Chemical Burn (Alicia)

"Heck, I'd be dead if it wasn't for her!"

Oooh, too much there, Elliot. Even if that was the complete truth, that's also the kind of thing that will get way too many questions asked. The chipper boy paled a little as he realized his slip-up, Isaac quickly trying to find a way to verbally worm their way out of the ensuing awkwardness.

"Y-yeah!" the boy said, trying to keep a poker face. "We were at the, uh-" Think, think! "Train station! It was our first time in Shibuya, so we were pretty lost, and she helped show us the way back. We owe her big time for that one." Well, if the fight with Ulysses counted for anything, she sure as heck helped them not lose their mortal coil. Through a certain definition of the truth, Isaac was being completely honest. He just left out all the parts involving fights and giant robots.

Would Morgan and Jeremy even come close to being fooled? Isaac could only hope Jeremy would be in his corner for wiggling out of this problem.

At least now dinner could distract the boy from his hasty attempt at salvaging the situation. Isaac and Elliot both began to eat, the latter's plate vanishing far more quickly. Elliot was even hungrier after his near-death experience, and that meant even the most filling cooking didn't stand much chance. Isaac sighed in relief, seeing that his brother was well and truly back to normal, and cast a glance over to the happy family.

Alicia? Not looking stressed out and warn? Jeez, it was a miracle! Isaac found himself grinning slightly, thankful that such a great friend was finding peace.

"Oh, I know, right? Elliot's a total drama queen sometimes," Isaac said, tossing his brother right under the bus for the sake of the group's believability. "You should see him when he does badly on a test. You'd think it was the end of the world going on." There was a little kernel of truth to that. Elliot was the kind of guy who got bummed over a B and cried over Cs. It made the delivery of this bit far more believable than the train station debacle. Elliot's embarrassed blush further sold it, confirming Isaac's suspicion that real life was the best actor of them all.

Thankfully, now food was coming along to distract Elliot from his embarrassment. "Oh, that sounds great!" he said, maybe a tiny bit too eager for it. She was right, though. Taking on Sandiramon's form for an extended period of time and fighting to the point of grievous injury ate up so much of Elliot's energy. At this point, Elliot was fairly sure he could take on an entire three course meal. For now, extra crab cakes would have to fill the gap.

Isaac realized that this meant Alicia would have to leave to bring the cakes. That means they'd be alone with Jeremy and Morgan. Something told Isaac that he wouldn't be able to get Morgan off of their case nearly as easily when Alicia wasn't there. In a way it was hilarious. She was the common element tying them together, and one of the strongest spirit users that the brothers ever knew. Despite this, she was the only one to be left out of the loop here. It made very little sense, and Isaac found himself hoping that at some point Jeremy would just ask her about it. It was getting agonizing sitting through all of this I-know you-know nonsense, and he had the feeling that Jeremy would be feeling the same. It was hard being the most up to date guys in the room, wasn't it?

"Had a feeling he'd figure out," Isaac said, trying hard to hide his relief. Elliot, on the other hand . . .

"Wait, you knew? Like, both of you?"

"Okay, gonna dial it back a bit so Elliot can catch up," Isaac interrupted. "Jeremy's a Spirit User too. He's been pulling the same tricks Alicia has, and that we have, and judging by the lid just getting blown off of it all those tricks really don't work well. In other words? It's probably only a matter of time before mom finds out and we're screwed."

Well, that put the fear of god into Elliot. The boy paled nervously, as he realized that Alicia treating his wound saved him from a very long, very awkward conversation. Unfortunately, now he was smack dab in the middle of an even longer, even more awkward conversation, of which he was the second-slowest person on the draw. It still left him utterly baffled that Alicia of all people was the last person to be aware of what was going on. He wondered if they should just stop dancing around all of this and tell her the truth at this point, for both their sake and for hers.

"Yeah. We're all in on it," Isaac admitted. "But it's okay! We can all protect ourselves. Especially Alicia. She's kind of a huge badass, you know," he said, hoping to lessen the blow of Morgan and Jeremy finding out that their sister was routinely going on dangerous extradimensional adventures. "The stuff we do is pretty unbelievable, though. I gotta admit, even I don't believe what's going on half of the time."

"You guys aren't going to be mad, are you? I promise, we wouldn't let anything bad happen to her!"

Wait, huge revolution, what? That would have to be something the brothers asked about later, though, because they heard Alicia coming. Any last comments made would have to be quick ones, like on the nature of brotherly worrying. That was something Isaac had at least ten years of experience with, and that's only because for the other 3 years he was too young to understand proper big brotherliness. "You're talking to a professional here," he assured Jeremy, laughing a little. "And it only got harder now that I ended up in the Digital World. You wouldn't believe the kinds of stuff I've had to help bail Elliot out from." And vice-versa!

And then Alicia came back. And then Jeremy just blew the lid off of the situation. There goes hiding it, but truth be told Isaac was thankful for that. It was getting downright painful trying to keep all of that hidden, especially with literally everybody but Alicia being in on it. If Jeremy and Morgan didn't say anything about it, Isaac probably would have in a moment of frustration. Still, now that the secret was out, he figured it was about time he own up to his own role in it all. Withholding secrets was always a point of guilt for him, and it was only fair that he admit his own culpability. "I'm sorry. He basically already caught on. I figured at that point, letting him know what happened was the easiest thing," he said. "And then Morgan solved it all on his own."

"What was it like when you were in the Digital World?" Elliot asked, briefly shifting the topic back to Jeremy. He had the feeling Alicia would like to know more about her brother's time there, while also having less eyes on her right now. Nobody liked walking into a room and suddenly being the focus of all the attention! Besides, he was really curious about Jeremy's adventures.

"Sounds like my kind of problem solving," Isaac remarked, thinking back to all of the times he flung himself into danger just to protect Elliot from harm. Even before the whole Digimon thing started, KOing a thug with a Monster Manual to the head was simultaneously a ballsy move and complete idiocy. It still left Isaac amazed that he came out of that with only bruised up ribs. If not for that Flamon, would he have even been half as lucky? Yeah, that seemed to be the trick. Equal parts luck and pure determination. It sounded like Jeremy had all of that, but also the skill to back it all up. It was a shame. He'd be an amazing mentor if he didn't end up stepping down.

Of course, with what Jeremy had to say next, Isaac had no qualms about his stepping down. Did he seriously fight to the near-death just trying to scare off a Digimon of a higher level? That was crazy! Both brothers were locked in a strange mix of awe and concern at this news. "You're okay now, though. Right?" Elliot asked, trying to find the right words. How was he supposed to say that he, too, had a bad experience that left him downright terrified? How the heck did Jeremy come out of that as more than a walking corpse? Elliot wished he could find something, anything at all, to try and comfort Jeremy, but deep down he knew he was years too late.

Isaac, too, was lost for words, but unlike Elliot he could force himself to find them. "You're a really brave guy, you know that?" he said, smiling weakly at Jeremy. "You've done a ton of good. Now rest." The words themselves may not have been great, but Isaac's voice was as warm and genuine as it had ever been. He hoped it would be enough.

"Yep. You got that right," Isaac said. Jeremy's statement was both figurative and so, so literal. Elliot's battle scar was likely only going to be the first of many. And mentally, there was especially going back. Isaac couldn't help but feel bad about all of the things that Elliot had seen so far, and he knew it was all starting to catch up to him as well. A shame that, as far as things going bad, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Who knows what would be next?

The two brothers could only nod at Jeremy's statement. It was basically the only reason why they kept going to the Digital World, a place that to them had always been one of danger instead of whimsy. When one's first day was being press-ganged by a tank and interrogated by a dark knight, one couldn't really build up a positive mental picture of the place so easily. Being heroes wasn't a bonus or side perk of being in the Digital World. It was their only reason. If it came at the risk of their bodies and well-being, both mental and physical, so be it. Isaac just wished he could spare Elliot of that burden and take it all on his own shoulders. He was too young to have to be making such decisions.

At mention of a certain fairy, Elliot found himself groaning in mock-agony. "Nooo, why'd you have to bring her up?" he pleaded, Isaac casting a confused glance at the three goofballs currently joking around.

"But yeah. None of us two have to deal with it either. Sorry, Alicia. I guess you're just kinda on your own with this one, Isaac remarked.

"Not when she's got Sol and Kisara, she's not!" Ice cold, Elliot.