Chapter 75: Sunrise

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

14 Hours

 

“This sunrise is kind of nice and all, I guess, but I’m getting bored already,” Statuedramon said. The two of us sat on the villa’s front porch. “Why did Apollomon have to leave me — I mean, us — behind?! And they left without saying goodbye, too!”

“We can’t all go,” I said, turning my attention from the golden sunrise to him. “If too many of us left, there wouldn’t be anyone to deal with the Bio Hybrids or Lilithmon. Besides, I had no intention of leaving Zelda behind.”

“Speaking of…How is she doing?” Statch asked. “You didn’t even want to leave her to come downstairs for dinner — your portion was really good, by the way — but now, you’re down here with me, watching the sunrise like we always do.”

“…She’s…getting better,” I said. “It’s mostly the grief over not knowing what happened that’s worn her out. She’s still kind of feeling sick, though, so I’m not too broken up about not getting to go with Apollomon and the others. I don’t want to leave her while she’s like this, and without me, there’s really no point in you going.”

“…Again with the Digivolving thing?” Statch asked. “Look, Thomas, I’ve said it before; I really don’t think I can do it.”

“And I told you, you need to stop doubting yourself,” I replied. “I really believe that you’ve tried your hardest, but I know you can do it; not just because the two of us are together, as Human and Digimon, but because you have the power in yourself to do it.”

“…I hope you’re right,” Statuedramon admitted. “Because I really would like to Digivolve…I wonder what I would Digivolve into?”

“You could always ask Luna for help,” I suggested.

“I could…but I’d really like to do this on my own,” he said. “This is something that should be done on one’s own.”

“You’ll get it; one of these days, you’ll figure it out,” I said. “And when you do, you’ll Digivolve into the most badass Digimon ever!”

“I thought I already was,” Statch said.

Zelda

 

I slowly and gradually made my way downstairs, gently placing my bare feet down with each step I took so as to not aggravate my pounding headache. After a long period of time that I was sure wasn’t nearly as long as it felt, I found my way to the living room, where I collapsed with exhaustion onto a couch, sitting straight up with my head resting in my hands.

“Zelda, are you okay?!” Luna asked. I lifted my head, seeing her and Chrysania standing worriedly over me.

“Zelda’s tummy doesn’t still hurt, does it?!” Chrysania asked tearfully.

“No…I feel better,” I said, smiling at the young witch, who promptly plopped down on the couch next to me and pulled me into a choking hug.

“Chrissy was…so worried about you!” she sobbed.

“Well, I’m all better now,” I said, patting her reassuringly on the back.

“Okay!” Chrysania immediately quit sobbing, and smiled broadly at me.

Well…that certainly was…fast…

“You don’t still feel sick?” Luna asked.

“Well…my head hurts a little, but—”

“That’s normal, dear,” Luna interrupted. “Think of it as the leftovers of emotional anguish you felt from the actual effect of the potion.”

“…What did I do?” I asked beseechingly. “Thomas said I didn’t do anything, but I’m not so sure…”

“Well…that’s because…you didn’t do anything,” Luna said. “None of what happened was your fault; it was all because of the Diadem and the Bio Hybrids.”

“But…what did happen? What happened yesterday?” I implored.

Luna closed her eyes in thought, and after a moment, she sighed. “The Stone and the Diadem were taken from us,” Luna said. I bit my tongue to keep myself from gasping. “The Diadem was on your head, but it didn’t actually turn you evil; what happened was that it brought forth all of the anger from your childhood…growing up in Adonis…”

“So…I was…angry? Not truly evil?”

“Thomas and Apollomon both suspect you didn’t turn evil because there wasn’t any darkness in your heart; only anger; suppressed rage. That was all the Diadem of Spiritual Balance had to go by, and that was all it could do to someone as pure of heart as you. Anyway, the Bio Hybrids…they took advantage of that…and with it, they got our two Horcruxes.”

“What?! But then—”

“Lucemon has already been released,” Luna continued. “He was defeated by Dianamon before anything could happen, and now, she, Pheragas, and Apollomon have gone out in search of Seraphimon so as to defeat Lilithmon and her allies once and for all.”

“…We…we need to get the other Horcruxes back,” I said.

“Yes…But without Apollomon and the others, we have little chance of actually—”

“Not them,” I interrupted. “The Sword…the Flute…and the Mirror…We need to get them back before the Bio Hybrids find them.”

“Zelda…you are correct, but…we don’t have the slightest idea of where they could be,” Luna sat down next to me.

“It doesn’t matter…We need to find them,” I said firmly. “I need to make up for what I—”

“You didn’t do anything, sweetie,” Luna said, grabbing my hand as I began to stand up. “That wasn’t your fault!”

“Regardless…I will find those three Horcruxes,” I said. “It doesn’t matter how badly I feel right now; this is something that needs to be done!”

Luna sighed again. “I obviously can’t shake you away from this decision,” she said. “Tell me, though; how are you really feeling?”

“Well…my head still hurts, but I’m able to ignore it,” I said. “…And if I’m being completely honest…my tummy still hurts a lot…but I don’t care. I’m still going.”

“…I wanted to keep this away from you until you were feeling better,” Luna said. I watched, curious, as she removed a folded piece of paper from the waist of her skirt and handed it to me. “I found this note on my bed last night. Read it.”

I began reading but soon stopped, stunned. “…This is…”

“Whoever took the Sword, Flute, and Mirror sent me that,” Luna said. “I don’t know why they would send it to me, and not Apollomon, but without our leader, I will need to go and deal with this.”

“But…it mentions me,” I said. “Luna…they’re requesting that I go with you!”

“To the Black Rose Mountains,” Luna said. “Zelda, I really don’t think it’s a good idea that you come with me…But at the same time, my gut’s telling me that you must.”

“Luna…please…let me go with you,” I said, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. “No matter how much everyone says what happened wasn’t my fault, I still feel as though it was. I need to make up for what I did.”

“…Fine. You can come. But we need to tell Thomas first,” Luna said.

“Can Chrissy come, too?” Chrysania asked excitedly.

“No, Chrissy; just stay here with Thomas, Statch, and BlackGaomon.” Luna leaned over and placed a kiss on her foster daughter’s forehead. “Mommy will be back soon, sweetheart; I promise.”

“…Okay…” We smiled one last time at the adorable young witch before leaving the room, heading for the villa’s front porch. There we found Thomas and Statuedramon watching the sunrise. The pair turned to greet us, standing up when they saw I had accompanied Luna.

“Are you okay?” Thomas asked, gently placing a hand over my shoulder.

“Yes…I feel a lot better…” I smiled at him. “Thank you for staying with me the entire time,” I added in a low whisper. “And for rubbing my tummy for me all night long. That helped a lot.”

“…I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he whispered back.

“The two of us are going,” Luna said.

“Going? Where to?” Statuedramon asked.

“We need to go to the Black Rose Mountains,” I said. “It concerns the remaining Horcruxes.”

“Are you feeling up to going?” Thomas asked, looking concerned.

“I’ll be with her the entire time,” Luna said. “I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise.”

“Are you okay with me going?” I asked.

“…No. I’m not,” Thomas said. “You still look unwell, like you could collapse at any moment…But I’m not the kind of guy who would force his girlfriend to do what he says. Zelda…you really look determined to go and…do whatever it is you’re going to do. If you feel so strongly about it, then you should go. And besides, I trust Luna and your Digimon Spirits to look after you.”

“Don’t you want to go with them?” Statuedramon asked. “I kind of want to go!”

“What, and leave BlackGaomon all by himself with Chrysania?” Thomas asked.

“She’s a really sweet girl, but she can be a bit of a handful at times,” Luna admitted. “Without me around, it takes at least three people to watch her to make sure she doesn’t break anything…or start any fires…But those are always by accident!”

“…Fine, I’ll stay here,” Statch sighed.

“…I’ll see you when you get back,” Thomas said, kissing me.

“Don’t worry; I’ll make sure nothing happens to her,” Luna said.