Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own When the World's Not Ending, by Smartalec121 or any of their associated works.

Off the Beaten Path

Chapter: 16/ Red Queen

"You know, I always thought she was a little bit strange."

"Hafu's are like that."

Rika's ears pricked at the whispered conversation from two aisles over. Fusae was with Fuyuko and their posse, tossing glances in her direction. They weren't of the kind she cared for, though she had to admit to a certain satisfaction seeing the envy in them. Her method of arrival had stirred up quite the hornet's nest and made her the talk of the school. She would take pleasure in the loss of attention they suffered from their fellow classmates.

Especially where those two are concerned, she thought, making a point to ignore the looks sent her way.

"D-Don't pay any attention to them," Toshiko said, her voice coming out as a half-squeak. "They aren't worth it."

Next to her, Kayoko lifted an eyebrow at the mousy girl.

"You're suddenly supportive all of a sudden. Weren't you mad at her for not telling us the truth at the very start?"

"I was. I still am." She puffed her cheeks out and glared at Kayoko. "But that doesn't mean I can't still support her. Those b-b-bi…"

"Bitches." Leaning on one hand, Kayoko grinned. "Jeez, Toshi, you have no idea how cute you are when you try to swear."

"Can we not talk about them?" Rika asked between mouthfuls of pickled vegetables. "It's making the food taste bad."

"I wasn't talking about them," Kayoko said, turning her gaze over to Rika. "I was talking about how cute Toshiko is. Big difference." Picking up a container of sauce from her bento, she passed it over to Rika. "Here. This'll make it taste better."

"Oh, for goodness sake…" Rika groaned. She still accepted the sauce, and with gratitude.

"Hey, if you didn't want this to be a topic of conversation, then you should have thought of that before you came swooping in, being carried by a knight in shining armor."

"It's funny that they're jealous," Toshiko said with a light giggle. "None of their boyfriends can fly them in looking like that." She heaved a sigh and looked dreamily off in the direction of the school yard. "It looked so romantic. I wish I had someone like that."

"Takato's not my boyfriend." A faint blush colored Rika's cheeks while she wiped her hands.

"You've got your eye on him though," Kayoko pointed out. "And from what I saw, he does have a bit of a romantic flare as well."

"It wasn't romantic. He just wanted to make sure I got to school. And weren't you warning me against pursuing a relationship with him because of what he's gone through?"

"Nothing says I can't compliment his good points while making note of the bad," Kayoko responded, pointing her chopsticks at Rika. "Besides, we both know he's not a bad guy. Even I could see that and I knew him for all of five seconds. Of course, the fact that he fights to protect the city also helps." She turned her chopsticks over in Fusae's direction. "Someone like her wouldn't get that."

Rika scowled. "Can we please talk about something else? I…" She jumped when her phone unexpectedly buzzed. Snatching it out of her bag, she flipped it open.

"Is everything all right?" Toshiko asked, seeing Rika cock her head in confusion.

"I just got a message from…Suzie?" She then hastily added, "One of the Tamers. I didn't have her in my contacts list. Takato or Kenta must have given it to… Oh."

"Rika?" Kayoko asked. "You're leaving us in the dark here."

"Takato never made it to school." Rika felt her heart go suddenly cold. "Suzie…" She swallowed. "She wants to know if I've seen him."

Both Kayoko and Toshiko leaned in as Rika quickly sent a reply. Rika then proceeded to gather up her things.

"I've got to go."

"Huh?" Toshiko's eyes went wide. "But…"

"Gogglehead's gone missing. I'm going to help look for him."

"Hold on. Where would you even start?" Kayoko asked. Rika was already on her feet and calling Takato's cellphone. She already expected he wouldn't answer, as the Tamers likely would have done the same. She had to confirm for herself though.

"I don't know. But I've got to go. I'll catch you later."

"Ah! R-Rika!" Toshiko began, starting to her feet. "W-Wait!" She looked down at Kayoko, who thoughtfully watched as Rika hurriedly raced out of the classroom. She took a sip from her juice box before standing up.

"Come on," she said. "We'd better make sure she's not in over her head."

###

Come on… Come on… Answer the phone already you stupid gogglehead!

"Hi! This is Takato!"

"And Guilmon! Please leave a message at the sound of the bread!"

"Guilmon! Bread doesn't have a…"

Beep!

Rika cursed under her breath as her call went straight to his voice mail. Under normal circumstances, she would have found the voicemail cute, but the absence of the two left her a bundle of nerves. Hanging up, she called Suzie's number from off her text message.

"Rikaaa!" came the yell of Toshiko as she and Kayoko blew through the school doors. "Wait up!"

"What are you two…?" she began, only for Suzie to pick up on the other end.

"What do you want, Model Girl?"

"To help find Takato," Rika replied quickly, continuing to hurry down the front walk of the school. At Toshiko and Kayoko's approach, she held up a hand for them to be silent. "You don't know anything?"

"All I know is, he didn't show up for school and I haven't seen him at Chuo."

"The last time I saw him was at my school. He dropped me off after the fight. He was still in his angel-knight form when he left."

"Crimson Mode?" Suzie's voice took on a worried tone to it. "Gallantmon was in his Crimson Mode after the fight?"

"Uh, yeah. Is that a bad thing?"

"He and Guilmon can't hold it for very long. It's bad for them. How long was he holding it?"

Rika felt her heart freeze.

"T-Twenty minutes, I think. Maybe longer. He flew off after dropping me off."

"That idiot…" The line cut then, leaving Rika with nothing but silence to greet her.

"Damn it…" Rika swore, earning her surprised looks from both Toshiko and Kayoko.

"That bad, huh?" Kayoko asked. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know. I need a second to think." Closing her eyes, Rika came to a stop and forced her thoughts to calm down.

Let's think here. Even if Takato fell, he probably didn't fall very far. His phone's still working, so at the very least it's not broken. He might still be hurt though. Probably unconscious too, or else he would have answered. Takato's not the sort who ignores phone calls unless it's serious.

Opening her eyes again, she gazed in the direction she last saw Gallantmon fly off in. She remembered that it had been to the south. A high school was in that general area, but as Takato didn't reach it…

"Gyoen," she said under her breath. "I'll try there first."

"Hold up there," Kayoko said, snatching hold of Rika's bag, almost yanking her off her feet.

"Let me go!" Rika snapped. "I've got to go!"

"Yeah, I get that, but shouldn't you tell his friends too?" Kayoko pointed at the cellphone still in Rika's hand. Rika blushed and glanced down at it, as if she had completely forgotten it had existed.

"Right."

"And while we're at it, let's get out of sight of the school before we get in trouble," Toshiko chimed in. Nodding, Kayoko pulled on Rika's bag, tugging her in the direction of the school gates.

"H-Hold on!" Rika began, becoming flustered and angry. "You can't come! You're not Tamers!"

"Last I checked, you're not a Tamer either, so you can't tell us what to do." Kayoko gave her an odd, thoughtful look that made Rika feel suddenly self-conscious. The fire-haired girl covered it up by rolling her eyes, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with her two friends.

"Fiiine," she sighed. "But at the first sign of trouble, you two have to run, got it?"

"Sure, as long as you do the same, Nonaka," Kayoko said, dropping her grip from Rika's bag.

###

Takato awoke to a massive ache that permeated throughout his entire body. Muscles cringed and pulled tight at the slightest movement, making him want to do nothing but lay where he was and not move a single inch. Memory tickled at the back of his mind, forcing a certain urgency on him to get going.

Guilmon! Where's Guilmon?!

Pushing through the pain though, he sat up with a groan and took stock of his situation. His mind moved sluggishly, and an eternity seemed to pass before he realized he was in a park. Which one, he didn't know at present, but he laboriously concluded that it wasn't Chuo, being most intimately familiar with that setting. He was lying on a bench with Guilmon curled up next to him, head pressed against the side of his leg.

"Takatomon digivolve…" the dinosaur breathed softly. Takato found himself smiling. Even to his weary mind, this was solid evidence that his partner was all right. More memory returned and his smile fell a little.

"Sorry for putting you through that, boy," he said. Placing a hand on his partner's head, he gave him a loving pat. Guilmon snorted at his touch and gave a start. Golden eyes flickered open and swung up toward him.

"Takato?" he asked, slurring sleepily. "Is it lunch time Takatomon?"

"You can have anything you want, boy," Takato replied.

"Then I'd like bread stuffed with peanut butter and…" Guilmon sat up suddenly, his nostrils flaring. His head turning, his golden eyes widened in what could only be shock and his mouth fell open. Curious, and more than a little worried, Takato looked to see what had so startled his partner.

It didn't take Takato long to join him.

In that single moment, words failed him and a quiver ran the length of his body. He briefly entertained the insane idea that the last four years hadn't happened at all. That he imagined the whole thing. After all, the dead didn't come back.

Except, here he lay, and across from him, seated with a warm, loving smile on her face, was someone who was dead.

"J-Jeri?" he whispered. His voice shook and the trembling in his body grew. Both he and Guilmon, acting as one, got off the bench and stood, their mutual pain momentarily forgotten.

"Hello, Takato," Jeri replied. He felt a regretful energy to her greeting, like she was a little sad to see him. "How are you feeling?"

"I-I…" Takato stammered, his mind reeling. Then, a thought occurred to him and he seized upon it like a life preserver. With an effort, he reigned himself back in and closed his eyes. It felt easier to organize his thoughts when he didn't look at her. "You're from another dimension, aren't you?"

"Yes," Jeri nodded. Takato felt some tension run out of his body, relieved perhaps from the knowledge that he hadn't finally lost his mind. Opening his eyes back up, he looked Jeri over. She looked like her. Her hair was a little longer, to be sure, and the shape of her face had more maturity to it than his Jeri had upon her death. Yet, this was her. At the very least, she had the same kindness in her eyes that he remembered. Even at her lowest, right at the very end, that kindness had been there, and it made Takato's mouth quiver, remembering the last day Jeri had been with him.

Approaching carefully, Guilmon sniffed Jeri and cocked his head to one side. She nodded to him.

"I smell funny, don't I?"

"Just a little," Guilmon agreed. "Sorry, is that bad of me to say?"

"No, silly," Jeri giggled. Reaching out, she patted his head. "How have you been? Still chasing those poor squirrels?"

"Ohhh… But they like it!"

"D-Don't worry," Takato began, not sure what else to say. "Once we get you to Hypnos, we can figure out how to get you back to your world. It-It might be a little complicated, but I think we can do it."

So many things were on the tip of his tongue, but a reminder that this wasn't his Jeri came to the forefront of his mind. No matter how she looked or acted, she wasn't the Jeri he lost. A part of him warned him of the dangers of treating her as if they were one and the same. Her leaving back to her home reality would be the same as Jeri dying all over again if he didn't keep that in mind.

"Oh, I don't need any help with that," Jeri said, her fingers gracing Guilmon's ears. Sadness joined the kindness in her eyes. "I'll never need help with that."

Takato tilted his head in confusion. "I don't understand."

Jeri sighed. Not from annoyance, but from anxiety.

"You're not going to like hearing this."

"I… What?"

Drawing her hand down to the front of Guilmon's nose, Jeri opened her palm for him.

"Smell me again."

Guilmon looked at her questioningly, but did as asked. A second later, his head jerked back in shock and his eyes dilated.

"Takato!" he snarled viciously. "She smells like the D-Reaper!"

"What?!" Takato froze in shock and horror. D-Reaper. The name conjured up an image of another version of Jeri; a digital copy who had been created to spy on him, his friends, and to study humanity. During the final battle, he had fought and destroyed it. Even today, he still remembered the burning hatred and joy he saw in its yellow eyes as it sought to destroy all human life.

"It's true," she said. "In my world, the D-Reaper won. Everyone else lost. Including us. Myself. Calumon. The D-Reaper."

Takato's hand had been reaching for his digivice when she said that, and there it froze.

"Ha?" Guilmon asked, speaking both of their confusion at 'Jeri's' words. Gritting his teeth, Takato grabbed hold of his digivice.

"It doesn't matter," he said, lifting his digivice. "We're putting a stop to you here and now!"

"If that's what you want," 'Jeri' said. "I won't stop you."

A flash of memory came when she said that; this one of the Horn Striker embracing his attack. 'Jeri' stood there meekly, hands folded in front of her, and gazing at him. She made no effort to ready herself for combat, or even to flee.

She looks so much like her…

His hand started to shake violently and tears began to brim at the corners of his eyes. 'Jeri's' eyes softened and she looked away.

"Maybe this was a bad idea after all," she said quietly.

Looking back and forth between the two before focusing on this alternate 'J-Reaper.' Or Jeri. Guilmon noted that it – she – referred to themselves and the D-Reaper as separate entities. He sniffed the air again, testing the girl's scent and sorting through it.

Three smells. Jeri. D-Reaper. And…

"Calumon?" Guilmon's ears rose up in surprise. Jeri looked at him, a wave of relief flooding her face. Reaching up, she brushed aside her bangs, revealing a trio of triangles surrounding a larger one on her forehead. The Zero Unit that was Calumon's trademark symbol.

"No way…" The whisper escaped Takato's lips almost completely unnoticed. This was too much and too fast. His mind whirled and he swayed on his feet. With an effort, he shook his head, forcing himself to keep standing. If this was the D-Reaper, he didn't dare pass out. "What…?"

"We biomerged," Jeri explained. "Calumon was already on the way to becoming my new partner at the very end. And the D-Reaper had already made itself my partner, I guess you could say. Time did the rest, and we had a lot of that thanks to the D-Reaper. It altered the flow of time around it. A lot happened after you all died."

Glancing down, Takato saw that Jeri was wringing her hands tightly, leaving deep impressions on her skin. He balled his fists up, glaring angrily at her. His head felt hot and once again he felt like he was about to fall down. His breath was coming out faster and his heart pumped angrily.

"How dare you?" he whispered in a harsh tone. "How-How could you do this to her? Keep using her like this?" The screen on his digivice flickered to life and Jeri's eyes shot down to it. She saw an inky blackness begin to form within its center. Horror spread across her face.

"Takato… Please don't do that. I'm sorry. I…" Suddenly, Jeri bowed, deep and low, causing both Takato and Guilmon to jolt, taken aback by the motion. The blackness vanished from his digivice and the light faded.

"Please, don't do that to yourselves!" Jeri pleaded, and her breath hitched in her throat. "Please! Once was already enough."

Takato and Guilmon both exchanged baffled looks. Jeri remained in her bow, waiting, her own body shaking. Takato clenched his eyes shut and looked away from the girl. It was too painful.

"What do you mean?" Guilmon prompted, seeing that his partner wasn't up for conversation. Admittedly, he understood, but they needed to understand this D-Reaper's behavior. Rising up, she brushed her hair out of her face, once again revealing the edges of the Zero Unit on her forehead.

"I saw a version of you two where you had become darker. At the very end, that you even killed his Rika." Her head tilted and her eyes changed, becoming vacant for a moment. Yet she continued to speak, but only to herself. Or perhaps, Guilmon surmised, to something that they couldn't see.

"Yes, I know you said this would be a bad idea. No, I don't care how illogical it is! I wanted to see them! I…! Well, maybe you should have tried making friends in the first place!"

Jeri's eyes returned to normal, but she was plainly upset now. Her eyes were damp, her face was flushed, and she shook all over. Taking a gamble, Guilmon stepped toward her.

"Guilmon! What are you…?"

"Momentai, Takato. I want to try something."

"But-But…"

Guilmon paused and turned toward his partner. "Trust me, Takato? Please?"

"I…" Takato's eyes wavered before finally looking away. He clutched his digivice tightly. "Just…be careful."

"I will. I promise." Returning his attention to Jeri, he held out a claw to her. Jeri looked at it before turning to Guilmon, confused. The crimson dinosaur smiled warmly. "Momentai," he said.

Gingerly, Jeri reached out and grasped Guilmon's claw with her hand. As if the contact were a signal, she flung herself at the dinosaur and wrapped her arms about him in a powerful hug. A tearful cry erupted from her throat then and Jeri proceeded to sob into his neck. Guilmon returned the hug, taking care not to harm her with his claws. He looked back at Takato, who could only stare at the scene.

"It can't be," Takato said under his breath, his voice trembling. "It can't be."

Guilmon sniffed the girl. Jeri's scent was much stronger now, eclipsing the other two almost entirely.

"Awww…" he soothed, stroking Jeri's back. "It's okay. Don't be sad. Momentai, Jeri. Momentai."

This only made the girl cling to him all the more tightly as her sobbing grew in intensity.

###

"You seem weirdly okay with this," Takato said to Guilmon. He glanced briefly over his shoulder at Jeri, who stood a short way off to give them some privacy. Wincing, he looked away.

"Rika said she went to a world where she was a Tamer," Guilmon replied. "So, there's probably a lot of others out there, right? Even ones where I don't like peanut butter. Maybe even one where I stayed as Megidramon."

"Don't…!" Takato began before stopping himself. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to steady himself.

"What's wrong?" Guilmon asked. "It's not like those worlds are us, right?"

"They're 'what-ifs'. What if I went bad. What if Rika was a Tamer." He looked at Jeri again. "I don't think I want to know what would have made her biomerge with the D-Reaper."

"Maybe you could ask her?"

Takato again glanced at her. She wasn't looking at them. Instead, she was gazing at some trees. Her eyes held a kind of melancholy to them, as if she hadn't seen a tree in a long, long time. Once again, he found himself amazed at how much she looked and acted like the Jeri he knew.

Except she's not. She's the D-Reaper, using her like it did before. Using her to…do what, exactly? It could have killed me earlier. It should have, but it didn't. It… She…

Takato clenched his eyes shut. It was becoming so hard to think with her here.

"We need help," he said. Taking out his cellphone, he saw he had a number of missed calls and text messages. Kenta, Suzie and Rika. For now, he quickly typed a message to Yamaki and fired it off before moving on to Kenta. Guilmon watched him for a moment before looking at Jeri.

"I'm going to go talk to her."

"Guilmon…"

"Takatomon, there's definitely something different about her. Shouldn't we find out what that is? It might be important. Maybe it has something to do with Calumon!"

"It was more than that," Jeri said. She blushed a second later and looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry. I know it's rude to eavesdrop on people."

Takato narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion, all the while hating himself for being that way and simultaneously hating the D-Reaper all the more for doing what it did. It left him feeling boxed in.

I can't-can't hurt her while she looks like this.

"Why haven't you killed us?" he blurted out. Jeri looked hurt, but at the same time she appeared as though she expected no other question.

"Because I don't want to."

"Well…why?!" Takato clenched his fists together so tight he could feel his nails biting into his palms. "You're the D-Reaper! That's all you do is kill and destroy! When we fought, you couldn't conceive of anything else! You even said that we didn't deserve to live!"

Jeri stood silent for a moment. She closed her eyes then for the briefest of seconds, and when she reopened them, there was a subtle shift to them. A flatness that sent shivers down Takato's spine.

"You remain confusing, disorderly, and illogical," 'Jeri' said in a monotone voice. "Yet, your data is similar to our own now. Much more than the version of you we deleted."

Takato's face went white and Guilmon fell into a crouch, claws extended in front of him.

"Takato… This is the D-Reaper now!" he snarled.

'Jeri' gazed impassively at Guilmon.

"We won't attack. It is not our desire." She turned her attention back up to Takato. "Under normal circumstances," she continued, "we might have considered assimilating you, as we did subject Jeri Katou. However, Jeri doesn't want that, and we choose to respect her wishes in this matter." The girl's expression changed, becoming strangely…sad. It was subtle at first. Her eyes squeezed slightly as her brow furrowed. A single tear traced down her cheek and her lips trembled.

"Encountering illogical emotional conflict. Attempting to resolve. Attempt failed. Failed. Failed."

"Oh God…" Takato buried his face into his hands. "Stop it. Stop it!"

"W-We apologize," 'Jeri' said, her voice cracking. Wiping at her face, she cocked her head at the tear. Another one flowed out unimpeded. "We are still not used to processing this information." She lowered her hand. "Biomerging was considered the final completion of our evolution. It was suggested by Subject Katou after the last resistance fell. The D-Reaper was unprepared for how this evolution would change us, but once we were one, the process could not be stopped. We needed time to process the data. We… We…"

She frowned and looked down at her hands. Takato followed her gaze. They were shaking.

"We detected the first tears from another reality," she croaked. "We investigated it. We…" Her head snapped up. "Encountering illogical emotional conflict. Attempting to resolve. Attempt failed."

Her eyes changed again, and this time the flat look gave way to the brighter look.

"Sorry." She smiled wanly at an utterly horrified Takato. "When she sees you and Guilmon, she feels how I felt as if they were her own feelings. She saw the world where the two of you became a dark Gallantmon. She's been stuck on that a lot lately."

Takato was about to say something when, all at once, his stomach heaved and his throat made a choked, gurgling sound. Doubling over, he spewed hot, steaming liquid onto the ground.

"Takato!" Guilmon shouted. Takato groaned. His body spasmed again and once more he made a choking sound. Only this time, his stomach had nothing to throw up. That didn't make things any better however. His stomach, apparently certain that there was something it needed gotten rid of, heaved once again, and his vision blurred from the violent upheaval.

After what felt like an eternity, his eyes cleared and his body relaxed. He looked up to find Jeri watching him compassionately. A puppy was approaching from off to the side, and it took him a moment to recognize it as the same one they saw in the park earlier. The one that fled from them.

"W-Wha…?" he began. Before he could finish, he saw the puppy change into a pulsating red mass and grow in size. It became more human-shaped, brown hair forming out of red liquid and a crimson dress falling over her. A second Jeri stood before them, completely identical in appearance, save for the dress and her empty, emotionless expression.

"Your defiance against your body's convulsions is pointless," she said to Takato. "You cannot win. It is better to simply let it continue its course."

"Jeri…?" Guilmon began, pointing back and forth between them.

"She wanted it to be easier to talk to you," Jeri said, frowning at her twin. "Instead of switching back and forth." She approached Takato, a sympathetic look on her face. "I'm sorry," she said, kneeling next to him. "We're not making this easy for you."

"D-Don't…! Don't…touch…!" Takato tried to pull back from her, but immediately his stomach seized up and he fell again. J-Reaper tilted her head, her attention analytical.

"Your emotions will get you nowhere," J-Reaper said. "They are illogical and only leave you weak."

"That's enough!" Guilmon snapped, stepping in front of Takato protectively. J-Reaper frowned.

"Hostility detected. Engaging defensive protocols."

"No!" Jeri shouted. Surging to her feet, she held her arms out wide and stood between digimon and agent. "No fighting! That's what we talked about, remember! That's what we agreed on!"

J-Reaper fell silent for a moment and then nodded.

"Illogical. But understood. We do not want to be like our Myotismon counterpart."

Jeri breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said, lowering her arms.

Gasping, Takato pushed himself off the ground. "M-Myotismon…?" he whispered shakily. His mind reeled chaotically, trying to make sense of everything.

"Don't worry about it," Jeri smiled. "The world your Rika fell into already took care of it. But I guess you could say it was quite the wakeup call for us. It's why we're here."

"Why…?"

Jeri shook her head. "This has been a hard day for you," she said. "Let's leave things off here for the day. If you want to talk, we'll meet you at Guilmon's old home tomorrow, okay?"

Takato's head wavered, fighting against the exhaustion of Crimson Mode and his vomiting fit. He saw J-Reaper turn her head.

"She's here," she said. "She will take care of him."

Takato blinked, and they were gone, leaving just himself and Guilmon alone in the park.

9