I don't own digimon.

Story 103

Sticky Situation

Of all the things to find himself, Zeke was not expecting a bank robbery. No, he just wanted to cash his check. Not his fault he still owned a flip phone in this day and age. If anything, this was his dad's fault. God forbid he get something that was even close to up to date on account of it possibly being stolen by a strange purple dragon. While an oddly specific hangup to have when it came to cellular devices to have, this was a world filled with creatures that very much were not above stealing one's phone and then using it for all manners of nefarious schemes. Or just calling home to tell everyone that they had ended up in the Human World for one reason or another. The teenager honestly wouldn't put it past them to commit those kinds of shenanigans.

Shoving that thought away for now, his attention shifted back to the situation at hand. The perpetrators of this mess were a group of grunts with ski masks over their faces. Wouldn't want their identities to be seen by the camera.

"Why did it have to be today of all days?" Zeke muttered, continuing to cower behind an upturned table. He was no hero. Not even close. Just some guy trying his hardest to live in a world that felt as if it was hostile to him and his generation. At least, that was how it felt. Whether or not the history books would say that, remained to be seen. Nor was it worth thinking about right n-

"Eh. It could've been the day that you died, buzz." a voice announced and Zeke looked to his left. Laying right beside him with a blue honeybee dressed in yellow armor. Oddly, a purple glasses symbol had been printed.

"Uh… am I supposed to know you for some reason?" Zeke answered and the bee digimon shrugged. Why did humans always seem so keen to jump to conclusions? Was always so troublesome when talking to them. Especially when they didn't realize they were doing it in the first place. But that could be looked past and used to their advantage.

"That depends. Do you remember any large honey bees in your life? And I'm not talking about the sort that you're probably thinking of. Those don't count. No, I'm talking about the sort that can talk and do all kinds of cool stuff." the bee digimon announced and watched Zeke's eyes glaze over. Trying his hardest to answer the question to the best of abilities, he was coming up with a complete blank. Why did his mind have to be like this now of all times? Yes, the stress of the situation was very much getting to him. But this strange creature was very much solid and in front of him. Yet, any sightings of someone like the bee he was talking too evaded him at every turn. Had he simply repressed those thoughts? Or was this a trick question in every sense of the word? Only one real way to find out.

"Not that I can think of. Should I?" Zeke answered and got a chuckle from his companion. Shooting them a look, that was more than enough to get them to stop.

"The name's Honeybeemon. A pleasure to meet you." Honeybeemon greeted and held his hand out. Zeke reluctantly reached out for a light handshake. Getting accepted, care was taken to not make themselves even bigger targets than they already were here.

"Uh… Zeke." Zeke whispered and shifted his position ever so slightly. From here, it was clear that the robbers were still hard at work collecting people's valuables for the sake of making a profit in this crooked transaction. Not that he really had anything of note that would sell well. If one didn't count his phone. That might have value… if you're a comedian and needed a prop to make that one joke hit that much harder. Shoving that thought away for now, Zeke's gaze shifted back to his companion. "Care to tell me how you got here?"

Honeybeemon looked away. Muttering something to the floor, his gaze returned to the teenager. Even then, it looked as if he had one eye on the action.

"Came through one of those office phones." Honeybeemon explained and pointed in the direction of the teller area. Tempted as Zeke was to look that way to see if the honey bee digimon was telling the truth, that would likely give away his position. Instead, he would just take the word of his companion at face value. Couldn't be any weirder than everything else that had led up to this point in the slightest. Though, thinking that just ensured that it very much was in one way or another. All the more reason to focus his mind elsewhere.

"So do you need to find your human or something?" Zeke inquired and got a shrug from Honeybeemon. While that felt like a stupid question to ask, it paid to check. For all he knew, this whole mess was an attempt to steal his identity for one reason or another. Seems like a lot of work just to pretend to be someone.

"Yeah. I'm totally here for all the chili dogs I can get my hands on. Of course I'm here to find my human. What did you think?" Honeybeemon muttered, watching Zeke raise a hand to his chin. Shooting him a look, that was enough to prevent the chuckling. Afterwards, the pair snuck a gaze out from their hiding spot. Somehow, the thieves were still hard at work collecting people's valuables. One would think they would move onto bigger targets, but that wasn't looking to be the case in the slightest. If anything, it almost looked as if they were searching for something in particular. That, or this was a distraction for something else. There were rumors of one 'Koushiro Izumi' still being on the loose for the crimes that he had committed. Not that someone as high profile as that would ever come to this backwater town near Las Vegas… New Mexico of all places. No, they were likely either heading for Albuquerque or to somewhere like Roswell. Maybe Carlsbad if they were after some specific attraction there. Not much else in that part of the state.

For now, Zeke let that thought fade. Wasn't worth dwelling on right about now.

"Sorry. Just curious." Zeke whispered, ignoring the sound of footsteps heading the duo's way. Looking over at Honeybeemon, he was met with a chuckle. Just in time for the table to be kicked away. Staring up, the teenager was met with the glare of one of the thieves. At least, Zeke thought it was a glare. Could entirely be some other expression under that ski mask and he would be none the wiser.

"I knew there was still someone who had valuables." the thief announced, ignoring the look Honeybeemon was giving them here in favor of focusing on Zeke here.

"I don't have anything on me that you would want." Zeke countered and Honeybeemon rolled his eyes. Floating up, he took the opportunity to throw some kind of powder at the thief. Getting through the clothes used to obscure their identity, they crumpled to the floor and dropped their bag. "Uh… how long does that powder of yours last?"

Honeybeemon chuckled.

"Long enough that we might be able to get out of this mess. How does that sound?" the honey bee digimon answered and Zeke nodded. Standing up, he took the time to kick the sack of loot out of the thief's reach. While it would only serve a deterrent rather than a permanent solution here, it was still better than nothing.

"Works for me." Zeke answered as the pair made a beeline for the door. Doing their best to keep a low profile, that was next to impossible here. Especially with the other thieves very much noticing their companion now incapacitated.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of them announced and Zeke spun around. Gun now pointed at him, this was very much not the way he was expecting to die here. No, his expectation was for natural causes. To be fair, blood loss is technically a natural cause in the most twisted way imaginable. Doesn't matter how exactly it's caused, losing blood kills you. Funny how that works in the grand scheme of things. But I digress.

"Don't even try it." Honeybeemon announced, the guns now pointed at him. Letting out a laughter, that brought far too many trigger fingers to said triggers. Which is exactly what you want right about now. Totally, 100%. Now flaws whatsoever in this genius plan from a digimon. Said no one ever. What kind of moron shouts that of all things. Me. I'm the perfect demographic for something like this. Oh dear. I'm showing my hand, aren't I? Oh well. Not the end of the world. "Do you really want to die here?"

One of the thieves inched forward. Gun still pointed at Honeybeemon, their target didn't flinch. Instead, he chose to close the distance. As for Zeke, he chose to remain in place. No use playing hero when you could easily be gunned down by an itchy trigger finger.

"Perhaps I do. What are you going to do about that?" the thief announced, getting pelted with the dust that took out their companion. Much like them, it was a similar story here. This time, Honeybeemon scooped the moron's firearm up. A pistol of some kind, it's a far cry from the revolvers my boss is so fixated on. Don't get me wrong. Revolvers are cool. But they keep popping up. In this particular case, it wasn't. No, a 1911 is cradled in the honeybee digimon's hands. Looking as silly as it was dangerous, what could possibly go wrong? A shotload of things, that's for certain.

"Uh… do you know how to use that?" Zeke inquired and Honeybeemon shrugged. Why did it matter? It's a gun. Pretty simple to use. Don't point at anyone you don't plan to shoot, keep your finger off the trigger until that time and remember that guns can very much run out of ammunition. Simple stuff… in theory. In practice, the various factors that were occurring here could result in all so-

"Nope! Nor do I have a license!" Honeybeemon announced and pulled the trigger. Managing to avoid shooting anyone by accident, that wasn't as big of an accomplishment

"Why does having a license matter right about now?" one of the thieves announced, getting a look from his companion here. To be fair, that's a good question to ask here. One that I don't know the answer off the top of my head. Even if I did, that doesn't really help here.

"Just gun him down!" a different thief announced and began firing. If this were a movie, it would actually be impressive. Instead, we're treated to a rather pathetic display of force in every sense of the word. I've seen trainees put out more bullets here than this loser. Though, that's probably not a fair comparison. Nor am I really allowed in there. Don't want reality warpers skewing the results in any particular direction. Not that I mind. I have more than enough ways to spy/scry my way over. I digress, of course. Harlequin knows the rules and will follow them.

As for Zeke, he had chosen to slow inch his way up to the thief as the telltale sound of a gun being out of bullets echoed forth. Choosing the headbutt tactic here, that was good enough to knock that particular thief down and send the now empty firearm into the ceiling. Had everyone been paying more attention, perhaps they would have noticed the sound of sirens approaching. No doubt the police, that should've been the straw that broke the camel's back. Instead, it served as more of a reason for the thieves to kick their efforts up a notch. Aiming at Honeybeemon, they wasted all their ammo on the honey bee digimon. Managing to miss with surprising accuracy, it made Zeke's job surprisingly easy. Almost too easy. Perhaps this was a distraction for something bigger. Not that the teenager could really think of what that might be, the answer eluded him. For now, he stood up and looked over to Honeybeemon. While he didn't know how exactly he was going to explain this to his dad, now was as good of a time as any to figure that conundrum out. Or if nothing else, come up with a way to steer the conversation to getting caught up in the middle of a bank robbery. That was bound to work. If not, there's always the option of claiming that you worked out a deal between you and the honey bee digimon.

"Let's get out of here." Zeke muttered and Honeybeemon nodded. Throwing the gun off to the side,he floated over to Zeke's side. Afterwards, the duo headed to the front door. Adding to the idiocy of this botched job, these morons forgot to lock the doors. Because of course they did. You would think they would do one thing successfully, but that's asking for far too much here. Even Kain knows to do that and he's been out of that trade for almost forever. Not that it matters here, Zeke and Honeybeemon pushing their way out. Outside, the sky of Las Vegas, New Mexico shined bright. A far cry from it's far better known cousin in Nevada, it was still a nice little town. Though, you can certainly do worse in that regard. On the bright side, the cop cars were waiting right in front of the bank's entrance. Officers just getting out, they were quite confused by the pair. Not that one could blame them for feeling that way. I would be too if I was responding to a bank robbery and watched a teenager and a larger than average honeybee walk out.
"Uh… hi?" Zeke greeted, raising his hands out of instinct. The last thing he needed here was to get shot and become yet another statistic. "The robbers are inside. I'm not entirely certain what their deal is."

An officer inched forward, gun already drawn. Pointed in such a way that it could switch between either target, that didn't make the situation any better. Because of course it didn't. What were you expecting in this world? The police to be kind and helpful? Get real.

"What the hell are you doing, Jenkins?" a different officer screeched and shot his partner a look. Thankfully, that was enough to convince Jenkins to correct his stupid behavior. Hopefully he had learned it for good and there wouldn't be a repeat in the future.

"Sorry, sir." Jenkins announced and looked over to Zeke and Honeybeemon. Meeting his gaze with hesitation, that was the cue for other officers to pass by and secure the bank proper. As for Zeke and Honeybeemon, they chose to get off to the side. There was no telling what else might occur at this po-

Once more, I'm cut off by way of something else. This time, it took the form of a car chase. By no means the fastest one I've ever seen, one could clearly make out Koushiro Izumi in the driver's seat. For fuck's sake. What part of 'hanging low' is too much to ask of you here? Everything, that's what.

"Oh hey. It's that guy who fucked everyone over." Honeybeemon announced and was met with a look from Zeke. Looking in the same general direction as the honeybee digimon, it was clear that this wasn't an illusion. Even if it somehow wasn't, that didn't change the fact that it was quite possibly the worst possible disguise one could go with while robbing a bank.

"Oh right. There's a large reward out for his arrest or something." Zeke muttered and shrugged. This was very much not his problem. That idiot could go about his day for all he cared. No, there was something else that weighed far heavier in the teenager's mind - his father. It was only a matter of time before he got here and saw Honeybeemon. Probably go on one of those tirades about the danger of digimon. Because of course he did. Not that Zeke really felt like he understood why or even what those rants were about in the first place.

"Zeke?" a voice called out and the teenager froze. In the distance, his father was approaching. Dressed in a relatively okay suit, he reminds me of someone. Not that I can put a finger on who or what exactly brings forth those memories. Oh well. Doesn't matter.

"Oh. Now you decide to show yourself!" Honeybeemon announced, ignoring the look that Zeke was shooting his way in favor of focusing on the teenager's father. "Do you know how long I've waited for you to at least acknowledge me? Far too long!"

Zeke's father rolled his eyes as he closed the distance. Leave it to his past to come rushing back at the worst possible moment.

"I would've loved to have acknowledged you. But other things got in the way." he announced, only for Honeybeemon to flash a fist full of powder in his general direction. "It's not my fault that stupid purple dragon decided that the fast food establishment I was working with was the place to appear."

Zeke raised an eyebrow. What the heck was he even talking about here? Such an event would create a massive media circus in the town and in turn, bring some interest to the place.

"Oh." he thought, the realization hitting like a truck. Oops. I guess this one is technically my fault. Not going to lie, feels a touch shitty. Something, something butterfly effect. Yeah, that. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20. "I guess that answers my question."

Looking back over to his father, his gaze now met that of Honeybeemon's. Glaring with all his might, the teenager had a feeling there was little that he could do at the moment. If anything, he needed to wait for these two idiots to get their heads out of their asses. Which was on top of finding somewhere else to cash his check. Just his shitty luck.

Harlequin's Notes:

Well that was sweet to scribe down.

Not sorry.