OOC:
i apologize to @Sketchie if i was overstepping about "Great-grandpa Morgenstern" but i kinda went brrrr writing this and tried to keep it as vague as possible buy if you have any objections just tell me
Grace Clemens
Light
A Hotel in Potsdam, Germany
To say they were lucky was an understatement.
It was just one day. Just one. Okay, maybe two or four. But still. Grace was very aware that, were it not for how eccentric Grandpa and Grunkle were about food, there was a high chance she and her family would've been among the casualties in Berlin now. The two had been chasing the rumors of an elusive "wandering chef" Digimon and had
insisted on hunting it down, otherwise they wouldn't have another chance. Everyone had been fondly exasperated at their antics, but played along since there was no harm, and this wasn't the first time the rest of the family indulged one of their members, especially grandpa what with his age. And that soon turned into great satisfaction as they did manage to find the wandering chef they had been looking for.
That had soon turned into horrified realization at how close all of them had been to death were it not for that indulgence.
Yet despite that incredible stroke...
"
...the number of casualties are still unknown as of this time. However, experts estimate the amount to be around the..."
...Grace couldn't help but worry.
She knew she should be grateful, but she still couldn't help herself. Her dad was out doing what he could to find them a more permenant place to stay, her mom was out there among the emergency medical forces, helping the closest hospital dealing with casualities, and Grunkle Ignis was with her, after Grandpa insisted she had some form of protectiin against any possible forces the new Beelzemon Blast Mode. Mom only gave in because, well...
"You all right, Grandpa?"
The old man jolted from his reverie. The beginnings of a smile meant to reassure her was on his face, but it was but for a moment, as he stopped and stared. Grace just sat there and met his blank gaze. Then he he sighed and said, his smile and tone rueful,
"No. I'm not."
...her grandpa was taking it hard.
"Do you really think it's him?" she said.
And by him, she meant one of the Seven Demon Lords he had faced when he was younger. Much, much younger. She still remembered all the stories of his adventures with his friends. Eight Champions of Virtue with eight Digimon partners fighting against Seven Demons of Sin and their Beast of Armageddon.
She also remembered how he had said they were defeated and banished from both the Digital and Human Worlds.
"I mean, it could always just be another Beelzemon picking up where the old one left off. There isn't only one Beelzemon."
They should know. Back in Keilhau they were good friends and neighbors with one, as he had been a nurse colleague of Mom's that was ostracized after the defeat of the Demon Lord Beelzemon for, well, being the same species as the Demon Lord.
Grandpa's smile was briefly amused before it returned to being guilt-ridden. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"Why?"
"I'd know Punk Wannabe when I see him. And it's him all right. New duds, sure, but..."
"Same vibe...?"
"Yeah. Same vibe."
Silence weighed down by possibilities.
But Grace had to ask. If not for her sake, then for Grandpa's.
"...so that means Olympos XII will do something about it, right? Like for you and your friends?"
"...yeah. They would."
Now it was silence weighed down by the unknown.
Grandpa stared at hee.
Grace frowned.
"Grandpa...?"
She was tempted to ask what was wrong, but she knew that look. It was that look whenever he was thinking up a new recipe. In other words, it was that look when he was deep in thought, but when make a move soon enough. So Grace waited.
And then her grandpa sighed.
"I hate to do this, but..."
Grace blinked as she stared at her hand.
Her hand holding a Digivice.
His Digivice.
"Grandpa?" she began, confused.
Then he said, "I have a feeling you're gonna need this, my little star."
She froze.
Then:
"
Me?"
He couldn't...
He couldn't mean what he was implying, right?
"Grandpa, don't make a joke about this. Mom and Dad are gonna get mad."
Because she knew, despite Grandpa not regretting any of it, he still had nightmares about the War (yes, capital "W" included...one of the many ways Grandpa liked to cope with it: being overdramatic to the point of it being a joke).
Yet she knew he wasn't. Not with that self-hating look in his eye as he said, a bit to her confusion,
"You remember what's my Crest, right?"
Still, she was off kilter, so she played along and said, "Yeah, I remember. It was Light."
"Well... I remember talking to Morg, Crest of Hope, about it. Haha, he was one of the first I made friends with since I could actually
understand what he was saying since he was, y'know, speaking German. But anyway... Ahem. I wondered what in the world was the difference between mine and his. Because..."
"Light is usually a symbolism for Hope."
"Yeah. But then I figured out what was the difference for me."
"For real?"
"Yeah, 'for real'. Hope is about finding the good in the darkness. Light is about being good, protecting good and guiding good." It was then that his smile, thought it was still rueful, took on a proud tinge. "And right now, I can't do that. But I know you can. 'Cause if there's another good thing about being the old..." To her delight, Grandpa's bright smile returned in full force. "...is that I'm now the old mentor guy so I notice things others don't."
Grace couldn't help but laugh.
Soon enough, she was joined by Grandpa.
And the two kept going and going until they could no more.
At that point, Grace was feeling much lighter. So much so that now she could look at the Digivice in a mix of awe and anxiety.
After all...
"...are you really sure I'm gonna be a Crest Holder, Grandpa?"
...this wasn't something she should be excited over...but she was. There was a part of her excited over helping to save the world from Beelzemon Blast Mode, and whatever other threat that surely must be behind him, because there was always a chance of a villainous mastermind behind world ending events. Even though she knew that she would essentially become a child soldier if her grandpa's guess comes true.
To that, Grandpa said,
"If there's one thing I've learned from being my life, as a 'hero', as a dad...and as a grandpa...is that hunches aren't something you can ignore. Why else did Ignis and I hunt after those rumors?"
A shared chuckle before she said, "All right."
Grandpa was the one of the "previous generation Chosen Ones". She would trust his experience.
"Good." Now he was in his "eccentric old teacher mode" as he said, "Looks like I gotta teach you a bunch of things now. Like manuevers for dodging so you won't get hurt and different ways of communicating with your Digimon partner so that you can still give orders even when you're far away or something and survival techniques to camp out even if you don't have camping equipment and..."
"...Grandpa. You know Mom and Dad are gonna kill you if you're right, right?"
"Not if Ignis gets me first."
Another laugh shared between the old and the not-quite-yet-but-still-new Crest of Light.
Not that either of them knew at the time.
All they knew for sure was that they were going to be in big trouble withthe rest of the family...
...before they support them with all they had.