A/N: Okay…it's been…what? Two, almost three months since the last update for this story? Sorry. I've just been feeling a low amount of motivation for this story lately. Almost ironic that I get more done on my other works when my first fic isn't even finished. Anyway, after yet another obscenely long hiatus, I present to you the next installment to Digital Manifest.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 25/ Surprises Abound

"SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK!"

Confetti and streamers flew through the air as words, loud and resounding, joined them before finally the strands of party material came to rest on the massive, broad shoulders of one, very tall and muscular lion-like digimon. Leomon for the most part, kept a neutral expression on his face until Jeri began picking the party favors off of the proud warrior. Leomon's turned to look at the young girl and a small smile appeared on his face as he took in the happy, sparkling expression that his Tamer had, making her glow in a way that he had never known her to before in all the short time that he had known her before their separation. And now, that separation was over. Leomon frowned inwardly as he recalled once again that he didn't know the how or why he was back, especially since the last thing that he remembered before reappearing in the digital world was Jeri, horror stricken as his body began to disperse into shards of data from the mortal wound Beelzemon had inflicted upon him. That had been literally a lifetime ago and many things had happened to him since then. The circumstance of his rebirth escaped him, but was that truly important in the long run? He was back with Jeri now, and in a way his death and rebirth had been beneficial for others. After all, if it weren't for Beelzemon's actions, Ryan and Chris would have died in the digital world…

Leomon's gaze turned to the two boys and their partners who sat across from him, watching him with smiles on their faces. In as many ways this party was also a welcome home celebration for them as it was for him, mostly because it was at Jeri's insistence that it would be. True, Ryan and Chris weren't really home in the sense that they weren't back in their home town, never mind their home country, but they were back in the real world…at least that was the general belief. Although no one had said anything different otherwise, and as far as Leomon knew there was no reason to think otherwise, Leomon somehow had the strange notion that things were not at all right with the two children that he had helped protect during their time in the digital world. Shaking his head, Leomon cast his eyes about the room Leomon took in each and every one of the Tamers and digimon that were gathered around him in the Katou families dining room, chuckling at some of the antics of Guilmon as he drooled over the cake that sat in the center of the table that they sat at, occasionally reaching out with a claw in an attempt to dip into the frosting and sample it only to be stopped by Takato who would quickly scold him for being such a glutton. Rika regarded the pair from her spot next to him with an amused look while Renamon appeared to not be paying attention to them at all although the way that she turned her head away from them indicated otherwise. For some reason Leomon's gaze rested on Rika for a moment before moving on to Henry and Terriermon. Terriermon was currently dancing in his spot, ears upraised and he was singing, that's right, singing, rather excitedly at the thought of all the food that had been laid out before them in Leomon's honor (and Leomon had to admit that the size of the spread was rather impressive). Henry was presently shaking his head at his partner but for the time being made no move to make the digimon quieter then he already was.

Next to the two sat Suzie and Lopmon, the former of whom being just as excited as Terriermon, while her partner was the perfect image of quiet, respectable, and above all patient grace at the table. Kazu and Kenta were watching Leomon with broad smiles on their faces while above them MarineAngemon giggled and did aerial flips, and behind the visor-wearing child Guardromon stood impassively, watching everything that went on around him. Impmon was loafing over near Calumon, who was presently dancing even more excitedly then Terriermon was. Impmon had a somewhat dark expression on his face and was tapping his fingers impatiently. Leomon remembered some of the things that Jeri told him about this particular digimon when he first entered the house (an event that had caused him to tense up instinctively upon learning of Impmon's full identity), how he had been the one that had delivered the final blow to him and loaded his data, and how he had later repented for his misdeeds and fought alongside the Tamers and had been partnered to two of them himself (both of whom were sitting behind him, beaming impossibly wide smiles at having been invited to the party). He couldn't imagine that the viral Rookie was at all comfortable with the situation, especially since they had yet to talk…

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

Leomon winced and clenched one, massive paw tight before relaxing, shaking his head mentally as something that felt like a memory tore its way through his mind before vanishing just as quickly as it came. A brief image of Beelzemon…Beelzemon with wings firing his own, lion fist attack at him flickered across his image, but he couldn't make any sense of it. It had been too quick. Had it even been there to begin with? For some reason, any importance that the image might have had became…less, and soon enough Leomon's mind returned to the party at hand, his small smile growing into a grin.

"My friends," Leomon began with a slight incline of his head, a gesture of respect to each and every one of them. "You do me much honor…"

"You're welcome!" Exclaimed Terriermon. "Now let's dig in already!"

There followed a most predictable sigh that caused Leomon to chuckle under his breath.

"Terriermon…"

The party was going well. Ryan didn't have any doubts about that. Even though he felt a little bit out of place amongst the Japanese Tamers and had a number of things on his mind even he was having fun. He smiled as he watched Suzie sing some bizarre song called Princess Pretty Pants while Lopmon and Terriermon danced in the background. In a lot of ways Henry's little sister reminded him of his own, the one that he got to see twice a week instead of the usual seven like it was supposed to be, but there was no point in complaining about that aspect of his life. That was between their mother and father. Besides, why complain about something when he was here and having a good time?

You mean besides the fact that I'm not home? Wondered Ryan sardonically before furrowing his brow. He still hadn't gotten around to telling Chris about what he had learned from Hypnos…about how their government had no files on them or even on their hometown. It was possible that there had been a goof up, but given some of the things that they had experienced in the past few months (or however long they had been in the digital world) Ryan felt that he wouldn't put anything past the universe now, and that included dumping him in some alternate reality or even in Dr. Who's TARDIS box. He frankly wouldn't have been surprised if that happened, though depending on which incarnation of the good Doctor it was he would have been happy enough that fate had chosen such a convenient spot to drop him in and would have promptly asked for an autograph. The strangeness of finding a real alien who looked remarkably like the British actor David Tennant aside, anything that would be surprising was gradually beginning to lose that kind of effect on both him and Chris. After that encounter with Sukamon and Chuumon Ryan was ready to believe in anything that the universe threw at them, right down to the existence of Santa Clause.

Yes Virginia, thought Ryan sarcastically. He exists. Though in this case he might have the word mon attached to the end of his name. Hmmm…wonder what he'd look like if that were the case. I'll bet he'd have a tail…

Ryan sighed and picked up his drink and proceeded to take a sip from it, listening to Kazu and Kenta engross themselves with various retellings of their adventures to Leomon, and judging from the expression on Takato and Rika's faces they were exaggerating quite a bit.

Ryo's late, thought Ryan looking over his shoulder and at the clock. That was to be expected he supposed. Ryo lived quite a fair distance away from the other Tamers, in a completely different district no less though which one he couldn't recall right off the top of his head. No doubt he was going to take things easy with Monodromon and not fly over and cut out the majority of the footwork and train stops from the journey. Ryan wouldn't have blamed him for doing so. Although he hadn't been there for the fight against the crimson colored Sakuyamon he had seen the after effects, and most of the Tamers had to be put on bed rest to recuperate. It had been the main reason why Jeri had delayed her party as long as she had, and would have held it off longer if not for Takato, who insisted that they not let recent events prevent them from celebrating Leomon's return to the real world and into her life, a sentiment that the rest of the Tamers shared full heartedly.

Things certainly have been pretty hectic ever since we got here though, thought Ryan, thinking back over the events that had occurred upon their arrival in the real world and how each of the attacks from wild digimon seemed to have been focused on himself and Chris's digivices. The battle that he, Terradramon, Rika, and Renamon had with the strange Gargomon certainly drove that point home, never mind the apocalyptic fight with the red colored Sakuyamon. So far the past couple of days had been pretty quiet, with the only major thing happening being the recap of recent events and the experimentation with Chris's digivice with Henry's computer to see if they could open up a portal to the digital world, and the experiment ended in failure and with Rika getting zapped by said digivice when she tried her own hand at it. A weird happenstance to be sure, especially given that it had never occurred when any of the other Tamers had touched the so-called Mjolner digivices (as that strange Gargomon had called them) before, and what was more after it had shocked Rika the digivice called up the image of a mythical kitsune spirit called Kuzunoha from Japanese legend just like it normally would when analyzing a digimon. Rika had told them a little bit about the myth of the white furred fox that had taken human form after being rescued by a nobleman from a hunter. Chris had been fascinated by the tale and had asked quite a few questions on the matter before finally being told that if he wanted the full story he'd have to visit a library or see one of the plays that reenacted it.

Kenta, much to everyone's surprise, had volunteered to help Chris out with researching the story.

Whatever floats his boat I suppose, thought Ryan as he took another sip from his drink. Given that the image of the mythical creature had shown up on Chris's digivice, there might be something to finding a little bit more about it. Henry said that most, if not all digimon were derived from some kind of mythological figure from humanities past (Leomon, for example, came from the astrological sign of Leo the Lion), so any knowledge about Kuzunoha might help give some kind of clue as to what was coming. Ryan, for his part didn't know how an old Japanese myth could help in that regard but didn't say anything against it. After all, Henry could be right, and he seemed to be the type of person who was right on a regular basis.

"Enjoying yourself Impmon?" Asked Renamon softly as she phased into view behind the Rookie that was her friend, a small smile appearing on her face when he nearly choked on a piece of cake upon her surprising him. Quickly gulping down the rest of the cake in one go Impmon turned and glared at the golden furred kitsune.

"What're you playin' at, sneaking up on me like dat? Just about gave me a heart attack!"

"I was just wondering how you and your Tamers are getting along here," said Renamon glancing over to where Ai and Mako were as they played with Lopmon and Terriermon and listening to Suzie talk about all the times that she dressed up Terriermon in her doll clothes, with Terriermon looking extremely indignant all the while and hotly denying everything that she was telling the twins. "But I can see that your partners are doing fine on their own, so that leaves me wondering about you."

Impmon scowled at the kitsune digimon.

"You're going somewhere wid dis right?"

Renamon chuckled at Impmon's keen observation before becoming serious and dropping her voice down a couple tones so that only he could hear her.

"I am curious as to whether or not you have found anything out about Leomon. After all, it wasn't that long ago that you said that you were going to have a talk with him, and that was after you told me that he is not the same Leomon. Now I've held off on telling Rika and the others about your suspicions, especially where Jeri is concerned until you have found something…"

"I get da point," grumbled Impmon, his scowl deepening even more. "I just…haven't found da time yet."

Renamon raised an eyebrow at him.

That doesn't sound right. When we first discussed this after that incident with Richoemon dark digivolving Impon sounded as though he were going to talk to Leomon no matter what it took. To size him up I believe was the operative term he used, and yet he says that he hasn't done a thing to approach him. Is he too nervous because of what happened between them? Or is it something else?

The truth of the matter was a little bit more complicated then that, and Impmon wasn't too sure as to whether or not he should divulge it. He was still unsure about it himself. He distinctly remembered going out to search for Leomon, but after a certain point his memory seemed to stop and became a great blank spot in his mind right up until he woke up and found himself alone on top of a roof and a tad bit the worse for wear. He had no idea how it was that he had gotten there. Although he hadn't exactly been keeping track of just where he was in the city, his memorization of certain, familiar landmarks told him that he wasn't where he remembered himself being. Ditto for the placement of the sun in the sky. He was missing a piece of his day and he had no idea what it was that had happened to it. Would Renamon believe him if he told her about that? And what exactly would it prove? For all she knew he could have been attacked by a wild digimon like the rest of them were. After all, that had been a day for that sort of thi…

Impmon clutched at his temples suddenly, biting back a cry of pain as his head began pounding. He heard something…a sound, probably Renamon calling out to him and asking if he was all right, but he couldn't tell for sure. Right now it felt as though his mind wanted to rip itself in two. An image flashed across his vision. An image of a winged lion, wrapped in a blinding glow of white light, and it was charging at him as he, in his Mega form, prepared to fire off a Fist of the Beast King attack.

Wha…? What's going on…?

The image, and the pain vanished all of a sudden, and Impmon blinked his wide, green eyes as he realized that Renamon looking at him with concern painted clearly on her face.

"Yeah? What? I got something on my face? What're you lookin' at me for?"

"Impmon," said Renamon firmly as she grasped him by the shoulder with one gloved paw. "You looked as though you were in pain…"

Impmon frowned.

"So? I was eatin' too fast when you scared me. Dat's what you get for sneaking up on people, you know."

Renamon sighed and let go of the little imp's shoulder. Impmon grumbled, got to his feet and walked out of the room, saying that he needed a moment to get some air and that he'd be back. Renamon watched him go with a contemplative expression on her face.

Impmon's exit did not go unnoticed. A pair of cerulean colored eyes belonging to a certain, lion warrior tracked the imp's movements before returning back to the party, his expression masking the troubled feeling roiling in his heart and mind.

"Jeri?" Asked Leomon turning to his partner. Jeri looked up at the great lion with a smile of happiness and supreme contentment on her face.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I just saw Impmon leave, and he looked rather upset about something. Could there be something wrong?"

Jeri looked around the room and found that Leomon had been telling the truth. Impmon had vacated the premises. Of course, there could have been any reason why he had chosen to leave the room, one of them involving a trip to the bathroom, but Leomon had said that he looked upset. Jeri's eyes became downcast as she thought of him, already guessing at his reasons, and her tone softened a little when she spoke.

"Impmon…he's never been the same since you and him fought in the digital world. From what the others tell me he was pretty out of it for a while because he felt so bad about what he did, and how it affected me. I think that it hurts him still that when he tried to save me and broke through the cornel sphere of the D-Reaper using your strength…I wouldn't go to him. In fact, the first thing I said to him when he broke through was that he wasn't…you."

Jeri's eyes became downcast as she thought back on that time and Leomon placed a large, but comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps we should go talk to him and set his mind at ease," said Leomon.

Much to Leomon's surprise Jeri shook her head in negation.

"Leomon… As much as I know that you're right about you and Impmon needing to talk,I also know that it's sometimes best not to force someone to talk about something if they're not ready for it. Impmon…he knows now that he hurt himself a lot more then he believed when he was trying to destroy us back in the digital world, and knowing what he did to you and how that affected me…it's not exactly easy for him. We'll talk to him Leomon. Maybe tonight, but I'd rather that the others weren't around when we do. He's…never been very comfortable in public when it came to…that."

Leomon looked back to the doorway that Impmon had exited in, a light growl reverberating in the back of his throat. A part of him he found wasn't any more ready to deal with Impmon then he was with Leomon, and there was quite a bit of distrust held in the lion digimon's heart for the viral Demon Lord due to the circumstances of their last meeting, but it was tempered back by the respect that Jeri and the rest of her friends had for him and for his relentless struggle to rescue Jeri from the clutches of D-Reaper. He had given his all and he had very nearly succeeded in saving her. The fact that he had nearly died in the attempt had done much to raise Leomon's measure of him and his respect, but again, due to their history he could not fully bring himself to reconcile with Impmon in his heart until they did so face to face.

A part of him wanted to do that, and accept Impmon's friendship with gratitude and humbleness…

…And yet there was another part that cried out against it, and Jeri's words worked more to its favor in persuading Leomon otherwise.

Leomon listened to that other voice, and to Jeri. For now that is.

Takato placed a dirty, food encrusted plate from the pile that sat on the kitchen counter and into the dishwasher, humming softly to himself as he did so. The party was going well. had been going well for the past couple of hours now, and so far it looked like the digital world fully intended to behave and let the Tamers have the rest of the day to themselves without fear of a Wild One crashing it. Jeri's mother had stepped in to clear the table of the dirty and now unused dishes and Jeri had been all set to help her, but Takato had volunteered in her place. 'It was her and Leomon's party,' he had told her, and she should be allowed to enjoy it without having to worry about the little things. His washing the dishes was a little something extra that he had tagged on to relieve Jeri's mother from having to do it (something that she had thanked him for and told him how lucky Jeri was to have a friend like him around, and making him blush profoundly with pride and slight embarrassment at the compliment). He didn't mind really, and the chore gave him the opportunity to have some quiet time to reflect on all the good things that have been happening lately. Oh sure, danger was afoot again but Takato enjoyed the adventures…after a fashion that is as he could say that he had come to dislike the fighting part of it more then he used to back when being a Tamer was all still new to him and the grip of fantasy that the TV show held over him was at its height. Danger and threats aside, Takato was an optimist at heart, and he always tried to look at the bright side of things. Leomon was back and Jeri was happy. Two Tamers who had been trapped in the digital world were back and they could go home soon once Yamaki succeeded in tracking down their families.

Of course they still have to hope that their parents take the whole digital world thing well and don't freak out over the digimon. I still remember how my mom reacted when she first met Guilmon…

Takato was reaching for another plate when someone handed one to him when he wasn't looking. His eyes blinking Takato looked over to see Rika standing behind him and smirking, faintly amused by his surprise. After a couple seconds Takato smiled back and carefully took the plate that she handed him and placed in the dish rack.

"Hey Rika. Um…what's up?"

Rika shrugged.

"Not you obviously, but we have gravity to thank for that."

"Very funny. I meant what are you doing here? I mean, the party's out there you know…"

Rika had been in the process of grabbing a plate and placing it in the dishwasher as he said that, and she fixed him with a contemplative stare that made Takato suddenly feel nervous about the way that had sounded.

"What's the matter Gogglehead? Don't want me around?"

"Ah! No!" Takato waved his hands in a placating gesture as he began to feel flustered, and he wished that he would at least one of these days think about what he was going to say before he said it. "It's just…well, the fun's out there and there's…ah…the dirty dishes here. I guess it just seems kind of weird that you're here instead of…uh…there. I guess."

Rika snorted and gave the boy a sharp look.

"You're here. So what's your excuse?"

"I just…wanted to help make Jeri's party enjoyable for her. She did a lot to prepare it so I thought that I'd do something for her."

Takato turned his eyes away and resumed stacking the dirty dishes and glasses in the dishwasher, feeling his face heat up as a feeling of discomfort fell over him. The two friends finished up stacking the dishwasher, closed it up and turned it on. As the dishwasher began to do its job Rika and Takato leaned their backs against it and folded their arms across their chests as though in imitation of each other.

"Well your intentions are more noble then mine then," she said finally. "In answer to your question I wasn't all that terribly interested in the games that Jeri had set up. Nothing against them, but they seemed kind of kiddish to me…"

"I'd hate to point this out to you but digimon is a kid's game…"

Rika chuckled and bumped Takato playfully with her left hip.

"Wow. Takato actually makes a point…not."

"Well it was before I became a Tamer," said Takato defensively, though the grin on his face belied his tone. In times past he would have been surprised by the way Rika was behaving, but a year had done a lot to change her. She was now more open about her feelings and more trusting. It was rather nice seeing her open up like this and letting go of the barriers that she had thrown up when they first met.

"And when was that exactly?" Asked Rika, her tone continuing to be teasing, but not holding any spite or malicious intent to her words. Instead they had the sound of strong friendship to them. "When you were being toilet trained? Face it Takato, digimon is not the children's card game that you say it is."

"Technically we're still kids…"

"Maybe you are but sometimes with you it's hard to tell. You're a weird kid Takato. I swear, just when I finally start thinking that you've finally grown up and matured you go and do something that sounds like a six year old came up with. It's like you're stuck or something."

"Um…is that bad?" Asked Takato with one raised eyebrow.

Rika looked like she was actually giving that some thought.

"Mmmm…not always. At least when you do something boneheaded it's amusing and we all get a good laugh out of it."

"Well at least I do something right," said Takato, not sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult.

"It's consistent at least, I'll give you that. Well, most of the time, but even that's consistent too. Keeps you from being boring."

Takato rubbed the back of his head nervously at that.

"Um…hooray for me?"

A pall of silence fell between them.

"So…uh…how are things between Tom and your mom?"

"Okay I guess. Nothing new to report anyway but they definitely seem serious about each other, so I guess that's good. Makes me wonder sometimes what life would be like if they…"

Takato raised an eyebrow as Rika let her sentence drift off as her face took on an introspective expression.

"If they what?"

"Hm? It's nothing really. I'm just thinking out loud. Tom said something cryptic a while ago, a little bit after you first met him about how it looked like he was going to be around for a while, so I guess I was just thinking…"

Ah. Takato nodded almost unknowingly to himself, as a light clicked on upstairs. "You're wondering what it would be like they got married?"

"Perceptive today aren't we?" Joked Rika. "But then I guess you would be. You are the Dreamer of the group after all…"

Takato shifted uncomfortably as he felt his face turn slightly red. Even if they had discussed the matter of his dream about her without it ending in violence (a fact that still amazed the Gogglehead to no end) Takato felt that he would never be comfortable about the subject even if Rika let him live to be five hundred. It was just so strange thinking about it and he tried not to.

"Anyway," continued Rika, taking no notice of her friend's apparent discomfort. "Yeah. I am wondering what it would be like. I'm not opposed to the idea by any means but it would be a big step to me, and for my mother."

"I'm sure that you could get through it," said Takato as he fought down the last remnants of his blush. He was rather surprised that he was speaking so fluently in spite of the earlier discomfort. "After all, you've been through a lot of challenges already and you've got us here backing you. And I know that you love your mom and…uh…um…"

Rika smiled as Takato fumbled over his words now, his fluency a thing of the past once again. Briefly she was reminded of the conversation that they had once shortly after the Parasimon incident when she had talked to him, and later Henry about her father. It had been surprising then how simply talking about that had made her feel better about having memories of her father forced on her again after so long. Maybe that was the reason why she had come to trust Henry and Takato more with what was on her mind and became even better friends then before. It had after all led to her telling them about Tom, something that she wouldn't have felt very inclined to do in the past. She certainly felt closer to both of them after that and never once did she feel as though she were pressured into it.

Funny…

"I didn't exactly come here looking for a pep talk or a friendship speech Takato," said Rika after a moment, closing her eyes. "But even so, despite its rather poor execution there at the end…thanks. And thanks especially for listening."

"Ah…sure," said Takato with a smile, though he looked somewhat red in the face again from having skipped up on his words as usual. "Don't mention it."

Rika glanced over at the boy as a small smile crept onto her face. Takato held her gaze for a moment as the dull redness that had been decorating his cheeks began to steadily increase in intensity and he looked away. Rika chuckled inwardly and looked away herself, contemplating on how it was that Takato could get so jumpy over the simplest of things. After all, it wasn't as though anything had been happening between them that been more then simple friendship.

As Rika rolled this thought around in her mind her eyes frowned as she felt a strange sense come over her. Looking out towards a nearby window Rika frowned at the sky as it began to darken from the sun's journey towards the western horizon. She felt a strange sense of something, something that was approaching steal over her. And try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling loose.

That sky looks a little too dark for some reason, thought Rika as she looked at the kitchen's clock. Weird. The time's right…

Rika shook her head, but the feeling continued to haunt her.

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