DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and later stories (except where stated).
CHAPTER 21
His Death
REAL WORLD
Shinjuku General Hospital
13:45 JST
4th July 2010
Dr Imai frowned, calming herself down as she looked at her watch, sadly doing her duty in this case. "Time of death…13:45…" she proclaimed, as the nurses and doctors sadly began to scatter, it just being a routine death for them. Dr Imai breathed deeply as she leaned on the bed, looking over the dead body, before glancing up to Mari, standing nearby in horror and paralysis.
Fumiko stood up, walking carefully over the girl and offering her arms. Mari fell forward into a hug, suddenly feeling so empty as she looked over the doctor's shoulder at the body. Moments passed as Dr Imai felt emotions sweep over her, of failure. She always felt this kind of emotions when someone died, but this was far greater. She had invested so much emotionally in this case, and it had intrigued her so much, that this was far more powerful than her normal feelings. Compared to the feelings of the relatives, her feelings normally would be considered as indifference, even callous. The number of deaths she had seen…she had become desensitised to it. For once, for the first time since her first patient that died, she felt strong feelings about it, and it felt painful. She couldn't imagine how painful it was for the girl in her arms, both since she seemed reliant and close to the boy, and also since she was now alone. A feeling of disappointment also filled the woman's heart, of never finding out about why the boy froze, or any one of the many mysteries surrounding him.
"I wanted more time…" she whimpered, Fumiko nodding sadly as she heard the tears of the sobbing girl drop against the floor.
"I know" Dr Imai reassured, as she felt the girl's grip on her loosen. She looked curiously as the girl, now beyond tears in sadness, walked over to the boy, looking sadly down at him.
"Ryder…I'll never forget you…" she whispered, turning to face the doorway as footsteps approached, Rey at the lead.
"No!" Rey yelled, suddenly blinking out of existence as Rika, Jeri, Henry and Takato followed, along with their partners. Realmon looked across to her concerned Tamer, as she felt herself fade.
"Rey, what's going on?" Takato asked. Rey looked speechlessly at her hand, as it fizzled.
"No…I have to stop it all…this can't happen!" she panicked.
Rika grabbed Rey's hand, the girl turning to her mother. "Don't worry!" Rika reassured, Rey suddenly noticing a blue aura flood over her. "I'll protect you!" she insisted. Rey looked to her curiously, nodding, completely unsure what was truly going on, as more footsteps arrived, those of the latest Tamers to arrive at the hospital. The group looked on in horror as it became clear what had happened, a deep look of sadness befalling their faces.
Rika pulled Rey into an embrace, as Takato looked on in confusion. Mari hardly noticed, tears streaming down her face as Jeri looked on sadly, Henry doing likewise.
Ryder suddenly gasped for breath, everyone in the room looking on in surprise as Ryder suddenly began to breathe again, an impossibility. The boy's head lifted slightly, before settling back down on the pillow.
"This is…not possible…" Dr Imai said, flabbergasted at what was happening.
Mari stared through tearful eyes at the boy, somehow breathing again despite his death. Everyone in the room stared on in amazement as the boy's breathing settled back into a regular rhythm.
Dr Imai, still bewildered by the events, wandered over to him, and noted that his eyes were still glazed over in unconsciousness, as they closed once again.
"Um…what just happened?" Takato asked, confused.
Dr Imai reattached the equipment, in particular for the heart rate scanner, which began to register a more normal heart rate. She blinked at the display, amazed at how this boy had come back from the dead.
"So…dark…" Ryder muttered, the death having somehow pushed him back into a more able stage of his coma.
"Did he…die or what?" Yolei asked, looking at the boy.
"This is point blank impossible, he wasn't registering any life signs just now…he's literally come back from the dead…but…how?"Harmony asked in bewilderment, Dr Imai looking curiously at Rika and her alternate voice.
Rey noticed Rika's aura dropping, as she noticed that she hadn't ceased to exist. She blinked at her hands, before looking up to Rika, who smiled and nodded. "Thanks…" Rey said unsurely, for the first time in ages having no idea of what was going on.
"No problem" Rika answered, before the pair looked to the boy.
"I still don't understand, he was dead, wasn't he?" Mimi asked.
Takato looked to the older girl, before looking back to the boy. "Um…yeah, I think so…"
"The darkness…nothing…the end…" Ryder muttered.
"He's talking again at least" Renamon noted, Rika nodding, as Mari stepped forward and felt his cheek, her eyebrow rising at the warmth she felt in it.
"I may only be a medical student, but this sounds impossible" Joe noted, looking to Dr Imai, who nodded.
"Yeah…something very strange is going on here" the doctor replied, nodding.
"We're used to that, trust me" Ken noted, Joe chuckling and nodding.
"What's going on here?" asked a new voice, as a familiar Gogglehead and a brunette arrived at the door, looking in surprise at the number of people in the hospital room.
"Is he okay?" Kari asked, as everyone glanced around, pondering how on earth you could possibly answer that question after what they had just witnessed.
"Well…he died…and then…he was alive again…so, we'll get back to you on that one" Rey finally spoke, Davis and Kari looking with confusion at what she had said.
"What do you mean?" Gatomon asked, leaping down to stand in front of her Tamer.
"Just what she said…he was alive, then he died, then he came back to life" Yolei explained.
"That's impossible!" Davis exclaimed.
"The darkness…there is nothing…" Ryder muttered, drawing attention back to him again.
"Did he just talk?" Cody asked, Dr Imai fielding the question.
"Yes, but he's still in a coma…some patients can speak whilst in a coma, it is surprising for those who have never heard of it before" she explained, Cody nodding and looking back to the boy. Dr Imai looked back to the machines, trying to reason with herself as to how he survived. 'Okay, so he actually died…the machines don't break that easily…and I defibrillated him several times…he was dead…so…what's going on?' she thought, finding no reason in what had happened.
"This could be something of a breakthrough for medical science" Joe noted, Dr Imai nodding as she manually checked the boy's heartbeat, still amazed at the extraordinary events. The heartbeat was normal, and some colour had flooded back into the boy, although he was still pale, and clearly unconscious.
"Yeah…I have to say, for the first time in my medical career, I really have no idea what's going on" the doctor replied, glancing along the bed and stopping on the small Digimon at the end, still sleeping like his Tamer.
"So, back to the waiting game?" TK asked.
Dr Imai nodded, frowning. "Hopefully, this means he'll survive, although I can't promise anything" she said, specifically to Mari, who nodded, before looking back to the boy.
"The darkness…it ends…that's all" Ryder muttered, Mari paying more attention to his words, and raising an eyebrow.
'What is he talking about?'
"There is nothing" he said, Mari looking far more curiously at the boy.
'Where is there nothing?'
"So dark…so scary…" Ryder muttered.
"He's very talkative" Gatomon noted. "What's he talking about?"
Mari shrugged, shaking her head. "No idea…" she answered, hearing more footsteps arrive at the room, as everyone began to gather. It looked like this day was going to be longer than she thought it would be…
19:46 JST
"Here" Rey said, passing the red-browned girl a coffee where she sat besides the bed. Mari smiled and nodded, smelling the familiar smell of the drink wafting through the air, as Rey pulled up another chair, pausing only to let Realmon jump to the floor alongside her.
Most of the Tamers had stayed until only a few hours ago, but some had classes to return to well before then. Ryder's condition had seemed stable since his death, and Mari had sat contemplating for most of the day. Rika and Takato had headed home, Takato presumably receiving a berating from his mother for being absent all day, despite the fact that it was to see a dying, and indeed dead, friend, who had recovered through some twisted chance.
Rey had felt a bit woozy after fainting, but she'd recovered from it, Mari glad to see she was okay, but still unsure what had caused her fainting.
"Thanks" the red-brown haired girl answered, putting her hands around the warm cup as Rey sat down, smiling.
"No problem" she said, glancing to her right, and the boy lying in the bed. "Any change?"
"No, not at all…he's stopped talking" Mari answered.
Rey nodded, looking up at the ceiling tiles. Ryder's recovery had been a relief to all of them, but Dr Imai's words hung on their minds.
"Hopefully, this means he'll survive, although I can't promise anything"
Rey knew that Dr Imai was simply trying to avoid getting their hopes up, so that any eventual death wouldn't hurt them so much. Ryder's injuries had dried up, but she knew that they would have short-term effects on his mobility if he were to wake up. It would simply be the way to recovery.
"What was he talking about?" Realmon asked, looking to Mari.
"At first, he said about the darkness. He said it ends, and that there is nothing. I'm not really sure what he's talking about. After that, he just had the occasional mutterings of reminiscing of his old and new lives, saying both my and Ivy's names."
Rey nodded, sitting back in her seat and pondering the meaning of Ryder's words. She glanced to Realmon, looking for ideas, but received the equivalent of a shrug, albeit her partner lacking shoulders to do so with.
"I'm still amazed that he died and then returned" Mari noted, Rey nodding in response.
"Yeah, even as an Angel, that should be impossible…we're not immortal or anything" she answered, Mari nodding, before looking at her friend curiously.
"So how do we manage to survive such damage then?" Mari asked, Rey glancing to her, before breaking into an explanation.
"Angels have an exterior shield of energy, made from data, used to protect us. It's not a be-all and end-all shield though, it is vulnerable both to pointed attacks, like spears or bullets, and attacks of very high power, but it does protect against a lot of things, even falling from buildings"
"Then why did Ryder get so injured?"
"The shield is linked to the Angel's state; Ryder would've been knocked unconscious by the trunk. I'd assume his injuries were all from when he hit the wall."
"I see…so you really don't think his revival is related to his Angelhood?"
Rey shook her head, looking to him and looking over him. "No, it just simply isn't…something else is going on here, something far deeper than even I know"
"Aw, and here's me thinking you knew everything" Realmon joked, Rey smiling at her partner.
"Sorry, I'm no superman" Rey apologised. "I can fly though" she added, holding out her arms to either side.
"Hmm…why exactly can you fly, and not us? Surely that's what Angels are?" Mari asked.
"First of all Mari, I want you to drop all conceptions of Biblical Angels, Angels from TV series, and any other Angels you're thinking about…" Rey requested.
Mari looked to her, as Rey moved her chair to face the other girl, who moved hers to have the back to the bed, looking into the hazel eyes of the redhead.
"Okay" Mari said, eagerly awaiting what Rey was to say.
Rey nodded, smiling as she recalled all she had been told and learnt throughout her life, along with everything that had come naturally to her through experience and through her Angelhood. She looked up slightly, grouping the thoughts together in her head, before learning forward and beginning to talk.
"Right, the Angels were created by Harmony at the dawn of the universe. The Angels incarnate again each time they die, without the same memories, and all exist in this universe, except for the First Angel who is always incarnated in another universe. The Angels are recognised as simple normal humans, until they are awakened. The First Angel is the key, only once he awakes, can the others awake, which they do so gradually afterwards. This is why the First Angel is outside the others' universe, it creates a safeguard. The destiny in his universe is designed to dispatch him into our universe only when needed."
"So Ryder ending up in this universe wasn't a mistake?"
"Well…you could choose to see it that way…his universe is similar but different, so destiny may operate in a different way there."
"I see…"
"How does awaking work?" DarkRenamon asked, stepping out from the shadows to stand near her Tamer.
Rey looked up to her, before explaining what the vixen had asked about. "There are ten levels of awakening, from complete unknowing to full knowledge of their state. Level 0 is the stage most of the Angels are currently at, they are all but human, except for the fact they still have a shield as a method of protection. However, as soon as an Angel moves up to Level 1, their DNA is reconfigured with one strand from Chaos, and one from Harmony, except for me of course. I have five from each, as a direct descendant of them. As they move up the levels, Angels become more aware of their powers. At level 5, their personal power becomes activated, in Ryder's case Retcon, in your case Synchronicity, and in my case Fortune…I can alter streams of destiny to good effect. Unfortunately, I can't use it right now, since it'd probably end up inadvertently erasing myself from history, but it's a bit like Retcon in how it functions. I do have other powers that I use, those derived directly from my mother and father. They can use this power from Level 5, although they can't control it until Level 9. Level 10 is full awakening. Not all Angels will experience all the levels, and some rank up faster than others. Going from the low levels straight to one of the top ones causes a large burst of energy though, so it's definitely better for an Angel to realise naturally than have someone tell them who they really are."
"So what level is Kristy currently at?"
Rey pondered, considering the girl who was her aunt, even though she was younger than her at present. "Hmm…I'd say around Level 2 or 3."
"I see…so what makes us different to humans?"
"Angels have enhanced battle, mental and physical capabilities, and probably some other things beyond that. I hope to one day figure out the full extent of what Angels can do. They are also resistant to Dimensional effects, such as the cataclysm, and act as beacons in those events. They can avoid its effects, along with anyone or anything they're holding, either directly or indirectly, during the disturbance. Besides these general powers, as you know, each Angel has their own powers."
"I see…what are they then?"
"Well, Ryder divides the Angels into Elements, Qualities and Chances, and then there's me."
"Huh? What do the names mean?"
"Well…the first tier of Angels, consisting of three Angels, includes the First, Second and Third Angels. Ryder Stevens, the First Angel of Time, is able to control time, and manipulate probability; by jumping probability tracks on events to make a preferable line of events happen. This is his ability, Retcon, although he can also feel the flow of time and how it is blocked by Dimensional disturbances."
"I see…he mentioned once before that he could feel the flow of time when we were in Grand Central Terminal…when Sleipmon and Kudamon touched each other and caused the Blinovitch Limitation Effect to activate."
"Yeah, that would feel like a rock placed in a stream of water, time flows around it. When the rock is picked up by the flow after it builds up, however, it causes a burst of energy, which caused the pair of them to cancel out. The data then scattered, before being binded into one being, Kudamon, who now has both memories."
"But…what exactly was that all about? Were they really the same being?"
"Yes…when Kristy biomerged herself with Kudamon, the data set of Sleipmon was sent back via the now fragile gap in time to become a Sleipmon in the past, with no memories of what happened, later to become a Royal Knight. The rift in time was sealed afterwards by Ryder's latent powers."
"How do you know all this?" Mari asked, in amazement at what Rey knew.
Rey sat back in her seat, closing her eyes and contemplating. "I…I can feel the flow of Destiny Mari…I see both good and bad, and I can have very little effect on it…it haunts me sometimes…that's why I like Ryder so much, he has the power to change things. I suppose…I suppose his existence alone amazes me…the fact that he has complete control over what he does, not being pulled along by some petty time flow. Going back in time…I know what it means to have free will…something very deep is going on here, and events are marching towards a terrible conclusion."
Mari listened intently to what Rey had to say, in awe of her abilities, and her thoughtfulness, despite being but a mere sixteen year old. Rey tapped the metal of her time device, smiling.
"That's why I have to do what I'm going to do…I have to prevent an event that seems insignificant compared to what is causes, but it is in fact a major event that changes the future of this world forever. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what it is."
"Aw…" Mari complained playfully. "And here's me thinking you would…" she added, smiling, as Rey chuckled.
"I would love to share what I have to do with someone else, so they could help me think about it, but I simply can't. I'm risking far too much if I do so, this device has only got enough power to fix a paradox in place once, like a stapler to a piece of paper. It will fracture time and reassemble it, fixing the new timeline in place. I just hope it holds."
"It's strange to think of things like this…Destiny, and Time, and paradoxes…that kind of stuff goes way over most people's heads, it's the stuff of science fiction. But it's real, and we're at the forefront of it."
"And how does that make you feel?"
"Awed…simply amazed…" Mari answered, slightly speechless as she began to stare into thin air in contemplation.
Rey smiled, noting her friend's reaction, and nodding. "Now you know how I feel…"
Mari nodded, looking back to her friend once again, as a question crossed her mind, one that she then voiced. "So, you were saying about each of the Angel's powers?"
Realmon grinned. "Heh, Rey, you really do have a habit of starting explanations of lists and then stopping them, don't you?"
"Heh…yeah…" Rey answered. "Where was I?"
"You were moving onto Mari, the Second Angel" DarkRenamon informed.
Rey nodded, getting back to her place in the conversation, as Mari sipped the last of her coffee. "Well, you, Mari Flynn, are the Second Angel of Control. You can manipulate space, moving items and causing things to happen simultaneously. For example, you can cause a whirlwind, or make a burst of fire destroy an energy ball. This is your ability, Synchronicity, the power of synchronising events in data, matter and space to cause the intended outcome. However, like all Angels, refining the powers to a more useful level will take time."
"Yeah. What will I be able to do once I manage to refine it?" Mari asked.
"Refining your powers will be a continuous process, but…you could soon…hmm…make a TV remote fall off a table, be flicked through the air and land in your hand!" Rey replied.
"Huh? What made you think of that?" Mari asked, interested in the power but curious as to why Rey used it as an example.
"Well, let's just say that when you and Ryder are fighting over the remote in future, that's exactly what you do. Unfortunately, he then retcons the remote to land in his hand rather than yours."
Mari chuckled, happy to hear that they would have a lot of fun with their powers in future, even if it was in a petty squabble kind of way.
"So…who's next?" she asked, smiling and eager to hear what the other Angels could do.
"Well, completing the Elements is the Third Angel of Knowledge. The tiers of the Angels, by the way, aren't like a hierarchy, but it's easier to think of it like that. The Third Angel of Knowledge completes the trio by being the intelligence to use the Power of Time and Space correctly, and to maximum effect, both in and out of battle. For example, in order to aim correctly, or maximise how powerful an attack is against an enemy. This is the Third Angel's power, Logic."
"So any ideas on who the Third Angel is?" Mari asked. Rey smiled, a playful grin on her face.
"Oh no, I know who the Third Angel is. I know the identities of every Angel, but naturally I'm keeping them under wraps."
"Didn't particularly expect you not to." Mari muttered, as Rey nodded, smiling and continuing her explanations.
"As you can see, the first tier of the Angels, the Elements, are all about Time, Space and the knowledge to manipulate them."
"Yeah, so what makes the rest different?"
"Well, now we move onto the Qualities. The first of the Qualities is the Fourth Angel of Light. The Fourth Angel has the ability to light the darkness and bring justice on those who are evil. In battle, her ability, Radiance, allows her to weaken those with dark intentions, and out of battle, it allows her to light areas and shield people against evil and darkness."
"So…is that Kari then?" Mari asked, considering what Ryder and the others had told her.
"Perhaps…don't expect all the Angels to be who you expect though, I mean, look at Hope. Based on the crests, most people would assume that it was TK, but the Angels don't work that way. Kristy is the Angel of Hope because of her childish innocence, and her way of using it to make others feel better. Auntie Kristy has certainly done that for me plenty of times."
Mari chuckled, realisation dawning on her. "Yeah, I forgot that she would be your Aunt. Must be confusing for you to be older than her then."
"Yeah, it is, but I get used to it. Anyway, the next Angel is the Fifth Angel of Courage. This is a quality of being able to take risks and have them pay off, this particular Angel's abilities rewarding this. It increases power in battle when courageous moves are made, and rewards bravery, both in the user and in those allied to this Angel. This ability is known as Valour. Out of battle, it can allow the Angel to help others by reassuring them, and allows the Angel to withstand mental stress and pressures beyond those of a normal human, or indeed most of the other Angels."
"I get what makes the Qualities different now; they are more emotion based than the Elements."
"Yeah, that's the main difference. Moving on, we come to the last of the Qualities, the Sixth Angel of Spirit. This particular Angel is able to comfort others and make them feel better, along with being able to heal them. In fact, healing is at the centre of this Angel's power, hence its ability is called Healing."
"That must be useful in battle?" DarkRenamon asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"You betcha…" Rey answered. "It's won us many battles in the past, and this Angel has comforted us time after time when we're at our wits end. In fact, she would save anyone and everyone if she could."
"Aha, so she's a girl then?" Mari asked, teasing Rey about her mistake.
"Ah…damn…I'll be more careful from now on…" she answered, scratching the back of her head, a habit she had got from her father. She decided to move on in her explanations. "Finally, completing the Trio of Tiers, we have the Chances. All of these Angels are based around things that happen by chance or coincidence. The first of them is the Seventh Angel of Love. This Angel is involved with the power of caring, of loving, love of all kinds from friendship through to parental love through to sexual love, with romance, partnership and alliances in between, including all positive relationships that exist in the universe. In battle, she has the defensive ability Hearts, which protects others who she cares about from harm, allowing them to keep on fighting as they need to."
Realmon rolled her eyes. "Rey, you said 'She' again…"
Rey laughed nervously at herself. "Yeah, I guess I really need to stop doing that…then again, did you really think the Angel of Love would ever be a man?" she asked, smiling in amusement. "Then again, Love is pure chance, one of the most random things ever."
Mari nodded, it fitted well within the particular tier it was in.
"Regardless, moving on, we have the Eighth Angel of Miracles. This is probably one of the closest ones overall to its tier, since Miracles and Chances are so closely entwined. The Eighth is all about turning things round at the last moment, about making miracles happen, hence its ability, Turnabout. Out of battle, this defiance against giving up allows this particular Angel to reassure others when they feel that a battle is going to be lost."
Mari nodded, amazed at the amount she had learnt about the Angels today. She glanced to Ryder, it was a shame he was missing all of this, but she could always get Rey to repeat it, or, failing that, she could try and recite it all herself.
"To finish off the original Angels, we have Kristy Nonaka, the Ninth Angel of Hope. This is slightly different to the other Chances, in that, rather than being about using the effects of chance, its about the hope that chance will make things happen the way she wants, in order to protect her friends and save her world, allowing her to stand steadfast even in the face of devastation. Her ability is Optimism, when used, it makes the user and her allies have increased power in battle from the hope to be able to defeat evil and darkness."
"And what about you?" Rey asked.
"Well, I'm in my own league, but I'm the Tenth Angel of Destiny. I have control over the flow of destiny, the events that happen in people's lives, but it is such a vast flow that controlling things in detail is difficult, although I can hold back more minor things that wouldn't be noticed if they were missing, such as people's realisations about things. I have plenty of powers both for use in and out of battle, but many of them require a lot of power which means that it saps my energy, but I work at making them more efficient. One of my moves is Final Destiny, which is truly my be all and end all move. It nullifies a destiny line, making a person or people cease to exist. I hate using it, it's like a clean murder, and I'm frankly glad that it drains my power. I only use it when I have to, and haven't used it that often. However, my actual Angel power is Fortune, a move that allows me to alter approaching destiny to make good things happen, and increase my power, but it is mainly useful in battle since its range in terms of how far forward in Destiny it can alter is limited."
"I see…would you want to be placed in a category?"
"Well, you see, here's the thing, the categories of Elements, Qualities and Chances were simply invented by the First Angel to explain the way it all works better. But, you could easily apply different groups based on different factors, for example, whether their powers are Offensive, Defensive or Manipulative. In that case, Offensive would be the Third, Fifth and Ninth Angels, since they are all about increasing abilities and tactics in battles. Defensive would be the Fourth, Sixth and Eighth Angels, since they are all about defending and protecting others and themselves. And manipulative would be the First, Second, Seventh and Tenth angels, since they are all about manipulating things like Time, Space, Luck and Destiny, in order to make things happen."
"I see…" Mari replied. "Thanks for all of this by the way, I've learnt so much, and you're as good at explaining things as Ryder."
"Yeah, I just wish I didn't keep messing up and telling you their genders" the redhead replied, chuckling. Mari nodded, glancing to Ryder's form again, as Dr Imai entered the room.
"Hello Mari, Rey" she greeted, the pair nodding in response.
"Don't forget me!" Realmon cheered, Fumiko nodding.
"How could I, you terrorised plenty of nurses on your rampage?"
"Blame Rey for that" the fox answered, looking up to her Tamer, who stuck her tongue out playfully back at her partner. Dr Imai chuckled, as she began to check the various pieces of medical equipment around the boy.
"How is he?" Mari asked curiously and nervously.
Dr Imai frowned, checking the results. "Well…I think he's in the clear now, but I still can't promise you anything, and I can't tell when he'll wake up…when do you plan to go home?"
Mari glanced to the time on her D-Vice, surprised to see it reading 20:23. They had definitely had a very long talk, and Mari smiled at that. She had felt happy, oddly because Ryder was still unconscious, for the first time since he was injured earlier that day.
"Wow, we've been talking for a long while…" Rey exclaimed, Mari nodding. Rey looked to her friend. "So, are you staying here overnight, or are you going home and coming back in the morning?" she asked.
Dr Imai looked to Mari, who pondered what she could do. "I'm not really sure…" she answered.
"If it helps, I can call you if anything happens?" Dr Imai suggested.
"Youkomon isn't exactly slow…" DarkRenamon added.
"Yeah, and I'm sure you'd prefer an actual bed over a plastic seat?" Realmon added.
"Yeah, I guess…" Mari answered, feeling unsure that she was doing the right thing by going home.
Rey put her hand on her friends shoulder to reassure her. "You look like you could use a long bath anyway…"
Mari nodded. "Okay…" she answered. "Please call me if there is any change in his condition though" she said to the doctor, who nodded.
"I won't hesitate in doing so, don't worry" she reassured. Realmon glanced up on top of the bed to the sleeping bat, softly snoring as his wings were partially wrapped around him where he lay.
"What about him?" she asked, pointing one of her white paws at the creature. DarkRenamon picked him up carefully in one hand and scooped him into her arms, making sure he didn't wake.
"We'll take him back home, I think that he'd prefer to know what's going on once he wakes up, and an unconscious Ryder won't be able to tell him that" she explained.
"Yeah, and I think he'd end up scaring some hospital staff otherwise once he wakes up" Mari added, agreeing with her partner, and looking to the sleeping form.
Realmon chuckled. "Yeah, I'd hate to think of them throwing him out the window or something" she noted, Rey chuckling and nodding herself.
Dr Imai smiled, nodding. "I have other patients to attend to, but, like I said, I'll keep an eye on his condition and call you if anything comes up."
Mari smiled. "Thanks."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Things recover from what looked like the end there, and now you know a lot more about the Angels to boot. I love writing this thing. Please review, I'd be particularly interested to hear what you thought of the information on the Angels. As always, the longer the review the better, I don't mind long reviews at all (then again, nor do I particularly mind short ones either).
It was interesting to see in all of your reviews your surprise at Ryder's death. To clarify things, Ryder did actually die. And then he came back. And the reason why is going to take a while to be revealed. This has all been planned out, trust me.
Right, to get the ball rolling on my plans, I need a name for a female character in the next book, namely the Second Demon, preferably both the first name and surname, so include these in reviews or PMs if you want, and I'll consider using them as the character's name. Any other names, in particular the more Japanese-style ones, may turn up in the story as well (or in later stories) even if not chosen as the name of the Second Demon.
Next time…
Will Ryder recover? Who are the Angels? Why did Ryder freeze up?
Find out in 'Her Soap', Chapter Twenty-Two of Dimensions Book Five: Demons.
