Grim Reality
Chapter Five- Controlled Chaos
Day Four
Beeda Facility- Recreation Area- 11:00 AM
If there was a major rivalry between two shows, somebody forgot to inform
the two main characters.
“You can’t make it from there!” Tai joked as Ash prepared a shot from almost
half-court. Tai ate his words as the basketball sunk through the hoop. Ash let
out his trademark laugh as Tai grabbed the ball and smiled. “Lucky shit. Is
this how you win all your matches?”
“Not anymore. I’m catching up to you!” Ash smiled as Tai tried to repeat the shot, only to fail miserably. A friendly game of ball was exactly what Ash needed to take away the anxiety surrounding his upcoming match against Kazu. In three hours, he’d be putting his life on the line.
“You doing okay, Ash? I mean, with your match and all?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I mean, I guess I have to go in there and do what I have to do, right?”
“I know what you mean. I don’t know if I should try to remember or try to forget that this is life and death we’re talking about.”
“Yeah. I’ve trained myself to not be afraid of losing, so I’m not too worried." Ash paused. "But losing my friends bothers me.”
“What bothers me even more is that I’m not as concerned as I should be.” Tai sighed. “I mean- Joe, Cody, Yolei… they’re gone. I have a lot of trouble coming to grips with that. It’s like it’s all not real.” Tai put up a shot, which hit the rim. The bounced off it and headed towards Ash.
Ash nodded as he caught the ball. “Maybe it’s because of all that stuff you went through in the Digital World. It’s like one of those stupid video games- you’re desensitized to it all.”
“Yeah. But the biggest problem is that we can’t do anything about it.”
Ash prepared to take a shot, then stopped and looked at Tai. “Why not?”
Tai stopped for a second and thought about it. It’s not something he had considered before. “What do you mean? What can we do? They have cameras everywhere, this place is completely sealed off from the outside world… and even if we could get out, we have no idea where the heck we are.”
Ash took his shot, and missed. “I don’t know. Just a thought.”
“It’s a good one. In all of
these reality things so far those AA guys keep making it seem like they’re in
control of everything and that they know what they’re doing. Here… well they
don’t know what they’re doing… maybe they don’t have control either.” After
five series, the Animation Alliance had done much to present themselves as authority
figures. They “controlled the game,” and the characters had grown accustomed to
being the players. Since there wasn’t any harm being done, it wasn’t a problem.
Now, harm was being done, but the idea of trying to take this company down was
still pretty radical.
Tai put the idea on standby. It was something to consider later on. It wasn’t something to dwell on this minute. The only digi-destined in the line of fire was TK, and he was looking forward to his match with Gary. Tai would have to think about it that night, as himself, Matt, and Ken were up to bat the next day. For now, Tai focused on one thing- getting back into the lead after Ash’s miracle shot tied it up. He aimed and set up…
“What’s going on over here?” Sora’s voice completely disrupted Tai’s train of thought and the ball flew over the backboard. Sora retrieved it.
“Tai- the goal is to put it in the basket.” Ash turned to Sora. “Hey Sora.”
“Hi Ash. What are you two playing? Horse? Pig?” Sora passed the ball to Tai.
“Okonomiyaki,” The boys replied simultaneously.
“The more letters, the better.” Tai smiled.
“If anyone asks, this’ll settle that stupid rivalry our shows are supposed to have.” Ash said, then made a shot.
“Isn’t that the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard? Mike was talking to me about it yesterday. I can’t believe people are falling for that nonsense.” Tai made a basket from the same spot Ash did. He turned to Sora. “So where’s Matt?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him today.”
“You have to get a leash on him,” Ash commented. Instead of smiling, Sora just nodded.
“Is something wrong Sora?” Tai immediately picked up something amiss.
“What do you mean? Everything’s wrong.”
Tai looked down, quite solemn. “Right. I’m trying not to dwell on it too much. We don’t have our Digimon with us, so there’s not much we can do. But if we start moping around and feeling sorry for ourselves, then we really don’t have a chance.”
“What difference does it make? All of our friends are being killed. Even if one of us did win, they’d be as bad off as anybody. They’d have to live with the guilt that they were the only one to get out of this… that’s almost worse than dying.”
“Yeah… but they get a wish,” Tai pointed out.
“Tai! How can you say that?! Nothing can replace our friends!” Sora was obviously upset at Tai’s response.
“Exactly- that’s why we wish for our friends. One of us has to win so we can wish to have our friends back.” Tai acted like he had the idea that would save society. Sora and Ash, however, were skeptical.
“Can they do that?” Ash asked.
“I… I don’t know.” Tai looked down. “But it has to be worth asking. They wouldn’t say we could have anything unless they had the means to provide it.”
“But Tai… once you’re dead, you’re dead. There’s no coming back.”
“Look Ash, it’s a long shot, but it’s the only chance we have right now. We have to make sure that whoever wins this is going to do the right thing and not wish for something stupid like being a Pokémon master or something.”
Ash blinked at what appeared to be an accusation. “Don’t look at me. I wasn’t going to.”
Tai turned towards Ash. “You weren’t? Why not?”
“This isn’t how you’re supposed to do it. I want to make it through hard work and determination.”
“Well, the way I see it- this thing’s a lot harder than any Johto league. If you can get through this… you’ve earned it.” Ash nodded. Tai shook his head. “But that’s not my point! You still have to wish to get everybody back.”
Now Ash was confused, “Aw… would you make up your mind?!”
While Ash and Tai tried to make sense of the exchange, Sora looked around. She immediately felt sick to her stomach. She saw something unimaginable. Something worse than any harsh game that any company could come up with. And it was heading her way.
Tai immediately picked up on it. “Hey Sora? What is it?”
“Oh my God…” Sora said, obviously in shock, “I found Matt…” Tai looked at where Sora was staring. His response was almost the same.
Ash looked at it and tilted his head. “I don’t see what the big deal is… Tracey and Matt are talking to each other- What’s the problem?”
“Man, you’ve done everything!" Matt shouted, "I can see why Sora liked you so much!” The “little island fling” between Sora and Tracey was always coming back in mysterious ways. Now, it provided the common ground needed for Matt and Tracey to become fast friends.
“Hey, it’s nice to know she’s
in good hands,” Tracey replied. For him, it wasn’t about Sora
dating Matt. It was about Sora not dating Tai.
“I was beginning to think
that you were pissed at me because I got closer to Sora
than you ever will.”
Tracey’s words were prophetic. He saw right through Tai. Tracey had been
around long enough to know when a guy had a thing for a girl. Tai had feelings
for Sora- that was clear. But Sora
was smart enough to know that she was too good for Tai. Matt was a good choice,
but somebody as clueless as Tai deserved to be forever pining after Sora. Tracey still bore some romantic feelings for Sora, but he knew he was out of the running and had
accepted that fact years ago. Tai on the other hand,
was still in dreamland. But since he was too stupid to make a move, he would
never be more than friends with the girl he loved.
Matt and Tracey walked up to the threesome on the basketball court. “Hi honey!” They said in unison.
Sora smiled, a little embarrassed. “So you two are friends now… that’s nice. Are you boys having fun talking behind my back?”
“You bet we are! Tracey here’s pretty cool!” Matt smiled.
“And it’s really nice to get caught up on what you’ve been up to!” Tracey flashed the same smile.
Sora sweatdropped. “How much have you been telling each other?”
“Everything! I mean the part about your bedroom life was very interesting.”
“Matt!! What were you telling him?!” Sora was almost fuming, but Matt was able to bear it without fear of mallet shot.
Tracey explained, “Don’t worry, Matt was surprisingly honest. Frankly, I find your policy of abstinence very inspiring. I’m actually proud of you.”
“Oh...” Sora replied, “You were actually honest about it.”
“Well… I call it abstinence…” Tracey was smug, “Matt calls it ‘not getting any.’”
Ash watched as the conversation took a more intimate turn and looked over towards Tai, who was trying to keep from being totally disgusted at the idea. “Hey Tai… what are they talking about?”
Tai looked at Ash and smiled. Finally- a way to change the subject. He coughed, signaling the attention of the trio. “Excuse me- there are children present.”
“Yeah!” Matt was also looking for a way out of the conversation, which was sure to turn against him in due time. Maybe Ash not having a clue about sex carried some advantages. Matt turned towards his savior. “So Ash, who are you up against today?”
“Kazu,” Ash said, looking up at Tai, “Know anything about him that may help?”
“Why would I? He’s a Tamer. Totally separate group.”
“I find that very amusing. You guys and Tamers are considered separate shows,” Tracey mused, “I mean it’s the same plot- you go into the Digital World, Leomon dies, you save the world, you get out.”
“Leomon dies?” Sora asked.
“Yeah… I’ve been watching that series once in awhile at Professor Oak’s. That episode with Leomon hasn’t aired in Pallet Town yet, but I have a friend who told me what happens. Little bastard’s always spoiling it for me.”
“I mean… isn’t Leomon Jeri’s partner?”
Tracey smiled. “Yeah. Doesn’t that suck?”
Sora looked down, trying to contemplate it. First off, the idea of someone losing her partner Digimon was bad. Secondly… “My first match might be against Jeri.”
“How do you know?” Tai asked.
“Matt’s been trying to figure who I was going to get matched up with. I’ll probably have to face either Jeri, Shampoo, or Misty.”
Tai smiled. “Speaking of Misty, where is the little fireball?”
“She’s going to be James’s second when he loses to Tenchi,” Ash deadpanned, “She’s buying into that whole rivalry kick.” Ash turned to Tai, “I blame that on you and your stupid crush.”
“Me? Why?!”
“Ash is right,” Tracey added, “Misty and Matt got off the wrong foot, but you were friends with her. But you had to start getting all touchy-feely with her. I’m not at all surprised that she’d have something against Digimon.” Tracey smiled. “What do you see in Misty, anyway?”
Tai glared at Tracey. Their little rivalry was slowly returning to its former glory. “I don’t know. It just happened.”
Tracey's mouth curled into a smile. “Here’s my theory- Tai has a thing for redheads.”
Tai continued to stare at Tracey. Tai knew what that meant- Tracey was playing wolf in sheep’s clothing. Immediately, Tai made the connection that Tracey was implying. Somehow Tracey knew.
While Tai’s mind raced through the possible implications of Tracey knowing about his feelings for Sora, Ash calmly responded in a natural manner. Natural, that is, to Ash- “That doesn’t make any sense. During Mole, Tai was always staring at Naru’s chest. He wasn’t staring at her hair.” Matt and Sora burst into laughter.
Neither Tai nor Tracey responded. They continued to stare each other down. Tai’s love for Sora was valuable information, and Tracey was in a perfect position to raise some serious hell. All he had to do was open his mouth.
Sora had noticed the staring contest. They were all friends now, but given her and Tracey’s history and Matt’s new friendship with Tracey, things were very volatile. One false move and everything would be nuts. She decided to make sure to keep out of it this time. She walked up to Ash. “Come on Ash, if Misty’s going to be James’s second, you’ll just need another redhead to be yours.” Matt laughed as Sora put an arm around Ash’s shoulder and walked off with him. Matt joined them, put an arm around Sora’s shoulder, and the three headed off to watch the first match.
Kohler Complex- Control
Room- 11:45 AM
The only way to keep your mind off something distressing was to keep your
mind busy with something else. For Barb, the something distressing was Tenchi’s match. With no other viable options, he had no
choice but to defeat James and remain in the game. That wasn’t going to be
difficult for Tenchi and his sword. The something else to
keep her mind busy- eavesdropping. However, one of Tracey’s remarks did
catch her attention. She turned to Manny and said, “Hey Manny- we may have another
problem with show knowledge. Tracey’s seen Tamers.”
Manny shook his head. “Damn. We’ve been trying to do something about that since Mole. Unfortunately, we can’t control it. If a character from one show has seen episodes of a different show, the best we can do is tell them not to give anything important away.”
Mike walked up. “That may be a problem anyway. That could be a major advantage if they knew who they were dealing with. Especially here- a lot of the contestants have seen Ranma; most of the Tamers have seen Adventure. And after Pokéball Run, Kari totally got into Fushigi Yuugi.”
“Really?”
“Yep. After meeting Nakago, she wanted to figure out where the hell he was coming from. Ending up going otaku for the entire series. I don’t know- something about a seemingly normal girl getting thrown into a world ruled by four gods and having to save it with the help of seven weirdoes… I guess she can relate. Point is- she’s totally into the series. Heck, she brought her DVD box set in case she needed to figure anybody out in Shougai.”
Manny whistled. “Now that’s a luxury item. Do they even have a DVD player at Beeda?”
“Hell, they’re in all the rooms. I spared no expense for the lodging.”
Before Manny and Mike could elaborate on how totally messed up things could get, Tom entered, mired in thought.
“Hey Wallace, what did the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High want?” Manny asked. It was the only reason he was in here- to see the outcome of Tom’s meeting with Kuno.
“He wants his manservant as his second. Kuno can’t trust his sister, can’t convince Akane, and can’t find the pig-tailed girl. Therefore- he wants Sasuke to come in,” Tom simply stated the facts- it was clear that he was thinking about it.
“Jeez, another one. We should have put something out saying that seconds could only be contestants still in the game.”
Tom came to a conclusion, “Actually Manny… Kuno might be onto something. Think about it- when we get down to the final four, there probably won’t be many contestants left to be seconds. At that time, we should tell them to select somebody from outside to come in and be their second for the remainder of the game. It’s a good way to keep their spirits up down the stretch.”
“What about now?”
“Now… why not? We didn’t say they couldn’t. It’s just that nobody asked us.”
“Actually… that’s not true.” Manny scratched the back of his neck. “A couple days ago, Gary requested that his girlfriend be his second.”
This caught Barb's interest. “Gary has a girlfriend? They never said that in the series.”
“That’s because the series is neither about Gary nor about romance. She’s not really his girlfriend. Just one of his old cheerleaders that obviously likes him in that way. Gary kinda fired them all a couple years ago. Broke her heart. He said he was trying to make up for it here. Quite the soap opera if you ask me- very fun to watch.”
“Sounds like something out of a bad fanfic,” Tom muttered.
“Yeah but here, it’s actually taking place. We just haven’t explored it in the series.”
“Well, if Gary requested it, we might as well. I’ll put in a call to Tim. What’s her name, he’ll need it to retrieve her.”
Manny pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, “Let’s see… June Maplesap.”
“Right. Better head out, match starts in five,” Tom said. Manny nodded and walked out. Tom headed over to a phone and called Tim, “Tim- we need to retrieve a couple people. Write this down- Sasuke Sarugakure and June Maplesap.”
Arena- 12:00 PM
Tenchi held out his sword. He was here for one reason- to put a stop to it.
And yet, the best strategy Barb could come up with was just to play along for
now. To make sure nobody suspected him. To be no better than
anybody else. To take a life.
Weezing offered up a sludge attack to try to impede Tenchi’s progress towards James. It didn’t matter. Tenchi lashed out with his sword. The resulting wind gust was more than enough to send James flying into the outer ring. Tenchi could only sigh in relief that Misty wasn’t knocked in as well. He had won the match… and he couldn’t feel any worse.
Beeda
Facility- Lab Area- 12:30 PM
Show names would have been nice… Sasuke Sarugakure and June Maplesap.
Tim scanned the computer’s database- a list of all anime characters available
for retrieval at the time. At least only the seven shows involved were
available. Tim found the first name wedged in between Sasami
and Soi. Tim scrolled up and looked for the second
name. Just as he found it, he heard the sound every technician dreads-
something breaking. He instinctively looked to his right. It wasn’t just
something- the McKormick Reaper was shooting off some
steam where it obviously wasn’t supposed to. That… was a problem. Tim quickly
finished up on the computer, and began the retrieval.
His heart was pounding as he got the panel off the thing to take a look inside. If it was something serious, there would be huge implications. Matches would have to stop immediately, and it could be forever before James was revived. Tim frantically looked around for the source of the trouble. He found it… it was just a loose bolt. Tim sighed in relief, grabbed a wrench, and tightened it. He replaced the panel and wiped some sweat off his forehead. The problem was solved, and he didn’t even have to kick it.
The most exciting part of the day was over before he could even enjoy it. He took another glance at the computer to ensure that the retrieval process had gone through correctly. It had- of course. The two listed names were already at the complex. It was then that Tim noticed it. After double-checking it, there was no doubt… this day was going to get a lot more interesting.
“Oh… shit.”
Kohler Complex- Arrival
Room- 12:45 PM
Jun Motomiya looked around. The room was
completely white, save for the two grayish tubes behind her. Those
and the height-impaired ninja standing next to her. He was carrying a
pair of kendo sticks and approached the door ahead. Although he too was
slightly confused regarding the situation, Sasuke
opened the door and motioned for Jun to go through first. “Oh, after you,” he
said politely. Jun quietly nodded and walked out.
This new room was much larger, much more colorful, and had a few more people in it. Many were checking out a large board positioned on the wall. A guy dressed in blue pajamas walked up to the ninja and asked “There you are Sasuke. Did you bring the balance of my collection?”
“Yes I did Master Kuno. You’ll be prepared for all possibilities.” Sasuke held out the sticks. Kuno nodded.
“Of course- the Blue Thunder must be ready for any situation. Come now Sasuke- my battle awaits.” Kuno and Sasuke walked off. Jun just sighed and sat down. What was going on?
It wasn’t long before another conversation approached her. This time, it was two guys. The black-haired one said to the young blond, “How did this happen?”
“I told you, something came up with the McKormick and I kinda rushed this.” Tom glared at Tim. “I fixed it! Don’t worry!”
“I’m more worried about referring to the McKormick in the vicinity of the listening public.”
“Sorry. But that one name you gave me wasn’t in the database.”
Tom shook his head. “Shit… her name must not have been given in the series. We’ll have to get Manny to ID a photo.” Tom opened up the door to the booth.
“Chichiri can’t be counted out though- his ability to teleport will certainly…” Manny was already introducing the next match. Tom shut the door.
“Crap, they’ve started," Tom muttered, "Tim- as soon as the match is over, get in there and get Manny to help you find the right June. I’ll try to deal with the wrong one.” Tim stood in place as Tom approached Jun. “Miss Motomiya. Greetings.” Jun quietly stood up. She was frightened more than anything. “Jun, I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here and what’s going on. You see, there’s been a… clerical error.”
“What do you mean clerical error? I was just sitting at home, taking care of Otamamon, and I get zapped…”
“Hold on… Otamamon? You aren’t a digi-destined.”
“Of course I am…” Jun pulled a digivice from her purse. “Everybody is.”
“Oh yeah…” Tom never thought of that, but shook off the thought. “Anyway, Jun. You aren’t supposed to be here. We were trying to summon somebody else and Tim, our resident incompetent technician...”
Before Tom could finish, his cell phone rang. He quickly answered it. “Yeah?”
“Tom, the next match is about to start. You’d better get back here,” Barb said on the other end.
Tom looked at Jun. As problematic as her presence was, she’d have to wait. “I’ll be right there,” he told Barb. He hung up and turned to Jun. “I have to go do something. I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes. Just wait here.” Tom rushed off. Jun could only sit and wait. She did so, but more out of fear than out of Tom’s instruction.
Arena- 1:05 PM
There was no rivalry, no buildup, and no reason for either of these two to
dislike each other. Nonetheless, Kuno and Chichiri were putting on a decent show. Chichiri
wasn’t a fan of violence, but Kuno took the offensive
early. Chichiri did put up a strong defense- his
teleportation abilities caught Kuno off guard on
several occasions.
“How are you holding up Chichiri?” Miaka, as Chichiri’s second, could only sit on the sidelines and make sure he was okay.
Chichiri was quite pre-occupied with dodging Kuno’s attacks. In between swipes, he let out, “I’ve… been… better… na… no… da.” Chichiri threw his hat to the ground and jumped into it, disappearing from view.
“Come out you coward!” Kuno shouted.
“Master- behind you!” Sasuke saw the hat reappear behind Kuno. Kuno, without looking, thrust his kendo stick over his shoulder… just as Chichiri arrived in the same spot. Kuno turned around to see a dizzy monk trying to get his bearings back after taking a blow on the head. Kuno used his stick to push Chichiri forward, and towards the pit.
“Da…” Chichiri did what he could, but stumbled in. Another foe defeated at the hands of Tatewaki Kuno.
Reception Room- 1:20 PM
He saw her out of the corner of his eye. She was trying to make sense of the
standings board. But it was definitely her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Davis angrily shouted. Jun was not supposed to be here. Davis had about a million
reasons why he didn’t want her here.
Jun turned around to see her brother walking up to her. She replied, “I have no idea. Maybe if somebody could give me a clear answer about what’s going on I’d know.”
“Just go home. I don’t know who sent you here but I don’t want you to be here. Just… leave.” Davis tried to be as firm as possible. Jun was unable to answer that. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t just leave.
“What’s going on here?” She managed.
“Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.”
“It’s nothing!” Davis didn’t want Jun to be involved with, take an interest in, or even watch Shougai.
Unfortunately, Davis’s argument was shattered when a visibly upset Miaka walked by with Tamahome. “I just… can’t believe Chichiri died.”
While Tamahome comforted Miaka, Jun looked back towards Davis. Now she was really concerned. “Did she just say someone died??”
“No! She said… she said someone lied!”
“Yeah- you.
What’s going on?” Jun continued the interrogation. If people were dying, she
really didn’t want to be left in the dark.
“We can’t send her back, Tom. We can bring them here as individuals, but we have to send them back as groups. If we send her back, we send all the digi-destined back.” Tim tried to explain why a few of the potential solutions wouldn’t work.
As they approached the Motomiya children, Tom considered another possibility, “Well if we can’t send her back, can we stick her in Moore?”
“I can’t go home?” Jun asked, obviously concerned. Tom shook his head.
“Wait… what’s Moore?” Davis asked. All he knew was Kohler and Beeda. There was no Moore Facility as far as he knew.
“It’s… for… staff workers,” Tom lied.
“Oh.”
“I… guess Moore’s not a good place for you. Jun, we’re going to have to keep you here until we’re able to send you home. We’ll provide you with a room, free food, and entertainment.”
“What?!” Davis couldn’t believe this. Not only had his sister crashed the party, she was being granted a permanent stay.
“Davis, this does not concern you. Would you please let me finish with your sister?”
Davis scoffed, then put his hands on the back of his head, and strolled off. Just to annoy Tom further, he shouted, “Okay! I have to go watch TK murder Gary anyway!”
Tom slapped his forehead as Jun took interest in Davis’s comment. She turned to Tom. “What did he mean… murder?”
“It’s not your concern.”
“Look mister, anything involving murder concerns me.” Jun wasn’t going to be denied an answer.
Tom faked a smile. “We… we’re
filming a television show. And we have cameras everywhere. So we really would
prefer it if you stayed out of the way, okay?” Tom put a hand on Jun’s back and led hear towards the Beeda
Facility, “I’ll just… show you to your room. It’s very nice. It has all the
amenities. It was just vacated yesterday.” Tom knew that the room wasn’t a
problem- Yui wasn’t going to be
needing it.
They passed Manny on the way, walking back with the purple-haired June Maplesap. She was holding back tears of joy. The
relationship between herself and Gary hadn’t been
touched on at all in the show, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t significant.
Manny looked at Jun number two, then smiled at Tom. “Once again, Tom- great
idea with the outside seconds.”
Tom scowled, “Shut up Manny.”
North Entrance- 1:55 PM
Gary abandoned his cheerleaders after his loss in the Indigo League. No
amount of meaningless encouragement by any amount of bubble-headed cheerleaders
was going to make him a better trainer. So he calmly sent them on their way,
dismissing them as if they were objects to be recycled. He later realized that
in the case of one of the cheerleaders, the encouragement was anything but
meaningless. June poured her out, but Gary rejected her with no concern for her
feelings. He had to continue his journey alone. He did, and he knew it was the
right decision, but always regretted the way he treated June.
He just wanted to apologize. To make amends towards a person that he wronged. He put the request in well before the whole thing with TK. But right before his first match, June Maplesap was the last thing on Gary’s mind… until she glomped him.
“Thank you so much! You don’t know how much I’ve missed you! I never want to leave your side again!” June was hugging Gary to the point of suffocation. He calmly released himself from her grasp, and fixed his hair.
“W… June… nice to see they followed through.” Gary had almost forgotten about his request. This was definitely not the time to rekindle the relationship- Gary had a digi-destined to defeat. “Look, I called you here because I could’ve used a little support. But we’re going to have to talk later; I have something I need to do. You just need to do one thing for me while I’m out there.”
“What’s that?”
Gary looked her in the eyes,
“Don’t be a cheerleader. Be you.”
He stepped out into the arena, with June at his left and Umbreon on his right. This was what he was made for. This was his home. He looked over at his opponent, accompanied by Kari and Patamon. TK was staring right back at him.
This wasn’t TK’s home. This wasn’t what TK was made for. He knew this was wrong, but he wanted to teach Gary a lesson. If this was the only way to do it… so be it. TK noticed the purple-haired girl standing next to Gary, someone he had never seen before. TK cracked a smile and shouted, “Hey Gary- nice escort. How much did you pay for her?”
Gary returned the smile. Now he was really at home. Gary looked at Kari, then at TK. “Not as much as you did for yours!”
TK turned around. He was going to have to step up to beat this guy. “Come on TW, hit him back! Don’t let him talk about Kari like that!” TK glanced up at Davis, trying to get TK to continue the verbal war.
TK tried to think of something. But at this point, no amount of verbal abuse could be enough for Gary. “Um… Patamon, kick his ass!” It had begun.
Control Room- 2:05 PM
Tom rushed into the control room and tried to catch his breath. “Did I miss
anything?”
Barb gave him a videotape and said, “Just another chapter in the untold saga that is Gary Oak. I knew Manny left out all the good parts of that show.”
“Well if it’s any good, we’ll show it now. How’s the match look?”
Barb glanced at the monitor, showing Patamon struggling against the well-trained and highly experienced Umbreon. “Don’t know. Manny calls it Digimon vs. Pokémon. I call it David vs. Goliath.”
They continued to watch. The camera focused on TK as he slowly realized that Patamon wasn’t going to be able to do the job alone. The digi-destined entered the battle himself, and approached the Pallet Town trainer. Tom smiled. “Oh. There we go. Now it should get good. I should’ve grabbed some popcorn on the way here.”
Barb snickered, “So… what are we doing with Jun anyway?” She couldn’t get enough of the issue, or Tom’s suffering because of it.
“Well, we stuck her in Yui’s old room for now. We can’t send her to Moore, we can’t send her home… we can’t erase her memory either. She’s suspicious of the game, but there’s no way to get rid of her. The other June and Sasuke aren’t a problem- they’re just shadows of their masters. But Motomiya… she’s a rogue spirit. I don’t like that.”
“You still haven’t explained that to me. You said that memories could only be erased or restored a show at a time. That makes sense.” Barb knew that rule- if one person can remember something, it would screw things up if somebody from the same show couldn’t remember the same thing, “But you said that the McKormick Reaper had the ability to erase individual memories. Why?”
“When a character is dead, it’s so much easier to manipulate their memory. The McKormick has a built-in option to erase the memory of the actual death. Tim says if somebody can recall the actual feeling of losing their life… that would cause problems.” Barb nodded.
Tom added. “Although now that I think about it, we may be able to erase Jun’s memory of this whole experience if we ran her through it.”
“Wait… what do you mean?”
“Theoretically, we could keep her in a state of limbo through the entire series, then revive her at the end with no memories intact. We send her home with everybody else- and there’s no problem.”
“Are you saying we should kill her?”
Tom blinked. “Why not?”
“What did she ever do to you?!” Barb was almost furious. Jun was here because of an accident, and Tom had the nerve to suggest that the only way to correct the accident was to take Jun’s life.
“Look. We’re killing everybody else, what’s the big deal? I still don’t understand what you have against all of this… they’re just cartoon characters for crying out loud.” Barb shook her head and sat down. “Screw it. I’ll just leave her for now. I’m trying to enjoy this match.”
Arena- 2:10 PM
The fight between Gary and TK was much more
promising than the fight between Umbreon and Patamon. Gary and TK had aggravated each other enough that
both were striking, both were doing damage, and both were in it to defeat the
other.
“TK!” Patamon screamed as Umbreon used a faint attack to send the rookie Digimon to the ground. TK saw the whole thing. He was growing angry every second, and punched Gary in the stomach as hard as he possibly could. Unfortunately, Umbreon witnessed this, and approached TK.
“Wait! Umbreon!” Gary reprimanded, “Don’t… he’s mine. Just make sure the gerbil stays out of this.” Umbreon waited as its master continued to fight. Gary smirked. “It’s a thing called honor- you should research it some time.”
Gary and TK were equals in every aspect- the same age, the same physical structure, and the same desire to win. As a result, the match was as good as they come. Gary was slowly getting the upper-hand, but TK was still getting shots in. Patamon struggled to get to his feet. He had to help TK. Umbreon was watching patiently, no longer concerned with Patamon. Through staggered breaths, Patamon realized something… “TK’s in trouble… why can’t I digivolve?”
Gary stuck a punch to the head, sending TK to the ground. Kari ran up to check on him, while Gary fell back to try to catch his breath. June approached him, saying, “Why can’t you finish him off?”
“Because… he’s good. He’s damn good.”
“I know you can do it Gary.”
Gary smiled at her. She sounded like she meant it. No chants, no songs- just a word of encouragement from a good friend. “I didn’t say I couldn’t do it June, I just meant that I’ll have to work for it.”
Patamon watched as Gary approached TK. TK was hurt, bruised, and bleeding. Patamon may not have been able to digivolve, but he still had to save his partner, no matter what. He got to his legs, and took to the sky… “Boom Bubble!!” He released his attack.
“Gary- look out!” June shouted. Gary saw it, and jumped. The shot still hit him in the side of the leg, sending him to the ground. TK smiled at Patamon, then approached Gary. It wouldn’t be long now…
…at least TK didn’t think it would be. Until Gary smirked again. Gary was on the ground, clutching his bleeding leg, and at TK’s mercy. And yet- he was smirking. “Hey Tekes… your gerbil hit me. You know what that means, right?”
“What?” TK asked sternly. He wasn’t going to take any of Gary’s nonsense.
“Umbreon… Hyper Beam!!” TK turned around, and stared at Umbreon, charging up the attack. There was no escaping as Umbreon released its hyper beam directly into TK’s stomach.
TK fell to the ground. Kari ran up to him. The wound was large, and definitely fatal. Unfortunately, he was still alive. Through staggered breaths and blood being coughed up, TK opened his mouth, “Kari… I… I…” He wasn’t able to finish.
June was crying as she ran up to embrace Gary. Gary received it with one hand (the other was still clutching his leg). However, he was staring at Kari and what used to be TK. “Gary… c’mon, I’ll help you up,” June said. Gary turned to he. He wasn’t sure if she was crying because she was happy that it was over, or if she was crying because she was happy that he won. Either way, Gary allowed June to help him up and they limped off the field. The cheers from the crowd were almost deafening. Gary, always the crowd-pleaser, held up an index finger which earned him even more cheers.
However, as soon as he was out of the public’s eye, he immediately grew more somber, and fell to his knees. “Gary, what is it?” June asked, concerned.
“What the hell did I just do?”
Beeda
Facility- 2nd Floor Hallway- 2:40 PM
Jun stood outside Room 215. This was her home for the next two weeks, but
she didn’t have any freedom. She was just supposed to keep low and wait. She
wanted answers, but nobody was willing to give her any.
She heard two familiar voices. One was her brother. One was her brother’s friend. Maybe she could knock one of the two up against the wall like in those movies. She was fully prepared to do whatever it took to get her questions answered, until she saw them. They were taking Kari to her room. None of the three looked approachable. Ken led Kari inside while Davis turned to Jun. He was not in the mood to be messed with.
“Go home,” was all he said before entering behind them and shutting the door. Jun would have liked nothing more than to heed her brother’s advice, but she was still trapped.
North Entrance- 2:55 PM
Ash looked downright stupid. But he was making a point. Misty was not
pleased. “Are you insane?” she said.
“I’m making a point. This rivalry has to stop. Did you see what happened to TK?”
“Better him than Gary. Take those off or you’re going to embarrass yourself and the rest of us.” Misty stared up at them. “Where did you get them anyway?”
Ash stared up at the goggles, planted firmly on his head, “Davis gave them to me.” The “I” written on each lens had faded away, but the bond between the Impulsive Idiots had not.
“You have no idea what you are doing. You have to be yourself. You might be an idiot… but you are NOT a goggle boy.” Misty headed to the ring.
Ash shook his head and
followed, muttering, “Why are all girls crazy?”
“Remember Guardromon, this is for Takato and Kenta.” Kazu was prepping up his partner for a wild ride. After what happened to Takato, and more recently to TK, he didn’t want to same to happen to him. He had lost two of his friends, but didn’t want to join them.
“No… No! No! No!” Henry was shouting something. Kazu turned and saw Henry marching up to Ash.
“Kazu, do you have any idea what he’s doing?” Guardromon asked.
“No,” Kazu replied plainly.
“What is your problem?!” Henry was furious as he confronted Ash. “That is… that is unbelievably disrespectful.”
“Huh?” Ash was confused.
Henry pointed to the goggles. “Look, I don’t know what you have against the digi-destined, but leave us out of it. We are not digi-destined, we don’t pretend we are, and we don’t want to be. I don’t know if you knew Takato or not, but this has to stop. Take those damn goggles off.” All of the Tamers were fighting with the memory of Takato in their hearts. And Ash was making fun of them for it.
Misty shrugged. “I tried talking to him, but he just wouldn’t listen.”
“I… I don’t believe you. Forget it.” Henry stormed back.
Ash was just trying to show that he was still friends with Davis, but if the message was getting lost, it wasn’t worth it. “God…” Ash removed the goggles and tossed them to the ground. They shattered.
That only made Henry even more angry. Wearing them was one thing… breaking them- that was like burning a flag. Henry was at a loss for words. He couldn’t even stand to be in the same zip code as Ash right now. “I can’t do this. Kazu, you’re on your own.” Henry walked out. In his state, he couldn’t have helped much anyway.
“Ooookay…”
Guardromon was really lost. Kazu
wasn’t that much better off. They both shrugged as the match begun.
Moore Facility- Lounge- 3:00
PM
The live telecast was on the television. It was a way to keep them diverted.
“Well… Henry storms off after Ash’s little stunt with the goggles,” Manny
narrated.
“I still don’t understand what the big deal is, but it’s a very sensitive issue, and Ash is apparently using it to mess with Kazu’s head. Interesting strategy…” Dave continued.
“Well… at least it’s good to know they still remember me.” Takato looked up at his own goggles. Even he didn’t know what the big deal was. He just wore them.
End Chapter Five
Author’s Notes
Okay… let the firing squad begin… what’s the deal with
Jun and June? Well, this series contains a whole heck of a lot of symbolism and
metaphor. There are three different layers you can read this at- the direct one
(bunch of anime characters and the AA), the symbolic one (reality series
contestants and television studios), and the allegorical one (fictional characters
and fanfiction writers). Jun Motomiya
plays towards the direct one, symbolizing the ability the AA has to open up a
can of worms and thinking of her as a problem rather than as a person. June Maplesap plays towards the allegorical,
symbolizing the “untold” story that fanfiction has
the ability to tell. I told you this was deep.
Thanks to Chromus for help with figuring out Umbreon’s characteristics. I never paid too much attention
to the actual battles in Pokémon, since they just don’t matter.
In regards to Davis’s reaction to Jun being here… I
hope I don’t have to spell it out for you.
Chapter Six- Everybody Needs Somebody
Izzy decides to question Mike regarding several
topics related to Shougai. The answers he gets are
more than he bargained for. Izzy also attempts to
settle the monster anime rivalry, leading him into more trouble. Meanwhile,
Matt and Tai face their first opponents, Tamahome tries to comfort Miaka in
this time of depression, and Ash and Misty continue to have differences
regarding their feelings towards the game.