Love Comes in Funny Packages
Episode 9
A Temporary Home
Beelzemon didn't like this plan, in fact, he hated it. He was glad Serena was safe, but he now he didn't have anywhere to go. Magnamon said he didn't know any other place for Serena, and Beelzemon agreed, but he had to fend for himself. Though he and the small Knight were friends, he did want to kick Magnamon at times. Duftmon was quite happy that Beelzemon couldn't see Magnamon or Serena that often now, but he did have to feel a tad sorry for him. Lilithmon would have surely told Lucemon what was happening, so Beelzemon had to wait for things to calm down before he could return.
Beelzemon thought about what happened that week...
...
One Week Ago
Once they were as far away from Lilithmon and the other two Demon Lords as possible, they rested in the Digital Forest and built a fire. They had lots to discuss, Lilithmon being the main topic. Would she try something else? Would she tell Lucemon that Beelzemon had a friendship with two of the Royal Knights? Or would Lilithmon give up for the time being? Another problem they faced was where they now live.
"Is there any other type of huts around here?" Duftmon asked. "Ones Lilithmon would not know about?"
"I don't know," Beelzemon admitted. "They were thah only huts I knew 'bout, and unless yer know of any huts that ain't near tha Dark Area, then we should go there."
As they discussed this, Magnamon glanced at Serena. She was sitting a little further away, looking at the stuff in her bag. He got up, and sat next to her. She looked sad, and her skin and clothes didn't look much better. Her arms were red raw from the rope. Her clothes were covered in dust, dirt and blood. Magnamon hated seeing her in such a fragile state, if she needed comfort then Magnanon would not hesitate to give her that comfort.
"Are you okay?" Magnamon asked.
She shook her head and broke down in tears. "I want to go home," she cried. "I don't want to stay here no more!"
Magnamon looked at her sadly, and put an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay," he said soothingly. "Everything's going to be okay, you'll see."
"I can't stay Magnamon!" she snapped. "I can't stay here, not with Lilithmon after me! I want to go home, where I'm safe... I want to be in a safe place with people who love me and where there's no rampaging Digimon hell-bent on destroying me!"
Magnamon looked at her, shocked. She must have been bottling this all up until now. He scratched the side of his face with his free hand, something he often did while he was thinking.
"I know a place like that," he began. "It may not be your home, but it's safe... And I promise you, there are no 'ramapging Digimon hell-bent on destroying' you."
"Where?" she asked, sniffing.
"The Royal Knights Assembly," he replied.
...
Present Day
So here Beelzemon was, sleeping in a tree, while Serena and the two Knights were in the the Royal Knights Assembly. They probably had a nice cosy bed, a three course meal and plenty of freedom. Beelzemon meanwhile was afraid to go home and face his punishment. Some Demon Lord he was, he was a coward just like Leviamon. He grumbled angrily, acting like a coward was something he wasn't good at.
"Serena and the others get tah sleep in ah bed," he grumbled. "I'm stuck in this bloody tree!"
...
The Royal Knights Assembly
Serena sat next to Magnamon and Duftmon as they ate in the Royal Knights Assembly dinning hall. The hall was large and grand, much too big and spacious for such a small organization. But, considering the amount of Knigtmon and Leppamon that came back and forth, it had to be big. Serena could feel the other Knights looking at her, she avoided their curious stares. She decided to only making conversation with the three Knights she actually knew; Magnamon, Duftmon, and Crusadermon.
Most Knights' were curious of Serena, but most went about their normal routines.
"I heard Alphamon is married to a Dianamon."
"Seriously? Man, I'd love to have one of those as a wife!"
"Well, maybe if you stopped leering at other Digimon's wives, you'd have one too, Cranniummon!"
Serena chuckled lightly at the thought of Alphamon in a tuxedo and marrying a Dianamon.
"So," Crusadermon began. "Have you told your crush you like him?"
"No," Serena replied, taking a sip of her drink. "But I know he likes me."
"Darling, you are kidding, right?" he asked. "I mean... How do you know?"
"One of his, um... associates told me," she replied. "So I'll wait and see what happens."
"How come you never told me about this crush?" Magnamon butted in.
Serena shrugged, "It just never came up in a conversation. Anyway, why do the Royal Knights seem to hate the Demon Lords so much?"
"Well, it's simple really," Magnamon began. "We Royal Knights are the personal guards of the Digital World and take orders from Yggdrasil himself. We protect the Digital World from otherworldly dangers and rouge Digimon. The Demon Lords work for Lucemon, one of the most powerful Digimon from the Dark Area. Their goal is to take over this world and ennihlate us Royal Knights by any means possible."
Lilithmon is using me, Serena thought. She thinks I might become so powerful that I can help her and the Demon Lords destroy the Royal Knights and rule this world.
"The Demon Lords are comprimised of the seven most powerful Dark Area Digimon," Magnamon continued. "Demon Lords is just the shortened title, they go by the name of the Sevn Great Demon Lords. Lucemon has, and probably will, always be the leader. Lucemon actually was once the ultimate sovereign. However, he was corrupted by his own power and sealed inside the Dark Area where he recruited the other Lords."
Magnamon took a sip of his tea, and glanced at Crusadermon, allowing the pink Digimon to continue where he left off.
"When and how these Digimon came together is a mystery, but they hate us," Crusadermon finished.
"But..." Serena began to argue. "There are ten Royal Knights and seven Demon Lords, how come you haven't defeated them yet?"
"Thirteen."
Serena blinked owlishly and looked at Duftmon. "What?" she asked.
"There are thirteen Royal Knights," Duftmon corrected. "Two of which are secret agents that do a lot of secrets mission's for Alphamon. The thirteenth member is Examon, but's he vanished and no one is sure where he went."
Serena nodded slowly, then turned her attention back to Magnamon and Crusadermon.
"Weren't you listening to us, Serena, dear?" Crusadermon asked. "We cannot defeat them so easily because they are so powerful."
Duftmon turned out theconveration, no longer interested. He noticed Magnamon was annoyed at something, he wanted to ask Serena something, but knew not too in the Assembly. Duftmon would have to see what was annoying Magnamon later. The other Knights wanted to know why the human girl was even here in the first place, they were all curious of the human who had caused so much trouble.
"What's her name?" Dynasmon asked.
"Serena Usagi," Duftmon replied.
"Oh, so that's Serena Usagi," Dynasmon said. "I wondered who she was when Demon asked about her the other day... Hmm, she doesn't look very old."
"She isn't," Duftmon confirmed.
"How old is she?" Gallantmon asked.
Duftmon thought quickly, "I don't know... Hey, Serena, how old are you?"
"Sixteen," she replied. "Why?"
"No reason," he replied. "Just curious."
She looked at him oddly, then continued to speak to Magnamon. Serena had also noticed something was bothering Magnamon, she knew it probably had something to do with what Lilithmon said. He was either going to ask about her whole 'turning into a Digimon' plan or 'Beelzemon becoming king' plan. The last plan was also odd, Serena wanted to ask Beelzemon what Lilithmon meant also.
But was afraid. Would he shrug off the question or give her a straight answer? It was hard tell.
"You know," Serena whispered to Magnamon. "I might go see how Beelzemon's doing, he could use some company."
"I'll go with you," he whispered back.
...
Beelzemon looked down as the small Digimon passed him, completely oblivious to the fact a Demon Lord was watching them. Beelzemon sighed loudly; he knew this no way to live. He needed to find some proper acommadations. Beelzemon heard someone approach, he looked down lazily. Magnamon and Serena beamed at him from the foot of the tree, Serena carryng a picnic basket.
"Hey, Beelzemon," Serena smiled. "You want to join me and Magnamon?"
"What'cha got in tha bag?" he asked, as he jumped down.
"Food," Magnamon replied. "We're going to have a picnic, care to join us?"
Beelzemon smiled, and nodded.
...
Duftmon glanced behind him, Gallantmon and Dynasmon both wanted to meet Serena. Duftmon had warned them that she was probably With Beelzemon, they didn't seem to care. Alphamon was careful to explain to the Knights what situation Serena was in, and as much as Gallantmon wanted to play the hero, Alphammon had forbidden any of the Knights to interfere. Where was Serena and Magnamon anyway?
They were aweful far away from the Assembly, that worried Duftmon slightly. No one ever attacked the Royal Knights while in the Assembly or on the Assembly's grounds, but while on the outskirts of the grounds, they were liable toan attack. After awhile, they heard laughter. Duftmon guessed it was them, Magnamons dorky laugh was easy to pick up on. They pushed through some shrubbery and found them eating away, while Magnamon was telling Beelzemon about something, who in turn, laughed.
Duftmon approached, they fell silent. Beelemon eyed the two other Knights, Gallantmon appeared to be tense. Dynasmon felt slightly on ease. Beelzemon could have attacked Dynasmon the other day, but didn't. So he felt safe- for now.
"Hia, Dufty," Serena smiled. "How are you?"
"Fine," Duftmon replied sitting down. "Gallantmon and Dynasmon came with me, they wanted to meet you."
"Really?" Serena blushed slightly. "Well, there isn't much to know."
Seeing her smile, Gallantmon relaxed and the two Knights hesitantly joined them.
...
The three Digimon looked down at the small group of Digimon and the human. The three Digimon were different in appearences. HippoGryphomon, Flaremon and Karatenmon were all ultimate type Digimon hired by the Digimon Sovereign Zhuqiamon. Digital mecernaries, in a sense. Karatenmon was a crow-like being and a follower of other Tengu-like Digimon, and he himself is one of them, as judged from his appearance.
Flaremon was a Demon Beast type Digimon, who has difficulty in co-operating with his fellow Digimon. His burning mane gives him the appearance of a dignified person who has an overwhelming sense of being, though HippoGryphomon thought he was just a subborn and fool hardy idiot who had too much pride in his abilities. HippoGryphomon was hardly the voice of reason, but she knew when to back down from a fight.
HippGryphomon was a Phantom Beast Digimon, who, unlike other HippGryhmon's, wasn't one who carried a violent nature. The trio knew that they were no match for four Royal Knights and a Demon Lord, that's why they waited in silence. Waited for the perfect moment to strike.
...
Serena began to rub her arms as Dynasmon began to explain about the work he used to do with Crusadermon; Dynasmon didn't hate working with Crusadermon, he just found it strange a male Digimon could be so feminine. Serena was listening, but at the same sh wasn't. She didn't know how, but she was somehow listening to him but listening to another conversation.
She didn't recognize the voices, but two voices belonged to males, and one voice belonged to a female. They were talking about one of the Sovereigns, she didn't hear who, but it appeared to be a short tempered Sovereign. Serena frowned and quickly turned around, the voices stopped. She arched an eyebrow.
"What's wrong?" Magnamon asked. "Is someone back there?"
"I don't know," Serena replied. "Its probably nothing."
"But it's not nothing is it?"
She blinked. None of them had said that, and she certainly didn't say it, but it sounded like her. Except this voice was stern and a little bit deeper, a nasty and bitter tone to it.
"You know something is going to happen," the voice continued. "So why don't you just tell them?"
Serena ignored the voice, and continued to listen to Dynasmon, but still listening to the three Digimon behind her. She found this annoying; either her hearing was better than she thought or she was going insane.
"Now?" asked one, a little eager.
"No," replied the female.
"Now?" asked the eager one again.
"No," replied the other male, his voice stern.
A pause.
"Now?" the eager one asked again.
"Now!" answered the male.
Serena heard them run towards them. A twig snapped and one jumped into the air, Serena pushed herself onto Dynasmon and rolled to the side. A red blur rolled and landed in front of them, Serena could tell by looking at Flaremon he was the eager Digimon. The Royal Knights jumped to their feet, along with Beelzemon who dragged Serena behind him. Two more Digimon joined Flaremon.
Karatenmon and HippGryphmon.
"What's the meaning of this?" Gallantmon asked.
"We mean no dissrespect to the Royal Knights," HippoGryphmon answered, she was obviously the female Serena heard. "We are only following orders given to us by the Sovereign, Zhuqiaomon."
"And those orders would be...?" Magnamon asked.
"We are here to get her," Karatenmon pointed to Serena. "We can tell you no more than that."
"Yer not gitten 'er!" Beelzemon snapped. "I don't care what tha Sovereign wants."
"We do not want to fight," Karatenmon said calmly. "But we will fight you if you do not give her to us."
"What's with the her?" Serena asked. "I have a name and I have a species. So stop calling me her!"
The trio of Digimon looked at each, before nodding. HippGryphmon jumped into the air, and outsretched her wings. She dived bombed Beelzemon, hitting him in the gut and knocking him to the floor. She grabbed Serena with her claw and flew away. Dynasmon and Magnamon launched an attack at Karatenmon, he avoided the blows and jumped over them, spinning around Duftmon and following Flaremon as he chased after HippoGryphomon.
"SERENA!" Beelzemon watched for a split second, then followed.
Magnamon flying beside him, the two hot on the two other Digimon's trail.
"We'll be back!" Duftmon said, as he followed them.
...
"Let me go!" Serena ordered.
"Sorry," HippoGryphomon said. "No can do, we are taking you to our Lord, and that is final."
Serena crossed her arms in a huff, and sighed. She avoided looking down, not being fond of heights.
"That could have gone better," the voice commented. "Much better... Hmm, where is Beelzemon? He sure is taking his time rescuing us. Maybe he doesn't care anymore."
What the hell does she mean by us? Serena thought.
"Hey!" the voice snapped. "I can hear you."
Who are you? Serena asked.
"I'm you," the voice replied. "For now, you can call me Tomoko- Tomoko Usagi."
Serena thought, What do you mean, your me?
"That's what I mean," Tomoko giggled. "I'm you. Another half of you, the half the Sovereign want."
Why do they want you? Serena asked.
"Hmm," Tomoko hummed. "That I don't know, I only managed to take information out of Flaremon's mind. And believe me, that's harder than it sounds."
Serena sighed, what was going on? She was now hearing a voice who had the abilities to read minds and was wanted by the Sovereign. Maybe this was part of transforming into a Digimon, maybe this was part of the change. But as much as Serena tried to convince herself that was true, she knew it wasn't. What exactly was Serena?
...
"We'll never be able to keep up if we go at your pace, Beelzemon" Magnamon pointed out. "Let me and Dufty go ahead, you can't keep up."
"I don't care!" Beelzemon snapped. "I'm going to stay and git Seren!"
"There's more going on, isn't it?" Magnamon asked. "I mean, yes your supposed to protect Serena, but there's much more isn't it?"
Beelzemon sighed, "Yeah," he replied. "This goes much more deeper than being King of the Demon Lords."
"Then what?" Duftmon asked. "And why do you and Lilithmon keep ranting on about becoming the King of the Demon Lords?"
"Its... complicated," Beelzemon answered. "But Lilithmon told meh if I take care of Seren, then I become the King, the leader, of thah Lords."
Duftmon and Magnamon glanced at one another, wordless. Then Duftmon noticed something.
"Haven't we been here before?" Duftmon asked.
"Yeah," Magnamon agreed. "Isn't this the beach we went to?"
"It is," Beelzemon nodded. "This must be where their campin'."
...
I need to get out of here, Serena thought.
"We need to get out of here," Tomoko corrected her. "And I know how."
How? Serena asked.
"Let me take control," she replied. "Let me take over this body, just for now."
Serena sighed, Fine, but just get me away from here, then let me back into control. Okay?
"Okay," Tomoko agreed.
If Serena could see Tomoko, she would have guessed she was smiling. Serena clutched her head as a strange sensation sweep over her. She felt as if she was being pushed back, back into the thick darkness. Serena closed her eyes, hoping to escape the pain. But it only increased in tempo. Serena felt her nerves become disconnected, and she was gone. Tomoko opened them Serena's eyes. The eyes had changed from Serena's light pink to a emerald. Tomoko grinned; she was in charge, for now. Tomoko looked at HippoGryphomon, then grabbed onto her claws, and dug her nails into the scaley flesh. The Digimon screeched out in pain, and looked at the girl.
"What was that for?!" she asked.
"Set me down," Tomoko ordered, her eyes glowing an unnatural green. "NOW."
When the Digimon didn't reply, Tomoko bit into her legs. HippoGryphomon winced in pain, surprised this human had actually hurt her. Wait, was she even human? Tomoko grabbed onto HippoGryphomon's legs, and swung herself onto the bird-type Digimon's head. She pulled at the feathers, causing HippoGryphomon's head to swing back violently, hitting the girl in the face.
Tomoko froze as pain spread throughout her body. Pain, that was new. And Tomoko didn't like that feeling, pain was something she wasn't going to take lightly.
"That... hurt!" Tomoko snarled.
...
Magnamon suddenly stopped and looked up. Beelzemon and Duftmon slowed their pace, and looked at him oddly. Magnamon slowly pointed at the sky. They looked up, HippGryphmon had stopped and was flying around in tighty circles. Trying to shake off the human girl off her back, and having no luck. Beelzemon frowned, was she trying to get herself killed?
"How thah hell did she get on 'er back?" Beelzemon asked.
"I don't know," Duftmon answered. "But if she's carefull, she'll fall off and die."
Duftmon quickly flew towards HippGryphomon, avoiding the frailing and outstretched his arms towards the human. Tomoko looked at him, giving him a dark smile. He flinched, something was wrong. This human looked like Serena, but there was something... evil about her. Lilithmon and Beelzemon carried the same kind of atmosphere, but why was Serena carrying such a foul feel?
Tomoko shook her head, Serena was slowly clawing her way back. Serena wanted control, she wanted her body back. Tomoko regretfully allowed Serena, control again, closing her eyes and Serena was back. Serena opened her eyes, the green gue gone from her eyes. Serena looked at Duftmon, wondering how she got onto HippGryphomon's back.
"Come here," Duftmon ordered.
Serena jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. He placed one arm around her waist and pulled his sword out, pointing it at HippoGryphmon. She watched Duftmon and Serena warily, backing off. Zhuqiaomon never mentioned the human having control over her other half, unless he was not aware of that. She and her team mates would need to be careful.
"The human is with me," Duftmon said. "Back off."
"That isn't a human," HippoGryphmon snarled. "She is no where near a human."
"Why does Zhuqiaomon want Serena?" Duftmon asked. "And do answer, I work higher than the Sovereigns themselves, so speak! Why do they want Serena Usagi?"
HippoGryphomon didn't reply, she quickly turned away and flew away. Leaving the duo to look at each other, equally confused by what HippoGryphomon said. Why was Zhuqiaomon so interested in Serena, interetsed in Tomoko? Serena knew not to mention Tomoko, it would complicate things.
"Should we mention to the others what she said?" Duftmon asked.
Serena shook her head, "No," she replied. "It will just complicate things further."
He nodded, and they flew back towards Beelzemon and Magnamon. Duftmon slowly set Serena down and the two other Digimon ran towards them, Beelzemon lifted Serena up by her shoulders, looking her up and down. From what he could see, she looked perfectly fine- physically.
"Are yer okay?" Beelzemon asked.
"I'm fine," she replied. "See, nothing's wrong. No scratches, no cuts."
He nodded, "We might as well stay 'ere. We'll never git back before dark."
"Good point," Magnamon agrred. "C'mon, we can stay in the cave."
They nodded, and walked towards the cave. Serena stopped and rubbed her one arm; Tomoko was so strange. She had the ability to take over Serena's body, but only with permission from Serena. So Tomoko couldn't do anything Serena didn't want her to do. Serena had control, and that was a comforting thought.
...
As the two Knights and Demon Lord sat down by the fire, Serena sat on top of the cliff looking at the ocean. She looked up at the dark sky, frowning. She wanted to believe she was turning into a Digimon, that Tomoko was the digital half of her, but she knew it wasn't true. There was something wrong with Serena, she had a glitch in her brain. Suddenly, she felt another odd sensation spirall through her.
Like she was being pulled in half. Serena clamped her eyes shut, fighting the odd pain that pull at her. Eventaully, the pain died down and she opened her eyes. She stood before Serena was a girl who looked like her, except for the blonde hair and otherwordly green eyes. She was much paler than Serena, while she had a black tail with a spade-like tip, and black angel wings.
The only thing that made Serena believe this was her, was the fact they had the same body structure and same hair style. Serena fell onto her back and quickly scrambled to her feet, raising her fists in defense.
"Enough of that," the girl said. "C'mon, tell me, what did Duftmon think of our escape?"
"E-escape?" Serena repeated. "Who the hell are you?"
"Who do you think?" she asked. "It's me, Tomoko... I must say, I love being outside."
"Outside?" Serena repeated again. "What do you mean? Can others see you?"
"I'll answer your first question," she began. "I have no idea how I'm outside. Secondly, yes, others can see me."
"Who are you, anyway?" Serena asked. "I mean, yes, your me, but how?"
Tomoko sat down, Serena joined her.
"Do you remember those flash backs?" Tomoko nodded."Do you remember feeling different and sometimes a little evil?"
Serena nodded. Why didn't she think of the possibility of Tomoko being the cause behind thos horrible flashbacks? Probably because it never came to mind, she argued with herself.
"The flash backs were just trying to explain to you why I'm here," Tomoko began. "But since you won't let them in, you might never know why I'm here. And feeling different and evil is because of me. I'm everything that's isn't you, in other words. I'm everything your not. Your nice and kind. I'm evil and black hearted. I'm the half of you that'll help you turn into a mega level Digimon from the Dark Area."
Serena was about to reply, when she heard Beelzemon coming towards them. Tomoko jumped towards Serena, and literally entered her body, fusing the two girls together. Serena looked at herself, feeling her face. That had to be one of the strangest things that ever happened to her, bar none.
"Are you okay?" Beelzemon asked.
"Fine," Serena replied, getting up.
"I thought I heard talkin'," Beelzemon continued, as they walked down the cliff.
"Talking?" Serena repeated with a chuckle. "You must be hearing things."
"Hmm," Beelzemon looked at the girl.
"What?" she asked.
"Yer seem different," he replied.
Serena shrugged, "Must be all the time I'm spending in the Digital world. Maybe I'm finally turning into a Digimon."
Beelzemon looked at her, then looked away. He obviously didn't believe her. He wanted to ask, but didn't know what to say. Dealing with people's personal problems was something he wasn't good at. He sighed heavily.
"Things should be interesting now," Tomoko commented. "You just watch, they won't be a dull moment no more."
Swell, Serena thought with a frown. As if things can't get any worse... Lilithmon is still after me, Sovereigns are after me, and to top it all off, I'm a skitz!
"It's not that bad," Tomoko said. "At least you've got someone to talk to."
Serena sighed, at least Tomoko was right about something. This little journey to the Digital World wasn't going to be boring no more; it was going to be dangerous.
To Be Continued....
