It's been years since I've updated these. Life has been so busy. I almost forgot about this site until I saw it mentioned on Reddit a few weeks ago. It got me back into reading and writing creations. I don't remember where I was taking this story but I do have a few good idea. I may rewrite the previous chapters to kill those spelling and grammatical errors. Anyway, enjoy it! I'll try to upload a new chapter to "To the Digital World Once Again!" as well.

Chapter 13 – Illusions and Starry Skies

The plan was simple. Very simple; kill the kids, kill their partners, open the portal, claim the prize. But why the hell was it not falling into place?!

Shimizu paced back and forth in the Colosseum, gripping his digivice with such strength that it began to crack. Four of his ten guardians were out of commission. He knew Nico would betray him. That damned boy. He chose someone so weak to help him. As for the Armano, the security guard, he couldn't care less. And the doctor? Yeah, he was disappointed. Owryumon was a strong companion. Those fucking brats, he thought, angrily.

His moments to reflect were suddenly interrupted by loud, echoing footsteps approaching.

"Shimizu."

He glanced towards the direction his name came from. "I trust we have some good news?"

The two Digimon before him shook their heads. SkullBaluchimon, a grim-looking skeletal creature, delivered the bad news. "We lost the Tamers."

"We will stop them. I give you my word, Shimizu," Sanzomon said. The monk-like Digimon bowed her head towards her master.

Shimizu was furious, however. He jammed his fist hard into the wall, splitting his knuckles. The kids pissed him off. His two guardians watched him awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Shimizu regained his composure and looked towards Sanzomon. He was aggravated that his guardians had returned empty-handed, however, he trusted Sanzomon to complete the job. She was one of his most trusted guardians. Mostly because she was human under the digital armour, unlike SkullBaluchimon. "I am leaving the task of finding them up to you, Sanzomon." She nodded and disappeared. He turned to the skeleton. "Help the others in the pit. We are mere moments away from great discovery."

Everyone waited patiently while Henry's father filled Henry in on his discoveries. After several moments, Henry disconnected the call from his father and relayed the message. "It's certainly possible that he is after another Spirit Evolution."

Takato nodded. "Ok, so we know for sure that there is going to be another D-Reaper to attack. But how on Earth can a Spirit Evolution form stop the D-Reaper?"

They all looked at one another. Everyone was unsure. Rika threw out her best guess. "Maybe it won't stop the D-Reaper. It's just a sacrifice Shimizu is willing to make to get what he wants."

"You might be right about that, Wildcat." Ryo agreed.

Rika blushed and turned away. "Well, whatever his reason, we know there is going to be a D-Reaper. Our priority is to seal the gate before it reveals itself."

"How do you propose we do that?" Kenta asked.

"By being ourselves," Kazu told him. "We rush in and figure it out as we go!" Everyone was on board with the plan. They made their way towards the Colosseum.

The day began to break through the smoky sky. There were far fewer Digimon around than they had expected to see. And almost no sign of any military. It was almost as if everyone had vanished while they were at the abandoned hospital.

The group stopped blocks away from the ancient structure. Surprisingly, there were guards on the lookout. A bunch of champion-level Digimon. Monodramon commented about kicking their butts to digital dust but was quickly restrained by Ryo.

"Wait. If we rush them then they will alert the others." Ryo hissed to his partner.

A cackle came from behind them. "Oh, we already know you are here, Digi-brats." A feminine monk hovered slightly above them. Her mouth was hidden by a red cloth, but her eyes glistened from her smile. "I searched everywhere for you. I knew it would be a matter of time before you showed up here, though."

Henry reached for his D-power. "Sanzomon. An ultimate Digimon. Her special attack is Heart Sutra. You must be one of Shimizu's guardians."

"Why yes, I am. And I am going to annihilate you all!" She rose her red malas above her head.

"Wait!" Rika cried, stepping towards the monk. "Kazumi?"

All eyes directed towards Rika. Ryo asked, "you know this monk?"

Rika nodded. "I recognize her voice. I think. You worked with Shimizu at the photoshoot?"

The monk snarled. "That doesn't change anything."

"What is Shimizu offering you?!" Nico asked. "Does he have something of yours?"

"That does not concern you."

Rika shook her head. "So wait a second. Nico, the security guard, you… Is everyone from the photoshoot on Shimizu's side?"

"Haha, why yes." Another voice called. He had appeared from behind a building. This Digimon was a giant samurai sporting a red karuta and wielding a deadly naginata. Rika and Nico immediately recognized his voice. Toru. The photographer from the photoshoot.

Henry's D-power set off yet again. "Butenmon. An ultimate Digimon. His special attack is Dance of the Sun." He looked toward the others. "I'll handle these two. Everyone, go on ahead."

"You'll need some help," Takato said, not wanting to leave his partner. "Take care of Jeri for me."

Jeri began to protest, but Rika dragged her away. The group ran towards the Colosseum leaving Takato, Henry, and their respective partners behind. Renamon and Monodramon effortlessly took out the two champion Digimon guards before the remainder of the team made their way into the Colosseum.

The corridors were dark, and, aside from footsteps, it had an eerie silence. After a bit of walking, the silence was interrupted by Kazu's question. "Why didn't we just... I don't know… fly into the centre of the Colosseum?"

"That would have made sense," Kenta said.

Rika shot them a look that was masked by the darkness. "So, we can alert every single Digimon in the area?"

"But there were no Digimon in the area, other than the guards and Guardians." He shot back.

"They could be in the Colosseum, you brainless nut."

"Or they're defeated. We haven't heard any noise."

"Or they are keeping a low profile to make sure the army doesn't interrupt them!"

"Or we are just purposely taking the long way to waste time!"

"Or-"

"Enough!" Ryo shouted. His voice echoed down the hall. Kazu and Rika fell silent.

"Are they always like this?" Nico asked Ryo.

"Don't talk to me." Ryo snarled back.

Nico held up his hands in surrender. "Ok man, whatever."

Ryo reached towards Nico's voice and grasped his shirt. He threw Nico up against the wall. A loud thump rang through the quietness. "I don't trust you. I never will. Don't you ever fucking talk to me as if we are buddies."

Rika intervened. She placed a hand on Ryo's arm and pulled him off Nico. She had never seen Ryo behave so coldly before. It was very uncharacteristic of him. "Ryo… don't hurt him." She breathed softly. Ryo glanced toward the silhouette of Rika. "Don't you dare try to defend him."

"I wasn't. Now is not the time for this, though." She said, trying to keep her cool.

Ryo inhaled deeply and clenched his fists. The group focused on him, expecting him to lose his temper and lash out. Instead, he turned and continued walking. His feet thumping against the limestone flooring. He never meant to lose his temper like that. His tired mind continuously raced with the thoughts of Nico. Nico and Rika. Why did she defend him? Does she have feelings for him? Is that why she rejected me in the hospital earlier? He felt tears sting his cheeks. He was angry, betrayed, hurt.

Nico grabbed Rika by the arm and pulled her away from the others. "Thanks." She nodded and he let go of her arm. "I truly am sorry for what I have put you through."

"Now is not the time for this, Nico." She said. She sprinted ahead, pushing past Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri, trying to reach Ryo. She couldn't see him or hear his footsteps any longer. Or anyone else for that matter. "Renamon?" She turned in every direction. None of her comrades were around. She was alone.

"Guys...?" Her voice quivered. She was terrified. She swallowed a lump in her throat and called a bit louder. "Ryo?" No answer. She headed in a general direction and found a wall. She used her hands to glide her down the pitch-black corridor. Rika could make out a faint glow coming from the end of the hall and the sounds of metal hitting concrete. A figure stood behind the glow. She was unable to make out who or what it is. She stopped moving along the way and squinted to see what was coming her way.

Without warning, the walls around her began to collapse. She stumbled forward, her knees kissing the ground hard. She yelped in pain and looked towards the glow. It was getting closer and moving with haste. The voice behind the glow shouted to her. "I finally found you!"

Takato and Henry felt defeated before the fight even began. Takato and Guilmon were running too low on fumes to digivolve into mega, leaving MegaGargomon to do all the dirty work. Takato never felt so useless before. He swiped a speed card through his D-Power to accelerate WarGrowlmon's agility. WarGrowlmon barely had time to dodge another attack from Sanzomon.

MegaGargomon was having a bit more luck against the rogue samurai, albeit very worn himself. Butenmon, on the other hand, was having fun.

The samurai lashed towards MegaGargomon and sliced the metallic bunny's foot. Data and blood seeped through the small wound. Henry roared in pain. He brought a hand down to Butenmon to smoosh him. The samurai simply outstretched his arms and caught MegaGargomon's hand and pushed him backwards. MegaGargomon lost his balance and fell to the ground in a loud rumble.

"I think it is time we quit toying with you children and finish this off," Sanzomon said. She rose her malas and breathed an attack.

Thousands of specks of light formed at the feet around WarGrowlmon and Takato. When the faded light dispersed, thousands of little beads formed and began attacking from all directions. WarGrowlmon quickly covered his Tamer. The clinking of the beads against the armour sounded like bullets and was deafening. Takato covered his ears and looked up at WarGrowlmon. His partner looked hurt and very worn. His data began to shift slightly. He couldn't continue to let his friend get hurt but he also had no idea how to stop Sanzomon. WarGrowlmon and himself were exhausted from all the events over the previous night. They had hardly rested and certainly have not eaten. They were famished.

"Ta…ka…to…" WarGrowlmon heaved. The armoured dinosaur was nearing his end. His eyes glistened with tears; tears of sadness and defeat. He could no longer protect his Tamer. Moments later, the armoured Digimon de-digivolved back into a smaller red dinosaur. "I'm sorry."

Takato felt tears run down his cheeks. He was overwhelmed with emotions. He faced Sanzomon and outstretched his arms to protect what was left of his data-flickering partner. "Kill me, too, you coward human!"

The words struck a nerve with Sanzomon. "Coward human? I am a Digimon!"

"You are a coward and a human!" He said through soaked eyes.

Sanzomon moved swiftly to Takato, placing her malas around his neck and pulling him close. Takato felt his body tremble. He was terrified and tried to hide it. The monk was face to face with the boy. "And how exactly am I a coward?"

Takato tried to keep his voice from faltering but was unsuccessful. "Because you are working with Shimizu." Sanzomon nodded. "Because you are attacking children." Sanzomon nodded again. "Because you are attacking children who have been fighting all night."

"I see." She said.

"You chose to side with the bad guy instead of using your Spirit Evolution to do good. You are a coward." He hissed the last part.

Sanzomon smiled. "If that makes me a coward, child, then I guess that is what I am." She brought the beads down, pulling Takato with it. Takato's body hit the ground hard. His bones felt achy. "I'll spare your life, child. Killing humans is not what is in my best interest. I will, however, finish off your Digi-dino." She wrapped her beads around Guilmon's neck and began choking the digital life out of him. Guilmon growled in defiance, trying his best to ward off the monk.

MegaGargomon leapt towards his friends, only to be knocked back once more by a strike from Butenmon.

"You are fighting me," the samurai said. He slid his naginata across the breastplate of MegaGargomon. The giant Digimon winced in pain. He rose his blade high to the sky and brought it down several times on MegaGargomon. The mega Digimon split into two beings; a human and a small rabbit-dog. Butenmon had brought his giant sword down one more time to slice the unconscious Terriermon into two, however, to his amusement, it was knocked out of his hands and skidded across the pavement.

"Pick on someone your size," a voice boomed.

Butenmon smirked. His smirk suddenly faded upon seeing the beads his partner used clutched in the hand of a leather-wearing Digimon with wings. In one hand he held the red malas. In the other, and leaning against his shoulder, was a large black gun. Butenmon retrieved his weapon and faced his new enemy. "And who might you be?"

"Beelzemon is the name. Killing dipshits is my game." He fired a round of bullets at the samurai, piercing through the karuta. Butenmon howled as each bullet struck him. Beelzemon reloaded and aimed his gun to his right, firing more bullets. A female shriek pierced ears as Sanzomon was faced with her ultimate demise. She collapsed to the ground. Light engulphed her for moments before a human lay in her wake.

"Y-you. I will kill you for that!" Butenmon swore. He clutched his weapon and, with all his strength, delivered a powerful Dawn Light Flash towards Beelzemon. Beelzemon ducked under the attack and brought his claws in towards the armoured samurai. His opponent breathed a Darkness Claw. Butenmon felt his armour being ripped away and watched as it was destroyed into millions of bits of data. He fell to his knees. "I-I… have failed my master." Butenmon directed the tip of the blade towards his abdomen.

Butenmon was about to commit seppuku. Beelzemon stopped him by kicking away the weapon. "This isn't feudal Japan, or whatever era samurai lived in," the Digimon roared. "You are a stupid idiot." He kicked the defeated Digimon hard, sending him spiralling away. Beelzemon looked at them in triumph. This was the most fun I've had in a very long time.

Andromon and Kazu stood before Rika. The red glow Rika saw earlier was none other than Andromon's glowing eyes. The walls and ground shook once more. Rika lost her balance and fell forward. Kazu caught her. "Are you ok?" He asked with honest concern.

"Yes. We need to find the others," she said as she pulled away from him. "How the hell did we manage to get separated? We were all walking in a group."

"I'm not sure. I was following you and Ryo when the walls began to shake. Suddenly, no one was around…except for Andromon." He explained.

Rika nodded. "Glad to see you have your partner back. I can't communicate with Renamon."

"It's almost as if we are in a different world right now," Kazu said.

"How do you mean?"

Kazu looked towards Andromon. The cyborg raised an arm and shot a Lightning Blade down the hall. The light illuminated the corridor to reveal their location. They were no longer surrounded by the ancient walls of the Colosseum but by fragments of digital corrosion. The walls were blocks of binary stretched as far as the eye could see.

"What the fuck? Where are we?" Rika asked. She tried her best to conceal her fear.

"The Digital World," Andromon told her. "At least, it looks like it."

Their surroundings began to shake again. Rika and Kazu dropped to their knees, unable to keep their balance. Kazu placed his body over Rika's to shield any possible rubble. Andromon glanced around. "There!" He shouted, spotting something Rika and Kazu couldn't see. He fired another Lightning Blade down the hall. The attack collided with someone who shouted in pain. Around them, the room began to change. The binary began to disappear and was being replaced with strips of red, glowing matter.

"Is this the D-reaper?" Kazu asked, his eyes affixed in disbelief at the sight.

"D-Reaper?" Rika asked. Her eyes focused on her surroundings. What is he talking about? Rika was shrouded in a starry sky. She looked to her feet and felt as if she was floating in the sky.

"You don't see the red stuff?" Kazu asked. The red glow began to creep upon him.

Andromon turned to his Tamer. "I am seeing binary, Kazu. What do you see, Rika?"

Rika's eyes were transfixed on a figure heading towards her. The figure was human, a bit taller than her, with stupid, perfect hair, and stupid azure eyes. "Ryo!" She breathed in relief. She ran towards the figure. Ryo held out a hand to stop her. "Ryo, where is everyone else?"

"Ryo?" Kazu and Andromon said. "Rika, there is no one around."

"Are you sure about that, dummy?" A Rika appeared to Kazu's left. His eyes darted between both Rika's. "You can't be real. Rika is over there." He looked towards his friend again, who seemed to have vanished.

"I'm your friend," Rika told him. "I would like it if we were something else." Rika slipped her hand into Kazu's. Her hand was cold and sent a shiver down his spine. "We belong together, Kazu."

Kazu stared at her. It was something he had dreamed of her saying. The person before him looked like Rika. Sounded like Rika. But did not feel like Rika. And she would never say such things to him. He knew that. But why did this feel so right?

Rika stared at Ryo, her heart racing a bit. Once again, the hero boy came to rescue her. "Ryo. Where are the others."

"They abandoned you."

"What?"

"You push people away Rika," Ryo told her. "You pushed me away. For Nico of all people."

Rika shook her head in disbelief. "I never pushed you away, Ryo."

"I confessed. I confess a lot. And still, you don't care. I'm done Rika. You can waste someone else's time." He turned to walk away.

Rika reached toward him, grabbing his arm. He felt cold to the touch. "I'm here now, Ryo. Please, don't leave!"

"It's too late." He said, walking away. She watched as he left.

She slumped to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks. He can't mean that! Was he that upset over Nico? Tears slipped off her cheeks, falling into the endless abyss of the black, starry sky.

"Kazu, I am giving you a chance to be with me," the other Rika said. A smile curling on her lips.

Kazu squeezed her cold hand. His heart gave a leap and electricity flowed through his body. "Yes, let's be together."

Rika began laughing. The laughter deafening him. She pulled her hand away and stepped back. Ryo appeared beside her, he too, laughing hysterically. "Did you see that?" Rika asked Ryo, gasping for air between laughter. "He thought I was serious!"

"You are an idiot, Kazu," Ryo said. The two settled down and held each other. Rika raised her head to Ryo and found his lips. They engaged in a passionate kiss before Kazu.

Kazu felt angry and hurt. "How dare you, Rika. I knew you were cold-hearted, but this is ridiculous!" Kazu fell to the ground as the glowing red D-reaper crept towards him. He had never felt so devastated and so humiliated in his entire life!

Andromon rushed to his Tamer's side. Glowing red substance began crawling over the human boy's body. "Kazu!" The cyborg shouted. He tried pulling the red substance off his Tamer. The D-reaper began to spread to every inch of Kazu's body, bringing him down onto his stomach. He lay motionless as the substance began to suffocate him.

The cyborg watched, horrified, as his Tamer began to be absorbed by the substance. Furious, the Digimon began spraying every which direction with bullets, including toward his Tamer, hoping to scare it away. One of his stray bullets impacted with something the cyborg had not seen. He scanned the area. Nothing. He fired again in many directions. The sound of impact rang through. "Target acquired." He shot in the direction of the noise. Once again, his attack connected. The room around him and his Tamer began to disperse, slowly, back into the stony Colosseum walls.

He looked down at his Tamer, who still lay on the floor. The D-reaper had vanished. "Kazu?"

The brown-haired boy groaned. "An…dro…mon…"

Andromon knelt beside his Tamer. "Status condition?"

"Alive." And heartbroken. "Are you ok?"

The cyborg nodded. "I fear we have an enemy approaching us. Stay down! Lightning Blade!" Andromon shot a blade of energy down the corridor. This time, however, it had not connected with anything. Instead, an attack headed towards him. He sidestepped out of the way and the retaliation hit the wall. Dust and broken limestone surrounded them.

Kazu coughed and watched as another glowing attack headed towards them. He ducked, covering his head as more stones chipped from the wall and fell before him. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"Rika…Rika!" A voice said.

Through bleary eyes, Rika glanced towards the voice. Jeri was running towards her, with Nico, Kenta, Cyberdramon, and Ryo on her heels. "Jeri!"

Renamon appeared beside her. "Rika. There is a strong enemy here."

Ryo knelt beside Rika. "Are you alright?"

"What do you care?" She snapped. She wiped away the tears. She was no longer falling into a darkened abyss. She was back at the Colosseum.

"What do you mean, 'what do I care'? Have I not been trying to save you since all this began?!" Ryo retorted. His voice quavered. He felt so furious.

Rika stood up and dusted herself off. She felt a little wobbly from her strange occurrence moments before. "You just told me you're done with me!"

Ryo was stunned. "When did I say that?"

"I don't know. Like, five minutes ago?"

"Rika, Ryo was with us five minutes ago," Jeri said. "We were separated from you and Kazu."

"No. I swear it. Ryo was here and he…" She reached for Ryo's face and placed both hands on his cheeks. "You're warm."

The brown-haired boy scratched his head, blushing from her touch. "Rika. You may be famished."

"Or just losing your mind," Kazu snickered. He and his partner emerged from the dark.

"Where did you come from?" Nico asked.

Kazu pointed down the hallway. "Somewhere over there, but there is a strong Digimon coming this way. Andromon couldn't locate its whereabouts."

"We're sitting ducks until it arrives," Andromon added.

"We don't have time to sit here and wait. We need to move." Rika said. "Who knows what Shimizu is doing while we waste time."

"You're not going anywhere, Tamers." A broken-Japanese voice came from all directions. "Questa volta non fallirò!" I will not fail this time!

"Show yourself!" Ryo yelled. "Fight us 'mon to 'mon!" A flash of lightning cracked above their heads. They all ducked, covering their heads. Ryo pulled Rika close to protect her. More flashes of lightning struck above them, however, not daring to touch them.

"We all need to attack in every direction," Andromon commanded. "I managed to hit something before." The cyborg fired off aimless attacks in one direction. The others nodded and attacked as well.

Attacks, lights, and noise became overwhelming to look at. Rika closed her eyes and huddled closer to Ryo. "Ryo this isn-"He vanished. She was once again shrouded by a starry sky. Alone. She called out to her friends but received no reply.

The figure of Ryo appeared before her once again. "I told you that I'm done with you!" He stepped closer and swung a fist at her, knocking her off her feet. "So, leave me alone!"

"Ryo stop this! This isn't you!" She argued. Ryo stood over top of her. She kicked him in the shin, however, her foot went through nothing but air. Ryo dropped to his knees and his cold hands went around her throat. "Why won't you Tamers die?"

Us Tamers? "Ryo, what are you talking about?" She placed her hands on his hands to break free of his hold, but like the shins, they went through nothing. Why can't I touch him, but he can harm me?

Ryo's grip went tighter. "We could never be together, Rika."

"You're not making any sense, Ryo!" She tried to push him off and her hands went through his body.

"Tamers will die."

"This isn't you! You're not real!" The grip on her throat released. The starry sky began to dissipate. This must be the work of a Digimon…

"You wasted my time, Rika. We can never be together."

She quickly got to her feet. "I don't care. I don't need you." With all her strength, Rika punched the fake Ryo. Her fist landed hard against his nose, sending the fake backwards. The illusion of the starry sky vanished. And as did Ryo. The fake was replaced with a wizard looking Digimon, holding his face.

"How did you break free?!" The Wizardmon bellowed. "Thunder Ball!" A ball of electricity hurdled toward Rika. Ryo knocked her aside and took the hit. He yelped in pain and fell to the ground.

Cyberdramon roared upon seeing his Tamer hurt. The Digimon raised his claws, a swirl of energy began to form. Light engulphed the room as a Desolation Claw blast through it, connecting with the wizard. The attack sent the enemy Digimon through the wall and into the next room. The Digimon came to a sliding halt when it collided with another wall. Cyberdramon made his way into the room, raising its claw. His long nails illuminated the darkness as he drove a Cyber Nail into his opponent. Wizardmon shrieked in pain before dispersing back into a human form.

"Cyberdramon! Calm down!" Ryo shouted, making his way into the next room. Through the dust he could see his partner's claws lighting up again. Ryo quickly released his D-Ark and unleased a whip. He pulled Cyberdramon back. "He's a human. Leave him! I'm fine, buddy."

Cyberdramon calmed down. "Sorry."

"What I want to know is, how the hell did he hit this dude so hard he went through the God damned wall?" Rika asked. She made her way to the human on the ground. "Oh."

"What's up?" Ryo wondered, joining her.

Rika used her foot to nudge the man's face so she could get a better look. "It's the hotel concierge that checked us in when we arrived."

"Oh yeah. You're right."

"Is everyone working for Shimizu?" She wondered, then started to laugh. Ryo gave her a questioning look. "I remember when we first arrived at the hotel that it looked nothing like the pamphlet. I wonder if Wizardmon used an illusion on it."

"Could have."

"Hey, what's gotten into you?" She asked, turning to face Ryo. "Usually you'd have more to say. Did the lightning kill off the rest of your brain cells?"

Ryo rubbed his neck. "No. It's just…"

"Ryo?"

"Hm?"

Rika's cheeks went pink. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier. And… everything."

"It's alright, Pumpkin."

"No. It's not. I should be thanking you for always being there for me." She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Ryo, I lov-"

"C'mon, let's go!" Kazu interrupted.

"I say we fly in. No getting lost in the tunnels or whatever." Terriermon suggested.

Takato nodded. "We've lost too much time. We can't let Shimizu finish what he started."

Henry agreed. "I'm assuming the others would have made it inside by now. I can imagine they're already fighting Shimizu. We better lend them a hand."

"It's an ass-kicking time!" Beelzemon cheered.