A/N: Yes, I know I didn't plan this story to even exist, but I just couldn't get the idea of Humonguru and Ray chilling out of my head! Blame my spontaneity! Not that this is much an improvement from the soul-shattering greek tragedy that was his canon character arc, but I tried to make it ambigously happy...? Is that even a phrase?
Disclaimer: Still don't own this show or it's characters. I'll keep you posted.
The sound of metal rapidly clashing against rock echoed through the halls of the Dojo. Most of the residents and daily visitors had gotten used to the noise, but it still tended to leave one's ears ringing after a while. The sound itself was created in part by Humonguru's talons as he scaled across and around the walls and ceilings of the underground cave. While energizing, it did not lead itself to the most subtle forms of locomotion as it would in the nature realm.
But, there still remained humanity, no matter how small within his mind. And that part of his humanity knew that this was the safest place he could be with the Choten on the other side of the veil. And without him in the way, the Masters could very easily multitask in finding a cure and stopping his attempts on world-wide conquest.
Humonguru landed with a gentle thud on the ground, his talons spread out to properly balance the rest of his body. When he'd gotten both paws down firmly, they swift retracted straight into his back as he moved towards his current 'target' of the day, sitting and drawing at one of the tables in the library.
"Still need to work a little better on your 'sneaking up' bit," Ray said, looking up from his drawing. "But you're doing a lot better!"
Humonguru chirped dully, possibly the Megabug equivalent of "I'd like to see you do better" or something along those lines. He then tapped twice on the drawing itself, quizzically tilting his head.
"Oh, Wandering Brain-Eater!" Ray said, as he drew a line connecting its arms to its body. "Just not quite done with it yet. You wanna watch?" The creature proceeded to step back, unleash his talons, cross his legs and cup both hands to his face in a sort of excited awe. "I'll… take that as a yes." Ray said, turning back to his drawing all the while with the creature still eagerly awaiting.
Ray finished up the sketch and was about to start coloring it when suddenly, Humonguru froze. His form went limp, and his talons quickly rotated his body around and behind himself, where very soft and approaching footsteps could be heard. "Dad?" Ray asked. "What's wrong?" He did not respond with a growl or a chirp, only glaring deep into the darkness. His four eyes widened, and he then reeled back with a loud screech, retreating into the darkness.
"Wait!" Ray yelled, standing up and reaching out (and missing) to try and calm him down. "What are you-?"
"Just making sure you have everything you need!" Ray's mom called from behind. She was holding Ray's unactivated gauntlet in her right hand, and she reached out to hand it back to him. "I can't see you dueling much without it." Well, that explains it, Ray thought. He took the gauntlet "Uh, thanks. I guess I must've forgot to put it in my bag." He sort of stood there, trying to find a way to ask her to leave without sounding too rude.
"So, what's on the agenda for a junior duel master?" she asked cheerily.
"Oh, you know, just… stuff. Uh, I mean, I was just… taking inventory for the masters, but I'm done with that now!" He gently started to nudge her out of the room. "So we can just… check on the creatures now!"
"Well, that sounds like fun, if you're into-" She was suddenly cut off by Humonguru dropping from the ceiling and right in front of them both. She gasped, obviously spooked at his sudden appearance, but she awkwardly chuckled and said "And hello to you, too." Ray's blood nearly froze.
"Yeah, that's Humonculon," he said, trying to make the situation seem much more normal. He quickly ran to the creature's side. "You'd probably recognize him as that little spider creature that Dad used to carry around with him."
"Well, he's certainly gotten a lot bigger from when you used him as a teething ring," she said. She cupped a hand under his head. "Hey, remember me?" Humonguru hesitated for approximately 5 seconds before pulling her into a hug, nuzzling her face and trilling happily. "I guess he's gotten a lot more affectionate, too!"
"Ha-ha, yeah," Ray said, internally screaming. "He's, uh, been experimented on by the Choten, so we're kinda looking for something that'll bring him back to normal. I think Master Nadia and Finbarr are starting to make a breakthrough…"
"Oh! That reminds me!" She pushed herself off of Humonguru. "I have to ask Master Nadia about something. You too can go along, don't mind me." The two walked her walk out of the library, and when she'd finally turned a corner and Ray's heart rate had died down, Humonculon turned back to him. He looked down at his hands, growling a bit, and crossed his arms.
"Hey, dad. It's gonna be alright. "Ray said, resting his hand on one of the talons. "Look, I'm sure can find a cure, and we can be a family again." Either out of sheer resignation or avoidance, Humonguru brushed his hand off and went back to the table. He then picked up the half-finished drawing of the Wandering Braineater along with some colored pencils, and gently nudged Ray with both of them.
Ray grinned. "And you're still an amazing dad to me."