A Little Side Adventure
Episode Eight: Returning to Normal
By Shelli-Jo Pelletier
(ussfantasy@hotmail.com)
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Matt awoke in the morning with a yawn, slowly opening his eyes to be greeted with Tai's smirking face. "Sleep well?" the other dragon asked snidely. "Glad to see we didn't lose anyone in the night. Very dangerous, sleeping next to empty castles, you know."
"Shut up, Tai," Matt scowled. He didn't point out that he was glad nothing had happened last night. He didn't mention that they always had a night watch, to protect themselves from evil Digimon. It was too early in the morning for this. Blinking sleep from his eyes, he sat up and stretched, looking around. Only half the group was awake. Gabumon snored softly beside him.
Surprisingly, Brell was one of the conscious ones. His large green eyes were focused on Tok, sitting just in front of his snout with ears flattened back against his head. They were deep in conversation, but the only thing that came to the Matt in the still desert air was a low rumbling murmur.
Matt watched them for a few minutes, wondering about this and that as his brain began to shake itself from the fog of slumber. He still didn't believe Zophia and Vladimir were really gone. It just didn't make sense. Why leave while you were winning? They had put too much into this to just give up like that.
He also wondered how long until the dragons were on their way. He admitted to himself that he would miss the two dragon siblings. Sarith made him think of T.K., all bubbly and happy with life. And she had looked after his brother and protected him. For that Matt was grateful. Tok, too, would be missed. Tok reminded him of himself. It was a relief to have someone else with a level head in the group.
That led to the thought of what it would be like to be human again. Would it feel strange, to walk around on two feet and wear his jeans and turtleneck again? He'd gotten used to having four feet and using his tail as an extra appendage. One thing he did miss though was his harmonica. Suddenly he wished he had it with him. He felt like playing. Remembering what Tok had said about all their possessions still being a part of them he grinned and hummed a few notes.
Izzy was sitting a little ways off, again typing at his laptop. Geesh, didn't that guy ever give it a rest? Matt wondered what he was hiding, from all of them and from himself.
The dragon shook his head with a rueful smile. Leave the deep philosophy for another time. He stood, preparing to attempt a conversation by heading over to Tai and Koromon, who were talking about returning to the fortress to get breakfast.
The attack came without warning.
Suddenly the quiet morning was obliterated. The roaring of a strong wind pounding down on them all, followed by a giant flash of bright light. Brell's great head snapped up at the same time, perhaps sensing the attack somehow, with an angry roar of his own. He threw open a wing to cover the humans, Digimon and dragons as the light struck where they had been clustered. His cry of rage became one of pain.
Anyone who had been asleep was no longer so. Sarith shrieked and leaned against her brother as the light impacted on her mentor's wing. Mimi was wailing. Matt found himself next to T.K. without consciously remembering going to him. The little boy's eyes were wide and tear-filled. "What's going on, Matt?" he sniffed, holding Tokomon close.
"I get to tell Tai 'I told you so'," he muttered darkly, glaring at the fortress. For there, standing on the wall about the archway, were Zophia and Vladimir. They were again encased in their protective shielding.
The man in the dark brown suit raised his arms over his head. A ball of pulsing white light filled his palms, illuminating his leering face and that of his apprentice. For a split-second they just stood there, totally in control, and then the pulsing light shot forward.
"Nova Blast!"
"Meteor Wing!"
On the ground the crowd flinched back as the light and the wall were engulfed in flames. The ground shook with giant steps. A bird-like scream ripped through the air. Brell folded back his blackened wing.
Sora and Biyomon stared as a fiery orange Birdramon soared overhead. Koromon hid under Tai as a Greymon stomped across the desert toward them. It was too early for him to deal with another Greymon. The two Champion Digimon took position on either side of Brell and the children, standing ready.
But as the dust cleared from their combined fiery attacks, it became apparent that they had already accomplished their task. There was a large crack through the stone arch, and some chunks of the wall had broken off and littered the ground. The humans were gone.
Warily, the striped dinosaur stomped forward and sniffed the wall. He leaned over the wall and peered down into the courtyard. The firebird gave a quiet caw.
Brell's head came up, his green eyes locked on the new monsters. After a moment his stance relaxed and he uncoiled from his protective position over the group of youngsters. "I appreciate your timely arrival," the white dragon said dryly.
"You know them?" Tai asked in disbelief.
"He should," muttered Tok softly. "They're my mom and dad."
Heads snapped around to stare at the dragon siblings. Tails tucked in, ears flattened, heads bowed, they looked miserable (though not really afraid). Sarith gave the Digi-Destined and their Digimon a tiny, guilty smile of encouragement.
The Greymon now turned from the stone barrier to scrutinize them, his red eyes glaring from under the thick brows of his helmet. "Someone should start explaining. Now." The Champion's words were clipped with anger, trailing off into a growl. Since he was eyeing the small troop as he spoke, various expressions of nervousness and fear crossed the Digi-Destineds' faces. Their Digimon stepped closer to them, taking up defensive positions.
Brell frowned disapprovingly at the dinosaur. "Your anger is misplaced, Hite. The young humans are not at fault here." When the Greymon's irate gaze was transferred to the large white dragon, he continued, in a tone of voice that was just short of commanding. "And since there is no one here who does not know what you are, disguises are unnecessary."
The Greymon snorted, but it was the Birdramon who spoke, after a short sound of agreement. "He is right, Hite. We are only complicating matters." To the surprise of the children, the flaming bird began to glow with a milky light. Moments after, the Greymon joined in.
When the light faded two more dragons stood in the desert. They were only slightly smaller than Brell, but looked more like Sarith and Tok. The one that had been the Greymon was a reddish orange color, with yellow spines and wings like his children, and a small horn on his nose like his daughter. He continued to glare at the group of small beings below with bright blue eyes, his pupils slits. The Birdramon was a lighter orange-yellow, with dark orange wings and spines and eyes the green of Brell's. She bore no horns on her head at all.
Tai was tired of waiting for explanations. "Hey, what's going on here?" he demanded loudly, thumping his tail on the ground for emphasis.
"Silence, human!" snapped Hite. Then, in the same breath, "Sarith! Tok! Come away from them!"
The little mint dragon unfolded from her submissive posture like a sprung jack-in-the-box. She sat up straight, chin up to stare her father in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere," Sarith announced bluntly. "They're my friends."
Hite reared back in surprise, his blue eyes widening. "Friends?" he rumbled. "Friends!? They most certainly are not! They're dangerous aliens, and you are far too young to understand these matters. You and Tok will go home now, and we will sort this out."
" 'Dangerous aliens'?" Matt growled. He didn't like this guy.
Tok, standing between him and Sarith, shot the golden dragon a look. "Shhh. My father's a . . . um, policeman I guess is the human term. He has the authority to decide what to do with you, so be quiet. All of you. Sarith and I will speak for you." Matt saw the sense in that and nodded, though he wasn't happy about it. The others mirrored his action. Tai looked about to object, but finally nodded as well.
Meanwhile Sarith was telling her father hotly, "I'm staying right here! And I'm not too young to understand! And you're wrong about them, Dad!"
The reddish orange dragon growled low, a deep and dangerous rumble. "Tok, take your sister home. Now."
The little dragon turned from Matt and drew himself up as tall as he could. "It's our fault they were pulled into this. I'm staying, Father."
"You did this, then?" He pointed at the little group, and his son understood what he meant.
Tok swallowed. "Yes, sir."
Another low growl. After a few more moments of scrutiny, Hite snorted sharply. "Don't move, any of you. I will deal with the other humans before I decide what to do with you. Brell, Sanim, help me." The three adult dragons withdrew to circle around the damaged part of the wall. They were too large to all fit inside the courtyard.
"Whew!" Sarith let out a huge sigh of relief and sat down like a deflating balloon. She gave them all a smile. "Well, we're all still in one piece so far!" she giggled.
"Okay, spill it, guys," Tai ordered, not amused.
"Yeah, like, no offense, but your dad's a total grouch," complained Mimi.
Tok frowned. "It's his job," he said stiffly. "He protects our people from dangerous species. It's a very important position."
"We're not dangerous!" Matt insisted, glaring.
"I was talking about the magic-users."
"Oh."
T.K. scooted closer, Tokomon riding on his hat. "Howdja know? That they were your mom and dad, I mean."
"Yes, you recognized them before they transformed, before they even spoke," agreed Izzy thoughtfully. "Brell did as well."
Sarith giggled again. "You think we wouldn't recognize our own parents?"
"We can tell if a creature is really a dragon in disguise," clarified Tok. "And we can recognize people we know well."
"Are-are they really mad?" T.K. asked softly.
Sarith tapped his helmet lightly with her tail, grinning. "Nah. Nothing we can't handle. They're only grownups, after all." She winked.
Joe had been watching the three large dragons nervously. Suddenly he yelped and took a step backward, nearly tripping over Gomamon. "They're coming back!" he announced.
There was something . . . final about the way they were approaching. Perhaps it was their expressions. Sora, sensing that the dragons weren't going to be around much longer, turned to Sarith. "Thank you, both of you," the red dragon said with a sincere smile.
"Yeah, we never would have rescued our friends if you hadn't helped us! Thanks!" chimed in Koromon.
"Thank you all, for your friendship." Sarith smiled back at Sora. "It was fun!"
Matt cleared his throat uncomfortably. "And thank you for looking after my brother, Sarith."
"Thanks for looking after mine," she returned, nudging Tok with her shoulder.
The indigo dragon scuffed the ground with one front foot, looking embarrassed. "None of you would have been in danger if it hadn't been for us, anyway. So thank you for staying by us."
Tai shrugged, his expression one of indifference. "Not like we had much choice. We weren't going to just wander off looking like this, right?" Koromon glared at him and he coughed. "Uh . . . well, you guys travel all over the universe, right? So . . . if you're ever around Odiba, Japan, stop by for a visit." The blue dragon gave an plucky grin. "I'm sure we'll be home by the time you guys get ungrounded. Or whatever it is dragon parents do to punish their kids." Tok shot him an annoyed look, then snorted and rolled his eyes. But he was smiling.
"Enough with the 'thank you's!" Mimi exploded, exasperated. "Can we be human now?"
A deep voice chuckled above them. "Indeed you can, young one." A shadow in the shape of a claw-tipped arm fell over the group. In the cheery light of the morning sun, Brell's upraised front foot took on a now-expectant opalescent glow. Pale pastel pinks, blues, purples and more swirled around the milky light that covered his claws, like a liquid kaleidoscope. As the cloud of light drifted down to cover the children, the Digimon, Izzy and T.K. flinched. But when Tok and Sarith made no move, and the glow didn't seem to have any effect, they relaxed. Izzy took off one of his yellow gloves and passed his hand through the cloud, although it covered him completely anyway. Tok, watching, smiled. He was going to miss all the questions.
The light faded, leaving behind five wobbly humans.
"Man, anyone else feel like they've just gotten off one of those spinny-things at the amusement park?" groaned the blond in the turtleneck, sitting down in the sand. The others copied his action, sitting or sprawling, depending. With a laugh T.K. threw himself into his brother's arms for a hug.
"Palmon, look! My hat!" cried Mimi, grabbing the wide pink brim with both hands.
Tai snatched up the orange pendant hanging around his neck, peered at it closely, then flashed Joe a triumphant grin. The boy with glasses just looked ill. Sora patted her blue hat, making sure it was still in place, as she hugged Biyomon.
"See? I told you you were still Sora on the inside," said the pink parrot cheerfully.
The human girl's smiled broadened. "I'm glad you were right."
Sarith, sitting up very straight, observed them with a mock-haughty air about her, then shook her head. "A shame. They looked so much better as dragons. Well, at least they're still colorful." Then her mask cracked and she giggled.
There was a loud, "Ahem," which got everyone's attention. Tok and Sarith's father gazed down at them pointedly. Although his expression remained one of disapproval, his frown was less severe. "Brell has explained to me the situation, as my son explained to him," the reddish orange dragon rumbled. Tok winced and looked down at the ground.
"Tok, your actions, while wrong, were done out of. . . ." Hite trailed off into low grumbles until Sanim gave him a smart tap with her tail. "Friendship," he finished reluctantly. The little blue-purple dragon's head came up sharply. "And you faced the consequences of those actions bravely. I am removing your . . . friends . . . of any blame in this matter."
Any cheers the small party would have made were quelled by Hite's strong stare. "Furthermore, we have the sorcerer and sorceress in our possession. We have removed all their weapons, and we will be bringing them back to our world, where we will drain them of their powers. Thus harmless, we will return them to Earth."
The Digi-Destined, Digimon and dragon siblings grew quiet. They had failed to notice the two slumped forms lying at the large dragon's feet in their excitement of returning to their true forms. Even though he didn't particularly like the two, Tai couldn't help a sympathetic wince. The woman's arm had to be broken—elbows just weren't supposed to bend in that direction. A thin trail of bright red blood trailed down the man's chin. Apparently the attacks of Hite and Sanim in their Digimon guises hadn't vaporized the two humans, only knocked them off the wall and into unconsciousness.
Izzy had picked up on Hite's last statement. "Send them back to Earth? You can do that?" he asked, his eyes alight with excitement.
"Well, we can't really send beings," admitted Sarith. "But we can take them with us when we travel."
"Then you can take us back home too!" Joe exclaimed, figuring out what the redhead was leading up too. The other Digi-Destined stared at each other, eyes wide.
"Out of the question!" snapped Hite. "I am not allowing any dragon to approach Earth unless absolutely necessary for the time being. Not while there are humans remaining with the knowledge to hunt dragons. And you are certainly not coming to our world with us!"
Tok and Sarith's mother smiled gently. "You wouldn't want to be dropped off where we leave these humans anyway, dears."
Collectively, the Digi-Destined sighed.
"Hey, lighten up," Sarith chided, frowning up at her father as she spoke to her friends. "Aren't there still evil Digimon you guys have to defeat before you can go home?" Her voice lowered. "Look, we'll be ungrounded before too long, I'll bet. As soon as Tok and I can get away, we'll come back to Digiworld and look for you. If you haven't made it back home before then, we'll give you a ride."
But her father's pointed ears swiveled, and by his growl there was no doubt he heard. "That will be difficult, Sarith, since they will not remember you." His voice was low and hard.
Tai didn't like the sound of that. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded angrily, holding Koromon under one arm as he stood in front of the large creature.
But Sarith and Tok evidently knew, for they both gasped. "You have no right to block their memories, Dad!" shouted Sarith, jumping up.
"To what!?"
Brell gave a rumbling sigh. "It is truly for the best. You will be safer this way. We will do the same with the magic-users, so that they will not bother you with petty revenge."
Tai decided to ask questions later—since it was obvious Hite wasn't a very patient guy—and just accept what Sarith and Tok had said. "You can't just mess with our heads without our permission!" declared the brown-haired boy.
"Enough! It is not negotiable!" Hite roared. The immense dragon seemed to grow in height at he reared back on his hand legs, spreading his golden wings wide. With one flap he sent a wave of wind and sand whirling around the group of humans, dragons and Digimon. But the wind didn't die down. It grew, spiraling around and up until they were caught in the center of a giant twister fully the size of the adult dragons. The Digi-Destined and their Digimon cried out from within, shielding their faces. At the same time Brell's tail snaked in among the group and surreptitiously curled around Sarith and Tok, drawing them away.
The mint green dragon struggled wildly in her mentor's firm grasp. Tears blinded her blue-green eyes, but nothing could block her ears. This wasn't fair! There was so much more she wanted to say to her friends. She wanted to tell them that she would never again judge another species just because they were supposed to be dangerous. She wanted to hug T.K farewell. She wanted to tell Tai she admired him for being able to make the decisions of a leader, something she now knew the difficulty of. She wanted to talk with Matt more about brothers, and cheer him up when he was down. He seemed to be down a lot. She wanted to thank Sora for taking the chance and trusting them back at the oasis, and she wanted to play tag with the Digimon again. And now she would never get to do any of that. They were her friends, and her father was taking them away. It wasn't fair!
Her indigo-colored brother didn't struggle, but he was physically shaking with the injustice of it. He could understand his father's caution of allowing humans to know of their existence, but this wasn't right. They were only children, and they were his friends. At the very least the adults should have explained what they were doing before they started, and tried to find a better way. There had to be a better way than this.
"Sarith!" came T.K.'s muffled cry from the center of the tornado. His voice was high with fear.
"T.K.!" she shouted, trying to be heard above the wind. "Don't be afraid! I'm here!"
Any other words were drowned out by the whirlwind and Sanim's voice as she spoke. "Take care of our children and the offending humans, Hite. I will take the young humans and these strange creatures to a hospitable location." The yellowish-orange dragon spread her wings wide and leapt into the sky with the grace of a swan.
But Sarith felt no hope. Her mother was a kind-hearted being, but she believed as her mate did. The safety of the dragon people outweighed all else, including her children's pleas.
Tok saw the tears in her eyes and nudged her with his snout, trying to make her feel better even though he felt just as bad himself. "It's not right Sarith, but at least they'll be safe. And . . . they won't miss us."
"I'll miss them." She choked on a sob. "It's not fair!"
"Life rarely is," Brell murmured softly. His tail uncoiled, allowing Sarith and Tok to drop gently to the ground. Sudden silence fell as the twister vanished.
Sanim, along with the Digi-Destined and their Digimon, was gone.
* * *
Darkness. Can't see. Except for a pair of deep brown eyes. And someone is laughing. . . .
Izzy sat up with a gasp, his breath loud in his ears. Blinded by the bright sunlight, the boy blinked rapidly, trying to look around. Palm trees, water, sand . . . where was he?
"Izzy, are you all right?" Tentomon popped into view.
"I'm fine," the auburn-haired boy assured his Digimon. "Just a dream. Uh . . . where are we?"
Biyomon approached, carrying a coconut in her clawed wings. "We're at the oasis, silly! Want some breakfast?" She offered the fruit.
"More like lunch," responded Izzy, "judging by the position of the sun." His mind worked. Oasis? He remembered finding the oasis. Tai had spotted it with his telescope. And . . . he must have fallen asleep. But they had found the little water spot in late afternoon. Had he slept all through the night and morning? That didn't seem right. And why didn't he recall any of it?
The rest of his friends were in various stages of sleep and wakefulness. T.K. and Tokomon were playing by the water's edge. Gomamon was sleeping on his back, floating in the middle of the lake. Tai sat staring out over the water, Koromon in his lap. Away from the lake Matt leaned against a tree, fiddling with his harmonica but not playing it. Gabumon was snoozing beside him. Sora stretched and yawned, looking like she had just woke up as well. Mimi and Palmon were eating lunch.
Joe came up from behind and plopped down next to Izzy, as Tentomon used his Super Shocker to break open the coconut.
Perfect opportunity. "Joe, are you unable to recollect any of our events of the past evening and this morning?" Izzy wasn't one for small talk. Not when there was something he wanted to know.
The boy with glasses looked relieved. "I was afraid I was being paranoid again. Maybe all this heat really has baked our brains this time."
"Hmm. I—"
He stopped as Tai stood up and faced the group, a decisive expression on his face. "Let's eat and move out," the brown-haired leader declared. "We've still got a long way to go to get out of this desert."
The meal was subdued. The only conversation held was to establish that no one else could remember anything after reaching the oasis either. Joe pinned it on heat exhaustion. Eventually, the rest concurred. And despite the fact that they all agreed hiking through the sun was what had caused the condition, no one was hesitant about leaving the water source and continuing their journey. Something about this place left everyone feeling depressed. Even T.K. and Tokomon, usually so excited about everything, were quiet.
So it wasn't that long before the fourteen were again marching through the desert, leaving the green and blue refuge behind. The relentless sun beat down, hour after hour, until the discomfort of the oasis and their missing memories were fading away to be replaced with more pressing concerns. Thin, wispy clouds hovered in the sky, but they did nothing to block the sun. A few small cactuses dotted the landscape, but they couldn't provide shade for everyone. There was nothing to do but continue on.
After a while the comments began. They were pointless, stupid. The jokes weren't funny. But the group needed something, anything, to keep their minds off the oppressive heat. Sweat trickled down their brows, to be wiped away as they plodded on. Koromon wasn't looking so good, again reminding Tai of what he had done to his little friend.
Following an incident with a mirage, Gennai appeared in another of his holographic projections. Unfortunately he soon left, giving the kids more problems than they had before. And it wasn't long after that they were dragged into another wild adventure, this time on board a large ship cruising the desert sands. No rest for the weary. They were the Digi-Destined, after all, and they had an entire world to save.