Digimon Adventure Chronicles II: Secrets Revealed

...chapter TWENTY - Hospitalization

Vamdemon stirred. Every inch of his body was pulsing with pain and his wounds stung smartly from beneath the gauze. He opened his eyes slowly to a dimly lit room as the one beside him awakened.

Angemon propped his arm up and leaned over Vamdemon. His other arm and wings were still wrapped around his body. “How did you sleep?”

“Soundly...” Vamdemon said weakly, and shivered despite the heat from the angel's body.

Angemon frowned and placed a hand against Vamdemon's neck, checking for temperature and pulse. “I should have brought you to a hospital...” He said uneasily, eying the makeshift bandages where red shown beneath. “Jyou is going to have to get you in somewhere...and fast.”

“Its not important...” Vamdemon sighed and turned in place to face towards Angemon as Takeru entered the room. “Never mind, Matt, I found him!” He paused, and stared at his partner with confusion. “What are you doing in here anyway?”

“Just checking up on him, Takeru, don't worry about it. “ Angemon said as he pulled away slowly and covered Vamdemon's exposed body with a blanket. “I am going to fly him over to Jyou early. Tell Yamato to bring his stuff by later.”

Takeru nodded hesitantly and left the room. Angemon removed the blanket and helped a large sweatshirt onto Vamdemon's still naked body, then guided his unsteady form to the door. Yamato approached.

“Is he okay?” He asked.

“I don't think so.” Angemon said. “He's still bleeding a lot, and I think he's losing blood pressure, so I'm taking him to Jyou now to see if he can do something...otherwise I don't think he will survive.”

“Okay.” Yamato said slowly and with alarm. “Takeru still doesn't know what happened?”

“No, and I think it should stay that way.” Angemon stated firmly as he scooped up Vamdemon's body and held it tightly to his own. Yamato nodded in agreement and watched as Angemon jumped off the balcony and flew off into the distance.

Mimi stood groggily at the door and took in the appearance of the two people before her. Angemon stood tall and wore a somber expression. The feathers on his wings appeared ruffled and in some places slightly red. In his arms, and tightly held, was Vamdemon, who was barely clothed and appeared pale and sickly. She glanced at the clock then back at the two. “Is something wrong..?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, Myotismon is hurt very badly and needs to see Jyou right away.” Angemon said, brushing past her and stepping inside. She remained in place for a moment before shutting the door and delving into the house to retrieve the boy. When they returned to the room Vamdemon had already been placed upon the table and been stripped of his upper clothing, revealing the saturated bandages that had been put in place the night before. Mimi quickly looked away, unnerved at the sight of the blood and nudity.

“What happened?” Jyou asked, worry quickly invading his being.

“Attempted suicide...” Angemon muttered as he peeled away a strip of wet cloth. “And cut himself pretty deeply in a few places...” Mimi peered back to them out of the corner of her eyes, and both her and Jyou appeared surprised. “I thought he would be alright...but it seems he has lost a lot more blood than I estimated, and the wounds still haven't healed over...”

“...when exactly did this happen?” Jyou asked, stepping forward and hastily stripping off and redressing the bandages.

“Early this morning.” Angemon admitted and stepped back in fear at the menacing look Jyou sent his way. He defended,“I couldn't have brought him to a hospital...they wouldn't have taken him in.”

Jyou ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Why didn't you bring him here?!” He shrieked as he viewed a particularly deep gouge on Vamdemon's already broken arm.

“We didn't want to bother you so early.” Angemon said, and glanced down at Vamdemon, who was staring weakly upwards only at him. “It was a foolish decision, I realize now...”

“Very foolish.” Jyou said harshly, “But what's done is done. He needs treatment right away. I'm going to take him to my brothers hospital, so he'll be seen without questions.” With those words Vamdemon shut his eyes and began to drift in and out of consciousness. Angemon watched him with worry and moved him quickly to the car so that he could be hospitalized.

They brought him through the emergency entrance, where a doctor was already waiting. Vamdemon was loaded onto a stretcher and was shuttled away. Jyou followed to help hook up the various machines that would replenish his life. Vamdemon watched, temporarily awake, Jyou insert a needle into his arm.

Four hours later, Angemon and Mimi, who had remained behind, were brought into the room. Jyou was seated in a chair beside the bed and looked rather exhausted. “Every time I see him theres some new emergency.”

Mimi sighed. “I don't understand. Why would he...want to...what was he thinking..?”

“I don't think he was...” Angemon said quietly. “He was delirious when I found him.”

“Kari said that he's been having nightmares.” Mimi whispered. “Koushiro said the same thing, and that he woke up one night with a scream and covered in sweat.”

Angemon frowned. “I've heard nothing of this.”

“Really?” Mimi asked with surprise. “I thought all of the kids did.”

“Takeru and Yamato were notified?”

“Yeah... After Koushiro told me, I told TK on line. Kou was worried that he wouldn't be able to handle his nightmares, so we were all supposed supposed to keep an eye on him at night.”

Angemon's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched together. “He said nothing of it...” Mimi watched as he emitted an uncharacteristically feral growl. “If something happens with him, I want to be notified before Takeru. Furthermore, he is not to be let out of sight ever again.”

“But-”

“That is not a request, it is an order, and I expect it to be made known. If it is not I will have to watch him myself and give him less privacy then he will get without me. Do you understand?”

“Yes...” She said, slightly fearful of the anger he had displayed. She watched in silence as the monitors began to show improvements. Despite her attention on the area, she hadn't noticed when Vamdemon's eyes opened.

He stared around at his surroundings and at the odd contraptions attached to his body. After taking in his surroundings, his eyes searched for the angel, and once they found him remained fixated on his form. For minutes they stared at one another, blue eyes searching for motives in the other.

“You wanted us to give you space.” Angemon said gently. “You wanted us to give you freedom, and you went and did this... Understand that you will never be let out of sight again.”

Vamdemon averted his gaze suddenly. “...yes, Sir.” He said weakly. The three appeared confused with the words he had spoken.

“We are going to do this to help you, Myotismon, not because we want you to be unhappy. We want just the opposite, but as I told you last night, we can't help you unless you talk to us.”

“...there is nothing to talk about, and there's nothing you can do...” He muttered and shut his eyes.

“I beg to differ.” Angemon said sternly. “You say this but you haven't given us a chance. Please, if not to help yourself then to help us!”

Vamdemon made no further effort to acknowledge him, until, that is, he made to leave at the end of the day. Jyou and Mimi had long since left, and Angemon had remained to watch over him. Vamdemon had slept most of the day away, but woke each time the angel moved much or approached the door. Now that his hand was on the knob, Vamdemon grew frantic.

He sat up despite the pain in his abdomen and threw his legs over the bed. Angemon, hearing the sound, hesitated and turned around to see the pained expression on Vamdemon's face. He rushed to his side and promptly returned him back to his previous position.

“What are you doing?” Angemon asked with frustration. “If you don't stay put you aren't going to get better.”

Vamdemon hesitated now that he was being acknowledged. “What is it?” The angel prodded. “Do you need help getting up to go somewhere? The bathroom?”

“No...” Vamdemon said quietly. “I...will you...” He paused and drew in a breath. “Please don't leave me here...alone...”

Angemon took on a look of surprise at his words. Vamdemon continued. “I didn't want to be here to begin with...and I don't want to have to relive that again...”

“Relive?” Angemon asked with confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“The nightmares that I have...are memories. Dark memories that have haunted me each night since I was captured by the children. What I saw last night was the death of my partner... I don't want to see it anymore...and you did drive it away... So please, Angemon, don't leave me here alone. Stay with me, I beg of you.”

“Takeru is expecting me...” Angemon said hesitantly. Vamdemon's eyes continued to bore into his own. After a few moments he let out a sigh and shook his head. “Alright... I'll stay, but only until your out of the hospital, and so long as you will allow me to leave during the day.”

Vamdemon gave him a half smile and relaxed back into the bed. Angemon pulled up a chair beside bed and sat down, stretching out so that his legs and left arm rested upon the edge of the bed. He shut his eyes, after which he felt a hand wrap tightly around his own. He smiled and strengthened his own grip before falling asleep.