Chapter 17: On the Run
###
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, just the OCs in this fic.
###
He sat there with his sign, hoping for someone to give him some cash. Things weren't going as well as he had hoped. It had turned out that they only had about two hundred dollars' worth of foreign currency, most of it Gunter's. Ed hoped that the large German wouldn't mind once he got his mind back. As it was, they did what they had to do to survive.
So now he was panhandling, something that he felt was beneath him.
In the meantime, they were going to stay in a transients' hotel until they had enough money to rent an apartment. Of course, to do that he would have to have an identity, something that he didn't have in this world.
He grumbled at the thought, reminding himself of how he used a local library's computer to search for him and the others in this world.
###
"So, any luck?" Ayaka asked, walking up to Ed as he searched on his computer.
"Nothing. It's like I don't exist. I also searched for you, and you don't exist either. There are a bunch of other things that are different as well." Ed scratched his right cheek.
"Like what?" the blonde asked out of curiosity.
"For one thing, have you counted the number of stars on the US flag?" the black-haired boy asked.
"No? Why, is the number different?" Ayaka inquired.
"Yeah, there are fifty-two states instead of fifty. In this world, Puerto Rico and Guam are both states," Ed explained. "There's more: It turns out a number of countries are larger. For instance, the South American nation of Gran Colombia didn't split into Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador. Heck, it even encompasses Peru and part of Brazil as well. Chile now encompasses Bolivia's territory and Argentina has both Paraguay and Uruguay in its territory. Also, a number of African countries are larger as well and Mexico encompasses most of Latin America."
"Okay, that's pretty weird. Anything else?" the blond asked.
"Yeah, I guess the Soviet Union split a bit further than in our world since Siberia and Chechnya are separate countries from Russia. Oh, and Korea is one country with its capital in Seoul. I guess the South Koreans won the war." Ed smiled and chuckled. "Talk about weird."
"No kidding. So, you said that we don't exist. What about Gunter?" Ayaka inquired and Ed opened a window.
"He exists alright and he's a genius going to some type of German school called a Gymnasium. I wonder if that was the case in our world as well. Also, Digimon's a franchise in this world that just started its fourth season, Digimon Frontier. Looks interesting. I guess it has something called Spirit Evolution, whatever that is."
"Crazy…" Ayaka mumbled. "Anything else?"
"Well, look at this. This is the third season, Digimon Tamers. Guess who." Ed pulled up another window, showing Takato and the others on a poster, something that shocked Ayaka to no end.
###
The boy continued to wait for money. He was getting a surprising amount of cash from the various people who come by there. He somehow managed to get some grubby clothes from a second-hand store and a tattered old hat as well. He was wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes from the summer sun and he had a water bottle with him to prevent dehydration. Temperatures in the city were going to reach upwards of ninety degrees that day, so he had to be prepared.
Every so often, he checked his digivice, wondering if one of the digidestined or even the Digimon Emperor would come into the real world and confront him.
Sometime after noon, after he had waited a few hours and gotten more than a hundred dollars from generous bystanders who held out bills from their cars, he detected something, which was surprising. At the moment he was in a town called Westminster and he spotted the signal on his digivice coming from one of the cars waiting at the stop light. Just then, though, he was distracted by a person holding out a twenty-dollar bill which he snatched up real quick.
Unfortunately, whoever it was had passed by him and he lost track of them, though he continued to monitor them using his digivice. He looked up data on this person and found out who they were.
It was some girl named Abigail Symanski. He had to guess that she was related to David the Emperor, but he would have to talk to her to verify it.
Still, he had his reservations about it. For all he knew, the girl worked for the Emperor.
###
They left the cave through an entrance on the far side of where they first went in. There weren't any Control Spires in that direction so Tadashi thought it would be safe. It had taken them more than a day to get to that point but the blond didn't regret it one bit.
"So, what now?" Miki asked, annoyed that they had taken so long going through that massive cavern.
"Well, I think we should find Digimon allies. Either that or we should make our way to the real world. One or the other." Tadashi smiled at the prospect of a little exploration. He felt that they had been in way too much of a hurry by going through their digital world so quickly. Then again, that was partially his fault since he was in such a hurry to find Takato and the others.
He took a deep breath just as it started to rain.
"What the…? Ew! My clothes are going to get wet!" Miki complained.
"Are you kidding? I love the rain!" Syakomon exclaimed in joy.
"We need to get out of here!" Coronamon freaked out, running right back to the cave.
"Coronamon, we've been in there for a day already. Don't you think that we've been stuck there enough?" Tadashi asked.
"I hate water! Come on; remember how you gave me a bath? Hated it!" the digimon called out, shivering underneath the mouth of the cave. Tadashi couldn't resist shaking his head while chuckling at the sight.
Miki just rolled her eyes before following the lion-like digimon back into the cave. "Come on, you can't possibly like it. Look at you, you're soaking wet!" the girl told Tadashi before he headed back into the cave with her.
"I guess you're right," Tadashi admitted. "So, we'll wait until the storm passes and then travel."
The dark-haired girl just frowned as Coronamon used his fires to dry Tadashi's shirt.
"There, that wasn't so bad," the blond said. "Come on, Miki, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that I'm stuck with you," the dark-haired girl told him point blank. "How come I didn't get stuck with Yuji or Taizou? Heck, bushy brow's partner can turn into a giant blimp and that way we could avoid the weather."
"So, it's not because I'm not the best looking guy on the team?" the blond asked. "You don't like that?"
"Oh, who likes being stuck with a bloated whale like you?" she said with her eyes narrowed in a glare.
"What! How dare you talk to my partner like that!" Coronamon shouted at her.
"Yeah, that was pretty mean," Tadashi told her. "Come on, are looks everything?" When the girl didn't answer, Tadashi decided to say something else. "What would you prefer, the ugly guy who was nice and made sure you had everything you needed and loved you more than anything or a really good-looking guy who beat you at night?"
The girl glared at him. "Oh, come on! Like I would ever get involved with either of them."
"But you see, good looks aren't everything," the blond explained.
"Yeah? Guess what? My dream is to become a model like my mom, okay? Good looks are everything in that field."
"And what's the common stereotype for supermodels?" the blond asked her, hoping to get her to think. "As in mental stereotype?"
The girl had to say he had a point. "They're shallow."
"Right. Okay, what about how they treat others?" Tadashi asked.
"Well, I guess… You know, it just stopped raining so let's get out of here!" she exclaimed, rushing off.
"Wait a second! We're not finished talking!" the blond called out after her. Instead of stopping, she tried to run as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she tripped on a giant tree root. Getting up, she noticed a digimon looking right at her from a distance, a BlackGarurumon. It bolted straight for her and would have gotten her if it weren't for Coronamon unleashing a fireball against him.
"Come on, buster! You pick on somebody your own size!" the lion shouted, eliciting a roar from BlackGarurumon.
"Digivolution Activate!" Tadashi shouted upon arriving.
"Coronamon digivolve to… Firamon!" he shouted, transforming into the larger, winged lion.
The two digimon stared each other down.
###
After detecting the digivice signal, Ed made his way back to the hotel room that he was staying in with the others. The room was kind of trashy with only one bed, peeling wallpaper and the smell of cigarette smoke. Not to mention, there were all sorts of stains on the carpet. "Guys, I think I found something," the black-haired boy told Ayaka as soon as he walked in.
"What was it?" the blond inquired of him.
"He thinks he may have found another Tamer!" Prokyomon exclaimed.
"Yeah, and she was heading straight north," Ed told her. "I'm not sure where she was headed, but we should go after her. I think you should talk to her since you're a girl and you're more experienced than I am with the whole Tamer thing."
The girl was surprised. "What? Right now?" She looked over at Gunter who was on the bed, sleeping. His partner was hanging upside down from the ceiling fan. Ever since waking up, Keramon hasn't said a word.
"I'm not sure if I can," she said.
"Actually, maybe we could have one of the Digimon look after him," Ed suggested. "Like Prokyomon, since there aren't that many domesticated raccoons around and he would probably scare people off."
"Yeah, and I can answer the door if I need to!" the digimon exclaimed, grinning widely. "Come on, what do you say, missy?"
"Well… I guess it's a good idea. We can bring Salamon with us in case," the blond said. "Okay, let's get going. How much money did you make today, by the way?" she inquired.
"A hundred twenty. Not tons and tons, but on top of the two hundred from yesterday, it should work pretty good for a little bit," Ed told her.
"Alright, let's go," Ayaka said. "Remember, Prokyomon, don't let anybody in, okay?"
"This hotel room is as good as sealed, ma'am!" the raccoon exclaimed, giving Ayaka a military salute. Ed had to chuckle at that one.
"Okay, see you later, buddy!" the black-haired boy told him.
###
They followed the digivice signal to a waterpark. Since neither of them had any swimwear, they ran straight to a second-hand store and went into the water park, paying about fifteen dollars per person. Ayaka had to leave Salamon outside since she wasn't a service animal, though, so the dog hid in some nearby bushes.
The two then proceeded to get in and get changed, putting their normal clothes into a twenty-five cent locker. Ed was wearing a black pair of trunks while Ayaka was in a yellow bikini. The two proceeded to walk toward the signal. On the way, Ayaka remembered something.
"Did you remember to bring sunscreen?" she asked.
"You know, I didn't think of it. Crap, I'm white as a sheet and I'm probably going to burn up if we're here too long," the black-haired boy realized. It was then that he wished he had at least some Indian blood so that he wouldn't burn so easily. But he just had to have only ancestors from Europe… He frowned at the thought. At least they were from Southern Europe so that he could tan, though.
Ayaka frowned as well. She hoped that there was at least a place that sold sunscreen there or else the two of them would look like lobsters by the end of the day.
The two continued moving until they reached the signal of the digivice, which turned out to be in a bag. Ed rolled his eyes. He looked around at all of the rides, wondering where the girl was. He had no idea what she even looked like.
Ed took a deep breath and walked off. "Where are you going?"
"Taking a walk. Ask for Abigail if anybody comes, okay?" he requested before continuing on his trek.
###
Abigail was with a couple of her girl-friends and wearing a pink one-piece. The brunette still wore her glasses in between rides but while she was on them, she had to take them off. She loved this water park and wanted to work here for the summer a couple years from now when she could actually apply. Something about it made her happy.
Every so often she would see someone that reminded her of that black-haired boy that she saw on her brother's computer screen, which was weird. She didn't find the chubby boy remotely attractive, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. Maybe it was just the hope that he could help her free her brother from the evil forces that were controlling him.
She frowned at that thought. "Abby, what's wrong?" one of her friends, a girl named Elizabeth asked with a kind smile. She had long hair dyed red and combed to the side and was wearing a yellow bikini.
"I'm just thinking about my brother, that's all," she responded.
"I know, right?" her other friend, a girl of African descent with long, straight black hair tied up in the back of her head said. Her name was Jahara and she was wearing a red bikini. "It's horrible that your brother's gone missing along with some of our friends. I wonder what happened to them."
And the horrible thing was that Abigail knew but she couldn't say what was going on. Nobody would believe her.
They moved forward in line. Just a little more and they'd go into the Pharaoh's Tomb ride. Abby kind of wished that she had a fourth person with them, but that wouldn't be likely.
Then she saw him. He was moving past the line but she recognized him from the video.
"Save my place in line, okay?" she requested of the other girls before going out from under the metal bars. She called out to the black-haired boy. "Hey! You with the black hair! Wait up!"
Ed stopped for a second. Was someone really calling out for him? Nobody knew him. Heck, he didn't even exist in that world. So he waited for a second. "Uh, hi, do I know you?"
The girl was someone attractive but somewhat plain at the same time. "You have a digimon, right?" she asked him and his eyes opened in realization.
"Uh, yeah… You're the Tamer I'm looking for, Abigail Symanski, right?" he asked.
"Yep, that's me!" she said bubbly. Ed couldn't help but see her as cute. This caused him to smile with a bit of an open mouth.
"Good to meet you. I'm Ed." The two of them shook hands.
"So, want to go on the Pharaoh's Tomb ride with us?" she inquired. Ed had to choose between accepting and rejecting the offer. But she grabbed his hand and pulled him along anyway, so he figured he'd accept, grinning the whole time. It's been awhile since he met a girl like this.
"Who's that? Is that Timothy Archuleta?" Elizabeth asked Jahara.
"Are you kidding me? Timothy's a lot younger than that," the black girl responded. "Still, I'd think her taste in guys was a bit better than that."
The bubbly brunette pulled Ed underneath a couple rows of metal bars until she was in line again. "Hey, so this is Ed," Abigail explained to her friends. "He's a friend that's visiting."
"Oh really? So, where are you from?" Jahara asked him.
"I live in Santiago, Chile," Ed answered.
"Really?" Elizabeth asked, surprised that he's from so far away.
"Yeah, my dad lives there. I'm actually from here in the states and I'm visiting for a little bit," the black-haired boy explained as best he could without saying something that would get him put in a mental institution.
"Wow, you've traveled a long ways," Jahara said in awe.
"You have no idea," Ed responded, grinning again.
"So, what brings you to the good old Denver Metropolitan Area? You born here?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, actually I was born in Las Vegas," the black-haired boy told them.
The girls looked confused at that. "The town in New Mexico?" Jahara asked.
"No, the one in Nevada," Ed corrected.
"That place? Wow that would have sucked," Elizabeth replied. "I traveled through there on the way to L.A. one time. It's a small town with only about 100,000 people in it if I remember right."
Ed was shocked at that one. Maybe he should have looked up some info on his place of residence for many years. "I was born in a place called Lancaster, California, though."
"Lancaster!" Jahara exclaimed. "I would love to go there someday."
"You would?" the black haired boy asked in confusion, his eyebrow twitching.
"I mean, come on! Imagine what it would be like going there with all the shows. Not to mention, I've always dreamed of walking down the Lancaster Strip. And then there are all the buffets."
Ed couldn't help but laugh. It would seem that his hometown and the place he grew up switched roles in this universe.
Abigail was somewhat astonished by all the confusion. She would have to ask Ed about it later. As it was, it was time to go on their ride.
###
"Howling Blaster!" Firamon had to dodge a burst of scorching, black flame before he could shoot back.
"Fira Claw!" the lion yelled, slashing across BlackGarurumon's back, scorching the enemy digimon with his burning claws.
"Draining Rain!" Ranamon called out, creating a cloud that sapped the wolf's strength, making it so that Firamon could defeat him more easily.
"Fira Bomb!" Firamon shouted, focusing and creating a fireball that burst forth, impacting with BlackGarurumon and deleting him.
"That was unexpected," Miki said, taking a deep breath. Her heart felt like it could have burst out of her chest that very moment.
"Yeah, no kidding. And this guy didn't even have a dark ring or spiral on him," Tadashi observed. "So, I guess this means we should probably keep moving just in case."
The dark-haired girl nodded. She had to have a bit of courage to say the next thing, though. "By the way, thanks for digivolving your partner so quickly."
Tadashi looked at the girl in surprise at that. "Wow, so this means you might actually like me?" he asked, a grin forming on his face.
"Don't push your luck too much," the girl replied, giving him a glare.
"You know, it's kind of pointless to judge people by what they look like," the blond told her. "I mean, did any of us discriminate against Ed because he's white?"
"Come on, you're half white yourself with those German ancestors of yours," the dark-haired girl said, walking along with her partner. "So, did any of your ancestors support Hitler?"
"I never asked. We don't like talking about him since he was an embarrassment to all Germans," Tadashi told her. "And to be honest, I've never even thought about that. I hope not. Then again, the Japanese supported him as a whole."
"Yeah, even though he was probably going to turn against us as soon as he was done with the rest of the world… What a jerk. I'm glad we don't have to deal with anybody like him." Miki crossed her arms.
"No kidding. I mean, we have to deal with despots, it's just that none of them are genocidal. Can you imagine anybody attempting that against digimon?" Tadashi asked, continuing the conversation.
"To be honest, yeah. There are plenty of nutjobs out there who want to nuke the digital world," the girl explained. "Not that any of them will do it, mind you."
"I hope not. Can you imagine facing an enemy like that, one that we would actually have to kill?" Tadashi looked down. "At least with Digimon they have a second chance so it's not like we really kill them."
"I never thought of it that way," Miki admitted. "Oh, and to add to earlier, I can't imagine any girl falling for someone with a similar body type to yours."
Tadashi shook his head. It was going to be hard to get her past that.
###
Ed was having the time of his life. True, it was supposed to be a simple mission of finding Abby and then going off to fight the Emperor, but at least he could forget about everything for a few minutes.
"So, for this ride, you're going to have to hold on real tight," the brunette said with a smile as the chubby boy strengthened his grip. Then the attendant pushed the boat with the two of them on it down the slide. Pretty soon the two of them were wet and screaming and not out of fear either.
After about a minute, the two of them reached the bottom. It was then that Ed was starting to feel the sun a bit much. "Hey, so, do you by any chance have any sunblock on you?"
"Yeah, it's back at my chair. You need some?" the girl asked rather cheerfully.
Ed nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Blame it on my European heritage, I guess."
The girl was taken aback by that. "What is your ancestry, anyway?" she inquired.
"Well, my dad's pretty much a Spaniard whose family's been in the Americas for a hundred years, of Galician and Basque decent. My mom's half Italian, a quarter Spanish and a quarter Lebanese. I'm quite the mixture." The black-haired boy gave a bit of a goofy smile.
"Yeah? Well, I'm half Polish and half a bunch of other things. I think I'm like one-eighth Norwegian, though, if I remember right," Abigail explained, thinking about her ancestors. "So, you're not, like, part Indian, huh?"
Ed shook his head. "No, but some days I wish I had the advantage of a slightly darker shade of skin so I wouldn't burn quite so easily." The duo headed back to the girls' seating followed from the distance by Elizabeth and Jahara.
"So, you think those two might turn into an item?" Jahara joked.
"They do seem to be spending an awful lot of time talking to each other today," Elizabeth replied. "To be honest, they seem like a good match." Then the two of them heard Abigail laugh at something that Ed said. "Yeah, they're definitely a good match."
"You're right. I haven't seen Abby so happy ever since all her friends disappeared along with her brother," the black girl commented. "At least he lives in Chile so that means they can take it slow. There's just one thing bothering me: where's everyone that he came here with like his dad?"
"How do you know he came with his dad? For all we know he's visiting his mom," the red-head asked.
"That does seem a little suspicious," Jahara said.
###
Ayaka was starting to get a little irritated with Ed. First, he walks off and leaves her behind for an hour without any sort of sunscreen. The girl really wanted the black-haired boy to come back.
And then he sees him, which gave her partial relief until she saw that he was walking with a girl. Who the heck did he think he was talking to a girl when they were on an important mission? At least Salamon found a way in to keep her company.
Still, the blonde couldn't help but glare as Ed walked toward her. The black-haired boy didn't have any idea what this girl was thinking. "Hey, Ayaka, I found our other Tamer," he told her.
"Really?" the girl asked scornfully before realizing that he was right. Abby decided to hold her hand out in a handshake.
"The name's Abigail but you can call me Abby if you want," the girl greeted as she shook Ayaka's hand.
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," the blond said.
"Whoa, is this your girlfriend, Ed?" a black girl that Ayaka definitely didn't know asked.
"No, we're just friends. This is Ayaka and she's from Japan," the black-haired boy explained.
"It's good to meet you," a red-head greeted, shaking Ayaka's hand. "My name's Elizabeth and this is Jahara."
"Wow, that's a pretty name," the blonde commented.
"Thank you," Jahara responded in a bit of a Southern drawl. "So, what brings you here in the states?"
"Oh, I'm just visiting, that's all," Ayaka told her.
"Wow, what a cute puppy!" Elizabeth commented upon seeing Salamon, who somehow made it in. "I didn't know they allowed dogs in the park."
That's not a dog, Ayaka thought but didn't say, trying her best not to frown at Abigail's friends.
"So, how about lunch?" Abby asked the rest of the group, trying to prevent the blonde Japanese girl from getting any angrier at seeing her partner get attention from two girls she doesn't know. As it was, it seemed like Salamon was soaking it up for all it was worth.
###
Deep in the digital world, the Emperor just received reports from some of his digimon. They had apparently detected some sort of symbol etched into a wall somewhere in the vast deserts. He would have to look at that later. Now, though, he wanted to focus on three of the Tamers that he lost, namely the ones that went to the real world.
Just then, the dark digidestined's computer started to beep, indicating that he had a message from an ally in another world. He pressed a button and a far more menacing figure wearing a black outfit that consisted of a long cape and a mask that covered most of his face and extend upwards, ending in points. The figure had barely visible black hair behind the top of the mask.
"Ah, my fellow Emperor, what have I done to deserve your presence?" Emperor David asked in obvious flattery.
"I just received your status report. It is deeply troubling," the second Emperor responded in an extremely guttural voice. "These Digidestined that appeared out of nowhere with D-Arcs are allies of my greatest enemies."
"Is that the case?" David inquired.
"You must destroy them at all costs, otherwise they could turn the tide of my war toward Takato's forces," the second emperor told him.
"I have two of them in confinement. There are also two more that are stranded in this world. I've made sure I posted Ultimates at each of the televisions near where they were last seen, so you shouldn't have to worry about them going to my world." David smiled.
"Still, there are those that are now in your world. What are you going to do about them, huh?" the second Emperor asked, not pulling any punches.
The local Emperor gave him a slight grin. "I was working on that. Don't worry. From what I heard from their allies that are in my prison, none of them can reach Ultimate so I'll send an Ultimate after them after finding where they were at."
"Good to hear. Now, I need to get back to my war," the second Emperor responded, severing the connection.
"And you never bother to say goodbye?" David asked, rolling his eyes and bringing up a map of his home city. "Let's see, where are you, Eduardo? Hmm… You're cohorting with my sister, I see. It's time to put an end to that. I've always been protective of her." He smiled maliciously as he opened a gate to the real world from one of the pens holding Ultimate-level digimon.
"Go get them, Megadramon," he ordered, frowning angrily. "Just don't hurt my sister or else."
###
Just after finishing lunch, Abby decided to ask Ed some more questions. "So, how come you have a different digivice than I do?"
"Well, I think that's partially because I'm not really from this world," the black-haired boy finally admitted, surprising the bespectacled brunette.
"You mean, like the digital world?"
"More like another real world. You see, where I'm from, my mom's home country is separated from Argentina, and my dad's home country doesn't rule over Bolivia, Gran Colombia broke up in the early nineteenth century, the US only has fifty states and Las Vegas is a tourist trap with a population of over a million." He smiled at her.
"Sounds crazy," the girl responded. "So, which states aren't states in your world? Alaska and Hawaii?"
"No, Puerto Rico and Guam," Ed responded. "I think Puerto Rico tries to come into the union every so often, but I haven't heard anything about Guam."
The brunette nodded, a pensive look on her face. The black-haired boy was surprised that she accepted everything so quickly. Then again, maybe she was just playing along with him, though that didn't seem like something she would do. "So, do you exist here?"
Ed shook his head. "As far as I know, no. It's really weird, too."
"I bet," Abigail replied. "Well, if you need any help here, let me know."
"Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to help us take down the Emperor. I have an idea that just might work," Ed responded.
"Like what?" the girl asked. "We already tried going straight to the Emperor's base but it didn't work and he ended up defeating us all. The only reason why I was spared is because I was his sister."
Ed nodded. "Actually, I was thinking of going to the…" His speech was interrupted when the group noticed a large whirlpool appear in the sky. "…Oh, crap," he said real quickly.
Then a digimon started to appear through the whirlpool. Ayaka was astonished at the sight of Megadramon.
"Abby, do you have your partner?" the blonde asked.
"No, she's at home. Can you reach Ultimate?" Abby asked.
Ayaka shook her head. She all the sudden felt nervous as the large, winged dragon emerged completely. She was going to have to take this enemy on all by herself and she definitely wasn't ready.
It was time she faced her fears and used courage.
###
A/N: Well, there you have it. Five guesses as to what happens next.
Anyway, yeah, there's some interesting info in this chapter about the other world that they're in now. I thought it was a bit of a letdown with this one fic that involves dimensional travel that it never went into what made the two worlds different. This one does. The Second Emperor's world is even more different.
And on the setting: At first I considered having it take in Canada, namely Toronto, but then I changed it to Cleveland for some reason. And then I decided to have it take place in the Denver Metro Area, particularly the areas of Lakewood (where Abigail lives) and Westminster (the location of the water park, Water World). The reason for this is that I actually know the city a little since I kind of live by it (though, 200 miles away is kind of stretching the meaning of 'by it'). And I have friends there. I even namedropped one of them. Also, one of Abby's friends is named after a girl whose comments I see on Facebook every so often, kind of…Then there's Jahara, which is actually a name I stole from a white girl I knew in real life at one point. It just kind of fit.