End of an Age: The Knight's Arrival
Gallantmon sat patiently in the interrogation room, sitting straight with his hands on the table in clear view. No one had asked him to place them there - he had done so of his own accord. He had given his shield to the men arresting him, though he had politely declined to surrender his armor, and they could not have removed it if they wanted to. He had willingly followed them into the Bullhead, without a single word of protest. They had flown him to one of the airships floating above the academy, and led him to this interrogation room. That had been well over an hour ago.
The room was relatively spacious, for humans anyway. Standing, his head had brushed against the ceiling and he had needed to stoop when he went through the hatch. A stainless steel table and two chairs on either side of it sat bolted in the middle of the room; when he sat, his knees scraped the bottom of the table. The walls and floors were a pale white, like everything else made by the Atlas military. The walls were seamless, save for the electronic door directly opposite of where Gallantmon sat. Though they were well hidden, he was aware of several recording devices hidden throughout the Egg that had once been Chaosdramon rested safely in his lap, wrapped tight in his cape.
Given the circumstances of his arrival, Gallantmon couldn't fault General Ironwood for his caution and paranoia. It was rightfully earned, if misdirected in his humble opinion. But Gallantmon could be patient, and wait until the General chose to eventually confront him.
In the meantime, he kept himself occupied in the oddest and simplest way. He stared at his own reflection in the silvery surface of the table, tracing faint outlines over the burnished metal. It had been polished recently, yet he could make out thousands if not millions of tiny scratches along its surface, all distorting the image of his face staring back at him.
The pale fluorescent light overhead lit spots on the table, creating a mural of silvers, greys and whites. A cascade of rainbows outlined the edges in thin rays. It was, in a word, remarkable.
His inspection was cut short when the door silently slid open. Gallantmon looked up at his visitors with a pleased expression in his eyes. He recognized General Ironwood as he walked through first, arms folded and shoulders sternly set. It was rather amusing how well he matched up with his name, thought Gallantmon. He didn't know humans used that convention, but clearly that was the case here.
Behind Ironwood came two more individuals, and they immediately caught the knight's attention. The first was a tall woman, with broad shoulders. Her hair was blonde and in a tight bun and her face was as stern as Ironwood's. She wore a white, freshly pressed blouse and a long, black skirt. The outfit was completed with a deep purple cloak that hung from her shoulders, ending in a frayed pattern reminiscent of flames. One hand held some sort of portable electronic screen, while the other firmly held a riding crop at her side. The look in her eyes made it immediately clear that, like Ironwood, this woman did not trust Gallantmon in the slightest.
The man that followed the woman inside was the complete opposite of both her and Ironwood. He was as tall as the General, but he had a more slender build and was dressed in a more comfortable but still formal deep green suit lined with golden buttons down the center. He had a mess of grey hair and wore stylized spectacles that rested on the tip of his nose. A cane was held in one of his hands, though he didn't seem to actually need it, as his gait appeared unhindered in any way. In his other hand, he held a platter that he set on the center of the table.
Several teacups had been artfully arranged around a steaming teapot, and a plate of biscuits and butter sat parallel to them. The man took a seat in the chair, while Ironwood and the woman stood on his left and right side respectively. A pair of armored guards also followed the three in, but Gallantmon merely noted their presence; if it set their minds at ease, he was happy to remain genial.
"I hope you have a palate for Earl Grey. I wasn't quite sure what someone like you would enjoy, if you could enjoy it, but I had a feeling that milk and cookies would have been a bit too childish for your tastes," the man said. His voice seemed kind, perhaps even mischievous, but Gallantmon could hear the steel beneath it.
Gallantmon let a smile touch his eyes, and made no move for the tea, "Very thoughtful of you, Professor Ozpin. Personally speaking, I'm partial to both, though I do try to avoid indulging in my sweet tooth unless the occasion demands it."
Ironwood and Ozpin's assistant went stiff at his words, but the man himself seemed more amused than anything. He smiled and rested easier in his chair, "I see my reputation precedes me. May I assume then, that you are aware of the identities of all those present?"
"Excluding the guards, yes." He nodded at Ironwood, "You have my thanks for your assistance, General."
Ironwood returned the nod with one of his own. Gallantmon turned his attention to the woman, "And Lady Goodwitch, it's an honor to make your acquaintance as well. What little I know fails to do your beauty justice."
Glynda Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and scowled. Gallantmon swallowed and added, "Though the rumors of your iron will were certainly not exaggerated. It is an honor to meet all three of you."
Ozpin cleared his throat and said, "How do you know us?"
Gallantmon blinked and though it was hard to say, one might say he appeared bashful. "Oh. Data streams into the Digital World still. It mostly avoids direct interaction, but sometimes bits and pieces are… left behind, for lack of a better word. Most of the time other Digimon will find this data, but I've made it a bit of a hobby collecting it myself and adding it to the Grand Archive. It is truly fascinating learning about a world so very different than my own."
"Data. From our world?" asked Glynda. "As in, files and personal information?"
Gallantmon shrugged, "Occasionally. Sometimes it's simply a new article, occasionally its a blog post, sometimes it's both. I have hardly seen all that we've collected, I assure you. They Archive is quite vast."
His words obviously did not ease Glynda, who exchanged a look of worry with Ironwood. Ozpin interrupted before either could speak, "Gallantmon, are you aware of why we brought you here?"
The Knight's grew more serious. "I am well aware of the reasoning and that my sudden arrival has merited some… confusion, and worry.."
"Not the first word I would use," Ironwood murmured.
Ozpin raised a calming hand, "James, please. I believe our guest is aware of what occurred at Beacon."
"With all due respect, Ozpin, he and that 'Chaosdramon' nearly destroyed the entire school. There's a hole the size of a bus through three dormitories. We're very lucky the school was half empty and that the only injured were my men."
"If I hadn't intervened, then your entire Academy would have been reduced to rubble." All eyes turned back to Gallantmon. His arms were folded as he sat straight up, eyes focused on Ironwood. "Though I wish it were not true, you seem to have no physical weapon capable of harming a digimon of its power. Thus the only way I could destroy it was with overwhelming force. Such is the unfortunate way of things."
He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Still, it eases my conscience to know that the casualties were minor. Will your soldiers survive?"
Ironwood drew his lips tight before speaking, "A few broken bones and burns. They'll recover. I always take care of my own."
"I would assume nothing less of a man with your reputation," Gallantmon replied, respect in his voice.
Ozpin spoke up, "That aside, you should know that we have questions for you, Gallantmon. Would you be willing to answer them?"
"To the best of my ability."
Ozpin folded his hands together and said, "Excellent. Let's start with the obvious elephant in the room. What are you?"
Gallantmon blinked, and cocked his head to the side. He drummed his fingers against the table, but he did not answer the question. "Is there a problem?" Ironwood demanded.
"Apologies," Gallantmon said. "I was thinking of how best to explain this, as it is a bit complicated. I am what is referred to as a 'Digital Monster, or Digimon for short. I understand that such a name has an obvious negative connotation to it, but please allow me to explain."
Ozpin glance at Ironwood and Goodwitch, then gestured for Gallantmon to continue with a hand.
"To understand our name, you must understand our history. The realm I hail from, the Digital World, is quite literally named. We were formed from the data of your world. A miracle of happenstance that birthed the first of our kind."
"Thats impossible," Ironwood interrupted, "Data can't just take on a life of its own. It's 1's and 0's, no substance."
"Perhaps," shrugged Gallantmon, and gestured to himself, "Yet here I sit before you, a Digimon in the flesh. I admit, I am no historian; but, these are the commonly accepted legends in the Digital World. Intentional or not, we owe our existence to humanity. Everything about us, our food, culture, even our very physical forms, can find their origins in your systems. Even my liege King Yggdrasil finds heavy influence within himself from your own ancient myths and legends, digitized for your future generations."
"Which brings us to the next question." Ozpin said. "What is the egg?"
Gallantmon tensed, and rested a protective hand over the Egg. When he spoke, his tone was low, and while certainly not aggressive, it had lost its kind undertones. The guards at the door tensed at the sound of it.
"This egg, Ozpin, is Chaosdramon's second chance at life. When I destroyed him, I destabilized his code. Much of it will be lost and possibly returned to the Digital World. But his core, that which makes him a Digimon, survived, in the form of this egg. This happens to any digimon who is destroyed, if their data is not consumed by their destroyer."
"Is it dangerous?" Ironwood asked.
"It is an unborn child." Gallantmon shot back. "Whatever crimes it committed as a Chaosdramon, have been wiped away. When the egg hatches, it will be a new digimon with a new life ahead of it. Perhaps it will remember parts of its old life, but this is unlikely. So long as the newborn is given a safe haven to be protected and nurtured, there will be no return of the Chaosdramon that attempted to decimate your Academy."
Ozpin drummed his fingers against the table, and sighed, "Perhaps we should change the subject."
Gallantmon nodded, not taking his eyes off Ironwood, "Yes, lets."
Ozpin adjusted his glasses and sent Ironwood a glance. The man didn't relax per say, but some of the tension in his shoulders eased. Afterwards, Ozpin turned back to Gallantmon. "You claim that there is an entire Digital World, a reality completely invisible to us, and moreover, that it is ruled by a being called King Yggdrasil. What can you tell us about this?"
"To the first question, very little. I am a warrior, Professor: my skills are in the arts of combat. All I know is that if the Digital World was indeed once contained within this world, it has moved far from it in the intervening years since. We are, in some shape, our own world now."
There was a smile in Gallantmon's voice as he spoke, "The second question however, I can answer quite easily. King Yggdrasil is the first of us. A being born before the Digital World itself. It was he who brought laws of nature to the Digital World, he who has given all digimon to come after him the power of Digivolution, and it is he who provides sanctuary to those who seek it."
Ozpin was silent, having folded his hands into a steeple. Ironwood's expression could best be described as blatant, sheer disbelief. Glynda was hard to read, and even when she spoke, she kept her voice emotionless.
"What do you mean sanctuary to those who seek it? What aren't you telling us?"
Gallantmon's eyes fell back to the table, "Though my lord Yggdrasil possesses vast power, even he has limits. His realm provides protection for the weak and learning for the inquisitive, yet… We are called Digital Monsters for a reason. We all possess the spark of sapience, with both the good, and the bad that entails."
"As we saw today," Ozpin noted dryly.
"Yes," Gallantmon nodded his head slowly. "Yggdrasil refuses to impose his will directly upon his subjects. We Royal Knights were founded to serve as an extension of his will and to protect the subjects of his realm, but this is all we can do. They are left to grow and learn as they see fit."
"Why?" asked Ironwood. "If he has so much power, why not use it to keep them safe and prevent what we saw happen today?"
Gallantmon stared at Ironwood as if he were speaking another language. An almost childlike confusion filled his eyes and his voice was much smaller when he spoke. "A loving parent does not exert their will upon their children forever. They know to stand back and allow them their freedom, so that they may grow into the wonderful being they know they are. For you this takes many years, but for our kind it is much faster. At the same time, they understand that there will be occasions where intervention is absolutely necessary. That is the purpose of my organization. We work to prevent Digimon like Chaosdramon from leaving destruction in their wake."
"So why didn't you do so this time?" Ozpin asked.
A sigh from the knight, "Chaosdramon ambushed me. I was caught flat-footed by it. And more importantly, I was quite surprised when the barrier between our worlds was literally torn asunder. Chaosdramon was dragged through. I followed as quickly as I could, once I ensured that the rift would not destabilize the Digital World."
"Could it have?"
Gallantmon gave a shrug and settled into his chair. It creaked ominously under his weight. "I've not the faintest idea. As nearly as I can tell, there was no lasting damage on either side. Of course, this comes with the obvious added news that I have no clue on how to return to the Digital World."
Ozpin smiled at that, "We'll worry about that bridge later. So far though, you've been quite helpful to us, Gallantmon. May I assume that the 'mon' in your name stands for monster, and that this is a common naming convention in your world?"
"Yes and no," he admitted. "The more common a species of Digimon is, the less likely an individual of said species will simply use the title as a name. I have yet to meet another of my kind, and though I have many titles, Gallantmon will more than suffice."
"And you've mentioned before this organization you work for, the Royal Knights. What can you tell us about them?"
"They are my brothers and sisters in arms. I would die for them, and they for me. We are a family, bound by duty and respect for one another." Gallantmon answered without hesitation, and the swell of pride in his voice was clear.
Ozpin's lip twitched up, and he lowered his hands flat on the table, "That's not quite what I meant, though the sentiment is touching."
"Apologies. It's not often I'm asked about the Royal Knights. In essence, we are an organization of thirteen exceptionally powerful digimon chosen by Yggdrasil to safeguard the inhabitants of the Digital World." Ironwood and Glynda exchanged a small look, mouthing the word 'thirteen' to one another. Ozpin remained stoic, and let Gallantmon continue. "I am the Fifth of the Royal Knights. My power and experience puts me above eight of my brothers and sisters, while I stand below four of them. We typically operate independently, or in pairs on rare occasions. I have never seen all thirteen members assembled together in one place during my service."
The uneasy silence from his hosts told Gallantmon far more than they ever would have said. They saw what he was capable of, and now he was telling them that he was not even the strongest of his organization. Silence in the face of overwhelming power was more than appropriate, it was practically necessary.
Gallantmon bowed his head, "I should mention that our oath specifically refers to 'protection and defense of the innocent'. No Royal Knight would ever think of harming a human without probable cause. All we ever want is peace and serenity for all."
Ozpin reached for the teapot and poured a cup for himself, then grabbed a biscuit. He took a sip and then a bite, and chewed thoughtfully for a long minute, never looking directly at Gallantmon. After swallowing, his voice returned to the kinder tone it had been when he first walked in. "You're being very up front with us, Gallantmon. And if I am honest, what you're telling us is a lot to take in."
"I want nothing more than to assure you that I am no threat to you.." the knight insisted. He spread his hands and said, "Please, ask whatever comes to mind. At the moment, I appear to have plenty of time to spare."
They were more than happy to take Gallantmon up on his offer. One hour passed into a second as they talked in that room. They probed him for answers about the Digital World, Digimon, the Royal Knights, and anything else that came to mind. Yet despite his openness and his eagerness to share with them, their worry was apparent to Gallantmon.
At least, Glynda' and Ironwood's were. He could not get a read on Ozpin, aside from what the man showed him. He was an enigma, and he suspected that perception was not merely due to his origins. That, above all else, made the Royal Knight uneasy.
"I don't trust him." Ironwood declared, once they had left Gallantmon's cell.
They had returned to the monitor room. It was a chamber only slightly larger than the one Gallantmon was currently housed in, but was far more crowded. One wall was dominated by screens, each connected to monitoring devices spread out through the ship's brig. There were three men and women stationed at the consoles, each keeping a close eye on their prisoners. The rooms adjacent to Gallantmon held two other occupants; a soldier who had spent the previous night on a drunken rampage that ended in Ironwood's personal quarters, and the man supposedly responsible for the Breach in Vale. Roman Torchwick sat comfortably in his cell, just as he had every day since his arrest, a faint, smug smile on his face.
Ironwood leaned on one of the chairs stationed in front of the screens and made a conscious effort to avoid glaring at Torchwick. His attention was otherwise completely focused on Gallantmon, who sat calm and collected in his cell. The two guards assigned to watch him were clearly ill at ease with their current assignment.
"What a surprise, James," Glynda said sarcastically.
Ironwood glanced back at both her and Ozpin, who had brought an extra chair into the room with him to sit on. He had taken one of the teacups, though he had left the platter behind in the cell. As usual, the man's face was utterly unreadable even as he sipped. Ironwood shook his head and stood up, "The sky over Beacon explodes and drops a monster powerful enough to resist almost everything we throw at it, then a 'Royal Knight' interrupts the whole thing and beats it easy."
"I seem to recall," Ozpin said, after finishing a sip of his tea, "That Gallantmon was actually almost defeated by the beast. In fact, it had him pinned and planned on crushing his chest while he was still alive, according to your report. It was only our intervention that allowed him to regain the advantage and end things before they got out of hand."
Ironwood scowled, "It's too convenient."
"Life is full of coincidences." Ozpin replied. "What matters, is knowing when to take advantage of them. A decision which will fall to you in the end, General."
That made Ironwood pause and blink, "Excuse me?"
Ozpin took a sip of his tea and let out a content sigh, "At the moment, my authority has been essentially stripped away. You were the one they entrusted with the protection and security of Beacon during the festival. What we do with Gallantmon and these revelations falls upon your shoulders, James. And by extension, the shoulders of Atlas."
The scowl returned, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Ozpin's face grew serious, "General Ironwood, what we are faced with today is a scenario that absolutely no one, and I mean no one, could possibly have predicted. A new life form, one that claims to have been created by our species, has revealed itself to us. Furthermore, it has proven itself to be vastly more powerful than anyone or any thing on this planet. And despite the clear lack of trust and faith you have shown to me, General, I still believe that you will make the right choice."
Silence filled the room, save the hum of the screens. Glynda had taken an astute interest in her tablet, which conveniently hid her face from view. Ironwood was stunned and his arms were slack at his side. It was only a creak from one of the chairs behind him that shook him from his stupor. He whirled around to see all three stationed soldiers staring wide eyed at their superior, which was quickly replaced with urgent concern for the video quality of the feed.
Ironwood stared at the screens again, as Ozpin spoke up again. "Look at Gallantmon James, and tell me if you truly think he is as malevolent as you think he might be."
On screen, the platter had become suspiciously empty, and Gallantmon was dabbing at the grille on his helm with the edge of his cape. One of the teacups was sitting in front of him, empty, and he held the last biscuit in his free hand. Once he finished cleaning the grille, his attention turned to the guards, who were staring at him with their heads cocked to the side in a mixture of curiosity and awe now, and then looked at the biscuit. He broke it in half and happily offered both pieces to the guards.
"At the very least, he's a consummate actor." Ironwood grumbled.
Ozpin sighed, "James. Listen to me."
General Ironwood turned back around to face Ozpin, and felt shocked. The man had not changed, and yet his gaze bored into him like no one else ever could have. Ozpin was tired, very tired, but his presence was a force that took hold of Ironwood's attention as fiercely as the day they had first met.
"I'm listening, sir."
Ozpin closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Whatever decision you make, it will set a precedent. Today, General James Ironwood, it is your decision that will decide how mankind welcomes another species into its life. Every man, woman, and child will look to your example here, and history will remember it, for better or worse. So please, as your friend, I ask you to consider your choice very, very carefully."
Ironwood glanced over his shoulder at the screen again. The two guards were at the table munching on their biscuits, one standing and the other sitting on the side of the table in an animated conversation with Gallantmon, both of them visibly laughing.
"I think I know exactly what needs to be done, Ozpin."
Gallantmon grunted and heaved the marble column off the ground and into its previous position, and held it steady. He stood at his full height of thirty five feet now, and had returned to the Beacon courtyard. Community service was not quite what he had expected from Ironwood or Ozpin, but he could not fault their logic. At the very least, his help to clean up the mess that he and Chaosdramon had made was not unreasonable. He would happily of assisted them either way, regardless of restrictions placed upon them, had circumstances dictated it.
With his massive size, gathering the larger debris had been easier than it would have for the humans. He had carefully dragged the ruined Bullhead airships into a pile near the cliffs edge and gathered debris next to it. Refilling the craters had been relatively easy, and the main focus now was on securing the column back in place. There was damage that required a more delicate hand to properly repair, but it would take some time to secure the manpower and resources for it. His assistance though, would at least return a sense of normalcy to Beacon.
While he held the column in place, several men applied temporary adhesives to the fracture points. He had never seen such a substance before, but knew it utilized the miracle substance that humans called 'Dust'. Their entire society was built around the magical element, their weapons, their electricity, even their computers. It was rather amusing to Gallantmon that like the humans, his kind too had technically been born from Dust.
The adhesive was quick to dry and held tight, so he would only need to support the column for a few minutes. He felt a tap on his foot and looked down to see Goodwitch standing at his feet, tablet still in hand.
"Yes, Lady Goodwitch?" he asked.
Glynda adjusted her glasses and scrolled through her tablet, "Once you're done here, Ironwood wants me to give you a tour of the campus, and to show you to where you will be staying until you find a way home. Unless given specific permission otherwise, you are to be accompanied by a member of the staff at all times, and cannot leave the Academy. Understood?"
"Completely, my lady." he clasped a fist to his chest. "I, Gallantmon, give you my word that I shall not leave the premises without first consulting with you, the Headmaster, or the General."
Glynda grunted and took a step back. A minute later, Gallantmon was given the go-ahead to release the column by the engineers. As he stepped back, his size began to shrink once more, until he had returned to his previous nine foot height.
"How do you do that?" Glynda asked.
Gallantmon gestured at himself, "I have lived long enough to gain a somewhat conceptual understanding of how my personal data works. I simply compress it at will to adjust my size. Unfortunately, this is as far as I can do so without risking damage to my code. Deleting part of my memory would be quite unfortunate, wouldn't you agree?"
She craned her neck back to look up at him. As friendly as he was, when he towered over her like that, it could be unnerving. Not for the size, that was no matter. It was the fact that no matter the lighting, she couldn't see anything within his helmet. If Gallantmon was merely a suit of living armor, that certainly wouldn't surprise Glynda at this rate.
"That does sound as if it would be... unfortunate." Glynda admitted, and then gestured with her free hand for him to follow. They had not taken a single step towards the campus, when a high pitched scream pierced the air. In the instant the scream was heard, and the time Glynda had to question it, Gallantmon was already gone, sprinting toward the sound, exploding into his full size and leaping over a set of dorms.
Glynda sighed. It was going to be a long spring break.
"I've still got no idea what that thing was, or where the heck Gallantmon came from," Yang admitted. "Ironwood took him away before we even had a chance to talk."
After Gallantmon had been 'apprehended' by Ironwood, he had insisted on Yang and the others returning to their dorms until further notice. Though Yang had been disappointed, she had gone along with it. Nora and Ren broke off shortly after to find their other two teammates, and Weiss and Yang had done the same. They'd found Blake assisting civilians, keeping them calm and trying to figure out what needed to be done.
With Atlas fully mobilized, they had taken over and Blake had been free to go. For the past few hours, they had filled her in on what happened, helped find a few people that had seemingly vanished during the initial attack, and were now returning to their dorm.
Blake's face, as usual, was completely unreadable during the entire event. She was a stoic, slender young woman, taller than Yang by a handful of inches with raven hair and pale skin. Her clothes were mostly white and black with a few purples mixed in for good measure, and she had golden cat-like eyes. Which was rather appropriate all things considered, as Blake was technically not human.
A Faunus, as they were called, was an essentially human species save for a single mutation that granted them a single animal trait. In Blake's case, this was a pair of cat's ears atop her head, that she kept hidden beneath her bow. There was a stigma at Beacon, or so Blake claimed, and so she kept her Faunus trait hidden to avoid it. Personally, Yang hought she was just overly shy.
"If Ironwood took him away," Blake said. "I don't think we're going to see him again any time soon."
"He was involved in destroying the courtyard," Weiss pointed out.
Yang shook her head, "Nah, that wasn't him. Well, except at the end. But Gallantmon was on our side. I bet we'll see him sooner than you think."
She opened the door into their dorm and immediately let out an irritated groan, "Ah, man! What're the odds?!"
The window had been completely blown out, like someone had thrown a giant rock through it and took out the frame in the process. Scorch marks fanned across the walls of the room, and one of their precariously made homemade bunk beds had fallen onto the floor. Ruby was going to be heartbroken when she got back.
"Pretty high," said Weiss, avoiding scorch marks as she walked inside. "There was a lot of fire and lightning being flung around."
Yang sighed and let her shoulders slump. "I don't want to clean all of this up. Think we can crash at Nora and Ren's place?" she asked as she walked over to her bed. She started to pull herself up onto it, when something flashed on her bed. Yang stared, trying to make sense of what she was looking at.
It looked to be a giant egg. It was bigger than her head at least, but more narrow. The odd thing was, it sat perfectly balanced on her pillow. It was covered in gleaming golden scales that shimmered red under the light, giving off the illusion that it was constantly on fire. Aside from that, the entire surface was without mark, no ash, cracks, or pits to be seen.
Against her better judgement, Yang immediately reached out placed a hand on the egg. It felt warm, and she could swear she felt the pulse of… something, underneath the shell. She grabbed it in both hands and hopped back down to the floor.
"Um guys, look what I fo...Oh."
Blake and Weiss had started moving Ruby's bed back into place, which had revealed a second egg. Weiss held this one, and unlike Yang's, it was almost snow white with shades of blue that danced across its surface. It might have been her imagination, but Yang could swear that frost was actually radiating off the egg.
"Where did they come from?" Blake asked.
Yang and Weiss exchanged a knowing look as they both said, "The Rift."
Blake raised a brow, and Weiss explained. "Right before it closed, there was a big flash and fire started falling from it. These… eggs? Might have fallen from it. We should try and get them back to Gallantmon. He probably has an idea of what they are."
Yang was only half paying attention to Weiss. The rest of her attention was on the egg itself, she couldn't stop staring at it and running her fingers over it. She was definitely sure now, that there was a pulse or something in the egg. It felt like a heartbeat, but the rhythm was off. Well, not off, but changing its tempo.
It took Yang a moment to realize that the longer she held it, the more in time it grew to her own heartbeat. It was syncing with her, which meant what exactly? Why would this random egg have a heartbeat, let alone try to match hers?
In hindsight, that was probably the silliest way for her to think about such an important question, but she very quickly found an answer. There was a sharp crack, and the scaled surface of the egg shattered. It was one long fissure that quickly spread like a spider's web across the surface.
Yang's jaw slowly fell open with each new crack, and her friends were spellbound. In one fluid movement, the entire shell simply disintegrated into a fine dust. What was left was very small, very fuzzy, and oh so adorable.
It was maybe a foot in diameter, an almost shapeless blob covered in a layer of thin fuzzy yellow fur with two very large green eyes. It blinked at Yang with those big eyes, and then it let loose a squeal of terror. Yang yelled in surprise and almost dropped the creature, which in turn made Blake jump back, and Weiss let out a shrill scream.
That was when the entire wall of their dorm promptly exploded, and was replaced with Gallantmon's very large face. "I heard screaming! Is everyone okay!?"
Then he saw the creature in Yangs hands, and his expression grew solemn, "Oh. Oh my."
A/N: As promised, a new chapter on Wednesday morning. I won't be able to put out a proper chapter next Wednesday, as I have a test tomorrow and tuesday that need doing. So, I'll be posting a short codex entry explaining some of the lore I won't have time or be able to fit into the story with as much detail as I normally would, without ruining the flow of the narrative. If I can come up with a funny enough short story of a few hundred words, I might post that, but humor is not something I have in abundance during test periods.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please review with comments, criticisms, or questions, and I'll see you all next Wednesday.