Time for episode 5~ Let's get started, shall we~?
Kiira:"We wound up in a website with a bunch of bird Digimon, where another virus hit. Palmon Digivolved to Togemon, so we got rid of that pretty quickly. We're a little worried now, though, that we might be attracting the viruses... After we left, we ran into that girl again, and just like last time, Hana decided it was a good idea to attack. She seems convinced that that girl's dangerous, but the rest of us, well... We're not too sure. I just hope that Hana will step back and think for a second if we meet up with her again."
Miyuki didn't look back as she ran, holding DemiDevimon close to her. She couldn't afford to slow down, especially if the others were following her. She slowed when she saw a hole begin to open and allowed herself a glance back. Luckily, they hadn't followed her.
She paused, but when she didn't get that familiar sinking feeling, she stepped through.
She immediately found herself in a ruin of sorts. It looked like it had once been a temple, but was now just rubble and damaged pillars. Further away, she saw a building that was still half standing, although the stone creating it looked very worn. She didn't see any Digimon around, so she had a feeling they would all be in there. She didn't want to risk any confrontation, so she sat against one of the pillars. If anyone approached, she'd see them coming.
She smiled a little when she looked down to see DemiDevimon's data stabilizing. As long as they could rest and trouble didn't find them, he would be fine soon.
"I'm sorry," she told him, but her partner was still out cold, so he didn't hear her. "I wish they would just listen." She sighed, leaning her head back against the pole. "What are we going to do? Just run forever?" She paused. "I've been gone for a few days now... My dads are probably worried out of their mind. I didn't really get the chance to leave a note or anything." She gave a small laugh. "Sorry, I'll be gone for awhile, this person that came out of my computer needs me to save the internet. Be back whenever. Love you." She shook her head with a smile. "That would go over well. They'd probably call the police and the loony bin." She shook her head. If she kept thinking about home, she'd start getting upset, and she couldn't afford that right now.
A sound to her left made the brunette look up. She didn't see anything, but there were a few pebbles still rolling from wherever something must have run from. She had a feeling that whatever it was, it was hiding behind the rest of the rubble. This could mean one of two things. Either it was just timid and afraid of being seen, or it was trying to sneak up on her.
"Come out!" she called. "I know you're there!" A moment passed before a small cream colored head with a horn on its forehead peaked out at her. It seemed more nervous than hostile, making her relax a bit. "Don't worry," she said in what she hoped was a soothing tone. "We're not going to hurt you." She was about to ask its name when her Digivice beeped. After she pulled it out, the device popped open an image of the small Digimon appeared.
"Name: Terriermon. Classification: Data. Threat: Minimal."
"So, your name's Terriermon?" she asked. She leaned back against the pillar, hoping her relaxed posture made her seem less threatening. "I'm Miyuki."
"You're a human," the small Rookie stated, slowly coming out from behind the rock. She was holding her two long ears as though she was trying not to trip over them. "Does that make you a Digi-Destined?"
"That's what everyone's saying," Miyuki replied with a little smile. "So, you live here?"
Terriermon nodded. "Until we find a way back to the Digital World, this is our home."
They don't know how to get back... Miyuki thought. Maybe stopping that Virus isn't all I'm supposed to do here. The girl opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of approaching hooves. Looking up, she saw a centaur-like Digimon with what appeared to be a metal Roman helmet.
"Name: Centarumon. Classification: Data. Threat: Medium."
"You're the human partnered with a Virus," he observed. Terriermon walked over to the Champion and hugged one of his legs, looking up at him.
"You know about me?" Miyuki asked, stunned. She'd only been in two websites so far, so how would they already know her?
Though his face was covered, she could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. "Word travels fast." He looked down at the still unconscious form of DemiDevimon. "You can stay here while your friend rests."
Miyuki smiled at Centarumon. It was a nice change, after her last encounter with the other humans, to see someone so willing to trust her, despite the classification of her partner. "Thank you," she said sincerely. She stood, following the Champion back to the ruins he had come from. It looked like a nice day, but now that she knew that she wasn't in danger here, some shelter seemed like a nice idea.
Once inside, a much larger group of Terriermon swarmed around her curiously.
"Is this her?" one asked, looking from her to Centarumon. The Digimon laughed.
"She is," he told the little one. "However, I suggest you give her some room to rest. She appears to have had a difficult time as of late."
You can say that again, the brunette thought. She walked down one of the halls, looking for an unoccupied space. Eventually finding one, she sat back down and DemiDevimon began to stir. "Hey, man," she said with a small smile. "You alright?"
"I feel like I was hit by a bus..." he replied, still sounding a little woozy.
"Well, don't worry," she told him. "We're safe here. I didn't see the others follow us and the Digimon in this place don't mind us being here."
"Is anywhere really 'safe' when there are Viruses infecting Digimon like they are?" the Rookie asked softly. Miyuki paused. Her Digivice had told her that all the Terriermon, as well as Centarumon, were Data types. It would be all too easy for them to be hit with a virus that would make them turn on the Digi-Destined and her partner.
"You just rest up and we'll worry about that when you're stronger, alright?" she asked. For now, everything seemed fine. Nothing had attacked them here so far, and her instincts told her they weren't in danger at the moment.
The Rookie nodded and settled back in the human's lap, but didn't fall back asleep. "So, if you don't wanna talk shop... what now?"
"Not sure," she said honestly. She had been practically consumed with the constant worry of being attacked, so now that she and DemiDevimon had a moment to relax, she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do. "Well, what was the Digital World like?"
"Big," he replied, earning a laugh. "There were Digimon everywhere, you know? I lived in this forest with a bunch of other DemiDevimon, but one by one, everyone began disappearing. I was one of the last ones left. We spent a long time trying to figure out where they went. I'm pretty sure they got sucked in here, too, but I haven't seen any of them since I got here."
"Maybe we'll find some of your old friends somewhere," Miyuki commented. "That would be kind of cool."
"What about you?" the Rookie asked. "What was your home like?"
She gave a small smile. "It was nice. I was probably a slightly less than average student in a public high school. I didn't really have all that many close friends. I mean, I don't think I was really all that unlikable, but people are just... hurtful, you know?" Her mind briefly drifted to the other kids' reactions to her parents in an open house in third grade. "So if you don't get close, you can't get hurt." She shrugged. "But I have two loving parents. One's an artist, the other's a philosophy teacher. We used to have a cat, Nono, but we had to put her down a couple years ago."
"Nono?"
Miyuki laughed. "She used to get into a lot of things she wasn't supposed to, so we kept saying 'no-no'. Eventually, it was all she'd respond to, so that was her name." She sighed. "I miss my home." She paused, seeing the slightly dejected look her partner now wore. "Not that I don't like it here! I mean, it's awesome, being in the internet and having a cool partner, but it's just not the same. I guess I'm just... homesick."
"Me, too," DemiDevimon confessed. "Once this is over, we can go home. But that also means..."
"We won't be able to see each other again." Miyuki leaned her head back against the wall behind her. "This sucks."
"We can't ever find anything happy to talk about, can we?" the Virus joked.
"At least the Digimon here in this site are nice," the human said, trying to steer toward a lighter conversation topic.
DemiDevimon nodded. "I guess not all Digimon hate us." Hearing a noise, they both looked up. Moving toward them was the shy Terriermon Miyuki had encountered earlier.
"Um..." the little one began nervously. "I know you're helping us against the bad Viruses... so thank you."
The human nodded in response. "It's not a problem. And if I can, I'm going to try to find a way to get you all back to your homes." I hope that's a promise I'll be able to keep...
"R-Really?" the shy Rookie asked, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. "You can do that?"
"I can give it my damnedest," Miyuki told her. The Terriermon surprised her by hugging her.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I want to go home..."
Miyuki smiled a little and wrapped her arm around Terriermon. "Don't worry," she said. "Everything will all work out okay." She froze when a strong feeling hit her. Looking down at her partner, she asked, "Think you got your strength back?"
Knowing what she meant by that question, he replied, "Enough."
Miyuki looked back down at the small Digimon who had let go by now. "Stay here, alright? I think something's happening, and I want you to be safe."
"Did something happen to Centarumon?" Terriermon asked, worried for her protector.
"I'm not sure," the girl replied honestly. "Please, just stay here. I'll come back and get you when everything is safe, okay? I promise."
"O-Okay," the Digimon said, hugging her ears close to her body, apparently an action of comfort.
Miyuki looked at DemiDevimon who had now taken his normal perch on her shoulder. "You ready?"
"Whenever you are."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
They raced out to see Terriermon running in all directions. Apparently, this was an isolated virus, as Centarumon had become dark red with black plating and helmet. The top of his helmet was now made of flames. Whatever caused this virus seemed to be concentrated more on destruction than spreading. Was it after her?
"We've got trouble!" DemiDevimon yelled unnecessarily.
Almost as if in response to her thought, the contaminated Champion's head shot in her direction. "Shit..." she muttered, ignoring her partner.. DemiDevimon flew off her shoulder. If he was attacked, he wouldn't let his partner be collateral damage.
"Demi Dart!" the Rookie yelled, hoping to get in a long range attack to slow down his opponent before he dared get closer. Unfortunately, Centarumon swung his blaster arm in a circle, knocking the syringe off course before aiming. He looked back at his partner. "I don't know if we can do this on our own, Miyuki."
"We have to," she whispered, fists tightening. This would be so much easier if they had help, but she doubted that would be happening any time soon.
"Solar Ray!" he yelled as red light gathered at the blaster and shot forward, hitting DemiDevimon head on. The Rookie tumbled backward in the air. Maybe he didn't get his strength back as much as he thought he did...
Miyuki's fist tightened around her Digivice. There had to be something she could do to help her partner.
Her thoughts were throw off track, however, when she saw Centarumon adjust his aim... He was about to fire at the Terriermon that tried to escape. "No!" she yelled, running forward. She couldn't let them get hurt... not when she promised that sweet little Rookie inside the ruins that everything would be okay.
The attack had finished charging by the time she reached them. She was now standing between the group and Centarumon. DemiDevimon was still getting his bearing. "Solar Ray!" Centarumon yelled. Time seemed to stand still as Miyuki held her ground and the attack hit her square in the chest until she slammed into a wall behind her. She tried to sit up but was too weak to do so. Her Digivice slipped out of her hand.
DemiDevimon's eyed widened as he saw his partner hit the wall. He'd just managed to get his bearing when he saw it. "Miyuki!" he yelled, terrified for his partner. He glared at the Champion. He didn't care if he was much weaker than his opponent. Somehow, some way, he would make Centarumon pay for doing that to his partner.
Miyuki's Digivice, now laying on the ground, opened and data flowing from it to DemiDevimon.
"DemiDevimon Digivolve to... Devidramon!"
Devidramon flew high into the air, four red eyes glaring down at Centarumon. "You're going to pay," he growled. He began to dive. Centarumon was about to step out of the way when the Virus yelled, "Red Eye!" Centarumon froze in place, unable to even raise his arm to attack. Devidramon's descent began to slow and he thrust his arms forward. "Crimson Claw!" The attack hit Centarumon with a strong force, causing the Champion to fall to his knees. Devidramon was about to attack again when the virus data began to flow from Centarumon to Miyuki's still-open Digivice. He backed off but never took his gaze off of the other Digimon, despite the fact that he had been 'cured'.
"What... happened?" Centarumon asked, holding his head as he began to stand.
"That did," Devidramon growled, thrusting an arm toward his partner's prone form. His eyes narrowed. "Now find a way to fix her, or you'll know exactly how she feels."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
Hours later, Miyuki lay on a bed made of the softest materials around they could find, mainly leaves and grass a decent ways away from the ruins. Centarumon had even ventured out of the site once for more materials elsewhere. Miraculously, her back hadn't broken, but it had been badly bruised. Under normal circumstances, she would have to heal for months, but the Terriermon had found a healing solution that should have her on her feet in just a few days. For many hours after they had patched the human up, DemiDevimon kept a close, watchful eye on Centarumon. He may have been under the influence of a virus at the time, but with what happened to Miyuki, he wouldn't be able to forgive him just yet.
Finally, he left to go to his partner's side. On his way, though, a small, meek voice called out.
"H-Hello?"
He stopped. The voice was familiar. Looking in the direction it had come from, he saw the same timid Terriermon that they had told to hide.
"Is the girl okay?" she asked, looking worried.
"No," he said with a bitter tone. "She's not. Centarumon knocked her into a wall. Now she can't move for the next few days."
A brief moment of silence followed his words before Terriermon spoke up again. "I heard that she saved some of my friends. She... she didn't have to do that."
The Virus was about to agree with her when he stopped. He knew exactly what Miyuki would say if she'd heard. "Yeah," he told her. "She did. It's... just the way she is."
"Are you going to see her?" At DemiDevimon's nod, the other Digimon added, "Can I come with you?"
He looked down at her. She didn't care about the human as much as he did, but no one else cared about her that much except her family back home. He could tell, though, that the small Rookie did care. "Alright," he said, resuming his trip, Terriermon in tow.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
The first thing Miyuki noticed when she woke up was the pain. Her back hurt more than she'd ever hurt before. She whimpered in pain before getting irritated with herself for making the noise.
The next thing she noticed was the voice talking to her. As the moments passed, she was able to tell what it was saying.
"—feeling? Are you okay?"
Opening her eyes, she saw a pair or worried yellow eyes directly over her. "Hey, DemiDevimon," she said, but it came out a whisper. She tried to sit up, but a wave of pain caused her to stop.
"Bet that hurts a lot," the Rookie said, worry in his voice.
She gave a small smile. "I feel like I was hit but a bus." Her partner gave a small laugh. "What happened?" she asked.
"We were fighting Centarumon when he got infected. He was going to shoot the Terriermon but you got in the way." He frowned. "The blast knocked you into the wall."
"How am I not dead?" she asked.
"Guess you hit it just the right way," her partner replied. "They said your back is bruised pretty badly, but there's this medicine they're using that should let you be up in a few days."
"That's good," the brunette replied. "I don't wanna be stuck here for a couple months... Are the Terriermon okay?"
"They're fine," DemiDevimon replied. "Really worried about you, though. Especially that one from when we first got here. They'll definitely be happy to know you're awake."
"And Centarumon?"
"I Digivolved and got the virus out of him, so he's fine now. Feels like shit, but he should, since—"
Miyuki's eyes narrowed. "You stop that," she said. "It wasn't his fault. He was being controlled by a virus. If he was in control of himself, I know he'd never do anything like that to anyone. So cut him some slack." She paused. "Can you go find him? I want to talk to him."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
Centarumon sighed as he looked at the Terriermon playing together near the ruins. He had gone back near the hole to the tunnel to think. He was a decent distance from them while still being able to watch over them and easily stop anything malicious that might try to break through. He was surprised to see a small dark shape flying toward him.
"She wants to see you," DemiDevimon said bitterly. After he had been released from the virus's influence, DemiDevimon had mostly ignored him, occasionally sending hateful glares his way. And he knew, after he had seen the damage he had done to the human, that he deserved it.
"Very well."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
Miyuki slowly turned her head to face the doorway when she heard the hooves come down the hall. It still hurt to do, but not as much as trying to sit did. "Hey," she said as soon as he was in view. "How is everyone?"
"You should be more concerned for yourself right now," Centarumon told her.
"Nah, I'll be fine," the human replied. "Nobody else got hurt, though?"
"None, thanks to you," the Champion said. He had temporarily immobilized her, yet she seemed to hold no grudge and was worrying more about others than she was herself. She was definitely a curious being. Were all humans like this?
Miyuki simply smiled. "It's what I'm here for, isn't it? Stopping the Viruses, protecting the Digimon... That's my job. And I don't mind it."
Next time:
Yumi: Where to next?
Hana: Come on, this place is just as good as any.
Kiira: It looks like we might have a problem.
Palmon: A big problem.
BlackGatomon: Not all Viruses are as bad as you think we are.
I know that ended weirdly, but it was a weird episode... I know that impact probably should have at least snapped Miyuki's spine, but it's Digimon. Digi-Destined have taken worse hits. Another reason for the potential weirdness: I wrote most of this today, over the course of about three hours. I didn't write much over the past week and I was hanging with one of my friends for quite awhile, so I didn't get back to it until some time between 4 and 5. That's probably why it's also shorter than I'd like it to be.
See ya on the flipside~ Elisa out~
