A/N: Finally, chapter seven is here. Unfortunately, a severe case of writer's block caused it to take quite some time, yes- though it is a bit longer than its predecessors. Once again, sincere thanks to my beta-reader Austin-kun, who saves my third-class chapters on a regular basis.
To Lunar Starlight: You're right, I guess. I wouldn't necessarily say that Hirokazu is more of a leader than Kenta, though, but I probably could have found a better term, yes.
Ryo had been right, of course. Impmon was indeed the hero of the day, so nobody complained as he was sitting not at, but on the Chrome DigiZoid table in DeathMeramon's residence shortly after, stuffing everything that even looked edible into his mouth. And he got his fair share of food, since neither the other digimon nor their Tamers were hungry. Even Guilmon was content with a small snack consisting of about a dozen fish only. As fate would have it, Takato and Ruki were seated next to each other, but Ruki literally stabbed everyone with death glares who dared to look even in their approximate direction. The danger was banned, but that didn't mean the anxiety was gone as well.
Finally, Jenrya cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence and spoke up, addressing their host, "I… -we- want to thank you for your help. You suffered a lot of pain to help us."
DeathMeramon made a dismissive gesture in response.
"It was nothing. You have been the first guests to visit me for ages now- what kind of host would I be if I let you down in the face of life-threatening danger? Plus, I'm very sure it was you who made me digivolve in the first place, so I owe you a lot."
"Still, it's my… I mean it's our fault that you were hurt," Juri joined the conversation. "If you don't mind, we'll stay with you until you have recovered fully."
Takato looked at the girl with sympathy. The purpose of their journey was to rescue her digimon partner, but still she was worried more about DeathMeramon's condition. He was really glad to have a friend like her.
Unbeknownst to the gogglehead of course, Jenrya had similar thoughts about Juri that very moment. His glance caught Takato's, and for a heartbeat, a twinge of jealousy bugged the blue-haired boy. But immediately he relaxed again. Why should he be jealous, anyway? Not that he liked Juri "like that" or something… Besides, he was very sure that Takato's heart belonged to another girl already, even though he himself might not be aware of it just yet. He smiled to himself, but was cautious to not show it openly.
Yes, being the gogglehead's best friend had some advantages to it. He was quite sure that most- if not all- of the shy glances Takato had directed towards Ruki were purely subconscious (yet), but that didn't mean that there was nothing to them. Luckily for the fearless leader of the Tamers, Jenrya knew how to keep an unspoken secret, since otherwise, Terriermon would have more than just one good laugh at the expense of Takato and- much more insalubrious- Ruki. For a moment, the absurd- and dreadful- thought of him and Terriermon having a telepathic link like Ruki and Renamon entered Jenrya's mind, and he couldn't fully suppress a giggle as the image of a totally perplex Terriermon floated through his head.
Unfortunately, Ruki couldn't read his mind. To her, it looked clearly like he was laughing at something totally different- and really, you can't blame her for thinking that. Right when her face got that lovely 'I'll slowly remove several of your vitally important inner organs now'-expression, Takato decided to step into the breach for Lee-kun.
"Uh, Ruki?"
The entire room seemed to hold its breath now. Even Impmon decreased his eating rate for about two percent. Hirokazu and Kenta nervously glanced at each other. Terriermon smoothly slid under the table and cowered in a defensive stance.
"Thank you."
Takato gave his fellow Tamer a shy grin, before the thing next to his shoelaces seemed to have re-appeared.
As for the redhead he'd addressed, she was baffled at the first moment.
'It was just a tool that worked, remember? No need to blush or anything. He's just being thankful, that's all.'
Unfortunately, despite she was trying to reassure herself, she was blushing a bit. Maybe nobody else noticed, maybe- and that was far more believable- nobody dared to say a word about it.
"You're welcome… I guess…" Ruki finally answered. She cursed her own voice for sounding so much weaker than she had intended. It was Kenta, of all, who finally relaxed the situation a bit as he spoke up, "Uh, MarineAngemon? Do you think you could continue to treat DeathMeramon's and CyberDramon's injuries?"
The happy squeal the small, pink Mega digimon gave in response finally took the last bit of anxiety from the group, ashe floated outside where CyberDramon was to do as he was told, accompanied by his Tamer and Ryo, who wanted to ensure that his digimon partner endured the disgraceful procedure. Hirokazu, accompanied by Guardromon, was on his heels- force of habit, probably.
"Well," DeathMeramon spoke, "I suppose you will continue your journey after your friend out there has recovered?"
"Indeed," Renamon replied. "We are heading for Aziluth."
DeathMeramon slightly tilted his head, a quizzical expression appearing on his face. "Aziluth? I've never heard of a place with that name. However," he added quickly as he caught Juri's half-irritated, half-disappointed glance, "that doesn't mean much. I've been leading a hermit's life ever since, and didn't exactly get around to see the world that much."
He paused, grimacing with pain, as a new wave of pain surged through his still heavily battered body.
"Your wounds need additional treatment," Juri commented with concern in her voice. She got to her feet and offered her help to lead DeathMeramon outside, to where MarineAngemon was. Jen, Renamon and Guilmon followed suit to support the Ultimate digimon's considerable weight on the way outside. DeathMeramon nodded thankfully, while a spark flashed up in his eyes, and immediately the flames covering his arms and the sides of his body died down, revealing the shiny metal surface of his "actual" body.
"It's not hot, don't worry," he said, and the two children and two digimon carefully took him outside, leaving Ruki and Takato alone with Impmon, who was already sleeping like a log by now. Not surprising, considering his ample breakfast.
Takato gave DeathMeramon's disappearing form a curious look.
"At least now we know how he's able to collect fruit and stuff like that."
His voice didn't really reach Ruki. She was too absent-minded to notice it.
'Why did they have to leave me alone with gogglehead? Almost as if they had planned… Gee, quit that, will you? You're getting paranoid.'
She let out a soft sigh, which immediately caught Takato's attention.
"Huh? Are you alright?"
Immediately, Ruki snapped back to reality, realizing that Takato's voice was literally dripping with concern.
'He's worried… about me? Stupid, stupid gogglehead…'
Despite that thought, her lips curled into something that faintly resembled a smile, as she shook her head (at Takato's naïve kindness) and almost simultaneously nodded (to answer his question).
"I'm fine, gogglehead. It's just that… you… I…"
Suddenly, realization struck her. There was something wrong in this picture… Smirking, she leaned closer towards the goggle-headed Tamer.
"Hey, Taka-chan…?" she whispered, staring deeply into her fellow Tamer's eyes.
In consequence, Takato's mind went blank and his mouth ajar. Had she just called him…?
He was too stunned at first to behold how Ruki's right hand slowly slid under the table and snapped back again, jerking a whining Terriermon along with it. As she had expected, her whisper had caused the small Rookie digimon to close his eyes and lift his left ear into the air to catch the conversation better- almost an invitation to grab him.
"Eavesdropping on us, huh, you little rat?" Ruki growled. "Get a life, you freak!" With that, she elegantly threw the screaming bunny/dog digimon through the open house door.
Takato gulped, and cleared his throat. For a moment it had seemed… no. He really shouldn't think about this any further…
As for Ruki, she got to her feet now as well, deciding to have a little talk with Jenrya about the spoiled brat he called his partner. Upon realizing that Takato still didn't move, however, she turned around again and eyed him with a mix of suspicion and sympathy.
"Hey, don't get any funny ideas gogglehead, alright?"
She was honestly relieved when he commented her statement with one of his usual lopsided grins.
"Now get going already, Taka-chan." Ruki winked barely visible, and his grin grew even wider.
'What the hell am I doing there?' Ruki mentally asked herself. 'Toying around with gogglehead… Must be the heat or something.'
Still, she couldn't help but show a brief smile herself as the two young Tamers stepped outside through the door.
It was only about noon of the same day when MarineAngemon exhaustedly flew back right into Kitagawa Kenta's arms. What the tiny fairy digimon had achieved in that short amount of time could not necessarily be called a miracle, but it came pretty close to that. CyberDramon's left ankle, which had literally been shattered, now only caused a slight stinging sensation every now and then anymore, and DeathMeramon's state had changed from half-dead to slightly battered. A few small cuts and bruises were still left, but those would heal without further treatment as well.
"Well, I suppose this is goodbye, then," DeathMeramon addressed the small fellowship, which had gathered outside his house.
"That is true. But we will never forget you, nor what you have done for us," Renamon answered representatively for all of the Tamers and digimon.
"I'm sure we'll see each other again," Juri added, smiling cheerfully at their temporary host.
"You bet," Impmon barged in. "After all, I have a promise to keep. And as chance would have it, this seems to be the perfect place for a little sightseeing tour of the Digital World."
This strange statement earned him several bewildered and questioning looks, but the small purple Rookie would say no more. Instead, he nonchalantly folded his arms behind his head and started to walk away northwards. Apparently, this was just his way to bid his farewell to someone, so the others had no choice but to catch up with him. Occassionally turning back for a few last glances and waving motions, they entered the forest near the lakeshore to continue their way to the northernmost part of the second plain. About a minute later, the lake had vanished from their visual fields, which were now completely filled out by trees and thicket.
The day turned out to be so beautiful it was almost corny. A slight breeze and the forest's humidity did a good job with cooling the party down, and quite a number of small, bird-like digimon which strongly resembled finches restlessly kept singing and chirping.
All this, of course, did not help their aching feet. They had been wandering through the forest for three hours straight by now, and all of them- save Renamon and MarineAngemon, who had a rather comfortable time being carried by his Tamer- were righteously worn out. But except the obligatory occasional sighs and groans from Hirokazu and Kenta, nobody was complaining. After all, none of them had forgotten the purpose of their journey, and as long as Juri could keep going, so could the rest of them.
As for Ruki, however, she had yet another reason to drag her exhausted body farther to the north.
'There's no way I admit my weariness while our fearless leader is still marching on,' she thought sarcastically. Takato had actually made quite a bit of impression on her with the way he was bound to keep his promise towards Juri, even though this subconscious thought would not even enter her mind, let alone ever escape her mouth.
It was about then when the Tamers/Digimon group reached a relatively large glade. No match for the gigantic clearance that held "DeathMeramon's Lake", of course, but still of remarkable size- roughly a hectare. The ground became noticeably softer as they stepped on the fresh, green grass- and almost as if on cue, Juri stumbled and would surely have toppled down, if it hadn't been for Jenrya who had been walking by her side and thus was able to catch her just in time. The blue-haired boy gently lowered her to the ground, a mixture of perplexity and concern flickering in his eyes, which intensified even more so as Juri grimaced with suppressed pain. She gave her friends, who had by now gathered around her, an apologetic smile, and mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to Jenrya.
"I'm sorry," she spoke up. "It's just a little cramp, that's all."
Jenrya valued her right leg- the one that had given way- with an inspecting look.
'In situations like this one, Leomon's words prove to be correct once more. She does have a lion heart,' Jenrya thought, and couldn't help but feel another surge of sympathy for the puppet girl building up inside of him.
What he finally said out loud, though, was, "A cramp? Looks more like a typical muscle hardening to me. Don't you dare taking just one more step, you hear me?" The wink and the tiny smile he gave the girl belied the rigid strictness his voice had adapted for that last sentence, and she obviously did notice it, as she simply replied with a smile of her own.
"We'll rest here, guys," Jen now addressed the rest of the bunch. Nobody objected. Only Kenta asked why they couldn't simply make their partners digivolve, thus avoiding any further cramps, muscle hardenings or the likes, which immediately earned him a punch in the ribs from Hirokazu.
"Shut up, will you?" the infamous visor boy hissed into his fellow Tamer's ear. "I'm not exactly looking forward to travelling, followed by travelling and, for a change, some travelling."
Ryo answered Kenta's question in Jen's place, "It might not be wise to exhaust our partners without knowing what's still waiting for us. I also have a strange notion that we're not far away from the wasteland that's shielding Aziluth from the Digital World, and I have a hunch we'll need every bit of strength when we get there."
He was right, of course, so Tamers and digimon alike sat or lay down on the meadow amidst the wood and tried their best to relax a bit.
"Do you mind…?" Jenrya asked Juri, and, without waiting for an answer, reached out to feel her right calf- much more intense than would have been necessary, actually.
"Hmmm… I don't know much of sports medicine, but I think it's best if we spend the night here."
"I'm sorry," came Juri's muttered reply. "That's all my fault. If…"
"Quit!" Jenrya cut her off. "Don't even think that! Your condition is the only thing to worry about right now, and I won't allow for you to get hurt even more." He noticed that he had said 'I won't allow', and not 'we won't allow' the very second he spoke the words, and in consequence, a slight blush crept over his cheeks.
"I… uh… Sorry, nature calls." He literally sprang to his feet and showed a goofy- and, in his opinion, absolutely stupid- grin before he hurriedly retreated back into the nearby outskirt of the forest, where he leaned against the wooden surface of a large, maple-like tree and closed his eyes.
"Alright Jen, calm down," he murmured to himself. "Just what was that? Why am I acting like that? I mean seriously, Juri's my friend. No need to get so bent out of shape…"
"'Out of shape' is a good keyword. I mean you barely ran fifty meters of way and you're already wheezing," a very familiar voice piped up right next to him.
"Terriermon," Jenrya addressed the intruder, "have you ever heard of the word 'privacy'?"
"Have you ever heard of the word 'liar'? It doesn't seem like nature's calling too loudly, is it?" Terriermon retorted.
The small Rookie's Tamer sighed deeply. "Yeah, you're right. It's just… confusing. As if I couldn't make up my mind about what to say, or what to think, or…"
"What to feel?" Terriermon interrupted his partner.
The look his Tamer gave him in response was absolutely priceless.
"How…"
"Geez, come on Jen," Terriermon broke in once again. "I stick around with you 24/7, remember? And just because I'm small, that doesn't mean I'm stupid."
Jenrya was a bit shocked, actually, not necessarily because of his partner's observation, but because of the unknown seriousness in his voice. No jokes, no puns, no funny remarks whatsoever. Terriermon was- maybe for the first time in history- absolutely composed.
"You like her. I know it, you know it, and I bet even she knows it." At long last, a wide grin crossed the bunny's face. "And if she didn't know it yet, she sure as hell knows it now."
Jenrya couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the comment. It did not relieve him, but at least it took the edge of the almost suffocating anxiety.
"I guess you're right, Terriermon," he sighed. "I like her. But not like…" He paused, as he just wasn't able to finish the sentence. 'Not like that', was the obvious option- but was it true?
He didn't know. Terriermon might have actually hit the nail on the head, even though Jenrya's experiences with feelings as deep as romantic affection were very limited.
'What if I… Do I…?'
'Oh, you do. Believe me, you do.' The voice was shrill and unpleasant, and it seemed to come from… nowhere.
'Do you hear that voice too?' Jen wanted to ask Terriermon. 'Who is there?' Jen wanted to ask… well, whoever was there. But he didn't ask either of those questions. He just stood there while his eyes turned blank.
Then, the world around him went black.
He blinked. He had not suddenly gone blind, it was just the famous instant nightfall of the Digital World which had stolen the light away. Only from somewhere at his right-hand side, he was met by a bit of illumination. Normally, his brain would have figured that Ryo's and/or CyberDramon's experience with the Digital World had caused the others to light a campfire just in time. But he didn't even notice it in the state he was in. There was no Terriermon, no forest, no Digital World whatsoever.
There was only the voice.
'You are strong. You deserve her. So get what is rightfully yours.'
A pause.
'GET HER!'
Yes. He would.
For a decent price Blind Guardian, "The Soulforged"
I've banned kindness from my heart
The spirit of all truth and beauty
Pawned for my desire
"Uh, Jen? You're okay, right? Right?" Terriermon was honestly concerned about his Tamer, whose eyes were alarmingly… empty, lacking a better description. Jenrya turned his head to face his partner, but it seemed as if he stared right through him. Calmly, he grabbed his D-Ark and showed an ice-cold smile.
"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon shouted as he ignited the firewood the other digimon and their Tamers had collected just a few minutes earlier. Just a few seconds later, it was night, and the small fellowship gathered around the campfire.
"Just what's taking Jen so long?" Takato asked no one in particular. Juri had told them that the blue-haired boy had retreated into the forest, without, however, mentioning neither the supposedly 'real' reason nor the one he had made up.
As for said girl, she was starting to get worried about her friend. Determinedly, she got to her feet, not caring about the pain,and headed towards the approximate direction where Jen and Terriermon had vanished.
"Hey!" A voice behind her piped up, obviously to tell her not to just walk into the darkness like that, but she didn't really notice it.
The next thing the others heard from her was a desperate scream.
Tamers and Digimon alike sprang to their feet and rushed to where Juri's voice had come from, the all-devouring blackness notwithstanding. However, there was no need for them to cope with the darkness, as suddenly, a gigantic creature stepped into the light cast by the campfire.
SaintGalgomon was different in two aspects.
Firstly, its colour had changed from green to black.
And secondly, his right hand now held a scared and confused Juri Katou.
Kenta took a look at his D-Ark, which was just an automatic reaction. He didn't really have to check the data to know that this was BlackSaintGalgomon, not did any of the others have any doubts about who stood there in front of them.
The question was how and why.
"Lee-kun?" Takato said discomposedly. "Is that you?"
Normally, Guilmon and his digital companions would have attacked the intruder by now. But how could they, if it was SaintGalgomon, be it black or not? And, more importantly, how could they without putting Juri's health at stake?
"She is mine," BlackSaintGalgomon simply replied- but in a voice that wasn't Jen's, and surely not Terriermon's. It was a lot deeper, and somehow… dreadful. The monstrous Mega eyed Takato closely, then let his glance swerve over to Ruki.
"You are too weak to claim what is yours. I am not. That's all there is to it."
Suddenly, hydraulic noises and clicking could be heard, as he prepared his entire built-in artillery to be unleashed at the others.
"And weaklings have to be annihilated."
"NO!" Juri shouted at the top of her lungs, and really did the mighty Mega hesitate for a moment to look at her face, which by now was drowned in tears.
"I don't know what happened to you," she sobbed, "but, please, stop it. Don't hurt them. They are your friends- our friends, don't you remember?"
And, whispering, she added, "I want my Lee-kun back…"
A minute passed, and BlackSaintGalgomon still had not moved an inch. He simply stood there, seemingly lost in thoughts. On the other hand, none of the others could dare to attack him- after all, his grip around Juri had not loosened one bit. It would probably take a lighting bolt to take him out fast enough…
Then, the lightning bolt came.
Of course, it was not a real lightning bolt that suddenly hit BlackSaintGalgomon, but close enough. For a moment, the Tamers thought they had just been seeing things, and that the black/red blur had simply been a strange trick of light. But BlackSaintGalgomon's reaction proved the contrary. The viral Mega level digimon suddenly froze on the spot and simply fell to the ground, releasing his temporary captive from his grip. Renamon caught Juri in mid-fall and hurriedly retreated, before the walking fortress could squeeze them to death. However, BlackSaintGalgomon split up in three different beings- Jenrya Lee, Terriermon, and a pitch-black spider-like creature: a Parasimon.
It was different than the others, but undoubtedly did it belong to that special parasite species, and on its back was the only too familiar N-sign.
"Rejoice, Tamers," it croaked, coughing out some lumps of decomposed data along with it.
"As soon as I, the leader of all Parasimon, am dead, you'll have successfully caused the extinction of an entire digimon species. I hope you are proud." Its voice now changed to a tone of triumphant mockery, "Celebrate as long as you still can, Tamers."
It sounded like it would spit out that last word- literally, as it coughed up a last bit of decomposed data right after finishing the sentence, and finally dissipated into his digital remains.
"What… was that?" Hirokazu was the first to break the following silence, after they had carried the unconscious Jenrya and Terriermon to the campfire.
"Parasimon," Ruki answered laconically.
"Very funny. I mean that other… thing." He eyed Kenta to ask him for a better description, but simply earned a shrug in response.
"It was an Ultimate," CyberDramon growled. "I could feel it."
Everyone stared at the Android digimon now, puzzled by his unusual 'eloquence'- if you could call it that.
"He has digivolved since we last saw him, but I remember the speed, the power, the moves…"
He subconsciously rubbed his back as he continued.
"And I remember the data pattern. It's SkullSatamon."
to be continued...
