*Reality Check*
While Lei and Sam have begun a new relationship, Angel has just discovered an e-mail to her parents from Gennai. Things start to unravel as the old DigiDestined are called back once again to fight evil in the Digital World.
*Present Day*
TK rushed down the street. When he got to the corner, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Matt's number.
Kara answered. "Hello, Ishida Mental Institute, to whom may I direct your call?"
"Very funny, Kara," TK said dryly.
"Hi, Uncle TK. Wasabi?"
"May I speak to your dad, please Kara?"
"Sure thing. DADDIO!" she yelled, directly into the phone. TK cringed, and held it away from his ear. After a moment, he heard his older brother's deep voice on the end of the line. "Hello?"
"Matt, did you get the e-mail?"
"What e-mail?"
"The one from Gennai!"
Matt sucked in his breath. "Gennai sent us an e-mail?"
"Yeah, it's pretty important. You better check it. Do you think Sora already did?"
"I think she would have told me if she did," Matt replied. "Hang on, I'll go check right now. I'll call you back in about fifteen minutes, okay?"
"Alright, man. Talk to you in a few minutes." TK pressed the End button. Then, he dialed Izzy and Mimi's number. Mimi answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Meems, it's TK."
"Hey, TK! How are you? How's Kari? How's Angel? How's the baby?"
"Fine, fine, fine, and fine. But that's not what I was calling about."
Mimi suddenly dropped her voice to a whisper. "You got that e-mail from Gennai, didn't you?"
"Yep. Did Izzy do anything about it?"
"He called all the DigiDestined, except Matt and Ken and Yolei and Sora, because he couldn't get in touch with them," Mimi explained.
"I just talked to Matt a minute ago," TK said. "He had no clue. I doubt he's checked his e-mail in about three years."
Mimi laughed. "So, how is Kari? It's hard to believe she's pregnant again. I didn't think you two would want another child."
"Me neither. It kinda just—happened. But we don't regret it now." TK smiled, remembering all the turmoil he and Kari had put themselves through in the first couple of months. He thought hell had cursed them in the worst way possible, but instead, heaven had given them the most wonderful blessing they could never have asked for. It was almost like they were getting another chance.
"Yeah, that's the way it is," she said cheerfully.
There was a pause. Suddenly, Mimi exclaimed, "Oh! Izzy just walked in the door! Do you want to talk to him?"
"Sure." TK waited a few minutes before he heard a voice answer the phone. "Hello?"
"Izzy? It's TK. What do you know about the e-mail from Gennai?"
Izzy sighed. "Not that much. I've been trying to reach him. He's staying somewhere in Tokyo, but I can't seem to track him down. If only he hadn't confiscated the DigiVices…"
"I know, but we can't do anything about that. Maybe we'll get them back when we find him. Then we can save the Digital World again."
"Do you think Kari and Yolei are up to it?"
It was TK's turn to sigh. "I know Kari thinks she is. Emotionally, yes, definitely. Mentally—well, I'm actually starting to question her sanity. Physically…hell no."
Izzy laughed. "I remember when Mimi was pregnant with the girls…both times. She was a pain in the ass." He laughed again. "But you know what? It's been fifteen years, and I don't care anymore."
TK laughed. Then he grew serious again. "So anyways…you don't know anything about what's going on?"
"Nope. I know the Digimon are in trouble—along with the rest of the world. And I know that some force that is using the power of all of our defeated enemies."
"You're kidding!"
"I wish I were."
"So this is gonna be our biggest battle yet? Bigger than Apocolymon? Bigger than Piedmon and Malomyotismon and…bigger than Zendiogimon?"
"Yeah," Izzy said, sighing again. "If I could track this stupid address, then I could find Gennai, then all would be well with the world…Digital World, that is…"
"Maybe he doesn't want to be found."
"Then why would he send us that e-mail?"
"When it comes to Gennai, who knows?"
"Yeah. I guess you're right, TK." Izzy was silent for a moment, and TK could practically hear the wheels turning in his head.
TK said, "It's amazing. How can this be bigger than anything we've ever faced before? I thought Zendiogimon was biggest one of them all. I mean, seriously, he stripped us of our--"
"FLORA! COME PICK UP YOUR BOOKS AND TAKE THEM TO YOUR ROOM!" Izzy suddenly bellowed. Once again, TK winced, and held the small phone away from his ear. When he was sure the yelling had ceased, he pulled it back.
"You there, TK?"
"That's the second time today that that has happened."
Izzy laughed. "Just tending to my fatherly responsibilities."
"I know what you mean. Angel is exactly the same. She won't do anything we tell her."
"It's hard raising girls, isn't it?"
TK laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Did you know, though, that Angel's ultrasound said she was gonna be a boy?"
"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me?"
"We didn't tell anybody," TK explained. "I was so excited when the doctor said we were going to have a son. I was so prepared to do everything—you know, play sports with, send to Boy Scouts camp, and teach him all the stuff that I know."
"Wow," said Izzy. "I never knew."
"Yeah. I tried really hard not to show my disappointment, but I guess Kari noticed anyways. She always does, you know. So I did my best to turn her into a tomboy. And look at what happened."
Izzy laughed again. "TK, you have one crazy little teenager there."
"Yep. But we wouldn't have any other way. I'm glad she was a girl, otherwise I might not be able to understand her the way that I do."
"What if the baby is a boy? What will happen then? Will you understand him the same?"
"He'd have to be gay for me to understand him the same way I do Angel."
"Ha, ha."
"I think I'll be okay with either. I mean, I wanted a boy before, but I think I understand girls better now because of Angel."
"You're lucky, TK," Izzy said, sighing wistfully. "At your age, most guys don't even know who they are or what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But you—you've got it all figured out."
TK heard a beeping sound in the background. "I gotta run, TK," he said, "but if I hear anything at all from Gennai or anyone else, I'll call you."
"'Bye." TK hung up. He stared at his cell phone before slipping it back into his coat pocket.
You think I've got my entire life figured out, Izzy? TK thought. Well, I don't. Everyone thinks I have it all, when really, I don't know what I have.
It would take one step forward and two steps back again before Takeru Takaishi would turn and head for home.
I was well enough to go to school on Friday. I tried to pretend like nothing had happened, but that was harder than I thought. Everyone looked at me differently, like I had a disease or something. The teachers were far too cheerful. And my friends were constantly worried.
I looked at my hands a lot, or down at the floor. I hardly spoke, which is rare. When Tony and I walked home that afternoon, he kept stealing glances at me, studying my face, trying to decide my every thought, opinion, and emotion that crossed my mind.
After about fifteen minutes, I got agitated. "Stop it, Tony! I'm fine! And I can look out for myself! Don't look so confused; I know what you're thinking. And I'm not sick."
Tony stared guiltily at the ground. "Sorry, I'm only worried. It's just…you were acting so strange the day before, and I was just…concerned."
"Why? I can take care of myself. You know that."
"You're my best friend, Angel," Tony explained. "It's my job to care about you."
I smiled at that. Maybe now everything would be okay.
"Hey, do you wanna come over this afternoon?" Tony asked. "We could hang out, play video games, watch some TV, stuff like that."
"Sure. Just let me clear it with Mom and Dad, first."
We got to the apartment building and ran up the stairs. I used my key to get into the apartment. I saw a note left on the kitchen counter, and picked it up.
Angel,
Dad's at your Uncle Matt's apartment, and I had to finish grading some tests at the elementary school. I probably won't get home until late. I don't know about your dad. There's a couple of frozen pizzas and ice cream in the freezer, and potato salad in the fridge. I'll see you later, sweetie.
Love,
Mom
"Cool," I said. "I'll call her and ask if it's okay to go to your place. If she says yes, we can bring all of this food over to your apartment and cook it there."
"Sure," he said, and I picked up the phone. I dialed Mom's work number.
"Hello, Hikari Takaishi speaking."
"Hey, Mom, it's Angel. Is it okay if Tony and I go hang out at his place tonight?"
"Hi, darling. Is it all right with his parents?"
"Hang on, I'll ask." I put my hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Tony, "She wants to know if it's alright with your parents."
Something happened then that I didn't expect. A look of pain flashed across Tony's face, then left as quickly as it had come. He nodded.
I spoke into the phone again. "They said it's okay."
"Then I'll see you later then. Bye, sweetheart."
"Bye, mom." I hung up. Then I said to Tony, "Let's get the food over at your place and start cooking. I'm starved!"
Kari closed her grade book with a sigh. Finally, she thought. I'm done. I can leave.
She pushed herself away from her desk and stood. Kari grabbed her cell phone, purse, and keys, and walked out of the kindergarten classroom and locked the door.
I probably shouldn't go home right away. No one will be there anyways. Kari made her way out to the car when the phone rang inside her purse.
Oh, shi…taki mushrooms, she thought. Kari put her keys in her mouth, and struggled to open her purse. She pushed the TALK button on her cell phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Hikari."
"Um, hi…who is this?"
The voice on the other end of the line chuckled warmly. "It's been a long time. It's no surprise that you don't recognize my voice."
"Who are you? Please tell me!"
"Hikari…this is Gennai."
Kari nearly let the phone tumble out of her hands. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Gennai?"
We popped the pizzas in the oven, then hooked up his video games to the TV. The pizza was done in about fifteen minutes, and we sat at the table to eat.
Tony kept stealing suspicious glances me, until I finally burst. "Stop looking at me like that!" I cried. "What's the matter with you?
"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you? I thought—we were supposed to be best friends, Angel. The kind of friends that tell each other everything. But you keep saying that nothing happened. Well, Angel, something did happen! You flipped out because something incredible happened to you, but you feel like you can't tell me what it was!"
I was shocked, but not so shocked that I couldn't retaliate. "Well, what about you? In the ten years that I have known you, I have never met your parents. I don't even know that you have parents! For all I know, you could be hiding out from the child services! Talk about keeping secrets, Tony, I don't even know who you are!"
A shot of pain was flashed across his face, and we were both silent for a minute. "I didn't tell you," I began, "because I didn't think you would believe me. What's happening to me—it's kinda hard to explain."
"Then let me explain first," he said. Tony stood, and walked around to my side of the table. He took my hand in his, and I stood, also. He led me down the hall, to his bedroom, a room I had seen him access several times, but had never been in myself.
Tony opened a dresser drawer, and pulled out a photo frame. He held it close to his chest for a moment, then motioned me to come closer. I walked up to him, and he lowered the frame so that I could see.
In the picture, there were two people, a man and woman. The woman was blonde and pretty, and she was sitting on a swing. The man was tall, and he looked a lot like Tony. He was pushing the woman on the swing. They were both smiling, and I noticed something else. The woman was pregnant. Remarkably pregnant.
"These are my parents," he whispered. "They died in a car crash when I was two weeks old. I live with my grandfather."
Oh, my God…
"Oh, my gosh! Gennai!" Kari cried. "I don't believe it's you! It's been so many years!"
"I know, Hikari. But listen to me. I didn't call just to chat."
"It's about that e-mail, isn't it? The one you sent about the Digital World?"
"Yes," Gennai replied. "I need to see you this moment. I am at Yamato and Sora's apartment. Please come over immediately."
"Of course! I'll be there in a few minutes!" Kari hung up the phone. She climbed into the car, and shut the door, and started it up. She drove out of the school parking lot, and to her brother-in-law's house.
"And that's the whole story," I said. "If you don't believe me, I understand, because it's not an easy story to believe."
Tony stared at me with the purest eyes I had ever seen. "I believe you," he said. "I believe you because I know you would never lie to me. And when you do, you're really bad at it."
I laughed. How could I have doubted Tony?
"So come on," he said. Are we gonna finish eating that pizza or what?"
"Sure," I said. I followed him back to the kitchen, and we finished the pizza. After we cleaned the kitchen, he asked, "So what do you wanna do now? We've played every video game I've owned, and watched everything on TV that was anything worth watching. So…what now?"
"Computer?" I asked.
"You got it!" We rushed over to the computer, and he pulled up another chair for me. I sat down, and Tony switched on the monitor. A window flashed up on the screen, giving him two options.
SAVE PROGRAM TO:
_FILE
_DISK
"What's this?" I asked.
"Grandpa must have been downloading something," Tony mused. "I wonder what it is? Let's check it out."
He opened the program. A setup window popped up, and Tony registered under Gennai Tanishi. I guess that's his grandfather's name.
As soon as the setup was done, another window opened. There was a Quicktime animation, then the most unexpected words popped up: DIGIMON: THE GAME.
"What the heck?" I asked, confused. Then I scowled. "This is a trick, isn't it? Some kind of pathetic prank on me?"
"No! I promise, Angel, I don't know what's going on! Let's just finish this, and then we'll figure it out from there. Okay?"
"Fine," I snapped. I turned to face the computer, seeing that the next section had come up.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: ONE/TWO
"Two?" Tony asked.
"Sure."
He selected two. A fill-out profile came up, and Tony answered them first.
NAME: Tanishi Anthony
AGE: 15
BIRTH PARENTS NAMES: Tanishi Hiroki & Tanishi Leruki
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 145 lbs.
HAIR: Brown
EYES: Brown
D.O.B.: August 4, 1986
"Your turn, Ange,'" he said, handing me the keyboard.
NAME: Takaishi Angel
AGE: 14
BIRTH PARENTS NAMES: Takaishi Takeru & Takaishi Hikari
HEIGHT: 5'2"
WEIGHT: 110 lbs.
HAIR: Blonde
EYES: Green
D.O.B.: December 8, 1986
I pressed ENTER, and handed the keyboard back to Tony. To my surprise, a computerized robot voice jumped out of the speakers.
"Data processing!" it boomed. I recoiled. "Please wait!"
After a few minutes, the voice came back. Surprisingly, it spoke directly to Tony! "Anthony! You are the new keeper of the Crest of Hope! You are assigned to Patamon!"
"Patamon…" I gasped. Tony looked over at me, eyes wide. I grabbed his hand, and didn't let go.
Suddenly, it spoke to me! "Angel! You are the new keeper of the Crest of Light! You are assigned to Gatomon! Please hold on, for you are about to be transported to the DIGITAL WORLD!"
A portal appeared on the screen of the monitor. Not letting go of Tony's hand, I reached up to touch the monitor. I felt a vast amount of air pressure on my arm, but before I could pull my arm back, Tony and I were both dragged into the portal.
"EIAHHHHH!" we both screamed. I was still clutching his hand, although the fierce winds inside the swirling portal threatened to tear us apart. All of a sudden, we weren't spinning anymore.
We were falling. I landed with a thud on the ground next to Tony. I laid there until my head stopped spinning. After a moment, I sat up with a groan, and looked around. I gasped at what I saw.
"Whoa…"
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Buahahahaha! I finally got the fourth chapter up! Yay! I know you guys have been just dying, so I tried to finish it as quickly as I could. You can e-mail me at jazzgirl1488@hotmail.com with comments, suggestions, etc.
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