Chapter 25: Trust And Deceive
13wolfsbane: Hey guys! 13 here reporting for duty here on FanFic! Wow! I'm finally on chapter 25... This story is getting long!
Yin: How long is it suppose to take to finish?
13wolfsbane: That's for you to find out and for me to find out.
Yin: What?
13wolfsbane: Okay then, I'm going to start this chapter right now before something happens to me. But let me answer this question first: Ahem! When I was planning this story, I was pretty much still a kid, so I was unaware of the original "Sunmon" and "Moonmon". I thought I had just made them up due to Yin's attribute, hence Eclipse. Well, now that that is done, time to start... ACTION!
Yin: I wish she would just stop that.
~x~
Moonmon knew that there was something about this battle that seemed too easy for them. If the beast spirits were stronger than the human-type ones, then why was beating her so easy for Moonmon. I have a bad feeling about this, Moonmon thought, descending from the air to the other on the surface of the beach. Even as she walked silently towards her foe, Ranamon remained glaring and smirking at her, like she had did something or other that was amusing to her. Moonmon and the others then heard her laughing, remaining where she sat at.
"Start talking, Ranamon, did Destructmon send you after us? Or did you just wanted to get your ass kicked again?"
Ranamon's smirk grew wider, more devilish than ever. "My, such a mouth you have there, li'l beasty. As a matter of fact, I'm on orders of Lady Destructmon, and she wanted me to relay a message to you, Yinni."
"And just what kind of a message could that be? Trying to kill us as usual?" Zephyrmon interrogated the warrior of water, receiving one of those deadly red glares she had already given to mostly everyone. "I wasn't talkin' to you, li'l miss Zoe, I was talkin' to Yin." Ranamon retorted in a smug manner.
From the corner of her blade colored eyes, Moonmon saw both BurningGreymon and KendoGarurumon halting her from seem to look as if she were to jump at her and claw her face off. In any way, maybe they all wanted to at some point, but that would be uncalled for. Right now, all she wanted to do now was hear what Ranamon here had to tell her from Destructmon. If anything, it might as well be a death threat or some sort of challenge to a battle. "Just tell me what she wants to say."
Ranamon returned her full attention to Moonmon, her smirk getting darker and darker. "It's a small warning, Yinni, about who to trust."
"What?" Just about all of them were confused by this.
"'Know who your friends are, and know those who keep secrets from you. Not knowing certain secrets as you do now will prove to be fatal in bonds and ties, and coming to a certain point of time, you will see how much of a friend they all pretend to be to you.' That's what she wanted me to tell ya, sweetie."
Know who your friends are...? Not knowing certain secrets...? Was Ranamon talking about Duskmon and Koichi? She was right about that part, about Yin knowing the truth about those two, but she was still a bit skeptic about some other details her friends might be keeping from her. These damned secrets they were hiding were affecting their friendship, having her doubt herself and everything else.
Don't think like that Yin, they couldn't possibly be-
"I know that look on your face, sugah." Ranamon words pierced through her like a needle, gasping without sound of anyone noticing. "You don't know who to trust now, do you? You're startin' to doubt the new bond you and these bratty babies have created for each other, after learnin' the one thing they've been hidin' from ya since the Protectors Village... before and after its fall."
The village... that's right! They've been keeping that secret from her since that time, about Duskmon and his origins... his connection with Koichi and Cherubimon... the stuff that they knew and didn't bother telling her. She hated this. Yin hated it so much on how Ranamon was able to read her like a book just perfectly. She hated it, it made her feel so weak. Moonmon gave a quick glance around, everyone was staring at her in partial disbelief and suspicion. Moonmon felt every cutting edges of their stares piercing right through her like knives and needles, anything sharp.
"Is that all, Ranamon?" Moonmon averted her eyes back on the Warrior of Water, deciding if they wanted to ask questions, they should do it after words.
Ranamon shook her head, still smiling as she giggled girlishly. She then stood to her feet, dusting herself off and placing both her hands on her hips, a direct glare at Moonmon. "Well, there's that... and this! Draining Rain!"
Everyone was caught off guard by Ranamon's sudden attack; the falling of pouring rain washed all over them all, soaking each warrior to the bone and stripping them of their powers and strength. Falling to their knees in the now drench muddy ground, water dribbling down on their faces, arms and legs. "Alrighty, Mercurymon, ya better hurry and get your shiny self ova' here do what'cha gotta do already." They heard Ranamon say.
Moonmon felt herself being picked up by two sets of arms and hands: Two holding her up by her shoulders and the others at her ankles, preventing her from flailing kicks around. If that was possible if it had not been for Ranamon. Moonmon was too weak to lift her own head up, but just by looking down at the ground and seeing the weirdly shaped feet of color coding green and yellow and red. The feel of Mercurymon's cold metal fingers under her chin lifted her view to his mirror-surfaced face, his only visible red mouth playing a smirk at her. All she did was glare, possibly the only thing she was able to do at the very moment of helplessness.
"Truly, milady, thou hast put up quite a warn, but mark at what rash humor thou hast been. Not lady-like, young warrior."
"Go to hell, bastard..." She hissed quietly at him, throwing his a dirty look that only reflected her own appearance.
Mercurymon sighs, removing his pointed fingers from her chin to clutch at her slim neck. "Thou youngen durst to utter such foul words to thy captor, alas, I shall forgive thee an but ye beseech of me."
"You're just one hell of an old English chatter box, aren't'cha?" She muttered, only to have his metal hand clutch tighter at her neck for air to hitch.
"Leave her alone, you god damned bastard!" She heard Lobomon's voice echo with a fury, and took notice of his battle stance with his saber in hand aimed at Mercurymon. But Ranamon had stopped him in time by using her Draining Rain attack again, creating more of a down pour than before.
Mercurymon seemed to have given a side glance at the weakened warrior of Light, then at Ranamon. "Hath thou dealt with the pest, Ranamon?" He received a mockful-like salute from the warrior of water, her facial appearance dead serious as she tried her hardest not to crack up laughing at this. "Pest had been taken care of, darlin'! Now do wut Lady Destructmon wanted ya to do already, I'm gettin' impatient here!"
Mercurymon slightly nudged his head to the side, something of a signal to these goonies of his (or Destructmon's). Both Grumblemon and Arbormon (she guessed that they were there) held tighter onto her limps, while Ranamon kept the others in a never ending power-ripping shower and Mercurymon removing his hand from her throat. He brought forth his left mirror-based forearm high enough for her to witness her own reflection. What was the point of the mirror, she questioned mentally. Then she heard Mercurymon- the mirror face freak-chuckle darkly to himself, his red mouth growing wider in a smirk. "I ask forgiveness of thou, milady, tis but what Lady Destructmon craves."
Before any thought came to mind at all, there was a blinding light summoning forth from his mirror, and then everything went blank.
~x~
She opened her eyes tiredly to darkness surrounding her, but seem to be enough light for her to see her own hand in from her. A human hand... She prop herself sitting up, taking in her human form that she was in now. Yin didn't recall reverting back to this form, nor did she remember where the others were at the moment.
Gasp! She'd risen to her feet too quickly, causing her head to feel light and dizzy. Maybe from exhaustion? She steadied herself, standing still for several seconds until she felt normal again and began to trek across the darkness. Somehow, maybe due to her attribute, she was able to see in this dark, if not only herself. Yin had no idea where she was walking to, or from where, but maybe heading straight might lead her somewhere. Wherever going straight was, that is. It was a bit cold, feeling the goosebumps on her arms already with slight shivers. She had to wear a short sleeve jacket, didn't she? Idiot...
Wearing the proper clothing was the least bit of her worries, Yin had to find the others, as hard as she could try. "Hey!" She called out. "Anyone there! Hello!"
Only her own voice reverberated through this black, nothing else as disappointment fell across Yin's face. Of course no one would be there, she was the only one here. The only one left alone in the dark...
Suddenly she came to a halt. Soft, devious- almost seductive-like- laughter resounded in the endless area. Yin was on her guard, reaching to her D-Tector strapped on her belt. She tried to feel for it, but found nothing attached to her belt, nothing. Her D-Tector was completely gone, and the laugh came now and then, louder and louder. And then there was that pain in her head again, the one from before- but there were these images. What the hell is this?
The images went through her mind like a flash of lightning, continuously replaying scenes she had either forgotten or wished never to remember again. Scenes of grief, unhappiness, all lament, so painful. She wished she could never see them again, she wanted so much to block them out for good.
Each one brought a pang to her heart strings, her hands clutched to her head, keeping it together as if it were to burst open and a barrage of these memories spilling out. Why was this happening to her?
A few memories caught her attention, and the sounds of the rubber tires screeching against the black pavement scratching in her ears, that familiar thud sound and the sight of blood. With eyes wide, and teeth gritting hard against each other, she removes her hands from her heads and stares at them, half expecting fragments of her skull to fall into place of her palms. Nothing was in her hands, nothing but the bright redness and bitter scent of blood on them. Her eyes wandered above her hands, and what grabbed at her senses put her in great shock, so much that she screamed as she fell to her knees with the salty downpour of tears shedding. She was there, she was there again at that very scene.
And so was he.
Yin felt sick to her stomach staring at the body, sprawled on the ground with the pool of deep red under him, eyes looking out with a far away blank stare. Skin pale as the snow that made the small trail of blood from his mouth glow bright. Yin cried uncontrollably, screaming, shaking her head with eyes glued onto him; hands holding onto her arms as tightly. There was knotting in her weak stomach, her breath repeatably hitched in her tightened throat, mouth extremely dry. She wanted it to go away, she wanted this scene to disappear from sight, from her memory. She wanted to erase it. Yin didn't want to see her father this way, not again.
She tried and tried, but nothing happened. It was still here, before her, staring straight into her eyes with no emotion. She screamed, screamed until her throat hurt, until she was out of breath, until she had fainted. Yin felt the queasy sensation creeping up her throat, her hands cupped at her mouth and bent over, swallowing it back and breathing heavily; Crying.
And then she heard the sounds again: the tires screeching, the yelling, the crying, cracking of bones and the very last words he ever spoke to her.
"...I'm... s-sorry..."
...make it stop... make it stop, please, just make it stop, make it stop...!
Yin heard more screams, screams that were all too familiar to her ears. Screams of pain, as in being attacked. Oh god, the others... Slowly lifting her head, wide blue orbs wandering ahead again to see her father no longer there, but several more bodies with open dark wounds and red stains covering them from head to toe; Ravaged, such carnage everywhere, the same far away stares. Yin knew the feeling of the atmosphere: Death.
...no... no, no, no! Make it stop already, please stop it! Stop it! Please-
-MAKE IT STOP!
~x~
He felt helpless when she began to scream at the top of her lungs, out of fear, out of mental pain. Ranamon had all of them under this down pour of a shower and none of them had the strength to get up and help Moonmon. Watching helplessly against their will, listening to Yin's fearful cries. Just what the hell did Mercurymon do to her?
They all watched as the three evil warriors allowed Moonmon to collapse to the ground, reverting back as Yin and remaining in the same state of fear as she was in. To Lobomon's shock, he'd taken notice of the stream of tears falling down each second, one after another. He felt anger boil up in him, gripping hard on the handle of his weapon, and the urge of jumping to his feet and attacking mercilessly at these scum surging through his body. But the only thing that kept him down was Ranamon's stupid weakening attack. He tried moving, but the water just made it harder for him. Becoming a heavy load that was hard to get rid of.
Glancing up at Yin, he and the others could see just how traumatized she was. Whatever Mercurymon did to her was doing a perfect job at making her scared like a little kid of a monster, or a victim of an attacker. Yin was scared, actually scared to her wits with all her screaming and crying, those sapphire orbs of her encased with dreaded fear and weakness- something she would never show to her enemies or them. But now, she was showing them now. Yin was actually scared to death.
Lobomon heard Ranamon laughing hysterically. It angered him, just what did she find that was so funny right now at this very moment? "Well well, Yinni girl, looks like ya ain't so tough as ya thought you were. You're nothin' but a scared little kid cryin' an' wantin' to go to daddy, huh? Too bad he ain't around." And she laughed again, having Yin in her recent state amuse her very much.
"Shut up..." Lobomon managed to utter under his breath, grabbing Ranamon's attention with that amusement dancing on her blue-ish colored face.
"You say somethin', sweetie pie?" She smirked cloyingly. Then Ranamon bent down just a little bit, moving closer and staring directly at Lobomon only, eyes dark and sinister, filled with dirty tricks and twisted humor. "Oh, I see now," she began low toned. "You love li'l miss Eclipse, don'cha? That's why you're protective over her, aren't'cha?
"There's no reason to deny it now, sugah, 'cause I see it written all ovah your face. It's quite ironic how the warrior o' Light has feelings for the warrior of Eclipse, just like in the old days, huh Mercurymon?" Then she turned and asked the warrior of Steel, who stood above the fall cringing girl. "Thy warrior holds great remorse for this girl. Lobomon's thoughts and feelings were the same."
"'Ey, Mercurymon. Since the girl's down for the count, we can leave now, right?" Arbormon had interrupted in the conversation dumbly, hoisting his index finger upwards in the air as his trademark.
Mercurymon shot Arbormon a nasty look, the mixed colors of lights from the three moons reflecting right off the base of his face. After just brief seconds, Mercurymon sighed in heavily of annoyance from his fellow warrior. Peering over his bulky shoulder to Ranamon, he spoke loud enough for Lobomon to hear through the rushing of water. "Our exploit is done. The time to take leave is now. Ranamon, release the pathetic whelps."
Ranamon made a whine of disappointment, unwillingly cutting off her attack the gang and taking full strides over to her comrades. "I wanna play wit 'em a li'l more, can't I , Mercurymon?"
Mercurymon kept silent and did nothing, causing Ranamon to puff and fold her arms crossing her chest. She had muttered something inaudible.
Mercurymon shot Lobomon a mischievous grin at him before the four corrupted warriors left, leaving not a trace of them behind but puddles of water and mud, and a horror-stricken Yin. Reverting back to their own human forms, Koji was the first to rush to Yin's side, despite being soaked to the bone and half weak and all. "Yin!" Yin's state was disconcerting him: She hadn't stopped crying, and she didn't seem to notice his presence yet. "Yin, snap out of it. Calm down, Yin."
She kept crying, not even trying to calm herself down- like she was trapped in some sort of endless nightmare all by herself, with no one else to be there for her. No, she's not alone anymore-
Koji embraced the weeping warrior in his arms, trying to give her the comfort that she needed right now. If she needed to cry, then he'd let her cry as much as she wanted, just to let it all out. But no matter much he wanted to ease her pain, her suffering, he couldn't. Koji didn't think so with this. Just what the heck did he do to her, anyways? He noticed that Yin had calmed down a bit by now, but she wasn't recovering that well. She still looked pale as a white sheet, like seeing a ghost, and she was shaking. Her voice was weak, very quiet when she spoke. "Koji...?"
He was relieved to hear her, but his heart still wrenched. "Yin, what did he do to you?" He immediately asked.
"I don't know... I don't know, but... " She began crying again as she twined her arms around him.
"Yin?"
"I kept seeing him... I kept seeing my father dead in front of me. That scene was playing over and over, I kept hearing everything, I kept seeing everything of that day.
"I saw my father's death, and yours, and Takuya's, Zoe's, everyone. Everyone was dead. And I- I wasn't able to-"
So that's what he did to her; show her things that frightened her the most, things she never wanted to happen ever. But what was the purpose of it? Was that just Destructmon's plans to mess with her mind? Her memories? "It was just Mercurymon's tricks, it wasn't real, Yin. We're not dead, we're all alright." He held her tighter as he said this, stroking her damped hair. "Everything's gonna be alright."
He wished it were, but something was telling him deep inside that it wasn't going to be soon.
~x~
Duskmon ran through the forest, dodging every single tree or cutting down the ones that got in his way. He was in desperate hurry, and if his theory was correct, their battle against that celestial was happening at this very moment. How could he have let this all come to this? From living in the Continent of Darkness to this, a battle of sacrifice.
His own little sister, his only twin, how could he have let her join this battle.
I have to hurry and stop this, before it's too late.
Duskmon quicken his pace of running, he had to get in time. There wasn't a second to lose at this moment, he had to be there and stop this. He had to protect his sister, no matter the cost.
There was a clearing up ahead, where he heard countless of attacks being cried out and various lights flickering at each side-
-and also a song. No, it wasn't, that voice-
Moonmon!
She was singing the song of sacrifice, once the singer begins this song, all bets of saving her from an unspeakable fate are off. It was too late to save her now. No, not if I can't help it! So he charged on towards the opening, his swords bared as he was ready for battle-
~"Brother..."~ Came Moonmon's voice, very distant, very sad and weak.
"Moonmon?" Duskmon stops in his tracks, listening to his younger twin's voice carefully in confusion and great worry.
~"No matter what happens, we're still twins, right?"~
"Moonmon! Don't!"
~"Good-bye, Duskmon... I'm sorry."~
Just before his eyes, there was an entity of bright light and a loud explosion, wind bursting out before him as it almost blew Duskmon off his feet if he hadn't kept his ground. There was now a feeling loneliness, empty in his mind and soul. He could no longer feel the connection anymore. "NO!"
Duskmon was now on his knees, retracting only one sword and he swung the other towards a few thick trees, then at the ground. He yelled in frustration, cringing in pain and fought back what might've been tears. For the first time in his life, for the very first time, he was alone. He could no longer hear her voice, see that timid smile, listen to her singing, he could no longer feel her presence in this world anymore. Looking to the dark sky of black and gray, he found trace of digi-eggs floating away. With that, everything came with such clarity.
The Eleven Warriors were dead.
~x~
I can't take it anymore! Cried out Sorcermon, ending the memory spell he'd cast upon Duskmon finally. Breaking off the spell was like cutting off the ties you had with someone suddenly, a mind that became now parting in two. Sorcermon leaned against his staff, panting heavily and cold sweat dribbling down the sides of his pale face. Everything he saw just now, everything he saw in Duskmon's mind... were his memories?
Sorcermon glances up at the befallen creature, Dawnmon leaning over to help him, with worry crossing her face. To his shock, Duskmon was in pain, and exhausted. He was in the same state as Sorcermon was. "What... what are you?" Sorcermon managed to speak betweens breaths. "How can someone... have that kind of... a past?"
Duskmon's crimsons wavered, his deformed dragon-head arm laying on the ground. He was silent, acting like he was mute to possible ignore answering any further questions from this runt. But he had to give him credit, though; the pipsqueak did have just enough guts to that to him, to bring him to his knees.
Seraphimon stepped forward to his wizard apprentice in silence. "Now Sorcermon," He began, his voice reverberating throughout the room. "Do you understand?"
"I'm... still speculating about some of the major details... About things that still don't quite make sense to me about you, Duskmon," Sorcermon began to lifted himself up by using his staff, careful to steady himself and to keep him from any further wobbling. "But... seeing your memories have made me see another light in you, one that only a rare amount of digimon know.
"I still don't fully trust you, but if Seraphimon says you have changed a new leaf, then I guess I have no choice but to trust you as an ally."
"There is one thing that you're wrong about..." Duskmon said harshly, remaining in the same position.
Sorcermon stared at him quizzically. "And what would that be?"
"I am a being made purely out of darkness, of the shadows, I have no light in me."
"But still, just knowing of your past is enough for me, and Seraphimon's trust in you. Cherubimon is a friend of Lord Seraphimon as well as Lady Ophanimon, making us apprentices comrades in arms. I don't like the idea of joining forces with you, but it'll have to be something to deal with."
Duskmon seemed to have smirk behind his mask, allowing Dawnmon to help him for once. he hated to depend on others when he felt weak, which rarely ever happens.
"Now that everything seems to have calmed down, I believe it's time for the matter of making preparations, don't you think, Sorcermon?" Seraphimon decided to change the subject on them suddenly, turning away from the three apprentices to the repaired stained-glass windows in the room. Seraphimon felt he had received quizzical looks from behind him. "Lord Seraphimon?" He heard Sorcermon.
"Those children should be arriving soon to this castle, and I want to be sure we welcome them warmly with some festivities."
~x~
13wolfsbane: And there you have it, folks!
Yin: 13, what the hell did you do to me!
Koji: Isn't that the million dollar question for this chapter?
Yin: Quit the sarcasm, pretty boy!
Koji: Sheesh!
13wolfsbane: Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out sooner, I was planning on updating it on the 23rd this month, but I had what my mom call an allergy attack or something. Well all I know it, my head was hurting a freakin' lot like hell, and so was my ear (stupid allergies!). I hope I didn't make any of this confusing, even with Mercurymon's Shakespeare language (I'm reading Julius Caesar in English, that's where I picked up the language) and some other stuff. Please leave a review and tell me what you think-
J.P: And if you hated that we other warriors barely have any action time, you can put that there, too.
Zoe: Seriously, we need more screen time!
Takuya: Yeah! Or I'm calling my lawyer!
13wolfsbane: But you don't have a lawyer, Taki.
Takuya: ...Then I'll get one!
13wolfsbane: *Sigh* Bye guys! Hope you enjoyed it! :)
Yin: Okay, that was weird.