Innocent Games
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Genesis 1:2
Origin.
The beginning and birthplace of life; one of science's greatest mysteries. It's one of the few I've never felt the need to solve. That may be because, in the end, it's all theoretical. If I'm being honest with myself, it's more likely because it hits too close to home.
I've spent half my life learning code. To many it seems complex, but I find its predictability comforting. It's really just a language. Most of the time, I find it much simpler than ours. There's no extra layer, no tone of voice or gesture to change its meaning. What you see is what you get. With the correct knowledge, you achieve the expected, programmed result.
But the Digital World has always tested me, pushed the boundaries I thought unbreakable, forced me to reevaluate logic, to see code as alive. To live. I still find it incredible that a world exists that is so easily manipulated, where a single stroke of my hand can erase power and create it.
I sometimes wondered if its creation was intentional. If some programmer sat in the beyond, forming the depths of the oceans with his hand.
Now, in the darkness, I don't know.
Chapter Two
Void
...
Yolei Inoue was loud.
She was pretty sure she'd established that since birth. Her parents had almost lost their minds, she was told, with three young children, a store to attend to, and an accident that never shut up.
Yolei's throng of siblings loved reminding her that she was the oops baby. Maybe that was why squealing was a constant in the Inoue household during her first few years. Babies sensed things, after all. Yolei even swore she could remember the time her parents left her in the stockroom with her neglectful brother, who did nothing but drown out her cries by blasting the sound on his Gameboy. Her mother came back an hour later to find her dry-sobbing in her walker, poop everywhere. Mantarou still thought it was funny. Yolei still hated the sound of Zelda. And the smell of poop.
So, she was going to demand attention, oops or not. Afterall, she had three siblings to compete with: Mantarou and his constant troublemaking, Chizuru and Momoe with their perfect grades and relentless bickering. Oh, and, of course, her parent's first baby: the store.
It felt like an answer to prayer when the Digital World found her special. Even if she was given second-hand crests and a team that was falling apart at the seams. It was a good thing they never did anything useful anymore. Ever. God, she missed Digiworld, even the scary parts.
Now, without it under constant threat, she felt like she was missing an outlet. At least there she could be loud without too many dirty looks. Her enthusiasm was always warmly welcomed by their childlike partners. And when they were fighting bad-guys she could be as pissed as she wanted. Sort of. Hawkmon did like keeping her in check as did Cody. And sometimes TK and Kari, and even Davis, who had no right because he was just as loud as she was. So maybe she wasn't completely unopposed, but at least she didn't feel like she was one second from being kicked off the team.
She was chosen too. On purpose.
But now everything was rainbows and butterflies. The Digital World didn't need her, so she needed a new outlet.
She wasn't sure this was it.
Yolei squeezed through the stuffy crowd of teenagers. Music throbbed in her ears and the heat of what felt like a thousand bodies pressed against her sides, making her want to shed the cardigan she had insisted on wearing. Her face was still burning.
Upon arriving, she had ungracefully stumbled over her heels and squashed the toes of that cute guy from Chem class. She spent the next few minutes gushing awkward apologizes and flirting (horribly) before Mimi barged her way between them. Yolei still wasn't sure if she had been rescued or if Mimi had stolen her thunder.
Sora waved them on, saying something about someone Yolei couldn't make out. She still wasn't sure where they were going and she had shouted, "what?" at least twelve times before she realized Sora was already gone. Finding herself abandoned, she was tempted to give into the wailing throes of her youth.
It was at that moment she spotted Davis surrounded by a horde of his soccer buddies, already buzzed. He caught her eye and raised a red solo cup in greeting, sloshing his boots with beer. Her finger flung at him like a bullet.
"No."
He bounded up to her side like a puppy ignorant of being scolded, big brown eyes casting eager looks over her shoulder. Yolei could tell he'd been drinking because of the way they shone, full and glossy, like he was on the verge of breaking into tears, which he often did after one too many. The first time Davis ever drank (he stole some of Mantarou's secret stash of scotch), he lied on the Inoue's kitchen floor for nearly an hour laughing at her oversized animal slippers and sobbing because pigs shouldn't be that cute.
She flicked his nose. "Stop that."
"Owwww." He rubbed it, eyes crossing to find the damage. "Stop what?"
"Looking for Kari."
So he did. And for what seemed like a very long moment, he looked at her.
"Wait, why are you so tall? The hell you wearin? Is that makeup?" He actually poked her lip with his stubby finger, smearing it with red.
Yolei slapped his hand, teetering backward to avoid his careful observation of her face. Dodging another finger, she caught sight of Ken, sitting on a couch. He had looked away from a conversation with one of Davis's teammates and caught her eye, a twitch of amusement curling his lip.
Blood rushed to her cheeks. "I always wear makeup."
A brow rose, wrinkling Davis's forehead. "Not like that."
In a flash, Mimi was grabbing her shoulders and pushing her forward like a human offering. "Doesn't she look cute?"
It took a second for Yolei to regain her balance on her new stilettos. Davis gave an odd sort of giggle and she straightened, exaggerating the extra inches she had on him. He instantly teetered to the balls of his feet.
"Mimi, you're back!" His grin had turned cheesy and the gloss in his eyes sparkled under the dim lamp light. His hand swung up and down in front of Yolei in some sort of grand gesture. "Did you do this?"
"Just a little paint on a beautiful canvas." Mimi laughed. "Now tell her she looks nice."
The people in the room were beginning to swell, filling every available space. Ken stood to make room for a couple on the couch. Yolei tugged on her cardigan, covering the mole in her cleavage before he noticed. Her clothes were courtesy Mimi too. Well, really they were from a Mimi-dictated shopping spree that had almost depleted Yolei's entire paycheck. She still weren't sure they were worth two weeks of moping at I-Mart.
Davis's gaze fell to her nervous fingers. A strange sound came from the back of his throat, something between a cough and a laugh.
"You look nice." The words came out easy, like his lips were too loose.
In an instant, Mimi grabbed his shirt, yanking him towards her. He stumbled with a "wha the?" while she flipped his collar. After checking his tag, she gave a satisfactory click of her tongue.
"Classy. Trying to impress someone?"
"You." Actual tears seeped from the corners of his eyes when he laughed.
Mimi beamed.
"How much has he had to drink?" Yolei asked Ken when he joined them, nursing a red solo cup still filled to the brim.
"Not enough," said Davis.
From behind his back, Ken silently lifted a hand, showing all five fingers.
"Already? Geez, Davis."
"What? They said chug."
"Are there even any seniors here?" Mimi cut in, looking around the crowded room. She had to shout to compete with the rising volume. "I think half these people were in my class. Where'd Sora go?"
Davis spoke before anyone could answer. "Kari didn't come with you guys?"
"I think she's coming with Tai," said Mimi.
Yolei snapped her fingers. "That's where Sora went."
"With Kari?" Davis's eyes looked even more watery.
"With Tai. I think I saw him in the kitchen."
He started to storm/stumble away and, after excusing him, Ken followed.
Yolei shouted, "Don't let him do anything stupid!" and Ken gave an obedient nod before he disappeared behind a swarm of teens.
A low sigh deflated through her lips. "I don't think he noticed." She tugged absently on the hem of her miniskirt just to make sure it was still covering the shorts she'd hidden beneath.
Mimi laughed. "Oh I think he did." She stood on tiptoes to look through the crowd. "Did you see Joe and Izzy with him?"
"With Ken?"
"No, Tai."
"Oh. No, just Tai. I think. I mean, hard to miss him. The hair." Yolei's fingers flew from her head like an explosion.
"Hm." Standing on tiptoes to look over the crowd, Mimi squealed, "Ooooh! Oh! Nevermind. Matt's here. I can't believe he came. I'll be right back."
"Hey, did you"—Yolei stopped short when Mimi slid sideways to fit between two swelling groups of teenagers—"see TK?" she finished lamely. Adjusting her glasses to buy time, she wondered if she should follow and decided on texting Cody instead.
Her phone felt heavy in her hand and, after a moment, she pulled out her D-terminal instead. Even though it bulged from her sweater, it somehow seemed lighter. The technology, now outdated and clunky, thrived with purpose. Cody's name lived permanently beside an avatar of Armadillomon, who danced on the screen in blocky pixels.
FROM: Yolei Inoue
TO: Cody Hida
SUBJECT: Cue the nostalgia aka I'm alone again
I miss this clunky thing. Remember before we all had cell phones and we used to think we were the shiz because we could chat on these? I used to stay up all night making text art on here. Best one: my perfect rendition of Shurimon made entirely out of $ symbols. That was talent.
Wish you were here. You should've come. No one would've cared you're thirteen. Or noticed. Pretty sure you have Davis beat by an inch now. Plus, you have that old wise man look. Oh, that reminds me. Tell your grandpa I'm going to take him up on the kendo lessons. Some guy just tried to slap my ass. I'll take a moment to thank Arukenimon for my ability to dodge multiple appendages.
Hey, does Upamon know how Hawkmon's doing? I feel like I haven't seen him forever. I miss him even more than the text art.
Yolei leaned against a wall, butt safely tucked away, ankles already throbbing from the heels, and tried to be quiet.
...
...
Joe Kido was nervous.
Always had been. Worried about everything. He attributed it to being detail-oriented, something that had been passed down through his family for generations, like medicine and expectations.
It helped his parents make quick decisions under pressure. Their obsession with the little things meant the difference between life and death in the operating room. It made them good at what they did. It's what made his brother a brilliant researcher.
It made him insane.
"Maybe you should have a drink."
And there it was, sloshing in Joe's hand without him remembering accepting it. Tai grinned and knocked their cups together before returning to his phone.
"Alcohol makes it worse," said Joe, shaking drops of beer from his hand.
Tai typed out a couple of lines. "What worse?"
Glaring, Joe took a small sip.
Tai pocketed his phone. "Oh, come on. You've seen her a hundred times." The back of his hand plummeted into Joe's sternum. "You've got this."
Beer dripped down Joe's nose. "Thanks." He wiped it and defogged his glasses. "But I'm not here to tell her anything."
"No better time than the present."
"Possibly. But there's certainly a better place."
"Oh please, Mimi'd love it if you made a big scene at my graduation party."
"You mean you would."
"It'd make my night."
There was a long pause, filled with the sounds of teenagers shouting, "drink, drink drink!"
"At a kegger."
"Joe, college has changed you."
Before Joe had even finished rolling his eyes, Tai's hand had shot up in greeting.
Joe took a hurried sip of beer and ended up coughing all over his shirt.
"Easy, there, big guy."
"Big?" Joe wheezed.
Tai grinned. "Hey, the gang's all here!"
Joe followed his line of sight. Sora stood there among the crowd, alone. Her red hair was styled neatly into a bun behind her head and a couple loose hairs fell down the nape of her neck when she looked over her shoulder. A sweater slipped from her shoulder, showing off a sprinkle of freckles. When she turned back, Tai was still staring at her, his smile dimpling his cheeks.
"It's just me," said Sora.
"Ah, but you're the glue," Tai said. "Where you go, everyone follows."
She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched through her pursed lips. "I'm pretty sure everyone followed you."
"Or was dragged against their will," muttered Joe, still clearing his throat.
"Can you believe we're graduating?" Sora asked, although her eyes had acknowledged Joe's suffering. Sora had always had a gift for changing the subject without making you feel bad. "Did Tai tell you he got into Tokyo U?"
Tai beamed. "So did Sora."
Sora frowned. "I still haven't decided."
"Come on, it wouldn't be right without you there," Tai gave her a nudge and covered his mouth without lowering his voice. "Joe might die."
Joe coughed. "What?"
"You're gonna be an RA next year, right?"
"I'm rethinking it already."
"Matt and I already put in to be roomies. Just think of the possibilities-"
"I'd rather not."
"Without Sora there to boss us around, you're going to have to take on that responsibility all alone."
"Definitely resigning," said Joe.
"See?" Tai snickered. "You're needed for Joe's mental health."
A long second passed before Sora responded. Her gaze seemed to have fallen through the crowd, her lips pulled flat. "I'll take that into consideration."
As if Tai's limbs were filled with helium, they all seemed to deflate at once, making him sag at least two inches. It was something Sora usually would've noticed if she wasn't so busy looking somewhere else.
Joe let out a long sigh and gathered his courage. "So… did Mimi come with you?"
Sora's attention whipped back to them, her eyes instantly brightening. "I lost her and Yolei in the crowd, but they're here." She looked to Tai. "Is Kari home?"
"Nah, she came. Just got swept away by some classmates awhile ago," Tai said.
"That's good." Sora wiped her hands on the side of her shirt, straightening the edges over her hips. "I was worried she wouldn't come."
"I'm still worried she did." Tai went into instant big-brother mode, recovering the inches he'd lost. "I think I sorta invited Davis and TK."
"Are you serious?" asked Sora.
"What? I didn't want either of them to feel left out."
Joe scoffed. "A minute ago you were threatening vital parts of their anatomy…"
"I also might have my own agenda - OW!"
Sora was grabbing Tai by the ear. "Keep your hands off my children." She gave Joe an overly sweet smile. "I've made my peace with being the group mom."
After being released, Tai rubbed the side of his head against his shoulder like a wounded animal.
"I can't believe Matt agreed to room with you," Sora said.
Tai shook his drink at her. "What's that s'posed to mean?"
"You two are going to drive each other crazy."
"That's why he makes the perfect roommate," Tai said. "I already know how to push all his buttons, so I don't have to find out how to bug someone new. And he always has a constant supply of hair products, so if I just bank on that, I'm probably going to make money by the end of the first semester. Easiest year ever."
"What?" Joe asked.
"But enough about us." Tai swung his arm over Joe's shoulders. "We need to convince this man right here to confess and get on with it."
Joe flushed. "What are you talking-"
"Joe, shhh, Sora already knows."
"You told her?"
Sora laughed. "Joe, I think everyone knows. Even Mimi."
Joe felt his limbs deflate, and he shrunk three more inches than Tai had before. "Well, that's not encouraging."
"She's single this time," said Sora.
Tai shoved him in his deflated arm. "Go!"
Sora waved. "In that general direction."
By the time Joe had swallowed back his nerves enough to protest, they had already turned to talk to each other. He scanned the crowd, eyes searching for familiar honey-brown hair while he wondered if that was even the color she was wearing now.
...
...
Mimi Tachikawa was determined.
She had always been a willful child. Her parents even had books on the subject, despite the fact that they never followed their advice. There were a lot of positives to their permissive parenting style. She was outgoing and candid and she was used to getting what she wanted.
And right now, she wanted to talk to Matt Ishida.
His sharp blue eyes had passed her way and turned immediately back to the strings of a guitar without so much as a glimpse of a smile.
Mimi frowned. With ease, she pushed past the swarm of fangirls to find a place by his side. Three girls had somehow managed to jam themselves into the loveseat around him, draping over the arms and cushions. A game of chicken ensued when Mimi started to sit in one of his fangirl's laps.
"Excuse me!"
"No," Mimi said. "Excuse me."
"What? I was sitting here."
Mimi's rear continued to move down.
The girl finally gave up her seat. "What is wrong with you?"
Mimi settled onto the cushion with a loud sigh of relief before turning her attention to the blonde. Matt stared, both amused and embarrassed and all his emotions hiding carefully behind the straight line of his lips.
"Oh, Matt."
His voice was flat. "Hi Mimi."
"I'm back. Fortunately for you, I'm just visiting, so I only have a week to nag you." Her mouth stretched into a slow smile while his twitched. The girls around them huffed. "Sora's here."
"I know." A couple of strings twanged, suddenly out of tune.
"I need your side of the story."
She hit a nerve, but that was too bad. Matt was full of nerves, everyone seemed to strike them at some point in time. Crossing her arms, Mimi pressed her shoulder into his and he instantly flushed, much to the adoration and jealousy of his fangirls.
Clearing his throat, he stood and stuffed his guitar into its case. "I need some air."
Mimi followed.
Matt sucked down air in hordes of smoke, obliterating a cigarette so quickly that she was amazed he wasn't choking to death by now. Waving a hand in front of her face, she snatched the pack from his hand and gave them a shake, right in front of his straight, gorgeous nose.
"What is this?"
"A pack of cigarettes."
"When did you start smoking?"
He didn't answer.
Mimi crossed her arms and the pack began an angry dance on the edge of her elbow. "You know what happens to musicians who smoke?"
"They play music?"
"They lose their voices. And their fans cry and their bands break up and they never get back the woman they love, that's what."
He depleted the other half of the cigarette.
"Is this because Sora dumped you?"
Ash scattered over the balcony into the busy street below. People swelled all around them and suddenly the conversation seemed too public, even for her. Mimi watched the way his face changed, his carefully guarded expression.
"No," he said.
"Yes it is," Mimi said back, even though she didn't have to. He leaned over the railing and she moved to his side. Her voice grew quiet and she returned the dwindling pack. "You should tell her."
The pack of cigarettes bounced in his hands over an open sky. Smiling, he shook his head. "You haven't changed."
"Glad to be the one constant in your life," she teased. He went sideways from her nudge, flushing again. "Seriously though, she's here. You guys should talk. Get everything out in the open, work things out."
"It's not that easy."
"Yes it is."
"Mimi." His voice went low, that same tone he often took with Tai when he'd had enough. "If she doesn't want to be with me, that's her choice. I'm not going to talk her out of it."
She tried not to whine. "Why not?"
Matt pocketed the cigarettes. "Because I have nothing to say." He looked at her then, that intense gaze boring through layers Mimi didn't like to admit she had. "Aren't there things you'd rather not talk about?"
Every muscle in her body tensed as memories came bounding to the forefront of her mind, sitting there, wagging their little tails, begging to be shared. Then, for some reason, she thought of her parents, her personality, and wished that sometimes they would have told her no.
Mimi stuck an accusing finger under Matt's stupid, perfect nose. "What do you know?"
"Nothing." Smirking, he stood straight. "But it's nice to know you aren't as transparent as you make yourself out to be."
Then he gave a nod, directed at someone over her shoulder.
Mimi whipped around, heart pounding, and before Matt could even get out a greeting, she had already flung herself around Joe's lanky frame.
...
...
TK Takaishi wasn't ready.
It was too soon to see her again. He wondered for a moment if it was too soon for everything. Too soon to try to be friends like this, too soon to act like things were okay, too soon for their relationship.
It was definitely too soon for love.
His mother had been telling him that ever since she realized they were serious. It was always the same speech. You're too young, Takeru. Don't rush into anything. Your father and I… As if it was age that had turned his parents into workaholics, too tired and stressed to do anything but fight at the end of the day.
So TK had tried really hard not to get too serious too fast, even though he had thought he was different. That they were.
"Hi," she said.
He said, "Hi," too.
And when they didn't say anything else, TK wasn't sure why he had expected more. Maybe because this was Kari, his closest friend, and he should be able to talk to her. Except he had trouble keeping his eyes locked onto hers when they looked at him like that, like she wanted to strangle him, cry and kiss him, all at once.
As if he'd been the one who kissed someone else.
"How"—she stopped, wrung her hands behind her back—"How's Patamon?"
"Uh." TK wanted nothing more than to unbutton the last button on his collar, the one he had buttoned in protest to Matt's fashion advice. It seemed like a stupid argument now that he couldn't breathe. "He's fine."
Kari shifted in her Mary Janes, toes clicking together, heels apart. They were red, like Dorothy's, without the rubies.
"Think he misses Gatomon," TK said to her feet.
"I miss you," she said.
Someone knocked into TK's shoulder, smattering his shirt with beer.
"Oh." Kari reacted before he did, stepping away and coming back to his side before he could register what she had said. Her hand was against his chest, pressing paper towels into the stain.
"Stupid," she muttered, dabbing. "Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid."
He tried to take the paper towel from her hand and she froze under his touch. "It's okay," he said.
"No, it's not."
"It's just a shirt."
She relinquished the paper towels and TK took the opportunity to unbutton his collar. He swabbed at his sleeve. "It's a pretty terrible shirt, actually."
"I liked it." Her voice was almost too low to hear over the crowd and she was the one avoiding his eyes now. "Here." She grabbed the wet paper towels from his grasp. "Just wait a minute, okay? Don't go anywhere. Please."
TK nodded and watched her squeeze past the majority of the computer club, who had orchestrated some sort of elaborate drinking game. They were huddled around a single laptop and shouting a bunch of gibberish in unison, ending in groans and shots of cheap vodka.
"Izzy!"
"AGHHH!"
"No, nope! Can't call on absentees."
"He's never around anymore. Whyyyy?"
"Stop. Next round. One, two, one one, Super calc frag logistics XP Allah... deux chess!"
The last voice he recognized. Half the group let out a unified cheer while the other half drank. TK shot up a hand, catching Yolei's attention through the crowd.
"TEEEKAAY!" She pushed toward him and waved off her group's protests. "I was looking for you." She teetered forward a bit, resting a hand on the wall to keep her balance.
"How long have you been here?" he asked.
"Maybe an hour. This game, though." She kicked back an imaginary shot and her glasses slid down her nose. "I don't get it."
TK couldn't help but smile. "You just made everyone drink."
She blocked her mouth with the back of her hand. "I think we're making it up as we go."
"Wouldn't have guessed. It looked very…formulaic."
"Ha!" Her finger flew in front of his nose. "And that is the point." The finger bounced into his shoulder. "Right there. That is the point. But it's nonsense. Nonsense."
"Mmhm."
"Why do you always have the right thing to say?"
TK tried not to laugh. "I literally just said, mmhm."
"Exactly. Kari is crazy."
His laughter cut short.
"Sorry, sorry," Yolei said. "I hold my liquor about as well as I hold my tongue." Her hand kept gesturing wildly while she talked and an accusing finger pointed out at him again. "Which is not well."
"Maybe you should take a break from… your game."
The finger bounced at him. "Yes, good call, sir."
"I'll get you some water."
"And chips!"
TK nodded. "And chips. Hang on a second."
Yolei snuck onto a barstool the moment it became unoccupied and waved off her computer club friends when they booed at her.
"I'm drunk," she shouted.
"You only took two shots!" one of them yelled.
The large kitchen was packed to the brim. TK managed to sneak away a bag of chips, but the sink was currently occupied by a zillion red solos preparing for beer pong . He backtracked to the bathroom with an empty cup, half in a daze. When he wasn't talking to someone, his life felt unreal, like he walking through the halls on Puppetmon's strings, following the motions.
And when he wasn't talking he had too much time to think. About Kari, about it being too soon, and wondering if she was still somewhere close, making her way back to him.
...
...
Cody Hida was tired.
He had never been a good sleeper. Certainly not when he was an infant. His grandfather still liked to talk about how his father would walk Cody up and down the apartment halls after getting off duty, when the nights were late and all was quiet but the sound of Hiroki's utility belt, jangling with each step. Cody still found a drowsy sort of comfort in the sound of heavy keys.
He didn't fair much better as a young child, especially on the nights his father wasn't home. His mother was always awake, wringing her hands until Cody was sure the sound of her raw skin would bring him from his bed. He didn't understand why the night shift didn't let her sleep, but he liked the drumming of her heart against his ear and he always found himself in his own bed by morning.
After the funeral, he wondered if he'd always known, deep down why they didn't sleep when his father was gone.
It was getting late, close to midnight, and even though he had practice in the morning, Cody was sitting at his desk, reading. Every now and then he would turn from his book to his D-terminal, checking for a message.
It'd been over an hour since he'd last heard from Yolei. His hair had long dried from his shower, still combed flat against his forehead, whisping just above the brows. He was long overdue for a haircut, but between kendo and an increasingly demanding school load, he hadn't had the time to get it done. Yolei had told him he looked "hip." He wiped it aside, irritated with the way it stuck to his skin, and started to yawn.
"Whatcha up for still, Cody?"
Cody turned to Upamon, who was just two eyes peeking out from beneath a blanket. "Can't sleep."
"Well of course ya can't. You're sitting up."
A small twitch curled the corner of Cody's mouth, but it didn't stay long enough to be a smile. "I guess Yolei found some friends," he mused, pressing a button on his D-terminal.
"Is that why you're still awake?"
He gave a shrug.
"Is there somethin botherin you?"
Cody's finger jabbed again at the scroll button and the words on the D-terminal blurred in his vision. "Is it strange that I'm already wishing for the good ol' days?"
"Uh…no?""
He let out a light laugh, which for him was really just a breath of air. The screen stopped. There was almost a ten month gap between the last two messages. They hardly used D-terminals anymore.
"Maybe I just wish we were closer."
Before Upamon could question him, the D-terminal beeped, lighting red in the corner. Cody scrolled back down, wondering if Yolei was about to elaborate on her absence and found Tentomon instead.
FROM: Izzy Izumi
TO: Cody Hida
SUBJECT: URGENT! THIS IS TENTOMON.
Cody stood up from his chair.
"What is it?" asked Upamon.
He reached across his desk, touching the yellow D-3 that sat in the corner. It felt warm.
"We're going to Digiworld," he said.
"Oh, yay!"
"We have to pick up Tentomon first."
"Oh, yay!" Upamon's ears paused mid-wiggle. "Wait, where's Izzy?"
The D-terminal seemed to glare in the corner of Cody's vision. He grabbed it from his desk and shoved it in his pocket.
"I don't know," he said. "But we're going to find him."
"Is everyone coming?"
For a long moment, Cody didn't answer. He grabbed a jacket and a backpack from his closet he kept packed, just in case. He put on his coat and rolled his shoulders, feeling the ache of the day's kendo practice.
"I hope so."
"We need to find them too!"
Cody scooped his partner into his arms. "You're right, but that means you're going to have to stay in here for awhile."
Upamon pouted as he hopped into Cody's backpack. "Okay."
"We'll grab some of Mom's onigiri on the way out."
"Hooray!"
"Don't make a mess."
"Awww."
After Upamon was settled, Cody took out the D-terminal again, rereading Tentomon's message.
Something went wrong with Izzy's program. He was trying to fix it and he got sucked in. I can't get through the digiport! HELP!
He switched the D-terminal for his cell and replied to Tai's group text.
Real emergency this time. Izzy's in trouble. Where are you?
He was already at Izzy's house by the time he received a reply.
...
...
He woke to find his wrists shackled.
One might think the natural, immediate response would be to panic. He would have thought so. But when his eyes peeled open to darkness, an eerie calm settled over him like the start of sleep. It seemed too much a dream.
Everything was magnified: the sound of heavy tapping, a scrape across stone, the smooth cold metal against his skin.
Izzy tried to open his eyes again before he realized they were already opened wide.
The darkness was absolute, a deep void still pulling him in.