EPISODE 17 - SAVING GRACE
Azure had always been most motivated to work on projects in the dead of night.
It was not a healthy habit they had, and they knew this. There wasn’t much they could do about it. Their insomnia, no matter how much medication they tried, never seemed to even subside - and here in the Digital World, they had no medicine. They had to make do with what they had.
Which wasn’t much.
This is why they were currently sitting straight up, back to the long-dead fire, typing away on their phone as quickly and as quietly as they could.
They should have been asleep already. They should have been asleep three hours ago.
Not like it mattered. They were going to feel like shit in the morning whether or not they got a good night’s rest. Might as well make the most of it while they could.
Truth be told, it wasn’t necessary for Azure to do it this late at night - it wasn’t supposed to be a secret, and it’s not like they couldn’t work on it during any of the breaks the group usually took during the days.
It was just… easier, in a sense, to do it during a time when they didn’t have any immediate responsibilities. It was easier to do it during a time they could allow their mind to wander.
It was easier to do it at the end of the day, when the noon blues and sunset pinks of the sky had faded away into pitch darkness, speckled here and there (or all over the place, now that they were in Starwoods) with the rising stars and the ever-glowing moon.
They’d been keeping track of the days ever since they’d arrived in this world. Marking down what had happened, Digimon they’d fought, information they’d found out, new developments or possible answers to the question of why they were here and what they had to do.
So far that last one had proved to be much more difficult than the rest, but Azure didn’t let it get to them.
Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea for Azure to be the only one to know just how long, how many days, how many weeks they’d been stuck in this world, especially coupled with their already fragile state of mind - but someone had to do it, and so far, that someone had only been Azure.
Well, they weren’t the only one. Of course Ko knew, and of course Ko helped keep everything in check whenever Azure could add to their ever-growing document of “Everything We’ve Learned In This World, And What It May Add Up To” (name pending).
They wrote down everything they thought would be useful to know - they relayed every single day as precisely as they could, everything from Digimon they’d had to fight (possessed or not) to evolutions (either their own team’s or the enemy Digimon) to cryptic messages delivered by said enemy Digimon (like Nohemon and the Aegiochusmon). They wrote down all of it, organized by day, just in the chance - in the slim hope - that it would prove to be useful later down the line.
The day of Alex’s near death experience, of Bumble and Pop’s sudden evolution to a stage further than any of them had reached at that point - of their own argument with Damien in Hallowed Hall, hours later - had not been a particularly fun day to write about, but they had done so anyways, pushing through the creeping guilt that had settled in their stomach as they recounted the events that had transpired.
Now, sitting facing away from the last few embers in the firepit, staring down at the document open on their phone, they were wishing that they had at least something to write about.
Nothing had happened today. They’d kept walking and then they’d found a river they’d made camp by, and they’d had to eat later than usual because someone (or multiple someones, but the point still stood) had taken too long to collect firewood, which then in turn meant that by the time they’d actually had the food ready, it was already dark out, and then they’d gone to sleep right after that and not had the chance to talk around the fire like usual.
…At least they were all getting a good night’s sleep, though…?
Azure wasn’t, obviously. But thankfully everyone else was. They hoped? They couldn’t tell for certain, of course, because it was hard to see in the dark, and Azure felt a bit weird watching everyone so intently like that -
The dog Digimon.
Smacking their forehead as quietly as possible, Azure selected and cut about half of what they’d written thus far (most of it being “nothing happened and everything sucks and when do we get to go home”), beginning to type again as soon as it was deleted.
Right. How had they managed to forget that?
The way the Digimon had stared at them from so far away, their eyes obscured by the distance and foliage but still obviously watching them - it had been intriguing at the time. Now, looking back on it, it made them… surprisingly uneasy? As if it was a bad omen just to have even seen the Digimon. Which was ridiculous.
Shaking their head, they kept writing.
Strange Digimon today, they typed, pausing for a moment to find the next words. Dog-like. Stared at us from off in the trees. Unclear if it was possessed or not - couldn’t see their eyes from so far away. Did not rush forward to attack us, which is a blessing. Probably no big deal. Will keep an eye out though.
And then that was it. The only interesting part, at least. Ryan and Dare had both seemed a little off when they’d come back from collecting firewood, Dare confusingly untalkative and Ryan less-confusingly so. Ezra and Ember hadn’t seemed to be any different from usual, but they stayed away from the larger group during dinner in favor of sticking next to Alex and Castor, away from everyone else.
It hadn’t been anything worth asking about at the time, and Azure didn’t think it was important enough to warrant a note, but still, they’d made a promise to themself and the group that they would document everything that happened every day.
So they did. They wrote it down - Ryan and Dare super quiet after coming back from firewood, Ember and Ezra staying away from everyone else - and then they were done.
Biting back a sigh, Azure saved the note, turned their phone off, and tucked it back into their backpack.
Beside them, Ko stirred, and they froze in place, not wanting to wake him - but it was Harmony, on the other side of them, who spoke.
“‘zure?” Her voice was slurred; it was obvious she’d been asleep a moment ago. “You should be… sleep.”
“It’s fine.” They turned away from her, but she reached a hand out, flailing around in the dark for a few moments before grabbing their arm.
“‘s not,” she protested, propping herself up on her elbow to look at them. “You need… sleep. Rest.”
“I was working on something,” they said, slowly sliding their arm out from under her grasp. “I’m goin’ to bed now.”
“Whatcha workin’ on?” Harmony yawned, raising a hand to her mouth to stifle herself.
Azure paused. They hadn’t brought up the document to anyone before; it was something they were working on for everyone, yes, but they’d wanted to at least come up with some sort of theory to present it with. Something - some sort of semblance of understanding of just what everything meant when pieced together - to make all of this worth it.
And they didn’t have that yet.
“You’ll see eventually,” they settled on, waving her away. “Go back to sleep.”
Harmony frowned (more like scrunched her face up in the approximation of a frown, really - she was obviously still half-asleep) and opened her mouth, no doubt to argue with them, demand they tell her right now just what they were working on, but before she could, the sound of snapping branches from a few yards away broke the relative silence.
Instantly the both of them (and Ko, who shot upright at the sudden noise, inching closer to Azure) were on high alert, looking towards the direction of the sound. Azure’s heart pounded in their chest and they clenched their fists, ready to spring up or call out to warn the others.
Their fears were, thankfully, assuaged only moments later, when the perpetrators stepped closer to their three wary observers.
Azure blinked, wondering if it was just a trick of the dark, and then furrowed their brow.
“You’re up late,” they said, peering first at Dare and then further upwards at Ryan’s face.
“Yeah, no shit,” Ryan muttered, keeping his voice quiet but still full of its usual discontentment. “Move out of the way.”
“Just walk around them,” Ko mumbled, pointing over at Ryan’s bed - which Azure now finally looked over at to see its only occupant was his backpack - at the same time as Harmony gasped.
“Your leg,” she said, pointing to just below the cuff of his shorts, where - “You’re bleeding.”
Ryan closed his eyes and sucked in a breath.
He was. There was no way around it: Ryan was bleeding very badly from several deep scratches lacing up his thigh. They were mostly hidden by his shorts, but not entirely - and the slow drips of liquid running down from underneath were enough of a giveaway on their own, even if the wounds had been covered fully.
It probably wasn’t as life-threatening as Alex’s chest injury had been, but Azure themself had been the first to experience just how painful Digimon attacks were, and from the way Ryan grit his teeth and pulled his pant leg down further to try to hide the blood, they knew he was taking it about as well as they’d taken their own.
Which was to say, not very.
“How long,” was all they said, eyes still fixed on his leg.
Ryan did not answer, simply sidestepped Azure to walk around them to his own bed, but Harmony reached an arm out to press against his shins, blocking him in his path.
It probably didn’t have any real effect - Azure was certain Ryan could easily push past her without a second thought if he wanted to - but he halted anyway, sticking his hands in his pockets and glaring down at her.
Harmony sucked her lips in, staring at his leg for a moment later before continuing. “You didn’t have to hide this from us.”
“It’s fine,” Ryan said. “Just put a little too much pressure on it tonight.”
“It doesn’t look fine,” Harmony countered.
“Hey, lay off him, will you?” Dare snapped, speaking up for the first time since arriving. “He’s had a rough night. He doesn’t need your questions.”
Ko hummed to himself, crossing his arms across his chest. “He had a rough night? Or did you?”
“That’s not fucking necessary,” Ryan said, spinning on his heel to face the bug. “It’s been a long day for everyone.”
“Ryan,” Azure cut in, before Ko could say anything else, “if something happened tonight, you can talk to us about it. Even if you just tripped while out on a walk.”
Ryan grimaced, but Dare spoke next.
“It’s none of your business,” she growled, stepping closer to Ryan and wrapping her tail around his good leg. “All you need to know is that we went on a walk and then some demon from hell showed up and ruined our night.”
“‘Ruined’ would imply the night was going well beforehand,” Ryan grumbled.
“The point is that he tried to kill us,” Dare said, lashing her tail. “Because he was manic. And then I evolved to ultimate and beat his ass. And then he started spouting bullshit about serving some sort of angel god or whatever.” She paused here, glancing off into the trees for a moment before sighing. “And then we let him walk away.”
It took a moment for it to sink in for everyone gathered.
“What?” Azure said, staring straight at Dare.
“What about that was confusing?” Dare said, holding her paws out in exasperation.
They blinked, returning the exasperation in kind. “What on earth do you mean ‘manic’?”
“Ah, goddamnit,” Ryan whispered, holding his head in his hands. “Nice going.”
Dare scoffed. “Like you didn’t slip up earlier.”
“Just answer the question,” Azure said, shaking their head.
They had a pretty good idea what it meant - they themself had been using a word just as different for the infected Digimon, and they’d been keeping it hidden too, but… at least they had a reason for it.
Did Ryan and Dare have one?”
“Infected Digimon,” Dare said, and Azure nodded, placing their chin in their hand. “We’ve been calling them that because it doesn’t seem likely they’re actually infected with a virus.”
The group was silent for a moment, each individual surely lost in their own world, until Ryan sighed.
“Great,” he said, sarcasm tinting the edges of his words. “Now you know. Goodnight.”
“Your leg,” Harmony said again, reaching out again to hold him in place. “I’m not going to let you go to bed without taking care of that.”
“I’ve been taking care of it on my own,” he said, but Harmony shook her head.
“Doesn’t matter. I need to make sure it’s actually as okay as you say it is.”
Dare tilted her head at Harmony and then glanced up at Ryan, almost looking as if she was going to say something, but her partner did so before she could.
“For the last time, I am fine.”
He sounded anything but fine. Azure considered commenting on this for a moment, but they didn’t get a chance to.
“I just want to make sure everything’s okay!” Harmony cried, miraculously keeping her voice quiet enough to not wake anyone around her, or at least not permanently - Ren shifted in her position but did not sit up. “Because I care about you!”
“Oh my god - can you not?” Ryan groaned, placing his palms on his cheeks and pulling his face down. “I’m fine on my own, I don’t need your help.”
“Ryan, it wouldn’t hurt to have a second pair of skilled eyes look at it,” Azure said, jumping in before Harmony could continue going in circles with him. “Just let her take a look for a few minutes and then you can go back to bed.”
“I don’t need anyone else’s help!” Ryan shouted, and then instantly winced at the same time as the other four did.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Damien - on the other side of Azure than Harmony - sat up in his bed, yawning and glaring dead at Ryan.
“What is so important that made you decide to yell at the top of your lungs and wake everyone up?” He was obviously upset at being woken up so late, but his tone was as flat as ever, the only indication that he was mad being the darkening of his eyes, visible even in the blackness of the night.
Azure sucked a breath in, very unhappy with where the conversation was headed. Ryan opened and closed his mouth a few times as if lost for words - as if looking for the right words to hit Damien in the spots where it counted - and then he shook his head out, rubbing his temples.
“Tonight sucked a lot,” Ryan said, almost inaudible. “And I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Goodnight.”
He finally pushed past Harmony, who had more or less lowered her arm by now, and plopped down in his bed. Dare crawled over him to lay down next to him, saying nothing as she passed by.
A longer, fuller silence ensued, punctuated only by a deep sigh from Damien.
“Goddamnit.”
Azure frowned at him. “What’s up with you?”
He rolled his eyes, casting them upwards for an inordinate amount of time before laying back down. “I don’t really like being woken up in the middle of the night by people yelling about how much they hate their lives.”
Azure stared at him for a moment longer before exhaling softly, letting the tension building in their shoulders roll out.
“I don’t know what happened,” Harmony muttered, startling Azure slightly, and they leaned back to look over at her. Her eyes were cast down at the ground, chin resting on her knees and arms wrapped around her legs.
“He just lost his temper,” Azure said, reaching a hand over to pat her shoulder consolingly, earning only a halfhearted shrug. They were almost convinced she was going to leave it at that until she spoke again.
“I just wanted to help him,” she said, stretching her legs out and moving to lay down in her bed again. “I don’t know why he keeps doing this to himself.”
Azure regarded her for a moment as she shifted into a sleeping position, backside to Ren and forearms being used as a pillow. She closed her eyes slowly, her brow furrowing.
“You did your best,” Ko said, laying down as well and patting the ground next to him as an invitation to Azure. “That’s what matters.”
Harmony pursed her lips. “That’s not going to help him.”
She said nothing more, and Azure didn’t think it was a good time to press, so they heeded Ko and laid back down. The two faced each other for a minute, their eyes anywhere but on each other and their minds anywhere but where their heads rested.
Eventually Azure moved, shuffling back from Ko, and they must have unknowingly inched closer to their backpack, because Ko shook his head.
“You can add to it tomorrow,” he whispered, thinking they were making to grab their phone. “You should sleep now.”
Azure didn’t see a use in correcting him. “Alright,” they said, putting on a smile, and Ko lifted his head in a gesture that they’d come to learn was equivalent to his own smile - with not having a mouth and all that.
“Don’t worry about it too much,” he said. “Try to get some rest.”
“I’ll certainly try,” Azure said, knowing that it was futile, but Ko thankfully dropped it at that, and as he slipped away into his own sleep, Azure was left to swim in their own thoughts, eventually drifting into dreams of white eyes, whispers in the forest, and crumbling angels.
They were aware of the danger before anyone else.
The morning rose slowly, gray and yellow flushing the sky an unflattering shade, broken up only here and there by barely-visible clouds. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon in the distance, sending the faintest rays of light cascading through the trees.
It was early morning - far too early to be awake, especially with how late they’d stayed up the night before. If it were any other day, Azure would have already been up by now, busying themself by checking everyone’s bags and rereading their document additions from the night before and trying not to lose their mind. If it were any other day, they wouldn’t have paid much mind to their surroundings, focusing only on the here and now, looking around the still-sleeping group and making sure no one had wandered off in the middle of the night (ironic, now, considering Ryan and Dare’s escapade the night before).
If it were any other day, they might not have noticed the rustling in the bushes, or the way the wind stilled to a halt.
It’s hard to notice, really, the gentle breeze running through your hair until it disappears entirely. Harder still to notice that it has a faint hum until your ears are left to true dead silence.
And even through all of this - even through their weariness, a memento of staying up far later than was normal for even them - they were the first to notice.
Azure was barely even awake before they realized they - the entire group - were being watched. They didn’t know by what, or how long they had been.
They only knew that something was out there, and it did not have their best interests at heart.
Call it a hunch.
Rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, they turned to Ko, reaching out to shake him awake, only to find he was already up, sitting and staring at something just outside the clearing.
Their heart was already hammering in their chest, and the way Ko looked over at them did nothing to still it. Even with his ever-emotionless eyes, it was unsettling.
“We need to get out of here,” Ko said, wasting no time getting to the point.
Azure swallowed, their throat dry, and nodded - and then they heard it.
It was almost like a howl, shrill and piercing the air like a knife, but there was a guttural undertone to it, sounding inexplicably pained. It lasted for about ten long seconds, long enough for Azure to grow extremely uncomfortable, and then it cut short as if whoever was making the noise had had the wind knocked out of them.
It was also, fortunately, loud enough for everyone who was still asleep to be startled awake, yawning and glancing around in varied amounts of confusion.
And then it sounded again, from much, much closer this time, made worse by the fact that it was now coming from more than one source.
It wasn’t inspiring a lot of confidence, and the group was quick to realize that it was very bad news and that they had to act now.
“Does anyone know what that is?” Alex called out, almost barely audible against the howls and the bustle of everyone scrambling to collect their belongings and make some sort of plan on what to do.
“I’m not going to make any hard claims,” Ko said, standing next to Azure, “but I would assume it’s the dog Digimon from yesterday.”
Ah, of course. Azure had had a feeling it would come back to bite them, literally or figuratively, and they had turned out to be right. Whether their prediction had been for better or worse was still up in the air, and they didn’t really want to find out, but they didn’t have the time to think about that.
The howling broke off again and everyone slowed to a dead halt, the only movement being that of their heaving chests and their eyes flickering around to look at each other. Azure clenched their fists, their backpack already secure, and waited.
Nobody wanted to make the first move, but they also couldn’t afford to stand around doing nothing, and fortunately one of them was brave enough to take charge.
Ren cleared her throat, stepping closer to the center of the group, keeping her tail loosely wrapped around one of Harmony’s legs.
“It sounds like we’re in for a fight,” she said, looking around. “We don’t know what we’re up against, so be on your guard, and try not to get separated.”
“That’s going to be -” Damien started, and he was cut off by a crashing sound coming from directly behind Azure, sounding as if an airplane had landed wrong and smashed all of the trees to pieces.
That was not what had happened - to an extent. Azure whirled around just in time to see that, although a few trees had been knocked down, there was no airplane in sight.
It wasn’t exactly a good thing, because what they got in exchange was actually a lot worse.
It was unmistakably the same species as the dog Digimon they had seen the day before, but it was hard to tell if it was the exact same one. It was a black and brown doberman with a spiked collar resting around its neck, accentuating the blades that jutted out from the back of each of its clawed feet. Ridged spines ran down its back, in tandem with the ribs visible through its skin, stopping just short of its docked tail.
And its eyes - the two on its face and the four on its legs - were all pure white.
If they hadn’t been paralyzed by fear, Azure would have brought their digivice out to scan it, but the fact of the matter was that they were, and so they didn’t, and so they had no idea what this thing was or what it was capable of.
It snarled, its lip curling up to reveal way more teeth than any regular dog had, and howled again.
It was worse up close, so much so that Azure would have been convinced this was one of its attacks if not for the fact it hadn’t called it out. They grimaced, clapping their hands over their ears and glaring at the Digimon to wait and see when it would shut up.
Eventually the sound subsided, the Digimon snapping its jaws shut and cutting the sound off in an instant. Slowly, Azure removed their hands and let them fall to their sides, but they did not let their guard down one bit.
They were glad they didn’t when, not even a moment later, eight more of the Digimon, each with the same white eyes, fanned out from behind the first to stand in a curved line facing the group.
It was a stand-off for a solid few seconds, neither side wanting to back down first, and Azure was almost convinced that this was just going to be the rest of their life, they were going to die here, until someone spoke up.
It wasn’t someone from their group.
“We finally meet, face to face, rather than in the stories of a rambling coward.”
The voice came from behind the line of the dog Digimon, deeper into the forest, and at the sound of it, the two in front stepped apart as if making a pathway.
This was exactly what they were doing; the speaker stepped forward out of the trees to face the group, surveying them with an air of both disdain and fascination.
The non-sequiturs of its outfit - none of its clothes made sense together - made it difficult to describe without going off on ten different tangents: baggy red pants with spiraling black patterns; long magenta sleeves poking out from a black and gold vest; a green sash around its waist, two red and two gold wings extending from its back; blades for shoes and wicked-sharp claws for fingers; a shock of golden hair, white eyes just visible on a triangular face above a grinning mouth.
All together like this, it seemed like the only thing it was going for was “danger”, and it had nailed that perfectly.
“I would say ‘pleased to make your acquaintance’,” it said, raising one hand to its face, “but that would make me a liar, and I am far from that.” Its mouth didn’t move as it spoke, seeming almost as if its face was a mask, but its eyes blinked as it continued to examine those gathered in front of it. It spoke eloquently, sounding for all the world as if it were a high-class aristocrat, but the glint in its eyes revealed something akin to… anger.
Azure took a step backward.
“Oh, please,” the Digimon instantly said, sweeping an arm out to gesture toward them, and they froze in place. Ko reached up to grab their hand in his. “There’s no need to be scared, really. …Is what I would say if I were a liar.”
“What do you want?” Alex said, and Azure winced - it was hard not to remember the last time Alex had spoken out of turn like this.
He glanced over to them then, meeting their eyes, and his own softened.
“Oho, you’ve figured me out already,” the Digimon said. “If I am not a liar, and you ask me a direct question, then if I answer, I have no choice but to tell the truth. Isn’t that right?”
It didn’t wait for a response before it leaned down low, closer to the group.
“You have failed, however,” it continued, “to realize that, just as I am not a liar, I am not stupid.” It stood back up to its full height before going on. “I won’t answer any questions you ask of me. Instead, I ask you this: have you ever killed someone before?”
The question sat heavy over the group’s heads.
For half of them, no; for the other half, yes. They could make all the excuses they wanted about “self-defense” and “saving the world”; the fact was that, at least on the Digimon’s sides (and maybe even the humans’, too?), the answer was yes.
It wasn’t immediately obvious to Azure whether or not this was necessarily a bad thing. Again, the argument of self-defense shot through their head; the memory of Snimon and Kuwagamon in particular came up, but then also Fangmon, Nohemon, Lynxmon. The Filmon. Alex and Castor’s Growlmon.
All of them infected - manic. All of them unable to control their own actions.
All of them dead.
The Digimon didn’t seem to want a response, which was good, because it wasn’t going to get one. “Yes, no, it doesn’t matter,” it said, waving an arm offhandedly. “What does matter is that I have. And I’m not particularly opposed to killing again.”
It didn’t say anything else; they had no way to know what was coming, but even still, they should have seen it coming. They should have guessed; they should have known, after weeks in this world spent dealing with Digimon who wanted nothing else but to tear them apart, that anyone who brings up the notion of being willing to kill was not to be taken lightly.
(Even though they all did the same almost every day.)
The Digimon raised one arm, claws pointed at the group, and the dog Digimon charged.
It was instantly chaos. The dogs rushed forward, jaws snapping, and the humans stumbled back, trying to get as far away from them as possible. Around them, their Digimon - one by one - went up in their respectively colored lights, evolving as fast as they were able to.
It was all happening way too quickly for Azure’s liking. They hadn’t expected this - they hadn’t planned for this, and they couldn’t plan now, not while everything was going on around them.
What could they do? What was there to do? They couldn’t fight. They couldn’t come up with anything. Their mind was completely blank and their ears were filled with barking and roaring and growling and everything around them was slowing to a halt and -
“Look out!”
Azure was yanked to the side, a hand tightening around their arm and pulling them out of the way of a leaping Digimon. It landed a few feet behind them, rolling to a stop and immediately jumping back up on its feet, but it didn’t go after them again. Instead, it whipped its head around, scanning the clearing until it found another target - Ember, in this case - and then it raced after him, getting right back into the fray as if it hadn’t even missed.
Azure winced, rubbing their arm as Moxie let go, but she continued to push Azure back while they were still reeling, closer to the river. She glanced over at them before digging into her pocket for her digivice, pointing it at the mess of Digimon fighting.
A few seconds passed, and then the device read out its spiel.
“Dobermon. Champion level demon beast Digimon. A hunter that was originally a virus Digimon, it was converted to a vaccine-type by a mutation, and now exists solely to hunt virus Digimon.”
“Well,” Moxie mumbled, tilting her digivice slightly, “I don’t think that’s its sole goal now.” She frowned, peeking around the clearing a little, and then sighed. “I can’t find the other one. I was hoping…”
Azure shook their head out, brushing past Moxie to step closer to the fighting Digimon. It wasn’t clear which side was winning, or if anyone even was at all.
And Moxie was right; the other Digimon was completely gone. Nowhere in sight.
That was worrisome.
Footsteps sounded from their left, and they whirled to face whatever was approaching, only relaxing slightly when they saw it was Alex and Ezra. …The latter of whom was sporting several bleeding scratches on his right cheek.
He saw Azure staring and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m fine. It’s not an immediate issue.”
“Is everything okay so far?” Moxie said, reaching out to check Alex over as well (he tried to push her away, but gave up when she didn't relent). “Any other injuries?”
“No,” Alex said, shaking his head and stepping away from Moxie. “Just a general lack of confidence and morale.”
“I think we need to run,” Azure said, and all three pairs of eyes were on them in an instant. Alex started to protest, holding his hands out and opening his mouth, but Azure shut him down.
“We can’t win this,” they said, trying to remain calm. “We’re fighting a losing battle. We are outnumbered and outpowered.”
“The other guy isn’t even fighting,” Alex said, gesturing towards the battle. “It’s probably just skulking around watching everything.”
“Don’t even think about going and taunting it,” Azure said, at the same time as Ezra placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder, and Alex scrunched his nose up.
“I’m not stupid,” he said. “I’ve learned my lesson.”
Azure ignored him. “We cannot win this fight. The Dobermon are not fighting to protect themselves or their leader, they are fighting to kill. Us and our Digimon. You heard what the tall one said.”
“We can’t just run away like that,” Alex said, and Azure shook their head.
“We absolutely can, and we’re goin’ to.”
Alex frowned. “Who died and made you leader?”
“Shut UP!” they shouted, and the three listeners flinched. Azure glared at Alex, curling their fists at their sides. “Stop fuckin’ arguing! If we stay here any longer someone’s gonna get seriously hurt or worse! Our best course of action is to get away, recover, and then think up a better plan than ‘tough it out until we all inevitably DIE’!”
The four of them were silent for a while, the only sound being the fighting only a few feet away. Azure closed their eyes and stilled their breath, trying to slow their heart rate.
They weren’t good at making decisions on the fly. They hated this just as much as Alex did. But they couldn’t stay here any longer. The Dobermon might pursue them, yes, but if they got a good enough head start…
It didn’t even matter which way they went. If they headed the opposite direction of where they needed to go, who cared, as long as they were all safe?
And that was all they could come up with. Anything past that - when they’d decide to slow down, how long they’d allow themselves to recover, what their plan going forward would be - they didn’t know. They couldn’t figure that out right now.
Not with everything going on around them. Not with the fact that they were surrounded by Digimon who wanted to kill them.
It was better than nothing, but not by much.
“Just -” they started, stepping away from the other three. “Just go get your partner and tell them to run. Stick together, but focus on getting as far away as you can. Any direction works, even if we backtrack.”
With that - without a glance back at the others, because they didn’t know if they wanted to see the looks on their faces - Azure went to go find Ko.
It was hard to single out any of the Digimon in the mess of fighting, more so considering half of the Digimon were all the same exact color and size and were blocking out a large amount of what was going on. There was no structure to the fight; both partner Digimon and Dobermon were going at each other however they could, with little regard for anything else. Or that’s how it seemed from what they could see.
…They couldn’t see much of anything, really, especially with how they had to stay far away from the mass so that they wouldn’t get caught up in it.
And they couldn’t find Ko anywhere.
Stupid plan. Such a stupid plan. This was never going to work. None of the humans could run as fast as the Dobermon, even if they took it as a marathon and not a sprint. The Digimon might have a decent shot, but -
The Digimon.
They were all evolved right now. Most of them were quadrupedal. All of them were fast enough to give them a chance.
If the Digimon carried the humans -
“Azure!” a voice called out, and Ren came skidding to a halt in front of them, just a few yards away from the ongoing battle. Azure stumbled backward in surprise, falling to the ground with a hiss.
They blinked, looking up at the kitsune, but it wasn’t her who’d called their name. It had been Harmony, but… where was she?
“Jump on!” her voice came again, and Azure scrambled to their feet, rising to eye level with Harmony, who was sitting on Ren’s back, gaze worried and hands gripping tightly onto her partner’s mane.
They didn’t waste a second. They scrambled to Ren’s side, jumping up onto her back behind Harmony and wrapping their arms around her stomach. Harmony nodded, and Ren took off, running around the battlefield.
Very few of the partner Digimon were visible - or at least immediately so. Azure looked off into the trees and saw flashes of familiar colors - white and red, flaming orange, striped purple. The only ones still facing off against the Dobermon were Bumble and Flip, but the dog Digimon didn’t seem to care that their enemies had dwindled.
Did the Dobermon think they’d managed to defeat the others? They hadn’t seemed to be incredibly observant, and this wouldn’t be the first time a manic Digimon had been oblivious to their surroundings, but…
“I have Azure,” Harmony said, and Azure frowned for a split second before they realized she was talking to her digivice. “Is everyone else okay?”
“I’m with Moxie,” came Damien’s voice, sounding surprisingly clear. “We’re circling above to wait for when everyone else is ready.”
They were… using the communication feature of the Digivice. And were making plans in the middle of everything.
They’d all come up with the idea to have the Digimon carry the humans before Azure had.
They didn’t like the way that was making them feel
“Flip and Bumble are still fighting,” Harmony said, looking toward the ongoing battle. Azure followed her gaze to see the two of them, back-to-back, doing their best to hold back the Dobermon - obviously stalling for time rather than dealing any real damage. “Other than that, I think everyone else is okay.”
“Someone tell Flip to devolve,” Miguel said. “And then take him with you? He's too slow to make it on his own. I don’t know if Ember has room for him, or if we’re close enough.”
“On it,” Castor said. “I’ll have Bumble follow me, and then we’ll all head north. Keep communications open just in case. We’ll go as long as we can. Put as much distance between us and these dogs as possible.”
Harmony sighed and Ren veered off into the trees, abandoning her surveillance of the battle. “You’re both okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Harmony said, rolling her shoulders back. “Just a bit… shaken up. Azure?” She leaned back slightly, making eye contact with them as best she could.
Azure shrugged. “I’m okay too,” they said, electing not to bring up their conversation with Alex. “Just wish I’d -”
They were cut off by Ren suddenly veering to the side, heading closer to the direction in which the battle had been. Azure grit their teeth, resisting the urge to tighten their hold on Harmony.
Ren then slowed to a stop, backpedaling as soon as she could, and it was immediately apparent why.
“Ko!” she barked, tossing her head. “Come on! We’re leaving!”
In front of them were Ko and one of the Dobermon, the former trying to get away from the latter but being cut off every time he tried to turn. At Ren’s shout, he turned toward her, shoving the Dobermon away and flying over.
“Azure,” he said when he was close enough, looking back over his shoulder at the Dobermon, pushing itself to its feet. “Are you okay?”
Azure nodded, opening their mouth to respond, but Ren shook herself out, disrupting them.
“Run,” Ren growled, taking off again, barely waiting for the bug to follow.
Azure twisted in their seat to look back at him, a wave of relief washing over them when they saw he was following. He lifted a claw to wave, trying his best to catch up, but Ren was faster than him, despite traveling on foot.
Azure reached out to their partner, for the zero good that would do either of them, and then they saw it.
Dobermon, still in hot pursuit, leaping forward towards him.
“Ko!”
The Dobermon landed on his back, wrapping its legs around his chest and pulling him down. Ko roared, shaking himself out and trying to dislodge it, but it hung on.
“
“No!” Azure shouted, watching as the two of them got smaller and smaller as Ren continued onward away from them. “KO!”
Ren took the hint, slamming her brakes on yet again and whipping around to run back. “Hold on tight!” she called out, and Harmony and Azure both fastened their hold. “
The fireballs arced over their heads, aiming straight for Dobermon, and most of them struck true - one or two hit Ko, and another still landed in the grass, setting it ablaze in blue flame - but it did the trick in knocking Dobermon back. Ko righted himself as soon as it was off, flying over to Azure, who…
To say they leapt from Ren’s back might be a bit of an overstatement, but they certainly dismounted in a hurry, rushing over to their partner and throwing their arms around him. He hugged them back, pulling away after a few seconds and smiling as best he could with no lips or eyes.
“I’m fine,” he said, and Azure sighed.
“We don’t have time for this,” Ren snapped, kneeling down and sweeping Azure onto her back again with her tails. “Ko, try to keep up. We’re headed north. We’ll reconvene with the others and figure out what to do from there.”
They took off again, Ko finally keeping pace with Ren. Behind them, the Dobermon barked, and Azure chanced a look back over their shoulder at it, just to -
…
Huh.
Weird.
The Dobermon was standing still, hunched over but staring directly at them. It didn’t chase after them. It didn’t move at all. It just… stood there, and watched them leave, making no move to follow.
…Maybe that was because its eyes were now a shockingly bright blue instead of ghostly white.
Azure was pretty sure that hadn’t ever happened before.
“Not to alarm anyone,” they said slowly, “but that Dobermon’s eyes are normal now.”
“Again?” Harmony said, which was the exact opposite reaction they’d expected from her.
They narrowed their eyes at the back of her head. “…What?”
“It’s happened before,” Ren cut in. “Not often, but it has.”
Harmony patted her side. “Save your breath,” she said, before turning to look at Azure. “We can explain more later. Preferably when everyone is around to hear it.”
Azure wasn’t entirely satisfied yet, but they were interrupted by another voice - Harmony’s digivice.
“I think we got everyone.” It was Ryan, sounding out of breath, but he didn’t say anything about it. “Does everyone know where their partners are?”
“Flip is with us,” Alex said. “We’re with Ember, Ezra, and Miguel.”
“We have Bumble,” Moxie said. “We’re above the treetops flying with Dare.”
“And we just got Ko,” Harmony said. “So that’s everyone, yeah?”
“Yep,” Dare said. “Problem solved. New problem: how far are we going?”
Damien responded instantly, as if he’d been expecting it. “Currently we’re on track to head into Under Forest. This was part of the original plan, but we're heading in a different direction than I’d originally thought we would.”
“Not what I asked at all, but thanks,” Dare said.
“I’m not finished.” There was a short pause in which vague mumbling could be heard from Damien’s end. “The Digimon probably can’t hold out for much longer. From what I understand, they took quite a beating. But if they devolve, we’re back to traveling on foot, which’ll slow us down a lot.” He sighed, almost audibly shaking his head. “I hate to ask this, but for those of you carrying humans, we’re going to need you to keep going as long as you can. Even when you start to think you can’t go any longer.”
“Slight issue there,” Azure cut in, startling even themself by the suddenness, but they pressed on anyway. “If they get pushed past their limits, they’re not goin’ to be able to hold back the Dobermon when we get attacked again.”
“I understand that. However, our highest priority is getting away from the Dobermon so we have more time to regroup and plan our next move. If we stop now, they’ll catch up to us in no time.” Damien paused again, longer this time and with no noise from his end. “God, this sucks.”
“We should probably try to start finding each other,” Harmony said, her voice gentle, an obvious attempt to switch the subject. “Damien, do you know this area? Would you have been here before? I mean, if Pop and Bumble came from File Island, which is directly north…”
“Not directly,” Damien mumbled.
“Yes,” Moxie said. “Sort of? Not really. I at least know that there’s a lake a few miles ahead, or at least that’s what the map says. It’s small, but you should be able to see it if you’re heading that direction.” A pause. Azure could almost hear her finger tapping against her chin as she thought. “I sure hope you all are.”
“Then we’ll meet there,” Ezra said. “Seems like a good place to regroup. Fresh water for everyone.”
“Yay,” Castor said, his voice completely devoid of joy. “Party time.”
“Good luck, everyone,” Alex said. “Keep comms open, don’t push yourselves too hard, and stay on your guard. I think we managed to lose the Dobermon, but we can’t be too sure.”
“Aye aye, captain,” Azure said, something churning in their stomach, but they pushed it down, and the voices over the digivice faded away with it.
So the day hadn’t started off great. And it wasn’t going great now. And it probably wouldn’t be great at any point going forward.
But they’d figured something out.
Or, well, the others had.
Azure sighed, shaking their head gently, their eyes trained on their partner the whole time as they headed for the lake.
Regrouping was more difficult than Azure had expected it to be.
Their small group had managed to meet back up with Castor, Ember, and their passengers pretty early on, but the trees had made it difficult to look above and see if they were close to the others. They’d tried to figure out where each other were through talking, but it was proving to be too tough, and eventually they’d agreed to keep going on their own and meet up at the lake.
But the lake was another issue entirely.
Moxie had said it would be easy to see it, and for a while they thought it would be. They thought it was just… further out than she’d said it was. They weren’t seeing it, so they kept assuming it was just a bit farther out, over and over, until they finally realized they were off track.
Damien managed to use the tracking feature on the map to steer them back on course - they’d been heading northeast instead of north, missing the lake by a long shot, and though it was mildly infuriating to have to backtrack, they did eventually reach their destination.
The Digimon devolved as soon as the two groups caught sight of each other across the water, those small enough to be carried being scooped into their partner’s arms immediately.
And for the humans… well… they, too, fell into each other’s arms as they reunited, filled with both overwhelming relief and an ache of exhaustion, collapsing upon the ground in a muddled pile once they realized they could finally breathe again.
They didn’t speak for a long while - it could have been hours for all Azure knew. It certainly felt as such. It was simply enough to exist in each others’ presence, mostly unharmed physically but so tired and laden with unknown emotions that they couldn’t put their thoughts into words.
Weird day, huh?
Only once the sun reached its peak in the sky, preparing for its descent and the promise of a long evening to come, did someone finally speak up.
“What do we do now?”
It was Miguel; all eyes were on him in an instant, but they were kind, and for once he did not flinch when the attention was turned to him.
“It’s just,” he mumbled, shrugging a shoulder and picking at the grass between his legs, “what do we do from here? What can we do?”
“Well,” Alex said, stretching his arms above his head. “We need to make a plan for when the Dobermon come back. Or the other guy.”
Dare nodded. “Yeah, being caught off guard like that is what cost us the upper hand. I’m sure if we came up with some sort of game plan we’d have a better shot at beating them.”
“Hang on,” Harmony said. She frowned, raising a hand to her mouth, before continuing. “I think we’re all getting ahead of ourselves. I’m all for optimism, but there’s way too many of them for us to have any chance at beating them all.”
“And what happens when the tall one shows up and starts fighting?” Ren added. “We should definitely prepare for a fight, but we can’t expect much.”
“You’re failing to remember that some of us can evolve further than champion,” Dare argued.
Ren arched her brow at her. “Do you really think you’ll be able to evolve to ultimate anytime soon?”
Dare blinked, opening and closing her mouth a few times, before frowning and pointedly averting her gaze.
“Point stands,” Ren continued, surveying the group. “We’re going to need a very good plan if we have any hope of coming out of this alive.”
Azure had been silent since the regrouping, sticking close to Ko and nodding and smiling at the others, and that hadn’t changed once the conversation had picked up. They were listening, of course, but they were also thinking very hard.
They felt like they had the beginning of an idea, but it was going to require a lot of finagling and a lot of luck, and Azure had never been one to rely on luck.
“There’s something I should mention,” they said, cutting in during a lull in the conversation, and they waited for silence before continuing.
Taking a deep breath, Azure folded their hands together, looking around for a moment. “I don’t know what good this is going to do,” they started, “but it’s worth bringing up. When we found Ko, he got jumped by a Dobermon. Ren got it off of him, but when we were running away, I looked back and saw…” They shook their head, pinching the bridge of their nose. “Its eyes were normal. As in, not white. As in, it might not have been manic.” As soon as they said it, they bit their lip, aware of the slip-up and unable to do anything about it.
Cat was out of the bag now.
“Huh?” Damien said, peering over at them, and a sharp pang shot through their chest. “What do you mean manic?”
“So we’re all calling it that now, then,” Ezra said. “Alright. Good to know.”
Ryan recoiled, turning to face him. “That’s all you have to say about that? As if you’re not the one who first found out about the eye thing?”
Azure blinked. “He what?”
“It wasn’t just us!” Ember shouted, spreading his paws in exasperation. “It was like a third of us! Alex and Castor and Harmony and Ren! They were there too!”
Oh, so that’s what Harmony had meant by it happening “again”.
Azure groaned, about to speak again, but Castor beat them to it.
“Yes. We… we’ve seen it before.” He spoke with the same tone of voice he always used whenever he was revealing information that he’d been keeping from the others.
It was something Azure had grown very used to, and this time was no different, so they sighed and settled down again and listened as Castor relayed the events of the day of the Filmon attack.
“It happened again with the WarGrowlmon,” he finished, tucking his paws in closer to himself, “right before it died. And now with the Dobermon, I suppose.”
“It happened to Phelesmon too,” Ryan said, only continuing when more than half of the group turned to him. “Oh. Right. You didn’t hear about that.”
“Some evil manic demon guy showed up last night,” Dare chimed in when it became clear that that was all he was going to say. “He tried to kill Ryan, so I evolved to ultimate and kicked his ass. And then his eyes went normal at the end. It was so cool.” Her voice was practically dripping with sarcasm, but she shrugged it off.
“So that’s what you were getting at,” Ren said under her breath, and Dare beamed over at her smugly.
“What does it mean, though?” Ko mumbled, staring out across the lake. “That it’s possible to help them? Get them out of it?”
“No,” Dare snapped instantly, tail lashing, all her mirth and pride gone instantly. “They’re all dangerous, whether or not they can sometimes make their eyes look friendly. They are out to hurt us and kill us, and we can’t let them trick us into thinking they can be saved.”
“Jeez, you’re awfully opinionated about this,” Damien said, leaning back on his hands.
Dare whipped around to glare at him. “Yes, I am,” she said coldly. “We have almost died to them too many times to count. I won’t take any risks with them.”
“Our mission in this world isn’t to kill anyone, it’s to save ‘em,” Azure countered. “We don’t fight to kill. That’s not what we do.”
“Maybe it’s not what you do,” Dare returned in kind, “but I do.”
Ryan was looking very uncomfortable, brow furrowed and head tilted skyward. He didn’t even seem to be listening to his partner.
Azure closed their eyes, breathing out slowly. This wasn’t going anywhere. They still didn’t have a plan, or even an idea as to what they could do, and arguing about killing and dying and morality wasn’t going to help them.
“Well,” Moxie said gingerly, after a few moments had passed. “I think -”
“Hello?”
The voice - completely unfamiliar - came from the trees, behind most of the group, but they were all quick to jump to their feet and face whoever was speaking.
It wasn’t apparent at first just who - or what - was speaking to them, and they didn’t come into view either, still sticking within the obscurity of the forest.
“Who’s there?” Alex called, first as always to challenge any potential threats. Azure sighed inwardly, but faced off against the newcomer just as he did. At their side, Ko bristled, clicking his claws together quietly.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to startle you,” the newcomer said, still hiding. “I know with everything that happened today you’re probably nervous, or… what I think happened today, anyways, but…” They took a deep breath before going on. “I just want to let you know I’m not going to hurt you. Or, I don’t want to, at least, and I’ll try not to, but…”
“You can come out,” Harmony said. “Thanks for announcing yourself, we appreciate it, but…”
She trailed off as the speaker finally came into view, for incredibly obvious reasons, and Azure tensed up as they saw just who they were dealing with.
“You’re the Dobermon we saw,” they said, mouth dry, and the Dobermon dipped her head. “That attacked Ko. That… who…”
“You’re not manic?” Ren said, eyes full of suspicion but body considerably relaxed.
Dobermon pinned her ears back, not coming any closer but not retreating either, which Azure saw as a win. “You mean… the control? No, not right now, but… it comes and goes, and I can’t control when, so…”
“So you’re just going to go crazy eventually and then attack us all,” Dare said, and Azure winced. They hadn’t entirely expected her to be okay with it, but… it was still grating to hear her be so openly hostile. Wasn’t that usually Ren’s thing? Ryan’s?
“No!” Dobermon cried, dipping her head and glancing around the group anxiously. “I don’t want to! It’s not up to me! Sometimes it just gets in my head and I have to do it and then… and then…” Her words faded to silence as she looked down at her paws, her entire body trembling. “And then everything goes away. And all I can hear is the voice.” She snapped her head up again, finally taking a step closer, one paw frozen midair as she approached. “I’m sorry! I don’t want to hurt you! I just wanted to talk to you and see if you could help me!”
“Voice?”
Azure had zeroed in on exactly one thing - one very crucial detail - and they knew they had to act fast before anyone else managed to ask questions. Dobermon glanced over to them, relaxing a bit, but not replying.
Azure prompted her again, taking a step closer to her - cautiously, so as not to frighten her, but just to show they trusted her. “You said there’s a voice you hear? When it takes over?”
“Yes,” she said. “There’s a voice that gets in my head. I try to ignore it, but it just… it fills my head and I lose control and I have to do what it says. I just do it without even thinking. I hate it.” She sighed, sitting down and wrapping her stubby tail around her paws. “Ever since Matadormon found our pack and said they could help us… it’s been happening ever since.” She paused for a minute, then continued in a whisper. “…I think they did this to us.”
“Matadormon - the tall one,” Azure said, the realization hitting them as soon as they’d said the name.
There were so many things they had to ask Dobermon, and they knew everyone else was just as curious too, but standing half-in half-out of a forest was not the right place for it. If Dobermon was really able to recover from the mania - even if it was only temporary - they had a chance of better understanding just what the mania was. How it affected Digimon. Why it kept happening.
What was behind it in the first place.
The group managed to calm themselves down enough to invite Dobermon over to their makeshift camp by the lakeshore, and Harmony quickly busied herself with looking over her for any injuries. Dobermon tried explaining that Digimon don’t get physical injuries, and Azure knew that Harmony already knew it, but she checked her anyway. Azure had a feeling she just wanted to show she cared.
Dobermon seemed to appreciate it, at least.
The sun had lowered even further in the sky, painting the sky its first shades of peach and rosy pink and casting long shadows from the trees over the lake. It was as good a time as any to truly set up camp, even with the lingering knowledge that it would probably not be where they slept for the night. Damien and Bumble offered to go collect firewood, with the request that Moxie’s digivice be open to communications so they could listen to Dobermon. Dobermon was awed over the existence of the little devices, and after a very brief explanation of them, she was finally ready to talk.
“Matadormon found us a few days ago,” she started, once everyone had settled down. Azure sat closest to her, with Ko in between the two of them, their phone open to their notes app ready to write down anything of interest. “They came to us and told us they could help us if we helped them in exchange. We declined at first. We didn’t need anything, we were already doing fine on our own, but they were… insistent. Saying they could give us ‘everything we wanted and then some’. I tried to convince the others not to, but…” She sighed. “They accepted Matadormon’s offer, and then that was it. That was when it first started happening. I think.”
“How many days ago exactly?” Azure asked.
Dobermon thought to herself for a minute. “I think… three? Maybe four? Time is all muddled up because of the control, but that seems right.” She paused for a second. “It’s been happening to all of us. As I’m sure you saw. But I think I’m the only one who’s been able to break out of it. I sort of have to… physically pull myself away from the voice. It’s weird.” She sighed, looking down at her paws. “I haven’t told anyone because I know they’ll just find a way to force it on me again, and I just… I can’t. I can’t do that. That voice - it’s too much.”
“What’s this voice you keep talking about?” Castor asked. “Is it what initiates the control?”
“I don’t know,” Dobermon admitted, shaking her head. “It might be. It’s at least the first thing I hear whenever it starts up again. It’s… there, in the back of my mind. Telling me what to do. I don’t know what it’s saying exactly. I can’t make out any words. All I know is that whatever it’s saying, that’s what I do.”
“And ‘what you do’ has, recently, been to hunt us down and attack us.” Azure said it very matter-of-factly, but they looked to Dobermon for confirmation anyways.
Dobermon winced and nodded. “Yes. I’m so sorry, I wish I didn’t have to - I wish none of us did - but the voice and the control and what Matadormon has been telling us -”
Azure held a hand up to stop her. “Matadormon? What’ve they been saying? Are they leading you?”
“I think so,” Dobermon said. “Through gaps in the fog, I remember them… talking to us? Maybe telling us what to do? And I definitely remember the voice going silent whenever they did. I don’t know what they would’ve been saying, though. I’m sorry.”
“Matadormon was manic too,” Flip said. “If those white spots on their mask were their eyes, at least.”
“And yet they were perfectly in control,” Ren mused. “Not at all like the Dobermon.”
“We have got to stop actin’ like that’s anything new,” Azure said. “This happens all the time.”
Ren turned to stare at them. “I’m aware,” she said flatly. “I was just pointing it out.”
“Wait,” Dobermon broke in, “are you saying - Matadormon is under the control too? How come they get to be aware of themself and we don’t?”
Castor shook his head. “We don’t know why. We’ve seen it happen before, but we have no idea why some Digimon are in control and others aren’t.”
“Well,” Dare said. “Maybe it has to do with the weird angel god Phelesmon mentioned.”
That got everyone’s attention quick. Dare grinned, obviously pleased with the spotlight now shining on her, and similarly wasted no time in diving in.
“Phelesmon said he was following some sort of… angel? And he explicitly referred to that leader as ‘he’. Just like Meicoomon and the Aegiochusmon did. All of the other manic Digimon who weren’t in control of themselves didn’t mention him. It might just be a coincidence, but it might not.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Matadormon refer to anyone like that,” Dobermon said. “But then again, I don’t remember much from them at all.”
“But it would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Dare continued, spreading her paws. “If some of the Digimon are more willing to serve him than others, then he might let them off easy. Anyone who’s resistant would get the full mania experience.”
“The Dobermon were perfectly willing to go along with Matadormon’s plan, though,” Azure said, rubbing their chin. “It doesn’t make sense.”
They knew they were all just going in circles, trying to pick up from where each other was leaving off, and they weren’t getting anywhere. It sucked. This was a bad situation to be in, especially with the fact they were most definitely still being hunted by the Digimon they’d spent so long trying to escape.
“I think,” Moxie mumbled, “and this is just a very bare-bones guess, but I think… if the angel god does have anything to do with this, it’s very possible that he’s the voice in their heads.”
Hearing Moxie say it out loud and seeing the realization dawn on everyone’s faces was a bit of a shock to Azure. They’d sort of assumed everyone else had drawn the conclusion already, but apparently not.
“Well, yeah,” they said, shrugging a shoulder. “If he’s the leader the manic Digimon are following, then he’s the one behind the mania. And if manic Digimon hear voices in their heads, it would only make sense that it would be his.”
“Sorry for not being as up to speed as you are,” Moxie shot back, but she was smiling, albeit a bit sadly. “I don’t know. Just thought it was worth saying out loud.”
“It was,” Ko said, startling Azure slightly. He’d been pretty quiet throughout the whole thing, and they hadn’t really expected him to speak up. “Just to catch everyone up.”
Moxie smiled over at him but said nothing more, and Azure breathed out slowly before turning back to Dobermon.
It was Harmony who spoke next, though.
“So then,” she said quietly, leaning back from Dobermon at last and settling into her own seat. “With this information… about the angel and his followers and the mania…”
She sighed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, and was silent for a while longer, staring down at the grass by her feet.
“We finally know who’s the one behind all this,” she finally said, even quieter than before. “He’s the one doing this to Digimon. He’s the one trying to kill us.” She paused again, chewing the inside of her mouth, letting her words sink in for a second before she continued.
“He’s the one we’re after.”
The silence that ensued was almost deafening. Again, it was an entirely new thing to have someone say what they were all thinking - what they all knew - out loud, but this time it was not because it was so ridiculously obvious.
This time, it was because the weight of their situation was sinking in fully. Not for the first time since they’d come to this world and began their journey, no, but it felt different this time. More potent. More real.
More… helplessly grievous.
What chance did they stand?
Ezra groaned and buried his head in his hands. “We’re chasing an angel deity we don’t even know the name of whose followers are hellbent on killing us and preventing us from saving the world from whatever sort of destruction he wants to deal to it.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Alex said.
Ember sighed, poking at the ground feebly. “We’re supposed to save the world, right? That’s why we’re all here? So then why does it feel like the world is trying to stop us from doing that?”
“I don’t necessarily think it’s the world that’s created this problem,” Damien’s voice said from Moxie’s digivice, giving everyone a bit of a start. “Digimon rise to power on their own all the time. I mean, just look at Asuramon and Piximon.”
“I don’t think that’s entirely what he meant,” Pop said.
“Regardless,” Damien barreled on, paying Pop very little mind, “whoever this angel fuck is, he can be stopped. We’re going to do whatever we need to do and then he’s going to be banished to the pits of hell or whatever. Just because he’s all-powerful and all-knowing doesn’t mean he’s unbeatable.”
“Sorry,” Dobermon cut in suddenly, and Damien trailed off. “I understand this is important to you all, but I have… a question.”
“Yes?” Alex prompted.
Dobermon flattened her ears, averting her gaze from the group and tucking her paws in closer to her chest. “…What happens to the rest of my pack?”
Azure frowned. “What about them?”
“Well, we need to rid them of the control, don’t we?” Dobermon said. “So that they don’t keep attacking you?”
“Oh,” Azure said, feeling very foolish. Of course they had to help the Dobermon. Their issues weren’t going to end with Matadormon.
“We don’t have a plan for that right now,” Castor said. “We need to deal with Matadormon first, and then… then we can figure out what to do with your pack.”
Dobermon opened and closed her mouth a few times, eyes still trained on the ground, before she sighed and shook her head. When she looked up again, there was something unreadable swimming behind her eyes. “You’re not going to hurt them, are you?”
There were a few uncomfortable moments of silence before Moxie cleared her throat. “We don’t want to, but if they attack us, we won’t have a choice. I’m sorry.”
“It’s…” Dobermon sighed again. “If you can’t help them… I’ll stay with them. I’ll buy you some time, so you can get away.”
Azure frowned. “And if the mania comes back for you?”
“Then at least I’ll know I’ve helped you. And if that’s what the voice in my head doesn’t want me to do, above all else, then that’s enough for me.”
No one had anything to say to that. Dobermon dipped her head, still refusing to look anyone in the eye, and a few minutes of relative silence passed.
They didn’t have a plan. Matadormon and the Dobermon were going to come back, and they still didn’t have any plan for what they’d do once they did.
Well… not yet. Not fully. The inkling of an idea that Azure had had earlier had formed into something bigger over the course of their conversation with Dobermon, and now that they were able to sit in silence and stew over it… there was a chance.
It was better than rushing into battle without a second thought.
“I think I have a plan,” Azure said slowly, breaking the settling silence cautiously.
Castor narrowed his eyes, not out of malice but rather intrigue. “You think?”
“Yeah,” they said, confidence finally entering their voice. “It’s gonna need time, which I know we don’t have a lot of… but I think it might just work.”
Ryan snorted, raising an eyebrow at them. “What on earth are you planning against Matadormon that’ll be of more use than fighting?”
Azure smiled. “I’m going to talk to them.”
“You’re sure this’ll work?”
Darkness had almost taken over the sky entirely by now; it was getting harder to see more than a few feet in front of them with each passing minute. The sun had long ago set behind the trees, and only a few choice rays of light filtered through the branches, dancing upon the surface of the lake without a care in the world.
Needless to say, it had been a while since they’d last seen Matadormon, and Azure was starting to get a bit anxious.
They weren’t showing it, of course. It was why they were the one who had taken on this role in the plan - they were the most confident in their acting skills, and the only one who had ever actually put on a facade for as long as they were going to need to.
They were even getting some extra practice in before everything was set into motion.
Nevertheless, they smiled down at Ko. “Of course it will. I believe in us. Don’t you?”
It wasn’t a lie. Or at least not entirely. They knew everything was going to work out fine, it was just… a lot of responsibility placed upon them. Both of them.
Ko hummed to himself for a moment. “I do.”
“Perfect.” Azure turned back to where they’d been facing before - directly south, ready for a certain someone to break through the trees and meet them upon the southernmost shore of the lake for a little chat.
Standing here, all alone save for their partner, fidgeting with their hands as they waited to greet someone who wanted to kill them… honestly, it was hard not to be even a little bit scared of what was to come.
Azure swallowed a lump in their throat, reflexively reaching into their pocket to run their fingers over their digivice. They pulled it out, turning it over for a moment before switching the analyzer option on - when Matadormon got here, they wanted to be able to evaluate them as soon as possible. Anything to have the upper hand in what was to come.
It hadn’t been part of the plan, no, but it couldn’t disrupt anything else, could it? They’d analyze them real quick, switch to communications, and then everything else would go entirely according to plan. No more changing things up.
They’d had enough surprises for a long while.
“Azure,” Ko whispered, tugging on their arm and pointing out towards the forest.
Heart sinking in their chest, Azure watched as Matadormon and the remaining Dobermon stepped out of the forest, the dying light sliding over them as they walked forward until they were bathed in it.
As surreptitiously as possible, Azure pointed their digivice towards Matadormon.
“Matadormon,” it read out, and they so desperately wished they’d turned the sound off completely, but it was too late now. “Ultimate level undead Digimon. It uses its fluttering garments to deceive enemies, and when the opponent drops its guard, it falls upon them with the countless rapiers stocked on its arms.”
“Where have all your dear friends gone?” Matadormon said once they had gotten close enough to Azure to be heard. “Did they leave you behind as a distraction? So they could make their escape while you wore us down?” They sighed dramatically, lifting a hand to block out the sun while they looked down at Azure and Ko. “How sad. And utterly futile.”
Azure shoved their digivice in their pocket and slid their fingers over the screen until they’d opened communications. Retracting their hand, they shrugged, crossing their arms.
“I’m here for something else,” they said, trying to ignore the hunger evident in the surrounding Dobermon’s eyes. “Let’s talk.”
Matadormon laughed, raising a hand to its face. “Talk? I’m here to kill you, not talk. I have no time for such idle pleasantries.”
Resisting the urge to smile once they saw their opening, Azure instead shrugged offhandedly. “Fine. Let’s talk, and then you can kill me.”
Perfect. That was it - that was the cue. Everything was going entirely according to plan so far. As long as Matadormon took the bait…
“Oh? How curious,” Matadormon drawled, leaning forward slightly. “I’ve never come across someone who was so desperate to talk to me that they’d be willing to die for it.” They straightened up, still staring down at the two of them. “Alright then, let’s hear it. Talk.”
No sooner had they given Azure their blessing than a howl sounded off in the distance. Matadormon frowned, and around them, the Dobermon snapped to attention, facing the forest with teeth bared and hackles raised.
“It seems your friend has found them after all,” Matadormon said slowly to the Dobermon. “I suppose it wasn’t such a bad thing that it got lost.” They flicked their hand, and instantly the Dobermon lunged towards the forest, howling and snapping their jaws as they raced toward the sound.
Azure and Ko both made to move forward as well, but Matadormon held their other hand towards them, halting them in their tracks. “No,” they said, tilting their head. “You wanted to talk? You talk. You don’t get to run off and cheat death just to try to save your friends who are destined to die regardless.”
“But -” Ko started, and he was cut off by a snap of Matadormon’s fingers.
“No,” they said again, more forcefully. “You stay.”
Azure stood back, putting on an air of anger as they slid their hand back into their pocket to close comms. “You’re sick,” they spat, glowering up at Matadormon as fiercely as they could muster.
“I’m allowing you to speak to me for a few mere moments before you meet your impending death,” Matadormon said, steepling their fingers together. “You should be grateful that I didn’t strike you down the moment I saw you here.” They leaned down towards the two of them again, close enough this time for Azure to get a good look at their face.
Their eyes were still white - no surprise there - but if Azure looked close enough, they could swear they saw…
“Speak,” Matadormon said, and Azure shook their head out. Matadormon was standing upright again, glaring down at Azure with a bored expression, and they sighed, resigning themself to their fate.
They had exactly one shot at this. If they messed up - if they went too short or too long, if Matadormon started to suspect something, if the others couldn’t do their part - it would be all over for them.
They really would be dead.
Taking a deep breath in, Azure stared up at Matadormon and began to talk.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to kill us,” they said, clenching their fists at their sides. “I don’t know what you want. I don’t know what that angel you’re serving wants. Frankly, I don’t really care. You want to kill us? Fine. But we’re not gonna roll over and make it easy for you.
“You can threaten us all you want. You can throw whatever tricks you have up your sleeve at us. You can try your damn best to kill us. I understand.” They paused, letting their words sink in for a split second, before picking up again, trying to slow down a little bit. “You’re doin’ what you’re bein’ told to do. But it’s not gonna work. Not on us.”
Ko reached up to squeeze their hand, and they shot him a quick look before resuming their attention on Matadormon.
“We’ve made it this far already,” they continued, their heart starting to hammer against their chest, but they pushed on through it. “We have a job to do, and we’re gonna get it done. We’re in too deep at this point to jus’ back out. I mean… givin’ up now would just be pointless, don’tcha think?”
Matadormon lowered their head a fraction of an inch and Azure’s breathing stilled in their chest, but they made no other movement. Azure cleared their throat, trying to reset their heart rate.
Honestly, they had no idea where they were going with this.
“When we find the Digimon who’s been doing this to you - to all the other Digimon we’ve come across, trapped in their own minds and only able to listen to that voice -” They paused again, staring Matadormon dead in the eye.
“We’re gonna make him regret it.”
And Matadormon tensed up.
It was barely noticeable - if they hadn’t been paying attention, they weren’t sure if they’d have seen it. But their eye twitched and their fingers curled in just slightly, and again, when Azure looked them in the eye, they could have sworn they saw a flicker of recognition within them.
But they weren’t done yet.
“I know we will,” they said. “Because we’re not goin’ to give up, and you’re sure as hell not gonna be able to stop us.” Their throat was dry at this point, and they wanted to turn around and run towards the lake and jump in and sink to the bottom and stay there for the rest of their life.
Then Ko tightened his grip on their hand again, and all their worries washed away, just like that.
Azure took a deep breath and smiled.
“We’re gonna show you just why this world chose us to save it.”
Not one of the three said anything for a long time. Azure dipped their head, unable to continue their staring contest any longer, and Ko nudged up against their side just slightly.
“Was that… good?” Azure asked, quieter, looking down at Ko.
He lifted his head and gave them the best thumbs-up he could manage. “It was perfect.”
Azure smiled again, nodding down at him. If Ko thought it was perfect… that was all they needed.
“Your words mean absolutely nothing to me,” Matadormon said, completely ruining the moment. “Nevertheless, I heard you out. Now it’s time to uphold your end of the bargain.”
Matadormon took a step forward, reaching one arm out straight towards Azure. “Die.”
“Azure,” Ko said, his wings fluttering slightly. “It’s -”
“Almost,” they mumbled back, reaching into their pocket and pulling out their digivice one final time. They hesitated for a short moment, their thumb hovering over the communications button, and then they pressed it down, and the final step was upon them.
They just had to wait a little bit longer. They just had to wait for Matadormon.
They just had to hope everything would work.
They had to believe it would work.
“Do you believe in yourself?”
It wasn’t the first time the odd text message Azure had received a few days before their journey’s start flashed through their head. It had been circling their mind practically the whole time they’d been here; they had never had any proof of it, and even now they didn’t, but they could never help but feel that it was somehow connected to their arrival in this world.
They’d said yes. They hadn’t known why they’d decided to send a response. It was a wrong number; someone playing a prank on them; a missed connection.
But they’d said yes. At the time, it had been a lie.
They’d lied to a stranger, compelled by something deep within their heart, and they hadn’t even had the strength to admit to themself that they had lied.
Now they knew, though, and now - facing off against someone hellbent on killing them and everything they stood for, with their best friend at their side - it wasn’t a lie anymore.
They’d make it out of this alive. They had a promise to keep.
They had faith in themself.
Matadormon’s eyes gleamed in the setting sunlight as they tilted their head up.
“
There wasn’t any way to tell if the plan had worked. There wasn’t any way to know if they’d taken too long, or not long enough, or if everyone else had done their part.
There wasn’t any way to know until it worked.
Because it would. It would work, because they had faith it would, and that was enough.
Clenching their teeth, Azure raised their digivice to their mouth, and as the arrows began to rain down around them, they gave the word.
“Now!”
Next to them, Ko went up in his signature teal light, the evolution slow but still happening, and that was all they needed. Their digivice rattled off its typical warning, telling them not to turn off the phone, and once Ko had formed into his champion stage, he instantly scooped up Azure and darted to the side to evade the pouring arrows.
“It worked,” Azure said once they’d been set on their feet again, and they heard Matadormon cry out in fury.
Off to their right, they heard the others arriving - crashing through the forest, the Digimon evolved and ready to fight and the humans holding back so as not to get hurt.
Ko pulled back, turning around to face Matadormon. “Of course it did. We had faith, and it paid off.”
Azure smiled, taking a few steps backward to give him space.
And then their digivice beeped, vibrated, and spoke again.
“Ultimate evolution engaged. Please do not turn off the digivice while evolution is in progress.”
They blinked, shell-shocked into silence, and in front of them Ko began to glow white.
“What?” Matadormon cried, but they were knocked to the side by Ember running full-force into them, and they grunted as they tried to right themself.
Azure laughed as the glow faded from their partner and he roared.
“
He was twice the size he had been as Kabuterimon, and his color had deepened to a rich royal blue. His abdomen was a pale cream, almost resembling a ribcage, and a red orb sat in the middle of his elytra. The horn in the middle of his face had grown, now resembling a proper beetle horn with prongs jutting out from the end. His face was eyeless as ever, and his mouth had only gotten larger, still toothy and wide open. His arms had grown in length as well, and he flexed the claws at the end of each one in turn, as if testing them out.
“MegaKabuterimon,” Azure’s digivice read out, still grasped tightly in their hand. “Ultimate level insect Digimon. With the exception of its survival instincts, its behavior has been observed to consist of protecting the weak, and there are even times when it has appeared knight-like.”
“You wretched -” Matadormon coughed, wiping a hand across their face before jumping backward. “Every single time… I should have been prepared for this, why wasn’t I prepared for this?”
They didn't allow anyone else to comment; shaking themself out, they pointed one arm at Ko, their claws glinting in the growing twilight. “It doesn’t matter. You’re still going to die.”
“I think you’re outmatched here,” Ko muttered, but he squared his shoulders anyway, facing off against Matadormon. “Very well. If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get.”
Matadormon recoiled, curling their claws in. “You don’t know who you’re up against.
They leapt into the air, twisting around before descending towards Ko. When they got closer, they hit him with a flurry of rapid kicks, their legs moving so fast it was hard to distinguish them from each other. Ko roared, stumbling back and shoving Matadormon back; they landed a few feet away, rolling onto their side with a groan before pushing themself back up onto their feet.
The others were still hanging back, a few of them having come close enough to witness the fight but still staying largely out of the way of the two ultimates. Even the Digimon were giving them a wide berth, a few of them looking like they wanted to run in and help but not being entirely sure whether it was their fight.
…Ko was handling himself fine anyways. Matadormon’s attack hadn’t seemed to do anything to him, and with how he was turning on them, his horn beginning to crackle with electricity - well.
“
It hit them square in the chest, and they were sent flying back again, but they were even quicker to jump back up this time. “
…And Azure, who was still standing directly behind him.
They leapt to the side, dodging most of the projectiles, but one of them struck their left shoulder. They yelped, stumbling forward and falling to the ground, hissing as they reached a hand around to feel their wound.
It came away covered with blood - not a terrifying amount, but enough for it to be a concern.
“Azure!” they heard Harmony cry, and an instant later she was at their side, helping them up and letting them drape their injured arm over her shoulder. They groaned, wobbling on their feet slightly, but Harmony managed to lead them over to the rest of the group while Ko rounded on Matadormon.
“
The humans, all huddled together, only a few of their Digimon standing in between them and the ultimate level.
“That’s enough,” they growled, their voice low, guttural, strained. As if they were in immense pain and struggling to keep going.
Two attacks from Ko had been enough to knock them down this much? Really?
Just how much fight had they had in them from the start?
“I’m not here for any of you,” they continued, jerking their head toward the Digimon - most of whom had moved next to their respective partners, save for Ko, who still floated a few feet away from Matadormon. “I am here to kill the humans and that is it. Once they’re disposed of, everything can go back to normal again. To how it should be.”
Beside Azure, Alex made to move forward, and they reached a hand out to stop him. He looked to them, his expression wounded, but they shook their head.
Not yet, they mouthed at him, and he swallowed but stepped back.
They needed to hear what Matadormon had to say.
With a snarl, Matadormon raised their arms, and with another call of “
“Ko!” Azure shouted, and he - thank God - got the message.
He rushed toward Matadormon, pulling his fist back before he reached them. “
He struck true, and Matadormon stumbled, their arms falling to their sides as the arrows fell to the ground, avoiding the humans and Digimon entirely.
Matadormon hissed, this time staying down as they pulled themself away from the group. “You,” they sneered, drawing their arms in closer as they glared at the humans, “are all going to DIE.”
And that was enough incentive for all of the Digimon to charge.
It was hard to hear any of them over the others as they called their attacks out simultaneously. Ren and Ember both rushed forward coated in flames, while Pop and Bumble rose to the sky to get some aerial attacks in; Castor, Dare, and Flip shot their projectiles at Matadormon, the shots arcing high over the heads of their allies before slamming into Matadormon’s chest. Ko, standing tall above the mass, waited until everyone else had finished before he approached Matadormon.
The dancer was in a very sorry state when the dust cleared; they lay crumpled on their side, eyes squeezed shut and arms drawn into their stomach to offer even a smidge of protection. When the sounds died down, they cracked an eye open - still white, still haunting - and focused on Ko.
“You’re going to be sorry for this,” they said, and for a moment, Azure expected them to die right then and there - but of course things couldn’t be that easy.
Off in the forest, something barked, and instantly their stomach fell into their knees.
The Dobermon.
The pounding of several footsteps sounded from behind them, and the group of humans barely had time to scramble to the side before the Dobermon burst through, rushing to their master’s side and heeling, spinning around to face their opponents.
The group’s Dobermon was not far behind, skidding to a halt when she saw her pack next to Matadormon, and she crouched behind the nearest Digimon - Ren - but the others either didn’t notice her or just didn’t care.
Matadormon hacked a laugh. “That’s my cue,” they said, managing to rise to their feet shakily. “Thanks for the fight. Sorry it wasn’t what you expected.”
“You don’t get to get off that easy,” Ezra said, and Matadormon shrugged.
“It seems to me like I do,” they rasped, their hand twitching in some sort of signal to the Dobermon, and they bared their teeth, growling low in their chests, their eyes still empty. “If you try to follow me, they’ll tear you to shreds.”
“
Ko’s attack managed to catch Matadormon off guard enough that they didn’t immediately notice what had happened, but the shock coursing through their body a minute later surely did. They doubled over, clutching their chest and heaving ragged breaths.
The Dobermon instantly whirled on Ko and bounded forward, jaws snapping, but Matadormon raised a hand and they immediately stopped dead in their tracks.
“Good one,” they said, peeking up at Ko, their words growing fainter by the second. “I’ll let you off this time, if only for the sheer stupidity it took to try that.”
Ko rolled his shoulders back, looking all the world like he was going to attack Matadormon again, and Azure stepped forward.
“Ko,” they said gently, and he twisted to look at them, faltering in his movements.
That was all it took for Matadormon to jump backwards, the Dobermon acting like a wall between them and the other Digimon.
“Farewell,” they said, raising a hand in salute, and then they turned around to run into the forest, the Dobermon following close at their heels, far too fast for any of the others to even try to chase them.
Azure gritted their teeth, their fists threatening to implode from how hard they were clenching them. When the Digimon had disappeared into the forest, they cursed under their breath, rubbing their head with their hand.
“Is that it?” Miguel said quietly, and Azure sank to their knees.
“That’s it,” they said. “That was it.”
The clearing was silent; only the softly lapping waves of the lake shore could be heard, even as everyone began to take in what had just transpired. Around them, the Digimon began to glow, reverting to their rookie stages as soon as they realized they were no longer in danger.
Ko came up to Azure’s side, resting his claws on their uninjured shoulder, and they reached a hand up to place on top of his. Though they were still aching with pain, both emotional and physical, they somehow found the strength to smile up at him.
…It had been a really long day.
An hour later, the group of humans and Digimon - now plus one - sat around a campfire as the first stars of the night began to scatter across the sky.
Harmony and Ryan had been quick to attend to Azure’s wound; thankfully, it wasn’t very serious, and they managed to get away with just wrapping a tight piece of cloth around it to stop the bleeding. It had felt worse than it actually was, which they supposed was probably because they had been hit by an actual attack rather than just the stray claw of a manic Snimon, but it was good to know they weren’t going to need any magical healing powers anytime soon. Especially since they probably wouldn’t come across any magical healing Digimon anytime soon.
Dobermon had stayed with them - having nowhere else to go and absolutely devastated over the loss of her pack, she’d asked if she could join their group, even if only for a little while, and they had welcomed her with open arms. It wouldn’t have been right to turn her away.
Harmony named her Dollie, to help her fit in with the partner Digimon, and give her an identity of her own. She’d hesitated to accept the nickname at first, feeling as if she didn’t deserve it, but the group had gently encouraged her and tested it out, and she’d quickly grown to love it. Harmony was delighted.
Dinner had been mostly quiet, everyone stewing in their own thoughts while they ate, but as soon as everyone had cleaned up and prepared to head to bed, they’d gotten to talking, as they so often had over the past few weeks. They hadn’t had the chance last night, and it was good to be able to discuss things like this again. …Even if tonight’s topic was a bit heavy.
It was already so much different than it ever had been; now, they actually had information on what the mania was, if they could help Digimon caught in it, and what (who) was causing it.
Mostly the last part.
“We’re facing a literal angel,” Azure groaned, resting their chin in their hands. “If Matadormon can be trusted, that is.”
“Phelesmon said it too,” Dare said, tapping her chin. “I think they’re all pretty set on it.”
“Well, we can’t exactly just keep calling him an ‘undefined angel leader trying to kill us’,” Castor said. “And just ‘angel’ doesn’t seem right either. Doesn’t seem to encompass just what we’re up against.”
Ryan shrugged. “We could just call him ‘the end of the world’.”
“I think that’s a bit nihilistic, even for us, don’t you?” Ezra muttered. “We don’t know if he’s actually going to end the world or whatever. All we know is he’s… mind-controlling Digimon and leading some sort of group to achieve something.”
It was true; they didn’t know the mystery Digimon’s intentions, or just what he was hoping to accomplish, but even so.
Even so, it was still… you know.
“There’s one other word that may suit what he is,” Azure said - testing the waters, so to speak. Their words were cautious, but they did not flinch as everyone around them slowed down to focus on them. “Or, what I believe he is.”
They weren’t entirely sure about it, but… it was all they had. It was worth a shot.
“What’s that?” Ko said quietly, nudging them to get them to continue.
Azure bit their lip. “An archangel.”