It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (part 2) a little MummArch fic by Lithrael
Happy discalimers & warnings: This fic is fairly violent, nekkid, sadistic, and more than a little naughty. This particular chapter contains some more violence and pretty much no naughtiness. I don't own nuthin'. I'm just borrowing the characters to be mean to them for a bit and then smoosh them together. On with the fun.
Mummymon must have lost conciousness; the next thing he knew he was waking up again, slumped on his side on the forest floor. His good shoulder ached terribly; his bad shoulder was burning with pain. He knew couldn't be too bad off though, since he hadn't dropped into his gijinka. He could hear the Wendigomon's slow breathing very closeby, behind him and to the left. Maybe he could lash out, surprise it with an attack-
"Hello," it rumbled, and he gave up on the idea of surprising it. "You hurt for her. She gone." It leaned over, laid one massive hand accross his back, and picked him up like a ragdoll. He tried not to wince at the spikes of pain that shot through his shoulder. It brought his face up next to its own and shut one eye, staring at him with the other, and still grinning. "Who you hurt for now? Huh? Maybe me. I hurt maybe for her? You like her, huh?" It put the back of its hand to its mouth and whispered conspiratorially, "I was gonna make her not hurt no more." It leaned back and grinned, and started to laugh.
Mummymon just stared back, amazed. Good lord, this thing was utterly out of its skull. That wouldn't help him at all in a fight - true berserkers were impossible to strategise against. Still, it had to be near defeat after all the punishment it had taken earlier. And where was Arukenimon? He hoped, desperately, that she had escaped. That this beast hadn't hurt her. From what it said, she had gotten away, but he wasn't exactly going to take its word for it. "Why don't you put me down," Mummymon suggested in a friendly tone. Not too friendly - he was sure the thing would react badly to being patronized.
It stopped chuckling and eyed him again. "No. Don't trust food until it's cooking." it nodded at the pile of firewood it was building.
Mummymon got the unconfortable idea that it wasn't joking. "You must go hungry a lot."
It wailed, its fist tightening around him until he felt his ribs creaking.
He wondered whether the Wendigomon would believe him if he explained data disintegration. Probably not. Maybe an alternative? "I have food back at my jeep. I could take you there, we-"
"Shhhh," it said. "I stay here. You stay where I stay. You better stay for dinner. Otherwise I KILL HER.... Right?"
It didn't calm his nerves any to know that it didn't actually have an Arukenimon to threaten. Once the Wendigomon was done giving him an intimidating glare, it put him down ungently and turned its attention back to the fire-building. Mummymon got cautiously back to his feet and scanned the surroundings, trying not to be obvious about it. There was no trace of Arukenimon - he couldn't really tell where he'd last seen her, either, so there was no way he could try to track which way she had gone. No trace of his rifle, either. No, wait - he caught a glint of gunmetal grey amongst the leaflitter, the familiar shape of his weapon, almost invisible in the waning afternoon light. But god - it was so far away.. Would he be able to get to it before the Wendigo struck? Would Snake Bandage be able to hold it long enough? Would it be tight enough to keep the Wendigo from drawing breath for its Destroyed Voice attack? In the end, it didn't matter. He couldn't think of anything better to try.
Nonchalantly, he strolled towars the place where he'd seen his gun. With any luck the Wendigomon wouldn't even notice.
No luck.
The Wendigo whipped around, scowling, and reared back for a physical attack. Mummymon feinted left, dodged out of its way and practically cocooned the thing with a very enthusiastic Snake Bandage, then sprinted flat-out for his rifle. The Wendigo was just beginning to work free when he reached it. Mummymon skidded to a halt in the loose leaves, snatching up the weapon and getting a bead on the crazy Wendigo. It was in full-on berserk mode now, tearing away the last of the Snake Bandage, slavering, snarling, and tearing across the small clearing towards him. Mummymon just smirked and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Mummymon's spirit crashed, and he stared down at the gun in his hands, feeling betrayed. He didn't even have time to wonder what was wrong with it. The Wendigo hit him, hard, across the head, and he crumpled to the ground.
Half a mile away, Arukenimon was lost, alone, and falling into dark depression and self-pity. Her stumbling run had worn her out fast, and now she was practically dragging her feet, exhausted and hopeless, but too stubborn to actually stop.
She fell again, her feet tangled in some protruding roots, got up, took a few faltering steps, then threw herself at a tree-trunk, slumping against it for support. She started to cry again. Then she got mad because she was crying, and then a wave of raw despair crashed over her and she broke down, sobbing. How could everything have gone so horribly wrong?
She tried to pull herself out of it. She would be fine, she just had to find another control spire or two, she just had to rest, she'd be back on top in no time, and there was no way Oikawa would be upset with her for losing Mummymon.
Mummymon... Her sadness returned in full force. Sure he was obnoxious and dependant, but he was also sweet, and he had been her only friend for as long as she could remember. It was obvious that she could carry on without him- she had told him to leave her alone any number of times- but the sudden reality of never seeing him again..
Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he'd even won..
Maybe she was deluding herself, she thought petulantly, through the tears, and crushed her face into the soft blue material of his jacket.
Two bright eyes were watching her from the trees, brimming with curiosity. Was this a human? He had never seen one before. With owlish silence, he launched himself into the air and glided down to the sobbing figure.
Arukenimon flinched back in surprise, gasping at the small purple shape that had appeared almost from nowhere. The Tsukaimon looked back at her, its eyes wide and innocent with cheerful concern, maybe a little mischief...
"What's the matter? Why're you crying?"
His childlike voice reminded her of the Digidestined, and she snarled at him with misdirected rage, lashing out with a heartfelt but uncoordinated punch. The Tsukaimon dodged her careless attack without concern. If anything, he looked more curious now. She ignored him. She didn't want to deal with the stupid thing.
"Are you a Digimon or not? I can't tell," he continued, not particularly caring whether she wanted to talk to him or not. "I've never actually seen a human. Unless you're one. What're you doing way out here?" He gave her another short pause, just in case she decided to respond. "Nobody much comes out here, you know. I never get to see anyone new." He paused again, but she was still staring off into the distance, looking miserable. He decided to start over. "Why're you crying?"
She growled at him, annoyed. "WILL you shut up?"
He beamed, victory was his! "No!"
She rolled her eyes. Useless little beast. Useless.. little beast? She turned around and looked at him again. She ignored the little happy jig he danced when he got her attention. He looked just like that revolting creature that was fighitng with the Digidestined... Patamon. He was a little black Patamon. She imagined him as a Champion, a beautiful Dark Angemon with purple robes and raven-black wings. If he was so damned keen on being her friend, maybe he would fight for her. Her lips twisted in a cruel little smile. "Tell me, little brat," she purred, "do you want to make me happy?"
He didn't hesitate. "Sure!"
"Well, then.." she reached out to scratch him under the chin, "Digivolve for me. Can you do that?"
His face fell. "No.."
She dropped her hand, sighing with annoyance. Useless. "Don't know how, huh."
He glared at her, wounded. "Yes I do! But I haven't been able to, ever since those towers went up.."
She hid her gasp of hope. There *were* more Spires nearby? She got to her feet. "Show me," she said, and her voice was deadly serious.
Mummymon opened his eye for a blurry peek at the world. There was a fire- a flickering blob of light that danced in his vision. He barely registered that he had slipped back into his Gijinka form. He hurt too much to think.
The Wendigo noticed him and waved cheerily, but Mummymon was too close to the edge of conciousness to work out what the blurry shapes added up to. He closed his eye again and felt himself drift away into a dream where Arukenimon was waiting for him, waiting to hold him in her slender arms.
She had summoned the strength from somewhere to run, tearing through the forest, not noticing the slim branches that whipped at her as the undergrowth got thicker. The Tsukaimon was flying just ahead of her, checking back every few moments, enjoying this game immensely. "We're almost there," he called out.
True to his word, moments later they broke into a small clearing, and Arukenimon stumbled to a halt at the base of a huge black obelisk. She stared up along its height, her heart crashing. Halfway up, sillhouetted against the starry evening sky, it was sheared off, and a tracery of lines were cracked into its surface.
"It's broken," she said, angry. How dare this little creature give her false hope like that?
"THAT one is," the Tsukaimon answered, scampering back out of her reach in case she tried to hit him again, "but those aren't." He gestured towards the far edge of the clearing.
Five Control Spires stood just outside the clearing, shadowed and hidden amongst the tall trees. Arukenimon felt like singing. She ran a hand through her hair and produced five long white strands. "Spirit Needle," she called out, and they shot out and sank into the spires. The Tsukaimon was watching, not sure whether he should be worried or not, but Arukenimon didn't care. She didn't need him anymore.
The Spires blurred and ran together, took on a shape. A Cyberdramon stood before Arukenimon, tall and powerful, waiting for her command. She smiled at the thing she had created. The Tsukaimon fluttered up by her shoulder. "Wow," he said, genuinely awed. "Is he.. yours?"
She nodded, allowing herself a flash of pride. "Carry me," she told it, and it bent down to pick her up.
The Tsukaimon stared in wonder for a few more seconds. Then he shook himself, another thought coming to him. "Hey! I can Digivolve now! Watch me!"
Arukenimon turned. Well, why not, she mused. Two warriors are better than one.
The Tsukaimon's brow furrowed in concentration. "Tsukaimon Digivolve to.." he burst into light, his small shape blossoming out into a huge form. "Cyclomon!"
She stumbled back against her Cyberdramon's hand, her expectations of a dark angel thoroughly contradicted. Cyclomon was huge.. and ugly, a gargantuan dull yellow beast with four thick, muscular legs and jaws full of dangerous teeth. There was something familiar about him though - he was looking down at her with a single unmatched eye. She shivered.
Cyclomon shook his powerful frame with glee, full of funktionlust. "What do you think?" he thundered.
"I think you should knock down some trees," she responded, climbing up into her Cyberdramon's hand. "Seriously, though..." she hesitated. "Thanks for your help. Now," she turned to her Cyberdramon, getting a good hold on its arm. She pointed back into the forest. "That way. Run!"
It crouched, its jaw opening for a soulless growl, and then sprung into an earth-pounding sprint through the trees.
Cyclomon watched them go. Then he reared back and pushed a tree over, and the air rang with his deep laughter.
The Wendigomon was humming happily to itself. The fire was almost ready, burning cheerfully against the darkness of late evening, and its dinner was still sleeping. It broke into a wordless song while it cleaned up a branch to use as the crossbeam for a spit.
A strange sound reached its ears and it stopped singing, staring out into the dark forest for the source of the noise. Something was coming, something big, breaking branches and small trees in its path. The Wendigo stood up and raised its arms, brandishing the branch like a club, ready to fight.
The Cyberdramon burst out of the forest into the firelight and ran straight over the Wendigo, trampilng it to the ground. It circled around, let out a mighty growl, and threw itself at the Wendigo, claws outstretched. "Erase Claw," it intoned, and a burst of otherworldly light joined its physical attack. The Wendigo howled, then its howl faded into silence, leaving a hollow echo. It exploded into a puff of data, the branch it had held falling softly to the ground.
The Cyberdramon came to rest, its orders fulfilled. A few moments later, Arukenimon appeared from between the trees. Her eyes were riveted to Mummymon where he lay silent on the ground. He couldn't be... dead... he would have disintigrated... Wouldn't he? She took a few hesitant steps towards him, then rushed to his side.
She knelt down and laid a hand on his shoulder, looking into his face, and made a choked sigh of relief- he was alright. Tears rose to her eyes and streamed down her face. She rocked back on her heels, lost her balance, and sat down hard. He stirred, mumbling in his sleep just like he always did, and she smiled, her eyes glistening.
"Arukenimon..." he muttered softly, "don't go... please..."
She reached out and stroked him, feeling some sympathy for his injured shoulder, obvious now, with a deep bruise seeping into sight from within. As long as he was asleep, she could safely let her affection show.
He pouted in his sleep. "The sun isn't even up yet. Can't you stay?"
She stopped, frowned. What the hell kind of dream was he having? She nudged him a couple of times, then again, a little harder. "Hey sleepyhead," she said, not entirely without affection, "Wake up and see who's back to pull your sorry ass out of the fire." At the last moment, she realized she'd better clean the evidence of her emotions off her face, and scrubbed it with a clean bit of Mummymon's coat.
He came around slowly, and she noted with some alarm that his eye didn't focus on her. "Arukeni?" he started to prop himself up on one elbow and winced, falling back. "Ow," he commented, holding his bad shoulder with his good hand.
Arikenimon smiled, almost a smirk. "You just relax. I hired some help." She gestured at the Cyberdramon, still standing off to one side, though she wasn't sure Mummymon could see it. "He'll take us back to the car."
"...Jeep..."
"Uh huh. So you just rest."
"Thank you," he said, closing his eye and falling easily back into an utterly exhausted sleep, "for saving me... my love."
Her face softened a little, watching him drift off. Then she called the Cyberdramon over and helped it gently pick up her companion. She climbed up next to him, cradled in the Cyberdramon's arms. "That way," she commanded, pointing in the direction she hoped would take them back to the jeep, "and keep it smooth." The Cyberdramon obeyed, working up to a brisk walk that rocked them gently enough not to wake Mummymon.
After a maybe twenty minutes of this, her fatigue was back and hitting her hard, knocking her flat this time. There was no way she could stay awake any longer. "Hey," she adressed the Cyberdramon, "I'm going to sleep for a while. Try to find our car. If you find it, stop. If you reach a road or the edge of the forest, stop. If anything attacks us, defend. Understand?" It nodded its armoured head. "Good. See you in a bit."
She stretched out in her creation's arms, nestling up next to Mummymon. He made a happy, wordless little noise and draped an arm over her. Automatically, she started to push it off, but stopped. "Just this once," she whispered, and less than a minute later she was asleep.
