Power is a Black Dog

By Son Rhandi

Chapter 4: 'Hearts, Like Glass…'

Arukenimon was taken aback, speechless and mortified by the sight of her partner's mystic wound.

"Mummymon, what happened..?" Her voice quivered. The other mon just stared at her, then hung his head low, wondering if it would be a good idea to tell her about his dreams with the nightmare dog.

"I… I'm not sure," he responded quietly. "I just got up this morning and it was there, bleeding." He thought he saw his Arukeni cringe slightly. "Please, just give me some time to figure this thing out, then I can tell you." He looked at her with his single sad eye and rose to return to the jeep.

She reached out and pulled him back by his collar. "Oh, no, you don't!" Did he honestly think she could just forget about something like this after what she just saw? The lady in red wouldn't have it. "Things like that don't just appear out of thin air! I know you know that there's more here than what you're telling me! You're going to tell me everything, and I mean everything about what's been going on..."

And so, he told her about the dreams, the abyssmal creature and what he spoke, everything she wanted to know about this. Arukenimon fell silent. It wasn't as if she didn't believe him… Well, actually, she didn't. All this of dreams about talking oracle dogs was incredibly hard to swallow. Her initial thought was that of self-mutilation, but Mummymon didn't seem like the type, and it also wasn't like him to make up such wild stories…

"Now do you see? Why I didn't want to show you?" Asked the blue-clad digimon, breaking the silence.

The lady in red sighed and coiled a tassle of hair around her finger, still choosing not to speak, or rather, not knowing what to say. "…You don't believe me, do you..?"

"I can't say I do," she replied as she turned her back to him and continued to play with her hair. She wasn't going to lie to him.

"Arukeni…" He whispered softly, easing his hands onto her arms with each word. "I know it's hard to believe. I can barely believe it, myself, but…" He then spun her around to face him. If it were any other day, he would have earned himself a harsh slap for touching her in that fashion, much less touching her at all. But now was not the time for any of that. "I need you to try and understand, for my sake. If you don't do anything for me for as long as we're together," Mummymon dropped to his knees and took her hands in his. "please just do this."

Arukenimon stared into that pleading golden eye of his and resisted the urge to touch a hand to his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. She turned away, not wishing to see that look any further. Slowly, she slipped her hands out of his and rubbed her arm with one.

"Let's go back," she spoke in her usual tone. "Oikawa's probably waiting for us." Mummymon nodded, not knowing whether or not to feel hurt, and brought himself to his feet, returning to the jeep.


That awkward space that had settled itself with Arukenimon in the Digital World carried itself with her into the real world. She couldn't shake it, that strange, unsettling feeling about Mummymon and his mystic wound. What she found to be even stranger was the way she had acted towards him. She didn't hit or push him away or even cringe at his touch. Nay, she had actually been tolerant of his actions. Under any normal circumstance, he would have been slapped around to teach him not to try anything like that again. But that while ago, he just seemed so incredibly desperate that it punched a hole in the wall she put up around herself, even if just for a moment. She stood there, in front of the 'masterpiece' Mummymon created the day before, arms crossed and looking cross, not knowing whether to be humored or insulted. The lady in red leaned toward the former. After all, it did kind of look like her.

"Arukeni?"

She turned in response. It was Mummymon, walking towards her, the muffled crunch of the snow sounding off with every step. She took notice that he wore a patch over the jagged cut of unclear origins, which was a good thing, for she probably would have stared at it the entire time he was out there.

"…You covered it."

"Hmm? Yes. I thought it'd be better if you didn't have to see it."

"How considerate of you…" She said a bit more sarcastically than she had intended, but the mon in blue didn't seem to pick up on it and smiled meekly. "Do you like it? My snow sculpture of you? I saw you were out here looking at it, so I came out."

Arukenimon sniffed at the cold air. "Well, I wouldn't call it 'great', but it does look like me a little."

"So you like it?"

"Well, I don't hate it…"

Mummymon's little digi-heart was bursting at the seams. She didn't give him a definite 'yes, I like it,' but at least he knew it had some appeal. But quickly, his happiness dispersed, and guilt soon took its place. "Arukeni…"

"Yes..?"

"I'm sorry. I lied. …I didn't come out here to ask if you liked this. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about this thing going on."

She crossed her arms once again. "Well, go ahead. I'm listening."

Breathing deep, Mummymon prepared to speak. "My first concern is of you. You know that. That… creature mentioned that if I don't gain my second eye, we could both die. …I don't want to lose you, my Arukeni. …I love you."

"I know," the lady in red replied, seemingly disinterested. "Just continue."

"And also, I don't know if you really care or not, but… I've been sensing my death for a while now. I don't know how. Maybe it's because I'm so close to death already, being a mummy and all. Whatever the reason, I think it's safe to say that I won't be around much--"

"Stop it."

"What?"

"I said, 'stop it,' Mummymon."

"But Aru—"

"What point of 'stop it' didn't you understand?!" She now yelled forcibly at him. "This stupid 'nightmare dog' thing is nothing more than a recurring dream, that little 'laceration' of yours is just the result of self-mutilation, and you're not going to die, goddammit, so stop saying things like that!!" And with that, she stormed past him, back to the cabin, slamming the sliding door shut.

Mummymon was heartbroken, betrayed by the one he loved, the one person he hoped would understand. In a fit and rage of flowing tears, he raised a fist to that magnum opus he made from his love for her and punched straight through, the top half toppling to the ground and crumbling upon impact, then continued his assault on the rest, until all that stood were several clumps of snow, sticks, and pine needles where that snow-womon once resided. The mon panted heavily, his throat stinging from the cold air, and dropped to all four, not bothering to brush away his hot tears.

"Why..?" He asked in a whisper, his throat tight with ire and sadness. "Why couldn't you just understand..?!"

He struck the snow-laden ground again and again, just asking why things turned out the way they did, and sobbed quietly. As blue-clad digimon cried his heart out, and grief filled his world, the steady beat of the sounds of battle to come played loudly, but fell deaf on his ears.