The New Girl
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, the crests, etc. I do own the character Dana, and I own her Digimon, Tigermon. Companies that do own Digimon, it'll be worthless to sue me, because you couldn't even do one paycheck with my money (I'm just a kid), and my other stuff would be entirely worthless to you.
It seemed to be a normal day back in the Digiworld. In fact, it was normal until lunchtime that afternoon. A very small rainbow portal dumped out a little girl. A Digimon came running up. "Dana, where have you been? I've been looking for you for years!" The scared Digidestined watched this event take place.
"My name is Dana. Umm, sorry if I came at a bad time. I just grabbed this thing and the next thing I knew I was here!" Dana turned to face the Digimon beside her. "Who are you?"
"I'm your Digimon! My name is Tigermon!" The creature said. "Welcome to the Digiworld, Dana!"
The Digidestined began the story of what had happened to them. Kari told her little part. Then, Dana began her story. "It all began about 5 years ago. I was hurt badly during an accident. I lost a whole lot of blood. I was rescued and I lived, but I was in a coma for 4 ½ years. After I woke up, I was stuck in bed for another 5 months, and I wasn't allowed to do practically anything for a week after that. Eventually, I was able to do some other things, and then, this morning, I went to the park. After ½ a day of fun, I got separated from my family for a minute, and I found this Digivice and this tag. I don't have a crest yet."
The group of 18 (9 kids and 9 Digimon) began their search for Dana's crest. They looked in trees, in wells, in old places they'd found crests, and where there was trouble. No crest. Dana began to wonder if she even had a crest. TK reminded her not to give up hope. Dana smiled at the little boy. She automatically hid her fear that she didn't have a crest. TK seemed happier. She helped everyone when Sora couldn't one day. Tai wondered if Dana was supposed to have the crest of love. But Dana knew that couldn't be true, because she had never known any of them before she'd fallen in.
Finally, they found her crest. It was lying at the bottom of a stream. After a little work, Izzy figured out what it was. "Well, Dana, you have the Crest of Empathy."
TK was a little confused. "What's empathy?"
"Well," began Sora, "It's, well, TK, when you were separated from Matt, you know how you felt, right?" The answer was yes. "You know that Kari was separated from Tai, right?" Yes again. "Well, you could tell her you know how she felt, right?" Yes. "That's empathy. Empathy is when you know how someone feels. But you don't have to have been in the same situation." TK seemed to understand.
Dana and Tigermon were keeping watch over the group that night. Dana was crying. "I don't feel good." Dana said. She felt dizziness. Tigermon watched her and became worried. Dana looked at her watch. Tai should be coming in a minute. Tai was already coming up toward them. He stood, with Agumon, waiting for one minute… 50 seconds… He heard a thud, followed by a gasp. He looked up. Dana had fallen down onto the jagged rocks behind her. She had cuts all down her back, and was unconscious. Tai ran back to camp. "It's Dana! She's passed out! She fell backwards onto those jagged rocks, and she's bleeding bad!" Everyone woke up with a start.
Dana woke up. It seemed to be in the day. She hugged Tigermon. "You must have been so worried! I'm so, so, sorry, Tigermon. I couldn't control it. I'm so sorry."
Sora and Biyomon, who'd been watching them, smiled a hidden smile at each other. Sora looked down at the girl as Biyomon ran to spread the news that Dana had woken up. "Sorry to break up a reunion, but I was wondering how you feel now. You've been asleep for about a month now. In our time, that is. Anyway, are you okay?"
Dana wanted to scream. "What do you mean 'in our time'? A full month? Oh, I'm so sorry…"
Sora looked at her for a minute. "There's a time difference. It's only been about 5 minutes in the real world. Your parents probably don't know that you're missing yet. Are you okay?" Sora repeated.
"Well, I'm a little dizzy, but that wore off last time after a few days… What happened?"
"Tai was waiting to take over your shift. He heard you fall and called the rest of us. We stopped the bleeding on your back from those rocks, and found shelter in a cave. Izzy thought that fresh air might be good for you, so we took you out here. Guess he was right."
Dana smiled. Suddenly, there were shouts of, "She is awake!" and "Where's my penny?" and "I can't believe it! It worked!" and "Oh, Dana." Everyone was very happy to see her awake.
"I'm so sorry. I really couldn't help it. I didn't have a choice. I felt so dizzy that I couldn't even sit up. Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I do that. I've done it by accident 4 times counting this one. At home when I do that, it can be sort of good, because every time I pass out and get hurt, I go to a hospital far from my house. When I come back, I find out something happened in the neighborhood that I didn't need to be there during, like once someone stole all the cars but not my family's because we weren't there. I wonder if anything happened back there. But I'm so sorry!" Sora realized that Dana had just said the longest thing she'd ever said since she'd gotten there. Izzy wondered if maybe her theory was true.
Tigermon helped Dana with many things. Dana wondered why she was healing so fast. Matt told her that the healing process went much faster here. After a few days, "It was 3 weeks the last times"; Dana was able to walk with help. Dana tried to do way to many things on her own. She wanted it to be easy on the others. But every time, she wouldn't be able to do whatever it was. She kept trying anyway. The group made it back to the area they'd been at. It looked like a tornado had blown through. After talking to the local Digimon, they discovered that there had been a tornado. "Lucky we were out of here." Tai said.
Dana waited for a few days. Her patience finally paid off, and she was able to do work with everyone else. It was then that why she got her crest finally shone through.
The group was split up. It was groups of 3. Dana ended up with Tai and Matt. She looked at the pair, watching them argue. She broke up every fight she could. She finally walked up to them. "You're worried about TK, Matt. There's no shame in that. You don't have to torture others to let your feelings out. Tai, you're worried about Kari. I'm sure they're okay. They've got someone to protect them." Tai and Matt looked at Dana, then at each other. Dana had guessed the exact reason they were so mad, and she'd only been actually with them and known it for 2 months. The same thought ran through their minds. How did she know?
Tai asked her. She replied, "I've been able to know just how people feel and just what makes them happy since I was little. I would meet a person, and one week later I'd be helping them show their feelings in a way that never hurts others' feelings. I was the assistant counselor at school for 3 years… starting in 1st grade! I hate bragging, but it's true. Besides, I'm worried that I'll never get home. Worrying makes me able to guess better."
Tai thought back to Sora's crude definition of empathy. What had she said? Something about knowing how someone feels… Matt was looking at the girl as if he'd just heard a heavenly angel. He'd never even heard a counselor really understand him. Yet, here was this little girl, only 9 ½, telling him to stop worrying about his brother, and Tai to stop worrying about his sister. She seemed to know everything.
Suddenly, Dana looked at Tai. "You can't fool me. Kari isn't the only girl you're worried about. Don't give me that look. I know. Do I need to tell Matt…"
Tai quickly shook his head. "No, no, you don't have to. I bet he already knows." Then, Tai muttered, "I thought I kept it a secret good. Guess not."
Everyone finally met up again. Dana noticed that Tai went first toward his sister, then towards Sora. She smiled and waited for just the right moment. "I think we should be careful today." She explained.
There was a little attack that day. Dana sat there. She was beginning to feel dizzy. "Guys, I think we better get out of here… I'm dizzy and I might collapse any minute… Help me…" There was a thud. Larimon (the digivolved form of Tigermon) turned around sharply. Once again, Dana had passed out. Everyone ran towards her. She looked weird.
"She almost looks dead." Izzy whispered. "But she has a pulse. A slow pulse, but a pulse. And she's still breathing."
Dana woke up. Everyone looked scared. "All right. What just happened that I don't know about?" Dana ventured. There was a long pause, as if nobody dared to speak. "What's wrong?" She tried again.
Sora spoke slowly. "Okay, Dana, you just saved all of us by passing out 3 hours ago. But now, we're trapped in this cave. The air is running out. There are too many of us to last much more than half an hour more. We need an air hole. And fast."
Dana looked at the group. She swallowed hard. "I know you think we're all going to die. I know something you don't. Don't use any fires. It takes up the oxygen. And I want you to all push on, " Dana thought a minute. "That rock with the blue line." Izzy looked at her strangely, but they all did what she said. A door practically formed. They scrambled out into the light.
An evil Digimon was out, and he, like Devimon, thought the best way to get rid of the group's power was to (drumroll please) separate the group! Tai, Agumon, Sora, Biyomon, Tigermon, and Dana ended up on an island covered in spiders. Tai froze in fear. Dana was also worried, but not because of the spiders. Sora and Biyomon had no earthly idea what was going on. But Dana told them. "Tai is allergic to spider bites. One bite on him could be deadly." And a spider bit him 1 minute later.
Tai said, "Yes, that's right. I don't want to die!" and began to sob violently. He then passed out.
Sora looked at Dana. "How did you…?"
Dana looked back. "Look at the crest. I may not know everything, but I can tell how people feel and give good guesses on stuff. Like the look on Tai's face when he saw the spiders. I knew that Tai is scared of things for a reason. And by the look on his face, he was terrified. It's like logic to me. Plus, I have a habit of knowing how to make things right easily. That's why I got this crest, remember?" Once you thought about it, it made sense.
"You're worried about Tai. Aren't you." Dana asked Sora, making it more of a statement than a question. It had been three long days since the spider bite. As Dana put it, "He is alive, but just barely."
Sora looked at her. "You know, don't you? Wait. I really don't need to ask that, do I?"
Dana smiled. "Right on both accounts. You want first watch tonight?" Dana asked.
"Sure."
It was the middle of the night. Sora was standing by Tai. Agumon was sleeping nearby. Biyomon was out, actually patrolling the area. Dana and Tigermon were sleeping in a little heap together. And Tai stirred. "Sora, I-I w-want to t-tell you t-this b-before I d-die. I-I l-love y-you, Sora."
Sora was about to reply, "I love you too Tai," when he suddenly fell back. Sora saw another spider scuttle by. It was red, just like a tiny mark on Tai's arm… It didn't even take 3 seconds for Sora to realize what just happened to Tai. Sora took his pulse. It slowed… then it slowed some more… and then… it came to a complete stop. Sora screamed, "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" But it was too late. Tai was dead.
It was morning. The others had found "Spider Island" very quickly, thanks to Sora's screams, and had gotten there fast. They found Sora and Dana, sobbing their hearts away, and when Dana told them the awful news, everyone cried along. Agumon was getting very weak ("Tai's dead, so I'm dying with him.") and everyone tried to stay calm. One day passed… Then another… And then it had been three days. Sora was sobbing even harder than Agumon, who was so weak he had to be fed like a baby. Sora kept laying her head on Tai. Izzy and Dana seemed to know why (well, Dana DID know why), but they didn't tell anyone. Biyomon and Agumon were having secret talks all over the place. Nobody could bring himself or herself to bury Tai. And both Dana and Sora were feeling guilty. TK was denying that it had ever happened at all ("Matt, you can wake me up now."). Matt played sad songs on his harmonica, mainly Taps. Kari and Mimi went off on a flower-hunting trip. Kari was personally thinking that she could be with Tai if she committed suicide, but she knew that Tai wouldn't have wanted her too. Izzy had deleted "Courage Quest" from his list of computer games, and hadn't typed for 2 days. And Joe kept bugging Palmon about which plants could heal bug bites, "just in case."
Sora ran into the clearing that everyone had placed Tai's body in. "I love you, Tai." she whispered once again. Then, her brain went wild. "Time to talk to Dana."
Dana looked at Sora's breathless face. Dana listened to Sora's story. A glow lit up Dana's face. "I THINK, I don't know for sure, but I THINK that maybe you should put the two crests on his heart, like this." She drew a diagram in the sand. "I'm telling you, I don't know."
Sora considered. If it didn't work, she'd be heartbroken forever, but nothing else would change. If it worked, she'd have Tai back. She knew there was nothing to lose and maybe something to gain. She reached the clearing, put the crests on his heart, and waited. A soft white light surrounded Tai. "It isn't strong enough." Sora muttered. Then, Tai's crest began to glow as well. "Of course… It must have taken great courage to tell me… Hang in there…" And Tai moaned.
"What happened? Was I dead? Boy does this hurt! I doubt the poison's gone… I can't get up." Tai looked at her face and tried to comprehend it as he let himself fall back. "Sora, was it a dream that I died?"
Sora had a strange look on her face. "No…"
"You mean I told you that…"
"You loved me? Yes, you did, but you died before I could tell you that I… I love you, too."
Mimi was walking up the path towards the clearing. She saw Sora, standing by Tai. No, Tai's body, Tai was dead and everyone had to eventually admit it. She walked over to Sora and tapped her on the shoulder. "Sora, dinner's… Oh my lord! I must be hallucinating. Yea. Tai's dead and we all know that."
Tai looked her straight in the eye. "No, you're not. I may have been dead, but not anymore, thanks to a little incident that happened just before I died."
Mimi looked at Sora's face. It didn't look as surprised as hers did. Mimi asked, "Sora, I am I sick, or is Tai alive?"
"He's alive, Mimi. We'll be down to dinner in a minute. Don't tell anyone. I think we'd both just LOVE to see the looks on their faces when we come down. Just tell them I'm coming."
"Umm… okay." Mimi decided to keep her word.
So, Mimi left with an expression that cannot be described as anything in particular, pinching herself every so often. And Sora was left with the completely immobile Tai. She knew she had to move him somehow. But how?
Tai had an idea. "I'll get up as far as I can. Then, you can lift me up. I think I'll be able to walk with help."
After a bit of work, the pair made it down the hill. As Sora had predicted, the looks on everyone's faces were crazy. Half of them pinched themselves while the other half rushed forward to hug Tai. Tai almost fell backwards. "Whoa. I can barely stand up. I doubt I can take 3 hugs at once."
Izzy walked over. "But how on earth did you…"
"Well, let's just say it would give a big secret away, and that I really doubt it would work on anyone else anyway." Tai said, blushing.
"Besides, there are more important things to worry about. For instance, since I am connected with Tai's life force, I know the pain he feels, and trust me, he's in a heck of a lot of pain. It's because he's allergic to spiders, and 2 bit him. He might die AGAIN. And then, there might be no way to get him back." Agumon told them.
Izzy knew just what to do. "We have to get the venom out of his blood. Sora, come with me and we might save him. Agumon, keep Tai from getting hurt. We'll be back in a nano."
Sora looked at Izzy. "How in heaven's name do you think I can save him?"
Izzy smiled. "You, Tai, and Mimi all have the same blood type."
What Izzy meant suddenly dawned on her. "You mean that we have to do well, that?"
"Well, I really doubt Mimi would take the sight of her blood."
"I guess you're right."
"I've got the stuff. All you have to do is let me draw one pint. Okay?"
Sora considered. "Okay." Sora shuddered as Izzy pulled a huge needle out of his bag. I'll spare the details for those who are weak stomached.
Sora walked back to the camp. She was clutching her arm. She turned to Mimi, muttered, "You are so lucky." Izzy helped Tai up and pulled him over to the hidden area. A minute later, Tai came back, walking with less support than he'd gone with and doing just as well. Dana noted that he, too was clutching his arm. Dana put 2 and 2 together, and shuddered herself.
"What did Sora mean when she told me I was lucky?" Mimi asked.
"You might not want to know, but she was right." replied Dana.
Tai quickly improved from that day on. Izzy told Tai and Sora that they would have a scar there for the rest of their lives. He had secretly made sure that the scars would be in the same place if their arms were the same length. Izzy smiled. He had decided, as the genius he was, that Tai and Sora would make a perfect couple. But, as he thought one day, his job wasn't matchmaker. Izzy didn't care.
Dana noticed that Tai and Sora were walking hand in hand more and more often. She smiled. "2 down, 2 to go." she whispered.
You see, Dana knew another couple-to-be that the group held: Matt and Mimi. She knew that it would be a lot harder to get that pair together, but she was ready.
The very next day came Dana's big opportunity. Tai and Matt were fighting. She watched everyone take sides. The only people on Matt's side were himself, Mimi (whew! thought Dana), and TK. Dana joined the side, knowing what was about to happen. And happen it did. The group formed 2 sides, again. And this time, Dana knew that it would only be a matter of hours before the group came back together. She'd have to work very fast.
Dana turned to Mimi. "Wanna go talk about girl stuff?" Dana asked her.
"Sure," Mimi replied and they set off for a very small and convenient clearing that was just off of the clearing that the group of 4 had started at.
As they got there, Mimi smiled. "I bet you know how I feel about Matt. You have a habit of making good guesses."
"Not only that, I notice and remember things that most people don't. Like how you glance at Matt every minute to make sure he's okay."
"You are too good. What was that thing I was so lucky about?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes."
"You, Tai, and Sora all have the same blood type. Izzy COULD have pulled you back there instead of Sora to draw some blood."
"Sora was right! Does he… Does Matt feel the same way about me as I feel about him?"
"I won't tell you that. If it is yes, I don't want to tell you without his permission. If it's no, I'll spare you the heartbreak."
They made their way back to the site. Dana said she wanted to talk in private to Matt about something. Matt, who was completely bored, went along.
"What is it?" Matt grumbled.
"Haven't you guessed? I know one of your secrets."
"Which secret?"
"You like Mimi, don't you."
"Well, umm…" There's no way to hide it without lying. "Yes."
"I know how you feel."
"Duh you know. You know EVERYTHING."
"Not everything. I just notice and understand the little giveaways."
"Huh?"
"Like those little tunes you play late at night that keep repeating 'Mimi' in Morse code. I know Morse code."
"Okay, so that's true, but she hates me completely."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you."
"Well, I'm me and I'm sure of it. Maybe, sometimes, I think she really cares. But most of the time, I don't know why I love her."
Matt and Dana came back.
After exactly 3 more hours, the group was back together. Everybody was walking through the woods when a HUGE monster appeared. It struck Matt, nearly cutting him in half and cutting him most of the way. Mimi simply stared. She was almost hit when she realized what was about to happen and dodged. After awhile, the battle was won. Everyone cheered except Mimi and Matt (who, of course, was dead). Slowly, as the group realized what had happened, they began to sob as well.
Meanwhile, Matt looked around himself. He was glowing. And he was wearing a blue robe. Alone. It just didn't feel right. He wished he had an idea of what had happened. Then came a voice. "Matt, you are dead. Do you hear those cries? They are for you. They miss you. I think you know inside why."
Matt suddenly remembered what had happened to him. He thought to himself. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. It sunk in. I never got to tell her I loved her. And now it's too late. No! Tears slipped down his face. He began to listen to the voices below him.
"I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could have been his friend."
"Matt… No… My brother's dead… No!!!!!!!"
"But… but… this can't be happening. It's just like last time."
"That wasn't supposed to happen! I didn't think it could!"
"Poor TK. It'll be okay, TK. Maybe this is a bad dream we can wake up from."
"I never got to tell him… never…"
"Mimi, I know how you feel. Well, I think I do…" That wasn't Dana.
And he heard the voice that was so familiar. It was below him now. With the others. "Don't be sad. It is going to be all right. Just wait. Just wait a minute. Shut your eyes and wish him back. Wishing has magic power."
And Matt felt as if he were falling, falling, falling, and then, it was like he hit something. And pain overcame him as he realized he was redying, or something like that. And, as everyone opened their eyes, a light flew out of their crest. 9 lights soared above them. And they hit Matt. His body slid back together. His veins reconnected and blood pumped on once more. His crushed bones healed. His muscles were normal. His skin was back together. Matt gulped in air.
Everyone gasped at the same time. Matt muttered, "I'm alive! I'm alive!"
The voice sounded from the sky. "I am sorry that I had to kill Matt and Tai. It was for their own good. Dana and Ally, are you ready?"
Everybody stared at Dana and what they had thought was Tigermon. Sora was the first to speak up. "But we thought… why did you lie to us?"
"I'm sorry. We have to every time. I hate hurting people, but in cases like this one, it's the only way for a confession to be made." Ally said.
"What do you mean confession? And, Ally, are you like that all the time, or do you shapeshift?" Izzy demanded.
"Well, ask Tai and Sora. They'll know what we mean by confession." Dana said.
"And I shapeshift. This is my human form." Ally explained. A girl of about 13 appeared before them.
"You're good at acting." TK said.
"We have to be." Dana said.
"Why does that voice sound so familiar?" Matt asked.
"You know that, Matt." the voice said.
"Oh my…" Matt gasped. "It can't be!"
"We have to go. Our next work is waiting. Goodbye. We will never forget you!" Dana and Ally called in unison.
"Goodbye! We'll never forget you either!" Tai, Agumon, Matt, Gabumon, TK, Patamon, Joe, Gomamon, Sora, Biyomon, Izzy, Tentomon, Mimi, Palmon, Kari, and Gatomon called as Dana and Ally soared off into the setting sun.
Izzy stared at Matt. "That denies half the stuff I know. Who was that voice, anyway?"
Matt had a tear in his eye. "Don't you understand? That voice is the thing with me when I was dead. It was some kind of angel. And if the angel's voice is familiar…"
Izzy didn't understand it at all. But, Kari did. And so did TK. Tai was beginning to understand it, and Sora had a small idea. Mimi was mumbling something about Sunday School. And Joe had no earthly idea. Tai spoke up. "Angels were once people. The people died and then they became angels. Matt, who was it?"
"I don't know who exactly, but it was someone I used to know on earth. It was a girl. Her name began with a J. All I know is that I lost touch with her 4 months before summer camp. I heard rumors she died."
"Who knows? Anything's possible." Joe sighed.
Matt and Mimi confessed their love to each other in secret that very night.
And, though they still had much work to do, they were all very happy. So I guess that you could say that they all lived happily ever after. But that's impossible. Oh well.
THE END!