Author's Note: I had a little writer's block with this chapter, mainly with the first scene. I finally got over it though. Anyway, the title of this chapter is also the title of a Phil Collins song. You don't have to listen to the song while reading the chapter, though it does help set the tone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.


Chapter 4: "I Wish It Would Rain Down"

Rika and Ryo entered Cody's apartment with Renamon and Cyberdramon. They had just returned from the Dark Ocean after an exhausting two-day search for Kari, who they did not find. They did find a few small islands; one with what looked like an old abandoned inn, another island nearby that had what looked to be a large gate attached to nothing, and a third island with a cave inhabited by the strange mutated Digimon that called the Dark Ocean home, but no sign of Kari. The environment of that wretched realm had affected everybody in the group. The Dark Ocean had a way of sucking away all hope and joy.

At the end of their grim search, Izzy had come to the conclusion that if the Seven Lords had captured Kari, they were either holding her somewhere in the Digital World that they couldn't access, or they had simply killed her. When the group finally returned to the human world, they were disgusted to find it was raining out, and that the sky was almost as grey as the sky over the Dark Ocean. Immediately Ken and Yolei went back to their apartment. The whole trip had been a huge strain on Ken especially. Meanwhile Izzy and Davis decided to swing by a bar, and Cody decided to tag along and make sure the two didn't get into too much trouble, leaving Rika and Ryo with the apartment to themselves and their respective Digimon.

After hanging up her black trench coat, Rika slumped onto the couch with a heavy frown on her face. Ryo meanwhile went out to the small kitchen for a bottle of water, also with a frown, though it was not as heavy as Rika's. The two of them had gotten into an argument during the trip when Ryo swooped in to protect Rika from the mutated Digimon living in the cave they had found, which caused Rika to get upset and claim that Ryo was being overprotective. The two had not spoken to each other since. Renamon looked at both of them and decided that they needed a little alone time.

"I think Cyberdramon and I will go out somewhere nearby to spar for a bit," Renamon suddenly decided.

The fox Digimon then gave a look to Cyberdramon. The dragon warrior responded with a nod and soon enough they were out the door, leaving Rika and Ryo completely alone. The apartment was filled by an awkward silence.

At last Ryo sighed, finally breaking the silence. "Rika I'm sorry. I know you and Renamon could've handled those Digimon on your own."

"Damn straight!" Rika responded. "Those things weren't even Mega level Digimon. We could've torn them to pieces on our own! Neither of us needed you to jump in and save us. I'm not some wimpy damsel in distress you need to rescue all the time.

"I know that! It's just…when I saw how those things surrounded you and Renamon, I just kind of lost it. I couldn't stand the thought of anything bad happening to you."

Rika looked at him and sighed. "I know you were just trying to protect me. In fact I'm really happy you care about me so much, but I can take care of myself. Just because I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean you can start treating me like some porcelain doll."

Ryo sat down next to Rika on the couch. "I know you're anything but that."

"…I'm sorry that I accused you of showing off," Rika told him after another brief pause.

"Well, I know I have done that a lot before. The truth is I showed off those times was because I was trying to impress you."

Rika gave him a sarcastic smile. "Well there's a news flash."

Here Ryo's expression darkened. "There is another reason why I was so overprotective of you back there though. It was because…for a moment I thought I was going to lose you again."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Again? What do you mean?"

Ryo looked her right in the eye. "Remember how I told you that I teamed up with another version of you during my long war against Millenniummon? What I didn't tell you before is that the other you died."

For a few moments Rika was at a loss for words. "I…I died? How?"

"It didn't happen right away," Ryo began. "All of it started when we raided a base created by members of Millenniummon's invasion force. Every now and then he would send soldiers back into the Digital World of the distant past to try and destroy ENIAC. My team and I of course had the job of taking these bases out. The commander of the base this time was a very nasty Datamon. We learned he was developing a new virus weapon designed to kill ENIAC, and he was testing it on Digimon in the area he had managed to capture.

"When we got Datamon, the other you and her Renamon biomerged into Sakuyamon to take him down. Datamon used his weapon on Sakuyamon, but since she didn't take a direct hit we all thought she was okay. It was another version of Takato who was on my team who took down Datamon and destroyed his weapon. At the time we all thought it was a perfect victory…but over time the other you and her Renamon started getting weaker.

"Eventually we consulted ENIAC, and it discovered Renamon had been infected with Datamon's virus, and since the other you had biomerged with Renamon, she had gotten it too. As intelligent and powerful as ENIAC was, it couldn't find a cure. It said you and Renamon only had a matter of months to live."

There was a long pause before Rika finally spoke again. "So…what? The other me just wasted away to nothing in a hospital bed or something?"

Ryo shook his head. "Your counterpart wasn't willing to go out like that. She and her Renamon ended up sacrificing themselves so I could get to Millenniummon for our final battle."

"What do you mean?"

"ENIAC had unfortunately used up a lot of power sending me to other dimensions to recruit allies and jog my memory, and some of Millenniummon's minions had eventually succeeded in damaging him. The Digital World of the past would've shut down completely if it hadn't been for ENIAC's counterpart, Atanasoff. As it was though, ENIAC had barely any power left to open a portal to the future world where Millenniummon had made his base. It wasn't until the very last minute though that in order to generate enough energy for the portal, a powerful Digimon had to be sacrificed. The other you and her Renamon volunteered for the job since you didn't have much time left anyway.

"It wasn't until that point when I learned about the other Rika's condition. The moment I found out I wanted to try and stop you, but I had already stepped into the portal chamber and was unable to come out once the start-up sequence to transport my team and I to Millenniummon's time had started." Here a tear ran down Ryo's cheek. "I can still remember how Sakuyamon smiled at me as she started to dissolve into data while all of her energy into the machinery powering the portal. Then there was a flash and my team and I were outside Millenniummon's fortress."

Once again Rika was silent for several moments before speaking again. "That…that must've really sucked."

"The other Rika wasn't the only casualty my team suffered during the war. During the raid of another base we lost another version of Joe Kido I had recruited. And that other version of Takato I mentioned got blown away along with alternate versions of Matt and Tai during my final battle with Millenniummon; he used the last of his strength to blow them away to the ends of time before Monodramon forced the DNA evolution between them that regressed them into a single egg. The only surviving member of my team was an alternate version of Mimi. But…your loss was definitely the hardest. It took a while for Monodramon, Tai and Matt to finally get me to raid Millenniumon's fortress."

Rika could see the sadness and pain in Ryo's eyes at that point. She had no idea Ryo had suffered so much during his war against Millenniummon. Rika began to realize the depth of pain and loneliness Ryo must've felt all those years, and on the loneliness she could relate to him a bit. Rika had felt very alone when her parents divorced years ago. She could still remember how it felt like her father had more or less abandoned her and left her with a mother Rika originally thought cared about nothing but looking pretty, and a grandmother who seemed to think she knew everything. Then of course there were all the girls at Rika's school, who were all shallow airheads that only cared about their looks and boys.

All of these things made Rika feel very alone. Then she met Renamon, and eventually met Takato and Jeri, and all the others, including Ryo. Then as time passed she didn't feel alone anymore. Of course Rika realized now that her loneliness couldn't possibly compare to what Ryo went through, or to the pain of losing someone he definitely loved.

Rika took Ryo's hand. "You must've been really crazy for that other me."

Ryo smiled. "Like I said, I had a pretty big crush on her. When I asked ENIAC to send me to a world where I could meet another version of you, it warned me that the Rika I'd meet might be different from the one who fought alongside me to then end. But…you and she turned out to be very much alike. The other Rika was a little harsher because she was from a world where the Devas had destroyed most of Japan and Hypnos had been put in charge of what was left of the government…but you and she were alike in all the ways that mattered, and pretty soon I had fallen for you as hard as I had fallen for her. I love you Rika, and I don't ever want to lose you again."

Rika smiled and touched Ryo's cheek, using her thumb to wipe away a tear. "Don't worry. I'm not that easy to get rid of."

The two of them gazed deeply into each other's eyes, and soon they embraced and their lips met in a passionate kiss. It wasn't long before their tongues met and began moving against each other. After what seemed like an eternity they broke apart for air, and then in the heat of passion Rika began pulling up her shirt.


In another part of the city, Matt was looking out his apartment window staring out at the pouring rain. Once again for what seemed like the hundredth time he picked up the phone and dialed Sora's number. Once again the call went straight to voicemail. More than anything Matt wanted to apologize for what he did that evening two days before. He still couldn't comprehend what had come over him. Every time Matt looked back on that incident he felt as if he was watching a stranger.

Though in truth Matt did feel like a stranger to himself since that day. He seemed to feel mad at everyone and everything. Though the person that Matt was mad at the most was Tai. The mere thought of Tai was enough to send Matt over the edge and make him want to break something. And he was certain if he ever saw Tai again he would beat him to a bloody pulp. But once again Matt tried to put those thoughts out of his mind. The most important thing to Matt at the moment was patching things up with Sora. Suddenly the phone rang, snapping Matt from his thoughts. Immediately Matt picked up the ringing phone.

"Sora?" Matt asked into the phone frantically.

"Nope, but I can see why you'd want it to be her," a female voice replied.

"Who is this?" Matt asked, thinking that the voice sounded familiar.

"Who I am isn't important. What is important is the information I have. I'm pretty sure you'll want to hear this."

"Just what information do you have?"

"Well for starters, I know where your girlfriend is. She's at the Firebird Motel. I'm sure you can find out where that is. Oh, there is one other thing. Your old friend Tai is there too."

Matt's blood began to boil at the mere mention of Tai's name. And the thought of what Tai might be doing with Sora enraged him even more. Still, Matt did retain some of his reason.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Matt asked into the phone.

"You don't, but are you really willing to take the chance?" the caller asked. "I mean just think about what they might be doing with each other even as we speak. You can't allow that to go on, can you? I mean she is your girlfriend after all, and that idiot doesn't deserve her. I'll let you decide what to do though."

With that the caller hung up. Matt put down the phone and began thinking about what the mystery caller had told him. He really couldn't ignore the possibility that the caller was telling the truth. Immediately Matt got out the phone book and looked for the address of the hotel that Sora was staying at. Once he found it, he got Gabumon and went out to go to his car.


Just outside the building, Lilithmon turned off the cell phone that she had taken from an innocent bystander and had used to call Matt.

"Oh men are so easy to manipulate! Even without a spell," Lilithmon declared gleefully as she turned to face Daemon. "He's taken the bait."

Daemon chuckled and tented his fingers. "Good. Good. I've just informed Tai of Sora's location, and of how Matt threw her out of the apartment. He's now on his way there too. It won't be long before they meet and finally kill each other."


Sora was lying on the bed in her hotel room staring blankly at the ceiling. She had been depressed ever since Matt had thrown her out. Sora couldn't believe that the man she loved was capable of slapping her in the face and calling her a lying bitch. Though as Sora thought about it, it occurred to her that Matt had really been mad at Tai, but it was still going too far. Biyomon stood perched at the end of the bed. The bird Digimon was very concerned about her human partner.

"Sora, why don't you go back to Matt's?" Biyomon asked suddenly. "He called and apologized to you, right?"

"…Yeah," Sora answered, not once taking her eyes off the ceiling. "But I still can't go back to him."

Biyomon cocked her head to the right. "Why not? You still love him, don't you?"

"I do…but I can't stand what Matt's become because of his anger at Tai, and I can't stand him and Tai fighting over me!" Sora answered as she began to cry. "They were once good friends, but because of me they hate each other now! It's better if I just stayed out of their lives… Because I can't stand either of them the way they are now!"

Biyomon was about to say something else, but her attention and Sora's was suddenly caught by the odd sound of the computer in the room. They both looked and saw that the screen was glowing a bright red. Suddenly a beam of light shot out from the computer and changed into the shape of a fiery red bird before enveloping Sora and Biyomon. Before the two knew it they were being pulled into the Digital World.


Author's Note: That first scene was partly meant to wrap up the little subplot I had going at the beginning. This story is actually pretty close to ending, so it seemed like the best place to wrap that plot line up. If you've read my previous Digimon story, Home by the Sea (which I kinda hope you have), you probably recognize the inn mentioned in this chapter as the one Kari was being held prisoner in. They found the place a little too late. Anyway, that scene was also meant simply to give Rika and Ryo some screen time. I mean I did us a whole story to bring them into this series, so they should have at least one big scene, dang it!

So, can you guess what being pulled Sora and Biyomon into the Digital World? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.

Update from 12/10/20: If you're reading this part, it means the first scene of this chapter (along with the rest of the story presented so far) has been edited since it was originally posted about eight years ago. I've recently taken on a project to edit every one of my previous Digimon stories to try and get them a little closer to the quality of my more recent works.

Ordinarily I would've saved this update about the story changes until the end of the very last chapter, but I thought I should say something now since I ended up rewriting the entire first scene with Rika and Ryo. In addition to trying to elaborate on what exactly happened to the two while they were at the Dark Ocean, I decided to go into a little more of Ryo's tragic past. This change is because I recently found a website that reveals in great detail what happened to Ryo in the videogames he had originally starred in before suddenly showing up in Tamers. In regards to this story though, I ended up making some changes to what happened to Ryo in the final one of those games, Brave Tamer. In Brave Tamer, Ryo simply borrowed the partner Digimon of other characters like Rika and Takato during the course of his quest to stop Millenniummon, but for the purposes of this series as a whole I felt it made more sense to have alternate versions of those characters and their Digimon to actually join Ryo on his quest and form an actual team.

I've also started pondering the idea of doing a side story of sorts that delves more into this version of Ryo's past. One thought I've had is to write an actual prequel to this series that's basically a retelling of Brave Tamer with the alterations I have in mind. I'm also considering the idea of doing a side story showing what happened to Ryo and Rika during their trip to the Dark Ocean, which could include some flashbacks to the events of Brave Tamer. I haven't really decided either way. In the meantime though, I'm going to continue with my project to edit the rest of this current series.

The edited versions of the remaining chapters to this story should be up shortly, so stay tuned.

~The Count