Note: I own the following characters: Ariyuki, Midori, Kii, Ariyami, Neomon, Alanoko, Merikah, Lilith Tsutomo, Lyle Tsutomo, William Knightsphere, Nekomata, Cairrio, Kohito, Harpymon (my version. More to come in future chapters). I don't own Digimon, the Digidestined, or their parents. By the way, I know this came VERY late, but our internet broke on us. It's probably gonna do it again, too._ Well, if the next chapter doesn't come for a while, you'll know why…^_^'
Chapter Twenty One:
More Truth
Born from darkness, in the light, the child exists in shadow,
Born from hatred, given love, the child exists to fight,
Yet know he not the road is long and should he stray from right,
Grow cold his heart, grow dark his mind, may evil grow that night
"NO! No, no, no! That's not how ya do it! Give it here, I'll show you!" an annoyed William was trying to demonstrate to Harpymon how to scrub dishes just right. She had clawed hands at the end of her wings to allow her to grab things, but it didn't help much. She had smashed three china bowls and two crystal glasses in an attempt to fasten her claws around them.
Lilith as also helping, and trying to comfort Harpymon while William yelled at her. "Lighten up, Will. She doesn't know how to do this, do you?" she stroked Harpymon's wings. She croaked a reply deep in her throat and went back to scrubbing pots, one of the only things her powerful claws could not break. "She'll understand it in time."
"Hey, Lilith!" called Lyle from the living room. Sighing, Lilith entered, wondering what he wanted. "I haven't seen little Cairrio around lately. Is he okay?"
Lilith hesitated to respond. Cairrio hadn't left Lilith's room ever since they came back from the Digital World. He seemed…afraid. "He's just not feeling very well," she lied, smiling sympathetically. "I'll go check on him."
On her way up the stairs, she cringed as she heard the sound of another dish shattering and William screaming his lungs out at Harpymon. Upon entering her room, she gasped as she saw her room's window wide open and Cairrio no where in sight! Breathing heavily, she dashed through the window and looked around, sighing when she saw he was simply sitting on the lower roof below her. She climbed through her window and sat down next to him, staring at the mountains on the horizon of the trees.
"What's on your mind, Cairrio?" Lilith asked.
"What's wrong with everyone?" he responded absently, staring out at the sky, his white tail twitching lazily. "They seem so…scared of me now, even hateful. Cody seems to really hate me now." he bent his head down and sighed hopelessly, his shoulders shaking. "What did I do, Mommy? What did I do?" he started to cry into his knees.
Lilith chuckled and pulled him close. "Oh, sweetie…everyone does bad things in the past, even if they don't mean to. Why, I remember when Sovereign-"
"What I did must not have been an accident, Mommy! I did something really bad, I know it! I'm bad!"
"Is that what you think? Is that what I think?" Lilith said sternly. "I think you're a very sweet, thoughtful, and courageous Digimon, Cairrio. So what if you did mean or bad things in the past? You can't change it, and you're not like that anymore, are you?"
"Do you think everyone hates me?" he continued, acting as though he had not heard a word, though he had.
"What do you think? Ariyuki is your best friend. Do you think he hates you just because of what you can Digivolve into?" Cairrio looked up at her, wiped his eyes, and laughed. Then Lilith giggled and lifted Cairrio into the air.
"I think Ariyuki's gonna be my friend forever, Lilith. You're right." so, smiling with delight, Cairrio and Lilith slid back through the window and downstairs for a snack.
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"Don't worry, Tsunami! I'll get you outta this! Get back, you monsters!" Ariyuki and Ariyami were seated on the couch, watching Goddess Rampage with complete interest.
"Be careful, Mhera," Ariyuki breathed, watching as his favorite Goddess tried to defend her partner.
"Ariyami!" called Molly from the kitchen, drying off a glass cup with a hand towel. "What about these dishes, dear? They need to be put away."
"Yes, Mom. Hang on a second," Ariyami droned, hardly paying attention to what his mother had just said.
Then Ken entered the living room, fully dressed and looking energetic. "Are you guys ready to go yet?" he asked with enthusiasm.
"Go where?" both Ariyuki and Ariyami said together, looking confused.
"To the park, guys! We agreed on going yesterday!" his voice was both full of energy and a bit of irritation, as if this was obvious.
"Ken, you feelin' okay?" Ariyami asked, wondering just where all this energy of Ken's came from.
"Of course! Now c'mon, guys!" Ken was now bouncing on his tiptoes.
"Okay!" Ariyuki raised his hand into the air and leapt off the couch. Ariyami looked completely annoyed. What was going on? Surely that dark spore didn't have this much influence on Ken…or did it?
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Aruanna yawned and stretched. The day was so beautiful, it seemed only right to go walking. With a book in her hand, she set out toward the park, a grin of delight on her face. Then she heard a voice, making her stop and turn around. She let out a small gasp.
"So, where are you heading, my dear?" it was Kohito! "It's such a nice day, you wouldn't be planning to go to the park, now would you?"
Aruanna didn't do or say anything for the longest time. Then she turned around and began walking away, saying sternly "Leave me alone!".
"Not so fast, now," whispered Kohito, walking fast to catch up with the lovely young lady. "Why run away from me? I have no grudge against you, except for the fact that you help the Digidestined."
"It's far better than helping a slime ball such as yourself." she snapped back, not looking at him.
"Yes, I see. You'd much rather spend all your time with little Ariyuki, now wouldn't you?" these words made Aruanna slow down. "Yes, I know you have a soft spot for the tyke. Wouldn't it be such a pity if something were to happen to him? If he were to be hurt in any way? Oh, wouldn't you just feel terrible?"
"Now here this! You will not get anything such as fear from me!" Aruanna bellowed. "Using Ariyuki as a reason to get me to help you is pointless! I have no such soft spot for him. He's like any other student I have." she tried to continue walking, but Kohito blocked her off.
"Lying is something you just can't do," he hissed. "I see the way you get when you look at him. When he tries to hold your hand or hug you, you get all red and soft like a young mother would. If something were to happen to Ariyuki, you'd never forgive yourself."
Aruanna had had enough. She gripped Kohito's arm painfully tight. "If you ever, ever do anything to Ariyuki, I swear I'll kill you." she whispered fiercely, finally letting go. She walked off swiftly.
Kohito grimaced as he looked upon the four cuts that were left from her long fingernails. "We'll just see about that, now won't we?" he glared at her disappearing figure, then stalked off in the other direction.
Aruanna tried to shake off the entire conversation with Kohito, but couldn't. Ariyuki kept entering her mind. What if Kohito really planned to hurt him? "I'll slice him open and make him eat his own intestines first," she muttered to herself, sitting on a bench shaded by a tree and opening her book, actually picturing doing such a thing; it wasn't a pleasant sight.
"Lookie, over here!" a high pitch voice got Aruanna's attention. She stared up and saw none other than Ariyuki running around in a field before her. She chuckled, watching him fall down on purpose, saying, "I've fallen and I can't get up.". Then she saw something green leaping around in the tall grass; Ariyuki's strange cat, Midori.
A glimmer of silver then caught Ariyuki's attention and he stood up. Aruanna's hair was shining through small patches of sun. "Miss Aruanna!" he cried, running toward her, Midori at his heels.
Aruanna stood and immediately found herself being squeezed by Ariyuki. "How are you, Ariyuki?" she asked, looking down at him with a smile.
"I'm okay," he replied. "Me, Ken, and Ariyami just came to the park. How 'bout you?"
Aruanna over-looked his grammar mistakes and said, "I just came to read a book. I sure didn't expect to see you here."
"On a wonderful day like this?" called a voice from somewhere. Looking up, Aruanna saw Ariyami floating in the air, cross-legged. Then Ken came running through the long grass to get to his brothers.
"Oh, hello, Aruanna," Ken said diffidently. "How are you today?"
"I'm just fine," she lied, remembering her encounter with Kohito, putting on a falsely bright smile. Ariyuki then looked down the sidewalk and saw a tall white figure moving toward them.
"Oh, look! It's Mister Muruha!" the excited youngling darted down the sidewalk. He noticed Muruha was going red and had something behind his back. "What's that?" he asked.
He sounded nervous. "Oh, this? Well, it's-it's just-something. Something for Aruanna. Um, excuse me." he bustled past Ariyuki, who was giggling at Muruha's anxiety. He stopped in front of the baffled Aruanna, trying to move his arms, but finding it ridiculously hard.
Then Ariyuki walked behind Muruha and grabbed his hands, forcing them forward. Muruha found his unwilling arms presenting Aruanna with a bouquet of flowers. Aruanna gasped and went red, what with the three young viewers watching. "Oh, Muruha," she whispered, taking the flowers. She noticed Muruha was redder than she'd ever seen him, his eyes glued to the floor.
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, turning him completely pale. "Well, I'd best be going," she told Ariyuki and his brothers. "Won't you come with me, Muruha?"
Muruha was completely dazed. "Yes, let us go," he drawled, sounding like he was under a spell. The two of them walked off, leaving Ariyuki to smile, Ken to ponder what would happen next, and Ariyami to laugh hysterically.
Then Midori hissed, her green fur on end, staring down the opposite end of the sidewalk. The familiar figure of Kohito made its appearance. Ken frowned and Ariyami growled deep in his throat. He walked right past the three boys and their Digimon, grinning the whole way. Then Ken heard him whisper, "It's already starting.".
Since the boys were out in broad daylight, they couldn't pound Kohito to the ground like they so desired, and the same with him. When he was completely out of sight, Ariyami stomped the ground so hard, his foot smashed right through the concrete. "Ariyami, watch it!" Ken cried.
"Well, what's he doing around here, anyway?!" Ariyami demanded, trying to wrench his foot out of the ground.
"I dunno, but we should probably tell the others about this," Ken replied thoughtfully.
"Look, I can't go anywhere until I get my foot out!"
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After noon: Ken, Ariyuki, and Ariyami, each carrying their Digimon, walked down the sidewalk toward the park where they were to meet the others. "What do you think we'll have to do?" Ariyami asked Ken.
"Probably go to the Digital World again. I'm sure that's where Kohito wants us to go." Ken told him.
"Hey, I just thought of something," noted the older counterpart. "Where's Alan, Merikah and Yukio?"
"You'd know that better than us," said Ken, unable to help pondering the very same question.
Ariyuki was simply humming the Goddess Rampage theme song, not even listening to the conversation between the older ones. Then, before he could take another step, the back of Ariyuki's neck flared with pain. He gasped and whimpered, falling to his knees; Ken, Ariyami, Midori, Neomon, and Wormmon doubled back. "What's going on?!" Ariyami demanded, holding Ariyuki still.
Ken was unable to supply an answer; he looked around for anything dark or evil. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The only other explanation was…
"Here, give him to me," he commanded. Baffled, Ariyami agreed; Ken moved Ariyuki's hair out of the way and examined a particularly red spot where the dark spore had to be. Carefully, he pressed his thumb right underneath it, wincing as his thumb brushed against the dark spore. Ariyuki's eyes shot open as the pain disappeared; he quit crying and calmed down.
"What was that?" Ariyami wanted to know.
Ken helped Ariyuki to his unsteady feet. "It's a strange pressure point," he explained. "I learned of it when I was the Digimon Kaiser. Whenever I felt pain, I'd push right under where the dark spore was. Don't ask me how it works; I just don't know."
"What was going on?" Ariyuki asked, his eyes still teary.
"It's like your spore went on a feeding spree," said Ken. "It was trying to take as much energy as it could. It's really hard to explain. Don't worry; it shouldn't happen again any time soon. It went back into hibernation for a while." then he growled angrily. "Damn Kohito!"
Then a voice from behind them made them all jump. "What's going on here?" it was Aruanna. "Ariyuki, are you crying? What happened?" she stared at the other two with suspicion.
Ariyuki stared at her, cooking up an excuse in his head. "It's nothing; I just fell down-"
"Don't try to lie," she snapped. "I know this has something to do with the dark spores; they've all awakened and now the world is in grave danger again."
"One day you'll have to tell me how you know about all this," Ken told her, glaring.
"Well, on a lighter note, I was hoping little Ariyuki would come with me and Muruha," Aruanna explained. "We were planning on going to the mall and maybe the park."
Ariyuki's eyes lit up. Then he turned to his brothers. "Oh, please, Ken? Please?" he made his eyes as big as possible.
Ken smiled; surely he wouldn't be needed too badly in the Digital World, and he needed a break. "Of course. We'll meet up with you here in about-" he checked his watch"-five hours. Alright?"
"Okay!" Ariyuki agreed. Then he cheered loudly, dancing around, before grabbing Aruanna's hand and walking with her, Midori following them.
"Ken, is this such a good idea?" Ariyami asked. "I mean, he's the only one, apart from me, that can Crystal Digivolve!"
"I know," Ken replied. "But I think he needs a break; we can take care of the Digital World without him for now. C'mon, the others are waiting."
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"Oh, no," muttered Yolei, who was sitting at a picnic table along with the others. "We have to go back to the Digiworld where Kohito probably has a trap set up for us?"
"I know, I know; it's a vague plan, but it's the best we've got. If we don't start retaliating soon, Kohito's gonna build an army big enough to destroy the Digital World," Ken informed them all.
"Not to mention," said a voice that came from Lilith, but wasn't hers, "he might get to the Talisman of Power before me! I'd rather kiss the back end of a Raremon before letting that happen!"
"Sovereign, who let you out?" Ken demanded, his hand to his forehead in frustration.
Sovereign puffed up indignantly. "Lilith did. She said I could speak my mind!" then she stuck her tongue out at Ken.
"You could at least show some more manners," snapped Wormmon for the first time from Ken's arms. "We've all been nice enough to let you talk; you might as well show some gratitude."
"The day that I show you losers gratitude is the day Infinity Mountain collapses," she muttered, turning her head away.
"Look, brat," barked Yolei, unable to believe hearing herself say that to Lilith, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bind, here."
"Yeah," added Takeru. "Quit having such a bad attitude for a change and help us out! It's the least you can do for all the havoc you've wreaked!"
Sovereign scoffed. "Yeah, whatever." then her eyes closed, and when they reopened, Lilith's bigger, warmer eyes were there.
"Lilith, I don't know why you let her hang out in you," indicated Cody, a sour frown on his face. "All she does is criticize us."
"I know, but that's because she doesn't like you, and because she knows that you'll always despise her," Lilith said sympathetically.
"Well, she'd better start liking us," huffed Yolei. "Either that, or she can go!"
"Look, I know Sovereign might not be friends with you, but she protects us. She protects me all the time and I know she'll do the same for you," Lilith pointed out hopelessly.
How sure are you? Lilith heard Sovereign hiss in her ear.
"Sovereign," she murmured.
"Hey, guys," whined Davis, who was sitting on top of a picnic table and staying out of this conversation. "Let's go now! I'm tired of waiting!"
"Yeah, let's quit sitting here like a bunch of statues!" added Demiveemon from his perch on Davis' head.
So, the eight Digidestined and their Digimon headed toward the nearest house to the Digital World; Kari's. While walking, Lilith noticed how lonely Cairrio looked. "What's wrong, Cairrio?" she asked.
"Where's Ariyuki?" he asked, his giant blue eyes sad. "I really wanted to see him today…"
"Don't worry," Ken told him. "I'm sure you'll see him later today. He just went to spend today with his teacher." he smiled reassuringly at the young Digimon, who reminded him of Ariyuki a lot.
"Do ya think that's such a good idea?" Kari asked, overhearing the banter.
"Yeah, I think we'll be alright without him today." Ken replied. "A nice break is what he needs."
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Kari's apartment was much bigger than Davis'; her room was tidier as well. Ariyami would certainly know. He had been there once. But since it was in the middle of the night, no one else was to know that.
"Are we ready?" Kari asked, putting her Digivice to her computer monitor. "Digi-port, open!" The ride to the Digital World seemed slower than usual; probably because of how determined they all were. They even ignored all of the brilliant colors around them that used to fascinate them to no end. They landed in a forest full of trees with thick trunks; there must be a lot of water nearby.
"Neomon," ordered Ariyami. "Crystal Digivolve and scout around; we need our bearings."
"Got it! Neomon, Crystal Digivolve to…Shadowmon!" the dark, hooded warrior-type Digimon took to the skies, guaranteeing that he would return shortly.
"This place seems familiar," noted Takeru, looking around. "Oh, I know! This is the place where we met Azulongmon!"
"Azu-what?" Ariyami mocked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Azulongmon!" bellowed a voice from right over them. They all stared up in terror and surprise; Azulongmon, probably one of the strongest Digimon ever, was hovering above them, his many eyes watchful.
Cairrio squeaked with terror and hid behind Lilith. Nekomata hissed a warning; she had never met Azulongmon before. Everyone else stared in wonder at the massive, brilliant dragon-like creature in front of them.
"Where'd you come from?!" Ariyami demanded, shaking his fist at the giant lizard.
"I can appear and disappear when I wish, Ichijouji," he said back rather harshly. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you all here again," his voice became warm and kind.
"It's so great to see you again after all this time," Kari told him sweetly.
"Yeah. How are things?" Davis asked happily. He'd always been interested in Azulongmon, no matter how many times he'd see him.
"Can't say much; that Kohito guy's been running around here recently. I'm afraid he's building up an army." Everyone gasped at these words. Ken didn't seem too surprised; he knew something like this would happen. "Tell me, where's little Ariyuki? I'm eager to see how much he's grown."
"He's not here right now," Ken confessed. "He's spending time with his teacher in the Real World."
"Ah, yes. Kii told me about this teacher of his. She seems very kind, but oddly familiar. Anyway, I'd love it if you wouldn't call your world the Real World. You make it sound like this world isn't real at all." Azulongmon told him, puffing up slightly. Then he spotted Cairrio hiding behind Lilith's leg. "And there's our little Myotismon. It looks like he's changed a bit; I guess spending time with Lilith is exactly what he needed." he beamed at Cairrio, making him blush.
"Again with the know-it-all people!" Ariyami exclaimed, his arms in the air. "First it was Aruanna who knows all about the dark spores, and now this guy knows everything about us!" (at this time Shadowmon had returned. He was just as shocked as Cairrio and Nekomata were to see Azulongmon)
"I don't appreciate your tone, Ariyami!" Azulongmon told him sternly. Then he swiveled his eyes on the other Digidestined. "Well, the reason I came to you all today was to talk to you about something the Guardian of Kindness and the Guardian of Friendship and Courage brought to my attention."
"The Guardian of-" Kari began, but Ken cut her off.
"Kii's the Guardian of Kindness, guys. She protects me and my crest. I forgot that there were others, though."
"Yes, well, anyway, they showed me something extraordinary." Azulongmon continued. "Out of nowhere four temples emerged from the ground. There's one deep in a forest, one by the shoreline, one near a volcano, and one on top of a mountain."
"What does it mean?" Lilith asked, completely fascinated.
"It means I want you all to check it out. It could be something good, but it could be something bad as well. I advise you all to hurry; no doubt Kohito learned of these. He'll most likely be out to investigate. The one on the mountain is the closest; I suggest you go there first."
"Say no more, Azulongmon!" said Davis with determination. "We'll go check it out and report back soon! Let's go, guys!" In no time all the Digidestined were in the air. Cody and Upamon hitched a ride with Yolei, since his Digimon's Digivolving form of Submarimon couldn't fly very fast.
"So, what d'you think these temples are all about?" Ariyami asked Kari, holding his Digimon tightly in his arms.
"I can't really say. I'd like to say that they're something that'll help us, but I really don't know," she told him, thinking the very same thing.
Then, out of nowhere a screech came from in front of them. They looked ahead and saw Harpymon charging toward them, her eyes wild and eager to kill. "Hey, I thought Harpymon was on our side!" Ken called to Lilith.
Lilith was completely confused, until she noticed the wings on this Harpymon were different. "This isn't the same Harpymon! She's different!" she shouted to everyone from her perch on Nekomata's shoulder.
"Alright, then! Let's get it!" Davis went charging forward with Exveemon, but then Lilith stopped him.
"We can't! Remember what Kohito said? Only virus type Digimon can hurt them!" then Nekomata turned to Ken.
"Ken, your Digimon's a virus type, I think! Why don't you and Cairrio attack her?" Nekomata suggested.
"If Stingmon's a virus type, then why couldn't he hurt the last one?" Ken asked, Stingmon dodging a swipe attack by the Harpymon's large claws.
"Because Harpymon's an ultimate level! Stingmon's only champion! Look, enough with this; just kill it!" she bellowed back.
"C'mon, Cairrio!" Lilith pointed her Digivice at her Digimon. "Digivolve!"
"Myomon, Digivolve to…Myotismon!" Myotismon took to the air, his red whip ready. "Stingmon, just leave her to me! I can handle it!" he charged the Harpymon, flailing his crimson whip at her and wrapping it around her talons.
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"Gee, Mister Muruha, I didn't know someone could get pummeled by a monkey in a cage."
Muruha stared at Ariyuki wearily, his body bruised. All three of them were now leaving the zoo, where Muruha was grabbed by the hair by a chimpanzee, and his head was repeatedly bashed against the bars. "Don't worry, Muruha. The nose bleed should stop soon." Aruanna told him soothingly.
"So, what's next?" Ariyuki asked. Before Muruha could respond, Ariyuki's new D-Terminal (which Ken had bought him just yesterday) began to beep, alerting him of a new message. He took it out of his pocket and opened it. "It's from Ken!" he shouted. He read the message aloud.
Ariyuki,
Please come quick! We're desperate for help! A Harpymon attacked us, but we thought we could beat it. Now there are three Harpymon flying around and Myotismon can't take them all on! We don't really know what to do anymore than to get reinforcements!
Ken
"This is awful!" Ariyuki cried. "We have to go! Miss Aruanna, Mister Muruha, I'm sorry, but I have to go now!"
"Wherever you're going, it sounds dangerous! We're coming with you!" Aruanna ordered.
"No! You can't!" Ariyuki tried to argue, but both Aruanna and Muruha had made up their minds and there was no changing them. He sighed and asked where the closest computer might be.
Puzzled, Muruha announced that his house was the nearest and he had a computer. Unlike most men, Muruha's house was very clean and smelled nice. Ariyuki could tell that this school secretary hardly ever used his computer; there was almost nothing in his files or on his desktop. Nevertheless, Ariyuki put his Digivice to the monitor screen and watched as bright light began to shine.
Aruanna and Muruha were confused. What was their little Ariyuki up to? "Digi-port, open!" he commanded. After the bright light caught him, his teacher, and the secretary, he found himself falling through colors once more, not minding it nearly as much. He could hear Aruanna's and Muruha's screams of fear behind him, though.
The next thing he felt was his feet landing on soft flowers. Midori landed on her feet after him, and Muruha and Aruanna landed on their backsides, completely dazed and terrified. "Wh-what-what was that?" Muruha wanted to know, unsteadily getting to his feet and fixing his tousled white hair.
"Guys, this is the Digiworld." Ariyuki explained. "It's really the Digital World, but Digiworld is shorter."
"It's been so long since I've been here," Ariyuki heard Aruanna say, staring around. A screeching caught everyone's attention and they stared up; a Harpymon came hurtling down toward them, talons ready to tear.
"Run for it!" Ariyuki cried, darting toward the woods. Midori was right behind him, followed closely by Aruanna and Muruha. "Gee, where's our Harpymon when you need her?"
"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Muruha shouted. "It's my duty to protect Ariyuki until the right time! I'll stop this Harpymon!"
Aruanna knew exactly what he was thinking. "No, Muruha, you can't!"
"Think about it! We can't outrun this thing forever, and it's obvious that it's main target is gonna be Ariyuki! Do you want him to get killed?!" Muruha told her.
"No, but we've come so far! We can't abandon our plan now!"
"Don't worry, we won't. I'll just do it this one time, and Ariyuki will always trust us, Aruanna." then Muruha stopped running and faced the charging Harpymon. "Come and get me, you winged whore!"
Out of fury, the Harpymon went down toward Muruha. "No! Mister Muruha!" Ariyuki tried to run to him, but Aruanna stopped him.
"Release my true form!" Muruha cried. Everyone, including the Harpymon was blinded by white light. Ariyuki was so scared that he dropped to his knees. When the light vanished, the white Muruha was gone and replaced by a tall figure in blue.
"Mister Muruha?" Ariyuki asked uncertainly.
Then the figure in blue turned around, revealing a bandaged body and a single eye staring at Ariyuki. "It's alright. I'll take care this thing." he said. Ariyuki gasped and took a step back. Then the creature known as Mummymon faced the Harpymon again.
He drew out a large gun and aimed at the giant winged woman. She knew exactly what was going on and desperately charged at her opponent. Mummymon charged up his weapon and said loudly, "Snake Bandage!". The powerful energy shot out of the gun and coiled around Harpymon. She shrieked in agony for only a moment before shattering, deleted.
There was complete silence for a long time. Ariyuki didn't dare say anything, and neither did Aruanna or Mummymon. Then he turned and stared at the young boy who was holding on to Aruanna as if she were his lifeline. "Ariyuki," he said, making the boy clutch Aruanna tighter, "Please, please don't be afraid of me."
Ariyuki was taking large, deep breaths, taking in the wrapped figure who was Muruha. Mummymon gazed at Ariyuki. Does he hate him now? Surely he'd heard stories from his brother and friends about him. How evil and rather clumsy he was.
Ariyuki seemed to not want to move. Then Mummymon saw a single tear slide down his cheek. "Mister Muruha!" he then cried and ran toward him, crying loudly. When he had reached him, his arms were around his bandaged body and he was sobbing uncontrollably.
Mummymon was stunned. Ariyuki had to be the most forgiving child in the world. Then he smiled and closed his eyes. Ariyuki felt a strange wave of warmth and opened his own eyes. He was now looking into the face of the school secretary, Muruha.
"You're human again," he whispered.
"Yeah, but only in appearance. In real life, I'm still a Digimon." he told him.
Then Ariyuki turned to Aruanna. "Are you a Digimon too?"
"Yes," she admitted. "I'm…I'm…" she had trouble saying the name. "I'm a Digimon, too." she said quickly. She couldn't bear telling Ariyuki her horrible witch name.
For a moment, Ariyuki had forgotten about Ken and the others needing his help. "Oh, no! I forgot about the others! They need my help!"
"They need our help," Aruanna corrected him.
"Yeah, let's get going before it's too late!" Muruha announced. "Ariyuki, do you know where the others are?"
"Yeah, my Digivice should be able to detect the others." he watched as his D-3 beeped and showed eight dots. "There they are! Let's go!"
Ariyuki, Aruanna, Muruha, and Midori all set off toward the forest where the distress signals were coming from, praying they weren't too late.