Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A Story for Suzie
Chapter: 50
Jeri stood amidst the crowd at the subway, looking furtively around her, doing her best to ignore the odd look she received for the passenger seated atop her head. Calumon, looked about them as well, but with a fierce expression that went unseen by Jeri. A fire had been woken inside him following their 'escape' from her home. A determination to keep her safe at all costs. So far, it appeared that he managed to look sufficiently intimidating, ensuring that people stood a respectable pace away from the girl.
Holding the rail card close to her chest, Jeri grimaced. Overhead, the announcer was relaying some bad news.
"Attention. Attention. A city-wide digital anomaly alert has been issued for Shinjuku. All trail lines leading to the city have been placed on hold. We apologize for any inconvenience."
"That sounds bad," Calumon said, rising on Jeri's head. The girl nodded in resignation.
"It is. We just lost our fastest way of getting there. We can still take another train and get to someplace close by, but…" Her hands tightened around her rail card and bag as she trailed off, letting the silence speak for her.
"Maybe I can fly us there," Calumon said, his eyes hardening. "I did it before when we were in the D-Reaper, thinking happy thoughts. Maybe I can do it again."
Planting his tiny arms against the sides of his head, Calumon immediately clenched his eyes shut and began humming, thinking back to that time when he encapsulated both himself and Jeri in a field of what he called 'happy thoughts' and got them out of the D-Reaper's destroyed head. Moments passed during which nothing happened, and Calumon puffed his cheeks out, increasing the intensity of his humming until, finally, with a massive gasp for air, Calumon wobbled atop Jeri's head before finally planting himself back down in her hair.
"I guess I'm not being positive enough," he said miserably. "This is harder than it looks."
"We'll find a way," Jeri said with a confidence that she didn't actually feel, all the while marveling at how a digimon she knew to be unfailingly positive could, for a change, have a hard time doing just that. "We'll take another train and get as close to Shinjuku as we can, okay? Then we can figure out what to do after that."
"Okay…" Calumon said softly before pumping his tiny arms into the air. "And I'll make sure to protect you the whole way! Don't you worry, Jeri!"
Rising up again, he kicked at the air with one, oversized foot, not tumbling this time. An improvement from before.
I hope Takato and Rika are having better luck trying to get home than I am getting to Shinjuku, she thought, looking at the schedules so she could work out the quickest means to get to the others.
###
In the crackling light of the fire, Henry Wong fed another log to the hungry, burning beast, and at once sparks flew into the air before vanishing into the dark of the night. From the brush behind him emerged a cream-furred dog with long, floppy ears. He scampered over to Henry, a rabbit held in his jaws and he climbed up onto Henry's shoulder, looking so very proud of himself and his catch. Taking it, Henry produced a small knife and immediately began to skin the dead animal, earning him a grimace from the two Tamers across from him. Seeing this, Henry offered them an apologetic smile.
"Sorry," he said. "I take it you've never done this before from your world?"
"Oh…we have," Takato said, remembering his time with his cousin Kai, where they killed and ate an octopus. Rika glanced at the fish that had been part of their dinner, and how they had clean them first. She hadn't been too thrilled with removing their insides, especially since one of them had eggs, but she accepted it as the hazard of their need to survive in a strange wilderness. Survival, she understood, was not pretty, even if she didn't like hurting living things.
"It's no big deal," she said, turning her gaze away from the red meat as Henry pried the fur away, meeting this version of Henry's grey eyes. After getting over their initial surprise of finding someone who looked so much like their friend sitting in front of them, they were now business-like. Turning to questions and hoping for answers. "So… What are you doing here? And what do you mean 'our world?'"
"Uh… Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?" Takato asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"To us," Rika replied. "But we had to explain to the others about the whole thing when we first met them. This guy doesn't seem to be the least bit surprised that we're not from around here."
"I'm a wizard trained by this world's version of your Shibumi," Henry replied, continuing his work. "My power of sight is…considerable. Though I only became aware of your world sometime after the War with the Reaper ended. It was…quite strange. At first, I thought a powerful spell had shielded you from me and my Takato disrupted it when he unleashed his power. It took me some time to realize that I had been following a scripted event right up until your Henry began to tell our story and my Takato and his companion crossed over into your world.
"As for why I'm here…" Henry skewered his meal and set it up in front of the fire. "You're going to the Crow god's roost."
"The Crow god's roost…?" Takato began, tilting his head to one side. "Oh! Is that where our digivices are pointing us?"
"Digivices?" Henry asked. Rika lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Renamon while Takato dug out his digivice and showed it to the dark-skinned youth.
So, he doesn't know everything, she thought, her violet gaze meeting Renamon's azure ones. The vulpine digimon nodded subtly, catching her thoughts.
"Interesting," Henry continued, leaning forward, but not requesting a closer look. "So that's a digivice. They remind me of the codex's that we use. Ah… These."
Seeing Takato and Rika's questioning look, he dug out a small, sphere. Marble white that glinted in the light of the fire. Closing his eyes, Henry took a deep breath and a thin aura illuminated its edges, emanating from a small firefly gleam from within. Henry held it for a moment before opening his eyes and letting out his breath.
"These aren't necessary," he explained. "But they are convenient aids for our magic. I sense a lot of similarities between the codex and your digivice, but I would say yours is…stronger. Better. Refined even."
"The Crow god gave one of our number a similar such device," Renamon spoke up, watching this Henry carefully. The youth met her eyes readily and nodded.
"Yes. He would. Like I said, they aren't necessary, but they are a convenient aid to our magic. You could say that they let us divide our attention when we need it for something else. Set a spell in them and give them power, and they can run on their own with whatever task you give them. The one the Crow god gave your friend is some kind of anchor to your world, I suspect."
"It…uh…also seemed to grant wishes," Takato chimed in. "It made Henry's – our Henry – sister grow up in a second!"
"A wish granter…" Henry frowned, and Rika peered at him carefully, scrutinizing his face for so much as the slightest emotion.
Can we trust that this isn't another one of the Crow god's tricks?
"I didn't think it would be possible," Henry said after a moment of silence. "Wish stones haven't existed in this world in centuries. I didn't believe that they existed anymore. It could be that he learned to create one by tearing a seraph from the void or…"
"Henry…" wined the dog from his shoulder, earning him a startled look from the Tamers and their digimon. "You're doing that thing again."
"Ohhh…" Guilmon beamed. "The doggy can talk!"
"Look at that," the dog quipped. "And so can the fire breathing dragon from another world."
"Terrierjinn…" Henry sighed in a warning tone.
"What?" the dog complained. "It's not like they're peasants or anything. You'd think with all the things you've told me that they've dealt with that a talking dog would be the last thing that would surprise them!"
"Well, that's…nostalgic…" Takato chuckled, to which Henry gave him an exhausted smile.
"I take it your version of me has to deal with the same thing."
"Exactly the same thing," the goggle-wearing boy laughed. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, huh? I mean, Henry based everyone on people he knew, so…"
"Takato?" Rika interrupted. "I need to talk to you alone for a second."
"Huh?" The boy blinked in surprise before meeting her eyes. Seeing the meaningful look she was giving him, he nodded and glanced back at Henry.
"Uh… We'll be right back."
"Take your time," Henry replied while his dog-partner shifted on his shoulder, giving the two Tamers a hard look. Getting to their feet, the Tamers and their partners stepped off to the side, just beyond the edge of the light cast by their campfire, making sure to keep Henry and his companion in their line of sight.
"What's up?" Takato asked Rika.
"Just thought you were in need of a warning, Gogglehead," the girl replied, folding her arms across her chest. "Since you're being so chummy with Henry's clone there. We don't know anything about him and he just shows up out of nowhere? Right after the Crow god hits us with some kind of spell?" Her eyes flashing in the night, she glowered at the youth, still seated at his spot at the campfire. "How do we know that this isn't some kind of trap?"
"He doesn't smell like a trap," Guilmon said, testing the air with his nose. "He smells human, and that Terriershin…"
"Terrierjinn," Renamon corrected.
"…Terrierjinn smells like a dog. I mean, he still smells funny outside of that, but he's still a doggy."
"That might not mean much in this world," Renamon said, folding her arms together in mimicry of Rika. "We don't know anything about this place and without our Henry here we must be on our guard, as Rika said."
Takato scratched the back of his head and cast a glance back in Henry's direction, watching him as he turned his meal over to cook the other side.
"Well, I don't think you're wrong about that. It's just…" He paused, and then shrugged. "Shouldn't we at least give him the benefit of the doubt first? He might be one of the Crow god's servants pretending to be on our side, or he might not. We can keep an eye on him at least, right? I mean, it's not like we have anyone we can trust out here. We got chased out of the last village we were in, and with our clothes, we're going to have a hard time making friends."
Rika closed her eyes at that. She couldn't disagree with Takato anymore than he could disagree with her points either.
Still… I don't like this. It feels like too much of a coincidence that this guy shows up right when we need someone to give us a hand at figuring things out. What's his angle?
First thing was first though.
"Fine," she acceded, tilting her head to one side as she propped a hand on her hip in irritation. "But we're going to have someone keep an eye on him at all times."
"It's just like in the movies!" Guilmon crowed, waving his arms up excitedly. "We'll have shifts, and fight against sleepiness! Oh! And one of us will take an extra shift sometimes to let the others get more rest! It's like we're in a story!"
Rika looked at him, baffled before frowning at Takato.
"Only your partner would try to make a life and death situation sound like fun."
"You know Terriermon is like that too, right?" Takato chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, but he's not here right now," Rika replied, placing her other hand on her hip, giving her an authoritative look as she shot a look at her friend.
"I think I'll take first watch," Renamon interrupted with a touch of amusement in her voice. "After I've explained a few things to Guilmon that is."
"Try not to break his brain with the lesson," the fire-haired girl harrumphed, starting back toward the fire. Takato and the digimon fell into step behind her and within short order returned to the warm light as the logs snapped and popped, fire licking along their lengths.
"So you're done talking about how you're going to watch us at night?" Terrierjinn asked, earning him a sharp glare from both Rika and Renamon.
"Terrierjinn…" Henry began in a warning voice.
"Momentai! I figured I'd let them know that my ears are going to pick them up if they want to try being secretive in the future. It's only fair if they're going to be paranoid."
"Thank you for the information," Renamon said, situating herself directly behind them, folding her arms together. "Now if I remember correctly, you were about to tell us why you were going to explain to us why you're here."
"To help," Henry said. "I don't know about sending you back to your world, but I can help you fight the Crow god. I've studied him, and I'm quite knowledgeable about magic. In fact, I do have an idea on how to do it, and it requires him."
Rika and Guilmon turned in the direction Henry's finger was pointing, landing on Takato as he lifted both eyebrows in surprise.
###
Suzie looked up from her meal as her older sister, Jaarin, rushed into the apartment, her eyes wide with horror at finding her family's apartment door missing from its hinges, its broken remains leaning on the wall outside of the entryway next to a pair of Hypnos agents, just as Mayumi had explained to her over the phone.
"Oh kami…" she breathed, shaking her head, breathing heavily. "It…It was true after all…"
Terriermon lifted his ears at that as he swallowed a manju bun.
"Of course it was real. What? Did you think that your mom would make up a story about being cornered in the bathroom by a murderous digital bird just to get you to come home?"
"Terriermon!" Henry exclaimed as Mayumi got up from her seat and made her way over to her daughter.
"N-No!" Jaarin stammered out, her face flushing in embarrassment. "It's just… It's freaky thinking that actually happened! I…" Seeing her mother approaching, Jaarin threw herself at the older woman, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. "Oh Mom!"
Tears burst forth from the younger daughter as Mayumi wrapped her arms around her daughter, running a hand through her hair, rocking her and speaking softly.
"It's okay. We're all okay."
Suzie watched the scene with tears welling up in her eyes and she looked away, not wanting to lose control of herself. The memory of her helplessness in the bathroom clung tightly to her, causing her to curl her fingers into her palms tightly, causing her nails to bite into the skin. She hadn't been the big girl that she wished herself to be. She failed her mother. She almost failed Henry. They all nearly died!
I'm not a Tamer… she thought, a single tear managing to slip free from her eye, falling on her hand with a heavy, wet splat. I can't be a Tamer. I was too scared to be one…
Her shoulders shook, and Lopmon took notice of her Tamer's distress.
"Suzie? Are you all right?"
"I'm…I'm fine, Lopmon," she whispered, wiping an arm over her eyes. Seeing this, Lopmon climbed over to the girl's lap and set herself down, offering herself for Suzie to hug. The girl took the offer without a second thought, burying her face in her partner's soft, brown fur.
"Someone's going to need a bath later to get rid of all the snot from her fur," Lopmon heard Terriermon mutter under his breath, only to earn a sharp glare from Henry.
"Terriermon…" the boy said harshly, trying to keep as quiet as possible so as to not cause any more of a disturbance.
"I'm just saying…"
Mayumi led Jaarin over to the table and sat her down. The light of the candles flickered, their warmth chasing shadows. Mayumi sat down next to Suzie and slipped an arm around her, smoothing her hair with her touch.
"S-So what's going on?" Jaarin asked shakily. "What's with the candles? Did we lose power or something? Where's Rinchei?"
As if in answer, a toilet flushing echoed distantly, followed swiftly by the sound of running water – someone washing their hands. The bathroom door opened, spilling light out into the hallway before switching off. Rinchei approached cautiously, allowing his eyes time to adapt to the darker lighting. Arriving at the table, he sat down, smiling at Jaarin.
"Hey," he greeted. "Good to see you home. Pretty freaky stuff happening today, huh?"
Jaarin nodded and glanced out at the window. "Lots of fog out there," she said, and Henry sat up warily. Seeing this, Jaarin shook her head. "No digimon at least."
"That's a relief," Lopmon breathed alongside Terriermon.
"Yeah, but for how long?" the cream-furred rabbit-dog asked. "Those things never stay empty for very long."
"Probably all the more reason why we should allow Henry to continue with his story," Janyu suggested. At this, Jaarin raised an eyebrow.
"Uh… Story?"
"Long story short," Terriermon quipped, "it's how he's saving the world."
"That…" Jaarin blinked. "…what?"
"I'll explain later," Rinchei said. "But the summary is that Henry accidently created a brand new digital world when he was telling Suzie a bedtime story."
"What?!" Jaarin exclaimed, her eyes widening in astonishment.
"That's why I said, long story," grinned Terriermon. Groaning, Jaarin buried her face in her hands.
"Oh kami… This digital world stuff is starting to get a little too much for me. Er… No offense to you guys."
"None taken," Terriermon said with a shrug while Lopmon seemed to shrink in Suzie's arms, reminded not for the first time of how much her partnering with the young girl had changed – and endangered – her life. There were times, times like this, she felt, that perhaps Hypnos had been justified in sending the digimon back to the digital world. Closing the lid on Pandora's box, such as it were.
Unfortunately, with the lid off, there was no turning back the clock. The digital world and everything that came with it wouldn't go away by closing all the doors. Sooner or later, it would find a way to open the doors again, and without a defense against it, the world risked being completely devastated.
Lopmon didn't relish the idea of Suzie growing up in a world where her home and her family were being destroyed around her.
Janyu took another sip from his beer, watching Henry carefully as the boy collected himself. Briefly, he wondered how Yamaki was coming with the other world artifact that the Crow god had given Suzie.
I should be there, helping to figure it out, he thought, but in their last phone call, Yamaki had given him explicit instructions to see Henry's story to the end, if possible and to give him regular reports as things progressed. A tense smile drew itself upon his face. Yamaki had a strange habit of showing sentimentality for his employees and the Tamers at peculiar times. The potential fate of the world was at stake, and he wanted him to sit with his family, listening to Henry's story?
It's so we can judge the effect his telling of the story has on the device, he thought, shifting in his seat. At least, that was the rational, but Janyu couldn't help but itch a little bit.
"Anyway…" Janyu began. "Henry, would you like to continue?"
The grey-eyed boy shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable by the increased audience and, no doubt, by the presence of the digital fields Jaarin had reported. His digivice hadn't even alerted him to their presence, but then, his digivice hadn't alerted him to Takato's attack either. That X-factor did not sit well with him.
Were there any reports of fog in the weather forecast? he wondered before taking a deep breath. He glanced over in the direction of the agents. They, like his father, were in direct contact with Yamaki. Certainly they would tell him if there was an attack from the other world.
I just…feel like I should be out there doing something. Like Kazu and Kenta. If I know them, they're already out there, looking into it. And here I am, just sitting here, telling a story…
Except he knew that it was so Hypnos could gather data on whether or not his story was having an impact on the Crow god's orb. And this was his idea to begin with…
He took a deep breath, centering his mind to calm himself.
"Okay," he said finally. "Where was I?"
###
Kazu and Kenta approached the fog, the taller boy thumbing his visor-hat, scrutinizing it as they drew to a halt, the massive form of Guardromon shadowing them both.
"Who would have thought that it'd come down to just us for once?" he asked, more to himself than to anyone else. Behind him, Guardromon's eyes gleamed with light, scanning the fog for any movement.
"I believe this is what Rika would describe as the time when the world will end," the rust-colored android said. Scowling, Kazu glanced at his partner, but after a moment, he nodded in agreement, a grin materializing on his face.
"Yeah, but she's wrong. Remember, I'm Black WarKazumon! Nothing's going to stop us from saving the day!"
"Especially since we have Mega Mighty Kentamon and MarineAngemon fighting by our side," Guardromon added, glancing down at the bespectacled boy and his pink, fairy digimon, who smiled back at him, grateful for the acknowledgement. Still grinning, Kazu nodded at his friends.
"No question, Chumley. We've got everything we need right here to save the day, so let's get to the saving!"
"Um… Any idea what we're up against though?" asked Kenta, becoming a little uncertain as he adjusted his glasses.
"Well…" Kazu began, his expression becoming serious. "If our updated list of bad guys means anything, probably that Crow god guy."
"But…isn't he a good guy?"
Kazu snorted. "He kidnapped Takato and Rika and Suzie. Seems like everywhere he goes, he messes things up. Besides, in Henry's story he's the supervillain, right?"
Once more, he scowled at the fog in front of them.
"Man, I really wish the others were here. Even Rika. This whole thing just seems creepy without them."
MarineAngemon and Kenta exchanged glances, a nervous smile passing from human to digimon. The fact that Kazu admitted to wishing Rika was with them spoke volumes about how he felt about his friends and the concern he felt for them in their absence.
"Pih!" MarineAngemon giggled, doing a cartwheel in midair.
"Yeah, he's definitely a softie at heart," Kenta chuckled, earning him a sharp glare from the boy in question.
"Hey! I resent that! I'm as cold as the stone and twice as hard! Tell them, Guardromon!"
"I can't speak for being twice as hard as rocks, though your mother thinks that your head is made up of it." A pause. "As for being cold, your body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius. You're warmer than the street."
"I'm going to have to explain to you how metaphors work so you don't keep messing up my coolness."
"Oh dear. My apologies."
"We're not exactly getting anything done just standing out here," Kenta pointed out. "MarineAngemon, do you sense anything?"
"Pihpuh," the diminutive pink fairy replied, shaking his head.
"That looked like a 'no' if I ever saw one," Kazu said. Kenta nodded.
"I detect nothing either," Guardromon added. "But the fog itself is a digital field."
"I don't get it," Kazu grimaced. "It's a digital field, there's got to be something going on in there!"
Growling irritably, he adjusted his hat and took out a pair of sunglasses from his back pocket, borrowed from his father.
"All right. I'm done waiting. I'm going in there."
No sooner did he step foot into the fog, the air sparked and a shadowy figure solidified in the center of the mist, black wings folded around its body like a cape. Its body solidifying and growing in detail, it lifted its beaked face, eyes gleaming with a ruddy light before letting out a tremendous screech, blasting the digital field apart and sending Kazu toppling backwards into his partner's arms.
Before either Tamer could do anything, the avian swept its wings outward, its body glowing with blue light. Sighting Kazu, its wings shifted, and for the first time Kazu saw that the 'feathers' were a series of shining, steel blades.
To him, they looked razor sharp.
"A sacrifice is needed for my master to enter this world," he said. "You are connected to the Dreamer that lives on this side. Your blood will give his existence a reality here."
Sacrifice? That didn't sound good.
Glowing runes materialized on the blade-feathers on the bird's wings as it took a menacing step forward. That made things appear even less good than before.
Aw nuts… Kazu thought.
8
