V-mon was lying on one of the branches in a tree at the park, sleeping against the trunk. It was something he was used to before he met David, and he was actually glad that he could do that. Even if it wasn't comfortable, it gave him the sense of freedom he had before without the threat of being killed at any moment.

The expression on V-mon's face turned solemn as he started mumbling. "No, sister...Father, please, don't kill her." V-mon started to stir in his sleep, but as he shifted, he became unbalanced and started to tip off of the branch.

As he started to fall, people around could hear V-mon's yelling, "Sister!" That abruptly stopped as he hit the ground, and an even louder cry of pain shot from V-mon's lips.

V-mon found himself awake on the ground, cringing in pain after the fall. He slowly got up, wondering what just happened that caused him to fall from the branch he was sleeping on. He suddenly shook his head, as a more pressing image of the nightmare he just had filled his head. He sat down against the trunk of the tree and curled his legs up to his chest before wrapping his arms around him. "Sister..." V-mon said, as tears started to fall from his eyes.

---

Blue Card Diaries
Entry 05: Fathers
By: Izumi Ryu
Disclaimer: This story is part of Lord Archive's Red D-Arc Diaries timeline. Other than that, David's mine. Digimon belongs to Toei and whoever else owns them.

---

David woke up to the sound of the doorbell ringing. He dragged himself out of bed and mindlessly rummaged through his closet to find some clothes to wear. It wasn't until the doorbell rang the second time that he realized that it was mid-morning. His father had gone to whatever job he had now, and that it were actually and odd thing for his doorbell to be ringing. Hardly anyone ever comes by here except for Jessa, and she was gone with family for the weekend. That thought made David cringe, realizing what she may be going through at the moment.

As the doorbell rang again, David muttered, "Alright, I'm coming." He was already annoyed enough as is by whoever was coming by. He walked out of his bedroom and towards the front door. Opening the door, his eyes went wide with surprise seeing Steve standing there, smiling, alongside Sam and Michael, who seemed to be in a less than cheerful mood. "Ummm...how did you know where I lived?"

"Jessa told us a while back. Sorry," Steve said.

David sighed. "C'mon in. Sorry, I just woke up."

"We understand. Sorry, it was Steve's idea to come by here," Michael remarked as the group walked in, David closing the door behind them.

David looked at the other two boys that Steve brought along. He was concerned about their attitude today. Both boys seemed annoyed by something. "So, what's up?"

"We're going by the laser tag place today, and wanted to see if you'd like to come along," Steve offered.

David shrugged. "Sure." Though, he had some concerns, V-mon could take care of himself. He couldn't exactly go bringing up V-mon in front of Sam and Michael, even if Steve knew about him. "Just let me finish getting ready, and we can go."

When David walked back to his room, Steve noticed a photograph inside a frame on a small table next to the sofa. "Look at this," Steve said as he picked up the picture. On the picture was a young boy sitting in front of and between two adults, one woman and one man. It looked like a typical family picture, but seeing it seemed odd for some reason, considering the picture looked like David when he was younger.

Michael and Sam sat on each side, looking at the picture with Steve. "This looks like it could have been taken about four or five years ago," Michael said, it slightly made him jealous of David that he had that good of a family life.

"Damn, they really look so happy, I wonder what caused this to change," Sam remarked, extinguishing what jealousy Michael had. No matter how happier someone seemed to be, if they aren't now, then something harsh had to have happened. Looking around, Michael noticed that there were a couple of similar photos with David even younger, but none of them were of when David was older than in the picture Steve held.

"That picture was the last family photo my parents ever had done," David said, startling the visitors. "Are you guys ready?"

The three boys chorused their various affirmative responses. Steve immediately put the photo back as the other two got up and started to walk towards the door.

"Are we going to get Lou?" David asked.

"Lou's in Nevada for the week visiting his grandfather," Steve said.

David just nodded as he followed the three out of the apartment, only stopping to lock the door behind them. As David turned back to follow the boys, he noticed that Steve stayed back with him, looking like he had something to say.

"V-mon's okay. I already went to check on him today before going to get Michael and Sam," Steve told David quietly, trying not to be heard by the mentioned boys. "But he seemed depressed before he noticed I was there."

"I understand, thanks," David said, starting to walk to try and keep up with Michael and Sam. At least, what he heard from Steve confirmed his suspicions about V-mon hiding things, but it didn't matter at the moment. It couldn't be something big that he was hiding.

"Are you okay? You seem disturbed by something yourself," Steve pressed on.

"You're probably confusing me now with seeing that damned picture," David told him. "There's nothing out of the ordinary going on." Of course, with David, he couldn't tell what 'ordinary' was anymore.

---

V-mon was abnormally restless, even within the park. His nightmare from the previous night had shaken him up for the first time since he ever appeared on this world. He just had a bad feeling about it.

As he continued to climb and jump from branch to branch, he thought he noticed something strange in the sky through the branches. He just suddenly jumped up and started to climb higher to get a better look up above.

V-mon's eyes widened when he saw the sky high above the city started shimmering as a mist started to form around it. A digimon was emerging above the city, something none of them needed at the moment. All he could do was wait to see what happened, since he couldn't fight from where he was.

It didn't take long for a flaming bird to appear out of the mist, flying out of it on its own rather than waiting for the fog to dissipate. V-mon's eyes widened as he saw the Adult level digimon flying above the city, where the people below wouldn't even bother looking. "Birdramon..." V-mon gasped. V-mon knew this was bad news if he appeared here.

V-mon started his descent from the trees and rushing towards the park's exit. He was familiar with the tactic. 'They' would send Birdramon to scout the area and search for something, most likely looking for him. "Of course, knowing my luck, he'll be drawn to David instead of me," the lizard muttered, as he continued to rush towards Birdramon. He had to follow the bird while staying out of sight for now. The real danger hadn't started...yet.

---

David walked calmly through the maze, with the sensors strapped on him to record any shots he had taken, and armed with the laser gun. The maze itself was darkened, with enough light to see where you were going. Some places around the corners had mirrors where you could see around corners and even use them to bounce shots off of it and hit an 'enemy'.

He saw the lights that flashed from another person's sensors. David immediately rushed for the corner and spun around, trying to keep from getting hit. He thought he would start shooting from around the corner, but when he tried that, nothing happened. He was a bit confused, but remembered the mirror that was nearby. "Shit," he muttered as he looked at the LCD display to see who hit him. It didn't surprise him to see the name 'Spike' appear on it. Of course, it was Steve who hit him, who else would think of waiting to use the mirrors to shoot.

Knowing he'd be able to shoot for a few seconds, he fled the area, trying to get some ground and find more potential targets. He noticed someone hiding on one of the upper level balconies in the maze. Knowing he had a couple of seconds left, he strolled underneath the balcony, where there was a grate that someone can shoot from. He aimed his gun straight at, and at the moment his sensors became active again, he fired.

Hearing a familiar voice curse above him, David smirked. "Sorry, Sam," David said, as he continued down another corridor of the maze, only to see Michael walk around the corner. David didn't hesitate to level his gun at the boy and fire, nailing him dead on. "You walked right into that one, Mike." David shook his head. It was a bit obvious that his friend was disturbed by something to not notice David standing there.

---

After the Free-for-all match, David and the others looked up at the scores. David was surprised to see him at the top of the scoreboard, not even recalling even shooting that many people. "What the Hell?" David asked.

"They give accuracy bonuses here," Steve answered. "That's probably the only reason you won."

David looked down at the score sheet, realizing Steve was right. His accuracy ranked in the ninety percentile, which earned him enough bonus points to take over the lead. "I'm a decent shot, so what? I got shot a lot too."

"Not more than me," Michael muttered, before looking away.

"You're distracted. What's up with you anyway?" David asked.

Michael sighed before answering. "My dad again. He's been moping around more lately over what could have happened with his career. The bastard came home drunk this morning again."

"Wonder what happened to cause him to be like that?" David asked. Steve, Sam, and Michael looked at each other. They knew already, of course, but David was new to the crowd, so it was no surprise that he asked.

"My dad had an audition for a big movie role a few years ago. He got down to the final cut, but the other guy, Brendan Frasier, got selected. He's been doing small-time commercials lately, but that audition hit his inflated ego hard."

"Ouch," David muttered. "I take it he's never tried again?"

"Nope," Michael said. "He feels he lost his chance. I'm sure he has plenty of chances, but he complains that he never did. The guy's just a lost cause."

"I'm not sure if it's better to have a failure for a father or a successful one," Sam suddenly started up. "My dad's some hot shot corporate manager for some fast-food chain or something. I don't know or care anymore since it's pretty much gotten to his head. Any time I succeed at anything, he belittles it as if it weren't challenging enough. It's like he's incapable of even praising his son for anything."

"What does he expect you to do? Change the world or something?" Steve asked.

"Something like that, I guess."

David just took a step back. He really couldn't relate to any of this. His father rarely even speaks to him so it's hard to know what his father thinks, let alone what he thinks of him. Besides, compared to what was going on, now, all of this seemed petty.

"C'mon, let's head back to my place, we can talk further there if you'd like," David said. Of course, David had other intentions with this walk. All he really wanted to do was clear his head a bit.

The others couldn't argue, it was better to talk about these things in private, even if no one even bothers to listen into their conversations.

As David stepped out, he suddenly noticed a large, bird-shaped shadow on the ground continually growing. Normally he wouldn't think about it, but he looked up out of curiosity, seeing a flaming bird starting to drop towards them. "We've got company," David muttered, holding an arm in front of the others.

The other three looked at David wondering if he was going nuts, but then looked up in the direction David was. Their eyes went wide, seeing the Birdramon dropping towards them, an imposing figure to any of the four. David was actually nervous, as a digimon in this world was always bad news.

"A digimon! This can't be real," Sam remarked.

"It is alright," Steve muttered, earning a strange look from Sam. Steve looked as surprised as any of them were, though.

"You knew of this?" Sam asked, earning a nod from Steve.

"So, you weren't making the story up about the Greymon in the park," Michael remarked.

"I told you that hoping to get your help for something, but Steve already provided that," David remarked. "We should run, I have to find V-mon fast."

"Don't bother..." V-mon said as he approached the four boys. He stood in front of David, looking ready to take on the bird digimon. However, the bird stopped, hovering over the boys by a few feet.

"So, there you are, brat," Birdramon muttered. The humans looked down at the blue lizard with confused expressions. David wondered what V-mon's story with this digimon was.

"What do you want, Birdramon?" V-mon asked, his glare seeming more vicious than even with his fight with Greymon. Whatever was going on now, V-mon was extremely upset over it.

"I don't see the point, but your father wants you back," the adult-level digimon replied. "Honestly, I should kill you, but your father insists that you've committed no crime."

V-mon's...father? David asked himself upon hearing the answer.

"You can tell Dad to fuck off. I'm not leaving here, even if you try to drag me back."

"Bad answer," Birdramon said grimly, as he dove at V-mon, claw spread, ready to grab him.

"V-mon!" David yelled, instinctively reaching for his D-Arc and the top card in his deck. David had to act fast, swiping a card through the reader on the side of the device. "Card Slash! Aero Wing!"

A pair of dragon wings appeared on V-mon's back, and before Birdramon's talon reached him, he had taken off and out of the talon's reach. The boys had to dive out of the way as the talon struck the pavement in front of them, tearing up the tarmac.

"A Tamer!" Birdramon bellowed at the realization, glaring down at David before turning to the now airborne V-mon. "After all that your father has done for you, you bond yourself to these humans?"

"So what if I did?" V-mon challenged. Of course, being partnered to David wasn't his fault, but he wouldn't mind angering members of the Dramon clan. "What Dad did to my sister was far worse a crime than this."

"That's why you ran away? You sympathized with that wench?"

V-mon glared, the memory of his sister's scream as she was sent through torture before she eventually died from it was burned in his memory. If he had to, he'd make the entire clan pay. "Of course, I do. Do you expect any less?"

"She got what she deserved," Birdramon replied. "But simply sympathizing with that infidel makes you no worse than her. Hell, you're worse for simply disgracing your father."

"Oh, shut up!" Sam finally yelled, grabbing the two digimon's attention. He was standing up from where he landed after Birdramon just missed the group. "V-mon! You did nothing wrong. I don't see why Birdramon is filling your head with all of this bull shit, but from what I heard, a father like yours deserves that disgrace."

Sam's outburst caught Steve and David by surprise, looking over their shoulders at the boy. Michael was standing right behind him, glaring up the two digimon. "We know what it's like, V-mon. To be disappointed in our own fathers. As bad as it sounds, we're used to it."

"I think you punks need to shut the hell up," Birdramon growled, about to unleash a Meteor Wing on the kids. Steve and David scrambled to their feet and rushed towards the two, preparing to tackle them to the ground.

"V-mon Head!" V-mon yelled as he rammed head first into Birdramon's beak, one of the few spots V-mon could make physical contact on the bird. He effectively disrupted Birdramon's attack as David and Steve brought the two boys to the ground.

"Sorry, guys," David apologized.

"No need, we thought Birdramon was going to attack, too," Michael replied, as they got up from the ground.

"You guys better leave. It's about to get way too dangerous here," David finally warned.

"And leave you alone with all the fun?" Steve asked in a seemingly joking matter. "We'll stick through this to the end."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, this isn't like the show," David said in a low tone. Then, his eyes went wide as fog started to engulf the area. "Another emergence? Now?"

"Too late," Sam muttered, as the kids got caught up within the now forming Digital Field.

David picked up his D-Arc, looking for the reading on the new threat. What he saw was a humanoid black dragon that looked like it had claws on its hands and wearing green pants. "Strike Dramon..."

"About time you got here," Birdramon muttered.

"What's the verdict now?" Strike Dramon asked as it appeared from within the fog.

"Kill them, along with those humans. They're all blasphemers," Birdramon said.

"We're not exactly pushovers here," David muttered, taking out the new card Steve gave him the day after Greymon's attack. "Card Slash!" David yelled as he slid the card through the reader. "Shining Evolution!"

The light V-mon was engulfed in radiated throughout the fog as evolution started to take place. "V-mon, evolve!"

"Induced evolution! Is that even possible?" Strike Dramon asked.

"You apparently have little knowledge on the Tamers," Birdramon muttered.

"V-DRAMON!" V-mon's new form yelled as it emerged, now a bulky blue dragon.

V-Dramon landed in front of Strike Dramon, the Aero Wing mod having dissipated during evolution.

"How dare you maintain a Dramon form!" Birdramon yelled. "A blasphemer should always have a lesser form."

"Oh, shut up. V- Breath Arrow!" V-Dramon lifted his head up at Birdramon and fired off and arrow of wind energy. Birdramon simply dodged the attack, just in time. Of course, the distraction gave Strike Dramon a much-wanted opening. Strike Dramon rushed towards V-Dramon striking out with one of his claws and sending the wind dragon flying a few feet into a parked car, crushing it between himself and the car behind it.

V-Dramon started scrambling to his feet and turned towards Strike Dramon in the process. He quickly fired off another V-Breath Arrow. The humanoid dragon started to charge towards V-Dramon and jumped as the attack came close, allowing it to hit a building. Strike Dramon started to fall towards V-Dramon, claws ready to strike.

In defense, V-Dramon caught the first claw in his hand, then grabbing the second hand Strike Dramon retaliated with. Both digimon were trying there hardest to throw each other off. Strike Dramon broke suddenly broke free before jumping back. Realizing something was up, V-Dramon suddenly crouched as flaming rocks rained down on him, absorbing a direct hit from Birdramon.

"V-Dramon!" Steve yelled out in concern, the other boys other than David showed the same concern.

"That got him!" Birdramon yelled out, already celebrating their victory.

"Don't be so sure," Strike Dramon muttered, realizing how strong V-Dramon really was from fighting within close combat.

V-Dramon stood up, burn marks showing from a direct hit from the flaming attack. "David! Do something about that damned Birdramon!"

David sighed in frustration, while the others did so in relief. "Easier said than done. I have one way but there's too many risks with it."

"What? Will it kill us too?" V-Dramon asked.

"It might as well," David muttered, looking down at the Fly Trap card in question. There was a lot of danger involved in grounding Birdramon, the bystanders below being the initial problem. However, there's also the fact that Birdramon is made of fire, he could easily burn the infrastructure around them.

"I don't care! Whatever damage we do couldn't possibly be worse than what they could do."

David just stared at the card for a few seconds before looking at the two digimon. Then, he suddenly told the other three. "I need your help. I need you three to clear as many people out of here as possible."

"What? What are you planning to do?" Michael asked, a bit skeptical.

"Just do it!" David snapped, before he slid the Fly Trap card through his D-Arc. "Make sure you hit him before he gets too close, V-Dramon!"

Birdramon started to panic as he felt himself being closer to the ground. A gravity well had just formed beneath him and he started flapping his wings wildly, trying to stay airborne.

Michael and the others' eyes went wide, thinking David was crazy. He could do more harm than good doing that, but they understood David's request. "What are you waiting for?" David practically yelled at the other three, before he rushed to help evacuate the bystanders.

"Now, this is more like it," V-Dramon remarked, prepared to finish off the bird.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Strike Dramon yelled, charging at the wind dragon. V-Dramon ducked as his opponent's claw swung over him. Then, Strike Dramon turned around and hit him from behind, sending him falling forward into the asphalt. He tried getting up, but he suddenly found himself being held down by the opposing dragon digimon.

"This is not good," V-Dramon muttered, as he struggled to get out of the submission hold.

David and the others were in a panic as their attempts to evacuate the area was generally failing. No one seemed to believe that the whole block might burn down in a matter of minutes. Of course, one police officer David tried to get help from threatened to arrest him for the threatening to commit Arson.

"Geez...are people just stupid or something?" David muttered.

V-Dramon was starting to get sick of struggling. He had more things to worry about as Birdramon was starting to get too close to a building. "Hate to do this, but..." V-Dramon remarked before opening his mouth and biting down on one of Strike Dramon's arms. Strike Dramon howled as the sharp pain ripped through his arm. He suddenly let go of V-Dramon, and nearly ripped his own arm off trying to pull it out of the wind dragon's mouth. The only reason he didn't was because V-Dramon let go.

"Yuck," V-Dramon remarked. "Never do that again." He stood up and threw Strike Dramon away before looking up at the helpless Birdramon. "V-Breath Arrow!" he yelled as he fired off another arrow at Birdramon, this one striking dead on and obliterating him into data just before it made contact with one of the buildings.

David sighed in relief as he looked to see Birdramon was gone, but there was still the matter of Strike Dramon, and he didn't look too happy.

"You...killed him," Strike Dramon said to him.

"Master of the obvious. What did you expect me to do?" V-Dramon remarked.

"DIE!" Strike Dramon made a war cry as he charged forward again. V-Dramon was running low on energy and could have used any boost at this point. Then, he felt his fists starting to be coated in metal. V-Dramon grinned as he realized David used one of his favorite modifications.

"Metal Hammer Attack!" V-Dramon yelled as he swung at the charging Strike Dramon, ripping right through the dragon's body, and causing him to disperse into data. V-Dramon quickly absorbed his data, after having missed Birdramon.

David suddenly fell to his knees, the D-Arc and Metal Attack card he used still in his hands. "Finally..." David muttered. This was a harder battle than even the battle with Greymon, even if this battle didn't result in any casualties, or rather, fewer casualties.

A cop looked on at the battle scene, seeing the wreckage done to the area from the battle that just ended. He wondered if he should arrest the boy, but then, he got a call. "Rock! Are you there?"

The officer held up his microphone to his mouth. "This is Rock."

"Whatever you do, don't arrest that boy. I just got orders from the federal government," the voice on the other side said.

"Don't arrest him? Why would the federal government even bother?"

"Don't ask me. It doesn't matter to me if the federal government decides to stick their noses into the life of some obscure punk."

"10-4." The officer replied before he set the microphone back onto his vest. "This boy is hardly a 'punk'," the officer muttered before turning away.

---

"Okay, now this is utter bull shit," Sam remarked, watching the coverage that was 'explaining' the damage caused from the battle earlier as a small riot.

"Riot my ass, they don't cause that kind of damage," Michael added. It seemed to David that neither of their moods really improved from earlier, and the battle didn't make things better.

"Man, were those people there today stupid or what?" Steve asked. "We even gave them warning about what might happen and none of them moved to get to safety."

"No kidding," David muttered. "It's a wonder why humanity has been able to survive at all." Then, David looked down at the digimon sitting with them in David's apartment. He seemed rather solemn now, which seemed out of character for him. "V-mon, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"We'll be seeing more battles like that from now on," V-mon said.

"Well, that's obvious," David muttered.

V-mon abruptly turned around and snapped back at David, causing David's eyes to widen in surprise. "You don't understand! The Dramon clan has marked us both for death by now!"

David just stared at V-mon waiting for an explanation. The other three boys just looked at each other even more confused. "What's going on here V-mon? You seem to know a lot. What have you been hiding?"

V-mon sighed, knowing full well he couldn't keep his past a secret anymore. "Those two digimon, I came from the same clan as them. In fact, my father is one of the most prominent followers, respected because he gained the clan power when it was starting to form."

"So, what's the big deal about this clan?" Michael asked.

"They all worship this powerful dragon digimon as a god, one that's bent on persecuting all inferior races. Of course, I hardly believe in this anymore."

"This dragon god couldn't be Qinglongmon? Could it?" Steve asked, remembering the four Digital Gods.

"Qinglongmon? HA! He and those other excuses for gods failed us when we needed them most. Why should we put our faith in a deity that has ultimately failed? This clan formed because we couldn't believe in them anymore, since they let my world fall to shambles three years ago when some entity called D-Reaper appeared, or so I've been told."

"Okay, so it's not Qinglongmon," Steve shrugged. He really didn't want to push this matter further. Especially, since something disturbed him about the mention of this 'D-Reaper'. There was this gap in his memory at about that timeframe. Looking around, the other three seemed just as disturbed.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. The Dramon clan is some kind of cult and your father happens to be one of the most famous evangelists of the clan," David explained, trying to summarize what V-mon had said.

"That's about right, though I don't understand what you said completely. And next to the dragon god himself, my dad has the most influence in the clan."

David try to let all that he learned settle in for a while, but a few more questions came up. "So, why did you run away? Apparently, you left the clan on your own will."

V-mon went silent for a while, looking down. "Because I saw my dad torture my sister to death."

If anyone were drinking something at the moment, someone would have done a spit take by then. "WHAT!" the boys asked at once. All of a sudden, what Sam and Michael had to deal with their fathers seemed minor.

"That persecution of all that are non-Dramon holds true if you evolve into a non-Dramon form. They consider evolution a rite of passage. My sister...evolved into a Stingmon and was tortured slowly for it until she died. After I ran away, I found out that such persecution went both ways, and many digimon have tried to kill me for once being part of the Dramon clan." Then, V-mon turned to David. "When you helped me thinking you were playing a game, you were literally saving my life."

"Would this persecution hold true towards humans, as well?" David asked.

"Yes, in fact, there is a certain tamer that most of the Dramon have an extreme hatred for. I don't know the details other than that."

Another tamer? Who? David asked himself. Then he remembered about Alice, the Tamer Jessa told him about.. This could explain why Alice ran away. Why stay here knowing you would be causing those close to you to be in so much danger? It was a thought that made David wish he could leave this place, to keep everyone from being killed.

"So, now I'm a target of their hatred," David said.

"Technically, all of humanity is. Now, you and I just made their 'Most Wanted' list."

"Just what I need," David muttered.

Steve then looked towards David. "Hey, Dave. Don't be getting any crazy ideas now. You can't handle this on your own."

"I know, but wouldn't it be better if I did?"

"Hell, no," was the immediate response from his friends. David could only smirk at the response. Now, that he knew what he was getting into, he needed to keep them safe from it, but they were right. He needed their help now more than ever.

---

Next chapter:

Entry 6: What Family?- Sometimes, family has a whole different definition.