The Alien Change

[zerix]

Sirens blared; red and blue lights flashed every which way accompanied by the yelling of the officers to each other. An ambulance sat in front of the broken down two-family house with a police cruiser parked just ahead of it. People, if you could call them that, looked on from the streets. A few stayed in the shadows of the alley, obviously fearing the presence of the police officers. Nobody called them down here.

A boy of no more than seventeen sat on the ground next to the stoop, back against the wall, with what looked like a gigantic teddy bear sitting next to him. He watched blankly as the EMTs carried the stretcher quickly out of the door and down the stairs into the ambulance. He seemed a bit lost.

"Zerix..." whispered a small voice. The boy didn't react at first. "Zerix..." it called against. The boy, Zerix, this time turned his head slightly toward the bear sitting next to him. Trying not to make it too obvious that he was talking to what everyone else probably thought was a stuffed animal, he grunted, "Hm?"

"You know I didn't mean for that to happen. I only swatted his hand away when he was going for you. He ran out of there and tripped down the stairs." The "stuffed animal" wasn't a stuffed animal at all, it was something entirely different.

Zerix barely nodded, "That's what I told the police. Tripped down the stairs." He paused for a moment, as if contemplating what he was going to say next. "Why did you do that anyway? My dad used to hit me all the time, and I don't even know what you are, let alone who." He had gotten over the shock of seeing the walking, talking bear only a little while ago and hadn't gotten used to it yet. His words had a tentative sound to them, as if he wasn't sure what he should be saying.

"I'm a Digimon. Bearmon, to be exact." The "stuffed animal", Bearmon apparently, replied a little too enthusiastically. Fortunately, his voice hadn't raised enough to be noticed by anyone else.

In response, Zerix just blinked. Conversation stopped between them for a few seconds while Zerix recovered. Bearmon let him take his time. "A... Digimon? Like from that kid's show?"

"A Digital Monster. I don't know anything about a 'show', but I'm a Digimon."

Zerix was silent for a few moments again. He had to take things in stride. "You still didn't answer my question. Why?"

"You're my partner, of course. What did you think that digivice was for anyway?" Bearmon gesture subtly to the device Zerix now held face down in his left hand.

"This thing?" Zerix asked, holding it up in front of him for a closer look. The white and black design and shape seemed oddly familiar, and yet completely alien at the same time. "I don't even know where it came from. I just found it on my desk when I came home from school, before you decided to sneak in my window."

Bearmon just grinned in response. But before Zerix could ask anymore, the little Digimon suddenly became very still. Zerix could take a hint. He glanced up again to see one of the police officers wave at him before getting into the car. The cruiser drove off a few seconds later with the ambulance right on its tail.

[Vincent/Koen]

This had to get a lot more complicated.[/color] Using his own digivice as a tracker, he found a signal and decided to follow it. Unlike most tamers, his partner wasn't entirely sure what he was suppose to do and ran away from Vincent, during an attack. The British man had no idea what his partner was, than the one responsible for dropping the device in his face.

The reporter thought the possibility of it being a rogue digimon, and it causing the injury against a person. But that giant chicken just attacked anything in site... Do they all operate like that, or are some like serial killers and just choose their victims. I can't get any closer until the rescue team is done.[/color]

He puts away the device and watched the scene, back against the corner. Though the stoop was in view, he couldn't see Bearmon and didn't focus on Zerix. I hope my partner didn't do this.[/color]

[zerix]

Zerix got to his feet and, stepping forward a bit, watched the screeching convoy disappear down the street. He subtly scanned the area. The watchers were dispersing already. With the cops finally gone, no one saw any reason to stick around. Most people in the slums didn't get too curious. Being curious was generally trouble.

"Psst... Psst..." It was Bearmon again. The little guy couldn't go five minutes without some attention. Zerix sighed inaudibly and glanced back at his 'partner'. He was still sitting there, unmoving, but his eyes were obviously wanting something.

"What?" Zerix asked blantantly. He wasn't so worried about being seen now.

"Can we... go inside? It's kind of cold out here."

Zerix grumbled internally. The bear had a fur coat and it was complaining about the cold? While Zerix only had on jeans and a t-shirt? Come on. "All right."

With that, Zerix turned to take a step towards the front of the stoop, but Bearmon piped up again. "Wait, what about me?"

Zerix glanced back at Bearmon in bewilderment. What exactly did this thing expect from him? "If you don't want anyone to see me, you'll have to carry me."

Zerix shrugged. There were worse things in the world and, frankly, he didn't care what people thought of a seventeen year old carrying a stuffed animal. He crouched down and scooped up Bearmon in his arms. He was lighter than expected; Zerix had no trouble carrying him around the stoop and up the steps. He could probably have done it one handed. It was still a little weird, though, this anthropomorphic bear.

[Vincent/Koen]

With the police and watchers gone, it felt safe to take the digivice out and continue the search. He didn't like this part of town. The higher crime rate was a bit unsettling, especially if you've been mugged once. At least I won't lose much, if it happens again. He was watchful, walking on the cracked pavement. The signal getting stronger with each step.

The signal went insane, walking in front of Zerix's stoop. Vincents made sure the digimon wasn't hiding by the stairs, but then thought it might've been on the other side, With his accented voice, Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't go in!

He take a breath, quickly thinking what to tell the teenager. "There's probably someone in there who's going to attack people. To make sure who I think it is, could you tell me why the police where here first." He tried to sound like a police officer trying to find a criminal. Vincent doubted he could even convince a 4 year old that there were digital monsters who went around causing destruction.

[zerix]

Zerix spun around quickly at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. It was accent laden, obviously belonging to a foreigner. Such was even more obvious when Zerix saw who had stopped him. The pale skin was only the second tip off. The guy looked like some sort of teacher or something, Zerix couldn't put his finger on it.

Suddenly, Zerix became extremely conscious of the "stuffed animal" in his arms, not because he looked ridiculous carrying it, but because it wasn't at all what it seemed to be. "Need something?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"There's probably someone in there who's going to attack people. To make sure who I think it is, could you tell me why the police where here first."

The man was obviously not telling the whole truth. He was trying to sound like an authority, a cop or detective or some other such person. But this was the slums; Zerix became a little suspicious.

"My father fell down the stairs..." He answered, but, realizing it probably wasn't quite enough, he quickly added another tidbit of information, "Normally the police wouldn't have come, but, you know, this is the slums. They probably wanted to give the ambulance an escort."

[Vincent/Koen]

Interesting that any came at all. Unable to tell how close he was the the digimon is he heads to the door. It should be obvious to Zerix that the British man was carrying something in his left hand. Wincent takes one last glance at the digivice, before quickly opening the door.

Nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. It couldn't hide behind the door. The wooden fixture was against the wall. Taking another deep breath, the reporter looks at the device before turning to the boy again. He was too worried to figure an actual age, noting him younger because of the bear. "How many floors are there to here? And is there a basement? It's very important. There is something in there that can hurt you and your father. I need to remove him."

[zerix]

Zerix found it a bit annoying that the man simply entered his home without even asking for permission, but didn't care enough to protest. He sure didn't seem like a looter. In fact, he seemed genuinely concerned about Zerix's safety, for reasons he was keeping hidden for some reason.

"There's a second floor. The stairs are past the door immediately in front of you as you walk in. The basement is in the other family's si- Wait..." Zerix only just realized something. "Is it something or someone? I was just in there. There was no one."

He glanced at the device in the man's hand. It looked identical to the device he had in his pocket now. Could it be a digivice? Did that mean... he knew? "Just who are you? Give me the truth." Zerix gave the man a convincing glare, though it was half-hearted. The bear even seemed to glare as well.

[Vincent/Koen]

The man was genuinely concerned for everyone's safety. He w as glad that Zerix trusted him and began to tell him about the building. Then the screw ball was tossed at him. "There was no one." Of course, he wasn't done yet, "Just who are you? Give me the truth."

Vincent takes a deep breath. Trying to keep it from sounding insane. "I'm Vincent, but do you see this in my hand? It, showing the digivice to they boy, "This is allowing me to track it down. Please believe me when I say it's probably dangerous. Did you see anything out of the ordinary. Like something out of place, things missing, a weird fog appearing recently? You see the dot on the device? It's telling me it's here and I need to make sure it isn't going to attack anyone. Also, I'm trying to track one done, but I just need to make sure it isn't going to attack.

[zerix]

Zerix looked at Vincent, then at the device, then back at Vincent again. The dot on the map was situated right where they were standing, or in the house. It would be nice if the map could zoom in for a better read. The area was so general.

"So, it's a tracker?" He asked, hoisting the bear in one hand and reaching into his pocket with the other. He produced his own digivice, showing it clearly to Vincent.

"There hasn't been any weird fog and nothing's been missing. What are these things supposed to track? What is 'it'?" Zerix had a pretty good idea what 'it' might be already. He was glad Bearmon was smart enough to stay as doll-like as possible. There was no point in giving too much away if he didn't need to.

[Vincent/Koen]

[I'm tired off making you wait and I have a major headache, sorry if it's too quick to the point]

Vincent was surprised. The boy was holding holding a digivice right in front of him. The man takes a sigh of relief. "We better talk inside or some place private. My device is picking up someone who's a visitor here. Maybe you know such a friend?

The reporter looks at the bear, getting the feeling Zerix wasn't the only person listening in. However, he didn't know if certain digimon had some advantages that helped blend in. Both Gazimon and the giant bird were abnormally huge. How the hell does Leo hide him?