Gatamigo: Wow. Chapter 3! In this chapter, we finally find out what happened to Katy-Chan.
Chili: It's about time too. You'd think you'd have gotten to this first. Are you partial to Desiree's character or something, G?
Gatamigo: N-no!
Chili: Mm-hmm…
Gatamigo: I do not own Digimon, wish I did, but I don't. The characters Derek, Ryo, Katy Carol, Dez Berde, and DigiDexter are, however, from my own imagination.
Chili: A scary place to be, if you ask me. Enjoy Chap 3!
Katie awoke to the squeal of a tea kettle as the steam from the boiling contents sputtered from its spout. The teen turned onto her side, staring at the bronze container as it hung over the open flame pit. Twice, she blinked, trying to make heads or tails of what was happening. Before she could ponder much, a little black ball rolled over to her.
She sat up in the pile of leaves upon which she had been resting and looked at the ball. It seemed to be covered in thick, black fur. Drowsily, she reached out with one hand to touch it. When her hand neared the ball, however, it jumped back. Katie quickly withdrew her hand with a gasp. She had never expected it to move!
From the top of the ball, a round, furry mass popped out, like an ear. Then, another ear popped out next to the first. The black, round object opened its tiny yellow eyes and yawned cutely. It stared at Katie, wiggling its ears and smiling. Katie, unsure of what to do, leaned forward.
"H-hello?" she asked softly. The small creature squealed with laughter, bouncing around Katie with a huge smile on its little face. Even though she was very confused, Katie couldn't help but laugh as well.
"My name is Katy," she said once the creature had calmed down a little, "What's your name?" The creature tilted its head, making it look as if it was about to fall over. It appeared to be deep in thought, troubled by the girl's question.
"Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to! Its fine if you don't!" Katy quickly added, worried she had offended the little ball. A large white wing reached out from the surrounding darkness to pick up the teapot.
"Little Botamon won't answer you because it can't," said the large bird-like monster as it walked into the light of the fireplace, "Botamon is only a baby, and cannot speak yet." Katie stared at the avian individual as it poured water into small cups. The bird was twice Katy's size, covered in pure white feathers with wings that were tipped with silver. On its head, it wore a crescent shaped helmet with holes on the side for its feminine green eyes to look through. The lower part of its long neck, as well as its feet, was covered in pieces of armor that were similar in design to the helmet.
The bird set the tea kettle down next to the cups and, giving a small bow to Katy, said, "I am Swanmon, Caretaker of the Tree of Beginnings." Katy blinked.
"Tree of Beginnings?" she asked. Botamon hopped over to Swanmon, making soft crying noises and opening its mouth wide.
"Yes, dear, Tree of Beginnings. Where all Digimon are born," said Swanmon as she held one of the cups for Botamon to drink, "I take care of the baby Digimon when they first hatch and make sure the Tree is safe from harm."
Katy silently mouthed, "Digimon?" Swanmon patted the Botamon on the head. The little guy squeaked happily to Swanmon before bouncing over to Katy's side. It looked up at her, wiggling its ears. Katy absentmindedly patted Botamon, causing the small Digimon to purr quietly.
"Swanmon," Katy began, "I don't wish to bother you, but where am I? How did I get here?" Swanmon looked at the girl with a twinkle in her eye.
"You don't know? Think my dear, think back. Surely you must remember meeting the Digital Dragon of the Eastern Wind."
"Digital Dragon?" asked Katy.
"Azulongmon, dear. He was the one who personally dropped you off at my doorstep, telling me that you had someone to find." Katy's eyes opened wide as she remembered the booming voice in the darkness. Come to think of it, Dez was gone!
"Derek! H-he's been kidnapped! And Dezzy! She's gone too!" Katy's arms fell to her sides, and her face was lowered. "W-what… what should I do…?" she whimpered, overwhelmed at the thought of her friends being in trouble.
Botamon, feeling the nice sensation of being patted stop, opened its eyes and looked up at the human girl. Her shoulders rose and fell in heaves, and a single drop fell from her face, hitting Botamon on the forehead. Botamon knew that the only time someone cried was when they felt sad. Botamon, being a kind and caring Digimon, felt terrible for the girl. It wanted to make her feel better, but without a voice to ask what was wrong, could do nothing. This made Botamon sad too, so it began to cry.
Katy looked at the crying Digimon in surprise, unsure of what had started its tears. She picked it up and held it close, saying, "It's ok… I've got you. You're alright." Botamon sniffled a little. It saw that Katy was no longer crying, so that made it feel a little better, but it still hadn't solved her problem, whatever it was. Botamon rubbed its little face against hers, tickling her cheeks with its soft, downy fur.
Katy giggled at the feeling, hugging Botamon close and smiling, "Awww… You're just so cute, Botamon!" Botamon giggled along with her, now happy as could be. Something about this person made Botamon all warm inside, but it didn't know what.
Swanmon watched all this happen with great interest. She raised her eyebrows at the two as they hugged. She turned to the flame pit, and with a flap of her large wings, extinguished the fire. Katy, now unable to see in the dark night, gasped.
"Look, Katy. The Three moons are almost aligned," said Swanmon. Katy blinked, her eyes getting used to the dimmed light. She now realized that they were outside in the dead of night in a large clearing in a forest. Looking up, she saw many stars twinkle in the sky and three moons, blue, pink, and red.
"Wow…" she gasped in awe, "This is amazing." Swanmon walked over to Katy and Botamon, who was enjoying being held.
"Don't worry about your friend Desiree," Swanmon assured Katy, "Azulongmon promised me that she was in good hands and would find you when the time is right." Katy looked up at the bird, relieved that Dez was alright.
"What about Derek? Did Azulongmon…?" Swanmon shook her head, much to Katy's dismay.
"He only told me about Desiree. He was silent about your other friend." Katy nodded sadly and looked back at the sky. In her lap, Botamon yawned and closed its eyes, warm and content in Katy's embrace. Katy saw this and smiled.
"Azulongmon said that Dez and I could help Derek, but with the two of us apart, I don't know what to do. I don't even know where he is!" Swanmon listened to the girl quietly, letting her speak.
"I mean, I don't even know where I am! This can't be Earth; we've only got one moon." Swanmon folded her wings and rested her face in the crook of one, saying, "It's late. In the morning, I will be happy to tell you anything you need to know about this world. As for your friend, I have faith that Azulongmon will tell you what you need to do, he did for the Digidestined, he'll do it for you…"
Katy looked up at Swanmon quickly, "Digidestined? What are…?" But Swanmon was already asleep.
While she slept, Katy dreamed. She dreamed of a desert, hot, windy, harsh, and uninhabited. She dreamt of a tower, carved out of the same color stone as that of the desert sands, making it almost invisible. She dreamed of the door on the giant tower, high and intimidating, with a single guard out in the front. The guard stood, silent and unmoving, covered in the sand of the desert with fading armor. Katy could feel herself being pulled out of her dream and into a consciousness. But when she reached that area of neither dream nor awake, when you can dream, yet understand what it is you're seeing, right before she opened her eyes, Katy realized that the guard was dead.
"Katy?"
Katy slowly opened her eyes, blinking back the bright morning sun. Sitting on her chest, looking down at her inquisitively was the baby Botamon. When he saw that she was awake, he wiggled his ears with glee, hopping away to let her up. Katy rose from her bed of leaves and moss, rubbing her eyes cutely.
"Katy?"
Katy looked around sleepily. The fire pit had been covered in dirt and patted down. The tea kettle was set to the side along with a few tea cups, clean and shiny. Swanmon was walking towards the girl with a kind smile on her face.
"Wake up, Katy dear," she said, "We have to get moving if we're to get to the tree by breakfast." Katy, still somewhat asleep, yawned quietly before standing.
"The tree?" she asked.
"Yes dear. The Tree of Beginnings, remember?" replied the bird-like Digimon. Botamon hopped up onto Katy's head with a squeal of happiness at the sound of his favorite word. Katy wobbled a bit, not expecting the sudden weight. She reached her arms up, picking up the baby from her head and bringing him down to eye level.
"Warn me next time, Botamon. If I fell over, you might have gotten squished!" she said, smiling. The Botamon cooed happily as Katy held him in her arms. Something about this felt right. He wasn't sure, but he knew that he wouldn't mind being like this forever.
Swanmon collected the tea cups and the kettle, handing them to Katy. "Could you put these into your bag, Dear? I'm afraid my knapsack tore and won't do me any good keeping these things from falling out!" Katy blinked.
"M-my bag?" Sure enough, when Katy looked back to the bed of leaves, her light purple messenger bag was resting next to it. She picked it up, staring at the black star designs that ran down the front of it. It was much lighter than it usually was.
Swanmon opened the front flap, putting in the items and sealing it shut, but not before Katy realized that it was completely empty; her school books were nowhere to be seen. Slipping the strap around her neck, Swanmon faced away from Katy and leaned down, spreading out her wings. Botamon wiggled out of Katy's grasp and hopped onto Swanmon's back.
"Are you coming, dear?" asked Swanmon, looking over her shoulder. Katy tilted her head, unsure.
"I'm sorry?" she asked, not understanding what was being asked of her. Swanmon sighed.
"It would take forever if you walked, so I'll carry you there. The skies should be clear by now." Before Katy could reply, Swanmon had rushed the girl, scooping Katy up and tossing her onto Swanmon's own back, next to Botamon. With a skip and a hop, Swanmon thrust her great wings and they were airborne.
Flying high over the land, Swanmon grinned at the oncoming clouds. "Hold on!" she yelled to her passengers who were trying to do just that. Botamon was squealing with pure joy at being so high up, while Katy was still trying to comprehend how she left the ground.
Swanmon burst through the white puff of clouds, diving down to land gently. When she fluttered to a halt, Botamon jumped off, still giggling. Katy, somewhat in shock, slipped off in a daze.
"T-that was… that was kind of fun, actually." She stuttered. Swanmon chuckled.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now look ahead, we're here." Katy looked up and was speechless. A large, thick tree, big as a building and filled with bright green leaves and giant eggs of all colors and designs stood directly in front of her, seemingly glowing in the morning sun. Surrounding the tree in all directions were rows of bushes as tall as she was and just as full of the assortment of eggs as the tree was.
Katy stared; slack jawed at the color and brilliance of her surroundings. Swanmon laughed softly at the girl and walked after the bouncing Botamon as he hopped to the other side of the Tree.
"I'll need help with the newly hatched Babies, Katy. I'd really appreciate it if you helped." She said. Katy snapped to, following Swanmon quickly.
"Hatched?" she asked, "What do you mean?" Swanmon looked down at the girl as she fell into step beside the Digimon.
"All Digimon are hatched from these Digitama or 'Digi-eggs.' When they do, I take care of them until they become old enough to care for themselves." Katy pondered this, scratching her cheek.
"So, you're kind of like their mother?"
"Not exactly, each of these babies have real parents somewhere, or at least a family of Digimon like them. Once a year, a Trailmon comes by here and he takes each of the young Digimon to their respective homes. So I'm more like a foster-mother."
"So, who watches the Digimon when you're away?" asked Katy.
From the other side of the Tree, a shout rang out, "You little vermin! I swear, if I catch you, you're going to wish you'd never Digitized!!!" A group of young Digimon, all looking like they were being chased by the devil, ran past Katy followed by an equally scared looking Botamon. It leapt into Katy's arms, bawling.
Shortly after the group of little Digimon ran past, another soon followed, about the size of a dog, and raving mad. The Digimon ran on all four of its tri-clawed paws, growling angrily and showing off its six stubby teeth. It snorted out of its reptilian snout and flicked its large rabbit ears in annoyance. The Digimon skidded to a halt in front of Katy, tossing up a small cloud of dirt.
"Miss Swanmon!" it cried at seeing its superior standing next to the human. "I'm sorry, I was just-"
"You were just chasing a group of the youngest Digimon hatched to-date around the Tree issuing deletion threats, am I right, Elecmon?" responded the bird Digimon, crossing her wings. Elecmon stood on its hind quarters, spreading out his seven identical tails in a fan-like formation. He rubbed the back of his head, his red fur beginning to pale.
"Well, there's more to it then that…"
"Then start telling me before I 'Feather Tornado' your purple stripes off!" yelled Swanmon, obviously angered. Katy rocked Botamon gently in her arms, trying to calm the poor thing down.
"There, there. I've got you," she whispered reassuringly. She had always loved children, and hated to see one sad. Botamon's tears eventually subsided into a few sniffles as it relaxed into the girl's embrace. Elecmon watched the proceedings with great interest, eyes widening when the baby ceased to cry.
"Well, dip me in sludge and call me a Numemon! That's amazing!" he cried, moving closer to inspect the sleeping baby in Katy's arms. Katy was taken aback by this sudden complement from the smaller Digimon, who only came up to her knee.
"w-what is?" she stuttered. Elecmon looked up into her face with a confounded look.
"You are! That there Digimon is the biggest crybaby I've ever seen hatched during my time at the Tree, and you were able to shut him up almost instantly!" Katy looked down at Botamon while it slept peacefully in her arms.
"R-really?" she asked, "He calmed down fine for me." Swanmon interrupted the conversation, saying, "It is almost feeding time. Elecmon, please show Katy to the nursery where she can put Botamon down for a nap. I'll talk to you later, Elecmon," she said with a quick glare.
Elecmon gulped in worry, quickly taking Katy's hand and leading her to a large doorway that lead into the Tree. The inside of the Tree was entirely hollowed out; staircases were etched into the sides, leading up and up to the very top. Along every wall, hanging out of every inch of available space, were rainbows of assorted baskets, most decoratively colored. In many of the baskets, baby Digimon slept soundly, some quiet, others snoring like there was no tomorrow. The air smelt of baby powder and cookies, and a large music box sat in the center of the room, playing a soothing melody that echoed throughout the entire Tree.
Elecmon watched as Katy looked about in wonder, smiling all the while. "Do you like it? The Tree, I mean," he said quietly. Katy smiled down at Elecmon.
"Yes, it's beautiful!" she whispered in response.
"This Tree has existed since the beginning of the Digital World. All of the first Digimon were born here, even the Digital Dragons!" Elecmon began walking up a set of stairs that curved to match the shape of the tree, leading up to what appeared to be a room. Katy followed, sleeping Botamon in arm.
"Digital Dragons?" she asked. Elecmon looked back at her quizzically, before continuing on.
"There's a myth in your world, that the four corners of the Earth are protected by a certain dragon. I forget how it goes, but the truth is that the Digital World has pretty much the same thing. The Dragon of the East is Azulongmon. He watches over all of the Digital worlds as a whole, unlike the others who chose to watch over a particular Digital world…"
"You mean there is more than one Digital World?" asked Katy.
"Well, sure! Each one is a lil' bit diff'rent with diff'rent species of Digimon and diff'rent rules. Some were created the same way this one was, accidentally along side Earth's digital advancements, while others were programmed and created specifically for a certain purpose by some humans. Regardless of what digital world they were created in, The Digital Dragons watch over 'em all."
They had reached the end of the stair case which lead through an open door way into a little room that had been carved out of the tree. Inside was a large bed made of leaves and moss as well as a smaller bed on the opposite wall. In the center of the room sat a small wooden chest, red with gold designs around the edges. Painted in the center was a symbol that looked very much like a heart.
As Elecmon took Botamon out of Katy's hands, she asked, "Elecmon? What's this?" Elecmon looked at the chest quickly before turning to the small bed.
"That there's the crest of Caring. It's the symbol of a Digidestined that never came to the Digital World." Katy watched as Elecmon set Botamon down on the bed gently, covering it with a yellow blanket.
"Swanmon mentioned something about Digidestined before. What does that mean?" Elecmon turned to give the girl a look of pity.
"Forgive me for saying this, missie, but you don't know much, do you." Katy blushed like mad, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry for so many questions, Mr. Elecmon. I'm just really curious. I-I'll stop now," she stammered, lowering her head in an apology. Elecmon ran up to the girl.
"Hey-hey, darlin', I didn't mean anything by it! I was just saying you had a lot to learn, is all. I'll be happy to answer any of your questions!" Katy looked up, still worried that she had asked too many things.
"I wouldn't want to bother you…"
"It wouldn't be a bother," he said, sitting down and leaning against the chest, "The longer I get to talk to you, the longer Swanmon has to calm down!" Katy giggled at the thought of Swanmon being so huffy and puffy.
"She seemed so calm and cool when we met, it was sort of funny to see her get so riled," said the girl.
Elecmon winked at Katy, "She usually is, but when it comes to her babies, she's as cuddly as a Mama Tyrannomon. So, you have no clue what the Digidestined are, do you?" Katy shook her head in response, eliciting a small groan from Elecmon.
"We'll have to start with the basics then. You sit right on down, and let ol Elecmon tell you all about it…"
Meanwhile, outside the Tree, Swanmon was hard at work washing out her bronze teapot. Scrubbing the metal pot with a large leaf in a Digi-egg shell filled with warm water, she thought about the strange human girl who had arrived.
"Why is it," she asked herself, "That she was brought to me? I never deal with humans, only baby Digimon!" Her eyes glanced over to the purple messenger bag lying by her side. She set the pot down and reached into the bag for one of the cups she had brought. Her wings felt around inside the bag, finally resting on a hard object.
She retrieved her wing, now holding the object and brought it to her face to inspect it. The item in question was pure white, with a small screen and two pink buttons below it. The lower part of it was covered in pink rubber, with lines for five fingers to rest on comfortably. A thick antenna, pink as well, stuck out of the top, and there was a belt clip attached to the bottom.
Swanmon's eyes widened as the severity of the situation came to light. She looked up at the tree, as if she could see the human girl inside, chatting happily with Elecmon while Botamon slept.
"A Digidestined without a Digimon is in great danger indeed," she breathed, "What was Azulongmon thinking?!"
To be continued….
Chili: I know what you're thinking. Well, not really. But I'm guessing that you're wondering how I'm going to try to convince to click the review button. But today, I'm going to try to convince you NOT to click. That way, you'll click it just to spite me. Reverse Psychology is a wonderful thing.