Another Life

By Overlord Mordax

A/N: This isn't exactly a traditional Digimon fic; like the summary mentioned, it is based on a true story, names and specifics have been changed but the important things are portrayed accurately. That being said, please bare with me through this first chapter, I promise the traditional Digimon characters figure into the story more as it progresses, and strange and bizarre things begin to happen.

Disclaimer: Digimon 02 is copyrighted to Bandai. No copyright violation is intended, and this story is entirely non-profit. Many of the other characters are based on real people; their names have been changed as a courtesy.

Chapter One: Life as We Know it

There were some demons that you could only face alone. Ken knew his friends, Davis especially would say otherwise. But in the end it was he, not they, who would bear the mark of Cain to his grave. No matter how much forgiveness Ken received, he could still never forgive himself; the guilt and shame, though he tried not to show it, were burdens he thought he would always bear.

The lights were out, and his parents were asleep, and Ken sat there, bathed in the strange glow of his computer monitor; just staring. He was sixteen, nearly a man, and a student at the best high school in the country. He had the world at his feet, so why couldn't he be happy?

The light of the computer danced before his tired eyes like an eerie fire and in his mind he was reliving the triumphs and failures of his past

He was on his knees in the sand. He had made a mistake, a terrible mistake, worse than any mistake .He'd hurt and enslaved and…and…

And now he hand Wormmon in his arms, and now…

Now he didn't now he was gone.

No.

NO!

000

He opened his eyes… no, wait…

Hilde rubbed her eyes as she grasped around the window ledge for her glasses. She'd had that dream again. It was always so intense when she was asleep, like she was actually there, but it seemed to flee before the light of day. Hilde rubbed her eyes again and adjusted her nightshirt; the way it was tangled and twisted around her told the tale of tossing and turning.

She peered up at the alarm clock; she'd woken up almost half an hour before normal. She flopped back down on her pillow, the rim of her glasses pinching her temple. She wished that she knew what the dream meant. It felt important, and so real, but at the same time, so out there. Not to mention that it always left her feeling so sad.

Hilde lay there, her chestnut brown hair spread haphazard over the pillow as he mind drifted in that place between waking

Eventually the alarm sounded, jolting her out of her reverie, as she swatted at the buttons to silence the machine. Still she lay there a moment more until heard the voice of her preternaturally unsleepy mother in the doorway.

"Time to get up dear. You didn't sleep in your glasses, did you?"

Hilde sighed and opened her eyes. "No mom, I woke up a little while ago. Kinda."

"Alright, well, its time for you to get ready for school, so get dressed and brush your teeth, alright?"

"Yes, mom."

She hefted herself out from under the heavy covers as her mother retreated into the hallway. She stood and stretched, trying to work out the kinks and cramps in her muscles that were a constant plague. Couldn't she find a position to sleep in that didn't hurt?

Hilde glanced into the mirror that was perched on her dresser as she pulled out her day's attire. Her brown hair ended somewhere below her chin, and couldn't quite decide if it wanted to be straight or curly. She was short, but not diminutive, and there was no hiding that she was a bit pudgy, especially around the chest area. She supposed she should be pleased about that at least, but mostly her appearance was just frustrating.

She did like her eyes though, big and deep and dark, and just slightly almond shaped. Peering out behind her thick lenses they were more than a bit mysterious, or so Hilde liked to believe.

She shed her nightshirt and pulled on her clothes, navy blue slacks and a white oxford blouse, the uniform of her parochial high school. She still wasn't used to the uniform, it hardly being the end of September of her ninth grade year, but at least she no longer had to pick out what to wear in the morning. Fashion, the brunette reflected, was not one of her talents.

She ran a brush through her hair, but her bangs still hung in front of her face, and along with her glasses seemed to make up a barrier with which to hold the world at bay. She picked up her school bag from where it lay beside the computer and headed downstairs, careful not to make any noise that would wake her still sleeping father and older sister.

Her mom was sitting on the couch watching music videos, she was an accomplished lawyer, but still didn't seem to be able to let go of her teenage years.

"I'm ready, mom," Hilde said, leaning against the living room doorframe.

"Do you want some breakfast before we head out?"

Hilde shook her head. "No thanks."

Her mother gave a concerned look. "Are you alright sweetie? You seem upset this morning."

"I'm fine mom; I just had a weird dream."

"Well, alright, but you know I'm here if you need to talk."

"Okay."

000

Hilde sat alone at the long tables in the dimly lit cafeteria. There were five or so other students haunting the place with her at this early hour, but none she knew well enough yet to sit with.

If Hilde had been allowed to continue with public school she'd have been able to just take the bus to school. As it was, her mom had to drive her half an hour early so she could get to work on time. But, after years of public education her parents had decided they wanted her to go to the best school available, taking away the few school friends that she had been able to make. If she hadn't been so proud she might have deliberately flunked the entrance exam. Students never got to know their official score beyond pass or fail, but Hilde had heard a rumor that she had gotten an impressive hundred percent correct.

She sat at the table with her feet propped up on one of the unused plastic chairs across the way, in front of her, her binder was splayed open to reveal pages of computer printouts columns of text in tiny size five font that Hilde was reading avidly.

"Daaaaaamn, how do you read that?"

Hilde nearly jumped out of her skin and had a heart attack when the voice spoke about two inches from her ear. She recovered to find a seemingly a redheaded girl standing beside her, seemingly equally startled by her reaction.

"With my eyes," she snarked , leveling a cool gaze at the other girl "I find it keeps people from reading over my shoulder."

The redhead held up hr hands defensively, "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it."

Hilde sighed, "Sorry, its just everyone asks me that."

"Well, it's really small."

"It saves on paper, granted I'll probably go blind from reading it," she smirked.

"My mom says you'll go blind from, uh, never mind," she grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, what is it you're reading?"

She shrugged. "Harry Potter fanfic."

"Ooh, shiny!"

Hilde was taken aback, "You know fanfiction?"

"'Course I do," she replied, sitting down backwards on one of the empty chairs. "You're Hildegard Marshall, right?"

She nodded. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

"Natalie," she said, making a face of disgust, "Just call me Tally, kay?"

"Sure."

"Its nice to see I'm not the only fangirl here, finally. I was here for middle school too, and no dice."

"I went to a public school, but there weren't a lot of fans there, really. Not that I met at least." Hilde wasn't used to people randomly coming up to talk to her, she wondered if the girl, Tally, normally pounced on strangers, and was more than a little suspicious of her motives.

While the two of them had been chatting, the cafeteria was filling up with students and the first bell rang while they were talking about Harry Potter (Hilde had deftly steered the conversation away from more personal topics).

Hilde zipped up her binder and shoved it into her book bag. "I'd better get to class," she said.

"Okay! See you in English class!" Tally picked up her own bag, and Hilde watched bemused as she headed over for another tight knot of students. Hilde could just barely hear them asking her where she had been that morning.

000

Hilde was sitting through a rather dull history class; discussing colonization of the Americas for the nth day, she was bored stiff. She had finished the fic she had been reading the class before and didn't have anything else printed out. As such she sat with her chin on her palm staring blankly at the chalkboard. Why do I even bother coming to class, she wondered. I already know all this, more to the point; you already had us read the chapter for homework last night.

The brunette sighed, she wasn't one to brag, but sometimes being as intelligent as she was could be a burden. It had been suggested several years ago that she skip a grade or two but her parents had objected, saying it would impinge on her social life.

As if I have a social life, she pouted. Nice call, mom and dad. I'm bored academically, surrounded by stupid people, and I have no friends.

Granted, maybe having no friends was partially her own fault, but who could blame her for not wanting to play the sick popularity game? She had the time to change that, she supposed, being in a new school and all, but didn't have the inclination.

'This is stupid,' she thought, 'I miss my old friends.'

Her next thought was one of those thoughts that are gone almost before you can realize that you've had it. It was just a fleeting image, one of smiling familiar faces, people she thought she knew, as if from childhood, but creatures too.

Hilde struggled to hold onto the thought, to see it clearly, but it was gone as quick as it hd come. She shook her head. 'What was that?' she muttered. Then she realized that everyone in the room was staring at her, and that she was on the floor.

"Are you alright Miss Hilde?" the teacher asked.

She got up off the floor quickly, flushing with embarrassment, and glaring back at the class. "Fine, sorry. I had vertigo," she explained gruffly getting back in her chair and dusting off her slacks.

"Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"I'm fine," she stressed.

"Alright then, let's continue…."

Great, now everyone thinks I some kind of fool. She tapped her pencil on her notebook. So much for being popular even if I wanted to be, making an ass out of myself like that. What the hell was that anyway? Some kind of vision? I hate it when I can't figure out what my own thoughts are about. Its stupid.

The bell rang soon enough, and Hilde jostled herself through the push of the hallway throng, her classmates up ahead were whispering, and Hilde couldn't help but feel they must be talking about her. She clenched the strap of her book bag. What did they know, anyway?

In the English classroom Hilde found her seat, the one in the front, closest to the door, and took out her things. Soon enough that redheaded girl, Tally, from earlier ambled into the room and sat down in the seat beside her.

I guess I am oblivious sometimes, Hilde thought. She sits right next to me and I didn't even know who the heck she is.

"Hi!" Tally greeted with a smile, thwacking her books down on the desk.

"Hey," Hilde replied.

"How was class?"

'Terrible,' Hilde didn't say. She shrugged. "Passable."

"You don't look so good, ya know?"

"I didn't have breakfast," Hilde dodged.

Tally cocked an eyebrow. "You're planning on having lunch, right?"

"As if I could go without lunch," she rolled her eyes and leaned on hand.

"Smile or I will poke you," Tally threatened.

Hilde stared at her. "I don't mean to be mean or anything, but why are you talking to me anyway? It's obvious you already have friends."

Tally looked a little hurt. "You looked lonely," she explained. "And I'm early in the morning sometimes, and you like fanfiction. So that makes you cool in my book."

Hilde chuckled. "Cool, huh? I'm not sure I can live up to that epithet."

"Sure you can! You're doing it already!"

The brunette rolled her eyes, but laughed just the same.

"Alright class," the matronly English teacher proclaimed, "Let's get started."

To be continued…