Sappy Mukeni Gen Fic Chunk


   Arukenimon, Mummymon and Toeremon (a spooky tall Digimon kind of like Lopmon's Champion form) are trapped in an underground automated system thingy.  Mummymon and Toeremon know how to get out, but it's costly.  And Mummymon volunteers to do the honors...


    Mummymon smiled bravely at her, trying not to let it show.   There were tears in his eye, but at least his voice was steady as he said,  "I'll see you soon, Arukenimon."  
    She frowned back, uncomfortable, but he only smiled wider, full into his true-love face.  "Cut that out."
    All at once he made up his mind and snatched her close for a desperate kiss.  She wrested herself loose, outraged, twisted back and clocked him in the jaw with her elbow.
    But he didn't mind.  And he barley heard her stream of epithets.  He was happy in his soul.
    Because for a moment, she had kissed back.
    Rubbing his jaw tenderly, he stepped away and waved, turned and ran down the long slope of the tunnel, out of sight.
    "Ugh!  What an utter moron," Arukenimon spat after him, pulling the back of her arm across her mouth in disgust.
    Toeremon looked down on her with a little contemplative scowl.  "You could have been kinder to him, as he goes to such a fate for you."
    She growled with irritation.  "For me?  He's saving his own hide.  And *you'll* be getting out too, you know."
    He slowly tilted his head to one side.  "He is not saving his hide."
    She snorted.  "What would you call it?  Philanthropy?  Philogyny more like.  He's trying to impress me."
    "He goes to his death."
    "He...  What?"  She blinked up at him.  "He does not.  He's just powering up the Engine and then we'll be on our way again."
    "The Engine requires sustenance.  The Engine thrives on Digital life.  He goes to offer himself to it.  To be consumed."
     She stood there staring in disbelief for a long moment, and then they heard and felt the rock around them suddenly begin to hum with life.  She felt strange, like something cold had coiled around her guts.
    "We should go," Toeremon said, moving forward with long strides.  "The Engine is running."
    Mechanically, Arukenimon followed him.  
    
    The smell hit them as they crossed the Gate.  The whole room reeked of burned flesh.  Mummymon was a twisted, dark shape on the raised dais in the center of the white room.  
    Toeremon stood back,  puzzled.  "There should be nothing left."
    She took slow steps towards him, disbelieving.  She didn't know how he could possibly be alive like that, but he hadn't disintegrated.  So maybe...?  Oh, but he looked so terrible...  She reached him, knelt down next to him, and the heat and dessecation made her skin prickle.  His bandages had mostly been burned away.  Even his claws were carbonized to a brittle matte black, and the ruin of his face was caught in an expression of utter torture.  She stared at it, tears rising to her eyes.  "Mummymon," she called to him hopelessly, "Mummymon, are you still there?"
    Toeremon scowled.  "He smells human."
    "Shut up!" she screamed, and pulled one of Mummymon's hands close to her, ignoring the sound of cracking ash.  "Mummymon, please!  You're in there, aren't you?  You can't leave!  You *can't*!"  She held his hand tight.  There was  horrible crunch and the hand dropped away from her, leaving her clutching a few of his long, black claws.  She stared at them in her hand and lost her precious control, wailing with a painful sadness and dragging the corpse up against herself, where she hugged it tight, her tears falling to the ground.  Only a few.
    "Look," Toeremon commmanded, and she followed his gaze to the hand she had held.
     Barely visible, poking out from the hollow ends of the broken-off claws, were pale pink fingertips.
     She stared at them.  Then she let Mummymon slide out of her arms, both her hands busy tearing at the dry shell of his burned hand to free whatever was inside.  Toeremon knelt and joined her, working fragments loose from the joints that had begun to split when Arukenimon had moved him.
      She freed a whole pink hand, warm and stiff, and squeezed it, calling out her companion's name. 
      There was a wrenching cough, and Mummymon's body spasmed and stretched, cracking.  He pulled his free hand away from Arukenimon to tear at his face, rolling onto his knees and coughing hard, dust and fragments raining down from him.
     She watched in horror as he pulled himself apart, desperately working those small fingers into the dry cracks of his face and ripping them away.  "Stop," she cried, reaching for him, but Toeremon pulled her back.
     Something silver and spidery fell about his downturned face as he worked at it.  The tangle of fibers obscured him as he calmed and finally stopped, swaying a little with heavy breaths, dust still falling from him in little rivers.
     Toeremon released her but she stayed still, staring.  And then Mummymon raised his head to look tiredly out of a beautiful, pale human face, tousled silver hair draping across one of his bright, golden eyes.  He met Arukenimon's gaze.  "I won't ever give up," he said with an unsteady smile, "I won't stop trying as long as I have a place at your side to return to."
     She stared for a long moment, and punched him hard in the chest.  He fell backwards with a shout of pain while she screamed, "You nearly got yourself *killed,* you reckless idiot!"
     "You are a brave creature,"  Toeremon said to Mummymon, "But you have lost your place at her side."
     Coughing hard from the blow, Mummymon got back to his knees.  "Why do you say that?"
     "Look at yourself.  You are Human.  And you are not Digidestined.  If you leave, you will not be able to return. The Digital World will not allow you entry any longer.  So you must choose- stay and fight by her side whenever she returns, or go and live by her side whenever she is taking counsel with your master."  He paused and looked the former Digimon over for a moment.  "But I don't think you'll be much use as a warrior anymore."
      Mummymon looked down on himself, at his new hands.  They were small compared to his old ones, soft, graceful.  He made a fist and gasped at the feeling of fingernails digging into his palm.  And his chest still hurt from Arukenimon's blow.  He looked to Arukenimon, his heart folding up.  He had finally lost his monstrous visage, but with it he had lost his strength.  The strength that he knew she had occasionlly appreciated.  
      "Gah," Arukenimon exclaimed suddenly, "you need pants."




    Kojin

    Set in one of Silvor's universes.  Kind of.


    His creations and former lackeys didn't visit very often.  They kept in touch from time to time by paper mail, but he hadn't heard from them in more than a year.  He wondered what sort of occasion had brought Mummymon here today.
    "It's good to see you," Oikawa said, and almost winced at how guarded his voice sounded.
    Mummymon chuckled.  "I'd come more often, but we- Arukenimon and I- we've had our hands full, most of the time.   She's asleep at home right now, the dear, she's been missing a lot of sleep lately.  But I...  I've brought someone for you to meet," Mummymon said mysteriously, and gestured out the window.  "His name's Kojin."
    Oikawa looked at the boy playing cheerfully with Iori outside, and blinked in surprise.  It was *him*...  The laughing child looked exactly like he had when he was a young boy.  Except that he was happy, of course.
    "He's beautiful, isn't he?" Mummymon grinned.  "I think he looks a lot like his grandfather."
    Oikawa stared for another long moment and then gaped in realization.  "You mean he- he's *yours*?"  
    "You should have seen Arukenimon a year ago.  She was huge.  She wouldn't believe me, of course, but she was so beautiful..."
    Oikawa blinked.  He'd never imagined his creations would be able to...  you know...   "He's... only a year old?"
    "Yep.  He's growing up fast."
    "He's not...  human, then?"
    Mummymon shrugged, still grinning as wide as a shark.  "He's whatever we are, I suppose.  He looked human when he was born.  In a hospital and everything.  I was so worried.  Hospitals are frightening.  But Arukeni was brave enough for both of us..."  He sighed, and Oikawa chuckled.  Mummymon was just as swept away with fatherhood as Hiroki had been...  "It was a few weeks before he started taking a Digimon form sometimes.  And almost a month before he got out of the Fresh stage.  Oh!  He's already a Rookie now!  I'm sure he'd be happy to show you his Rookie form.  Do you want to come and meet him?"
    Oikawa reeled a bit at the idea of watching a boy who looked exactly like himself, transform into a Digimon.  "What is he?"  
    "An Anakarimon.  He should be an Anubimon when he makes Champion.  Quite a ladykiller, too."
    "You think he'll be a heartbreaker?"
    "Just like his grandad,"  Mummymon answered, and Oikawa spluttered out a chuckle.  
    Chou, stepping into the room, smiled, "Where did you learn to be such a shameless flatterer?"
    "Mom!"  Mummymon shouted warmly, and grabbed her up in a hug that took her clean off the floor.
    

    Mummymon had gone back outside to chat with the boys, and Iori's grandfather was looking on a little sternly.  Eventually it started to get to Oikawa, so he asked what on earth the matter was.
    Chikara answered thoughtfully, "I know it's too judgemental of me, but I can't help but think that their having a child wasn't a very good idea.  It's true I don't know them very well, but they don't seem like they could be very capable parents."
     Oikawa looked back to the boy, who was now perched comfortably on Mummymon's forearm and listening raptly to his conversation with Iori.  "I've known worse," he said quietly.  "They'll make mistakes.  Parents do.  But *look* at him."  Now Kojin was talking, and Mummymon was... just listening.  Out of nowhere, Oikawa got choked up for a second and had to take a deep breath to shake it off.  "I think he knows what to do."