Ben10 & Digimon Tamers
Heroes and Humanity
Part 02: Humanity and Heroes
Another Myself – Chapter 84
Originally Written: Tuesday, October 03, 2017 557PM to Wednesday, October 04, 2017 1252AM
. . . . .
"Hello everyone," Henry called softly as he closed the door quietly behind him. Tai's house was awfully silent. Ryo's father, from this world, had gratefully offered his home to the group so they wouldn't have to travel so far, but most of the group didn't feel right imposing on him like that. Rika took him up on his offer, on the explanation that his house was closest to Ryo, and someone needed to stay to keep close watch on things. Yolei and Ken decided to as well, mainly because Ken already was over there all the time, helping Hideyoshi and his wife out. The others kept it to only staying at his house as a drop off and pick up point in between going to visit Ryo and Albedo.
He took his time as he walked through the halls. His hands gripped the handle of Albedo's bag tightly.
Omnimon and Imperialdramon somehow managed to make Eon back down temporarily. Henry figured it was more that he had gotten bored, after Ryo had somehow fought back against and stopped his transformation under the corruption of Millenniumon's spirit.
"'llo Henry." Izzy joined him on his walk, holding a newer looking laptop than the one Henry was used to seeing under his arm. The device still had pineapple yellow casing however.
Henry smiled softly in greeting and at the sight of the device.
"How are you?"
"Would it be too dramatic to say I'll be fine when Albedo is awake?" He murmured softly. Ryo was already awake, but slept most of the day away.
"A little, but completely understandable." The two headed to the familiar living room. No one wanted to chance staying outside for too long. It was only a matter of time before Eon and the Ben Tennysons returned to cause more chaos. In addition, the living room was one of the places in the house Paradox's shield was strongest, due to Kari having spent so much time there since it was activated.
Henry saw she still held the tiny device as though it were something capable of enhancing her own and her digivice's strength even more.
"I can't morally agree with your decision, Professor." Joe spoke, looking around the room for a figure he clearly couldn't see.
Henry stood in the doorway. He looked at the professor standing off to the side of the room behind one of the many couches. He noted that it was the same couch that he and Albedo had been sitting on previously. He stepped in the room tentatively. Izzy stepped in more confidently, and quickly moved to set up his laptop at what Henry dubbed 'Izzy's desk'.
"As a doctor in training, and a human being." Joe continued.
Henry looked at Paradox. The male calmly looked at his pocket watch as though he hadn't apparently suggested they carry out a controversial act.
"I don't feel right about it either." Davis murmured, pacing a short distance in the room. He tightly clenched his fists.
"It would be safest though, right?" Cody countered. He had crossed his arms over his torso.
"You didn't see the blood." Davis snapped. "I didn't think people had that much blood in 'em!"
Tai looked away.
"What is your suggestion, Paradox?" Henry asked.
"We need to move Ryo and Monodramon from this timeline as soon as possible. The longer they stay, the stronger Millenniumon will become within Monodramon." The Professor explained. "The harder he will be to stop."
Henry looked down at his feet. "You don't mean like, today, right?" Paradox didn't give him an answer. He felt a chill go down his spine.
"I don't think we can move Albedo today anyway." Tai leaned back in his seat. "No good for Ryo either. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to forcefully separate yourself from a digimon you merged together with."
Matt snorted, "Not supposed to be able to is more like it." He leaned his forearms on his thighs, his arms folded. "He looked like shit when he finally reached Albedo."
"Yea..."
Kari shut her eyes tight, and clasped the device in her hands. She brought it up to her lips and whispered into it.
"Geeze..." T.K. shook his head.
"I'm not for your plan." Sora spoke up, as Mimi agreed nodding her head. "Not this soon."
"Of course," he replied.
Henry repeated the Time Walker's reply, speaking softly.
"There isn't a sense of when Albedo will be released from the hospital either. Let alone walking and moving on his own." Joe sat up straight in his chair. He pulled a towel out of his pocket, and gently cleaned the lenses of his glasses.
Davis pouted. "So messed up."
"I got a chance to look at his medical report." He looked at Henry for a short moment.
Henry felt his blood run cold.
"I won't go into detail of his injuries, but Albedo shouldn't be alive. I'm surprised he made it out of critical unstable condition. He wouldn't be alive if not for Sakuyamon." He paused, as though debating on saying more. "I can only conclude that Eon knew what he was doing. He knew how deeply to cut. Just enough to give Albedo time to think about rejecting his proposal in defiance, or accepting it, in fear of death."
Henry shut his eyes tightly.
"But I don't think death scares him." Matt spoke up.
Henry nodded, ever so slightly. He refrained from covering his ears.
"Maybe it did before, but not anymore. I've seen those eyes." He looked down at his folded hands, "I've been there myself, you know. He wouldn't have minded moving on, at least not until he somehow heard Ryo's screams underneath Millenniumon." He shook his head, "I still don't know what he was referring to. How he heard it, I don't know."
"It was faint." Henry said, "He was specifically focusing on Ryo's voice. He wanted to know if Ryo was okay. He was fine with it, as long as he knew Ryo was okay." He smiled softly. He moved to take a seat on the couch.
"He blames himself so much." Sora frowned.
"Whatever for?" Mimi asked, looking around the room as though she were looking for Professor Paradox. "I can't grasp how he's got anything to do with Eon suddenly attacking him and Ryo." She shook her head. "Either he's being too hard on himself or we're missing something, right?" She looked at Izzy.
He nodded in response. "Perhaps."
Henry looked for Paradox, but didn't see him, so he kept silent. He affectionately ran a hand across the handle of Albedo's bag. He imagined he was stroking his Albedo's hair. He could almost see himself doing so.
"Or, maybe we already have enough information here." Izzy looked at Henry. "Ryo originally doesn't have a D-Terminal."
Henry shook his head, and smiled softly. "Albedo built it for him. Ones for all of his friends. Myself, Rika, and the other Ta-Digidestined back home closest to Ryo." He reached in Albedo's bag and took out his green D-Terminal. He unhooked his Digivice from the belt loop on his pants.
Tai whistled, "Too technologically savvy for me. How did he even...?" He held a hand out towards the device.
"He examined our digivices, and worked from there." Henry shook his head, "I can't say much more than that in that direction. Paradox told me that timelines have ways of fixing the smallest inconsistencies, even inconsistencies you wouldn't think were inconsistencies. He...Albedo caught on to Ryo's story, just from hanging out with him. He...he wanted to fix it."
T.K. massaged his temples.
"I didn't know why Ryo's situation is like this, but I tried to get Albedo to let it be anyway. Just because I knew it's a sensitive subject for Ryo. Ryo has always been there for Albedo. Many times even when no one else was... I suppose he wanted to return the favor the only way he knew how." Memories Juggernaut transferred to him from Albedo fluttered through his mind. The many times Paradox warned him. Kazu closely, but not quite catching onto why the games unnerved Albedo so much. Unable to fully understand why they angered him. "I don't know how far he got in his attempts, but it seemed to be enough to trigger this. Somehow." He wasn't sure why Jeri let Albedo borrow her Wonder Swan system to begin with, but there was no blame he could place on her. He couldn't imagine that this was her intention. He shook his head.
"Maybe his research on the situation grabbed Eon's attention, who was already looking at him, because he wanted another minion." Tai closed his eyes, thinking.
"Either way, the end result is the same." Joe spoke, "Both Ryo and Albedo are sitting ducks until they recover. And I don't think we're quite strong enough to keep Eon away from them." He sighed softly.
"But it's not just us." Mimi countered.
Sora readily agreed, though she shook at the thought of being casually thrown off the roof of another skyscraper.
"Wait until Eon touches a part of you and you start fading away into nothing cause he aged you thousands of years in seconds." Gomamon's shaking voice emerged from his place hiding on the floor behind Joe's legs. "You'll be wishing it was way more than not just us." The surrounding digimon partners burst into loud conversation, both in surprise and determination.
