Chapter 37: End of Respite
The Digital World was calm, true crisis temporarily evaded. The air rippled suddenly and a boy stepped from nowhere. Looking down at his body, he smirked softly.
"Well," he murmured. "This should be interesting, neh partner?"
"I suppose," commented a Digimon at his side. The human smiled.
"Then let's go," the boy commanded. "It's time to get started. Hehe, time for revenge. Thank you ever so kindly for this... my lord XeedMilleniummon."
Deep inside a distant time-space, an old foe smirked again. "My pleasure... old servant of mine. Let's see how you do."
...
They were all just trying to relax, making sure they had plenty of energy for the upcoming battle. Wizardmon suddenly looked to the left and saw the odd boy Toby they had met just a couple days ago standing only feet away. He had appeared silently, like a mirage. He was shaking, clearly still scared of them. He stopped walking a few feet away and fidgeted anxiously.
"Hello Toby," the Champion said quietly.
The boy jumped and locked eyes with the Digimon. He nodded timidly and instantly looked away, still shaking. "H-Hi."
"It's okay. Like Kiri said, we're not going to hurt you."
"I...I know b-but...." He shook his head. "I... I can't help it. I'm so confused." Wizardmon fell silent; he looked away from the young boy, over at Gatomon.
Gatomon frowned. "How many humans have you met?"
The little boy shrugged. "I...I dunno. There are so many here now, it's really loud."
"Cities usually are," she said gently. The boy looked at her.
"U-Um... what's a city?" He honestly didn't know.
"It's a place where humans live," Floramon responded softly, coming over from Catherine's side.
Toby frowned and looked down. "So humans... don't live in cages or cells?"
Gaomon merely shook his head. Rei spoke for him. "No, we reside in houses. Cages and cells are mostly for animals, not humans."
"Oh." The boy frowned. "I'm confused again. I was put in a cell, does that make me an animal too?"
"Of course not," Gaomon replied. "Whoever it was that experimented on you, had the wrong train of thought."
Toby shook his head. "He had the right train of thought, I was just a failure."
Gaomon turned away, his right eye starting to twitch. He felt sorry for this kid, and wondered why he couldn't understand that he wasn't a failure, wasn't meant to be in a cage.
Toby looked up at the sky, suddenly distracted by the sound of wings. "Oh wow," he whispered suddenly, watching the birds soar overhead. "That's so pretty!"
"They are, aren't they?" Mimi knelt beside him, watching kindly.
The boy was so excited he forgot his fear. "So those are birds!" he exclaimed gently. "I've never seen them before. They're so amazing!" The cerise-haired fifteen-year-old tilted her head and smiled. Toby saddened all of a sudden. "This is my first time outside and it's so beautiful. I...I wish Lucemon was here to show me. He... he was always good at telling stories."
"If you don't mind me asking," Catherine began, approaching the small group with an offering of a sandwich for Toby. "What was Lucemon's point in all of this?"
Toby took it and paused, thinking. "Um...I dunno very much, but... they said when I was really little I fell into the Digital World. I.. erm..." He struggled with the memories. "S-Sorry, it was a really long time ago, thousands of years ago I think he said. Well, when I fell," he sat down and nibbled lightly. "Lucemon found me and took me back. I didn't want to go home, he said. B-But Papa and the others caught him before he could go home and started doing weird things to us. Lucemon, he tried to leave but... he digivolved first. And they, um..." Toby trembled softly, both from recall and the effort it brought. "They... split his data I think."
"...Ah." The little group was slightly shocked that humans would do that to a Digimon.
Toby thought back again. "I...I think they took his bright data and gave it to me."
"Bright?" Jonathan's partner inquired.
"Holy," came Sana's quiet translation as he walked forward. He sat down next to Toby, who gave a small, shy smile his direction. "They warped Toby into a human with the data of a Holy-powered Lucemon. So it turned Lucemon's evolution into one of dark data."
Toby nodded. "Lucemon got out but...Toby was still needed so they kept going. After that..." He shook his head. "I don't remember. I'm sorry."
Sana took over, thinking of what he had seen. "Lucemon never forgave those scientists for what they did but couldn't just abandon his human partner. So he saved him while the world shattered. He wanted, he wanted to make all of humanity taste the pain he suffered. It was over the top but... it was something unforgivable done by humanity, by Toby's father no less." Mouths immediately dropped open.
Toby nodded. "Papa wanted to see how Digimon data affected humans and what transfers and stuff did." An odd, childishly bitter smile rested on his face. "I was happy: Papa needed me."
Sana scowled softly. "If we hadn't left when we had, we'd probably have been like Toby too."
"Jeez," Tai stated, as he, Sora, Matt and Anna came over. "Talk about a run of bad luck. But we can't focus on the past right now, as sucky as it is. We have to get ready to destroy the Demon Lords."
Toby nodded. "Yeah, they will but it won't be over then. The door's not open."
"It will be," Willis stated with a half-crazed, happy expression on his face as he playfully nudged Kiri.
Kiri grinned at him again and muttered so only a few could hear. "If Colin's still doing his job right it will be."
Suddenly, from further back, near a native tree Izzy exclaimed: "Tentomon!" Mina simply giggled. Toby looked over and blinked in confusion.
"It's nothing," Mina replied, seeing the boy's confused face. "Meramon and Tentomon were just making some crude jokes."
Toby blinked again and nodded slowly. He suddenly turned away from them, looking into the distance. He began to tremble, looking completely and utterly terrified. Both the Digi-Destined and their partners sensed a disturbance and followed Toby's gaze.
Davis hissed sharply. "Leviamon."
The Demon Lord laughed. "You do remember Chosen. I'm quite flattered."
"What do you want?" Ken barked.
Leviamon gave a fanged smile and did not speak. To their surprise, Luca piped up. "Yer lookin' fer me ain't ya?" The boy strolled up to the enemy, looking completely unafraid. He stopped feet away and smirked.
Jonathan stepped forward, but Liollmon stopped him."I wouldn't do that," the lion cub muttered. "Luca's pissed."
True to word, the golden light was already mixed with Chaos and the boy's black eyes were glowing with red. "Shall we get started?"
"Of course. But I am a bit curious..." Leviamon flicked his tail. "Where's your malice coming from?"
"Oh that. Well you see," The boy's smile twisted. "You killed Kudamon, even if indirectly. You broke Tomoe-chan. You made my little cousin cry!" Violet shined. "And you ask why I'm full of malice? Idiot!"
"Your... cousin?" Sora exclaimed.
Liollmon sighed. "Half-cousin. Tomoe was born out of wedlock to Kiri's mother. Tamaki loved her, loved her more than her husband ever did. And..."
"My mom was a very selfless person," Kiri commented solemnly. "I guess she thought that would help Ryou-san, if just a little. So... that's what happened." Surprised, the Digi-Destined nodded slowly.
Luca snickered. "Enough talk! Time to go!" He vanished and Leviamon roared in sudden pain. His large jaws had just been torn open, violet fire burning the mouth. He slashed with his tail, only to meet air as the boy moved again, his eyes glowing. "Why'd they send you to take me?" he asked contemptuously. "You're worthless!"
Leviamon snapped his jaws toward the boy, who moved again. "It's time to begin," the Digimon said simply. "And you are the key to that beginning."
"Be careful, Luca!" Jonathan called out to the younger boy.
"Be careful of what? His bad breath?" Luca cracked the ground and Leviamon stumbled. Flipping back, he hovered for an instant, before slamming Leviamon into the cracked earth. "I'd end this fast but i can't see the damned..."
"Here." Jordan yanked him aside and let fire consume his body. He slammed blazing fists into the Demon Lord's scaly spine. Leviamon cracked his tails again to no avail and they all saw a grey sphere floating in the middle of the flames. Luca pulled back and punched clear through the Core. Wizardmon winced, remembering the feeling of his own Core being cracked. The Digimon roared and exploded.
"That was a bit too easy," Luca muttered to himself, looking annoyed. "Thanks Jordan."
"You're welcome." Everyone frowned at that, noticing the distinctly more polite treatment the boy was given.
"What now?" The teams asked more-or-less in unison.
Luca shrugged. "'S up to you really. The Crossroads Path will be open soon. You need to prepare. This is going to be a two-sided fight." He frowned and stated in a flat voice, "Time stands back-to-back with space as defiance trickles against the laws that live. The deaths that are will be and the heart will shine as brightly as the soul once did."
"Oh, we'll be ready, alright." This comment came from Tai, as he, Matt, Davis, T.K., Jonathan and Blair stepped forward as the leaders and second-in-commands of the three teams.
Jordan snorted. "Showing off your authority? How annoying." He sighed to himself as Leith appeared behind him. "What?" The boy whispered in his ear and the Storien leader frowned. "All righty then." He left and Leith bowed to Kiri politely as he disappeared.
"We'll be going, too?" Jonathan asked Kiri. By "we", he meant the teams.
Kiri smiled distantly. "If that's what you want." Willis remained next to her, playing absently with Terriermon's ears. Toby waked over and plopped down, curling up to take a nap.
With the exception of Catherine, who remained behind with Luca, everyone else dispersed. Luca grinned and took her hand. "Come on, let's go. I know someplace fun."
"I swear if it's the soccer field..." He rolled his eyes at her.
"I'm not that crazy... we're going to the garden." They left.
Kiri groaned with relief. "Glad that's over."
"Too many living people?" he quipped, causing her to laugh.
"Something like that." She leaned on his shoulder companionably and he flushed slightly with a smile.
…
Luca watched the older girl run through the garden. His hands were in his pockets and he grinned slightly. "Having fun?"
"You're not?" she asked breathlessly as she examined each plant.
"I'm having fun watching you," he commented with a sly smirk. Catherine rolled her eyes and yanked him by the sleeve.
"Stop you sick minded ass," she quipped. "I want you to show me something you like here."
"Shoulda said somethin' earlier." He turned right and started walking toward a fenced area.
Catherine glared at Luca playfully. "I swear if there are giant animals..."
"Of course not." Reaching the fence, he glanced at the supervisor. "Mind?" He shook his head and opened it. When the metal shut behind them, Luca whistled. Immediately, they were attacked by puppies. Catherine yelped as she was dragged down by their weight on her chest. Luca laughed as he sat down and let the dogs run all over the place.
"What's going on?" she screamed before bursting into helpless giggles at the chaos around her.
"It's an animal shelter. This is the dogs' playpen. The garden's here for those who don't like pets." Catherine let out a soft screech that turned into another giggling fit as a black dog knocked her over, licking her face. Luca smirked and lunged at one of the pups, growling and playfully batting at them. Seeing this she giggled more.
"You're such a wild boy."
"Duh." Liollmon's comment came from nearby and the lion cub smirked at her. She was forced away by the dogs, who were still sniffing. Finding a tennis ball, she threw it energetically. This would be fun.
…
The next day, most of the Digi-Destined were walking back from an impromptu meeting when they saw a glow past the nearby hill. The other Digidestined looked down at the meadow below, surprised to see it lit up and people all over the place of all ages. Kari ran up to them with TK. The pair was beaming.
"What are you all standing around for?" TK asked. "Hurry up!"
"Everyone's waiting for you!" Kari added, looking excited.
"We only have a couple days before the final battle." Gatomon stated, running past them.
"So they all decided we should have one get together before we go on, since we won't be a full group again," Patamon finished, soaring over his partner's head.
"T.K.'s right; what are we waiting for? Come on!" Blair yelled happily.
The teams, plus the partners and even the freelance Digimon moved in unison as they all charged down the hill.
The pair laughed and moved to join them. Kari suddenly looked up. "Leith, why are you up in the tree? Your parents are down here you know?" Leith looked down at her and shrugged.
"Ah leave 'em." Melissa walked down, gently clutching Raphael's wheelchair as they moved. "Leith doesn't wanna be social right now, he's waiting for the Storien to get here." Emma grinned shyly at them from behind. She ducked away, looking around anxiously.
Leith called down, "Emma, he's not here yet." The girl turned red.
"Shut up Leith!" Melissa snickered.
"Aw, you do have a crush on Sano."
"Shut up!"
"You two stop annoying your sister," A brunette woman walked up to them, looking vaguely amused. "Emma can hide from him all she wants."
She colored red. "Mom!" Her siblings snickered and the woman turned to Jonathan and Blair.
"I'm Mrs. Ladon but do call me Tracy. My foster son and daughter must be quite the hassle, I'm sorry you have to look after them."
The pair of siblings laughed. "Think it's the other way around Ma," Melissa quipped.
Jonathan shrugged. "We've done our own share of protecting, though it wasn't as much as what they did for us."
She gave a quiet laugh. "Is that so?" Tracy looked up at her son. "Leith, you don't mind if I steal your wife for a while do you?"
"If it's you Mother I'm certain Blair will be just fine." The woman rolled her eyes, amused at her son's lack of reaction. Blair fought down the blush rising on her face.
"Mama, wrong personality," Raphael said politely, bowing his head to the woman who was like a mother to him.
"I know Raphy; I'm just teasing." She looked over at Blair. "Mind if we go for a walk?"
"Alright." Blair followed Tracy, wondering what the woman wanted with her.
As soon as they were in the dark, the woman relaxed an inch. "So now, it's just the two of us," she commented airily, smiling to herself. "You seem tense for such a young girl. A lot bothers you I can tell. " She sighed. "Does it feel strange to be surrounded by such a large family who simply accept whoever they wish into their ranks?"
Blair blinked, not expecting the woman to start off with such a friendly question. "I guess," she answered.
She earned a smile. "When Leith introduced us to the Ferro family for the first time, you should've seen how terrified we were." Her voice was full of laughter. "There were so many people in the house, all talking and working like a well-oiled machine. They were intimidating in their ways and the head-to-be was firm in her words and actions." Tracy glanced down at her. "Do you know what cured it?"
"No," came the quiet response.
Tracy moved silently in the dark and hugged Blair, an extremely foreign gesture. "It was the way my son smiled when he saw them. It was so alive." she murmured. "There were no barriers there, social or physical. You belonged there, no matter what you thought or someone said." The girl recoiled slightly, before realizing Tracy wasn't going to hurt her.
"You've forgotten what this feels like haven't you?" the woman asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the girl down to rest on the grass. "Well at least you didn't bite me like Leith did when I did this."
"I'm not a Storien, that's why. I have... beliefs. Sorry, that was rude, wasn't it?"
Tracy laughed. "No it wasn't. And that wasn't a weapon thing, that was a "Stranger is touching me" thing." she laughed. "Trust me, I did it to Raphael, who isn't one and he attacked me. I think it comes from growing up where they did. They've gotten better though." She smiled down at the teen. "So what are your beliefs?"
Blair looked away; clearly she didn't want to have to reveal this memory. "I was brought up to respect everyone, no matter who they were. But everything changed when my parents were killed, not to mention my older brother Shiro."
"Ah," The woman's reply was very calm, very kind. "How has it changed?"
"I first started becoming mysterious and bitter after Shiro died, it worsened when Myotismon killed my parents." She couldn't help but wonder if the woman was stupid.
"No you misunderstand," the woman corrected kindly. "How have your beliefs changed? Have you lost hope?"
"I did for a while, which is why I despised contact. But Sean helped me to see the light again."
"He did huh?" She laughed. "That's kind of funny. When I saw Sean instead of Leith for the first time, he was a lot like you. He disliked others and didn't talk much to us other than formalities. He always walked around with despair-filled eyes." Blair gave her a look of disbelief.
Tracy laughed again. "It's hard to believe isn't it? Sean used to be anti-social, quiet, withdrawn. He got into fights, set people on fire, anything to be left alone. Not even Melissa could get him out of it. I worried so much, I thought he would have been expelled."
"Him? But I've seen him so well in class."
Mrs. Ladon smiled. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have either. It all changed when we moved here seven years ago. He started reaching out to people, helping them, and never stopped smiling."
"I take it you approve?" The question was hesitant.
Tracy smiled. "Would I have come talk to you if I didn't?" She stood up and helped the girl to her feet.
"I guess not." Blair accepted the offered hand and rose.
The woman released her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "Let me put it this way, as I was told three years ago: Kiri pulled my son from the darkness of his heart but you kept him out. And that's what makes you the right person. Just like Sean showed you your own light, that makes him the right one for you. Relationships must function to be proper, not simply love. And it seems for each other, that's what you have."
"I see." She sighed. "Then we will win, we will crush the Demon Lords. And I'll... I'll stay by his side." She stared back at Mrs. Ladon.
Sean's mother simply smiled again. "There was never a doubt you would, it was just afterwards that we worried about."
"Mom!" Sean ran up to them, the glow of the party bringing light from behind him. "I know you wanna be all welcoming and all but she can do it herself, I think." He grinned widely and held out a hand for Blair to take. "Come on, Luca and Ken are facing Tai and Davis in a soccer match! Don't wanna miss it, do ya?"
"Over my dead body," she stated happily. "Race ya!" She charged forward, gaining a few steps as an advantage over her boyfriend.
Sean laughed and ran past with a casual speed. "You shouldn't try that. I run track for a reason!" And he was gone, steps ahead.
"Hey, cheater!" She called to him, hurrying to keep up.
"It's not cheating," he chirped and disappeared into the crowd. "It's talent." There was a loud whoop and suddenly he shouted. "Okay, okay I'll do it Riku! Geez... Greedy little..."
Blair watched the soccer game between Luca, Ken, Tai and Davis. The points were so close, she wondered who would win. Finally, when the game finished, it was clear that Tai and Davis were the victors.
"Nice!" Tai cheered and grinned at the other three. Davis was grinning right back while his DNA partner sat down, looking just as enthused. Luca was collapsed, laughing and breathless on the ground. Kiri tapped Sean on the shoulder and pointed at something Blair couldn't see. He paled and she nudged him. The male threw up his hands and walked in the pointed direction. At this, Riku whooped again.
"Your pupil's gonna shine Tori!" His older brother flushed faintly and rolled his eyes goodnaturedly.
"Don't know what all that was about," the black-haired girl muttered before wandering over to Izzy and Mina. She soon found out, as the soft sound of a piano made its way through the clearing. The chatter almost instantly lowered to a murmur. Sean continued to play, eyes closed in concentration. Blair was amazed, as she stared over at him in awe.
"It's a therapy," Kiri commented softly to her under the music. "It helps him, so he doesn't set so many fires." She twirled to the tune. "Beautiful right?" Sean glanced at the two girls, winked at Blair, and continued, the song growing louder and softer in turn. Blair's eye widened again and she blushed.
Sean smiled to himself, then ended the song, tapering off into a soft fading note. Applause erupted. Sean bowed his head softly. "Any requests?"
Kiri grinned. "Forgiveness."
Sean laughed. "You always like me playing that."
"Of course I do. You wrote it." He sighed mockingly and began to play. The Digi-Destined listened as the song played.
The song ended after a few moments and applause erupted once more. Luca looked at the Destined. "When the battle is won," he said quietly. "We'll have another party. Would you like that?"
"Are you kidding?!" Davis yelled. "We'd love it!"
"Good," the boy said solemnly. He glanced at Kiri, who gave an impish grin and firmly dragged Willis off.
"Barbeque's started!" The sound of an unknown male echoed.
Luca grinned. "Last one there doesn't get any." He bolted off, in time with Sean. Hearing that, Izzy and Mina deliberately lagged, because they'd brought their own lunches.
Kiri grinned at them all. "We hope you continue to enjoy yourselves today." And so it continued.
…
Blair hesitated in front of the apartment door. It was Sean's house. After the party, Tracy had asked her to visit her son and meet the others of the family a bit more formally. Well she was here now... and god was she nervous. Sighing, she knocked on the door.
The person who opened it was someone she vaguely recognized. It was Emma, the other sibling. The brunette glanced at her and frowned. "Mom called you here right?"
"Yeah," Blair answered, nodding.
She grinned, looking slightly sly. "Come on in then girly." She held open the door for her then turned around and shouted. "Mom! Guest is here!" The rest of her sentence was lost in a midst of what to Blair sounded like gibberish. She thought it could be Spanish, judging by the accent but then it switched mid-sentence into something else. Someone else replied in almost the same manner. Blair almost felt a headache.
As she stepped inside, Emma swung the door shut and grinned. "Sorry about that."
"Uh... it's okay," the girl replied, looking baffled. What just happened?
"You live in this house and fluency in six languages gets you your bread and butter," she remarked and muttered something in Italian. "If you manage nine you're considered a respectable human being, at least to Dad."
"You do realize I understand everything you say right?" This came from a tall, well-dressed male in the hallway. He continued speaking to Emma, who gave him a particularly sarcastic remark. He sighed good-naturedly and looked at the newcomer. "So you're Blair. Glad to finally meet you." Thankfully he spoke that in Japanese.
"It's nice to meet you too," her response was a little stiff from unsureness.
He gave a friendly smile. "It's all right you know. Our family's crazy but you're plenty welcome."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Your fault we're crazy Dad, all mental illness aside." A snort of amusement came from Blair.
"No it's our fault you're crazy Emma, your siblings are another issue." He cocked his head, hearing faint piano notes.. "Your brother's practicing again, it seems."
"That's what he does when he's home; plays piano and practices cooking." She gestured to Blair. "Come on, I'll show you where he is. Mom's not done with lunch." Blair followed Emma down the hallway.
The older girl rapped on the door and shouted in Spanish through the door then switched to Japanese. "Oi your Phoenix is here ya stinking Number! Open the door!" There was a click and Dorumon peeked through a slit. He opened the door a bit wider. Emma grinned. "I love Digimon and their sudden learning of how to use thumbs. Go on." Emma stepped away and the Rookie blinked owlishly at Blair from the doorway as he moved back.
"Hi Blair," the Digimon greeted.
Wizardmon joined the gathering, appearing mysteriously. "Hello to you too," they both said.
Dorumon blinked. "Teleporting's kinda weird," he mumbled before shutting the door behind the other partners with his tail. He looked over at Sean, who was still playing, apparently oblivious to the others. He turned the page and Dorumon frowned. "Sean..."
"What?"
"Blair's here."
"Clearly."
"So stop." The human frowned and let his fingers leave the keys. "Yo Blair." He analyzed her. "Judging by your face, I'd say you got language swamped."
"... Yeah, you could say that," she answered.
He gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry, dad does translation for a living and he made us learn how. So we do random language swamp as an exercise. Believe me, it gets very confusing around here."
"It makes my head hurt," his partner said cheerily and Sean laughed, scratching the beast's ears. Unintentionally, the girl had zoned out. Coming back to the present, she muttered something about a boy having a mix of her and Sean's personalities.
Sean laughed at her. "Well I certainly hope that doesn't happen!" he remarked teasingly. "A kid like that wouldn't just be crazy, he'd be taught by Lady Hanabi! Dear god, insane and physically able to help it, what an odd mix for the schools."
"It might be truer than you think," Wizardmon remarked dryly, before smiling at the confused expression on Dorumon's face.
The boy just shrugged. "It could be worse." Dorumon frowned again, looking puzzled before turning to Sean.
"Hey Sean, was I ever this confusing?"
The boy smiled faintly, Leith shining through his eyes. "Nope, Guilmon and Dorumon are simple but smart." Dorumon bounced happily and his human laughed. He glanced at Blair. "Do ya remember the day we first met?"
"Yeah," Blair responded. "It was the day we first entered the Digital World."
Sean sighed. "Actually it wasn't. We met about...I wanna say four years ago, after the fight with Apocalymon. Not surprised you don't remember, you were going through a fair amount."
Silence stole over the girl and her partner. "... Yeah," she replied after a few moments.
Sean gave a sheepish smile and didn't elaborate. "Honestly, when I actually recognized you again, I remembered and thought you were gonna kill me."
Wizardmon snickered. Blair raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"
Sean sighed. "Well... god how can I put this right..." He took a deep breath. "I saw you in class and even at eight years old I could see it in your eyes; you were heading down the same path I was. Mom told you right?" A nod was his reply.
"Yeah... and I could tell you were getting close to doing what I did. So, despite having a vague clue who you were from the news and what had happened, I saw you and Jonathan walking home... and I kinda chewed you out." He looked slightly apologetic. "From what I remember I was pretty harsh." Her head tilted and a faraway look entered her expression as she struggled to remember what had been said.
"You were yelling at Jonathan to leave you alone, no I didn't know him back then... and I told you that you should be happy someone cares enough to stay by you even though you're being such an insensitive brat. I said that if you kept this up, you would be all alone." Sean paused. "I think you yelled at me and said I couldn't understand what you were going through and I replied that I didn't have to understand to see what a coward looked like."
"I think you tried to punch me after that." He chuckled shakily. "Except my reflexes kicked in and I kinda flipped you flat on the ground." A weird expression crossed Blair's face, a mix between amusement and embarrassment.
"Yeah whoops, though I don't remember if the fight lasted any longer than that." A smirk came over her after that comment.
Sean frowned at her in puzzlement, then placed his fingers back on the keys and started playing. Without glancing at the piano he asked. "Could it be you have a sense of humor?"
"Maybe she has developed one after all of this time," Wizardmon answered.
"What a thought," he muttered and sighed, ending the song. "I must be boring you both to tears."
"Oh come on," Blair growled, but it was a happy sound. "Why would you say something like that?"
"I dunno, maybe because you're just sittin' there twiddlin' yer thumbs?" He muttered something to himself in English for a moment. Then he smirked. "Perhaps I'm just that good looking that you can't help but stare."
Wizardmon snorted. "Is that all you're good for, I wonder?" The question was spoken in Darnassian and because Blair had been hanging around Bill, who graciously started teaching her about the ancient language, she managed to get the gist of her partner's statement.
Sean blinked, analyzing the language. "Digital," he muttered irritably. "Unfortunately I only know ancient and Code. Oh well." Dorumon frowned.
"I think he's insulting you."
"Unless he takes a leaf from Takahiro's book, I don't care." He switched languages in the next bit. "Not that it matters, they're too innocent to actually get that far."
The Rookie let out a whine, understanding him perfectly. "Sean... don't talk like that. They aren't like that anymore."
"Uh Dorumon that wasn't me." Sean sighed softly and let the pulsing headache pound a moment more before letting go.
Dorumon groaned. "Even worse."
Wizardmon smiled. "I was just having some fun, that's all."
The boy licked his lips and Dorumon frowned. "I wasn't." The blue eyes flickered coldly and a slyly cruel smile made its way to his lips. "So..." he said, looking amused. "You're the weak one who got the name Phoenix Blaze." A soft, cold chuckle came from him. "Boy, what a dud. I knew Zhuqiaomon was stupid but this is a new level of foolishness." Blair and Wizardmon were silent, not liking the Demon of Icefire at all. Even Dorumon looked at his partner with narrowed eyes. He laughed. "Well, aren't you friendly? When those two talked about you, I just knew I'd hate your guts and you mine. And I was right!"
As Blair was about to say "Sean, we need you to come back", Wizardmon jerked his head to one side and listened intently.
"There's a Parrotmon outside and it's not Anna's partner," the elf stated quietly.
"Well, I don't know about you," Blair began, referring to the possessed Sean, as she turned and followed her partner to the door. "But I'm going to fight it. If you care to join us, we'll be on the ground level."
They exited the unit and Wizardmon Warp Digivolved to Dynasmon. He picked up his partner and flew down to the ground.
Icefire smirked at her as she left. "Shall we watch Dorumon?" The Digimon nodded slowly and followed him out.
"What's going on?" Raphael's expression was curious and wary. He could see it without fault. "Why are you taking control right now?"
The boy shrugged. "I was bored. Sean is tired. Leith passed out a while ago."
"That's your fault," Raphael accused. He was one of the few people who could stand up to the Demon equally and win. "If you had allowed them to finish the program, you would still have a vessel that was healthy."
"And your point? He's not exactly human, which makes up for it." The boy left, seeing them fight. "This doesn't look very interesting." A trident suddenly spun between his fingers and Dorumon frowned again. He didn't like that weapon.
"That's Twisted Waves."
"Yep. And this is the end." He threw the weapon and the three prongs stabbed through the throat, killing the bird instantly.
"Hey!" Blair's voice floated up to him. Dynasmon simply frowned.
"Hi," the boy replied blankly. "You told me to follow you so I did. And you were fighting so I ended the fight. Is there a problem?"
Dynasmon shook his head in disappointment, whilst Blair answered: "I meant come downstairs!"
Icefire shrugged. "If you say so." He went down. "But you were gonna kill him anyway, why's it bad I did it?"
The girl snorted in frustration. "Oh, I give up. Well, I'm gonna go if Sean doesn't need me for anything else." Dynasmon de-Digivolved to the Champion level.
"You're just gonna go because of me?" The boy paused and seemed to be thinking. "Even after all these years I still don't understand humans. You all seem very prickly."
"Of course they're annoyed with you." Sean sounded exhausted as he forced his way through. "You're such a silly one Tempest and they don't understand you either."
"Now I'm really confused."
"Then you're getting the hang of it." He glanced at Blair. "Leave if you wanna leave but Mom's waiting upstairs to give you food and treat you like a decent human being would. I can't say I won't be a bit annoyed with you if you turn it down because you don't like Tempest. He's not a good enough reason."
Wizardmon nodded his head. "Thank you for returning; we'll go back up there." Blair nodded as well.
Sean shrugged and watched them go. He spoke very quietly, but was certain they heard him, "You act as though I always can come back." He looked out on the balcony. Dorumon watched for a moment. "I'll be along in a bit Dorumon. Go on. I want to see the sun set again." The beast Rookie nodded.
It is written that you are together, Wizardmon sent that thought to Sean. Wisemon told me.
This body is written to be hers. The person she fell in love with is unlikely. And you'll need to get along with Tempest eventually. He's always with me.
Wizardmon didn't answer that and Sean was glad. If he had, he would have ended up with two furious people on his back. He watched the sky, which reminded him immensely of fire.
"Enjoying yourself?" Kiri's voice was soft as she made her way over.
"Do you always have to bother me when I'm thinking?" he asked jokingly and she smiled.
"You never think so how could I be a bother?" Sean rolled his eyes as she settled next to him. "You can appreciate the beauty of it can't you?"
"Everything looks clearer when you're an inch from death," he agreed. Kiri relaxed and slumped her head companionably on his shoulder.
"Will you ever tell her Sean, about...?" she trailed off.
"Which part? What happened a year ago or..."
"You know perfectly well what I mean." Her voice took a curtness to it.
Sean gripped the railing tightly with both hands, feeling it compress beneath his fingers. "No, I'll take that to my grave."
"Why won't you tell her what you are, what we are, and what we see?"
"A whole person isn't allowed to know the world of a remnant, you heard Fanglongmon."
"That didn't stop Mom."
"So what? Your mother, jackass husband or not, didn't exactly adhere to rules or common practices. I've got to obey remember?" He showed her his branded arm. "You saw what they did to me the last time I told them to shove their regulations up their ass. For Norn's sake Kiri, have you shown your boyfriend the right side of your body yet? Have you told him what they did to keep your mouth shut about the dreams and the glass?" Kiri flinched almost unnoticeably.
"Sean that was a low blow."
"So what?" He gave her a fierce blue glare. "You swear never to tell those Chosen. You swear it on our vow, on the Catal, and on NEO's Judgement."
Kiri watched him a moment before smiling faintly. "Tell them about what?" She asked with a false innocence. She clasped his bloody hand. "I swear it Joker and the others will follow my lead." He huffed and turned away from his friend.
"Why are you two standing together?" Emma was frowning as she walked down to them. Kiri grinned at her.
"Came to steal him." Emma glared, looking slightly put-out.
"Got guests. Try tomorrow."
"No time tomorrow," she replied with a sigh. "The Storien have been summoned. Emergency level is high."
"From what?" Sean felt the world starting to spin. Leith was up and curious.
The Catal Keeper stepped onto the untouched railing. "The dead have risen."
Leith scowled, purposefully yanking Sean away from the incoming carnage. He was getting a bad chill. The other glared at him half-heartedly. "Emma," he said curtly. "Go inside, keep the others occupied."
"Oh come on Leith, this is special. Your girlfriend's here!" Dorumon, sensing a problem, brushed past the girl.
"Blair could be a dead girlfriend if we're not careful," Kiri commented coolly. Emma gave Kiri an irritated look. She liked the girl well enough but this felt extremely like a cheating boyfriend scene.
"I'll be back later," Leith assured. "Tell Raphy and Melissa to be on alert and watch the building. And keep Blair here as long as you can." Emma scowled but nodded. She knew there wasn't anything she could do.
The weapons vanished, as if they had never been there.
...
Blair dashed down the stairs, glad to be out of the apartment. They, for some reason, had been delaying her. Maybe it was for Sean. The boy hadn't come back inside. The sun had set, thank God. Blair wiped sweat from her face and sighed at the cold. "That was... an interesting visit."
"It was," Wizardmon agreed. "I think I understand where Sean gets his quirks from."
"Agreed." Blair found herself laughing. Abruptly, Wizardmon stopped. "Something the matter?"
"Well, well," a voice purred, male and sounding amused. "Look who we have here: a little girl and a little mage. How...interesting."
"Who the hell are you?" Blair snapped, whipping around to see a taller male with black hair. His brown eyes were cheerfully friendly and his aura gave off no hostility.
The boy chuckled softly. "Me? I'm just one of you. I'm just a Chosen Child no one talks to. Ain't it sad?" He gave her a kind smile. "Just call me Zephyr."
The Digital World was calm, true crisis temporarily evaded. The air rippled suddenly and a boy stepped from nowhere. Looking down at his body, he smirked softly.
"Well," he murmured. "This should be interesting, neh partner?"
"I suppose," commented a Digimon at his side. The human smiled.
"Then let's go," the boy commanded. "It's time to get started. Hehe, time for revenge. Thank you ever so kindly for this... my lord XeedMilleniummon."
Deep inside a distant time-space, an old foe smirked again. "My pleasure... old servant of mine. Let's see how you do."
...
They were all just trying to relax, making sure they had plenty of energy for the upcoming battle. Wizardmon suddenly looked to the left and saw the odd boy Toby they had met just a couple days ago standing only feet away. He had appeared silently, like a mirage. He was shaking, clearly still scared of them. He stopped walking a few feet away and fidgeted anxiously.
"Hello Toby," the Champion said quietly.
The boy jumped and locked eyes with the Digimon. He nodded timidly and instantly looked away, still shaking. "H-Hi."
"It's okay. Like Kiri said, we're not going to hurt you."
"I...I know b-but...." He shook his head. "I... I can't help it. I'm so confused." Wizardmon fell silent; he looked away from the young boy, over at Gatomon.
Gatomon frowned. "How many humans have you met?"
The little boy shrugged. "I...I dunno. There are so many here now, it's really loud."
"Cities usually are," she said gently. The boy looked at her.
"U-Um... what's a city?" He honestly didn't know.
"It's a place where humans live," Floramon responded softly, coming over from Catherine's side.
Toby frowned and looked down. "So humans... don't live in cages or cells?"
Gaomon merely shook his head. Rei spoke for him. "No, we reside in houses. Cages and cells are mostly for animals, not humans."
"Oh." The boy frowned. "I'm confused again. I was put in a cell, does that make me an animal too?"
"Of course not," Gaomon replied. "Whoever it was that experimented on you, had the wrong train of thought."
Toby shook his head. "He had the right train of thought, I was just a failure."
Gaomon turned away, his right eye starting to twitch. He felt sorry for this kid, and wondered why he couldn't understand that he wasn't a failure, wasn't meant to be in a cage.
Toby looked up at the sky, suddenly distracted by the sound of wings. "Oh wow," he whispered suddenly, watching the birds soar overhead. "That's so pretty!"
"They are, aren't they?" Mimi knelt beside him, watching kindly.
The boy was so excited he forgot his fear. "So those are birds!" he exclaimed gently. "I've never seen them before. They're so amazing!" The cerise-haired fifteen-year-old tilted her head and smiled. Toby saddened all of a sudden. "This is my first time outside and it's so beautiful. I...I wish Lucemon was here to show me. He... he was always good at telling stories."
"If you don't mind me asking," Catherine began, approaching the small group with an offering of a sandwich for Toby. "What was Lucemon's point in all of this?"
Toby took it and paused, thinking. "Um...I dunno very much, but... they said when I was really little I fell into the Digital World. I.. erm..." He struggled with the memories. "S-Sorry, it was a really long time ago, thousands of years ago I think he said. Well, when I fell," he sat down and nibbled lightly. "Lucemon found me and took me back. I didn't want to go home, he said. B-But Papa and the others caught him before he could go home and started doing weird things to us. Lucemon, he tried to leave but... he digivolved first. And they, um..." Toby trembled softly, both from recall and the effort it brought. "They... split his data I think."
"...Ah." The little group was slightly shocked that humans would do that to a Digimon.
Toby thought back again. "I...I think they took his bright data and gave it to me."
"Bright?" Jonathan's partner inquired.
"Holy," came Sana's quiet translation as he walked forward. He sat down next to Toby, who gave a small, shy smile his direction. "They warped Toby into a human with the data of a Holy-powered Lucemon. So it turned Lucemon's evolution into one of dark data."
Toby nodded. "Lucemon got out but...Toby was still needed so they kept going. After that..." He shook his head. "I don't remember. I'm sorry."
Sana took over, thinking of what he had seen. "Lucemon never forgave those scientists for what they did but couldn't just abandon his human partner. So he saved him while the world shattered. He wanted, he wanted to make all of humanity taste the pain he suffered. It was over the top but... it was something unforgivable done by humanity, by Toby's father no less." Mouths immediately dropped open.
Toby nodded. "Papa wanted to see how Digimon data affected humans and what transfers and stuff did." An odd, childishly bitter smile rested on his face. "I was happy: Papa needed me."
Sana scowled softly. "If we hadn't left when we had, we'd probably have been like Toby too."
"Jeez," Tai stated, as he, Sora, Matt and Anna came over. "Talk about a run of bad luck. But we can't focus on the past right now, as sucky as it is. We have to get ready to destroy the Demon Lords."
Toby nodded. "Yeah, they will but it won't be over then. The door's not open."
"It will be," Willis stated with a half-crazed, happy expression on his face as he playfully nudged Kiri.
Kiri grinned at him again and muttered so only a few could hear. "If Colin's still doing his job right it will be."
Suddenly, from further back, near a native tree Izzy exclaimed: "Tentomon!" Mina simply giggled. Toby looked over and blinked in confusion.
"It's nothing," Mina replied, seeing the boy's confused face. "Meramon and Tentomon were just making some crude jokes."
Toby blinked again and nodded slowly. He suddenly turned away from them, looking into the distance. He began to tremble, looking completely and utterly terrified. Both the Digi-Destined and their partners sensed a disturbance and followed Toby's gaze.
Davis hissed sharply. "Leviamon."
The Demon Lord laughed. "You do remember Chosen. I'm quite flattered."
"What do you want?" Ken barked.
Leviamon gave a fanged smile and did not speak. To their surprise, Luca piped up. "Yer lookin' fer me ain't ya?" The boy strolled up to the enemy, looking completely unafraid. He stopped feet away and smirked.
Jonathan stepped forward, but Liollmon stopped him."I wouldn't do that," the lion cub muttered. "Luca's pissed."
True to word, the golden light was already mixed with Chaos and the boy's black eyes were glowing with red. "Shall we get started?"
"Of course. But I am a bit curious..." Leviamon flicked his tail. "Where's your malice coming from?"
"Oh that. Well you see," The boy's smile twisted. "You killed Kudamon, even if indirectly. You broke Tomoe-chan. You made my little cousin cry!" Violet shined. "And you ask why I'm full of malice? Idiot!"
"Your... cousin?" Sora exclaimed.
Liollmon sighed. "Half-cousin. Tomoe was born out of wedlock to Kiri's mother. Tamaki loved her, loved her more than her husband ever did. And..."
"My mom was a very selfless person," Kiri commented solemnly. "I guess she thought that would help Ryou-san, if just a little. So... that's what happened." Surprised, the Digi-Destined nodded slowly.
Luca snickered. "Enough talk! Time to go!" He vanished and Leviamon roared in sudden pain. His large jaws had just been torn open, violet fire burning the mouth. He slashed with his tail, only to meet air as the boy moved again, his eyes glowing. "Why'd they send you to take me?" he asked contemptuously. "You're worthless!"
Leviamon snapped his jaws toward the boy, who moved again. "It's time to begin," the Digimon said simply. "And you are the key to that beginning."
"Be careful, Luca!" Jonathan called out to the younger boy.
"Be careful of what? His bad breath?" Luca cracked the ground and Leviamon stumbled. Flipping back, he hovered for an instant, before slamming Leviamon into the cracked earth. "I'd end this fast but i can't see the damned..."
"Here." Jordan yanked him aside and let fire consume his body. He slammed blazing fists into the Demon Lord's scaly spine. Leviamon cracked his tails again to no avail and they all saw a grey sphere floating in the middle of the flames. Luca pulled back and punched clear through the Core. Wizardmon winced, remembering the feeling of his own Core being cracked. The Digimon roared and exploded.
"That was a bit too easy," Luca muttered to himself, looking annoyed. "Thanks Jordan."
"You're welcome." Everyone frowned at that, noticing the distinctly more polite treatment the boy was given.
"What now?" The teams asked more-or-less in unison.
Luca shrugged. "'S up to you really. The Crossroads Path will be open soon. You need to prepare. This is going to be a two-sided fight." He frowned and stated in a flat voice, "Time stands back-to-back with space as defiance trickles against the laws that live. The deaths that are will be and the heart will shine as brightly as the soul once did."
"Oh, we'll be ready, alright." This comment came from Tai, as he, Matt, Davis, T.K., Jonathan and Blair stepped forward as the leaders and second-in-commands of the three teams.
Jordan snorted. "Showing off your authority? How annoying." He sighed to himself as Leith appeared behind him. "What?" The boy whispered in his ear and the Storien leader frowned. "All righty then." He left and Leith bowed to Kiri politely as he disappeared.
"We'll be going, too?" Jonathan asked Kiri. By "we", he meant the teams.
Kiri smiled distantly. "If that's what you want." Willis remained next to her, playing absently with Terriermon's ears. Toby waked over and plopped down, curling up to take a nap.
With the exception of Catherine, who remained behind with Luca, everyone else dispersed. Luca grinned and took her hand. "Come on, let's go. I know someplace fun."
"I swear if it's the soccer field..." He rolled his eyes at her.
"I'm not that crazy... we're going to the garden." They left.
Kiri groaned with relief. "Glad that's over."
"Too many living people?" he quipped, causing her to laugh.
"Something like that." She leaned on his shoulder companionably and he flushed slightly with a smile.
…
Luca watched the older girl run through the garden. His hands were in his pockets and he grinned slightly. "Having fun?"
"You're not?" she asked breathlessly as she examined each plant.
"I'm having fun watching you," he commented with a sly smirk. Catherine rolled her eyes and yanked him by the sleeve.
"Stop you sick minded ass," she quipped. "I want you to show me something you like here."
"Shoulda said somethin' earlier." He turned right and started walking toward a fenced area.
Catherine glared at Luca playfully. "I swear if there are giant animals..."
"Of course not." Reaching the fence, he glanced at the supervisor. "Mind?" He shook his head and opened it. When the metal shut behind them, Luca whistled. Immediately, they were attacked by puppies. Catherine yelped as she was dragged down by their weight on her chest. Luca laughed as he sat down and let the dogs run all over the place.
"What's going on?" she screamed before bursting into helpless giggles at the chaos around her.
"It's an animal shelter. This is the dogs' playpen. The garden's here for those who don't like pets." Catherine let out a soft screech that turned into another giggling fit as a black dog knocked her over, licking her face. Luca smirked and lunged at one of the pups, growling and playfully batting at them. Seeing this she giggled more.
"You're such a wild boy."
"Duh." Liollmon's comment came from nearby and the lion cub smirked at her. She was forced away by the dogs, who were still sniffing. Finding a tennis ball, she threw it energetically. This would be fun.
…
The next day, most of the Digi-Destined were walking back from an impromptu meeting when they saw a glow past the nearby hill. The other Digidestined looked down at the meadow below, surprised to see it lit up and people all over the place of all ages. Kari ran up to them with TK. The pair was beaming.
"What are you all standing around for?" TK asked. "Hurry up!"
"Everyone's waiting for you!" Kari added, looking excited.
"We only have a couple days before the final battle." Gatomon stated, running past them.
"So they all decided we should have one get together before we go on, since we won't be a full group again," Patamon finished, soaring over his partner's head.
"T.K.'s right; what are we waiting for? Come on!" Blair yelled happily.
The teams, plus the partners and even the freelance Digimon moved in unison as they all charged down the hill.
The pair laughed and moved to join them. Kari suddenly looked up. "Leith, why are you up in the tree? Your parents are down here you know?" Leith looked down at her and shrugged.
"Ah leave 'em." Melissa walked down, gently clutching Raphael's wheelchair as they moved. "Leith doesn't wanna be social right now, he's waiting for the Storien to get here." Emma grinned shyly at them from behind. She ducked away, looking around anxiously.
Leith called down, "Emma, he's not here yet." The girl turned red.
"Shut up Leith!" Melissa snickered.
"Aw, you do have a crush on Sano."
"Shut up!"
"You two stop annoying your sister," A brunette woman walked up to them, looking vaguely amused. "Emma can hide from him all she wants."
She colored red. "Mom!" Her siblings snickered and the woman turned to Jonathan and Blair.
"I'm Mrs. Ladon but do call me Tracy. My foster son and daughter must be quite the hassle, I'm sorry you have to look after them."
The pair of siblings laughed. "Think it's the other way around Ma," Melissa quipped.
Jonathan shrugged. "We've done our own share of protecting, though it wasn't as much as what they did for us."
She gave a quiet laugh. "Is that so?" Tracy looked up at her son. "Leith, you don't mind if I steal your wife for a while do you?"
"If it's you Mother I'm certain Blair will be just fine." The woman rolled her eyes, amused at her son's lack of reaction. Blair fought down the blush rising on her face.
"Mama, wrong personality," Raphael said politely, bowing his head to the woman who was like a mother to him.
"I know Raphy; I'm just teasing." She looked over at Blair. "Mind if we go for a walk?"
"Alright." Blair followed Tracy, wondering what the woman wanted with her.
As soon as they were in the dark, the woman relaxed an inch. "So now, it's just the two of us," she commented airily, smiling to herself. "You seem tense for such a young girl. A lot bothers you I can tell. " She sighed. "Does it feel strange to be surrounded by such a large family who simply accept whoever they wish into their ranks?"
Blair blinked, not expecting the woman to start off with such a friendly question. "I guess," she answered.
She earned a smile. "When Leith introduced us to the Ferro family for the first time, you should've seen how terrified we were." Her voice was full of laughter. "There were so many people in the house, all talking and working like a well-oiled machine. They were intimidating in their ways and the head-to-be was firm in her words and actions." Tracy glanced down at her. "Do you know what cured it?"
"No," came the quiet response.
Tracy moved silently in the dark and hugged Blair, an extremely foreign gesture. "It was the way my son smiled when he saw them. It was so alive." she murmured. "There were no barriers there, social or physical. You belonged there, no matter what you thought or someone said." The girl recoiled slightly, before realizing Tracy wasn't going to hurt her.
"You've forgotten what this feels like haven't you?" the woman asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the girl down to rest on the grass. "Well at least you didn't bite me like Leith did when I did this."
"I'm not a Storien, that's why. I have... beliefs. Sorry, that was rude, wasn't it?"
Tracy laughed. "No it wasn't. And that wasn't a weapon thing, that was a "Stranger is touching me" thing." she laughed. "Trust me, I did it to Raphael, who isn't one and he attacked me. I think it comes from growing up where they did. They've gotten better though." She smiled down at the teen. "So what are your beliefs?"
Blair looked away; clearly she didn't want to have to reveal this memory. "I was brought up to respect everyone, no matter who they were. But everything changed when my parents were killed, not to mention my older brother Shiro."
"Ah," The woman's reply was very calm, very kind. "How has it changed?"
"I first started becoming mysterious and bitter after Shiro died, it worsened when Myotismon killed my parents." She couldn't help but wonder if the woman was stupid.
"No you misunderstand," the woman corrected kindly. "How have your beliefs changed? Have you lost hope?"
"I did for a while, which is why I despised contact. But Sean helped me to see the light again."
"He did huh?" She laughed. "That's kind of funny. When I saw Sean instead of Leith for the first time, he was a lot like you. He disliked others and didn't talk much to us other than formalities. He always walked around with despair-filled eyes." Blair gave her a look of disbelief.
Tracy laughed again. "It's hard to believe isn't it? Sean used to be anti-social, quiet, withdrawn. He got into fights, set people on fire, anything to be left alone. Not even Melissa could get him out of it. I worried so much, I thought he would have been expelled."
"Him? But I've seen him so well in class."
Mrs. Ladon smiled. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have either. It all changed when we moved here seven years ago. He started reaching out to people, helping them, and never stopped smiling."
"I take it you approve?" The question was hesitant.
Tracy smiled. "Would I have come talk to you if I didn't?" She stood up and helped the girl to her feet.
"I guess not." Blair accepted the offered hand and rose.
The woman released her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "Let me put it this way, as I was told three years ago: Kiri pulled my son from the darkness of his heart but you kept him out. And that's what makes you the right person. Just like Sean showed you your own light, that makes him the right one for you. Relationships must function to be proper, not simply love. And it seems for each other, that's what you have."
"I see." She sighed. "Then we will win, we will crush the Demon Lords. And I'll... I'll stay by his side." She stared back at Mrs. Ladon.
Sean's mother simply smiled again. "There was never a doubt you would, it was just afterwards that we worried about."
"Mom!" Sean ran up to them, the glow of the party bringing light from behind him. "I know you wanna be all welcoming and all but she can do it herself, I think." He grinned widely and held out a hand for Blair to take. "Come on, Luca and Ken are facing Tai and Davis in a soccer match! Don't wanna miss it, do ya?"
"Over my dead body," she stated happily. "Race ya!" She charged forward, gaining a few steps as an advantage over her boyfriend.
Sean laughed and ran past with a casual speed. "You shouldn't try that. I run track for a reason!" And he was gone, steps ahead.
"Hey, cheater!" She called to him, hurrying to keep up.
"It's not cheating," he chirped and disappeared into the crowd. "It's talent." There was a loud whoop and suddenly he shouted. "Okay, okay I'll do it Riku! Geez... Greedy little..."
Blair watched the soccer game between Luca, Ken, Tai and Davis. The points were so close, she wondered who would win. Finally, when the game finished, it was clear that Tai and Davis were the victors.
"Nice!" Tai cheered and grinned at the other three. Davis was grinning right back while his DNA partner sat down, looking just as enthused. Luca was collapsed, laughing and breathless on the ground. Kiri tapped Sean on the shoulder and pointed at something Blair couldn't see. He paled and she nudged him. The male threw up his hands and walked in the pointed direction. At this, Riku whooped again.
"Your pupil's gonna shine Tori!" His older brother flushed faintly and rolled his eyes goodnaturedly.
"Don't know what all that was about," the black-haired girl muttered before wandering over to Izzy and Mina. She soon found out, as the soft sound of a piano made its way through the clearing. The chatter almost instantly lowered to a murmur. Sean continued to play, eyes closed in concentration. Blair was amazed, as she stared over at him in awe.
"It's a therapy," Kiri commented softly to her under the music. "It helps him, so he doesn't set so many fires." She twirled to the tune. "Beautiful right?" Sean glanced at the two girls, winked at Blair, and continued, the song growing louder and softer in turn. Blair's eye widened again and she blushed.
Sean smiled to himself, then ended the song, tapering off into a soft fading note. Applause erupted. Sean bowed his head softly. "Any requests?"
Kiri grinned. "Forgiveness."
Sean laughed. "You always like me playing that."
"Of course I do. You wrote it." He sighed mockingly and began to play. The Digi-Destined listened as the song played.
The song ended after a few moments and applause erupted once more. Luca looked at the Destined. "When the battle is won," he said quietly. "We'll have another party. Would you like that?"
"Are you kidding?!" Davis yelled. "We'd love it!"
"Good," the boy said solemnly. He glanced at Kiri, who gave an impish grin and firmly dragged Willis off.
"Barbeque's started!" The sound of an unknown male echoed.
Luca grinned. "Last one there doesn't get any." He bolted off, in time with Sean. Hearing that, Izzy and Mina deliberately lagged, because they'd brought their own lunches.
Kiri grinned at them all. "We hope you continue to enjoy yourselves today." And so it continued.
…
Blair hesitated in front of the apartment door. It was Sean's house. After the party, Tracy had asked her to visit her son and meet the others of the family a bit more formally. Well she was here now... and god was she nervous. Sighing, she knocked on the door.
The person who opened it was someone she vaguely recognized. It was Emma, the other sibling. The brunette glanced at her and frowned. "Mom called you here right?"
"Yeah," Blair answered, nodding.
She grinned, looking slightly sly. "Come on in then girly." She held open the door for her then turned around and shouted. "Mom! Guest is here!" The rest of her sentence was lost in a midst of what to Blair sounded like gibberish. She thought it could be Spanish, judging by the accent but then it switched mid-sentence into something else. Someone else replied in almost the same manner. Blair almost felt a headache.
As she stepped inside, Emma swung the door shut and grinned. "Sorry about that."
"Uh... it's okay," the girl replied, looking baffled. What just happened?
"You live in this house and fluency in six languages gets you your bread and butter," she remarked and muttered something in Italian. "If you manage nine you're considered a respectable human being, at least to Dad."
"You do realize I understand everything you say right?" This came from a tall, well-dressed male in the hallway. He continued speaking to Emma, who gave him a particularly sarcastic remark. He sighed good-naturedly and looked at the newcomer. "So you're Blair. Glad to finally meet you." Thankfully he spoke that in Japanese.
"It's nice to meet you too," her response was a little stiff from unsureness.
He gave a friendly smile. "It's all right you know. Our family's crazy but you're plenty welcome."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Your fault we're crazy Dad, all mental illness aside." A snort of amusement came from Blair.
"No it's our fault you're crazy Emma, your siblings are another issue." He cocked his head, hearing faint piano notes.. "Your brother's practicing again, it seems."
"That's what he does when he's home; plays piano and practices cooking." She gestured to Blair. "Come on, I'll show you where he is. Mom's not done with lunch." Blair followed Emma down the hallway.
The older girl rapped on the door and shouted in Spanish through the door then switched to Japanese. "Oi your Phoenix is here ya stinking Number! Open the door!" There was a click and Dorumon peeked through a slit. He opened the door a bit wider. Emma grinned. "I love Digimon and their sudden learning of how to use thumbs. Go on." Emma stepped away and the Rookie blinked owlishly at Blair from the doorway as he moved back.
"Hi Blair," the Digimon greeted.
Wizardmon joined the gathering, appearing mysteriously. "Hello to you too," they both said.
Dorumon blinked. "Teleporting's kinda weird," he mumbled before shutting the door behind the other partners with his tail. He looked over at Sean, who was still playing, apparently oblivious to the others. He turned the page and Dorumon frowned. "Sean..."
"What?"
"Blair's here."
"Clearly."
"So stop." The human frowned and let his fingers leave the keys. "Yo Blair." He analyzed her. "Judging by your face, I'd say you got language swamped."
"... Yeah, you could say that," she answered.
He gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry, dad does translation for a living and he made us learn how. So we do random language swamp as an exercise. Believe me, it gets very confusing around here."
"It makes my head hurt," his partner said cheerily and Sean laughed, scratching the beast's ears. Unintentionally, the girl had zoned out. Coming back to the present, she muttered something about a boy having a mix of her and Sean's personalities.
Sean laughed at her. "Well I certainly hope that doesn't happen!" he remarked teasingly. "A kid like that wouldn't just be crazy, he'd be taught by Lady Hanabi! Dear god, insane and physically able to help it, what an odd mix for the schools."
"It might be truer than you think," Wizardmon remarked dryly, before smiling at the confused expression on Dorumon's face.
The boy just shrugged. "It could be worse." Dorumon frowned again, looking puzzled before turning to Sean.
"Hey Sean, was I ever this confusing?"
The boy smiled faintly, Leith shining through his eyes. "Nope, Guilmon and Dorumon are simple but smart." Dorumon bounced happily and his human laughed. He glanced at Blair. "Do ya remember the day we first met?"
"Yeah," Blair responded. "It was the day we first entered the Digital World."
Sean sighed. "Actually it wasn't. We met about...I wanna say four years ago, after the fight with Apocalymon. Not surprised you don't remember, you were going through a fair amount."
Silence stole over the girl and her partner. "... Yeah," she replied after a few moments.
Sean gave a sheepish smile and didn't elaborate. "Honestly, when I actually recognized you again, I remembered and thought you were gonna kill me."
Wizardmon snickered. Blair raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"
Sean sighed. "Well... god how can I put this right..." He took a deep breath. "I saw you in class and even at eight years old I could see it in your eyes; you were heading down the same path I was. Mom told you right?" A nod was his reply.
"Yeah... and I could tell you were getting close to doing what I did. So, despite having a vague clue who you were from the news and what had happened, I saw you and Jonathan walking home... and I kinda chewed you out." He looked slightly apologetic. "From what I remember I was pretty harsh." Her head tilted and a faraway look entered her expression as she struggled to remember what had been said.
"You were yelling at Jonathan to leave you alone, no I didn't know him back then... and I told you that you should be happy someone cares enough to stay by you even though you're being such an insensitive brat. I said that if you kept this up, you would be all alone." Sean paused. "I think you yelled at me and said I couldn't understand what you were going through and I replied that I didn't have to understand to see what a coward looked like."
"I think you tried to punch me after that." He chuckled shakily. "Except my reflexes kicked in and I kinda flipped you flat on the ground." A weird expression crossed Blair's face, a mix between amusement and embarrassment.
"Yeah whoops, though I don't remember if the fight lasted any longer than that." A smirk came over her after that comment.
Sean frowned at her in puzzlement, then placed his fingers back on the keys and started playing. Without glancing at the piano he asked. "Could it be you have a sense of humor?"
"Maybe she has developed one after all of this time," Wizardmon answered.
"What a thought," he muttered and sighed, ending the song. "I must be boring you both to tears."
"Oh come on," Blair growled, but it was a happy sound. "Why would you say something like that?"
"I dunno, maybe because you're just sittin' there twiddlin' yer thumbs?" He muttered something to himself in English for a moment. Then he smirked. "Perhaps I'm just that good looking that you can't help but stare."
Wizardmon snorted. "Is that all you're good for, I wonder?" The question was spoken in Darnassian and because Blair had been hanging around Bill, who graciously started teaching her about the ancient language, she managed to get the gist of her partner's statement.
Sean blinked, analyzing the language. "Digital," he muttered irritably. "Unfortunately I only know ancient and Code. Oh well." Dorumon frowned.
"I think he's insulting you."
"Unless he takes a leaf from Takahiro's book, I don't care." He switched languages in the next bit. "Not that it matters, they're too innocent to actually get that far."
The Rookie let out a whine, understanding him perfectly. "Sean... don't talk like that. They aren't like that anymore."
"Uh Dorumon that wasn't me." Sean sighed softly and let the pulsing headache pound a moment more before letting go.
Dorumon groaned. "Even worse."
Wizardmon smiled. "I was just having some fun, that's all."
The boy licked his lips and Dorumon frowned. "I wasn't." The blue eyes flickered coldly and a slyly cruel smile made its way to his lips. "So..." he said, looking amused. "You're the weak one who got the name Phoenix Blaze." A soft, cold chuckle came from him. "Boy, what a dud. I knew Zhuqiaomon was stupid but this is a new level of foolishness." Blair and Wizardmon were silent, not liking the Demon of Icefire at all. Even Dorumon looked at his partner with narrowed eyes. He laughed. "Well, aren't you friendly? When those two talked about you, I just knew I'd hate your guts and you mine. And I was right!"
As Blair was about to say "Sean, we need you to come back", Wizardmon jerked his head to one side and listened intently.
"There's a Parrotmon outside and it's not Anna's partner," the elf stated quietly.
"Well, I don't know about you," Blair began, referring to the possessed Sean, as she turned and followed her partner to the door. "But I'm going to fight it. If you care to join us, we'll be on the ground level."
They exited the unit and Wizardmon Warp Digivolved to Dynasmon. He picked up his partner and flew down to the ground.
Icefire smirked at her as she left. "Shall we watch Dorumon?" The Digimon nodded slowly and followed him out.
"What's going on?" Raphael's expression was curious and wary. He could see it without fault. "Why are you taking control right now?"
The boy shrugged. "I was bored. Sean is tired. Leith passed out a while ago."
"That's your fault," Raphael accused. He was one of the few people who could stand up to the Demon equally and win. "If you had allowed them to finish the program, you would still have a vessel that was healthy."
"And your point? He's not exactly human, which makes up for it." The boy left, seeing them fight. "This doesn't look very interesting." A trident suddenly spun between his fingers and Dorumon frowned again. He didn't like that weapon.
"That's Twisted Waves."
"Yep. And this is the end." He threw the weapon and the three prongs stabbed through the throat, killing the bird instantly.
"Hey!" Blair's voice floated up to him. Dynasmon simply frowned.
"Hi," the boy replied blankly. "You told me to follow you so I did. And you were fighting so I ended the fight. Is there a problem?"
Dynasmon shook his head in disappointment, whilst Blair answered: "I meant come downstairs!"
Icefire shrugged. "If you say so." He went down. "But you were gonna kill him anyway, why's it bad I did it?"
The girl snorted in frustration. "Oh, I give up. Well, I'm gonna go if Sean doesn't need me for anything else." Dynasmon de-Digivolved to the Champion level.
"You're just gonna go because of me?" The boy paused and seemed to be thinking. "Even after all these years I still don't understand humans. You all seem very prickly."
"Of course they're annoyed with you." Sean sounded exhausted as he forced his way through. "You're such a silly one Tempest and they don't understand you either."
"Now I'm really confused."
"Then you're getting the hang of it." He glanced at Blair. "Leave if you wanna leave but Mom's waiting upstairs to give you food and treat you like a decent human being would. I can't say I won't be a bit annoyed with you if you turn it down because you don't like Tempest. He's not a good enough reason."
Wizardmon nodded his head. "Thank you for returning; we'll go back up there." Blair nodded as well.
Sean shrugged and watched them go. He spoke very quietly, but was certain they heard him, "You act as though I always can come back." He looked out on the balcony. Dorumon watched for a moment. "I'll be along in a bit Dorumon. Go on. I want to see the sun set again." The beast Rookie nodded.
It is written that you are together, Wizardmon sent that thought to Sean. Wisemon told me.
This body is written to be hers. The person she fell in love with is unlikely. And you'll need to get along with Tempest eventually. He's always with me.
Wizardmon didn't answer that and Sean was glad. If he had, he would have ended up with two furious people on his back. He watched the sky, which reminded him immensely of fire.
"Enjoying yourself?" Kiri's voice was soft as she made her way over.
"Do you always have to bother me when I'm thinking?" he asked jokingly and she smiled.
"You never think so how could I be a bother?" Sean rolled his eyes as she settled next to him. "You can appreciate the beauty of it can't you?"
"Everything looks clearer when you're an inch from death," he agreed. Kiri relaxed and slumped her head companionably on his shoulder.
"Will you ever tell her Sean, about...?" she trailed off.
"Which part? What happened a year ago or..."
"You know perfectly well what I mean." Her voice took a curtness to it.
Sean gripped the railing tightly with both hands, feeling it compress beneath his fingers. "No, I'll take that to my grave."
"Why won't you tell her what you are, what we are, and what we see?"
"A whole person isn't allowed to know the world of a remnant, you heard Fanglongmon."
"That didn't stop Mom."
"So what? Your mother, jackass husband or not, didn't exactly adhere to rules or common practices. I've got to obey remember?" He showed her his branded arm. "You saw what they did to me the last time I told them to shove their regulations up their ass. For Norn's sake Kiri, have you shown your boyfriend the right side of your body yet? Have you told him what they did to keep your mouth shut about the dreams and the glass?" Kiri flinched almost unnoticeably.
"Sean that was a low blow."
"So what?" He gave her a fierce blue glare. "You swear never to tell those Chosen. You swear it on our vow, on the Catal, and on NEO's Judgement."
Kiri watched him a moment before smiling faintly. "Tell them about what?" She asked with a false innocence. She clasped his bloody hand. "I swear it Joker and the others will follow my lead." He huffed and turned away from his friend.
"Why are you two standing together?" Emma was frowning as she walked down to them. Kiri grinned at her.
"Came to steal him." Emma glared, looking slightly put-out.
"Got guests. Try tomorrow."
"No time tomorrow," she replied with a sigh. "The Storien have been summoned. Emergency level is high."
"From what?" Sean felt the world starting to spin. Leith was up and curious.
The Catal Keeper stepped onto the untouched railing. "The dead have risen."
Leith scowled, purposefully yanking Sean away from the incoming carnage. He was getting a bad chill. The other glared at him half-heartedly. "Emma," he said curtly. "Go inside, keep the others occupied."
"Oh come on Leith, this is special. Your girlfriend's here!" Dorumon, sensing a problem, brushed past the girl.
"Blair could be a dead girlfriend if we're not careful," Kiri commented coolly. Emma gave Kiri an irritated look. She liked the girl well enough but this felt extremely like a cheating boyfriend scene.
"I'll be back later," Leith assured. "Tell Raphy and Melissa to be on alert and watch the building. And keep Blair here as long as you can." Emma scowled but nodded. She knew there wasn't anything she could do.
The weapons vanished, as if they had never been there.
...
Blair dashed down the stairs, glad to be out of the apartment. They, for some reason, had been delaying her. Maybe it was for Sean. The boy hadn't come back inside. The sun had set, thank God. Blair wiped sweat from her face and sighed at the cold. "That was... an interesting visit."
"It was," Wizardmon agreed. "I think I understand where Sean gets his quirks from."
"Agreed." Blair found herself laughing. Abruptly, Wizardmon stopped. "Something the matter?"
"Well, well," a voice purred, male and sounding amused. "Look who we have here: a little girl and a little mage. How...interesting."
"Who the hell are you?" Blair snapped, whipping around to see a taller male with black hair. His brown eyes were cheerfully friendly and his aura gave off no hostility.
The boy chuckled softly. "Me? I'm just one of you. I'm just a Chosen Child no one talks to. Ain't it sad?" He gave her a kind smile. "Just call me Zephyr."