-------------------------
Ivory Mountain, chapter 8
-------------------------
Matt's pov
Ahhhhhhhh.... rest. Feels sooo good. We're all lying down on our raft, gazin' at the stars. I was, anyway. Izzy's on my far right, snoring his head off. Next to Izzy is Arrow, then Tai (also asleep), then Sora, then me (heeheehee). To my right: Joe, then Mimi, then Kari on the far right. All of our digimon are asleep by our feet. Thankfully, they don't snore.
Sora: "Matt?"
Me: "Huh? wha- What?" Her voice startled me. I rolled onto my side to see her better, then gazed into those beautiful brown eyes of hers as she continued speaking.
Sora: "Do you ever wonder... if we'll ever make it home?" She looked at the stars. I could tell by the look on her face she missed being home.
Me: "Sometimes. I try not to think about it though. It only makes the hurt worse. It wouldn't be so bad if TK was still here." I started thinking about him. I really do hope he's okay. He's my little brother. He HAS to be okay or...
Sora: "Matt?"
Me: "What?"
Sora: "You went off in your own little world again. Somethin' wrong?" She had a concerned look on her face. She propped herself up so that her head was upright. Her free hand was caressing my hair.
Me: "Nah." A light breeze blew, and the raft began swaying. Not much, but just enough so you could sense it. I moved a little closer to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. The breeze was growing a little chilly, so I pulled Sora as close to me as I could and wrapped my arms around her. She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked into mine.
Sora: "I love you, Matt."
Me: "I love you too." I kissed her again, ony this time on the lips. "Good night."
Sora: "Good night, Matt."
*********
Joe's pov
What was that? Is it raining? Why'd this have to wake me up now?! I was in the middle of a really good dream! I looked around at the others. I was the only one awake now. Okay, so it wasn't rain. Is it dust? I looked up towards the sky. I saw what appeared to be a shadow circling over us. Occasional torrents of white dust fell down as if the shadow were throwing it on us. Why would someone do that? Suddenly, all my muscles contracted. I tried to lie down again, but I was paralyzed. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I clenched my teeth to try to stifle my cry of pain, which came out as a groan. My muscles kept contracting until i finally screamed at the lop of my lungs. I was now shaking all over, my body was so tense. The pain had become very excruciating, and I could take it no longer. Just when I gave up all hope, a mist came upon us. As it touched my skin, it seemed to remove the dust. The pain lessened and I soon fell unconscious.
*********
Tai's pov
When I woke up I expected to be sitting on a log raft in the middle of a swamp, NOT lying on a rug in front of a fireplace (with a fire in it) like my pet cat. I was alone except for an orange snakelike digimon with green eyes lying along the length of the wall. It was about 20 feet long, 5 feet thick, and its huge blue wings were folded back. It had two small arms, no legs, and two blue stripes under its eyes. I tried to keep the panic out of my voice as I asked, "Who are you? Where are my friends?"
"My name is Bailemon. Your friends are in their own rooms, and all of your digimon are in the kitchen at the end of the hall." Bailemon talked with a slight English accent. I didn't know digimon could have accents!
A thought flashed through my mind, and it wasn't a good one. "Why are--"
"They're getting a snack. They're not being eaten."
Awestruck, I asked "How'd you know I was going to ask that?"
"Your eyes told me. You can learn anything about anyone if you look at their eyes."
"Oh." I sat down on the rug since there wasn't much else to do. I looked at the fireplace, which was made of red brick. The fire was winding down, but still going strong. Then I looked to my left. A small oak table was pushed up against the wall, with a little wooden stool to go with it. There was a red cushion on the stool made of velvet. Next to the table was a sofa. That too was made of red velvet. The walls were painted white, and there weren't any windows at all. Torches lined them, making the room bright and cozy. The carpet was a funny silver color. To my right, two humongous doors took up about half the wall. Nothing interesting about them; they were just two slabs of oak with hinges and a plain doorknob.
Behind me on the far wall stood one of those old fashioned wardrobes. It was also made of oak and had two doors on it. I pointed at it and looked at Bailemon. "Can I see what's in there?"
Bailemon: "Go right ahead."
I walked over and opened one of its doors. There was nothing in there. I opened the other door, and saw some clothes hanging from hooks. I took them out and examined them. They were all silver with red trim, but the shirts had blue buttons on them. The pants were built like our blue jeans on Earth: one button to hold them together at the waist and on zipper. The difference was these pants were silver, and not jean material. The buttons were orange, and had the symbol of my Crest on them. "Whose clothes are these?"
Bailemon: "Yours. If you'd like, you may change into them right now so we can wash your old clothes. You'll be required to wear them at dinner tonight, though."
I was a little confused. "Wear what? My old clothes or these silver ones?"
Bailemon: "The silver ones. There should also be a matching overgarment in there. You'll need to wear that as well."
I looked in the wardrobe again, got out the rest of the clothes, and set them on the floor. More shirts and pants. I found a robe at the bottom of the pile and held it up for bailemon to see. "Is this what you mean by 'overgarment'?"
Bailemon: "Yes." He looked at a clock over the fireplace that i hadn't seen before. "I need to check on the others. Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?"
"Yeah... can I go with you?"
He thought a moment. "Okay. Just don't get lost, and don't wander out of this hall. We need to be able to find you again later. There are, quite literally, a thousand and one places you could get lost here."
Wow. This place must be pretty big. Bailemon slithered across the room and through the doors. Without opening them. First his head disappeared, then his massive wings, then his tail. He just went through those doors like a ghost! A few seconds passed by, then he stuck his head back through. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to open the door for you. Do forgive me!" His head disappeared again. I heard a clicking noise from the doors, then the sound of them being pushed open. Bailemon was once again in view. I couldn't see anything behind him, since he filled most of the doorway. "These doors are so heavy! They're often too difficult for humans to open them, especially from the inside."
"Does that mean there have been more people here before us?"
"Certainly! The Digidestined before you were here, and the Digidestined before them, and the ones before them, and so on since the beginning of the Digiworld itself!"
When Bailemon had slithered into the hall far enough for me to walk out the doors, I followed him to the room next to mine. I stopped in front of the doorway of the new room and got a good, long look at the hall. It was like my room; it had the same carpet, the same lack of windows, the same torches up near the ceiling, and even the same white plastery stuff on the walls. There were five rooms on each side of the hall. Mine had been at the very end, right next to the kitchen. After a few minutes, I decided to walk into the room. Bailemon was blocking most of my view, as he was a bit close to the doorway. I took a risk and tapped him on the side.
"Bailemon? Can you please move? I can't see."
He immediately turned his head towards me. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll move." He slithered over to the wall furthest from me, and I could now see the whole room. It was exactly like mine, right down to the carpet. Joe was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He, like me, was dressed in some more of the funny silver clothes. His glasses were on the floor nearby. I walked over to the side of the bed, picked them up, and sat down on the edge carefully.
Me: "Hey Joe, what's up?"
Joe: (sarcastically, without removing his gaze frome the ceiling) "Oh, not much. I'm just lying on a strange bed in a strange room in a REALLY strange world, and I have no idea how we got here. That's all."
Me: "You don't have to be so sarcastic."
Bailemon: (Hovering over the end of the bed, peering at Joe) "Are you all right?"
Joe: (exhaustedly) "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm sorry, Tai. I just have a lot on my mind."
Nobody said anything for a while; we all just stared off into space. Then...
Me: "Whatcha starin' at the ceiling for?"
Joe: "I'm not. I can't see a thing."
Ivory Mountain, chapter 8
-------------------------
Matt's pov
Ahhhhhhhh.... rest. Feels sooo good. We're all lying down on our raft, gazin' at the stars. I was, anyway. Izzy's on my far right, snoring his head off. Next to Izzy is Arrow, then Tai (also asleep), then Sora, then me (heeheehee). To my right: Joe, then Mimi, then Kari on the far right. All of our digimon are asleep by our feet. Thankfully, they don't snore.
Sora: "Matt?"
Me: "Huh? wha- What?" Her voice startled me. I rolled onto my side to see her better, then gazed into those beautiful brown eyes of hers as she continued speaking.
Sora: "Do you ever wonder... if we'll ever make it home?" She looked at the stars. I could tell by the look on her face she missed being home.
Me: "Sometimes. I try not to think about it though. It only makes the hurt worse. It wouldn't be so bad if TK was still here." I started thinking about him. I really do hope he's okay. He's my little brother. He HAS to be okay or...
Sora: "Matt?"
Me: "What?"
Sora: "You went off in your own little world again. Somethin' wrong?" She had a concerned look on her face. She propped herself up so that her head was upright. Her free hand was caressing my hair.
Me: "Nah." A light breeze blew, and the raft began swaying. Not much, but just enough so you could sense it. I moved a little closer to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. The breeze was growing a little chilly, so I pulled Sora as close to me as I could and wrapped my arms around her. She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked into mine.
Sora: "I love you, Matt."
Me: "I love you too." I kissed her again, ony this time on the lips. "Good night."
Sora: "Good night, Matt."
*********
Joe's pov
What was that? Is it raining? Why'd this have to wake me up now?! I was in the middle of a really good dream! I looked around at the others. I was the only one awake now. Okay, so it wasn't rain. Is it dust? I looked up towards the sky. I saw what appeared to be a shadow circling over us. Occasional torrents of white dust fell down as if the shadow were throwing it on us. Why would someone do that? Suddenly, all my muscles contracted. I tried to lie down again, but I was paralyzed. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I clenched my teeth to try to stifle my cry of pain, which came out as a groan. My muscles kept contracting until i finally screamed at the lop of my lungs. I was now shaking all over, my body was so tense. The pain had become very excruciating, and I could take it no longer. Just when I gave up all hope, a mist came upon us. As it touched my skin, it seemed to remove the dust. The pain lessened and I soon fell unconscious.
*********
Tai's pov
When I woke up I expected to be sitting on a log raft in the middle of a swamp, NOT lying on a rug in front of a fireplace (with a fire in it) like my pet cat. I was alone except for an orange snakelike digimon with green eyes lying along the length of the wall. It was about 20 feet long, 5 feet thick, and its huge blue wings were folded back. It had two small arms, no legs, and two blue stripes under its eyes. I tried to keep the panic out of my voice as I asked, "Who are you? Where are my friends?"
"My name is Bailemon. Your friends are in their own rooms, and all of your digimon are in the kitchen at the end of the hall." Bailemon talked with a slight English accent. I didn't know digimon could have accents!
A thought flashed through my mind, and it wasn't a good one. "Why are--"
"They're getting a snack. They're not being eaten."
Awestruck, I asked "How'd you know I was going to ask that?"
"Your eyes told me. You can learn anything about anyone if you look at their eyes."
"Oh." I sat down on the rug since there wasn't much else to do. I looked at the fireplace, which was made of red brick. The fire was winding down, but still going strong. Then I looked to my left. A small oak table was pushed up against the wall, with a little wooden stool to go with it. There was a red cushion on the stool made of velvet. Next to the table was a sofa. That too was made of red velvet. The walls were painted white, and there weren't any windows at all. Torches lined them, making the room bright and cozy. The carpet was a funny silver color. To my right, two humongous doors took up about half the wall. Nothing interesting about them; they were just two slabs of oak with hinges and a plain doorknob.
Behind me on the far wall stood one of those old fashioned wardrobes. It was also made of oak and had two doors on it. I pointed at it and looked at Bailemon. "Can I see what's in there?"
Bailemon: "Go right ahead."
I walked over and opened one of its doors. There was nothing in there. I opened the other door, and saw some clothes hanging from hooks. I took them out and examined them. They were all silver with red trim, but the shirts had blue buttons on them. The pants were built like our blue jeans on Earth: one button to hold them together at the waist and on zipper. The difference was these pants were silver, and not jean material. The buttons were orange, and had the symbol of my Crest on them. "Whose clothes are these?"
Bailemon: "Yours. If you'd like, you may change into them right now so we can wash your old clothes. You'll be required to wear them at dinner tonight, though."
I was a little confused. "Wear what? My old clothes or these silver ones?"
Bailemon: "The silver ones. There should also be a matching overgarment in there. You'll need to wear that as well."
I looked in the wardrobe again, got out the rest of the clothes, and set them on the floor. More shirts and pants. I found a robe at the bottom of the pile and held it up for bailemon to see. "Is this what you mean by 'overgarment'?"
Bailemon: "Yes." He looked at a clock over the fireplace that i hadn't seen before. "I need to check on the others. Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?"
"Yeah... can I go with you?"
He thought a moment. "Okay. Just don't get lost, and don't wander out of this hall. We need to be able to find you again later. There are, quite literally, a thousand and one places you could get lost here."
Wow. This place must be pretty big. Bailemon slithered across the room and through the doors. Without opening them. First his head disappeared, then his massive wings, then his tail. He just went through those doors like a ghost! A few seconds passed by, then he stuck his head back through. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to open the door for you. Do forgive me!" His head disappeared again. I heard a clicking noise from the doors, then the sound of them being pushed open. Bailemon was once again in view. I couldn't see anything behind him, since he filled most of the doorway. "These doors are so heavy! They're often too difficult for humans to open them, especially from the inside."
"Does that mean there have been more people here before us?"
"Certainly! The Digidestined before you were here, and the Digidestined before them, and the ones before them, and so on since the beginning of the Digiworld itself!"
When Bailemon had slithered into the hall far enough for me to walk out the doors, I followed him to the room next to mine. I stopped in front of the doorway of the new room and got a good, long look at the hall. It was like my room; it had the same carpet, the same lack of windows, the same torches up near the ceiling, and even the same white plastery stuff on the walls. There were five rooms on each side of the hall. Mine had been at the very end, right next to the kitchen. After a few minutes, I decided to walk into the room. Bailemon was blocking most of my view, as he was a bit close to the doorway. I took a risk and tapped him on the side.
"Bailemon? Can you please move? I can't see."
He immediately turned his head towards me. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll move." He slithered over to the wall furthest from me, and I could now see the whole room. It was exactly like mine, right down to the carpet. Joe was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He, like me, was dressed in some more of the funny silver clothes. His glasses were on the floor nearby. I walked over to the side of the bed, picked them up, and sat down on the edge carefully.
Me: "Hey Joe, what's up?"
Joe: (sarcastically, without removing his gaze frome the ceiling) "Oh, not much. I'm just lying on a strange bed in a strange room in a REALLY strange world, and I have no idea how we got here. That's all."
Me: "You don't have to be so sarcastic."
Bailemon: (Hovering over the end of the bed, peering at Joe) "Are you all right?"
Joe: (exhaustedly) "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm sorry, Tai. I just have a lot on my mind."
Nobody said anything for a while; we all just stared off into space. Then...
Me: "Whatcha starin' at the ceiling for?"
Joe: "I'm not. I can't see a thing."