“CAREY!!!!!!!!!!!” Micheal shouted at the top of his lungs from inside his pure white office.  With the scurry of feet, the girl slid across the pure marble floor and almost into his painted white desk.

“You rang, sir?” she asked, out of breath from her sprint to the office.  Archangel Micheal was staring out his window at the netherworld, where the dead came if they had led pure and holy lives.  He looked back at the brunette girl who had come to a stop in his office, who was now hunched over the desk breathing heavily with exhaustion.

“Out last night again, were you?” he said in a disapproving voice.  Carey blushed.

“I’m sorry sir,” she stuttered, “Jimi made it sound like so much fun, I didn’t want to miss out on it…it WAS a fun party, though…”

A smile broke out on the old angel’s weathered face.  Carey was a youthful and lively angel, only fifteen.  She had died when she was very young of cancer, so she was one of the youngest guardian angels on the force.  She was also very miserable at it.  Three failed missions in a month, and five people had to be commited to asylums because of her work.  But she meant well.  Unfortunately, meaning well wasn’t what it took to be a decent guardian angel, and only after you had earned your halo could you have a chance at living again.

And if you made too many mistakes in the process, you were banished to purgatory, where you would be forced to walk the earth as a ghost, lusting after the days when you were alive, watching the living, knowing that if you just hadn’t made that mistake, you could be walking among them, talking and laughing with them, instead of watching them do the things you once did.

He had a friend who had failed his final mission a while ago.  If he had gotten it right, he would have had a fighting chance.  It hurt him, because he was the one who had to deliver the sentence to him.  The pain in his face was like someone twisting a dagger into his stomach, as he knew he would soon be watching over his wife and children he had left behind, and they would not be able to know it.  The pain of being a ghost was that you could not become visible, nor could you do anything to help a mortal’s life.  If they were going to die, or be harmed in any way, you could not help them.  Micheal looked beyond the shadows in the back of his dark eyes and up at the young angel, who was twitching her wings impatiently, looking at every aspect of the white room with insatiable curiosity.

“Well,” he said, coughing his emotions into a little ball and swallowing them so they made a hard little mass in his throat, “I’m sure you’re wondering why you were called here.  We have a mission for you!”

“ANOTHER one??” she wailed, “I just had one last week!  Can’t you give this one to Tyler?”

Micheal raised an eyebrow.  She could be very whiney at times, and hated work.  Obviously she wasn’t fully awake yet.

“Sorry, Carey,” he said, “but you have to take this case!  It’s your last chance!  Remember, if you blow this one, you’ll be in purgatory for forever!  You know how awful it is THERE.  So, listen up, and I’ll give you a brief overview of your case.”

She sighed and sat down in a chair, resting one hand on her chin.  She hated working.  She REALLY hated working.

“Now,” Micheal began, “your assignment is rather serious.  I’m sure you’ve heard about this digidestined thing happening on earth, right?”

Carey nodded.

“Good,” he continued, “because you’re going down to protect this kid.  It has been foretold that at midnight on his sixteenth birthday, he will put an end to the evil and restore peace.  Now there are a lot of people who want this kid dead, and there’ll be sure to be some dangerous situations.

I want you to go down and protect him from anyone that might try to kill him.”

Carey blinked.  She was going down to earth to save someone’s LIFE?

This was not good!  She could barely take care of a goldfish, never mind a kid that was her age!  Well, her age when she was alive, that is.  This was going to be impossible.

“Fine,” she grumbled, “what’s his name, and how do I get to him?”

“You will enrol in his school,” Micheal instructed, “we have already made arrangements so that you will be in every one of his classes.  Now, be sure to get on his good side early.  He is a loner and a rebel, so the more indifferent you act, the more he’ll appreciate you.  Even though he can be a good friend, he’s very untrusting, so don’t burn your bridges.  PLEASE.  You will pose as a digidestined, and we will give you a tag, digivice, and digimon companion that has entered the pearly gates.”

He bent over to the intercom.

“Suzie?” he asked the secretary, “You can send him in now.”

Here was a brief second of static as Suzie received the message, and then…silence.  Carey stressed her hearing to hear footsteps along the hall.  Soft, padding ones, like the person making them was very light.  The door opened, and a figure about 4 feet tall graced the doorway.

“You asked for me?” a wise voice said softly.

“Yes,” Micheal said with a grin, “it’s about the case.  Here is your partner: Carey.  She’ll be your ‘digidestined counterpart’ throughout the operation.”

He walked through the doorway and into the dull light of the room.  Carey saw a funny looking creature in a tattered wizard’s cloak, witches’ hat, and an odd-coloured jumpsuit.  His face was strangely pale, and his mouth was covered by the collar of his cloak, so when he spoke, it seemed he was speaking telepathically.  The only things beyond his cloak were straw-coloured bangs, and glittering emerald eyes.  Carey’s were moss, so she was open to another being with the same colouring as she had.

“Carey,” Micheal introduced the funny creature, “this is Wizardmon.  He is a champion digimon.  He will accompany you on your trip.”

Carey leaned down and looked at the creature in the face. 

“He’s so cute!” she squealed, “Like a little doll!”

“I’m ANYTHING but a doll,” he replied, “I am a digimon, and a highly dangerous one at that!”

Carey scooted back a little bit.

“Oooooookayyyy…..” she said with a pained smile, and turned back to face Micheal, “so he’s just cool.”

“Thank you.” Wizardmon replied.  Confused, as she usually was, Carey stood back up.

“So,” she asked the archangel, “who’s the kid?”

Micheal checked his file.

“His name is Yamato Ishida,” he said, “here’s his picture.”

Carey took the snapshot in hand and inspected it.  There were a lot of kids on the picture, she didn’t know who this “Yamato” character was.

“Which one is he?” she asked.

“The blonde in the very middle.” He replied.

“The short one?”

“No,” Micheal replied, “that’s his little brother, Takeru.  He’s the older blonde.”

Carey’s eyes caught sight of a handsome figure with spiky blonde hair that tumbled into his eyes, gleaming ocean blue eyes, and a magnetic smile.

“Oh my,” she murmured, “he ‘aint half bad…for a mortal…”

“Carey,” Micheal snapped, “remember the rules!”

“Yeah, yeah…” she sighed, “rule number one, never tell a mortal you’re an angel; rule number two, never fall in love with a mortal…”

“Let me see that,” Wizardmon asked, pawing at the picture in her hand.  She lowered it for him to see the kids.

“Just as I thought,” the digimon affirmed, “I know him.”

“You DO?” Carey yelped.  Wizardmon nodded.

“You bet,” he said, “I befriended the digidestined while I was alive!  That’s Tai’s friend, and I gave my life for Tai’s sister and her digimon, Gatomon.”

He brightened.

“I can’t believe I’m going to get to see them again.”

Carey smiled.  He was sorta sweet for a funny little guy.

“Well,” Micheal said, relieved someone knew what they were doing, “that’s it!  You start immediately.  Report to the transport room as soon as you’re ready.”

Carey grinned and snatched the report from her superior.

“Yoink!” she said cheerfully, “All we have to do now is save some kid’s life without breaking any angel laws!  Piece ‘o’ cake!”

Wizardmon scoffed as they walked out the door.

“Oh,” he said in a mocking tone, “I wonder how we’ll ever manage…”

They shut the door, leaving Micheal alone in his office.  He sure hoped he had made the right decision on who to send.  He looked out the window of the massive headquarters of B.O.G.A (Berau Of Guardian Angels) and into the park in the centre of the city, where a statue of Jesus stood in all its glory.

“Father,” he said softly, “forgive me.  I am only fixing in death the mistake made in life.  Finally she will have a chance at her destiny.”

 

“Metal Wolf Claw!” Metalgarurumon howled.  Darktyrannomon roared in pain, then collapsed, bursting into tiny fragments of dust as he did so.

“ALRIGHT!” Matt cheered, “WAITA GO METALGARURUMON!”

The digidestined around him “woohoo!”’ed and laughed and whooped with glee.

“Alright, TK!” Kari laughed, planting a peck on the thirteen-year-old’s cheek, “You were so cool!”

TK blushed.

“Aw…” he said sheepishly, “it was nothing.”

Matt tensed and shot a look at Kari like “hey, mitts off my brother”.  Kari looked at her brother.  He was mimicking Matt’s glare, as if saying “yeah, mitts off his brother”.

She let go of TK’s arm and looked at the group.  Daisuke was fuming, Miyako was laughing, and Iori was…well, Iori was wearing his usual indifferent, glazed look.  The rest of the digidestined were smiling.  But where was the weird new kid?

“Where’s Wallace?” Matt asked, echoing her thoughts.  At that moment, a loud “SCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPEEEEE!!!!!”

could be heard.  The digidestined could barely look up before an unmistakable voice called out:

“DUNDA DUN DUN, DUN DUN!  WALLACE, TO THE RESCUE!!!!”

Wallace came skidding down the street on his skateboard, and made a perfect kick-flip fall-over dismount.

“I’m okay.” He affirmed, standing up and wiping the dust off his knees.

“Yeah,” Izzy quipped, “but you missed the battle.”

Wallace blinked his frighteningly pale blue eyes.

“WHAT?” he squawked, “Oh no way!”

“Yep,” Joe said with a shrug, “Matt and Metalgarurumon pretty much took him out with one hit!  Sorry, Wallace!”

Wallace turned to gape at Matt, who was gently cradling a sleepy Tsunomon in his arms.

“It was nothing…” Matt blushed.

“Yep!” Mimi chirped, “Matt was SO COOL!”

All the girls began to cheer and applaud for him, whereas all the guys just sweatdropped.  Matt just blushed.

“Great,” Wallace moaned, “unappreciated for some good lookin’ blonde…”

“I know how you feel.” Daisuke said with a sigh.

“Don’t be silly,” Mimi piped up again, wrapping her arm around Wallace’s shoulders, a strand of pink hair drooping in her face, “you’re a pretty good lookin’ blonde yourself!”

Wallace and Mimi laughed.  They were the best of friends. 

‘Must be an American thing…’ Tai thought to himself.

“Well,” Miyako said with a smile, “I’m starved!  Who wants to get a burger and a shake, my treat?”

“You paid last time, Miyako,” Sora said, “let us chip in!”

Miyako blushed.

“Okay…” she said softly, realizing she was trying too hard to keep her friends.  As Matt often said in his wise words: “People like you if you’re nice.  Don’t wonder why you have friends, just realize you’re a nice person, and that you deserve them!”

The gang all headed down to the waterfront burger shack for dinner.  Tyhey sat, talking and laughing, eating their meals and sipping their sodas, until well after dark.  Heck, they were all in such high spirits, even Iori cracked some hilariously funny jokes that left the others in stitches!  Pretty soon, everyone was almost asleep on their feet.  The kids left first, and soon only Tai, Joe, Izzy, Matt, and Sora were left.

“Well guys,” Sora said with a yawn, “I have to go home and get some rest!  I have a full day at the flower shop tomorrow, and mom wants me good and rested!  It’s boating season, and we’re sure to have lot’s of orders for ‘get well soon’ wreathes!”

“Aw,” Tai said, his voice sounding a little let down, “you’re not playing in the game?”

“Nope,” Sora said, shaking her head, “tell coach I’ve got work!  Later guys!”

“Bye Sora!” they chorused. 

“Speaking of soccer games,” Matt said, pulling the paper wrapper off his straw and blowing it at the back of Tai’s head, “don’t you have to play tomorrow?”

“DAMN!” Tai cried, “So I do!  Bye!”

He leapt to his feet and ran in the direction where Sora had disappeared. 

“I have computer club,” Izzy said with a sigh, standing up, followed by Joe, “seeya guys!”

“I’ll walk with you,” Joe said, “I have a huge biology exam to study for.  Talk to you later, Matt!”

“Bye…” Matt sighed and turned to look out at the water.  It was so peaceful that night.  He could hardly believe he turned sixteen in a week!  He could get his liscence, and then he could go visit TK any time he wanted to!  He could take him to the carnival and the beach, without his dad interfering, and bombarding poor Takeru with questions about their mother.  He sighed deeply.

“What’s wrong?” Tsunomon asked, poking his pewter finned head out of Matt’s backpack.  The boy looked down.

“Hmn?  Oh nothing, Tsuno-chan, just thinking, that’s all…”

More stillness.

“What about?”

Matt heaved another heavy sigh.

“I dunno,” he said, “I just feel like nobody cares, sometimes.  You know?”

“I care.”

“I know you do, Tsunomon, but what about humans?  I know when I get home my dad won’t be there.  He’s probably working late again…”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care,” Tsunomon protested, “and what about your friends, the digidestined?”

Yamato Ishida scoffed.

“They don’t give a damn about me,” he said in a sour tone, “we’re just some washed up old kids who like to think we were once heroes.  I’ve lost all meaning to them”

“That’s because you are.  And you mean a lot to them!”

“Whatever…”

 “Matt….”

“I said whatever!” Yamato snapped, “That’s it, END OF STORY!”

Tsunomon shrank back.  There was more silence as Matt gazed out on the water.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings…”

“It’s okay.”

With hands of lead, Matt looked at his watch.

“It’s really late,” he said, “wanna go home?”

“Yeah,” his little friend sighed, “it’s probably safer there, too.  I’ve got a bad feeling about this place.”

Matt nodded and bent down to pick up his schoolbag.  He slung it over his shoulders, and shushed Tsunomon, as to not raise suspicions.  Silently, like a cat, he ran down an alley by the warf, and into the street, which was usually bustling with action, but was now cold and dark.  The cold seemed to nestle in his bones.  There was a rustle of wind through fabric.

Was he being followed?

As he kept walking, there came a screech of metal and the deadly scent of burning rubber.  A car squealed around the corner.  It started out even, but looked as if it would hit him!  It went up on the curb slightly.

It WAS going to hit him!

His mind flooded with memories of the divorce, of his family before the divorce, and his days as a digidestined.

From out nowhere, something shoved him.  HARD.

He went flying into the alleyway, and the car drove right past.  There was a weight on him.  A soft voice on top of him groaned.

“You okay?” it asked.  It was raspy and feminine.  He looked up to see a bright green eye peering out at him from behind brown bangs.

“Yeah,” he replied, “thank you.”

The figure stood up.  She was a girl alright, with defined figure, wearing baggy blue jeans and a white long sleeved turtleneck underneath a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Be more careful, okay?” she asked, and ran off. 

“WAIT!” he called after her, and tried to catch up, but she had left.  Disappeared into the night.

“Who was that?” a voice from inside his backpack asked.

“I dunno,” Yamato said with a slight smile, “but I think I want to…”