Never Forget

By: Aubrie1234

This is my tribute to 9/11, so I hope I do good.

"Thanks again for helping us set this up, guys." Christopher said. He, Michael, Willis, and Thomas were in a refurbished cave, setting up decorations, tables & chairs, and a video system for the next day. The ones who had made it possible for all of this to be happening were the Royal Knights, who were also helping the boys with the decorations and such, since not even their partner digimon knew about this.

"It's no trouble at all, Christopher." Examon said, "After we learned what happened there 14 years ago..." he shook his head, "That was a horrible day for you."

"For all Americans and those of us who have American friends, it was, not to mention those of us who saw it in New York City ourselves and those of us who were visiting America at the time.." Thomas said, "But, the Americans got their revenge 10 years after what happened, and it was great for everyone."

"And tomorrow, everyone is an honorary American, even the digimon." Magnamon said, "That is something special, to make someone an honorary person of that country for a day."

"Well, that day is so special to us, it's more than an honor. It's something I can't really describe, but it's very special to us, like the Bombing of Pearl Harbor." Willis said, "Especially to Michael and I. We were living in America when it happened."

"And I was with my father at his company's headquarters while Thomas was studying to get through college. We all know the feelings of that day." Christopher said, "Don't forget, though, other American DigiDestined are coming as well as our friends and, though I hate to say it, we will need to show those who don't know the tragedies of that day."

"Thomas and I have that covered." Michael said, "Thomas is putting together the videos of what happened 14 years ago, and I'm making a music video to show at the end."

"This celebration of your's... This will be something no one will forget." Omnimon said.

"Yeah, but tomorrow isn't exactly a day of celebration, Omnimon." Willis said, "It's a day where we mourn those who lost their lives, praise the ones who gave their lives to help others, celebrate that the leader behind that horrible plot is gone, grieve for the special ones we lost...We feel many things on that day, too many to just name one to represent it all."

"Hmm..." Gallantmon said as he looked at the clock, "It's late, and you boys have a big day tomorrow. You should go home."

"Not until this is finished." Michael said, and the other three agreed.

"We'll finish this." UlforceVeedramon said, "Go home and sleep, all of you. Your friends and digimon are probably worried."

"But-"

"Go, boys." Kentaurosmon nudged Thomas with a hoof, "Like UlforceVeedramon said, we'll handle this." The boys sighed.

"Fine, you win. But let us give you some guidelines." Christopher relented.

"I wonder why they asked us to come with them." Gumdramon said, "There isn't really a reason for us to come."

"Well, they asked us, and we did, because this was important to them." Koji said. It was the next day, and the DigiDestined were going to the special event, having been invited by their friends, and all were dressed nicely in tuxes and dresses.

"Koji's right. Sept. 11 is an important day to Thomas, among others." Yoshi said, "And today maybe we'll finally learn why."

"What do you think made today so special to them that they set up this whole event?" Armadillomon asked, "I never took Willis for a really emotional guy, just a bit shy."

"Well, like Yoshi said, maybe we'll learn it today." Palmon said.

"We must be respectful to them, however." Renamon said, "This day seems too special to them to be played with." Everyone nodded and continued on their journey to the cave. They spotted it by seeing Omnimon and Examon waiting at the entrance.

"Good to see you, DigiDestined." Omnimon nodded, "The others are waiting inside." Going inside, they saw that the cave had been decorated with American symbols; two life-sized American flags hung from opposite walls, the tablecloths had the American flag pattern, large posters of a city skyline, a field, and a large pentagon-shaped building covered the rest of the walls, a clock with an American flag picture on it hung to the right, two banners with different sentences hung from the ceiling, the chairs had American flag patterned cushions, and a screen took up the entire back wall, where a projector was hooked into the ceiling and a podium stood in front of it. Michael, Willis, Thomas, and Christopher were there, making sure that nothing was out of place as Thomas and Michael finished the videos, and they were also wearing fancy tuxes. Their respective digimon partners were waiting at the large table right in front of the cave entrance, which was the farthest from the screen, and the rest of the Royal Knights were scattered throughout the cave, standing like guards.

"Guys!" Willis' Terriermon, Lopmon, and Michael's Betamon said as the others entered.

"Hey!" Marcus and his Agumon greeted them.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Ryo asked.

"Almost." Christopher said, "Thomas and Michael are finishing the videos they're making for the event, and we're still waiting for the rest of the American DigiDestined."

"What do you think of the decorations?" Willis asked.

"They're amazing. How did you do all this?" Davis asked.

"You should be thanking the Royal Knights." Michael said, "They're the ones who found the cave and helped us decorate in time."

"It was no trouble at all." Dynasmon said, "We were happy to help."

"And everything seems in order." Christopher turn to Thomas, "Are you almost done?"

"Yes. Just a little longer for the music video."

Soon enough, the rest of the American DigiDestined had turned up, and everyone had taken their seats except Thomas, who went up to the podium.

"Good day, everyone!" he said, "Before we begin, I have some announcements to make. First of all, this was made possible by the help of the Royal Knights." There were many claps before Thomas continued, which he did with a bit of a heavy heart.

"As some of you may know, most of the digimon and our friends don't know why this day is special to us, which is why, with some consent from Christopher, Willis, and Michael, I have decided that we should see the videos of the events as we take turns explaining why today is so important to us. At the end, though, there will be a music video Michael made to honor today, which will hopefully cheer our spirits. I'll let Willis do intoductions." He backed down as Willis took the podium.

"Thank you, Thomas. Well, to start off, today is September 11, 2015, the 14th anniversary of what is also known as 9/11. As I told Omnimon yesterday while we were decorating, today is a day that can't be described by a single word. Today, we mourn the loss of who lost their lives, our loved ones, and our friends, praise those who gave their lives trying to save so many others, celebrate that the evil leader behind the plot is gone, and so much more. The banners we hung say that today, we are honorary Americans, and that we will never forget that day for the rest of our lives." As Willis said, one banner said 'Today, We Are Honorary Americans' and the other said 'NEVER FORGET', "And, as it probably seems to some of you, why are Thomas and Christopher As sad about today as we are, even though they aren't Americans? Well, when I asked about it, it seems Christopher was in America with his father, at his company's New York headquarters, and Thomas had been studying for college in America when it happened, so they saw what we saw and felt what we felt. I'll let Christopher take over for the time-line." Christopher nodded to Willis as he took the boy's place on the podium.

"Thanks, Willis. As he said, I'll explain the time-line of what happened, and videos will be played on the screen behind me as I explain. First, a terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda with their leader, Osama Bin Laden planned the attacks of 9/11 very well, which is how so many people died today. They wanted to show the world that not even a superpower like America was safe from terror on its own soil. They had four terrorists go to the US and get on four separate planes, which they hijacked. The first attack came at about 8:46 AM, where one of the planes hit the North Tower, one of the Twin Towers, also known as the World Trade Centers." Michael, who was at the computer, played the video of the plane crash, making many stare in shock; this was worse than what the DigiDestined had thought.

"The next attack was about 20 min. later, where the second plane hit the second tower, with is the South Tower." Another video of the attack was shown, "After that, the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, was hit by a third plane." The attacks were making many cry, though they stayed strong and silent, "And then, the Second Tower collapsed." The collapse of the tower made a few gasp, "Then the fourth plane...The people on board might not have known what had been happening in America, but they knew that they were hijacked, so they did something very courageous: they got a hold of the plane form the hijacker and crashed it in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all of them. And, finally, the North Tower collapsed." The DigiDestined's hearts ached for their friends, and for this great tragedy, "This brings me to something I wanted to mention. You all know of the Digital Emergency Scale we made after the Quartzmon Incident, and if you ask me, this tragedy goes on that scale right before the Quartzmon Incident. To me, where I saw it with my own eyes, it was that bad.

"And, do you know what makes a hero? A hero isn't a digimon or someone who wears a cape and mask; a hero is someone who would rather save someone else's life instead of their own. They'd rather care for another than themselves. About 3,000 were killed today 14 years ago, and so many of them were heroes because they went into those towers and tried to save as many people as they could. We got our vengeance for today on May 2, 2011, where a team of American SEALs killed Bin Laden at last, but we can never get back the people we lost, the people who were killed in the 9/11 attacks, or the heroes who sacrificed everything to save who they could. We lost so much today, but we will never forget. WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" There were cheers from everyone, human and digimon alike, at Christopher's call. He then gave the podium back to Thomas.

"Now all of you know why today is so special. But, even with the tragedy of that day still heavy on everyone, did you know what the Americans did? They held their heads high and rebuilt. No matter what happens, America rebuilds. Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin Tornado knocked the cities down, but they got back up and rebuilt. And today, at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers once stood, at the Pentagon, and even at the field, there are memorials." The screen showed more videos, but they were made of the 9/11 memorials instead, "The most famous of the memorials is in NYC, where there are two pools to show where the Twin Towers once stood, a plaque around them that lists the names of those who died or were missing, underneath is a museum dedicated to showing others the history and effects of 9/11, and finally, there is the 1 World Trade Center. It's the tallest building in the US, and it shows the years of hard work everyone put in to it, showing that America is strong and never gives up. Now, as we promised at the beginning, here is the music video that will hopefully lift our spirits." Thomas stepped away from the podium and went back to his seat as the video started to play, showing pictures of the events of 9/11 and America's rebuild, with the song Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day playing as well.

"Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last; wake me up when September ends. Like my father's come to pass, seven years has gone so fast; wake me up when September ends. Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars; drenched in my pain again, becoming who we are.

"As my memory rests, but never forgets what I lost; wake me up when September ends. Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last; wake me up when September ends. Ring out the bells again, like we did when spring began; wake me up when September ends. Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars; drenched in my pain again, becoming who we are.

"As my memory rests, but never forgets what I lost; wake me up when September ends. Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last; wake me up when September ends. Like my father's come to pass, twenty years has gone so fast; wake me up when September ends, wake me up when September ends, wake me up when September ends..." Everyone clapped before going to talk with each other.

"So that's why today is so special to you." MailBirdramon said, "You saw those horrible events."

"Yeah, but I grew stronger because of it and I've pushed on, never forgetting that day. Who could?"

"It made everyone grow stronger, not just Americans." Ken said, "It made all of us strong, now that we've seen it."

"This just shows that humans can be worse than digimon, but that there is still good in the world." Tai said, "This is something we'll never forget."

"Thanks for showing us, guys. Momentai." Henry's Terriermon said, making the peace sign.

"Thank you, all of you." Michael said gratefully as the event continued on.

9/11 should never be forgotten. And I mean this story. I never really saw 9/11 with my own eyes, but I've seen the videos, and it was horrific. I hope this was a good representation of America's feelings, and my own, for that day.