I don't own digimon.

Story 51

A deer's uncle

Emily tried her hardest to not slip out of the seatbelt's hold. The car felt a heck of a lot larger now. The size had remained unchanged, but she had been made smaller. Heck, her body was clearly not designed to be held this way in the slightest. An issue that Lucas was fine with currently. Taking the drive slow, she was met with an occasional gaze from her father. Waving back with a hoof, his attention turned back to the road.

"Daddy, are you alright?" she called out, but was met with silence from Lucas. Was there something on his mind that he couldn't quite spell out for her. Something so adult not even he was certain how to breach the subject with her? Had to be. Probably on the same level as when mommy refused to talk about her side of the family. But at the same time, somehow different to that. Try as Emily might to wrap her head around it, the whole topic slipped right through her hooves. "Are my uncles nice?"

Lucas sighed, doing his best to hold into the tears. Emily's question was honestly simple to answer. Yet, the anxiety and everything else related to what happened earlier made it all the harder to answer. How would they even react to finding out their granddaughter had been turned into a little deer digimon? Better yet, he also had to break the news to Steve that his sister was in fact a demon lord. Said demon lord he had fucked and concieved a child with. That would be one huge bombshell, a bombshell that would need to be disclosed privately for his daughter's sake. Burying that thought for now, he found his thoughts drifting elsewhere. More specifically, Volcdramon. She was no doubt expecting Veronica to come home and at least shout at her in regards to still being there. Afterwards, Volcdramon would respond with whatever new insult she had been thinking up all day. Usually a dumb name, it was something. Not a good thing mind you, but at least an activity that kept her engaged and not setting the house on fire in retaliation for Veronica's behavior. An action that Lucas hoped that she wasn't doing as he thought that. Letting out a deep breath, the husband's focus returned to the road. It wasn't much further until they reached their destination. Maybe this time, Steve and Keith would actually be there and he wouldn't need to deal with Beelzebumon. That would be nice. Considering the string of luck he had gotten across this last hour or so, Lucas highly doubted it. This time, it would probably be lifted up into the air by Ophani and then asked what had happened.

"Yes, Emily dear." he finally answered and caught a glimpse of his daughter's face brightening up. Lasting only a couple seconds, he cherished it. The least that he could do in the storm of confusion and sadness that hung over his head and refused to let go of him.

"If they're nice, then why doesn't mommy want to see them?" Emily continued and Lucas let out a sigh. He was very much well out of his league here. No matter how he answered her question, she would likely not find his answer satisfactory. Not without getting into topics children weren't quite ready to be talking about here. Not that he felt ready to deal with this.

"She and your uncle don't have the best of relationships and are unwilling to make amends." Lucas explained as the tears cascaded down his face. By no means a lie, it felt like one right about now. If anything, 'Veronica' was the one who needed to make amends. But he doubted that Belphemon would even try that. If she did, the demon lord of wrath would probably use it as an opportunity to create even more trouble. For now, he pushed that thought out. No use in making himself feel worse before having to deliver this bombshell of bad news to Keith and Steve. He could only hope they would understand and have some kind of plan of what he should do. Even a suggestion would absolutely help here. Didn't need to be a good one.

"Oh. That sounds petty." Emily announced and Lucas nodded. In the eyes of a child, it no doubt looked that way. If it only was that simple. Would make things a heck of a lot easier.

"It is and yet… it isn't." Lucas answered as Ophani came into view. Slowing the vehicle down, he looked about for a place to park. Eventually settling on the area beside the sidewalk, he stopped the car. Unbuckling from his seat, the husband carefully reached out to his daughter. When he did, Emily just stepped out of her seatbelt. "We're here."

Emily nodded and took the opportunity to jump over to the passenger seat. Landing with some grace, she was scooped up into her father's arms. Exiting the car, Emily did her best too take in the home. Relatively unchanged from the last time Lucas had visited, the only difference was the inclusion of one or two potted plants off to the side. Heading over to the front door, Lucas prepared himself for the conversation ahead. No matter what happened, he was still Emily's father. They would find a way through this and save the day.

Reaching out to the doorbell, Lucas gave it a light press. Waiting for the sound to play, he stepped back to not be hit by the door.

"I got it!" a voice from the other side called out and the door opened up, revealing Steve of all people. Dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, a happy expression hung over his face. Or at least it was until he saw the state his granddaughter was in. "Lucas, what happened?"

Lucas searched for something to focus on that wasn't Steve at the moment. But in the process, that got Ophani's gaze now on him.

"So it turned out Veronica was a Belphemon and our daughter is in fact part digimon." Lucas explained and the sound of a can being crushed echoed out from the living room and out of the porch. Staring in, his gaze was met by Beelzebumon. Glaring back, a sigh escaped her lips.

"That slut. I should've known!" Beelzebumon announced as he got up from his chair. Staring out through the doorway, he made his way over to the pair.

"You know something about this?" Lucas inquired and Beelzebumon stared down at the floor. Crushed can still held within his hands, muttering escaped his lips.

"There were always rumors, but I didn't think that it would actually be true." the demon lord of gluttony announced and smashed a fist into the wall. But that got him a look from Steve and Lucas.

"Why didn't you bring that up when I was here the last time?!" Lucas screeched and set Emily down. Not even watching her head into the house proper.

"Belphemon was a myth, even among the demon lords." Beelzebumon countered and leaned through the doorway. Met with Lucas' gaze, sparks seemed to fly forth from their eyes. At least until Steve stepped in between them.

"Enough, both of you!" Steve announced and let out a deep breath, Lucas taking the opportunity to step inside. Closing the door behind him, the husband took the opportunity to let out a deep breath. "I get that you're both mad, but fighting will not help us here."

Staring down at the ground, that was Keith's cue to come over to his spouse. Wrapping his arms around him in a hug, the househusband accepted the gesture. Afterwards, their attention turned back to Lucas.

"I'm sorry. This is very much my fault." he announced and looked about for Emily. Currently laying down on the carpet, she stared in the direction of her uncles. Nothing about this made a lick of sense to her. What was this belphemon person and what did she have to do with her mommy? Better yet, how did she factor into all of this?

"How the heck were you supposed to know that my sister was not in fact my sister? It's alright, Lucas." Steve answered as Opani tried her hardest to stare through the sliding glass door. Even sitting far away, that view likely left much to be desired here. Yet, that didn't stop her from looking at Lucas here. Nonetheless, Steve walked over to Emily and slowly bent down. "Hi there. I'm your uncle, Steve. You must be Emily. It's nice to finally meet you."

Emily nodded, trying her hardest to split attention between her father and her uncle. Easier said than done considering the circumstances that had brought about this situation in the first place.

"Yeah…" she muttered and looked for a place to hide. In her current spot, there was nothing close to her size to hide under. Let alone get away in order to do just that.

"Is something wrong?" Steve continued and reached out to Emily's head. A careful pet followed, the hybrid reluctantly accepting the gesture.

"I guess I don't understand why mommy is so angry whenever you come up." Emily countered and Steve let out a sigh. Looking over to Keith and Lucas, he was met with blank expressions.

"Because she doesn't like that I came out as gay, so she tried to kill me." Steve answered and silence fell over the living room. Looking about, the househusband let out a deep breath. He had absolutely overstepped and gave too much information. "I'm sorry if that went over your head."

Emily nodded and ran over to her father. Getting picked up, Lucas took a moment to hug his daughter. Looking in the direction of Steve, he watched him stand back up and walk over. "I'm sorry. This subject is just as much of a sore spot for me as it to her, just for far different reasons."

Keith nodded and reached out to Emily's head. Giving the lightest of headpats, her attention turned to the sliding glass door. Ophani was still staring through, but she was now leaning forward to get a better view. Only slightly helped here.

"Is the tall armored lady outside Steve's partner?" Emily whispered and looked back at Steve. Getting a nod, she carefully jumped out of her father's arms. Landing with the grace expected of rock, she made a beeline for the sliding glass door. It was a straight shot from he-

There was just one small problem. The sliding glass door was very much closed here. Head slamming right into the glass, Emily felt herself get knocked back. Stars spinning around her head, everything looked so blurry.

"Emily!" Lucas screeched and ran over. Steve and Keith followed right behind, taking care to give the husband the necessary space. Looking for a first aid kit, one sat comfortably on the kitchen table. Keith scooped it up, not wasting a beat to keep up with his spouse.

"Daddy, why are there three of you?" Emily announced, the stars continuing to spin around above her head. Looking about, she could see the spot where her head collided with the door. The door had very much won out in this fight. Even in her impaired state, it still looked as if she could get through. Not that the young hybrid made a second attempt at that obstacle.

"You hit the glass really hard." Lucas explained as Keith handed him the first aid kit. Opening it up, the husband was met with a variety of bandages, gels and gauze. Looking over his options, he grabbed a bunch of hello kitty bandages. Looking at his daughter's wound, there didn't look to be anything there. "Emily, can you tell me where it hurts?"

Emily pointed up towards the top of her head. Stars beginning to fade, Lucas wasted little time in putting a bandage there. Smoothing it out, he scooped his daughter up. Rocking her back and forth to get rid of the stars above Emily's head, he slowly slid the sliding glass door open. Entering the backyard, he slowly headed to Ophani. Doing his best to maintain eye contact, that didn't stop the feelings of fear and anxiety echoing across Lucas's mind right about now.

"Hello there, Emily." Ophani cooed as she looked down at the pair. Steve had mentioned something about a grandchild. Was this it? If it was, Ophani would just accept the outcome.

"Daddy, do I need to talk to the lady that looks like a supervillain?" Emily announced and growled in Ophani's direction. Met with an eye roll, out came the Sailor Moon doll. Holding out to meet

"I don't blame you if you think that I'm a villain. By the result of my inability to complete my mission, you're likely stuck like that." Ophani explained and set her doll down in a seated position. Once she had, her attention returned to Lucas and Emily.

"I wouldn't quite go that far. I did have sex with her." Lucas answered and was met with a very confused expression from his daughter. Setting Emily down, he watched her approach the doll. A life-sized approximation of the main character from the show of the same name, Ophani had decided to leave her in the base sunshine outfit rather than one of Moon's alternate forms. Not that Emily knew anything about Sailor Moon. Instead, the young hybrid carefully tapped one of the doll's legs. Expecting a reaction, she was instead met with silence.

"Why is your friend not talking to you?" Emily announced, trying her hardest to meet Ophani's gaze. But with her small frame, that was an exercise in futility. The closest she got was the mega digimon's chest. The barbed points that had once been right and center were now gone, replaced with now smooth metal.

"She's a doll, Emily. The only dolls that talk are special ones with voice boxes or digimon trying their hardest to pretend to be them." Ophani cooed and petted Emily as lightly as she could manage. After the incident with the sliding glass door, any further damage was better off avoided at all costs. Especially with the power difference between herself and Emily.

"I knew that." Emily countered and looked away. By no means the oddest thing she had heard, done and/or seen today, it was quite high up there. Archiving that thought for another time, a question came to her. "Do you know my mom?"

Ophani stared down at the door. Contrary to what her appearance suggested, Emily was far sharper than she gave herself credit for.

"Yes. She is perhaps the worst of the demon lords. Quite an impressive feat considering that most of the lords are on the side of good." Ophani explained and forced her eyes back to Emily. Letting out a short sigh, she did her best to not blow Emily away. "You could say that she is my own personal sin."

The words rolled out and Emily stared up at her uncle's partner. Nothing about this felt like it made any sense in her mind. People were throwing words out like she was somehow supposed to know what they meant and how they correlated with her situation. They could at least dumb it down to the point that even someone like her would understand. No, that would run against a variety of factors that would make it difficult to give a clear explanation. It probably wasn't anything close to that. Just felt like it.

"Enough about that. Want to watch Sailor Moon with me?" Ophani inquired and scooted to the left, revealing a little TV. Currently off, the large buttons were just big enough for Ophani to press and turn it on. Emily looked over to her father, only to be met with a nod. Turning back to the TV, she watched it turn on and the Sailor Moon theme began to play.