Ben10 & Digimon Tamers
Heroes and Humanity
Part 02: Humanity and Heroes
The Beginning – Chapter 14
Inspiration Song: Khalil Fong - Yin Wei Ni (Because of You)
Originally Written: Thursday, June 11, 2015 916AM to Sunday June 14, 2015 322AM
. . . . .
Albedo leaned his hands against the bathroom sink. He blinked as he looked in the mirror above the sink, studying his clean face. He ignored the water dripping onto the sink and his hands, and running down his neck, wetting up the collar of his shirt. Red eyes looked back at him, the bags underneath them making the red more prominent.
He stood for what seemed a long time, staring. Somehow his mind remained blank. Maybe he was too tired to think. He blinked, then scratched his back. That awkward place in the middle that if his mind wasn't blank, would have him complaining about most species not being equipped with arms long enough to scratch their own backs for some stupid reason.
Someone knocked on the door, but all he did in response was drop his hand and stare at the mirror. Rare that his mind was blank, and who was he to disturb it? For him, it felt almost like sleeping, but not really. Maybe this was how decent sleep would be for him from now on.
"Albedo?"
His mind recognized that as Jenrya's voice, but he supposed it wasn't quite ready for Jenrya, so he continued staring at the mirror.
"Albedo?"
He directed his eyes to the door. Then he looked back at the mirror. Red eyes of a creature lacking morality in all forms looked at him. The only sign of evil for the public to see outside perfect skin and pristine white hair. The relative lies across the ocean, his mind told him. A tyrant ruling its kingdom, drinking up fame and fortune and brainwashing nearly all from the Andromeda System to Galvan Mark II and beyond.
He jerked, blinking as he looked down at the sink.
"Albedo?"
"What Jenrya?" He spoke, voice harsh. The thought seemed ridiculous to him somewhere deep within, but he couldn't deny he had thought it. 'There's a monster in that mirror.'
"Are you coming to bed?" Jenrya asked, voice soft.
"I'm not tired right now." He turned on the faucet. He splashed water on his face.
"When do you sleep...?" Jenrya asked in confusion.
He turned off the water, wracking his mind for a way to tell it to straighten itself out. He dried off his face in the meantime. "I've become a bit of a night owl." He caught a glimpse of his eye twitching in the mirror, though he tried his damnedest to not even look. He thought that it was lucky for him to have turned the lights on while he washed up. Then he decided that was a dumb thought. A good chunk of large, news making crimes were carried out in broad daylight.
He opened the door while he wiped off his cheek, just underneath the collar and front shoulders of his shirt. Silver looked at him, worried and something else he couldn't recognize. He wondered if any single human managed to achieve more than a basic grasp of human emotion.
Jenrya reached a hand out to touch him, but stopped short. He clenched his hand into a loose fist, "I know I said it before, but you don't have to sleep next to me." Jenrya lowered his head.
Albedo hung the towel back onto the rack. "Who I'm sleeping next to is of no consequence if I'm not tired." He looked at Jenrya, donning what he hoped was a look of boredom. "I'll just toss and turn and keep you up."
"Oh...okay." Jenrya studied him for a moment, eyes judging something, probably his appearance if he had any say about it. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep then." Jenrya smiled a strained smile as Albedo nodded.
"Alright then." He followed Jenrya to the living area but didn't follow him to the bedroom.
"Good night everyone!" Jenrya called. Terriermon hopped off the stomach of a very annoyed Swamps and followed Jenrya, feet tapping against the floor and ears flying behind him like pigtails in the breeze. Everyone bid their good nights to Jenrya. The male closed his bedroom door, keeping it ajar.
Albedo moved to the kitchen, grabbing his D-Terminal off the living room table on his way. He sat down and stared at the clock. He supposed having what they called a nine-to-five in America was a pretty good reason for why Jenrya kept going to sleep so darn early. Nine PM meant he was going to be here a while.
As he went through his D-Terminal boredom hit him. It accompanied a good deal of unrest, as he felt his hands go clammy and heard his blood rushing through his ears. Jeri was working. Ryo's status was set to 'away'. If he dared to message one of the others there was no guarantee the message went through. It had been tedious enough writing the programs to fool cell phone carriers and other various wifi devices that a D-Terminal even was a device that could be connected to in such a way. He would probably wind up dead if the signal went through, simply because of how he had left. He supposed then, that it was a very good thing that the chance the other's devices wouldn't receive D-Terminal messages was relatively low.
As he was the one who came up with the idea of Ben Ten Live without a single bit of remorse in his person at the time, he recognized the ensuing lawsuit looming over his head at calling his device a D-Terminal. However he couldn't think of a good name for his work, so D-Terminal it stayed. He noted with a grim realization that Azmuth was particularly good at naming his creations.
He ran his hands through his hair. He reached his hands up to the ceiling as he yawned. He looked down at his D-Terminal, the red and black standing out against the dark table, and the light over the sink.
"Albedo."
Said male looked at Fridge, standing in the doorway, form slouched over in boredom. "Hn?"
"Take a walk with me?" Fridge whispered.
He looked at Fridge, weighing his options. He turned to his D-Terminal. He typed a short message. Then he stood, leaving the device sitting on the table. He pushed his chair in, and followed Fridge. Fridge grabbed the spare key hanging on the wall and opened the apartment door. Albedo followed him out the apartment, placing his hands in his pants pockets as he waited for Fridge to lock the door back.
The two walked down the hall in silence. Occasionally, Fridge cast Albedo a look the necrofriggian probably believed Albedo didn't see. "I kind of understand what it's like, now."
"What what is like?" Albedo rubbed his arms, wishing he had taken his jacket with him.
"Being trapped in a shell." Fridge responded.
Albedo stopped walking. He clenched his fists. He dropped his arms.
"I miss flying."
"You know nothing of what it's like." Albedo snapped between clenched teeth. "Your form is temporary."
Fridge looked at the floor. "Yours is too."
"Don't treat me like I'm stupid."
"You almost had it before."
"If it's not Tennyson interfering, it will be Azmuth." Albedo stalked forward, "Now be quiet with your nonsensical dribble."
Fridge followed him, walking slowly and lacking the grace of an average necrofriggian as he tried to walk on his human tiptoes.
Albedo stopped at the top of the stairs. Fridge had some nerve, declaring his average mind even being capable of understanding slightly what he, a Galvan, were going through. Did Fridge take him for a fool!? How insulting!
"Lowenthal! That you?"
Albedo turned his focus to the short pale skinned female making her way up the flight of stairs. Her three black pigtails flopped and her short arms strained to hold the many bags she carried.
"Hello Spinelli." Albedo murmured, catching the twin of her walking up the stairs behind her. Both dressed in matching gaudy yellow dresses decorated with orange butterflies. "Still refusing to remember there is an elevator in this building?"
Wide diamond shaped purple eyes brightened, "If you're smart enough to notice all these bags I'm carrying, then you're smart enough to realize it's a good time to be a gentleman." She made her way to the top of the stairs. Then she held out her arms, the small appendages just reaching his waist.
"Hn." Albedo took a few bags without protest. It gave him something to do besides listen to Fridge attempt to explain Albedo's situation to him.
"Not a peep." Spinelli walked past him. Her twin reached the top of the flight as Albedo started to follow the first one. "Need to be glad I'm letting you stay!" She laughed heartily.
"You're too gentle and tiny to force me out."
"Wanna bet?"
"I'm currently broke." Albedo replied in a dull voice.
"Hello?" Spinelli's twin spoke up sharply, moving and running in front of Fridge. She stopped and held her tiny arms out.
"Oh... I'm sorry." Fridge spoke, voice wavering. "I didn't see you." The barest innocent smile graced his lips. The twin cleared her throat loudly.
"Traded me for a bad comedian?" Spinelli spoke up.
"That is Fridge." Albedo looked back at him. "He's being a pain tonight." He spoke in a stern voice.
Fridge smiled an apology, raising his shoulders in a small shrug. Then he looked confused at Albedo. The male only nodded his head in response.
"Ya need a new night job. This is how ya tell a joke." Spinelli replied, voice loud.
Albedo watched Fridge stumble as her twin unloaded all the bags on him, twirled and disappeared, the barest blur of yellow and orange returning to Spinelli as though something had run towards her. Fridge gasped, staring at where Spinelli's twin just stood. "What?" He looked at her.
Spinelli quickly looked around. She set her grocery bags on the floor. Then she twirled, the edges of her dress flaring out a small amount. "Name's Spinelli." She spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard as she curtsied. "I'ma splixson." She grinned a bright smile, looking down at him from her place higher up in the stairwell.
"Ah, I see." Fridge straightened his back as Spinelli picked up her bags. "I am Fridge, a necrofriggian."
"Haha! Knew it!"
Fridge tilted his head as he walked towards her and Albedo. She started walking up the next flight of stairs. He had to look up at her as Albedo and her were already up another flight of stairs. "How?" He questioned.
"Lotsa not humans have a wispy rasp to their voices that humans can't continuously replicate." She called back. "Sounds different for each alien, but I figured you may have been a necrofriggian." She spoke confidently.
Fridge caught up to Albedo, who moved as though he were bagged down with more than just groceries. With a smaller load, Spinelli moved quickly, remaining at least half a flight ahead of them. "I see."
"Most humans and aliens don't recognize it either." Albedo added. "It's something those more interested in the arts are likely to catch. Even then they may just think it's just a sore throat."
"Humans be odd." Spinelli laughed. "I like it."
Fridge just smiled, not having much to say.
Spinelli stopped by a door and searched through the bags. "Did I give you my keys?" She looked at the two of them. The duo looked through the bags, taking longer because he had more bags.
Fridge held them up, "Are you inviting me?" The key-chains jingled in his hands.
"You're like that weirdo that asked me for coffee a while back."
Fridge laughed.
Albedo sighed, glaring at the floor. "That was Swamps. I told him to not be embarrassing." he shook his head.
Fridge handed Spinelli her keys. She opened the swinging stairwell door with her back, holding it open for Albedo and Fridge.
"He was going to 'meet the locals' in his words and I asked him to see if he could obtain some coffee." Albedo sighed again as he walked.
"Well, he introduced himself alright. Heard he asked everyone, from the Lewos to Michio and P'Goro."
Albedo stared at the tiled floor as he walked. The effort was appreciated but Swamps hadn't needed to embarrass himself in front of all the tenants. He lifted his head, smiling a small, not quite noticeable smile. "He even asked Michio and P'Goro?"
"Yep. Sweet said she saw him holding a coffee maker."
"So that's where he got that busted up thing from?" Fridge spoke up, "Henry was not pleased." He laughed softly.
"Jenrya doesn't drink coffee." Albedo replied.
Spinelli stopped in front of her apartment. Her twin showed up again, splitting from her like a cell replicating itself. She climbed up on her twin's shoulders and unlocked the door. Her twin stepped inside with the original still on her shoulders. She balanced carrying the bags on her arms. Her twin just barely wobbled, as both her and the original kicked off their shoes.
"Didn't take you for a coffee lover either." She spoke up, "C'mon in." Her clone waved her free arms, welcoming the duo inside.
Albedo made a mental note to thank Fridge for suggesting a walk.
"It's been a while." Spinelli spoke as she guided them to the kitchen.
"Yes." Albedo looked at the simple abstract painting on the wall next to the window as he passed through the living room. She said it was supposed to be fruit, but Albedo only saw an oddly colored forest among the random colors and irregular shapes.
Fridge stood in the kitchen, watching Spinelli and her twin start placing groceries away, as though she had forgotten the purse hanging cross-body on her person. He decided to set the groceries on the floor and table. He sat down at the table, watching more Spinellis pop up. One showed up and scampered off to lock the door, another pulled the bag off of the original Spinelli, causing all the other purses to disappear. The remaining four clones helped put away groceries. One stopped to put on the kettle. Somehow, they all accomplished this elegant dance of maneuvering around each other without bumping into each other, knocking anything over, or breaking anything.
Albedo stood next to the doorway, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. "Efficient, hm?"
"I wish I had clones." Fridge spoke in wonder.
"Granted, but ya gotta give up your wings." The Spinellis spoke up quickly.
A look of horror crossed Fridge's face as he waved his hand underneath his chin. "No thanks!"
Spinelli cackled.
"Oh yea!" Spinelli the original turned and pointed her fingers at Albedo. "Nakamura snagged some tech from Michio and P. Said it's for you if ya ever came back. Nakamura's gonna beatcha for staying away so long though." She returned to putting away groceries while Fridge watched.
"Of course." Albedo replied, nodding his head. He made a mental note to take Fridge out for Ice Cream and hot sauce. Now he had a good deal of things to do.
