Digimon: Dealing with Family and Feeling
There were five more locations in America where Digimon had taken over. New York, Seattle, somewhere in the Rockies, Reno, and Miami. We were still in Fargo, my past hometown before I had moved to New Hampshire. People had returned from the areas that they had fled to when they heard that the Digimon were taken care of. I learned that all my family members were safe, but they had fled to Minneapolis, so, they'd return long after the other Digidestined and I left. I saw some old friends though. One of them snuck up on me infact......
"Hey! I heard you were back in town?" Someone said from behind me.
"What? Yeah..." I turned around and saw him. "Justin? Is that you?" Justin had been my best friend in Fargo. We grew up on opposite sides of the city but, he went to the same school as I did. We were interested in the same things at the same time. We grew up through two seasons of Power Rangers, V.R. Troopers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and everything else.
"Wow! It really is you!" He said in amazement.
"Yeah, well, I'm not that great of a person...." I stopped talking as he walked past me and picked up Wormon. "I think you're soooo cool, Wormon! You're my favorite Digimon!"
"Hey! Justin, drop him! No wait.......set him down gently. Yeah, now who has the coolest stuff." Justin always had all the toys as a kid. The White Ranger Tiger Zord, and everything else too. I was stuck with whatever my mom could find at the store.
"Yeah...okay. You've got the best stuff. How are they real though? I saw the Numemon outside my house the first night, and then I started to tell everyone at school the next day. Nobody believed me. They thought I was crazy. Where can I get a Digimon? I want to join you guys!" All of us looked at each other.
"Justin, listen. You may think that, but, you don't mean it. The Digimon are a handful sometimes, the evil ones would kill you in a second if you gave them the chance and, how we're going to explain this to our parents, we have no idea....oh man! Our parents!" I said, realizing it was the fifth day I was gone, the fourth Natalie and Valerie were gone, and the third that Liana and David were gone. "We can't go anywhere else! The last thing we need is being arrested for being runaways guys. We all need to go home and tell our parents what's going on."
"But what about the evil Digimon, Cody? You said yourself that your worst fear is letting them destroy these places." Valerie spoke, I think I was the only one that sensed the fear in her voice.
"Okay. Davy, get me that laptop will you? Valerie come with me. I need to talk to you." I led her over to the other side of the street. I made sure nobody was around us or listening. "Valerie, what's wrong? You've held up fine until a while ago."
She looked into my eyes and for a second it looked like she was going to cry, but, she blinked and the tears were held back for some other time. "It's just that........you know how my mom can be. As soon as she finds out what I've been doing, she's going to lock me up for two reasons. One, to stop me form going back with you guys and two, cause she'll think I'm crazy. I can't let the group down. This is the only thing in my life that's mattered. To go and save the world and be with my friends, my real friends! I can't let all of you down. My mom would stop me, you know she would." This time, the tears did come. They streaked down her dirt-streaked face, leaving small streams along different paths on her face. I felt bad. There was nothing I could do. I wasn't good at helping people with their feelings like she was.
"Valerie.............you won't let us down. You're too strong and kind for you to let that happen. But, if it makes you feel better, just give your mom a call home and tell her to watch the news about the monster attacks okay? I have to go home and let my mom know what I'm doing. You can come with me okay? I don't want any of us to be alone if we don't need to be....okay?"
"You'd let me come along?" She wiped her face.
"Of course! Friends remember? And besides, there are Digimon in New York, and I know I can't take them myself. We can work together!" We walked back to the group. I noticed we lost Justin, just as well, he would've gotten in the way. But, we gained a person.
"Who're you?" I asked when Valerie and I got close enough so he could hear.
"Me? I'm Howie. I'm helping Gennai and the others out by bringing you these!" He held out a pack that had something inside it that clunked. He opened the pack up and pulled out something I recognized from TV: Two-Way pagers. "Here ya guys go. The REAL version of a D-Terminal. They look like two-ways but, they can message a group or one person or two people. The batteries recharge themselves while their not in use. I really need to get back to the watch area and well......you know watch." He tossed us each a 2-Way and ran back up the street.
"Well, guys what's the plan?" Liana asked while looking over her 2-Way.
"Here's the plan;" I said as I put my 2-Way in my pocket. "We need to split up. If we all go from city to area to town to city, the Digimon will have devastated the towns before we stop them all. So, David and Liana, you two will go to your homes and let your parents know what's going on. After you do that..." I messed with the laptop for a second. "After that, go to Reno, Nevada and take care of the Digimon there okay?" They nodded without any emotion on their faces. "Natalie? You go home and do the parent thing, but also, tell Valerie's parents what's happening. Her mom will hold her there if she goes back. We can't afford to lose a team member. After that...the map says that there is a Digimon in Miami. Think you can handle that?"
"Sure. With Patamon with me, I can handle anything." She smiled and Patamon giggled lightly.
"Okay. I am going home to New Hampshire and telling my mom what's happening in my life. Valerie is going to come with me. After that, we're going to go down to New York and take care of the Digimon there. Everybody understand their part in this?" The four of them nodded, so did their Digimon. "Okay. We'll all meet up in Seattle in four days time okay? Cause after New York, Valerie and I have to go to the Rockies and take care of the problem there. Let's go. Four days, people. And then, hopefully, this will be over......"
********
MID-DAY ONE
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"Mom? I'm home!" I shouted as I walked through the front door of my house. The lodge was still recked. I guess with all the excitement in the news, people just gave up.
"Wow. Cody? That lodge that was smashed was where you first got your Digimon?" Valerie asked quietly.
"Yep. Wormon and I have been together for five days now. I'm surprised at how fast he flew us here!" I said while falling into the recliner in my living room. Minemon bounced in my lap.
"Yep! Five days! We're best friends now! And best friends do one thing for each other......" Minemon hinted at what he wanted.
"Yeah, okay. I know. I'm hungry too." I stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Valerie? What do you want? And you have the choice of pizza or pizza." I said while holding up a pizza and put it in the oven.
"Oh, I was hoping for a nice caeser salad, filet mingon and some chocolate mouuse." We both laughed.
"Will you settle for some salad with Kraft dressing, pepperoni pizza and some chocolate ice cream?" I asked still laughing.
"Sure. Don't expect a tip though. Where is your mom?"
"I don't know. She should be home soon. I can't believe she isn't here." I made salad and the pizza finished and we sat down and ate. Minemon sat on the table and Valerie and me sat across from each other.
"You know what this is?" I asked before eating some salad.
"Salad with Kraft dressing?" She replied jokingly. "No, I don't what?"
"This is our first meal. An actual meal, without 5 Digimon running around, without everyone grabbing at every bit of food scraps left on the table. This is an actual meal. It feels weird. I mean, even before, back before this all started, when I ate, I used to sit out in that recliner and watch TV. It feels good to sit down and have a conversation......" I looked down at my food and forced away all the negetive thoughts.
"You never did this with your family?"
"No. My sister was lousy company and my mom was always working, or with friends. Holidays were my only time like this, but I was never included in the conversations." I knew I must've looked pretty sad then. "My family isn't the best and never will be, but, you know? Just once I would've liked to walk in the door after school and have my mom say to me, 'We're having chicked for dinner. I'm also making potatoes and gravy.' You know, like a normal family? Just once that would've made up for all the McDonalds and pizzas. All the notes or answering machine messages that said, 'I'm working late. I know I said I would be home but, I need to put in this over time. I'm sure you can whip something up for supper.' I hated that. I learned to use an oven and cook on a stove top by myself. I knew exactly how to make the perfect pasta when I was 13. I just....I don't know. It's not like my growing up was bad. We did things, we went places. I just basically grew up without a mom or a dad. My parents got divorced sometime ago. I was probably like 1 or something like that. I haven't seen my dad since I was 7. And I hardly ever see my mom. I've been raised by myself and friends. I just..." I stopped talking because Valerie, Pengomon, AND Minemon were silent. I realized that I had said too much in such a short amount of time. I never said this to anybody else, and here I was, telling a friend I had just physically met four days ago, about my life and family, like she was family herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have started talking about all that." I realized, I had talked for the whole meal! The salad was finished except for a baby tomatoe that Minemon and Pengomon eyed for a few seconds before Pengomon gave up on the staring contest and let Minemon have it. Minemon gulped it down, the pizza was gone entirely, and, the ice cream was nothing but little streaks in our bowls. "Sorry, let me clear the table....." I grabbed the plates and put them in the sink.
"Don't be sorry, it couldn't have been easy for you to talk about all this."
"That's the thing, Valerie. It WAS easy for me to talk about all this, that isn't like me! I usually keep my feelings inside. But, just now, I opened up like I've known you all my life." Minemon fell asleep on the table and Pengomon had left the room to try and converse with the cats so, I led Valerie into the living room. "That isn't like me. I've told you things people at school don't know. My mom doesn't even know how I feel."
"She doesn't?" She looked about ready to cry again because of what I was telling her.
"No, she doesn't. She thinks I'm a bad kid. I'm either on drugs or having sex or I'm dealing drugs or I'm stealing from her. That's what she thinks anyways. She doesn't know what I am like. The week before Wormon appeared, she accused me of stealing over $300 from her. And then another 50 or so three days before Wormon appeared. She just assumes the worst about me and my sister is always making up stories about stuff I'm doing. I...there I go again. I need to stop talking about this stuff. This is supposed to be a break from the fighting and I just bring up other things to bring me down, and I brought you down with me...I'm sorry." I sighed, not believing all the stuff I'd said to her. "Minemon and Pengomon had a good idea. We should get some rest while we can. My mom will be home soon and then I'll have to explain why I was gone and the Digimon and everything else." I leaned back in the recliner and closed my eyes. The last thing I knew before I fell asleep was that I was crying and that Valerie had also sat in the recliner. Her head rested on my shoulder and she, too, was crying.
********
LATE DAY ONE
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"Mo---om! Cody's sleeping with a girl!" Is what I woke up to late that evening. Pengomon slept next to my cats. Minemon had joined Valerie and me in the recliner. He slept quietly on my lap. Valerie's head still was on my shoulders and both our faces were still wet with tears. We must've cried in our sleep. I thought.
"Quiet! Shut up, Autumn!" I whispered to her. I don't know why, but it was just natural instinct to make sure that neither of them awoke. "Shhh. You'll wake them." Then I knew my mistake, I had said "them". That's when she noticed Minemon.
"Is that who I think it is?" She asked in awe. "Is that a Digimon?"
"Yeah. I'll explain it later." I said as my mom charged through the front door.
"A-ha! I knew it!" She said as she looked over me and Valerie. I didn't know what she knew, it was completely innocent I thought. It was just two friends sleeping in the same chair.
"Mom, and I'm sorry for saying this but I've grown up alot in the past five days.."
"I'll bet you have. I bet you're little friend grew up too. I thought I raised you better." That last line angered me alot.
"YOU DIDN'T RAISE ME! YOU JUST WATCHED AND CORRECTED ME!" I yelled. Valerie stirred in my arms. "Let me finish mom. I'd never have said that to you but, it's true. You were always with friends or your boyfriend or working since we've moved to New Hampshire. And, Valerie is just my friend. We didn't do anything. We just fell asleep together, that's all. You're worse than a jealous girlfriend." I looked down at Valerie and saw that she had woken up.
"Oh, great. That's your mom?" Valerie asked. I helped her out of the chair and she stretched.
"Yeah...it is." I said. The confrontation had just begun.
"Couldn't handle the life of a runaway huh? Had to come back and get help from me? Get a life!" Her words didn't sting me, it was the fact she still thought I was a bad kid. I was gone for five days without any note or anything and she stood there like I was caught robbing a bank.
"I came back here to tell you what was going on! Seen the news lately?" I walked over and flipped on the TV. I changed the channel to News 9 and watched the screen only glancing back at my mom to make sure she was watching. Autumn, my sister had picked Minemon up and started poking him.
"Leave Minemon alone." I said as I grabbed him from her and rested him on my head. The reporter on the screen spoke.
"Yes, things get weirder and weirder." News Caster 1 spoke.
"You bet they do! The monster attacks don't stop at all!" NC2 said.
"We don't have alot of information right now, but places that have been attacked are either being helped or have been helped. A remote, privately owned section of Texas was attacked 4 days ago reports of 3 kids and strange monsters of their own are reported to have helped out. San Diego was struck at by a sea monster that looked like a, and these are eye witness reports, ' a gigantic shell with an attitude'. Eye witnesses were then fooled into believing that the battle, yes a battle the kids and their monsters were there again but, this time had two more kids with them. Anyways... the eye witnesses were told that it was a movie scene." NC1 said.
NC2 continued the report. "Just yesterday, Fargo, North Dakota was attacked by four monsters and again the kids were there, causing destruction."
My jaw dropped. "What! We were helping!" Valerie's hand was on my shoulder. "Cody, calm down. THey have to make an exciting news report."
"Yeah, and monsters themselves aren't exciting enough are they? We're the bad guys apparently."
"And few people say that up in our own neck of the woods, Tuftonboro was attacked five days ago, but only one kid, whose name was given by witnesses to be Cody Siders, a resident of that town. Some witnesses claim to have seen a man talking with Cody before and after hand. That's all for today!"
"Wait! News Flash! This just in, New York, Reno, Miami, Seattle and the Rockies also have monster reports! If those kids our on our side, they need to know we need help!" I flipped off the TV.
"Mom, Valerie and I are two of those five kids. Our friends Natalie, Davy, and Liana are the other three."
"We're what's known as the Digidestined, Mrs. Siders. We're the good guys. And your son is the greatest of the good guys." Valerie said.
"Yeah! I've only him five days but, he's the great at leading all of us in this war of good versus evil." Minemon said. He started to wiggle and he fell to the floor.
"Minemon digivolve to Wormon!" My mom's eyes bulged and she gasped.
"How did he..........it talked.........it changed?"
"Mom, Wormon is a Digimon. He's my partner in this war that's happening. He can change forms after eating or when I'm in danger. I can't really explain the rest, cause I don't even understand it."
"So, you're trying to save the world?" She asked, calming herself.
"That's about the gist of it mom. I just....want you to know that I'm going to be going now. I had to come back to let you know what was going on with me. You should be safe here, but in case a Digimon appears, a man named Kenny has a safehouse in the woods. If anything happens, go there. It's by the pond in the woods. Mom, I have to go now. Valerie and I are needed in New York." I grabbed Valerie's hand and gently pulled her to the door. "Don't try to stop me. This is my destiny."
"What if you die!?" She yelled as the Digimon walked out of the house.
"That might also be part of my destiny. It could be Valerie's destiny. It could be Davy's or Liana's or anyone of our destinies. The point is, when you know that you have a destiny, you have to follow it as closely as you can."
"How can you follow what you don't know!?"
"More and more of the a destiny is revealed as you progress. I don't care if I die. It's my job to protect the worlds."
"Worlds? I thought you were saving Earth!?"
"I have to save the Digital World too. They're connected. Along with other worlds like the Spirit World and others. THough the main ones are the DigiWorld and Earth. Mom, I can't stay and write an encylopedia about this whole thing for you. I am needed. Good bye." With that I left my house and family. I turned around and saw my mom looking out the window.
"Wormon, do your stuff."
"Wormon...digivolve to...Stingmon!" I helped Valerie up onto his back and then I climbed up myself. HE flew into the air and I never looked back.
********
NIGHT TIME DAY ONE
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Valerie slept in my arms while I thought about everything I said. She stirred after a while and woke up.
"Cody?"
"Humh?"
"Did you really mean it when you said that you don't care if you die or not?"
"Of course I care. I have a life outside of saving the world. I have you and Davy and Liana in my life now. My real life, not in emails or chat. I do care if I die. And I do care if you or one of the others die. But, if it comes down to a choice and I have the ability to put myself in danger to save you or the world, I'm going to make the switch."
"We won't let you do that!" Stingmon said.
"Yeah. You're the leader. We can't have you sacrificing yourself!" Valerie said.
"Exactly, I'm the leader. That means, I protect you and the others. But, I don't want to talk about this. Or think about it. Right now, and hopefully for a long time I'm alive." Everything was quiet for a long time. Neither of us spoke, and I don't think either of us would have spoken if we hadn't been paged with our two-ways just then. I reached into my pocket and pulled mine out. I flipped the cover and looked at the text. The 2-Way stopped beeping a second later. The text said,
"HEY GUYS. THIS ISH DAVY AND LIANA! WE'VE JUST GOT HOME NOW, OUR PARENTS ARE NOT HOME RIGHT NOW. LIANA WENT TO HER HOUSE TO CATCH SOME SLEEP, I AM AT MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW, WAITING FOR MY MOM. WE'RE OK. HOW DID THINGS GO AT YOUR PLACE CODY? FOR YOU NATALIE? VALERIE? HOPE THEY WENT OK. CODY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE BETTER HURRY UP. LENNY SHOWED UP TODAY WITH SOMETHING IMPORTANT HE COULD TELL ONLY YOU. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SHOW UP HERE AGAIN AFTER WE FINISH IN SEATLLE. DAVY OUT. GOOD LUCK GUYS!"
"Yeah, things went just fine Davy...." I whispered. It beeped again a few seconds later.
"DAVY, THIS IS NATALIE. THINGS WENT FINE OVER HERE UNTIL I WENT AND TOLD MY PARENTS AND VALERIE'S PARENTS WHAT WAS GOING ON. THEY ALL TOTALLY FLIPPED OUT. I AM STUCK HERE, AT HOME. BUT, DO NOT WORRY! AS SOON AS NIGHT COMES, I AM OUTTA HERE! MIAMI HUH? AFTER I FINISH THE DIGIMON THERE, I THINK I WILL CATCH A TAN.....J/K. PATAMON IS FINE. NAT OUT."
"Good thing I didn't go home, my mom would've killed me and put secret service agents around the house so I couldn't escape." I nodded, feeling sorry for her and started typing on my two way.
"HEY! GUYS! GOOD. THINGS COULD HAVE GONE BETTER AT MY HOUSE, BUT VALERIE AND I ARE OUT OF THERE NOW AND ON OUR WAY TO NEW YORK. GOOD LUCK, BYE. CODY AND VALERIE.
PS: OUR DIGIMON ARE FINE."
"Well, things could be worse....I think." I said as I put the 2-way back in my pocket.
"Yeah. They could be worse. Cody........?"
"Huh?"
"Where were you just now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You were looking up at the stars and you looked a million miles away."
"Sorry. I was just thinking..."
"What about?"
"Why I told you all those things earlier. It just wasn't like me in anyway."
"You love me, don't you?"
"WHAT?"
"That's why you opened up to me, it's cause you love me, isn't it?"
"Don't get me wrong Valerie, I like you. I used to like you alot. I guess I opened up to you because, you were there. Nobody was ever there for me. You were the first one there who would listen to me."
"Oh."
"How did you get the idea that I love you?"
"Just the things you do. The way you act. You listen to me, and you open up to me. You talk about protecting me. You hold me while we sleep or while I sleep. You stayed up those times and watched over me more than the others. I was up sometimes thinking and you'd fall asleep for a second and then snap wide awake. And, the first person you'd check on would be me."
"Well, I told you why I opened up to you. I listen to you because, I like talking to you. I talk about protecting you because, well, I was the first one to learn about the Digimon. It was my responsibility to search and find you all. I guess I'm the leader, you and Stingmon think so. The others have accepted me as the leader. I hold you while you're sleeping so I can be sure you're safe. I stayed up to watch over the group for the same reason. And when someone like Davy or Liana or you would offer to watch, I'd say I wasn't tired because, I guess I don't trust this job of protection to just anyone. And, I'd check on you first because, you and I have been friends longer than I have been friends with any of the others, except Davy. But, Davy I knew only in chat. You, I knew in chat and we emailed each other with the news of our day and stuff. I just feel more protective about you than the others for that reason. I'm sorry that you thought I felt otherwise. Are you mad at me?"
"No, of course not. I just was wondering if you felt that way about me. I like being friends with you. If we did go out and then broke up, we might not be friends anymore."
"I don't want to stop being friends Valerie............."
"Neither do I. I'm glad we worked this out." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "Will you still hold me while I sleep?"
"Only if you want me to."
"Yes, I do want you to hold me."
"Then I will." She slid over to me and hugged me.
"Thanks." With that, she laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Good night." I said softly.
"Yes...good night." She was already falling asleep. I looked over at Pengomon and he hadn't moved an inch the entire conversation. Stingmon's wings flapped rapidly as he flew. The moon was high over head. Soon we'd be in New York, ready to do battle again. But, for now, I thought while drifting to sleep myself, for now, I'll enjoy my quiet time. I pulled Valerie closer against my body so I knew she'd be safe and I rested my head on top of hers.
"Good night." I said again, right before falling asleep and this time, no shadows were in my dreams, this time, there was light. There was light and children laughing and playing. There was Valerie and Liana and Davy and Natalie and all my other friends, we were all playing and laughing and cheering. There was.............light.
There were five more locations in America where Digimon had taken over. New York, Seattle, somewhere in the Rockies, Reno, and Miami. We were still in Fargo, my past hometown before I had moved to New Hampshire. People had returned from the areas that they had fled to when they heard that the Digimon were taken care of. I learned that all my family members were safe, but they had fled to Minneapolis, so, they'd return long after the other Digidestined and I left. I saw some old friends though. One of them snuck up on me infact......
"Hey! I heard you were back in town?" Someone said from behind me.
"What? Yeah..." I turned around and saw him. "Justin? Is that you?" Justin had been my best friend in Fargo. We grew up on opposite sides of the city but, he went to the same school as I did. We were interested in the same things at the same time. We grew up through two seasons of Power Rangers, V.R. Troopers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and everything else.
"Wow! It really is you!" He said in amazement.
"Yeah, well, I'm not that great of a person...." I stopped talking as he walked past me and picked up Wormon. "I think you're soooo cool, Wormon! You're my favorite Digimon!"
"Hey! Justin, drop him! No wait.......set him down gently. Yeah, now who has the coolest stuff." Justin always had all the toys as a kid. The White Ranger Tiger Zord, and everything else too. I was stuck with whatever my mom could find at the store.
"Yeah...okay. You've got the best stuff. How are they real though? I saw the Numemon outside my house the first night, and then I started to tell everyone at school the next day. Nobody believed me. They thought I was crazy. Where can I get a Digimon? I want to join you guys!" All of us looked at each other.
"Justin, listen. You may think that, but, you don't mean it. The Digimon are a handful sometimes, the evil ones would kill you in a second if you gave them the chance and, how we're going to explain this to our parents, we have no idea....oh man! Our parents!" I said, realizing it was the fifth day I was gone, the fourth Natalie and Valerie were gone, and the third that Liana and David were gone. "We can't go anywhere else! The last thing we need is being arrested for being runaways guys. We all need to go home and tell our parents what's going on."
"But what about the evil Digimon, Cody? You said yourself that your worst fear is letting them destroy these places." Valerie spoke, I think I was the only one that sensed the fear in her voice.
"Okay. Davy, get me that laptop will you? Valerie come with me. I need to talk to you." I led her over to the other side of the street. I made sure nobody was around us or listening. "Valerie, what's wrong? You've held up fine until a while ago."
She looked into my eyes and for a second it looked like she was going to cry, but, she blinked and the tears were held back for some other time. "It's just that........you know how my mom can be. As soon as she finds out what I've been doing, she's going to lock me up for two reasons. One, to stop me form going back with you guys and two, cause she'll think I'm crazy. I can't let the group down. This is the only thing in my life that's mattered. To go and save the world and be with my friends, my real friends! I can't let all of you down. My mom would stop me, you know she would." This time, the tears did come. They streaked down her dirt-streaked face, leaving small streams along different paths on her face. I felt bad. There was nothing I could do. I wasn't good at helping people with their feelings like she was.
"Valerie.............you won't let us down. You're too strong and kind for you to let that happen. But, if it makes you feel better, just give your mom a call home and tell her to watch the news about the monster attacks okay? I have to go home and let my mom know what I'm doing. You can come with me okay? I don't want any of us to be alone if we don't need to be....okay?"
"You'd let me come along?" She wiped her face.
"Of course! Friends remember? And besides, there are Digimon in New York, and I know I can't take them myself. We can work together!" We walked back to the group. I noticed we lost Justin, just as well, he would've gotten in the way. But, we gained a person.
"Who're you?" I asked when Valerie and I got close enough so he could hear.
"Me? I'm Howie. I'm helping Gennai and the others out by bringing you these!" He held out a pack that had something inside it that clunked. He opened the pack up and pulled out something I recognized from TV: Two-Way pagers. "Here ya guys go. The REAL version of a D-Terminal. They look like two-ways but, they can message a group or one person or two people. The batteries recharge themselves while their not in use. I really need to get back to the watch area and well......you know watch." He tossed us each a 2-Way and ran back up the street.
"Well, guys what's the plan?" Liana asked while looking over her 2-Way.
"Here's the plan;" I said as I put my 2-Way in my pocket. "We need to split up. If we all go from city to area to town to city, the Digimon will have devastated the towns before we stop them all. So, David and Liana, you two will go to your homes and let your parents know what's going on. After you do that..." I messed with the laptop for a second. "After that, go to Reno, Nevada and take care of the Digimon there okay?" They nodded without any emotion on their faces. "Natalie? You go home and do the parent thing, but also, tell Valerie's parents what's happening. Her mom will hold her there if she goes back. We can't afford to lose a team member. After that...the map says that there is a Digimon in Miami. Think you can handle that?"
"Sure. With Patamon with me, I can handle anything." She smiled and Patamon giggled lightly.
"Okay. I am going home to New Hampshire and telling my mom what's happening in my life. Valerie is going to come with me. After that, we're going to go down to New York and take care of the Digimon there. Everybody understand their part in this?" The four of them nodded, so did their Digimon. "Okay. We'll all meet up in Seattle in four days time okay? Cause after New York, Valerie and I have to go to the Rockies and take care of the problem there. Let's go. Four days, people. And then, hopefully, this will be over......"
********
MID-DAY ONE
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"Mom? I'm home!" I shouted as I walked through the front door of my house. The lodge was still recked. I guess with all the excitement in the news, people just gave up.
"Wow. Cody? That lodge that was smashed was where you first got your Digimon?" Valerie asked quietly.
"Yep. Wormon and I have been together for five days now. I'm surprised at how fast he flew us here!" I said while falling into the recliner in my living room. Minemon bounced in my lap.
"Yep! Five days! We're best friends now! And best friends do one thing for each other......" Minemon hinted at what he wanted.
"Yeah, okay. I know. I'm hungry too." I stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Valerie? What do you want? And you have the choice of pizza or pizza." I said while holding up a pizza and put it in the oven.
"Oh, I was hoping for a nice caeser salad, filet mingon and some chocolate mouuse." We both laughed.
"Will you settle for some salad with Kraft dressing, pepperoni pizza and some chocolate ice cream?" I asked still laughing.
"Sure. Don't expect a tip though. Where is your mom?"
"I don't know. She should be home soon. I can't believe she isn't here." I made salad and the pizza finished and we sat down and ate. Minemon sat on the table and Valerie and me sat across from each other.
"You know what this is?" I asked before eating some salad.
"Salad with Kraft dressing?" She replied jokingly. "No, I don't what?"
"This is our first meal. An actual meal, without 5 Digimon running around, without everyone grabbing at every bit of food scraps left on the table. This is an actual meal. It feels weird. I mean, even before, back before this all started, when I ate, I used to sit out in that recliner and watch TV. It feels good to sit down and have a conversation......" I looked down at my food and forced away all the negetive thoughts.
"You never did this with your family?"
"No. My sister was lousy company and my mom was always working, or with friends. Holidays were my only time like this, but I was never included in the conversations." I knew I must've looked pretty sad then. "My family isn't the best and never will be, but, you know? Just once I would've liked to walk in the door after school and have my mom say to me, 'We're having chicked for dinner. I'm also making potatoes and gravy.' You know, like a normal family? Just once that would've made up for all the McDonalds and pizzas. All the notes or answering machine messages that said, 'I'm working late. I know I said I would be home but, I need to put in this over time. I'm sure you can whip something up for supper.' I hated that. I learned to use an oven and cook on a stove top by myself. I knew exactly how to make the perfect pasta when I was 13. I just....I don't know. It's not like my growing up was bad. We did things, we went places. I just basically grew up without a mom or a dad. My parents got divorced sometime ago. I was probably like 1 or something like that. I haven't seen my dad since I was 7. And I hardly ever see my mom. I've been raised by myself and friends. I just..." I stopped talking because Valerie, Pengomon, AND Minemon were silent. I realized that I had said too much in such a short amount of time. I never said this to anybody else, and here I was, telling a friend I had just physically met four days ago, about my life and family, like she was family herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have started talking about all that." I realized, I had talked for the whole meal! The salad was finished except for a baby tomatoe that Minemon and Pengomon eyed for a few seconds before Pengomon gave up on the staring contest and let Minemon have it. Minemon gulped it down, the pizza was gone entirely, and, the ice cream was nothing but little streaks in our bowls. "Sorry, let me clear the table....." I grabbed the plates and put them in the sink.
"Don't be sorry, it couldn't have been easy for you to talk about all this."
"That's the thing, Valerie. It WAS easy for me to talk about all this, that isn't like me! I usually keep my feelings inside. But, just now, I opened up like I've known you all my life." Minemon fell asleep on the table and Pengomon had left the room to try and converse with the cats so, I led Valerie into the living room. "That isn't like me. I've told you things people at school don't know. My mom doesn't even know how I feel."
"She doesn't?" She looked about ready to cry again because of what I was telling her.
"No, she doesn't. She thinks I'm a bad kid. I'm either on drugs or having sex or I'm dealing drugs or I'm stealing from her. That's what she thinks anyways. She doesn't know what I am like. The week before Wormon appeared, she accused me of stealing over $300 from her. And then another 50 or so three days before Wormon appeared. She just assumes the worst about me and my sister is always making up stories about stuff I'm doing. I...there I go again. I need to stop talking about this stuff. This is supposed to be a break from the fighting and I just bring up other things to bring me down, and I brought you down with me...I'm sorry." I sighed, not believing all the stuff I'd said to her. "Minemon and Pengomon had a good idea. We should get some rest while we can. My mom will be home soon and then I'll have to explain why I was gone and the Digimon and everything else." I leaned back in the recliner and closed my eyes. The last thing I knew before I fell asleep was that I was crying and that Valerie had also sat in the recliner. Her head rested on my shoulder and she, too, was crying.
********
LATE DAY ONE
********
"Mo---om! Cody's sleeping with a girl!" Is what I woke up to late that evening. Pengomon slept next to my cats. Minemon had joined Valerie and me in the recliner. He slept quietly on my lap. Valerie's head still was on my shoulders and both our faces were still wet with tears. We must've cried in our sleep. I thought.
"Quiet! Shut up, Autumn!" I whispered to her. I don't know why, but it was just natural instinct to make sure that neither of them awoke. "Shhh. You'll wake them." Then I knew my mistake, I had said "them". That's when she noticed Minemon.
"Is that who I think it is?" She asked in awe. "Is that a Digimon?"
"Yeah. I'll explain it later." I said as my mom charged through the front door.
"A-ha! I knew it!" She said as she looked over me and Valerie. I didn't know what she knew, it was completely innocent I thought. It was just two friends sleeping in the same chair.
"Mom, and I'm sorry for saying this but I've grown up alot in the past five days.."
"I'll bet you have. I bet you're little friend grew up too. I thought I raised you better." That last line angered me alot.
"YOU DIDN'T RAISE ME! YOU JUST WATCHED AND CORRECTED ME!" I yelled. Valerie stirred in my arms. "Let me finish mom. I'd never have said that to you but, it's true. You were always with friends or your boyfriend or working since we've moved to New Hampshire. And, Valerie is just my friend. We didn't do anything. We just fell asleep together, that's all. You're worse than a jealous girlfriend." I looked down at Valerie and saw that she had woken up.
"Oh, great. That's your mom?" Valerie asked. I helped her out of the chair and she stretched.
"Yeah...it is." I said. The confrontation had just begun.
"Couldn't handle the life of a runaway huh? Had to come back and get help from me? Get a life!" Her words didn't sting me, it was the fact she still thought I was a bad kid. I was gone for five days without any note or anything and she stood there like I was caught robbing a bank.
"I came back here to tell you what was going on! Seen the news lately?" I walked over and flipped on the TV. I changed the channel to News 9 and watched the screen only glancing back at my mom to make sure she was watching. Autumn, my sister had picked Minemon up and started poking him.
"Leave Minemon alone." I said as I grabbed him from her and rested him on my head. The reporter on the screen spoke.
"Yes, things get weirder and weirder." News Caster 1 spoke.
"You bet they do! The monster attacks don't stop at all!" NC2 said.
"We don't have alot of information right now, but places that have been attacked are either being helped or have been helped. A remote, privately owned section of Texas was attacked 4 days ago reports of 3 kids and strange monsters of their own are reported to have helped out. San Diego was struck at by a sea monster that looked like a, and these are eye witness reports, ' a gigantic shell with an attitude'. Eye witnesses were then fooled into believing that the battle, yes a battle the kids and their monsters were there again but, this time had two more kids with them. Anyways... the eye witnesses were told that it was a movie scene." NC1 said.
NC2 continued the report. "Just yesterday, Fargo, North Dakota was attacked by four monsters and again the kids were there, causing destruction."
My jaw dropped. "What! We were helping!" Valerie's hand was on my shoulder. "Cody, calm down. THey have to make an exciting news report."
"Yeah, and monsters themselves aren't exciting enough are they? We're the bad guys apparently."
"And few people say that up in our own neck of the woods, Tuftonboro was attacked five days ago, but only one kid, whose name was given by witnesses to be Cody Siders, a resident of that town. Some witnesses claim to have seen a man talking with Cody before and after hand. That's all for today!"
"Wait! News Flash! This just in, New York, Reno, Miami, Seattle and the Rockies also have monster reports! If those kids our on our side, they need to know we need help!" I flipped off the TV.
"Mom, Valerie and I are two of those five kids. Our friends Natalie, Davy, and Liana are the other three."
"We're what's known as the Digidestined, Mrs. Siders. We're the good guys. And your son is the greatest of the good guys." Valerie said.
"Yeah! I've only him five days but, he's the great at leading all of us in this war of good versus evil." Minemon said. He started to wiggle and he fell to the floor.
"Minemon digivolve to Wormon!" My mom's eyes bulged and she gasped.
"How did he..........it talked.........it changed?"
"Mom, Wormon is a Digimon. He's my partner in this war that's happening. He can change forms after eating or when I'm in danger. I can't really explain the rest, cause I don't even understand it."
"So, you're trying to save the world?" She asked, calming herself.
"That's about the gist of it mom. I just....want you to know that I'm going to be going now. I had to come back to let you know what was going on with me. You should be safe here, but in case a Digimon appears, a man named Kenny has a safehouse in the woods. If anything happens, go there. It's by the pond in the woods. Mom, I have to go now. Valerie and I are needed in New York." I grabbed Valerie's hand and gently pulled her to the door. "Don't try to stop me. This is my destiny."
"What if you die!?" She yelled as the Digimon walked out of the house.
"That might also be part of my destiny. It could be Valerie's destiny. It could be Davy's or Liana's or anyone of our destinies. The point is, when you know that you have a destiny, you have to follow it as closely as you can."
"How can you follow what you don't know!?"
"More and more of the a destiny is revealed as you progress. I don't care if I die. It's my job to protect the worlds."
"Worlds? I thought you were saving Earth!?"
"I have to save the Digital World too. They're connected. Along with other worlds like the Spirit World and others. THough the main ones are the DigiWorld and Earth. Mom, I can't stay and write an encylopedia about this whole thing for you. I am needed. Good bye." With that I left my house and family. I turned around and saw my mom looking out the window.
"Wormon, do your stuff."
"Wormon...digivolve to...Stingmon!" I helped Valerie up onto his back and then I climbed up myself. HE flew into the air and I never looked back.
********
NIGHT TIME DAY ONE
********
Valerie slept in my arms while I thought about everything I said. She stirred after a while and woke up.
"Cody?"
"Humh?"
"Did you really mean it when you said that you don't care if you die or not?"
"Of course I care. I have a life outside of saving the world. I have you and Davy and Liana in my life now. My real life, not in emails or chat. I do care if I die. And I do care if you or one of the others die. But, if it comes down to a choice and I have the ability to put myself in danger to save you or the world, I'm going to make the switch."
"We won't let you do that!" Stingmon said.
"Yeah. You're the leader. We can't have you sacrificing yourself!" Valerie said.
"Exactly, I'm the leader. That means, I protect you and the others. But, I don't want to talk about this. Or think about it. Right now, and hopefully for a long time I'm alive." Everything was quiet for a long time. Neither of us spoke, and I don't think either of us would have spoken if we hadn't been paged with our two-ways just then. I reached into my pocket and pulled mine out. I flipped the cover and looked at the text. The 2-Way stopped beeping a second later. The text said,
"HEY GUYS. THIS ISH DAVY AND LIANA! WE'VE JUST GOT HOME NOW, OUR PARENTS ARE NOT HOME RIGHT NOW. LIANA WENT TO HER HOUSE TO CATCH SOME SLEEP, I AM AT MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW, WAITING FOR MY MOM. WE'RE OK. HOW DID THINGS GO AT YOUR PLACE CODY? FOR YOU NATALIE? VALERIE? HOPE THEY WENT OK. CODY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE BETTER HURRY UP. LENNY SHOWED UP TODAY WITH SOMETHING IMPORTANT HE COULD TELL ONLY YOU. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SHOW UP HERE AGAIN AFTER WE FINISH IN SEATLLE. DAVY OUT. GOOD LUCK GUYS!"
"Yeah, things went just fine Davy...." I whispered. It beeped again a few seconds later.
"DAVY, THIS IS NATALIE. THINGS WENT FINE OVER HERE UNTIL I WENT AND TOLD MY PARENTS AND VALERIE'S PARENTS WHAT WAS GOING ON. THEY ALL TOTALLY FLIPPED OUT. I AM STUCK HERE, AT HOME. BUT, DO NOT WORRY! AS SOON AS NIGHT COMES, I AM OUTTA HERE! MIAMI HUH? AFTER I FINISH THE DIGIMON THERE, I THINK I WILL CATCH A TAN.....J/K. PATAMON IS FINE. NAT OUT."
"Good thing I didn't go home, my mom would've killed me and put secret service agents around the house so I couldn't escape." I nodded, feeling sorry for her and started typing on my two way.
"HEY! GUYS! GOOD. THINGS COULD HAVE GONE BETTER AT MY HOUSE, BUT VALERIE AND I ARE OUT OF THERE NOW AND ON OUR WAY TO NEW YORK. GOOD LUCK, BYE. CODY AND VALERIE.
PS: OUR DIGIMON ARE FINE."
"Well, things could be worse....I think." I said as I put the 2-way back in my pocket.
"Yeah. They could be worse. Cody........?"
"Huh?"
"Where were you just now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You were looking up at the stars and you looked a million miles away."
"Sorry. I was just thinking..."
"What about?"
"Why I told you all those things earlier. It just wasn't like me in anyway."
"You love me, don't you?"
"WHAT?"
"That's why you opened up to me, it's cause you love me, isn't it?"
"Don't get me wrong Valerie, I like you. I used to like you alot. I guess I opened up to you because, you were there. Nobody was ever there for me. You were the first one there who would listen to me."
"Oh."
"How did you get the idea that I love you?"
"Just the things you do. The way you act. You listen to me, and you open up to me. You talk about protecting me. You hold me while we sleep or while I sleep. You stayed up those times and watched over me more than the others. I was up sometimes thinking and you'd fall asleep for a second and then snap wide awake. And, the first person you'd check on would be me."
"Well, I told you why I opened up to you. I listen to you because, I like talking to you. I talk about protecting you because, well, I was the first one to learn about the Digimon. It was my responsibility to search and find you all. I guess I'm the leader, you and Stingmon think so. The others have accepted me as the leader. I hold you while you're sleeping so I can be sure you're safe. I stayed up to watch over the group for the same reason. And when someone like Davy or Liana or you would offer to watch, I'd say I wasn't tired because, I guess I don't trust this job of protection to just anyone. And, I'd check on you first because, you and I have been friends longer than I have been friends with any of the others, except Davy. But, Davy I knew only in chat. You, I knew in chat and we emailed each other with the news of our day and stuff. I just feel more protective about you than the others for that reason. I'm sorry that you thought I felt otherwise. Are you mad at me?"
"No, of course not. I just was wondering if you felt that way about me. I like being friends with you. If we did go out and then broke up, we might not be friends anymore."
"I don't want to stop being friends Valerie............."
"Neither do I. I'm glad we worked this out." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "Will you still hold me while I sleep?"
"Only if you want me to."
"Yes, I do want you to hold me."
"Then I will." She slid over to me and hugged me.
"Thanks." With that, she laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Good night." I said softly.
"Yes...good night." She was already falling asleep. I looked over at Pengomon and he hadn't moved an inch the entire conversation. Stingmon's wings flapped rapidly as he flew. The moon was high over head. Soon we'd be in New York, ready to do battle again. But, for now, I thought while drifting to sleep myself, for now, I'll enjoy my quiet time. I pulled Valerie closer against my body so I knew she'd be safe and I rested my head on top of hers.
"Good night." I said again, right before falling asleep and this time, no shadows were in my dreams, this time, there was light. There was light and children laughing and playing. There was Valerie and Liana and Davy and Natalie and all my other friends, we were all playing and laughing and cheering. There was.............light.
