JD rolled over and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the digital clock, informing him that it was already 6.00pm on a Thursday evening. Rubbing his eyes to shake off the desire to continue on his afternoon nap, he cast a glance on the black and white-sheeted bed beside his own bed, to see whether his cousin was still asleep. Patamon, Salamon and Gatomon were still napping; Adam wasn't there with them as he'd been when both of them decided to take an afternoon nap. And although he didn't look for him, JD knew Agumon was at his favorite large cushion in front of the TV, probably asleep as well.
'He's awake already?' JD sat up and turned his gaze towards the computer table; the next place he'd thought Adam would be at, since the TV was evidently switched off. 'Aha!'
Adam seemed engrossed in whatever he was doing that he didn't notice JD already awake. Not that JD could blame him – Adam had on the earphones so that he could listen to some music without disturbing JD from his sleep. Adam was seen typing something, before leaning back, presumably reading something before he typed something again.
'Chatting again, obviously,' JD smirked, knowing with whom exactly his cousin was chatting with.
He took a moment to reflect everything that had happened between the two of them ever since the discovery that he and Adam were cousins. It was just a little more than a month ago when the discovery was being made and JD had to admit that a part of him still felt surprised with it. Watching his cousin typing away at the computer, JD smiled, thinking that a month ago it was almost impossible for Adam to make himself at home.
The first three days had probably been the most awkward for Adam, since those were also the days where JD's grandparents from Australia dropped by for a visit. Adam had never thought that he'd met his granduncle and grandaunt from down under, but having him at the house proved to be a blessing for Awaludin Awang and Kathryn Sutherland Abdullah as Adam easily filled them in with some details about their relatives, whom Awaludin had not met for five decades. Despite the discomfiture, the meeting Adam had with his Australian relatives proved to be the ice-breaking he needed to begin fitting in with his newfound family.
After his grandparents left, JD began thinking of ways to get Adam to be comfortable around him in particular. Not that Adam was awkward around him, but JD had thought that the other boy was just too excruciatingly polite to his liking. It wasn't a bad thing, but what JD wanted was for them to get along like a family – someone whom he could joke around with and tease playfully without the other boy withdrawing away. It was his inherent nature that so often got misinterpreted by the others. His older brother, Jaden, was just too serious while his older sister Jasmine had a personality that mirrored his own that they often ended up with a verbal fight whenever they set eyes on each other.
Luckily, it was Bibik – the family's maid – who was the one who'd come up with the perfect suggestion. It had taken JD about three days to do it, but in the end, he thought that it was worth it.
(Flashback)
"Rise and shine, cousin. C'mon, I have something to show you." Without waiting for Adam's response, he pulled Adam out of his bed and led the boy out of the room. It was a Saturday, and a free one, and JD was glad that Adam had decided to sleep in that day instead of waking up early as he usually did. That gave him time to make the final touches on what he was about to show to his cousin. He gave the other boy a brief look and saw that aside from his still sleepy face, Adam was pretty much decent to step out of the room in his oversized white shirt and black cotton pants he wore to sleep. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, but it was nothing to worry about.
"What time is it?" Adam murmured, not resisting JD at all.
"Nine," JD answered as they walked down the stairs. "Ok, here's where you close your eyes."
"Hmmm…?" Adam frowned. "Why?"
"Don't ask. Just do it." JD hoped that Adam would not argue with him on this. He wanted the boy to be surprised.
Still too sleepy to argue, Adam decided to just play along and closed his eyes. "Ok…now what?"
"Come on." JD took Adam's hand and carefully guided him through the living room. He saw Bibik smiling at them as she placed some breakfast on the dining table. His parents had both stepped out to do some groceries, and his siblings would not arrive home until later. It would be the first time for Adam to meet Jade and Jas, and JD wondered how that would turn up to be. "Careful there," he said, as Adam accidentally knocked his feet against the handsome mahogany table at the center of the living room. The other boy murmured softly in pain and was about to open his eyes before JD sharply said, "Hey, no peeking yet."
"Ok…"
They stepped out from the house and Adam balked slightly, apparently noticing the sudden rush of light and warm air from outside. Not bothering to wear their sandals JD led Adam to the garden where the thing he had been working with for the past three days stood waiting. He smiled proudly of his work, and hoped that Adam would like it.
"Can I open my eyes now?" Adam asked.
JD positioned Adam so that he would stand right opposite of the thing he wanted to show him. "Ok. Now."
Adam opened his eyes, and gasped. In front of him stood a bike, glistening in silver, white and violet against the morning sunlight. There was a fresh smell of paint and oil, and JD grinned as Adam made the connection immediately with the filthy shirt he was currently wearing – which was also soiled with paint and oil.
"You like it?" JD asked.
"I…" Speechless, Adam merely nodded in return. The bike was beautiful. "It's wonderful…"
"Good, because it's yours."
"Huh?" Adam looked at JD. "I can't accept this. It's…it's just too much."
"You mean after all the works I put in to modify Jas's bike into this one, you're going to reject it?"
Adam was quiet for a while and JD could see that Adam liked the bike. Now all he needed was to convince Adam to accept it. He would have to be blunt.
"Look, Adam. The way I see it, you actually need this. Dad's starting work again this Monday and he can't send us to school anymore. I know your sister used to send you to school every morning, but it looks like you're gonna have to get to school on your own from now on, at least until Kak Lisha buy a new car when she's healed, and I don't see that happening in a couple of months. You could walk to school if you want, but I think biking is easier and quicker. And maybe you could also use the bike to get to the hospital instead of using the cab which is plain expensive. You get to visit your sister more often and you'll get some great exercise. Tell me if I'm wrong with all these."
Silently, Adam shook his head. "It's just…" He lost his words again.
JD sighed and laid a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Ok, just think of this as an early birthday present from me. Come to think of it, when's your birthday anyway?"
"Second day of December," Adam murmured, but JD saw that the other boy's face was beginning to light up.
"Ok, so on that day, don't ask a present from me, alright?" JD grinned as he saw a hint of a smile beginning to form on Adam's face.
"Did you say you modify this bike?"
"Uh-huh. Jas's bike was too pink and it was already conked out, being in the den for years. I took it out, changed the seat, the tyres and the chains, oil the chains just this morning, and gave it a new paint job based on Aldiyamon's color scheme. Cool eh?"
"What will Kak Jasmine say about this? It was her bike…"
JD snorted. "She already has a car, and I already asked her. She doesn't care. So now, it's yours."
Adam nodded, already running his hand along the brand-new-looking bike. "Uhh…can I take it for a spin, then?"
JD laughed and gave his cousin a slight shove. "It's your bike. Hang on, I'll get mine and we can go together."
"Josh, wait…" Adam gazed into his cousin's eyes. "Thanks…"
"Not at all, Adam."
(End Flashback)
That had eased Adam up considerably with him, and JD was glad for that. He'd even caught Adam telling some of his friends about his new bike (without the other boy knowing) up to the point of showing off the bike while at school, and had enjoyed seeing the disbelieved looks from Adam's friends.
He and Adam had gotten off from a bad start, no thanks to Karatenmon. But now, he was glad that the two of them truly got along. Some even said that they were almost like brothers already. In fact, JD already had considered Adam like a younger brother he never had, but he wasn't sure whether the feeling was reciprocated by Adam. The 'brother' subject was a sore spot for Adam, with him having lost an older brother before and the dirty trick played by the Puaka Generals, taking advantage of Adam's loss of brother and parents to fit their own evil scheme. In fact, even JD himself had played the same trick when he was the Red ShadoWira, up to a certain degree.
JD shook his head. That was the past. Now however, his care for the other boy was genuine. Adam had been through a lot and JD couldn't imagine how the boy was still able to be as how he was right now. If it were him to be at Adam's place…JD shuddered at that thought. Although he still sometimes didn't see eye-to-eye with his folks, and even though he didn't get along well with his siblings, he couldn't imagine losing them. He had promised himself that he would never do anything to hurt the other boy again.
'Of course, playful teasing and badgering don't count as hurting, right? Time for Adam to get his daily teasing dose, heh heh…'
Smirking, he grabbed the shirt he had thrown on the floor before he went to sleep and wore it quickly. Creeping quietly towards the computer table, he snatched the earphone from Adam and leaned over him, taking a look at the chat conversation the other boy was having.
"AAH!" Adam quickly got up and blocked JD from reading the chat conversation. "Hey! Private conversation!"
"Looks like someone has a girlfriend…" JD taunted, and saw tints of crimson emerged from Adam's cheeks. "Adam and Dina! Kinda have a nice ring to it."
"We're just friends!" Adam protested.
JD smirked. "Don't you know that that's probably the most clichéd answer ever existed?"
Adam frowned. "I could say the same thing about you and Liu Ying."
"What about it?"
"Oh I don't know…late night SMS-es and the missed calls you two exchanged?" Adam asked with a raised brow. "Here's something to talk about: Hey, what are you doing right now? Oh, just homework. You? Homework again? You really love homework don't you? Hey, the teachers give you homework, you're supposed to do it. What about you? Done your homework already? Nah…I'll copy 'em tomorrow…"
This time, JD turned crimson as well. "Hey, you're not supposed to read that!"
"You used my cell phone for those particular messages, when your credit ran low," Adam pointed out with a cheeky smile. "How was I supposed to know which messages are mine and which are yours?" he proceeded with a very innocent voice. "You should've deleted those messages."
"Smartass!" JD smirked and seized the smaller boy into a headlock – not able to counter Adam's valid points. He pulled the boy away from the computer and proceeded by playfully torturing the boy.
"Ack! That's so low, Josh! Ahahaha hey stop it! That tickles! Ack! Hey! GUYS, HELP!!"
"Huh?" JD wondered who Adam had called for help. No sooner than that, he felt something closed in on his head and pain shot up from both his ankles. "YEOOOOWWW!!!"
He was forced to let Adam go, and realized that Patamon was already clutching his head while Gatomon and Salamon relentlessly clung on his ankles, each having a large bite on either side of his ankle. He jumped around the room trying to get rid of them but failed to do so. Patamon let go quickly but the other two Rookies were more resilient. JD finally doubled over his bed and flailed his legs, wanting to shake off the Saintly Siblings.
Adam laughed. "Ok, you two…let him go." Quickly Salamon and Gatomon let go and both looked at Adam with large adorable eyes and cute smiles. Adam took out some chocolate bars from his schoolbag and the two rookies pounced at him.
"YAAAYY! Chocolates!"
"I can't believe you bribed them with chocolates for this." JD sat up and rubbed his ankles, shaking his head. His ankles were red, but not really painful as they had been when the Saintly Siblings bit him.
"Does it hurt?" Adam asked, sitting by JD and looked at the ankles with concern. "I told them not to bite so hard…"
"Relax." JD slung an arm around his cousin and grinned, showing that he bore no ill feelings. But then a devilish grin played up his face and he said with a low, menacing voice. "But I'll be sure to tell Agumon to bite your butt when you least expected it, so be very afraid cousin…." He exchanged a look with Agumon, who'd been watching the whole ordeal silently. The Rookie dino returned his partner's look with an extremely toothy grin.
Adam paled. JD smirked triumphantly and patted Adam's head in mock pity.
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 42 – A DigiWira Catastrophe, Part I
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"Come on you two! Attack me, now!" Persiamon's eyes narrowed as she observed Shawujinmon and Astamon hesitating. A smile curled out from her lips as she relished in their fear. It was quite well known to their coven that Persiamon's power rivaled the Puaka Generals' who were only next to Lucemon in terms of superiority. She widened her legs apart for more support and her sharp eyes trailed the figures of the Kappa and the Majin Generals back and forth. "Come on. Give me your best shots! I won't move away."
"You won't move?" Astamon asked incredulously. "Surely you jest."
Persiamon snorted impatiently. "Come on already. Attack me. You'll never get the chance to attack me like this. Or are you scared of getting your butt kicked again? It certainly didn't take much to beat you. Even that inexperienced Puspamon managed to give you a good beating and she's just a mere child while you are a renowned general."
"Oh, that's it, Persiamon. It's on!" Astamon said hotly and looked at Shawujinmon. "C'mon, let's attack her together!"
Shawujinmon nodded and summoned his Demon Quelling Staff. He spun it around, generating water spirals around the black metallic staff. Meanwhile a knife slid out of Astamon's sleeve and he spun it expertly at the tips of his fingers before grasping it by its shining holder. Then with a loud cry both generals attacked Persiamon, who didn't seem to have any inclination to move.
"Helter Skelter!" The Virago General widened her arms and a fireball formed on her right palm while a bluish white sphere emitting wisps of fogs generated on her left. She thrust the white ball towards Shawujinmon, and it transformed into a projection of a snow-white tiger. The icy tiger roared and leaped towards Shawujinmon, who out of surprise, halted as the tiger streaked through his body. Instantly the spiraling water from his staff froze into ice, and crashed on the stone floors of the hall. Shawujinmon suffered the same fate as he was immobilized by a coat of ice. At the same time, Persiamon flicked her right hand and sent the fireball towards Astamon. The fireball exploded into three yowling fire cats which growled furiously as they leaped towards the stunned Majin General. His crisp suit and sash caught flames and Astamon had to stop pursuing Persiamon in order to put out the fire. Seeing these, Persiamon laughed with delight and walked away into the doorway leading to the generals' private chambers. "Even without moving away I could still beat you two." She sauntered away with a mocking laugh which echoed the hall.
Persiamon walked through the corridors smilingly before stumbling upon a taller figure with great wings and sparkling ice-blue eyes.
"Lucemon."
"Finished torturing Astamon already?" Lucemon inquired with a simper.
"It's not like he doesn't deserve it, after letting Ophanimon and the others escape right before his eyes. If it weren't for his idiotic idea of kidnapping that Puspamon he lusted so much the Wira Digital wouldn't have stumbled upon Saffron Cave," Persiamon huffed.
"But how did Shawujinmon get tangled along with it?"
"He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Wait…are you using that psychic ability of yours to read my mind and get all the insight of the battle?"
"I happened to not be at the hall while you were demonstrating your prowess to our fellow brethrens," Lucemon pointed out. Persiamon huffed again indignantly.
"It does not matter that our brethren have unwillingly let the three sacred ladies escape with the Wira Digital," Lucemon said smoothly. "Not anymore. The Puaka Generals have awakened and it's only a matter of time before they regain their Ultimate forms. While they are training to reach their goals, we still have some time to toy around with the Wira Digital until we can begin with my master plan."
"I'm not one who likes to just toy around," Persiamon reminded the Hellion General. "I already have a plan in mind."
"Care to share?"
Persiamon smirked. "You're the one with the mind reading ability. Surely you don't need me to do say it out loud."
Lucemon took a moment to do so, before nodding with approval. "How enchantingly evil, this plan of yours, I must say."
"Evil is what I do best."
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Instead of staying back at school before going to the Friday prayers at the mosque beside the school, this particular Friday was the day when JD's dad had the day off from work, having just returned from an international flight early that morning. And his big brother Jade was also at home, having just completed a monthly exam paper that morning. As such, Johan Awaludin had asked for JD and Adam to get home as soon as school let out so that the four of them could go to the mosque nearby their home together.
"Hi, Abang Jade. Sorry I didn't get to say hi to you earlier…we were in a hurry to get ready," Adam said to his eldest cousin, forty minutes later, as they were about to board the family's car. He fiddled with a stray light purple thread from his Baju Melayu nervously; he seldom met JD's older siblings and was still pretty much intimidated by their presences.
Jaden Daniel Kamarulhafiz, clad in a light green Baju Melayu over a pair of khakis, smiled at the dark-haired boy. After their first meeting, he'd decided that he quite liked the recent addition to their family. The boy's polite and shy demeanors bode well with him. "Hello, Adam. Don't worry about it." He noticed that Adam was alone. "Now where's Josh? We're going to be late if we don't get moving right now. Parking the car is going to be tedious if we don't get there in five minutes."
Johan glanced at the clock on the wall. "Jade's right. JOSH!!!!!"
"Here! Yeesshhh, hang on!" JD sounded annoyed as he ran down the stairs whilst trying to adjust the burgundy Baju Melayu he was wearing over a pair of jeans. "I can't find the buttons for this….ah. Thanks, Bibik." He took a couple of stud-buttons from the family's maid and quickly fixed them on his shirt. "I'm set."
"Good. Come on." Johan beckoned for his sons and nephew to board the family's BMW as the house gate was opened automatically.
The journey to the mosque took them only five minutes by car, and by the time they reached the main mosque of USJ Subang Jaya they saw that people were beginning to crowd the mosque, as the muezzin was about to give the afternoon's prayer call. They managed to find a strategic parking spot and quickly got out from the car. They were about to walk towards the mosque when suddenly an explosion took place at the park opposite the grand mosque.
JD and Adam saw a portal materialized amidst the explosion, and a tall lanky figure of a feline-like woman emerged from it. The mosque-goers were stunned at the sight of the beautiful scantily-clad figure, unaware that she was a great threat.
"Who's that chick?" JD wondered.
"That's no chick, Josh! That's a Digimon!" Agumon exclaimed from JD's Juara Digivice.
"And not just any Digimon…she's a strong one. I'm not surprised if she's also a General!" Patamon added, from Adam's Juara Digivice.
"C'mon!" JD grabbed Adam's wrist.
"Where are you two going?" Johan demanded.
"Digital Accessing!" JD called out, already beginning to make way towards the ablution chamber while dragging Adam along.
"Digital what?" Jade wondered.
"Just get to safety!" Adam cried out. "That woman is dangerous! Take cover in the mosque!"
Johan and Jade watched in confusion as JD and Adam made way towards the now-abandoned ablution chamber. They entered the chamber, and flashes of red and white lights later two Wira Digital stepped out from there, drawing attention instantly from the mosque-goers. Some of the kids cheered instantly.
"That's Satriamon and Aldiyamon!" one boy exclaimed.
With a flick of his hands Aldiyamon teleported everyone into the mosque before both of them made their way towards the park adjacent to the mosque. The cat-woman saw them and with a flick of her hand, she released several crimson energy ribbons towards their way. Aldiyamon folded his metallic wings and summoned the Deistic Guard to shield himself, while Satriamon blocked the energy ribbons with his powerful gauntlet. Surprisingly, the ribbons were strong – they had easily forced both Wira Digital into retreating involuntarily.
"Heavenstar Gladius!!" Aldiyamon called out his silver sword and slashed the ribbons into smithereens.
"Dragonforce Striker!!" Satriamon did the same thing by using his gauntlet.
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: DIGIMON ANALYZER :
Name: Persiamon
Attributes: Ultimate level, Virus type
Attacks:
Helter Skelter – Persiamon manipulates the power of fire and ice to attack her enemy.
Vampire Dance – Persiamon unleashes dark powers and energy-sucking bats with her belly-dancing.
Sekhmet Shadow Sutra – Persiamon unleashes energy ribbons, manipulating them to fluster her nemesis.
Blight of Bastet – Persiamon curses her enemy with incurable blight.
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"This is one tough alleycat," Aldiyamon muttered after scanning Persiamon. "We have to settle this quickly."
"Alright you walking furball, we're sending you packing!" Satriamon shouted, flexing his gauntlet.
Persiamon snorted. "Ha, ha. Nice puns, but I'm not so impressed. See, this place is just a one giant scratching post for me, and I'm intent on digging my claws in it!" As she said that, she flexed her dangerous-looking claws which shone with blood red aura amidst the bright daylight. Her emerald eyes sized up the opponents she was facing. "Where's the whole litter?"
Both Satriamon and Aldiyamon groaned at the feline puns. "It'll take only the two of us to stop you, Catwoman!" Satriamon snarled and leaped to attack the Virago General. "Dragonforce…"
"Too slow! Sekhmet Shadow Sutra!" Persiamon spun around once and blasted Satriamon with energy ribbons, forcing the dragon man to retreat.
"Heads up!" Aldiyamon flexed his fist back before thrusting it forward. "Radiant Faith!"
The beam of light slammed upon Persiamon and she shuddered; being a dark-based Digimon she wasn't as strong when facing a Digimon of light. However her worry was soon erased with a smirk, because she was still the superior Digimon amongst the three. And she'd show her opponents how strong she was.
Placing her hands on her hips, Persiamon began to sway with very seductive moves – arching her hips back and forth, causing the two Wira Digital to wonder what in the world she was doing. But Aldiyamon was reminded of Persiamon's attack technique as described in the analyzer and folded his metallic wings forward, calling up his Deistic Guard. He then saw Satriamon still somewhat fazed.
"She's about to use her Vampire Dance, Satriamon!" he warned.
"Damn it! You're ruining the surprise!" Persiamon roared as she danced, before halting abruptly as she thrust her arms to her sides. Dark energy rippled from her back as orange vampire bats materialized from the energy ripple. "Vampire Dance!!"
Aldiyamon, who was within his protective energy sphere, was pushed back by the bats but Satriamon stood his ground, merely flexing his gauntlet for protection. He glowed with dark red aura as his green eyes shone with black light.
"Dark-based power?" he snorted. "I'm a Wira Digital of fire and darkness! Dark Rage!!" From his eyes, two beams of light shot out and slammed upon Persiamon's belly.
"What the…" Persiamon felt a small portion of her power being drained away. She flexed both her hands and generated spheres of flame and ice, directing the fireball towards Aldiyamon and the ice ball towards Satriamon as the two Wira Digital charged up their attacks. "Helter Skelter!!"
"Shadow Flame Helix!"
"Solaris Firebird!"
To the Wira Digital's surprise, the fiery serpent and dragon from Satriamon's attack were frozen by the white tiger unleashed from Persiamon. Aldiyamon's firebird also suffered the same fate, with it being overwhelmed by the fire cats from Persiamon's fireball. Then she proceeded by advancing towards the Wira Digital, kicking the frozen dragon and serpent into bits of data before landing a sound kick upon the surprised Satriamon. As the dragon man was sent flying, Persiamon looked above at the flying Aldiyamon, cursing momentarily for her lack of flight before flicking her arm towards the royal angel. Crimson energy ribbons shot out and wrapped securely around Aldiyamon before he could summon his protective sphere. With a sinister snarl she tugged Aldiyamon down, causing him to crash onto the ground. For some reason, she didn't let Aldiyamon go just yet.
"Let him go!" Satriamon growled, getting back up on his feet. "Or else…"
Persiamon grinned haughtily. "Or else what?" she challenged, purposely egging Satriamon for a plan she had set in mind.
Satriamon growled angrily and leaped towards the cat woman, gauntlet ready to strike. Raging flames erupted from the weapon in shape of a snarling dragon as he approached the Virago General closer and closer. "DRAGONFORCE STRIKER!!"
Everything then happened quickly. Persiamon shimmered in dark red aura as she muttered something. To Satriamon's horror, she vanished in swirls of crimson energy ribbons and in her place stood the transfixed Aldiyamon. Satriamon had channeled all his power into his gauntlet and it was too late for him to pull back. And Aldiyamon, stunned and horrified, acted on automated reflex rather than relying on his fighting skill.
Aldiyamon raised his arm, and the Dragonforce Striker gauntlet struck it mercilessly. A loud sickening crack was heard, followed by a pained cry from the angelic knight as he was forced into devolving as Satriamon stared in horrified disbelief. Amidst Persiamon's triumphant cackle Satriamon stood still, staring at Adam and Patamon's unmoving forms and the widening puddle of blood which began to form underneath the unconscious boy.
"Aren't you supposed to fight me instead of each other?" Persiamon mocked from a distance before a swirling purple portal materialized above her. She leaped up and the portal vanished. "My work here is done. Ta!"
Devolving back into his composite selves, JD didn't even register the presence of Xianamon, Puspamon and Samudramon from the distance, nor the cries from his father and brother as they ran towards him from the mosque. He slumped on his knees right by Adam, ignoring the blood, shivering as he stared at the weird angle of Adam's right arm – it looked like it had been dismembered completely from Adam's body. 'What…what have I done?'
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A decent crowd had gathered at the waiting room near the emergency room at Subang Jaya Medical Hospital that afternoon, consisting of Johan, Leeanna and their three children Jade, Jasmine and JD. Alisha, still in wheelchair, was also present, as well as the other three DigiWira Liu Ying, Manny and Gayathri. All of them had been waiting in silence for the past one and a half hour, after Adam was rushed towards the hospital by the three Wira Digital. Out of all of them, JD looked the most distraught. He had his face buried inside his palms almost all the time, but he wasn't crying, merely avoiding everyone's gaze on him. He'd flat out refused to speak to anyone, and all the while tried his best to avoid Alisha, feeling extremely guilty for the condition he had inflicted upon Adam.
The emergency operation theater's alert light dimmed and everyone looked up in anticipation as two doctors in their blue surgical outfits emerged. They removed their surgical hats and masks, and one of them approached the crowd with a grim look upon his face. It was Dr. Abu, the doctor who had treated Gayathri, and was currently monitoring Alisha's recovery.
"Abu, how's my brother?" Alisha quickly asked the black-haired doctor. If the others noticed that Alisha and the doctor were on first-name basis, they didn't give it a second thought. "Is he alright?"
"He's stable, Lisha," Dr. Abu answered. Relieved sighs were heard from the crowd, but the young doctor held his breath. "But it will take some time for Adam to regain functional use of his right arm again."
"What do you mean?" Alisha asked.
Dr. Abu gazed at Alisha for a moment before answering. "His right shoulder is dislocated and usually in this case there's injury in the axillary nerve and artery. There are tears on his arm muscles, and his radial and ulnar bones are fractured. Luckily it wasn't a comminuted fracture so chances of healing are actually very good. We've also managed to reposition his humeral bone right back into the glenohumeral socket and have assigned external splints and casts to immobilize his forearm and arm, in order to promote healing."
"You've said that his axillary nerve and artery are damaged," Jade spoke up. Being a medical student, he understood Dr. Abu the best out of all the people gathering there. "Would there be any impairment in function and sensation then for his arm and possibly chest muscles?"
Dr. Abu looked somewhat surprised but that soon was replaced by a knowing look – the way Jade spoke made it very clear that he was familiar with medical terms and subjects. "Yes, there might be paralysis of the teres minor and deltoid muscles, so you are correct. It's possible that Adam will experience loss of sensation over his lateral upper arm, and abduction of the shoulder is also impaired."
"But, he's going to be ok?" Johan voiced out his concern.
"Are the damages permanent?" Leeanna clarified, worried of her nephew.
"The prognosis is good for Adam," Dr. Abu answered. "The injured nerve, vessel and muscle will heal in time. The fractured bones will also mend. God-willing, he'll be fine."
"I can attest to that," Alisha murmured, looking at her own cast-bound legs and right forearm, injured from a car accident a little more than a month ago. She couldn't walk yet, nor could she use her right arm properly, but she knew they were healing as days passed. She knew first hand that Dr. Abu was telling the truth, and that comforted her. However, she was disconcerted in how JD was handling all of this. The youngest of her three new cousins hadn't spoken a word, but guilt evidently sparked from his hazel eyes. It was as if JD was putting the blame upon himself, and Alisha could not believe JD to be the one at fault. She had seen JD and Adam every time they came to visit her – the two of them were growing closer and closer. Seeing the two of them sometimes gave her the deja-vu; she was reminded of how Adam and their late brother Aizad had been before the fatal accident. Their bond was evident. Alisha knew JD would not hurt her brother. There had to be an explanation; she would have to ask JD about this later. Inwardly she sighed, thinking that time and time again her family was always placed in this kind of situation. Their parents and brother were lost in an accident, she herself had gotten involved in a car accident, and now Adam was injured due to a Digimon battle.
"He is still unconscious but that's most likely due to the general anesthesia we've administered to him prior to the surgery. He's being transferred to his own room now, as per request of Mr. Johan, and then if you want you can see him." Dr. Abu gave them a nod before walking away.
Everyone murmured their relief, but was surprised when JD stood up abruptly. Without a word he left the crowd.
"Hey, where are you going?" Jasmine called out to her younger brother.
JD turned back and everyone could see the flame in his eyes. "Away. I need some air," he muttered and disappeared around the corridor.
"Away? What kind of answer is that? Be specific for goodness sake," Jasmine grumbled.
His family was left dumbfounded of JD's vague statement, but the DigiWira knew better.
"This can't be good," Manny whispered to the girls. "Remember what happened when JD first snapped out of Karatenmon's control?"
"He burned the whole Cave of Solitude…" Gayathri's voice trailed off. Her eyes widened.
"We better go after him before he does something stupid," Liu Ying said.
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"What…what do you mean he'd gone away?" Liu Ying asked just thirty minutes later, to a very glum-looking Agumon.
At the hospital, the DigiWira had all tried to use their Juara Digivices to detect JD's Digivice signal and hadn't been surprised to see that JD was no longer around. The blonde teen had probably used any computer inside the hospital – and there were a lot of them there – to go to the Digital World. But they didn't know which computer JD had used to get there – each computer would take them to a different location at the Digital World unless the coordinates to the Forest Sanctum were set. The three DigiWira had arrived at a location south from the Forest Sanctum, and they'd reached the sanctum easily with their Digivolved partners. Once there, they were surprised to find Agumon, alone, entering the jungle shrouding their base of operation.
"I mean exactly what I've said; Josh has gone away, what part of away did you not seem to understand?" Agumon asked bitterly, which was so unlike him.
The DigiWira were reminded that it was Satriamon who'd struck Aldiyamon by accident. Thus JD and Agumon shared the guilt. But why would JD leave Agumon?
"Why did he go?" Gayathri asked soothingly.
Agumon sighed and slumped onto the floor. He looked up at the three DigiWira and their partners, TobuCatmon, and the three ladies of the Lost Mountain, with tear-brimmed eyes. "I'm sorry for my attitude. It's just that…" He gulped, trying to reorganize his words. "Josh…he really cares about Adam, and now this happens. He's been trying so hard this past one month to make sure that Adam is at ease and happy with him. And he's promised that he would never hurt Adam the way he did before. And now, I think with us doing just that, he doesn't know how to deal with this…he told me he wanted to be alone."
"TobuCatmon, can't you use the Sun Staff to see where he is?" Manny asked.
Their mentor nodded and everyone gathered by the staff. It showed JD sitting alone by a secluded cove.
"I know where that is. Azure Cove. JD did say that he liked going there whenever he wanted to think about something undisturbed," Manny said.
"We should go there, then," Gayathri said.
"Wait," Ophanimon said gently. The DigiWira turned their attention towards the regal angel. "JD has left even Agumon; I do not think that now is the time for him to have company as he thinks things over."
"But it's not his fault," Agumon said sorrowfully. "Persiamon…she did that…"
"I know, Agumon. We all do. So does JD. But to him, that doesn't change the fact that it had been Satriamon who'd given Aldiyamon the blow. And based from what you have mentioned about JD and Adam, today's incident has just reopened a wound that's healing," Ophanimon said wisely.
"But he is alone, and that's dangerous," Liu Ying said. "What if the Darkshadow Brethren decides to attack him at this time? He's vulnerable to their attack." She shared a look with Labramon and the two of them nodded. "Labramon and I will go and try to make him see that it's not his fault. Agumon, you can come along if you want."
"What about us?" Manny and Gayathri both said.
Liu Ying gave her teammates a slight smile. "I think I know how to talk things through with JD. You two get ready if the Darkshadow Brethren decide to attack our world. We're one member short and until I can convince JD that he shouldn't blame himself, it'll be up to you two to defend our world, or the Digital World."
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JD sighed as he lied down on the sandy beach of the Azure Cove. The cove was shady and quiet – just the perfect setting he needed to mull things over. He crossed his arms at the back of his head, using them as pillow and kicked off his boots, letting his toes dig into the sands.
He'd been relieved when Dr. Abu told them that Adam would be alright, but now he was afraid of how Adam would react upon this. Worse, how would Adam react when he knew it was him who did this to him? They had gotten off a real bad start before and JD could recall each and every thing he had done to hurt the younger boy, physically and emotionally. He had almost killed Adam three times – twice at the Megalith Coliseum and once at the Stone Valley. He had seized Adam's White DigiSphere, cutting off Adam's access to his digital power. He had kidnapped Adam and imprisoned him inside the prisons within the dark Cave of Solitude. There he had taunted Adam mercilessly, manipulating the boy's fear for his own pleasure. He'd even beaten Adam up while they were at Shadow Realm. And then, after those physical onslaughts he had proceeded by what he'd termed as mind games. He had extended a false hand of friendship towards Adam, knowing that the betrayal would be even worse for Adam once he knew of JD being the Red ShadoWira. And he had seen how Adam responded during the revelation. For a brief moment, anger, hurt and betrayed was reflected from Adam's storm gray eyes before they were concealed with a look of cold indifference.
And after all that – after their misadventures at the Dark Ocean – Adam had forgiven him. The boy had reiterated that again once they realized the family bond they actually shared.
"You know, I think you and Manny, and Darth Vader, share one common thing."
Adam had said that once, when they were on a Star Wars movies marathon. He'd commented how the major villain – Darth Vader – was actually a victim of circumstances. He became evil due to other people's manipulation, and Adam, albeit somewhat sleepily, had mentioned that JD's situation as the Red ShadoWira was similar to Darth Vader, with the only difference that JD was very lucky to be able to snap out of it.
"You've been given a gift of another chance. It's up to you how you're going to use that chance. You can still blame yourself, or you can start over, turn a new leaf. I'm happy that you've chosen the second one…"
JD always remembered those words, although he doubted that Adam did; the boy had been so sleepy he was barely hanging on once they were at the third, also the last, movie of the series. He had mulled Adam's words over and over again until he realized that Adam was right. So he began looking for ways to make up for his misdeeds towards his cousin.
He sighed again. He wondered what Adam would think of him once he was awakened from his drug-induced sleep? Probably his mind would block him from recalling the event, but JD had seen the whole thing. He saw how Satriamon's Dragonforce Striker gauntlet struck a heavy blow upon Aldiyamon's forearm. The angel had used his arm to shield himself instead of the more potent Deistic Guard. JD had heard the sound of bone breaking, the sickening sound of how the bone of his arm was pulled out from the socket, the muscle tears, and worse of all, how Aldiyamon screamed in pain because of that. Those sounds would never leave him in peace; they echoed in his mind even right now. That and the sight of Adam in a pool of blood – the claws on his gauntlet were so sharp that it tore Aldiyamon's light armor all the way to the skin, letting out blood. It would probably haunt him forever.
"Is this a private party or can I join you?"
The soft, yet strong female voice caused JD to blink. He saw a shapely shadow approaching him from the back, but he didn't have to look at the newcomer to know who she was. "Xianamon."
Xianamon shimmered in yellow light and devolved into Liu Ying and Labramon. Agumon was also with them, and the dino trotted carefully towards his partner.
"You want to talk about it?" Liu Ying asked as she took a seat beside JD's lying body.
"What's to talk about?" JD sighed glumly. "I hurt him. Hell, I almost took his life again."
"You know better than that," Liu Ying said. "Persiamon's the one who you should blame for this, not yourself. And Adam's alright; the doctor has said that."
"You don't understand. I made a vow to myself that I won't hurt him ever again. I tried so hard to make him like me, trust me, and be comfortable with me. I don't know if I'd get that again after this. Adam would remember this day forever – how I almost took his life again."
"Adam would know that this is not your fault," Liu Ying pointed out. "And you won't lose his trust. That much I can say. You two are so close lately, almost like a pair of brothers. Probably when he wakes up, the first person he'd look for is you."
"Kak Lisha is still around, y'know…"
"Ok, maybe after he's seen Kak Lisha, he'd be looking for you."
"I don't know Liu Ying…truth is I'm too ashamed to face him."
"That's too bad, for both of you. You know, Adam's condition is even better than Kak Lisha," Liu Ying said.
JD gave Liu Ying a curious gaze. "And your point is? The way I see it, he's injured, and I did that to him. He might be okay, but he's almost crippled because of me."
"Look at it this way. Since Adam's condition is better than Kak Lisha, he's going to be discharged sooner than her. He'll return to your house. And there, who do you think Adam would need help the most from? Without a functional right hand, he'll need your help to get through some of his daily activity. Homework, for instance," Liu Ying smiled slightly upon seeing JD's disgusted face.
"Somehow you always find a way to include homework in our conversation…" he muttered.
"Of course that's not the only thing. You can help Adam a lot. As far as I know Adam's right-handed, so he'll need help until his right arm is healed. Eating and writing are probably the two things I could think off right now."
JD thought of Liu Ying's suggestion and nodded. "I could do that…if he let me. If he forgives me…"
"Of course he'll forgive you. Who's he going to ask otherwise for help? You're the closest thing to a brother he has right now."
"You make it sound like Adam has no choice but to forgive me in order for him to ask for my help," JD mumbled.
"Okay, let me reiterate that. You're his family, and clearly he holds you in high regard. It's not your fault so he'll say something like there's nothing to forgive. And knowing Adam, he'll be too shy to ask you to help him so you're the one who has to volunteer."
JD gave Liu Ying a long look. "You seem to know him pretty well."
"I do know him longer than you do," Liu Ying agreed. "But what I've said is something I came up from the way Adam acts. Out of all of us, you probably are the only one who knows him well enough to know what he's thinking. Didn't you always manage to out-prank him?"
The blonde teenager chuckled and the long-haired girl was happy to see that she managed to get through him.
"Now think about it…I mean really think about it. Do you really think Adam would blame you?"
JD considered Liu Ying's question for a moment. His first instinct was to say 'yes' but that would be his response, not Adam's. Adam would say… "No. He won't."
The two teens shared a long glance between one another before realizing that each had been staring at the other longer than they should. Liu Ying pulled away her gaze first, averting it towards the soft waves. She heard a soft rustle and saw JD getting up, now sitting as well instead of lying down. But they didn't speak another word, merely enjoying their company with each other for a moment.
Liu Ying then broke the silence. "Are you ready to go back?"
"I think so," JD said and let out a long exhale. "I think I want to be there when Adam wakes up."
The raven-haired girl smiled. "That's the spirit. Come on, I'll give you a ride on Youkomon."
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"You're still here?"
JD's eyes shot open when he heard the familiar voice of Adam's sister. He was slumped on the sofa chair inside Adam's ward, and for a moment he blinked. Then he saw Alisha wheeled in by Dr. Abu.
"I thought you'd be home by now," Alisha said with a gentle smile. "It's already eight o'clock night. How long have you been here?"
JD stretched. "Since five thirty, I think. And I'm thinking of spending the night here. Tomorrow's no school, after all."
Alisha looked surprised. "But Adam's still sleeping. Won't you get bored?"
"I don't mind. I just want to be here. It's kinda awkward not having him around the house anyway." It was the truth, but not the real truth. JD still hadn't explained to Alisha what had actually happened. In fact, JD doubted that Alisha even knew his and Adam's history.
Alisha somehow sensed that there was more to it than what JD had mentioned. She glanced up towards the doctor. "Abu, I'll be alright here with Josh."
The doctor nodded. "I'll be just at the doctor's counter." He stepped out from the room, closing the door softly, leaving Alisha and JD.
"What's up with you and the doctor?" JD suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Alisha asked back.
JD shrugged. "Dunno. You guys look chummier than just a doctor-patient kind of relationship."
"If you must know…he was my senior when we were at University Malaya. He was a final year med student when I first enrolled in as a first year. He was my mentor, of sorts, even though I was a computer science student." Alisha then stared at JD. "But we're not going to talk about myself and Abu. I actually wanted to ask you about this accident. The authorities claimed that you two have been caught in the middle of a Digimon battle, but I know better."
JD gulped. Alisha continued. "Did the evil Digimon attack Adam?"
The teen shook his head. "No. It was me."
Alisha let out a small gasp. Then she frowned, looking absolutely unconvinced. "Somehow, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and let you explain even further…"
And so, with his chance given, JD outlined the whole detail of the battle with Persiamon to Alisha. To his relief, Alisha understood his situation and didn't blame him.
"You shouldn't be hard towards yourself," she said, after JD told her about how he'd thought that Adam would hate him when he woke up. "I doubt my little brother would hate you." She gazed at JD for a while, as if seeing JD in a different light. With a melancholic smile, she added,"Truth is, you remind me of Aizad in some ways. Did Adam ever mention to you about him?"
JD wondered whether Alisha knew what had happened between Adam and the Puaka Generals. He shook his head. "No…not really. It was rather a sore topic, after all that happened…" He explained briefly about the Puaka Generals' exploitations, and for a moment Alisha was dumbfounded. The Puaka Generals' deception really was complicated and well-thought off, almost foolproof and unbelievably real.
"He never told me that…"
"You were in a coma, remember?" JD said. "And I think he doesn't want to worry you. You still need a lot of recovering. He wants you to focus on that instead of worrying over him."
"I'm his sister and his remaining direct family. Worrying over him is what I do." Alisha shook her head sadly. "I pity Adam, really. He's forced to grow up so quickly after our parents and Aizad passed away. All these years, I've never, not even once, seen him cry. It was really weird because if you know Adam before the accident, he didn't keep his emotions inside of him. You could always hear him whine or cry whenever Aizad's teasing got a little out of hand. But he never shed a single tear when the three of them passed away. I have a feeling that he thinks that he needs to be strong for me."
JD listened silently to his elder cousin, intent on getting to know her and Adam a bit more than how much Adam would willingly tell him. He had never heard a single detail about Adam's past life when his parents and brother were alive, and JD felt like kicking himself on the head for not even thinking of asking Adam about it. He always thought that it was a sore topic for Adam. What if Adam actually wanted someone for him to share this? Even his best friend Hakim didn't seem to know a lot more than JD already did. JD realized of how little actually he knew about Adam.
Alisha yawned once and covered her mouth quickly with her hands. "Great, the antibiotics are making me sleepy again." She wheeled towards the door and JD helped her open the door. Once they were outside, Alisha grasped JD's hand, to the blonde's surprise. "Josh… look out for Adam, okay? He's never been as happy as I've seen him this past one month ever since our parents and brother's passing. Whatever you were doing to him, it's good. He might not know it, nor would he admit to it, but I have a feeling that he needs you a lot more than he knows it. Try to get him to talk about Aizad. He might want to appear strong to me, although it's completely unnecessary…I'm the older sister, but I suspect it's the whole thing about a-brother-must-protect-his-sister kind of thing. But of course, Adam's always closer to Aizad than me, because I was away almost all the time when he was growing up. I went to boarding school at his age, but Aizad grew up together with Adam. They were inseparable. And now…now I'm seeing that bond again with the two of you. Talk with him, ok? I have a feeling that he might open up to you."
JD was stunned of how much Alisha trusted him in looking out for Adam, especially after he'd admitted to his misdeeds. His heart swelled with pride. He nodded once with fierce determination. "I will Kak Lisha. Don't worry."
Alisha smiled and nodded. "I'm happy that you two have met. Do say 'Hi' to him if he wakes up when I'm asleep, ok?"
"Sure thing, Kak Lisha. Do you want me to wheel you back to your room?"
"It's alright. Abu will do that for me." At this, Alisha smiled a bit wider than before. "Between the both of us; Abu and I actually almost became a couple when we were at university…but that was before the accident. I withdrew from the relationship and these past few years I've never kept in touch with him. I kind of have a feeling that he wants to continue where we've left things off."
JD blinked. His own sister had never shared any detail of her relationships with her boyfriends and they have known each other for sixteen years. And Alisha, whom he'd known for the past one month, and had gotten to know better only for the last thirty minutes, was sharing with him something that he was sure that Adam didn't know about. All of a sudden he became fond of the beautiful woman and grinned. "I say go for it."
Alisha smiled and JD watched as Dr. Abu took over the wheel from him. He had to admit that the two of them did appear to have some chemistry. Shaking his head, he went back in, noting that Agumon, Patamon, Salamon and Gatomon were all still asleep despite the fact that JD and Alisha had been talking for the past half an hour. He got settled back on his chair and read the manga he'd brought from home.
Suddenly a groan was heard and JD froze. He glanced sideways slowly and saw that Adam was blinking. His left fingers were slowly tapping the bed, as if trying to ascertain where he was at. The boy saw JD and to the blonde's relief, he smiled warmly at him. Quickly JD got up and went by his side.
"You're awake! Adam, you've just missed Kak Lisha. She was here a few minutes ago but she had to go back because she's sleepy too."
Adam considered what JD had said before gazing at him intently with his doe eyes. He made a motion to move before an odd expression crossed his face. He looked at his right arm, at the splint fixated on it, the bandages and plaster of Paris that were covering it, and for a moment JD saw a look of recognition graced the young boy's face. JD had expected to see the boy flinch fearfully or stare at him with hatred, but none of those appeared at his face. Instead, Adam made a gesture for JD to come closer. Bracingly the teen did as Adam was requested and was surprised when Adam placed his good left arm around his neck in a semi-embrace.
"Don't blame yourself, Josh. I kind of have a feeling that you did so earlier. It's not your fault…"
JD was about to reply when he realized that Adam had dozed off once again. Gently he pulled Adam away from their semi-embrace position and laid him back on his bed. Subconsciously the dark-haired boy grasped his fingers, and JD had a fleeting memory of a baby grasping his fingers when he was young, not really knowing whether it was a figment of his imagination or a real experience which had laid dormant in his mind.
Adam's words gave him the peace he needed for the time being. It was enough for now. But he would only feel completely at peace when he'd given Persiamon her just desserts.
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Author's Notes:
This chapter and the next one definitely focus on JD, with glimpses of his relationships with other person around him. Here we get to see how he is with Adam, Liu Ying and Alisha. Some parts of this chapter are an extension of Chapter 35: Silver Lining, with some references being made from that chapter (check it back if you missed the references). Throughout the story you've seen how JD and Adam evolve from fake friends and bitter enemies, to reconciled friends, then cousins, and ultimately best of friends and brothers by the end of Wira Digital. The same is true for JD and Liu Ying, from enemies to friends and for now I think I've placed subtle hints but never really spoken out loud about their status. So the first part is a character-developing chapter – the next part will be all the actions are! So stay tuned.
Check out the blog for an entry about JD.
P/S: For those of you who are waiting to see the Saintly Siblings' role in the story, the next chapter will show the manifestation of their power.
P/S no.2: I've made up two of Persiamon's attacks in order to make her deadlier. Her 'fire cats' and 'ribbons' attacks are inspired from how Quinton Notwen portrayed her in his fic: Genesis of an Adventure.