Introductions be damned. Enjoy reading!

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Chapter 13: Understanding

"Wow, we kick ass as Jetdramon!" commented Breezedramon as he flew into Skylar's room. "Are we not the most awesome digimon-human combo thing ever?"

"Keep it down a bit, Breezedramon," Skylar urged the dragon. "You have to remember that there are other people in this house, and if they hear you, I'll have some explaining to do."

"No one's heard me yet. Except Benny, but he knew before he heard me, so he doesn't count."

"Oh, right, thanks for reminding me." Skylar opened the door to his room and looked around quickly. "I have to make sure Benny got back all right." He left his room and went down the hall to his younger brother's. Peering in the door, he saw Benny asleep on his bed. Skylar smiled and sighed in relief. Phew...he's just fine...hopefully, he won't decide to come out after me the next time I...wait...what's that?

Skylar's eyes opened wide as he got a good look at the creature laying on the bed next to Benny. What the hell? Is that a Dorumon? What's a Dorumon doing in Benny's room? He quietly went back to his room and found Breezedramon. "Hey, uh, Breezedramon, did you happen to invite over any...friends that I might not have known about recently?"

"Huh?" Breezedramon looked up from the book he had been engrossed in. "What're you talking about? I don't have any friends that you don't know about, at least not in this world."

"Well...there's a Dorumon sleeping on my brother's bed."

"A WHAT?" Breezedramon shouted, leaping up and forgetting about the book. "I gotta see this!"

"Breezedramon! Ah, for crying out loud..." Skylar followed his partner over to Benny's room, where Breezedramon had entered and was staring at Dorumon. "No way! That can't be!" he said loudly, causing Skylar to wince.

"Dammit, Breezedramon..." he mumbled under his breath as Dorumon woke up. She barely had time to register what was going on before Breezedramon pounced on her. They rolled off the bed and onto the floor, where Breezedramon got the upper hand and pinned the furry digimon to the floor. Amazingly, Benny slept through all this.

"Ow! Hey, cut it out, you menace!" snapped Dorumon.

"Oh, so now I'm the menace?" Breezedramon growled back. "I'm not the one hunting for human blood!"

"At least I'm not some stupid pet!"

"I, ah, take it you two have met?" interrupted Skylar.

Breezedramon nodded. "Yeah, she was part of that gang that nearly killed us a few days back. Out with it, you, what are you doing here? Decided you just wanted to hunt us down and get at us from the inside?"

"Like I'd consider you worth my time!" Dorumon hissed. "You're probably such a lap dragon that you'd be easy pickings!"

"Lap dragon, my ass! If you saw what we did to that Pteramon, you wouldn't be thinking lightly of us!"

A loud moan came from behind them. They looked up; Benny had finally woken up from the noise. The boy brightened as soon as he saw Skylar. "Sky, you're back! You're not hurt!" His attention was soon grabbed, though, by the once-tussling pair on the floor. "Breezedramon, why're you on top of Dorumon? Are you playing?"

Skylar blinked twice, momentarily stunned. "Wait a second, you knew about her being here?" he asked when his voice returned to him.

"Yeah! She came home with me today!"

"She came home with you...you didn't tell Mom and Dad, did you?"

"Yep! Oh, hang on, I'll be right back! I had a present I wanted to give to you, Dorumon!" Benny jumped out of his bed and rushed by Skylar before the elder boy could question him further.

"So..." Breezedramon started slyly, grinning too wide for his face as he stared at the Dorumon, who looked a little more than abashed. "For someone who doesn't think much of being 'some human's pet,' you certainly are playing the role well."

"It's...it's not like that at all!" she protested, a little too desperately. "I was out in the forest, and I was injured, and he just kinda...tripped over me or something, and...well, it's hard to be mean and menacing to a little kid, even if it is a human!"

"Ah, yes, the Cute Kid Complex," said Skylar with a shake of his head. "Guaranteed to soften the heart of all but the coldest people. Still, you gotta admit, it's quite a shift from wanting to kill humans to be perfectly fine with living in the same quarters with them."

Dorumon sighed. "Ugh...trust me, I have no desire to have to share with humans...but on the other hand, it beats getting killed out there."

Benny popped back into the room. "Surprise! I've got something for you, Dorumon!" Before the digimon could contest the gift, Benny had wrapped the oversized ribbon around her neck. "There ya go! Now you look so cute!"

Dorumon hung her head very low, blushing madly through her fur, and trying with all her might to ignore Breezedramon, who was literally quivering with repressed laughter. Part of her wanted to bolt out of that room and never set foot in there again; another part of her felt grateful for the boy's present; and yet another wanted to kick Breezedramon's ass before he couldn't contain himself and started rolling on the ground in hysteria.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to tell Mom and Dad about Dorumon?" Skylar asked Benny. "I mean, I don't think it's a stretch to assume that Dorumon's not exactly a creature of this world - after all, she's got purple fur, and that whatever-it-is on her head..."

"I know that! But they didn't seem to mind! They said seeing as you had Breezedramon, they didn't see any trouble in Dorumon being here!"

"Seeing WHAT? Benny, didn't I tell you not to tell them about Breezedramon?"

"I didn't! They said it all by themselves! I thought you told them!"

"You mean..." Skylar once again found himself floored at this newest revelation. "No way...they never said...but how...they can't have known! We were so careful!"

"Well, they did," Benny asserted, now holding Dorumon close and petting her; she had quickly given up her weak protests. "I didn't know you told them. But I guess you didn't."

Skylar groaned and put his hands on his head. "And all this time, we've been working so hard to keep them in the dark..."

"On the plus side, if they've known for a while, that means they must not mind me," pointed out Breezedramon. "It would have been worse if they hated me or something...I probably wouldn't have been able to stick around."

"I can't think about this right now," said Skylar. "Let's just go back to my room, Breezedramon. I gotta think for a while."

"Fine." Breezedramon gave one last enormous grin to Dorumon before leaving. "Enjoy."

Dorumon shot him a nasty look; she wasn't going to admit it, but that was what she was beginning to do.

(==========)

"What's got you so glued to the window, little dude?" Wallace asked as he noticed Cayden staring outside the kitchen window. "You're gonna pop your eyes outta your head if you're not careful."

"Who taught you biology?" Salmandmon snickered between bites of his sandwich.

Wallace glared down at the reptile. "You know, I'm getting a little tired of hearing you yap at me all the time. Keep in mind that I'm a lot bigger than you are..."

A snort. "Yeah, I'm so scared. It's not like I've ever fought anything larger than I am, or more powerful than you could ever dream of being. You're not so tough, buster."

"Oh, you don't wanna try me! I could kick your ass from here to New York City!"

"You would get torched before you could lay a finger on him," Reyn said, rolling his eyes at his brother's brashness. "You know, it's only stupid people who try to bully something that could lay waste to them without a second thought. Is that really who you want to be?"

"Don't you start on me, bozo. You two and your creepy little combining thing can take a hike for all I care."

"Hey, you wouldn't have to spend so much time around us if you actually had a job or went to school. Ball's in your court, Wally."

"Dah! I don't have to take this!" Wallace stomped up and stormed off to his basement bedroom, while Reyn and Salmandmon had a good laugh between them. The mirth was cut short, thought, when Cayden suddenly spoke up while still looking outside the window.

"Reyn...there's something moving in the bushes back there. I think it's been out there for a while. Can you go out and see what it is?"

"Again? Man, they must be attracted to your smell or something, Reyn," cracked Salmandmon as Reyn got up from the table and went to the window. "Either that, or we're celebs on the Emperius circuit."

"I'd rather be Paris Hilton than an Emperius celebrity." Reyn made his way over to the window and looked out. There was definitely something rustling the bushes out there. "Yeah, there's definitely something out there. Let's check it out, Salmandmon."

"Way ahead of you!" Salmandmon shouted from the doorway. "Get a move on, slowpoke!"

Reyn rolled his eyes as he followed the lizard. "That's great, Salmandmon. Let them know that we're coming out. That'll help us a whole lot."

"Snark."

"Hothead."

"And don't you forget it!"

Now outside, they became more serious as they approached the bushes at the edge of the yard. Another rustle indicated that the intruder was still there. He's in for a nasty surprise, Reyn pathed.

Either that, or we are, Salmandmon returned. Look sharp!

As if triggered by their thoughts, something leapt out of the bushes at high speed. It appeared to be aiming for Reyn, but it was off target, and sailed harmlessly over Salmandmon and crashed into the ground. It attempted to rise, but was thwarted by a full-body tackle from Reyn. The two skidded several feet across the ground before stopping.

Reyn kept it pinned to the ground. "Well, well, well...what have we here?" he snarled with clear disgust. "I remember you, Talomon. I especially remember you gouging out a few ruts in my partner's stomach!" Talomon didn't respond, having been rendered semi-conscious by the attack; he certainly looked the worse for wear, with marks all over his body indicating that he was in some kind of fight. "Hey, Salmandmon, hold this guy down for a moment. I'm gonna get something to make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"Only too happy to oblige." Salmandmon jumped a bit roughly onto Talomon, who heaved in shock and pain but still didn't struggle. Reyn ran into the house and was back within seconds, holding a length of thick rope.

"Make extra sure you get those hand and feet bound, Reyn," Salmandmon cautioned as Reyn went about tying up the creature. "Those claws are sharp enough that they'll go right through that stuff."

Reyn nodded, binding Talmon up quite liberally. As Talomon came around and started trying to nip at Salmandmon, Reyn clamped down hard on his muzzle and tied that closed as well. Talomon glared daggers at him, but it was clear he couldn't move his arms or legs an inch. Reyn simply picked him up by the back of the neck and returned the gaze, somewhat cowing the dino.

"I don't know what possessed you to come around here, or how you managed to find us...or, for that matter, what brain-damaged idea would even make you consider trying to threaten us. But I promise you, you're not getting away this time, at least not without us making damn sure you won't be around here again. Isn't that right, Salmandmon?" When the lizard didn't respond, Reyn turned his head back to see Salmandmon staring in awe. "...What is it?"

"You! You just picked him up with one arm!"

"...I did?"

"Hell yeah! When did you get that strong? It wasn't long ago that you were struggling to just lift me!"

"Not like this guy can weigh that much more. But that can wait. Right now..." he turned back towards Talomon, who also seemed to have registered the human's strength and was clearly more nervous than aggressive. "Let's figure out to do with Jurassic Park Reject here."

"Hm, lotta options here. I doubt he'd like any of what I'd like to suggest...maybe a taste of his own group's medicine would do him good." The dino's eyes went wide as streetlights. "Of course, I never was good at this whole 'cruelty for the sake of cruelty' thing."

"Me neither. Still, we can't just let this go without some sort of punishment being doled out. Perhaps we could reach an understanding of sorts, hm?" He waited for a moment, until the Talomon realized that that was his cue to respond. He nodded vigorously. "Fabulous. I'll outline our terms: you go back to the digital world, never return to this world, and leave Emperius for good. Sound good to you?"

There was a long and tense moment of hesitation. Then Talomon responded with a shake of his head: no.

"Pity," Salmandmon said with casual contempt. "I'd have considered those pretty good terms for your life. Guess we have to bring out the hot oil."

Now Talomon wildly shook his head, and made moaning sounds through his tied jaws. "Guess he wants to talk," commented Reyn. "Can't let you have those things free to chew through your bonds, though - or us, for that matter."

"How about we tie him to one of the trees?" suggested Salmandmon. "That way, we can make it so we can keep his head immobile but his mouth open to talk."

"Works for me." The pair brought Talomon over to a decent-sized tree close to the bush line at the edge of the yard. Reyn wasted no time renegotiating the bonds so that they wrapped around the trunk, while leaving as much of the original bonds down as possible. As a final measure, he wrapped a line around Talomon's neck just under the jaw line, effectively ensuring that he couldn't move his head down to bite at the ropes and also that the dinosaur couldn't breathe quite so well.

Finally, Salmandmon went to untie the rope from around Talomon's muzzle. "You take even the tiniest snap," he hissed as he grabbed the rope, "and you can consider your life as good as gone. Keep in mind how easily I slew that Gazimon." This was evidently more than enough persuasion for Talomon. He kept him jaws clenched tightly until he was sure Salmandmon was far enough away to not be threatened by them. "Good. Okay, let's try this again. You know our terms."

"I...I can't," replied Talomon slowly, not bothering to mask his fear. "Something went wrong in my transfer...I tried to go back a couple days ago, and it didn't work. I don't think it worked for any of us...I don't know what happened, but I was trying to find someone to send me back, but..."

"No one's survived long enough to take you?" Reyn surmised.

With a noticeable glower, Talomon responded, "Yeah, basically. It's your damn fault."

"Don't blame me, I'm just defending myself and my world. You guys didn't have to come and try to wreak havoc in the first place. Though I hope you've come to the realization that not all humans are as worthless as you thought."

"Pah. Doesn't change that humans are worthless scum who could hardly stand up to a real attack. You're not even worth the trouble."

"You seem to be going to an awful lot of trouble for something that isn't worth it," Salmandmon cracked.

"I...shut up."

"You're not in much position to be making demands." Salmandmon looked up to Reyn. "Well, what now? He can't go back of his own power, provided he's being honest about that. What's next?"

Reyn shrugged. "Not sure. I guess we've got a few choices: leave him tied up here, put him somewhere else where he can't get away, find someone to take him back, or turn him in to the authorities."

"Who's gonna be smart enough to actually take him back? Where else could we put him? How do we know the authorities are going to be able to handle him and keep him from escaping?"

Reyn nodded. "Option one it is, then. He stays tied to the tree."

"How about you guys let me go, and I won't immediately turn around and kill you?" Talomon suggested, trying and failing to sound brash.

Reyn just snorted. "Well, no one can deny that you're a bold one. Trying to drive negotiations from the standpoint you're in...you're either remarkably gutsy or remarkably stupid. Actually, I'm guessing both. Regardless, you're not going anywhere."

"The hell I'm not! I'm not gonna stay tied to a tree where anyone could get me!" With that, the dino renewed his struggles against his bonds, desperately trying to get some wiggle room.

Salmandmon just shook his head. "Some people-" A noise from by the house made him stop before his thought got out and look behind him. "Hey, Reyn, I think we've got a spectator."

Reyn looked back toward where Salmandmon was looking. Cayden was peering out from behind the door. "Oh, jeez...he's probably freaking out. After what Skullstatamon did, I can't blame him."

Oddly enough, however, Cayden didn't seem as fazed as Reyn expected; instead of going back in, he closed the door behind him and walked tentatively up towards the pair. "Is that..."

"Yeah, that's another monster," Reyn confirmed for his brother. "Kiddo, are you sure you want to be out here?"

"I...I'm okay. He's not as scary as that other guy."

"Well, as long as you're okay with it, I guess." Reyn still wasn't so sure about this, but Talomon didn't seem to be going anywhere, so he figured it was safe enough. "Just make sure not to get too close. He bites, and though he can't really use them right now, his claws are super-sharp."

"Sound advice that would be more compelling had you not delivered a full tackle to him minutes earlier," Salmandmon sniggered.

"Well, you know what they say. Do as I say, not as I do. I'm fairly good at giving advice I don't actually follow. I consider it an art form."

"Would you shut up?" Talomon snarled as his fury hit a breaking point. "It's bad enough I'm tied up like a show animal, I don't want to listen to my captors clowning around like-AGH!" Whatever else he was about to say was obscured by the strangled scream he gave as he went entirely limp, eyes shut tight and features contorted in pain.

"Sounds like someone strained something," Reyn remarked offhandedly. "Told you you weren't going anywhere."

Cayden looked up at his brother, stricken. "Reyn, stop it, he's hurt!"

Reyn looked down, dumbfounded. "Cayden, are you serious? He just tried to attack us, and he wouldn't have thought anything of biting your head off. It's his own damn fault he's in this state."

"But he's hurt! I'm gonna check on him!"

"What? Don't you even-" But it was for naught, as Cayden was off before Reyn could even come close to telling him off. "Dammit, kid!"

Caydne paid no attention, skidding to a stop right next to the tree and looking down at the now-unresponsive lizard. Immediately, his eyes went wide. "REYN!"

"What now?" Reyn and Salmandmon dashed over and looked where Cayden was pointing. Reyn drew a sharp breath inward when he saw the damage. "Jesus...his entire back's torn open. The tree didn't do this, he must have been like this when he got here! How the hell did we miss this?"

"We weren't really paying much attention to his condition, on account of that he attacked us!" Salmandmon exclaimed. "He probably got in a fight with a dog or something. Should serve him right!"

"He certainly came off second-best, whatever it was. Should we-" And again, his words tapered off into a groan as Cayden ran for the house, screaming for his parents. "Dammit. Now we have to do the noble thing and help him out."

Salmandmon sighed heavily. "Sometimes I wonder about you humans."

"That makes two of us. Come on, let's get him untied so Mom and Dad won't have to do it all."

(==========)

When Elecmon awoke, his head was pounding painfully and his vision was hazy. Ugh...where am I? Last thing I remember was hiding in some bushes...

He surveyed his surroundings; he appeared to be indoors, in a room with posters lining the walls, a desk with a computer and other devices he couldn't make out, a large bed...it was the inside of a house. But he couldn't remember getting in there...

"So, you woke up, did you?"

Innocent-sounding words, yet they made Elecmon's heart begin to race. A rather menacing-looking female human stood over him, wearing a grin that was a mixture of satisfaction and deviousness. "Good. I was wondering when you would come to. We have much to discuss."

"Discuss?" Elecmon tried to move, but found that he was bound to a small chair. "What the-"

"Comfy?" Elecmon grimaced; now she was just being patronizing. "I'm surprised my dad kept that little old chair up in the attic...surprised, but rather delighted when I found out it was a perfect size for you. I hope you like it, because you're not moving from there until I'm good and ready to release you."

"Wanna bet?" Elecmon started to charge his Super Thunder Strike, but found it wasn't working. "Hey, what the hell?"

"Ah, that was a nifty little number my brother was so kind to supply," gloated the human. "No idea how he got his hands on it, but I'm glad he did. You won't be able to shock me for a while, at least not with that ring around your arm."

Elecmon hadn't noticed the ring originally; now that it had been mentioned, he could feel it wrapped tightly around his forearm. Things had gone from very bad to oh-so-much-worse. "Okay, I'm beginning to think you might have the upper hand."

"So glad we finally agree on something." The human pulled out the chair from the desk and sat down on it. "My name is Ashley, and I'll be your captor tonight." More patronizing. Elecmon wanted to be getting angry, but instead just got more nervous. "Any questions?"

"Er...yeah, what exactly do you intend to do to me?"

"Hm...well, for starters, I think I'm going to beat you up with logic." Elecmon blinked, not comprehending this. "I hear some of your kind has some thing against humans. Well, that just won't do, and I'm going to force you to reconsider your stance."

"...Is this a joke? Is this what passes for torture in your world? I've been beaten up and broken down a dozen times, and you think you're going to get me with mere words?" Elecmon scoffed. Humans...is it any wonder they're the weaker species?

Ashley, however, appeared unfazed. "Say what you want, but in a little while you're going to realize just how powerful words can be. So, let's hear what you have to say."

"What makes you think I'll say anything?"

"Because, first, you won't be able to leave until I'm satisfied that I at least have all my questions answered, and second, I know little brother torture techniques."

"Little brother torture techniques?" Elecmon repeated, bewildered.

"Yep. Annoying enough to get the proper information, harmless enough to not cause permanent damage. They're highly effective, especially on little brothers. And being an older sister, I've no qualms about using them."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if they're anything like your earlier proposal I probably have nothing to worry about," Elecmon spat back. "Besides, I know you humans, you don't live alone. You think no one will hear me if you try to hurt me?"

Ashley laughed snidely. "Nice try! My parents are out of town, visiting one of our uncles, and took my younger sister with them. My older brothers are elsewhere in the country, getting their educations - they're not going to hear you unless you can shout loud enough that they notice it thousands of miles away. And my brother is off fighting monsters with that robot digimon that you probably remember from when you attacked him earlier. Oh, yeah, he kind of mentioned that to me before he left. Count yourself lucky that I wanted to deal with you."

Rats... thought Elecmon. There goes that tactic.

"All right, I'm tired of the stalling. Talk! What exactly is your beef?"

"Bite me."

"Don't tempt me. So you're gonna play hardball, are you?" Ashley took one of the devices off the desk and set it on her lap. "Those ears of yours, they look like they're really something. They must be pretty good for hearing things, huh?"

"Uh...well, yeah, they're quite sensit-AUGH!" Elecmon's sentence was punctuated with a pained cry as Ashley switched on the machine. The device was emitting a tone at maximum volume - up at the range of 26,000 Hertz. She couldn't hear a peep, but Elecmon was thrashing around in agony, his ears definitely sensitive at that frequency and very much not used to that kind of volume. This was not the kind of tactic they had prepared him for at Emperius, and a few seconds of the treatment had smashed his resolve. "Stop! Please! All right, I'll talk, if you just turn it off!"

"So glad you've come around," said Ashley with faux sweetness, switching off the device. "I want to hear the full story."

Reluctantly, Elecmon told her about Emperius, the Declaration of Purification and the reasoning behind it, and his own mission in their world. He felt pretty lousy despite knowing that there wasn't much the human could do about it; his only comfort was that his account was definitely bothering her.

"So that's why Isaac wouldn't give," she muttered after he ended. "Well, now I feel bad about draining the batteries on his laptop. Eh, oh well. You honestly believe that BS?"

"Why not?" spat Elecmon defiantly; he was in no mood for conversation now. "Look at us, then look at yourselves. Even our smaller creatures are stronger than you! And that's not even considering our special abilities! We're infinitely stronger than your pathetic species!"

"You certainly do have an impressive repertoire. And, yet, I was able to knock you out, tie you up, negate your 'special abilities,' and convince you to start talking. You tell me who's better off right now."

"Grr...I suppose you are."

"Damn right, I am. So, tell me, does that make me superior?"

Elecmon very much did not want to answer that question, but there appeared to be no way out. If I give her what she wants, maybe she'll let me go. "Fine, maybe you're superior."

"WRONG!" For good measure, she boxed him over the ears.

"OW! Hey, what gives? What, did you want me to say we were?"

Ashley leered down, a wicked grin on her face that did little besides unnerve Elecmon. "You poor, pathetic creature. So short-sighted, so narrow-minded. We're just gonna have to do something about that."

"You're creeping me out, lady."

"Good, at least I'm getting into your head somehow. Tell me, did any of what I mentioned actually make me stronger than you were?"

"Huh? Oh, uh...not that I can imagine." Where the hell is she going with this?

"Exactly. I'm no better off on that measure now than I was before I heard about your cult."

"Cult?"

"Don't interrupt me. As I said, I'm not stronger than you are now or then. What I am is more clever."

"Beating someone over the head is clever?"

"Maybe not that particular bit. But I also recognized that someone was hiding. I found a way to capture that someone without them detecting me. I thought up a way to hold them captive. I learned about what you were capable of, and found ways to keep you from doing everything you were capable of. I also figured out your weaknesses and used them against you."

"All right, I get it!" Elecmon shouted helplessly. He was starting to get what being beaten up with logic felt like. He wished he could just ignore his surroundings, but the threat of another sonic torment kept him rigidly attentive.

"You see where I'm going. I may not be strong physically, but up here - " she pointed to her head for an unnecessary visual example - "I'm way better. Where does that fit into your cult's ideology?"

"It doesn't."

"But if it means I can beat you without extra strength..."

"...Then...maybe it should, I guess." Elecmon hated to admit it, but he couldn't touch her on that point. After all, look where I am. What further proof do I need?

Ashley was grinning triumphantly. "Now you're starting to get it. And just for the record, you're going to find that that's the case for a lot of us humans, in fact because most of us aren't as strong as you, or even some of the creatures on our world. We don't have the strength to match, so we have to compensate, and lucky us, we got the brains to do it. I'd say that measures up pretty nicely against your brute force."

"...Okay...so...what? We're still stronger, so we're not worse than you."

"Oh, I wasn't suggesting that. But I'd say it about cancels out, hm?"

"Cancels out?"

"Five plus two is seven, right? Same for two plus five. We measure up better in one area and worse in one area. Even Steven. And that's not all. There are a great many ways by which you can measure people...I couldn't even begin to name them all." She leaned in close to Elecmon again. "What are the chances, you think, that once you get down to be very bottom of everything, that it ALL cancels out?"

"All? You mean..."

"No superior, no inferior. We're better in some respects, worse in some, but equal overall. Don't tell me you can't see the beauty of it...I can tell that you do. I know your kind of person, Elecmon. You feel inferior, you feel like you don't matter, like everyone has something offer except yourself. You're desperate to try to be better than others, to give yourself some sort of meaning. That's why you joined, isn't it? If you were part of the destined ruling class, you could look down, instead of being looked down upon. You'd be someone important, someone that matters. I know all about it, I've seen more people on this world with that kind of attitude than I could count with a calculator. But aren't you just creating more of yourself that way? More dissatisfied people who feel like they're less than nothing, just lying at the bottom, looking up at someone who doesn't give a hoot about them? Didn't you just hate those people at the top?"

"Yeah...yeah..." Even now, he could feel that old anger bubbling up. Even in Emperius, he was the cannon fodder, someone who everyone thought was worthless and expendable...the whole reason he'd been sent on that miserable assignment in the first place. And he hadn't been able to go back...maybe they had done that intentionally, because they didn't think he could make it back...it was almost scary how easily she had fished it out, and yet he wasn't able to focus on that anymore, just on those long-burning feelings of resentment.

"You think that if you get to be the one at the top, then everything becomes all right. But then you're just one of those assholes at the top that everyone that has to look up at hates, because now you're causing all their problems. You want others to feel like that?"

"I...no...no, never. I hated it. Other people would, too."

"That's all they want to do. All they want to do is make others feel that way. That's all they can do, because their entire philosophy is about being above others. But you don't have to think that way. Everyone can be equal, when everything comes down to it. Emperius wants to make more of you, more people at the bottom who have to look up. Whereas if everyone is equal...no one looks down at anyone, and no one has to be looking up."

"R...really?"

"Really. You'd like that, wouldn't you? Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? You don't have to be stuck at the bottom of the ladder, and you don't have to step on anyone to get away from that. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yeah...it does."

"And that's the opposite of what these Emperius guys want. So, wouldn't it be better for everyone if you weren't supporting them?"

"Yes. Yes it would." It was funny, she had done exactly what she claimed she would do, and beaten him with logic, which technically should have made him the loser. Yet, he didn't feel like he was coming off second-best. "I'm not going to follow them anymore. No, more than that, I'm gonna stand against them. They should be stopped. They should be stopped!"

Ashley nodded. "Excellent. Glad we've reached an understanding."

"Thanks...um, can I go now?"

"Hm, I'm afraid not. Unless you want to go out with your newfound understanding and be instantly annihilated."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well, there's probably about six dozen humans crawling the area, looking for what was reported to be a giant orange rat wandering around people's yards."

"G-giant orange rat?"

"Their words, not mine, though honestly, you'd probably have a bit of trouble shaking that image around here. Anyway, you weren't quite as discreet as you may have wanted to be. You're in here for your own safety as much as anything else."

"That...was awfully nice of you, considering how I was..."

"I was willing to give you a chance. You can't reach an understanding unless you try."

"Well...thanks," mumbled Elecmon, feeling a bit embarrassed; for a scary human, she had gone to quite some length to keep him out of danger, and he couldn't deny that no one at Emperius would have done the same. None of them cared about how he felt... "At the very least, can you untie me and get that band off my arm?"

"Well, I can't do anything about the band," Ashley replied. "It was designed so only Datacarnomon could take it off, so you'll have to wait for him. As for untying you, I can do that, but first..."

"First what?"

"First, I need to expend some of this big-sister energy I have," Ashley said with a frightening grin. "Isaac's a bit too big for tickle-torture, and that was one of my favorite..."

Aw, crap... thought Elecmon. Not only am I a captive, I'm also an outlet for sisterly nostalgia...well, at least it's something remotely tolerable...

(==========)

"I know I'm supposed to feel bad, but I still don't," Reyn asserted as he watched Cayden look over Talomon from the living room entryway. "If he hadn't tried to ambush us, we might have caught on a little sooner. I still don't get why Cayden wasn't afraid of him, when I was his age I would have been petrified to see a dinosaur."

"I'm still trying to get around the fact that we just saved one of our mortal enemies," Salmandmon sighed. "Of course, nothing about this mission has been even remotely close to normal, so I guess this is par for the course."

"I can't believe we actually did save him. For that matter, I can't believe he lasted long enough for us to even have the opportunity. I knew digimon were made of stiff stuff, but that's beyond anything I've seen before."

"Believe it or not, same here. I've seen all manner of injury in my time with Libertius, but that's about the worst I've come across with a survivor. And earlier presumptions aside, I don't think what did it is native to this world...it's probably still out there."

"Talk about your scary thoughts. We're asking him when he wakes up. Oh, speaking of good timing..."

Talomon was indeed stirring from his makeshift bed, which was basically a wicker basket with some pillows in it. Weak and disoriented, he appeared to not know where he was. "Huh? What the..."

"Oh, you're awake!" Cayden stated, sounding more relieved than anything. "You're in the house. You shouldn't move."

"I'll do what I want." Talomon tried to sit up, but Cayden gently pushed him back down.

"You have to rest! You were hurt really bad, and Mom and Dad said you have to keep from putting too much pressure on your back or the stitches might break. Oh, and there's everything else, too."

Talomon glared at Cayden. "Why do you care, human?"

"Because." It was an answer that left no room for argument, so Talomon simply didn't respond. "They said a lot of stuff...broken ribs, arms, legs, and a back that looked like Freddy Kreuger had a go at it. I dunno who Freddy Kreuger is, but he must be a pretty bad guy to do something like that. What happened to you out there?"

"Butt out," Talomon snapped weakly. "Don't concern yourself with matters above your head, human. This is just a spat between digimon-"

"Just a friendly disagreement, huh?" Reyn sniped from the doorway. "You were halfway to murdered when we found you, and probably shouldn't have been doing something that would get you to the other half. If you hadn't attacked us, it probably would have come to our attention sooner. If that thing that did that to you is still out there, who knows what kind of damage it's going to cause."

"That's the point, idiot. We're trying to wipe you out! That's the purpose of our invasion!" Talomon tried to sit up again, and was again forced back down. "Gah, cut it out, kid. Anyway, why would I try to sabotage them? That would be suicide. I'm a valued part of the organization."

"Yeah, I'm sure they're waiting outside with flowers and get well cards. Who doesn't care about a guy they just tried to kill hours before?" Talomon clammed up, more stung by that comment than he expected to be.

"Look, whatever it was that tried to ice you, it's still out there," Salmandmon explained. "And it's not just after humans, it's also pursuing digimon, including - perhaps especially - your comrades. We don't want any of that to happen. It needs to be stopped, and you can help us and yourself by telling us what it is."

"Fat chance. You and the lizard can't do much more than I could-" Talomon drew a sharp breath as Cayden ran a hand over a particularly tender point on his stomach, and the young boy apologized quietly and rubbed his head soothingly. After getting his breathing to normal, he continued, "It's a lot bigger and nastier than me, and I can be pretty nasty when I have more of my blood in me. Now let me go."

"We stand more of a chance than you think," Salmandmon said with a smirk. "And you're not going anywhere. The way you are now, a Baby-level digimon could beat you up. You tried to push yourself through a serious injury, and your body is going to make you pay for it. Trust me, I know from experience. You should be more concerned with fully recovering."

"I don't even see why you care," Talomon repeated. "I'm your enemy. We've been at odds. I remember I got you good last time we met, fire lizard...I would think you'd just have ended it while I was down."

"We could have, but we didn't. Can't gloat about getting back at someone if they're dead. Look, we're going to search for him whether you want us to or not. But if we don't find him, he's going to come after you again, and like I said, you don't stand a chance the way you are now. If you put any value into your life at all, you should make this easier for us."

Talomon appeared ready to reply bitingly, but seized up as a cramp ran through his stomach. Cayden was right there, gently holding him and trying to soothe him. Talomon appeared amazed that he was even willing to get close, much less attempt to be friendly. When the pain subsided, he looked over at the fiery pair, more subdued than before. "You two are fools to try to pursue him. He'll be looking for the others who failed here before. It's Ashinkaimon. Good freaking luck."

Reyn and Salmandmon exchanged looks. "We'd better go...now," exclaimed Salmandmon with deadly urgency.

Reyn nodded seriously. "Don't have to tell me twice."

(==========)

Normally, being stuck inside didn't usually bother Iris. She was pretty good at keeping herself entertained, and rarely did she get bored under normal circumstance. However, circumstances were about as far from normal as they got right now, and she was going nuts. She wanted to be outside, looking for something that might threaten to shatter the town to pieces. Even cooped up inside, she felt she had to be on call constantly, so she couldn't focus on anything else. It might have been better if Shockavimon could have been inside, but she didn't trust her dad not to burst in randomly, even if he was supposed to be at work.

She was halfway to crazy when she got a sudden nasty feeling. It was impossible for her to pinpoint what exactly was causing it, but she somehow sensed that something was not right. A moment later, her sense was confirmed when she heard the sharp, pained yowl of a cat not far from her house.

Shockavimon, what's going on out there?

I don't know! But whatever it is, it sounded like that cat didn't enjoy it!

No kidding. I'm coming out, Shockavimon! Keep an eye out!

Iris crept downstairs, looking for any sign of her mother. She saw nothing, heard nothing. Did she go out? At this time of night, under these conditions? She slipped out the door unseen, and ran in the direction of the sound.

It wasn't far; the thing was right in the middle of the road. And what she saw chilled her to the bone.

The creature in front of her was like something out of a nightmare. Its lower body was stretched out of proportion, four legs stick out from it like it was a table. The upper body bore four arms, each tinged with three fingers ending in lethal black claws. And the head...wide horns stretched out above a horrid face, the skin stretched skeletally tight.

Iris screamed in terror, which drew the creature's attention. It turned its body and faced her down, its ghoulish red eyes penetrating into her, speaking just one guttural word: "Perish..."

"Iris! Get away from there!" Shockavimon flew in from above, snapping Iris out of her terrified shock. "We've got to go get help, right now!"

"But..." Iris looked around quickly while backing up from the creature. She finally spotted the source of the sound she'd heard earlier; a motionless figure, covered by the shadows. "We can't let it kill whatever's over there! We've got to fight!"

Shockavimon wanted nothing better than to hightail it out of there as fast as possible. However, she couldn't bear the thought of leaving someone in need, either. "Okay! But we've got to be careful!"

Iris and Shockavimon glowed yellow as their forms converged, and Bolteaglemon returned to life. "Your time is finished, mystery creep!" she shouted boldly. "Spark Wave!"

Bolteaglemon fired her electric attack at the creature. The shots dissipated harmlessly against it, not even registering to the creature. The creature raised its hands, revealing the pitch-dark growths in the centers of its palms, which stood out even in the darkness against its black skin. "Torment Wave..."

A cloud of darkness spread in a square between the creatures arms, the growths on its hands the corner-points. The darkness seemed to solidify, forming something akin to a hole in space. In a rush, a dark wave of energy seared out from the hole, enveloping Bolteaglemon. She screeched loudly as pain tore through her, etching itself into her whole body. She went down on her knees as the attack ended, panting roughly, dark smoke rising from her body. Dimly, she registered something glowing brightly behind her.

In a rush, something burst through the darkness and slammed into the monster, driving it back roughly. It leapt backwards as the thing tried to counter, landing near Bolteaglemon. She was finally able to recognize the form of Blazereptimon. "Are you all right, Bolteaglemon?"

"No," she groaned, standing shakily. "Watch out...that thing's powerful..."

"Yeah, well, I'll show it," growled Blazereptimon, his body alight with flame. "Solar Wave!" He launched a furious blast of flames over the demon. The creature appeared to remain unharmed, though driven backwards a bit. "What? Come on!"

"Take this!" another voice shouted from their right. "Saur Blaster!" The rapid-fire attacks from Mecharexmon struck it cleanly, but were likewise ineffective. "What the hell is this thing? Our attacks should be doing something, at least!"

"You're not gonna believe this...this is that project we got intelligence about! This is the thing they called Ashinkaimon!"

"That's Ashinkaimon? Who the hell was brain-damaged enough to dream that up?"

"Who knows, but it's a synthetic digimon created for evil, it's not gonna be an easy kill!" shouted Blazereptimon. "Hit it while I'm attacking! Solar Wave!"

"Saur Blaster!"

Blazereptimon shot forth his flames as Mecharexmon fired his charged cannon attack. But for all their efforts, the attacks did nothing to Ashinkaimon.

"Rgh...there's gotta be a weak point somewhere!" growled Mecharexmon.

"Where?" roared Blazereptimon in frustration. "We had to have covered every square inch of that guy with that last attack!"

Bolteaglemon took a step backwards. "Wha-what's it doing now?"

Ashinkaimon had opened its mouth impossibly wide. "Perish..." it said again. "Veil of Abomination..." Before any of them could react, a black mass flooded the area, blocking out the view of everything except Ashinkaimon and the three fighters.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, but soon enough Blazereptimon and Mecharexmon fell to the ground. "What's...happening?" heaved Blazereptimon. "I feel so...drained..."

"He's making us too weak to fight..." groaned Mecharexmon. "We'll be sitting ducks..."

Ashinkaimon's absorbing their energy! thought Bolteaglemon urgently. But...but he's not absorbing mine! Now's my chance to help! But my attacks aren't any more effective...I need to evolve! Now! I won't let him win!

The yellow glow returned, enveloping Bolteaglemon. She began to shift into her next form. The changes were rather subtle overall, mainly an increase in size and wingspan and the addition of armor, consisting of a breastplate and gauntlets. A spear also appeared, attached to her back.

Excellent...this form can do the job! she thought. Ionavimon...time to take him down! She quickly ran at Ashinkaimon, who was completely immobile, his focus far too divided to pay attention to it.

Ionavimon stared down the creature and found it, the opening in Ashinkaimon's mouth that revealed a dark, pulsating orb. It was practically invisible to any normal being, but Ionavimon's hyper-sharp vision spotted it easily. That must be its weak point! It can't be hit because it's inside him! But now I've got a chance!

Without hesitation, she grabbed the spear from her back. "You're finished, Ashinkaimon!" she shouted at the unreceptive monster. "Shock Spear!"

She threw the spear directly at the orb. It sailed in, piercing the weak point and thrusting all the way through the back of Ashinkaimon's mouth. Soundlessly, it collapsed, and shattered into data, leaving only the spear behind.

As the source of the energy draining attack dissipated into nothingness, Blazereptimon and Mecharexmon felt their strength slowly begin to recover. "Oh, man...that was close," said Blazereptimon, slowly getting to his feet. "We really owe you one."

"Call it even," replied Ionavimon. "If you guys hadn't come when you did, I wouldn't have even had the chance to do that. But why didn't I get drained like you two did?"

"Wish I knew..." Mecharexmon grunted. "Coulda used that myself...hang on, some of the data is around, I'll try to upload information about it into my database." He fell quiet for a moment, the only sound a soft whirring from somewhere inside his head. After a short moment, he let out a loud, derisive laugh. "You gotta be kidding me..."

"That's not quite the reaction I expected," cracked Blazereptimon. "Care to clue us in?"

"According to the data, Ashinkaimon's attacks aren't compatible. If he hits you with Torment Wave, his Veil of Abomination won't work, and if you've under the latter, he can't hit you with the former. What idiot would launch a creature with such a critical design flaw?"

"I never would have guessed that," Ionavimon said with a shake of her head. "But come on, there's an injured creature down there." She sprinted over to the fallen creature and knelt down by it. "It's...a digimon? A Felismon?"

"Felismon?" echoed Mecharexmon. "I remember that the digimon fought that one a while back...why was Ashinkaimon attacking it?"

"As punishment," Blazereptimon informed them. "They were supposed to kill us back then, and they didn't...so Ashinkaimon decided to teach them a lesson. We already came across one of his victims back at my house."

"We should bring Felismon there as well then," said Ionavimon. "She looks like she's been pretty badly injured...I don't know if she'll survive without treatment."

"Bring her over. I'll meet up with you when I get back."

Ionavimon nodded, and took off into the air. Blazereptimon checked on Mecharexmon, who still looked worn out. "Hey, you all right?"

"I'll be fine...just gotta shake it off."

"Don't overexert yourself, okay? Don't kill yourself trying to do too much...that wouldn't help us at all."

"Heh...you think so little of me." Mecharexmon straightened up. "I know when I gotta call it quits. Don't go fretting about me."

"Good." Blazereptimon turned to leave, then stopped. "If you're feeling all right...if both my memories serve me, there were five digimon who escaped from us that day...I've only accounted for three of them. Talomon is at our house, Felismon is en route, and Skylar called up earlier to tell me that his brother's got Dorumon with him for some strange reason."

"Make that four accounted for. Ashley cold-cocked Elecmon in the bushes outside our house. Pretty sure it was just his bad luck, rather than an ambush. I helped her put it at her mercy before I left."

"Are you trying to make me feel sorry for Elecmon? That's gotta be against some Geneva convention code."

"She said she wouldn't torment it too badly. She wanted to make it see the error of its ways."

"I would object, but I've seen her in action. She could turn an Al Qaeda cell into a convent of nuns."

"And I would pay admission to see it. That leaves one of them unaccounted for, right?"

"Right. If I remember correctly, it was a Goburimon. Since you're the one with the sensors, I'll leave it to you to see if you can figure out where he is."

"I'll see what I can do."

(==========)

"Agent Conover, the captive is ready for interrogation," said a secretary, poking his head into the room where Emil's desk was stationed. "Agent Katran's asking for you."

"Yes, I figured he would. I'll be down in a minute." Emil rubbed his eyes and tried to wake himself up as best as possible. For the first time since the beginning of the crisis, they'd had good fortune in one of the monster encounters, managing to capture one that had been sneaking around. It wasn't one of the ones they'd seen before, but that wasn't important at the moment; what was important is that they had a chance at some concrete answers, something they'd been woefully lacking since the start of the whole mess.

As he was preparing to get up and do, another agent ran into the room. "Agent Conover, sir! I've got a report! It's about the fire lizard incident from yesterday!"

"Oh...can it wait? I've got other business to attend to."

"Well, sir, this is going to blow your mind. I really think you should hear it now."

Stressed out and about to confront a potentially dangerous situation, Emil was very close to telling the agent to butt out. But he had asked for any information related to any sightings, and the other agent was just doing his job. He sighed. "Let's hear it, quickly now."

"Well, sir, it's very strange. We were sweeping the area, looking for someone who might have seen the creature pass by. And we actually found someone who did, but he saw something even weirder."

"Can you please hurry it up?"

"Right, sorry. Well, this guy, he says he saw a person walking down the road a few minutes before the incident, just a kid, like no older than 15 or 16. But he also saw a, well, these were his words: 'a weird lizard thing, the color of fire, walking like a human, just walking alongside the guy and talking to him.'"

Emil blinked several times as his addled brain struggled to process what he'd just heard. Good lord, does it ever stop? "Was it the fire lizard?"

"No, that's what got me kinda weirded out. He said it was about half the kid's size, like three feet tall or around that. Other than that, he looked kinda like that one you guys caught sight of, but not quite. He said he did see that one, though, just a little while later - probably just after the incident that woman reported!"

Emil put a hand up to his head. He was getting very sick of the twists and turns popping up pretty much wherever they pleased. "So...a human...and a lizard...they were just...walking? No animosity, no arguing, no physical altercation, no nothing?"

"No. He said they actually looked quite civil."

"Any details on the teenager in question?"

"Sorry, no, the guy said he was too focused on the lizard thing. All he knew was that he was male and definitely not an adult."

"And then a few minutes later, the fire lizard from before walks past him the other direction?"

"Runs, actually. The guy said it was tearing down the sidewalk like a bat out of hell. And he said it was bleeding a bit, too - there was a stain on the walk near his house. That jibes with the report we got from the woman that he was injured in some way. He said they were oddly similar, but didn't get enough chance to see the big one to really be more sure of anything. What do you make of all this?"

"Jesus Christ, I don't know. This is more than I can handle right now, I need to take care of other business. Thanks for the information...I'll see where it takes me."

The other agent nodded and left. A minute later, Emil did, as well, heading for the stairs. A human...and a monster...walking together? A teenager, at that...if there are people getting along with them, how does that change things? Is there more to some of these monsters than meets the eye? Maybe this one will help offer some insight...

(==========)

"He's in there?" Elliot asked a police officer, pointing to a door in the hallway.

"Yes, sir. If you'll forgive my asking, why couldn't we have done this down at the station? We wouldn't have had to move him..."

"Didn't want to risk him breaking through the one-way mirror."

"That is not a good reason and you know it."

"Since I don't actually have to give you a reason, it's the best one you're going to get. This room should do the trick, though. It's completely enclosed, and the door's plenty sturdy. It'll be as if not more secure. You have him restrained in there, I assume?"

"Of course. You act like we have no idea what we're doing. I applied the restraints myself...he didn't make it easy for me, but it wasn't as bad as when we had to get that little bastard's club away from him."

"Good, good..." Elliot looked around and frowned. "Where's Emil? I thought I asked someone to call him, he should be here for this..."

As if on cue, Emil hurried down the hallway and up to the interrogation room. "Sorry...got waylaid on my way down here concerning a sighting. Is he in there?"

"Mm-hmm." Elliot stared at the door as if it was bothering him. "Our first up-close-and-personal encounter with one of these things...I won't lie, Emil, it does make me nervous. Who knows what it's capable of?"

"I feel the same way, Elliot. I triple-checked my weapon on the way here...the worst thing that could happen now is a misfire."

"Still, this is necessary. We've got to figure out a few things...we've been flying blindly so far, and I've had enough of that."

"Yes...I have a few questions that have been bothering me lately, as well," added Emil.

"You do?"

"Yeah...I've come across a few things that...well, let's just leave it at 'this crap isn't making any sense whatsoever.' Hopefully, we can get something from this thing, whatever it is...if we can't, I'm going to seriously consider having a nervous breakdown."

"Hm...well, we're not going to get to ask them by waiting out here. Let's go." Elliot opened the door and entered, Emil following close behind.

The room was only very dimly-lit, but both of them could see the goblin-like creature well enough, as well as the death glares it was giving them. It had been tied tightly onto a chair, one of three in the room stationed at a small table. "The officers found him hanging out near Pine Park. The worst he managed to do was smack a couple of them around a bit before one of them got in a good hit and knocked him out."

"I suppose you think you're big guys now that you beat up on me?" snapped the creature. "Four on one is never fair!"

"It was only four because we wanted you alive," Elliot assured him, somewhat testily. "If we'd had a kill order on you, you'd have easily been bested by one, I'm sure, unless one of your buddies managed to get to you in time. Consider yourself lucky."

"Yeah, lucky," snorted the creature. "Instead of being put out of my misery, I'm forced to endure detainment. Everyone should be so fortunate." Emil noted that it was actually fairly well-spoken despite its appearance; he imagined more grunting and broken sentences.

"Hm, we can take care of that soon enough," Elliot mumbled with a glower. He sat down in a chair opposite the creature. "Let's just get straight to the point. What's with the invasion of our world out of the blue? Just get bored over wherever you came from and decide to have a little fun tormenting people down here?"

"We're not as simple as that," the goblin creature snapped back. "We're here to wipe you off this planet and take it for our own!"

"Impressive. I expected you to be a little more tight-lipped."

"Bah, what's the point? You knowing isn't going to help you. Emperius is guided by divine destiny; we can't lose no matter what!"

"'Divine destiny,' huh?" Elliot smirked. "I remember that concept...hell, we used it ourselves a couple hundred years back. Tried to justify our own imperialism by claiming so. 'Course, now we're a little more intelligent than to think that we can justify genocide for the purposes of expanding our realms."

"It's no loss in the long run. Humans are an inferior species, not worthy of having domain over anything. We'd be doing this world a favor by exterminating you."

"A blind judgment, I'm sure. And why do you need this world?"

"What makes you think we need it?"

Elliot paused; this was not the answer he expected. "Hold on. You're saying that you're trying to destroy us and conquer this world just for the sake of destroying us and conquering this world?"

"That sounds about right. It's the privilege of the strong to do as they wish with the weak!"

Elliot needed a moment to gather himself after this. "Unbelievable...our rationales might not have been heroic, but at least we has some...I suppose this means that an accord with your leaders would be all but impossible."

"It would be futile for you to try. You are worth no more than the dirt under our feet. The chance that they would consider an audience with you is laughable."

"And you agree?" asked Emil, speaking for the first time.

"Of course!" snorted the creature.

Emil nodded, half-lost in thought. "I figured as much...but I gather that that sentiment isn't universal, is it?"

Elliot snapped his head back to give Emil a withering look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Emil ignored Elliot for a moment, concentrating fully on the creature. "Well? Any intention of replying to that?" The creature was glaring at Emil, but refused to speak for the first time. "Hm, perhaps you think you can preserve some of the secret by being quiet about it...in that case, allow me to speculate. There are a number of monsters who follow the same beliefs you've just espoused to us - they agree that they have divine right to come in and take over without any solid justification, and they're on the side of this 'Emperius' group...and then there are some who don't agree with you, perhaps out of respect for this world, or just a respect for living creatures in general, and they fight against you to make sure you can't achieve your goal. Am I right, or am I missing something?"

The creature refrained from speaking for a while; when it finally did, it sounded highly contemptuous. "You know more than you should, human...there are certain...heretics that refer to themselves as Libertius who try to deny our divine right, and they do indeed battle against us. How you know of this is beyond me...I would not have suspected that they could have survived long enough under our assault to come to your attention."

"So, it's true..." Emil muttered to himself, losing himself somewhat in thought. "I knew something wasn't adding up...this changes everything..."

"Well, how many more of you are there?" snapped Elliot, clearly annoyed at the change of subject. "How many more monsters can we expect?"

"Even if I had the inclination to tell you, human, I wouldn't be able to. Few soldiers are aware of the full scope of our ranks. I came with part of a select scouting group that was trying to figure out what your greatest weaknesses were. We should have been able to gather information without opposition...but apparently, we weren't told of the group of heretics and humans that were out for us."

"Heretics and humans? There are humans working together with the monsters?"

"You mean you didn't know?" the creature cackled, a gleeful smile forming on his face. "Hee hee hee...you pathetic creatures aren't even aware of what's going on in your own world! That you still think you can resist is ridiculous!"

"Was there a black canine in that group?" Elliot growled, his patience long gone. "Answer me!"

"Why, yes, there was! A heretic called Blackcanismon. He wounded me quite badly...do you know him? Because I would like to have my revenge on him..."

Elliot slammed his fist onto the table, startling both Emil and the creature with his suddenness. Before anyone knew what had happened, he'd stormed out of the interrogation room furiously, nearly slamming the door into Emil as he tried to follow. "Damn him! How dare he..."

"Elliot! Elliot, calm down, what's gotten into you?" Emil asked hurriedly, trying to slow down his partner and not succeeding.

"What's gotten into me?" Elliot shouted at the top of his lungs, drawing looks from a pair of agents far down the hallway. "What the hell do you think's gotten into me? My son's been lying to me! He brought one of those goddamned things under my roof, and knew the whole time what he was doing!"

"Elliot, calm down! You're making a scene!"

But Elliot seemed to plow right through Emil's objections. "He's gonna have a LOT to answer for! I've put up with a lot of his crap, but this went too far!" He pulled open the door to the stairwell, only to run smack into a lab technician.

"Sir? Agent Katran, sir!" the agent squeaked as he tried to gather himself, clearly unnerved by the angry looks Elliot was giving him. "Um...I was told to call you into the lab...Rudy, he's...he's got something...you might want to see, Agent Katran."

(==========)

(==========)

I just realized I hit the six-digit mark in the word count. Holy smokes...I've never written this much for a single work ever. And I'm not even CLOSE to being done. I've got some good-sized chapters coming up soon, too, so it's only gonna get larger. Where it stops, even I don't know.

What kind of idiot would launch a synthetic digimon with that kind of design flaw? Well, that would be me! I'm just full of bad ideas, good thing I use them all for the bad guys. If you're wondering where the heck these other digimon came from, I recommend you cast your memory back to Chapter 9. That's probably all the hint you need.

This is my favorite chapter so far. Everything came together well in this one right from the start, which made it really easy to rewrite and solidify. And I really like the interplay between the various characters. Especially Ashley and Elecmon. Bit of a vicarious thrill there, I'll admit - I'd love to just be able to logic someone into submission. Alas, most people I meet don't make that possible.

Thanks to reviewers! I'm always happy to see that people like what they're seeing. Hopefully I can keep up that level of writing. Certainly not easy - I don't know how those professional authors do it.

That's all I have for now. Tune in next week for the next installment!