Digimon Adventure Chronicles II: Secrets Revealed

...chapter THIRTEEN ~ Speculation

Taichi stood as Vamdemon's group reappeared. Daisuke took on a murderous look from beneath the multitude of bags Ken had left him with.

“You guys are really late.” He said without anger and shook his cell phone. “You could have called, you know.”

“I know,” Ken said. “But something came up...” Mimi nodded her head somberly. Taichi's gaze fell onto Vamdemon, who somehow managed to look much better and much worse at the same time.

“What happened?” Yamato asked, having caught the tremble in Ken's voice.

“There was an accident.” The boy whispered.

“Ah...” Yamato said softly. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Should have been...” Vamdemon said quietly, causing Ken to glare at him.

“There's no need to be rude.” Taichi said, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

“Its not like that.” Ken said, realizing Taichi had misinterpreted the situation. The boy stared back at him and Ken sighed. By now all the eyes of the chosen children were upon them. Vamdemon began to grow restless.

“He...I...we-”

“A car lost traction on the road.” Angemon said. Ken sent him a thankful look. “It was going to hit Ken, but Myotismon pushed him out of the way and was struck instead. He was unharmed, but he feels he deserves to have been inured.”

“I do...” Vamdemon muttered and hid his face behind one of Angemon's wings to escape the shocked looks of the children as well as the narrowed eyes of Tailmon.

Hikari smiled and approached her brother. “See, I told you that we could trust him.”

“I guess so...” He said, slightly amazed. “Are you guys alright for the movie? I can take you home if you want, Ken...”

“No, I'm fine. Really.”

“...Myotismon? Are you up to it or do you want to go somewhere and rest?”

Vamdemon shifted the wing slightly so that his right eye was visible. He thought for a moment. “I'll go... I can rest during the film.”

Taichi nodded. “If you need anything, like a bandage or medicine, let us know, alright?”

“No medicine.” Vamdemon said quickly. Mimi chuckled.

“Okay...” Taichi said with slight amusement. I think we're all taking the cars we came in, so...”

Angemon glanced to the side and jerked his wing back. “That means you've got to detach yourself, parasite.” Vamdemon glared at him. “Use your other host.” He finished and steered him towards Ken.

“Right. See you in a little bit then.”

“I refuse.” Tailmon spat and glared angrily at Hikari, who appeared taken aback at the attitude the digimon was displaying.

“Don't look at her like that, ingrate!” Vamdemon growled. Tailmon turned to face him, hatred etched upon her face.

“Shut up!” She flexed her claws and Vamdemon shrunk back into Ken's arms. “Stay out of this, monster!”

“Tailmon...” Hikari whispered.

The cat turned back to her. “Please, Kari! I don't want to be near him! Please!”

“No...” She said with slight regret. “It would be too distracting. Even Tentomon stays in the back.”

“I'll sit on the floor, by your feet, I'll-”

“No, Tailmon!” Hikari yelled with a pained expression.

“Your upsetting her.” Vamdemon said quietly.

Tailmon turned her look of hate upon him once more. “Why does it matter to you?” She asked harshly. “You've never cared before~ It didn't matter when you were the one belittling your slaves!”

“That's enough.” Ken stated harshly and glared at Tailmon. “I'll sit next to him, alright? Then Tentomon can be next to me, and you can stay by the door.”

She struggled but slumped her shoulders in defeat. “Fine.” She said and looked away. Her eyes grew wet. Ken led Vamdemon, who had a concerned look etched upon his face, to the other side of the car, buckling him into the same seat he was in on the ride to the mall. He then traveled back around and crawled inside to the middle seat. Wormmon jumped in after him and took his previous position as well. Vamdemon smiled a little and scratched at his head. Tentomon hopped in thereafter, followed by Tailmon, who curled up in a tight ball and turned away.

The car began to move. Hikari pressed on the radio and set the volume to low. She turned around in her seat and stared at Vamdemon who glared back at her. “You've come a long way.” She said with a smile. “What you did was very brave.”

Vamdemon cast his eyes downwards. “What was I supposed to do, let him get run over?” He asked quietly. “I didn't need another death gnawing away at my mind.”

“I'm glad you brought that up.” Koushiro said.

Vamdemon frowned. “I'm not...”

“But its very important. You see, I have a theory...”

“What else is new?” Vamdemon asked sarcastically and turned his gaze to the window. Koushiro promptly ignored him.

“Ken, did anything strange happen when Myotismon was hit?”

The boy thought for a moment. “A light.” He said. “There was a light and then a blue shadow. It disappeared when he landed on the ground...”

“And he wasn't injured at all?”

“No.” Ken said, and elbowed Vamdemon who was about to speak.

“But that's strange, wouldn't you say?”

“Very...” Ken admitted.

“Well, we know that Myotismon has a crest on him, and that the human linked with it is deceased.” Tailmon's ears perked up at his words. “Assuming that the crest is indeed his, which I do believe, then essentially he is unclaimed. You say a light surrounded him upon impact. I think that was a reaction to the action of self sacrifice. What happened was that he temporarily reverted to his digital form using the power of either his crest or yours. The blue you saw was probably the uniform he wore as a digimon.”

Ken stared at him with surprise. “But...why temporary?”

“Because this form was created with a curse.” Vamdemon muttered. “It was done with powerful magic that has strict rules and guidelines I will have to follow to break it. The power of the holy devices, though not infinite, are strong enough to interrupt the magic if the desire to do so is great.”

“...so the digivice did it.” Ken said in awe. “All because he wanted to help me?”

“Not quite, though it was surely a contributing factor. I don't believe it would be possible if he had a living partner. That's what I meant when I said he was unclaimed. I believe that in a desperate enough situation, any of us can tap into his power, with the stipulations being that he wants to help us, is comfortable around us to a high degree, and that we are mutually comfortable around him. So, in your case, because you were treating him kindly, and he was at ease with you, the digivice protected him when he protected you.”

Ken smiled. “I knew that kindness was going to be the key to gaining his trust.” Vamdemon's lips twitched slightly into a smug half smile.

“Well, I sure hope that I'm never in trouble.” Hikari stated. “He hates me!”

Tailmon lifted her head up slightly. “You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be there for you, Kari...”

She smiled slightly. “I know that, Gatomon, but you just never know when danger might strike!” She said dramatically.

“I don't...hate you...” Vamdemon said quietly, and turned his head to look t her. “...Hikari. I simply...dislike you because of what I was forced into.

“It doesn't help that you are quite stubborn.”

“I am...” He admitted, “But again, it comes from my background. I'm used to being defensive.”

“I see.” She said. “I'm glad to know its not just me though.” He nodded and turned away. “Hey...you had a chance to get away from us! But, you chose not to...”

“Yeah, so?” He asked, not turning back to her.

“So, that means you don't mind our company anymore!” She exclaimed happily.

“...sort of.” He said. “I have to get used to it eventually, so I might as well start.”

“I bet you just don't want to admit it.” She teased.

“Whatever you say.” He groaned.

The car stopped. Hikari stepped out and retrieved Tailmon, who buried her face into her shoulder. Wormmon released Vamdemon's seatbelt as Ken helped him out. They entered the doors of a building.

The entire room was made of wood, and appeared as if it would belong at a camp. The walls were light, the floor dark, and the tables and chairs a shade in between. Mounted on the ceiling was a fairly large projector. On the wall, towards the front, was a screen which the film would appear on. Most of the children were already present and talking idly to one another. Ken, Hikari, and Koushiro split apart to engage as well. Upon one of the tables were a number of bags, each with the name of a child written on a tag.

Vamdemon approached Yamato with the knowledge that he was the one who had translated the show. The boy turned to him in surprise as he approached.

“Ishida...” Vamdemon said slowly. “What exactly is this about? Hikari managed to avoid my questions as to the topic...”

Sora, who stood beside Yamato, smiled. “Its a coincidence, honestly. We didn't know that you would be around...” He stared at her stupidly.

“Its a musical about vampires...” Yamato said, repressing a smile.

“...are you kidding?” Vamdemon muttered.

“No, sorry dude.” Yamato said with a chuckle.

Vamdemon blinked at him incredulously. “...dude?”

Sora and Yamato laughed loudly. “Sorry,” He said. “Its an expression my age group says a lot. It kind of slips out without you realizing.”

“...right...”

“Hey, you can tell us how accurate it is.” Yamato said. Vamdemon shook his head in disbelief. Jyou approached the triad.

“Ah,” He started. “You're standing on your own again. Feeling better, then?”

“Sort of.” Vamdemon said. “Actually, no, not really.”

“Yamato, restrain him please.” Jyou said with a sigh and reached into his bag. The other boy stared at him quizzically but did as he was told. “Let me put some more medicine on your face...”

“No!” Vamdemon groaned and tried to pull away, but his weakened body and Yamato's grip prevented him from doing so.

“You're so stubborn, you know that?” Jyou said as he dabbed the wounds. They fizzed slightly. “See, you're still alive.” He received a glare. “Well, they are healing well. I was worried that an injury inflicted on a human by a digimon might act differently, but its just like a generic cat scratch.”

“That is if a generic cat scratch generally involves the attempt to gouge out the eye of a victim.” Vamdemon snapped. “And I could have told you it wouldn't cause any problems.” Jyou appeared surprised and Vamdemon rolled his eyes. “The humans whose blood I took healed well enough.”

“Ah, right... Almost forgot about that.” Jyou said sheepishly.

“Of course you did.” Vamdemon said sarcastically. “Now, please release me.”

Now Yamato appeared surprised. “Please? That's not something I'd expect from you.” He said as he released him.

“I'm made of surprise.” Vamdemon stated. “Never come to expect something from me, because I'll just prove you wrong. And for this you can blame the angel.” He growled. “He won't listen to a request unless I say it.”

“So he's got you trained already.” Yamato laughed.

Vamdemon growled and crossed his right arm over his injured one. “Not trained, fool. I simply do what I must to get what I desire. I assumed I would have to do the same with you.”

“So you DID want the candy.” Ken said angrily.

“I did not.” Vamdemon said defensively, having not realized Ken had arrived. “I desired for you not to buy it, so I made Angemon.”

“Right.” Ken said without belief. “Always on the defense. Just admit you wanted it.”

“I will not.”

Ken glared at him but gave up.

The last of the children had arrived, and placed themselves at tables. Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Jyou at one, Miyako, Koushiro, Iori, and Mimi at another, and Hikari, Takeru, Daisuke and Ken at a third. Most of the digimon sat beside or in the laps of their partners, except for...

“Angemon?” Takeru called and glanced around. Hikari looked back and saw the angel sitting beside Vamdemon at the table furthest away from the children. They were talking to one another in low voices. Takeru's gaze followed hers. “Why is he back there?” He wondered aloud.

“Someone needs to keep him company...” Hikari said. “It wouldn't be fair to make him sit alone after everything we've said about wanting to accept him.”

“But why Angemon?” Takeru said sadly.

Hikari took on a guilty look. “If I knew he was alone back there I would have sat with him.”

“You would have wasted your time.” Tailmon said flatly. He's always preferred solitude and your not exactly his favorite person.”

“I wouldn't expect Angemon to be either, but he seems to get along well enough with him.” She said in defense. Daisuke shook his head.

“Don't worry about it. You'd probably bother him, like Gatomon said. Yep, its much better that you stay here where you're wanted.”

Hikari shook her head slightly and looked back again. Vamdemon appeared annoyed and Angemon was smiling. “They look so similar, side by side. Give him wings and they might be brothers.”

“Except they're not.” Takeru said, slightly angry. He topped staring backwards.

“Its not just Angemon, TK.” Ken said gently. “Wormmon's back there too. I'm a little jealous as well, that he's not with me, but he's happy around Myotismon and that's enough for me.”

“I'm not jealous, and Angemon's not happy.” Takeru stated, still staring at the white screen.

“Then he must be a really good actor, because he has a smile that seems like it would be hard to fake.” Ken said. “And being an angel, it just doesn't seem like something he would do.”

Hikari shook her had again and sighed. Koushiro stood with a remote in his hand. “Okay, everyone. We're about ready to start. In front of each of you is the translation of the score. If you get lost in a paragraph and the voice changes just move on.” He said and pressed a button. The projector lit up the screen and the film began.

~ Author's Notice ~

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, yada yada. Review please? Also let me know any typos you might find in my forum thing and I'll try and fix them.