"Don't change color to match the walls. Look like you belong and the walls will change color to match you."
Kender proverb—Time of the Twins, Dragonlance Legends
Survival Diaries: New York, 2000
By Akino Ame
Part of Lord Archive's Diaries Universe. Used with permission
Disclaimer: I'm far too poor to own Digimon. Accept that for the whole fic.
Entry Two: "Metropolis"
The city—Tal Veras, the grandest in all of this area of the Digital World. From the Crystal Pillars of Tallus to the sparkling Verasian Rivers, nothing still had matched the greatness of this city. Outsiders would immediately note the cloudy sky and imitation sun powered by the Central Core, but the splendor of the architecture and natural beauty would always overshadow this flaw. In the end, the visitors never cared.
Vamdemon smiled as he sipped his drink, his two deadly fangs glinting in the artificial light. He could not stand sunlight, but he'd had this created by the Central Core to please his people. It was enough for the light-loving Digimon to accept while it did no harm to the dark-dwellers. And there had been little violent confrontation between them in the past few years.
The city was all his. He governed it all, from the High Councilmen in the inner houses of wealth to the poor fishmongers on the outskirt slums. People obeyed him and respected him, never once trying to undermine him. There was of course, a local anarchist, but he had no method of gaining any followers unless he wanted to join the other roadside prophets in promising doom for all those in the city. Other than that, life was good.
Suddenly, holes were torn in the clouds, allowing the sun to shine through. Vamdemon quickly backed away from the window and the horrid luminosity. He covered his face but still managed to see five shapes dropping from the true light to the city. And then, as suddenly as it happened, it ended.
Vamdemon scowled and dialed a number on the phone on his desk. "Get me the city guardians, now."
-------
Heat. Terrible, skin-peeling heat greeted Sam as he came back to consciousness. A brief opening of his eyes ushered more burning as an awful brightness blazed at him. He shut his eyes quickly, feeling his tears evaporate on his skin. Heat exhaustion was setting in, clouding his thinking. Pretty soon, it would become heat stroke. One thing was clear to him despite all this mind-numbing heat: He had to get out of there.
He stood on unsteady legs and carefully tried to make his way to any place that was cool. That place was somewhere to his right, so he slowly wobbled over, trying to escape this literal hell.
"Baby Flame!"
A strangled cry escaped Sam as a weak fireball hit his back. He stumbled to his knees, lost his balance, and fell face-first to the smooth ground. A harsh voice ordered, "Get him some water, Agumon," and soon a dipper of cool, sweet water was pressed his lips. He managed to sit up long enough for the drink to pour down his throat and chin. Never had he cherished anything more.
When the dipper was empty, someone placed a pair of glasses on his face and ordered, "Open your eyes." Sam obeyed, mostly out of fear. His teary, blurring vision cleared, revealing a small orange T-rex and a three-headed man out of some tale from India. All around him in the room were savage flames.
"Why did you stop me?" Sam asked. "I need to get out of this heat or I'll die."
"If we let you go out that door, you would die," the three-headed man explained. "On the other side of that door is a large fan, adding oxygen and cooling the outside of the building. If you opened the door, the burst of air would increase the flames, and they'd head straight toward you."
"I'm sorry I had to attack you," the T-rex apologized in a mature voice that didn't match his height, "but I didn't know what else I could do. Strange though, your clothes aren't even burnt."
Confused, Sam looked to see what he was wearing. Instead of the uniform of King of Kings, he now wore a red T-shirt, tan khakis, and a red crystal cross around his neck. There were no chars present on his clothes at all, and his sweat barely showed. It was as if the heat was only an illusion to him. "Huh?" was all he could get out.
"You're obviously not from around here," the three-headed man observed, handing him a cool, damp cloth. "From the Real World, I'd guess if you're human like you look."
"Yeah, I'm human," Sam answered.
"Welcome to the Digital World, then," he replied. "Everyone you'll meet here is some type of Digimon or another. I'm Asuramon, and the little one here is Agumon. And you are?"
"Sam Roberts." He stood up. "What is this place?"
"This is the Central Core of Tal Veras City," Agumon explained. "We supply heat to all of the city, from the ovens in the bakeries and restaurants to the saunas and bathhouses to private homes. We even supply the light and heat of the sun."
"You power the sun?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"It's artificial," Agumon clarified. "Vamdemon had us make it when he came into power some years ago. It just made things easier for those who hate real light."
Sam stared at everything in awe. This facility could power a sun. It was no wonder he'd been so hot. "How did I get here?"
"A man carried you in and asked us to watch you," Asuramon explained. Agumon seemed ready to interrupt, but a glare from Asuramon's red-masked "angry" face silenced him. "We know nothing other than that. We gave you water every ten to fifteen minutes until you woke up."
"Were there any others that man brought?" Sam checked. Maria, Lou, Steve, and Michael had been with him when he was taken. Perhaps there was a chance they were also here.
"No. You were the only one," Agumon answered.
"Oh." His voice couldn't hide his disappointment.
Asuramon tossed him a leather apron and gloves. "Here. If you're going to stay here, you might as well be productive. Go adjust the heat output to City Hall. Vamdemon will have our heads if it's too cold in there again."
"I'd think a vampire would hate the heat," Agumon muttered.
"That's enough of your smart mouth," Asuramon warned. "Go help Sam. And make sure he gets enough water, and not just when he's thirsty. He's not built to withstand heat like we can."
The dinosaur sighed. "All right."
Asuramon watched Agumon show Sam how to operate everything and explain a great deal about the Digital World and the Digimon. He made a mental note to ask the human later exactly what Agumon had told him. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Child, but there was no telling what a young and inexperienced Digimon could be passing off as the ways of the world.
And if he even touched the subject of the Digi-destined, he was personally going to make the little guy sorry he'd ever hatched.
-------
If there was one thing that Steve was good at, it was blending in with a crowd. Gabumon could not argue with that. The young human seemed right at home in the city and was mostly ignored by all of the Digimon who passed them by. His friendly demeanor and optimistic outlook on things only further served to confuse the Child, who wondered how it was possible that anyone could be that comfortable in a strange world with completely foreign life-forms.
The boy was utterly and completely lost. There was no doubt about that. He'd been found near the site of an investigation led by BlueMeramon, a forensics specialist, and his apprentice, Gabumon. Though BlueMeramon had been upset at Steve's interruption of the investigation, he had Gabumon escort him to a local herbal remedy shop where Steve could get some minor medical treatment for some bruises and scratches he'd been found with.
And still, despite it all, Steve was far from depressed.
"Can you tell me where we can find Babamon?" the human boy asked a Setmon on the street.
"Old Lady Babamon?" Setmon repeated. "Yeah, she's at the end of the corner, the rundown-looking place. You can't miss it."
"Thanks."
"You confuse me," Gabumon stated bluntly.
"Why?" Steve questioned.
"You end up in this world from your own, hurt, lost, and searching for your friends, and still you don't seem to care."
"I care all right. I just don't get depressed easily."
"Why not?"
"It's just my nature. I can't really explain it." Gabumon gave him an odd look as he shrugged and kept walking.
In the meantime, not far from Steve's location, Lou lay facedown on the sidewalk as various Digimon passed him by, not knowing what had happened and frankly not caring. A brown rutile cross on a beaded chain pressed against his chest as he lay there, vomiting from sheer emotional overload. Unintentionally, he shivered in his brown suede jacket, its fringe getting pulled off as he tried to move. An orange-and-white creature hovered in the air over him, examining him carefully before turning and asking, "Maria, is this one of them?"
A familiar young girl in a black T-shirt and jeans ran up, her white crystal cross bouncing with each step. She replied, "Yep. Thanks, Patamon!" before helping Lou into a sitting position. "Are you okay?"
"Pretty much," he answered, trying to see if he remembered her name correctly. "Maria, right?" She nodded. "Are you?"
"Yeah. Patamon took care of me when I woke up."
"Where are we?"
"Allow me to answer that," replied a faked deep voice behind them. The owner had brown hair, glasses, and wore a tan trench coat over a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans. A crystal Star of David hung around his neck. And while he was happy to see him, Lou couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Can't you just announce yourself like a normal human being?" he asked.
"Steve, who is this?" questioned a horned reptile partially hidden by a fur coat.
"Sorry. Gabumon, this is Lou Stoneheart, Maria Sanchez, and someone I don't know. Lou, Maria, stranger, this is Gabumon."
"This is Patamon," Maria provided. "He found me."
"Found you?" Gabumon asked. "Were you unconscious like Steve?"
"Um, yeah," she answered, assuming the word "unconscious" meant she hadn't been awake. "I fainted, I think."
"If that's the case, we should also bring them to that herbal remedy place," Steve suggested. "Especially since Lou looks sick again."
"I'm okay," Lou assured.
"No, you're not, and you're coming with us to wherever Gabumon's taking me. Maria and her friend Patamon too." He knelt down and started trying to pick his friend up. A strain on his back later, he whispered, "Think you can help me out here?"
With a sigh, Lou got up and accompanied them to a shack at the end of the street. A warped old sign read "Herbal Remedies" in fading pink paint, and the front door was cracked open. Gabumon pushed it open all the way, and the humans and Patamon winced at the loud creak the rusted hinges gave out. In the corner, a Digimon resembling an old woman with hair over her eyes was crushing herbs in an earthenware bowl. Further in the back, one that seemed to be made entirely of rocks walked closer.
"Babamon, we have customers," he informed when he came up to her.
"Please take care of it, Gotsumon," she inquired. "I have to take care of this order for Mermaimon."
"All right." He walked up to the newcomers, though trying to ignore the three strange creatures among them, and asked, "Can I be of any help to you sirs?"
"Yes, please," Gabumon replied. "All three of them need to be treated for minor injuries, and one is sick with a stomach irritation."
"It's not as bad as you think," Lou protested.
"Aspa root serum ought to take the pain out of the bruises and minimize healing time," Gotsumon surmised, evaluating the children, "and neneshi paste should clean the cuts. But I'm not sure what for the stomachache, considering I don't know exactly what he's—"
"Lisualla mint tea to ease the stomach and a pinch of uialisho powder to calm the nerves," Babamon deduced. All the while, Lou stared in shock. "It was not difficult to figure out."
"I'm sorry," Gotsumon apologized. "It's unsettling when she does that, I know. But I have to admit that her empathic abilities help us find the right cure. I'll have these fixed for you in a minute."
"Offer these boys and the little girl the rooms upstairs," Babamon instructed. "They will need a place to stay, as will the Gabumon and Patamon."
"I already have a—" Gabumon started, but Babamon turned around suddenly and stared at him with unnerving clarity. All he could do was close his mouth and nod, as did Patamon.
"Young Lou will remain with Gotsumon," she continued, feeling around the floor for a tool she had dropped.
"Babamon, why?" Gotsumon questioned. "I hardly even know these people."
Upon locating her tool, she sat up and returned to crushing the herbs, her sightless eyes fixed on the wall. Yet to Gotsumon, it felt like she was facing him. "You will soon. In the meantime, I will require someone to fly these herbs to Mermaimon in the fishing slums. Will Patamon be able to do the job?"
"Um, sure," he replied cautiously, feeling that he had little choice in the matter.
"That's good." She got up from her chair and used her broom as a cane to guide her over to them. When she located Patamon, she placed a red messenger bag on him and told him the directions to Mermaimon's fishing shack. Realizing he had no way out of this, he sighed and took off, promising Maria he'd come back after a quick detour to gather his things from home when he finished the delivery. Meanwhile, Gotsumon watched on in confusion. True, Babamon had been kind to offer these newcomers a job and a home, but sometimes he wondered if her kindness was merely naïveté in disguise.
-------
Mermaimon sighed as she looked at the meager catch of fish she'd managed. Half of it was to go to market and the other half was to remain with the fishers for sustenance. And from the looks of it, there was barely enough to live on, much less make a profit off of.
Maybe tomorrow will have better luck, she hoped, hoisting the net over her shoulder. But now with that guy Betamon found, we've got another mouth to feed. What did he say he found? A Lucemon or something? Just hope that he'll prove to be useful with how we're going to have to feed him and with the medicine we had to buy for him. What kind of half-assed idiot angel ends up nearly drowning himself in the middle of the harbor? People get stupider and stupider nowadays. "And now I'm starting to sound like an old geezer," she realizing, mentally slapping herself for sounding that old. "Just great."
When she reached home, she encountered the new delivery boy Babamon had hired to bring her the packet of medicinal herbs Betamon's new friend needed. She took the bag of herbs and paid the Patamon before entering her simple and unattractive hut. Somewhere in there, away from the water channels she used, was Betamon and the half-drowned new boarder they had.
"Betamon, I got the medicine he needs," she informed. "Looks like Babamon got a new delivery boy." There was no answer. "Betamon? Betamon, are you here? Don't tell me you're making me look like an idiot calling out your name and you're not here." There was movement in the shadows. She pulled herself out of the water and slid on the wooden floor to get close enough to see a blonde boy—had to be a Lucemon—wrapped in a quilt. He seemed quite distraught to see a mermaid Digimon. "Ah, you're up now. I got your medicine. You should be all right now."
"Are…are you the one who saved me?" he asked.
"No, that was Betamon. He should be back soon though from wherever he went. Anyway, here's your medicine." He took it from her, keeping the quilt around his person. "And quit wrapping yourself in that ratty old thing! Just because Betamon doesn't know how to do the laundry properly doesn't mean you have to take the smelliest rag in the house." She pulled the blanket away to a shocking sight. Instead of a half-naked Lucemon with shining wings, this boy was a wingless creature in a white-and-green shirt and dark blue jeans. A blue crystal cross was around his neck, and something ominously familiar was on his belt.
"Mermaimon, sorry I had to leave," Betamon interrupted, swimming in. "I got in another argument with Frogmon. Just because he's a level higher, he thinks that he's better than…" He trailed off for a minute, noticing his roommate's shock. "What's wrong?" He glanced slightly to the side. "Hey, the Lucemon's up!"
"He's no Lucemon, Betamon," Mermaimon informed. "He's a human."
"A human?"
"Furthermore, judging by the digivice he's wearing, I'd have to say he's a Digi-destined."
Betamon hopped up to them, watching the scared human boy carefully. "But those were just stories, right? They never really happened, did they?"
"What's going on?" the boy asked.
"What's your name?" Mermaimon questioned. "All humans have a name; at least, that's what the stories say."
"Michael. Michael Godwin."
"Well, Michael Godwin, you're currently in a hell of a lot of trouble if you're here." Inwardly, she sighed. Suddenly her simple fisher's life had gotten a lot more complicated.
-------
Asuramon kept a close eye on Agumon and Sam throughout the entire first day, watching to be sure there were no accidental slips of prohibited information. But the day went by without a single comment about the Chosen Children, giving him intense relief.
It's just not something I can deal with now, he reflected, opening the drawer to his desk once he had his break. "Never again." A clenched hand opened and placed a light blue device into the drawer before he closed it—something he'd been quick to remove from Sam when that man brought him. Sam could not be allowed to have it, that digivice. It would just prove to be his undoing in the end. And the longer this was kept secret, the better.
To the reviewers:
Gray17: Yes, King of Kings was pretty traditional only because my friend's experience with Catholic school and my parents' experience is all I could draw from. And Father Tom was just trying to offer any kind of comfort he could to Lou, even if it was an informal confession.
Aerol Somtaaw: Thank you for the praise, but I have to admit that these characters aren't my creation; they're from the first of the "World Tour" episodes of Zero Two.
Scarred Dragonia: I can't really help with a future Chosen Children fic. I'm sorry, but my personal life has taken a nosedive, and I've really got too much on my plate to handle. Best to try and find someone else.
Knight of the Staff: I'm glad to hear that you're a Diaries fan, but we're all really busy with our offline lives. I mean, the oldest of us is 29 while the youngest is 17, so we have jobs and school to worry about. I think I speak for Misc, Rocker, Archive, Iap, and everyone when I say that we'd like to update everyday if we could, but it's pretty tough just getting these few chapters out.
To any other reviewers I missed, I'm sorry. I can't get everybody, since I like to try and keep my notes as short as possible. These were merely to clear up some misconceptions and everything. Now, for the real point of this:
First off, why did Steve remember Maria's name when Lou didn't? It's because Steve's like that: always trying to make an effort to know people. He comes off as very friendly (albeit a geek/otaku) in Shaun Garin's "Digital Diaries Adventures," and I hope I kept him close to that portrayal. And I admit that much of the concept of the city is based on Paradigm in Big O. The names of the herbs are combinations of Elven words I got from an online dictionary and some random twists I added on to them. After all, Lord of the Rings is an existing book series in this world, and I think it would be a bit strange if Digital World herbs were named after Tolkien's made-up language. The idea of Babamon's herbal remedy shop comes from a similar shop in Pretender: Island of the Haunted, again with an empathic old blind woman. But Babamon has more in common with Methuselah in Witch Hunter Robin, I think so far. Anyway, if you want to leave a review, read the rules and whatnot. Till the next!
