Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

What's Left of You

Chapter: 24

Those two shouldn't be here. They'll corrupt the program!

The thought echoed through its mind as it hurried through the city, its senses briefly brushing against the young girl and her fox companion as they passed near each other. It felt itself reflexively cringe at the intensity it felt in the girl's spirit, but it pushed on ahead, moving all the more swiftly now so as to stay ahead of them. It needed to reach its target before they…

Oh no… Was all it thought before it felt the world lurch around it.

###

Renamon ground to a halt on the rooftop, her ears twitching violently alongside her tail. Alarmed, Rika shifted in her partner's grasp.

"Renamon! What…? Whoa!" Rika gave a startled cry at her partner suddenly whirling about, her blue eyes searching the city around them.

"Something…" she murmured. "I sense something out there. Perhaps the other Gallantmon."

The vulpine digimon felt Rika tense up at that, her own violet eyes joining hers in the search.

"Can you tell where?" she asked, digging out her digivice and activating the compass function. The arrow swung wildly along the screen, but still detected nothing.

"No," Renamon shook her head. "But if I were to hazard a guess…"

Rika tightened her grip around her digivice as her partner trailed off, not needing words to guess what had been left unsaid. The other Gallantmon had been targeting Takato from the very moment it arrived in the real world. Even in this bizarre, empty duplicate of their home city, it would likely do the same.

"Then let's g-!"

Rika let out another startled cry just then as the roof they stood upon suddenly gave away beneath their feet; melting, as it appeared at first glance. Clutching hold of the girl tightly, Renamon flung herself forward, rolling off the ledge before it dissolved and tumbling to the street below. Immediately upon landing, she spun about and both partners watched as the building they had been standing on continued to fall apart as though it were melting butter, becoming a dark puddle that began to evaporate into shining particles of data. As they watched, a hole appeared where the building had been, and was rapidly beginning to expand from its epicenter.

"That…doesn't look like good news," Rika said, her eyes narrowing before she nudged her partner. "Come on. We'd better find Takato before…"

"It's not the only one."

"Ah!" Rika's eyes went wide as she followed the kitsune's gaze, and true to her observation, more buildings were coming apart in much the same manner.

"What…What is happening here?" she asked before shaking her head. "Never mind. We get out of here and we grab Takato and find the others. The sooner the better."

"You're not leaving already, are you?"

The voice startled both human and digimon – a habit this world appeared to be picking up – but less by its unexpectedness and more by its familiarity. Zeroing in on the source, they found a figure approaching them from the ruins of one of the buildings. Red hair shone in the light of the sun, and a pair of cool violet eyes gazed at them from above a knowing smirk. Rika felt her lips draw back, not liking this development.

"Please tell me that's not me."

"It appears to be the case, I'm afraid," Renamon replied, beginning to back up. The girl was changing as she drew closer. She was already growing in length, becoming taller, and her hair swung down, becoming a set of twin foxlike tails of white that burned away the red. A silver staff materialized in a hand that was rapidly becoming covered by black leather, and before too long, violet body armor joined it.

Rika recognized the new figure as a darker shade of her and Renamon's Mega form, Kuzuhamon.

Without a further word, Renamon sprang away, hoping to gain as much distance as possible. Behind them, Kuzuhamon rose up on her heels and took flight after them.

"What's the hurry?" she crowed, slashing her staff to the side and unleashing a single, silver-fire fox at them. Renamon twisted in midair, narrowly dodging the beast. As she did so, she caught sight of the shaman's pale face, still smirking all the while. "Oh, let me guess. Gogglehead, right? Not sure why you bother with him. It's not like he's really your type after all."

Renamon somersaulted through the air and landed on the ground once more, followed swiftly by the shaman. The ground cracked beneath her heels and Renamon felt the vibration beneath her feet.

"But," Kuzuhamon continued mockingly, "I guess it's better than leaving him for Jeri to nab, right?"

Renamon heard Rika's sharp intake of breath at that, and she adjusted her seating. She could feel the tension just beneath her skin, a barely noticeable tremor.

"I don't know who you are," Rika seethed, "but I've got something important to take care of and you're in the way right now. So why don't you take a hike or something and take your nutty head games with you?"

Kuzuhamon rose up, becoming as a rigid spear in the road, declaring her silent intent to bar their way.

"I think it's more fun this way. Besides, if you really do want to lose him, this is the best excuse you could have." She spun her staff in her hand before assuming a fighting stance. "Don't worry. You can always tell Jeri you did your best but your best wasn't good enough. You can step away."

Her smirk widened ever so slightly, her eyes, hidden beneath her violet fox mask, meeting that of Rika's. "Unless you really do intend to steal him from her. In that case, don't let me stop you."

"Okay, time to end this."

Frustration and annoyance practically dripping from her words, Rika lifted her digivice skyward. "Biomerge activate!" she shouted.

Only, this time, there was no bright light enveloping her and her partner. Rika gaped, taken aback by this unexpected occurrence. She didn't have long to wonder about it however, as soon enough, Kuzuhamon gave her something else to worry about as she slammed her staff to the ground, sending an expanding barrier of crackling energy that struck the pair, sending them flying backward with a cry.

###

The empty streets of Shinjuku left Takato feeling anxious, but he continued on, making his way towards the park where Guilmon's hut lay. He hoped that the others would be there. If they were with him in this empty city. A part of them hoped that they weren't. That they were somewhere safe and sound. Preferably in the real world.

I have to check and see, just in case, he thought to himself, grimacing at how difficult this world was making that for him, with the lack of operational phones. And once I've figured out if they are or aren't, then I can start working on figuring out wherever this place is.

He marveled at how accurate everything was to what he remembered from back home while simultaneously it struck him odd that the digital world would even have such a place like this.

Did something happen when that Megidramon went off the way it did? Like, maybe create a weird other dimension or something and we all got sucked into it? Man, I wish Henry were here. He'd probably be able to figure this mess out…

"Hey! Takatomon!"

Takato jarred to a halt, his eyes whirling about in surprise at the voice. Sure enough, he found Henry with Terriermon sitting astride his shoulder, waving him down with his ear.

Speak of the devil…

"Henry! Terriermon!" The boy waved at them back with his regrown arm, causing both of his friends to draw up short, eyes wide with stunned amazement. "Man, am I glad to see you guys! I… Uh… What's up?"

"Takato…" Henry began, only for Terriermon to finish for him.

"You've sprouted a new leaf there, Takatomon."

"Huh?" Blinking, Takato looked back at the arm he had been using. The arm that, up until he woke up, had been missing since the battle with Armageddamon. "Oh, right." He laughed at how quickly he had gotten used to its presence. "Yeah, funny story behind that…"

"Is this actually going to be a joke?" Terriermon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I'm not sure if I'm supposed to laugh right now."

Takato chuckled at that, rubbing the back of his head while Henry looked back and forth between the two, flummoxed by the situation. Seeing his partner's expression, Terriermon folded his tiny arms together and huffed.

"What? I can be tactful every now and them."

"First time for everything," Henry said, a grin forming on his face in spite of all his misgivings about their current situation. "Takato, your arm doesn't hurt or anything, does it?"

"No. It's really weird, but kind of cool though."

"Define weird," Terriermon said, hopping over to Takato and lifting up his new arm with his ears. "Huh. It doesn't feel like it's weird or anything."

"Well, I mean like weird in that I just woke up with it. I mean, arms don't just appear from out of nowhere, you know?"

Now it was Henry's turn to approach, and cautiously, he, with a questioning look at Takato, he raised a hand indicatively. Smiling, Takato nodded, and Henry took hold of his arm.

"It…feels real," he said, giving the teen's skin a soft squeeze. He looked up at Takato worriedly. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No," the brown-haired boy grinned with a shake of his head. "In fact, I feel…"

"Broken!"

Whirling about at the voice, the trio spied an all too familiar figure standing at the far end of the path, a dark, angry glare burning in his crimson eyes.

"Is that…?" began Takato, only for Terriermon and Henry to both nod.

"Yeah, looks just like you," the long-eared rabbit digimon nodded. "We both saw him earlier. Looks like it wasn't just a shared hallucination."

"Terriermon…" Henry shook his head before focusing on the approaching boy. "Who are you? What is this place?"

"It's broken. It's all broken," the other Takato grated, still stalking towards them. His fur starting to rise up, Terriermon hopped down to the ground, taking position between the three humans.

"Sounds like you're one cup of flour short of a rising bread roll," the long-eared digimon chided. "Why don't you tell us what's up so we can work on fixing whatever's broken?"

"You're not supposed to be here!" the other Takato answered angrily, stabbing a finger in Henry's direction. "You and the other two! Just…Just him! I…"

The other Takato doubled over suddenly, clutching at his head with a cry of pain.

"There's…too much of your…darkness!" he moaned through clenched teeth.

As though his words had been a signal, a shadow fell on the two Tamers and Terriermon, and the earth shook violently beneath their feet, sending them all sprawling to the ground. Looking up, they saw a massive, towering figure, decked out in black armor that glinted in the light of day, missile tubes and laser cannons aiming in their direction.

"Oh…come…on!" Terriermon exclaimed, his mouth falling open. "Henry, there's got to be a rule about having that much overkill pointed right at us!"

Henry, however, could only gape in utter astonishment. Not even a single "Terriermon" escaped his lips over his partner's seeming ability to never recognize the level of danger he was in at any given time. Takato, for his part however, found words.

"Um… I vote for running…" he began, only for his heart to sink as the laser cannons began to gleam with gathering energy. Deep down, he knew they had no time. "…or not," he finished fatally.

It can't end like this. Guilmon… Guilmon!

"Biomerge activate!" Henry shouted, thrusting his hand skyward, only for nothing to happen.

Nothing that is, save for the fury of the dark MegaGargomon's attack raining down on them.

###

Coughing, Rika struggled to get back to her feet. Her body hurt, though whether from the impact of the attack that hit her or from hard landing, she didn't know. Not that it made any difference really. She looked over at Renamon, who was presently on her knees, shaking her head, trying to clear it.

We couldn't biomerge, she thought hazily, a shadow falling over her. Why… Why couldn't we…?

"Guess you're just not good enough after all, huh?"

Craning her head, she blinked away a strand of red hair that fell over her eyes. Kuzuhamon towered over her, a fist planted on her hip and a smirk standing prominently on her pale face.

"Makes me wonder why you made that silly little promise at all. What was the point? You couldn't protect him. You couldn't keep him out of trouble. Did you just need an excuse to be close to him? Because you couldn't tell him what you really felt? What you really wanted from him?"

"What's your malfunction?" Rika snarled, staggering up with an effort, fists balled up, ready to strike. The Kuzuhamon tilted her head to one side.

"Don't ask me. It's your problem. Not mine. I'm just here simulating what's in your little dark heart."

Rika felt herself stiffen at that. "What? My heart…?"

"That's what this is…" came the voice of Renamon, hoarse and pained. Turning, Rika saw Renamon climbing to her feet. "Whoever it was that put us in this place… It's all for a reason, isn't it?"

Kuzuhamon smirked and lifted her silver staff.

"Everything happens for a reason. I have my reason, which only exists because you and Henry decided to stick your nose in things." She gave a dark laugh all of a sudden. "And so do the Digignomes."

Rika snorted, things starting to fall into place for her now. This world. This version of Kuzuhamon… Even ChaosGallantmon. They were a product of the digital world.

This digimon is just simulating what's wrong with me? Which means that the other Gallantmon is…Takato.

She thought of how the dark knight savagely went after Takato, and her heart flashed angrily as it hurt for him.

Talk about beating yourself up over something. And now I'm doing it to myself.

"What?" she demanded heatedly. "They couldn't mail us a postcard or something?"

Kuzuhamon laughed at that. "You know that's not how they communicate. Silly Tamer. You meeting Renamon; Takato creating Guilmon; Henry summoning Terriermon from a game… That's how they say 'hello.'"

"Their stupid messages could use some work," Rika snapped angrily as Renamon drew up behind her, images of ChaosGallantmon's devastating attack in the city flashing through her mind. "All right. So, we've got some issues. Are you going to keep beating us over the head with them? Or are you going to get out of our way?"

Kuzuhamon knelt down, her grip on her staff tightening.

"I'm just like you, you know. I know which one you're going to find more fun."

"This is not some stupid ga-!" Rika shouted, but Kuzuhamon was already lunging toward them, power gathering around her staff. A thousand thoughts and feelings flew through Rika's mind just then. They did not have the time for this.

I…promised! The thought burst across her mind, and with it firmly held there, the light of evolution washed over her and Renamon, and once more they were merged as Sakuyamon. Her bronze staff flashed and she struck the ground, an energy barrier sparking as it formed before expanding, clashing with Kuzuhamon's own power. The two struggled, straining against one another. Kuzuhamon laughed.

"I thought you didn't have time for this!" the dark shaman shouted. "Come on! You want to keep putting this off?"

Grating her teeth, Sakuyamon poured more power into her barrier.

Takato… she thought, her heart beating painfully in her chest. Jeri… Her teeth ground against each other angrily. Why…do things have to be so…stupidly…complicated?!

With a loud cry, her barrier exploded outward as her armor again transformed, taking on her Miko appearance once more. Kuzuhamon gave a shout of surprise as she was flung backward, data breaking away from her body. Collapsing to the ground, she shakily lifted her head, continuing to smirk at her.

"Nice one," she congratulated while Sakuyamon's chest heaved from the power she had thrown at her. "Now why are you still standing there? Don't you have someplace to be? Someone to see?"

Rika tsked from within her data sphere, and with nothing more to be said, she launched herself into the air, ignoring Kuzuhamon's dissolving body and the void of blackness that opened up beneath. As the blackness swallowed her, she gave a light laugh.

"Until we meet again…"

###

"Rika…"

"What is it, Renamon?"

Sakuyamon's hair blew in the wind as she flew toward Shinjuku park. Inwardly, Rika felt as though her thoughts were distant, like the world that lay below her. Drawing them closer to herself, she extended her senses into the darkness about her data sphere, sensing Renamon's worry.

"About what Kuzuhamon said…"

"Is this really the best time for this?" the girl snapped, her cheeks blooming suddenly with embarrassment and shame that, outwardly, was also shared on Sakuyamon's face in the form of a tiny blush.

"Perhaps not," Renamon replied. "Though I should point out that there usually isn't a 'best time' where you've been concerned."

Sakuyamon's cheeks darkened, reflecting Rika's increased agitated stated and her hand tightened about her haraigushi wand. Within her data sphere, Rika's lips parted, preparing to protest before pausing, considering Renamon's words.

"Point made," she conceded. "Look, I know I'm not the best at this sort of thing and I'll probably always be a little prickly about it, but we really should save it for later."

She glanced over her shoulder, watching as a portion of the street she left behind became swallowed up by the expanding well of darkness. Shuddering, she returned her attention to the approaching park.

"Especially now."

"I understand," Renamon replied, nodding Sakuyamon's head outwardly. "But I do believe it would be best if you spoke to…"

Renamon's words suddenly jerked to a halt as both she and Rika gasped in surprise. Before their unified gaze, the massive, armored form of a black-clad MegaGargomon suddenly broke free from the forest of Shinjuku Park. Stomping forward, it took aim with its weapons and fired.

6