Memories Two: Memory's Growing
The next day at school TK and Kari sat together, apartfrom
all others, at lunch. Once more, they talked of the things which theyhadin
common. In the years since they had last seen each other, these commonties
had grown fewer. Kari, much to her brother's dismay, had little interestin
sports. She had opted for music, and although she'd never made much headway
with piano her voice teacher considered her one of his better pupils. TKhad
also followed a path different from his brother's, but in his case thatmeant
choosing sports over music instead of the other way 'round. He hadgrown quite
a bit from the shrimp of Digiworld days, and his newfound heightwas an advantage
in basketball.
No matter how he and Kari had changed, however, they still shared one unbreakable tie. They were Digidestined. More specifically, they were Digidestined of Faith, and because of that they could not take the easy path the others had and forget. Why not? They needed to remember. The world needed them to remember, and remain true Digidestined.
They would always share that common bond—their memories. And now they shared another one, perhaps related—their dreams.
"I had a new dream last night, TK."
"Oh?"
"Well, not really. It was more like a prelude to my usual dream."
"Close enough. Tell me about it."
"I'm flying above the Digiworld. Well, Angewomon is, but she's holding my hand so it comes to the same net effect. Most of it's healthy, green, vibrant—but then we notice a place that's... not. It's a... well... a sickly-lookingplace. I don't know any better way to describe it. We swoop down and... TK,it'sthe place where I die. Then my usual dream begins. Only this time, youcomewith Angemon to help fight... but it's too late, you arrive just beforetheattack hits."
"Can it be that by coming to help I've only made things worse?" TK said,half to himself, after several second's uncomfortable pause.
"No. Even if your arrival was what... extended... my dream, you've stilldone much more good than harm. Do you have any idea how wonderful it feelsto be able to talk this over with someone? I need you, TK. You're my lifelineto sanity."
A slightly more uncomfortable pause followed that statement. It was broken by the bell's loud ring.
"I guess we'd better get to class now?" suggested TK, a bit lamely.
"I guess."
That night Kari's dream started even earlier. She was talking with... someone... (Gennai, her mind told her, though he looked nothing like the Gennai she knew)
"...this final evil. Then you're done. Permanently, in all likelihood."
"Where...?"
"Lucefremon ought to be pretty easy to find. An evil as deep as his poisons the entire area around him. Just flying over it, the very land should look unhealthy. Now go, Hikari. You're the only one left."
"Takeru..."
"Is almost certainly dead, and even if he's not it's very unlikely that he'll get out in time. HIkari, you and Angewomon might not be enough, but you'll have to be."
After that, Gatomon digivolved. Kari took her hand and they flew...
Over that sickly-looking patch of the Digiworld. They of course swooped down to investigate... and once more Kari woke in a fear-sweat just before the energy-bolt hit.
The next night...
Fleeing from... something... Lucefremon? (if that was its name) on the back of a Pegasus-like Digimon... Fledgemon, the name came to her. There werethree others—four, counting Gatomon—one of them was the strangeGennai, and the others were a boy and girl she faintly recognized from thenight before. The girl... Natsuko?... urged Fledgemon on, faster and faster.A flight of Saberdramon, flame-blackbird Digimon—viri—rose infront of them. To stop them, perhaps, or maybe just stall them enough forLucefremon to catch up. The deadly race they were running was close enoughthat any slowdown could... would... literally be fatal...
"Legendswing!" cried out Fledgemon, and a shower of icy wing-feathers shot towards the center of the Saberdramon formation. Being only Champions and no match for an Ultimate like Fledgemon, they scattered. Fledgemon darted through the now-vacant center of the formation. Claws and sharp teeth slashed at them but they made it through relatively safely.
Suddenly they hit a sort of stiffening in the air, one that would not let them pass. Gennai whispered a small word under his breath, and they werethrough the digital barrier. He whispered again, and at its maker's commandit re-formed. Now they were in a small clearing, a place of rest and safety.More safety, at any rate, than outside the barrier which Lucefremon couldnot penetrate.
Fledgemon softly glided down, and everyone quickly dismounted. Then, exhausted, she collapsed. But instead of commencing the glowing contraction that marked a reverse-digivolve, she just lay there. A cold, gentle breeze swept through the clearing, and as it brushed by Fledgemon her outline blurred and faded. Natsuko, crying quietly, knelt by her side, but her Crest of Compassion's indigo glow could not heal her partner. The breeze wafted away the sparkling bits and bytes towards Primary Village. There Fledgemon could get the complete rest she needed and had earned in her desparate flight.
They stayed in that clearing for a while. Partly to rest, but mostly to mourn. Equumon—Fledgemon—was not the only deleted Digipartner. Masaharu's Fawnmon and Gennai's Morphomon had both died fightingLucefremon. Takeru and Patamon—well, they say not to count someonedead until you've seen the body, so there was still a faint glimmering ofhope there. Fitting, that.
Then one day, (day measured by dream-time, of course), Gennai pulled Hikari over to talk.
"Lucefremon's still out there, Hikari. We need you to go and defeat thisfinal evil. Then you're done. Permanently, in all likelihood..."
"And each night the dream's been growing, TK. Always by tacking new things on to the beginning. It's like this other Hikari lived once, and now I'm reliving all her memories up until death... You know how I said it was almost as if some part of me, long-forgotten,were waking? Well, what if I am Hikari?"
No matter how he and Kari had changed, however, they still shared one unbreakable tie. They were Digidestined. More specifically, they were Digidestined of Faith, and because of that they could not take the easy path the others had and forget. Why not? They needed to remember. The world needed them to remember, and remain true Digidestined.
They would always share that common bond—their memories. And now they shared another one, perhaps related—their dreams.
"I had a new dream last night, TK."
"Oh?"
"Well, not really. It was more like a prelude to my usual dream."
"Close enough. Tell me about it."
"I'm flying above the Digiworld. Well, Angewomon is, but she's holding my hand so it comes to the same net effect. Most of it's healthy, green, vibrant—but then we notice a place that's... not. It's a... well... a sickly-lookingplace. I don't know any better way to describe it. We swoop down and... TK,it'sthe place where I die. Then my usual dream begins. Only this time, youcomewith Angemon to help fight... but it's too late, you arrive just beforetheattack hits."
"Can it be that by coming to help I've only made things worse?" TK said,half to himself, after several second's uncomfortable pause.
"No. Even if your arrival was what... extended... my dream, you've stilldone much more good than harm. Do you have any idea how wonderful it feelsto be able to talk this over with someone? I need you, TK. You're my lifelineto sanity."
A slightly more uncomfortable pause followed that statement. It was broken by the bell's loud ring.
"I guess we'd better get to class now?" suggested TK, a bit lamely.
"I guess."
That night Kari's dream started even earlier. She was talking with... someone... (Gennai, her mind told her, though he looked nothing like the Gennai she knew)
"...this final evil. Then you're done. Permanently, in all likelihood."
"Where...?"
"Lucefremon ought to be pretty easy to find. An evil as deep as his poisons the entire area around him. Just flying over it, the very land should look unhealthy. Now go, Hikari. You're the only one left."
"Takeru..."
"Is almost certainly dead, and even if he's not it's very unlikely that he'll get out in time. HIkari, you and Angewomon might not be enough, but you'll have to be."
After that, Gatomon digivolved. Kari took her hand and they flew...
Over that sickly-looking patch of the Digiworld. They of course swooped down to investigate... and once more Kari woke in a fear-sweat just before the energy-bolt hit.
The next night...
Fleeing from... something... Lucefremon? (if that was its name) on the back of a Pegasus-like Digimon... Fledgemon, the name came to her. There werethree others—four, counting Gatomon—one of them was the strangeGennai, and the others were a boy and girl she faintly recognized from thenight before. The girl... Natsuko?... urged Fledgemon on, faster and faster.A flight of Saberdramon, flame-blackbird Digimon—viri—rose infront of them. To stop them, perhaps, or maybe just stall them enough forLucefremon to catch up. The deadly race they were running was close enoughthat any slowdown could... would... literally be fatal...
"Legendswing!" cried out Fledgemon, and a shower of icy wing-feathers shot towards the center of the Saberdramon formation. Being only Champions and no match for an Ultimate like Fledgemon, they scattered. Fledgemon darted through the now-vacant center of the formation. Claws and sharp teeth slashed at them but they made it through relatively safely.
Suddenly they hit a sort of stiffening in the air, one that would not let them pass. Gennai whispered a small word under his breath, and they werethrough the digital barrier. He whispered again, and at its maker's commandit re-formed. Now they were in a small clearing, a place of rest and safety.More safety, at any rate, than outside the barrier which Lucefremon couldnot penetrate.
Fledgemon softly glided down, and everyone quickly dismounted. Then, exhausted, she collapsed. But instead of commencing the glowing contraction that marked a reverse-digivolve, she just lay there. A cold, gentle breeze swept through the clearing, and as it brushed by Fledgemon her outline blurred and faded. Natsuko, crying quietly, knelt by her side, but her Crest of Compassion's indigo glow could not heal her partner. The breeze wafted away the sparkling bits and bytes towards Primary Village. There Fledgemon could get the complete rest she needed and had earned in her desparate flight.
They stayed in that clearing for a while. Partly to rest, but mostly to mourn. Equumon—Fledgemon—was not the only deleted Digipartner. Masaharu's Fawnmon and Gennai's Morphomon had both died fightingLucefremon. Takeru and Patamon—well, they say not to count someonedead until you've seen the body, so there was still a faint glimmering ofhope there. Fitting, that.
Then one day, (day measured by dream-time, of course), Gennai pulled Hikari over to talk.
"Lucefremon's still out there, Hikari. We need you to go and defeat thisfinal evil. Then you're done. Permanently, in all likelihood..."
"And each night the dream's been growing, TK. Always by tacking new things on to the beginning. It's like this other Hikari lived once, and now I'm reliving all her memories up until death... You know how I said it was almost as if some part of me, long-forgotten,were waking? Well, what if I am Hikari?"
that favorite tool of sadists, a cliffhanger
TO BE CONTINUED...
TO BE CONTINUED...