Sorry it's been so long for this chapter. I had to get some other writing done and then this just sort of took a back seat because I had no idea what I should be writing, but here's this chapter, so I hope you enjoy
Don’t Talk To Strangers
They left the next morning.
Terriermon and the other Digimon almost insisted upon it. They couldn’t put Primary Village in jeopardy any longer now that the Devas knew about Judi, Liam and Jarred. They would just have to start their plan a little earlier than anticipated.
The idea to wait outside Mount Olympus for the Olympians had been Judi’s idea. What better way to catch them separated than right outside their home? They had figured they would wait a couple of days in the village, but after the attack they were going to have to move a lot quicker than before.
Now, somewhere across a wide field that stretched on past the horizon on all sides, the Tamers and their Digimon officially deemed themselves lost.
“I thought you said you knew where we were going,” Veemon complained, turning to Terriermon. “I knew we should have taken that turn at that tree back there.”
“Oh yeah, like you could have directed us much better,” Terriermon shot back. “I don’t see you scouting ahead for danger.”
“And I don’t see you foraging for food. If you haven’t noticed, we failed to bring your kitchen fridge with us on our journey.”
Terriermon was about to retaliate when Patamon swooped in, intercepting.
“Guys, enough,” the orange and white flying pig Digimon said. “It’s no use fighting. We might as well just stay here and look for things to eat.”
“If you haven’t noticed, we’re sort of in the middle of nowhere,” Veemon said. “We’re sitting ducks.”
“The grass is taller a little farther west,” Patamon announced. “It will be easier to hide there.”
Before the Digimon could start arguing again, Liam cut in. “That sounds like a great idea,” he said. “We can rest there and catch our bearings again in the morning. We can take time to explore tonight and figure out our best route to Mount Olympus.”
The others nodded solemnly, each obviously angry and frustrated from hours of walking and being out in the sun. Judi sighed. If she had known that everyone would be getting on each other’s nerves at this point so early in their travels, she wasn’t sure she would have agreed to join. But she had to. They had to save this world from mass destruction, which just made the frustration all the more irritating.
The grass was a cool change to the sun that had been beating down on them for hours. The Tamers collapsed each shading their eyes and glancing around desperately for water.
“I feel like I’m about to die,” Jarred mumbled as he searched through his backpack for any source of liquid that he could drink.
Judi couldn’t even reply. Her mouth felt parched and her tongue felt as heavy as a pound of lead. If this was what it was going to be like for the rest of their journey, how were they expected to survive?
Even the Digimon looked exhausted. They had hunkered down in the shadows of their Tamers, panting and mumbling incoherently to each other.
“I’m right there with you, buddy,” Liam replied. “Does anyone have any water left?”
Everyone shook their heads, and Judi groaned and rolled over onto her stomach. Her head was pounding. Maybe resting for a little while would do the trick. The last thing she remembered were Jarred and Liam racing over to her, trying to get her to stay awake while Patamon flew off in search of help.
[Heroes]
Judi shivered in her sleep. Her eyes opened slowly, allowing herself to gaze at overcast skies that were quickly become dark with grey storm clouds. Lighting flashed and somewhere far away, thunder rumbled.
Her body ached all over in the same way it did when she did three hours of skating and then two hours of off-ice. Cautiously, Judi sat up and surveyed her surroundings.
She wasn’t in the field anymore.
Panic flowed through her as she gazed at the environment. The ground was rocky, hardly any grass, but it appeared that she was lying on paved stone. Judi’s eyes followed the path they made, pausing as they upon a monument that looked very familiar.
It was like the Parthenon of Ancient Greece, though it was fully restored like the one in Texas. Lighting flashed again, illuminating it and allowing Judi a quick glimpse of a lavish inside before the light flickered away and thunder rumbled, much closer this time. And then the rain began to fall.
There was no other shelter around and out of desperation, Judi hauled herself off the ground and dashed towards the only building in sight. It wasn’t like she was going to wander in too far. She just wanted to get out of the rain. Getting hypothermia now wasn’t going to help her at all.
Despite not wanting to initially wander in that far, one glimpse was enough to beckon Judi in closer. The inside of the Parthenon was basked in a golden glow, though the source could not be found. Beautifully crafted furniture sat around a small fire, giving Judi the impression that it was a sort of waiting room. Just beyond the chairs and loveseats however, she could see a door. If she knew her Greek history well enough, Judi concluded she was in the anti-chamber of the Parthenon.
The storm raged on outside and Judi stumbled over to one of the chairs. Instinct told her that trying to enter the room beyond the door could lead to trouble, but curiosity burned fiercely inside her. Beyond the door there could be the secret to the Tamers’ success.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long.
Just as her clothes were beginning to dry out, Judi heard an ominous creak. She whirled around, her hand instinctively going for her Digivice, but the appearance of the figure in front of her surprised her.
It was Ben O’Brien, a kid that was in Judi’s homeroom, known for his trickery and mischief making skills.
She was so shocked to see him it didn’t even register in her brain that he was a human, that she could try and take him out right then and there.
His sandy coloured hair lay flat across his head and his kind blue eyes twinkled in the firelight. “Judi,” he said. “So glad you could make it. That’s one brutal storm out there, eh?”
“I, um...” She was lost for words. What was she going to say to this kid she barely knew while she hid inside the Parthenon, away from the storm?
“Don’t worry,” Ben said serenely. “You’re safe in here, but let’s have a little talk. No, don’t get up.”
Judi sank down onto her seat again, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. This had to be a dream. There was no way that she could be on Mount Olympus. They had been in a field, with the sun beating down on them and no chance of rain. There hadn’t been a mountain around for miles.
“What’s this about?” Judi asked, finally finding her voice. “How did I get here? Where is here? What are you doing here?”
Ben laughed, a hollow and empty sound that reverberated off the walls. “A war is raging, Judi. Or it’s about to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean,” the skater retorted, though she knew perfectly well what it meant. A war?
“You Tamers are the key to the end of the war,” Ben continued. “We need your help. Together, we can make sure that something like this never happens again.”
“How long has this been going on?” Judi asked. Terriermon had never told her about the war, so it must have been something fairly recent. Speaking of which, where was Terriermon? And the others, for that matter. Why were they not here, but she was?
“It’s not a current event, Judi,” Ben warned. “This war has been raging for over fifty years.”
Fifty years? Judi thought. “But wouldn’t Digimon know about it? I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“It’s a quiet thing,” the boy replied. “Nothing full scale. It’s mostly just arguing, but arguing always leads somewhere and I’m sure Marsmon is just itching to get this thing out in the open.”
“Then what are you fighting about?” Judi countered. “It must be something bad if it’s lasted fifty years.”
Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He cast his eyes downward into the fire, watching the flames dance and lick at each other. “It used to just be about ruling and the realms and such,” he said quietly. “But now, something has been stolen.”
“Stolen?” Judi’s voice was dry, choked almost. Something had been stolen from the Olympians, which meant it must have almost infinite value. “What was it?”
That cocky grin appeared on Ben’s face again. “All in good time, Judi,” he replied. “But you need to know that you and your friends back in the field will need to side with Neptunemon when the time comes.” Ben stood abruptly, his eyes lingering back to the fire.
“But wait,” Judi said, standing with him. “How do I get back? I don’t even know where I am!”
“It’s alright,” Ben murmured, turning on his heel and marching towards the doors at the end of the anti-chamber. “Was Hermes not the god of travellers?” And then he was gone.
[Heroes]
A cold liquid trickled down the back of Judi’s throat and she snapped her eyes open, choking. She coughed, but the sight of Liam and Jarred’s worried faces instantly brought her back into focus. Where was the Parthenon? What had happened to Ben? Why wasn’t she back in the field?
“Where am I?” she managed between coughs.
“We managed to find a small town not too far away from the edge of the field,” Terriermon chimed as he hopped onto the bed and wrapped Judi in an embrace from his ears.
It was cloudy and overcast outside, a cross between the sunny day she had witnessed on their departure from Primary Village and the storm she had faced on Mount Olympus.
“How long have I been out?” Judi asked, suddenly suspicious. Neither of the boys would meet her eyes and even Terriermon wouldn’t answer her question.
“A couple days,” Jarred said finally. “That field we crossed basically stretched on forever. We’re surprised we even made it to the other side.”
But that dream, it could have only taken half an hour. How could something like that stretch on for so long? But Judi remembered what Ben had said to her, about Hermes being the god of travellers. Perhaps it was his Digital equivalent that had helped them? She’d have to ponder that later, when there weren’t so many other things to prioritize.
“So, are we closer to Mount Olympus?” Judi asked, breaking the silence of the awkward answer. “Or do we even know where we’re going?”
“We’re trying to figure that out,” Veemon said, his head popping up on the edge of the bed. “A few locals say that it’s north east of this town.”
“We can head out tomorrow, after Judi’s rested and we’ve stocked up,” Patamon added, swooping in through the doorway that Judi just noticed. By the looks of it, it led into a busy kitchen where people were chopping vegetables and such.
“Are we in a restaurant?” she asked, inhaling deeply and allowing the smell of teriyaki rice bowls fill her nostrils.
“Yeah. It was the only place that would give us lodging,” Jarred replied sheepishly. “I mean, considering we don’t have much money, we volunteered to wash their dishes and everything if they’d let us stay here and tend to you.”
Judi’s face burned a little. It was a little embarrassing to just show up outside someone’s business and ask to stay until one of their travelling companions gained consciousness again. If she ever met Ben O’Brien again, she’d definitely ask about that whole travelling method.
“Have you paid it all off yet?” Judi asked as she swung her feet over the side of the bed. She stood uncertainly, but when she was sure that she was feeling alright, pushed her feet into a pair of shoes and tied her hair up in a ponytail.
“Judi, you don’t need to do any work,” Jarred said, but Judi held up her hand in protest.
“I’m the reason we’re here,” she said. “And perhaps we can gain more information about Mount Olympus.”
[Heroes]
Once, in order to pay off a new set of skates, Judi had gotten a job working at the prestigious restaurant
Lumiere (back when Rob Feenie was still the owner) as a dishwasher. She had been good at her job and even stayed on a while after earning enough money for her skates. Eventually, she quit because she didn’t have the time to work anymore, but the experience had stayed with her.
Now, as Judi washed dishes in soapy water up to her elbows, she remembered how much she hadn’t actually enjoyed the job, but more the people she worked with. Back at
Lumiere, people had been friendly. The Digimon she and Liam were working with now were far from that.
“Have you tried asking any of them about our point of interest?” Judi asked as she scrubbed a plate clean and handed it to Liam. The boy shook his head in response.
“We’ve sort of left that to the Digimon. They say it would be suspicious having us ask. It’s weird enough having three humans here because everyone knows about the prophecy.” He passed the dried plate to a passing floral Digimon who stacked it neatly with the others.
But Judi needed answers. She had seen Mount Olympus, hid inside their layer and talked with an Olympian himself. If she could piece together how to get there, there could be hope for them.
The next opportunity that came up was when Judi was dumping the garbage out in the large bin behind the restaurant. She held her breath as she opened the dumpster, letting fly-like Digimon burst from within as she dumped that day’s trash inside. Hastily, she shut the bin’s lid and backed away from it. That’s when she noticed she wasn’t alone.
A stooped figure stood at the other end of the alley. He had a pointed hat and a cape, but had his back turned towards Judi. Still, he looked human-like, so Judi figured he must be somewhat intelligent. Some of the Digimon she had met so far inside the kitchen were highly dimwitted and shouldn’t be allowed to handle sharp knives.
“Excuse me,” Judi said politely, setting her garbage pail down beside the door that led back into the kitchen. “You look like someone who could help me.”
The figure turned, showing off blazing green eyes. The rest of his face was hidden behind his dark navy cloak, which was pulled up high. In one hand he clutched a sceptre, the shining sun attached to the end while the other gripped something tightly between the gloved fingers.
He pointed his sceptre at Judi and said, “Step no closer, Tamer.”
Judi raised her hands in surrender. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you,” she said sternly. “I just want to ask you a question... about Mount Olympus.”
Something flashed within the Digimon’s eyes, unrecognizable it was gone so fast. He eyed Judi before pulling a milk crate over and gesturing to a container opposite that used to hold Raman noodles. “Sit down then. Though I warn you, I don’t have all day.”
Happiness spread across Judi’s features as she dusted her hands on her kitchen apron and settled herself down on the crate the Digimon recommended.
“I am Wizardmon,” he introduced, “Watcher of the Sun.”
“Um, I am Judi...” the skater replied, unsure of what to add to the end. However, she didn’t have to.
“Dreamer of Olympus,” Wizardmon replied. “I know.”
Judi nodded excitedly. “Then maybe you know why we’re sitting here in this back alley.”
“You want to find your way to Olympus, young one?” the Digimon responded, pocketing the small object in the hand not occupied by the staff. “Your dreams have left you wondering?”
“Yes,” came the breathless reply. The fragments of the dream were vivid in Judi’s mind; the bright fire, the rich colours of the furniture, the awesome brilliance that the Parthenon seemed to bask in. Even the rain was fresh in her mind, the feeling of her wet clothes clinging to her mind as they had to her body.
“I cannot help you,” Wizardmon said. Upon seeing Judi’s distressed look, he continued. “What you seek is not for me to give. The path to Olympus is different for all those who travel upon it with only the final obstacle being the same. I can only offer you advice, and possibly guidance upon your journey, though there is a price to pay.”
“I’ll pay it,” Judi said, barely hesitating.
Wizardmon cast her a sceptical look, as if he wasn’t sure he could trust her. Judi couldn’t blame him. Who was going to trust a stranger in a back alley, much less a human one of the prophecy? However, Wizardmon nodded.
“You must be careful with whom you make deals with,” he said, reaching for his pocket again. “Some are not as forgiving as I.” He dismissed Judi’s confused look and pulled out a strange object, the one he had been clutching earlier.
It seemed to be an old fashioned spinning top, the kinds people used to spin with a piece of string wound tightly around the top and then pulling it. However, it sparkled with all the familiar colours of the antechamber at the Parthenon, and Judi could swear she could see the flaming brazier reflected in the deep red and golden colourings along the side.
“This is a Manteiopter,” Wizardmon said, spinning the top very slowly between two spindly fingers. “Ask it questions and get answers in return. However, you must be pure enough to ask or else it will shatter in your hands, and you must be smart enough to decipher its answers. Break this Manteiopter, and you break the very fabric of the Digital World.”
Judi gulped, but accepted the spinning top. She had promised Wizardmon to keep it safe, but the possibility of unravelling the material that constructed the world she resided in was a heavy weight to rest on her shoulders.
“Now,” she said, getting back to business. “You said you would help me too. What can you offer now? What lies ahead of us on our journey?”
Though she could not see it due to the cloak, she knew Wizardmon was smiling. He rose from his seat on the milk crate, and tugged at the brim of his pointed hat. “That,” he said as he twirled his sceptre in a circle, opening a large hole into time, “is why I gave you the Manteiopter.”
[END]
So there's the next chapter. I have some RPF to write, so I'm unsure of when the next chapter will be up. There is a new notice on the first post of this thread that you should check out if you have questions or concerns about plot work. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you in a review
