"Pilot"
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A white air plane soon landed in the LAX airport and the voice of the pilot came on over the speakers, allowing everyone to gather their bags and walk through the gates.
The stewardess smiled at the passengers, watching as they all passed by her and wandered off inside the building.
The last person to step off the plane was a 19 year old girl with curly burgundy colored hair, tanned skin and chocolate brown hair.
She was dressed in a green off-the-shoulder top with short sleeves, a leather jacket, white jeans and black sneakers while she wore a gold chain that had a black tourmaline gemstone around her neck.
Her ears had gold dangling earrings that had a rose quartz gemstone attached to the ends.
In her hands was a large black soccer bag and she carried it with her over to the station where all of the other bags were being unloaded from the plane.
Eyes glancing over the bags and gently pushing her way through the crowd, she was able to spot her bags which were bright blue with gold hearts on them.
She had bought them since she felt it would make it easier to find them in the sea of black, grey and brown bags that people usually used.
Grabbing the two large bags and setting them on the ground, she pulled out the handles and pulled them behind her as she walked towards the exit.
Walking out into the warm Los Angeles air, the girl quickly felt hot and resisted the urge to shed off her jacket as she searched for a taxi.
Spotting one, she quickly made her way over to it and caught the attention of the driver who looked to be a man from the Middle East.
"Here, let me help you with those." He offered as he reached out to take her two blue bags.
"Thanks." She smiled at him.
Her cellphone then rang and she reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out the small blue flip phone and pressed the 'talk' button.
"Hello?" She answered it.
"Hey, Nia!" Her aunt, Vivien Harmon, exclaimed.
"Aunt Viv, hey, what's up?" Davinia 'Davey' Motomiya asked as she watched the cabbie place her bags in the trunk.
"I'm just calling to see if you got there yet." Vivien answered.
"Yeah, I'm here. In fact, I'm about to get into a cab and go to the house." Davey said as the cabbie pushed the trunk closed.
Opening the back door, Davey then climbed inside as the cabbie got into the driver's seat.
"Really? Oh, no. We still have a half hour drive before we get there." Vivien sighed.
Turning in his seat, the cabbie looked back at the girl.
"Where am I taking you?" He questioned.
"Um, hang on, Aunt Viv." Davey said into the phone before reaching into her pants' pocket.
Pulling out a paper that had the house address on it, Davey handed it over to the man who took it and his brown eyes roamed over the writting.
"It's this address here." She told him.
Nodding, the man turned back to face the front and buckled his seat belt before turning the taxi on and Davey pulled her belt on as well.
"Okay, I'm back. And don't worry so much, Aunt Viv. I'm old enough to spend a few minutes in a house alone. Besides, isn't the realtor supposed to be there right now?" Davey asked.
Seeing her bag moving, Davey frowned and reached over to unzip it, allowing the occupant inside to breath properly, but they remained hidden.
"Yeah, I guess. Maybe you can get the tour of the house before we do, eh, Nia?" Vivien tried to look on the bright side.
"Yeah, and I can pick out my room before everyone else, too. Anyway, I'll see you guys when you arrive." Davey said.
"Okay. Bye-bye, Nia." Vivien said as the two females hung up.
Looking through her contacts list, Davey then sent a text to her parents to let them know she had arrived in Los Angeles safely and was on her way to the house to meet with her aunt.
Glancing outside, she watched as the scene changed from the highway to a neighborhood that was filled with houses that lined up the streets.
Adults were seen wandering around, teenagers were walking and talking with each other while children played in their yards.
The scene outside resembled one from a G rated flim where everyone lived in blissful ignorance of the harsh realities of the world.
Soon enough, the taxi pulled up to the house and Davey's eyes grew wide in surprise at the sight.
It was a beautiful Victorian house that was made of wine colored bricks while the windows were outlined in creme bricks and the roof had grey shingles.
How was it possible that her aunt's family would be able to afford for such a place as grand as this?
"Here we are." The cabbie said as he parked in front of the house.
They both climbed out of the taxi and the man took the bags out of the trunk.
"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" Davey asked as she dug in her black bag for her wallet.
"That'll be $40.35, ma'am." The man said as he checked the meter.
Pulling out $45 out of her purse, she handed it over to the man and gave him a smile.
"Here, keep the change." She told him.
"Thank you, ma'am. Have a nice stay and good luck." He nodded at her.
Unsure of what he meant by 'good luck', Davey watched as the man sat back down in the driver's seat and seemed to drive off faster than was normal for the area they were in.
Just then, a small blue head with floppy ears, a white face and large red eyes poked out of her black bag that was still slung over her shoulder.
"Wow, he sure took off in a hurry. He seemed nervous when we pulled up to the house. I wonder why that was." DemiVeemon frowned in worry.
"Hell if I know. He probably just wanted to get back to work. C'mon, V, let's go check out this house." Davey smiled down at the tiny dragon.
Grabbing her two bags by their handles, Davey walked up the red brick steps and pushed the black metal gate open as she made her way towards the door.
Before she could reach out to open it, the door slowly creaked open which made the girl and her dragon blink in confusion and they peered inside to see if anyone was on the other side of the door.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" The girl called as she leaned forward, her shoulder length curls bouncing as she did so.
Seeing no one, Davey stepped inside and glanced around the large, beautiful house.
"I don't see anyone. You can come out now." She said as she reached into her bag to bring the Digimon into her arms.
"Oh, good. I thought I was never gonna get out of that bag. It's so uncomfortable." DemiVeemon complained as climbed up onto her head.
"Hey, don't complain. I told you to wait in the Digital World and I would come pick you up after I got here. But, no. You insisted on coming on the plane ride with me." Davey reminded as she peered up at him.
"I had to! This is Los Angeles, it's not safe here for you to be walking around alone. I needed to come to protect you." DemiVeemon insisted.
Despite the place being known as the City of Angeles, the young Digimon knew for a fact that it wasn't a safe and happy place to live.
It was dangerous and filled with demons, just like every other place on the planet.
"DemiVeemon, you need to stop being a worry wort. I can take care of myself, y'know?" Davey sounded annoyed, but couldn't help but smile.
Something she truely loved about DemiVeemon was that he was loyal and very caring.
He had been the first friend she ever had to show such kindness to her.
Floppy ears twitching, DemiVeemon's head picked up as he heard footsteps and looked down the hall to find a woman with short red hair, brown eyes and was dressed in a blue pantsuit.
Acting quickly, DemiVeemon crawled back down into the black bag and hid inside of it along with the other things his partner had packed.
When the woman saw the figure of the girl standing in the house with her bags, she frowned and made her way over to speak with her.
"Excuse me, who are you?" She asked with a smile that Davey was able to tell was fake.
"I'm Davinia, I'm the Harmons' niece." She explained.
Hearing the familiar name, the woman stopped in front of the girl and seemed to be studying her appearance with a very judgemental look in her eyes.
"Ah, yes, I heard you would be staying with them. Speaking of, where are the Harmons?" The woman asked.
"Still on the road. They should be here soon though. And who are you?" Davey asked the woman, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm Marcy, the real estate agent representing the house. Anyway, since the Harmons won't be here for a while, would you like a tour of the house?" Marcy asked with that same fake smile on her face.
"No, I'm just gonna head upstairs and pick out a room. I'll take the tour when the others get here, thanks." Davey said as she gave a fake smile as well.
"All right then." Marcy nodded as the girl grabbed her bags and carried them off with her up the stairs.
Walking up the steps, Davey glanced over shoulder at the woman and found her shaking her head, looking very much like an uppity socialite who disaproved of the teenager.
"Hag." Davey growled under her breath.
Sighing at the anger he felt from his partner, DemiVeemon remained silent as the girl continued walking and started poking her head into the rooms, checking for one to settle down in.
Opening a door to one of the rooms, Davey felt a strange chill work its way down her spine, but brushed it off as she stepped inside.
The room already had a bed with a mattress along with a dresser for clothing, a chair, study table and even a black board while there were three windows.
The walls were painted a sea foam green color, but the lack of light in the room made it feel bleak and depressing.
She was going to be painting these walls as soon as possible to bring a bit of life into it.
"Wow, is that a chandelier?" DemiVeemon asked as he jumped out of the bag.
"No, that's just a fancy light. Whoever built this house was really trying to impress someone." Davey commented.
"Or maybe they were over-compensating for something." DemiVeemon smirked.
That joke earned him a stunned expression from Davey who turned to look down at him with her jaw dropped.
"Was that not appropriate?" He asked with an embaressed blush.
"I just wasn't expecting it from you." Davey muttered.
Going over to the dresser that was pushed into a dent in the wall, Davey placed her bags down in front of it and then made her way over to the bare mattress.
"I'm gonna have to go shopping to pick up some new bed sheets. Something to match the new paint. What do ya think of a lighter shade of blue with black and white bed sheets? Ooh, and some new curtains. These things look like they're about to fall apart." She said as her eyes roamed around the room.
"I don't care what you do with the room as long as there are a bunch of pillows to sleep on." DemiVeemon said.
"I'll take that under advisement." Davey told him as she walked over to the windows to open the curtains and let in the light.
When she did so, she caught the reflection of a boy in the glass who was standing behind her and she quickly whirled around, but found no one there.
Unsure of what she had seen, Davey reached down to her waistband and placed her hand over the white and blue Digivice that was clipped onto her jeans.
It provided some comfort as she was in contact with the device, but it didn't help to explain why she had halucinated seeing someone.
"Davey, you okay?" DemiVeemon asked when he noticed the frown of confusion on her face.
Shaking her head to settle her thoughts, Davey smiled down at her partner and tossed her jacket onto the dresser before she then scooped the Digimon up.
"Yeah, it's probably jet lag messing with me." She told him.
He didn't believe her, but decided to accept her answer since there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her at the moment.
Just then, a car engine was heard and Davey walked over to the window to see that her aunt's family had finally arrived.
Smiling, the berry haired girl made her way out of her room and jogged down the stairs as Marcy opened the door to allow the three people inside.
"Hey, you made it." Davey said announcing her arrival.
Four heads glanced up and only three of them gave real smiles at the sight of the girl.
"Nia!" Vivien Harmon smiled as she walked over to pull her niece into a hug.
The strawberry-blonde haired woman pulled the teenager into her chest, being mindful of the dog she was holding.
"Oh, you look great. How are you?" Vivien asked.
"I'm fine, Aunt Viv. How about you? How have you been with...you know?" Davey questioned as she pulled out of the hug to look into her face with worried eyes.
"I'm doing much better, don't worry." Vivien smiled, but her blue eyes reflected her unease.
Over the last year, the poor woman had been through such hard times and it was a miracle that she was still able to move forward with her life.
"Davinia, how was the flight over?" Ben Harmon asked the girl.
All of the friendly smiles and aura faded away as Davey turned to look at the dark haired man, her face blank while her eyes reflected her anger at him.
"Boring. Not a huge fan of planes." She answered.
Realizing that that was the best he was going to get from his wife's niece, Ben nodded and sighed as he glanced around the inside of the house.
Eyes moving away from the man, Davey then found her cousin Violet Harmon standing there, her lifeless eyes brightening at the sight of the other girl.
"Vi!" Davey exclaimed as she rushed over and pulled the younger girl into a hug.
Laughing at the usual cheerfullness of the Japanese girl, Violet returned the hug and soaked in the warmth of her cousin's body, breathing in the scent of raspberries when the girl's hair got in her face.
"Whoa, take it easy, Davey." Violet chuckled.
At the sight of her daughter smiling, Vivien felt relieved and knew that allowing her niece to stay with them for the next few months was for the best.
Marcy then cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the family who all glanced over at her.
"Now, why don't we get on with the tour?" She requested.
"Ah, yes, of course." Ben nodded.
Violet and Davey pulled out of the hug, but linked arms and the honey haired girl spotted DemiVeemon on her cousin's shoulder, so she scratched him under the chin in greeting.
"Good. Now the house, it's a classic L.A. Victorian. Built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time. It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything." Marcy explained as she showed them around.
"Gay?" Vivien asked curiously.
"What do you think?" Marcy questioned.
The tone in her voice and the look on her face made Davey tense up.
If she were a cat, then she would be hissing at the woman.
"Tiffany. Wow." Ben commented trying to sound possitive and like he understand what the women were talking about.
They then walked into the large kitchen, taking in the sight of the area that felt bright and open.
"Do you cook?" Marcy asked.
"Viv is a great cook. I got her cooking lessons a few years ago, and she ended up teaching the teacher a few things." Ben recounted.
"Cooking lessons. Romantic. Aren't you a psychologist?" Marcy changed the subject.
"Psychatrist. You said something on the phone about there being a study that I could use as a home office? I'm planning on seeing my patients here, so I can spend more time with my family." Ben explained.
Violet had a difficult time resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her father, but she managed and looked over at Davey instead, deciding to watch her as a distraction.
"How refreshing." Marcy commented, but didn't sound like she cared.
Vivien then placed her dog, Hallie the poodle/chihuahua mix, on the ground.
As soon as Hallie was on the floor, she sensed something strange and took off running, barking as she did so.
"Girls, would you go see where Hallie went?" Vivien asked.
"Yeah, we got it." Davey said as she pulled Violet off with her much to the hazel eyed girl's relief.
"Thank you!" Vivien called after them.
"Thank god, that was so boring." Violet muttered as they left the kitchen.
"I felt like I was suffocating from the tension." DemiVeemon sighed.
Making their way around the house, the girls heard the dog barking furiously and they found her at the door of what they assumed to be the basement.
"What are you yapping at?" Violet asked as she bent down to pick up Hallie.
"She sure seems mad about something." DemiVeemon commented.
"Maybe she smelt an animal or something in the basement. It's possible, right?" Davey asked as she looked at Violet.
"You check." Violet insisted.
Groaning in disbelief, Davey then turned to look at the door and felt nervous as she thought back to the disappearing boy in her room.
Building up her courage, she unlocked the basement door and pulled it open before she stepped inside.
Remaining silent, Violet watched as Davey walked further into the basement and Hallie growled at the darkness.
Face twitching, DemiVeemon then gagged as he caught the scent of something terrible.
"Ugh, it smells like something died in here!" He covered his face with his paws.
"So I was right. The dog was barking at a dead animal. But I can't see anything except for a bunch of junk." Davey said as she narrowed her eyes to peer into the darkness.
Seeing nothing but boxes in the basement, but feeling uneasy by being there, Davey walked back up the stairs and joined Violet who gave her a curious look.
"Well?" She asked.
"She smelt a dead animal. Can't see it, but I can sure smell it. Your dad can find it and clean it out later." Davey said.
Nodding, Violet then followed Davey back to where the adults were all standing and talking about the house once again.
"Speaking of the last owners, full disclosure requires that I tell you what happened to them." Marcy said sounding nervous.
"Oh god. They Didn't die in here or anything, did they?" Vivien asked in worry.
"Yes, actually, both of them. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house, too. They were just the sweetest couple. You never know, I guess." Marcy said.
This new information made Vivien and Ben feel hesitant about purchasing the house, but Violet seemed intrigued and Davey was curious.
"Where did it happen?" Vivien questioned.
"The basement." The realtor informed.
"We'll take it." Violet grinned.
Ben and Vivien turned to look at their daughter in surprise, but when they saw her smiling, they knew they couldn't say no to her.
Anything to get her to smile and feel happy after the disaster they had suffered through.
(Later on...)
After Violet had chosen her room, Davey grabbed her wallet and asked Ben for the car keys so the two girls could go out to pick up some paint and a new bed set for her.
Ben had given them money, insisting he pay for the paint and the girls accepted without argument.
At the hardware store, Violet had chosen a mint green colored paint that she liked before helping Davey search for a color for her room.
Buying two paint cans, one being hot pink and the other black, Davey then bought a white bed set that had a black floral design on it.
Heading back home, the girls went into their rooms to find their beds and furniture had been covered by tarps and painting supplies were in there.
They soon got to work on fixing up their rooms while Vivien worked on tearing down the wallpaper in the living that she wasn't fond of.
Turning her iPod on and hooking it up to her speakers, Davey allowed the music to play on as she got to work on painting her room.
As she worked, she felt like someone was watching her, but shrugged it off thinking it was DemiVeemon.
With the walls painted pink, Davey then opened the black paint can and used a smaller brush to dip it inside the liquid and started painting the image of a tiger when 'Shoot to Thrill' started playing.
She sang along under her breath and swayed to the beat, unaware of the figure who was watching the way she moved.
It wasn't graceful or amazing, but the way the berry haired girl moved was free of any problems and was playful, which was refreshing.
Finished with painting her own room, Violet stepped inside her cousin's and was amazed by the sight of the mural she had painted.
"Whoa, that looks cool." Violet complimented.
"Thanks." Davey chirped.
Completing the mural, Davey then put the cover back on the black paint and gathered up the brushes to have them washed.
Just as she was about to take them into the bathroom, Davey and Violet flinched when they heard Vivien scream and DemiVeemon quickly jumped to attention.
"What was that?" The dragon asked.
"That sounded like Mom." Violet said.
Placing the painting supplies down, Davey then rushed out of the room with Violet and DemiVeemon following behind her.
They made their way out into the hall and found the attic door open, so they rushed up the steps to find Ben and Vivien inside the large room.
"What happened?" Violet asked.
"We heard yelling." Davey said.
Just then, they saw the rubber gimp and their jaws dropped in shock at the sight, realizing what had caused Vivien to yell.
"Holy shit/The hell is that?" Violet and Davey breathed out at the same time.
Opening his mouth, DemiVeemon was about to ask what the rubber outfit was, but Davey was quick to stop him by grabbing him and smothering him to her chest.
There was no way she was going to be having that kind of conversation with him.
"Let's get rid of it. Come on, let's go downstairs. Come on. Watch the steps." Vivien said as she ushered her daughter and niece out of the attic.
Taking the suit with him, Ben then carried it outside where he threw it into the trash can.
Later on after Davey had washed the paint brushes, she then went into the bathroom to take a shower.
At the sight of the tub that had clawed feet, she felt uneasy, but shook it off as she stripped and turned the facet on to wash herself.
Singing 'Come' by Namie Amuro under her breath, Davey lathered herself and was unaware of the boy standing in the bathroom, watching her with dark eyes.
To be continued...