Every Rose Has Its Thorns
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Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Never have and never will. I do own Celeste, Aries and the Elder though, so don't steal them.
Author's note: Please Read the this note! All rightey then, this was originally supposed to be the end to part , so this probably isn't going to be as long as the other two parts. ( Hurray!) After this, there is one more part. Sorry this took so long (and even with all that, this part sucks), I had a little bit of indescision( not to mention writer's block). But now that that's over, I've got something to tell you all, this isn't going to be my last fanfic, but the ones I do after summer's over will take very long to get out, but I will keep writing. Also, there is going to be a sequel to this story, but only if you guys want it, ok? So lemme know what you think. All right? Well, I'll let you know in the final part. Also I've included a part of my own original book in here. It's the fight scene, you'll know it when you see it. Please don't steal it. K? Now to the story!
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Part Three: Return
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The lights of the Tokyo airport, from high above in the sky, seemed to be now more than tiny jewels sparkling against the carpet of the earth like miniature jewels and coupled with the stars above made it a beautiful sight to behold indeed.
But Mimi had seen enough of such things, that the all too familiar sight of an airport landing strip made her sick to her stomach, so, she turned away from the window, towards the interior of the airplane. The airplane hummed gently around her giving no one silence, but still, many on the plane were asleep. For some reason though, she couldn't sleep. She just felt as though her body had grown past the need for such things, but she guessed that it was due to the fact that she was still riding on a surge of adrenaline from the hour before…
***
Flashback…
Once again, like the time she had escaped from New York just a day prior, she hurriedly stuffed her belongings into the familiar black duffel bag, but this time, the reason was somewhat different. The reason she was hurrying was so that she wouldn't miss the flight that Matt had so thoughtfully planned for her. She couldn't afford to miss this flight. She was glad to be escaping Florida, leaving it far behind, returning to her childhood home. It would be nice. But, what would be nice, would be escaping Frank, leaving him, for the time being, clueless as to where she had gone, and that meant that she could have some peace and quiet if everything went as planned.
She took a quick look around the small apartment the she hadn't even stayed in one day yet, to make sure that she wasn't leaving anything behind. She thought for a minute about what she had unpacked if anything, and nothing came to her mind except the jewelry box which she had put away already. She had checked the bag to make sure nothing was missing, and had found that everything was still there.
She had her back to the open door, and for a brief moment, thought she had felt a chill, as though someone had entered the room.
"Who's there?" she asked, half-expecting to hear Matt's voice answer, but when no answer came, she became afraid.
" Who's there?" she asked again, hoping for a friendly answer. Nothing but silence. She still had her back to the door, but was afraid to turn around and see who it was, lest it be Frank. Trembling, inwardly as well as outwardly, she tried to convince herself that she was just hearing things. After a few terrifying moments, she managed to gather enough courage to turn around and face whoever it was. Ever so slowly, she turned her head, only to find…that there was no one there. Puzzled, she turned around fully and found that the room was indeed empty. Wondering if Matt was trying to play a trick on her, she walked to the door and peeked in to his apartment. He was in there, packing, looking too busy to have tried a trick like that, so she went back in to her apartment. She closed the bag, and sat down to relax for a few minutes, closing her eyes to try and drift off in to a peaceful sleep, confident that Matt would keep an eye out for her while she slept, only to be confronted by the phantom breeze again.
Even though it was a excruciatingly hot day, the slight breeze chilled her to the bone. It felt as though her blood was freezing in her veins; not pleasant in the slightest. Feeling deeply disturbed, she sat up and looked around the room. It was empty, there was nowhere to hide. If anybody was here, she should be able to see them. Nonetheless, she saw no one, but felt the distinct presence of another human.
There's nowhere for them to hide, she thought, there's no one here. She paused. Then why do I feel like I'm being watched? She thought for a few seconds before remembering. The bathroom! They must be hiding in the bathroom. She got up from her bed, slowly and uncertainly, and cautiously made her way over to the bathroom. She stood in front of the door, not certain if she wanted to go in, scared that it might be Frank. She reached out a shaking hand to turn the knob, but drew it back protectively as the knob turned itself and the door swung open, revealing…an empty bathroom. She was somewhat astounded at this, but feeling as though she was making a very unwise descision, ventured in to the room, only to have to door slam shut behind her, mysteriously locking itself in the process.
She drew in a fearful breath as thoughts of who might be behind this and what they might do, raced through her mind. It could be Frank, or one of his allies who was going to try to pump a deadly mixture into the room, causing her respiratory system to fail. Or worse yet, maybe who ever it was was already in here, hiding in the shower stall, waiting for the right moment to strike…
Don't think that!!! She mentally yelled at herself. It's just a coincidence, that's all. You'd probably be able to get out of here if you have to. She went over to the door to try the knob, and sure enough, it turned easily in her hand. Letting out a pent up breath, she turned the knob and gave the door a gentle push, getting ready to grab her stuff and run, when unexpectedly, she heard a loud thud behind her…like a body falling to the floor. Again, she had that feeling of time standing still, and ever so excruciatingly slowly , turned her head to see who it was, if it was anyone at all.
She gasped, shocked when she saw a crumpled body in the middle of the floor. The shower stall was undisturbed, so she knew it hadn't been hiding there before. At first, she didn't recognize who it was, but she gathered her courage and ventured closer. As she inched towards the body, she was shocked to know, that even with the body being in a paper-doll state, she recognized this person. When she reached the body, seeing as it was so still, she immediately checked for a pulse, and was relieved when she found one. It seemed the person was simply uncouncious, but that was not to last. The body on the floor came to life and stirred slightly. As her icy blue eyes opened, the woman seemed to be disoriented and sat up sharply. She winced in pain and gingerly rubbed her side, as she took in her surroundings and Mimi.
During the time that the woman was looking around, Mimi took a moment to survey her friend's condition. The once shiny, flowing blond hair, was now in wild disarray and coated with blood. Two different types, Mimi noticed. One was the red, unmistakable blood of a human being, and the other, she wasn't sure if it was even blood, but she took a wild guess and guessed that the slimy greenish/yellowish substance that matted her friend's hair, was blood as well, though definitely not human. The beautiful golden belt that Mimi had seen earlier, was now gone, leaving her dress hanging loosely on her withered frame. The dress itself, was no longer a dress. The shirt, had beens slashed in numerous places, leaving large slits, through which Mimi could see large, deep cuts on her friend's torso. The skirt, once down to her friend's ankles, was now, barely past her thigh in the longest of places. The once snow white dress, was covered in large spots of blood, dirt, and it looked like it was covered in some kind of powder as well, a thick heavy powder, like powdered lead, that clung in large spots to the dress and her friend's skin. Mimi, curious as to what it might be, reached out her hand to clean away a small portion of the powder, but was stopped, when her friend yelled harshly, " No! Don't touch that!"
Mimi, reflexively drew her hand back and cradled it protectively. It took her a second to regain her wits before she managed to ask, " Celeste, what happened?"
***
"We…we were attacked," she said slowly.
" By who?" Mimi asked.
" It is no concern of yours," she replied.
" Why not?"
" Because you are not destined to fight this war, I am."
"What war?'
" I cannot tell."
" May I ask why you are here?'
" I am here, not under orders, but of my own free will."
" Orders?"
"Do not worry about that."
" Despite my superior's wishes, I came here to deliver a message and warn you."
" Warn me about what?"
" I will tell you. You must be very careful in the next few days. You must not let your guard down, for it will be that time, when disaster will strike. You must be on guard. Do not let yourself be found alone until at least, at least a month or two has past. Trust me on that. You must be very careful. One slip-up, could be disasterous. Also, I must caution you. If for some reason, you do slip-up, the Digi-destined will be on their own to save you. My friends and I will not be able to help."
Mimi was shocked, "Why?" she asked, confused.
"Because…there are two reasons. One, we are in the middle of fighting a war. A very important one at that. If we loose, not only will we be killed, the so-called, Figures of Light will be too."
" Figures of Light? Who are they?"
Celeste gave a shallow sigh and answered, " I do not have the time to go into the details of what I do, but we shall say, there are many, many Earth's other than the one you know. People might never understand the intricacies of the matter, I barely do, but in each dimension, there are important people who "hold" the fate of the dimension in their hands, and they can be either good or evil. How that specific dimension turns out, depends, not only on the choices made, but also, on how the environment around them reacts. So, in layman's terms, they control the fate of the world they live in. On my planet, everyone has their moments, so, if they were going to destroy the Light Figures…"
"They'd have to destroy the entire planet," Mimi finished.
Celeste nodded grimly.
"Well," Mimi mused, "I'm willing to guess, that based upon what you said about the Figures, the DigiDestined are the Figures for this dimension."
"You are correct. Even though your war is finished, you are still important, for reasons I cannot divulge. Also, the second reason we cannot help, is because my superior, the Elder, issued orders that forbid us to interfere anymore in this timeline, and we must obey, or the consequences will be dire. We must obey her."
Even though she was confused, she asked, " Yet you are here. Why?"
"Because, as I said, I am risking my future freedom, to come and warn you that, whatever you do, stay in this room. Do not come out until I tell you…" Celeste's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as her gaze lifted past Mimi's shoulder. Mimi was going to turn around to see what Celeste was staring at, when, her friend reached forward and pushed her to the side.
She hit the tile floor roughly and she knew that she'd probably have a bruise or a cut on her face. She lifted her head and saw an already weak Celeste pushing herself to her feet, to face whatever it was that had been behind Mimi.
Mimi's eyes widened in shock at what she saw. What had been only inches behind her, was a large "cloud" of writhing blackness, the only break in which, were two red slits which she guessed were eyes. Two large stumps, extended from the cloud and ended in three claws each. There was a strange aura of negative energy coming from the creature, an evil, dark energy that made her shiver with fear. She had never felt something so evil in all her life, not even from Apocalymon or any of the evil digimon they had faced for that matter. This was far more evil and far more dangerous. Nonetheless, her friend faced it bravely.
Without even speaking a word, Celeste grabbed something from inside her shirt, a necklace, presumably and ripped the pendant off. In the next instant, a bright flash of light and a golden sword materialized in her hands. With a fluid motion, she swung the newly formed sword in a wide arc, catching the creature in its midsection. The sword sliced it with ease, like a warm knife through butter, effectively splitting the creature two. But that was not enough, she swung the sword in a horizontal cut, quartering the creature. She stopped as the creature began to dissolve in to a yellow smoke that smelled strongly of sulfur. Celeste looked surprised by that, but raised her free hand and a forcefield appeared around the smoke and sent the "bubble" through a portal which she opened after she encased the substance, effectively removing it.
Mimi watched, stunned at the way the creature was so easily dispatched, but when she thought about it some more, she realized that what she saw, was probably more than routine for Celeste and all her friends. Nonetheless, she was surprised, and when she finally regained her wits, she managed to stammer, " Wh..what…was…that?"
"That," Celeste breathed, " was my enemy. We're at war with them."
"Oh."
There was a silence between the two for a moment, but then, after catching her breath, Celeste said, " I bet you're wondering about the smoke. Are you?"
Mimi nodded. She was curious as to why her friend did that.
" You remember the dust that is clinging to my skin? The one I told you not to touch?" Mimi nodded again and Celeste continued. " Well, that sulfur smoke, when it comes in to contact with the oils on the human skin, it adheres itself and begins to eat away at the skin. It does little to me, but if you had touched it, you would have been contaminated. I'm sorry for not removing it earlier, but I came right from the battlefield, because, the battle ended sooner than expected and I'm willing to bet that the Elder doesn't know that."
" Who is the Elder?"
"My superior. The one who forbade us to help you. Here, let me help you." Celeste, who by now, had limped over to where Mimi was, extended her hand to help her up. She pulled Mimi to her feet and examined the cut on her forehead. " Oh my, this really needs to be taken care of." She waved her hand over the cut and the skin healed. Seconds later, the cut appeared on Celeste's forehead, then promptly vanished.
Mimi opened her mouth to ask what just happened, but Celeste's eyes narrowed and she immediately whispered to Mimi to keep quiet. Sword in hand again, Celeste limped over to the door and leaned against the wall. Mimi watched this all, the whole time, her mind filled with questions.
What is going on here? She asked herself. Why is Celeste so worried?
Because, came Celeste's voice, if you make a sound, you'll die.
***
Matt had absolutely no idea what hit him. Things were peaceful enough at first, but they all to quickly took a turn for the worse. Packing hadn't been too tedious, seeing as how he hadn't unpacked much the previous night. He was done in a matter of minutes. He'd grabbed his bags and made a quick trip to his car to store them, so he didn't have to carry two sets of bags. She'll be okay for a few minutes, he thought. Everything will be fine…
Little did he know, but two pairs of eyes were watching him. A pair of crimson red eyes were watching him closely from the shadows of a nearby alley and a pair of dull hazel ones from a large window opposite the street. As he disappeared back into the apartment building, the owner of the hazel eyes followed him in, while the owner of the crimson eyes, stayed put…for now.
When he got back up to his apartment, he realized that, for some reason, Mimi hadn't finished packing yet, even though, she had very little to pack. He also realized, that if she took any longer, the plane ticket, the expensive plane ticket would go to waste. He lay back on his bed and stretched relaxing his muscles and mind.
Truthfully, he hadn't expected any trouble from anyone seeing as how, Frank was still in New York. Besides, both of them had only stayed here a day, now they were moving on. Japan probably was the best option. He'd probably have a harder time finding her there. He doubted that Frank had had time to set up agents in Japan yet.
Wait a minute! He bolted upright. Crap! I forgot about that! He probably has agents all over the country! That must be how he found her so quickly the first time she ran! It must be! It has to be! That means…
The knot that had been in his stomach since last night tightened again, causing an intense, stabbing pain and coupled with the sudden feeling of sickness that comes with realizing a horrible fact made him want to keel over, but he managed to stay on his feet. He staggered weakly towards her open apartment door, thinking that wasn't such a good idea to begin with. But, they had only expected to be a few minutes, he never thought that this would happen. He doubted anyone did.
The bathroom door was wide open, meaning that she wasn't in there. He continued walking past the luggage alcove, where her duffel bag was still sitting, untouched. He continued towards the bedroom.
As he walked in, the knot tightened again and his stomach lurched sickeningly when he saw what was in there. In the middle of the bedroom, near the window, stood a tall man dressed entirely in black, from head to toe. The only exception was a small band across this face that allowed two filmy hazel eyes to show through. In his hand, he held something, butt Matt couldn't see what it was. But he could see all too clearly what lay at his feet.
On the floor, in front of the man in black, lay a crumpled mass of flesh, which his mind identified as a woman…a dead one. There was a profuse amount of blood around the body, but the only discernable mark on the body, was a gunshot wound to the back. He could tell because of the small bloody oblongish shape staining the pink shirt that the victim wore. Brownish shoulder length hair was scattered in wild disarray around the body. In her bloodstained hand, lay a small brown pendant with a green shape in the center, a shape like a teardrop….
His mind shut down immediately, refusing to process the new information that it was being fed. He stood at the scene, dumbstruck at what he saw, but unable to react. Instead of focusing on current events, his mind turned to past events, memories and most prolific of all…guilt.
How could I not have seen someone enter the apartment? I mean, for heaven's sake! Both doors were wide open! She would have screamed of something! I know it! How could I not have heard?! How?! What about the gunshot?! I mean, he shot her! It would have made some kind of sound! I should have heard it! Why didn't I? How could I let this happen?! How could I?!!!
His thoughts were shattered, when the man in black, obviously the killer, spoke mockingly, " Well, well, well, so the hero's finally arrived, I see." He looked down at the body and nudged it slightly with his foot. It gave no response at all. " A bit late though," he sneered. " Such a shame though, really was pretty, such a nice body too…"
He didn't even let the killer finish his sentence; outraged, he lunged towards the killer, ready to atack, but was stopped when the man's foot connected with his ribs, sending him sprawling to the side, where he fell with a dull thud.
Somewhat dazed, he sat up weakly and tried to push himself to his feet, when the killer brought his concealed hand forward, and Matt found himself staring at the barrrel of a gun, with a silencer attached to it.
His eyes seemed to lock themselves on the gun as a sudden need for self preservation overpowered his senses. He backed away slightly from the gun, but kept his eyes fixed on it.
" When I said you were late, Ishida, I meant you were too late to save your little friend," the man sneered as he gestured to the body at his feet, " but, you're not too late to join her." He raised the gun and released the safety.
In that moment, time seemed to stop allowing every minute detail to become visible. He could hear the pounding of the blood in his ears, the ragged, raspy sound of his own breathing, the sound of the air around him, the shuffle of cloth, a slight groan escaping his lips, a cry of "No!"…
Wait a minute he thought, what's going on here? I didn't just say anything? Did I?
"No!" the cry came again and this time he was certain that its origin wasn't him. He looked around the room for the source of the word, and was understanably more than shocked, when the body at the assailant's feet began to stir. Both men backed away somewhat surprised.
" What the hell is going on here?!" the man asked no one in particular. Then he turned to the body, still pushing itself up. " I thought you were dead!"
" It appears not," Matt said with a smirk. It seemed that the tides were turning in his favor.
"I'll see about that," the man said as he turned the gun away from Matt and towards the still rising body. He fired one shot at all but point blank range, that lodged itself in the body's abdomen, but the body, or person, whatever it was, was unphased. It continued rising. The man fired two more direct shots, but again, they had no effect. The tide was definitely turning.
When the body, gunshot wounds and all, was standing, it turned to face the man and said mockingly, " Nice shots," and smiled menacingly. The crest in her hand began to emit a bright light, and when the light had subsided to the point where it was tolerable to the eyes, the crest was gone, replaced by a small maroonish colored stone, and the body was gone, replaced by a healthy looking, perfectly alive woman (about 18) dressed in a red body suit that was like a second skin.
The man was so surprised at this, that, at first, he didn't know how to react, and started to back away. " Wha…what's going on here?!" he demanded.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out," she said coldly, " now, hand over the gun and surrender."
The man looked at the gun, almost puzzled as to what he had it for, but something ignited in his eyes and he released the safety and pointed the gun at her again and fired once.
She dodged to the left and the bullet soared harmlessly past her head, but she barely turned back in time to see him fire another. She leaned forward and the bullet flew over her head, lodging itself in the wall behind her.
"All right," she muttered to herself, " enough of this." The stone in her hand began to glow again, but this time, when the light subsided, it revealed that she now had a sword with a large silvery blade, with a red jewel embedded in the handle.
She stood in the same spot where she had been standing since she appeared, looked up, seemed to vanish in a short flash of reddish light, before reappearing, not a foot in front of the man with the gun, and with a wide kick, sent the gun flying out of his hand, landing right in front of Matt. He lunged forward and grabbed it to make sure that the other man didn't get his hands back on it again.
The unidentified woman, however, was taking a more drastic approach to make sure the man didn't try anything funny again. She held her sword to the tender skin of his throat, poking it mockingly to scare him. She stood there for a moment, glaring at him, while he stared down at the sword, eyes wide with fright. After about a minute, she pulled her sword away and hung it at her side.
With a toss of her head she indicated towards the door and said in a tone that left no doubt in his mind, " Now get out." The instant she had removed her sword, he started stepping away and when she told him to leave, he bolted for the door, not even casting a backwards glance at them. She stood and stared until he had vanished down the hall.
After the man was gone, the unidentified woman, turned her attention to a very surprised Matt, who, still possessing the gun ( and now standing BTW) released the safety on the gun and pointed it at her. She seemed not in the least surprised. In fact, her response surprised him.
"You might want to put that down," she said, " it's useless, it's not loaded." After quickly checking this fact, he said, " Well, then, could ya put away your sword!?"
She looked at the sword hanging from her waist, almost surprised at its being there. She asked, " Oh, you mean this thing?" She grabbed it and held it in two hands, almost as though examining it, running her finger along the long, curved blade. She contemplated the sword and his request for a minute before agreeing. She held the sword ( by its handle) in her right hand and said, " Aries Sword Recall." The jewel in the sword's handle began to glow again, and after a second enveloped the whole blade before the light shrunk back into the jewel which she pinned to her bodysuit. She held out her hand to him and said, " Now, the gun." He nodded and passed it to her and she attached it to a belt around her waist.
"Well then," she said, " let's get this over with," and started to walk away.
"Hey wait a minute!" he exclaimed, surprised at her straightforwardness. " Who said I was going anywhere with you? I don't even know who you are! And for that matter, what are you doing here, and where's Mimi?"
"You'll see, if you come with me," she said calmly.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.
She was silent for a moment, contemplating how to answer his question. After a long while, she finally answered, " You don't," she paused, " but, I did save your life. Doesn't that get me some credit if only a little?"
He thought about that for a moment, thoughts running through his mind like runners in an Olympic foot race. Sure, she did save him from the man, but he could have done it himself anyway. She saved him, but still, how did he know that this wasn't some sort of elaborate setup on her part to get him to trust her? He ran the previous few minutes over and over again in his mind. The packing, making a quick trip to the car to put his things away, coming back up, relaxing, deciding to check on Mimi, finding the murderer..and the corpse, staring down the barrel of the gun, the corpse standing up and becoming his rescuer, and now, the realization, that if the corpse wasn't real, where was the real Mimi?
After all those thoughts, and many more had surfaced in his mind, he said, " All right, so it does, but don't try anything funny."
"What makes you think that that was my intention in the first place?" she asked over her shoulder as she walked towards the apartment door.
"I don't know," he said as he followed her, " it's just this feeling I have." He walked up and stood next to her.
She walked up to the open bathroom door and stood there for a moment. It looked as though she were about to knock on the open door, but she hesistated and turned to face him, " You are right not to trust everyone," she said slowly, " but do not let that mistrust go too far, or it will be your ultimate undoing. You must heed my words."
"How will I know who to trust?" he asked, confused.
"You will know when the time is right, " she said, turning back towards the door.
Her hand made a hollow sound against the wooden door as she knocked lightly. " The coast is clear," she said to the empty room.
Matt watched in amazement as before his very eyes, the room began to warp and twist as though it was being wrung out like a wet rag. The room began to grow blurry and eventually, what he guessed was a façade, began to crack into minuscule pieces which then broke apart, only to dissolve the second they did. He was puzzled as to what was going on, but asked no questions, because once the façade vanished, it revealed another room, identical to the one who had been there only moments before, except for one tiny detail. It wasn't empty.
Leaning against the wall, was an unidentfied woman who looked as though she had just been through a war, and sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, looking all the worse for wear, was a very anxious Mimi.
"Matt!" she squealed delightedly as she jumped up from where she had been sitting and ran forward to embrace him. " I never thought I'd see you again! I thought he'd kill you and then who would protect me from Frank? I don't know what I would if you weren't here! AndtheworstpartisthatCelesteandherfriendswon'tbeabletohelpusanymore!"
She was talking so fast now that his head was spinning. He pushed her away gently. " What was that?" he asked. He looked up at the woman in the doorway, and the one who had saved him, " and just who are these people?"
"Well, you see…" she began. She would have continued, but the woman cut her off with a wave of her hand.
"To make her long story short," said the woman, " I am Celeste, the same one from back in the DigiWorld, and I see you've met my friend Aries."
"Yes, I have," he murmured as he let the previous few sentences sink in. When it did, he exclaimed, "Celeste! The Celeste! That's great!" He turned to Mimi. " We don't have to worry about anything now! We'll be able to get to Japan no problem! This is gr…"
He was cut off by Mimi's somber voice saying, " Didn't you hear what I said the first time? Celeste and her friends won't be able to help us anymore. They've already risked who knows what to come and help us this time! They can't anymore!"
"Besides," interjected Celeste, " Mimi knows what she saw, we don't want to take any more chances. One's already found its way here. We must make sure that none follw it. I apologize for not letting you know sooner."
He was dumbstruck. " You mean that…?"
"Yes," said Aries numbly. "And there is no way we can change that."
"I'm sorry," Celeste said again.
" It's okay, Celeste," said Mimi, " you don't have to apologize. None of this is under your control. None of it at all." She turned to Matt. " We'll just have to be on our gfuard, right?"
He nodded, resolute that they would be fine. " C'mon," he said, " let's get your things. We're going to miss the flight if we stay any longer, and who knows what hideous delays are awaiting us at the airport."
She thought this over for a few seconds before grabbing her duffel bag and purse from the alcove. He did a double take. " Hey," he said, " what happened here? I thought that… Oh never mind."
"What?" she asked.
"Forget it."
"Okay then. Let's go."
"Okay, here, I'll take the duffel bag. It's probably heavy."
"Thanks," she said as she handed him the bag. It was beginning to get a tad heavy.
"No problem," he said as they walked out the door, leaving Celeste and Aries behind. Aries, who was now standing by the door, watched as they walked down the hall and turned right at the end of the corrider and out of sight. She turned back to her ailing friend.
" Will they be all right?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
Celeste was silent for a minute or two before slowly answering, " With time. Only with time."
***
It's a while later, and they are now just past half way to the airport.
The silence in the car was so mind numbing, so isolating, so…so horrible. Neither had said a word since they had left the apartment building about 15 minutes ago. It was only about another 10 to the airport, but Mimi didn't think that she could bear another ten minutes of silence, so she broke it.
"What did I do?" she asked slowly, " why are you mad at me?"
For a minute, it seemed as though he was just going to ignore the question and keep driving. His eyes were locked ahead, never wavering from the street.
He is mad,she thought dimly.
Then, he turned towards her for just a second and said, his voice filled with caring, " No, I could never be mad at you." He paused and turned back towards the road before adding, " Why would you think that?"
She looked away and out the window. " Oh, it's just that, I don't know. It's just a feeling I have. You're upset about something. I can tell. I just don't know what, and I…the first thought that came to my mind, was about my getting you all mixed up in this horrible ordeal. I mean…what happened this morning, y…you could have gotten killed." Tears began to fall from her eyes. " And it would have been all my fault!" She began crying hysterically, buring her face in her hands.
He resisted the urge to take his hands of the steering wheel and just hold her, but he knew that if he did, the result wasn't going to be pretty. Instead, he did the next best thing. " About what happened this morning…it wasn't your fault."
She lifted her face from her hands and turned towards him. " Really?" she asked, her eyes still brimming with tears.
He glanced towards her again before turning back towards the road. "Of course not!" he exclaimed. He took a breath and calmed down before continuing. " If anything, it was my fault. If anything, it was totally my fault." In frustration, he brough his fist down hard upon the steering wheel rim causing Mimi to jump.
"It's my fault totally," he growled to himself.
"How?" she asked timidly, scared.
" If only I hadn't been such an idiot all those years ago and lied to you, none of this ever would have happened.. And you would never have been hurt like you were!" His mind subconciously recalled the glaring wound that ran across her scalp like an angry red lightning bolt. The entire back of her head had been split open by the force of the blows. Even after all this time, it was still there, as plain as day. It would take a long time for the physical scars to heal. The emotional scars though, were another matter. Another matter entirely. He glanced back at her again. Her eyes were filled with tears again. For the first time since they met up again, he took the time to take a good look at her. Visibly, she hadn't changed much except for her hair was shorter than he remembered it, and was now dark brown. Emotionally, she seemed as broken as the Ten Commandments, maybe even more. ( A/N: Don't ask where I got that from. My mind is a very very scary place…) She seemed to have shrunk back in to some kind of shell that she used as best she could to protect her from the outside world. Her form was withered, no longer a healthy looking form,as he remembered her, but now she seemed like a whithered plant. She seemed to be recovering somewhat, but still, was nothing like her old self.
He looked back at her again and said, " I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just…."
"I know," she finished for him. "I know…"
***
Okay, back to the present….
"Ahhhhh" Mimi yawned loudly and covered her mouth with her hand. She opened her eyes, blinking away the sleep that was pulling them closed, and looked around the large airport terminal. ( A/N: Okay, I don't really know what the airports are like in Japan, so I'm just going to assume they're like the ones in America and England.) She found that she was standing in front of the baggage carousel. Looking around, she also noticed that Matt was nowhere in sight. Fearing for both of their safeties, she scanned the semi-large crowd frantically for some sign of him. Finally, she spotted him gathering their bags from the carousel and heading towards her. Memories of boarding the plane were long forgotten as they left the airport, heading to rent a car.
"You're tired," he said as she yawned for the tenth time in the past five minutes. " Maybe we should leave the car and just get a ride to the hotel."
"No," she said, " I'll be fine. We'll need the car so that we can visit Tai and Sora tomorrow."
"No," he said thoughtfully, "there is something called a subway. We can take that to the nearest station and walk from there."
"No," she persisted. "I think a car would be better."
"Well then," he said, " whatever you want."
***
"Hey wake up," a voice prodded. " come on, we've gotta get going."
"No mommy," she murmured, " I don't wanna go to school today. Zzzzzzzzzzz….."
"Come on, wa…Hey!? What did you call me?!"
"Mmm?" she mumbled, half-asleep. " What?" She opened her eyes slowly and found herself staring into Matt's confused and equally weary face.
She jumped slightly, a bit startled, but she soon calmed down. " What?" she asked, yawning loudly. "What's going on? Where are we?"
"I've gotten a hotel room just a few blocks from their house."
" Why don't we go and visit them now? She asked groggily.
"You're too tired to keep traveling like this," he answered, "besides, it's just past midnight. You don't really want to disturb them at this hour, do you?"
She thought over that for a second before saying, "No, not really. But, I don't think I could carry my stuff.Could you?"
"Sure," he said, " now, let's get going. You've got to get some sleep. You don't want to fall asleep in Sora's living room, now do you?"
She shook her head as she got out of the car, grabbing her purse. "Let's go then."
"Hold on, let me get the bags."
"Okay."
***
"Here's the money for the room," he told the receptionist as he handed her a handful of money.
"Thank you," she said as she took the money and handed him a keycard. " Anything else, sir? Madam?"
" Oh yes," he said, " is there an extra pull out bed or something like that in the room?"
She looked a tad confused at the request. He could only guess what was going through her mind because it took her a minute or two to answer. " Uh, sure, I could get you one…if you want, but the bed is a double…"
"Can you get it?" he asked, a sudden blush appearing on his face.
"I'll see what I can do," she replied, turning away so that. She picked up the phone and punched in a number, waited for a few minutes, and eventually she came back and said, " Um, there should be one up there, but if there isn't there's nothing I can do. We have two soccer teams and some people competing in some music thing staying here, so all of the other cots and such are being used. Sorry for the inconvenience."
"Oh, it's okay," Mimi said as she turned away from the counter. " I'm sure everything will work out just fine. C'mon," she tugged slightly on his sleeve, " I need to get my sleep."
" Uh, sure," he said still blushing. "Thanks," he told the receptionist as he grabbed the bags and walked to a nearby elevator and took it up to the sixth floor.
***
" Oh wow!" she exclaimed when he opened the door to the room. " Now this is more like it!" She took a good long look around the spacious room. It was more like a suite than a single room and she suspected that Matt had something to do with it. In the middle of the large blue painted room, was a large double canopy bed from which hung long gauzy pieces of some kind of blue material. It looked like silk though. She found a large cherry armoire. Next to that, was a small cherry desk, above which hung a large mirror. There was a large window, which she guessed overlooked the city, but it was too dark to tell. To her left was a large door which she guessed led to a luxurious bathroom. And on the walls, hung exquisite paintings, one of which, portrayed two angels standing in a beautiful field of flowers.
She put her purse down on one of two nearby chairs and walked over to the bed and feel back onto it. " Ohh this is soo comfortable!" she said excitedly. She looked back towards him and said slyly, " You spoil me. You really do. How am I ever going to pay you back for all this?"
He started blushing again but said, " You don't have to. It's all on me. Besides, you should know, I'm not that type."
"Oh," she said, " well, where are you going to sleep?"
"Here, I guess," he said gesturing towards a chair.
"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll go get changed."
"Huh?" he asked giving her a startled look.
" Well," she said coyly, " I'm not going to sleep in something as uncomfortable as this." She gestured down to the black jeans and green shirt she was wearing. She walked over to her duffel bag and rummaged around in it for a little bit before she drew back holding in her hands, a bundle of pink cloth. " My pajama's" she said as she noticed the look on his face. " Now, if you don't mind I'll be right back. That is, unless…"
"No!" he said quickly. At the hurt look she gave him, he said, " Um, no, I guess you'd rather have your privacy."
"You're right, I'd rather," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.
What is going on here? He thought as he changed too.
She emerged from the bathroom about ten minutes later, her previous clothing rolled into a ball in her hands. She was now wearing a pair of long legged pajama's that had a matching over sized top that felll past her knees. The sleeves were too long as well and the covered her hands. She hung her clothers in the armoire and went and sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. When she started laughing softly, a slight tinkling sound like a soft bell, he asked, " What?"
" You look…awful," she teased.
He looked down at the large black t-shirt and gray sweat pants he was wearing and said to her, " Well, you don't look too hot either."
" Well, at least it's better than you."
No reply. Both were silent for a few minutes before he said, " You know, for some crazy reason, I just can't help but think of the time right after Gomamon digivolved to Ikkakkumon for the first time, do you remember?"
"You mean the mansion?"
"Yeah, it's just that…"
"What?"
"I don't know, I mean, it just brings back so many memories of the Digiworld and our Digimon."
"Yeah," she said, " I wonder how Palmon and all of them are doing. I miss them so much."
" I just can't believe how naive we were back then. When I think about it, a mansion in the middle of nowhere, with a table all set for a feast, but no one in sight. We should have known that it was a trap."
"It doesn't matter now," she said.
"Yes it does!" he exploded. " if I didn't know a trap then, how will I protect you now!?"
No reply. " I'm sorry," he said slowly, "it's just that…"
" It's okay," she said. " I was wrong to doubt you. I deserved it." She looked away as tears filled her eyes again.
He really got to you, didn't he? He thought as he walked over and sat next to her. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away from the touch. He reached out again and this time put his hand on her shaking shoulder, but that only made her cry even harder, so he pulled back his hand. He'll pay for hurting you like this. He'll pay.
He reached out again and drew her into a tight hug. She was shocked and he knew this because she stiffened momentarily before relaxing. She clutched at his shirt and began to cry harder. He kissed the top of her head lightly and whispered, "I'm sorry, no one deserves to be yelled at like that, or hurt like you were. I promise I'll never let that happen to you again."
Through her tears, she looked up at him again and asked, " You mean it?"
He looked down at her, eyes filled with love and kissed her passionately. After about a minute, they broke apart. " Does that answer your question?" he asked, smiling.
She smiled back and whispered, " Yes. Yes it does."
***
She tried in vain to stifle another yawn.
" You should go to sleep," he said as he stood up.
" Yeah, I guess," she yawned. He walked away.
" Hey, where are you going?" she asked.
" I'm sleeping over here, remember?" he said as he grabbed a jacket from his bag and draped it over himself like a blanket as he sat down in the chair.
" That's going to be uncomfortable," she said, concerned.
" Oh, it'll be better than sleeping in dirt with rocks for pillows," he joked.
She sat up. " You sleep over here. I'll take the chair."
" No, you're sleeping over there."
" No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes, and that's that."
She was silent for about a minute before saying, " Well, then, I'll stay over here, if you come over here."
"What?"
She patted the empty space next to her. " It'll be innocent, right?"
" I'm not going to do that. I'm staying here."
" Well, if you're going to be uncomfortable, it's only right that I should be too. I'm coming over there."
"No you're not."
" Yes I am."
"No"
"Yes"
"Fine."
"Fine what?"
"I'll come over there. But I'm only going to sleep." He put emphasis on the last word.
" What makes you think I was thinking differently?" she asked, confused.
"What you were were saying earlier. What you were hinting at."
"Huh?" She paused, lost in thought " Oh that, you should have known that I was only kidding." She climbed in the bed, pulling the thick covers over her.
" That's a relief," he said as he climbed in the bed next to her. " Good night, sweet thing," he said.
" Goodnight you old crow," she teased.
***
About five minutes later…
" Hey, are you still awake?" he whispered in the darkness.
" Yeah," she answered.
" Why, can't you sleep?"
A long paused. " It's just that…" she paused, " never mind."
" No, really, why?"
" It's stupid."
" Tell me, please."
" Okay, it's just that…I feel…"
" Guilty?" he finished.
" Yes. I mean, I'm glad to be here with you. I love you and everything, but, I mean," she paused, " Frank is still my fiancée. I haven't officially broken the engagement yet, so in reality, I still belong to him." In the darkness, he could hear her crying.
He felt something resembling either jealousy or rage well up inside his heart, but he managed to keep his voice calm. " Listen," he paused, " you never belonged to anyone and you certainly don't now."
" You're wrong," she said softly, " I…my heart…they now belong to you and you alone."
He was silent, shocked by her admission, but finally, he said, " Thank you."
" For what?" she asked.
" For giving me another chance," he turned towards her and noticed that she was turned towards him. Even in the darkness, her eyes shone with the love she felt. It warmed his heart immensly. " I'm so grateful to you. Thank you for everything." She pushed herself up slightly, leaned over and kissed him softly.
" You're welcome."
***
A few minutes later, he had slipped into a peaceful slumber, his chest rising in a steady rhythm, but she was awake, her mind in constant turmoil. She looked over at his sleeping form and in her mind, asked, What am I doing here?
She felt as though a war was being raged inside her head. Part of her, the part that had always told her what was right from wrong, was telling her that just being here was a mistake. That part wanted her just to slip out and run back to Frank. Then, there was another part that was telling her that this was wrong too, but was also telling her not to go back to Frank. It was telling her just to disappear back into the crowd. Then, there was the third voice, the one that was telling her that this was perfectly all right, telling her that Frank had lost her when he first hurt her. It was telling her that this was what was meant for her.
Her thoughts were interrupted when he turned towards her. For a second, she thought that he might have awoken, but it soon became clear that he was just turning in his sleep. She took a good long look at his peaceful form. She remembered all that they had been through the past few days. She reached out and gently brushed a stray piece of hair off of his face.
Yes, she thought, This is what I want. It is.
