Isole Frost
45 Minutes
“You know, I thought that fightin’ bandits would be a lot more difficult,” Lira commented.
“Well, you got off easy,” I said. “Usually, we have upwards of forty-five to fifty bandits to eliminate. Minimum. Compared to only fighting ten bandits like we did today, fighting fifty is a much more trying task.” I looked over at the thief. “…You fight pretty decently, as far as thieves go.”
“Well, like you said, there were only ten, and none of ‘em were Digimon,” Lira replied.
“…That reminds me…Giselle, you remembered to scout out the area after we finished, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh…oh, yeah, yeah! Of course!” Giselle smiled. “I didn’t see anyone or anything!”
“Are you certain?” I asked. “It’s a crucial job, Giselle; if we do not scout out the area and see if any more are in the area, they could follow us home. If that happens, our entire operation — not to mention our lives — would be put at risk.”
“Yeah…! Why would I…not…do what you told me to do?”
Because you are a brainless idiot! I wanted to scream the words out loud.
“So, we’re allowed to swipe stuff from the folks we kill, right?” Lira asked.
“They certainly won’t need anything where they’re going,” I shrugged. “Although, I would advise you to steal from the dead on your own time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it…”
I looked behind me, as I would every now and again, to make sure that Matthew wasn’t too far behind. I smiled, seeing him a safe distance away from us, and continued walking in silence. After a few minutes, the Fortress came into view through the ocean trees. “We’re almost home,” I said. “I don’t know if our leader has returned yet, but I’ll see what I can do about getting you into the guild, Lira.”
“Oh…thank you, Isole,” Lira said. The trees thinned, and the Fortress was now in plain sight. I felt so relieved to step in the cool, stone fortress and out of the sun’s harsh glare. However, my joy was short lived as the obnoxious clacking of Giselle’s high heels across the floor echoed in the hallway. I quickened my pace, entering the lounge before the others. I fell backwards and plopped onto a couch, looking up at the ceiling. There wasn’t a single other person in the lounge when the others came in.
“I guess Eleanora’s still out on that job,” Lira said. She sat down on a couch across from me with Giselle. Matthew simply stood still, looking around the room nervously. “So…what should we do until the boss guy gets back home?”
“There’s nothing much that we can do; you’ll simply have to wait,” I replied. “Matthew, don’t you want to sit down? You need to rest.”
“…Um…”
“Is there a problem?” I asked. “I know about your phobia, so you don’t have to join us; I just think you need to rest after—”
“N—no…It…isn’t that,” Matthew said. “I…see somebody coming…” There was a tiny hint of fear in his voice that instantly caught my attention. I stood up just in time to see two Digimon enter the Fortress. One was a rather short Ikkakumon, and on its back was a Hookmon.
“Hmm…so, this be their home,” Hookmon said.
“Can I help you?” I asked. The two Digimon ignored me, and continued walking.
“Where d’ ya suppose the leader’s room is, Ikkakumon?” Hookmon asked. Ikkakumon mumbled and growled something that sounded unintelligible, but Hookmon seemed to understand what the large Digimon was saying. “Yeah, that makes sense…” Hookmon jumped down from his mount, and walked right past me.
“HEY! Who the hell are you?!” I asked. Hookmon stopped walking, glancing at me over his shoulder.
“I’m here to get something,” he said. “Don’t get in me way.”
“Oi; Isole, you’d better stand back,” Lira jumped over the back of the couch, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of her blood-stained dagger as she and Giselle joined me. “It doesn’t look like this bloke’s here to join.”
“…You mean to fight me, lassie?” Hookmon asked. “Me mistress asked that I retrieve a very special item for her. To fulfill her desire, I shall do whatever be necessary, even if it means I murder everyone in this guild.” Hookmon quickly turned to face us, brandishing his sharp hook.
“Rosemon, realize!” Giselle held up her Digivice, and the form of her Mega level partner Digimon materialized before her.
“Forbidden Temptation!” Rosemon unleased a devastating pink beam of energy from her hands, directly striking the Champion Digimon, resulting in a small explosion of dust and flower petals. Rosemon then turned her attention to the Ikkakumon. “Now, then…if you don’t want to suffer the same fate as your friend, I suggest that you leave at once!”
“Aw…you speak of me as though I’m dead!” a voice from the dust said. “Rage Giga Anchor!” An enormous anchor flew through the dust and struck Rosemon in the back. The dust cleared, revealing that Hookmon had Digivolved into CaptainHookmon. “Now, Ikkakumon!”
“Harpoon Torpedo!” Ikkakumon launched his horn, and watched as it sailed over CaptainHookmon’s and blasted open Ulysses’ bedroom door.
“Excellent work, Ikkakumon!” CaptainHookmon exclaimed. The Ultimate level Digimon lumbered over to the smoldering crater left behind in the wall, but stopped when an arrow struck the back of his leg.
“Don’t…move…any…further!” Matthew said through his teeth, aiming another arrow at the Digimon’s head.
“Matthew, you idiot; run! Get the hell out of here!” I yelled as loud as I could. I looked back at the hole in the wall left by Ikkakumon’s attack. Nobody’s coming; I guess we’re the only ones here. Damn it!
“…I warned you…not to interfere with me job!!!” CaptainHookmon turned and pointed a gun at Matthew. “Pirate’s Punisher!”
“GET DOWN!” At the last possible second, Lira jumped and pushed Matthew to the ground before CaptainHookmon’s attack could hit him. “You okay, bud?”
“…Y—yeah…T—thank…you…”
“Ikkakumon. Keep ‘em busy for me while I look for it,” CaptainHookmon said. Ikkakumon grinned, and leaped between us and the Ultimate.
“R—Rosemon…please, get up,” Giselle whispered, gently shaking the unmoving Digimon.
“…I’m…trying…” Rosemon was gasping for air, and bleeding from her back where CaptainHookmon attacked her.
Okay, Isole, think; you’re the tactician! You can do this! The best fighter currently available is out of commission…Giselle and I aren’t fighters…Matthew and Lira are the only ones who can do anything, but they’re up against two strong Digimon…How…how am I supposed to think of a way out when all of the exits are blocked?! Damn it all!!! I feel so useless!
“Rosemon!” Giselle exclaimed. Ikkakumon was preparing to attack both her and Rosemon when the Mega jumped up.
“Thorn Whipping!” With the slightest flick of her wrist, Rosemon managed to constrict and entangle the large Ikkakumon in her vine.
“I’VE FOUND IT!!!” CaptainHookmon’s voice echoed from Ulysses’ room. He came running out, and in his free hand was a necklace. “Ikkakumon, let’s get….” The joy from his face left upon noticing that Ikkakumon was immobilized by Rosemon’s attack. A quick rage flashed across his face before turning to face a wall. “Leg Revolver!” The Sea Man Digimon raised his leg and bashed in the side of the wall with explosive force.
“Don’t let him get away!” I yelled.
“Rosemon, stop him!” Giselle exclaimed.
“Rose Spear!” CaptainHookmon jumped from the exit he formed just before Rosemon’s attack could even grave him. As she prepared to give chase, Ikkakumon leaped up and landed on top of her, firing off several Harpoon Torpedoes at me, Giselle, Lira, and Matthew. They were all fast and difficult to maneuver around. Just as I managed to dodge one of Ikkakumon’s attacks, another one hit and struck the ground beneath me, creating an explosion that sent me flying backwards. The room around me grew dark, and as I begun to think it was all over for me, Ikkakumon disappeared. I blinked, and opened my eyes wider. Ikkakumon really was gone, shattered into small bits of data. Standing behind him was none other than Ulysses.
“…What the hell happened here?!” his voice boomed. I tried to force myself up, but the force of Ikkakumon’s attack had nearly knocked me unconscious. The next thing I knew, a pair of hands were wrapped around my shoulder, helping me stand up.
“Are you okay?” Lucia whispered. Behind her were Edmund, Larraine, and Dominimon. Though I was still faint, I forced myself out of the woman’s grasp.
“I’m…fine,” I said.
“Looks like we’ll all live,” Lira said. Lucia gave the thief a confused look.
“…She’s okay,” I said. “She’s…one of us, now.”
“What the hell happened?!” Ulysses repeated.
“Two Digimon, Hookmon and Ikkakumon, waltzed on in,” Lira said. “Giselle sent Rosemon to attack ‘im, but he Digivolved into CaptainHookmon, and he…Ikkakumon blasted open your door, and the Captain barged on in. When he came out…he was holdin’ a necklace. Pretty nice one, too.” Ulysses’ face went pale.
“…Are…you certain of this?” Ulysses asked in a shaky voice. “A necklace…that’s what you saw in his hand?”
“Yeah, no mistakin’ it,” Lira said. “Shiny, gold chain; sorta hollowed out center, like it’s missing a gem or somethin’…” Ulysses’ claymore fell out of its owner’s fingers and fell to the floor with a loud, metallic clatter.
“Are you okay, sir?” Edmund asked.
“…I want to know how this happened,” Ulysses whispered. His stern gaze traveled across the room, from me to Lira and Matthew, to Giselle and Rosemon. “Well?! Tell me!”
…Giselle…If you had just done what I told you…Gah! Scatterbrained idiot! I stepped forward, meeting the gaze of my boss with my own. “Sir…the six of us went on a job to take out a few bandits.”
“…And? Didn’t any of you bother to scout the area?!”
“…We did, sir. As per your orders…I gave the job to…one of us,” I said, maintaining my calm.
“Well? Who did it?” Ulysses asked. The tall old man bent down and picked up his massive claymore. “Who…allowed an enemy to walk right into our home?!”
“Sir, calm down,” Lucia urged. Ignoring her, my eyes shifted and fell upon Giselle. Dominimon and Edmund had walked to her side, and helped Rosemon stand up. Slowly and quietly, Ulysses began walking in Giselle’s direction, slowly, one step at a time. Dominimon and Edmund stepped forward slightly, placing themselves between Ulysses and Giselle. From the corner of my eye, I could see Lira take Matthew’s hand and leave the room, pulling him along outside. Once more, Lucia placed her hands around my shoulders, and for a moment, I thought she would have me leave the room as well. I wouldn’t let that happen.
Not without seeing that spoiled brat get a slap on the wrist first!
“…Is it true, Giselle?” Ulysses asked. Our leader stared down at Giselle. Trembling beneath his unforgiving gaze, she looked so small and fragile. Giselle remained silent, but I could see her eyes begin to cloud up. Her lower lip began to tremble, and she lowered her head. Ulysses shoved Dominimon and Edmund backwards, and grabbed Giselle with a single hand, hoisting her up into the air by the straps of her shirt to look her directly in the eyes. “Giselle…do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”
“…I…I—”
“By failing to scout the area properly, you allowed an enemy to follow you and into our home!” Ulysses roared. “You could have gotten every last one of us killed! And what’s worse, because of you…because of you, one of them got away with that…that necklace! Do you have any idea how important that necklace is?! And because CaptainHookmon escaped, he now knows where we all live!” Tears were streaming down Giselle’s face, just as I had envisioned. A somewhat pleased grin was about to form on my lips when Ulysses became outlined in a red light. At that instant, he dropped Giselle.
“That’s enough, sir,” Edmund whispered. The archsage was holding a hand up, covered with the same red glow. Ignoring him, Ulysses thrust his claymore into the floor.
“Giselle…what have you got to say—”
“It was Rosemon.” I knew Giselle was scatterbrained. I knew she wasn’t smart. I knew she was clumsy, and ditzy, and somewhat of a spoiled brat. But at the same time, I never once expected her to say that. My jaw dropped, as did Rosemon’s when Ulysses’ gaze met hers.
“…Rosemon…is this true?” Ulysses asked. The Mega level said nothing. “…No objections? I see.” Ulysses turned away. “Rosemon…come with me.”
“…Yes sir,” Rosemon whispered. The two walked outside, neither saying a single word. My gaze rested on the sobbing Giselle who, at the moment, was being walked upstairs by Larraine.
You…you betrayed your best friend…How could anybody do that to their own partner Digimon?!
“…Isole? Are you okay?” Lucia asked.
“I’m…fine,” I whispered through clenched teeth. As long as I live…I will never let Giselle forget what she did to Rosemon!
Lira Elric
“How’re you holdin’ up, lil’ buddy?” I asked. The young archer had pointed me in the direction of what seemed to be a blacksmith’s forge, where the two of us had decided to hide out. “Does the boss get mad like that often?”
“…No…this was the first time I’ve seen him mad like that,” Matthew replied.
“…I know what you are, Matthew. I know what that Mark means,” I pointed at his forehead. The archer’s eyes widened in fear. “First of all, I guess I should say that I don’t mind. I…know other people must treat you pretty bad because of it…Well, anyway, I guess you’re probably older than Ulysses is, huh?” Matthew nodded.
“I’m…a little over two hundred years old,” Matthew whispered. “My parents were killed by bandits when I was young; Ellie and I just barely escaped. We’ve been at Lachesis for a while now; Ulysses was…he was probably about your age when we joined, Lira.”
“So, I guess this means that El’s got the Mark too, huh?” Matthew nodded, and lightly poked me on the side of my belly.
“…That’s where hers is…”
“…Hey, Matthew, I thought you were afraid of girls,” I said. “How come…you don’t seem to be afraid of me anymore? And you aren’t afraid of El, either…”
“Well, Eleanora’s my sister; I’m…used to her,” Matthew said. “And you…you saved my life, Lira…Earlier, when CaptainHookmon attacked me, you pushed me out of the way…”
“Aw, it was nothin’; happy to help out!” I said. “So, what; you’re not afraid of girls if they save your life? Haven’t any of the ones here ever saved you before? This seems like a job where anyone could need saving.”
“They’ve never had the chance, yet. Eleanora’s just…always gotten to me first, or is the only one with me, usually,” Matthew replied.
“…Well, I don’t wanna dig deep into any of your traumas or anything, so I’ll just drop the subject,” I said. “…Uh…I don’t really have anythin’ to talk much about, though…”
“…A long time ago…when I was about your age, Lira…I had a friend,” Matthew said. “…I…I couldn’t protect her…I wasn’t strong enough…when bandits came by and…”
“That was how your phobia began,” I whispered. “You developed gynophobia out of fear of having another woman who gets close to you get killed…” After a moment’s silence, Matthew reached into his coat and pulled out a small, leather satchel. “What’s that?”
“…This…is my lucky rock,” he whispered. He reached in and pulled out a small, green gemstone.
…That…by the Goddess, that—!
“It’s the only memento of my parents; my mother gave this to me when I was really young,” Matthew continued. “…When I look at it, I like to think about my parents…I like to think that they’re both watching over me and Ellie…That’s how I have the courage to keep going when I get scared, like today when those Digimon attacked…”
“It must be tough being a mercenary,” I whispered. Matthew nodded, and sighed.
“It’s also…very tiring,” he yawned. His eyes were barely open, and the next thing I knew, he fell asleep. His head fell and rested gently in my lap.
“…I’ll take you inside. It sounds like everyone’s done yellin’ at each other,” I whispered. I slowly worked my way out from underneath Matthew and picked him up. Not surprisingly, his small body didn’t weigh very much, and was easy to hold. I walked into the fortress, ignoring the eyes of those few who saw me, and placed Matthew down lightly on a couch. My eyes fell again to the green gem in his hand.
…That gem…Simply looking at it filled me with a powerful sense of foreboding and fear. From what I’ve heard about these gems, that’s normal. Nobody was looking. Without another thought, I plucked the gem out of his hand and placed it into my own pouch.
“You’re Lira, right?” My heart jumped. A blue-haired girl had approached me. “Sorry to startle you; my name is Larraine. I’ve been told you wish to join us.”
“Oh, uh…yeah, that’d be…great,” I smiled.
“Well, as I know you saw, our boss is rather…busy,” Larraine said. “But if you’d like, I could take you to your new bedroom.”
“Yeah, yeah…that’d be great,” I said.
“Very well. This way.” With a kind smile, Larraine led me through the room and up a flight of stairs. “Isole told me that you’re a thief; is that right?”
“Oh…yeah, I guess so,” I said. “I, uh…don’t intend to steal nothin’ from any of you, so—”
“Oh, I know,” Larraine interrupted. “You wouldn’t have told us you were a thief if you were. Also…you saved Matthew’s life, from what I can tell. You…have my trust — and my gratitude — because of that.” We reached the top of the stairway, and Larraine showed me to an empty bedroom. I looked around cautiously, smiling when I found a window right up above a bed. “I hope you are able to get a good night’s sleep here, Lira.”
“Thanks, Larraine. After all that happened today, I’m sure I will,” I replied. Larraine smiled and bowed, closing the door as she left. I smiled and sighed with relief as I heard her walk back downstairs before turning my attention to the window. The sky was a dark blue; not quite night, but almost there. I wonder what Ulysses is gonna do to Rosemon…No, can’t think about that right now. I’ve got a job, and the one here is complete. Time to go. As quietly as I could, I climbed onto the bed and out the window. Only two stories up; if that blue-haired chick had taken me up any higher, I’d have been in deep shit. I leaped out of the window and landed quietly on the ground, steadily and on both feet. I’m sorry, Matthew…this wasn’t my intention, so please don’t hate me too much…That said, I’m sure you will. Farewell…Matthew. Taking one last look back at the fortress, I began running as fast as I could.
