Chapter 29 - Elsewhere
I sighed and looked furiously down at my textbook.
I'll never get all this memorized before tomorrow…
Grumbling a bit under my breath, I reread the passage in the book, trying to figure out everything it might mean. It wasn't the most interesting subject, but I needed to take it. Then the lights flickered on and off, and I looked towards the door.
My mother stood in the doorway; hand on the light-switch, and a kindly smile on her face.
"Okay sweetie, time for bed."
"But, Mom, I'm not done studying yet."
She sighed.
"Carmela, honestly, you know enough to pass the test, why are you so worried about it?"
Why was I so worried about it? That's easy. I don't have anything else.
But Momma wouldn't understand that.
A small white lie is in order I think…
"Mooom. I have to do well on this test. It's too important not to!"
She sighed.
"But you say that about every test!"
Maybe I need to work on those excuses a bit in the future. Nothing I can do now.
"And they're all important!"
"Just go to bed. They can't all be as important as you're making out."
I slammed the book closed.
"Fine. When does Dad get home anyways?"
"In a couple of days, he's on that business trip, remember?"
"Yeah…"
I hope dad gets home soon…
Later that night, my room door crashed open, the lights flashing on. My mom came in wearing a nightgown.
"Carmela, get up, get up!"
"Wha…? What's going on?"
"No time to explain dear. Just get up. Throw something on. We need to leave. Now."
Scared out of my mind by my Mother's panic, I ran to get dressed. I grabbed an old coat and put it on, running out into the hallway, Momma with a robe over her nightgown.
"Let's go!"
She grabbed my hand almost painfully, and half dragged, half led me out of the apartment and into the hallway. There we stopped suddenly, and I crashed into her back. I peeked around her, and gasped. There were two ghost-like things in front of us. They looked at us, and we at them. Then they spoke, an eerie, haunting sound.
"You two are coming with us. Lord Myotismon wants everybody gathered in one place."
Momma backed up, pressing me back into the apartment.
"No. I won't let you take her. I'll go just leave my daughter."
The two laughed.
"Oh, is the lady worried about her little girl? Well listen up toots. You're both coming and that's final!"
"NO!"
Momma pushed herself out into the hallway and into the two ghosts, slamming them against the far wall.
"RUN CARMELA!"
I didn't need to be told twice. I ran. I ran until I heard the scream. Then I turned around. And froze.
"GHOST CHOP!"
I watched Momma's robe from behind. I watched as a red patch grew. I watched as she slumped lifelessly to the floor.
"MOMMA!!"
And then I woke up gasping for breath. I ran to the bathroom and collapsed over the sink, crying.
Why Momma?
Why Joe?
Why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I nodded down at the D-Terminal. I had received a message from Tai, and now Ken. We had to move faster. I looked down at Armadillomon.
"We need to go Armadillomon. You should digivolve. Your ultimate level would probably be fas…"
"NO! I won't do it!"
Armadillomon?
I squatted down on the desert floor with Armadillomon.
"Look, Armadillomon, you've got to get past this."
"But…"
I sighed.
Sorry Armadillomon, but this has to be done.
"I don't care. So you were MetalSeadramon, oh well, life goes on. Even if you do digivolve into MetalSeadramon again, it doesn't matter because you'll still be you."
He looked up at me, eyes watering.
"You don't understand Cody, I can't be MetalSeadramon again, I just can't. You think I haven't thought about it? Besides, how do you know I'll still be 'me'? How do we know that this is the real me now?"
"Armadillomon…"
"Seriously, how? How do we know that the moment I digivolve back into MetalSeadramon I won't be exactly that same way again? How… How do we know I can be trusted…?"
He looked up at me with big, bright watery eyes.
"How do we know I can still be trusted not to KILL you?!"
He burst into tears with that. He collapsed into the soft sand and covered his head.
"Armadillomon…"
I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. I sat down all the way now, and pulled him into my lap, ignoring the weight. I stroked his shell in a comforting gesture as I started talking again.
"Armadillomon, there isn't any real way to know what will happen in the future. But you can't just sit in one place and do nothing."
"I know, Cody, but I'm still scared. Scared of going insane again, scared of being deleted again. But most of all, I'm scared I'll lose you, be it to an enemy, or worse, at my own hand…"
"Armadillomon, I don't have all the answers. But I do know this. You would never hurt me. You don't have it in you.
"You were talking about how you aren't sure if the 'you' who's here now is the real 'you'? Did you ever consider this? What if who you were then wasn't the real 'you'? I mean, think about it. What was happening back then?
"Apocalymon.
"He wanted out, right? So what if he was manipulating both sides? What if he pitted both sides against each other in order to escape and delete everything?"
Armadillomon looked up with wide eyes. I kept going.
"Maybe the way you are now was the way you were 'meant' to be. But in the end, it still doesn't matter, because you aren't him anymore. You're my friend. That's all that matters."
Armadillomon managed a smile then. It was shaky, but it was genuine.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Cody, I… I still don't want you to tell the others about me. You're fine with it, but the others… I…I hurt them…"
I nodded slowly.
"If that's what you want to do then that's okay with me. I just want you to be happy."
His smile smoothed and he wiped his eyes with his claws, being careful not to poke them. His smile turned into a full-fledged grin.
"What are we waiting for then?"
Digivolution_
Armadillomon digivolve to… Anklyomon!
Anklyomon digivolve to… Scorpiomon!
"Climb aboard partner! Let's go find out if this one's a fake too!"
I got on, and he soared off towards primary village, to where our friends awaited help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked slowly through the hallways. I had been doing this for a while now, ever since I got out of class. I was trying not to think, and mindless activities are good for that. But it could only really take my mind off my circumstances for so long. I stopped suddenly, slamming my hand against the wall.
As I rubbed it, my mind started working again.
What am I going to do?
I wasn't thinking clearly, and I knew it. Carmela's leaving was affecting me more than I could really handle at the moment.
Was I really that hung up on her?
My aimless wandering continued, only interrupted by a beeping noise. I took out my D-Terminal and opened it. It was reminding me that I needed to get to my next class, one that was on the other side of the building from where I was now.
Which made my wandering take purposed direction, going towards the classroom.
It also reminded me that it was the first class I had ever seen Carmela in.
Which made me stop.
I sat down on the floor and leaned my head back against the walls.
Carmela…
I stopped for a moment to contemplate my situation, and have a silent dialogue.
I'm going to be late for class.
Carmela's gone.
Am I really that interested in going to class?
Carmela won't be there.
Do I care that I'm missing class?
Carmela's not coming back…
I started crying again.
Why does she hate me?
She hates digimon.
But why?
I don't know… Does it matter?
I suppose not.
I'm not sure how someone could hate Gomamon.
She doesn't know Gomamon.
She could get to know Gomamon.
She doesn't want to get to know Gomamon. I don't know where she is to even attempt it anyways.
I cried for a good long time in that hallway. I'm just glad no one passed through. After a good ten minutes though, I wiped my eyes and got unsteadily to my feet.
I started wandering again. I just walked, not really trying to run or escape or hide, I knew that was impossible. I did finally stop though, and go through a set of doors, right into the registrar's office. The lady behind the counter was friendly enough, but I really didn't notice.
"May I help you Mr…?"
"Kido. Joe Kido."
She typed in some information and then looked back up, smiling perfunctorily.
"What may I help you with Mr. Kido?"
"I need to drop my classes…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I yawned and went out to get the mail. Today had been fairly boring as far as days went, and hopefully the mail would alleviate some of the boredom.
Let's see…
Bill…
Bill…
Credit Card Application…
Dearest Sora…
You may have already won…
Wait a sec, hold up. Dearest Sora?
I looked down at the letter in my hands. Someone *cough*Tai*cough* was obviously sending me love letters.
That's sooo sweet!
Boredom successfully fought off, I almost pranced into the house holding the letter like a precious piece of glass. I sat down at the kitchen table and began to read.
My dearest one,
I pray with all my heart and soul that this insignificant offering of my love to you finds you in good health and pleasant mood.
My love for you soars higher than the heavens, and is deeper than the ocean blue. It burns brighter than the stars themselves and is stronger than eternal atlas.
Looking upon your soft tresses brings to mind sunsets during which we could walk barefoot along the beach, arm in arm. Your eyes are rich pools of brown; more luscious than the sweetest chocolates I could feed you off a silver tray.
Tai's letter continued to be an embarrassing attempt at romantic style, making several references to the works of people like Shakespeare and Barry White, something that, ironically enough, made it all the sweeter, because he was trying. It was embarrassing, and some of it was pretty bad, but he was trying.
Eventually, however, he got to the point.
My dearest Sora, you are my only reason for being, and nothing could please me more than to please you, and nothing could make this, my one task in life, easier, than for you to accept my humble invitation to dwell within my comfortable and cozy abode.
My love, life, and soul are yours,
Taichi Kamiya
Reading the end, I sighed in contentment, despair, and confusion; more or less in that order. Contentment came first. The fact that he was perfectly willing to embarrass himself so blatantly for me was perhaps the surest sign of his love I had. Despair came next. Tai really needed someone to take him aside and smack some sense into him.
Or at least teach him to write a decent love letter…
Confusion came last, and to my dismay, was the most abundant. I was not at all sure how I was going to thwart Tai's latest attempt to move me in with him. I sighed again.
It's not that living with Tai isn't appealing…
The truth of the matter was that Mom wasn't doing so well, and this time, probably wasn't going to come out of it. I hadn't wanted to tell the others, they certainly had enough of their own problems, but I might have to tell Tai.
I just can't leave Mom. Not now and not like this.
I stared at the ceiling for a while, and then reread the letter. Telling him the truth seemed like the only good option at this point. He'd worry too much about me, but it was better than him worrying about our relationship.
I sighed and looked furiously down at my textbook.
I'll never get all this memorized before tomorrow…
Grumbling a bit under my breath, I reread the passage in the book, trying to figure out everything it might mean. It wasn't the most interesting subject, but I needed to take it. Then the lights flickered on and off, and I looked towards the door.
My mother stood in the doorway; hand on the light-switch, and a kindly smile on her face.
"Okay sweetie, time for bed."
"But, Mom, I'm not done studying yet."
She sighed.
"Carmela, honestly, you know enough to pass the test, why are you so worried about it?"
Why was I so worried about it? That's easy. I don't have anything else.
But Momma wouldn't understand that.
A small white lie is in order I think…
"Mooom. I have to do well on this test. It's too important not to!"
She sighed.
"But you say that about every test!"
Maybe I need to work on those excuses a bit in the future. Nothing I can do now.
"And they're all important!"
"Just go to bed. They can't all be as important as you're making out."
I slammed the book closed.
"Fine. When does Dad get home anyways?"
"In a couple of days, he's on that business trip, remember?"
"Yeah…"
I hope dad gets home soon…
Later that night, my room door crashed open, the lights flashing on. My mom came in wearing a nightgown.
"Carmela, get up, get up!"
"Wha…? What's going on?"
"No time to explain dear. Just get up. Throw something on. We need to leave. Now."
Scared out of my mind by my Mother's panic, I ran to get dressed. I grabbed an old coat and put it on, running out into the hallway, Momma with a robe over her nightgown.
"Let's go!"
She grabbed my hand almost painfully, and half dragged, half led me out of the apartment and into the hallway. There we stopped suddenly, and I crashed into her back. I peeked around her, and gasped. There were two ghost-like things in front of us. They looked at us, and we at them. Then they spoke, an eerie, haunting sound.
"You two are coming with us. Lord Myotismon wants everybody gathered in one place."
Momma backed up, pressing me back into the apartment.
"No. I won't let you take her. I'll go just leave my daughter."
The two laughed.
"Oh, is the lady worried about her little girl? Well listen up toots. You're both coming and that's final!"
"NO!"
Momma pushed herself out into the hallway and into the two ghosts, slamming them against the far wall.
"RUN CARMELA!"
I didn't need to be told twice. I ran. I ran until I heard the scream. Then I turned around. And froze.
"GHOST CHOP!"
I watched Momma's robe from behind. I watched as a red patch grew. I watched as she slumped lifelessly to the floor.
"MOMMA!!"
And then I woke up gasping for breath. I ran to the bathroom and collapsed over the sink, crying.
Why Momma?
Why Joe?
Why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I nodded down at the D-Terminal. I had received a message from Tai, and now Ken. We had to move faster. I looked down at Armadillomon.
"We need to go Armadillomon. You should digivolve. Your ultimate level would probably be fas…"
"NO! I won't do it!"
Armadillomon?
I squatted down on the desert floor with Armadillomon.
"Look, Armadillomon, you've got to get past this."
"But…"
I sighed.
Sorry Armadillomon, but this has to be done.
"I don't care. So you were MetalSeadramon, oh well, life goes on. Even if you do digivolve into MetalSeadramon again, it doesn't matter because you'll still be you."
He looked up at me, eyes watering.
"You don't understand Cody, I can't be MetalSeadramon again, I just can't. You think I haven't thought about it? Besides, how do you know I'll still be 'me'? How do we know that this is the real me now?"
"Armadillomon…"
"Seriously, how? How do we know that the moment I digivolve back into MetalSeadramon I won't be exactly that same way again? How… How do we know I can be trusted…?"
He looked up at me with big, bright watery eyes.
"How do we know I can still be trusted not to KILL you?!"
He burst into tears with that. He collapsed into the soft sand and covered his head.
"Armadillomon…"
I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. I sat down all the way now, and pulled him into my lap, ignoring the weight. I stroked his shell in a comforting gesture as I started talking again.
"Armadillomon, there isn't any real way to know what will happen in the future. But you can't just sit in one place and do nothing."
"I know, Cody, but I'm still scared. Scared of going insane again, scared of being deleted again. But most of all, I'm scared I'll lose you, be it to an enemy, or worse, at my own hand…"
"Armadillomon, I don't have all the answers. But I do know this. You would never hurt me. You don't have it in you.
"You were talking about how you aren't sure if the 'you' who's here now is the real 'you'? Did you ever consider this? What if who you were then wasn't the real 'you'? I mean, think about it. What was happening back then?
"Apocalymon.
"He wanted out, right? So what if he was manipulating both sides? What if he pitted both sides against each other in order to escape and delete everything?"
Armadillomon looked up with wide eyes. I kept going.
"Maybe the way you are now was the way you were 'meant' to be. But in the end, it still doesn't matter, because you aren't him anymore. You're my friend. That's all that matters."
Armadillomon managed a smile then. It was shaky, but it was genuine.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Cody, I… I still don't want you to tell the others about me. You're fine with it, but the others… I…I hurt them…"
I nodded slowly.
"If that's what you want to do then that's okay with me. I just want you to be happy."
His smile smoothed and he wiped his eyes with his claws, being careful not to poke them. His smile turned into a full-fledged grin.
"What are we waiting for then?"
Digivolution_
Armadillomon digivolve to… Anklyomon!
Anklyomon digivolve to… Scorpiomon!
"Climb aboard partner! Let's go find out if this one's a fake too!"
I got on, and he soared off towards primary village, to where our friends awaited help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked slowly through the hallways. I had been doing this for a while now, ever since I got out of class. I was trying not to think, and mindless activities are good for that. But it could only really take my mind off my circumstances for so long. I stopped suddenly, slamming my hand against the wall.
As I rubbed it, my mind started working again.
What am I going to do?
I wasn't thinking clearly, and I knew it. Carmela's leaving was affecting me more than I could really handle at the moment.
Was I really that hung up on her?
My aimless wandering continued, only interrupted by a beeping noise. I took out my D-Terminal and opened it. It was reminding me that I needed to get to my next class, one that was on the other side of the building from where I was now.
Which made my wandering take purposed direction, going towards the classroom.
It also reminded me that it was the first class I had ever seen Carmela in.
Which made me stop.
I sat down on the floor and leaned my head back against the walls.
Carmela…
I stopped for a moment to contemplate my situation, and have a silent dialogue.
I'm going to be late for class.
Carmela's gone.
Am I really that interested in going to class?
Carmela won't be there.
Do I care that I'm missing class?
Carmela's not coming back…
I started crying again.
Why does she hate me?
She hates digimon.
But why?
I don't know… Does it matter?
I suppose not.
I'm not sure how someone could hate Gomamon.
She doesn't know Gomamon.
She could get to know Gomamon.
She doesn't want to get to know Gomamon. I don't know where she is to even attempt it anyways.
I cried for a good long time in that hallway. I'm just glad no one passed through. After a good ten minutes though, I wiped my eyes and got unsteadily to my feet.
I started wandering again. I just walked, not really trying to run or escape or hide, I knew that was impossible. I did finally stop though, and go through a set of doors, right into the registrar's office. The lady behind the counter was friendly enough, but I really didn't notice.
"May I help you Mr…?"
"Kido. Joe Kido."
She typed in some information and then looked back up, smiling perfunctorily.
"What may I help you with Mr. Kido?"
"I need to drop my classes…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I yawned and went out to get the mail. Today had been fairly boring as far as days went, and hopefully the mail would alleviate some of the boredom.
Let's see…
Bill…
Bill…
Credit Card Application…
Dearest Sora…
You may have already won…
Wait a sec, hold up. Dearest Sora?
I looked down at the letter in my hands. Someone *cough*Tai*cough* was obviously sending me love letters.
That's sooo sweet!
Boredom successfully fought off, I almost pranced into the house holding the letter like a precious piece of glass. I sat down at the kitchen table and began to read.
My dearest one,
I pray with all my heart and soul that this insignificant offering of my love to you finds you in good health and pleasant mood.
My love for you soars higher than the heavens, and is deeper than the ocean blue. It burns brighter than the stars themselves and is stronger than eternal atlas.
Looking upon your soft tresses brings to mind sunsets during which we could walk barefoot along the beach, arm in arm. Your eyes are rich pools of brown; more luscious than the sweetest chocolates I could feed you off a silver tray.
Tai's letter continued to be an embarrassing attempt at romantic style, making several references to the works of people like Shakespeare and Barry White, something that, ironically enough, made it all the sweeter, because he was trying. It was embarrassing, and some of it was pretty bad, but he was trying.
Eventually, however, he got to the point.
My dearest Sora, you are my only reason for being, and nothing could please me more than to please you, and nothing could make this, my one task in life, easier, than for you to accept my humble invitation to dwell within my comfortable and cozy abode.
My love, life, and soul are yours,
Taichi Kamiya
Reading the end, I sighed in contentment, despair, and confusion; more or less in that order. Contentment came first. The fact that he was perfectly willing to embarrass himself so blatantly for me was perhaps the surest sign of his love I had. Despair came next. Tai really needed someone to take him aside and smack some sense into him.
Or at least teach him to write a decent love letter…
Confusion came last, and to my dismay, was the most abundant. I was not at all sure how I was going to thwart Tai's latest attempt to move me in with him. I sighed again.
It's not that living with Tai isn't appealing…
The truth of the matter was that Mom wasn't doing so well, and this time, probably wasn't going to come out of it. I hadn't wanted to tell the others, they certainly had enough of their own problems, but I might have to tell Tai.
I just can't leave Mom. Not now and not like this.
I stared at the ceiling for a while, and then reread the letter. Telling him the truth seemed like the only good option at this point. He'd worry too much about me, but it was better than him worrying about our relationship.