DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon, but I do own the plot, and DRAGOON.

Digimon Continuity

Quest for the Digimon

Chapter 13

Ryo's Arrival

:. Real World - Japan, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Towers
Main Control Room

02:01 PM JST

"Mr. Yamaki..." The man quickly turned to face the youngster. "What are we supposed to do now? Ryo, Henry and Rika are all gone. We can't help them if we are stuck here like this," Takato said, although his mind was still spinning from the revelation mere seconds ago.

"What?! Rika and Henry gone?" An awfully familiar voice said. Takato instantly recognized it. His mother.

He twisted around just in time to see his mother hide her worried expression.

"Mum!... It's not what you think..." Takato begun.

Mie Matsuki prevented her son from going on. "I know what you are trying to do Takato. You can't lie to me, even if you wanted to. You never were a very good liar anyway..."

Takato deflated. He knew that his mother must have came in while they were watching DRAGOON. She would have known anyway. "I'm sorry, Mum... It's just..."

"We know, Takato." Another familiar voice said. He felt his chest compress. His father was here as well. "We know you want to see Guilmon again." said Takehiro Matsuki. Tears welled in Takato's eyes at the mention of Guilmon, who was so close to coming back.

"We have known that this would happen for a long time already, Takato." His mother continued. "We were prepared for this day. Both of us have decided to let you go when you get the chance to Takato." A single tear fell. Not because he was sad about Guilmon, but because he now knew his decision, knew that he could go without having to sneak away.

"... Thank you... Mom... Dad... Thank you..."

Yamaki placed a hand on his shoulder, and faced the parents. "I... I shall do my best to make sure that your children come back safely. I only wish that you will give them your support again. You have to trust in your own children's abilities. They have managed to save the world from the D-Reaper, I think this should be relatively easy compared to that."

Takato was glad that Yamaki did not mention the risks and was on his side. The last thing he needed was for his parents to lose their faith in him surviving. The other parents reluctantly nodded. Takato was beyond shock. The entire events of the day had already removed that ability.

"Now," Yamaki returned his attention to Takato. "I... also know that help from Hypnos is limited Takato. So I am can only count on them" he pointed to the D-Terminal. "to work. If they don't, DRAGOON will find you and you can tell him what to do directly." Yamaki held his hand out. "Good luck."

Takato glanced from Yamaki's outstretched hand to his face. Takato let a smile fill his face and took Yamaki's hand with his own. "Thank you, Yamaki."

:. Digital Plane - Desert Plane

02:14 PM JST

Two humans and seven Digimon, one which rode on one of the human's shoulder, another three riding on a red one, and the last three walking beside the humans toward the last direction they had seen DRAGOON, the Zero-Arms, headed toward.

The red-headed human decided to finally initiate talk.

"What do we do now, Brainiac?"

"Why are you asking me, Rika?"

"I don't know... Maybe because... YOU'RE THE BRAINIAC!!"

Henry flinched. Rika was getting irritated with waiting for the Zero-Arms known to them only as Dragoon. When she was irritated, watch out whoever who was near. That just so happened to be Henry.

"Come on Rika, give the guy a break. He was the one who defeated Cerberumon after all. Even he needs to rest."

"He is a robot, Rabbitmon." She snapped, as uncaring as ever when she was irritated to this extent. "And he was not one who defeated Cerberumon, without Kyuubimon he wouldn't stand a chance."

"Hey, I protest! What are you going to call me when I'm SaintGargomon, huh?"

"A combination of the stupidest and most irritating bunny I know and..."

"Hey, I protest!"

"Add limited vocabulary."

"Hey, I overly protest!"

Henry sighed. He was definitely missing the silence provided during the time when all of them were deep in thought, or he presumed, talking telepathically with there Digimon partner. The other Digimon had also kept their mouths sealed during that time, even Terriermon. He also didn't hear Ryo's partner do its usual not-so-reassuring growls, which would have sent shivers down his spine, even with Ryo around. Speaking of which...

He ignored the current argument with Rika threatening to pull both Terriermon's ears out. Looking behind, he found Cyberdramon lacking behind the rest, not making a single sound. On closer inspection, he noticed the dragon limping. That he found odd. What could have happened during the time they were alone? He glanced to the rest of the Digimon. They had lost their usual noisy selves. Even Guilmon was not crying out for Takato or bread. That was crossing the line.

From all he knew of Guilmon, he usually complained of hunger or his missing Tamer. This Guilmon was as silent as the other Digimon, as though something horrible had occurred.

Once the thought completed, the missing growls of Cyberdramon returned. All, even Terriermon and Rika, turned to the grey Ultimate, fearful for a sudden attack. Cyberdramon took no notice of them. He was sniffing the air, just like how he saw Guilmon do once. As sudden as his movements came, Cyberdramon took off in a random direction, not knowing that he was in fact headed back to the exact same location the both he and Rika had landed rather painfully. His takeoff left them to cough in the sand that he blew up.

Where is he going now?

Ryo picked himself from the ground. His heart was pounding in his ears. He did not feel any fear from the drop, but when ground was enlarging under his feet at a dramatic rate, his basic instincts had pumped adrenaline into his system and screamed at him to do something about it. Naturally, he did not as there was nothing to do but fall. His gaze slid across the next to barren landscape of the Dessert Plane. Despite the destruction his eyes witnessed that could only have been caused by a battle, it did not shock him in anyway, although it awoke unpleasant memories. He found two craters in the ground that was not tainted by the blackness of an explosion. He concluded that it could only be the impact of something falling from a great distance, proving once and for all that Henry and Rika are most likely here as well.

He took a good look around the area, searching for any enemies. He cataloged any possible place that a Digimon who wanted to hurt him might hide. Without his partner around, they would not be afraid to attack him. He had his own devices to counter them, but they were only temporary. While observing, he felt his heart recoil in pain. The place he had spent next to a year in was in ruins. It was hard to take. But he ignored it, continuing his observation.

Once he was satisfied, he closed his eyes. His left hand clutched his D-Power tightly, a habit he had developed so long ago. His other hand rested on the deck of Digimon cards held up by his belt on his back. He currently carried three decks, one behind, two side by side on the right side of his belt. One of the two had been the one he had used from the first day he had arrived here all the way up to the meeting of the other Tamers. The other of the two by his side was newly created, made up of new cards that had come into production while he was in the Digital World. The last deck was... It was of an extreme significance.

He had taken the liberty of making a slight detour to where he had hidden his decks before going to the hideout. He knew that one day the Digimon would somehow return, so he always kept a few cards with him. That included an Offense Plug-In A, a High-Speed Plug-In B and a Defense Plug-In C. These were basic cards needed to aid any Digimon. Despite that, it was not enough, so he always kept his three other decks in the one location where he had privacy and not risk them getting found... under Rika Nonaka's room, just in case he needed them in a hurry and couldn't afford to make a return trip home.

Memories, both good and bad, flashed in his mind's eye the moment his hands touched the deck holder. He halted in his stroll down memory lane. Painful memories were bound to surface had he continued, that he knew. He calmed his rapidly beating heart to a slow decent. Entering a trance-like state, he focused his thoughts to sharpen his senses. A few moments later, his eardrums were abruptly bombarded by a sound of a loud gust of wind. It was as though his senses were dormant before, and were now wide awake.

He enjoyed this feeling of 'awakening' for a while longer before snapping out of his trance and opened his eyes to see his partner Cyberdramon flying at top speed toward him. Cyberdramon looked... injured. He could see even from this distance one of his wings stiff. A frown reached Ryo's mouth. Cyberdramon was not one to be injured easily. It was unsettling his new security. He pushed his doubts away and took out a card from his more recently created deck. When he considered Cyberdramon in the range for the effects of the card to take effect, he aligned the card with the card slot. He swiped it through width first, unlike most of the other Tamers who used the length of the card instead for a quicker and more fluid motion. He managed the same grace with the width. So skilled was he.

"Digi-Modify! Recovery Plug-In S! Activate!" Ryo watched as Cyberdramon grew bright before landing in front of him, wing and other injuries healed.

He struck conversation. "Cyberdramon." He said in a monotone to his partner, who stood beside him. Normally one would embrace their Digimon after such a long time of separation. Not Ryo. Cyberdramon did not like displays of emotion anyway... unless you counted rage of course, but that will only ignite his battle instincts.

Cyberdramon in turn let out a growl before properly replying. "Ryo." Cyberdramon was not one for long sentences.

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern, but only the tiniest bit. "Why were you hurt? I never had to use that card before..." It was true, of all the battles he had here, he never used the card as only the unfortunate enemy they were facing got hurt, not Cyberdramon.

Cyberdramon let out another growl.

:. Real World - Japan, Tokyo, Shinjuku Central Park
Guilmon's Hideout

02:17 PM JST

The group of only three Tamers made their way to the portal after being dropped off by Henry's Dad, Janyu. They were strangely calm for kids whose friends could be in the digestive system of an unnamed Digimon right now. Jeri could not go as they could not risk having the Digimon protect one more person. And, sad to say, there will be not Digimon for her to reconcile with.

They continued their way to the former hideout of the red dino, Guilmon. Inside, making static noises, was the portal, the one and only way to reach the Digital World, their friends and respective partners. Takato inhaled deeply, smelling a faint scent of Guilmon's old presence. It brought a smile to his face, despite the dangers he knew that he could face before he reached his partner. Nevertheless, it was a great feeling to be able to know that Guilmon was reachable just on the other side of the portal.

"So err..." began Kazu. "Are we going in or what?"

The parents did not come to see them off as Yamaki reasoned it would be easier to see them though DRAGOON. Takato tightened his grip on the com device otherwise known better as the D-Terminal. On his other hand, he clenched his D-Power. "Yeah, just getting ready."

Kazu rolled his eyes. "What is there to get ready? Just go." To demonstrate, he stepped into the portal. Kenta, not wanting to be last, quickly followed, leaving Takato to gape at the portal.

"...Okay..." He inhaled one last time, turning around to look at the world outside the hideout. Will I come back to see this again? Mom... Dad... Jeri...

He shook the negative thought out of his mind, and entered the portal before his courage could desert him again.

A huge flash followed, making Takato shut his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself suspended in a no-gravity dimension that separated the Real from the Digital World. All kinds of symbols floated around him. He was about to discover what happened when he touched one of them when he took an unexpected dive.

The good thing was, he was headed back into the Digital World. The bad thing? He was headed back into it at 100 miles per hour with a solid ground to soften his landing. How did I forget this? He screamed the whole way.

Sorry for the extremely late update. Lots of reasons why, so I won't bore you with it. I know this isn't much, but I am trying my best.