Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered / And there's nowhere to turn / You wonder how you keep going

Think of all the things that really mattered / And the chances you've earned / The fire in your heart is growing

You can fly, if you try leaving the past behind / Heaven only knows what you might find

Dare - dare to believe you can survive / You hold the future in your hand

Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive / It's time to take a stand

And you can win, if you dare

--

("Digimon Tamers" Universe)

Penn stood upon the spire with inconceivable dexterity, watching the cars move by on the streets far below. Below him on the more solid portion of the tower, Penn's muse looked down as well and familiarized itself with this imaginary world. As a muse, the creature took on a different form in each universe to match the paradigm within. Since this was one of the Digimon worlds, Penn's muse was now in the form of a unique digimon called Excaliburmon. Penn himself remained clothed in his standard Author attire. It consisted of a white undershirt, black cargo pants, and a cape-like flannel shirt that was made up of red, white, black, and gray stripes.

"Do you sense him yet?" Penn asked as he looked at the local time on his Chronoshifter watch, before pressing a button to switch to the time in his home world. "I have only a few hours until school starts. We have to do this now."

Excaliburmon looked across the landscape, his eyes much sharper in the guise of a lion man dressed in full plate. Penn's idea of a cool digimon was apparently a cross between a Leomon and a Knightmon, that also happened to wield the sharpest sword digichromozoid could construct. "That Guilmon is close. But I am unable to sense the boy since he isn't a digimon."

Penn leapt down to the level Excaliburmon was at. "He should be with him. We're between episodes right now, but he should follow the pattern established with his character. He'll be walking home soon, and that's when we'll strike."

"...Are you sure this is wise, Penn?" the muse asked. "There are strict laws against copyright infringement, and if you attack Takato you'll surely earn Great Xing's wrath."

Penn grinned. "That's why I made sure to call an old friend. He should be arriving soon... and by the time anyone notices what's happened, he'll be the only Author in the area. Our plan is full proof. That reminds me... did you put on the smell powder I asked you to use?"

Excaliburmon nodded and frowned. "You would destroy another Author's reputation in your quest for power?"

The boy pushed a button on his Chronoshifter, and he floated into the air as he prepared for flight. "In my quest for power, I'll destroy anyone in my path. He's just a casualty of war... just like all the others will be." Penn took Excaliburmon's hand and guided him through the air towards Guilmon's (and Takato's) location, careful to avoid the eye of anyone on the Earth below.

--

Seth Turtle materialized in the alley behind the Matsuki Bread shop, with his muse right behind him. In this world of Digimon, the muse assumed the form he was born in - a red dragon digimon that looked frighteningly similar to a Guilmon. The muse's name was Bahamon, although he was called that in his non-digimon forms as well. Seth, of course, remained the same in his all-black wardrobe complete with trench coat.

"Here we are," the Author said as he cleaned his glasses before placing them on his face again. In his world there were countless alternatives to glasses ranging from contacts to prosthetic eyes, but Seth preferred the archaic eyewear. He felt it made him look more distinguished.

"Wooooow..." cooed Bahamon as he smelled the Japanese night air. "I've never been a place quite like this."

Seth remembered to activate the translator built into his Chronoshifter watch. He couldn't speak Japanese except for a few buzz words that every otaku knew... such as "otaku". Once the command was entered, Seth and Bahamon were speaking Japanese as fluently as the locals, yet they heard each other as if they were speaking English. Artificial dubbing at its finest.

"So where's Mr. Penn?" Bahamon asked, anxious to get out of the alley and into the fresh air.

"He should be here by now." Seth glanced at his Chronoshifter-watch to see what time it was. 6 P.M. in this universe... 7:30 A.M. in the world he and Penn lived in. Luckily, Seth didn't have class until noon today. This meant that maybe he could sneak a peek at one of the Tamers and perhaps get an autograph. That is, if Penn ever showed up like he was supposed to.

"What did Mr. Penn want anyway?" Bahamon asked curiously as he refamiliarized himself with his digimon body. In Seth's home world, the paradigm was human-dominant, so Bahamon had been in human form as Seth's 6 year old cousin for several months. It had been a period of learning and trial for the two, but it was worth it.

Seth shrugged. "I don't know. He just said that it was important." He glanced at his watch again, and he grew continuously more impatient. "Where is he? I'd call him, but he's either not here or on Invisible Mode... though I doubt he'd be using the latter if he wanted to talk to me."

Bahamon lifted his head as something grabbed his attention. "Seth, I smell something!"

The Author glanced at the trash around them. "I do too. I'm going to have to throw this into the laundry when we get back."

"No, I mean I smell a digimon!" Bahamon stepped to the edge of the dark alley and took another whiff. "I think it's Renamon!"

Seth's eyes widened. He had downloaded the olfactory data of the three star digimon for this series/universe, so that Bahamon could track them at leisure. He hadn't expected to meet Renamon so soon. Was Rika with her? What if she was?! Seth suddenly started to get nervous. The girl was only 12 years old or so, but she was still a big star... figuratively speaking.

"Let's go meet Renamon!" Bahamon cheered. Seth rushed over to cover his mouth, though an entire sentence slipped out.

(Bahamon, shh! She'll hear us, and we can't let ourselves be known unless it's absolutely necessary!) That was true, but his Chronoshifter protected the two of them from most observation. Anyone passing the alley would see shadows as expected and hear nothing but distorted sounds that they'd hopefully think was in their imagination. Seth wasn't sure that a digimon would be so easily fooled though, especially a fox type.

They paused. Nothing jumped out at them. Seth lowered his hand from Bahamon's mouth. (You have to be more careful.)

The red dragon nodded. (I'm sorry.)

Seth smiled. Due to the simple fact that he was a Muse, Bahamon had over 70% of his personality traits, including a tendency to apologize for anything. It wasn't as noticeable as a "Moumantai" catch phrase, but it was something Seth and Bahamon shared nonetheless. (I'm sorry too. We'll go and explore all you like as soon as we meet with Penn.)

Bahamon turned and admired the night sky from their hiding place. (I just wonder if...)

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the darkness, causing both Bahamon and Seth to look up in surprise. It was a boy's scream, and one that was pretty close. It was a cry for help that sounded almost like-

(Takato Matsuki!) Seth exclaimed. "Bahamon, let's go!" he said quickly. The two ran down the street, ignoring the need to hide from bystanders. If the Tamers could do it in the show at this time of night, so could he!

But what could make this universe's hero scream in terror? That wasn't in the script!

--

Renamon leapt across the rooftops, searching for the target of Rika's pursuit. Her D-Arc picked up a digimon in the area despite the lack of a bio-emergence point... which was strange indeed. Not only that, but there was no data on the creature itself and not even a name. Just a presence that the D-Arc could sense but not identify in any way. It was impossible that such a thing could happen, Renamon thought. That made her search more cautiously. It would be reckless to charge into battle without knowing what they were up against.

She halted as her keen hearing picked up something odd. For a moment she thought it was a stray dog or some other animal. But the noises sounded suspiciously like words. Yet there was no one there. It was right by Takato's home that doubled as a bread shop, so she wondered if it had been one of the Matsuki's. She paused and listened.

No sound. Quick examination of the shop revealed no activity. Takato's parents went to bed early if they planned on baking their week's bread tomorrow morning. Renamon noted that Guilmon wasn't present, and neither was Takato. They must be playing in the park somewhere in their normal childish manner, she thought.

Satisfied that the sound wouldn't return, Renamon continued to leap-phase across the rooftops and continued her search. Still no sign of the digimon Rika's digivice sensed. Renamon grew uneasy; digimon didn't just disappear into thin air around here. They appeared, fought, and were eliminated or eliminated everything else. The last had never happened but it was still an option she had to list. In any case, her search was going nowhere.

There's nothing here, Rika, Renamon thought aloud. Rika's digivice would pick up her thoughts and transmit them as speech. It was a handy way of keeping them in contact no matter where in the city they were.

"Well, keep searching!" she ordered. "I'm going to move around and see if my D-Arc can pick up the signal again."

It may have just been an echo, the digimon suggested. A false signal, perhaps.

"I doubt that. Keep searching."

Renamon sighed. Yes, Rika. As the digimon leapt into the air to phase, a scream pierced the air. It was Takato! Rika, something's happening!

"I heard it!" she replied. Evidently the scream Renamon heard was transmitted through the D-Arc. Again, it was a handy tool. "I'll be there right away!" Rika started running, while Renamon phased to the source of the scream.

Renamon appeared in the park outside of Guilmon's barred hiding place. To her shock, the red digimon was lying on the ground unconscious and Takato was nowhere to be seen! Renamon rushed over and lightly smacked Guilmon a few times to wake him up. Her gentle roughness caused him to stir, though his eyes remained closed.

"Guilmon, what happened?" she asked coldly. She didn't bother to ask if he was alright, since he obviously was still alive.

"Takato!" he cried, looking around hastily. "Takato, where are you?"

"Calm down Guilmon," Renamon responded as she avoided his tail. Her reflexes tended to act on their own in that regard. "Tell me what happened."

Guilmon turned towards her, but his eyes were still shut. "Renamon...?"

The fox stood there, concerned. "Guilmon, open your eyes."

"They won't open!" he said in alarm. "W-what happened to Takato? I heard him scream but I don't know where he went!"

Renamon glanced down. There was a spec of blood on the ground. Human blood, from the smell of it. There was another smell in the area, but she couldn't quite place it. It was a digimon, but it was new. This could only mean one thing...

Rika ran onto the scene, and looked aghast at Guilmon. She quickly caught up on the situation. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Renamon answered, while Guilmon struggled to open his eyes. He even tried pulling his eyelids gently with his clawed hands, but they refused to budge. It was like his eyes were glued shut!

"Take care of Guilmon," Rika said as she took out her D-Arc. "I'll comb the area. He won't get far."

Renamon was about to protest, but quickly decided that she better not. Rika evidently had a plan: possibly to lure the beast out with the tempting lure of a defenseless child. It had worked before on several of their earlier missions. "All right. Be careful."

"I will," she replied, and she was off.

Renamon tried to calm Guilmon down with words, but by now he was mad with annoyance and rubbing his face in the dirt to "get rid of the glue" in his eyes. Finally, Renamon grabbed the sides of his face and held him still. "Get a grip on yourself!" she ordered.

Guilmon slowly started to cry. "I want my Takatomon. He'll fix me."

Renamon couldn't help but feel bad. She was a warrior, but she had feelings too. Guilmon could live just fine on smell alone, since sight wasn't as important to digimon as it was to humans. But it still dealt a major blow to him.

"There's nothing here," Rika said over the D-Arc's link to her digimon. "It couldn't have already escaped!"

Renamon continued to hold Guilmon as he calmed down. Virus digimon could go wild at any moment, especially when they were suffering some malady or attack. It must be hiding. That was why we couldn't sense it before. It must have some kind of camouflage to make it invisible to my senses and your digivice.

Rika pondered this. "Then I'll just have to lure it out somehow. But how-"

Wait! Renamon said mentally. Slowly she sniffed the air. That scent again: it was stronger now. That meant... it's coming back.

"You know better than I do what we're fighting. What should we do?"

Renamon looked at Guilmon, who sniffled as she held him. The fox digimon focused her inner gaze on the anger she now felt. We greet it with open arms... and open teeth.

--

Seth and Bahamon ran into the park where the sound of the scream emanated from. To their surprise, Renamon was there seemingly crushing Guilmon's skull! At this point in the show they were friends, so how could this be? Seth had to find out, but how could he do so without totally blowing his cover? For now he had to look like a tamer just like them, but how long could he pull that off?

(Act casual,) Seth whispered as he and Bahamon stepped into plain view. Only Renamon turned to greet them.

Bahamon's eyes widened as Renamon's claws glinted. "Se-e-eth..." he said warily.

Renamon's fur shimmered as her anger became apparent. "You were the ones that did this! Where's Takato?!"

Seth gasped. Renamon was a lot more dangerous looking in person. "I-uh... don't know. What do you mean we did this? We just got here."

"Liar!" Rika shouted as she appeared from the bushes, apparently ready for battle. "You can't fool us chump! Answer the question!"

Bahamon looked at Guilmon wondrously. It was almost like looking in a mirror, except for the lack of wings and the slight difference in markings. "Wow..." he gawked.

Renamon bared her teeth. "What did you do with Takato?!!" she shrieked as she pounced at Seth. Luckily Bahamon cut her off and deflected her leap with a simple tail whip. Seth knew that Bahamon, as a muse, was a lot stronger than Renamon. Seth was a great fan of Digimon and had most of his attention in the universes belonging to that series. As such, his Divinity Rating (DR) was high enough that Bahamon would toast any digimon they would meet at this point. However he was a restrained digimon and not much of a fighter. The best he could do was keep Renamon at bay while they tried to figure out what was going on.

"Where is Takato?!" Rika shouted this time as she drew a card from the holster at her belt. "What did you do to him?!"

Seth shook his head in total confusion. "What are you talking about? We came here to help him! We didn't know that he was in trouble until we heard the scream, just like you!"

"Then why was your digimon's smell all over the place when we got here?" Renamon said through gritted teeth. "Either you are a liar or your digimon isn't as tame as you think!"

Neither was true, he knew. Bahamon could do know evil, since he didn't know how. It was beyond his comprehension like many things. He was essentially a mentally handicapped muse, but that was because Seth wanted him that way. A simple view point for simple answers... and easy to control, as was the case in the fiasco with Mewtwo.

"I swear to you, I'm telling the truth!" Seth said as he watched Rika. Her cards were strong, and her skill stronger still. One card could change the tide of this battle, even with Bahamon's unfair advantage.

"Not good enough!" Renamon shouted as she charged again. Rika made her move at that moment, and Seth knew it was too late for him to react. Damn, they were good.

"Card Slash!!" she cried. "Giga Claw, Activate!!"

A Giga Claw?!! Seth thought in shock. That kind of card could crush a Champion in one hit! Where'd she get a card like that?! It was true that such a card hadn't shown up in the show, so Seth was wary. How much of what was "real" here was seen in the TV show? She could have cards that he didn't even know about! That would make things even harder...

The Giga Claw appeared on Renamon's arm the instant she connected with Bahamon, who flew backwards and skid along the pathway like a crashing motorcycle. Dust kicked up everywhere from the impact, forcing Rika and Seth to shield their eyes. Renamon stood poised with the Giga Claw, waiting to see if her target was destroyed. No data particles flew into the air.

"It survived...?" Rika said, stunned. "But how..."

Seth looked at his watch. Still no sign of Penn!! There was something fishy going on. He would have been here by now if he knew about what was going on, and he could be sure he did. Seth had been set up! "Bahamon, we're leaving!"

Bahamon hopped to his feet, claw marks on his chest like what a cat would do to a human. "But what about Guilmon! He's hurt!"

"We have to get out of here, now!" Seth replied forcefully. "Penn may have killed Takato!"

Rika gasped. "Takato...killed?"

Renamon leapt at Bahamon again, aiming to kill as well. "Why did you do this, tamer?! We've done nothing to you, and you didn't even challenge us like a true tamer! You are nothing but a murderer!!"

Boy, Renamon sure wasn't this high-strung in the show, Seth noted. There's more to these characters than I thought. "Bahamon, duck!!" The digimon did so, and managed to avoid most of the Giga Claw attack. Parts of his wings were slashed, making pain shoot through Bahamon's back. Renamon continued the assault by punting the dragon into a tree with incredible strength. The tree remained standing, but Bahamon slumped to the ground.

"Bahamon, are you okay!" Seth said in alarm.

The dragon got up. "Yeah... I'm okay. But she's being rough!"

Seth had to get rough too, then. "Rika, I'm warning you! I don't want to go Mary-Sue on you, but if you don't leave us alone I'll have to put your digimon in her place! We DIDN'T hurt Takato! It was somebody else!"

Rika pulled out another card as she listened. Seth couldn't see what the card was due to the shadows, which made him nervous. "Why should I believe you?! Renamon's nose never lies!"

"But it can be fooled!" he said quickly. Could it really? It had to be true! "Please, trust me! I'll help you find Takato and heal Guilmon!"

Rika held the card at the edge of her D-Arc, ready to slash it. "But you said that Takato was...."

"I may be wrong!" Seth cried. "If Takato was really dead, I'd know! We have all kinds of alarms to keep track of this sort of thing!"

"Alarms? What do you mean?!" She remained poised, like a tiger waiting to strike. Renamon stood similarly, though her face was much more tiger-like.

Seth froze. He couldn't tell her about the Authors. She knew too much already from this encounter. But if Penn really did do something to Takato... then something big was going on. No Author took a character from a universe or killed them, for it would force the show to end abruptly, and effectively destroy the universe itself! And since Takato was the Focus of this world... the main protagonist, the effect would be even quicker to occur! But was all that worth the risk of revealing such information to Rika?

He decided that it was. She had to know the truth.

"Okay... I'm going to tell you the truth," Seth said as he slowly lifted his hands to show he wasn't attacking. Renamon remained calm, as did her partner. Slowly, Seth pushed some buttons on his Chronoshifter and entered several commands. He was doing something that was borderline illegal, but it had to be done.

"...What are you doing," Rika stated rather than asked.

The watch beeped, and Seth stretched his right hand out towards Rika like a magician casting a spell. "LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN!!" No visible energy was released, but Renamon and Bahamon both felt a sudden surge of force from Seth's hand: more specifically, his watch device. Rika cried out briefly as her mind was blasted by a wild onrush of images and thoughts that revealed to her the truth.

Renamon rushed over to Rika's side to see if she was okay. "Rika!"

The girl shook her head to clear out the cobwebs. Renamon looked stunned as Rika looked up at her without apparent damage. And yet, the look on Rika's face still didn't bode well. "I..."

Seth lowered his arm. "The fourth wall has been broken. Now, we can talk."

--

It took a while for Rika to realize what just happened. After the initial impact of the memories, they trickled through her consciousness at a more sedate speed so that she could assimilate it all. Soon, Rika had learned of the origins of Digimon: not the species, but the series. It was a disconcerting experience for her that threw everything she assumed to be true into a loop. As she watched these images flash through her mind along with additional information she would need to fathom it all, the others took care of Guilmon as best they could.

Renamon stood up as Guilmon's breathing changed into light snoring. He was tired now that it was evening, even with all the excitement. "What happened to him?" she asked.

Seth stood up slowly so as not to wake Bahamon. He too was tired, but this was the time for an afternoon nap for him rather than evening. "I think it was a virus. Similar to the computer viruses on the net, but much more advanced so that it could infect Guilmon. It was probably coded to activate when his muse attacked. It was intended to incapacitate him while enabling them to frame me with the false trail. If he couldn't see them, he couldn't verify that it was them instead of Bahamon and I." It was a good plan, he realized, but cruel by Seth's standards.

Renamon looked at Seth icily, making him feel uncomfortable all over again. She was much scarier in person, he noted. "There had better be a cure for this."

Seth didn't know what to say, but he tried. "I'm not familiar with viruses myself, but I do know that his powers are much stronger than anything in this world, since he's a huge Digimon fan and has some Focus here. Since this computer virus was probably created in my world, it's immune to any cures in this world. So unless we get Penn to undo the programming... this could last forever."

Renamon's eyes half-closed. Seth pondered waking Bahamon up, but thankfully he didn't have to. The fox digimon simply walked over and sat on the floor beside Guilmon as she waited for Rika to return. Then everything would be explained.

There was a knock on the front screen of Rika's bedroom screen, and Henry's voice whispered from the other side. (Rika? You there?)

Renamon phased to the door faster than Seth could move. She slid the door open, and Henry snuck in with Terriermon on his shoulder.

"So what the heck's goin' on?" Terriermon asked in his typical boisterous manner. Henry had to tug his ear once to remind him that they had to talk quietly.

The boy finally noted Seth. "So you're the one they met in the park?"

He nodded. "It's an honor to meet you, Henry." He held out his hand, which Henry took uneasily. He wasn't used to getting such greetings, especially from young adults.

"...So how is she?" Henry asked, referring to Rika.

"She's still sorting her thoughts out," Renamon replied. "He claims that she will be fine," she added, indicating Seth with disdain. He couldn't blame her, considering he didn't warn any of them about the shift effect he used.

"And Guilmon?" the boy asked further.

At that Renamon's head lowered. It was hard to read her expressions, but it was obvious she felt sad at Guilmon's plight. "He's resting peacefully, for now. He won't fully be at ease until Takato is found and his eyes are cured of this virus."

Terriermon growled like the dog he was named after. "When we find the guy that did this to him, I'm going to Bunny Blast his behind to bits!" Henry and the others didn't respond. They simply waited.

Finally, Rika appeared. She still seemed shocked at what she saw, but she was at least under control. Rika sat down on her mattress, looked straight at Seth, and said, "Tell us what you are."

Seth wasn't sure this was a good idea. "But... you know this should be kept a secret. I don't think it's a good idea for Henry or Renamon to know."

"Then just tell me!" Terriermon offered. Henry sweatdropped: an interesting effect to witness in real life, Seth noted.

"My friends deserve to know at least who you are," Rika replied. "I'll keep the rest to myself."

"Rika..." said Renamon. She didn't think they kept secrets from each other, and for good reason.

"Trust me Renamon," she said without looking up. "You don't want to know what I know now." Renamon didn't press the matter further, though she was now worried more than ever.

Seth chose his words carefully. He didn't want to reveal the truth in its entirety for the others, but he had to explain where he was from. Finally, he spoke. "My name is Seth Turtle. I come from another dimension, sort of like the Digital World that borders this one. There are countless other worlds out there as well, each overlapping each other completely, like ghosts standing in ghosts." He lifted his arm and showed them his watch device. "This is a Chronoshifter, a device my kind use to 'shift' between the universes. It uses technology based on quantum mechanics and Einsteinian physics to allow me almost complete control over my location within spacetime while maintaining a direct link to my home world and the master system located within it. My 'duty', as it were, is to promote the evolution of the quantum megaverse by creating new universes with my own imagination, advanced machinery, and plain old-fashioned writing. I'm an Author, one of many."

The others listened to this quietly. They found it difficult if not impossible to believe, yet Rika assured them that it was true. They took her word for it, to Seth's relief. They didn't think she was being controlled by him, perhaps due to something he missed. Renamon would surely notice if that were the case, probably.

"I came to your world because I was invited here by another Author named Penn, though I've always wanted to visit this place." That was no exaggeration: Digimon was one of the first animes he had ever seen and had the greatest influence on him, even though it was written for the child market. "I'm fairly sure that Penn is the one who attacked Guilmon and took Takato. Where and Why, I'm not sure."

Henry raised his hand. "I don't mean to sound cold here, but how do we know that Takato is still alive?" Rika, Renamon, and Terriermon gave him an emotional stare. He evidently sounded very cold. "I'm sorry, but I'm trying to be logical here."

Seth nodded. "As I said in the park, my kind have alarms that would sound if someone as important as Takato died."

"...Important?" Henry echoed. "I know he's a tamer like us, but what importance is he to a guy that jumps between universes at will?"

Seth again chose his words carefully. "Every universe has an individual or group of individuals who are isolated by fate. Everything they do affects the world to some degree, and everything they experience becomes part of the experience of those watching this universe from outside. These individuals are the 'Focus' of their respective universe, destined to represent it in every way, shape, or form until they perform the duty that fate assigned them. And Takato is one of the Foci for this universe."

"...Because he is a tamer?" Renamon asked.

"Yeah. Rika and Henry are Foci as well, but Takato is the strongest. He has been... erm, 'chosen by fate the longest'." Seth couldn't say that Takato was the one they began the show with, but that was essentially what he said. Takato was the main protagonist of the show due to seniority, and thus was the strongest Focus in the Digimon Tamers universe.

"And that's why he was taken rather than... you know," Henry asked.

"If Penn indeed wanted the Focus for this universe, he must have had a reason," Seth answered. "He's a smart guy; he's not the kind of person to just act impulsively. He must have a plan of some kind. But what, I don't know."

"Then our only choice is to follow him," Rika said firmly. "Obviously, you plan to do that and you want our help. Otherwise you wouldn't have done to me what you did."

Seth gulped. That was true. She caught on quickly. "I'm not much of an Author, and I doubt I can do this alone. Penn will expect me to come alone though, so I figure that if I had your help I might actually win this little game."

"...This is all just a game to you?" Renamon said, her anger building again.

"Not for me... but I fear that it might be so for Penn. He's smart, but chaotic as most Authors are. Insanity seems to run high in our genes."

"Oh, great, more reassuring news," Terriermon groaned. "So how can we trust you with Rika then?"

"I'll be there to protect her," Renamon reminded him.

"We're going too!" Henry said, standing up. "Takato's our friend too, and we want to save him just as much as you do."

"You can't!" Rika said quickly. She knew that doing so would risk revealing the truth to Henry and Terriermon. Already, she was taking a big risk by going along with Renamon. She knew that her world was not real, at least not in the sense that she understood it. Wait... it was real, just imaginary to others. Oh, she couldn't figure it out! Whatever the case, she had to go and save Takato. He deserved that much.

"It would be safer for you if you stayed, Henry," Seth suggested. "You and Terriermon would be a great asset, but if you leave then there would be no one left here to protect Shinjuku."

Henry sighed. "He's right... but I'm still worried about this. Letting you go alone..."

"Hey, I've been alone before!" she reminded him with a confident smile. "Renamon and I can take on anything that gets in our way, including some pencil-pushing Author!"

"Well said." Seth got up and looked at his watch. 11:30 AM, his time. "I'm sorry, but I must depart. I have important errands to run in another dimension, but I will return in four hours."

Terriermon yawned. "You plan to start saving the world at 2 in the morning? You're nuts!"

"I'll start packing my bags," Rika said as Seth punched commands into his watch and lightly nudged Bahamon awake.

"Thank you," Seth said. "I'm sure that with your help, we can beat this guy." With that, Seth and Bahamon disappeared.

When they were certain he was gone, Henry spoke. "Are you sure you can trust him? He may be leading you into a trap and doing to you what he may have done to Takato."

Rika shook her head lightly. "I believe him when he says he didn't do it."

"How can you be so sure?" Renamon asked. "This story of his is too incredible to believe."

"I know... but whatever he did to me in the park was more than some attack. He opened my mind. I know things now that you wouldn't believe... yet I know that they are completely true. I feel it in my heart, like when I realized that you were more than just data."

Renamon paused at that, but remained cautious. "This man may have filled your head with lies. We should try to keep a link to Henry and Terriermon, in case your newfound knowledge is not what it seems."

"I agree," Henry added. "I'd feel much better knowing what was going on when he tries to take you wherever you intend to go."

Rika thought about it, then nodded slowly. "Okay. While he's gone, we'll wire the D-Arcs so that we can communicate. Meanwhile, we also have to figure out what to do with Guilmon."

The four nodded silently, and they set about their separate tasks. This would be the start of a long night.

--

Story written by: Seth Turtle

Opening Theme: “Dare” by Stan Bush

Ending Theme: “If We Hold On Together” by Diana Ross

Don't lose your way / With each passing day / You've come so far / Don't throw it away
Live believing / Dreams are for weaving / Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story / Faith, hope & glory / Hold on to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together / I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever / Where clouds roll by / For you and I