Lilithmon and Cherubimon felt the power surge. The entire castle rocked and shook. It quickly subsided, leaving the two Megas bewildered. However, they felt something. A cold sensation had vanished from their senses. It almost felt as if some form of loss had overcome them. They could feel it in the air, like some part of them had been put out, like the flame of a lit candle.
It hit them, the barrier. That was part of the feeling, the barrier outside had vanished. The darkness from the castle now felt unconfined. The evil air never felt more pleasant. Yet there was still a feeling of loss. Cherubimon and Lilithmon couldn't figure it out.
"He's gone."
From nowhere a figure appeared from thin air, his armored feet clanking against the stone floor. "Duskmon!" exclaimed Cherubimon. "Where have you been?"
Duskmon looked to the demon rabbit, dusting himself off as best as he could for a guy with no hands. "I've been…preoccupied for the most part. But we won't have to worry about Demon's treachery any longer."
Cherubimon's yellow eyes grew wide. "Y-y-you mean?" he stammered. Duskmon merely nodded as a response: Demon was dead. The confirmed news only made Cherubimon's purple face grow dead white. "Was it the humans?" Once more, Duskmon nodded. Cherubimon's face became even paler than it already was if that was even possible.
"T-t-this is absurd! How can those humans take down a Mega level!" Cherubimon said disbelievingly.
Duskmon glared towards him. "You're upset he was destroyed?" Cherubimon realized the double entendre of his words. Therefore, he knew he had to rectify it. "Of course not! I-I-I merely was shocked at the news of their power."
That excuse was accepted by Duskmon. He knew where Cherubimon's loyalty lied so he didn't press the matter further. "Only two have reached the level, the other three have yet to tap into their secondary traits." Duskmon clarified.
That bit of news lessoned the dread Cherubimon currently felt. Almost lessened that is. "But still they could pose a serious threat to the master's revival! If they defeated one of us, then they could very well do the same to the rest!"
Lilithmon remained silent during the conversation. Her mind stayed fixated and focused upon her tasked duty. Her hands never left the black digitama. She rubbed slowly, stroking it as if she coveted it. Oh, she coveted something all right. What she coveted was for whatever lied inside to hatch. Dutifully, the demoness had watched over it, catering to the precious egg's every need. Not even the news of the children upset her. Perhaps in the back of her mind she felt something. But any feelings she had, the master had made certain to remove any unnecessary ones, ones that would only hinder her. At least the master thought so.
"It's time."
Lilithmon heard it.
"The time is near."
The black digitama hummed with resonating energy. Its black shell briefly illuminated. "The time is near." Lilithmon announced. Emotionless as it was, it grabbed Duskmon's and Demon's attention. They noticed something and it shocked them. Even the normally stoic Duskmon couldn't believe his eyes.
Lilithmon was smiling.
Both males turned their gaze towards the digitama. It didn't take them long to realize the relevance of their comapanion's words. "So soon?" Cherubimon questioned. Duskmon strode over to the egg, observing it carefully. Underneath his mask, a grin spread mirroring Lilithmon's. "Just nearly, we are almost there."
Cherubimon felt his own fear being replaced with joy. Yet there still remained one detail. "The Digidestined will come in force." he delivered that line as a warning.
"Then we'll prepare for them." Duskmon countered. "Besides, it would be all the more interesting to see the master rise in full view, no?"
Adimitedly, Cherubimon agreed. They could see it now. The digidestined rallying forth to their stronghold. Their minds full of hope. All of it would come crashing down as they witnessed their destructor arise from his imprisonment. In the end, it all led to the same goal. It wouldn't matter how hard they fought or how hard they tried.
The time of Grandracmon's resurrection was nigh.
XXX
Monde City had seen better days. The battle had left it scarred and decimated. To the Digidestined it was business as usual, as much as they wanted to deny it. It seemed that wherever they went, destruction followed. Of course they didn't intend for this to happen. It always seemed to follow them no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. But such was the case in the life of a hero.
Don Guil made a mental note to make repairs to his mansion. He was meaning to remodel anyway. To say he was on the bad side of the Fallen Angels would be an understatement. Although Demon was dead, there was still Cherubimon and Lilithmon to contend with. Then again, Demon seemed to operate on his own terms. He never directly dealt with the other two. This little takeover seemed more of a solo job than anything else.
Still, his goals hadn't changed. The Fallen Angels had to be overthrown. With their strongest member beaten, they were at a severe disadvantage. However, it didn't mean they were entirely defenseless.
"What you thinking about, Donny?" Gatomon said as she wrapped her claw around his arm.
Don Guil chuckled. "Nothing much, just wonder what Ma would have thought of all this." His mother would have probably handled things differently. He knew that. What he didn't know was how she would handle the current guests. Despite the damage they were partially responsible for, he allowed the Digidestioned to relax within his family manor. He still needed them.
"Man!" Gazimon sighed as he lit up another cigar. As soon as he got the flame going, he puffed and drew a long smoky breath. "Now that was a fight."
Fairydramon cricked something in her neck. "Indeed." The dragoness had kept a stoic position since they had devolved. Since they had devolved from the Mega level, they had surprisingly returned to their Rookie levels. It didn't garner any complaints. In fact, it meant that they would have an easier time evolving into the next level if needed.
The other three digimon remained at their rookie levels as well, though they had gone Ultimate so much that their bodies were used to it. Sho, Jun and Chiisi relaxed their sore bodies upon the carpeted floor...or what remained of it. They felt the strain their digimon felt when they were in their Ultimate forms. Everyone except Kazuya and Sakura.
The pair were still lost in thought over what had just happened. "So, what was it like joining with your partners?" Labramon suddenly asked. Gazimon and Fairydramon looked up at the question.
"Yeah, I could ask the same about you two lovebirds." Jun snickered towards Kazuya and Sakura.
The two humans blushed and averted their eyes from one another. Fairydramon kept her head turned decidedly away from Gazimon. The rabbit took a drag on his cigar again, blowing out another heart-shaped smoke ring. He loved those shapes. "Hey, if our partners are lovebirds, I guess that means the same for us, right sweet honey?"
Although her head was turned, she rolled her eyes and grumbled something underneath her breath. Something about "hentai rabbit" and such.
"To be honest, I don't know how to describe it." Kazuya answered for all four of them. "It was like...I dunno."
"It was weird, to say the least," Sakura admitted. "but at that moment I felt more connected with Fairydramon than I had ever been."
Fairydramon at last turned her head towards her partner. "I felt the same way Sakura. I could feel you and I sharing the same body." The dragon placed a claw to her chest. "It was like being one person...yet not at the same time."
"So in other words, you don't know?" DemiDevimon interrupted. All four parties nodded their heads.
"I understand how strange it may all seem, but that is the full extent of the powers your digicores can grant you." The digidestined were not alone for they had another guest. Maya observed the five humans and five digimon. A full team of ten. This was the first time any of them had been alone together in a good while. At least without random teleportation throwing them around here and there. They couldn't really think of what to say. Labramon would look at the mysterious hooded girl with a hint of longing. Out of the whole group, Labramon felt the most connected with the mysterious lass.
"I suppose we should cut to the chase, shouldn't we?" Chiisi asked. The youngest of the group always knew what to say in such situations. The whole concept of the Mega level was interesting, but they knew the general idea of evolution
Maya of course knew they were referring to her. "I suppose you have all waited long enough." The digital girl spoke. "And with the time of the dark one approaching, now would be the best time." Everyone stood at attention to listen to the girl's words. Labramon gave her attention in particular.
Maya looked deep inside herself. Part of her felt nervous at revealing so much, but now was the best time. "As you can probably tell, I am not human."
"What gave that away?" Jun commented. "Jun!" Sho and Penguinmon snapped. "Alright, alright!" Jun shut herself up and allowed Maya to continue.
Maya waited a few seconds in case anyone else had to speak their own words. When no one did so, she continued. "I am what you could call a data child. In some ways, I am related to the Digimon that inhabit this world."
None of the group looked surprised. They had suspected much of her origin to be honest what with the enigmatic agenda and all. "Once I served the Golden God of this world along with my eleven brothers and sisters. Each of us were connected to the elements of the Digital World, the traits your digicores exhibit." Maya placed her hand upon her chest. "I corresponded with the element of light."
Sakura now understood why she had the most connection with Maya, as did Fairydramon. It made sense that the one who represented her element would be able to communicate with her on such an extended level.
"The Golden God was known as Huanglongmon. Under his rule, the Digital World flourished and all was peaceful. My fellow Data Children and I served him faithfully and spread his light throughout the world." The joy that had appeared upon Maya's face suddenly fell into a dark grimace. "But that changed when 'he' came. From behind a wall of fire, a great evil emerged, spreading throughout the Digital World. Many digimon were overtaken in the evil's wake, warping them into monstrosities. As the corruption rose, the evil took a name, Grandracmon, the dark lord. No digimon could stand against his evil touch and soon Grandracmon had an entire army under his thrall." Maya played back everything within her mind. Her memories of that day played back in her mind. She tried to suppress them, forget about them, but she couldn't as much as she tried.
"Grandracmon made his intentions clear: total domination of the Digital World. With his army, that goal was close within reach."
"Kind of seems cliché. I mean was that his whole plan? Just emerge from the whatever and take over? I'm sorry, but does he even have a backstory?" Jun commented again. When she noticed everyone glaring at her second interruption, she apologized. "Sorry...please continue."
"Many good digimon arose to challenge Grandracmon, but sadly, many lost their lives or were enslaved along with the others. Three holy digimon led the charge, but they too fell prey to Grandracmon and were twisted into the digimon you now know as 'The Fallen Angels'. They became Grandracmon's top enforcers, imposing his will and destroying anything he deemed. The carnage spread like wildfire across the world. Huanglongmon would not stand idly by and watch his people suffer. So he decided to fight Grandramon himself."
Maya could see the golden digimon before her eyes, leaving his holy realm to do battle with the evil one. "They battled for many days and nights," Maya found herself repeating Wisemon's words. To the Digidestined it was deja vu. "but neither could overcome each other." Maya's face fell as the final memory of the battle played itself out. "In the end, Huanglongmon had no choice but to expend all of his energy to defeat Grandracmon. Although he didn't have the power to destroy Grandracmon, Huanglongmon was able to separate hie body and soul. His body was imprisoned within a black digitama while his soul behind the wall of fire from whence he sprang. The Digital World was saved, but at the cost of my creator's life."
"That's the same tale Wisemon told us." said Kazuya.
Maya responded with a nod before she continued. "However, before his death, he left his twelve digicores and created the four Harmonious digimon to govern in his place. It took time, but the Digital World had managed to return to its former state. Yet we Data Children knew it would not last. Grandracmon's spirit, although bound, remained a lingering threat. So we took it upon ourselves to safeguard the future of the Digital World."
Maya's eyes focused upon something. At first, it appeared to be the children, but all five of them could see that the child's gaze wasn't directed at them. Indeed it was five, but not five humans.
"Although our creator was gone, we still had hope his data survived." Maya's tone turned to one of longing, but it passed in that moment. "As you know, when a digimon dies its data is usually reconfigured and they are reborn anew, almost to how your race believes in reincarnation."
"And so you thought the same thing happened To Huanglongmon?" Chiisi inquired.
Maya held her head down for a brief interval. "I admit, partially it was out of selfishness, we longed to see out creator again, so much to the point that we sought to recreate him. Through the digital limbo we searched. So many souls had yet to be born, but we managed to find what we were looking for." A small grin flashed upon the digital girl's face. "However, instead of one packet of his data, we found it had split into five. So we gathered that data and began to work. With the data split as it was, we couldn't recreate Huanglongmon. So we mixed it in with fresh new data and created five lifeforms with it."
"Us!" Labramon suddenly piped up. Everyone looked to her in surprise. The digital dog looked around her, sensing all of the curious eyes. "Well...she said five...and there are five of us and stuff." Labramon felt suddenly sheepish as she felt their stares boring into her.
"Labramon is correct. The resulting digimon that were created were you five. However, you didn't hatch quite yet. Huanglongmon's data would sync you with his digicores allowing you to evolve and combat Grandracmon's forces...but we ran into a problem. You all had the capacity for evolution, but you would be limited as the rest of digimon kind in terms of evolution. Your unique data pattern put a block on any digimentals preventing their use. So we turned to a different means of such."
Maya's eyes switched from the five digimon to the five humans. Underneath her breath, Jun had muttered something about getting some recognition. "The human world wasn't unknown to us. It was from their communication and technological data that this world sprung."
Sakura looked up, hesitant to speak. She had something to say, but she was uncertain if she should. Normally she would have looked to Kazuya or Fairydramon or Chiisi for permission of sorts. Now however, she felt compelled to speak for herself. "It wasn't just that, was it? A while back, a Piddomon," Sakura shuddered at the mention of that evangelist's name. Something about the name "Piddomon" implied something else. At least the "Piddo" part, "he said that several digimon fled into the human world and lived amongst them."
Maya responded with a nod. "He was right. During the battle, several angelic digimon fled the Digital World for safe haven in the human world, taking on the forms of the beings who lived there. They integrated into society easily with some even interbreeding. To this day, some humans, such as you Sakura, have digimon blood."
Chiisi's face went dark at the mention of digimon blood. He knew whatever blood Sakura had was diluted by this point. Unlike himself, who was purely a half-breed...and a dark half-breed at that.
"So you were looking for humans with digimon blood?" Sho asked. Maya shook her head lightly. "Not specifically, it was by chance Chiisi and Sakura were chosen. What mattered to us were the compatibility of traits."
"Traits?" Sho asked again.
"As you may know, there are twelve traits or elements of the Digital World. Courage, Friendship, Knowledge, Sincerity, Love, Reliability, Hope, Light, Kindness, Darkness Miracles, and Destiny. These traits are what the Digital World is founded upon. So for years we searched for the right humans who would bear the traits or rather the digicores that represented them. By some chance, we managed to find five humans who each held strong connections with two traits."
The digidestined knew they were being spoken about. Especially the five remark.
"After we scanned you, so to speak, we programmed your specifics into the unhatched digimon, however something strange occurred, something we didn't expect."
"They hatched?" Jun spoke out of the blue again. This time it didn't garner any looks.
Again Maya's gaze switched to the digimon once more. This time however, her gaze took on a more poignant tone. "It was unexpected, suddenly we had five rambunctious baby digimon running around. I took it upon myself to care for the five that had hatched. My brothers and sisters...weren't child compatible." A light chuckle escaped her. "Gazimon." her eyes darted to Gazimon. "You were always a mischievous little Zurumon, getting into everything." Her eyes trailed to the smoking cigar in his muzzle. "And still are, apparently."
Gazimon knew what she referred to. Blowing out a trail of smoke, he said what by now had become his catch phrase, "Hey, I know what I like." Then he continued to smoke. Although she had much more to say on Gazimon's new habit, she had more important matters to attend to. She wasn't the only one who had reservations on Gazimon's addiction. A certain pair of reptilian eyes flashed a disgusted glance at the smoking roll of digital tobacco.
"I remember when you were just a Hatchmon." Maya's words drew Fairydramon to her. "You were the best behaved of the bunch, always listened to rules and did as you were told. Zurumon often trailed along after you." That last sentence made sense to Fairydramon.
To the hedonistic Gazimon it made sense as well. "Heh, I guess we were made for each other, eh?" Puffs of smoke escaped Gazimon's mouth as he chuckled. Fairydramon rolled her eyes and said nothing.
"Penguinmon was always the same, even as a Punimon." Maya spoke of the bird digimon next. "Timid, a bit afraid of his own shadow."
"Well, that's not a huge surprise." Jun commented. Penguinmon fell emotionally. Apparently, all of his faults were inter-grained since birth. "But you were always loyal to the ones you cared about. And that I think outweighs anything." Maya added when she noticed the downtrodden expression upon his feathery face. It certainly worked, as Penguinmon perked right up.
Next she turned to DemiDevimon. "Admittedly, as a Poyomon, you were trouble. You always had a fondness for teasing the others, and generally making a mess of things." she spoke somewhat humorously. DemiDevimon smirked, reclining back upon Chiisi's shoulder. "Sounds pretty sweet to me."
Labramon tilted her head as a memory replayed. It was of a dream she had a while back, but something about it ached like a long forgotten memory. "Hey!" Labramon growled as it came to light. "You said I would pop like a balloon, didn't you!" DemiDevimon thought for a moment. "Sounds like me." he answered.
Upon looking at Labramon, a poignant tone even more so than any other poignancy she had shown, became evident. "You were the same, even as a Paomon, always hungry and as sweet as ever." Maya sighed as the memories overtook her. "Those were happy times for us. In short time you all grew into Rookies, those were happy times, but they didn't last. For you see, one of us strayed." Maya's expression grew dark. "As I've told you, each of us Data Children represented a Digital World trait. Just as I was Light, there was another who bore the mark of Darkness."
The mention of darkness got Chiisi's attention. To be honest, he held a mixed feeling in regards to darkness. His body stiffened upon the mere mention.
"Grandracmon continued his corruption, even as a spirit, unfortunately one of my brothers fell to his stain. My former brother led an attack that day, along with Grandracmon's surviving forces." Maya's face darkened once more. More ill memories danced about. "The dark lord had spoke to him from beyond the firewall and twisted his mind to his liking. The data child of darkness was no longer my brother, but a servant to the evil one." If it were even possible, her face became as dark as night itself. "I was the only survivor of my kin." Everyone either gasped or gave a sympathetic eye. Chiisi and Sakura more so. For Sakura couldn't comprehend anyone betraying their family, while Chiisi was only reminded of the corrupting effect of darkness.
A cough interrupted whatever else Maya had to say. It came from Gazimon who once more choked on his cigar smoke. "*cough* One question *cough*. Why don't we remember this all?" The expression on Labramon's face spoke the same thing. All of their faces did.
"I didn't want any of you to feel any sort of attachment towards me. Your duty was to your partners and nothing more. That, and I wanted to spare any remnants of the carnage of that day from your minds. I sealed you away to await your chosen humans and went into hiding. Meanwhile, Grandracmon's forces grew in power until they once again threatened the Digital World. " Looking at the assembled group, Maya said one more thing. "The rest you know is history."
Jun was the first to get up after that long speech. Honestly, they hadn't sat down for such a long time. "Wow! That was a long one." There were no complaints with that one. They all agreed. "So, what do we do now?" Sho asked. The question weighed on everyone's minds. They all had learned a great deal of Digital World history. A lot had been answered and revealed, possibly anti-climatic but it worked for such.
"We take the fight to them." Kazuya boldly proclaimed. It sounded like a spur of the moment sort of thing. "Okay goggle-boy, I would have to disagree." Jun retaliated of course. "I mean honestly, it sounds crazy." Sho thought for a moment. "Do we really need to rush this sort of thing?"
"Well, why not? I mean Maya told us who the bad guy is, so why don't we stop him?" Kazuya reasoned. It would seem that an argument was about to take place. Gazimon could see that. With a cough he arose, spewing cigar smoke from his muzzle. "Well, I'm with ya, partner *cough*" The sight was both amusing and disgusting. "I can't wait to show off my Mega form to those creeps!" Gazimon blew out a thick stream of smoke managing not to cough at that point.
Kazuya grinned, at least he had one supporter. There lay the matter of the others.
"Well arguing won't really bring a solution, will it?" Don Guil emerged from the back, questioning. "To be honest, I agree with the boy. Besides, the longer we sit around, the more Grandracmon has a chance at being revived." reasoned the Guilmon. "Look, I know this is too sudden and frankly, I think the whole revelation thing could have been handled better, but if anything we have a chance to strike."
"We?" Fairydramon questioned suspiciously. Don Guil flashed a proud smirk. "Well, I do need the Fallen Angels out of the way for my own benefit admittedly, but hey what counts is what's best for the whole world, right?" Everyone save for Kazuya, Gazimon, and Maya seemed uncertain.
"Perhaps a night of rest would do everyone a great deal of good." Maya offered. "Although time is of the essence, fighting as you are now would be unwise." That was true, after that long fight, the digimon's energy reserves were low. A yawn escaped Penguinmon who agreed with her point.
Despite wanting to finish the fight, Kazuya agreed with the data child. "Fine." he sighed. Gazimon let out a tiny cough as he went with his partner.
And so they dispersed, each to their own parts of the manor. Don Guil graciously offered them haven within his home. This would be a night of resolution.
XXX
Kazuya removed his goggles. It was the first time he had done so in a long time. The pale moon shone down through the bedroom window. It had been reserved for guests apparently, so Kazuya supposed he fit that bill, or rather they. He wasn't alone, Sakura sat beside him, the light reflected off her glasses. Of course, their digimon were present. They wouldn't leave their partner's sides. Gazimon still smoked his cigar, while Fairydramon stood beside him, clearly bothered by it. But she didn't say anything.
"We're going to fight, aren't we?" asked Sakura. She knew it was a dumb question. Kazuya was already set in his mind. "I'm sorry." Sakura quickly apologized.
Immediately Kazuya chuckled. "You always do that. Heh. It kind of bugs me." Turning around, he cracked a smirk. "But I don't really mind it."
A giggle escaped her. "Well, that is one of my faults. If anything, I think you're too headstrong." Kazuya was about to retort, but kept his mouth shut, for a moment at least. "Eh, I guess that's true. No one's perfect." The two kept silent for a while, and then Kazuya spoke again. "I'm going to fight, no matter what anyone says."
Sakura had her own retort, but she had to agree with him. "I'm with you...always."
Kazuya let out a tiny gasp at that comment. Sakura realized the double entendre that she had spoken. "Well you know...because...we're friends!" she quickly covered. Kazuya felt his emotions fall. "Oh...that's how you feel."
Wait? Was he disappointed? Sakura felt surprised for a moment. Could Kazuya really feel...no, he couldn't, could he? They had been friends since they were little kids. For goodness sakes she had a boyfriend once and he was okay with that. Of course, said boyfriend had cheated on her, which resulted in Kazuya beating the living daylights out of him. But she hadn't thought much of it; well, save for fears of what their classmates would think. That would imply something maybe.
It wasn't just that, it had been several times during the journey, when they were forced together, sharing the bond between one another. Sakura began to think, finding herself deeply immersed in her thoughts. Kazuya's image lay attached to those thoughts.
On the other side of the room, Kazuya found himself thinking of Sakura. He could pick up her body language and for some reason he felt what she felt. It had always come down to the two of them. They were the first to reach the Mega level, after all. That is, both of them at the same time.
"So, what are you two lovebirds thinking about?" Gazimon asked with a smirk, before proceeding to cough on the cigar he was puffing on.
"Ugh, must you keep sucking on that thing? You're making yourself sick." Fairydramon griped. Nonetheless, Gazimon kept his smirk when he heard the dragoness.
"Aww, you're worried." Gazimon took another puff on his cigar, this time without coughing.
Fairydramon shook her head at first upon the coughing, then vehemently replied "I'm just thinking of everyone else's' health!"
Gazimon noticed the volume of her voice and cocked his eyebrow. "Then why are you blushing?" Gazimon puffed once more. Fairydramon hid her face upon that remark, provoking a laugh from her partner and Kazuya.
"Well, like they say, we match our partners." Gazimon proudly remarked.
Fairydramon snorted a plume of smoke from her nostrils and replied with a curt. "Shut up." Yet somehow, she didn't seem that phased by Gazimon's words.
Neither did Kazuya and Sakura. Although they still had much to think about, they knew one thing, their thoughts were still on each other.
XXX
"What you thinking about, Sho chan?" Labramon asked.
The boy brought his head up and replied, "Oh, just about what Kazuya said."
To no surprise, the pair was in the kitchen. Well, it wasn't any surprise in regards to Labramon. Sho wasn't hungry, although he was worried people were going to start relating them to characters from a cartoon, he couldn't remember the name but it involved teenagers and their dog driving around solving mysteries. So far, he seemed to fit the cowardly kid with a dog character, but he wasn't a glutton. His digimon was practically two gluttons, no...more like an army of gluttons in one body. Labramon certainly showed that, and by showing that meant she wolfed down anything within reach. The kitchen had been left intact during Demon's assault and Labramon took full advantage of that. So far, seven plates were piled high and an eighth was soon joining them.
Sho chuckled at the sight. "You always have a one track mind, don't you?"
Labramon licked her plate clean and gave a burp. "What do you mean?"
Another chuckle escaped him. "All you think about is food."
The digital dog blinked and let out a merry giggle. "Well, ya know Sho-chan," Labramon's body took on a very different tone. Her rump swung with a swish of her tail, her eyes narrowed to slits along with a distinct flutter of the eyelashes. Sho watched as she leant in close...too close for his comfort, not that he was surprised by her movement. Continuously she kept sauntering forward, placing her paws upon Sho's lap.
"You know, Sho-chan; you don't have to fight if you don't want to. If any of the meanies come, I'll do all the fighting for the both of us." Labramon cooed. Her head moved in closer.
Sho could feel his body temperature rising as she moved in. Her muzzle sank in closer to his own face. "I know you would." he said. Labramon didn't stop. Her face continued to move in. The closer she moved in, the more it became apparent to the boy that she was going for a certain part of his face: his mouth. Labramon's warm breath breathed towards him. He could feel it, taste it against his tongue. The musty aftertaste of Labramon's meals burned his nose hairs. Labramon's mind was a daze of euphoria, this time not from a food induced stupor, but fulfilling something she had wanted to do for a long time. At least, traditionally. Her lips pursed, ready and waiting to move in.
However, sometimes our dreams don't come true.
"No!" Sho pushed Labramon away, stepping backwards to put a distance between himself and the canine.
Labramon stood there, confused at the action. Her furry head went to one side, then to the other. "Did-did I come on too strong, Sho-chan?" she innocently asked. "Was I supposed to do it a different way?"
Sho had known exactly what his digimon had tried to do. It hadn't been the first time she had gotten too close for his comfort. He had tried to ignore it in the past, pretend that it was all in his head, attribute it to just a form of affection that the dog was often prone to. Now though, he knew it had gone too far, farther than before. He couldn't pretend anymore, couldn't let this go on.
"Labramon..." Sho started to hesitate; he had to say this just right. Labramon's animal senses could tell something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Sho-chan?" Sho took a deep breath. He had to just come out and say it. "Labramon...I know how you feel."
Hearing that made Labramon's tail wag. "You do!" her entire face lit up like a light. "Oh Sho-chan I've waited so long to hear you say that and-"
"Labramon, it can't work out." Sho cut her off. When Labramon heard that, her face absolutely fell. "W-w-what? What do you mean, Sho-chan?"
Sho took another deep breath, which emptied into a sigh. He could see something starting to form upon her, but he couldn't sugarcoat it. "What I mean to say...Labramon...I'm a human and you're a digimon. You...me...we...I could never hold those feelings for you."
Sho swiftly shut his eyes the moment he had said that. He believed he had to be strong, that he should just let it all out. Admittedly, he had held back a tad, chalk that up to a lack of a backbone, but he at least had a pair of... something. Sho opened his eyes, not liking the suspense he was putting himself through. What he saw made him regret what he just said. Labramon wasn't crying, but her body lay still. Her face held a blank expression. Yet Sho knew what emotion lay behind it.
Labramon shut her eyes and she spoke in a voice just as hollow as her face. "I understand …...Sho." Before Sho could say anything, she stormed off.
"Labramon wait!" he called after, but it was too late. Sho's eyes drifted towards the spot Labramon had fled from. Upon the fine carpet, he noticed a darkened area, several to be precise. They were tear drops.
"Great." Sho berated to himself. He had just broken his digimon's heart.
XXX
"You know we're going to have to fight either way, right?" Jun queried.
Penguinmon sat nervously beside her, pondering the words. "Y-y-yeah, I guess." The bird knew about the impending fight they would have to partake in, a fight he wanted no part of. But it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter. Jun would make him fight, no matter what the case. If he argued, she would threaten or bully him into submission. Not that he didn't mind, he seriously did, but he couldn't do anything about it. Jun was his human partner and he had to protect her at all costs. In fact, that loyalty was the sole thing keeping him tethered to his duty. It was what he was made for, literally. Being her digimon was the sole reason for his creation.
"But you don't want to, do you?" Jun suddenly asked. Penguinmon drifted from his thoughts. "I-I-It's not that, Jun! I-I-I-"
"Oh please. Just calm down, will ya?" Jun snapped at the stuttering penguin. "You aren't the only one sick of this." That surprised Penguinmon. "Really?" he asked. Ever since they had begun, Jun had seemed the most daring in regards to fighting. Even now, she just admitted fighting was unavoidable. That much would be true due to the position they were in. The kids were all some prophesied chosen ones, after all.
Jun wearily sighed. "It seems all we do is fight out here. Every day we nearly wind up half-dead with something or someone after us. Frankly, I'm just getting sick of it all." Jun removed her beret, letting her unusually colored hair (probably dead) hair flow freely. "Sometimes, I just want to chill in my bed or the tub and just let things pass my by." Then to Penguinmon's surprise, she turned to him with a smile. "But hey, what choice do we have, eh?"
Unsure of how to react, Penguinmon returned Jun's smile, attempting to go along with how she felt. If anything, he hoped it would help her.
"Dang, you're so nervous, aren't you?" Jun commented. "But that's one of the things I like about ya." Again Penguinmon was surprised, more so when Jun got up and put her hand atop his feathery head. "You're just my cute little coward, aren't ya?"
Penguinmon looked up at her half afraid, half worried. "Jun, are you feeling okay?" he asked, concerned.
Jun chuckled again. "To be honest, I don't know. I may very well be cracking under pressure, but hey, I guess that means we have something in common, eh?" Penguinmon couldn't deny that. He definitely wasn't the best to handle pressure. Particularly in this case. But he had no choice. Neither did Jun, apparently. They would both have to handle it and each other. They always did and they were still alive. In some cases, it could be said the two needed each other. They were polar opposites, but they each had something the other didn't.
They had both changed to a certain degree since they met. Although it was subtle, it could be seen beneath the exteriors they had established for themselves. They needed each other and they would remain until the journey's end.
Hopefully it would be a good end.
XXX
Maya sat alone in contemplation. She could sense many conflicting emotions in the air tonight. Uncertainty, sadness, confusion. All of these were mixed together into a unpleasant stew. She had expected as much. These kids were not ready to know everything just yet. But something inside her told her she had to tell them. Maybe it was her own feelings overpowering her personal judgement, but the end was coming. There would be no other time to tell it to them.
"Ms. Maya?"
A voice distracted her, bringing her eyes to the dark hallway. The blackness was disrupted by an emerging flash of purple and peach. Fur and skin, respectively. "Chiisi, DemiDevimon. You two should be sleeping." said Maya. The bat digimon stretched his wings. "Listen lady, just because you supposedly raised us doesn't mean you're my mother."
Chiisi gave his partner a small scolding look. But he had grown used to his partner's personality quirks. "I had a question." Chiisi asked. Maya looked at the boy curiously. "Of what, Chiisi?" Chiisi held his head down, as the question danced about his head. DemiDevimon knew the question as well, but he said nothing about it. This was Chiisi's question, not his. "About your brother...he really betrayed you?"
Maya's body stiffened at the question. It made Chiisi regret asking it for a moment. But she answered anyway. This was the child of Knowledge she was speaking to. "Yes, he betrayed us all and he was no longer my brother."
"But he was associated with darkness, right? So-" Chiisi began. "You won't fall like Drian did." Maya immediately answered. "How can you be so sure?" Chiisi countered the answer with another question. Once more, Maya had the answer. "It's true you were sired by the ruler of darkness himself, but you still have a human heart."
Chiisi tried to think of something to counter her question with, but he found nothing. Darkness was his other trait, but he had found a way out of it. Although, he still had his own private fears about it. The darkness hadn't left him and it still remained and would remain till the day he died.
It certainly was getting late. Chiisi had made up his mind on the coming day tomorrow. DemiDevimon's mind was already made up after Kazuya gave his speech. The boy was about to leave before another question sprang up in his head. "Something is going to happen to you, isn't it? That's why you told us everything."
Maya said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. For Chiisi, that was enough. DemiDevimon actually went wide-eyed at the news, but he said nothing as well.
The digidestined and their digimon were not the only ones who had conflicts within their mind. Maya soon joined them. Her mind thought back to the past, of both good times and bad times. Drian stood out in the bad times, yet even in the darkest, there were good memories of her brother, long before he fell.
"Drian...why did it have to come to this?" she thought. No answer came to her, yet she could swear she heard something drifting on the wind.
"You understand nothing, my sister." Duskmon whispered from Fallen Angel Castle. Two siblings stared at the moon, waiting for a response from each other. However, they each fell silent.
Fate had drifted them apart.
To be continued...
A/N: Well I finally got this done. I think I can get back to writing this regularly now. *sigh* Well I know that this wasn't as epic as when the season 1 group found out how they were chosen but it's the best I could come up with; or the only thing I could think of. Well, another chapter in this massively unpopular story. I suppose I have to be Keyo Red Angel of Hope, Crazyeight or Ultra Sonic 007 (all good writers mind you) in order to be anyone. Oh well once I finish this story (and I intend to finish it), I can bury it forever and pretend it never existed.
