Hi folks! Man it's been AGES since I updated…sorry about that, but like I've said time and again (and I'll bet your tired of hearing it) my computer is being a real bitch and stuffing me around. I had to cancel my internet connection completely but for some strange reason the connection program still pops up every five minutes or so! It's quite annoying (O o) Well I'm sure you guys have been waiting for this chapter for long enough so here it is! (By the way, my original plan for the ending has had to be changed because Bandai used it (the bastards…). I was originally going to use the idea of the kids becoming Digimon but then the Frontier season came up and I figured people would think I stole the idea or turned the story into a crossover. I might still use it but I'm thinking of alternatives.)
Chapter 21 (At last)
There's nothing to fear…I think
It had been two days since Henry had asked Rika about the enemies she might have made in her past and, despite how rigorous the training had become and despite her secret trysts with Ryo, she was finding it hard to concentrate on much else. How many people could she have angered when she'd been so wild? And what had she done that had made someone…or someones…try to kill her? She couldn't for the life of her remember anything particularly horrible that she had done. Nothing really stood out and the more she thought about it the less she concentrated on her training. They had been in the Digital world for almost a month now, which, in Digital terms would classify as a full year (I thank Tokomon from Digital World one for this information). She wondered how long it would take before Yamaki could trace the virus being fed into the Sovereign and how long it would take to find whoever was doing this once they'd tracked his PC. She was just wondering why she couldn't remember anyone who had threatened her life more seriously than other people had when she felt a sharp blow to her head.
"Ow! Vahimermon! What was that for?" She snapped angrily, rubbing her head.
"Well," he said sternly. "Since, on your request, I am no longer connected to your mind I will need to resort to more physical means of reclaiming your attention when I find you SLACKING OFF!" He crossed his arms irritably and Ryo snickered beside Rika.
"Oh, shut up," she said grinning lightly at him. Renamon and Cyberdramon watched this exchange in silence although a small smile was tugging at Renamon's mouth.
"Now if Rika is ready to pay attention we can carry on with our training," Vahimermon said. He was hovering in the air before them, guiding them through what, to Ryo, felt more like dancing lessons than training. Although it was no longer physical training and no longer constant fighting, it was no easier than anything they had done before. Vahimermon was having them Bio-merge and revert over and over again, each time making them do it at the same time. If one of them said it out of time or didn't Bio-merge fast enough he would make them start over again. During their training, Rika, Renamon, Ryo and Cyberdramon (like Henry, Takato, Guilmon and Terriermon) had realized that their auras had somehow been combined to form one common aura split amongst them. This, which had taken Vahimermon a very long time to explain, had made their bodies act in unison when it came to internally physical aspects like breathing and heart rate. It had explained why when Rika had gotten angry Ryo had calmed her down using his own emotions. However, the little shock treatment they'd been given on their first day in the temple hadn't given them the ability to move or think alike. This was what they were training to do right now.
And Ryo hated it.
"Now remember, clear your minds. If I find anyone slacking again (at this Vahimermon looked pointedly at Rika) their punishment will be most severe." Rika rolled her eyes angrily but let out a breath and shut her eyes, trying to clear her head of all thoughts. But there was a nagging little voice in the back of her mind telling her – in a voice suspiciously like Ryo's and which she was sure belonged to him – how boring and stupid this was. She tried to shut it out but in doing so almost missed Vahimermon's mark for her to Bio-merge. She held out her D-Ark in perfect unison with Ryo but when they called out "Bio-merge activate" Ryo was a split second behind her. Vahimermon rewarded him with a solid smack to the head before he made them do it again. Thankfully this time they spoke in time and the light of their Digivolution combined since they were standing so close together. But Rika's digivolution was a second or two slower than Ryo's so his side of the light faded first. And, of course, Vahimermon made them do it again and again…and again. By the end of the day they had said Bio-merge so many times that it had begun to lose its meaning. They had made very little progress because nine times out of ten they would make mistakes and Vahimermon said that they would not move on to the actual dual digivolution until they could Bio-merge in perfect unison.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Vahimermon muttered in frustration, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think all of you need to get out of the temple for a while." Ryo perked up at this considerably.
"You mean your giving us a break because we're working so hard?"
"No," Vahimermon said irritably. "I'm giving you a break because you're driving me insane!" Rika and Ryo looked at each other and grinned lightly. Who cared why? They were getting a break and that was all they needed to know. Vahimermon crossed his legs and floated into the air, sitting as if he were on an invisible sofa.
"I want you all to leave the temple level for the rest of the day and perhaps tomorrow. But after that you must come straight back here, is that understood?" He looked at them sternly and they nodded before hurrying out of the room, eager to get as much free time as they could out of their meager holiday.
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"I can't believe that Vahimermon and Piximon are actually letting us take some time off," Suzy said happily as the Tamers strolled through the snowy fields of the fourth level of the Digital world. They had all agreed to stay close in case of a Deva attack. Frigimon were running around the fields laughing, playing and, ironically, building snowmon (). Kenta was walking slightly behind the tamers with MarineAngemon floating at his shoulder when a snowball flew out of nowhere and hit MarineAngemon so hard that it knocked him out of the sky and into the snow. Kenta hurried to pull him out by his tail, which was the only thing visible in the snow, before he looked around and saw a group of five or six Frigimon standing to the right of the Tamers, snickering behind their hands and pointing at him. Grinning he picked up a hand full of snow and tossed it at them. His snowball flew true and hit one of the digimon right in the middle of his forehead, effectively shutting them all up or a second before they all grinned and started scooping up handfuls of snow too. Kenta's eyes widened slightly as all of the Frigimon threw their snowballs at him at once. The Tamers, who hadn't noticed that Kenta had stopped, all paused when four snowballs flew past them, one hitting Ai and another catching Guilmon on the shoulder. Looking back they saw Kenta standing a little behind them with a snowball in one hand and throwing a second. MarineAngemon was struggling to pickup a snowball he had made but was knocked down by one of the Frigimon's snowballs in the process. Looking at each other the Tamers all grinned and rushed to join Kenta's side of the snowball fight. But since it was six Frigimon against twelve humans and eleven digimon Lopmon, Guilmon, Ai, Ryo, Impmon, Suzy, MarineAngemon and Guardromon joined the Frigimon to make the teams even.
And thus the snow wars ensued.
The Frigimon used their ice based powers to build a huge fortress for their team to hide behind, forcing the others to take refuge behind a hurriedly made hill that Renamon, Remoraemon and Terriermon had put together with mounds of snow.
Snowballs were flying left right and center and, in all the excitement, the Tamers forgot all about the problems they were facing and the fact that they were training to save their own lives. Takato, Rika and Henry decided to launch a sneak attack on the Frigimon's team by getting around to the unprotected back of their fortress but Guilmon spotted them and before they had gotten half way there they were forced to run back as a barrage of snowballs flew at them. When they got back they saw that Terriermon, Remoraemon, Mako and Kenta were loading countless snowballs onto Cyberdramon's wings and into his arms. Grinning at each other the Tamers realized what was going to happen and Alice, Alex and Rika started making a huge snowball to add to the little 'plan'. They gave it to Renamon who, under Rika's instructions, followed Cyberdramon into firing range of the Frigimon's team. When they were ready Cyberdramon drew back his wings and arms and flung them forward like a catapult, hurling the many snowballs over the walls of the fortress and into the midst of the Frigimon's team. In their confusion Renamon leapt onto the walls of the fortress and leaping into the air dropped the huge snowball over them and used her Diamond Storm attack to break it into many smaller balls that hit the entire Frigimon team. But their victory was short lived because some of the Frigimon had used the plan against Takato's team by sneaking around to their shelter and hurling snowballs at them when they were cheering for Renamon and Cyberdramon. The result was that both teams were left soaked and laughing hysterically. That was when they all abandoned their shelters and the snowball fight became more heated and exciting. Snowballs were flying everywhere as each team got more and more wet and wound up. Ryo threw a snowball that caught Rika in the side of the head and she reciprocated with her own snowball that missed Ryo but hit Lopmon. She in turn attacked Rika with four snowballs, using her ears and arms to throw them. Kazu, Kenta and Takato were throwing snowballs in a complete frenzy at the Frigimon while Alice, Alex and Henry attacked anything that moved. They had seemed to forget that they were on teams and started attacking Rika and Renamon.
After that, things got confused and everyone attacked everyone else. None of them could remember ever having so much fun. Cyberdramon, who never usually fooled around like this unless he was in rookie form, was throwing snowballs all over the place, forgetting his own strength and knocking everyone over each time he hit them. But everyone was having so much fun that no one seemed to care until eventually they all ganged up on him and attacked him at once so that he was covered in so much snow you could barely see him. The snowball fight went on for hours and hours until night fell and even then they kept playing. While trying to dodge the combined attacks of Guilmon, Ai and a Frigimon Ryo, not looking where he was going, ran right into Rika and they both fell face first into the snow. No one seemed to notice them in the dark and Ai, Guilmon and the Frigimon turned to attack Takato, Renamon and Mako instead, thinking Ryo had escaped into the dark. Rika looked up at Ryo and smiled, her face flushed from the long day of playing. She was warm all over from all the exercise, as was Ryo and they could feel the heat now more than ever since they were no longer moving around. Ryo gazed down at Rika for a moment before grinning and leaning in to kiss her. Forgetting herself (and all of the tamers and digimon around her) Rika slipped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Kazu, who was dodging a snowball from Jeri, stepped up to Rika and Ryo in the snow and when his foot caught on Ryo's leg he looked down at them and his eye's widened for a second in shock before he grinned. He gave a loud wolf whistle and burst out laughing.
"Woah! Get a room!" He laughed causing all the Tamers and Digimon to look over and see Rika and Ryo making out in the snow. Ryo leapt off Rika who sat up, blushing furiously, her heart pounding terribly in her throat. They had all seen…every one of them. In a moment of exhilarated distraction she had slipped up and now everyone knew. Rika and Ryo shared a horrified look while the Tamers all laughed at them.
"Well, well, well," Henry snickered. "When did this happen?"
"Yeah," Jeri laughed. "This is a new development." The Frigimon were all looking at them with smiles on their snowy faces. Sensing that the game was probably over now they thanked the Tamers for the fun before biding them all goodbye. The Tamers waved at them and then turned back to Rika and Ryo who were sitting in the snow, breathing a little heavily and looking horrified.
"So when exactly did you guys decide to start sucking face?" Kazu asked with a huge, triumphant grin plastered across his face.
"We all knew it would happen sooner or later but we never knew it would be this soon, Red!" Impmon snickered. Rika glared at him irritably and Ryo reached out to her with his mind. It still felt weird doing this and he hoped that once they were done with the dual digivolution training it would go away but for now he was grateful that he could make her feel better without voicing why she was upset.
Henry, who could see all too clearly that Rika and Ryo weren't in a talking mood, cleared his throat and all the tamers looked over at him.
"It's getting late and I don't know about you guys but I'm getting cold. Maybe we should set up camp." Rika gave him a grateful smile and he nodded to her.
"But where are we going to sleep. We can't all just lie down in the middle of nowhere and expect not to get attacked," Suzy said.
"What about the forest?" Mako suggested. The Tamers all agreed that this would be the best place to go for some coverage so they trudged, shivering and tired, through the deep snow.
It didn't take them long to set up camp and it took even less time for them all to fall asleep around the warmth of the fire they'd made; all of them…except one. Rika lay tossing and turning in her sleeping bag, dead tired but unable to sleep. She sighed irritably, staring up at the leafy canopy above her head. Minutes that felt like hours passed by until hours really had passed and still she found no peace. It was getting to a time that she was sure was close to dawn when a thick, dark grey fog rolled into the forest, cloaking the ground so thickly it looked almost black. She could barely see Ryo and Guilmon who were both lying barely a foot from her on either side of her. Sitting up she thought it strange that the fire, which was burning just as brightly as ever was not only giving no light at all but also making no noise. In fact, the whole forest seemed to have gone quiet. Looking around she realized that she could no longer see the other Tamers or any of the Digimon. She felt suddenly and completely alone in the forest and yet she didn't seem to mind. An oddly calm feeling had swept over her, as if she no longer felt emotion. All she felt was the fog and the silence and all she knew was that she needed to follow the fog. She felt empty but didn't mind. Standing up she walked forward, hardly registering what she was doing and not caring at all. She followed the fog deeper into a forest she could no longer see, trusting the fog to lead her safely. All would be well once she found the edge of the thick fogginess…all would be well.
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Ryo yawned sleepily and sat up, rubbing his eyes and wondering how early it was. He stretched and looked around him, trying to see through his hazy morning-vision. It took him a full ten seconds to realize that it wasn't his eyes that were hazy, but the forest itself. Everything was covered in a very thick and very dark fog that practically screamed evil.
Well this can't be good, he thought dryly. Feeling around him for Rika, who he knew had been lying less than a foot from him, he was horrified when he found Guilmon instead. That wasn't right…Guilmon had been lying on Rika's other side. But if she wasn't there then where was she?
"Guilmon…Guilmon, wake up." He shook the dino-digimon roughly at the shoulder but Guilmon merely rolled over and started snoring.
"No thanks, Takatomon, I couldn't eat another bite…well maybe just one more," he muttered sleepily. Ryo sighed and looked around. But it was no use. He couldn't even see the fire let alone another person. Remembering that Takato had been lying next to Guilmon, Ryo leaned over the Digimon and felt around for him. Finding his shoulder he gave it a good shake and, to his relief, Takato woke up.
"Whasgoinon?" He asked groggily, his words slurred together so badly that Ryo barely understood him.
"Takato, Rika's gone and I don't like this mist, there's something weird about this forest…" Takato shook his head to rid himself of his sleepiness and rubbed his eyes.
"Rika's gone? Gone where?" He asked. He was clearly not awake yet.
"Snap out of it, Takato and wake the others. Rika's missing and we need to find her. I don't like this fog…" Takato did as he was told and none of the Tamers were very happy with the fact that they'd been woken up. When Ryo explained they all seemed ready to start searching; all of them except Kazu and Kenta, who had both fallen asleep on their feet. Guardromon lifted them up and walked with them. But Henry stopped them after barely five minutes.
"This isn't working guys, I can hardly see my own nose in front of my face. If we keep walking aimlessly through the forest like this we're going to get separated. We need to come up with a way to make sure no one else gets lost."
"Why don't we tie each other together," Ai suggested.
"And put Renamon in front since she can sense Rika's presence. That way we'll have some direction ta go in 'stead a walkin round in the dark like a buncha idiots," Impmon added.
"Good idea," Henry smiled. "Okay, so does anyone have any rope?" Alice did and with a bit of feeling about they had everyone tied together with Renamon in front and they were back to walking around. Renamon, however, couldn't feel any kind of presence, let alone Rika's. They trudged through the cold, crunchy, snowy undergrowth four ages, blind, tired and feeling slightly claustrophobic in the stuffy haze until at last the fog started clearing a little. Feeling hope rise up through the group the Tamers and Digimon picked up the pace, following the first signs of light they had seen in hours. Surely Rika would be there were it was clearer and easier to breathe.
The fog stopped almost completely at the edge of a clearing, turning into a thin mist that ran over the empty area as it left the trees. The clearing was wide and the group crowded around the edge of it, peering hopefully into the dimness for any signs of life. Renamon, who had been feeling Rika's presence for the past hour (albeit rather weakly), was the first to spot the lonely figure lying in the center of the clearing. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight and all the Tamers and Digimon followed her gaze to see why. Ryo stepped forward, his heart stopping for a second before he saw Renamon running towards the figure, the rope that had been tied to her ankle snapped off and dangling from her leg. Ryo hastily untied himself and followed her with the rest of the group close behind him. They all hung back as Renamon kneeled beside Rika, who was lying face down in the snow as if she had simply collapsed where she'd been standing.
"She's…alive," Renamon said and they all let out a breath of relief.
"What do you think happened?" Terriermon whispered, his eyes drooping. He felt strangely sleepy…
"I…dunno," Henry answered, yawning widely. He too felt very tired all of a sudden.
"Is it just me or does it feel like that walk took forever? I'm bushed," Kazu yawned.
"Yeah, me too," Suzy said, sitting down to rest for a while.
"I feel like I could sleep forever," Alice muttered drowsily. Renamon's eyes were drooping when she looked around the group. Jeri and Suzy had already fallen fast asleep and Takato and Guilmon collapsed as she was watching them. But she didn't see the rest of them fall because she too found it suddenly very difficult to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness that had overcome her. Before she realized it was going to happen she was asleep, lying beside Rika in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by sleeping Tamers and Digimon.
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When Jeri woke up she found herself lying in Shinjuku Park with her head resting on her mother's lap. It was a clear sunny day and she felt happy and well rested. Sitting up she looked up at her mother's face and her heart swelled with the most unimaginable joy. It was overwhelming. She didn't believe it possible that she could feel any happier until Leomon walked over to them and smiled down at her. She felt like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong.
"Hey, you guys better get over here quick before these three eat all the food." Jeri looked over at her Father, brother, Calumon and Remoraemon, who were all sitting at a picnic table fully laden with food her father had prepared. Her brother was shoveling everything he could reach into his mouth and Remoraemon and Calumon were eating everything else. Laughing happily Jeri and her mother joined them at the table while Leomon stood behind Jeri. He was smiling approvingly at Remoraemon and seemed perfectly content. Jeri was just tucking in to a helping of perfectly prepared steak when dark clouds rushed across the sky, blocking out the sun. Jeri looked up at the sky curiously, wondering if there was going to be a flash storm or something. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky momentarily before all went dark again. But another flash of lightning lit the sky up seconds later followed by another. A fourth bolt struck the ground nearby their picnic table and then a fierce wind suddenly tore across the park blowing away most of the things on the table.
"What's going on?" Jeri cried fearfully.
"Come on, we need to get somewhere safe!" Her dad yelled. But he had hardly finished saying this when another huge bolt of lightning came tearing down the sky. It struck Jeri's mom with a deafening bang and the thunder that followed rattled the tabletop off its legs. Jeri cried out when she heard her mom scream and saw her fall to the ground. But she had no time to go to her because another stream of lightning struck Leomon and he was deleted halfway through his pained yell. Jeri felt her heart shatter with his Data. She had lost them both…right before her eyes.
"No!" She cried desperately. "Mom! Leomon! No, please don't leave me!" The tears running down her face were masked in the sudden downpour of rain but she couldn't have cared less. Lightning was striking all around her and the rain and wind stung her face as she fell to her knees beside her mother's lifeless body. Her dad and brother had disappeared and Remoraemon and Calumon were nowhere to be seen. She was all alone, in the middle of a terrible storm, with her mother's dead body sprawled out in front of her. The sorrow was terrible; it was all consuming. Never in her life could she remember feeling like this. She leaned back, turned her face up to the sky and let out an agonizing scream that echoed through the darkness long after she had stopped. She fell forward onto her hands, gripping the grass so tightly that she cut into her hands with her own nails. Tears were streaming down her face faster than the rain and awful, heart-rending sobs racked her body as she wept.
She was all alone.
When at last she opened her eyes the rain had not slowed and the wind was just as fierce as ever. Lightning was raining down from the sky as if Thor himself was controlling the storm. In all the ferocity of the storm Jeri felt as if everything had gone quiet. She could see the wind and rain and lightning but her own sorrow was deafening. She stared down at her mother and felt her heart break.
But wait…this wasn't right?
Hadn't her mother died before she had met Leomon? Before Takato had shown her that Digimon were real? Before she had known Takato? And hadn't she watched Leomon die in the Digital world? Hadn't she seen Beelzemon load his data? This couldn't be right could it? She stood up and looked around her, the wind and rain whipping her face and stinging her cheeks. But then, she realized, it was really hurting her at all. In fact…she wasn't even wet. And then she remembered. Rika's disappearance. The Fog. The overwhelming sleepiness. This wasn't real. It was a dream! And then, as if her face had been splashed with ice cold water, Jeri sat up, spluttering and shaken, in the misty clearing. She looked around her and saw all the Tamers and Digimon lying around her. She stood up quickly and ran to Takatos' sleeping form.
"Now what?"
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ShadowFoxFolk: Another chapter down! YAY! I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated. I've actually had this done for a while but I left the chapter that comes before this at home and my mom hasn't e-mailed it to me. I'm in university now and I'm seven hours from home so leaving the previous chapter at home kind of dampened my spirits in respect to writing so I haven't done much of it lately. Anywho…I'll try to get the next one up soon but it might take a while coz I have a lot of tests and assignments due and I'm actually writing this in between classes…hehe…
As I'm sure you noticed, I changed my name…again. But I might change it back again. I'll give a cookie to anyone who comes up with a cool name for me that involves shadows, Renamon and foxes. Plus you can have a guest appearance in my story as a Digimon of your choice
Ok, I hope you guys liked this chapter and are eager to read the next one. I'll be waiting for your reviews. Love ya all! You guys ROCK! Toddles!