Chapter 98: Time of Action

SkullCaliphmon

Cyprus Desert

 

“The rest will follow shortly,” Thomas said. “Let’s go back to the villa; we need to tell Pheragas what happened.”

Those bastards! How dare they murder Myotismon?! In my anger, I crushed the crystal sphere given to me by DeathPhantomon which I had been using to watch the members of Lachesis — their witch, in particular, especially when she took a shower. Though I am only bone, I crushed it with ease. The shattered pieces rained down on the floor before my throne. He…the kid really looked up to me! He was just trying to make me proud of him, so what do I do?! I send him to his death, that’s what I do!

“Careful, your grace; DeathPhantomon didn’t give you too many of those,” Tactimon said.

“…Yeah…you’re right…” I looked up at the knight; as always, he was kneeling before me. “Apologies, Tactimon…I rarely get angry like that.”

“I understand, your grace. Myotismon…his passion for remaining alive was perhaps the greatest among the Order.”

“In a way, his death suited him,” said a voice from the shadows.

“Who goes there?!” I asked, startled by the sound of the new voice.

“No need to get so tense, Mr. Skeleton King…” A golden wolf stepped out of the shadows.

“Lupinemon…what do you want?” I asked. Tactimon rose from the floor before me and backed up against a wall as the newcomer walked up to me and casually lay down on the floor in front of my throne.

“I had a bit of an unwelcome detour while I was in Nymphaea; I came here to the desert to warm myself up a little.” The sunlight seemed to reflect right off the Digimon’s fur; I had to keep myself from covering my empty eye sockets, reminding myself that I had no eyes to go blind with. “Since I was already here…I thought I might as well pay you a visit.”

“Well, your timing couldn’t be any better,” I said, drumming my fingers impatiently on the arm of my throne. “Myotismon was killed a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, was he, now? That is a shock…” Her voice sounded unsurprised, almost sarcastic. “Hmph. No big loss there…”

I stuck the two blades of my sword into the stone floor, two inches away from Lupinemon’s snout. “I’ll have you know that Myotismon was an excellent Digimon, and—”

“—And you’re the only one who feels that way,” Lupinemon yawned. “Which reminds me…you still owe me for letting those…kids into your castle a while ago.”

“No I don’t.”

“No?”

“Our deal was for you to lure them into my castle so that I could kill them,” I said. “I didn’t kill them because of Flamedramon’s intervention. If you want me to ‘owe’ you, I’d suggest you find them and lead them back here.” I was expecting Lupinemon to acquiesce, but to my annoyance, she stood her ground.

“Not happening,” Lupinemon snorted. “Our enemies are intelligent, the swordsman and summoner in particular. The swordsman was able to deduce my incapability of compressing the weight of my Digimon form while in my Human form simply by looking at Linoan’s footprints. And then there’s the summoner; she has Digimon instincts and senses, but Human intelligence to make reason of them. She will be a dangerous adversary.”

“What’s your point, Lupinemon?!” The golden wolf looked at me over her shoulder.

“They will not fall for the same trick twice, SkullCaliphmon, not even the Digimon that accompanies them — he may not be the brightest, but he’s very cautious, which will make it harder for us to trick even him.”

“Well, nobody said you had to trick them to get them to come here! Force them if you must! Just bring them here so that I can put an end to them!”

“I refuse.” Lupinemon turned away from me. “If you do not owe me anything…then I certainly do not owe you anything. If you want them dead so badly, get up off your bony ass and slay them yourself!”

“You dare insult His Grace?!” Tactimon barked. “Ally of his though you may be, I shall have you hanged for—”

“Who are you to threaten me, worm?” Lupinemon asked in a smug voice. “You are merely a servant of one of the Order’s twelve — granted, you are the only one aside from DeathPhantomon’s servants. Know your place.” Lupinemon left the room, and vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

“The nerve of that bitch!” Tactimon spat.

“Leave her be, knight,” I said. “I am quite used to her, and right now, she is the least of our concerns.”

“Our concerns…Your Grace, I’ve a proposition for you.” Tactimon knelt down before me once more. “Your Grace, allow me to find those accursed Humans who slayed Myotismon. Allow me to bring them to you.”

“No, you don’t need to go through all that trouble,” I said. “…Just kill them in their own homes. That will suffice for me.”

“Yet, Lupinemon—”

“I only told Lupinemon to bring them to me because I did not trust her to kill them. That girl…no matter how many times she says otherwise — no matter how many times she says that she is a Demon Beast — she cannot hide the stench that comes with being an Exalted Beast.”

“An Exalted…Then she—”

“That girl is far too affiliated with the light for her own good,” I said. “If she isn’t careful, that could get her into a lot of trouble…or even killed.”  The thought of Lupinemon being killed filled me with delight, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t act on desire alone. If she were to die, then the rest of us would grow weaker.

“…Is there any danger of her turning traitor, Your Grace?” Tactimon asked.

“I do not believe it would ever come to that, Tactimon,” I said quickly. “However…the fact that she is an Exalted Beast…could inadvertently drive her to lead us all to our ruin, as well as our demise; both us, and our enemies.”

“Your Grace, I shall personally see to it that that never happens,” Tactimon said. “I shall place my life on the line, if need be. I will go after the vermin at Lachesis, but if I come across Lupinemon in doing so…do not expect me to show any mercy.”

“…Act as you see fit…Tactimon…my final knight from the days of old.”

Zelda

Saias’s Villa

 

For the past two days, Thomas had done little more than sit and stare out the large bay windows of the villa’s spacious living room. He barely ate, and I was unsure if he had even slept the night before. He sat on a window bench, with his left side towards the window and his legs pulled up against him, and every once in a while, I would see his head turn, as if he had seen something. His face was pale with exhaustion and drenched with sweat.

“No need to worry about him,” Luna said, placing a hand over my shoulder from behind. “I’ve seen him go two weeks without eating before…although, come to think of it, that may have been because of the Stingmon that had nearly skewered his stomach at the time…”

Nearly skewered?! How can you be…Maybe it would be better if I don’t ask. “Well, I’m going to worry about him anyway,” I said. “He must be exhausted; he hasn’t been eating or sleeping, and he’s been fighting and walking constantly for the past few weeks…Isn’t there…anything we can do for him?”

“…You’re so adorable,” Luna cooed in a soft voice, lightly pinching my cheek.

“He’s thinking about Apollomon, isn’t he.”

“I guess it has been a while, but our orders from him were to wait a week until going to fight SkullCaliphmon if Apollomon hadn’t returned by then, and it hasn’t been a full week yet. If Thomas wants to spend that time waiting and hoping Apollomon will return, then we should let him.”

“But…if he’s busy worrying about Apollomon, then won’t he be distracted in battle?” I asked.

“I doubt it. Thomas isn’t the kind of guy to get distracted like that. After all, he hasn’t been once distracted by that cute face of yours while fighting alongside you and Statch, has he? And don’t say anything like you don’t think you’re attractive enough to catch anyone’s attention, because even though your modesty is rather endearing, it is unbecoming of such a beautiful girl.”

“…I’m sorry…I just don’t know any other way to think about myself…” I could feel myself grow more and more flustered by the minute.

“You have nothing to worry about, is all I’m saying.” Luna smiled down at me, gently sweeping some of my hair away from my face. “If it’d make you feel better, you can ask him yourself; he is right there.”

I looked up at the sorceress, and smiled back at her. “…Chrysania…has a wonderful mother,” I said.

Luna’s smile widened. “Zelda…you’re free to think of me like a mother, too, sweetie,” she said softly. “I remember what you told me about your own mother, how she hurt you like that, and…well, if you ever need someone like that to talk to…” Luna nervously rubbed the back of her neck, looking up and away. I placed my arms around the woman’s slender waist and hugged her.

“Don’t worry, Luna; even if there’s no one else I can go to, I know I can always turn to you.” Giving the sorceress one final smile, I pulled away and walked over to Thomas. I softly whispered his name, making him flinch back in surprise. His surprised expression faded when he saw me, turning into a very exhausted-looking smile.

“How are you?” he asked. His voice was hoarse, shaky, and raspy; whether it was from thirst or not having been used in some time I wasn’t sure.

“…I should be asking you that.” I sat down on the bench directly in front of him. Our backs were propped against the wall. Like every other thing in the villa, the window seat was rather large and spacious, and I was able to sit with my legs out in front of me, with my feet pressed against his. “Are you okay, Tommy?”

“I am…fine…”

“Apollomon and the others will be fine. They will return, and it will be any day now,” I reassured him.

“…I’ve…been thinking about what to do about SkullCaliphmon,” Thomas said. “Part of me wants to continue waiting for Apollomon to return before we fight SkullCaliphmon…Then, there’s another part of me that remembers just how…easily SkullCaliphmon defeated Apollomon last time, and that was back when it was only him, Lilithmon, and Cherubimon alive. But now, there are nine of them, and I doubt Apollomon would be able to help us much against him…” Thomas rested his forehead in his hand. “I’ve been trying to decide what would be the best thing for us to do…but I just can’t get my mind off Apollomon. We don’t know where he is, we don’t know where he went, we don’t even know if he’s still alive! Hell, we don’t even know what happened to Seraphimon! And if it’s not him I’m thinking about, it’s Lilithmon. We have to stop her, I know that; but every time I think of a way to stop her or any of the others, a new problem just pops up in my head.”

“Do you…regret your decision?” I asked. I scooted myself closer to him and drew my legs up against my body, with my arms resting atop my knees and with my feet resting atop his. “When you were asked to become our temporary leader, you accepted. Do you regret it?”

“Regret it? No way!” What had once been a worn-down, almost gloomy expression turned into a look of confidence. “If I regretted it, I wouldn’t be sitting here trying to think of what would be the best thing for everyone. I knew it would be difficult, sure, but I’m not going to give up; I accepted the job, so I’ll see it through to the end.” I smiled at him.

“That’s one of the many reasons why I love you so much, Tommy; you see everything through to the end, and you try your hardest to keep all of us safe,” I said. “Trying to think of what would be best for everyone is a difficult task. You knew that, but you accepted the burden regardless, and you’re working hard to ensure you keep your word. But Tommy…you’ve been working so hard, that you’ve been neglecting your own needs and wants. I don’t want to see you make yourself sick — or worse — over this. Please…come eat a meal with the rest of us, okay? And our bed is so cold and lonely without you for me to snuggle up against…”

Thomas reached out and placed a hand over the top of my head. “I’m sorry…You said I’ve been neglecting myself, but it seems that I’ve neglected you more,” he said. “I’m sorry.” His hand moved down, and he gently moved his fingers against my cheek, brushing away a tear. A kind and gentle warmth sprung up in the middle of my chest at his touch, and I couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve missed seeing that beautiful smile of yours…just seeing it makes all my worries vanish.”

“I’m glad I was able to help you,” I said softly.

Thomas looked directly into my eyes. “You do so much more for me than you ever know, Zelda. You’ve saved my life plenty of times on the battlefield, even when we first met and didn’t know each other. Your smile eliminates all my fears and worries. You are the person that keeps me going, and you are the light that keeps me from falling into a pit of despair, or into darkness itself.”

I…I had no idea… He had begun looking out the window once more, and with an inattentive expression on his face, he absently began stroking the tops of my feet in the same manner he did when he stroked my hair at night whenever I would wake up after a nightmare. I never knew I had done so much for him! Instinctively, my feet flinched back, without his notice, as soon as he began to slowly roll my toes between his fingers; I had to stifle my laughter. How many times have I told him how ticklish I am? Guess he hasn’t forgotten… I didn’t mind, though. I smiled. He had never forgotten, nor would I want him to; though, based on his forlorn expression, I doubt it was on his mind. He would always have playfully done something like this just to try to get on my nerves, and no matter what I said, I always enjoyed it. His fingers would always linger on my navel, which I encouraged him to do, not only because I loved the way it felt when he would gently stroke it, but because I was very well aware of his preferences. His touch was always so gentle, and he’d always stop whenever I asked him to…I would guess. I never have, of course.

After a while, he turned his gaze from the window back to me and said thoughtfully, “Zelda…before I met you, I was only an assassin. All I did was kill people for a living. That was all I did, and I did it without a second thought. My life had almost no meaning. But now…now that you are in my life…my life has meaning. Because you are here with me, I have someone I can protect. You give my life meaning. You are my light, Zelda. I love you.”

“Thomas…I…” My face had reddened a considerable amount, and I hid it in my arms. Would now be…a good time to say it? Probably not…Either way, what if he says no? Oh, but I’ve just got to know! “Tommy…when all of this is over…when Lilithmon and the others are all dealt with…” My heart was beating very rapidly; I feared it would burst through my chest. I felt so nervous, and I was certain my face was redder than it had ever been. The palms of my hands and my face were perspiring in my nervousness, and to me, the room felt like it was broiling.

“What is it?” Thomas asked, giving me an encouraging smile. “You can tell me.”

“When…when all the members of the Order are all gone…we…w—we should…g—get…” In my own light-headed nervousness, the word I was trying to say would not come out, as if it had vanished without a trace from my very memory. However, I had forgotten all about it when Thomas’s eyes immediately darted to the window. His entire body turned around, and on his face was a look of almost fearful shock. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“…Someone’s coming,” he said.

“Is it Apollomon?!” I looked out the window; the person I saw was, to my dismay, not Apollomon, nor anyone I knew, for that matter. The person — clearly a Digimon — was walking up to the villa through the scorched grasses of the lawn. “Who is that?”

“I don’t know,” Thomas said, rising slowly to his feet. “Let’s go see.”