Years of Preparation: Part 5: Child of Courage
The high priest knelt down and placed both his hands together. He started bowing, when the door to the small room was thrown open. A younger woman wearing the same type robes as the high priest ran in. "Honorable Elder.." the young woman started.
"What are you doing, girl?" the high priest snapped,"You know better than to run in here, this is a holy place."
"I beg your forgiveness," the young woman said, bowing, "but, we have a problem. Strangers have arrived in our monastery, and they are demanding an audience with you."
"So? Tell them to wait. You know how important my meditations are, Mina!"
"One is a Digidestined, the other two are Digimon!"
All color drained from the high priests face. "I see."
"Do you think they are here for the book?"
"I do not know," the high priest said, walking out of the room,"But, it will do them no good. Ah, I assume these are our guests?"
Mina nodded. In front of them in the small hallway was a large winged creature with metal robes and skin. At his side was a human being, and another Digimon. The one with the metal robes stepped forward. He bowed slightly. "Ahh, greetings, Holy One. I called Daemon, this is my associate, Barker."
"Why have you come?" the high priest asked.
"We have come for the Machina Codex," Daemon said,"If you give it to use now, there will be no trouble."
"What is this Macana Cedox?" he asked, mispronouncing it purposely.
Daemon sighed. "Do not play dumb with me. It was a book delivered here many years ago from the Digital World. When the First Digidestined return to Earth, they came here and took the book back to the Digital world with them. While there, they recorded the location of the items that they hide in the Digital World, then returned the book back here. Where is it?"
"I do not know..."
Daemon sighed. "Barker, if you will show him that we do not like lying."
"Right," Barker said, nodding to his Digimon. His Digimon walked over, grabbed Mina by the throat and slammed him into the wall.
"Tell us where the book is!" Daemon demanded.
"We do not have the Codex," the high priest responded,"It was taken to Japan by an archeologist five years ago."
"Who?" Daemon asked.
"He called himself Takenouchi."
Miriya rubbed her back as she walked into the cafeteria area of the Digidestined Headquarters. She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down into one of the chair, letting out a long sigh. "Are you okay?"
Miriya looked up and saw a young, blond haired woman leaning against the doorway. "Um, yeah," Miriya said, patting her stomach,"This little guy really runs me for a loop though."
The woman smiled, and patting her bloated stomach. "Believe me, I know." She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down across from Miriya. "So, how long until you are due?"
"Very soon," Miriya said,"Any day now."
"I'm due in a couple of weeks," the woman said.
Miriya nodded, then held out her hand. "I'm Miriya," she said.
The woman took her hand and shook it,"I'm Amanda."
"Amanda?" Miriya asked, her eyes opening wide,"Y-you mean, Amanda Miller? The daughter of Ambassador Miller?"
"That's right," the young woman said, nodding.
"Y-you're father is the one that's paying for all of this!" Miriya said,"I..I.."
Amanda smiled warmly. "Don't worry, you don't need to do anything special, or act a special way. And, you're Miriya?"
She nodded. "That's right."
"So," Amanda said, stirring her coffee,"How are you and Tai doing?"
Miriya sighed. "Well, to tell you the truth, we've been fighting a lot, but, I'm sure that we can work it out."
"Yeah," Amanda said,"When Davis and I started going out, we fought too, but, look at us now, fiancees."
"Have you seen Tai?" Miriya asked,"I've been so busy with Yolei and her child, that I haven't seen him since we came back from the Dark Ocean."
Amanda thought for a moment,"Yes, actually, I saw him. He left a little while ago, I think he said something about Morealle's."
"What's that?" Miriya asked.
"A very high pricey restaurant," Amanda said.
Miriya got up. "Well, I've got to go."
Amanda nodded. "I guess I'll see you again, huh?"
Miriya smiled. "Yeah, thanks."
Tai walked into the restaurant, unbuttoning his trench coat. He shifted the flowers in his hands and walked over to the matradie. "I'm meeting someone here, a Miss Sora Takenouchi."
The man twirled the edge of his mustache and looked over the list in front of him. "Ahh, yes," he said, walking around from his small stand,"Right this way."
Tai smiled, and nodded his head slightly. He followed the man into a dance room filled with tables on the side seated by mostly middle aged men and women. He suddenly felt very embarrassed as everyone started staring at him. He was twenty years old, in a restaurant filled with forty and fifty year oldes. He pulled his trench coat up to try and hide his tomato red face. It seemed like forever before the matradie stopped. "Here you are, misouer," he said, bowing.
Tai pulled down the collar of his jacket. "Sora," he said, a smile crossing his face,"I'm sorry I'm late."
She smiled that sweet, beautiful smile that caused Tai's heart to melt. He couldn't help but laugh as he sat down. "Oh Sora," he said, taking off his jacket,"You don't know how much I've missed that smile."
Sora laughed. "Tai, I..I've missed you."
Tai raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, You've...well..." she trailed off, turning her head away from him.
Tai coughed slightly and lifted up the flowers. "Ah, um, these are for you."
Sora's face bloomed into a giant smile. "Oh, Tai," she said,"They're beautiful!" She took them, thinking how weird it was that he was wearing a glove on only one hand.
"So," Sora said, flipping through the menu,"I hear the food here is really good."
"Yeah," Tai mumbled,"June said the same thing.""
"What?" Sora asked.
"Nothing," Tai said, glancing over the menu.
"Hey," Sora said,"There aren't any prices on this menu, everything's for free!"
"Mmm," Tai said, raising his left eyebrow and nodding.
Tai was reading over the menus when he heard a melody start to play. "Look," Sora said, pointing over his shoulder,"Everyone's dancing."
Tai turned around and saw that all the other customers were dancing on the ground. "Come on," Sora said, slowly getting up,"Let's dance."
"Sora," Tai said, concerend,"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you're pregnant!"
"So?!" Sora asked, almost shouting,"You're not going to treat me like Matt, saying that I'm helpless, are you?"
"No," Tai said,"No, of course not. Come on, let's dance."
He grabbed her wrist and lead her out to the dance floor. Both bowed slightly, then Tai wrapped his right arm around Sora's waist, and held onto her left hand. They started twirling around. Tai was overjoyed. He had wanted to do this with Sora ever since they entered the Digital world, but, he was always too afraid to tell her. Now, he was dancing with her, and, once again, he found that he couldn't speak. He was so happy with her, here, he felt like it could last forever.
Tonight your mine completely
you give your love so sweetly
tonight the light
of love is in your eyes
but will you love me tomorrow
He couldn't help but wonder why she was here, why she wasn't with Matt. If the two of them were calling it quits, then, he could finally be with her, but, he was still wondering.
Is this an ever lasting treasure
or just a moments pleasure
can I believe the magic of your sighs
will you still love me tomorrow
TONIGHT WITH WORDS UNSPOKEN
YOU SAY THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE
BUT WILL MY HEART BE BROKEN
WHEN THE NIGHT
MEETS THE MORNIN' SUN
Sora was wondering why Tai was looking at her with longing in his eyes. Maybe he really did like her, maybe even love her. But, she couldn't help wondering about Miriya.
I'd like to know that your love
is love I can be sure of
so tell me now
and I won't ask again
will you still love me tomorrow
Sora and Tai slowly stopped twirling on the dance floor. All the other couples started to clap, and Tai and Sora brought their heads closer together. They were about to kiss each other, when the clapping stopped, and they heard a gasp.
They turned their head to the right, and saw a young woman standing in the doorway. "M-Miriya!" Tai exclaimed,"I...uh...that is..I..."
Tears started to fall down her cheeks, and everyone there could see that she was heartbroken. "How could you, Tai?" she asked,"How could you? Don't I mean anything to you?" She held up her hand and pointed to a large ring on her third finger. "Doesn't this mean anything to you?"
Sora broke away from Tai's embrace. She stared at him with her mouth wide open. Tai tried to say something, but Sora grabbed his hand and pulled the glove off. On his third finger was a large ring, exactly the same as Miriya's ring. "Sora.." Tai started,"I.."
He was cut off when Sora slapped him across the cheek. "You lied to me you basted!" she screamed,"You told me that you and Miriya were going to break up, but YOU'RE MARRIED!" She spun around and started to leave.
Tai grabbed Sora's wrist. "Sora, wait.."
Sora turned back around and slapped him again. "I hate you!" she screamed, tears coming down her face,"I never want to see you again!"
Tai watched her leave, then turned around. Miriya was still standing in the doorway. "Miriya," Tai started, when she turned and ran off.
"Miriya, wait!" he cried, running out of the room,"No, please, don't you leave too!"
She wasn't in the hall, so he ran towards the exit. He found her collapsed on the floor, a few feet from the emergency exit. Tai felt extremely worried, surprising even himself. He ran over and knelt beside her. "Miriya, Miriya," he said, hugging her,"..I..I'm sorry, please.."
"Tai," she said, looking him in the face,"I...I think I'm going into labor."
"W-what?" he asked, gasping for breath,"W-what did you say?"
Miriya suddenly yelled out in pain, and grabbed her stomach. "Tai, help me, please."
Tai turned around and saw that a couple of the waiters were walking towards them. "Call an ambulance!" Tai cried out,"She-my wife is about to give birth."
"I'll do it!" "one of the waiters said, running back down the hall.
"Don't worry," Tai said, holding onto Miriya,"I'm not going to leave you."
Barker frowned as he adjusted his binoculars. He scanned the large building in front of him. On the outside, the building looked just like every other one in the city, a simple, three story, red brick building covered with windows, but, he knew otherwise. In a second, the outside of the building could be covered by an inpenitrable, indestructible metal shield. He sighed as he put down his binoculars. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie. "Barker to base, do you read, over?"
"Roger, Barker," a female voice said,"This is Azuna, report."
"I've got bad news. I do not see any entrance into the Digidestined Headquarters except for the front door. We're not going to be able to get inside, and get to Professor Takenouchi's lab."
Azuna sighed. "Great, what am I suppose to tell Daemon? We're not going to get paid for this job if we keep fowling it up!"
"We'll get inside," Barker said,"Don't worry!"
He suddenly heard a noise behind him. He quickly turned around. There was another young man standing on the roof, his arms crossed over his chest. "So," he said with a grin,"I understand that you want to get inside the Digidestined HQ, huh? Tell me, why?"
"What's it to you?" Barker asked.
The young man smiled. "I...know of a way inside."
Barker raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked.
"That's right," the young man said,"But first, tell me why you want to go inside?"
"My...employer wants a certain..book, in Dr. Takenouchi's lab," Barker said,"If you help us, you will be paid handsomely for it.
"If I can join you, I'll do it for free!"
"I like your attitude," Barker said,"If we pull this job off, you're one of us. What's your name?"
The young man smiled wickedly. "Its Malcolm."
Tai nervously sat in the chairs of the hospital waiting room. His elbows were propped up on the arm rests, and his head on his hands. "Hey, Tai."
He looked up and saw a familiar face standing in front of him. "Oh, hi, Kasumi," he said, with a slight smile,"I haven't seen you since I got back."
The young woman sighed as she sat down next to him. "Izzy and I have been working pretty hard lately on trying to figure out a way to send me back to my own time."
"Really?" Tai asked, a little sad,"Do you think he'll be able to do it?"
"I don't know," Kasumi said,"His daughter was the one that invented the time machine, and, even though this is a different time-line, I'm hoping that he can still invent one."
"Kasumi," Tai said,"T-tell me about your time, your world."
Kasumi sighed. "Well, it started when my father was killed. Myotismon then quickly gained control of Japan, with his sights set on the rest of the world. My-er, all of our parents were killed by Myotismon, and the next generation of Digidestined were all that was left. We were fighting against Myotismon well, then, he sent an assassin back in time to before we were born. I sent Davis's daughter, and T.K.'s son back to stop the assassin. Then, the rest of us went back to try and alter the future."
She took a deep breath and sighed. "We fought Myotismon on the day that he gained power, but, it was too late. We lost. The Next Generation of the Digidestined and myself went back to the future to plan our next move, but, somehow I ended up here."
Tai nodded, and turned back to watching the receptionist. "I heard what happened over the police band," Kasumi said,"Where's Miriya?"
Tai sighed again. "She was brought into the room a couple of hours ago."
"Why aren't you with her?"
"She told me not to with her," Tai said, looking at the ground,"One more person that hates my guts."
"Tai," Kasumi said,"What happened?"
"I...ask Sora about later," Tai said, looking at the ground.
The receptionist poked her head over her small window. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Kamiya?"
Tai raised his head. "Yes?"
The receptionist smiled. "Your wife has just delivered a healthy baby boy."
"W-what?" Tai asked, jumping up,"Is she okay?"
"Yes, she and the baby are both doing fine. They are in room right down the hall."
"Thanks," Tai said, standing up. He turned to Kasumi,"I'll uh, see you back at the Digidestined Headquarters, then."
Kasumi nodded, watching Tai run off. She smiled,"I'm glad you're happy, Dad," she thought.
Reiko sighed to herself as she stared at the computer screen, her Nyaromon resting on the ground. She moved clicked on the mouse, and moved the red queen over the black king, then clicked and dragged the black jack over the red queen. A second later all the cards danced across the screen up to the four piles at the top of the screen. A message box appeared, which read, "Congratulations, you have won your 25th game. Do you wish to play again?"
"Arg!" Reiko said, leaning back in the chair,"I hate being stuck on receptionist duty! All I do is just sit here, directing people to offices and transferring phone calls! I can't wait until I graduate and become an official Digidestined, then I can get to actually do something!"
Her Nyaromon looked up and yawned. "I kind of like this," she said,"I'm getting a lot of sleep."
Reiko just glared at her partner. She turned back to playing solitaire, when some one walked past the small window. "Hey," she said,"I thought you were expelled, what are you doing here, Malcolm?"
The American sneered at her,"I was just cleaning out my locker."
Reiko kept her eyes on him as he walked out the door. She shivered, "That guy gives me the creeps! Brr!"
She went back to playing solitaire, when the phone rang. She sighed as turned to the switchboard. Her eyes slightly bulged when she saw the name that appeared across the screen. It was the head of security!
She picked up the phone,"Front desk, how can I help you, Mr. Smith?"
Michael was very anxious on the other end of the phone. "Detain Malcolm Reese!"
"Uh oh," Reiko thought. Outloud she said,"What?"
"Do not let Malcolm Reese leave!" Michael shouted.
"Um," Reiko said, a little nervous,"H-he, uh, just left."
"Great!" Michael said, sighing,"See if you can see where he is outside."
"Um, sure," Reiko said, confused as she ran around the small cubicle and to the main doors. She threw them opened and glanced around outside. There were hundreds of people walking down the street, how could she find...wait, there he was! She squinted her eyes and saw Malcolm's trademark black, leather overcoat. He was walking towards the building across the street.
Reiko congratulated herself, and ran back inside.
Tai slowly opened the door and peeked his head in. He saw Miriya laying in the hospital bed, holding a bundle in her arms. "Um, M-miriya?" he asked, walking in.
His wife raised her head and looked at him. Tai was scared that she was going to throw him out, but, he was relived when he saw the big smile on her face. "Come on," she said,"There's someone here who wants to see you."
Tai walked slowly into the room, staring at the bundle in Miriya's arms. "Here is your son," Miriya said, rocking the child back and forth in her arms,"The Son of Courage."
Tai took another step, then slammed into the floor. Miriya leaned forward so that she could see over the edge of the bed. Tai quickly got back to his feet and continued walking towards his family. His expression was that of extreme joy. He took the child from Miriya's arms, with a giant smile on his face. "M-my son, its my son. My son...." He started crying, and,"Miriya, Miriya I'm so sorry! I...Sora....I'm sorry. I-I thought that she....Miriya, if I didn't love you, I never would have married you, I do love you, and I want this to work, please."
Miriya's eyes were watery as she nodded. "I want this to work too. When I saw our son, when I held him in my arms...I want us to work, Tai."
Tai handed his son back to Miriya, then hugged the both of them, his wife and son, his family, one that he would stay with forever.
Malcolm checked his watch for the hundredth time. "Where is he?" he asked pacing the floor,"When the Digidestined find out what I just did, they're going to come after me!"
His Gizamon hopped over to where he was sitting on one of the large boxes in the abandoned building. "Don't worry. We'll be out of here before they even know what we did."
Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Finally!" Malcolm said, jumping up,"Where were you, Barker? I thought we agreed on....oh crap!"
His eyes opened wide as Michael and Betamon came charging in, followed by Reiko, Salamon, Matsuyo, Kunemon, and M.C. and Penguimon. "Uh, his guys," he said, nervous,"How's it going?"
Michael's face was unemotional as he stared at Malcolm. "Where is it?"
"W-what?" Malcolm asked,"What are you talking about?"
"You took something from Professor Takenouchi's lab," Michael said, stepping forward,"However, the hidden security system of the building was activated. You fixed the main cameras so that they played in a loop, but you missed the hidden cameras."
"Alright, fine," Malcolm said, clutching his fist, "You want to fight, then, fight! Let's go!"
Reiko and the other two stepped forward, when Michael held out his hand and stopped them. "Do you hear that?"
Suddenly, the only windows that still had glass in them shattered. Michael and Betamon jumped on top of the trainee Digidestined and threw them to the ground. They were perfect shields. Michael took a shard of glass in his forehead, and Betamon took one in his leg. When the glass finished flying, Michael looked up and saw three familiar Digimon, surrounding them. "Skull Satanmon, Lady Devimon, Mummymon?" Michael asked, confused,"D-Daemon Corps?"
"Yes, and they added Mummymon recently," a voice said. The Digidestineds turned around and saw three humans, two girls and a young man standing on the catwalks above them. The young man crossed his arms and stared at them,"And, now that they're partnered with us, we have a better name for ourselves, much more appropriate. Now, we are known as, the Hunters!"
"Hunters?" Reiko asked,"What a stupid name."
The three humans jumped down and landed on the floor. "I know you," Michael said,"You're Barker!"
"I..I know you," Michael said,"You're Greg Barker! You work for Daemon!"
"That's right," he said,"Although Daemon did create us, we prefer a more mercenary type employment. While he pays a us a handsome salary, for an even higher amount, we will do a job for another employer, like when we acquired Yolei Inoe for Dragomon."
Barker walked around to where his Skull Satanmon was standing with his staff pointed at Michael's head. "But, for now, we've got another job to do."
"I know," Michael said,"The Machina Codex."
Barker raised his eyebrow. "I am surprised that you already know about that."
"We were put on alert when Mina called us from India and warned us that someone was going to take the book," M.C. said.
"Mina?" Barker asked, "Ah, the girl in the temple. If I had known that she was an ally of yours, I would have killed her on the spot, but, that is in the past."
Michael reached for his Digivice. "I do not think that that is such a good idea," the red-head girl next to the Lady Devimon said,"Do you think the three of your novice Champion Digimon will be able to handle our experience Ultimate Digimon?"
Michael looked at the floor. Sure, Megaseadramon could handle one of them, but three of them was out of the question, and with three trainees, he couldn't go all out. He had no choice. "Alright," Michael said,"If you leave, we won't follow."
"What are you saying, Mr. Smith?" M.C. whispered.
"No book is worth our lives," Michael said.
"Agreed," Barker said,"But I won't be so nice in the future. Ha ha ha!"
He, Malcolm and the rest of the Hunters quickly left.
"Owe!" Michael said,"That hurt."
"Sorry," Joe said, pulling another stitch tight,"But your cut was pretty deep."
Michael sighed and turned to Davis and Tai. "Again, I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," Davis said,"Someone else should have been here to back you up."
Tai sighed. "Besides which, you did the right thing. There was no way you could have fought them all, and still protected Reiko and the others."
"What I want to know is," Davis said, leaning against the wall," what does Daemon want the Codex for?"
"Well," Michael said, as Joe finished stitching him up,"Mina said that it was a book that the First Digidestined used to record the location of items that they hid."
"Maybe it shows the location of that 'Black Digivice' that he was talking about," Tai said,"Hmm, but, we don't have any idea where it is."
"Mina would know," Michael said,"She and her family have been protecting that book for a long time."
"Okay," Tai said,"Once we know the location of the Digivice, I'll go after it."
"You're not going alone!" Davis said, shocked.
"No," Tai said,"Miriya's coming with me."
"Miriya?" Davis asked,"But, she just gave birth! Besides, she's not a Digidestined!"
"Yes she is," Tai said,"She's one of the First Digidestined."
"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Michael asked,"Daemon's a manipulative, destructive Digimon!"
"I know he's telling the truth," Tai said, sighing,"Because of something Miriya's father told me."
He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Right after we got married, her father and I were talking about Miriya's past. That was when I found out that she was adopted. Her father told me that after he brought his wife to the train station to send her on vacation, he went to the electronics store. He was searching near the computers, when he saw a bright flash of light, and a young five-year-old girl was lying on the ground.
He called the police, but they couldn't identified her. He kept her and decided to raise her as his own daughter. Then, a few days after he found her, Miriya told him not to sad, that someone he loved had passed on to the next life. The next day he found out that his wife had died."
"Woa," Veemon said,"That was spooky."
"Plus," Tai said,"If Miriya really is a First Digidestined, then she might be able to help us search for the Black Digivice, even though she doesn't remember being a Digidestined."
"Even so," Davis protested,"Who's going to take care of your son while you're traveling through the Digital World?"
"I'm taking Kasumi with me," Tai said.
"She doesn't know about raising a child!" Joe protested.
"Listen," Tai said,"Its my fault that book was taken. If I hadn't of freed Daemon, then none of this would be happening now!"
Davis held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I understand that you want to redeem yourself, but, I want you to take Izzy with you, as well as two trainee Digidestined that are ready to become graduate Digidestineds."
He walked over to the phone of the wall and dialed a number. "Yeah, its Davis.....yup, come on up to Dr. Kido's office....sure.." He hung up and walked back over to Tai.
"Davis," Tai said,"I...I don't know."
"So," Joe said,"How is your son?"
"Oh," Tai said,"Well, both he and Miriya are very well, but, what are we going to do about Ken's daughter?"
"What about her?" Davis asked.
"Dragomon said that she was the Child of Darkness that we were warned about," Tai said,"We've got to think of something."
"Like what?" Davis asked,"Ken's my best friend, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt him!"
"Davis," Tai said,"You've got to listen to reason.."
"And what about Kari?" Davis asked,"Her son was born first! Maybe he's the Child of Darkness!"
"No," Tai said,"Kari's too full of Light to do something that would endanger the lives of millions of people!"
They continued arguing for a bit longer before the door opened up, and two people walked in. "Ahh," Davis said, putting on a fake smile, so that they wouldn't know that he and Tai were arguing, "these are the two that I was telling you about."
He walked behind the two. "This is Sam," he said, pointing to the boy," and this is Serena. They're twin Digidestineds."
Tai nodded. He could clearly see that, both had the same face, and the same black hair. What he was surprised at was their age. "Davis, they're only kids!"
"They're no older than T.K. and Kari when they started," Davis said,"They're very gifted, the youngest trainees that are ready to graduate."
Serena walked forward and bowed. "Please to meet you, Mr. Kamiya."
"Ah, nice to meet you too," he said, returning the bow.
Serena smiled at him, and hissed out the side of her mouth. "Sam, get over here and say hello!"
The boy walked up to him. He flashed a goofy smile and gave Tai and thumbs up. "Whaz up, dude?"
Tai was taken back a little. Serena turned and slapped her twin brother on the backside of the head. "You must show respect!" she said,"This is the great Tai Kamiya!"
Tai smiled a bit. "Reminds me of Kari and myself," he said with a grin. He held out his hand and shook Sam's hand. "Whaz up, dude?"
"When do we leave?" Serena asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Tai said,"Meet me in the computer lab."
to be continued....
The high priest knelt down and placed both his hands together. He started bowing, when the door to the small room was thrown open. A younger woman wearing the same type robes as the high priest ran in. "Honorable Elder.." the young woman started.
"What are you doing, girl?" the high priest snapped,"You know better than to run in here, this is a holy place."
"I beg your forgiveness," the young woman said, bowing, "but, we have a problem. Strangers have arrived in our monastery, and they are demanding an audience with you."
"So? Tell them to wait. You know how important my meditations are, Mina!"
"One is a Digidestined, the other two are Digimon!"
All color drained from the high priests face. "I see."
"Do you think they are here for the book?"
"I do not know," the high priest said, walking out of the room,"But, it will do them no good. Ah, I assume these are our guests?"
Mina nodded. In front of them in the small hallway was a large winged creature with metal robes and skin. At his side was a human being, and another Digimon. The one with the metal robes stepped forward. He bowed slightly. "Ahh, greetings, Holy One. I called Daemon, this is my associate, Barker."
"Why have you come?" the high priest asked.
"We have come for the Machina Codex," Daemon said,"If you give it to use now, there will be no trouble."
"What is this Macana Cedox?" he asked, mispronouncing it purposely.
Daemon sighed. "Do not play dumb with me. It was a book delivered here many years ago from the Digital World. When the First Digidestined return to Earth, they came here and took the book back to the Digital world with them. While there, they recorded the location of the items that they hide in the Digital World, then returned the book back here. Where is it?"
"I do not know..."
Daemon sighed. "Barker, if you will show him that we do not like lying."
"Right," Barker said, nodding to his Digimon. His Digimon walked over, grabbed Mina by the throat and slammed him into the wall.
"Tell us where the book is!" Daemon demanded.
"We do not have the Codex," the high priest responded,"It was taken to Japan by an archeologist five years ago."
"Who?" Daemon asked.
"He called himself Takenouchi."
Miriya rubbed her back as she walked into the cafeteria area of the Digidestined Headquarters. She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down into one of the chair, letting out a long sigh. "Are you okay?"
Miriya looked up and saw a young, blond haired woman leaning against the doorway. "Um, yeah," Miriya said, patting her stomach,"This little guy really runs me for a loop though."
The woman smiled, and patting her bloated stomach. "Believe me, I know." She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down across from Miriya. "So, how long until you are due?"
"Very soon," Miriya said,"Any day now."
"I'm due in a couple of weeks," the woman said.
Miriya nodded, then held out her hand. "I'm Miriya," she said.
The woman took her hand and shook it,"I'm Amanda."
"Amanda?" Miriya asked, her eyes opening wide,"Y-you mean, Amanda Miller? The daughter of Ambassador Miller?"
"That's right," the young woman said, nodding.
"Y-you're father is the one that's paying for all of this!" Miriya said,"I..I.."
Amanda smiled warmly. "Don't worry, you don't need to do anything special, or act a special way. And, you're Miriya?"
She nodded. "That's right."
"So," Amanda said, stirring her coffee,"How are you and Tai doing?"
Miriya sighed. "Well, to tell you the truth, we've been fighting a lot, but, I'm sure that we can work it out."
"Yeah," Amanda said,"When Davis and I started going out, we fought too, but, look at us now, fiancees."
"Have you seen Tai?" Miriya asked,"I've been so busy with Yolei and her child, that I haven't seen him since we came back from the Dark Ocean."
Amanda thought for a moment,"Yes, actually, I saw him. He left a little while ago, I think he said something about Morealle's."
"What's that?" Miriya asked.
"A very high pricey restaurant," Amanda said.
Miriya got up. "Well, I've got to go."
Amanda nodded. "I guess I'll see you again, huh?"
Miriya smiled. "Yeah, thanks."
Tai walked into the restaurant, unbuttoning his trench coat. He shifted the flowers in his hands and walked over to the matradie. "I'm meeting someone here, a Miss Sora Takenouchi."
The man twirled the edge of his mustache and looked over the list in front of him. "Ahh, yes," he said, walking around from his small stand,"Right this way."
Tai smiled, and nodded his head slightly. He followed the man into a dance room filled with tables on the side seated by mostly middle aged men and women. He suddenly felt very embarrassed as everyone started staring at him. He was twenty years old, in a restaurant filled with forty and fifty year oldes. He pulled his trench coat up to try and hide his tomato red face. It seemed like forever before the matradie stopped. "Here you are, misouer," he said, bowing.
Tai pulled down the collar of his jacket. "Sora," he said, a smile crossing his face,"I'm sorry I'm late."
She smiled that sweet, beautiful smile that caused Tai's heart to melt. He couldn't help but laugh as he sat down. "Oh Sora," he said, taking off his jacket,"You don't know how much I've missed that smile."
Sora laughed. "Tai, I..I've missed you."
Tai raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, You've...well..." she trailed off, turning her head away from him.
Tai coughed slightly and lifted up the flowers. "Ah, um, these are for you."
Sora's face bloomed into a giant smile. "Oh, Tai," she said,"They're beautiful!" She took them, thinking how weird it was that he was wearing a glove on only one hand.
"So," Sora said, flipping through the menu,"I hear the food here is really good."
"Yeah," Tai mumbled,"June said the same thing.""
"What?" Sora asked.
"Nothing," Tai said, glancing over the menu.
"Hey," Sora said,"There aren't any prices on this menu, everything's for free!"
"Mmm," Tai said, raising his left eyebrow and nodding.
Tai was reading over the menus when he heard a melody start to play. "Look," Sora said, pointing over his shoulder,"Everyone's dancing."
Tai turned around and saw that all the other customers were dancing on the ground. "Come on," Sora said, slowly getting up,"Let's dance."
"Sora," Tai said, concerend,"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you're pregnant!"
"So?!" Sora asked, almost shouting,"You're not going to treat me like Matt, saying that I'm helpless, are you?"
"No," Tai said,"No, of course not. Come on, let's dance."
He grabbed her wrist and lead her out to the dance floor. Both bowed slightly, then Tai wrapped his right arm around Sora's waist, and held onto her left hand. They started twirling around. Tai was overjoyed. He had wanted to do this with Sora ever since they entered the Digital world, but, he was always too afraid to tell her. Now, he was dancing with her, and, once again, he found that he couldn't speak. He was so happy with her, here, he felt like it could last forever.
Tonight your mine completely
you give your love so sweetly
tonight the light
of love is in your eyes
but will you love me tomorrow
He couldn't help but wonder why she was here, why she wasn't with Matt. If the two of them were calling it quits, then, he could finally be with her, but, he was still wondering.
Is this an ever lasting treasure
or just a moments pleasure
can I believe the magic of your sighs
will you still love me tomorrow
TONIGHT WITH WORDS UNSPOKEN
YOU SAY THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE
BUT WILL MY HEART BE BROKEN
WHEN THE NIGHT
MEETS THE MORNIN' SUN
Sora was wondering why Tai was looking at her with longing in his eyes. Maybe he really did like her, maybe even love her. But, she couldn't help wondering about Miriya.
I'd like to know that your love
is love I can be sure of
so tell me now
and I won't ask again
will you still love me tomorrow
Sora and Tai slowly stopped twirling on the dance floor. All the other couples started to clap, and Tai and Sora brought their heads closer together. They were about to kiss each other, when the clapping stopped, and they heard a gasp.
They turned their head to the right, and saw a young woman standing in the doorway. "M-Miriya!" Tai exclaimed,"I...uh...that is..I..."
Tears started to fall down her cheeks, and everyone there could see that she was heartbroken. "How could you, Tai?" she asked,"How could you? Don't I mean anything to you?" She held up her hand and pointed to a large ring on her third finger. "Doesn't this mean anything to you?"
Sora broke away from Tai's embrace. She stared at him with her mouth wide open. Tai tried to say something, but Sora grabbed his hand and pulled the glove off. On his third finger was a large ring, exactly the same as Miriya's ring. "Sora.." Tai started,"I.."
He was cut off when Sora slapped him across the cheek. "You lied to me you basted!" she screamed,"You told me that you and Miriya were going to break up, but YOU'RE MARRIED!" She spun around and started to leave.
Tai grabbed Sora's wrist. "Sora, wait.."
Sora turned back around and slapped him again. "I hate you!" she screamed, tears coming down her face,"I never want to see you again!"
Tai watched her leave, then turned around. Miriya was still standing in the doorway. "Miriya," Tai started, when she turned and ran off.
"Miriya, wait!" he cried, running out of the room,"No, please, don't you leave too!"
She wasn't in the hall, so he ran towards the exit. He found her collapsed on the floor, a few feet from the emergency exit. Tai felt extremely worried, surprising even himself. He ran over and knelt beside her. "Miriya, Miriya," he said, hugging her,"..I..I'm sorry, please.."
"Tai," she said, looking him in the face,"I...I think I'm going into labor."
"W-what?" he asked, gasping for breath,"W-what did you say?"
Miriya suddenly yelled out in pain, and grabbed her stomach. "Tai, help me, please."
Tai turned around and saw that a couple of the waiters were walking towards them. "Call an ambulance!" Tai cried out,"She-my wife is about to give birth."
"I'll do it!" "one of the waiters said, running back down the hall.
"Don't worry," Tai said, holding onto Miriya,"I'm not going to leave you."
Barker frowned as he adjusted his binoculars. He scanned the large building in front of him. On the outside, the building looked just like every other one in the city, a simple, three story, red brick building covered with windows, but, he knew otherwise. In a second, the outside of the building could be covered by an inpenitrable, indestructible metal shield. He sighed as he put down his binoculars. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie. "Barker to base, do you read, over?"
"Roger, Barker," a female voice said,"This is Azuna, report."
"I've got bad news. I do not see any entrance into the Digidestined Headquarters except for the front door. We're not going to be able to get inside, and get to Professor Takenouchi's lab."
Azuna sighed. "Great, what am I suppose to tell Daemon? We're not going to get paid for this job if we keep fowling it up!"
"We'll get inside," Barker said,"Don't worry!"
He suddenly heard a noise behind him. He quickly turned around. There was another young man standing on the roof, his arms crossed over his chest. "So," he said with a grin,"I understand that you want to get inside the Digidestined HQ, huh? Tell me, why?"
"What's it to you?" Barker asked.
The young man smiled. "I...know of a way inside."
Barker raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked.
"That's right," the young man said,"But first, tell me why you want to go inside?"
"My...employer wants a certain..book, in Dr. Takenouchi's lab," Barker said,"If you help us, you will be paid handsomely for it.
"If I can join you, I'll do it for free!"
"I like your attitude," Barker said,"If we pull this job off, you're one of us. What's your name?"
The young man smiled wickedly. "Its Malcolm."
Tai nervously sat in the chairs of the hospital waiting room. His elbows were propped up on the arm rests, and his head on his hands. "Hey, Tai."
He looked up and saw a familiar face standing in front of him. "Oh, hi, Kasumi," he said, with a slight smile,"I haven't seen you since I got back."
The young woman sighed as she sat down next to him. "Izzy and I have been working pretty hard lately on trying to figure out a way to send me back to my own time."
"Really?" Tai asked, a little sad,"Do you think he'll be able to do it?"
"I don't know," Kasumi said,"His daughter was the one that invented the time machine, and, even though this is a different time-line, I'm hoping that he can still invent one."
"Kasumi," Tai said,"T-tell me about your time, your world."
Kasumi sighed. "Well, it started when my father was killed. Myotismon then quickly gained control of Japan, with his sights set on the rest of the world. My-er, all of our parents were killed by Myotismon, and the next generation of Digidestined were all that was left. We were fighting against Myotismon well, then, he sent an assassin back in time to before we were born. I sent Davis's daughter, and T.K.'s son back to stop the assassin. Then, the rest of us went back to try and alter the future."
She took a deep breath and sighed. "We fought Myotismon on the day that he gained power, but, it was too late. We lost. The Next Generation of the Digidestined and myself went back to the future to plan our next move, but, somehow I ended up here."
Tai nodded, and turned back to watching the receptionist. "I heard what happened over the police band," Kasumi said,"Where's Miriya?"
Tai sighed again. "She was brought into the room a couple of hours ago."
"Why aren't you with her?"
"She told me not to with her," Tai said, looking at the ground,"One more person that hates my guts."
"Tai," Kasumi said,"What happened?"
"I...ask Sora about later," Tai said, looking at the ground.
The receptionist poked her head over her small window. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Kamiya?"
Tai raised his head. "Yes?"
The receptionist smiled. "Your wife has just delivered a healthy baby boy."
"W-what?" Tai asked, jumping up,"Is she okay?"
"Yes, she and the baby are both doing fine. They are in room right down the hall."
"Thanks," Tai said, standing up. He turned to Kasumi,"I'll uh, see you back at the Digidestined Headquarters, then."
Kasumi nodded, watching Tai run off. She smiled,"I'm glad you're happy, Dad," she thought.
Reiko sighed to herself as she stared at the computer screen, her Nyaromon resting on the ground. She moved clicked on the mouse, and moved the red queen over the black king, then clicked and dragged the black jack over the red queen. A second later all the cards danced across the screen up to the four piles at the top of the screen. A message box appeared, which read, "Congratulations, you have won your 25th game. Do you wish to play again?"
"Arg!" Reiko said, leaning back in the chair,"I hate being stuck on receptionist duty! All I do is just sit here, directing people to offices and transferring phone calls! I can't wait until I graduate and become an official Digidestined, then I can get to actually do something!"
Her Nyaromon looked up and yawned. "I kind of like this," she said,"I'm getting a lot of sleep."
Reiko just glared at her partner. She turned back to playing solitaire, when some one walked past the small window. "Hey," she said,"I thought you were expelled, what are you doing here, Malcolm?"
The American sneered at her,"I was just cleaning out my locker."
Reiko kept her eyes on him as he walked out the door. She shivered, "That guy gives me the creeps! Brr!"
She went back to playing solitaire, when the phone rang. She sighed as turned to the switchboard. Her eyes slightly bulged when she saw the name that appeared across the screen. It was the head of security!
She picked up the phone,"Front desk, how can I help you, Mr. Smith?"
Michael was very anxious on the other end of the phone. "Detain Malcolm Reese!"
"Uh oh," Reiko thought. Outloud she said,"What?"
"Do not let Malcolm Reese leave!" Michael shouted.
"Um," Reiko said, a little nervous,"H-he, uh, just left."
"Great!" Michael said, sighing,"See if you can see where he is outside."
"Um, sure," Reiko said, confused as she ran around the small cubicle and to the main doors. She threw them opened and glanced around outside. There were hundreds of people walking down the street, how could she find...wait, there he was! She squinted her eyes and saw Malcolm's trademark black, leather overcoat. He was walking towards the building across the street.
Reiko congratulated herself, and ran back inside.
Tai slowly opened the door and peeked his head in. He saw Miriya laying in the hospital bed, holding a bundle in her arms. "Um, M-miriya?" he asked, walking in.
His wife raised her head and looked at him. Tai was scared that she was going to throw him out, but, he was relived when he saw the big smile on her face. "Come on," she said,"There's someone here who wants to see you."
Tai walked slowly into the room, staring at the bundle in Miriya's arms. "Here is your son," Miriya said, rocking the child back and forth in her arms,"The Son of Courage."
Tai took another step, then slammed into the floor. Miriya leaned forward so that she could see over the edge of the bed. Tai quickly got back to his feet and continued walking towards his family. His expression was that of extreme joy. He took the child from Miriya's arms, with a giant smile on his face. "M-my son, its my son. My son...." He started crying, and,"Miriya, Miriya I'm so sorry! I...Sora....I'm sorry. I-I thought that she....Miriya, if I didn't love you, I never would have married you, I do love you, and I want this to work, please."
Miriya's eyes were watery as she nodded. "I want this to work too. When I saw our son, when I held him in my arms...I want us to work, Tai."
Tai handed his son back to Miriya, then hugged the both of them, his wife and son, his family, one that he would stay with forever.
Malcolm checked his watch for the hundredth time. "Where is he?" he asked pacing the floor,"When the Digidestined find out what I just did, they're going to come after me!"
His Gizamon hopped over to where he was sitting on one of the large boxes in the abandoned building. "Don't worry. We'll be out of here before they even know what we did."
Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Finally!" Malcolm said, jumping up,"Where were you, Barker? I thought we agreed on....oh crap!"
His eyes opened wide as Michael and Betamon came charging in, followed by Reiko, Salamon, Matsuyo, Kunemon, and M.C. and Penguimon. "Uh, his guys," he said, nervous,"How's it going?"
Michael's face was unemotional as he stared at Malcolm. "Where is it?"
"W-what?" Malcolm asked,"What are you talking about?"
"You took something from Professor Takenouchi's lab," Michael said, stepping forward,"However, the hidden security system of the building was activated. You fixed the main cameras so that they played in a loop, but you missed the hidden cameras."
"Alright, fine," Malcolm said, clutching his fist, "You want to fight, then, fight! Let's go!"
Reiko and the other two stepped forward, when Michael held out his hand and stopped them. "Do you hear that?"
Suddenly, the only windows that still had glass in them shattered. Michael and Betamon jumped on top of the trainee Digidestined and threw them to the ground. They were perfect shields. Michael took a shard of glass in his forehead, and Betamon took one in his leg. When the glass finished flying, Michael looked up and saw three familiar Digimon, surrounding them. "Skull Satanmon, Lady Devimon, Mummymon?" Michael asked, confused,"D-Daemon Corps?"
"Yes, and they added Mummymon recently," a voice said. The Digidestineds turned around and saw three humans, two girls and a young man standing on the catwalks above them. The young man crossed his arms and stared at them,"And, now that they're partnered with us, we have a better name for ourselves, much more appropriate. Now, we are known as, the Hunters!"
"Hunters?" Reiko asked,"What a stupid name."
The three humans jumped down and landed on the floor. "I know you," Michael said,"You're Barker!"
"I..I know you," Michael said,"You're Greg Barker! You work for Daemon!"
"That's right," he said,"Although Daemon did create us, we prefer a more mercenary type employment. While he pays a us a handsome salary, for an even higher amount, we will do a job for another employer, like when we acquired Yolei Inoe for Dragomon."
Barker walked around to where his Skull Satanmon was standing with his staff pointed at Michael's head. "But, for now, we've got another job to do."
"I know," Michael said,"The Machina Codex."
Barker raised his eyebrow. "I am surprised that you already know about that."
"We were put on alert when Mina called us from India and warned us that someone was going to take the book," M.C. said.
"Mina?" Barker asked, "Ah, the girl in the temple. If I had known that she was an ally of yours, I would have killed her on the spot, but, that is in the past."
Michael reached for his Digivice. "I do not think that that is such a good idea," the red-head girl next to the Lady Devimon said,"Do you think the three of your novice Champion Digimon will be able to handle our experience Ultimate Digimon?"
Michael looked at the floor. Sure, Megaseadramon could handle one of them, but three of them was out of the question, and with three trainees, he couldn't go all out. He had no choice. "Alright," Michael said,"If you leave, we won't follow."
"What are you saying, Mr. Smith?" M.C. whispered.
"No book is worth our lives," Michael said.
"Agreed," Barker said,"But I won't be so nice in the future. Ha ha ha!"
He, Malcolm and the rest of the Hunters quickly left.
"Owe!" Michael said,"That hurt."
"Sorry," Joe said, pulling another stitch tight,"But your cut was pretty deep."
Michael sighed and turned to Davis and Tai. "Again, I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," Davis said,"Someone else should have been here to back you up."
Tai sighed. "Besides which, you did the right thing. There was no way you could have fought them all, and still protected Reiko and the others."
"What I want to know is," Davis said, leaning against the wall," what does Daemon want the Codex for?"
"Well," Michael said, as Joe finished stitching him up,"Mina said that it was a book that the First Digidestined used to record the location of items that they hid."
"Maybe it shows the location of that 'Black Digivice' that he was talking about," Tai said,"Hmm, but, we don't have any idea where it is."
"Mina would know," Michael said,"She and her family have been protecting that book for a long time."
"Okay," Tai said,"Once we know the location of the Digivice, I'll go after it."
"You're not going alone!" Davis said, shocked.
"No," Tai said,"Miriya's coming with me."
"Miriya?" Davis asked,"But, she just gave birth! Besides, she's not a Digidestined!"
"Yes she is," Tai said,"She's one of the First Digidestined."
"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Michael asked,"Daemon's a manipulative, destructive Digimon!"
"I know he's telling the truth," Tai said, sighing,"Because of something Miriya's father told me."
He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Right after we got married, her father and I were talking about Miriya's past. That was when I found out that she was adopted. Her father told me that after he brought his wife to the train station to send her on vacation, he went to the electronics store. He was searching near the computers, when he saw a bright flash of light, and a young five-year-old girl was lying on the ground.
He called the police, but they couldn't identified her. He kept her and decided to raise her as his own daughter. Then, a few days after he found her, Miriya told him not to sad, that someone he loved had passed on to the next life. The next day he found out that his wife had died."
"Woa," Veemon said,"That was spooky."
"Plus," Tai said,"If Miriya really is a First Digidestined, then she might be able to help us search for the Black Digivice, even though she doesn't remember being a Digidestined."
"Even so," Davis protested,"Who's going to take care of your son while you're traveling through the Digital World?"
"I'm taking Kasumi with me," Tai said.
"She doesn't know about raising a child!" Joe protested.
"Listen," Tai said,"Its my fault that book was taken. If I hadn't of freed Daemon, then none of this would be happening now!"
Davis held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I understand that you want to redeem yourself, but, I want you to take Izzy with you, as well as two trainee Digidestined that are ready to become graduate Digidestineds."
He walked over to the phone of the wall and dialed a number. "Yeah, its Davis.....yup, come on up to Dr. Kido's office....sure.." He hung up and walked back over to Tai.
"Davis," Tai said,"I...I don't know."
"So," Joe said,"How is your son?"
"Oh," Tai said,"Well, both he and Miriya are very well, but, what are we going to do about Ken's daughter?"
"What about her?" Davis asked.
"Dragomon said that she was the Child of Darkness that we were warned about," Tai said,"We've got to think of something."
"Like what?" Davis asked,"Ken's my best friend, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt him!"
"Davis," Tai said,"You've got to listen to reason.."
"And what about Kari?" Davis asked,"Her son was born first! Maybe he's the Child of Darkness!"
"No," Tai said,"Kari's too full of Light to do something that would endanger the lives of millions of people!"
They continued arguing for a bit longer before the door opened up, and two people walked in. "Ahh," Davis said, putting on a fake smile, so that they wouldn't know that he and Tai were arguing, "these are the two that I was telling you about."
He walked behind the two. "This is Sam," he said, pointing to the boy," and this is Serena. They're twin Digidestineds."
Tai nodded. He could clearly see that, both had the same face, and the same black hair. What he was surprised at was their age. "Davis, they're only kids!"
"They're no older than T.K. and Kari when they started," Davis said,"They're very gifted, the youngest trainees that are ready to graduate."
Serena walked forward and bowed. "Please to meet you, Mr. Kamiya."
"Ah, nice to meet you too," he said, returning the bow.
Serena smiled at him, and hissed out the side of her mouth. "Sam, get over here and say hello!"
The boy walked up to him. He flashed a goofy smile and gave Tai and thumbs up. "Whaz up, dude?"
Tai was taken back a little. Serena turned and slapped her twin brother on the backside of the head. "You must show respect!" she said,"This is the great Tai Kamiya!"
Tai smiled a bit. "Reminds me of Kari and myself," he said with a grin. He held out his hand and shook Sam's hand. "Whaz up, dude?"
"When do we leave?" Serena asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Tai said,"Meet me in the computer lab."
to be continued....