EPISODE 37 - NEVER BORN TO FIGHT
As night settled over the city, coating the sky in a fresh shade of star-speckled indigo, the poolyard of the motel came to life.
The group was gathered outside, shivering in the cool breeze that brushed past them as they put on their sweaters and sat down for dinner. Quinn had brought sandwiches from the nearby supermarket for them all, and as they passed the food around and chatted with each other idly, she spoke to Azure about something just a few feet away.
She’d called them all here to tell them what she’d learned from Macy. As Azure had asked, she’d spoken to her earlier in the day - twice, actually - and now, finally, had a bit more information on what was happening. Harmony tilted her head over at the two of them as she took a bite of her sandwich, infinitely curious as to what they had learned.
Other than the obvious Barbamon, there had been a couple other emergents that had appeared throughout the day - a Sethmon that Ko had dealt with earlier, an Airdramon that Ember had fought off, a Gesomon that Flip had beaten, a Deltamon that Pop and Bumble had to wrangle together. None of them had been particularly notable, at least compared to Barbamon, but the Sethmon and Deltamon fights had had witnesses. Thankfully, Airdramon being airborne meant that Ember was able to take care of it high in the sky with his own wings, and Gesomon had appeared in a river hidden deep in some untouched land off to the south, so they hadn’t been spotted.
Quinn and Alpha had shown up to assist Azure and Ko with the Barbamon fight, but other than that, they’d been hard to find all day. Quinn had said she was busy dealing with something else, but hadn’t divulged past that, simply promising she’d tell them soon. Sure enough, here they were.
On the table next to her, Ren - still in her in-training form - sighed and poked her half sandwich. Harmony looked over at her, and Ren met her gaze.
“What’s wrong?” Harmony said.
Ren sniffed and flicked an ear. “I’m not hungry.”
“Uh-huh,” Harmony said, not buying it. “It’s turkey, cheese, lettuce, and bread. You like all of those. I know it’s almost as big as you are, but you should at least eat a little bit.”
Ren frowned up at her, looking incredibly put out. “I told you I’m not hungry,” she said huffily, pulling her paws in and sitting down properly. “You can save it and I’ll eat it later. But I’m not hungry right now.”
She looked down at the table beneath her feet, the frown not leaving her face. Harmony felt her own mouth tug downwards, but she forced it to remain neutral. Ren had been feeling off all day, she knew, and she’d tried talking to her about it, but just like always, she’d brushed her off and said she was fine. Honestly, it was getting a little annoying. She’d pulled this exact same thing last month in Midnight City, and though there’d ended up being a valid reason for it, it didn’t change the fact it was infuriating to no end. They’d known each other for three months now! Surely she had to be over this “oh it’s nothing you wouldn’t understand” stunt she kept pulling over and over.
Harmony bit back a sigh and watched as Ren continued to stare downward. She just had to hope she’d feel better soon, because she really didn’t want to start a fight with her while surrounded by the entire group (or ever, really, but you get the point).
Thankfully, any further discussion between them was curtailed by Azure, Ko, and Quinn finally joining the rest of the group. Alpha, seated underneath one of the tables, flicked an ear as they approached, but didn’t otherwise move; the rest of the group, on the other hand, perked up so instantly it was almost comical.
Quinn took a deep breath in and crossed her arms as Azure took a seat. She looked around at the group, her eyes trailing over each of them. “I talked to Macy,” she started, and Harmony subconsciously nodded in acknowledgment. “Twice. Once earlier today, and then again after the Barbamon fight.”
“What did she say?” Miguel said, tightening his hold on Flip, seated in his lap.
“Not much,” Quinn said, sorrow lacing her tone. “She’s still hesitant to say anything. Can’t remember a lot of the details anyway. But she told me what she knows.” She bit her lip, looking down at the concrete under her feet. “They… her group did fight the Demon Lords. And they were led by the Archangels.”
“The Demon Lords?” Alex echoed, frowning. He’d been acting a little more like himself today, but there was still something distant in his gaze and voice, almost akin to regret, as he looked up at Quinn. “That’s what Lilithmon and Barbamon were. What are they?”
“I don’t know exactly,” Quinn said. “They were a group of very powerful demonic Digimon that Macy’s group fought in the past. Macy’s group - the Archangels’ army - won the war against the Demon Lords. They were all defeated. I have no clue how they’re back now.”
Moxie propped her chin up with a fist. “Maybe they’re completely different Digimon who just took on the title of Demon Lord?”
“Hey, yeah,” Dare said. “Lilithmon and Barbamon were both Digimon we encountered before in lower levels. Wouldn’t they just have evolved into their Demon Lord forms?”
“That’s not how groups of that nature work,” Alpha said, raising his voice to be heard from under the table. With a suppressed sigh, he pushed himself up and emerged from underneath, turning to dip his head at the group. “I don’t expect any of you to know about the Legendary Warriors, but I’ll use them as an example. They were a group of ten Digimon who protected the Digital World thousands of years ago. AncientGreymon, AncientGarurumon, so on and so forth. Though there have been other AncientGreymon since then, the AncientGreymon of the Legendary Warriors was the only one who was considered a Legendary Warrior. All other AncientGreymon are entirely unrelated.”
He paused, looking up at Quinn, and when she nodded at him, he continued. “There are seven Digimon comprising the Demon Lords, one representing each deadly sin. Like with the Legendary Warriors, though there are surely other Lilithmon and Barbamon in the Digital World, the ones that we have encountered are those of the Demon Lords.”
“How do you know that for certain?” Ryan said, leaning back in his chair. “Couldn’t it just be a coincidence that we’ve fought two Digimon who are the same species as the Demon Lords?”
“Lilithmon’s analyzer reading said she was a Demon Lord type,” Castor added. He looked somewhat lost in thought, as if something Alpha had said had caused his train of thought to half-derail, but he shook his head out. “Isn’t that proof enough that she was one of them?”
“No and no,” Alpha said, looking from Ryan to Castor in turn. “Digimon types don’t factor into the groups they’re a part of. The Three Musketeers are each different types, the Legendary Warriors were all considered ‘ancient’ types but were entirely different otherwise, and so on. A Digimon can be a Demon Lord type, but not actually be part of the Demon Lords, such as Bagramon.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Ryan said, and Harmony could see Alpha have to physically resist the urge to roll his eyes. She smiled faintly.
“That’s what I was going to add,” Quinn said, holding a hand up. “Something else I learned about the Demon Lords, both from Macy and from the Barbamon fight today, is that they get their power from sigils called Code Keys. From what we know so far, they seem to manifest as small orbs of light that the Demon Lords can hold, and use to…” She trailed off, searching for a way to phrase whatever she was going to say next, or possibly just debating whether to say it at all. “…Turn Digimon manic.”
“Like what happened with Bunny?” Anna said, looking up at Quinn from where she sat at the opposite side of the table. In her arms, Bunny - in her in-training form, and ridiculously small compared to even her usual form - glanced up at her, her ear tendrils drooping slightly. Anna’s brow furrowed. “Plutomon used a blue glowy thing to turn her manic for a couple seconds. Is he one of the Demon Lords?”
“That’s another thing,” Quinn said, shaking her head. “He’s not. Or, at least, he shouldn’t be. I have no idea how he came into possession of a Code Key, whether he’s given it back to whichever Demon Lord it belonged to, or how they even came back.”
“Is it really not possible that it’s just a second coming of the group?” Harmony said, almost without even realizing she’d spoken. “I get what Alpha is saying, but if there’s other Digimon of the Demon Lord type, then couldn’t they have just formed, like, a second version of the Demon Lords?”
“They wouldn’t have actually been the Demon Lords without Code Keys,” Alpha said, drumming his claws along the ground. “Which were, supposedly, destroyed along with the original Demon Lords. So it doesn’t make sense why or how they’re suddenly back.”
“Or how Plutomon had them in the first place,” Quinn said, putting her chin in her hand. “Or why the Demon Lords seemingly only evolved into their Demon Lord forms recently.”
“Moving on, though,” Alpha said, and Harmony felt a twinge of regret that they couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with Plutomon and the Demon Lords. “I - we - believe it’s likely that the rest of the Demon Lords will be showing up over the next few days. They aren’t manic, but they’re still working for Plutomon, and shouldn’t be trusted. They can’t be reasoned with. Additionally, though, there’ll still be manic Digimon coming through which we’ll have to deal with.” He paused, looking up and around at each of the group in turn. “We still don’t know exactly what’s going on, but we have a little more information. We’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Be sure to get some sleep tonight,” Quinn said. “There’s been a lot more Digimon today than there have been the past few days, and I think that trend’s going to continue. Make sure you’re well-rested for tomorrow just in case you have to deal with any emergents.”
With that, she dismissed the group, letting them continue eating or chat with each other or head inside to go to sleep early. Harmony and Ren remained at the table, Ren still poking at her sandwich and Harmony sneaking glances at her every now and then.
Something’s clearly bothering her, she thought. But if she’s not going to talk to me about it, I can’t help her. I just have to wait until she’s had enough and tries to do something about it.
Anna and Bunny still sat at the other side of the table, both equally quiet. Harmony looked over at them, and to her surprise, Anna caught her gaze. Harmony blinked, taking her chin out of her hand and smiling at her. Anna didn’t return the gesture, but she tilted her head in what Harmony could only assume was an equivalent.
“How are you?” Harmony asked, ignoring the way Ren’s tail twitched at the sound of her voice. “You’ve been kinda quiet tonight.” It was true that Anna was usually quiet, but something about her silence was different this time, though Harmony couldn’t determine exactly how.
Anna looked down at Bunny in her lap for a moment, then shrugged and looked back up. “We’re - I’m alright,” she said. “Just… kinda worried. About the Demon Lords.” She hesitated for a second, her brow creasing, and then she sighed. “I mean… if the Code Keys are what turn Digimon manic, and if they have them… what if they try to turn our Digimon again?”
“I don’t think they can,” Harmony said, and Anna’s shoulders loosened almost imperceptibly. “Plutomon tried it with Bunny and he said he resisted it, right? And Barbamon tried it today with Ko, and that didn’t work either. I don’t know how, but it seems like our Digimon are immune.”
“That’s weird, though,” Anna said, shuddering slightly. “We still don’t know what’s going on. With anything. Plutomon or the Demon Lords or the Code Keys or the Archangels. We don’t know anything.”
“We know some of it,” Harmony said, doing her best to sound reassuring and more confident than she really felt. “We’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out eventually. For now, we’ll just do our best with what we do know.”
“But what if we’re missing something?” Anna met Harmony’s gaze again, her own blue eyes reflecting the dull lamps scattered around the poolyard, turning them amber in the light. “What if it’s something really important? What if we don’t find it out and we lose because of it?” She looked down at her hands, curling the fingers into fists and then closing her eyes. “I keep feeling like we’re missing something really important. But I don’t know what it is. Or how to figure out what it is.”
“Don’t get too caught up about it,” Ren said quietly, and Harmony blinked in surprise. “Harmony’s right. We’re going to be okay. You won’t do yourself any good worrying about something you can’t change.”
Anna frowned, and, entirely accidentally, Harmony mirrored her expression as she looked down at Ren. She still hadn’t touched her sandwich, having brushed it away with her tail as the two of them had talked, and her eyes were fixed firmly on Anna’s, unwavering in their intensity.
“We’ll be alright,” Harmony said, trying to smooth over some of the dissonance left by Ren’s words. She pushed herself up from her seat, scooping Ren into her arms and smiling down at Anna. “Goodnight. Get some good sleep.”
“I’ll try,” Anna murmured, and despite the dismissal, Harmony’s smile widened as she headed into the motel room.
She laid down on her side of the bed she had been sharing with Moxie, letting go of Ren so she could curl up beside her. She was the only one in the room at the moment; it was only around 10 PM, and she hadn’t had a particularly tiring day, but there wasn’t really anything else she could do at the moment. Besides, she and Moxie and Damien had all agreed to go out and get lunch together in the afternoon tomorrow, and she wanted to be properly rested in preparation.
…Even if she was more likely to just lie awake for hours on end worrying about Ren.
She bit the inside of her mouth, turning onto her side to face the edge of the bed and away from Ren. She felt her partner’s steady breathing against her back and held back a sigh, both from not wanting to disturb her and not wanting her to think she was upset.
I’m not upset. I just wish she’d talk to me. We’ve known each other for three months. She knows how badly things went last time she was acting like this, and she knows how much better everything was once she talked to me.
Harmony resigned herself to her situation, closing her eyes finally. Whatever. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow. And I won’t let her weasel her way out of it. I’m going to sit her down and force her to tell me what’s wrong even if it’s the last thing she wants to do.
Even if she gets mad at me for it.
…Even if she never tells me.
Harmony had fitful dreams that night, filled with demons hiding in the darkness and glowing crystals and her best friend refusing to look her in the eye.
Come afternoon, Harmony, Ren, Moxie, and Damien were seated at a table on the patio of the cafe they had stopped at for lunch. It was, indeed, only the four of them sitting there; Pop and Bumble, both having evolved up to rookie, were too large to pass off as stuffed animals, and they instead sat on the roof of the building far out of view of unaware passerby.
It helped that they had a high vantage point - the group had learned, over the past few days, that their digivices weren’t always the best at letting them know when an emergent had appeared, and seemed to only have a range of about three miles. At the moment, Miguel and Flip were both out near the ocean, dealing with a Coelamon, while Castor and Ember were fighting something called Dinohumon. Harmony was eternally grateful that they were all on other sides of town, and that she and Moxie and Damien would be able to enjoy their lunch fully.
She still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Ren, what with not wanting to make a scene in front of the others (or in public), so she’d elected to push it to the back of her mind. She felt she could be allowed to have fun! It had been a while since she had. Sure, she’d gotten coffee with Moxie just a few days ago, and that had been nice, but…
Harmony sighed, propping her cheek up with a fist as she swirled ice around in her glass. Their food hadn’t arrived yet, but she wasn’t too hungry, and was content to sip her iced tea while she waited - but of course, that wasn’t what was really on her mind.
“I wish I could talk to my parents,” she said after the previous topic had dwindled. “Just call them and let them know I’m okay. They’re probably worried sick about me.”
She’d never been away from her parents for longer than seventy-two hours in a row - never in her entire life. They weren’t controlling; she’d just never had a reason (or any particular desire) to be gone for that amount of time. And now here she was, nearly four months deep into her newfound destiny to save the world from monsters from another dimension, and she hadn’t spoken to them at all in the interim.
Even if it hadn’t been four months for them, it had still been four days since the group had come back to this world, which equaled to longer than seventy-two hours.
I know I’d be worried if I was in their position.
Damien, however, seemed to disagree. He snorted, setting his soda down and stretching his arms up above his head. “Or maybe they don’t care.”
Instantly Moxie reached over to smack him on the arm, glaring daggers at him with her mouth drawn tight. “You asshole, of course they do! Don’t be a dick!”
“Calm down, it was just a joke,” he said, raising one eyebrow at Moxie, then turning to look at Harmony, whose stomach had curdled upon hearing his “joke”. “You know that, right?”
She did. Even so, it didn’t make her feel any better. “I do,” she said, curling her hands into fists and rubbing her hands together. “…It wasn’t very funny.”
Damien blinked, and - surprisingly - his face returned to a neutral position. Maybe even somewhat sympathetic, if the ever so slight pursing of his lips was any indication. “…I’m sorry.”
…Huh. That was surprising, too. Harmony knew well (from talking with both Moxie and Azure) that Damien didn’t typically do apologies, but… here he was, apologizing for upsetting her.
Take it or leave it, I guess…?
“He’s never very funny,” Ren muttered from her position in Harmony’s lap. She smiled, patting her head gently, and then looked back up at the twins.
“What about you two?” she said, blithely changing the subject, and Moxie and Damien were thankfully willing to go along with it.
“What about us?” Moxie asked, tilting her head.
Harmony shrugged and gestured around her head with a hand. “Just… well, assuming we stop you-know-who from doing whatever he’s trying to do, and we save the world - which I’m sure we will, but, you know - after that, ideally we’ll all go home.” She paused, lowering her arm back down onto the table. “But what about you two? You live in New York, right? How are you going to get home? …What happens to you after all this?”
Moxie and Damien were quiet for a few long seconds, looking not at each other but also not at Harmony. Moxie cast her gaze downward; Damien tilted his head back and stared up at the sky.
…I feel like I shouldn’t have said anything…
For the third time that day, Damien surprised her, being the first to speak up. “You’re the first one to ask us about that.”
Harmony blinked. “About how you’ll get home?”
“That,” Damien said, “and just what our home here was like in general. We haven’t brought it up since we met you. I’m surprised you remember.”
“Of course I remember,” she said, trying desperately not to look too obviously at Moxie. “You said you’re from New York. How are you going to go back home after this?” Will you go home at all?
She didn’t ask it aloud, but she certainly thought it.
I know there’s something going on with their home life, but they’ve never really talked about it. Maybe their parents kicked them out? They said the Digital World was their home, but… surely that was just because they couldn’t leave, right?
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Moxie said, keeping her voice cheerful even as her face betrayed her. “We’ll figure it out together. It’ll be fine.” Damien nodded, but added nothing of his own.
Their conversation was cut short by their food arriving. Harmony had ordered a garden burger, while Damien had gotten a roast beef sandwich and Moxie had opted for a Caesar salad. Harmony snuck fries and pieces of her patty down to Ren as they ate, who was mostly content to sit in her lap and be hand-fed. I certainly would be if I was her, she thought to herself with a faint smile. (Pop and Bumble, still on the roof, had been satiated with the promise that Moxie and Damien would save some of their food and take it to go for them.)
They made more idle chit chat as they ate, in a way that would have seemed almost normal if they weren’t in this city and situation because they were fighting monsters. Harmony had spent plenty of time with Moxie over the past few months, and even some time with Damien (though not all of it had been friendly - she still remembered the look he’d given her, all those months ago, back in Under Forest), but now, they were able to act like real teenagers. Talking about school, and their extracurriculars, and telling stories they hadn’t had the chance to share before now. It was pleasant, really. Even Ren chipped in every now and then whenever she had a snarky comment, which to be fair was pretty typical of her, but the fact she was saying anything at all took a huge weight off Harmony’s shoulders.
Things couldn’t be perfect forever, though. Soon enough, when they were almost finished eating, a series of beeping noises sounded from their pockets. In sync, the three humans each pulled their digivices out, only to be met by their maps open and a white dot blinking into view not far enough away.
“Oh,” Moxie mumbled, face falling. “I guess we -”
“I’ll go,” Damien cut in, pushing himself back from the table and standing up. Harmony glanced up at him, tilting her head. He caught her eye and gave her a pointed look, before stepping aside and pushing his chair in. “You two keep having fun.”
“Are you sure?” Moxie said, brow furrowed. “You don’t have to do it.”
Damien shook his head, pulling his sunglasses down over his face. “Nah, I’ll be fine.” It was hard to tell through the tinted shades, but - Harmony could have sworn he winked at her. “If you leave before I get back, give me a call.”
He turned to walk away, not looking back but lifting his arm high above his head and motioning forward with his hand. Harmony turned to look up at the roof of the building just in time to see Bumble lift off, kicking into the air and hovering high above, following Damien as he headed down the street.
“He’s being nice today,” she said, commenting sidelong to Moxie as she watched him leave. In her lap, Ren sniffed, her ears flicking back.
“I know,” Moxie said, resting her chin in her hands. “It’s weird. Something must have gotten into him.”
“I was going to say Ryan must have given him a talking-to the other day,” Harmony said, “but then I remembered it would be more likely for it to be the other way around.”
Moxie laughed, covering her mouth with one hand. “Damien? Giving anyone a talking-to? Maybe in my dreams. They probably just sat together in silence and telepathically agreed to be nice to us.”
“That makes more sense,” Harmony agreed with a nod, and Moxie laughed again.
They wrapped up their meal shortly after, paying and leaving a decent tip, then packing up their food (as promised) and calling Damien (as requested). Harmony placed Ren on her shoulder in order to carry their boxes, while Moxie fished her digivice back out of her pocket and waited for Damien to pick up.
When he didn’t even after a few rings, she frowned and faltered in her step for a moment, poking at the device. “He usually picks up immediately,” she mumbled, and Harmony inched closer to look at the screen. The call was still ringing, but he hadn’t accepted, and a few seconds later, it automatically ended.
“They might still be fighting,” she said, trying to assuage Moxie’s worries, but her expression didn’t change. She pressed the yellow button to dial him again, and this time - after a few long, anxious rings - he picked up.
“Hey,” he said, his voice slightly muffled. “Sorry. We’re still in the middle of things here.”
“Do you need some backup?” Moxie asked, craning her head upwards to look at where Pop flew, high above their heads, looking like a completely normal bird from that far away. “We just finished eating. We can come find you.”
Damien snorted. “It’s alright, we’ve got it. Almost finished up. If you do wanna come find us, feel free, but we’ll be - watch it!”
He cut himself off suddenly, and then a distant crash was heard. If Harmony strained, she could just barely make out someone - presumably Bumble - shouting “sorry!”, before there was another crash and a groan from Damien.
“We’ll hopefully be wrapping up shortly,” he said, “if these fuckers decide to stop throwing cars all over the place.”
Moxie’s eyebrows shot up on her face. “There’s two of them? I thought there was only one dot -”
“Just one,” Damie said. “But Bumble seems to think it’s a good tactic, too. Least he’s not throwing quite so many.”
Harmony’s nose wrinkled as her mouth twisted into a smile, and Moxie closed her eyes, placing her free hand on her forehead. “I’m glad you’re doing okay,” she said. “We’re on our way. I know you said you don’t need backup, but maybe we’ll arrive in time for Pop to actually get a hit in.”
“Or me,” Ren said, quietly enough from her position on Harmony’s opposite shoulder that she went unheard by both Moxie and Damien. Harmony’s brows threatened to furrow in a frown, but she held them back, instead turning to the digivice.
“Sounds good,” Damien said. “Later.”
“See you in a bit!” Harmony said, smiling even though she knew he couldn’t see it. Moxie murmured her own goodbyes, then hung up (or rather, Damien hung up just as she was about to, and her jaw dropped in mock offense).
The taller girl stretched her arms out, rolling her shoulders back. “That was surprisingly easy. Thought I was going to have to fight him to let us come help.”
“Are we actually going to help?” Harmony asked, finally letting that frown come onto her face. “He said they’re almost done. I don’t think we’ll even get there in time.”
“Well, yes,” Moxie said, nodding, “but in the case that we do, we should help them out, yeah? Even if Pop only lands one hit before it’s over, it’s better than nothing. I was just expecting him to tell us to stay put and that they’d come find us when they were done.”
They came to a stop at an intersection, waiting for the pedestrian light to flash, when Ren finally spoke up. “It wouldn’t be just Pop fighting.”
Harmony bit the inside of her lip. She knew that tone of voice. She knew what Ren was getting at, why she had been so frustrated all day, the whole week actually, and she knew that if she ignored it, it was just going to get worse - but why here? Why now?
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Moxie started, holding her hands up, but Harmony placed her own hand on them to lower them back down.
“No, go on,” she said, glancing at Ren out of the corner of her eye at the same time as she felt that familiar sort of frustration bubble up within her. The sign across the street lit up, and the three of them started forward again. “This is why you’ve been quiet all day, right? Because you haven’t gotten to fight anything recently?”
“That’s not it,” Ren muttered, frowning. “But if we’re heading towards an emergent Digimon, it’s stupid to assume that Pop is the only one of us who can fight.”
“She’s the only one in rookie form,” Harmony said. She was trying to keep her voice as steady as possible, but she couldn’t keep it from wavering entirely. “She is the only one who can fight. Unless you want to, like, headbutt whatever it is, which doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.”
“I can fight,” Ren insisted, sounding almost as if she wanted to stomp her foot. “In-training Digimon have attacks. Even if they’re not very effective, they’ll still do something. I have to do something.”
Harmony took a very long, deep, strenuous breath in, not responding immediately, as she closed her eyes. God, I really don’t want to be doing this right now.
“I’m sure you’ll get your chance soon,” Moxie said, leaning forward slightly to get a better look at Ren. She gave a small smile, one eyebrow raised. “Bunny also hasn’t had the chance. You’ll both get it eventually. And again, I’m not really expecting us to need to step in when we get there, so it’s not like Pop’s going to be doing anything either.”
Harmony felt her stomach sink into her feet. She knew Moxie was just trying to reassure Ren, and she was grateful for it - it made another genre of feeling well up within her chest, one that she elected to ignore for the time being - but the actual implications of her words were… not pleasant.
She’s going to have to fight eventually, she reasoned with herself. I know she will. She’ll get her chance and then she’ll be happy again. But…
I really, really don’t want to fight. Not any more than we have to, at least.
Ren was seemingly satisfied - or at least, not outspokenly dissatisfied - with Moxie’s encouragement, and didn’t say anything else on the matter, simply let out a huff and settled back on Harmony’s shoulder.
They walked in silence for a short while longer, following the yellow dot on Moxie’s digivice map, as well as, eventually, the faint trail of destruction. It wasn’t anything too bad; the cars were mostly untouched, though a few had their alarms going off, and the asphalt wasn’t gravely torn up. There were a few people milling about, talking to each other or on the phone or taking photos of the damage, but they didn’t pay any mind to the two girls, the fox on Harmony’s shoulder, or the pink eagle following them from high up above.
Harmony saw Damien before Moxie looked up from her digivice and before Damien himself saw any of them. She called out, waving her arms to get his attention, and he perked up, turning around and heading towards them with his hands in his pockets. Harmony looked up at the sky to see Bumble and Pop hovering close to each other, their gazes fixed on the group below.
“Hey,” he said as he came to a stop next to them. “Right on time. Sorry you’re not gonna get your chance to fight.”
“It’s fine,” Moxie said, pocketing her digivice and casting a glance upwards toward her partner. “What was it?”
“Something called a Devidramon,” Damien said, shrugging. In a move perpendicular to Moxie, he pulled his digivice out and switched it on, flicking through a couple menus until he got to whatever it was he wanted. “Evil dragon type. Says its personality is the ‘epitome of wickedness’. Just a massive edgelord all around.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” Moxie said, stroking her chin in mock thought, and Damien shoved her. She stumbled, lifting one leg to keep her balance, and stuck her tongue out at him.
Something on Damien’s arm caught Harmony’s attention, though - a tear in the sleeve of his sweater, which he still hadn’t swapped out for the denim jacket he’d bought at the mall. The sweater had already been ripped in spots when she’d first met him, and the months since had not been kind to it either, but the tear she was looking at was new, she could tell. Mostly because the edges of it were stained with blood, dripping from a fresh cut in his arm.
Damien must have noticed her staring, as he closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. “I’m fine,” he said, before Harmony could even point it out, and Moxie looked confused for a moment before she, too, noticed the injury and yelped quietly.
“Damien!” she said, lifting his arm to get a better look at it, ignoring the hiss he let out. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I’m fine,” he said again, pulling his arm back and rolling his eyes. He reached up to pull his sunglasses back down over his face, but Harmony took note of the way he used his non-injured right arm, which also happened to be his nondominant hand and the one he never used for anything. Clearly it’s bothering him more than he’s letting on.
“Even so,” she said, “we still have to take a look at it. Get you cleaned up and make sure it won’t get infected. Was it from an attack or…?”
“Doesn’t look like it to me,” Ren said, and Damien shook his head in agreement.
“Just got a bit too close to the fight. Devidramon felt cornered, because we had it cornered, and it lashed out. It only barely got me, but it had some deceptively sharp claws.” He frowned, rolling the shoulder of the injured arm. “…It doesn’t hurt, but the blood is annoying, so maybe you’re right.”
Harmony nodded, satisfied enough with his agreement, even if it was reluctant. “If you can put some pressure on it to try to stop the bleeding, do that. We’ll clean it up and treat it better when we’re back at the motel. It’s not too far a walk, I think we should be fine…” She trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the way she and Moxie had come. Can we make it? I know it’s not going to kill him, but…
Moxie sighed, crossing her arms and giving Damien a worried glare. “If I wasn’t worried about the public’s reaction to a giant bird, I’d have Pop evolve and fly us there, but I don’t think we can risk that right now. Not with how close we are to the Devidramon fight, both in terms of physical proximity and time.”
“I’ll be fine,” Damien insisted. “Tell your bird to save her energy. It’s my arm that’s bleeding, not my legs.”
“And you’re sure that’s the only injury you got?” Harmony asked. “You’re not hiding anything else?”
“No,” Damien said, letting out a heavy breath. “Can we just go? If it’s as serious as you say it is, standing around making fun of me isn’t going to do any good.”
“I’m not making fun of you,” Harmony said, sticking her tongue out, but he had a point. The six of them - four on the ground, two still in the sky, keeping a close eye on them - set off back toward the motel, Moxie leading the way with her eyes on her digivice.
They reached the motel before long, pushing the gate to the yard open after Pop and Bumble had landed next to them. There, they stepped into the pool area properly, looking up and around to find that Alex, Ezra, Anna, and their partners were all there. Ezra sat up on one of the tables, one of his pant legs rolled up to reveal the skin underneath. Where there should have been pale, unmarked flesh, however, there were instead deep lacerations running up and down his shin and calf, and he grit his teeth as Alex lifted it up higher to get a better look.
Quinn was also there, standing with her arms crossed as she spoke to Ezra, with Alpha sat at her feet. At the sound of approaching footsteps, she turned to face the newcomers, a look of clear relief coming over her face as she spotted Harmony, though it was quickly dispelled as she noticed Damien’s arm.
“Emergent?” was all she asked; when Damien and Harmony both nodded, she sighed, gesturing at one of the chairs that had been pulled out from the table. “Take a seat. I’m glad you’re here, Harmony. I really hate to say it, but I have no clue how to do first aid. Reagan was always the one who did it for me at first, and even when she stepped down, I never needed it, so I didn’t bother learning…”
“It’s alright,” Harmony said, setting Ren down on the table next to Ezra. Her partner frowned slightly, but sat down, tucking her paws and tail into her tiny body. Harmony paid no mind to her, instead turning to take the first aid supplies from Quinn and start cleaning Ezra and Damien up.
Ezra sighed, propping his chin up with a fist, his elbow resting on his uninjured leg. “We ran into a Fugamon while we were out,” he said, speaking to the newcomers in the yard. “I know none of you saw the Ogremon from our first night in the Digital World, but Fugamon looked almost exactly like it. Only difference was that it was brown.”
“There were some other differences,” Castor said, tugging at the collar of his cloak. “But that was the main one, yes.”
“Anyways,” Ezra said, rolling his eyes in faux exasperation. “It decided to aim one of its attacks at me, the human standing far away from the fight, instead of the two champion Digimon who were currently attacking it. Would you believe that its ‘Evil Hurricane’ attack was not actually a hurricane, but rather swinging wildly with the spiked club it carries?”
“That’s pretty par for the course for Digimon,” Damien commented, sucking in a breath as Harmony dabbed at his wound with an alcohol wipe. “Devidramon had an attack called Red Eye, but its eyes were white. I know that that was because it was manic, but it could have tried a little harder.”
“Fugamon was manic too,” Alex piped up. He was sitting in one of the chairs that was still at the table, right next to Ezra and directly across from Anna and Bunny. Ember was sitting in his lap, blinking over at Ezra every now and then, and swinging his tail back and forth along the ground as if trying to taunt Castor (who was ignoring it entirely). “So now we have to deal with the Demon Lords, on top of the manic Digimon who are still breaking through.”
“I think that’s to be expected,” Harmony said, finishing with cleaning Damien’s wound and turning back to Ezra. She pulled a roll of gauze out of the medical kit and began to wrap Ezra’s leg. “I mean, the Demon Lords are the ones who turn the Digimon manic in the first place, right? With their Code Keys? So if we’re fighting against them, it makes sense that we’d also still be dealing with manic Digimon.”
“And we still don’t know what Plutomon’s role in all of this is,” Moxie sighed, leaning against one of the unoccupied tables. Pop, perched on her shoulder, gave her a concerned look, but it slipped off her face quickly. “Other than that he seems to be leading the Demon Lords. But if they have the Code Keys, why do they even need to follow him?”
“Lilithmon said that Plutomon granted her the power to evolve,” Castor said. “Which implies Plutomon is the one who made them into Demon Lords in the first place, doesn’t it?”
Alpha hummed to himself, drawing everyone’s attention. Even Harmony paused in the middle of wrapping Damien’s arm. “He was in possession of at least one Code Key before the Demon Lords had even evolved to their final forms,” he finally said, brows furrowed. “I’m going to assume he had all of them at that time. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that he gave the Code Keys to a group of Digimon he had selected, and upon taking the Keys, they evolved to their Demon Lord forms.”
“But when Dare fought Raguelmon,” Anna suddenly said, to everyone’s surprise, “Raguelmon said that Plutomon helped her evolve. But she didn’t have a Code Key, and she wasn’t a Demon Lord. So it’s not the Code Keys that help them evolve, is it?”
“That’s a good point,” Alpha muttered, scratching his cheek. “It has to be something else, then.”
Harmony finished wrapping Damien’s cut, and then turned to face Ezra, reaching a hand out for him to grab. “Here, let’s see if you can walk,” she said quietly, then looked over at Quinn. “Is there anything else about the Code Keys that you know?”
Quinn blinked, clearly not expecting to be addressed, and then bit her lip. “Well… not really. All Macy remembers is that they were each held by a Demon Lord, they were used to control other Digimon, and that they were supposedly destroyed when the original Demon Lords were defeated.”
“Only supposedly, though, right?” Pop said. “So they could have survived?”
“I guess,” Quinn said, shrugging. “I don’t know how they would have, though, or - even if they did - how Plutomon would have retrieved them.”
As Ezra took a few hesitant steps on his weak leg, and as Damien rolled his arm around to try to get some motion back into it, Harmony looked over at Ren. Her partner was still frowning, but she didn’t seem to be unhappy. Instead, she looked deep in thought, as if she was debating whether to say something or not. Harmony tilted her head, then walked over to her, picking her up into her arms and ignoring the slightly disgruntled noise she made as she did so.
“What is it?” Harmony asked, quietly, so as to go unheard by everyone else. Ren frowned more deeply, opening and closing her mouth a few times like she wasn’t sure whether to tell her.
Eventually she sighed, casting her glance over to Alpha, still seated near Quinn’s feet. “Is it possible,” she said, speaking loudly enough for everyone in the yard to hear, “that the original Demon Lords weren’t actually defeated?”
Silence. Everyone turned to face her, confusion and doubt tangible in the air, but Ren did not flinch. If anything, she drew herself up taller, or as tall as she could when she was the size of a chihuahua.
“Macy said they were,” Quinn started, though she sounded hesitant, and Ren was quick to respond.
“Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she thought they were, but they weren’t actually.”
Moxie pushed her cheek up with a finger. “Why would the Archangels have sent her group back home if they hadn’t actually won the war? Wouldn’t they have wanted to keep them around so that they could actually defeat them?”
“And what if the Archangels also didn’t know that the Demon Lords hadn’t been defeated?” Ren said. “They could have gone into hiding. They could have faked their deaths. Any number of things could have happened. I think it’s unreasonable to assume that they must have been completely defeated.”
“On the one hand, it does seem to be the most likely explanation,” Alpha said, eyes narrowed, and Ren perked up almost imperceptibly. “On the other, it doesn’t make any sense. The Demons Lords that we are encountering are not the original ones, evidenced by them only evolving to their current forms recently, as well as their seeming lack of knowing what exactly being a Demon Lord entails.”
“So the original Demon Lords are definitely gone by now, right?” Harmony said, shifting Ren’s weight in her arms. “Otherwise they’d be the Demon Lords we’re fighting.”
“Most likely,” Alpha said, nodding. “However, I do think Ren’s theory has merit. If the original Demon Lords were alive when Plutomon first rose to power, he could have received the Code Keys from them, then used them himself. The original Demon Lords would have had to disappear - in whatever way - before Plutomon gave the Code Keys to the new group.”
“Why would they have had to disappear?” Alex asked, frowning. “You said yourself that they wouldn’t be Demon Lords unless they have the Code Keys. Maybe the original ones are still around, they’re just not official Demon Lords.”
“I don’t think that a group called the Demon Lords,” Alpha said dryly, “who each represent one of the seven deadly sins, would be happy with letting another group take up their mantle. Especially if they were enough of a threat to the Digital World for the Archangels to need to call upon humans to stop them.”
“…I guess that makes sense,” Alex mumbled, and Ezra snickered at him.
Harmony opened her mouth to say something, to ask where the original Demon Lords could have possibly been hiding all this time, and how Plutomon, one of the original partner Digimon, would have known where they were - because if he’d known all along, then Macy’s group could have easily tracked them down and actually defeated them, right? - but before she could form any words, seven slightly-muffled beeps, overlaid with each other without a second of delay, sounded throughout the poolyard.
Harmony knew what that sound was, and dreadfully, she pulled her digivice out of her pocket and switched it on to see it was open to the map, focused on an unknown white dot.
She had been expecting this. What she had not been expecting was for another beep to follow, and for another white dot to appear on the other side of the map.
Two emergents, appearing this close to each other in time, within range of the motel… not to mention it seemed like Azure and Ko were dealing with another one at the moment…
Things aren’t looking good…
“Alex and Castor, take care of the east emergent,” Quinn said, her tone devoid of the usual casualness it carried. “Moxie and Pop, you deal with the other. That sound good?”
“What about us?” Ezra asked, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re not planning to keep us locked away here, are you?”
“You’re injured,” Quinn said. “Even if you can walk, I’m not letting you go back out and risk hurting yourself further. Pop and Castor can take care of themselves.”
“With that logic, Alex and Moxie might as well stay behind too,” Damien muttered, not lifting his eyes from where they were fixed on his digivice held in his hand. “Just so they can’t get themselves hurt any further. It’s not like they need to be near their Digimon for them to evolve.”
“I’m not arguing this,” she said, fixing Damien with a hard stare. “The two of you and your partners have already fought today. You’ve done your part. I need you here, where we can keep an eye on you and make sure your condition isn’t worsening.”
“Castor’s already fought today, too,” Ember chimed in. He’d jumped down from Alex’s lap once Quinn had designated him and Castor to go, but he still stood near his feet, frowning in confusion. “I know Alex isn’t hurt, but if your point is just that I’ve already fought today, isn’t Castor included in that too?”
“We can go,” Ren said, looking at Quinn. Harmony tightened her arms around Ren ever so slightly, enough that Ren didn’t think much of it. “Harmony and I haven’t fought today, either. Or this whole week.”
“Sorry,” Quinn said, shaking her head. “I need Harmony here in case Ezra or Damien need her help, or if someone else comes back and needs it.”
Ren frowned, flattening her ears against her skull, and Harmony patted her head reassuringly. It wasn’t that she was happy with Quinn’s denial, but…
She has a point, doesn’t she…? I know Ren wants to do something, but I’m needed here, right? I don’t really want to fight anyway, so…
“I know you’re frustrated,” Alpha said, and Harmony could tell he was speaking to Ren as much as he was Damien and Ezra. “But we need you to be safe. If something serious happens, we can’t afford to take you to get professional treatment, and I mean that in both a monetary way as well as metaphorical. Remember that you’re still technically missing children.”
Oh, right, that was important too, wasn’t it. Harmony had almost forgotten about it, even with the short conversation she’d had with Moxie and Damien earlier, and she felt something sick within her stomach as the weight of Alpha’s words sank in.
The others seemed to have that realization too, and Ezra sighed, sitting down in one of the empty chairs. He winced slightly as he bumped his calf against one of the chair’s legs, heroically acting as if it hadn’t bothered him, but Harmony noticed it. “I guess,” he mumbled, looking up at Alex and reaching a hand out to him. “Be safe, okay? Don’t be an idiot like me or you’ll end up stuck here too.”
Alex grinned and took his hand, raising it to his mouth to kiss it. “Would that really be such a bad thing?” he said, his voice almost singsong, and Ezra flushed a deep shade of red. “We’ll be okay. Moxie and I know how to handle ourselves. Besides, Cas and Pop wouldn’t let us get hurt.”
“Implying that I did,” Bumble said quietly, the first time he’d spoken since… well, since Harmony had seen him earlier that morning. Damien glanced over at him, a lopsided smile on his face.
“Nah, that was my fault,” he said, reaching down to flick one of his antennae. “You’re not to blame. Maybe you should go with Pop and lend her a hand. Evolve here to get a head start.”
Bumble scoffed. “I’m pretty sure I’d be too large to fly around without raising suspicion if I did.”
“I think they’ll be fine on their own anyway,” Moxie said, placing a hand on Pop’s head. “Alex is right. We can handle ourselves. Just sit tight, yeah?” She smiled at Damien, obviously trying to reassure him that he didn’t have to worry about her. Damien looked unconvinced - or as unconvinced as he could look with his typical unreadable face - but he shrugged, looking over at Quinn.
“If our almighty leader deems it so, who am I to disagree,” he said, holding his hands up in defeat. “Good luck. Might wanna get a move on at this point, you’re wasting valuable time.”
“Right,” Pop said, nodding, and Castor and Moxie mirrored her gesture. She gestured toward the gate of the yard with one wing. “Shall we?”
As the four of them set out, Harmony sighed, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Ren had been silent since Quinn and Alpha had shut her down, and she was clearly upset, even if she was trying to hide it. Harmony knew her too well to be fooled by it.
She headed to one of the empty tables, far enough away from the rest of the group that they’d be able to speak in silence. Harmony took a seat and placed Ren on the table facing her; Ren sat down and tried to look away, but Harmony nudged her cheek back over so she could meet her gaze. Ren frowned, her tail lashing in annoyance, but Harmony simply crossed her arms on the table’s surface and rested her chin on them, looking up at Ren.
“What’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Ren said immediately, flicking her tail again.
Harmony snorted. “Yeah, you’re not going to get me with that. Is it because you haven’t been able to fight?”
Ren opened and closed her mouth a few times, her brows furrowing with each movement - and then she groaned, laying down so that her own chin was laying upon the surface of the table.
“Yes,” she said, and the corner of Harmony’s mouth twitched upward for a moment. “Sort of. It is mostly that, but also…” She looked down at her paws, pathetically tiny next to her snout. “…I hate being small.”
“Tell me about it,” Harmony mumbled, popping one of her cheeks out.
“I just feel… weak like this,” Ren continued, wrinkling her nose. “I haven’t been in this form in years. I never would have imagined I ever would be again. And now that I am, everything is… too big. I’m too small. Too weak. I feel like everyone is looking down upon me, and not just in a literal sense.”
Harmony shifted her arms underneath her chin. “I don’t think anyone is -”
“Even if they’re not,” Ren cut in, “it won’t change the fact that I feel like they are.”
Harmony bit her lip, casting her eyes downward. I have to remember that Ren isn’t used to this. Any of this. Being in a new world, being in this form, being unable to fight. This is just as new for her as being in the Digital World was for me.
And I don’t want to fight if we can avoid it, but… if Ren thinks that I’m purposefully trying to hold her back…
Well, she could fix that. Sitting up straight, Harmony pulled her digivice out of her pocket and opened the communication menu. If all that Quinn needed her here for was to be able to take care of Ezra and Damien…
“Hi!” she said as soon as Ryan picked up. “How are you?”
Well, then surely she could ask her coworker to clock in for her.
Ryan’s end was quiet for a few seconds, save for a noise which she could only assume was Dare giggling. “Uh,” he finally said, quite eloquently. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Also good,” Harmony replied, smiling. “I’m really sorry to bother you, but I have a favor I need to ask.”
“You’re never a bother,” Ryan said, then inhaled sharply. “Uh. I mean. No, it’s okay. What is it?”
Harmony laughed, sticking her tongue out at Ren when she raised one brow at her. “Ezra and Damien are hurt, so they’re confined here to the motel until they’re doing better. Quinn needs me here in case either of them need more help, but I really need to go out with Ren, so I was wondering if you could come and stand in for me?”
“Huh? Oh, sure.” Ryan coughed faintly, then said something indistinguishable to Dare. “We’ll be there soon. Tell Quinn we’re coming so you can leave now and you don’t have to wait around for us.”
“Oh, smart,” Harmony mused. “Thank you! This really means a lot.”
“Of course,” he said quietly. “Have fun with Ren.”
“I’ll try,” Harmony said, smiling again. Ren rolled her eyes and Harmony poked her cheek. “You have fun watching over these two. They’re easy patients, don’t worry.”
“I’ll try,” Ryan echoed, and Harmony laughed.
“Are you embarrassed?” Ren asked, only a few minutes into their walk.
Harmony had told Quinn that she and Ren wanted to go out for a while, and that Ryan would be there soon to take over for her; Quinn had been hesitant at first, possibly worried that they were actually going to go and join one of the fights, but Alpha had let them go, telling them to stay safe and be back before curfew. Harmony had known exactly where she wanted to go, and was keeping her eyes on her digivice as she walked, so she didn’t immediately register Ren’s question.
When she did, though, she blinked in confusion, almost stopping in her tracks. “What?” she asked, bewildered. “Of what?” Her call with Ryan? Talking to Quinn? What about that would be embarrassing?
Ren didn’t reply at first, nestled in Harmony’s unoccupied arm. When she did, she spoke quietly, enough that she would have gone unheard if Harmony hadn’t been straining her ears. “Of me. Is that why we’re out here?”
Harmony huffed a laugh. “Are you for real right now? You think I’m taking a walk with you because I’m embarrassed of you?”
“It’s a valid question,” Ren grumbled, and Harmony shook her head in disbelief.
“Not really, though.”
“Then what is this?”
“You said you feel weak. Like everyone is looking down on you. Right?” When Ren nodded hesitantly, Harmony continued. “You haven’t been able to fight recently. I know that that’s important to you. Even if we can’t fight right now, I want you to be able to do something. Get some energy out, yeah?” She paused, checking her digivice to make sure they hadn’t passed their destination. “I want you to see that you’re not as weak as you feel.”
Ren went quiet, having nothing to reply with, and Harmony was content to walk in silence the rest of the way. Evening was fast approaching, and the sun was beginning to sink below the buildings in the distance, casting hues of orange and dusty pink into the sky.
When they finally stepped into the park - the very same one that Alex and Castor had apparently visited the day of the Lilithmon fight - it didn’t take long for Harmony to find a secluded enough place for what she needed. She knelt on the ground, letting Ren out of her arms, and leaned back, smiling down at her.
Ren frowned, tilting her head the best she could, and looked up at Harmony. “What.”
Harmony gestured around at the trees and grassy space. “Go run around. Attack a bush or chew up a stick or whatever. Do something to get your energy out.”
“I’m not a child,” Ren sniffed, and Harmony raised her eyebrows.
“We’re not leaving until you do.”
Ren stared her down for a few more moments, but Harmony refused to budge, crossing her arms and lifting her chin. Eventually Ren rolled her eyes and sighed, turning around to examine her surroundings. A green leaf sat by her feet, and she lifted one paw to poke at it lightly, obviously unamused.
Harmony didn’t say anything as Ren continued, walking around the area, sniffing like a dog would when put into a new situation. She clearly wasn’t very into it, putting in the least amount of effort possible, but it was a start.
Eventually, though - just as Harmony expected - she grew more interested, running around like a puppy off its leash, bouncing off of trees and bringing a stick over to Harmony. Harmony tilted her head down at it, unsure of what to do, but then it clicked.
“Fetch,” she said, throwing the stick as far as she could, and Ren tore after it, a little yellow streak against the green. They repeated the process for a while, with Harmony eventually starting to fake Ren out by pretending to throw it. She was not happy with that, even when Harmony, in a fit of giggles, tried to explain that literally every dog owner did that with their dog.
“I am not a dog,” Ren said, sticking her nose in the air, and Harmony laughed harder.
When they tired, they laid on the grass together, watching the sun set in the distance and the sky darken through the trees above their heads. Ren, resting on Harmony’s stomach, shifted in her position to look at her directly, and Harmony smiled and placed a hand in between her ears.
“I’ve… never played around like that,” Ren said, averting her gaze for a second. “Not even when I was a baby in my Primary Village. Definitely not in this form. Or any of my others.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Harmony said. “It’s good to get your energy out like that every now and then. You’re never too old to play fetch.”
“…It was nice,” Ren mumbled, and Harmony giggled.
They stayed there until the sun had disappeared and the sky had darkened into night. Harmony sat up, holding Ren close as she switched her digivice on. “You wanna get something to eat?” she asked, and Ren nodded. Harmony still had her “daily allowance” in her pocket from when Quinn had given it to her earlier that morning; it wasn’t much, but it would be enough to get some takeout ramen for the two of them.
Once they’d left the park, she looked down at Ren again. “Are you feeling better now? You ripped those leaves apart like they were nothing. I don’t think any of the others ever did that when they were in their in-training forms. You’re not weak.”
“I guess,” Ren muttered, but the shine in her eyes and her perked ears said otherwise. Harmony laughed, squeezing her tighter for a second.
The streets were empty as they walked, devoid of both cars and people. It was oddly peaceful, really, to be alone in the darkness with just her best friend for company. She hadn’t been alone like this in a very long time - not here in this world.
The silence of the city left her with her thoughts, absorbed entirely in her own mind - in what Ren had been feeling, and how worried Quinn had seemed all day, and everything they’d discussed about Plutomon and the Demon Lords and the Code Keys. They all swirled around her mind, a storm waiting to break, and even as she tried to focus on just one, all the others came crashing down on her like waves.
She sighed, shifting Ren’s weight from one arm to the other.
…The city really was strangely quiet tonight, wasn’t it? Even with it being, what, a Monday night? Surely there would have been someone else out here, heading back home or to clock in for a night shift or just doing some late-hour shopping.
But… it wasn’t that late…
“Weird being alone like this, huh?” she said to Ren, trying to lighten the mood, but her partner just tensed in her hold. Harmony frowned, looking down at her as something cold began to form in her stomach. Ren was on alert, her ears twitching and eyes darting around as if she were searching for something. “What is it?”
God, she was getting some really bad déjà vu right now.
Something behind her sounded out, quiet enough that it wouldn’t have gotten her attention if not for the fact it was the only noise around. Harmony jumped, and Ren bristled in her arms.
“Run,” Ren said, and Harmony didn’t need telling twice.
She took off, barely feeling the ground under her shoes as she ran. She didn’t know where she was going - she couldn’t risk looking down at her digivice to try to orient herself toward the motel. She just had to get away from whoever - or whatever - was following her.
From behind her, someone called something out, indistinguishable through Harmony’s fear and focus. She didn’t pay any mind to it at first, she had to just keep running, but then -
A sharp pain shot through her leg, and she cried out, stumbling and falling to the ground. She pushed herself up in record time, turning to look at her leg, only to find a small, circular wound in it. She frowned, pulling it closer to get a better view - it almost looked like…
Blue light flooded her vision and stole her attention, and when it faded, Ren stood in her rookie form, claws already engulfed in blue fire as she rounded on their pursuer. Harmony twisted to follow her gaze, and her eyes fell upon someone too tall to be human, twin guns trained on her face.
“What do you want,” Ren growled, eyes narrowed.
The Digimon scoffed, glancing over at her for a split second, before looking back down at Harmony. “I’m here to finish what I started.”
Harmony would recognize those red eyes anywhere.
“Baalmon?” she said, voice pathetically weak. The Digimon tilted its head, its expression unchanging.
“Not anymore,” he said. “I’ve been given the power to finally take you down for good. And that’s what I’m going to do.
He didn’t aim at Harmony, thank god. He spun on his heel almost too quickly for Harmony to register it, pointing both of his guns at Ren and firing wildly. Dozens of bullets shot forth, aimed straight for her, and though she jumped backward out of the way, most of them hit their mark.
Ren yelped in pain, losing her footing for a moment. Harmony reached out for her, trying and failing to get to her own feet with her wounded leg, but Ren was back up in no time. The fire around her paws died down as she scooped Harmony into her arms and took off like a shot, fleeing from the Digimon even as he began to follow.
“I’m going to try to get us somewhere safe,” Ren huffed through heavy breaths, ducking her head down as more gunshots rang out behind them. “Where I can fight and you can hide.”
Harmony nodded, biting her lip to keep herself from saying anything unnecessary.
The Digimon following them was just as fast as Ren, if not faster. Harmony peeked out from behind Ren’s chest to see him close behind, firing off attacks every now and then with his piercing red gaze trained on them. She was able to get a mostly good look at him; he was almost entirely humanoid, wearing a black leather jacket, black leather pants, and black leather boots, like some sort of biker from hell. His boots had sharp blades jammed into the toes, sticking straight up (all the better to kill you with, Harmony supposed), and though his hands held tight to the guns, Harmony could infer that they were actually massively wicked claws. A long, lizard-like tail swept back and forth behind him, equally as inhuman as the pale purplish-gray color of what little skin was showing.
Ren was small and quick enough to be a difficult moving target, though, and she was able to maneuver through the streets more easily, taking sharp turns that their pursuer had to slow to a complete halt to be able to take.
Eventually, the ground under Ren’s feet changed - she’d started over a bridge across a river. It wasn’t as big as most of the bridges Harmony had seen in her life, but it was enough that they’d be heading dead straight for a short period of time - long enough for the Digimon to get a clean shot.
“
Ren dropped Harmony instantly, and the two of them tumbled to the ground, rolling across the asphalt as cars around them screeched to a stop. Harmony shoved herself up, brushing her hair out of her face and looking around wildly for Ren.
And then the Digimon was there, standing over Harmony, his face finally visible in the streetlights lining the bridge. He cocked his head to the side, all three of his eyes - two on his face, one in the center of his mask - reflecting the lights pouring down from above.
He knelt down, one arm resting on his knee, both hands still clutching his shotguns, to be eye level with her. He wasn’t much taller than he had been as Baalmon, maybe only a foot or so, but even so, Harmony instinctually scooched backwards to get away.
He gave a crooked grin, showing off shark-like fangs. “Did you really think you wouldn’t ever see me again? Your partner didn’t even defeat me. Hope you’ve learned from your mistakes.”
“
In the time that the Digimon had been speaking to Harmony, Ren had evolved, and rammed into his side with the force of a raging fire. He stumbled backward, falling onto his ass from the impact, and snarled at her as she began to back up. “Playing dirty, huh? I can appreciate that.
He holstered both of his guns, his hands beginning to swirl with jet-black energy. In a flash, he struck out at Ren, sending her skidding backwards and crashing into a parked car.
“By the way,” he said sidelong to Harmony as Ren shook her head out and got to her feet, “name’s Beelzemon now. Would do you well to learn it. Chances are it’ll be the last name you ever cry out.”
Ren’s tails flared outward, the tips beginning to burn brighter. “
“
He dusted himself off as if they were no more than water balloons, smiling wryly at her. “Aw, you’re going to have to do better than that,” he taunted; Ren curled her lip, unable to do much more. “Come on. You already know I’m stronger than I was last time. Why are you holding back?”
“I’m not,” she spat, the fire around her paws flaring up for a split second. “I should have finished this a long time ago.”
“Then by all means,” Beelzemon said, holding his arms wide, “give me all you’ve got.”
“
As the fireballs shot forth, Ren was engulfed in white light, emerging in her ultimate form a second later. She brandished her paint brush, her face impassive as she glared up at Beelzemon.
“This ends here,” she said, tightening her grasp on her brush.
Beelzemon grinned. “Show’s just getting started.”
“
“
As Ren painted her symbol and sent it forward, and as Beelzemon let loose his rounds of bullets, Harmony slowly rose to her feet. She reached out for the nearest car, steadying herself on it as she got her bearings.
She… really hadn’t thought she’d ever see Baalmon - Beelzemon - again. She knew he’d said that he’d be back, that he’d see them again, when he’d run away and she’d stopped Ren from going after him, but -
But surely he’d just been lying, right? Trying to intimidate us? I didn’t think he actually meant it, or that he’d come back like this, or -
Because he was one of them, right? He was one of the Demon Lords. He had to be. Even with, presumably, being a mega level, he was clearly so much stronger than Ren, if the way he was practically wiping the floor with her was any indication.
“
“
“Are you hurt?” an unfamiliar voice said, and Harmony started, turning around to see a woman standing next to the car she was still leaning on. Her eyes were full of concern, looking from Harmony’s face down to her leg, still dripping blood. “You need to get out of here.”
“I can’t,” Harmony said, trying not to think about how trapped she really felt. “I have to - I can’t leave my friend.” She pointed over at Ren, who had raised her brush to try to block Beelzemon’s bullets.
The woman frowned, clearly confused. “Your friend? Those are monsters, they’re dangerous. The police are on their way. We need to get to safety until they’re here.”
“My friend isn’t dangerous,” Harmony said, her heart sinking into her stomach. “She’s trying to protect me. She’s trying to protect all of us. I can’t leave her alone.”
She shook her head and turned back towards the fight, ignoring the protests from the woman behind her. Beelzemon had Ren pinned against the barricade of the bridge, one gun held to her chest. He didn’t look away from her even as Harmony approached, but she knew that he could see her out of the corner of his eye, especially when he began to speak to her.
“You know, I’m surprised you’re letting her fight,” he said, tilting his head at Ren. “I thought you didn’t like fighting. Isn’t that your whole thing? That’s why you didn’t let her defeat me when she had the chance.”
“She isn’t in control of me,” Ren spat, squirming in Beelzemon’s hold. He rolled his eyes, pressing the gun harder against her chest.
“It seems to me like she is. Last time I saw you, she was pretty adamant on not letting you hurt me.” He smirked. “Amateur mistake, really, to let your enemy go free. Especially after they’ve killed one of your friends.”
“You were scared,” Harmony said, having to raise her voice to be heard from her distance and the faint sound of sirens. “I saw you. Not Plutomon. You. You didn’t want to do it. You were being controlled. You were terrified. I didn’t want her to hurt someone who wasn’t in their right mind.”
“After all this time,” Beelzemon said, clicking his tongue, “and you still believe that?” He smiled, spinning the gun not pressed to Ren’s chest around in his hand. “We all want to do this. He may have controlled us in the past, but he doesn’t now. We’ve all seen the light. We’ve all received his gift. I mean, look at me.” He carelessly gestured at himself with the barrel of his gun. “Demon Lord of Gluttony. You know what that means, right? I’d hope you’re not one of those idiots who thinks gluttony is just about eating.”
“Never satisfied with anything,” Ren managed to get out, her words strained, and Beelzemon raised an eyebrow in amusement. “No matter how much you get, you’ll never be satisfied unless you get more. You - hck - know they’re called deadly sins for a reason, yes?”
“Enough out of you,” Beelzemon said, jamming the gun deeper into Ren’s chest and causing her to cough. “I know damn well what being a Demon Lord entails. Better than you do.” He sighed, looking down at his claws as if inspecting a manicure. “I wouldn’t have accepted his offer if I didn’t believe in what he was fighting for. A better world for all. A world without suffering.”
“I don’t give a shit about your reasons,” Ren spat, pupils pinprick-thin. “You’ve done enough damage to justify your death.”
“Well, that’s really up to her, now, isn’t it?” Beelzemon mused, nodding his head to the side, in Harmony’s direction. “If she doesn’t want you to hurt me, you won’t.”
“She doesn’t control me,” Ren repeated, but her conviction was weaker this time, her voice quieter. Her eyes shifted to meet Harmony’s, something unreadable within them, and Beelzemon huffed a laugh.
“It seems to me like she does,” he likewise echoed. He leaned forward, pressing his face up against Ren’s. “You need her approval, don’t you? You’re scared of disappointing her. Scared of letting her down. Scared of her hating you.”
“She could never disappoint me,” Harmony said, staring down at the ground. She sensed Beelzemon’s eyes on her, but didn’t look up. She clenched her fists so tightly she felt she’d break her fingers, but -
“You’re just trying to save face,” Beelzemon said, and Harmony snapped her gaze up, staring directly at Ren.
“No I’m not.”
There was something held within one of her hands. Something solid, and smooth, and very, very warm.
Her digivice.
She started forward, walking as best as she could on her injured leg, until she was just a few feet away from the two of them. Her heart was hammering in her chest, fear overtaking her body at just the prospect of being this close to Beelzemon - all he’d have to do was point one of his guns at her face and take the shot, and that would be it.
But she ignored it. She pressed onward, taking the last few steps forward until she stood next to Ren, staring up at her, something burning in her lungs.
“Ren,” she said, tightening her fingers around her digivice, on fire as much as her innards were. “You have never and will never be a disappointment. I love you unconditionally. No matter what you do, whether I agree with it or not, I will always love you. Because you do what you know is right. Because I trust you.”
Ren blinked, her eyes softening slightly, and Harmony smiled up at her.
“I love you, no matter what, and I am never, ever going to leave you.”
“Oh, I’m swooning,” Beelzemon said in a flat monotone. He lowered his eyelids halfway, staring down at Harmony with a dead expression. “Congratulations. You love her. That’s not going to save her.”
“Yes it is,” Harmony said simply, and she smiled up at Beelzemon too.
Beelzemon, Baalmon, the Digimon who had haunted her dreams for the past two months, whatever he was - she smiled at him. He’d killed one of her closest friends. He’d wounded her so badly she couldn’t walk. He’d caused her and Ren and her friends so much pain and hurt, and he still was now, and he was doing all this just because he wanted to.
This wasn’t the time for passiveness. This was the time to do something. The time to act. The time to fight.
With her digivice burning in her palm, Harmony met Ren’s eyes again.
“Go for it.”
“
Beelzemon lurched backwards, forced by the impact of Ren’s talismans as she burst from his grasp and shoved him down with her paintbrush. “
“
Harmony’s digivice burst into white light, and Beelzemon faltered, raising a hand to shield his face. “What in -” he hissed, his next words drowned out by the voice of the digivice.
“Final evolution pending. Do you want to proceed?”
“So that’s how you’re going to play things,” Beelzemon growled, and Harmony grinned up at him.
“Yes,” she said, answering him and the digivice and the silent question in Ren’s eyes - is this really happening? Are you sure about this?
Yes, she said silently, as the light from the digivice died down. It’s really happening. I’m sure.
“Final evolution engaged. Please do not turn off the digivice while evolution is in progress.”
“Fine,” Beelzemon muttered, quickly blinded by the light shining again. “Have it your way.”
“We will,” Harmony said, and she closed her eyes.
Fight for peace.
Harmony opened her eyes to a bright white light, an empty plane, and a very small Ren.
She was minuscule, basically just a tiny fluffy orb with a bushy tail. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and even as Harmony sat down in front of her and picked her up, they stayed closed, as if she were really just a newborn puppy.
Needless to say, Harmony couldn’t contain herself.
“Oh my god, you’re SO CUTE,” she squealed, suddenly consumed by the urge to just grip Ren as hard as she could. She knew she shouldn’t, because she was very tiny and very delicate, but Harmony had always been prone to cuteness aggression, and really, Ren was just so adorable.
“Thank you…?” Ren said gently, her voice just as soft and sweet as Harmony had imagined. She squealed again, holding her tightly against her chest for a moment, before remembering that she was very tiny and very delicate, and she held her back out.
Ren sniffed, her eyes still shut. “I’m just as powerful in this form as any other.”
“Of course!” Harmony said, nodding rapidly. “You’ve always been strong. Throughout everything we’ve been through, you’ve always been strong.” She trailed off, her smile turning somewhat bittersweet as she looked down at her hands. “…How have you managed it?”
Ren was similarly quiet for a few seconds, before she flicked her tail and turned her head up toward Harmony. “You’re the one who’s been giving me that strength. All my courage and determination has come from you.”
Harmony felt a lump forming in her throat, and coughed lightly, blinking back something budding in the corners of her eyes. “I think it’s funny that my whole thing is peace,” she said, changing the subject, “and your whole thing is action. And in the end, it was me who settled on your way of doing things. I never thought I’d ever tell someone to attack somebody else.”
Ren dipped her head (sort of). “…I only fight because the world is not perfect. I need to fight for a better world.” She looked up at Harmony again. “I feel like you do the same, really.”
Harmony blinked, confused. “I don’t fight, though.”
“Not with your actions, no,” Ren agreed. “But you fight for a better world with your words and beliefs and hope. We both fight for peace. We just have different methods, and neither one is inherently bad or wrong.”
Harmony grinned, lifting Ren up closer to her face and tapping her head lightly. “When did you get so wise?”
Ren sniffed, trying to shake Harmony’s finger off but failing spectacularly due to her size. “I’ve done a lot of thinking in the time we’ve spent together.” She went quiet, her nose wrinkling, and then… she smiled. “…I really look up to you, you know.”
Harmony practically felt her jaw fall off her face. Ren looks up to me? “What? I’m the one who looks up to you! You’re so cool and put-together and you know exactly what to do in every situation.” She leaned back somewhat, smiling wistfully at her partner. “I wish I could be like you.”
“I wish I could be like you,” Ren replied immediately. “My words have never been enough to sway anyone, yet yours always are.”
As the tightness in her throat increased, Harmony looked down at Ren - her partner, her best friend, her soulmate. Everything they’d been through together over the past three months - every battle, every fight, every argument, all the tears they’d shed and wounds they’d inflicted and hurt they’d sustained - they’d had each other throughout all of it. All of it. Even when it had felt like they hadn’t… they had always found each other in the end.
And now here they were.
“…I think we make a really good team,” Harmony said meekly, trying to form words through her constricted throat. She swallowed thickly, blinking quickly to try to hold back the tears threatening to fall, and smiled shakily down at Ren. Her partner.
Ren looked back up at her, and Harmony laughed, and Ren smiled again. “We do.”
“I love you.” The words fell unbidden from her mouth. She wasn’t aware she’d spoken until she heard them echoed back at her, and she bit her lip, trying not to spill all the rest of the thoughts circling in her mind, lest she let herself spill.
Those three words Harmony had said to Ren more times than she could count, and she had never meant them more than she did right now.
And Ren returned them.
“I love you too,” she said, and there was no hesitance in her voice, not at all like when she usually said it. She always meant it, Harmony knew, but right now, she fully, wholeheartedly believed that she meant it.
Harmony just knew.
From the edge of her vision, a blue light began to creep towards them. Harmony knew what that meant. She took a deep breath in, then nodded down at Ren.
“Kick his ass for me.”
“I will,” Ren said, and Harmony closed her eyes and smiled as the light washed over them.
“
The rush of sound to Harmony’s ears snapped her back to reality, and she opened her eyes to see blue light fading fast away from Ren - from her new form.
“Kuzuhamon,” her digivice said once it had powered down. “Mega level god man Digimon. It is versed in ancient magics, and a single kuda-gitsune lurks within the pipe it carries on the belt around its waist, which it is able to employ for things like attacking and gathering information.”
She stood shorter than she had as Taomon, but twice as imposing. Covered in blue armor and a leather undersuit, she was largely humanoid, similar to Beelzemon. Her upper face was hidden by a fox-like mask, with only her mouth visible, colored with black lipstick. Her forearms and lower legs sported glove-like coverings, much like the ones she wore as Renamon, with the addition of triangular markings and yin yang symbols.
Brown hair flowed from under her mask, divided into twin ponytails tied off with white ribbons, much like the white strips of fabric that draped from her back. The eyes on her mask were pitch black, but kind in a way that manic Digimon’s were not, even as she turned upon Beelzemon, clutching her staff tighter. The rings decorating the circle at the tip chimed as she held it outward, in a clearly threatening gesture.
Beelzemon laughed, spinning his guns around in his hands. “You’re smaller now.”
“More difficult of a target to hit,” Ren replied coolly, her voice smooth and undeterred. “Especially with this.
Ren lifted her staff into the air, then slammed it into the ground. From the point of impact, a glowing circle with swirling symbols appeared, expanding until both Ren and Harmony were caught within. Harmony stared down at the ground, tapping her foot against it; the symbols around it moved away when she tried to touch them.
Beelzemon smirked, readying his guns. “I thought you’d have more to show than just that,” he said, his tone dripping with acid. “
This time, he aimed for Harmony, pointing one gun directly at her. She didn’t have time to react - all she could do was watch as he called his attack and fired the bullet, her heart pounding against her ribcage.
But he never hit his mark. When the bullet flew within range of the mandala, it disappeared with a fizzling sound, as if it had been incinerated by something. Beelzemon frowned, eyes snapping between Ren and Harmony. “What the -”
“
Ren brought her staff back to her side, tapping it gently against the ground. The mandala flickered once, then glowed brighter, but remained otherwise passive.
“It seems I underestimated you,” Beelzemon said as he pushed himself to his feet, grinning. “In another life, perhaps you could have been on my side.”
“There is no universe in which I am,” Ren said, keeping her voice even. “You have wrought pain and suffering upon those I hold close, all in the name of one who wishes also to hurt them.”
“I’m fighting for a better world just like you are,” he retorted, putting his guns away. “A world without pain and suffering.
“
As Beelzemon rushed forward, claws enveloped in black energy, Ren slammed her staff against the ground again. The mandala disappeared, but a moment later, a glowing spirit burst forth from the very air in front of Ren, coated in blue flames. Beelzemon and the spirit met, his claws ripping through it, but it did not falter. The spirit - presumably the kuda-gitsune the digivice had spoken of - danced around Beelzemon, drawing his attention before swiping out with a fiery claw. It kept this song and dance up for a few seconds, before it slammed into Beelzemon’s chest fiercely enough to knock him back a few steps, and then it burst apart into sparks and embers.
Ren stepped toward Beelzemon, holding the end of her staff out to drive him backward. “Our methods are not the same. I fight against those who wish to do harm. You are the one who does harm.”
“That harm,” he spat, straightening himself up and drawing one gun, “will be far outweighed by the good that will come of achieving his goal.”
Ren lifted her chin, staring up at him with unreadable inky eyes. “There is no good you can do that will overwrite the evil you have already done.
“
Ren’s staff collided with Beelzemon’s gun, knocking his attack off course and sending flames up from all around him. He faltered, raising the other gun to try again, but Ren shoved the spire at the tip of her staff into his chest, forcing him back. His back slammed into the barricade of the bridge with enough force to make him drop his guns.
“You have done enough suffering to last a lifetime,” Ren said.
Beelzemon arched a brow. “You haven’t seen half of what’s to come.”
“I don’t care.” Ren’s voice was unnervingly calm, even as she glared at him with all the power of a raging fire. “We will take things as they come. But right now, right here…” She tilted her head, a glimmer of something unrecognizable shining in her eyes. “You are going to die.”
Harmony dipped her head, watching Beelzemon.
He blinked, then raised his hands in defeat, smiling wryly. “I surrender,” he said, obviously sarcastic. “I’ll do anything if you just spare my life.”
Ren didn’t reply. Her fingers tightened around her staff, and then she drove it into the ground again. “
When the circle formed this time, the symbols within were different. As it expanded, Beelzemon hissed in pain, raising a hand to his face to claw at it. The tips of his boots and tail began to pixelate; Beelzemon’s hissing quickly turned into laughter, maniacal in its volume and pitch.
“
When the flames died down, Beelzemon was already distorting, pixelating more rapidly. He grinned up at Ren and winked at her.
“Show’s just getting started,” he rasped, echoing his prior sentiment, and then he burst into pixels.
For a split second, in the air between Ren and the barricade, a small yellow orb shone, impossibly bright in the darkness - and then it disappeared, fading out of existence as if it had never been there at all.
Ren devolved in a burst of white light, kneeling on the ground with one paw resting on her knee. Harmony started toward her, but took a sharp breath in when she put too much weight on her leg.
And it was doing so well the past few weeks…
Ren instantly focused on Harmony, pushing herself up and darting to her side. She didn’t say anything, simply glanced at Harmony and then scooped her into her arms. Harmony bundled her hands in Ren’s mane, nodding gently, and she took off, ignoring the sirens in the distance and the few remaining passerby shouting at her to put Harmony down.
They made it about three blocks from the scene of the fight before Ren stumbled and drove to a halt. Harmony furrowed her brow, looking up at her partner. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Ren said, taking a hesitant step forward, but she grit her teeth and winced as she did. “…Mostly.”
“You don’t have to carry me,” Harmony said. Ren looked as if she was going to protest, her ears flicking back, but then she sighed and gently set Harmony down. She shook herself out and Harmony rolled her shoulders back, smiling at Ren. “We’ll walk back together.”
Ren nodded, and Harmony wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It was a little awkward with their height difference, but they made do, helping each other as they went.
This walk back home - even though it wasn’t really home - felt much different than the last one they’d taken together, the last time they’d seen Beelzemon. They were silent, but it was an easy silence - one of comfort, and agreement, and love.
Even with everything that had happened so far, and even with everything that would happen, Harmony couldn’t help but feel a little bit of hope.