Sephyrus

 

 

hair color: black
 eye color: grey
 age: 230
 height: 5'07"
 weight: 141
 theme: Organization XIII
 bio
 An unfailingly calm and polite priest, Sephyrus has been serving Lilithmon for hundreds of years for no known reason - if there are any.

Chapter 11: Red-Eyed Glare

Thomas

Cyprus Desert

 

Several hours had passed since our departure from Linnea. During that time, there was absolutely no change in the scenery—a common occurrence in the desert, from what I have observed. I looked down at Statuedramon, who was holding an upside-down map of the Arcadia continent.

“Ok…According to this map that I…found…the quickest way to get back to Celosia Province is to cut through this small city up ahead,” Statuedramon said. I took the map from his hands and flipped it around before returning it to him. “Thanks, buddy. The city’s name is Cyclamen, and it’s about half a mile away.” I stopped walking. “What’s up, buddy? Something wrong?”

“You said the city’s name was…Cyclamen?”

“Unless the map is wrong, yeah, but I stole — er, found it in a store back in Caladium Village, so I don’t think it would be wrong.”

 “…Is there any other way to quickly return to base?” I asked. “One that doesn’t involve us going through Cyclamen?”

“Well, if we go around it, either way, we’d have to go through Yew,” Statuedramon said. “We could do that, but it’d take us a lot longer, and I don’t think either of us wants to go there.”

“…Yeah…” I stared down at the map in the short Digimon’s hands. Even just reading the name of that city made me feel ill. Cyclamen…of all the places…Why’d we have to end up there?

“Are you okay, Thomas?” Zelda asked.

“We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to,” Statch said. “I’m just saying if we take any longer, that might make the boss mad…maybe…”

“…Let’s…go through Cyclamen, but we need to get out of there as soon as possible.” Statch nodded, placing the map inside the separate dimension his shield, and we continued walking.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to go there? Because we don’t have to go if you really don’t want to,” Zelda whispered to me.

“…Cyclamen City…was the city where I was born,” I said. “The people who live there…They’re evil.”

“Evil? But…you aren’t…”

“The citizens of Cyclamen aren’t bandits themselves,” I continued, staring straight down at my feet as I trudged through the sand. “They’re pretty close, though; they’re the kind of people who would turn in their parents for some paltry sum of florin. They might try to act nice, and friendly, but that’s only because they want something from you, and it’s usually money or…” I glanced at the young woman. She was looking up at me with interest. “…other services.”

“…Oh…”

“They’ll do anything, no matter how devious or how forceful, in order to get what they want. They are a rude and tactless, mock civilization of thieves and liars. That was why I decided to leave when I was only five years old — not very long after both of my parents were killed in the streets over only a little bit of money. That was when I was found by a woman named Victoria; she took me in and raised me like I was her own child, and she was the woman who taught me how to use a sword. I haven’t been to Cyclamen ever since, and I’m glad I haven’t.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go,” Zelda said. “If they’re as bad as you say they are, then—”

“I’d rather not slow us down because of something I’d rather not do,” I said. “If anybody recognizes me, we might be kept there longer than I’d like.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You will. Unfortunately, I’m almost certain you will.”

Cyclamen City

 

It had taken us over an hour to reach Cyclamen City — Statuedramon had misjudged our distance from the city, having read the map upside down — and by that time, it was getting close to sundown. To my displeasure, the streets were packed with Humans and Digimon. In that regard, the city hasn’t changed. We had unfortunately found our way in a rather large crowd; not large enough for us to get lost, though just small enough for someone to notice us.

“Let’s make this quick,” I said. “The street we’re on should lead us straight out of this city.”

“Thomas, can we stop and eat?” Statuedramon asked. “We haven’t eaten all day…”

“No. We continue onwards. If we keep going, we’ll reach a small village called Primrose before midnight. We can eat there.”

“I’m kind of hungry, too,” Zelda said quietly.

“…Well…I guess if we had to…we could…find a place to eat here,” I said.

“Oh, sure! When your best friend in the whole wide world suggests it, it’s a big fat ‘no,’” Statch grumbled. “But when the cute girl mentions it, he’s all fucking over the idea…”

“I—I don’t want to be an inconvenience to you, though!” Zelda added, looking and sounding flustered. “I’ve gone for several days in a row without eating, so…so I can keep going if you don’t want to stop…”

“Days, huh?” I looked back at her. I guess that explains why she looks so…so gaunt! “…Listen, Zelda. I don’t know what kind of life you’ve had before you decided to join our guild, but when you’re working with us, you eat whenever you get hungry. Okay?” Behind me, I could hear Statuedramon repeating my every word in a mocking tone of voice, though I did my best to ignore him.

“…Thank you, Thomas. I really appreciate that,” Zelda smiled.

“How come I don’t get to eat whenever I want?!” Statch asked.

“Because if you did, the entire continent would run out of food.”

“…Yeah, you’re probably right…”

“Now, let’s keep moving before anyone here notices—”

“Well, what do we have here?” My heart sank upon hearing a new voice from behind me, and I quickly grabbed Zelda’s and Statch’s hands when I saw that a middle-aged man had approached us.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

“Yeah, I thought I recognized you!” the man said. “Yer that kid who left us ‘bout ten years ago, right? What’re you doing back here? Decided you wanted to come back to us?” I glared at the man. I recognized him instantly, and his appearance sent a chill down my spine. I could not recall his name, or if I ever knew it in the first place. Not that I cared, and I was certain I never even bothered to learn it, not after what he did. But that was not why I was surprised. His eyes were red. Not red with exhaustion, but red irises. Yes, red was a common eye color, as I’ve noticed in my travels, but his eyes…it could’ve just been my imagination, but they almost looked as though they were glowing. “Well?”

“…I do not wish to speak to you,” I replied. The memory of what he did was playing vividly over and over again in my mind. What he had done did not surprise me; it was to be expected of the people who lived in this city.

“Look, kid, if this is about what I did to yer parents all those years ago, I told you before; I’m not sorry,” the man said. “They owed me money. Money they didn’t have, clearly.”

“The fact that you murdered them means nothing to me,” I said. I heard Zelda gasp my name in surprise. “They were just like you. They only cared for themselves…not even their own child.”

“Dude…you never told me about that,” Statuedramon said quietly.

“If you ain’t pissed about yer parents gettin’ killed, then why’d you leave?” the man asked. I turned away from the man, joining my friends.

“…My job.”

“A job? You?! What could a little puss like you do?!” the man began laughing, as did a few passersby who had happened to hear our conversation.

“Please, don’t any of you recognize him?” a woman’s voice asked, sounding somewhat annoyed and amused at the same time. I turned to see who had spoken, seeing a young woman with long, blonde hair. “Thomas Kasuto is a professional assassin; you idiots would all do well to remember that he isn’t exactly the kind of person you’d want...displeased with you.”

“Abigail,” the woman’s name instantly popped into my head. Abigail…that was her! But how could she have known about my work…wait, where did she go? I looked around the crowd, which increased in size by the minute, in search of Abigail, but she was nowhere to be seen. Abigail...I still need to apologize to you, don’t I...It's been about thirteen years since I left—

“Ooh, pardon me, Mr. Killer,” a stranger said sarcastically, laughing. “You here to kill us?”

I wish…

“Nah, I’d bet he’s too much of a puss to touch a weapon,” another person said.

“So, what are you doing here? Come here for old times’ sake?”

“Why did you even leave in the first place?” the first man asked. I looked around at the other nameless individuals who had decided to join him. Like him, their eyes were red.

“Surely you know,” I said.

“No, I don’t,” the man said. “But then, I don’t care. Why did you come back?”

“…Everyone here…they…”

“They aren’t as evil as you might think them to be, my child,” said a voice from behind me.

“Father Sephyrus,” the man said.

“You lead a busy life, don’t you? Here one minute, there the next,” the man called Sephyrus said to me. His raven hair was long, falling past his shoulders, and he was dressed in black priest’s robes. He had a serene and delicate appearance, and I almost mistook him for a woman. His voice had a similar serenity and calmness to it. “If it is your wish, I could escort you to the edge of town so you can continue on your way.”

“…I would appreciate that, sir,” I said.

“Jeez, you’re so much nicer than those guys back there,” Statch said.

“And you don’t smell like beer,” Zelda whispered. Father Sephyrus laughed, and looked at me.

“Is there a problem, my child?” he asked.

“Oh…forgive me, sir, but I… I don’t recall there being a church of any kind when I was here last,” I said.

“You’ve been gone for thirteen years, Thomas; our church, run by Father MagnaAngemon, was built roughly six years ago,” Sephyrus replied. “Change is like that; it can happen in the blink of an eye…or over the course of a lifetime.”

“Why would there be a church in a town of thieves and murderers?” Statch asked.

“For precisely that reason,” Sephyrus said. “It has been the mission of Father MagnaAngemon and me to lead these poor souls away from a life of sin. To you, Thomas, they may seem worse than they did thirteen years ago, but the two of us have made a vast improvement on their personalities, not to mention their souls and state of being.”

“Wow, they must’ve been terrible before, then,” Statuedramon said.

“Yes; though the results are always worth it, it hasn’t exactly been easy working with them,” Sephyrus said, laughing. As we walked past a large and ornate building, much finer in appearance than the other run-down houses in the city, Sephyrus stopped walking, and looked up at it with a smile on his face. “But at the end of the day…there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. This church may have taken many years to complete, but it was worth it.”

“…Father Sephyrus. Is Father MagnaAngemon still here? There’s something I’d like to ask him,” I said.

“Certainly, my child. MagnaAngemon’s doors are always open, so that he may aid any in need,” Sephyrus said. The priest opened the large front doors of the church, and followed us in. The doors slammed shut with a loud, ancient creak afterwards. We were directed by him through a short hallway into the nave of the church, were dozens of rows of cushioned pews filled the room and lined the walls. “Larraine? Where are you, child?” A young girl’s head popped up from the middle of the pews. When she saw Sephyrus, her face brightened, and she ran up to him. She appeared to be no older than ten, with hair as blue as the sky running down to her shoulders. She wore a small and simple white dress, patched-together and worn out. Sephyrus knelt down before her, and placed a hand over her small shoulder. “Sweet child, could I ask you to find Father MagnaAngemon for me?” The girl nodded and ran off, smiling happily all the way.

“She’s so cute!” Zelda said.

“I’m afraid that poor child is an orphan, my dear,” Sephyrus said, standing back up. “Her father walked out on her before her mother even knew she was pregnant, and just a few months ago, her poor ailing mother passed. This church is home to many who have been placed in a similar predicament.”

“What?! Well, where the hell is her stupid father?! I’m gonna kick his stupid bitch ass!” Statuedramon yelled. His booming voice echoed through the entire room.

“…We do not know where he might be right now,” Sephyrus said. His indifference to Statch’s outburst caught my immediate attention. “You may rest here if you’d like. I will try to find Father MagnaAngemon for you.” The priest bowed politely to us, and left the nave.

MagnaAngemon

 

“…and that’s all I have to report,” the Vilemon standing before me said. As I sat at the desk in my office, I looked up at the small Digimon. Accompanying him were three DemiDevimon.

“That’s all you have to report?!” I asked. “What good does the presence of a boy who hasn’t been here for thirteen years do for me?!”

“We’re sorry, boss; but that’s all we were able to discover,” one of the DemiDevimon said. “We thought he might have a lot of that stuff you told us about; you know, the stuff with the name that’s hard to pronounce!”

“Oh, shut up!” I drew my sword, Excalibur, and stabbed it into the middle of the DemiDevimon’s forehead, instantly killing the small Rookie. The three other Evil Digimon gave me a frightened look as I wiped their friend’s blood off my sword. “I decide who we gather it from, because I am the one in charge; not you, not Sephyrus, but ME. Got that?!” The three Digimon, though trembling with fear, nodded quickly. “Now, get out of my sight!” Vilemon and the DemiDevimon jumped when I screamed, and flew out through an open window just as I heard a small knock on my door. “Yes, who is it?” I asked, hoping I sounded calm. I opened the door and saw Larraine standing. I smiled. “Larraine…what can I do for you?”

“Mr. Sephyrus is back, and he told me that he wants to talk to you,” Larraine said.

“Does he, now? Well, I’ll go see what he wants, then. Thank you, Larraine,” I said. The child beamed at me as I left my room and walked down a hallway. Damn it, why did I design this place with so many hallways and rooms?! I can never remember where Sephyrus’s office is!

“I’m right here, MagnaAngemon.” Sephyrus’s voice came from behind me, and I turned around to see him walking out of one of the many rooms lining the hallway.

“What do you want, Sephyrus?” I asked. “I told you earlier this morning; I don’t have time to waste on these useless idiots—”

“He’s here,” Sephyrus interrupted.

“Who?”

“The boy we’ve been following. His name is Thomas Kasuto.”

“The boy who hasn’t been here in thirteen years?” Sephyrus nodded. “My Vilemon and DemiDevimon already told me about him; what good does his presence do for us?”

“Our lady believes he has grown quite powerful in the short time he’s been with that mercenary guild,” Sephyrus said. “If he grows any stronger, the lady fears it will be nigh impossible to defeat him and his friends.”

“So, that’s where I come in, right?” I asked. Sephyrus nodded.

“Go, now; they await your arrival in the nave,” Sephyrus said. “Go on, now; do your job.”

“All right, listen up; just because she likes you more does not mean you get to boss me around!” I shouted. “While we are in this city, I am in charge; got it?! I give the orders, not you!”

Sephyrus stared at me, neither angry nor surprised. The look in his eyes made me angrier; it was almost as if he were mocking me! “I understand,” Sephyrus said. If anything, his tone of voice was even more mocking than the look in his eyes. It was infuriating! “So, what will we do?”

“…They…requested to see me, correct?” I asked. “I will…speak with them. But not because you told me to; because our lady wishes for it to be done; got it?!” I turned away from Sephyrus and began walking toward the nave, with Sephyrus following me.

Thomas Kasuto

 

We had been waiting for several minutes inside the church in the large, vacant nave Sephyrus had left us in. Zelda and I sat next to each other on the pews, while Statch lay on his back several feet from us, looking up at the undecorated ceiling. A small breeze from an open window wafted indoors, taking the notice away from the leathery smell of old books and the scent of a freshly burnt out set of candles.

“Thomas, what made you decide to visit this church?” Statuedramon asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m not sure, really; did either of you notice something…odd about the eyes of the people here?” I asked, but both Zelda and Statch shook their heads. “Their eyes…they looked like they were shining…and deep crimson. It was probably just my imagination, but…”

“What’s wrong with that?” Statch asked. “Red is a normal eye color; hell, I’ve got red eyes — or, a red eye, at least — but I’ve never heard you complaining.”

“…I’ve heard legends of an evil Digimon, one that had once been an angel before falling to darkness. It is said that Digimon is able to completely mind control anyone who stares into his deep crimson eyes, and the eyes of his victims take on a similar glow.”

“If he’s only spoken of in legends, then he isn’t real, is he?” Statch asked.

“Not necessarily; the two of us have seen plenty of Digimon that were supposed to be only a legend,” I said. “Remember when we found that Deckerdramon in Lotisea Province?”

“So, what kind of Digimon do you think we’re dealing with?” Zelda asked.

“I think his name was—” Before I could finish, a large pair of ornately decorated doors swung open. 

“Thomas, Father MagnaAngemon is here,” Sephyrus said as a tall Digimon approached the three of us. Sephyrus then left the room, closing the doors behind him.

“So, you’re the lad who left this city thirteen years ago,” MagnaAngemon said, smiling gently. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Is there anything I might be able to do for you?”

“Yes, actually, there is,” I said, eyeing MagnaAngemon’s right wrist. The tip of the sword equipped to his right arm was stained with fresh blood, but something else caught my eye. “Why don’t you tell us who you really are?” MagnaAngemon tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“I don’t understand what you mean; my name is MagnaAngemon, and I—”

“No, you aren’t,” I interrupted quickly. “A real MagnaAngemon…wears a Holy Ring on his right wrist.” MagnaAngemon bit his lower lip, clenching his fist in anger, but he soon began to laugh[LSF6] .

“I’ve been here for six years and six months, and not one person in this damned town was smart enough to notice that one simple detail; two seconds after talking to you, and you can already tell!” MagnaAngemon laughed louder and more maniacally. It reminded me of Gallantmon when he was attacking the Minotarumon.

“I’ll only ask one more time; who are you?!” I asked as I removed my sword from its scabbard.

“Thomas, calm down! So what if he doesn’t have a ring? What difference does it make?” Statuedramon asked.

“A Digimon that normally wears a Holy Ring is able to do so because they themselves are holy,” I said. “A Digimon that has lost its ring has — more often than not — fallen from grace and descended into darkness.”

“Yes, that’s a fairly accurate explanation of what happened to me!” MagnaAngemon said as he became enveloped in shadows. “Well, since you know my secret, Thomas, I can’t allow you to leave this city alive, but at least allow me to show you something interesting before I kill you! MagnaAngemon, Slide Evolution, Devimon!”

“That…That’s him!” I said. “Devimon is the Digimon I was telling you about!”

“What’s Slide Evolution? I’ve never heard of that!” Statuedramon exclaimed.

“Oh, you won’t need to worry about the details of it,” Devimon said, towering over all of us, being much taller than he was when he was MagnaAngemon. “I’ll be sending you all to a much nicer place than this city! You should really be thanking me for that!”

“So, you’re the reason everyone in this city has glowing red eyes; as I’ve said, those who stare into the eyes of a Devimon are mind-controlled and completely dominated by them,” I said. Devimon grinned, baring his sharp fangs. “But why are you here? What purpose does mind-controlling the people in this city serve for you? Certainly, there are cities with more…tolerable people.”

“You don’t need to know; after all, soon, you shall all be—” as he was talking, Devimon failed to notice me as I ran up to him and pierced his shoulder with my blade. Devimon screamed in pain as he tried, in vain, to shake me off.

“Tell me what I want to know,” I said calmly, twisting the blade inside the gristle of his shoulder. “Tell me, and the pain ends.”

“I—I’m only working for someone,” Devimon said quickly, struggling to breathe as he attempted to pull my sword out of his bleeding shoulder. “I…I don’t even know her name…she just told me to find something called ‘quintessence’ from strong Humans and Digimon for her! I just took control of all the Humans and Digimon here to help me search for some of that quintessence stuff! I don’t know anything about it!” After a moment, I quickly pulled my sword from Devimon’s shoulder and neatly wiped the blood off. Devimon tightly gripped his shoulder as he looked around the room, hoping to find something to stop the bleeding.

“Come on, Statch; let’s go,” I said.

“Where are we going?” Statuedramon asked as he and Zelda ran after me.

“Back to Celosia Province; there’s no point in staying here anymore.” I slid my sword back into its scabbard.

“Is that a good idea? What about—”

“Let’s go. The boss is waiting.”

Devimon

 

“Damn that…bastard…” My breathing was starting to grow more and more labored, and my head was getting dizzy from all the blood I had lost, so I sat down to rest on one of the pews. “I can’t…die here…” With a tremendous effort, I forced myself to stand back up. “Need to…finish the job…”

“Oh , that won’t be necessary,” a woman’s voice came from a far corner of the room I was in, though the owner of the voice was hidden amongst the shadows.

“Who are…you?” I asked.

“I’m just here to let you know that the Lady doesn’t have any more use for you,” she said.

“WHAT?! How can…that be? I’ve been here for…six years…for…”

“Yes, yes, six years, six months, and six days; I’m well aware of that,” the woman’s voice grew more impatient. I staggered over to the shadow where the voice came from to see if I could tell who was talking, but the shadow was too dark for me to see through.

“Who are you?!” I asked again.

“To use your words; you don’t need to know the details. I’ll be sending you to a much nicer place than this city. You should really be thanking me!”

“Shut up! Nobody tells me what to do!” As I thrust my claw towards the shadow, a long black spear emerged from the darkness and stabbed me in the chest. Then all went dark around me.

“All those who are useless to the Lady…they will share your fate.”

Her voice was the last thing I heard.

Thomas Kasuto

Cyprus Desert

10 Minutes

 

“Thomas…what should we do about Devimon?” Zelda asked. “Is it really okay that we left him alone like that? What if he does something?”

“…I don’t know what quintessence is,” I said. “I need to ask my superior officer about it before I decide what to do. If I learn it’s something…dangerous, I will return.”

“We should get to sleep,” Statuedramon said. “Our base of operations is about ten hours away from where we are now, so by the time we get there, it’ll be close to sundown if we leave here in the morning.”

Chapter 10: Shades of Evil

Etemon

Linnea Village

 

It had taken me a while, but I finally found the remnants of Meramon’s demolished restaurant. Grinning at the damage I had caused earlier in the night, I turned to glance behind me. The streets were empty. There wasn’t a single Human or Digimon in sight. They had all fled at the first sight of me. Its better this way, I thought. The fewer witnesses there are, the easier it will be for me to get away with murdering him. I looked around. That lowlife Meramon was nowhere to be seen, either. My smile vanished. “Meramon…Where is he? Where are you, Meramon?! Quit hiding, wherever you are, and face me, you coward!”

“I’m right here,” I heard Meramon’s voice say. I turned around and saw him sitting at an outdoor table of a neighboring diner, one that hadn’t been destroyed last night. Across from him was a small Candlemon. “I’m no coward…unlike you, Etemon.”

“Excuse me?! What the hell did you just called me?!” I shouted. “Go on! Say it again! Say it to my face!”

“I called you a coward,” Meramon said in a darker, but still unnervingly calm, tone of voice. “Unlike you, I don’t find it necessary to destroy other people’s homes from the safety of my own home. Unlike you, I don’t use whatever power I may have to endanger the lives of others as a means for entertainment. And unlike you, I do not murder innocent children simply because I am able to do so.” The tall Champion level stood up and began walking over to his old saloon, gazing at it in a wistful manner. “You think that, just because you have a lot of power, you and your cronies can bully others into doing whatever the hell it is that you want them to.”

“So, what? If it's something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!” I yelled.

“See, that’s your problem, Etemon,” Meramon said. “Bandits like you don’t know when to talk and when to fight. Now is a good time to talk.” I clenched my fist in anger, observing Meramon as he spoke; not once had he looked over at me. “On the other hand…it’s also a good time to fight. You need to pay for what you did to my little brother, Etemon! Fire Blast!”

“That’s not going to work, idiot!” As Meramon began running towards me, with his arms spread out and the flames covering his body blazing furiously, I leapt up and punched the Champion level in the face, knocking him down.

“Big brother!” Candlemon jumped out of his chair and started hopping over to Meramon.

“No…Candlemon, stay away!” Meramon said. I walked over to the fallen Digimon and bent down.

“Well? Now who’s the coward here, huh? ‘Cause it sure don’t look like me,” I whispered.

“Fire Fist!” Without hesitation, Meramon retaliated and hit me in the face.

“Bastard!” I reached down and grabbed the Champion Digimon by the neck and hoisted him into the air. “You’re dead!”

Thomas Kasuto

 

We’re almost there, Meramon…please; don’t let us be too late! As we neared the end of an alley, Statuedramon unexpectedly stopped and looked around the corner.

“Thomas, I found him!” Statuedramon whispered, pointing to Etemon. “He’s got Meramon by the neck; should we help him?”

“If you mean Meramon, the answer is yes,” I said, drawing my sword. “This is how we earn our pay…after…all…” Statuedramon was not there to listen, as usual; he had run yelling out of the alley, holding up his sword.

“Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” Statuedramon fired a transparent, sword-shaped projection from his sword that, when it hit Etemon’s back, exploded on impact.

“…So…you managed to escape,” Etemon said, turning around and dropping Meramon to the ground. Gasping for air, he was helped off the ground by his little brother.

“Meramon, are you okay?” Zelda asked as we caught up with Statch.

“You…saved me…” Meramon coughed. “Even though I didn’t deserve to be saved…I…I don’t know what to say…”

“We’ll be fulfilling your request now,” I said. “Etemon will die. That, I promise.”

“…Thank you,” Meramon said. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“You figured out that I’m a bandit pretty quickly; too quickly. How’d you know?” Etemon asked.

“You have a terrible poker face, Etemon; I knew as soon as I told you why I was in this village,” I said. “And now…it’s time for you to die.”

Etemon began to laugh. “Come, now; do you really think you could kill me?!” Etemon asked, laughing harder. “You say you’ve killed many Digimon, but you’re only a Human! You must be joking!”

“There is no other option; as soon as the order is given, it must be carried out.” I held up my sword and aimed it at Etemon’s chest. “And my orders are to ensure that you die. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

“Don’t be ridiculous; there isn’t a Human around who’s strong enough to defeat me! Or a Digimon, for that matter! Dark Network!”

“Statch, get ready!” I shouted as Etemon prepared his attack. Statch nodded and ran in front of me, holding up his shield.

“Dimensional Shield!” The design resembling a mouth on Statch’s shield opened up just as Etemon’s Dark Network impacted; however, instead of dispersing, the sphere was swallowed by the mouth on his shield until it was completely out of sight. “Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” Statuedramon pointed his sword skyward, and it began to glow black. He then swung his sword at Etemon, firing yet another projectile, this time a black one, at Etemon.

“Fireball!” Meramon hurled a fireball at Etemon, which struck him in the chest simultaneously with Statuedramon’s attack; the combined strength of the two attacks caused him to fall to the ground on his back.

“What the hell…was that?” Etemon was breathing heavily, and he tried to pick himself up off the ground.

“My shield is able to absorb the attack of any Digimon; then, based on the attack I absorbed, I am able to change my sword attack’s element to that of the attack I just absorbed,” Statuedramon swung his sword once more, firing yet another attack at Etemon. However, the Ultimate leaped off the ground and avoided the attack at the last second.

“Wow, you must be invincible,” Zelda said breathlessly as Meramon threw another fireball at Etemon, knocking him to the ground once again.

“Yeah, I am pretty amazing,” Statuedramon said.

“And oh so modest,” I added. Statch laughed sarcastically.

“Well, I guess there are a few things I can’t deal with; for example, I am unable to absorb any physical or melee attacks, like Giromon’s chainsaw attack. Also, I’m pretty slow with all this armor on, so I have a lot of trouble dealing with enemies that are fast.” I smirked as he said this.

Good…now, Etemon will probably think…  

“Enemies that are fast, you say? Well, why the hell didn’t you say so earlier?!” Etemon jumped back to his feet and began running toward Statch, his claws extended. In spite of this, Statch closed his eyes.

That’s my cue! I thought, smiling as I ran up to and stabbed Etemon, thrusting my sword into Etemon’s right arm, which the Ultimate Digimon clutched in pain as blood came gushing from the gaping wound. Immediately, I pulled my sword out and wiped the blood off so as not to stain the blade with that filth’s blood.

“Fast Digimon usually don’t have the best defense,” Statuedramon explained.

“How?! How could a Human be strong enough to hurt me?!” Etemon asked as the blood flooded from his arm faster and faster with each passing second.

“It’s because you’re weak, Etemon,” Meramon scowled at Etemon, standing behind him with his brother, Candlemon. “You’re so weak, you find it necessary to take the lives of those weaker than you in a pitiful and failed attempt to prove that you are strong. You’re pathetic.”

“How DARE you of all Digimon call me weak?! Dark Network!” Etemon aimed and fired his attack at the two Flame Digimon.

“Oh, shit, I’m not going to make it in time!” Statuedramon ran frantically over to Candlemon and Meramon, but Etemon had already attacked; there was no way Statch would have made it in time.

“Come forth, Gallantmon! Cross over from the other realm and protect these innocent souls!” I turned around and saw Zelda holding a Talisman high above her head, and instantly, the form of Gallantmon appeared before Candlemon and Meramon. Etemon’s attack collided with Gallantmon’s shield, and it instantly dissipated. “Are you two okay?” Zelda called out to the two Digimon.

“You…protected us…” Meramon said, staring at Zelda. “Even after everything I said to you the other day…I didn’t deserve to have my life be saved by you, but you did anyway…”

“Well, I’m glad the two of you are safe,” Zelda replied, smiling sweetly.

“What the hell is this…thing?” Gallantmon asked. Etemon’s mouth hung agape as the tall Mega Digimon looked down at him with a disdainful sneer. “You can’t honestly expect me to dirty my beautiful lance with the blood of this garbage!”

“If you don’t wish to fight, you may return home, if you’d like,” Zelda said, holding up Gallantmon’s Talisman. Without another word, Gallantmon faded away into nothingness. The talisman in Zelda’s hand flashed brightly for a moment. Etemon continued to stare at the spot where Gallantmon had stood, his mouth still agape and his arm still bleeding.

“You really ARE weak; Fireball!” Meramon hurled a fireball at Etemon, but the Ultimate was able to dodge it at the last second. Meramon threw more fireballs, but Etemon easily dodged all of them.

“Meramon!” The Champion Digimon glanced over at Statuedramon as the Rookie held up his shield. “Over here!”

“Fireball!”

“Dimensional Shield!” Once again, the mouth on Statuedramon’s shield opened up, swallowing Meramon’s flame attack. “Sword of Dragon’s Soul!” This time, his sword began to glow red, and when he swung it, his attack was red and covered in flames as it struck Etemon and engulfed him in flames. Etemon then fell to the ground and began rolling around in a vain attempt to smother the flames. I jumped up and landed on Etemon. Both my feet pinned the Digimon’s arms to the ground.

“Your end has come,” I said in a calm voice, forcefully thrusting my blade into Etemon’s chest. Etemon briefly raised his arm and wrapped his hand around my blade, and I watched as first his fingers, then his hand, and then the rest of his body, dissolve into small bits of data. His screaming came to an abrupt stop, the flames suddenly subsiding as Etemon died. “Mission accomplished.”

“Yep; now all we have to worry about is the boss yelling at us for taking too long,” Statuedramon said. Meramon stood, staring blankly at the spot where Etemon had died.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I can’t believe that monster is finally gone…” Meramon turned to look at me. “And you…you kept your promise…”

“Of course; I was ordered to murder Etemon, anyway,” I shrugged.

“And you…” Meramon turned to Zelda. “Even after all those things I said to you the other day, you still protected me and my little brother. I don’t know what to say, though I’m sure a simple apology or thanks wouldn’t suffice.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that; I’m happy I was able to help you,” Zelda said. “And you don’t need to apologize; I was never mad at you.”

“Well, anyway, thank you; I owe you my life for the kindness you’ve shown to me and Candlemon,” Meramon said. Turning to me, he asked, “What are you going to do now? Now that Etemon’s been defeated…”

“We’ve no more business here. We need to leave as soon as possible; though he says he doesn’t mind, my superior officer expects the members of our guild to return as soon as they finish a mission,” I said. Turning to look off into the distance, to the North, I said, “If there’s ever any more trouble in this village, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our base of operations is in an old, abandoned fortress in the Province of Celosia, in a forest on the borders of Valencia Territory and Lotisea Province.”

“Yes…I’ll do that, though I hope I won’t have to,” Meramon said, smiling as the three of us walked off. “Goodbye, and thanks again!”

“We’re leaving so soon?” Statuedramon asked.

“It’s still early in the morning. If we hurry, we might be able to reach the Eastern Province by moonrise. We’ll have to travel through the desert at its hottest point, but…”

“Hmm…I guess that’s preferable to angering the boss,” Statuedramon mused.

“…What kind of person is your boss?” Zelda asked nervously.

“Uh…it’s kind of hard to describe him,” Statch said. “He’s a Digimon, though. That’s, uh…about all I know…”

“It’s very difficult to tell what he’s thinking,” I added. “Nobody’s ever seen him mad, though, except for our lieutenant…She has advised us many times to not do anything that would anger him.”

“And it’s…okay that I’m going with you, right?” Zelda asked.

“You need to find your sister, right? Of course it’s okay,” I said, turning around to give her a reassuring smile. She gave me a shy smile back, and the three of us continued on our way.

Chapter 9: Prison Break

Thomas

Etemon’s Castle

25 Minutes

 

By the time I made it back to Etemon’s Castle, the moon had crept slowly down the sky and was almost at the horizon. Stars were beginning to gradually fade away as the sky’s murky blackness began to change to a soft and silky sapphire blue that was not unlike Zelda’s even lovelier eyes.

Everyone should still be asleep, I thought as I walked into the fortress. I did get lost a few times, trying to make my way back here. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on Statch the next time he gets me lost…To my relief, the candelabras in the hallway were still lit, so I could easily find my way through the castle and to the room Volcamon led me to. I slowly opened the door so it would not creak, and when I entered the vaguely illuminated room, I saw that neither Statch nor Zelda were in their beds. Looking at all the beds in the room, I sighed. There weren’t any signs of a struggle, nor was there any blood.

…I guess I should have expected this. Behind me, I could hear the door open very quietly, along with the familiar metallic clang of a weapon being removed from a holster. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Heh. Now you’ve gone and ruined my big entrance,” Volcamon said, walking up beside me. “How could you tell?”

“I’m an assassin; I can tell when someone wants to kill someone else, and right now, there’s so much bloodlust in the air, I can practically taste it,” I said. I turned to face the Ultimate Digimon. “Plus, I heard you remove that hidden knife from your microphone, and the door creaked slightly when you opened it.” Volcamon looked down at the weapon in his hand.

“You have pretty good hearing, don’t you?” Volcamon asked nervously.

“I’ll have you know that assassins don’t fuck around,” I said. “Now, where are my friends?”

“Your friends aren’t here, Thomas,” Volcamon said. I sighed. “Etemon’s heading for Linnea as we speak to deal with that troublesome Meramon, and there’s nothing you can do to stop him!”

“I don’t have time to waste speaking with you, then,” I said. “You can either tell me where my friends are, or I can stab you in the face. What’ll it be?”

“…You think you can stop me?” Volcamon asked.

“Please; I’ve ended the lives of countless stronger Digimon than you. Killing you shouldn’t be a problem at all.”

“Is that so? Then prove it to me, assassin; prove to me that you’re every bit as capable as you claim to be!”

“That’s not something you should be wishing for—”

“Tackle Time!” Volcamon ran past me, and crashed into the brick wall when I stepped out of the way. “Damn it…No fair…moving…”

“You expected me to just stand there and let you attack me? As if.” Volcamon rushed past me, and once again, he collided headfirst with the wall. Why do I always get the stupid ones? When he turned around to face me again, he had a more dazed look on his face than usual, and several bricks from the wall had become dislodged and fell onto the floor. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you’d just tell me where my friends are.”

“No…I’m not…about…to do that…” Volcamon was now holding his head, and his eyes were tightly shut.

“If you tell me, I won’t kill you.”

“Tackle Time…” I rolled my eyes and stepped aside once more. Volcamon continued running and crashed through the glass doors at the opposite end of the room. The Ultimate tripped over the balcony and fell out of the castle, falling to the ground below. I carefully stepped around the smashed glass and looked down.

“…Out cold. Great; now I’ll have to try to find them on my own…” I left the room, closing and locking the door behind me in case Volcamon climbed back up the balcony. I looked around the hallway, and noticed a stairway leading down. Removing a lit candelabrum from its place on the wall, I climbed down the darkened stairway. I walked in silence for a few minutes until I heard a few voices conversing.

“How much longer do we have to stand guard here?”

 “Until Etemon says we can stop, idiot!”

I froze. Those were…Tankmon’s and Giromon’s voices…As slowly and as quietly as I could, I continued climbing down the paved stone stairs.

“Man, those Digimon in Linnea weren’t kidding; this girl really does have some kind of a weird presence,” Tankmon said.

“I know; makes me wanna pop the stupid cunt in the mouth for bein’ so damn irritatin,’” Giromon agreed. “Or, I could just cut off ‘er head.”

“HEY, SHUT UP!”

Statuedramon…

“Say that again to my face!” Statuedramon shouted. “Try threatening her again! Go on; I dare you!”

“Statuedramon, please, don’t worry about it,” Zelda’s meek voice echoed through the silence that followed Statch’s outburst. “It’s okay…I’ve been treated like this before…”

“Well, in that case, maybe we should go ahead and kill her,” Giromon said.

“I dunno…Etemon always says that dead hostages have no value, Giromon,” Tankmon said.

“It would only be the girl,” Giromon snickered.

“DAMNIT! YOU—!” Statuedramon began yelling unintelligible threats at the two Digimon.

“Statuedramon, please, calm down,” Zelda said gently.

“I can’t…I’m stuck…”

Oh, for fuck’s sake, Statch! I rolled my eyes. At this point, I was now running down the stairs rather noisily, and the end of the stairway soon came into view.

“Sheesh, couldn’t Volcamon be here instead of us?” Tankmon asked. “That stupid lizard is giving me a headache, and the girl’s no better! And she’s actually quiet!”

“Shut up, Tankmon! I think I hear someone coming!” Giromon whispered.

Well, guess there won’t be any use in hiding… I walked into the room, coming face-to-face with the two mechanical Digimon. Separated from me by a row of metal bars that formed a very crudely made prison cell at the opposite end of the room were my two friends. Chains were shackled around their ankles, keeping them both chained to the two back corners of the room.

“Where the hell have you been, Thomas?!” Statuedramon yelled. He was wedged partially between two of the bars, up to his shoulder, and was frantically moving his arm around in a vain attempt to free himself.

“Sorry I took so long,” I said. “It would’ve been a shorter trip if Volcamon had just told me were this room was before he knocked himself unconscious. Bloody idiot…”

“That’s not what I meant, damn it!”

“Wait a minute…You said Volcamon was unconscious,” Giromon said.

“So…you were actually able to defeat him? By yourself?!” Tankmon asked.

“You sound surprised. I have already stated that I was capable of something like this, and much more,” I said.

“Oh, who the hell cares? All this means is that the two of us will get to have all the fun of doing you in by ourselves!” Giromon said.

“…Really? Well…if you think you can, why not try and see for yourself?”

“So…Etemon really was the bandit,” Statuedramon said in a disappointed voice.

“Of course he was, you idiot! I even told you myself!” Tankmon shouted.

“And now, you’re all going to die with that information fresh on your mind!” Giromon, holding his chainsaw in one hand and a grenade in the other, flew over to me and vigorously swung his chainsaw at me. “There’s not a Human around who can stand a chance against my chainsaw!” I effortlessly dodged each of Giromon’s attacks until I struck him across the face with my sword with enough force to make him fly through the air and hit a wall. He fell to the ground, unconscious. I then turned my attention to Tankmon, who slowly wheeled over to me.

“C’mon, Thomas…buddy! We don’t have to do this!” Tankmon said.

“…I take it you were the one behind the attack on Meramon’s restaurant earlier,” I said.

“Of course; who else could’ve hit a building from that far a distance? No one else, that’s who!” Tankmon said with pride, failing to notice that I had walked over to Giromon.

“That’s too bad,” I said, kneeling down next to Giromon to pick up the grenade that had slipped from his limp hand. “I was hoping I would only have to kill the bandit leader that I was ordered to kill today; I hate getting my coat dirty.” Tankmon sneered at me as I ran up to him and shoved Giromon’s grenade down the gun barrel on his head, making him laugh.

“Thanks for the ammunition, dumbass! Hyper Cannon!” Tankmon aimed his barrel at me, and when he prepared to fire Giromon’s grenade, his entire body became enveloped in the flames of a rather small explosion, creating a thick, black smoke that filled the entire room. When it cleared, neither Tankmon nor Giromon were anywhere to be seen.

Strange, that explosion shouldn’t have been large enough for Giromon to get caught up in the blast…

“Thomas!” Statuedramon yelled. “Now that the bad guys are dead, I would be most appreciative if you would be so kind as to GET ME OUT OF THESE BARS!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it.” With a few well-aimed strikes of my sword, I cleanly sliced through the bars of the cell, freeing Statuedramon and creating an opening large enough for me to walk through. “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” Zelda said. “They’ve taken my Talismans and Statuedramon’s weapons, but they didn’t hurt us.”

“Our stuff is over there.” Statch pointed to a wooden table with Zelda’s satchel and his own sword and shield on it. “But I think Tankmon had the keys when you blew him up…” I gave the Rookie Digimon a blank look. “When you blew him up,” he repeated.

“Give me a little credit, Statch,” I said. I jammed the tip of my sword into the keyhole of the shackle around his ankle, and it opened immediately, and as I did the same for Zelda, Statuedramon walked out of the cell to the table where his weapons were.

“Where did you go last night?” Zelda asked.

“Yeah, what happened?” Statch asked, handing Zelda her satchel. “Why were you the only one lucky enough to not get caught?”

“I went to pay a visit to Meramon,” I said. “I wasn’t sure if he was the one we were looking for or not, and while I was there, his diner was attacked by Tankmon, and one of his little brothers was killed.”

“How terrible,” Zelda said breathlessly.

“Wait, you’re pitying him?!” Statuedramon asked. “After everything he said to you the other day, after he tried to attack you, you still feel bad for him?!”

“That’s enough, Statuedramon,” I said firmly.

“Etemon is the bad guy…that’s hard to believe,” Statuedramon said. “He had such good food and everything!”

“Where is Etemon right now?” Zelda asked as she fastened her satchel around her waist.

“Volcamon told me he was on his way to Linnea to deal with Meramon,” I said.

“Come on, we have to go after him!” Statuedramon said.

Linnea Village

7 Minutes

 

“We should be getting close,” I said. Damn it, where is that restaurant?!

“Thomas, look out!” Statuedramon shouted just as a small, singe-covered Digimon, carrying a chainsaw, whizzed right past my head. Though he missed my head, Giromon did manage to hit my left shoulder with his chainsaw, and as he saw my blood stain my clothes and run down my arm, he laughed, completely beside himself with glee.

“That’s what you get for killing my friend Tankmon with one of my weapons!” Giromon said.

“Yes,” Volcamon said, walking up next to Giromon. “Tankmon must be avenged!”

“So…you’re still alive,” I said.

“Yeah, I’m a little surprised myself,” Volcamon said. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, “If I were a Human, that fall would’ve killed me for sure. Still, it really hurt, and I passed out for a little while…”

“Now there’s no way you’re going to win!” Giromon sneered. “The three of you are no match for Volcamon!”

“Bring it on!” Statuedramon said, brandishing his sword as Volcamon ran up to him and thrust his knee into the Rookie’s face. Statuedramon nearly fell over, his face a bloody mess, and Volcamon punched him in the face. His weapons flew out of his hands, and he fell over, barely conscious and unarmed.

“You’re next!” Volcamon pointed at me. “Tackle Time!”

“Thomas…look out,” Statuedramon said weakly as a small trickle of blood welled from his mouth. I, however, stood my ground. As the Android Digimon got closer and closer to me, I drew my sword and held it up, and as Volcamon prepared to crash into me, I thrust my blade into his stomach. Surprised, Volcamon fell to his back, trying to cover up the bleeding wound on his stomach.

“What the HELL?! No…no way!” Giromon exclaimed, dropping his chainsaw. “How could anybody defeat Volcamon so quickly?!” Giromon looked over at me, at my blood-drenched sword, and flew away screaming.

“Giromon…come back,” Volcamon said weakly. “Help…me…”

“No way! I’m not fighting anyone who can hurt you that badly!” Giromon shouted back, vanishing into the distance.

“Cowardly…little…bastard…” Volcamon coughed up a large puddle of blood, and then fell silent before his body dissolved into small fragments of data. 

“Come on, we have to hurry,” I said. “Etemon could have already made it to Meramon’s saloon by now!”

Chapter 8: Assault in the Night

Thomas Kasuto

Linnea Village

 

By the time we had reached Etemon’s castle, based on the position of the moon, it was midnight, give or take a few minutes to an hour.

It’s hard for me to tell this far south. It’s not like it is in the West or the East. And, of course, in the North, neither sun nor moon can be seen through the consistent blizzard. I’m sure people living here have no trouble keeping track of what time it is…

“Is this the castle?” Statuedramon asked.

“Yes, this is it,” Volcamon said. “This is where our master, Etemon, lives.” Two large doors were swung and held open by the tall Ultimate, allowing Giromon and Tankmon to lead Statuedramon, Zelda, and me through a large hallway. The doors slammed shut behind us, and I could hear Volcamon’s footsteps as he followed us. It was a cloudless night and the moon was full; had the doors remained open, the hallway would have remained sufficiently illuminated. There were, however, lit candelabra securely fastened to the walls, providing enough light for the six of us to see clearly enough.

“This is a straightforward path, and at the end of it, we’ll find the room where our master waits,” Giromon said. The hallway by itself was large and spacious; the ceiling seemed to be about 30 feet high, and the walls were about 15 feet apart. The floor was made of neatly-paved stone tiles and adorned with a long, red carpet for us to walk on. The end of the hall soon came into sight, with two more large doors coming into sight through the darkness. As we approached them, Volcamon walked past me to join his Digimon allies.

“Our master awaits your arrival beyond these doors,” Volcamon said as he and Tankmon, with extreme difficulty, shoved the giant doors open, allowing us to walk in. The room looked similar to the hallway but was round and not quite as tall. To our left was a large, circular table surrounded by many empty chairs. Stacked high all across the table were various kinds of meats, cheeses, and pastries, more than I had ever seen in my life at one time, which was definitely saying something, as I’ve been traveling with Statuedramon for over five years. At the opposite end of the room was an average-sized throne, where a Digimon sat observing us.

“Master Etemon!” Giromon shouted, looking across the room and waving at the Digimon. “We’ve brought guests with us!”

“Yes…I can see that, Giromon,” Etemon said. His voice sounded dull and uninterested. “Why did you bring them here? Just put them—”

“They’re bandit hunters, sir,” Volcamon interrupted — rather hastily, I noted. “They’ve promised to lend us their aid in getting rid of that Meramon, sir!”

“Huh? Oh! Oh, right, Meramon! Yeah…I was…I was just thinking about him,” Etemon said nervously. He stepped down off his throne and walked up to the three of us. “Pleasure to meet you, all of you! The name’s Etemon, and I’m the, uh, protector of this small village!” Etemon took and energetically shook my hand, as well as Statuedramon’s and Zelda’s. His voice sounded much more enthusiastic than it did before. “So…bandit hunters…right?”

“…Yes, sir,” I said. “Although, to be perfectly clear, the two of us,” I pointed at Statuedramon and myself, “are assassins. Our friend is…not a killer. She is not an assassin. We were sent here to eliminate a bandit leader.”

“…Meramon…right?” Etemon asked.

“Well, I don’t know yet. Could be. Or maybe…it’s you.” Etemon’s jaw clenched. “Heh. Or maybe it’s me. Unless you are the killer, one can never know for sure until you’re staring death straight in the eye. And by then…it’s too late.” Etemon was staring at me, completely dumbfounded with his mouth slightly agape. Not quite the reaction I was looking for…Guess I’ll just have to keep trying. “Oh, but why am I boring you like this? The daily life of a professional killer is sure to be of no interest to a peaceful village guardian like you.”

“No…don’t worry about it,” Etemon said.

Hmm…Either he really is this village’s guardian…or he’s who I’m looking for…I might have to speak with Meramon before I make up my mind.

“It’s much too late for you to go out now and do your job,” Etemon continued. “Why don’t you all call it a night and have some dinner, and then you can go straight to bed? You can worry about Meramon in the morning.”

“But…it would be easier for us to do the job at night, when we won’t be easily spotted,” Statuedramon said.

“It might not look it, but Linnea Village is a very active village. Even in the middle of the night, the streets are crowded,” Tankmon said.

“But—”

“We shall do what was asked of us, Statuedramon,” I said. “As with all of our clients.”

“…Fine. At least I’ll get to eat…For once!” Statuedramon sulked over to the table and began eating without even bothering to sit down first. Zelda and I joined him, as did the other Digimon, except for Etemon. The Ultimate-level Digimon sat back down on his throne and continued to stare at us.

“What was all of that about?” Zelda whispered once we sat down. “When you accused Etemon, and then yourself…What were you doing?”

“…Only a test,” I replied. “I wanted to see if Etemon was telling the truth.”

“…And?”

“I can’t tell yet…I’ll have to—”

“How is the food?” Etemon interrupted. “Is everything to your liking?” I looked carefully across the table. Volcamon, Tankmon, and Giromon were eating as well, so I guessed that the food was at least not poisoned. But Etemon seemed to notice that I wasn’t eating; he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, he can’t eat very often…or too much,” Statuedramon said through a mouthful of food.

“Why not?” Zelda looked up at me with a worried look on her face.

“About one year ago, while on a job, I was stabbed in the gut by a Stingmon. It messed up all of my organs pretty bad.” Zelda gasped. “You needn’t worry; the wound’s completely closed up and healed—”

“Which is what you say about the wound you’ve had on your leg for nine years,” Statch interrupted.

“…But the damage is permanent, so says our groups’ witch,” I finished.

“That’d be my guess; if even Luna can’t heal it, nobody can,” Statch said.

“…Indeed.” I looked down, and found Zelda’s hand resting atop my own. She was gazing at me with a sorrowful expression on her face, though when she noticed me, she quickly pulled away and began eating. After watching her eat an amount of food that should have been impossible for a girl of her small stature to consume — roughly the same amount as Statuedramon, which was already more than the average Human could eat — the three of us were led away from the table by Volcamon and up a set of curved stairs to a large room that had several beds spread out in it. On the opposite side of the room’s door was a large circular balcony, with a pair of closed glass doors being the only thing that separated us from it.

“This castle might look big, but in reality, this is the only other bedroom there is,” Volcamon said. “Is this going to be a problem for the lady? If you’d like, I can see if I can find another room…”

“No, this isn’t going to be a problem,” Zelda said. “I don’t mind sharing a room with them.”

“As you wish,” Volcamon said, bowing slightly before leaving the room. Zelda and Statuedramon instantly climbed into a bed; I, however, walked over to the glass doors and looked outside. After a few minutes of standing and waiting, Statuedramon’s loud snoring began to fill the air.

I guess now’s a good a time as any. I turned and looked back at my friends. I gazed the longest at Zelda. She was on her back, with a small smile across her face, and her hands folded neatly and resting atop her belly. She looks so…peaceful…when she’s asleep…I’d better go. As quietly as I could, I opened the glass doors and stepped onto the balcony. I gave them both one final look before I climbed off the balcony and leapt down onto the ground below. The middle of the night, but it’s almost as bright as day with the full moon…I swear, I’ll never understand the desert province.

Meramon

Meramon’s Diner

Ten Minutes Elapsed

 

That damn Etemon, always sticking his nose into my business; who does he think he is, claiming to be Linnea’s guardian?! How could anyone fall for it?! Though, I guess those three are from out of town…I sat in a chair in my diner, looking out a window at the night sky. By now, he’s probably tricked those three into thinking I’M the bad guy… I sighed. It was no use; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about that girl. Why do I feel so uneasy whenever I’m around her? The same unease, once five or six years ago, when she came here for the first time, and again last night…and not just me; ALL the Digimon around here seem to feel it as well. What’s wrong with us? She’s never done anything to make us think she’d be different, and yet…Maybe it’s our natural instincts?

“Big brother, are you ok?” The sudden voice startled me, and I turned around to see my twin little brothers, both of them Candlemon, looking up at me. I smiled and stood up.

“No, little brothers, I am fine; I was just thinking,” I said.

“Big brother, there’s someone here that says he wants to see you,” the other Candlemon said. At least, I think it was the other one; I had trouble telling the two apart. “He might be a customer.”

“A customer, this late at night? I hardly ever get anyone after midnight…” Nervously, I walked to the entrance of the diner. It better not be that damn Volcamon again! I opened the doors and was surprised to see saw one of the Humans I had nearly attacked about an hour ago. “…You...were with that...girl, weren’t you? Thomas, isn’t it? What do you want?”

“I’ve come here to do my job,” Thomas said. “I’ve been ordered to eliminate you, Meramon.”

“Eliminate me,” I said, looking at him sadly. “…I see…”

 “No! We won’t let anyone hurt our big brother!” Both Candlemon jumped in front of me and glared up at Thomas. “Big brother, what does eliminate mean?”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Thomas said. “I’ve been ordered to eliminate Meramon…by Etemon. However, my only mission was to come here so I could find and assassinate a leader of a bandit group.”

“And you…think that’s me, don’t you?” I asked.

“If I did, we wouldn’t be talking like this. You’d already be dead,” Thomas said coldly. “Although…based on the way you behaved earlier… I’d say you’re a likely candidate. But if it isn’t you…it’s Etemon.”

“Yeah! It’s Etemon! It’s definitely Etemon!” the Candlemon said in a jumbled unison.

“Not so fast, you two,” I said. I picked them both up and walked back into the restaurant, placing them on a table. Thomas followed me inside. “I’m definitely no bandit; but then, what right do you have to believe me? We’ve never met, and…after the way I treated your friend…I almost attacked her…for no reason…”

“I cannot forgive anyone who insults or hurts my friends like that, and if it were up to me, you wouldn’t be standing right now,” Thomas said. “You can consider yourself lucky; my only target of assassination is a bandit leader.”

“And you think that may be Etemon?” I asked, walking back outside, with Thomas still following me.

“…I’d say it’s more than likely,” he replied. “I’ll be honest; this is the first job I’ve been on where I didn’t know my target. Boss’s choice, apparently. Anyway, Etemon’s reactions to a few of the things I said to him weren’t exactly what I was expecting, so I decided to drop by and speak with you.” Thomas turned to face me. “When I told you I was here to kill you…the look on your face…it was almost as if you accepted your fate, that you were ready to die.”

“I’ve done things in my past, things I’m not proud of at all,” I said, shaking my head slowly as I looked up at the starry sky. “It was only for a moment that I, to use your words, accepted my fate, and yet…when those little ones protested, I knew I couldn’t die and leave them all alone.”

“Is that so…” was all I heard Thomas mutter before he began walking away.

“Where are you going?” I called after him. He turned around and faced me, a small smile on his face.

“Someone like you could never be a bandit; you care too much about your little brothers,” Thomas said. He turned around once again and continued walking, his long black coat billowing behind him, but suddenly, he stopped and looked around cautiously.

“Get down!” Without warning, Thomas ran back over to me and shoved me to the ground just as what appeared to be a missile struck the ground where I was just standing.

“Thomas…you…you saved my life!” I gasped. “Even though I…didn’t deserve it, least of all from you…you did it anyway…”

“Big brother, what happened?” the Candlemon asked.

“You two, get back inside!” I ordered. The two Candlemon hopped quickly back into the restaurant as Thomas and I got back up. “What happened? Who attacked us?!”

“The attack came from far away,” Thomas said. “It was probably Tankmon…”

“You sure? How can you tell?” I asked.

“Didn’t you hear it coming? It came from the direction of that castle Volcamon took me and my friends to!” Thomas said, looking in the direction of Etemon’s castle. “Another one is coming!”

Thomas and I dove to the ground, but the attack wasn’t aimed at either of us. I turned around and screamed in horror as the attack struck my restaurant, exploding on impact, with my two little brothers in it.

“No! Candlemon! CANDLEMON!” I helplessly called their names as I ran over to the now burning building, digging through the debris to find them.

“Meramon…” one of the Candlemon weakly hopped up to me.

“Candlemon! Candlemon, you’re okay!” I reached down and picked up my younger brother, hugging him tightly. “Where’s your brother?! Is he okay?!”

“Big brother…our home fell down on him…the other Candlemon got trapped and he couldn’t get out before he…he got…”

“Candlemon…No…he’s…” I looked down at my younger brother, who was tightly holding onto my arm. “… Don’t worry…I’ll keep you safe, little brother,” I said, hugging my brother’s sobbing body tighter. “Thomas!” I yelled out to the boy, who hadn’t moved since the previous attack. “I expect that bastard to be dead before the sun sets tomorrow, do you hear me?!”

“I understand,” Thomas said. “Don’t worry; I promise his death will be a slow and painful one.” Thomas turned around and started running back to Etemon’s castle.

Etemon

Etemon’s Castle

 

“Direct hit!” Tankmon exclaimed from atop one of the castle’s numerous balconies. The Champion Digimon was so large, there wasn’t enough room for anyone else, other than the hovering Giromon, to stand on the balcony next to him.

“Nice work,” I said. “Did you get him?”

“Well…I didn’t get Meramon, but I did get his restaurant!”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be able to get him next time,” Giromon said.

“That’s not all,” Tankmon said. “I saw something…interesting while I was open-firing at Meramon.”

“Well? What did you see?” I asked. Tankmon turned around to face us, a mild look of amusement on his face.

“I saw…that Human, Thomas, saving Meramon’s life.”

“What?! No way!” Giromon protested.

“It is possible,” Volcamon said. “After all, he may not think Meramon is the bandit he’s after.”

“And that’s not all!” Tankmon chimed in. “They were talking about how they suspected you, Etemon! What’s more, he’s on his way back here at this moment!”

“What?! How can you know that? They’re almost a mile away!” Giromon said.

“I can read lips, Giromon!” Tankmon said defensively.

“Never doubt the eyesight of a sniper like Tankmon,” Volcamon said in a calm voice.

“So…he suspects me, does he?” I pondered. “Volcamon…the girl and that old lizard. Put them in the dungeon.”

“Yes, sir,” Volcamon bowed as he left the room.

That’s what I like about that boy; he never questions me! Not like those other two.

“Forgive my ignorance, sir, but what good will locking those two up do?” Tankmon asked.

“Well, when Thomas gets back to his room, and discovers his friends are missing…” I began laughing at the cleverness of my plot. “That is when Volcamon will get him from behind!”

“Oh, you’re a genius, sir!” Giromon exclaimed.

“I know!” I said.

After about five minutes, Volcamon returned. “Mission accomplished, sir,” he said.

“That was certainly fast,” Giromon said, a small hint of awe in his voice.

“They didn’t even wake up; made it easier to lock them away and chain them,” Volcamon said. “I also made sure to remove any weapons they may have had.”

“Excellent…Now, Giromon and Tankmon!” The two Digimon turned to face me. “Go to the dungeon and guard our newest prisoners. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Tankmon and Giromon left the room, leaving me alone with Volcamon.

“You know your job, right?” I asked.

“I will succeed, sir.” Volcamon quietly left the room.

“Idiots,” I said to myself, looking out from the balcony to the small village of Linnea. “Meramon’s not going to burn you to the ground…that’s my job.”