Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Diaries ❯ Stepping Out ( Chapter 14 )

Erin knelt on the floor, glancing around quickly. Running wasn't an option, since they had him surrounded, but he couldn't just fight back. Four on one were not odds he liked. The choice was taken from him, as his opponents lunged, pushing him to the floor.

"Oh no! How will I ever survive?!" Erin laughed, as he rolled on the floor under the four children. Every time he pinned one of them, the others kept him from getting back to his feet. The tussling continued for a few minutes, laughter filling the abandoned building.

"Kids! It's time for dinner!" The children looked between one another, before running off, heading down the stairs to the second floor. Erin sat up, chuckling softly as he noticed the mother of two of the kids standing in the doorway still, watching him.

The older woman smiled at Erin. "You do spoil them, coming down to play with them during the day like this." She brushed the brown hair out of her face, having a few wrinkles already showing on her pale skin.

Erin rubbed the back of his neck, giving a sheepish grin. "I don't mind, Mrs. Trent. It makes them smile." He stood up, walking over to the doorway, just able to hear the children's voices from their meal downstairs.

Mrs. Trent sighed, giving Erin a gentle smile. "We do appreciate it. You've been a big help keeping their spirits up. Thank you." Touching his shoulder a moment, the older woman walked down the stairs, yelling something Erin couldn't understand at the loud children.

Erin stared down the stairs a moment, rubbing his hand over the left side of his chest absently. Ever since he had started interacting with the other people in the building, he had been having small pains in his chest, around the same area as his heart. Absently, he know the feeling felt familiar, but no matter how much he tried to remember where from, he couldn't place it.

Shaking his head, Erin headed up the stairs towards his room. He had a few hours to try and get ready before Emily and her team showed up. The Irish girl had invited him along with the group's annual outing, and he still needed to jump into the Digital World to grab a quick bath. "I'm getting way too used to cold bathes..."

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Dark Diaries

Entry 14 "Stepping Out"

Written by Rocker Starlight

Permission from Lord Archive

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"So tell me about yourself, Erin."

Erin scratched the back of his head as he looked in the front seat. "Well, Mrs. Pern, there isn't much to tell."

"Oh come now, a young man like yourself must have many things to do. Don't you have any hobbies or after school activities?"

'Unless you could battling Digimon...' Erin thought, as the older woman watched him in the rear view mirror. "Not really. I talk with Sue and her friends, but that's about it."

"Mom, stop pestering him! I told you he was a little shy." Sue blurted out, sitting next to her mother. Wearing a pink shirt with a small kitten on it, and a pair of blue jeans, the young girl looked like a smaller version of her mother.

"Oh my, I'm sorry Erin. By the way Sue, will that Maxwell boy be at this? He's such a nice young man after all."

Blushing slightly, Sue fidgeted a little in her seat. "Of course he'll be there mom, he's always there!"

Erin laughed softly as he listened to the pair go back and forth about the African American member of the Detroit team of Digi-Destined. From the tones of the voices, it sounded as if they had gone through this discussion before. Despite the blush in her cheeks, Sue continued to argue that she and Max were only friends, while her mother just kept bringing up his good points.

After they pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley, Sue quickly jumped out of the car, pulling Erin out as well. She gave a sigh of relief when her mother drive off. Glancing around, the blonde girl smiled brightly as she looked at the front entrance, grabbing the taller boy's arm and dragging him inside.

Loud music assaulted the brown haired teen's ears as they walked inside, making him wince slightly. It felt like he could feel the music making his body vibrate. Blinking a couple times, Erin barely noticed when the employee behind the counter asked for his shoe size for the third time. Answering with a blush, he noticed Sue already holding her shoes, giggling softly as he took his own, before following her again.

Erin glanced around, feeling uneasy as he looked through the people. While almost everyone around him seemed to be in the same age range as Sue and him, it had been a long time since he had been in such a crowded place. The one time Ms. Klink had taken him Christmas shopping a few days before the holiday was almost as bad as this, save it was nowhere near as loud. Although the Diversity of culture seemed similar to Flint, having various types of people hanging out, semi-blended together.

"Hey, you takin' off already?"

Jumping slightly, Erin glanced over to the voice, looking at the dark skin of the boy who had called out to him. With an almost buzz cut on his head, the boy's gray eyes watched Erin a moment, before he walked over. A large robot with a green bladed scythe in it's hand was on the young man's T-shirt, and a pair of cut jean shorts showed rather muscular legs as he stepped up.

"Erin, right?" The teen nodded slightly in response. "Nice to meet you finally. "I'm Max."

As Max held his hand out, Erin blinked a moment, finally noticing Emily and Sue both laughing a little from behind the young boy. Shaking the offered hand, Erin walked back over to the lanes. He recognized Greg quickly as he sat down, looking away from the slight glare to the young girl sitting at the scoreboard. Although she looked similar to Greg, she seemed a little younger then everyone else, while they way her hair was pulled back nicely, she almost seemed more mature then everyone else. She never even looked up as Erin started to pull his bowling shoes on, making him wonder if she was simply the shy type or something.

"I'm glad you made it, Erin." Emily smiled as she tapped the unknown girl on the shoulder. The serious look turned from the scores to Emily, and then to Erin, before the Irish girl continued. "This is our fifth member, Hilary Jones. Hilary, this is Erin, the boy from up north."

Hilary nodded slightly. "Greg told me about you. If you've irritated my brother this badly, you're probably a nice person." Ignoring the sputters from her brother, the brunette turned back to the scores, showing a small pad of paper setting on the counter in front of her.

Erin stared a second, a little surprised at the greeting, when Sue plopped down next to him. "Don't mind her Erin. Hilary is always preoccupied with something or another. If she tried, she could compete with Koushiro or Carter, in the studying department!"

"I doubt that," Max said, plopping down on the other side of Sue. "I mean, Hilary is smart, but she only does enough work to get part with decent grades, unless something peeks her interest." The darker boy ruffled the blonde's hair slightly, giving a wide grin at her attempts to fix it. "Not like Sue here. she has trouble keeping her nose in any books besides romance novels!"

Erin gave a small laugh as he watched the playful argument start up between the pair, finally settling down when Emily stopped Sue from chasing Max out into the lanes.

As the get together finally started to get underway, Erin's nervousness faded a little. Even though he was the second to lowest scorer by the time the first game was finished, the teen's anxieties felt like they had gone on vacation. Although Greg still had his stand-offish attitude, and Hilary was a bit gone in her own world, the other three members of the team were more then friendly, trying to get the orphan to relax with them more.

*************

"So what's it like?"

Erin glanced over at Max as the pair walked to the concession area, to get everyone's drinks and fries. "How does what feel?"

Max looked around, making sure no one was in earshot, before he spoke softly. "Turning into a Digimon. I mean, how cool is that!"

Scratching the back of his head, Erin frowned a little. "It's hard to describe... I mean, I just do it, you know?" I've never really paid too much attention to how it feels..."

Putting his hands behind his back, Max whistled softly. "Wow... I wish I could do something like that. Then I could get into it along side Hagurumon instead of having to watch from the sidelines."

Erin wrinkled his nose as he thought about his new friend's words, waiting until Max made the order and the cashier walked away. "It's not all it's cracked up to be..."

Max waves his hand as he took a seat at the counter, acting as if he hadn't heard Erin. "What I wouldn't give to be a hero... I mean, flying in the sky, beating up the bad guys. Maybe I could convince Carter to make me a mecha or something."

Erin arched his brow as he listened. "Carter?"

"Carter's a member of the Edmonton team. Didn't you ever look at who's who on the CD Emily gave you, or read more of the responses to the post you put up?" Erin shook his head to both pointed, making the young boy sigh softly. "Well, he's a brain type, kinda like Koushiro. Except, instead of a hacking type, he's more of an inventor. Although a lot of us joke that he's like a mad scientist or something."

Erin laughed at the joke, nodding. Looking around a little as Max continued, he noticed Sue running towards them, waving her hand. Just as she was about to get to the counter, a pair of teens stepped from around one of the tables, running into Sue's shoulder and knowing her into one of the crane machines. As the blonde rubbed her shoulder slightly, she looked up at the two boys, both about Erin's age and dark skin tones then Max had, making them stand out next to the girl.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you." Sue said sweetly, still rubbing her shoulder.

"You should be sorry, little bitch." The taller of the pair said, giving an ugly look at the young girl. "Bet yer mom never taught ya to watch where ya was runnin, huh?" The shorter boy laughed a little.

"Hey, lay off." The pair glanced over as Max walked up, standing next to Sue. "She said she's sorry, so leave it alone."

"And what if we don't wanna lay off? Maybe we wanna teach the little white bitch a lesson, hmm?"

"Try touching her, and you go through me first." Max stepped in front of the blonde girl, not noticing the startled look on her face. The Digi-destined glared at the pair defiantly, almost daring them to try something as a small crowd formed around the four of them.

"And me..." Erin stepped past a couple people, wearing a pair of sunglasses as he moved next to Max. He could hear the talk of a fight starting from the crowd, making him a little edgy. "So how about we just drop it, and leave it alone? That way, no one gets hurt, you know?"

"Oh, Mr. Cool here doesn't want anyone to get hurt?" The taller boy said, smirking as he tossed his jacket to someone behind him. "Well, what if we want someone to get hurt, hmm?" The smaller teen was almost bouncing behind him, holding his fists in front of him as he nodded in agreement with his friend.

Max crossed his arms, frowning slightly as he noticed Erin stepping forward. "Well it's too bad you two are going to be the ones hurt..."

The orphan face a deep grin, getting a look from Sue and Max, before a hand came between the standing off pair. Erin gave a soft growl as he looked at the hand's owner, an older man wearing a bowling alley's employee shirt. The adult stepped between Erin and the taller boy, keeping himself from touching them as he made sure he was in the middle. "Alright, shows over! Everybody, go back to your games."

As the crowd started to disperse, the employee looked at the pair, frowning. "Jerome, Danny, I told you both before not to start things. Head home, before I decide to call the police."

Glaring at the man, the taller boy --Jerome it seemed-- grabbed his jacket and put it back on. Letting his glare shift to the three teens as he started past, he kept his mouth shut before exiting the building with Danny following right behind.

Turning his attention to the trio, the old man almost blinked at the glare coming from behind Erin's sunglasses. Max put his hand on Erin's arm, getting his attention from the employee as he stepped forward to talk. "Thanks Mr. James. I'm sorry this got out of hand."

Mr. James gave a sniff as he looked Erin over again. "No problem. Your lucky your friend saw it starting, before it got worse. Else, I would have kicked you all out. Now get going, before I change my mind about letting you stay."

Watching Mr. James walk off, Sue stepped forward, tugging on the pair's sleeves to get their attention. "Thank you guys. Oh, Emily asked me to tell you she wanted a Diet Coke, instead of a normal one." The blonde smiled brightly for a moment, before running back to the rest of their group, acting as if nothing had happened.

Max laughed at the startled look on Erin's face, as he led the older teen back towards the food area, finding their drinks and fries waiting for them. After correcting Emily's drink, they picked up the refreshments and started back.

"Is she always like that?" Erin asked, doing his best to hold two drinks under his arms and a small basket of fries in his hands.

Max looked over, giving a grin and nod. "Yep. Sue tries to get along with everyone. Hell, she got kidnapped once because she was being nice to this stranger she met. Lucky for her, she was already partnered with Floramon, and that is one digimon I hate seeing pissed. I almost felt sorry for the guy after. Almost."

Erin laughed softly as he nodded in agreement, handing the drinks out and setting the food on their table. As the excitement, of Sue describing how Max and Erin had 'rushed to her rescue', began to wear off, Erin clenched his hand tightly, finally taking the shades off and putting them into his pocket. Rolling the black coin around in his palm, he ignored the small argument that Greg and sue were getting into.

'Why did I fuse?' He wondered to himself, his eyes staring down the alley blankly. 'Heck, why did I try and instigate that guy... I hate fighting...' Opening his hand, he looked at the coin, watching the light reflect off the surface as he pondered to himself.

"Erin!" The orphan closed his hand as he jumped, looking up at Emily in surprise. "Erin, it's your turn. Want to come back to planet Earth and finish your game?"

Looking around, Erin noticed everyone's attention was on him now, making his cheeks darken as he stuffed the coin back into his pocket. "Y...Yea... I'm just a little tired, I guess."

The Irish girl watched him a moment before nodding. Letting the issue drop, the group continued their games, having a good twenty minutes before their parents would come to get them when they stopped. Getting everything together, the six teens started to walk towards the front entrance.

"Wow, I almost won that time!" Sue squealed in delight. "Next time, Erin Storm, I'm gonna beat your butt into the ground though!"

Erin laughed as he listened to Max start to tease sue about making jokes like that, when she had been in last place almost every game. As they stepped outside, the orphan scratched at the back of his neck slightly, feeling an uncomfortable itch as they waited outside for their parents to collect them.

"Does anyone else have a weird feeling?" Erin turned his head as he heard Greg talk, noticing the frown on his face was deeper then normal. Looking at the other Digi-destined, he noticed they each seemed to be nodding in agreement, glancing around cautiously. As they stepped into the parking lot a few steps, a creaking behind them caught the teen's attention. Turning his head, Erin's eyes went wide as he saw the large bowling ball that sat on top of the bowling alley starting to give way.

"Everyone, look out!" Taking a step away from the giant ball, Erin's yell caught the others attention. As it started to fall from the roof, the group spread apart, moving out of the way easily, as they watched it hit the ground and crack down the middle.

Erin frowned as a cackling laughter came from the roof. Looking up, he saw what had to be one of the ugliest things he had ever seen in his life. The creatures sitting on the roof had gapping mouths, looking like some deformed goblin with gray fur. Two small bat wings extended from behind each head, with a small, red Mohawk running down their heads.

The imp-like creatures danced around the roof cackling, before they leapt into the air. About a dozen appeared in the sky, somehow using the small wings to keep afloat, before they dispersed. One group of three flew in one direction down the street, while another took another three took to the other direction. The remaining six went straight overhead, taking off over some of the buildings.

"We need to stop them, before they cause too much trouble." Emily stepped forward, taking her D3 out of her pocket. "We'll have to split up, if we want to handle all of those Evilmon as quickly as possible."

Erin watched the group nodding, the individual attitudes having been exchanged for the serious demeanor before him. "I'll handle the big pack. Coin Fusion." Gripping the coin in his pocket, he stared with red eyes as the energy shifted into his body, moving to follow his targets immediately.

"Alright. Max, your with Erin." The assimilated teen paused as he heard the Irish girl, tempted to protest, but deciding against it. "Sue, you come with me. Greg, you and Hilary follow the ones going west." As everyone nodded again, the two groups took off after their targets as their digimon appears from their hiding places and joined their partners. Erin watched as a large gear with eyes and hands floated down next to Max.

"Alright, lets do it, Hagurumon!" As the Digi-destined called out, Hagurumon's form began to glow as a small pillar of light formed around it.

"Hagurumon evolve...!" Soon enough, the gear digimon was replaced by a stout robot, easily a foot taller then Erin. It had an off tan colored body, and long arms with claws that dragged on the ground slightly. The top looked like a glass cockpit, which appeared to be right when it opened and Max jumped into inside it. As the lid shut over the young boy, the robotic arms stretched to its sides for a moment, before it finished its evolution. "Mecha Norimon!"

Erin gave a small grin as he watched the robot digimon take off from the rockets on its back, remembering the comments about wanting a Mecha that Max had said earlier. "Digital Assimilation!" Stretching his arms out to his sides, Erin was soon replaced with the armored form of Black War Humon, soon taking off into the air after his new friend.

It didn't take long for the pair to catch up, watching the six Evilmon hopping around the street. The place looked as if everyone had already been scared away, while the digimon seemed to be enjoying the destruction they were causing, jumping on cars and breaking random things.

Max landed a few feet away, watching for a moment before yelling at the delinquent digimon. "Alright. Knock it off and come along peacefully, or your gonna have trouble!" He barely reacted as Erin landed next to him, watching the small demon quietly.

All of the Evilmon looked at the pair as the words came out of the teen's mouth. Glancing between one another for a moment, they all seemed to clutch at their throats simultaneously. Erin wondered if they all had something stuck in their throats, before all six faces turned towards them.

"Nightmare Shock!" The voices called out together, as they spit small balls of lightning out of their mouths. Erin dodged to the side, hearing the explosions connect as he ducked behind one of the damaged cars. As the smoke cleared, he blinked, seeing that not only was Mecha Norimon was still standing, but Max was grinning in the cockpit.

"What was that, a tickle? Heh, lets show them how to do it, Mecha Norimon!" Raising it's arms, the robot boosted off the ground, soon firing forward and into two of the Evilmon, driving them further down the road.

Black War Humon shook his head as the remaining digimon watched their allies, before turning back to him. Stepping out from behind the car, he stood in the middle of the street, giving a small grin as the small demon circled around him. "Well, this should be entertaining..."

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Max watched the black flecks of data float away as Mecha Norimon's arm pulled out of the building where he had just slammed the second Evilmon. "Good job, Mecha Norimon. Lets head back and see if Erin has everything under control."

Floating into the air, the robot digimon turned and floated back down the road. Max grinned, hoping to see Erin in action. After hearing Emily describe the two times she watched Black War Humon in action, he had been itching to see it for himself. The smile turned into a look of confusion as they reached the place they had left Erin, finding neither the assimilated teen nor the other Evilmon.

"Hey, Mecha Norimon. Can you find Black War Humon?"

"Scanning." The robotic voice rang out, as a couple lights flashed on the panel in front of the human. "Anomaly detected above the buildings, along with one Evilmon. No other digital targets are detected in this area."

Grinning again, Max nodded. "Alright, get us up there!" The African American boy watched as the top of the building came into view, but gave a look of shock as they passed the roof's edge.

Floating in the air was Black War Humon, his dark armor gleaming slightly from the streetlights below, while holding the last Evilmon in his claws. With his back to Max and his partner, neither could see much as they watched.

"So, you think it's fun? Break things and scaring people?" The duel voices rang out as Erin spoke, turning his head as he held the digimon out to his side in one hand. The dark smile on his face caught Max by surprise. "Well, your friends didn't seem to like how I broke them... Let's see how you like it!"

Black War Humon threw the demon digimon into the side of the next building, floating slowly over to it as it tried to shake off the shock of the impact. Just as it pulled itself out of the building, the assimilated digimon's claws stabbed into the small body of the Adult.

"I guess not... Oh well..." The casual tone in Erin's voice sent a chill up Max's spine, turning his head as he saw the claws rip the Evilmon in two, before it broke into data.

Landing on the rooftop, Max jumped out of the cockpit of his partner, staring at Black War Humon landed on the roof, his back still to the human. A few minutes passed, before the human/digimon hybrid lowered his head. He seemed to stare at his claws for a few moments, still not saying a word, before he took off, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.

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Erin stared at the ceiling of the run down room he called home for the moment, sighing to himself. It had been a couple hours since the Evilmon attack, and he still couldn't get himself to fall asleep. Every time he started to relax, his mind went back to the fight, replaying the brutal way he had ripped the small demons apart.

'Maybe I was right... Maybe I am becoming a monster...' Standing up, the orphan walked to the window, looking out at the street of the busy town. People were still up and about, even at this time of night. Couples walking together, people buying groceries, all so care free. 'I wish I could go back to that. Back to just being a teenager, when my worst worry was how to tell Selene how I feel...'

Wincing slightly, Erin grimaced at the slight pain in his chest again. He still wasn't sure why it was hurting, but he finally remembered why it felt familiar. It was a dull version of what he had felt when his parents had died. The pain that the psychiatrist had said he was making up. Sighing softly, he tried to ignore the sting as he walked back to the laptop Emily was letting him borrow. Starting it up, he opened the Digital Gate program, hesitating a moment before he fused and held his hand to the computer. "Digi-Port open!"

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Across the street from the abandoned building, a tall figure watched the young teen at his window before he turned away and a flash of light signaled his disappearance. Stepping from the shadows, Phelesmon gave a dark laugh before he turned and walked back into the again.

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Rocker ~ Ye Goddess, I'm glad that's done...

ToyAgu ~ You really are having trouble, aren't you.

Rocker ~ *frowns* Hey, you're my muse, you know. My inability to write is partially your fault.

ToyAgu ~ *grins and rubs the back of his head* Oh, I think I need to get going! *The little gray dino runs off*

Flora ~ *giggles* Well, be that as it may, the chapter is done now. Next time, we return to Mt. Morris, as a new orphan is introduced to the Orphanage. But when the new addition shows a bit of an attitude problem, can the other kids handle it? Find out next time, on the next Dark Diaries!