Ben10 & Digimon Tamers
Heroes and Humanity
Part 02: Humanity and Heroes
The Beginning – Chapter 21
Originally Written: Sunday July 5, 2015 1015PM to Monday July 6, 2015 156AM
Albedo sent Terriermon to the floor face first, as he quickly stood up from his place at the corner of the room. He shot a glance at Hugh and Fridge who stopped their game of cards mid movement. Terriermon grumbled something, sounding particularly annoyed. He bolted to the bathroom.
He rubbed at his arms, the phantom pain from his night's mental escapade pitting him with the end being burned alive via Tennyson's Methanosian form. He jumped in the shower with his clothes on, in a partially asleep, but wide eyed daze. Cold water pelted him, the chill infinitely better than the heat his mind imagined.
As he looked at his hands and arms, he imagined for a moment they were black and charred, peeling skin and thick blood covering them. He clenched his mouth shut tightly and, try as he might, he couldn't prevent the scream that ripped from his throat, muffled by his closed lips. He shut his eyes tightly after his screaming ceased, as his mind started to wake up fully.
His hands stung, but nothing like the pain in his dream. He opened an eye and looked down at them, wet white bangs flopping over them and partially obscuring the view. He looked at the faint crescent moon cuts in the palms of his hands, and a long thin cut he somehow managed to place on his outer forearm while he slept, if one could call that event sleeping.
Water fell in his eyes and ran down his face. His clothes stuck to him like a second skin and he shivered, as the cold fully set in. He wondered how he would explain the wet clothes. They still lacked a proper washer and dryer of their own.
"Might as well go all the way." He sighed, stripping off his clothes, and leaving them in the shower. While he washed, he focused on the task, working hard to keep his mind blank. He couldn't remember when he had moved to the corner of the room next to the box of metal and scraps he had acquired or when he had fallen asleep. He scolded himself for not realizing Terriermon had joined him while he napped.
He finished his shower and took a few moments to better wring out his clothes. He set them on the towel rack and found himself extremely happy that he hadn't gone to sleep with any electronics on his person.
"Albedo?" Fridge's raspy voice echoed through the door.
"What?" Albedo stood, cold and naked using his socks as a mat to keep his feet away from the cold tiles.
"I've got some clothes for you." Fridge spoke softly. "Henry picked them out."
Albedo hid behind the door as he opened it. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to see the hero masked monster known as Tennyson, naked. He blindly reached for the clothes and towel Fridge held. He closed the door back in silence. As he dressed he heard Hugh call out and Jenrya say something he couldn't quite make out, and didn't care to for not a single person contacted him through the door about threats. He leaned against the door, clad in a black shirt and pants way more comfortable than the kind he usually wore. He wondered if Jenrya had given him his pants, as he tugged at the waistband. He didn't dare to check however.
He took a deep breath, looking at himself in the mirror. Messy hair greeted him, and blood red eyes that were better rested and not as baggy or puffy looked right back at him, blinking in curiosity. He didn't feel better rested however, as the urge to sleep right on the bathroom floor fenced with him. He didn't wish for any more nightmares today, especially ones featuring death via stinging, pain or fire, so he guarded himself quite well from the rapier wielding assaulter.
He splashed water on his face, and loosely hung the towel on his shoulders. He stepped out of the bathroom.
A yellow-eyed, red skinned, tyrannosaurus-like creature looked at him. Only the realization that this was not one of the aliens in Tennyson's arsenal kept Albedo from running back into the bathroom and closing and locking the door behind him. Terriermon sat on the dinosaur's head.
"This is Albedo, Guilmon." Terriermon whispered.
"Oooh," Guilmon spoke, voice equally soft, and a bit child-like in tone. "I thought we didn't like him anymore?"
'Oh. Nice.' Albedo swallowed, frowning.
"It's complicated." Terriermon clarified just barely. "You know how humans like everything complicated. They can't just come out and solve their issues like Digimon."
Albedo folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. Terriermon sheepishly looked at him.
"I don't think I'd like seeing humans killing each other like Digimon do..." Guilmon trailed off, eyes locked on Albedo.
"You're a little late with the thought." Albedo spoke up. Terriermon nodded.
"No. You're never too late to start solving problems with a contest to see who bakes the best Guilmon bread." Guilmon nodded wisely.
Terriermon looked down at the Digimon, "Are you hungry?"
"Yes." Guilmon moaned, pouting with eyes and maw.
Albedo was almost impressed.
"Let's go raid the fridge."
"Yay!" Guilmon called, turning around and being careful of his tail in the relatively small space. Terriermon waved at Albedo with an ear.
'Okay...' Albedo walked forward slowly, 'I need to calculate the odds of getting past Takato without something being thrown at my head.' His shoulders slumped for a bit. He clenched his fist and shook his head. 'That is stupid. This is my apartment. The only reason Jenrya is even here is me!'
He took a step back, hanging his head. He was the only reason Jenrya was here. He was the reason why Jenrya got here the way he had too...
"Just what made you think it was a good idea to invite absolute strangers to your house, again?" Albedo heard Rika Nonaka's voice, but couldn't see her as Jenrya blocked the view.
"Frank, Sean and Humphrey are nice people." Jenrya defended, "Odd, but nice."
Albedo ignored his alien acquaintances to look at Takato Matsuki. The brunette stared at him wide-eyed as though waiting for a battle in a war to finally kick off. Albedo looked at him less dramatically as though he were bored, as he adjusted the towel on his shoulders. He caught a glimpse of the trio of Guilmon's tail wagging excitedly and he heard Swamps singing alongside Guilmon's equally bad growly, squeaky, grunting attempts at singing. Somehow, Guilmon sounded better in the moment.
Takato smiled sheepishly, but Albedo was certain that the gesture wasn't directed at him.
"I just don't think your apartment is a good size for you, Terriermon and three others. If you needed help helping them, though I'm not sure why you would, you could have asked us instead of avoiding us."
"I'm uh," Takato tugged at his blue and yellow goggles sitting around his neck, "pretty sure that's not even related."
He caught Rika's ponytail shift, "What are you talking about?"
"I've seen Frank and the other one at the bakery a few times. They're good people." Takato spoke softly.
"You mean, Sean?" Jenrya spoke. "He's a bit addicted I think."
Swamps poked his head out the doorway. "Huh?"
"Nothing," Jenrya waved him away.
"Who wants a sandwich?" Swamps pointed a tanned finger around the room. Albedo shook his head, Frank and Hugh responded in positive, but Takato and Rika ignored him.
"Not right now, Sean." Jenrya spoke.
"Cool." Sean ducked back into the kitchen.
"Yea..." Takato shifted, eyes occasionally directing towards Albedo.
"Henry has been quite gracious for letting us stay with him." Frank spoke in a firm voice. "His generosity has allowed us to find means of getting ourselves on our feet and repaying him in kind." Frank nodded, "Though it is taking some time, it will be done. We're not freeloaders Ms. Nonaka."
"Y-yea." Hugh spoke up, "W-wait, how d-do you even know her name?"
"She's a tamer." Frank spoke as though that explained everything. "Time being without many of the necessities of life has taught me a bit about observation." He tapped his temple.
"Ha!" Swamps called out from the kitchen.
Jenrya shook his head. Albedo covered his eyes with a hand.
"I thought we weren't going to do the whole interrogation thing?" Takato looked at Rika.
"That was before seeing all of this." Rika waved her arms, splaying her fingers as she held her hands palms out. "And whatever you keep looking at, that's probably the reason why Henry's not letting us in like he normally does."
"W-what?" Hugh tilted head.
Albedo waved a hand in front of his neck.
"Y-you mean Albedo?"
Albedo held up a hand, sighing frustrated as he let it drop. He was not in the mood to hear Rika yelling at him.
Takato groaned loudly.
"Seriously, dude!?" Terriermon yelled from the kitchen.
"I-I'm sorry." Hugh shrunk in on himself, "I-it just came out."
Rika held up a finger, "No no. Don't apologize." She pointed at Albedo, "What the hell is this jerk doing in your apartment?"
"It's nice to see you as well, your highness." Albedo mocked bowed.
"Don't play smart with me." She snapped, "I'll be damned if I'm letting you stay anywhere near Henry!" She stepped forward.
"You cannot kick me out of my own apartment, nor can you drag Jenrya out." Albedo smoothly replied.
Rika stared him down, looking past Hugh who had moved in front of him. Fridge stood off to the side.
"Rika..." Albedo glanced at the yellow and white fox who appeared from the shadows.
"I'm sick of these jerks forcing themselves into Henry's life, Renamon!" She snapped, "They come and go as they please, not even caring what it does to him. It's disgusting."
"Henry is a grown human." Renamon replied as though she were used to Rika's hot headed temper and tirades, "There is nothing we can do if he wants him here."
"Guys, I'm right here." Jenrya held out his hands and turned around. "And I don't need bodyguards. I thought we were over treating me this way or got the hint or whatever." He sighed, muttering something under his breath.
"I wouldn't let myself in if I did this all the time either."
Albedo looked at Takato. Taking it in, something seemed different about the goggles wearing annoyance. He seemed more timid, less sure of himself than Albedo was used to. Albedo frowned, mind racing.
"You've got some nerve showing up in Japan again." Rika scowled, looking at Albedo as she leaned around Hugh's tall bulky frame.
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to do this either?" Takato spoke up again, "Just a simple 'Hey Henry. How's it going? Get our answer and we work from there."
"This red-eyed, sorry excuse for a human, broke him, ditched him, left us to pick up Henry's pieces and you want me to be okay that he's back 'cause he probably needs his own pieces picked up." Rika turned around. "Why would I be okay with that!?"
"Revenge doesn't get anyone anywhere." Takato clenched his fists. "All we're doing is getting ourselves worked up and causing a scene."
"Whoa whoa whoa." Swamps stepped out of the kitchen, "Just cause you're asking for someone to call you a bitch, doesn't mean you get to insult my friend." He clenched his fists as Rika glared at him and Renamon stepped forward.
Albedo stared at him, quite unsure what to think about Swamp's declaration.
"So, unless you really want to see me fired up, you'll cut it out. And trust me, you don't."
"You dare threaten my human?" Renamon growled low as she stared Swamps down.
'I think I should have stayed in the bathroom.' Albedo lowered his head.
"Damn right I am." Swamps replied to Renamon smoothly. "Put a leash on her."
Albedo's head snapped up, "What the hell are you doing?" He whispered enraged. "She knows Plumbers. They all do."
Hugh stiffened in front of him and Fridge placed an arm in front of Albedo.
"We get it, Albedo did something stupid. He somehow hurt your friend, and you're worried about him now." Swamps continued, "That doesn't mean you get to come up in here and become the world's biggest asshole. We're worried about our friend too."
"Y-you think h-he left o-out of selfishness." Hugh spoke up, straightening his shoulders and rearing up to his full overbearing human form height.
"He did not." Fridge added.
Albedo clenched his fists, "Shut up, all of you!" He snapped. Terriermon and Guilmon stood in the kitchen doorway, munching on sandwiches.
"What? Don't want them to tell lies to cover up for you?"
"Rika..." Jenrya murmured.
"That doesn't even make-" Fridge sighed.
"We don't know you from a shrub in a swamp, lady." Swamps held out a hand.
"Okay, can we all stop it?" Takato stepped forward, "We're not here to start a fight, Albedo. We just wanted to check on Henry. Now that we know he's okay, we can go." He locked eyes with Rika.
"Seriously?" Rika raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously." Takato nodded. "I guarantee you that if any of them hurt Henry, they won't even get past the thought, but accusing any of them before they actually screw up...again in some cases doesn't solve anything." Takato held out an arm, "Besides, they're not as wary of us as we are of them."
Albedo fumed, blocking out Rika's pitiful complaints. Who were those three goons to tell a person who clearly hated him what was wrong with him, or what happened to him? They'd only serve to make him look foolish while weaving some story nowhere near close to the truth, not even close enough to serve as a suitable lie! He had half a mind to bring one of them to their knees and pound their faces in.
"I'm not siding with Albedo, Rika!" Takato yelled, shutting the redhead up. "Albedo is a jerk. He did something very wrong. He dropped the ball, and popped it, and set it on fire, as his teammates and the spectators cried and raged. He'll always be a jerk in different ways," Takato clenched a fist and raised it, "and I guarantee you that if he ever does it to any of my friends again I will help Megidramon beat the crap out of him."
Guilmon looked at his tamer wide-eyed.
"And I won't care what enemies I got to go through to beat some sense into him." Takato sighed and dropped his arm. "That doesn't mean I don't understand why he did it. I totally get why he did it. I wish I didn't actually..." The brunette dropped his head.
Albedo shifted his eyes to Jenrya who stared at Takato, mouth ajar and eyes wide.
"We're all jerks and cowards in our own ways, but what kind of jerk would I be for faulting him for being a human?"
"Takato..." Rika murmured. Albedo caught Renamon nod once.
Albedo looked at Takato. He watched his shoulders slump, and he wondered if Takato was as tired and broken as Fridge, Swamps and Hugh said he was when they believed he wasn't listening to their private conversations.
He watched Jenrya slink off to the bedroom and close the door behind him. Everyone fell silent, and dropped their guards.
Albedo folded his arms, his signature smirk on his face, "Why I think that's the most civilized thing I've heard or seen you do since I first met you Matsuki."
"Don't make me change my mind about you, Lowenthal."
Albedo weaved in between Fridge and Hugh, headed towards the room. He turned and looked at Takato. Takato waved a hand as though dismissing him. He caught Rika standing stiffly in front of Hugh, stunned into silence.
Swamps laughed loudly as he entered the room. "If I knew Henry opening that door would have unlocked that much drama I would have made popcorn instead."
Albedo turned around fast enough to catch Takato and Terriermon whack Swamps upside the head. He closed the door behind him, and leaned up against it. Jenrya sat on the bed, muttering and wiping his eyes in frustration.
He wondered if he caused as much trouble for Jenrya as Tennyson did for him. He folded his arms and closed his eyes. "He's worse than most of your friends, but he's probably most sincere, considering he hated me from the start and all..." He spoke. "He probably still despises me, actually."
Jenrya only crawled in the bed and covered his head with the sheets. He almost forgot that he and Trang weren't the only ones to injure the silver-eyed human.