Episode 11

Broken Strings

There have been few moments in Serena's life when she could honestly say that she had been at peace with herself, when she had been happy and lived in such a perfect moment of bliss that no one in this world or the next could ruin the moment for her. In fact, she could probably count each such occasion on the fingers of both hands. For example, one such time was when she and Magnamon became allies and then later friends. Another time was when she and Yamaki managed to reconcile, and another time was when Beelzemon admitted his love for her. Another, more recent addition to her list, was when she and Beelzemon were reunited in the Human World.

But then there were times when Serena wished that life would just give her a break and stop treating her like its own personal little punching bag, the times she prayed for relief outnumbered the times she felt complete and total bliss. Which, to her, seemed unfair. Serena had always believed things in life needed to be balanced, whenever something bad happened in turn something good had to happen.

Often the bad things in life out-weighed the good, so the scale to which her life operated upon was often very unbalanced. She couldn't always blame life and the universe for her misfortunes, she knew that she herself often sowed the seeds for future pain. It wasn't often she caused her own misfortunes out of conscious thoughts, but when she did there was always that moment when she asked herself, "Is this right?"

And she asked herself that very question in the woods, beneath the old tree house, beneath the shades of the towering timbers, while her three friends stood around her in a semi-circle. She had hoped to explain to Tom why they could no longer be friends, but he refused to answer the phone to her and so it was only her, a love struck Shazz and Max and Pen who looked as though he didn't want to be there.

It was raining that day, the first bit of bad weather Serena had seen in a long time. It was strange almost, to think this was the first time Serena had seen rain in years. In the areas of the Digital World where she had once lived, it had always been very hot and had never rained. Even during her six month stay in the Human World, she never saw the rain as she had arrived during the start of August.

It seemed the veil shroud only suited the mood.

"Okay, I'm dying to know," Shazz grinned. "What's the big news you brought us all out here for?"

"Yeah," Max said. "We haven't seen you in ages, have you quit school or something?"

"Something like that," Serena answered and met none of their gazes.

She had pulled on a large and uncomfortable hooded jumper, it itched and was far too big for her, but it protected her from the rain and hid her grim expression beneath the huge hood. She had delayed telling her friends the truth, and while she was still not planning on telling them the whole thing, she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to cutting each of her ties to the Human World.

She knew it would be hard, she had delayed the meeting by four days already, but she couldn't keep avoiding them. If she returned to the Digital World before telling them that she was in fact leaving then it would only be a betrayal, all those years of friendship would have meant nought and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. If she was going to leave then she at least had to say goodbye, she owed them that much.

Serena looked at each of them, looking at the way Max clutched Shazz's hand and the way the love twinkled in their eyes. She envied them. Why couldn't she and Beelzemon exist so carelessly without worries of vengeful Dragon's? Without having to worry that the fate of two words rested on their shoulders?

"I..." the throats ceased up in her throat.

Serena decided not to back away, not now, not when all she had to do was take a pair of scissors to her friendships and sever them as easily as one would cut through paper with a pair of safety scissors. It would be easy. All she had to do was freeze over, let her human heart become ice like Lilithmon's own heart (or whatever it was she possessed). Serena wasn't human, it was too foolish to pretend she was.

"I'm moving away," Serena announced. "Remember my father? No wait, of course you don't, none of you ever met him. But anyway, I'm moving in with him and none of you will ever see me again."

"Huh?" Shazz pulled away from Max and clutched Serena's shoulders. "Where are you going?"

Serena tried to think fast, she really should have been more thorough with her lies. She knew she would have to move somewhere far away from the town, somewhere believable where they had no hope of ever finding her. Currently she was a resident of the boondocks of Japan - a small town where children of mixed race, such as herself and her friends, lived. So where was the furthest place she could think of?

"I'm moving to... Italy," she lied. "To Sicily, a place called Palermo. Appearantly we're moving into the same area my mother was raised in as a child."

"I-Italy?" Pen gasped. "You can't be serious! That's practically on the other side of the planet!"

"I know," Serena replied. "My dad got a career opportunity in Italy, I've grown closer to him anyway and I thought Italy would be a nice change of pace."

"Well... we could still communicate through the Internet, right?" Shazz said optimistically.

"Uh, well, you see they have a really poor Internet reception in Palermo," Serena told them. "And I won't be going back to school, so this is the last time since we'll see one another."

"Then we have to do something," Max spoke up. "One last night together to celebrate our friendship."

"Yeah, sure," Serena said. "Do you mind telling Tom for me? He won't answer the phone to me anymore."

"Why?" Shazz frowned.

"No idea," Serena shrugged.

She managed to pull away from her Shazz's embrace and tear away from them, explaining she had to go speak to her mother about the arrangements. They let her go and headed home, Max muttering aloud as he wondered why Tom had been so distant and refused to answer the phone for the past four days. Shazz listened to his mutterings, then noticed an odd expression across Pen's face.

"What is it, Paul?" she asked.

He seemed to snap out of some daze and turned to her, "Oh... nothing," he said. "Just thinking about Serena's father, that's all."

"I sometimes forget that Serena has a dad," Shazz said. "I mean, we've never met him and she never talked about her step-dad. Who was he?"

"I heard that he was a scientist," Max answered. "A government official for some project that went under, when I asked my mom about him once she said he had a bit of a temper at times."

"What's his name?" Shazz asked him.

"Uh..." Max looked up as he tried to remember. "Ya... Ya... Yasuki?... Yasagi? Oh, wait, Yamaki. His name was Yamaki."

Pen mused that over, the name sounded familiar, but it didn't ring with a friendly tone, in fact it ran with an almost ominous tone. His parents had mentioned the name before, he was sure of it, but they never spoke of Yamaki in good terms. Even what Max's mother said was worrying.

And he saw by the look on Max and Shazz's face that they too were unsure of Serena's future.

...

Serena had known that her mother would be the hardest, but she had never expected it to be that hard. She stood outside her mother's house, unable to lift her hand to simply rack her knuckles against the wooden frame of the door. She was frozen to the spot. She had assured herself that it would be easy, all she had to do was tell her mother that she was abandoning her human life in exchange for a new one. Simple, right?

She stood outside in the rain for a number of minutes, trying to will herself to knock the door and just it over and done with. Thankfully there was no need, the door opened and Ryu stood in the doorway with Yuki and Yuri in his arms, giggling and laughing as their father carried them in each of his arms. At the sight of Serena the grin was wiped from his face. Serena twitched slighlty in annoyance, not liking the way he reacted to her sudden appearance.

"Serena, good morning," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I need to speak to my mother," Serena answered. "Is she home?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "She's in the living room."

Ryu carried the twins out of the doorway and set them down, pulling up the hoods of their overalls and held each of their hands as he took them to visit their grandparents who lived only a few streets away. Serena watched them go, feeling some ounce of regret at not being able to love her half-siblings. The feeling was shortly lived, as she remembered her strong dislike for Ryu and his brood.

She walked into the warmth of the house, pulling down her hood and soaked boots and entered the living room. Trisha sat on the couch with her brown hair tied up into a messy bun, some strangled curls had fallen loose and fluttered around her face as she drank some hot chocolate and read a heavy novel. She didn't react to the sounds of feet that approached her.

"Forget something, Ryu?" her mother smirked.

Trisha looked up, the smirk left her face. She put down her mug and book and got to her feet, wrapping her arms around Serena and pulling her close. Serena went to argue, she was soaking wet and was ruining her mother's blouse, but she decided not to ruin the moment as that was probably the last embrace she would recieve off her mother.

"Change out of the hoodie," Trisha smiled, "and I'll get you some hot chocolate."

Serena pulled away from her mother's embrace, "I'm not staying," she said.

"Why not?" Trisha asked. "It's been so long since I've last seen you, since Yamaki took you in I haven't seen you once."

"Well, that's the thing," Serena said. "Once the business with the Digimon is over I'm returning to Digital World and I'm not coming back."

Her mother lasped into a stunned silence, she staggered back and Serena helped her down onto the couch before she could fall, handing her the warm mug of hot chocolate. Her mother didn't drink, but the warmth radiating off the mug was oddly comforting in her hands. She stared down into the dark brown liquid, then looked up after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"So that's it?" she said. "You're leaving again?"

"At least this time I had the chance to say goodbye," Serena said, falling to her knees beside her mother. "This time you know, you won't have to worry about my whereabouts."

"But still, you're leaving," Trisha cried. "You know how hard it is, just to know that you're living with the man who I hate and abused you?"

"I can't condone Yamaki for his past," Serena told her. "He did some really bad things, things that really screwed me up, but he's making amends for what he did and right now he's helping to fix me."

"Fix you?" Trisha repeated. "That bastard-"

"I'm not even human!" Serena cut in. "I can't live here, not when I have a life in the Digital World a hundred times better than this life!"

"How is it better?" her mother questioned.

"I hate Ryu!" Serena practically screamed. "I hate the twins! In the Digital World I have a ton of friends, a boyfriend, even someone I consider my brother. I'm not leaving that behind for a half-life here!"

Trisha was taken back, not expecting such a revelation from her own child. She had known Serena disliked her step-father and half-siblings, but she never thought the feelings run as deep as 'hate'. Serena starred back at her mother, a fiery passion burning behind her strange coloured eyes. Trisha looked away from her child, Serena expected her mother to cry or scream, instead she calmly said: "Leave and don't come back."

Serena said nothing. She just got to her feet, bowed respectively and ran out of the room, putting on her boots and left the house behind her. Trisha waited to hear the creak of the door before allowing herself to burst into tears, chocking and gasping on her regret and pain. Trisha only wished she knew her child better than Yamaki did, but she didn't know Serena anymore.

Serena had grown into a woman in a blink of an eye, she was no longer the shy little child who hid behind her mother's skirt. Serena knew what she wanted and nothing Trisha was going to say would ever change her daughter's mind.

...

Evening had come around, the sky speckled with faint lights and the veil of black took the town into its embrace. A hush had fallen onto the town, as it often did at this time, as all resigned back to their homes for a night-in. Paul settled down for dinner that evening, starring down at the meal with an empty stomach, and he didn't feel like eating. His mother, a single woman with a bit of a reputation, nudged her son's shoulder playfully.

He gave her a weak smile.

"Why so glum?" she asked. "Girl trouble?"

"Kind of," he answered.

"Serena?" she guessed.

He nodded.

"What happened?" she asked.

"She's moving to Italy with her father," Pen answered. "But I just feel like... like something's wrong."

"Serena's father?" his mother said uncertainly. "You mean Yamaki Usagi?"

He nodded again.

"Paul, honey," she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Serena's father was jailed years ago, he escaped and has been missing ever since. If he was back in her life Trisha would have told me, something like that can't be so easily kept a secret."

"But... she said..." Pen frowned. "Was she lying?"

His mother removed her hand and shrugged, unable to provide any answer. She returned to her food and Pen returned to starring at his food filled plate, trying to figure out why Serena would lie. He believed her when she said she was leaving, but where exactly was she running off to and why?

...

Yamaki wasn't home when Serena returned, so Serena managed to sneak in, dump her soggy boots and clothes aside and curl up within some warm and dry blankets with Beelzemon in the warmth of the apartment. Beelzemon had wanted to go with her that day, to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't get into trouble, but she didn't want him ruining his only pair of clothes.

Leather of the standard he wore shrunk in the rain and he couldn't really go into battle in a pair of borrowed shorts and vest.

Despite the fact he didn't step foot into the rain, he still felt the need to slip out of his clothes and join her beneath the blankets. Not that she minded. They sat on her bed, as she knew if her father came in and found them in such a position it would only lead to an uncomfortable situation, and her father requiring a drink.

"Yer know," he purred in her ear. "Yer'd be even dryer if ya slipped out of ya underwear."

"Now, now," she said teasingly. "What if my dad gets back?"

"I'll hang meh helmet on theh doorknob," he answered. "He'll know not tah come in thehn."

Serena couldn't think of any argument, instead her cheeks flushed pink, and Beelzemon pulled her up so she was sat on his lap. She felt her heart thump in her chest, the feel of his warm naked body against her own always did that to her. His arms came around her, tight and strong and all of the day's worries and woes washed from her in one clean sweep. The best way to cure her blues was to be in Beelzemon's arms, he always knew it was the little things that she appreciated.

He fell back lazily, pulling her with him so she was resting on top of him. She was most tempted to just throw off the rest of her clothes and join him, but she wasn't in the mood.

"So... did yer do theh deed?" he asked.

"Yeah," she murmured into his chest. "I cut my ties."

His arms tightened around her, "Ih'm sorry," he said. "Ih know how hard it can be, no one wants teh say goodbye."

"It was for the best," she said.

He nodded in agreement, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Just keep remindin' yerself thaht we'll be back soon enough," he whispered. "Back wit' Duftmon, BlackDuftmon, Lilithmon, Crusadermon..."

He looked down and found she had fallen asleep, he smiled and carefully switched positions with her. He lay her down and then lay beside her, coiling around her like a protective spirit and stroking her hair as she slept. Beelzemon stayed with her for the rest of the night, protecting her from all who wished her harm and all of the worries of the two worlds.

...

Yamaki shared a beer with Magnamon in the living room that, though Magnamon wasn't much of a drinker himself and usually left such things to Duftmon, but he decided to be polite and joined Yamaki for one quick beer. Yamaki had arrived home roughly an hour ago, having done his usual patrol of the town with Magnamon, they arrived back to find a tired Serena resting in her room.

Beelzemon was quick to explain what had happened that day, they needed to know no more after that and left the naked Digimon be. Though Yamaki warned Beelzemon to not touch Serena while she was alseep, or else a little circumsicion was in order. Yamaki had not expected Serena to so soon cut off her ties, he expected her to at least enjoy her human life before it was over.

"Where did Dorumon run off to?" Magnamon asked as he turned to the door.

"I think she said she wanted to check on the situation with the humans," Yamaki answered. "They've been keeping an eye on us recently, no Digimon is safe as long as they perceive us as threats."

"Us?" Magnamon repeated. "Yamaki, you're only a Digimon in a human shell. Do you really count yourself as a Digimon?"

"Of course," Yamaki took a swig of his beer. "I'm far more comfortable around other Digimon, humans always seem to make me twitch and snap out at them for the littliest of reasons."

Magnamon hid a smirk, "No matter what you are," he began, "you're family and soon this family of ours will be whole again."

"Yes," Yamaki agreed. "Once the Dragon's and their leader are taken care of, we can finally return home."

"To returning home," Magnamon toasted.

They raised their beer cans, toasting to the future and all that was to await them. If they were to win then things would be as they were, they could live in the world they loved and never have to worry about the Dragon's, Darknessmon or anything or anyone else ever again.

To Be Continued...