Chapter Nine

Renamon hadn't expected to see this man again, or at least; not so soon since their last meeting. After everything that had just happened over the last-what; one hour? Two? Three? It was so easy to lose track to time inside the windowless factory-mixed with the relief she felt, her mind was reeling, which made piecing together a coherent sentence harder than she thought.

The important thing was Andrew was going to be okay. Renamon didn't think she could handle Andrew getting hurt (or worse) because he was trying to protect her when she fell. She had underestimated Datamon. Her anger became a blindfold that caused her to think Datamon would be nothing more than a clunky machine, if she had been paying attention, if she had kept her wits about her as she was trained to do, than none of this would have happened.

"You…" she managed to say before her tongue and brain betrayed her, leaving her without any more words to use.

"Me," The Elder replied.

"What are you doing here, and how did you get here so fast?"

"Because I am and because I can," he said as if that explained everything, but before Renamon could protest The Elder knelt down over Andrew once again, resting a hand on his forehead. "You're one lucky ducky. That was a virus attack Datamon released. It's meant to destroy any digital creature that it strikes. If it had hit you, Renamon, well, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The reason our little friend here is still alive is because he's flesh and blood; all that good stuff. No data to delete here."

The Elder rose to his feet placing his hands on the back of his spine and leaning backwards as if he were trying to pop his back; work out some of the stiffness. Renamon got the feeling that this was all for show, the man seemed to have a taste for the dramatic, a trait she was beginning to find very annoying.

"But he's going to be okay, right?" she pressed "You said he was going to be okay."

"Your concern is very touching," he grinned "Yeah, give the kid a little time to rest and he'll be right as rain, see if he's not."

'Your concern is very touching.' There was something about that that stuck her and she wasn't quite sure why, yet it seemed to plant its self inside of her head like a large flag all the same.

She had defeated Datamon, but she couldn't do it as Renamon. In her Rookie level she wasn't strong enough to inflict any serious damage. She felt like a bird trying to stand its ground against a tornado, yet she had defeated him and she did it as Kyubimon. She had Digivolved; something she had been trying to do since she became Renamon, but seemed to hit some kind of brick wall. So, why then? Why did it happen then?

Your concern is very touching.

It is only when you truly care, that you will understand.

The Elder had said both of these things: one just now and the other several days ago inside of his temple.

"You meant him," Renamon realized.

"Pardon?" The Elder asked, but the look on his face said he already knew what she meant.

She pointed a finger down at where Andrew slept. "When you said I couldn't Digivolve again until I cared, you meant about him."

"Renamon, do you know why a Digimon evolves? There are actually several reasons: one of them being that the power they gain becomes too much for their current bodies to handle, thus they change into something new just as you changed from Viximon.

"The second occurs when the Digimon reaches an emotional state where the need to protect themselves or others temporarily grants them the strength to do so. This is why you became Kyubimon; your desire to protect the boy was stronger than anything else. This is also why you returned to this form once your job was done. Of course, this is all the simplified version, but I think it sums things up rather nicely."

Renamon looked at where Andrew rested on the floor, and thought about the things that The Elder had said, and the things she had done. It was clear that Andrew was no longer just a forced Tamer to her now, but that begged the question; what did that make him exactly? A friend? Was it possible that she could ever have such a thing? Could the same Renamon who spent her entire life distancing herself from the world actually gain a real friend? She wasn't exactly sure, but she found the idea appealing.

The Elder's soft hand rested upon her shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Now, don't you think it's time you got him off that cold floor," he said.

"Right. Yes, of course."

Bending down, she worked her arms underneath the boy's back and legs and lifting him up as carefully as someone might lift a precious vase, Renamon cradled him against her chest. It felt strange to be holding him like this, but by now she was used to his weight and at least in her arms he looked a little less like a corpse.

"It's dark out now," The Elder informed her. "Under normal circumstances I would not advise traveling at night, but I suggest that you both head as far away from here as you are able."

"We can't go yet. There are still others in the building. We have to save them."

"I know, and I'll make sure everyone gets back to their homes safely," he assured.

"Not the ones from The Daycare," Renamon sighed, still stinging from the guilt of arriving too late. "Their home is gone."

"Perhaps; for now. I shall take them back with me. I sure there is much they can learn and much I can learn from them, now stop your worrying and go. You have finished this part of your journey and you have done it well, but there is still so much more left to do, and it will only get harder from here on out. This Dark Lord will surely be aware that something is amiss when his supply of Dark Rings halts, but know that this was a necessary risk."

"After seeing what those things could do, I don't blame you for thinking that," she said.

The Elder nodded in agreement before continuing. "Head North towards the mountains. It's here that you will find the next of the Dark Lord's generals. Find out what he's up to and put a stop to it."

"Alright, and... thank you," Renamon replied.

"Don't forget what you've learned here today and we'll call it even," he answered with a wink. "Now go, there still work for me here."

With Andrew resting safely in her arms, Renamon did as she was told and left the compound. The Elder was not lying when he said it was dark. Above them the stars twinkled in the night sky and the moon gave off just enough light to see by. Renamon moved as fast as she dared being careful to watch for the fallen trees and thick mud. She continued on well past the dead forest until they were surrounded by real trees and dry land, and even then she pushed on a little farther. She stopped to make camp only when the sight and smell of that diseased place was well behind them.

As she was building up the fire there came a sudden explosive blast far back the way they came. Renamon leapt up the closest tree as high as she could manage. From up here she could just barely see the dead forest, no more than a smudge of brown against a sea of green; something that would be almost easy to miss if it weren't for the large pillar of faint flickering red light and black smoke rising up from it, and Renamon instantly knew it's cause.

They had blown the factory. She didn't know exactly how, but one of them found a way and used it to destroy every inch of that horrible place.

Good, Renamon thought as she headed back to the ground. I would have done the same.

O O O

She did everything she could to make sure he was comfortable that night. On the way towards where they now camped she had come upon a small pond, not like the polluted cesspool the factory was built along side of, but an actual clean source of water, still she took a small drink first just to be sure.

After deciding that it was safe, Renamon pulled a large leaf from a nearby tree and using her thumb and finger she held it into a loose U shape which she used to gather water to pour into Andrew's mouth, though she had to rub his throat until he swallowed. Renamon wasn't sure if he needed the water or not, but it had been hours since their last meal and she knew that she was sure thirsty and starving. Now that the adrenaline had worn off and the pain was gone, her body went right back to demanding its basic needs. Well, even if he needed the water or not, it was best to play things safe for awhile. She had no way of knowing how long the boy was going to be out, and there was no point in surviving the battle if he was going to die of thirst in his sleep or something crazy like that.

Now that the fire was lit there was really nothing left to do but wait. She was still very hungry, but she didn't dare leave him again in this condition nor did she like the idea of moving him any more than she had to. Several times she tried to lie down to and get some rest, but whenever she closed her eyes she kept watching the same scene playing over and over in her head. She was back on the factory floor, immobilized with the pain inflicted upon her. Datamon aimed his arm and fired the projectile whose virus would eat away at her very core, ripping her apart from the inside out; and each time she could only watch Andrew throw himself into the line of fire to save her. He would be struck, he would fall to the ground, and then the whole thing was start over again. After awhile she just gave up trying to rest.

Renamon moved closer to sit next to Andrew, looking into the fire and occasionally poking at it with a stick. Every few minutes she would glance over that the boy to make sure everything was still okay, each time hoping to see his eyes open. She doubted that he would awaken tonight, or maybe even tomorrow, but that didn't stop her from checking.

At least his breathing is better, she told herself. So there's that.

Just as Andrew somehow found sleep that first night he spent in this new world, Renamon eventually began to doze as well. Soon she was on her side and out cold. After everything she had been through that day, it was really no surprise that sleep eventually caught up to the fox.

When she awoke, morning was long gone, she didn't even need to open her eyes to tell that she strong light piercing her eyelids indicated that it was close to afternoon, if it wasn't already. She rarely overslept in her life, Renamon was always an early riser, but she figured that it was okay to make the exception this once, especially considering the day she had just survived.

With her eyes still closed, Renamon sat up, yawned, and stretched out her arms and back, feeling as well as hearing the satisfying series of pops in her lower spine, reminding her of the same mock gesture done by The Digital Elder the day before.

See, this is how it's really done, you old kook, she thought to herself. Personally, she thought he was taking his human disguise a little too far.

Her stomach growled, telling her that it demanded food right this very minute. Renamon got to her feet, trying to decide what she was going to do with Andrew. She knew she had to eat something soon, but what was she supposed to do with the boy? She could probably take him along if she didn't stray too far from the camp, but that raised the question of how she was going to get him to eat.

Renamon glanced down at where he left Andrew to judge how much she really wanted to try carrying him around again, and was struck numb by finding him gone.

Her eyes went wide as she scanned around the campsite, but there was nothing to be seen. In fact, the only evidence that Andrew had been there at all was the smashed down grass where he had slept.

Now Renamon was getting scared. She had told herself that she would not let her guard down again, but she did, and now... well, anything could be out in these woods, couldn't it? What she couldn't figure out, though, was what would take the boy while she slept, but not gone after her. Surely whatever it was would have taken the opportunity to get her as well.

There were footsteps approaching from behind her, Renamon spun around ready to pounce, thinking that she had spoken too soon and the intruder that had taken Andrew really was coming after her now.

Stepping into the tiny clearing with his head down was Andrew, one hand zipping up the fly on his pants. The boy seemed to feel the eyes upon him because his head snapped up so fast that it was a wonder it didn't pop off from his neck.

"Oh! Renamon," he said. "Sorry I scared you, but when I woke up I really had to, you know, go." The way he lowered his voice on the last word as if he was saying something dirty made Renamon want to simultaneously laugh and strangle him. She couldn't take any more of these cheap scares or her heart would explode.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. "Are- are you hurt at all?"

"A little sore and very hungry, but that's it." There was a small moment of silence where he looked like he was trying to grapple to find a word that wouldn't come and then finally gave up on. "We won, didn't we? At the factory? We won?"

The faintest hint of a smile touched her lips. There was something in what he said and the way he said it that she found wonderful.

Crossing the small distance between them, Renamon dropped down to her knees, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him. She heard the boy gasp a little and his body went as stiff as steel in her arms.

"Yeah, Andrew," she grinned, "we won."

When she stepped Renamon saw the deep red color that had risen on his cheeks and she couldn't help bust muse that, for an annoying little twerp, he wasn't half bad. She then balled her right hand into a fist, cocked her arm back, and slugged him hard on the shoulder.

"Now don't you ever do anything that stupid again," she scolded in a voice that was just a few notches below a yell. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Andrew rubbed the area where he was hit and apologized, but with a smile on his face. After a second his face clouded up and a look of mild surprise came over it. "Hey, you just called me Andrew," he stated.

"Well yeah. That's your name."

"I know that, I just didn't think you knew. I figured you thought it was 'rookie' or 'kid'."

Renamon got to her feet and planted her hands on her hips. "Geez, you're not going to get all sentimental on me now are you, rookie?"

"No, ma'am," Andrew responded with his smile creeping back.

"Good. Now, let's see what we can do about food before we head North."

"What's up North?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Dunno. Guess we'll find out together."

With the sun above their heads and a slight breeze blowing against their backs, Digimon and Tamer continued on their quest. The first milestone had been crossed and the first test of their friendship and been passed, but there was still so much left: victories and defeats, friends and enemies, life and death.

O O O

It sat on its throne surrounded by the darkness it loved so much. The dark hid his deeds. The dark struck fear into the hearts of those who lived in the light. The dark would envelope this whole planet in a never ending cascade of night and the Digimon within this world would spend their lives within his nightmare for which there would be no awakening. On its left side sat Biyomon upon her perch; an odd splotch of pink and purple color within a blacken room. She had been busy cleaning the tips of her wings when her head shot up.

"Oooh! Dark Lord! We have a guest!" she tittered.

A knock came from the other side of the massive double doors that stood at the other end of the room. Biyomon swooped down off of her perch as one of the doors was pulled open and a small creature with blue skin and a black hood with one red and one green eye painted on top stepped though the opening it had made. Biyomon landed before this creature, fluttering her wings.

"Be gone! Be gone! Our master is busy plotting the death of this world so his black empire may rise! Be gone!"

"Outta my way, bird-brain." The second Digimon said, swinging one hand in a slap, but took flight and hovered out of the other's reach before she could be stuck.

"Ooo! Now you're gonna get it!"

"Biyomon," Its voice commanded from the throne. "Return. Now."

Biyomon looked back at her master then back to the other Digimon whom she stuck her tongue out at before returning to her perch.

"Approach, Dracmon." The Dark Lord motioned with his hand towards himself. Dracmon took several quick steps forward before dropping to one knee with his hands out before if as if surrendering. Of course, his hands were not outstretched to surrender, they were outstretched because on the palms of his hands was where he kept his eyes. "What is your news?"

"Dark Lord, we have received notice that all production within the factory as ceased and all commutations have been severed. We have reason to believe sabotage, my lord."

"What of Datamon?"

"Gone, sir, most likely dead."

"And the others?"

"Still reporting the 'all-clear' from their posts," Dracmon reported.

There was a moment of silence in the room, but it was enough to upset Dracmon. When there was quiet one could hear noises radiating from deep within the castle's walls, noises that upset the mind and tortured the soul. Dracmon hated it.

"A minor inconvenience at best," it said after its brief consideration. "Datamon had long since outlived his usefulness. The plan is unchanged. Tell my men to continue on as before, but Dracmon?"

"My lord?" the small Digimon asked.

"Make sure everyone keeps their vigilance about them. Those annoyances will pop their heads up again and when they do," The Dark Lord clutched the arms of this throne as he leaned forward, his shadow completely covering Dracmon's small frame. "I want those heads cut off."

To be continued.