The Digi-destined are reunited and have resumed their roles as the Digital World's Saviors once again. But things have taken a twist, since Gennai claims he knows nothing of the mysterious email 'he' sent, nor of the reason behind the traumatic ordeals they gone through, not even of Selkie!

The destined's only answers may lie in a forgotten legend of an ancient power desired by an ancient evil....

So know we know. The Sun House of the Gabumon family was the only house, or clan, to *willingly* follow Myotismon! Getting aspirations beyond their station, they were(to the best of Gatomon's knowledge) destroyed, leaving Gabumon as the sole heir to their shameful legacy. Can *any* good come from this?!

A.S.D.A, expect of course Selkie, Scarstripe, Moonpaw, Sawgrass, Razor, and the Alpha

Secret Shames

by Nefertanya dragongurl Ahhotep

~I know where beauty livesI've seen it once, I know the warm she givesThe light that you could never seeIt shines inside, you can't take that from me~
~Madonna, Live To Tell


It suddenly dawned on Matt that it had gotten *very* quiet all of a sudden. He elbowed his brother to attention, and the small ripples of chatter among the destined faded away. the entire village was staring intently at the cavern Gabumon was currently sequestered in not ten minutes before.

" 'The hell?" Scarstripe cursed as he loped past Matt, through the crowd, and into the doorway. A muffled 'discussion' occurred as two rather belligerent male voices trickled through.

Finally, Scarstripe re-emerged, this time carefully leading another gabumon. This one looked very old, his fur mangy and thin, underused muscles waggled freely from the arthritic limbs that forced him to limp. A somewhat lecherous grin decorated his muzzle as his nose, still as sharp as ever even after decades, sniffed the air excitedly.

"Who's that?" TK asked.

"That is Old Bones. He is our Alpha. He is blind, and a bit senile, but still *very* clever. And he *rarely* leaves his cavern, especially since our Alpha female died. I wonder what could bring him out now?" Moonpaw whispered in reply.

<"That might not be such a good thing for Gabumon."> Matt thought worriedly. He and the other destined watched closely as the Alpha gimped towards them. The closer he got, the more excited he became, sniffing frantically.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Ah, here we go! Come on, Scarstripe, old boy, take me to him!"

With a grunt, the largest gabumon pushed Gabumon forward. "He's right in front of you, Bones. Right here." He respectfully grabbed the old one's trembling paw and pressed it to the youth's shoulder.

"Ah, so he is! There's the lad!" he gushed, smacking the younger's shoulder several times with a laugh. Gabumon awkwardly endured the pawing. This may not be his clan, but an Alpha was always an Alpha, regardless of House or clan or village. "Imagine after all these years! Haha!"

"The old mon's really lost it big time!" Sawgrass whispered to his brother. Perhaps he had, but he still retained his excellent hearing.

"I'd mind your manners if *I* were you! My mind is still as sharp as a tack, Razor!"

"Er....I'm Sawgrass, sir..."

"Pah, whatever." Old Bones shrugged off the slip and hobbled around the last son of the Sun House, muttering unintelligibly and occasionally sniffing deeply(much to Gabumon's great discomfort!). The villagers looked at each other in confusion-the old one had never acted so unusually before, even after the death of his beloved mate.

"You have no call."

Gabumon blushed hotly. It was one thing for the Alpha to know, but to announce it to the entire Digi-World!

Out of the side of his mouth, TK whispered, "What's a call?"

"It's like a name" Patamon whispered from his perch on his partner's shoulders. "It's what the more social digimon use to distinguish each other."

"Oh-h." TK nodded "You got one too?"

"Mm-hmm. They call me 'Bat-pig' when you're not around."

"Uh-huh."

"I hate it."

"Ah..." TK tried to suppress his smirk.

"No call, boy?" Old Bones said again.

"N-no, sir."

The old one rubbed his chin, deeply pondering. "Well, that's not right. Well then, what shall we give you..."

"With all due respect, sir." Scarstripe barked impatiently. "But this Sun child-"

"Sun Child? Oh, well, that's a nice one. As good as any, anyway."

"Fine, whatever. But what I was going to say is that I think he, as well as the rest of us, want to know what *you* want with *him*."

"Simple." Old Bones smiled blindly at the trembling youngster. He saved my life."

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 88888888

To say there was an uproar would be redundant. A *Sun* gabumon? *Saving* the life of another House member? It was ridiculous. It was preposterous. It was practically blasphemy!

"And yet it's true." Bones said softly.

"Sir, forgive me, but you must be mistaken. I barely know you, we never met before today."

"So sure, are we? Let us refresh your memory." He patiently waited until everyone had resettled. "This *was* years ago, but most of you older types may remember when those black gears were flyin' all around."

Several nodded in reply, including of course, the destined. "Back then, I was a bit younger and a bit headstrong. I was not yet an Alpha, but I decided I should try to see what was going on, where those things were coming from, what dangers did they pose to my House and clan. Didn't have time for tales of these 'Destined'." He smiled at the assembled Chosen. "So I searched, high and low, till I was near exhaustion and no closer to the truth. I saw a small village, and prayed for a soft bed and a warm meal-or at least a cool drink!"

"What kind of village was it?" one little tsunomon interrupted, blinking curious eyes.

Old Bones twirled around dramatically. "It was a *Sun* village!"

Gabumon whined nervously as the assembled villagers growled and spat curses towards his lost House members. The Alpha waited again for silence before continuing.

"I asked for hospitality, but they denied me. More than denied me-they attacked me! Weak as I was, I could only turn tail and retreat towards their border, where I collapsed. They jeered and cursed, the same way *all* of you just did moments ago. And like Sun Child here, I was left alone to worry about what harm they were planning." Several sub-adults shifted guiltily.

"But lo, what's this? One small tsunomon comes to me, carrying a cup much too heavy for him. I did not know what it contained, and to this day I still don't, but I felt in my heart I could trusty it, so I drank. I felt stronger almost immediately. The little one apologized on behalf of his clan's behavior, then recommended I leave as quickly as possible. And so I did. Regretfully, I never remembered to thank him..."

"You're welcome."

Gabumon's quiet voice interrupted the blind one's tale, but he smiled with surprise.

"Gabumon!" Matt cried. "It really was you?"

"Yes, but I didn't know that was you, sir."

"Why *did* you help me? We weren't of the same clan, not even of the same House."

"You...you were in a bad way, and I felt sorry for you. By the way, it was just some hembane stew."

"Hembane? No wonder I felt better so quickly. Powerful stuff, that is. You're supper, I presume?"

Gabumon shifted. He really didn't want to mention this part. "No....it...was part of the adults' supperpot." he finished very quickly. "But it was a very large supperpot, and you seemed like you needed it so much more, and..."

"No one's blaming you here, boy." Scarstripe replied, an odd inflection in his voice.

Old Bones also 'stared' at him oddly, yellow tail swishing back and forth. "The adults were not too pleased by that, I'd wager."

"No." Gabumon replied simply, eyes fixed on the ground.

"What happened, lad?"

Gabumon's mouth worked soundlessly several times before he managed to speak. "I...um...well...They were mad...'cause I gave you the soup....and you weren't clan...and I...oh..." The defender of Friendship sighed in defeat. "They said I was worthless to the clan and valueless to the Sun House and they forced me out."

It was dead quiet after that. Most, like the females and the Destined, stared in horror of a judgment so cruel for one so gentle-hearted. Razor and Sawgrass shifted uncomfortably, guilty conscious mixing with the idea they'd soon get punished for their role. Scarstripe shook his head and grimaced at his mate.

"And there you have it." Old Bones spoke softly and sadly. "No good deed truly goes unpunished. To aid a fellow digimon in need, our young friend here lost a home, a safe future, and his place in our society. Our actions today have proved the latter. But has he struck back, used unkind words? No. It is *we* who must redeem ourselves to him." The Alpha said with absolute resolution, giving Gabumon a great smile.

"What is he saying?" he quietly asked Scarstripe in confusion. In reply, Scarstripe placed a large paw on Gabumon's neck, and said the four words the young wolf-lizard never thought he'd hear.

"Welcome home, Sun Child."



Awww!! Gabumon's got a home again! Yay! I apologize, for apparently the last chapter cause a few cavities! Well, get the Crest out, 'cuz the next story is a true GaP!!

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