Chapter 9:
Feline, party of two
A soft, dull light shone through my close eyelids. I uttered a low groan, gently placing my arm over my forehead as I slowly opened my eyes. "Falling asleep on the job, again?" I don't know whether it was out of exhaustion or pure laziness that it took so long for the voice to register through my head and send a message to my brain telling me I knew it, but when I did recognize it, I sat up quickly, smacking heads with the person who had spoke. Ignoring my pain, I stared at him, not believing my eyes. "Jason!?" "You idiot!" he yelled, rubbing his forehead. "What'd you do that for!?" "W-what the heck are you doing here!?" I sputtered, eyes wide. "What do you think, moron?" he exclaimed, straightening. "You think I come here everyday during 5th period for my health?" About to throw another question at him, I suddenly paused and looked around. Was this for real? Apparently, I was sitting on the practice stage in the black mini theater, the same place Kyra and. I mean, Lacey and I had gone for lunch the day we started this whole mess. Suddenly, with her on my mind, I was reminded of my confrontation with Sirius and Kyra's weakened condition. I instantly jumped up and whirled around to face Jason. "Where is she!?" I demanded. "Where is who?" "Kyra!" "Who the heck is Kyra?" I clenched my fists, struggling to stay under control. "Lacey. where's Lacey?" Jason stared at me incredulously, as if I were an alien or something. Realizing he was going to be little help, I spun around and stomped towards the door. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" "I have to find Ky- Lacey, I have to see if she's alright!" "What are you talking about? She's at home, remember?" I stopped in my tracks, looking over my shoulder at him. "What do you mean?" Jason, still rubbing his head, placed his hand on his hip. "She went home sick, remember? Threw up in the bathroom at snack?" "What?" "What in the world is up with you, today? Are you on steroids or something?" I rolled my eyes, exhaling deeply, trying to think. If what Jason had said was true, and she was 'at home,' then why was I here? Wouldn't we be together? And more importantly, was she okay? Those wounds of hers would only get worse- she needed help, and fast. But what could I do, sitting here? Exhaustion and fatigue suddenly catching up to me, I wearily walked back to the stage and sat down, leaning my elbows on my knees and allowing my head to collapse in my hands. "Seriously, Heather, are you okay?" Jason asked. For a brief second, I wanted to lift my head and stare at him. That couldn't possibly be concern I detected in his voice, could it? "Yeah, I'm fine," I snapped. Biting my lip, I added in a slightly gentler tone, "Look, I just need some time alone, alright?" Jason paused for a moment before quickly shrugging and returning to his normal self. "Yeah, whatever. I'll be in the Tech room on the phone with the insane asylum if you need me." As soon as I heard the door clang shut, I released a much-needed sigh, staring at the ground. "Alright, Prance, what do you do now?" "Prance? Is he gone?" I jumped up, startled, and began looking around, heart racing. "Gatomon? Is that you?" Scratching noises diverted my attention to the stage where the digimon had crawled out from underneath, brushing the dust off her gloves. And as much as I still despised her, at that moment, she could have been an angel. "Gatomon! What are you doing here?" Her eyes swiveled up to meet mine. "What do you think?" she snarled in her normal authoritative tone. "Haven't you-" "Well, if you're here, that means that Kyra must be here, too!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Where is she? Is she hiding under the stage, too? Is she-" "Prance," Gatomon interrupted, her voice calm and quiet. "Kyra isn't here." I stared at her, not comprehending her words. "What? What do you mean 'she's not here'?" "I'm telling you, she's not here," Gatomon repeated firmly. "While you were knocked out, I tried looking around this place for her, but. I couldn't find her." "Well, where is she, then!?" I yelled. "What makes you think I know?" she shouted defensively. "Weren't you the one who was with her when I was facing down Sirius? You were next to her!" "Of course I was! But when that blinding light appeared, I-" I paused for a moment, looking at her curiously. "What are you talking about?" Gatomon stared at me, appearing somewhat shocked. "What do you mean 'what am I talking about'? You can't seriously tell me you didn't see that bright white light that appeared right before we." My clueless expression must have triggered something in her mind, cause she paused and said softly, "You mean you really don't know?" I shook my head. "The last thing I remember was the flames and fire and Sirius about to attack again. Then, I woke up here." Gatomon studied me for a moment, deciding what to do, before she turned to hop neatly on the stage and sit down. Silently, I joined her. "Well, just to let you know, Kyra fainted a little after the whole fire thing. She said something about you finally doing it before she was out cold. I, on the other hand, was watching the whole thing. I didn't really hear much, but I saw enough. After Sirius started running toward you, I was about to get up and try to help out when this really bright light kind of exploded in the sky, and drowned out everything. I couldn't see a thing. When I could see again, I was here, alone. Neither you nor Kyra were anywhere in sight. So I started looking around the place to see if I could find anything. A few minutes later, I saw the light again, and next thing I knew, you were falling from the light to the stage. I couldn't tell at first whether you alive or dead, but as I started off to go check, the door opened and that fat kid walked out. So I hid." Stopping, she looked up at me for my reaction. With none to give, I merely sighed, sinking my head into my hands once again. "So what you're telling me is that some light swooped us here, and yet we still have no idea where Kyra is." "Unfortunately," Gatomon agreed quietly. "I mean, for all we know, she could have been left back there alone with Sirius, already pissed off as it was." Gatomon nodded glumly. "And even if she did somehow manage to get swept up in that light and get carried someplace else, she wouldn't be able to hardly move, much less defend herself if anything were to happen." "Great. This is just one big mess we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it?" I muttered angrily. Gatomon sighed, clenching her teeth. "But we can't give up now. You can't give up." "Who says I was giving up?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously. She stared back at me. "No one had to. Your tone alone was enough to convince me." "Well, can I help it if I just a little bit disappointed? Maybe even a little depressed? Kyra's stuck who knows where, all alone, and completely weakened. Sirius'll be out on a rampage searching for us, no doubt with Rastal and Deesum at his back, too. We, on the other hand, are stuck here with no way of finding out where or how Kyra is, and I'm stuck with a power I don't even know how to use, yet, much less defend us with! You really think I can seriously take this and still be all happy-go-lucky?" "Of course not!" she snapped. "You don't think I'm as upset about all this as you are? But if we want to be able to help Kyra, no matter where she is or in what condition she may be in, we have to push those feelings aside and try doing something about it." "Like what?" I asked dryly. "You want us to wish on a shooting star for her to come here?" At this comment, Gatomon rolled her eyes and stood up, leaping off the stage and walking towards the big, black double doors that lead to the back stage. "That big fat dork was right. You are an idiot." "Say what!?" I exclaimed, leaping to my feet. Gatomon stopped and twisted around to look at me. "Would you just keep your fur on and think for a second? We're in your world, remember? The transitional place between worlds?" "I knew that," I muttered defensively. Gatomon, ignoring my comment, instead turned back to the door. "Whatever. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be somewhere where I can be a little more useful." "But where, though?" I asked. "Which world are we going to go to next? And how do we know Kyra will be there?" "I don't exactly know how we'll find Kyra," Gatomon replied, walking forward and placing her paws on the door handles. "But, I do know where we can go." Pulling the door open, I was no longer surprised to find the two of us looking down at a dense, shadowy forest. Once again, the door opened above ground like it did in Mr. Carr's class (ugh, bad memories!), but thankfully, not nearly as high. "Well, let's go, then," I said, striding forward. "Wait a second," Gatomon commanded, pulling on my tail. "Hey, that hurt!" I exclaimed, spinning around to face her, tail hugged to my chest. "How would you like it if I pulled on your tail?" "You couldn't catch it if you tried," Gatomon replied dryly as she turned around. Bet I could, I thought sinisterly, eyes on her white and purple striped tail. Aloud, I said, "What are you waiting for?" Ignoring my question, she instead replied, "Before you had showed up, I was looking around this place for you and Kyra. Obviously, I didn't find either of you, but I did find something else." Her words struck my curiosity, and I asked, "What?" Gatomon raised a claw at the door to the Tech room. "Look in there and see if that guy's in there." Obeying, I glanced in the windows. Through the thick glass, I took in the familiar sight on the crowded desk, shelves of paint cans, wooden worktable, and random pieces of wood, fabric, and half finished props scattered across the floor. In the back was a set of doors leading to outside, where sunlight streamed through the window. Jason, however, was nowhere in sight. "He's gone. Must have gone outside for something." "Good. Now, open the door." Still confused, I did as she instructed. Like the first time in my room when I had expected to see my dimly lit hallway, I had expected to see the same thing I saw through the window- the Tech room. Of course, also like in my room, what I had expected to see was not what I saw. Again, it was another opening into another world, however this one looked down into a large, sapphire blue lake. I could also make out trees scattered across its banks on the far bank. I blinked and slowly turned back towards the closed doors, cautiously leaning forward to grasp the handle and crack the door open, peeking through. Sure enough, the same view of dense forestation was there. "Two portals?" I said aloud, stunned. "I don't get it. How come we never saw more than one before?" "Duh!" Gatomon replied crossly, rolling her eyes. "We never exactly took the time to look, now, did we?" Suppressing the urge to yell 'shut up,' I instead turned towards her and asked calmly, "Okay, then, which one leads where? And which one do we take?" Gatomon shrugged. "Don't know. But I suppose it doesn't matter which one we take for now. Kyra's just as likely to be in one as the other, and then again, she's just as likely to not be in either." "True, but which one to choose? What, do we do eenie-meenie-meinie-mo?" Gatomon stared at me for a moment, probably thinking of some tremendous insult to throw at me after than one, but, to my surprise, she instead pointed to the Tech door. "I say that one. I'm not necessarily partial to water, but landing in water's a heck of a lot better than trying to land from a much higher elevation into a bunch of trees." At this, I couldn't help but smirk. "What's the matter, wittle kitty cat afwaid of da watah?" The digimon glared venomously at me, holding out her claws menacingly. "Say that again, and I'll turn you into shish-ka-bobs!" she hissed. Before I could respond, she spun around and leaped head first into the portal. I grinned as I watched her plummet into the water, reemerging seconds later, shivering from head to tail. "Heh, serves you right, jerk," I muttered, stepping forward to jump in myself. "Oh, Heather!" Suddenly, I went cold. My feelings went numb as I recognized the voice and spun around. The speaker was a tall boy, about seventeen years old, with shaggy black hair and sparkling green eyes. The smile that was normally planted on his face was replaced by a shocked expression, which he quickly tried to mask. "A-adam!?" I stuttered as he said, rushing his words, "What are you doing here?" "W-what do you mean, 'what am I doing here'? I m-mean, aren't I supposed to be here?" Adam's cheeks lightly flushed as he tried to continue. "Well, yeah, I know that, but. well, I thought you were out on the stage and. well, I didn't think you'd be in here, and." Okay, now I was getting confused. Here was Adam, my boyfriend, someone I really felt glad to see right now, and he was surprised to see me here? I vaguely was able to put two and two together as I asked cautiously, "Wait, you mean. you were hoping I wasn't in here?" "No, no! I was just. surprised, that's all! Honest," he added hopefully. "Adam, I don't-" "Uh, sorry, Heather, but I gotta go," he said quickly as he sped past me, keeping his head down. I followed his movements with my eyes until he opened the stage door that had led to the forested area when I opened it. Sure enough, when he pulled on the handle, the animated scene was the same, but apparently, he didn't notice for he merely walked straight in, not falling as I would have, but simply passing through it. For the next few seconds, I stood there, staring at the blank space he had previously occupied, completely mystified. I mean, what exactly just happened, there? Was anyone going to tell me? "Prance! What the heck are you waiting for!? An invitation?" Gatomon's obnoxious voice thankfully pulled me out of my trance, and I turned back to the portal. I had more important things to deal with. I couldn't afford to take a step into the mind of a guy to try to understand their ways. even if the guy was my boyfriend. Pushing the thought to the back of my mind, I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and leaped out into the portal. Just erase him from your mind, Heather. Don't worry about him. Don't even think about it. A half second after I dived into the water, I was actually glad we had chosen this portal to go through instead of the forest one. The icy cold temperature of the water did the erasing of my mind for me, and at this particular moment, I was extremely grateful. From that height, I had only gone under about ten feet, but the chilly suddenness of the cold kind of took me by surprise and knocked the breath out of me, so by the time I had surfaced, my lungs were gasping for air. "Gatomon, where are you?" I called, eyes scanned the banks. I was easily able to spot her white coat on the shore to my right, only about a hundred feet away. But for me, in this freezing cold water, that was unfortunately a hundred feet too much. So, taking another deep breath, I dunked my head under the water and, with my eyes open, began swimming towards the shore. Surprisingly, I was pretty quick in the water with my tail to use as both a rudder and an extra limb to propel me forward. It was no surprise that I was soon laying on the dry (well, used-to-be-dry) beach, dripping wet, not even a minute later. "If you ask me," I muttered between chattering teeth, eyes closed with exhaustion, "that lake. is in major need. of temperature controls." "Stop your whining," Gatomon snapped bitterly. I lazily opened one eye and rolled it around to stare at her. "Easy for you to say! The only fur I have is on my ears and tail while you've got a nice little coat over your entire body!" The digimon rolled her eyes, but apparently couldn't think of any comment to throw back for she instantly changed the subject, looking around the surrounding area. "Well, at least we're back in the Digital World, that much I know." "Finally," I exclaimed relieved, "some good news!" "Yeah, good news until we run into Matt, that is," Gatomon replied dryly. "Why do you say that?" "Are you kidding?" she retorted, staring at me like I was a dumb infant. "Do you have any idea what he'll do to us if he finds out what happened to Kyra? No Dark Master would be able to compete with the torture he'll pour on us!" "But I thought TK told me he didn't think of her as a girlfriend like that?" "No, but he did tell you they've been best friends forever, closer than brother and sister, right?" "Yeah, so?" "Think, Dimwit! If he were to lose a girlfriend, he'd be upset, but eventually, he'd get another one. You can't do that with sisters. He'll fry us, for sure!" she added, looking, to my surprise, rather uncomfortable as she said it. Breathing out a sigh, I slowly closed my eyes again. "Great, so not only do we have to avoid Rastal, Deesum and Sirius, but we also have to avoid Matt, too. It's pretty much death either way," I moaned. "Pretty much," she agreed. Then, she started going off on something else, but I wasn't exactly paying attention. All the excitement from the day added with the fact that my eyes were already closed could only lead to one thing- time for a catnap.
Oh no, not again. There I was again, standing in that same pool of darkness. Somewhere, I heard a drop of water, and the ground below me began to ripple like the surface of a lake or pool. I stood there, standing down at my reflection that looked back up at me with the same blank expression. It is your destiny, Prance. Not this voice again, I thought. Out loud, I said, What do you want with me? You are alone. Stop saying that! But you are. No. no I'm not! I'm going to find Kyra, I am! You are alone and disconnected. What are you talking about? What do you mean disconnected? You cannot be connected alone. What? I don't under- You cannot be alone. Suddenly, I blinked. Did it just. move? Surprised, I leaned closer to the surface I stood on and stared down at my reflection. Did you- You cannot be alone, my reflection replied to my amazement. I gasped, stunned, whispering, Then it was you! You cannot be alone, or you will perish. But I don't get it, I repeated, pleading down at. myself. What do you mean 'I can't be alone?' How am I alone? You cannot be alone, or this, she added, waving her hand over the darkness, will surely become your destiny. But how am I alone? You're not answering me! . Hello? Answer me! . Answer me!
My eyes opened with a start. The first thing, however, to come to sight were a pair of dark brown eyes. directly in my face. "Ahh! Tai!" I screamed, on my feet and in the air within the hair of a second, leaping back about ten feet. "What the heck are you doing?" "I told you not to do that," TK said scoldingly. Behind him, Augumon, Patamon and Gabumon sat giggling and snickering. Tai grinned, rubbing the back of his head nervously as red slowly began to creep up his cheeks. "S-sorry. I was.. um, I was just-" "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, petting my raised tail hairs back into place. "Gatomon told us about what happened to Kyra," Augumon said. I glanced up at him, warily. "What exactly did she say about it?" "You remember," she spoke up, leaping into view on the branch above me. "You know how she fought that rogue creature from another dimension on her own and never came back?" "Oh, yeah, duh," I muttered. "But, wait a second," I added, glancing nervously at Gabumon. "Don't worry," he assured me, "Matt doesn't know a thing. And I'll make sure he doesn't." "Thanks," I said, unable to resist the smallest smile. Man, if only Kyra were here to see how much trouble we were going through to make sure Matt doesn't find out. She'd be squealing louder than a love struck mouse. "What are you smiling about?" Gatomon asked. "Nothing," I replied. "Absolutely nothing." "So what do we do?" TK asked. "She's out there, totally beat up, and we have no way of helping her out?" "We have to remember, though," Tai added hopefully, "my cuz has been living almost her entire life here in the Digital World. If anyone was better suit for handling this, its her." "That's true, Tai," Gatomon replied, "but still, she's really hurt. No matter what you say, it's only so long she can handle in her condition." "So are you saying it's hopeless?" Patamon asked. "No, of course not!" Gatomon snapped angrily. "We're just. running out of ideas," I muttered. "Yeah, well here's one for ya," Tai exclaimed, leaping forward, "Let's stop yapping and start looking!" Gatomon and I stared at him, allowing him to pause to look back at us and register our blank expressions through his mind. "That's your brilliant idea?" Gatomon asked expectantly. "Hey! I never said it was a brilliant one!" he replied defensively. "Besides, you said you were running out of ideas, and I just gave you one. I didn't hear a thing about what kind of idea, just that you needed one." "He's got a point," TK agreed, grinning. I exchanged patient glances with Gatomon before sighing. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to try." "Right!" Tai exclaimed excitedly. "Now, to cover more ground, I think it's a good idea that we split up, so I can look around one area with Pra-" "Now that is a good idea," Gatomon said. "TK, you go with Patamon and Gabumon and search around the mountains. Tai, you and Augumon look for her by the ocean. Me and Prance will stay here in the forest and search." While TK and the others nodded, Tai's jaw dropped, looking quite deflated. "But. but I wanted to go with." "Come on, Tai," TK said, grabbing his arm. "You can save your flirting for later." "But TK!!!" I stared after the two of them as they disappeared behind the trees. "What was that all about?" "Beats me," Gatomon replied, shrugging. "Oh well," I murmured, turning to the digimon. "Actually, now that we're alone, I have a question for you." Gatomon stared at me suspiciously. "What?" "Do you think you could show me the spot where you saw Sirius before?" I asked. "I wanna see what he was doing there." The digimon blinked, tilting her head curiously. "What do you mean? He was looking for you, wasn't he?" "Yeah, probably," I said, "but then again, if we're going to find Kyra, we can't just look anywhere, like the others are doing. We don't have the time for that. We only have until the end of the day. I figure our best bet might be wherever he was snooping around." "Makes sense, I suppose," she agreed, turning to walk. Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder at me and smirked, "Makes sense for you, that is." Oh boy, here we go again, I thought as I felt a sweat drop begin to roll down the back of my head. For a moment there, I actually thought we might have been beginning to get along.
It was late afternoon. The sun was slowly lowering. Too bad I couldn't say the same thing for the temperature. My feet sweated horribly in the shoes Kyra gave me, and my skin was beginning to grow itchy. My fur was dampened from the humidity and my ears drooped. So, basically, I was hot, sweaty, tired, my feet hurt, and yet, we were STILL WALKING!!! "Gatomon, are we there yet?" I whined, wiping my brow once again as I trudged on. Muttering something to herself, she glanced back at me from over her shoulder and yelled patiently, "Chill out, already. We'll get there when we get there." I moaned. "Please, don't use the expression 'chill out'. It's only making me dream of that lake." The digimon rolled her eyes and returned to walking, apparently fed up with me. Technically, I wouldn't blame her. But right now, I wasn't in the mood to sympathize with anyone but myself. Luckily, however, minutes later (but to me, it felt like weeks), she stopped and pointed a large dark claw at a wooded area to her right. "There it is," she announced. "The first time I saw Sirius, it was over there." Glancing at the area at which she pointed, I asked, "Are you sure?" The glare she gave in return confirmed her answer. "Okay, then," I replied, glad to be traipsing through the cool shade, "I guess that we can start looking." Again, I barely heard Gatomon muttered something under her breath before joining me. I ignored her and began scanning the ground for footprints. "So, Prance, exactly what are we looking for again?" Gatomon called out. "Anything, I suppose," I replied, eyes not lifting. "Anything that looks like Sirius might be interested in." "How would I know?" she asked haughtily. "Do I look like a wolf-guy to you?" I respectfully held back a giggle. "Trust me, you don't want me to answer that." Silence followed. I could only imagine the scowl she was throwing towards my turned back. Then, to my surprise, she spoke, her voice completely absent of the malice I had expected. "Not that I'm a wolf or anything, but would this count as interesting?" Curious, I slowly picked my way through the underbrush to where she was standing and looked down. Scattered across the ground were tiny flecks of white. "I'd say they're pretty interesting to me," I replied, kneeling to scoop some up in my hand. "What do you think they are?" "How the heck should I know?" she hissed warily. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it. I only wanted to know what you thought it was. You're a heck of a lot more familiar with the Digital World and stuff from it than I am." Apparently deciding this was a sufficient answer, she shrugged in a less angry manner. "Don't know. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. Sand, maybe? Or crystal?" Glancing at her, I tilted my head to one side in curiosity. "You said you've been with Kyra sometimes when she does her 'other dimension' thing, right? Do you think it could be from another dimension, perhaps?" Again, she shrugged. "Don't know. It could be, I guess." "Oh well," I replied, picking out the specs from my hand and dropping them in my pocket. "I guess there'd be no harm in hanging onto them, then." Dusting my hands off, I stood and stretched. "So what do we do, now?" Gatomon asked, looking around. "It doesn't look like Kyra's been around here at all. Or anyone else, for that matter." I paused before answering, taking a long last look at the area and the setting sun. "I guess we should try to get some rest. At the very least, we know Kyra will be back in our world, waiting for us. I'm sure finding her there will be a lot easier than finding her here." Gatomon cringed, not replying. She didn't have to. I knew exactly what she was thinking. If she made it away from Sirius alive.
As I've mentioned before, since I became Prance, I've found myself liking trees more and more. And, no surprise, I also found myself quite comfortable that night in the Digital World as I slept on a sturdy branch. Even though I was close to thirty feet above the ground, I slept peacefully with no fear at all. So you can imagine my disappointment when I woke up on the cement floor back at school. To me, cement can't compare to the comfort and security I felt in the tree. Yawning, I stretched and sat up, flexing my tail as I rubbed my eyes. Opening one eye tentatively, I saw I had been lying luxuriously at the top of stairs in the center of the campus, overlooking the quad where hundreds of students milled around. "Gatomon? You here?" "Right here," she replied, dropping down from the skylight above me. "Glad to see you've finally woken up." I stood up and brushed the dirt from my pants. "Glad to see that cheerful, friendly spirit of yours," I said dryly. "What time is it?" "According to the big clock up there," she began, pointing up at the metal work clock hanging in front of the building, "It's 12:25." I nodded, sighing. "Yeah, and that thing's always about fifteen minutes slow so that means it's about 12:40, which means the middle of lunch." Looking up at me, Gatomon asked seriously, "Do you really think we can find Kyra in all this?" I bit my tongue, resisting the temptation to add, "If she's here at all," and instead looked out at the crowd. "We have to. I mean, it can't be that hard, can it? The campus isn't that big, and we have a little over twenty minutes. Besides, it's not like she'll go off campus for a Taco Bell bean burrito at a time like this." Gatomon couldn't resist. She smirked. "Are you sure about that?" I grinned. "Not really, but we've gotta hope anyway." With that, she climbed onto my shoulders and I made my way down the stairs. "Where do we head first?" she asked as I strode purposefully through the quad. "The most logical place to look would be the nurse's office. If she were still as banged up as I remember, then she couldn't exactly walk around through the school without attracting attention." "If she could walk at all," Gatomon pointed out. "Exactly. So, the nurse's office will be the first place to check. After that, I'd think about the library, the Tech room, or the lunch line." "The lunch line?" Gatomon repeated skeptically. I shook my head. "Don't even ask, trust me. You haven't seen her when she's been deprived of her beloved chili cheese fries. She can get pretty dangerous." The digimon rolled her eyes, smirking. Reaching the front office, I paused, a thought suddenly striking me. "Gatomon, you had better stay here. I don't think we'd get very far in there if the staff thought I was bringing in a pet cat." Gatomon snorted but jumped off, sulking toward the bushes. "Hmph, you're one to talk. You're practically a pet yourself!" When she was safely out of sight, I opened the door and walked inside, making my way past the water fountain towards the back of the room where a blue sign said in bold, white letters "NURSE". Peeking my head in, I cautiously looked around. "Nice ears." I looked up, startled. A guy that looked a little older than me sat in a chair next to the empty desk. He had blonde, spiked hair and his blue eyes looked me up and down curiously, making the hair on my tail rise. "Hate to break it to ya, but Halloween is over for this year," he said mockingly. Realizing he saw my tail and ears as costume accessories, my apprehension was replaced by irritation and I slowly felt my nails grow the slightest bit longer. I pressed m ears against my head instinctively. "Shut up," I spat. The stranger laughed. "What's the matter, kitty cat? Gonna bite me?" Unintentionally, I felt that spark inside me begin to swell up again. "Watch it, or I'll burn ya," I replied in a low, threatening tone. He grinned, clearly not intimidated. "Ooh, I'm really scared." A tiny flame flicked across my arm before dissolving into my skin once again- a sign that I was getting really ticked off. Luckily, (for the jerk, that is) before I had the opportunity to say anything further, another voice behind me nearly made me jump on top of the file cabinet. "May I help you?" Spinning around, I breathed out a relieved breath as the sight of the short, brown-haired nurse filled my view. With gold-rimmed glasses hanging down the bridge of her nose, she looked at me expectantly, tapping her pen against her clipboard. "Oh, um, hi," I stammered. "I actually came to see if a friend of mine were in here." She stared at me, examining my ears and tail briefly before turning to her clipboard and flipping through several sheets. "Name, please." "Ky- . Lacey!" Mentally, I scolded myself. Stupid move! "I'm sorry, her name is Lacey." To my relief, the nurse did not eye me suspiciously, but instead scanned through the names on her list, lifting a page once to read through the second list. After about ten seconds, she flipped all the pages back and tucked the clipboard under her arm. "I'm sorry, but no one under the name 'Lacey' has come in today. Would you like me to deliver a message should she come in later?" "No, that's alright," I said, somewhat disappointed. "Thank you, though." Feeling a little deflated, I walked out of the nurse's office. The deflation, however, was quickly replaced by anger when I heard from behind me, "See ya, cat-freak!" As I walked back outside, I seriously considered running back in there and turning the guy into an ash tray when Gatomon jumped out, looking up at me. "She wasn't in there, then?" "Nope," I replied, shaking my head. "We'll just have to keep looking, I guess." "Yeah, but that's," she waved her gloved paw at the mass across the quad, "a lot of people to look through. And according to the clock, we only have a little more than fifteen minutes left." I sighed, knowing she was right. "Well, I guess we could split up. We'd cover more of the school that way." Nodding, Gatomon glanced up at me. "Why do we need to find her before lunch ends, anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to look after lunch when everybody's in class?" I pointed at the yellow-vested woman sitting in a golf cart, eyes watching the students carefully. "Cause of them. if they catch you wandering around, they get suspicious, and they'll stop you. It's like highway patrol, only they don't give out detentions." Gatomon sighed. "I guess we have no other choice, then. Well." "Hey, Heather!" As I looked up, I heard the bushes beside me rustle- Gatomon leaping into them for cover. The digimon was a lot smarter than I would have admitted. The voice that spoke was one of two. She was a short, Asian girl with black hair and dark brown eyes. In her hands she carried a bright red book with the words Bon Voyage: French one printed on the cover and wore a pleasant smile. Her companion was only slightly taller due to the tall sandals she wore and was also Asian, but only vaguely more slender with a box of French fries in one hand and three fries in the other. I smiled. "Hi, Mei. Hi, Geneva." "Hello, there," Mei replied placidly, adjusting her books to fit in the crook of her arm. "Howdy," added Geneva, finishing off the fries in her hand. "Whatcha up to?" "Nothing, really," I lied. "How about you?" "Just walking around," Mei said. "Yeah, that's how bored we are. With nothing else to do to occupy our last few minutes of lunch but walking around." I nodded, hoping they weren't expecting to talk for too long. Suddenly, I felt something jab my leg and I looked down. Through the leaves of the bushes, I could see Gatomon's eyes, staring up at me. What does she want now? I thought as I watched her continue to stare at me. Randomly, she rolled her eyes and carefully stuck out a claw, stretching it out to point in front of me. Glancing to see what she was referring to, all I saw were Mei and Geneva, watching me curiously. Looking back at her, her eyes locked onto mine again as if holding some hidden meaning. Scrunching my forehead, I thought about what she could possibly be trying to say. "Are you okay?" Mei asked. Geneva giggled. "Yeah, you look like you need some. heh, help." My eyes widened. It suddenly clicked. "Geneva!" Mei exclaimed, unable to resist grinning. "That wasn't very nice." I spun around excitedly. Geneva smiled. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It was just a joke." Ignoring the apology, I instead replied, "Actually, I could use some help." Both girls blinked. "Y-you could?" Geneva repeated. I chuckled. "Not that kind of help." "Ohh," they replied in unison, looking somewhat relieved. "What kind of help do you need, then?" Mei asked. I glanced back at Gatomon only to receive an affirming nod. "I was wondering if you could help my find Lacey." "Find Lacey? Why?" Geneva asked. "It's kind of important," I explained, careful not to say too much. "There's something really important I have to tell her. a message I have to give her." "Ooh, a message?" Geneva replied, interested. "Is it from a guy?" I bit my lip, refusing to laugh. "Um. yeah. But, if I want to tell her, I have to find her before lunch is over. Do you think you could help me?" "Absolutely," Mei said, nodding. "Who's the guy? Who's the guy?" Geneva asked excitedly. "I'll tell you after you find her," I said quickly. "Just go find her." Knowing full and well that this specific type of message would subtly encourage them to look quickly, I watched with satisfaction as the two Asians sped away, darting into the adjoining building. "It's about time," Gatomon exclaimed, jumping out. "I thought I was going to have to stare and point for the rest of lunch!" Spinning around, I faced her, looking at the digimon seriously. "Look, when we eventually do find Kyra, do not tell her what I just told Mei and Geneva, got it?" "Why? Is it true?" "Of course not!" I exclaimed. "But if she were to ever find out I used that particular line to get Mei and Geneva to help me, she'd skewer me alive!" "How come?" I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Do I look like I know? Anyway, we have to start looking. Now, you'd probably be better off looking around the outskirts of the campus, mainly because there are lots of walkways around the school and you won't be seen that easily. If Mei and Geneva look in the 100 building and in the Band room, then I'll cover the rest. Come find me if you find Kyra, kay?" "Sure," she replied, nodding quickly before spinning around and leaping onto the roof. Watching her bound off, I instantly spun on my heel and began jogging through the quad, looking for a place to start my search. Starting in the back of the campus toward the tennis courts, I backtracked my way through, weaving in and out of classrooms and stopping anybody I knew to ask if they had seen Lacey. Unfortunately, no one had. When I found myself back at the quad, I glanced up at the clock. 1:09, which, translated, meant 12:54. Lunch ended at 1:01. Only 7 minutes to go. Picking up the pace, I made my way to the other side of the school where about a fifth of the school's population sat among the lunch tables and pep rally stage in front of the cafeteria lines and snack bar. Slowly, I picked my way through the crowds, pausing by people I recognized, and even went through the lines despite the irritated looks the lunch ladies gave me when the discovered I wasn't buying anything. Quickly running out of hope, I ran back to the quad, only to run into Mei and Geneva again. "Hey, did you guys find her?" I asked hopefully. My spirits were flattened when they both shook their heads, Geneva almost looking more disappointed then I probably did. "Sorry," Mei added. "No, it's okay," I replied, trying to sound cheerful. "You tried." Feeling very tired, I turned and walked, smiling only faintly when I heard Geneva mutter, "And we never got to find out who the guy was!" We have to find her, I thought. I have to. I don't how much more of this I can handle without her. "Prance! Prance!" I looked up to find Gatomon jumping from the rooftop to the ground in front of me. Ignoring the stares and whispering of the people around us, I asked urgently, "Well? Did you find her?" Gatomon shook her head, apparently catching her breath. "No. I didn't find her." "Then why did you call me so urgently?" I demanded, irritated. To my astonishment, she completely ignored the irritation and instead replied, "I didn't find her. but you'll never believe who I did find!" Surprised, I was about to ask her to continue when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I could only gasp at the figure that stood before me. Gatomon wasn't kidding. I didn't believe it.
Feline, party of two
A soft, dull light shone through my close eyelids. I uttered a low groan, gently placing my arm over my forehead as I slowly opened my eyes. "Falling asleep on the job, again?" I don't know whether it was out of exhaustion or pure laziness that it took so long for the voice to register through my head and send a message to my brain telling me I knew it, but when I did recognize it, I sat up quickly, smacking heads with the person who had spoke. Ignoring my pain, I stared at him, not believing my eyes. "Jason!?" "You idiot!" he yelled, rubbing his forehead. "What'd you do that for!?" "W-what the heck are you doing here!?" I sputtered, eyes wide. "What do you think, moron?" he exclaimed, straightening. "You think I come here everyday during 5th period for my health?" About to throw another question at him, I suddenly paused and looked around. Was this for real? Apparently, I was sitting on the practice stage in the black mini theater, the same place Kyra and. I mean, Lacey and I had gone for lunch the day we started this whole mess. Suddenly, with her on my mind, I was reminded of my confrontation with Sirius and Kyra's weakened condition. I instantly jumped up and whirled around to face Jason. "Where is she!?" I demanded. "Where is who?" "Kyra!" "Who the heck is Kyra?" I clenched my fists, struggling to stay under control. "Lacey. where's Lacey?" Jason stared at me incredulously, as if I were an alien or something. Realizing he was going to be little help, I spun around and stomped towards the door. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" "I have to find Ky- Lacey, I have to see if she's alright!" "What are you talking about? She's at home, remember?" I stopped in my tracks, looking over my shoulder at him. "What do you mean?" Jason, still rubbing his head, placed his hand on his hip. "She went home sick, remember? Threw up in the bathroom at snack?" "What?" "What in the world is up with you, today? Are you on steroids or something?" I rolled my eyes, exhaling deeply, trying to think. If what Jason had said was true, and she was 'at home,' then why was I here? Wouldn't we be together? And more importantly, was she okay? Those wounds of hers would only get worse- she needed help, and fast. But what could I do, sitting here? Exhaustion and fatigue suddenly catching up to me, I wearily walked back to the stage and sat down, leaning my elbows on my knees and allowing my head to collapse in my hands. "Seriously, Heather, are you okay?" Jason asked. For a brief second, I wanted to lift my head and stare at him. That couldn't possibly be concern I detected in his voice, could it? "Yeah, I'm fine," I snapped. Biting my lip, I added in a slightly gentler tone, "Look, I just need some time alone, alright?" Jason paused for a moment before quickly shrugging and returning to his normal self. "Yeah, whatever. I'll be in the Tech room on the phone with the insane asylum if you need me." As soon as I heard the door clang shut, I released a much-needed sigh, staring at the ground. "Alright, Prance, what do you do now?" "Prance? Is he gone?" I jumped up, startled, and began looking around, heart racing. "Gatomon? Is that you?" Scratching noises diverted my attention to the stage where the digimon had crawled out from underneath, brushing the dust off her gloves. And as much as I still despised her, at that moment, she could have been an angel. "Gatomon! What are you doing here?" Her eyes swiveled up to meet mine. "What do you think?" she snarled in her normal authoritative tone. "Haven't you-" "Well, if you're here, that means that Kyra must be here, too!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Where is she? Is she hiding under the stage, too? Is she-" "Prance," Gatomon interrupted, her voice calm and quiet. "Kyra isn't here." I stared at her, not comprehending her words. "What? What do you mean 'she's not here'?" "I'm telling you, she's not here," Gatomon repeated firmly. "While you were knocked out, I tried looking around this place for her, but. I couldn't find her." "Well, where is she, then!?" I yelled. "What makes you think I know?" she shouted defensively. "Weren't you the one who was with her when I was facing down Sirius? You were next to her!" "Of course I was! But when that blinding light appeared, I-" I paused for a moment, looking at her curiously. "What are you talking about?" Gatomon stared at me, appearing somewhat shocked. "What do you mean 'what am I talking about'? You can't seriously tell me you didn't see that bright white light that appeared right before we." My clueless expression must have triggered something in her mind, cause she paused and said softly, "You mean you really don't know?" I shook my head. "The last thing I remember was the flames and fire and Sirius about to attack again. Then, I woke up here." Gatomon studied me for a moment, deciding what to do, before she turned to hop neatly on the stage and sit down. Silently, I joined her. "Well, just to let you know, Kyra fainted a little after the whole fire thing. She said something about you finally doing it before she was out cold. I, on the other hand, was watching the whole thing. I didn't really hear much, but I saw enough. After Sirius started running toward you, I was about to get up and try to help out when this really bright light kind of exploded in the sky, and drowned out everything. I couldn't see a thing. When I could see again, I was here, alone. Neither you nor Kyra were anywhere in sight. So I started looking around the place to see if I could find anything. A few minutes later, I saw the light again, and next thing I knew, you were falling from the light to the stage. I couldn't tell at first whether you alive or dead, but as I started off to go check, the door opened and that fat kid walked out. So I hid." Stopping, she looked up at me for my reaction. With none to give, I merely sighed, sinking my head into my hands once again. "So what you're telling me is that some light swooped us here, and yet we still have no idea where Kyra is." "Unfortunately," Gatomon agreed quietly. "I mean, for all we know, she could have been left back there alone with Sirius, already pissed off as it was." Gatomon nodded glumly. "And even if she did somehow manage to get swept up in that light and get carried someplace else, she wouldn't be able to hardly move, much less defend herself if anything were to happen." "Great. This is just one big mess we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it?" I muttered angrily. Gatomon sighed, clenching her teeth. "But we can't give up now. You can't give up." "Who says I was giving up?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously. She stared back at me. "No one had to. Your tone alone was enough to convince me." "Well, can I help it if I just a little bit disappointed? Maybe even a little depressed? Kyra's stuck who knows where, all alone, and completely weakened. Sirius'll be out on a rampage searching for us, no doubt with Rastal and Deesum at his back, too. We, on the other hand, are stuck here with no way of finding out where or how Kyra is, and I'm stuck with a power I don't even know how to use, yet, much less defend us with! You really think I can seriously take this and still be all happy-go-lucky?" "Of course not!" she snapped. "You don't think I'm as upset about all this as you are? But if we want to be able to help Kyra, no matter where she is or in what condition she may be in, we have to push those feelings aside and try doing something about it." "Like what?" I asked dryly. "You want us to wish on a shooting star for her to come here?" At this comment, Gatomon rolled her eyes and stood up, leaping off the stage and walking towards the big, black double doors that lead to the back stage. "That big fat dork was right. You are an idiot." "Say what!?" I exclaimed, leaping to my feet. Gatomon stopped and twisted around to look at me. "Would you just keep your fur on and think for a second? We're in your world, remember? The transitional place between worlds?" "I knew that," I muttered defensively. Gatomon, ignoring my comment, instead turned back to the door. "Whatever. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be somewhere where I can be a little more useful." "But where, though?" I asked. "Which world are we going to go to next? And how do we know Kyra will be there?" "I don't exactly know how we'll find Kyra," Gatomon replied, walking forward and placing her paws on the door handles. "But, I do know where we can go." Pulling the door open, I was no longer surprised to find the two of us looking down at a dense, shadowy forest. Once again, the door opened above ground like it did in Mr. Carr's class (ugh, bad memories!), but thankfully, not nearly as high. "Well, let's go, then," I said, striding forward. "Wait a second," Gatomon commanded, pulling on my tail. "Hey, that hurt!" I exclaimed, spinning around to face her, tail hugged to my chest. "How would you like it if I pulled on your tail?" "You couldn't catch it if you tried," Gatomon replied dryly as she turned around. Bet I could, I thought sinisterly, eyes on her white and purple striped tail. Aloud, I said, "What are you waiting for?" Ignoring my question, she instead replied, "Before you had showed up, I was looking around this place for you and Kyra. Obviously, I didn't find either of you, but I did find something else." Her words struck my curiosity, and I asked, "What?" Gatomon raised a claw at the door to the Tech room. "Look in there and see if that guy's in there." Obeying, I glanced in the windows. Through the thick glass, I took in the familiar sight on the crowded desk, shelves of paint cans, wooden worktable, and random pieces of wood, fabric, and half finished props scattered across the floor. In the back was a set of doors leading to outside, where sunlight streamed through the window. Jason, however, was nowhere in sight. "He's gone. Must have gone outside for something." "Good. Now, open the door." Still confused, I did as she instructed. Like the first time in my room when I had expected to see my dimly lit hallway, I had expected to see the same thing I saw through the window- the Tech room. Of course, also like in my room, what I had expected to see was not what I saw. Again, it was another opening into another world, however this one looked down into a large, sapphire blue lake. I could also make out trees scattered across its banks on the far bank. I blinked and slowly turned back towards the closed doors, cautiously leaning forward to grasp the handle and crack the door open, peeking through. Sure enough, the same view of dense forestation was there. "Two portals?" I said aloud, stunned. "I don't get it. How come we never saw more than one before?" "Duh!" Gatomon replied crossly, rolling her eyes. "We never exactly took the time to look, now, did we?" Suppressing the urge to yell 'shut up,' I instead turned towards her and asked calmly, "Okay, then, which one leads where? And which one do we take?" Gatomon shrugged. "Don't know. But I suppose it doesn't matter which one we take for now. Kyra's just as likely to be in one as the other, and then again, she's just as likely to not be in either." "True, but which one to choose? What, do we do eenie-meenie-meinie-mo?" Gatomon stared at me for a moment, probably thinking of some tremendous insult to throw at me after than one, but, to my surprise, she instead pointed to the Tech door. "I say that one. I'm not necessarily partial to water, but landing in water's a heck of a lot better than trying to land from a much higher elevation into a bunch of trees." At this, I couldn't help but smirk. "What's the matter, wittle kitty cat afwaid of da watah?" The digimon glared venomously at me, holding out her claws menacingly. "Say that again, and I'll turn you into shish-ka-bobs!" she hissed. Before I could respond, she spun around and leaped head first into the portal. I grinned as I watched her plummet into the water, reemerging seconds later, shivering from head to tail. "Heh, serves you right, jerk," I muttered, stepping forward to jump in myself. "Oh, Heather!" Suddenly, I went cold. My feelings went numb as I recognized the voice and spun around. The speaker was a tall boy, about seventeen years old, with shaggy black hair and sparkling green eyes. The smile that was normally planted on his face was replaced by a shocked expression, which he quickly tried to mask. "A-adam!?" I stuttered as he said, rushing his words, "What are you doing here?" "W-what do you mean, 'what am I doing here'? I m-mean, aren't I supposed to be here?" Adam's cheeks lightly flushed as he tried to continue. "Well, yeah, I know that, but. well, I thought you were out on the stage and. well, I didn't think you'd be in here, and." Okay, now I was getting confused. Here was Adam, my boyfriend, someone I really felt glad to see right now, and he was surprised to see me here? I vaguely was able to put two and two together as I asked cautiously, "Wait, you mean. you were hoping I wasn't in here?" "No, no! I was just. surprised, that's all! Honest," he added hopefully. "Adam, I don't-" "Uh, sorry, Heather, but I gotta go," he said quickly as he sped past me, keeping his head down. I followed his movements with my eyes until he opened the stage door that had led to the forested area when I opened it. Sure enough, when he pulled on the handle, the animated scene was the same, but apparently, he didn't notice for he merely walked straight in, not falling as I would have, but simply passing through it. For the next few seconds, I stood there, staring at the blank space he had previously occupied, completely mystified. I mean, what exactly just happened, there? Was anyone going to tell me? "Prance! What the heck are you waiting for!? An invitation?" Gatomon's obnoxious voice thankfully pulled me out of my trance, and I turned back to the portal. I had more important things to deal with. I couldn't afford to take a step into the mind of a guy to try to understand their ways. even if the guy was my boyfriend. Pushing the thought to the back of my mind, I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and leaped out into the portal. Just erase him from your mind, Heather. Don't worry about him. Don't even think about it. A half second after I dived into the water, I was actually glad we had chosen this portal to go through instead of the forest one. The icy cold temperature of the water did the erasing of my mind for me, and at this particular moment, I was extremely grateful. From that height, I had only gone under about ten feet, but the chilly suddenness of the cold kind of took me by surprise and knocked the breath out of me, so by the time I had surfaced, my lungs were gasping for air. "Gatomon, where are you?" I called, eyes scanned the banks. I was easily able to spot her white coat on the shore to my right, only about a hundred feet away. But for me, in this freezing cold water, that was unfortunately a hundred feet too much. So, taking another deep breath, I dunked my head under the water and, with my eyes open, began swimming towards the shore. Surprisingly, I was pretty quick in the water with my tail to use as both a rudder and an extra limb to propel me forward. It was no surprise that I was soon laying on the dry (well, used-to-be-dry) beach, dripping wet, not even a minute later. "If you ask me," I muttered between chattering teeth, eyes closed with exhaustion, "that lake. is in major need. of temperature controls." "Stop your whining," Gatomon snapped bitterly. I lazily opened one eye and rolled it around to stare at her. "Easy for you to say! The only fur I have is on my ears and tail while you've got a nice little coat over your entire body!" The digimon rolled her eyes, but apparently couldn't think of any comment to throw back for she instantly changed the subject, looking around the surrounding area. "Well, at least we're back in the Digital World, that much I know." "Finally," I exclaimed relieved, "some good news!" "Yeah, good news until we run into Matt, that is," Gatomon replied dryly. "Why do you say that?" "Are you kidding?" she retorted, staring at me like I was a dumb infant. "Do you have any idea what he'll do to us if he finds out what happened to Kyra? No Dark Master would be able to compete with the torture he'll pour on us!" "But I thought TK told me he didn't think of her as a girlfriend like that?" "No, but he did tell you they've been best friends forever, closer than brother and sister, right?" "Yeah, so?" "Think, Dimwit! If he were to lose a girlfriend, he'd be upset, but eventually, he'd get another one. You can't do that with sisters. He'll fry us, for sure!" she added, looking, to my surprise, rather uncomfortable as she said it. Breathing out a sigh, I slowly closed my eyes again. "Great, so not only do we have to avoid Rastal, Deesum and Sirius, but we also have to avoid Matt, too. It's pretty much death either way," I moaned. "Pretty much," she agreed. Then, she started going off on something else, but I wasn't exactly paying attention. All the excitement from the day added with the fact that my eyes were already closed could only lead to one thing- time for a catnap.
Oh no, not again. There I was again, standing in that same pool of darkness. Somewhere, I heard a drop of water, and the ground below me began to ripple like the surface of a lake or pool. I stood there, standing down at my reflection that looked back up at me with the same blank expression. It is your destiny, Prance. Not this voice again, I thought. Out loud, I said, What do you want with me? You are alone. Stop saying that! But you are. No. no I'm not! I'm going to find Kyra, I am! You are alone and disconnected. What are you talking about? What do you mean disconnected? You cannot be connected alone. What? I don't under- You cannot be alone. Suddenly, I blinked. Did it just. move? Surprised, I leaned closer to the surface I stood on and stared down at my reflection. Did you- You cannot be alone, my reflection replied to my amazement. I gasped, stunned, whispering, Then it was you! You cannot be alone, or you will perish. But I don't get it, I repeated, pleading down at. myself. What do you mean 'I can't be alone?' How am I alone? You cannot be alone, or this, she added, waving her hand over the darkness, will surely become your destiny. But how am I alone? You're not answering me! . Hello? Answer me! . Answer me!
My eyes opened with a start. The first thing, however, to come to sight were a pair of dark brown eyes. directly in my face. "Ahh! Tai!" I screamed, on my feet and in the air within the hair of a second, leaping back about ten feet. "What the heck are you doing?" "I told you not to do that," TK said scoldingly. Behind him, Augumon, Patamon and Gabumon sat giggling and snickering. Tai grinned, rubbing the back of his head nervously as red slowly began to creep up his cheeks. "S-sorry. I was.. um, I was just-" "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, petting my raised tail hairs back into place. "Gatomon told us about what happened to Kyra," Augumon said. I glanced up at him, warily. "What exactly did she say about it?" "You remember," she spoke up, leaping into view on the branch above me. "You know how she fought that rogue creature from another dimension on her own and never came back?" "Oh, yeah, duh," I muttered. "But, wait a second," I added, glancing nervously at Gabumon. "Don't worry," he assured me, "Matt doesn't know a thing. And I'll make sure he doesn't." "Thanks," I said, unable to resist the smallest smile. Man, if only Kyra were here to see how much trouble we were going through to make sure Matt doesn't find out. She'd be squealing louder than a love struck mouse. "What are you smiling about?" Gatomon asked. "Nothing," I replied. "Absolutely nothing." "So what do we do?" TK asked. "She's out there, totally beat up, and we have no way of helping her out?" "We have to remember, though," Tai added hopefully, "my cuz has been living almost her entire life here in the Digital World. If anyone was better suit for handling this, its her." "That's true, Tai," Gatomon replied, "but still, she's really hurt. No matter what you say, it's only so long she can handle in her condition." "So are you saying it's hopeless?" Patamon asked. "No, of course not!" Gatomon snapped angrily. "We're just. running out of ideas," I muttered. "Yeah, well here's one for ya," Tai exclaimed, leaping forward, "Let's stop yapping and start looking!" Gatomon and I stared at him, allowing him to pause to look back at us and register our blank expressions through his mind. "That's your brilliant idea?" Gatomon asked expectantly. "Hey! I never said it was a brilliant one!" he replied defensively. "Besides, you said you were running out of ideas, and I just gave you one. I didn't hear a thing about what kind of idea, just that you needed one." "He's got a point," TK agreed, grinning. I exchanged patient glances with Gatomon before sighing. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to try." "Right!" Tai exclaimed excitedly. "Now, to cover more ground, I think it's a good idea that we split up, so I can look around one area with Pra-" "Now that is a good idea," Gatomon said. "TK, you go with Patamon and Gabumon and search around the mountains. Tai, you and Augumon look for her by the ocean. Me and Prance will stay here in the forest and search." While TK and the others nodded, Tai's jaw dropped, looking quite deflated. "But. but I wanted to go with." "Come on, Tai," TK said, grabbing his arm. "You can save your flirting for later." "But TK!!!" I stared after the two of them as they disappeared behind the trees. "What was that all about?" "Beats me," Gatomon replied, shrugging. "Oh well," I murmured, turning to the digimon. "Actually, now that we're alone, I have a question for you." Gatomon stared at me suspiciously. "What?" "Do you think you could show me the spot where you saw Sirius before?" I asked. "I wanna see what he was doing there." The digimon blinked, tilting her head curiously. "What do you mean? He was looking for you, wasn't he?" "Yeah, probably," I said, "but then again, if we're going to find Kyra, we can't just look anywhere, like the others are doing. We don't have the time for that. We only have until the end of the day. I figure our best bet might be wherever he was snooping around." "Makes sense, I suppose," she agreed, turning to walk. Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder at me and smirked, "Makes sense for you, that is." Oh boy, here we go again, I thought as I felt a sweat drop begin to roll down the back of my head. For a moment there, I actually thought we might have been beginning to get along.
It was late afternoon. The sun was slowly lowering. Too bad I couldn't say the same thing for the temperature. My feet sweated horribly in the shoes Kyra gave me, and my skin was beginning to grow itchy. My fur was dampened from the humidity and my ears drooped. So, basically, I was hot, sweaty, tired, my feet hurt, and yet, we were STILL WALKING!!! "Gatomon, are we there yet?" I whined, wiping my brow once again as I trudged on. Muttering something to herself, she glanced back at me from over her shoulder and yelled patiently, "Chill out, already. We'll get there when we get there." I moaned. "Please, don't use the expression 'chill out'. It's only making me dream of that lake." The digimon rolled her eyes and returned to walking, apparently fed up with me. Technically, I wouldn't blame her. But right now, I wasn't in the mood to sympathize with anyone but myself. Luckily, however, minutes later (but to me, it felt like weeks), she stopped and pointed a large dark claw at a wooded area to her right. "There it is," she announced. "The first time I saw Sirius, it was over there." Glancing at the area at which she pointed, I asked, "Are you sure?" The glare she gave in return confirmed her answer. "Okay, then," I replied, glad to be traipsing through the cool shade, "I guess that we can start looking." Again, I barely heard Gatomon muttered something under her breath before joining me. I ignored her and began scanning the ground for footprints. "So, Prance, exactly what are we looking for again?" Gatomon called out. "Anything, I suppose," I replied, eyes not lifting. "Anything that looks like Sirius might be interested in." "How would I know?" she asked haughtily. "Do I look like a wolf-guy to you?" I respectfully held back a giggle. "Trust me, you don't want me to answer that." Silence followed. I could only imagine the scowl she was throwing towards my turned back. Then, to my surprise, she spoke, her voice completely absent of the malice I had expected. "Not that I'm a wolf or anything, but would this count as interesting?" Curious, I slowly picked my way through the underbrush to where she was standing and looked down. Scattered across the ground were tiny flecks of white. "I'd say they're pretty interesting to me," I replied, kneeling to scoop some up in my hand. "What do you think they are?" "How the heck should I know?" she hissed warily. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it. I only wanted to know what you thought it was. You're a heck of a lot more familiar with the Digital World and stuff from it than I am." Apparently deciding this was a sufficient answer, she shrugged in a less angry manner. "Don't know. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. Sand, maybe? Or crystal?" Glancing at her, I tilted my head to one side in curiosity. "You said you've been with Kyra sometimes when she does her 'other dimension' thing, right? Do you think it could be from another dimension, perhaps?" Again, she shrugged. "Don't know. It could be, I guess." "Oh well," I replied, picking out the specs from my hand and dropping them in my pocket. "I guess there'd be no harm in hanging onto them, then." Dusting my hands off, I stood and stretched. "So what do we do, now?" Gatomon asked, looking around. "It doesn't look like Kyra's been around here at all. Or anyone else, for that matter." I paused before answering, taking a long last look at the area and the setting sun. "I guess we should try to get some rest. At the very least, we know Kyra will be back in our world, waiting for us. I'm sure finding her there will be a lot easier than finding her here." Gatomon cringed, not replying. She didn't have to. I knew exactly what she was thinking. If she made it away from Sirius alive.
As I've mentioned before, since I became Prance, I've found myself liking trees more and more. And, no surprise, I also found myself quite comfortable that night in the Digital World as I slept on a sturdy branch. Even though I was close to thirty feet above the ground, I slept peacefully with no fear at all. So you can imagine my disappointment when I woke up on the cement floor back at school. To me, cement can't compare to the comfort and security I felt in the tree. Yawning, I stretched and sat up, flexing my tail as I rubbed my eyes. Opening one eye tentatively, I saw I had been lying luxuriously at the top of stairs in the center of the campus, overlooking the quad where hundreds of students milled around. "Gatomon? You here?" "Right here," she replied, dropping down from the skylight above me. "Glad to see you've finally woken up." I stood up and brushed the dirt from my pants. "Glad to see that cheerful, friendly spirit of yours," I said dryly. "What time is it?" "According to the big clock up there," she began, pointing up at the metal work clock hanging in front of the building, "It's 12:25." I nodded, sighing. "Yeah, and that thing's always about fifteen minutes slow so that means it's about 12:40, which means the middle of lunch." Looking up at me, Gatomon asked seriously, "Do you really think we can find Kyra in all this?" I bit my tongue, resisting the temptation to add, "If she's here at all," and instead looked out at the crowd. "We have to. I mean, it can't be that hard, can it? The campus isn't that big, and we have a little over twenty minutes. Besides, it's not like she'll go off campus for a Taco Bell bean burrito at a time like this." Gatomon couldn't resist. She smirked. "Are you sure about that?" I grinned. "Not really, but we've gotta hope anyway." With that, she climbed onto my shoulders and I made my way down the stairs. "Where do we head first?" she asked as I strode purposefully through the quad. "The most logical place to look would be the nurse's office. If she were still as banged up as I remember, then she couldn't exactly walk around through the school without attracting attention." "If she could walk at all," Gatomon pointed out. "Exactly. So, the nurse's office will be the first place to check. After that, I'd think about the library, the Tech room, or the lunch line." "The lunch line?" Gatomon repeated skeptically. I shook my head. "Don't even ask, trust me. You haven't seen her when she's been deprived of her beloved chili cheese fries. She can get pretty dangerous." The digimon rolled her eyes, smirking. Reaching the front office, I paused, a thought suddenly striking me. "Gatomon, you had better stay here. I don't think we'd get very far in there if the staff thought I was bringing in a pet cat." Gatomon snorted but jumped off, sulking toward the bushes. "Hmph, you're one to talk. You're practically a pet yourself!" When she was safely out of sight, I opened the door and walked inside, making my way past the water fountain towards the back of the room where a blue sign said in bold, white letters "NURSE". Peeking my head in, I cautiously looked around. "Nice ears." I looked up, startled. A guy that looked a little older than me sat in a chair next to the empty desk. He had blonde, spiked hair and his blue eyes looked me up and down curiously, making the hair on my tail rise. "Hate to break it to ya, but Halloween is over for this year," he said mockingly. Realizing he saw my tail and ears as costume accessories, my apprehension was replaced by irritation and I slowly felt my nails grow the slightest bit longer. I pressed m ears against my head instinctively. "Shut up," I spat. The stranger laughed. "What's the matter, kitty cat? Gonna bite me?" Unintentionally, I felt that spark inside me begin to swell up again. "Watch it, or I'll burn ya," I replied in a low, threatening tone. He grinned, clearly not intimidated. "Ooh, I'm really scared." A tiny flame flicked across my arm before dissolving into my skin once again- a sign that I was getting really ticked off. Luckily, (for the jerk, that is) before I had the opportunity to say anything further, another voice behind me nearly made me jump on top of the file cabinet. "May I help you?" Spinning around, I breathed out a relieved breath as the sight of the short, brown-haired nurse filled my view. With gold-rimmed glasses hanging down the bridge of her nose, she looked at me expectantly, tapping her pen against her clipboard. "Oh, um, hi," I stammered. "I actually came to see if a friend of mine were in here." She stared at me, examining my ears and tail briefly before turning to her clipboard and flipping through several sheets. "Name, please." "Ky- . Lacey!" Mentally, I scolded myself. Stupid move! "I'm sorry, her name is Lacey." To my relief, the nurse did not eye me suspiciously, but instead scanned through the names on her list, lifting a page once to read through the second list. After about ten seconds, she flipped all the pages back and tucked the clipboard under her arm. "I'm sorry, but no one under the name 'Lacey' has come in today. Would you like me to deliver a message should she come in later?" "No, that's alright," I said, somewhat disappointed. "Thank you, though." Feeling a little deflated, I walked out of the nurse's office. The deflation, however, was quickly replaced by anger when I heard from behind me, "See ya, cat-freak!" As I walked back outside, I seriously considered running back in there and turning the guy into an ash tray when Gatomon jumped out, looking up at me. "She wasn't in there, then?" "Nope," I replied, shaking my head. "We'll just have to keep looking, I guess." "Yeah, but that's," she waved her gloved paw at the mass across the quad, "a lot of people to look through. And according to the clock, we only have a little more than fifteen minutes left." I sighed, knowing she was right. "Well, I guess we could split up. We'd cover more of the school that way." Nodding, Gatomon glanced up at me. "Why do we need to find her before lunch ends, anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to look after lunch when everybody's in class?" I pointed at the yellow-vested woman sitting in a golf cart, eyes watching the students carefully. "Cause of them. if they catch you wandering around, they get suspicious, and they'll stop you. It's like highway patrol, only they don't give out detentions." Gatomon sighed. "I guess we have no other choice, then. Well." "Hey, Heather!" As I looked up, I heard the bushes beside me rustle- Gatomon leaping into them for cover. The digimon was a lot smarter than I would have admitted. The voice that spoke was one of two. She was a short, Asian girl with black hair and dark brown eyes. In her hands she carried a bright red book with the words Bon Voyage: French one printed on the cover and wore a pleasant smile. Her companion was only slightly taller due to the tall sandals she wore and was also Asian, but only vaguely more slender with a box of French fries in one hand and three fries in the other. I smiled. "Hi, Mei. Hi, Geneva." "Hello, there," Mei replied placidly, adjusting her books to fit in the crook of her arm. "Howdy," added Geneva, finishing off the fries in her hand. "Whatcha up to?" "Nothing, really," I lied. "How about you?" "Just walking around," Mei said. "Yeah, that's how bored we are. With nothing else to do to occupy our last few minutes of lunch but walking around." I nodded, hoping they weren't expecting to talk for too long. Suddenly, I felt something jab my leg and I looked down. Through the leaves of the bushes, I could see Gatomon's eyes, staring up at me. What does she want now? I thought as I watched her continue to stare at me. Randomly, she rolled her eyes and carefully stuck out a claw, stretching it out to point in front of me. Glancing to see what she was referring to, all I saw were Mei and Geneva, watching me curiously. Looking back at her, her eyes locked onto mine again as if holding some hidden meaning. Scrunching my forehead, I thought about what she could possibly be trying to say. "Are you okay?" Mei asked. Geneva giggled. "Yeah, you look like you need some. heh, help." My eyes widened. It suddenly clicked. "Geneva!" Mei exclaimed, unable to resist grinning. "That wasn't very nice." I spun around excitedly. Geneva smiled. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It was just a joke." Ignoring the apology, I instead replied, "Actually, I could use some help." Both girls blinked. "Y-you could?" Geneva repeated. I chuckled. "Not that kind of help." "Ohh," they replied in unison, looking somewhat relieved. "What kind of help do you need, then?" Mei asked. I glanced back at Gatomon only to receive an affirming nod. "I was wondering if you could help my find Lacey." "Find Lacey? Why?" Geneva asked. "It's kind of important," I explained, careful not to say too much. "There's something really important I have to tell her. a message I have to give her." "Ooh, a message?" Geneva replied, interested. "Is it from a guy?" I bit my lip, refusing to laugh. "Um. yeah. But, if I want to tell her, I have to find her before lunch is over. Do you think you could help me?" "Absolutely," Mei said, nodding. "Who's the guy? Who's the guy?" Geneva asked excitedly. "I'll tell you after you find her," I said quickly. "Just go find her." Knowing full and well that this specific type of message would subtly encourage them to look quickly, I watched with satisfaction as the two Asians sped away, darting into the adjoining building. "It's about time," Gatomon exclaimed, jumping out. "I thought I was going to have to stare and point for the rest of lunch!" Spinning around, I faced her, looking at the digimon seriously. "Look, when we eventually do find Kyra, do not tell her what I just told Mei and Geneva, got it?" "Why? Is it true?" "Of course not!" I exclaimed. "But if she were to ever find out I used that particular line to get Mei and Geneva to help me, she'd skewer me alive!" "How come?" I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Do I look like I know? Anyway, we have to start looking. Now, you'd probably be better off looking around the outskirts of the campus, mainly because there are lots of walkways around the school and you won't be seen that easily. If Mei and Geneva look in the 100 building and in the Band room, then I'll cover the rest. Come find me if you find Kyra, kay?" "Sure," she replied, nodding quickly before spinning around and leaping onto the roof. Watching her bound off, I instantly spun on my heel and began jogging through the quad, looking for a place to start my search. Starting in the back of the campus toward the tennis courts, I backtracked my way through, weaving in and out of classrooms and stopping anybody I knew to ask if they had seen Lacey. Unfortunately, no one had. When I found myself back at the quad, I glanced up at the clock. 1:09, which, translated, meant 12:54. Lunch ended at 1:01. Only 7 minutes to go. Picking up the pace, I made my way to the other side of the school where about a fifth of the school's population sat among the lunch tables and pep rally stage in front of the cafeteria lines and snack bar. Slowly, I picked my way through the crowds, pausing by people I recognized, and even went through the lines despite the irritated looks the lunch ladies gave me when the discovered I wasn't buying anything. Quickly running out of hope, I ran back to the quad, only to run into Mei and Geneva again. "Hey, did you guys find her?" I asked hopefully. My spirits were flattened when they both shook their heads, Geneva almost looking more disappointed then I probably did. "Sorry," Mei added. "No, it's okay," I replied, trying to sound cheerful. "You tried." Feeling very tired, I turned and walked, smiling only faintly when I heard Geneva mutter, "And we never got to find out who the guy was!" We have to find her, I thought. I have to. I don't how much more of this I can handle without her. "Prance! Prance!" I looked up to find Gatomon jumping from the rooftop to the ground in front of me. Ignoring the stares and whispering of the people around us, I asked urgently, "Well? Did you find her?" Gatomon shook her head, apparently catching her breath. "No. I didn't find her." "Then why did you call me so urgently?" I demanded, irritated. To my astonishment, she completely ignored the irritation and instead replied, "I didn't find her. but you'll never believe who I did find!" Surprised, I was about to ask her to continue when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I could only gasp at the figure that stood before me. Gatomon wasn't kidding. I didn't believe it.