I don't own digimon.
Of all the digimon Ophani expected to see here, Rasielmon was not on her list. While the archangel of secrets had mentioned visiting once Ogudomon and 'the timekeeper' had been dealt with, the reformed angel digimon had assumed that the latter was still not dealt with. But she kept that thought to herself.
"So, how have you been these last couple days?" Ophani inquired, setting her doll off to the side and paused her show. Shifting her focus back to Rasielmon, she met her former co-worker's gaze. Tall as she was, Rasielmon was thankfully shorter than her.
"Quite well, actually." Rasielmon cooed and Ophani raised an eyebrow. That felt like the appropriate gesture here. This was the archangel of secrets digimon, after all. Clearly there was something going on in the background that only she was privy too. That was just the nature of the beast. "I trust you could say the same?"
Ophani nodded.
"I helped with clearing away the wreckage of Emily's home. That way, her family could begin the rebuilding process." Ophani answered as Steve and Keith exited out into the backyard. Walking over to the pair, their gazes were split between the two digimon.
"Is this a friend of yours, Ophani?" Steve inquired and Opani nodded. Moving in such a way to provide her partner and his husband some space to talk as well, she took care to avoid ruining her dress.
"I guess you could look at me like that." Rasielmon answered and shifted her focus over to Steve and Keith here. While she could only hope that they would be in agreement with her proposal, she had a feeling they wouldn't be. Just the nature of her business. And totally not her attempting to drive a wedge between them and Ophani. After everything they've gone through, that's just a dick move. In my opinion, of course. It's entirely possible that this isn't what she had planned in the first place, but who can say.
"So uh… what do you need from Ophani here?" Keith inquired and Rasielmon cleared her throat. That's never good.
"I would like to offer her the position of Ophanimon once more." Rasielmon answered and silence fell over the backyard. While she had thrown that offer out during the Ogudomon mess, Ophani had been the only one to hear it.
"Uh… why are you trying to give me my old position?" Ophani inquired, waiting a moment for Rasielmon to focus back on her.
"Because the current celestials suck and have in no way proven that they are capable of dealing with the coming threats." Rasielmon answered and was met with a look from her audience. How she didn't see that coming is beyond me. This ain't the ending to a cop movie. You know, the ones where the officer is demoted and has to work his way back up in order to get his job back? Yeah, that kind. Except there are no cops here and this is a position of religious power for digimon. Perhaps one of the highest positions, in fact. You would think they have a process for this. No, that's far too complicated for most digimon (not). Instead, let's have the least trustworthy of the celestials decide. That won't totally backfire in a hilarious fashion multiple times.
"Better question is why do you wish to replace your current Ophanimon?" Steve blurted out and watched Rasielmon turn to face him. Not even trying to meet his gaze, a chuckle escaped her lips.
"The current Ophanimon parties more than she does actual work. I'll take anyone other than her." Rasielmon announced and got a look from her audience. Not particularly impressed by her claims, I honestly don't blame them. You wouldn't try to replace me… right? I'm precious and irreplaceable. At least, I think I am. On second thought, let's not test that theory.
"Uh…I'm not interested." Ophani announced and silence fell over the backyard once more. Bringing with it Beelzemon. Taking one look at Rasielmon, he dashed over to the rest of the group.
"Ya boi is in agreement." the demon biker digimon announced and watched Rasielmon's attention shift to him. Getting met with muttering, his hands reach out instinctively to his shotguns. While not pointing them at Ophani's former boss, the intention is clear.
"I am Steve's partner. What you're asking for requires me to abandon him. Something that I don't wish to do." Ophani announced and watched Rasielmon roll her eyes. This was clearly not how she intended for this
"That matters little now. The timekeeper is very much still out there and we all need every bit of help we can get here." Rasielmon countered and felt all eyes lock onto her. More of a glare than a look here, if did little to phase her. Instead, it probably made her more powerful.
"Ya girl said no. Why can't you just pick a new Ophanimon?" Beelzemon countered and Rasielmon rolled her eyes. Oh yes. She had clearly forgotten an obvious step. Silly her. Not. She had very much tried that. But it didn't work. It never fucking worked. Very few angelic digimon qualified for the position, let alone wanted to give up their lives to begin with. None of them could see the bigger picture, the need for the three celestials staring them right in the face and yet they shied away from it. Absolutely aggravating.
"Oh yes. Let me pull three candidates right out of thin air. Absolutely simple." Rasielmon muttered and muttered something else in Beelzemon's direction.
"May I suggest one thing? Please stop antagonizing my partner." Keith announced, putting himself between Rasielmon and Beelzemon here. By no means the safest position to be, it did get the point across. Whether or not said point would be honored, remained to be seen.
"What makes you think that I'm doing it on purpose?" Rasielmon taunted and was met with a look from Ophani here. By no means the way she expected this conversation to go, perhaps there was a way to smooth things over. At least, the senshi angel digimon hoped there would be.
"You claimed that you were planning to replace your subordinates anyway now that I was back at 'full power'. Beelzemon is the former demon lord of gluttony. You see him as a threat to whatever it is you plan to do." Ophani answered and watched Rasielmon reluctantly nod. Okay. She had very much gotten her there. But that didn't change the fact that she still didn't have any candidates for the role of Oph-
"By any chance could I get you a refreshment or a snack?" Steve inquired, somehow catching Rasielmon by complete surprise. Considering that she was actively antagonizing Beelzemon mere moments ago, this probably felt like a complete and utter curve ball. In a good way… I hope? People (human, digital, something in between or some other category) are hard to read, okay? Cut me the tiniest piece of slack here.
"Uh… I guess? I don't really need to eat or drink anything, but if you insist." Rasielmon answered and watched Steve head back to the house. Tempted as she was to follow behind, she decided against it. While there were things she wished to confirm, those could very much wait. Instead, the archangel of secrets digimon split her focus between Ophani, Keith and Beelzemon here. "Would it be wrong of me to assume that you're very much keeping what remains of Belphemon on this property?"
Keith shook his head. Shooting a look to his partner and Ophani, the message got through crystal clear. The last thing they needed was a digimon tearing the place up in the hopes of finding what remained of Veronica.
"No." Ophani answered and met Rasielmon's gaze. While Ophani had a feeling that her decision was likely seen as controversial, that didn't change the fact that killing Ogudomon would've just made things worse. "She is elsewhere, taking the time to recuperate until she is in a better place mentally."
Raiselmon raised an eyebrow. While it looked like her former subordinate was telling the truth, that didn't change the feeling of dodging the question.
"Okay. I was hoping to get to the bottom of why she went through what she did." Rasielmon answered and watched Beelzemon's gaze lock onto her.
"If she had told you, would you then be willing to hand that information over?" the demon biker digimon announced and watched Rasielmon look away. For as big of a deal that she was making about coming their way, this was a rather simple question to avoid. Especially considering everything that had occurred leading up to this point. Was there something else going on or was this just a case of Rasielmon being petty and living up to her title. Honestly, it's probably a mix of both. Just my personal opinion here and not reflective of what might actually happen.
"Perhaps. Depends on what information that Belphemon is willing to give up." Rasielmon announced and was met with glares of all looks. Definitely the wrong answer to give here. Especially considering she's a mother. You don't make those kinds of comments to those kinds of people. Unless they're the evil kind. Absolutely fair game at that point. "Bad enough that she is still around. Worse, she likely has information about future events that could prove useful."
Ophani's gaze shifted over to Keith. While she got where Rasielmon was coming from here, that didn't change the fact that leaving her alone with Veronica was a bad idea. Period.
"Yes, but she's my partner's sister." Ophani answered as she pulled her doll over. Giving it a hug, her attention shifted back to Rasielmon. "This is the best that we're likely to get when it comes to fami-"
Ophani didn't get a chance to finish her statement, Rasielmon's laughter serving to cut her off. Shooting the archangel of secrets digimon a look, that was enough to get her to stop. Hopefully permanently. Probably more of a temporary reprieve, sadly.
"I'm done here." Rasielmon announced as she headed over to the fence. Getting ready to cross over, Ophani managed to cut her off.
"Really? That's how you wish to end your first conversation with me in some time?" Ophani inquired as Steve exited the home. Holding a pitcher of lemonade, he made quick time over to the digimon.
"What if I am? I'm a busy woman who has to do everything herself. I don't even get a secretary. No, the other celestials get one. But I'm supposed to be above that. The one who they go too in order to cleanse themselves of the things that they need to let go of." Rasielmon screeched, snatching the pitcher of lemonade from Steve's hands. Chugging the lemonade down, she reluctantly took care to hand back the pitcher. Accepting it back, Steve stared up to Rasielmon's face.
"Would a hug help?" Steve inquired and Rasielmon shook her head. While the offer sounded nice, it wasn't something that felt appropriate here. Especially with the claims that Ophani made about Belphemon mere moments ago. Not that this stopped Ophani from doing just that. Embracing her former boss, Rasielmon reluctantly accepted the gesture. Breaking away right after, she split attention between Steve and Ophani here. There were so many things she wanted to say here, but after the disaster that was this whole mess, she let those words fade. Instead, a sigh escaped her lips.
"Just be careful, okay? Don't waste the one opportunity you got now that things are no longer in turmoil." Rasielmon announced and Ophani nodded. Giving her former boss a wave, Rasielmon waved back as she made her exit. Warping away, her attention shifted to the house. That was one disaster averted. Barely, but still a victory nonetheless.
"That was certainly… something." Keith announced and made his way over. Beelzemon followed right behind, taking care to look out for Rasielmon.
"Eh. Could've gone far worse." Beelzemon answered and got a look from Ophani. While she was in agreement with him, that doesn't change the fact that he was tempting fate in every sense of the word. For now, she took a seat on the grass and calmed herself. Whatever it was that Rasielmon wanted, the archangel of secrets digimon would just need to wait on it. All the better in her book.
.
Back at Rasielmon's sanctum, the titular digimon took a moment to calm herself. That… very much did not go to plan in the slightest. At the same time, that wasn't to say that such an outcome was a hindrance. If anything, it just showed that things were going on Ophani's end. If she wasn't going to take her position back, might as well let her hold down that part of the world. All would work out in the end. She was certain of it.
"Welcome home!" a kind, pure voice announced, bringing with it the arrival of a small girl. Dressed in what appeared to be some kind of white tunic and pants, the symbolism is very much not lost on me. Pink eyes stare out, while a look of innocence hangs over her face. It's sickeningly sweet and… too pure. Like someone has gone out of their way to defy the rules and this is a bribe to keep them from intervening. Or perhaps this is just one more thing caused by all the failed timelines that had come before it. Who can really say. But it's a mystery for another time.