A/N: before I begin this chapter, I just want to thank those that have reviewed, I am glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Once this is finished, I am going to update the chapters and write them better than they are now. I realize some things kind of don't make sense as I have not further explored most events. I have been reading a lot of fanfics this week and I must admit, I have very much missed reading them. I read one that was apparently supposed to be a Ryuki romance but 28 chapters later, there was no romance...but then realized, my story is supposed to be one and other than that one kiss, there hasn't been any. Even though I had already finished this chapter, I decided to rewrite it to give it a bit more Ryuki flavour. ENJOY!

Chapter 16 – Re-acquainted.

I should have predicted a data stream would have emerged sooner or later, given the events that had been taken place. Not to mention, Angewomon had restored the land to its previous state and was trying her surest to reconstruct the Digital World. Although one appearing almost directly on top of us was definitely not something I could have ever foreseen.

When we had emerged from the giant light beam, I had lost my grip on Rika. She fell just feet away to my left and Monodramon to my right. It had taken the Digimon just seconds to regain his composure, but I felt dazed from the landing. I watched helplessly as he made a beeline for Rika and kicked her hard in the ribs. I cried out but had lost the wind in my voice. I sat there with my mouth slightly ajar and watched as he gave her another good blow.

Rika didn't move; she was clearly still unconscious. Blood from her shoulder trickled over the grass leaving a crimson glisten in its wake. I wasn't sure why Monodramon was kicking her and I was powerless to go help. I stood up only to fall face forward once again. I gave my partner an angry glare.

"She deserves it," Monodramon said, quite simply.

A rush of anger overwhelmed me. Finally finding my voice, I said, "she does not deserve that."

He looked at me as if I had gone mad. And maybe I had. Or just hit my head really hard from the impact. "You cannot be serious, Ryo! She tried to kill you!"

"And we tried to kill her!" I shot back. I moved beside Rika, propping her up against a tree. She was definitely still unconscious and more than likely suffering now from those rather hard kicks. I felt guilty for not stopping him. "We are even."

"No, we are not. You are my Tamer and I need to protect you." He said defiantly.

"Don't you dare give me that kind of attitude, Monodramon," I said. I ripped off more of my shirt and began tying it around Rika's shoulder, which appeared to not want to stop bleeding at this point. It was a shame that I had left my bag at the camp with Tai and the others. In retrospect, I should have grabbed it from instinct before going into battle. It was packed with all the necessities in case of injury and even included spare clothes, but I honestly never expected to run into Rika and Flaremon.

The events had happened so fast. It was like the entire battle had been a blur, a figment. I recalled being blindsided by rage. The rage that had lead me to attack Rika. I hadn't meant to hurt her, I was only trying to hurt Flaremon. I lowered my head and tried to shake the thought, but it didn't seem to want to leave. Monodramon didn't help.

"I am not giving you any attitude, Ryo. That girl is nothing but trouble. She has been nothing but trouble since we first met her. We're always putting our lives on the line and for what?"

I thought for a moment. It's true. Ever since we had met her, again, in the Digital World, Cyberdramon and I had been risking our lives to save her. The first time was against Megadramon. She, Kazu, Kenta, and Renamon would have been toast if it wasn't for us. The second time was when she stubbornly climbed down into the D-Reaper, and then the fight with the D-Reaper...Locomon...and she nearly drowned when we came back to the Digital World. I sighed. At least I could count on one hand the times I had saved her.

And for what? I looked at her sleeping face and felt an overwhelming sensation arise. She looked so peaceful laying there, eyes gently closed, her long lashes touching her cheeks, her perfect features, and jawline. Not to mention her ravishingly, beautiful, long, red hair. I traced her features with my eyes and landed on her lips. I thought back to that day just months ago. How our lips pressed together and sealed us as one. I could still feel the phantom sensation and arousal she had given me and how I wanted so much more. My eyes darted over her sleeping face; her long lashes kissing her cheeks, perfect nose, and a jawline that perfectly displayed her lips. Lips that I had so impatiently lusted.

Attempting to shake the thought, I opened my map. The data streamed seemed to have dropped us off us off in the most pristine, convenient location. We were on the outskirts of the Forest of Souls. If we were to head due north from this location, we would arrive at my old Fortress that I used to reside in during my stays in the digital world. The Fortress held a portal to the real world. It was a full day's walk to the and although I didn't want to travel without the other Tamers and Digi-Destined, it was better than wasting time to search for them. We had to get to the real world to stop Apollomon.

On the other hand, southwest of our location was the Village of Beginnings. It was a full day's walk as well. Which meant if we took Rika to the village, it would take us a little more than two days to reach the real world.

Monodramon caught on to my thinking and ripped the map from my hands. "Absolutely not."

"And why not?"

"Stopping Apollomon is far more important than that girl." He said, exasperated. As if she shouldn't have had to explain.

I shook my head. "No, we can look for Renamon. We would need her help to stop Apollomon.:"

Monodramon scoffed at this. "It'll be a waste of time. She's long dead because of that beast."

I couldn't help but think he meant Rika and not Flaremon. "She's an asset to our team. We need all the strength we can get."

"We have done just fine without her in the past," he snarled. "I refuse to waste my time by helping her."

"You really have no choice, Monodramon. You're my partner and you listen to me." My voice began quivering. His words touched a soft spot and my cheeks grew hot with anger.

Monodramon could sense it and become equally enraged. "Why would you waste your time with someone who tried to kill you!" It wasn't a question.

"I tried to kill her, too. And she's our friend. We need to help each other."

The purple Digimon turned from me and punched the tree behind Rika's sleeping head. "Is there no getting through to you?" He said without looking at me. "She changed to Apollomon with her own will to kill you. She let him take over. How could you even think someone like that would be a friend?"

I didn't know the reason behind why she had suddenly let Apollomon in and made a note to ask her why later. Before we had arrived at the battle, she was still human. A human that had sprouted a lion's tail and fangs, but still human. And when she saw me, she bio-emerged with Flaremon, my greatest enemy and enemy of the Digital World. As much as I hated to admit that it would be hard to call someone like that a friend, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel apathetic towards her for the current situation. I had chosen earlier to kill her and it wasn't entirely the first time either. Before we separated, I wanted to bring her to Angewomon but Baihumon had stepped in the way. When they fought, I couldn't help but grow enraged further against Flaremon and ended up lashing out at Rika. She was probably scared about what was going to happen; if Baihumon was going to kill her or if I was. Not to mention, at that point, she had already been losing her friends as they were scared of her turning on them because of Flaremon. It's a possibility that Flaremon fed on all those emotions and my fears for her safety and attempts to stop Flaremon just fueled the fire. She grew scared and angry towards me even though I was trying to help and that is perhaps why she let Flaremon in. Perhaps that was the trigger to losing the last bit of restraint she held against Flaremon. I needed to find out why for sure.

I looked down in disdain. If all that was true, then there would be no way she could ever forgive me for anything. I was the one in the wrong about this. If I had been a bit more honest and less angry towards Flaremon, perhaps the events would never have escalated into last night's battle.

I grabbed Monodramon by the arm, tugging him away from Rika. The last thing I needed was for her to awake and find my partner lashing out against me because of her. "Stop it, Monodramon."

He withdrew his hand from my grasp with so much force, the back of his arm made contact with Rika's face, cutting her cheek. Monodramon mumbled about how she deserved that, too, and I lost my cool. I grabbed my D-Power and flicked it in his direction. An electrical whip emerged, grabbing him by the neck. I pulled it back and he came with it, howling in pain. I've never had to use it on this form of Cyberdramon before. Mondoramon's hands curled around the whip and he began tugging it off.

After a moment, I retracted it. "And you deserved that," I snarled, furious with him.

He gave me a look of betrayal. It almost pained me to see it. "You can make your decision. Either the red head or me," he said through deep breaths. The lightening ate most of his energy, causing him to cool off. It had proven effective against Cyberdramon many times.

"I am not making that decision. We are going to the Village of Beginnings. That's an order."

We locked eyes. Both furious with each other. He said, "I don't know why you would care for someone like that over your own partner."

"I care for the both of you!" I shot at him.

He threw back his head and laughed. "You care so much for her huh? You never even noticed she left..."

What?! He was right. At some point during that commotion, Rika had gotten up and left, taking the map with her.

The arguing between Ryo and his partner was heart wrenching. I had never known Ryo to feel such passionate anger towards his partner and it was entirely my fault. Of course, I have numerously set his temper off like that before, but he had never been that way with anyone else.

Of course, I heard all the conversation, too. I never missed a moment of it. As soon as we had landed from the data stream, I had been wide awake, albeit entirely exhausted. The drop from the stream sent me rolling across the grass, semi-conscious. I then felt Monodramon's kick several painful times in the ribs. I was sure they had to be cracked, if not bruised. It added to my already previous wound so what did it matter. I supposed I did deserve that beating.

I hated to admit it, but that damn purple Digimon was right. It was my fault that everything escalated to this point. I let Flaremon in and take control. It was a mistake but nothing I could do at this point. Even an apology seemed worthless. How would I even say it? Sorry for letting a vicious Digimon try to kill you. And now, I caused two of the best and strongest partners to fight and become distant. And for what? I definitely wasn't worth it and I'm not sure why Ryo actually thought I was.

An overwhelming feat of exhaustion and pain spiked through me. Not just physical pain but emotional as well. I wasn't sure if it had to do with Flaremon feeding off my feelings but I definitely felt heartsick over the thought of losing all my friends. Losing Ryo. Flaremon made me weak while I made him strong.

My feet began to become wobbly and I started losing my balance. I fell forward against a tree stump and gasped for the breath. I wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep away all the pain but I couldn't; I had to get to that village Ryo and Monodramon had been fighting about. Even if Renamon was still not alive, albeit an egg or not, I needed to find out. And right now, I wouldn't be any help to the Tamers against Apollomon without Renamon, if they would accept my help at all.

A hand suddenly touched my shoulder and I yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise. A soft voice chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, forgot. Bad shoulder."

"Leave me alone, Akiyama," I said, resorting to his last name.

Ryo spun me around and sat me down on the stump. His azure eyes locked with mine. My heart lurched a bit. "I can't leave you. Not in this state."

"We're not in the States, we're in the Digital World," I replied coolly.

A faint smile touched his lips. "You know what I mean. You look beat up and exhausted."

I shrugged. Pain seared through my shoulder and I winced. "It's not as bad as it looks."

His rough fingers caressed over my bleeding cheek. His touch was soothing. "Yes, it is. You need to rest."

"I can't. I need to get to the Village."

"So you heard..."

I felt a bit guilty for eavesdropping. Not that I could help it, it was a rather loud quarrel between them. "Yes. I can make it there on my own. You and...him, can head back to the real world."

He shook his head incredulously. "I can't leave you here alone. You've acquired a lot of enemies. It's not safe."

"What the hell are you talking about? When I was with Flaremon, we never touched another Digimon or threatened any the entire time we were with Leomon." I said.

He rose a brow. "You don't know?"

"Spit it out. What's going on?"

Ryo rubbed the back of his hair. It was one of his nervous habits. "You've done quite a number on the Digital World. Well, not you per-say, but Flaremon sure has, during the time you were both together." He sat down beside me and sighed. "You probably weren't aware but Flaremon destroyed villages and slaughtered Digimon."

I nearly fell off the stump at that. "Wh-what? That's not possible. How could he do that without me knowing?"

"Perhaps he was able to control you when you were most vulnerable? Like when you were sleeping." He said, although clearly unsure himself.

"Yeah. He told me before you attacked us that he used me to recruit Digimon. I just had no idea he did so much else, too." A tinge of guilt arisen. I felt sick knowing I single-handedly created chaos, regardless of in a conscious state or not. I placed my hands over my face and fought back tears. That explained a lot, actually. Like, how when we were with the Tamers, Flaremon never wanted to fight other Digimon. He had enough of it at night and rested during our walks during the day. No wonder I had felt so exhausted lately. But then why hadn't whoever was on night watch told me about my late night expenditures? Were they afraid? Or had they not known themselves.

Cyberdramon stepped towards us. His claw pointing at me accusingly. I never noticed that at some point Ryo had evolved him back to his ultimate stage. "I don't believe for a second that you were unaware." I heard Ryo growl enough, but Cyberdramon continued. He grabbed me by the collar of my well-worn shirt and pulled me forward. "You still reek of him. I should end you right here, you traitor."

"Traitor?!" I yelled, tears of anger swelling. "I never purposefully betrayed any of you!"

Ryo tore Cryberdramon's claw from my shirt, tearing the cloth with his fist. "Cyberdramon, stop this!"

"I shall not. You could have been destroyed!" The cyborg argued.

"Well, I wasn't!" Ryo said, placing himself between us. He kept his back to me and stayed close. His back quivered and I couldn't tell if it was from anger or fear. Cyberdramon was already a hard enough Digimon to tame because of his lack of self-control and the last thing we needed was for him to keep arguing and growing enraged.

I pressed my hand on Ryo's back to move him but he refused to budge. "This is between me and that Digimon."

Ryo rounded on me, too. His face was flushed a deep red. "It's not between anyone. What's done is done. There is no going back to our mistakes, we need to face the future. " His azure eyes sparkled, trying to hold back tears. "And you need to stop this sudden attitude, Cyberdramon. Rika has parted with Flaremon. She is not our enemy, he is."

Cyberdrtamon stated at me, long and hard. His teeth bore from his mouth and looked ready to attack. Several moments later, he dropped his gaze and withdrew towards the trees. He slashed the tree with such force, it fell. He looked back at me. "Betray us again and you will suffer this fate." He stormed off.

I looked up at Ryo and felt awkward. We had several, unspoken moments, and then I managed a quiet thank you. He slumped his shoulders back, relaxed, before turning to me. He wasn't upset or angry, just disappointed. "I want to know something." He placed his hands on my face and locked eyes. A lump rose in my throat and my stomach turned. I expected him to do something stupid but then he said, "why did you let Flaremon gain control over your body?"

Admittedly, I was disappointed with the question. Not that I should have expected a confession given the prior events, but his question was the least I had expected. It wasn't that I was hoping he wouldn't ask, it was clearly going to be an answer I'd have to reiterate to everyone else, but I wasn't ready to answer so soon.

I left the question to hang in the air like smoke. I didn't want to answer it because I wasn't one hundred percent sure anyway. Not to mention, I was already borderline crying from all of this commotion and became clear that none of that Tamers trusted me at all. I took Ryo's hands from off my cheeks. "Before you had shown up," I began, choking back sobs. I felt completely weak. Never before would I, Rika Nonaka, have been brought to this point with emotions. "Takato, Henry, Jeri, the nitwits, and I were going back to the real world. Yamaki had been working on a solution to separate Flaremon and I. He dropped a transporter for us and Flaremon decided to lead us to it using the coordinates Yamaki provided. It turned out to be an ambush."

"Right. And you had no idea?" He gently asked.

I shook my head. "No, he said he used me to do his work at night. He recruited Digimon...I Didn't even know.." I swallowed some air, keeping composure without crying was hard.

"And then what happened?" Ryo asked. "Before I showed up?"

"We went through that little village. Takato mentioned how he didn't remember Yamaki saying the coordinates were near a village. Flaremon insisted they were and I kind of figured he was leading them into a trap. Well, I didn't know, but could kind of feel it. He had been quiet that whole day and I began questioning it. I should have warned them." Tears slid down my cheeks at the thought. I quickly brushed them away, but more took their place. "After we passed the village, Flaremon summoned his followers. He was never going to let us survive. I kind of wonder if maybe we never killed the Tamers prior to that was because I still had a bit of control over my body. I tried to keep Flaremon from taking control completely at that point. He said he was going to finish me off."

"How was he planning to kill you, exactly?" Ryo asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he was going to get one of his followers to kill me and absorb my data. I just don't know. But then you showed up. I sense your presence when you're close to me. I can always, ever since we combined powers against the D-Reaper. I felt so...relieved. Like you had come to help."

"But then I attacked you and you felt betrayed once more." It was a statement. I nodded. He understood. "If I hadn't, he probably wouldn't have been able to evolve into Apollomon."

"Are you seriously going to believe that bullshit, Ryo?" Cyberdramon asked. He had his back to the tree and listened in to our conversation. "She's putting all the blame on you."

"No! It's not like that," I defended. "It's just, I was already at a breaking point. I thought for sure the Tamers were going to be killed because of me...because of Flaremon. I didn't warn them when I thought something was wrong. I just ended up losing the last bit of control."

Cyberdramon scoffed. "You've never had control. You've always been a wild human, always wanting independence and hurt friends. You gladly accepted Flaremon."

Ryo shook his head. "You're very wrong, buddy. Rika has always been a friend to us. It was just unfortunate that those circumstances happened." He gave me an apologetic look. "I shouldn't have been set off so easily by you, Rika. It's just that my history with Flaremon has never exactly been a pleasant one." He then explained his past and how they used to be partners. And the purpose of the Digital World as well as the Guardians and Angewomon. He admitted his mistake in never allowing me to know his original intentions of bringing me to Angewomon and not Baihumon and how Baihumon showing up was purely coincidental.

It had all made sense to me. A pressure of relief escaped me. My chest no longer felt burdened by Ryo's actions now that I finally understood everything.

By the time he had finished explaining, night had fallen. We made camp by the stump and lit a small fire. It illuminated the area a bit and brought a gentle warmth. My crying fit had left me even more exhausted from the day. I laid back against the stump and closed my eyes, drifting into a relaxing sleep.

I woke up later that night. At some point, Ryo had snuggled close to me, probably for warmth. The fire we had was smoldering. The night was chilly. I decided to stretch my legs and go grab some more sticks. The pain in my sides finally subsided, so thankfully, no ribs were broken, but the wound in my shoulder still stung. I headed away from Ryo and the little camp we made to look for some twigs or sticks. Anything that would keep the fire burning. I collected a few here and there and headed back to the camp. I just approached near the camp when a hand grabbed me by the throat and pushed me up against a tree. The grip was tight and choking me.

"You will not harm Ryo," Cyberdramon roared, closing his grip on my neck. The airway was becoming compressed and I began slipping into unconsciousness. Did he seriously think I was going to hurt Ryo? With what? Some twigs? I tried crying out for Ryo's help but couldn't make a noise. His hand was too tight around my throat. I couldn't even pull his giant claws off. He kept squeezing. Suddenly, a fireball flashed nearby and struck him in the arm.

Cyberdramon roared and slammed me to the ground. Another fireball hit him in the chest. I heard words cry out but it was too late. I fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke sometime in the afternoon with such a swelling headache. My voice was still gone and the impression of Cyberdramon's claw still stung my neck. I would gladly take another arrow in the shoulder over that type of pain any day. The campfire in front of us had since burned away and Ryo was sitting next to a red dinosaur. Not just any dinosaur, but Guilmon!

I made my way to Guilmon and pulled him into a tight embrace. The dinosaur nuzzled my neck happily and said, "I'm glad you're alright." I squeezed him harder and tears slid down my cheeks. Guilmon pulled away and tilted his head. "Did I hurt you?" I shook my head and pulled him back into my arms.

Cyberdramon grabbed him by the tail and pulled him away, once more taking me by the neck. "I hoped you would have died," he snarled. He began choking me again. Guilmon bit his arm down in a clamp. He swatted Guilmon away and dodged the electrical whip Ryo shot at him.

Ryo tried pulling his claws from my neck. "Stop it, Cyberdramon!"

"Not until Flaremon is destroyed!" The cyborg cried. His grip grew tighter and I was suffocating, ready to pass out. A sword struck him across the back and he released his grip. Ryo grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me away from Cyberdramon.

"That is not Flaremon," Leomon boomed. His voice like music to my ears.

"It smells like him so it must be him!" Cyberdramon cried. He fired off a desolation claw towards Ryo and I. Ryo dropped us to the ground and covered my body. The attack hit a tree, toppling it over.

Leomon stood over us, shielding us from the beast. "That is a human! Fist of the Beast King!" A fiery punch knocked Cyberdramon in the head. He fell backward from the blow but quickly recovered. Guilmon attacked, too, although his attacks weren't nearly as strong as Leomon's.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted over the commotion. He ran to his partner, tears swelling his eyes. Guilmon nodded at him to greet him, but never took his eyes from Cyberdramon.

Cyberdramon advanced on Guilmon, using his claws to slash the red Digimon. His claws dug into Guilmon's face and ripped it. Guilmon roared but never backed down. Takato swiped a card through the d-power, digi-volving Guilmon to Growlmon. Growlmon grabbed Cyberdramon and slammed him into the ground. Leomon jumped and brought down his sword, slicing through Cyberdramon's arm.

Ryo got up off me and headed to Cyberdramon. He used his d-power to draw the whip and lashed it against Cyberdramon. The cyborg howled and was hit by attacks from Growlmon and Leomon. Minutes later, Cyberdramon was defeated and de-digivolved back into Monodramon. Ryo sighed, retracting the whip. "Thanks, guys."

Takato smiled. "It's no problem." He ran towards Guilmon, who had de-digivolved as soon as Cyberdramon had. He tightly embraced his partner. "Guilmon, I missed you so much, buddy!" The two shared a heartwarming reunion.

Leomon took me by the hand and helped me to my feet. "Are you alright?" I shrugged, unable to speak. My throat had hurt too much from the strangling. Leomon pulled me close and away from Ryo and Monodramon. He sat me down next to our stump and lit the fire pit with his beast wave.

Guilmon and Takato joined us, Takato's hand around Guilmon's neck. "Where is everyone?"

Takato smiled. "They're on their way to the real world, hopefully."

"How did you get here?" Ryo asked.

Leomon answered. "We jumped into the data stream after you guys. We landed in the middle of the forest. We were almost out, too, when we saw trees falling. I'm glad we decided to act on that."

"And everyone else decided not to come?" Ryo asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Takato said. "I didn't think twice when we jumped through the stream. I even forgot to give someone the communicator from Yamaki. Leomon followed me in."

"I told Jeri to stay put with the others," Leomon said.

Ryo nodded. "If she stays with Matt, Tai, and Sora, she will be fine. They know the way out of the Digital World."

"Who exactly are those guys?" Takato asked.

"Old comrades. They came to the Digital World before yourselves. Things were different back then." Ryo told him. "I summoned them back when Flaremon took over Rika."

Leomon rose a brow, "how did you manage that?"

"Using my d-power. I messaged them to come help. Mine is linked to their crests. When it enlights, they know help is needed. It didn't take them very long to arrive. Unfortunately, they hadn't been to the Digital World for years and never knew about the data stream. Tai got hit by one and landed elsewhere. That's when Rika met him."

They looked to me and I shrugged.

"Cat got your tongue?" An annoyingly squeaky voice joked. We all turned to see Terriermon leading the way in front of the other Tamers. Matt, Sora, Tai, and their partners followed behind.

No, but being strangled twice in one day makes it hard to talk, I thought. I ignored the rabbit and he slapped me on the shoulder, playfully. I winced and he frowned. "Forgot, sorry."

Jeri made her way to me and embraced me. "Rika, we were so worried about you!"

"I told you not to follow," Leomon growled.

"We tried not to," Matt said, sitting down beside Ryo. "But the data stream ate us, too."

"It's fortunate we all landed in the same place," Ryo said, not sounding very enthused by it. He gave me a quick glance and frowned. "We're heading to the Village of Beginnings. We need to look for Renamon."

Leomon said, "Renamon died far before Guilmon so her egg has more than likely hatched. She may not be there anymore. We should head to the Real World instead."

Everyone agreed in unison. Henry sighed, "as much as we could use Renamon's help, it would be a waste of time to go looking in the village. We might run into her on our way back to the real world."

"How do we intend to get back anyway? Yamaki isn't answering the communicator." Takato said.

"I have a way," Ryo said. He explained his old Fortress and how there was a portal there. "It'll take us about a day and a half to get back there, considering it's almost nightfall. If we leave now, we could be out of this forest before dark."

"Let's go," Leomon said, standing up. "We can't afford to lose any time."

Just like that, they all decided it wasn't worth the time to look for Renamon. It was quite surprising and upsetting. I tried to hide my disappointment as I followed far behind the group. Ryo lead everyone through the forest beside Monodramon, followed by the Digi-Destined and the Tamers. Jeri hung back and waited until I caught up. She linked her arm with mine and gave me a soft smile. "How are you holding up?"

I smiled back but didn't answer. Jeri asked, "are you alright? How come your neck is red?" I shrugged. "What happened? Ryo!"

Ryo stopped hung back for us to catch up. "What's up?"

"What happened?" She asked.

He looked at me and I gave him a don't say anything look. He frowned. "She's not feeling well. Probably exhausted. It's been a long couple of days. For all of us."

"Yeah, it has." She agreed, unlinking arms with me. She went over to Takato and took his hand.

Ryo placed an arm around my waist. "I'm sorry, Wildcat." He said gently so no one would hear. "I don't know what got into Cyberdramon. I think his data may have become corrupt from that last fight. He seems to be contained now, though." I nodded and he gave me a warm smile. "We will be back in the real world soon. I know we need Renamon and I promise we will look for her after we take care of Apollomon. Leomon is right, we can't waste the time to go look. I'm sorry."

"I understand," I managed to choke out. Truth is, I was furious they decided to continue instead of looking for Renamon. I'm useless without her.

"By the way, what happened to your d-power?"

"I lost it a long time ago." I didn't necessarily lose it. I tossed it into a lake in a feat of rage thinking I have lost Renamon and everyone else. Looking back now, I was sure it was Flaremon that had made me do it. Without it, even if Renamon were to come back, I wouldn't be much help. I just really wanted her comfort and her advice through this. It wasn't fair that Jeri and Takato got their partners back.

Ryo opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of Kazu's loud voice asking Guilmon a question. "So Guilmon, what happened before Rika killed you?"

My body tensed up. Tears welled. Ryo pulled me closer, furious at Kazu for asking. Guilmon said, "oh! Well. It was kind of weird. I heard Rika in the forest and she was being attacked by Flaremon."

"So at that time they were separate beings?" Henry asked.

"That's right. She was being attacked and I stopped him as best as I could but he got the better of me." He looked up at Takao, "that's when you showed up. Before I died I saw an angel. I didn't feel angry at Rika. It was not her that killed me."

"Rika, I'm so sorry..." Takato said.

"Wait? An angel?" Ryo said. "Angewomon? Maybe it was the Keeper of Time?"

"I don't know," Guilmon admitted. "But as she flew by, the forest changed. Like we didn't fight at all."

Son of a bitch! I told them Flaremon really attacked. Ryo gave me a squeeze. He knew what I was thinking. "So it really wasn't Rika that attacked. She was telling the truth."

"That doesn't make sense then." Henry mused. "How could they have been separated at that time and then suddenly emerge? And didn't you see Flaremon kill Renamon, Rika? You thought you were seeing Flaremon's memory."

"That's definitely a good question," Leomon said, pondering it. He looked back at me. "What do you think, Rika?"

"I don't know," I admitted. How could I know any more than them?

Ryo frowned, "maybe when Angewomon flew by, Flaremon somehow emerged himself into Rika to hide. And since he just entered her, Angewomon couldn't sense his presence."

"That dream Rika had about Renamon's death could have been Renamon's memory. Aren't you two psychically connected?" Henry asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Then that explains it," Ryo said. "But to know for sure what happened, we have to interrogate Apollomon before crushing him to data."

"Agreed," everyone said in unison.

After our theory on Flaremon, no one had spoken another word since. It wasn't an awkward silence at all, it was more of a quiet reflection period. Guilmon's death had bothered me more than it should. It was definitely bizarre how Flaremon really did attack Rika and Guilmon before merging into Rika. I wasn't even sure how it was possible he could have done that and if he had done it once, was it possible he could merge again with another human? There were so many questions I had about this. It almost appeared to be some kind of new evolution.

Rika had her face scrunched up in thought. I decided to pick her brains about it. "What do you think happened?"

She frowned. "I don't really know. I'm finding it weird myself. Didn't you and Terriermon say that I absorbed his data from the Crimson Ocean?"

"It was the most obvious and logical explanation at the time, yes," I said.

"But Guilmon's version of events rules that out. I don't know what to believe anymore." She admitted. "I'm being told different stories and learned different things while with Flaremon that contradicts to what you tell me. I just don't know who or what to believe anymore."

"I know what you mean," I told her. So that's what she had on her mind. She wasn't thinking about Flaremon merging with her, she was pondering whom to believe with all of this.

Yes, Flaremon and I had different views and different opinions and I kept a major part of my life from the Tamers. It definitely would make anyone wary on whether or not to trust me, but at the same time, how could she not doubt Flaremon's stories? I needed her alone to talk to her and tell her she has no reason to doubt me.I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. She was so lost in thought that she never reacted to my action. A normal Rika would pull away instantly or slap me. It was weird seeing her like this.

I let her be and headed for the front of the group again and walked alongside Monodramon, who shot me a very nasty look. "Knock it off."

"I don't know what you see in someone like that," he said simply. I ignored him.

Tai said, "she's a fox. If we had met under different circumstances, I'd be all over her."

"What the hell, Tai. You're not even the same age!" Sora snorted in disgust.

I giggled. "He's only a couple years older. I'm a couple years older than her, too."

"Well calling her a fox is inappropriate," Sora said.

Matt chuckled and placed his arm around her shoulder. "You're a fox, too. Don't be jealous."

"I agree, you are." I playfully roared at her. The four of us laughed. After the laughter subsided, I said, "I see a lot in her, though."

"Care to elaborate?" Matt asked. I shook my head. I didn't want the others listening in on our conversation. "Alright, whatever. Tell us some other time then."

We walked for another couple hours in silence before finally reaching the outskirts of the forest. This particular area was one of my favourites. After long days, Cyberdramon and I would come here to relax. A long river ran through the forest, surrounded by trees and large bushes. At the very end of the river was a small cave covered completely that it almost looked like its own tree. I would sit in there for hours after a long swim to relax on the cool stone.

"Let's make camp here. It's almost nightfall." Leomon suggested. Everyone sighed in relief.

I turned to face the Tamers and noticed Rika was still a fair bit behind everyone, not paying attention. Her eyes and thoughts were lost. "We can use the water to freshen up before our long walk tomorrow. It'll take another day to get to my fortress. We may as well relax and enjoy it because the real world will be a real challenge."

"I can't imagine the damage done already," Kazu said.

"I don't think there would be much done, Kazu," Henry told him. "It's only been two days in the Digital World so what's that in the real world? A minute?"

"It only takes a minute to make things go boom!" Terriermon laughed.

"That's not funny," Henry growled.

"Momentai."

Henry shook his head. I chuckled. "You two haven't changed. But speaking of changing, does anyone have any extra shirts I could borrow? I left my bag back at my last camp."

"I do," Kazu said. He tossed his backpack at Ryo. "Help yourself, dude."

I did. I took two shirts and tossed the bag back. I went over to Rika, who finally joined the group, and smiled. She didn't smile back. "Let's go freshen up."

She followed me through the forest and around some bushes. I lead her into the cave. Finally, we were alone. I took off my old, torn shirt and ripped it some more. I used a part as a rag and dipped it in the cold puddle that was made from a dripping stalagmite. "Take off your shirt."

Rika gave me an incredulous look but obliged. "Don't look."

"I wouldn't be able to help that, Wildcat," I smiled. She punched me playfully on the arm. "Ouch. I just meant that I need to look to clean up your wound."

"Whatever."

I dabbed the cloth on her shoulder. She shivered from the touch of the cold water. I couldn't help but to look at her body, despite her warning not to. She was just so beautiful and captivating. Even with a hole in her shoulder, she was beautiful. My hormones raged and I swallowed a lump in my throat.

Rika noticed. "What?"

"Nothing," I lied. She rose a brow. "I just hate seeing you wounded. It ruins our perception of you being the Ice Queen."

"The last time I was called that, Flaremon interrogated me about it." She sighed at the thought.

"What was it like being merged with him?" I asked, drying the water on her shoulder.

"It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. It was like having a stupid conscious constantly annoying and criticizing you. I really hated how he would read my thoughts and judge. I could never read his thoughts, though."

I tied a clean piece of my old shirt around the wound and handed her one of Kazu's shirts. "You probably couldn't read his thoughts because he never had a conscience. He never had a soul."

"You don't think Digimon have souls?" She asked.

"Evil Digimon don't. Just like evil people." I told her.

She thought about it and said, "I suppose you're right."

"I'm always right."

Rika smiled. Her eyes sparkled, "whatever you say."

I couldn't help it. That smile set me off. I leaned over and pressed my lips to hers. She hesitated a moment before relaxing, pulling closer to me. I placed my arms around her back and pulled her tight against me, wanting to feel her body as I deeply kissed her. My lips pressed harder, wanting to taste more of her. I wanted every part of her and had ever since our first kiss.

We broke apart after several long minutes of kissing. We breathed heavily for air. I touched her face gently and caressed her cut cheek with my thumb. I felt guilty about it and about the bruising appearing on her neck. "Sorry," I said.

"For what?"

"Everything. It's my fault you got hurt. I should have paid more attention to Cyberdramon."

"It's not your fault," she said. "I deserved it for causing this mess."

"You don't ever deserve to be hurt. For any reason." I felt a bit angry when she said that. "It's not your fault that Flaremon decided to take over you instead of someone else."

Rika leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. We kissed passionately again. I pushed her to the cave floor and laid on top of her, kissing her. I rubbed my hands from her thighs up to her stomach and under her shirt. I slowly kissed her as my hands reached up to her chest. She allowed me to keep them there, feeling her body. I moved my mouth down from her lips to her chin and then bit her collarbone. She left out a gentle moan as I pulled her shirt up and kissed between her breasts.

I wanted her so much. So badly. More than anything. Her hands ran through my hair and it drove me wild. Her kisses. Her touch. They made me feel so alive, so aroused. I wanted to give her everything. I had never felt this way about anyone. I moved my hands to pull back her bra to kiss her flesh but she stopped me.

"We can't do this, Ryo," Rika said, breathing hard.

I stopped kissing her and moved up to her face to make eye contact. Her amethyst eyes drove me insane. "Why not?"

"This is not a good time." She tried to sit up but I forced her back down.

I wasn't ready for this moment to be over with. "How isn't it? We're alone here. No one will find us."

"It's not that... we shouldn't do something like this given the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" I asked bewildered.

"We're only doing this because of Flaremon." She looked away, not wanting to lock eyes.

What the hell? "It's not because of him, Rika. I love you, I always have. Ever since we first met." Her eyes widened in surprise. "I thought you felt the same way, but if you don't, then I don't want to do this."

"I feel the same way, Ryo," Rika argued. "It's just that, I don't want this to be something that was caused because we feel like we need the support right now. Like we need to feel better because of everything that has happened."

I felt angry with her. Did she seriously think I was only doing this to feel better? "I've wanted to do this for a long time. I'm doing this to show you that I will never let anything bad happen to you again. I want you, Rika. I love you."

I grabbed her chin with my finger and thumb, forcing her to make eye contact. "I love you, too. I'm sorry. I guess...I'm a little tired." She leaned forward and placed her head under my chin and against my chest. "I've always loved you. That's why I've hated you so much. I hated knowing someone had this effect on me." She nuzzled closer. I leaned against the side of the cave, holding her tight. "You know, Flaremon and I do have something in common."

"What's that?" I asked, a bit surprised that she would suggest something so heinous.

She quietly said, "we both want you."

A smile grew wide. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. We stayed like this until we both had succumbed to sleep.

A/N: In case you were wondering, the original chapter I had written was Ryo and Rika making their way to the Village of Beginnings after a long experience through the forest. They were then going to meet with Guilmon before heading to the real world. I actually quite like the way this new version turned out instead. It just seems...right. Just remember, reviewing gives inspiration to keep writing.