Chapter 2:
The nightmare
"H eather?" I moaned, ignoring the voice as I continued to sleep. "Uh, Heather?" I rolled over, wishing the voice would whisper instead of yell. "Heather, come on, wake up!" This time, shaking accompanied the yelling, emitting a from me a groan and a feeble, "Mom, what it is?" Surprisingly, the voice paused before speaking again, and with me somewhat more awake, I suddenly realized that it didn't sound at all like Mom. "Okay, first of all, I am not your mom, and second of all, you really should-" "Lacey?" I interrupted, rubbing at my eyes. "Well, I think so." "What are you talking about?" I asked irritatingly. "And what are you doing in my room?" "Uh, Heather?" "What!?" "Maybe you should open your eyes and seriously reconsider your question." Confused, I yawned as my eyes fluttered open. The first thing I see, to my ultimate surprise, was not my popcorn plastered ceiling but instead a bright, clear blue sky. Big, fluffy white clouds hang low in the air, almost looking like they had been painted that way. Literally!? Suddenly, my eyes snap open and I sit up immediately. The first thing I notice is not the soft, cotton sheets I remembered falling asleep on but the dewy, velvety carpet of grass beneath me. Looking around, I was stunned to see . scenery! Trees, more grass, a couple buildings. And it was all .. well, for lack of a better word, cartoony! It was all drawn, colored in, like on a TV show or something. The only thing I could think of was, Is this a funky dream or what? "Lacey, what the heck is going on? Everything's .. animated!" Again, I heard the uncomfortable pause. "Well, yeah, but that's not the only thing," she said cautiously. Without warning, a shiver creeped up my spine as I unexpectedly realized I knew exactly what she meant by that. But, despite my suspicions, I gulped and warily asked, "What do you mean by that?" "Take a look." Slowly turning to face her, I gasped, completely surprised (even though I had already predicted it). Lacey wasn't there. At least, not the Lacey I knew. The one that sat beside me was an animated teenager with a totally freaked expression in her stormy, blue-green eyes. Bright reddish-orange colored hair was tied back into a ponytail, the ends hanging extremely long, just a little above her knees (save several strands clumped together on either side of her face). Her thin-drawn figure was definitely shown off by her short, crème-colored shirt with long, loose sleeves flaunted by her long, dark red vest dusting a bit past her waist. A pair of light blue jean shorts and a brown, leather belt ended the look, leaving her long, thin legs to continue until her short, white socks and red and white sneakers. Um, I didn't exactly happen to mention that Lacey had her own character, did I? Yeah, well, the person I was staring at now was her. Kyra. And of course, I could only guess what I looked like. "Okay, so now that we've gotten that over with, can you guess what I'm gonna say next?" she said. I winced, biting my lip. "Unfortunately." I watched Lacey's nervous expression as I slowly lifted my hand to the top of my head. The first thing I felt was soft, smooth hair (whether it was really my own blonde hair, I still wasn't sure). Moving my hand around, my fingers came into contact with something that wasn't hair. Instead, it felt silky and fuzzy ... just like the things I was afraid I was going to find- a pair of cat-like ears. "No way! I'm Prance!?!" I scream, leaping to my feet. Right behind me, Lacey (or Kyra.. Ugh, too weird for me!) stood up as well, already showing signs of having a nervous breakdown. Yeah, and like I'm not? I chastise myself. "Alright, now, I know this is weird, but let's just calm down." Lacey began, looking rather stressed out for someone who's telling me to calm down. "Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Are you nuts!? We're cartoons, for Pete's sake!" I screamed. "How the heck do you expect me to calm down!?" "Good point," she replied meekly. Allowing my head to collapse into my hands, I took a deep breath, trying (or better yet, desperately attempting) to chill out. "Okay, okay, you're right. We just have to calm down. I mean, this is a joke, right? No! A dream! This is all just a funky dream I must be having cause of all that stress today." I convinced myself. Lacey was about to comment when suddenly annoyed look crossed her face. "Stress? You mean the whole thing with Jason and Adam? You're still stuck on that? How many times do I have to tell you, forget about it!" Oh, boy, here she goes again.. Now would be a nice time to wake up. I thought. Aloud, I rolled my eyes and said, "Hello? I think we have something a little more important than my personal life!" Lacey (Kyra) just snorted, a cross expression on her face as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, whatever. I'll come back to that later! But anyway," she added in a lighter tone, "even if this is a dream, we must be having the same dream cause I know I'm no figment of anyone's imagination. And I'm not the one with elaborate dream scenes." To this I raised an eyebrow, feeling the anger rise within me. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" To my surprise, Lacey.er, rather Kyra, actually took a step back and a large sweatdrop rolled down her forehead (Anime terminology- "sweatdrop": large white drop of sweat that appears on one's head when intimidated, embarrassed, or annoyed). "Oh, uh, nothing!" she stammered. Sighing, I leaned back and fell back to the ground, propping my elbow on my knee and leaning my chin against my hand. "I guess the only thing to do now is wait until I wake up." With an unconvinced expression planted on her face, Lacey plopped down on the ground next to me. Leaning back on her hands, she tilted her head back and stared at the sky. "So," she began randomly, "exactly how long do you think it'll take until you wake up?" "I dunno." I replied, shrugging. "Normally, they don't last nearly this long, so I really couldn't tell." Expecting her to reply, I felt suddenly wary when she fell silent (for once!). Glancing at her, I noticed a strange appearance on her face as her head all of a sudden popped up and began looking around, as if trying to look for something. "Uh, Lacey?" I asked, somewhat nervous. "What are you looking for?" At first, she didn't answer, which did nothing to ease my already calmed nerves. Finally, still looking around, she said carefully, "Hey Heather?" "Yeah?" "Call me crazy, but .. Does this place look kinda familiar?" I blinked, contemplating her words. "You're kidding, right? This is a cartoon! How can it look familiar?" "No, I'm serious! Go ahead, just look around yourself." Still unsure about all this, I looked around just to please Lacey. The two of us sat on a wide, grassy field, kind of set in what looked like the center of town. Trees bordered the field, as well as what looked like painted, white lines. Tall, green hedges framed the perimeter of the land. A large building sat the far edge, probably about three or four stories tall, with at least a dozen windows sitting on each story. Wide, stone steps led up to a pair of red, double doors. Playground equipment sat in front of the doors, including swings, slides, and a dome jungle gym. "It kind of looks like a school." I mentioned, still not understanding what Lacey was getting at. "Does it look like any particular school?" she pressed. "No, not ..." Suddenly, I saw it. The field sectioned off by the painted white lines- in other words, the soccer field. A soccer field I had seen before. A soccer field I had seen on TV. "You're kidding!" I gasped. "You're making that a popular phrase, aren't you?" Lacey replied dryly. I could totally picture myself now- jaw dropped (literally!) and eyes bulging. "We're in ... Digimon!?!" "Season two, to be precise." Lacey added as a-matter-of-factly. I could totally feel a the sweatdrop of my own roll down my head as I gave Lacey a look saying, 'You're totally enjoying this, aren't you?' "Sooooo," Lacey said, "do you dream about Digimon on a regular basis?" "Why the heck are you taking this so calmly!?" I exclaimed, stepping forward and shaking her back and forth by her shoulders. "This is .this is crazy!!" Suddenly, I found myself freezing in fear as a stunned look crossed her face. "W-what is it?" She didn't answer. Slowly, I stared as her hand moved, trembling violently. Reaching inside her vest, she pulled out a small object that she had apparently discovered was there while I was shaking her. My eyes widened, looking frantically back and forth between Lacey and the object. "Lacey, is . is that what I . think it-" "Yup," she replied weakly, nodding. With wide eyes, we both looked down at the object. It appeared to be something like a pager, but for two people who have watched Digimon as long as we have, we knew very well that it wasn't. A small, square screen was bordered by pink, plastic-like material, and three circular buttons sat underneath. Immediately, I looked up at her with a half shocked, half suspicious appearance. "Lacey, what are you doing with a digivice?" "Hey, don't look at me! I have absolutely no idea!" she insisted, clenching the gadget in her hand. Feeling my head begin to spin, I placed my hand on my forehead and sighed. "Man, what the heck is going on? First, I wake up as Prance with Kyra sitting right next to me. Then, I figure out we're sitting in the middle of one of my favorite TV cartoons! And now," I added climactically, turning to Lacey, "you end up with a digivice! What in the world is up with that!?" "Trust me, if I knew, I'd tell you." Lacey replied, staring down at the object. Not knowing what to make of all this, I merely dropped my arms to my sides and looked around, feeling slightly refreshed as the wind whipped by me. But then, I noticed the long, red hair billowing out in front of my face, my hair, and I just became miserable all over again. "I seriously hope this all is a dream." I spoke up, tucking "my" hair behind my ear (which I had to do a couple of times because of the fact that I forgot my ears were at the top of my head, and not at the side). "Uh, yeah, what you said." Lacey replied, not exactly with the conviction I had expected. Quirking an eyebrow at her, I was surprised to find her staring up at the school building. "Lacey?" I questioned, wondering what was going on through her mind (something I try not to think about considering the "freakiness" of what I might find). Looking down at the digivice in her hand, I noticed she clenched it tightly. A sudden thought crossed my mind, as I instantly looked up at her again, afraid I knew exactly what she was thinking. (See? I told you it was freaky!) "Lacey, no!" I spurted. Lacey looked at me, eyes wide and sparkling (and huge!). "What?" she asked innocently. I just stared at her, wondering if she really thought she could fool me. "I know exactly what you want to do and there's no way we're-" "Aw, come on, Heather!" Lacey pleaded, falling to her knees and clasping her hands together. "Don't you remember? We always said how cool it'd be to actually go to the Digital World!" "Yeah, back in the day when I didn't question my sanity!" I spat. "Pleeeeeaase????" she begged. "I'll be your best friend!" I rolled my eyes drolly. I wasn't even going to bother commenting on that one! She pretty much figured this out. "Um, okay, maybe not. But I still really, really, really, really, really wanna go!!!" "Lacey!" I moaned, feeling another sweatdrop threatening to appear. "Please, Heather?" she whined. I heaved a great sigh, thinking I was insane enough as it was. Not like it could get much worse, could it? "If I say yes, will you promise never to give me that look again? It's bad enough to see it normally, but when you're anime, you bring new meaning to 'puppy-dog' eyes." Squealing in delight, Lacey jumped up and hugged me. (at least she thinks it was a hug- me, I felt like we were in a sumo wrestling match!) "Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank-" "Yeah, yeah, whatever," I managed, lungs practically crushed, "just let go, alright?" Obliging instantly (but emitting a couple more 'thank you's'), she quickly turned to the school building and began jogging towards the double doors. Seriously hoping (not for the last time) that this was all a dream, I walked slowly after her. Like a kid sneaking into a movie theater, Lacey stuck her head inside the building and looked around, checking to see if the coast was clear. After a few moments, she raised her hand and beckoned me to come, slipping in herself. Closing the door softly, I turned around and looked up and down the hallways, becoming more and more skeptical about this plan as we went on. "So what do we do now, oh smart one?" I asked, glancing at Lacey. With a strange, quirky, little smile on her face, she pointed down one of the hallways. "That way!" she announced, taking off at once. Stunned into silence, I was only able to stand there and watch while Lacey walked cheerfully down the corridor, like she really belonged here or something. Regaining my senses, I shook my head and jogged after her, eyes never ceasing to stare at her in amazement. "And how, may I ask, do you know this is the right way?" I imagined she was too excited to really give my question thought, because she merely shrugged and replied complacently, "I dunno. I just do!" Completely bewildered, I just closed my gaping jaw and walked forward, turning left and right like Lacey's shadow. After a few more turns and two more flights of stairs, Lacey finally curved sharply left into a brightly lit room with rows of computers sitting on tables. Refusing to look flabbergasted once again, I simply turned to face her with a suspicious look in my eyes. "How did you know how to get here?" "Like I said, I just do," she said simply as she sat at one of the chairs and began typing away madly. "Don't ask me why I know how to get here, or why I know how to open this portal, but for some reason, I just do." I narrowed my eyes. "You sound like an Apple Jacks commercial." "Yeah? Well you sound like Pat Sayjack with all these questions. Just chill out, already! Everything's under control." I rolled my eyes. "Ever notice how when cartoons say that, something bad always happens?" Lacey just laughed and looked at me, a fierce sparkle twinkling in her eyes. "Yeah, but technically, we aren't the same as those cartoons, now, are we?" Refusing to answer, I just crossed my arms and stared at the computer screen, not really paying attention to the images at all. "See?" Lacey answered, turning back to her typing. "We're smarter than that. We won't get into trouble." That's gotta be the biggest contradiction of the century! I thought, rolling my eyes. Luckily, I didn't even have time to comment, cause finally, Lacey clicked the mouse and stood up. "There! All ready!" she exclaimed proudly. "'Bout time," I muttered. "Let's just get this over with." "Aw, come on. You can't honestly tell me you're not the least bit excited about this." Actually, she was right. Inside, I was really thrilled about it. But I wasn't ready to let her know. "Are we going or not?" I demanded, tapping my foot. "Alright, alright. But you might want to hang on." She added mysteriously, holding her digivice out to the screen. I looked at her strangely, wondering. "What do you-" "Digiport open!" she exclaimed as the lights around the computer screen began to blink rapidly. Amazingly, the background music that had become so familiar to us during the TV show began to grow from somewhere behind us, louder and louder. Next thing I knew, we were both sucked into the computer.
"H eather?" I moaned, ignoring the voice as I continued to sleep. "Uh, Heather?" I rolled over, wishing the voice would whisper instead of yell. "Heather, come on, wake up!" This time, shaking accompanied the yelling, emitting a from me a groan and a feeble, "Mom, what it is?" Surprisingly, the voice paused before speaking again, and with me somewhat more awake, I suddenly realized that it didn't sound at all like Mom. "Okay, first of all, I am not your mom, and second of all, you really should-" "Lacey?" I interrupted, rubbing at my eyes. "Well, I think so." "What are you talking about?" I asked irritatingly. "And what are you doing in my room?" "Uh, Heather?" "What!?" "Maybe you should open your eyes and seriously reconsider your question." Confused, I yawned as my eyes fluttered open. The first thing I see, to my ultimate surprise, was not my popcorn plastered ceiling but instead a bright, clear blue sky. Big, fluffy white clouds hang low in the air, almost looking like they had been painted that way. Literally!? Suddenly, my eyes snap open and I sit up immediately. The first thing I notice is not the soft, cotton sheets I remembered falling asleep on but the dewy, velvety carpet of grass beneath me. Looking around, I was stunned to see . scenery! Trees, more grass, a couple buildings. And it was all .. well, for lack of a better word, cartoony! It was all drawn, colored in, like on a TV show or something. The only thing I could think of was, Is this a funky dream or what? "Lacey, what the heck is going on? Everything's .. animated!" Again, I heard the uncomfortable pause. "Well, yeah, but that's not the only thing," she said cautiously. Without warning, a shiver creeped up my spine as I unexpectedly realized I knew exactly what she meant by that. But, despite my suspicions, I gulped and warily asked, "What do you mean by that?" "Take a look." Slowly turning to face her, I gasped, completely surprised (even though I had already predicted it). Lacey wasn't there. At least, not the Lacey I knew. The one that sat beside me was an animated teenager with a totally freaked expression in her stormy, blue-green eyes. Bright reddish-orange colored hair was tied back into a ponytail, the ends hanging extremely long, just a little above her knees (save several strands clumped together on either side of her face). Her thin-drawn figure was definitely shown off by her short, crème-colored shirt with long, loose sleeves flaunted by her long, dark red vest dusting a bit past her waist. A pair of light blue jean shorts and a brown, leather belt ended the look, leaving her long, thin legs to continue until her short, white socks and red and white sneakers. Um, I didn't exactly happen to mention that Lacey had her own character, did I? Yeah, well, the person I was staring at now was her. Kyra. And of course, I could only guess what I looked like. "Okay, so now that we've gotten that over with, can you guess what I'm gonna say next?" she said. I winced, biting my lip. "Unfortunately." I watched Lacey's nervous expression as I slowly lifted my hand to the top of my head. The first thing I felt was soft, smooth hair (whether it was really my own blonde hair, I still wasn't sure). Moving my hand around, my fingers came into contact with something that wasn't hair. Instead, it felt silky and fuzzy ... just like the things I was afraid I was going to find- a pair of cat-like ears. "No way! I'm Prance!?!" I scream, leaping to my feet. Right behind me, Lacey (or Kyra.. Ugh, too weird for me!) stood up as well, already showing signs of having a nervous breakdown. Yeah, and like I'm not? I chastise myself. "Alright, now, I know this is weird, but let's just calm down." Lacey began, looking rather stressed out for someone who's telling me to calm down. "Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Are you nuts!? We're cartoons, for Pete's sake!" I screamed. "How the heck do you expect me to calm down!?" "Good point," she replied meekly. Allowing my head to collapse into my hands, I took a deep breath, trying (or better yet, desperately attempting) to chill out. "Okay, okay, you're right. We just have to calm down. I mean, this is a joke, right? No! A dream! This is all just a funky dream I must be having cause of all that stress today." I convinced myself. Lacey was about to comment when suddenly annoyed look crossed her face. "Stress? You mean the whole thing with Jason and Adam? You're still stuck on that? How many times do I have to tell you, forget about it!" Oh, boy, here she goes again.. Now would be a nice time to wake up. I thought. Aloud, I rolled my eyes and said, "Hello? I think we have something a little more important than my personal life!" Lacey (Kyra) just snorted, a cross expression on her face as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, whatever. I'll come back to that later! But anyway," she added in a lighter tone, "even if this is a dream, we must be having the same dream cause I know I'm no figment of anyone's imagination. And I'm not the one with elaborate dream scenes." To this I raised an eyebrow, feeling the anger rise within me. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" To my surprise, Lacey.er, rather Kyra, actually took a step back and a large sweatdrop rolled down her forehead (Anime terminology- "sweatdrop": large white drop of sweat that appears on one's head when intimidated, embarrassed, or annoyed). "Oh, uh, nothing!" she stammered. Sighing, I leaned back and fell back to the ground, propping my elbow on my knee and leaning my chin against my hand. "I guess the only thing to do now is wait until I wake up." With an unconvinced expression planted on her face, Lacey plopped down on the ground next to me. Leaning back on her hands, she tilted her head back and stared at the sky. "So," she began randomly, "exactly how long do you think it'll take until you wake up?" "I dunno." I replied, shrugging. "Normally, they don't last nearly this long, so I really couldn't tell." Expecting her to reply, I felt suddenly wary when she fell silent (for once!). Glancing at her, I noticed a strange appearance on her face as her head all of a sudden popped up and began looking around, as if trying to look for something. "Uh, Lacey?" I asked, somewhat nervous. "What are you looking for?" At first, she didn't answer, which did nothing to ease my already calmed nerves. Finally, still looking around, she said carefully, "Hey Heather?" "Yeah?" "Call me crazy, but .. Does this place look kinda familiar?" I blinked, contemplating her words. "You're kidding, right? This is a cartoon! How can it look familiar?" "No, I'm serious! Go ahead, just look around yourself." Still unsure about all this, I looked around just to please Lacey. The two of us sat on a wide, grassy field, kind of set in what looked like the center of town. Trees bordered the field, as well as what looked like painted, white lines. Tall, green hedges framed the perimeter of the land. A large building sat the far edge, probably about three or four stories tall, with at least a dozen windows sitting on each story. Wide, stone steps led up to a pair of red, double doors. Playground equipment sat in front of the doors, including swings, slides, and a dome jungle gym. "It kind of looks like a school." I mentioned, still not understanding what Lacey was getting at. "Does it look like any particular school?" she pressed. "No, not ..." Suddenly, I saw it. The field sectioned off by the painted white lines- in other words, the soccer field. A soccer field I had seen before. A soccer field I had seen on TV. "You're kidding!" I gasped. "You're making that a popular phrase, aren't you?" Lacey replied dryly. I could totally picture myself now- jaw dropped (literally!) and eyes bulging. "We're in ... Digimon!?!" "Season two, to be precise." Lacey added as a-matter-of-factly. I could totally feel a the sweatdrop of my own roll down my head as I gave Lacey a look saying, 'You're totally enjoying this, aren't you?' "Sooooo," Lacey said, "do you dream about Digimon on a regular basis?" "Why the heck are you taking this so calmly!?" I exclaimed, stepping forward and shaking her back and forth by her shoulders. "This is .this is crazy!!" Suddenly, I found myself freezing in fear as a stunned look crossed her face. "W-what is it?" She didn't answer. Slowly, I stared as her hand moved, trembling violently. Reaching inside her vest, she pulled out a small object that she had apparently discovered was there while I was shaking her. My eyes widened, looking frantically back and forth between Lacey and the object. "Lacey, is . is that what I . think it-" "Yup," she replied weakly, nodding. With wide eyes, we both looked down at the object. It appeared to be something like a pager, but for two people who have watched Digimon as long as we have, we knew very well that it wasn't. A small, square screen was bordered by pink, plastic-like material, and three circular buttons sat underneath. Immediately, I looked up at her with a half shocked, half suspicious appearance. "Lacey, what are you doing with a digivice?" "Hey, don't look at me! I have absolutely no idea!" she insisted, clenching the gadget in her hand. Feeling my head begin to spin, I placed my hand on my forehead and sighed. "Man, what the heck is going on? First, I wake up as Prance with Kyra sitting right next to me. Then, I figure out we're sitting in the middle of one of my favorite TV cartoons! And now," I added climactically, turning to Lacey, "you end up with a digivice! What in the world is up with that!?" "Trust me, if I knew, I'd tell you." Lacey replied, staring down at the object. Not knowing what to make of all this, I merely dropped my arms to my sides and looked around, feeling slightly refreshed as the wind whipped by me. But then, I noticed the long, red hair billowing out in front of my face, my hair, and I just became miserable all over again. "I seriously hope this all is a dream." I spoke up, tucking "my" hair behind my ear (which I had to do a couple of times because of the fact that I forgot my ears were at the top of my head, and not at the side). "Uh, yeah, what you said." Lacey replied, not exactly with the conviction I had expected. Quirking an eyebrow at her, I was surprised to find her staring up at the school building. "Lacey?" I questioned, wondering what was going on through her mind (something I try not to think about considering the "freakiness" of what I might find). Looking down at the digivice in her hand, I noticed she clenched it tightly. A sudden thought crossed my mind, as I instantly looked up at her again, afraid I knew exactly what she was thinking. (See? I told you it was freaky!) "Lacey, no!" I spurted. Lacey looked at me, eyes wide and sparkling (and huge!). "What?" she asked innocently. I just stared at her, wondering if she really thought she could fool me. "I know exactly what you want to do and there's no way we're-" "Aw, come on, Heather!" Lacey pleaded, falling to her knees and clasping her hands together. "Don't you remember? We always said how cool it'd be to actually go to the Digital World!" "Yeah, back in the day when I didn't question my sanity!" I spat. "Pleeeeeaase????" she begged. "I'll be your best friend!" I rolled my eyes drolly. I wasn't even going to bother commenting on that one! She pretty much figured this out. "Um, okay, maybe not. But I still really, really, really, really, really wanna go!!!" "Lacey!" I moaned, feeling another sweatdrop threatening to appear. "Please, Heather?" she whined. I heaved a great sigh, thinking I was insane enough as it was. Not like it could get much worse, could it? "If I say yes, will you promise never to give me that look again? It's bad enough to see it normally, but when you're anime, you bring new meaning to 'puppy-dog' eyes." Squealing in delight, Lacey jumped up and hugged me. (at least she thinks it was a hug- me, I felt like we were in a sumo wrestling match!) "Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank-" "Yeah, yeah, whatever," I managed, lungs practically crushed, "just let go, alright?" Obliging instantly (but emitting a couple more 'thank you's'), she quickly turned to the school building and began jogging towards the double doors. Seriously hoping (not for the last time) that this was all a dream, I walked slowly after her. Like a kid sneaking into a movie theater, Lacey stuck her head inside the building and looked around, checking to see if the coast was clear. After a few moments, she raised her hand and beckoned me to come, slipping in herself. Closing the door softly, I turned around and looked up and down the hallways, becoming more and more skeptical about this plan as we went on. "So what do we do now, oh smart one?" I asked, glancing at Lacey. With a strange, quirky, little smile on her face, she pointed down one of the hallways. "That way!" she announced, taking off at once. Stunned into silence, I was only able to stand there and watch while Lacey walked cheerfully down the corridor, like she really belonged here or something. Regaining my senses, I shook my head and jogged after her, eyes never ceasing to stare at her in amazement. "And how, may I ask, do you know this is the right way?" I imagined she was too excited to really give my question thought, because she merely shrugged and replied complacently, "I dunno. I just do!" Completely bewildered, I just closed my gaping jaw and walked forward, turning left and right like Lacey's shadow. After a few more turns and two more flights of stairs, Lacey finally curved sharply left into a brightly lit room with rows of computers sitting on tables. Refusing to look flabbergasted once again, I simply turned to face her with a suspicious look in my eyes. "How did you know how to get here?" "Like I said, I just do," she said simply as she sat at one of the chairs and began typing away madly. "Don't ask me why I know how to get here, or why I know how to open this portal, but for some reason, I just do." I narrowed my eyes. "You sound like an Apple Jacks commercial." "Yeah? Well you sound like Pat Sayjack with all these questions. Just chill out, already! Everything's under control." I rolled my eyes. "Ever notice how when cartoons say that, something bad always happens?" Lacey just laughed and looked at me, a fierce sparkle twinkling in her eyes. "Yeah, but technically, we aren't the same as those cartoons, now, are we?" Refusing to answer, I just crossed my arms and stared at the computer screen, not really paying attention to the images at all. "See?" Lacey answered, turning back to her typing. "We're smarter than that. We won't get into trouble." That's gotta be the biggest contradiction of the century! I thought, rolling my eyes. Luckily, I didn't even have time to comment, cause finally, Lacey clicked the mouse and stood up. "There! All ready!" she exclaimed proudly. "'Bout time," I muttered. "Let's just get this over with." "Aw, come on. You can't honestly tell me you're not the least bit excited about this." Actually, she was right. Inside, I was really thrilled about it. But I wasn't ready to let her know. "Are we going or not?" I demanded, tapping my foot. "Alright, alright. But you might want to hang on." She added mysteriously, holding her digivice out to the screen. I looked at her strangely, wondering. "What do you-" "Digiport open!" she exclaimed as the lights around the computer screen began to blink rapidly. Amazingly, the background music that had become so familiar to us during the TV show began to grow from somewhere behind us, louder and louder. Next thing I knew, we were both sucked into the computer.