The Ivani Chronicles : Book 1- Evacuation : Chapter 2- Duende

As Kari drifted into sleep, she came to a most disturbing dream. She was walking along a cliff face, perhaps the one outside, when a roar echoed in her ears. Far to her left, over a hill, an object emerged and charged at her. Ivan, who must have been next to her, muttered a strange phrase and transformed. After a burst of light, Ivani stood in his place and extended his left arm. A small slit in the otherwise seamless plating appeared and began to glow with a pale blue light.

Leaping into the air, Ivani met the enemy. It was a small flying robot disguised as a Flymon. Ivani became airborne as well. A small booster on his back had emerged, emitting a bright blue flame. Raising his left arm to the enemy, he cried out "Ivani Cannon!" and released a barrage of energy blades from the slot on his arm. The light blue energy shards sliced through the robot, removing many circuit boards and two of the many limbs. What remained of the robot fought back, firing green blobs of acidic material in Ivani's general direction. However, whenever the robot fired, Ivani had already moved to safety. Again, Ivani opened his left arm slot. This time, he gathered a much greater amount of energy, causing the barrel to glow intensely. His right arm came to support his left as it started to shake. With a quick swipe and a yell, "Ivani Vulcan!" Ivani released the stored energy in a great beam of light. The shot slammed into Ivani's adversary. The result was a smoking pile of wreckage, not resembling the robotic Flymon in the slightest.

Ivani landed back next to Kari, only to hear a sonic blast. Ivani took flight, ready for another round. A new robot appeared, coming across the valley at a great speed. This one was nearly identical to the one that had attacked the village in appearance: massive and land bound. In the middle of its charge, the robot leapt into the air and came down with a crash near Kari. Ivani presently engaged it, starting the battle by releasing another barrage of cannon fire as he placed himself between Kari and the robot.

He arrived not a moment too soon, for although Ivani cleft one arm of the robot with his assault, the being cried, "Glacial Spike!" in retaliation and launched a huge icicle from its remaining arm. Ivani didn't move, simply holding his position in the direct line of fire. As the attack neared, it ricocheted off of an invisible barrier. Ivani remained unscathed. The spike flew into the cliff wall and caused a small avalanche.

Moving at a speed that could rival light, Ivani swept Kari off her feet and rested her several yards away from the cliff. Rocks and dirt toppled over her previous position. Leaving her near the mouth of the cave, Ivani returned to the fight. This time, he took a new strategy. Raising his left arm above his head, the slot opened once again. A beautiful, elaborate sword ejected from the opening and was caught cleanly in Ivani's outstretched hand. Kari knew it was the sword she had seen last night, but it now looked far different from what she could remember. It was bathed in a glowing blue field of energy. With a surge of speed, Ivani crossed the behemoth on its right side, holding his left arm out. Once he finished his aerial dash, Ivani turned back to face the giant robot. The robot had clearly been severed along its right side, and was now having trouble standing. This still did not stop his next move. With Kari unprotected, the robot raised its left arm, yelled, "Frozen Wave!" and released a huge beam of frozen energy at Kari. As the attack neared her, she threw her arms in front of her face as if to block it, only to hear something jump up and block the attack. When Kari lowered her arms, TK was laying next to her, utterly still upon the earth.

"TK!"

"Huh? What's wrong Kari? TK is fine. He's still asleep, but he will be up soon enough. At least open your eyes."

Kari obeyed the voice and saw Ivan and Maddie kneeling over her, both looking slightly distressed.

"You were screaming," Maddie informed her. "We thought you were having a nightmare, or something. Are you okay?"

"Fine, I guess," Kari replied. "Must have been a silly nightmare; I'm better now."

"That's a relief," Ivan said, relaxing a bit and getting to his feet. "Are you hungry? Breakfast has been ready for some time now. It was delicious, right, Maddie?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Mister Master Chef." Maddie seemed to be much more energetic, though it looked like they hadn't even gone to sleep. No beds were out, but both were wide-awake and working. The sun was just now rising, Kari noted, as long shadows were cast by each of the people before her.

"Hey, it was!" Ivan responded defensively. Turning his attention to Kari, he continued, "Ignore her, she's always giving me a hard time. Here, have some, it really was good."

Unable to resist the idea of eating after a day with only one bowl of soup, Kari accepted the dish, which had many exotic foods on it. Although deterred by the sight of the food, she tried some. It proved to fit Ivan's theory of deliciousness. She finished off the rest of the plate with haste.

"So, how's your arm?" Ivan asked, taking her empty plate and adding it to the pile already collected. The mention of her arm brought her back to the full reality of her situation.

"It's better, but it still aches," she replied, trying to move her arm a little. It had been splinted and was therefore restricted to vertical movement only. Lifting it hurt her greatly, so she rested back down.

"It's not a good idea to move it," Maddie called, presently working on attaching splints to TK's legs. "TK's been healing quickly, as have both of the digimon," she added, catching Kari's concerned look at TK. "We should be able to mobilize tomorrow. We can't stay put for too long, or we'll be detected."

"Where do we plan to go?" Kari asked curiously.

"Well, we have two choices," Ivan answered. "We can either try and take the mountain path, which goes for about fifty miles north, until we come out in a small clearing along a river. There's a TV there. Our other choice is to go into the forest to the east and travel for about sixty miles, until we reach Secondary Village. They also have a TV."

"What's Secondary Village?" Kari questioned, intrigued.

"It's where all the In-Training Digimon go after digivolving from their baby stages," Ivan said. "I would suggest that we head to Secondary Village. Not only will I be able to gather ingredients for my recipes, but also I think flat terrain may be better for TK to travel on. But I think we ought to let TK have a say, too, so we'll wait for him to wake up before we decide. Now, all we have to do is wait."

"Anyone have an idea on how to pass the time?" Maddie asked, now finished adding splints to TK's legs.

"I do have a few more questions I'd like answered," Kari said hesitantly.

"Okay; shoot," Ivan said sitting down on the ground next to Maddie.

"How long have you been here?" Kari asked.

"Well, we were all called at approximately the same age," Ivan answered. "Maddie, the eldest of our group-"

"Better believe it." Maddie stated triumphantly. Ivan sighed, shaking his head.

"She has been here the longest," Ivan admitted. "I have been here about one month less. The four of us are fifteen, seeing as Sera just had her birthday a week ago. She's the youngest, about six months younger than Maddie. We were each contacted on our twelfth birthday, so we've all had at least three years' experience by now."

"Do either of you know why you were selected for the position?" Kari inquired.

"I think," Maddie replied, "That we all had some traumatic experience in our lives. At least, that's one common thing we all share. For example, Ivan was unfortunate enough to have his parents die, and I-I-" Maddie stopped, unable to continue.

"She was," The brown-haired boy began. He kept his gaze down for a long time, as if in search of words. "Well, she was abused," Ivan quietly said after a long pause. The words alone hurt Maddie; she cringed. Ivan tentatively put his arm around her shoulders as he continued. "Her parents were both really violent. They often got into fights and sometimes they didn't have a great resolution. One time, her father actually knocked her mother unconscious, nearly killed her. After that, she got help from the police, who came in and arrested both of the parents.

"Sadly, it doesn't end there," Ivan continued, holding Maddie comfortingly. She now looked down to hide her grief, embarrassed of her past. "She moved to her aunt's house. One day at school, a boy named Jason asked her if he could walk home with her. One event led to another and they were an official couple after a week or two. The relationship started out okay, but it went sour quickly. Whenever Jason got mad, he'd take it out on Maddie.

It started with minor things like petty insults and slight controlling behavior. But he couldn't help himself, and his dementia progressed. Soon, he was being very forceful to Maddie, ordering her around like a slave. Then, he started to hurt her physically." Maddie had by this point stopped listening, trying to keep from crying, but failing miserably. She pressed her head into Ivan's shoulder and allowed her tears to come. Slowly, they soaked Ivan's shirt. He paid it little mind, keeping a rhythmic and comforting motion with his hand on her back. After taking a momentary pause to calm Maddie, Ivan continued with his explanation of Maddie's past.

"First they were nudges. Then they were shoves. Then they were fists. Then there were feet added to the equation. Jason is a very strong person; he was on the football team. He used this strength to his advantage, throwing Maddie into lockers, walls, and nearly anything else when he lost his temper.

"You're probably wondering why on earth Maddie put up with Jason, rather than just ditching him, but it isn't always that simple. When someone is put through abuse which progresses in a manner such as this, it's hard for the victim to identify the actual abuse. Oftentimes, the victim is under the delusion, usually induced by the abuser, that their relationship is normal. Therefore, they go along with the treatment to the point that the victim endures incredible damage.

"Maddie tried to hide her situation, but her friend Lucy eventually found out. It was almost too late, for when the police were informed and searched Jason's person, they discovered a jack-knife." Kari gasped. Maddie now lost all control, the nearness to her own death a few years ago still firmly embedded in her memory. "He was tried and convicted of attempted murder and assault & battery. He spent some time in jail; I don't think he has been released yet. Hopefully not; someone like that should be given a life sentence."

"But it was all my fault!" Maddie sobbed out, breaking Ivan off. "He was so nice to me, If only I'd been nicer; if only I'd been more helpful and done what he asked-"

"Maddie, that's a lie and you know it!" Ivan roared, shocking her out of her tears. She looked at him with wide, wet eyes. "It was never your fault, he treated you that way because he was a horrible, sick person. That's not how a relationship should be. He should've paid attention to your feelings, not just forced you to think his way. It wasn't your fault, it never was." Ivan started to rock Maddie back and forth gently, who had resumed her sobbing. "He brainwashed you into thinking like that. He never cared about you – never. He just thought of you as a possession. Maddie, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry you had to go through that alone."

He continued to calm her, eventually becoming successful. Kari was speechless as to what she had just seen. That young girl, barely older than herself, had been put through more than Kari could have ever endured. She had hidden it so well, always being so kind, helpful and energetic, and with her teasing manner towards Ivan. Kari never would have guessed. As Maddie came to her senses once again, she looked demurely downward, still embarrassed by her past.

"When Maddie became free of Jason and his controlling ways, She found her passion in helping others," Ivan continued, releasing the girl. "She never wants anyone else to have to endure what she endured or see what she has seen. She always puts the needs of other before herself." Ivan looked down at the girl beside him, his eyes filled with empathy. Kari could see how deeply Ivan wanted to help her, to take away her pain and bring her back to her normal mood once again.

"Could you not make us repeat this to TK?" Maddie pleaded suddenly, although not looking up.

Kari could only nod, still taking in everything that she had just heard.

"I think that we'll leave our explanations there for now," Ivan said.

"Why?" Kari asked gently, not wanting to pry, but still curious.

"I'm not sure Maddie's ready to talk just yet. Moreover, I'm afraid that we've been spotted."

Maddie's head rose in alarm, looking at Ivan with fear. Kari was confused. "Huh?"

Ivan gestured for her to be quiet, then concentrated, running his fingers lightly across the soft dirt floor. "Merely a scout," He stated after a minute. "It will be here soon, but this means that we don't have much time. Once one comes, they all come. Maddie, stay here and watch our injured friends. Kari, come with me. I think you ought to see what these things really are." He reached out and grabbed Kari's left hand, helping her up. Her right arm stung badly, but she bit her lip in an attempt to ignore it.

"Now, this won't be a quick battle, nor an easy one," Ivan explained. "These scouts can rival the strength of a Mega Digimon. Just stay against the cliff face and keep low."

Kari nodded numbly, following Ivan out of the cave. She still had no idea what Ivan was getting at, but his guidance had so far been flawless and she decided to keep her trust in him.

As Kari followed Ivan out of the cave, she had a sinking feeling that this battle was going to have a bad outcome. However, Ivan seemed to be in much better spirits as he led Kari to a small outlying rock and instructed her to stay behind it. Her only order was to keep watch on the battle.

"This is very important to watch," he explained. "You'll see the power of Dragoon Armor and learn what we are really up against."

He turned from her and faced the hills to the south. A low rumbling noise became audible, and then exploded with an impressive roar, like that of a car engine amplified many times.

"He's a loud little bugger," Ivan muttered.

As Kari watched, a small object rose over the mountains, obviously airborne, and charged at them with great speed. Ivan was ready. Whispering his secret phrase, his amulet glowed as the energy within it sprang to life, enveloping him in white light. As the light faded, Ivani's armor was standing before her with Ivan inside. Rising into the air, Ivan moved slightly to the left of the approaching object. The creature's physical attributes came into view; it resembled a Flymon. Ivani watched it, waiting patiently. As it came nearer, he returned the charge, checking the creature down into the ground below. As it fell, its skin was torn off in places, revealing mechanical parts and electronic circuits underneath.

"Horned Torpedo!" came a robotic imitation of a Flymon's voice. Its tail end rose up and fired multiple metallic projectiles at Ivani. Swerving to the left and right, Ivani dodged the attacks and continued with his riposte.

"Ivani Cannon!" Ivan yelled from within the armor. Suddenly, a compartment on his left arm angled upward slightly, revealing a small chamber charged with energy. Although Kari couldn't exactly see what happened, Ivani somehow fired a small cluster of spinning blades that were composed of entirely of a pale, glowing blue essence from the slot. Each bolt sliced through or pierced the grounded robot, then disappeared. The robot, mangled and missing a pair of arms raised its tail end again.

"Acidic Assault!" the robotic voice cried. This time, the projectiles came faster and were covered in a green jelly. Again, the faux digimon's attacks were easily evaded. When the spikes hit the ground, they started to melt the surrounding terrain. Kari figured that the green substance was, as stated, acidic.

"Let's finish this," Ivani said under his breath. Then he dictated in a roar, "Ivani Vulcan!" The arm-slot opened again. Tiny blue balls of energy appeared in the air, flooding into the arm-slot. The slot grew gradually brighter and brighter, until it was potent enough to force Kari to shield her eyes. The left arm started to shake as the energy levels grew. Then, steadying his left arm with his right, Ivani aimed his now charged cannon at the robot. With a blinding flash and an extravagant sonic boom, the energy was released. A brilliant beam of blue-white light was released, which pierced through the center of the robot. Ivani had performed a back flip in air as he fired the Vulcan as a way to lower the recoil the shot created.

The remnants of the opposing robot were little, and what was there could not be related to the object that had entered the battle in any way. Ivan landed crisply next to Kari. He disengaged the helmet, allowing him to see normally again, rather than through the tinted visor plate that acted as the eye-shield on the helmet.

"Well, there you have it: a battle between a robot and a Dragoon," Ivan said cheerily to Kari, who was awestruck by the display she had just seen. "Don't be fooled, I don't have nearly as much power as many of the robots, we were fortunate that they sent one of their clumsiest soldiers to fight us. They get much bigger and much stronger. Now let's go ba-"

A loud blast sounded on the opposite side of the hill. "Here we go again," Ivan muttered. "This one's bigger, maybe as strong as the one that attacked you and your friends yesterday. No matter, he'll join his friend in the trash pile." Ivan reengaged his helmet and vaulted into the air.

The new robot was indeed similar to the one that had attacked Kari the pervious day. Large and hulking, it bore down on her and Ivan. It resembled a digimon that Kari had never seen before, but she now knew that the outer covering was merely a skin.

The robot covered the distance with remarkable speed. Again, Ivani checked the enemy robot, removing some of the covering material from the underlying circuitry. However, this machine did not fall as the Flymon-robot had. It merely stumbled. Ivani did not seem to care, reopening his arm-slot.

"Ivani Cannon!" Ivan yelled, raising his arm and releasing a barrage of spinning energy shards. They managed to remove its left arm and knock it back considerably. Ivani took this opportunity to reposition himself in front of Kari. The monster had risen and pointed its right arm at Ivani and Kari.

"Glacial Spike!" boomed the digimon's recorded voice. A large pillar of ice launched out of its palm and flew straight at Ivani. Kari suddenly realized what was happening – Her dream. It was all coming true. The enemies were in order, the same succession of attacks had passed, and now Ivani would block this attack with an invisible barrier.

Sure enough, the spike of ice ricocheted off of an unseen force field and hurtled into the cliff face. As the rocks cascaded down from the cliff above, Kari raised her arms as Ivani lifted her off the ground and flew her to safety near the mouth of the cave.

"Wait," Kari said to herself, "If my dream is coming true, then-"

"Ivani's Blade!" Ivan called out, extending his extravagant sword from the arm-slot and, gripping it tightly, dashing at the robot.

"-That must mean that TK is-"

The slash finished, the robot sagged down on its right side, where large parts of internals were now missing and chunks of circuitry were broken loose. Some components snapped free and tumbled to the ground, while others hung on by stray thin wires.

"-About to come in and-"

"Frozen Wave!" The hulking mechanization screamed, the recording faltering as it attacked.

"No!" Kari quickly covered her eyes as the wave of ice frost came out in a beam from the behemoth's right arm. She heard the sound of running feet, which made one particularly loud thud before the owner of them jumped into the air, taking the blow on full. A heavy thud reverberated through the ground, and then silence fell.

"No, no, no!" Kari's head screamed, tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "It can't be true, TK can't be dead; I need him!"

"Demon!" Ivani's scream echoed in Kari's ears. Kari blinked her eyes, looking up first in Ivani's direction, and then to her side in frightful curiosity.

TK's body lay next to her, lying silent and still beside her. "No!" she screamed. Hearing noise beside her, she turned. Ivani had driven through the mechanical horror with his sword a second time. It stood for only a moment longer before slumping to the ground in a heap of metal. It had paid dearly for its mistake. She looked to the mouth of the cave. Maddie had come out, and on seeing TK next to Kari, she ran out.

"What were you thinking?" Maddie cried. "Are you alright? Don't ever do that again, you'll get yourself killed!" she leaned over TK and picked him up, carrying him back into the cave.

Kari was confused. She thought she heard and saw TK die, yet Maddie had lifted him with no effort at all, something that she was sure Maddie did not have the strength for. She also made the incident look infinitesimal, shedding no tears at seeing a person dead.

Ivani was walking back over to Kari. "Sorry 'bout that," he said slowly. "I didn't penetrate far enough on my first pass. Then it decided to shoot the digimon, the stupid machine." He looked over his shoulder at the torn shards of metal, although his eyes were not visible, Kari sensed that he was glaring at the scrapped robot.

"What are you talking about? What's going on? Where's TK?" Kari was now more confused than ever.

"TK?" Ivani asked, confused. After a moment's thought it hit him. "Oh, you mean Filmaramon. That was her mistake. I'm sure she'll apologize for giving you such a scare. It's not really her fault, she can't always choose what she changes into."

"Who?" Kari asked as puzzlement became further apparent.

"Filmaramon," Ivan told Kari, helping the girl back to her feet. "It's Maddie's digimon friend. You didn't think that we would have spent three years in the Digital World without making some friends, did you?" Now that Kari thought about it, she realized that it would have been pretty boring around the Digital World without Gatomon, not to mention more dangerous. "Filmaramon is a shape-shifter digimon. She can become almost anything she wants. However, I have no idea why she would have taken on TK's form. Anyway, let's go back to the cave; Maddie can help me explain this better."

Still stunned, Kari followed Ivani back into the cave, where a fifth impromptu mattress had been placed next to Patamon at the far end. Maddie was sitting next to the fifth bed, obstructing their view.

"Just rest now," Maddie said soothingly to the creature on the fifth leafy bed. "You need to rest; you took quite a hit back there. Brave and foolish at the same time, as always, Filmaramon. I'll wake you up when Ivan makes some food, alright?"

"Maddie has been afraid to make any close connections with people after her abusive boyfriend," Ivani whispered in Kari's ear. "Only Filmaramon has been able to reach through the shell that Maddie has created to protect herself from others and talk to the real Maddie. Even I have yet to completely accomplish that."

Ivani recalled his armor with the same whispered phrase as the night before, flooding the room with light as the essence of his armor collected again within the amulet. The sudden burst of light alerted Maddie, who turned quickly to face the two now entering the cave.

"Hi," She said kindly. "Well done, Ivan. A very pretty display; it was most intriguing to watch. I wish Filmaramon hadn't done that though."

"Well, at least she protected Kari," Ivan replied. "She's very noble, even if she doesn't always think things through."

"Ivan," Kari asked hesitantly, "You said that each of you had become friends with a digimon, right?"

"Right."

"Whom did you become friends with? Where is he?"

"He ought to be here already," Ivan said slowly. He glanced over his shoulder, out the cave entrance. "I'll call him, hold on a sec." Ivan walked outside the cave about ten feet, put his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. It was loud enough that Kari was sure it would carry all the way back to the Real World.

A moment later, the rapid thundering of running feet could be heard, and a black blur appeared over the hills. It approached at an immeasurable speed, clearing the distance from the southern horizon to the cave in a matter of seconds. It came to a sharp halt a few feet from Ivan, releasing a mighty wake of air into the cave. The wind came at gale force, and although it subsided after a moment, it sent a majority of the leaves and other belongings into the ceiling of the cave. The creature then trotted the rest of the distance to the center of the cave. It appeared to be a large black Labrador, but had blue streaks of fur along its body that reminded Kari of Raidramon. It acted similarly to a dog, sitting and panting at Ivan's feet once the boy entered. Ivan kneeled down and started to pet the creature on the head, which it appeared to enjoy.
"Allow me to introduce-"

"Houndramon!" the dog interrupted with a canine bow.

"Yes," Ivan said with a raised eyebrow at the animal. "He is the digimon that I became friends with. He has almost every dog characteristic, except that he does think about more important things than food, albeit occasional. Both he and Filmaramon are of the Ultimate level and have power that far surpasses others of their level. However, they hide it well in their small frames. Not only that, but they have much more physical prowess than average ultimate digimon, making them efficient back-up in melee combat."

"Damn straight," The dog said proudly.

"Although he is usually well behaved, his mouth isn't," Ivan warned.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm a swearing lunatic," the dog mocked. "I apologize. Trust me, I'm not going to try and look like a fool in front of two beautiful girls."

"Too late." Maddie joked, kneeling down to pet the furry beast. "Don't worry Kari, he won't bite. He's just having a little fun."

"Well, I hate to pull the plug on this exhilarating party," Kari joked, "but I ought to get some sleep. My arm is really hurting and I'm getting a headache again."

Ivan and Maddie helped Kari back down onto her bed. Once she was lying down, Ivan and Houndramon started to catch up while Maddie reopened Kari's bandages. "You're looking much better," Maddie commented, examining the wound. "I think it will be fully healed in a day, two at the most. Good thing, too if we're leaving tomorrow morning."

"How did it heal so fast?" Kari asked.

"Simple," Maddie explained. "My Keeper, Kilvaramon the Phoenix, gave me the gift of healing just as Izulanmon gave Ivan the Defensive abilities that he possesses. I can bring a dead person to life, and can mend a severed limb in days, not that I've ever had to," She added hastily when she saw Kari's horrified expression. "I'm not sure that I could handle that sight. But a gash like this is no problem; they're almost routine for me by now. You won't even noti---tha---it---"

Kari never heard the end of Maddie's story, for she had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Thankfully, her sleep this time was considerably more peaceful, allowing her some actual rest. However, had Kari known what the following days would hold, she never would have been able to find solace in slumber, let alone anywhere else.