EPISODE 07 - SWEET SWEET PAYOFF
Morning rose slowly; the sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon as the ragtag group of kids and Digimon alike came to their senses, greeting the new day with groans and yawns and complaints about being exhausted and not getting enough sleep.
“This is why,” Alex grumbled, blinking his eyes open and batting Castor away as the dragon repeatedly tapped his shoulder to wake him up. “This is why we should have gone to bed earlier last night.”
“If you remember correctly,” Ezra said from beside him, rubbing his eyes and covering his mouth while he shook Ember awake, “we were too busy fighting a monster last night to go to bed at a reasonable time.”
“We could have at least tried,” Ember complained, the mantle on his forehead flickering with light a few times before quietly bursting into a controlled flame. It seemed he could control the various mantles across his body at will; while sleeping, they had been extinguished so as not to accidentally roll over and burn anyone, but now that he was awake - or at least sort of - they were back to burning as they had the night before.
He kept his gauntlets extinguished. Didn’t want to hurt anyone while shaking their hands.
“Are the Frimon going to give us any food, or are we back to more fuckin’ mushrooms?” Ryan muttered from across the circle. Dare was bouncing up and down off of his back, and he looked to be seriously considering strangling her, although he was managing to avoid it.
As if on cue, a group of four or five Frimon bundled into the clearing, wagging their tails in excitement and letting loose a chorus of chirps and mews, obviously pleased to see the humans awake. “Of course!” one of them said, coming to a stop near Ryan. “We have leftovers from last night!”
Ryan turned away from it and fake gagged, and Azure hit him. “We would love that,” they said, smiling down at the Frimon as Ryan frowned. Each of the Frimon nodded and bounced back into the village.
“I’m so glad you managed to read my mind,” Ren said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she stood to her full height and stretched herself out.
Harmony rolled her eyes at her partner but followed her up as well. “Aren’t you just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
Flip barked a laugh. “Ha! Get it? Cause she does have a bushy tail?”
“I’m going to end you,” Ren muttered, glaring at him.
Flip stuck his tongue out at her, and she flexed her claws, but they were saved by the Frimon hopping back in, carrying freshly-warmed bowls of whatever it was that they had had for dinner the night before.
The kids fell upon the food like ravenous wolves, because apparently fighting giant monsters in the dead of night takes a lot of energy. Although Ryan still seemed apprehensive about the food, he took a few bites of his own and managed to hold back on the sarcastic retching.
Alex didn’t mind the taste; sure, he’d had better meals back home, but it was certainly better than another plate full of mushrooms and apples. Silently, he peered over at Castor, who was poking around at his food but consuming enough to be polite.
Satisfied sighs were heard all around as they each finished eating and nodded thankfully at the handful of Frimon who stepped forward to take their dishes back for them. Each of them did a twice-over of the clearing, making sure they hadn’t left behind any food, water, or, god forbid, phones. Especially considering they were so close to figuring out what everything meant, they couldn’t risk losing anything, and they sounded off one after the other to confirm they each had their belongings.
The two Frimon who had told them everything the previous night were the ones to send them off; the rest of the Frimon practically stacked themselves on top of each other along the village boundary to try and get a better look at the group as they headed off into the wilderness. Ember in particular seemed a little hesitant to leave, pausing before waving back to his friends as he followed after Ezra and Alex, at the back of the group.
“You sure you’re okay with leaving?” Ezra asked his partner, tilting his head down at him with a somber expression.
Ember nodded slowly, adjusting his gauntlets and keeping his gaze trained on the ground below his feet. “Yeah. They’ll be fine now that Cyclomon is gone. And I’d rather stay with you, anyway.”
“Well, who’s to say something else won’t attack them?” Ren said from a few steps ahead of them, apparently having eavesdropped on their conversation.
“Ren!” Harmony scolded her partner, looking over her shoulder at the boys with an apologetic face. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault that she’s a downer,” Alex said, nodding toward the fox. She huffed and folded her arms, swishing her tail along the ground to kick up dust in their faces. Alex coughed and raised an arm to his face to protect his eyes.
Castor, down at his side, seemed both immensely excited to finally get going and also a little nervous, judging from the way he was frowning and tugging on the nape of his cloak. Alex considered lagging behind to ask him how he was doing, but he seemed deep in thought, and he didn’t want to disturb him.
Eventually they passed the rock that Alex had pulled Ezra out to the night before. The two shared a look and Alex cracked a small smile before remembering exactly what had gone down there. He looked away, trying to act casual, but he could practically feel Ezra’s eyes on the back of his neck.
Walking wasn't any easier now that they knew they had a purpose. Well - suspected they had a purpose. Maybe had a purpose.
If anything, it was worse.
“Miles and miles of dirt and rocks,” Alex sighed after a while, wiping his brow with an arm, “just like yesterday, except this time we’re going to be climbing a mountain.”
See, now that they knew there might be something bigger going on here, being in a strange new world wasn’t just a fun vacation. (It never had been, but now more than ever they were really starting to take everything seriously.) Now the stakes were higher and had real consequences.
Now there was a chance they might not make it home.
Don’t think like that, Alex said to himself firmly. We are going to make it home. If it’s the last thing we do, we will get home.
Fortunately he was spared from any more morbid thoughts by Ryan, who had been laughing along with Dare about something or other but was now addressing the whole group.
“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m about to say something extremely cursed, so -”
“Can we say no?” Alex cut in. “What if I don’t want to hear you talk?”
“No, I promise it’s not that bad,” Ryan said, looking back at him and spreading his hands in innocence. “Just trust me.”
“Three words I never thought I’d hear out of your mouth,” Alex sighed, but he nodded. “Go on.”
Ryan took a deep breath, closing his eyes and smiling. “Well, I just realized we haven’t showered in almost a week.”
Immediately Harmony was picking up the nearest stick and smacking him with it, shouting at him how he should never have brought that up, it’s disgusting, she was having a perfectly good day before he had to open his mouth, while he laughed and shook her off easily.
It went over about just as well with the others.
“I am appalled,” Alex spat, frowning and kicking rocks at Ryan’s ankles, as he struggled to hold off both Harmony and Azure, who had followed the shorter girl’s lead and begun to pelt him with dirt while shouting rude words at him. “You are awful and I wish I hadn’t agreed to hear that.”
“Sorry!” he yelled, shoving Harmony into Miguel, who was looking a little grossed out himself. He didn’t sound very sorry. “I just felt the need to remind all of you guys. If I have to suffer, so do you. We’re in this together.”
“Since when?” Alex shouted. “Weren’t you saying you wanted to leave on your own last night?” He looked down at Castor, who, along with the rest of the Digimon, were simply watching everything play out with confusion etched into their faces. “Hey,” he said, startling Castor, “go bite Ryan. Right now.”
“If you think he’s that gross, I don’t think I want to,” the dragon said, wrinkling his nose. “But - you guys get this upset about showers?”
“Yes,” Ezra groaned, having taken his hands off his ears in time to hear his last few words - he’d been trying to ignore everything that was going on around him, and decided the best course of action would be to block it all out. “Humans are gross, man. Especially with the amount of walking we’ve been doing, combined with the forests and the dirt and the goddamned running from giant monsters and the dirt.” He groaned again, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to clean ourselves up somehow, sometime,” Alex reassured him. “I mean, hell, if they have a concept of showering and cleanliness, then surely they’ll have actual showers.”
“You say ‘concept’ as if it’s a big surprise,” Ember said. “Just remember we’re just as advanced as humans.”
“I don’t know, man,” Ezra muttered, frowning, “that village was looking pretty primitive.” He was cut off by Ember jumping onto his back, glaring and pounding his shoulder blades with his gauntlets in mock defensiveness.
Ryan was mostly left to his own devices after that, walking off to the side with Dare wrapped around his shoulders - she seemed to fit comfortably enough, and apparently he was able to take her weight, so it worked out for the both of them. Harmony was still seething at his announcement, and Ryan almost looked a little guilty about it.
More silence ensued, and after a few minutes of not being able to take it anymore, Alex looked down to Castor. “So, Cas.”
“Yeah?”
Alex closed his eyes, placing his hands on his hips as he thought of what to say. “Tell me more. About Aldamon.”
Castor blinked, then resumed his gaze on the mountains ahead of them. “What exactly?”
“What he is to you.”
“Ah.” Pause. “I’m not sure.”
Alex cracked an eye open, raising an eyebrow as Castor gave an apologetic head shake.
“I met him in my Primary Village,” Castor continued. “When I was a Botamon. He was only supposed to be there for a while, just visiting, but I think he got attached. At least, enough to take me back with him once I evolved.”
“To Koromon?”
“Yeah,” Castor said, perking up slightly. “I’m surprised you remembered.”
“So you’ve lived with him since then.”
Castor nodded. “I’ve always known I was waiting for someone. I think Aldamon picked up on it. He never asked, but he always listened when I fantasized about who it would be and when it would happen.” He looked up at Alex at this part. “And it was you.”
“Yep.” Alex smiled. “Sorry to disappoint.”
He’d meant it in a joking way, but Castor’s expression softened. “I wouldn’t have anyone else in the world. It’s you.” He tugged on his cape gently. “After all this waiting, I finally met you, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
“Aw, stop that,” Alex said, making Castor laugh. “You’re gonna make me blush.”
It… felt good to be wanted, though. Loved.
Not that he didn’t get that back at home, or from his friends. But this? This was different.
This was nice.
They managed to make it to the base of the mountain in just a little over an hour.
Castor took the lead as they got closer, Alex following at his heels, and they were the first ones to stop and crane their necks upwards. And upwards. And upwards.
It hit every single one of them, at the exact same time, just how big the mountain was.
Looming above their heads, Alex felt like an ant at the mercy of a giant’s shoe. A spiraling path wound up and around, leading up to the very top, looking not particularly steep but with enough height to give him pause.
Alex was not a stranger to heights.
“We have to climb all the way up there,” he said quietly, more a rumination than a question. Castor let loose a heavy breath and nodded.
“Not looking forward to this,” Ren murmured.
Alex felt a small part of him agreeing with her; but they’d come this far already, hadn’t they? No use in stopping now.
They were so close to putting all the pieces together that he could almost taste it. After everything they’d been through, after all the monsters they’d fought together and the forests they’d traversed… it was all leading up to this.
(But even after this, a voice in his head whispered, there’s still more to come.)
(He ignored it.)
He took a deep breath and walked forward a few steps before turning around, arms crossed valiantly, to face the others. This was it.
With a small smile and determination in his eyes, he nodded and looked over all of them.
“Come on. It won’t be that bad.”
It was that bad.
It began raining about fifteen minutes into their ascent, lightly sprinkling at first but eventually evolving into full-fledged rain. It wasn’t too much of a bother at first, but it didn’t seem to be letting up, even after an hour.
And that was when it started pouring.
It felt like buckets of water were being dumped on their heads constantly as they struggled to keep walking. For every two steps they took, they seemed to slide back by at least one, if they were lucky.
“Looks like you got your shower after all,” Alex called out to Ryan, who grumbled but didn’t say anything in response.
The dirt under their feet turned to mud as they slogged through the downpour, grumbling all the way. They stopped to pull their jackets and coats out of their backpacks to try to protect themselves from a little bit of the water, and those with hoods pulled them over their heads to shield their eyes. Everyone else was forced to stop every now and then to rub a hand across their face like a windshield wiper. Alex was one of those unlucky few.
The storm didn’t let up at all as they walked; it only seemed to get stronger and more annoying. Alex almost felt like they were cursed or something. Why was it that this happened as soon as they’d started up the mountain?
And that was just without the mudslides. When they were maybe two hours into their hike - two full hours of getting drenched in the pouring rain and nearly slipping over their own shoes more times than any of them would like to admit - they were nearly knocked off their feet again by mud rushing down the trail and attempting to swallow them whole. They mostly managed to stay clean, but how much weight did their cleanliness hold when they were also dripping wet?
“This is even worse than yesterday,” Alex muttered when they decided they needed to stop and have a break. Through the covering of gray clouds above their head, it was hard to tell what time it was, but they all had a feeling it was maybe almost noon. They might as well have lunch now.
Castor sighed and trotted up to his side, shaking himself off and spattering raindrops on Dare, who was passing by. She responded by shaking herself out as well, which resulted in her fur puffing up for a split second before it was doused with more rain.
“Yay for wet apples,” Azure said flatly as they passed around some cheerful apples, all of which were already getting soggy in the rain.
“Wonder how wet digitakes would taste,” Castor mumbled, biting into an apple with a disgusted expression. Alex, still full from breakfast (not really, he just didn’t want to eat the apples), handed his over to Ko, who was consuming his own with frightening vigor.
“Wanna find out?” Dare chirped enthusiastically, rustling around in her partner’s backpack to try and find any.
Ryan snatched it away from her. “Let’s not.”
They finished their sorry excuse for a lunch, chatting a little here and there, but ultimately none of them were in a very talkative mood. Every so often, Castor would point out noticeable landmarks to Alex and Alex alone - “That’s the tree I fell out of when I was a Koromon,” he said as they passed a particularly large one. Alex chuckled quietly.
The rain did not let up, even as they climbed higher and higher into the sky. Their road was a simple one; just keep walking, one foot in front of the other. There was only one way to the top, which was the path they were walking along, practically carved into the side of the mountain, as if it had been paved by thousands of footsteps over the years.
That reminded him.
“Castor,” Alex said, giving his partner pause, but the white dragon looked up at him quickly enough. “Are you and Aldamon the only ones who live up here?”
Castor hesitated, looking as if he were about to nod, but he held his position. He didn’t seem ready to shake his head, either.
“Yes,” he said, after a beat, “and no.”
“Incredibly helpful,” Ezra said. He’d been perhaps the quietest of the bunch over the course of the day, and hearing his voice came as a shock to Alex. His hood was still pulled up over his head, soaked through with water and dripping onto his chest.
Castor smiled and scratched his cheek. “We live in a house at the very top. It’s the only building on the mountain. But it’s open to anyone, so sometimes you’ll see a wild Digimon wandering about. Usually they mean no harm.”
“What’s the difference between wild Digimon and ones who live in villages and stuff?” Alex asked.
Castor chewed on his bottom lip. “Nothing, I guess,” he said. “Some Digimon just prefer living on their own out in the wild. Hence why they’re called wild Digimon.”
Alex nodded thoughtfully, placing his hands on the back of his head. This place had so many… not rules, exactly, but it was a lot different than Earth.
More silence ensued; it would have been almost uncomfortably quiet if not for the constant pattering of rain on their heads and shoulders and feet.
It didn’t last long.
Alex should have seen it coming. He should have known they couldn’t keep it up for long. He cursed himself for not realizing it sooner.
“We’re climbing this mountain for what.”
He didn’t get just why Ryan was always so intent on starting fights. Frankly, he was getting a little sick of it, but he held his tongue, waiting for him to finish his thought.
“I mean, couldn’t you -” Ryan pointed at Alex and Castor for this part, Dare clinging to his shoulders and looking a little bored “- just have gone up and talked to him? He’s your friend, isn’t he?” He looked pointedly to Castor, putting emphasis on the your. “Hell, maybe he coulda come down and met us at the bottom. So that we wouldn’t have to go through all this stupid - fuckin’ rain and mud.”
Alex, nearly at his limit and only seconds away from exploding, composed himself, taking a few deep breaths. And then he made a very logical decision - namely, deciding to humor him by snapping back.
Which would have repercussions later on, but Alex liked to live in the present.
“You’re just as involved in this as we are,” he replied coolly, not even looking over his shoulder as he said it - but he could practically feel Ryan’s scowl boring into his skull. “We’re almost there. Get over it.”
“‘Nearly halfway up’ is not ‘almost there’,” Ryan argued.
“Do I have to separate you again,” Harmony muttered, her shoulders drooping.
“If you don’t want to come, just turn around and meet us back at the bottom,” Alex suggested, shrugging. “We’ll catch up with you.”
“If I turned around now, that would be even more work than just going on.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Then why are you complaining?”
“Because I’m sick of you acting like you know what’s best for us!”
Alex stopped in his tracks and whipped around, glaring at Ryan and shoving him back a few steps. He stumbled, but righted himself, returning the stare with one of his own.
“I’ve gotten us this far, haven’t I?” Alex said, his heart pounding against his ribs. He ignored it. “It’s not like you ever have any input of your own.”
“You never ask for any!”
“Because I didn’t think you had any!”
“Fine!” Ryan snapped, folding his arms. “Next time I’ll let you know!”
Dare hopped down from his back, circling around her partner and glancing up at him warily. Castor, at Alex’s heels, was giving both Ryan and Dare the best death stare he could.
“Great!” Alex shouted back, crossing his own arms. “Let’s see how far it gets us! Because every one of your plans has gone perfectly! ‘Let’s split up!’ ‘Let’s turn around!’ ‘Let’s start a fight every single chance we get because it’s all we know how to do!’ See why I never want to hear from you?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder and instinctively started to brush it off, before checking behind him and seeing it was Ezra. In contrast, Harmony was pulling Ryan back, saying something under her breath to him which made him huff and turn away.
Azure, Miguel, and the rest of the Digimon were all awkwardly standing off to the side, trying not to act like they had heard any of it, despite how obvious it was that they had.
Alex looked back at Ezra, who was standing with his hands in his pockets, one eyebrow quirked - in sympathy, embarrassment, or apology, Alex wasn’t sure. Alex sighed and ducked his head, turning around to face away from Ryan, who was looking a bit sour himself.
Ember shuffled his feet and looked over at Dare, who had joined the other Digimon once she’d disembarked from Ryan’s shoulders. “Does this happen a lot?”
Dare snorted and nodded. “Get used to it. Or rip your ears off. Either one will help.”
“That’s rich,” Castor grumbled. “Especially coming from you.”
Dare tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Pardon?”
“I mean,” the dragon went on, barely needing any prompting for him to continue, “your partner can barely hold his temper, and you’re out here acting like it’s fine.”
“I didn’t say that,” she said, wrapping her tail around her paws.
“Oh, you didn’t need to say it,” Castor laughed, and Alex felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he began to pace. “It was obvious.”
“From what?”
“Great, now they’re fighting,” Harmony sighed, rubbing her temples. “I need to sit down.”
Castor curled his lip, pausing for a second before resuming his stride. “Your lack of care and control,” he said, saying it as if it left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.
Dare said nothing for a moment; Ryan glanced over at her, obviously ready to leap in at any moment if things got bad. “Hey, back off, dude. She didn’t do anything.”
“Personally I think it’s funny how you’re so quick to blame me but don’t say anything to your own partner,” Dare said, shrugging her wings. “I never said anything about who was right or wrong.” She looked up at Ryan, a slight smile forming on her face. “What was that word I used yesterday? Ah - hypocrisy.” She turned back to Castor, a full-fledged grin visible now. “It’s a fun word.”
Castor remained silent, and Alex crept forward cautiously to kneel by his side, ready for whatever would happen next. Raindrops ran down his face, dripping off his chin and splattering onto the already-soaked ground beneath his claws.
He said nothing, then gave the subtlest nod to Alex before rising to his feet and walking up the path, yanking his hood over his face as he went.
Alex paused, looking at Castor and then at the rest of the group before standing up on his own. “I -” He cut himself off, his gaze still flicking between his partner and the others. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck before turning to follow Castor, who was by now a good ways away. He wiped his eyes, water droplets and something else running down his cheeks as he left.
He caught up to Castor soon enough; he fell into stride beside him and said nothing, not sure of what he could say. What the hell had just happened?
He asked Castor exactly that, and the dragon sighed, slowing to a stop and sitting down.
“Ryan irks me,” he said simply, and Alex snorted.
“Me too, buddy. But that? With Dare? I just… what was the thought process?”
“There wasn’t.”
Do not laugh, do not laugh, do not laugh, he told himself, because Castor was being very sincere and vulnerable right now, and regardless of just how relatable it was, he felt it would be rude to laugh at.
“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath and holding back even more chuckles. “Anything else?”
“I’m trying my best here,” Castor said, his voice cracking, and Alex felt his heart shatter into a million pieces as his partner took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. “I - I want to figure out what’s going on. I want to get to the bottom of this. And I want to see Aldamon again.”
Alex nodded, wiping his own face to clear away the raindrops clouding his vision. “I get that. I want to see my family again too.”
Castor didn’t respond to that in particular, but did continue. “I’m trying to be a good leader, but then people question me and everything just… comes crumbling down around me.”
“I know,” Alex said quietly. “Trust me, it bothers me too. But… I think you're doing a pretty good job. Again. We've gotten them this far, haven't we?”
Castor dipped his head, not looking terribly convinced, but he stood up and shook himself out, Alex getting to his own feet in response. “Let’s just keep going,” the little dragon suggested, glancing over his shoulder down the path.
“Without them?”
Castor paused, then shrugged. “There’s only one way up. I don’t think they’ll get lost.” And he didn’t want to see any of them at that moment, not after what had just transpired; he didn’t say so, of course, but it was obvious when Alex looked into his eyes.
Alex hesitated, but sighed and followed his partner up the mountain. They’d catch up eventually. It would be fine.
He submerged himself in his own thoughts almost immediately after, worried about Castor and his sudden lack of confidence. He’d been doing so well the past few days! Well, really Alex had only known him for that long, so he didn’t know if this was normal, but - he’d seemed fine. Sure of himself, at least. And then Alex had to open his big fat mouth and snap at Ryan and make Cas upset.
Well. Was it his fault, though? Castor hadn’t gotten involved in any of his fights beforehand; what had changed in him so suddenly? Was it Dare? Was it because they were so close to Aldamon?
Whatever it was, he hoped it wouldn’t come back.
He was so lost in the sauce of his mind that he barely registered Castor had stopped in his tracks, pushing him back down the trail. Frowning, he looked further ahead and saw something he really wished he hadn’t.
Not like there was any way he could have avoided seeing it at all, but so suddenly? Not pleasant.
A huge gap yawned ahead of them, nearly ten feet across and giving way to rocks and dead trees and more really really sharp rocks below them. Alex took a step back from the ledge, closing his eyes.
“I do not remember this,” Castor said angrily, kicking some mud down into the gap. “This must be new.”
“New?” Alex questioned, starting to pace in a small circle far away from the edge of the trail.
“It was probably a mudslide,” his partner mumbled, barely paying any attention to him. “Hm.”
Without another word, he was leaping across the opening, his arms outstretched in front of him and his cape floating gracefully behind him - or it would have, if not for the rain pressing it against his body.
With a thud, he landed on the other side, spinning around to face Alex, whose mouth was open wide and eyebrows arched high.
“So you’re just gonna leave me here?” Alex complained, sticking his hands in his pockets. He cast a glance along the cliffside on his left - maybe he could crawl along it to get to the other side?
Not with the rain.
…This rain was becoming a very big issue.
“Hang on,” Castor said, looking around wildly, peering over the edge to look down into the gap. “Maybe I can get a really big tree branch?”
“Or, alternatively,” Alex said, mentally and physically preparing himself, “I do this.”
With a running jump, he sailed across the gap and smacked his chest onto the ledge, scrabbling to grab hold as he felt himself slipping down. The water rushing down the surface made it harder to get a grip, and he was thankful that Castor composed himself after his initial shock quickly enough to help him up.
“Worst idea,” he muttered, yanking Alex up by the arms and laying him flat on the ground. “You and your human legs. Not built for jumps like that.”
Alex laughed, rolling over onto his back and barely minding the rain soaking him to the bone. “I made it though.”
Castor sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Indeed you did.”
Footsteps sounded from behind them, and Alex raised his head just in time to see Ezra and Ember rounding the corner. The two of them perked up when they saw him laying there, and Ezra began to run.
Alex didn’t have the foresight to warn him verbally. Thankfully, Castor did.
“Stop!” he shouted, giving Ezra enough pause to slow down before he was lurching over the side of the gap, his arms flailing about. Ember grabbed hold of his pant leg and hoisted him back, wiping his brow.
“Woah,” Ezra said, his eyes wide as he looked down. “How did you get over there?”
“I jumped,” Alex responded, pushing himself to his feet.
“Do NOT,” Castor said as Ezra seemed to consider doing the same. He pouted, frowning and crossing his arms.
“I gotta get there somehow.”
“I -” Alex sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Jumping isn’t safe, believe me.” Castor nodded beside him, looking a bit cross.
Ezra sucked his cheeks in. “What happened?” He looked down at Castor, though Alex could sense he was partially asking him as well.
“Nothing worth mentioning,” Castor said in response, averting his eyes. Ezra cocked an eyebrow at Alex, who slumped forward and gave him a dead stare to answer.
Alex opened his mouth, trying to form words - something along the lines of “where did you come from” or “why did you come after us” - but he was cut off by the sound of wet sloshing from around the bend. Craning his neck to look behind Ezra, he blinked as the rest of the group rounded the corner. Castor audibly groaned and shuffled backward. Alex stuck a foot out without looking down to prevent him from running off again.
As the others approached the edge of the trail and stared down into the gap, Alex stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried not to look any of them in the eye. Ezra coughed and pushed Ember away from the ledge. “So what now?”
“Jump,” Dare suggested, at the same time Castor said “Don’t jump.” They looked at each other for a few moments before Castor tore his gaze away.
“Don’t jump, though,” he repeated quietly. Dare snickered.
Without any further ado, Ren was scooping Harmony up in her arms and leaping across the gap, Alex and Castor having to stumble backwards to make room for them. The fox plunked her partner on the ground before jumping back across and picking up Miguel and Flip.
“Not a fan of this!” Miguel shouted, closing his eyes as Ren sailed over the opening again, while Flip laughed and stretched his arms out.
“I’m not gonna wait for your help,” Dare scoffed, shaking herself out and taking a few steps back. Suddenly she was rushing forward, spreading her wings out and managing to propel herself over the crevice with a few flaps, although she had to scramble to get a hold once she landed.
Ren was already on her way back for the third time, this time carrying Ezra and Ember, and Alex barely had time to pay any attention to Ryan, who, apparently not wanting to be shown up by his own partner, was already getting a running start to make his own way across.
He sailed across the gap, startling Azure as he passed them, and rolled across the mud on the other side, picking himself up and brushing himself off with a disgusted expression. Ko nodded and started to help Azure across, though he struggled as he lifted into the air. The bug could fly, but carrying his six-foot tall partner in the rain clearly weighed him down.
Castor said nothing; no warning, no disagreement, nothing. Alex had to admit he was getting a little worried about him, but they could save that conversation for later.
Alex, himself, was feeling quite a bit weighed down as well, from the way Ryan was looking at him.
He didn’t regret what he’d said. How often did Ryan? Probably never.
Neither of them were in the wrong, and so he certainly wasn’t about to apologize, especially -
“You good?”
Alex blinked, startled back into the present. Ryan, standing at his side with his hands in his pockets, quirked an eyebrow at him as Dare clambered up onto his shoulders once more.
He didn’t know what to say. “Me or him?” Him, of course, referring to Castor, as he had been the one who’d been really… put off by everything.
Ryan said nothing.
Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I - yeah. We’re good.”
Ryan nodded firmly, turning around to follow Harmony up the hill; the others had seized the opportunity to get a move on, not exactly ignoring Alex (or maybe it was Castor?) but not acknowledging him either.
He felt really shitty.
Dare, from her vantage point on Ryan’s back, turned her head around and perked an ear up as she smiled at Castor - who, for the record, was also not acknowledging anyone. “Looks like you’re doing pretty good as well.”
Castor frowned, scuffing his claws against the mud as he walked. “Hmph.”
Feeling very uncomfortable, Alex muttered something close to an apology under his breath and nudged Castor along. They quickly reached the front of the group, and Alex grabbed hold of Ezra as he passed him and dragged him along.
They finally slowed their pace when they were maybe twenty feet ahead of the others. Neither Alex nor Castor had a particular desire to linger around any of them.
“So are you gonna tell me what happened, or?” Ezra didn’t look over at Alex; he kept his gaze trained on Ember, the little lion cub flicking his flames on and off. The rain didn’t seem to affect them.
“Can we please just keep going,” Castor sighed, his voice hitching.
Alex swallowed hard and nodded, turning his face to the sky and letting the rain pour down his face. “We’re almost there. We can… talk afterward. If all parties consent.”
Castor snorted. “I’d prefer never.”
Ezra dropped it after that, keeping mostly to himself, although he and Ember exchanged a few words here and there. Alex and Castor remained silent, neither of them even looking at the other.
Not as if they were angry with each other, or even annoyed; they just didn’t have anything to say that hadn’t already been said or wouldn’t worsen the mood. And the mood was already pretty bad, what with the unrelenting rain and all.
The four of them remained far ahead for the remainder of the journey. They didn’t slow down, and no one else tried to catch up. Alex almost started to feel a little bored after a while of doing nothing other than plowing through the storm.
With Alex and Ezra in the lead, this meant, of course, that they were the first ones to see the house.
It was incredibly unimpressive; Alex wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but perhaps the only other large building he’d seen in this world being a mansion had raised his standards considerably. It was a little run-down, with ivy growing in and out between the bricks and over the roof. One of the windows was smashed, with a wooden board covering it up from the inside, and the window mirroring it was missing half of a curtain.
It was obvious what it was, and even if Alex hadn’t physically felt Castor practically swell up with joy at his side as they crested the hill, he was sure he’d have been able to tell that it was Aldamon’s house.
“A bit shoddy,” Ezra mused, stroking his chin as Ember snickered. Castor coughed.
“It’s seen better days,” he admitted, ducking his head, but he stepped forward anyway, quickly followed by the other three boys as they rushed to the doorstep.
The door itself had a giant iron knocker in the dead center, shaped like a dragon’s head; Alex wasn’t sure if it was supposed to resemble Castor, some other being, or a mashup of the two. He looked down at his partner, whose eyes were wide with awe.
“Should I?” he said in a hushed tone, prompting a quick nod from the tiny dragon. Alex exhaled, his heart pounding against his ribs, as he reached a hand out to grab the knocker.
He tapped on the door three times before it swung open.
Aldamon was tall, and altogether entirely unexpected for Alex. He’d imagined some sort of dragon thing, based on his connection to Castor, but that was not what he got.
What he got was a ten-foot demon man with wings made of fire and knives for toes.
“Hackmon,” he said in a low rumbly tone, and at least Alex had imagined his voice correctly. “You're back.” He cast his blue gaze over Alex and Ezra. “With company.”
It was at this point the rest of the group caught up; they were just as surprised to see the house and fire demon as Alex was, and for that he was relieved.
Aldamon’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. “Lots of company.”
“Hi,” Dare said, shaking herself out and spraying water droplets everywhere. “You’re Aldamon?”
Aldamon smiled and beckoned the kids and their partners inside. “Indeed I am. I see Hackmon has brought you all back in one piece. Although…” He paused, his mouth twitching into a slight frown. “I wasn’t expecting so many of you.”
“Yeah, and we weren’t expecting to be dumped into a parallel universe,” Ryan said flatly, “but we made do with what we got, and now here we are. After a week of endless walking.”
Aldamon chuckled; if Ryan had meant to offend him, it didn’t have any effect. He stepped to the side, picking Castor up in his arms and draping him around his neck. Castor looked quite pleased, as if this was a normal position for him.
The kids dried themselves off with help from some towels Aldamon had prepared. It was good to get out of the rain, although mud was still caked onto their clothes and faces. While everyone else was taking their shoes off and warming themselves up, Alex stood off to the side, feeling a bit odd without Castor next to him, but the tiny dragon smiled at him from around Aldamon’s neck. Alex grinned back, raising a hand to wave.
The interior was dark; there were two doors on the ends of the room and a huge window facing opposite the doorway. A chandelier dangled from the ceiling, its candle flames flickering in the darkness. It was smaller than the mansion, and less well-kept, but it was homey, and Alex felt a sense of relief wash over him.
Throughout all this, Castor told Aldamon everything - from fighting the Ogremon to Ryan fucking off into the woods, to Azure getting nearly killed, to Harmony also fucking off into the woods, to all the shit with Miguel and the Otamamon, and finally the Frimon village and the fight with Cyclomon and Ember’s miraculous evolution. (Mind you, he did not exactly say “fucking off into the woods”; Aldamon would not have understood what that word meant, and Alex assumed Castor didn’t want to explain it either.)
Aldamon led the group through the door on the left, leading into a large living room complete with a crackling fireplace and one wall open to what Alex presumed to be the kitchen. Aldamon settled himself into one of the chairs, motioning for the others to take seats on the various couches and rugs he had out.
Castor took this opportunity to dislodge from Aldamon’s neck, trotting over to Alex and curling up beside him. He and Ezra were seated on the floor, their backs against the foot of the couch where Ren, Harmony, and Miguel were seated, Flip splayed out over the armrest. Azure was sitting up against the other chair, Ko in their lap, as Ryan and Dare fought over who got to take up most of the room in the seat.
“I see you’ve had a long journey,” Aldamon started, looking at Castor in particular. “I haven’t seen Hackmon in quite a while.”
“I’m sorry,” Castor mumbled, dipping his head. Alex reached a hand around to scratch him behind the ear. “I just had to go. I knew it was happening soon.”
“It?” Alex asked. Castor nodded up at him.
“Meeting you.”
Ah.
“And you did meet him.” Aldamon rubbed his chin thoughtfully, nodding slightly. “And now here he is.” He suddenly pushed himself up from his chair, making his way into the kitchen. “Would you like some tea? It’s awful cold out there. I’ve been barricading myself in here all day.”
“Oolong, please,” Azure called out, as everyone else mumbled their own requests. Aldamon laughed, and Alex saw him fill a kettle with water before conjuring a flame from his palm to instantly boil it.
They each settled in with their tea (or, in Flip’s case, hot water) as Aldamon turned back to Castor and Alex. “So you’re Alex. Hackmon’s partner.”
“Yeah,” Alex said, his throat dry. He took a sip of his mint tea to try to get some feeling back. “Although I guess -” He broke off, looking down at Castor, feeling as if it wasn’t his place to say.
Castor picked up on it. “I go by Castor now,” he said. “Alex named me.” A pause. “The whole thing was Ryan’s idea, and we all liked it enough, so.”
“Ryan,” Aldamon murmured, turning to the boy in question. “Yours is the Dorumon?”
“Dare,” she said, waving in response. “Hiya!”
“I see.” He turned to Azure. “You are?”
“Azure,” they said, doing the best bow they could while seated. “And my partner Ko.” The bug would have blinked if he’d had eyelids.
Harmony cut straight to the chase. “I’m Harmony,” she said.
“Ren,” her partner muttered before she could be spoken for. Harmony grinned and patted her paw.
“And the Gomamon?”
“Flip!” He smiled, wagging his tail. “And my buddy Miguel.” The boy raised a hand in greeting.
“And I’m Ezra,” Ezra said. “This is Ember.” Ember stood up and did a mock curtsy, earning a laugh from Harmony.
“A Coronamon,” Aldamon said, a hint of surprise in his tone. “It’s nice to meet you all. Friends of Castor are friends of mine.”
“I wouldn’t consider us friends,” Ryan mumbled, in typical Ryan fashion. “We just happened to end up here together.” Alex rolled his eyes and groaned.
“Oh?” Aldamon took interest in this, crossing one knee over the other in his chair and folding his hands. “How so?”
“I’m getting really tired of telling and hearing this story,” Miguel sighed.
Ryan ignored him. “Well, Alex decided it would be smart to open a spam email he got in class, and the next thing we know we’re falling through the sky of this world and traveling through forests and up mountains, as well as fighting monsters every night and gathering up a bunch of other friendly monsters.” Dare puffed up at the last bit, slinging an arm around her partner’s shoulders and grinning.
“Also turns out maybe we’re here for some sort of greater good,” Azure added. “Can’t tell for certain yet.”
“We agreed not to speak of that,” Ryan said.
“I agreed to no such thing.”
“Greater good?” Aldamon prompted, and Alex took up the metaphorical wheel.
“Last night in the village,” he said. “Turns out there’ve been humans here in the Digital World before, with Digimon of their own and some sort of destiny they had to fulfill.”
Something dawned on Aldamon, and he took on a more… solemn expression, perhaps? It was hard to tell. Alex still wasn’t an expert on reading Digimon emotions.
“And they and their partners fought the great evil,” Aldamon murmured to himself, deep in thought.
Alex blinked. “Pardon?”
Aldamon started, as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he gave Alex an apologetic smile. “I’ve heard that story too.”
Moment of silence from everyone in the room.
“Great.” Ryan was the one who broke it. “Here’s hoping we’re not their successors.”
“Tough luck, man,” Dare laughed. “I, for one, would be happy to fight more Digimon if I’m supposed to.”
“Maybe not all of us are like that,” Ren said.
Dare arched an eyebrow. “You’re saying you wouldn’t?”
Ren opened and closed her mouth before turning away. “No.”
“But we’re kids,” Alex said, turning back to Aldamon. “Even if we are here for a reason, what can we do about it?”
“That’s why you have your partners,” Aldamon said in response, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Everything makes so much sense now,” Ryan said. “Thanks for your insight.”
“Tone it down a notch, will you?” Azure snapped, before: “But what exactly do you -” they pointed at Aldamon “- mean by that?”
“If the past humans had Digimon of their own and managed to fulfill their fate, the same should be true for you.” Aldamon shrugged, taking a long sip from his mug before jumping back in. “Bonds are a powerful thing, especially between two creatures each from separate worlds.”
Alex felt someone tap his shoulder, and looked up to see Harmony’s concerned face. She mouthed something like “he knows more than he’s saying”, or maybe it was “emos door thin he weighing”.
Probably the former.
Alex turned his palms up at her in a sort of subtle shrug, and she nodded vigorously, saying she was standing by her theory. He closed his eyes and turned back to Aldamon, trying not to think too hard about it.
…But if Harmony was right, and Aldamon did know about the other kids… what did he have to hide?
Castor trusted him. Castor lived with him, for god’s sake. And so Alex trusted him too.
He hoped he wouldn’t regret it.
No, he said firmly to himself, Aldamon is doing his best. I believe him.
While Alex was lost in his thoughts, Azure had taken up conversation with Aldamon; currently they were discussing the possibility of the other humans still being here.
“Unlikely,” Aldamon said. “It was a long time ago; surely they would have died of your… ‘old-age’ thing by now.”
“Gee, what a polite way to mock us as a species,” Azure said, but they smiled. “But, yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Ember,” Alex said, struck by a sudden thought, “you did say that Asuramon would know about it, right? Cause he’s old?”
Ember nodded, sticking his tongue out as he thought. “Yeah, but, like - I haven’t ever met him personally, so, I dunno.”
“Asuramon,” Aldamon said warmly, smiling. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of him sooner?”
Alex blinked. “You know him?”
“Well of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Frowning, Alex looked down at Castor, who looked a little confused. “You said you didn’t know him.”
“I don’t,” he insisted. “I didn’t even know who he was until last night. Aldamon, you've never told me about Asuramon.”
Aldamon chuckled. “I never considered it worth mentioning.” Clearing his throat, he continued. “I say if you don’t have anything better to do, it’s definitely worth a try. He’d know more than me, that’s for sure.”
“Oh -” Ezra fumbled around in his pockets, Alex staring at him curiously. He watched as he pulled out his phone and flicked it on, swiping to the weird app and launching it. Immediately the phone sprang to life, converting into the strange device it had been the night before. Aldamon looked a bit taken aback at this, and the rest of the group was shocked that Ezra had just… turned it on so quickly and naturally? Less than twenty-four hours ago they were arguing about how they shouldn’t mess around with any of it unless absolutely necessary, and now - well. Perhaps it was necessary, as Ezra’s next words made Alex feel like a damn fool.
“This is actually why we came here in the first place.” Gingerly he stretched his hand forward to Aldamon, who accepted the device and lit up when, Alex presumed, he realized it was Digimoji. “Castor said you could read it.”
“Indeed I can,” Aldamon said, sounding a little flustered. “You - how long have you had this?”
“The phone or the… that?”
Aldamon raised an eyebrow, his gaze still trained on the phone and its display. “The ‘this’.”
“Last night,” Castor said for Ezra. “I told you about Ember, didn’t I?”
“You didn’t mention this.”
“What, do you know what it is?” Harmony asked, leaning forward. Alex shifted so he wasn’t leaning directly against her knees.
“Not a clue,” Aldamon said confidently, handing it back to Ezra. “Digicode too. I assume your partner has already translated it?”
“Yessir.”
“Splendid. No need for me then.” He took another sip of his tea, his eyes almost crossing as he stared into the near distance.
“But the Digimoji -” Alex started, trailing off as Aldamon laughed.
“It says the exact same thing as it does in Digicode,” he explained. “Now, if you’re asking why it’s in Digimoji, that is something I’m not sure of. Asuramon would be more likely to have an answer for that.”
Miguel frowned. “And if he doesn’t?”
Aldamon shrugged. “Maybe someone else will.”
Silence washed over the room. Alex shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“Um,” Castor said after a beat. “Is that all?”
Aldamon grinned and shook his head, not in denial but rather humor. “Well, don’t you think you should get going for Asuramon?”
“But we -” Castor faltered, and Alex wrapped an arm around him, holding him closer. “We just got here.”
“And if there really is something going on -” Aldamon gave Castor a pointed look, one which Alex picked up on and made his stomach sink into his feet “- it would be wise to get as much of a head start as you could.”
The subtext had apparently not passed Ezra, either, as he tensed up at Alex’s side and drew in a shaky breath. Alex reached his free hand out to squeeze his friend’s, and the both of them relaxed a little.
Castor, too, recognized what Aldamon was saying, and his expression fell as he bowed his head. “Of course. But… it’s cold out. And raining. Could we stay here? Just… a bit longer?”
Aldamon remained quiet; slowly he looked over everyone in the room, starting with Alex and circling all the way back around to where his eyes stopped on Castor. After a beat, he closed his eyes and smiled. “Of course.”
Anything for you went unsaid, but it was obvious, and Alex had a feeling he was not the only one who noticed it.
Turns out, Aldamon had a shower, as well as some… rather large bars of soap, although they were proportionate to the similarly large shower. Hey, a ten foot demon needed to have somewhere to stand up straight to wash his hair.
He also had food, for which everyone was grateful, and Alex was more than happy to volunteer to help (really, it had been Castor who’d volunteered, but Alex felt he needed to do something with his hands to take his mind off of everything anyway). Alex had showered first; the only thing which had ruined the illusion of it being a normal shower had been the lack of fresh clothes to change into, but even just cleaning himself had been a huge relief.
Although… he did have his clothes from back home. He’d changed into the ones from the mansion a couple of days ago, after he’d gotten wet from being by the river. He briefly considered changing back, but remembering what had happened to Azure during their fight with Snimon… he liked that shirt a lot. He didn’t really want it to get torn open by a giant angry Digimon.
“I couldn’t even reach the shower handle,” Harmony was currently complaining to him from her seat next to Ren on the floor in the other room.
Alex, currently peeling what he assumed to be potatoes (or similar enough, at least) stifled his laughter as best as he could, but she heard, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He raised his hands in innocence. “It’s what you get for being short.”
She scowled. “I’m five three.”
“Short ass.”
"You're the ass!"
Ignoring her comebacks, Alex frowned as he struggled to maneuver the knife around a particularly lumpy section of the potato. “Cas, what the fuck is this?”
His partner, who had been following Aldamon around and doing whatever was asked of him, stood up on his hind legs to get a good look at the counter. “Jaguar potato. You can eat those raw, you know.”
“Well, back where I come from,” he grunted, managing to get the last of the peel off, “raw potatoes cause terrible indigestion, so excuse me if I’m not too keen on this idea.”
Castor laughed, dropping back onto all fours. “They do taste better cooked anyway.”
“Cooked how, specifically,” Azure called out from the other room, stretched out on the couch with Ko dangling over the back of it, his feet almost brushing against their stomach. “That’s what’s important.”
“Fried,” Aldamon answered, moving past Alex to access a high-up cupboard. He grabbed what looked like a couple of spices and handed them down to Castor, who accepted them readily. “What other way is there?”
“THANK you,” Azure exclaimed, bolting up straight. Ko flailed around as he lost his grip and landed head-first on the ground behind the couch, grumbling before sitting up again. Azure snickered, but helped him up, before resuming their potato debate with Aldamon. “Finally someone with some common sense around here.”
Aldamon chuckled, shaking his head. “Digimon have standards. We’re not animals.”
“Well…” Alex trailed off, shooting a look at Ren, who was expecting this. She glared at him and flicked her tail. Alex smiled and turned back to his potato-peeling.
Dinner was simple, easy, and a hundred times more palatable than what they’d had in the Frimon village. It was also nice to eat something other than mushrooms for once - Aldamon had cooked a steak (but he hadn’t said where it came from? Did Digimon eat each other? Alex tried not to think of it) and only then did everyone realize they’d just been eating vegetables for the past week.
“But are mushrooms a vegetable, though?” Harmony pointed out, scrunching her nose up as she thought.
They were back to sitting in the living room; Miguel had sacrificed his seat on the couch to Ezra and Ember, who had been sitting on the floor all day, while Ryan and Harmony, as well as their respective partners, each took the extra chairs. Alex, in the kitchen with Castor, was cleaning up after everyone. He’d never been a fan of washing dishes, but he tried to stuff that in the back of his mind while he pushed his way through it.
“Yes,” Ryan said. “They are.”
“Dude,” Alex said, pausing to give Ryan a blank stare. “They’re a fungus. Not a flora.”
“I said what I said,” Ryan insisted, crossing his arms. “Mushrooms are vegetables. In the same way that a tomato is a vegetable.”
“Tomatoes are fruits!” Alex exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Castor snickered and shook himself out.
“I know, but they’re considered a vegetable by literally everyone. And so are mushrooms.”
“That’s the dumbest argument,” Azure said, and Alex let out a sigh, relieved that they agreed with him. “That’s like the, ‘if your friends jumped off a bridge would you’.”
“Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t be the one jumping off in the first place,” Ezra chimed in. Ember gave him a worried look, but Ezra smiled and shook his head in reassurance. Digimon didn’t exactly… get self-deprecating humor. (Yet, at least. Alex had plans for them.)
Ryan backed off after this, probably not deeming it worthy to invest any more of his time into, and Alex was more than happy to let him keep on thinking that mushrooms and tomatoes were vegetables. Even though he was wrong and should be ashamed of himself.
Alex finished scraping the rest of the leftover food into (what he assumed was) the compost, and with Castor in tow, they exited through the back door outside.
Behind the house was a forest of sorts; nothing as large as Host Forest or as murderous as Plugin, but there were enough trees there to call it a forest. Castor led him over to a faucet against the wall of the house, then disappeared back inside, only to return moments later with two large plastic bins, one for cleaning the plates and the other for rinsing. Alex quickly filled each of them with water from the faucet. It was still raining, but he used the faucet, because using rainwater was weird and would take much too long to fill.
They made several trips in and out of the house to retrieve dishes, clean them, then return them inside to dry in the dishrack. Alex was almost starting to get the hang of it when he noticed Castor was still looking a bit down.
“Hey,” he started, setting a plate aside while he reached for another. Castor tilted his head in acknowledgment, but said nothing. “You good?”
“You’re still asking me this?” Castor said with a light chuckle, and Alex smiled sardonically. Castor’s expression darkened as he sat down. “I… I shouldn’t have lost my temper at her. It -”
“I’m not talking about that,” Alex said quietly. Castor nodded, going quiet, but he understood what Alex meant.
“I…” He sighed, setting his own plate down and looking down at his claws. “I haven’t seen Aldamon since I left to find you. It’s been two weeks. I just thought I’d have more time with him, you know?” Alex nodded thoughtfully. Castor sighed again and went on. “It’s just… I know that with everything we know now, time isn’t something we have a lot of, but… I don’t know. Everything’s changed so quickly.”
“Tell me about it,” Alex snorted, and Castor winced. Alex smiled and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Castor blinked and stretched his own arms out.
“Look,” Alex said, after he had retracted himself, “it’s gonna be okay. Things are weird, but we’ll get through this. Got it?” Castor nodded, and Alex pulled him in for one last hug before releasing him and turning back to his dishes. “Good. Now what were we -”
He was interrupted by a loud growling noise deep within the forest, and his blood ran ice cold. He chanced a look over at Castor, who was also looking just a little bit panicked.
Facing the forest, they held their breaths, Alex only daring to say “I take it that’s not a good thing.” Castor shook his head.
A few of the tree branches rustled; Alex felt his heart skip a couple beats as they waited for whatever it was to come out in the open. They didn’t - couldn’t - wouldn’t - run.
Alex would look back on this and curse himself for not doing so.
With one last final growl, the Digimon - for, indeed, there was nothing else it could have been - pushed itself out of the forest to loom over the two boys.
“Greymon,” Castor breathed.
The Digimon - Greymon - roared, shaking out its head as it fixed them with a blank stare. It flexed its claws, lashing its tail as it stepped forward, one foot after the other.
Greymon was a large orange dinosaur decorated with blue stripes and a helmet on its head with two large horns and an even larger one on its nose. That was really all there was to it; a very simple design for what Alex hoped would be a similarly simple creature.
Judging by its pure white eyes, probably not, but he could hope.
“I’m starting to take this virus thing a little personally,” he muttered sideways to Castor before Greymon opened its jaws.
“
Greymon was not pleased that they had dodged, and was preparing another attack right as Castor leapt at it. “
It had very little effect, and it batted him away easily as it turned its attention to Alex - who, if you’ll remember, didn’t exactly have any way of attacking back or even defending himself.
“
Alex was fortunate enough that he reacted in time to dive out of the way, barely feeling the heat blow over him as he crashed into the mud. God, why didn’t the rain in this world do anything to combat fire?
“Cas?” he called, looking around frantically for his partner. “Could really use some help!”
“I’m trying my best!” Castor rushed by him, his cape flowing behind as he aimed for Greymon again. “
Greymon stumbled back an inch as Castor dropped to the ground and jumped away from a swing of its claws. Hissing, it whipped its head around as it tried to pinpoint Castor, but it settled on Alex and decided that attacking him would be just as well.
It charged straight at him, lowering its head, and Alex realized too late that it was going to ram him right into the wall of the house. He started running to the side, trying to get out of the way, but Greymon changed course to follow him as its horns began to glow red. “
A flash of white and red appeared through the grayness of the rain and smashed right into Greymon’s side, knocking it off balance enough so that its horns rammed into the earth instead of Alex. He skidded to a stop as Greymon came crashing down in front of him, quickly backpedaling to get out of its firing range.
Roaring, Greymon shook itself out and whirled around to face Castor, who had, to no one’s surprise, been the one to smack it off track. It raised its face to the sky before bringing it back down and spitting a ball of fire at him with a call of “
“
Instantly, Alex was at his side, rolling him off of his side so he was standing up, and Castor coughed as he shook himself out. Stretching an arm out to tell Alex to stay back, he raced forward toward Greymon again, this time not even bothering to try to use a full attack as he went for its head.
“
Alex ducked another blast of fire before Greymon’s attention turned back to Castor, who had managed to hit it - too bad he hadn’t used his attack, he might have actually done something this time. It brushed him off, tossing its head as it opened its mouth. Fire began to build up inside its throat, and Castor was still slumped on the ground, barely moving.
Of course, the moment he noticed this, Alex was scrambling to his feet and sprinting to his side. He reached out and grabbed him, then practically somersaulted out of the way of another Mega Flame.
“You think the others have heard this by now?” Alex panted, looking down at Castor as he brushed him off. Castor’s shoulders slumped, but he stepped forward again anyway to face Greymon.
“
“Cas!”
Alex, not even caring if he got hit at this point, dove forward for Castor and held him tight - if he was going to go out, he was gonna go out with his partner.
“
Greymon’s fire was practically cut short midair as Castor began to glow bright red. Alex, startled, let go and fell backward, dumbfounded as his partner was consumed with bright light. In his back pocket, Alex felt his phone vibrate, and it hit him instantly.
If the beeping noise that accompanied the vibration wasn’t enough of an indication, then everything suddenly going dead silent was. Save for the beating of his heart (or was it Castor’s?), he couldn’t hear a damn thing; not his own breathing, not the rain, not Greymon.
And then:
“Evolution engaged.”
The voice sounded almost robotic, and Alex barely had a moment to puzzle over it before it spoke again. “Please do not turn off the digivice while evolution is in progress.”
Wait. Digivice? Alex had an idea of what was going on, but before he could ponder it further, everything exploded into sound again and he clutched his ears, hissing through his teeth.
He did, however, look back up at Castor, still glowing red, just in time to watch him change into something entirely new.
The first thing he noticed was obvious: he was getting bigger. Much bigger, in fact; he now almost reached Greymon's thigh. His hind legs turned into blades, while his tailtip donned a blade of its own. The rim of his hood was lined with sharp spikes, looking like teeth, and the claws on his front legs grew longer. He shook his head out, and Alex saw that he now had considerably sharper teeth.
The red light faded as quickly as it had come, and Castor roared.
“
Did Castor say that? Was it his phone? No matter - the phone had sprung to life anyways, and regardless of if it was the same robotic voice as before or not, it quickly became a secondary concern for Alex as he stared, dumbfounded, at what was once his phone but was now the same device that Ezra’s had turned into, albeit red instead of orange.
Right. The app.
Right.
He tried to shove it back in his pocket, but it acted on its own accord. “BaoHackmon,” it said calmly, displaying a pixelated image of Castor’s new form onscreen. “Champion level dragon Digimon. It is a form of Hackmon that has gone through strict training, intensifying its sense of combat mentally, technically, and physically.”
Blinking, Alex stared down at the device, bewildered. Something deep within him told him to hold onto it - don’t pocket it, keep it out - and as ridiculous as it sounded, he shrugged and did as it said. Just in case.
Throughout Castor’s sudden evolution and everything following it, Greymon had been still and silent, as if commanded to watch everything play out before acting - but now that it was all over, it rushed back into battle, aiming another Mega Flame at Castor.
Castor, for his part, had also been completely quiet during the process - from shock or a compulsion, Alex didn’t know, but he instantly snapped back to attention in time to dodge Greymon’s attack.
“
It lowered its head, beginning to charge straight for him. “
Castor jumped straight up and over its back, striking out with another cry of “
“
“
There was a loud bang from behind Alex, and he whirled around, half-expecting another Digimon - and, well, he technically got it right, because it was Aldamon throwing open the back door and racing out. The rest of the group, as well as their partners, followed behind him, though they hung back when they saw Castor and Greymon locked in battle.
“
Greymon hissed and shot a Mega Flame at Aldamon, who deflected it perfectly before jumping back to stand next to Castor.
“You evolved,” he said casually, as if they weren’t in the middle of a battle.
“Uh,” Castor said, looking down at his feet. “Yeah.”
“Great. Let’s finish this.”
Alex saw Aldamon whisper something else to Castor, who nodded in response; Alex could only assume that Aldamon had noticed Greymon’s eyes and had connected the dots.
Speaking of.
He chanced a glance over his shoulder, looking for Ezra amongst the crowd gathered around the door; he caught his eye and gave him a worried look. Ezra grimaced in response.
“
“
While Castor ran forward, glowing red claws outstretched, Aldamon gathered a ball of flame in his palms and threw it at Greymon; strong winds materialized out of nowhere and whipped it forward, causing it to grow in intensity until by the time it reached Greymon it was ten times as large as it had been originally.
Greymon did not take either of these attacks well; it slumped to the ground, its tail lashing back and forth as it roared.
It did not, however, pixelate; rather, it began to twitch and glow dark red, almost black in color, and then everything around Alex began to get way too loud, an incessant screaming whine like an old electronic.
Judging by the looks of everyone around him - Ezra, Ember, Castor, even Aldamon - they heard it too, and they all clapped their hands over their ears to try to drown it out.
Then Greymon began to change, in much the same way that Castor had only minutes before, except this time it grew bigger and bigger and bigger until it was twice the size of the house.
Not only did it grow larger, but it seemed to take on an entirely new form; rather than a normal dinosaur, now it was a skeleton dinosaur, with giant bony claws and a gaping maw full of too many teeth. On top of that, it had some sort of missile (with a tiny face?) tucked onto its back - and Alex realized, much to his dismay, that it was literally crammed into its empty spinal cord.
The glow faded away, and so did the noise. This did little to relieve Alex’s stress.
“SkullGreymon,” his phone-thing said, startling the living daylights out of him. “Ultimate level undead Digimon. As it doesn't even have a scrap of intelligence to balance its combat instinct, its mere existence is a threat to other Digimon.”
Well, that was reassuring!
“
Aldamon stepped in front of Castor and held his gauntlets up to shield the two of them. The missile crashed straight into them, sending them both flying backward, and Alex sucked in a breath as they rolled across the mud.
Aldamon was back on his feet in an instant with another cry of “
“
“
SkullGreymon roared and swept its arms out, knocking Aldamon over before reaching down for Alex. “
A shadowy ball of dark purple energy shot out its mouth, aiming straight for Alex. It hit him, and he flew back before landing in the mud, having the wind knocked out of him and feeling a strong sense of déjà vu from the Ogremon incident.
A bolt of lightning flashed in the distance; a few seconds later, thunder shook the ground. The ringing in his ears did not stop.
“Alex!” Castor’s voice seemed to come from miles away as his partner reached his side and stared down at him. He looked up into his worried red eyes and managed to grab hold of his neck to pull himself up. Fumbling around, he blinked while trying to regain his balance and saw flashes of yellow and orange dart by.
“That’s enough!” he heard Ren call. “
“
“
The missile crashed straight into the middle of the clearing, doing nothing other than sending them all flying backwards; either it hadn’t been aiming for anyone, or it just wanted to distract them long enough to fire another.
“
Alex ducked behind Castor, and Castor stepped forward to shield him with his body. The shot crashed into him, sending the both of them tumbling back.
“
“
Ko rushed at SkullGreymon, jabbing his horn up into its ribcage as Flip shouted “
SkullGreymon turned to face Alex. It cocked its head, so slightly that he might not have even noticed if it wasn’t staring directly at him.
“Run,” Aldamon said quietly. Alex snapped his attention back to him, and saw him staring down at Castor.
Castor blinked, looking worried. “What?”
“I said run,” Aldamon snapped, turning to face SkullGreymon. “Go. Get out of here. Find Asuramon.”
Alex swallowed, taking a step forward. “Aldamon -”
Aldamon looked over at his shoulder, first to Alex and then at Castor. “That thing is too strong. I’m not going to let you risk your lives.”
Alex’s heart fell two hundred miles, and Castor understood it too. Cas shook his head, first slowly and then ferociously as he tugged on Aldamon’s arm. “No. No, we can do this. I’m not going to leave you.”
“Castor,” Aldamon said, his tone softening as he kneeled down to face him. “Go. I’ll be okay.”
Standing back up, ignoring Castor’s pleads, he took two steps forward before sinking to his knees once more. He closed his eyes, placing his palms on the earth, and everything around him burst into flame.
Alex stumbled back, the heat suddenly becoming way too much to bear, and coughed as he tried to pull Castor with him. His partner didn’t budge; he stood stock-still, staring at Aldamon, rain pouring down his face.
SkullGreymon, poised and ready to attack, blinked once. Alex saw Aldamon smile.
“
Aldamon jumped up into the air, pulling his arms back before throwing them both forward. The fire followed, heading directly for SkullGreymon.
“…
The inferno rushed forward, slammed into SkullGreymon, and then everything exploded into fire.
Alex felt himself crumple to his knees, no longer able to keep standing as he fell down beside Castor. The flames washed over them, but Alex couldn’t even bring himself to care. He felt something pull him backward and looked up to see Ryan, both arms wrapped around Alex’s chest as he heaved him out of the line of literal fire.
“Castor,” Alex coughed, reaching a hand out. His partner stood where he was, completely still, oblivious to everything around him. “Stop. We can’t leave him. Castor!”
Castor startled, whirling around to see Alex reaching out for him, still struggling against Ryan. He didn’t say anything, but he followed, only casting one last glance over his shoulder at Aldamon as he ran after Alex.
The rain didn’t do much to combat the fire, even after Alex had managed to stand on his own and the group of twelve made a break for it, rain and thunder and flames crackling all around them.
They didn’t stop till they were at least a quarter of the way down the mountain.
It was hard to tell for sure; the mountain was so big, and they’d covered so much ground over the course of the day that it was impossible to know just how far they’d run. They’d taken a different pathway down, going the opposite direction of the one they’d used to arrive there.
Castor had returned to being Hackmon only a few moments after they’d escaped; he’d given no explanation, being too caught up in everything that had just happened to talk, but Ren gave the group the basic gist of what devolution was (something about when a Digimon uses too much energy it can’t sustain its higher form).
Once they were a safe distance away - after over half an hour of alternating between running and speed walking - they stopped, exhausted. The rain, however, did not, nor did the occasional thunder and lightning.
“Well,” Ryan said after a few minutes of them all gasping for air. “That was fun.”
“No kidding!” Dare laughed, jumping into the air. “Castor was all like ‘I’m gonna turn into a giant dragon now!’ and then Greymon was like “well, so am I!’ Boy, was that fun to watch.”
“Maybe for you,” Castor growled. Alex turned to him, surprised, as did everyone else.
Dare blinked slowly, the grin slipping off her face as she realized she may have made a mistake. “Uh,” she managed to mumble. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“‘Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it,” Castor snapped, rearing his head back.
“Hey,” Alex said, recognizing that Castor was spiraling and ready to stop it at any minute. “She didn’t mean -”
“Aldamon is dead,” Castor spat, his legs shaking. “He’s dead and it’s my fault.”
“We don’t know that,” Alex said, reaching a hand out to reassure him, but Castor smacked it away. Alex recoiled, feeling hurt, but Castor fixed him with a red-eyed stare.
“Yes I do,” he said quietly. “I saw it. I saw him die and it’s all my fault.”
Silence. Alex looked into Castor’s eyes and saw something which hadn’t been there before.
“None of this is anyone’s fault,” Harmony tentatively said, wringing her hands out. “You did the best you could.”
“Aldamon is dead because I wasn’t strong enough,” Castor said, practically bristling with guilt and anger and grief. “He’s - he’s gone because I couldn’t do it on my own.”
“No, Cas,” Alex said firmly, “you -”
“Yes!” Castor bared his teeth and Alex noticed his eyes watering, not from the rain but from - “I don’t want to be saved! It shouldn’t have been me!"
“Aldamon saved you because he loved you,” Alex argued, trying not to lose his temper but feeling himself slipping out of control already. “And he wanted you to keep on living for him. That’s why.”
Slowly Castor backed up, shaking his head and furrowing his brow. “I should have been able to handle it myself - I -” He sank to the ground, holding his paws over his head as he squeezed his eyes shut.
Alex - what could he say? What could he do? His partner had just watched his mentor die in front of him to save him, and that, on top of all the guilt from the virus, as well as snapping earlier and feeling like he was failing the group and leading them in the wrong direction and -
There really wasn’t a whole lot Alex could do.
But he could be there for him.
Even if he couldn’t take the pain away, he could show him that he was there for him. So he did.
He wrapped his arms around Castor and held him close for a very long time until the both of them were ready to continue.
“I have something I need to say,” Ren announced when they were all gathered around the fire for the night.
They’d stopped maybe halfway down the mountain; it was getting dark, and they had realized they wouldn’t make it to the bottom before nightfall, so once the sun had really begun to set, they’d made camp for the night in one of the flatter areas of the trail. Castor had muttered something about a town south of the mountain, and they were going to try to head there tomorrow, but for now - well, they were exhausted, Alex and Castor especially, and it didn't seem worth it to try to push themselves forward just for a couple extra miles.
After all, there was only one way they could keep going: down. Down and onward, southwest to be specific, until they reached Asuramon and he could tell them what the fuck was happening.
Alex nodded toward Ren, subconsciously realizing that all eyes were on him, as if asking him if it were okay for her to continue. He frowned, feeling just slightly uncomfortable, but shrugged as she went on.
“I’ve seen a Greymon before,” she mumbled. “And they don’t have white eyes.”
Oh. That.
What a wonderful topic to discuss right before sleeping.
Inwardly, Alex cursed himself for not seeing it coming. Sooner or later one of their Digimon would start to recognize the white eyes, and then they’d realize all the Digimon they’d fought had had them, and then they’d -
“What are you saying?” Ember said quietly.
Ren closed her eyes, ducking her head to rest her chin against her fluffy neck fur. “I’m saying that something was wrong with that one.”
Silence.
“Hey, yeah,” Dare said, nodding. “Vegiemon had white eyes too. And Ninjamon and Cyclomon.”
“Gizamon, too,” Flip mused.
Alex felt his blood run cold as he stole a glance at Ezra, who was looking a little pale himself. Castor still hadn’t told any of them about the whole… virus thing.
“Maybe it -” Alex started, and then faltered; what would he have said? Colored contacts? A different species?
Looking at it from the others’ perspective, who knew nothing of the virus - and although he knew it existed, he still didn’t know what it was, but he at least knew the explanation for the white eyes - he realized, for the first time, just how weird this must be getting to them. Every Digimon they’d been attacked by - except perhaps for the Snimon - had had those white eyes and that wild demeanor, stopping at nothing to hurt whatever they could set their sights on. Of course it would seem a little odd to the others.
And by now? Their sixth day here, having been attacked by white-eyed monsters every day? It was starting to look a little less like a coincidence and a little more like there was something going on here.
Castor, for his part, was doing a wonderfully terrible job at looking just as confused as the others were. He looked more like he was seriously trying not to throw up, which may have been exactly what he was doing at that moment.
Unfortunately for him, Dare noticed.
“What’s up, Cas?” she said, amicably enough, but she raised an eyebrow at him and tucked her tail around her paws as she watched him struggle to form words.
“Nothing,” he muttered, pulling his hood even farther over his face so that his eyes were all but obscured. “Just thinking.”
“About what?” Dare prompted him, but Ren cut to the chase.
“You know something.”
No one said anything for a long while. Alex took a shaky breath in and bowed his head, refusing to look up into anyone’s eyes. This was it.
Moment of truth.
“Well?”
“Yes,” Castor blurted out, rising to his feet and beginning to pace. “Yes, I know something. And - ” He stumbled over his own paws, tripping and falling face-first into the mud. Alex knelt down at his side, offering a hand to help him up, but Castor batted it away and stood up on his own, inhaling sharply before looking around at everyone with an apologetic expression.
“…I haven’t been entirely honest. There’s something… wrong in the Digital World.”