Chapter 10! Whoo! As always, thanks to all of my readers and reviewers!
Please review if you can!
"Marsmon…" Koushiro said the name as if he himself thought of the Digimon as a deity. "Like the Roman god of war."
They were all standing atop the wall, which was now broken into several segments and covered in debris. Everyone who had been injured by the blast had recovered due to HolyAngemon's magic.
Daisuke huffed. "These digi-gods or whatever must really be afraid of me if they have to keep taking me out with sneak attacks before I can even attempt to kick their asses!"
"Yeah, we would've showed em!" Veemon parroted, his fist thrust into the air triumphantly.
"Thank you so much for saving us, Takeru," Hikari said sweetly, giving him a hug to show her gratitude. "We'd all be goners if it weren't for you!"
"Don't thank me," Takeru said modestly. "Tokomon here did all the work."
"Yes, and he was able to Digivolve to HolyAngemon…again doing what we thought impossible. So interesting…that's two of our Digimon that were able to reach the ultimate level. I wonder if Tentomon could, given the proper circumstances!"
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," the bug Digimon retorted. "I'm happy you're okay!"
"I'm just relieved my laptop wasn't seriously damaged," Koushiro noted, oblivious to his friend's concern. "Could you imagine all of the valuable data lost if it got destroyed?"
"Laptops are replaceable!" Tentomon recited frantically. "You're not!"
"That was BigMamemon," Taichi obsevered. "The one we fought back in France, right?"
"Yeah, it was me and you back then, and he had two buddies," Takeru confirmed.
"Then why was this one so different?"
"I don't know, but it was definitely a lot stronger," Takeru agreed. "And it was at least three times as big. It took out Angemon like he was nothing. He had to Digivolve before he could even get a hit in." He wasn't about to mention that Wallace's Digimon were knocked out like they were nothing.
Wallace himself still looked extremely forlorn, but Takeru chalked that up to his Digimon getting hurt trying to battle BigMamemon. Terriermon and Lopmon seemed to be back in character, however, as they were playing a game of tag on the edge of the wall.
"Wait a minute," Koushiro pondered aloud. "I might be on to something. Marsmon…Mars was the god of war…and this entire section seems to be designed for warfare. Perhaps these gods of the Digital World are meant to mirror the gods of our world. Well, the mythological ones, anyway."
"What are you blabbering about?" Daisuke asked, clearly bored with all of the technical jargon.
"Well, in Roman mythology, there are twelve principal gods in the Roman Pantheon. If you count Pluto, the god of the dead, that makes thirteen. Perhaps these thirteen gods mirror those gods." Koushiro grinned in the way that he did when he solved a complex puzzle.
"Yeah, and?" Taichi asked cynically. "So what if that's true? It doesn't get us anywhere closer to solving this problem."
"Sure it does," the genius went on. "Knowing what they are and what they represent can help us figure out potential weaknesses. We can use our strengths to parry their weaknesses. Unfortunately for us, however, we landed smack in the middle of the territory of the personification of warfare. In other words, we can expect this Marsmon to be an excellent battler. We'll need our best fighters to take him out."
"Sounds like we'll need more than just us," Takeru noted. "This guy sounds tough. What if he has an army? If there's a whole group of Digimon as strong as BigMamemon was then we're screwed."
"Yeah, right," Daisuke sneered. "That was just you fighting that guy, and you seemed to get the job done. If the rest of us didn't get sucker-punched, we would have whooped some ass!"
Takeru noticed Wallace look away. He's such an asshole but I can tell that he holds himself responsible. I wish I could talk to him, but I don't even know what I would say at this point. Takeru figured the best thing he could do for Wallace at this point was to keep quiet about his Digimon getting wiped out by BigMamemon.
"We have to keep the mindset that anything is possible. Again, this is just a theory, but it's better than nothing. We should get back to our world so we can start planning against them," Koushiro continued.
"Go back? We just got here! Shouldn't we at least explore this sector so we know what we're dealing with?" Taichi asked, his determination never faltering.
"Yeah! This is our turf, and these clowns think they can come in and take over? They've got another thing coming!" Agumon hollered in agreement.
"I think we should go back and regroup," Wallace said. "We weren't expecting that sneak attack, and they obviously have some way of knowing that we're here. If they send another Digimon to attack us like that with our guard down, we might not be as lucky." Takeru could sense the underlying worry in his words. He didn't want to risk his partners getting hurt again. He admired that Wallace cared so deeply for his partners, as he knew the rest of them did. Even Yamato, though he can make that hard to believe sometimes.
"Don't be such a candy-ass," Daisuke snorted with zero irony. "If you want to be a pansy and go back home and play on your computer, then go right ahead. I've got a Digital World to save!"
"How are you going to do that, Daisuke?" Hikari chided. "Ken isn't even here! Veemon can't Digivolve past the Champion level!"
Daisuke turned bright red and suddenly looked dejected. "You don't know what Veemon can do! He probably has an ultimate form somewhere in there, don't ya buddy?" He emphasized his point by giving his Digimon a noogie.
"Aw, shucks, I dunno, Daisuke," Veemon replied meekly. "I'd like it more if Wormmon were here."
"I think it's best if we regroup and then come up with some sort of plan," Iori added.
"So it's settled. Sorry Taichi, Daisuke. It'd just be reckless to continue on at this point," Koushiro concluded. "We need more information, more time, and more manpower. I'll keep having the Digimon scout and see what they can find. They've helped us loads so far. Maybe when we return, we can go to a different sector and see what kind of geography exists there."
"Ugh, fine. But don't expect me to sit around and do nothing for very long," Taichi huffed, crossing his arms. "And Agumon, don't go doing anything stupid. If you see a Digimon that's stronger than you, I want you to run. I don't want you getting hurt when I'm not here."
"I hate running away from a fight, but I'll respect your wishes, Taichi," Agumon grunted.
"That goes for all of you," Hikari amended. The Digimon nodded in a greement.
They said their goodbyes, with Takeru once again thanking Tokomon for saving them, and they all stepped back through the portal into Koushiro's room.
"I'll keep you all updated, as always," Koushiro stated before immediately returning to his laptop. "And I'll relay our new information to the others."
"Hey Wallace, feel like getting your ass kicked at soccer?" Daisuke asked.
Wallace sat down on Koushiro's bed. "Nah, not really feeling it today."
"Suit yourself," Daisuke returned, as if he couldn't care less. "So Hikari, how about we hang out?"
"I have some errands to run and I was going to the mall, if you want to 'hang out' with me by tagging along," she replied simply, though Daisuke looked like she just offered him a treasure chest.
"Hell yeah! In your face, TX!" Daisuke boasted, sticking his tongue out at Takeru.
"Takeru, you're welcome to come too!" Hikari offered cheerily.
Takeru almost laughed out loud at how quickly Daisuke's expression changed. "No thanks, Hikari. I was planning on taking it easy for the rest of the day."
Hikari smiled. "Okay, have a good day, then! Good bye, everyone!" She turned and left the room, with Daisuke floating on her heels, his expression once again lifted at Takeru's invitation decline.
"I've got summer workouts later so I'm gonna head out too," Taichi announced. "If there's anything that happens, you let me know ASAP."
Koushiro waved a hand in acknowledgment as Taichi turned to leave.
"I need to get home as well," Iori stated, bowing. "Grandpa wants me to help prepare dinner tonight since my mother won't be home. I'll see you guys soon." He left too, and Takeru found himself alone with Koushiro and Wallace.
"Well I guess I should get going too," Takeru said as he began to leave.
"No, Takeru, wait," Koushiro said. "Do you have anywhere you need to be?"
"Not really," Takeru responded. What the hell does he want me to do?
"Okay, I actually have a favor to ask you. Can I see your Digivice?"
"Sure." Takeru grabbed the gadget from his pocket and handed it to the older DigiDestined. "What do you need it for?"
Koushiro hooked it up to his laptop. "I'm going to try to extract some data from it. First to see if I can get a lead on how Angemon was able to Digivolve, and second to see if any of BigMamemon's data got absorbed by your Digivice so I can try to find any information on the gods."
"How long's that gonna take?" Takeru asked. Because that's all I need is to be trapped in awkward silence with Wallace all afternoon. He looked to the bed, where Wallace was half-way laying on top of, his legs hanging over the side. He seemed genuinely uninterested in the conversation.
"Hopefully not too long. You and Wallace can hang out or something while I'm uploading your data."
Great. Takeru walked over to the chair Koushiro had in the corner of his room and sat down. "So, Wallace, what ya wanna do?"
Wallace didn't move. "Lay here."
Takeru rolled his eyes. So much for that.
Koushiro suddenly stood up. "I'll be right back. I just remembered that I have an old book about Roman Mythology that could potentially help us learn about these gods. It's buried in my dad's study somewhere."
"Why don't you just look it up online?" Wallace asked.
"Because I can't access the internet while Takeru's Digivice is uploading. I'll be back in a nano." He left the room and Takeru was once again alone with Wallace. This was the first time the two had been alone since the basketball game.
Takeru entertained the silence for a few moments, but once he realized Wallace wasn't going to say anything, he decided that he was finally going to find out what the hell his problem was.
"What did I do?"
"Hmm?" Wallace seemed barely alert.
"What the fuck did I do to you to piss you off so badly?" Takeru was surprised that his emotions were starting to rear so soon into the conversation, but he was done wondering.
Wallace sat up on the bed. "You didn't?"
"Then what? You just suddenly decided you didn't like me anymore?"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Wallace returned. He wouldn't make eye contact with Takeru.
"Oh that's bullshit. One day you're all about being best friends and you can't stop talking to me. Then we have that basketball game, and suddenly nothing. You're all out ignoring me. You're playing soccer with Daisuke for fuck's sake. You don't even acknowledge my existence when we're in the same room. I know I don't act like it sometimes, but I have emotions too, man, and that shit hurts. If you have a problem then at least have enough respect for me to fucking tell me what it is." Takeru could feel his heart race.
Wallace flinched. "It's…I don't know. It's not like that. I guess I just realized we weren't going to work out as friends, that's all. Don't think about it too much. It's as simple as that."
"No, that's not good enough." Takeru was on the boundary between rage and tears and he didn't want to show Wallace either of those sides of him. He hated that he was being vulnerable, but he started this talk, so he was damn well going to get an answer. "Why do you think that?"
"We're too different," he said simply.
"Oh, we are? Because you and Daisuke are two fucking peas in a pod, huh? I know you're a smart guy, Wallace. I'm smart too so if you're going to give me a bullshit answer, at least make it believable. How fucking stupid do you think I am?"
"Ah, so he does have emotions," Wallace said softly, in a whimsical tone.
"So it's all a joke to you?" Takeru was now leaning towards the rage side.
"I don't get why you're getting so worked up about it. We were literally friends for one day. It shouldn't be that big of a loss to you. It's not like we were friends for years and I'm suddenly ditching you. You barely even know me." His voice had no tone, as if he were reciting from a piece of paper. "I felt it out for a day and decided it wasn't for me. So I moved on to someone else. Don't take it personally."
"How can I not take that personally?" Takeru asked through heavy breaths. "You know, maybe I am the crazy one here. I wish I fucking knew why it's bothering me so much. I wish I knew why I can't get you and your dumb smirk and your fucking stares and glances out of my head. But you know what, I can't! I try to think about anything else but it always goes back to you. It's so fucking frustrating."
Wallace seemed to react to that. "That…" He sighed and turned away. "That sounds like your problem."
"Fuck you," Takeru said simply. He was now feeling the sadness take over the rage. How could someone who had shown him so much emotion suddenly be so cold? "You're fucked in the head."
"That's not new information," Wallace replied dryly. "Is that all?"
Takeru stood up and turned toward the door. "One more thing, and then you'll never have to worry about me talking to you again. You have this little act that you like to put on for everybody. You're this carefree American genius who loves to flirt and have fun and do nothing but be smarmy and sarcastic and this social wonder boy who everyone loves. But that's not you. I saw glimpses of who you're trying to hide from everyone else, deep inside. You're an outcast, and you don't actually know what it's like to have friends. So you pretend to be the guy that everyone wants you to be and you'll just coast on by, without anyone else being any wiser.
"I don't know what you're so afraid of showing to everyone, or what you think you have to lose. But fucking man up and be yourself for a change, and you might be happier with your life. That's my piece." He stepped toward the door. "That guy that you're hiding from everyone else, that's the guy who made me admit to myself that…that I maybe could actually have feelings…" He stopped. What the actual fuck am I thinking?
Wallace looked like he was looking at a ghost. His tanned skin had gone ghost white. "What…what were you about to say…?"
Takeru was visibly shaking. "Nothing…it's nothing….tell Koushiro I had to go. I'll get my Digivice later." He stepped out the door.
"Takeru, wait!" he heard Wallace call, but it was too late. He was leaving. The damage was done. He was done. He stepped outside of the Izumi apartment and took a deep breath. He could feel tears stinging the edges of his eyes. What the fuck? What the fuck is wrong with me?
He felt so many emotions at that point, but at least now it was all out there. He wasn't satisfied with the result, but for the first time in two weeks, Takeru felt relieved. The weight had been lifted off of his chest.
So that was an important and emotional moment in the relationship between our favorite blondes. The next chapter will be a *one of a kind special edition* chapter, so I guess you'll have to wait to see what I mean by that ;)
As always, please review with your thoughts. Thanks for reading! Until next time