EPISODE 27 - UNFAMILIAR PLACES
In the days that followed, not much of interest happened. It seemed as if all the excitement in Browser Jungle had been contained within one single day, focused on only four of the group plus their newfound companion. There were fights here and there - an Okuwamon that Dare evolved to ultimate to defeat, a small group of Flymon that the collective group of champions were able to drive off, an Ajatarmon that Ko, despite still recovering from his fight with Arukenimon, had managed to overcome in his ultimate form - and despite all of them being manic (or presumably, at least, seeing as how Okuwamon and Flymon did not have eyes), they did not say anything to the group. At the very least, they seemed a bit more in control of themselves than the Butterflymon had, but it was hard to tell if their refusal to speak to the group was actually a refusal or simply an inability.
To no one’s surprise, the Catalyst was nowhere to be found within the jungle. They’d asked all the friendly (or at least non-aggressive) Digimon they’d come across if they’d heard or seen of a human anywhere nearby; they hadn’t. The Flybeemon, Honeybeemon, and even Butterflymon herself had only ever seen the humans that stood before them. It made sense.
They didn’t know what they had been expecting, really. They’d had to try - they had to get through Browser Jungle anyways, even if they didn’t have to try - but none of them had actually been thinking that a human would be living in a jungle, even if it was a relatively non-murderous jungle. (Harmony still refused to let that go.)
But even so.
Things were starting to look bad, and everybody knew it, but nobody wanted to say as much out loud.
Who would, in our situation?
Speaking of Butterflymon. The non-manic one, who Azure and Damien had tentatively befriended, had not stayed with the group for long. She had come back with the two of them and their partners, and she’d stuck around for dinner that night, keeping first watch with Azure and Ko, but had left early the next morning with little in the way of a goodbye.
She couldn’t bear to be around them anymore. It was understandable, but it still hurt.
But for the most part, Browser Jungle had been relatively uneventful. Harmony couldn’t help but think back to Plugin Forest and how frustrating it had been to deal with and how difficult it had been to navigate. Browser Jungle, on the other hand, had been nothing of the sort. Sure, the digimon who’d attacked them had been stronger and more pointedly going for the humans (Harmony herself was sporting a series of rather nasty scratches across her stomach, courtesy of Ajatarmon), but that wasn’t really anything to do with the forest itself.
Perhaps it was easier because the trees in Browser were taller, the underbrush more spread out, the flowers and vines less intent on stealing the group away and eating them alive. Perhaps it was that they were a larger group, a more tightly-knit band. Perhaps it was that they had been doing this nonstop for the past two months.
Or maybe it’s because I have Ren now.
She didn’t know.
After the Arukenimon incident, it had taken another three days to get out of the rainforest, with the group emerging into sprawling green plains and rolling hills dotted with pine-like trees here and there. This region was called Panoramic View, and encompassed most of the northwest section of File Island, specifically surrounding Midnight Isle.
This was the group’s current destination.
Contrary to what its name might suggest, Midnight Isle was not an isle, but rather a large peninsula that jutted off into the Midnight Sea. Ren had explained that Midnight Isle and its nominal city, Midnight City, were so detached from the culture of the mainland that those living both in and out of the city considered it to be, metaphorically, its own separate isle. It was mostly surrounded by water, anyway, and who really cared about semantics?
They weren’t quite at the city yet, or even the city limits. They were still crossing Panoramic View, close enough to the ocean where they could look out to their left and see the waves touching the horizon line, but Midnight Isle was yet to appear in the distance.
It was almost noon; they’d woken up too early, just when the sun had been starting to rise, eager to get away from the edge of the forest and out into the open. It was hard to keep track of time here, especially since - despite this indeed being a Digital World - they couldn’t look at the sun very closely without blinding themselves. Even Damien, with his trusty sunglasses, wasn’t of much help, though he at least seemed to have some sort of internal clock that was mostly accurate. Most of the Digimon did as well, which was somewhat helpful.
They’d been walking for an hour or two at most, maybe three considering the sun hadn’t quite reached its peak in the sky. Despite their excitement to finally reach another proper city (it hadn’t been that long since leaving Factorial Town, but still), they didn’t really want to focus on the situation at hand - being, finding the Catalyst. Even though they’d all known, deep down, that they wouldn’t actually be in Browser Jungle, none of them had been able to resist the twinge of disappointment they’d felt when they’d proven it for real.
So they were focusing on other things, trying to fill the silence with lighthearted (or as lighthearted as it could get) conversation.
“You know,” Alex was saying, hands propped up behind his head, “something’s been bothering me since we got here to File Island. There’s so many more cities and villages here than on Server. Is everyone on Server just allergic to houses or something?”
“There’s actually a reason for that,” Pop said from atop Moxie’s shoulder. She was walking beside Harmony and Ren, with Alex and Castor behind them, and she turned around to face him properly. “File Island used to be the only continent in the Digital World, so it’s where most Digimon originate from. As such, it’s more technologically advanced than other continents. Hence why we have File City, Factorial Town, Midnight City, all the towns in Below Zero and Server Desert, the villages in the Gear Savannah, and so on.”
“Propaganda,” Flip said from further back, putting on a faux-outraged look, but he couldn’t resist smiling. “There’s plenty of villages on Server Continent. They’re just more widespread. I mean, remember Mainframe City? The Otamamon village? And the Frimon village, and Hallowed Hall, and the volcano, and…”
“I’m not saying there’s not cities there,” Pop said hurriedly, raising her wings to halt him. “Just that there’s more here. And Server’s size has a part to play, too. File Island is about half the size of Server, and with more large cities, it makes it seem like they’re closer together.”
“Hang on, can we go back to when you said File Island used to be the ‘only continent’?” Azure cut in, zeroing in on the one piece of information that Harmony knew they’d get a rise out of. At their side, Ko looked up at them, then fixed his eyes on Pop. “Did all the others just appear out of thin air or somethin’?”
“Pretty much, yes,” Castor said, nodding. Next to him and Alex were Ember and Ezra; Anna and Bunny were shortly behind them, taking up the rear of the group with Flip and Miguel. “It was thousands of years ago, though. Ancient history to us.” He tapped the side of his head with a claw. “Nobody knows exactly how or why it happened. Server Continent supposedly rose from the ocean one day, and over time the environment evolved to something more or less like it is today.”
“What about the other continents?” Miguel prompted.
Castor shrugged. “More or less the same, I would assume. Server was the first to emerge, then Folder Continent, then Directory Continent, and then the Interweb Archipelago. That was the most recent, but even it’s been around for at least two thousand years.”
“Interweb,” Azure repeated flatly. “Like, the internet. You have islands named after that?”
“We don’t choose the names,” Castor said, a bit defensively, as if Azure was calling him out for being bad at naming continents. “They just…” He trailed off, looking down at his feet as he presumably looked for how to phrase it, but Ko spoke next.
“When they rose from the ocean, everyone simply knew what they were called.” He tapped his claws together quietly. “Sort of like how, when we all met you, we each knew that you were our partners. Like some sort of innate understanding.”
Ryan - in front of Harmony and Ren, walking alongside Damien and Bumble with Dare wrapped around his neck - snorted. “You’d think that the first continent would be Server, then Directory, then Folder, then File.”
“Again, we didn’t choose the names,” Castor said, eyes lidded as he stared at the back of Ryan’s neck (or rather, the back of Dare’s neck), even though Ryan couldn’t see him.
“Wait,” Harmony said, struck by a thought, “if it was thousands of years ago, how do you have continents named after files and folders and websites?”
Sure, back in the day, files and folders referred to paper files and cardboard folders (or whatever), but considering this was a Digital World, it was more likely that the continents were named after the digital variations, right? And even if they weren’t, it didn’t explain whatever the “Interweb Archipelago” was.
Ko raised a claw, then lowered it, his mandibles clicking together. “I… don’t know. They’re just words that have always been in our language.”
Azure hummed to themself, drawing everyone’s attention, and they continued when they saw all eyes on them. “…It makes me think about the time dilation.”
Miguel cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
Azure nodded and folded their hands together, and Harmony invisibly strapped herself in. “What if… the time dilation is the natural state of the world? If it’s been thousands of years here…”
“Oh!” Harmony gasped. She didn’t mean to cut them off, but - “You mean, like, maybe the Digital World was actually created a lot more recently in our timeline?”
“Oh shit, yeah,” Alex said, eyes wide. “Azure, you told us that the first computer was invented in the thirties, right? And if all these continents have always been named after these computer things, then what if they were created by computers? Or by what they’re named after?”
“Like, some sort of magical file created File Island?” Miguel added, continuing his train of thought. “And a computer server created Server Continent?”
Ezra grinned and nudged Alex in the ribs. “Maybe your email created Spam Email Island.”
Alex rolled his eyes and shoved him away. “Really funny.”
Moxie frowned, and on her shoulder, Pop gave her a worried look, which Harmony subconsciously copied. “But - the time dilation didn’t exist five years ago when Damien and I first came here. If the Digital World is naturally desynced with our world, what synced it up back then?”
Azure nodded. “And what desynced it within the past two weeks in our world? There’s got to be something.”
“I don’t think we’re going to get answers to these questions,” Damien said. “Like, ever.” It was the first he’d contributed to the conversation - he’d been listening in the whole time, of course - and it gave everyone a bit of a start, their attention flickering toward him. He didn’t turn back to look at them, but tipped his head back slightly to help his voice carry. “No Digimon has ever been able to figure it out, or even just confirm any theories they might have. I don’t think we’ll be able to either.”
“…Probably not,” Azure said, a hint of sorrow in their tone. “But it doesn’t hurt to theorize.”
Anna - who had also been silent the entire time, holding Bunny tightly to her chest and paying rapt attention - suddenly made a “huh” noise. She stared down at the ground as she walked, as if she was having a conversation with herself in her head, and she looked up when she realized she’d vocalized something. “I mean - maybe the time dilation was natural a long time ago, but it’s not anymore.”
“What would have caused that, though,” Azure said, then instantly shook their head. “Right. No answers.” They lifted their face to the sky as if to stare at whatever digital god might be up there, and to glare at them for not providing a clear-cut explanation. Harmony understood it.
“So the Digital World’s just, like, sliding in and out of place,” Dare said, waving her paws around but taking special care not to dislodge herself from Ryan’s back. “It’s desynced, then synced, then desynced again. Like some sort of gear in a machine.”
“The Digital World isn’t a machine,” Ren said, tail swishing. Harmony looked over at her. She, too, had not added anything to the conversation until now, and Harmony couldn’t help but worry about it a bit. She’s never really been one for small talk, I know that, but… it feels like there’s more to it than that…
“I’m not saying it is,” Dare said, sticking her tongue out. “Just that it’s like that. It’s a metaphor.”
“Simile,” Ren said under her breath, but Dare couldn’t hear her.
Harmony frowned.
She’s been so closed off recently.
Even before Meicrackmon and the fire, even before Corroded Woodlands, it seemed as if the moment they’d set foot on File Island, she’d completely shut down. Harmony hadn’t really had the chance to talk to her about it; there’d been too much going on for her to really set aside the time for it.
I’ll check in on her soon. When we get to the city and we can sit down and rest and breathe.
It wouldn’t be much longer.
“This seems like the most likely place for the Catalyst to be,” Ezra said, hands on his hips, as they descended the path down the hill into the city. The path was lined with stones but did not make for easy traversal; it was steep at some points and completely flat at others, as if whoever had laid it out had tried to make it like a staircase but had been one hundred feet tall. “I mean, it’s a city. With hotels and restaurants and actual beds. What human wouldn’t want to stay here?”
“This isn’t the only city on File Island,” Pop said. They had to walk in mostly single-file due to the narrowness of the path (perhaps the one hundred foot tall creator had been two feet wide), and as such she craned her neck around to look at Ezra, behind her and Moxie and Harmony and Ren. “We just had a conversation about this. I’m not saying that it’s not possible, but it’s equally as possible that they’re in File City.”
“Why the hell didn’t we go there first then,” Ryan muttered, walking in front of Moxie. Dare, wrapped around his neck, rolled her eyes and looked back at Pop as if to say “can you believe this guy?”
Pop smiled, but it was Moxie who spoke next, with the same slight nervousness that she’d had when Harmony had asked her the very same thing only two weeks ago. “It didn’t feel right to just go there first, just because Damien and I and our partners wanted to. We’re not here for a vacation.”
That was almost exactly what she’d told Harmony, as if she’d memorized it for if anyone else ever asked.
Strange.
Ryan took it as a good enough answer, even if he mumbled under his breath as he went. Harmony watched him, then Moxie and Pop, for a few moments, before turning to look at Ren behind her. Her partner flicked an ear and met her gaze, but didn’t speak, as if waiting for her to say something.
Harmony remembered, surprisingly vividly, Ren talking about Midnight Isle when they’d been back on Server, saying that a friend of hers used to visit often and tell her about it. That she could probably navigate the city with her eyes closed despite never having been. And now she was about to have been there.
She didn’t seem very excited about it.
(But, Harmony realized, didn’t she say recently that she wasn’t looking forward to it? She hadn’t pressed about it, since they’d been walking with Moxie and Pop… Maybe that’s why she’s acting so weird…)
“You sure you’re not looking forward to it?” she asked, quietly enough that only Ren could hear. She didn’t say what “it” was, but it was clear enough without her needing to. Ren sighed and crossed her arms.
“Eyes on the path ahead of you,” she said, and as if to prove her point, Harmony’s foot caught on a stone in the way and she tumbled forward. Ren reached out to wrap her paws around his chest and pulled her upright, then gave her a gentle push to get her to keep walking.
Harmony shook her head but did as she asked, and Ren replied.
“I’m sure.” She sounded like it. Harmony could practically see the disinterested expression she had on her face. “I’ve told you. I’m not a fan of the nightlife.”
“But that’s not the only reason,” Harmony said.
Ren was silent for a moment. “No. It’s not.”
She didn’t say anything else. Harmony waited for her to continue, but she didn’t, even when Harmony tilted her head back at her to stare at her, simply twitched an ear.
Eventually Harmony relented and returned her head to its normal position. She didn’t exactly want to pressure Ren into sharing, but…
Whatever. She’d ask about it later.
As they walked, the city rose into view in front of them, finally having descended far enough that they could see the valley in which it sat. Buildings shot into the sky, lit up by bright lights within the windows and neon signs on their exteriors, visible even in the daylight. The city seemed divided into rough sections, with the main downtown area being at the center and what looked like residential areas scattered around the edges. To the northeast, further inland, was a dark, foggy forest; the sight of the fog sent shivers down Harmony’s spine, even despite knowing that its fog would not have the same effect as the Corroded Woodlands’ had.
She still felt bad about it, even now, two weeks later.
And then, above them and around them, the sky changed color. Harmony furrowed her brow, confused, and looked up to see that what was once a bright blue midday sky had shifted into the deep indigos and violets of a starless evening.
“What the hell,” she mumbled, a sentiment which was shared by others in the group.
“The midnight of Midnight Isle,” Ren said, raising her voice so the whole group could hear. “Somehow the sky here is always dark and sunless, even during daytime. It just gets darker at night.”
“That’s not possible,” Azure started, and Ezra snorted a laugh.
“Remember we’re in a digital world,” he said, turning around to look at them properly. “Anything is possible here. Like falling out of the sky and landing without breaking any bones.”
“And isles that aren’t actually isles,” Ember added. “And a time dilation that names all our continents after computers.”
“So is it always night here, or…?” Harmony looked to Ren here, whose eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch before she shook her head.
“No. Nighttime is signified by the darker sky, and the stars and moon. It’s what gives Midnight Isle its name.” She looked up at the sky, where the sun would be if it were still visible. “‘Daytime’ here is usually called lighttime, since it’s not exactly day but not exactly night. Mostly everyone who lives in the city is nocturnal and active at night, but there are a few who are awake during lighttime. It’s just that Midnight City’s culture is heavily centered around the nightlife. Clubs, bars, concerts. The likes.”
Ember placed his paws on his hips and looked up at Ezra. “Then if the Catalyst is here, wouldn’t that make them some sort of raging partygoer or whatever?”
“That’s exactly what we need in this group,” Alex deadpanned at the same time as Miguel cringed. “A raging partygoer. We won’t be complete until we have one of those.”
“I can be a raging partygoer,” Dare said. She flicked her tail across Ryan’s back, her wings fluttering. “Just put me in a raging party. I’ll go so ragingly.”
“One of these days I’m going to throw you off a cliff,” Ryan grumbled.
“We’re here and we’re not raging partygoers,” Harmony said amidst Dare’s spluttered protests in the background. “We’re only here for a little bit. Maybe the Catalyst is too.”
“Hopefully,” Ren mumbled.
They reached the city only a short while later. The thin path widened into one that wound deeper down within the city, but currently the group stood on some sort of landing area overlooking what lay before them.
With the darker sky, the lights stood out even brighter against the city; neon signs written in Digicode or simply displaying various graphics indicating restaurants and bars and clubs and hotels lit nearly every building they saw. Even down between the buildings were street lights that cast the roads aglow, bathing them in orange and violet and teal light.
Harmony took a step forward, and around her, the rest of the group did as well. She came to rest her arms upon the railing protecting the landing from tumbling off into a fifty foot drop, propping her chin up with a hand.
“It’s kinda pretty,” she said, and beside her, she heard Ren exhale quietly.
But she couldn’t deny - and neither could the rest of the group - that it really was pretty. Something like this would have only been visible in super populated cities back home, or maybe in futuristic cyberpunk movies. But it was here, right in front of them, real as day (or night).
Even if Ren wasn’t excited for it, Harmony was, and she wanted to make the most of it.
“Oh,” she heard a new voice say, and she turned around to look at the speaker.
It was a humanoid Digimon, strongly reminiscent of a wizard, complete with a fluttering cape studded with magical symbols (Digimoji, actually) and a pointed wizard hat. His mouth was covered by the cowl of his cape, bright green eyes just peeking over the edge. He wore a yellow and red jumpsuit covered with zippers, which, oddly enough, had small dangling smiley-face keychains. He clutched a wooden staff in one gloved hand, and tapped it against the ground as he scoped out the group.
“You’re certainly an… interesting sight,” he said, eyes narrowing slightly.
“We’re just passing through,” Alex said, holding his hands up, and the Digimon blinked at him, then seemed to smile, even without his mouth visible.
“I’m not telling you to leave, don’t worry,” he said. “It’s just strange to see humans here.”
“Oh,” Harmony said, brow creasing. “Have you seen any other humans?” With the way he said it, it didn’t seem likely - he sounded surprised to see any at all, but - maybe? It was possible. Not probable, but possible, and that was about all they could ask for.
The Digimon blinked again and shook his head slowly. “No. Just you.”
Damnit. Well, maybe he just hadn’t seen them yet?
…Not likely.
The wizard Digimon’s eyes suddenly widened, and he tightened his grip on his staff as he leaned down to bow. “Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself.” He straightened back up and took in the group, eyes flicking between them one by one. Harmony couldn’t help but notice how he lingered on her and Ren, then Moxie and Pop, but she didn’t say anything. “My name is Cam.”
A round of introductions went up from the group, with Cam nodding as each person or Digimon listed off their name, rank, date of birth, social security number, why they were here, and so on. When they had finished, he swept his staff out to gesture down at the city, then looked back at the group.
“Midnight City is my home,” he said. “If you’re staying for the night - or, light,” he added, looking up at the sky quickly, “would you like me to show you around? Free of charge, don’t you worry.”
“That’s not necessary,” Ren started, and Harmony looked up at her, but noticed her attention was drawn elsewhere - off to the side. She followed her gaze but saw nothing; when she looked back, Ren was focused on Cam once more.
“Don’t listen to her,” Moxie said, arms akimbo, and she smiled at Cam. “We’d be happy to have a guide. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said, as Ren rolled her eyes and sniffed. Harmony frowned at her.
What on earth is going on?
Ren didn’t say anything else as Cam led them down the path into the city. Above them, the sky was darkening, slowly but surely; Harmony couldn’t tell if that was normal, or if it was inching closer to nighttime. They hadn’t been walking for that long, had they?
“How long are you planning on staying?” Cam asked from the front of the group. He didn’t look back at them, keeping his gaze ahead of him at all times.
“Just for the night,” Pop said. “We’re looking for someone.”
“A human?” he prompted.
Pop nodded, then, realizing he couldn’t see it, spoke. “Yes. But you haven’t seen one, so they probably aren’t here.”
Cam tapped the top of his staff against the side of his head. “I don’t know everything that goes on in this city. Your human may very well be here.” He twisted his head to the side slightly, finally looking back at the group behind him. “And even if they aren’t, at least you get to experience the wonder of Midnight City for the night.”
Harmony smiled faintly, then instinctively looked to see how Ren would have taken that - but her partner was not next to her. Harmony halted in her tracks, turning around to look for her, only to find her at the very back of the group, talking to a tall humanoid Digimon clad in black armor. Harmony bit her lip and headed toward her, pushing past the others still following Cam.
The two Digimon looked toward her before she reached them fully, and Ren seemed to… relax, slightly. As if she’d been holding a tension in. Harmony came to stop next to Ren and surreptitiously grabbed her paw.
The other Digimon stared down at her, with all… twelve?... of the red eyes strewn across its face and armor, and did not say anything. It simply looked back to Ren, nodded, and then headed back up the path, the way that they’d come.
Harmony watched it leave for a moment, then looked back at Ren, unable to hide the concern evident on her face and voice. “Who was that?”
“Nobody,” Ren mumbled, starting to follow the rest of the group (which had slowed somewhat to wait for them, but had not stopped entirely).
Harmony shook her head and followed her, coming to walk next to her. “What were you talking to them about?”
“Nothing,” Ren said, as informative as ever. She didn’t look at Harmony even as they caught up to the group, hanging to the back just behind Miguel and Flip.
She was obviously hiding something. But what? What the hell could be so important to keep a secret that she couldn’t even tell - couldn’t trust - Harmony? Her best friend? Her partner?
Her soulmate?
Harmony blinked rapidly a few times, trying to ignore the tears budding in the corners of her eyes.
Somehow, Ren noticed, and her gaze softened just slightly as she finally looked at Harmony. “I was asking him about the city,” she said, voice gentle but still with that “it’s not important” edge to it. “If he’d seen anything. He hadn’t.”
She’s not telling the truth. It was possible that that really was what she’d asked about, but combined with how weirdly she’d been acting already, plus the fact that she hadn’t just told her upfront in the first place…
Being in the city was clearly doing bad things to Ren. She wanted to talk to her about it, but they weren’t in the right place or right time, and who knew when they would be?
Tonight I’ll ask her. During or after or before dinner. Or before we go to sleep. Something’s going on and I want to help her but she’s not letting me.
Whatever’s troubling her, I want to help her shoulder it. She doesn’t have to deal with it alone.
Why doesn’t she know that by now?
“Harmony?”
She blinked, and looked up to see Miguel looking back at her, concern etched on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked, brows furrowed.
Harmony took a moment to process the question, then put a smile on, waving a hand around. “I’m fine,” she said, trying her damndest not to look up at Ren and give away that she was not, in fact, fine. “Just thinking.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding, but he - just as she was with Ren - didn’t seem thoroughly convinced. He didn’t press, though, instead turning back to focus on the path ahead of him.
Harmony sighed and crossed her arms, hugging them across her chest. She still didn’t look up at Ren, and likewise, she couldn’t feel Ren’s eyes on her.
…She really hadn’t wanted today to end up in another fight between them. Especially since the last one had been…
She shook her head out. Things would be fine. They’d be fine.
They had to be fine.
Cam led them through most, if not all, of the city, pointing out some of his favorite stores and restaurants and the more notable landmarks. Ezra, apparently not wanting to be one-upped by him, took to providing his own (incredibly scuffed) translations of the various neon lights and store signs they came across. They let him get away with it for a little bit, but when he read a sign in a window as “snake 90% odd” instead of “jeans 50% off”, Alex and Azure had to step in and tell him to stop making a fool out of himself. Cam found it amusing, at the very least.
For some strange reason, he was absolutely fascinated with the group. They got to talking with him some more as they walked, sharing some of their own stories (how they got to the Digital World, why they were here, who they were looking for, some of the more interesting encounters they’d had) when he asked. They didn’t tell him all of it - didn’t want to divulge too much information nor worry him too much - but it was enough to give him a general idea of their situation.
Cam even told them a little bit about himself. He’d lived on Midnight Isle for the past few years, and had taken it upon himself to be the unofficial tour guide for the city. He liked getting to know newcomers and showing them around. He’d never seen humans before, though of course he knew what they were, and he was quite delighted that he was the one who got to show them such a beautiful city.
Ren was quiet throughout most of their trek, nodding and shaking her head when she needed to but staying out of conversations otherwise. She kept looking around, almost as if searching for something, but whenever Harmony asked her about it she just said she was taking in the city.
She was lying, and Harmony knew it, and she had a feeling that Ren knew she knew it, but neither of them brought it up.
“So you’re sure you haven’t seen another human here?” Castor asked as Cam led them down a street, away from the movie theater he’d just shown them, Flashy Theatre. It was special in that it was able to project 3D images from its screens, not entirely unlike the 3D theaters back in the humans’ world but different in that they were more like holograms (or so Cam described them as). Castor tugged at the collar of his cloak, looking up at Cam at the head of the group. “Or even heard of one being seen?”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t,” the wizard said, peering over his shoulder. “Like I said, though, it’s entirely possible that they’re somewhere here. I haven’t seen or heard anything, though.”
“What about any strange Digimon?” Moxie added, hands on her hips. “Specifically any that call themselves the Catalyst?”
The possibility of the Catalyst simply being a Digimon was one they’d (almost) ruled out entirely quite a while ago, once they’d realized it was more likely that they were a human, with what Astamon and LadyDevimon had said - but, Harmony realized, maybe the Digimon was the Catalyst, and the human was simply their partner?
But still, even if that’s true, if there aren’t any humans here, I don’t see why their partner would be…
“Afraid not,” Cam said, shaking his head. He twirled his staff around in his hand. “I’m sure you’ll find them eventually. You’ll be heading to File City eventually, yes?” When Moxie nodded, he returned the gesture. “Right, then. That’s the most likely place you’ll find your Catalyst. If I were a human looking for a place to stay, it’d be there.”
“That’s what I said,” Ryan said under his breath, looking over at Moxie with lidded eyes, but Moxie didn’t notice and Ryan didn’t continue. Around his neck, Dare frowned, and Harmony felt a small twinge of both irritation and helplessness. Please don’t let them start arguing…
“We’re heading for File City eventually,” Pop said. “We’ve just got… other places to check out first. Other things to attend to first.” She trailed off slightly, as if she wasn’t quite sure of what she was saying - much like Moxie did whenever she was asked the same question, of why they hadn’t gone to File City first.
“Well, if putting it off has led to you ending up here, I’d say that’s a fair tradeoff,” Cam said with a brisk nod.
Harmony didn’t even bother looking over at Ren.
Their tour through the city continued, with Cam showing them some of the more significant buildings and hangout spots. Fluorescent Stadium was a large coliseum where Digimon from all over File Island (and often other continents) came to test their strength in battle, and Cam advised them to stay far from it, as it was easy to get swept up in the cheer and chaos and be accidentally registered. The group remained firm in their agreement that they weren’t here to fight any more than they had to, and heeded his advice.
Pop-Up Residence, meanwhile, was much on the calmer side, being a large neighborhood - practically the only suburban area within the city - that was widely rumored to be abandoned and/or haunted. Cam reassured them that it wasn’t true, and that most of its residents were simply nocturnal, which matched up with Ren’s earlier explanation of the cityfolk having altered their sleep schedules to fit in better with the city’s nightlife.
He led them past what he called the Haunted Forest - the misty forest they’d seen from atop the hill before entering the city - but didn’t spend long dwelling on it. Ren explained, quietly, that it was where “shadier types” of Digimon tended to hang out. Miguel asked what in god’s name she meant by that (though obviously with different words), but she didn’t elaborate, and though Harmony was both curious and also growing frustrated, she couldn’t help but admit that Miguel’s almost-terrified expression was a bit hilarious in contrast.
Eventually, the moon rose into the sky, the first stars twinkling into visibility alongside it. Azure was the first to point it out, something akin to awe in their voice as they told the others to look up, and Harmony completely understood it.
It was like nothing else they’d ever seen before, similar to the view back in Starwoods. They couldn’t get these kinds of night skies back home, not with all the light pollution from the city, and even when Harmony had gone camping with her family or on school trips she’d never seen something like this. It almost seemed like there were too many stars, shining too brightly amidst the rainbows of nebulas in the backdrop, for it to be real.
“Are all of those stars up there - do they have solar systems?” she asked, almost without even thinking, and - as always - looked toward Ren for her answer. Surprisingly, her partner met her gaze, something in her eyes softening as they reflected the stars above.
“They might,” she said, dipping her head. “There are… legends, of an ancient Digimon called Galacticmon that once managed to orbit the planet. It aimed to consume the Digital World, but a Digimon named GraceNovamon stopped it, and their battle created the stars in the sky.”
“We don’t actually know if there’s any planets up there,” Castor added. His eyes, too, sparkled with the mirrored cosmos as he spoke. “No Digimon nowadays is able to leave the Digital World’s atmosphere, and we don’t have technology capable of leaving the planet. Aldamon has told me -” He paused for a moment, losing his words, before he shook himself out and took a deep breath. “…That there are scientists on Folder that are working on something that will be able to enter space.”
“Like rockets?” Miguel asked; Castor and Flip both nodded. “That’s really cool,” he said, visibly lighting up at the prospect. “That you’re able to, like, make spaceships and all that.”
“I think we’re a far way off from spaceships,” Ko said, tapping his chin. “Something like… ah, what is it… rovers?”
“Yeah!” Miguel said. “That makes more sense to start with, actually…”
“What if there’s other Digital Worlds out there?” Anna said, shielding her face with a hand as she stared up at the sky, as if the moon would blind her just as the sun would. Her brow creased and she looked down at Castor and Ko, then at Bunny in her arms. “With other Digimon you’ve never heard of?”
“Who’s to say they’d be Digimon at all?” Castor shot back amicably, and Anna laughed.
“They say,” Cam cut in, drawing the group’s attention toward the front of the line, “that there is indeed another Digital World, though whether it’s simply on another layer of this one, or on a planet up there -” he gestured up at the sky with his staff “- is yet to be determined.” He looked back at the group, winking. “It’s said that that Digital World, Witchelny, is where Wizardmon like myself come from.”
“There’s so much about the Digital World that we don’t know,” Azure said, wistfulness mingling with a distant lamentation in their voice. “That you all don’t know. It’s so…” They sighed contently, looking up at the stars. Harmony couldn’t help but smile.
“I mean,” Ember said, scrunching his nose up. “Isn’t there stuff about your world that you don’t know? Surely you can’t know everything about it, especially if your world is the same size as ours.”
“We don’t,” Harmony said, shaking her head. “We know more about our solar system than what’s in the oceans on our own planet. At least, I think so? That’s what I’ve heard.” She’d never really been super into either space or the ocean, and she didn’t know much about them, but she could’ve sworn it was true. Right? It would make sense.
Azure, nodding, was enough to reassure her that she hadn’t entirely stuck her foot in her mouth and made a fool of herself.
“And that drives me mad, too,” they said, quietly.
The conversation dwindled after that, as they took in the stars and the moon and the sky and the city around them. They’d ended up in the downtown area, shops and stores with all sorts of trinkets and accessories enticing them within. They window-shopped at a few of them, but didn’t enter; Moxie and Damien, though having a bit more money after their stop in Factorial Town (which Harmony was still entirely convinced they had stolen), couldn’t afford to spend all of it in one place. They did end up buying some more supplies from one of the convenience stores - close approximations to first-aid supplies, a few blankets (preparing for Below Zero within the week), some snacks for on the road.
And this last thing was what finally made them realize: they had not had lunch, so caught up in exploring the city as they were, and it was clearly past dinner time.
“Luckily for you,” Cam said, spinning around with an overdramatic flourish, “we’re at my favorite restaurant.” He pointed with his staff up at the neon sign of one of the restaurants on the road they had stopped on, and then looked at Ezra. “Think you can translate that?”
Ezra squinted, standing on tiptoes and leaning forward to get a closer look at it. He started to mumble under his breath, sounding out each of the letters in turn until he raised his voice.
“Nyon… Bistmo… no, that’s not an M, that’s an R, which is stupid, I still hate that… Nyon Bistro… but it can’t be Nyon, what on earth is - neon!” He practically gasped the last word, eyes wide, and he whirled around to look at Cam. “Neon Bistro? Am I right?”
“On the money, my friend,” Cam said, once more obviously smiling even without his mouth visible. He tapped Ezra’s shoulder with his staff gently. “Famous for its Burning Curry and Red Hot Ramen. Also has some lovely seafood, if you’re into that.”
“Spicy food and fish,” Ryan said dully, head tilted as he looked up at the sign. “My two favorites.” Around his neck, Dare stifled a giggle.
“Better than more fucking mushrooms,” Damien said, raising a single eyebrow over at him, and at his side, Bumble nodded sagely. Damien looked around at the rest of the group, then inclined his head toward the restaurant. “I don’t know about you all, but I am very ready to eat a proper meal. All in favor?”
He didn’t wait for a reply before heading into the building, pushing the door inward and holding it open just long enough for Bumble to follow. Slowly the rest of the group shuffled forward, but Harmony hung to the back of the group, standing next to Cam.
He caught her eye and seemed to surmise what she was about to ask, and shook his head. “I’m not hungry. You all go ahead. Have some time to yourself. I’ll be around.”
“Thank you,” Harmony said, smiling gently. “It’s been nice to have a guide.”
Because Ren sure isn’t one.
She managed not to look at her partner, who had also remained outside, and she kept her eyes on Cam as he nodded and then turned to depart. Harmony watched him leave for a moment, then finally turned to Ren, whose eyes were locked onto hers the moment they met.
“I know what you’re going to ask,” Ren said quietly, and Harmony couldn’t resist huffing a breath of laughter. Do you really? “And the answer is I’m fine.”
So she didn’t know.
“That’s not what I was going to ask.” Harmony turned toward the restaurant but made no move toward it, watching as the rest of the group sat down, half of them sitting at the bar counter just beyond the glass doors and the other half settling into some of the booth seats. She folded her arms across herself, hugging them tightly against her chest as a cold wind whipped down the street. It was getting late.
“Then what is it?”
I’m surprised she’s even humoring this. “Just…” Harmony shook her head. “What’s going on with you? I know you don’t like the city, I’m not expecting you to, but, like - even aside from that, you’ve just been acting… off today.”
“I think I have a reason to,” Ren mumbled, and Harmony turned to face her.
“You have a reason to feel weird, yes,” she said, and she felt the way her voice started to tremble, but she did her best to ignore it. “But… you keep brushing me off when I try to talk to you, and it - it hurts. I just want to help you. To let you know that… you don’t have to deal with this alone. But it feels like you’re ignoring me, or if not that, then… that you don’t want me to help you? Even though you’re clearly hurting.”
She didn’t know what she was saying; she was rambling at this point, her hands moving of their own accord as she tried to formulate her thoughts into words quickly enough for her mouth to catch up. She shook her head again and looked up at Ren, who was staring at her with that same unreadable, unbroken expression - almost like everything Harmony was saying wasn’t getting through to her.
She didn’t speak, and so Harmony sighed, her shoulders falling slightly before she picked them back up. “I just… I think you’ve been even more closed off since we came to File Island, and I don’t know why, but it… makes me really sad to see you like this. I just want to help.”
“I think you know why,” Ren said, and Harmony closed her eyes.
…I do.
She did. She knew exactly why, because it was clawing at her own throat, a deep itching pain that wanted so badly to get out but didn’t have a way to (because she wouldn’t let it), and so instead it settled in her stomach right above where all her fears slept.
Even three weeks later, it was still fucking her up. And she knew why it was fucking her up, because, no matter how much anyone else tried to reassure her, she knew it was her fault. Her fault that Dollie had followed them. Her fault that she had ended up in the line of fire.
Her fault that she had died.
(There wasn’t anything she could have done, and she knew this, too, but even so - even so, it didn’t ease the guilt or pain.)
She screwed her eyes shut tighter, a hand darting up to wipe at them. God, this was the last thing she needed, especially right now, especially with -
“Harmony? You coming?”
She sniffed and wiped her eyes again, turned around to see Moxie standing in the doorway, peering out at her from the safety of the restaurant. Her eyes, visibly concerned even with the light from within shading her face, darted between Harmony and Ren a few times before ultimately settling on the former.
Harmony couldn’t help but think of how Moxie had looked exactly like this those three weeks ago, when she’d tried to talk to her. Harmony had pushed her away. Because she couldn’t bear to look at her or listen to her when she herself had said such a stupid thing.
And then Dollie was gone, and Moxie had looked at her the same exact way when she and Ren had returned to camp without her, and she’d cried all that night about it.
“I ordered for you,” Moxie continued, still in the doorway. “Both of you. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but - I don’t want it to get cold, so…”
She looked, hesitantly, to Ren, and Harmony followed her gaze.
Ren stared back at Moxie, and dipped her head slightly, mumbling a quiet thank you. “I’m going to take a walk,” she said, and Harmony’s heart sunk down to her stomach to nestle in with the pain and the fears. “I need some fresh air. And some time alone. You can box my food for later.”
She didn’t say anything else before she turned and left, heading down the street, and it took all of Harmony’s remaining will not to break down into tears. A few of them made their way down her cheek, and she once more raised her hand to dab at them, before taking a quick deep breath and turning toward Moxie.
“I hope you saved me a seat,” she said, affecting cheer, and Moxie smiled back, but she obviously knew it was a facade.
What else was new, though?
Moxie had saved her a seat, thankfully, right between her and Ember at the bar counter.
She’d ordered tofu sushi for both her and Ren, and Harmony was surprised to discover it was actually quite delicious. She’d never been a huge fan of tofu back at home (she felt a pang in her heart when she had that thought, realizing home was so long ago), but Digital World tofu was either made of something entirely different or this particular serving had been prepared by a god. She briefly considered eating Ren’s portion - not like she’s going to be back in time to eat it - but decided against it, instead boxing it up just as she’d requested and setting it inside her backpack.
Because I’m capable of doing what she’s asked me to.
She tried not to think about Ren as she ate, focusing instead on the conversations around her. On any other night she’d be jumping in with her own additions and commentary, hitting the others with “yes, and”s or “no, but”s, but right now all she could manage to do was listen and nod along and try really really hard not to cry.
Moxie absolutely noticed, and her voice was gentle whenever she spoke to her, the way it always was when Harmony was having a shitty day and Moxie knew and wanted to help her. It almost made it worse, actually, but Harmony didn’t dare say it out loud, of course.
Sometimes, a small selfish part of her thought that maybe there was more to Moxie’s actions and words toward Harmony than it would suggest on the surface level, but she’d never dared examine it. She couldn’t afford to. Not with everything else going on, not with the talk they’d had that night by the campfire after Harmony had -
…Her mood sure had soured quickly, hadn’t it?
A beeping noise, coming from her digivice, interrupted her train of thought. Frowning, she reached down into her pocket, only to withdraw it and see that it had activated of its own accord.
“What -” she muttered to herself, before the digivice’s screen flashed blue.
“Evolution engaged. Please do not turn off the digivice while evolution is in progress.”
It took a few moments for it to sink in.
“What the hell,” she spluttered, hopping off her chair and pushing it into the counter. Ezra, on the other side of Ember, glanced over at her, but she paid him no mind.
Because of course things just had to get worse, right?
Ren, what have you gotten yourself into this time?
Without another word, Harmony sighed, heading to the door and pushing it open with her free hand, the other still clutching her digivice. Behind her, she heard Ezra and Ember following, and she looked back over her shoulder at them briefly before stepping outside.
The wind was cold, biting against her skin and whipping through the trees lining the sidewalk. She crossed her arms together with a shiver, wrestling one hand free so she could stare down at her digivice.
A not insignificant part of her wondered if this was what Ren had wanted - to go and fight something, someone, anyone. An easier outlet for her thoughts than vocalizing them. Easier than talking to Harmony.
God, and just today, not even that long ago, they’d all agreed that they weren’t here to fight. And now here Ren was - or, not here - doing just that: fighting for the sake of fighting.
But… it’s also possible that she didn’t start the fight…
She really didn’t want to contemplate why her very first thought, the first conclusion she’d jumped to, was that Ren had been the one to instigate it.
“What’s going on?” Ezra’s voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to face him and Ember properly.
“My digivice just went off,” she said quietly, her eyes darting down to it once more as if it would give her any more information than it had the last time she’d looked. “Ren evolved.”
Ezra blinked, his brow creasing. “To… ultimate?”
“Champion,” Harmony said with a shake of her head. “Thankfully. Although who’s to say how long it’ll be till she does take it that step further.” Can she even evolve that far without me there?
Will she need to?
I hope not.
“I need to go find her,” she said suddenly, pushing past Ezra and heading down the street. Looking up and down both sides of the road, she bit her lip and started to the left. She didn’t even have a gut feeling to go off of; she was entirely guessing as to where her partner might be.
Ezra and Ember weren’t going to leave her alone, however, as evidenced by them hurrying after her. Neither of them said anything as they caught up to her, and Harmony returned the silence, taking step after step down the street, all the while staring at her digivice in the hopes it could show her where to go.
It couldn’t. Harmony knew it couldn’t. There were too many dots signifying other Digimon, and try as she might to tap on them and find one that said Kyubimon, none of them did. It couldn’t even tell her where her own partner was.
What a flaw in its design.
“Are you worried?”
Harmony closed her eyes, lifting her face up to the sky. Another gust of wind rolled against the three of them, and she hissed under her breath as she shoved her hands in her pant pockets. I should’ve brought my jacket.
“Of course I’m worried.” She breathed out, and Ember, the one who’d asked the question, cocked his head slightly. “She’s obviously fighting someone somewhere. What other reason would she have to evolve?” But who? And why?
“She can take care of herself,” Ezra said, Ember nodding his assent.
Harmony’s shoulders drooped. “I know she can. That’s not what I’m worried about.”
Her feet felt numb as they hit the pavement, and she stopped for a moment, scanning her surroundings before heading down a side road. Ezra and Ember followed, neither questioning her sense of direction. I almost wish they would.
“I’ve always been there with her when she does fight,” she continued softly. “I know she can handle herself, but what if she has to evolve to ultimate? What if I’m not there with her?”
She swallowed hard, forcing the lump in her throat back down. “She’s only been that far a couple times before. I don’t -” Her voice broke here and she brought an arm up to wipe at her eyes. “I know she can take care of herself. I know she’s more than capable. But if something happens…”
A heavy silence hung over the small group. Ezra and Ember said nothing, and Harmony couldn’t even bring herself to look over at them.
“If something happens, I need to be there with her.”
Sure, but she can handle herself, a voice in the back of her head said. She didn’t want me to come with her for a reason. Maybe she should just tough it out on her own and -
Harmony shook the thought away before it could take better hold. No. I’m not going to abandon her.
They passed by more Digimon as they walked, presumably ones who had just woken up - it was proper nighttime now, evidenced by the moon hanging higher in the sky and many of the clubs and bars around them flickering to life. The passing Digimon barely spared a glance towards the three as they made their way through the streets, as Harmony tried to sense - guess, more like - where her partner might be.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to guess for long.
“Hey, it’s Cam,” Ezra said, tapping Harmony’s shoulder and jerking a thumb across the street. Sure enough, there he was, standing just outside a store and peering in through the window. “Maybe we can ask him?”
Harmony blinked, then nodded. Better than nothing, I suppose. And he at least knows the city.
They altered their course and called out to him as they approached, and he whirled around, looking for a split second as if he was going to bolt - but when he saw them, he relaxed entirely, turning right back to the calm and collected wizard they’d met not even six hours ago.
What a strange six hours it had been.
(I wonder what that was about, though.)
“Hello,” he said, his eyes brightening as the three came to a stop in front of him, but they quickly narrowed as he no doubt noticed the anxiety on their own faces. “Is everything okay?”
“We need to find Ren,” Harmony said, unable to stop the panic creeping into her tone. “She evolved and she’s probably fighting someone and I need to be there with her, I can’t let her deal with it on her own, she -” She broke off with a cough to disguise the crack in her voice, but Cam didn’t seem to notice - or if he did, he didn’t comment.
“I saw her a while ago,” he said, and Harmony lit up. “She seemed to be in quite a hurry. Do you want me to show you -”
“Yes,” Harmony said, nodding rapidly, with Ezra and Ember murmuring their own assent. Cam returned Harmony’s nod and spun on his heel, heading back down the street the way they’d come.
“Did she say anything to you?” Ezra asked; beside him, Ember had to practically jog to keep up with the brisk pace the three humanoids were able to sustain. In any other situation Harmony would have been glad to slow down, but not when Ren was on her own, in a city she hated, evolved to champion, fighting god knows what.
“Nothing,” Cam said with a shake of his head. He looked over at Harmony. “How do you know she evolved?”
Right, they hadn’t explained the digivices to him. They hadn’t thought it necessary - they hadn’t thought it would come up. “She’s my partner,” Harmony said, and Cam nodded - they had told him this much. “She can evolve temporarily to fight. I have a - thing, that lets me know when she does, and it told me she did, but it can’t show me where she is and I’m -”
“You’re alright,” Cam said gently, eyes on the road ahead of him as they took a hard, sharp right. They were in the residential area now - closer to the outskirts than they had been earlier. “I suppose, if she’s fighting someone, the question is why.”
Indeed it was. A thought struck Harmony, and her face scrunched up. “How do you know where Ren went? Did you follow her?”
“I tried to,” he said. “She didn’t notice me. I just thought it was strange that she would be off on her own. I couldn’t follow her all the way, because - well, here we are.”
They took another turn, this time left, and… came face to face with the Haunted Forest. Harmony backpedaled a few steps, entirely involuntarily, and looked at Ezra and Ember, then Cam.
“…She went into the forest?” Ezra asked, frowning up at the trees.
“I think you can tell why I didn’t follow her,” Cam said, nodding.
Yeah, no shit. Harmony was wondering if it would even be worth it for her to follow.
She knew, she knew, that this forest was not like the Corroded Woodlands. She knew the fog was… a result of something else, and that the forest would be fine, and safe, even with Ren’s warning of “shady” Digimon hanging out in it.
…Maybe that was who she was fighting…
But looking at the forest, deep within, where the fog swirled even in the darkness cast by the lack of sun and the shade of the trees…
“Are you sure she went in here,” she said quietly.
Cam nodded. “I’m sure.”
“I…” She shook her head, reaching a hand up to dig into her hair. “I don’t… I’m sorry, it’s just…”
“What’s wrong?”
Harmony closed her eyes and breathed out. Then in. Then out again. Slowly. Count to ten.
“Two weeks ago,” she started, slowly, “we were led into the Corroded Woodlands by someone we trusted. I got separated from Ren. We didn’t get out until the next day. It…” She looked down at her feet. “It really messed with me. And I know this forest isn’t the same, but - the fog, and the shadows, and the fact that Ren is in there, fighting someone, it -”
She cut herself off with a snap of her teeth, looking at Cam only out of the corner of her eye.
For some reason, he looked strangely… guilty.
“Hey,” Ezra said, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. He smiled, hesitantly, but still smiled. “It’ll be okay. It’s not the same. We’ll be safe.”
Harmony’s nose wrinkled. “But what if we’re not?”
“You’ll have me.”
He extended a hand toward her, palm up, and she blinked at him, then set her hand in his. It was warm; were his hands always this warm?
But they weren’t as warm as the smile on his face, the light in his eyes, as he looked at her. He was holding her trust - her heart - in his hand, gentler than Harmony would have ever expected.
He’s asking a lot of me… but he’s never asked for anything else.
“Okay,” she said, and his smile brightened.
“Let’s go,” he said, looking down at Ember, who clenched his fists and nodded, and then at Cam, who gestured forward with his free hand. With Harmony’s hand in his, the four of them entered the forest, and not a moment too soon.
A distant voice called out, instantly recognizable, even if the forest hadn’t been illuminated by a bright blue light. “
“Oh shit,” Harmony blurted, her grip on Ezra’s hand faltering, but he tightened his fingers around hers and broke into a run, practically dragging Harmony along with him as they raced toward the fading blue glow.
A fallen tree blocked their path, and they had to stop in their tracks quite suddenly to avoid running straight into it. They made to walk around it, but something about it caught Harmony’s eye, and she resisted Ezra’s pull just enough for him to stop and turn to her.
Where the trunk had snapped in half was a strange, pulsating black energy, shifting and shimmering like a puddle of oil.
“That can’t be natural,” she murmured, about to follow up with something like “I wonder what caused it”, but her unspoken question was answered before she could ask it.
“
This voice - unfamiliar to everyone present - was much closer to them than Ren’s had been, and its owner was quickly made apparent when it pursued Ren as she dashed into view, tails flaming.
It was a very tall humanoid Digimon, clad in black and brown armor decorated with golden accents. Its face was protected by a lion-like helmet, with two red eyes on the helmet and two more on its face, peeking out from underneath. A pair of golden blade-like wings sprouted from its back, flared wide as it shot a blast of black energy at Ren from the end of the metal staff it carried.
The attack hit Ren squarely in the side and she growled, crumpling to the ground, just in front of Harmony. The lion Digimon watched her fall, its eyes scornful, and then it saw the four newcomers.
Harmony hadn’t even noticed Ezra pulling his digivice out and pointing it at the Digimon, so caught up with whatever the hell was going on, but it got her attention quick when it began to speak.
“Raihimon,” it said. “Ultimate level warrior Digimon. There are few who have seen this hero, and because it doesn't leave behind evidence of the opponents it has confronted, it is called the Guardian Emperor of Darkness.”
“What are you doing here,” Ren spat as she struggled to her feet, which really wasn’t the welcome Harmony had been expecting or hoping for.
“What the hell is going on?” Ezra said, giving Harmony’s hand one last squeeze before letting go and stepping forward. Ember moved with him, planting himself between Raihimon and his partner, squared up and ready to fight if need be.
“You called for backup,” Raihimon said to Ren, his lip curling. His eyes flicked between her and Harmony for a moment, before settling on Ember down at his feet. “Whatever. They shouldn’t be any more of a problem than you’ve been.”
The eyes on the lion mask began to glow red, and Raihimon bared his teeth. “
Red and orange light flashed, illuminating the surrounding area; Ember evolved just as Raihimon’s eyes shot two beams of energy directly at him, and he braced himself for the attack, teeth gritted.
“
“Ren?” Harmony said tentatively, stepping toward her partner, but Ren simply shook her head out and rounded on Raihimon as he took Ember’s attack fully in stride.
“
“
Ren’s fireballs were joined by a blast of lightning from Cam’s staff as he stepped up to bat. She looked momentarily confused when she noticed him fighting, but did not comment, focusing her full attention on Raihimon.
…Who wasn’t having any of this.
He looked frankly offended as Ren’s two new allies joined the fray, and he smacked Ren aside with his staff as he stared down at them. “I didn’t think this was your style,” he said, obviously speaking to Ren even without looking at her. “Can’t face me on my own, so you call for your new little friends. I should have seen it coming.”
“I didn’t call for them,” she growled, pushing herself to her feet. “I told them to stay away. It’s not my fault they didn’t listen.”
Something shot through Harmony’s throat, and she tried to reach out to Ren, despite knowing it wouldn’t do any good. What the hell was going on? Who was this? How did Ren know him? Why the fuck were they fighting?
“Ren? Are you okay?”
She didn’t answer, just stared Raihimon down even as his staff began to glow with another attack.
“
“
Raihimon whirled around, sidestepping both Ember and Cam’s attacks and pointing his staff at the former. “
The beam of black energy - the same that had been on the fallen log - hit Ember head on, and he was sent flying, crashing into a tree and landing on the ground in a crumpled heap. He groaned as he got to his feet, wobbling slightly, but he didn’t move immediately, if only because Ezra rushed to his side, helping him up and speaking to him in low tones.
Cam stepped closer to Ren, eyebrows pinched together, but similarly did not move. This left Ren and Harmony, directly in front of Raihimon, to his scrutiny, and scrutinize them he did.
“It seems like this one is awfully attached to you,” he said, looking at Harmony but once again speaking to Ren. “Made a new friend so easily? That’s not like you, Renamon. Or is it Ren now?” He grinned.
“Keep my name out of your mouth,” Ren spat, and Raihimon laughed.
Harmony’s brow furrowed, and then her eyes went wide.
It hit her like a gunshot from behind, piercing her heart. This was Ren’s friend. The one she’d talked about. The one who’d been here to Midnight City, and who was here, right now, fighting her, hitting her with attacks that he knew she couldn’t take.
“Why are you fighting,” she said, instead of any of the other things she wanted to say. Raihimon regarded her silently, but did not answer her, instead speaking to Ren once more.
“You moved on quickly. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”
“Stop talking,” Ren said, flames engulfing the front half of her body. She lunged for Raihimon before she even called her attack, though she was quick in following up with that. “
She managed to tackle Raihimon to the ground, and Ember swooped in as well, claws burning with flame. “
Raihimon shoved Ren off and pushed Ember back with his staff before getting to his feet. “
Raihimon turned on Ren, the end of his staff glowing.
“What the hell are you doing?” Harmony shouted, fists clenched, one still holding her digivice. “Why are you attacking her?”
“What does it matter to you?” he said. “We have unfinished business. I haven’t seen her in many years. You have no part in this.”
“Like hell I don’t!” Harmony glared up at him, a fury overtaking her. “She’s my best friend! I’m not going to let you keep hurting her like this for no reason!”
Raihimon’s eyes narrowed and he clicked his tongue. “No reason. Interesting.” He looked over at Ren, standing between him and Ezra and Ember behind her, tails flared but stock-still. “You haven’t told her who I am? Some best friend you are.”
“None of that matters!” Harmony said, before Ren could even open her mouth. “I don’t care who you are or what you think she’s done to deserve this but she doesn’t! She didn’t do anything! There’s no reason for any of this! Leave her alone!”
Fuck, everything that Harmony had been thinking throughout the evening - about Ren wanting to fight on purpose, about her being able to deal with it on her own, about how frustrating she’d been - all of that was out the window now. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Harmony scolded herself, trying to ignore the way her eyes were watering. She wouldn’t have done this purposefully. There’s no way she would have taken on an ultimate without being able to evolve further.
She must have known he was here, that must have been what she was talking to that Digimon about - that must be why she was acting so weirdly, why she went off on her own - she didn’t want to fight him, she wouldn’t have gone off on her own if she did -
“Harmony,” Ren said quietly, and Harmony chanced a look over at her partner. Her ears were pinned back, the flames on her paws and tail flickering, scattering embers in the wind. She didn’t look angry, or sad, or disappointed, or anything Harmony had been scared of; she just looked… something Harmony couldn’t put a name to, but it wasn’t something unpleasant. It was like some sort of understanding.
“She’s proving her worth to me,” Raihimon said, uncaring. “Proving to me that she is stronger than she was when we last met. That she is worthy. I’m doing her a favor.”
“She doesn’t need to prove jack shit to you!” Harmony cried. “She doesn’t need to be strong to be worthy! She already is!”
She always has been, from the moment I met her. She’s strong and worthy. But neither of those traits hinge on the other.
Raihimon was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking to himself as he stared down at Harmony. Then, he shrugged, amusement glowing in his eyes.
“Then let’s see how strong you are,” he said, the end of his staff beginning to glow with black energy again. “
Black and white light split the clearing as Harmony dove to avoid the attack, and when she looked again, Ren had evolved to ultimate and rushed at Raihimon, shoving him backward with a push of her brush.
“
“
The paintbrush’s symbol hit Raihimon in the chest and he staggered backward, but Ren wasn’t the only one to attack. Ember was still down, crouching in front of Ezra to protect him from Raihimon in case he got any more funny ideas, but Cam was standing with his staff pointed directly at the taller lion, determination shining in his eyes. From the end of his staff shone a pale yellow light, which coalesced into a swirling ball and then shot for Raihimon. It dissipated in a flash of light, and Raihimon hissed, wiping his face.
He didn’t even look over at Cam as he took a step toward where Ren stood, paintbrush angled in a way to protect Harmony behind her. Raihimon’s eyes were dark as he looked her over, then turned his attention to Harmony.
“I’m guessing she’s the reason you were able to evolve.” Ren did not respond, and Raihimon took this as a good enough answer on its own. “Having to rely on your allies in order to fight isn’t a good look. This was supposed to be a test of your strength.”
“They have helped me more than you ever have,” Ren spat, tail lashing.
“You never needed my help. You were fine on your own. You proved that when you left me.”
Ren snarled. “You’re the one who abandoned me.”
“Semantics,” Raihimon said, rolling his eyes, and Harmony felt something churn in her stomach. “I did you a favor. You would never have had the guts to leave me. You never really cared about me.”
He’s lying, Harmony thought. He just contradicted himself. What on earth is he trying to prove?
“Hey, I’m glad you guys are having fun leaping down each other’s throats,” Ezra said, standing up so he could look at Raihimon from behind Ember, “but what the fuck is going on?” He looked pointedly at Ren here, as if waiting for her response specifically, like he didn’t trust Raihimon to tell the truth.
I don’t either.
It was, however, Raihimon who responded. “I’ve told you,” he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. “This is between us only.” He didn’t wait for anyone else to speak before rounding on Ren again, tightening his grip on his staff. “
“
The two attacks collided midair and exploded in a burst of black and off-white light, but Raihimon didn’t let it stop him. “
“
“
Raihimon snarled as Ember and Cam’s attacks knocked him off balance, sending his attack veering off into the trees, and he wheeled around to face them, his eyes aglow with an unrestrained rage. “
Ember dodged to the side and Cam rolled forward, aiming his own staff up at Raihimon as he prepared to call out another attack, but Raihimon was quicker on the draw.
And Ren was, too.
“
“
“
Cam’s bolt of lightning missed entirely, and he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way of Raihimon’s attack, but fortunately Ren’s caught him off guard enough where he aimed just to the side of Cam. Raihimon hissed and turned to face her.
“Do not hurt my friends,” she growled, her ears flattened against her skull and her pupils pinprick-small.
Raihimon broke into a laugh, his eyes bright even in the darkness of the forest. “Your friends?” he mused, tapping his claws against his staff. “My, I didn’t know you could have friends.”
He’s fucking with her, Harmony realized. He knows we’re her friends, we’ve called each other that so many times. He’s trying to wear her down.
I won’t let him.
“Hey, asshole!” Harmony yelled, drawing both of the Digimon’s attention. “Ren’s been the best friend I could ever ask for! I wouldn’t have made it this far without her and that’s not just because she vowed to protect me! She’s loyal and devoted and she cares about everyone even if they upset her! ”
Harmony didn’t know Raihimon. She didn’t know anything about him other than he’d been Ren’s friend once, a long time ago, in some distant past. She didn’t know what had ended their friendship or why Raihimon had left or why he was so intent on fighting Ren.
But what she did know, even without actually knowing, was that none of it was Ren’s fault.
There was a sort of tightness in her chest as she shouted at Raihimon, telling him things that she knew were true and had always known were true but had never said out loud. How was one supposed to tell their best friend, their soulmate from another world, just how much they loved them, in so many more words? These thoughts had been swirling around her head for a long time but she had never spoken them aloud. Ren was never one for hearing things like this.
But she neededto hear them now, when she was faced with a ghost of her past, intent on telling her she didn’t deserve anything she had.
And you know who really did deserve a reality check?
Harmony took a step toward Raihimon and directed all of her anger, all of her festering rage and fury, into the glare she delivered up to him. “I don’t know what the hell you did to her to make her hate you, but you deserve it.”
He was silent for a moment, staring down at her with an unreadable expression, and then his face contorted with hatred. “Is that so,” he said, voice deathly quiet.
He looked over at Ren, whose own eyes shone with something unknown, and his staff erupted into black energy.
“Then I suppose if she won’t come back to me, I’ll just have to get rid of her,” he said. “
“
“
“
Ren’s talismans wrapped around Raihimon just moments after he shot his attack, and though they staggered him backward directly into Cam and Ember’s attacks, the blast of energy hit Ren directly in the chest. She cried out and dropped to her knees, clutching her paintbrush tightly but obviously in no position to attack again.
When the blue flames dissipated from around Raihimon, he spun around to pick Ember up and throw him to the side. Ezra yelped and rushed after him, kneeling by his side but staying far from Raihimon.
Raihimon didn’t even bother very hard with Cam; he smacked the blunt end of his staff into his stomach, sending him tumbling backward to fall onto the ground, and then he turned on Ren again, who still had not stood up.
Harmony stepped forward to stand between him and her partner.
Raihimon arched one brow down at her, clearly smirking. “What do you think you can do against me?”
I don’t know, but I have to do something.
Ren would do the same for me. She has done the same for me. Because she loves me.
And I love her too. And if we’re going to die here, I need her to know it.
But even as these thoughts crossed Harmony’s mind, she knew, deep in her heart, that they were not going to die. Just as she’d known it when Baalmon had held her by the throat and threatened her life, she knew that she would not die, and neither would Ren.
Harmony squared her stance and stared up at Raihimon, unwavering, unmoving, even against him.
“I don’t know,” she said simply, and he rumbled a laugh. “And I don’t care. Whatever you do to me, it won’t change the fact that you never deserved her.”
Raihimon blinked, and his eyes narrowed. “You don’t know her as well as you think you do,” he said, and then he raised his spear to point directly at Harmony. “
He was cut off by a white light from behind him, and then he was thrown to the ground by a blast that nearly knocked Harmony off her feet as she raised her arms to shield her face.
At first she thought Ember had evolved to ultimate and rushed forward to attack Raihimon, but when the light cleared, she saw - everyone saw - that that was not the case. Raihimon snarled and turned to see what had attacked, but he was given pause by the Digimon that was revealed as the light faded.
It was a tall humanoid Digimon, clad in silver and gold armor over an indigo bodysuit. A pointed light purple hat covered its eyes, and down its back flowed a cape of the same lavender color. In one hand it gripped a flaming sword; in the other, a crystal ball swirling with a strange misty energy, not unlike the fog that clung to the ground around them. It lifted its head as it glared down at Raihimon, evident even without visible eyes, and gripped its sword tighter.
It was unmistakably Cam.
How he’d managed to evolve was impossible to determine, and also the least of their worries at the moment, as he pointed his sword down at Raihimon.
“You are without honor,” he said, the orb in his other hand swirling more fiercely as he spoke. “You attack with no reason nor integrity. I grant you the chance to rectify this behavior. It would be wise to concede.”
“Wisdom is not a trait I value,” Raihimon spat, shoving himself to his feet. “You weren’t supposed to get involved. This was supposed to be between Renamon and I. We were going to deal with things on our own. You’ve ruined everything.”
“We have protected her,” Cam said, not moving even as Raihimon came to stand mere inches from his face. “She is our friend. We will not permit you to hurt her any longer.”
Raihimon laughed humorlessly. “I’ve hurt her enough over the course of her life, what’s one more night going to do?”
Cam did not speak. Harmony dared a look over her shoulder at Ren; she’d stood up and was watching the confrontation with a knit brow and thrashing tail. She caught Harmony’s eye and inclined her head almost imperceptibly.
Harmony blinked, and then stepped to the side.
Finally, Cam dipped his head. “If that is what you wish.
“
The fire on Cam’s blade flared even brighter as he slashed across Raihimon’s chest, and where his blade touched it left behind flickering flames. Raihimon’s own attack, even despite how close it was shot, managed to push Cam back a good few feet, but he remained upright and it clearly had much less of an effect than it did when he had been champion level.
Harmony switched on the analyzer on her digivice and aimed it at Cam, struggling a bit as he fought, but eventually her digivice spoke. “Mystimon. Ultimate level magic warrior Digimon. In addition to mastering various forms of sorcery, it is also well-versed in chivalry and swordsmanship.”
She felt something rush past her and saw Ren dashing for Raihimon, painting in the air as she did. “
“
She bared her teeth and raised her arms, unfettered by her position. “
“
“
The talismans that wrapped around Raihimon would have been enough to shove him off of Ren on their own, but the addition of Ember’s flaming pounce and Cam’s crystal ball, glowing with an ardent energy and launched directly at Raihimon, shoved him so far backward that he crashed into a tree just beyond Ren. Harmony steeled herself, her feet firmly planted on the ground, and caught Ezra’s eye from across the clearing. He nodded at her once, curtly, then turned his attention to his partner, and Harmony followed suit with her own.
Raihimon shoved himself up, but he wavered slightly as he stood, having to use his staff to steady himself. Ren stepped toward him, paintbrush drawn, and Cam stood just beside her, his own sword primed for an attack. Ember braced himself, his wings flared and ready for takeoff as the fire on his mantles flickered.
Raihimon glowered at each of them in turn, and for a moment it seemed as if he would attack again - but he didn’t. In an instant all the vitriol was gone from his face, and he smiled at Ren, even without a visible mouth. It was insincere, Harmony knew, but somehow it reached his eyes.
“I think you’ve proven yourself,” he said, and Harmony felt dread creep into her stomach. “Very well done. Even if you did have to rely on these new… ‘friends’ of yours. I’m sorry for all of this.”
“If you think that means anything to me, you’re wrong,” Ren said, voice even. She lifted her chin. “I know what you want from me. You will not get it. You can’t be forgiven for what you’ve done. You tried to hurt me and my partner. You abandoned me, all those years ago. All because you didn’t think I was worth your time anymore.”
Her face remained unchanged as she spoke, her mouth being the only thing to move, but something in her eyes was definitely different.
Raihimon’s grin seemed to widen. “I knew that wouldn’t get you.” His eyes darted to Harmony for a moment before resettling on Ren. “I’m not sorry at all. Not for tonight, and not for back then. I’d do it all over again if I had the chance, if only to see the look on your face when you realized I’m leaving for good.”
Ren inhaled sharply, and for a moment - for a single split second - Harmony thought that she would attack again. She could so easily overpower him, with help from Cam and Ember, or even without.
The last time they had been in a situation like this, she hadn’t given up until Harmony had screamed so loud she’d almost felt her throat rip apart.
But this time, she didn’t. Her shoulders tightened, and her lip pulled back a fraction of an inch, but she did not otherwise move nor attack.
“It wouldn’t matter to me now,” she said. “The friends I have now mean far more to me than you ever did.”
Raihimon blinked slowly, almost like a cat, and then nodded. “I never want to see you again,” he said, and Ren’s eyes narrowed, as if she had had the same thought. “You’re of no more use to me. I really thought I could get you back. Oh well.”
Raising his unoccupied hand to show he would not attack, he stepped around Ren and began to walk back toward the city. He paused after a few steps, looking back over his shoulder at Harmony.
“Watch out for her,” he said, and Harmony glared at him. “I may have started things, but she’s the one who ended them.”
Without another word, he turned and left, disappearing into the trees and mist until he was entirely out of sight.
Harmony had never been more glad to see someone walk away.
Behind her, white light illuminated the clearing, and she turned to see the Digimon devolve, replaced by their rookie forms. They were exhausted; the fight had taken a lot out of them, both physically and mentally, and even Ember, who hadn’t made it to ultimate, practically collapsed on the ground alongside the other two.
…Yes, two.
Harmony blinked, and practically felt her jaw fall off her face as the white light faded away from Cam and revealed… well, a very familiar face. One she hadn’t expected to see again. One she hadn’t wanted to see again.
Impmon blinked, as surprised by this turn of events as she and Ezra and Ember and Ren were, and his eyes went wide.
Well, that would explain why he looked so guilty earlier, I guess…
He couldn’t speak, simply stared around at the four of them, still knelt on the ground. Ren, the one closest to him, narrowed her eyes.
She didn’t say anything as she knelt down to offer him a paw. Impmon - Cam? - blinked up at her, and then placed his gloved hand in hers.
“This isn’t what it looks like, I swear,” he said, flustered, as he stood up. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation! I’m sorry for leading you into the woods and I’m sorry for lying to ya and I’m sorry for not telling ya who I was and I’m -”
“Shut up,” Ren said, but there was no malice in her tone. Impmon or Cam or whatever did as she commanded, his mouth snapping shut as he stared up at her. Ren crossed her arms and closed her eyes; when she spoke again, it was gentler than Harmony expected, softer.
“Thank you.”
She didn’t say anything else, merely looked at Harmony for confirmation, before turning and walking back to the city. Cam watched her leave, bewilderment clear on his face, and Harmony couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s as good as an apology accepted from her,” she said, and Cam turned to her.
He frowned in confusion, then looked back to where Ren had disappeared to. “I’m - I really am sorry,” he said, his tail flicking behind him. Next to Harmony, Ezra and Ember came up to stand beside her, and Cam looked up at them too. “I just wanted to have a bit of fun with ya, but after I led you into the woods I felt really guilty and then I evolved into Wizardmon and I named myself like you named your partners and then tonight I realized I couldn’t let ya die and then I evolved again and -”
“Hey, what was that about apology accepted?” Ezra said, folding his arms and grinning. “The woods were easy peasy for us. Harmony and Moxie were the only ones who got hit by the fog, and they kissed and made up in the end.”
“We did not,” Harmony said, but she felt herself flush anyway, and she scowled at Ezra. He laughed and then looked down at Cam again, who just looked more confused now.
“You’re fine,” he said, kneeling down for a moment to pat him on the head. “Just don’t do it again, yeah?”
“I promise!” Cam said, pounding his fist into his palm. “I’m a changed mon, ya hear me? I ain’t never gonna hurt anyone ever again! It feels so much better to save ‘em!”
“That’s the spirit!” Ember said, pumping his own fists. “But we should probably get a move on, I don’t want Ren to run into Raihimon up ahead in her rookie form.”
“If we see him again, I’ll give him the biggest whoopin’ he’s ever had,” Cam said, lifting his chin. “Doesn’t matter if I’m a rookie again! He’ll regret ever messin’ with me and my friends!”
Harmony smiled again as they headed out after Ren. She hadn’t ever thought they’d see Impmon again, but this certainly wasn’t the worst way to come across him. The signs were there all along. I just didn’t notice them.
I’m glad he seems to have come around. Much more quickly than Raihimon, and he didn’t even really come around at all.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Raihimon, actually. Everything he’d said, everything Ren had said… the truth of their friendship…
Even if neither of them had been particularly clear on the details, she could piece it together well enough.
Raihimon abandoned Ren because he grew bored of her - because he didn’t think she was worth his time anymore. And whether that’s actually true, or it was his plan all along to leave her, he knew he was in the wrong. And he didn’t care. He still doesn’t.
Ren has been carrying that with her for all these years and for the entire time we’ve known each other. That’s a lot to hold in.
And yet not once had she ever taken it out on Harmony. She’d never shown even a fraction of it, even in her darkest moments.
It gave their conversation from the night Dollie died a lot more weight in Harmony’s heart.