A/N: Whoo! It's good to be back! If anybody is still around who has been following my story up till now, welcome back, and I am sorry for the unfortunate (but necessary) hiatus. We're finally ready to embark onto part 2! I can't tell you how good that feels. This will be the largest of the three parts by far, and could even be considered as divided up into two or three segments of its own. Whereas Part 1 only took place in the span of a few weeks (and mostly just the first week post-LEK), this one will cover a much greater time span, with multiple time jumps. There is also a sort od double meaning with this part's title, as will become clear in time. With that said, I sincerely hope that you all enjoy it, and feel like it has been worth the wait!
PART II – UNBOUND
Chapter 13 – Back to the Beginning
Within hours of Tai's broadcast, our message became the most watched video on the planet. Copies popped up all over social media; major news networks picked up the story and ran with it, analyzing every statement, deconstructing and sensationalizing it as much as they could, and as a result, much of what they reported was often wrong. But however the information got out, in the end our message was received by virtually all of the Digidestined around the world within a few days.
People were fascinated by the news. It was all anyone could talk about for weeks, and it seemed like everyone had questions. Poor Izzy got the worst of it as one of the few Digidestined commonly known to the general public; several times when he would go to interviews to promote his company, the interviewer would only be interested in asking him about digimon instead. Kari and I got really good at sneaking around to avoid reporters, but we couldn't escape the curious looks and whispers we would get at our respective schools. Our classmates and professors knew we were Digidestined, after all. Most of them were very kind and sympathetic, but we just wished to be treated normally and were uncomfortable with all the extra attention.
My parents, both of whom had careers in media, did what they could to keep the members of our team from being hounded all the time. My mother was especially helpful in this regard. She formally interviewed me, Tai, and several others from our team for her blog, and allowed us to set the record straight in our own words and to answer lots of common questions.
Before long, there was a name for Digidestined who have lost their partner digimon: in the East, they became known as "Tachizuna," a combination of two Japanese words "tachikiru," meaning "to sever", and "kizuna", or "bonds"; but in the West, they were referred to as the "Un-bonded", or simply, "Unbound."
—Excerpt from Our Digimon Adventures: Vol. 4, by Takeru Takaishi.
United Nations Detention Unit – The Hague, Netherlands.
October 3, 2010 – 10:06am
When Tai next visited Menoa, he was dressed a little less business and a little more casual. That wasn't to say he didn't look "nice", but he had forgone the suit for some dark-wash jeans and a red-orange button-up shirt. It didn't seem necessary to him for a walk through a prison ward, regardless of what Izzy thought, and his personality still had yet to adjust to wearing such formal attire. Plus it clashed with his tennis shoes, as others had previously pointed out. I really do need to buy some good dress shoes, Tai told himself for the umpteenth time, but I've got more important things to spend my money on right now—like food and rent. He did wear his goggles on his forehead, however; whenever he made a public appearance on official Digidestined business, he felt it appropriate to wear them. It seemed to be the thing people recognized most about him, like a personal trademark of sorts.
He kept the document granting him access tucked visibly into his breast pocket this time, not wanting any more close calls with the soldiers guarding the facility. He traveled down the now-familiar white hallway, but as he approached Menoa's cell he was surprised to find neither Sergeant Groeneveld nor Corporal Klaasen, but two new soldiers blocking his path.
"That's far enough," warned the guard on the right.
Tai stopped in his tracks a good six feet from the guards. These two appeared closer in age to one another than the former pair, both looking to be in their early thirties. However, the one on the left was female, and the one on the right had more intricately-decorated epaulets and a larger cluster of service bars pinned to his chest. Because of this, Tai judged him to be the higher-ranking officer. The woman stood at about Tai's height, had her dark hair pulled into a bun beneath her cap, and had a hard (though not cruel) face; she possessed a rather stocky and muscled figure for a woman, but it suited her well, as did the army dress uniform that she seemed born to wear. The man was taller, and could have passed as Groeneveld's younger brother, so similar in build and general demeanor were they, though this one was clean-shaven, and the silver tint to his close-cropped hair gave a greater impression of age than what his more youthful face betrayed.
"What happened to Sergeant Groeneveld and Corporal Klaasen?", Tai queried.
"They are currently on leave," said the man. "We are covering this post for the time being. I am Warrant Officer Matheus, and this is Corporal Schriever."
Tai reached for the folded piece of paper in his shirt pocket. "Well, I am—"
"We know who you are, sir," the woman interrupted. "You're Tai Kamiya, here to see Menoa Bellucci." At Tai's look of confusion, she added, "Sergeant Groeneveld informed us you might come." Neither one of them made a move to take the proffered slip of paper; apparently they didn't think it was necessary.
"Oh," Tai blurted, hesitantly stuffing it back in his pocket. "Yeah."
"All right, Kamiya. Same rules as last time," Matheus said gruffly. Then he banged on the steel door twice, and roared, "Bellucci! I hope you're decent in there, you've got a visitor!" Then he pressed a button in the wall, which unlocked the cell with an electric buzz, and opened the door.
"Shouldn't we wait a second, in case she—?" Tai began, but was ushered hastily through the opening by the guards before the door closed again.
While Tai tried to adjust to the abrupt change in lighting, he heard movement from the far corner.
"Tai, you came back!" Menoa exclaimed. Her face was first to emerge from the gloom as she came near to him, and her eyes held a peculiar glint that was difficult to identify. Excitement, or perhaps relief? Then she seemed to check herself and paused. "Nice to see you again."
"It's nice to see you, too. Sorry I haven't been by sooner. I've been really busy."
"Oh, no worries," she replied, "Me too. In fact, I barely even have time to see you right now." The corners of her mouth turned up in a subtle smirk.
"O-oh," Tai said hesitantly, confused. "Do you want me to come back some other—?"
"I was kidding, Tai," Menoa interrupted gently.
"Oh." Tai dipped his head, feeling silly for not catching her sarcasm, and chuckled quietly. "Right."
Menoa returned to her cot and sat down. "Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself comfortable. I'd offer you a seat, but...well, you know."
"I think I can manage," Tai answered, finding a spot on the floor across from her to sit down.
"So, what brings you here, Tai Kamiya?"
Tai shrugged. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Are they treating you all right?"
Menoa inhaled deeply and sighed, "Oh, it's really not all that bad here—that is, apart from the solitary confinement in a small dark room with nothing to do for twenty-three hours a day. If not for that, it would almost be like summer camp."
Tai's mouth twitched. "Somehow I get the feeling that your idea of summer camp and mine are very different."
Menoa inclined her head as if to grant his point. "Anyway, they let me out for an hour a day to use the gym down the hall if I want to, so that's nice. It's got plenty of weight machines—more than I know what to do with, in fact. Sometimes they'll even let me outside to walk the grounds and soak in some sunshine. But I've never seen any of the other inmates; I think they have us all on a rotation so there's never more than one person out of their cell at one time. And the food is surprisingly decent, actually. I won't starve anytime soon, at least."
Tai gave her a piercing stare. "And how are you?", he asked.
She held his gaze steadily for a few moments until something gave way internally, and she seemed to deflate as she allowed her facade of nonchalance fade away. "What is today's date?"
Tai checked his phone. "October 3rd. Why?"
Menoa exhaled heavily. "Morphomon's birthday is coming up." At Tai's quizzical look, she explained, "I always called the day she appeared to me her 'birthday'. I know digimon don't have birthdays as such, unless you were to go by when they hatched from a digi-egg. We would celebrate it every year by going to the county fair. We'd ride the Ferris Wheel together and I would always get the biggest roll of cotton candy I could find for us to share. That was her favorite treat, cotton candy. She loved it more than anything." Menoa's eyes took on a faraway look as she smiled fondly at the memory.
Tai leaned his head against the wall of the cell, thinking of his own memories with his partner. "Agumon's was watermelon. It was one of the first things he tasted when we got back to the Real World, and he fell in love with it right away."
Menoa chuckled. "That's a funny food for a dinosaur."
"Well it's not like he was picky," Tai continued. "He had an insatiable appetite—even by digimon standards—and would gobble up anything that was remotely edible. He even liked some of my mom's cooking, and that's dangerous! Izzy could tell you stories…"
Tai trailed off. They were both laughing at his anecdote, but it petered out as reality came to encroach back into their minds, and suddenly the dark emptiness of the cell felt oppressive and sad.
"I miss him," Tai breathed, barely above a whisper.
"I know," came Menoa's soft reply. She looked on him with such sympathy that Tai couldn't help but feel a deep sense of camaraderie with her. She understood exactly what he was going through, he realized—at least as much as Matt and Sora, and perhaps more. Perhaps she understood even more than he himself did, for she has been down this path for far longer than any of them. What am I doing, Tai thought suddenly, moping to her, of all people?
"I'm sorry," he said. "I've no right to say anything, not compared to what you've gone through."
"No, no," replied Menoa quickly, shaking her head. "Never apologize for the pain you feel. My experiences don't make yours any less real. It's okay to hurt."
"Y-yeah. Okay." Tai answered. They sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. Then: "Hey, tell me something, Menoa."
"What is it?"
"You talking about Morphomon's birthday reminded me of something I've been wondering about for a while now. You said you two met when you were nine years old, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," she affirmed.
"So that would have been...what, 1997?"
"Yes, on October 7th. Why?"
"That doesn't make any sense. That would make you an original Digidestined—maybe even the original Digidestined. We always thought we were the first, but we didn't meet our partners until almost two years later. And we were chosen to save the Digital World. Why were you chosen so much earlier than we were?"
"I suppose that is strange," she acknowledged. "I'm afraid I can't say. Morphomon never spoke much about where she came from, and I've never even been to the Digital World."
Then a new thought occurred to Tai. "All the Digidestined who have been chosen—at least, all the ones that I'm aware of—were chosen because of some sort of encounter that they had with digimon beforehand. The eight original members of our team witnessed a battle between two digimon in our hometown when we were younger, and we were chosen because we were the only ones who were able to see them. It seems that everyone else became Digidestined because of some exposure they had due to one of the conflicts that have taken place since, like everyone that saw the battle with Omnimon and Diaboromon on the internet, for example. Did you ever see a digimon before Morphomon appeared to you, and if so, what happened?"
Menoa didn't answer for a long moment. Then she gave a small amused smile and said, "You know, I still remember being struck by the bravery of a small boy as I watched him protecting his sister from a pair of monsters fighting in the street. When I came to Izzy's office to meet you all, I was curious to see if you had changed. I recognized you immediately, and I should have known then that you hadn't changed at all."
Tai gaped in open astonishment. "You mean...you were there?! At Highton View Terrace?"
Menoa nodded. "Small world, huh?"
"But—but how?"
"My father is a farmer, and he took my mom and I with him to some agricultural conference that was held in Tokyo in '95. We were staying at a hotel in Highton View Terrace the night of the supposed 'terrorist attack'. I watched the entire thing from the balcony. No one believed me when I told them what I saw, and I all but forgot it for a long time. Even after Morphomon came to me I didn't connect the two events until years later. And I didn't know other Digidestined besides me existed until I moved to New York."
Tai shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. This is crazy. You were there, and this whole time we had another original Digidestined! I wonder why you were never sent to the Digital World with the rest of us?"
Menoa shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe I was never meant to be a Digidestined."
"No," Tai answered authoritatively. "I don't believe that."
Menoa turned away with another shrug, as if she didn't care what he believed. "Suit yourself."
Something else Menoa had said registered with Tai for the first time. "Wait a sec. You didn't even know there were other Digidestined until you started your research?"
"Yes. I thought I was alone. Then imagine my surprise when, right on the heels of losing Morphomon, that I discovered there were hundreds of other kids around the world with digimon partners. It only twisted the knife further into the wound. I felt somehow even more alone: instead of being the only one, now I was the only one out of a special group of people who was no longer special. No one else had lost their digimon, so why did I have to lose mine? It didn't seem fair."
"That must have been terrible."
"I hated you," Menoa confessed in a small voice, unable to look him in the eye. "All of you. I was so bitter that you all got to grow up with your partners, but I had to grow up all alone. Until, through the course of my research I found the connection between a partner's bond and growing to adulthood: that in order to become an adult you had to leave your childh0od behind, and that meant leaving digimon behind. I learned that the hard way; I did it to myself by choosing to grow up too soon, and realized I had no one to blame but myself for Morphomon's disappearance. Then I felt sorry for all of you when I realized every Digidestined would face that same pain one day—I just happened to get there ahead of schedule. That was when I began working on finding a way to prevent it from happening to anyone else. And so Eosmon was born."
Tai nodded thoughtfully as he followed along, hand on chin. "But I still don't understand how you went so long without hearing about other Digidestined. Big things had happened by then, things that the whole world heard about, and were documented on blog posts and news sites all over the internet—the battle of Odaiba, the fight with Diaboromon, all kinds of stuff."
Menoa gave a derisive laugh. "I grew up in the sticks of rural Oklahoma, Tai. The nearest city was twenty miles away; plus, it was the '90s. We weren't exactly known for our great internet access back then. And things that happened on the other side of the world didn't make the news very much, except for how it might affect the local crops."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Tai conceded. Menoa's description of her hometown reminded him of Shimane, where Matt and T.K.'s grandmother lived. He thought back to how difficult it was for them to get access to a computer during the battle with Diaboromon.
As if Menoa could read his mind, she added, "Of course, since then I've caught up on everything I've missed. Your fight on the internet made for thrilling viewing, by the way. It took me a long time to track down a video of it, as the world's governments have tried hard to bury many of the details. I still can't believe how close we came to a technological Armageddon—not to mention nuclear war—if not for the efforts of you and your team."
"Yeah. It was a nail-biter, that's for sure," agreed Tai. "But we've had lots of other fights that were just as close as that one."
"I believe it. Like whatever happened on New Year's Eve, 2002. All I've been able to find about that incident was something involving a digimon trying to cover the Real World in darkness."
Tai nodded gravely. "MaloMyotismon," he growled. "That was the first time Digidestined all over the world came together in a united force against evil."
"Sounds like a fascinating tale."
"Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime."
Menoa smiled. "I'd like that."
The conversation halted briefly and gave way to a pause that, while not awkward, was not entirely comfortable either.
Suddenly Tai flinched as if he'd been stung. "Oh, I forgot!" he exclaimed, pulling out his phone. "I have something to show you." He came and sat on the cot beside Menoa and pulled INDICON up on his web browser. He pressed a tab from the drop-down menu and it took him to a new page. "I had Izzy add this to INDICON recently; it just went live a few days ago." Tai handed her the phone.
At the top of the page was a heading that said:
MEMORIAL WALL
A Tribute to the Partners of Those Digidestined Whose Bonds Have Been Broken.
Always in Our Hearts, You Shall Never be Forgotten.
Underneath it was a photo gallery, and foremost among the pictures was an image of Morphomon, the one her mother had taken of the two of them on the swing together, laughing and happy, with Morphomon sitting in her lap. Menoa's breath caught in her throat.
"Morphomon…"
She felt Tai's light touch on her shoulder. "Now everyone will know about your partner and how much she means to you," he said gently. "You're not alone anymore."
Menoa wiped her eyes. After Morphomon were portraits of Biyomon, Agumon, and Gabumon, which were followed by six others she didn't recognize. She guessed they belonged to the other unbound Digidestined Tai had mentioned during his last visit.
"I had to take the picture from among the data Yolei recovered from your computer lab in New York. I hope you don't mind."
"It's perfect. Thank you, Tai."
Tai rambled on, "I know it'll most likely be a while before you have access to a computer again, but once you're free Izzy can make a special account for you, if you like."
Once you're free. The words crashed around her like falling china. And in a sudden burst of clarity, everything hit Menoa all at once. His naiveté. What she was doing. And how she might cause him even more pain.
She got up, setting the phone down, and strode to the opposite side of the cell, her back to him and arms folded across her chest to ward off a sudden chill.
"Menoa?" Tai asked uncertainly. "Is everything okay?"
"Tai," Menoa called in a deliberate and guarded voice, "exactly how long did you expect me to be kept prisoner here?"
Tai waved his hands in a vague gesture. "I don't know. A few months, maybe? Hopefully not years. But I really have no idea. I was going to ask if you had heard anything."
Menoa put her hand to her face and scoffed. "Right. Think, Tai. Look at where we are! This isn't some small-time detention center for juvenile delinquents. I'm in the most exclusive prison in the world, a place set aside for genocidal dictators and war criminals! You don't get sent here for petty thievery or traffic violations. Did you think I would spend a few weeks behind bars and get out of here with just a slap on the wrist?!"
Tai scowled. "I wasn't trying to make light of what you've done—"
"I abducted hundreds of people, Tai! From sixty-two sovereign nations around the globe! The United Nations asked for me by name after my arrest, and the FBI handed me over to them without a word of protest! The U.S. would never give up one of its own citizens unless they had done something truly unforgivable!"
"I know that!" said Tai, standing with clenched fists. "I'm aware of how serious this is."
"I'm not sure you do," Menoa replied, her anger melting away to expose the despondency underneath.
Tai furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
"I...I think it was a mistake to ask you here. You should go home, Tai. Forget about me."
"You know I can't do that," Tai protested.
"What is this, some sort of hero complex?!" Menoa spat venomously. "Is this all a game to you? Do you get your kicks by thinking you can just swoop in, rescue the damsel, and everything will be fine? This is real life, Tai! And you can't save everyone!"
"MAY-!" Tai started to yell, then cut his outburst short and cast a furtive look at the door. Forcing himself to grow calmer so as to not provoke the guards, he expelled a harsh breath before continuing in a low determined growl, "Maybe not. But I can damn sure try. You're Digidestined. One of us. And I can't turn my back on you now."
"You keep saying that, but I've never been one of you! I'm nobody! I'm just a little girl too smart for her own good, who received a digimon partner by mistake and wasted any potential she had to do anything good with it! I didn't deserve to be Morphomon's partner! I deserve this…"
Tai approached her, closing the distance between them until they stood less than a foot apart, and he studied her face with an intense scrutiny. "You know something, don't you? What aren't you telling me?"
Menoa returned to her cot and sat leaning forward with elbows on knees. Tai would not be dissuaded, and her resolve was rapidly weakening. She sighed in defeat, wiped her eyes again, and pulled her hair back and away from her face. "Two days ago, I got a visit from the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court. What she had to say wasn't exactly encouraging."
Tai crouched down in front of her so he could continue to look her in the eye. "Tell me everything."
Menoa turned at the creak of the cell door opening, and a tall, lithe figure slipped into the room before the door shut. High heels clack-clacked over the concrete floor as a woman approached. She wore a pencil skirt with a white blouse beneath a black suit jacket custom-tailored to her slim frame, her dark hair confined in a tight ponytail suspended high over the back of her head, and a pair of eyeglasses with small rectangular lenses perched low over her sharply-pointed nose.
"Ah, Miss Bellucci," the woman said with artificial politeness, "nice to finally meet you." She stuck out her hand, long fingers extended straight like a blade that seemed as sharp and dangerous as everything else about her.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Menoa asked warily, making no move to shake her hand.
"My name is Irina Drukhovich; I'm with the Office of the Prosecutor."
"Shouldn't I have a lawyer present before speaking to you?"
The woman let out a bark of laughter. "Don't worry, I'm not here to try to wring a confession out of you—at least not yet. In any case, you may be provided with an attorney, or you are welcome to procure your own legal representation should you so choose, but seeing as neither have happened at present, I decided to come visit you as I did not think you'd want to wait that long to get an update on the proceedings. Obviously, there will be a trial—though the specifics of the charges have yet to be decided, and we are still gathering evidence for our case."
"It's been six weeks, and you still can't agree on what I'm to be charged with?" Menoa cried incredulously. "Then shouldn't you just let me go?"
"There is a lot of material to go through. It is clear that the majority of the charges will be some type of kidnapping, but…" Ms. Drukhovich removed her glasses and folded them into the breast pocket of her jacket. "To be blunt, Miss Bellucci, you have posed quite a problem for us in that there is no precedent for the crime you have committed. No law exists for what you have done."
"You're not making a very good case for keeping me in here," Menoa observed dryly.
"There is no law against it because no one thought it was possible!" Drukhovich snapped in agitation, a hint of a Russian accent slipping through her otherwise perfect English. "But it is clearly wrong, and a violation of human rights across the planet. What you did was not just simple kidnapping: you separated the consciousnesses of over two thousand people from their bodies against their will, holding them captive in another world while leaving their bodies vulnerable. And should that have continued, they all would have surely died. This is a complex crime made moreso by the lack of clear legislation regarding it, or established punitive measures for such an act. This is uncharted legal territory, Miss Bellucci. That is why no formal charges have been made yet."
"So you came here just to tell me that you can't decide on anything?"
A malicious smile crawled up Drukhovich's face. "Not exactly. While there may be some debate as to the precise wording of your alleged crime, this actually provides an enormous level of freedom for the prosecution, and as far as what the proposed sentencing may be, the sky is the limit. We could put you away for...ten years, let's say. Twenty years, life in prison...even the death penalty could be on the table."
Menoa's eyes widened. She had guessed that may be a possibility, but it was still a shock to have it confirmed, and Drukhovich seemed to derive pleasure out of telling her of her possible fates.
"I am here to inform you of the gravity of the situation in which you have found yourself," Drukhovich went on. "And taking into account the sheer magnitude of your crime and the mortal peril in which you placed your many victims, I believe one of the greater penalties is more likely to be what is meted out. I will certainly advocate for them. I suggest you appropriate some wise counsel for yourself, Miss Bellucci. You are sure to need it."
Without taking her eyes off of Menoa, Drukhovich retreated to the cell door and knocked on it twice. The door opened, and the cell flooded with light. Drukhovich paused in the doorway for a moment, a featureless black silhouette like an angel of death. "Good day, Miss Bellucci," she said brightly, "I'll see you in court!" Then she stepped out of the cell and the door was bolted shut.
The color had drained from Tai's face by the time Menoa was finished. "Maybe she's bluffing," he said. "She said she's with the Prosecution, right? She might just be saying that to scare you. You can't believe anything she says."
But Menoa shook her head. "No," she said slowly. "I think she's telling the truth, Tai. I've been thinking along the same lines; this just confirms what I already suspected." She looked up at him and couldn't hide the panic in her eyes. "I don't think I'm ever getting out of here, Tai."
Tai grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Don't say that, Menoa, that's crazy talk! You're gonna get out of here somehow! I'll help you."
"How? What can you do?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "Whatever I can."
Menoa shut her eyes. She knew she shouldn't let him involve himself any further. In a moment of weakness, she had asked Tai to visit her, but it would be cruel to allow him to form a friendship with a person condemned. Yet she was terrified to be alone, and there was no one else to turn to. She was drowning in a sea of despair, and he was the only one throwing out a lifeline. Did she have the strength to throw it back so that she wouldn't pull him down with her? She knelt there, poised in indecision, when the door opened and the amber light spilled in from the hall.
"Come on out, Kamiya," Matheus ordered. "You've been in there long enough."
Tai stood upright and turned to go somewhat reluctantly. "Hang in there, Menoa. I'll be back soon," he promised.
"Tai!" Menoa called out, hating herself.
He looked back to her questioningly.
"I'm sorry. You've done so much for me already, and I hate to ask any more of you."
"What is it?" Tai encouraged.
"If...If you can, would you check on my parents for me? I haven't been able to contact them at all since I was extradited, and I know they're worried. Please. Just tell them I'm all right."
Tai nodded. "You got it."
"Thank you."
He stepped backwards through the door, and they shared one final look before a steel barrier separated them once again.
A/N: You may be thinking, "Really? Another chapter about Tai visiting Menoa? Did we really need this?" I know it may not look like much, but this does really start a big shift to the plot going forward. And I want to reassure readers that though Tai has been getting a lot of attention up till now—and will a little into the future—this isn't going to be just the "Tai-and-Matt show" (like the Adventure reboot was, *cough cough*). Pretty soon he'll take a back seat and we'll focus much more heavily on the other characters. The main reason he's been in the spotlight so far largely has to do with having to wrap up unresolved threads from LEK, which was super Tai-centric.
I had a few modest goals for this chapter: first, to give a quick update as to the state of things after our heroes broke the news of the breaking of bonds to the world, and I felt a little except from a future novel of T.K.'s would work nicely. Back before I'd ever written a word of this story and when I was still tossing ideas around in my head of what it was going to be, I briefly considered writing the entire fic from T.K.'s perspective as one of his novels. But as cool of an idea as it was, I felt it would be too restrictive for what I wanted to accomplish; I thought it better to sprinkle little bits of his series here and there instead, so there will likely be a few more scattered excerpts throughout the fic before the end. I also wanted to explore—and at least partially explain—one small detail from LEK that I couldn't make sense of: how Menoa fit into the timeline. She said she met Morphomon when she was nine, and lost her when she was fourteen; she is twenty-two during LEK, meaning she and Tai are the same age. But Tai was eleven when he met Koromon, which means she became a Digidestined long before any of them! And her bond was broken at some point around the time of Zero Two. It may be a bit convenient, but the only explanation I could come up with was that maybe she was at Highton View Terrace the night the others were chosen, and just received her partner earlier for some reason. Why she was chosen is still a mystery at present.
And lastly, to bring up the subject of Menoa's impending trial, and the possible fates she may face as a result. Things aren't looking too bright for her right now, that's for sure. And of course, the big burning question on everyone's minds is: who will be next to lose their partner? Send me a cooment and let me know who you think it will be!
A little housekeeping note, I will probably let this (and each subsequent chapter) sit for two or three weeks before I upload the next one. This will allow me time to do any final polishing up or spelling/grammatical correction, and I hope to also go back through some old chapters and fix a few minor things that have been bugging me for a while now. Not so much that it would require re-reading, but it's been so long that you might want to do it anyway as a recap. Also, I'm not gonna make a big deal out of this or beg, but if you're reading this fic, please leave a review with your thoughts about what you liked—or didn't like—about it. I've only received one review for the last two chapters from two years ago, and I thought I added enough thought-provoking material to warrant some discussion. Half the reason I'm writing this is to engage with other fans and speculate about the future of the Digidestined.
Digimon episodes referenced: s1 ep. 21, "Home Away from Home", s1 ep. 29, "Return to Highton View Terrace"/ the 1st segment of Digimon: the movie, "Our War Game" (the 2nd part of Digimon: the movie), s2 eps 49-50 "The Last Temptation of the Digidestined - A Million Points of Light".
Next time on Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution—Chapter 14. Wise Counsel.
