Chapter 2

Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
-Adam Lindsay Gordon

Digital Time was the same as Real Time, and it was night. However, it was not dark--the world was a dim blue, and brilliant, enormous stars blazed in the sky above. Dark masses of indigo trees stood all around, and the chirping of crickets rose from the grass.

Spikemon looked the same, except for his excitement. He capered around Zach's feet, clapping his paws and shouting, "We're here, we're here!"

Zach turned in a circle, not quite believing this was happening, looking for his computer screen. It was nowhere in sight. Panic struck his stomach like a brick, along with the realization that this world was probably real. "Spikemon, how do I get home?"

"Your digivice, silly," said Spikemon, as if Zach were making a joke. "It'll take you home whenever you want."

Zach lifted the device, which was still in his hand, and looked at the screen. Two minutes had elapsed since entry.

"C'mon," said Spikemon, pawing at his partner's pants, "I want to show you Digiforum, where I live!"

"Oh, okay," said Zach faintly, and let Spikemon lead him deeper into the digital night.

As he walked, Zach became aware that there were elements in his brain that were absent in the real world. If he thought about himself, he instantly knew that he was Zachariah Holling, age 16, run: 6, swim: 3, fly: 0, power: 2, courage level: 4, morale level: medium. He also knew the exact time--7:43 PM--as if it were hardwired into the world around him. With another jolt Zach realized that if this were not a dream, then he was in a strange world with a strange creature, brought there for a reason he didn't know by a device he didn't understand. The thought sent a wave of sickness through him, and for a moment he stopped and stood staring at nothing.

Presently Spikemon reappeared. "Hey Zach, why'd you stop?" He looked up at his partner and touched a dangling hand with a gentle paw. He read Zach's stats and realized that his morale was extremely low. Zach was afraid.

The little green dinosaur frowned up at him, wondering what he ought to do. Spikemon had never been afraid in his life, and had little patience for emotions he did not understand. He pushed his square head under Zach's hand. "I'm here. Nothing will happen, this area is safe." When Zach did not respond, Spikemon grew impatient. "Come on, move! Only hatchlings are afraid of the dark."

"Oh yeah?" Zach snapped, looking down at his companion. "You try being dragged to an alternate dimension by a freak, not to mention having all this weird stuff put into your mind! Did you read my--my stats?"

"Yeah, and you're scared," replied Spikemon, glaring. "You can't be my partner if you're scared."

"Who says?"

"I say!"

"Then maybe you should find a new partner," said Zach, turning away. "Go on, go find one! I'm going home." He began pushing buttons on his digivice, trying to find an option that would send him home.

Spikemon snorted. "Fine, I will! And you'll be sorry tomorrow, because you'll think this was great." He stalked away stiff-legged into the blue night.

"No I won't!" Zach yelled after him. He found a screen that listed Spikemon's statistics, and glanced over them. Element: fire, run: 7, swim: 5, fly:1, power: 3, courage level: 4, morale: low. Then another screen that said, "Open Digiport, Yes/No?"

But before he could press the blue button, he heard Spikemon yell, "Spark Blast!" A flash of orange lit the trees in the direction Spikemon had gone. A second later another voice screeched, "Night Wings!" There was a flash of blue, and Spikemon screamed. Zach's digivice changed to show Spikemon's stats again, but now they had an additional entry. Wounded: 5%.

Zach stood with his digivice in hand, frozen in indecision. Spikemon was a jerk, but he was in trouble, and if they were supposed to be partners--No, he didn't want to get involved. He would go home and forget the whole thing. He changed screens to the Digiport again and selected 'Yes'.

A bright hole appeared in the air a few inches from Zach's digivice. Before he could step through it, Spikemon cried, "Zach!" The digimon's voice was a wail of desperation. Without thinking, Zach turned and bolted toward Spikemon's voice.

The trees grew in clumps here and there, and just beyond one of these clumps Spikemon lay on the ground, pinned beneath the claw of a bat the size of a chimpanzee, which was clawing its way toward his throat.

"Hey!" Zach yelled as he ran toward the pair. "Leave him alone! Get! Get!"

The bat's head jerked up and a pair of red eyes glared with startled fear at the oncoming human.

"Get out of here!" Zach seized a stone and threw it. It smacked the enemy digimon between the eyes. The bat hissed in pain, withdrew from Spikemon, and crouched. "Night Wings!" it snarled, and reared up, making slashing motions with its wings.

Some programmed instinct in Zach's digital identity made him drop flat as bright silver arcs of energy sliced the air above him. "Spikemon, get up!" he yelled as the bat landed and extended its claws to the dinosaur again.

To Zach's relief, Spikemon scrambled to his feet, and what was more, he was raging mad. "How dare you attack my partner!" he roared at the bat. "Spark Blast!" He opened his mouth and spouted a red fireball at the bat, which shielded itself with its wings and screamed as the fire struck it.

"You're not worth it!" hissed the bat, and leaped into the sky and was gone, leaving behind it the odor of singed hair.

Spikemon walked to Zach, grinning as only a carnivorous dinosaur could grin. "We did it! We beat Echomon!"

"Yeah, we did," said Zach, who was just beginning to think about what had happened. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, he grazed me with a Night Wing attack," said Spikemon, extending a forearm with a long burn along it.

Zach was beginning to shake and had to sit down. "I thought you said this area was safe!"

"I thought it was," said Spikemon, licking his burn. "Echomon's not bad compared to some of the viruses that come through here. But us vaccines keep them at bay."

Neither spoke for a moment. Zach forced himself to breathe deeply, although memories of Echomon's red eyes kept flashing before him. After a moment he asked, "Why did you guys yell out what you were going to do?"

"Our attacks?" Spikemon looked thoughtful. "All Digimon do it. I never thought about it before. If you don't, your attack won't work."

"So it's like a computer command to load the attack program?"

Spikemon considered this. "I guess it is. I never thought about it." He licked his burn again, then clawed up a clod of dirt and rubbed it on his skin.

"So do you think you need me now?" Zach asked.

Spikemon glanced at him sideways. "I was doing fine on my own."

"Then why'd you yell my name?"

Spikemon looked away and said nothing.

Zach smiled. "It's a good thing I'm not as big of a sissy as you are."

"Who's a sissy?" snapped Spikemon.

Zach continued to smile, and the digimon slowly did, too. "I guess we're partners, then."

"And you're stuck with me." Zach rubbed Spikemon's head and rose to his feet. "I seriously want to go home. You can show me your hometown tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Spikemon brushed the dirt from his arm as Zach reopened the portal. Before they stepped through, the digimon nudged his partner's leg. "I get to sleep on your bed, right?"

Zach eyed him. "We'll see."

Then the pair stepped through the digiport, and were transported back to the Real World.