where to begin?

"Why've you been looking for us?"

"You Tamers were a countermeasure to the rogue monsters. I have no idea why exactly it was any of you who were called, but that's besides the point. But there were other countermeasures. I'd hope you were told about the Juggernaut project?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to kill off all of the digimon. But they used it against the D-Reaper." Ryo recited his recent history.

"Yamaki never was one to stick with a plan." Valn muttered. "I suppose I should give him some credit, though. The Juggernaut project was an important factor in refining the virus."

He knows Yamaki?

"The D-Reaper isn't a threat anymore. We killed it." Ryo replied, annoyed.

"That's not it at all." Valn hissed. "Many people died because of the D-Reaper."

"Many people just died because of your work." Ryo protested angrily.

"An unfortunate necessity. It is imperative that both carriers remain combat-ready at all times." Valn replied haughtily.

Unfortunate?

"Why?" Ryo asked, knowing full-well he just changed the subject.

"You know as well as anyone the threats that exist. The D-Reaper was an abomination" was Valn's reply.

Finally something we agree on.

Valn continued, "The virus is a countermeasure."

"To what?"

Valn didn't answer, but Ryo had already figured out the answer. A fresh wave of nausea ran through him as things began to make sense.

Yamaki. D-Reaper. Juggernaut. Tamers.

"You mean the digital world." Ryo realized.

Valn nodded. "That's right. That's why I had to find the Tamers. If Yamaki hadn't insisted your identities be kept a secret, this would all have been much easier, and much less bloody.

Sanctimonious psycho.

"The Monster Makers wouldn't give up your names, either. I didn't have much other than rough descriptions offered by the news to go on—the leader was a young teenager who risked his life for a girl who'd lost her partner—another girl who'd cut herself off from friendship who learns it made her stronger, and so much melodrama that any sensible person could bare to stomach. The story that interested me, though, was that one Tamer lived in the digital world with only his partner for months before he even met up with the others."

Ryo felt his gut twist, but said nothing, wanting to get as much information as Valn was going to give.

"What it is like living there is the information I need to finish the conditioning. That's why it had to be you, Ryo. You were the one who truly understood how things worked in there. Not just the world itself, but those that inhabit it. On your last trip to the digital world, I was able to identify you all. You fit the description perfectly. You were who I needed—the one who understood it all. Your friend, Ms. Kato was a close second. Mr. Wong was another good choice."

Ignoring the nausea that resulted from his moment of considering Jeri, or Henry in the position he was in, Ryo spoke again.

"That's why you made the double." he said calmly.

"Yes. Your memory had to be preserved. You are the single most experienced person in the world when it comes to that place." Your friends hadn't spent anywhere near the amount of time there as you have." When Valn spoke he seemed almost excited, like a little kid eager to share a new secret.

"You still haven't told me what you want this information for."

"The digital world cannot be allowed to exist." Valn said simply.

This hit Ryo hard, which surprised him considering he didn't believe it at all. There was something unsettling about it, but he couldn't quite place it. He didn't get much opportunity to think, though, as his mind raced to absorb all the information he was just given. Things had finally started to make sense, though in his current situation it didn't seem like he could do much with the information. He still had questions, however.

"If the Monster Makers didn't give us up, and neither did Yamaki, then how did the monster find us before we went to the digital world? Before you knew who we were?" Ryo asked.

"Irrelevant detail." Valn answered.

Fair enough.

Ryo didn't bother pushing for an answer. He knew that if Valn didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't. It struck him as a curiosity that Valn shared as much information as he did. Ryo knew that Valn was trying to gain his trust, since he needed Ryo's help. Valn needed information about the digital world. The people who knew the most about it were the Tamers. The Tamer who knew the most was himself. Ryo realized Valn must have some control in the digital world for him to be able to bring Ryo there from the cave, and for Valn to learn everyone's identities from their entering it. Ryo had one more question for him.

"What do you want done to the digital world?" Ryo questioned.

"I want it destroyed."

Hope you enjoyed, and I hope things are starting to make a little more sense now. I'm going to try to make the next chapter big and juicy. Thanks to everyone for reading this far!

-N