NOTE: Christian content

Chapter 14: Friendly Enmity

"Aw, great! You forgot to get a can opener!" Kari complained.

"That's okay," Gatomon insisted. She brandished her claws and cut the lid off from one of the cans.

"Oh…"

"Sorry, Kari," Tai said. "You'll have to find another reason to be a gloomy-gus today."

"Oh, I bet I can find one," she shot back. "When the menace machines leave and the climate gets back to normal, then it'll get tougher to find a reason!"

Tai shook his head. "Just no pleasing you!"

There would've been an awkward silence if it hadn't been for the squabbling of children over the food they'd just managed to get. Agumon and Gabumon started a few fires to cook the stuff, and they ate. Tai, Yolei, Matt, and Kari didn't have as much food as the others; they knew that the younger children and the digimon and Monsters took priority. They just hoped that there was some way to get them food tomorrow.

That night, Tai heard Kari's voice say, "Tai…are you awake?"

"Yes. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah."

"Let's talk outside, so we won't wake anyone up. There's an overhang that shelters the steps to the mausoleum."

They stepped outside, and it was still raining, just as hard as before.

"What is it, Kari?" Tai asked.

Kari shivered a little and pulled up the hood of her raincoat and tightened the strings. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but whatever was on the tip of her tongue went flying backwards into the pit of her stomach: she didn't know how to put how she felt into words. She sighed and leaned on her brother's shoulder. "We're toast, aren't we?"

"Kari, you're letting despair get the better of you."

"I'm scared, Tai…I'm scared half to death, but I couldn't show it…not in front of those kids, I couldn't!" she said with a sob.

"Kari…" Tai put an arm around her and insisted, "We're not going to die, Kari! Why would God keep us alive and then kill us here?"

"How does God factor in to this?"

"How doesn't He? …Kari, I don't mean to be criticizing you, but, all your life, you've been saying, 'what if this goes wrong?' and 'what'll happen after this happens?' and you've been forgetting that God provides and He controls… that's what He's doing right now."

"Then how come all this bad stuff keeps happening?"

"Bad stuff happening is the consequences of people doing bad stuff."

"Are you saying this happened to Earth because we deserved it??"

"No. I'm saying that it was wrong for whoever messed up time to have attacked us. And I'm saying that it was the choice of our enemy---the 'Linonian Empire', whoever that is---to have messed stuff up. God didn't choose to hurt us."

"Then how can He control if people keep making bad choices?"

"He does, Kari. Look outside. What do you see?"

"It's dark and it's cold and it's pouring rain."

"Now, see? It's dark. That means the luftwaffles can't get us. And you still have your raincoat with you, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"And how many children made it out of the orphanage alive in that attack?"

"It was…all of them!"

Tai snapped his fingers. (A true feat for someone wearing gloves.) "There. Now, what do you say about God?"

Looking up, Kari said, "God, I'm sorry for doubting you."

At that moment, there was a glint of light from the sun.

Kari smiled at the warmth and light, but sighed that she couldn't stick around to enjoy it. "I think we'd better get in before a luftwaffle spots us," Kari thought aloud.

"No kidding."

******

"This has 'trap' written all over it," Hare said as he and Tiger went off to check out Tenth and Division.

"I know. I don't think we can really trust that guy like that. I'm not sure I've ever seen him, but can tell you right now that he's not worth trusting."

They crept quietly up to a corner behind a building so as to avoid being seen. "…So, do I go in while you watch my back, or do you go in while I watch yours?"

"Good question. Saving your life is almost---"

"Almost what? What?"

Tiger sighed. "Why are we pretending like there's nothing between Renamon and the two of us?"

"That's a good question," Hare shot back with his arms folded.

"Didn't you dump her?"

"I did, but---"

"But what? You wish you hadn't?"

"What's it to you if I do?"

Tiger snarled. "I won't have you stealing her away from me!"

"Well, if this mission fails and one of us gets killed, then that won't be a problem, will it?"

"Or if both of us get killed, for that matter," Tiger added, looking over Hare's shoulder.

Hare looked over his shoulder, and there was nothing there. "What are you looking at?"

"The street sign. If I remember the number system on this planet, we're a few blocks south of Tenth and Division."

"…Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Look over my shoulder while you're talking to me! That creeps me out, like there are some menace machines about to attack us!"

"Well, just be glad there aren't!"

"You had to say that, didn't you?" Hare asked as a cybertooth roared at them. "Which one of us takes him?"

"You!" Tiger answered, putting the digi-egg of courage where Hare could reach it.

"Hare, module-evolve to…Firabbit!" Firabbit flew up and shot his Clinker Beam at the cybertooth. "This'll be over before you can say---"

"Darwawo Ota!" the cybertooth shouted. The blast sent Firabbit flying, along with the digi-egg of friendship that he'd been holding for Tiger. That meant Tiger wouldn't be able to module-evolve unless he could find it back.

Tiger watched Firabbit as he went flying through the air and shouted after him, "Thanks a bunch, pal! …Hey, where'd you go?!" Firabbit had disappeared while in midair. "…Whoa, boy!" Tiger sighed as he found himself in a one-on-one with the cybertooth. "This guy is not going to be easy!"