I don't own digimon.

Session 91

Believer

In his pursuit of mending relations and solving the mysteries of the digitalverse, Aaron had given up quite a bit. His family, his home and some extent, his own personal life. All so he could travel around this multiverse in search for his kidnapped friends and understand the person who kidnapped them.

Yet as he stood there, a sense of dread filled him under the twilight sky.

"The door won't open on it's own." the mending detective whispered as he pushed the door open.

Inside, the apartment looked like no one had been living in it for a couple decades, with cobwebs and dust throughout while all sorts of mold and mildew threatened to tear this place apart. Currently, he stood at the entrance, looking into the kitchen-dining room area.

Aaron pulled a vial of greyish liquid out and raised it up to his lips, finishing the concoction in a single sitting.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home." he announced and walked towards the table, his gaze focusing in on a crumpled-up piece of paper that had been left there. Very carefully, he unfolded the discarded ball and looked over the faded message of it all.

Dear Aaron,

If you're reading this, we have left this world. We're proud of all you managed to accomplish out on your travels and wish you the best of luck in whatever endeavors you might find yourself in.

Love,

Mom & Dad

PS: We left you something, a parting gift that might come in handy for you. Best of luck!

Aaron clenched down on the letter as tears began to roll down his face. He closed his eyes and let the few family memories return to him. They were a happier time, now long gone. Yet it gave off the sort of feeling that he hadn't felt in quite a while.

"There you are." a voice called out as the timekeeper appeared. "Took you long enough."

Aaron didn't answer, choosing instead to turn around and head towards the door, making his way out.

"Oh fuck you too." timekeeper remarked and teleported outside, only to just miss Aaron by a couple of seconds. "You could've at least waited till I started taunting you."

"Yeah, because I have enough problems without you adding to them." the mending detective responded as he made his way down the stairs, attempting to keep as much distance from the 'final boss' as he legitimately could.

"So what? You're a useless main character that serves little in the way of this story." timekeeper announced and watched Aaron turn around, vial in hand.

"What did you just say to me?"

"You're nothing but a stupid ass-fucking, no good, space-wasting piece of usele-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Aaron delivered a swift kick to the groin.

"If you're not here to be helpful, you could at least elaborate on why you and your comrades see me as useless and stuff." the mending detective muttered and took a deep breath afterwards. "If nothing else, I can at least attempt to mend my relations with you people."

The timekeeper gave a shrug, only to clear his throat.

"If you're so curious about why we think so lowly of you." Timekeeper remarked as the two headed down the stairs. "I guess I can tell you. Just don't let Julie find out. One more issue with me and she'll start claiming "

"That's fair." Aaron answered and slipped the vial from earlier back into his pockets.

"It all started right after you know who captured those 'fiends'..."

The timekeeper took a deep breath.

Normally, he would stay in the shadows and watch. But due to Fate doing a bit of sloppy job, it was up to him to rectify it. Well to be more exact, him and Devi. Though, the latter was currently knocked out cold for the sake of doing this the subtle way. In this case, it was going to the source and rooting it out. Which meant waiting at a door and hoping that the occupants would take the bait.

"Mr and Mrs Larson?" he greeted and watched the married couple open the door.

"Hello there." Mr Larson remarked and watched this visitor take him in. By all accounts, he was a pretty average guy dressed in a shirt and t-shirt. His wife was a similar story, mostly since they had just gotten off their jobs as tech support. "What can we do for you?"

"We would like to talk to your son, Aaron if possible." timekeeper responded and got a confused response.

"He isn't here right now." Miss Larson added. "Please leave."

"No."

"Leave or else."

But just as the two were about to trade blows, Devi got up and seemed ready to make things difficult for all parties involved.

"Now, which one of you should I should have some fun with?" the murderer announced, only to get beaned with what appeared to be a modem thrown by Miss Larson. Her husband quickly followed up with a just as damaged one, somehow hitting timekeeper in the process.

"Get out!" both Larsons shouted as they continued their modem-throwing shenanigans.

"We're leaving, Devi." Timekeeper remarked and spit on the floor. "I hope you people are happy."

With that, the two turned around and teleported away, but not before flipping the couple off.

Back in the present, the duo had long left the apartment building and were now approaching a graveyard. Considering what happened to the last people who went mourning all those years ago,

"So that's why you people hate me?" Aaron remarked and took a deep breath.

"Pretty much." timekeeper answered and watched the mending detective give him a confused glance.

"Has any anyone ever told you guys that you seem counter-intuitive?" Aaron inquired and got a confused glance from the timekeeper.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you people even have some sort of goal beside controlling this multiverse?"

All Aaron got was a confused glance, which he kicked timekeeper in the groin for.

"So outside of some time shenanigans that got this whole ball rolling, you're pretty much a joke."

For that remark and the kick, timekeeper flipped Aaron off. Yet, it did little to damage their 'relationship'.

"Did you bring the shovel?" Aaron inquired and watched the timekeeper pull one out. "Thank you."
With that, he turned his attention to the pair of tombstones before them.

Mr Larson

? - ?

Miss Larson

? - ?

Aaron took a deep breath and grabbed the shovel from timekeeper, shoving the tool into the earth. Each swing seemed to bring about long buried memories thought to be forgotten. Some were happy, like taking his first steps or going to the ice cream place on a sunday. Other weren't as great, such as the time he nearly broke his arm jumping over a fence or the handful of times his parents would take him to his grandparents. Yet, he was fine with that. A little nostalgia here and there killed no one. It was only when you let it influence and overwhelm you that it became a problem.

"So what's your story?" he inquired as he focused on timekeeper.

"My story has already been told to some extent." timekeeper remarked, only to focus on the hole Aaron had dug. While he had never really wondered what people did with their dead, something about this seemed off to him. At the very least, they should've run into some sort of skeleton or trace of bone to show that someone had been buried. But the graves were empty, as if someone had gone through the trouble of creating the plots and tombstones only to be cut short by something.

He shook his head, not entirely sure why he was even thinking about this. At the moment, Julie probably wanted him to kill Aaron. Not that her orders meant anything to him.

"Are you alright?" Aaron inquired and gazed towards timekeeper.

"No." timekeeper responded as he let out a sigh. "I made a choice a long time ago and now, I need to live with it. Even if it means being stuck in the middle of a war that I wanted to be no part of."

"That's understandable." Aaron remarked and jumped down into the hole, pulling up what appeared to be large black plastic box. Strangely, only a pair of matching snap-on straps seemed to hold it all together. After carefully knocking them off, the mending detective found a slingshot and a note.

Dear Aaron,

You found it. We wished to give this to you in person, but circumstances seemed to state otherwise. Things happened and a mysterious person gave us a choice. He was nice enough to bury this for you to find, which we hope the slingshot comes in handy. We wish you the best of luck on your journey.

Love,

Mom and Dad

PS: If anything ever comes up, you can find us in Ouranos!

Aaron closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding the letter up to his chest. Afterwards, he pulled his notebook out and made a note about this 'Ouranos' place.

"I believe this is goodbye." timekeeper announced as a pair of portals appeared. "I wish you best of luck in your endeavors."

"You two." Aaron remarked and watched the timekeeper head through his portal, seeming to catch a glimpse of a spiky redhead wearing a pair of aviator goggles. He made note of it, stepping on through his portal next…

Notes:

Yes, the new title is a reference to a song from Savers.

This was surprisingly fun chapter to write. Is it a bit of a mess? Yes. But that's what happens when one throws modems at people.

Also some hints of things to come...

.

Next time: How a digimon is 'created'.