Author's Note: I'm pleased with how this story has already gotten a small following. I'd also like to take a moment to assure my mysterious guest reviewer that I won't be including that damn digivice timer from the Last Evolution movie, which was one of the worst things about that film. I mean that whole thing was just so unnecessary, and it sort of conflicted with the some of the details from the epilogue of Adventure 02. Of course that film did make a good point about how Tai and the others couldn't run around being champions of justice forever, and it's a point I've tried keeping in mind in this story (as seen from the one scene with Tai and Ken in the previous chapter). It's also a point I intend to bare in mind when doing the Sakura Knight rewrites.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.
Chapter 2: Grid
"I never imagined the day would come where I would have to end the life of a human, let alone a Digidestined," Gankoomon spoke. "But my duty is clear. In order to preserve the balance of this world and my Digital World, you must be destroyed! Prepare your souls!"
Gankoomon then took a deep breath and flexed his muscles. Suddenly a fiery golden aura surrounded the warrior's body. Sparks of electricity began to shoot from Gankoomon's body and the pavement beneath his sandaled feet suddenly cracked.
"Quake! Blast! Fire! Father!" Gankoomon called out as he performed a display of martial arts movements.
Suddenly the golden aura coming from Gankoomon's body expanded and took the form of a massive dragon with muscular arms that rose from the Digimon's back. The dragon swung one of his mighty arms down towards Meiko and Meicrackmon. With incredible speed, Meicrackmon moved in and blocked the attack with the claw-like blades, which she crossed together to form a makeshift shield. The dragon's attack did not let up though, and Meicrackmon's feet were soon pushed into the concrete.
This standoff only lasted for a few moments though, and soon Meicrackmon let out a savage roar and her body gave off an intense purple aura. The monster feline at last repelled the dragon's attack and caused it to vanish like the blown out flame of a candle. This counterattack also nearly knocked Gankoomon off his feet. Meanwhile Meicrackmon slashed the claw blades on her right arm through the air and cause a black hole in space to appear. Meiko shot up a smile at Tai before she and Meicrackmon jumped through the hole.
Gankoomon ran towards the hole in space, but it quickly closed before he could get to it. The warrior cursed something under his breath before jumping up towards the window of Tai's apartment. Tai and Agumon quickly jumped back and narrowly avoided getting tackled to the ground.
"Master!" Noir called as Gankoomon rose to his feet. "Are you hurt?"
"Only my pride," Gankoomon answered before turning to look at Tai. "You are the Child of Courage, correct?"
"Yeah. And who the hell are you people?" Tai asked. "And what was with that girl Meiko and her psycho Digimon?"
"I will explain all in good time," Gankoomon answered as he walked past Tai and Agumon to the bedroom door. "First I require some rest. That battle was tougher than I had expected, and I have had a long journey to get here. I would also welcome any spirits you may have."
"Now just wait a damn minute! You really expect me to just let you into my apartment without giving me any kind of explanation?"
"Hey! In case you hadn't realized it you moron, we just saved your ass!" Noir protested. "The least you could do is give us a little hospitality!"
"Now look you…" Tai began.
"Please, wait a moment sir!" Blanc interrupted. "I apologize on behalf of my sister and our master for bursting into your home like this. We realize how much distress you must be under right now, but as Master Gankoomon said we are all very tired from our journey and require rest. I assure you that all will be explained in time."
"They did help us out Tai," Agumon pointed out. "The least we could do let them stay here for a bit."
Before Tai could respond, the screen of the computer in his room lit up again and another ball of light emerged from it. The light took the form of a young-looking man in white robes. He had long neatly cut brown hair tied in a ponytail.
"Good evening Tai," the robed man greeted. "Sorry for bursting in like you on this unannounced."
"Gennai?" Tai responded.
"Ah! It is good to see you, my old friend," Gankoomon spoke. "It has been far too long. And it seems your arrival here was well-timed."
"Gennai, you know these…these people?" Tai asked.
"Indeed I do," Gennai confirmed. "You should be honored Tai. Right now you're in the presence of Gankoomon, one of the Digital World's strongest protectors. The lovely young ladies are his wards, the Sistermon Sisters, Noir and Blanc."
"Okay. Well then maybe you could also tell me what the hell's going on here."
"All in good time Tai, but first there's one little thing before we get into all that."
"And what's that?"
"You might want to get dressed first."
Tai blushed, realizing he was still wearing nothing but a bed sheet at the moment. The brown-haired Digidestined told Gennai and all four Digimon to leave the room so he could put on some clothes.
Within minutes Gankoomon had made himself at home on Tai's couch, while Gennai and the two Sistermon Sisters had moved to various corners of the living room. Tai had brought out an entire case of beer from the kitchen for the warrior Digimon at Gennai's request. Within a half a minute Gankoomon had downed two bottles of beer.
"This liquor is quite good," Gankoomon declared as he popped off the cap of his third bottle. "Perhaps the Child of Courage would like to join me."
"Uh, I just remembered, I need to talk to Tai about something in private," Gennai interrupted. "Tai, if you'll join me in the kitchen?"
Gankoomon shrugged and began to chug down his third bottle as Tai and Agumon followed Genni into the kitchen.
"What's up Gennai?" Tai asked.
"Whatever you do, do not join Gankoomon for drinks when he invites you," Gennai told him. "It'll only turn into a drinking contest and well…let's just say things have a way of happening."
"You're speaking from experience, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately," Gennai confirmed with a sigh.
"Just what sort of Digimon is this Gankoomon anyway?" Agumon asked.
"Well, he may not look it, but Gankoomon is actually of the same breed of Digimon as Omnimon and Alphamon."
"Wait, you're saying he's a Royal Knight?" a surprised Tai asked. "That guy?"
Gennai nodded. "He was 'activated' so to speak by Homeostasis, the current ruling god of the Digital World."
"Would've been nice to have had his help when we were facing the Dark Masters, or all of our other enemies for that matter."
"Unfortunately when the Dark Masters first took over, they put Gankoomon and the Sistermon Sisters in a sort of deep freeze. In fact they were not finally revived until very recently, only a few months ago."
Just then Blanc walked into the kitchen. "Master Gennai, if you and the Child of Courage are finished with your conversation, Master Gankoomon would like you both to rejoin us so we can discuss the current situation."
"Yes, of course," Gennai responded. "I think it's best we got into it now."
With that, Tai and Agumon returned to the living room with Gennai. Gankoomon was now sitting on the couch with his arms crossed.
"Okay, so what's all this about?" Tai asked.
"It's about that girl you were with before," Gankoomon answered. "The Child of Darkness."
"You mean Meiko, right? Tell me something, is she really a Digidestined?"
"I'm afraid so," Gennai confirmed. "And not just any Digidestined. In a way, you could consider her to be Kari's opposite number."
"So…Meiko really is an evil Digidestined?" Tai asked with disbelief.
"Do not be so unimaginative!" Gankoomon snapped. "Darkness is not always the same as evil, and light is not always the same as good! They are opposing forces, but necessary to the cosmic balance."
"Think of it more like the concept of yin and yang, Tai," Gennai interjected.
"Well, even if darkness doesn't always mean evil, that girl Meiko and her Digimon seemed pretty evil to me," Agumon pointed out.
"That is because Meiko and her partner, Meicoomon have both been…corrupted."
"What do you mean?" Tai asked.
"We don't know how it happened exactly, but somehow Meiko and her Digimon were twisted into serving evil," Gennai explained.
"Like what happened with Ken."
"Not quite. Or at least I don't think so. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened to Meiko. The truth is I lost track of her years ago. She one day vanished from the face of the earth, and it's only recently that she's shown up again the way she is now."
"Do not be so hard on yourself, my old friend," Genkoomon told Gennai. "Perhaps something like this was inevitable. After all, the girl's partner carried the data of Apocalymon within herself."
"Meiko's Digimon has Apocalymon's data?" a stunned Tai asked. "How'd that happen?"
"We don't know," Gennai answered. "And at this point it doesn't really matter. The fact is Meiko and her Digimon have become a serious threat to both this world and the Digital World. If left unchecked, the two of them could corrupt both worlds beyond repair."
"Which is why she must be stopped quickly," Gankoomon added. "To think I had let her get away earlier."
"What I want to know is why Meiko tried to kill Tai," Agumon interjected.
"She did that to try and corrupt Kari," Gennai answered, startling Tai. "Her hope was the sorrow Kari would feel over Tai's death would unleash the darkness lurking deep in her heart. That darkness would affect Gatomon and corrupt her into a Digimon just as destructive as Meicoomon."
"But what's the point of that?" Tai asked.
"Because it's possible for the corrupted Meicoomon and Gatomon to eventually merge into an evil Digimon far more destructive than anything you and your friends have faced in the past."
"How do you know this?" Agumon asked.
"Because of calculations made by Homeostasis," Gennai answered. "Once it was determined that Meiko was going after Kari, Homeostasis computed it was because of the wicked Digimon Meicoomon and Gatomon could become together."
"But to do that, Meiko first has to bring Kari over to the dark side somehow," Tai realized.
"Which means your life is in great danger right now, Tai," Gennai told him. "And so is T.K.'s for that matter. Meiko believes that by hurting those closest to your sister, she can corrupt her."
Tai put his hand to his chin in thought. "If you're right, then Norn's life is in great danger too."
"Norn? Who's that?"
"Oh! You mean you don't know Gennai? Norn is sort of Kari and T.K.'s kid."
"Kari and T.K. had a child already? I know I've been out of touch with you all for a while, but I didn't think I missed that much."
"Well it's not quite what you think," Tai explained as he rubbed the back of his head. "You see a little while ago, a guy named Neo Saiba had digitized Kari and T.K.'s DNA and combined it with a fragment of Yggdrasil to create a young girl. It was actually all part of a scheme for CountMyotismon to gain Yggdrasil's power."
Gennai was visibly shocked by this news. "I…I knew about CountMyotismon, but I knew nothing of this. But you say this girl Norn…was made from Yggdrasil?"
"Yeah. She's sort of Yggdrasil's reincarnation. Or at least that's the way Neo put it."
Gennai, Gankoomon and the Sistermon Sisters were all totally stunned. In an instant an awkward silence had filled the room. Both Tai and Agumon were at a loss as to why this revelation was so shocking.
"It can't be," Blanc whispered, finally breaking the silence. "Could the old prophecy really be true?"
"Don't be dumb, Blanc!" Noir told her. "That prophecy is total nonsense! Always has been."
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Tai asked.
"Tai…does this girl Norn bare a crest?" Gennai asked.
"One's shown up on her, yeah. It's like a combination of Kari and T.K.'s two crests."
"Then…it really is true?" Blanc asked. "Is the girl he speaks of really the Child of Radiance?"
"Child of Radiance?" Tai repeated. "Now you've lost me again."
"It's part of an old prophecy made ages ago, by who no one can remember," Gennai explained. "It spoke of a very special Digidestined child born to the Children of Hope and Light. The prophecy stated that the child would possess the knowledge and power of Yggdrasil and eventually become the Digital World's messiah. But the prophecy has always been dismissed as nonsense because it seemed impossible for a human to ever possess Yggdrasil's power and knowledge."
"Except Norn wasn't born a human but made digitally in a lab. I guess in a way that makes her a little like a Digimon."
"Yes…that was a possibility no one had ever considered. Not even Homeostasis."
"It matters not, Gennai!" Gankoomon interrupted. "Even if this girl is something between Digimon and human, I cannot believe her to be the messiah. The old prophecy is nothing more than a fairytale."
"Look, whatever Norn really is, she's in danger because she's Kari's daughter," Tai interrupted. "So what're we going to do about this?"
"The only thing we can do," Noir answered as she pulled out her guns. "We kill the Child of Darkness and her partner."
"You can't be serious!" Agumon exclaimed.
"Serious as a heart attack, to use a human expression. The Child of Darkness has become a mad dog, and the only way to deal with a mad dog is to put it down."
"There has to be some other way!" Tai declared.
"I hate to say it Tai, but there may not be," Gennai told him. "You should be prepared for the worst."
"Indeed," Gankoomon agreed as he rose from the couch. "You must harden your heart young man, for it is likely this battle can only end in blood. Try and find a way to save the girl if you must, but in the meantime I must carry out the mission given to me by Homeostasis, which is to preserve the harmony of our two worlds by any means necessary. Now, if you'll excuse us, my young charges and I must take our leave."
"So that's it? You're just going to go out and hunt for Meiko?" Tai asked.
"We can do nothing about the Child of Darkness right now but wait for her to make a return. For now there is another reason why I came to this world. I have come here to find my apprentice, Hackmon."
"You have an apprentice?" Agumon asked.
"When the Child of Darkness first showed up in the Digital World, Hackmon chased after her to the human world before we could stop him," Blanc explained. "We've been looking for him ever since."
"Hackmon has great potential to become a knight, but there is still much for him to learn," Gankoomon declared. "I fear he may have acted far too rashly."
"My friends and I can help you look for him if you like," Tai offered.
"That will not be necessary! Hackmon is my student and my responsibility. I will handle this myself. Noir! Blanc! Let us be on our way."
The two Sistermon Sisters nodded and followed Gankoomon out of the apartment.
"Geez! I was only trying to help," Tai complained.
"Don't take it too hard, Tai," Gennai told him. "Gankoomon didn't mean to be so harsh. Obviously he cares a great deal about this apprentice of his. We'll let him handle the search on his own for the time being."
"So what do we do now then?" Agumon asked.
"For now, we remain on our guard," Gennai answered. "It's only a matter of time before Meiko and Meicoomon make their next move."
It was just past noon as T.K. and Kari Takaishi entered the building currently serving as the corporate headquarters for their friend and fellow Digidestined, Izzy Izumi. The couple was not alone as they entered the building. Riding atop T.K.'s head was his Digimon partner, Patamon, an orange mammalian creature with green eyes and two large bat wing-like ears. Meanwhile walking at Kari's side was her partner Gatomon, a white bipedal cat with yellow gloves on her front paws and a gold ring around her long purple striped tail. The two Digimon were far from the couple's only companions at the moment. Walking between them was a girl who was at least physically about twelve years old. The girl had green eyes and long blond hair, and was wearing a white bucket had with pink t-shirt and black vest, along with a long burgundy skirt, long white socks and a pair of black shoes.
The girl was technically Kari and T.K.'s daughter, Norn Takaishi. Though physically Norn seemed to be a normal human, she was actually the man-made reincarnation of Yggdrasil, and possessed all of the digital god's knowledge and at least some of its powers. Norn had two Digimon partners of her own. One of them was an Agumon almost identical to Tai's except for the crisscrossing red leather straps on his forearms. Norn's other partner was a Gaomon, a blue and white bipedal dog wearing a long red sash around its head and a pair of red and black boxing gloves on its front paws. Norn's two Digimon partners went by the nicknames, Agu and Gao.
After a fairly short elevator ride, the Takaishi family arrived at the floor of Izzy's company. Upon their arrival, a secretary sitting at the front desk led the family back to Izzy's office, where they were immediately allowed inside. Izzy was sitting at his desk typing at a computer when the family came in. Sitting next to the brown-haired genius's desk was a large purple beetle-like creature with large green compound eyes and large grey cone-shaped spikes on its back. This creature of course was Izzy's Digimon partner, Tentomon.
Izzy at last looked up from his computer screen and smiled. "Ah! Glad you could call make it here today."
"We've actually been wanting to see this place for a little while now," T.K. responded.
"You've got quite the set-up here, Izzy," Kari remarked as she looked around the office. "I'm impressed."
Izzy's office was very spacious, with a large window behind the desk. A large flat-screen T.V. was mounted on the wall on the left side of the room. The right wall meanwhile was made of glass and showed a series of servers. There was also another door to the left side of Izzy's desk that Kari and T.K. both assumed was a closet.
"I'll admit, I'm pretty proud of this place," Izzy spoke as he finally got out from behind his desk. "And with how quickly the company's taken off."
"Hello Mr. Izumi," Norn spoke.
"Hello Norn. It's good to see you. And you don't have to call me Mr. Izumi. Izzy is just fine."
"So Izzy, why'd you ask us all here?" Patamon asked from his perch on T.K.'s head.
"I'll explain once Tai, Matt and Sora show up," Izzy answered.
"Our brothers are coming?" a surprised T.K. asked. "How come?"
"What I have to show you all today concerns each member of our team. Of course since it's not as easy to get everyone together these days, I'm going to have to repeat this little presentation to the others later."
Suddenly the office door opened, and walking in was a young man with somewhat wild blond hair, wearing a black leather jacket with a blue shirt and black jeans. Walking at his side was a yellow reptilian creature wearing a white wolf pelt with black stripes. The young man was T.K.'s older brother, Matt Ishida, and the creature with him was his Digimon partner, Gabumon. Coming in right after Matt and Gabumon was a pregnant young redheaded woman in a blue dress along with a large pink tropical-looking bird. These two were Matt's wife, Sora and her Digimon, Biyomon.
"Hi Izzy. Sorry we're a little late," Matt spoke as he closed the door behind Sora.
"Think nothing of it," Izzy assured him. "We're still waiting for Tai to arrive."
"Hello Aunt Sora, Uncle Matt," Norn spoke.
"Hi Norn!" Sora responded. "That's a cute outfit you have on. Did you pick it yourself?"
"Mostly. Gatomon helped me pick a couple things out."
"I still say she should've worn those cat ears we found for her at that one shop near T.K.'s campus," Gatomon remarked.
"You want Norn to look as ugly as you?" Gao responded.
"You should've gone out today wearing a muzzle, fleabag!"
"Now, now," Patamon interrupted as he flew down in between Gao and Gatomon.
"So T.K., are you and Kari really going to put Norn in school?" Matt asked.
T.K. nodded. "Her first day is tomorrow. It took a little doing getting her enrolled though."
"Don't you think that's a little dangerous though?" Sora asked. "I mean, if anyone found out…where she came from…"
"Yeah. I get what you're saying. But Kari and I have talked about this a lot, and we don't really think there's that much of a chance of anyone finding out Norn's real identity as long as she's careful about using those powers of hers."
"Still, it doesn't seem like Norn really needs to go to school," Matt pointed out. "I mean her I.Q. is through the roof."
"We know, but we think it's important for Norn to interact with kids her own age," Kari replied. "Well…her physical age anyway."
"Going to school should be a good thing for Norn," Gatomon interjected. "It'll help her to learn how to blend in with other humans."
"That's a good point," Gabumon agreed.
"Well, I just hope you all know what you're getting into," Matt told them.
The door to the office opened again, and at last Tai and Agumon walked in.
"Sorry we're a little late, Izzy," Tai spoke. "So what is this thing you want to show us?"
"I'm glad you asked," Izzy responded as he went back over to his desk.
After Izzy typed a couple of keys on his computer, the large T.V. mounted on the wall turned on. The screen showed a flat black field with blue lines arranged in a grid pattern, underneath an endless light grey sky.
"We came all this way just to see Mr. Izzy's television?" Agu asked.
"This television is connected to the servers in the next room," Izzy explained, pointing at the glass wall on the opposite side of the office. "Tentomon, I believe this is your cue."
"On it!" Tentomon responded as the exoskeleton on his back opened up to reveal his wings.
Tentomon flew up towards the screen and passed through it as if the glass were made of air. In seconds the purple beetle had landed on the grid-covered floor of the expanse shown on the screen.
"Come on in you guys!" Tentomon called to the other Digimon. "It's perfectly safe. Let me show you around."
"Why not?" Patamon responded as he flew up towards the screen.
In another second Patamon had passed through the surface of the monitor and joined Tentomon on the grid. Gatomon followed after Patamon soon after, jumping into the T.V. from where she was on the floor. Biyomon flew into the screen shortly after Gatomon went in. Agumon and Gabumon entered the monitor right behind her, though to get in they had to climb up on the couch underneath the T.V.
"Izzy, just what are we looking at here?" Tai asked.
"I've created an advanced digital grid for our Digimon to enter in case of an emergency," Izzy explained. "It can be accessed via any device with an authorized network connection. In other words, they can enter it through your computers at home, or through say any computer on a college campus. In other words, you'd be able to summon them from this space at any time from almost anywhere."
"So you basically created a Digimon panic room?" Matt asked.
"I suppose you could call it that, but I'm hoping to make it into much more eventually. This grid is something I've actually been working on for a while now. It seemed like a good precaution to take given how many members of the public still regard Digimon with mistrust. And after the incident Tai and Ken got caught up in yesterday, getting this grid operational seemed a little more urgent."
"I'm sorry about all that guys," Tai told them with a grave expression. "I can't help but feel this situation is sort of my fault."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Matt told him. "The fact is things might've been much worse if you and Ken hadn't been there."
"The fact that someone with a Digimon could turn to crime like that though…it's a little frightening," Sora remarked.
"Indeed. The public could start to view all Digidestined as potential criminals," Izzy agreed. "Which is why we need to start preparing for the worst."
Suddenly the phones of both Kari and T.K. began to ring. The two of them immediately took them out to look at the caller I.D.
"It's my literature professor," T.K. informed the others. "He probably has some notes about my novel. I should go ahead and take this."
"Mine's from mom," Kari told Tai. "I should probably take this too."
With that, Kari and T.K. both left the office.
"Okay guys, now that Kari and T.K. are out of the room, there's something important I should tell you," Tai informed Matt and Sora. "In private if you don't mind."
"We can use my private break room," Izzy told them, motioning to the door left of his desk.
"Norn, are you going to be okay in here by yourself?" Tai asked.
"Sure Uncle Tai," Norn answered.
Izzy opened up the door to his private room and went into it with Tai, Matt and Sora. Norn meanwhile remained standing where she was with Agu and Gao, looking at the screen still showing the other partner Digimon.
"So…should Gao and I be in that grid place with the Old Man Agumon and the others?" Agu asked.
"What do you think Norn?" Gao asked.
Norn smiled and nodded. "Let's all go."
"Okay, so let me give you all the grand tour," Tentomon told the other five Digimon as they stood in the middle of the vast grid. "If you'll look off to your right you'll see a whole lot of nothing, and off to your left is more nothing. And straight ahead we have uh…more nothing."
"No offense Tentomon, but this tour's kind of lame," Gabumon remarked.
"Yeah. You'd think there'd at least be some sandwiches in here or something," Agumon added.
"At least there's plenty of room for me to fly around, I guess," Biyomon observed.
"Look, I know it's not much now, but eventually Izzy will put a lot more stuff in here," Tentomon told them.
"It's a promising beginning," Norn remarked as she walked up next to Tentomon with Agu and Gao at her side. "Like a blank piece of paper ready to have a picture drawn on it."
"Thank you Norn. I'm glad someone here appreciates what Izzy's done so far." A few seconds later Tentomon flinched when he realized they all had an uninvited guest. "Norn! What're you…how did you even get in here?"
"Agu, Gao, what do you think should go in here first?" Norn asked her two partners, ignoring Tentomon and the other Digimon.
Gao crossed his arms and looked at the vast blank space. "Well, I guess the best place to start would be to build a house of some kind."
"Yeah! A real big one!" Agu agreed. "Like one of those fancy mansions rich people live in."
"What do you think, Mr. Tentomon?" Norn asked.
"Well, uh…Izzy was going to program in a house of some sort," the beetle Digimon admitted.
"Then that shall be a good place to start," Norn decided as she knelt down on one knee.
The blond girl then placed the palm of her right hand on one of the grid lines. A gold light traveled from her hand down the line for a few feet until it split down two connecting left and right lines on the grid. In a matter of seconds the light had drawn a large rectangular space on the grid. Suddenly four massive walls rose from the glowing lines on the grid to form a structure. To the Digimon is was like watching someone making something using 3-D modeling software.
In another few moments a roof had grown onto the top of the structure. As soon as the roof had formed, windows and a door had appeared on the front of the building. Once the basic structure of the house had come together, Norn started adding the finer details to it as though she were a sculpture chipping away at a piece of marble. Tentomon, Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon were left completely stunned by the sight unfolding before them, while Agu and Gao looked on with smug expression. Patamon and Gatomon meanwhile exchanged concerned looks.
Eventually the house Norn had caused to spring from the ground had formed into a sprawling two-story mansion. Agu and Gao praised Norn for her work while the other Digimon were still speechless.
"Is there anything else all of you think this place needs?" Norn asked.
"Uh, well…Izzy was going to put in some trees," Tentomon answered. "Well, trees of a sort anyway."
"Why not put in a fountain too?" Agu suggested. "A lot of those fancy mansions seem to have big fountains in the front."
"Some of those places have fancy statues in the front too," Gao recalled.
"Oh! Why not put up a big statue of Omnimon somewhere?" Biyomon suggested with a raised wing.
"Biyomon, should we really be encouraging her?" Gabumon quietly asked.
"I dunno Gabumon. It would be kinda cool to have a statue of us," Agumon admitted.
"I'll see what I can do," Norn replied before kneeling back down and placing a hand on the grid.
More lines on the grid began to light up and some of the squares rose up into cone shapes that were soon become trees of a sort. As Norn worked on the landscaping for the grid, Patamon and Gatomon again exchanged concerned looks.
Inside Izzy's private break room, Tai had just finished recounting his encounter with Meiko and the subsequent meeting with Gankoomon and Gennai. Of course Tai had left out certain details, such as how Meiko had managed to get Tai to take her back to his apartment and how she tried killing him right after they had finished having sex. Tai felt it wasn't important for his friends to know the specifics of his meeting Meiko, and thankfully Matt and the others so far hadn't pressed him for that information. Of course given what was now at stake, Tai getting a little drunk and taking a psychotic woman to bed was a detail of little importance.
"So what you're saying Tai…is that you and T.K. now have targets on your backs," Matt summarized, his arms crossed as he looked directly at his friend.
"And Norn too," Sora added.
Tai nodded. "This Meiko girl is going to try and do everything she can to make Kari miserable and bring her over to the dark side or something. The best way to do that is to hurt her family."
"Which means your parents are probably in danger too," Matt realized.
"Damn! I didn't think of that. This whole thing is turning into a real mess!"
"I think the question we need to ask is why this woman, this fellow Digidestined, is coming after us in the first place," Izzy interjected.
"From the sound of it, it could be this Meiko girl is being manipulated somehow," Sora suggested. "Just like it turned out how Ken was manipulated into being the Digimon Emperor."
"That would track with what Gennai said," Tai agreed. "He said that Meiko had been 'corrupted' somehow."
"So then the question is, who's pulling this girl's strings?" Matt asked.
"Could it be CountMyotismon?" Sora suggested.
"He is the only enemy we have right now that we know of, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of some new threat," Izzy pointed out. "We just don't have enough data right now. Until we can learn more about Meiko and whatever enemy is behind her, we may not be able to put an end to this."
"Actually…it seems like Gennai and Genkoomon have a way of stopping Meiko," Tai interjected. "They plan to kill her."
"Are you serious?" Sora asked with a startled expression.
"They'd really go that far?" an equally stunned Matt asked.
Tai nodded. "I don't like the idea any more than you do. That's why we need to come up with a better solution."
"No argument here. Until we do though, what're we going to do about protecting T.K., Norn and anyone else the Meiko might come after?"
"I've already taken care of that, actually," Tai answered with a smirk. "With a threat like this, I decided to call in some help."
"Seems like you're all having a serious conversation," a familiar voice cut in. Tai and the others looked to see Matayoshi standing in the open doorway. "Sorry to interrupt."
"Detective Matayoshi?" a stunned Tai exclaimed as he shot up from his chair.
"How did you get in here?" Izzy protested.
Matayoshi smirked and flashed his badge. "Your secretary let me in once I explained who I was."
"So what now? Have you come to arrest Tai for what happened yesterday?" Matt asked.
"Not at all. In fact I'm really just here to give you an update on the case," the detective answered as he walked to the middle of the room. "That tamer or whatever you want to call him. His name's Yuji Yoshina, by the way. Both he and his Digimon have been in a coma since the fight."
"Both him and his Digimon?" Izzy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The doctors examining him are at a loss as to why, and of course they have no clue as to how to treat his Digimon." Matayoshi turned to look directly at Izzy. "In fact the real reason I'm here is to ask for your help, Mr. Izumi. I know that among other things, your company researches Digimon. I was hoping you could look into this for me."
Izzy nodded. "I'd be glad to. Did the doctors find anything unusual about the Digimon or his partner?"
"Well they couldn't find anything wrong with the Digimon, but like I said, they know nothing about Digimon to begin with. However, they found something a little strange on the Yoshina kid. He has some sort of weird purple scratch marks on his chest, big ones. It's like some big cat tried to make him into a scratching post."
"A cat?" Tai repeated.
Matayoshi looked suspiciously at Tai. "Ring any bells?"
"Um…not really. Detective, maybe you could do us a favor? We'd like you to find out everything you can about a woman named Meiko Mochizuki. It's pretty important."
Matayoshi looked seriously at Tai for a moment before smiling and tugging his hat. "Why not? Seems only fair since you're doing me a favor. I'll look into this woman you're talking about and get back to you." The detective then began to head for the door, but then stopped and turned back. "Oh! Just one more thing I'd like to ask, Mr. Kamiya. Last night there were some strange eyewitness reports of some kind of superhero fighting a naked woman and a cat monster near your place. Would you happen to know anything about it?"
Tai took a big gulp. "Sorry. I went to bed pretty early last night. Rough day and all."
Matayoshi shrugged. "Well, just thought I'd ask. I'll be seeing you."
With that, the detective finally left. Tai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as soon as he was gone.
"Guess a few people saw Gankoomon's fight with Meiko and her Digimon," Matt observed. "Wait, did he say Meiko was naked?"
"That's what I heard," Sora confirmed. "Tai?"
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Tai responded.
"In any case Tai, it was a prodigious idea to have this detective look into Meiko," Izzy praised. "That will allow me to focus on what's happened to the tamer you and Ken fought."
"You think there's a connection between what's happened to this guy and Meiko?" Matt asked.
"I'd say it's possible, but of course I'll need more data to say for sure."
"Well…in the meantime I hope this detective doesn't end up stabbing us in the back."
"I think we can trust him," Tai told them. "He seems like a pretty decent guy. In fact he pretty much asked Ken and I to join the police. Ken's actually thinking of joining."
"A Digidestined on the police force?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow. "Might not be such a bad idea actually."
Tai nodded. "Anyway guys, there's one more thing about this situation with Meiko I'd like to talk about. I don't think we should tell Kari and T.K. about it, at least not now."
"Are you serious?" Sora asked.
"Tai, don't you think those two have a right to know what's happening?" a somewhat outraged Matt asked.
"I do, but…well, think about it. Kari and T.K. went through a lot with the Dark Ocean and having to fight Lucemon," Tai pointed out. "Now they've finally found real happiness, and…I don't wanna ruin it for them."
Matt sighed. "You have a point. But they're going to find out eventually."
"Not if we can resolve this whole thing quickly."
Suddenly Kari burst into the room with Gatomon at her side. There was a smile on her face, but Tai could tell with a single look that his younger sister was freaked out about something.
"I'm sorry to interrupt whatever important conversation you're all having, but could you please come out and have a look at Izzy's T.V.?" Kari requested, her right eye twitching a bit. "Like, right now please?"
Tai and the others quickly went back into the office to find a bewildered T.K. gazing at the television screen. When the rest of the gang finally looked at the screen, they were just as stunned as T.K., Izzy especially. They saw Norn forming a finely carved statue of Agumon and Gabumon's combined form of Omnimon out of the grid form. They also saw the mansion and geometrically formed fake trees Norn had created earlier. Izzy immediately went over to his desk to check the computer.
"Did Norn do all this?" Matt asked.
"She did," Gatomon confirmed. "Tentomon was giving us a little tour of the grid when Norn suddenly came in with Agu and Gao and started building stuff. By the time she finished putting in the fountain in the backyard, Patamon and I decided I should come get you guys."
"Kari and I came in by the time Gatomon came to get us," T.K. finished. "We could hardly believe our eyes."
"Izzy, how is Norn even doing this?" Tai asked.
"I don't know how, but Norn seems to have accessed the program I made to put in environmental features on the grid," Izzy answered as he looked at his screen. "I hadn't gotten around to using the program myself yet which is why the grid originally looked like an empty space. Anyway, it seems Norn has somehow interfaced with the grid's system. I just tried booting her out, but I can't."
"How did she even get in there?" T.K. asked.
"Izzy, is it possible for us to get into that grid of yours?" Sora asked.
"In theory we can access the grid using our digivices," Izzy answered. "But since Norn doesn't have a digivice, I guess she was able to go in because of her nature as a 'digital human'."
As soon as she finished the statue of Omnimon, Norn got to her feet but suddenly staggered a bit, causing Kari and T.K. to become concerned.
"Norn, honey! Can you hear me?" Kari called. "I think you should come out now!"
Norn soon turned in the direction of the screen and nodded. In another few moments the girl left the T.V. and was back in the office, with Gao, Agu and Patamon following right behind her. The other Digimon exited the grid soon after.
Kari kneeled down to get a closer look at her daughter. "Norn, are you okay?"
"I'm sleepy," Norn answered as she rubbed her eyes.
"No wonder. You built an entire estate in like five minutes," Patamon pointed out. "Anyone would be tired after that."
"I regret not being able to put in some of the final details of the mansion's interior."
"Don't worry Norn. You can do that later," Agu told her.
"Yeah. Right now you should get some sleep," Gao agreed.
Norn suddenly noticed the stunned and concerned expressions of the Digidestined around her. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, of course not," Kari answered. "It's just…you kind of surprised us all again."
"I'm sorry about using my abilities to reshape the grid. I just thought the Digimon should have a more comfortable place to stay."
Kari pulled Norn into a hug. "Norn, you have nothing to apologize for." She then put her hands on the girl's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Now listen to me. Your father and I want you to be careful when using your powers, especially when you're in public, but never ever feel ashamed about them. We want you to be yourself."
"That's right. And you did a very good thing building a house for the Digimon," T.K. added as he patted Norn on the head.
"Norn, if you like, you can continue putting in more environmental features onto the grid," Izzy offered as he got back up from his desk. "I'm sorry to say I've been a little too busy to work on it myself."
Norn nodded. "Thank you."
"Well, I think Kari and I should be going," T.K. decided. "We need to get this little girl to bed, and I need to meet with my professor about that phone call I got earlier."
Tai and the others said their goodbyes to the Takaishi family, and a few moments later Kari and T.K. had left with their daughter and their Digimon.
"That was a little crazy," Matt remarked. "Gabumon, why didn't you and the others, you know…try and stop Norn or something."
"You know how people say you can't look away from a train wreck when it's happening? It was a lot like that," Gabumon answered. "We were all just too shocked to interfere."
"Besides, she did build us a pretty nice house," Agumon added.
"I'm glad she went with my idea for the statue," Biyomon remarked.
"I'll admit, what Norn built was a lot nicer than what Izzy originally had in mind," Tentomon commented. "Uh, no offense Izzy."
"None taken, I guess," Izzy replied as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I have to say, it really blew my mind how Norn could go into Izzy's computer system and build all of that," Sora remarked. "It's kind of easy to forget she's not a normal girl, isn't it?"
"I'll say," Matt agreed. "I wonder if we should be concerned about how tired Norn was when she came out."
"If I had to guess, Norn probably just depleted her energy manipulating the grid," Izzy theorized. "Of course I can't say for sure. There's still a lot about Norn we don't yet understand. I don't think even Neo Saiba or CountMyotismon knew what sort of being they were creating when they made her."
"Guys, there's something I should probably tell you all about Norn," Tai spoke. "Last night I mentioned Norn to Gennei and Gankoomon. Gennai was pretty surprised to hear that Kari and T.K. already had a kid, especially when I told him how Norn was Yggdrasil's reincarnation."
"Gennai didn't know about Norn at all?" Matt asked.
"Nope. And like I said, he and Gankoomon were shocked when I told them how Norn came into existence. Gennai called Norn the Child of Radiance. It seems there's some prophecy about a special Digidestined with Yggdrasil's power and knowledge. Gennai and Gankoomon never thought the prophecy would ever come true though. I mean, Yggdrasil was essentially a computer, right?"
"Well, now they know the prophecy's true," Sora pointed out.
Tai sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not so sure they believe it actually. Gankoomon certainly didn't. Not sure what Gennai thinks though."
"You don't think Gankoomon's going to kill Norn because of this prophecy, do you?" Matt asked.
"No, I doubt it. There is something about this prophecy I should mention though. Gennai said the Child of Radiance would be the Digital World's messiah."
Matt was a little taken aback by this news. "Okay. That we should definitely keep from T.K. and Kari for a while."
"I suppose we'll have to take a look into this prophecy ourselves later," Izzy suggested.
"Well, whether it's true or not though doesn't change the fact that Norn, Kari and T.K. are all in danger right now," Tai pointed out. "The important thing now is making sure Meiko doesn't get at them."
Norn was out like a light as soon as Kari and T.K. put her in the car and started the drive home. The two of them were still a little overwhelmed by how Norn had been able to go into Izzy's digital grid and manipulate it. During the drive, T.K. suggested the idea of maybe enrolling Norn in some sort of architecture classes sometime in the near future. Norn was still fast asleep by the time the couple returned to their apartment. As soon as they had gotten Norn to bed, T.K. went off to talk with his literature professor.
A few minutes after T.K. had left, Kari decided to go out to the nearby convenience store to get some ice cream for Norn. Kari wanted to make absolutely sure that her daughter knew that she and T.K. didn't see her as a freak due to her powers or her rather abnormal origin. Back at Izzy's office Kari had felt more than a little guilty about how she reacted when she saw Norn inside Izzy's grid and building things out of nothing. While it was a natural reaction to be surprised by such things, Kari still felt bad about it. The bottom line was it didn't matter if Norn was made in a lab from the remains of a digital god; she was still Kari's daughter and Kari didn't love her any less for her strange abilities, and she wanted to make sure Norn knew that.
It hadn't taken Kari long at all to find a carton of Norn's favorite ice cream. In another five minutes she had made it through the check out line and was back out on the sidewalk. As Kari headed towards her apartment building, a woman with long dark hair and glasses approached her. The woman was dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of very short jean shorts that ended well above the knee.
"Excuse me," the dark-haired woman spoke, getting Kari's attention. "You're Kari Kamiya, right?"
"Um, Kari Takaishi actually," the brown-haired Digidestined answered.
"Oh! Forgive me. Of course you'd be using your darling husband's last name now."
"Do I know you?"
"We've never met, but I know all about you…Child of Light."
Kari flinched a bit when the girl called her by her Digidestined title. "Who are you?"
The dark-haired woman grinned. "My name is Meiko Mochizuki, and I suppose you could call me your nemesis."
"Nemesis? What do you mean?"
"Oh but don't worry. Very soon you and I will become the closest of friends, more like sisters really…or perhaps even lovers." Here Meiko's grin turned into a frown. "But only after you've known the same kind of pain I've had to endure."
Kari suddenly realized the girl standing before her was far from normal. She could see a kind of madness when she looked in Meiko's eyes, and that madness was accompanied by hatred.
"You've been living a charmed life, haven't you Kari?" Meiko continued. "Not only did you make it out of Hell, you managed to get the kind of happiness every girl out there wants. A loving husband, a cute daughter, a kind and strong big brother…meanwhile the only thing I ever got was pain." Suddenly a crazed grin formed on Meiko's face. "But I'm going to take all that away from you. I'm going to shatter your happy little life and turn all your joy into suffering. And by the time I'm done…you'll be just. Like. Me."
With those words Meiko turned away from Kari and walked down into a nearby alley. Kari attempted to chase after her, but by the time she had reached the alley Meiko had vanished. In the end, Kari decided her only option was to head home. During the whole trip back she couldn't help but look over her shoulder.
Author's Note: I got the idea for the title of this chapter from the movie, TRON: Legacy. I couldn't help but think of that movie when I had the idea of Norn shaping Izzy's grid.
Please review and let me know what you think.