Chapter 10: Broken Wings, Stormy Winds
"So this is London, huh?" A tall and lean brown haired boy found himself admiring the city once he got out of the train. He wore a maroon t-shirt and faded jeans. He carried a large bag with him.
"Are we there yet?" A muffled voice asked from inside the bag.
"Yeah, we're here Fangmon" the boy replied to the Digimon hiding in his bag.
"About time" the Digimon remarked. "Where to now?"
The brown haired boy shifted his gaze to the blue sky. He wished he could fly through that endless blue, free from the chains that weighed him down experiencing the true notion of freedom. He then closed his eyes as a refreshing breeze blew past him.
The chain of the bag slowly opened as a shadowy head jutted out a little. "Wallace?" The Digimon called out.
"Wherever the winds take us."
"Huh?" The Digimon was confused.
"We'll go wherever the winds take us."
Wallace had also said those words to Kyrie once. Kyrie found it ironic how those words reflected her present situation. Staring into the blue yonder the black haired girl recalled memories both good and bad. She lay down upon the grass as her mind drifted. She and Wallace would hang out sometimes in Hyde Park in this particular spot devoid of people most of the time.
See ya
She remembered those two words as the speaker of those words disappeared. He said it like it was nothing. As if he was going on a small trip and would be back.
"Liar" Kyrie thought. He had lied to both him and Aria. Why did he want to go to the Digital World? He said that he would have had to go sooner or later. "So why not sooner?" That was his reason. Was he not happy with them? They had first met in a fast food joint they both used to work at. When she saw him for the first time she saw an emotionless and mysterious youth. She wouldn't lie when she said that he was drawn to him by that same air of mystery.
To her surprise, he was drawn to her for the same reason.
They were both empty inside. That was the fact that allowed them to connect each other.
"Beautiful girls like you should smile more" Wallace once said something along those lines to her. It sounded like a cheesy pick up line but Kyrie never thought of it that way.
"Even if that's a fake smile? Even if it hurts to smile?" Kyrie asked him.
"True" Wallace relented, "those smiles are never perfect."
"Yet people like to see those smiles more." Kyrie was saddened by that idea.
"They want to feel like that there's something special in their lives. They want to have a reason to keep going on with their lives."
"Is a smile really supposed to be mean that much?" Kyrie never thought that such a simple thing could amount to so much.
"I don't know. I see some people helping out total strangers and all they get is a smile in return. I guess it does mean at least a little. I mean, why do you sing?"
"Cause I like to but I get your point. I mean the smiles you see when they liked your performance. I guess they do mean a lot."
Kyrie thought back to this particular conversation. After her parents died in a car crash she had found herself drifting through life. She was always used to doing what her parents told her but she did feel herself hating being told what to do. In a cruel way, she had found freedom from that but now she was lost in that freedom. She thought that it was because of her thinking that her parents died.
The world to her looked grey. She didn't understand how reality worked. Life was a drab and mundane affair. She learned to sing as a way to cope with the boredom that her empty life brought her. When she sang or wrote songs her worries would disappear and suddenly she found meaning in her existence. As days passed she found herself losing her inspiration for her songs.
She laughed. She had found Noel's excuses unreasonable and yet she was not even in a better state than him. She just wanted someone to share her troubles with. Kyrie had thought that Noel was a person who could understand her but she had forgotten that the boy was lost in his own troubles. She cursed herself for being so selfish. "Stand up" that was what the girl was commanding that boy to do even though doing said act hurt like hell.
"Sorry"- another word she had to tell him.
Kyrie got up. It was almost time to pick up Aria from school. As she walked away she passed by a familiar fountain and stopped to observe it.
The faded marble and shabby appearance hid the secret. No one would have guessed that this thing would have acted as a gateway to another dimension.
Kyrie sighed before she left.
-xxxx-
Aria stole glances at the clock. She always hated it when time would move slowly just to annoy her. As usual the teacher was rambling away like no one's business. She wondered whether they really get paid for blowing their lungs out. From her vantage point, the utmost back seat near the window which in her class was akin to a lottery win, she spied on some of the students.
Miranda was busy sending messages on paper to her boyfriend. Worst couple ever, in Aria's opinion. Though considering how full of themselves the both of them were, you could say they were made for each other.
Jake was busy reading a comic book, using his text book as effective camouflage. Well, at least that was better. She tried to get a better view in order to identify which comic he was reading but eventually gave up. "Stupid Jake" she muttered.
"Everyone pay attention!" Every time Aria heard that she would get a sudden urge to do the exact opposite. She decided to stare outside through the window- one of the advantages of a window seat.
She saw some teens play football like no one's business. She wanted to get out of here. Honestly, no one would care if she went up and left and yet she was stuck here.
"Lonely?" Qingmon mouthed the words as best as he could. He was hanging upside down outside the window. He had a habit of appearing and disappearing without warning.
Aria nodded. "Bored too" she said. Qingmon seemed to understand. He shaped his feathery hand into a fist and then extended all his fingers.
Rock, paper, scissors. Aria understood it well enough and thus the game started.
Rock…
Paper….
Scissors was Aria's choice which fell to Qingmon's rock. In the second round, Qingmon's paper caught hold of Aria's rock.
Needless to say the third round was a repeat of the first.
Qingmon wore a smug smile while Aria puffed her cheeks. "He's too good" she thought as she followed Qingmon's eyes during the game. Those purple eyes were always fixed on her arm and soon the girl got a good idea at how the bird Digimon was so good at this game.
Qingmon had always liked games. Aria had introduced him to a fair share from checkers to playing with marbles. While his shady looks may put off some people, in truth as far as Aria knew Qingmon was a very friendly creature. Once you get past his sarcastic streak, of course.
She could remember how they first met. Despite it being about 4 years ago she could still remember it clearly. It was often the more extraordinary things you remember when you live an ordinary life.
Qingmon had decided to take shelter in their house. He was crashing in Aria's room when she first met him. She wasn't scared or freaked out or anything like that. She was fascinated to see a creature like Qingmon. However above it all she felt special.
All those years she felt inferior to her elder sister. Kyrie was everything Aria wasn't. Beautiful, talented and whatnot. She wouldn't deny her jealousy towards her sister. So that day when she found that Qingmon had stumbled into her life and offered her to be a Chosen Child she felt special. She felt that finally she had something that Kyrie didn't. A feeling of accomplishment and purpose surged through her at that moment. Although she hadn't sealed the partnership yet, she would eventually. She was sure of that.
"Don't worry, Wallace" she thought, "I'll come visit you. That ought to be a surprise." The girl smiled at Qingmon who returned the smile.
Although Wallace had not kept his word she didn't mind. Maybe he was lost in the beauty of the Digital World- a world which no doubt was so much better than this world. It was another reason for her to pack up and go on her own journey to find him. Wallace never looked at Aria and thought back to Kyrie. For that she was grateful to him for seeing the two as separate people and not one inferior to the other. It was because of him that Aria could stop criticizing herself and not look at herself with feelings of dissatisfaction.
Yet, now she had lost "herself" once again. She looked at herself with frustration at how weak and ugly she was. She did not possess the same beautiful eyes as Miranda did. Her hair was short unlike Kyrie's long flowing hair.
But none of those mattered. She was a Chosen Child. That fact alone would disregard all the faults she had. It was that alone which counted at the end. This destiny, this future was apparently her saving grace.
"I've made up my mind" the girl told herself. She would be Qingmon's partner from today on. She had resolved to do it. Upon looking around, she found or rather did not find Qingmon. Another student was looking into the window. Aria glared at him prompting the student to look away.
"Aria Gray!" The teacher bellowed and Aria realized how screwed she was.
"How would you like detention for today? Not listening to my lectures tends to earn you that right."
"Not feeling up to it" was the answer Aria wanted to give but held her tongue or else it would be double the trouble. She saw Miranda and Collins laughing. Nothing too out of the ordinary.
Aria sighed. Guess being Qingmon's partner would have to wait.
-xxxx-
"I'll get the food ready in a minute" Kyrie said to Aria, both having returned to their apartment. Kyrie sighed, "next time you might wanna give me a warning about deciding to go into detention."
"Whatever" was the reply as the younger sister went to her room.
"It was a joke" Kyrie sighed once more. She started to go through the fridge to scavenge some food for them.
It was a modest apartment but it was possible to live in it. It was the best they could afford thanks to the money their relatives sent over. One could say the passing away of their parents had brought their family members together. Before she could hardly recall a proper get together with all their relatives and yet now they were supporting them from afar. The death of people often had adverse effects on their loved ones. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It was impossible to stay the same, though.
"Aria might like some pudding" Kyrie thought as she searched the fridge for it.
"I might like some too." Kyrie turned around to confirm her suspicions. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't scared out of her wits for a moment.
It was Qingmon.
"I thought birds don't eat pudding" Kyrie replied.
"This bird can and he's hungry" Qingmon indeed was.
Kyrie saw that were two pieces left from yesterday. "You can have mine" she said.
"Won't you be hungry then?" Qingmon asked.
"I'll eat something else." She prepared the dish and gave one piece to Qingmon and proceeded to take another one to Aria's room.
"Hey, sis, open the door" Kyrie cried.
"It's open!" Aria yelled from the other side. When Kyrie had entered the room she saw Aria staring out through the window. "What does she see? Freedom?" Kyrie thought. She knew how much her sister yearned to go to that mysterious world. "Do you think you can find happiness there, sis?"
Kyrie put the dish down. "Make sure you eat it." With that she left closing the door lest her sister start yelling about it.
The black haired girl looked around. Qingmon wasn't there and an eerie silence took form. Never did silence scare her like this. When one is used to living in a world permeated with loud music and inspiring voices, a sudden silence akin to deafness was a fearful thing. She realized for a moment how alone she was. To escape it the girl decided to go to the rooftop.
The night sky was beautifully tragic. There were just a few stars far apart from each other. "Like us" Kyrie thought. She decided to sit down and look at the city.
"Stargazing?" Qingmon asked.
"Don't know what I'm looking for" Kyrie replied. Years ago when she first saw the bird Digimon she didn't have much to say about him. Initially against the idea, she couldn't say her opinion improved over the years. The only reason Qingmon stayed was because he had made such good friends with Aria and was one of the few times Kyrie saw her sister happy, which was enough to keep Qingmon in their household.
To her surprise, Wallace had also found himself entrapped by this sudden turn of destiny.
"He's dead isn't he?" Kyrie asked the Digimon.
"He could be for all we know. He hasn't returned" Qingmon voiced his opinion.
"Thank you," Kyrie began, "for not lying."
"You should know this."
"The risks of accepting this destiny? I didn't ask for this."
"Then your sister has to be my partner" Qingmon said.
"Why? Wasn't Wallace enough?" Tear began to well up in Kyrie's eyes, "Now you want to take my sister away too?"
"Do you hate us Digimon for that?" Qingmon asked.
"I don't hate you Qingmon. I just hate my fate."
"Do you want to change it?" Qingmon extended his hand revealing a digivice-silver and green were the hues.
"I don't think fate can be changed" Kyrie looked towards the device. "To protect Aria" she thought as she steeled her mind and proceeded to seal her fate.
"No, you won't!" The cry cut through the night as she saw a hand pulling Qingmon away.
"What are you doing?" Kyrie looked with dread at Aria who held Qingmon close to her.
"You took a lot of things away from me but not Qingmon!" Aria held the Digivice along with Qingmon.
Registering Chosen Child….
"Don't Aria!" The older sister shouted but to no avail.
Link Established
The words struck like a dagger in her heart and suddenly she recalled her own words. Fate really can't be changed after all.
"Now we'll be together. Right, Qingmon?" Aria looked happy while Qingmon only nodded.
"Why?" Kyrie sounded angry. A bitter resentment and a hollow question posed to an invisible force that had no wish to answer it. "Why, Aria?"
"Because of you!" Came the shocking reply. Qingmon only looked on.
Kyrie demanded an explanation.
"You took too much away from me. You're better than me every way. No one cares about me. It's you. It's you! It's always you!"
"I just wanted to protect you" Kyrie's voice was about to break. Suddenly she realized how much hatred her sister bore for her. She wanted to still believe in her but now….
"I don't want your protection. I just wish….." Qingmon hung his head down as if to say sorry to the elder sister.
"I just wish you never existed!"
It didn't hurt as much as she expected it would have. Deep down, the elder sister must have known.
"So this is how you feel?" Kyrie began her voice barely above a whisper. "Then get out of my sight. I've had enough of this."
"Fine-" Aria suddenly felt a strong force knock her down. A large rumbling noise was heard as she saw something crash into the roof. She saw Qingmon get up, claws ready to tear the newcomer apart.
"Devimon, Champion level, Virus Attribute. Special Attack: Touch of Evil" Aria's Digivice lit up.
"What now?" Kyrie grunted as she saw the devilish black shape turn its blood red eyes at her sister.
"Get down from this roof" Qingmon told Kyrie as he proceeded to attack Devimon. To her disbelief she saw another Qingmon grab a hold of Aria and jump down from the roof. Devimon struck the Qingmon fighting him with his claws causing the bird Digimon to turn into a puff of smoke.
"A distraction?" Kyrie wondered as she saw the demonic Digimon jump down to the street below. The girl realized that she now had to take the more difficult route down, via stairs.
-xxxx-
Bokhramon had hardly seen Noel this serious. He was tapping away at the handheld gaming device. The goat Digimon really didn't understand what it was all about other than learning that a friend named Eric had lent him the device and the game saying that Noel would have liked it.
Though he was happy to see Noel not sad.
"Aww…" Noel got up. He had apparently lost. "Sorry about that, got carried away. The story of the game was kinda engrossing."
"It's alright" Bokhramon replied. "Can we get something to eat?"
"Hungry already?" Digimons had voracious appetites as the blonde haired boy came to find out. "Alright."
Noel escorted the Digimon to the kitchen and started scavenging for food. He at last decided on a packet of Oreo which they both began to dig into.
"Sometimes I think you use Bokhramon's appetite as an excuse to eat before dinner." Susan Keith had a smile on her face that read "I caught you two red handed."
Both Digimon and human turned- a biscuit in both their mouths. Noel's face was beginning to turn red.
The mother laughed a good laugh. "It's alright." She invited both of them over to the table.
"So how are you feeling now?" Susan asked her son.
"Not bad. Why?" He gave a biscuit to Bokhramon who was sitting on the floor.
"You look a little happier." Noel suddenly realized it.
"You think?" He asked to which his mom nodded.
"I know it's tough but hang in there, alright? I'll always be there for you" Susan said.
"I guess there a lot of people protecting me." Bokhramon looked up at his human friend. "Mom?"
"Yes?" Susan loved it when her son called her that. He was her pride and joy after all.
"If I told you, that I'm going to help Bokhramon fight and protect this world, what would you say?"
Susan Keith began to pull her son closer to her. "I'd have no choice but to let you go then. I'd just pray for your safety. Parting hurts but it would eventually happen anyways. I don't know much about this Digimon business but from what I could guess, if you don't take part in this fight the world could be destroyed but if you do succeed then I'll see you grow up to be a fine young man. Don't worry Bokhramon; you're a welcomed guest in this household so you can stay even after that."
Noel was glad he had such an understanding mother.
"Your father once told me that it's always alright to be scared. It's the scared people that are always the bravest when the time calls for it."
"Thanks."
It was then that he heard a knock on the door. Noel proceeded to open it and was caught by surprise.
"Noel…." Kyrie was out of breath and beside her Qingmon disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Kyrie…. What are you-"
"Please. I need your help."
-xxxx-
Aria was hiding. She heard the clash of claws and the smashing of concrete. She knew that she should be there for her partner but Qingmon had told her to stay put.
She heard a rumbling sound followed by a grunt.
"Shadow Strike!" That was Qingmon.
"I have to help him but how?" Aria wondered she decided to go out a take a peek at the battle.
Both combatants were evenly matched. Qingmon with his speed and ability to produce shadow clones had managed to avoid any direct hit. She might have been mistaken but she thought that something looked different about Devimon. He looked a little bit more monstrous with a spike jutting out from one of his shoulders. He was also moving quite haphazardly and seemed to gain a boost in his strength.
Qingmon stood still and Devimon charged in.
"Gale Reversal" the bird Digimon thrust his hand out stopping the attack cold and as an added effect blowing Devimon away causing it to crash into building.
"You did it!" Aria was ecstatic as she came out of her hiding place.
"No don't!" Qingmon shouted but it was too late as the shadow leapt at Aria.
"Ice Shield!" As the attack of the name dictated a barrier of ice materialized in front of the girl under attack which managed to repel Devimon's claw thrust. In turn the shield, being brittle, cracked into tiny shards.
Aria saw her sister, a blonde haired boy and a white goat Digimon come up behind her.
"Bokhramon!" Noel warned his partner as Devimon reared up for another strike. The goat Digimon triggered its Ice Shield attack. It cracked apart on the first hit leaving Bokhramon wide open for the second hit.
Noel watched in horror as he saw his partner being flung away like an insect.
Devimon wasn't done yet as he set his eyes on Kyrie and slowly approached her. Qingmon tried to attack from behind but was hit hard by the demonic Digimon who had anticipated it.
Kyrie tried to take a step back but realized the futility of it. If the demon wanted it could step in and crack her like a twig. It was approaching.
"Over my dead body" Noel stood in Devimon's way.
"You'll die!" Kyrie yelled but Noel stood undeterred. For a shocking moment, Kyrie thought that maybe that was what Noel wanted.
Devimon smiled as he grabbed Noel's neck and lifted him. The boy felt his lungs struggling for breath and his windpipe being crushed.
"Noel…." Bokhramon cried weakly.
"Just…..run….already" Noel struggled as his chest was burning intensely. When he had thought that he was about to draw his last breath he suddenly felt the grip loosening- the air returning. He saw a humanoid bull Digimon in front of him, one of its hands crushing the arm of Devimon that held the boy up in the air.
"Aurochmon!" The goat Digimon cried out seeing another of his friends.
Noel fell to the ground, breathing heavily. His neck had claw marks on it.
A grotesque sound was heard as Aurochmon applied more strength and soon Devimon's arm being a useless limb.
Devimon grunted in pain but something about him told Aurochmon that he was far from done.
"No worries" Noel looked towards the voice and saw Hiran arriving at the scene riding a skateboard. "You can smash his face in next."
Aurochmon complied as he lunged at the demon Digimon. Devimon struck at the blur with his good arm but the bull Digimon made grabbed a hold of it. With his free hand Aurochmon grabbed Devimon's head.
With a sudden burst of strength a loud crack was heard. Devimon found his head disconnected from his body.
Aria felt a sudden sickening feeling in her stomach.
It was then that all three Digivices on the scene lit up at the same time.
Entity Unknown
Detecting Mutation in Digital Code
Red circuit lines began appearing all over Devimon's body. His hands started moving again sporting bigger claws and spikes. Its thin, tall body bulked up more as his head became replaced with a more bestial one sporting a black mane. Another pair of wings burst open from its back.
"The hell?" Hiran thought as he saw the monster shrug off Aurochmon like he was nothing and disappeared.
"Everyone stay alert!" The bull Digimon bellowed. He knew Devimon was still there.
Qingmon looked around frantically. It had melded into the darkness once more.
"Noel!" The scream cut through the air just as the beast did as it lunged at the blonde boy.
Noel stood there paralyzed by those blood red eyes and those black metal claws. The creature descended from the sky like Death itself.
He felt a sudden shove and was thrown into the ground as he saw the same ground that he stood on erupt as a cloud of dust came out of it like smoke from a volcano.
Along with that tower of smoke he saw strands of white light flickering in the air. A sudden horrible realization hit him like a punch to the gut.
As the cloud slowly dissipated those red eyes stared at him once more. The black claws were stuck to the street they tore apart.
Kyrie covered her mouth with her hands.
Hiran felt sickened.
"No….el…." Bokhramon cried out weakly to his human friend.
"Bokhramon….." The expression on the beast's mouth resembled a smile-a sick, fanged smile.
"…BOKHRAMON!"