It was the seventh laboratory they had used since their work had begun so many millennia ago. Ever since the first invasion, the disaster that cost them one of their most powerful and arguably most dangerous Digiegg, it seemed that every few centuries, some other villain would show up to snatch the eggs.
It wasn't always like this. Initially, this project was only supposed to last for a few years, a decade or two at most. Unfortunately, because the time in the human world had ground almost to a standstill, they were left waiting for so many years for the children tied to the gods to grow until they were mature enough to understand how they held the fate of both worlds in their hands.
As a result, most of their work seemed to involve simply waiting and watching, and hoping that there would be no more losses.
The night started out normally, quiet save for the beeping of the computer monitoring systems. Gennai and his coworkers shuffled about the lab, keeping an eye on the remaining eggs in their tubes and the various information appearing on the screens as they worked.
There was no warning, nothing to catch the eyes of the ever vigilant caretakers about what was about to happen. None of them were prepared for when one of the eggs began to glow.
The egg in question was pure black in color, with an iridescent reminiscent of a pearl. It had been content in its tube, like it had been for so many years, before the shell started to pulsate. Even through the liquid, the light shone clearly. As one of the caretakers rushed towards the egg, the shell began to crack. A small fracture at first, it quickly spread like shattered glass until the entire egg's surface looked like a spider web. Before their very horrified eyes, the egg burst apart to reveal a tiny Digimon.
The Digimon was the source of the glow, its detail completely obscured by the light. As the light continued to shine, its form shifted, changing within its confinement. It grew larger, evolving with its own light as it sped through its lower evolutions before the light finally faded, revealing its Child form. It looked deceptively like a child's stuffed doll. It was black and covered in what may have been fur or felt. It was soft and rounded, its limbs ending in blunt ends vaguely shaped like paws. Around its neck was a silver ribbon nestled around a black charm in the shape of crescent moons arranged to create the same shape in the negative space between each sliver. Its eyes were large and golden, but unlike the gentle shape of its body, those eyes darted about wildly, creating a twisting, distressed expression as it began to howl a single word drowned out by fluid.
"No!" one of the figures in cloaks shouted. "It's too soon!"
The Digimon within the tube threw her paws against the tube, her expression rapidly shifting from distress to pure panic - and anger. Despite how soft her paws looked, the glass of the tube still cracked beneath her strikes. The assembled figures had little more than a moment to draw closer to the Digimon and her containment tube before she struck again, completely shattering the glass and sending both herself, liquid, and glass to the floor. The Digimon landed roughly on her feet, stumbling slightly, before she gave a quick shake and let out a cry that sounded like a mixture of a scream and a roar. "Keiko!"
A snarl escaped the Digimon as she rushed forward, scattering the cloaked caretakers in all directions as she surged forward like a charging bull. She didn't stop even for a moment when she came to a wall, shattering it with her feet so that bits of data flew around her, leaving a hole in the structure as she went.
Gennai stared at the hole in the wall where the Digimon had once stood before his youthful expression became grim. He turned to his comrades, who stood around and gawked at both the damage and the ruined tube before turning to each other with a mixture of apprehension and confusion.
"Alert the Avatars." Gennai ordered.
The moon was hanging full in the night sky, its brilliance almost as bright as the sun. It outshined the twinkling colorful lights of the amusement park far below. Normally, the Digimon who lived there would be enjoying the rides even long into the night, but even as cheerful calliope music filled the air and the carousel and ferris wheel spun in slow circles, they ignored the usual fun attractions and slowly gathered around a pile of rubbish that had fallen from the sky at the very heart of the park. There were mostly papers, office supplies, and even an overturned desk and cabinet. What caught the most interest, however, was the human child sitting at the center of the mess. She was a tiny slip of a girl, with haunted red eyes that stood out against her pale skin as vividly as the bloodstains covering the thin white nightgown that clung wetly to her body. Only one Digimon had dared to come close to the girl, a feline with fur as black as the girl's irregularly cropped short hair and the night sky. The Digimon was only a Child, and yet filled with a powerful aura that kept even the most curious Digimon from daring to come to close. However, in spite of the menace the Digimon gave off, the girl clung to the plush cat, her tiny body quaking as her eyes kept staring unseeing at something far away.
One of the braver Digimon, a Koromon, moved closer to sniff at the girl only to swiftly retreat back when a well-aimed tail lashed out. It narrowly missed the Digimon's snout and cracked the pavement where it had been moments before, the appendage surprisingly powerful despite its soft and flimsy appearance.
A low growl came from deep within Plushmon's throat, her piercing eyes challenging anyone to get close and risk the consequences.
With the open display of aggression, most of the Digimon were discouraged from attempting to get any closer to the strange child or her partner. The sensible Digimon withdrew, deciding their curiosity wasn't worth the animosity, and left the girl alone. However, not every Digimon was sensible.
One in particular was a Digimon that looked like a white cat dressed as a jester. His outfit was split down the middle and into quarters, with his right torso and arm and left waist and leg decorated in black with silver crescents while his left torso and arm and right waist and leg were white with gold suns. The tips of his toes were deep blue with bright red stars while his jester hat was a playful mixture of loud colors and bells that jingled as he floated along on tiny patchwork wings on his bag. His long tail, also patchwork in design with a wide variety of colors, swayed back and forth as the white lion-like tip jingled due to the bells attached to it.
"You knooooow, there are better places to sleep than on the ground," the Digimon said as he tilted his head to the side. "What's all that red stuff, anyway?"
The girl said nothing. She didn't even seem to register that someone had spoken to her.
The Digimon frowned before he leaned closer. "Helllllooo? Kyoumon is talking to yoooou!"
Plushmon bared her teeth at the jester Digimon. "Go away or I'll bite you."
Kyoumon blinked before he puffed his cheeks out with a huff. "Ruuuuude... Kyoumon is just trying to talk to the strange Digimon!"
"She's not a Digimon, she's my Chosen!" Plushmon snapped, bristling. "Go away or else!"
"Kyoumon is not 'Or Else', Kyoumon is Kyoumon," the jester cat Digimon said, matter-of-factly, before he leaned forward. "Kyoumon will say it as many times as-yeek!" Kyoumon jerked back just in time to narrowly avoid Plushmon's sharp teeth as she snapped at the Digimon, her fangs making a clinking noise as she bit the air.
"You're gonna be Deadmon if you don't keep away from Keiko!" Plushmon said, her voice low and rumbling as her ears canted back. The remaining Digimon quickly scattered, leaving only Kyoumon to stand in front of the human and her Digimon.
Kyoumon puffed his cheeks up as his tail lashed about behind him, rattling the bells attached to his tail. "Ruuuuude! Kyoumon thinks Rudemon needs to learn some manners!"
Plushmon responded by spitting out a tiny bit of flame at Kyoumon, deep black with purple highlights. The jester cat Digimon jerked back with a squeak, the flame narrowly missing his head. Plushmon's eyes followed him, barring her sharp fangs at Kyoumon. "Deadmon!"
Kyoumon blinked before he huffed again, puffing out his cheeks as he clenched his tiny paws in to fists and shook them. "Kyoumon can do that too!" Seemingly reaching behind him, Kyoumon suddenly pulled out a large guitar out of thin air and hefted it over his head. "Ka-Bo-!"
A click of a pen came from behind Kyoumon, soft and not particularly threatening. And yet the sound alone sent a chill through Kyoumon's body, causing him to freeze as the tip of his tail puffed up like a wire-brush. The Digimon quickly glancing behind him, eyes wide as his ears canted back.
A Digimon in the shape of an angel with long hair as black as his wings surveyed the scene. In his hands were a pen and a notepad, which he used to write something down. Despite his body being covered in leather and chains, he made no other noise than the scrape of the tip of the pen against paper. Once he finished writing, he clicked the pen again with a note of finality and regarded the human child. "It would seem as though your services will be more useful than mine at the moment, Higashi."
The Digimon in question, Higashi, was also angelic in appearance, though his feathers were white and his hair golden blonde. In further contrast, he wore robes of white with gold trim rather than the black leather covering his comrade. He glanced towards his comrade before he looked at Kyoumon, who kept his attention solely on the angel in black. Higashi frowned, then moved past Kyoumon towards Plushmon and the human girl on the ground.
Plushmon let out a low growl, baring her fangs. "Stay back!"
"I'm not going to hurt her," Higashi said, his voice soft and soothing, before he focused his attention on the human girl. "...Keiko? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
A whisper eeked out of Keiko - two words repeated in a desperate litany. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Higashi frowned before he knelt down. "Keiko, I-"
Plushmon lunged forward, digging her teeth in to Higashi's arm. The angel barely flinched, and didn't so much as glance towards the furious young Digimon. Instead, he kept his attention on Keiko.
"Keiko," Higashi said, slowly. "Did something happen?"
Keiko stared through Higashi, silent for nearly a minute before she saw something that drew her gaze away. Her eyes widened as a tiny shrill sound eked out of her before she buried her face into the back of Plushmon head. She clutched the little Digimon closer to her, as though trying to disappear, while her body trembled uncontrollably and her head shook from side to side. Finally, words managed to escape her, weak and hoarse, muffled against the soft body of Plushmon. "No... no... no..."
Zennyu followed Keiko's gaze, his eyes narrowing as he saw what caught her attention. "Higashi."
Higashi glanced back to Zennyu. "Hm?" He didn't even notice that Plushmon was no longer biting him and was baring her teeth in a growl, obviously upset that she didn't have more of an impact on the 'threat'. Instead he focused on where the dark angel pointed.
Among the debris littering the area, a pair of sharp scissors could easily be overlooked, but what made it different from all the other mundane items that had traveled with Keiko was the fact that the silvery metal was coated completely in blood.
Higashi's eyes widened, alarm flooding him. "B-blood!?"
Zennyu turned from the scissors to the blood soaked dress Keiko wore. Because of her black hair, it was easy to miss the dark marks along her neck. "Higashi, what are you waiting for?"
Higashi jerked before he turned back to Keiko. He held his hand out towards the small girl, his fingers twitching as Plushmon snapped at them, before a soft white glow came from the palm of his hands. The glow spread outwards, engulfing Keiko and Plushmon both. Plushmon herself wasn't affected in the slightest, still glaring death and doom at Higashi. Keiko, on the other hand, saw an immediate response. The purple blotches around her neck faded away like a bad dream, leaving only pale skin.
"There," Higashi said, as he lowered his hand. He looked at Keiko's neck before lifting his eyes to her face. "Does it still hurt?"
Though Keiko seemed to breathe easier, she started rocking back and forth. "I didn't... I didn't... no... no..."
Higashi furrowed his brow again, frowning. "You didn't...?"
Zennyu sighed and pulled a pen and clipboard out of thin air. The sound of a click signified a note being written. "I think the damage to her soul is worse than what happened to her body. We should bring her back to the Crystal Palace."
"You're not taking her anywhere!" Plushmon snarled, her fur puffed up. "Stay away from Keiko!"
"Kyoumon still thinks Rudemon needs a good ka-bong," Kyoumon grumbled, the jester cat loitering about from a safe distance as he watched the proceedings.
Zennyu loomed over Plushmon, a large and intimidating figure, but the tiny Digimon was completely unaffected. "Keiko needs you, and she needs help. We're taking you both to get it."
"Help her how!?" Plushmon demanded, her ears canted back.
"By getting her away from the thing that's upsetting her, for starters," Zennyu said.
Plushmon's eyes narrowed. Her eyes darted to the scissors before returning to Zennyu, and she bared her teeth once more as she let out a low growl.
"Keiko, let's go," Higashi said as he tentatively reached his hand out, extending it to the small girl. "We'll get you cleaned up, and something to eat. Alright?"
Slowly, Keiko rose to her feet without lifting her head, her movements slow. She didn't speak, or otherwise react, not even when Higashi took her hand and led her along.
Plushmon grumbled deep in her throat. "If you do anything bad to Keiko, I'll kill you! Remember that!"
Zennyu clicked his pen as he regarded the small Digimon. "The one you should kill is the person responsible for hurting your Chosen Child."
A terrible shudder ran through Keiko, turning her legs to jelly and sending her falling from Higashi's grip. A wordless keening wail of anguish escaped her as she curled around Plushmon before she broke down into harsh sobs that racked her small body.
Higashi turned to stare at Keiko for a moment before he shot Zennyu an irritated look. He then wordlessly knelt down, wrapping his arms around the trembling Chosen. Ignoring the growling from Plushmon, he muttered in a strange language under his breath before both he and Keiko disappeared in a burst of light.
Zennyu twirled his pen in his fingers before clicking it again. "Interesting." His cloth like black wings slid around him, and he became shadow, slipping into the ground and disappearing into darkness.
Kyoumon frowned as he found himself suddenly alone, his ears canting back. He glanced about, the bells on his outfit jingling, before he let out a frustrated sigh. "Boooooring..." He paused before his eyes settled on the bloody scissors. After a moment's hesitation, he drifted over to the metal cutting utensil covered in the foreign, sticky substance. He brought the scissors to his face, sniffing at the blood. Grimacing at the smell, he held the scissors away and stuck out his tongue. "Blech."