A/N: Written for:

Diversity Writing Challenge, h9 – write a multichap with exactly 5 chapters
Ultimate Sleuth Challenge, Colosseum Fight Bronze: write a fic within 1k of your total word count, with exactly 5 chapters
Becoming the Tamer King Challenge, Drain Tunnel - write a multichapter with chapters at least 1000 words with either angst, tragedy or suspense, horror or supernatural as one of the genres
The Endurance Challenge, weeks 4-8

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The God-Slaying Peace-Keeper
Chapter 1

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By this point, he thinks everyone in the digital world knows his name – or at least his occupation, so he's surprised and somewhat insulted to find this girl calling him "Fenrir" instead.

He's also surprised to find a human in the digital world five years after the gate closed, but that's another matter entirely. That one's more of a happy sort of surprise, because it might mean he can see his family again, and his friends, and they can all see their partners again and he knows they've been missing their human friends quite thoroughly, because he'd caught Lalamon singing that lullaby of Yoshino's just two days before. Except this girl looks only slightly older than his little sister and has a head of blonde hair and a black dress that both remind him of the biohybrid Nanami, but who's otherwise unfamiliar. Then again, two stark similarities with Nanami is more than enough. 'Who are you?' he asks her.

'Alice McCoy,' is the response, crisp but not wholly clear. There's an accent in there, but his English is pretty terrible so he doesn't know whether that's American or British or even an English-speaking country accent. 'I'm a researcher.'

And that comments reminds him both Nanami again, and Thomas. He'll take the similarities to Thomas because at least Thomas is his best friend and not the girl who tried to feed him to the snakes. Not that he can really blame her for that. Kurata messed up a lot of people, after all, but ultimately he doesn't know much about Nanami except for those battles when they'd been on opposing sides, and his figurative blades were crossing with Kouki more often than not. Kouki, he understood a little better as a result. The need to prove himself. The same force, except twisted, that had driven the rivalry between him and Thomas as well.

He sighs and shakes his head. The upcoming anniversary has him feeling nostalgic, though it's not quite holding the candles to the first. That had been a sledgehammer to his ribs. But that doesn't mean he regrets his choice. The digital world needs him. And Agumon is here and he needs Agumon.

And all he did in the human world was pick fights and bug his little sister anyway. It's just the people. His family. His friends. Miniature Nanami's aren't really either of those, but it's an abnormality anyway. 'There shouldn't be any other humans here.'

'There aren't,' says the girl pleasantly. 'Only ghosts that linger, and Fenrir.'

And that's the second time he hears the name "Fenrir", but he's yet to understand she means it to be a reference to him. And he's unfamiliar with the name as well – aside from the fact that it has something to do with a wolf – and so he asks. 'Who's Fenrir?'

'You.' And she smiles at him, as though there's an unspoken "silly" attached at the end of it. And this time, he's reminded of his mother, when he's asked a question whose answer he can work out himself with a bit of thinking.

But he can't work this one out, and the girl is definitely too young to be patronising him. 'Me?' he repeated. 'My name's Marcus. Marcus Daimon.' He puffs out his chest. 'The ultimate keeper of the peace, you know.'

'I know,' she replies. 'I've heard of you. But before a peace-keeper, you're Fenrir.'

And that still makes no sense to him.

She sees that this time, or maybe she saw that earlier but just decides to take pity on him now. 'Do you know the legend?'

'Wolves get their own legends?' He supposes he can't be too surprised, considering so many clans of digimon have their own legends, so why not the animals in the human world as well?

'Fenrir is a wolf in Norse mythology,' Alice explains, crouching down. A black dog melts out of the shadows to kneel with her, and Agumon clamours up behind him in response. Funny how the approach of one digimon catches the attention of another. But the same is true of humans, at least in a world where there are more than one – or more than two.

'Hang on,' he interrupts. 'Did you just call yourself a non-human?'

'I suppose.' She seems to consider the thought before attesting to it. 'I was human once upon a time, but no more. Just like Dobermon was a digimon once upon a time, but no longer.' She pets the black fur.

Dobermon looks like a perfectly ordinary digimon to him, just like Alice looks like a perfectly ordinary human (simply with an uncanny resemblance to Nanami). But Agumon is staring at the two with unexpected seriousness.

And the next to speak is Agumon, surprisingly cutting the chance for further conversation with his message. 'There's a bunch of Yukiduramon and Meramon fighting in the desert area.'

Then again, two sets of champion digimon can cause a lot of trouble, especially with a Yokomon settlement not far from there. So Marcus nods twice, one to Agumon in acknowledgement and once to the other two in farewell. 'Sorry,' he says. 'Duty calls.'

'I'll find you again soon,' says Alice, not straightening up from her crouch with Dobermon. 'We've got quite a bit more to talk about.'

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The fight between the Yukiduramon and Meramon turns out to be over a new spring the former lot had accidentally unearthed. It was near their village too, so perfectly positioned, but was a trickle-down effect from the spring up on the mountain that belonged to the Meramon. It's more a monetary issue than anything, since the Meramon make a profit off selling the water, but they manage to put a compromise on the table that's good enough for both parties. The Meramon aren't great around water after all, despite their trade. The Yukiduramon don't have that weakness, so they can save the litres upon litres per year that get evaporated due to overdone exposure.

Whistling, Marcus climbs back up the hill. There's nobody waiting there.

'Hey, Agumon,' he says. 'What did you think of those two? Ever heard of them before?'

'I've heard of them,' Agumon replies, after a brief pause. 'They're servants of King Drasil, like the Royal Knights. Or they were, before the Royal Knights.'

But the Royal Knights were around before his father came into the Digital World. Before Keenan and Kristy had been even born. Alice would have been a baby herself in a time they weren't at King Drasil's beck and call, assuming she'd even existed at the time.

He voices this. Agumon shrugs. 'She says she's not a human, and he says he's not a digimon. Maybe they've been sent to keep an eye on things by King Drasil, or something.' He frowns at the thought. 'Can't say I like that idea, considering all the trouble it took to kick its butt.'

'No,' Marcus agrees. 'Maybe we should put them to work, then.'

Agumon snorts at that. 'The God of the Digital World, working under my boss. Why not?'

It was his right as the conqueror though, in a sense.

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In the end, it was several days before Alice and her Dobermon showed up again. This time it was both of them from the onset, and Agumon who glares and covered up his pile of apples before either of them can get any ideas of sharing. Marcus snorts at the action; they're both rather greedy about their food, but there are plenty of apple trees in the area. They're in an orchard, after all. No shortage of food there.

But Alice takes the hint and twists two free from the nearest tree, one for herself and one she places in front of her partner's snout. The black dog-like digimon sniffs at it and then bites with an audible crunch. Alice just plays with hers.

'Best apples in the digital world,' Marcus prompts. 'Dunno what the Mushroomon do to make them so good, though.'

'Their spores soak into the soil,' Alice responds, and Marcus is again reminded of Thomas, and Nanami. 'It's the work of thousands of years, to nurture the soil until it can produce the healthiest fruits. But like everything, once they reach the peak, they'll only fall.' And then she takes a bite, as though savouring the peak she knows will eventually slip away.

Marcus' next bite tastes a little more bitter. He wonders if it's Agumon's words from before that cause that, or Alice's somewhat melancholic musing. Though he's sure Thomas would have done the same. Pressing on about his science, no matter how it kills the mood laid out. But maybe not so much, now. Maybe not so much earlier, either, considering how desperately he'd searched for Relena's cure – and in a way that wouldn't steal the innocence of her youth away.

The anniversary is dawning, and the reminder of Thomas is more unwelcome than it otherwise would have been. He sighs. It's hardly Alice's fault she's picked a bad time to appear…although… 'How come I haven't seen you before?'

'I didn't care to be seen,' the girl shrugs. 'We watch from the shadows, mostly.'

'For King Drasil?' Agumon asks, and rather bluntly at that.

'Not really.' And there's suddenly a look of frank sadness on her face. 'The God of the Digital World has taken on many forms, throughout the years. Once, it was a plural.'

'As in multiple Gods?' Marcus snorts at that. 'They probably fought a lot.'

'So to speak.' And it's a sad smile. 'One of the Royal Knights defeated one of the four, and the other three grew unbalanced. The result was them merging into one and the price the God-Slayer paid was eternal servitude.'

One of the royal knights. He hasn't met them all, himself. Probably won't, since none of them are around any longer, set free after King Drasil left them behind.

But she's looking at him expectantly, like there's something else she's said that should be nagging him. He can't think what it is.

Agumon does. 'Are you saying Boss is the same?'

'Fenrir,' the girl repeated, or perhaps said in answer. 'In Norse mythology, Fenrir kills the God Odin, and in turn is killed by the son of Odin.' Her lips slowly twist into a smile as she watches the pair of peace-keepers. 'Fenrir the God-Slayer,' she says. 'Before peace-keepers, you are the slayer of King Drasil as this world knows. A God-Slayer. And what goes around comes around, as the human saying goes.' She bites into her apple again, watching them still. 'Do you think your being here is enough of a price, or will there be something more?'