Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Diaries ❯ Learning Curves ( Chapter 5 )

Dark Diaries

Entry 5

"Learning Curves"

Author ~ Rocker Starlight

Permission from Lord Archive

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The moment the roof was under his feet, Erin had a sinking feeling of apprehension. Letting Emily down, along with her digimon, he shifted nervously, almost expecting something bad to happen. Being in such a large city in his assimilated form was not helping to ease his tension.

The red headed Digi-destined smiled softly, nodding back to him as she took a step forward. "You can change to a human I'm assuming?" She watched calmly as he nodded his response. "Go ahead. Your safe here, and there is something I should give you too."

Erin tensed at the last words. Safe? He had really begun to think nowhere was safe anymore. But he did as she asked, grasping the coin tightly in his hand as he watched her quietly.

She gave a courteous nod, before she began leading him towards stairwell a few feet from them. "I won't keep you long, since I'm betting you need to get home too. But I just want to gi…"

Both teens have a look of surprise, as another pair of kids ran out of the stairs. They both looked to be around the same age as Emily, although more shocking to Erin were the pair of digimon following them. One looked like a little white seal, with a small red Mohawk on it's head, who was following behind a boy who's brown hair looked like it was in a natural state of dishevel, while wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. The other digimon had a head like the bulb of a flower, along with hands that did as well. However, while it's body looked like it was the same color as leaves, aside the lower half of it's head, which was red, it had a lizard-like tail coming from behind it. The little flower like creature was standing in front of a young blond girl protectively, who seemed to have a bright smile on her face.

The brown haired boy ran up to Emily, giving Erin a sidelong glance for a moment. "Why the hell did you go without us? What might have happened if that Strike Dramon had been too strong you alone?" His voice sounded slightly annoyed, but the worry in it was over powering it.

Emily gave a small sigh, as she patted the boy on the shoulder. Turning her head to Erin, she smiled softly to him again. "I'd like you to meet two of the other members of the Detroit team. This is Greg, our resident pessimist, with his partner Gomamon, and Sue with Floramon." She turned back to Greg, who was giving a distrusting look at the nervous teen standing behind her. "And Erin here provided more then enough assistance. Now if you wouldn't mind Greg, how about e-mailing Mimi and telling her the problem is taken care of, so she doesn't make the trip here for nothing."

A soft giggle from the stairwell caught the Erin's attention as a young girl walked out. She was closer to his own age, wearing a blue mini-skirt and a T-shirt that was the same colors as the flag with one big star in the center of it. Her brown hair hung a little below her shoulders, as she walked up to the small group. Right behind her was another plant like creature, this time with a more oval head with a small flower on it and flat hands with small colored claws on the ends.

"Actually, I got here a couple minutes before Greg saw you flying up with your new friend." She walked up to Erin, smiling gently. "A pleasure to meet you, my name's Mimi Tachikawa." She offered her hand to the teen, who returned the handshake gently. "No need to be so nervous, we're all friends here."

A soft snort from Greg definitely said differently from some, while Sue walked over, smiling brightly still. "Wow… so you're the Digi-destined who's been stopping those digimon up north? Who's your partner?"

Erin blinked slightly, his cheeks blushing a little from the sudden attention. "P...Partner…?"

Sue tilted her head curiously. "Yea, your digimon partner." She picked Floramon into her arm, who was still watching Erin warily. "Like Floramon is my partner, and Palmon is Mimi's partner." She motioned her head, indicating the plant digimon who was standing next to Mimi. "So who's yours?"

Erin fidgeted a little, getting more nervous by the second. "I...I don't have one…" He watched as everyone but Emily and her partner gave a startled look.

"But…" Mimi was the first to talk, giving him a gentle look as she did. "Then how have you been stopping the digimon attacks that have been happening in your town?"

Erin looked down a little, his hand gripping the coin harder. "I stopped them…"

A few moments of silence followed, as the Digi-destined took in what the young orphan had just said. Then Sue set Floramon back on the ground, walking over and wrapping her arms around Erin, getting a very deep blush from him.

"It'll be alright. After all, you're not alone anymore." She pulled back from the hug, once again smiling brightly. "So do you want to join our team?"

Greg sputtered slightly, frowning deeply at Sue. "Now wait a minute! We don't even know him, you can't just ask him to join us out of the blue!"

As Sue turned around to argue her point, Emily stood between the two, putting her hand up to stop the argument before it began. "Alright stop it you too. This is not the time, nor the place for this." She looked over to the Erin. "Thank you for the ride, as well as the assistance with Strike Dramon." She looked over to Mimi, who gave her a small nod. "If you ever need us, Mimi can explain how to get in touch with us. I do hope you'll keep in touch though." Taking her team members by the arms, she firmly lead the both of them to the stairwell, continuing to try and stave off an argument between the two as their partners followed them.

Erin blinked, trying not to show the sad feeling he had. He had appreciated the offer, but the way the boy had reacted….

"Don't mind him. He's the type that is very pessimistic. And Sue's a bit on the opposite of the spectrum." Mimi smiled softly as she watched the brown haired teen closely. Reaching in her pocket, she pulled a CD in a small plastic case out, handing it to him. "Here. A Beginner's Guide to Digimon. It can explain most of the basics you might wanna know, as well as having notes on most of the known digimon right now. A place to get an account and e-mail is also in there, so you can contact other Chosen and Digi-destined."

Erin blinked a little in surprise, as he looked at the CD, holding it in his hand. "Chosen?" He asked, as his curiosity got the better of him.

Mimi smiled and nodded. "Yep. Chosen and Digi-destined is basically the same thing for different areas. In Asia, children with Digimon partners are called Chosen, while almost everywhere else, they are called Digi-destined."

Erin nodded slightly, noticing for the first time that the girl was oriental. Unfortunately, the reminder killed his urge to figure out more, as his depression of Selene's distance began settling in again.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality as he looked up, seeing a concerned look on Mimi's face. "Are you alright?"

Nodding, the teen figured his face must have shown the sudden mood swing, for her to notice. "Y… Yea… I should get going, before everyone wonders where I am…" Turning quickly, he began walking for the roofs edge, as his hand tightened on the coin once again.

Mimi watched as the boy walked away, a concerned look crossing her face. "Well, if you ever need to contact anyone here, then the information on how to do it is on the CD, alright? And don't hesitate to say hi!" She smiled softly at the departing teen's back.

Erin stopped at the roof's edge, gazing down at the street full of cars as he listened to her last words. Giving a silent nod in acknowledgement, A soft purplish light began glowing from his right hand. "Coin fusion." He stated simply. He glanced back to Mimi, who gave a surprised blink at him. "Thank you." He gave a weak smile, before turning back to the sky. "Digital Assimilation!"

As the teen yelled, Mimi watched in awe, as a dark, almost purple glow covered his body, soon leaving him in the armor of his assimilated form. She stared in surprise, as he took off into the darkening sky, until she felt a tap on her leg.

"Mimi… He looked almost like Black War Greymon." Mimi looked down at her partner. "And were his eyes…"

The chosen of purity nodded. "Yea… Before he changed, they were glowing red…" Picking up her partner, Mimi began walking for the stairs. "We should go. I'm sure Ikkakumon is having his hands full with your 'son'." She giggled softly as she saw a small blush form on the plant digimon's cheeks. Giving a last glance in the direction that the teen had flown, she started walking down the stairs. "I bet Koushiro has a field day, when he finds out about this."

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Erin sat behind the orphanage, quietly staring at the night sky. He was still having trouble grasping what had happened a few days ago. As he moved his gaze to the coin that was once again in his hand, He thought quietly to himself.

'Others… But they aren't like me. They're partnered to digimon, who help them like Airdramon helped Emily. I don't have anyone but myself though… So what does that make me then?' Sighing softly, Erin closed his eyes, the thoughts still troubling him.

Although there had not been any more attacks since the Strike Dramon incident, Erin's days had been anything but restful. The night he had arrived home, Ms. Klink had still been awake, and once again reprimanding him for being out beyond the orphanage's curfew, as well as not telling where he was going. For the last few days, he had been on extra cleaning duty, for punishment, dealing with Brian's smirks and quips making the small jobs even more tedious.

Looking into the stars, Erin felt his depression welling up again. While he was being punished, he had been able to convince Ms. K to allow him use of her computer, stating he just wanted to check his e-mail for letters from Selene, as well as try and learn about the creatures that had been attacking. He was thankful in the end, she had decided to agree, stating that as long as nothing inappropriate was being viewed, he could use it.

The CD Mimi had given him had been very informative, telling a lot about digimon, their evolutions, as well as many types. He had even found the three he had run into, finally knowing the name for the Dark Tyranomon that had shown up almost a week ago. He had also set up an e-mail account, so he could access the forum and such, all run by a Chosen named Koushiro, from Japan. He knew he probably should post something, but he just could never think about what to say.

The most startling had been when he had found one specific digimon entry in the listing. Black War Greymon. The digimon had the exact same appearance as the dragon man on his coin, as well as the same armor he wore when he assimilated. But the worst part had been reading about the Black War Greymon that had fought the Odaiba Chosen, a digimon made of something called Control Spires, that had been a monster of destruction, ultimately being killed by War Greymon and Angewomon of the same group.

"He was a monster who destroyed things. If I wear the same armor… Does that mean I might become the same?" Ever since reading what had happened to the fake digimon, Erin's worries over what he had become had come back in force. The knowledge had kept him from learning more over the last few days, not even going near the computer during that time, from fear of finding something else out that he didn't want to know.

"Erin?" The teen turned his head, closing his fist over the dark coin, as he saw Ms. Klink standing in the backdoor of the orphanage. "I thought you might be back here. Thinking about Selene?" She gave a gentle smile as she asked.

The mellow teen simply looked away slightly turning his gaze back to the stars again.

Giving a small frown, the orphan's caretaker looked up at the sky herself, taking a moment before speaking. "Your punishment is over today. Would you like to go to the mall with the rest of us tomorrow?"

Turning back to the older woman, Erin stood up quietly. "No thank you, Ms. K. I doubt I'd be much for company with everyone right now." Before she could say anything further, he slipped past her into the home, quietly walking away from her.

Beverly Klink watched her young ward walk past, sighing softly to herself. "I wish he would open up more," she quietly said to herself. Giving a final glance at the night sky, she walked back into the house herself.

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Erin lay in his bed silently, enjoying the quiet of the empty household. It had been a little over an hour since Ms. Klink had taken the rest of the children to the Valley mall and the teen had yet to leave his room yet. Unfortunately for his plans on staying in his bed, hunger was finally getting the better of him.

After a rummage through the kitchen, Erin began walking back towards the stairs, as he glanced into the living room. 'Someone must have left the television on.' He thought, walking over to the couch to find the remote. Just as he was about to turn the TV off, a flash of red caught his eye. Frowning slightly, he turned the volume up, taking a seat on the couch.

"And returning to our top story, we have pandemonium in the Valley Mall. Two creatures have been running amuck, one looking like a red demon with tattoos and a black pitchfork, accompanied by what looks like a young woman in a witch costume, including a broom and black cat. The Authorities have been notified, but for now the mall is attempting to evacuate itself, to keep the number of casualties down."

The camera panned away from the reported, zooming in from a distance on the demon creature, taking a swipe at someone with its pitchfork. Behind it, the witch girl, with larger then normal hands and its red dress sat on a floating broomstick, giving the demon a slightly bored look.

"Digimon…" Erin stared in shock, as he heard the reporting beginning to repeat himself. Standing up, the young teen sprinted out of the house, as the dark coin, now in his hand again, began to glow brightly.

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Darien was officially scared witless. Hiding behind Ms. Klink, he could just barely see the demon looking creature, laughing darkly as it jumped from place to place. As it moved around the center of the mall, taking random swings at various people, while the crowd continued panicking. Although it wore no clothing, it's red skin had various black tattoos on it's body, along with the typical pointed tail and small bat wings on it's back.

The witch wasn't acting in the same way though. Floating almost to the glass ceiling, the female seemed to be almost pouting, as she watched her companion hop around. Her red pointed hat was tilted slightly, the same color as the dress covering her body, while the small black cat on her broom, as it the problems below would never effect it.

Watching in horror, the young boy stared as the demon swung his pitchfork over a small family, scaring the baby the woman was carrying into cry, as they ran away. Darien could feel Angela and Mary both standing right behind him, with Jill in front of him, holding a hand protectively in before him. Blocking her though, Ms. Klink and Brian both stood, shielding all the young children as they watched in horror. The hallway they had planned to escape down had been caved in by one of the demon's attacks, and although he had not noticed them, it had not left them many options for escape.

Remaining inconspicuous was not to last, as the demon's eyes turned towards the groups of orphans and their caretaker, grinning darkly. As it floated it the air, it glanced up to the witch, calling out. "Witchmon, don't you wanna join in the fun? Come on, these humans make such great toys." It started floated towards the trapped humans, as it's grin turned malicious. "And their screams are exquisite…"

Witchmon sighed softly, as she floated lower. "Maybe to you, Boogeymon. I'll just be glad to be out of here. Being teamed with you to find out why none of our trackers returned or relayed anything back is not my idea of fun." She sneered at the demon, as she landed, the cat hoping onto her shoulder as she held her broom in her hand now, revealing how much larger her hands were then normal.

Boogeymon landed in front of the small group, half turning away to look at the witch. "Don't enjoy my sparkling personality? Maybe I should ask for you as a present once I complete this mission…" He trailed his sentence off, as she noticed the wide eyed expression on Witchmon's face, almost as if she were gapping at him.

A gasp from the humans caught the demon's attention from his companion, turning to see the reason for her expression. Floating between him and his prey was a creature that looked remarkably like a Black War Greymon, if not for the human face coming out of the bottom of the helmet, as well as a human sized body.

Boogeymon grinned, as he looked this opponent up and down, as he floated silently in the air. "Well… Now this certainly is a surprise." Sniffing the air, his grin deepened. "Human and Digimon scents, hmm? That means you're not a real Black War Greymon… but that doesn't mean I won't get major points for taking you to our Master."

As the demon stabbed the pitchfork weapon at the new arrival, it was swiftly caught, as the assimilated fighter caught it with his claws between the forks. He barely even showed a strain as he held the weapon at bay, as he glared at Boogeymon.

"I don't care what you even want here, or who you even are… But for what you've done here, your as good as dead." The duel voices rang from Erin, as he shoved back at the weapon, throwing Boogeymon off balance, before he quickly flew forward, punching the small demon into a wall on the other side of the clearing.

Landing on the ground, Erin glanced around, a bit surprised the small witch had disappeared already. He turned back, watching the members of his orphanage staring at him in shock and fear, before he pointed to one of the open hallways. "Get out of here, quickly. I'll handle him. Go!" He yelled the last, which spurred the caretaker to running the children out of the building, leaving him alone with his two opponents.

Walking slowly into the center of the clearing, the assimilated teen glanced around, curious what he was dealing with this time. Before he realized what had happened, a blast of air struck his back, as he heard a female voice yelling. "Luna Gale!" Turning his head, he caught sight of the witch, floating by the edge of the second floor food court. She stared in surprise, as he began floating up towards her, holding his claws at his sides ready. Before he could get close enough to attack, something else struck his back, barreling him through the glass ceiling.

Wincing as he felt the glass slicing into his upper body, only slicing him where his armor wasn't protecting him, Erin twisted his body, batting Boogeymon away with his gauntlet. Breathing heavier, he watched the demon, as it grinned darkly at him. Once again he was caught by surprise, as the red digimon's eyes closed to slits, glowing a darker red. "Ruby Gaze!" The blast of energy caught Erin in the chest, making him grunt, as he was pushed back, holding his left hand over the injury on his chest.

Boogeymon laughed deeply, as he stared at the assimilated fighter. "Are you the one who killed our scouts? Hmm, I can't believe someone like you could even beat a Child, let alone full-grown Adults. Ruby Gaze!" Another blast of energy hit the Black War Greymon look alike, this time connecting with his head.

Flying up to join the battle, Witchmon looked at the odd digimon, as it held its chest. "Well, we don't even know what type it is, Boogeymon. Have you ever seen anything like it, besides a vaccine and viral War Greymon?" She floated up even with the twin combatants. "Besides… What if he knows where the power source is?"

Giving a small groan, Boogeymon waved his clawed hand at the witch digimon. "Yea, yea… Hey, wimpy. You know about any dark power sources around here?" The demon though he heard a soft growl, but outwardly, the armored digimon gave no response. "No? Good! That means I can delete you, and then go after those delicious morsels you let run away."

Just as Boogeymon was about to move towards the injured fighter, a dark aura began surrounding Erin's assimilated body, as a deep growl emanated from his body. Lowering his hand from his chest, he glared at the demon man digimon, no longer caring about the small amount of blood that was coming from the chest wound. "No… You won't harm them ever again…"

Surprising both of the normal digimon, Erin lunged forward, forcing his body into a spiral with his claws in front of him. "Black Tornado!" As the funnel of wing surrounded him, the fused teen felt his claws connecting with Boogeymon's body, causing the demon to scream in pain. Before the blow could kill the digimon, he quickly stopped himself, as he slammed his claw into the red monster's chest, sending him flying into the roof of the mall.

Holding his hands in front of him, he began collecting energy into a ball, the orange sphere of power growing immensely, as he raised it above his head. "Now enjoy the emptiness of your own existence! Terra Destroyer!" Whipping the ball of energy at Boogeymon, the last thing he heard was a cry of pain, before the attack's explosion went off. As the smoke cleared, a small crater had been added to the roof, with no signs of the demon digimon.

Staring for a few moments, Erin shook his head back to the present, as he turned himself around to Witchmon. The young female digimon stared at him in terror, before holding her hands up, with her palms facing him. "W...wait! I...I give up… alright?" The young witch stared at the human looking version of an ultimate digimon, as he floated closer. "Look, I'll just leave, and you won't have to worry about it…" She started to floated backwards, but was stopped as the destructive fighter grabbed the handle of her broom, quickly catching her.

"Why should I trust you? Every digimon who's appeared here has threatened innocent people, and felt no remorse for the destruction they have caused!" The young witch tried to back up a little more, as she saw a slightly purplish glow forming where the fused warrior's eyes were. "What's stopping me from destroying you right now?!"

As the clawed arm began drawing itself back, Witchmon held up her hands, waving them frantically. "B…Because… You're a good guy? Aren't the good guys supposed be merciful?" She watched as the hand stopped its assent, as the glow in his eyes slowly dimmed back to the amber eyes in the socket of his helmet. The Adult level digimon sighed in relief, as she felt her cat jump from her broom to the shoulder of the digimon that had almost deleted her.

Erin stared, turning his head slightly, remaining still as the cat landed on his shoulder plate. He had the feeling it hadn't been intentional, as he could see the look of terror in Witchmon's eyes, probably fearing he may take this as an attack and destroy her anyway. As he felt the small feline nuzzling against his neck, he turned his head to face the digimon again, watching her stiffen under his gaze.

"Alright… I won't delete you, as long as we make a deal. You answer my questions, and don't cause any trouble, and I won't kill you. To make sure you don't run off on me, I'll keep your friend here until we have the chance to talk." Releasing the broom, he floated back a foot, petting the cat on his shoulder as he watched the panicky digimon.

Witchmon's eyes went wide again, at the demands that this creature was making of her. But she didn't have a choice, if she wanted her cat back. She gave a slightly grunt, as she crossed her large hands under her modest chest, turning her head away from him slightly. "Fine, it's a deal. As long you promise to take care of her, all right? She comes back having not eaten or anything, and the deals not only off, but your ass is mine."

Erin gave a very small smile, as he heard the purring from his 'captive's' pet. "Deal. Oh, and I'll be leaving her in the care of the people I got away from your friend. I find out you tried to get her back before we talk, and the same can be said for you." Seeing the nod from Witchmon, he nodded in return, turning and beginning to fly back to his home. "Follow me. We have to hurry to find you a place to stay, so no one decides to attack you."

"Fine… But never call that ugly thing my friend ever again…" She gave a shudder as she followed behind the assimilated teen. "By the way, Can I at least know a name to call you? It's better then "Hey you," or "Horn face." She smirked softly.

Turning his head back as the pair of them flew, Erin thought over his answer for a moment, before he gave another soft smile. "Black War Humon will do." At the startled look, he gave a soft laugh in his duel voices, speeding up to try and beat his family home.

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ToyAgumon ~ Wow, looks like Erin's got his hands full now. And he's got a code name now! *Gives a small cheer*

Floramon ~ *nods and smiles softly* Yep. But with Witchmon as a captive, and questions starting to arise around the small town he lives in, what's Erin going to do when someone comes looking for the little witch digimon? Find out next time, on Dark Diaries!

Dooby ~ *one of the old beer commercial penguins waddles out, next to the two digimon muses* dooby dooby du…

A/N ~ Well, I can't think of anything specific to try and explain this chapter. ^_^ I would like to put a request out for Pre-readers, who are very good at finding spelling and grammar problems. Right now, I simply want one for Dark Diaries, so I can try and make this as nice as I can. I am looking for a couple people, and I do want to point out, I will need to see some form of work done to keep ya around. ^_^ I'll be trusting you with seeing the story pre-posting, which is a big deal for me with this story, so I'm not looking for someone who just wants to read stories early. Anyway, I hope I hear back from someone, since my original editor I had has disappeared on me for the moment. Well, see you all later, entry 6 is going to be in the works soon!