There seems to be very little traffic to this story, and it's kind of disheartening, but I'll keep posting until about a fifth chapter. After that though I'll probably give up. After all, what's the point of posting a story if there's no one to read it? Two chapters, just short of three weeks, and there have been somewhat over thirty readers. I know Digimon fandom may not be what it used to be, but if this story really isn't all that good, please say something! I exactly improve without feedback now, can I? Leave a review, tell me how I'm doing, let me know if this story is worth keeping or if I should just shut it down before I bother getting invested and hopeful that this will be a good story.
Disclaimer: I, Lord Genesis Shadow, do hereby state that I do not own the rights to Digimon. And if this story doesn't pick up at least a few reviews soon, I'm probably going to take it down.
…
I looked around as I walked into the training area of the Agency. Arthur was talking to the senior agents, and I was told I could look around. There wasn't much to do thus far, but I was happy to see so many Digimon around. I couldn't help but smile that so many Digimon had partners, and that they had all decided to protect the city, maybe even the whole state if there was a real need for it.
"Hey, check it out." A female voice whispered. "Is that an Impmon?"
"Maybe." A male said quietly. "But he doesn't have the smiley tattoo on his stomach… And he's wearing a gunbelt."
"Do you think the gun is real?" She asked quickly. I stopped by a board and looked up, jumping onto a chair to read it properly.
'Baseball team?' I thought. I laughed quietly. 'Arthur might join that. He's a decent pitcher.' I looked for something else interesting, but they were just notices about various things. One of which was a notice of a lost cat.
"He's definitely got a Tamer, otherwise he wouldn't be here." Another said quietly. "Or, maybe he's waiting for us to find him one."
'Huh, reward for a lost bike.' I thought. 'Cool. We'll watch out for it.'
"Ah, you must be Mr. Rowe's partner." A deep voice with a light French accent asked. I turned and was face to, midsection, with a very muscular man. I looked up and he held his arm out, and I realized he wanted me to jump up onto it. I did so and he laughed quietly as he raised me to eye level. He held out his right hand to me and I reached over to it with my own. "I am Percival Canterbury, but please, call me Percy." He wore silver wireframe glasses, a light gray button up shirt with a dark gray suit jacket, and a navy tie. His eyes were green, and he had short brown hair combed back.
"Mao." I said. "I guess, that'll do." He laughed as he walked out of the room. "You know about Arthur?"
"He's still talking to the chief for now." He said. "I walked by the room and the chief asked me if I could show you around a little. We'll start with the break room, since I need to get a drink for my partner." He reached up a little more and I jumped onto his shoulder, sitting down carefully. He was over six and a half feet tall, very muscular, and broad shouldered. He was a walking mountain compared to me. "How do you like the agency headquarters so far?"
"It's nice." I said. "Plenty of room, a lot of people dedicated to protecting the world from bad Digimon, and I think I saw a shooting range." He laughed.
"I've heard about you." He said. "An Impmon with a gun and a lasso, and even étoile de shérif." I laughed quietly. "And I heard about that Tyrannomon the other day. The agent you saw had a video of it from very near the start, about from the first time you fired your revolver. Good shooting by the way."
"Not good enough." I said. "I should have gotten it in the head from the first round." He smiled.
"Good." He said. "You know that you could do better. That is a good thing to always know." I looked ahead as he walked into a room with tables and vending machines, and even a large kitchen area in the back, with a pair of refrigerators. He walked over to a vending machine and carefully grabbed me and set me down on the counter by the soda vending machine. "Do you think you'd be okay working here? It isn't an easy job. Always on call, and most of the time they may call up in the milieu de la nuit, the middle of the night. That's when Digimon Bio-emerge most often. Je ne sais pas pourquoi. I am not sure why."
"It's generally not our intent." I said. "When we Bio-emerge, we don't know what time it will be, or where we'll show up. The portal I went through ended up with me appearing in a school computer room in the late afternoon. If I'd gone through a few hours later from the Digital World, it might have been a half hour later. Time is different from one world to another." He put a few quarters in and pressed a button. "If we could pick the time we emerged, it'd be based on what time we prefer. I'd have gone for early at night, maybe late morning, but things turned out for the best." He nodded as he put in more quarters.
"My partner arrived in the middle of the morning." He said. "In my father's computer room. That was, six years ago. I'd just graduated, and had no intention of being a Digimon Tamer, but the night before, I found this blue card." He pulled said card from his jacket pocket as he pressed another button on the machine. "I wondered what it was until I slid it through a card reader I had attached to my father's computer. It turned into a D-arc, and about an hour later, the computer just started glowing, and there he was." He put the card away and knelt, grabbing the soda cans. He stayed there so I jumped onto his shoulder, just as he started standing. "Two years, we couldn't do much but act as backup, and though appreciated, we got in the way more than anything." He started walking again. "But then he was able to become a Champion, and it gave us a chance to really do some good. We trained every day we could, went to every Bio-emerging Digimon we could get to, until around a few months ago, when we were asked to join the DGA."
"What kind of Digimon is your partner?" I asked.
"You will see in a few moments." He said. "I hope Mr. Rowe really considers joining the DGA. I hear that there is a law in the works regarding 'freelance' Tamers. He would have to get a license in order to continue running to every Bio-emerging that you detect."
"I hadn't heard about that." I said.
"No doubt the chief will be telling him about it by now." He said. He walked up to an open door and walked in. "Scott, I've got your drink." I heard something moving, and a quiet groan of effort. "Scott?" He set the cans down and walked over to a covered bunk and laughed. I looked over and saw a small face poking out of a set of sheets. "Stuck again?"
"Not my fault." The Digimon said. It was a Patamon. I fought a laugh as he struggled. His head was free, but his wings were stuck. "I don't even know how this happened!" Percy laughed as I jumped over. "H-hey, what's this?"
"This is Mao, the Impmon from the video." He replied. I walked over and looked at the sheets until I found an edge, and I started pulling it to get Scott free. "His partner is talking to the chief right now. I think we might be making a new friend, maybe even a teammate." Scott moved his wing and hit me in the jaw, making me grunt.
"Sorry." He said.
"It's okay." I said. "It happens." I pulled the rest of the blanket for a moment before I sighed. "Okay, plan b. I'm going to roll you over a few times. That should get you out of this." He nodded and I rolled him a few times until he moved onto his legs. I held out my hand. "So, I'm Mao. Nice to meet you." He put his wing in my palm.
"Likewise." He said. "You know my name, I guess, thanks to Percival." I nodded as he moved wing.
…
"Hey partner." I said. Arthur looked over as Percy walked over. Scott was on his left shoulder and I was on his arm. Arthur was just walking out of the chief's office.
"Uh, hi." He said. Percy held out his right hand.
"I'm Percival." He said. "I've heard a bit about you. You are responsible for defeating quite a few dangerous Digimon." Arthur shook his hand nervously as Percy nodded to Scott. "This is my partner, Scott." Scott moved his wing.
"Hello." He said. "It's nice to meet you." I jumped down and stretched.
"How did your meeting go with the chief?" Percy asked.
"He, uh, offered me a job, and, I said I'd think about it." Arthur said. "I'm not sure yet, but, I'm glad he thinks I've got what it takes."
"It looks like a good job to me." I said.
"Y-yeah." Arthur said. "I saw the contract, and, it's… More than fair." He laughed. "Fifty six thousand dollars a year fair." I raised my eyebrows.
"That's pretty fair." I said.
"And that's just the starting salary." Percy said. "Due to the dangerous nature, each battle we must go through gives us hazard pay, which really adds up. I've been here a month and I've made a thousand dollars in that alone, in only four fights." Arthur cleared his throat.
"And, they have a separate contract for you, Mao." Arthur said. "Not quite as fair as mine, but for you, you don't have to worry about taxes and that kind of stuff. You just, get your money and, do what you want."
"Did they say how much?" I asked.
"No, but the chief wants to talk to you while I, uh, have a look around." He said. Percy laughed and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"I'll show you around." He said. "Us new guys, we have to stick to together, oui?" Arthur nodded and followed as I walked into the room. The chief was looking at something when he looked up at me. He was in his mid forties or so, clean shaven with dark red hair and green eyes. He had a pair of reading glasses on and was wearing a dark blue suit.
"Hey." He said. "Come on in, Mao. I thought it'd take Arthur at least a few minutes to find you." I walked in and jumped onto the chair in front of his desk. "As Arthur no doubt told you, I'm offering a decent starting salary, and I'm also hoping that you'll sign a contract, though I'll need Arthur to sign on as well, or it would be somewhat difficult, seeing as you use a, unique Digivice."
"So, you haven't heard about another Optimizer?" I asked.
"No, we haven't." He said. "It's the first we've heard of it, and Arthur has agreed to let us look at it. We just want a quick scan, a look inside, see how it all works. Strictly looking though, nothing that'd risk it shorting out and making you a wild Digimon again." He moved a few papers aside.
"He'll definitely think about it." I said. "He's been looking for a job lately, so I doubt he'll pass up a possible career that pays like this. And Percy said that the hazard pay is regular." He nodded.
"Both Mr. Canterbury and Scott get paid for that." He said. "We've got a lot of funding, so we can afford to be liberal with extra pay like that. Of course, there will be a lot of calls, and if we call in the middle of the night, you can't exactly just stay back. We're demanding, but it's for the safety of the city. Though that's our only jurisdiction so far. We aren't statewide until we have enough agents. We have to have a lot of freelance tamers helping us, and they get the hazard pay and a little extra." He pushed a piece of paper forward. "This is your contract. I hope it's fair for you." I stood up and looked at the contract for a few seconds. My eyes immediately went to the money.
"Twenty thousand…" I said quietly.
"The most we can legally give a Digimon to start with." He said. "But there are fewer taxes to deal with, and there's less Digimon generally need to worry about paying for." I nodded as I looked it over. "We have full insurance for anything, and onsite medical personnel for just about everything." I got to the end and thought for a few moments about how Arthur's mother would feel.
"I hope Arthur's mom will be okay with this, if he decides to join." I said. "If he does, I'll sign on, just to keep an eye on him." He laughed as I handed him the contract.
"I just have one question." He said. I let go of the paper. "Arthur says you're not a normal Impmon. Said you're a subtype. Would you let me take a quick scan to confirm that?" He held up a D-arc, an orange yellow one. I just nodded and he turned it so that a small lens was looking at me. "Okay, let's see." It beeped a few times and he raised his eyebrow. "Unknown Digimon. The D-arc doesn't recognize you. It does know you're a Virus type, but there's no other information." I scratched my head. "The Optimizer did say GunImpmon, and there was a lot more information. I guess you're unique." I sighed.
"I was hoping to find out if there were others like me." I said. "I guess I may actually be one of a kind."
"Maybe." He said. "Maybe not. There are all kinds of Digimon. Maybe there are others like you somewhere in the Digital World."
"Just not in the Dark Area." I said quietly. "That's where I lived for my whole life, up until last year."
…
I held the controller while Kelly giggled. I grinned as I made my character's kart go around the corner, tailing her by only a few feet. She laughed as I got closer, and she hit the weapon cube, and suddenly I was airborne. She had gotten the red shells. I opened my mouth as another kart passed me, but I smirked again.
"Oh yeah, turtle boy?" I said quietly. I drove through the recently re-spawned cube, and I laughed. "Aha. The blue shell." Kelly laughed as the turtle passed her, and I fired the shell. She fired the red shell to slow him and I drove near her as the blue shell hit the turtle. We kept going until we were side by side, and we passed the finish line at the same time. "Not bad Kelly, but I think I have this one by a fraction of a second." She giggled until the score came up, and my mouth dropped. She won by a thousandth of a second. "Okay, so I was wrong."
"That was fun." She said. "You almost had me." I nodded and sighed as Arthur walked in.
"Dinner's ready." He said. "Come on you two." Kelly got off of the couch and walked to the kitchen while I walked over to the machine and turned it off. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Arthur helping Kelly into her chair. I jumped onto my own as he sat down. "So, who won?"
"I did." Kelly said proudly.
"By a thousandth of a second." I said, also proudly. "I got a little overconfident, tailgated her, and paid for it by a red shell." He laughed as his mother sat down, smiling.
"I'm glad you both had fun." She said.
"Me too." Arthur said. I looked at the mashed potatoes in front of me and smiled as I grabbed my spoon. There was also a very delicious looking piece of roast beef next to it. "Um, a-about that, job offer."
"Yes?" Mara asked.
"It looks like, it'll pay pretty good." He said. "Fifty six a year, with, pretty generous hazard pay, which we get if we have to, well, do what we usually do." She nodded. "Mao gets paid too, and he gets hazard pay as well. It won't be easy, but, I, I think I should take it." She looked at him with a warm smile as I ate my potatoes.
"Okay." She said. "I know you'll be careful." I looked up to see Arthur looking confused. "What? I know you'll stay out of danger, and Mao won't let you get into any trouble. It won't do me any good to worry about you when I know you'll be okay."
"Arthur's strong." Kelly said happily. I raised my spoon.
"Seconded." I said. Arthur laughed.
"Just promise me you'll make a friend or two." Mara said. "So far, it's just you and Mao. I'd like to know my son has more friends than just his partner." I laughed as I went back to the potatoes. I was a fan of everything she cooked, especially when she had gravy made from scratch, and this was one of those times. "After all, what fun can you have when you've only got one friend who is half your height?" He laughed as he started on his own potatoes. "Thinking of that, did you meet anyone you think you might get along with?"
"Uh, yeah." He said. "A man named Percy. He's… Uh…" He moved his hand in a circle so I swallowed my current spoonful as he tried to think of a word.
"Big." I said. Arthur nodded. "About, six foot, seven inches I think. A lot of muscle, but he's pretty smart."
"He's a Tamer, too." Arthur said. "His partner is a Patamon named Scott. They've been working together for six years, but, I think Mao could beat Scott, even as an Angemon." Mara and Kelly laughed as I shrugged.
"If I got the drop on him." I said. "Just because I can take out a Champion with one bullet doesn't mean I'd always win. I'm still just a Rookie after all, and Angemon are very fast." He laughed.
"I know you'd still win." He said. "But, I really think this job is right for us. We'll work well together, right?" I nodded. "And, he said we'd be part of a team. It'll be the two of us, and at least one other Tamer and his or her Digimon. We'll be fine."
"So you'll make at least two more friends then." Mara said. We both laughed as she smiled. "Good. I want you to make as many friends as you can. I don't want to get a report that you don't work well with others."
…
I walked through the gulley, thinking about my path in life. I'd been in a lot of fights lately, and there was seemingly no reason for it all. Sure, I was strange for being so different, but when even other Virus types were attacking me without warning or explanation, it was more than I could really wrap my head around. Tsukaimon was a good example, though she did explain, and it was obvious she wanted to try to use me and then let me take the fall. But there were as many as three Digimon that wanted to try to kill me each week. So many pointless deaths, for what? Did they want my data? That's why I was a freak in their eyes. My revolver? It was keyed to my data, so if I died, they couldn't use it, and they didn't want my data. There was just no point, as far as I could see, but they kept attacking.
'It's getting to the point where I hardly have time to find food.' I thought. 'I have to get to somewhere safe…' I kept walking when I heard a noise, so I drew my revolver and turned to look around. 'What else could be out here tonight?'
"Such a powerful little imp." A female voice said I turned a little more and heard wings, at least six. Three Digimon? One? An Angel Digimon? More Tsukaimon and DemiDevimon? What else could be ready to attack me now? "You were very lucky, or skilled, to survive such a fall." I looked around as the voice echoed. "Looking for someplace safe?" I listened and heard the wings again, but this time it was clear. There were only two. They sounded too big to be a Tsukaimon, and definitely not an Angel Digimon. I turned just a little more and saw her, a Lady Devimon. "Surprised?"
"Not really." I said tiredly. "Wings, echoes, and secrecy to confuse… Makes sense I'd attract an Ultimate level Devil. But, what do you want from me?" She smiled.
"Nothing." She said. "You defeated the Digimon I sent to test you." I somewhat lowered my revolver. "Ah yes, such a lovely weapon. Very, what is that word you like to use? Reliable."
"I've had this revolver since I…" I started.
"Digivolved from a Tin Yaamon." She said sweetly. "Let's just say, I'm doing you a favor, and I'll ask for a little one in return later." She held her normal hand over her heart. "Devil's honor." I pulled the hammer back halfway. "Please, you couldn't kill me."
"I could ruin one of your legs." I said. "Or your arm." She giggled and vanished, but I spun and pointed the revolver at her head, making her smile. "At this range, death is a definite possibility." She vanished and I pointed at her again, at her chest, her heart. "What do you want?"
"I want you, to go to the human world." She said. I stared and lowered the revolver completely. "I can take you to a place that will send you exactly where you need to be."
"What, do, you, want?" I repeated. "You wouldn't do this without wanting something from me right away. No way going to the human world is in your personal interests, not unless you've got something else planned." She giggled again.
"Well, I would like to know, what you have named your revolver." She said. "That is something no one has been able to tell me. Go to the human world, and tell me the name of that, surprisingly normal looking revolver that has claimed the lives of so many fools." I slowly let the hammer go back to the safe position and holstered it.
"That's really it." I said cautiously. She smiled. "Forgive me if I don't believe you." She laughed quietly. "Try to trick me, you're walking funny for the rest of your life, if you can even keep the leg at all." She gestured and I returned it, knowing it best to be safe rather than deleted. She laughed and walked toward a nearby treeline, and I felt some kind of strange energy in the air. I couldn't explain it, but it felt, different than what I was used to. After a good five minutes of walking she pushed a branch aside to reveal a small portal.
"I made this specifically for you." She said. "Once you use it, it will vanish unless I recreate it, though hopefully I won't have to. Go to the human world, find a Tamer, and live an easier life where no one will be after for, whatever they want from you. That is another thing about you I know nothing about. I'll try to find that out later though." I walked past her, but I never turned away, keeping her in front of me the whole time. When I felt the portal's gentle pull, she walked by it and giggled. "So, what is the name of that, oddly lovely revolver of yours?" I drew it and spun it for a second before putting the barrel on my shoulder.
"This, is Baffle." I said. "You'll never know where the next bullet will go, until it's just a second or so too late."