Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: You're going to see more of the parents' POVs once I get into the search for the crests. Those POVs will include Yolei, Izzy, Jun, Mina, Ami, (yes the kids, as well)and others who have yet to have a chapter in their POV. Enjoy the new update!
Chapter 78: Digimon Allies
Davis Motomiya
Odaiba, Japan, Earth
"Your...partners?" Yolei gasped, sitting up and staring at Sam in shock.
Davis rolled his eyes and sent the lavender haired Digidestined an impatient look. "Yes, Yolei, their digimon partners. They are Digidestined, remember? How do you expect them to fight evil in the Digital World without any digimon to help them?"
Yolei blushed and glared at him. "I know that, Davis! It's just...um..."
"Dai just said DemiEmbermon was his partner. Have you forgotten already?"
"Will you be quiet and let our kids do the talking?" Yolei snapped, kissing Sam's cheek and brushing tears out of her eyes.
Davis smiled in amusement and shrugged. "Alright, who wants to go first?"
"I will," Takara said quietly, glancing nervously at her parents. The female Digidestined slowly opened her backpack and pulled out a small in-training digimon with pale skin, tiny wings, and large, violet eyes. The little bird glanced anxiously at DemiEmbermon and managed a weak smile. "Hello, everyone."
"This is Fluttermon," Takara mumbled, avoiding her mother's eyes. "Her rookie form is Dovemon."
Sora's eyes filled with tears, and she started to laugh. "Kara, your digimon reminds me so much of-"
"Biyomon," Takara whispered, her hazel eyes sparkling with emotion. She gently placed Fluttermon in her mother's arms, and Sora hugged the little digimon tightly against her chest.
"Hello, Sora. I like you. You're really nice," Fluttermon said softly.
Sora smiled and rested her cheek against the digimon's small wings. "I like you, too, Fluttermon. You're beautiful, you know that?"
Fluttermon blushed and buried her face against Sora's neck. "Really, you think so?"
"Definitely."
"You know about Biyomon?" Tai asked, staring at his daughter in surprise.
Takara sighed and nodded. "Yes, and I know about Agumon, too."
"Great, is there anything you don't know?" Tai sighed, his dark eyes coming to rest on Ken's pale face.
"Actually, now that you mention it, there are a lot of things we don't know, and I'm not leaving this room until we get some answers!" Ryoko snapped.
"Ryoko!" Mimi scolded, her cinnamon eyes narrowing into a frown.
Matt lowered his gaze to the ground and did not say a word.
That was the first time the golden haired Digidestined had spoken since entering the living room, and his words were not exactly encouraging, to say the least.
Davis turned to look at his best friend and frowned. Ken was staring at Ryoko with wide, frightened eyes, and there was an anxious expression on his face.
Ken's obviously worried about Sam and the whole thing with the Emperor, and I have a feeling he's going to make sure Ryoko's wish never comes true. I can tell Sam doesn't know the Emperor's true identity yet, and Ken definitely wants to keep it that way. If Sam knew, he would not be hanging around his father and acting as if his dad is one of the most important people in the world to him.
"Don't worry, Dad, everything's going to be okay," Sam said tearfully, snuggling against his father's side.
Ken rested his cheek against the top of Sam's raven head and did not reply. He looked like he was at a loss for words.
"You're a great digimon, Fluttermon," Tai said, taking the little digimon in his arms. "I know you'll do everything you can to protect my little girl."
"Dad," Takara sighed, giving her father a fond smile.
Tai laughed and stroked Fluttermon's small wings. "I'm right, aren't I, Fluttermon?"
"Oh yes!" Fluttermon gasped. "I'll never let anyone hurt Kara!"
"See?" Tai handed Fluttermon over to Taysuke and gave his wife a comforting hug.
"Wow! You're so cool!" Taysuke said, gazing in awe at the little digimon in his arms. "Um...I still have no idea what you are, though."
"That's okay! I wanted to meet you earlier, but Kara wouldn't let me."
"Fluttermon!"
"What?" Fluttermon asked, giving her partner a curious look.
Taysuke laughed and tickled Fluttermon's wings. "See, Kara? You should have told me about the Digital World a lot sooner!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Kara grumbled, elbowing her brother in the ribs.
Davis grinned and turned his attention to Mickey and Matty. "What about you two? Let's see your digimon partners."
The twins glanced at each other and quickly opened their backpacks.
"This is Palelymon," Mickey said nervously, holding out a digimon with pale skin, fluffy ears, and bright blue eyes.
Matty's digimon looked exactly the same, only his partner had golden skin and green eyes.
"They look like twins!" Kenzo gasped.
Taniko nodded in agreement. "They're just like Mickey and Matty!"
Matty blushed bright red and stared at his feet. "My partner's name is Goldmon. His rookie form is Celestimon."
"My partner's rookie form is Halomon," Mickey said, glancing shyly at his parents. "They're angels."
"What?" T.K. whispered, gazing at the older twin in shock.
Matty stood up and dropped Goldmon into his dad's arms. "Our digimon are angels, just like Angemon and Angewomon," the younger twin said quietly, gazing into his father's sparkling, blue eyes.
"It's true," Goldmon piped up. "You know what, T.K.? Mickey and Matty are the best partners ever, and we'll always protect them, no matter what."
"We already have," Palelymon said seriously.
T.K. hugged Goldmon tightly and avoided Matty's eyes. "Did you know...before?"
"About your 'guardian angel'?" Matty smiled slightly and shook his head. "No, Mickey and I only found out about Angemon and Angewomon when we were at Primary Village this afternoon. The thought of you being a Digidestined had crossed our minds earlier, but I don't think either one of us really believed it until now. If only we had taken your words more seriously. You should be careful what you say, Dad!"
T.K. quickly scrambled out of his seat and pulled Matty into a hug. "Matty, you and Mickey have great digimon. I can't even tell you how relieved I am to know that you and your brother have your own guardian angels to watch over you and keep you safe."
"Thanks," Matty mumbled, sitting back down on the floor again and pulling his dad down beside him.
Kari took Palelymon in her arms, and tears began to slide down her cheeks. "My sweet angels," she whispered, leaning over and kissing Mickey's and Matty's foreheads.
The twins smiled shyly at each other, and Matty started to laugh. "Hey, I thought I was the black sheep, remember?"
"Matty, I don't care how often you get into trouble. You will always be my angel, and the same goes for Mickey and Rina," Kari said seriously, her amber eyes sparkling with love and affection.
Matty threw his arms around his mother and hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Mom," the younger twin mumbled, his voice trembling with emotion.
"I feel the same way, Matty," T.K. said quietly. "I never thought you and your brother would become Digidestined, but a part of me always believed you would have gotten angel digimon if you had been in our place. I'm glad I was right."
"You are absolutely adorable," Kari murmured, cuddling Palelymon against her cheek.
"What about me?" Goldmon asked hopefully.
Kari laughed and kissed the golden digimon's fluffy ears. "So are you."
"They're so cute, aren't they?" Rina giggled, scrambling out of Matt's arms and throwing herself at Palelymon. Apparently the youngest member of the Takaishi family had forgotten the fact that she was supposed to be upset.
"Why does everyone keep calling them cute?" Matty groaned.
"Hello, look at them!" Ami shot back.
Dai grinned and sent Matty an apologetic look. "Sorry, Matty, but I think you've lost this round."
Ami whispered something in her brother's ear, and the Motomiya siblings started laughing.
"Will you two shut up?" Matty complained. "Besides, I bet girls think all digimon are cute!"
"Are you kidding? Ogremon is definitely not cute!" Takara giggled.
"No, but I am!" Goldmon said happily.
Matty gave his digimon a dirty look and sighed. "Thanks a lot, Goldmon. You're really helping me out here, you know that?"
"Ogremon!" Joe groaned, shaking his head and muttering to himself.
"Mom? Dad? I'm glad I have an angel digimon, and I know Matty feels the exact same way," Mickey said, gazing into his parents' eyes.
T.K. pulled Mickey into his arms and kissed his son's golden hair. "Thank you, Mickey. That means a lot to me."
"Me, too," Kari said quietly. "Goldmon and Palelymon are a reflection of you and Matty. I think that's why they look so much alike."
"We know," Matty replied, avoiding his twin's eyes. "They're so different from one another, but they still share a special connection."
Mickey's eyes filled with tears, and he pulled his brother into his arms. "Just like us. Matty-"
Matty gently pushed his twin away and shook his head. "Not now, Mickey. We'll talk later, okay? We have more important things to worry about right now."
Mickey hesitated and finally nodded. "Okay," the older twin said, his voice meek and filled with sorrow.
Davis glanced uneasily at T.K. and Kari and made a face. What was that all about?
T.K. and Kari stared at each other and wrapped their arms around their sons. The fear in their eyes was unmistakable. They, too, believed their twin boys had some issues that needed to be dealt with, and the sooner the better.
"I want an angel, too!" Rina pouted.
Kari raised her eyebrows and gave her daughter a look. "Don't even think about it! We have enough problems to deal with at the moment!"
"Mickey and Matty told you about the Digital World, didn't they," T.K. said, frowning at his daughter.
Rina's face turned pink, and she nodded. "Yes. I told you Goldmon and Palelymon would protect them, didn't I?"
"So that's what you were trying to say earlier. I can't believe I didn't figure it out! Of course! I should have known!"
T.K. smiled in amusement and gave Rina a kiss on the cheek. "I must be getting old or something. You did tell me that, and you were right."
Rina climbed into her mother's lap and pulled Palelymon into a tight hug. "I know," she said smugly.
"Palelymon, you mentioned something about how you and Goldmon have already protected my sons from danger. What did you mean by that?" Kari asked hesitantly, her face a mask of fear.
Matty blushed furiously and clung tightly to the sleeve of his twin's shirt. "Not now, Mom. I think it's time we gave Ryoko a chance to introduce his digimon partner."
Ryoko glared at Matty and reluctantly pulled his digimon out of his backpack. "This is Iramon," the blond said shortly, holding out his partner. "He becomes Alopemon, a fox digimon."
Mimi stared at the pale blue digimon in her son's arms and burst into tears. "Oh, Matt, look! Doesn't he remind you of Gabumon?"
Matt slowly got to his feet and sat down next to Ryoko in the spot where T.K. had been sitting earlier. The blond's eyes were glued to Iramon, and there was a strange expression on his face.
"Please don't be mad at Ryoko," Iramon said sadly, gazing into Matt's clear blue eyes. "He never meant to hurt you."
"Be quiet, Iramon! I don't need you getting involved in this, too!" Ryoko said sharply, his sapphire eyes flashing with anger.
Matt reached out a trembling hand and gently stroked Iramon's furry head. "Can I hold him?"
Ryoko's mouth fell open, and he stared at his father in astonishment. For a moment the blond looked like he was going to say no, but after a brief hesitation, he shoved Iramon into his dad's arms.
"Ryoko's mad, but he still loves you," Iramon said urgently.
Ryoko's face turned red, and he gave his digimon a sour look. "Don't you ever listen to anything I say?"
"See?" Iramon whispered.
Matt's face crumpled into a look of despair, and he quickly handed the little digimon over to Mimi.
"You're the perfect digimon for my son," Mimi said, smiling tearfully at the little digimon in her arms. "You will keep him safe, won't you?"
"Of course. He's my partner. I would never let anything bad happen to him."
"Are you sure?"
"Alright, enough!" Ryoko shouted. "Sam, it's your turn."
Matt opened his mouth and quickly closed it again. The blond's eyes were burning with emotion, and he kept staring at Iramon as if he desperately wanted to hold the little digimon in his arms again. It was the same look he kept giving Ryoko everytime he allowed himself a moment to focus on his son.
Sam jumped, clearly startled, and silently opened his backpack. He pulled out a green digimon with violet eyes and sniffed back a fresh load of tears. "This is Glimmermon. His rookie form is Glowmon. He's an insect digimon who resembles a firefly."
"You have a digimon like your dad," Yolei whispered, gazing deeply into Ken's dark blue eyes.
The former Emperor's face turned a nasty shade of green, and he sagged against the back of the couch in defeat. "I'm sorry, Sam," he choked out. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault..."
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, his voice trembling with fear. "Dad, I'm glad I have a digimon like you. Is that a bad thing?"
"No," Yolei said firmly, her eyes never leaving Ken's face. "It's definitely a good thing."
Poor Ken. He really believes Sam might turn into another Emperor. He was already afraid of that happening before he even knew Sam was a Digidestined. I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now, especially considering the fact that Sam is so much like him, more so now than ever...
Somehow Ken managed to smile, and Davis sent his best friend an encouraging look.
"Oh, Glimmermon, please don't let anything happen to my son!" Yolei moaned, giving the little digimon a squeeze.
Glimmermon beamed at Yolei and snuggled against her cheek. "Don't worry, Yolei, nothing is going to happen to Sam as long as I'm around."
"You're not scary at all!" Nao said, gazing at the little digimon with wide eyes.
Glimmermon hopped into Nao's lap and smiled up at the youngest member of the Ichijouji family. "No way. Good digimon are never scary."
Nao hugged Glimmermon tightly and gave Sam a shy smile. "I like him, Sam. He's really nice and friendly."
"He's so sweet!" Miya giggled, leaning down and giving the little digimon a big kiss. "I can't believe I thought you were a little monster."
"We're not monsters!" Iramon muttered, sounding extremely offended.
"Let's not get into that arguement again!" Dai laughed.
"You're nice, too, Miya," Glimmermon said softly.
Ken lifted Glimmermon into his arms and gazed directly into the digimon's eyes. "Please, Glimmermon, protect my son. Keep him safe, and don't ever let him give into darkness, no matter what."
Glimmermon must have realized how important his answer was to Ken because he met the former Emperor's eyes and nodded solemnly. "I promise. I won't let you down, Ken. I know I won't."
Ken's eyes filled with tears, and he gave the little digimon a fierce hug. "Thank you, Glimmermon. I'll be in your debt forever."
"Dad, what's going on?" Sam gasped.
"Nothing, Sam. Everything's fine."
"Ken, we want to believe you, but it's hard," Mickey sighed.
Ken blushed and quickly looked away from the older twin. Apparently the former Emperor did not know what to say to that.
"What about DemiEmbermon?" Ami asked, changing the subject. "I'm guessing he's some sort of a reptile digimon."
Dai grinned and handed DemiEmbermon over to his sister. "That's right. My digimon's rookie form is Embermon. He's awesome, isn't he?"
"Hello, Ami!" DemiEmbermon said cheerfully. "Dai might get mad at you sometimes, but he still thinks you're the best sister ever."
"That's it! From now on I'm taping your mouth shut so you can't embarrass me anymore!" Dai shouted, giving his digimon a sharp poke.
Ami laughed and gave DemiEmbermon a tight squeeze. "I'll let you in on a secret, DemiEmbermon. Dai's pretty cool for a little brother."
"He's also a great cousin," Noah added, tickling DemiEmbermon's ears. "Dai, I don't know what you mean by rookie form, but Embermon sounds just as cool as DemiEmbermon."
"You're lucky, Dai. I'm so jealous of you right now," Ami sighed. "I wish I had a digimon."
"Great, now everyone's embarrassing me!" Dai moaned.
Ema took DemiEmbermon in her arms and frowned. "Hey! How come Dai gets a digimon and I don't?"
"Somehow I don't think Dai had a choice," Kenzo muttered, stroking DemiEmbermon's head.
Ema handed the little digimon over to Noriko, and Davis grinned at the look on his wife's face.
"DemiEmbermon, you are also grounded for helping my son sneak into the Digital World behind my back!" Noriko scolded.
DemiEmbermon's ears drooped, and he let out a sigh of defeat. "I was afraid you were going to say that!"
"But, I'm not grounded," Dai said, looking confused.
"You are now!" Noriko shouted.
"Dad!"
Davis pulled DemiEmbermon into his arms and shrugged. "Sorry, Dai. Your mother makes the rules around here. I just follow them. If I didn't, she'd kicked me out on the street!"
"Davis! You're sleeping on the couch tonight!" Noriko sniffed, giving him a reproachful look.
"The gates!" Izzy muttered to himself. "Why didn't I check the gates?"
"Calm down, honey, everyone makes mistakes," Mina said reasonably.
"But I'm supposed to be the genius around here! I mean, other than Ken, of course," Izzy protested.
Taniko rolled her dark eyes and started to giggle. "Sorry, Dad, but you can be seriously clueless sometimes!"
"Dad?"
Davis glanced at his son and realized Dai was avoiding his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Actually, do you remember what I said earlier? We've brought another digimon to the human world with us, and he's really anxious to see you again."
Davis frowned and gave his son a suspicious look. "What do you mean again?" he asked, handing DemiEmbermon back to Noriko.
Something leaped out of Dai's backpack, and Davis let out a gasp when the thing landed directly into his lap.
"Davis, I've missed you so much! Do you think I could have some supper, too? DemiEmbermon isn't the only hungry digimon around here! It's great to see you again. You look older than I remember, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It has been a long time. I almost thought Dai was you! He looks a lot like you did at that age, don't you agree?"
Davis stared at the little digimon sitting in his lap and felt his throat close up. It had been fifteen years since he had last seen his digimon partner, and a part of him had started to believe he would never see the little reptile digimon again. Now he realized just how wrong he had been. Dai had given him a miracle, and that miracle was DemiVeemon, his digimon partner.