Now, with that said, enjoy this chapter! ^_^
Zelda
Saias’s Villa
Apollomon sat across from us on a couch in the living
room of the villa. He looked neither angry nor confused at what we had told
him; rather, his face went completely expressionless as we told him about
Flamedramon, about Adrian, and about the Bio Hybrids.
“And SlashAngemon and Irene are still over there?” Apollomon
asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “They said they’d be back by now…”
“Geez…I’m going to run out of people to send to that damn
place,” Apollomon muttered. “Well…I’m glad you three are all safe. Don’t you go
there again, though, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Thomas said.
“That’s what you said last time; how do I know I can trust
you when you say that?” Apollomon asked.
“If you didn’t still trust us, you wouldn’t be talking to
us,” Statuedramon said. “Believe me; after what we saw back there, I know I don’t have any plans of going to that
place any time soon.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Apollomon said. “Zelda, you told me
Irene and SlashAngemon should be back by now, did you not?” I nodded. Apollomon
sighed and nervously glanced out a window. “Very well…if they do not return
within an hour, I shall send Dianamon to find them; she’s outside standing
guard at the moment. Now, Thomas…”
“What is it, sir?” Thomas asked.
“There’s a woman down in the basement; she claims to know
you,” Apollomon said.
“…Why did you put her in the basement?” Statuedramon asked.
“It’s not like that,
damn it! Pheragas and BlackGaomon are still injured from their fight against
Flamedramon. Luna and Chrysania are in town shopping for food and supplies, and
with Dianamon standing guard outside, there wasn’t anyone left to treat their
wounds. This woman offered to do so while I spoke with you about last night.”
Apollomon began leading us to a stairway that led down to a door.
“Did she give you her name?” Thomas asked.
“No, but she had long brown hair and green eyes, and she
wore a long black coat...kind of like yours, actually, Thomas. She was very
beautiful,” Apollomon said, stopping in front of the basement door. “Does she
sound like someone you know?” Without answering, Thomas opened the basement
door and walked in.
“So, this is the guild you told me about,” a
woman sitting next to a sleeping Pheragas and BlackGaomon said.
“…Victoria…” Thomas smiled wide as he walked over to the
woman, and the two embraced. I had never seen him look so happy before; he’s
always been so serious, so…solemn. It made me feel relieved to know that he was
capable of experiencing such an emotion.
“That’s the woman he spoke about last night?” I asked
Statch.
“Yeah…that’s her…” I looked over at Statuedramon, and
noticed his eyes were filled with tears. “Even though we weren’t hers, she
still acted like a mother to the both of us…And even though I didn’t need one…”
Statch shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Damn it…I’m over 500
years old…I thought all my tears had dried up…”
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well,” Victoria said. She had
let go of Thomas and walked over to Statuedramon and hugged him too. “I’ve read
all the letters you and Statch sent me, but…reading them is nothing compared to
actually being here with you two…”
“Victoria…You look great,” Statuedramon smirked.
“Are you kidding me? I’ve gained like, thirty pounds since
I’ve last seen you two,” Victoria laughed.
“Well, considering you were severely underweight then, that could only be an improvement,”
Statuedramon said. “How were you able to find us?”
“I was at an outdoor Bazaar in Yew when I saw Apollomon, and
I recognized him from your description of him, and I thought he might have been
the same Apollomon you spoke of,” Victoria said. “I haven’t received a letter
from you in so long; I was beginning to get worried…”
“I’m sorry; we’ve both been very busy,” Statch said.
“We didn’t mean to make you worried,” Thomas said. “Oh, and
before I forget, I’d like to introduce you to our new friend; this is Zelda.
She’s helped us so much ever since we’ve met her. Without her, I…I don’t think
I could’ve done half of what I did during my missions in the short time she’s
been with us.” At Thomas’s words, I lowered my head, hoping nobody noticed that
I was blushing.
“Oh, so this cute little thing is also a mercenary?”
Victoria asked, looking over at me.
“Yes, ma’am; I try to help out as much as I can. I just hope
it’s enough…”
“Nonsense; we are very fortunate to have such a gentle and
compassionate young woman among us,” Apollomon said.
“And she’s a Summoner, too!” Statuedramon blurted out. “Oh,
sorry, was I not supposed to say that?”
“No, it’s okay,” I said. “Everyone I’ve told so far was
really impressed with me, and they’ve respected me; I’m just not used to being
treated that way…”
“Well, now…It’s been a very long time since I’ve met anybody
with that rare of an ability,” Victoria said. “It is said that Summoning is a
divine, sacred ability, one bestowed upon the purest of souls, those that have
been subjected to terrible hardships in life and yet do not hold any grudges
towards those that have inflicted suffering upon them.” My heart sank.
Is that…really why I’m
able to Summon? Because of what I am?
“But, Victoria,” Statuedramon interjected. “We ran into a
bandit that was a Summoner; a bandit
of all people! How was somebody like him
able to summon?”
“Well, who said that old legends and prophecies like that
always had to be accurate?” Victoria asked. “Do you remember that prophecy
about a Digimon called Myotismon?”
“You mean, ‘The sky will be darkened by the wings of many
bats?’” Statuedramon asked.
“That’s the one; about two years ago, I saw a bunch of bats
flying around while a bunch of dead people started shouting the name of an
undead Digimon king at the hour of the beast, and I sure didn’t see any so-called king show up and try to kill
everyone!” Victoria said.
…Wasn’t she…fazed in
the slightest when the deceased began talking?
“I have no idea what you just said, but I’m just going to
smile and nod,” Statuedramon said.
“Well, anyway, I found this a while back, and I wasn’t sure
what I should do with it…” Victoria reached into her coat pocket and pulled
something out. “I’m glad I met you, Zelda. I’d like you to have this.” Victoria
handed me the Talisman; the design on the front was that of the Digimon Leomon.
“Thank you, Victoria; I promise I’ll take really good care
of him,” I placed the Talisman into my satchel with my other three.
“So, anyway, I’ve been thinking about joining your little
group, Tommy,” Victoria said. “You haven’t got any objections, have you?”
“You know I could never say no to you, Victoria,” Thomas
said softly. Victoria giggled.
“Ah, yes…how could I have possibly forgotten about your little…‘weakness,’” she said.
“I prefer to think of it as a ‘perpetual enamorment,’ rather
than a weakness,” Thomas said. Victoria laughed once more.
“No wonder you were so keen on getting this young lady to
join your guild,” she said.
“What…do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing…You know, you really are adorable, just like he said.” I felt my face began to heat up
when Apollomon interrupted.
“Miss Victoria, you are more than welcome to stay with us
for as long as you desire,” he said. “You are also welcome to join us, if you
wish.”
“Well, thank you, sir,” Victoria said. “I just might take
you up on that offer…”
“Excellent; now, is there anything that you’d—” Apollomon
was interrupted when someone began knocking on the basement door.
“Apollomon! Apollomon…you need to see this!” A
pale-faced woman stood in the doorway, gasping for breath, and her face was
covered in sweat…or tears.
“Dianamon, what’s wrong? What happened?!” Apollomon opened
the door, and Dianamon fell into his arms, sobbing. “What happened? Are you
okay?!”
“R—read this…” Dianamon handed a piece of paper to
Apollomon. After reading it, Apollomon dropped the paper.
“…What…the hell? Where the hell did you find this,
Dianamon?!” Apollomon asked. I picked up the paper Apollomon had dropped and
read it.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Thomas asked, reading the
paper over my shoulder. My face had gone completely pale as I reread what the
paper had said.
“What’s it say?” Statuedramon asked, trying to jump up so he
could read it as well. I handed him the note, and as I did, I sank to the
floor. I knew what all the words meant, but I just couldn’t understand…
‘SlashAngemon is dead.
The insect has been felled by our hands. We will all take our time enjoying
that cute girl that was with him before we gut her like the mercenary pig she
is. The blonde girl gets it next.
The Honest,
Hardworking Knights of Valencia’
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