DISCLAIMER: The following story contains various themes and subject matter that may not be suitable for children under the age of thirteen. Viewer discretion is advised.

Digimon

GODFALL

By. Sonfaro

Chapter 8

We have to be ready, above all else.

The five of us are hurtling across the desert sands, making good time. If nothing hinders us I'd say we'll be there in ten minutes. Of course by thinking that I've probably jinxed the whole journey and we'll likely get attacked by a hundred monsters at once. Huzzah for Ishida luck.

Tai and Greymon take up the rear again, with Tai agreeing to hold onto Izzy's briefcase for the moment. A part of me wishes we could leave the thing behind at the campsite, but we can't be too careful. We may need a quick call back to the human world. I take point with Garurumon, his eyes and nose scouring the land for potential ambush.

The girl… Rei is riding with me again.

Her arm is attached to the fabric just above my waist, clinging to me for support. Some of the mystery around her is gone, which is good. And my fears about her are not as bad as they had been. Indeed they're getting better. But that doesn't mean she doesn't still make me uncomfortable. I wish I could get over it cold turkey, but it's still gnawing at my psyche a little. The resemblance is confusing at best. Still, I have to suck it up. She's our only lead left on this, and she knows these Gizmon better than us.

She's leaning into me and humming a little, a song that she likely doesn't know the words to. There's something odd that is distractingly prodding me in my back right now. I'm guessing the sack of food stuffs and other materials is what's pressing awkwardly behind me. Whatever it is, it's poking into my back pretty hard. I grunt and turn to her. "Eh… Rei?"

"Hmm?"

"You're leaning too close. I think the straps are in my back."

She's away from me in an instant. "Eh, er… sorry."

I sigh. It's better, though I still feel a little something. It's not as distracting as it was before though. I adjust and make myself comfortable on Garurumon's back. My partner makes for hard riding sometimes.

"You walked all this way alone?" He rumbles in awe. We've travelled quite a ways already, and we still have another two kilometers to go.

I feel her nod behind me. "Yeah. I don't know how I made it. I thought it was a mirage at first."

"Good thing it wasn't," says Garurumon.

I nod in agreement. "It… must have been tough. Wandering around with no memories."

Rei is quiet for a moment behind me, clearing her throat before speaking. "Mm… But now we know better. I was a Tamer once, right? I just didn't remember. Something happened to me in there."

"…Nn…"

"And what's more… if you're right… my friends will be in there too. Right?"

"Right…"

"Good. I can't wait until you find them and give me my life back. Then I'm going to go and find who is responsible." She hisses, her voice cracking behind me. "Whoever did this is going to pay dearly."

I frown and turn my head to face her. The sound of her voice is low and threatening. I wouldn't want to make her angry. "R-Rei?"

She blinks and then looks away, her cheeks rosy. "S-sorry."

"N-no. It's okay."

She nods, but looks embarrassed. "I'm not normally like this. At least I don't think I'm normally like this..." She sighs behind me. "I could totally be normally like this."

I blink. "Like what?"

"Vengeful." She says. "I really want to see who did this to me and I really want to get even. But even saying that out loud makes me sad. I don't know. Maybe the real me is a complete jerk like that."

"...You're not normally like this." Garurumon rumbles beneath me.

The girl sounds surprised. "I'm not?"

He shakes his massive head and keeps trotting. "No," he tells her. "You're too nice to be like that."

I can almost feel her smile from here. "Thank you Garurumon."

He grunts. I think my partner is blushing. Great. First Tai, now Garurumon...

We ride on a little ways further, kicking up dust as we go. The sky is dark blue, with just a sliver of light the color of her hair crossing the distance away from us. The wind is cool, and the world around us is quiet. I take a glance above me, watching as the bravest stars fight their way through the dark pastel colors to sparkle their light alongside the sunset. Briefly I wonder what the rest of the Digiverse is like - and wonder still if anyone will ever reach those stars.

"Eh…Matt."

The silence is interrupted by her voice again. I blink and turn an ear back to her. "Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"About the Digidestined?"

I frown. "Hmm…"

"H-how many of you are there now?"

I roll back my eyes in thought. "…A lot. There's at least twenty on every continent. Usually many more depending on how big."

"So many…" She sounds impressed.

"Un-hmm." I nod.

"But there are more… Tamers, right?"

I nod again. "A lot of people want to be partners. A lot more like to play hero."

"Amazing."

"Hmm?"

"That the world could grow like that in such a short time."

"Hmm…"

We're silent again, riding Garurumon across the sands. It's true, I realize. A lot about our world has changed. While Digimon aren't widely discussed among the public, there's a lot less denial of their existence. We'd rather keep a low profile, but our partners can enter public places without having to pretend they're toys or pets these days. That doesn't mean there aren't any problems. A lot of people are nervous around horned dog-lizard hybrids the size of a small child.

But things in the Human world aren't so bad that people go out of their way to attack Digimon physically. Most people are smarter than that, thank goodness. The few that aren't learn pretty quickly.

Then there is the Digiworld itself and its relationship to us. Before, when it was just Davis and the others who could get in, we could keep things secret. When MaloMyotismon attempted to invade our world three years ago he broke something within the Digiports – whatever seal the Harmonious Ones had placed are gone. Ports are easier to access now. All you need is a working digivice really. The mechanics inside should be enough power to open the gate for you, though it takes a specialist on the other side called a portologist to determine your location.

That doesn't stop kids from trying.

We call them Tamers. It was a derogatory remark towards them at first but it's grown into a begrudging kind of respect. They're kids who find their own way into the Digiworld – either by borrowing a Digidestined's Digivice to open a port or slipping through a digital field when the fabric of our realities shift... Something that's becoming far too common for my tastes. Their 'partners' aren't given to them. They find a Digimon who likes them and the two join forces to play hero with the rest of us. It used to be tough in the beginning. Everyone who could find a way in did. There were a lot of injuries and stern talking to's. A couple of partners died.

Things are more organized now. It's mostly Tai's idea, and I have to admit it was a stroke of genius. When the others worldwide heard about it the idea caught on and spread like wildfire. You want to be a Tamer? You register with us. You only get one partner. You cannot attack unless provoked. If there is a Digidestined with your party you follow their orders. When your adventure is done, you write it up on our message board so we know what you did and if we need damage control. And above all; remember that you are not invincible.

Those were his rules. And when a Tamer follows them, they actually turn out useful. The last few years have seen the more experienced kids turn into something like a personal army for the Digidestined. Guard Tamers. Their partners are typically champions and their win/loss ratio is above eighty percent. They're usually good.

Not as good as us, but you get the picture.

I glance back at Rei. She should be one of them, if she registered. And if it's true – if she really was a Guard Tamer – then it worries me that she's the only one left. If this thing can completely annihilate a Guard Tamer unit without them being able to retreat, then we're in more trouble than we thought when we began. I frown. Things are never easy for us are they?

"What?"

I blink and realize I'm starring again. "S-sorry," I tell her.

"Oi!" I hear Tai call from behind us. "Is he giving you trouble Rei? I will punch him in the throat if he is!"

I lower my head and let out an exasperated sigh. Rei giggles behind me. "We're fine Taichi. Don't worry."

Tai grumbles some more from his perch on Greymon's neck before the two of them find the time to get into another argument. Rei shifts behind me, careful not to poke me with… what is that? That is a big strap. "Matt, um…"

I'm thrown from my confusion. "Hmm?"

"About Taichi…" Her words trail off, and I feel her shifting uncomfortably behind me. "Does he… is he… um…"

"What?"

She laughs nervously and loosens her grip on my waist. "N-nothing. Never mind."

I frown. "What is it?"

She sighs. "I… uh… just wanted to know…" She hesitates, and the laughs sheepishly behind me. "It's nothing… I just wanted to know what are you and Taichi having a fight about, that's all."

I've got a feeling that's not what she wanted to ask, but alright…

"We're not fighting," I grunt back to her.

"Hmm?" She doesn't sound too convinced. "It sounded like you were fighting earlier."

I shake my head. "If we were fighting one of us would have a black eye by now."

She's quiet for a second. "Mm… I thought you two were friends."

I blink. I guess I never really explained our relationship to her. "We are," I say. "That's why we're so hard on each other."

"Hm?"

"We're friends," I say as I lean closer to Garurumon. "If one of us is acting foolish the other won't hesitate to correct him. But we're both so hard headed that sometimes it takes a fist to the face to wake us up."

"That doesn't sound very friendly."

"It wasn't at first. We used to hate each other." I smile inwardly. "I changed. He changed me. Tai's the sort of leader who won't back down when he thinks it'll help his friends. Anybody else and I'd walk away. He's the only one… the only one in the world like that for me." I can't help but smile. "I trust him considerably."

"You like him?"

It comes out so suddenly I don't know how to respond to her. I cough again, and Garurumon chuckles underneath me. "Mm?"

"Taichi?"

"…I guess so." I sigh, looking up to the darkening skies. "He's like my other half. Everything I'm not, he is. And everything he's not, I am. We're a team."

"Not as much as you and me," Garurumon grunts jealously underneath me.

I laugh and pat him on the back. "No, not that much. He's not my partner he's…" I shake my head. He said it best earlier. "He's my leader. I'm his XO. That's us."

She's quiet for a long time after that, letting my words sink in I'd imagine. Finally she shifts again. "You do like him then."

I blink. I remember all the frustrating, painful, annoyingly amazing moments the two of us have had in our day. They make me smile. "Yeah," I tell her simply. "I do."

"…But not me."

I choke on my saliva. "W-what's that?"

"You don't like me," she says with a kind of quiet bluntness. "You don't trust me."

I clear my throat… "Nn… Where is this coming from?"

"In the tent, and before when we first met," her voice is low and sad. "It was almost like you didn't believe me. The look on your face..."

"It's not that I don't like you," I try to explain to her with a nervous voice. "It's that… I know nothing about you. I'm putting a whole lot of faith in your memories that you yourself said could have been simply dreams."

"And I look like your friend."

I sigh. No use in lying to her. "…Yeah."

She tightens her arms around me, but I can almost feel her frown from here. "But I'm not like her am I? You said it yourself."

"You're not. I know, I know." I chew on the bottom of my lip in thought. "I guess I haven't been completely fair to you."

She stays quiet for a little while. "It's okay."

"Mm?"

"You're like that because you want to protect Taichi. Right?" She moves again, her weight settling behind me – the weird protrusion poking my back again. I don't notice it as much this time.

"He's working so hard for me. He's letting it get to him. Isn't he?" I don't answer. I don't know if I can. She continues. "That's why you're always cautious around him. It's why you're so hard on me. You're trying to protect him. Right?"

In a weird way she's right. "I… yeah. I guess."

She squeezes my waist. "You're a true friend."

I think I'm blushing again. "Thanks."

"I wish… I wish I had someone I could protect like Taichi."

"You could always help me protect him," I joke with her. "Tai's a lot to handle."

"Hmm…" is her only response.

We go silent again, but now it's uncomfortable. I fidget on Garurumon's back, trying not to look at her. My mind replays the events of the day, and the thing that's been bothering me about them comes back up. I don't think I'd ever get a straight answer on this from Tai. Not one he's aware of. But maybe… "Hey, Tai… Taichi. You're awfully close to him."

She shifts behind me, the poking thing disappearing from my back for a moment. I think she's smiling. "Am I?"

"Yes," I say. "I guess you like him too?"

"Mm. Yeah. He's been so nice to me," she says.

"Hm…"

"Eh… You have been too!" She's quick to include me. "Both of you. I like you both!"

"Hmm…"

"He's just…" She sighs in a girlish sort of way Sora never would. "He's very sweet."

"He can be when he wants to."

"Without him I wouldn't be here. Or you. I'd still be wandering the desert if you both hadn't found me." She squeezes my waist. "Thank you. Both."

"You said that before," I remind her with a smile. "It's no problem. This is what we're supposed to do."

"But I mean it," she tells me. And then she leans her head into my back again. "Thank you."

I go to say more, but Garurumon has stopped. His feathers are at attention again, which means we're about to be visited by outsiders. Greymon's slowed behind us, nostrils smoking. Tai's already dismounted, which means he doesn't think this is a simple raid.

"Garurumon?"

"Incoming." He growls.

What I tell you? Ishida luck, every time.

The sand around us suddenly shoots into the air. Gizmon again, popping out of the ground in waves. Ten of them in all this time, sweeping above the skies and raining lasers down from the heavens. Greymon and Garurumon begin firing back, launching their energy into the sky.

"Nova Blast!"

"Howling Blaster!"

The attacks miss their marks, though they do come close. The Gizmon spread out, returning fire on Garurumon. He hops out of the way, barely dodging the rays at his feet. Greymon lobs more fireballs their way, but the Gizmon only flit out of the way and attack us again. I grunt. We're slowing Garurumon down. I grab Rei by the hand. "We have to jump! Okay?"

She nods, terror in her eyes. I grit my teeth. "Garurumon, we're letting go!"

"Watch yourselves!" He shoots back.

I don't waste any more time. With her hand in mine I lean off the side of Garurumon, taking the girl with me. Garurumon dips low so that our fall isn't severe, and we roll through the sand in a lump. Much lighter and without the added worry of two passengers on his back, Garurumon howls, his cold breath fuming smoke from his jaws.

"Howling Blaster!"

The stream of ice presses skyward, but it again misses its targets. The Gizmon aren't staying in a particular formation this time, each individual bug scraping and ducking and weaving across the night, before they once again hone in on their target.

Rei.

I'm on my feet in seconds, grabbing the girl by the arm and running full throttle towards Tai. The Gizmon are behind us, dodging fireballs from Greymon and streams of ice from Garurumon to reach us. They're definitely after her.

"What did you do to them," I shout back to her.

"N-nothing!"

"They certainly like you though!"

She shakes her head as we run. "It wasn't this bad before. When I woke up they chased me away but stopped after a while. I don't know what happened in between!"

I don't have time to respond. A blast from one of the Gizmon rips a hole in the ground in front of me and throws me off balance. I let go of the girl and tumble forward, hot sand finding its way everywhere on my person. I hear Tai's voice crying out to me but I can't respond. I groan and shake cobwebs out of my head. I look up, and Rei is standing in front of me, legs wide, in a defensive position. The Gizmon have looped around and, having avoided our Digimon, look prepared to attack again.

"Rei! Look out!"

"I… I don't know if I can protect Tai," she says to me. "But I think I can protect you right now!"

I cough. "Rei?"

She ignores me, and instead, does something I don't expect at all. Rei opens her robe, tosses it to the ground beside her, grabs a small round object fastened on her chest, and hurls it like a baseball at the oncoming robots.

The bang that comes next is loud and surprising, and my senses jolt in spite of myself. The explosion sets off a blinding flash of light, and I'm forced to shield my eyes. When I can open them one of the Gizmon is down, its data evaporating into the air while its cord slinks silently into the ground. The others spread out of attack formation, their cords trailing up dirt below them as they sink to avoid her.

A grenade, I realize. She was keeping Grenades.

She's gotten straps from somewhere, and she's attached all sorts of goodies that make me think she must have been a military otaku in a past life. A few of the flash grenades cross her torso, and she's got a knife sheathed in a hilt she's strapped to her left thigh. She's been hiding them all this time underneath her robe. I slap a hand to my forehead. That's what's been poking me in the back the whole ride over? Grenades!

…

Clever girl.

"What the hell was that!" Tai shouts, incredulous as he approaches us.

"No weapons!" I hiss at her from the ground. "We all agreed. No weapons!"

Rei shoots us a look. "You two said no guns. That wasn't a gun."

"I…" Tai shakes his head. "She's got us there Matt."

I ignore him. There are still nine of them left, and if we're not careful they could merge into that giant mecha again. I turn to Tai, who's still grinning at the girl in shock. "We've gotta-"

"Wrap it up. I know." He turns to me with a look of mischief and I start to worry.

"What?"

"This would be a great time to try…"

"I thought you said you wouldn't…"

"Kinda an emergency isn't it?"

"It's never worked before!"

"We've never had Rei before!"

I want to argue, but can't. If there was ever a time to test our tactics, it's now, before things get really dangerous. "Fine," I tell him. He grins and shouts the news to Greymon, who pops us a thumbs up. I turn back to Rei. She tosses another Grenade at the oncoming swarm – dead center and a little low. The blast does as intended, snapping off several Gizmon from their roots and sending them flying across the desert sands. Some of them survive, bouncing around and firing at their buddies. Most of them fade into nothing.

Five left.

The unscathed Gizmon turn their focus back to Rei and fly forward. Greymon and Garurumon aren't in position yet; we'll need to time this right if we want it to work. I'm not sure we'll get it. Rei stands nervously, waiting as they approach. Raise my hand to give the signal as the Gizmon…

Fly right past her?

The five of us blink in unison as the Gizmon don't even attempt to fire on Rei. Weird? Very, considering their behavior up till now. They fly across the desert, circling around Rei's supply bag: which is even better now, because there's less chance of Rei being hurt.

I set a hand on her shoulder and pull her away. "How many grenades are on that thing?"

"Un… Four!"

"You can only use one more!" I point to where we need it. "Can you do it?"

"I…"

"Can you do it Tamer!"

"Ack! Sir, yes sir!"

Like a drill sergeant. My professors would be pleased.

I run back to Tai. Rei stays, steeling her will. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Garurumon's nod, and I know that our partners are finally in position. I turn to my leader. "Ready?"

Tai grins. "Aren't I always?"

The Gizmon circle Rei's things for a moment more before turning back to us. By then it's too late. They're already in our trap.

I drop my arm. "Rei!"

She tosses the Grenade to the ground, kicking up sand with the explosion. The sand explosion does them no damage. Nor was it intended to. It was meant to remind them of Rei. The Gizmon refocus their sites on her and fly forward, though they still seem hesitant to attack. But now our partners are in perfect position, and the Gizmon can't do anything about it.

"Just like we practiced guys!" I shout at our Digimon.

Greymon snarls. "You got it!"

Tai snarls. "Take this-"

"-Our joint attack!" I howl!

They scream together. "Double Tempest!"

Greymons' flame and Garurumons' storm wrap round one another forming a twister of energy aimed directly at our buggy friends. Caught in its pull, the remaining robots have no choice but to spin about in the air, snapping their connection with the black wires and leaving them berserk in its force. They are flown everywhere; bouncing into the sands, crashing into rocks, shattering into a million pieces.

Holy crap. It worked.

We'd been trying to get that going since last year, but never had a chance to apply it in real-time. Our only other live attempt had failed so miserably I told Tai never to speak of it again. A NiseDrimogemon thief had stolen feed from a Yokomon village. We'd tried it on him, but the angle was all wrong and the attacks just ended up negating themselves. We ended up chasing after that guy all day. I hear he's digging them a new hot springs as penance.

Either way it works. The remaining Gizmon are reduced to nothing more than piles of Data that dissipated across the wind. We take a breath. That had been tougher than before. They were learning.

Rei however, is bouncing with joy. "That was awesome! The way you worked together… I saw how good you were before but not from the beginning. The four of you are like a one-hundred percent combination or-"

"What the hell were you thinking!"

"Hn?"

Okay, maybe I'm being a little forceful, but my adrenaline is pumping and I'm angry. "Your initial explosion could have triggered off an assault, or it could have alerted this thing that we're close!"

"I… S-sorry."

"Matt, go easy on her…"

"She has military level grenades strapped to her chest right now. She was riding with those on the whole time. In my back!"

"Oh." He blinks, and for once is actually on my side today. "That probably wasn't a good idea Rei."

"B-but I only wanted to help!"

"That was still a pretty stupid thing to do," I deplore her. "If you wanna help me protect Tai you have to think smarter."

"…Protect me?" Tai looks hilariously offended.

I shake my head. "You're a Tamer, I get that. But this is a serious situation and we're in charge here. You've gotta listen to us, we've been doing this for a while now. If we say no to something there's a reason. You could have been killed just now, you know that? Why would you be so reckless?"

She fidgets, her hands catching hold of the grenade strap. "You two have partners and you two have digivices. I have nothing. I want to save the partner whose face I can't remember and I have nothing." She raises her brown eyes to me. "Please. Let me help you!"

Her hazel eyes are dancing again, the night light bouncing off their orbs and breaking through the wall I'd been trying to maintain. I can't help but think of her when I see Rei. And that's what has me so messed up.

But I've only been thinking about my problems. I haven't been worried about hers.

I don't know who she is. But I know she believes she's speaking truth. And I know this is killing her inside. Tai's right when he says I'm being hard on her. And my only reason is because she scares the crap out of me. That's not good enough. Not now. Not with something foreign growing beneath us. I don't have time to be fearful. I sigh, and what anger I had left evaporates into the night. "Alright."

"Nn?"

Tai blinks. "You sure Matt?"

"We're already too far out to make you put them back, and it's not like this thing had no idea we were coming – it's attacked us before." I sigh, slipping a hand through my blonde hair and cursing myself for leaving the comb at home. Still, she did help in her own little way. She nearly got killed trying to protect me in the process. I don't trust her, not fully. But I am prepared to let my guard down a little. "It's alright."

She looks shocked for a moment. And then her face breaks out into a wide smile. "Thank you!"

Tai looks at me. "Matt, we need to keep moving."

I nod. If she's right, we're only a few minutes away from her ruins. I sigh and smile at her. "Be careful with those things," I tell her. "We don't know the extent of damage they can do."

"They kill bad guys don't they?" She asks with an edge to her voice. "That's good enough for me."

Tai whistles, impressed. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Um…" She smiles at him. "When you're on my bad side you'll know."

She heads off towards a waiting Garurumon, who eyes her cautiously. Tai turns to me with a mischievous grin. "She's getting feisty."

"Keep your pants on." I mumble, and he actually laughs.

"C'mon," Rei cries from the back of Garurumon. "We're almost there!"

We mount up and keep moving, at a slower pace just to be careful. We leave behind a trail of burnt sand and sizzling data. Ahead are Rei's ruins; the first thing she truly remembers, and possibly the last known location of our missing researchers. It doesn't take us long.

"There it is."

We see the structure in the distance, just as the last rays of sunlight disappear from the sky and night fully takes hold. With the darkness comes the small sparks of light dotting the sky. What worries us is that the sands below hold red stars of their own. The Gizmon are in full concert around Rei's ruins. They aren't trying to hide. They won't be popping up and surprising us this time. They want us to know they are there. Whatever is inside is done playing around.

But there's more. More than just the feeling of apprehension at the thought of another battle with these things. More than just the unease directed to the girl who holds my waist. More than just the concern that my best friend's attraction to her is merely a mirror for his attraction to someone else… More than all that, the thing that worries me is far simpler.

I feel like we've been here before.

GODFALL

8

Digimon