The Digital Edda
Book One
The Dark World
Chapter Three
Black Gatomon's overnight recovery had surprised none the next morning. After shuffling into the apartment's kitchenette, Kari found him and Gatomon outside on the adjacent, alcove balcony that overlooked the main street. She peered through the closed slider and saw they sat shoulder to shoulder, backs towards her, their tails vining over one another. Black Gatomon's tail lacked a Holy Ring. Yolei and Hawkmon were sitting at the dining table, reading sections of the morning's newspaper. They exchanged their good mornings as Kari rummaged through the fridge for an orange juice and the pantry for pop-tarts.
"You sleep well?" Yolei inquired, setting the paper aside when Kari sat in the empty seat next to her.
Kari nodded. She kept her eyes on the cats outside on the balcony, dipping her head in their direction. "When did they...?"
The youngest Inoue followed her gaze. "Around the same time early bird over there woke up," she answered, eyes tipping towards Hawkmon. "Been out on the patio ever since."
"Sunrise, actually," Hawkmon added.
Curious, Kari cracked the seal on her orange juice. She wondered what they were talking about. Last night seemed like the obvious subject, but the way Gatomon's tail sashayed against his or how close their whiskers almost touched made her think differently. Gatomon possessed a special knack for small talk, even if she was unaware of it. Kari watched her through the sliding glass door as she ate breakfast.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Yolei asked, as if reading Kari's mind. She propped her elbows on the table taking a drag of her iced-coffee from a straw.
Hawkmon clicked his beak. "It sounded like an interrogation earlier," he said, collecting the newspaper and stowing it on the counter. "Couldn't make heads or tails of it, but Gatomon was certainly asking the questions." He followed their gaze out the slider. "But that was a few hours ago. Neither of them have ate or drank anything."
Hearing an excuse, Kari smiled. "Then let's get them some breakfast." She said.
A cold, late-summer morning greeted Kari as she stepped onto the balcony. Morning traffic and the sounds of the distant city pervaded the quiet. Below, Kari could see a rainbow of uniforms flowing through the Inoue convenient store; taxi drivers in their plaid button-down shirts, UPS drivers in their cardboard browns, Fed Ex and their plumb ensembles, and the blazing blue of the amazon drivers. She settled into a vacant chair, setting the food and drinks on the table. Despite the smell of ozone and fuel, the flow of civilization felt lethargic, even entrancing.
Gatomon turned towards her partner and smiled. "Look who's finally awake," she said.
Kari opened a pop-tart pack offering her a piece. "Usually, I'm the one waking you up."
"Well, our company had other plans," she inclined her head towards her black counterpart. "He's quite the chatter box."
The chatter box rolled his eyes, giving her a sidelong glance. Even in the indirect sunlight the gold in his irises shone. "I ask to use the restroom and she came at me like I owed her catnip," he retorted. Taking an offered piece from Kari's open palm, Black Gatomon stuffed it in his mouth and began chewing. "Almost died a second time," he said, mouth full. Gatomon shot him a half-lidded frown.
"Feeling better?" Kari asked, scratching between his ears.
Black Gatomon thrust his belly out in reply, patting his unblemished fur coat where his wound had been the night before. "Like a freshly minted coin." He beamed.
She opened an orange juice, offering him the straw. "You want to talk about what happened last night?"
He nodded. "Now that the excitement is over, allow me to introduce myself, I am Black Gatomon," The black cat announced, making a sweeping bow towards Kari. "The viral version of Gatomon."
Black Gatomon was, in all respects, a literal copy of Gatomon. His coal-black fur stood complimented the deep purple accents—almost navy in color—along the his ears and on the striping down his tail, which ended in the same tuft as the original. He wore gloves of the same purple with red lightning bolt patterns. Standing, shoulders touching, Black Gatomon stood an inch taller, and appeared less rounded around the belly. But his most striking feature lay in his eyes. They were a solid gold, deep and mesmerizing to behold, something Kari imagined Gatomon would notice almost immediately.
"And I'm your second partner, Kari," he finished.
Gatomon noticed Kari's confusion and waved away her question, "Later," she muttered. "It's weird."
Yolei produced her D-Terminal from her pants pocket and began typing. "Partner for what, exactly?"
"In short, the Dark Ocean," Gatomon answered.
Yolei stopped. She looked up at both cats. "Seriously?" she said, sounding more incredulous than insulting.
"Remember our fight against Daemon?" The white cat said. Everyone nodded. "Well, the tear Ken made still exists. Its weakening the barrier between our worlds." Gatomon continued, "Whatever chaos is happening in the Dark Ocean is spilling into ours." None said a word. Like a stenographer, Yolei kept typing. "So it's up to us to fix it." She settled on Black Gatomon. "Did I get it right?"
"That's the meat of it, aye," he confirmed.
Hawkmon tapped his wing against his beak. "So the Changeling was from the Dark Ocean, but it wasn't a digimon?"
"That's the complicated bit," Black Gatomon replied. He grimaced scratching the back of his head. "It'd be best to explain with everyone present."
"Which is why I suggested he should wait until Wizardmon's Bon, if we're still celebrating it." Gatomon added.
Kari eyes widened, surprised. The excitement of the night before had made her forget about their ritual tradition completely. "Of course we are, Gatomon. But, are you sure you want that?"
Her partner of six years nodded, confident. "Everyone's going to be there this year, so it's the perfect time for a team huddle," she said. "It'll be just like old times." Her gaze met Kari's. "Besides, I'd think he'd like that."
Kari plucked her from the railing and hugged her in both arms, smiling. "I think he would too."
Yolei continued hammering on her D-Terminal to the point Hawkmon gave a cursory, curious lean-in. She looked up, adjusting her wire glasses further up her nose. "You're right. I completely forgot about that." She looked down at Hawkmon, who shrank under the sudden goal-hungry look his partner had. "We've got to prep. Snacks, sandwiches—the coolers!" she declared, rising from her seat. "Come on, Hawkmon." She grabbed her hapless partner and charged into the kitchenette, deeper into the apartment.
Gatomon watched them go. "Well, I guess the day's started."
"Great!" Black Gatomon crowed. "What's on the agenda?"
Kari opened her mouth to speak, but shut it upon smelling her breath. Frowning, she audibly sniffed again, detecting the rank of dried sweat emanating from her tee. The same tee, she realized, that she had worn underneath her Kimono, which had been in the hamper two days before, when she convinced herself none would notice if she wore it again with enough perfume.
"First," she announced, "A shower and a change of clothes. Then," Kari stood. Both cats hopped on either of her shoulders, steadying themselves in a perch. "We'll spend the day getting to know each other."
"Sounds good, right partner?" Gatomon added, verbally winking at her doppelganger.
Black Gatomon looked at her square. "Perfectly clear, angel." he said, grinning a sly, knowing smile.
Gatomon's expression furrowed. One of her proverbial buttons had been pushed. Kari sighed, remembering Hawkmon's words earlier at the kitchen table. She remembered the countless times Gatomon and Agumon had butted heads over the smallest issue and wondered, as she could hear the two personalities on her shoulders start bickering, if Black Gatomon would end up the same way.
…
"I am your digimon partner, Kari." Black Gatomon said. Gatomon glared at him from across the bed. "Second, partner." he clarified.
Kari sat beside him on the edge of her bed. Her D-Three confirmed his statement. His name had appeared underneath Gatomon's sometime between the present and last night, though she struggled believing it. "Did Gennai send you?" Black Gatomon shook his head. "How did this happen?" Questions bubbled to the surface of her mind. "What does this have to do with the thing that attacked us last night?"
Gatomon made her way to Kari's other side, resting a paw on her leg. "It's your light, Kari." she said. "It was drawn to you, like those Scubamon were drawn to you."
A weight began forming in Kari's gut. "What makes me so special? What about Tai or Matt or TK or the others?" Kari asked, despite already knowing the answer.
Both digital cats exchanged pensive glances. "Your light," Black Gatomon repeated, "It didn't come from some flimsy crest or that digivice in your hand." He pushed it from her palm onto the bed with little resistance. "It wasn't created in a lab. Your light," he said, pointing at her heart. "Comes from within you, and you alone."
"You heal, Kari," Gatomon added. "I've seen it. You lifted the Numemon up when they were enslaved to WaruMonzaemon, and the creatures of the Dark Ocean literally dragged you into their to make you their queen."
Queen Kari. Kari shivered against an unflinching cold rolling down her back. She had accepted the scenario it would return, but hearing the title in her mind dredged up the memories; cold sunlight, tasting the brine and rust on the wind, and the ocean spray, like a sandblaster, coarse and jagged. Her digimon hugged her arms as another shiver ran its course. Kari knew, in order to banish this dread, she had to return and resolve whatever waited for her there. She wished Takeru was sitting beside her.
"Your light is powerful." Black Gatomon emphasized. "Like, ridiculously powerful. Enough to mend the barrier between two worlds or bring order to one in chaos."
The realization hit Kari, hard. "We have to go back, don't we?" She looked down at Black Gatomon, who confirmed her question by looking away. "Back to the Dark Ocean." she mumbled. She leaned back, flopping onto her bed.
Gatomon slowly appeared in her vision from left. Worry creased her brow. "We won't be alone this time, Kari. Takeru, your brother, Gennai, everyone will be coming with you. Black Gatomon knows how to get there, right?" She asked. Even though Kari couldn't see her face, she knew was giving her counterpart a contemptible glare.
"O-of course," he sputtered out. Black Gatomon appeared in Kari's vision from her right. Worry also dominated his expression, but his attention focused on Gatomon. "But, it might not be as crowded."
The white cat hissed, startling Kari upright. "What?" Gatomon threatened. "You told me Gennai and the others could help her."
The black cat cowered behind his human partner, tucking behind her arm. His ears canted back against his head. "I lied, a little," Black Gatomon stated. "An omission—" His admission made Gatomon angrier. The feline's growl deepened, her claws brandishing towards him. The single thing keeping her from lunging was Kari's hand on her forehead. "For—for good reason. Just hear me out." Black Gatomon pleaded. After a tense moment, Gatomon relented. She stopped hissing, but fixed him with another brutal stare down. "The 'others' I was referring to wasn't the DigiDestined." he said, "They're here, in the Real World, somewhere nearby."
"Someone else?" Kari piqued. "Like us?"
Black Gatomon shook his head. He looked up at her, the cogs in his mind searching for the right words. "They're digital beings. Powerful. Like you, Kari." he said.
Gatomon folded her arms. Her tail lashed on the bedspread behind Kari, Holy Ring thumping the mattress like a fist. "What nonsense. Where were these powerful beings when Myotismon invaded the real world, or when Daemon attacked?" The black cat shrugged. "If they're real, Gennai would've told us years ago."
Whatever fear of reprisal Gatomon imposed had vanished as an amused snort escaped Black Gatomon's lips. "What does he know?" Her growling response forced him to continue, "Look, I'll prove it." he said, pointing his paw at her. "All we have to do is wait for another Dark World creature to appear. They'll definitely come running to get rid of it."
Kari, throwing caution away, swept the two cats into her arms and on her lap into a hug. The mood shifted. They relaxed, but glared at each other. The human girl mentally rolled her eyes, lamenting her long, defining history of breaking up fights in her house. "We'll find out, eventually. Until then, let's try to be civil and enjoy the day." The cats looked away, noses turned, folding their arms. Kari sighed, defeated.