I actually like this fic even though I wrote it years ago…basically this takes place during the week that the tamers were forced to retreat by the immense power of the D-Reaper and had no choice but to leave Jeri in it's slimly clutches…in case you hadn't guessed by now, this fic contains blood. Sorry, but I know some people are fussy about that sort of that thing so I thought that I had better mention it.
I don't care if you think it's corny that there's a nursery rhyme in here…I never meant for it to turn out this way but I honestly think the story is all the better for it! I'm not sure if I made Jeri a little out of character for this but let's face it, you'd be cranky too if you were trapped by an emotionless being that fiddled with your memories and made you believe you were worthless…
Gah, I have lost all inspiration for an Unlikely Partnership and have been trying in vain to get into it again for the past year. I really want to finish it but have no idea when the next chapter will come or go.
Jeri stared at the curved walls surrounding her. It was like a jungle. A jungle that comprised of interwoven vines that bore no leaves, fruit and would certainly never flower and produce new life. There was no comfort of the whispering breeze in here either. The only sound that was ever filtered within here was 'its' voice. And Jeri hated that voice with a passion that did not match the dullness of her eyes. The voice threw questions at her about herself that required the girl to burrow deep within her soul to find the answers. Yet the worst part was dredging the answers up to her mouth so that she could reply to that 'thing'. So many raw emotions were forced upwards with those precious, precious answers. Sensitive emotions that the D-Reaper would devour greedily in order to increase its strength.
The girl stirred slightly and felt the slimy cords around her body twitch and tighten. Abruptly she let out a miserable sigh. Here she was firmly rooted in trauma and terror. This unnatural jungle would not let her go.
Boredom invaded her senses. In a way the D-Reaper was still torturing her by not giving her anything to do. It was all very well having it suck her soul dry and manipulate her memories. But when it left her alone all she could do was reflect on how she had caused all these terrible, terrible things to occur in the first place and her mind would return to drowning itself in the pool of misery she had built within herself.
So for now the young human looked around in desperation for anything that would take her mind of her current situation, heartbeat racing inside her even though she remained perfectly still.
There was nothing. Nothing to do. Nothing to see. Except one colour. Red.
She closed her eyes trying to block out that hatful, over familiar shade of crimson. As if to spite her, the colour seemed to glow brighter, flooding the blackness of her eyelids with a throbbing scarlet. Regretfully, the eyes opened to glare at the vines which in a way looked like gigantic blood vessels and arteries.
In a burst of angry strength Jeri wrenched her hand out of the grip of the 'vessels' and bit down on it hard. Her rage clogged the fresh wave of pain that arose from her action and she glared at the walls as if waiting for a reaction.
No response.
"You stupid thing!" shrieked Jeri, eyes burning, "you stupid, stupid thing!"
She waved her freed hand around wildly in an act of rebellion and a shower of droplets rained down on the vines beneath her which stirred irritably. Jeri stopped her screaming fit and gazed at her hand in fascination at the blood that had spurted. The redness of it amazed her. Unlike the colour around her this red was different. It was vibrant. Alive.
Her breathing deepened and she daringly drew the wound near her mouth. Her tongue delicately slipped out and brushed against the cut. It tasted rich and warm…full of the feeling and zest the D-Reaper was stealing from her. She could have sworn she heard her poor heart beating away in her mouth.
A computerized version of Jeri's voice echoed throughout the cavern.
"Blood. A vital fluid that circulates the body by means of a biological pump; the heart. This liquid is comprised of…"
Jeri didn't listen to the monotonous drone of her tormenter. She easily tired of hearing the way it stated facts coldly with no real feeling. It revolted her to the core, though after being trapped in this prison for so long had forced her to build up immunity against the emotionless speaker.
However she visibly perked up when she heard the word "antibodies" mentioned in the D-Reaper's speech. She stared at the miniature river of red trailing over her wrist. Then with indefinite care she proceeded to smear the trails over one of the tentacles near her before firmly fixing her eyes on it. She imagined the antibodies bubbling away fiercely on it and attacking it mercilessly. She wondered if they would eat through the thick cord like acid and waited. And waited.
Time passed endlessly in here. There was no telling if it was night or day and without any means of communicating with the outside world, Jeri could only guess what was going on. And Jeri hated guessing games. She preferred to see facts clearly though not too clearly which is what her kidnapper did. She supposed you needed a clear mixture of the two in order to get anywhere. After all, the greatest scientific achievements were only found by a lot of guesswork from brilliant minds. Trial and error. A concept that the D-Reaper would not take to kindly, believing that it was not capable of making mistakes. Such faults were only to be found in humans and other lesser creatures.
Flesh and bone were quaking in the form of a young girl. But the blood ran steady.
A heavy sigh forced itself past the barrier of lips as the tentacle remained unaffected by the pathway of red carefully placed upon it. Then anger rose up again as the tentacle started to absorb the liquid. First it stole her freedom…then her memories…then her feelings…and now her blood…the one thing that kept her breathing.
"No! It's mine! My blood! Not yours! You can't have it!"
The girl strained and pushed and twisted…all to no avail. The restraining vines were still hungry and the greed of the D-Reaper was so vast…so vast…
Jeri dropped her head, heavy locks of hair observing her vision. But she seemed to be seeing something else. Something not visible to the naked eye. Or maybe something that only she could see.
"You took everything away from me…" whispered the hollow remnant of a voice, "…and you keep on taking. You take and take and I have so little to give. You say humans are weak because of their faults? Well guess what…you do have a very human fault. You're selfish. You're greedy and selfish. Guess you're not so perfect, huh?"
The D-Reaper gave no answer. Maybe it had better things to do with it's time that deal with the musings of a soul it was draining away.
"Talk to me!"
No answer.
"Talk to me! Please…"
No answer. The only sound in the chamber was hitched breathing and small sobs.
"How long will it be before you steal my life, huh you monster?"
A few seconds passed.
"I already have it Jeri Katou…"
Brown hurt-filled eyes widened.
"No you don't! I'm still alive!"
"I take what I need…no more, no less…" floated the cold voice.
"You need too much!" finished Jeri.
"I need life."
"You don't live! Not in the way we do! Not the true way!"
"In the more practical way. I do not require food, water, oxygen or sleep. I am not a carbon based life form Jeri Katou. I am better. That is why I will survive and the world will decline. I am the truth. And all I need is you…"
Jeri squeezed her eyes shut trying to blot out that horrible speaker and found herself drowning in a memory.
"Daddy!"
Pain was exploding along her arm and rivers of blood criss-crossed the bare flesh as she screamed for the one person who could make the pain go away. Her feet shuffled around causing the shards of glass to clink and jingle.
"Jeri!"
Two strong limbs raised her up, away from the pile of broken glass and set her down on the smooth surface of the kitchen table.
She whimpered as a large hand pulled out her arm.
"Stupid girl! What on earth were you doing?"
She tried to curl up into a ball, tried to ignore that rough voice.
'Daddy hates me…'
"I'm s-s-sorry D-daddy! I d-d-didn't mean to-o-o!"
She cast a frightened glance at the red liquid adorning her arm.
"P-please Daddy…just m-m-make it go aw-w-way!"
A cloth was placed on the arm and began to gently wipe up the blood.
"There's no reason to be scared of a little blood Jeri…it's the same as mine…and your mother's…"
She gazed up in wonder as she heard Daddy's voice catch on the word 'mother' and saw a drop of water run off the brink of his nose.
'Daddy doesn't cry…'
"Ow!"
"Daddy?"
"Damn knife! Shouldn't have left it there…"
She squeaked as he pressed his new wound into one of her cuts.
"See Jeri? My blood's the same as yours…it's Katou blood. Pretty strong stuff. You have two people inside of you. Me and your mother."
As the memory faded into the back of her mind Jeri entered the inky blackness of the tunnel that would lead her back into conscious. Then as she caught a glimpse of the scarlet streak of the D-Reaper she heard a gruff voice that made her heart leap with excitement.
'You have the heart of a lion Jeri…'
Even though she knew it was only something dragged up from the recess of her memory she found comfort in the sound of her deceased partner's voice.
'A part of me will always be with you…'
Funny though how her memory had selected those two particular lines…Jeri shook her head. It couldn't be more than that surely?
'Is my memory trying to tell me something? Does that mean I have three people inside me? Leomon, Mummy and Daddy? Are they all inside me? Blood of my parents, Leomon's heart…is that what I'm made of?'
The girl blinked, fully awake and feeling slightly refreshed.
"What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all things nice,
That's what little girls are made of."
Jeri grit her teeth and shook her head violently trying to block out the sickly croon of the D-Reaper.
"Shut up you cold, cold thing! I'm warm, I'm alive, and you're dead, dead, dead! I have blood, you don't! Blood keeps us warm, it gives us life. It's a source of life…without that you're nothing…"
Jeri glared at the throbbing scarlet masses around her. Near her foot an unconscious Calumon stirred.
What is this girl made of?
Blood and heart to destroy the dark,
That's what Jeri Katou's made of…