Before we begin this chapter, anyone excited for the upcoming Digimon Adventure 3 series coming this Spring? I for one, am really looking forward to it! Hopefully, they do more stuff with T.K and Kari in the next season. Especially, Kari.
Enjoy!
Flashback
"The truth is, we aren't supposed to be here." Kari concluded.
"I'm sorry about having dinner with us. My mom insisted in seeing yo..."
"She means we got sent to the wrong litter box!" Gatomon interrupted.
"What does that mean?" I blinked.
End of Flashback
The puzzle was coming together. Everything made some sense to me after Gatomon said the biggest clue to this riddle. Gatomon's unknown pokedex entry, Kari's glowing "Pokegear", their friends, digivolution, and Angewomon were just scattered pieces till the final one was revealed. The Digital World was what helped solved this mystery about Kari and her pet.
"Kari and Gatomon are from the Digital World?"
I got up to what we all just heard and took a few steps towards the dead body of Kari Kamiya. As the painful cries of the brunette's feline whimpered into my ears, I too felt my heart shatter. Except mine was broken by guilt. An innocent life that had so much potential to become stronger was taken away by my own stupidity.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" The cat hissed.
"GAHH!"
Before I could even open my mouth to speak, the cat slashed me in the stomach. Great pain stabbed my belly; which caused me to knelt down in agony.
"PIKAPI!" Pikachu cried.
"I-I'm fine, PikachuAHH…"
Gatomon wasn't done avenging her fallen comrade. She wanted me to pay dearly for losing her best friend and she wanted me to feel even more pain. She then tackled me to the ground and was about claw out my face.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU FINISH THOSE GUYS OFF WHEN YOUR STUPID PALS SHOWED UP?!"
"KARI WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF YOU WEREN'T GAZING AT THE STARS!"
"PIKACHU!"
My best buddy knocked the brunette's monster before my eyes In a way to protect me, Pikachu tackled Gatomon off my hurtful stomach, trying to prevent another death. He wanted to end the damage, but deep down, the destruction had already been dealt to me. The cat spoke the truth of my foolish actions.
"Are you okay, Ash?"
I turned my head to the left, spotting a familiar friend. Reaching out to me in his purple short sleeve tropical shirt was Professor Oak's grandson, Gary. He had returned from his week long vacation at the worst possible time. If Professor Oak and my mom seeing a dead girl was bad enough, my reputation of a friend was going to be destroyed by my old rival.
"Gary?" I muttered.
The professor's grandson gave a hand without another word. My body stood tall once more, but the sight lying in front of me still hurt my heart. Guilt began to poison me, knowing that Gatomon was right.
"Don't blame yourself." Gary kindly said, placing a hand on my left shoulder.
I turned to Gary and found something that was rare from him. A face that was usually full of determination or trickery was now full of kindness for me. If it was the old Gary witnessing this tragedy, he would either save Kari desperately or send me six feet under to join her. Ever since our battle in the Johto League, Gary changed to be a more mature type of person.
"It wasn't your fault, Ash." He consoled me.
"No, Gary. She's right." I disagreed, removing my friend's hand off of me.
I knelt back down to my knees to resume my sorrow. Everything Gatomon said was true. Why didn't I finished Team Rocket off when my pokemon arrived? Another blast by Charizard could have sent our foes away and this whole defeat could have been a mere bad dream. The only answer I could come up with was I didn't want Kari to get hurt by my pokemon. I took too long and allowed my enemies to counter strike.
"What happened?" Gary asked.
Rather than telling the whole story, I decided to just tell what happened a moment ago. From beginning to end, I told my neighbor about Team Rocket's latest attack. I even mentioned the fact that Kari's sprained ankle and how I hurt it like a fool. The story concluded the brunette's final message.
"What did she say?" Brock wondered.
"To take good care of her digimon." I answered.
"Digimon?" Gary repeated.
"Is that what Gatomon is?" The doctor asked.
We all turned towards Pikachu holding the crying cat for comfort. Although this was an astonishing discovery to us, the brunette's death killed our joy. We found out who the feline really was and her homeworld, but for what happiness? Her trainer got killed by my own was Gatomon going to return to the Digital World?
The only clues we had that could related to this situation were Kari's messger and "pokegear" were our hints to bring Gatomon back home. I went to grab the "pokegear", but something unordinary happened the second I detached the tiny device from the girl's pants. It somehow turned on by its own, blinding us with a strong light.
"W-what did you do?" Gary cried.
"PIKAKA?" I heard Pikachu squeaked.
"KARI!" Gatomon gasped.
The worried cat digimon ran to her trainer as we all got the same reaction as she had. Our eyes (except Brock's) widened to the stunning sight of Kari glowing. A white aura engulfed the girl with its glow, summoning a symbol over heart. A symbol that I sensed inside her when she digivolved her creature into Angewomon.
"What's going on?" Brock wondered.
"The Crest of Light is reacting to something!" Gatomon informed us.
"The Crest of Light!?" Gary repeated.
We were then giving a brief lectured about the illuminating symbol. Apparently, the Crest of Light was a relic from the Digital World that was passed down to Kari. It allowed her partner to digivolve into Angewomon, but it seemed there was another ability in effect. Something that Gatomon never witnessed before.
"So, it's like a Mega Stone." Gary exclaimed.
"If you say so." Kari's cat shrugged.
"But, what is the crest responding to?" She wondered.
A blue glow caught my eye as I felt energy pulsating in my right hand. The hand that held Kari's "pokegear". I turned my hand to see what was happening, only to be shocked. Blue energy was consuming my hand, enhancing the power of the brunette's device.
"I think it's me!" I gasped.
"You?" Everyone responded.
My hand gave enough proof to be the answer to this mystery. No doubt the power I was feeling was what led us to the two strangers. It helped me find them in danger a few hours ago and now it was sensing the girl's soul. Was she lessel behind to meet Arceus? That was a possibility I refused to allow.I got her into her current state and I was gonna get her out of it.
"I'll explain later, but for now, Kari needs help!" I answered.
"Huh?" Everyone muttered.
Overflowing with power, I knew what needed to be done. It was time to expose a side of me that I never knew existed till I went to Cameran Palace. Ever since I won that little tournament there, a strange power has been fused with me. With it, I was able to restore life to the Tree of Beginnings and locate a captured Riolu in Sinnoh. Could it save a poor unfortunate soul from going to heaven?
I pressed the "pokegear" on its owner's heart with my hand over it. Next, came the hard part. An ounce of energy got drained out of me and got transferred to Kari, brightening the Crest of Light. My plan was to sacrifice some of my own energy to revive the fallen brunette. It sounded simple, but there was one major risk I could think of. Since I was still new to this sorcery, my life was also in jeopardy. The consumption of my own soul could happen.
"Come on…" I prayed to Arceus.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu said.
"What is he doing to Kari?" Gatomon asked curiously.
I was too blinded to even answer the feline's question. My hand (that wasn't holding the "pokegear") shielded my eyes for a clearer view. The light split apart into eight separate beams. Each beam then shot out to the sky, scattering to unknown places.
'What was that?" Brock cried.
"I don't know." Kari's pet answered.
*Th-ump th-ump*
Kari's POV
*Th-ump th-ump*
*Th-ump th-ump*
I could feel it again. Strange energy was flowing through my veins as my heart restarted pumping once again. Every beat that thumped in my ears felt like music. A rhythm of being alive. The planet's oxygen then drifted up my nose, gently brushing against my nose hair. I took a breath breath to suck it in, but there was something on my chest preventing me from doing so.
"I heard a heartbeat!"
"Pika?!"
"KARI!"
Mellow voices began to ring in my ears. Familiar voices who were begging me to awaken. They were so concerned about my health that something we me touched my cheek. Something wet licked my face, waking me up slowly. A yellow figure blurred in my sight until my vision cleared itself.
"Pi-Pikachu?" I groaned.
"Pikach…"
"KARI!"
Ash's POV
"Oh my Arceus!" I heard Gary whispered.
My spirit may have been drained, but it was worth seeing the joyful moment. Gatomon ran to the right side of her trainer and pounced on her slender stomach. The "pokegear" got knocked towards me as we all heard tears of joy being shed.
"The madness is finally over." I sighed, leaning back.
Kari's POV
"Y-you're back!" My digimon sobbed.
Indeed I was, but the question was, how? How did I get revived? A few moments ago, I couldn't even feel a single muscle. Everything became dark as all my senses faded away. The poison was feasting me away, reducing my energy to nothing. Death was upon me till hope tingled my bones. Whatever it was, a miracle happened.
While Gatomon was soaking my pants with her tears, I sat up to see if my mind was playing tricks on me. It wasn't as I saw the creatures who took care of Team Rocket surrounding us. Charizard, Bulbasaur, Kingler, Snorlax, they were all watching me. The cat hot air balloon was gone; which meant peace had been restored to the professor's home.
"We're glad you're back, Kari." Ash greeted.
"Pika!"
The main protagonist's partner greeted me as well by jumping my left knee. His weight may have giving some pressure on my knee, but his cuteness caught my eye once more. Deep inside, I knew the yellow rodent was concerned for my health. I gave him some more strokes on the head as I turned to his trainer.
"How long was I out?" I asked curiously.
"About five minutes." Brock answered.
"Chansey." A pink pokemon said.
Ash's POV
"We did some CPR on you for the last three minutes while the pokemon and Angewomon took care of Team Rocket." I told the brunette.
It wasn't too far from the truth, but it was the best I could say. From the experience I just had, it was going to be difficult to confess my secret. Fortunately, it looked like I didn't need to reveal it as we all saw Kari smiled. She was grateful to be alive; which was enough to satisfy me.
"I don't know how to thank you guys." Kari grinned.
"You don't have to thank Ash." Gary told the girl, grabbing my head.
"He'll do anything for a girl like you." He replied, giving me a noogie.
"S-stop it, Gary!" I growled.
The house responded to my pain as lights illuminated from inside, ceasing my former rival's noogie. Even the back light shined a little to where we stood. Whatever happened to the power must have been fixed by my mom or Professor Oak.
"THE POWERS BACK ON!" My mom announced.
"Well, that's good news." I responded.
"Was it a power surge?" Kari called out.
Professor Oak came out to check on us and told us what happened. We didn't actually lose any electricity. The power outage was just a diversion set by Team Rocket for them to snatch Pikachu and Gatomon without us knowing. A couple of switch toggles from the fuse box caused the house to black out; which bought the trio to execute their latest plot. The explanation was then finished with the professor greeting his grandson back home.
"Hey Gramps!" Gary greeted back.
"How was your trip?" The professor wondered.
"The Kalos region was great!" His grandson answered.
"How were the pokemon over there?" I asked.
"Amazing." Gary described.
"Oh, that reminds me!"
My former rival suddenly went off around the house for something. That something was a shopping bag as we all saw him coming back with one.
"I brought gifts!" Gary announced, giving me the bag.
Kari's POV
Eager to see what his friend bought, Ash dove in to see the the bag, were two items. A cookbook entitled, "Le Tableau Lumiose". Just looking at the cover, I could tell it was a french cookbook. Besides the bold title in french, the cover showed a very similar landmark from Paris, France. A prism tower that the humans in my world called, The Eiffel Tower.
"A cookbook?" Ash questioned.
"That's for your mom." Gary clarified.
"Maybe I'll check that out after she's done with it." Brock suggested to himself.
"There's another thing in the bag that might be yours, Ash." I reminded the dense boy.
The other gift that was still in the bag was some kind of blue wristband. A blue wristband that looked like a Power Rangers morpher with a green gemstone in it. Ash took it out and tried it on his right wrist. It fit him quite well as Pikachu and Charizard went to their trainer for a better view.
"I got that specially for you!" Gary exclaimed.
"What's so special about a wristband?" Ash blinked.
"They call those thing Mega Rings." The giver mentioned.
"A mega ring?" I repeated.
"All I'm gonna say is you should probably let Charizard get some rest, Ash." Gary recommended.
I became just as confused as Ash was after hearing that recommendation. Out of all the pokemon the raven haired boy had out on the field, why did Gary choose Charizard? Perhaps the dragon was Ash's strongest pokemon and Gary wanted to demonstrate something with him. Either way, it sounded intriguing to watch.
"Why?" Ash wondered.
"Cause we're gonna have a one on one pokemon battle tomorrow morning!" The brown spiky haired teen announced.
"Your Charizard against my Blastoise!" He called the shot.
Excitement overflowed me for some reason. I didn't know why, but a part of me wanted to witness tomorrow's match. A part of me wanted to stay in this world to see an epic pokemon battle. That part must have been the child who once endured the franchise I was now a part of.
"Fine by me!" Ash accepted.
The subject was then changed when Gary forgot one more surprise. Sadly for Brock and the Ketchum family, the next surprise wasn't for them. Professor Oak watched his grandson pull out a CD case and giving it to him. Inside the case, laid a silver compact disc filled with unknown data.
"Professor Sycamore asked me to give this to you, Gramps." Gary exclaimed.
"Oh, thanks!" The professor responded.
"I'll download it later tonight!" He replied.
"I can download it for you, Professor." I offered.
Everyone (including the pokemon) turned their heads to me by the words I just spoke. The offer seemed a little crazy to the boys due to my revival, but I had to do it. I needed to get on a computer to see if I could gain access back home. Gatomon and I needed to see if we could go back to the Digital World.
"I can do it right now if you want." I added, getting back on my feet.
"You sure, Kari?" Gary blinked in concern.
"I have to do at least something while I'm here." I answered.
"Do you know how to use a computer?" Prof. Oak asked.
"I know how to transfer photos from my digital camera to a computer Popping in a disc is not a problem.." I replied, lifting my camera for show.
"Can you fix one?" Gary's grandfather continued.
"Huh?" I muttered.
The professor then explained his computer problem to me. At first, I thought he wanted me to actually repair his machine with tools. Thank god it wasn't the case. Instead, he simply wanted me to help him get his computer up and running normally again. I was happy to accept the offer. A quick antivirus scan wasn't gonna bother me anyway. Heck, I even wanted to clean the hard drive as a bonus.
"Great, let me show you where it is!" The professor smiled, guiding me to the stairs.
Ash's POV
And with that, we were alone. Gatomon followed her trainer, leaving us boys outside at night. Unfortunately, our time didn't last too long as Gary let out a yawn.
"Guess I should hit the bed." Gary yawned.
"Good night, Ash! Brock!" He waved.
"Good night!" Brock and I responded back.
My former rival entered the house and proceeded his way towards his room. Where he would slumber for the rest of the night. As for Brock and I, it was going to be a LONG night. The doctor had a long drive back to his home in Pewter City waiting for him. He had it easy while I had the feeling that Kari would sleep at my house. I had no problem with girls sleeping in my house, but the secrets revealed tonight gave me some for sleeping.
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