Send in the Spies

The next few days were the same as Mokuba and Rebecca stayed in the bell tower and told Quasimodo more stories about the other worlds and their friends. One would comment that the children certainly had the gift of gab, but the hunchback found their stories entertaining.

Mokuba told the story of his adventure in the Digital World and explained what Digimon were. Rebecca also told the story of the Silver Millennium and the Moon Kingdom. In many ways, that story was similar to the one about the Children of Millennia, but it was also different. Quasimodo almost didn't believe Rebecca when she said people lived on the moon, but she promised him that she was serious and that man has actually been to the moon in her world.

The stories were a lot to take in, but they were still fun to listen to. Mokuba got up and suggested, "You know, Quasi, you should really see these places. There's so much you could learn and see."

"Yeah," the hunchback said in agreement, but then he changed his mind. "But I couldn't."

Rebecca approached him and took his hand. "You don't have to be afraid of the unknown. Moki and I will be beside you, showing you the magic and wonder that we want to share with you."

He still had his uncertainties. "I don't know. I've never left the tower before. But I'm also worried, what if I take the chance and it's not what I imagined?"

"Come with us and we promise you it will be," Rebecca encouraged.

Mokuba nodded. "The bell tower doesn't have to be your only sanctuary either. The Secret Garden is a sanctuary to all who enter it. It can be a place you can run away to for comfort or if things get to be too much for you here."

Then the raven-haired lad began singing. The land is beautiful

It's like the sunshine that comes down from the trees and kisses the ground

The city is like a maze, we all never fly, we feel the loneliness

There is water, ooh, it's so beautiful

It's all like a dream reaching to be free

If you are afraid of despair, please come to our precious world

The Secret Garden's there

We can fly away and we can talk heart-to-heart

Let's get to paradise with invisible wings

Someday our dreams will come true

We can find the way, yes, we can fly together now because there is hope for everyone

The Secret Garden's waiting for you

Rebecca took her turn and sang, There are many flowers, ooh, it's so lovely

They stay in your heart, yes, forevermore

You are our special friend, please come to our precious world

The Secret Garden's there

We can fly away and we can talk heart-to-heart

Let's get to paradise with invisible wings

Someday our dreams will come true

We can find the way, yes, we can fly together now because there is hope for everyone

The Secret Garden's waiting for you

As Quasimodo listened to their song, he continued to imagine the beauty of the Secret Garden. He wanted to see the wonder his friends were offering him. Still, he was worried about disobeying his master. "All right, you've convinced me. I'll go with you to see the Secret Garden."

Mokuba and Rebecca jumped and cheered with joy.

"But it'll have to wait until tomorrow," the hunchback said. "It'll be getting dark soon."

"Okay," Rebecca said.

Mokuba faced her and said, "Bec, why don't you and I head out to get something for dinner?" He faces Quasimodo and asks, "Is that all right?"

"Okay, but don't stay out for too long," he warned. "Try to make it back by sunset."

"Don't worry, we will," Rebecca promised him. She and Mokuba left the tower and headed down the stairs to the main entrance.

With the last of their rations having been eaten for lunch and most of the shops closing, Mokuba and Rebecca knew they'd have to return to the Secret Garden to get food. They were thinking about going home too, actually. It had been a long time since any of them actually had a decent meal. Not that they didn't like eating Emily's baked good or the fruit and vegetables from the garden, but they were craving foods like pasta, pizza, steak and seafood and other cooked foods. They also felt like they could use a bath. Then once they were finished, they would meet up at the falls again.

Mokuba returned home by the usual routine. He would announce himself home and take off his shoes and rest for a while. Before heading to his room, he saw his brother. "Seto, hey. What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at the office?"

"I came back from the hot springs a few minutes ago," he told his brother. "Sit down. I want to talk with you."

Mokuba didn't like the sound of that in his statement. Nonetheless, he sat down. "What's up?"

Kaiba decided to get to the point. "I want to know what's going on. Where are you going all this time? I know you're going to the other worlds, but what have you been doing?"

The younger brother didn't want to tell the truth about discovering a door to another world, but he didn't know how to lie to his brother. Other than that, Mokuba hadn't had much practice in lying to his brother. "I've been visiting Rin since I heard she was sick," he answered. "I've been helping take care of her by bringing her some medicine from here."

The older brother wasn't convinced, but he accepted his response. "What do you have in your backpack?"

"Just the usual needs for being away," he answered truthfully. "Clothes and hygiene products."

Kaiba got up and began rummaging through his brother's backpack. He saw that he was telling the truth. "Mokuba, if you don't want to tell me, I won't force you to, but don't lie to me."

Mokuba knew his brother wouldn't believe him. "I'm sorry, Seto. I just can't talk about it."

"Why not?"

Mokuba turned away. "I made a promise."

"To who?" the older brother asked.

"I… I…" Mokuba stuttered. "I can't!" He got up and ran to his room. He locked the door and knelt at his bedside. What am I going to do? Mokuba thought to himself. I can't tell him Rebecca and I found a door to Medieval Paris and met Quasimodo. The thought of it was really upsetting the boy. I don't think I can keep this up much longer, but I don't want to stop seeing Quasi. He tightly grasped the sheets of his bed and began crying. He didn't know what to be afraid of more; his brother discovering the truth or losing the hunchback's trust and friendship.

That evening, after dinner, Mokuba repacked his supplies. He took out his dirty clothes and packed fresh new clothes. He unlocked the door to his room and began sneaking away.

Guilmon watched from the corner of the hallway. When Mokuba left through the front door, Kaiba pushed the red dragon forward. "Follow him," he ordered.

"But why?" Guilmon asked.

"I want to know where he's sneaking off to," he answered. "If I go, it'll be too suspicious. If you hurry, you can make it to the Secret Garden before he does. Once you find out what world he's going to, come back and tell me."

Reluctantly, Guilmon obeyed. Before leaving, he got his disguise and put it on. He also put on a backpack full of food in case he would get hungry. He also accessed his partner's email account and asked Leon to meet him in the Secret Garden in a few minutes. Leon replied and said he'd be there.

Keeping to the shadows, Guilmon followed Mokuba's scent and made it to the Secret Garden. He found his partner and saw him and Rebecca hurry over to Celestic Falls. He gasped as he saw them disappear behind the waterfall. The red dragon ran towards the falls, astonished to see a cave on the other side.

Guilmon heard Leon's voice and turned around and saw him in the watermelon patch. "Leon, over here," he called.

Leon saw him and ran over to him. "Guilmon. Where's Mokuba?"

"He and Rebecca disappeared behind the waterfall," he answered.

Leon's eyes widened in shock. He looked inside and saw the cave. He also saw a door. "There's a door hidden here. They must have passed through." He approached the door and asked Guilmon, "Do you know which world this leads to?"

"I have no idea, but I think we should get the others."

Leon agreed. He and Guilmon went to the world of the Sailor Scouts to get Rini. Afterwards, they went down the Bone-Eater's Well to go to the village where Shippo, Rin, and Kohaku lived. Rin finally got over her stomachache and was feeling better and Shippo and Kohaku needed to get away after being tormented by Inuyasha, so they went back to the Secret Garden.

"What's going on, you guys?" Shippo asked.

"Moki and Becky are having a secret adventure and we're going to find out what it is," Leon answered, and he and Guilmon led everyone back to the cave behind Celestic Falls. He opened the door and they all passed through one by one.

The children noticed that their clothes had changed. Rin was wearing an orange dress with a yellow ribbon in her hair and her feet were still bare. Kohaku was wearing a teal colored tunic and gray tights and black shoes. Shippo looked like a human boy and was wearing a viridian colored shirt and blue pants. Rini was wearing a magenta dress with primrose ribbons tied in bows in her hair. Leon was wearing a cream colored tunic and brown pants. "Hey, our clothes have changed again," Leon observed.

"And I look like a regular boy again too," Shippo added.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Rin asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure," said Kohaku. "Let's find Mokuba and Rebecca." He also noticed that the sun was setting. "We'd better hurry. It's getting dark."

Guilmon began sniffing the ground. "I can smell Mokuba's scent." And he began leading the way.

The children passed through the streets and came to the square. Leon stopped and gazed in awe at the wonderful cathedral. "No way," he whispered. "Can it be?"

"What is it, Leon?" Kohaku asked.

"Guys, I think I know where we are."

But before Leon could tell his friends, Rin cried, "I see Moki and Becky. They're going into that castle."

"Actually, Rin, it's a church," Rini corrected.

"Not just any church," Leon was saying. "That's Notre Dame."

"You've been here before?" Shippo asked.

"No, but I have seen pictures of the place," Leon answered. He smiled and thought, Mokuba, you lucky kid. You too, Rebecca. "Come on, let's go!" And he and the others hurried to the cathedral.

They made it inside and headed up the stairs to the bell tower. Before heading to the entrance, Leon stopped. He felt his heart racing and his adrenaline running.

"Why'd you stop, Leon?" Rin asked.

"Do you guys know the story of this place?" he asked his friends. Rini and Guilmon did, but the others didn't. Leon explained anyway. "They say a monster lives in that tower."

"A monster?" Rin asked.

Rini played along. "Yeah, but don't worry. He's a good monster. He's nice like Guilmon."

"How do you know?" Shippo asked. "Have you seen him?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking," Leon was saying.

"We'd better check this out," Kohaku suggested. "Just to make sure Moki and Becky aren't in any real danger."

He was about to pass through, but Rini stopped him. "Wait a minute, in case anyone gets any ideas about tattling, let's take the oath."

"What's the oath?" Guilmon asked.

Shippo cleared his throat. "Put your hand over your heart and cross your eyes," he instructed. Everyone followed his instructions. "Spiders, snakes, and a lizard's head."

"Spiders, snakes, and a lizard's head," everyone else repeated.

"If I tattletale, I'll die 'till I'm dead," Shippo finished.

"If I tattletale, I'll die 'till I'm dead," everyone repeated. This meant that whatever happened from here on out would stay between the friends and no one else was allowed to know.

With the oath being said, the friends cautiously began treading up the bell tower. They heard the sound of laughter coming from one of the upper levels. "It sounds like Moki and Becky are having fun," Shippo whispered. He looked around and asked, "But where's the monster?"

Guilmon began climbing up the stairs in excitement. "Guilmon, take it easy," Leon hissed. "Don't get excited." He and the others ran after him, but Guilmon tripped and the others began to pile over him.

Mokuba and Rebecca couldn't believe this, but the raven-haired lad was more happy than angry to see his friends. "Guilmon, guys, how'd you find us?" he asked.

"Moki, Becky," Guilmon cheered, getting back on his feet.

"Guilmon," Rebecca returned, hugging him. "How'd you get here?" She looked at the others and asked, "What are you all doing here?"

"After you left, Kaiba sent me to follow you," Guilmon told Mokuba. "Then I rounded up the gang and asked them to help me find you."

Mokuba groaned and placed his hand over his eyes. "Oh, no."

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Rebecca asked.

"Don't worry. We took the oath. We won't tell anybody," Shippo promised.

"Are you two all right?" Kohaku asked Mokuba and Rebecca. "Where's the monster?"

"There is no monster," Mokuba told him. "But you guys are in for a special treat. We want you to meet a very special friend." He turned around, but saw that Quasimodo wasn't there.

Rebecca saw him hiding behind the table. "Come on out and meet our friends," she coaxed. "You'll love them."

"But what if they don't like me?" Quasimodo softly asked.

"Don't worry, it'll be all right," she promised him.

Quasimodo slowly came out from behind the table, but kept his hands over his face.

"Maybe he's shy," Rin said, facing Rini.

Finally, the hunchback gathered his courage and removed his hands so he could look at the group of friends. He saw them all carrying expressions of astonishment. He gulped and said weakly, "Hello, everyone."

Guilmon was the first to approach him. The red dragon sniffed him, then smiled and happily purred. "Hi," he said, shaking Quasimodo's hand. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Guilmon."

"Hi, Guilmon," Quasimodo returned, petting the red dragon.

Shippo observed the hunchback. "He's not a monster. He's a human."

"You're right," said Rini. "He is a human."

Rin walked closer to Quasimodo. She looked at him curiously, then smiled at him. "He's not scary to me. He's very nice."

"Told you so," Leon bragged.

"Moki and Becky have told me so much about all of you," said Quasimodo. "It's nice to meet all of you."

Shippo scowled at the two. "Funny, they never mentioned you."

"Oh, they wouldn't," Quasimodo explained. "I asked them not to. I wasn't ready to meet all of you then."

Mokuba cleared his throat. "Yes, well, it's great to see everybody. Sorry we had to be so secretive."

Leon forgave him. "It's okay, we understand." He didn't want to admit how jealous he was of his friends for meeting Quasimodo and becoming friends with him. "But man, wait 'till everyone finds out you've been here all this time. And your brother, what'll he think?"

"You can't tell, Leon," Shippo reminded him. "You took the oath, remember?"

"Seto doesn't have to know," Mokuba replied. "Nobody has to know."

"Moki, everyone back home is worried about you," Guilmon told him.

"I know, and I'm sorry for worrying everyone, but I can't tell Seto and the others about Quasimodo," he snapped. "I promised him I wouldn't. And now that you guys are here, you have to swear it too. I know you said you took the oath, but even so, you have to swear not to tell anybody. It's for our protection as well as Quasimodo's."

Rin looked at Mokuba, then at Quasimodo and Rebecca. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't tell anybody." The others nod and promise the same thing.

"Okay," Rebecca was saying, "now that that's settled, it's time to figure out what we're going to do. I don't think all of you can stay here in the bell tower."

"Rebecca's right," said Mokuba. "You should all return home to your worlds. Tomorrow we'll all meet up in the Secret Garden. Agreed?"

"Agreed," everyone answered.

"Can Guilmon stay with me, Mokuba?" Leon asked.

"Sure," he permitted. "Rebecca and I will come get you guys when we're ready." He petted Guilmon's head. "I'll see you in a while. Be good for Leon, okay?"

"I will," the red dragon promised. And the others began leaving the bell tower.

"It was nice meeting all of you," Quasimodo told them. "Be careful on your way."

"We will," Rin assured him. "It was nice meeting you too." And they all headed down into the cathedral.

Mokuba and Rebecca trusted their friends, but they couldn't risk their safety by letting them spend the night in the bell tower with them. One thing was for sure, they were definitely looking forward to tomorrow.