Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Diaries ❯ Times of Change ( Chapter 10 )

Jill yawned softly, as she walked down the stairs wearing her pink pajama top and shorts. Her dreams had been a bit erratic over the last couple of nights, making her wake up early every time, a good hour before anyone else.

Drinking a glass of milk, she thought about the last dream she had been having. She was still a little surprised at the things she had been thinking about, since her talk with Ms. Klink. Her thoughts had gotten away with her on more then one occasion, imagining outrageous scenarios between herself and Erin, getting a bit more and more in depth. The dream just before she had woken up had left her blushing rather badly.

Glancing at the clock, she sighed to herself, as she set the glass in the sink. Walking to the doorway, a small noise caught her attention, from the living room. No one was normally up at this time of the morning, not even Ms. Klink. Walking quietly, she was a bit surprised when she thought she heard a male voice that was completely unfamiliar. Frowning slightly, she hid around the corner by the front, listening quietly.

"So, you're sure you can provide him?" The voice was very unfriendly, gruff sounding.

"No problem. I can come up with some story to bring him." Brian's voice made the girl jump slightly in surprise.

"Good. We'll contact you today with the plans then." She peeked around the corner slightly, barely seeing the back of Brian's blond head, with a taller man, dark hair and a beard giving him an unpleasant appearance. He glanced around slightly. "You sure no one knows about this?"

Brian's head gave a cocky turn as he spoke. "No one. I'll bring your guest of honor. Just keep up your part of the bargain."

Jill was about to sneak away, when a hand covered her mouth, pressing her against the wall. Her dark blue stared in fear at the masked man holding her against the wall, the dark eyes staring back at her.

"Then you should check around more, kid." The man pulled Jill around, holding her in front of him, walking out from around the corner.

Brian turned around, frowning deeply as he saw the mute girl being held by the other adult. "She's got nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary… This works perfectly..." The first man spoke, a smirk forming on his lips as he watched the scared girl.

***********

Dark Diaries

Entry 10 "Times of change"

Written by Rocker Starlight

Permission from Lord Archive

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Erin yawned, as he sat up in his bed. He still felt a little tired, even if he hadn't done anything major since the fight with Death Meramon. Sitting up, he stretched his muscles, leisurely taking his time, as he sat on his bed. Besides seeing Mimi again, as well as meeting her boyfriend Jyou, things had been relatively quiet for the week.

Grumbling, as he stood up and began rummaging through his clothes, he could think of one thing that had been abnormal of late. Over the last week, Brian had begun almost intolerable to live with. Before, his insults were minor and petty, fairly easy to ignore, but they had shifted recently. Now, they had almost a violent and angry tone to them. He would go out of his way just to run his shoulder into Erin's, even threatening him vaguely the day he had taken Jill's kitchen duties as punishment.

'You should just leave. You're nothing but a freak you know, nothing like us. If you don't want something to happen, you should leave now, and never come back.' Erin frowned, pulling his T-shirt and jeans on, as he remembers the words. He couldn't think of anything that he had done to suddenly cause this kind of a reaction. Glancing at the clock, the thoughts exited his mind, realizing that it was four hours after breakfast should have been made. Quickly running down the stairs, he stopped as he hit the bottom, wondering to himself why no one had woken him up, like normal.

Walking through the kitchen and dining room, he frown returned, before moving into the living room. Sitting on the couch, was Beverly Klink, a worried expression on her face, not noticing Erin's presence. She stared at the table silently, her hands together under her chin, as if she was in deep thought.

Clearing his throat softly, Erin watched the worried expression disappear, replaced with a look of calmness. "Oh Erin, good morning. I'm sorry I didn't wake you for breakfast…"

Erin sat in one of the recliners, shrugging slightly. "No problem, Ms. K. Why didn't anyone wake me for setting the table though?"

Beverly's expression flashed the worried look for a moment again, just long enough for Erin to notice, before she spoke again. "Oh, well, I thought you could use a day off, since you've been working so hard lately. I was wondering though, have you seen Jill or Brian this morning, by any chance?"

Erin held his face neutrally, keeping the frown from returning again. "No, ma'am. I haven't seen either one since last night. Why, is something wrong?"

The caretaker waved her hand, pushing the question aside as she stood up. "Oh, it's probably nothing Erin. Go ahead and make yourself some breakfast, I already tended to the young children." She walked out quickly, ending the conversation.

Erin watched the retreating adult, the frown deepening on his face as he went about getting himself breakfast. 'Why would Ms. Klink be so worried about those two? And why wouldn't she talk about it at all…' As he threw together a couple sandwiches, he grabbed a can of pop, and decided to see about getting some answers for himself.

***********

Having looked through Jill and Brian's rooms, Erin walked out to the tool shed in a less the chipper mood. His own search for answers had led him to absolutely nothing, making him quite frustrated. So, he felt it was time to try and look for a bit of assistance in his small quest.

Opening the shed door, Erin's eyes flew open. Sitting on the floor, were all three of the younger orphans, watching Witchmon, who was sitting on a crate without her cloak and hat. The Adult digimon had a small ball of water between her hands, making it shift and move into different shapes, bringing applause from the children as they watched the small show.

Erin groaned softly in annoyance, as he shut the door behind him, loud enough to get everyone's attention. Darien barely glanced away from Witchmon, giving the older teen a wide-eyed look of amazement. Angela was grinning, clapping at the show, as she smiled as Erin. Her twin, Mary, was blushing and looking down in embarrassment, holding her hands in her lap, as she looked up slightly at him.

Witchmon, however, gave a sweet smile. "Well good morning, Mr. Late. It's a good thing Angela brought me some food today, or else I'd be starving right now, since you and Jill decided that I didn't need any." She winked, playfully poking fun, as she petted the feline in her cat. "Isn't that right, Neko?"

Erin frowned slightly, not caring much for the humor. "Darien, Angela, Mary, I need all of you to go inside. Don't tell Ms. Klink about this, alright."

Darien was the first one on his feet, pouting a little. "But we wanna spend time with Ms. Witch too. Why do we gotta go in?"

Angela stood up, nodding. "Yea, she's my friend too. I can see her whenever I want!"

Mary stayed on her knees, looking up at Erin through the bangs of her red hair. "Please, Mr. Erin. May we stay and visit with her?"

The soft tone calmed his anger slightly, taking a deep breath as he faced off with the three children. "I'm sorry, but right now, I need to speak with her alone." His voice was a bit strained, his temper having trouble holding itself back. "If you all go in, and promise to be good and not tell Ms. K about this, you can come out and visit her again a little later, alright?"

Mary nodded, accepting the answer, although Angela and Darien began their argument anew.

Laughing softly, Witchmon patted the two, energy filled children on their shoulders. "Look, let me have a bit, and I'll show you some more tricks later, alright? I promise, you'll like them."

Angela and Darien both looked at the digimon then glanced to one another, nodding. They ran out of the room, giving Erin a small glare as they went through the door. Mary slowly stood up, giving Witchmon a polite curtsey, before she walked out herself.

Erin frowned slightly, as she shut the door behind the children. "Thanks… Not in the best mood for dealing with them right now…" He walked over, leaning against one of the crates.

Witchmon giggled, laying down on the crate she had been sitting on before, rubbing her stomach with her large hands softly. "I never would have guessed." She smirked, as she looked over at the teen, noticing the deep-set frown on his face. "Roachmon crawl up your butt or something?"

Erin looked away a moment, crossing his arms over his chest before he spoke. "Jill's missing."

The simple statement got the digimon sitting up quickly, staring in shock. "M...Missing? But she was with me until she went to bed last night. Did you see her at all?"

The teen nodded. "Yea, she stopped into my room a minute, to wish me good night. Gave me a small start to, since I was partially asleep. Which means she had to have disappeared while everyone was asleep last night, or this morning before breakfast. But I can't see why she would run away."

Witchmon tapped her lips as she thought. "Maybe… Maybe she didn't run away…" She watched the surprised expression on Erin's face, before she continued. "Could there be any reason someone would kidnap her?"

Erin's frown settled back in. "Not that I know of. And Brian being gone too, I can't see them going off together. Of late, Jill's been avoiding him like the plague."

The young witch tilted her head slightly. "Brian? The one who hasn't met me yet, right? Short blond hair and a bit muscular?" Receiving nods to confirm her comments, the female digimon frowned herself. "Maybe it has something to do with that guy he met the other night…"

Blinking, Erin stood in surprise, stepping towards Witchmon slightly. "Guy? What guy?"

Shrugging slightly, Witchmon petted her cat softly. "Some guy wearing a black mask covering all of his face but his eyes. It was the night before last, they were near the bushes on the side of your house. Unfortunately, they were too far away from me to hear them completely, but what I caught what sounded like arrangements. For Brian to deliver something somewhere. That's about the gist of it."

Erin thought over the new information, still having trouble putting anything together, as he paced in Witchmon's shed. His frustration was starting to get the better of him, when the shed door opened, revealing Mary's long, curly, red hair. She stepped in, looking down at Erin, as she held a piece of paper out to him.

"This was taped to the front door, with your name on it, Mr. Erin. Ms Klink would not look at it, since she was on the phone." Her voice was soft and sweet as always, as she held the paper.

Taking the slip from Mary, Erin nodded to her. "Thank you Mary. I'll bring it up with Ms. Klink if she needs it, so don't worry about telling her, alright?" He watched her nod, standing quietly. "Go ahead Mary. And keep Angel out of trouble, alright?"

The young girl nodded, nodding again to Witchmon, before she turned and walked out, as if nothing was abnormal.

The folded slip of paper had Erin's name scrawled on the front. The handwriting was horrible, like a child wrote it. Opening the paper, Erin's eyes went wide again, as he read the text inside.

'If you wish to see your friend again, come to the High School Gymnasium at nine PM, and bring the monster with you.'

Erin handed the note to Witchmon, after reading it a couple times. Someone knew. Or suspected anyway. And now, Jill had been dragged into it, just because of being associated with him. His hands clenched, as he felt his anger rising, giving a start as he felt one of Witchmon's large hands grip his shoulder.

"Don't you even think of going off, half-cocked. If Jill was kidnapped to get to you, or more accurately, Black War Humon, then we need to go into this carefully. Especially since this could be another digimon, coming for the power source. Only this time, they might know about you too, leaving us without that trump card."

Erin growled softly. "It doesn't matter." He pulled his shoulder out of her grip, walking to the door. "Witchmon, watch the house. Just in case they know I'm Black War Humon, I want you to protect everyone here. I will bring Jill back, no matter what it takes…" He walked out of the shed, leaving the female digimon to herself.

***********

Erin frowned as he walked down the side street. Taking a few back paths to try and avoid being followed, he was not directly across the street from the school, staring at the gym. Looking into the sky, the moon was a reddish tint, without a cloud in the sky to obscure it. A small halo of light was around it as well, giving the teen a faint, but uneasy feeling.

Walking through the parking lot, he frowned deeper, noticing the cameras on the light posts were following him. 'So much for the element of surprise.' He grumbles softly to himself as he slowly made his way to the backdoors of the gym. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the doors, pulling them open. Glancing around a final time, he slowly entered the pitch-black gymnasium.

Darkness surrounded him, giving him a small feeling of DÈj‡ vu, as he walked across the gymnasium floor. The sound of his feet on the hardwood was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. In his pocket, the dark coin seemed to be pulsing softly with energy, feeling warm against his leg. The whole scenario reeked of something wrong, to Erin.

As he reached the center of the floor, a spotlight turned on, shining from above one of the bleachers. He shielded his eyes a little, as he lost what little night-vision he had, trying to catch some glimpse of voices coming from the shadows around him.

"Monster!"

"Go away! We don't want you here!"

"You're the cause of all of it, it's your fault."

The scene seemed almost surreal, staring into the accusing darkness. "What's my fault? What are you talking about?"

"My children play at that school you blew a chunk out of! What if they had been there when you blasted it?"

"My family goes to that mall your friend's terrorize all the time! They never would have come, if you weren't here!"

Erin was starting to calm down a little, as he lowered his arm, staring back at the black walls created by the spotlight. "And you accuse me? The news said the attacks were random… How do you know different?" He stared defiantly, a bit more confidant, as he was starting to tell the difference better. All the voices had been different, but they were all male. And they were coming from different places around him.

"The news covers it up. But thanks to people who care about the human race, we know the truth."

Erin gave a start, turning around as another spot came from the same directions the first had. The last voice had come from a man in a black mask, his eyes glaring menacingly at Erin from the top of the opposite bleachers. What made the teen's anger rise though, was that the man was holding Jill, still in her pajamas, with her hands tied behind her back. Just behind the man, Brian glared at Erin, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Let her go!" Erin grabbed the coin from his pocket, stepping forward, before two pairs of hands grabbed his arms, holding him back. Struggling a little, he glared at the apparent leader. "She's got nothing to do with this, so leave her alone!"

The leader gave a conceited laugh. "Oh, I think she does…." Pulling a knife out from behind him, the man pressed the tip against the center of Jill's chest, making the young girl tremble with, her fear filled eyes flickering from the blade to Erin.

Stopping his struggling, Erin's head dipped slightly as a soft growl escaped him. "Hurt her and so help me…"

"You'll do nothing. Now, if you value this little monster loving bitch's life, I suggest you reveal the demon that has been plaguing our fair town over this last month. Do that, and I may consider releasing her…" The tip of the blade just nicked the skin, making Jill tremble slightly against her bonds, as the small trickle of blood ran down her chest.

Erin growled at the small cut, giving a slight struggle for a second, seeming to have a bit more energy, as he forced the coin into fuse. "You want a monster… So be it…Digital Assimilation!" Screaming in anger, Erin's body lit up the gymnasium, giving off a purplish light. The two men who were holding his arms jumped back in shock, all the members of the small mob watching as the light gave out, revealing the armored form of Black War Humon.

The assimilated teen glanced around him, able to tell where the men around him were now. He gave a soft grunt as he took a step, counting the presence of over fifteen men, before he focused again. "You have your monster." His duel voices rang out slightly in the echo of the gym. "Now let her go!"

The leader brought his free hand up, pulling the mask off his head, revealing a full beard and unruly hair, giving the man a wild look to his face as he kept the knife at Jill's chest. "You were right boy. You'll be rewarded for your assistance." He glanced back to Brian a moment, who gave a soft grunt in response.

Erin blinked. 'Brian told them? He's the one who told them who I was?' A slight growl escaped his body again, as he felt hands grabbing his arms again, glancing to his sides to see two of the men trying to hold him back, although he ignored them. "So? You don't need her anymore. Just let her go, and we can settle this right now."

A dark smirk crossed the unruly looking man's face. "Well, you are right, demon. First, we will settle this now." Two clicks caught Erin's attention, sounding like guns behind him. "And second? We don't need this little bitch anymore…" Pulling the knife away, the leader turned his body, facing Jill's side, as he plunged the knife into her.

Erin stared in shock, watching the man drop Jill to the ground, almost not noticing Brian rushing to her side. The assimilated teen just watched the man as he turned back to Erin, a wolfish grin on his face. Almost seeming to be going in slow motion, the adult male raised his hand, saying something that didn't seem to reach Erin's ears.

As the hand began to fall, Erin felt like he was pushed back into normal speed. He shoved the two men away, leaping off the ground before they could react. His eyes watched the man, still moving in slow motion compared to him, until everything simply stopped. Turning his head, Erin saw the man was now at his side, bent over his right arm, which had impaled the man's stomach. Giving a single blink, he pulled his arm back, letting the mob's leader drop to the stairs, falling between two of the seats.

Erin's body felt numb as he looked at the man, watching his arms clutch at his bleeding stomach, before turning his eyes to his gauntlet, staring at the red stained claws. A flicker of motion in the corner of his eye caught his attention, swinging the same arm into his would be assailant.

Turning his head fully, he saw the mob had collected at the bottom of the stairs, staring off to his right. Looking over, he saw another man, almost looking imbedded into the wall from the blow Erin had just given him. Looking back to the small mob of men, Black War Humon braced his feet, as he watched the small crowd of men shifting their feel nervously.

"Erin! Erin!!" The assimilated teen turned his head slightly, finally realizing Brian was yelling to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just barely see Jill's body behind the football player, although the knife that had stabbed her was lying next to him.

"What?!" His voices growled the word out, keeping part of his attention on the men below him. "Wanna gloat? Hope you're happy, you fucking bastard…"

Brian flinched slightly at the words, waving his hand. "Jill's still alive!"

Erin completely ignored the small mob as he turned his head fully towards the pair of orphans. "Wh…What?"

The blond nodded, moving back a little. "Jeff stabbed her in her shoulder. She's still alive, but I don't know how long, with how badly she's bleeding…"

Stepping closer, Erin knelt down next to Jill, noticing now that she was breathing, but it was very shallow. "How do I know your not setting me up again?" He asked calmly, as he picked the young girl up in his arms, watching Brian closely.

"Because she wasn't supposed to be here." Brian glanced at the fallen man, before turning to Erin again, pulling jacket he had been wearing and laying it over the unconscious girl in Erin's arms. "Now get going! Less gabbing, and more moving!"

Erin nodded, taking a step away, before one of the mob members stepped forward, pointing a piece of pipe at him. "No way! You ain't going anywhere, freak! We're gonna send you right back to hell, where you came from!"

"Oh someone's going to hell tonight…" Everyone but Erin gave a start and stared at the ceiling of the gymnasium, as Witchmon floated down out of the shadows. She stared at the group of men below her, giving them an icy look. "But I'm afraid you gentleman will be the ones with the tickets. Get going, Black War Humon. I believe I can entertain these morons while your gone."

Witchmon watched as the assimilated human nodded, using the distraction to quickly move out of the gym without a fight. Landing on the bleachers a few feet from Brian, she glanced at the orphan, her tone and face neutral. "Where do you stand, boy? Answer now, before I start my fun…"

Brian shook off his shock, giving a cocky grin to the digimon. "I stand on my side. And right now, that's against them. Bet I can take more out then you can, babe."

Witchmon smirked softly, as her cat scampered off, spinning her broom in front of her slightly. "An interesting boast. Lets see if you can back it up…"

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

Erin's body strained, as he pushed himself to fly as fast as he could. The closest hospital he remembered being taken to while at the orphanage was a good half an hour south by car, and he didn't know where any others might be.

A touch on his chest brought his attention away from the highway he was following, glancing down to see Jill's eyes slightly open, a weak smile on her face. She hand trembled slightly as she reached up, brushing her fingertips over Erin's exposed cheek, tracing the black coloration on his skin.

"Jill, save your strength. We're almost to the hospital. You'll be alright then." Speaking loud enough to be heard over the rush of air, Erin watched as she gave a soft nod, mouthing something, almost like she was trying to say something.

Reaching the hospital, Erin started circling the building, trying to find the emergency room, as a soft noise caught his ear. Looking down at Jill, he gave a startled look as she opened her mouth again. "B…Big brother… Knew you would come…" Her voice was very soft, as she smiles weakly, her eyes closing a little more.

Shaking the shock of hearing Jill's voice off, Erin soon found the emergency room, returning to his fused state right as he landed. Ignoring the startled looks of people as he ran through the automatic doors, he rushed to the desk, shouldering past a couple people. "Help! I need help!"

Holding the girl tightly to him, Erin finally reached the front desk, greeted by an older woman working the front desk. She looked at the pair, opening her eyes wide, before she called for a medical team to come to the front desk. Within moments, Erin watched the doors to the ER swing shut, as Jill was rushed away from him on a stretcher.

Turning away, the teen almost ran head on into another female nurse, a little younger then the first one. She gave a start as Erin looked at her with unblinking red eyes, before she finally spoke. "Are you alright? We need to know if there is any immediate family we should contact?"

Erin shook his head slightly. "No. She and I are both orphans. If you could contact the Mt. Morris orphanage and speak with Beverly Klink, she can give you the medical information you need." Walking past the woman, Erin took a seat in one of the waiting chairs, ignoring the various stares he was receiving, as he waited.

**********

Erin's auburn eyes jolted away, as he felt his shoulder being nudged. Glancing around defensively, he noticed the young nurse from before standing in front of him, as where he was began settling in again. Bolting out of his seat, he almost knocked the woman back as he stepped forward. "Is Jill alright? Is something wrong? What happened?"

The nurse waved off at the questions, waiting a moment to get a word in. "Your friend is fine. The doctors were able to stabilize the bleeding, as she's already in recovery. Your Erin I assume?" At the quick nod, the young woman continued. "Well, she's been asking for you ever since she woke up about five minutes ago. If you'd like, you can sit with her now."

Nodding again, Erin followed the nurse into the ER section, wrinkling his nose slightly at the unique hospital smell filling his nose. The woman stopped at a door a small distance into the Emergency Room, pointing to it. "Go on it. Just get someone's attention if she needs anything."

As the nurse walked away, Erin slowly turned the knob, opening the door to Jill's room. He looked at his friend, laying on the bed in a hospital gown, with bandages wrapped around her left shoulder and an IV running into her arm. Shutting the door behind him, Jill's eyes opened slightly, turning towards him with a gentle smile.

Pulling one of the chairs over, the older teen sat down next to the bed, taking her free hand in both of his. "God, you scared the daylights out of me. I thought I was gonna loose you, kiddo."

She giggled softly, her voice still very weak, but not like before. She smiled gently, squeezing Erin's hands with hers, before closing her eyes. Erin watched the young girl drift into slumber leaving his unanswered questions for the moment, as he laid his own head against the side of the bed, dozing off himself.

***********

ToyAgumon ~ *blinks* She can talk?!

Rocker ~ This whole freakin' chapter, and that's all he comments on…

Floramon ~ *giggles softly* Well what did you expect. But even after a rough night like this, Erin can't seem to catch a break! Questions asked, answers revealed, but now Erin has to try and deal with some major life changes! Come back and see if he can cope, next time on Dark Diaries!

ToyAgumon ~ She can talk?!

Rocker ~ *sighs in annoyance*