Author's Note: The entirely fictitious Terramon does, as his name hints, draw his strength from the ground. He may show up in later chapters. Since I have to come up with Myotismon's previous forms as I go along, I'm going to provide quick explanations for them in the chapters they show up in. In this case, Myotismon's fresh form is called Mikomon, a cocoon-type digimon. Just copy and paste this url http://www.geocities.com/corryn_98/mikomon.jpg if you're interested in seeing a pic of him.
The Digi-egg
"Darkness Rising!" the deep hollow voice of Terramon boomed, reverberating across the walls of the cavern, and giving form to an attack. He clung tenaciously to the walls, drawing strength and power from deep within the recesses of the Digital World. At his call, shadows pooled up from the ground and oozed together into one shadow. The shadow grew, taking on form and substance, ready to follow through with its master's will. The living shadow did not have long to wait for it's master's orders. "Destroy the Digidestined!" Terramon commanded.
The shadow reached for the nearest of the Digidestined, a small girl with dark hair and piercing green eyes. Before it reached her, however, a new form interposed itself between the two. Changing tactics, the patch of living darkness swirled around the foolishly noble digimon. The darkness entered the digimon, infecting and taking over the creature. "No!" the young girl screamed.
"No!" Joyce Banpei sat bolt upright and stared around wildly. A dream, it was all a dream. She was back in her room and not in the caverns beneath the Digital World. "Eight years," Joyce mumbled to herself as she crawled out of bed. "It's been eight years since it happened, and I still dream of it as if it happened yesterday." She made her way through the dark to the bathroom and began splashing cold water on her face to drive away the last vestiges of fear left by her nightmare. Joyce shook her head. There would be no getting back to sleep tonight, not with her thoughts centered on the Digital World.
Joyce decided she might as well mess around on the computer for a bit. She didn't really have anything to do, but playing games might take her mind off of the past. Beside the computer, next to a picture of her parents, Joyce kept her now defunct digivice and crest. She'd kept them with the hopes that one day they would become active again. After so much time, though, Joyce merely kept telling herself that she kept the digivice and crest to remember the good times.
*~*~*~*~*
Hidden away in Primary Village, inside of a digi-egg, a newborn digimon railed against the powers that be which would not allow him to hatch. Those powers which ruled the Digital World has decided that he was too dangerous to allow to be reformed, yet why couldn't they see that the darkness which had filled him was gone?
For four years, ever since the digidestined had destroyed both the darkness that had infected him and his true form, this little digimon had languished inside of his digi-egg. He remembered working with a human partner once, but that was so long ago. Sometime after his destruction, the time flow between the Digital World and the human world had evened out. He'd felt the sudden shift that had heralded the adjustment. Before that, though, time had run much faster in the Digital World. 'Is my human still alive?' the unhatched digimon wondered.
She'd promised him that she would return for him if he needed her. Why was she not here now? He needed her! He needed her to come and free him. If only he could get a message out to his digidestined partner. He had no doubt that she would come to free him right away.
He thought he'd seen her once when he was in the human world, but his memories of that time were so fogged by the darkness that he couldn't be sure. His nature was such that he needed to feed off of other beings to survive, and he'd been out seeking a meal. The woman he'd stopped his carriage for had stared at him with knowing eyes. "Myo," she'd breathed as if she were lost in a dream. Instead of feeding that night, the digimon knew he'd fled, returning to his sleeping place where he found Wizardmon seeking the crest for the Eighth Child.
Whispers of the world outside brushed against the little digimon's awareness, but he pushed them aside. The happenings of the Digital World meant nothing to the unhatched digimon as long as he was trapped within this cursed egg. With a sigh, he closed his eyes to rest, hoping that his human would come for him.
*~*~*~*~*
Kari gazed up at the stars from the Odaiba apartment, Gatomon snuggled happily on her lap. So much had happened in the Digital World - everything seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Yet now that Ken was no longer a threat, the Digidestined would be able to put the world back together again. Gatomon purred under Kari's gentle fingers. Kari knew the feline digimon had the right idea. Worry about problems when you needed to. Fretting over the daunting task ahead would only wear her out.
The balcony light next door came on, and Kari watched as her neighbor came out into the fresh air. "Good evening, Ms. Banpei," Kari called in greeting. Joyce turned and smiled in acknowledgment. The woman couldn't have been much older than 20, yet her hair was pulled back into a severe bun that belonged on a woman far older. She dressed mostly in black, though the shawl she wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the night chill was off-white. Creepy was what Tai called her, Kari knew.
Kari, on the other hand, felt that Ms. Banpei was merely lonely. She'd never seen Joyce out of the apartment except when she got groceries or took out the trash. The woman lived in some sort of self-imposed isolation and Kari had no idea why. She'd asked before, of course, but the only answer Joyce had ever given was that it simply suited her.
Joyce maintained a pleasant expression until she noticed Gatomon for the first time, then she winced and drew away. Kari frowned. Surely Joyce would think that Gatomon was a normal cat or a stuffed animal like everyone else. Why look so startled? "Ms. Banpei, what's wrong?"
"You are Digidestined?"
*~*~*~*~*
Joyce silently cursed herself as she let Kari into her apartment. She knew Kari would be full of questions, but had no clue how to answer them all nor any desire to. Still, Joyce would have to provide some explanation since she'd just shown the child that she knew of the Digidestined. But maybe Kari would be able to take her back to the Digital World. That slim hope filled her with warmth.
Soon the girls were sipping at hot tea. Joyce shared her story with Kari, but kept her partner's name to herself. He'd long ago become, in Joyce's mind, "her digimon." A name meant he was to be seen as a person, brought back the aching sting of loss. By not naming him, Joyce was able to distance herself.
Seeing that Joyce was going to withhold parts of her story, Kari began telling about how she became a member of the Digidestined and all that had been happening recently in the Digital World. Joyce became a shade paler as she heard of the damage done. Standing, she gazed pleadingly at Kari. "Please," Joyce whispered, her eyes brimming with unspilled tears, "take me to the Digital World. Let me help." Unspoken was Joyce's wish to try and find her digimon partner.
Kari hesitated on the brink of indecision. Joyce could see her weighing the pros and cons of taking her to the Digital World, and prayed that Kari would make the right decision. After a seeming infinity of seconds, Kari nodded. On impulse, Joyce grabbed her old digivice, and the two crowded in front of the computer. As Kari held her D-3 up to the monitor, the digital gate appeared. Joyce's breath caught in her throat. Never had she seen a sight more beautiful! Then Kari spoke the words to send them to the Digital World. "Digi-port open!"
*~*~*~*~*
Inside the digi-egg, the trapped digimon came fully awake in an instant. He could feel it. He knew. She was here! She'd come at long last to free him! He could only wonder at what he would be when he was finally allowed to hatch. Using the little bit of energy he possessed, the unhatched digimon began trying to get his human's attention. He knew the outside of his egg would be pulsing with a soft glow. Hopefully that would be enough.
Soon he felt it - a light touch of his digidestined partner. He'd succeeded! The shell dissolved as her fingers brushed against it, and for the first time in years, the digimon felt warmth and saw light. He gazed up at his human partner, watching as the years seemed to melt from her face. "Joyce," he squeaked, pleased that the name came back to him.
Joyce scooped up the red and blue striped cocoon, stunned, knowing that she-d never thought to find her digimon again. "Oh Mikomon!" By her side, she heard a beep from the long defunct digivice, indicating that it was active again. The two had become a team again, and each vowed never to leave the other. 'Partners forever,' remained unspoken between the two.
*~*~*~*~*
Well, that's the end of this part. I'll get the next part up just whenever
the creativity demons inspire me to write it. In the meantime, I'd
love to hear what you all think. Thanks for taking the time to read
this.