..:Ranamon:..
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Thanks so much to my ONE reviewer, Rubberman2025 for being the only one to stop being so lazy and actually tell me what they think. This chapter is dedicated to you! Sheesh, I wish the other two people who alerted the story and the other 26 who read it would actually tell me what they thought too. But I guess you can't have everything. (sigh).
Onto the story then?
Enjoy!
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Digimon doesn't belong to me.
Chapter Two
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"Ranamon."
The water Warrior sighed, clenching her hands into fists. Now what? More lectures? She turned around, her face impassive, and felt a dubious feeling of surprise filling her. Now Mercurymon, too, was trying to lecture her? "What do you want?" she demanded.
"To talk to you." Mercurymon too, kept his face impassive. He was standing in the sun, and the light reflecting off his mirrors seemed to make him glow. It made him look impressive.
"You, too?" she asked, scowling. "I don't want to talk to anyone." She turned away, trying not to sigh. She could still remember vividly what it felt like to be evil, and the memories of being Mercurymon's little puppet still haunted her. She had been blind to how he was using her, and now seeing him again, she still couldn't get over that feeling. She knew he wasn't evil anymore. But she couldn't stop thinking of him as the same.
"Ranamon, I know you better than anyone else does." Mercurymon's voice held a calm tone to it, as if he completely expected every response she was giving. "Do you think I don't remember? How could I forget? Even when I was evil I remembered."
"Yes I know." Ranamon turned and glared at him. "And you used me! I didn't even see it!"
Mercurymon sighed, shaking his head. "That's not why I'm here. I'm here because I have something important to tell you."
"What's that? That I'm no longer fit to be a Legendary Warrior? That I have to leave?" Tears filled her eyes, and frustrated, she wiped them away. "If that's what this is about, fine! I'll go. Figures you'd all kick me out."
"Why is it so hard for you to listen?" Mercurymon sighed again, more annoyed this time. "The duty of a Legendary Warrior has changed, and it has been hard for you to switch as easily as they others. Is this not true?"
"And now I have to leave?"
"Cut it out." Mercurymon scowled, crossing his arms. "The point is, that everyone else has been able to switch over easily, and you have not. That means that you have to learn how to do what is expected of you. We don't expect you to just suddenly know how to do what you've never been taught. We expect you to learn."
"No one else had to learn!" Ranamon crossed her arms too, glaring at him. "Why don't you just say it Mercurymon? I'm only good for fighting, and I'm not even very good at that!"
"Of course we all had to learn!" Mercurymon yelled. He stood up taller; the sunlight bouncing off him in such a way that he seemed to glow brightly. Ranamon cowered, startled by his tone. "What do you think the other Legendary Warriors were doing when the digidestined used their spirits? They had to learn everything all over again. Even how to fight! They went through a very tough training, one that I hope I never have to lower myself to. And the only reason that the rest of us did not have to go through that training is because we decided to teach ourselves. And that might have even been harder. You too, have to go through training. And THAT, Ranamon, is what we expect of you."
Ranamon bit her lip, struggling not to cry, and backed up again. "But…" she trembled slightly. "I don't know how to train myself…I don't know what to do…"
"That's why I'm here," Mercurymon sighed, his voice lowering. He sounded almost sad, and comforting. He stepped forward out of the sunlight, then knelt in front of Ranamon. "I will tell you what you must do, and you must do it with all your heart. Do you understand?"
Ranamon frowned, staring at him helplessly. "Do I have to?" she asked. "What if I don't want to?"
"Then the outcome will be more terrible than even you can imagine." Mercurymon sighed again. "Ranamon, you must go on a quest to find your Beast Spirit…your true Beast Spirit. That is the training required of you. You will know when it is finished, because you will have found what you are looking for."
"True Beast Spirit? What does that mean? I already found my Beast Spirit!"
"Ranamon, this is something that no one else will ever be able to do again. This is something just for you." Mercurymon took her hand, and a fractal code appeared around her. Slowly, he lifted his mirror and absorbed her Beast Spirit, then the fractal code faded. "What your Beast Spirit will look like depends on what you do while you are looking for her. If you are cruel, then your Beast Spirit will be ugly. If you force others to look for you, like you did last time, she will be vain and ugly. The uglier your heart, and the more lazy and the uglier your Beast Spirit will become. But…the opposite is true as well. The more loving you are, the more beautiful you are on the inside, the lovelier and powerful your Beast Spirit is going to be." He stood up, letting go of her hand. "And that is all I can tell you."
He turned and began walking away, leaving Ranamon standing there in shock. Then she ran after him. "Mercurymon wait! You can't just…I mean….what are you talking about? I have to find it all over again?"
"Her, Ranamon. You have to find her." Mercurymon did not look at her as he kept walking. But his face was sad.
"Her. Wait…what are you talking about? It's my Beast Spirit! It's a part of me!" Ranamon frowned.
"And she is also a separate digimon of her own. She is a part of you as much as a digidestined is a part of its digimon partner. Just as the digidestined could biomerge with the spirits of the Legendary Warriors, you do the same with your Beast Spirit. That does not mean she is not her own digimon."
"You're talking in riddles. I thought only Arbormon talked like that."
"I do not speak in riddles. Digimon just do not want to hear the truth in what I say." Mercurymon turned to her, giving her a stern expression. "Ranamon you must understand. This has never been done for anyone before. Never. You and your Beast Spirit have been given a chance that no one else will ever be given. So I suggest you stop wasting your time." He turned to keep walking.
"No wait! You said that I have to understand. Well I won't understand unless I learn! Why can't you just teach me?" Ranamon hung onto his mirror of his left arm, knowing that if he decided to vanish, he could not get rid of her. She looked up at him, a helpless expression her face, her eyes wide in what she knew was a begging look. But she couldn't help it. "Please…Mercurymon…" she gripped his mirror. "Please tell me more about my Beast Spirit."
Mercurymon sighed again. Ranamon half expected it. "I can only tell you a little bit. The rest you must learn. Do you understand?" Ranamon nodded eagerly. "Then please let go of my mirror."
Ranamon opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it again. Mercurymon usually kept his word….alright he always kept his word. And he had said please. She should act more lady-like anyway, right? Besides…Mercurymon had said that every act and decision would count. She let go, standing back a little, and smiled faintly at him. "Sorry."
The corner of Mercurymon's mouth turned up in a slight smile, and he nodded slowly. "Now listen hard, because I will not repeat this. What is the biggest problem you face when you get your Beast Spirit?"
Ranamon smiled. "That's easy. Controlling it. No one has ever been able to control their Beast Spirit the first time…except for Kazemon."
"Yes and No." Mercurymon sighed and shook his head. "Kazemon was not the only one. Grumblemon and his Beast Spirit understood each other…Arbormon and his did too. So did mine with me. But do you know why it is hard? Why there is a struggle for control?"
"Be…cause…our Beast Spirits are separate digimon as well. Right?" Ranamon frowned, wondering where he was leading, and hoping she could understand. Really, she didn't know the answer. She was just repeating something he had said earlier.
"Yes. But that's not all. The reason is because we think we are supposed to control our Beast Spirits. That is why there is a conflict. If we control our Beast Spirits, it means we are forcing them to be half of what they are, so that they cannot do anything. We do everything for them. We tell them what to do, and force them to obey us. They are prisoners. Puppets. You know that feels like, don't you?"
Ranamon opened her mouth, then shut it, shuddering. Memories of her life growing up…of being used...by her mother, by Mercurymon, by the Celestial Digimon…Slowly she nodded. "Yeah," she admitted. The thought of being forced to endure that for the rest of her life gave her shivers.
"That's what most of our Beast Spirits have to go through. BurningGreymon. KaiserLowemon. All the others besides four. That's five, not counting yours. You know how that feels, so I would think you'd better understand how to be in harmony with your Beast Spirit. That is the ultimate goal. Harmony. You want to understand each other, so that you can work together instead of strain for control. Once you have that harmony, you will unlock the power inside both of you that you would not be able to even understand otherwise." Mercurymon paused, staring off into space. "Look at the humans. When they truly understood their purpose, when they were truly in harmony…that was when they were the most powerful. Wasn't it?"
Ranamon nodded, afraid to speak for fear Mercurymon would stop talking. Her mind boggled at what he was saying. How did he know all of this? Where was this knowledge, this understanding coming from? Perhaps she did not know Mercurymon as well as she thought she did.
"Another thing about your Beast Spirit is that you do not always have to keep her in Spirit Form. She can be a separate being from you, but still in harmony with you. You can still, so to speak, control her, even being separate from her. Do you understand?"
"No…" Ranamon frowned. "How can that be? It's not possible for them to be separate from us."
"Think about what you just said. That's like saying it's impossible for Agunimon to be a separate digimon from Takuya." Mercurymon smirked. "And you know that's not true." He sighed, glancing down at the grass beneath their feet. "How you work with you Beast Spirit is between you and her. Sometimes your Beast Spirit may not even want to work with you at all. Luckily for you, that is not the case."
"What do you mean?" Ranamon raised an eyebrow, wondering how he knew so much about her Beast Spirit.
"Do you remember what you said when you first found her? You said she looked happy to see you. That's because she was. She is drawn to you because you are powerful and you are beautiful. And that is what she wants for you. She wants to be there for you. No one else is as lucky as you are to have that kind of devotion from their Beast Spirit. And that is why it is vital that you learn how to treat her right. You see, this quest determines what she is going to look like, and how effective she is going to be. You are determining what her future is going to be."
Ranamon's mouth gaped, and she stepped backwards in shock. "You…how can that be? That's not…that's not fair!"
"If you are evil at heart, no it is not. But know this: whatever your true nature may be, it will reflect on her." Mercurymon turned and began walking away. "And now I have said too much. Go, look for her. She misses you already." He vanished in a blink of an eye, leaving Ranamon in shock behind.
The water digimon stared at the space where he had been standing, then took her head in her hands. "This is so weird," she sighed. "Mercurymon…how can he do that? This has never been heard of! Everything he said…so different from everything I've ever known…" she sighed and dropped her hands, looking about her helplessly. "And I don't even know where to start!"
She began walking, glancing back and forth. Then she began running. She knew that she had to find her Beast Spirit in water. But which part of the water, what body of water, she didn't know. She shook her head, hoping that the rest of the Legendary Warriors would leave her alone until she completed her training…whatever kind of training this would be.
How was she supposed to learn everything by searching for her Beast Spirit?
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Mercurymon…
Mercurymon glanced down at the rippling surface of the water, keeping his face impassive. The image of Ranamon's Beast Spirit wavered in the ripples, her violet-red eyes staring at him intensely. Her form was shadowy, as if it had already begun to lose the shape of Calmaramon. Did that mean that Ranamon's heart had already changed? That she was taking her quest seriously? The metal digimon hoped so.
Mercurymon, why are you doing this? If she does not learn, I will be destroyed. And so will you. You can't waste your data on something that might not even work. Just let me go back and find her. I can teach her what she needs to know. Don't do this!
"You're not even supposed to be Calmaramon," Mercurymon pointed out. "You're supposed to be Lady Marlinmon." He sighed, rubbing his glass-covered forehead with his finger. "If I don't do this, you will never return to what you were. And she will never be more than a puppet if she does not learn how to work. You gave up your form to become Ranamon's Beast Spirit, and because her heart was vain, it changed you into something you're not. This is a chance for both of you to become what you were meant to be."
But why would you do something like this? What gives us your special attention? You are known for hiding to yourself, and working for your own benefit. Why the sudden change?
"It's not so much a change as you would think," Mercurymon smiled faintly. "I have simply become bolder in doing the things that I should have done long ago. I used to be shy, you know."
You? Calmaramon seemed to laugh. Stuck-up Mercurymon? Prince of the Metal Digimon? Shy?
"What about you? Queen of the Bodies of Fresh Water? What gives Ranamon your special attention?"
Seriously, answer my question.
"I will if you answer mine."
Fair enough. Ranamon is different from her sisters, and her mother. She is more powerful, and more kind. But she has been corrupted by them, and I wanted her to learn how to be the kind little child she used to be. I loved her more than her mother ever did. That is why I became her Beast Spirit. To be able to protect her.
"Tragic story, one that is not yet finished." Mercurymon glanced in his mirror, Ranamon's reflection coming up in it. The Warrior was running around, asking random digimon if they'd seen her Beast Spirit. "I noticed her because she is the most like me. And I too was saddened by the corruption from her family. I just want to see her become what she was meant to be."
How long have you known her?
"Longer than anyone else…besides you. I knew her from my childhood." He sighed, stiffening up as his memories came back to him. "The first time I met her, she was the only digimon I'd ever met who had treated me like I was something special. No one else treated me like that, or even said a kind word to me. My father always pushed me to be better than I was, always lecturing and beating me. I never heard a good word about me my entire life growing up…until I met her. And because of that, I wanted to see her everyday. I couldn't of course, but I watched her from afar. I watched her slowly get sucked dry by all the royalty, until she was nothing more than something pretty to look at, with destructive powers. She did nothing for herself. And I felt like I had failed somehow." Mercurymon dropped his arm, his face hardening. "I still feel like I failed, and this is the only way I can get myself to stop feeling that way. She deserves it. After all, I never did say 'thank you' back then, when she was the only one to treat me kindly."
The image in the water faded even more, but a saddened expression entered the Beast Spirit's face. Mercurymon, you are so different from what everyone thinks you are. Even I was deceived. I just wish you would stop hiding it.
"Hmm." Mercurymon offered a noncommittal noise. "Sometimes it is better to hide that you are weak at heart. Otherwise, who would take you seriously, when you are supposed to be an impressive figure?"
A kind and compassionate digimon is much more impressive, because it is harder to be one. It is much easier to be heartless and cruel.
"Which is why I want Ranamon to find herself again…to find the compassion that she was forced to leave behind all those years ago." Mercurymon sighed then turned away. "I should let you rest. The process of change will be hard you. I hope to see you returned to what you once were….Lady Marlinmon."
The Beast Spirit smiled gently. You're the only one who still calls me that. For that I could kiss you.
"Then I am all the more glad that you are stuck in there." Mercurymon smirked, then left the room. He needed some time to think and reflect. And besides, Lady Marlinmon was right. Using his own data to fuel Ranamon's Beast Spirit change was hard. And it was tiring. And there was still no guarantee that it would work. The process would kill him if it did not.
Shoving those thoughts out of his head, he rested against a rock, deciding to take a small nap.
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...And that's all for now.
TADA! The quest has begun! Now we'll get to the more exciting stuff.
Did anything confuse you? Annoy you? Or just seem like it wasn't quite right? (I mean about what Mercurymon was saying). How am I to know what you thought unless you TELL ME? (yeah, all you people out there who read this and are tempted NOT to review cause I want you to, lol, you're almost as much of a dork as I am. take that!)
Anyway...Thanks for reading! You rock!
-rika195