Garden of Eden

By EntreriRose

Maelyn stared at the tiny glass panel in her hand, studying the concentric circles within a geometric star. It radiated a strange energy; one that Maelyn feared would consume her. Yamato had backed away from her, seeming none too happy as he held several frantic conversations over his cell phone. Maelyn couldn't discern any individual words, but she had half a hunch about which he had called.

Minutes wore on in torturous silence, Yamato worriedly staring at the unbelievable girl. All he did was stare, causing Maelyn to shift her weight uncomfortably, when she wasn't absorbed in examining her new crest.

Finally, Yamato's phone rang, breaking the dread silence in the empty auditorium. After a short, hushed conversation he pulled some sort of pendant from around his neck and a strange pager-like device from his pocket, tossing them to Maelyn.

"That's you tag and digivice," he said coldly, heading for the door. He turned back toward her as he neared the exit, impatience etched across the lines of his handsome face. "Let's go. We have to meet the others in the park."

Maelyn didn't complain, only chose to ignore his rudeness and follow after him. She still hadn't even the slightest clue of what was happening to her; she wasn't even sure if she could trust Yamato. But her curiosity negated her concerns and prompted her to mount the motorcycle behind him.

Yamato rode like a madman; Maelyn was sure that they had come near to breaking the sound barrier. The tearing wind and blurred scenery thrilled her, despite her revulsion of having her arms wrapped tightly around Yamato's hardened midsection. He seemed aloof from everything, his eyes focused ahead on their destination. They reached the park shortly, the ride having left Maelyn gasping for breath. Twelve others, two of which she did not recognize came running toward them.

"Whoa, dude! Maelyn's the new Digidestined? I think I've died and gone to heaven." Daisuke gave is usual innocent and vapid grin. "Hikari, you better kiss me and make sure I'm breathing.

A slap to the back of the head by an annoyed Taichi ended Daisuke's rambling. He then approached Maelyn with a wide, charming smile. "Welcome to the team," Taichi said, extending his hand to her.

Laughing, the other gathered around her, talking all at once. Maelyn looked around at them, even more confused than she had been in the school auditorium. There was a little pulse from the crest she clenched. She lifted and opened her hand, emitting the same strong light as before. Silence fell over the group. Each now looked about them blindly, trying to make sense of things. Then, the light exploded and faded; only three were left of the group.

"Dude, where'd they go?" Daisuke exclaimed.

�

Why did this stuff always have to happen to her? Maelyn thought as she got up from the hard ground. Her bright green eyes widened in shock as she realized that they were no longer in the park, but somewhere deep in the wilderness. "This thing is able to teleport us to the Indonesian jungles?" she wondered aloud, indicating her crest.

"Of course not," a young man with blue hair and glasses shook her hand. "I'm Jyou, by the way. We haven't met yet."

"Umm . . . Maelyn," she shook her head, trying to clear her jumble of thoughts. "Now where the HELL are we?!?!?" She felt as though she was about to suffer a panic attack.

"Hey, calm down now." Jyou flashed a wide smile. "We're . . . relatively . . . safe here."

"Good Old Reliable," Taichi whispered to Yamato. "He'll handle this.

"You see," Jyou continued, "we aren't in Indonesia. We've been transported to the Digital World. Most likely, it was by the powers of your crest."

Maelyn, still beyond the realms of confusion, asked "Digital World? Crest? Now I suppose I'll see talking monsters!"

Jyou opened his mouth to answer.

"We're not monsters! We're digimon," a foreign interrupted before the blue-haired young man could say a word.

Maelyn slowly turned around, facing a three-foot tall, yellow dinosaur walking on two legs. With it was a large pink bird, a horned, blue Saint Bernard, a bipedal cat and . . . a bat-pig.

"Oh . . . I feel sick . . ." Everything went black for Maelyn as she fainted into Jyou's arms.

An hour later, Maelyn woke to find Jyou and Sora quietly keeping vigil over her. They both smiled warmly as the noticed her eyes opening.

"How're you feeling?" Sora asked, light from a nearby campfire casting shadows over her face.

"I dreamt I saw talking monsters," Maelyn replied groggily. He jaw dropped several inches as she sat up; the monsters had been real and now they were joined by a giant green caterpillar, some sort of pinkish-red insect and a marine mammal with a bad mohawk for a haircut. "Kame," Maelyn wailed, drawing a snicker from Yamato.

Before anyone could even attempt to explain any of it to her, a shrieking was heard from above. Simultaneously, everyone looked skyward to see a mass of pink descending on them. "Mimi?" they all asked in unison!"

"Oomph!" They pink clad girl hit the ground none too gently. Fortunately, she hadn't been hurt. "Hey guys," Mimi laughed, dusting off her short skirt. Her eyes brightened as she spotted Maelyn, rushing forward to wrap her in a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in ages Mae! What're you doing here?"

Maelyn frowned. "That's what I'd like to know."

Fortunately for Maelyn, Mimi enjoyed the sound of her own voice and explained all about the concept of the Digital World and it's inhabitants. Maelyn still didn't completely comprehend, but, from what the others had said, they had no way of reaching home just yet; and to the newest of the Chosen Children, that was a bad thing by far.

"You learn to make the best of it," Ken said to her softly as all the other was drifting off to sleep. "If you give it a chance, the Digital World can become a paradise.

"Yeah," Maelyn muttered, studying the exotic trees and breathing in the too-clean air as she settled in for her first watch. "A regular Garden of Eden . . ."