Mrs. Asaji nervously fluttered up and down her little apartment, her flower-patterned boots never touching the floor. She always did this when she was agitated.
"Oh, what are we going to do, what are we going to do?" she muttered to herself. "I thought we would have finally seen the last of such dangerous creatures, but now this madman did not only threaten us with a powerful Digimon... it just has to be one of the Seven Demon Lords! Oh, we are done for..."
She bit her fingernails. "Maybe... maybe we should move to my sister for a while... at least until the danger is over. I mean, what if this Yamacus decides to come back?"
She shook her head. "But what about the children? I know their parents will probably do the reasonable and leave town, but... what if not? I can't run away like a cowardly Doggymon, knowing that my students might be in danger..."
She glanced over to the room of her little daughter. "But Kei... she is still so small... I have to bring at least her to safety. But how am I supposed to make it clear to such a young child that she is supposed to leave town, while her mother stays back? Oooooh, what am I going to do...?"
The young child in question was meanwhile sitting on her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and potted flowers, and groaned. How was she supposed to make it clear to her new 'mother' that she understood very well what she had just said... and more important, how was she supposed to point out that she could help end all of this, just by sitting at the computer standing in Takato's room?
Kai had always felt envious that Takato and his friends were the ones that always could take action and save the day. He had even considered creating a Hybrid form for himself as well. The only two things that kept him from doing so were the fact that he would turn at least one of his parents into a Digimon... and his sense of duty. He had known that he was the only active Game Master after Takato turned himself into a Hybrid.
But now? Now her situation was even worse, and she was stuck in a toddler's playroom, in a little girl's body on top of that, and had to deal with a mother that would never understand how her little daughter could support the Hybrid Tamers by just pressing a few buttons.
Still, she had to try it.
So she resisted the horrible urge to play with her toy blocks, spit the leaf out she had been suckling on and hopped over to where her 'mother' was making a fuss.
"M-mom?" she squeaked in her tiny voice.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" the Lillymon asked with worry. "Are you scared? Did that big evil Digimon in the sky scare my lil' sprout? Aww, don't be scared... mommy is here!"
"Mom!" Kei protested and squirmed out of her grasp. "This is serious! I have something important to tell you!"
Mrs. Asaji couldn't help but chuckle. Aw, that was too cute! Her little girl was trying to act all serious like a grown-up... "What's the matter, Kei? You can tell mommy everything!"
Kei took a deep breath. "Mom... I have to go and help Takato."
"Now, don't be silly, Kei! Takato is a big boy and knows what he is doing... although I don't really approve of it..." she added under her breath. She sighed. "Never mind, I am not his mother and can't tell him what to do. And he and his friends DID save us that one time. But still, sweetie... I'm sure Takato would appreciate your help, but he's way too busy to take care of you now!"
"You don't understand!" Kei protested with a whine. "It's his computer... I can support them by putting the right commands into their game. I KNOW I can do it this time! I have to!"
"Kei, you are not old enough to use a computer yet!" her mother said sternly. "Maybe I'll buy you one when you're older. For now, play with your plushies! Don't you love your plushies? Come, show me again what you did to Mr. Pandamon-Teddy yesterday..."
Kei groaned. It was no use. The only way she talked to her was in baby-talk...
"Mom, at least let me talk to Takato! Give him a call and let me talk to him! There's something really, really important I have to tell him!"
"Kei, if I do that, you'll drop the phone again..." Mrs. Asaji sighed. Sometimes being a single mother was a hard job indeed...
'It's no use!' Kei thought desperately. 'If at least I knew what Takato and the others are doing right now... Well, knowing them, they are already on Yamacus' trail...'
----
Meanwhile, near the edge of town...
"Your father did what?" Takato asked in surprise.
"He forbade me to go with you guys!" Kitsumon snarled. Under normal circumstances, she preferred her human form, but right now, she was full of fury... and somehow, her Digimon form felt more suited for this kind of mood.
Terriermon nervously backed off when he saw her bare her fangs. "W-well, what do you think will he do? He's protecting the mayor, right?"
"Not anymore," Kitsumon grumbled. "He told Mom something about a secret mission before he left... that was right before he ordered us to stay home like 'good little girls'." She huffed. "As if HE could order me around..."
"My Dad told me that the Demon Lords were never products of his or his colleagues' work, so he's wondering how they came to be," Harmony spoke up.
"You think it has something to do with the Digi-Gnomes?" Cubmon asked. "Until now, they were mostly the source of the majority of unnatural phenomenons in the Digital World..."
"They might be..." Harmony shrugged "But there are other possibilities Dad wants to check out before we can sure of it. Until then, we should concentrate on keeping them and Yamacus from causing harm to innocent bystanders."
"What are you saying? We just digivolve to Mega and kick their butts, easy as that!" Guilmon exclaimed.
"That's one possibility," Renamon nodded. "But we also should think of a few backup plans, just in case... Takato, did your cousin already come up with a plan how he can help Yamacus?"
Takato looked at the yellow-furred vixen in confusion. "My cousin? Who are you talking about?"
"Remember Kai? That cousin!" Kitsumon snapped angrily. "Now spit it out, did he find a way? I sure hope for his sake that he is sitting at your computer at the moment and is busy."
Takato looked at Jeri and Harmony, and they shrugged.
"Rika, who are you talking about?" Harmony asked. "If we want to use the RPG Maker, you know very well that only Eiko and Kei can use it right now... and I doubt their parents would let them out of the house after they saw Belphemon."
"I'm not talking about that immature brat Eiko," Kitsumon muttered. "I'm talking about your cousin, Kai!"
"Kei?" Takato frowned. "Kei is not my cousin, she is my teacher's daughter. Rika, are you feeling fine?"
"Oh no..." Kitsumon groaned. She felt a headache coming her way. "Not that again!"
Renamon sighed. "I think we might just get used to that feeling, Rika..." She turned to their friends. "It's obvious that either you nor we know what we are talking about. Could it be that someone made a change with the game that we weren't aware of?"
"A change?" Takato asked and scratched his head. "But who could have made such a change?"
----
Kei was getting restless. "Mom, if you don't let me go, I'll... I'll climb out my window!"
"Honey, what are you saying? Do you have a fever? Don't scare Mommy like that!"
"I'm serious!" Kei said with a frown. "I don't think you would understand everything, but I know I can help. But to do that, I must get to Takato's place. And I'll do it, without your help or not."
Mrs. Asaji gasped. There was a... glint in her daughter's eyes, which she had never seen before. A glint of determination and seriousness, accompanied by a maturity in her voice that scared her even more than her earlier words.
Could she... could her daughter be one of these rare cases of rapid evolution, where the Digimon's In-Training form was already as mentally developed as a Rookie?
"Kei..." she murmured. She reached out for her daughter. "Please, whatever is happening... you have to stay here! It's too dangerous out there. Your body is still so weak and vulnerable... Even a Rookie would be able to defend itself... but be reasonable, what could you do? You're only a little baby... my baby..." Tears were streaming down her face.
Kei winced. "Mom, I... I know this is hard for you to accept, but I am not a baby anymore! I can take care of myself, and I want to help Takato and the others. I must go!"
"NO!" her mother cried and hugged her. "I won't let you!!"
"BUT I HAVE TO!" Kei shouted, and at the same time, her body was glowing.
Her mother gasped in surprise and let go of her.
"TANEMON DIGIVOLVES TO... PALMON!"
Mrs. Asaji looked at her daughter in surprise. She had grown... She wasn't just a tiny In-Training Digimon anymore, she was a Rookie.
Kei looked down at her green arms and felt the flower on top of her head. She then gave her mother a smile. Although Mrs. Asaji wasn't originally her mother, she had grown to like the kind woman in the short time she had lived as her daughter.
"I'm sorry for any worries you'll have... but I just want to help my friends! Can you understand that?"
Lillymon stood up from the ground and looked down at her daughter. "Oh Kei..." she sobbed. And then she hugged the young Palmon. "Your flower... it is so beautiful!" She smiled, although her face was still teary. "One day, you will be just as pretty as your Mommy..." She sniffed. "I don't really understand everything, but it seems we need a bigger bed for you..." She gave her daughter another hug and then let go, gesturing at the door. "Go already... go help your friends! I still say it is too dangerous... but that never kept Takato and his friends. And now look what they did to us... Maybe you are making the right decision, just like them... and maybe your mother is just a bit too scared. But please, honey, promise me one thing..."
"What is it?" Kei asked and hugged her new mother back. She almost felt her vine-fingers extending themselves, so she could hug the grown-up Lillymon better. God, now she had to get used to yet another new body...
"Please, Kei... make sure that nothing happens to you! As soon as you see an evil Digimon... hide, or run away! Always look left and right before crossing the street and..." She sniffed again. "Don't talk to strangers. Be polite when you talk to Mrs. Matsuki... and tell her I sent you. Maybe she'll understand. Now, go, my big girl!" She looked very proud.
Kei let go of her and ran over to the door. Before leaving, she turned around one final time and waved good-bye to her mother. "Don't worry, Mom... I'll be back for dinner! I promise!"
And having said that, she opened the door all by herself and left.
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(Posted Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:11)
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