Cody Carries On

Cody Carries On

Chapter 1: The Nightmare

[General Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or its characters. Their use in the following work of fiction is solely for non-profit enjoyment]

Cody Hida, the nine year-old junior sage of the newer Digidestined, lay sleeping in his bed. Actually, sleep was too kind a cover for the nightmare which began to unfold in the boy's usually quiet mind. It started out to be a good dream, with the sound of kendo sticks clashing:

"Whack". "Whack". "Whack". "Whack". The sounds carried up from a familiar daily scene, Cody's in-training sparring with his grandfather. The battle continued. "Whack". "Whack". "Whack". "Whack". In the dream Cody was unleashing a steady series of blows and parries that could only show his grandfather how much he had learned, "Whack". See how far he had come, "Whack". See how much he had grown, "Whack". See how under control -- the last blow of his kendo stick produced a disturbing sound, not a whack but a "Why?". The dream Cody looked up to show his surprise to his grandfather, only to see that his grandfather was no longer the opponent.

His new opponent looked something like his grandfather, but was much younger and taller than the older man. To Cody he seemed familiar but distant. The boy lowered his weapon, came to a position of respect, and bowed to the new man. The man did not reply but simply brushed past Cody like a passing shadow. He stood in the center of the practice mat, kendo stick at the ready. Dream Cody hesitated, green eyes searching for his grandfather and trying to avoid staring at this new man. Still, it would be impolite not to accept the offered sparring battle. The small boy repaired to his side of the mat and copied the man's ready stance. The man's face was dark but Cody could read the slight nod from it, so he set his kendo stick in sudden motion. In the dream kendo sticks met once again, and again came a reverberating "Why?"

The sound still surprised the dream boy, but the skill of the opponent left no time to pause and consider it. Blow after blow the odd sound repeated, "Why?". "Why?". "Why?". "Why?".

Above the dream, Cody's body began to flinch with each strike. his small brow furrowed and his eyelids locked shut as the green within them raced to maintain the darkening scene below. He realized that the "Whys" were no longer coming from the kendo sticks and were no longer just single words, but full questions thundering from him. He tossed and turned in bed, but Cody heard them all.

"Why did you leave me?!" The man moved back.

"Why did you leave my mother?!" The man retreated again

"Why can't you be here to see all that I'm doing as a Digidestined?!" The kendo stick fell from the man's hand. The sleeping Cody knew that it was honorable form to allow the opponent to reclaim his weapon, but the dream Cody did what he would never do awake by continuing the assault.

"Why did you have to die?!" This was a powerful blow and the tall, dark man fell to the ground like he'd been shot. In his bed the physical Cody was now audibly repeating the word "No". It was not enough to stop his dream form from one final, merciless blow.

"Why can't you answer my questions?!" The kendo stick struck the sprawled man's form just as he looked into the face of the child delivering it. A pair of adult green eyes met Cody's own for the briefest moment -- then the man vanished entirely. A shock wave of realization flooded through the boy on both his subconscious and returning conscious levels. and --

Cody bolted upright in bed. He was breathing hard, in a cold sweat. He looked graspingly around his room, mentally clutching the familiar and orderly. He looked at the clock by his bedside, it was just after 11:00 PM. He'd only been in bed a couple of hours, and a long night still lay ahead. He pushed the covers off of him. He was spent, but if sleep brought the nightmare ... well it would have to be a long night without sleep. He got out of bed and crept to his bedroom door. Cody cracked the door open just wide enough to peek through. He saw a closed door across from him. He had not disturbed his mother, which was good because she worked long days. He checked the far door down the hall, and saw that it too was closed. He hadn't disturbed his grandfather either, which was good because he was old. Cody closed his own door and began to pad his way back to bed.

He stopped himself. No sleeping. Stymied, the boy simply sat down on the floor, leaned up against the leg of his bed, and pulled his knees to his chest. He intended to just sit and wait for daylight.