The Flames of the Phoenix

by FrostTheWolf

13- Firestorm

Author's Note:

Crossover with Marty and Lee from The Jokes on Equestria by Shagohad12 (Thanks a million! Sorry this took so long xP). Wanted to finally work on this and now it seems like it might be a while before the next update. See you then!
-Frost

Song I honestly was listening to when thinking of a new chapter for Ember

The Flames of the Phoenix- Firestorm

---

Sweet Apple Acres

Another long day of work and helping out at the farm for the Apple family soon lead to the evening itself being very calm and soothing. The same could be said for Ember, who only a few hours ago, had met Blood Cleaver and tried her best to help her and Caesar, the other displaced that was with her at the time. Now though, it had been a few hours since them and almost everyone was asleep… Except for her. The mancer never found a point to sleeping in the first place. Because of the immortality that was bestowed upon her from Pyrrhon all those years ago, she found that she could not dream like how others could. Instead, anytime she tried to close her eyes and sleep, all that met her was a black and empty void. Soulless she would call it, but that was just one way of describing it.

But tonight was a little different. Around ten minutes til midnight, she had felt a familiar sensation through her body. One that comes with being summoned as a Displaced. She did not expect to be summoned so soon in the middle of the night, but felt that whoever was summoning her must’ve needed her help or something else.

Before she left the orchard, Ember took a few moments to write a note and place it on the table in the kitchen, allowing for the possibility that she might not be back when morning comes. Once that was done, she stepped outside of the barn and walked off of the orchard. Once she was far enough away, she sighed to herself, using a hand to pull at whoever was trying to summon her… and bring them to her world instead. She couldn’t risk Anivia trying to unleash chaos while she was out helping others. So instead, Ember decided to bring them to her instead.

However, what exactly she brought through the void… was another story.

A swirling vortex appeared in the sky, spewing streams of data into the air. The streams collapsed, forming into a blue, bipedal dog wearing boxing gloves and a small upright orange lizard. But that wasn’t the weirdest part about it though. The weirdest part… was when she heard them speak.

“Now I know what an e-mail feels like...” the dinosaur groaned, getting to his feet.

“At least we didn’t get sent to the deletion bin,” the dog replied, shaking his head, “Okay, we’re at AJ’s farm, I think.”

Ember just watched the two for a little bit. Seeing how they could see the barn was one thing, but since it was the middle of the night, they were probably not going to be able to see her unless there was any actual light. So, forming a bit of fire in her right hand, she soon spoke up. “You would be right… And just who are you two?”

“The guys who just got sucked through a portal after touching a feather.” the dinosaur responded, looking her over. That answered one of the questions in Ember’s head, revolving around who found her token… but didn’t exactly get the answer she was intending.

“I meant your names.” She sighed for a moment, letting that sink in a little.

“Oh yeah, sorry,” the dinosaur laughed sheepishly, “I’m Marty and that's Lee.”

“Yo.” Lee waved.

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Ember,” The pyromancer introduced herself, taking a moment to form the next question in her head before she spoke again. “Now, just out of curiosity… what exactly are you two? I haven’t seen anyone like you before… Then again, I’ve only met a few displaced.”

“We’re both digimon,” Lee answered. “More specifically I’m a Gaomon and Marty’s a GeoAgumon. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ll be honest, I thought we were summoning you,” Marty muttered, causing Ember to chuckle a little.

“Summoning works both ways. Think about it like pulling something with a magnet. Either you bring someone to you… or with enough force, that someone brings you to them.” Ember told them as she dismissed the fire in her hands. “Does that make sense?”

“About as much as anything else in our situation,” Marty said, rubbing the top of his head. Ember chuckled a little in response as she looked back at the two of them.

“Well what do you know. First Caesar and now you guys… One of my nieces is really going to get a kick out of seeing you two when morning comes along.” However, what she said only confused both Marty and Lee as they looked at one another and tilted their heads to the side.

“You talking about one of the girls?” Marty asked, “I mean, we are on Applejack’s farm.”

“Yeah, Apple Bloom.” The mancer explained. “It’s a long story, but to simplify things, I’m basically Apple Bloom’s aunt. Same goes for AJ and Big Mac. Heck, a long time ago, I helped build that barn that you’re seeing right now.”

“Sounds like you’re pretty close to the Apples,” Lee noted.

“Yeah… comes with living around here for over a thousand years.” However, what she said just caused the two rookie level digimon to stare at her in disbelief. Making her worried that she might’ve messed up in what she was saying.

“Not to be offensive or anything here… But you don’t look like you’re over a thousand years old,” Marty said, still blinking.

“Neither do we Marty,” Lee reminded, socking him in the arm.

“Oh right… Yeah, I should’ve told you this first off, but I’m immortal,” Ember explained. “When I was originally displaced, I met a dying phoenix who gave me control of his flames as a final gift before he passed on. That’s why I’m known as The Heart of the Phoenix since I gained my powers from one…” She noticed the confusion between the two and then sighed. “How about this… I’ll answer your questions if you can answer some of mine in exchange. Does that seem okay to you two?”

“Works for me,” Lee nodded. “Ask away.”

“Well, for one thing, you said that you two were sent here by a feather,” She said, holding up the Phoenix feather that was her token in one of her hands. “Would it happen to look like this by any chance?”

“Yeah that's the one,” Marty agreed, “We found it in Rarity’s house.”

“Well, congratulations. You happened to find my token,” Ember said to them, surprising them for a minute and giving herself time to think inside her head. “What was it doing in Rarity’s house though? Was Opal trying to play around with it?” However, before any of them could answer, a cold deep gust of wind brushed over the three of them, making some of the strands of grass nearby partially freeze as all three of them felt the chilling wind just now.

“Okay, why are we popsicles?” Marty asked, his teeth chattering. Ember gritted her teeth, using her fire to warm the two of them as she looked in the distance. Noticing something, she turned to both of them and then asked something.

“This is not good… Do you two know how to fight?” She asked them, her tone getting more serious now than before. “I’m going to need your help. I’m worried that a friend of mine is in danger right now…”

“Yeah we can fight,” Lee said, getting into a fighting stance.

“Follow me then, I’ll explain on the way,” She said before she started to run in the direction where she felt the energy surge from. “The reason for the ice and you two almost freezing is because of a Cryophoenix named Anivia. Unlike phoenix’s, which are birds of fire and represent good, cryophonix’s are the exact opposite and are their natural enemy… He’s a bird of ice that was almost successful in killing all of the phoenix’s in this world.”

“Isn’t Anivia the name of a champion from League of Legends?” Marty asked. “And wasn’t he a cryophoenix too?”

“He was… but this one is different,” Ember informed them. “His intent is to try and turn all of Equestria into a frozen hell because she believed that the lifeforms here were unfit for living here. Phyrron, the dying phoenix I met, thought otherwise and the result was the almost complete genocide of them… Philomena is the only one left.”

“Wow… sounds like we’re in for a rough fight.” Lee said, tapping his fists together.

“We can deal with it.” Marty assured, snorting loudly. This caused Ember to smirk at their optimism, but sigh to herself.

“My main concern though is something else… In order for Anivia to become strong enough to carry out her plan, he needs to complete an artifact that he stole called the Wendigo Heart. The heart is split into three pieces and he has two,” The pyromancer began to explain. “My friend Frost, a wolf excedian, has the third piece, but it’s fused with his soul. Which means that if he wants it… the only way he could obtain it is by killing him. Frost is strong on his own, but at times, he’s also reckless…”

“Heh, reckless is something we do best,” Marty said with a chuckle. “Isn’t that right, Lee?”

“Well, as the saying goes, fools go where angels dare to tread.” Ember thought to herself. “Hopefully, we can reach him just in time. They’re getting closer now. I can feel their energy just over that ledge up ahead.” She told them, pointing at the location so the others could see for themselves.

“Then I guess we should put on our game face on,” Lee commented. “You ready to digivolve, Marty?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Marty nodded, cracking his neck. “GeoAgumon digivolve to! GeoGreymon!”

While the two digimon took the chance provided for them to change forms, Ember herself dashed forward, her fire in the form of a phoenix as she landed in the ravine. At first glance, the mountain basin that they were on looked awfully familiar to her… but then she realized what it was… and the old memories it brought were painful for her to have.

They were by the badlands, along the edge of it as the group noticed the wolf excedian running and dodging the attacks that Anivia was launching out at him. Turning her feathers into projectiles as one of them almost shanked him in the arm.

“Frost!!”

“Well, look who we have here…” Anivia menacingly cackled. “The cavalry and her strange assortments of overgrown pets… who would’ve thought you would raise more then that despicable hatchling, Ember…”

“Hey, I’m no one’s pet!” Marty roared, snorting out a plume of smoke. “Say that again and I’ll turn you into fried chicken!”

“Oh and an anger management problem… I seem to be finding all sorts of strange figures… However, I would like you freaks to step aside. My business is with the wolf, not with your puppydog and an extinct reptile, firebird.”

“You want him, you need to get through us!” Ember snapped, growling a little as fire formed from her hands. “I’m not letting you lay a single talon on him-!!”

“Bold words coming from the same mancer who was unable to save a dear friend of hers thousands of years ago in the exact same spot where we are now…” Anivia’s comments were sharp like knives right now… and what she said was really beginning to have her anger boil.

“Whatever happened here before won’t happen again,” Lee cut in, crouching and getting into a ready stance. “I wouldn’t take us lightly.”

“Fine then… Whenever you’re ready… coward.” He taunted, trying to provoke them into attacking her recklessly without any sort of plan in place.

“And this is the one time I wish Willy had been with us,” Marty commented, growling. The Cryophoenix waited for one of them to make the first move. Patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike as she looked at both digimon.

“Well this is awkward,” Lee spoke, staring back at Anvia.

“Yeah, we’re all just waiting for someone to crack,” Marty agreed. “Hey Ice Chicken, wanna start us off? I wanna kick your ass before lunch.”

Anivia laughed, looking back at them with a menacing glare. “I believe I already have started.” She said, pointing behind them to the ice that was expanding over the GeoGreymon’s tail and the back paws of the Gaogamon before releasing a blast of ice in between them.

“Mega Burst!” Marty roared, unleashing a torrent of flames from his mouth, melting most of the ice. The flames though soon died down as Anivia put up a wall of crystallized shards to block the rest of the attack. Followed by the rain of shards that were trying to pelt the two digimon’s defenses. Ember herself tried to assist in the attack against Anivia, but it lead to the phoenix only sustaining minimal damage from the blow.

“I got an idea,” Lee said. “Marty, let out another mega flame.”

“What is that going to do to help?” Frost asked, confused by who they were and what kind of strategy they were trying to pull off.

“Mega Flame!!”

“Spiral Blow!” Lee shouted directly after, the gust of wind combining with the flame, causing it to grow and burn hotter. Anivia herself channeled a high amount of power with her next attack as it met the blast head on. But with the explosion, she also sent out a spear of ice that struck Lee in the forepaw. Lee cried out, glaring up at the cryophoenix.

“Okay, that hurt.”

“That is only the beginning… Now to have your friend join you.” He said, having a spear stab Marty in the tail as it pinned him to a nearby tree. “And with that… the true fun begins…”

“What are you going to do to them!?” Ember yelled, Frost being right next to her.

“Simple… I’m going to do whatever it takes to make you break… After all… your rage created the badlands… and I have been waiting TOO long for a real challenge…” Anivia snickered, setting a claw on Lee’s head, the talons scraping along the sides. Ember wanted to stop her, but attacking headfirst was not going to help her in this case. However, just before she could do anything, a giant stone boulder soon crashed along her face, making her lose her focus and drop her grip on Lee.

“AGH!! WHO DARES-!?” Ember wondered that herself, but soon saw who exactly it was on the opposite side of the cryophoenix as she noticed a familiar red stallion with a short orange mane and tail channel the earth with his hooves.

“Mac!!”

“...Is that AppleJack’s brother doing something awesome?” Marty asked, blinking in shock.

“So… we have ourselves a Geomancer… Never thought I’d see one in the flesh…” Anivia replied.

“Say somethin’ like that again… Ah dare you.” He growled, staring down the cryophoenix.

“Well, looks like I got myself an interesting collection of opponents,” Anivia smiled, her gaze unchanging. “So, who’s first-.”

“Spiral Blow!!” Lee shouted, aiming at her head. The attack barely affected the phoenix as he looked back with a “Oh good… a volunteer.” With a menacing glare in the phoenix’s eye, Anivia quickly struck and used its claws to wound Lee and throw him into the wolf that was trying to stand.

“LEE!!” Ember growled, the flames around her hands burning brighter than before with the more rage she let on, staring down Anivia. “You BASTARD!!!”

“Oooh, come on now… It’s been ages since I ever had a real challenge… and it looks like your two overgrown pups are at their limit.” The cryophoenix smirked as the ice around Anivia began to solidify as it was launched forward. “Now do me a favor and PLAY DEAD!!”

“Screw you lady!” Marty growled. “GeoGreymon digivolve to! RizeGreymon!” He doubled in size, taking on a more human stance. His torso gained red metallic armor, his right arm being replaced entirely. His forearm was now a huge revolver, its cylinder spinning. Two massive artifical wings sprouted from his back, his head armor and the tip of his tail being replaced with metal. “Trident Revolver!” he roared, firing off a trio of shots at Anivia.

Ember watched as the digimon blasted the phoenix with enough force to cause the entire ground to quake as she tried to hold her ground. The phoenix herself just growled as she looked back at Ember. “This isn’t over… I will have that last piece and make sure to kill you while I’m at it… Tortured Phoenix.” With that, the cryophoenix flew off as the pyromancer soon watched Frost pass out on the ground.

“Crap… We need to treat their wounds quickly… Mac, get us back to the Orchard as quickly as you can!” The Earth Pony nodded, slamming his hooves as he made the ground underneath them move like they were surfing on the earthen terrain itself. With this, they were back shortly before the sun began to rise… and Marty was a LOT smaller than he was a few moments ago.

“I really, really, really hate that...” Marty complained, being reduced to a small pink blob with rabbit like ears.

“Aunt Ember… who’s the little puffball?” Mac asked as he used a hoof to poke at Marty’s head.

“I am not a puffball!” Marty growled. “I’m a Koromon! And it’s not like I wanna be like this.”

“A koro… what?” Big Mac questioned before shaking his head. “You know what, nevermind. I’m getting the first aid kit… And Ember, you might want to look out. I think we just caught Twilight’s attention.” He said, pointing a hoof in the distance as the group saw the Alicorn Princess and a couple other ponies racing on over to where they were.

“Hey Twi, howya doin’?” Marty asked as the Twilight came into earshot.

“What happened?!” Twilight said, shortly before being interrupted by a certain pink earth pony appearing out of nowhere.

“Yeah, we woke up this morning to the sound of EXPLOSIONS!?!?!!” Pinkie said as she noticed Marty. “Hey look! A weird beachball!!”

“I am not a beach ball!!” Marty snapped. “I’m a Koromon and my name is Marty. Now can you please get my friend some help? I don’t have hands at the moment.” However, even though they were tending to Lee in that present moment… Pinkie’s priorities involved picking up Marty with her front hooves and snuggling him like he was a plushie.

“It even talks!! Twilight, can I keep him? Can I!? He would be a perfect playmate for Gummy!!” She squeaked, almost ignoring Marty’s desperate pleas for help.

“Pinkie Pie, I swear by everything holy, I will bite you.” That was when Pinkie Pie did drop him… if you consider drop being shaking her head from side to side really fast and letting him go shortly afterwards, causing him to fly into Ember and catching him.

“Twilight, the beach ball knows my name!! BEST DAY EVER!!!” The party pony shouted, causing Ember to sigh as she looked at Twilight.

“Yeah… to answer your question Twilight; Anivia attacked us, Frost almost got hurt and two other Displaced here tried to fight her. The one I’m holding is Marty and the one that we’re trying to give medical attention too is Lee…”

“Interesting… So are they like Caesar or something different?” Twilight then asked the pyromancer as she analyzed the Koromon from all angles, having Ember answer by shaking her head and confusing Marty unintentionally in the process.

“I'm a digimon,” Marty sighed, exasperated.

“Yeah Twilight, these guys are different. For one thing, they aren’t humanized forms of what they were displaced as. They’re the actual thing-.” Ember explained, shortly before Marty interrupted her.

“Again, I'm a digimon.”

“Yes, but Twilight is referring to another displaced that is staying with me who is currently asleep,” The mancer explained. “Unlike you though, he’s a humanized version of a Pokemon. Pikachu to be more specific… can even do the moves right.”

“Fun.” He sighed for a moment before Ember asked him a new question.

“Would you like me to set you down? You’re kind of moving around in my arms and I’m thinking that if you digivolve, Pinkie will stop calling you a beachball.”

“Unless you got some food, I ain't digivolving.” Marty sternly complained as Ember then walked him inside where the others were. Leaving Twilight to try and calm down an over excited Pinkie Pie as the mancer thought of the quickest thing to feed the Koromon off of the top of her head… But then stopped to ask if it was okay with him first.

“Does an apple work? We have some in the kitchen.” She offered, bringing the in training digimon inside and setting him on the counter… shortly before another voice was heard as it was coming down the stairs.

“What in tarnations is with all this racket-!?!” A particular earth pony said before looking back at everything that was going on… specifically at Marty and Lee. “Aunt Embah, what are these two critters doing in the barn?”

“Yeah no man. I mean like three course meal.” Marty looked over at the mare. “Sup Bloom?”

“Uhh… Marty… That’s Applejack.” Ember pointed out to him. “Give me a sec to find something for you…” She said as she looked around to see if there was anything that could feel Marty while Applejack now trotted in. Seeing Mac tending to Frost and Lee while also looking at Marty.

“Is this thing some overgrown Parasprite?” She asked, causing Ember to facepalm herself for a moment.

“No AJ, he’s a digimon… Trust me, I know it might sound weird but-” That was when they heard a loud rumble, which definitely sounded like it came from Marty’s stomach. “... Yeah. This guy’s hungry.”

“Beach Ball is Hungry!? This is UNACCEPTABLE AND MUST BE FIXED!!!” Pinkie declared before galloping out of there before Marty even had the chance to shout back at her for calling him that name again. Only causing Twilight to groan a little as she trotted in.

“I got a feeling that Sugarcube Corner is going to be opening extremely early today.”

“What was your first guess?” The mancer sighed, looking to the Koromon on the counter. “Hey Marty, come with me for a sec. Since it’s a likely possibility that you and Lee are going to be given an entire breakfast buffet from Pinkie, we should check up on your friend first and make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Marty agreed, “He got hit pretty hard.”

“If there is anything serious, I think I can lend a hand in the healing process. But right now, let’s see what Mac has to say on his condition.” With that, Ember lead the Digimon out to where they would keep the harvest in the outer section of the barn as they saw Mac just closing up the first aid kit. “How are they doing, Mac?”

“Bruised, but not broken.” Mac simply replied. “Frost’s wounds are healing quickly, but Lee’s pretty banged up. He’s breathing though, which is good… But has a lot of injuries to overcome before he can be able to fight again.”

“It's a good thing digimon don't have bones,” Marty commented, hopping up next to Lee.

“I’ll let you two be here for now, but let him get his rest. I’ll explain to sis and her friends what happened in the meantime,” He told them before picking up the first aid kit with his teeth and trotting inside. Leaving Ember and Marty with Lee while Frost was in another corner at the other end of the room. However, it was then though that a personal thought of his was going through his mind and driving him crazy.

That it was his fault that Lee got hurt… If he would’ve been able to do something… if he would’ve been able to help them fight, Lee would not be in the state that he was in right now. Just the sheer thought of it was driving him mad as he sulked in the corner. Not even looking at Ember, Marty or Lee.

That was until he got up and began to walk, catching Ember’s attention. “Frost, where are you going?”

“Anywhere that’s not here… I’ve caused too much trouble here and you would be better off without me being here.” He said coldly, not even looking at Ember or Marty in the process.

“Eh, don't worry about it, we’ve had worse beatings. Boxing gloves here will be fine,” Marty assured him

“Yes, but if I was able to actually do something, your friend would’ve not been hurt in the first place… Throughout my life, everything that had happened to me happened because I wasn’t able to help anyone… Not even help my parents before they died at the hands of cold hearted savages… It’s happened over and over again for me and now… I feel as if I risk everyone else’s safety if I stay here.”

“Dude, don't worry about it. Digimon can't die in the first place.”

“Yes, but others can…” Frost snapped back. “I’ve been trying to help others, but with Anivia hunting me specifically, that cryophoenix will not stop at anything in order to get to me or Ember and she knows exactly what I am talking about. I just need some time… alone.” Without Ember getting the chance to say anything, the wolf disappeared, using his powers to form wings of ice as he darted off and disappeared without a trace. The only thing left behind was the cold snow on the trees that were nearby him as he disappeared.

“When I have hands again, remind me to slap the self pity out if that guy.”

“Noted… Though, he is right on one thing,” Ember sighed as she looked back at Marty. “I do know exactly what he was talking about… About how some ponies will try to do anything, even push you as far as hurting somepony you care for to get what you want.” She tried her best to not remember it, but couldn’t as she said one other thing. “It happened to me…”

“And you think it hasn't to me?” He asked, raising his head eyebrow.

“No, it’s not like that…” The pyromancer sighed. “Do you remember what Anivia called me earlier before she retreated?” The name burned into her mind and was one that she wanted to forget. Ever since meeting Caesar, she wanted to change herself… Be known as The Heart of the Phoenix. But there was one other thing she was referred to as… and that was The Tortured Phoenix. “Well, there's a reason for it… Tell me, back in your world, do you know of the Badlands?”

“Yeah, it was created during the final battle between Lucemon and the 10 legendary warriors.”

Ember sighed, looking at the Digimon for a moment before speaking again. “Well here… I was the reason for its creation. Over 1000 years ago, I was thrown into a slave camp with a bunch of other ponies. I met one named Red Apple, who helped me survive. However, when a young Buffalo calf tried to steal food and I refused to kill it, the head of the slave camps tried to teach me a lesson… and killed Red. Next thing I knew, I snapped and my power was released everywhere, creating the badlands everypony knows now… That’s why I was known as the tortured phoenix.”

“We've all done things we’re not proud of,” he assured her, averting his gaze.

“Yes, but sometimes, no matter how many times you try to move on, something always comes back to haunt you,” She sighed, looking back at Marty. “I’m glad you two did help though. Without you… things might’ve been a lot worse.”

“You think I don't know what that's like?” Marty asked, frowning. “I spent god knows how long as Sombra's pet enforcer. I don't even want to think about what I did...”

“I wasn’t thinking that… I was just saying that I was grateful that you and Lee were here to help. I really appreciate it,” She replied, rubbing Marty’s head a little. “You are pretty strong and I am quite impressed with both of your guys’ level of skill.”

“Digimon are rather OP.” He chuckled, looking up at her.

“I can tell… Hey, just out of curiosity… How many of you guys are in your world? … displaced wise.” She asked, curious to hear Marty’s response to her question as Ember looked at him. “Because I have a small hunch that you and Lee aren’t the only Displaced in your world.”

“There are about eight of us. We were our colleges anime club.” Ember honestly did not expect to hear that as an answer. She had met a couple other displaced where they were by themselves or with one or two others, but a total of eight? That was new to her. Before she could say something though, both of them heard a familiar humming tune and saw a blur of pink as Pinkie Pie came zooming in with an entire three course breakfast. Complete with Pancakes, eggs, waffles, oatmeal and apples before topping it off with Maple Syrup and butter. Anything else and the meal would've looked like it came from the heart attack section at a state fair.

“Holy crap!” Marty shouted, his eyes going wide as he stared at the plate.

“That’s Pinkie for you… She must’ve heard you needed a three course meal and literally prepared one for you,” She chuckled. “You think that would be enough to fill up your stomach?”

“Everything I eat or drink is automatically converted into data, so... yeah.”

“Well, you better dig in before the food gets cold.” She advised him, watching as the Koromon was preparing himself to consume the meal in front of him. He licked his lips, starting to devour everything. Not even realizing the strands of food that landed on Ember’s face in the process until after he finished the entirety of his meal.

“Warn me next time before you dive head first into that.” Ember jokingly told Marty, trying to get the stray bits of pancakes that was on her face as she looked back at the Digimon. “How was it?”

“Amazing!”

“Glad to hear it. You’re going to have to make sure and thank Pinkie Pie before you two go back.” The mancer reminded him as she looked back at the in-training digimon. Ember took a moment to bring the dishes that were licked clean by the Koromon into the kitchen so they could be washed in the sink. As she returned though, that was when she saw Marty digivolve back into his Rookie form now that he had a full stomach.

“Koromon digivolve to! GeoAgumon!”

“Well, it seems like you’re back to normal again. You won’t have to worry about Pinkie calling you a beachball anytime soon.” Ember chuckled for a moment before looking back at the dinosaur digimon and stopped laughing to herself. “No offense…”

“Eh don't worry about it, Pinkie lavishes everyone like that. You should see how she treats Hackmon.”

“Another friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he's Pinkie's Digimon partner.” Now that got the mancer curious about something as she looked back at them.

“You guys have partners? Like fight as a team?” She asked. “I thought your friends can fight on your own like with you and Lee.”

“Hackmon isn't a displaced, he's a true blooded Digimon.”

“Ah. I guess he has to play by a different set of rules?” Ember then asked, wanting to inquire a little bit more information.

“Nah. He just draws energy from Pinkie, otherwise we’re exactly the same.”

“I see,” She replied shortly after the GeoAgumon answered her question. “Well, unless there is anything you want to ask me, you should be free to head back to your world once your friend is awake. Rather not keep you here for too long if you know what I mean.”

“That'll be for the best, god knows what Piedmon could be doing back home.” The Digimon replied as Ember looked to his friend. The good news was that he was breathing steadily now. But he had yet to wake up from his slumber after getting knocked out by Anivia.

“How long does Lee normally sleep?” She then asked out of curiosity.

“That really depends on how badly we get beaten.”

“So with the case of Anivia… It may be a while?” Ember then asked, leading to the digimon nodding his head and her sighing afterwards. “Would it be possible for me to still send you back? I think it’ll be easier for Lee if he wakes up in someplace that he’s a little more… familiar with.” She suggested. The mancer wanted to make things easier for the two of them and with hearing Marty’s concerns about this Piedmon figure, Ember thought that the sooner she would get them back to their world, the better.

“I don't see why not.” He nodded, looking at her.

“Do you happen to have a token? If so, I can use it to send you two back.” She told him.

“It's a digivice.”

“May I see it then?” Ember asked, not bothering to ask about what a digivice was or ask about the details as she held out a hand for Marty to place the token on. Once it was handed to her, she channeled some of her life force into the device and used it to channel a simple, yet effective doorway that would help get the two of them back home. “There we go. One portal back to your world done. I think you’ll need me to return this before you go back right?” She said to Marty, handing the digivice back to him.

“Why are you handing this to me?” He raised his eyebrows. “I'm...not even sure why you opened the portal. You could have just sent us back by saying 'our contract is complete.’”

“Don’t want you ending up in the middle of nowhere on accident now. Plus, most of the time, it’s me going to other worlds instead of bringing guests here.” She replied, taking a deep breath and closing the portal before looking back at them. “But, if you insist… I guess the second option could be better. Marty, Lee, our contract is complete.”

“Cya.” Marty waved, tossing her the digivice, the two of them vanishing in a flurry of fractal code. Ember herself caught the device and smirked. It was something to add to what she had already and another token to put on the shelf in her room. Yet, as she was walking back inside, she had a feeling that things were… going to change in the near future. Anivia was stepping up her game, that was one thing. But her concern was Frost. He may have needed time to be back on the right track, but it also left him exposed. Making him a potential target for the cryophoenix.

She decided to set that aside though, focusing instead on something else as she placed the device on her shelf and walked to the door across the hall, softly knocking it. “Caesar? You up buddy? You’re going to miss breakfast.”

---

End Chapter 13

Comments

[ShadowLight96]

Dude you really need to pick a gender for the cryo bird and stick with it. You flipflop gender pronouns way too much in this chapter.

[FrostTheWolf]

9519987
Anivia is female, but given how many different characters there were in this particular chapter, it was hard to try and manage them all at once