It's been a few months so it's about time I brought this back up. I hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I, Lord Genesis Shadow, do hereby state that I do not own the rights to Digimon.
…
Arthur sighed as the limo pulled up in front of our house, and he laughed.
"What's up, Yank?" Sarah asked.
"My mother is going to flip when she sees this." He said. "I mean, it's almost as tall as my house, for crying out loud." We all laughed as I began opening the door.
"Well let's…" I started.
"Arthur, your mother drives a minivan, oui?" Percy asked quietly.
"Uh, yeah." Arthur said slowly. "Why?"
"Does she have a friend that drives a truck?" Percy asked. I pushed the door open to see a black Ford pickup with an extended cab sitting in the driveway beside the minivan.
"N-no, she doesn't…" He said. "I…" He opened his door and walked out. "W-wait here for, two seconds… I'll be right back. And Mao, I mean a few minutes." I sat on the step as he jogged up to the door and opened it.
"Mao?" Percy asked. "Do you know what this is about?"
"Not a clue." I said. "Arthur never mentioned anything, and I don't remember Mara ever having company in a black Ford truck." After a few minutes, we were all outside of the limo, and the driver had rolled down the passenger side window, decidedly curious.
"H-hey, Mao, come here, please." Arthur called. I looked at the others as I slid down, and I walked toward the door. As I walked in, I looked in the kitchen to see Arthur sitting at a table, and a man that looked much like him, but twenty years older, with darker eyes and graying hair.
"So, you're the mysterious helper I've heard so much about." He said. I nodded and he smiled, gesturing. "Come on in. I've wanted to meet my boy's first friend for a long time now." I slowly walked in and he held his hand out, so I took it. "I'm Henry Rowe."
"Mao." I said. He shook my hand, and I smiled a little.
"I understand you made it possible for Arthur to get a decent job." He said. "An agent, in a federal position."
"Well, not quite, federal, is it?" Arthur asked.
"From what I understand, it's a federal job." His father said, looking at him. "You're officially a government employee." He slugged Arthur's shoulder lightly. "I'm proud of you for that." Arthur laughed quietly. "And you've got some good friends, I hear." I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb.
"They're waiting in the, uh, car…" I said. Mr. Rowe stood up carefully, and I saw that he had gauze wrapped around his right leg. Mara helped him, and Arthur stood up. "What happened?"
"Well, I decided to play chicken with a bullet." He said. "Turns out, bullets win. But…" He pulled out a small nearly immaculate bullet from his pocket. "They make good souvenirs." I laughed as he walked past me. "What say we get acquainted to your friends?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm sure they'll like that…" Arthur said. "But um, it's not so much a car, as it is… A limousine."
"A limousine?" Mara asked. "The agency clearly spares no expense."
"It, belongs to, Ann's parents." He said. "It's kind of a long story, and I think I'll need her help." We walked out, and Henry whistled.
"Is it a limo, or a home on wheels?" He asked. We laughed as he gestured. "Morning. You must be Arthur's friends." They slowly walked over, and Percy was the first to offer his hand. "I'm Henry Rowe." He took Percy's hand. "You can all call me Hank."
"I am Percival Canterbury, but please, call me Percy." He said, smiling. "I was wondering if we'd ever get to meet the elusive Mr. Rowe. It's an honor, sir." Hank smiled while Arthur sat on the step next to me. Hank offered his hand to Scott, who took it with a small smile of his own.
"My name is Scott." He said. "Not many nicknames are associated with that, however." They both laughed. "Your son is quite a remarkable young man. Quite capable."
"Aren't you about the same age as Arthur?" I asked. He laughed, as did Percy.
"You are merely a year older than him." He said. "Not much room to talk." We all laughed as Hank held his hand out to Sarah, who took it with a little more energy.
"I'm Sarah Valentine." She said. "Your boy's quite the scrapper."
"Oh?" Hank asked.
"We met up at the temple by the mountain." She said. "We were all trainin' up there, learnin' Kung Fu, and they let me join up with the squad, right during the two week vacation." Hank looked at Arthur.
"Kung Fu, huh?" He asked. Arthur looked a little proud as he nodded.
"Yeah…" He said. "Bonding exercise for the team. It was, fun."
"Next time you go, maybe I can head up and see what it's like." Hank said. "After my leg lets me, of course." Everyone laughed as Riley stepped forward with Harrigan. "Hello there." She held her hand out, as did Harrigan. He took her hand.
"I'm Riley." She said. He took Harrigan's hand with an oddly familiar smile. "This is Harrigan. He doesn't talk when he's a Rookie." He nodded as Hank looked at the others. As they made their introductions, I felt my tail wagging. I looked at it and grabbed at it. "Mao?" I felt them looking at me, but I kept grabbing at my tail.
"Hold still." I said. They laughed as I kept trying. It was like it was actively trying to avoid my hand. When I finally grabbed it, I held it in place. "Stop."
"Hardly the time for playing around, Mao." Scott said.
"Who's playing?" I asked seriously. "When you're a Patamon, does your tail ever give you trouble? Lena, please back me up here."
"Well, yeah, it's a pain sometimes." She said. "Sometimes a tail will wag, whether you want it to or not."
"And you can wrap yours around yourself." I said. "I can't." She was silent and I looked as she looked at her tail, and Hank laughed.
"You never thought of that?" He asked.
"W-well, no…" She said. "Why would I? It's where I keep my Holy Ring." She slowly moved it, watching as it wrapped around her, and she stared at it for a moment. Daisy laughed as she looked at us.
"Glad I don't have a tail now…" She said. "Wish I were shorter though." As we all laughed, most of us stopped as a chill ran up my spine. "Guys…"
"Wh-what is it?" Mara asked.
"Digimon emerging." I said. "Close." I got up quickly as we looked toward, where the limo had been.
"Take the minivan." Mara said, handing Arthur the keys.
"There won't be enough room." Hank said. He held the keys out to me, and I looked up at him.
"Are you serious?" I asked. "I'm three foot three, including my ears!" He laughed before Sarah held her hand up, just as I pointed. "She's got a license." He looked and tossed the keys.
"Come on Lena." She said. "Let's roll."
"It's a stick shift." Hank said. I ran toward the minivan but stopped, and I ran back. "Mao?" I looked at Scott.
"Mind giving me a lift?" I asked. "I've got an idea."
…
"Man, this didn't work out like I'd planned it." I groaned. I got up and slumped on the ledge. "No, that's not, gonna work."
"Mao, are you okay?" Arthur asked quickly.
"Yeah, I'm alive, but I'm gonna, need a few seconds." I said, shifting slightly. The Digimon, a trio of Kuwagamon, and one really angry Buraimon, were in a mall. Buraimon looked familiar, but the thought had been cut short, with the blades of the bird man hitting Scott's staff, forcing him to drop me. I landed on an awning, at first, and the Kuwagamon attacked me with its claws. A quick roll saved my life, and now it was flying toward, the others. "Oh, come on. Where…" I drew the original Baffle and took aim, leaning slightly.
"Mao, above you!" Scott called. I looked up and rolled onto the ground as the Buraimon stabbed where I had just been. "Get back here!" Scott landed and began swinging his staff, only to be blocked by the Buraimon. As they traded blows, I got up and ran toward the edge, and I took aim at the Kuwagamon as it flew toward Daisy. She was already handling the other one, while Harrigan and Lena held off the third one. I took aim and it suddenly flew up. "Mao!" I turned and jumped aside, avoiding the blade.
"What the heck is going…" I started. "Oh boy." I scrambled to my feet and ran into the sporting goods store, hiding behind a counter before hiding inside it. As it came in, I heard it moving around. The air changed, and I shifted just in time to avoid a blade and hide behind a set of backpacks.
"Where are you, you little freak?" He asked quietly. I knew he was looking in, so I was motionless. "Yes, too obvious a place to hide… Unlike, here!" I avoided another stab and hid under a few more things. "Hmmm…" He suddenly let out a cry and his sword was left as another clashed.
"Daisy, how are you doing down there?" I asked quickly.
"One bug's dead." She said. "The other two are in pain. Where are you?"
"Dick's Sporting Goods." I said. "I think. I'm under the counter, and that, Buraimon seems like, it's hunting me. It's really after me…"
"Merde!" Percy said suddenly. "Mao, Scott is hurt, and he had to break off! Get out of there before that bird gets you! Scott wants to blindside him, using you as a decoy…"
"That figures." I said under my breath. The sword was withdrawn and I waited for a moment before moving out, carefully, and I saw Buraimon looking for Scott.
"The cactus is stronger than expected, as are the cat and dinosaur…" He said quietly. "The angel is, as I was told. But that, damnable Impmon. How can he be so much faster than I was told?" He seemed in thought when I felt something changing.
"Mao, that X-Vaccine data, it's going active." Arthur said. "Should we go for it?"
"Do it…" I whispered. "Scott, I'm going to draw him with the X-Vaccine. Be ready. I'm not sure what'll happen."
…
"Mao, I have something that I need you to understand." Scott said. I nodded as I drank the water. "You are being far too reckless. I need you to stop playing the cowboy, doing such foolish things." I set the water down and thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure I follow." I said. "You tell me to stay back, and I stay back. You tell me to provide cover fire for Daisy and Harrigan, and I provide the cover fire as I can, mostly with fireballs, but, it's still fire that prevents them from attacking. I do what you tell me to do, and I avoid getting into fights with anything a lot bigger than I am until I get a clear shot…"
"And there it is." He said. "When you get the chance, you risk yourself, and our friends. It may take me a while longer to defeat a Champion than it does for you, but I can still get the job done. Daisy and Harrigan can become Champions now, and Lena is quite capable despite her size, but you can be defeated in a single hit if you become lax for even a moment." I drank some more water and set the glass down.
"So, instead of chancing a faster victory, I should let things drag on." I said. "I should just let things keep going and chance you and the others get hurt." He seemed surprised. "I take chances to save your life, and theirs, because the longer a fight goes, the more chance there is that you'll get tired, and make that one tiny mistake. You'll forget to look over your shoulder before you get up and you won't avoid a Devimon's claws, and you'll lose a few wings. This is your new body, Scott, and it looks like it's for life. If you lose your wings, how much data will you need to regenerate them?" He was silent as I finished the water. "Yeah, I put my life at risk, because I trust that when you look over to make sure I'm alright, you'll see an enemy sneaking up on me and you'll fly over to save me, or that Daisy will look over to say 'good shot', and then she'll run toward me and trample the one after me before I can shoot it. I trust all of you that if I'm ever in any danger, at least one of you will be there to save my life, just like I'll be there to save yours. Call me a cowboy all you want, I'm still doing this because you're all my friends." I leaned up and poured a glass of lemonade.
"Even so, finish the task at hand." He said. "Take the time to make sure you won't be in that danger. At that point, the risk is removed, meaning there is no danger that we must eliminate." I drank some of the lemonade before setting the glass down.
"Where's the fun in that?" I asked. His expression changed, so I crossed my arms. "What are you really asking me, Scott? Because you could just as easily tell me to focus on the Rookies, and that'd be a lot less effort than having a one on one like this."
"What do you think I am asking?" He asked.
"To be a Virus." I said smugly. He grimaced. "Like it or not, I'm not like what you think a Virus Digimon is supposed to be like. I'm not some 'great and terrible' monster waiting to stab you in the back when you're not looking. I could do that anytime, but the worst I'll do is ask Mara to make an extra spicy hamburger for you and let you take a bite of my super spicy burger. No, the way you're acting, it's like you want me to not trust you and the others. You want to act like you're in total control, and that if I act even a little outside of your plans, it's like you've lost that control." He put a hand on the table as I finished the lemonade. As I set the glass down, I looked up at him. "I don't know what your deal is, but we're on the same team. If my life is in danger, I have to be able to trust the person or Digimon that's running toward me. I don't want to think that when you're flying toward me, you're coming to kill me. I want to think that you're rushing to save my life, just like I'd do for you." I sat down on the books and he made a barely audible sound. "If a Virus can be as good natured as a Vaccine, maybe you can act like a Virus." Without warning the table was thrown across the room, nearly taking me with it. I heard the others getting up, just in time for me to grab Scott's staff and push it aside before kicking his legs out from under him. I got up quickly. "Hey, what's your problem!?" I jumped back to avoid his staff before I threw both Baffles at him, knocking it out of his hand, but he rushed me and picked me up by my throat, slamming me against a wall.
"I am nothing like you!" He spat. "You had better toe the line, or next time I will not be so forgiving."
"This, is, forgiving?" I asked. I swung my foot up, kicking him in the chin and making him drop me. I ran to the other end of the kitchen, and as I turned, he looked ready to go for his staff. The way I caught him made him stop as Percy ran in after telling the others to stay back. I readied myself, and just as Scott got ready, Percy ran in and stood in front of him.
"Scott, stop it." He said. Scott stared before lowering his arms. "Both of you, in my study, now. I will grab your things." Scott hesitated for a moment before walking out, but as Percy looked at me, I pointed at the doorway.
"I'll follow you." I said. "I've had enough of that to last a lifetime and a half." He grabbed the discarded weapons and walked out of the kitchen with me just a few feet behind him.
"Everyone, go back to bed." He said. "It was just a minor thing, something about the lighting." We walked into the study and he closed the door, pressing a button. "Soundproofed. I do not like being disturbed. Sit." I jumped onto a couch near Scott, making him shift to the very end. "Now, what was the cause of this ruckus? I was in the middle of reading a novel, and the first crash made me tear out a page in surprise."
"It…" Scott started.
"It was my fault." I said. I felt Scott turning to look at me. "Apparently, the way I risk my life out there scares Scott, and he thinks I'm going to get someone killed trying to play the hero. I'll admit that when I see an opening to take down a Digimon that's giving Scott and the others a tough time, six times out of ten, I'm going to take the shot. The other four, are when Scott, or Daisy, or Harrigan, or Lena are in the way. More if it's one of our Tamers." Percy seemed surprised. "But, yeah, I take a chance because I trust the others. Scott's concerned I'll forget a Rookie, and they'll either hurt me or someone, and I won't be able to stop it, or it'll kill me. I trust that he'd get there in time to bat it away for me to finish off." Percy looked at Scott. "That's not how he'd word it, but that's how I see it… How it escalated to, what it escalated to, I'm still confused about, but hey, could have gone worse."
"I fail to see how." Scott said.
"I could have shot you." I said. He was silent.
"Mao, you are certain he is worried about you?" Percy asked.
"I never said he was worried about me." I said, shrugging. "I just said he was concerned. But that might just be my imagination. Could be he's jealous that I can drop a Champion, he is a Champion, and he thinks I might turn on everyone."