I've finally done it, amidst my busy university schedule I've managed to
finished the first chapter to this sequel. I know that I said I was
planning to do the prequel first, but I had writer's block with that fic
and decided to do this one as well. Don't expect too much from this one yet
though, it's only to give you a handle of what's going on.so read on.
And oh yeah I don't own Digimon
Chapter One: Introductions
Krystal
14 YEARS LATER
A cold shiver ran down my spine as my ears absorbed the words spoke. The words were kind and understandable, but it was my own personal experience that caused the shiver. My classmates worked eagerly to convert the teacher's words into words on paper. My pen did not match the actions of my classmates. Unlike the others, I held my pen, impatiently rapping it on the desk. Hearing the words was painful enough, having to actually write them would only add to the pain. As usual her lesson revolved around terms that served as simple reminders of all the things I had been denied.
Unfortunately it was unavoidable. I was stuck in this accursed class five days a week, for the next five months. All it did was remind me of everything that had taken away my chance of a normal life.
Digital Sciences and History, or in other words, the overall study of Digimon and the Digital world. It was a relatively new course that the school board had introduced a couple years back. They felt it was important with the ever increasing number of humans with Digimon partners.
Digimon, everything to do with them I despised. No, "despised" is too harsh a word. I didn't hate Digimon. In fact, my best friend, my partner Labramon, was a Digimon. She was one of the few Digimon, or things that relate to the Digital creatures, that didn't remind me of the loss of my parents.
I was much too young to have remembered when my parents left me with my Uncle Cam, but that didn't mean I was left completely in the dark. Like many children I was very inquisitive, and I thus bombarded my uncle with dozens of questions. The questions began when I was just emerging from my infancy. I believe I was about five when I noticed how different my family was from all the other kids'. They all had mommies and daddies, and all I had was an uncle. Yes I noticed that other kids had uncles, but they never looked after them full-time like mine did.
Thus initiated my first, inevitable question: "How come I don't have a mommy or a daddy?"
Despite that fact that I was only a child my uncle didn't sugar-coat it, every word he spoke was the truth.
He first revealed the true identities of my parents. Needless to say I was in shock to discover that my parents were two of the elite Digidestined. As a child my first instinct was to go out and brag to all my friends, though it all of two minutes for my uncle to convince me not to. He and my parents had worked very hard to cover up the fact that they were Digidestined so that we could elude the media. They wanted a normal life. I agreed not to, and so for nine years have not told anyone, aside from my best (human) friend Alex. I only told him because he too is the child of an elite Digidestined. Fortunately for him, he got to keep both his parents.
Once, he finished explaining who my parents were, Cam went on to explain why they were no longer around. My father, or Kris discovered of a great evil threatening the Digital World, and being the great noble hero that he was supposed to be, he had to go fight it. My mother, fearing for his welfare refused to let him go alone, and went along with him, leaving my Uncle Cam to take care of me until they came back. Off to fight for a race like they always did, playing heroes instead of parents. Fighting for a race of creatures that refused to fight for them.
Two years after their disappearance my Uncle became my legal guardian, and it became official; It was unlikely I would live a childhood raised by my parents. It is for that reason that I do not care for Digimon. I don't hate them, I suppose that they are good friendly creatures, but I just can't look on them on the same positive light that the rest of the world does. It is Digimon that my parents felt the need to protect. Digimon are the reason that my parents left to fight, and never return. Digimon are the reason I lost them before I even knew them. Because my parents had to fight for those dependant creatures I am was forced to grow up without them, orphaned.
I have realized that it was not the Digimon's fault, they did not ask to be attacked. I do try my best not to feel the way I do about them. They are not horrible creatures, in fact in my experiences with them (especially Labramon) they are actually quite pleasant. However, that still that didn't change the way I looked at them. Whenever I looked upon a Digimon, or anything that had to do with them, I was just reminded of the fact that I would never know my parents; never know that life everyone else did.
I couldn't even look at my Digivice or crest. They were just another reminder of the loss of my parents.
Labramon was the only Digimon immune to such reminders. If it hadn't been for her I don't think I would have made it through my childhood. Growing up, watching children everywhere with their parents was obviously not a pleasant to deal with. I couldn't count the number times I asked myself why I had to be odd one out; why I had to be the one to lose my parents.
I understood there were other orphaned children out there. I couldn't be the only child who had lost their parents. Why weren't any of them around? If there was anything I wished for more than my parents, it was someone else who could understand what I had been through. I seemed to be the only one having forced to watch as other kids were picked up from school by their parents, proudly brought back their good report home. Hell, I was even jealous of the ones who feared showing their parents their report cards.
I felt an ever growing resentment for children of divorced parents when I heard them whine or complain about that fact. I always wanted to scream. "At least you have them! At least a group of over-dependant monsters didn't tear both of your parents away from you!" However, I never did have the courage, or the discourtesy, to do so. I merely turned my head and ignored them; or if they were talking directly to me, I would smile politely and ignore the screaming voice in my head.
Alex attempted to provide me with the same comfort, but it just wasn't the same. He had both his parents, he knew the joy of loving parents, and I found it difficult to accept his comfort. Even if he said something insightful that I agreed with, for some unknown reason, I couldn't find couldn't find comfort even his most understanding words.
Thank God for Labramon. Without her friendship, comfort, and love I have no idea how my life could have turned out. She hadn't gone through the same pain that I had, but somehow she seemed to understand everything I had been through. Even if her words her harsh, I was able to find comfort in them. God only knows what kind of person I could have turned into if it weren't for her.
It was no wonder that she didn't remind me of the pain of having to go through life without parents. She had greatly diminished that pain.
Then there was my uncle. The one who had been burdened with my responsibility. He wasn't the reason for the pain. He always did his best to be both a mother and father substitute, but sadly his best just wasn't enough.
He was relatively young when I was thrust into his guardian ship - Twenty- one to be exact. Not exactly the ideal age to be taking care of a child. His college education had to be sacrificed, and he took up a poor paying job in local pulp and paper mill, where he still works to this day.
As a result of a poorly paying job the two of us didn't have the most luxurious lifestyle. A one-bedroom apartment in a rough neighbourhood; a refrigerator filled with various expired dairy products; a pantry with assorted cans of food that more privileged folks wouldn't dare touch; and a large portion of broken windows were only a few of the things that could describe our unavoidable lifestyle. I was aware of plenty of souls who had things worse than us. At least we were able to keep a decent amount of food in our stomachs, and a constant roof over our hoods. But looking on the lifestyle of my classmates, easy going, bright, clean, I could easily see it wasn't the same lifestyle that I had grown up in.
Fortunately for me I wasn't used to anything else. What most kids saw looked upon as poverty, I saw as normal. Poverty was something else to me. Those who didn't have enough food everyday, and those who didn't have a home were poverty stricken in my eyes.
"Miss Ronneck!" the shrill voice of my teacher suddenly yelled, rudely snapping me out of my thoughts.
My eyes rose to meet her annoyed stare. My bored look did not change. If it had been any other class I would have jumped from any such scolding, but I could care less about this class.
"Yes?" I said in a bored voice that matched my appearance.
The teacher too didn't change her the look on her face. "Well Miss Ronneck, since you seem to be so enthralled by the lesson, maybe you can answer the question."
I fought the urge to make an out loud comment about her obvious, and clichéd sarcasm. After some consideration, common sense prevailed.
"I'm sorry," I said in a fake cheerful voice. "I missed the question."
The teacher sighed. It seemed she was trying to fight off the urge to say something inappropriate. She too ignored the temptation and merely repeated the question.
"We were discussing the Digiport lockdown," she began. "Now, can you tell me why entering the Digital world is now impossible for humans?"
I sighed. Again she was trying to get me to answer wrongly with a trick question. Our teacher resented me greatly for often not paying attention, but still being able to answer all of her questions, and ace all every test.
"You mean aside from the law strictly prohibiting it?" I asked bitterly, while tracing my finger along a desk graffiti. "Or do you mean the natural lock placed there by the Digital World's guardians? Permitting only a select few entry?" A mocking grin spread across my face as I finished, which caused the teacher to sigh and shake her head.
"Krystal, I don't understand why you have to give me so much trouble," she said. "All of your other teachers tell me you're a joy to have in class. Why must you always have a bad attitude why you are here?"
This question I didn't give a question too. I simply shrugged my soldiers, and she, rolling her eyes, walked back to the front of the class, and continued with the lesson.
She was right though. In this class I acted bitter and sarcastic, along with displaying several other negative personality traits. My behaviour in my other classes was the opposite. I paid attention, and allowed the teachers to go about their lesson plans without interruption. But this class was different, and I knew exactly why. It was the course material: Digimon. I couldn't help it; the foul creatures just brought out the worst in me. Yet despite my bitter attitude I displayed in class, I knew the material quite well. Much better than I would like to.
Ever since I discovered the truth about my parents identities, and how they were wrenched out of my life, I had been dedicated to trying to find them, and since it was Digimon that caused their disappearance, it was Digimon that I had to research in order to find them.
As soon as I had the intelligence to use them, I was pulling up every resource related to Digimon in order to find some information that may lead me to finding my parents, despite my high intolerance for the beasts.
I have yet to come upon any information that has brought me anywhere near finding them. The information in books and the Internet was pathetic. My parents disappeared fighting off something that was unknown to humanity. It wasn't something that could be found in any books.
Whatever couldn't be found in books or the Internet I received from my uncle. And being the brother of the an elite Digidestined, he knew little extra things the general public did not now. Thus, I did as well. Unfortunately, even Cam's knowledge of Digimon wasn't enough to help me find my parents. He knew very little about the evil they had left to fought.
I knew so much about Digimon this material was remedial to me. I knew it all when I was less than ten. Paying attention wasn't something I needed to do. Though even if I didn't know the material, my attitude wouldn't be any better. The rest of the class went on without further incident. The teacher rarely risked asking me two questions a class. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity - as it always does, the room was filled with the loud - but ever so relieving - sound of the bell. The teacher wrapped up the class as quickly as she could among the sounds of rustling papers and backpacks.
As usual I met Alex at the classroom door, and we began to walk home together like we always did.
"Well you certainly were pleasant," Alex said.
I slung my backpack over shoulder, and began to accompany him walking down the hall. I met his joke- like manner with a hard stare.
"You know what Digimon do to me."
"Yeah.I know," he said nodding.
His answer reeked of artificial politeness. It was clear that he would have liked to say something else, but suspecting that it may offend me, he did not let the words to reach his lips. It wasn't the first time he expressed this sort of attitude, which was why I was able to detect so easily.
As I always did, I ignored it. Sometimes the things in your head are best left there. Alex's intolerance for my dislike of Digimon wasn't something that surprised me anyway. Not from someone who had nothing but positive reminders of the creatures.
There was a brief period of awkwardness, as we walked through the school's main doors, but that was quickly broken as we stepped outside. As usual, Labramon was waiting outside waiting for me. She quickly ran from her position leaning against a lamppost to meet me at the door. We happily greeted each other in our usual manner. I bent down to her level and gently patted her head with one hand, rustling the fur on her neck with the other.
Alex's Digimon Lopmon was also there to greet him. Using his ears to glide, the bunny-like Digimon flew atop of Alex's head. His ears fell droopily to the side of Alex's face.
"Hi' ya buddy," Lopmon said. He allowed his body to slide down Alex's head so the little Digimon's face couldn't have been any more than an inch from his partner's. "Fail any tests in Math? Blow anything up in Chemistry?"
Alex laughed and playfully gave his head a jerk, tossing Lopmon off of his head, and into his waiting arms. He then lifted Lopmon a few inches in front of his face.
"Oh of course not," Alex said with an enormous smile. "You know I wouldn't do something like that unless you were there to laugh at me."
"Oh you're so considerate," Lopmon said smiling, and comically rubbing the back of his head.
I couldn't help but smile at Lopmon. He was one of the few Digimon that didn't remind me of the pain of not having parents. The little guy was different from other Digimon. Digimon seemed to be beings of perfection - personality wise. They're considerate, unselfish, careful-minded creatures. Lopmon was different he made insults, funny to even the people being insulted, in order lighten the mood of a serious situation. All without regard that he may offend anyone. He was imperfect - he acted more like a human than a Digimon, so I found it hard to look at him the same I did other Digimon.
Our daily reunion finished, the four of us began our walk home.
"So Alex," I said, scratching Labramon behind the ear as I spoke. "No homework tonight, are you up for a couple Holocube games before you have to eat?"
"I'd love to," Alex said, brushing one of Lopmon's ears out of his face. "But I don't get many free nights like this anymore, so I've got to do some training for the DC tournament tomorrow. I need to make adept status to qualify."
A chill ran down my spine as it always did when I heard those two letters placed together. DC, an acronym for "Digital Combat." A game involving humans, and their Digimon partners that had arisen about five years ago. I had hoped that it would eventually fade away, like fads often did, but Digital Combat was still growing strong, with no sign of slowing down soon. The overall concept was, Digimon would fight each other until one of them couldn't fight anymore. Once that was decided the Digimon still able to fight was declared the winner along with his human partner.
Koushiro, or "Izzy" Izumi, was the founder of the game. It came about with his invention the "DC card." This card could be purchased and inserted into the human's Digivice, and would store "DC points." DC points were wagered before the fight began, and the winner would receive the points that the loser wagered. The amount of DC points that a Digimon and human team had classified their skill level. Duos with zero to ninety-nine DC points were given the rank of Beginner; between one hundred and five four hundred ninety-nine was Average; between five hundred and nine hundred ninety-nine was Adept, between one thousand and ninety-nine hundred ninety-nine, was Advanced, and the very few that obtained one hundred thousand or over earned the rank of Expert.
I didn't care for the game myself. Of course I didn't - it involved Digimon. Not only did it involve Digimon but it involved Digimon fighting one another. One might suspect moral reasons to be one of my deterrents, but that was hardly the reason. Why would I care if Digimon wailed on each other - I didn't care for the things anyway.
However, the game did at one point present some moral conflictions. A proposal had been made to pass a law outlaw the game. Due to the fact that many considered it to be inhumane to make Digimon fight each other. The law was rejected, but another more sensible one was passed. The law stated that Digimon, were intelligent creatures, and thus were allowed free will, and no human would be allowed to force their Digimon partner to participate in a Digital Combat game. Only Digimon who fought voluntarily were allowed. There were a great abundance of Digimon willing to fight, so the game continued with its success. All this was meaningless to me, I didn't dislike the game because of moral reasons. I didn't like seeing Digimon fighting because it was Digimon warfare that my parents had been so involved with in the past. It was why they had left, it was why I was practically an orphan.
I didn't let Alex see these emotions. Digital Combat was something that he was greatly interested in, and I didn't much feel like ruining it for him. I was used to him talking about it frequently anyway. I simply smiled, nodded, and pretended that I had an interest. If he could pretend to have an interest in window shopping, for hours at a time, with me, I could pretend to be interested in this. And so, I simply gave a polite smile, and nodded my head as he continued to talk.
"Lopmon and I have nine hundred and twenty-eight DC points. I think if we can find and defeat, at the most, three more opponents, we'll be able to qualify for the tournament next week."
Lopmon smiled and held his ears up proudly. "In addition to that, I think I'm on the verge of Digivolving."
"That's saying a bit much," Labramon said.
"Aw come on," Alex said, playfully rubbing his Digimon's head. "If anyone can make their Digimon become a Champion it's me. I mean sure it's something that even Experts can't do, but I'm the son of an elite Digidestined. I've got a D3 not some common blue Digivice - It's possible."
He was right, it was - though quite difficult to do. Digivolution had become a rare occurrence these days. The guardians of the Digital world had on the Digital world about a decade or so ago. It was done in response to the increasing amount of humans with Digivices and Digimon partners. It provided anyone with access to the Digital world. Unfortunately parents could pass on their ability to own a Digimon to their children. As a result there were now several people who had Digimon partners who weren't deserving of them, as opposed to previously, when only those chosen by the guardians did. In order to prevent any humans with bad intentions from harming the Digital world a lock was placed on the Digiports so humans could no longer enter the Digital world. With the Digital world cut off, Digimon were weakened slightly. Digivolution from the Baby level to the In-Training level, and In-Training to Rookie, was still common, but there were very few Digimon with the ability to bypass the Rookie level.
Aside from a few chance occasions, only the elite Digidestined were still capable of a full Digivolution. And most of them had disappeared years ago. Most believed it was so they could avoid media hype, which was a theory I strongly believed in. After both mine, and Alex's parents had done so, why wouldn't the others?
"You know speaking of humans with D3s." Alex said cutting into my thoughts.
I didn't like were his tone of voice was going.
"Have you ever considered entering the tournament?" he asked. "You're the daughter of one of the strongest elite Digidestined. I'm sure you'd do well."
I shook my head. "Alex, you've tried to get me interested in this before - you know it just annoys me. I - I can't. Again I remind you how I feel about Digimon - let alone having to participate in a fight involving them."
"Come on - at least think about it," he said.
He reached into his pocket with one hand, and took my hand into the other, and held it open. He then placed two items he pulled from my pocket into my hand.
"Here, take these. In case you change your mind."
He removed his hands from my own, revealing the items he had placed into it. One was a DC card, and the other was a pamphlet for the DC tournament.
"That DC card has fifty DC points in it" he said. "If you do change your mind it shouldn't take very long for the daughter of a great Digidestined to accumulate enough to make the tournament."
Again he said that. It was the second time that he had said it in the last five minutes, but it wasn't the second time he had said it overall. Why did he always assume that I would be so great Digital Combat just because my father probably would have been? It wasn't just him though. It was true that he was the only person that had said it to me, but that was only because he was one of the few that knew I was Kris and Jenn's daughter. I could probably expect a similar attitude from everyone else if they knew my secret.
Why would I be so great just because my parents were? Alex's father was one of the elite Digidestined and he wasn't anything over mediocre. He was good, I'll give him that, but he wasn't exceptional. Even if I did have an interest for Digital Combat - which I never would - it was highly doubtful that I'd come to it naturally just because my parents were. I wasn't the same person of my parents, and I was tired of being looked upon like I was.
I didn't even like the idea that my parents were Digidestined. So they were great heroes, someone to admire - what good did that do me? It was for that very reason that I had lost them. I'd rather have ordinary parents than parents who were parents, and who were forced to leave me.
My mind earned to tell Alex all these things, but chose to keep them inside to avoid an unnecessary confrontation. Instead, for the sake of politeness, I inserted the card into my Digivice, and returned it to my pocket along with the pamphlet.
"I'll think about it," I said. "But that's all I'll do."
That was a lie. I wasn't going to think about it. I decided long ago that, as long as I could help it, I would have as little to do with Digimon as possible. After another minute or so of walking, we reached the intersection were we usually separated. We gave each other the usual "see ya' laters" and went our separate ways.
I was relieved to have separated from him. Alex was a great guy to hang out with, and I usually enjoyed walking home with him. That is unless he started talking about Digital Combat. In which case, it was usually unbearable. I only put up with it for the sake of politeness. Besides, there was probably a million things I was interested in that he had no interest in.
Slowly my annoyance began to simmer down as I made my way home. Labramon helped it to fade away by occasionally nuzzling my leg, as she often did to cheer me up. She always knew when it was needed too. She did so not only because of Alex's insistence to discuss Digital Combat, but also to take my mind off the cheerful bright neighbourhood my school was in, slowly changing into the dreary and dilapidated neighbourhood that we lived in.
It always hurt to watch my classmates in great numbers leaving the school, and still in great numbers as we all walked home in the cheery neighbourhoods. Then as we got more into my neighbourhood the numbers suddenly dropped to only Labramon and I. It was a cold reminder to how negatively different my life was to theirs.
Fortunately Labramon understood this completely and could easily keep my mind off of it with her nuzzling, which I eagerly returned.
I was glad to finally end that walk and make my way up the stairs of the building and enter our apartment. A shock awaited me as I entered. The apartment was surprisingly clean - as clean as our apartment could get anyway. There was usually a large amount of empty food containers, dirty laundry, and other various objects thrown about the room. With my uncle working or sleeping almost all the time, and with me in school, we rarely find the time to clean up. I could care less, but Cam was quite opposed to it - he was into tidiness, and despised the fact there was no time to make this place more presentable. Another surprise greeted me as the door swung open, and Cam stood holding a bag of groceries.
"Hey Krystal, hey Labramon," he said casually placing the bag on the counter next to the door. I could only stare at him in disbelief.
Cam quickly picked up on this. "I see you've noticed the difference." He brushed his hands together and proudly stepped into the middle of the living room.
"Not bad huh?" he said. "See this old place isn't so bad. It just needs a little Windex and Pledge. Ignore the peeling wallpaper, and stained carpet and it almost looks normal."
My hunch was correct. I had assumed he had done this. Neither Labramon nor I were concerned enough with tidiness to take the initiative. The question was: when did he get the time? I couldn't bring myself to ask, the answer could mean nothing but bad news. Luckily Labramon asked for me.
"When did you do all this?"
"This morning, and part of the afternoon," he answered. "It doesn't take all that long if you keep at it for a couple hours."
Finally I was able to spit out what I wanted. "What about work? Why weren't you there."
He let out a sigh, and leaned over the counter. "I was afraid you'd ask that." The worst immediately entered my mind. This time my anxiety to know overcame my fear, and I was able to ask.
"Is something wrong? Were you laid off?"
Again he let out a sigh, leaning over the table even more. "Yes - and no."
I was beginning to grow frustrated. He was dragging this out on purpose. Just like he always did when he had bad news.
"Yes and no?" I screamed. "What the hell does that mean?" "Yes there's something wrong," he answered. "And no I'm not getting laid off - not yet anyway."
My frustration only began to grow. Why did he have to add on that 'not yet anyway?'
In an attempt to get a straight answer, I too leaned over the counter and looked him firmly in the eye.
"Stop beating around the god damn bush! Could you just tell me what's going on? Why weren't you at work today."
He sighed for a third time, but this time was able to give a decent explanation. "I wasn't at work today because the mill's closed down for a couple of days. It seems that the company that runs it is having some trouble obtaining wood to make paper from. The trees they grow for that purpose aren't maturing as quickly as they thought. So there's a shortage, and the mill isn't receiving as much materials as usual. So management has halted production for a few days to discuss whether or not to shut down one of the paper machines to save energy. If they do then there's a good chance that I'll be laid off."
My mind wrestled with this concept for a moment. What did all of this mean? A chance he could get laid off. Well it wasn't as bad as I thought - it was just a chance. Unfortunately when there was a chance of something happening it usually did.
"I'm being reimbursed for the days I'm losing so we'll be okay for a few days. That's why I got groceries today. Get the food while we can, you know?"
"A couple of days," I said with a blank stare. "And what do we do after that? Are we going to be okay."
"Oh sure!" he said with a fake smile. "We'll be-" he stopped in mid- sentence. "Fuck it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, you deserve better than that. To be honest I don't know. If it does happen I'll probably get a severance package, which will help us out for a month or so. I also sent in my resume to a few places while I was out today just in case. We have our bases covered, but I'm not going to lie to you - if worse comes to worse we could be in trouble."
I clutched the counter trying desperately to figure this all out. We were struggling to pay the bills when Cam had a job. If he lost it - then what? We'd lose our apartment, or worse we wouldn't be able to afford even the cheapest food.
"Don't worry though!" he said in a panic, noticing the state I was in. "I'm doing everything I can, unless the absolute worse happens we should be able to pull through. Even if I do get laid off, I should be able to find another job. I would have to start at the bottom, so we might have to sacrifice a luxury or two - electricity for example."
We both chuckled a bit. It didn't last long. The severity of the situation was too much for us to find a joke amusing for very long.
"Is there anything I can do," I said. Finally finding my voice again. "I can get a job or something. I'm fourteen, I'm old enough. I'm sure there's plenty of waitress, or cashier jobs out for me. I actually should have gotten one sooner." He shook his head. "No. We've talked about this before. I want to give you a decent childhood. You shouldn't have to worry about paying bills for at least another five years."
"But this situation is different," I said. "We could be even shorter on money on usual."
"I know, this isn't something you should be concerning yourself with."
"It affects me!" I screamed. "How could I not concern myself with it? Just let me help."
"I told you I've got everything under control," he said firmly.
He left his position on the counter and took a seat on the couch. "Besides, we're counting our broken eggs before the basket is even dropped.
His manner suddenly changed from a firm one to a fearful one. He buried his face in his hands, and he spoke with a hint of tears in his voice.
"The best thing that we can do is to wait. For job offers to come in, and for news of the paper machine. We'll deal with any problems when they come." My tone of voice changed as well. It was no time to be annoyed with his stubbornness. I hadn't realized that this possible lay off could effect him emotionally as well as financially. He needed Compassion right now. "Is there anything you need me to do?" I asked.
"No," he said quickly. I could tell he was fighting off cheers. "Just - go - do your homework."
I nodded softly, and Labramon retreated to my room to give my uncle some time to himself. He needed comfort, but now wasn't the time to give it. He needed to be alone for a while first.
I took a seat at my desk and quickly emptied my pockets, throwing the contents on the desk. My head chin dropped into my hands. What the hell was I going to do? Cam had told me not to worry about it, but he knew as well as I did that it was impossible for me to do so.
I glanced at the picture sitting on my desk. It was a photo of my parents and I before they were forced to leave me. I'm sure they would know what to do. They had faced down darkness itself. I'm sure a little financial trouble was nothing they couldn't handle.
I'd looked at this picture a thousand times, but I still found it hard to believe that the baby in my mother's arms was I. The bright blonde hair was a considerable amount darker. Still blonde, but definitely not as light as it used to be. It was also a considerable length longer; it now reached down to my shoulders. It just didn't look like me anymore. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg. That baby had parents. She was happy, looking forward to a happy life of fun memories with the two others in the picture. Hard to imagine it had once been me.
My eyes darted across the desk again, this time meeting the pamphlet I had just emptied from my pocket.
"Stupid tournament," I muttered, taking the foul piece of paper into my hand. I pulled it back, and aimed for the wastebasket. But before I gave it a toss something on the cover caught my eye. I lowered it to eye level to get a better view.
The cover read:
ANNUAL DIGITAL COMBAT TOURNAMENT
AT THE SOUTH WEST CONVENTION CENTER
BIG CASH PRIZES!!!
That last phrase was what had caught my eye: "Cash Prizes."
I opened the pamphlet. I skipped over all hype, and rules and regulations crap to the details about the prizes.
Grand Prize: $100,000
Second Prize: $50,000
Semi-Finalist Prize: $10,000
I ran my fingers over the bright red ink that dictated the prizes to me. Even if I were to get the lowest prize possible it would be more than enough to help get Cam and I on our feet for a while. But could I really do this? Doing anything related to that annoying game made me sick.
No! I shook that thought off. What was I thinking? If this was something just for me I would have dismissed it in a second. But this wasn't just for me, it was for my uncle too. Cam was going through a hard time right now. He needed help, and if I needed to do something I hated to do to help him I was going to do it.
"Hey Labramon!" I yelled. Labramon looked up from her resting place on my bed.
"Do you think you'd be able to compete in the Digital Combat tournament?"
"What?" Labramon said with a confused look on her face.
I looked again at the pamphlet. I was going to get that prize money. I was going to help Uncle Cam.
"I can't believe this," I said. "I'm about to voluntarily talk to Alex about Digital Combat."
So what did you think of the first chapter. I know it might seem weird - a Digidestined that doesn't like Digimon, but I thought that I'd try something different, besides it makes the story that much more interesting. My goal for this fic is to make it ten times better than my original now that I have absorbed a bit of university language.anyway, remember to review!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Digivolution Renewed
And oh yeah I don't own Digimon
Chapter One: Introductions
Krystal
14 YEARS LATER
A cold shiver ran down my spine as my ears absorbed the words spoke. The words were kind and understandable, but it was my own personal experience that caused the shiver. My classmates worked eagerly to convert the teacher's words into words on paper. My pen did not match the actions of my classmates. Unlike the others, I held my pen, impatiently rapping it on the desk. Hearing the words was painful enough, having to actually write them would only add to the pain. As usual her lesson revolved around terms that served as simple reminders of all the things I had been denied.
Unfortunately it was unavoidable. I was stuck in this accursed class five days a week, for the next five months. All it did was remind me of everything that had taken away my chance of a normal life.
Digital Sciences and History, or in other words, the overall study of Digimon and the Digital world. It was a relatively new course that the school board had introduced a couple years back. They felt it was important with the ever increasing number of humans with Digimon partners.
Digimon, everything to do with them I despised. No, "despised" is too harsh a word. I didn't hate Digimon. In fact, my best friend, my partner Labramon, was a Digimon. She was one of the few Digimon, or things that relate to the Digital creatures, that didn't remind me of the loss of my parents.
I was much too young to have remembered when my parents left me with my Uncle Cam, but that didn't mean I was left completely in the dark. Like many children I was very inquisitive, and I thus bombarded my uncle with dozens of questions. The questions began when I was just emerging from my infancy. I believe I was about five when I noticed how different my family was from all the other kids'. They all had mommies and daddies, and all I had was an uncle. Yes I noticed that other kids had uncles, but they never looked after them full-time like mine did.
Thus initiated my first, inevitable question: "How come I don't have a mommy or a daddy?"
Despite that fact that I was only a child my uncle didn't sugar-coat it, every word he spoke was the truth.
He first revealed the true identities of my parents. Needless to say I was in shock to discover that my parents were two of the elite Digidestined. As a child my first instinct was to go out and brag to all my friends, though it all of two minutes for my uncle to convince me not to. He and my parents had worked very hard to cover up the fact that they were Digidestined so that we could elude the media. They wanted a normal life. I agreed not to, and so for nine years have not told anyone, aside from my best (human) friend Alex. I only told him because he too is the child of an elite Digidestined. Fortunately for him, he got to keep both his parents.
Once, he finished explaining who my parents were, Cam went on to explain why they were no longer around. My father, or Kris discovered of a great evil threatening the Digital World, and being the great noble hero that he was supposed to be, he had to go fight it. My mother, fearing for his welfare refused to let him go alone, and went along with him, leaving my Uncle Cam to take care of me until they came back. Off to fight for a race like they always did, playing heroes instead of parents. Fighting for a race of creatures that refused to fight for them.
Two years after their disappearance my Uncle became my legal guardian, and it became official; It was unlikely I would live a childhood raised by my parents. It is for that reason that I do not care for Digimon. I don't hate them, I suppose that they are good friendly creatures, but I just can't look on them on the same positive light that the rest of the world does. It is Digimon that my parents felt the need to protect. Digimon are the reason that my parents left to fight, and never return. Digimon are the reason I lost them before I even knew them. Because my parents had to fight for those dependant creatures I am was forced to grow up without them, orphaned.
I have realized that it was not the Digimon's fault, they did not ask to be attacked. I do try my best not to feel the way I do about them. They are not horrible creatures, in fact in my experiences with them (especially Labramon) they are actually quite pleasant. However, that still that didn't change the way I looked at them. Whenever I looked upon a Digimon, or anything that had to do with them, I was just reminded of the fact that I would never know my parents; never know that life everyone else did.
I couldn't even look at my Digivice or crest. They were just another reminder of the loss of my parents.
Labramon was the only Digimon immune to such reminders. If it hadn't been for her I don't think I would have made it through my childhood. Growing up, watching children everywhere with their parents was obviously not a pleasant to deal with. I couldn't count the number times I asked myself why I had to be odd one out; why I had to be the one to lose my parents.
I understood there were other orphaned children out there. I couldn't be the only child who had lost their parents. Why weren't any of them around? If there was anything I wished for more than my parents, it was someone else who could understand what I had been through. I seemed to be the only one having forced to watch as other kids were picked up from school by their parents, proudly brought back their good report home. Hell, I was even jealous of the ones who feared showing their parents their report cards.
I felt an ever growing resentment for children of divorced parents when I heard them whine or complain about that fact. I always wanted to scream. "At least you have them! At least a group of over-dependant monsters didn't tear both of your parents away from you!" However, I never did have the courage, or the discourtesy, to do so. I merely turned my head and ignored them; or if they were talking directly to me, I would smile politely and ignore the screaming voice in my head.
Alex attempted to provide me with the same comfort, but it just wasn't the same. He had both his parents, he knew the joy of loving parents, and I found it difficult to accept his comfort. Even if he said something insightful that I agreed with, for some unknown reason, I couldn't find couldn't find comfort even his most understanding words.
Thank God for Labramon. Without her friendship, comfort, and love I have no idea how my life could have turned out. She hadn't gone through the same pain that I had, but somehow she seemed to understand everything I had been through. Even if her words her harsh, I was able to find comfort in them. God only knows what kind of person I could have turned into if it weren't for her.
It was no wonder that she didn't remind me of the pain of having to go through life without parents. She had greatly diminished that pain.
Then there was my uncle. The one who had been burdened with my responsibility. He wasn't the reason for the pain. He always did his best to be both a mother and father substitute, but sadly his best just wasn't enough.
He was relatively young when I was thrust into his guardian ship - Twenty- one to be exact. Not exactly the ideal age to be taking care of a child. His college education had to be sacrificed, and he took up a poor paying job in local pulp and paper mill, where he still works to this day.
As a result of a poorly paying job the two of us didn't have the most luxurious lifestyle. A one-bedroom apartment in a rough neighbourhood; a refrigerator filled with various expired dairy products; a pantry with assorted cans of food that more privileged folks wouldn't dare touch; and a large portion of broken windows were only a few of the things that could describe our unavoidable lifestyle. I was aware of plenty of souls who had things worse than us. At least we were able to keep a decent amount of food in our stomachs, and a constant roof over our hoods. But looking on the lifestyle of my classmates, easy going, bright, clean, I could easily see it wasn't the same lifestyle that I had grown up in.
Fortunately for me I wasn't used to anything else. What most kids saw looked upon as poverty, I saw as normal. Poverty was something else to me. Those who didn't have enough food everyday, and those who didn't have a home were poverty stricken in my eyes.
"Miss Ronneck!" the shrill voice of my teacher suddenly yelled, rudely snapping me out of my thoughts.
My eyes rose to meet her annoyed stare. My bored look did not change. If it had been any other class I would have jumped from any such scolding, but I could care less about this class.
"Yes?" I said in a bored voice that matched my appearance.
The teacher too didn't change her the look on her face. "Well Miss Ronneck, since you seem to be so enthralled by the lesson, maybe you can answer the question."
I fought the urge to make an out loud comment about her obvious, and clichéd sarcasm. After some consideration, common sense prevailed.
"I'm sorry," I said in a fake cheerful voice. "I missed the question."
The teacher sighed. It seemed she was trying to fight off the urge to say something inappropriate. She too ignored the temptation and merely repeated the question.
"We were discussing the Digiport lockdown," she began. "Now, can you tell me why entering the Digital world is now impossible for humans?"
I sighed. Again she was trying to get me to answer wrongly with a trick question. Our teacher resented me greatly for often not paying attention, but still being able to answer all of her questions, and ace all every test.
"You mean aside from the law strictly prohibiting it?" I asked bitterly, while tracing my finger along a desk graffiti. "Or do you mean the natural lock placed there by the Digital World's guardians? Permitting only a select few entry?" A mocking grin spread across my face as I finished, which caused the teacher to sigh and shake her head.
"Krystal, I don't understand why you have to give me so much trouble," she said. "All of your other teachers tell me you're a joy to have in class. Why must you always have a bad attitude why you are here?"
This question I didn't give a question too. I simply shrugged my soldiers, and she, rolling her eyes, walked back to the front of the class, and continued with the lesson.
She was right though. In this class I acted bitter and sarcastic, along with displaying several other negative personality traits. My behaviour in my other classes was the opposite. I paid attention, and allowed the teachers to go about their lesson plans without interruption. But this class was different, and I knew exactly why. It was the course material: Digimon. I couldn't help it; the foul creatures just brought out the worst in me. Yet despite my bitter attitude I displayed in class, I knew the material quite well. Much better than I would like to.
Ever since I discovered the truth about my parents identities, and how they were wrenched out of my life, I had been dedicated to trying to find them, and since it was Digimon that caused their disappearance, it was Digimon that I had to research in order to find them.
As soon as I had the intelligence to use them, I was pulling up every resource related to Digimon in order to find some information that may lead me to finding my parents, despite my high intolerance for the beasts.
I have yet to come upon any information that has brought me anywhere near finding them. The information in books and the Internet was pathetic. My parents disappeared fighting off something that was unknown to humanity. It wasn't something that could be found in any books.
Whatever couldn't be found in books or the Internet I received from my uncle. And being the brother of the an elite Digidestined, he knew little extra things the general public did not now. Thus, I did as well. Unfortunately, even Cam's knowledge of Digimon wasn't enough to help me find my parents. He knew very little about the evil they had left to fought.
I knew so much about Digimon this material was remedial to me. I knew it all when I was less than ten. Paying attention wasn't something I needed to do. Though even if I didn't know the material, my attitude wouldn't be any better. The rest of the class went on without further incident. The teacher rarely risked asking me two questions a class. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity - as it always does, the room was filled with the loud - but ever so relieving - sound of the bell. The teacher wrapped up the class as quickly as she could among the sounds of rustling papers and backpacks.
As usual I met Alex at the classroom door, and we began to walk home together like we always did.
"Well you certainly were pleasant," Alex said.
I slung my backpack over shoulder, and began to accompany him walking down the hall. I met his joke- like manner with a hard stare.
"You know what Digimon do to me."
"Yeah.I know," he said nodding.
His answer reeked of artificial politeness. It was clear that he would have liked to say something else, but suspecting that it may offend me, he did not let the words to reach his lips. It wasn't the first time he expressed this sort of attitude, which was why I was able to detect so easily.
As I always did, I ignored it. Sometimes the things in your head are best left there. Alex's intolerance for my dislike of Digimon wasn't something that surprised me anyway. Not from someone who had nothing but positive reminders of the creatures.
There was a brief period of awkwardness, as we walked through the school's main doors, but that was quickly broken as we stepped outside. As usual, Labramon was waiting outside waiting for me. She quickly ran from her position leaning against a lamppost to meet me at the door. We happily greeted each other in our usual manner. I bent down to her level and gently patted her head with one hand, rustling the fur on her neck with the other.
Alex's Digimon Lopmon was also there to greet him. Using his ears to glide, the bunny-like Digimon flew atop of Alex's head. His ears fell droopily to the side of Alex's face.
"Hi' ya buddy," Lopmon said. He allowed his body to slide down Alex's head so the little Digimon's face couldn't have been any more than an inch from his partner's. "Fail any tests in Math? Blow anything up in Chemistry?"
Alex laughed and playfully gave his head a jerk, tossing Lopmon off of his head, and into his waiting arms. He then lifted Lopmon a few inches in front of his face.
"Oh of course not," Alex said with an enormous smile. "You know I wouldn't do something like that unless you were there to laugh at me."
"Oh you're so considerate," Lopmon said smiling, and comically rubbing the back of his head.
I couldn't help but smile at Lopmon. He was one of the few Digimon that didn't remind me of the pain of not having parents. The little guy was different from other Digimon. Digimon seemed to be beings of perfection - personality wise. They're considerate, unselfish, careful-minded creatures. Lopmon was different he made insults, funny to even the people being insulted, in order lighten the mood of a serious situation. All without regard that he may offend anyone. He was imperfect - he acted more like a human than a Digimon, so I found it hard to look at him the same I did other Digimon.
Our daily reunion finished, the four of us began our walk home.
"So Alex," I said, scratching Labramon behind the ear as I spoke. "No homework tonight, are you up for a couple Holocube games before you have to eat?"
"I'd love to," Alex said, brushing one of Lopmon's ears out of his face. "But I don't get many free nights like this anymore, so I've got to do some training for the DC tournament tomorrow. I need to make adept status to qualify."
A chill ran down my spine as it always did when I heard those two letters placed together. DC, an acronym for "Digital Combat." A game involving humans, and their Digimon partners that had arisen about five years ago. I had hoped that it would eventually fade away, like fads often did, but Digital Combat was still growing strong, with no sign of slowing down soon. The overall concept was, Digimon would fight each other until one of them couldn't fight anymore. Once that was decided the Digimon still able to fight was declared the winner along with his human partner.
Koushiro, or "Izzy" Izumi, was the founder of the game. It came about with his invention the "DC card." This card could be purchased and inserted into the human's Digivice, and would store "DC points." DC points were wagered before the fight began, and the winner would receive the points that the loser wagered. The amount of DC points that a Digimon and human team had classified their skill level. Duos with zero to ninety-nine DC points were given the rank of Beginner; between one hundred and five four hundred ninety-nine was Average; between five hundred and nine hundred ninety-nine was Adept, between one thousand and ninety-nine hundred ninety-nine, was Advanced, and the very few that obtained one hundred thousand or over earned the rank of Expert.
I didn't care for the game myself. Of course I didn't - it involved Digimon. Not only did it involve Digimon but it involved Digimon fighting one another. One might suspect moral reasons to be one of my deterrents, but that was hardly the reason. Why would I care if Digimon wailed on each other - I didn't care for the things anyway.
However, the game did at one point present some moral conflictions. A proposal had been made to pass a law outlaw the game. Due to the fact that many considered it to be inhumane to make Digimon fight each other. The law was rejected, but another more sensible one was passed. The law stated that Digimon, were intelligent creatures, and thus were allowed free will, and no human would be allowed to force their Digimon partner to participate in a Digital Combat game. Only Digimon who fought voluntarily were allowed. There were a great abundance of Digimon willing to fight, so the game continued with its success. All this was meaningless to me, I didn't dislike the game because of moral reasons. I didn't like seeing Digimon fighting because it was Digimon warfare that my parents had been so involved with in the past. It was why they had left, it was why I was practically an orphan.
I didn't let Alex see these emotions. Digital Combat was something that he was greatly interested in, and I didn't much feel like ruining it for him. I was used to him talking about it frequently anyway. I simply smiled, nodded, and pretended that I had an interest. If he could pretend to have an interest in window shopping, for hours at a time, with me, I could pretend to be interested in this. And so, I simply gave a polite smile, and nodded my head as he continued to talk.
"Lopmon and I have nine hundred and twenty-eight DC points. I think if we can find and defeat, at the most, three more opponents, we'll be able to qualify for the tournament next week."
Lopmon smiled and held his ears up proudly. "In addition to that, I think I'm on the verge of Digivolving."
"That's saying a bit much," Labramon said.
"Aw come on," Alex said, playfully rubbing his Digimon's head. "If anyone can make their Digimon become a Champion it's me. I mean sure it's something that even Experts can't do, but I'm the son of an elite Digidestined. I've got a D3 not some common blue Digivice - It's possible."
He was right, it was - though quite difficult to do. Digivolution had become a rare occurrence these days. The guardians of the Digital world had on the Digital world about a decade or so ago. It was done in response to the increasing amount of humans with Digivices and Digimon partners. It provided anyone with access to the Digital world. Unfortunately parents could pass on their ability to own a Digimon to their children. As a result there were now several people who had Digimon partners who weren't deserving of them, as opposed to previously, when only those chosen by the guardians did. In order to prevent any humans with bad intentions from harming the Digital world a lock was placed on the Digiports so humans could no longer enter the Digital world. With the Digital world cut off, Digimon were weakened slightly. Digivolution from the Baby level to the In-Training level, and In-Training to Rookie, was still common, but there were very few Digimon with the ability to bypass the Rookie level.
Aside from a few chance occasions, only the elite Digidestined were still capable of a full Digivolution. And most of them had disappeared years ago. Most believed it was so they could avoid media hype, which was a theory I strongly believed in. After both mine, and Alex's parents had done so, why wouldn't the others?
"You know speaking of humans with D3s." Alex said cutting into my thoughts.
I didn't like were his tone of voice was going.
"Have you ever considered entering the tournament?" he asked. "You're the daughter of one of the strongest elite Digidestined. I'm sure you'd do well."
I shook my head. "Alex, you've tried to get me interested in this before - you know it just annoys me. I - I can't. Again I remind you how I feel about Digimon - let alone having to participate in a fight involving them."
"Come on - at least think about it," he said.
He reached into his pocket with one hand, and took my hand into the other, and held it open. He then placed two items he pulled from my pocket into my hand.
"Here, take these. In case you change your mind."
He removed his hands from my own, revealing the items he had placed into it. One was a DC card, and the other was a pamphlet for the DC tournament.
"That DC card has fifty DC points in it" he said. "If you do change your mind it shouldn't take very long for the daughter of a great Digidestined to accumulate enough to make the tournament."
Again he said that. It was the second time that he had said it in the last five minutes, but it wasn't the second time he had said it overall. Why did he always assume that I would be so great Digital Combat just because my father probably would have been? It wasn't just him though. It was true that he was the only person that had said it to me, but that was only because he was one of the few that knew I was Kris and Jenn's daughter. I could probably expect a similar attitude from everyone else if they knew my secret.
Why would I be so great just because my parents were? Alex's father was one of the elite Digidestined and he wasn't anything over mediocre. He was good, I'll give him that, but he wasn't exceptional. Even if I did have an interest for Digital Combat - which I never would - it was highly doubtful that I'd come to it naturally just because my parents were. I wasn't the same person of my parents, and I was tired of being looked upon like I was.
I didn't even like the idea that my parents were Digidestined. So they were great heroes, someone to admire - what good did that do me? It was for that very reason that I had lost them. I'd rather have ordinary parents than parents who were parents, and who were forced to leave me.
My mind earned to tell Alex all these things, but chose to keep them inside to avoid an unnecessary confrontation. Instead, for the sake of politeness, I inserted the card into my Digivice, and returned it to my pocket along with the pamphlet.
"I'll think about it," I said. "But that's all I'll do."
That was a lie. I wasn't going to think about it. I decided long ago that, as long as I could help it, I would have as little to do with Digimon as possible. After another minute or so of walking, we reached the intersection were we usually separated. We gave each other the usual "see ya' laters" and went our separate ways.
I was relieved to have separated from him. Alex was a great guy to hang out with, and I usually enjoyed walking home with him. That is unless he started talking about Digital Combat. In which case, it was usually unbearable. I only put up with it for the sake of politeness. Besides, there was probably a million things I was interested in that he had no interest in.
Slowly my annoyance began to simmer down as I made my way home. Labramon helped it to fade away by occasionally nuzzling my leg, as she often did to cheer me up. She always knew when it was needed too. She did so not only because of Alex's insistence to discuss Digital Combat, but also to take my mind off the cheerful bright neighbourhood my school was in, slowly changing into the dreary and dilapidated neighbourhood that we lived in.
It always hurt to watch my classmates in great numbers leaving the school, and still in great numbers as we all walked home in the cheery neighbourhoods. Then as we got more into my neighbourhood the numbers suddenly dropped to only Labramon and I. It was a cold reminder to how negatively different my life was to theirs.
Fortunately Labramon understood this completely and could easily keep my mind off of it with her nuzzling, which I eagerly returned.
I was glad to finally end that walk and make my way up the stairs of the building and enter our apartment. A shock awaited me as I entered. The apartment was surprisingly clean - as clean as our apartment could get anyway. There was usually a large amount of empty food containers, dirty laundry, and other various objects thrown about the room. With my uncle working or sleeping almost all the time, and with me in school, we rarely find the time to clean up. I could care less, but Cam was quite opposed to it - he was into tidiness, and despised the fact there was no time to make this place more presentable. Another surprise greeted me as the door swung open, and Cam stood holding a bag of groceries.
"Hey Krystal, hey Labramon," he said casually placing the bag on the counter next to the door. I could only stare at him in disbelief.
Cam quickly picked up on this. "I see you've noticed the difference." He brushed his hands together and proudly stepped into the middle of the living room.
"Not bad huh?" he said. "See this old place isn't so bad. It just needs a little Windex and Pledge. Ignore the peeling wallpaper, and stained carpet and it almost looks normal."
My hunch was correct. I had assumed he had done this. Neither Labramon nor I were concerned enough with tidiness to take the initiative. The question was: when did he get the time? I couldn't bring myself to ask, the answer could mean nothing but bad news. Luckily Labramon asked for me.
"When did you do all this?"
"This morning, and part of the afternoon," he answered. "It doesn't take all that long if you keep at it for a couple hours."
Finally I was able to spit out what I wanted. "What about work? Why weren't you there."
He let out a sigh, and leaned over the counter. "I was afraid you'd ask that." The worst immediately entered my mind. This time my anxiety to know overcame my fear, and I was able to ask.
"Is something wrong? Were you laid off?"
Again he let out a sigh, leaning over the table even more. "Yes - and no."
I was beginning to grow frustrated. He was dragging this out on purpose. Just like he always did when he had bad news.
"Yes and no?" I screamed. "What the hell does that mean?" "Yes there's something wrong," he answered. "And no I'm not getting laid off - not yet anyway."
My frustration only began to grow. Why did he have to add on that 'not yet anyway?'
In an attempt to get a straight answer, I too leaned over the counter and looked him firmly in the eye.
"Stop beating around the god damn bush! Could you just tell me what's going on? Why weren't you at work today."
He sighed for a third time, but this time was able to give a decent explanation. "I wasn't at work today because the mill's closed down for a couple of days. It seems that the company that runs it is having some trouble obtaining wood to make paper from. The trees they grow for that purpose aren't maturing as quickly as they thought. So there's a shortage, and the mill isn't receiving as much materials as usual. So management has halted production for a few days to discuss whether or not to shut down one of the paper machines to save energy. If they do then there's a good chance that I'll be laid off."
My mind wrestled with this concept for a moment. What did all of this mean? A chance he could get laid off. Well it wasn't as bad as I thought - it was just a chance. Unfortunately when there was a chance of something happening it usually did.
"I'm being reimbursed for the days I'm losing so we'll be okay for a few days. That's why I got groceries today. Get the food while we can, you know?"
"A couple of days," I said with a blank stare. "And what do we do after that? Are we going to be okay."
"Oh sure!" he said with a fake smile. "We'll be-" he stopped in mid- sentence. "Fuck it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, you deserve better than that. To be honest I don't know. If it does happen I'll probably get a severance package, which will help us out for a month or so. I also sent in my resume to a few places while I was out today just in case. We have our bases covered, but I'm not going to lie to you - if worse comes to worse we could be in trouble."
I clutched the counter trying desperately to figure this all out. We were struggling to pay the bills when Cam had a job. If he lost it - then what? We'd lose our apartment, or worse we wouldn't be able to afford even the cheapest food.
"Don't worry though!" he said in a panic, noticing the state I was in. "I'm doing everything I can, unless the absolute worse happens we should be able to pull through. Even if I do get laid off, I should be able to find another job. I would have to start at the bottom, so we might have to sacrifice a luxury or two - electricity for example."
We both chuckled a bit. It didn't last long. The severity of the situation was too much for us to find a joke amusing for very long.
"Is there anything I can do," I said. Finally finding my voice again. "I can get a job or something. I'm fourteen, I'm old enough. I'm sure there's plenty of waitress, or cashier jobs out for me. I actually should have gotten one sooner." He shook his head. "No. We've talked about this before. I want to give you a decent childhood. You shouldn't have to worry about paying bills for at least another five years."
"But this situation is different," I said. "We could be even shorter on money on usual."
"I know, this isn't something you should be concerning yourself with."
"It affects me!" I screamed. "How could I not concern myself with it? Just let me help."
"I told you I've got everything under control," he said firmly.
He left his position on the counter and took a seat on the couch. "Besides, we're counting our broken eggs before the basket is even dropped.
His manner suddenly changed from a firm one to a fearful one. He buried his face in his hands, and he spoke with a hint of tears in his voice.
"The best thing that we can do is to wait. For job offers to come in, and for news of the paper machine. We'll deal with any problems when they come." My tone of voice changed as well. It was no time to be annoyed with his stubbornness. I hadn't realized that this possible lay off could effect him emotionally as well as financially. He needed Compassion right now. "Is there anything you need me to do?" I asked.
"No," he said quickly. I could tell he was fighting off cheers. "Just - go - do your homework."
I nodded softly, and Labramon retreated to my room to give my uncle some time to himself. He needed comfort, but now wasn't the time to give it. He needed to be alone for a while first.
I took a seat at my desk and quickly emptied my pockets, throwing the contents on the desk. My head chin dropped into my hands. What the hell was I going to do? Cam had told me not to worry about it, but he knew as well as I did that it was impossible for me to do so.
I glanced at the picture sitting on my desk. It was a photo of my parents and I before they were forced to leave me. I'm sure they would know what to do. They had faced down darkness itself. I'm sure a little financial trouble was nothing they couldn't handle.
I'd looked at this picture a thousand times, but I still found it hard to believe that the baby in my mother's arms was I. The bright blonde hair was a considerable amount darker. Still blonde, but definitely not as light as it used to be. It was also a considerable length longer; it now reached down to my shoulders. It just didn't look like me anymore. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg. That baby had parents. She was happy, looking forward to a happy life of fun memories with the two others in the picture. Hard to imagine it had once been me.
My eyes darted across the desk again, this time meeting the pamphlet I had just emptied from my pocket.
"Stupid tournament," I muttered, taking the foul piece of paper into my hand. I pulled it back, and aimed for the wastebasket. But before I gave it a toss something on the cover caught my eye. I lowered it to eye level to get a better view.
The cover read:
ANNUAL DIGITAL COMBAT TOURNAMENT
AT THE SOUTH WEST CONVENTION CENTER
BIG CASH PRIZES!!!
That last phrase was what had caught my eye: "Cash Prizes."
I opened the pamphlet. I skipped over all hype, and rules and regulations crap to the details about the prizes.
Grand Prize: $100,000
Second Prize: $50,000
Semi-Finalist Prize: $10,000
I ran my fingers over the bright red ink that dictated the prizes to me. Even if I were to get the lowest prize possible it would be more than enough to help get Cam and I on our feet for a while. But could I really do this? Doing anything related to that annoying game made me sick.
No! I shook that thought off. What was I thinking? If this was something just for me I would have dismissed it in a second. But this wasn't just for me, it was for my uncle too. Cam was going through a hard time right now. He needed help, and if I needed to do something I hated to do to help him I was going to do it.
"Hey Labramon!" I yelled. Labramon looked up from her resting place on my bed.
"Do you think you'd be able to compete in the Digital Combat tournament?"
"What?" Labramon said with a confused look on her face.
I looked again at the pamphlet. I was going to get that prize money. I was going to help Uncle Cam.
"I can't believe this," I said. "I'm about to voluntarily talk to Alex about Digital Combat."
So what did you think of the first chapter. I know it might seem weird - a Digidestined that doesn't like Digimon, but I thought that I'd try something different, besides it makes the story that much more interesting. My goal for this fic is to make it ten times better than my original now that I have absorbed a bit of university language.anyway, remember to review!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Digivolution Renewed
