Chapter 15 - The Virtuous Shadow

—

"Rudy!" Elliot's barking shout made the tech jump as he stomped into the lab room. "You'd better have something worth my time, I'm not in the mood for games right now!"

"Elliot, settle down!" Emil insisted as he hurried in behind his partner. He could tell Rudy was already incredibly nervous, which wasn't a good sign as far as he was concerned, and an agitated Elliot would only compound any issues that came from that. "Don't shout at him for doing his job-"

"DON'T start with me, Emil," Elliot snapped, cutting off Emil. "I'm not happy with you, either."

"Elliot-"

"I said DON'T. RUDY! What's taking you so long?"

"Ah, r-right, right! Y-yes, sorry!" the poor flustered tech was cringing from the loud voice; Elliot wasn't usually this overtly angry and it had him clearly out of sorts. "I apologize if I was interrupting something, it's just…the results came back on that hair that you were asking me to test. It was a much more rapid conclusion than I anticipated-"

"I don't want a diatribe, Rudy!" Elliot shouted. "Tell me what this is about, and tell me DIRECTLY!"

"S-sir! This…this needs context, you can't…I can't just say this and-"

"I SAID OUT WITH IT!"

"Elliot!" Emil was getting angry himself now - this was highly unprofessional conduct, and not something typical for his good friend. Whatever was going on with him, it was clearly affecting his work, and at a time where they could ill afford someone falling apart. "Lower your voice and stop being so aggressive! This is a CO-WORKER, not some stubborn suspect!"

Elliot's look back at Emil might have withered a lesser man…it certainly didn't leave Emil feeling comfortable. But he at least reined it in a little bit when he opened his mouth again. "I've had a very bad day and it's not over yet, and I don't want a whole lot of yapping about things that aren't to the point. Just tell me what you want to tell me, and don't badger me with extraneous details."

"…Sir…I…I did the conversion and matching you asked for." Rudy was very shaky about the way he said it, which had Emil very uncomfortable all of a sudden; Rudy wasn't usually a nervous sort. "I…I found that…the DNA results…they…they conformed…to a human profile."

"A human profile?!" echoed Emil and Elliot together.

"Y-yes…and…on inspiration, I…I decided to run it against our comprehensive profile database. Just to see if there was a match that could be…identified anywhere…even on a limited basis. And…I found…something too crazy, I can't…" Rudy pulled a paper off of his desk, his hands trembling. "It's not possible! There's no way it could have happened! That's why I'm trying to tell you that I can't just say this without trying to figure it out-"

"Enough!" Elliot snatched the paper out of Rudy's hands, the tech yelping as he nearly fell over in his chair trying to back away. Emil tried to get closer, but before he could, Elliot's face darkened, and there was a volcanic look in his eyes…he caught the warning signs just in time to back away, before he heard a vicious roar tear from Elliot's throat, and the irate man turned on his heel and stormed out of the lab room, flinging the paper down behind him.

"Elliot! What on earth?!" It was unlike anything Emil had ever seen out of him in years and years of partnership. He turned back to Rudy, who looked almost to be on the verge of a breakdown. "Rudy! What's going on? I need to know what happened!"

"No, no, no…this…this isn't what was supposed to happen!" moaned Rudy, holding his head in his hands. "It doesn't make sense, he shouldn't be just…thinking the wrong thing!"

"Thinking what? Rudy, what's going on?"

"A-agent Conover…I…I think…I think he's about to do something horrible to his son!"

—

"Dad, I told you, I don't know where Kirsten is. And I kind of want to talk to her about something, so I'm definitely listening for her."

"Well, fine. I just thought you two might've run out together. You seem to be going places all the time, Skylar, it's not like you. You're usually just sitting inside and studying like normal." Marcus folded his arms. "I wonder about it when you're not doing what you usually do, you know. Especially when I haven't heard anything about it."

"I'm just…hanging out with friends, Dad." Skylar had his doubts that THAT was going to help things, so he tried to elaborate. "Since we don't have school, they want me to spend time with them while we can. And they've been trying to get me out of the house more, they say I'm too pale."

"Well, I suppose that's not entirely untrue. Well, just be careful, okay? I don't want to hear about you getting in trouble or anything, so if you're spending time with the wrong people…"

"It's just the people who visit here now and then."

"Well, I'm trusting you on that. Right, if you see Kirsten, tell her I want to talk to her about how late she's out. She should at least be telling me." With that Marcus turned around and left - the fact that he had just passed his field of vision over a very nervous Breezedramon didn't even seem to register to him, and he exited the room without question.

Skylar stood up to shut the door after him, and then leaned against it with a groan. "I NEED a lock on this door. So help me, I'll get one myself."

"He…didn't…even…REACT!" whispered Breezedramon harshly. "It was like I didn't even exist!"

"All hail the power of the obsession with 'normal.'" Skylar shook his head. "I'm sure he saw you, his mind just blotted it out because he doesn't want to accept anything weird. He's been even crazier about it than usual lately…it's like he's desperate to convince us that everything's normal, nothing's going on, forget about the giant monsters that appear all over the place. He STILL calls them 'special effects.'"

"I'm not gonna complain about avoiding a close shave there! He didn't even knock! Even I knocked!"

"Uh, banging your body against the window does not count as knocking, bud."

"Why not? It was loud, it was obnoxivicious, and it got your attention! I'd say that's exactly what knocking is!"

Skylar couldn't help but smirk a bit. "That sounds like some creative defining to me. I thought that was BC's thing."

"Someone's gotta try to keep up with him!" insisted Breezedramon. "The others won't! Even Data, and he's a robot, he should be able to use all those compilifilimilicatated words just fine."

"I imagine he can use those 'compilifilimiligatated' words just as easily, he just chooses not to." Skylar paused. "Huh, I thought I'd have a lot more trouble trying to match that. I feel like there might kinda be a method to your tongue's madness, at least sometimes. Maybe some experimental investigitavatations are in order…"

"Hey! It's not like I'm trying to screw up words! And you shouldn't intentionally mess up yours! Even if I do know what you're trying to say!"

"Hey, I only screwed up one."

"No, you did two!"

"I did not. You must've misheard me."

Breezedramon frowned. "I'm pretty sure I didn't. Are you okay, Sky?"

"I'm fine. As fine as I can be, anyway, without knowing what's going on with Kirsten…where the heck is she?" Almost as soon as he said it, he heard footsteps up the stairs, and dropped his voice. "Maybe that's her…if so, finally! We gotta know what she knows...if she saw us…"

"Yeah, yeah, we've been over this," agreed Breezedramon nervously. "I just hope she's not on someone else's side."

"Won't know until we grill her." Skylar stood, and slowly opened his door, trying to be as quite as possible. He was torn between trying to knock on Kirsten's door and alerting her, or just walking right in and confronting her at the advantage. It probably wasn't very proper to do the latter, but giving her forewarning might create a lot more trouble if she was freaking out over it…as he debated in his head, he heard something from her room. A thump like a window opening…and then something else, like something climbing in. "…What the…"

"What is it, Sky?"

"Is she…letting someone in?"

"Huh? How? She's up way high! Only someone like me could get in!"

"Someone like…" Suddenly Skylar put it together, and suddenly the debate was quite effectively quashed. He threw the door open, getting a yelp out of Kirsten and a more defensive reaction out of the little dark dragon, who leapt back brandishing his sword. "You!"

"You!" Shadowdramon exclaimed back.

"Skylar!" Kirsten cried out.

"…Okay, if I have to be the one to tell everyone to quiet down, then you're all being WAY too loud," remarked Breezedramon.

"Nnngghh…" Skylar took a deep breath, then shut Kirsten's door behind the two of them, looking around with clear exasperation at both his sister and Shadowdramon, who was slowly lowering his weapon. "Okay…Kirsten…let me just start…by saying…what the actual hell?"

"Oh, you have NO business talking, buster, I KNOW what you've been doing," Kirsten shot back acidly. "You AND your blue friend."

"Welp, that's busted right there," Breezedramon sighed. "So you were out there earlier…and you saw…uh, me and Sky…"

Kirsten nodded. "Yeah. You and Skylar…combining together or something like that."

"Greaaaat…that was the ONE thing we still had as a secret around here." Skylar rubbed his face tiredly. "Please tell me Benny didn't see it…"

"Not as far as I know. But you have a LOT of explaining to do. I mean, how? Why? How in the world did YOU of all people get mixed up in something like this?"

"That's FAR too long a story for me for tonight. And besides, you have your own explanations, such as why you thought it was a brilliant idea to go jailbreaking."

"I couldn't just leave them there! I heard you saying they'd been down there for days! It's not right to keep people imprisoned like that!"

"We kinda had a reason for it!" exclaimed Breezedramon. "Like, sheeze, not even just because of how they were acting towards us, people around here are already paranoid about monsters, they could start a camalamataranity over seeing one of them! I mean, heck, if that wasn't a problem, Crestmon woulda been let go ages ago."

"They should still be allowed to decide what THEY want to do," insisted Kirsten. "Or at least exchanged with some of those other creatures! People keeping prisoners for ages and ages on end is never the right thing, it never fixes the problems, it just creates new ones!"

"It didn't occur to you that maybe this situation might be just a LITTLE bit different from most?" snapped Skylar.

"Please, stop!" Both humans turned to look at Shadowdramon, who seemed particularly uncomfortable. "…Perhaps this was a mistake…I shouldn't have tried to push to hear more like I did…"

"You're fine," Kirsten assured him, reaching over and patting Shadowdramon on the shoulder, making Breezedramon's jaw drop and Skylar's eyes nearly bug out. "Don't worry, this isn't the first time we've had, uh, disagreements, it's not really your fault. Why, uh, don't you tell them a bit about how you're feeling now?"

Shadowdramon hesitated, but nodded, looking up at Skylar and Breezedramon. "Right…I'm not…going to pretend I enjoyed being captive, but…I understand it now. She helped me see my mistakes, and…hopefully I can still fix them. I got too wrapped up in the opportunity I felt I was getting, to gain strength and achieve my dreams…dreams that can't be fulfilled if I follow the dark path that Emperius treads. I…was wrong to work with them and to attack you, who are doing the real works that those I revere have done."

"…Are you SURE this is the same Shadowdramon?" asked Breezedramon.

"Hey! Show a little respect, he's trying to turn himself around!" bristled Kirsten.

"Okay, okay, I mean, yeah, that's good! That's definitely a good thing! I'm just…it's such a difference from earlier today, it's a bit hard to believe!"

"Well, that's why you need to talk to people, to try to understand them rather than just keeping them under lock and key. Well…maybe you two aren't the right ones to do that, if you're anything like Skylar, dragon guy, I think you might want to leave the talking to someone else."

"You are correct for more reasons than you know," agreed Shadowdramon with a nod.

Breezedramon scowled. "Hey! Now who's not showing respect?"

"ENOUGH." Skylar wrested control of things back towards himself; he was pretty much at the end of his rope by this point, things had disintegrated far too quickly. "Clearly, we aren't on the same page at the moment, and perhaps not even in the same book. The four of us need to sit down and have a long talk about everything, so that we each understand where we are and what needs to happen, or NOT happen, as the case may be. And then, Kirsten, you need to go feed Dad your best excuse as to what you were doing out there so late because he was getting on my case about you earlier and I have enough trouble with them pushing me about Benny. And speaking of which, you're also going to tell ME why the hell Benny is currently cuddling a Dorumon in his sleep, because that was another ambush I didn't need today."

"Dorumon's here?" Shadowdramon rose to attention. "Thank the night! I thought the worst, after Ashinkaimon showed up…"

"Tell me you did not just say the thing I thought you just said!" Breezedramon suddenly yapped.

"It's gone now. At least one of your other crew defeated it, somehow. Which I'm going to want to know about, I studied its performance in its testing and I couldn't find its weakness at all."

Skylar shook his head. "Yeah, we might not even be in the same library at this point…this is gonna be a looooong night…"

—

"This one's the last one that I know of for sure. It was around…no, more than five hundred years back. There was a fearsome clash between some digimon calling themselves the Demon Kings and those who stood against them. The Demon Kings wielded fearsome enough power on their own, but they had called upon an even more potent power…something they called The Blighted One. It was a sort of thing…no one's really clear on what sort of thing it was, but it was alive, presumably…and it fed off of the energy of the land itself, draining it of vitality and leaving it a harsh wasteland where little grows and it's tough to survive. The anecdotes say it looked something akin to a brain with an eyeball in it, but the accounts are pretty sketchy from that far out."

"That's so crazy…you think it wasn't one of you digimon?"

"I don't see how it could have been…there was something…unnatural about it, everyone said, it didn't feel like one of our kind. But it's impossible to know without seeing it again, and I'd really rather NOT see it in this day and age. Not considering what it did…the warriors of light clashed hard with the Demon Kings, and defeated them and sank their mad ambitions and their castle. But the land never recovered…it's why there's not a lot of places where digimon live in most of the central region of Northern Tetraquaz, most of the living spaces are closer to the coastlines. If that's the power The Blighted One had, you can imagine I wouldn't want to run into a repeat, or something worse."

Ashley didn't seem particularly intimidated, judging by her grin. "Wild. It sounds kinda like one of those 'Old Gods' things from our side. Lovecraftian horrors or things like that."

Elecmon looked startled. "You have stories about things like that, too?!"

"Well, they're all fiction stories - nothing that ever actually showed up. But there's some pretty out-there stories about them, too. It's fascinating, the kind of stuff people will come up with just for the purpose of creeping themselves out. I think there's some kind of adaptive benefit to that…my theory is that it's a form of control illusion that helps relax people when things aren't going well for reasons beyond their power. By telling stories about unspeakable horrors, you're actually controlling them, and it gives a sense of power that offsets the sense of helplessness that you might get from what's going on in your life."

Elecmon rubbed his head. "Jeez…how do you know so much about how people think?"

"That's what I study," Ashley replied rather proudly. "It's one of the most important subjects in the world, and one of the ones we actually know the least about. I'm aiming to be the one who learns how the brain really creates the mind experience, but that's likely to be a 50-year process."

"Well, hopefully you'll have 50 years to do so. I'm never even confident about OUR future…there's too many demon digimon who think that they can bring back their masters and renew their reign of terror. And then there's the guys in the South who apparently worship some kind of death god they're trying to bring to life…I don't know nearly enough about that one, but it'd be super scary if it's real."

"Gotta admit, it's weird hearing talk about fear from someone who can literally shoot lightning at will."

"What's weird is hearing YOU being NOT scared of it even though you CAN'T. How on earth can humans be the way you are without native abilities?"

Ashley shrugged. "That's another thing for me to figure out, I think…oh, hey, I hear angry stomping. That'll probably be my little bro."

"Uh…" Elecmon felt his nervousness tick back up. "Does he…always sound that…intimidating?"

"Nah, not usually. So he's probably in a mood."

"…I might suggest ev-"

Elecmon didn't get to finish as Isaac slammed Ashley's door open. He didn't even pay the fuzzy creature any mind, though, directing his ire to his grinning sister. "YOU. Are the BIGGEST. PAIN. In the ASS. That has EVER. EXISTED."

Ashley was utterly unfazed. "C'mon, bro. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"SHUT UP. HOW. HOW do you know!"

"Isaac, if you really wanna keep your whole fusion dance thing a secret, you probably shouldn't do it right out in the backyard."

"It's not like I have a ton of options!" raged Isaac, throwing his hands up. "That's SPECIFICALLY why I waited until everyone was asleep! What, were you just trying to catch me or something?! And why'd you have to spread it around to others?"

"You make a LOT more noise than you think you do, little bro," cackled Ashley. "Blame yourself for waking me up. And what, I was supposed to NOT tell Kirsten her brother was off doing crazy things like fighting monsters?"

"YES! That was EXACTLY what you were supposed to do!"

Ashley gave an exaggerated shrug. "Well, c'mon, you gotta tell me these things a lot earlier, bro, it's not like I'm a mind reader."

"I dispute that assertion with every fiber of my being." Datacarnomon finally spoke up, having entered the room while Isaac was raving. "You are a literal goddamn neural network hacker if ever I saw one. I don't know how in the two worlds you managed to keep from leaking that you knew that…" His voice trailed off as he looked over at Elecmon, who was trying very hard not to be noticed. "…Is there a reason that he's not locked up?"

"Of course there is," replied Ashley with a hint of smugness. "I talked him over to our side."

"…You. Talked him over…what?"

"Yep. Gave him a few things to think about, got him realizing that he's better off supporting us than those jerks who're after us. Figured it was a better way to go about things than just keeping him chained up or doing worse to him, and plus, he has some pretty neat stories to tell."

"Yeah, uh…she…uh…" Elecmon figured it was probably a good idea to back himself up to those two before things went bad. "She knows how to…uh, make you think about things in ways I didn't think about them before…I guess she helped me realize that Emperius wasn't the right direction to go if I wanted to make things better. I thought I had it all figured out, but…well, I…didn't have much figured out at all, really…"

Datacarnomon rubbed his head. "Ugh…I reiterate. LITERAL neural network hacker. You know what, fine, I'm not going to complain, anyone on our side can't be unwelcome at this point. Ike, come on, we have stuff to deal with."

"Hey! I'm not done being outraged!" protested the boy.

"You're not winning this battle, and we have enough daunting odds to overcome as it is. Seriously, there's a reason I'm trying to drag you back into your room."

That got Isaac's attention enough to settle him down. "…Fine. I guess it probably can't wait." He shot a look at Ashley. "Don't think I'm done with you, though."

"Love you too, bro." Ashley gave a cheeky little wave as the two exited, then turned back to Elecmon. "Now, where were we?"

Elecmon just stared at her. "…You are absolutely crazy and I need to learn your ways."

—

It wasn't Derek's favorite thing to wake up in a bad mood, but after everything that had happened that day, he wasn't surprised. Even the prospect of a night of pretty nice weather wasn't making him feel any better…he was going to be able to go out and be with Blackcanismon again, but he'd have to leave him somewhere when he was done, be separated from him in a hostile environment yet again. And he doubted his father was going to make his life any easier…hopefully Elliot wasn't around, so he wouldn't have to deal with him.

Blackcanismon…are you okay? You didn't run into anyone out there, did you?

You may commence relaxation over my situation, Derek. I have endured the afternoon unmolested. There are a multitude of thoroughly-secluded locations within this urbanized landscape, I nestled myself within one and proceeded to engage in somnic rejuvenation.

Jeez, okay, I asked for a status update, not a full thesis. Still, it was thoroughly relieving for Derek, and even the tone of his thought made that clear. I'm hoping I can get out there, it depends on whether Dad's in or not. If he's not, I'm sure I can get past Mom, but he might be a tougher one.

Are you suggesting he would resort to physical intervention to imprison you?

I don't trust anything at this point. And that's the part that makes me the most nervous…it's bad enough that I definitely feel like if I can find somewhere else to be until this whole thing is finished, that would be the best idea.

Unfortunate. Multiplicatively so that I cannot broach a convincing argument otherwise.

You said it…huh? Derek suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket; he realized he hadn't even properly undressed for bed, and was still wearing what he had been wearing when he came in, complete with his cell in his pocket. The idea of speaking to anyone at this point wasn't exactly thrilling him, but when he saw it was Isaac calling, he knew he didn't have a choice. "I'd better like what I'm hearing."

"There's nothing to like about this day," came the short reply.

"Oh, you've been enjoying yourself too, have you?"

"As much as a wedding. Listen, we pegged a bogey. Back in the Glikke Field area, but on the far side this time, not where we were meeting. As in, if it goes too much further, it might get out of the city altogether. Right now it's not moving much, but I can't trust that to stay the case. You're up."

"Just me? Are you sure that's a good idea? These battles are getting a lot more serious."

"I'm sure it's NOT a good idea, but we don't have much choice. My parents are just about home, and even if they weren't, we just had a bad run-in with a bad dude and we're pretty wiped out. Burner and Bolt have gone over to Reyn's place with an injured digimon they're trying to help, and they're probably not in the best states either. And I can't get ahold of Skylar, but even if I could, this guy's definitely in the trees and that's not Skyder's domain. We're down to you. If you can't handle it, don't. Him getting away with you alive is better than him getting away with you dead."

"Ironic hearing that coming from you after what you did a few days ago."

"Yeah, well, I'm saying that because of what you said to me. You were right about it. So don't let yourself fall into the same trap."

Derek didn't think he needed to be told, given that he had in fact been the one saying it, but there was no point in going further with that - clearly Isaac was concerned, and that had him thinking that whatever had happened earlier had probably been rough on him. "Understood. I'll get out there and we'll take care of it, if we can." He hung up and relayed the information to Blackcanismon. We'll need to rendezvous in the city and head out there. It could be a bit of a trek, but I don't want to risk merging when the city's on high alert.

I'm reluctantly in agreement, replied Blackcanismon. We should exercise abundant caution, particularly given Isaac's warnings and the tensions of the proximal aerial assault. A duality of awareness trumps the increased combat capacity until the moment of engagement.

Right. I'll get out there as soon as I can. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Derek shook himself off a bit and headed out, not bothering to freshen up - he had a feeling it wasn't going to matter much. As he exited his room, he looked around cautiously. No sign of Elliot…he hoped that that meant the man was still out. It was still up in the air whether Derek would even be back to see him, he might just decide to ask if he could crash at Reyn's place after all…at this point, it was just as much for the sake of being battle-ready as anything, he couldn't be apart from Blackcanismon like this when he could potentially be called up into action.

Trying to sneak down the stairs didn't have the effect he was hoping for, though. He thought he was safe as he reached the bottom, but then he heard a voice behind him. "Derek, please…don't go…" A new tension inside as he turned towards Myra, who looked as bleary-eyed and unwell as he'd seen her in a long time; she was definitely suffering from another migraine. "Please…I…I can't…I can't bear to think about you in danger…"

Derek looked away. "I have a hard time believing that right now."

"N-no…please…" Suddenly Myra dropped to her knees and half-fell towards Derek, wrapping her arms around him and startling him. "It's not true, it's not true…he doesn't hate you, Derek…I don't hate you…I don't…I don't understand it…I don't know why…why you want to do things this way, I…I don't…but…I don't hate you, Derek, I…I don't want you to ever think I hate you…I-I'm just scared…about what could happen to you out there…"

"Mom…I've been doing this for years, and nothing has ever happened…" Well, that would have been true until the start of this month, at least. A bit too much had happened during the nights since then, but it wasn't like that wasn't true of the days, either. "I've had to fight for so long just to be the way I am. And you heard what he said, he still hates it…he can't hate it and not hate me."

"It's…it's not true, Derek…he doesn't hate you…he's stressed out, he's scared…he…he never showed it well, I…I know he's not…he's not trying to hurt you…we don't want you to be hurt…and there are creatures out there now…and…and…" Myra broke down sobbing. "I-I, I've failed you, for so long, I…I should've tried harder, I should've tried to help him see…Please, don't go, I can't, I…I can't lose both of you…e-even if I deserve it…"

Derek hadn't expected a gut-punch like that. Hearing her say that…Derek had never had the most comfortable relationship with her, either, but never in his life would he have said she deserved to suffer. She had suffered more than her share because of her health already…and all the events of the month, of course they had to be eating away at her, stress had never been gentle with her and there was a very real chance of someone not coming home when creatures like what he was facing were out there, especially with the more savage ones that had been appearing lately. It was almost enough for him to rethink actually going out…except…it wasn't just about him now. Whatever was out there, it could potentially wreak a whole ton of havoc in short order, and him just blowing it off…he'd feel like whatever happened was his fault. There was no easy way out of this one…

Gently he helped Myra back up, embracing her as he did. "Mom…I'm sorry. I never wanted to make you feel like you deserved to suffer…I know you weren't trying to be…malicious. It's…hard, to feel like I wasn't being…respected for who I was. But that doesn't mean I wanted to punish you for it. And I…I really do appreciate that…you don't feel like I thought you did."

"I…I always loved you, Derek…even if I didn't understand…even if I don't still…I love you, and I'll always love you…"

"I…I love you too, Mom. I really do." Derek took a deep breath. "But…I have to go out there tonight. It's…it's not just wandering. I have something to do…something only I can do."

Myra took a shaky breath in. "D-derek…you…you're…you're not…those monsters…"

"I won't be out there any longer than I have to be…but I have to help someone…they'll be in danger if I don't." About the most dishonest truths he'd spoken, and he didn't feel good about them. "I promise you I'll be safe…I already promised someone else as well, I can't break both of those."

He broke the embrace, cringing inwardly at Myra's very obviously teary eyes. "Derek…I…please…I…j-just…please tell me…where…so I…if…I…"

"…It's just near the old Glikke Field. No further than that."

"Okay…" The woman gave a very choked swallow and sob. "Please…be safe…and…know that I love you…"

"…I will. And I love you too." It was only with an ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach that Derek turned out headed out the door. Running away didn't feel like such a good option anymore, not with her fragile state. How much of his frustration with Elliot did he take out on her without really realizing? How much did it hurt her to hear them clash? He might not have been totally easy with her but she hadn't been like Elliot had been…and here he was making her feel worse.

And the worst part was it was still the right thing to do. Right shouldn't have been allowed to be so excruciating.

—

"You can't be serious, Rudy!"

"I wish I wasn't!" Rudy still looked like he was about to have a panic attack, even though he'd been walked back from an outright fugue state. "I ran the test over and over and over! It's an absolutely perfect match!"

"It's an absolutely perfect match…for Derek Katran?!" Emil felt like he was about to faint. "There has to be some mistake. Are you absolutely certain these aren't just Derek's hairs you were given?"

"That wouldn't explain the need to convert from binary! It's simply not possible! But I don't know WHAT it could mean! I mean, I never had any idea this could happen, I didn't even know Agent Katran even had his son in the database! Why would he even do that?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Emil didn't think many of them were good, but they were probably reasons…even as nervous as he got about Iris, he NEVER would have considered doing something like that. "This doesn't make any sense at all. There's no way Derek could be involved. This…we've had this whole thing completely wrong from the start! This isn't some showboating hacker, Rudy, this is some kind of invasion from another world!"

"WHAT?!"

"That Goblimon or whatever we talked to, he kept talking about how our world held the keys to their power! They've been coming in, and someone's been in the shadows trying to stop them…those monsters that we've been seeing around them all the time, they're FIGHTING these things! I don't know how, but there's no possible way in hell that they could be related to anyone here!"

Rudy looked like he was about to blow a few gaskets. "That…how can that even be possible?! They're…they're beings whose information is just…binary code! How can they NOT be from computers?!"

"I don't know…but even if they were, Derek's not a computer kid, I know he knows how to use them like any normal teen but he doesn't do programming or anything like that, the most I see him do is with those music composition programs. There's no reason to think he has ANY connection to anything here!"

"It's a disaster beyond imagination!" exclaimed Rudy. "This defies explanation! There's no chance in hell even two HUMANS could have a profile this radically similar, even identical twins have slight differences! It's too perfect, it's too impossible to think anyone knows the reason! But he seems to think he knows exactly what's going on, and there's no possible way he could! If he's thinking somehow Derek's one of those creatures…"

"Then who knows what he might do," finished Emil heavily. "I'm going to have to go out and see if I can find him. I'll have to call Myra and see if she knows where Derek is, too…if I'm lucky, maybe I can get there before he does. Rudy, is there anything more you can do at this end? If we're going to try to get Elliot to back down, we need something that he'll buy into."

Rudy shook his head. "I…I don't even know where to start! If it's an alien invasion, then the whole original idea doesn't even mean anything, does it? I need data, and I don't have anything! We barely know what they are, much less where they're from and how to stop them! All I could do was speculate, but how can I speculate about this? How could they have even gotten Derek's DNA even if that was somehow related?!"

"We know a little more now than we did before, but still not nearly enough," agreed Emil. "This is getting bad…Derek's in danger, we're still dealing with unpredictable monster attacks, and Redford wants my head for daring to suggest that there was any chance some of the creatures aren't on the same side."

"You really think that's possible?!"

"If what that thing we have in the interrogation room is saying is true, it's the only reasonable conclusion. And it seemed pretty eager to tell us exactly what it thought."

"This just keeps getting crazier! And everyone told me this was going to be the dullest job I could ever have." Rudy sighed and rubbed his head. "I'll try to keep working with this, maybe I can come up with some…something. But I don't know what I could do. Right now, all I have is something before me that I could only interpret as Derek being Derek and some big black dog at the same time. How do you parse lunacy like that?!"

Emil had just turned to leave, thinking nothing of that…until suddenly he froze again, and could think of nothing BUT that. All of a sudden, the gap in his dominoes was suddenly filled, and the started to fall in a grand cascade, filling it every bit of the scene before he was even ready for it. The small creatures, the humans, the constant monsters…fire, thunder, wind, metal, darkness…the monsters being able to hide so well, not behaving like we thought, the warnings they were giving…the secrecy, the small clues, the strange behavior, the constant disappearances, the missing food…my god…how did I not see it before? No…no, how COULD I have seen it before, it's insane, it's completely and utterly absurd…and it HAS to be the truth. It all fits too perfectly, it can't be anything else!

"Rudy!" Rudy jumped as Emil barked his name. "Get ready to run more tests! Whatever you did for that dog hair, prep for more of that! I've got to find Elliot before he screws everything up! You're right, he doesn't understand what's going on, but I think I do, and he's about to make the biggest mistake of his life!"

"A-agent Conover! What's going on?!"

"There's no time! The fate of the entire world could hinge on this…but if I'm right, then we might just have a chance against this unimaginable nightmare after all!"

—

The night was quiet, apart from a stiff breeze that felt uncharacteristically ominous to Derek. It wasn't normal for him to be nervous or apprehensive in his prime…then again, nothing had been normal lately, and particularly not today. His dismal mood and feelings of stress were palpable to anyone…and just Blackcanismon's luck, he was the only one around to experience them.

"A disheartening circumstance…my apologies, Derek. You are suffering grievously for my benefit, unfairly so. I regret my inability to moderate the impacts upon your physical and psychological condition."

"…It's not your fault. If anything, it's Dad's." Derek took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Idiot. Why couldn't he just…comprehend that it's not as simple as he demands it to be? That people don't just fit into nice neat little packets exactly the way he wants? He thinks I'm a freak and you're a monster, and once he's decided that there's just…no getting him to think otherwise. It's like he can't even comprehend the idea that he's wrong."

"Regardless, my presence cannot contribute anything short of exacerbation of the situation." Blackcanismon let out his own sigh. "Regrettably, I am…unfamiliar with defusing of such situations. My nature is decidedly not confrontational."

Derek gave the canine a look. "This coming from a guy who literally fights life-and-death battles on a near-daily basis."

"Alternative concepts of confrontation. The arena of combat is dramatically different from the arena of emotional interplay. My capacity regarding the former is irrespective of capability with the latter. It provided significant challenges when venturing forth from my hometown, into a realm hostile towards my elemental affinity. Were it not for Glademon's assistance, I harbor magnitudes of doubt as to my ability to maintain a presence in the greater terrestria."

"Oh…he was, uh, kind of a bulwark against what you had to face, huh?"

"Unquestionably. And an educator in methodology additionally. I acquired techniques per his instruction that continue to benefit me heretofore…" A quiet growl rumbled from Blackcanismon. "I cannot abide lamenting his misfortune…scarcely have I experienced such fervency for vengeance."

Derek was quiet for a bit. "I'm getting the feeling that I'm not the only one stressed out. Being out here on your own wasn't nearly as calm and relaxing as you tried to make it out to be earlier, was it?"

"…Regrettably, your perceptual acuity is superior to my wishes. Isolation allowed the intrusion of multitudinous misfortunes into my psyche. I…scarcely have been so affected in my tenure among the Knights of Liberty. The, if you'll pardon, burden of a responsibility I was earnestly underprepared for, and the complications forcibly visited upon your existence, have undeniably distressed me…and I fear dwelling upon them shall only transfer such dysphoria unto yourself." Blackcanismon dropped his head. "I am so deeply indebted to you, Derek, yet my contribution to your world has amounted to naught but imperilment and familial discord."

"It's not…l-like I said, it's not your fault." Derek was struggling to find good ways to demonstrate that, though…on the face of it, it was kind of hard to deny that Blackcanismon's appearance had destabilized a tenuous homeostasis pretty hard. On the other hand… "Emperius was coming here whether you did or not. We were in danger regardless. And…it's not like things have ever been really easy with my family. All that you really did was, uh, show how fragile our detente was. But that…look, I've been through worse, and I've gotten through it fine. Violent digimon showing up and attacking, that I'd never been through before…and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get through it alive. All the rest of it…that's just what it takes to stand up to this crap. Honestly, it probably wouldn't be as bad if ANYONE was listening to us…I guess it's not just my dad with that problem."

"…I suppose your statements bear the hallmarks of indisputability." Blackcanismon didn't sound entirely set at ease, but let that line of thought dissolve, as they reached the near border of Glikke Field. "Our destination approaches. Remain vigilant."

"Of course." Derek tried to push everything else out of his head so he could focus on their task. All those problems were still going to be there later…he needed to be focused on making sure he'd be there to face them. His eyes darted around the darkness, the shadows of trees looming in the backdrop. That was where Isaac had said the signal had appeared, and he didn't see any obvious signs that anything had moved towards them. There was a chance it had already made its escape, though, either into Braun or away from it…and with the way things had been going for them, Derek wouldn't have been surprised if either one of those had happened. Because things are rarely so nice and convenient for us…

Blackcanismon slowed to a stop suddenly. "…Derek. My olfactory receptors are registering a familiar profile."

"Huh? You…smell something you know?"

"Generalized knowledge, but knowledge nevertheless. That olfactory profile is doubtlessly Skullmeramon."

"Lovely name. What are we looking at?"

"Misfortune. Skullmeramon is markedly elevated in capability relative to our previous encounters. The fervent warning you relayed from Isaac has amplified in magnitude dramatically."

Not what Derek wanted to hear for sure. "You don't think we can beat him."

Blackcanismon bowed his head. "Lacking our personal evolutionary experience, I would possess vanishingly minute confidence. Regrettable as that declaration may be…"

"It's fine. All that means is that we retreat, call up Isaac, and try to formulate a plan." Derek turned back towards the city, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly…a part of him was glad for a bit of time before they had to consider another confrontation, even though he knew it wasn't the best situation from a larger perspective. "Hopefully Skullmeramon is the patient type, I guess…"

"Fortune has been considerably contrary to favorability in recency," stated Blackcanismon as he joined Derek walking back towards where they had come from. They didn't get more than a dozen steps before there was a sudden flash of light in their direction from the road - bright headlights that suddenly turned towards them. "Gah! Insidious brightness!"

"What the hell? Why is it going right towards us?!" Derek's question was unpleasantly answered when his ears picked up on the sound of the engine - a sound that was far too frighteningly familiar. "It's Dad! Into the trees, hurry!"

"What?!" Blackcanismon didn't have time to get an explanation, as Derek was already running, and he scampered after the human, overtaking him and hurrying into the trees, where there was another unknown threat to potentially deal with…at this point, though, it was either the known threat or the unknown one.

Derek wasn't quite as fast, but he broke into the trees at least before the car was able to skid to a halt. His mind was in a total lather, though - what the hell was Elliot doing trying to nearly run him down like this? He knew the man was angry at him but he'd never been THAT angry…he wasn't sure where Blackcanismon was, the digimon had outsped him and probably gone far deeper. Which, if Derek was being honest, was probably the best-case scenario - he wasn't so sure Elliot wouldn't try to kill Blackcanismon on sight.

"DEREK KATRAN! GET OUT HERE THIS MOMENT!" Derek clenched his jaw as he heard that roar. He'd thought he'd heard the angriest his father had ever been earlier…no, THIS was the angriest he'd ever been, there was outright malice in that voice. And as bad an idea as it was to try to confront him in this kind of situation, it was an even worse idea to let him walk into the woods and potentially run into Blackcanismon…

There was no avoiding this confrontation, it was now or never. He rose up and stepped forward, revealing himself. "What do you want?!" he shouted harshly, an Elliot's head whipped towards him - and then, to Derek's shock, so did his gun. "Whoa, holy crap! Watch where you're pointing that!"

"SHUT UP!" raged Elliot, his hand as unsteady as Derek had ever seen it - and he'd never seen it pointing an actual gun at him! "How dare you! How dare you look me in the eye like that, after everything you've done!"

"What the hell have I done?!"

"Don't try to play dumb! It's been you, this whole time! You're the one creating those monsters!"

Derek's jaw dropped. "WHAT?! Have you actually gone insane?!"

"I have PROOF! I know all about what you've been doing! How dare you, everything that we've been through, everything this city's been through, because of you! All those nights out, you were just plotting to ruin everyone and everything, for some sick, twisted…what was it, just a game to you?!" Elliot's countenance had lost all composure, he looked outright insane now, and the shock and anger Derek was feeling was being tempered by very real fear. He was unpredictable, and he had a dangerous weapon in his hand…and Derek was very aware of how unarmed he was.

"Cut this out, Dad! I'm not creating these damned monsters!"

"LIES! The dog was the first, wasn't it? Your test animal! Of course, it showed up before all the rest of them, that was your prototype!" Elliot was shaking even more madly, steadily getting more unhinged. "I don't care what I have to do, if this is what it takes to bring peace back to our city, by GOD I will do it!" The gun raised a little higher, and Derek felt a surge of panic - Elliot looked like he was moments away from actually shooting him! And there was no way he could calm him down quickly enough, Elliot was as hard as could be to settle down at the best of times, in the grips of whatever madness had him there was no chance of getting through to him…Derek stood paralyzed, staring down the barrel of that deadly weapon with no idea what to do…

"Starlight Strike!" Elliot's attention broke in the direction of the voice, just in time to see the ball of darkness flung his way. It smacked his gun hand hard, driving the weapon from his grip - he quickly grabbed his pained hand as he staggered back, eyes widening as Blackcanismon leaped out from the darkness, snarling with a fire Derek had never seen before. "Monster! Don't you dare lay a hand on him, or I'll slice you apart!" Yet another voice filling Derek with dread, there was a HATE there that he'd never heard from his partner.

"You…dog…whatever the hell you are!" Elliot's voice was raspy now, but still seething with viciousness. "I knew you were more than you said you were…what has he been doing with you?! ANSWER ME!"

"You deserve nothing!" fired back Blackcanismon. "For all you've done to him, you're lucky I don't tear your throat out!"

This was the last thing they needed tonight - grateful as Derek was for the defense, Blackcanismon was only escalating the tensions, and he wasn't sure how long they had before one or the other boiled over…and whichever one went off first, the other was not liable to come out well. But stopping Blackcanismon would give Elliot a chance at his gun…but not stopping him, he wasn't sure Blackcanismon would hold back as his father continued to yell at him. There had to be some way to break this up before it reached the breaking point…

It would only be later that Derek would curse out the way the universe answered that desperate plea. He heard a rustling behind him, whipped his head back, and his eyes widened as the flaming body of something big and dangerous launched an attack. "GET DOWN!" he yelled in panic, diving as the chain whipped over his head, lunging out recklessly into the open. Elliot barely dove in time as the chain shattered one of the car windows, scrambling towards his gun - but for the moment, Derek had stopped caring, he had only one goal. And Blackcanismon had the same, rushing towards him as fast as he could…

Skullmeramon yanked his chain back and swung it out again, trying to stop them, but he was too late, Darkvargmon had formed and sank into the shadows, popping back up to launch out a Shadow Wave from Skullmeramon's right. "Your timing couldn't possibly be more abysmal!" he snapped as Skullmeramon braced himself and blunted the attack.

"Sorry, I'll schedule your murder when it's more convenient for you!" sniped back Skullmeramon. "Heat Chain!" The chain whipped out again, and Darkvargmon frantically ducked back into the shadows as it smacked into a tree, cracking it at the point of impact and making it partly fall over, the canopy caught in the branches of others. "You can hide all you want, you're not going to escape me! Not unless you wanna watch me tear this entire city apart tracking you down!"

"I'll tear you down instead! Blasting Darkness!" Darkvargmon appeared again and hurled his dark grenade at Skullmeramon, trying his best to go for hit-and-run tactics - he wasn't going to win a straight fight like this, the best he could do was try to keep Skullmeramon occupied until he thought of something else. He avoided the chain counterstrike once again, but Skullmeramon wasn't more than mildly bothered by the attack - he was too durable, and being dark-aligned himself, he had extra resistance. Times like this I really wish I had a weapon…

A loud crack rang out, startling Darkvargmon just as he was about to phase back in for another strike. Skullmeramon whipped his head around towards Elliot, who had his gun back in his hands, trying to brace with his left hand as he attempted to shoot with his aching right. Another shot rang out, this one hitting Skullmeramon clearly…but the bullet didn't even pierce the burning flesh, breaking apart under the heat and against that solid muscle. Another shot, this one into Skullmeramon's mask, shattering against the much tougher material. Elliot nearly dropped the gun as he tried to fire off again, his finger slipping off the trigger as a bolt of pain raced through his hand.

"Feh…that was pathetic, human," growled Skullmeramon. "That's the best you can do? How about I show you what a REAL attack is? Heat Chain!" Once again the blazing chain whipped out, directly at Elliot-

CRACK "AGH!" Darkvargmon appeared just in the nick of time in front of Elliot, taking the hit directly and getting flung back into Elliot, knocking both of them over, the gun going skittering off into the grass again. He rose back up slowly, panting hard, head spinning a bit from that hit.

"Hah! You predictable idiot!" guffawed Skullmeramon. "Fight me like you aren't a coward, I'll show you another few like that!" He whipped his arm back to sling the chain forward once more, but dark tendrils caught his arm before he could pull it forward. "Oh, come on! Do you even know how to ACTUALLY fight?!"

Darkvargmon knew that hold wasn't going to last long, but he didn't need it to - just long enough to try to make this situation just a little less chaotic. He turned to glare at Elliot, who was staring up at him like he had two heads. "Get the hell away from here, Dad! This guy's gonna take your head off!" Only too late, when he saw Elliot's eyes surge open wide as saucers, did he realize his slip of the tongue. Way to go, I think I just broke him rather than breaking him out of his madness.

Unfortunately, that distraction cost him, as Skullmeramon broke out of the hold of his Nightmare Tangle and flung his chain right at Darkvargmon, clocking him in the head once again. He hit the ground, ears ringing a bit and his face burning from the heated metal. He pushed himself to his knees slowly, panting hard and letting out quiet pained moans…this was not how he was going to win or even survive this battle, but vanishing now would leave Elliot an open target, and Skullmeramon already knew he could use this to his advantage…

"Heh heh…you tainted ones really thought you could stand up to us…now you see how little you really are," Skullmeramon stated smugly. "Defending and using humans has made you weak…you're a pathetic excuse for a dark digimon. Hiding in the shadows and trying to lash out like a scared little rookie, what the hell did you think that was going to accomplish?"

"Shut up…" growled Darkvargmon. "You think you're that tough for attacking people who can't defend themselves? Cowardice is lashing out at those who are well beneath your level."

"Hah! Big words from a small pup. You've forgotten your own heritage…we of the darkness are above all! The power we possess, our birthright, to conquer and rule over all! Emperius knows the correct way of the world, to put us in our rightful place and show the world the truth of our power! You can still redeem yourself…you have the dark power that could make you worthy if you put it to the right use! Even if you are tainted, perhaps you might still make something of yourself and become a proper dark digimon…join us and embrace the truth of your nature! Emperius will make the darkness rule once more!"

"Shut your GODDAMNED mouth!" The harsh snarl ripped from Darkvargmon's mouth even made Skullmeramon recoil slightly. "Join you? The assholes trying to ruin two worlds for your own selfish gains? Trying to undermine everything we've been trying to do to gain the trust of others who hate and fear us because of who we are?! How DARE you spew the kind of filth that validates every rotten idea they have about us!" The dark wolf pulled himself upright using the car to brace himself, an aura rushing around him. "I won't be a part of that and I won't let you ruin everything for those of us who want a better world for our kind to live in, a world where we aren't sullied with suspicion and mistrust! I'll bury those hateful words and you right along with them!"

The darkness swirled around Darkvargmon, obscuring him even more than he already had been by the night around him. Panicking, Skullmeramon tried to hurl his chain at it, but the whipping energy sent it flying off effortlessly, making him growl out in frustration. Before he could do anything more, it flared off to reveal the new creature within. Gone was the questionably-solid form of his predecessor, now there stood a much more defined lupine figure, only marginally taller than his previous form but radiating a considerably more powerful aura. A deep blue sash crossed over his chest, dark green short pants covered his legs, and crystal-blue eyes shone from his dark-furred face, as sharp and dangerous as could be. From a pit of blackness that hovered near his body, he reached in and drew out a gleaming black rapier, swinging it with a flourish and holding it at the ready as he faced down Skullmeramon.

"That…you…what the hell you do think that's going to do?" Skullmeramon sounded less sure of himself than he was trying to - there was no denying the surge of energy in his foe now. "You're still tainted with the weakness of humanity! No impure digimon could beat a real one!"

"You'd better hope you can back those words up, because it's your life at stake." The new wolf's voice was deep and even, slightly accented with something resembling an English inflection. "You say darkness has a special power…now feel it turned on you! Shadow Bolt!" A quartet of dark orbs swirled out from behind the lupine warrior, stretching into arrow-like shapes and rushing rapidly at Skullmeramon. Desperately the flaming being flung his chain out to try to knock them away, but it only got two of them, the others jabbing into his body and making him roar out and stagger. He barely was aware of what was going on when suddenly he saw the wolf in front of him, zipping forward astonishingly fast and slashing his rapier, cleaving open a gash in Skullmeramon's chest that elicited another roar. A frenzied chain fling forced the wolf back, but plenty of damage had already been done.

"N-no…impossible! You can't be that strong!" groaned out Skullmeramon. "You still…don't have half the power I do! Metal Fireball!" The jaw on that mask opened wide, and a blazing blue metal salvo erupted from it, directed at the wolf - but it was far too obvious, and he easily zipped away from it, leaving it to plunge onto the grass and start burning. "Dammit! Stay still, you furry pest! Heat Chain!" He flung out his chain again, into the path the wolf was cutting over the grass - but he didn't expect that sword to slash down THROUGH the chain, severing it and letting it fall slack. "NO! It can't be!"

"You Emperius types always were experts in denial." Suddenly the wolf was on Skullmeramon again, slashing at his back and flinging him forward out of the trees. "Remember the name of Ebonvargmon…it's the last you'll ever hear! Alux Blade!" Ebonvargmon flung himself up into the air and plunged downwards, his rapier swirling with dark energy as he slammed it point-first through that masked cranium. Skullmeramon let out a hideous howl as the dark energy burst out, erasing him from existence.

Ebonvargmon flipped himself backwards onto the ground, landing deftly and dismissing his blade back into another dark void. "Back to the abyss with you…may you be reformatted into something less vile. Now, then…" He turned to look around for Elliot…and froze as he once again was met with a gun pointed right at him. "What the hell?!"

"Y-you…you…monster…" Somehow, Elliot looked even more out of sorts. "How…how are you…that dog…Derek…"

"Fine thanks for saving your skin," Ebonvargmon growled. "Have you really not figured it out yet?"

"Be quiet!" roared the man frantically. "I don't…I don't know what you are…I just…I know you're a monster! I know you're one of those…you're one of those that's been…doing something here! And I'm not going to let you keep doing it!"

"The only thing I've been doing is trying to keep you and everyone else around here alive…" Ebonvargmon could tell the words weren't sinking in, though. And he really didn't want to test out if he was as bullet-resistant as Skullmeramon was, despite his upgraded form…and then, as if things weren't chaotic enough already, he saw the gleam of headlights racing towards them once again. Oh, for the love of…what now?!

The sound of it at least distracted Elliot, making him look away as the car roared in and screeched to a halt near where Elliot's was parked. The door was practically flung open, and a shout pierced the air. "ELLIOT! STOP!"

Never was Ebonvargmon so happy to hear a voice he really didn't want to hear. Emil Conover…probably the one person in the world Elliot would listen to even in his current state. Indeed, Elliot seemed to be shaken by his arrival, the gun lowering just slightly. "Emil! S…stay back! Don't came closer! This…this thing…this thing is dangerous!"

"No it's NOT, Elliot! Put your gun down!"

"Emil! You don't understand! You don't…know what this thing is!"

"I DO know!" shouted Emil forcefully. "It's Derek and that dog!"

Both Elliot and Ebonvargmon did the sharpest of double-takes. "WHAT?!" Elliot cried out frantically. "You…you KNEW?!"

"I just put it together! Elliot, put the gun down! Don't do this! You're making a mistake!"

"Emil! He's a monster!"

"He's been HELPING us, Elliot! Don't you get it yet?! The monsters aren't all on the same side! They aren't all what you think they are! The ones we've been looking for, they're fighting against the other ones that are coming in! They're attacking them and they're helping us, they've been saving people, Elliot!"

"You can't…you can't know that! You don't know what they're like!"

"Elliot, YOU don't know what they're like!" Emil had grabbed Elliot now, forcibly lowering his hands; it was about the most aggressive Ebonvargmon had ever seen the man in his life. "They tried to warn us! They've fought against the creatures coming through! One of them even saved a couple of helicopter pilots from certain death just earlier today! Listen to me, they've been the only reason things haven't been worse so far! And we need their help now more than ever!"

"You can't…" Elliot was shaking. "You can't trust them! How can you say this? How can you take their side?! You heard what that thing was saying, Emil, they want us all dead, wiped off the face of the earth! How do you know these ones are any different?!"

"BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER IS ONE OF THEM!" This seemed to be the shattering blow for Elliot, who seemed to seize up a bit and go quiet and still. And Ebonvargmon, merely a witness to it all, was finding himself pretty rattled as well. Holy crap. He knows. He actually knows EVERYTHING. I don't know how he did it, but he figured it all out. Thank everything he came down on OUR side.

"Iris is one of them, too." Emil's voice was shaky but resolute. "That electric bird…I should have suspected earlier. But she's been fighting tirelessly for us. All those times we saw the bird out there and the other monsters, the ones actually trying to destroy things, just vanished…we were wrong, Elliot, the only thing they were doing was standing in the way of the ones who wanted to kill us. And you KNOW her, Elliot. You know that she's one of the sweetest, kindest people you've ever met, those were YOUR words. If you don't trust Derek, if you don't trust me, trust HER."

Elliot seemed to finally just deflate completely…the gun slipped from his hand, and he started walking towards the driver's side door of the running car in a seeming daze. Emil looked at him cautiously. "Elliot? What…where are you going?"

"…I don't know. I…I can't deal with this all…not now. I…I need to leave…be away from this…to think…" That was all Elliot said, before almost slumping into the car. It went into gear, and Emil and Ebonvargmon watched as it drove away…Ebonvargmon wasn't sure how much of a state Elliot was in to be driving, but at this point trying to say or do anything to stop it seemed to him to be as far from a good idea as possible.

Particularly because he had other things to address, as Emil turned to him; the other agent's own energy seemed to have flagged, he looked pretty exhausted now. "Derek…or…are you…should I call you something else?"

"…Call me…Ebonvargmon. But it's a bit complicated…I suppose one of us will be explaining it all to you soon, though." Ebonvargmon was still in a bit of a daze at all the things he'd just learned were now no longer total mysteries. "How…did you even find us out here?"

"Myra. She called me before I could even call her, frantic, saying Elliot had lost it…she begged me to stop him before he did anything. And, well, I already had a nasty idea what was on his mind…and that he didn't know the actual truth."

That explained that…it made sense, Myra was probably the one who told both of them, though under considerably different circumstances. And that had Ebonvargmon worried about her…but there were other pressing matters. "But you do know, then."

Emil nodded slowly. "I do…at least, I know enough to understand this. These monsters…they're creatures from another world. And you and one of them are…combining, somehow. And there are five of you…you, and Iris…and your other friends, isn't it?"

"It is. I'm…amazed, Emil. I never in the world would have thought someone would unravel the secret of US without actually seeing it right before their eyes. Truly, you are your daughter's father."

"…She always has been ever the perceptive one, hasn't she?" Emil let out a weak smile. "I never would have expected her to get mixed up in something like this…"

Ebonvargmon shook his head. "None of us did. We took the mantle out of necessity. We don't understand how it's possible any more than anyone else, but given the circumstances, we had to do something. You know about what we're up against, then?"

"We interrogated one of them tonight. A Goblimon. He told us all about their mad ambitions…their attempt to take over everything, and invading our world to destroy us and use…something we have to make them unstoppable. And you've been facing…how many of them since this all started?"

"More than I wish to count. And I wish I could say that it was anything more than the warning shots. You were unfortunately right…you're likely going to need us more than ever, and soon."

"Do you know…"

"If I did, I would say. All I can do is hope that we're prepared."

Emil nodded, not looking at ease with that but accepting it. "Then…we need to do what we can to make that possible. De…Ebonvargmon. Can you…take a message to the others? I want to set something up for tomorrow…something that may help us understand a few more things, and allow you to come out of the shadows. Even though, I, uh, get the sense that shadows might be your comfort zone…"

That got a quiet, brief laugh and the slightest hint of a smile out of Ebonvargmon. "In this regard, I think a light may be of more benefit to us all. We've been trying to find someone to hear us for so long…to finally get the chance will mean so much. But I must ask something of you, too. Myra…she's…she's going to need someone to help her and reassure her that we're all safe…"

Emil nodded. "I'll do what I can to help her. I know she must be worried sick…though, I, uh, assume the truth is not what she needs to hear now…"

"It will have to come out at some point, and soon, but I don't think she can handle it yet. Just assure her that I'm safe and will be back to her soon. And Emil…thank you…for everything tonight."

"Consider it a small down payment on everything we owe you. But…you're welcome."

—

Things were quiet in the interrogation room. Goblimon was still tied up, unable to break free of the extremely tight and secure bindings. No one had been in there since the earlier grilling, not that he seemed to mind…but that was about to change.

The door opened, and Lexis Redford stepped in. His expression was cold, hateful, and his movements very deliberate as he closed and locked the door behind him. Goblimon looked up at him, smirking. "Heh heh…figured I might see you again."

"Shut up. You've caused enough trouble already." Redford's hand went to his pistol as he stepped towards Goblimon. "Impertinent fool. You just had to run your mouth. Tell them that there were others against you. Everything could be in disarray thanks to you."

"Snrk. Expecting me to cry tears of sympathy for you, filth? I don't care about your plans or anything. It's all irrelevant. I know that look in your eyes, though…heh, too bad you're a worthless human, you would've fit right in with us."

"Shut up." Redford pulled the gun and pointed it at Goblimon's head. "I'm not one of you freaks. And I never will be. What I WILL be is one of the most powerful men in the world once I've secured our victory. And I'm not going to let one of you things fuck that up for me."

"Heh heh…" Goblimon just grinned at him, entirely fearless. "Go ahead. My death changes nothing. You'll be on the other end soon enough. You and all the other vermin here will know despair and death…and there's nothing you can do about it."

Redford said nothing, merely pulled the trigger. The bullet went right through Goblimon's head, spraying blood behind it; he made nothing more than a choked sound before his body disappeared into nothing. Redford glared at the space where the creature had been for a few seconds more, before holstering his pistol and exiting the interrogation room. The silence returned like nothing had ever happened.

Even readers of the old version are probably going to be wondering what the point of bringing eldritch abominations into the fray is. All in due time.

I added a couple extra scenes to this chapter to help clean up the progression of things, though there's still a pretty clear focus. I also added a little scene at the end to play a little bit of 'show don't tell,' and just to ensure that I'm as blatant as possible with what kind of folks we're dealing with, because I'm just SO subtle most of the time.