themainframe-related oneshot - The Hard Way

[strengthinkindness]

"Are you sure we're going the right way, Bro?" Chris wondered, jogging to keep up with Martin as they made their way down the city streets.

Martin paused briefly, frowning as he glanced around to get his bearings. "I think so? I really only caught a glimpse of the guy, but I'm pretty sure he was heading this way…"

"Is it a good idea to be following him?" Adele asked as she and Sylvia hurried behind the Kratts. She had been with Martin when they were first alerted to something going on, and she couldn't help feeling the sinking feeling she had about it.

Martin hesitated at that, even as he kept his pace through the city. He had been in his apartment when he and Adele heard the racket nearby, though it took him a while to realize it had been coming from the floor below theirs. Curiosity getting the better of him, they had gone down to find an apartment door just ajar enough to reveal a thoroughly trashed apartment; all the furniture was overturned, the remnants of broken objects littered the floor, and even the bedrooms seemed to have had their stuff tossed out from them.

And from the open window, he could just make out a figure moving across the roofs of the buildings. It was hard to tell, but to him it seemed that the person was in a real hurry. And that had been reason enough for Martin to decide to follow, snagging Chris and Sylvia on the way down to the lobby.

And while he'd had the same feeling that Adele had – that something was clearly wrong about all this – it was exactly that feeling that kept him going to…wherever they were heading.

"Hey look…" Sylvia's voice pulls Martin from his thoughts as the group spy a Digimon at the entrance to the park.

…At least Chris and Martin assumed it was a Digimon; the little guy looked a little like a water droplet.

"It's a Moonmon," Sylvia commented as the group approach the bouncing Digimon.

"You okay, little guy?" Chris asked. Whatever they had been doing was quickly put on hold, in case this Digimon needed some help.

The Moonmon just kept bouncing, and closer up the group realized how frantic it seemed. "Help…! Need help…!" he cried.

That put Chris and Martin on instant alert. "What's wrong?"

"It's Fluttershy…!" Moonmon exclaimed. "And Hiccup! They need help!"

The Bros glanced at each other with concerned expressions. They were still getting to know the city and its inhabitants, but the names of those two teens were already well-known to them.

Sylvia held out her paws, trying to get the In-Training Digimon to calm down enough to really talk to them. "Choco," she said, assuming this was Fluttershy's partner, "where are they? Fluttershy and Hiccup…"

"This way!" Choco barely finished speaking before bouncing off, quickly heading into the park. The other two Digimon followed after him, and the Kratts weren't too far behind.

The short trip into the denser area of the park was plenty of time for several situations to pass through the minds of the brothers, as they wondered what kind of trouble Hiccup and Fluttershy were in, and readied themselves to help.

But absolutely nothing could prepare them for the grisly, awful scene that met them when Choco finally brought them to the two.

The Moonmon immediately hopped over beside Fluttershy, who lay sprawled on the ground among a mess of her own feathers. One of her yellow wings was bent at an impossibly odd angle, a clear sign of breakage. Her arm was outstretched, fingers just gripping Hiccup's hand as he lay a little away from her. Blood pooled from a large wound in his abdomen, spilling and staining the grass around him. Not even the Bukamon, presumably Fearless, was left unharmed, a sharp metal object embedded in his side.

All three of them lay frightfully still on the ground, and for a moment all Chris could do was stare at the horrific scene. What had happened here?

He snapped out of his daze when he caught his brother moving, quickly heading over to kneel beside Hiccup. He started to follow, but then paused before stepping over to Fluttershy instead.

As soon as he knelt beside her, he could see her tense slightly, and there was a visible tremble in her unbroken wing. And at that moment he found his breath again, glad that she was at least moving.

"Fluttershy…?" he said as gently as possible, not wanting to further frighten her.

The pink-haired girl didn't move at first, save for the continuous tremor of her wing. Then slowly she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Ch…Ch-Chris…" Her voice was so soft, tired and raspy from crying for who knew how long. But the pain he heard in her tone was what really broke his heart.

Suddenly she was trying to push herself up off the ground, and he moved in to help her, letting her use him for support. She was shaking all over now, and he had to hold on to her for a moment even as she managed to sit up, letting her catch her breath and get herself as steady as possible. While she did, he inspected her wing; it was definitely broken, even just based on what he could see. That seemed to be the worst of it at least, though.

For whatever that was worth.

"Martin, how's – ?" A look towards his brother stopped the words in Chris' throat. Martin's shoulders tensed for a moment before slumping as the blond heaved a heavy sigh. One hand clenched into a tight fist, the other falling away from Hiccup's body. And the amount of anguish on his brother's face…he'd seen that look once before, during a particular Creature Adventure in Mexico that, even to this day, was hard to look back on at times.

When Martin could finally meet his eyes, he only gave a sad shake of his head before glancing away. But it was enough to send a chill down Chris' spine, and he could have sworn his heart stopped. He barely noticed Fluttershy curling into him a little, her tears falling anew.

The tense silence around them was suddenly deafening, stretching on even as Martin unzipped his jacket, gently laying it over Hiccup's body. It was the only thing he could think of to do, and after that, both Kratts were out of ideas.

Finally the quiet was broken when Choco cleared his throat. "We gotta…gotta go," he whispered. "He might…come back…"

There was no reply for a moment, and the only movement was Sylvia and Adele exchanging worried glances towards their partners. Then, turning to the smaller Digimon, Adele finally answered him. "Who will?"

"Donnie…He was…He was the one who…" Choco trailed off, but the unspoken implication was clear. "He…He could come back any time…If he finds Fluttershy…he'll hurt her more."

That finally seemed to motivate the Kratts a little, as they glanced at each other. They may not have been able to help Hiccup…but if Fluttershy was in trouble, they could at least keep her safe.

"All right," Martin finally said, taking charge with a tone all-too serious for the normally laid-back Kratt. "If we're gonna move her, we'll have to stabilize her wing."

Chris nodded, and after thinking for a moment removed his own jacket, handing it to Martin as the blond came over. Very carefully, Martin adjusted Fluttershy's wing, and Chris held her as she gave a pained whimper.

"I know, I'm sorry…" Martin soothed, gently placing Chris' jacket over the wing. "But trust me, it'll be better this way so it's not moving around so much when we head off."

After securing the wing with the jacket, the two moved to help Fluttershy to her feet. "C'mon," Martin said, "let's get going."

But Fluttershy didn't move. In fact, she seemed suddenly very set on staying put.

An action that did not go unnoticed by the brothers. "Fluttershy…" Chris started; they had to get her away from here.

"Don't leave him…" Fluttershy murmured softly, so soft that they almost missed it.

"Who?" Martin asked.

"H-Hiccup…" She looked at them, her eyes pleading. "Don't leave him…please…"

Chris and Martin frowned deeply, glancing at each other somewhat uncertainly. "Fluttershy…" Martin said, rubbing the back of his head. How could he tell her? "Hiccup…he's, uh…"

"N-Not gonna…stay that way…"

The voice startled them a bit, and they both looked towards Fearless. It was the first the Digimon had spoken or moved since they arrived.

"What's that?" Martin asked.

"Hic…not gonna…stay that…that way," Fearless rasped. "'e's…comin' back…"

"Coming back?" Chris echoed in surprised. "But he's –"

"Not…gonna stay…" Fearless repeated, his voice trailing off slightly. "C-Can't leave 'im…"

Chris frowned, confused as he ever was. But he turned away from the Digimon when Fluttershy lightly gripped his arm. "D-Don't leave him…" she said again, sniffling softly. "…p-please…"

With a bit of a helpless noise, Chris looked towards his older brother, not sure what to do.

Thinking for a moment, Martin then sighed. Gently placing his hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, ever mindful of her wing, he gave her some semblance of a smile. "Don't worry…we're not leaving him."

Chris watched Martin rise to his feet with slightly widened eyes. "Martin…" The name was said with a bit of a question, a bit of a protest, but for the life of him he wasn't sure why.

Martin meanwhile busied himself as he carefully picked up the injured Bukamon before going back to Hiccup's body. "Fearless said he'll be coming back…" How that was possible, he still wasn't sure, but there wasn't time to dwell on that now. "And if this…Donnie comes back, then Hiccup needs to be someplace safe too."

He carefully rearranged his jacket to cover the wound on Hiccup's abdomen before gently placing Fearless on the teen's body. "Besides…even if Hiccup is really…" He cleared his throat; he just couldn't bring himself to say it, even when it certainly seemed like he was. "Even if he doesn't come back…we can't just leave him here, can we?"

Chris hesitated, then finally conceded with a nod. "Right…"

With another brave smile that didn't quite make it, Martin carefully scooped Hiccup into his arms, trying not to jostle Fearless too much. "Let's take these guys back to my apartment, get them patched up…and we'll figure out what to do from there." Then he motioned to Fluttershy with a nod. "You got her?"

"Huh…? Oh…" Looking at the girl in his arms, Chris took a moment to figure out how best to carry her that wouldn't trouble her wing. Then, with a silent reassurance that he was still going to be there, Chris pulled away from her to get to his knees, turning so his back was facing her.

"Here…" he said, motioning to his back.

Fluttershy stared blanking, not realizing right away what he meant. When she finally did, she slowly reached out, wrapping her arms around his neck. Adele and Sylvia went to each side of her, helping to keep her steady as Chris rose to his feet and readjusted his hold on her.

"What about you?" Martin asked, looking as Choco watched on. "Need a lift?"

Choco shook his head. "No, I'm okay," he replied.

'That makes one of you…' The morbid thought was in and out of Martin's mind before he realized it. Shifting Hiccup's body slightly, he then nodded towards Chris. "We better get going."

Chris nodded. He was more than ready to leave this scene behind.

Not that it would make anything after this any easier…