"H-Harmony?" Suzie muttered uncertainly. "What are you saying?"
"Oh no!" Lopmon gasped as she came into the room after her Tamer. "Don't tell me that magical game Azulongmon mentioned has affected you..."
"G-game?" Harmony murmured, shaking her head. "What game? I... wait a minute... what's going on here?"
She looked around her room. Saw the poster of a popular male singer, while Henry knew that he had bought the poster of a female singer. She also saw the half-open drawer with girl's underwear, and the pink alarm clock standing next to his bed.
"I'm a girl..." she muttered. "I'm really a girl..."
'Of course I'm a girl!'
"And I'm... a Digimon?"
'A Hybrid! But I only learned about my digivolving powers ever since a few days ago.'
"But... why don't I remember anything of this?"
'I do remember!'
"What?"
Suzie looked at her sister with worry. "Um... Harmony? Are you all right?"
"Why are you talking to yourself?" Lopmon asked.
Harmony grasped her head and sat down on her bed. "Who... who is this? Who's speaking in my head?"
'This is MY head! I am Harmony and I am a girl!'
"No, no, no! I'm Henry and I'm a boy!"
'Yes, you are, but I am not!'
"But... but why? If you are a girl... then why am I...?"
'Suzie!'
"What?"
'Take a look at Suzie!'
The young Hybrid looked down at her younger sister and saw how nervous and confused she was. Lopmon was also very concerned about the well-being of her Tamer's sister.
"Are you feeling fine?" Lopmon asked. "Shall we consult your parents?"
"Yeah, or maybe a doctor?" Suzie suggested.
Harmony winced. "No... no, I'm fine, Suzie. Listen, I... I'm just a bit confused, that's all. And I'm very tired... so can we please talk later? Um, I... I'm sorry we can't go to the ice cream parlor today, but I'm just not feeling fine."
"But... we never planned to go there today," Suzie wondered. "We were there just a few days ago, remember?"
"Oh? Okay then... I think I just need to lie down and sleep... okay?"
"O-okay..." Suzie muttered. "I, um, hope you're feeling better soon."
Suzie and Lopmon left Harmony's room. Lopmon gave the canine Hybrid girl a last, worried look and wondered if she should inform her parents or not.
After the other two girls were gone, Harmony closed the door and sat down on her bed with a groan.
"All right," she then said. "Who are you, what are you doing in my head and why does everybody believe I am a girl?"
'They just believe you are me,' the voice inside her head explained. 'You... you must be Henry, right?'
"Yeah, I am!" she nodded. "And you are... Harmony?"
'Yes. I am Harmony, Suzie's big sister and Terriermon's Tamer.'
"W-wait a minute! Terriermon's MY partner. And the only older sister Suzie has is Jaarin."
'Well, back before Takato found the RPG Maker, maybe. I had a hard time grasping it myself... but when he wanted you - or rather, me - to be a new member for the hero party, you turned into me.'
"Whoa, whoa, what are you saying? What did Takato do? What hero party? What are you talking about?"
Harmony sighed mentally in her double's mind. 'I guess I have much to explain...'
"Dang! Dang, dang, dangit, double dang!" BioCalumon cussed.
"Bio?" a high, female voice spoke up. "Don't swear! Mommy always says that she will clean my beak with soap when I do that. Swearing is not nice!"
Bio looked down at the cute little Biyomon that was standing below him, next to his other 'charges'. Gomamon, Biyomon, Agumon, Gabumon and Tentomon, every single one of them a young Digimon child he had digivolved to their Rookie level, promising them loads of fun, playmates and toys to play with. Of course, they were all Hybrids, which was visible in their slightly bigger appearance in comparison with other members of their species. Their bodies were also more human-like than that of other Digimons. Unlike other Gomamons, this one was able to walk on two legs. Tentomon's eyes were looking like human's eyes (even though he wore thick glasses).
"Can we go now?" Agumon whined. "You said we would meet a cool guy who knows many games."
"Yeah, you said he has many sweets," Gomamon nodded.
"And an Xbox 360," Tentomon added.
Gabumon stuck out his tongue. "Nerd! Everyone knows Xbox is a piece of junk! The Wii is the best console in the world!"
"Is not," Tentomon pouted.
"Is too."
"Everyone, calm down!" BioCalumon groaned. "All right, all right, yes, I promised we could meet that guy, but please be a bit more patient. You're going to see him soon enough."
"Well, where is he?" Biyomon asked impatiently while stroking the head of the doll she was clutching. "Lili and I are getting bored."
BioCalumon grinned and looked over at the huge building that was across the street. "He is... in there!"
The big sign above the entrance read: 'Monzaemon's Digimon Asylum for Difficult Children'.
"Sir!" the human nurse said as the stranger in the wide cloak and the huge hat came walking past her. "Sir, you can't just go in there! Do you have an appointment?"
"What? Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know that was necessary. I'm just here to see my nephew. I learned he has been admitted to this facility and I just came to town on business, so I wanted to see him."
"Well..." the nurse seemed uncertain. "I'll have to ask the doctor..."
"Please," the stranger smiled. "I wanted to make it a surprise. He rarely has the opportunity to see me, and the two of us have always been... very close!"
The nurse sighed. "Well, I suppose I can make an exception this one time. What is your nephew's name?"
The stranger lifted his hat a bit and grinned at her with a long fox's muzzle. "Thank you so much, miss! And his name is 'Betamon'."
Just a few minutes later, Betamon was being brought into a meeting room with a big table and a few chairs. He was being led by a Kiwimon, who was working at the asylum as a male nurse.
"There you are, brat!" he grumbled and nudged the delinquent kid with his beak. "Now be a good boy and say hello to your uncle."
"What's the meaning of this?" Betamon spat angrily. "I don't have an..."
Then his gaze fell upon the Digimon that was sitting in one of the chairs, his hat lying on the table. It was Doumon.
Doumon smiled. "Hello again, nephew." He turned to the Kiwimon. "Could I please talk to him in private for a few minutes? It has been a long time."
"Very well... but only ten minutes, okay?" the Kiwimon muttered. "I'll wait outside."
When Kiwimon had closed the door, Betamon jumped up on the table and smirked. "Well, it took you long enough to get your ass here! Now, get me out of here!"
Doumon smiled down at the amphibian Rookie. "No."
"What? What do you mean, no? We're partners, right? Buddies, brothers, fellow Demon Lords!"
"Not any longer," Doumon said, his smile turning into a deep frown. "Betamon, you are a selfish, immature, disobedient brat, and I've had it with your insolence! I always believed you to be a soul mate, but it seems like I was wrong. I should have never accepted you as the Lord of Gluttony!"
"Wh-what are you saying?" Betamon asked, angry and confused. "I thought you told me the power of Gluttony CHOSE me to be its new host. You said I was DESTINED to be Leviamon!"
Doumon held up a golden ring that was connecting seven dark crystals. "You know what this is, Betamon? No, I didn't think you would. This is the Virus Circlet, the origin of the Seven Demon Lords! Ever since the seven sins became part of the Digital World, they turned into dark souls that could possess any Digimon that would fit the criteria. But then, another dark Digimon appeared. It was so dark and so powerful that even the Demon Lords paled in comparison. The Four Sovereigns could have never stopped this mighty creature from destroying the world. But the Digital World was young anyways, and the four Digimon that would some time later become the Four Sovereigns were still young Rookies. The only one who was able to stand up against the evil monster's power was the golden God Beast Digimon himself, the creator of the Sovereigns and the protector of the center of the Digital World itself: Fanglongmon! Still, he wasn't able to find and destroy that evil creature's legacy... this circlet! These dark crystals stand for each of the seven sins, and they can easily absorb the dark data the sin virus is composed of. I found it, a long, long time ago, when I was still a young and naive explorer of the Digital World. Only after I touched the crystal of Greed did I know what my destiny was, and so I turned into Barbamon. But I still needed six additional followers... and the first one I met was you, Betamon! Your ruthless ways of dealing with trouble makers intrigued me, and your gluttony made you worthy of becoming the host of Gluttony, the new Leviamon... at least that's what I thought."
Doumon's dark eyes stared down at the little Rookie who had been used all the time. "Now I know I was wrong. You were just a tool Betamon, a shell for what is rightfully mine, as long as I carry this circlet... and now I have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine!"
Before Betamon could react, Doumon held out the circlet and touched the amphibian with the crystal of Gluttony. Betamon yelped in pain when suddenly, a dark stream of viral energy came out of his mouth, flying right back into the crystal. Now it was glowing in an eerie, light blue light.
Doumon put the circlet back into his cloak and pushed the Rookie onto his back. "I already visited DemiDevimon's mother, you know? She actually managed to win that trial at court, and now little Tako's living with her again. I told her I was one of his teachers, and it was as easy to take his own Sin Virus from him as it was with you. I don't need you brats! All I need is this!" And he clutched the inside of his pocket.
Betamon groaned in agony. He was feeling very weak, and a throbbing pain was wandering through his body. He felt empty and helpless. "No..." he groaned. "My power... my destiny... come back here, you... you... you big meanie!"
Doumon laughed. "Farewell, Betamon! Be thankful that I let you live. Just imagine: One day, when you're a grownup, you can tell everyone how you once had the - undeserved - honor of being the Lord of Gluttony! But for now, I need to find a new partner!"
He left the room, and ever since that day, Betamon could hear Doumon's evil laughter in his nightmares.
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(Posted Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:23)
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