I'm experiencing troubles and difficulties with my laptop for a few weeks. The difficulty, I wrote so much I damaged the spacebar so that it stopped working properly. This means that, until the week of the seventeenth, I'm not likely to get much work done. That said, I backed up the archives and can still post. I just won't be doing a lot of writing. And now that I've said my piece on that, Digital Sheriff, chapter twenty. Please enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I, Lord Genesis Shadow, do hereby state that I do not own the rights to Digimon. Thank you, and have a nice first of November.
…
I rolled out of the hammock and landed with a soft thump on the floor, and I groaned.
"We're home, Mao." Arthur said. "You didn't put the clothes pile in the way."
"Now you tell me." I said groggily. I slowly got up and grabbed my belt as he walked out of the bathroom. "So, breakfast?"
"No time." He said. "Percy wants to get in early to let the chief know what we're doing, and that you haven't Digivolved yet but want them to analyze it."
"Sucks that the Optimizer won't tell us much." I said. He looked at it and flipped through a few screens as I did the belt up.
"Well, it does have a shadowed form…" He said. I walked over as he knelt and showed me. "This page has never been there. I think, today might be the day… Look, horns." I looked at the head. "Some kind of wide head at the top? A hat?"
"Don't ask me." I said. "I won't know what it is until I Digivolve… Hey, five fingers. That should be fun to get used to."
"Yeah, you can give bad guys the middle finger." He said.
"I can already do that." I said. I raised my index finger and he looked. "Just turn this around, and it is the middle finger. One on either side, just like how your middle finger has two." He laughed as I pointed at the feet. "No toes though."
"Unless you get clothes." He said. I shrugged, but pointed. "What…" He looked closer. "A timer?"
"It's not going down." I said. "It's, twelve o' clock… I'll Digivolve, at midnight?"
"Seems like it." He said. "Cool."
"Well, might as well live it up, my last day as a prank loving imp." I said. He laughed and put his hand on my head.
"Come on, time for work." He said. "I'm sure dad's giving mom a hard time." We walked out and down the stairs, though as Arthur went to skip the last step, I stopped.
"Arthur, don't even think about it." Mara said. He stopped and went down normally while I just walked beside him. "Mao, thank you for not trying."
"How do you always know when I'm going to do that?" Arthur asked.
"I know my son." She said. Kelly giggled from her seat as Mara held out his lunch pail, and mine. "And I know you're both heading in early thanks to Mao's clever idea." I smiled as I took my pail, an old metal one. "Be sure not to give the lab people any trouble." Hank laughed quietly.
"I won't." Arthur said. "Mao, on the other hand, figures he'll Digivolve around midnight, so he wants to get in a few pranks." Hank looked at me as I smirked.
"What kinds of pranks?" He asked. "I might want some video footage of this." I shrugged.
"Depends on what I have at my disposal." I said. "I like my pranks to either affect a lot of people for some mild chaos, or one person a lot, like Scott and the fire burger." Mara laughed as Kelly giggled again.
"Scott looked funny." She said.
"That he did." Arthur said. "And then he tried to eat Mao's burger. Ended up needing, it." Hank laughed with everyone while I put my hand behind my head.
"Well, when you have company over, it's nice to entertain your guests." I said. "If something good happens, we'll get it on video, so long as I don't get into too much trouble."
"I guess we'll be off then." Arthur said. "Too bad we're not taking the limo." My tail drooped.
"What's up, Mao?" Hank asked.
"Apparently the guidelines say I have to sit in a booster seat." I said. "I'm seventeen, and a Digimon. I'm not exactly tall, but I'm not gonna get hurt from a quick stop in a van." Hank laughed. "Mark my words, this is a natural Digivolution, so when we have no more need for that seat, I'm going to destroy it. This, I vow, in the name of the Sovereigns, the Divas, and two thirds of the deities humans pray to on a regular basis." Everyone laughed at my dramatic tone as I raised my hand, pointing at the ceiling. "And just for good measure, I'm going to vow this in the name of the original Digidestined, the ones that came after, and those Tamers in Japan that killed the D-Reaper."
"Well, if you're done vowing, I guess we're heading out." Arthur said. He hugged Mara, and then shook his father's hand while she gave me a hug.
"If anything happens, let us know." Hank said. "I wouldn't mind seeing my boys in action one of these days."
"I've seen them." Mara said. "Mao deleted a very big red dinosaur Digimon… Tyrannomon, was it?" I nodded.
"Yeah, they never go down easy." I said. "I used a full cylinder to weaken him, and one Dark Round to finish him off." Hank laughed.
"I wonder what would happen if you tried that with a sniper rifle." He said. I began thinking, and smiled.
"That'd be fun." I said. "I can even make extra ammo for it, including the magazine."
…
Arthur walked into the break room to put our lunches away, which were padlocked twice each. Breakfast consisted of sausage patties and bacon for me, and three homemade breakfast muffins for Arthur. Hard to say who got the better deal there, but I was happy I could eat mine on the way, whereas he would be eating his in the break room. But as I walked, I heard a yell.
"Corona Slash!" A voice called. I spun around and saw a flaming sword coming down, so I drew both Baffles and blocked with them, catching the blade between the barrels with the trigger guards. It was at that point I thanked my lucky stars they were made of denser-than-average Chrome Digizoid, which I nicknamed Gundigizoid in honor of gunmetal.
"Hey, come on, really?" I asked. A few people ran out as I looked at the attacker as he moved closer. He looked like a Coronamon, with a pair of short swords. He jumped back and readied the blade.
"You're my new sparring partner." He said excitedly. I lowered the guns.
"That's how you ask for me to spar?" I asked. "You just attack out of nowhere? I could have shot you." I held the guns up. "These are loaded…" I looked down the cylinders quickly. "Yeah, loaded."
"So?" He asked.
"Almaz, that's the Impmon that killed two Kuwagamon yesterday." A man said. "And a Tyrannomon, and a Greymon, and dealt the finishing blow to a Myotismon." 'Almaz' looked back and up as I just looked up, holstering the twin pistols. "And how many times have I said to simply ask, instead of randomly attacking? No doubt some people worried you were wild." He was about six one, thin, and had short blond hair with, almost anime styled spikes that reminded me of the video game character Cloud Strife. He wore a pair of blue jeans with one leg cut off, a black shirt and a black jacket with short sleeves, and a pair of black leather gloves. "Honestly, I worry that one of these times you're going to pick on some random Digimon that will have a powerful weapon, and he will hurt or kill you." He knelt and held his hand out. "I apologize for Almaz's behavior." Almaz kicked the ground as he put the sword away on his left hip, though I noticed his Tamer had a pair of swords as well. "My name is Leon, though most call me Lightning." I took his hand.
"Mao." I said. "Most people call me, well, Mao… Though there was that one time someone called me dude…" He laughed quietly. "And it's, well, I can't say it's not a problem, but I've been attacked in worse ways… Kind of."
"Sorry." Almaz said. I held my hand out to him.
"No hard feelings." I said as he took my hand. "I met a Kotemon named Harrigan, and he attacked me with a shinai when I was trying to sleep. Wouldn't have killed me, but it hurts to get hit by." He laughed.
"Well, Almaz is a little different." Leon said. I looked up at him. "As you can see, he's a Coronamon, but his data is, different."
"I'm a Blue Coronamon." Almaz said. "A little stronger than average." I scratched my head lightly.
"Do you have, a different than usual Digivice, by any chance?" I asked. Leon held out a bluish white D-3. "Darn. Am I the only Digimon whose Tamer has an Optimizer?" They looked at each other before Almaz shrugged.
"I don't know, but, sounds cool." He said. I sighed when I heard a squeal, which almost made me jump.
"Oh, he's so cute!" A familiar voice said. I looked over to see Annabelle, Daisy, Sarah, and Lena all gathered around someone.
"I think we'll take our leave, for now." Leon said. "But if you want to spar later, we'll be in the gym."
"Sure." I said. Arthur walked over quickly.
"Mao…" He said. I gestured beside me.
"That's Almaz, and his Tamer Leon." I said as they walked away. "What's going on over there?" He started walking.
"I have no idea." He said. "Let's go see." I walked beside him and saw Percy and Scott over there, and Sara was petting something. As I jumped up to a table, saw a Tsunomon, but it was light gray and white, with a darker gray horn. It was purring from being pet by Sarah and Ann, along with Riley.
"Huh, cute little guy." Arthur said.
"Cute?" The girls asked.
"He's adorable!" Ann said. "Just look at how fluffy he is, and how soft he is." The Tsunomon smiled as I sat down.
"Yeah, he's fluffy alright." I said. "If ever there were a fluffier Digimon, it'd have to be called 'Fluffmon'… Unless that's his name."
"Actually, his name is Lobo." A Swedish girl said. I looked at her. "He can Digivolve, but he's cuter this way." She giggled. She had a light tan, and was quite cute for a human. "And he enjoys the attention." Ann slowly moved Arthur's hand to Lobo's head, and he laughed as he started stroking his fur.
"Hey, he is soft." He said. "Mao, you should feel this. It's like, twice as smooth as silk."
"Where are you from?" Sarah asked. "I could swear I know that accent."
"I'm Amber, Amber Ökade." She said. "I'm from Sweden, though, my parents and I became citizens because we wanted a change of pace. My team and I are here tracking a rogue Tamer named…" She pulled out a smart phone and tapped the screen a few times as I looked her over. She wore a white silk shirt with a slightly darker white rose on the chest, a white silk knee length skirt, with a white garter visible, and I saw a pair of white cowgirl boots, which looked to be made of snakeskin. She had a pair of wireframe half moon spectacles, a ring on each finger, mostly white gold on her right hand with yellowish stones, while the ones on her left were yellow gold with diamonds, and I saw a white gold necklace with an amber pendant, white gold bracelets, and there was a white snakeskin purse sitting beside her. "Anderson, but we don't know his given name, only that he travels with a Gargomon that can go Ultimate. Lobo only goes to Champion, but my partners are Ultimate capable, so if we run into him, Lobo can give him the runaround and make him waste his power before the others finish him off." She had odd eyes. The left was green, while the right was blue, but they went well with her platinum blonde hair.
"How soft is his fur as a Champion?" Riley asked.
"Well, he's not a normal Tsunomon." I said. "So he wouldn't be a normal Gabumon or Garurumon. If his fur is soft now, it'll get a little softer, probably, as a Gabumon, but I've ridden two Garurumon, and their fur is… Actually kind of rigid, like it's metal. And it's as cold, too." Lobo looked at me.
"Not like you're soft to the touch." He said. He had something of a nasally young voice.
"True, but I've got hands right now, so if someone hugs me, I can return it." I said. Everyone in the crowd laughed. "You have softness down, and a cute voice, but I can return a hug, shake hands, and run instead of having to bounce or be carried… Though I'm light enough to be carried, too, if I have to be." His fur suddenly puffed out, making me laugh as Amber pulled out a comb and began fixing his fur. "And I don't have to maintain my hair, or lack thereof. Just give me a rag and I can polish my dome." Amber made a quiet sound while Lobo huffed quietly.
"Still, Lobo is cuter than an Imp, and is more well behaved." She said. Arthur put his hand on my head.
"Actually, Mao's pretty calm just about all the time." He said. "Annabelle and Sarah, well, they're pretty, uh, well off. Servants, big houses, that sort of thing, so, Mao has pretty good manners, enough to impress their parents pretty easily. Honestly, he doesn't do pranks that often, and he always apologizes afterward. They're usually pretty mild anyway, so no one ever gets hurt."
"W-well…" Amber started.
"I'm still cuter." Lobo said as she finished combing him. He puffed up slightly, but his hair went out again, making me laugh quietly.
"And you have the mighty 'fluff out' attack." I said. "No enemy could possibly resist the urge to spend a few moments fawning over you." He suddenly puffed up again.
"I challenge you to a battle!" He said. Amber stood up and pulled out her Digivice as Arthur groaned.
"Really?" He asked. "We kind of have to get to the lab for some tests."
"I demand satisfaction!" Lobo said. The crowd parted as she pressed a button, and he Digivolved quickly into a Gabumon. "I will not stand by and be ridiculed!" I snickered before I could stop myself. "What?" I fought the urge to burst out laughing. His voice still had a trace of his Tsunomon voice to it. "What's so funny?"
"You sound like a Tsunomon." I said, fighting to keep my composure. He suddenly threw a punch, but I narrowly avoided it. "Hey, cool it, it's funny… Hilarious almost." The crowd laughed a little as I dodged him as he rotated his arms like a pair of windmills. "Arthur, arms." He adjusted the Optimizer's settings and I caught both fists, and stepped on Lobo's foot while turning slightly sideways. "Dude, chill."
"You chill!" He said. "Arctic Breath!" He exhaled a long blue stream of icy breath at me, and as I began feeling colder, I let go and stepped back, coughing. "Wh-what?"
"Hey, how, did he withstand that?" Amber asked.
"Mao's naturally at home with really cold places." Arthur said. I jumped down as the crowd moved back, including him and Amber.
"The Dark Area is colder on a summer day." I said. "You might want a tic-tac, seriously."
"Arctic Breath!" Lobo called again. I made my foot burst into flame and I held it up, blocking the cold.
"Cut it out, you potbellied, fur coated, windbag." I said. He ran at me.
"Don't count him as a weakling!" Amber said defensively. "He's not potbellied, he's stout!"
"Mao, just, knock him out." Riley said. "He's not gonna give up."
"You purple skinned…" He started. I threw a punch as he went to hit me, and he fell over. I looked at my arm and put my hand to my face.
"My bad." I said. "I forgot Arthur buffed my muscles up." Arthur returned the data to normal as Amber quickly picked Lobo up.
"Wh-what did you do to my precious Lobo?" She asked quietly. "Oh, he's… He's… Why did you do that?"
"He attacked me." I said, shrugging. "I was just having a little fun, pointing out how cute he was, and he took it as an insult, I guess…" I put my hands behind my head. "I'm just glad I didn't pistol whip him. That probably would have turned him back into his Fresh form." She looked at him worriedly. "I'm sorry, but he wanted a fight, I just wanted to talk it out."
"You didn't have to hit him so hard." She said. Arthur walked over.
"That was, partly my fault." He said. "This, changes where the extra data he gets from deleted enemies goes, so, I moved it to his arms to let him grab Lobo's, and… I didn't move it back, so when he threw that punch…" He laughed nervously. "He forgot, I forgot, and, I think Riley forgot." Riley blushed and fixed her glasses.
"It was a cool punch though." She said quietly.
"Agreed." Daisy said. Amber stood up.
"He won't forget this, and neither will I, Mao." She said. "If we meet again, we won't hold back. I have cards to let him win before you can throw a punch." She walked away. "Now, I have to get ready for a brunch date. Excuse me." I scratched my head.
"Does anyone else want to challenge me before we get to the lab?" I asked. The crowd laughed. "Seriously, why doesn't this stuff happen when I want to spar?"
…
"Okay, by the looks of this, there are minute changes in your data." The scientist said. I jumped onto the chair to look. "As it stands, there is a lot of data changing every few seconds, and that timer on the Optimizer, may in fact mean noon, rather than midnight, or thereabout." I saw some data shifting. "Do you feel any different?"
"I feel, a little sluggish, compared to usual…" I said. "Then again, the Optimizer had to stop upgrading my data, so maybe it's that…" Arthur changed the data behind me, and when the change was finished, I shrugged. "No, I still feel, about as slow." The scientist nodded.
"Scott, Daisy, Lena, Harrigan, was it like that for all of you?" He asked. They seemed in thought.
"Kind of." Daisy said.
"I remember being a little tired then, but, when I Digivolved, not so much." Lena said.
"I felt about normal, but it was because I was already in this body." Scott said. "I just, sort of didn't De-Digivolve."
"As it was with me." Harrigan said. "And that was this morning, because I stayed as this all night."
"Well, this may be a 'symptom' then." The scientist said. "If we can get the scan during, if there is a difference, we can analyze it." The Optimizer beeped, and we looked as Arthur checked it.
"It just added something." He said. "It's scanning, now… The timer, is counting down now… It's, nine AM?" I looked up at a clock and nodded. "Okay… Two hours, thirteen minutes. So around a quarter past eleven, you're going to change, probably for good… Unless it's just unlocking the form for use, and Lady Devimon was wrong." I shrugged as someone ran over, stopping and panting.
"News, on a case." He said. We all looked at him. "A team that, normally works out of Sweden, was tracking a Tamer named…"
"Anderson." Arthur and I said.
"We met one of the team earlier." Arthur said.
"We've tracked him to a café, and it turns out…" He started. He held a finger up. "I hate stairs."
"So do I, but for having short legs, that's probably the feeling of a lot of Rookies…" I said. "And Lena." She laughed.
"His name is, Craig Anderson." He finished. "Amber, went to date a guy, named Craig." I stood up a little. "Their team asked for you directly, to go stop him, before he realizes who she is!" He let out a breath. "Go, quickly."
"Arthur, keep scanning Mao, especially if he Digivolves." The scientist said. Arthur nodded and picked me up.
"Come on, we have to move fast." Arthur said.
"We'll take the limo ahead." Percy said. "What's the address of the café?"
…
"Mao, heads up!" Arthur called. I jumped behind cover as a hail of bullets shot past me. The rest of Amber's team was on their way, and the Gargomon declined Digivolving to his Ultimate form, though he was certainly full of energy, with his Tamer swiping cards that restored his strength. Those cards were rare, due to the effort to code the data into them being a manual effort to make them actually useful. Apparently the D-Arcs had to wait a few minutes between each use, or it would be a wasted effort, even if it were between two different cards, unless one was a higher order. His, was a high level version, restoring up to a third of his strength, and his bullets used so little, by the time five minutes passed, he used maybe a quarter. "Darn, what do we do?" I waited for the gunfire to stop, and I leaned out, taking aim. But a bullet hit the side of the replica Baffle, destroying the barrel as it flew out of my hand, and I ducked back, shaking my hand. "Mao!"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." I said. "Man, that really stings. He's, a good shot."
"One of the best!" Craig called. "You won't find a better marksman, or rather, a better marksmon."
"Yeah, let me get a shot off from here then, why don't ya?" I called. "I'll show you marskmonship. I'll blow off both of his gatling arms!"
"I've seen the news, Mao." He said. "You really should try to convince your Tamer to help me. We could take over the entire city, rob it blind when you're a Champion!"
"The only thing blind here is you!" I called. "Your partner may be able to keep my friends at bay, he might even be able to beat them at a distance, but when it comes to seeing things, you're blind as a bat!"
"How so, cornered imp?" He asked smugly. Gargomon opened up again, and I saw him shooting at the others.
"You're standing under a sign held by one chain." I said. He looked up as I fired at it, and the sign fell. He yelled, and I looked to see Gargomon turning to his partner.
"Boss!" He yelled. He fired on me, missing my ear by inches.
'Dang it, this is going on forever…' I thought. 'There has to be some way for me to shoot that stupid D-Arc, or at least the damn card…' A bullet ripped through, when I heard a yell.
"That's it, time to pull out the trump card." The Gargomon yelled. "Hit me with the Matrix Digivolution!" I looked as the Tamer slid the card, but I'd accidentally put the sign between my sights and him. "Gargomon, Digivolve to!" I jumped up and started running, and I knew the others were as well. "Rapidmon!" I turned just as it took aim. "Homing Missile!" A missile launched from behind it and I jumped just as it hit beside me, and I was thrown into a shop window.
"Mao!" Arthur called. "NO!"
…
"It can't end like that…" I said, my voice echoing through the darkness. "It just, can't. One lousy attack, and not even the brunt of it. That was, five feet to my left… It doesn't even hurt…" I looked around. "The landing hurt… But, that was glass, maybe stone… But nothing, cut in, right?" I looked at my body. "No, I'm fine." I looked around again as a grid of purple formed a floor under my feet. "Where am I?"
"This is the space between the human realm and the digital realm." A calm voice said. I looked for the source, but the echo meant anything louder than a whisper from five feet was impossible to get a fix on. "The space Digimon go to when they Digivolve while sleeping or unconscious."
"So, I got, knocked out…" I said.
"Yes." The voice said. I couldn't even tell if it was male or female. "You will live, and you will Digivolve soon."
"But will I wake up in time to save my friends?" I asked. The voice was silent. "I have to save them. That ticked off Rapidmon's gonna blow them apart! I can't just stay down and let him!"
"There is a reason to stay here, and recover fully." The voice said. "Your transformation will heal you, but part of you is lost. You are more than you realize, Mao. You weren't always a simple Rookie. You were far greater. Far more powerful. You have the opportunity to skip Champion, and Ultimate, and go straight to Mega, if you will wait here for one day, hidden from your world." I didn't even think about it. I just drew Baffle and pointed it around before firing, hitting several mirrors that began reflecting all but my current form.
"I don't care!" I yelled furiously. "I don't have that time! My friends might get killed before I can transform! I need to save them now!" The voice was silent. "Just let me go to Champion! I'll get to Mega on my own!"
"Even if it means having to wait to remember your past?" It asked. I was silent for a moment. "There is one who remembers you from before. This one remembers well, and keeps your memories safe. Would you wait to find this one, and forsake the chance to return, immediately?" I shot the mirror that began rising.
"Just let me become a Champion, and I'll deal with the person later." I said darkly. "If I can find out later, then fine, that means I can save my friends now, and someday, whatever it is you're talking about, I'll find out about that when my friends aren't at risk." The grid began fading, and it suddenly covered me from head to toe, and I holstered Baffle.
"Then, awaken, and protect that which has become truly important to you." The voice said. I rose from the floor as my body suddenly became pure data coding, and I closed my eyes.
"GunImpmon, Digivolve to!" I called.
…
Glass flew everywhere as the light became brighter, blinding me, and as it settled, I landed softly on the floor, opening my eyes.
"Mao?" Arthur asked shakily.
"Deputy Devimon." I said. My voice had taken on a soft Texas drawl, and a kind but deep tone. I walked out of the wrecked coffee shop, a Starbucks from the look of the décor, and I looked down the street as Scott coughed and spat up blood, just before the Rapidmon stomped on his back. "Hey, leave my friend alone!" He looked at me, and seemed surprised.
"What the hell are you?" Rapidmon asked. I saw Amber holding Lobo, in his Tsunomon form, behind a building in the alley just a ways from where I was. There was a hurt MetalGreymon on his side, trying to get up, along with a pair of Taomon in oddly colored uniforms collapsed, but trying to move, a few feet away. The others were on the ground, scattered, save for Daisy, who was holding her arm, with plenty of burn marks, and a few bullet holes in her sides. "Hey, I asked a question, lawmon." I moved my hand over my right revolver, and he turned, moving his fingers.
"You have one last chance to go back to a Terriermon, or I'm going to have to put you down." I said.
"Oh, and just who, and what, are you, to demand this of me?" He asked. His Tamer stood up, shakily, and moved back. The sign must have fallen on his leg.
"My name, is Mao." I said. He began laughing, but a piece of debris landed on the ground, and as he raised and fired his rocket, using superior speed of an Ultimate, I drew my revolver nearly as fast and fired, hitting the rocket dead center. It exploded just as it started leaving his arm, blowing said arm off. He cried out in agony as he staggered back, grabbing the destroyed and twisted metal just as it fell off, and I drew the hammer back as he looked at me. "Devil Round." I fired, and the barrel issued blackish purple flames, and Rapidmon's helmet caved in, showering blood out of it as he fell back, turning to data the whole way. As most of it flew to me and the Optimizer, I drew the second revolver and pointed it at the Tamer. "Ah-ah, I'd keep that hog leg skinned, city boy. I may look like the devil in a ten gallon hat, but I've got eyes like a hawk." His hand shivered, and he slowly drew it with his thumb and dropped it as his Digivice glowed, and became very dull. He held his hands up and got on his knees, and a Tamer quickly put him in handcuffs.
"You have the right to remain silent." He said. "Anything you say, can, and will be used against you, in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…" I holstered the revolvers, and I heard glass crunching briefly, so I looked back to see Arthur.
"Howdy." I said. "Sorry about havin' to take that little siesta like that."
"Mao?" He asked. "I-is that, really you? I, I mean…" He held up the Optimizer's screen for a moment, and I looked at it and tilted the hat up slightly.
"It's me, alright." I said. "Don't tell me you don't recognize these eyes." He laughed and I held my hand out. I was just a few inches taller than him at that point. He took my hand, smiling.
"I can't believe it." He said. "I thought… I thought you were dead."
"Well, part of me thought that, too." I said. "I was in a dark place, a voice started talkin', and when I said I had better things back on Earth to deal with, I became, this." I heard someone walking over, and I looked to see Scott, his hand glowing slightly as his wounds began healing.
"And yet again, you swoop in at the last second, and kill an Ultimate…" He said. "I hope you're still our partner, Mao…" I turned and smirked.
"Depends on if you'll hit me with that laundry pole if I say no." I said. Arthur laughed, but Scott seemed apprehensive. "Hey, I'm still Mao, that same little GunImpmon on the inside. I'm just a little taller, with some new duds, and…" I held my hands up. "I can play the piano now." Scott stared before laughing quietly, as if only to himself.
"Yes, you are decidedly the same imp as you ever were." He said.