Starcatcher: Hey everyone, here's the next chapter.
EA: And here's a personal note. There are these things. They're called "reviews". Authors like to see them. They make the authors happy. A happy author gets chapters out faster. An unhappy author loses motivation and discontinues stories. The moral of this lesson: SEND MORE REVIEWS!!!
Starcatcher: The lack of reviews is saddening...
EA: THREE! ONLY THREE REVIEWS! NOT EVEN A DECENT FLAME! AND AFTER WE WORKED OUR BUTTS OFF TO MAKE THE LAST CHAPTER LONGER AND GO AHEAD AND PUT THE OTHERS IN!!!
Starcatcher: I would like to thank Anthony1, Lavos the Time Apocalypse, and Tamer of Light, the only three who sent reviews for the last chapter.
EA: The rest of you get squat...well, actually, you get to read this chapter so don't complain!
Kari: Starcatcher and EA own nothing except this plot, Tenshi, and Lunamon, which really doesn't matter considering neither of them really play much of a role in this fic. (Smirking) Which means Tenshi isn't going to get Davis!
Starcatcher: Who ever said that?
Kari & EA: WHAT!?! (Glare over at Tenshi, who's talking with Davis)
Tenshi: ...And so, Raditz asks Piccolo if he's seen Kakarot. Piccolo asks if he means Son Goku, and Raditz says that's the one. Then Piccolo says "Over that way. He's on an island with some friends. You just fly for a few miles straight, can't miss it." And Raditz says "Thanks" before flying off. And Piccolo says "He seemed nice."
Davis: (Laughs) Man, I'm really gonna have to read that DBZ: Director's Cut!
Kari & EA: (ANGRY) Grrr...
Starcatcher: Oh boy...how about we just start the chapter already, okay? And just so you all know, all the chapters so far have focused on Davis and Veemon, but this won't always be the case. I'm going to develop all the characters, not just those two.
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"Remember earlier when I thought that things were at their worst? I was wrong." Davis sighed.
"What do you mean?" Lunamon looked up at him, talking for the first time.
"Let's recap, shall we? 1. Veemon and I somehow ended up in an alternate reality where there was a new evil threatening the Digital World. 2. This new evil turned out to be the very ones who protected it before. Our friends, the first eight Digidested, were taking over the Digital World and as it stood, I was the only Digidestined who could stop them...reason being that I was the only Digidestined at the time. 3. Ken, Yolie, and Cody all thought I was nuts when I tried to explain the situation to them, so they weren't going to be any help. 4. Veemon was gonna die! He's my best friend, not to mention that I wouldn't even be able to stand a chance against the new Dark Masters or their Digimon without him! And last, but not least, 5. I was stuck in a cave, alone, with pretty much no way out."
"Whoa! Whoa! A cave? When did that happen?" Tenshi demanded.
Davis laughed a little. "Well...it's like this..."
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Davis took a step back, not able to believe what he had just heard. "W...what?"
"Veemon is going to die." Gennai repeated.
"But how? WHY!?!"
Gennai sighed. "I've looked through every bit of data I could find that had anything to do with this sort of phenomenon. The information I found wasn't good. It is impossible for a person to exist in two places at once. With two versions of the same person alive in the same time and place, they will start to experience distortions."
Davis frowned. "Okay, but what does that have to do with Veemon?"
"This won't have any effect on you because your alternate self died years ago. But it seems that the alternate version of Veemon is still alive."
"SAY WHAT!?!"
"The Davis of this reality died years ago, before he was able to become a Digidestined and free Veemon..."
The goggled boy nodded, understanding. "I get it...so that Veemon is still sealed under the Digimental of Courage in this reality! But why didn't he pass on when my alternate self did?"
"Because he was still sealed, and therefore, could not be free until the one meant to be his partner comes along and lifts the Digimental of Courage." Gennai explained. "To save Veemon, you'll have to find this world's Digimental of Courage and release this reality's Veemon, then get him to move on to be reconfigured..."
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"Man, talk about a predicament. In order to save Veemon...I would have to end the life of the other Veemon."
Tenshi whistled. "Man...to have to kill your own partner...granted, it's the alternate version of him, but still..."
Davis sighed. "Tell me about it. And the worst part was I had to go through to get to him."
"What do you mean? Wasn't the Veemon of that reality still trapped under the Digimental of Courage?"
"Yeah, he was, but the problem was GETTING to the darn thing. Apparently, the layout of that area changed as well. It was underground, and there was one hell of a path I had to travel down in order to reach him. Not to mention..."
"What? Did something else happen?"
Davis frowned and looked away, the scene that occured in the tunnels replaying in his mind.
####################
It felt like he had been walking for hours...oh wait! He HAD been walking for hours, and yet it still seemed as though he had gone completely NOWHERE! 'Man, how long is this thing?' Davis wondered.
Gennai's words echoed through Davis's mind. 'Remember...the path is long and treacherous. You have to keep going to reach the Digimental of Courage where Veemon is still trapped. Then you'll have to explain the situation to him and get him to move on.'
Davis rolled his eyes. 'Sure...that'll be easy...' Note the sarcasm. This was going to be anything BUT easy. It was completely dark, with barely enough light to let him see an inch ahead! It was especially irksome when the passageway turned one way or the other and he ended up walking straight into a wall. And if things weren't even bad enough, he was sent here right after returning from the real world, so it was really late and he nearly fell asleep several times! He pinched his arm once again to keep himself awake, and could tell there would be a bruise there in the morning.
As he continued walking, he thought he heard something coming towards him. He stopped, listening as the echos of his own footsteps faded. Nothing else could be heard. Shrugging, he continued walking until he heard it again. He stopped, but this time, it kept coming. It sounded like a loud rumble headed towards him...much like...
"AN EARTHQUAKE!!!" He shouted, just as the ground began to shake. It seemed like the ceiling was going to crash down on him. In fact...it did. Several pieces of the rock fell, nearly crushing him, but Davis managed to dodge as he tried to continue on, remembering that Veemon would die if he took too long. Unfortunately, just when the quake was coming to an end and he thought he was safe, a portion of the roof fell, knocking him out and burying him under dirt and rocks.
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Darkness...
No...
It was a void...
Nothing seemed to exist...he wasn't even sure if he existed either...
"Man...what is this place?" Davis wondered.
There was a bright flash that forced him to cover his eyes. When the flash died down, he looked around to find himself right outside his school back in the real world that he left behind! "What the...? I'm back in the real world! But what about Veemon and the others?" At that thought, he instantly ran into the school and to the computer lab where to his relief, the others were waiting.
"Davis, what took you so long?" Yolie demanded.
"Sorry, I just had some stuff to take care of." He answered back.
"It's okay. TK and Kari haven't arrived yet either." Cody informed them.
That's when he heard giggling coming from behind him. Turning to face the door he had just entered from, he found, to his shock, Kari and TK, arms wrapped around each other. Kari seemed to be glowing, as though she was the happiest girl in the world. "Guys! We have an announcement! TK and I are going out now!" Kari exclaimed. TK grinned and nodded to confirm what she just said.
The others broke out into cheers and began congradulating them on finally getting together, while sending these disapproving looks at Davis as he stood there and did nothing. He didn't notice however, as he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. 'She chose TK...everyone always did say they were perfect for each other...but still...I thought that...maybe...she would give me a chance...didn't I prove how much I love her? Didn't she notice? Didn't she even care?'
Laughter broke him out of his thoughts. That's when he noticed that the entire scene had disappeared and he was once again in the seemingly endless void. "What the...?" Yet there was someone else there...the source of the laughter. Spinning around, Davis came face to face with the one and only child of hope.
"TK..." Davis narrowed his eyes, still disturbed by the scene he had just witnessed.
"Aww...is wittle Davis sad?" TK smirked. "Come on, did you really think you actually stood a chance against me when it came to winning Kari's heart?"
He shook his head, realizing that what he just saw wasn't real. It was just some illusion, but why he saw it...he wasn't quite sure. "You haven't won her heart."
"Well, not yet. But she's as good as mine!"
Davis glared. "What makes you think she'll automatically chose you?"
TK's smirk grew. "Isn't it obvious? We were both part of the first group. We both have angel Digimon. They even share an attack when they armor-digivolve! And besides, I have the crest of Hope. Kari has the crest of Light. Hope and Light go perfectly together. And what do you have? Nothing. You just use the borrowed powers of other Digidestined in the form of the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship. You have no crest. You're a complete loser. Anything you've done, I've done first. And I've done a faster and better job than you as well."
"Hey! I may not have been in every single battle that you and the others fought in, but I've done my best in what battles I did fight."
"And you made a mess of them all too."
"Yes, I made a few mistakes...okay, a lot of mistakes, but I LEARNED from them and worked hard to keep from making those same mistakes again. That's a quality of a good leader."
"I would have made a better leader than you. At least I would have been smart enough NOT to make those mistakes."
"Yeah, but you also fought before, and I'll bet that you made even more mistakes than me during that time, right?" At this, Davis was smirking as he saw TK glare at him.
"Even so, Kari and I are meant for each other. Hope and Light. Everybody says so. It's destiny."
Davis rolled his eyes. Man, he was getting so sick and tired of hearing that same line over and over again. "Oh blah, blah, blah. Don't give me that 'destiny' crap! Destiny is just an excuse to stop living and fate is a scapegoat for when things go wrong. WE decide how our lives will turn out. Otherwise, there isn't really any reason for us even being here. What's the point of having free will if you can't use it? Whether either of us is with Kari in the end will ultimately be up to her. If she chooses me, great! If she doesn't, then I won't keep pushing her. Kari will be the one to decide who she feels she'll be the most happy with, and I for one promise, if I ever make it back, that I will stop showing off and making a fool out of myself trying to get her with me."
TK sneered as he faded. Yet nothing else happened and Davis was still stuck in the void. 'Man, what else?'
That's when he noticed a bright light that seemed to be coming from behind him. He turned and saw something in the distance. With nothing else he could do, he headed towards it. As he got closer, he realized that the object in the distance was a door, and a rather strange looking one at that. Part of him wanted to open it and go through, but he felt something strange about the door. It radiated a sense of loss...and lonliness...and another part of him wanted to get as far away from that door as possible.
What will you do?
Will you take the chance and open the door?
Or will you remain where you are?
The choice is yours...
You can lose everything...
Or gain everything...
But when the time comes...
Which shall you choose?
The light the door emitted grew in intensity, forcing Davis to close his eyes as the words continued to echo in his mind. He felt a weight pressing down on him and began to struggle to rise...
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Davis opened his eyes to find himself standing on his own two feet back in the cave. 'What the...? What was that all about?' Looking around, he noticed that the area seemed a bit lighter than it was before. Looking up, he found the answer. Part of the roof was missing, which probably happened when the cave had collapsed on top of him, knocking him out for a while. Making his way through the rock and dirt that came up to his knees, he finally made it to the other side, and continued down the path, thinking about the strange dream he just had. 'Did it mean anything...?' He wondered, before nodding. 'Yeah, it showed me that I have been pushing myself on Kari. When I find a way home, I'll back off and try to be less of a jerk...' He scowled. 'Doesn't mean I'm gonna let TK get her though!'
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Starcatcher: Oh come on, people! You didn't honestly think I was gonna automatically make him be mature and all powerful so soon, did you?
EA: Uh-huh.
Gatomon: Yeah.
Kari: Pretty much.
Veemon: Yup.
Davis: Ditto.
Starcatcher: Hey!
Kari: Well, lets think about it...you have me, TK, and all the older kids evil, Yolie's wimpy, Ken's a jerk, and Cody's a snot-nosed punk.
Starcatcher: This is an alternate dimension, so I can get away with that. Davis, however, is the same from the show, so I need to keep him at least somewhat goofy and naive then allow him to mature some as the story progresses. Trust me, he won't be the only one who changes over time.
Veemon: Can we get back to the fic and finally find out if I'm gonna live or not?
EA: (Rolls eyes) Oh come on! Any idiot could tell you the answer to that!
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He continued trying to make his way through the cave for several more hours, falling or running into a wall a few more times. Cursing, he began to wonder just how long he had been walking when he finally saw a light ahead. 'Is that it?' He ran towards the light as quickly as he could despite his minor injuries. Finally he made it to the source of the light...and found himself in the chamber that held the Digimental of Courage. 'FINALLY!' So overjoyed that he reached his destination, he pumped his fist into the air. "YES!"
Then realizing that Veemon was still in trouble, he calmed down and carefully made his way up to the pedestal that held the object of his search. He could just reach out and touch it now...but he couldn't help wondering...what would happen when he did?
Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes at the now slightly glowing digimental. 'I have to do this...' He took hold of it, and caused the glowing to intensify...which wasn't the only reaction. Once he touched it, he nearly cried out in shock. It was as if the thing actually was on fire! At least he was wearing his gloves...though that only seemed to make it worse once the egg burned through his gloves and began scorching his skin. Quickly, he tried to pull the digimental away, but the heat only increased the harder he pulled at it!
'The stupid thing's gonna burn my hands off unless I let go! But I have to save Veemon! Come on Davis! You're the only one who can lift it! Put all of your strength into it and PULL IT OUT!'
"DAMMIT!!!" He shouted as the burning intensified even more, searing his flesh and causing him to lose all feeling in his hands. "JUST...COME...OUT...YOU...STUPID...PIECE...OF...CRAP!!!" He felt something give, and with a small 'pop', the digimental came lose. However, he had been pulling so hard that he lost his balance and tumbled backward.
The same scene that occured when he first freed Veemon back in his world played before him. A light burst from the pedestal, and something began to form within it. The light died down, and standing before him was...a Veemon...only different. His skin was a dark blue but seemed to have a tint of gray, his eyes were a pale orange-red, and the markings were more of a copper color.
'Veemon' looked around in confusion. "I don't understand...how can I be here?" His gaze fell on Davis. "Did...you release me?"
Davis nodded. "Y...yeah, I did."
Looking him over carefully, 'Veemon' frowned. "You have the same aura...but you're not the one who's supposed to be my partner. He died years ago."
"Wait a minute...you mean you knew that the Davis here died?" Davis questioned.
'Veemon' nodded. "Of course. He's my Digidestined partner. We're connected, so I can usually tell how he feels or if he's okay." He hung his head, sadly. "I felt him disappear some time ago. I never even got the chance to meet him."
"...I'm sorry..."
Looking up, 'Veemon' faced Davis. Not sure how, he got the feeling that the Digimon knew who he really was and why he was there. "I just want to be with my partner. There's no reason for me to stay here...and your Veemon and I can't exist at the same time. So I'm going to move on."
Davis smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "I know you'll be able to meet up with him the next time around."
"I want to help you both return peace the Digiworld...though I can't do anything myself, I'll give my power to Veemon, and I'll entrust my partner's power to you. I think he would have wanted it that way." 'Veemon' nodded.
"Whoa...thanks..."
"No...I should be the one to thank you." Smiling, 'Veemon' began to revert into data and drift away. "I'm sure...that if he had survived...he would have been just like you." And with that...he was gone.
Davis sighed and turned away, ready to start his journey back through the passage to the outside when he noticed several colored lights shining on the walls as a strange hum could be heard. Realizing it was originating from where the pedestal was, he turned back to be greeted with five glowing lights. "What the...?" The five lights were, from left to right, red, yellow, blue, lavender, and strangely enough...black. He snapped his fingers when he realized what they were. "The digivices!"
At that, four of the lights shot off through the ceiling and into the sky, where he was sure they were headed for their owners in the real world. The last light, the blue one, remained and floated towards Davis. Hearing a screeching sound, he looked to his side where his D-3 was, but it began to hover in front of him as well. The light surrounded his D-3, causing it to glow for a moment before it returned to normal and dropped into his outstretched hands. He winced slightly when it did, due to the burns on his hands from when he tried to pull out the Digimental.
He grinned. "Cool...mission accomplished." Turning away to head back through the cave, he paused for a moment, his gaze following the path that the four lights had taken. "Red...yellow...black...I know those belong to Yolie, Cody, and Ken...but what was with that other one?" Shrugging, he headed back into the darkness of the passageway. "Oh well...I guess I'll find out sooner or later..."
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Finally, after several hours, he reached the outside. Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Man...it's nice to see sunlight again...wait a minute! SUNLIGHT!?! Oh no! It's MORNING already!?! I've been in there all night!" He cried out and fell to his knees, exhausted. He didn't stay there long though, knowing that he needed to go back and make sure Veemon was okay. Finally, after another hour of walking and pinching, he reached Gennai's house where Gatomon was waiting for him.
"Hey Davis, what's with the getup?" Gatomon asked.
"Huh?" He looked down at himself and gasped. He hadn't realized it before due to the lack of light in the cave and the rush to return and discover if Veemon was all right, but his Digiworld outfit was different! He had lost the fur collar on the leather jacket, which now reached past his knees and the sleeves ended a bit past his elbow, though it still had the red flames and blue background. Instead of shorts, he was now wearing pants. His goggles were still there, unchanged. He was now wearing fingerless gloves with the same flame design as his jacket. Considering he wasn't wearing those gloves when the D-3 fell into his hands, he realized that the changes must have taken place when he was rushing through the cave, only he had been so concerned with getting back that he didn't notice. "Whoa...this is new..."
Gatomon smiled. "We're just glad you made it back."
That snapped Davis out of his thoughts, remembering that Veemon had been close to death. "Veemon! Is he okay?"
Her smile faded, and she looked away, sadly. At this time, Gennai emerged from his home to see the two. Davis, beginning to panic, rushed over to him. "Gennai! Is Veemon okay? Did I make it in time?"
Gennai sighed and hung his head, not looking at the goggled boy. 'No...it can't be!' He pushed past Gennai and ran through the house and into the room where Veemon had been placed to monitor his condition. When he reached his destination, he gasped, not believing the scene before him.
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Starcatcher: Well, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
EA: WHAT!?! YOU'RE JUST LEAVING IT THERE!?!
Angry fans: (Run up holding torches and pitchforks)
Starcatcher: (Stares) Of course...I guess I could always make it a bit longer...
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Five seconds later...
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU TWO!!!" Davis shouted as he began chasing after Gatomon and Gennai, both of which were laughing their heads off. Leomon just sighed, shaking his head at the scene when Veemon appeared from the doorway and stood next to him.
"What's going on?" He asked, looking up at the part lion Digimon.
Leomon smiled slightly. "When Davis questioned them about your health, they made it seem like you didn't make it."
"Ooooh..." He turned back to face the scene. "Hey Davish!"
At the sound of his voice, Davis stopped in his tracks before changing his direction and running towards Veemon. "Veemon! I thought you were gonna die!" Davis cried out, hugging the blue dragon.
Veemon grinned. "Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine!"
Davis smiled back before looking thoughtful. "That reminds me...I still have to kill Gennai and Gatomon! GET BACK HERE!!!" He shouted, taking off after the two again, dropping Veemon a bit carelessly on the ground.
"Oh crap. I thought he forgot all about us!" Gennai stated before taking off running again, even though it was a bit hard considering he is still in his form as an old man. Okay, so for him it wasn't running...more like walking really, really fast...it's amazing how quickly you can go when you're fearing for your life...
Gatomon glared at him as she ran beside him. "Hey, it was YOUR idea! You're the one who pushed me into going along with it too!"
Still running, Gennai shrugged. "I didn't think he'd get so mad about it!"
"Oy..."
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"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
After the two had taken off running, Davis started to go after them before deciding that it was too early...er...late to kill them at the time. Exhausted from his trip through the cave, he stumbled inside Gennai's house promptly fell asleep on the couch. Nearby, Veemon was watching his partner before turning to question Leomon. "Why is he so tired? The digimental couldn't have been that hard to get..."
Leomon shook his head. "The area where the Digimental of Courage resides suffered an earthquake several years ago. That entire cave was submerged underground. The passage is still there, but it's much more treacherous. Until now, anyone who's gone in there hasn't returned..."
Veemon gulped before taking another look at Davis. "Yikes...but if anyone could make it, Davish could! But why is he dressed differently?"
Turning to face the young dragon, Leomon frowned. "What do you mean? Hasn't this happened before?"
"No, his Digiworld outfit always stayed the same. I don't understand why it changed..."
"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he now has our world's Digimental of Courage?"
Veemon shrugged. "Maybe...but it never changed when we had gotten the digimentals in our world."
Leomon smiled slightly. "Whatever the reason, I don't believe it's anything to worry about."
"I hope you're right..."
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"Finally done!" Yolie grinned, standing up from her seat in front of the computer. She had stayed in the computer lab late after school to finish some extra work. Fortunately, she didn't have to help out at her family's store today. She shuddered, remembering what had happened just yesterday with that weirdo. He freaked her out, and the weirdest part was that it seemed as though he actually knew her. "Ah, forget it. I'll probably never see him again anyway." She mumbled to herself, turning off the computer and lights and closing the door behind her as she left.
Barely a second after she exited the room, the computer she had just been using turned on by itself. The screen glowed brightly, lighting up the entire room. A glowing red orb shot out of the computer monitor and actually went crashing THROUGH the window of the door. Hearing the glass shatter, Yolie gasped and spun around only to see a red light flying towards her. She screamed, closed her eyes, and held her hands out in front of her in an attempt to ward it off, but it slowed down when it got closer to her and simply floated into her hands, then took on a solid form.
Realizing that she was now holding something, Yolie opened her eyes and looked at the object in her hands. It looked like nothing she had ever seen. 'What's this? Some sort of mini-computer? And why did it charge at me like that?' Blinking a couple of times, she looked over the object carefully. 'Wait a minute! I've seen this before!' She gasped and nearly dropped it. 'This is just like the strange device that weird kid had, only the grip is red instead of blue!' Now she really wanted to drop it, but for some reason, couldn't make herself let go. 'But...does this mean...that what he said is true...?'
Here's the thing. Yolie is the unpopular, commonly picked on, computer geek in her school. She's one of those people who always tries to find a rational reason for everything. And that's what she did. 'I must have been working too hard. I'm imagining things. Someone must have hit a ball through the window, and that light was just the glare from the sun. And this device...well...maybe someone just dropped it.' And with that, she headed home, but not before pocketing the digivice...
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In an apartment in Tamachi, a computer screen began to glow before a black light emerged. Yeah, it's sorta weird that a light can be black, but it is. The orb emerged from the computer and circled the room a few times before going inside a desk drawer, emitting a brighter flash of light before fading. No one was there to see the strange phenomenon.
Outside the room, however, voices could be heard...
"Ken, your principal called."
"..."
"He said you were in another fight! That's the fifth time this month!"
"And you're barely passing any of your classes. You teachers say that you don't pay attention or participate."
"And you don't have that many friends. The only ones are those two kids you hang out with, but they're a bad influence on you."
"..."
"Ken, we know you can do better than this. We just want what's best for you and we hate seeing you like this."
"If you keep going down this road, you won't have a very good future."
"Why can't you be more like your brother, Sam?"
"..."
"He makes straight A's and never gets into fights. We would never get a call from the principal complaining about him."
"..."
"Well? Don't you have anything to say?"
"..."
"You're grounded Ken. Go to your room and do your homework. You're to come straight home after school and do your homework. We'd like to at least see you make a B in one of your classes..."
'Finally...thought they'd never shut up.' Ken thought to himself as he closed the door behind him once he was safe inside his room. The shades were down and the lights were off, leaving the room completely dark except for the glow of the computer screen. That was fine with him though, he liked the dark. It was so calming.
Lying on his bed, he thought over the recent events. 'This sucks. It's always Sam this and Sam that. Why can't they just accept me as I am?' He wondered. However, his thoughts soon drifted to the strange boy who stood up to him yesterday. 'Funny, but it seemed like the guy somehow knew me. And what did he mean when he asked me where my kindness went?'
He shrugged, deciding to forget about his weird encounter. 'Eh, he's probably just some punk trying to freak me out.' He turned away from the glow of the computer screen, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.
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Cody glared at the strange device in his hand before throwing it into the waste basket in his room. 'What a moron. Trying to freak me out with stories of 'Digimon' and crap. Screw him. I'm not falling for it.' With that, he turned and walked over to his bed, sitting down and trying to think of anything but the strange guy telling crazy stories. Unintentionally, his gaze fell on the waste basket, and when he realized this, he slapped himself a few times.
"Wake up Cody. It's not real. Just some freak playing with your mind, that's all." With that, he left the room, not noticing the strange glow coming from the waste basket...
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Starcatcher: That's it for this chapter. I hope you all liked it.
Yolie: Wait a minute, when will we actually be joining in?
Starcatcher: If not the next chapter, then the one after it. The new Dark Masters will make their appearance next chapter.
EA: Unless, of course, we lose motivation and inspiration.
Starcatcher: Which we shall try our hardest not to let happen.
EA: Hopefully if we're lucky, we'll be able to work out the next chapter so it won't take as long.
Davis: And if anyone has any requests, feel free to sent them in.
Starcatcher: I'm gonna see if I can actually write this well enough...
EA: (Looks over rewritten script) Ooooh...(Wince)...wouldn't wanna be Ken...
Veemon: Review please!
EA: And here's a personal note. There are these things. They're called "reviews". Authors like to see them. They make the authors happy. A happy author gets chapters out faster. An unhappy author loses motivation and discontinues stories. The moral of this lesson: SEND MORE REVIEWS!!!
Starcatcher: The lack of reviews is saddening...
EA: THREE! ONLY THREE REVIEWS! NOT EVEN A DECENT FLAME! AND AFTER WE WORKED OUR BUTTS OFF TO MAKE THE LAST CHAPTER LONGER AND GO AHEAD AND PUT THE OTHERS IN!!!
Starcatcher: I would like to thank Anthony1, Lavos the Time Apocalypse, and Tamer of Light, the only three who sent reviews for the last chapter.
EA: The rest of you get squat...well, actually, you get to read this chapter so don't complain!
Kari: Starcatcher and EA own nothing except this plot, Tenshi, and Lunamon, which really doesn't matter considering neither of them really play much of a role in this fic. (Smirking) Which means Tenshi isn't going to get Davis!
Starcatcher: Who ever said that?
Kari & EA: WHAT!?! (Glare over at Tenshi, who's talking with Davis)
Tenshi: ...And so, Raditz asks Piccolo if he's seen Kakarot. Piccolo asks if he means Son Goku, and Raditz says that's the one. Then Piccolo says "Over that way. He's on an island with some friends. You just fly for a few miles straight, can't miss it." And Raditz says "Thanks" before flying off. And Piccolo says "He seemed nice."
Davis: (Laughs) Man, I'm really gonna have to read that DBZ: Director's Cut!
Kari & EA: (ANGRY) Grrr...
Starcatcher: Oh boy...how about we just start the chapter already, okay? And just so you all know, all the chapters so far have focused on Davis and Veemon, but this won't always be the case. I'm going to develop all the characters, not just those two.
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"Remember earlier when I thought that things were at their worst? I was wrong." Davis sighed.
"What do you mean?" Lunamon looked up at him, talking for the first time.
"Let's recap, shall we? 1. Veemon and I somehow ended up in an alternate reality where there was a new evil threatening the Digital World. 2. This new evil turned out to be the very ones who protected it before. Our friends, the first eight Digidested, were taking over the Digital World and as it stood, I was the only Digidestined who could stop them...reason being that I was the only Digidestined at the time. 3. Ken, Yolie, and Cody all thought I was nuts when I tried to explain the situation to them, so they weren't going to be any help. 4. Veemon was gonna die! He's my best friend, not to mention that I wouldn't even be able to stand a chance against the new Dark Masters or their Digimon without him! And last, but not least, 5. I was stuck in a cave, alone, with pretty much no way out."
"Whoa! Whoa! A cave? When did that happen?" Tenshi demanded.
Davis laughed a little. "Well...it's like this..."
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Davis took a step back, not able to believe what he had just heard. "W...what?"
"Veemon is going to die." Gennai repeated.
"But how? WHY!?!"
Gennai sighed. "I've looked through every bit of data I could find that had anything to do with this sort of phenomenon. The information I found wasn't good. It is impossible for a person to exist in two places at once. With two versions of the same person alive in the same time and place, they will start to experience distortions."
Davis frowned. "Okay, but what does that have to do with Veemon?"
"This won't have any effect on you because your alternate self died years ago. But it seems that the alternate version of Veemon is still alive."
"SAY WHAT!?!"
"The Davis of this reality died years ago, before he was able to become a Digidestined and free Veemon..."
The goggled boy nodded, understanding. "I get it...so that Veemon is still sealed under the Digimental of Courage in this reality! But why didn't he pass on when my alternate self did?"
"Because he was still sealed, and therefore, could not be free until the one meant to be his partner comes along and lifts the Digimental of Courage." Gennai explained. "To save Veemon, you'll have to find this world's Digimental of Courage and release this reality's Veemon, then get him to move on to be reconfigured..."
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"Man, talk about a predicament. In order to save Veemon...I would have to end the life of the other Veemon."
Tenshi whistled. "Man...to have to kill your own partner...granted, it's the alternate version of him, but still..."
Davis sighed. "Tell me about it. And the worst part was I had to go through to get to him."
"What do you mean? Wasn't the Veemon of that reality still trapped under the Digimental of Courage?"
"Yeah, he was, but the problem was GETTING to the darn thing. Apparently, the layout of that area changed as well. It was underground, and there was one hell of a path I had to travel down in order to reach him. Not to mention..."
"What? Did something else happen?"
Davis frowned and looked away, the scene that occured in the tunnels replaying in his mind.
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It felt like he had been walking for hours...oh wait! He HAD been walking for hours, and yet it still seemed as though he had gone completely NOWHERE! 'Man, how long is this thing?' Davis wondered.
Gennai's words echoed through Davis's mind. 'Remember...the path is long and treacherous. You have to keep going to reach the Digimental of Courage where Veemon is still trapped. Then you'll have to explain the situation to him and get him to move on.'
Davis rolled his eyes. 'Sure...that'll be easy...' Note the sarcasm. This was going to be anything BUT easy. It was completely dark, with barely enough light to let him see an inch ahead! It was especially irksome when the passageway turned one way or the other and he ended up walking straight into a wall. And if things weren't even bad enough, he was sent here right after returning from the real world, so it was really late and he nearly fell asleep several times! He pinched his arm once again to keep himself awake, and could tell there would be a bruise there in the morning.
As he continued walking, he thought he heard something coming towards him. He stopped, listening as the echos of his own footsteps faded. Nothing else could be heard. Shrugging, he continued walking until he heard it again. He stopped, but this time, it kept coming. It sounded like a loud rumble headed towards him...much like...
"AN EARTHQUAKE!!!" He shouted, just as the ground began to shake. It seemed like the ceiling was going to crash down on him. In fact...it did. Several pieces of the rock fell, nearly crushing him, but Davis managed to dodge as he tried to continue on, remembering that Veemon would die if he took too long. Unfortunately, just when the quake was coming to an end and he thought he was safe, a portion of the roof fell, knocking him out and burying him under dirt and rocks.
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Darkness...
No...
It was a void...
Nothing seemed to exist...he wasn't even sure if he existed either...
"Man...what is this place?" Davis wondered.
There was a bright flash that forced him to cover his eyes. When the flash died down, he looked around to find himself right outside his school back in the real world that he left behind! "What the...? I'm back in the real world! But what about Veemon and the others?" At that thought, he instantly ran into the school and to the computer lab where to his relief, the others were waiting.
"Davis, what took you so long?" Yolie demanded.
"Sorry, I just had some stuff to take care of." He answered back.
"It's okay. TK and Kari haven't arrived yet either." Cody informed them.
That's when he heard giggling coming from behind him. Turning to face the door he had just entered from, he found, to his shock, Kari and TK, arms wrapped around each other. Kari seemed to be glowing, as though she was the happiest girl in the world. "Guys! We have an announcement! TK and I are going out now!" Kari exclaimed. TK grinned and nodded to confirm what she just said.
The others broke out into cheers and began congradulating them on finally getting together, while sending these disapproving looks at Davis as he stood there and did nothing. He didn't notice however, as he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. 'She chose TK...everyone always did say they were perfect for each other...but still...I thought that...maybe...she would give me a chance...didn't I prove how much I love her? Didn't she notice? Didn't she even care?'
Laughter broke him out of his thoughts. That's when he noticed that the entire scene had disappeared and he was once again in the seemingly endless void. "What the...?" Yet there was someone else there...the source of the laughter. Spinning around, Davis came face to face with the one and only child of hope.
"TK..." Davis narrowed his eyes, still disturbed by the scene he had just witnessed.
"Aww...is wittle Davis sad?" TK smirked. "Come on, did you really think you actually stood a chance against me when it came to winning Kari's heart?"
He shook his head, realizing that what he just saw wasn't real. It was just some illusion, but why he saw it...he wasn't quite sure. "You haven't won her heart."
"Well, not yet. But she's as good as mine!"
Davis glared. "What makes you think she'll automatically chose you?"
TK's smirk grew. "Isn't it obvious? We were both part of the first group. We both have angel Digimon. They even share an attack when they armor-digivolve! And besides, I have the crest of Hope. Kari has the crest of Light. Hope and Light go perfectly together. And what do you have? Nothing. You just use the borrowed powers of other Digidestined in the form of the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship. You have no crest. You're a complete loser. Anything you've done, I've done first. And I've done a faster and better job than you as well."
"Hey! I may not have been in every single battle that you and the others fought in, but I've done my best in what battles I did fight."
"And you made a mess of them all too."
"Yes, I made a few mistakes...okay, a lot of mistakes, but I LEARNED from them and worked hard to keep from making those same mistakes again. That's a quality of a good leader."
"I would have made a better leader than you. At least I would have been smart enough NOT to make those mistakes."
"Yeah, but you also fought before, and I'll bet that you made even more mistakes than me during that time, right?" At this, Davis was smirking as he saw TK glare at him.
"Even so, Kari and I are meant for each other. Hope and Light. Everybody says so. It's destiny."
Davis rolled his eyes. Man, he was getting so sick and tired of hearing that same line over and over again. "Oh blah, blah, blah. Don't give me that 'destiny' crap! Destiny is just an excuse to stop living and fate is a scapegoat for when things go wrong. WE decide how our lives will turn out. Otherwise, there isn't really any reason for us even being here. What's the point of having free will if you can't use it? Whether either of us is with Kari in the end will ultimately be up to her. If she chooses me, great! If she doesn't, then I won't keep pushing her. Kari will be the one to decide who she feels she'll be the most happy with, and I for one promise, if I ever make it back, that I will stop showing off and making a fool out of myself trying to get her with me."
TK sneered as he faded. Yet nothing else happened and Davis was still stuck in the void. 'Man, what else?'
That's when he noticed a bright light that seemed to be coming from behind him. He turned and saw something in the distance. With nothing else he could do, he headed towards it. As he got closer, he realized that the object in the distance was a door, and a rather strange looking one at that. Part of him wanted to open it and go through, but he felt something strange about the door. It radiated a sense of loss...and lonliness...and another part of him wanted to get as far away from that door as possible.
What will you do?
Will you take the chance and open the door?
Or will you remain where you are?
The choice is yours...
You can lose everything...
Or gain everything...
But when the time comes...
Which shall you choose?
The light the door emitted grew in intensity, forcing Davis to close his eyes as the words continued to echo in his mind. He felt a weight pressing down on him and began to struggle to rise...
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Davis opened his eyes to find himself standing on his own two feet back in the cave. 'What the...? What was that all about?' Looking around, he noticed that the area seemed a bit lighter than it was before. Looking up, he found the answer. Part of the roof was missing, which probably happened when the cave had collapsed on top of him, knocking him out for a while. Making his way through the rock and dirt that came up to his knees, he finally made it to the other side, and continued down the path, thinking about the strange dream he just had. 'Did it mean anything...?' He wondered, before nodding. 'Yeah, it showed me that I have been pushing myself on Kari. When I find a way home, I'll back off and try to be less of a jerk...' He scowled. 'Doesn't mean I'm gonna let TK get her though!'
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Starcatcher: Oh come on, people! You didn't honestly think I was gonna automatically make him be mature and all powerful so soon, did you?
EA: Uh-huh.
Gatomon: Yeah.
Kari: Pretty much.
Veemon: Yup.
Davis: Ditto.
Starcatcher: Hey!
Kari: Well, lets think about it...you have me, TK, and all the older kids evil, Yolie's wimpy, Ken's a jerk, and Cody's a snot-nosed punk.
Starcatcher: This is an alternate dimension, so I can get away with that. Davis, however, is the same from the show, so I need to keep him at least somewhat goofy and naive then allow him to mature some as the story progresses. Trust me, he won't be the only one who changes over time.
Veemon: Can we get back to the fic and finally find out if I'm gonna live or not?
EA: (Rolls eyes) Oh come on! Any idiot could tell you the answer to that!
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He continued trying to make his way through the cave for several more hours, falling or running into a wall a few more times. Cursing, he began to wonder just how long he had been walking when he finally saw a light ahead. 'Is that it?' He ran towards the light as quickly as he could despite his minor injuries. Finally he made it to the source of the light...and found himself in the chamber that held the Digimental of Courage. 'FINALLY!' So overjoyed that he reached his destination, he pumped his fist into the air. "YES!"
Then realizing that Veemon was still in trouble, he calmed down and carefully made his way up to the pedestal that held the object of his search. He could just reach out and touch it now...but he couldn't help wondering...what would happen when he did?
Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes at the now slightly glowing digimental. 'I have to do this...' He took hold of it, and caused the glowing to intensify...which wasn't the only reaction. Once he touched it, he nearly cried out in shock. It was as if the thing actually was on fire! At least he was wearing his gloves...though that only seemed to make it worse once the egg burned through his gloves and began scorching his skin. Quickly, he tried to pull the digimental away, but the heat only increased the harder he pulled at it!
'The stupid thing's gonna burn my hands off unless I let go! But I have to save Veemon! Come on Davis! You're the only one who can lift it! Put all of your strength into it and PULL IT OUT!'
"DAMMIT!!!" He shouted as the burning intensified even more, searing his flesh and causing him to lose all feeling in his hands. "JUST...COME...OUT...YOU...STUPID...PIECE...OF...CRAP!!!" He felt something give, and with a small 'pop', the digimental came lose. However, he had been pulling so hard that he lost his balance and tumbled backward.
The same scene that occured when he first freed Veemon back in his world played before him. A light burst from the pedestal, and something began to form within it. The light died down, and standing before him was...a Veemon...only different. His skin was a dark blue but seemed to have a tint of gray, his eyes were a pale orange-red, and the markings were more of a copper color.
'Veemon' looked around in confusion. "I don't understand...how can I be here?" His gaze fell on Davis. "Did...you release me?"
Davis nodded. "Y...yeah, I did."
Looking him over carefully, 'Veemon' frowned. "You have the same aura...but you're not the one who's supposed to be my partner. He died years ago."
"Wait a minute...you mean you knew that the Davis here died?" Davis questioned.
'Veemon' nodded. "Of course. He's my Digidestined partner. We're connected, so I can usually tell how he feels or if he's okay." He hung his head, sadly. "I felt him disappear some time ago. I never even got the chance to meet him."
"...I'm sorry..."
Looking up, 'Veemon' faced Davis. Not sure how, he got the feeling that the Digimon knew who he really was and why he was there. "I just want to be with my partner. There's no reason for me to stay here...and your Veemon and I can't exist at the same time. So I'm going to move on."
Davis smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "I know you'll be able to meet up with him the next time around."
"I want to help you both return peace the Digiworld...though I can't do anything myself, I'll give my power to Veemon, and I'll entrust my partner's power to you. I think he would have wanted it that way." 'Veemon' nodded.
"Whoa...thanks..."
"No...I should be the one to thank you." Smiling, 'Veemon' began to revert into data and drift away. "I'm sure...that if he had survived...he would have been just like you." And with that...he was gone.
Davis sighed and turned away, ready to start his journey back through the passage to the outside when he noticed several colored lights shining on the walls as a strange hum could be heard. Realizing it was originating from where the pedestal was, he turned back to be greeted with five glowing lights. "What the...?" The five lights were, from left to right, red, yellow, blue, lavender, and strangely enough...black. He snapped his fingers when he realized what they were. "The digivices!"
At that, four of the lights shot off through the ceiling and into the sky, where he was sure they were headed for their owners in the real world. The last light, the blue one, remained and floated towards Davis. Hearing a screeching sound, he looked to his side where his D-3 was, but it began to hover in front of him as well. The light surrounded his D-3, causing it to glow for a moment before it returned to normal and dropped into his outstretched hands. He winced slightly when it did, due to the burns on his hands from when he tried to pull out the Digimental.
He grinned. "Cool...mission accomplished." Turning away to head back through the cave, he paused for a moment, his gaze following the path that the four lights had taken. "Red...yellow...black...I know those belong to Yolie, Cody, and Ken...but what was with that other one?" Shrugging, he headed back into the darkness of the passageway. "Oh well...I guess I'll find out sooner or later..."
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Finally, after several hours, he reached the outside. Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Man...it's nice to see sunlight again...wait a minute! SUNLIGHT!?! Oh no! It's MORNING already!?! I've been in there all night!" He cried out and fell to his knees, exhausted. He didn't stay there long though, knowing that he needed to go back and make sure Veemon was okay. Finally, after another hour of walking and pinching, he reached Gennai's house where Gatomon was waiting for him.
"Hey Davis, what's with the getup?" Gatomon asked.
"Huh?" He looked down at himself and gasped. He hadn't realized it before due to the lack of light in the cave and the rush to return and discover if Veemon was all right, but his Digiworld outfit was different! He had lost the fur collar on the leather jacket, which now reached past his knees and the sleeves ended a bit past his elbow, though it still had the red flames and blue background. Instead of shorts, he was now wearing pants. His goggles were still there, unchanged. He was now wearing fingerless gloves with the same flame design as his jacket. Considering he wasn't wearing those gloves when the D-3 fell into his hands, he realized that the changes must have taken place when he was rushing through the cave, only he had been so concerned with getting back that he didn't notice. "Whoa...this is new..."
Gatomon smiled. "We're just glad you made it back."
That snapped Davis out of his thoughts, remembering that Veemon had been close to death. "Veemon! Is he okay?"
Her smile faded, and she looked away, sadly. At this time, Gennai emerged from his home to see the two. Davis, beginning to panic, rushed over to him. "Gennai! Is Veemon okay? Did I make it in time?"
Gennai sighed and hung his head, not looking at the goggled boy. 'No...it can't be!' He pushed past Gennai and ran through the house and into the room where Veemon had been placed to monitor his condition. When he reached his destination, he gasped, not believing the scene before him.
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Starcatcher: Well, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
EA: WHAT!?! YOU'RE JUST LEAVING IT THERE!?!
Angry fans: (Run up holding torches and pitchforks)
Starcatcher: (Stares) Of course...I guess I could always make it a bit longer...
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Five seconds later...
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU TWO!!!" Davis shouted as he began chasing after Gatomon and Gennai, both of which were laughing their heads off. Leomon just sighed, shaking his head at the scene when Veemon appeared from the doorway and stood next to him.
"What's going on?" He asked, looking up at the part lion Digimon.
Leomon smiled slightly. "When Davis questioned them about your health, they made it seem like you didn't make it."
"Ooooh..." He turned back to face the scene. "Hey Davish!"
At the sound of his voice, Davis stopped in his tracks before changing his direction and running towards Veemon. "Veemon! I thought you were gonna die!" Davis cried out, hugging the blue dragon.
Veemon grinned. "Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine!"
Davis smiled back before looking thoughtful. "That reminds me...I still have to kill Gennai and Gatomon! GET BACK HERE!!!" He shouted, taking off after the two again, dropping Veemon a bit carelessly on the ground.
"Oh crap. I thought he forgot all about us!" Gennai stated before taking off running again, even though it was a bit hard considering he is still in his form as an old man. Okay, so for him it wasn't running...more like walking really, really fast...it's amazing how quickly you can go when you're fearing for your life...
Gatomon glared at him as she ran beside him. "Hey, it was YOUR idea! You're the one who pushed me into going along with it too!"
Still running, Gennai shrugged. "I didn't think he'd get so mad about it!"
"Oy..."
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"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
After the two had taken off running, Davis started to go after them before deciding that it was too early...er...late to kill them at the time. Exhausted from his trip through the cave, he stumbled inside Gennai's house promptly fell asleep on the couch. Nearby, Veemon was watching his partner before turning to question Leomon. "Why is he so tired? The digimental couldn't have been that hard to get..."
Leomon shook his head. "The area where the Digimental of Courage resides suffered an earthquake several years ago. That entire cave was submerged underground. The passage is still there, but it's much more treacherous. Until now, anyone who's gone in there hasn't returned..."
Veemon gulped before taking another look at Davis. "Yikes...but if anyone could make it, Davish could! But why is he dressed differently?"
Turning to face the young dragon, Leomon frowned. "What do you mean? Hasn't this happened before?"
"No, his Digiworld outfit always stayed the same. I don't understand why it changed..."
"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he now has our world's Digimental of Courage?"
Veemon shrugged. "Maybe...but it never changed when we had gotten the digimentals in our world."
Leomon smiled slightly. "Whatever the reason, I don't believe it's anything to worry about."
"I hope you're right..."
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"Finally done!" Yolie grinned, standing up from her seat in front of the computer. She had stayed in the computer lab late after school to finish some extra work. Fortunately, she didn't have to help out at her family's store today. She shuddered, remembering what had happened just yesterday with that weirdo. He freaked her out, and the weirdest part was that it seemed as though he actually knew her. "Ah, forget it. I'll probably never see him again anyway." She mumbled to herself, turning off the computer and lights and closing the door behind her as she left.
Barely a second after she exited the room, the computer she had just been using turned on by itself. The screen glowed brightly, lighting up the entire room. A glowing red orb shot out of the computer monitor and actually went crashing THROUGH the window of the door. Hearing the glass shatter, Yolie gasped and spun around only to see a red light flying towards her. She screamed, closed her eyes, and held her hands out in front of her in an attempt to ward it off, but it slowed down when it got closer to her and simply floated into her hands, then took on a solid form.
Realizing that she was now holding something, Yolie opened her eyes and looked at the object in her hands. It looked like nothing she had ever seen. 'What's this? Some sort of mini-computer? And why did it charge at me like that?' Blinking a couple of times, she looked over the object carefully. 'Wait a minute! I've seen this before!' She gasped and nearly dropped it. 'This is just like the strange device that weird kid had, only the grip is red instead of blue!' Now she really wanted to drop it, but for some reason, couldn't make herself let go. 'But...does this mean...that what he said is true...?'
Here's the thing. Yolie is the unpopular, commonly picked on, computer geek in her school. She's one of those people who always tries to find a rational reason for everything. And that's what she did. 'I must have been working too hard. I'm imagining things. Someone must have hit a ball through the window, and that light was just the glare from the sun. And this device...well...maybe someone just dropped it.' And with that, she headed home, but not before pocketing the digivice...
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In an apartment in Tamachi, a computer screen began to glow before a black light emerged. Yeah, it's sorta weird that a light can be black, but it is. The orb emerged from the computer and circled the room a few times before going inside a desk drawer, emitting a brighter flash of light before fading. No one was there to see the strange phenomenon.
Outside the room, however, voices could be heard...
"Ken, your principal called."
"..."
"He said you were in another fight! That's the fifth time this month!"
"And you're barely passing any of your classes. You teachers say that you don't pay attention or participate."
"And you don't have that many friends. The only ones are those two kids you hang out with, but they're a bad influence on you."
"..."
"Ken, we know you can do better than this. We just want what's best for you and we hate seeing you like this."
"If you keep going down this road, you won't have a very good future."
"Why can't you be more like your brother, Sam?"
"..."
"He makes straight A's and never gets into fights. We would never get a call from the principal complaining about him."
"..."
"Well? Don't you have anything to say?"
"..."
"You're grounded Ken. Go to your room and do your homework. You're to come straight home after school and do your homework. We'd like to at least see you make a B in one of your classes..."
'Finally...thought they'd never shut up.' Ken thought to himself as he closed the door behind him once he was safe inside his room. The shades were down and the lights were off, leaving the room completely dark except for the glow of the computer screen. That was fine with him though, he liked the dark. It was so calming.
Lying on his bed, he thought over the recent events. 'This sucks. It's always Sam this and Sam that. Why can't they just accept me as I am?' He wondered. However, his thoughts soon drifted to the strange boy who stood up to him yesterday. 'Funny, but it seemed like the guy somehow knew me. And what did he mean when he asked me where my kindness went?'
He shrugged, deciding to forget about his weird encounter. 'Eh, he's probably just some punk trying to freak me out.' He turned away from the glow of the computer screen, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.
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Cody glared at the strange device in his hand before throwing it into the waste basket in his room. 'What a moron. Trying to freak me out with stories of 'Digimon' and crap. Screw him. I'm not falling for it.' With that, he turned and walked over to his bed, sitting down and trying to think of anything but the strange guy telling crazy stories. Unintentionally, his gaze fell on the waste basket, and when he realized this, he slapped himself a few times.
"Wake up Cody. It's not real. Just some freak playing with your mind, that's all." With that, he left the room, not noticing the strange glow coming from the waste basket...
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Starcatcher: That's it for this chapter. I hope you all liked it.
Yolie: Wait a minute, when will we actually be joining in?
Starcatcher: If not the next chapter, then the one after it. The new Dark Masters will make their appearance next chapter.
EA: Unless, of course, we lose motivation and inspiration.
Starcatcher: Which we shall try our hardest not to let happen.
EA: Hopefully if we're lucky, we'll be able to work out the next chapter so it won't take as long.
Davis: And if anyone has any requests, feel free to sent them in.
Starcatcher: I'm gonna see if I can actually write this well enough...
EA: (Looks over rewritten script) Ooooh...(Wince)...wouldn't wanna be Ken...
Veemon: Review please!