Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Diaries ❯ Out of the frying pan, and into the fire! ( Chapter 7 )

Dark Diaries

Entry 7 - "Out of the frying pan, and into the fire!"

Author Rocker Starlight

Permission from Lord Archive

A/N ~ This chapter will have speech that is telepathic, as well as sign language. To help clarify what speech is what, this key will show the symbols used for these two types of speech.

Telepathic = * - *

Sign Language = [ - ]

Thank you, and please enjoy this chapter of Dark Diaries. ^_^

*********

Some days, it simply did not pay to get out of bed.

Erin yawned, as he stretched his muscles slightly, sitting up in the bed. Sliding out of his bed, he stumbled, half awake, towards his dresser, to pick a shirt and a pair of pants to wear for the day.

"Hmmm… I see why Jill likes you now, Erin…" The male gave a start as he heard the feminine voice, grabbing his flannel jacket and wrapping it around his waist, as his skin turned a deep crimson. Turning his head, he saw Witchmon, sitting on his window, giving a large grin at him, her cat on one shoulder, and her broom laying over the other.

Grumbling softly, Erin grabbed a pair of boxers and pants, sliding them on under the flannel, and then letting the gray jacket drop once his dignity, as well as his manhood, was covered. "Witchmon, you know showing up like this isn't appropriate." He frowned slightly as she gaze him that cat-like grin. "Now, is there a reason you decided to surprise me? I need to start cooking soon, and you know Ms. K can't find you…" Turning his back to the digimon, Erin began rummaging for a T-shirt again.

Giving a soft laugh, the digimon stepped onto the floor, walking over. "Come on, I'm not stupid enough to be caught, Erin. Well, not again…" She winked as she game into his view, leaning against the dresser. "Now, it's been three days, and you haven't stayed out in that little hut you make me stay in longer then it takes to give me food. If not for Jill visiting me now, sometimes with that cute, little red head, I'd be bored out of my skull."

Erin grimaced slightly, listening to the words as he pulled a dark green T-shirt over his head. After he had explained everything to Jill and Angela, the teen had learned he had the problem of Jill wanting to know how she could help, while the younger red head was too tired and simply agreed to not speak of the matter. After a bit of disagreements on how Jill would be aloud to help, Erin had agreed to assistance with getting Witchmon food.

Glancing at the digimon, who was staring intently at him, the brown haired teen sighed softly. "Fine. After breakfast, I'll come down and talk with you, alright?"

Witchmon winked at the flustered teen, nodding. "Fine. See you then." She walked slowly to the window, turning her head as she slide into her broom outside the window. "And tell Jill I liked the eggs she made yesterday." Giving a wave, the witch floated down from the window.

The digimon had left just in time, as a knock at Erin's door made him jump slightly. Walking to his door, he opened in, to be greeted by the surprised face of Ms. Klink, dressed nicely, as she looked the teen up and down.

"Well, it seems someone is finally trying to stop sleeping in. Well, go ahead and head downstairs to set up for breakfast. Jill is already cooking, so I would hurry." The older woman gave the teen a questioning look for a moment. "And you may want to change after breakfast. The Flint orphanage is sending someone to check in with us today, and he could be here any time after eleven."

Erin blinked, nodding as he listened to his caretaker. "All right." Slipping past the woman, he watched her start for Brian's room as he walked down the stairs. His mind quickly went back to the mundane activities, as he walked through the dining room, beginning to set up the table.

Walking into the kitchen, Erin could tell Jill had already known about the visitor later that day. Instead of her everyday clothing, today she had a light blue dress on, with her cooking apron over it, with a small tie on the back holding it closed. It was a rather basic dress, but with her hair in a small ponytail, she was quite attractive in it, even looking a little older then she was. The older boy even thought he noticed a small hint of makeup on her face, as he watched her cook the bacon.

Shaking his head clear of his surprise, the teen smiled softly, tapping Jill on her shoulder. She turned her head to him, smiling brightly. "Morning Jill. I take it Ms. K already told you about today?" At the nod, he continued. "Well, our windy friend said she enjoyed breakfast yesterday, so I think she is making requests." He watched the mute girl giggle silently, as he moved and got the orange juice for breakfast.

As Erin started to walk out of the kitchen, a tired Brian walked into the doorway at the same time, shoving the young boy so hard that he almost dropped the orange juice container. Hearing the jock mutter a soft curse at him, Erin sighed softly and simply continuing on. This was definitely turning into one of those days he should have stayed in bed.

**********

Breakfast went by with only minor problems, the largest being Brian's increased agitation, especially towards Erin. Throughout the meal, the blond football player had been snide with everyone, and constantly went out of his way to insult the brown haired teen. When he wasn't insulting anyone, Erin had caught the jock glaring at him, although he tried his best to ignore it. It was a relief for Erin, when Brian finished first for once, quickly leaving the table and the house.

After cleaning the table up, Erin grabbed a glass of milk and some toast and apples, not seeing any of the breakfast leftovers. Once he was sure everyone was getting ready for the busy day, he slipped outside, walking out to the shed, feeling a little nervousness.

As he opened the door, he blinked in surprise, seeing Jill had beat him to the shed, along with bringing the leftovers from the meal that the witch digimon was eating eagerly. Setting the food he had brought next to the digimon, Erin closed the door, watching the digimon eating the food slow enough to savor it.

After a few moments, the food was completely gone, leaving Witchmon leaning against the wall, patting her full stomach. "Can I marry you?" The digimon grinned at Jill, whose cheeks flushed a bit.

Frowning slightly, Erin tapped his knuckles on the door, reminding the two females he was still in the room. "Witchmon, you're the one who wanted me to come talk. So, do you feel like explaining just why that digimon was after you?"

Giving the male a pouty look, as her teasing is interrupted, Witchmon nods. "Well, FlaWizarmon and I both trained in Witchelny. He's always been a little… difficult to deal with, ever since I turned down his offer to be his mate. Ever since then, he's always tried to one up me, I guess to prove himself worthy, or something equally stupid."

Watching the digimon cross her arms under her chest, Erin rubbed his forehead softly. "So that entire thing was a jealousy thing?"

Witchmon shook her head slightly. "No…at least not completely. The original mission I was supposed to be doing was finding a dark power source that was faintly appearing in this area of the real world. Before I left, Boogeymon was assigned to 'assist' me by finding out what happened to the digimon who had been sent searching before us. However, I was conveniently uninformed as to who those digimon were."

Erin blinked in surprise, as he felt the coin in his pocket warm a little. Could those digimon he had killed been the ones sent out before Witchmon?

"After we arrived, we found nothing of the power source, nor the others." The witch digimon continued. "While we tried flying around to find a clue, Boogeymon decided he was bored, and went to that building you call a 'Mall', to terrorize some humans. I'd have left him, if not for my orders from Lord Mystimon to not leave him alone. But then you fixed my problem by taking the little fucker out."

Erin frowned slightly at the language, glancing at Jill, who was sipping a glass of milk, and listening to the story intently. Turning back to the digimon, he waved his hand slightly. "Anyway. Back to the other day?"

Setting her hat down, Witchmon stood up, unclasping her cloak and laying it on the crate she had been sitting on. "The other day, was someone wanting to know what happened. I had expected someone to be sent to find me, once I never returned, but I've not one clue why it had to be that flaming moron, and his little pet spider. The worst part was, they acted like I was expendable. It really makes me wonder just what's going on in Witchelny."

Erin stood a moment, thinking about the information he had just learned. If the digimon he had encountered before Witchmon had been the ones she had been sent to find, then it meant more might come. More digimon, whose sole purpose was to find this power source, which he had begun to think, may be the coin he had gained. Pulling the coin out of his pocket, he looked at it, noticing the purple tint it got when the light hit it.

Glancing up, Erin saw both girls giving him curious looks. He blushed slightly under the scrutiny, before pocketing the coin again. "I'm going for a walk. Jill, tell Ms. K I'll be back for the social worker." Not waiting for a response, he quickly opened the door, walking swiftly out.

Jill stared in surprise, using the minor telepathic connection Witchmon always established with her to talk. *Why did he leave all of the sudden?*

Witchmon stared at the door a moment herself, frowning slightly. "I think I may have found out what that power source is… And I think Erin knows too." She frowned slightly as the young human gave her a curious look. Smiling sweetly, the digimon slide off her crate. "Don't worry about it. Now you should head in and tell your caretaker about Erin's walk, shouldn't you?"

The blond smiled, nodding. *Yea. I'll bring you lunch after the social worker is gone, all right?* She stood up, seeing the nod in response from Witchmon, and walked out of the shed.

Watching Jill walk out of the tool shed, Witchmon gave a soft sigh, as she leaned back against the wall again. Brushing a couple strands of her dirt blond hair out of her eyes, she admired her hand a moment, watching the large fingers wiggle as she gave a soft laugh. "Such troublesome things…" She sighed softly, running her hands along her sides, grinning mischievously.

**********

Walking down the main street of Mt. Morris, Erin barely noticed the cars driving past him as his feet continued moving. His mind was thinking back to the discussion with Witchmon he had just concluded. The one he had been avoiding for the last couple days.

'But why was I avoiding it? Was I worried I would learn something I didn't want to?' With his hands in his pockets, he could feel the coin against his skin, feeling a warm pulse coming from it. 'I would bet money this stupid coin is what brought them here… But why?'

Letting his mind wander from the infuriating subject, he thought about the last letter he had received from Selene, the day after the fight with FlaWizarmon. She had seemed distant, her words seeming as if she had rushed through without actually thinking about what she wanted to say. It had been a worry on his mind that something might be wrong with the girl, but he figured she would have told him if something was. After all, best friends told one another everything, right?

The thought brought a cynical chuckle from the teen as he started walking into the next small town's city limits without realizing it. He was still feeling guilty over not telling Selene about what had been going on over the last couple of weeks, but he could never think of how to explain it. How did you tell someone you turned into one kind of monster, to fight other kinds? She would think he was nuts! But not telling her was making him feel worse.

Erin's attention came back to the real world, when he stopped a few inches in front of a man in a large trench coat. The large guy had on one of those brown hats that detectives in movies wore, and stood a good foot taller then himself. Around him, Erin realized finally where he was, as he saw the support pillars for the expressway overpass surrounding him.

Giving a polite smile, Erin looked up to the man, trying to ignore the way the man was staring at him intently. "Pardon me sir…" Turning around, he started to walk back the way he came, when the man's hand grabbed his arm, holding it tightly.

About to tell the man off, Erin's voice froze in his throat, watching as the tall man removed his hat, revealing metal helmet, shaped like a skull. Twin red dots were glowing softly in it's eyes, as it pulled the trench coat off, it's light bluish skin having chains wrapped in an X pattern over it's upper body. A pair of black jeans and boots seemed almost too normal, aside from the metal plates on the pair of footwear.

Erin watched in shock, before the sudden realization hit him, making him frown deeper. "Coin Fusion." He spoke softly, feeling the energy coursing in his body, as the inhuman person releases his arm, letting him see the helmet was actually it's head, including the lower jaw. Stepping a little bit away from the towering creature, Erin's eyes began to glow a deep red themselves. "Who are you?"

The digimon took a step forward, as an aura of blue fire began glowing behind it. "Death Meramon. I have come for the traitor and the power source." Taking one of its chains from its waist, it tugged the metal links tightly between its hands. "You will give me them now."

Erin growled softly, before he shook the unusual anger out of his head. "Why do you want them? Witchmon didn't do anything." The fused teen barely had time to duck, as the chain swung over his head, taking a chunk out of the support beam near him.

Death Meramon began walking towards the human, it's eyes gaining a bit of light. "Give me them now!"

Erin stumbled backwards, almost loosing his balance, as he watched the digimon move towards him. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to fight you…"

The expression of the fiery digimon almost seemed like it was grinning, as it lashed it's chain at the same support beam, wrapping it around the concrete cylinder. "That makes it easier to kill you." Death Meramon yanked on the chain, breaking the support from the bridge, and tossing the chunk of concrete wrapped in its chain into the road, making a few cars swerve to miss it.

Erin growled, as he ran out from under the bridge, turning his head to look back at the digimon. "Come and get me then!" The loud footsteps told him he was indeed being followed, as he took off onto the hill that ran alongside the expressway. Once he was sure he was a bit of distance away from the road, he spun around, crossing his arms over his chest. "Digital Assimilation!"

Death Meramon blocked the purplish light from its eyes, as the human was covered in it. A moment later, the light died off, revealing the armored teen, holding his claws out at the fiery digimon. The sight of the Black War Greymon/human fusion caught Death Meramon off guard, costing him as the assimilated fighter brought his claw across the digimon's metal head.

Erin frowned, as she stepped backwards, watching the large digimon shaking off the punch. Charging forward, striking repeatedly, this time having the punches blocked but the chain-wrapped fists. Jumping back, he lifted his hands above him, starting to collect the energy for his attack.

"Heavy Metal Fire!" Before the attack could collect, Death Meramon released a torrent of flames from his mouth, aimed at Black War Humon.

Breaking his own attack, Erin quickly brought his shield in front of him, wince as the intense heat of the flames still caused some pain. Putting his shield back on his shoulders, Erin frown deeper, noticing the grass and trees around them still on fire. "Black Tornado!" Floating into the air, he began spinning his body, creating a small wind funnel, and holding his arms out wide to spread the winds and try and put out most of the fire.

Death Meramon began spinning his chain in one of his hands as he watched his opponent spin like a top in the tornado, whipping the end out, catching the assimilated teen's upper arm. Pulling hard, the fiery digimon pulled Erin out of the tornado, disrupting it, and slamming him into the ground. Before the armored human could gets his wits about him, Death Meramon swung him again, lifting him from the ground, and throwing him into another of the bridge's supports.

Rubbing his armored head, Erin began growling softly, slowly standing up. His left arm was hanging limply at his side, pain running through his shoulder. He knew it had been injured when the chain had caught him on his left arm, and pulled him from the high-speed spin he had been in, but he didn't have time to worry about it.

Raising his good arm, the assimilated teen was about to charge back into the fight, when the creaking of the bridge alerted him to the structure beginning to give way. Jumping into the road, he looked around, glad people had started to run out of the area the minute the battle had started. Just as he was about to fly out from under the bridge a dark chuckle came from behind him, followed with the sound of a chain striking the damaged overhead pass.

Wincing slightly, Erin swatted at a large chunk of rock falling at him, breaking it into pieces, as he heard screams above him. Flying up, he quickly braced the bridge with his body, holding it in the center so it could not break apart as quickly. Looking up, trying to fight back the pain in his arm, he watched as Death Meramon walked slowly towards him, small flames flickering out of its mouth at it stared at him.

"Luna Gale!" Death Meramon stagger slightly, caught by surprise by the strike of wind on his back. Erin raised his head slightly, seeing Witchmon floating at the side of the bridge, her cat on her broom along side her. "Aqua Pressure!" A ball of water struck the fire digimon, making a sizzling noise as it did.

"Black War Humon, it's clear! Get out!" Erin watched as Witchmon called to him, waving her hand to him. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself away from the bridge, feeling it quickly giving way and collapsing as he flew out from under it, dropping on Death Meramon, while the assimilated fighter barely escaped. Unfortunately, some of his strength began to give out, hitting the pavement and skidding on his side a few feet.

As Erin began slowly getting his bearings again, he saw Witchmon kneeling next to him, having shifted him onto his back. His left arm still wasn't moving, although his fingers could shift a little. Holding his left arm with his right hand, he slowly started to stand, letting the witch digimon brace him a little as he got to his feet. Looking over at the bridge, the structure was completely destroyed, apparently having buried Death Meramon under it as well.

"What do you think your trying to prove?!" The shorter digimon slapped him on his chest plate, getting a small grunt from the teen. "You can take out a few Adults, and you think you're a big shot who can handle a Perfection?!"

Erin looked down at her for a moment, before glancing at the rubble. "He was a Perfection?"

Witchmon looked at him, completely shocked. "You took on a digimon, without even knowing what level it is? Are you insane?! What if he had been an Ultimate, who was after your coin? What would you have done then, let him spank you like a Child?" She frowned, placing her hands on her hip as she gave a disapproving look at the assimilated fighter. "Oh wait, Death Meramon was already doing that! Hey, what are you doing?"

As the female had been yelling at him, Erin had started slowly walked towards the rubble. As he reached the large pill of concrete, holding his left arm still, he turned his head slightly, seeing Witchmon standing next to him. "Think he survived?"

The witch digimon shrugged, sitting on her broom and floating in the air a little. "No clue. But I think your law enforcement group will be here soon. We should probably get out of here, before they see us."

Noticing the police sirens finally, Erin nodded slightly. "Yea." He poked a one of the rocks, shifting it out of place with his working arm, figuring the digimon should not have been able to survive the crushing blow.

Unfortunately, Erin was proven wrong, and a blaze of flames erupted from the pile, a hand wrapped in fire grabbing him by his throat and picking him up off the ground. He struggled at the grip, trying to pry it off with his working hand, as he watched as Death Meramon emerged from the under the rocks, a few dents and scratches, but seeming to have escaped any major harm.

"Now… Give me the power source. If you cooperate, I'll give you a quick death." The fiery digimon's voice was definitely annoyed, as his grip squeezed tighter, cutting off the teen's air supply.

"Aqua Pressure!" A ball of water struck Death Meramon in the head, pulling his attention from the human in his grip, to the digimon floating a few feet away. Collecting the energy again quickly, Witchmon began calling her attack repeatedly, striking the fire digimon with multiple water balls.

Erin watched the digimon holding him grimace under the assault. Giving a slight grin, a thought came to the teen, who swiftly raised his feet and slammed them both into Death Meramon's chest, freeing him from the death grip. Catching himself before he hit the ground, Erin slammed his good shoulder into the body of the fiery digimon, gritting his teeth again under the heat and pain of his shoulder, as he lifted him off the ground, flying into the air.

"Witchmon, follow me!" He called to the female digimon, as he felt the Perfection digimon slamming his fists on his back, trying to break the hold. Pushing himself as hard as he could, he held on, trying to hold onto his strength.

Witchmon followed right behind Black War Humon, watching as he took the fists to his back, flying through tree branches, seeming to have a plan to his madness. Her eyes went wide as she watched Erin's helmet go static-like for a moment, revealing the human's head, before it solidified again. She blinked a couple times, unsure if she had actually seen the odd sight, when she noticed Erin aiming for a small tower, that she could sense was filled with water.

Erin gave a small grin, as he slammed Death Meramon into the side of the water tower, pushing himself back and out of the angered digimon's reach. Looking to his partner, he pointed at the dent he had made in the tower's side. "Witchmon, break it wide open!"

The witch smiled on her broom, as she caught onto the plan. "Aqua Pressure!" Using her attack differently, she pushed at the water in the tower, forcing it to burst out, hitting Death Meramon in the back and sending him flying to the ground below, as steam rose from his body.

Erin floated above Death Meramon, watching as it slowly got to its feet, the water having weakened it badly. "Maybe next time, you'll listen to me." He swung his good hand behind him, as a small ball of compact energy formed in it. "Terra Destroyer!" He whipped the ball of energy at the digimon, watching the large explosion it caused. As the smoke slowly began to clear, the digimon was nowhere to be seen, but a crater in the ground, and some damage to the school nearby remained from the final attack.

With Death Meramon gone, Erin's strength finally gave out, de-assimilating in the air, Witchmon catching him on her broom keeping the teen from plummeting to the ground. He gave a soft smile at the female digimon, before collapsing into unconsciousness as she held him up.

Witchmon glanced at the place where the Perfection level digimon has stood before being deleted, holding the teen who had destroyed him close to her, to keep him from falling. "Well… It seems someone is getting impatient." Her cat nuzzled the human's hair softly, as she gave a gentle smile. "We better get him home, before someone else shows up." Quickly flying off, the digimon never noticed the figure hiding in the shadows, observing the battle.

**********

Erin groaned softly, as his eyes slowly started to open. His entire body felt like a steamroller had run over him. Finally opening his eyes enough to see, he looked into a pair of larger then normal blue eyes, outlined in black, and a point of black above and below each one. Dirt blond hair framed the concerned face that was watching him, as Witchmon placed her hand partially on his forehead.

"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, kneeling next to the teen. He could tell they were in her shed now, and he was lying on the small mat she normally slept on. "I'm amazed you kept up as long as you did. Death Meramon is not a weak Perfect. What made you think of using that tower though?"

Erin gave a weak smile, as he noticed her taking a washcloth, dipping it into a buck filled with water, and placing it on his forehead. "You. After I saw your water attack was hurting him some, I remembered the Beecher water tower. I thought if we could soak him that badly, I might be able to take him out."

She frowned slightly, making the boy grunt slightly as she shifted the bandage around his left arm, making sure it held it in place. "Well, I am surprised it took that much. While very powerful, Death Meramon is not the fastest digimon. I'm surprised you could dance around him constantly." She watched him, resting her hands on her knees.

The brown haired teen shifted slightly, giving a soft sigh before he spoke. "I…I held back. I thought, maybe he was just trying to do a job, that destroying him would make me no better then Boogeymon, or Sabirdramon." He watched the female digimon frown, crossing her arms under her small breasts as she gave him a disapproving look. "But after he almost tore up the bridge with people still on it, I realized I can't simply hold back. He would have killed someone, if I hadn't done something to kill him."

The disapproving look slowly disappeared, replaced with a gentle smile. Witchmon brushed the hair out of the teen's face, nodding slowly. "Well, I'm glad you learned it. Otherwise, I would be paddling you with my broom for being such a moron." She laughed softly, turning to look at the door of the shed. "Come in Jill."

Erin blinked in surprise at the mute girl slipped into the shed, concern blatant on her face as she shut the door and kneeled down next to Witchmon, her hands moving quickly. [Are you all right? What happened? I've been worried sick about you!]

He smiled as he read her hands, stopping them with his working hand. "I'm all right, Jill. Thanks to Witchmon, I came out of it better then I would have." He watched as Jill turned to the female digimon, the two staring at one another for a moment. Erin almost thought he felt something passing between them, before Jill turned back to him, leaning down and hugging him tightly around his neck. Patting her back, he felt the girl sobbing softly into his shoulder.

"She said you need to stop worrying her. She was in a near panic when I left, and worse when I brought you back all beat up." Witchmon smiled softly, running one of her own hands over the young girl's hair, trying to help comfort her, as she clung to the boy.

Erin nodded, content to be smothered for the moment. "Everything's all right, Jill. It's all right now." He held the young girl close to him, stroking her back until he felt her body go limp as she passed out next to him. Before he could move her at all, his own eyes began drooping, as he passed back into unconsciousness.

*********

ToyAgumon ~ Wow, Erin really got his butt handed to him.

Floramon ~ Yep. But he is finally getting break. Well, kind of. Not wanting everyone to know who he is, Erin's got to try and keep his injury a secret. But who is going to take care of his arm, if he won't even go to the hospital? With a pair of special guests coming, there's no telling what could happen! Find out just what does happen, next time in Dark Dairies!