AN: Made it out of surgery without a flaw! Should be up to my usual typing speed soon; 3 chronological chapters completed, but over 30,000 words written so I figured I'd start posting them in chronological order now haha.
~.~
'Thank goodness for the summer holidays.' Reo thought as she handed the cash over to the vender in exchange for her clip on piercings. 'Shame mum and dad couldn't come and visit though.'
Their absence didn't really surprise her unfortunately. The pair had allowed her to continue her at the boarding and day school in Shibuya despite their misgivings. The guilt at having torn her away from her friends when they returned to their home country had quickly turned into guilt at leaving their oldest daughter in a less than perfect schooling system overseas and away from home.
Reo wished they would just accept her situation and love her anyway. She'd accepted it a long time ago, after all.
Still, them renting her an apartment for the holidays to give her space and time to recover was a lovely display of affection. It also let her explore her identity and her city as she pleased; all the other boarders had returned to their country homes for the summer after all.
It was as she was clipping her latest set of fake piercings that her national phone went off in a weird tone. The vibration's caused her Hello Kitty charm to jingle, the bell ringing as the small pink chim fellow off the edge of the public bathroom's sink side. A foreign image covered the screen, and a voice rang out in Japanese.
'It is time.'
Well, she didn't have anything better to do.
It took only took a short walk to reach Shibuya Station from Central Street. That meant that, after the gut-dropping elevator ride, Reo had time to rebalance herself in the train carriage before the locomotive actually departed. No one else had boarded her carriage, and the blonde found herself relaxing at having the space to herself. There was no one to judge her here.
As the train took off loudly, the blonde examined her reflected appearance in the dark train windows. The new piercings looked okay on her lip, but she'd have to give them a day or two before she actually decided to keep them or not. If they were an annoyance to eat with, they would get repositioned. Whether to her nose or to her ears, she wasn't sure. In a way, she was glad she was allergic to metal- it was a lot cheaper to find out preferences with clip on's than with actual piercings.
Actually, on her nose wouldn't look so bad- her broad nose could actually-
Loudness blinded her senses.
Bright light, ear-shattering noise, and a burning heat on her sight sent the blonde reeling to her knees. Too much, too loud, too much- another loud horn shocked Reo from her shock, startling her back into reality.
The train had left the tunnel, and now appeared to be flying through the sky; Shibuya was nowhere in sight. Breathing slow, deep breaths as the cold boarding school psych had taught her, Reo slowly rose to her feet. There was a sky, with lots of clouds. There was the bench she had sat on, blue leather and all. There was the floor, warm foggy patches where her hands had previously been. There was a weight in her pocket- not her phone when she brought it out, but an unfamiliar device. It was a nice blue— the same blue as her jacket— with a pink handle— the same pink as her Helly Kitty charm's dress.
Had been.
The same pink as her Hello Kitty charm's dress had been.
"God damn, that was rough." Laughing made the pain and delusions manageable. It was better to laugh than to cry, as Reo's grandparents had always preached. As white ghosts began to fill the sky, slightly less fluffy than clouds, the blonde heaved out a sigh.
Today was going to be a long day, wasn't it?
~.~
"Aw man, that was a train ride and a half." The fifth person standing on the platform surprised the other four which had also been kicked off of the train (or was it a Trailmon?). With her tight fitting pants and bomber jacket, the blonde looked as much like a foreigner as Zoe did. "Not only do I have no idea where I am, but my phone's gone an abandoned me too."
How the girl could laugh at a time like this, Takuya had no idea. Tommy didn't seem to understand either, as he burst into tears a moment later, terrified of the small white blobs surrounding him in a town he knew nothing about.
"Waaaah, I didn't even want to be on this train!"
Blinking, the blonde turned towards the group of four, seemingly only just realising their situation. Concern coloured her expression, but before she could say anymore the group's ride abandoned them all with a rather confusing statement. Slowly the creatures crept around to circle her as well, taking the opportunity the departing Trailmon provided.
"Hey, I'm Reo- are you guys okay?" Reo began to walk towards the group, mindless of the creatures parting beneath her feet. Zoe and J.P. turned towards her, but Tommy paid the girl no mind, running out onto the train tracks after the disappearing Trailmon.
'Oh shit.'
Takuya was the first to kick into action, dashing after the young boy as he crossed into unstable territory. Zoe and J.P. weren't far behind, but Reo caught up to them green flames halted the trio in their pursuit of their friends.
"Oh, hey, look- it's a cerberus." Reo grinned, recalling her mythology trivia cards.
No one seemed to pay her comment any mind, too busy with the danger in front of them, so she kept the lore details to herself. Man, a real life cerberus; she began to flap her hands excitedly. It ran like a normal dog, despite the three way split at the top end of it's spine, but only one face seemed functional. Actually, she didn't think it would have been able to talk; but then if the train had managed to talk to them, who knew what else was literate!
The anticipation for a thorough interrogation quelled a bit as the hound began to chase after Takuya and Tommy, before extinguishing entirely as the pair were forced to slide down a disconnected train rail. That… was a bit of an excitement dampener. The boy of them made the jump, but the cerberus was closing in quickly, and all thoughts of questions went out of Reo's minds as her pulse jumped in anxiety for the boys.
"Are they going to be okay…" Reo's tone wavered, and she exchanged a worried glance with Zoe beside her.
"I hope so." Both blonde's shuffled uneasily, before Zoe let out a scream as the cerberus tackled Takuya into the pillar of flame.
~.~
And then things went from mythical to downright crazy as Takuya shape shifted into a monster himself.
~.~
"Hey, Bokomon, who did you say that digimon was again?"
The group of five— wait, where had J.P. and Tommy gone again?— were making their way over towards Bokomon's house at a leisurely pace, the small white digimon having claimed that he would be able to help the humans find the spirits they needed to return home. While Takuya and Zoe were arguing over the pro's and con's of fulfilling their 'quest' versus just finding another Trailmon to take them all home, Reo had decided to question the knowledgable companion about her curiousities.
"Ah, that would be Cerberumon, my dear."
"Huh, so it is a cerberus." Score one for Reo!
"A what now?" Bokomon turned to look up at the blonde.
"Wait, you knew what that was?" Zoe's tone was disbelieving and Takuya's incredulous.
"Well, not what that was, but I know what it was similar too?" Reo's tone lilted, face scrunching up as she tried to find the words to describe the information. "In our world, in the old Greek religion, cerberus was a three-headed dog that guarded the gates to the world of the dead, and also escorted the dead to the afterlife?"
"Well Cerberumon is a dark type digimon— perhaps the digital world and your world have been connected before?" Bokomon pondered, turning a corner as he mulled over the new information. "It would be fascinating to see what other connections our worlds have."
"Well, I mean, you guys knew we were humans before we met— if there are no humans in this world, how did you know we existed at all?" It was Zoe's turn to rise with a question, and Takuya seemed to only just realise this fact as the girl brought it up.
"Hey, that's a good question!" Takuya excaimed. "And, how can I turn into a digimon?!"
"All good questions, to which I have no answers." Bokomon retorted unhelpfully. Neemon sighed at his friends response, shaking his head in dismay.
"Woooow, so you don't know everything…"
"Of course I don't, you idiot." Bokomon snapped Neemon's waistband in what looked like, rather frankly, a very painful manner. "That's why we have to find the answers. Perhaps in finding these spirits we will find some answers."
That was true, Reo thought. Zoe seemed to appreciate this argument towards finishing their given quest, while Takuya frowned and continued his disagreements. Reo didn't know why the boy was so adamant to returning home; with his temperament he seemed like the time to just charge right in without considering the consequences.
She supposed, with the right motivation, anyone could be made to do anything. Not that she knew what his motivation was.
"I'll be sure to let you know if I spot any more similarities then, I guess." Reo shrugged, and Bokomon voiced his appreciation in a long winded rant about the endless possibilities of the joining of worlds.
Honestly, Reo thought as she viewed the happily conversing bird digimon in the distance, she just hoped that the digital world remained as it was— innocent to the things the human world brought.
The pair of pink birds vanished from sight as the group of five arrived at their destination.
Seriously, where had J.P. and Tommy vanished too?
"You know, the Village of Flames is a really nice place now that it's not on fire." Reo glanced around, taking in the soft green grass surrounding Bokomon and Neemon's home. The pair may appear to have a less than peaceful relationship, but if the pair could live together under the same roof then it clearly wasn't all that bad.
"Thank you, I am quite fond of it myself." Bokomon replied, his voice echoing slightly as it bounced off of metal walls before making it's way out the door. Neemon was resting his head on the windowsill, watching as the three humans took in the new world around them. Even as Reo listened to Bokomon shuffling around in his home, three more of the ghost-like digimon from earlier floated past, giggling among themselves.
"Who're they, Neemon?"
"Hmmmmm," the yellow digimon hummed thoughtfully. "I've forgotten." Reo let out a laughter, not mocking the digimon but rather relieved someone else here seemed to maintain a similar memory for names as her own. "But they're real friendly fellows, happy to help out and play with you if you ask."
"Those are Poyomon, you nitwit." Bokomon's book appeared suddenly over Neemon's head, giving the ditzy digimon a soft thwack. "You see them everyday, surely you can remember their name."
"Nah, I get it- he's remembering the important stuff." Reo grinned, watching as a fourth Poyomon joined the gang. "Whether they're a danger or not."
Takuya seemed to laugh at this comment, doubting it's validity, while Zoe shook her head in disbelief— but she seemed to be shrinking back from the creatures less than she had been before. Had she had a bad encounter with them? Bokomon, on the other hand, regarded the girl carefully before nodding in agreement.
"I suppose I can credit him that much."
"Da—ang right you can." 'Monitoring language, Reo.' The blonde thought to herself, listening as Takuya and Zoe began to ponder over J.P. and Tommy's location. 'You're not trying to intimidate these people.'
Having been on holiday mode for a month or so, it was easier to catch her slip ups than it was in the middle of semester when talking to teachers. At least the teacher's didn't mind her mistakes too much thanks to her grades— but Reo would never forgive herself if she swore in front of Tommy.
The kid was still too innocent to life. Naive in a different way than Neemon was— in a way that could easily be broken.
She wouldn't do that to anyone if she could help it.
A loud scream echoing through the village told her that maybe she wouldn't get the chance to risk doing so.
~.~
"Tommy!" Reo wanted to slam her face against a wall multiple times. The tip off from the Poyomon had been helpful, but now…
"Tommy!" Both Takuya and Zoe were acting, well, stupid and immature. One lost control, then the other, and then they both refused to take the blame for it. It made this whole thing uncomfortable for everyone. Why people valued their pride so much, she would never understand.
Valuing your friends was much more important.
"Tommy!" Which was why she was helping them find Tommy still. J.P. had gone with him, she was certain, but where they had gone was still a mystery. Actually, where Bokomon and Neemon had gone was also a mystery. Damn, they really were loosing everyone today.
'Maybe this world is actually a horror movie, and we're all being picked off one by one?' Just as she thought that, another pair of screams echoed down the chambers— this one very clearly Tommy's and J.P.'s.
"We have to help them!"
"I know that!"
The trio dashed down the halls, two with fiery tempers pushing them forward. Bokomon and Neemon met them halfway, apparently having found another entrance to the underground network.
The group arrived just in time to see one of the Pagumon which had been attacking J.P. and Tommy (and the new kid, who appeared to have come out of nowhere) evolved into a hulking piece of slime.
Which smelt absolutely rank, by the way.
Reo squeezed her nose shut, glad she decided to clip her new piercings to her lip rather than her nose. Now was not the time to test the pain levels of blocking one's nose with a piercing in it. Zoe also protested the stench, whining loudly as she covered her face with her hands.
Raremon, as Bokomon named him, continued his assault on the dodging new boy. J.P. had managed to get out of the way, crawling backwards to the entrance the other's had appeared in. Reo scanned the room for Tommy, finally spotting the brunette in the new kid's arm's.
'Fuck, that's not safe— for either of them.'
Takuya seemed to agree with that train of thought, pressing down random buttons on his d-tector in an attempt to reignite his spirit he'd found.
"Hey, Takuya," Bokomon's voice echoed around the chamber, broken in part by the echoing of the running footsteps the evading new kid was taking. "Not to be a bother, but you might want to think about spirit evolving before your friend's there become Raremon's lunch."
'No shit, Sherlock.' Reo wanted to smack the white digimon upside the head. Unless he knew how to operate the new device the kid's found themselves in possession was, there was no way that anything he had to say at the moment could really be helpful right at this second. Did he have a manual— actually, a shut down button on Raremon would be good to know about too.
"Hey, Bokomon, does Raremon have any—"
"Got it!" Takuya's outburst interrupted Reo's question, and a strange symbol lit up on his d-tector's screen. "Spirit!"
OW! Reo glared at the growing light form that had been Takuya. That was fucking loud, Jesus. Did he have to scream right next to them?
Still, she couldn't bring herself to resent him too much as he ran to the aid of the other's stuck in the middle of the room. At least he was helping them in anyway he could.
~.~
And then he knocked the new kid down the hole in the middle of the room. And then that new kid turned into a digimon as well.
Fuck this was a weird reality.
~.~
'Oh my god, it's another dog digimon.' Reo jumped from foot to foot as she watched the new kid-turned-digimon fight against Raremon. 'It's a puppy dog, what the fuck, I love it!'
After returning Raremon to fractal code, the new kid —Kouji, as he introduced himself— revealed himself to be a bit of an asshole. Actually, his pride was level with Takuya and Zoe's in a way. Man, why did people have such a thing against asking for help and admitting they were wrong? Either way, Reo concluded that he was less cool than his digimon form.
Then again, it was hard for anyone to be better than a dog.
Cats were pretty darn cool too, to be honest.
Man she hoped she'd never have to pick between a cat and a dog. She would probably either pick neither or both.
She was good at choosing not to choose.
Anyway! With Tommy and J.P. safe and sound, the enormous group of seven slowly made their way back to the surface, Bokomon guiding the humans (and Neemon) back through the entrance he'd come through to find the lost humans. Reo was glad that someone had bothered to come through an actual entrance rather than falling through an opening in the roof.
Walking at the back of the group, with the thought of horror movies fresh in her mind, Reo tasked herself with keeping the straying-prone group together. Hopefully they wouldn't give her too much of a work out though— having not eaten in a while, she didn't think she'd be able to run much longer.