Chapter 15: Fare Thee Well
It was about Noon on Saturday. I had gotten over the feeling of portent over our impending adventure and was in my room with Herpetomon planning what to do next. I decided to wait until the afternoon to tell mom about Herpetomon. For now I'd call Matt and ask him to come. I dialed his number, he answered
"Hello?" Matt said
"Hey Matt it's me." I said.
"Oh hey, what's goin' on?" He asked.
"Well you know about the Digital world and the Sovereign I told you about?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, the Digital world is in danger, one of the Sovereign's soldiers has asked my friends and I to come to the Digital world and help out with stopping the threat. You said you wanted a Digimon so I said you might want to come." I said.
"Yeah, sure why not." Matt said bluntly.
"Well, it's going to be dangerous y'know?" I said.
"Yeah, know, but I'll be fine if I find my Digimon right?"
"That's true."
"So what do I do?" He asked.
"Well you know that factory down the street from my house, you need to come there tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning. You don't need to pack anything, just come prepared." I instructed.
"Wow, that's early, but I'll be there, I'll say we're going camping or something."
"Alright fine, but my mom will probably tell her the truth once we leave." I said.
"That's cool. Ok, so see you tomorrow, 8:30"
"Alright, don't be late." I said, and hung up. I laid on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, Herpetomon was doing the same. We were mentally preparing for our adventure. We usually think alike and I always have to prep myself before doing something big like this so I imagine that's what he was doing. It was around 4:00 at this point. I decided it was about time I told the parents my secret.
"Herpetomon, I think we should go meet my parents now." I said. Nervously
"Yeah, I guess so, nervous?" He asked.
"A little, but I'll be Ok, right? It's not like we're asking them, we're telling them. We're introducing you and then just telling them that we'll be going. Ready?" I said.
"I'm ready." He said.
"Ok, just try to be as non-threatening as possible. My mom's afraid of snakes, we'll be lucky if she doesn't have a heart attack when she sees you." I said. I got up and went to the door. I decided to sit in the Den and call mom in, Dave(step-dad) wasn't home yet, and wouldn't be until tomorrow afternoon so he'd miss me going away. I sat Herpetomon next to me and I hesitantly called her in. "Hey mom, come here, I have to show you something." I called to her.
"What?" She asked.
"Just come here, it's important." I said.
"Ok, I'm coming." I could hear her coming down the hall. Then she came to the kitchen and looked in at us. At first she made a disgusted look, then she screamed, and then ran back down the hall and slammed the door. Then she opened it again and slowly came back down the hall.
"Oh, it's just fake, you little brat." She said laughing.
"No, he's real, he's a Digimon." I said and Herpetomon waved to her. Again she made that disgusted and confused face.
"Come here, get away from that thing, I'll call the police." She said, hiding behind the wall again.
"No, mom, you don't understand, he is my friend, his name is Herpetomon. Come in here and sit down I have to tell you something." I said surprised at my own strength.
"What do you mean he's your friend? He's a monster!" She said.
"Mom, please." I said and looked as solemn as I could. She slowly came in and sat in the love seat that was closer to me. Herpetomon looked at he and she almost got up and left.
"Now, this is Herpetomon, he's called a Digimon, they come from a different world. Alright?" I said slowly.
"Yeah, I've heard of them on the news, so how are they friends if they've been destroying things?" She asked?
"That wasn't us, there are evil Digimon who come into this world looking for partners or just causing trouble. We were fighting and stopping them, that's what caused the damage." I said.
"Ok, well why is he here?" She asked.
"I don't actually know for sure, but I do know something else. The Digital world is in trouble right now, it's being gradually taken over and mistreated. I'm going with Herpetomon to stop the threat." I said.
"What, no you're not, that thing is dangerous, plus you'd be alone, no way." She said.
"Mom, it's not that bad. Nick, and Kayla have Digimon as well, and Matt is coming." I said "I'm sorry, I should respect your wishes, but I feel that this is something I have to do, Herpetomon and I. It's our duty."
"They all have these things too? Are they telling their parents too?" She asked.
"I told them too, whether they do or not is their own decision." I said.
"Oh, great, so I can't stop you?" She said.
"No, but don't worry, I'll be fine, I'll have my friends with me, and Herpetomon would never let anything happen to me." I said. She looked over at Herpetomon.
"So what's with you, you better protect my boy." She said. "Ugh, I hate snakes."
"I will." He said.
"Oh come on, he doesn't look anything like a snake, he is a reptile type though." I said. Mom was very upset all of a sudden. She hugged me which was odd, she rarely hugs me anymore.
"I wish I could make you stay, I don't see why you have to go. It seems important to you though, I'll let you go." She said. Then tried to compose herself. We went through the rest of the night like normal. No that mom knew about Herpetomon he could get his own food. Mom would make a disgusted noise whenever she saw Herpetomon though. It wouldn't be so bad, after all, we'd be gone tomorrow.
Character Shift: Nick –'Last day on Earth'-
"Oh man, how am I going to tell them?" I said to Fatomon who was sitting on the edge of my bed. "They'll never let me go."
"Well, don't ask, tell them, you have to be strong." Fatomon said.
"Good idea." I said. "Ok, let's go." I planned on just telling them and getting it over with. We went downstairs me first, then Fatomon. Mom was in the kitchen, Dad was in the living room past it. I walked into the kitchen slowly with Fatomon right behind me. Mom turned around and saw me first then.
"Oh my God, Nicky, what is that!" She yelled. Suddenly Dad was at the door looking in. "Jesus Nick, what is that thing?"
"Everybody hold on!" I yelled over them. "Ok? Calm down." Somehow, it worked, Dad stood sternly waiting for an answer and Mom hid behind him.
"Ok, so, this is called a Digimon, his name is Fatomon. Digimon come from the Digital world. I found him after school once and we've been friends since." I said. Mom and Dad relaxed a little bit.
"But what is it? Why is it here?" They asked.
"I just told you, it's a Digimon. I don't know why he's here though. Do you know?" I asked Fatomon.
"I wanted a partner, turns out you're the perfect one for me." He said.
"Yeah I am." I said and hit his breast plate. "Yeah, I forgot to ask. The Digital world Digimon come from is in another dimension. It has this government thing called the Sovereign and their world is under attack. I want to go help fight the enemy with them. Brendan, and his cousin Kayla each have a Digimon too, and I'll have Fatomon here." I said.
"No, you can't go, you can't trust these things." My mom said.
"Please, let him come with me, I swear to you that I will protect your son." Fatomon said. They looked at him kneeling before them. They whispered to themselves for a while and then turned to me with their answer.
"Ok, We'll send you off with our blessing." They said. "Just be careful and don't do anything stupid. When are you leaving anyway?"
"Tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning. Can you give me a ride? I can show you where it is" I asked.
"Yeah. We will." They said.
"Thanks." I said. We had dinner soon after. It was pretty strange eating with Fatomon and my family for once. It would probably be our last time eating together in a while. I was so excited. I kept asking Fatomon what the Digital world was like. I couldn't believe it, we're going to be heroes!
Character Shift: Kayla –'Last Day on Earth'-
"Ohh, he's so cute." Mom said. She had just come in a while ago and found me talking with Icemon. What's weird is mom wasn't really scared of him at all she just came over and started playing with him.
"His name's Icemon, he's a Digimon," I said. She didn't seem to understand the situation.
"Digimon come from this place called the Digital world. Is it Ok if I go there with Icemon? Brendan and his friend Nick are going with their Digimon. I really just want to see it." I said.
"When will you get back? Is it dangerous, does Brendan's mom know about this?" She asked.
"We're leaving around B's house at exactly 8:30 tomorrow. I don't know when we'll get back though. And yeah, B's Parents know." I said.
"Well, alright, I guess, but bring your cell, I want to know when you're coming back." She said. It just hit me then that I'm really lucky Icemon is so small. B's mom must have freaked out at Herpetomon, he's taller than she is.
"Ok, cool, I'm going to pack some stuff." I told her. I went into my room with Icemon and shut the door.
"Hey Kayla, why didn't you tell her why we're really going?" Gotsumon asked.
"I don't know, she might not let me go if I tell her what we're going to do. Besides, B's mom will probably call her later." I told him. He looked upset. I picked him up and held him in front of me. The rocks he's made of were chilled and cool to the touch, cool side affect. "Come on, it will be Ok, trust me." He seemed to feel better. I put him down and we looked around my room for things to bring. I had no idea what to bring. I realized how big of a thing it was that we were doing. I never thought of it, but a whole world of creatures like Gotsumon were depending on us. It felt weird, but I knew we would have to do it. Like B would say "It's our responsibility as Tamers to do this."