Scary university midterms are in season, and I am terrified out of my wits. Nevertheless I will forge on to bring this enigmatic tale to you, my loyal readers (if any).
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, but perhaps Santa will get it for me for Christmas...oh wait...you have to be nice to get a gift. Sigh, I'm getting rather tired of coal...x_x; Perhaps the Prince of Darkness can supply me them for Halloween...although that contract for my soul looks a bit too airtight to me.
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I was getting rather uncomfortable with the overwhelming silence as me and Cody walked through the sewers. I did not want to agitate Cody any further, but my mind was still aching to have its questions satisfied. My curiosity overwhelmed my manners as I dared to ask some more about what was going on with the world. I only hoped that Cody would be willing to answer without giving me a strange stare or a swift punch.
"What's your name?" He asked me all of a sudden. I still found this rather odd, but I answered him anyway.
"My name's Davis." I responded.
"Well welcome to Odaiba, Davis." Cody said with a hint of cynicism. I could also hear sorrow in his voice. I had to learn why my home had gone through this travesty.
"I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions; it might help jog my memory." I lied. "If that's alright with you."
"Well...if it will help your memory...fine." Muttered Cody. Thank goodness Cody still retained his manners...for the most part.
"How long has Odaiba been like this?" I inquired. He gave me a strange look, but at least it wasn't a stare.
"It's been like this for four years." He regretfully stated. Four years?! I've been gone for four years. A new theory had been formulating in my head, because of these inconsistencies, but I could not be absolutely sure until I had more proof. "Ever since the Three overtook our world, it has forever been in darkness."
"Are you implying that the whole world is like this?!" I exclaimed. He slowly nodded.
"Five years ago when I became involved in this gigantic mess, everything, for the most part, was under control." Cody stated. "Me and the others were able to keep the hermit at bay." Hermit...who was that?
"I'm assuming that you and your friends are the Digidestined." I said.
"I see that some of your memory is coming back." Said Cody. "Of course, everyone knows about us - it's just common knowledge."
"So who is this hermit?" I asked.
"The hermit was the start of all the trouble." Cody began. "When me and my friend, Yolei, first learned about the Digital World from our friends Kari...and TK, who were part of the original group of Digidestined. We had just received our Digivices and were so eager to learn more. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. The responsibility was greater than I anticipated. We discovered that we had to defend two different worlds from those who wished to destroy the balance. The first threat that we faced was a dark child that dubbed himself, the Digimon Emperor. He is the hermit that I mentioned." So the hermit was Ken...but why?
"And why is he a hermit?" I questioned.
"Well...our battles with the emperor were long and arduous." He replied. "He ambitiously tried to conquer the Digital World, but we narrowly managed to defeat him. He was an actual Digidestined child, with a partner that he abused. They miraculously made amends with one another, but we could never accept him into our group. I especially despised him. Tai, our leader...and TK had suggested that we forgive him...but they never put up any valid arguments for the group to accept Ken."
Something was starting to make sense, and I didn't like where it was directing me. Cody didn't recognize me; the world had been turned upside down; and Ken wasn't forgiven. What did it all mean? Well, I was probably getting closer to the answer. I was about to explain why Ken behaved the way he did because of the Dark Spore, but I don't think that Cody would have accepted that. Plus, I did not want to be grabbed by my collar again.
"So who are the Three?" I wondered. "They seem to be the ones responsible for the devastation."
"I would have thought that you would have known this, despite your temporary amnesia, but I guess I can re-teach you." Cody told me. "The Three are three very dark and twisted digimon who each have unfathomable power. Because of their malicious nature, each of the Three do not trust any of the other two. In fact, they have destroyed the cities of the world and have almost obliterated the Digital World in their constant battles for supremacy. One might ally with the other, and then later double-cross their temporary ally by joining forces with the other. This just continues on in a cruel cycle that harms and kills both innocent digimon and humans alike." That gruesome fact was hard and terrifying for me to process.
"Well that explains who they are in general, but who are they specifically?" I asked again.
"They came one at a time, really." Cody started. "We had been holding our own with these two ultimate digimon, Arukenimon and Mummymon. They were challenging adversaries and even created the powerful BlackWarGreymon, who thankfully later defected. However he sacrificed himself at a time when we needed him the most. The first of the Three came with his own demented, yet powerful forces. Our digimon barely survived their assault, but we could not handle their master...Daemon."
"Daemon?! That's impossible! We sent him to the Dark Ocean!" I exclaimed. Cody looked at me, as if to say, 'what the hell are you talking about?', so I said never mind.
"As I was saying, Daemon proved to be far too mighty for our digimon to defeat, so we had to fall back." Continued Cody. "Our group desperately thought of ways that we could stop him, but whenever we tried them on subsequent battles, they proved to be useless. Just as we thought that matters could not get any worse, a second powerful digimon emerged from the Digiport...MaloMyotismon. The older Digidestined had told us stories about Myotismon, but I never expected for us to face him. All this time he hid himself away. Though we never saw Arukenimon nor Mummymon ever again, MaloMyotismon more than made up for those two." He took a heavy sigh. "One of my friends kept track of several Digidestined all over the world, but we could never organize a joint attack. The distances were too great. MaloMyotismon also opened gates all over the world, I believe. Wild digimon flooded into our world and wreaked havoc in several cities. We could not travel to these affected areas, so the local Digidestined had no choice but to destroy the renegade digimon." I could tell that he was bitter about that last fact. "Thankfully MaloMyotismon had to also concentrate his efforts on quelling the competition, namely Daemon. Our world had gone into complete chaos on many levels, and it rested on the shoulders of the Digidestined. Of course, much to our dismay, there came a third..."
Alright, that one I know was destroyed. If only they knew how MaloMyotismon came into being; they would have understood how serious a threat he was. Hmm...it is becoming apparent to me that there is more to this world than meets the eye. I tried to predict who was the third member. There were only a small handful of digimon that were extraordinarily strong. I took a wild guess at who the third and final digimon was.
"...Armagemon." I uttered. Cody nodded.
"He was as strong as the other two." Cody stated. "We even tried a desperate tactic: bringing Omnimon into being once more. We all thought that Omnimon would be strong enough to take on the massive beast, and perhaps even the other two. He was our strongest ally and was thus our last hope. Regrettably, not even the awesome might of Omnimon was enough...If only we could have been a bit more stronger - even by a small margin - we might have had the necessary power enough to save both worlds...but that miracle never came throughout our trials...never. The survivors of this world are all scattered about. We are all alone and in constant fear...and our hope is no more."
I suddenly remembered something that ImperialDramon told me in the transitive void.
You are the child who brought together Courage, Friendship, and Miracles. Yet you wish to be cast into a lonely, fearful, and hopeless world that has given up - a world without goggles.
Oh...dear...God! The resolution to my biggest question had came to me in an inundation. Cody had reminded me about the paladin digimon's cryptic words. They were almost exactly the same, content-wise. The 'world without goggles' is the world I am in now! I owned the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, and Miracles. The qualities of this word that ImperialDramon gave, repeated by Cody, were practically the opposite traits of the qualities that I am supposed to stand for! So once I piece this in the abstract equation before me...I am what is missing...I...do...not...exist.
Hey! What do you know - I figured it out! I am smarter than I think I am! But still...why am I of such great importance? Why wasn't Tai or one of the others granted the power of my Digimentals in this world? How do I really fit in the more in-depth equation? Ouch! My head began to throb again. I guess one epiphany at a time is sufficient for someone like me. I could figure out the rest later...as well as a way out of this nightmare.
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After a half-hour more of walking we came to a wide opening filled with shocking sights. Before me was a crude settlement where I saw several people going about their lives. It was a giant, underground subway station that had been refurbished - albeit poorly - into a massive living space. There were some one-story buildings created out of concrete and stone, but for the most part, tents were littered across the whole scene. The people all looked so sad and hopeless - there was no shine in their eyes. Their skin and faces were rather dirty, and some children looked a bit malnourished. Is this what the rest of the world is going through, too? I shed a tear in empathy.
"The doctor is just a bit further." Cody said to me. "It's one of the larger buildings farther down."
We passed by many of these tents, which I saw were where the majority of the people slept. Several of them looked at me curiously, and some were a bit anxious. I was relatively clean - maybe a few scratches - but still in good shape, so I guess I was standing out more than I would desire.
We finally got to the door to what looked like a makeshift clinic. Cody opened the door and the two of us went inside. The clinic was kept a lot cleaner than the rest of the area, but the environment wasn't as sterile as one would expect an ordinary clinic to be. I heard the cry of a young child in the background, and noticed several people in the waiting area. Apparently this was the only local medical office around. A person dressed in a white robe came out of one of the rooms. Immediately I recognized the man from his hair and glasses, though the hair was messy and long, and the glasses were kind of bent. He approached us when he noticed Cody.
"Good to see you, Joe." I said, after he greeted Cody.
"Hello...who are you, exactly?" He replied as he adjusted his glasses. I took a deep sigh. This was going to be a long night...
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To be continued...
Fascinating...Now that I think of it, Cody's description of the Three reminded me of the three powers (Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia) in the book, 1984, by George Orwell (a profound book - overall and on the topic of dystopias). They always were in a "state of war" with one another, battling for global supremacy. Of course, each were about even in strength, so this was impossible. Perhaps this slipped into my subconscious since I was born in 1984 and loved the book...probably...who knows!
As always, review and share your thoughts.