Chapter 8

Author's Note: Flashbacks/dreams

Word emphasis, book or song titles, ride titles, that kind of thing

Past:

Serena just sighs as they continue to fall while everyone else screams their lungs out, well, Tokomon wasn't. The ten year old notices the ball pits coming up and lets her body do what it did best, gymnastics. She managed to grab the top on the way past, and swing herself up and over. She performed a quadruple somersault in the air before sticking her landing all while holding on to Tokomon. Takuya just groans, " Show off. "

The ten year old sticks her tongue out at her brother and helps Tommy out of the ball pit. Her fellow ten year old just smiles at her while waiting on Takuya and Koji to get out of the ball pit. Serena tunes out the conversation around her and when it comes time to escape Monzaemon she sees what Takuya doesn't about the ship, " Takuya Kanbara, don't you even fucking dare take me on that damn ship, it's just like Pharaoh's Fury. "

Takuya blinks and looks up, " Would you rather deal with the bear? "

" Fuck yes, you know I can't handle rides like that. " Serena snaps back, digging her heels in when Takuya tries to drag her on the ship, " Hell no, I can't be purging what little food I have in my system out, not with my metabolism! "

The brown haired girl escapes her brother's hold and climbs a tree with Tokomon while the boys go on the ship to hide. Serena was eternally grateful she had gotten out of that and frowns at Koji's attitude, he was making Tommy feel unwanted, " Hey, Minamoto, what the hell? " Serena demands as she drops down from her perch.

" He's not a baby. " Koji states.

" Yeah, but if someone isn't feeling one hundred percent you don't make them feel unwanted as well! " Serena snaps back.

" He should just suck it up. "

" Oh, so when I collapse due to my metabolism I should just suck it up as well. If you were to have a nasty fever then you would have to suck it up. Sometimes you need help, sometimes you also need fucking rest. " Serena fires back.

Takuya and Tommy watch this interplay between the pair like they were watching a tennis ball being volleyed back and forth. The twelve year old's jaw works as he tries to find a comeback for the girl using his own words and logic against him. Unfortunately for Koji he couldn't and the youngest Kanbara present smirks in victory. Koji stares after her, how the hell had he lost an argument to a ten year old, " Koji, some advice, just go with it. I rarely win arguments with her. " Takuya says, well used to Serena out doing him in verbal word play.

Koji groans in frustration and storms after the ten year old whom had found a candy store, which she was currently devouring almost anything she could lay her hands on. Koji keeps his mouth shut about this as she did have a fast metabolism and needed to eat. Though he gets into it with Takuya about not wanting to discuss things in front of the younger ones. Serena frowns as she sates herself momentarily, what was his deal anyhow?

Things came to a head once they left the candy store, Takuya and Koji's argument about how they, the younger ones should be treated continued on, " You need to stop treating them like little kids. Tommy at least can actually defend himself, but your sister, she's dead weight. A liability to us because we have to continually protect her. "

Serena's brown eyes flash with hurt as his words remind her of her step-father and how many times he'd called her worthless, useless, a waste of space. She turns to run off only Takuya stops her. " See, she can't even handle the truth. She's just a cry baby. " Koji says.

Something snapped in the ten year old at that, " SHUT UP! Who the hell do you think you are to judge me! I like the fact that I can act my age around Taku-nii. I get that I'm worthless, I hear it fucking often enough from my step-father, his hell spawn of a son, and my own mother has told me she should have just aborted me! "

The ten year old darts forward and kicks him hard in the shins, sending the older boy to his knees, " At least Taku-nii doesn't speak so callously and thinks about how his words could affect someone! Most big brother's would shunt their younger siblings aside but Taku-nii doesn't. Sure, he and Shinya fight, but he never pushes him aside in favor of hanging out with his friends. Out of all my family Taku-nii is the only one I can truly count on! "

Koji stares at her, tears were streaming down her face, but she was glaring defiantly at him until Takuya comes up behind her and turns her to face him. One compassion filled look from her brother was enough to burst the dam and she starts sobbing in the safety of his arms. The Light Warrior was horrified by what his thoughtless words had wrought. That didn't mean he was going to apologize. Koji spent an uncomfortable three hours waiting on Takuya to calm his sister. That Tokomon looked like he wanted to bite him for daring to upset his friend, even Tommy had grabbed his D-Tector and was glaring at him, one false move and Koji knew the Ice Warrior wouldn't hesitate to smack him down.

Hell, Takuya probably would have already at least decked him for making his little sister cry, if not for the fact that said little sister needed him more. Koji honestly couldn't say he would blame Takuya if he were to punch him, Koji knew he deserved it. Once they were moving again Serena only spoke in Russian, making it that much harder to communicate with her, though apparently she had been teaching Tommy for the last little while. Tommy could understand a little of what she said while Takuya and Tokomon understood everything. She doesn't even react when WaruMonzaemon takes her, Tommy, and Tokomon, she just remains stone faced.

Once Takuya and Koji recovered from the Heart Breaker attack Takuya takes the opportunity to deck Koji, " You ever make her cry again I will show you what I did as a nine year old to put a grown pedophile in the ER when he tried to drag my seven year old sister into a dark alley. "

Koji blanches, apparently protective big brother did not screw around when it came to protecting his little sister. After retrieving them from the Lavender Castle and getting a ride to the land below they manage to find Zoey, JP, Bokomon, and Neemon. Serena lands from her jump, removes and folds up her parachute, and walks on ahead with Tokomon. Takuya does the same and scrambles after his little sister whom was trying to put as much distance between her and Koji as humanly possible.

Present:

Once the others have caught up to Joe, Sora, and Tai Takuya looks around cautiously, his D-Tector in his right hand. Serena had hers in her left hand while Tommy also has his in his right hand. Something was wrong with this picture, Takuya looks up and snarls, " Execute… Spirit Evolution! "

" Candlemon digivolve too…Wizardmon. " Candlemon had spotted what Takuya had, he was smaller with his champion form so he could actually digivolve on this narrow mountain path.

Devimon was quick to retreat as Agunimon leaps up to where he would have been standing. Damn Legendary Warriors were entirely too perceptive for his own good. How the hell was he supposed to conquer the Digital World if they were around? Down below Wizardmon has just engaged Leomon while the Spirit Evolved Tommy, Kumnamon, deals with Ogremon, " Blizzard Blaster! "

" Magical Game! "

Serena's eyes narrow, what the hell was going on here? Leomon would never do something like this, IceLeomon, possibly, MadLeomon, hell yes, normal Leomon, hell no. Her second digivice is glowing and beeping. It had to have another function other than helping the partners to digivolve. " Wanyamon digivolve to…Gaomon! Rolling Upper! "

Gaomon starts to help out with Leomon while Serena stares at her new digivice and then in a flash of inspiration points it at Leomon, odds were good he had some of those damn black gears in him, altering his personality. Leomon starts to scream as the light from the digivice hits him. Tai was the next to catch on with TK seconds behind him, both aiming their digivices at the champion leveled digimon in front of them. The gears are driven out and Leomon starts to help them out with Ogremon. Wizardmon and Gaomon do the same, the four digimon managed to drive off the virus type digimon. Agunimon stays where he is, frowning, something was wrong, but what. His eyes widen as he takes in the scene before him, that mansion had not been there before. Damn, if there wouldn't be veteran digidestines along the newbies would have fallen for that easily.

He waits for the others to join him and explains what he had noticed. Matt has him cook some Meat Apples for them all to eat and keep their strength up while Serena explain about the second function of their new digivices to her brother.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Digimon.