Chapter 39 - The Good, the Bad, and Jun Motomiya
I knocked on the door of the Motomiya residence.
This isn't going to be easy.
Jun answered the door, looking down at me. She blinked.
"Hey aren't you one of Davis's little friends… Cody?"
I nodded.
"May I come in for a moment?"
She nodded and stepped back.
"Davis isn't here at the moment you know-"
I cut her off before she got too far as I walked in.
"I know… earlier today… Matt and Davis were attacked. Now they're missing too."
I heard a short gasp, and turned back towards her, where there were tears gathered in her eyes.
"What?"
I looked down at my feet.
"We don't even know who's doing it… but we're trying. You have to believe that…"
She shook her head.
"I know… I know you are… Just… please, give me some time to deal with this, okay?"
I nodded a little uncertainly, then made a polite exit. I looked down in my arms where Upamon had remained silent the entire time.
"I don't like this Upamon…"
He nodded.
"Not much we can do right now though Cody. We just have to play this out. We don't have any leads whatsoever."
I nodded, and we kept walking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji,
I don't know quite how to say this, I can't even think of a way to break it easily, so I'll simply come out and say it.
Ken is missing. He isn't at a sleep over, like I said. It was wrong to lie about it, but at the time I had firmly believed that he would have been found and back by now.
I no longer believe this.
This is not to say that I believe all hope is lost. I just believe that it will take longer than I can successfully cover it up.
Rest assured that those of us left are looking. We will not give up. We will not fail. We will not rest until those that were stolen from us are returned safe and sound.
To that end, you may not see me for some time either. I'm going out to find him, and I'm not coming back without him.
Takato
I sighed and placed the note down on the kitchen counter. I paused before going out the door, getting a funny feeling, as I took one last look around the apartment.
It feels like I'm running away somehow…
Of course, that's what I'm best at, isn't it?
I was fixing the apartment in my mind, like a man who would never see it again. There were slightly disturbing similarities to when I looked around the campsite before coming here. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
That kind of thinking won't do me any good. I just need to get out of here and find them, that's all.
I walked down the street towards the flower shop, hoping to recruit Sora, Cody and Gomamon into coming with me. I twisted my mouth in annoyance.
Even with all of us this is going to be hard. Even if I reveal ChaosGallantmon and have Grani scout around as well, we still wouldn't have nearly the manpower we need for this kind of search. When Sora was missing we had the full complement of Digidestined looking for her, and still only found the fortress by luck.
*Takatomon!*
*What is it BlackJyarimon?*
*Armadillomon digivolved…*
*Where?*
BlackJyarimon jumped out of my hood then, to the shock of a few passersby.
Flash
Digivolution_
BlackJyarimon Flash Digivolve to… BlackGuilmon!
Some of the said passersby started running at this, while BlackGuilmon took off in the same direction we were going.
The flower shop…
BlackGuilmon shook me out of it by calling out.
"Come on, Takatomon! Hurry!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked down the street, Upamon in my arms. Now that I was done breaking the news, I needed to get down to the flower shop. We were supposed to be sticking together after all.
I was just out side it when the door exploded outwards.
I ran in, and was shocked to find a portal closing.
"NO!"
"Too late."
I spun to find a smirking girl with black hair step out of the shadows. I gaped for a moment.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
Digivolution_
Upamon Digivolve to… Armadillomon!
Rather than try to take the attack, Armadillomon knocked us both backwards out the door as the attack came sailing in from the street. The front of the building seemed to cave out from the attack - there wasn't much left of it to destroy. I used my years of Kendo practice and rolled to my feet almost instantly, bringing Armadillomon up with me and placing him down on his feet. I brought out my digivice.
"Let's go!"
"Right Cody!"
Digivolution_
Armadillomon Digivolve to… Anklyomon!
Anklyomon Digivolve to… Scorpiomon!
I hopped onto Scorpiomon's back, hoping to take the fight to a less populated area. The girl had other plans though.
"Infermon, GO!"
"SPIDER SHOOTER!"
The energy pellets impacted, but thanks to Scorpiomon's armored shell, did little damage. I was a little worried what a direct impact from a couple of those grenades would do though.
"Looks like we've got no choice Scorpiomon. Let her have it!"
"Right, Cody! TAIL BLADE!"
Infermon, who had just emerged from the shadows, jumped back in, his high agility enabling him to evade the assault. We backed off some more, still hoping to draw this into another area, or at least attract some help.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
Scorpiomon tired to dodge, but since he had to watch out for me too, the attack scored a glancing blow. The girl just scowled, and motioned for Infermon to continue the assault. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a deck of cards.
I suddenly thought of the things that I'd seen Takato do with cards, and blanched.
"Scorpiomon! We're in trouble! We need to get out of here!"
He turned to try and fly away, but suddenly Infermon was halfway up a building twenty feet in front of us in the direction we wanted to go.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
The attack struck, and the last thing I remembered was Scorpiomon diving for me as I blacked out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just stared in shock at the path of destruction carved into the area where the flower shop used to be. The lower floor of the building looked even worse than it had after that Mummymon had hit it. Pieces of the front of the building were littered in the street. I looked down at BlackGuilmon.
*Can you feel Armadillomon anymore?*
*No… Biyomon isn't here either…*
I broke the connection and swore softly under my breath. Sora should have been here at least.
That means they got both of them… I'm… alone…
I growled under my breath. BlackGuilmon tugged on my shirt and I looked down. He smiled at me, trying to cheer me up, reminding me that I wasn't alone, and that I couldn't be alone as long as he was still there with me.
*Grani.*
*I'm here Takato.*
*Meet us when we get to the digital world. We need to have a long talk with Azulongmon.*
*Understood.*
I looked down at BlackGuilmon again.
"Come on boy. We have work to do."
"Right Takatomon!"
With that, we turned and walked away from the scene, looking for some secluded place to activate the portal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was about a half hour later, and BlackGuilmon, Grani, and I were in conference with Azulongmon. Gennai started.
"Well, the good news is that we've found them. The bad news… well, we can't get into the place. It repulses the power of the sovereigns and seems to be… suppressing… digivolution."
"Like a dark spire you mean."
Gennai nodded.
"Very much like that. This seems a bit more advanced though. I'd wager it'd block armor digivolutions as well…"
I frowned, but Azulongmon had his own idea to offer.
"If it's doing that then it's probably a simpler method instead. I'd imagine that something in the area is simply blocking catalyst type abilities."
My frown deepened a bit then.
"So… if we digivolve outside the barrier we should be fine, right?"
He shrugged.
"In theory."
I looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking.
"Well, the theory is all we've got. We'll have to risk it. But…"
Gennai looked over.
"But what?"
I sighed.
"Look. Even I can't do this alone."
Azulongmon nodded, and then gestured to Gennai.
"I realize that. That's why I had Gennai find us two new Digidestined."
Gennai handed me a folded piece of paper.
"Here they are Takato. Their names, addresses, and partners are on that paper."
I arched an eyebrow, then unfolded it and looked at the first choice.
"Let's see here… I vaguely remember hearing that name somewhere… can't place where, but no matter. Now number two…"
I read the name.
I blinked.
I read it again.
Yep, still says the same thing.
I looked up at Azulongmon, who was trying desperately not to laugh, a disbelieving look on my face.
I looked at the name on the paper again.
I looked at Gennai this time, who wasn't even trying to hide it as he rolled around on the ground, laughing.
I looked back at the paper, and read the name yet again, still not believing what I was looking at.
I looked up at the both of them.
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR GOD DAMN MINDS!"
I felt a tug at the corner of my mind.
*Who is it Takatomon?*
*Jun.*
*Scary lady?*
*Yes.*
BlackGuilmon could take on mega digimon without batting an eye. He calls Jun the scary lady.
And now she has a digimon…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt…
Come on Jun, snap out of it, you can do it.
I pulled myself up off the couch. Dwelling on this wouldn't get Matt back. I looked around at the room, my eyes finally coming to rest on the clock.
Mom and Dad won't be home for a few hours…
Then a brilliant idea popped into my head.
I know! I'll go over to Matt's place and spruce it up! So he'll have somewhere nice to come home to when he gets back…
I smiled then. Matt had invited me over for Christmas Eve this year which was only a few days away, so that I could spend the day itself with family. Fixing up his apartment and having everything ready was really appealing right now.
I mean, he'll be back by then for sure, right?
With a firm plan of action in mind, I began humming to myself as I made to get ready. I was almost out the door when I spotted Matt's gift to me next to the tree.
I picked it up to take it with me, immediately noting how heavy it was. If I was going to have Christmas at Matt's, then I wanted to open his present there. It seemed like the right thing to do. I bore with the weight, though. It seemed the least I could do.
On my out, I closed the door with my foot, and lost my balance, falling over. The box tumbled down across the lawn.
"Oww…"
I started get up, but paused as I heard a voice.
"Hmm… I wonder how long a nap I… What the?! HELP! I'M BLIND! I'M BLIND!"
I just lay there wondering if I had some sort of head injury to explain this. This was nuts even for me. Then I goggled as a furry fist punched a hole into the box, followed closely by a gray-furred, blue garbed bear.
My eyes widened.
Matt got me a digimon?
I grinned as I imagined Matt and I side by side, crushing evil digimon as they appeared.
He really does want me to a part of his life!
I ended my giddy fantasies and studied the little guy who was currently trying to get the box down from his waist. I was up and over to him in a flash, pulling him out of the box and into a giant hug.
"You're sooo cute!"
The little guy seemed slightly confused.
"Thanks for the help… but who are you?"
I grinned as a small bright light settled between us.
"I'm Jun. I'm your Digidestined."
His returning grin was instantaneous.
"COOL!"
I knocked on the door of the Motomiya residence.
This isn't going to be easy.
Jun answered the door, looking down at me. She blinked.
"Hey aren't you one of Davis's little friends… Cody?"
I nodded.
"May I come in for a moment?"
She nodded and stepped back.
"Davis isn't here at the moment you know-"
I cut her off before she got too far as I walked in.
"I know… earlier today… Matt and Davis were attacked. Now they're missing too."
I heard a short gasp, and turned back towards her, where there were tears gathered in her eyes.
"What?"
I looked down at my feet.
"We don't even know who's doing it… but we're trying. You have to believe that…"
She shook her head.
"I know… I know you are… Just… please, give me some time to deal with this, okay?"
I nodded a little uncertainly, then made a polite exit. I looked down in my arms where Upamon had remained silent the entire time.
"I don't like this Upamon…"
He nodded.
"Not much we can do right now though Cody. We just have to play this out. We don't have any leads whatsoever."
I nodded, and we kept walking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji,
I don't know quite how to say this, I can't even think of a way to break it easily, so I'll simply come out and say it.
Ken is missing. He isn't at a sleep over, like I said. It was wrong to lie about it, but at the time I had firmly believed that he would have been found and back by now.
I no longer believe this.
This is not to say that I believe all hope is lost. I just believe that it will take longer than I can successfully cover it up.
Rest assured that those of us left are looking. We will not give up. We will not fail. We will not rest until those that were stolen from us are returned safe and sound.
To that end, you may not see me for some time either. I'm going out to find him, and I'm not coming back without him.
Takato
I sighed and placed the note down on the kitchen counter. I paused before going out the door, getting a funny feeling, as I took one last look around the apartment.
It feels like I'm running away somehow…
Of course, that's what I'm best at, isn't it?
I was fixing the apartment in my mind, like a man who would never see it again. There were slightly disturbing similarities to when I looked around the campsite before coming here. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
That kind of thinking won't do me any good. I just need to get out of here and find them, that's all.
I walked down the street towards the flower shop, hoping to recruit Sora, Cody and Gomamon into coming with me. I twisted my mouth in annoyance.
Even with all of us this is going to be hard. Even if I reveal ChaosGallantmon and have Grani scout around as well, we still wouldn't have nearly the manpower we need for this kind of search. When Sora was missing we had the full complement of Digidestined looking for her, and still only found the fortress by luck.
*Takatomon!*
*What is it BlackJyarimon?*
*Armadillomon digivolved…*
*Where?*
BlackJyarimon jumped out of my hood then, to the shock of a few passersby.
Flash
Digivolution_
BlackJyarimon Flash Digivolve to… BlackGuilmon!
Some of the said passersby started running at this, while BlackGuilmon took off in the same direction we were going.
The flower shop…
BlackGuilmon shook me out of it by calling out.
"Come on, Takatomon! Hurry!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked down the street, Upamon in my arms. Now that I was done breaking the news, I needed to get down to the flower shop. We were supposed to be sticking together after all.
I was just out side it when the door exploded outwards.
I ran in, and was shocked to find a portal closing.
"NO!"
"Too late."
I spun to find a smirking girl with black hair step out of the shadows. I gaped for a moment.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
Digivolution_
Upamon Digivolve to… Armadillomon!
Rather than try to take the attack, Armadillomon knocked us both backwards out the door as the attack came sailing in from the street. The front of the building seemed to cave out from the attack - there wasn't much left of it to destroy. I used my years of Kendo practice and rolled to my feet almost instantly, bringing Armadillomon up with me and placing him down on his feet. I brought out my digivice.
"Let's go!"
"Right Cody!"
Digivolution_
Armadillomon Digivolve to… Anklyomon!
Anklyomon Digivolve to… Scorpiomon!
I hopped onto Scorpiomon's back, hoping to take the fight to a less populated area. The girl had other plans though.
"Infermon, GO!"
"SPIDER SHOOTER!"
The energy pellets impacted, but thanks to Scorpiomon's armored shell, did little damage. I was a little worried what a direct impact from a couple of those grenades would do though.
"Looks like we've got no choice Scorpiomon. Let her have it!"
"Right, Cody! TAIL BLADE!"
Infermon, who had just emerged from the shadows, jumped back in, his high agility enabling him to evade the assault. We backed off some more, still hoping to draw this into another area, or at least attract some help.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
Scorpiomon tired to dodge, but since he had to watch out for me too, the attack scored a glancing blow. The girl just scowled, and motioned for Infermon to continue the assault. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a deck of cards.
I suddenly thought of the things that I'd seen Takato do with cards, and blanched.
"Scorpiomon! We're in trouble! We need to get out of here!"
He turned to try and fly away, but suddenly Infermon was halfway up a building twenty feet in front of us in the direction we wanted to go.
"NETWORK GRENADE!"
The attack struck, and the last thing I remembered was Scorpiomon diving for me as I blacked out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just stared in shock at the path of destruction carved into the area where the flower shop used to be. The lower floor of the building looked even worse than it had after that Mummymon had hit it. Pieces of the front of the building were littered in the street. I looked down at BlackGuilmon.
*Can you feel Armadillomon anymore?*
*No… Biyomon isn't here either…*
I broke the connection and swore softly under my breath. Sora should have been here at least.
That means they got both of them… I'm… alone…
I growled under my breath. BlackGuilmon tugged on my shirt and I looked down. He smiled at me, trying to cheer me up, reminding me that I wasn't alone, and that I couldn't be alone as long as he was still there with me.
*Grani.*
*I'm here Takato.*
*Meet us when we get to the digital world. We need to have a long talk with Azulongmon.*
*Understood.*
I looked down at BlackGuilmon again.
"Come on boy. We have work to do."
"Right Takatomon!"
With that, we turned and walked away from the scene, looking for some secluded place to activate the portal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was about a half hour later, and BlackGuilmon, Grani, and I were in conference with Azulongmon. Gennai started.
"Well, the good news is that we've found them. The bad news… well, we can't get into the place. It repulses the power of the sovereigns and seems to be… suppressing… digivolution."
"Like a dark spire you mean."
Gennai nodded.
"Very much like that. This seems a bit more advanced though. I'd wager it'd block armor digivolutions as well…"
I frowned, but Azulongmon had his own idea to offer.
"If it's doing that then it's probably a simpler method instead. I'd imagine that something in the area is simply blocking catalyst type abilities."
My frown deepened a bit then.
"So… if we digivolve outside the barrier we should be fine, right?"
He shrugged.
"In theory."
I looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking.
"Well, the theory is all we've got. We'll have to risk it. But…"
Gennai looked over.
"But what?"
I sighed.
"Look. Even I can't do this alone."
Azulongmon nodded, and then gestured to Gennai.
"I realize that. That's why I had Gennai find us two new Digidestined."
Gennai handed me a folded piece of paper.
"Here they are Takato. Their names, addresses, and partners are on that paper."
I arched an eyebrow, then unfolded it and looked at the first choice.
"Let's see here… I vaguely remember hearing that name somewhere… can't place where, but no matter. Now number two…"
I read the name.
I blinked.
I read it again.
Yep, still says the same thing.
I looked up at Azulongmon, who was trying desperately not to laugh, a disbelieving look on my face.
I looked at the name on the paper again.
I looked at Gennai this time, who wasn't even trying to hide it as he rolled around on the ground, laughing.
I looked back at the paper, and read the name yet again, still not believing what I was looking at.
I looked up at the both of them.
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR GOD DAMN MINDS!"
I felt a tug at the corner of my mind.
*Who is it Takatomon?*
*Jun.*
*Scary lady?*
*Yes.*
BlackGuilmon could take on mega digimon without batting an eye. He calls Jun the scary lady.
And now she has a digimon…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt…
Come on Jun, snap out of it, you can do it.
I pulled myself up off the couch. Dwelling on this wouldn't get Matt back. I looked around at the room, my eyes finally coming to rest on the clock.
Mom and Dad won't be home for a few hours…
Then a brilliant idea popped into my head.
I know! I'll go over to Matt's place and spruce it up! So he'll have somewhere nice to come home to when he gets back…
I smiled then. Matt had invited me over for Christmas Eve this year which was only a few days away, so that I could spend the day itself with family. Fixing up his apartment and having everything ready was really appealing right now.
I mean, he'll be back by then for sure, right?
With a firm plan of action in mind, I began humming to myself as I made to get ready. I was almost out the door when I spotted Matt's gift to me next to the tree.
I picked it up to take it with me, immediately noting how heavy it was. If I was going to have Christmas at Matt's, then I wanted to open his present there. It seemed like the right thing to do. I bore with the weight, though. It seemed the least I could do.
On my out, I closed the door with my foot, and lost my balance, falling over. The box tumbled down across the lawn.
"Oww…"
I started get up, but paused as I heard a voice.
"Hmm… I wonder how long a nap I… What the?! HELP! I'M BLIND! I'M BLIND!"
I just lay there wondering if I had some sort of head injury to explain this. This was nuts even for me. Then I goggled as a furry fist punched a hole into the box, followed closely by a gray-furred, blue garbed bear.
My eyes widened.
Matt got me a digimon?
I grinned as I imagined Matt and I side by side, crushing evil digimon as they appeared.
He really does want me to a part of his life!
I ended my giddy fantasies and studied the little guy who was currently trying to get the box down from his waist. I was up and over to him in a flash, pulling him out of the box and into a giant hug.
"You're sooo cute!"
The little guy seemed slightly confused.
"Thanks for the help… but who are you?"
I grinned as a small bright light settled between us.
"I'm Jun. I'm your Digidestined."
His returning grin was instantaneous.
"COOL!"