Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Diaries ❯ Two's company, three's a team! ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Dark Diaries 4
"Two's company, three's a team!"
Author ~ Rocker Starlight
Permission from Lord Archive

A/N ~ This chapter will have active speech from a character who is mute. When someone is speaking in sign language, it will often be within [ ] to help show the difference in the speech. I hope this simplifies your viewing pleasure. ^_^

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Sleep is often a time when a person can relax, letting the worries of the day fade from their body, and find rest in their slumber. During this time, the body attempts to re-energize itself, so that it can continue at its peak during the following day. While the body rests, the mind is still active, allowing us to dream of things, often forgetting them by the time we wake, and meaning nothing more then an imagination that is merely in need of exercise.

However, for Erin, sleep was a time of which he got little rest. After having a stern talking to from Ms. Klink, the caretaker of the orphanage, the teenager's body had finally collapsed from exhaustion. Soon after his eyelids shut, Erin's dreams almost felt as if they were no longer his own, sitting in darkness, as he felt pain and anger striking at him. But in the end, it always left him exhausted, feeling as if he had run a small marathon.

Only a day after the battle with Sabirdamon, and Erin was awake earlier then he usually was by about three hours, sitting on the living room couch. The only thing he wore, was a simple pair of shorts, as he lounged, staring at the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried, the nightmares seemed to be plaguing him worse. It had started when the Sabirdamon had spoken with him.

'You smell of human and digimon both. Perhaps you're the bastard child of a digidestined and their partner?' The creature's words still rang in his mind, revealing something he had no clue how to interpret. What was a digimon? And from the way he said it, a digidestined was a human, but then who were they for that matter? No matter how many ways he thought about it, it left him in the same dead end.

He assumed the Sabirdamon was a digimon itself, he thought, although it still left that question of what a digimon was wide open. What if digimon were all evil creatures like Sabirdamon? If that black T-Rex was one as well, it only pushed that theory to be true. But if he truly was part digimon, when he turned into his assimilated form, then did that mean he would be evil. Or maybe he already was?

A noise from the staircase caught Erin's attention, breaking him from the depressing line of thoughts. He glanced over to see Jill, standing in an oversized blue T-shirt, with a pair of shorts just barely noticeable from beneath them. She walked over, standing behind the couch, and stood looking down at Erin. She watched him, their heads upside-down to one another, before she moved her hands slowly. [Why are you awake?]

Erin watched the hands ask her silent question, before giving a small shrug. "Nightmare. Couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to relax down here. You?"

The twelve year old girl walked around the couch, sitting down next to Erin, with her hands fidgeting a little in her lap, before looking to him and signing. [Same. May I stay here with you?] She smiled sweetly, as she listened for her answer.

Erin smiled softly and nodded. "Sure. Maybe with company, we can fall asleep again." He watched her smile, looking like she was laughing, although no noise ever came from her. Before he could move to give her a little more room, she lifted his arm up, snuggling up against him.

Erin blushed a deep crimson, starting to move away a little, before Jill placed a hand on his chest, stopping him before she signed again. [No worry. I promised sister I would watch you. You're comfortable.] Erin relaxed a little, as he read her hands. Jill had always seemed to take to Selene and himself as her older siblings, so her words made him a little more at ease this his hormones had aloud him a moment before.

Laying his arm on the young girl protectively, Erin and Jill both closed their eyes, soon falling asleep with the comfort of having a true friend near by.

***********

Erin yawned, as he heard a soft snickering, making him slowly wake from the nice dream he had been having. He opened his eyes, only to be greeted by Brian's sneering face. Grimacing at the unpleasant sight, Erin felt a movement against his side, very closely. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, his saw a young female body snuggled tightly up against him, with a head of blond hair covering her face. Looking back up at Brian, who seemed to be gaining more of a smirk, Erin frowned slightly. This was already showing to be a bad day.

Before Erin could move, Ms. Klink walked in, walking in her gray bathrobe, with her hair pulled into a disheveled ponytail. "Alright Brian, why am I being woken up an hour before breakfast?"

Brian turned away from the pair on the couch, motioning the orphanage caretaker over to him. "I found a pair of lovebirds. Guess since Selene left him, little Erin got frisky with someone else."

Beverly walked past the young football player, showing a shocked expression as she saw the close hold Jill had on Erin. Turning to Brian, she waved her hand in a silent dismissal, simply staring at the pair.

Erin gulped quietly, as he noticed Brian snicker while he left. Thinking of a few choice words for the older teen, Erin simply watched the woman standing over him, who was staring at him rather sternly again. "T… This isn't what Brian made it out to be, Ms. K…"

Ms. Klink watched the young boy, who was starting to sweat under her gaze, before giving a sigh of exhaustion. She settled into one of the chairs next to the couch, and laid her hands in her lap, not showing the slightest emotion. "Then what is it, Erin? Why don't you explain it to me?"

Erin took a deep breath, before he began talking. "Well, I had a nightmare last night, and since I couldn't fall asleep, and I still had a couple hours before breakfast, I decided to come down here and relax. Well, Jill came down, saying the same thing, and asked if she could sit with me. Nothing happened Ms. K, I just didn't wanna leave her alone, ya know?"

Beverly watched the young teen stammer through his story, occasionally going red cheeked when the young girl on his side shifted against him in her sleep. After giving him a few moments of worrying, she nodded to him. "It's alright, Erin. I believe you. I know you wouldn't do something to hurt one of the other children. However, this is not something I can just let go. Jill is a very impressionable young woman right now. Letting her do something like this may give her the wrong thoughts. Do you understand?"

Erin nodded, gazing down at the still sleeping girl on his side, worrying a little on what his caretaker had just said.

Giving the motherly smile she often gave, Beverly shook her head to Erin. "No, I wouldn't worry. I doubt she has the wrong impression yet. However, I will have a talk with her today about the birds and the bees. I think it is about time that she understood why she can not keep acting this way with you. After all, she isn't Selene."

Erin winced slightly at the final words, although there wasn't any true malice in them. The brown haired boy hoped he would have an e-mail from her, the next time he checked it. Erin began softly nudging Jill's shoulder, shifting his body so that the signs of his morning attention would not accidentally poke her.

Slowly, the young blond awakened, yawning softly as she oriented herself with where she was waking up. Looking up through the hair in her face, she smiled softly to Erin, before standing up, and stiffening as she saw Ms. Klink sitting in the chair nearby. Feeling her cheeks turning a very deep crimson, Jill's hands fumbled as she tried to explain herself, having a horrible time trying to make her finger work properly.

Before she went on for too long, Beverly stood up, walking over to the young girl and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Erin explained, Jill. It's all right. We do, however, need to have a small talk today. Can you go get ready to make breakfast please? I'm sure the children will be awake and hungry soon."

The mute girl nodded, quickly hurrying out of the embarrassing situation. Beverly turned to Erin again, nodding to him as well. "You too, food doesn't make itself, nor does the table get ready on it's own. And Erin? Please wear something a little more concealing when you're going to be sleeping out of your room." The older woman gave a mischievous smirk, as she watched her ward cover himself, as she walked out of the room.

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This day was most definitely not shaping into one of Erin's best. After being teased by Brian during breakfast, even further embarrassing Jill more so, the teen then had to deal with the news cast giving a small report about the previous nights battle. Although Darien was glad to have some proof that he had not been lying, Erin was simply dealing with more attention, as well as further teasing from the jock.

Walking down the supper market aisle, Erin glanced over the young blond girl in her blue, simple dress. Jill had been quieter then normal, and unfortunately, the older teen knew why. About an hour before Ms. Klink had sent the two of them to the market for groceries, she had called in Jill to talk about the more adult matters Jill hadn't had explained to her yet. Ever since then, the girl hadn't signed a single worried, only responding with simple nods and shakes of her head.

Erin sighed softly, as he adjusted the flannel he had tied around his waist, before grabbing a box of cereal the twins had requested. Tossing it into the cart he was pushing, he glanced over at Jill again, wishing she would open up more. He just couldn't stand the silence from her, the lack of emotions she had been showing since she had finished her discussion.

As he glanced at the list, Erin mentally went over what was left to be acquired. With the cart almost full, then teen was wondering if they had enough room to get everything else. As he added a couple items Jill had just added, he grumbled softly to himself, before pushing up towards the line. Followed by the silent girl, he quickly paid for the groceries, taking the heavier pair, and began leading the way home.

After they crossed over the train tracks that went through the small town, Erin glanced over, mulling over his words a moment, before finding his voice. "Are you…. I mean… Is everything ok, Jill?" He mentally smacked himself for the stupid question.

Jill shook her head quietly, and shifted the two plastic bags to hang from her wrists, giving her a little leeway to speak with. [Miss Klink said this morning was… improper?] She paused before signing the final word, showing the first emotion since the talk as she watched Erin, her face a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness.

Erin blushed a little at the memory, before taking a moment to word his response correctly. "Well… Most people think it is improper to be that… intimate when two people are not a couple…" The teen's cheeks darkened a bit, stammering nervously over sentence.

Jill listened a moment, before she stopped, causing Erin to do the same as he watched her. Setting her bags on the ground slowly, the mute girl began moving her hands, keeping her face slightly downcast. [Then, I was bad for sleeping with you?]

Erin blinked at the way the statement was worded, before setting his own bags down, and laying his hands on the blond's shoulders. "Not for what we did. Ms. K is just worried you'll get the wrong impression, and I guess I am a little too. We don't want you getting the wrong idea, plus I think she might be worried you might start acting like that towards guys, when you start dating."

Jill looked up, her dark blue eyes staring into Erin's brown ones a moment, before her hands raised high enough for him to see. [But I know you aren't leading me on. I promised sister I would watch you, I would never try and steal you from her.] The sentence brought a deep blush to Erin's already red cheeks before she continued, [And I would never act that way with anyone else. I trust you, big brother.]

Watching the young girl's face, Erin smiled softly as he read her hands. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Still, I think Ms. K's worried something might happen. You know, the whole 'teenage hormonal overload' that adults are always talking about." Laughing softly, Erin watched Jill's hands cover her mouth, as she silently laughed herself.

The mute girl smiled, as she stood on her tiptoes, kissing the blushing boy on his cheek. [Thank you, big brother.] Grabbing her bags again, she started walking, smiling sweetly again, as the older teen was left to try and catch up quickly to the skipping girl.

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As the pair walked through the front door of the orphanage, they were instantly confronted with the twins, both speaking so fast, they seemed to be completing each other's sentences.

'Erin! Jill! You won't believe what's going on!" Angela began, as she reached the two teens first. " On TV, it's a…"

"Monster!" Mary quickly continued the sentence. "Another one showed up about an hour south of Flint! The news says…."

"It's been on a total rampage! They say it looks like a blue dragon guy, with big claws and green baggy pants!"

"He's got armor on his shoulders and tail too. And a helmet with a fin on the top! He also had…"

"A red tattoo on his chest, that the news lady couldn't read. Do you think the other dragon man will stop him Erin?" Angela finished, as she looked up at the two teens. Mary simply nodded her agreement with her twin, staying quiet now.

Erin stood in complete surprise, as he halfway made heads and tails of the broken sentences. He nodded slightly, as he walked into the kitchen, followed by the three girls. Setting the bags down, her looked to the anxious twins, his expression neutral. "Show me the news cast, girls."

Followed by Jill, who had left her groceries as well, Erin followed the twin red heads into the living room, where Darien and Ms. Klink were watching the news quietly. As the girls took seats on the couch with the pair, Erin stood to the side slightly, watching the surprising footage. The cameraman was a very good distance away, using his zoom to watch the rampaging monster, as it walked through the streets of a town outside of Detroit. The girl's description of the creature had been fairly accurate, only missing the red hair from the back of its helmet.

Watching as the strange creature picked up a car and lobbed it across the street, Erin began paying attention to the newscaster himself, who was speaking in a worried tone. "Ladies and gentleman, the creature is still continuing its rampage, throwing cars left and right. It has yet to act like more then an un-intelligent monster and the police have had no success in finding a way to capture the beast. This incident is being linked to the two monster sightings in Mt. Morris, with the line of thought concluding a possible connection between the incidents."

Erin began ignoring the newscaster as he listened to him babble about the prior battles he had fought in himself. 'Another digimon? Whether it is or not, I need to stop it. I'm the only one who can….' Turning around, the teen quickly ran out of the room, ignoring the shouts from his caretaker as he burst out the front door.

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The air rushed past the assimilated fighter as he flew through the afternoon sky, his helmet helping to protect his eyes from the wind. It had taken him a couple minutes to find a hiding place and assimilate, and right now, he was pushing himself harder then he had before, having been flying for about forty minutes straight with a stop.

The news cast had to be near, he was sure of it. The area looked a bit familiar, following the main expressway until the telltale signs of the possible digimon's destruction were obvious. Following the path of destruction, Erin's face hardened in determination, as he pushed himself to try and fly a bit faster.

Soon enough, the road lead into a town, now with cars embedded into windows of some of the businesses. The creature responsible wasn't hard to find, as it threw another car across an intersection, roaring loudly. It stepped out onto the street, driving its claws into the engine of another vehicle, then walking past it, as if it there was no rush to it's carnage.

Erin floated above the buildings, watching the monster, waiting for a moment to strike without having a car thrown at him. Before he moved from his position though, a flapping caught his attention, coming from behind one of the other buildings. Unsure what could be making the noise, Erin moved a bit higher in the air, staring in shock at the sight that greeted him.

On the other side of the building was another creature, large, red, leather wings keeping it afloat, despite a couple small holes in them. It's body was similar to a snakes, hanging from the creature's body, while on it's head was a bone-like mask, with two antler that looks like they were a different kind of bone, or maybe wood. Red hair, similar to the wing's color fanned out from beneath the mask wildly, as the creature's blood red eyes stared in the direction of the dragon man. As the assimilated fighter watched the new monster, he saw it open it's mouth, screaming in a feminine voice, ""Spinning Needle!" a sudden stream of energy filled with hundreds of small needle like objects firing from the gaping maw.

Turning towards the female creature's target, Erin watched as the dragon-man picked up another car, using it as a shield from the attack. It retaliated once the attack had finished, throwing its makeshift shield at the flying monster, which dodged the attack easily.

"All right, Airdramon. Keep it up, so we can try and send him back." Yelled a young girl from the top of a building, to the flyer. Her shoulder length red hair hung around her shoulders as she stood watching the battle, dressed in a normal pair of jeans and a green T-shirt. Erin was more then a little surprised to find a normal looking girl, yelling to one of the two monsters' he had found. 'Digidestined? Maybe…'

Shaking his head, the teen turned back to the dragon, watching as it slashed its claws in the air, making a slash of energy fly at Airdramon. "Strike Claw!" It continued swinging it's claws, making shot after shot of energy fly at the agile digimon, who dodged all but the final shot, which clipped it on one of it's wings.

Erin watched as Airdramon started plummeting, using it's uninjured wing to slow its descent. Finally moving into action, he flew just under the feminine creature, catching in his arms and flying her over to the girl whom had been yelling to her. As he laid her down, he took a step back, watching the shocked look in both girls' eyes. Before he could say anything, the yell from the other digimon echoed in the air, followed by a couple of its attacks striking the building the trio stood on.

As the assimilated teen turned, about to engage the attacking monster, he heard the girl call out, asking him to stop. He turned his head, watching her a moment, the unease still there, but not as strong now.

"Do you know why he's here?" She watched him closely as she asked.

Shaking his head, Erin turned slightly back to the girl. "No. But I won't let him hurt anyone." Turning away from her again, he jumped from the side of the building, flying straight at his opponent.

The new fighter caught the dragon-man off guard, as Erin barreled into its chest, crashing the two of them into the front of a nearby store. As they both got to their feet, the blue skinned creature tried to strike at the armored teen, soon putting the two into a test of strength, as they held one another's hands, pushing against each other. Although the rampaging digimon was the taller of the two, by about a half a foot or so, neither let up in the slightest.

Tired of the grappling battle, the dragon opened its mouth, as a small ball of energy began collecting. Before Erin could react, he heard it yell, "Strike Fang!" firing the energy into his chest, and knocking him back out into the street.

Erin shook his head, a little dazed from the hit, before he looked up, seeing the dragon making his way out of the damaged building. Before it could take more then a step out of the building, a spray of needles struck at its feet, making it step back. Looking up to the attack's source, Erin saw the girl and Airdramon at the edge of the roof.

Floating a couple feet into the air, Erin turned back to the pair, yelling in his duel voices. "You wouldn't happen to know a way to take this guy out, would you?"

Dodging a piece of rock thrown at him, the teen glanced back at the girl, as she thought for a minute, before yelling back. "Your gauntlets! They're Dramon Destroyers, right? That means Strike Dramon can be defeated with them!"

Erin looked at his clawed gauntlets for a moment. 'Dramon Destroyers?' Erin gazed down at the Strike Dramon, who was grabbing another large rock to throw at him. With a determined look on his face, he brought his claws together in front of him, making a beeline at the destructive digimon. As he felt that instinctive feeling in the back of his mind, he failed to hear the girl try to get his attention, as he started spinning like a top.

"Black Tornado!" The speed he was spinning at soon doubled, as his body formed a funnel of wind around him, striking the dragon digimon in the chest with the wing and his spinning claws. After a moment, Strike Dramon shattered into hundreds of small particles, disappearing as Erin stopped his momentum and landed.

Erin watched quietly as the girl rode Airdramon to the ground, watching as it began to glow once they had landed. Soon, the glowing shrank, to reveal a small creature, with a purple, oval shaped body, and small wings for ears. It landed in the girl's arms, as she walked over to him, a slight frown on her face.

"You should have waited a moment." She said, a bit of dissapproval in her tone. "I wanted to find a computer, so we could try sending him back to the digital world."

Erin blinked, still a bit shocked at the way she was acting, as well as her words. "Digital world?" He asked.

It was her turn to be surprised now, before she began giving him that appraising look again. "Are you serious?" When he didn't answer, she sighed softly, before turning her head slightly. "We should leave. With Strike Dramon gone, the authorities will be here soon, and we need to be gone."

The duel voiced teen nodded in agreement, his improved hearing already catching the sound of emergency vehicles making their way into the area. "Is she alright? I can give you a lift if you want…" He asked nervously, a little unsure how to approach wanting to talk.

She gave a soft smile, and nodded. "Please. Tsukaimon still needs to rest before she can evolve again. My names Emily, by the way."

Giving a small nod, the assimilated teen smiled gently. "Erin." He reached down, putting his question about why the digimon was being called something different aside, as he picked Emily up in his arms, taking off into the air and letting her point out where to go.

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Floramon ~ At last, Erin has met a digidestined! But as the answers he gets give him more questions, will he be ready for a more powerful attack? Find out next time, on Dark Diaries!

A/N ~ Hehe, guess I'll have the muses do the next episode recaps from now on. ^_^ Anyway, just for a point of explaining, no Ms. Klink did not have the full discussion about sex with Jill in an hour. She just gave the basics, and said she shouldn't act like that with Erin, is all. Not even I think someone could have the bird and the bees explained within one hour. Anyway, See ya next time!