Chapter 9 – A spy in white

Skullsatamon stepped back, watching the giant dinosaur in amusement, eyes sparkling with interest. The great dinosaur began changing along with his Tamer. Gold light emitted from each part of their body as they became one.

Standing before Skullsatamon was no longer the dinosaur nor child but a mesmerizing and gallant paladin. A true knight in shining armour. The Digimon had a humanoid figure with white armour from head to foot. Red and gold shoulder plates glistened from the distance light despite rain pelting onto his armour and his red cape flourished in the wind. His left hand held tightly onto a round shield with a gold trim, bearing the mark of the Digital symbol. His right hand miraculously formed a joust with a intimidating point.

"Gallantmon, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," Skullsatamon bowed. "This should only be too fun of a battle, hmm?"

"There's nothing fun about killing one another," Gallantmon stated, watching the Digimon in front of him.

"I see you live up to your name, however, only the strong should live in this world." Skullsatamon grimaced. "Your life ends here."

"We'll see about that."

xxVxx

"This place reminds me of the school we used to hang out at back in the D-Reaper days," Kazu mused. "Total deja vu."

"Except for the fact that this is Italy not Japan, and we're in a hospital not a school." Rika said, rolling her eyes.

Kazu laughed. "True. I wonder if this place is haunted."

Ryo sighed, "just because people have died in here doesn't mean it's haunted." He placed an arm around Rika's shoulders. "If you're scared, Rika, I'm here to cuddle you."

She snorted. "Please. Are you going to wet yourself before or after the ghost waves to you?"

Everyone but Ryo laughed, seeing Ryo's face turn red. He took his arm from off of her. The group had come across an abandoned hospital that had been closed up for several years. Cyberdramon lead them there after he discovered it during his little fly through the city. The hospital was only a couple blocks away from where they left Nico laying unconscious. It was an admin decision. Rika wanted to bring him and felt bad about his current state, but they couldn't risk him blabber-mouthing to Shimizu where their hideout was.

Cyberdramon carried the limp and injured Renamon over his shoulder as they walked through the dark corridor.

"I wonder if the lights work," Kenta thought.

"I doubt it. Besides, even if they did, it would only attract stray Digimon," Ryo told him. "And given everyone's condition..."

"You mean 'given Renamon's condition.'" Rika shot at him.

"And yours. Don't deny that you're hurt, Rika." He nodded towards the tear in her shirt and couldn't imagine the intense pain she probably felt from the slash and the pummelling.

"So what if I am? I'm still alive. Our main priority right now is to get Renamon kicking and well enough to do some." She argued. The truth was, she felt like crap and wasn't sure how much longer she'd hold up. Her ribs felt cracked, the large cut on her chest hurt and still bled, and breathing killed her. It wouldn't have been fair to everyone if she was in bed resting while they worked so hard. She had to do her best to hold up. She just had to.

XxVxx

"Bone Crusher!"

"Lightning Joust!"

The two attacks collided disintegrating trees around them like they were made of paper. Debris fell onto them as they stood feet away, eyes on eyes. "You're good," Skullsatamon grinned.

Gallantmon nodded. "As you are. Unfortunately, you'll not be around much longer. An ultimate is no match for a mega."

"I'll be the judge of that." Skullsatamon moved forward, jumping high in the air, staff in attacking position. "Bone Crusher!" The beam that had shot out was bright red, temporarily blinding Gallantmon.

Raising his shield to protect him from the attack, Gallantmon thrust his joust into the air impaling Skullsatamon through the stomach. Skullsatamon left out a couple more attacks while still on the joust only for them to ricochet off Gallantmon's armour and onto himself. He cried out in pain and defeat before finally turning into meaningless data.

"Good job, guys," Jeri jeered. She ran over to Gallantmon. "Now, let's find the others."

Gallantmon nodded. "Yes and quickly. We also need to get in touch with Yamaki."

"That won't be necessary," a voice said. Both turned to see Henry and Rapidmon making tracks towards them. Henry was smiling, despite his face all busted and bruised. "I just called my dad...on a payphone...which cost a fortune..."

Jeri and Gallantmon laughed. "So, what's the verdict?"

"Yamaki is on his way." Henry informed them. "Left about two hours ago in his jet. He should be here soon."

"Perfect. So let's go find the others." Jeri said.

"No need to," another voice said, mocking the first. Ryo smiled at them all. "It's about time we've found you. If it wasn't for the light from Gallantmon, I probably would still be looking. We have a hideout so let's hurry."

Jeri ran over to him and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe. We were so worried about you...and Rika. By the way, where is she?"

Ryo returned the heartwarming hug. "She's fine. Sort of anyway. She was under my care the entire time this all happened."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow. "If she was under your care then obviously you weren't really looking after her."

"Ouch, Henry. You know that I would never intentionally harm Rika or let her get hurt." Ryo said, releasing Jeri from the embrace.

"Then what happened to her?" Jeri asked, frowning.

Ryo shrugged. "She's got an insanely large cut over her stomach and was punched by a Pandamon..well, Nico, several times. I'm sure she's in a lot of pain but insists she's fine."

Henry sighed. "She probably doesn't want you worrying about her. So Nico is a Pandamon? Or Pandamon is Nico? Whichever way you look at it."

Ryo nodded. "Yes. That's what Digimon he turns into when he uses his D-Power."

"Why did Nico attack Rika anyway? I thought he liked her." Takato asked. He was still Gallantmon.

Ryo looked up at him. "Nico wants her dead because of Shimizu, obviously. But really, he only attacked her because she made fun of him for being a Pandamon."

"That's so typical of Rika," Jeri said, snickering.

"Yeah. I just hope she's ok, though. I can't imagine the pain she's endured." Ryo shook his head, imagining how she must feel.

"She'll be fine. She's a tough cookie," Rapidmon assured him.

"I hope so." Henry agreed.

We all do, Ryo thought.

XxVxx

"So," Kazu said, awkwardly. He had been slouched in a chair since Ryo left them to look for the others. The group agreed on making a safe house in the surgery wing of the hospital. Given that in most hospitals, the surgery wing was always located in the centre, they deemed it safer to crash there in hopes the working lights wouldn't reach any open windows. They pulled several gurneys and hospital beds into the large enclosed area. Renamon laid on the one nearest where Rika had been sitting and Kenta occupied another closest to Kazu.

"Hmm?" Came the reply. Rika sat uncomfortably in a chair. One hand rested on her stomach while the other cupped her chin as her elbow rested on Renamon's bed.

Kazu looked at Rika nervously. "I hope Ryo was successful in finding the others." He made up. He really wanted to ask how she was holding up, or rather how she managed to hold up. He thought of the pain she must be in and it hurt him just as much knowing he was useless when it came to helping a friend in need.

"Me too," she said simply, causing Kazu to sink further in his chair.

"How do you think we're going to stop Shimizu?" He asked, turning his gaze to the sleeping Kenta.

Rika shrugged and stood up. "We're just going to have to find him and capture him. I'm sure Yamaki will know how to shove the Digimon back into their world. Honestly, I could care less about what's happening right now."

"Why don't you get some rest. I'll watch." Kazu suggested.

Rika raised an eyebrow, "you'll watch me rest?"

Kazu's face turned bright red. "No, I mean I'll stand guard."

"I don't need to rest right now. Why don't you?" She told him. As exhausted as she was, she was afraid of sleeping and not waking up.

"I'll stay awake and wait for Ryo with you." He said. He promised Ryo before he left that he would keep an eye on her in case she decided to randomly pass out on the spot.

Rika stood over Renamon and placed a hand gently over her partner's face, caressing the outline of her jaw. The sleeping Digimon stirred causing Rika to pull her hand away. "I hate having to sit here and do nothing while our world is at stake again."

"If we don't rest, we won't be prepared." Kazu frowned. "Besides, it's not like we can shove five thousand Digimon back into their world before dawn. I'm sure everyone is tired anyway."

Rika sighed. "I'm worried, Kazu."

He was taken back by her sudden confession. It wasn't like her to admit her fears or worries and to admit them to Kazu was just unnatural. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of his stomach churning at the very thought of one of the bravest Tamers worried about what's to come. "What are you worried about?" He asked after several moments.

"Well," she began, unsure of where to start. She turned to face him and he sat up in his chair. "I'm worried about my mom and grandma, first of all. They don't know what's going on nor where I am. I'm worried that one of us will probably get killed. And last but not least," she took a deep breath, "I'm worried we won't be able to stop this army of Shimizu's."

Kazu felt guilty. He knew that Rika was always strong and gave a 'don't-care' attitude on a day-to-day basis. His words from earlier that caused her so much stress and even more guilt tore through him. "Rika... I'm sorry."

She eyed him suspiciously. "It's not your fault my mother and grandma are out there somewhere. Or that an army is about to take over Rome."

Kazu shook his head. "No, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. It's just that... It's just that I lik-"

"Hey guys!" Takato beamed. They turned to look and Kazu's heart sunk. He slumped back down in his seat. What shitty timing.

Jeri ran over to Rika and gave her a hug. Rika cringed in pain causing Jeri to pull back. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rika. Ryo told us what happened."

"It's all right. Is everyone OK?" Rika asked.

Henry smiled, walking over to Rika. It was his turn to pull her into an embrace. "We're fine, but it's you we're concerned about."

"Me?" She asked, touching his black eye. Henry nodded. "I'm fine, honestly. Besides, it's Shimizu we should be worried about."

"You're too stubborn," Ryo sighed.

"You know it and don't forget it." She grinned.

"Get some rest. We're all going to need some," Takato told them. "We have to be prepared and can't fight while sleepwalking."

"Or could we..."Kazu joked. No one laughed. "Just trying to kill some tension."

Rika frowned. "Fine. I'll rest, but I'd like to be alone." She needed time to think about the last couple days.

"No!" Ryo and Kazu both said. She turned to look at them. "It's not safe. I'll go with you." Ryo folded his arms. "You have no say in that. It's us or Cyberdramon and me."

"I can understand you tagging along, but why him?" She thumbed Cyberdramon.

"In case something happens." He put simply.

Rika shook her head. "Why can't Jeri stay with me?"

Jeri shrugged. "Ryo is much stronger."

Rika narrowed her eyes. Traitor, she thought bitterly. "Fine."

The two headed into the next room where Rika claimed the hospital bed farthest from the door. Ryo, however, never bothered to take a bed. Instead, he walked over to Rika and stood over her. He eyed her carefully. Rika could feel him staring but pretended not to take notice. She rolled onto her side facing away from him and winced.

Ryo stepped around the bed to face her. "You're not fine. At least let me take a look."

Rika rolled onto her back. "No. I'll live. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

He wasn't convinced that it wasn't hurting too much. Given the way that she had been walking and breathing earlier, he was sure she was in much more pain then she let on. He sat on the bed, placing a hand on her stomach. She flinched. "Let me look."

"... Fine. But be quick." She lifted her shirt up a little past her ribs, just under her breasts. She eyed Ryo carefully to make sure he wasn't up to no good. He gently rubbed his hand along her ribs and over her stomach and traced along the cut on her stomach.

Doing his best not to hurt her or irritate the wound more, he tapped where he believed to be the broken rib. "I should take you to the hospital," he said, indicating the small lump just under her right breast. Rika shook her head. She knew he meant well but he didn't understand that she just didn't want to be a bother on anyone. Going to the hospital meant delaying their resting time which meant more Digimon were bound to come through the portal. She attempted to convince herself that she was more fine than she felt, but every intake of breath seared through her like fire.

Given the event occurring outside, it wouldn't have been safe for any of them to wander out in the middle of the night, even if Rika wanted to go to the hospital. Even if Cyberdramon was with them, what would happen if their whereabouts was attacked? They needed all the help they could get and it just wasn't worth splitting up.

Ryo, however, seemed to be sharing the same thought but didn't care. "I know it's not safe out there right now, but think of it this way: we do need all our strength and if you're in that condition, how can we be at our fullest potential in this battle? If you're unable to fight, Renamon – no offence – would be useless."

Rika closed her eyes in thought. He had a point that even she thought about. True, they would be down one Tamer if Rika didn't get better, but what if Ryo got hurt on the way to the hospital? Was it worth the risk? "What if you get hurt," she asked. "We don't even know if all these Digimon are working for Shimizu."

Ryo moved his hand from off her chest and rubbed her cheek. His azure eyes sparkled in amusement. "So you do care."

She scowled. "I care about us all being together and acting as a team. Without you, there is no team. You're our strongest player." She opened her eyes and gave him a full look over. He, too, was injured. The cut over his shoulder and one of his chest from Nico's knife was still a fresh wound, but he ignored it. He was strong enough. He knew that if Rika only had the cut on her chest she'd be fine as well, but she had possible broken ribs from being punched.

"Tell you what," he said, smiling. "If there are too many Digimon out there, we'll come right back to our hideout and get some rest. Deal?"

Rika scratched her head in silent contemplation. It sounded fair. She wasn't in any more condition to argue even though she wanted to. It took all her energy and breath just to speak to him. She took Ryo by the hand and gave it a squeeze. "Fine, but if it's too dangerous we're heading straight back here."

Ryo nodded and she knew full well that he'd have no intentions of coming back despite the happenings outside.

XxVxx

"Do you guys hear that?" Kazu asked, sitting up in bed. He was only sleeping for a short time before being awoke abruptly. The sound he was hearing was a distant 'oooing' noise, much like what a fake ghost would sound like. Takato and Henry sat up from their beds, listening.

After several long moments, Takato finally admitted he had no idea what Kazu was talking about.

"You can't hear that?" He asked in disbelief. "I think this hospital is haunted." He got out of bed and walked over to the doors and pressed his ear against it. The noise turned from ghostly to a 'bakabaka' chant to a loud crashing noise. He peaked through the window and saw hospital equipment being thrown by absolutely nothing. Fear gripped him and he fell down. Pointing at the window he turned to the two sitting in bed. "Did you hear that? Or see it?"

Henry shook his head. "We can't see anything while sitting in bed."

"Get up and look!" Kazu shouted, causing the others to raise.

Jeri looked over and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Kazu thinks hes seen a ghost," Takato explained.

"I don't think. And I didn't see anything but stuff being thrown. Listen, you can hear it!" Everyone was quiet and listened intently. Kazu heard the ghostly sounds again. This time, they were closer.

"I don't hear anything," Jeri told him. She got up and walked over to the door. She looked through the window and shrugged. "I don't even see equipment on the floor. Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

Kazu stood up in disbelief. He looked out the window against when it appeared. A floating white ghost with large black eyes with an even bigger mouth and large teeth appeared before him. The ghost mouthed the word 'boo' and Kazu fell back to the ground, screaming.

The ghost went intangible, floated through the door, looked at Kazu and burst into laughter. Its eyes watered in amusement at its prank. "Sorry," it said. "Couldn't resist."

"What the hell is your problem, Bakemon?" Kazu shrieked, holding his heart that almost beat out of his chest. The ghost Digimon laughed some more.

"I heard you talking about this dump being haunted. Followed you guys and scared ya, eehhh?" Bakemon laughed some more.

Before Kazu could flipshit on the ghost, Henry cut him off. "Bakemon, are you working for Shimizu?"

The ghost turned to him. Its smile was replaced by a confused look. "What's that?"

"A human. Are you working for him?" Takato asked this time.

Bakemon did its best to shrug, given it didn't really have shoulders. "Uhh. Nope."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"It seems Shimizu may have a small army but is boasting about having a large one. Probably to make us worry." Renamon said. The vixen was up and looking much better. Her injury healed over nicely, leaving a tiny dark-yellow scar over her stomach. "Where's Rika?"

"She's in the next room with Cyberdramon and Ryo." Kazu said, crossing his arms.

"That girl with red hair?" Bakemon asked. "She left a while ago with that other person and the ugly Digimon."

Takato stood up. "What? Where did they go?"

The ghost hovered on the spot trying to think. It screwed its face up in concentration before finally answering with, "to a hospital. That girl looked badly hurt."

Once again, everyone exchanged looks, but only of concern. Bakemon looked between them all and stuck out its tongue. Henry sweat dropped. "Do you think you could help us?"

"With...? I'm very busy you know." The ghost said.

"Could you spy on Shimizu? Find out his plans and how many Digimon are actually on his side. Don't let on that you're helping us out." Henry asked. Takato smacked himself. Of course, why didn't I think of that, he asked himself. It was a perfect plan. Shimizu knew all their partners because of Nico and Nico knew of them all because of Rika. So if a Digimon they didn't know about was spying, he definitely wouldn't be able to tell.

"Hmm." Bakemon took it into consideration. It attempted to scratch its chin but its arm went through its body. "What's in it for me?"

Henry grinned devilishly. "You can scare the living crap out of Rika and Ryo."

Bakemon beamed in delight. "It's a deal!"

xxVxx

The commotion outside was was deafening. Guns fired, Digimon roared, and people screamed. The army was out but not in tanks, just in their armoured vehicles. Ryo even noticed soldiers walking in march from other countries such as the United States and Great Britain.

To Ryo, that was a positive sign. It meant that the Digimon haven't made it outside of Italy, or possibly Europe, but it also meant that there were so many Digimon on the loose the Italian army couldn't handle them all by themselves.

Ryo was holding onto Rika as tight as he could without causing her discomfort. Cyberdramon agreed to fly them to the hospital, which turned out to be halfway across the city.

Stepping down on the ground, they came across several militia hiding behind barricades just outside of the hospital. Sacks full of sand surrounded the hospital with guns in every direction. One of them began shouting at Ryo in Italian. Ryo rose a hand in surrender.

"I don't speak Italian," he shouted. "My friend needs help and this big guy," he pointed to Cyberdramon, "is on our side."

They all looked at each other and spoke some more in Italian. Ryo grew annoyed and impatient. Finally, one spoke in Japanese. Ryo was sure they were probably guessing which language he was speaking. "Move from that beast at once!"

Ryo gave a confused look. "I already said he's on our side. He protected us from being harmed further. My friend is hurt though and needs medical attention."

The one who spoke Japanese turned to the others some more before finally giving Ryo the OK to go ahead. "You may pass, but that thing stays out here."

Ryo looked up to Cyberdramon and gave him a pat on his metal plate. "Stay out here and protect these humans. Hopefully we won't be long."

Cyberdramon grunted. "Call if you need me."

After stepping into the hospital, Rika was seen to immediately. Even though Ryo could barely understand anyone, he knew that they were taking good care of her. His suspicions were correct and it had been in fact several broken ribs. As far as Ryo could tell, the doctors implied that any more hits to the stomach it would have punctured her lungs. He was thankful he managed to convince her to actually go to the hospital.

He sat in the waiting room for several hours, refusing to sleep in case the doctor came by with updates. He glanced around taking in all the injured people. He knew that most of them were there because of Digimon and it disgusted him to think of how Shimizu was doing this. A human harming more humans? It was inhumane. What was he up to?

He watched as a small child no older than ten was being brought into the waiting room. His arm looked dislocated and he was crying. His parents tried reassuring the poor kid by giving him a lollipop, but the kid just pushed it away.

"Uh. A-key-yama?" The doctor came through the door. He was flipping through papers on a clipboard.

Ryo raised a hand, "that's me... I think."

The doctor nodded and motioned him to follow. They walked down the main entrance to the service elevator. The doctor hit the button for the second floor and they got off. Half the hall way was pitch black which sent chills down Ryo's spine. No other doctor or even nurses were around and Ryo wondered if maybe he was the wrong person the doctor was calling. The two stopped at the end of the hall which had no rooms on either side. It was a plain dead end.

The doctor smiled grimly. "Sorry to do this to you," he said, pulling out a D-Power like Shimizu's and Nico's. The only difference is, his was a chocolate brown colour. "Orders are orders."

Ryo clenched a fist. "You bastard. What have you done with Rika?"

The doctor ignored his question. His hand lit up with a bright brown light. "Shimizu's orders were clear. You'll not be leaving this hospital in one piece."

"What the hell did you do with Rika?" Ryo roared. If anything happened to her, I'll never forgive myself.

"She's dead, I assure you."

"I don't believe you. Where is she?"

The doctor suppressed a laugh. "Why does it matter? She's as good as dead. You two will be together soon."

"Fuck you, buddy."