The Fallen:  The Supreme Strength

Author’s Note:  Well, I saw the last Season 3 episode (in Japanese) and I was kinda disappointed.  Rika got screwed, that’s for sure.  At least Henry got to be a hero.  That and I wish they were continuing Season 3.  Instead they have a bunch of new Tamers that become Digimon, which sounds kinda lame to me.  Sorry, just ranting ^_^;;  Slow chapter, mainly to get the plot going.  Hope you enjoy!

What is strength… is it the power to have the world bow before you in terror… is it the lust for battle… is it the fight for good… or is it the power to love?    What is the supreme strength…?

The room was dark and the only sound present was the soft breathing of Jeri while she slept.  Takato sat in a chair next to the girl’s bed, and he watched her quietly, Guilmon gently resting at his feet.  The Tamer gently pulled off his goggles and tossed them to the floor. 

He looked at the girl’s face with compassion and sadness.  She looked so peaceful while she slept.  He twisted some of her hair around one of his fingers and smiled weakly.  Jeri was so much stronger than he was.  She had been through Hell and back, multiple times.  A small tear formed in the corner of his eye.  He would give his life if it meant she never felt anything but happiness for the rest of her life.  But he knew that his presence was one of the few things in this dying world that made her happy. 

Takato looked away from her face and up toward the ceiling.  First there was Leomon’s death.  He wasn’t sure he could even go on living without Guilmon, and Jeri had lost her partner over seven years ago, and she still seemed strong.  And she had even forgiven Impmon for the murder.  That was true strength.  These last few years must have been even harder for her.  She had spent most of the time as a fugitive with himself, Henry and Ryo.  Though they insisted that she could get away with pretending to be a human, she refused to leave them.  She would hold up her D-Power, the static of Leomon’s lost data still hissing quietly, and say that she will always be a Tamer.

Then she found out her brother was still alive.  She contacted him, tearful with joy.  He said he was ecstatic to hear from her and that he wanted to see her as soon as possible.  They hadn’t wanted to let her go alone, but she insisted that we could trust her brother.  As soon as she got to his home he handed her over to the authorities.  Her own brother had sent her to die, scared and alone, in the Digital World.  She hadn’t spoken much of the death camps, other than she had seen a lot of people die. 

Takato shook his head, feeling an overwhelming ache in his heart.  At times Rika seemed so right.  Why were they trying to save a world where brothers betrayed sisters, a world where terror was an everyday event?  Despite the genetic evidence, Takato still refused to believe that Tamers were any different than humans.  Yet Tamers were persecuted, and slowly being exterminated throughout the entire world.  And many Tamers showed humans the same kind of treatment.  “Rika’s right, why are we fighting?” he mumbled.

“Takato,” Jeri said.  He looked down at her and let the strands of her brown hair fall from his finger.  She smiled weakly, “For ourselves.”

“What?”

“We’re fighting for ourselves, Takato.  You want to believe that it’s the world we’re fighting for, that we’re completely selfless.  But we’re not, we just refuse to sit around and complain about how bad the world is, so we’re doing something about it.  You want a better place for me, and I want a better place for you.  Guilmon wants to be able to buy bread, not steal it.  Henry hates killing, and he wants to stop of much of it as he can.  Ryo and Rika don’t care about changing the world, they’re happy with the way it is; it means they can fight as much as they want.  But they see that we don’t like it this way, so they’re helping us.  We’re all doing it for our own reasons.”

“Well, that’s a positive way to look at it, I guess.”

“Besides, not everyone is bad, in fact most aren’t.  I don’t hate my brother, I doubt I’ll ever go see him again, but I don’t hate him.”

Takato smiled, “I can’t understand how you never let hate get to you.  I wanted to kill your brother for what he did, yet you don’t even seem mad at him.”

“Well, maybe if people hated less the world wouldn’t be as messed up as it is.”

Jeri sat up and Takato embraced her in his arms.  “You’re probably right.”  He let go of her and reached for his goggles.  He placed them on his head.  He looked at her, his eyes shining confidently.  “As long as we don’t lose hope, everything will get better.  We have to be strong.”

“Damn, what does she think we are?” Kenta panted as he entered the room, carrying a large, black duffle bag.  “The military?”  He slammed it down on a table in the corner of the room.  It was a large room, possible a CEO’s office at one time.  All the windows were boarded up and painted black to keeping prying eyes blind. 

“Did you manage to get everything she asked for?” Kazu laughed as he approached his friend.

Kenta ripped open the bags zipper and pulled out a large, black gun.  “Yeah, all these weapons cost me a ton.  I was just lucky I happen to know a few illegal arms dealers.  I mean look at this, I doubt Rika will even be strong enough to lift this thing!”  He handed the gun to Kazu.

“A 4820 Demolisher, completely automatic firing system, fires about one hundred rounds a minute,” Renamon said as she approached the two men.  “It’s Rika’s favorite ‘big’ gun.  And I know Rika’s stronger than you will ever be Kenta, so don’t doubt her.”

Kazu looked at the fox, “What the hell does she want it for?  I mean, this mission is supposed to be somewhat covert.”

“Fire power is a turn on for Rika… the more the better.”

“Well just look at all this other stuff,” Kenta laughed.  “Grenades, more handguns, anti-Digimon devices, enough ammo to last three months, it’s like she’s going off to war!  Maybe she should see a psychiatrist about this love for guns.”

“If anything it’s her antisocial personality that needs help.  Why can’t she act like a normal seventeen-year old?  She’s been on the roof for hours!” Kazu added.

Renamon glared at them so menacingly that they both took a step back.  “Quit talking about her like that, she’s not a normal seventeen year old,” the fox growled.  “You two have done enough to her already, and while I’m sure Rika wouldn’t have any qualms about killing either of you assholes, you should know that I would take a lot of personal enjoyment in it.”  The two Tamers gulped.  Renamon began fiddling with the thick, black straps that crossed her chest and wrapped around her waist.  “Is this really stuff really necessary, Kazu?” 

“Yes,” Kazu mumbled, still somewhat flustered.  “It has an anti-detection device that will allow you to infiltrate any place we need you to.  And there’s also some first-aid supplies and other stuff in there.”  The yellow kitsune felt some vials in one of the belts and pulled one with a thick red liquid in it out its compartment.  She looked at it curiously.  Kazu smiled, “You want to know what that is?”  Renamon nodded.  “That, my friend, is a little thing I call a ‘hyper accelerator.’  Just a taste of that and it speeds up every neural reaction in your body.  While it doesn’t make you run any faster or make you stronger, it makes the consumer see the world in slow motion, increasing their awareness of the environment and their reaction speed up to 200 percent!  Theoretically, you could see a bullet coming at you and react fast enough to dodge it.”

Renamon smiled, “Rika will like this.  How did you get it?”

“I made it, actually.”  Renamon squinted.  “Yeah, I’m actually good at something.”  Kazu shrugged.  “I’ve only tested it on organic animals, so I have no idea how it will work on Digital creatures like you.  It shouldn’t have any weird effects on humans, but don’t let Rika us it unless she absolutely has to.”

“Got it.”

“Hey, has anyone seen Wildcat?” called the voice of Ryo from down the hall.  A few seconds later he entered the room, follow by Ben and his Gekomon.  “Henry told me she seemed to trust this guy, so we’re bringing him along.” 

Ben bowed to the other Tamers and introduced himself.  “So all of you are Rika’s friends?  She never mentioned having any friends before they began exterminating Tamers.”

“We kinda had a falling out… away,” Ryo answered.

“Oh… well I’ll help you as best as I can.  I don’t have much fighting experience, but I believe in what you’re fighting for.  I’m willing to die for a better future!”

“Now if only Rika had that attitude!” Kenta laughed.

Ryo added, “That’s great Ben.  I’m sure you’ll get your chance to prove yourself.  But mostly we need you here in case Wildcat does another emotional flip.”

Ben smiled weakly, “I’ll do what I can.  Just a question, but how are we going to get to the Digital World from here?”

“Yeah,” chirped Gekomon, “I can’t even remember how I got to this world it was so long ago.”

Ryo grinned, “Come with me… I’ll show you.”  Ben, as well as everyone else present in the room followed Ryo down the hall to an even larger room, one that must have held hundreds of cubicles at one time.  At the far end of the room stood Gaurdromon, and sitting on his shoulders were Terriermon, Lopmon and MarineAngemon.  Cyberdramon was sitting in a corner, watching quietly.  Between the Digimon was a large contraption with what look like a circular mirror in the middle.  Loose wires and cords were strung everywhere.  Susie was watching Kevin, who was standing at the side of it, wiring some thing to the contraption. 

“How’s the time-bomb coming there, Kev?” Ryo asked.

“Just about finished,” the Brit replied.  “I’ve got it set to detonate five minutes after we leave.”

“That’s too long.  Set it for two minutes.”

“Isn’t that rather short?  What if not everyone’s here, we’re going to have a bloody mess, that’s for sure.”

“Well, if you did it right, the whole building will go down.  And if any of us is too slow, which won’t happen, then they go down with it.”

“Why do you want to blow up the building?” Ben asked.

Ryo turned to him, “We don’t want anyone following us to the Digital World.  Kev here said he had some experience with bombs, so I put him to work.  This is a Digital Gate.  You can set it to whatever sector of the Digital World you want and get there in a second with this thing.  Heh, we got it from a poorly guarded Tamer Transfer Center.”

“The employs weren’t expecting Tamers and Digimon to send them to the Digital World!” laughed Terriermon.

Ben laughed too.  “I don’t know why Rika has such a grudge against you guys, you’re great!”

“Rika’s a loner,” answered Gaurdromon, “she always has been.”

“Alright,” interrupted Ryo, “enough chatting.  We need to get ready to go.  Where’s Takato?”

“He’s talking the Jeri somewhere around here,” answered Kazu.

“Alright, she could probably use some talking to, she’s had a rough time.  Now where are Henry and Wildcat?”

“Rika’s on the roof thinking or something, and I have no idea where Henry is.”

Ryo shook his head and growled, “Why am I the only one who does any work around here?”

“Hey, Kenta and I do just as much as you!”

Ryo chuckled, “You two don’t count.  Now do we have everything we need?”

“Some of Rika’s weapons are in the medical room,” Kenta replied.

“Well go get them!”  Kenta ran to get Rika’s duffle bag.  “Ok now.  Will someone please go get Takato and someone else go find Henry and-” There was a loud blast and the building rocked.

“What was that?!” cried Kevin.

“Shit,” Ryo growled.  “They must have found us.  Kenta was probably seen entering here.”  He looked to Kazu, “Get the Digital Gate online, we need to get out of here NOW!”

Rika looked at Henry, her jaw hanging open in surprise.  “You… loved me…?”  Henry nodded.  Rika closed her mouth and looked at the dark haired Tamer angrily.  “So what.  Am I supposed to run to you and throw my arms around your neck and madly kiss you or something?  That was a long time ago, and things have changed.  You loved me… love me… I don’t care, it doesn’t matter now.”

“Why do you say that?”

Rika burst out laughing, “Because, despite all of the misunderstandings in the past, it doesn’t change the present.  I admit that I used to like you too, as much as I could ever like anyone.  But I don’t love you Henry, and I never will.  Love is overrated… it’s such a… human thing.”

Henry shook his head, “No, you’re wrong.  Love is one of the greatest forces in the universe.  Why do you think I volunteered to be the one to find and convince you to come back to us?”

“Because you wanted to see my pretty face after so long?” Rika scoffed.

“No, because I still-” a bright light rose from the side of the building and hovered over the rooftop, causing both the Tamers to squint.  The loud chopping of a government copter filled their ears and the gusts from the slashing blades practically knocked them to the ground. 

“Tamers halt!” cried the loud mechanical voice of the helicopter. 

Rika regained her composure and pulled a gun from her side.  She fired a few rounds into the light and turned to run.  “Run!” she yelled as she got next to Henry’s side.  A second later a massive explosion erupted behind them, sending the two Tamers sprawling onto their faces.  Henry quickly stood up and helped Rika to her feet.  She glared at him and growled, “We’ll continue this conversation later.” 

They ran in the door and down the stairwell.  Another explosion tore off the upper floor of the building, and Rika and Henry had to dodge the falling debris.  91st floor… 90th… 89th… 88th… 87th -there!  Henry burst through the door and raced down the hallway, Rika close at his heels. 

They entered the room with the Digital Gate and saw the others scrambling about chaotically.  “The government’s here,” yelled Henry as he walked to a table and threw on a large backpack.  “Is the Digital Gate online?”

“No,” cried Kazu.  “This is one of the older models, it takes a minute or two to warm up!”

“Shit!” cried Kevin. 

“What’s wrong,” Henry yelled, the explosions outside the building growing louder and more frequent.

“The timer to the bomb’s malfunctioning!  We have two minutes before it goes off!”

“Great.  How much longer till the Digital Gate is functional?” Henry said calmly.

Kazu replied, “About 30 seconds!” 

Henry moved next to Ryo and said, “That’s more than enough time to get out of here.  Where’s Takato?”

“I’m sure he’ll be here any second,” answered Ryo.

There was another loud explosion and the side of the building tore away, crashing to the street below.  A small helicopter with two lights on the wings appeared outside the hole. 

“Get under cover,” Henry screamed.  Everyone in the room ducked to the floor or hid behind tables as two large rotary guns began blazing from the helicopter.  A spray of bullets ricocheted through the room.

 “Guardromon, protect the Gate!” yelled Kazu.  The robotic Digimon quickly moved in front of the portal and took a stream of bullets in his chest.  The bullets, now flat pieces of metal, fell to the ground leaving Gaurdromon, and the Gate, relatively unharmed. 

The rotary guns on the helicopter stopped momentarily and the helicopter scanned the room to see if anyone had survived.  Ryo quickly reached into the bag next to him and pulled out a long cylindrical gun.  He stood up and placed it over his shoulder.  A small eyepiece popped out of the gun and lined up with Ryo’s eye.  He pulled the trigger of the gun and a large red ball of energy shot from the gun.  The recoil sent Ryo flying back a few feet, and the ball of energy collided with the helicopter, causing it to explode into a massive ball of flames and fall out of the sky.

Henry stood up and brushed some of the debris off his cloths.  He looked at Ryo who was smirking.  “I love this baby!”  Henry raised an eyebrow at his friend, who tried to look defensive.  “Hey, Wildcat’s not the only one who likes big guns!”

Henry shook his head and looked over to Kazu, who was standing next to the gate.  “How much time’s left?”

“Thirty seconds!” screamed Kazu.

“Everyone into the Digital Gate!” yelled Henry.

 Terriermon, MarineAngemon, Lopmon and Renamon leapt through the portal.  Cyberdramon grabbed Gaurdromon and shoved him through, and then followed.  Susie grabbed Kevin and leapt through, followed by Ben and Gekomon.  Rika walked up to the portal and stood next to Kazu and Kenta, who was holding her duffle bag.  “Give me that,” she growled and ripped the bag from him.

Kazu looked at her and smiled, “Ladies first.”

“Shut up,” Rika hissed and pushed the other two Tamers through the Gate, and then she jumped in herself. 

Ryo and Henry ran to the Gate.  “Where the hell is Takato!” cried Ryo.

“We’re right here!” cried Takato and he, Jeri and Guilmon ran into the room.

Henry looked at the bomb timer.  Seven seconds.  “Hurry up!” he yelled as he jumped through and Ryo followed.  Guilmon grabbed Jeri and sprinted to the portal, jumping through.  Takato jumped through the air, almost at the portal.  The counter on the bomb reached zero, and the building that had served as the Tamer’s base lit up the night sky.

Author’s Note:  This new uploading system is insane…