A Seraphic Tale: Chapter 12

[kudzumac]

 Kudzu: hello everyone, and welcome back. Last time, we dealt with a very poorly handled angst-monkey session for Terriermon. Today, we have a chapter focusing partly on Kosuke and also has a battle that's probably ripping off the first major battle of the first Digimon season- Digimon Adventure. Joining Ayaka and I today are Megan Foster, Maxim, and their partners Dorumon and Flamemon.

Megan: Hi again! *smiles brightly at Ayaka* Nice to finally meet you, Ayaka!

Dorumon: Hmph, hey.

Ayaka: Well, you two seem like an interesting pair...

Dorumon: Least I'm not blindly worshipping the ground my partner walks on, like the digimon partners in this fic we're sporking.

Flamemon: *sits on the couch* Yeah, the way the partner digimon just act like sycophants to their partners reminds me of how Little Witchelny was towards King Aldamon before Piedmon came to visit.

Ayaka: What was it like?

Flamemon: *Sighs* Blind loyalty to the King, when all he did was sulk in his castle.

Ayaka: Oh. *looks to Maxim as the boy looks uncomfortable around Megan* Hey, Maxim, right? You ok?

Maxim: I'm fine just uh... it's nothing.

Megan: *Smiles at Maxim and sits next to him* Well! Let's see what happens today, alright Kudzu?

Kudzu: Yeah, snipping the Author's Notes due to mentioning things related to real life. Again. So... Roll Episode.

EPISODE 12: Wings of Light, Heaven's Disciple

Dorumon: It's Angemon, isn't it?

Kudzu: Yup, Kosuke's partner is a Patamon after all

Although Yun had only known her two cute little floppy eared friends for about a week or two or so, she could tell right away: her life is never going to be the same anymore.

Ayaka: And yet, for someone who can't handle big changes, you're handling this very well.

Especially now that a wicked Witchmon is on the loose, putting Dark Emblems on whatever Digimon she lays eyes on and, possibly, doing something for her so-called master. This bothered Yun somewhat. Who is Witchmon's master? Are there even more powerful forces behind what's been happening lately?

Maxim: Questions that will probably not be answered this chapter.

Nevertheless, Yun didn't like what Witchmon was doing and decided that the Digimon Brigade will teach her a lesson. She'll tell it to the rest of the members at the next meeting.

For now, Yun is simply enjoying playing with her cute little floppy eared friends, Terriermon and Lopmon, and her new mysterious amnesiac friend, Lucero, with his Shakespearian dialect and all.

Flamemon: Okay, I maybe fifteen and kind of an idiot, but even I knew how bad Lucemon and the Seven Great Demon Lords were when they went on the attack five years ago in our fic. The fact that this story turned one of the most dangerous digimon into... well, what we've seen in the fic so far? It's creepy.

She loved their presences. Terriermon, with his lively, cheerful, and vivacious personality, Lopmon and her kind, polite and gentle little persona, and Lucero and his timid and somewhat taciturn demeanor and old-fashioned dialect. She had never had friends like these little ones before, but now that they've arrived, they surely made her one of the happiest little girls in town. Yun knew for a fact that once she laid eyes on them, she would never be lonely anymore.

Megan: Um... what about your other friends?

Dorumon: Clearly they don't matter to her as much as she'll claim they do later. She has shiny new friends now.

Loneliness had been one of Yun's biggest problems before Terriermon, Lopmon, and Lucero arrived. Yun was never a social butterfly and she had trouble making friends. Sure, she has friends like Minako, Melody, Kosuke, and all of them, but she had known them her whole life and sometimes people need their space once in a while. Yun understood and accepted this with great respect, but still. It was hard. Plus they had problems that they needed to deal with. Minako's little brother died, Kosuke's mother is an alcoholic who lays around the house, Yun and Melody separated for a while (they didn't get into a fight. Circumstances which Yun didn't know about made Melody move away)

Ayaka: Enough with the parentheses! We aren't morons!

Flamemon: And yet, Yun is willing to give space to her friends because of their problems, but she doesn't even really notice Terriermon had problems until near the end of last chapter? I think?

, Otoya has to help her dad run the church, Riku has ADHD and has to deal with a myriad of disappointing looks from people on a daily basis,

Kudzu: *glares* Stop treating ADHD as if it is something to be ashamed of.

Rena has to deal with catty gossipers in her dance school, and Aria's mother died and her father remarried.

Flamemon: *checks notes about Aria's introduction* Yeah, uh... the fact that the dad seemingly came home one day with a new mom, Aria and her sister weren't invited to the wedding and hadn't met their stepmom until after the fact is still kind of weird.

Dorumon: Not to mention that Rena's situation isn't that bad. For Rena, Yun giving her space instead of being a shoulder for Rena to vent to is probably a sign she doesn't really care.

Kudzu: Think that's bad? I checked the TV Tropes Page, and apparently, Rena is going to lose a leg later.

Megan: That... sounds like it was just done to be dramatic.

Ayaka: Yeah...

It also didn't help that her own older sister, Ayaka, is very moody and is always yelling at people, including Yun, for no good reason. She probably has problems of her own that she needs to deal with.

Ayaka: Yeah, I do. Shame no one thinks to ask me about them on screen!

Yun loved her friends and family dearly, but knew that sometimes friends came and went and that sometimes members of her own family have problems they have to deal with on their own.

Ayaka: *glares* This just feels like lipservice to make Yun look good. Again.

But even Yun had problems she needed to deal with, such as her growing loneliness and the mean bullies Nemoto Nenji and Shimizu Seiko and their friends. She deals with them on a daily basis and not much can be done about them. Yun also has to deal with Ayaka and her anger problems. And sisters are supposed to love each other, even in hard times, with a few little squabbles here and there. But there hadn't been one piece of squabble or tenderness between them. The only things that ever came out of Ayaka's mouth when it came to Yun were mean names and "Go die already!" And Yun hated it.

Dorumon: *Looks to Ayaka* Did you really say that, outside of what the narrative says?

Ayaka: *frowns as she tries to remember* No... I don't think so? It's weird that I can't remember ever saying that.

Dorumon: Then it's the narrative piling on Yun's problems to make you even more of a scapegoat.

Yun's loneliness grew and grew. Not only that, the rift between her classmates and herself grew bigger and bigger, especially since they started to form cliques. Especially Seiko's clique that mostly consisted of pretty little girls who liked fashion and cute boys.

Megan: Does the writer have something against pretty girls?

Kudzu: Probably, also, this feels sexist right here or it's making Yun seem to be "Not Like Other Girls."

Yun always regarded herself as an unattractive looking person. She had grown used to people telling her mean things about how short and bland her hair is, her white skin, her striking green eyes, her plump legs, and the small birth marks on her body (most notably one of her left wrist).

Maxim: The description here is making me uncomfortable.

Kudzu: Yeah... uh... also, I think this is the first time we've heard about any birthmarks. Also, while it starts off insulting, the fact that it soon becomes a bit less insulting as it goes on feels off.

Yun had always admired beautiful things-not the things Seiko and her clique found beautiful-

Megan: But, isn't beauty in the eye of the beholder? I mean, there are things I find beautiful that others might not!

Kudzu: Again, it's the author making Yun "Not like other girls."

but still, it was hard. It made her feel more than ever as though she didn't belong. Anywhere. It also didn't help that nobody would listen to her or comfort her when needed. Sure her friends helped her at times, but there wasn't much they could do. And Yun had to deal with some nasty teachers as a young child in the past, so she lost faith in some of them (except Takahashi-sensei).

Ayaka: Boo hoo, everyone has problems, Yun. You think you're soooo world weary at eleven? You have friends that love and support you, you have digimon that protect you. I have to deal with the total BS of living in a house where everyone hates you just for existing. Why the hell do you think I lash out at people except for Shunji!?

Megan: Um... who's Shunji?

Ayaka: *Sighs happily* He's my wonderful boyfriend!~

Kudzu: Doesn't help the fact that he kept a digimon a secret from you, as we'll see next chapter.

Ayaka: Oh. Right. And the puppet taking my place is dealing with him now so... yeah...

Megan: Well, since we saved you, maybe we can swap Shunji and his partner out too!

Ayaka: *smiles* I hope so! I really miss him to be honest!

But then fate decided to smile on her one day, giving her Terriermon and Lopmon and, later, Lucero. Yun had never believed that her favorite fictional animals from a mere TV show would actually come to life. The happiest moment of Yun's life, it was indeed!

Megan: Happier than the day you made your first friend? While meeting Dorumon was one of the happiest days of my life, I still enjoy the day I met and befriended Bruce at the hospital I went to for therapy!

Ayaka: Er... why did you go to therapy?

Megan: I witnessed my dad being murdered.

Ayaka: Oh. Yeah... that's... that's a good reason for therapy.

Ever since Yun knew how to express herself, she had wanted to make up her own stories. Stories from her own fantasies. Her own creations. And when times were even sadder for her, she longed to tell the history of her own life. But how could she do that when there was nobody to tell them to?

Dorumon: Use the internet? This fic was started in 2011 after all....

Most people she knew already knew about her past, and she didn't want her stories to get out into the open for fear that Nenji and Seiko might spread them in the school and harass Yun even more.

Maxim: Yes, don't publish your stories out of fear that your bullies will torment you for it. The Internet does offer anonmity, from what I know.

Flamemon: Yeah, this is starting to get tedious, and we're barely into the chapter.

Then these two little floppy eared animals and the mysterious blonde tattooed boy appeared before her eyes. Yun was so happy. She could tell them about whatever came into her mind. In return, they happened to be very interested in whatever came out of Yun's mouth. It was like a miracle had happened. The greatest one of all (for Yun, that is). Yun could talk to them all the time and play with them and listen to them when they had something to say. They'd never interrupt her when she talked or tell her to shut up or call her mean names. Yun would ramble on and on, and they'd hear everything with eager ears.

Megan: Um... Translation?

Dorumon: Basically the digimon living with Yun are a captive audience.

Megan: Oh, ok!

Now, it's a Thursday and Yun had just gotten back from school 15 minutes ago. She sat on the couch in the living room and is reading a book. Lopmon noticed and hopped next to Yun so she could see.

Kudzu: And this makes the previous walls of text pointless padding.

"Yun? What's that you're reading?" Lopmon asked gently.

"It's Night on the Galactic Railroad by Miyazawa Kenji," Yun replied.

Ayaka: Finally! Yun is reading something made in Japan instead of something not from there!

Kudzu: Eyup, cherish it while it lasts.

"Can I see?"

"Sure!"

Lopmon happily plopped onto Yun's lap and read the book with her, gazing in awe at the pretty watercolor illustrations and at the book's articulate rhetoric. They were interrupted when they saw Terriermon trying to stand on his hands.

"Terriermon? What are you doing?" Yun asked.

"I'm trying to do a cartwheel!" Terriermon replied as he plopped to the ground.

"Looks more like you're doing a hand stand."

"I guess I'm not very good at it yet, am I?"

"They say practice makes perfect. And you have to stand normally before you do a cartwheel."

Dorumon: *Growls* Is there a point to this?

Kudzu: Fluff before the drama, I guess.

Terriermon rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Heeheehee. I see. Thanks, Yun!"

Yun and Lopmon chuckled back. Terriermon then notice Yun's choice of raiment.

"That's a pretty sweater you're wearing," Terriermon pointed out. Today Yun is wearing a cream colored sweater with pink diamonds on the chest part and long blue jeans. It had gotten very chilly, even though it had been warm for the past two weeks or so.

Kudzu: Yeah... the weather is a bit off in this chapter since it's supposed to be May, last I checked?

Ayaka: Yeah, summer weather is usually pretty warm in the northern hemisphere, I know that much. So, a sudden cold snap is pretty weird.

Kudzu: You know, it could have been a digimon causing the weather, but this detail is probably just an excuse to describe what Yun is wearing that day.

"Thanks," Yun replied.

"I like it too," Lopmon said as she laid herself against Yun. Yun hugged her little Lopmon with a smile. But before they could spend another moment of peace together, Lucero came into the living room. He wore a long-sleeved grey sweater with a myriad of white dots on it resembling snowflakes, and long beige pants. Like Yun, he is barefoot, and his golden rings stick out like a sore thumb. This time, he looks rather worried.

Ayaka: Shouldn't they be wearing socks or slippers indoors?

Kudzu: The author probably didn't think of that while writing in Japan.

"Yun? Hath thou seen my green English notebook?" Lucero asked.

"It's right there under the TV," Yun pointed under the flat screen and Lucero's pale blue eyes beamed when he saw the small green notebook.

Megan: Why was the notebook under the tv?

Dorumon: So that Yun could play hero, I guess.

"Oh, joy! I hath found it at last! I thank thee, Yun! I was so worried that I had left it at school, but now I see it's not the case!" Lucero exclaimed happily. Then Hisako came into the living room.

"Yun? You don't mind if I watch the news in here, do you?" Hisako asked.

"No. It's fine. I'm only in here playing with these guys anyhow," Yun explained.

"Yeah! We're just playing!" Terriermon exclaimed happily. Hisako laughed.

"I see. That's fine. Oh! Would you little ones like anything to drink? We have water, milk, iced tea, and orange juice-"

"Orange juice please! I'll pour it myself! I'm getting a little thirsty," Terriermon happily trotted into the kitchen and proceeded to get himself a cup of orange juice. Hisako followed him inside.

"Perhaps I will treat myself to come milk," Lopmon said as she followed him inside.

Kudzu and Ayaka: *Stare at the typo and giggle uncomfortably*

Kids and their digimon: *Confused*

"You want anything?" Yun asked Lucero. He shook his head and sat down with Yun.

Hisako helped Terriermon and Lopmon pour their drinks into small plastic cups she bought recently. She didn't want to let them handle big glass cups since their hands are so small and possibly clumsy with really big things. She helped them hold the cartons in a certain way and, once their glasses are filled, they went back into the living room to watch the news with Hisako. Lucero sat next to Yun and noticed her love for books.

"Thou must really love books," Lucero said.

Dorumon: No shit, the narration just said she loved books.

Flamemon: *sighs* Dorumon, do you really think swearing around our partners is a good idea? I mean, Megan's nine and Max is like, ten... so...

Dorumon: *frowns* I may be a rookie level at the moment, but I'm still a Royal Knight at my core, and have the mind of an adult digimon. I can swear whenever I want.

Megan: *shakes her head* I've tried to limit the swears but Dorumon is very adamant about them.

"Yeah. I do. But I'm kinda picky about the ones I like. My mom likes romance novels, namely by this English author named Jodi Picoult.

Ayaka: *sighs* And it seems the author is referencing non-Japanese authors in a supposedly Japanese setting. Again.

And I don't like any works by Shakespeare or any of those old authors from the REALLY ancient times. Like 500 or a thousand years ago. Their dialogue is sooooo hard to understand!" Yun replied.

Flamemon: And... yet you can understand Lucemon just fine, and have seemingly no real problem with how he talks?

Kudzu: Listen, there's a whole song about Shakespeare hate- seriously, look up the song "God I Hate Shakespeare," but if it weren't for Shakespeare making up some words, we wouldn't have his contributions to the English Language at all- like for example, elbow was apparently invented by him.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Your friends often say I talk in Shakespeare talk. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I do. Mostly because you don't talk in really big and hard to understand sentences. Besides, I can probably tell what you mean when you use thy or thee or thou in certain ways. I kinda got it by now."

Dorumon: *Glares* You didn't have any trouble understanding him when everyone else did in the hospital.

"Why is it that thou must say 'you' and not 'thou'?"

"I don't really know. That's kinda how it is in this day and age. Why? You curious about changing the way you talk?"

Maxim: Is there a point to this? *adjusts his cap*

Kudzu: We'll see in a second- it's to bash on Nenji the Terrible.

"No. I don't quite understand how it works. I don't understand anything that boy Nemoto says, though."

"Good. I don't want you talking the way he does, all street kid-like. Sorry if that sounds rude, but that's how he talks and I don't like it. In fact, I don't mind if you keep talking the way you do now. I like it. It sounds more proper and civilized than the way some of the kids in school talk."

Flamemon: *checks the previous chapters for Nenji's dialogue and flinches* I don't like Nenji's dialogue either, but for some reason, it feels like so far that Nenji's just kinda flat as a bully.

Kudzu: I think he's meant to be a stereotype of an American gangsta-wannabe, which.... doesn't really work in Japan since they have their own delinquent culture- the Yankii, I think.

This made Lucero smile. Then Yun stood up.

"I should probably finish up my project. Entries are due at the end of the month!" Yun said as she decided to leave her friends in the living room and work on her project a bit more.

She spent 10 minutes working on her project, drawing new pictures, and coloring in some pictures she had forgotten to tend to once before. It was almost finished, and Yun is very much liking how it's turning out. She decided she was done for today and went up the stairs. But as she arrived in the kitchen, Hisako approached her.

Ayaka: *Shakes her head* Now what?

Kudzu: The plot just showed up to say hello.

"Yun? One of your friends is here," Hisako said.

"Really? Who is it?" Yun asked.

"Come see," Hisako gestured her to follow her to the front door. Yun followed her like she asked. When she got to the front door, she was surprised to see Kosuke standing on the porch.

Flamemon: Umm... why are you surprised to see him? Wasn't he just visiting last chapter?

Kudzu: Yeah, but this is probably the first time in the story he's visited on his own.

Hanemoto Kosuke of all people! He stood on the porch, wearing an olive green sweater underneath a thick dark blue jacket, black jean pants, and brown shoes. Patamon is quietly snug underneath the jacket, held up by Kosuke's left arm.

"Kosuke-kun! Hi! Ummm...what are you doing here?" Yun asked.

Megan: He's here to deliver the plot!

Ayaka: *chuckles* Yeah, he really is, isn't he?

"Can I come in?" Kosuke asked in a low voice.

"Sure. Come inside. You must be cold! I'll make some hot chocolate for you," Hisako said.

Megan: Yeah... the sudden cold weather is pretty weird- are we sure a digimon isn't behind it?

Kudzu: We never find out, this is pretty much an excuse for Kosuke to be treated to some soup, I guess.

"Can I have some soup while you're at it?" Kosuke asked again.

"What kind of soup? Chicken noodle? Tomato?"

Kudzu: I don't know if this is a research fail, but I figured that Japan would have its own version of these soups for cold weather or at least something else that would be eaten during a cold day.

"Anything's fine."

Kosuke sat on the big couch, removed his coat, and placed Patamon on his lap. He didn't look too happy. On the other hand, Terriermon and Lopmon were happy to see him and Patamon.

"Kosuke! Patamon!"

"Terriermon! Lopmon! Hi!" Patamon exclaimed. Terriermon and Lopmon hopped onto the couch and sat on both sides of Kosuke, Terriermon on his (Kosuke's) right and Lopmon on his left. Yun sat next to him. Lucero just happened to walk in and looked confused.

Megan: We can figure out who they're sitting by...

Dorumon: *Grumbles in annoyance.*

"Kosuke? Why art thou here? Shouldst thou not be at home?" Lucero asked. Kosuke's face looked a little pain when Lucero said it.

"It's not a home. Not anymore, it isn't..." Kosuke muttered.

"What's wrong?" Yun asked innocently. Kosuke seemed reluctant to answer, but Patamon did it for him.

"Kosuke's mom is acting all weird and drunk again," Patamon said.

"How so?"

"Well, she drank a whole bottle and she keeps walking around the room all wiggly and funny-looking! She smells really bad too! And she talked to Kosuke kinda funny!"

Kudzu: Uh... I probably should have done this with just Ayaka in hindsight...

Megan and Maxim: Why? *both kids look at each other for a moment, turn away and blush awkwardly*

Dorumon: *sighs* I do not like where this is going...

Flamemon: Me neither...

"Yes. She kept acting like she was some prostitute," Kosuke muttered.

"What's a prostitute?" Terriermon asked innocently. Yun looked a little irked.

"That's...something you don't wanna know. You wouldn't like it," Yun told him.

Megan and Maxim: What's a prostitute?

Digimon: *Stare at each other in equal confusion*

Ayaka: Uh... you're definitely not old enough to know what that is- also, why the hell does my sister and her friend know about those!?

"It's bad enough I have to deal with her sitting around the house not doing anything but lay on the living room floor and angst every day, but when she's like that, it's even worse. I don't want to be around her when she's like that. She'll start having delusions and start calling me by my dad's name," Kosuke explained. He sure didn't sound happy. Not one bit.

Ayaka: What.

Kudzu: Holy shit, Kosuke's mom has issues...

Megan: Um, why is Kosuke's mommy acting weird?

Kudzu: We're about to find out Megan.

"Sorry if this is rude, but your dad left, right?" Yun asked.

"Yeah. Half a year ago. He's a big dope. Abandoning us when we needed him most. I actually used to like him, but now I wish he'd be thrown in jail for adultery! Yeah! That's what he did. He left us for some trashy woman who looks like she ate too much MacDonald's food!" Kosuke exclaimed loudly.

Kudzu: Wow. Looks like the author's looksism is showing again. Also, while I don't condone cheating on an SO, I get the feeling we're not getting the full story here as we only have Kosuke's side of things, and he probably had been turned against his father by his drunken mother and not realize it.

In a way, it scared Patamon a little bit, hearing Kosuke raise his voice like that. But Patamon HAD been curious about Kosuke's dad and what happened to him. Now his questions were answered. 'So that's what happened! Poor Kosuke! He must be really sad, not being able to have a normal family. Now I really wanna help him!' Patamon thought in his head. Yun smiled.

Ayaka: *horrified* Yun's... smiling at this, after learning about what happend to Kosuke's family!? What the hell?

Maxim: Yeah, I don't think learning about something horrible is something to smile about. At all.

"Well, look on the bright side! You have me and the rest of the Digimon Brigade, and now you have Patamon!" Yun said. Kosuke looked down at Patamon, who, in turn, smiled back at him and gazed into Kosuke's hazel eyes with his own brown ones.

Megan: But, Patamon eyes are blue though?

Dorumon: The author apparently likes to have her digimon partners be special somehow.

"That's right! No way am I ever going to leave your side, Kosuke! We're friends til the end!" Patamon said with a smile. Kosuke smiled just a little bit and held Patamon close.

Dorumon: Patamon, those are words that tend to jinx your life somehow. With an author that seems to love her some drama, be careful what you say.

"Yes. That's true," Kosuke muttered.

"If all your mother does is lay around, how do you get money for food and bills?" Lopmon asked curiously.

"I don't. That's the problem. Mom didn't sign up for welfare and I'm too young to get a job. I really want to get one so I can pay our rent! The landlord's tough on us, and I'm sick and tired of living like a poor person. I have enough clothes, that's for sure, so no worries about that," Kosuke explained. Then he turned to Yun and looked her in the eyes.

Kudzu: *googles* Huh, apparently the author got one right. Whaddya know.

"Yun. Do you mind if I stay here for a while? At least until Mom gets an into an epic hangover? It usually takes a few hours for her to calm down, so I won't spend the night," Kosuke said. He didn't realize that Hisako had just come into the room with a surprised look on her face. Kosuke noticed this and felt guilty about mentioning it.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! It sounds stupid, I know. If you don't want to, that's fine! I'll just-" Kosuke tried to explain so Hisako won't get the idea, but Hisako simply smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Kosuke-kun. You can stay here until around eight or so. I know how hard it is for you and I wish I could help you more. You've been such a great friend to Yun all these years. Perhaps this is a way for us to pay you back for the nice things you've done. By the way, the soup's ready if you want some. The hot chocolate too," Hisako explained in a nice voice. Kosuke smiled.

Ayaka: *Frowns* You treat Yun's friends with kindness, and don't even listen to me when I try to talk to you. What a wonderful mom you are.

"Thanks, Wakamiya-san. You're the best," Kosuke replied.

Flamemon: Of course the Wakamiya family is the best, they're the Yun's family after all.

Ayaka: Flamemon, you ok?

Flamemon: Sorry, a bit of bitterness came through since my family practically disowned me for being crap at High Level Programming.

Ayaka: Oh... Need a hug or anything?

Flamemon: Nah, I'm good... besides, Piedmon's adopting both me and Max, and since he's been through similar crap, he knows how it feels to be hated for stupid reasons.

"Hey Kosuke. Do you mind if we shared the soup?" Patamon asked.

"Sure," Kosuke said as they got off the couch and headed for the dining room table.

Hisako warmed up a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup, complete with warm, soft, and fresh spiral noodles, chicken, carrots, and onions. Kosuke gave Patamon a spoon so they could both share the soup. Hisako also cooked up some hot chocolate in a mug. After Kosuke got a few bites of his soup, he decided to slurp some hot chocolate while Patamon got his own share of the soup.

"Mmmmm! The noodles and carrots are sooooo good!" Patamon exclaimed as Kosuke drank his hot chocolate.

"Kosuke-kun? How is it that you're able to drink hot chocolate without being sensitive to it's hotness?" Yun asked. Kosuke put his mug down.

"For me, any food that's given to me, whether it's hot or cold, is good enough in my book. Especially since I barely have much in the house. Why? You not fond of hot chocolate?" Kosuke asked.

"Well..." Yun blushed. "I did attempt to try it once, but it was too hot and I ended up spilling some on my jacket. Yeah, it was stupid, I know..."

"Is it because you've never had hot chocolate before then? I can probably see why you wouldn't take it too good," Patamon said as he took a bite of a piece of chicken.

Ayaka: *Sighs* and of course Yun gets to show off or whatever here, when this chapter should really have focused on Kosuke from the start...

Kudzu: She hates hot chocolate? The fiend! I knew Yun was evil!

"Do you have a microwave at home?" Terriermon asked.

"Yes, and an oven," Kosuke replied.

"Kosuke cooks meals in the house!" Patamon said.

"Really? I never knew!" Yun exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not very good at it, but it's better than nothing," Kosuke said after he took another sip of hot chocolate. Patamon then looked up at Kosuke.

"Kosuke? Yun's mom said you did a lot for Yun? Are you two really good friends?" Patamon asked innocently, with his brown eyes big and warm, just like the hot chocolate.

Megan: Is this going to lead into a flashback?

Dorumon: *Covers his face with his paws* Most likely, yeah. Can we snip the flashback and get to the battle?

Kudzu: No... we got to see this horror through to the end. If anything is extremely offensive though, I'll snip it and summarize what it was.

Dorumon: Aww... I just want this chapter over with, or at least get to the fight we all know is gonna happen...

"Yep. We're childhood friends, little guy," Kosuke replied.

"How'd you two become friends?" Patamon asked.

"Oh! I'd love to hear the story too!" Lopmon said.

"Yeah! Tell us, Kosuke!" Terriermon said.

"Now now! He needs to unwind! Don't pressure him!" Yun said. Kosuke laughed a bit.

"It's alright. I've kinda unwound by now, so I'm good. Anyway..." Kosuke said as he decided to recount the story of how he met Yun.

All: *groan*

(flashback)

A young, 7 year old Kosuke is sitting on the black top playing with Digimon cards. He's wearing a short-sleeved orange shirt with two pale yellow squares on it, blue shorts, red socks, and black and white sneakers. He's smiling and looking at all the cards he's collected.

Kudzu: I don't really think Japanese schools have a blacktop to be honest, they might have a a school entrance though, but if this takes place at a school like I think it does... then I'm pretty sure this is another Americanism sneaking through about the school.

"Yes! I finally got Agumon! Awesome!" He exclaimed happily as he pulled out a card with a small orange dinosaur on it. He didn't notice that a certain someone happened to be watching him from afar who finally decided to approach him.

"Agumon!"

Kosuke stood up abruptly upon hearing the high voice, and saw little Yun standing next to him. She's wearing a sleeveless light pink shirt with two yellow stars on the bottom of it, light blue jean shorts, yellow socks, and white sneakers. Kosuke was a little surprised. Yun did nothing but point to the card Kosuke is holding.

"Dat's Agumon! Dat's a Digimon!" Yun exclaimed. Kosuke, seeing what she meant, smiled a bit.

"You like Digimon too?" Kosuke asked with a smile. Yun nodded.

"I wuv Digimon! An' Pokemon! An' Dog of Fwanders!" Yun cried out.

Ayaka: *Sighs* One of these things aren't like the others...

Kudzu: Yun's not like other children, remember?

"Cool!" Kosuke said.

"Can I see yer cards?"

"Sure. Don't drop 'em. Okay?"

Kosuke handed Yun the cards and she looked at them with her striking emerald eyes. She kept smiling as she looked at them. Once she was finished, she handed them back to Kosuke. But then she took a plunge that stunned even Kosuke.

"Wanna be fwends?" Yun asked innocently.

Ayaka: For someone supposedly not good at making friends, Yun certainly has the hang of it pretty easily... Also, I see that description about the eyes, and striking is usually used for a term for beauty I think.

Kosuke was flabbergasted. No girl he met has ever had the mettle to ask to be his friend, let alone approach him. Kosuke merely assumed that girls thought boys were violent and rough.

Megan: I'm a girl, and I definitely don't think that, I mean, my friend Bruce is the gentlest boy I know... when he's not being possessed by Megidramon, anyway.

Maxim: *under his breath* what about me though?

Kudzu: Clearly, this is the author's sexism talking, because obviously most girls must be sweet and gentle while the boys are rough and violent. *gags* Don't think I noticed the signs, author, you're clearly biased towards the girls.

Kids often think thoughts like that. But something about Yun seemed different about Kosuke. She didn't look like the type of girl who was one of the cool and popular types, or the tomboyish types. For one thing, Kosuke could see very well that Yun's simply just innocent and childlike, even more so than he is. And she liked Digimon and Pokemon! What could be wrong with being friends with a girl who likes those things?

Kudzu: Something wrong with girls liking Digimon and Pokémon? I grew up with both, and I know damn well that they aren't genderlocked- which is a stupid concept anyway and I don't care what kids play with as long as they have fun playing with them.

What could go wrong? He smiled.

Maxim: Everything. Everything could go wrong.

"Sure! I'd love to be friends with you!" Kosuke said.

"I'm...Yun! Wakamiyun!" Yun exclaimed.

"The name's Hanemoto Kosuke!" Kosuke said. The two of them smiled, Yun sweetly and Kosuke boyishly. Then he saw two other girls approaching them.

"Yun-chan!"

"Yun!"

Two girls. One has blonde hair tied into little curly pig tails going down her shoulders and violet eyes. She's wearing a short-sleeved purple shirt with a blue and malachite glittery butterfly on it, a white skirt, and purple kids' shoes. The other girl has black hair cut in a short and boyish style, light brown eyes, and is wearing a sleeveless red shirt, olive green jean shorts, white socks, and black shoes.

Megan: It's kind of funny that Kosuke remembers what his friends were wearing...

Kudzu: Just ignore it, the author probably just likes describing clothes- which is a good thing since it beats imagining the character's running around naked, or being just faceless blobs.

"Yun! We've looked everywhere for you!" The black-haired girl said. The blonde girl looked worried.

"Why didn't you play with us?" The blonde girl asked. Yun simply smiled and pointed to Kosuke.

Flamemon: Clearly she found someone more interesting.

Dorumon: *shoots Flamemon a look* Hey, who's the snarky old mon here?

"I made new fwend!" Yun exclaimed.

"Hm? They're your friends?" Kosuke asked Yun, but the two other girls answered for him.

"Yep! Yun's our friend! If you want, you can be friends with us too!" The black haired girl said.

"You like Digimon and Pokemon too?" Kosuke asked.

"Yep!" The blonde haired girl said. Kosuke gave a thumbs up.

"Cool! I'm Hanemoto Kosuke!"

"Shimotsuki Melody."

"My name's Omori Minako, but you can call me Mina-chan. And Yun-chan is Wakamiya Yun."

"I thought it was Wakamiyun."

"She can't say her own name right. But that's okay!" Melody exclaimed with her arms akimbo. But Minako looked rather worried.

Kudzu: Oh right, potential villain incoming.

Flamemon: Potential villain?

Kudzu: I just get the feeling that there's going to be trouble soon.

Flamemon: Oh.

"It's not okay to Asami-sensei," Minako said.

"Asami-sensei?" Kosuke asked.

"Yes. She follows Yun around during classes. She's mean!" Minako said.

"I know, right? She keeps yelling and being mean to Yun!" Melody said.

"I thought only kids could be mean."

"Adults can be mean too!"

"Have you told Takatsuki-sensei about it?"

"Yeah. But nobody listens."

Ayaka: *sighs* know that feeling, but then again, Yun gets away with anything no matter who chews her out, she is after all, the center of this fic's universe.

Kudzu: That is terrifyingly true.

Yun was oblivious to the conversation. But she did grab Kosuke's arm with a smile.

"Wet's pway! Wet's pway!" Yun exclaimed.

"Wha?" Kosuke asked.

"She wants us to play together," Melody said.

"Well why don't we?" Minako asked.

"Sure! Hey! Wanna pretend we're Digimon and have a pretend battle?" Kosuke replied.

"I be Wopmon!" Yun exclaimed and jumped around.

Flamemon: Because Lopmon is clearly the favorite between her two partners.

"And I'll be Agumon! Roar! I'm a dinosaur!" Kosuke roared.

So the four children spent the rest of recess pretending they were Digimon and playing pretend Digimon battle.

(end flashback)

"...the end!" Kosuke said as he took the final sip of his hot chocolate.

Dorumon: If only this was the end... but it's not. We have 100 chapters to go, unfortunately.

Kudzu: Yeah...

"Awww! How perfectly sweet! It's amazing how simply a friendship can be cultivated, especially when it comes to small things like that," Lopmon said with a smile, clasping her little paws together like she's watching a very beautiful romantic movie in theaters.

Dorumon: Is... Is Lopmon unknowingly shipping her partner with Kosuke?

Flamemon: Nah, we all know the love interest is Lucemon, so this is just a coincidence... unless the author decides to throw in a love triangle, but I don't think she'd do that, right?

Kudzu: I dunno, I'm only on chapter 15 in terms of reading ahead!

"You guys became friends by pretending to be Digimon?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah. We were only kids, and we didn't know that our favorite cartoon characters are just drawings on paper. You guys too...well, until a week ago that is," Yun explained.

Megan: Didn't the narration earlier in the chapter say it was only a week or two ago? 

Kudzu: Yup.

Megan: Did the dialogue just contradict what was already written?

Kudzu: Yup.

Megan: The writer should be paying more attention, I think.

"That's cool!" Terriermon exclaimed happily.

"Hey Patamon. You want anything to drink? We have milk, iced tea, orange juice-" Yun explained, but Patamon cut her off by raising his little paw.

"Milk please!"

Yun poured some milk into another small plastic cup and gave it to Patamon, who gulped it down happily.

"That hit the spot!"

Dorumon: Stop with the damn padding already...

"Hey Patamon! Wanna play with us?" Terriermon asked.

"Sure! I'd love to!" Patamon said.

"Since it's cold out, we can play in Yun's room. Do you mind, Yun and Kosuke?" Lopmon asked Yun and Kosuke.

"Not at all. Just make sure not to knock anything over," Yun told them. Overjoyed, Lopmon, Terriermon, and Patamon stormed into Yun's room and played to their heart's content. Kosuke proceeded to finish the rest of his soup. Lucero happened to arrive in the dining room.

"Where are the Digimon?" Lucero asked.

"In my room," Yun replied.

Yun then noticed that Kosuke returned to having his somewhat sad and solemn look on his face.

Flamemon: Incoming angst?

Ayaka: Yeah, incoming angst.

"What's wrong?" Yun asked kindly.

"Yes. Why art thou sad?" Lucero asked kindly.

Kosuke looked at Yun.

"To be honest...the Digital World kinda picked a sucky time for me to get a Digimon," Kosuke explained.

Right then, Yun realized what it was. "Oh! I get it. You're worried about Patamon because of your situation? There isn't much food in your house, right?"

Megan: Um, Kudzu, why hasn't any reported Kosuke's situation to Social Services?

Kudzu: That's... actually a good point, Megan. Kosuke is suffering neglect, and no one has reported it... I did a quick google check on Child Welfare in Japan, and in all honesty, someone should be investigating Kosuke's situation! Then again, this is Seraphic Tale, so... Kosuke has to deal with drama.

"Yeah. I'm afraid I won't be able to properly provide for him, and since I'm his partner, he needs me. Mom doesn't even bother to get a job, and I'm too young to get one. We can barely provide for ourselves. Don't get me wrong. I love Patamon very much, and he likes me too, but I'm scared that if something were to go terribly wrong, I won't be able to help him," Kosuke explained.

Yun knew very well what her friend is going through. He used to have a perfectly normal and plentiful life until his dad left, his mom lost her job, lost all of their money, and turned to drinking alcohol to drain away her sorrow. Considering how bad the economy is, it wouldn't be surprising if she just lost her job.

Ayaka: Yun, you're eleven, you shouldn't be thinking about the Economy. Also, how did Kosuke's mom lose her job and all their money? The mention of the economy just feels like a handwave and just raises more questions.

But Kosuke's situation was worse than simply losing a job. Yun didn't know what it was like to be impoverished and didn't know how to help him, but she does know that Kosuke's her friend, and friends help each other no matter what, even if they don't know how to help. But Yun remembered something she forgot to ask.

"Kosuke-kun? I was wondering...do you have other family members? You know, grandparents, aunts, or uncles?"

"I have one aunt and uncle, but they live far away. They send us money for bills a lot, but I feel bad about having to rely on them a lot. I really want to get a job. I don't care what it is so long as the pay is good."

Kudzu: Kosuke, report your situation to child welfare or something. Get the law involved in this, cause Child Labor laws are a thing. If you're not careful, you could end up in deep trouble.

Megan and Maxim: Like what?

Kudzu: *sighs* You two don't need to know that yet.

"I'm surprised your mom didn't send you to live with them. I don't mean it in a bad way or anything!"

"So that way I can still live my normal life without worrying about anything? I get what you mean, and I'm not mad. But for some strange reason, Mom doesn't want me out of her sight. She doesn't let me go anywhere but school and she won't let anyone get a hold of me, not even my aunt and uncle. Stupid, isn't it?"

Ayaka: *horrified*

Megan: Um... why is Kosuke's mommy not letting him go anywhere but school?

Kudzu: Most likely due to issues with Abandonment, and she's become obsessed with keeping her son around. She needs psychiatric help, in all honesty.

"Perhaps thy mother is afraid of losing you, the only family she has?" Lucero asked.

"Could be. But she cares more about herself than she does anyone else. Always thinking about nothing but herself and what she goes through every day. She won't budge even if I talk to her. If she did care about me, then she'd send me to my aunt and uncle so I could have a better life, but nooooo! She HAS to keep me in that rancid house like I'm some prisoner and she's the head of the jail! Pheh!" Kosuke replied bitterly.

"But she lets thee go to school, does she not?"

"That's pretty much all. But then again, she spends so much time sleeping in the living room she doesn't notice me leaving or coming back into the house."

Kudzu: Call. Social Services.

"Thou shouldst not worry, Kosuke. We shall always be by thy side, for if thou wouldst go through the dark cloud alone, thou might become lost," Lucero said. This made Kosuke both confused and flabbergasted.

"What? Speak modern dialect in this century, will you?" Kosuke yelped, but Lucero was unfazed.

"He's saying that no matter what happens, we're always here for you if you need us. Sorry if that sounds a little cheesy, but it's true. I'm sure your mom has her reasons for acting the way she is, and I don't approve of her leaving you alone like that one bit. But I don't think you should give up. Lots of kids who come from poor families manage to achieve success later in their life, so you shouldn't let go of that hope," Yun explained kindly as she put a hand on Kosuke's shoulder. Lucero too.

Ayaka: *glares* You're not sounding like a kid again, Yun. You sound more like an adult trying to pretend to be a kid.

"Yeah, that's coming from the girl who gave up on telling people about Nemoto and Shimizu bullying her," Kosuke retorted. This made Yun mad.

"That's a different story entirely!" Yun yelled. Kosuke chuckled a bit.

Flamemon and Dorumon: Sure it is.

"Sorry. That was rude. But...thanks," Kosuke whispered. Yun did feel grateful for Kosuke's kindness, but she hated being reminded that she herself is rather sensitive and cowardly when it comes to Nenji and Seiko. Lucero stood next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Megan: I don't like how the story goes back to Yun when it's supposed to be Kosuke's episode.

Maxim: Me neither.

"Yun. Thou must calm thyself, or thou might become consumed by the ugly monster that is anger," Lucero said in even more Shakespeare-esque talk. Yun took a breath.

"Yeah. Sorry," Yun muttered.

"It's okay," Kosuke said as he finished the last of his soup. "Man! That seriously hit the spot!"

"It's great, isn't it?" Yun asked.

"I hadn't had soup like this since a few months ago," Kosuke said. "So I hear you're entering the End Drug and Substance Abuse contest in school. Care to show me your project?"

Ayaka: *Groans* Oh right, that thing is still a subplot.

Yun beamed happily. "Sure! Lucero, wanna come?"

"I shall accompany thee with a smile!"

"Then come see!"

Yun happily took Lucero and Kosuke down to the basement. What Kosuke didn't know is that a small blue notebook fell out of Kosuke's pocket and fell on the dining room floor. None of them noticed. About a few minutes later, Patamon flew into the dining room laughing and with Terriermon following him.

Dorumon: Now what's going on?

Kudzu: More. Fucking. Padding.

"Hey! Come back here! That's cheating!" Terriermon exclaimed as Patamon landed on the dining room table.

"You can't catch me!" Patamon teased good-heartedly until he looked down and saw Kosuke's blue notebook on the floor. He flew down and picked it up. Terriermon saw this as an opportunity to tag Patamon. He laid a paw on his wing.

"Tag! You're it!" Terriermon exclaimed. But Patamon is no longer motivated to play tag. In fact, his brown eyes locked their gaze onto the small blue notebook. Terriermon and Lopmon, who just arrived from behind, both saw it.

"What's that?" Lopmon asked.

"This is Kosuke's poem book. He carries it around with him everywhere he goes," Patamon explained.

"What's a poem?" Terriermon asked.

Dorumon: *gets off the couch and bangs his head against the wall* I. Hate. This. Fic.

"A poem is a form of literature that uses words and their qualities to sound artistic and eloquent in nature and in different ways as well," Lopmon explained, looking like a literature teacher herself.

Kudzu: Yes, we get it author, we know you're smart. *grumbles* Least it ain't as bad as PKH...

Megan: What's PKH?

Kudzu: Something that I will not touch with a ten foot pole.

"I've seen some of Kosuke's poems. Wanna read it with me?" Patamon asked.

"Sure!" Terriermon said.

"But isn't it wrong to look at someone's things?" Lopmon asked.

Flamemon: It is, but some people and digimon don't care about privacy.

"Kosuke lets me look at it, so it's alright!" Patamon said as he flew into the living room with Terriermon and Lopmon walking behind him. All three of them sat on the floor in the living room. Patamon opened the first page and locked eyes onto one particular poem.

Wings and Chains

To this place I am bound by chains,
Every day I go through great pain.

I can't take anything with a grain of salt,
Everything I know has come to a halt.

More than anything, I wish to be free,
But I know it is never to be.

God, please give me wings on my back,
So I can leave this horrid shack.

Let me fly in the sky,
So the end will never be nigh.

But my jailer keeps me here,
And tells me I'm nothing but a smear.

I wish to break away,
So I can be lead astray.

I wish to experience love and lore,
I wish to finally fly away forevermore.

All: *stunned silence*

Kudzu: I mean, yeah, it looks like a pretty good poem for a kid to write, but well, the foreshadowing of this is just painful.

"Kosuke writes stuff like this?" Terriermon asked.

"Yep, though I've only read a select few," Patamon said.

"May I see that for a minute?" Lopmon asked. Patamon handed her the book. Lopmon took a deep, good look at all the poems Kosuke wrote, all the way to the final 10 pages which are all blank.

"Oh my! These poems all have the exact same themes and subject matter!" Lopmon exclaimed.

Dorumon: Why is it that Terriermon's an idiot and Lopmon is the smart one?

Kudzu: Because the author thinks boys must be dumb, and Lopmon is the writer's favorite digimon most likely.

"What do you mean?" Terriermon asked, confused.

"Almost all of these poems talk about wanting to fly and be free and about being trapped by chains that restrict your freedom. I wonder...is this how Kosuke sees himself?" Lopmon said. Right when she said that, Kosuke, Lucero, and Yun arrived in the living room. All three of the little Digimon gasped.

"Oh! Sorry, Kosuke! You dropped your poem book and I just-" Patamon wanted to explain, even though he turned afraid. Afraid that Kosuke might be very angry with him. But oddly enough, Kosuke gently took the book from him and smiled at him.

"It's okay, Patamon. I'm not mad. Poems are meant to be seen and read by people," Kosuke whispered.

"How long have you been writing poems?" Yun asked.

"Since I was nine," Kosuke replied.

"Don't boys normally like sports and games?" Lucero asked.

Maxim: I was never much of a sportsplayer back in my village.

Flamemon: I was bullied a lot, so I couldn't really take part in the games there and spent most of my time studying in a burnt out ruin.

Dorumon: I mean, I'm combat-oriented by nature so...

Megan: Bruce has a heart condition and can't really do sports.

Kudzu: In other words, this is the author relying on stereotypes again, I think.

"Yes, we do. But not ALL boys are like that. Not me, of course," Kosuke replied. Patamon hopped onto Kosuke's shoulder.

Kudzu: And here we see the author trying to pretend she isn't sexist or anything by not having Kosuke be a stereotypical boy while Riku suffers for ADHD- and no I'm not going to let that go.

"Kosuke's not mean and nasty and rough like that kid Nenji. Oh! Kosuke told me about him and how he's always pickin' on people. I don't think he's very nice!" Patamon exclaimed.

Ayaka: Nenji should be expelled!

"Nemoto's not a nice person at all, and I suggest you don't get involved with him. Who knows what would happen if he found real Digimon running around. He'd tell everyone about it!" Yun exclaimed.

Megan: You don't know that for sure!

"No way am I letting him know of Patamon's existence...or continue ruining your school life, Yun," Kosuke said.

Dorumon: Yun's been attacked at least twice so far in the fic. You're doing a terrible job of protecting her, Kosuke.

"What a kind, noble friend thou art!" Lucero exclaimed with a smile.

"Can I see your book?" Yun asked kindly.

"Sure. Knock yourself out," Kosuke handed her the book.

Yun read through all of Kosuke's poems. Once she finished, she handed it back to him.

"They're wonderful! You're a great poet!" Yun gave Kosuke some encomium for his poems. Kosuke blushed a bit.

Megan: I don't like the big words in this fic, they give me a headache.

Dorumon: Me too, Megan, me too.

"Oh, I'm not all that good-" Kosuke was going to scoff at Yun's claim, but was interrupted...by someone he never expected, let alone knew that particular someone is even in the house.

Ayaka: Ah, here comes the Puppet me. And I'm not happy that he never realized she was even home... I mean, my parents could have mentioned it!

"MOOOOOM! Where the heck is the hole puncher?" A very loud, piercing, incensed voice permeated the entire house, even though it came from the other side of it.

"Yun was using it earlier, Ayaka. It's in the basement," Hisako replied from the kitchen.

Stomping and very loud and contemptuous grunting were both blatant harbingers that Ayaka is VERY angry. Soon, she came back up and stomped into the living room. She stared at Yun with a very choleric expression, her eyes filled with nothing but hate.

"You just LOVE ruining my life, don't you, you BLEEP! little brat?" Ayaka screamed angrily, which angered Kosuke.

"Hey! Don't call Yun a brat or BLEEP! So what if she used the hole puncher? It's just an object!" Kosuke retored.

"Oh, that's coming from the kid who lives in a shack with a trashy mother who does nothing but lie around the house and drink every day! Get out of this house already, you hobo! We already have too much weird as heck freeloaders taking up all the little space we've got!" Ayaka screamed again.

Megan: The suefluence thingy isn't making the Ayaka Puppet very nice...

Kudzu: Trust me, I know.

Ayaka: Sorry... 

"He's not staying here! It's only until his mom calms down!" Yun yelled.

"Shut up, you brat! You always get your way so quit complaining!"

Ayaka: I mean, she does have a point, Yun does get her way, so the Suefluence doesn't have total control over the puppet's actions here.

"I am NOT complaining! I'm just telling you that-"

"I've got no time for this! I'm going to Shunji's!"

Ayaka: Oh! This is the first actual mention of my boyfriend in the fic! Oh, I hope he'll be able to tell I've been replaced by a puppet and want to find the real me!

Kudzu: He might not, I mean, he'll probably be affected by the Suefluence Yun gives off, so there is a chance that he'll be completely fooled by Splashmon's familiar.

Ayaka: Oh... right, the Suefluence... *Sighs* I miss Shunji...

Ayaka stomped out of the house. But the yelling didn't stop there.

"GET OFF OF THE FRONT PORCH, YOU FLEA-INFESTED MUTTS!"

Ayaka: Was there really a point to this moment?

Kudzu: Probably to show that Shunji exists, and also to herald the battle.

Dorumon: Finally!

"Wan!"

"Arf!"

Kosuke, Yun, Lucero, Patamon, Lopmon, and Terriermon were all scared spitless by Ayaka's yelling. But...flea-infested mutts? Something shot into Yun's head like a comet, right when she heard the high-pitched sweet voiced "Wan!" and the nerdy sounding bark. She opened the front door and saw Salamon and Labramon on the front porch, scared.

"Salamon! Labramon!" Yun exclaimed as everyone came out with her.

"Yun-chan!" Salamon yelped as she leaped into Yun's arms.

"Is...she in a bad mood?" Labramon asked, sounding a trifle frightened.

Dorumon: Eh, Megan can be scarier when she's in a bad mood.

Ayaka: Really?

Dorumon: Yeah, first time she got angry was when Esteban triggered her, she slapped him quite a few times in the face too.

Ayaka: Wow. How did he trigger her?

Megan: He accused Percy of being a potential murderer, and it brought back the memory of me seeing Daddy die.

Ayaka: Oh...

Maxim: *looks down at the floor and awkwardly squeezes Megan's hand.* Um... sorry you had that happen to you?

"She's ALWAYS in a bad mood! And I don't like it!" Terriermon said with his arms akimbo.

Ayaka: I have my reasons for being in a bad mood! I may not remember all of them, but I do know that a couple of my problems involve Yun and my Parents always siding with her!

"Wow. I never knew," Patamon said. Salamon looked up at Yun with frightened violet eyes.

"Yun-chan! We're sorry to come here so suddenly, but you've got to come to the train tracks now! Wan!"

"Is there a Digimon running loose?"

"Yeah! A Devimon to be more specific! Wan!"

"What? A Devimon?" Kosuke exclaimed.

Megan: Oh! Before Maxim came along, we faced a pair of Devimon while rescuing Mr. Stark! Dorumon actually digivolved into his Rookie form to take down Ice Devimon's wings so that our team could beat him more easily!

Ayaka: Wow, Dorumon must be pretty strong.

Dorumon: *Smirks* My final form is Alphamon, you better believe I'm stronger than I look!

"Yeah! And he's REALLY powerful! Melody-chan, Mina-chan, Otoya-chan, Rena-chan and Riku-kun are there now fighting it, but he's too strong! Worst of all, he doesn't have a Dark Emblem! You've gotta come and help!" Salamon importuned sadly. Yun hugged the frightened little puppy.

Dorumon: *grins* A strong Digimon that doesn't need one of those stupid emblems enhancing it? Shame I can't join the battle and defeat Devimon myself!

Ayaka: You... really like Combat, don't you?

Megan: *sighs* Yeah, he really is. I don't like it much, but I'm kinda glad that my partner likes to fight, if he hated violence like I did, then he probably wouldn't be able to protect me as often as he does.

Dorumon: Yeah, sometimes a digimon partner has to act as a foil to their partner to balance them out and help that partner grow. If we were all blindly loyal to our partners and treated them like gods, then our partners wouldn't really grow that much, outside of their ego.

"Don't worry. Thanks for letting us know. We'll go and help you out," Yun crooned sweetly.

Ayaka: Yun saying this in a sweet voice... kind of creeps me out.

"Kosuke! You brought your digivice, right?" Patamon asked. Kosuke pulled his vermilion digivice out in a flash.

"I always come prepared!" Kosuke exclaimed. Yun already had hers on her person.

"Come! I'll lead you to them!" Labramon went ahead, and everyone else followed. But not before the kids grabbed their coats.

Flamemon: Yeah, for some reason it's mysteriously chilly that day...

It's very cold outside, but this didn't bother the children at all. Yun knew where the train tracks were. She and her mom drove over them lots of times. They're by the station, which is about 20 feet from the park on Yun's left. She had never gone this far before. Perhaps fighting Digimon would be a nice way to get her out of the house. But this isn't the time to be thinking about leaving the house more often. A Digimon is loose, and possibly wreaking havoc and destroying things, and it's the Digimon Brigade's duty to take it down!

Megan: This doesn't seem like it's important...

Kudzu: Just more padding.

Once they arrived at the train tracks, they managed to find Melody, Minako, Otoya, Birdramon, Rena, Lekismon, Riku, and Firamon...along with a very tall (quite possibly 12'6' in height, if such a height was possible at all), very big, very dark, and extremely scary and frightening Digimon. This gigantic demon has entirely black skin (though his mouth is perfectly white), long black horns pointing upward like a goat's, demonic bloody red eyes, a white spot on his forehead, perfectly formed chest abs, an orange bat tattoo on his abs, belts on his very long and skinny arms, left leg, and waist, an orange bat mark on his left foot (if you could call it a foot), grey skull tattoos on both of his shoulders, and very long, black bat wings with a myriad of holes in them like he had been repeatedly attacked by a stronger Digimon. One with a beak, probably. He also has brown belt straps on both of his arms.

Kudzu: Actually, Devimon's black "skin" is more of a black bodysuit, and the horns are more like a steer's than a goat's. 

"Stay back, Devimon! You're not coming any further!" Lekismon exclaimed as she readied her moon gloves.

"That's right, you heartless demon! There are innocents here, and if you dare lay a finger on them we will show no mercy!" Firamon yelled.

"Oh calm down, you infidels!

Kudzu: Uh... that's an unexpected word with some issues attached...

I didn't come here to hurt any humans! To be honest, I never knew you low-lifes existed until now. You're not as holy and awe-inspiring as I imagined anyway. How come you're not the size of my master, who's 100 feet tall? Wow! Talk about unsightly and worst of all weak and scrawny! Lawful heart!" Devimon exclaimed in a deep and demonic voice. His last few comments angered both Melody and Riku.

Maxim: What's with the random Lawful Heart?

Kudzu: *Shrugs* Least we got a clue about what the master is... I think. Lots of huge digimon out there though.

"Hey! Are you saying you expected us to look all Godly and muscular?" Melody yelled.

"Talk about high expectations! You're a real nut, you know that?" Riku yelled as he jumped around like a protestor in a flash mob.

Flamemon: That's a phrase.

"Shut up, runt! I came here by accident! My master sent me to find some Digimon and use the Dark Emblems to convert them into followers. He's very intent on having legions of Digimon serve him, whether it's naturally or by force! Buuuuut somehow that spoiled brat Witchmon threw me into some portal and now I'm here! She's always claiming she's more powerful than me, though I'm more threatening than her! But then again, this world is very interesting. I wouldn't mind doing a little exploring!" Devimon explained. He sighed in a tired way when he mentioned Witchmon.

Megan: I don't know about Witchmon, but I kind of feel sorry for her too. Can we rescue her like we did Ayaka?

Kudzu: Sadly, no. She's still loyal to her mysterious master, and might try slapping Dark Emblems on the digimon in the complex.

Megan: Oh...

"Wow. Witchmon really must be a clone of Lindsey Lohan or something. Always making people do her bidding like a little princess and order them around.

Kudzu: I don't think kids in 2011 would know or care about Lindsey Lohan- especially Japanese ones.

And I thought Devimon were supposed to be an evil king who doesn't take orders from anyone. What a dope!" Rena muttered to herself, very flabbergasted by what she just heard. In her mind, Devimon is supposed to be a totally evil deity who was all powerful and didn't take orders from anyone. The evil deity part she got right, but why would someone as evil and dignified as Devimon follow orders from a spoiled princess like Witchmon? And how could Witchmon be stronger than him?

Dorumon: It could be more than strength- she could be more experienced than him as well. Not to mention that sheer power isn't everything, you got to know how to play the enemy with strategy as well. Moron.

"By 'exploring' you really mean destroying everything you lay your eyes on! Do you really expect us to believe that load of dog turd?" Birdramon asked.

Dorumon: Yes, can't swear around the children, dumbass. *rolls eyes*

Ayaka: You really are a grumpy old man at heart, aren't you?

Megan: Yeah, he is. But after seeing the digimon partners in this story so far, I wouldn't trade him for a different partner!

Dorumon: *blushes* M-Megan, geeze, you're embarrassing me...

"If you really want me to, I will! Hand of Death!" Devimon roared as a huge sphere of ominous black energy formed in his big clawed hand and he threw it at Birdramon.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Moon Night Bomb!"

Birdramon made firey meteors come out of her wings so she could deflect the attack. Lekismon helped out by sending out her own balls of water, both of which worked. Otoya and Minako both saw Yun, Lucero, Kosuke, and their Digimon and were overjoyed. Salamon ran to Minako.

"Oh thank God you're here! This guy's a real nut job!" Otoya exclaimed.

"So we saw," Yun said.

Ayaka: Yeah... you're once again not sounding like a kid here, Yun... it's kind of creepy.

"Quite the unholy thing, he is," Lopmon said.

"Yeah! No wonder he's evil!" Patamon exclaimed.

Kudzu: Normally, I'd complain about the obviously evil thing but this time I gotta let it slide. Mainly because well, Devimon is totally evil.

"I was the one who sent Salamon and Labramon to get you. Do you think you can lend a hand?" Minako asked with Salamon in her arms. Yun smiled and made her hand form a fist.

Kudzu: Oh, just now noticed that Minako's here. Glad she's alright.

Megan: Why wouldn't she be?

Ayaka and Kudzu: Uh... we'll explain later.

Megan: Ok?

Dorumon: *checks the notes so far and sighs* Oh boy...

"Friends never abandon each other! Of course we'll help!" Yun exclaimed.

"Let's beat this demonic creature from the netherworld!" Kosuke exclaimed.

Lopmon digivolved to Turuiemon, Terriermon to Gargomon, and Salamon to Gatomon. All three of them proceeded to attack.

Maxim: Um... did Yun just digivolve both her digimon!? I thought she could only do it one at a time according to the notes?

Kudzu: Yeah... guess she can digivolve them both at once now that her partners reached Champion level once.

"Gauntlet Claw!"

"Gargo Laser!"

"Lightning Paw!"

All three Digimon charged away. Unfortunately, Devimon flew away from them and their attacks failed.

Dorumon: Gargomon still has range on his side, he could still shoot Devimon down.

Flamemon: Sadly, this fic's writer didn't think of that.

"Grr! How can we get him in the air?" Yun exclaimed. Then Minako suddenly beamed.

"I have an idea! Yun! Our digivices can be used as lassos, right? Devimon can't go around flying in the air forever. He'll have to descend to the ground and take a short break before he can fly again. Right at that moment, we use on lassos on him. While we're doing it, Gatomon can use her Cat's Eye Hypnosis to paralyze him, and that'll give us an opportunity to land an attack on him and defeat him!" Minako explained with a smile. Gatomon listened in on it too.

Dorumon: *facepalms* Right, the notes mentioned those stupid lassos. I guess they had to use them in this battle somehow. Also, you don't know how long Devimon can fly, nor do you know how strong he really is. So, this plan has a good chance of failing due to unknown factors. In battle, you got to prepare for any and all situations, and also learn how to improvise when Murphy throws a wrench in your plans.

"That's a great idea!" Yun exclaimed.

Dorumon: It's a terrible idea.

"A very smart move indeed!" Gatomon said.

"But how do we distract him?" Patamon asked.

They didn't know this, but right when Patamon said that, Devimon happened to catch sight of Lucero from the air. The very sight of Lucero made him both confused and appalled.

Flamemon: Wait, is... is Devimon going to recognize Lucemon?

"WHAAAAAAAAT? How...how can this beeeeee?" Devimon screamed angrily. In a snap, he decided to descend as he extended his claw so he could grab Lucero. Right then and there...

"Firamon! Let me off here!"

"You got it!"

From above, Riku leaped off of Firamon as a long white light appeared on his digivice, resembling a sword. He descended onto Devimon's back and shoved the sword-like light onto Devimon's back. Devimon roared in pain as the blow dredged into his back. Yun found this to be a great opportunity.

All: *Stare*

Dorumon: What...what the hell!? Since when could the digivices in this fic emit blades!? Also, while I appreciate Riku taking initiative here, I would have liked to know that the digivices could create swords!

Kudzu: Yeah, this is the downside of the fic focusing mostly on Yun- we never see things like the other characters discovering things by messing around.

"Everyone! Get your digivice lassos out! Tie him down!" Yun yelled.

Everyone heard her, got their digivice lassos out, and threw them onto Devimon, hoping to conduct Yun's plans and see it to fruition. Sadly enough, Devimon shrugged off the pain and flew into the air, taking everyone else with him.

Dorumon: Told you the plan was terrible.

"Petty attacks like that will never stop me!" Devimon yelled as he flew into the air, flapped his wings very hard, and managed to send the kids flying back onto the ground. The champion level Digimon were ticked off.

"Don't ever throw Melody around like she's a rag doll, you ugly monster! Meteor Wing!"

Kudzu: Yeah, couldn't go one chapter without calling an obvious enemy ugly, huh?

"You think you're so tough? Well think again!" Gatomon said as she leaped onto Firamon's head.

"Your evil presence is not welcome in the human world! Go back to the Digital World at once! Fira Claw!"

"Anyone who dares to make Rena come off as ungraceful will feel my wrath! Moon Night Bomb!"

"Stupid, much? Gargo Laser!"

Practically all the champion level Digimon proceeded to attack Devimon with their signature attacks. Unfortunately, Devimon both evaded and deflected all of their attacks, sending them flying. Turuiemon is the only one who proceeded to catch most of the kids and break their falls.

Dorumon: These newbies only have two weeks worth of experience at most. Devimon here, obviously knows what he's doing. Then again, knowing this story, something is going to happen to catch Devimon off guard.

Kudzu: Yeah, this is basically ripping off the Devimon fight in the original Digimon Adventure.

Ayaka: Original?

Kudzu: There was a reboot made in 2020.

Ayaka: Oh.

"Thanks Turuiemon!" Yun said as she was put down, along with Kosuke and Riku.

"Not a problem," Turuiemon said. She leaped onto a big tree and decided to help out the other champion levels. But something was on Kosuke's mind.

"Riku. Question! What was that thing you did with your digivice just a few seconds ago?" Kosuke asked.

"Yeah! That was cool!" Patamon said.

"Please! Tell us!" Lucero said. Riku smiled.

"Sorry if this is a bit of a sucky time to tell ya, but I was messing around with my digivice out of boredom the other day, and look!" Riku explained as he pulled out his digivice, and the blade-like light appeared from it. "I made it into a sword! I thought about how cool it'd be if I could use it to fight Digimon on my own, and all of a sudden it happened! It's so cool! You should try it too!"

Kudzu: I already said this, but I really wish we could have seen when Riku did this, instead of pulling it out of nowhere with an asspull and doing this to cover it up.

Maxim: *messes with his solid black D-Watch and summons a beautiful black and red blade to his hand* Besides, my sword's cooler.

Megan: *does the same as Maxim and gets a ray-gun* And I can handle range attacks!

Kudzu: Put the weapons away, kids.

Kids: *Dejected* Aww...

Yun and Kosuke looked down at their digivices, ruminated for a bit, and looked at each other.

"Let's try it out right now!"

Everyone held their digivices in their hands, turned them into glowing swords, and had the champion levels assist them in fighting Devimon. The children and the Digimon fought hard with all their might. Even though Devimon kept avoiding and deflecting all of their attacks, they didn't give up. With many more attacks and glowing digiswords hitting Devimon, he was getting madder and madder.

Flamemon: *Frowns* Do these kids even know how to properly use a sword?

Kudzu: Probably not.

Dorumon: As a Royal Knight, I'm kind of offended by this. Then again, we are nearing the end of this chapter.

Kudzu: Eyup.

"You humans are so persistent! Get out of my way! Razor Wing!" Devimon screamed angrily as he used his wings to create a huge, powerful, and ominous gust of wind that blew away all the champion levels, so much that they were reverted back to their rookie forms. All of them bounced onto the grass. Labramon, Lucero, and Patamon became very worried.

"I suppose it's only natural that Devimon is too powerful to handle. Only a holy Digimon can defeat him," Labramon said.

Dorumon: You have a Holy Digimon in the form of Gatomon- you think that gold ring she has on her tail is just for show? That's a Holy Ring, it's the source of her power.

Megan: But, Kosuke's partner hasn't evolved yet, and neither has Otoya's! Since this has been partially focused on Kosuke, then that means it's his turn to digivolve his partner and get a victory!

Dorumon: *Grumbles* I took down IceDevimon after a fresh digivolution to Rookie. These digimon are wimps compared to me.

"If only I had a Digimon and a digivice...I'd be able to help!" Lucero said.

Dorumon and Flamemon: YOU'RE A DIGIMON!

Ayaka: Yeah, but he conveniently forgot that detail due to his amnesia, remember?

Both Digimon: *grumble and nod*

But Patamon had other worries entirely.

'Kosuke and the other kids and Digimon are fighting so hard! And I can't even digivolve! Why can't I digivolve? I need to help Kosuke and protect him! I'm sick and tired of not being able to do anything!' Patamon thought as worry and fear wracked his little mind. He didn't even notice until it was too late that Devimon, with his long claw extended, flew angrily toward someone nobody expected him to target.

Lucero.

"YOU SHOULD BE DEEEEAAAAD!"

Megan: Wait, *checks notes* Lucero was near-death, and Devimon, so far is the only digimon that recognized him. So... could this mean that Devimon might have been involved in what nearly killed Lucemon and caused his amnesia?

Ayaka: That's actually pretty impressive as a deduction.

Megan: Thanks! Daddy used to be a private detective before he was murdered and had his heart turned into an Aegiomon. I guess some of that rubbed off on me!

Ayaka: Wait, what?

Kudzu: Explain later, battle now.

Patamon, seeing this, finally decided he couldn't take it anymore.

"Lucero!"

He flew in between Lucero and Devimon's claw. Devimon's claw caught him instead of Lucero. Patamon found himself trapped inside the darkness that is Devimon's hand. Everyone witnessed Patamon's brave, chivalrous and valiant deed. But they weren't happy with it. Especially not one person.

Kudzu: And this is totally ripping off Digimon Adventure, I'm pretty sure.

"PATAMOOON!"

It was Kosuke. Totally incensed with anger, Kosuke ran to Devimon's arm and leaped on it in a flash.

"Kosuke-kun! What are you doing? Get out of there!" Yun exclaimed.

"Yeah! He's too powerful for you!" Terriermon yelled.

"Come back down right now! Wan!" Salamon barked.

"Kosuke-kun! Get off of him!" Minako yelled.

"Are you serious, Kosuke?" Otoya screamed.

Kosuke clutched onto Devimon's arm, not caring about the fact that Devimon is spitting mad.

"Let go of him!" Kosuke screamed.

Dorumon: *Impressed* Kosuke must really care for his partner to risk his life like that. It's stupid to do this without some way to defend yourself, but eh, I'll give him points for effort.

"Hmph! So what if I caught a little weakling! No matter! But get off of me, you bag of flesh and raw meat!" Devimon yelled and waved his long arm around.

Kudzu: Flesh is Raw Meat to some people. That just made you sound stupid, Devimon.

Despite how much he was being thrown around, Kosuke didn't let go. Not one finger came off of Devimon's arm. He held on tight with all his might. He wanted to get Patamon out of his arm. He wanted to set Patamon free, no matter what. Very slowly but firmly, he climbed up to Devimon's hand and laid his own hand on one of Devimon's fingers. He climbed again and wrapped both of his arms around Devimon's finger. He then pulled on it. He pulled and pulled. He didn't care if the wind was violently brushing against his face. He didn't care if his insides were doing epic backflips. He wanted nothing more than to free Patamon from Devimon's corrupt clutches. He finally managed to pull Devimon's finger enough to reveal Patamon's face. Patamon looked up and saw Kosuke desperately holding the finger up.



Kudzu: This is what this paragraph reads like.

Ayaka: Huh. Were you waiting to use that one?

Kudzu: Maybe.

"Kosuke!" Patamon yelled with a smile. He then proceeded to pull himself out of Devimon's hand. After a short while, he finally got out.

"Patamon! Go back to the group! You'll be safe!" Kosuke yelled.

"But what about you?"

"I'll get down somehow! Don't worry about me!"

But how could little Patamon NOT worry about Kosuke, his human partner? Kosuke just saved Patamon, even though his life is in danger. The little winged Digimon was now worried about Kosuke now that Devimon's anger has reached it's peak.

Flamemon: And that's terrible.

Dorumon: Probably not as terrible as stealing fourty cakes... unless you're Astamon during a Sweets Prohibition.

Ayaka: Huh?

Dorumon: Long story.

"Off with you, human!" He screamed as he did the most unthinkable thing possible.

He threw Kosuke into the air. HARD. Straight up into the sky.

Maxim: Welp, he's dead now.

Flamemon: At least until the Deus Ex Machina saves him.

"KOSUKEEEEEE!" Patamon screamed loudly, but Kosuke could barely hear. He felt himself rising into the air and then falling. He opened his hazel green eyes and saw the evening sky, draped with nothing but blue, even though it's past four right now. Kosuke felt as if he were rising into heaven itself.

'The sky...it's so beautiful. Is this what it's like...to be free?' Kosuke thought. Then he closed his eyes. He didn't open them. He was preparing for his fall. Toward death. He didn't even notice his digivice, and Patamon, glowing in a bright mango orange color.

Maxim: Mango...Orange?

Kudzu: Yeah, that color is pretty gaudy, isn't it.

Patamon became enveloped by a warm mango orange light. Everyone saw this. Even Devimon, who was intimidated by the sight, saw it. And he was NOT happy.

"What? What is this?" Devimon screamed.

Dorumon: You're end, Devimon.

"It's Patamon! He's digivolving!" Rena exclaimed.

"How wonderful!" Labramon said.

"Patamon, digivolve to..."

The orange light enveloping Patamon became bigger and bigger until it finally dissipated. Very oddly enough, Patamon didn't look like a little winged guinea pig anymore. He had turned...human. Well, he has six pure white wings, a silver helmet that covers his eyes, white abs with some silver spots on them, a light blue cloth wrapped around his waist supported by a black belt, a gold shoulder pad on his left shoulder, and long, shimmering, flowing silver hair catching the sunbeams from the setting sun.

All: *Stare*

Kudzu: And of course, Kosuke's Angemon is a recolor. Author, what do you have against the canon color schemes of digimon?

"...Angemon!"

All of a sudden, Kosuke felt himself fall onto something. And it didn't hurt. Wanting to see if he had died, he finally opened his eyes. He saw Angemon, looking down at him sympathetically and kindly (though his covered eyes didn't show it). Kosuke saw himself wrapped in Angemon's strong, caring white arms. Angemon's smile said it all.

Dorumon: *Sighs* Yeah, yeah, just get the fight over with now... it's dragged on long enough.

"Kosuke. I'm glad I saved you in time. Now we're even. But don't put yourself in danger for me again. If I were to lose you, I don't think I could live with myself," Angemon said in a male adult voice. Totally unlike the sweet and adorable Patamon who was always friendly and childish.

Dorumon: *Frowns* I have a deep voice for a rookie, and I'm certainly not childish, and Flamemon is also a rookie and sounds like a teenager. Just because a digimon digivolves doesn't always mean it's an instant personality change.

Megan: But Dorumon, when you digivolve into Reptiledramon or Grademon, you tend to go berserk.

Dorumon: Well, yeah, but while I try and keep in control in most of my forms, my combat instincts sometimes take over anyway.

Kosuke was smitten by this pure Digimon's sublime and divine presence.

Ayaka: Smitten?

Kudzu: Huh, I guess Kosuke is probably going to turn out gay.

He looked like one of God's heavenly disciples himself, with his divine presence and holy aura.

Flamemon: I mean, he is an Angel Digimon...

But something else seemed to strike Kosuke as odd. He already knew of Angemon's existence in the TV series, yet the Angemon holding him in his arms right now...looked very different from the ones on TV. He felt like he just HAD to point it out.

"Why is your hair silver? Shouldn't it be orange? And why is your loin cloth light blue instead of just blue?" Kosuke asked.

Dorumon: Not the time.

Angemon blushed. Hard.

"Must you really call it a loin cloth?" He asked back.

Dorumon: *Groans and hits his head against the wall again*

Everyone watched with awe. Rena couldn't help but throw a little tantrum.

"Awwww! Why must Kosuke's Digimon be super duper hot and handsome?" Rena exclaimed.

Flamemon: Seriously!?

"Isn't this not a good time to be talking about who has the best Digimon, sis?" Riku yelled, confused by Rena's odd behavior. Angemon remained in the sky and Kosuke got onto his shoulder.

Flamemon: I agree with Riku here! This is bad comedy!

"Angemon, I have an idea. Let's both attack him together," Kosuke told him with a straight yet courageous face.

"I agree. But how can we do that?" Angemon replied.

Dorumon: *Watches with interest*

"Put your holy powers into my digivice. I want to see what happens. Then once I lay my own attack on him, you can finish him off."

"Heaven is always on the side of those who use their powers for good instead of evil. Now let's do it!"

Kosuke got his digivice blade out, and a pure white light eminated from Angemon's hand. The light shot out from it and onto Kosuke's digivice blade. The light enveloped the digivice for a few seconds and then dissipated. Now it looked like a real sword, with a handle and a pretty design and everything. The handles resembled Angemon's six wings with an orange gem in the middle of them. Kosuke liked how it looked.

Kudzu: The prose ruined the moment and I don't feel like correcting this. 

"Awesome!" Kosuke said.

But Devimon was not happy with this new twist.

"Do you really think your holiness will stop me? Think again, infidels!"

Kudzu: Dude, seriously... stop using that word!

Devimon proceeded to attack with another Hand of Death. But Angemon threw Kosuke at Devimon, right above his outstretched arm, and Kosuke charged at him.

"Take this, you corrupt creature from the netherworld!" Kosuke yelled as his new and improved digivice blade dredged into Devimon's forehead, making him roar in pain. Not only that, all the digivice lassos from the other Digimon Brigade members wrapped around his legs. All of them wanted to help out.

Dorumon: Don't steal Kosuke's moment. Also, nice hit with the sword, Kosuke, if you weren't under some intense Suefluence, I'd take you and Riku in as my apprentices.

Megan: Dorumon, do you really want to talk shop right now? 

"We thought you could use some help!" Yun exclaimed as she struggled to keep her digivice lasso stuck onto Devimon. Kosuke leaped off of Devimon and made way for Angemon to attack.

"Now, Angemon!"

Angemon caught Kosuke with his left hand. His right hand is glowing in an orange and white light. He rose his fist into the air and...

"Hand of Fate!"

Aimed it at Devimon, and a white light shot out from it, permeating Devimon and his evil. The intense amount of holy energy pained the evil and corrupt creature. Light and darkness were never exactly totally compatible, so this was natural.

Megan and Maxim: *look at each other in confusion*

Megan: I have the Crest of Light and you have the Digimental of Darkness fused to your chest, Maxim. And I think we get along great!

Maxim: *blushes* Y-Yeah, we certainly do!

As Devimon was about to fade, he looked at Angemon.

"No...it can't be...he's alive..."

"Who is alive? Care to elaborate?"

"He...should be dead! My master...all of us...destroyed him!"

Devimon turned to look at a frightened and frozen in place Lucero.

"Lu...Luce-"

Flamemon: Wait, if Devimon and his master worked together to destroy Lucemon, then how come Witchmon didn't recognize him, or any other digimon that saw Lucemon in Human Form? I mean, Lucero is just Lucemon without his wings, he still has his tattoos and holy rings, so it's kind of obvious there's something not normal about him. So... what exactly is going on here?

Kudzu: A plot hole, of course.

But before he could say Lucero's name, or the name he assumed 'should be dead', Devimon finally faded. The holy energy finally consumed him and his data flew back to the Digital World through a small portal in the sky. Then it dissipated. Everyone watched with awe.

"Wow! That was so awesome!" Otoya exclaimed.

"Yes! Devimon's evil has been eliminated!" Labramon said.

"We did it! We did it!" Riku exclaimed as he and Coronamon danced around.

"We can use our digivices as swords!" Melody said.

"How awesome is that?" Rena exclaimed.

"Eeeek! Devimon was soooo scary!" Lunamon exclaimed.

Angemon set Kosuke back down to the ground with a smile. Kosuke looked up at him.

"Thanks a lot, partner," Kosuke muttered.

"It's a partner's duty to protect their kind. Your chivalrous deed and your yearning for freedom helped me digivolve, and for that...I guess you could say we're even," Angemon explained kindly, like the holy and noble-hearted Digimon he is.

Dorumon: Thank you for stating your duty as a digimon partner. We also help our partners grow as people by not kissing their asses.

Even though everyone rejoiced in Devimon's defeat, something still left Yun rather perturbed. Lopmon and Salamon noticed it.

"What's wrong, Yun?" Lopmon asked.

"Yun-chan! Why aren't you happy? Devimon's defeated! Wan!" Salamon said.

"That's the problem. We managed to defeat Devimon so easily, but...we couldn't defeat Witchmon. That bothers me. Devimon's supposed to be even more powerful and corrupt than Witchmon, but how is it that we were able to defeat Devimon easier than we did Witchmon? Not only that, Devimon targeted Lucero. He acted as if he KNEW who Lucero was!" Yun explained.

Dorumon: Yes, we did just see what Devimon tried to do to Lucemon, no need to rehash that.
As for Witchmon, as I said before, she could just be more experienced in battle and actually knows what she's doing. Sheer Strength alone does not a warrior make.

"I always thought it was because most of us weren't able to digivolve yet. Wan!" Salamon said.

"Yes. That is a problem. What's more, even Devimon mentioned a master and yet we don't know that master's name. I speculate that there may be more Digimon serving this master," Lopmon explained.

Flamemon: No duh, detective.

Maxim: Yeah, that's pretty obvious, Lopmon.

"I was thinking the exact same thing. Perhaps there's more to the Dark Emblems than meets the eye," Angemon said.

"But hey! Look on the bright side! We managed to defeat Devimon and Patamon digivolved! We'll defeat Witchmon somehow!" Kosuke said happily and enthusiastically.

"Yeah! We will! We just need to get better and stronger, that's all," Yun backed him up.

"So...what do we do now?" Melody asked.

"Anyone wanna go for a day of flying?" Biyomon asked.

Megan: But... the narration said it was sunset, which means it's night time by now. You spent most of the day doing stuff already!

Everyone agreed to the idea. Biyomon digivolved into Birdramon and most of the kids got on her back. Yun, Kosuke, Terriermon, and Lopmon settled themselves into Angemon's arm. And the two winged Digimon flew all over town.

The kids were awestruck. The town looked so small and scrawny from so high up. They felt the gentle breeze blowing their hair out and caressing their faces. They saw the ever-changing scenery happening above and below them. The eternally blue sky looked very vast, open, and wide. It looked as if it continued on forever, which it did. Kosuke is the one silently admiring and loving everything the most. He felt as if he were really flying. He wasn't afraid at all. He didn't feel trapped. He didn't feel bound by chains. He didn't feel any burdens or a lingering sense of responsibility like he often did. His face lit up when he saw the vast blue sky presenting itself before him. The striking and beautiful sight almost moved him to tears. But he held them back. He did, however, go into a pensive state.

Ayaka: You know, this chapter probably would have been better if it showed Kosuke's side of things...

Kudzu: Eyup.

'The sky...it's so beautiful. Is this what it's like to be free? Free of everything? To feel heaven through the tips of your fingers? This is what I should be doing. Flying. Being free. Free from everything. But I can't. I'm bound and trapped by the chains that Mom put on me, and I don't think I can get them off. I wish...I wish I could go back to those days. The happy days. When my family was whole...complete...normal. And happy.'

Flamemon: I don't think that last "And happy" was necessary...

Kudzu: Also, not all families consist of a husband and wife with children- what about gay couples with kids and single parents? That line about normality feels like it's mean-spirited to me.

Kosuke remembered when his family was hole. His dad, mom, and himself. His dad before he left. His mom before she became an alcoholic (as Yun and the others knew her best). The happy memories they spent together as a family. The picnics. The amusement parks. The thrills. The joy. Everything. Kosuke yearned for those days to come back. But he knew he couldn't get them back no matter what.

He did get two things today: Patamon's digivolution, and inspiration for a new poem.

Kudzu: *watches as Megan, Maxim and their partners leave the room* Man, this one just dragged on and on... anyway, the author's notes at the end mentioned that the ending of this chapter leads right into the next one, which is Shunji's introduction into the story.

Ayaka: *gleefully* Hooray! We finally meet my awesome boyfriend!

Kudzu: Yeah... see ya next time.

Comments

[pan2000]

Flamemon: *sits on the couch* Yeah, the way the partner digimon just act like sycophants to their partners reminds me of how Little Witchelny was towards King Aldamon before Piedmon came to visit.

Ayaka: What was it like?

Flamemon: *Sighs* Blind loyalty to the King, when all he did was sulk in his castle.

Aldamon: And even I didn't like that!

Sues: Really? We would strive for that!

Kosuke remembered when his family was hole.

Well, I have seen worse typos.

Ayaka: *gleefully* Hooray! We finally meet my awesome boyfriend!

Will this mean another good character?

All: *Stare*

Kudzu: And of course, Kosuke's Angemon is a recolor. Author, what do you have against the canon color schemes of digimon?

Noticed that many hack authors make a recolor and pretend it's something original. Chris-Chan is the worst case.