I don't own digimon.

Session 30

Fated Encounter

Polly let out a deep breath.

After a night spent diving into frigid waters and cuddling with her digimon partner, the monk wasn't entirely sure how to feel about any of this.

"How are you doing, my siren?" the harem mage inquired, making a quick glance towards her.

"Wonderful." Polly whispered back, not even attempting to hide how she felt. But that seemed to just get her a pat on the head.

"There isn't much farther to go and I would like you on your best behavior." Aegiochusmon continued.

"Best behavior?"

After saying that, their teammates attention turned to them.

"That extends to you people too."

A large brick building quickly came into view, with the tips of its sibling buildings just over yonder. Of course, the surrounding area looked like a battlefield a couple times over. The rubble of at least one building had been rained down on the surrounding plaza cobblestones.

"Does that mean were not the only ones here?" Elena inquired and waited for a response. When she got none, the gale corsair soared up into the air with Alice in tow. Which got her a tap to the side from her girlfriend.

"If you're going to do that, you need to give me a head's up." Alice remarked and let out a sigh. "Is that clear?"

The gambler watched her 'mount' shake her head, only to have Suiko decide that she wanted a front row seat.

*Oh sorry.*

"It's alright." Alice remarked and carefully shifted her grip on Elena, letting it hang loose as they descended. "At the very least, I'm feeling better."

"That's good to hear." Aaron answered, only for his gaze to quickly shift over to Polly and Aegiochusmon. "How about you two?"

But all he got was some gazing about and straight faces from both human and digimon. Of course, that was not fated to last, with the two unable to keep it up for that long.

"Alright." Polly whispered and charged off, making her way towards the shed. The rest of the group followed right behind, looking out for any sign of Talos or any other intruders. But as they reached their destination, they were assaulted with a foul odor.

"That's not good." Aaron whispered and motioned for Alice to come over. "Can you cover me?"

Alice gave a nod and made her way over to the partially open door. Aaron followed right behind, with the two closing the door behind them.

"Okay..." Polly remarked and just stood there. Her teammates copied her, waiting for the all clear. Or would've, if both Aaron and Alice weren't flung out the door and into the air.

Whirlwind Sting!

Somehow, Adarnamon managed to create a whirlwind to cautiously drop the duo down.

"Are you alright?" Elena shouted and flew up towards the gambler. Once there, she let her tail grab hold.

"Yeah." Alice whispered as Gentleman caught Aaron. "Thanks for catching me."

"No problem."

The winged beasts made their way back to solid ground, depositing their passengers. There, Elena switched to her human form and made her way over to the group.

"I got this." Aegiochusmon remarked and made his way over to the door. Yet, the others followed right along.

Compared to the monotone exterior that seemed to engulf this world, the interior was pretty much more of the same. Metallic walls of silver held them in, with a black tile floor possibly serving for contrast. A variety of panels and robot parts were strewn about, not that none of the chosen and their digimon were really aware of it. No, they were focusing upon a set of spotlights shining bright upon the main attraction in the middle of the room.

The dead body of an unknown girl hung there. She had been left in the nude, blood dripping out of both her chopped-off wrists and slit breasts. Her eyes had been popped out, getting used as an additional noose around her. The rest of her body appeared mutilated, the internal organs removed with surgical precision and the hair shoved within.

To add even more fuel to this slow-burning inferno, the killer left a nice little message behind. But not to them directly, mind you. That would be too easy in the eyes of the order.

To the author -

Up yours.

Sincerely,

Julie Enoshima

Aegiochusmon took a deep breath and slammed his fist into the shed's wall. While he did that, Aaron snapped a photo.

"Truly a wonderful boss you have." the detective remarked, only to find himself on the other end of a faceful of lava.

"Former boss." the harem mage whispered as everyone's attention focused on him. "It's complicated."

"Is there a simple version then?" Lily inquired.

"Falling out, followed by invasion."

Silence fell over the group, with Joey being the first to have a thought.

"As in the Dark Masters?" the shadow scientist remarked as a smile formed on his face, only to shift in one of fear and dread. "Oh god."

In his mind, things were beginning to click into place. To some extent, he felt his whole world shatter.

"If it helps, we weren't all bad." Aegiochusmon whispered. "Some of them deserved that fate, others not so."

He then mumbled something under his breath and shifted his gaze downward.

There, a second girl had knelt down, possibly to attempting to collect the dripping blood. She was dressed in a faded red blazer with a just as faded tartan skirt. Long dirty locks of green hair hung down, while a pair of just as faded eyes gazed over the floor.

Aegiochusmon made a quick glance to Polly, mumbling something to the monk. He got a reluctant nod in return and made his way over.

"Chacha, it's me." the harem mage announced and looked towards the floor.

"Master?" the girl announced and got up, "You've retur-"

But then her gaze found Polly.

"Oh, it's you."

The girl then pushed Aegiochusmon into the shed wall and charged at Polly.

Shadow Neko Scratch!

For once, Joey made an attempt at being a team player, but the execution was a little off. But that could just be the result of the claws not quite getting the chance to even scratch their opponent. No, they too joined the harem mage in the shed wall.

"Need some help out of there?" Aaron remarked and got a nod from Aegiochusmon in return. Very carefully, the detective pulled him out.

"Thanks for that." Aegiochusmon whispered and took a step forward, only for Aaron to grab hold. "What now?"

Aaron mumbled something under his breath, just low enough for the harem mage to hear. In return, the detective got a sly little smile and the rolling of his eyes.

"You don't need to remind me."

The two made their way outside, finding their teammates outside. Of course, their attention was more focused on Polly and Chacha fighting than actually making sure that Aegiochusmon was alright at the moment.

Silence!

A foot then slammed into the middle section of the sea serpent, knocking her into the ground. The beast then shattered, leaving Polly in the dirt.

"What do you want?" Polly inquired and dusted herself off.

"You." the gyroid whispered, only to walk away from the group. Polly followed right behind, quickly grabbing hold of the girl. She then flung her into the building, making a slight imprint in the area above the door. "I know what you did."

Perception!

Chacha glared intently at Polly, only for the opponent to still be able to move. A minute then passed, with nothing seeming to happe-

Before the author could finish his prior sentence, a large circle of white light engulfed Polly.

"Polly!" Aegiochusmon shouted, only to run into the laser. Inside, blinding light and immense heat immediately greeted him, bringing him back. Of the handful of times he had been hit by the stupid thing, he never remembered it being this devastating. Maybe it was the passing of time, maybe it was just luck. He took a deep breath and looked all around. While the beam wasn't that large, the light made it quite a bit harder. "Polly!"

A faint mumble echoed within the cylinder, giving him a slight bit of hope. He charged towards the voice, ignoring the heat and the light that only seemed to be growing at an intensifying rate.

There, Polly laid in a bloody heap. A majority of both her body and clothes was either scorched or greatly burned, with nothing left untouched. Yet, she seemed alright. Too alright to some extent.

Aegiochusmon quickly lifted her up, cradling her in his arms. Polly was all the harem mage had left now. If he lost her now, everything he had worked for would be a loss. The two made their way out of the beam in a quick yet steady manner, neither wanting this to be the end.

Outside, the rest of Delta ran up to them, ready to apply medical care. Afterwards, Chacha merely observed, watching the beam finally disappear. For as mad as she was with Aegiochusmon, he was probably her best option at the moment.

"One more round?"

Chacha turned around and recieved a right hook from Polly. The gyroid responded with a roundhouse kick, which missed Polly entirely.

What followed, was a long sparring match consisting of mostly punching and kicking. While neither of them really gained the advantage on the other, the two quickly learned each others fighting styles. After, they returned to the group, ready for the next challenge that awaited them.

Notes:

This took far too long for me to rewrite, but I like how it turned out. Just one more chapter.

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Next Time: It's a family matter.