SCATTERED, PART 1

"The Scattering"

The park was cool in the early September air. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and eight very special children sat in a circle in a private clearing among the trees. These eight children had been chosen to save the world only a month ago, and they had succeeded beyond anything they had ever though possible. They were the Digidestined, heroes to some, but normal kids at heart.

"So, it's been a month," Matt said.

"Sure has," replied Sora.

"Hard to believe that's all it was," Tai said.

On August 1, 1999, the Digidestined were transported from their summer camp to the digital world existing alongside our own. And the strange journeys and adventures they had in that realm may have seemed to take months, but, before the two worlds had their time synchronized, Earth had barely let a few hours slip by.

A month had gone by since they had returned to Earth, leaving the Digiworld, and their friends and protectors, the digimon, behind.

"Just out of curiosity, has anyone else felt . . . I don't know . . . weird lately?" asked Kari.

"What do you mean?" asked Izzy.

"I had a tummy ache earlier," TK said. "Does that count?"

They all smiled, knowing full well that wasn't what Kari meant.

"Actually, I've been feeling weird today," said Mimi. "Like something's going to happen or something."

"You mean like anticipation?" asked Izzy.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Joe asked. "Like when you wake up on your birthday and know you're getting a present or that weird, creepy feeling like-"

"Like what?" Matt asked, wondering why Joe stopped. He glanced over and then saw that Joe wasn't there anymore.

"Uh, Joe?" Tai asked, looking around. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"He just disappeared," said Mimi quietly, frightened. "One minute he's sitting there and the next he just-"

Everyone turned and watched as Mimi suddenly shimmered and faded out of sight like she was no more than a mirage. She too, had vanished.

"Okay," said Tai excitedly, "what the heck is going on around-"

But he had vanished as well. The rest could only gasp as, moments later, they also disappeared like ghosts.

It was another typical day at Gennai's house. Gennai himself was busy reading up on his ancient texts, eagerly searching for the next major world-shaking prophesy. It was hard to study since he was now taking care of eight digimon as well. Ever since the Digidestined had left, their digimon had needed a home to rest and take stock of their lives. It had only been a month, after all, since the children had returned home and the digimon weren't sure how to handle life without the ones they had, technically, been created for.

Agumon and Biyomon were playing soccer in the yard, something that had rubbed off on them from Tai and Sora. Palmon and Gatomon were on the roof, getting a little sun. Gomamon was going for a swim in Gennai's koi pond, which he wasn't supposed to do, because, as Gennai said, "You keep scaring all my fish with that splashing around!" Tentomon was getting some much needed exercise by flying around the area, hoping to stretch his wings.

That left Gabumon and Patamon, who were currently having a discussion through the bathroom door.

"Patamon, what's taking so long?" Gabumon whined. "I've really got to go!"

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to use this thing!" Patamon squealed from behind the door.

"What's so hard about it?" Gabumon asked, getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"As small as I am, I have to balance on the seat," Patamon explained. "And it isn't easy!"

Gabumon waited a minute more, then, growling, said, "Okay, that's it! Open up or I'll break down this door!" There was no response. "Okay, I warned you!" Gabumon charged the door and it flew open to reveal . . . nothing. There was no one there.

"Patamon?" Gabumon asked. "Yoo-hoo . . . Patamon, where did you go?" There was no way out of the bathroom except . . . Gabumon's eyes went wide.

"Gennai!" Gabumon shouted. "Come quick and bring a plunger! Patamon flushed himself down the toilet!" But even as he finished the sentence, he suddenly shimmered and disappeared from sight.

A second later, Gennai walked in, a tired look on his face, carrying a plunger. He looked around and, when he didn't see Gabumon or Patamon, he said, "Oh, great. He jumped in after him. I'm getting too old to do any plumbing!"

He was completely oblivious to the calls of the other digimon outside, who were panicking as their companions, and then themselves, vanished while Gennai worked furiously with the plunger in the toilet bowl.

At first, there was darkness. Then, slowly, light filled his vision once again.

Tai looked around and saw his friends were all standing, somewhat bewildered, all around him. No one looked hurt, but all looked afraid.

"Hey, where are we?" TK asked of his brother.

"Beats me," said Matt.

"Any theories, Izzy?" Joe asked eagerly.

"Oh suuure, let me just get out my 'magical theory eight ball' and see," Izzy groaned sarcastically. "What am I, some 'theory machine' that you can just pop a quarter into and hope that you'll get an explanation that will put everything into perspective?"

Joe whimpered.

"Wow, Izzy," said Sora, joking. "You've been working on your tough guy attitude, lately."

Izzy smiled, then apologized to Joe and said he had no theories as of yet.

Just then, odd shapes began to form in front of each of them. They stared in wonderment as they slowly took on distinct features and solid forms. They began to understand what they were even before they finally came into being.

"Agumon!" Tai shouted, affectionately tackling his newly transported digimon.

"Tai- oof!" Agumon said as he tumbled to the ground.

"Palmon!" Mimi said, scooping up her plant-like friend.

"Mimi!" Palmon exclaimed happily.

"Gabumon!" said Matt, giving his furred friend a huge bear hug.

"Matt!" said a very surprised Gabumon. "Please, don't hug me!" he groaned.

"What's the matter?" asked Matt, still clutching him. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course," grunted Gabumon, "but I was on my way to the bathroom when I was brought here, so squeezing me right now is probably a bad idea!" Matt, understanding, immediately let his friend go and settled for a paw shake as the others met up with their digimon.

"What are you doing here?" Tentomon asked Izzy.

"Actually, we weren't sure about that ourselves," Izzy admitted. "What about you guys?"

All the digimon shrugged their shoulders, or what passed for them, and said they didn't know either. That's when a voice suddenly said, "I will tell you where you are, you foolish mortals!"

Suddenly, more lights went on in the room to reveal that it was, in fact, a stone dungeon with debris littering the floor. On the far wall was a huge assortment of machinery. There were panels, metal boxes, levers and buttons, switches, a tangled mass of sparking loose wires, and amid it all was-

"The pedestal!" cried Izzy. "That's the same pedestal we used in Myotismon's castle to get home last time! We must be in the ruins of his dungeon! Look!"

The whole group looked where he was pointing and saw the huge steel doors embedded in the wall. This was indeed where they had crossed over from one dimension to the other.

"Correct, you miserable little computer geek!" shouted the voice again. It was harsh and filled with rage, cruelty, and evil. It seemed familiar, but there was something odd about how high the pitch of the voice was, how small it was.

The group looked up to see a cube with 2' x 2' sides. It was all black and it levitated slowly, coming down to hover just above the ground amid the machinery.

"Hey, this feels a little familiar," Tai said.

"Yeah, do we know you?" asked Sora, trying to sound polite and non-confrontational.

"You should, you doomed fools!" cackled a voice from within the cube. "Perhaps this will help you out. The last time we met, I told you, 'You don't have the power to end my sadness!'"

The Digidestined and the digimon, in instant recognition, all shouted the answer in surprise at the same time: "Apocalymon!"

"Wrong, you nose-wiping maggots on the floor of a beauty salon!" said the voice.

"Nose-wiping what?" Tai asked Agumon, under his breath, raising an eyebrow.

"I used to be Apocalymon, you puppies!" he said. "I am what's left of him after having my claws smashed, my body simultaneously burnt and frozen, and then blown up in a mostly contained cataclysmic explosion! I am the rookie level of Apocalymon! I am . . ."

There was a muffled pause as the top panel of the cube puffed out slightly. "Er, I am..." The voice grunted a few times. "Hold on, the damn lid is stuck... One, two, three..."

The lid finally popped open and, looking something like a cross between Batman and a Jack in the Box, the figure arose into view. "I am..." he repeated, posing dramatically, "...Mini Apocalymon!"

The children and digimon alike stared at the creature before them. He had the same evil, yellow eyes, the same tattered cape, and the same long, deadly-looking claws. However, his cape was fastened with a safety pin and the leathery covering that he wore on his body that used to be held together with mean-looking zippers was now held together with duct tape.

"Cower in fear!" said the tiny creature.

The children and digimon continued to stare at him for a moment. Then, they all began to smile. Then snicker. Then, finally, they began to laugh uncontrollably, clutching their bellies while tears rolled down their cheeks.

"What? What?" Mini Apocalymon asked, insulted. "Do you take me for a fool? Do you dare to insult the mighty Mini Apocalymon?"

"Hey guys, check this out: I shall call him 'Mini Me,'" Joe said, doing his best Dr. Evil impression, which got everybody laughing again.

"No offense," said Tai, still laughing along with the others, "but what are you thinking? One rookie against eight? Besides, any one of our digimon could digivolve and kick your sorry butt!"

Mini Apocalymon glared at the Digidestined and their digimon as they rolled on the floor with laughter. He hated laughter. The very sound blared in his ears and set his nerves on edge. However, he suddenly began to chuckle himself, in spite of his humiliation.

"You weak, pathetic fools," he said. "You think it's that easy? Do you think I brought you here without a plan? That I would merely fight you? I have brought you here using great power, which I will now use to be rid of you once and for all!"

The group's laughter had died down, for the most part, and their attention was once again on the small digimon who, at one time, had threatened their two worlds with complete destruction. Mini Apocalymon reached over to a lever on a panel and threw the switch. Suddenly, a circular portal of light opened up under the group's feet and they tumbled down into the space below.

"Tai, what's happening?" Kari cried as she fell.

"Matt!" called TK.

"TK!" called Matt.

"A bathroom!" Gabumon called out to no one in particular. "If we survive, please let us land somewhere near a bathroom!"

"You fools!" thundered Mini Apocalymon's voice from every direction as they fell further and further into the void of swirling energy around them. "Actually, maybe I'm over-using the word 'fools' here- well, whatever, let's go with it. As I was saying: since I cannot destroy you, I will simply rid myself of you! Using the power of the inter-dimensional pedestal, I can create a warp leading to an infinite number of worlds! I will use this warp to scatter you all to separate fates on a million different worlds in a million different places in time! Scatter you like dust to the wind!"

As Mini Apocalymon began to laugh, Tai called out, "Quick! Everyone grab onto the ones nearest you, so we can stay together no matter where we end up!"

All the Digidestined, already in close proximity to their digimon, grabbed a hold of them. Then they all reached out for the hands of their friends. Matt managed to reach TK, while Tai caught hold of Sora's foot. Mimi, holding Palmon, was snagged by Gatomon, who was holding onto Kari with her other paw. Joe and Izzy, unfortunately, were too far away from the others to reach them as they fell down, further and further, finally into a swirling vortex that sent them all hurtling toward unknown worlds...

And unknown fates.

Izzy found himself standing in a grassy area, surrounded by trees, birdsong, and the sound of children playing. Next to him was the bug-like Tentomon. Both were still sweating, still feeling their hearts beating wildly from their harrowing encounter with "the warp."

"Where are we, Izzy?" asked Tentomon quietly.

"I'm not sure,"said Izzy, frowning, "but this place looks familiar." He paused and looked at the trees around him, noticing the type of tree each one was and in what location they were in. This place was not merely familiar, but he thought he recognized it.

"This looks like the park that we used to meet in while fighting Myotismon," Izzy said, "and where the other Digidestined and I were taken from only a short time ago!"

"I think you're right!" Tentomon exclaimed, also recognizing the place. "But Mini Apocalymon said we'd be sent to a different universe. Do you think we're still in Tokyo?"

Izzy considered a moment, then told Tentomon to stay put for a few minutes while he went off. Tentomon did as he was told and when Izzy returned, he had a hat and a jacket for him to wear.

"I can't believe I've got to go back to wearing disguises," Tentomon said, disgusted as he pulled the clothes on.

"I wouldn't have paid that little kid everything I had for his jacket if I didn't think it was necessary," Izzy said. The two of them walked out of the clearing and made their way out of the park.

"Oh my!" Tentomon said. "I forgot how big Tokyo is!"

The two of them craned their necks to see the huge buildings that towered over them. It looked to be about midmorning by the location of the sun and the streets were packed with heavy traffic. Izzy couldn't help but notice that something about the cars seemed off.

"This certainly looks like my world," said Izzy, "but something's missing. Something's just not right." He paused a moment, lost in thought as Tentomon stared up at him inquisitively. Then, Izzy's face lit up as he realized what he needed to do.

He moved and Tentomon followed him. Izzy came upon a newspaper dispenser and bought a copy. He was staring intently at the date on the first page and for a long time he said nothing. Tentomon waited for him to say something, but Izzy only gaped at the date, as if in shock. Finally, in a hushed voice, he said, "Tentomon... this is Tokyo, but it's not the same time as when I left. It's 1989! We're ten years in the past and... and..."

Tentomon waited for him to finish, but an odd look came into his eyes as he trailed off. "Izzy?" Tentomon asked. "What's the matter?"

"Today is," Izzy said, almost laughing, "a very special day." He gulped, then looked at his partner with urgency. "We have to go now! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

Tai opened his eyes to see the orange sky above him. He sat up and found himself on a beach, only a few feet from the ocean. The sun was setting in the distance. Behind him was thick, green jungle. And to his side, still lying on the ground, was Sora.

"Sora?" Tai asked. "Are you okay?"

Sora sat up as well, and groaned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a cramp in my back from lying like that." She rubbed her back, then said, her voice tense, "Wait a minute. Where are our digimon? Where are Biyo and Agumon?"

Tai wasn't sure and he was also about to panic when he heard Agumon's high voice say, "We're over here, guys."

Tai and Sora turned to see Agumon and Biyomon standing by a large, wooden sign. "You guys were still asleep, so we thought we'd find some food," said Biyomon. "We didn't find any, but we think we know where we are."

Tai came over, Sora right behind him, and read the sign, although he couldn't understand its meaning: "Welcome to Jurassic Park: Where Dinosaurs Rule Again!"

"Hey, I like this place already!" Agumon said, liking the part about dinosaurs ruling.

"Hmm, sounds like a theme park," Tai said. "You think Mini Apocalymon sent us to some part of Disneyworld by mistake?"

That's when they heard something rustling in the bushes.

Mimi and Kari were surrounded by flowers and very small houses. The sky was blue, the air was clean, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Still, the fact that no one was around was just a little bit eerie. They weren't sure if this village was abandoned or if everyone was off at a community activity or if everyone was just inside their houses.

Watching them.

"Do you know this place Kari?" Gatomon asked, stepping around her.

"No," said Kari. "What about you Mimi?"

"No, but it sure is cute!" she said brightly, admiring the cute houses and quaint buildings and odd, curving roads.

"I like the gardens!" said Palmon, also cheery, also completely unconcerned. "Whoever these people are, they can't be too bad if they're this good to plants!" She was right about the care taken for the plants. The flowers surrounding them were huge and they formed wide beds that brightly colored the whole area.

"Look!" exclaimed Gatomon, pointing up with one clawed finger. The four of them looked up and saw a glowing pink ball. It was slowly descending to the ground and it was growing larger. When it touched the ground, it flashed and in its place stood a beautiful, smiling woman with a crown and a wand. She was wearing more pink than Mimi.

"Are you good witches or bad witches?" she asked them all.

"Hey, let me ask you about that dress before you go asking us dumb questions," Mimi said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hello?" Joe asked. "Is anybody there?"

He and Gomamon were getting nervous. They were on an island, that much was obvious. Sea breezes swept over the island, which was covered with a pine forest and had a rocky peak at the far end of it. However, there were a lot of things about this island that just didn't make any sense. Things that seemed incredibly out of place.

"Okay, let's take stock of the weird things we've seen here," Joe said, adjusting his glasses. "We've seen a shack, a room with generators, a sunken ship, a giant gear-"

"At least it's not one of Devimon's," said Gomamon helpfully.

"We think," Joe said, taking nothing for granted. "Anyway, it's also got an observatory, a big clock, a library, and, last but definitely not least, a rocket ship."

Gomamon had to admit. It didn't make much sense. This place had obviously been lived on and settled, although now it looked less like a settlement and more like modern art or a museum. It would be pretty weird if these things just grew right out of the ground, and he was fairly certain that wasn't the case.

"Well, let's see if we can find somebody," said Gomamon.

"We've searched the whole island and didn't see anybody anywhere," Joe said. "With our luck, they all died of some horrible disease or maybe weird monsters attacked, or-"

"Joe, Joe, take a Valium!" said Gomamon.

"You're right," said Joe. "You're right. There's probably a very good reason why no one's here. All we have to do is relax."

Joe and Gomamon took a deep breath in front of the library.

"Greetings!"

Joe and Gomamon yelled and jumped a few feet in the air.

They whirled around and saw an aging, bearded man dressed in a white tunic. "As I was saying," he said in a raspy voice, "hello and welcome to the island of Myst."

"I'm cold, Matt," TK said, shivering.

"Yeah, me too," Matt said.

"Me three," Patomon chimed in. The three of them were standing in a few inches of snow. It was a cold day and they were standing by the side of the road. It was a black paved road. Off in the distance were snow-covered pine trees.

"Where's Gabumon?" TK asked.

"I don't know," Matt said. "When I came to, he was gone. I saw those tracks leading off towards the forest, so we know he came with us, but I'm not sure why he left."

"I had to use the little digimon's room," Gabumon said, coming back to them. "And since we were near those pine trees, I figured now was as good a time as any!"

"Gabumon!" Matt said happily, looking every bit as relieved as his partner.

"Sorry, but after all that laughing and falling through that warp thing, I thought I was going to explode!"

They had to smile, but they still didn't know what to do.

"Well, what do we do now?" Patamon asked, flying up to perch on TK's head.

"Maybe we could hitchhike to the nearest town," TK suggested.

"TK, that's dangerous," Matt said. "And besides, who would pick up two kids with two strange creatures they've never even seen before?"

"Bus," Gabumon answered.

"Bus? Bus who?" Matt asked, confused.

"The school bus that's coming this way and slowing down," Gabumon replied.

Matt, TK, Patamon, and Gabumon watched as the bus pulled up and the door slid open with a whoosh.

A very ugly and extremely foul-tempered woman was driving the bus. She looked at them a moment and they stared back at her. "Get on the bus, kids!" she shouted.

"Actually, we don't go to school in town," Matt said. "But could you-"

"Sit down and SHUT UP!" the bus driver yelled. The four of them asked no questions, but merely got on the bus silently. The bus began to move down the road. Matt barely caught a glimpse of a crudely painted wooden sign as they passed it on their way into town.

Here's what it said: "SOUTH PARK. POPULATION: 1,666."

To be ontinued . . .