Cody Carries On

Cody Carries On

Chapter 2: Upamon To The Rescue

Cody heard a now-familiar series of high-pitched "oofs" and rustles coming from the top of his closet. He gazed wearily up to the source of the noise, and knew that at least one other resident of the Hida apartment had been roused from his secret sleeping place. Soon enough the little fellow would be --

"Cody, Cody, Cody, Cody!" said Upamon with each bounce until the spherical, yellow Digimon landed safely in his young partner's arms.

"Shhh.", Cody whispered sternly. "Upamon ... Mother and grandfather are sleeping, we shouldn't wake them."

"Oh." Upamon was not phased by the rebuke, but lowered his voice. "Why aren't we sleeping?" When Cody didn't answer right away, the Digimon took an unexcited, thoughtful look at the boy. "Gosh, Cody you look awful. Don't you want to get some sleep?"

"No." Cody answered brusquely. Then he sighed, "I'm sorry, I am tired but I can't go to sleep right now, and I don't want to talk about it, OK?"

"You can tell me Cody." Upamon assured, "Really, you can." The boy remained stoic, so Upamon changed tatics. "I think you better tell me Cody." Upamon prompted in a slightly louder sing-song voice, "or else ..."

Cody's eyebrows raised in true surprise, "Upamon, what are you ... or else what?"

"Or else I'll wake your mom up." was the reply in a still slightly louder sing-song.

Cody's eyebrow's now went straight down. "Upamon you wouldn't dare!"

"Oh yes I would." The defiant Digimon smiled, and began to puff up like a playful tennis ball with wings, ready to shout.

Cody clamped his small hand over Upamon's wide mouth, "OK ... OK you win Upamon. I'll tell you but please keep quiet." The little boy made a mental note to try to keep Upamon away from Davis more often.

Upamon agreed. "OK." he whispered. "So go on and tell me."

"I had a nightmare ... " Cody began. "I had the nightmare again Upamon." Reflexively the boy hugged his Digimon.

"Oh Cody," said the Digimon sympathetically, "You mean that one where you wind up fighting your father?"

"Yes." Cody managed to croak out as he remembered the bad dream. He had shut his eyes for only a second and he shook them open again.

"You've been having that dream a lot lately, huh Cody?" The boy nodded and Upamon pressed gently, "Do you think it has anything to do with being Digidestined?"

"No, Upamon." Cody replied. "I've had this dream on and off for a couple of years. The first night grandfather taught me to spar, the night I completed the first grade, the night I became a Digidestined." Cody's voice broke. "It seems like every time I do something that would make my father proud of me, this nightmare comes back." Suddenly, he was sobbing, choking out words, the last words he wanted to say while trying to keep quiet. "Only ... now ... it's a lot worse ... much more often ... and ... and ..." Cody only mouthed the words he wanted to scream. "I don't know what to do." The boy buried his head in his arms, not really noticing that meant mostly into Upamon himself. Cody wrenched with sobs: miserable, silent sobs that would not disturb the people he loved. They simply threatened to destroy him.

Upamon didn't say anymore. He absorbed both the sound and the intensity of Cody's despair. Finally, simply out of physical exhaustion, Cody's embrace let loose and Upamon bounced up on to the boy's shoulder. Upamon whispered to him, "Cody, don't talk now, just listen I want you to digivolve me to Armadillomon, just think it.

"But ..." mumbled Cody.

"Shh.... Just think it, please." and it was the last thought Cody could manage before slipping into a numb stupor of dreamless sleep. Upamon digivolved into Armadillomon, He would have liked to be Digmon, but Cody's room was too small for that. Armadillomon walked around the boy and lowering his head, ever-so-slowly nudged the youngster to the mid-point of the bedside, careful not to tip him over. Then the Digimon climbed atop Cody's bed. He gently took the boy's pajama collar in his mouth and pulled up and back ever-so-slowly until Cody was safely hoisted back into bed. Another series of nudges and pulls positioned the boy correctly, with the Digimon masterfully getting Cody to plop down with his head on the pillow. Lastly, Armadillomon worked to draw the covers back over Cody.

Armadillomon returned to the floor. Cody still needed help, real help, but from who? Cody's family knew nothing about the Digimon and Cody's role as a Digidestined. They might understand the boy's nightmare, but not its recent frequency -- and they certainly weren't ready to hear about it from a talking, yellow armadillo. No, he had to tell the one other Digidestined who unconditionally thought of Cody as family. He needed to tell Yolei, but without Cody knowing beforehand. That meant a trip to school ... a secret trip. Armadillomon reverted back to Upamon. and hopped back up to his own bed in the closet. He'd have to be ready in the morning, ready to help Cody.