Episode 3

My Friend, My Ally

Magnamon opened the hut's door and the two Digimon entered, placing Serena onto the light brown settee. and put the human inside. The inside of the hut was quite cosy; a three piece settee, a fireplace, four hammocks (two on one of side of the room and two on the other side), two cupboards, table with four wooden chairs, a stove, a bath and toilet downstairs and a wardrobe near one set of hammocks.

They hardly noticed how welcoming the hut felt, they had more important things to think about. Beelzemon looked at Magnamon, watching as he rummaged through Serena's bag in search of anything that could help them.

"Yer know anythan' 'bout humans?" Beelzemon asked.

"A little more than some Digimon but not enough to help," Magnamon answered. "What about you?"

"I just know thah basics," Beelzemon answered. "Check thah pockets on 'er bag, there could be somethin' useful in there."

He nodded once. He opened one of the pockets, he put his hand inside and came out with a small book; Basic First Aid Guide for Teenagers on the Go. At that very moment Magnamon was thankful he was one of the few Digimon who could read all human languages, it had never come in handy until know. He started looking for the page on bleeding, Beelzemon pulled an annoyed expression.

Now was not the time to be reading.

"What are yer doin'?" Beelzemon asked as calmly as his gruff voice would allow.

"This is a first aid guide," Magnamon answered. "It tells humans what to do if their injured and how to take care of wounds... Aha! The section on how to treat a bleeding wound."

"What does it say?" Beelzemon asked.

"Find where by the person is bleeding," Magnamon read. "Clean the wound and place a bandage on it, if blood seeps through the bandage simply replace it."

"Has she got any bandages in there?" Beelzemon asked.

Magnamon rummaged through the bag a bit more and then pulled out a thick role of bandages, he passed them to Beelzemon then put the book back, placing the bag on the floor. They both leaned towards the human, unsure if they could do this as neither of them had any experience with dealing with bloody wounds. Serena's breathing was raged, she was still alive, but for how much longer?

Even if the two had no experience with dealing with sich incidents they had to try, saving Serena was the main priority and they had to do they're best to try. Beelzemon couldn't tell Lilithmon that the human she had personally picked had died because of him and Magnamon doubted he could live with the guilt of murdering a human, though he knew the correct term for accidentally killing a person was a man-slaughter.

"Are yer goin' tah find where by she's bleedin', or should I?" Beelzemon asked.

Magnamon pointed to Beelzemon, "You," he answered quickly. "I feel a little... squeamish..."

Beelzemon smiled slightly, then focused his attention towards Serena. The blood seemed to be coming from her stomach, but it was hard to tell as the blood was staining her entire torso area as well as her stomach. He grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt and slowly lifted it, they both gasped when they saw three deep gouges a few centimetres down from her breasts, each gouge was fist shaped and they merged together to resemble one large fist inprint.

Magnamon looked at his blood soaked fist sadly, he got up and looked in the cupboards for a towel or sponge. He found a small towel, ran downstairs, soaked the towel beneath a tap and ran back up. He kneeled in front of Serena and began to gently dab at her wound, the more blood he moved the worse the wound looked. Beelzemon began to unwrap the bandages; he passed one end to Magnamon and he gently lifted Serena.

Beelzemon began to wrap the area that was injured, her t-shirt made it a little harder since the blood made the shirt stick to her skin. Magnamon took some scissors out of her bag and began to cut off her shirt, soon her shirt was nothing more than two pieces of blood stained cloth.

"She seems tah 'ave everythan' in that bag," Beelzemon commented. "Is there ah pin in there?"

Magnamon nodded and passed one to him, Beelzemon clipped it on and then stood up. Who knew taking care of a human was such hard work? Magnamon looked at the girl, then at Beelzemon as he stretched the muscles in his legs which had began to tire. Now that Serena was taken care of Magnamon needed to find out exactly why Serena had risked her life, it just came across as odd to him.

"Why did she protect you?" Magnamon asked.

Beelzemon shrugged, "I don't know," he said. "I wish I did though."

"Why is she even here?" Magnamon asked sitting and crossing his legs.

"Just cause yer helpin' me now doesn't mean we're friends," Beelzemon growled.

"Of course, sorry," Magnamon looked Serena. "But I'm not leaving until I know that the human is safe."

"Her name is Serena Usagi," Beelzemon said. "I don't think she'll like bein' called 'human'."

Magnamon suddenly laughed, "Who would have thought that a Demon Lord and Royal Knight would be sharing a hut?"

"As long as yer don't try hittin' on me then I won't kill ya," Beelzemon grinned.

"Deal," Magnamon smiled.

...

Over the next few days Beelzemon and Magnamon became good friends, they both seemed to like travelling and food and despite the fact they were enemies they couldn't help the bond of friendship from being forge. Beelzemon had thought Serena would have woken up after a few hours, Magnamon said humans weren't used to such attacks so it had taken her body by surprise.

She was lucky not to be dead.

They had kept her warm with blankets that were cacooned around her and they also used Beelzemon's jacket, they watched her most nights, taking turns for different hours. One stayed up during the day, the other slept and watched her during the night. After two weeks Serena finally awoke from her comatose. Beelzemon and Magnamon were sitting by the table, taking a break and silently discussing something.

Serena quickly opened her eyes, finding everything was dark and that she couldn't hear anything. Her arms and legs felt numb and her head was ringing, her eyes rolled around her sockets as confusion swept over her as her vision returned. She waited a few minutes and when she thought her limbs would be of some use she tried to move, Serena rolled off the settee and fell at a strange angle that made pain shoot through her.

"Ah!" she cried out in pain.

The two Digimon ran to her aid almost immediately, they lifted her up off the floor and set her down on the settee. The two shared a relieved look, they both feared she would be out for much longer and the wait had been killing both of them.

"Are you okay?" Magnamon asked.

Serena nodded, "What happened?" she asked looking at Beelzemon.

"Magnamon was goin' tah try and delete me but yer got in 'is way," Beelzemon replied.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you Serena Usagi," Magnamon bowed his head. "If there's anything I can do to repay you, then tell me."

Serena thought it over, wondering what exactly she would want from a Digimon and then lifted his head.

"All I want," she began. "Is for you to be my friend and don't tell anyone where we are... Deal?"

"Deal," Magnamon nodded.

Despite Serena's comment to Lilithmon that she would even take down a Royal Knight, Serena had always wanted to be friends with a Digimon and now that she was handed the opportunity she couldn't possibly turn down the chance.

"There's a bath downstairs," Beelzemon pointed to a door. "Clean yourself up."

Serena nodded, she gave Beelzemon his jacket, then left for the bathroom. She opened the door and walked down the stairs, it was quite bright, but horribly chilly compared to upstairs. As she journeyed down, using her hand to guide her, she began to wonder why she risked her life. At the time it seemed to be the right thing, but now she wasn't sure. Serena arrived in the bathroom; it was like the ones they have in bath houses.

A big round bath, a fairly tall wall to cover the bath and provide some privacy. There was a fire place to heat the water, towels piled up on the side. She felt something touch her shoulder, she jumped and quickly spun around. She saw Magnamon standing there and she finally realized she was not wearing her shirt and all she had to cover herself was a couple of layers of blankets, she quickly turned away from him, covering herself.

"Magnamon, you scared me," Serena gasped.

"Sorry," Magnamon said. "But Beelzemon sent me down here to warm up the water."

"Oh, thank you," Serena said.

Magnamon walked towards the wall, there was a tap-like looking device in the wall, about the size of a barrel. He turned the handle clockwise with a bit of effort and water rushed out of it, thenMagnamon walked towards the fire. A small rocket appeared on his shoulder and he fired; a small fire burst into life and the wood began to turn black. The water started to heat up, steam rising from the surface.

Magnamon stood, he was about to walk back towards the bath when he heard Serena get in, he stopped. Beelzemon said humans looked different without clothes and often didn't like others looking at them, Magnamon didn't see the big fuss. Most Digimon were naked all the time and most Digimon had the same parts as a human, they didn't mind other Digimon gawking at them,

"Um... Serena?" he said.

"Yeah?" She called.

"Is it all alright if I come in?" Magnamon asked.

"Can I trust that you won't look?" Serena questioned.

"I won't look," Magnamon promised.

"Okay," Serena said.

Magnamon walked past the wall and kept his attention on Serena's face, he sat down by the side of the bath, still trying to keep his attention of her face. She scooped up some water, and then let it seep through her fingers. Her bandages were on the floor along with her tracksuit bottoms, they would have to re-bandage her later but the water was good as it would clean her body of the blood.

Magnamon looked at the blood stained bandages; he would need to live a hundred life times to repay her properly for what he did to her, he was surprised that she had requested such a simple thing from him.

"Do you have any bubble bath stuff?" Serena asked.

Magnamon shrugged, he walked towards the tap and turned it anti-clockwise. The water stopped flowing, he looked back at her. She knew he was upset for what he did, but she could forgive easily, Serena wasn't the type to keep grudges for accidents. Even bloody ones.

"Should I go ask?" Magnamon asked even though he wasn't sure what bubble bath stuff was.

Serena nodded; Magnamon left the girl to wash herself. Serena watched him leave, then looked for some soap. She found a red bar by the big tap; she picked it up and rubbed it into her skin. She looked at the foamy substance on her arms, then put them in the water and washed it off. She began to wash her stomach, when she noticed the scars; three fat gouges that had been burned into her pale skin.

She touched it gently; she winced and leaned against the tubs edge. Why did she do it? Beelzemon had taken her out of the Human World and placed her in the Digital World, as simply as you would move a piece on the chest board, was that all she was? A chest piece? A tool in someone's cruel game? A simple pawn? She shook her head angrily and slammed her hand against the side of the bath.

She knew it. Lilithmon was using her. She should have never trusted Beelzemon.

Why was she so gullible? Lilithmon was possibly using her for some scheme, if Lilithmon had a new Digimon at her side, one that was human, then Lilithmon could possibly come across as a genius for planning such a thing. As soon as her bath was over she would tell Magnamon why they had brought her here and leave. She heard footsteps; she turned, hoping it was Magnamon but it was Beelzemon with Magnamon stood beside him.

They sat on the edge of the tub; Serena looked at Magnamon then Beelzemon. Something seemed to be worrying Beelzemon, while Magnamon seemed to be quite happy. Why? Had Beelzemon told him why he brought Serena to they're world?

"Why did you save me?" Beelzemon asked.

"Technically I didn't," Serena blushed a bit. "Magnamon's an armour level, you're a mega. That attack would have just hurt you... Not kill you."

"Okay," Magnamon rolled his eyes. "But why did you protect him?"

Serena looked at her reflection in the water, she didn't know why exactly, it was just this impulse she felt. They both looked at her sadly, wondering what could be running through her mind.

"Serena?" Magnamon said softly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Serena replied. "But... I don't know why I did what I did... Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's my favourite Digimon."

Beelzemon ruffled her hair, "Hurry up, kid," he said. "We'll be awaiting."

The two Digimon left, leaving Serena to clean herself. She debated something with herself for a long time; tell Magnamon the truth or not tell him? The question that annoyed her the most was did she want to be used? Was becoming a Digimon so important to her that she would allow herself to be used?

...

After one whole hour Serena came back upstairs in searching for her shirt, she had a towel wrapped around her chest area and for now it would have to do. Her hair was still a little wet, but not dripping. Beelzemon was sleeping on the settee, while Magnamon was staring at the wall as he sat at the table, a faraway look in his eyes. Serena walked towards the golden Digimon and tapped him.

He turned to look at her, "Oh, Serena Usagi," he looked at her bare stomach that was visible from beneath the towel. "Where's your t-shirt?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Serena said.

Serena crossed her arms, while Magnamon thought about what happened to it. He clicked his fingers, he remembered.

"I had to cut it off," Magnamon scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, we couldn't get to your wound any other way."

"Never mind," Serena sighed. "Can you bandage me back up?"

Magnamon nodded, he picked up her bag and pulled out a few pins and bandages. Serena turned away from him as she removed the towel, he began to dress her wound.

"Have you got enough to cover my chest?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," Magnamon answered. "Why?"

"It'll be a temporary shirt," Serena smiled.

After he was done he put a few pins into the bandages to help keep it secure and in place. She turned to face him and smiled happily. When they this close Serena noticed they were the same height, she wore a very cheeky grin, he looked at her oddly.

"You're the shortest Royal Knight, aren't you?" she grinned.

"Don't remind me!" Magnamon sighed.

Beelzemon muttered something, they noticed that and chuckled quietly. Serena walked towards him, deciding to live out one of her fantasies and stroked his cheek lightly. Magnamon noticed this as a sign of affection, he suddnely slapped his forehead, Serena looked at him. Magnamon looked suddenly worried, a panicked look on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"The Royal Knights are probably worried sick about me!" Magnamon told her. "I got to go."

He quickly left, Serena followed him and climbed through the small door. Magnamon was all ready hovering, ready to take off and she grabbed his leg before he could go any higher. Magnamon looked at her carefully, noticing the sad look on her face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Will you promise to come and visit?" Serena asked.

Magnamon landed, Serena let go of his foot and he placed his hands on her shoulders, she looked deeply into his blood red eyes.

"I promise," he said. "And I'll see if I can bring any human clothes with me or at least something to cover you."

Serena smiled happily and waved as he flew back to where ever he came from, at least she had an ally in the Royal Knights, but that might affect her ticket to becoming a Demon Lord. Maybe she could spare Magnamon if she really did allow herself to be used. She walked back inside, noting Beelzemon was still sleeping. She walked towards him, gently lifting his head and sitting down, then placed his head on her lap.

Who would have thought I'd be liven with Beelzemon? She thought happily.

...

Duftmon stared sadly at the forest as he stood outside the Royal Knights Assembly, things weren't quite the same without Magnamon and Duftmon was worried sick about him. Where could Magnamon be? Alphamon was annoyed that Duftmon and Magnamon had disobeyed his orders and when Duftmon returned without Magnamon, saying his friend had vanished Alphamon was even more annoyed.

After one week the others said he was out tracking down Beelzemon and after the second week most thought he was dead. Duftmon sighed sadly, his best friend gone. He just couldn't believe it. He was about to go back to his room when he saw a familiar gold Digimon in the distance, at first he thought he was seeing things but then he knew it was Magnamon.

"Hey guys!" Duftmon called. "I can see Magnamon!"

Gallantmon, Dynasmon and Crusadermon came outside to see Magnamon land only inches from him. They ran towards him, throwing questions at they're friend Magnamon listened to them, before silencing them with a wave of his hand.

"One at a time," Magnamon smiled. "Now, who's first?"

"Where have you been?" Dynasmon asked. "We've been looking for you for the past two weeks."

"Sorry," Magnamon apologized. "But I tracked Beelzemon down to the shore, but one of his little helpers jumped me from the back, he took the human and got away."

"Is the beautiful creature in danger?" Crusadermon asked. "It would be dreadful if the poor creature was to be injured or killed."

"She isn't in danger," Magnamon answered.

"Good," Gallantmon said. "Magnamon, you and Duftmon can go look for them tomorrow, okay? I know you only now got back, but Omnimon and Alphamon left a couple of days ago and left me in charge. Since you've been tracking him down you'll be perfect for the job."

Magnamon nodded, then walked past his friends and made his way to his room. How was he supposed to see Serena now? Magnamon would just have to think of a way, a way that wouldn't get him in trouble. A way that wouldn't get his two new friends, allies, in trouble. He couldn't break his promise to Serena, he would ensure both her safety keep his promise to her.

To Be Continued...