DISCLAIMER: Digimon does not belong to me � it belongs to those big companies that I can�t name right off the top of my head. Nor does the Diaries Universe, which belongs to the glorious Lord Archive. However, the plot and characters in this story that don�t fall in the previous two categories DO belong to me, so nyak, you can�t steal them.

Important Notes:

� � denotes English

- - denotes Mandarin

Adolescence is difficult to define � it�s just one of those abstract things that nobody really knows how to give a meaning to. Some people simply call it a stage of transition between childhood and adulthood. Other believe that it�s a stage of life within itself, a time when the human mind establishes its roots and finds direction in life. Too many find it a period of time when mood swings, puberty, and teen angst decide to converge all at once. As a teen, many a person has found themselves confused �about themselves, about others, and most importantly, about the future.

Having a digimon partner only compounded the troubles of any normal teen for Alexander. Not to mention what he had just found out about his grandfather�s will. But for now, he was enjoying himself on the grand piano situated in the school concert hall.

Going to the top prep school of Taipei City had its perks � the fact that the school body was consisted of the children of Taiwan�s elite only meant that funding was plentiful. At least plentiful enough for laptop computers to be issued to each of the 800 students and an array of musical instruments that would delight any music lover.

Fingers dancing across the keys, the teen closed his eyes as he immersed himself in improvisational jazz. He was a natural at music in general � teachers swore he positively glowed in the presence of instruments, be they a piano, a violin, or his voice. Not only was he skilled, but Alexander loved it. Changing directions, he began to play a distinctly Oriental styled piece, reminiscent of the days of the Ming Dynasty. There was simply nothing more he loved that music and he would have willingly spent the rest of his life in that music hall, basking the warmth of sound.

Of course, life was not generous.

-Young master, it�s time to awaken. You must begin to prepare for school.-

Hazily, Alexander looked up from the white keys and into the face of his maid at the door. Quite suddenly, he noticed he wasn�t sitting at a grand piano at all, but rather was lying in his bed. He blearily wiped the slumber out of his eyes.

-Of course it is. I�m up.-

Unfortunately for Alexander, it was time to return to face the music.

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Jade Diaries � Taipei Adventures 2003

By Raikun Tabris

Entry 3: On the Verge of Contradiction

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�Damn, that was one hard
test. Jennings is attempting to sodomize us with American history.� Ryan, a middle sized, somewhat muscular teen, muttered as he stepped out of a classroom, clutching a pencil.

�You�re telling me?� Following him was Lawrence, a shorter, slighter teen with black, curly hair. �At least you took American history when you were in the states. All I had was crappy Asian textbooks.�

Alexander trailed behind, clutching books to his chest with both hands. He looked considerably worse for the wear, having been staying up late making up homework an studying for the time lost by his �extracurricular activities�. �I think you�re exaggerating a bit. It wasn�t that bad. It could have been a lot worse.�

�Well, we�re all sorry that we don�t have a perfect memory like you, Alex,� Kevin, the tallest of the bunch, a gangly, messy haired boy with glasses, muttered, slinging a backpack over his shoulder. �I thought that test was bull shit. So who else wants to hit the pool halls after classes?�

All of the teens unanimously raised their hands in perfect synchronicity � except for Alexander.

�Alex, you don�t want to come?� Lawrence queried, giving his long-time friend an odd look. �Come on, you�ve been rain checking for three weeks. It�s time to have some fun.�

Stifling a yawn, Alexander shrugged and gave him a lop-sided grin. �Sorry. Cross country practice. And then violin lessons.�

Ryan gave a heavy sigh. �He�s just too cool for us now. I guess he�s going to ditch us to be a super nerd and get into Stanford or something.�

�Now, come on, you guys are my best friends. I wouldn�t do that.� Alexander gave them a weak smile, but it failed to convince them. �Let�s go to lunch, I�m starved.�

It was so easy to lie these days. He�d been doing it to everyone around him � his parents, his friends, his teachers. Sports, SAT practice, violin rehearsals, community service; there were just so many viable excuses he could pick from these days. People were gullible and believed him. Good old Alexander would never lie. At least, pre-Digital World Alexander wouldn�t. He wasn�t quite so sure now. But he had obligations and responsibilities. And if there was one thing he knew, it was never to take those lightly.

Feigning a laugh at one of Kevin�s jokes, Alexander fathomed if he was living a life cushioned by his own lies.

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Witchmon groaned as she continued her scrying attempts. She had thus far failed in her attempts to find the fourth of the statuettes. Gazing across the room of the abandoned pagoda, she could make out the silhouettes of three jade figurines glinting in the sparse light that pierced through the wooden ceiling.

They stood together in a crescent pattern, in a circular clay holder. Upon close inspection, it seemed as though the holder was made to hold five more statues. In the shadows of the afternoon, she watched as they glowed eerily emerald. One of them was a simple statue of a man dressed in ceremonial robes wielding a majestic sword, while the other was a crone clasping a flower basket to her side. So simple in design, yet they harnessed so much power � malicious hunger flashed through her eyes as she fantasized on what she could do with the share of the power to be allotted to her.

Picking up a handful of pebbles in her claw like hands, Witchmon threw them into the stone basin of water, carefully watching over the shadows they cast. They swirled around the sides of basin intricately, like balls in a roulette wheel. Her eyes darted to and fro, carefully noting the location of each and every pebble. Once they settled, she sighed. Still nothing.

The scent of burning incense caught her attention and she realized what it meant. Witchmon closed her eyes and chanted, invoking the dark magic she had been taught. Before her eyes, space and time was torn asunder and reformed again in the shape of a blackened window. Through the veil of magic, the magical digimon could barely make out the outline of her mistress.

-What is your progress on the fourth, wench?-

Witchmon flinched as if she had been struck across the face. Although she was miles away on her own business, the Mistress� voice pervaded the room as if she were actually in the pagoda. Loud and unwavering, it was as if thousands of ants were crawling through her digicore. Hoping she wouldn�t be punished for anything this time, Witchmon got on one knee and bowed.

-It was difficult enough locating the last one, Mistress, with the priests guarding it with their mantras. I�m still having trouble ---

-Don�t waste my time with excuses and what I already know.- The mistress� voice echoed throughout the room chillingly. -I�m asking you of your present progress.-

Witchmon shivered. One more slip like that and she would be condemned to the Valley of the Damned � where she would be torn apart and consumed by the data of thousands of digimon trapped in purgatory.

-I have yet to find the location of the fourth, my liege.- She bowed lower, so that her mistress couldn�t notice the look of mixed hate and fear on her face. -It may be shielded by monks of similar power, or hidden far away from the surface.-

The figure in the veil paused visibly. -Very well. Go on with your search. But I have an additional task for you to complete.- Raising a robed arm, the silhouette levitated a glowing, emerald sphere and threw it through the portal. Witchmon let out a small �urk!� as the sphere smashed through her abdomen, throwing her against the wall of the abandoned temple. -Leave this in the area when you take the next figurine. And make sure the chosen it is designated to finds it.-

With that, the rift wavered and shut, leaving Witchmon scowling. She moved a hand to grasp whatever it was she was to deliver, only to find it missing. In its place was an ornately carved drinking gourd, large enough to stuff a single human head into it. It seemed plain enough � if you ignored the fact it was composed of pure jade. Along its side, the traditional symbol of balance � the yin yang � was formed out of carefully shaped edges. The balance between man and woman, between individual and group, and between light and dark.

The witch digimon smirked darkly. If she had her way, the chosen would be in for more than their fair share of dark.

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-The selected children have arrived!-

With a harkening cry and the convenient banging of a gong, the guardsman Dinohumon announced the arrival of the chosen children to Babamon�s imperial palace. Covering over three square kilometers, the old crone�s home was more along the lines of a small city than �a humble dwelling�, as she called it. Her servants, ranging from guardsman to kitchen slaves to handmaidens, hurried from one part of the citadel to the other, carrying out her orders.

The only thing that served to separate Babamon�s palace from any other Chinese historical location was the random and seemingly irrelevant placement of circuit boards and televisions around the place. Entire walls of machinery were obvious behind panes of elegantly designed glass, while computer chips and floppy disks were strewn about the desks of decorated wood.

�Hm, it�s nicer than I recall,� Alexander murmured as he looked around. �She must have done some remodeling after that last fight with Youkomon.�

�Heh, I remember that one.� Victor grinned broadly, slapping Winston on the back. �Remember when that Flymon suspended you from the ceiling and Yashamon had to save you?�

Shoving his hands in his pockets, the bespectacled teen scowled. �Gee, I don�t think I need a reminder of that.�

�Cats always land on their feet,� Isabelle remarked sweetly as she pushed through the doors to Babamon�s main court. �I think Winston always lands on his ass.�

�You are so witty. Did it take you two all night to think that up? Because, gosh, I wouldn�t have thought of something like that by myself!� Winston took on a falsely shocked tone, picking up more melodrama by the second.

Alexander sighed. �Both of you, stop sniping at Winston. Winston, stop watching late night stand up and lay off the Family Guy. Remember, respect � Babamon won�t even talk to us if we seem even slightly disrespectful.�

�Which would suck, considering we�ve spent the last two hours trekking here,� Victor added in helpfully.

�Wow, what a comforting thought.� Winston rolled his eyes. �Honestly, you�re on fire.�

�Hey, I try to be as optimistic as possible.� Victor flashed a grin as he pushed through the crimson curtains to Babamon�s personal room.

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-Are you sure that you know nothing of the portals, elder Babamon?- Bowing deeply, Alexander stepped back and awaited an answer. Seated before him on a Chinese-styled throne was the old crone Babamon, with her servants fanning her with palm leaves.

She spoke painfully slowly and in a dialect that made your ears strain to understand her. -What I know regards nothing of the matter you speak.-

�Sense you must make or insane we will go,� Winston remarked in English, so that only his fellow chosen and digimon noticed. Victor snickered, but was soon silenced by a look from Isabelle. It seemed that Medusa was not the only one whose glare could turn people to stone. Hagurumon couldn�t hide his grin � but then again, he looked like he was perpetually grinning anyway.

-Please excuse my fellow comrade, elder. He is young and disrespectful.- Alexander shot a look back at Winston over the back of his shoulder. -Do you perhaps think the other sages may know?-

A whole ten minutes passed before the crone gave her answer.

-Is it possible for me to know what others think? Mind reader I am not, so I must say no.-

�Wow, she�s really sharp,� Winston drawled casually again, not even pretending to hide the sardonic tone to his voice. A loud thwack and Winston murmuring was the result of that � Kotemon sheathed his bokken without moving his eyes from Babamon.

-I must apologize once more.- Alexander looked as though he was the single parent holding the crying baby in the crowded movie theater. -One last question, if I may.-

Ten more minutes passed.

-Yes.-

Winston opened his mouth, but was silenced again when Isabelle casually reached down and grabbed a sensitive section of his anatomy with her manicured hand. She smiled sweetly at the elder as she did so.

-Is it possible that this may be related to the Youkomon you summoned us to defeat years ago?-

Silence flooded the room. The mention of the digimon�s name was suffice. Babamon�s personal handmaidens, the Kabukimon, gasped as the Nohemon guarding the door held back a tremor. Her eyes hidden behind the graying bangs, Babamon�s expression was unreadable.

-Unknown the answer of that is to me.-

�Well, that was a well-used afternoon, wasn�t it?� Winston commented in an enthusiastic tone. �Thanks for nothing, you old hag!� With a quick bow, the teen grabbed the collection of gears that was his digimon and left the room with a broad smile pasted on his face like a cut out.

Alexander sighed and rubbed his forehead. -Thank you for your time, Elder.- He bowed and left, with Victor and Isabelle following closely behind with their digimon.

After she was sure they had left, Babamon sighed and called forth her messengers, the Swanmon. With a wave of her broom, they materialized in a flurry of white feathers. Her voice was considerably different now � not the eccentric dialect or the slow speaking.

-Go and find the rest of the elders. We must join together for another meeting.-

Babamon sighed as they disappeared into the sky. She hated lying to the Chosen. But it was for their own good.

Really, it was.

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-How was your day, son?-

Alexander turned around to see his parents sitting in the living room, watching television on the obscenely priced fifty inch plasma television. Both of them had their hands full juggling the five companies his family owned and rarely were even home to have dinner with their children. He used to be disappointed when they wouldn�t show for dinner when he was younger. Now he was just accustomed to the lack of parents at the dinner table. Alexander turned around to face them.

-It was alright. I received high marks on both the history exam and mathematics examination.-

Mr. Tsao, a tall man of gentle demeanor, smiled at his son�s achievements. Tall and broad shouldered, he successfully gave the image of a man who belonged at the top and commanded men with his every word. -Very good, son. Just as I expected of a son such as my own. How many hours did you practice violin today?-

-Two hours after school.- Alexander steeled himself as he lied through his teeth. The two hours he was supposed to be practicing had been spent in the digital world searching for Babamon. But what his parents didn�t know wouldn�t hurt them. -My tutor said that I will be good enough to audition for the national performances if I practice more.-

-Oh, that�s excellent!- Mrs. Tsao, a proud woman of beauty, practically whooped with joy. Although she had four daughters before her son, her time had been devoted mostly to her son. He was the center of her universe and she tried her best to push him to his highest. As any mother would, she wanted him to succeed and felt this was the best way to do so. -It�ll look great on your college application.-

-Of course, Mother.- As a sign of respect, Alexander bowed stonily. He hated the words �college application�. He, of all people, had more reason than most to hate those words, as of yesterday night.

His father laughed broadly, as if the words were merely a joke. -Why, Hsiung-lin, would he even need a college application? It�s not like he has to go college at all.- Mr. Tsao gestured towards his son, who was staring at the ground. -Why, it was written in my father�s will � Jianming is to inherit the companies once he turns eighteen.-

-Yes, Father, why would I?- Alexander played along, laughing with his father�s joke. Albeit, hollowly � but neither of his parents noticed.

Jokes were supposed to be funny � so why did Alexander feel like something horrible had just happened?

Author�s comments:

And so, I�ve officially discovered that prep school takes up more time than I expected. Expect more from Jade Diaries in the next month than you have in the past year. Apologies for the great delay.