Time wore on as the lessons passed, History first, then Maths, then English and so on, all rather boring, and his droning teacher's didn't really help, he yawned quietly as his English teacher, Mr. Jennings, went over for the hundredth time why they need to know this about such and such a poet whilst Alex spent most of the time staring out of the window, watching the trees shake under the force of the wind outside, and listening to the howling of the four winds, he felt lost in his own world. "Lovely Weather" a sarcastic little voice said, "Oh be Quiet!" another one snapped back, then the ringing of the bell that signaled the end of the day brought him swiftly back to reality, he got up, packed his books, stationary and other stuff back into his bag, picked it up a trudged out of the door toward the station along with the rest of the school, everyone was talking about the flashes in the sky last night, some said that in was aliens, but Alex doubted that, after all, why would they want to come to this planet, because it would be the last place he would have come to.
Then it started to rain, not a light shower, but a continuous downpour, so he ducked out of the way and into a nearby shop, he shook his head, getting rid of all of the excess water before heading back out again, as he walked back out into the downpour, as he ran up to the train station and just missed the train as it pulled of the platform, "Great", he said aloud, "I'm wet, I'm tired and now I missed the train, what next????".
He then decided to walk home, it was only about a couple of miles and he had walked it before, but not very often, but he decided to give it ago, hoping that the rain just might relent. It didn't instead it got worse, and worse, until he could only just see a few meters ahead of himself, "Oh this is just ridiculous" he said to himself as he ducked under-cover again, "That's it I've had enough of walking in the rain" so he decided to go and hide out in a building somewhere. As he jumped out again he happened to glance up at one of the abandoned factory building's that dotted the city, they were like rusting giants of a forgotten era, every now and again people would trash one and it would just lie there, but this one had been untouched, supposedly it was haunted, and since everyone was too scared to go in, and he saw a figure, illuminated against the sky by a brief flash from the lightning, then it was gone, along with a roar of thunder, he shook his head.
"Perfect" he said quietly to himself, "I'll go hide out in there until this storm subsides", he glanced at a street sign as he walked towards the factory, "Jupiter Road, that means that I'm just over ¾ of the way there, I need to do this more often" he said, as he tried one of the door to the factory, surprisingly it was unlocked, but he pushed the door open and went in, it was big, quiet and empty. And he thought he was all alone in here until he heard a faint sobbing sound coming from one of the ante-chambers, so his curiosity overrode his freezing brain and he decided to go have a look, his shoes made a rather large squelching noise as he crept across the wooden floor, and he winced at every squelch.
He could feel the water starting to soak through his shoes and into his socks, it was a very uncomfortable feeling, as he slowly made his way toward the door, it lay ajar and an umbrella lay on the floor next to it, it was pink and had (yes, you guesses it) little pictures of Kirby on it, and Alex relaxed he knew who it was, as he pushed the door open and his suspicion's were confirmed.
Lying on the ground, in a crumpled heap was Courtnie, her hair was matted and damp, her uniform was completely soaked, and tears flowed freely down her face, she glanced up when she heard the door open, and when she saw whom it was she flung herself in his arms, "Oh Alex" she said, still sobbing, Alex almost collapsed under her weight, he gingerly, gently began stroking her head, as she continued to cry
"There There … There There" he said quietly, well what else could he say
Eventually she stopped crying and just lay there, silent as the grave
"Feel better now?" Alex enquired, hoping she was
"Yes, much better, thanks" she said in a small sad voice
Alex went up to one of the desks and pulled 2 chairs off the top of it and sat down on one of them.
"Well?, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked politely, gesturing to the chair so that she could sit down.
She got up and very slowly, dejectedly, made her way over and sat down, he looked at her, her face looked weather-beaten, but she still held her head high, and her eyes were still wet but at least she wasn't still crying, that was a good sign.
"Well, you see, what happened was, I was on my way home from school and I missed the bus so I decided to walk it, then started to rain, so I thought that t might be good to come and hide in here, because then I could wait for the storm to blow over and then something really weird happened"
Alex unintentionally leaned forward on his chair, something about this story seemed to be very familiar.
"And then I decided to explore, so I came in here and that' s when saw him!" she started to cry again, tears like big, wet rain-drops ran down her face, Alex waited until she had regained her composure, she would tell him when she was ready, she stopped after a few more minutes and sniffed slightly.
"And then there …" her voice now took on a lighter tone, almost like she was dreaming "there was a weird light and then there was this voice …" she broke off again, almost as if she were trying to replay the experience, "Then she, well at least I think it was a she, said … something, I…. I can't really remember what it was but I know it was important, then .., then she took my had and!" she burst into another flood of tears, thrusting her left hand in his face, and on her hand, as clear as day, was a mark, it was like his, but . is was different, whereas his seemed to resemble a medal, hers resembled a heart, stretching from pinky to index finger, half of the heart was hollowed out whilst the other ended in a swirl. He stared at it, horror and relief starting to spread through his body, one the one side, he had expected something worse, but on the other, there was this?, "What do these marks mean?" he thought "I've got one, now she's got one, who next? Mr. Takaishi who lives below us?" he asked silently to himself as he got up as she withdrew her hand and clutched at it, sobbing quietly, his head was reeling from today's events nad he really felt like he was going to be sick, he pulled of the glove that he had worn on his left hand for most of the day, his mark was still there as well, except that it glowed slightly, it was a warm, almost happy glow, and it didn't match his current mood. He put his hands behind his back and sighed, what were they going to do now, heard a gasp come from behind and he turned around, the look in Courtnie's eyes clearly showed her amazement,
"So it's True" she said in a quiet voice "You have one to, I wondered why you had been acting so strange recently, but I would have never have guessed. Do you know what they mean?" she asked hopefully.
"No Courtnie, I'm afraid I don't know what they mean, neither do I know how to get rid of them, the only thing I know at the moment is that life seems to be getting stranger and stranger."
"Well that makes two of us then at least," she said nodding slightly, then she stiffened,
"What was that?" she asked quietly, we had both heard the ominous creaking sound that had come from just outside the door.
"Stay Here, I'll go and have a look" Alex whispered quietly as he crept to the door, and now it was his turn to gasp, out in the main chamber there was a dazzling display of lights, Blue, Yellow, Green, all of them billowing from a large portal that had appeared in the dead-centre of the chamber, shaped like a circle and surrounded by 12 shimmering orbs, it grew brighter and brighter until, a shape appeared out of the centre of it and he almost screamed, it was as gig as a small bus and just about as green, it had a pair of huge horn's atop his head, and in his head he held an ugly looking bone, that defiantly wasn't there for show, he paused and sniffed the air, as if trying to determine where he was then he howled, it was a feral, vile howl that seemed to echo back and forth in the hall, then it spoke, in a voice more resembling that of a cave-man, than that of an Ogre.
"Yay, me-make eet to whoman-world, now boss gonna give me big-reward for dis', now all me gotta do now is capture me a whoman, den me become big famous Digimon heh heh" it's voice sounded like someone dragging their nails across a chalk board, what on earth was this … this thing talking about, and what the hell is a Digimon, Alex started to worry, and almost jumped out of is skin when he felt something nudging his side, he turned sharply, Courtnie was perched beside him,
"What's out there?" she asked worriedly,
"Trust me, you don't want to know"
"Oh come on it can't be …. OH MY GOD!" she screamed, and Ales turned his eyes heavenward, "Well you can't say I didn't warn her" he said silently, then he realised that, if he had heard her crying from the door, then.
"Ahaa!, me hear Whoman's, now me catch whoman's", the ogre took a practise swing with his club, turning a table into so many piles of little woodchips, Alex gulped, before grabbing Courtnie by the wrist and whispering in her ear
"Look I'm only going to say this once so listen, I'll distract whatever that thing is, while you make a run for the door Ok?" he whispered, in a voice that brooked no argument, she looked at him, her eyes brimming.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine, don't you worry"
She looked him right it the eye, he could she the raw emotion in them, she lent forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek, causing the both to blush.
"For Luck" she said quietly, before getting up, "Let's go then" she wiped her eyes and braced herself, as she opened the door,
"After you" she said. "
Thanks" he replied
They both sneaked out of the door and stopped, the hall was empty, no portal, no ogre, no nothing, just a pile of splinters.
"Where's it gone?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
It was the rushing noise that gave it away as a huge, wooden desk came flying out of the blue, Alex tackled Courtnie to the ground as it smashed into the floor where they had just been standing, Alex pushed Courtnie off him and groaned, "that hurt" he said "I need to start going to the Gym more often" he said aloud, rubbing his ribs, then he quickly dived again as a chair came flying at him, shattering into pieces, he picked up one of the legs, it would be very good in a straight up fight, but he could use it to defend himself if he had to. The next thing that came flying towards him was completely unexpected, it was a Bookshelf, complete with books, his muscles locked as he tried to move, time seemed to slow down as it span towards him, then it exploded just before it hit him, showering him with burning bits of paper and wood along with a cloud of smoke, he glanced around, panic-stricken,
"Courtnie?, you alright?"
"Yes, cough … cough, I'm alright, what was that?"
"I don't know?, Hang on… I can see something?"
Alex squinted, he could see a shape out there in the smoke, as it began to settle, he could here that Ogre-thing bellowing in frustration, as it flung another table into he smoke bank, it too burst into another shower of wood chips, Alex covered his face with his arm to protect himself from the flying chips, he glanced up, the smoke had cleared by now and he blinked sharply, standing behind a barrier of shimmering energy was a figure, the barrier made in hard to see, it seemed to be human, then that Ogre-thing came back, stomping it's way through the rows of desks, it seemed to recognise the Figure behind the barrier
"Grrr … Wizardmon, why you come-to whoman world, why you still try to stop me?" the Ogre grunted, smashing another desk.
"If I'm correct I told you last time we fought Ogremon, I'll keep stopping you if you keep coming here" Wizardmon said, watching as his barrier dissipated, then he lowered his staff, pointing it at Ogremon, "Now are you going to leave quietly Ogremon, or is this going to get ugly" he asked threateningly,
Ogremon laughed, it was a guttural laugh that echoed and reverberated around the chamber, then he grinned evilly, "You no beat me this time Wizardmon, me got MUCH stronger since our last battle now you finished, Pummel Whack", Ogremon formed a dark aura around his fist before blasting it at Wizardmon, who brushed it aside contemptibly with the head of his staff, Ogremon flinched violently
"Hate to say it Ogremon, but I told you so" Wizardmon taunted, dodging another blast, it slammed into a wall, sending up a shower of concrete splinters, "And your aim hasn't improved much either", Wizardmon ducked third blast, jumped over a forth and blocked a fifth using the hilt of his staff, Ogremon was panting heavily now, Wizardmon smirked,
"Had enough yet?"
"Pant! No, me going to Pant! crush you Wizardmon Pant! Now you pay! Bone Cudgel!"
"Oh dear!" was about all Wizardmon had time to say as Ogremon's club came flying towards him, he hastily tried to raise his staff to defend himself, but too late, the club smacked into Wizardmon, knocking his staff out of his hands and sent it hurling across the room, landing with a clatter on the other side, Wizardmon clutched his right arm, he could feel his arm numbing, "Ouch!, must've broken something, he sure hits harder than he did last time" he thought as he dodged another throw from the club, Ogremon was grinning now,
"Now me pay you back for all times you beat me Wizardmon, Pummel Whack", Wizardmon cringed, then Alex moved, he didn't think, he just acted, he charged his way across the debris-stridden room and hurled himself at Wizardmon, knocking him out of the way as a fist-sized crater appeared where his head had been just mili-second's earlier, the two of them landed with a Bang!, Alex pulled Wizardmon up as and supported him as Ogremon advanced on them,
"You O.K?"
"Yes, thanks for that"
"It was nothing, now how's about you finish this guy off"
"I couldn't agree more"
Wizardmon held his good hand out and concentrated, forming a ball of energy, resembling a static orb, "I'm sorry to have to do this Ogremon, Thunder Ball!", Wizardmon began to throw these balls in rapid succession, each one striking it's target, the first caught Ogremon in the stomach, doubling him over, whilst two more knocked his feet from under him, sending him crashing to the ground, "it's over Ogremon, just go back, you can't win" Wizardmon said wearily, as Ogremon got up again, shaking a piece of table of himself,
"You no win yet Wizardmon, me still win, cos' now me tell Boss that you foil plan, then he come get you big time"
"Let him try Ogemon, let him Try!"
"But me not done yet, me leave you with parting gift" Ogremon pointed his Fist at one of the desks a fired, it exploded, revealing a scared and shaking Courtnie,
"Now you make choice little Whoman, the girl, or the Digimon"
Alex was torn, he knew that if he tried to save Courtnie, then Wizardmon might end up dead, and if he didn't then he'd have to explain this all to her mum.
"I …., I …." He glanced at Wizardmon, and just as their eyes met, they both understood, Alex winked at him,
"Sorry pal, but I gotta save her"
"I know"
Alex walked slowly over to Courtnie and placed himself firmly in front of her, "I won't let you hurt her, so back off" he said, perhaps with more bravado than he intended, Ogremon's face looked puzzled, at least it did up until another ball of lightning struck him across the face,
"Now this End's Ogremon, Thunder Barrage" Both Wizardmon's hand came up and his staff span across the room and landed back to his hands, then he drew a spiral in the air with it, and lightning flew across the room and crashed into the surprised Ogremon, who howled one last, vengeful howl, before he shattered, into pinpricks of light, which dispersed into the air around the, vanishing like stars behind a cloud.
Then Wizardmon, exhausted collapsed, as Alex and Courtnie ran over to him,
"Is he Okay?"
"Yeh, I think so, he's just tired that's all"
"Hey what's that?"
They both watched as Wizardmon began to glow, similar to what had happened to Ogremon, then Alex's phone went off, "who would call me at this time in the … what on earth?" he muttered to himself, then he dropped it, it too was glowing the same way the Wizardmon was, as small particles of light began to form around it, and it began to rise until it stopped at about head-height until it appeared to be a solid ball of light, then the light surrounding his phone, and Wizardmon vanished, revealing what had once been he's phone, in it's place lay a Digivice, it was black, with a red-band running around the edges and around the screen which lay in the center, along with a black strap attached to it, and it fell right into Alex's outstretched hands ((ok I'm bad at descriptions, so imagine something like a cross between the D-Arc [the one's they use in Digimon Tamers] and the Digivice iC [the ones that they use in Digimon Data Squad], except a little more square in places, and with a few more buttons))
"Uhhhhh … Alex, what is that?"
"I think it used to be my cellphone" Alex replied, giving it a shake
"Well it sure doesn't look like a cellphone anymore"
"That's what I was thinking"
"So you don't know what it is"
"No"
Wizardmon stirred, he felt strange, like he had been suddenly healed, although it hadn't quite cured his disorientation, and his vision was still a bit blurred, although he could clearly see what the other two had failed to notice.
"A Digivice?, Where did that come from?"
"Well welcome back to the land of the living, and as for where this thing came from, I want to know when I'm getting my phone back"
Then Wizardmon noticed Alex's hand, his glove hand been torn during the fight with Ogremon, and the tear revealed,
"The Crest of Hope?"
"The quest of what?, where" Alex asked looking around
"no, not quest, Crest on your hand"
Alex's other hand immediately covered the tear in the glove, but Wizardmon was way ahead of him, he flew over to him, and neatly plucked the Digivice out of his hand, and examined it,
"Het that's m…"
"Hush, I'm trying to think!" Wizardmon snapped
Alex shut up immediately, and glanced nervously at Courtnie
Wizardmon suddenly turned around, his eyes shone with both surprise and awe,
"Do you know what this means?" he asked excitedly
"No" Alex replied, still covering his mark with his glove.
"Oh, I never thought that I would see the day, but it has arrived my dear boy, Your are one of the Digi-Destined"
"Digi-what?, ok this is starting to get confusing"
"my dear boy, the Digi-Destined are a group of human's worn to protect the digital world, Long ago they vanished into history, but now the Line of defenders has been restored, and at last maybe we can have peace"
"Peace?, what are you talking about buddy?"
"Please don't call me that, now hold out your mark"
"Why should I eve…"
"Just do it!" Wizardmon snapped again, he was starting to get irritated
Alex held out his hand, palm downwards, as Wizardmon calmly moved the Digivice over the Mark on his hand,
A beep, came from the digivice, as a small green light came on, Scanning… the screen read, until a 3-D model of his mark appeared on the screen,
Crest of Hope Identified, confirming DNA.
DNA confirmed, subject recognised, Hello Alex!
And that last part Alex rapidly withdrew his hand, as Wizardmon handed his he Digivice, then there was a slight popping sound, as everything seemed to slow down to a .. stop!, then the room was filled with the same light and presense he had seen on the train not so long ago,
"So we doth meet again, Bearer of Hope, dost thou accept thine burden and all that come with it?" the voice asked, as Alex blinked, what could he say, then he felt a strange calm come over him and he placed his hand over his Digivice,
"I accept" he said in a calm manner, as the presence that had come to him in the train smiled
"So be it, and now the Hope and the Wizard are joined unto the end of days", then the light and the presence vanished and the screen of the Digivice spelt out, in a bright blue light, 3 words,
Partner Identified: Wizardmon
The astonished look on both their faces, faded as they both locked eyes, there was an understanding in their gaze as Alex held out his hand,
"I guess that makes up partners then?"
Wizardmon took the hand and shook it firmly "I guess it does, Partner"
((Was this good, cos it took ages to write, please to review, Peace Out))