I don't own digimon.

Story 95

Fleeting Memory

Narrator Switch: Harlequin to Guest Narrator Tsukaimon

As days went, this one was a long time coming. The Angels had been known for some time to be heading our heroes's way. We had gone through what felt like an eternity of training, strategizing and gathering the necessary supplies. A necessary evil when it came down to an opportunity that you only had one chance of succeeding. Perhaps that was why we were all on edge. We were standing on the edge of an orchard - TK and I. Serving as a refugee camp of sorts for all that had been displaced by this mess. Yet, things were looking up.

"Are you ready to do this?" a voice called out and my partner's focus shifted to our friend. Dressed in a plain t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, blue eyes met that of short black locks of hair. A little messy from the nature of this life, but still presentable.

"Of course. What kind of person do you think I am, Ken?" TK announced and watched Ken hold in his chuckling. Even as Wormmon walked up and climbed up onto his partner's shoulder. Between the two of us, he's very much had the worst path getting here. Between the emperor mess, the betrayal by way of someone we had seen as a friend, the fallout of certain shit and now this, the fact that he had even made it here was a miracle in itself. Perhaps if things had gone differently, maybe it would be him that would be telling you all this story. Doesn't matter.

"I guess that's true." Ken had cooed and stared up at the sky. In the distance, the airships that had held their enemies were fast approaching. Clearly intent on wiping them out in one fell swoop, they had another thing coming. "Uh… could I ask you something, TK?"

My master's gaze swiveled to meet that of the last unchanged digidestined. Nodding, the opportunity to speak is cut off by the ringing of the bell. That was the agreed upon signal for all warriors to gather at the designated spot. Can't remember how the fuck that we decided that was. Doesn't matter. Whatever conversation that could occur would have to wait until the operation had been completed or never happen at all.

Our destination was a large building - a 'city' hall but situated in a grove of various fruit trees. There, six figures dressed in cream-colored cloaks and hoods awaited - the Dark Blades. Yes, I'm aware of how stupid that sounded. But when you're lacking housing options, you take whatever you can get. Even if the housing in question is that of an orchard run by a group of digidestined who have been trapped here for who knows how many years.

"Is that everyone?" one of the figures announced, a companion taking the time to count the various heads that had gathered here. While I can't quite say that this was the biggest turnout ever, it was very close to that number. "We have gathered here today to strike a great blow against those that wish to keep us under their boots and steal those we hold precious. I trust that everyone is ready?!"

Cheers erupted across the crowd. It was clear as day that they were more than ready for the things that they would need to do here. Though, we perhaps didn't quite grasp the full magnitude of what we were about to do. The nature of the beast.

"Go forth and show those angels who's boss!" the figure announced and joined the group. Their companions followed right behind, doing their best to corral everyone into a manageable group size. Not certain why they even bothered. We were all going to spread out on the designated space and pull the airships down. Yes, that was bound to lose us some people. But the odds worked out in such a way that it was a risk we were all willing to ta- Don't give me that look. A lot of us are far stronger than we look. That, and the airships are made up of materials that are super light. Also, supposedly addictive for bees and bee-like creatures. Not certain how valid that second point is.

Once we got to the point, we all spread out. Pulling out the grappling hooks that had been oh so graciously provided to us, it became a matter of waiting. I don't know why Ken didn't just talk to TK about this here. It was as good of a time as any. But no, he and TK were focused on a certain other party - Victoria and Kuro. While I wouldn't quite say Victoria and TK saw each other as friends, they at least respected each other's skills. Kuro, on the other hand, had been rescued from… from… shit. It's right on the tip of the tongue and my mouth refuses to say it. Stupid timekeeper, making things more difficult than they need to be.

Point is, the hooks went flying. Not every one managed to pierce through, but it was more than enough to pull them down. Powered by a mix of loss, grief and anger, you would be surprised what some of those people are capable of.

Down the airships went, landing in such a way that they would be open to attack. Of course, that didn't stop our opponents from trying to take us all down. Taking the form of mechanical versions of Angemon and Angewomon, this would be our first real test.

Hand of Fate!

Orange beams shot forth from the angemon's hands, covered by suppressive fire from their angewomon.

Priestess Arrow!

Firing her bow up into the air, the arrow that Kuro shot came back down as a beam of gray light. Scorching some of the angels, the rest of this particular group had chosen to switch to their staffs and bows. No arrows on the latter, though. One would think that they would've been provided with proper ammunition, but no. That's asking too much from their leader.

"Nice shot, Kari." my partner announced, only to be met with a butterfly sword pointed his way. Looking in the direction of the holder of this 'signature weapon', that got him a look from Victoria and Kuro here.

"You don't need to do that every time, nya." Kuro muttered, Ken taking the time to go into Jewelbeemon. It's a large bug man digimon with a spear. I'm actually kind of surprised that nothing happened to make an evolution occur, but I digress.

Spike Buster!

Swinging that great spear of his around, Jewelbeemon managed to let forth a shockwave. Knocking what remained of their angels to the ground, it was child's play to dispatch them.

"Ready to head into the belly of the beast?" Victoria inquired and Ken stared down at the ground. Muttering something to the dirt, my partner reached out to his hand. Giving it a squeeze, that was enough to get the chosen of kindness to shift his focus back to TK.

"We were going to have to deal with this mess eventually. Best to do it now and rip the bandage now." TK cooed and we watched Ken nod. Getting onto Jewelbeemon here, that was my partner's cue to let me digivolve as well.

Patamon digivolve too… MaloMyotismon!

Kneeling down, I allowed TK on my back. Once he was, I and Jewelbeemon turned our attention to our destination.

"I wish you the best of luck, Miss Arcana, Miss Neko." Ken had announced and we shot off.

I'm not entirely certain which ship they had been assigned too, but it had to be one off to the side. Oh. Good to know.

Punching a hole right through, we were met with a hallway. Initially, we had thought we had somehow pierced through into the hangar of all areas, but that was not the case. I'm not entirely certain if that's good or not. Probably not. Between the rusted metal, holes in the hull and scent of oil, this was one former flying death trap.

"What exactly was it you wanted to ask me?" TK inquired and watched Ken open up his mouth. Before the words could come out. The sound of a door being ripped off echoed from further up in the hall. Getting off to the side, we watched the door fly right past us. Only the finest of greetings from that of Seraphim - the head honcho of the angels. Though, can we really call it a greeting? More of a threat when you get down it. Yet, we continued onward.
With the doors now gone, the actual walk to our destination was relatively short. Not enough to have a conversation. Perhaps the largest room in the ship, it was done up in blinding white with gold accents. At the back, a massive throne had been set against a wall. It was here that we met Seraphim. Dressed much like a Seraphimon, he was far taller. A lot more nasty too. The sort that would use the skulls of his enemies to drink from. Standing up, the sound of gears turning and groaning echo about the walls. The most awful sound I had heard. Not certain I can say the same of my partner, Ken or even Wormmon.

"Bold of you to bring the inferior version of me." Seraphim announced as he stood up from his throne. Towering over all of us, he had brought a massive spear to this fight. Because of course he did. Homeostasis fucking forbid you fight fairly, right?

Shot Claw!

Letting Ken off, JewelBeemon dashed towards Seraphim. Swinging his spear into the leader of the angel's armor, it managed to do damage. While not particularly surprising, that didn't change the fact that this was going to be a long fight.

Pandaemonium!

Firing forth my shoulder beam cannon, I had gotten the misplaced hope that maybe we would make it through. We were both doing damage and TK had armor-piercing rounds for his gun. That should've been more than enough to take this monster down.

I honestly don't know how it happened. After what felt like an eternity cycling through our attacks and dodging when we could, we had reached a stalemate in this fight. For something to change, a choice had to be made. A nasty, awful, no-good choice.

"Do you think you can do something for me, TK?" Ken whispered and my partner's gaze shifted over to him. Watching the digidestined of kindness point upwards, one could make out a chandelier right above Seraphim. Done up in spikes, it was the one thing keeping the ceiling up. A well-placed shot would be all it took to bring the ceiling down. Of course, that would require one of the two and their digimon to stay with our dear angel.

"No." TK muttered and got a look from his companion. It was either this, him being the distraction or us all getting killed by an emboldened Seraphim. "What the hell am I supposed to tell Ririsu?"

Ken chuckled.

"That you'll be there for her in the coming trials." Ken explained and motioned Jewelbeemon to get up close to Seraphim. Following right behind, the digidestined of kindness climbed up onto his partner's back. Giving TK one last look, the gentlemanly asshole nodded. Switching ammo, he aimed his gun towards the chandelier. I had just managed to get out of the way, helplessly watching as the fight reached its anticlimactic end. Tempted as my partner was to dig Ken's body out to have some manner of closure, it wasn't worth it. Instead, he got on my back and we flew out. Ascending upwards, it would appear that the other operations were successful, if not more so. If you consider the genocide of an entire army as a 'success'. Yeah. A necessary evil in the grand scheme of things. A part of me hopes that it doesn't come down to that this time, but I know better.

Thankfully, the trip back out is relatively quick. Yet, that isn't our final destination. Far from it. No, there was only one place that we could go in the wake of what had just occurred.

"Do you know what you want to say?" I asked my partner and felt his grip shift. Clearly he wanted to shrug, but that wasn't happening. Not without needing me to come and rescue him.

"I guess?" TK responded, resisting the urge to spit on someone from above. Honestly, the amount of self-control on display here was clearly a sign of the seriousness of the situation. Yes, all of us are in some regard… assholes. Heck, most of us wouldn't disagree with that sentiment. When something like this occurs, we are more than willing to set aside our differences for the sake of honoring the fallen. That, and having the ability to continue living this place we call home.

Landing softly on the ground, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Considering that we both just watched our friend die, that was an understandable feeling to have. Would be odd if we weren't feeling anything after that. Yet, there was something else here. Perhaps had Ken had managed to tell us what he had wanted to say, we would know what exactly it was. Instead, we're grasping at straws.

"Hi TK." a voice called out, bringing with it a woman. Dressed in a dark blue nightgown, that did little to actually obscure the baby bump she was sporting. Did little to obscure her locks of magenta hair and orange eyes. Though, she did finally switch over to contacts rather than glasses. "Where's Ken?"

TK's gaze shot down to the dirt. Trying his hardest to pull himself together, tears dropped down. Even with his best attempts to wipe them away, all that accomplished was making even more come down. Eventually, the gentlemanly asshole met the widow's gaze.

"Ririsu… Ken is dead." TK announced and was promptly met with a punch to the stomach. Taking it like a champ, our gazes returned to Ririsu. Tears rolling down her face as well, a couple muttered expletives, slipped through. "In order to kill the head honcho of the angels, he and Wormmon sacrificed themselves."

His words rolled out and Ririsu looked away. Muttering something to herself, she forced her gaze back to us.

"Figures. I trust that he asked you to be our child's godfather?" Ririsu inquired and was met with confused looks. In retrospect, we probably should've put that together once we saw her. Oh well. Hindsight is twenty, twenty.

.

Narrator Switch: Tsukaimon to Harlequin

"Hitokoto de ieba, sore ga tenshi-tachi no konrandesu. Shitsumon wa? (And that's the mess with the angels in a nutshell. Any questions?)" Tsukaimon announced and watched Nina of all people lean forward. Raising a hand up, Tsukaimon shifted his gaze over to her.

"Uh… Where exactly did these 'Angels' get their airships?" Nina announced and Tsukaimon stared down at the floor. That's… actually a fair question. I don't even think I've ever thought about it. If I had to make a guess, someone was inspired by a certain airship from a certain game. But that feels like a dumb, bullshit answer here. Maybe they stole the plans from wherever that dear Katherine got her airship from. Isn't out of the realm of possibilities, but unlikely.

"Anata no suisoku wa watashi no suisoku to onaji kurai atehamarimasu. (Your guess is as good as mine.)" Tsukaimon announced as a knock echoed through from the other side. Watching Pins head over, the suited dino digimon shot Mimi of all people a look. Then it was back over to the door. Opening it up, the very tall palmon walked through. Dressed in one of Mimi's many dresses, she was trying her hardest to avoid certain people's attention.

"Gozonji no tōri, watashi wa, dareka ga modotte kuru koto o kitai shite iru subete no hito no uchi, anata o eranda wakede wa arimasen. (You know, I didn't have you of all people pinned for someone to come back.)" Victoria muttered and was met with a middle finger from 'Palmon' here. Considering the whole 'Flower' mess, Mommy Kitty is honestly handling this far better than I was expecting here. Though, that's such a low bar when it comes to metrics to fixate on. But I digress.

"Mā, yoku narimashita. (Well, I got better.)" Palmon announced as she reached Mimi. Taking a seat beside her, that brought with it the attention of multiple people her way.

"Kanojo wa ningen to dejimon ga totemo ōkī i jigen kara kita noda to omotte imashitaga? (I just assumed that she had come from some alternate dimension where humans and digimon were really big?)" Mimi answered and got a sigh from Pins. while very much not buying that excuse, he could at least see the logic behind it. Maybe… if you stretch it just a touch. Yet, it's back over to Tsukaimon here.

"Hoka ni nanika kikitai koto wa arimasu ka, soretomo yoroshīdesu ka. (Anything else that you want to ask me or are you all good to go?)" Tsukaimon inquired and was met with shrugs from all parties. By no means the gesture he was expecting here, it worked. Also meant that he was a good storyteller, but that's beyond the point. There's a war to prepare for. Second chances don't come twice, after all.

Harlequin's Notes:

Didn't think it was possible for a worse version (emotionally) of that day to exist. The more you know?