Suzie was sitting in the living room, in her lap a big photo album. It was the family album, which her father had often showed her. But now it was filled with pictures she knew nothing about. She was seen as a young mother, pushing an infant around in a stroller through the park, while a small In-Training Digimon girl clung to her dress. On another picture, the young woman she had become was at the beach with her children. But there never was any picture of a father.
"Dad sounded like always when I talked to him on the phone..." she murmured. "He and Mum didn't change... but why does everything in this house want to prove me otherwise?"
Next to her, a small pile of letters and post cards was lying. The newest was from her sister, Jaarin... she was writing from a holiday resort at the beach and told her sister that she enjoyed the sun, as well as playing with the many children at the beach. Another one was from her brother, Rinchei. According to what he wrote, he was a construction worker for amusement parks. Suzie could imagine that he was never short of work, with so many children around...
But what worried her most was that she could find nothing at all that indicated that she had another sister, or even another family member called Harmony... OR Henry.
"I'm a single mother..." she murmured. "And Jaarin and Rinchei are adults, as I am... but where is Harmony?"
Suddenly, the phone rang. Startled, Suzie nearly dropped the photo album.
"I'll get it," Turuiemon said as she walked up to the phone. "Yes, Wong residence? Yes... oh, of course! No, she's not feeling to great. Yes, I agree. You really don't mind? Oh, she'll be happy to hear that! Thanks! Goodbye!"
She hung up and sighed. "Suzie... that was the boss from the taxi company your 'adult self' obviously works for. I don't really know if this man was a child, too, but he obviously seems to know about you. He was wondering why you didn't come to work, so I told him you weren't feeling well. When he heard that, he told me to tell you to get well soon."
"A taxi driver..." Suzie muttered. She had once told her mother that she wanted to drive a taxi when she was big, but... she never knew that wish would come true so quickly. "I was supposed to have a bit more time..." the young woman sighed. "I might have a driver's license, but I don't even know how to drive... what am I supposed to do? I can't pretend I'm sick for all eternity..."
"Just wait until your parents come home," Turuiemon said. "And we'll figure something out."
"It's just like this... the longer I'm waiting, the more I'm worried that if I open the door in front of them... I will see the same little kids from the photos..."
She got startled again, when the doorbell rang. "Oh no, it's them!" she gasped. "What if they don't like me anymore? Or what if they really have become little kids and I'm not a good mommy..."
"Now, get a hold of yourself," Turuiemon told her Tamer. "Whatever happens, they are still your parents, and they love you. I might not be familiar with all aspects of the human society yet, but if there's one thing I've learned while staying with your family, it's that your parents and siblings will always love you."
Hearing those words coming from her Digimon partner calmed Suzie down. "Thanks, Turuiemon," she said and gave the anthropomorphic rabbit a quick hug. "I don't know if I could deal with all of this by myself..."
Meanwhile, Gargomon had opened the door.
"My, it's certainly unusual to see you in your Champion form when Harmony's not around," a familiar voice spoke up.
"Good to see you made it," Gargomon replied. There was relief in his voice.
"Where's my little girl?" Mayumi asked and ran into the living room.
She hesitated when she saw the young, long-haired woman sitting in front of her. But while she had never seen this person before, certain things convinced her that this couldn't be anyone else but her daughter. It was mainly her face... while having matured, Suzie's eyes were still the same as before. And who else would have a rabbit Digimon with three horns on her forehead as a partner?
"S... suzie..." Sheperdmon muttered.
Suzie couldn't take it any more. She stood up, ran over to her mother and grabbed her as tightly as she could. "MOM!" she shouted. "You're okay! I was so worried... I... I was so worried you could have changed as well... I mean... everything is so weird, and... those photos... I just didn't know what to believe anymore."
Mayumi patted the back of her distraught daughter. "There, there..." she whispered. "It's all right..."
Meanwhile, Janyu had picked up the photo album. He took a look at the pictures and frowned.
Shibumi came after his colleague and pushed the still bound form of DemiDevimon into Gargomon's arms. "Here, hold onto that for a while, would ya?" He then looked over Janyu's shoulder and smirked. "Well, I must say, you definitely look like a good little boy on these photos."
"Just look at this..." Janyu murmured. "We were supposed to change as well, see? Lucemon... she has already prepared a role for both of us."
"Most likely for me as well," Shibumi nodded. "Although I wonder what would have happened to our little friend here... I doubt she'd want him to regain his full powers."
Just then, Turuiemon noticed the small shape that was hiding behind Shibumi's back. "Hey!" she shouted. "Isn't that..."
"It's BioCalumon!" Gargomon gasped and nearly let go of DemiDevimon.
"No, wait, it's me!" the grey, floating Digimon shouted. "I'm Henry! Gargomon... don't you remember me?"
Gargomon scratched his head. "Henry... Henry... wait! You mean you're the male version of Harmony that was trapped in her head?"
"I'm not trapped in her head anymore," Henry explained. "An accident happened, and now I'm stuck in BioCalumon's body... while he was absorbed by Ai."
"Harmony? Where is she?" Gargomon asked. "What happened? Is she okay?"
"I think we all should sit down... we have many things to discuss," Shibumi said. "As for our little devil friend... is there a place we could lock him up in?"
"So... you're saying you, Rinchei and Jaarin are all grownups now and have all jobs," Henry said. "While Mom and Dad are supposed to be your own kids, Turuiemon and Gargomon are married and live with you, and there's no sign for what could have happened to Harmony... and no role for either her or me to fill in."
"That's how it seems," Suzie nodded. The situation was more than strange for her: Here she was, sitting in front of a Digimon with a body that had been artificially created by Zhuqiaomon, while being inhabited by the soul of a brother she remembered nothing about... and at the same time, she, the rest of her siblings (except for Harmony) and the two Digimon that had always lived with her family had become adults in the blink of an eye.
She couldn't even remotely imagine how Henry must feel. In his eyes, he has always been her brother, but now he was not only cast out of his transformed body and into a new Digimon shape, he also had to watch how everyone around him (except for his father) had been turned into something else.
Mayumi, on the other hand, had a strange, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. It was comforting to see that her daughter would turn out to be a beauty as soon as she grew up... but it still felt wrong to see her like this yet. She knew Suzie was still the same within, no matter how much she acted like a grownup... but she still wanted her little girl back.
Shibumi and Janyu were already trying to come up with a scientific solution for this complicated matter.
"The main problem is Lucemon," Shibumi said. "Still, we can't hope to defeat her. We need Harmony, Rika, Takato and the others for that... and we still don't know where they disappeared to. For now, we have to hope that Lucemon's attention won't be drawn to us."
"So what else can we do?" Janyu pondered. "The only active Tamer we know about are Suzie... and Henry."
"Do you think I could use my - or rather, Harmony's - D-Power?" Henry wondered.
"Even if that's possible, the D-Powers have disappeared alongside the other Tamers," Turuiemon pointed out. She and Suzie exchanged an uncertain look. "Looks like we're the only ones left..."
"Hang on! Do you honestly think I'm letting my little girl fight against the minions of the most powerful and frightful Demon Lord of all times?" Sheperdmon shouted.
"But Mom!" Suzie spoke up. "What choice do we have?"
"Suzie!" Mayumi gasped. "You... you can't possible be serious, can't you? You don't even know where to start. What do you want to do, fight every single one of Lucemon's followers you run across on the street?"
"Well, that would be a beginning..." Gargomon grumbled. "I might not be able to digivolve without Harmony or the D-Power, but I have always protected this city... and this family... against imminent danger."
"I will stand by my Tamer's side," Turuiemon proclaimed. "I will protect her to the end, no matter what she decides to do."
Shibumi smirked. "Well, now they've got you, Mayumi! There's not much you can say against that... after all, as adults, they have all the right to make their own decisions."
Sheperdmon sighed. "You know what? I'm starting to think the same... normally, I would have informed the rest of my old squad, but who knows what might have happened to Mie, Roshi and Leomon..."
"That should be easy to find out," Shibumi smirked, pulled out his cell phone and gave it to the perplexed Digimon. "Just try to call them!"
Mayumi blinked in confusion. "W-well... I guess that's a good idea," she murmured. She also wondered why she didn't think of this herself.
She dialed a number and waited. She didn't have to wait long.
"Hello?"
Mayumi instantly recognized the voice as the voice of the little fox girl the angel kids had turned Taomon into.
"Roshi? Is that you?"
For a while, she got no reply. Then, Fuchsmon answered: "Mayumi? Well, good to hear that someone managed to stay normal... or is it just your voice?"
"No, no, I'm the same as always," Mayumi responded. She was overjoyed that at least one of her friends seemed to have avoided the brainwashing of Lucemon.
A loud crash coming through the phone pulled her out of her thoughts. "Roshi? Are you okay? What's going on?"
"Sorry, I'm kinda busy," Fuchsmon grimaced. "I'd love to chat, but it looks like some devil Digimon don't like it that I'm running around, with my mind intact..."
Sheperdmon realized at once that her team mate was under attack. "Don't worry, we'll come and help! Where are you?"
"I am at Captain Todo's house, but..." Fuchsmon began to reply, but suddenly, another voice yelled: "SIS! WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!"
Another loud crash made Mayumi's ears ring, and then... the line went dead.
"Roshi?" she asked. "Roshi!"
"What happened?" Janyu asked his wife.
Mayumi looked at the others in disbelief. "Roshi, he... I think he's in danger... at Captain Todos place, I think. He was just attacked, and I think I know who is to blame... but... the strangest thing is... I think he was saved by... his own grandfather!"
Suzie didn't need to hear anything else. She stood up, took her own D-Power and looked at her Digimon partner.
"Turuiemon, let's go!"
"Suzie?" Mayumi muttered. She was surprised at the determination she could see in her daughter's eyes.
"Mom... please, tell me where to go. I will do what I can to help. If Mr. Nonaka still has his own mind, like we do, I want to help him. I want to save as much people from this brainwashing as I can. I know I'm not quite acting like I normally would, but... I still know that I'm a Digimon Tamer."
Henry nodded. "Yeah, so am I! I might not be a human anymore, or even a Hybrid, but I am still Gargomon's partner... and I would never let him go face the danger all by himself."
Gargomon grinned as he put on his gatling guns. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Meanwhile, a couple of dark shadows outside watched the scene through a window.
"Looks like you were right," the Azraelmon said to his female partner. "So... shall we attack right away?"
"And endanger innocent civilians?" the Succubimon asked. "I don't think the mistress would want that... let's wait until they leave the house, then we can arrest them."
"Sounds good to me," the male devil grinned. "They will rue the day they chose to defy the rules of Lucemon..."
"I knew they would make trouble," the Succubimon said. "It was a mistake to trust in that girl just because she was once like us... her family members have corrupted her."
"Not just that, her parents somehow managed to avoid being transformed," Azraelmon grumbled. "Well, Ai's Disciplinary Squad knows how to deal with delinquents..." With a wide grin, he cracked his knuckles.
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(Posted Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:27)
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