Chapter 3: Melodye
"Okay children we have two new students in our class." Iris walked shyly into
the classroom; she could feel everyone's eyes on her. It had been so long since
she had been around this many children. She didn't really know how to act, or what
to say.
She was
followed closely by another girl her age; she looked foreign.
"This young lady," The teacher motioned towards Iris, "Is Iris?"
Iris glanced
around the class quickly; most of her peers seemed to be concentrating on the
foreign girl. Only two people were looking at her, Davis and Kari. She felt
relieved that she at least knew someone, even if Kari's gaze still made her
nervous.
"And this,"
The teacher muttered something to the girl in her native language, "is Melodye.
She is an exchange student from America."
"Hello,"
Melodye said shyly. All the girls swooned and whispered to each other about how
cute she was. Iris was thankful for her presence.
. The teacher again
started talking to the girl in English; the girl nodded and took a seat next to
Kari.
"Kari, would
you be able to help Melodye while she's staying here?" The teacher asked. Kari
nodded and smiled.
"Iris, dear,
you can take a seat next to TK––down the back there." The teacher motioned to a
blond haired boy that sat at the back of the classroom, obviously disinterested
in everything that was happening around him and more absorbed in a comic book
that he balanced in his lap. At the mention on his name he closed the book and
slid it into his desk; his blush was obvious on his pale skin.
Iris smiled
hopefully at Davis as she passed him; he turned and scowled at TK. As she took
her seat next to TK, he greeted her with a smile.
"You new
here?" He asked. Iris could feel the sarcastic remarks building up on the tip
of her tongue; she bit them back
"Yes," she
replied, setting her back pack down next to her. There was nothing in there
except an exercise book and a pen, it was extremely light
"I'm TK,
nice to meet you." He held out his hand and she took it without meeting his
eyes.
"You got
quite a firm grip there." He commented, pulling his comic book out from under
the desk and setting it onto his lap
Iris didn't
answer. She was glad when the teacher started talking again and TK lost
interest in her.
She hadn't
been to school for eight years; there was so much she needed to know. How was
she supposed to explain to the teacher she'd been stuck in the digital world
for a large chunk of her life? The only lessons she had learnt out there were
survival and self independence. She doubted that would be much help in the
classroom.
Those
worries were shortly pushed to the back of her head to make way for more, less
appealing ponderings. She would have gladly bashed her head against her desk
until she fell unconscious than face these thoughts. Unfortunately that wasn't
an option, and the thoughts came anyway.
Where were
her parents? They'd ask her that for sure. She had enrolled temporarily as a
friend of Kari's; her mother didn't seem to fully understand her situation, but
accepted Kari's explanation and asked few questions. Iris could see it in her
eyes though, the question that plagued almost everyone she had met in the real
world to date. Where were her parents?
She would
have gladly answered the question had she known herself. The fact that it
didn't bother her as much as she would have liked scared her. Had she been away
so long she no longer cared for her parents?
Her
situation reminded her scarily of a fairy tale her mother had once told her.
(She remembered the story better than she did her mother, she was overcome with
guilt) It was the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never wanted to grow up. He
left his parents to go off the Neverland and have the adventure of a lifetime.
But when he returned to his parents, they had barred the window. They had
forgotten. After spending countless years in the Neverland, he, too, forgot
them.
A wave of
guilt rushed over Iris and she felt herself blush. Was she in the same
situation? Had her parents forgotten? Had she forgotten? Desperately she tried,
in her mind, to form a picture of her mothers face. She had black hair, blacker
than the night. Her eyes were… Brown? Blue? Iris couldn't remember. She had
smiled like a queen and her skin was as white as moonshine.
Iris shook
her head, she was thinking about a porcelain doll. Her mother didn't look like
a porcelain doll, did she? Iris closed her eyes and tried again. Her father,
this time. Unruly brown bangs, long brown hair, strong, weathered hands. His
smile was warm and harsh at the same time. Tall and strong.
Iris snapped
her eyes open. That wasn't her father; her father wasn't tall and strong. Was
he? Frantically, Iris' eyes darted around the room. She really had forgotten.
How did Peter Pan deal with it? How did he react when he found out his parents
forgot about him? He visited other windows didn't he? He wanted to steal other
people's parents.
Iris' eyes
landed guiltily on Kari. She didn't want to steal other people's parents; she
didn't want to be guilty anymore. She had to find them no matter what the cost.
A burning
sensation in her chest alerted Iris that someone was staring at her. She
glanced up and met eyes with the red headed exchange student. Biting down on
her lip she opened her book and began scribbling on the page. Tomorrow she would
look for them, tomorrow she would remember.
**
"So what exactly do you do all day Demiveemon?" Snowmon sat on top a row of
lockers outside Home Room 13 with Demiveemon.
"Well the
best thing to do is raid the cafeteria." Demiveemon replied, grinning like a
Cheshire cat
"What's a
cafeteria?" Snowmon asked, vexed. Demiveemon sighed
"It's this
wonderful place," Demiveemon explained waving his arms animatedly, "There are
all sorts of goodies everywhere!"
"You mean
food?" Polarmon asked.
"You bet!"
Demiveemon jumped up from where he was sitting, "I'm getting hungry thinking of
all this food, lets go."
They took
off down the hallways, stopping every now and then to avoid a stray teacher or
student, or for Demiveemon to regain his sense of direction. ("This school is
so big" was his excuse) Demiveemon stopped abruptly, causing Snowmon to slide
and slam into the wall.
"Here it
is." They stood outside a door marked 'cafeteria'. "Can you give me a boost."
Snowmon
walked up to the door and braced herself while Demiveemon climbed on top of
her.
"Hurry up,
you're heavy." Snowmon whined, trying to hold her partner
up.
"I nearly
got it… nearly…" Demiveemon had grabbed hold of the door handle and was trying
with his stubby little hands to open it.
"I think I
hear someone coming!" Snowmon said in panic. Shifting her weight, she caused
Demiveemon to stumble.
"Don't
move…I've…nearly…got it." He managed to open the door just in time as Snowmon
fell over and Demiveemon was sent crashing to the ground.
"Jackpot!"
he said, getting up and strolling in. Snowmon looked around cautiously before
following Demiveemon into the cafeteria.
The smell
reached her nose before she saw it. Mountains of food, everywhere. This must
have been a version of heaven, if not heaven itself.
Demiveemon
jumped up onto a chair and then onto a tabletop. His eyes glazed over when he
saw the bountiful amounts off goodies.
"This is
heaven." He mumbled, immediately starting to stuff as much food into his little
mouth as possible.
Snowmon on
the other hand was having enough trouble getting up on the chair.
"Help." She
whined. Demiveemon's head popped out from over the table,
"Demiveemon
I can't get up."
"Hold on,"
He jumped down onto the chair and grabbed her mitted hand, and helped her climb
onto the table. When Snowmon saw the mountains of food sitting there for their
dispose, she was truly moved.
"Thank you
oh great and mighty lord," she whispered. She then followed Demiveemon in
shoving all sorts of food in her mouth.
"Hey what do
you think you're doing." They both froze in place at the ominous voice.
"Run." Was
all Demiveemon said, and with that they jumped off the table and scampered off.
"Damn
strange cats, they really need to stop letting lab animals free. Oh well." The
cafeteria lady grabbed a wastebasket and swept what was left of the rubbish and
walked off.
**
"Hey! I'm sorry I'm late guys." Cody said, running up to the digidestined
group, "You haven't started without me?"
"No, were
just starting." TK replied.
"So what's
the meeting for?" Cody asked.
"It's the
welcome of a new digidestined." Davis said proudly, wrapping his arm around Iris and
pulling her into the circle of friends.
"You're the
new digidestined?" TK asked, blinking owlishly at Iris. She blushed
"Yeah that's
right, my good friend Iris." Davis said smiling cynically at TK.
"How do you
know she's a digidestined?" Cody asked, breaking the two boys staring contest
"She's got a
digivice, just like us." Yolie said holding up her own.
Yolie
glanced at Iris, who untangled herself from Davis and pulled out her own digivice. The group
gathered closer to view the digivice in the dim park lights. It was slightly
different from there's in shape and there were different buttons in different
places. All in all it looked like a digivice.
"So who's
your digimon partner?" TK asked removing his eyes from the digivice
"I am." A
small voice piped up. Snowmon walked proudly into the circle, standing next to
Iris.
Their
attention was drawn to Snowmon, who Iris picked up with haste.
"She's so
cute." Yolie said patting the snow-man digimon on the head. Snowmon looked
indignantly at Yolie.
So where did
you come from?" TK asked Iris, "I mean I haven't seen you around here before."
"I found her
in the digiworld." Davis cut in proudly before Iris could reply
"You make it
sound like she's a wild animal." Kari scolded Davis, laying a hand on Iris' shoulder.
"You were in
the digiworld?" Cody asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," was
her only reply.
"How did you
get in there?" TK asked.
"It's a long
story." She replied monotonously.
TK looked
ready to demand she tell the story before Kari cut in,
"I'll tell
you later." She looked at Iris, who nodded silently.
"How long
were you in there?" Cody asked softly, as if trying to avoid a sensitive
subject
"Eight
years."
"Wow, I
don't know if I could last eight years in the digiworld." TK commented, folding
his arms across his chest
"It is an
awful long time to be in there," Kari chimed in, "but you know what happens
when new digidestined are found." She started
"It means
there's trouble." TK finished.
"Wait a
minute," Yolie interrupted. "Just because we found a new digidestined doesn't
mean that there's trouble."
"Yes it
does, every time there's new digidestined, there's new evil. It's happened
three times." Kari explained, "That's enough proof for me."
"I guess
you're right, but what could be threatening the digiworld now? And is there any
more new destined?" Davis asked thoughtfully
"I think I
know who another is." Iris spoke up, her eyes flashed strangely.
"You do?"
Yolie asked, intrigued, "Who is it?"
"The
exchange student."
"You think
so?" TK asked, biting down on his bottom lip
"I know."
She replied, challenging TK silently to deny her
"How?" Cody
asked "I don't think any of us have just been able to know who a digidestined
is or not."
"Call it
intuition." She replied hastily, breaking eye contact with TK
"How do we
know we can trust you?" TK asked, Kari looked ready to scald him but Iris
replied instead.
"I never
asked you to trust me," She spared TK a glare before turning and walking away
from the group.
"Wait,
Iris!" Davis was the first to start after her. Kari,
too, started after but hesitated. Instead she took TK by the arm and pulled him
away from Cody and Yolie
"What was
that all about?" She asked, her voice full of vehemence. She didn't wait for TK
to reply before she continued, "She's been stuck in the digital world for the
best part of eight years of her life and the first impression you give her is
hostility. What is wrong with you TK? Have some faith in the girl; she's a
digidestined just like us."
"And how can
we tell? How do we know she's not a servant of another dark master come to fool
us into believing we can trust her? I for one don't want to fall into that
trap. She's unpredictable, she's wild. She's been living with digimon for her
whole life."
"For the
love of Christ TK, give her a break. I know we have every right to mistrust her
because we know nothing about her. But we also have every right to believe her.
I don't want to throw away this chance on suspicions, TK I don't want to ruin
this friendship before it begins."
TK sighed
and brought his hands up to his face.
"I know
Kari, I know, I'm just being cautions. I don't want anyone to get hurt. You
know those dark masters will stop at nothing to get what they want."
Kari rested
her hands on his shoulders
"I know TK,
but please, just trust me on this one. I have a good feeling about her."
TK smiled
and nodded his head once.
"When you
put it like that, how could I refuse?"
**
"Iris!" Iris heard Davis called. She contemplated stopping, then contemplated
walking faster, and began to walk faster.
She heard Davis break into a run behind her
"Iris." He
caught up to her and grabbed hold of her arm. Reflexes and instinct took over;
she spun around and grabbed Davis' hand by the wrist, twisting it painfully. Davis grimaced in pain but said nothing; instead
he stared intently into her eyes. She felt herself blush unexpectedly and let
go
"Iris," he
said again, rubbing his wrist
She scowled
and turned her back to him. Before she could start to walk away his hand was on
her shoulder again. This time she restrained herself.
"Iris what
was that all about?" He asked. When he was satisfied she wouldn't walk off he
removed his hand from her shoulder.
She didn't
answer his question
"Iris?" This
time, she turned back around
"It doesn't
matter," she said, her eyes silently trying to convince him so
"Yes it
does, I want to know what happened back there." He denied her, "I know TK is a
jerk, but…"
"I told you,
it doesn't matter."
"I know,
Iris - " She cut him off before he could finish.
"No, you
don't know, Davis; I don't think any of you know. I've been
living in the digital world for eight years, Davis, eight years. That isn't an easy life and
it tends to have an impact on someone." She stopped suddenly eyeing Davis dangerously, "I haven't been around this
many people since I was eight." She finished quietly.
Davis searched desperately for words he couldn't
find. What was he supposed to say to comfort her? He knew nothing about her
plight. Her eyes bore into him; half filled with anger, half with an unbound,
uncontrolled sadness.
Out of
desperation Davis wrapped his arms around her neck and
pulled her into a tight hug. She didn't return it, only leant her weight up
against him.
"I know I
couldn't possibly understand what you're going through, but don't think that
stops me from caring." Unchecked, a tear rolled down Iris' cheek, "I trust
you."
"Its name is
Witchmon." She said flatly, "she hypnotizes her prey, they become her slaves.
Her tactic isn't that much different from the Digimon Kaiser, their goals
aren't that different either."
"You know
about Ken?" Davis pulled away from the hug and looked her
squarely in the eyes, "You know about the Kaiser?"
"Of course I
know," She snapped, "He only killed off half of the digimon population, and
enslaved the other half."
Davis blinked owlishly at her description of the
once Digimon Kaiser. It was true that once upon a time Ken had been like that,
but he changed. Davis couldn't possibly imagine Ken committing those crimes, not anymore.
"I see." He
said softly.
Iris nodded
distractedly, bringing her thumb up to her mouth to chew on the nail.
"That
means," Davis started pensively, "we were in the digital
world while you were still in there."
"Of course."
She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I knew all
along you were there, I saw you on occasion, you and your friends. When you
defeated the Kaiser it was hard not to hear about your victory. When you
befriended the Kaiser the outrage was unmistakable.
"How could I
not have heard about when you helped in the rebuilding of the digimon villages?
When you stopped Arukenimon and her spire digimon, when you saved the destiny
stones, when you prevented Malomyotismon destroying both worlds, how could I
have missed it? You were the heroes of the digital world. You think I didn't
know you were there?"
"Why did we
never see you?"
"You never
saw me because of the same reason TK dislikes me so. I mistrusted you. Who in
their right mind would befriend the Kaiser? How much had the real world changed
since my time? How tainted had its population become?
"I had
witnessed the destitution left behind after the destruction of Apocalymon. I
was standing there while humans built their viruses and released them there
like a jungle, I was watching patiently as those viruses took on digimon form
and began their reigns of chaos. Nothing that came from the human world
benefited those digimon, only you and your friends. How ironic that the cause
of their suffering should save them from it.
"Yet still,
I was taught at a vulnerable, manipulative age that the digital world had been
created and destroyed by humans and their viruses. They were the cause of
suffering and destitution. How could I trust you with those thoughts in mind?"
Iris sighed and rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hands, "When I saw you
in that TV, when you came through, I was so confused. I knew only digidestined
could pass into the digital world. I knew the instant I saw you, you were a
digidestined. What was my position? How could I trust you? I didn't know how
tainted the real world had become. All I knew was there was another evil in the
digital world. If there was so much evil there, then surely some of it must be
represented in the real world.
"Then when
you saved me from that Geniemon. I knew then that the real world was a better
place than the digital world. Somehow, I had known all along. There were times
when I didn't know if I wanted to go back, I knew what humans were capable of.
But at that time, I knew for sure."
Iris
finished abruptly, glancing around the almost deserted park. Kari had left. In
fact, she and Davis were the only of their group that remained.
Davis hadn't interrupted her during her
scattered speech, only now did he ask his question.
"Do you
regret coming back?"
The question
shocked Iris. She looked, dumbstruck, at Davis, like a deer caught in car headlights. She
blinked owlishly a few times before turning her gaze to the ground.
"I don't
remember my parents, Davis; I don't remember what they look like." She paused,
bit down on her bottom lip and squeezed her fist shut, "How do I know they'll
remember me?"
Davis didn't answer, only nodded once and smiled
crookedly at Iris. She didn't want an answer anyway, didn't want to know she
was forgotten. She forced a smile back.
"It's dark,"
she commented. "I better go back. Kari might be worried."
Davis nodded again, his half smile still in
place. His eyes were sincere. Iris nodded once and began walking in the
direction of the Kamiya apartment. Not long after Iris left, Davis left as well.
**
"I've had it with you good for nothing idiots." Witchmon bellowed, pounding her
hands dramatically on the table, which her crystal ball sat glowing like the
moon. She had just disposed of another useless digimon, "if you want something
done right you have to do it yourself." She stood up form her throne, causing
it to creak painfully.
"You!" She shouted
to a passing digimon.
"Y-yes
mistress Witchmon," the unfortunate digimon stuttered.
"Get me my
broom and I might just let you live."
"Yes your
evilness." The groveling digimon scuttled off in search of her broom.
"You're
actually going out? I'm surprised?" A cool, composed voice asked. Out of the
darkness, a small black Gatomon with blood red eyes and silver ring around its
tail appeared.
"Those
incompetents don't know what they're doing and at the rate I'm going I'll have
to disintegrate every digimon in the world before those blasted digidestined
are stopped."
"That's good
I've been itching to get my claws into action," the Gatomon said, scratching
the air with her razor sharp claws.
"Well be
expecting lots of action. I too have been itching for battle. Those
digidestined won't know what hit them." Witchmon started cackling with glee;
the black Gatomon flinched and screwed its features up into that of disgust.
**
If Iris had thought her indifference with TK was over the next day at school,
she was sorely mistaken. Kari had told her, after her returning home, that she
had talked to TK about her 'situation.' It became glaringly obvious that Kari's
persuasive skills weren't as good as Iris had expected.
Before class
started, Iris sat obediently in her desk, while Kari sat on the desk in front
of her and talked airily about a trip to the shopping mall they were apparently
going to make after school. It didn't exactly sound riveting. However, Kari
insisted she get new clothes.
"I just
don't have a big enough wardrobe to share with you."
When TK
entered the room he skirted around Iris' desk to reach his own (which was,
conveniently enough, right next to Iris'). He avoided her eyes at every cost.
"Morning
TK," Kari said happily, obviously oblivious to his nervousness concerning Iris,
"I was just talking to Iris about the exchange student."
Maybe she
hadn't been talking about their shopping trip. Or maybe she had already
stopped, either way Iris opened a comic book Kari had given her titled "Angel
of Love" and tried her best to ignore them.
"Have you
talked to her about it yet?" TK asked
"Well, it's
not exactly a topic you can bring up in the middle of class." Kari replied
tapping her fingernails rhythmically on the desk top, "What am I supposed to
say to her? 'Hi Melodye, I was wondering if you were a digidestined?' She
probably wouldn't understand me if I did."
"I guess
so," TK said thoughtfully, "But how else are we supposed to approach her?"
"Maybe we
should just make friends with her first." Kari suggested, "Well let her into it
lightly."
"That is, if
she is a digidestined." TK muttered. Iris frowned, but continued her
façade of ignorance.
Their
conversation came to an abrupt stop as the topic walked into the room. She
looked nervous, more so than the previous day, and made a beeline to her desk.
Kari stopped her.
"Melodye."
She called, stopping the shy red head in her tracks. Melodye turned, Kari waved
her over.
"Good
morning," she said softly smiling slightly,
"Good
morning," Kari replied, followed by TK. Iris stayed silent and, hopefully,
oblivious.
"How are you
today?" TK asked slowly, as if talking to a child
"I'm fine
thank you." Melodye replied confidently, flashing him a sassy smile. TK smiled
back and his cheeks flushed, "I can speak Japanese fluently; my father was
Japanese."
TK nodded
once and Kari's smile widened.
"Have you
met Iris?" she asked gesturing to Iris, who looked up quickly and met the red
heads eyes.
A brief
moment of constriction swept over her stomach making her wretch. If TK could
feel this he wouldn't have doubted her. She forced a smile through the queer
feelings in her stomach.
"Hello,"
Melodye said politely. Iris nodded and returned to staring at the comic.
"Melodye,"
Kari started, breaking the tension Iris felt building up around her, "Iris and
I are going to the shopping mall this afternoon, after school. Would you like
to come with us?"
Iris tensed
unnoticeably but continued to stare at the book.
"I'll have
to go home first and get some money," Melodye replied thoughtfully, "but my
place is on the way."
"Great, I'll
probably bring some other friends as well, if that's okay with you."
"That's
fine."
The bell
rang and Kari and Melodye went to take their seats. Moments later, the teacher
arrived and the feeling of constriction in her stomach was gone.
**
"You've already met Davis. This is Yolie, Ken and Cody." Kari introduced Melodye
to a smiling Yolie, a shy Cody, and an indifferent Ken. Iris had never seen Ken
like this before, but the moment she saw him she knew he was the Kaiser. It was
unmistakable. It made her want to punch the look on his face. Melodye only
smiled politely and said:
"Hello."
"Nice to
meet you. I'm Yolie," Yolie said, taking Melodye's hand and shaking it. "Where
are you from?"
"San Francisco, in America." Melodye replied. Iris cringed at the
memory associated with that place.
"Well, now
that every one is here, how about we get going?" Kari suggested
"Oh, but I
have to get some money first." Melodye said, "I'll have to go back to the
apartment."
"That's
okay, we'll go ahead, you can meet us there." Yolie said, taking Cody's arm and
walking slowly away from the group.
"I'll go
with them." TK said smiling apologetically, he made eye contact with Ken, who
nodded silently and looked back at them.
"I'll go
with them too." Iris scowled at him but he didn't notice. She knew he had
changed since his days as the Kaiser but she couldn't ever forget what he had
done. So many friends, so many innocent digimon. It was barbaric, unforgivable.
"Okay then,
we'll meet you there."
It didn't
take them long to make it to Melodye's apartment. It was nice and clean, and
stirred up memories of Iris' past, her parents. The thought made her flinch;
she was supposed to go look for them today. There was really no excuse why she
wasn't; Kari had only offered to take her shopping, she could have easily
refused. She wasn't about to admit it, not even to herself, but she was scared,
petrified, of what she would find. Nothing.
A muffled
scream resounded from Iris' bag. She cringed and then blushed as all eyes
turned to her. She had leant against the door frame while she pondered her
parents' fate. Big mistake.
"Did your
bag just scream?" Melodye asked suspiciously
Iris shoved
her elbow hard into the side of the bag, there was another muffled cry, and
then it went quiet. Davis' eyes were wide and pleading as he stared at her,
Kari was silent in her surprise.
Iris cleared
her throat, took her backpack off and set it on the ground
"No, that
was me." She forced a smile, caught a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror on
the far wall, and stopped.
"What's in
your bag?" Melodye asked apprehensively.
"School
books" Iris said simply, staring Melodye in the eyes, challenging her to deny
her.
"Can I see?"
She asked going for the bag.
"No" Iris
snatched the bag off the ground again, "That's an invasion of my personal
space."
Davis gaped at her behind Melodye's back; Kari
groaned silently and covered her face with her hands.
"Yeah right,
give me a look." Melodye tried to grab the bag off Iris but found it was much
too heavy for her. She dropped it to the ground with a thud, it cried out in
pain and started moving of its own accord.
Melodye
unzipped it and jumped back in surprise as a small snowman digimon jumped out
and started rubbing it's back
"You nearly
broke my vertebrae, you heartless…" Snowmon stopped, looked around itself at a shocked
Melodye, a disappointed Kari, and an angry Davis and Iris
"Digimon?"
She mumbled.
"You know
about digimon?" Kari asked removing her face from her hands
"They were
on the news a few years ago." Melodye said, her voice airy and her gaze
mysteriously glazed
"Melodye?"
All heads turned to a small, round, bird like digimon, much like Poromon, as it
flew daintily across the room and landed on Melodye's shoulder
"I guess
it's safe to say you know about digimon." Davis pointed out, blinking owlishly at the
tiny, bird like digimon.
"Yeah, I
just didn't know anyone else had them, let alone my new friends." Melodye
replied still staring disbelievingly at Snowmon
"I knew from
the first moment I saw her." Iris said, "You're a digidestined aren't you?"
"A…
digidestined?" Melodye asked, finally removing her gaze from Snowmon to stare
at Iris, "I don't know about that."
"But you
are." Iris argued, her voice taking on a slightly desperate tone, "I can feel
it."
"But…"
Melodye seemed to be having a hard time grasping the situation, "I've never
done anything special."
"Do you have
a digivice?" Davis asked, pulling his own out of his backpack
"No."
Melodye replied simply
"But you
have to be." Iris said forcefully, "You have a digimon partner; that means
something. And I know you are. I can feel it."
"But.."
Melodye began to protest
"You are."
Iris repeated biting down on the inside of her cheek and challenging Melodye
with her eyes
"How can you
tell?" She asked
"It's a
feeling I get whenever I'm around any of these guys, I just know."
"So you're
all digidestined?" Melodye asked
"That's
right; everyone you've met today is a digidestined," Kari replied
"And so are
you." Iris repeated again
They are? So
all of them have digimon, just like Flamon?"
"Yes." Kari
replied, "Every digidestined has a digimon partner
Her
situation finally seemed to register in Melodye's brain, she blinked owlishly a
few times, let her gaze wander from Kari, to Davis, to Iris; then asked:
"So, what
does beings a digidestined involve?"
No one
answered at first. Iris wasn't sure herself what it involved. In fact, she
hadn't ever really thought about it. She knew digidestined were chosen children
destined to save the digital world but how they accomplished that was well
beyond her.
Saving all
of them, Kari answered
"The
digidestined are a special group of people who are destined to save the digital
world. Surely you've heard of some of us, a few years ago, all of there world
digimon were attacking."
"Yes, yes
I've heard about all of that but… what exactly do I have to do?"
"You don't
have to do anything at the moment," Davis answered. "Not until there's a new enemy
in the digital world."
Melodye
silently pondered her new position. Iris could read the apprehension on her
face. Indeed, being a digidestined wasn't the best job, from what Iris had
gathered, and she could completely understand why Melodye wouldn't want to
accept the responsibility. Then again, it wasn't really her choice. If she was
destined to save the digital world then, by God, she would save it no matter
how much she tried to avoid it.
After a
moment of silence, she smiled and nodded
"Cool," she
said, nodding her head slightly.
Davis sighed in relief, "But one other thing. As you said, a few years ago
there was a big thing about digimon in the real world. I know they tried to
cover that up, but it was a big hard to forget. Exactly how many digidestined
are there?"
Kari thought
for a moment, "I can't remember all of them, but I can tell you some of our
closest friends. The first digidestined to go into the digital world were my
older brother Tai, myself, and some friends of ours." Melodye gestured for Kari
to continue, "other than us there was: TK, Sora, Joe, Matt, Izzy and Mimi. We
were the first group to go into the digital world. The second time TK and I
were joined by Davis, Yolie and Cody. Apart from us, there was digidestined all
around the world. It would take me all day to name them all and we have to meet
TK and the others at the mall."
Melodye
laughed and signaled for them to follow her out. Iris silently pondered the
complexity of the digidestined story, and at what point she actually entered
it. If there was indeed so many digidestined, all around the world, how exactly
did they determine there was a new evil (even though she knew it to be true)
only because two new ones had been found?
She
brushed the thought aside while they waited for the elevator. It wasn't her
place to think of those sorts of things.
She walked
in silence with them to the mall. Davis attempted small conversation with her,
but she couldn't compel herself to answer him. After five minuets of useless
attempts, he gave up and walked in silence beside her. Kari and Melodye talked
like they were old friends. Iris was glad for the lack of attention they gave
her; she relished it.
When they
made it to the mall, it was almost dark. They met Yolie, TK, Ken and Cody
there. TK and Ken eyed her with interest, especially Ken. She ignored them. She
could tell they had been talking about her. Kari filled them all in on their
recent discovery. TK stared at her through Kari's explanation as if he expected
her to start preening herself and declaring how incredibly amazing she was. She
scoffed silently and matched his stare.
After Kari
had finished talking, she took Iris by the arm and led her through various
clothing boutiques, stopping at each one for at least half an hour and forcing
her to try on numerous outfits. At some point during their shopping escapade,
they had lost their male counterparts. That was, except for Cody, who followed
silently and obediently.
When Kari
was finally satisfied at the amount of money spent and clothes bought, she
declared they leave. Iris couldn't have been happier; she could tell Cody felt
the same. Between Kari, Yolie and Melodye they made enough idle banter to
compensate for Iris and Cody.
Before they
left, Kari got a call from her brother. Iris could have screamed when she told
her he had ordered a meeting in the park. Not only did she have to endure an
entire two hours shopping for clothing which she couldn't pay for, but she
wasn't able to rest afterwards. Not even the digital world had been so cruel.
Cody, at
least, had been able to weasel his way out, saying if he stayed out any longer
his mother would start to get paranoid and he would never live it down. They
met up with the other three boys at the park, they were standing around with
another large group of people, of whom Iris knew none.
"Hey guys
we're here." Kari yelled running up to the group, Iris and Melodye following
close behind.
"Good, now
we can begin." A short, red headed boy declared. He was sitting on a park bench
with a lap top perched purposefully on his knees. He didn't look up as he
addressed them; he was too intent on his computer to pay them much mind
"These must
be the new digidestined we heard so much about," a tall blond haired boy said,
stepping up to shake Iris' hand. His fingers were cold and his shirt untucked
but he didn't seemed to worried about his appearance. He carried a guitar case
across his back.
"Iris,
Melody," Kari started, "this is Matt; he's TK's older brother."
Melodye
smiled noticeably as Matt took her hand. If it weren't so dark, Iris could have
seen her blush better.
"New
digidestined?" A man with long blueish hair asked while fixing his glasses on
his face, "That can't be good."
"You mean
there's more trouble in the digiworld?" A woman with short red hair and bright
eyes said, biting her thumb nail pensively.
"Witchmon,"
Davis said seriously. He wasn't looking at any of them but rather stared out
into the darkness of the park.
"Yes, I got
an email form Gennai the other day." the red head with the laptop said, he
raised his eyes from lap top and surveyed the group. His eyes lingered on Iris.
"Gennai?"
she asked softly, disbelievingly. It couldn't be the same Gennai, could it?
"You know
him?" Matt asked
"Yes, he
aided me on many occasions," she replied biting down on her bottom lip
"You must be
Iris," the red head started at length, "he mentioned you."
"He knew all
along didn't he?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
She had no
doubt in her mind Gennai had known her power. The old man kept secrets like old
magazines. Why hadn't he told her earlier though, why had he procrastinated
until this time? What could he have gained? And why had he never implored her
to reveal her knowledge about the digidestined. Surely he must have known of her
intelligence; she wasn't ignorant.
"You know of
this Witchmon, don't you?" the red head asked. She raised her eyes to his; they
looked like black holes against his porcelain skin.
"Yes," Iris
replied, "I have heard of her."
He nodded
and returned his gaze to the lap top
"What do you
know about her?" A boy with wild brown hair, whom Iris knew as Kari's older
brother, asked.
"She
hypnotizes her prey into doing her bidding. They become her slaves until they
are destroyed. I don't know of any way, as of yet, to reverse the spell."
The former
Kaiser shivered and turned his face away to the darkness. Iris frownedl she was
tempted to mention the Kaiser, but the way Ken looked convinced her otherwise.
"So, I'm
guessing you newest digidestined are going to have to take care of the
problem?" The long blue haired man said
"It's been
such a long time since we last went into the digital world." The red headed
woman said, "I sometimes wish we had never come back."
"What are
you talking about Sora?" Matt said. "When we were there, all you could think
about was coming back. You wouldn't want to meet up with Apocalymon again would
you?"
Sora scowled
at him, "I didn't mean like that."
The red head
interrupted, "I have a map of the digital world on the screen. If we can locate
Witchmon's base, we could simply send them in and hopefully catch her by
surprise." He locked eyes with Iris again, and she shook her head softly
"It's not as
simple as that, I know the digital world back to front and I haven't heard any
rumors of a base. She is as much of an enigma to the inhabitants of the digital
world as to you and me."
"So you've heard
nothing? No clues?"
Iris smiled,
"I'm not completely ignorant. As I said, I know the digital world back to
front. There is a place she may be hiding, but I'm not completely sure. There
are some caves on the Northern island, old shrines to forgotten gods. There are
runes there which I'm positive Gennai could translate. I'm pretty sure they
lead to an underground cavern of some sort, or to a labyrinth. There's a chance
she might be hiding in there."
"Can you
locate the ruins on this map?" He asked and gestured for her to look at the map
on the screen.
She obliged
and pointed out the position on the north island, near the polar caps, where
she knew the cave lay hidden amongst the glaciers and ruins. He nodded and began
tapping away at the keyboard. In a few minuets, the caves were brought up on
the screen, just as she remembered them.
"I'll email
Gennai and see what he can do about those ruins."
Iris nodded
and glanced over at Davis. Like the rest of the digidestined groups (apart from
Ken, who was looking at the computer screen a well), he was involved in a
reminiscing conversation about their first travels to the digital world.
Melodye listened in silent amusement.
"Oh, and by
the way," the red head started carefully closing the lap top lid and standing,
"my name is Koushirou Izumi, you can call me Izzy." He held his hand out and
Iris took it, smiling slightly
"Iris." She
said softly, Izzy smiled.
A shiver ran
suddenly down her spine and a feeling of foreboding and dead washed over her.
She didn't notice Snowmon had climbed out of her backpack until she whispered
into her ear.
"In the
tree."
Iris' gaze
flicked to a nearby tree, in which a small silhouette of a black cat sat.
Before the cat scrambled away, Iris saw a flash of red. She followed it's
quick, lithe movements with her eyes and once it landed on the top of a nearby
building, next to another imposing shadow, her instincts took over.
In a flash
of bright light a huge ball of fire was heading strait for her. She let out a
warning yell, grabbed Izzy by the shoulders and pulled him to the ground. She
heard the rest of the group let out various yells as the great fireball passed
over them in an awesome wave of heat.
The fireball
slammed into the nearby tree, sending charred bits of wood and leaves raining
down on them. Iris hastily rolled off Izzy and turned her attention back to the
shadows. She had no doubt in her mind who one of them was.
"I'll get
you yet digidestined!" Witchmon's voice echoed throughout the park. In silent
shock, they watched as a hole opened up in the atmosphere and the two shadows
disappeared into it.
"That was
her." Davis pointed out, blinking owlishly at the place where the atmosphere
had parted to allow their escape.
Immediately
the group broke out into a loud and quite obscene account of what had just
occurred. Izzy hurriedly scrambled to his feet and, blushing furiously, offered
Iris a hand.
"Thank you,
"he said. Iris shook her head in dismissal.
"There is no
way we can let her get away with that." Kari's elder brother commented,
punching the air
"I just hope
you guys know what you're getting yourself into." The blue haired boy, whose
name still remained anonymous, said
"Not to
worry," Davis started, "We can take anything on, isn't that right guys."
Yolie and
Kari both nodded, their faces set in determination. Ken smiled and TK mumbled
"Yeah," under his breath. Melodye looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes
were wide and locked on the sky just above the nearest building.
They really
didn't know what they were getting themselves into, did they? Sure, TK, Davis,
Kari, Yolie and Ken had all been in there before, they'd experienced it, but
how much did they really know? They hadn't spent year after year somehow
managing to scrape through existence while the harsh and unpredictable digital
world did everything in its power to stop them. They had only tasted the
destructive nature that the digital world could dish up.
And Melodye,
not once had she seen the inexorable torrential downpours that came and went as
fast as lightning. She had never scaled the sands of the MX560 desert in search
of things she didn't even know she wanted to find. She hadn't chased her prey
through the knotted, twisted veins of the Gene forest.
How could
she prepare herself for something she knew nothing about? Nothing was expected
in the digital world; nothing could be predicted or guessed. It could change
from the lush, peaceful valleys and villages of the love preserving Tanemon to
the never ending battle between Tyrannomon and Greymon or the fierce attempt of
genocide the Ogremon tribe commit on the Unimon. There were no choices in the
matter, you have to take it as it comes, and Iris knew it came at you harder
than you could ever expect.
If she was
sure about one thing, it was they had no idea of what they were getting
themselves into.
