Episode 8:Captured
Arnold, and Starmon pulled into the driveway of a two story suburban home. The sun outside was beginning to set, bathing the world outside in faded oranges. From outside, the two could see the tv flashing in the living room. And the faint smell of delicious food wafted in the air.
Arnold stepped out of the car, slipping off his jacket. His partner hopped out as well, groaning as he stretched his limbs. The pair walked along the stone path, leading to the porch. Before they could reach the door it swung open.
A little girl with a long black braid came rushing out, running toward them. Arnold smiled, and kneeled, letting the girl rush into his open arms.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed.
"Hey there! How's my little monster?" Arnold grinned, lifting her up.
"We made a big wall painting in school!" the girl practically cheered.
"You did? Well, I'd love to see it."
"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Starmon said looking up to the girl.
The girl nodded with enthusiasm, and Arnold dropped her into Starmon's arms. She gave him a squeeze as he carried her to the door. Arnold walked alongside them, and spotted a man standing in the doorway.
He was a good few inches shorter than Arnold. He had a shaved head, and a well groomed beard. A thick pair of glasses sat on his nose, and an apron was wrapped around his waist. His sleeves were rolled up as well, revealing more of his dark skin.
"Hey there, sweetheart." Arnold smiled.
The other man smiled back, and craned upward to give Arnold a kiss.
"It feels like it's been forever, since you were home."
"I know, and I'm sorry about that." Arnold replied, giving his husband another quick kiss.
"Hey there, Starmon." the bespectacled man greeted.
"Good to see ya, George." Starmon said. "I'd hug ya, but I got my hands full with the little gremlin here."
George smiled, and motioned them inside. Arnold, moved to put his coat on a nearby rack, as Starmon carried his little burden to the living room. Arnold took a moment to sniff the air. The delicious smells from earlier were now palpable.
"Something smells really good." he commented.
"I'm making chili, your favorite." George replied, moving to the kitchen.
Arnold followed his husband, scanning over the ingredients laid out on the counter. Sitting on the stove was a giant pot, filled with sizzling spiced beef.
"Kimmy told me she, and her class did a mural today?" Arnold said, looking into the pot.
George shooed him off before replying. "Did she also tell you, that she decided to try, and paint one of the walls in our house too?"
"No, she neglected to mention that." Arnold chuckled.
"I'm just lucky I caught her before things got too bad." George said, as he dropped some onions into the pot. "Now, why don't you go in the living room. I'll handle this."
Arnold moved in behind him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm only home a few minutes, and you're already trying to get rid of me?"
"Don't take it personally." his husband smiled. "I just don't want you poking, and prodding at the food while I'm trying to cook."
"Sweetheart, I would never!" Arnold exclaimed, holding a hand to his heart.
George simply laughed, and turned back to his task. Arnold took the hint, and gave his husband one last kiss before heading into the living room. He found Starmon sitting on the couch, alongside Kimmy, watching Sesame Street.
Arnold slipped off his shoes, and flopped onto the couch with a groan. His daughter quickly moved to sit in his lap.
"Papa told me you tried to paint on one of the walls at the house."
"I was gonna make it more pretty!" the girl exclaimed.
"I'll tell you what, how about I get you some big canvases to paint on." Arnold suggested. "Then we can hang your pretty art all over the house."
The girl started to clap, jumping up, and down excitedly.
"Daddy's the best! I'm gonna paint a big picture of you first!"
"I can't wait to see it sweetheart." Arnold smiled.
George returned from the kitchen with a cold beer in hand. He leaned over the couch, handing it off to his husband. Arnold took it gratefully, and gave him a quick kiss.
"For me? How did you know?"
"Just a gut feeling." George chuckled. "By the way, I started brewing a pot of coffee for you Starmon."
"Thank ya kindly."
George flopped down onto the couch beside Arnold, letting out a sigh.
"The food should be ready in about an hour."
Arnold nodded, and took a sip of his drink.
"So, how's work been?" George asked.
Arnold let out a long drawn out sigh before answering. "Exhausting. This whole case is turning out to be a lot bigger than we thought."
"We're supposed to meet with the head of the DDA's NA branch tomorrow." Starmon added. "They're gonna review everything we've come up with so far."
"No pressure." George remarked dryly.
"Yeah." Arnold agreed, taking another sip.
"You'll catch the bad guys, right?" Kimmy interjected, looking between the two.
Arnold smiled at her, tussling her hair. "Course we will sweety."
"We just gotta figure out who the bad guys are in the first place." Starmon remarked with a sigh.
"Well, I believe in both of you." George said warmly.
"Me too!" Kimmy exclaimed.
Francisco looked around the dirt path ahead of him. The splintered remains of the electric pole lay strewn across the path. The snapped electric cables were coiled on the ground, their power cut off. A small crew of technicians were working away to repair the damage.
The reporter had gotten a tip that there had been some kind disturbance in the area yesterday. From a cursory glance it appeared to just be an old electric pole falling.
"There was definitely a battle here." Ariomon commented, surveying the scene.
"How can you tell?" her partner asked.
Ariomon gestured her head toward the fallen electric pole.
"The pole didn't snap on its own. Parts of it are riddled with holes. Almost like bullets."
She moved closer to the scene, Francisco following. On the ground, there were several footprints, as well as a long shallow trench.
"This was caused by a blade." Ariomon stated, gesturing to the trench. "The way the footprints are arranged also suggest some kind of struggle."
"Sounds like a serious fight." Francisco commented.
Ariomon sniffed the air. "There were digimon here. Three of them. Wait...maybe four? All but one of them is...odd. It doesn't smell natural."
Francisco nodded, and looked around again. "Maybe we should ask around. See if anybody saw anything."
As Francisco moved to turn about, he caught a shine out of the corner of his vision. He did a double take, and glanced over to a nearby pile of junk. Slowly he approached, and moved several boxes aside.
His eyes widened slightly, as he spotted the gem like stone, left behind by one of the Homunculumon. Slowly, he grabbed it, rolling it over in his palm. It had lost much of its sheen, and now appeared more akin to a piece of plastic.
"Whatever that thing is, I don't like it." Ariomon commented, fur bristling.
Francisco hummed in thought. "I think I'll hold onto it. Maybe we can get some kinda clues from it."
The man stuffed the stone into his bag, and headed back down the path. He, and Ariomon visited the nearby homes. The owner of the first didn't really give them any leads. Saying they had been out all day yesterday, and only heard about the commotion after the fact.
After Francisco knocked on the door of the second home, they were greeted by an old woman. A pair of large frame glasses sat on top of her nose. Gripped in her hand was a wooden cane, and a pair of mewling cats were at her side.
"Afternoon ma'am." Francisco greeted, putting on as much charm as possible.
"Your not trying to sell me anything are you?" the woman croaked, eyes narrowing.
"Not at all."
Francisco reached into his bag, and pulled out his press badge.
"I'm a reporter with The Seeker, and I was hoping I could ask you some questions."
The woman nodded, and glanced down at Ariomon. A smile crossed her lips, and she reached down to pet her.
"My, what a cute little horse."
Ariomon's eye twitched in anger. "I am not some house pet. So, please take your hands off me."
The woman quickly pulled her hand away in fear. She could swear she felt a subtle static charge as she did.
Francisco cleared his throat, trying to diffuse the tension.
"Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me about the power line falling yesterday. Did you happen to see what caused it?"
"Hmm? Oh that!"
The old woman leaned on her cane, and looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, I was just in the middle of making some lunch when the lights went out. I heard a crash outside and went to go have a look. I couldn't really see too much past the fence. But it looked like there was a strange group of people having some kind of fight."
Francisco whipped out a notepad. "Could you describe them for me?"
"Well, I didn't get a good look at them but I'll try."
The woman was able to describe the two strangers in suits, and someone in a silver bodysuit. The only other person she was able to make out was a young man with orange hair.
"Come to think of it, he looked an awful lot like the boy who works at the pharmacy."
"Pharmacy?" Francisco asked.
The old woman nodded. "Westman's Pharmacy. It's in the shopping center nearby."
"The one that was attacked by those digimon." Francisco commented mentally.
"I see. Thank you for your time ma'am."
Francisco stuffed his notepad away, and waved the woman goodbye. Ariomon spared her a glare, and followed after her partner.
"Sorry you have to keep dealing with people like that." Francisco said, looking down at his partner.
"Its fine. I'm just getting tired of being looked down at." Ariomon sighed.
Francisco nodded, and whipped out the gem from his bag.
"I think we might be on the trail of a real story here."
"I have the same feeling." Ariomon agreed.
"I'm starting to see connections here and there." Francisco continued. "Just gotta figure out how all the pieces fit together."
"I think having a talk with this orange haired young man may be a good place to start."
"Yeah, and I'll need to make some calls about this stone. I know a few people who could have it looked at."
Ariomon groaned. "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."
Francisco hopped into the car. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine."
"Your words fill me with such confidence." his partner remarked dryly, as she jumped into the passenger's side.
Molly flopped down onto the couch with a sigh. The girl had just returned home from her lunch with Cassandra. Liollmon moved in beside her, switching on the tv. After finding something that grabbed his attention, he curled up, nestling into the cushion.
Moments later Elena descended the stairs. The woman wore a frown of worry, her eyes looking thoughtful.
Molly looked over at her. "Is something wrong, mom?"
"Oh, hello sweetheart." Elena greeted. "It's Kai. I think there's something wrong with him. As soon as he got home he locked himself in his room. He hasn't come out since. I think something might have happened, but he won't open the door."
Molly frowned, and stood from the couch. "Let me try and talk to him."
Elena offered her a quick thanks as Molly headed up the stairs. The girl moved to toward Kai's door, and knocked three times. When she received no reply, she tried the doorknob, finding it locked.
She sighed, and walked into her room, reaching into the drawer by her door. After a digging inside for a few moments, she found a bobby pin, and a thin ice pick. With tools in hand she moved back toward Kai's door. She inserted the pin, and pick into the lock.
After fiddling with the tools for several moments she heard a satisfying click. She smiled, and swung the door open. Inside, she found Kai, laying atop his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Nearby, on his bedside table lay a unopened model kit box.
He suddenly sat up as Molly entered. "How did you-"
"Lets just say that this isn't the first time I've had to break into my brothers room." Molly replied with a smirk.
Kai only nodded, and let out a sigh, before flopping back down onto the bed. Molly frowned, and grabbed a chair from nearby. She scootched it next to the bed, and flipped it backward, before taking a seat.
"So, you wanna tell me what happened?"
Kai sighed again, and sat up in his bed. "I almost got someone killed."
Molly blinked in bewilderment. "What?"
Kai moved into a crossed legged position, before beginning his explanation. He gave a brief account of his meeting with Micheal, and Undinemon. As well as the attack by the mysterious black suited figures.
Molly was silent for several moments after that, taking in all the information. As she processed his story, Kai looked to the nearby window.
"What if they come after me here?"
Molly was snapped from her stupor. "That isn't going to happen."
Kai turned back to her. "How do you know that?"
"Do you have any idea how much security my dad has in this place?" she asked, gesturing all around her. "Trust me, no one is going to be getting at any of us here."
She crossed her arms. "Besides, even if they did, they would regret it. Dad would bring down the entire DDA security force on their heads."
Kai couldn't really argue with that. Yet despite her reassurances, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about the Mhan's safety.
Molly gave him a pat on the back, pulling him from his trance.
"Seriously, don't worry about it. Now come on downstairs. Mom is worrying about you."
Kai nodded despite himself, and followed after Molly. He took one last glance out the window of his room, before closing the door behind him.
As the two walked down the stairs, Molly looked back to him.
"Are you busy tomorrow?" she asked.
"I don't think so. Why?" Kai answered.
The girl smiled at him. "Then how would you like to meet Julia Roux in person?"
Arnold, and Starmon drove through the city streets. The two DDA officers sipped idly on their coffee as they waited for traffic. The sound of rumbling engines, and honking horns filled the air around them. Occasionally punctuated by the shout of a disgruntled driver.
"Why did they have to have this meeting during lunch rush hour." Arnold sighed.
"Couldn't rightly tell ya." Starmon replied, taking another sip.
Arnold sighed again, resting his hand on his chin. His thoughts wandered to their encounter with the captured Golemon. The digimon appeared to have been speaking with someone. Arnold knew that there were many digimon with telepathic capabilities. But they would have needed to be extremely powerful.
The man's eyes suddenly widened.
"Or would have had to be in the building." he whispered.
"You say something?" Starmon asked.
"Just thinking out loud." Arnold answered. "Its nothing. Just a crazy theory."
Starmon simply nodded at that, and looked out the window. Suddenly, the digimon felt a tingling in the air. The space around him felt disturbed, energized, by some alien force. The radio in the car then began to crackle with white noise. In the nearby storefronts, lights flickered, and flashed. Electric engines started to sputter in the cars around them.
Arnold, and Starmon quickly shared a look, and hopped out of the car. The pair held up their badges for all to see.
"We're officers with the DDA! Everyone must evacuate the area immediately!" Arnold exclaimed.
Starmon quickly pointed to a police officer nearby. "You! Start evacuating people right now! We need to get them to a safe distance!"
Before the officer could follow his order, there was a loud boom overhead. Everyone looked up, to see a swirling digital gate. Several shapes appeared within the light, and dropped down onto the street below.
Three of them were child size rookie digimon. They were shaped like mushrooms with arms, and legs. Their tops were a shade of purple with spots of yellow. Gloves, and boots colored a lighter purple covered their hands, and feet. A skull and crossbones decorated the top of each glove.
The fourth digimon stood around six feet tall, and had the appearance of a walking tree. Blue eyes peaked out from two holes on his body. Four root like legs held him up. His mouth was gaping, and jagged, like that of a jack-o-lantern. Two large, gorilla-like arms sprouted from his shoulders, ending in jagged wood stumps. A smaller pair of arms sat below, both with a five fingered hand.
Starmon new these digimon well. Mushroomon, and Woodmon. He had dealt with them many times traveling the digital world forests in his younger days.
The three Mushroomon quickly moved into a firing line, grabbing onto the spores on their shoulders. They popped the smaller mushrooms free, forming them into small grenades.
"Fungus Cruncher!" the three called.
In unison, they hurled the small bombs toward the buildings nearby. They exploded on contact, sending bits of glass, and other debris flying. Smoke, and poisonous spores billowed out from the point of impact. Causing anyone nearby to go into a coughing fit.
The Woodmon lumbered over to nearby car, and raised his arm.
"Wood Hammer!"
Suddenly the digimon's arm doubled in size, before he brought it down. The heavy wooden limb smashed into the car in front of him. With a crash, the front of the car was smashed, windshield shattering into shards of glass. The people inside screamed in terror, trying to protect themselves from the shower of shrapnel.
The Woodmon raised his other arm, ready to bring it down on the cab. Starmon sprang into action. With great agility, the champion hopped over the roofs of gathered cars. He then flung himself toward the plant digimon with a flying kick.
His foot connected with other champions face, a crack forming at the point of impact. The Woodmon went staggering back, momentarily dazed. Starmon then landed deftly, and took up a boxing like stance.
The three Mushroomon turned toward the officer, readying their bombs. Before they could launch their attack, three bolts of blue energy whizzed past them. The projectiles struck each of the small spores, burning them to ash.
The rookies all gasped in surprise, and searched about. One soon spotted Arnold ducking behind cover. He held a pistol like weapon in his grip. A pair of conduits ran along the length of the weapon, blue energy running through them. The energy was drawn from the weapons ammo clip, a cylindrical battery like device.
Arnold popped out of cover again, firing off another trio of shots. The three Mushroomon were able to avoid, and readied their spores once more. The man goded them and ran down the street. His tactic worked, and the Mushroomon pursued, drawn away from the battle between Starmon, and Woodmon.
The Woodmon glared at Starmon, and pulled back his arm. With the call of his attack, he swung out with a haymaker. Starmon easily ducked under the attack, and rushed forward. His fist soon began to glow, surrounded by a star shaped aura of energy.
"Star Upper!"
Before Woodmon could react, Starmon threw an energy empowered uppercut. It smashed into the plant digimon's chin, sending him staggering. Another crack formed from the impact, further fracturing his wooden form.
Up above Starmon, the rift flashed. He took a moment to glance upward, seeing the shadow of another form inside. It was another Woodmon, plummeting from the threshold of the portal. He landed beside his companion, opening his mouth.
"Leaf Spinner!"
From inside the digimon's mouth, a dozen razor sharp leaves came spinning out. Starmon quickly rolled to the side, avoiding the attack. He then brought both of his index fingers to the jewel on his head.
"Laser Ring!"
At his attacks call, a circle of reddish pink energy fired from the jewel. It blasted into the first Woodmon, striking his fractures. The resulting explosion of energy blasted half his head apart. Splinters went flying, scattering into the data, the injured Woodmon fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
Starmon then took up his boxing stance once more, facing off against the remaining Woodmon.
Arnold ran down the street, and toward a nearby alleyway. The three Mushroomon continued to pursue him, hefting their spore bombs. As they turned the corner of the alleyway, they found themselves at a dead end.
The trio scanned about, finding no trace of Arnold. As they moved deeper inside, one of the rookies caught a faint creaking noise from above. He looked up, eyes widening as he spotted, Arnold standing atop a nearby fire escape.
Before the Mushroomon could cry out, Arnold dropped down. His full weight fell onto the rookie, knocking the wind out of him. Arnold landed rolling, and pressed a switch on his weapon, switching it to stun mode. The other two Mushroom had only enough time to turn around, before Arnold cracked off a pair of shots.
Two bolts of electricity flew from the weapon, striking the Mushroomon. The digimon convulsed, as the electric charge ran through them. Their bodies then went limp, and they fell to the ground in a heap.
Arnold let out a breath, and reached inside his jacket, producing three pairs of cuffs. The third Mushroomon began to stir at his feet, but was quickly silenced by a swift kick from Arnold. After securing the three digimon, Arnold rushed back down the street.
He quickly found the pair of Woodmon, bound to a nearby street post. Starmon stood nearby, making sure the pair was secure. As he approached, a squad of police, and DDA vehicles arrived on the scene.
Starmon moved to the nearest DDA officer. "Make sure this lot are taken into custody."
"There's three more in the alleyway just down the street." Arnold added. "We'll let you take it from here. We have an important meeting to get to."
"Yes sirs!" the officer replied with a salute.
"And be sure to send us a full report!" Arnold called, moving toward his car.
The two officers hopped inside, securing their seatbelts.
"These rifts are starting to just become another day on the job." Arnold commented.
"I'm not so sure the public feels that way." Starmon said.
Arnold looked at the destruction, and panicked citizens, and could only nod. The officers then took off, intent on arriving at their destination.
"Thank you for your purchase, come again!" Undinemon exclaimed with a cheery smile.
The woman on the other side of the counter nodded, and headed toward the exit. As she disappeared out the door, Undinemon's face dropped. She sighed, resting her chin on her palm.
She turned around, looking to the back room. One of the other employees was moving boxes. The man having taken up Michael's shift in his stead.
Ever since yesterday, Michael had been shook. He had stayed quiet throughout the rest of the day. Undinemon barely exchanged a few sentences with him, before heading out for her shift. She hoped he was getting some rest.
The digimon's mind quickly began to wander back to the battle between the black suited strangers. She puzzled over exactly what they could have wanted with Kai. His last words to her rang out in her mind.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
Undinemon's brow furrowed, her hands curling into fists.
"No...it wasn't"
Undinemon was suddenly snapped from her thoughts as the bell rang at the entrance. She shook her head, and quickly put on a bright smile.
"Welcome!"
Francisco, and Ariomon stood at the entrance, glancing around. The man nodded back in greeting, and moved toward the counter.
"Can I help you?" Undinemon asked.
Francisco pulled out his press badge. "I'm Francisco Suarez. I'm with The Seeker. I was hoping to ask you some questions."
Undinemon narrowed her eyes. "What kind of questions?"
"I'm investigating a strange incident that happened not far from here." the man answered. "Apparently some kind of fight broke out, and knocked down a power line. From the looks of it digimon were involved. One of the eyewitnesses said they recognized someone who was there."
Francisco pulled out his notepad. "Tall. Freckles. Orange hair. She said he works here. Know anybody like that?"
Undinemon took a moment to consider the question. She glanced behind her, noting her coworker was no longer in the back. If Undinemon had to guess, he was either in the break room, or restroom.
"Nope. Can't say that I do." she answered. "Did you need anything else?"
Francisco glanced down to Arimon, and the two shared a knowing look. The man then met Undinemon's gaze again, and smiled.
"Mind if I get a pack of smokes?"
Undinemon quickly grabbed a pack from the rack behind her, and set it atop the counter. As she rang up his purchase, she looked behind her again. Her coworker had thankfully still not returned. She needed to get these two out quick, before they had the chance to question him.
Francisco followed Undinemon's gaze. "Something wrong?"
"Hmm? No." Undinemon replied. "That'll be Three-fifty."
Francisco reached into his pocket pulling out a five. Undinemon snatched it from his grasp, and with practiced movement, handed off his change.
"Thanks." Francisco smiled.
The man gave Undinemon a small wave, and headed toward the door. Ariomon followed after him, and spared the other rookie one last look, before exiting the store.
When the two finally were out of sight, Undinemon let out a sigh of relief.
Moments later, her coworker stepped out of the restroom, fixing his hair. He turned to to look at Undinemon, quirking a brow.
"You alright? You look a little tense."
"I'm fine." Undinemon answered. "Just watch the register for a minute, I need to wash my face."
"Alright." the man replied, watching her walk past.
As she entered the bathroom with a slight huff, the man simply shrugged, and moved to the register.
Outside, Francisco and Ariomon stood at the storefront across from the pharmacy. The man lit up a cigarette, and took a long drag.
"How long do you think it'll be before her shift is over?" Ariomon asked.
"At least a few more hours." the man replied. "Until then, we wait, and watch."
The man's stomach suddenly growled.
"Maybe we can also grab some lunch while we're here." he chuckled.
Undinemon let out a groan, as she slipped off her pharmacy jacket. Soon, she neared the entrance to her, and Michael's apartment. She reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out her key, and reached for the doorknob.
She found the door unlocked, and swung it open, pocketing the key once more. After placing her jacket on a nearby coat rack, she entered the living room.
"I'm home!" she called.
She didn't receive any reply, but thought nothing of it. After grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen, she moved toward her, and Michael's room. Her partner was nowhere to be seen. Sitting on his desk was a lone model, knocked over on its side.
Undinemon narrowed her eyes, and approached. Upon further inspection, she found the model splotched with an errant streak of paint. One of Michael's paintbrushes lay on the floor, paint staining the carpet.
A deep anxiety soon began to settle in the pit of Undinemon's stomach. She rushed out of the room, and toward the only other room in the house, the bathroom. As she swung the door open, she was greeted by another empty room.
Quickly, she moved back toward the living room, calling out her partner's name. As she frantically searched about, she spotted a slip of paper sitting atop the coffee table. She retrieved the note, reading it over intensely.
Her stomach dropped, and she tossed the note aside. She then rushed out the door, barely having the faculties to lock it behind her.
Michael awoke with a groan, eyes fluttering open. He felt a soreness in his limbs, and tried to stretch them. His eyes snapped open wide, as he realized they were tightly bound by rope. His legs were tied up as well, secured to the legs of the chair beneath him.
He struggled against his bonds, trying desperately to free himself. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, as he heard the loud creak of a door. With a gulp, he looked up, to see the dark suited woman standing in the doorway.
"Glad to see your awake. We have some questions for you."
To be Continued...
Next Time On Digimon Cross! Episode 9:Rescue, Part 1
Author's Notes:
I'm super sorry if you guys were waiting on this one. I really intended to post it last week, but I was dealing with some family stuff. Hopefully I'll post the next chapter in a more timely manner. Anyway, I wanna thank the newest followers/favoriters to this story. Taiski, Trimusicadrag00n90, abbydobbie, thank you all so much for your support!