Digimon: Future

Rainy day lament || Act 1: Chapter 6

⚠️TW: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE. YOU'RE FREE TO SKIP THIS CHAPTER IF THIS TOPIC IS TRIGGERING FOR YOU ⚠️
"Mom... Dad... Wait! I-I can explain! Please..." Jeremy pleaded frantically as his parents dragged him out of the beach area where the concert was once going on... However, his parents completely ignored him, as Gammamon also followed nearby.
"QUIT IT, JEREMY!!" Jeremy's dad yelled at him, letting go of Jeremy for a moment as they two glared down at him furiously. "You have NO right to talk back to us right now! I don't think you even realize you much trouble you are in right now!!"
"Jeremy, how the hell do you think it's ok to be hanging out with these delinquents and these weird monsters?!" His mom snapped. "How could you even think about in participating in this criminal behavior?!"
"I... I didn't want any of this to happen..." Jeremy whimpered weakly in response.
"Hey! Leave Jeremy alone!" Gammamon snapped. "He's not a criminal or a mean person at all! Stop being so mean to him!!"
"Shut up! We weren't speaking to you, you ugly little rat..." His father snapped, stepping closer to Jeremy. "Jeremy..."
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!" Gammamon growled as he suddenly lunged forward, trying to bite Jeremy's dad. Jeremy's dad smacked Gammamon, knocking him to the ground. Jeremy's mom then roughly kicked Gammamon, the little Digimon whimpering in pain.
"NO!! DON'T HURT HIM!!" Jeremy screamed, protectively running forward in front of Gammamon... As Jeremy's mother suddenly smacked Jeremy in the head, knocking him to the ground. Jeremy whimpered as he clutched his head, a small bruise slowly forming on his forehead.
"Jeremy... I can't believe you'd try and protect this filthy monster!!" Jeremy's father snapped, the two completely ignoring that Jeremy was hurt. The two parents then exchanged a look, taking a step back from Jeremy.
"Jeremy... You know what? Don't bother coming back home until you get rid of this disgusting creature." His mom says... As the two walk off into the night. Jeremy felt tears streaming down his face, as Gammamon gently hugged him. Nearby, Blaire and Blaine had just walked into the area, as they ran up to Jeremy.
"Jeremy! Are you alright?" Blaire asked, kneeling down to his level.
"Jeremy, you look like you're hurt..." Blaine says. "Did something happen? Where's your parents?"
Jeremy didn't respond, wiping some tears off his face as he barely looked up at Blaire.
"You need our help, Jeremy? We can bring you back to your house if you want." Blaire says.
"No..." Jeremy whimpered, shaking his head. "I can't go back home... I can't..."
Blaire and Blaine exchanged concerned looks... Then they could feel a few wet droplets on their heads, looking up and noticing that it was now starting to rain.
"Jeremy..." Blaine stood up. "Look, I don't know what happened, but you can stay at my apartment for tonight... Alright?"
"Um..." Jeremy sniffled, taking a deep breath. "...Alright."

Sometime later...
Blaine brought both Jeremy and Blaire back to the apartment. Blaire and Jeremy were hanging out in another room together, Blaire keeping Jeremy company and comforting him. Meanwhile, all the Digimon, including Coronamon and Lunamon, were hanging out in the living room, and Erik was in the kitchen cooking dinner, Blaine telling him everything about what happened that night.
"So... You really think Jeremy's parents just... Left him like that? All alone?" Erik asks, looking upset at just the thought.
"Maybe, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't see what happened to them..." Blaine says. "But... The way those two were yelling at Jeremy... I just had a really bad feeling about it all. I just felt like it was the right thing to do to let him stay here for tonight."
"You definitely did the right thing. But..." Erik paused, looking at all the Digimon hanging out for a bit. "I'm just a bit worried... Does our apartment have enough room for everyone here? We already have Labramon and Ryudamon here, and now Coronamon and Lunamon..."
"Yeah, you're right... I think tomorrow morning I'll call my parents, and see if Jeremy can stay there if he wants to..." Blaine says, Erik nodding in agreement. Blaine paused, sighing as he stared down at his Digivice with a worried expression.
"You alright, Blaine?" Erik asks.
"I just... I don't understand why I can't get Ryudamon to evolve anymore." Blaine says. "I can't figure it out, and it makes me feel so useless now..."
"Didn't you say that Cora and Charlee can't Digivolve their partners either?" Erik asks. "If that's the case, there must be something going on... I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out." Erik says, comfortingly patting Blaine on the shoulder, who weakly smiled back.
"Thanks. I'm gonna see if I can try and figure this out." Blaine says, walking away as he sat on a nearby chair.
"Alright. I'll let you know when dinner is ready."
Meanwhile, in the room nearby, Blaire was helping out Jeremy. Jeremy had also scraped his knee earlier, Blaire putting some bandages on his knee.
"There, that's better. Um..." Blaire noticed the small bruise on Jeremy's forehead. "What happened to your head?" She asked, Jeremy not responding. "...Did your parents do that to you?"
"Huh? Um, no, um..." Jeremy muttered nervously, his gaze fixated on the floor. "Well, maybe. But not on purpose..."
"Jeremy..." Blaire had a nervous expression, taking a deep breath. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but your parents... Have they... Hurt you like this before? Are they usually like this?"
"Well, no, I... You see, it's... It's hard to explain... But I... Um..." Jeremy stammered nervously, his breathing shaky as he stared down at the floor again. "...I don't want to talk about it."
"Ok, I'm sorry for asking." Blaire says. Jeremy sniffled, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
"I... I shouldn't be a Digidestined." He whimpered. "I turned Gammamon into a monster... I don't deserve to be his partner."
"What? No, don't say that, Jeremy. What happened wasn't your fault." Blaire says. "Look, I've seen stuff like this happen with other Digidestined before in the past... This Digimon business is complicated, me and everyone else completely understands that. Anything that happens is not your fault, so don't worry..." Blaire smiled at Jeremy, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "...We'll get through this together."
"...Thanks, Blaire." Jeremy smiled weakly at her.
"Of course. And listen... I don't know what's going on with you and your parents, but if you wanna stay at my place for a bit to take a break from them... That's totally cool with me." Blaire says, Jeremy looking a bit surprised by this offer.
"Really...? Are you sure about that? I don't wanna be a nuisance to you and your family..." Jeremy mumbled.
"Jeremy, you could never be a nuisance to me..." Blaire says. "You're too good of a friend to ever be."
Jeremy could feel tears welling up in his eyes again, sobbing quietly as he hugged Blaire tightly. "Thank you... Thank you."
Meanwhile, in the other room, Erik was still making dinner, while Blaine was sitting at a desk in the living room, fumbling around with his Digivice. Ryudamon, Labramon, and Dorumon were all sitting on the couch, watching TV. Gammamon was playing around with Blaine and Erik's pet kitten Buttercup, chasing her around the room. Coronamon was rapidly running circles around the room, holding a big bag of chips while Lunamon was chasing him around.
"Give that back, Coronamon! Those chips aren't just for you!" Lunamon shouted.
"Hey, relax you two! Dinner will be ready in like, less than twenty minutes or so..." Erik says, looking down at the food cooking in the oven. "Or, I hope so..."
"NOOO! I can't wait anymore! These chips are all miiiiiine!!" Coronamon shouted, as he continued running around.
"Hey, don't be greedy Coronamon! I want some chips too!" Gammamon ran away from the kitten and quickly ran up to Coronamon. Gammamon suddenly then bit onto the chip bag, the two Digimon tugging the bag back and forth between each other. Nearby Blaine was getting more and more agitated with all the noise, trying to cover his ears but it didn't help much.
"Knock it off, you two!" Lunamon says. "You're gonna ri-"
POP!! Suddenly the bag burst and ripped open, chips flying around everywhere and scattering all over the floor.
"NOOOO!! THE CHIPS!!" Coronamon screamed.
"UGH, WOULD YOU GUYS JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Blaine suddenly jumped out of his seat, yelling at everyone. All the Digimon went silent for a moment and stared at Blaine with surprised expressions, Blaine sighing to himself as he suddenly stomped out and left the apartment.
"Blaine! Wait!" Erik quickly left the kitchen, running out and following Blaine into the hallways outside the apartment, where he was pacing back and forth.
"Blaine... Are you alright?" Erik asks, Blaine stopping as he looked back at Erik.
"What do you think?!" Blaine snapped. "I have no idea what's wrong with my Digivice and how to fix it! What if I can never figure it out and Ryudamon can never Digivolve again? How am I supposed to be ok right now?!"
"I'm sorry, Blaine." Erik says. "Please calm down, I know how you feel right now..."
"No, Erik... I don't think you understand how I feel right now. Nobody does..." Blaine sighed, turning around as he slowly took a few steps forward. "I just... I need some time to think for myself. Alone."
"But..." Erik paused, looking back at a nearby window, where it was storming outside, the sound of the rain panging loudly against the glass. "You're not going outside... Are you?"
Blaine paused, looking out the window for a second, but he continued walking away. "I'll be fine, Erik... Don't worry."

Sometime later...
It had been an hour or so since Blaine left. Erik had finished cooking dinner, and everyone had finished eating. However, Blaine still hadn't returned yet, and Erik was getting more and more worried, especially since Blaine wasn't answering any of his texts or calls. Eventually, Erik knew he couldn't wait around anymore.
"I need to go find Blaine..." Erik says, standing up. "I'll be right back."
"Ok... Do you need any help?" Labramon asks.
"No, I don't wanna risk any of you getting hurt out there..." Erik says, quickly making his way towards the door, out of the apartment.
"Hey, wait!" Labramon tried calling for Erik, but couldn't finish before he left. "...You forgot an umbrella."

Sometime later...
"BLAINE!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Erik was running around outside, screaming for Blaine but not receiving a single response back. Erik's clothes were soaking wet now, but he refused to go back inside until he found Blaine.
'Oh god, where is he...? Wh-what if he got hurt or something?' Erik thought to himself, only getting more panicked. Erik quickened his pace, but ended up slipping and falling on the wet ground.
"Owww...Ugh..."
Erik felt physically and mentally weak at this point, almost sturggling to stand back up. Then, Erik could feel the rain above him start to lighten up a bit, almost like something was blocking it... Erik looked up, to see Blaine crouching above him with a concerned look, holding his jacket up to block the rain.
"Erik...? Are you alright?" Blaine asked.
"I... I should be asking you that." Erik grumbled. Blaine reached a hand out to Erik, helping him back up. The two sat down on a nearby bench, both holding onto the jacket to shield themselves from the rain.
"Erik, why are you out here? You could get hurt out here." Blaine says.
"Are you kidding me? I've been looking for you! You've been out here all by yourself. I've been worried sick..." Erik says, Blaine having a guilty expression as his eyes look to the ground.
"I... I'm sorry for freaking you out, Erik. My heads been spinning so much lately, I just needed to be alone for a bit..." Blaine says. "And I'm really sorry for yelling at you earlier. I... I was wrong about what I said earlier. I think you're actually the only person who truly understands me..."
"I hope so..." Erik sighed. "I just... I wish I knew how to help you out more."
"Erik, baby..." Blaine gently stroked Erik's cheek with one hand, resting his forehead against his. "...You already help me enough just by being here."
The two then kissed for a few seconds, before pulling back.
"Don't worry, Erik... We'll get through this together."

The next morning...
Early the next morning, Blaine and Erik dropped Jeremy and Blaire off at her house. Afterwards, the two then decided to head on over to Digital Enterprises, talking to Ross and asking if he knows anything about why their Digivices weren't working... And they received a response that they didn't expect.
"This is actually a common problem for older Digidestined." Ross said, Blaine and Erik both looking pretty shocked by this response.
"Really? I had no idea..." Erik says.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a more recent discovery that other Digital Enterprises have been researching, but we've been able to confirm that this is true." Ross says. "We still don't know exactly why this happens, but we think it has something to do with Digidestined supposedly having a stronger bond with their Digimon partners as children... And the older the Digidestined child gets, the more the powerful bond weakens between the two. We have found a way to upgrade one's Digivice so older Digidestined can tap back into those powers and Digivolve again, however... It's only a temporary upgrade that only works for a limited time... But I can upgrade both your guy's Digivices if you'd like."
Blaine and Erik we're silent for a moment, thinking as they exchanged a look. After a bit the two nodded in agreement, both handing their Digivices over to Ross. "Here. Just please be careful with them." Blaine says.
"Thanks. And don't worry, I've done this upgrade multiple times." Ross says. "This shouldn't take more than a few days to finish. I'll call you guys once the upgrades are finished."
"Sounds good. And thanks for the help Ross, we really appreciate it." Erik says, thanking Ross as the two left the building.
"I'm glad we came here today... At least now we have a chance at helping out the others again." Erik says.
"Yeah... I just hope no other Digimon attack the cities in the meantime." Blaine says.
However... The two didn't realize it yet, but someone... Something...
...Was watching them from the shadows.