Digimon: Digital Monsters
The Next Creation
#03: The Birth of an Era
by Seruyamon
(Cyllya)
***Earth Date: 3 years AA***
Izzy felt himself awaken, but he kept his eyes closed. He didn't hear an alarm clock, and he wasn't in the good mood one requires to wake up early.
"Oh, please wake up," someone whispered.
Izzy rolled to face them, weakly opened his eyes, and asked, "Why?"
The person who'd spoken seemed surprised that he'd woken up. She stuttered, "Uh…you're awake."
"Yeah," Izzy said cautiously. The first time she'd spoken, he'd assumed it was Levia, but now he knew it wasn't. He couldn't see straight, but he could tell it was a woman with long light brown hair. The room he was in was small and contained mostly white and blue. The walls of his room at Automon's Inn had the brown color of finished oak-like wood. He moved his hand to where is nightstand should have been, but something else was there instead. He felt a sudden rush of panic, fought to stay calm, and asked, "Where am I? Where are my glasses?"
"Um…Izzy, honey, you don't wear glasses," the person said, "You're in the hospital."
"Who are you?"
The person didn't answer. She seemed surprised and scared.
"No offense," Izzy said, "If I'm supposed to know you, I'm sure I'd recognize you if I could see straight."
"I'm your mother."
It took a few seconds for this information to properly register itself in Izzy's brain, "…What?"
"I'm your mom. Do you have amnesia?" she sounded panicky.
"Uh, no, I…" Izzy stuttered and sat up, "What planet are we on?"
"Uh, the same one we're always on."
"I'm looking for a name."
"Earth?"
"Earth?!" Izzy demanded. His eyes straightened a bit, and he could see well enough to recognize his mom. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and he hugged her. He asked, "What happened?"
"You were asleep for over three days straight," Mrs. Izumi said, "We called the hospital when you wouldn't wake up. We were worried sick."
Izzy ran his hand down his side from his shoulder to his feet. He was wearing a hospital gown and felt shorter. He asked, "What year is this?"
His mother looked at him strangely and said, "Um, 2002."
Izzy groaned loudly and fell back into his laying position.
"It's weird because the same thing happened to your friends."
"Levia, Mimi, Joe, Tai, Sora, Matt, Vanessa, Kari, and TK?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"But no one else?"
"Just the ten of you, but you know…" while Mrs. Izumi rambled on about how worried she and his father had been, Izzy had found his clothes in a cubby under the bed and changed beneath the blankets. He got out of the bed and she asked, "Where are you going?"
"I have to talk to my friends," Izzy said.
"I think you need a doctor's permission. They're probably asleep anyway," his mom said. She took his arm as he moved toward the wall of curtains that surround his bed.
"Koushiro!"
Izzy pulled away and left the curtained area. He found Levia standing in the hall made by two rows of curtain walls. She had her hands behind her back to hold her hospital gown shut and she looked about thirteen years old.
Her eyes welled up as she moaned and asked, "Where are we? Why are we here? I'm scared, I wanna go home!"
"Calm down," Izzy consoled.
"Where are we?" Levia asked again. Also being short a pair of glasses, she squinted and corrected herself by asking, "When are we?!"
"Odaiba Hospital, year 2002," Izzy said. He remained calm, then blew it, "The last eleven years have been packed into three days! THREE BLASTED DAYS!"
"Hypocrite," Levia muttered, "You just told me to calm down…."
"Sorry," Izzy grumbled, "See if you can find your clothes."
"'Kay," Levia said, walking backwards into her curtained area and closing it.
"Izzy?" another curtain opened, revealing Joe, fully dressed.
"Three days?" Izzy asked quietly, almost helplessly and desperately, "But we were here the whole time…."
"Was is all just a dream?" Mimi asked tearfully. When she appeared, she didn't have clothes, but she had a second hospital gown on backwards.
"NO!" Kari shrieked, making everyone jump. Her lip quivered as TK came out. She collapsed to the floor in a sobbing heap, "No! It was real!" TK kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her as Tai, Matt, and Levia appeared. Sora and Vanessa came out a few seconds later.
"What's wrong, Kari?" Sora asked.
Kari didn't answer, but Mimi said, "It's Hikeru. She's worried about her baby." Tears welled up in Mimi's eyes and Joe pulled her close as she moaned, "I know how she feels…."
"That must be hard," Levia said, "I'm worried about Thresee, and she's not even a baby."
"I told you not to name her."
"Put a sock in it, Izzy."
"So what happened?" Matt asked, "How did we get here and, um, now?"
"Hmm," Izzy thought, "Must've been Cifermon's attack."
"It caused a gateway between worlds despite the time difference," Levia said, "For eleven years to equal three days, the time variance would have had to return to its former one-day-every-minute routine when we first arrived to the Digital World."
"What about the fact we've been here unconscious the entire three days?" Tai asked.
"Our consciousness would have had to become digital while our bodies remained physical," Levia said, "Our conscious minds assembled simulations of our physical selves similar to the way it would in the other cases we've been to the DigiWorld. These simulations were only digital bodies and, as far as I can tell, can be used only in the DigiWorld."
Izzy nodded thoughtfully. Tai, Sora, Matt, and Vanessa stared at Levia in confusion. Anyone who was a parent failed to even acknowledge her existence.
"What?" Levia asked.
Tai shrugged, "Hmm, she is Izzy's girlfriend."
"Calm down, Tenshi," TK consoled, "He's okay. They're okay. Everything will be okay." He coaxed her off the floor, so she continued her sobbing while sitting at the foot of the bed she'd been on.
A nurse around age fifty or so came in and looked around in surprise. She saw Kari crying her eyes out, Mimi crying almost as much, and Joe and TK on the verge of tears. She went to Kari and asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Stay away!" Kari shrieked, throwing the nurse's hand away.
"What's wrong?" the nurse asked. She looked at TK.
"You wouldn't understand," TK said stubbornly.
"Let me see…" she approached Kari again, but TK stood in her way.
"She said 'Stay away,'" TK said coldly.
"Now, you're in the way," the nurse complained and tried to go around him. She failed and said, "Move or I'll call security."
TK stayed firm, and the nurse stomped out of the room muttering about 'kids these days.'
Izzy's dad and Levia's mom and little sister came hurriedly into the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Izzy saw his mom put away her cell phone. In another few minutes, everyone's family was crammed into the room. For the most part, everyone was cheerful because they were reunited with their families after so long of because their children were safe.
Even Mimi forced a smile onto her face as she hugged her mother, but Kari was still crying and still despised physical contact from anyone save TK. He continued to back up her pleas to be left alone, and her parents seemed more reluctantly obedient.
"She's having an emotional problem," Tai said, "There's nothing we can do just yet. She'll be okay."
"Hi, Mama!" Vanessa said to her mom.
"Hey, squirt," her mom said with little to no emotion. Vanessa drooped. Matt put his hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly when she looked him. She smiled sadly, then stood up straight and smiled.
"Okay, be quiet everyone!" the nurse yelled as she came back in, "You're not all supposed to be in here at once, but if you're quiet we can make an exception." She went over to TK, who stopped chatting with his mom to continued guarding Kari. She said, "I'm gonna do my job by checking her out whether she likes it or not."
"Over my rotting carcass."
"TK," Ms. Takaishi said disapprovingly.
"Move," the nurse said.
"No."
"TK, honey," Ms. Takaishi said, "Let her do her job."
He said, "I'm sorry," to his mom without looking at her.
"Security," the nurse called. Three guys, all of whom looked over age forty, came in and stood looking casual, careless, and tough. The nurse said, "I don't care what you do with this kid, just get him out of my way."
"Okay, squirt, move it," one of the guards said.
"What makes you think I'll listen to you when I wouldn't listen to her?" TK asked, smirking, "Just because you're a foot taller, you're male, and you act tough…probably tougher than you really are?"
"You wanna pick a fight, kid?" the guy demanded.
"No," TK said, "I want everyone to leave my friend alone."
"Move," the guy repeated.
"No," TK said.
"Move or else."
"Or else what?"
"I'll shoot you."
"What?!" Ms. Takaishi demanded.
"Yeah, right," TK laughed, "Come on, shoot me. I dare you!"
"Come on," he grabbed TK's left arm and got socked in the face with his right fist. All the guards charge forward in an attempt to restrain him.
"Don't hurt him!" his mom cried.
TK did a fair job of defending himself, yet with his body being shorter and less muscular than he was used to and Kari being his top priority, he was caught. One guard grabbed each arm and the third lifted his legs off the ground and held them together under his arm.
"Let me go!" TK demanded.
"Yeah, right, you little trouble m—Ahh!" the guard holding his feet released him as he lurch forward and practically fell on top of him. TK looked up to see that Matt had kicked the guys in the back. With their back to her, Kari kicked one of the guards in the ribs and punched the other in the jaw. TK pulled away from them and took a fighting stance as Kari went back to her pitiful moping position.
"That's my little bro you're messing with!" Matt declared, standing beside him.
"And my little sister he's defending," Tai said, joining them.
Matt nodded, "If you're gonna get to her, you'll have to go through all three of us."
"Right," Tai and TK said.
"Are the rest of you little brats gonna be in on this too?" the guard with the injured jaw asked bitterly.
"I know how Kari feels," Mimi said. Joe nodded.
"It's what friends are for," Vanessa grinned.
"It's only right," Izzy added.
"We've got to stick together," Levia said.
"We care to much about each other to be beaten by the likes of you," Sora proclaimed, "Or by anyone for that matter."
"Right," Joe said. The six of them joined the others.
"Call security," one of the guards said to the nurse.
"You are security!"
"Call more security! There are more than three guards."
"Right!" the nurse walked quickly out of the room.
Tai, Matt, TK, Mimi, Joe, Levia, Izzy, Vanessa, and Sora lined up defensively in front of Kari. The guards lined up in front of them. Tai looked over TK to Mimi, Joe, and Sora, who looked at him expectantly. He gave a slight nod toward the guard closest to them. They nodded, and he looked past Matt to Izzy, Levia, and Vanessa. He nodded toward the guard before them. He looked at Matt, then TK, then the middle guard.
"We don't want a fight," Tai whispered, "Be defensive."
"Playing leader, kid?" the guard in front of him asked.
"You wish; you're the one playing," Tai said.
"Come on," the guard said, "We need to get that little girl out of here."
TK tensed more.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Mr. Ishida yelled, "This is absurd. You're security guards that are fighting a group of kids! All they're doing is protecting their friend."
"She just wants to be left alone," Mrs. Kamiya said, "There's nothing wrong with her."
"We're giving you kids one more chance to get out of out way," the guard said. When the DigiDestined stayed firm, the guards charged forward.
"Get 'em!" Tai yelled. They ran forward. With Matt's help, Tai flipped the charging guard over. He rolled long-ways over the floor. TK backhanded him in the side of the head. His knuckles hit the man hard enough to knock him out.
Joe kicked the second guard in the stomach. The guard grabbed his ankle and tried to trip him. Mimi caught him and Sora hit the man's wrists. The three beat him up and knocked him out. Levia and Izzy joined hands and ran toward the other guard. They ducked down as he neared them. Their hands hit him in the ankles. He was propelled forward. Vanessa used his momentum to hurl him up onto the spare bed next to Kari's.
"What is this?" Mr. Kamiya demanded, "Guerilla warfare?"
"These kids act like an army!" Mrs. Izumi commented.
"Alright," Izzy said. He yelped and almost fell to his knees. Levia held him half of the floor and supported his head with her palm.
"Izzy, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. His mom took a step forward.
"Just a tranquilizer…" Izzy mumbled sleepily. He removed the dart from his arm and tried to stand. Levia tried to help, but she got hit as well. The others having already turned that way, they looked to the fourth security guard that stood in the doorway with the nurse and a tranquilizer gun.
"Get HIM!" Tai ordered, dodging a dart. Mimi was struck with another one, but their charge was interrupted by a battle cry. TK instinctively kneeled down and folded his hands. He pushed Kari toward the guard. She hit him in the stomach, knocked him onto his back, and punched him twice.
She started to punch him again but TK grabbed her wrist, "Don't hurt him anymore, because you'll only be hurting yourself." She burst into tears again, and TK used his other arm to wrap around her and lift her up off the guard. The guard stood and stumbled weakly out of the room, holding his bloody nose, which was probably broken. The nurse and the other conscious guard followed him.
Izzy and Levia sat down on the floor, leaned against each other, and instantly fell asleep. Mimi collapsed into Joe's arms. The parents were speechless.
"K-Kari, honey?" Kari's dad asked tentatively. He carefully approached her and TK, who were clinging to each other as she cried. TK thought for a moment and nodded to him. He stepped closer and gingerly touched Kari's shoulder.
Kari shrieked, her wings sprouting and knocking him in the face. She released TK, spun around, flapped to a few inches off the tile, and swung a blind punch without even considering who she was punching. TK reached up and put his arms around her with his left hand holding her right shoulder and vice versa to form an 'x' over her chest. He pinned her ankles between his knees. His head was between her shoulder blades.
"Let me go!" she screamed. She flapped her wings and swung her arms, but she couldn't reach him. After a moment she calmed down and went semi-limp. Her wings became transparent as she stood on her knees on the floor.
"Kari?" Tai asked a bit more confidently. He placed his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't even flinch. Her wings flickered orange and faded away. Tai said, "Come on, Kari. Let's get out of here." He picked her up in his arms and looked toward the adults. He gestured to the door with his head.
***Earth Date: 3 years, 6 months AA***
***DigiDate: 20 years AA***
Hikeru! Wake up!
A pair of bright blue eyes snapped open. They surveyed the parts of the room they could see without a flick of movement from the rest of the body. The eyes turned to the pink, basketball-sized Digimon on Hikeru's stomach. Subjimon was behind him; Gatomon and Patamon were at his side.
Subjimon and Patamon were easy to avoid, but it took skill to get out of bed without waking Gatomon. This skill, Hikeru was proud to know, was one he had. Yet the cat-like Micro Digimon Nyokomon would always wake up and follow him.
Yet now as he placed Nyokomon on the mattress next to him and pushed a blanket against Gatomon, he could tell the little Digimon was still asleep. He was the classic head-only pink Digimon with a catlike appearance, darker pink cheeks, and a tail with dark pink rings.
Hikeru was sure he'd heard a voice. Someone knocked on the front door. Gatomon and Subjimon, who always jumped to the door, only stirred a bit. He waited and the knock didn't come again.
Despite not being allowed to answer the door, especially at night, he walked cautiously out of the room and to the front door anyway.
He glanced down the hall and whispered, "Nyokomon?"
There was nothing. He stood on his tiptoes to unlock the door and opened it. He stepped out onto the cobbled sidewalk and looked up at the tall feminine human-like silhouette with bright dark-brown eyes.
With a nearly invisible motion, the figure pulled out something flat and round with a handled and held it inches from Hikeru's face.
"This person," she paused, "is very significant, even though you can't tell now.
"Destiny knows this person as Hope and Light. History knows this person as one of five saviors. Digimon will know this person as the Child of Light. Legend knows this person as the bringer of angels…. Who do you know this person as?"
Hikeru's face was calm and blank as he said, "That's me," and blinked expressionlessly at the mirror.
The woman put the mirror away and held something else toward him. It was concealed in her closed palm-down hand. Hikeru held his and out. When his visitor's hand moved away, he was holding something he'd only remembered seeing in the pictures of history books.
***
"Gatomon! Patamon!" Hikeru yelled the next morning as he pulled his shirt on, "Can Nyokomon and I go to the ice cream shop with our friends?"
"Which friends?" Gatomon asked.
"All of them," Hikeru answered.
Gatomon looked reluctant as he bounced on one foot while putting a boot on the other one. She sighed, "Sure. Be careful."
"Do you need some money?" Patamon asked.
"Yeah, thanks!" Nyokomon said. Patamon gave some DigiDollars to Hikeru as the two kids bounded out the door. Nyokomon demanded, "What's the rush?!" as Hikeru ran toward the ice cream shop.
"I have big news and I want to tell everyone!" Hikeru said, "Last night I could have sworn it was a dream! Were you asleep? If so, it's the first time I've ever gotten out of be without you waking up!"
"You got up last night?! Without me?!"
"Sorry!" he skidded to a stop at the outdoor ordering window of the shop and ordered two strawberry-and-chocolate-swirl ice cream cones. He carried the cones to the table his eight friends were sitting at. He put one on the table, and Nyokomon began eating it.
"What are you grinning about?" Chimari asked.
"I have big news! Did anything funny happen to anyone else last night?" he asked.
Chimari looked anxious. She asked, "Funny as in funny, or funny as in weird?"
"If it's weird, yes," Kasandora said.
"Me two," Hiroshi answered.
"Me three," added Kenji.
"Same here," Chimari said.
"Some weird person gave you one of these things?" Hikeru held out a Digivice.
"Yep!" Hiroshi answered, holding his up. The others nodded and showed theirs.
"Ooh! Neato!" said the yellowish Micro Digimon that sat near Kenji.
"The funny lady told me I could tell the nine of you, and any reborn children," Kenji said, "Whatever that means. I can't tell the adults."
The others said they'd had the same experience. Chimari said, "Reborn Digimon are Digimon that the Dark Masters killed and that hatched again afterwards. We can tell the ones that aren't very old yet."
"Like the ones that hatched around the time you little guys did," Kasandora grinned.
"Hey, Kassie," Hiroshi snapped, "Stop talking about us like you're am Ultimate or something." Kenji and the two Digimon sitting by Hiroshi and Kasandora got a sweatdrop as the two of them started arguing.
"Why can't we tell the adults?" Chimari asked.
"Maybe they'll be mad," Hikeru said, "Like they were that one time." He grinned, "You guys, remember that one time?"
***
***Earth Date: 3 years AA***
***DigiDate: 16 years AA***
"I need you like water! Like breath! Like rain! I need you like the mercy from heaven's—Hey! That hurt, you little brat!"
Kasandora, age four, stopped singing and charged angrily after Hiroshi because he'd just pulled her hair. They chased each other around Gatomon and Patamon's front lawn. Kenji, Chimari, Hikeru, and the five baby Digimon sat at the nearby miniature picnic table and watched them. After a moment, Kenji got up and stood between the laughing Hiroshi and his pursuer.
"Be nice, be friends," he said. He looked hopefully at Kasandora; she was two years older than him, so he didn't stand much chance if she decided not to listen to her. She relented and stomped back to the table. As Hiroshi went back to the table, Chimari pulled his light reddish-brownish-blond hair.
"Hey!" he whined.
"That's why Kassie's mad!" Chimari scolded, "That hurts! Kenji smart!"
Kenji blushed and ran his fingers protectively through his own dark brown hair as he sat down and resumed eating cookies. Hiroshi looked bitterly at Chimari's short chestnut-red hair, but she slapped his hand away the few times he tried to pull it.
"Hello!" Hikeru yelled suddenly. The black Digimon he yelled at instantly stopped flapping out of start and began bouncing along the cobbled road. Hikeru and Takimon got up. Hikeru waved.
"Haven't seen him before," Chimari said.
"Me neither, but my class learned about that Digimon in school yesterday, when Hikeru and Takimon weren't feeling good," Kassie said. She thought, "His name is… DemiDevimon."
The Digimon's yellow eyes widened fearfully as Kassie spoke. Hikeru went up to him and asked, "You okay?"
"Um, yeah, thanks, bye," DemiDevimon said quickly and began to take flight.
"Wanna cookie?" Hikeru asked, holding up a chocolate chip cookie. DemiDevimon looked at him like he was the most shocking creature in the known universe.
"Hello!" another Digimon said, somehow hanging upside-down near Hikeru.
"Hi!" Takimon squeaked in a seldom-used high-pitched voice.
"Don't hurt him!" DemiDevimon squawked to Puppetmon as the Mega Digimon righted himself.
"For your info, I wasn't planning on it," Puppetmon said, "Since I became an In-training and Gatomon gave me that famous dirty look of hers when I tripped a classmate, I decided to turn over a new leaf. Were you planning on hurting him?"
"No," DemiDevimon said, "Why would I? I have no employer, but *he* just offered me a cookie."
"Here!" Hikeru said cheerfully. He shoved the cookie into DemiDevimon's mouth and said, "Just a minute! I go get more!" He ran into the house.
"Hi!" Kassie said as she and the others approached the two Digimon, "Do you know patty-cake?"
"Yeah, here!" Puppetmon said, holding his hands up. By the time they'd finished the patty-cake poem, Hikeru was back out with more cookies.
"Gatomon let us have more since friends came over!" he said.
"We're… their friends?" DemiDevimon asked.
Puppetmon considered, "Why not? It'll give me someone to play with. Ten someones."
"We friends!" Kenji smiles. Maffimon bounced up and down excitedly.
***
"I don't know how you guys' guardians reacted," Hikeru began.
"But Patamon almost fainted and Gatomon blew her top!" Nyokomon finished laughingly.
"Mmm-hmm," Kassie grinned.
"That was funny!" said the Digimon next to her. She looked a lot like Tanemon without paws, but she had a small fish tail, long thin flippers, and dark blue eyes.
"Gabumon did faint!" said Kenji's yellow Digimon. It looked like a larger body-less version of Kittimon's head. His face was white, his eyes were big and green, and his ears were large and round. He had a tiny nub-like tail and stripes on his back.
"Kinnomon, you aren't supposed to tell people that!" Kenji whispered while trying to hold back snickers.
"Oops!" Kinnomon said.
"Funny!" the Tanemon-like Digimon had cracked up and couldn't stop laughing.
"Bunemon! Don't lean against me when you're laughing!" the Digimon near Chimari said, "You'll make me choke on my ice cream!"
"Sorry, Mossimon!" Bunemon giggled, scooting away. Mossimon was a round indigo Digimon with large blue globular insect eyes. She had a pair of large white blue-rimmed ears and a black horn.
"Biyomon almost had a nervous breakdown," Hiroshi said seriously.
"But Agumon was so shocked he accidentally coughed up a fireball and almost scorched us!" said his Digimon. It was round and pink with mini-tentacle-like things on the bottom of it. It had long thin ears and big red black-rimmed eyes with a vertical mark over them.
"Yeah!" Hiroshi laughed, but added, "It wasn't funny then though! Huh, Yoromon?"
"Nope!" Yoromon agreed.
"Hey, what's up, guys!" Kassie called as she saw Puppetmon and DemiDevimon approached.
"Clouds 'n stuff," DemiDevimon grinned, "The usual."
"When did you guys hatch?" Chimari asked.
"About the time you did," Puppetmon said.
"Look what we got!" Hiroshi said, showing his Digivice.
Puppetmon and DemiDevimon looked at the Digivice, looked at each other, and turned back to the Digivice. Puppetmon nodded interestedly. DemiDevimon said, "I'm not surprised. Figures you guys would be DigiDestined."
"Chimari, Hiroshi, and Kenji aren't anyone's children," Puppetmon pointed out.
"Sure they are," DemiDevimon said, "They were just born the way Psyche Digimon are. You notice that Chimari is mostly smart and persistent, Kenji is exceptionally friendly and virtuous, and Hiroshi is courageous. Maybe when he's older, he be loveable too."
"Love?! Eww!" Hiroshi gagged. Yoromon made a face.
"Maybe when he's a lot older," DemiDevimon specified.
"So they're all the children of the DigiDestined?" Puppetmon asked, "Not just Kassie and Keri?"
'Keri' was Hikeru's nickname.
"Sure, not only are they the DigiDestined's kids, they're the new DigiDestined!" DemiDevimon said. He groaned and asked, "Is there gonna be another war?!"
"I'll be on the Light's side," Puppetmon commented.
"Me too, but I'm going on strike if I get eaten again!"
"Demi, just who are you going to complain to if something eats you?"
"That something's stomach, that's who!"
"You're Digimon Analyzer entry's gonna end up saying something like, 'DemiDevimon. Description: The ultimate case of indigestion!'"
"And I'll be proud of it!"
"And I'll be proud of you!"
"We're proud Digimon!"
"You bet!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Always!"
"Yep!"
Hikeru, Nyokomon, Kassie, Bunemon, Hiroshi, Yoromon, Kenji, Kinnomon, Chimari, and Mossimon were looking at them blankly with big sweatdrops. Bunemon asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
"Um, never mind…" DemiDevimon and Puppetmon said together.
***
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SWINGIN' THAT THING!" Kassie screeched less than a second after a stick skimmed the top of her head. Keri laughed nervously and put the stick behind his back as Bunemon and Nyokomon wiggled away fearfully.
"Sorry," he laughed. They were in the yard behind his house. There was a patio with some assorted pieces of patio furniture, a currently empty clothes line, and a tree with a swing hanging from one branch. The rest was empty grass.
"Yeah, whatever," Kassie grumbled, "What are you swinging that stick around for anyway?"
"It's my sword."
"If you say so…" Kassie got a sweatdrop.
"No, I'm using it to practice."
"Oh…practice what?"
"My sword skills! I'm gonna learn how to sword fight!"
"Oh! That's cool! I can't believe Gatomon and Patamon will let you!"
"Actually…they haven't yet…."
"Jeez! You're jumping into things, aren't you?!"
Keri continued his attempted sword-fighting moves a few feet away. He said, "If they say no. I'll keep learning the way I have been: watching the people that get lessons."
"And practicing with your stick," Kassie added blandly.
"Yeah…."
"We're gonna go get some lemonade!" Nyokomon announced before he and Bunemon went into the house through the back door.
"Anyway," Kassie said, sitting on a lawn chair, "Bunemon and I wanted to ask you about something. You always seem to understand things nobody else does, so—"
"No, that's Chimari."
"She's like that with school-related stuff," Kassie said, "But when it's weird stuff that even she can't explain, then you usually get it. I did ask her first, but she said I should ask you because it was a, quote, 'psychological question.' What ever that means."
"I'll do my best to help, but you'd probably be better off asking Palmon, Gomamon, or a teacher."
"No. Not for this…."
"Okay, ask away."
"Um…."
"'Um,' what?"
"Will you promise not to laugh at me?"
"Sure. I'll even do my best not to snicker."
"That's not funny."
"No, but maybe what you're asking is."
"It's not," Kassie said, stressing "not" very firmly. She asked, "Do you… ever… get the feeling… you don't… belong…where you are?"
Keri's movements slowed as he considered. He stopped all together with the stick extended in front of him. He asked, "You mean, like, you feel like this isn't your place? That even though Primary Village is you home, that you need to be somewhere else? That something is racking you brain, and you'll never be able to focus again until you're somewhere else where you're needed more?"
"Uh-huh. Considering your detailed knowledge, I guess that's a 'yes,'" Kassie concluded.
Keri nodded and wordlessly continued.
"Hey, guys."
"Oh, hi, Demi!" Kassie said, spotting DemiDevimon perched on the edge of the roof.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," he explained, "but your conversation seemed to be too important to interrupt. So I just sat here 'til you were done."
"That's fine, it's nothing private, 'cept that 'no adults' rule," Kassie said.
"By the way—you guys are seven and eight right?—you sounded a lot older when you were talking a second ago," DemiDevimon said.
"I'm seven and a half," Keri explained and corrected.
"My mistake."
"Do you ever feel like that, Demi?" Kassie asked.
"No," DemiDevimon said, "The only reason I ever get an urge to leave the village is because there are so many people here that don't like me."
"It's okay, we like you," Kassie said. Keri nodded.
"Thanks guys," DemiDevimon said, "But you ought to talk to you guardians about this. Just make sure you don't tell them I suggested it."
"Okay," Kassie said. Keri nodded again. After a few moments of wordlessness, Kassie said, "Ya know, Keri, for someone who's got no clue of what he's doing, you're gettin' perty good at that!"
"Thanks…um, I guess."
***
"You want to leave?" Patamon asked as he Keri and Nyokomon sat down at the table for a pre-lunch snack.
Keri and Nyokomon slumped, fearing that Patamon would say no and maybe even get angry, but the Digimon smiled.
"You picked a pretty good time to get wanderlust," Patamon laughed, "Picamon said that some of her relatives wanted her to visit. So we were all gonna take a little vacation to the Kittimon Village."
"Sounds fun!" Nyokomon exclaimed, "Don't you think so, Keri?"
"Great," Keri said. A family vacation wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, but it was good enough.
***
Keri, Nyokomon, Kassie, Bunemon, Hiroshi, Yoromon, Chimari, Mossimon, Kenji, Kinnomon, their guardians, Thresee, and Subjimon took a taxi—a cart driven by a Gazimon and pulled by a Monochromon—to The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs. In a large clearing near the center of the forest was a large group of huts about four-feet-high that seemed too short for their ten-or-so-foot diameters.
The Kittimon were Animal Digimon about the size of Tokomon. They had chubby yellowish-beige bodies, four short legs, round ears, short tails, green eyes, and a pair of brown stripes across their backs.
"Hi, Picamon!" several Kittimon exclaimed in unison. They tackled her the moment she was out of the cart. The others passengers sweatdropped as they stepped off.
After an hour or so of the adults chitchatting, the kids, save Subjimon, were practically asleep from boredom. They were sitting on the ground, leaning a against trees, road signs, or each other when Picamon turned to them a gave a small laugh.
"Why don't you guys go amuse yourselves? It beats sitting there until moss grows on you!" she said.
"We can go?!" Hiroshi demanded happily.
"Sure, behave though," Biyomon said.
"Stay where someone can see you!" Gatomon called as the ten of them ran off. A few minutes later, they weren't much better off.
"Does anybody have any money?" Kenji asked as they passed a tiny restaurant hut, "There's nothing to do around here, but some food would be nice."
"I don't," most of the others said together.
Chimari quickly counted her DigiDollars and blandly said, "If anyone's thirsty, we can all share a small soda."
Everyone mumbled casual declines, and Hiroshi said, "Let's explore the forest."
"But Gatomon told us to stay where someone could see us," Chimari pointed out.
"We'll be able to see each other," Hiroshi said.
"You know that's not what she meant, Hiroshi," Yoromon said.
"I know, but I'm starting to get that sense of having to be somewhere else too," Hiroshi said.
"So was I," Chimari added, "I noticed it this morning."
"Me too," Kenji said.
"And me," said Kinnomon. The other four Digimon nodded.
"What if we get lost?" Kassie asked nervously.
"We'll go in a straight line, so we can come right back," Hiroshi said.
"What if we run into one of those plants that makes you itchy?"
"We won't mess with strange plants," Chimari said.
"What if we run into something dangerous?"
"We'll watch where we're going," Chimari said irritably, "Do you want to come or not?"
"Not really…" Kassie mumbled.
"It's okay," Kenji said, "You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to…. We'll go alone."
"You're leaving me here?" Kassie asked.
"You can come if you want," Nyokomon said.
"We'll see you later," Hiroshi said. He waved and started into the forest.
"See ya," Keri added.
"Bye!" Nyokomon said.
"Later!" Yoromon said.
"But…" Kassie whined.
"Bye-bye, Kassie," Bunemon said.
"Bunemon," Kassie moaned, sounding betrayed. As the others said goodbye and started into the forest, Kassie sighed and slumped miserably, "Oh, well…."
"Excuse me?" asked a tiny voice.
"Hmm?" Kassie mumbled, looking down to see a Kittimon with a tray of food and apron of sorts.
"Would you like a free sample of my new recipe?" it asked.
"Um, what is it?" Kassie asked. The food was a group of brownish sticks.
"Breaded liver sticks!"
"Bunemon! Chimari! Don't leave me here! Come on, guys! Wait up!"
The Kittimon stood there and sweatdropped as Kassie ran frantically after the others.
***Earth Date: 3 years, 6 months AA***
"Good morning, honey," Tai and Kari's mom said as Kari walked into the kitchen for breakfast, "How are you feeling?"
"Mmm," Kari mumbled. She fixed herself a bowl of cereal and sat down next to Tai. Tai rolled his eyes solemnly as their parents exchanged worried glances.
"What's wrong, Kari-ko?" Mr. Kamiya asked.
Kari grunted and moved the pieces of cereal around in her bowl.
"Ya know, I'm not psychology expert," Tai said, "But I have a good guess as to what's wrong with her." His parents waited hopefully, and he said, "The same that's been wrong with her every day for the last six months."
"And what's that?" Mrs. Kamiya asked.
Tai sighed and shook his head in frustration. He said, "Let's review this one more time. Kari, equals age twenty-one, equals MOMMY! I've told you this before. Is there anyone who does not understand this yet?! Be a little sympathetic; she wants her baby back."
"Tai, you know that was just a dream," Mr. Kamiya said affectionately.
CRASH!
Tai slapped his hand on his forehead and cried, "Not the 'D' word!" as Kari stormed into her room, leaving Mr. Kamiya coated with cereal, milk, and a spare bowl.
***Earth Date: 3 years, 6 months AA***
***DigiDate: 19 years AA***
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Kassie whined.
"There's no such thing as going the wrong way!" Hiroshi said cheerfully.
"That's why it's called, 'exploring!'" Mossimon added. Chimari nodded.
"Something smells," Kassie said.
"Doesn't it always?" Kenji asked, "We've always ignore Hiroshi, why is now different?"
"Hey!" Hiroshi snapped. Kinnomon failed at stifling a laughed.
"No, seriously!" Kassie said, holding the collar of her dress over her face, "It really smells!" Bunemon and the other Digimon made a face.
"She's right," Chimari said bitterly, "Let's go back."
"But I want to see what stinks!" Hiroshi said with a plugged nose.
"But in order to see it, you have to smell it!" Kassie shrieked as he jogged forward. They followed the stubborn kid into a clearing with a small river. The river exited a large pipe that came out of a hill to the group's right and continued through a dam of sorts to their left. Between the pipe and the dam, the water was opaque and gray-green. There were gross-looking bits of moss, algae, black stuff, and orange-ish stuff. There was some brownish stuff as well, but that was best left unidentified….
"Eww," Kassie said simply.
"Gross!" Chimari whined.
"Let's leave!" Mossimon pleaded.
"I second that suggestion!" Kinnomon cried.
"Alright, let's go!" Hiroshi said, "Hey, what's that?"
"Stink fumes?" Kenji suggested.
"No, that!" Hiroshi pointed to he dam. Perfectly clean water was coming through on the other side, but there were Digimon there. The group was mostly hidden by the bushes, so the Digimon didn't notice them there.
"I hope they're here to clean the place," Bunemon said.
"Let's not get in their way," said Chimari. Everyone turned around in unison and came face-to-face with a Digimon about half their size in height. Despite being shorter, it looked dangerous enough.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Kenji said, trying to sound like he meant it. The Digimon looked just like Numemon with a beige shell. Instead of a large gross-looking green slug, it was a large gross-looking green snail. It didn't have the purple spots that were on a Numemon, but the shell had purple stripes. It narrowed its bulging elevated eyes angrily.
"I have a Digimon Analyzer," Chimari informed, taking the hand-held device out of her pack. She turned it on and held it toward the Digimon. She said, "KaratsukiNumemon," and read the rest of its stats.
-------------------------
KaratsukiNumemon
Group: Crustacean Digimon
Attribute: Virus
Level: Champion
Technique: Shells Attack
~~~
Even with his shell, he's still cowardly. He is common in wet smelly places and can burrow.
-------------------------
"Yo, Morons!" KaratsukiNumemon called to the group of Digimon near the dam, "Get over here!"
The Digimon approached the group. Everyone else glanced over Chimari's shoulder as she nervously analyzed each Digimon. The green goblin-like like Digimon with leather clothing, a gaudy wooden club, and a red Mohawk was the first analyzed.
-------------------------
Goblimon
Group: Ogre Digimon
Attribute: Virus
Level: Rookie
Technique: Goblin Bomb
~~~
This little ogre Digimon loves mischief! He can travel fairly well underground, but is better off on the surface.
-------------------------
Another Digimon looked exactly like it, but had darker skin, blue clothes, and a yellow Mohawk.
-------------------------
Shamamon
Group: Ogre Digimon
Attribute: Virus
Level: Rookie
Technique: Shaman Hammer
~~~
Some believe his strange dance is a revelation from the gods. He can travel fairly well underground, but is better off on the surface.
-------------------------
Finally, she investigated a large orange caterpillar-like Digimon with a blue beak, six curved blue spikes for arms, and another such spike on the end of it. It had six red feet and long wavy ears. Its eyes couldn't be seen, but it had lightning patterns on its body that seemed to replace the lack of eyes.
-------------------------
Kunemon
Group: Larva Digimon
Attribute: Virus
Level: Rookie
Technique: Electric Thread
~~~
He attacks behind him with a thread of electricity. He travels underground.
-------------------------
There were three of every Digimon, save Kunemon, of which there were six. Chimari involuntarily shuddered every time the word "Virus" appeared on the screen. Kassie, Bunemon, Keri, and Nyokomon were older than the others, and Chimari and Mossimon were a little brighter than average. The six of them realized they had a good reason to feel worried by the fifteen Viruses surrounding them.
Hiroshi, Kenji, Yoromon, and Kinnomon were clueless….
"Hello, how are you?" Kinnomon asked, struggling to smile despite the strong smell.
"Uh, we were just leaving," Chimari said quickly. She grabbed Kenji's arm and moved toward a space between a Shamamon and Goblimon. The two of them moved closer and grinned menacingly.
"Sorry," the first KaratsukiNumemon said, "We can't let you leave."
"But I hafta be back in time for dinner," Hiroshi explained.
"To bad," KaratsukiNumemon said, "Because, now that you've seen us coming around the dam, we can't let you leave. You'll go tell everyone."
"No we won't," Kenji said, "Friends always keep secrets!"
Chimari, Mossimon, and the older kids sweatdropped.
"Kids are blabber mouths!" KaratsukiNumemon concluded, "You won't leave here with your lives! Get them, guys!"
"HALT!" a voice boomed.
The Viruses froze in mid-stride.
"I AM DEVIMON, LORD AND MASTER OF FILE ISLAND AND BEYOND! THESE CHILDREN ARE MY SERVANTS! LEAVE THEM BE OR FACE MY WRATH!"
"Devimon?!" the three KaratsukiNumemon squealed in unison. They drew quickly into their shells.
"Devimon?" Hiroshi wondered.
"Who's that?" Yoromon asked.
Chimari pushed a few buttons on her Digimon Analyzer. Devimon's entry appeared. She squeaked and said, "Ooh! Looks scary!"
"I AM SCARY!" the voice boomed, "YOU EVIL DIGIMON! LEAVE, AND I WILL SPARE YOUR MISERABLE DATA!"
The shells began inching away from the kids.
"Hey, boss," a Kunemon said, "Even if that was Devimon, he's not too strong. He's only a Champion, like you. He doesn't have too much experience, or he'd have been destroying a bunch of people and we'd have heard about it!"
"Hey, you're right!" the leading KaratsukiNumemon said, emerging from the shell, "Show yourself, you imposter!"
It was several seconds later when…
"Demi Darts!"
…hypodermic syringes showered from above. They were aimed at the Virus Digimon, but in the attacker's attempt to avoid the children, few of the shots hit their mark.
"Back off!" DemiDevimon ordered, perching on Keri's shoulder, "I can poison you! You'll be as sick as a Yokomon on meat diet! You'll have a fever like a Frigimon in a volcano!"
The evil Viruses looked at him with sweatdrops.
"Look kids," he whispered as the good guys drew closer, "if I can't scare 'em off, you're all going to have to punch, kick, smack, and Bubble Blow your way out of this while I go get some help." To the mean Digimon, he boomed, "So, I'm not Devimon, but I am DemiDevimon and LadyDevimon is my commander! She is an Ultimate Digimon, and she commands that I return her minions to her at once!"
"DemiDevimon works for LadyDevimon?" Hiroshi asked. Chimari shushed him.
"Attack them!" KaratsukiNumemon ordered.
"Bubble Blow!" Yoromon called, spraying the oncoming Digimon with the acidic bubbles.
"Hold out as long as you can!" DemiDevimon said, "I'll get Gatomon!" He began to fly like he'd never flown before. As he looked back at them, he remembered that they were just little kids, little terrified panic-stricken children in their first fight, and he offered the only words of advice he had time for: "Remember to stay together! You can accomplish so much as a team and so little on your own!"
***Earth Date: 3 years, 6 months AA***
"Come on, Kari!" TK called, "Open the door!" He pounded on her bedroom door with one hand. His other arm was filled with a trio of textbooks. He called, "I don't want to study either, but we have to pass the semester final exams!"
"She's been cranky ever since Dad said the 'd' word at breakfast," Tai explained, "She locked the door and hasn't said a thing since."
"Let me in, or I'm going home!" TK yelled.
"What was your dad thinking?" Matt asked Tai as they watched TK try to talk Kari into opening the door. Tai shrugged.
"Fine see you later!" TK snapped. He turned, handed his books to Matt, gestured for his silence, and left the apartment. Several minutes later, Tai and Kari's bedroom window opened, and TK sat on the windowsill.
Kari looked up with her wet red eyes giving him an evil glare. She had been laying face down with her face buried in a pillow and a blanket covering her whole body.
TK grinned, "How's it going, Tenshi?"
She reburied her face.
TK climbed into the room and sat next to her. He rubbed her back through the blanket and said, "Let's study for that chemistry test, then we'll study something like our combat moves. Sound good?"
Kari grunted and scooted away from him, still under the blanket. He rolled his eyes, rolled her onto her back, uncovered her face, and kissed her.
"Come on, Kari," he said, "I know you're upset, I am too. But look on the bright side."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard that from Tai already. We get to see our parents again."
"That is a bright side," TK said, "But not the one I was gonna say…. We still have each other, don't we? And remember that even though we shrunk, we still have scars for some reason. Both from our battles and our wedding." He raise his right hand to show her the cross on his palm.
Kari looked at her own hand and smiled slightly. She said, "My parents are still in denial that any of it happened. They keep saying it was a dream."
"I don't care what they say," TK said and kissed her again, "I care what you think, what we know. It wasn't a dream."
Kari smiled as he stroked her hair.
"Now come on," he said, "Let's study."
Kari's smile faded. She rolled to her side so she had her back to him and mumbled, "What's the point?"
"We're getting bad grades on stuff we already learned!" TK said. He laid down enough to hug her and said, "Sometimes I cry, because it's so vexing. We're not alone in our world, but I have my aspirations. If we stay barefoot, I'm sure we'll be all right. At the top of the Ferris wheel we're near the sky. That same sky is watching over many people. Will today continue tomorrow? If we wish for it, surely it will."
Those words were part of a poem, and Kari practically melted at the sound of them. She rolled to face him and said, "I love you."
"I love you too," TK said. He kissed her.
***Earth Date: 3 years 6 months AA***
***DigiDate: 19 years AA***
"Get back here you flappy-winged joker!"
"What's the matter, Kitty Litter? Can't keep up?!" DemiDevimon laughed and flew at top speed to where his friends had been. Gatomon was bounded through the trees often less than a foot behind him, but she was mad.
When Gatomon would listen to him long enough for him to explain the current problem, he'd gotten a bit desperate and scratched her. Her anger made her chase him, and he hoped she wouldn't catch him before he got to the others. Biyomon and Tentomon were flying a ways behind her. Picamon was running on the ground, and the others were probably behind somewhere as well.
"Please be okay, please be okay…" he repeated to himself between gasps for breathe
***
"Bubble Blow!" Yoromon cried. The Kunemon cringed slightly, but the KaratsukiNumemon were unaffected.
"Take that!" Hiroshi cried. He lunged forward and slapped the KaratsukiNumemon's eyes. The Digimon cringed back. Hiroshi called, "Aim for the eyes! That's their weakness!"
"You even sound like a leader!" DemiDevimon cried proudly as he flapped into view at rocket speed, "DemiDarts!"
"Ahh!" Keri cried as Kunemon's electric thread barely missed him but made a rip in the edge of his shirt as it skimmed him. He lost his balance while dodging and fell to the ground. He looked up to see a Shamamon above him, hammer raised.
"Shaman Hammer!" the Shamamon called.
"Nyokomon di—!" Nyokomon started.
"Lightning Claw!"
A white blur raced across their vision. Shamamon jumped in start and looked dumbfounded at his hammer as everything but the handle clattered to the ground in three sections.
"Gatomon!" Keri called. Gatomon bounded back toward him and slammed the Shamamon into a tree. She turned to Keri and Nyokomon and shouted, "Get out of here! NOW!"
"C'mon!" Nyokomon cried, not having to be told twice. Keri scrambled up and ran after him. He tripped on a tree root and fell back down. He struggled into a kneeling position.
"Goblin Bomb!" a Goblimon shouted, sending a bomb toward him.
"Look out!" Hiroshi called. He slammed into Keri and knocked him out of the bomb's path.
"Spiral Twister!"
Biyomon's attack on the Goblimon blasted him down. He didn't look like he'd get up for a while.
"Pepper Breath! Poy!" Agumon spat. His fireball set the leaves on the end of a branch into flames. The KaratsukiNumemon that had expected to be hit looked up then laughed at him. Agumon grinned.
"Boom Bubble! Pwah!" Patamon shouted. He hit the base of the branch and turned the section to splinters. The branch fell with the flaming end landing between the KaratsukiNumemon's eyes. The snail bounced around in pain and looked as if he had some sort of flaming hair.
"Water Blast!" Pasthamon called as she burst out of a bush in front of the KaratsukiNumemon and shot him with water. It relieved him of the fire, but knocked him into a tree.
"Blue Blaster! Hah!" Gabumon yelled. He knocked a Shamamon back and rushed to help defend Kenji and Kinnomon from a Shamamon, three Kunemon, and two Goblimon.
Picamon landed right in front of the kids and grinned despite the semicircle of Digimon around her. She jumped and yelled, "Sparkle Beam!" The Digimon advancing on her froze and then swooned as the blast of light that hit them made them dizzy.
"Blue Blaster! Hah!" Gabumon cried to knock them aside.
"Electric Thread!" a Kunemon shrieked.
"Oh!" Mossimon moaned as she and Chimari dropped down on their stomachs to avoid the blast.
"Is that the best you can do?" Tentomon asked as he flew over, "Super Shocker!" In a single shot, he toasted two Kunemon.
"Run!" a Goblimon called. As he started to run past a bush, purple and white clawed flipper came out of it and tripped him. Gomamon popped from the bush and pinned him down.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"Everybody out of here!" the lead KaratsukiNumemon yelled.
"Sorry!" Picamon jumped in front of the stampede of fleeing bad guys, "Sparkle Beam!"
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted. She tied all of them up and held them until DemiDevimon flew down with a rope.
"Thanks for getting help, Demi," Bunemon said to him. If she hadn't spoken when she did, DemiDevimon would probably have been sliced apart.
"No problem," he said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gatomon lower her claw slowly. About one of her hairs relaxed.
***
Keri looked absent-mindedly out the window as he leaned against its sill. He looked at the cobbled road of Primary Village, which the occasional group of small Digimon would bounce across playfully.
"Hey, Keri!" Nyokomon greeted, bouncing up onto his head, "Wanna come out and play?"
"Nah," Keri answered, "You go ahead."
"Okay," Nyokomon said, sounding ever so slightly disappointed, "I'll see you later!" He bounced toward the door, jumped up, and opened it with his tail. He bounced down the street.
"Why don't you want to go with Nyokomon?" Patamon asked casually.
"Uh," Keri mumbled, shrugging one shoulder.
"Are you feeling okay," Patamon asked, sounding concerned.
"Uh-huh," Keri answered. He leaned closer to the window so he could look down the street. A few seconds later, much to Patamon's surprise and distress, he laid his hands in his arms and started sobbing loudly.
"Uh, Keri? What's wrong?" Patamon asked frantically, coming over to try and comfort him, "Calm down, come on calm down. Tell me what's wrong. Don't cry, uh, calm down…!"
"Where do I go?!" Keri demanded, looking at Patamon with mournful teary eyes.
"Wha?" Patamon asked.
"I don't belong here!" Keri sobbed, "Where do I go?!"
"Uh, I, um…" Patamon stuttered, "Well…GATOMON?!"
"What?" Gatomon asked, coming from the kitchen with a plate and a dish towel. She saw Keri, tossed the plate aside, and ran to him. She asked, "What's wrong, Keri?" Subjimon came out of the kitchen just in time to catch the plate.
Gatomon managed to coax him into calming down, but he wouldn't speak. After a while, he raised his head, his tears having dried.
"What's wrong?" Gatomon asked again.
Keri blinked at her. "Nothing," he said, "I'm… fine." He got up and walked down the hall toward the bedroom.
Gatomon, Patamon, and Subjimon stood there in confusion, staring after him.
"Maybe we should get him some counseling," Patamon suggested.
Gatomon sighed.
***
"That was weird," Roemon said.
"No kidding," Gatomon said, "I'm worried about him." She passed her friends cups of tea. Sitting at the table with her were Poseimon, Pasthamon, Palmon, Biyomon, Oramon, and Tykemon. Roemon was standing.
"It is really weird," Palmon said, "because Kassie's had the same problem. She'll have a nightmare or something, and when she wakes up, I hear here ask herself why she doesn't belong. She says Primary Village is her home and doesn't want to leave."
Pasthamon said, "Chimari talks to herself a lot, but she's usually just thinking out loud. She has this spot near the window where she paces when she's thinking a lot. It's where our desk and computer are. She'll look out the window, see something, and start thinking about it. But lately, she walks faster instead of pacing, like she's restless. She'll walk back and forth, stop, look out the window, shake her hands and jump up and down like she's hyper, and then she'll start pacing again."
"Does she say anything?" Poseimon asked.
"Every now and then I'll hear her mutter something," Pasthamon said, "Something like, 'Where to go? Where to go? Where is it?'"
"Hiroshi's been jumpy lately too," Biyomon said, "He's always kind of jumpy, but spaced out. The only time he's alert is when someone mentions going somewhere or there's a map around."
"Picamon and Gabumon told me Kenji is vaguely the same way," Roemon said.
"Perhaps I can help," Oramon said.
***
"Keri? May I speak to you alone?" Oramon asked him, standing in the doorway of the bedroom. The room was occupied by Keri, Nyokomon, Puppetmon, and Mossimon. Keri started to get up, but Oramon said, "Stay seated. I'd prefer if your friends left for a few minutes."
Keri gave a nod, his face blank. They others walked or bounced from the room, leaving him alone with Oramon. She sat down a ways in front of him.
"I want to do a tarot reading for you," she said, holding out a deck of tarot cards, "I'll explain what everything means as I do it. Afterward I'll explain each thing again. Then I'll tell you what everything means when it's together. Stay quiet, and don't get worried by scary-looking cards, okay?"
Keri nodded.
Oramon shuffled her cards and began laying them out face down with her left hand. The was one card closest to her, one closest to Keri, three cards in the middle, and two cards between each single card and the row of three. There were nine cards arranged in a diamond shape. She pointed to the card closest to Keri.
"This card represents you," she said. She turned it over, "It's the Devil card. It looks scary, but it represents your instinctual needs—that is to say, food, sleep, whatever. It could also represent that you are in need of something. It could mean that you need to identify your inner darkness."
Keri remained expressionless and gave one nod.
"In such a case as that being your card, this card," she indicated the one closest to her, "is what that need or darkness may be."
She turned it, revealing a scary-looking picture adorned with a Phantomon-like thing and several puddles of blood and randomly discarded bodily limbs. She looked expectantly at Keri, expecting a response, which he didn't give.
She said, "This is the Death card—" she glanced at him again, "—but you don't have to worry about dying or anything. It means that there with be a change in your life, rather it be good or bad. It most liking represents the end of something, but endings bring new beginnings. Once you free yourself of any past garbage, you can start on an entirely new path."
She saw his eyes twitch as he mouthed new path. She pointed to the three center cards.
"This row, in this case, most likely represents the type of change, end, or new beginning you'll have," Oramon said, "Perhaps it will mean all three."
She turned over the cards, showing that they were the Chariot, the Hermit, and the Aeon cards.
"The Chariot card represents the principle of the will," she said, "and how it performs with a whole being behind it. Yet it symbolizes new struggles, and that those struggles can be overcome be persistence and integrity. Though bruised and tired, you emerge victorious. You need to decide on a new move.
"The Hermit is the card of wisdom and isolation," she continued, "The lamp in this picture represents the knowledge and wisdom gained by this man. It most likely signifies that, with solitude, you will increase your knowledge, wisdom, and experience."
She said, "The Aeon card is the pass through the fires of purification. Like the Death card, it shows change. From this moment forward, everything will change."
Keri gave a nod, and Oramon quickly reviewed each meaning. She said, "You have an instinctual need for something, most likely change. You desire for your babyhood to end so that your life can begin. You need solitude so that you may find your own inner meaning. You go triumphantly from your infancy to what ever the next stage in your life is. Your life will be different from here on. Do you understand?"
In a normal case, a child of Keri's age wouldn't understand, due to the fact that every third word was yet to be part of his vocabulary. Yet something in Oramon's tone got the point across.
"Yes," he said.
"Call your human friends over here," Oramon said, "One at a time. I'll due this for them."
Kassie was the first to sit before her. The Fool card that represented her was the card of beginning journeys and walking the path of life with a smile on your lips. The next card, most likely representing her journey, was Death like Keri's. The next three cards were the same as Keri's.
Chimari's first card was the Hermit, symbolizing that she was a loner that would become studious and wise. Her second card was Death and the next three were Fool, Chariot, and Aeon.
Kenji's first card was the card of Justice, most likely meaning that he moved toward balance and harmony. His second, again, Death. His next three were Hermit, Hanged Man, and Tower. This probably meant that he needed to be alone to learn, that he would need to make sacrifices in order to get something good, and that he would experience growth by experience.
Hiroshi was represented as the Emperor card, meaning that he trusted and depended on his own power while providing for and protecting others. His second, of course, was Death. The next three were Hermit, Hanged Man, and Moon. He need to be alone to choose his sacrifices and conquer illusions and falsities.
Now knowing what she needed to know, Oramon went to their guardians, excusing the children. She told them what she expected the five readings to mean together.
"WHAT?!" Gatomon demanded, "They're just little kids, you can't expect them to go out on their own. Remember what happened in the forest?"
"I wasn't there, but I heard twenty or so different accounts of it," Oramon said, rubbing her eyes because five tarot readings in a row made her tired, "but I know this is what they want and need. They're six, seven, and eight. They are stronger than children. I know it will solve their problem if you let them go."
The kitchen door opened and everyone abruptly stopped talking. They turned to look at Keri.
"Sorry," he said, "I don't mean to bug you guys while you're talking about grown-up stuff, but I'm really thirsty. Can I get some juice?"
"Go ahead," Gatomon said, Everyone stared at the table while he poured his juice.
"Hey, Keri?" Patamon asked, "If you were going to go somewhere outside Primary Village by yourself, where would you go?"
"I don't think," Keri said, putting the pitcher of juice away, "that I would go by myself. I'd ask Nyokomon to come with me."
"Then where would you go?" Patamon asked.
"Maybe in a circle around Primary Village," Keri said, "I bet there's a lot of neat stuff nearby, but I've never seen it."
"Oh," Patamon responded. He looked at Gatomon, who raise a brow. Keri finished his juice and left. Gatomon sighed and looked around at the other Destined Digimon and Oramon.
Gabumon said, "Let's ask the others."
***
"Maybe I'd go to… Toy Town," Kenji said thoughtfully, "with Kinnomon. I heard the forest around there is really neat."
Picamon cocked her head, thinking.
***
"I've always wanted to see the ocean," Chimari said, "I think I'd go…east. The ocean's supposed to be nice over that way… Oh, and I'd ask Mossimon to come.
***
"Mt. Minahashi," Hiroshi said.
"Why?" Agumon asked.
"I don't know," Hiroshi said, "There's a lot of cool stuff by it. You know, like the Yokomon and Kittimon Villages, the desert, the forest, some other stuff. I'd take Yoromon with."
***
"North," Kassie said, "with Bunemon."
Everyone waited. When she didn't elaborate, Palmon asked, "Why north?"
Kassie shrugged, "Gut feeling."
***
"Okay, we've established that they'd know where they go," Gomamon said solemnly.
"There too young to be prepared to go anywhere," Gatomon said firmly, sounding rather stubborn, "What if evil Digimon attacked them?"
"Why don't we ask them again?" Biyomon suggested.
Gatomon sighed yet again.
***
After a scenario, one which was partially fake, was explained to them, it all led down to, "What would you take with you?"
"Food," Hiroshi said, "and…."
"My allowance," Keri added.
Chimari nodded, "Extra clothes."
"A first aid kit?" Kassie asked.
"Walking shoes," Kenji said.
"A rope?"
"A coat."
"My Digimon Analyzer."
"A tree branch."
"My d-terminal."
"My hair brush."
"A sleeping bag."
"A pillow."
"Vitamins?"
"Someone said money, right?"
"An umbrella."
"A rain coat."
"Rain boots too."
"And mittens. Not for rain, for cold."
"Rubber bands and paper clips."
"Paper."
"Pens, pencils, markers, and erasers."
"Why rubber bands, paper clips, and a tree branch?" Agumon asked.
"You never know when rubber bands and paper clips will come in handy," Chimari explained.
"You have to have something to beat up mean Digimon when they won't leave you alone," Kenji said, swinging his arms like he had an invisible baseball bat.
"What sorts of food would you buy or take with you?" Gatomon inquired. She sounded like she would do anything to find the slightest fault in them, and they subconsciously picked up on her tone. They looked at each other with reluctant expressions.
"Fish," Hiroshi sighed.
"Bread and cereal," said Keri flatly.
"Apples and pears and stuff," Kenji said.
"Milk," Kassie added, "And yogurt and cheese."
"And broccoli," Chimari added. The other kids, even Keri, looked at her like she was a complete idiot. She demanded, "What? I don't like it either, but it's a necessary evil!"
"Yeah, I guess," Hiroshi murmured.
"Mmm," Keri, Kenji, and Kassie mumbled, rolling their eyes and nodding reluctantly.
"What, no ice cream?" Gatomon asked silkily, looking only at Keri.
He blinked and considered his answer. He said, "Maybe…just a little."
"Oh," Gatomon said, "Go play, you guys. We won't call you in again."
"Okay," Hiroshi said, the others following him out.
After a few minutes of silence, Gatomon spoke to Patamon without looking at him, saying, "Get me a map of File Island."
***
"The grown-ups have been in the Agumon and Biyomon's room talking all day," Yoromon complained to Puppetmon. They were all sitting at the table in Agumon, Biyomon, Yoromon, and Hiroshi's little house. DemiDevimon was perched on Hiroshi's head, but the boy was staring blankly at the tablecloth, which had a fire-like pattern.
"Do you want us to make lunch?" Puppetmon asked.
"Nah, Subjimon's supposed to," Keri said, "Gatomon'll be mad if we ate something you cooked."
"No doubt," DemiDevimon said, "but poison is so 20th Century."
Having not been around in the 1900's, the kids had no idea what that meant and said nothing in response. Kassie sighed as her head began to fall wearily toward the table. Bunemon jumped off her shoulder and frantically attempted to support her.
There was a knock at the front door. Yoromon went to it and opened it with his ears. He let Subjimon inside the house. The Servant Digimon made a point of acting like Puppetmon and DemiDevimon weren't there as he asked for suggestions on lunch. Those he was asking just shrugged and mumbled.
Subjimon blinked uncertainly and suggested, "Fried rice?"
"Okay," Nyokomon mumbled.
An hour later, everyone was done eating, though their plates still had food on them. DemiDevimon and Puppetmon had been given food for politeness' sake; they and Subjimon were the only ones who ate all their rice. Everyone else just pushes it around the plate dully.
"Can we go to the lake?" Chimari asked.
"Why not?" Subjimon said.
***
"Keri said around here," Gatomon said, indicating the area of the map around the dot labeled "Primary Village." She said, "Chimari would head to the eastern coast, most likely just beyond Toy Town. Hiroshi said southeast, to Mt. Minahashi. Kenji would go around Infinity Mountain to Toy Town. Kassie just said north."
"Rule: No leaving the island," Tentomon said.
"And stay off Infinity Mountain," Biyomon added.
"And go prepared," Patamon said.
"And Puppetmon and DemiDevimon stay here," Gatomon said firmly.
"Come on, let's start packing," Pasthamon said sadly.
***
Chimari, dressed in a blue black-polka-dotted bathing suit, blew up a red balloon. Kassie did the same; she was wearing a pink bathing suit with a skirt. They took the balloons in hand and dived into the lake with Bunemon and Mossimon. Kenji, who was lounging in the shallows with Kinnomon, raised his arm irritably to block the water that splashed toward him.
Subjimon watched uncomfortably as Hiroshi and Keri had a play sword fight with wooden rods. Nyokomon, Yoromon, Puppetmon, and DemiDevimon acted as cheerleaders; they had pink pom-poms, but they refused to wear dresses for obvious reasons.
Chimari, Mossimon, Kassie, and Bunemon swam toward the floor at the middle of the lake, where there was a very large glass dome. The dome was filled with little houses of all shapes and had water filling the first three feet of it. When the human girls needed breath, they inhaled a bit from their balloons.
Bunemon pushed a button on the outside of a closet-sized extension of the dome. The extension filled with water as the door on it opened. Once they were all inside, the next button was pushed. The first door closed, a pump emptied the extension, and the door into the dome opened. They walked in, wading in the shallow water that flooded the sand, algae, and seaweed.
"Hey, girls," Poseimon said cheerfully as she rose from the water in front of them, "How have you been lately?"
"Great," Kassie said. The others nodded.
"And your guardians?"
"They're fine too, I guess," Kassie said, "They don't tell us important stuff, so we wouldn't know if something's wrong."
"Still fighting that ol' battle?" Poseimon asked. As Kassie sighed and nodded, the Digimon looked questioningly to Chimari, who had a thoughtful look.
"They were asking us a lot of weird questions yesterday," she said.
"Like?" inquired Poseimon.
"Where would we go if we left the village by ourselves, who we'd take with if only one person would go," Chimari listed, "What we'd take if we left. And such."
"What food we'd buy," Kassie added.
"Hmm," Poseimon said. She looked like she knew something she wasn't saying.
"Well, we were going to go see Hydramon and Depthmon, so…" Kassie trailed off as she saw Gomamon entering the dome.
He swam to them and said, "We need to talk to you girls."
"Just Kassie and me, right?" Bunemon asked.
"No, all four of you," Gomamon said, his face blank.
"Okay," Chimari said slowly. She looked a Mossimon, who gave as much of a shrug as possible for a creature composed of little more than a head.
"See you later, Poseimon," Mossimon said to the older Digimon, who waved and dived out of view.
"He's too…" Kassie said in a voice only her peers could hear as they followed Gomamon, "quiet?"
Chimari and the two Digimon realized she was right; Gomamon—a Digimon that smiled almost constantly, almost always had a joke ready, and never seemed short of energy—seemed quiet, worried, and distant. Bunemon's leaves drooped worriedly.
Once back on land, they met the solemn faces of the other nine older Digimon. All of them looked on the verge of tears. Pasthamon and Biyomon were attempting to hide tears. Chimari took an uncertain half-step toward her guardian.
Gatomon waved a paw and ushered the boys toward the four of them. She said, "We have something to tell you. It's not easy, but if it doesn't get you exited, whoopee." It was then the kids saw that a group of packs were arranged behind their tearful forbears.
***
"Always have Courage."
"Always know Love."
It was the next day, sunset, out in the fields outside Primary Village. Hiroshi stood after kneeling to be hugged by Biyomon and Agumon and straightened his backpack. His leather pants still needed to be broken in, and the orange red-trimmed shirt he wore felt too crisp and new as well. Yoromon hopped up onto his head, looked at his face, and grinned his grin that was much like Koromon's. His partner turned from his reluctant family and headed southeast, biding his final good-byes to the other kids.
"Be smart, hold onto your curiosity, and never forget who you are."
"Never give up, and you'll get it done."
Chimari, dressed mostly in purple- and white-stained leather kissed Pasthamon's nose and hugged Tentomon. Mossimon did the same and allowed herself to be picked up as the human girl turned east, the cloudy verboten cone of Infinity Mountain looming up in front of her.
"If you can't rely on yourself, you can't rely on others."
"Be true to yourself and anyone you meet."
Kassie had a white shirt and tight white pants, covered by a long pink skirt. She bid an emotional farewell to Palmon and Gomamon, took her bag and Bunemon firmly in her possession, and spun to take the first step of a journey northward.
"Friendship makes the world go 'round," Gabumon said encouragingly.
"Don't loose your Integrity," Picamon said kindly.
Kenji nodded, careful to hold his tears back. He hugged them, reluctant to let go of their warm fur. He lifted Kinnomon and headed northeast.
"Hope is a thing with feathers; That perches in the soul; And sings the tune without the words; And never stops at all," Patamon recited. Keri looked at him questioningly.
"A poem we learned from your father," Gatomon explained to him, "You're mother's Light is in you, I feel it. Good luck."
He nodded and looked down at Nyokomon. The little Digimon nodded to the older ones, then to him. They turned west.
"Will they be alright?" Pasthamon asked as the ten Digimon congregated.
It was a long time before anyone said anything. By the time Gatomon spoke, most of the children had already disappeared into the darkness, but the faint little dot that was Keri could be seen against the sunset. She said, "They'll always be alright."