Tamers West

Chapter 10: Princess's Curse

Dokunemon moved stealthily through a network of buildings. He guessed that these were the human's homes from their size and numbers.

Despite how quiet and peacefull it seemed he was on full alert, as though expecting an attack at any moment. Unfortunately he doubted he would have the strength left to fight back.

After following Stingmon through the digital world then into the real world and spending all night wandering around he was almost devoid of strength.

He began looking for a place to stop and rest for a while but where could he go. He had no knowledge about the behaviour of humans. Did they have a territorial nature that would make it dangerous to rest near their homes?

Sighing he knew that at the rate his strength was draining he didn't have a choice, the maze of homes seemed to go on forever.

After a quick peek he squeezed through a hole in a wooden fence into the front yard of another home. Sticking close to the wall he skittered along until he reached the house itself. He dashed quickly away from the fence and against the wall of the dwelling. He looked to his left and spotted a pair of tall metal cylinders standing against the concrete steps that lead up to the front door.

He took one last look around and darted behind the tall metal objects. He listened for a brief while to see if anyone was moving to attack him, he didn't think so. He curled into a ball against the concrete steps and finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

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Ciel stepped out of the shower and reflexively bunched up as the cold air hit her wet skin that had become so accustomed to the warm water with which she had bathed.

She reached over and grabbed a fluffy green towel from the nearby rack and quickly dried herslef off. Once dry she discarded her towel and retrieved her bright yellow housecoat. She tied the belt around her small waist and exited her bathroom.

"Have you finished preening?"

Ciel smiled at her black furred partner. "I've only showered. I still have to pick an outfit and do my hair."

Black Gatomon shrugged. "What's wrong with the way you look now?"

Ciel laughed. "I can't wear a housecoat to school, I'm naked underneath."

The digital feline looked up at her. "Aren't most people naked underneath their clothes?"

Ciel shook her head. "You're just trying to be difficult aren't you."

Black Gatomon grinned. "Keep in mind I'm a part of you."

Ciel rolled her eyes and walked towards her closet. "Well you must have gotten some of my masculine side cause I could swear I was just talking to one of the boys."

Black Gatomon smirked. "I bet they'd like to see you wear it to school."

Ciel sighed in exasperation. "You and the boys are going to get along very well."

"Speaking of which, are you sure you want to tell your friends about me?"

Ciel nodded. "I trust them with my life", she said as she began to change.

Black Gatomon understood that, but she was still curious. "Why are you telling them?"

Ciel stood silent for a moment as though contemplating her answer. Finally she said. "They've been worried about me lately. I thought it might put them at ease. Amongst other things I'm going to tell them."

Black Gatomon smiled and hopped onto the counter in front of Ciel's vanity mirror. "I'm glad you've decided to tell them."

Ciel smiled as she finished dressing. "So am I. I'll breathe easier with less weight on my chest."

Now clothed she walked over and sat in front of her mirror and sighed. "The problem with blue hair is that it's so hard to coordinate colours."

Black Gatomon grinned in amusement as Ciel trolled through her drawers for an appropriate accessory before finally settling on a pair of yellow hair clips. "Now are you done?"

Ciel sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm done."

"Great." As Ciel stood up Black Gatomon jumped onto her back. "I can't wait to see your scool!"

"Just make sure you stay out of trouble", her tamer warned.

"Don't worry about me", her partner chimmed. Then her tone became dark. "I'll become what I am. Your shadow."

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After a few hours rest Dokunemon slowly awoke, still feeling slightly dazed from his long night.

The sun was up now and he forced himself to resist the temptation to abandon his shaded hiding spot and bask in the suns warm glow.

Resigning himself to stay in the shadows for now he began contemplating his next move.

The sound of an opening door and voices caught his full attention and he squeezed into the corner of the house and the steps.

"Have a good day at school", a voice called from inside the house.

"I will", a much closer voice responded. The owner of the last voice suddenly stumbled as he went down the steps, causing him to drop severl thin objects. The human cursed silently and proceeded to pick them up.

One of the curious objects landed near Dokunemon, piquing his curiousity. Braving the possible danger he inched forward to get a better look.

It looked like a card of some sort, but what disturbed him was that there was a picture of Wormmon on it. Why was there a picture of his best friend on this card?

The larva digimon suddenly skittered back as a hand reached in and grabbed the card from the dirt.

As the figure walked briskly away Dokunemon considered his situation. This human knew of Wormmon. But how? And why? Was this human working with Stingmon?

He shook his head, that didn't make any sense. Stingmon was working to either destroy or enslave the humans. Or could it be that Stingmon had his own agenda.

The thought bothered him greatly and he resolved to follow the human to see what he could learn.

He breifly checked his surroundings for threats before chasing after the human.

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Elle casually walked to school gently humming along the way. Of all her close friends she had the longest walk to school despite the shortcuts she had discovered over the last school year.

Her thoughts centered on Ciel who had been acting a little distant since she got back from her vacation. The frigid memory of seeing her best friend holding a knife against her own throat still haunted her.

Determination overcame the anxiety of her friends emotional state. If Ciel didn't talk soon then she would force it out of her. Out of friendship of course. Her silent vow set in stone she refocused on her current task of getting to school.

As she continued on her way she had a peculiar feeling weighing on her shoulders, as though she were being watched. She turned her head and saw a small car travel by her, slowly. This sent shivers throughout her body because the speed limit was fiftey and that car was going no where near that. Her suspicions blossomed into fear as the car sped up as it passed her.

Elle was almost shaking. Was that car being driven by someone stalking her? Panic rose within her and she ran as fast as she could to school, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her mind was blank as instincts took over completely as she ran and quietly chanted. "Not agian, not again."

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It was near lunch time, and Alice was sitting in class working on her math problems. Fairly simple ones but then not everyone adjusted back into the school rutines as easily as she.

She looked from her work and over at Elle who had caught her attention earlier in the day. She had come to class looking rather flustered and had seemed on edge throughout the morning, keeping unusually quiet. He usually soft and smiling face seemed wrought with worry and whatever was bothering her was distracting her from her work.

The bell indicating the start of the lunch break sounded and Elle jumped in her seat. She seemed high strung today. Even though she didn't know Elle very well yet it was still unusual.

"Remember I'll be checking for homework first thing tomorrow's math class." Their teacher said as they left.

Alice waited for Elle to leave first then followed her to the locker they shared. She glanced to her right to see Ciel doing the same with a worried look on her face.

Alice waited as Elle opened the locker before asking her. "Are you alright Elle?"

Elle snapped her head in surprise but quickly put on a smile. "Sure, I'm fine."

Alice and Ciel were not mislead by the fake smile. "What's really wrong?" Ciel asked insistently.

Elle's smile vanished and she looked down, unwilling to answer.

A hand genlty fell on Elle's shoulder, triggering an instant reaction. Elle screamed and leapt forward to be caught by Ciel, latching on tight.

Ciel and Alice looked at Jeff who wore a look of shock and puzzlement. Behind him Mike and Xander were equally bewildered.

Alice looked at Elle and instantly felt a heavy weight in her stomach. The girl's eyes were filled with something she hadn't seen since the D-Reaper. Pure Terror.

Elle was being gently held in Ciel's arms, shaking in fear and breathing labourously as the blue haired girl tried to calm her down.

"Elle just calm down", Ciel said gently. "Calm down now it's just the boys. Just calm down and tell us what's wrong."

Elle managed to stop shaking and her breathing became more relaxed but the terror in her eyes remained and her grip did not loosen.

"They're after me again. I saw them."

Ciel and the boys faces fell. They clearly knew what she was talking about. Alice however did not and was concerned.

Ciel gently pulled her away. "Come on we'll go gor a little walk and you can tell me about it."

Elle swallowed and managed a small nod, silently giving Ciel permission to lead her away down the hall.

Alice moved to follow but Jeff grabbed her arm.

"Don't. It's best if they talk alone."

Alice frowned. Elle had been so nice to her, she didn't want to just leave her. Still they knew what was going on more than her so she reluctantly nodded.

Skye walked up to the group looking in Elle and Ciel's direction as they disappeared down the hall. "Is something wrong with Elle?"

The three boys looked at each other, silent messages passing between them.

"We'll explain outside", Jeff said. He turned to Alice. "Mind getting her lunch kit?"

Alice nodded and grabbed Elle's lunch box from the locker before locking it up and following the rest outside.

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Dokunemon paced back and forth on the roof of the large building he had followed the human to and couldn't help but feel he was wasting his time. The human had been inside for hours.

'Maybe I should have just gone back to looking for Stingmon', he thought bitterly for what seemed like the hundredth time.

A loud ringing suddenly filled the air and Dokunemon instinctively dove for cover. For several seconds he stayed perfectly still, trying to figure out what just happend. Had an alarm been raised in response to his presence? Cautiously he moved from his hiding spot and peered over the edge of the roof.

Humans poured out of the building and relocated themselves to the grassy fields surrounding it. He would have to get down in order to find the one he was looking for.

He moved to a different side of the roof where he saw no one on the ground below. He slipped over the lip of the roof and cawled strait down until he was about two meters off the ground where he jumped off and dashed into the bushes.

He looked around back where he came to see if anyone had seen him. Confident his presence was still unknown to the humans he crawled along the edge of the bushes to try and find the human he was looking for.

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Just a little ways from where Dokunemon was, Technowizardmon and Commandramon sat in a secluded spot in the brush on the west side of the school. A single ray of sunlight shining on the pages of the book Tech held in his hands allowing him to read easily in the shade of the trees.

Across from him Commandramon sat cross legged with his assault rifle in his lap. He had been quiet for most of the time they had been there. He was seemingly more interested in the foliage of the real world and the maintenance of his rifle. In the last hour however he had becom more talkative, apparently running out of things to occupy his mind.

"Aren't they coming out yet?"

"Any moment", Tech answered as he turned another page. "But we still have to stay hidden."

Commandramon looked at him appalled. "Why? I thought that was why they were coming out."

Tech shook his head. "They are coming out because that's what they and their friends always do."

Commandramon crossed his arms in irritation. "Terrific, we sit out here doing nothing and they don't even come to say hi."

Tech looked up from his book. "They have to maintain the illusion that their lives havn't changed, otherwise people will get suspicious."

The cyborg digimon grumbled something but Tech ignored him.

'Come closer. You both might want to hear this.'

Tech bookmarked his page and stood up, catching the other digimon's attention. "Come, there's something they want us to hear.

Eager to move Commandramon shouldered his assault rifle and followed. "Not that I don't like it, but that telepathy thing you and your partner have kinds creeps me out."

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Xander trailed behind Jeff as they exited the west side doors and made their way to their usuall place by the trees near the bush.

'Come closer', he told his partner through their link. 'You might want to hear this.'

They reached their destination and they all sat down on the grass facing the two blondes that sat down across from them. He hoped they were close enough for the digimon to hear.

"So what's this about"?, Alice asked.

All three boys sighed heavily, the wieght of the subject wieghing down on them.

Jeff took it upon himself to begin. "Ever since Elle was little she's always been, well, pretty. That's why her dad and sometimes we call her princess."

One day when she was about six she was in the park with her mom and little sister. We and Ciel were coming too but our moms all wanted to walk there together so we were a bit behind. Just before we got there something happened.

FLASHBACK

Elle was in the sandbox on her hands and knees, being careful not to press her blue skirt into the sand with her knees. Her mother was a little ways away pushing her little sister on the swing.

Elle dug into the sand with a small plastic shovel and piled the sand she dug up and smoothed it out with her hands. Once she had developed a large mound of sand she began to poke holes into the sides with her finger to simulate windows.

"Mommy lookit my castle!"

Her mother looked over and smiled. "That's very nice sweety. Don't forget to dig a moat for it. A princess like you has to feel safe. Maybe when the boys get here they can be your knights."

"Don't worry mommy, I'll make one right now." She responded. "And the boys think that stuff is yucky."

Elle began diging a crude ditch around her mound and looked back at her mother. A stranger was suddenly talking to her as she held her younger sister in her arms. Elle ignored it and went back to her digging.

Almost right after a shadow covered her, prompting the little girl to look up. A young man in a black jacket standing over her.

"Hi there little girl", he said as he knelt down. "Are you here by yourself?"

Elle pointed. "Mommy's over there." She paused then added, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Don't worry", he told her. "I'm a friend."

Elle looked at him curiously. "Of Mommy's?"

He shook his head. "No, of your dads."

"Oh, well, then I guess it's okay." She sat down with her legs spread out in front of her. "Are you from daddy's work?"

He shook his head. "No from school. A long time ago."

Elle looked down at her feet and noticed he had taken one of her little pink sandles off and was holding one of her feet in his hand. She flinched but her spoke softly to calm her down.

"Don't worry I won't hurt you."

Elle relaxed and he began rubbing the bottom of her foot. She smiled as the sensation worked it's way through the rest of her small body.

"You like that eh?"

Elle giggled. "It makes me feel all funny."

Glancing to his right he stood up and began looking around.

Elle also got to her feet. "What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

He looked down at her. "Nothin'." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. "Here."

He dropped the wrapped candy bar on the ground in front of her and Elle bent over to pick it up.

Just as she grabbed it she felt the back of her skirt lift up and heard a click.

She stood up and turned her head to see the man running away down the path.

Elle stood silenlt for a moment, puzzled until her young, tender, fragile mind finally registered what had happened.

END FLASHBACK

"We were just entering the park when we heard the scream", Jeff said as he finished.

"By the time we got there she was a shaking sobbing wreck", Mike added solemnly.

"And that's just the tip of the iceburg" Xander continued. "This kind of stuff has happened a lot to her since then."

The two blondes sat unmoving as they digested the shocking information about their friend. Their first at this school, the sweet girl who had approached them both and accepted them into her group. To hear that such things had happened to her was heartbreaking.

Alice's gut was churning with angy emotions at the thought of someone vile enough to do something so heinous to someone so sweet.

"Will she be okay?" Skye asked.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, this time nothing really happened from what I can tell. It was just a scare so she should recover pretty quick."

Alice frowned. "She had heard of such things happening before, in the news or through word of mouth, but learing it had happened to someone she knew made it seem so much more real. It frightned her to think about how easily it could have happened to her.

"It just seems so sad that such a sweet girl like Elle", Skye said sadly. "Who would've thought that being pretty would bring so much sadness."

Xander nodded. "Yes, a blessing from God and a Curse from the devil. Elle could have been a vain conceited wretch, but she's a sweet girl and God blessed her with great beauty. Obviously it didn't sit right with Satan so he sends this kind of crap her way, to make her blessing into a curse."

Skye scowled. "It's despicable."

Mike shrugged. "It's the devil. What do you expect."

"Anyway", Jeff interrupted. "These kinds of things happen to Elle and we try to watch out for her. It's going to be even worse now that she's-." Jeff paused and looked awkward, like a boyfriend trying to tell his girl that she actually did look fat in the outfit.

"Blossoming?", Xander offered.

Jeff swallowed nervously. "Uh, yeah."

"The good news", Mike began. "Is that as far as we can tell it's the same few guys that seem to be stalking her, but these guys are good and we can't prove anything so they havn't gotten behind bars."

Alice looked thoughtful. "So, if we get proof or find some way to get rid of them then Elle will be safe."

"That's the idea", Jeff said. "But there's not much we can do at the moment, we've never gotten a picture of them and no one knows where they live."

Xander crossed his arms. "So we're forced to just sit and wait."

"I believe someday something will happen that will help bring them down."

Everyone turned to look at Skye who wore a very determined look on her face.

"Scum like that doesn't deserve to see the light of day. They have to be brought down. Someday, someone will do it."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Someone like who?"

Skye turned her head and looked up into the blue heavens above. "Someone."

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Ciel said nothing as they wandered around the grassy field with one arm holding on to her friend. Elle's recounting of the events that had been plagueing her mind all morning had just finished and she seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sure everything will be alright", Ciel said at last. "You're not a little girl anymore so they shouldn't think about trying to take you."

Elle looked up at her with a dark expression. "Teenagers get kidnapped all the time. Don't tell me that I'm safe just because I'm turnig thirteen this year."

Ciel sighed. "Sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up."

Elle looked down to her feet. "I'm okay now. I just had a little fright, that's all."

Ciel patted her friends hand. "Better safe than sorry. Don't worry about it."

"Ciel!"

Ciel turned around to see a familiar face walking alongside someone else. "Richard, I was wondering what happend to you. I didn't see you at all yesterday."

Richard shrugged. "Sorry I was spending time with Hanse here", he said indicating to the other boy.

Ciel smiled at the blonde boy. "Hello Hanse, I'm Ciel and this", she tilted her head towards the girl who was still holding on to her. "Is Elle."

Hanse executed a short bow. "A pleasure."

"As long as were together", Ciel said. "We might as well join the others and all have lunch."

Richard shrugged. "Why not."

Beaming Ciel led them away from the crowded grassy field to the more deserted west side where the others were waiting.

As they approached she could make out the boys, Alice and Skye.

"Hey there", Mike said as they approached.

"Hanse, Rich", nice to see you again", Jeff greeted.

Elle sat down and Alice held something out to her. "I brought your lunchbox."

Elle brought her hand down on her head. "Oh I completely forgot, thanks Alice."

Ciel smile as she took her seat against one of the trees. The mood was so light and cheerful right now. This was the perfect time.

"Everyone."

The tweens ceased their conversations immediately and all looked at Ciel.

"I have one more person to introduce to you today."

Everyone looked confused and began looking around, amungst themselves and out beyond into the field.

Mike was the first to ask. "Uh, who?"

Ciel grinned and looked at the ground just past her feet.

Everyone else followed her gaze in puzzlement.

Suddenly her shadow became impossibly dark, the grass vanishing within it. Then something began to rise out of her shadow. First two pointed ears then a small furry head, then body.

Everyone's faces were filled with shock, some of them looked like they were going to wet themselves.

The little figures opened it's eyelids to reveal glowing red eyes. "I'm Black Gatomon. Nice to meet you."

Okay so ten is up and Elle's curse and blessing. Black Gatomon reveals herself and I completed an update. Sorry for the wait.