Chapter 10 - A Day in the City

Sure enough, the terrified and defeated Petitmamon readily recanted everything to the Brave Guard, telling them all he knew about the kidnappings and smuggling. Unfortunately, he didn’t give any new information beyond what Aster had already collected, and he was promptly sent to the jail to await his trial.

“Seems like the Digital World is becoming a more dangerous and chaotic place every day,” commented Morrow as he headed back to his office with Aster. And his Gazimon partner, Rem, gave Terra a tour of the facilities. “So, now that you brought these kidnappings to our attention, what are your plans? Wait, let me guess...you’re probably going to go gallivanting off after them, aren’t you?” smirked the young man after sitting down in his worn office chair behind his chipped wodden desk.

“You know me too well, Morrow,” chuckled Aster with a grin on her face. Her tail flicked happily behind her as she sat in one of the opposing chairs. “I have to do it. I feel responsible for failing to rescue Terra’s partner and I can’t stop thinking about what might happen to everyone else that was taken,” sighed Aster, lowering her head for a moment before looking up at her old friend again. “Though, hopefully now that the Brave Guard knows about this it won’t be much longer.”

“I hope you’re right Aster, I really do,” nodded Morrow, running a hand through his blonde hair as he reflected on the matter before them. “We’ll spread the news about the kidnappings. And how the kidnappers prefer to use Cerberus Force vehicles.” He then paused for a moment, weighing his next words carefully before speaking. “Hey Aster, how have you been holding up since...what happened with Silas?” he asked gently, trying to be there for his friend whom he know tended to bottle things up deep inside.

The vixen’s ears dropped at the mention of her old tamer’s name. Her tail went limp as a reflection of her troubled heart. “I’ve been…hanging in there I suppose.” She raised her head and looked her trusted old friend in the eyes. “I’ve been riding my bike around a lot, both in this one and the human world. I've found the pur of the engine soothes me and helps me cope. And I visited Silas’ parents and…told them about what happened. It's a bit twisted, but death has a way of bringing people together I suppose. It was nice being able to talk with them without feeling judged for being a Digimon. And they didn’t blame me for what happened to Silas. Though deep down, a part of me still says it was my fault. That I wasn’t strong enough to protect him. And without him, I’m even more powerless and I just feel…lost. Like I lost my sense of purpose.”

Morrow remained still as Aster spoke her heart, not trying to offer advice nor trying to sugar coat her troubles. He listened attentively as a true friend. He nodded his head every now and then, a sad smile on his face as he listened to Aster’s heartfelt reflections.

“After a few months of wandering around feeling bad for myself, a devil answered my prayers.” She looked up and chuckled with a small grin at the sudden look of concern on Morrow’s face. “No, I didn’t sell my soul to the Devil to Digivolve, Morrow. A Devimon named Hail stole my Digivice and it took several months of tracking before I finally got it back. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged and still functions,” smiled Aster as she pulled the memento out of her thigh pouch. The faithful dark blue Digivice flickered to life in response to Aster's motion.

“I’m glad to see that you got your Digivice back, Aster, I’m sure it’s quite the keepsake,” Morrow said with a kind smile. He was glad to see Aster slowly coming to terms with and moving on from her loss.

“It’s not just a keepsake, Morrow." She paused, and had an idea. "Say, do you want to see something really neat?” inquired the yellow vixen coyly, a wide grin on her face and a playful twinkle in her emerald eyes.

Even though he still had a mountain of paperwork to complete, Morrow agreed to Aster’s proposition. He followed her out of the Brave Guard HQ tower and to the parking area below. After asking around a bit, they managed to uncover the location where her bike had been carefully unloaded and parked. It made Morrow happy to see that Aster was still riding Silas’s old bike and keeping it in tip top condition as she had been taught. It reminded him of simpler and better times.

“Watch this, Morrow, it’s really cool,” grinned Aster, feeling a bit excited about being able to show off for her old friend. She began to fiddle with her Digivice, causing a light blue glow to consume her body and her motorcycle. The motorcycle broke into data and was quickly absorbed by Aster, her body releasing a flash of light as she fused with her bike into her armored form.

Not only did the sudden lightshow and change surprise Morrow, almost knocking him over, but it also instantly made Aster the focus of attention of everyone in the plaza. The normally inconspicuous fox felt a wave of embarrassment from all the eyes upon her, but she was committed to see things through. “So, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh Morrow?” beamed Aster as she moved around a bit, showing her new flashy armored form off to her old friend as he watched in amazement. She finished with a quick backflip and posed, smirking at Morrow.

“That’s incredible! H-how did…? You combined with it and…heh, I guess the world is full of surprises,” stammered Morrow before breaking out into a deep laugh. “That really is something special, Aster. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it, you know? So, are you a cycle-Renamon now? Or maybe a Moternamon? Renacyclemon?” joked Morrow with a few affirming nods of his head.

“Haha, very funny Morrow. Glad to see you still have your sense of humor,” smirked Aster with a roll of her eyes, feeling more confident now that the onlookers were continuing on with their day. “This form is pretty strong too, but it's just one step towards settling the score," she chuckled, images of vengeance tempting her mind as she felt her heart race at the thought of revenge.

"So...where did that new power of yours come from?"

"I'm not sure. It just kinda...happened during my fight with Hail." Aster looks at the metal guantlet encasing her arm. "Would be nice to know what this is..."

The two chatted for a bit longer about her ability before Aster returned to normal and parked her motorcycle back where she had found it. The two headed back to Morrow's office, where Aster told him more about her adventures with Terra. “Hey Morrow, do you think you could find a side car for my motorcycle? It’s not that I dislike the little rascal or anything, but it can get a little uncomfortable having Terra cling to my back for hours on longer rides,” asked Aster as she leaned back in a chair as Morrow searched his computer for more information about Aster’s special Digivolution.

“Hmm, I’ll ask around and see if we can dig one up for you Aster. It’s the least we can do considering how much you’ve helped us out. Worst case scenario, I’m sure one of the metal smiths can whip one up, even if it might look a bit silly attached to your motorcycle,” chuckled Morrow. He looked back at the computer, his brow furrowing when his search failed to bring up any relevant information about Aster's unique ability. “Hmm, I’m not finding anything yet…wait. Ah ha! Here’s something that might be useful to you. There's a small excavation at a forest town not too far from Capacitor. And it looks like they've uncovered some ancient Digivices along with wall etchings depicting some sort of...old armor evolution. That sounds similar to what you showed me earlier. It’s not much of a lead, but my source says there’s an expert scholar studying them who might have more information about what’s happening,” explained Morrow, reading the rest of the information to Aster before sending a file to her Digivice with the coordinates. “Sorry I couldn’t help you more, Aster”.

“There’s nothing to feel sorry about, Morrow. You’ve already more than helped me out, and you’re an awesome friend,” smiled Aster, getting up from her chair and giving her old friend a fluffy hug. “Plus, a forest sounds like a nice change of pace from the hot desert air,” affirmed the Renamon before taking her seat and resuming their conversation on a more lighthearted topic.

The day gradually gave way to night as Aster and Morrow chatted about old times while Rem entertained Terra with a tour of the city accompanied with a few games of tag. Figuring it best to spend the night and continue their search in the morning, Aster and Terra decided to stay at the town’s inn courtesy of the Brave Guard.

As Aster and Terra headed up to their room to get some much needed rest, Terra’s growing curiosity once more got the better of him. He could stay silent no longer. “Miss Aster? What’s it like to Digivolve?” piped up the nervous young Agumon as he fiddled his three clawed fingers together in anticipation.

“You don’t need to call me 'Miss Aster' anymore, Terra. Just 'Aster' is fine,” chuckled the vixen, her high spirits prompting her to smile down at her young companion rather than scolding him. “But why do you want to know about Digivolution all of a sudden?”

“Well, er...I’ve never Digivolved before. Ever since Roy was taken I can’t help but…but wish I could Digivolve so I could be stronger like you,” sniffled Terra as they entered the room, his words making Aster pause for a moment as she listened. “If I was able to Digivolve I...I might've been able to protect him and..." but then Aster cut him off.

“Terra,” started Aster, turning around to face her young friend before kneeling down to his eye level and removing her visor. “What happened with Roy…wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing what would happen and even without Digivolving I’m sure you did your best to protect your friend,” comforted Aster as she rested a paw on Terra’s scaly shoulder, a motherly expression on her face. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for events that happened in the past Terra, that won’t change what happened,” spoke Aster, feeling hypocritical for not taking her own advice. But she didn't let it show. The last thing Aster wanted to do was make Terra think she was misleading him.

Terra sniffled a bit as he lifted his gaze to Aster’s emerald eyes, finding solace there before wiping the tears from his oversized snout. “You really think so? But what if Roy is scared or those bad people are hurting him?” pressed the Agumon, voicing the worries of his heart and mind. “I just…can’t stop imagining what Roy might be going through.”

Aster gave these questions a bit more thought before replying, making sure to craft her response carefully. “Roy will be all right, Terra. He may be a bit scared right now, but I promise you that they won’t hurt him. And once we rescue him, imagine how proud he'll be of you,” offered Aster, doing her best to cheer up the sorrowful orange dinosaur.

Thinking about the Renamon’s words for a moment, Terra took a deep breath to calm himself down before replying. “But how do you know that for sure?”

“I just do, Terra. I just do,” she answered back, her smile enough for Terra to accept her words as a comforting truth. "So...you wanted to know about Digivolving? You were asking about it before. Do you want to know about the Digivolution forms I've reached?" Aster asked in a positive tone, hoping to distract Terra from his worries, as she got back to her feet.

“You’ve...reached more than one form?” spoke up Terra, his curiosity driving away his sadness as he started to go about his nightly routine. “I thought you could only Digivolve with your motorcycle.”

“Believe it or not, I only recently discovered that ability,” chuckled the vixen with a small smile as she took off her gloves before folding them on the nightstand. “Back when I had my tamer, I was able to Digivolve all the way up to Ultimate with my Cyber Kitsunemon form. But I haven't been able to reach that form in a long time."

“Y-you were able to make it all the way up to Ultimate? That...that's so cool!” admired Terra, his eyes sparkling in awe and with newfound respect towards the mysterious Renamon. “What do they look like?” inquired Terra, Aster’s distraction working like a charm and taking his mind off of his missing friend.

"Well, my forms are based on some type of human mythology. And with each Digivolution, I gain more tails. My Champion form, Kitsunemon, has three tails. Cyber Kitsunemon has six tails. So...my Mega form should have nine," Aster shrugged as she started to unzip her leotard. Then she stopped, figuring it would be best to leave it on since they were sharing a room this time.

“If you’re not able to Digivolve anymore, why don’t you get a new tamer? Maybe with a new tamer you’d be able to make it all the way to Mega!” suggested Terra readily, his tail wiggling in excitement. “I’m sure there are lots of people who would like to tame an amazing Digimon like you!”

“That’s an interesting suggestion, but I don’t think it works like that I’m afraid.” She chuckled before remaining silent for a moment. “As for the taming bit, that’s a really sweet sentiment…but never phrase it like that again.”

Terra’s eyebrows narrowed, unaware that he had said something rather suggestive, “Why not?” he answered back with all the innocence of a child.

“You’ll find out when you’re older,” chuckled back Aster, giving Terra a playful pat on the head before going to brush her teeth. The Renamon then went about her normal routine, double checking her supplies as she ran through her mental checklist. Once she was satisfied that everything was in place, she slipped under the covers before adjusting her pillow till it was just right. But as she prepared to turn off the light, she noticed that Terra was hesitantly approaching her bedside while twiddling his fingers.

“Um, Aster? I appreciate you trying to cheer me up and all, but I’m afraid I’ll have bad dreams about Roy even though you said he'd be okay. W-would it be alright if I slept in your bed?” he asked innocently, like a young child who seeks the comforting security of being close to their parents.

“Sorry Terra, but that’s going to be a no,” replied Aster as gently as she could, her words bringing several small nods from the Agumon before he turned away. Making sure Terra was settled in bed, Aster turned out the light before letting her thoughts drift about. She thought about the past, present, and future, turning things over and over in reflection before sleep overtook her wearied frame.

Meanwhile, try as he might, Terra was finding it difficult to fall asleep as he actively forced himself to think about things other than his captured friend. But when his restlessness bested his inhibition, Terra quietly exited from his bed and approached the quietly snoring vixen. Taking a deep breath, Terra stealthily maneuvered himself to Aster’s side, finding comfort in her closeness. Even though she was cross with him now and then, Terra couldn’t help but feel safe when Aster was nearby and it wasn’t long until his troubled mind was put to ease and his body able to drift into a dreamless sleep.

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We've hit double digits! That's always quite the milestone. But it's still a long road ahead of us.

Also, new cover image.

Story written by ThornWolf33 on DA
Story outline and character design by  AtticusKotch