Chapter 5:
Rion
Rion Araneta slowly walked through the digital forest, drinking in all the sights, and recalling happy memories of the last time he had been there.
It’s good to be back, Rion thought contentedly, I really missed this place.
Rion was only ten years old, but he was smarter than many people thought. He spent most of his time on his laptop, one of the few state-of-the-art home computers in his neighborhood in Manila, Philippines. During the last week, he played the “Digital Adventure” game there while his younger cousins watched with excitement. He flew to America to visit his father and older brother on the last day, when all this mess started…
Rion sighed, and looked around for Guilmon, his Digimon partner. Guilmon was following him a little further behind, looking for anything dangerous.
The forest was silent, except for faint rustling sounds here and there. Then, loud screams erupted from the nearby trees. They startled Guilmon, and he barreled right into Rion, knocking him down.
“Oww!” Rion shouted, “Watch where you’re going next time!” He quickly scrambled to his feet.
“Sorry… But where did all those screams come from?” Guilmon whispered, shivering all over. Rion shrugged, then motioned for Guilmon to be quiet.
They ran in the direction of the voices, and Rion caught a glimpse of seven kids and a group of Digimon being attacked by a giant Snimon. He recognized the girl he bumped into on the street. They had met before, sometime, somewhere.
He then noticed the girl and her Digimon sneak away from the other kids and move to the Snimon’s back. The girl nodded to the Kodamon, and the Kodamon formed an energy ball with h er fist.
Guilmon was about to say something, but Rion clamped his mouth shut with a hand and put his finger to his lips.
“Shhh!” he whispered harshly, “Be quiet! I want to see this!” Guilmon folded his arms and pouted.
Both of them watched the fight and kept a close watch on the kids after that. It wasn’t until after they talked about leadership and left that Rion turned away.
He quietly walked away from the other seven kids. Guilmon followed him, but looked back at the large group. He then looked up at Rion’s face and was surprised to see a frown.
“Rion?” Guilmon asked, “What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?” Rion blinked and turned toward Guilmon.
“No. Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” He continued walking ahead, Guilmon following him worriedly.
‘I’m fine…’ Rion’s always saying that now, Guilmon thought, but I don’t believe that. We’ve only been together again for less than a day, and he’s already changed. He doesn’t look fine, and he doesn’t seem to share anything with me anymore. Not like before.
“Rion, I know there’s something wrong!” Guilmon pressed, “Please tell me! I have a right to know, ‘cause I’m your partner!”
Rion stopped abruptly, closed his eyes, and his hands balled into fists. For a moment, Guilmon thought Rion was going to hit him, but he then he walked away and sat under a tree, breathing heavily with his head in his hands.
Guilmon just stood there, looking at his partner with a sad expression. His thoughts took him to a time before. Rion was a year younger then, and his smile held a warm light. The two friends laughed as they ran through an open meadow. Tripping over each other, they fell, giggling and hugging each other tight. An older girl watched them from a distance, smiling, her Digimon holding her hand.
Guilmon shook his head, the happy memory slipping away. Something is very wrong with him, he thought again, He didn’t act like this before. He used to be so happy and cheerful.
He walked over to Rion and sat next to him. “Rion, why wouldn’t you go with the rest of the kids?” he asked, “They all seemed nice, and so did their Digimon.”
Rion glanced at him and sighed.
“They were okay against that dark Digimon, but I know that you could fight better. You’re stronger and smarter than all of them put together!”
“Is that a compliment?” Guilmon beamed.
Rion laughed, but then grew serious again. “The truth is, the two of us would get along fine with any of those kids. It’s just that they’re too close to her.”
“Her?” Guilmon looked puzzled. “Who? Do you mean the girl with the goggles? Wasn’t she the girl who was with us the last time you were here? Akira?”
“Of course,” Rion replied.
“Why are you worried?” Guilmon asked incredulously, “She’s your friend!”
“No, she’s not!” Rion shouted, scowling. “She doesn’t remember anything about what happened back then! I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since she got out of school, and I helped her out in that game. She even knocked me over before we all got here and didn’t know who I was. She doesn’t recognize me anymore!” He shook with rage. “We’ve been through so much together, all of us. How could she forget?”
“I’m sorry…” Guilmon hugged him tight. Rion hugged back.
“I won’t forgive her for what happened to me back then,” he said bitterly, “After we left the Digital World, everything started falling apart…” He was silent for a moment, scowling down at the ground, then looked up again.
“If she remembers anything at all, and if we ever went along with them, she’s going to suspect something,” he continued. “She’ll think I’m trying to poison everyone. To her, I’m not the same person I was before.” His hand went to his neck and he fingered a small black Crest with a dark, curved keyhole. It glowed faintly with an eerie gray-black light. He got up suddenly.
“Come on, let’s go.” Rion walked away in the opposite direction of the other kids. Guilmon got up, looked at Rion’s face, and almost jumped a foot in the air from fright.
Rion’s eyes were almost entirely black, and glittered with an evil streak. He wore a creepy smile on his face.
“We don’t need those kids, Guilmon,” he murmured, “We especially don’t need her. You’ve seen them fight. They won’t last one week out there, even if she is their leader.” He turned slightly. “We’re stronger than them. We can take care of ourselves, fight our own battles, and save the world on our own.”
Guilmon looked doubtful, but he nodded anyway. He trailed Rion from behind, feeling very unnerved. He’s starting to creep me out, he thought. This isn’t the Rion I know! Something’s making him change, making him evil, but what? He looked at Rion again and shook his head.
Whatever is doing this to you, Rion, I’ll find out and save you. I promise!