Series Warnings: Violence; Language; Mature Themes
Pairing Types: Male/Female; Female/Female
She sat on the rooftop, dangling her legs over the edge. Her blue eyes watched, slightly pained, as opposed to their normal dullness. Sitting where she was, staring straight down the length of a moderately sized building would frighten many people, or at least make them slightly uneasy. Her own mortality was something that did not typically factor into Alice McCoy's mind.
She had been watching this battle - Takato and Impmon desperately struggling against DarkLizamon - with a keen eye for some time. Throughout the whole thing, she had to hold herself back... She wanted to interfere, as she had in the past. To defend him.
However, she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she couldn't. She certainly wanted to, but if she kept on doing that, she knew it wouldn't help him in the long run. If she always got in the way of these battles, she knew he wouldn't ever be able to grow stronger...
...of course, then, others arrived to help him regardless. That younger girl from before, her digimon... and then, there was them after that...
"You certainly have grown wise, my child," came a voice, sharp and commanding, but with an odd gentleness. She heard it in the back of her mind, knowing that he wasn't there, and yet still knew what she was doing.
Alice gulped slightly, pressing her D-Ark against her chest. "It... hurts. Not physically. I can't understand it. It makes no sense. But just sitting here, watching him come to harm... it's... I can't describe it..."
"You still have much to learn, and much more to experience before you can come to be what you want, my dear Alice..."
Alice nodded half-heartedly, frowning. "Yes..." Her eyes then focused on four of them running from the battle. "The little girl and her partner have left with him. I'll foll-"
"No."
The word almost felt as if it caused her physical pain. An icy chill ran over Alice's body as that voice lost any gentleness it could have had. To not act as she was supposed to seemed so incomprehensible to her mind right then that she wasn't sure what to think. "M-Master..."
"It is already being handled. Your services are not currently needed in that area. Understood?" Alice felt herself become slightly limp, her arms falling down to her lap. Any will to make any sort of movement left her body. "Of course..."
"You do need to vacate that area, however. They are there, are they not?"
Alice eyed the combatants remaining to fight DarkLizamon: The redheaded young woman, Makino Ruki, and her partner, Renamon. Alice's body straightened back up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Yes. I do," she murmured, and swung around on the rooftop's edge, standing up and walking across it. Dobermon had been standing behind her the whole time silently, not saying a word, and he followed as she walked away. She had to do what she had to do...
That didn't mean, though, that it didn't continue to cause her feelings she couldn't hope to try and understand...
Phase-One: Rising Shadow
Realization 13- "Second Stage"
By Infinity Blade
"That was amazing, Shuichon-chan!" Takato exclaimed as he and the younger girl ran in the general direction Hoshi Hikaru had gone in. Impmon and Lopmon were sticking to the rooftops and alleyways, so as to stay out of the public eye.
Shuichon's head suddenly snapped in his direction, as if she were in a trance. "Um, what was?" she asked quickly, her face slightly flushed.
"What Lopmon did to DarkLizamon!" Takato replied. "Impmon tried the same thing, and didn't even do a thing to him!" Quickly, the Tamer ducked a flying soda can from the alley they were currently passing. Needless to say, it was fairly easy to guess where Impmon was. He ignored it, though. "I had no idea he was that strong without even evolving. You must be a really good Tamer, Shuichon-chan."
Shuichon's face went completely red and she looked forward. "N-no, I'm not. Not really..."
"C'mon, what are you talking abou-?"
"SO!" Shuichon exclaimed, cutting him off, coming to a sudden stop, and planting her hands on her hips. "How far could this guy have gone, anyway? We've got to find him quickly, right? After all, Reika-san needed this done, and if she needed it done, it's important, so we've got to find him fast or else she'll be upset and Yamaki-san will be mad and Yamaki-san isn't nice when he's mad and we'll both be blamed even though Ruki-san told us to go-"
Takato stared at her, his mouth agape. He had forgotten how much she could talk without pausing. Or breathing, it seemed. "Shuichon... chan..."
"Shuichon!" Lopmon suddenly exclaimed, dropping down from a building and landing on her shoulders. Both humans tensed momentarily, their eyes darting around to make sure no one else had seen him.
"L-Lopmon!" Shuichon exclaimed. "What have Jen-niichan and I told you about being careful?"
Lopmon blinked, and then bowed his head. "Apologies. However," he raised his head back up, pointing off down another nearby street. "I sense something strange in that direction. It's not DarkLizamon, nor the other digimon that appeared across town."
Shuichon suddenly looked a slight bit upset at the mention of the latter. Takato, on the other hand, was surprised. "There's another digimon that appeared?"
Shuichon nodded, frowning. "Jen-niichan and Terriermon must be fighting it. I'm sure of it..."
She looks so sad over that, Takato noted to himself. Of course, they did nearly get killed fighting IceDevimon... Shuichon shook her head, reverting to her normal expression. "Takato-san, this guy shouldn't be doing anything that our digimon would sense, should he?"
Takato shook his head. "I wouldn't think so... but if something else is going on, we should check it out. If we can't find him, I'm sure Yamaki-san can find a way. But if something else weird is going on..."
"Right then! ONWARD!" Shuichon exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air, running off in the direction that Lopmon was pointing.
"Y'ever get the feelin' she's a kinda mental?" Impmon's voice suddenly asked. Takato jumped in surprise, looking around again to make sure no one saw him. "IMPMON!" Takato shouted, then, having little patience right then, pulled off his backpack and opened it up. "That's it, BACK IN!"
Impmon growled. "NEVER!"
Takato wasn't even going to try reasoning this time. He grabbed Impmon by the back of his scarf, tossed him into the backpack head first, swung it over his back, and ran off after Shuichon.
"Mutterfuffer!" was Impmon's muffled reply from within the bag.
Had he wanted to, DarkLizamon would have had no problems stopping Takato, Impmon, Shuichon, and Lopmon from leaving the battle. Or at the very least, he could have prolonged their leaving. Ruki knew all of that, and yet the Adult-level digimon had made no such efforts.
"So," Ruki said. "Just what are you up to?"
DarkLizamon eyed the girl. "You're wondering why I let your friends go, are you not?"
"Huh. A smart one," Renamon said. "Now there's something you don't see every day."
"Or often," Ruki added.
"Funny," DarkLizamon said. "At least you have an appreciation for intelligence. No, I'm not stupid... hence why I would rather take on your partner digimon by herself."
Ruki suppressed a smirk. "Wow. He is smart."
"Don't treat me like I'm a Baby-level," DarkLizamon stated. "Evolve. I refuse to be beaten by a mere Child-level digimon."
"Well then," Ruki said, pulling out her D-Ark. "Who are we to deny someone their dying wish?"
It was quickly becoming apparent to Juri that a hobby shop such as the one she was in wasn't quite used to having pretty young girls as customers. The looks she had received when she and Hirokazu entered tipped her off to that. The looks she was continuing to get were beginning to creep her out.
"So, um, Hirokazu-kun," Juri said, brushing some hair away from her eyes and using that as a brief way to block out those looking at her. The other teenager was busy staring at a case of Digimon cards. "Why exactly are you doing this, anyway? I haven't seen you show much interest in this sort of stuff in a long time..."
"Well, it's not that I wasn't interested," he said, and then frowned a bit. "It was that I was an idiot."
Juri bit her lip, if only to stop herself from saying something to that could be seen as mean. It's not that she meant to think something like that, of course. It was more what some of her friends would probably say to that comment.
"I was so caught up in wanting to be a 'cool guy' that I didn't really even know what that meant," Hirokazu muttered. "I wanted to be somebody, and not just some everyday scrawny-assed dork. When I did that, though, I left Takato out to dry. I want to make that up to him, now." He then brightened up, pumping a fist into the air. "So! I'm going to remember everything there is to know about digimon, that way I can find some way to help him out!"
Juri looked at him for a second, and then simply just... smiled. Hirokazu raised an eyebrow. "What? What's so funny?"
"Nothing funny at all," she said softly. "I just think it's sort of sweet."
He looked back, blinking several times, and then coughed into his hand, turning his head to cover his face turning red. "Well, uh, I wouldn't exactly say that. I just want to help my fellow man in his battles of life and death!"
Juri giggled. "See, now, I thought you were over that whole 'acting macho' thing."
"I am, it's just..." he sighed in frustration and defeat. "Okay, fine, whatever. Just don't put it like that in front of anyone else!"
"Alright," she said simply. "I'm just glad, that's all."
"Glad?"
"That you and Takato-kun are friends again," Juri replied. "That's something everyone needs. And after everything Takato-kun's been through..."
Hirokazu nodded, clenching one fist and holding it up. "I promise, I'm gonna make up for everything, and then some. Wherever I can, I'm gonna make sure Takato doesn't have to deal with these things by himself anymore." To Hirokazu's surprise, the girl then lightly hit her fist against his. He stared at her strangely. "Wha..."
"Then lets both make that promise," Juri said. "That we won't ever let Takato-kun be by himself again. We'll back him up one hundred and one percent through this whole mess, and not abandon him under any circumstances." She then smiled brightly again. "Promise?"
Hirokazu grinned back at her. "Right. That's a promise."
Juri then gave a squeal as someone suddenly ran right into her. She instinctively smacked the perpetrator away, and then stopped short when she realized who it was.
"I'm sorry!" the green-haired boy exclaimed, grabbing his cheek where he had been slapped. "I was just in a hurry and..." He trailed off as he saw them.
"Kitagawa-kun?" Juri questioned. "Sorry about the slap, I just thought you were some stranger..."
"Katou!" Kenta exclaimed, and then looked at Hirokazu, instantly going a tad pale. "Sh-Shiota..."
"Dude," Hirokazu said, crossing his arms. "I'm not working with Katoki and the Kobayashi brothers anymore. You saw what happened in class the other day, right?"
"Ri-right," Kenta stammered. He then glanced back and forth between the both of them. "Hey, why are you two... you two aren't, like..."
Hirokazu obviously didn't catch what Kenta meant at first. Juri, however, did, and her face turned a bright red. "N-no! Why would you think something like that?"
"Oh, okay," Kenta said, and then glanced around nervously. "So, um... yeah. Bye!" With that, he bolted straight out the door.
"Wonder what that was about..." she murmured, and then turned to see Hirokazu with his arms still crossed. Now he was staring at her.
"Geez, don't make it sound like a crime or something," he muttered.
Okay, she realized, blushing again, maybe he did understand what Kitagawa-kun was assuming...
"Ah, I'm just kidding!" Hirokazu snapped back to normal, smiling happily. "We should probably get out of here anyway. I'm done looking around, anyway." He started walking towards the door and chuckled a bit. "'Sides, I know you've got to be sick of the otaku in here glancing at you. You'd think they never saw a cute girl before!"
Juri's face went completely red at that comment, but she still followed after him. Now he's just teasing me! she thought to herself. But, still... it's nice to have to old Hirokazu-kun coming back...
"GATLING ARM!"
A hailstorm of bullets erupted from Galgomon's gun-hands, blasting across the rain-soaked construction yard towards Musyamon. The warrior digimon dove out of the way, behind a pile of concrete blocks and out of Galgomon's line of sight. Galgomon growled, lowering his arms, but not moving. If not for the subtle link between his mind and Jenrya's, the Adult-level digimon would have more than likely charged after Musyamon, despite knowing better.
Jenrya hated taking any fight to this level. He knew that the fight couldn't end until Musyamon was dead, unable to cause anymore harm. What disturbed him, however, was the fact that the thought of having to snuff out another's life didn't bother him like it once did. He wondered, briefly, if that was his digimon partner's natural instincts reflecting back on his mind through their link. Even still, it made him feel slightly sick to his stomach.
How had he felt when battling IceDevimon? Jenrya had wanted the fallen angel digimon dead. Utterly destroyed. The fact that he had wanted this never crossed his mind once in that fight. Being able to look back at it, though, Jenrya found himself being quite bothered by that fact. It was a nagging little feeling in the back of his mind, bothering him every waking moment.
He had been taught to respect life. More over, to respect the lives of others and hold them at the highest of values. Yet, he had killed by way of granting Terriermon his power. Since he first met Terriermon, he had brought an end to the lives of several digimon. Though made of data, they were living, breathing creatures. They weren't quite human, driven by their own natural instincts and having habits different from the flesh and blood humans, but they were about as close as one could get.
He did this in self-defense, and in the defense of others, right? That's what he told himself. That's what he had to tell himself in order to remain sane. He needed to do this for the sake of others... even if it went against everything he had ever been taught. Even if it cost him his own morality. His humanity...
"WHITE BIRD SWORD!"
Jenrya snapped out of his thought pattern, seeing Musyamon coming back across the slick ground again. Barely even thinking, Jenrya moved, and Galgomon moved in perfect synch with him. As Galgomon avoided his opponent's lunge, without even going off of Jenrya's prompting, he quickly turned, punching Musyamon hard in the side of the head as he passed.
Musyamon screamed as he was knocked away, flipping over and landing roughly on the ground. Galgomon then smirked, leveling his guns back at his downed enemy. "Heh!" Musyamon laughed, trying to push himself back up. "Real classy. So, what're you waitin' for? Shoot me!"
Jenrya looked back and forth between the two digimon. It would be so easy for Galgomon to just end the battle right then and there... to just simply shoot Musyamon when he was defenseless. Why shouldn't he? But...
Musyamon spit some blood out of his mouth and hefted his sword up. "Pansies." He then tossed his sword right at Jenrya.
There wasn't any time for Jenrya to erect a Draw Field. Barely enough time for him to move an inch. He tried to dive out of the way, but was barely fast enough. Though he avoided getting run through by it, the blade still managed hit his side. Jenrya felt as if everything in his world had stopped, if only for an instant, before he could feel his flesh being ripped open. Blood spilled from the wound, and Jenrya dropped to the ground like a rock, screaming at the top of his lungs.
He just laid there, watching helplessly as a similar wound suddenly appeared on Galgomon. The digimon gave a scream, but was able to barely keep on his feet. At least, he did until Musyamon rushed him, punching the other Adult-level square in the face. Galgomon fell back, and Jenrya likewise felt an invisible force pounding him in the face. This succeeded in breaking the boy's nose, as well, but the pain he was feeling then was so intense that a little bit more didn't matter.
There was nothing else he could do but lay there, writhing in pain. Much like the blood from his wound, tears flowed freely. He grasped around wildly, but he couldn't imagine what he could possibly find to help him... then his hand suddenly latched onto something. He quickly realized this was Musyamon's foot. A foot which quickly connected with Jenrya's chest, knocking him back several feet, and making him land on his open wound.
All he could do was scream some more, until Musyamon grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him high up. "You're real dumb, kid," the warrior grinned.
It was true that if he had remained behind his Draw Field, he would have been safe. Minami, however, wouldn't have. If he had brought it back up, the Wild One would have just gone after her again. That's what he had figured, anyway...
Jenrya could taste his own blood now. He realized his nose must be bleeding from one of the earlier blows... but that didn't seem to matter much anymore. It was over. Everything was over...
"LET GO OF HIM!" Galgomon screamed, and through his now-blurry vision, Jenrya could see his partner rushing up behind Musyamon. The warrior just chuckled, grabbing Jenrya's left arm. One quick squeeze and a snap later, Jenrya's arm was broken and Galgomon was on his knees clutching his own.
Musyamon laughed. "Just like a voodoo doll!" This was it. This was where he was going to die...
Everything he had ever done. Everything he had ever tried to do... it was all for nothing, now. No one was going to show up at the last second to save him this time...
Shuichon, Dad, Mom, Neesan, Oniisan... Terriermon... Zhao-sensei...
"It's over," Musyamon grinned, raising a fist in preparation to pound it into the human.
Jenrya couldn't move any longer. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't even bring himself to cry out in pain any longer. There just wasn't any point. I'm sorry, everyone...
"Jianliang. Look up at me."
Eight year-old Lee Jenrya didn't want to do as he was told. He stood at the doorway that belonged to an older Chinese man, who was standing before him. A stern look was held in his eyes, which was in stark contrast to the kindness usually reflected in them. The little boy had taken one glance at him and didn't want to have to do that again. He didn't want to face this man...
"S-Sensei... I..."
The man, Zhao, sighed and kneeled down, patting the young boy on the head. Jenrya tried to look away, but Zhao held his head in place. "Jianliang, you're lucky you're even able to come over here today. Or that your parents aren't in any trouble."
Jenrya sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes. "I... I didn't mean to, Sensei..."
Zhao sighed again, rising up and taking the boy's hand. "Come along. We're not going to do any training today. I just want to speak with you."
In a way, being scolded by this man seemed somehow worse than with his parents. The boy couldn't help but look up to him, and always had. To have let him down like he knew he had...
They walked in silence until they reached the man's parlor. He had Jenrya take a seat, and then did the same himself. The boy still refused to look at his Sensei. Despite that, Zhao began to talk. "I must apologize to you, Jianliang. I've let both you and your father down."
The boy blinked in surprise. What did he have to apologize for? Jenrya was the one who had gotten in that fight. He was the one who had broken that other young boy's arm.
"I've tried to teach you many things," Zhao said. "Just as I've taught your older brother and sister. Yet, it seems obvious I didn't instill things into you that I should have..."
Young Jenrya frowned deeply. For this man he respected so much to be speaking with such an amount of shame in his voice just didn't seem... right.
"I'm sure you realize what you did wasn't right," the man continued, and Jenrya nodded earnestly. In fact, the boy had been scared out of his mind when it happened. "I know you're a smart enough child to figure that out. You're a good boy, Jianliang. You're a good boy who just made a very bad mistake."
"I... I know," Jenrya mumbled.
"The failing lies with me," he continued. "Jianliang, there is a stark difference between defense and offense. What I teach you here is something I hope you never have to use outside this building, on other people. However, I'm also not foolish enough to assume the world outside is going to be so friendly. I understand that there may come a time where you have to call on the skills I've taught you. What you have to learn is how to properly utilize what I have taught."
"Yes, Sensei..."
"You have a natural ability. You've adapted so well to everything I've taught you. So, please take my words to heart," the man said, and then paused briefly. "There are more than likely times in your life where you will have to fight. If it must come to that, do so wisely. As I said, you're smart, Jianliang. Use your mind. The average schoolyard bully isn't worth what you could potentially do to them. Otherwise, you will become that bully. "You need to fully realize what it is you are doing. If you fight, fight to protect. Whether it's yourself or anyone who must be protected. Do not fight towards simply harming someone. They are, more than likely, going to that to themselves. Just throwing yourself out there is going to wind up harming you in the end. Only go as far as you need to. Do you understand me, Jianliang?"
"To protect..." Jenrya mumbled.
Zhao nodded. "I won't lie to you and say there aren't bad people in the world. That child wasn't one of them, and he is not the type of person you should be fighting. I earnestly hope that you don't ever meet anyone that you have no choice but to fight. The line between right and wrong can be a gray one, but you just have to learn when and where to stand your ground. I trust you to not do something like this again. So do your mother and father. I just wanted to make sure all of this is clear to you."
The young boy stared at his Sensei for a long moment, digesting everything he had said. He then smiled, nodding. He would make sure that nothing like that happened again. He would make certain of that, and to take his Sensei's words to heart, as the man had requested.
To protect, and to defend...
"IT'S OVER, KID!"
No.
It couldn't be over. Not yet.
Jenrya knew that he still had too much to fight for. Too many people he needed to protect. So much that he needed to defend.
His body still felt so heavy, the pain was still so great. He was wet, drained, and bleeding. Despite all of that, he couldn't stop. He couldn't just stay where he was and die!
Musyamon's fist flew at him. It seemed to move almost in slow motion, and in that instant, he raised his unbroken, right arm, as if he were going to catch the digimon's fist with his bare hand. An act that should, by all rights, be impossible for a human to do with a digimon.
Then, it happened. A soft glow appeared around the palm of his hand, mere centimeters from his skin. And, to Musyamon's complete shock, Jenrya caught his fist. Or, to be exact, the small energy shield covering just his hand did.
"Not... yet," Jenrya grunted, scowling at the Adult-level digimon. "You haven't beaten us... NOT YET!"
Feeling a sudden burst of adrenaline flowing through him, Jenrya pushed back on Musyamon's fist and to his surprise was able to knock the digimon back several feet by doing so. The teenager was released and dropped to his feet. He was also surprised to find he could actually stand up still. Every bit of pain from his injuries was still there, though the bleeding seemed to have stopped for some reason. Yet he also felt a strange sense of energy running through every fiber of his being. He could somehow withstand that pain, and focus back on the task at hand. He couldn't really even begin to describe how it truly felt.
The glow from his hand began to stretch over the rest of his body, and he glared at Musyamon. The digimon snarled, shaking a fist at the Tamer. "How could you do that? You're just a human!"
"I'm human, yes. But not just that," he growled. It sounded rather cocky - more like something Ruki would say - but he had been pushed far enough that he didn't really care at this point. "I'm the Guard Tamer, Lee Jenrya!"
Musyamon scoffed. "You're givin' yourself some fancy little name now? So what?"
Jenrya looked at the glow that was still covering him. "And this, this is..." he trailed off. He didn't quite know how he knew what it was, but something, somewhere, in the back of his mind told him everything he needed to know. "Draw Field SECOND STAGE!" The glow erupted around him, and in a flash, his entire body was shielded just as his hand had been a moment before. "PERFECT GUARD!"
"Oh, big freakin' deal!" Musyamon yelled, dashing at Jenrya and tossing a punch straight for his head. Jenrya didn't even flinch, and the punch... did nothing, being stopped not even an inch from his face. "What the hell..."
Jenrya balled up the fist of his only good arm and punched out. The shield surrounding his fist collided with Musyamon's gut, and the warrior went flying, crashing straight through the pile of blocks he had been hiding behind earlier.
Jenrya looked over at Galgomon, who was now getting to his feet, despite having all the same wounds. "You alright to fight for a bit longer, partner?"
Galgomon grinned. "Moumantai, Jen!" he said, and then pumped his good arm into the air. "I don't know why, but I feel like I could take a hundred more rounds with this punk!" He then looked at his Tamer. "But, uh, what happened to you, anyway?"
Jenrya smiled half-heartedly. "Wish I could really explain it..."
"YOU BASTARDS!" Musyamon howled, climbing out of the rubble that had just been created. He extended one hand, and his sword flew from where it was laying right back to him. "Y'know, I thought I could just have fun with you punks for awhile... I had no idea you'd be this serious..."
"In other words," Galgomon laughed, "you underestimated us!"
The warrior gave another growl. "I've ripped Perfect-level digimon apart with my bare hands! You guys are nothing in comparison to some of the things I've fought! And NOW, you've gone and completely pissed me off!"
"Fine by me," Jenrya spat, and then tossed his D-Ark high in the air.
Galgomon blinked. "Err, Jen, what're you..."
"I'm done with this," Jenrya muttered, holding out his good hand. "I'm done with him. I'm done fighting." A blue glow erupted from it. "I only want to fight to protect." The glow swirled around, rapidly forming something in-between Jenrya's fingers. "I only want to go as far as I need to." A card. "But this guy won't LET me do that!" A shining blue card. "So this has to be done!" As the D-Ark came down, Jenrya swiped the card up, hitting the device's slot. "WE'RE FINISHING THIS NOW! PSI CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"
-To Be Continued
Notes: Well! It's nice to be back on track. I'd like to give a big hand to people over at the "Little Details" community on LiveJournal for help I had with this chapter. Considering the formatting problems that can be had by me trying to post a link, just go to my LiveJorunal's profile page to find it.
"Jianliang" is Jen's proper Chinese name. I've considered whether or not to switch to using that, but haven't fully decided yet. Regardless, I think it worked for where it was used here.
As well, you'll notice that the fic's title change has taken effect. I'll make sure to have that reflected in all chapters soon.
That said, in regards to the reviewer who claims "Impmon sucks" because he can't take on Adult-levels like Guilmon did... Note that Guilmon took on ONE Adult-level in the first bunch of episodes and won as a Child-level. He beat IceDevimon, and as you can probably see, that enemy was given a power boost in this series. Devidramon was beaten as Growmon, so he doesn't count towards that. Takato & Impmon haven't been in as many battles as Takato & Guilmon had by Episode 10 of the anime, either. And there are differences in their relationships that will be addressed. Everything's done for a reason. So I don't really see where that comment (and another reviewer who claimed I'm making Takato look like an "idiot") comes from. :)
Realization 14- "Re: Nightmare"