And here's the new installment of the new Return to the Digital World. You'll notice a lot of differences from the original version, mostly Kōji not being stuck in jail, and Lexi having gotten over her crisis of whether she wants to be a Legendary Warrior after all.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any of its characters.
WORD COUNT: 1591
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
"Mamà, I'm going to hang out with Tomoki again!"
Juan was almost at the door when his mother called to him. "Juan, wait!" She came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her dish towel. "You're going out again? Where?"
He hesitated, then remembered which excuse he was using this time. "We're going to his friend Shin'ya's place. I should only be a couple hours."
"Well, I want you to text me every hour, is that understood?"
"Every hour?!"
"It's not that unreasonable. I just want to be sure that you're alright. Tomoki is a nice boy, but I don't know any of his friends. Please, just text me. It doesn't have to be anything long."
He sighed. "Yes, Mamà, I will. I'll be back soon."
"Alright, be safe, Niño."
He left the house and met up with Tomoki, who was just approaching the end of his driveway. "We'll have to make this quick," he told him, "Mamà wants me to text her every hour, and I don't think I can get a normal cell signal in the Digital World."
Tomoki frowned. "That might be trouble," he admitted, "What do you plan to do?"
"I don't know. What did you guys do last time? How did you keep your parents from worrying?"
"We didn't do anything. Because of how unstable the Digital World was, time flowed differently. We spent weeks in there, and never went back to our world; we couldn't. But when we got back after defeating Lucemon, only ten minutes had passed. We didn't have to deal with this double life thing."
Juan sighed. "Do you think I should tell them?"
"I don't know. I'd suggest talking it over with the others first."
Juan thought about it as they got on the train to Shibuya station. He really wanted to show his mother that he was older and stronger than she thought. Maybe if she saw that, she'd stop treating him like a little kid.
"It's a bad idea," Kōji stated, scrutinising the screen of his D-Scanner for signals of a Spirit.
"I don't know," Izumi mused, "Maybe it is best. I mean, if Juan's parents know what's at stake, maybe they won't interfere."
"Or maybe, if his mother's so overprotective, she'll panic and forbid Juan from getting involved."
The two of them, Kōichi, and Kyōsuke were searching for the Spirits of Darkness and the others, discussing the topic Juan had raised on the Trailmon ride there. The Legendary Warriors had split into three groups upon arrival at the forest terminal; Takuya, Shin'ya, and Junpei had gone north, Tomoki, Lexi, and Juan had headed west, and the twins went east with Izumi and Kyōsuke (they'd already scoured the south the day before).
"We'll never know, really," Kōichi pointed out, "Juan knows his parents best; it should be up to him."
Kyōsuke shrugged. "My parents and sister would freak. I'm not telling them anything."
"You have a sister?" Izumi asked.
"Yep, my older sister Juri. She has enough on her plate without worrying about me. She has a two-week-old daughter to take care of."
"Aww… what's her name?"
"Yōko. You should meet them."
The two continued talking about Kyōsuke's family while the twins pushed on ahead. "Speaking of secrets," Kōichi began, "We are eventually going to have to tell the new kids about Duskmon. Even Shin'ya doesn't know; Takuya left that out when he 'told him everything', but apparently he's been asking. And you heard Tomoki and Juan talking the other day. It's only a matter of time before Lexi and Kyōsuke get curious about our past adventures, too."
Kōji sighed. "Yeah, I accidentally mentioned Duskmon to Lexi earlier. She asked if anyone had gotten seriously hurt, and I mentioned that second battle…" He trailed off when the memory hit Kōichi and his shoulders sagged under the guilt. "Hey, it's not your fault. How many times do we have to tell you that?"
The elder twin managed a weak smile. "It's not something you easily get over," he admitted, "Even after five years."
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
Detective Diego Cortez had had a tiring day. He'd had to deal with a large number of small crimes from early morning until he finally got off shift near sunset. He was hoping to just lie down and relax when he got home, maybe catch a short nap before supper. When his son was waiting for him almost expectantly in the living room, though, he had a feeling that that wasn't going to happen. His wife and Juan's new friend Tomoki were waiting as well. "Are you sure you want to do this, dude?" Tomoki was asking, "The guys won't be all that happy, you know, and your parents might not believe you."
"Believe what?" Rosa sounded like she'd asked this question several times.
The boys ignored her. "I know, but I can't hide this from them," Juan replied, "It's just not what I do!"
"Okay, it's your decision, but I still don't think this is the safest idea."
"Papá!" Juan cried when he saw Diego coming into the room, "Dad, please, there's something you and Mom need to see!"
"Diego, believe me, I have no idea what he's going on about," Rosa insisted, "They won't tell me anything. Juan just up and told he had something very important to show us, and won't give me any details."
Diego returned his gaze to his young son. "Juan, I just got off work. Can't this wait?"
"No, I'm sorry, but it can't. We've got people waiting for us, so it has to be now."
Junpei tapped his foot impatiently, waiting with most of the other Legendary Warriors at the Shibuya Station's secret basement level. Juan and Tomoki still hadn't shown up, and he wasn't the only one getting impatient. Izumi was sweet-talking the Trailmon, Mole, into staying and waiting just a little bit longer, but they all knew she couldn't keep him there forever. "What is taking them so long?" Lexi asked. She was in a frustrated mood as she'd come close to what she thought was a lead on her older sister Londyn, but had actually turned out to be a dead end. She'd wound up knocking on the door of a girl who had no connection to Londyn or her band whatsoever.
The ding of the elevator had them all sighing with relief, until they caught sight of the two extra people accompanying Tomoki and Juan. They were a man and woman, both Hispanic with dark hair and eyes. "These are my parents," Juan explained, "I decided they should know about this stuff."
"What?" Kyōsuke cried, "Are you crazy?" The others also protested.
"I don't like lying to them! I can't keep this a secret, not without hating myself for it!"
Tomoki stepped forward. "For the record, I'm not a big fan of this idea, either, but it's Juan's choice."
Juan's parents were looking around the huge room in disbelief, whispering to each other in Spanish. Juan pulled his mother onto the Trailmon by the hand before anyone else could argue, so the rest had no choice but to follow.
They were eventually on their way on the Trailmon. Mr. and Mrs. Cortez looked around in stunned amazement. They still kept whispering to each other in Spanish, often throwing nervous glances in the others' directions.
When the bumpy part of the ride came, Junpei, who happened to be sitting right next to Mr. Cortez, had to grab the man by the arm to keep him from falling out of his seat. As he looked up to thank him, Junpei saw his eyes widen in shock. Mrs. Cortez was staring at her son with an equally surprised expression. Apparently, Juan had neglected to warn his parents that on this part of the ride, images appeared that showed the Warriors in their Humanoid Spirit forms.
"Yeah, that kinda happens every time," Takuya explained nonchalantly, "You get used to it real quick."
They arrived soon enough, and the Cortezes nearly screamed when they saw Bokomon and the other Digimon. "That's it!" Mr. Cortez put his foot down. "Juan, your mother and I are not taking another step until you tell us what is going on!"
Juan sighed. "This place is called the Digital World, and these creatures here are Digimon. There are some evil Digimon who want to take over, and… well…"
Junpei cut in, feeling he could probably explain it better. "There are extremely powerful Digimon Spirits that have chosen to bond with humans, and these humans are the Legendary Warriors."
"In other words, us," Takuya picked up, "And it's our job to keep the Digital World safe. Kōji, Tomoki, Izumi, Junpei, Kōichi, and I were chosen five years ago, and now there are four new members of our team: my little brother Shin'ya, Kyōsuke, Lexi, and…" The team leader pointed to each of his friends as he said their names, and paused to toss a significant glance at the Cortezes. "Juan. He's been chosen as one of the new Legendary Warriors."
And that's it until the 26th! Next chapter, we see Rosa and Diego's reactions to Juan's choices, and a new Spirit Search begins.
