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Hello everyone, WD here. Alive. Yes, no such luck for certain
individuals out there. ^_~

Please take a few seconds to read this brief note:

Anyway, 'Domino and Dice' is a fic I've been working on with another
author from FF.net; Kino Hikari.

Together, we've thought of this little piece of blatant self-insertion
(to an extent), and although we've got must of the bugs in the pieces
I'll be sending you, EVERY comment helps. I swear. ^_^

I would definaltely make more mistakes if many of you hadn't helped
me out on many details, (thanks, Latin D!) Aaaanyway. Yes, too
many 'a's' over there.

As a matter of fact, this part, although written by both, was edited
by her, so those who know my style will notice the difference.

Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writting it,
and... you'll tell me if we did our job right whenever I get details
about the characters, which I humbly ask for, since those are
very important.

So, I finish this rant, informing you that since Hi-chan is not part
of the FFML or DFFML, I'll forward all the mails I get (good
or bad) to her so we can really get better at storytelling.

Ah, and before I go, my new page is at:
http://wandererd.cdreams.com

Later!

WD
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Digimon and anything else mentioned here -other than Domino and
Dice- are property of their respective holders.
**************************************************


 I was so close, I could almost taste my victory.  I hit the
sorceress again, and again, and my magic hit her hard.  She doubled
over, then struck back, and hit my fellow warrior.

 "Oh no!  Quistis!"

 My hands were aching, but I was not about to give up now, not
when I was so close!

 "Come on, come on!" I implored as I pulled up my menu list and
selected "full-life" from the "magic" window.  There was a strange
sound, and a handful of feathers enshrouded with pink and purple light
surrounded my fallen comrade, and she got back to her feet.

 "Yess!!"

 I leaned to the right as Ultimecia sent another spell my
way...but the little pixilated people on the TV screen did not follow
my motion.  Stupid of them, I thought, if they would just move instead
of standing there like a bunch of stoned dolts, they might not get
slammed.

 Hi, my name is Devinne.  Heh, no, I'm not really fighting any
sorceresses...it's just a video game...though I would like to have an
adventure like Squall and the others...  I think I would be good at
fighting sorceresses!  I'm fifteen...and I hate being fifteen...you
can't drive, you can't see the good movies...  It's very frustrating...

 Though, surely not as frustrating as this game of Final Fantasy 8
is getting...  I've been playing for almost six hours straight now, and
I have yet to get through this final boss fight!  My butt is going
numb!

 "Hey--!"

 I let out a startled yelp as someone ruffled my hair with their
hands.

 "Hey, Debbs, let me play for a while!  You've been at it for six
hours!"

 I sighed.  That's my brother David...pain-in-the-butt
extraordinaire.  He's seventeen...so he never turns down an opportunity
to rub in my face the fact that he can drive, and he can see all the
good movies.

 He's a lot taller than me...which, granted, isn't that hard to
do, considering I barely clear five feet, and he has kinda jet black
hair he likes to hide under a baseball cap.  He has blue eyes, like my
mom, while mine are green, like my dad's.  That just kinda adds to the
irony of the whole thing.

 You see...David and I have almost nothing in common.  He's got
black hair...I'm a brunette.  He has blue eyes, I have green.  He's a
total dweeb, and I'm--

 What?  What's that look for?

 Okay, okay, personal opinions aside...  He always wears the same
thing...blue jeans, a white shirt, and these brown shoes...I dunno
about you, but I prefer to vary my wardrobe.  And it's not just the
physical stuff that we differ on...  I'm a ball of energy, I just go,
go, go.  He'd rather just sit at home and play video games or watch TV
all day.  I'm on the school track team, our best sprinter, and I was on
the volleyball team, too.  David plays basketball...but only cuz he's
tall, that doesn't take any real talent when you're nine feet tall...
He reads magazines, I read Shakespeare.  He's an uncultured pig, he
thinks that "The Taming of the Shrew" is about rodents...  He also
likes to break stuff.  He calls this "tinkering"...I call it
destructive tendencies...you should see what he's done to Dad's
favorite pocket watch...

 "Will you quit calling me 'Debbs', David?" I said, annoyed.  I
dunno how he got that nickname from "Devinne"...I think he does it just
to piss me off...  "My name is Devinne...Dev-inne..."  I gestured at
the game controller.  "Besides, I've been stuck on this one Boss
fight...let me finish, and then it's all yours..."

 He leaned over my shoulder and laughed.

 "Heh, you're still stuck there?" he asked in his very
condescending way.  "Wow, Debbs, I think you're not gonna get past it
this time, either...you've used up almost half your life!"

 I grit my teeth.  "You're gonna lose half your life if you don't
shut up so I can concentrate!" I huffed.  "I think I'm really close
this time!  Besides," I said, giving him a mean glare over my shoulder,
"I remember how long it took you to beat Ultimecia, so I wouldn't
talk..."

 He frowned.  "It took me half an hour..."

 I punched his foot with my free hand and he made a sound of
protest.

 "You never would have made it that far if you hadn't kept
borrowing my strategy guide, so shut up!"  I snapped my head up when
slow and sad strains of music came from the speakers on the sides of
the TV.  "'Game over'?  Ohhhh man!  Not again!  You did it again,
Davey, you distracted me and I died again!"

 He smirked.

 "Sorry, Debbs," he said, not sounding sorry at all, "looks like
you have fallen prey to Time Compression yet again!"

 "Har har," I sneered, "very funny, you're a regular comedian..."
I tossed the controller at his feet.

 "Hey, watch it, that ain't cheap, you know," he scolded.

 I narrowed one eye, then stood up and ambled over to his bed.  I
flopped down with an over-exaggerated sigh.  "Yes, David, I know," I
said, "I paid for half of it, you may recall...?  We bought it with our
combined Christmas and birthday money."

 "Yeah, well, if you'd like half a controller, then keep treating
it that way," David growled, putting another game into the console.

 "Keep talking and I'll give you more than half a knuckle
sandwich," I shot back, and flopped backward onto the bed.  I scowled
and folded my arms over my chest.  "I dunno why Mom sided with you and
agreed we could keep it in here..." I grumbled.

 Yes, this is a normal day in the life of me...David and I fight
all the time.  He's a total control freak, that's why he practically
begged Mom to let him have the Play Station in his room.  I sighed
again.  I don't even like his room.  It's so boring, mine is much more
interesting.  It's got drab blue walls and kinda beige carpet, and he
has only got posters of comic book characters with huge muscles and
torn shirts or big-busted anim� women.

 It gives me the creeps.

 "Shaddup," he said as he hunted for a game, and I ignored him as
I turned over onto my stomach to toy with the action figures he had
lined up on the shelf near his bed.

 "What game are you playing, anyhow?" I asked, plucking at the
plastic cape around Captain Neutrino or some action hero equally as un-
original.

 David looked at me.  "Pok�mon Stadium," he replied, unhooking the
Play Station to hook up his Nintendo 64.

 I made a scoffing noise.  "Pok�mon?" I echoed as he jammed the
game cartridge into the top of the Nintendo.  "Again?  Is that all you
ever play, Davey?"  He ignored me.  I made a face at the back of his
head.  "I don't understand why you like that game so much anyway, all
it is, is a Nano Pet for your Nintendo.  You feed it, you play with it,
you train it to kick another pok�mon's ass...you might as well take it
to the bathroom..."  I made a low growling noise in the back of my
throat and tugged at my long brown hair.  "It's too much like baby-
sitting..."

 "Yeah, it's kind of like having you for a little sister, Debbs,"
he said, "except I can get my pok�mon to do something useful."

 I chucked an action figure at him.  "How's that for useful, huh?"

 "Ow!" he yelped, and paused the game while he inspected the
projectile I had thrown at him.  "Hey, that's my limited edition Croc
action figure from the animated Batman series!  This is a collector's
item!"

 "Oh," I said, sliding off the bed onto the floor, "is that what
that thing is?  I thought it was like a hypothermic Komodo Dragon or
something."

 He squinted at me.  "Listen, Debbs," he said, placing the
crocodile man beside his leg as he un-paused the game, "why don't you
go have fun with the microwave?"

 "Only if I can put your head in it," I said with a syrupy smile.
He ignored me, as usual, so I got back up and flopped down onto the bed
again, knocking over half a dozen more action figures and making rather
a lot of noise in the process.  "Oops," I said to nobody in particular.
"Sorry there, Spawn..."  I picked up the caped crusaders I had
scattered all over the floor and glanced at the TV over David's
shoulder.  "What are you doing now?" I asked.  "What the heck kinda
pok�mon is that, anyhow?" I asked.  "That looks like a booger with
eyeballs..."

 He sighed in disappointment at my obvious lack of knowledge on
the subject.  "It's called a Muk, Debbs."

 "How fitting," I laughed.  "This game is so lame, I much prefer
kicking evil sorceress ass to baby-sitting a walking Jell-O mold..."

 "Hah, any of my pok�mon could wipe the floor with Ultimecia!"
David bragged, and I lifted one eyebrow.

 "Uh huh..." I said flatly, "like that...what was that thing you
had once?  It looked like a floating bowling ball."

 "Maybe it was a piece of slime," David suggested, "like that
curry you prepared last week."

 I stuck my tongue out at him.

 "Well, at least I can fend for myself," I accused.  "You can't
even make instant rice!  God only knows what would happen to you if you
were ever caught out in the wilderness by yourself!  You would never be
able to forage for yourself..."  I puffed out my chest.  "Unless, of
course, I was there to help you...  I was a Girl Scout for six
years..."

 "I'd be just fine," he insisted.  "I have style, whereas you
have...mere enthusiasm."

 I snorted a laugh through my nose.  "Psh, yeah, you have all the
finesse of a carsick llama."  I shook my head.  "Besides, style won't
help you build a fire with no matches..."

 "I'd use gasoline."

 I jumped, a little startled by his response.  "You can't use
gasoline!" I cried.  "That's cheating!"

 "No, that's improvising," he replied without looking at me, and I
rolled my eyes.

 "You're such a moron, David," I said, "go and tend to your pok�-
booger..."

 "I told you," he said.  "Style."

 I ignored him.

 Sitting on the bed, I watched the shadows from the TV dance
across the walls and cast eerie darkness into the corners.  I started
when thunder rumbled outside the window.  Slowly rising to my feet, I
approached the window and placed my palms on the cool glass.

 "It's raining again," I said, though I wasn't really expecting
any response from my brother.  "That makes four days straight now, it's
like Seattle out there...  When is it gonna end?"  Lightning struck
nearby, and thunder followed almost immediately after.  The storm was
nearly on top of us.  The lights flickered, and I cast David an uneasy
glance.  "Are you sure it's a good idea to be on the TV while there is
a storm?  It might...I dunno...blow up..."

 As much as I couldn't stand him, I didn't really want chunks of
David all over the room when the TV exploded.  The lights flickered
again.

 "Great," David grumbled, seemingly impervious to my concerned
remark, "I'm actually doing really well, and now the lights are gonna
go out..."

 "Maybe you should just shut it off, Davey," I suggested.

 "Might as well save it," he said, and pressed a button on the
controller.

 I looked worriedly out the window again.

 "Hurry up, David," I urged, "it's getting vicious out there."

 Then, as the game began to save its data onto the cartridge,
something went wrong.  All the lights went out, and it took me a second
to realize just what had happened.

 "Davey...?"

 "Great," he groused in the darkness.  "I was doing so good, too!"

 "At least it didn't blow up," I said, and then froze.

 Apparently, I'd spoken too soon.

 "Erm...Davey?"  I pointed to the Nintendo.  "Davey,
what's...what's it doing?"

 The game console was engulfed in a strange pale green light, a
misty sort of glow, as though it had been left in the x-ray machine too
long.

 "I think I read about this once," David said slowly, and I gave
him an incredulous look.

 "Read about what, about possessed Nintendo systems?" I cried as
the TV screen filled with the green mist.

 "Actually," he said, "no, I have no idea what's happening..."  He
looked at me.  "But I think it's your fault."

 "My fault?" I shouted.  "I told you that you shouldn't have
bought your Nintendo from Wal-Mart!!"

 "But Target was two bucks more!" he protested, and I grabbed the
collar of his shirt as the light intensified.

 "Next time," I said, getting up in his face, "pay the extra two
bucks so you don't get one that needs to have the demons exorcised!!"

 The light seemed to explode all around us, and suddenly, I
couldn't see.  I couldn't feel, it was as though my brain had gone
numb.

 "Davey, what did you do?  This is all your fault!!" I shouted.
"Mom is gonna kill us!!"

 "Debbs?!" I heard him shout, and then I didn't hear anything
else.  Everything went white, and the last thing I remember thinking
was how mad I was that I didn't get to beat Ultimecia before I the
world ended...

 I opened my eyes, and everything was dark.

 I hate the dark.  I always have hated it, that claustrophobic
feeling it gives you when you can't see the walls around you, and you
don't quite know where you end and the confining space begins.

 It always reminds me of those few, desperate moments when I first
opened my eyes and found nothing.  I knew my eyes were open, somehow,
but there was still nothing standing before them.  Nothing beyond the
warm place I had subconsciously inhabited and enjoyed...

 Until then, that is.

 I struggled against the impossibly hard surface that had been my
niche for an eternity, but I now had no desire to remain there.

Actually, I wanted nothing more than to get out!

 Why? Well, I guess that everything changes, and change itself has
always been an important part of my life.

 I didn't know that then, though. And I didn't even bother to
think about it, all I did was push against that wall.

 Push, push, push...

 And then... I felt it give.

 Just a little, mind you, but it renewed my struggles.  It gave me
a feeling of hope that there was something beyond that tiny confined
space, and, finally, I felt the wall surrender and break.  I was free!

 As soon as I was certain I could, I jumped through that small
hole, enlarging it in the process with my body, and feeling the rough
edges scrape against my delicate skin.

 But that was the least of my worries.

 You see, I didn't know what light was exactly. But the sudden
contrast from the eternal darkness I had been stranded in, and the few
seconds of intense agony my eyes felt were enough to draw a yelp of
pain from me.

 The very first thing that escaped my mouth.

 Ironic that it would be a cry of pain.

 I remember looking around, not knowing--and at the same time
understanding--what all these new things around me were.

 The first image that filled my eyes when I looked up were the
green leaves that adorned an oak tree.  My vision was suddenly blocked
by the face of a large red and purple striped creature.  I was
startled, yet not afraid.  Somehow, I knew that this creature would not
hurt me.  Little did I know at that time that he would be the one to
help me take my first tentative steps into this brave new world.

 "What have we here?" he said.  His voice was gregarious, and I
had the feeling he would have many fantastic stories to tell once I was
old enough to understand them.

 I tried to respond, but the only sound I was capable of was a
soft squeaking sound.

 The strange creature looked down at me and smiled.

 "So sorry," he said, "but you won't be much of a
conversationalist for a little while.  Not to worry, Little One, you'll
be able to talk soon enough."  He laughed.  "And I get the feeling you
will talk up a storm, too."

 With that, he turned around and started walking towards the
strange,cube-like structures of varying colors that seemed to tower all
around us. I followed, hopping along, as my body was really nothing
more than a whitish little blob, as he talked out loud.

 "You're the first one to be born this year," he casually
mentioned.  "Primary Village hasn't seen many newborns lately...much
less a Yukimipotamon like yourself."

 Yukimipotamon?

 So, that was what I was, then? The name, or title, didn't hold
any real meaning to me. Still, it gave me a sense of belonging.  A
sense that I was supposed to be there.

 "Anyway," the striped creature continued,"I think that that's why
you were born with that color.  Maybe Yukimipotamon have to take a
specific time before hatching to be born the normal tone. You were in
that egg a little longer than I remember most are...and even so, you
are smaller than most I have seen...  No matter, you're here, and that
is all that counts."

 He regarded me with a fond smile, then started down a small hill.
A little confused

with all his blabbering, I followed him again. It wasn't like I much to
do, anyway.

 And just as I jumped--or rather bumped since I lacked feet--to
the top of the hill, I overlooked what looked like...

 To be honest, I didn't have the slightest idea of what it looked
like, but it certainly looked fun.

 And it was full of eggs! All colors, all sizes, all laying
seemingly at random, in no particular order.  It was like chaos, but
beautiful chaos.  All those different shades, all those different
textures!  It was like a symphony for the eyes!

 The strange creature--I'd yet to hear him mention his name--
motioned for me to come closer. I walked up and looked at the egg he
was pointing at.

 "That, my friend, is another Digimon, like me and you," he said.
So not only was I a Yukimipotamon, apparently, I was a digimon, too.
The creature continued, "I sense it's close to hatching, so your job is to
watch over it, and call me when it does."

 A little awed at the importance of my current occupation, I could
only nod in silent solemnity--er...not that I could have said anything,
had I wanted to--nd started my vigil, determined to take my very first
job seriously.

 With a chuckle, my companion left, promising to return shortly.

 Which brings me to my current situation, sitting--or standing, I
wouldn't know the difference really, as I have no lower appendages.  No
appendages at all, come to think of it...  Well, whatever I was doing,
I was watching that other egg for all I was worth, and I was determined
not to let anything happen to it.

 But...them it started to move.

 Erm...is that normal?

 I was suddenly afraid I had done something wrong, and made the
only noise I knew how--

 I squeaked for all I was worth.

 After a moment of my frantic squealing, the red and purple
creature returned, looking a little nervous by my cries.

 "What's going on, Little One?" he asked, and then smiled at the
sight of the egg.  "Ahh, you have done a good job, my little friend.
Come, let's watch and see who will be joining us, shall we?"

 I hopped over next to the red and purple digimon, whom I was
still uncertain of name, and watched the egg as it twitched.  After a
moment, a small black shape was visible through a hairline crack in the
shell.

 It was hatching!

 The black shape pushed its way out of the shell, much as I had,
and had a similar reaction to the sudden brightness.  I looked at it,
and it then blinked back at me with huge blue eyes.

 "Well, I'll be a Monkeymon's uncle," the creature exulted,
"another Yukimipotamon!"

 So it was another one like me...

 "You two are a pair of the rarest digimon around, I'd say," he
said to me.  "Oh, how rude of me...I haven't even intorduced myself
yet..."  He smiled sheepishly, and nodded his head.  "I'm Elecmon, I am
in charge here at Primary Village.  You babies are my job, you see...I
watch over all of you and make sure you don't get into too much
trouble."  He winked at me.  "I get the feeling you are going to do
just about everything you can to make sure I don't succeed at that,
ey?"

 I would have laughed...if I could.

 "Well, Yukimipotamon," he said as he lifted me from the ground,
"meet Yukimipotamon."

 He set me down next to the other Yukimipotamon, and then
scratched his head as he looked us over.

 "You're quite a pair, you two..." Elecmon said.  "I've never seen
Yukimipotamon with spots before..."  He looked at me, then his eyes
moved to the other baby with the huge blue eyes.  "Nor have I seen one
that was all black...how peculiar..."

 He watched us for a moment as we gazed at one another, unsure of
exactly what to think of this other Yukimipotamon...and then we
realized that it didn't really involve any thought...  We were the
same, and that meant we were friends.

 Elecmon turned to tend to the other babies as we two unusual baby
digimon bopped about on our lack-of-legs, squeaking at one another and
laughing inwardly at how ridiculous we sounded.

 I remember thinking that Elecmon must have loved his job very
much...

 As time passed, the other Yukimipotamon and I became good
friends, and we often aided Elecmon in his duties.  We helped him watch
the other babies, and we managed to keep them out of trouble... even if
we didn't follow our own example.

 "Yukimipotamon!" I heard Elecmon's voice call out.  But I didn't
move.  He couldn't see me, I knew, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Something had changed...I wasn't the same anymore, somehow...  I felt
weird, like I didn't belong anymore, and I just wanted to hide.  I
never wanted to come out from under that bush!

 I heard the other Yukimipotamon squeaking worriedly to Elecmon,
no doubt explaining what had happened.  You see, we had been playing
together, when this sort of odd light engulfed me.  It was all silvery
and warm, and it had startled me, so I ran, trying to get away from it.

Then, when the light had abated, I opened my eyes and I felt...
different.  I wasn't sure what had changed, but I knew, without a
doubt, that something had.  And so, I had sought refuge beneath the
bush.  It didn't last long, though.

 Suddenly, the foliage parted, and Elecmon gazed down at me,
relief in his large dark turquoise eyes.

 "Ah," he said as he scooped me up, "you gave us quite a scare,
Nyaromon..."

 "Nyaromon?  But I thought I was a--"

 I stopped.  Had I...spoken?

 Elecmon laughed heartily.  "You can speak now, Nyaromon, you have
digivolved to a new form," he said to me, and carried me over to a
nearby pond so I could see my reflection.

 I had done what?

 I heard Yukimipotamon squeak something to Elecmon, but I couldn't
quite hear what he said.

 "That she did," Elecmon replied to Yukimipotamon over his
shoulder.  "But, don't worry, it will be your turn soon enough."

 Elecmon set me down beside the pond and I looked at myself.  I
was so different now!  A pair of triangular ears crowned my head, and
my huge green eyes stared back at me from the smooth surface of the
water.  I even had a tail now!  I saw Elecmon's reflection in the water
as he leaned down over me.

 "Strange," he said softly, and I looked up at him.  "The
colors," he clarified, reading my perplexed expression.  "Nyaromon are
usually kinda yellow...but not you...  You have spots...very
interesting...  I shall like to see what happens when you grow up some
more, I feel you will have a beautiful coat."

 "I'm unique!" I said with a smile, then looked at the
Yukimipotamon, who suddenly seemed very small anymore.

 "Why don't you grow up, too?" I asked him, and he blinkd at me.
"Look!" I said excitedy.  "You'll get a tail!"

 Elecmon patted me on the head.  "Don't worry," he assured me,
"your friend will digivolve soon, I'm sure of it."  He smiled, and then
turned.  "Well, come on, Nyaromon," he said, and I followed as he
headed away from the pond and toward the shallow river that ran through
the village.  "Now that you're bigger, you can help me feed the babies.
Come one, we're going fishing!"

 "Fishing?" I repeated, unsure of how I even knew what that meant.
"But...I dunno how to fish!"

 "That's no problem," Elecmon said as he dropped to all fours.
"I'll be doing the actual fishing, you can just help me drag the fish
back to the village."

 "Okay!" I said eagerly, and then paused as I thought of
something.  "Erm, but, Elecmon...?"  He turned and looked at me.  "What
if the fish are bigger than I am?"

 He laughed.  "I'll be using a net," he assured me, "stop worrying
so much.  It'll be easy, I promise."  Then his eyes moved to the black
Yukimipotamon.  "But you will have to watch over your little friend
there while I'm working on fishing, okay?"

 If I'd had hands, I would have given him a crisp salute.  But...I
didn't, so a simple, "Sir, yes Sir!" sufficed.  I turned and looked at
Yukimipotamon and smiled.  "So...not much of a talker, are you?" I
asked, and Yukimipotamon just looked at me.  I sighed.  Okay, this was
getting boring.  I gave Yukimipotamon a sidelong glance.  "Okay, Little
Guy, you need to hurry up and digivolve so I'll have somebody to talk
to..."  I paused, and then thought of something.  "Hey, I know," I said
to the little digimon, "let's play a game!"

 Yukimipotamon squeaked in approval, and proceeded to bounce in
small tight circles.

 "Okay, here's what we're gonna do," I continued, "I'm gonna close
my eyes and count to ten, and you rund and hide, and I will try to find
you, okay?"  Yukimipotamon nodded.  I closed my eyes and slowly began
to count, smiling as I heard Yukimipotamon run--er, bounce--off to
hide.  "...eight, nine, ten!" I said.  "Ready or not, here I come!"  I
opened my eyes and looked around--

 --to see Yukimipotamon standing a few feet away from me, a big
goofy grin on his face.

 I would have slapped my forehead had I had any hands.

 "No, no, no, Yukimipotamon," I chided, "you're supposed to
hide...like so I can't see you."

 This took a second to sink in, and then Yukimipotamon nodded
eagerly.  I closed my eyes again.

 When I reached ten, I called out again, "Ready or not, here I--oy
vey..."

 This time he had his face buried in a bush...the old "I can't see
you, you can't see me" routine.  I shook my head.

 "Perhaps we should try something a little simpler," I said, more
to myself than anyone else, and bumped over to Yukimipotamon.  I tapped
his head with the tip of my tail, and he jumped, then beamed, overjoyed
and astounded that I had been able to find him.  I flattened my eyes.
"Okay, Yukimipotamon, we're gonna try something different this time," I
said, and he listened carefully.  "How about I hide this time, and you
try seeking?  How's that?"  Yukimipotamon squeaked something I couldn't
quite understand (I found I was having more difficulty understanding
his squeaking now that I was a Nyaromon...I wondered how Elecmon still
managed to understand...?), and I nodded in agreement, even though I
had no idea what he had just said.  "Okay, just close your eyes," I
told him, "and start counting."  He squeaked something.  I frowned.
"Oh, right...I forgot...you don't know how to count yet...do you?"  I
thought for a moment.  "Okay, how about you just wait till you hear me
shout 'ready!' and then come find me?"  Yukimipotamon squeaked in
agreement.  "All right then...close your eyes--no peeking!--and listen
for my call."

 With that, I bounced off to go hide.  I tried the bush where
Elecmon had found me earlier, then decided that was too easy.  So I
leapt out of the bush and headed a little farther into the small woodsy
area nearby.  I circled a tree about three times before deciding there
was no possible way I could climb it, and so I headed back to the bush,
as it was about the only other place I could think of.  I flattened
myself against the ground as much as I could, trying to become
invisible.

 "Okay!" I called.  "I'm ready!!"

 I saw Yukimipotamon open one beady black eye, and then start
looking around.  Then I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to make myself
smaller.  After a few moments had passed, I started wondering what was
taking him so long.  After all, it wasn't that difficult of a hiding
place...  I waited a moment longer, then slowly opened one eye.

 There was a strange shadow in front of me.  I opened the other
eye, and glanced up at what was casting the shadow.  My eyes popped
open wide and I stumbled backward at what I saw.

 "What in the--?" I gasped.  "Ack!  Elecmon!!  Help!  A monster!!

 I leapt out of the bush as the strange creature with huge blue
eyes stared at me like I was from another planet, seeminlgy startled
and amused by my behavoir.  It was not much bigger than me, and it was
all black, save for a white patch over its right eye.

 "Um...boo?" it said, and I let out a shriek and buried my face in
the ground.

 "Aaaugh!  Don't eat me!!" I cried, wishing Elecmon would come and
rescue me from thsi strange new creature.

 "I guess it's my turn to count now."

 I blinked and lifted my head.  What had it said?

 "Your turn to...?" I echoed, and narrowed one eye.  "Who are
you?"

 It grinned, and I suddenly recognized that mischeivous smirk.  It
was Yukimipotamon!  But...well, he wasn't a Yukimipotamon anymore.

 "Heyyy," I said, "so you finally decided to grow up, huh?"

 He paused.  "Well, it wasn't like I really had a choice," he
said, "it just sorta...happened."

 "It's more fun, though," I assured him.  I looked him over.

"Hey, you know, we're like opposites," I said.  "You have a white patch
over your right eye, and I have a black one over my left.  My tail is
white with a black tip, yours is balck with a white tip!"

 He looked at his tail.  "Isn't that normal?" he asked.

 I shook my head.  "Not acording to Elecmon..." I replied.  "He
said most Nyaromon are kinda yellow.  I like my spots better, anyhow,
don't you?  Hey, where did Elecmon get to, anyhow?  He said he was
going fishing, but I don't see him anywhere!  Oh, just wait till he
sees you, he'll be so delighted!"

 The other Nyaromon squinched up his face at the realization I had
said all of that in one breath.  Then he smiled.  "Well, let's go see
if we can find him," he said.  "Let's go scope out the riverside."

 "Okay!"

 With that, we bounded down to the riverside to look for our
missing guardian.  We scanned the whole of the riverbank we could
see...but there was no sign of elecmon.  The black Nyaromon paused
pensively, and I cast him a look.

 "Did Elecmon leave us all alone?" I asked softly.

 Before the other Nyaromon could answer, there was a distant noise
like that of an explosion, and we turned out heads in tandem to see a
small red dot flying through the air from one end of the Primary
Village town to the other.

 The other Nyaromon looked at me severely.  "What the heck was
that?"

 I shrugged, which was quite a feat, since I didn't really have
shoulders.

 "I dunno, but it looks like fun," I told him.  "Let's go check it
out!"

 "Race you there!" the black Nyaromon challenged, and he started
forward.

 "Hey, no fair!" I called, struggling to catch up to his head
start.  "You have longr legs that I do!"

 He stopped.  "L-legs?" he asked, looking down.  "B-but, we don't
have any--"

 I shot past him.

 "Hah!  I knew that would work!"

 "Hey!" I heard him protest, and he started hopping faster.

 "Last one there is a boogermon!" I called, and laughed over my
shoulder.  "Oh, come on," I taunted, "surely you can go faster than--
oomph!"

 "I left the kids alone, how could I forget the--oof!"

 As I tried to get my bearings back, I glanced up to see who I had
run into.

 "Elecmon!" the black Nyaromon gasped as we both staggered back to
our feet.  Er...well, Elecmon to his feet, anyhow...

 "Nyaromon...wha...?" he said, clearly a little bewildered.

 "There you are, Elecmon," I said, staring up at him.  "We thought
you ran away!"

 Elecmon seemed not to hear me as he gaped at the other Nyaromon.

 "What happened?" he asked.  "Where is the other Yukimipotamon?"
 He looked at the new Nyaromon, and smiled knowingly.  "You, too?"

 The black Nyaromon beamed.  "Yeah!" he said, hopping up and down.
"Isn't it great?"

 "I..."

 Elecmon, it seemed, was rather speechless.

 I grinned wickedly.  "I think I liked him better before he could
talk..."

 The black Nyaromon gave me a snide look, then smiled and bounced
over next to me.

 "You were right," he said to me, "this is much better than being
little."

 "See?" I said proudly.  "That;s what I'm talking about..."  I
turned to Elecmon.  "So...where were you, anyhow?  I thought you were
going fishing?"

 Elecmon suddenly looked a trifle sheepish.  "Well, you see, I
was," he began, "but...something came up in Primary Village and...now
we have a lot of work ahead of us..."

 "What do you mean by that?" the black Nyaromon asked.  "What
happened, anyhow?  We saw you jumping around the village!"

 With a sigh, Elecmon proceeded to explain about the little
Digidestined boy named TK who he found snoopong about the village,
making the digi-eggs hatch at an alarming rate by rubbing them.

Angered, he challenged TK's Patamon to a contest, a sort of survival of
the fittest challenge.  That was what the "jumping around" had been...
Elecmon and Patamon had been having quite the intense battle, so it
would seem.  After Patamon had been officially declared the winner,
Elecmon had seen TK and the little digimon off, happy that the boy had
turned out to be friend instead of foe.  The only problem was, now
Elecmon had several dozen new babies to care for.

 "Now we've got to get back to the village and get organized," he
said.  "There are a lot of new mouths to feed..."

 "All righty then!" I said, hopping forward.  "Let's go round up
some baby digimon!"  I puased and looked back at the black Nyaromon,
then looked up at Elecmon.  "Erm...Elecmon?" I called, and he stopped
and looked over his shoulder.

 "Yes?"

 I hesitated.  "What are we to be called?"

 "Called?" he asked, confused.

 "I know most digimon go by their digimon names," I said slowly,
"but we are both the same."  I paused and looked at the black Nyaromon
again.  "What are we to do?"

 "Hmm..."  Elecmon thought this over for a second, then regarded
me with a serious look.  "You know, you're right...  Most digimon do go
by their birth names, and those names change when we digivolve.  That
is the natural way of things."

 "But, even when we digivolve," I protested, "he and I will both
be the same."  I frowned.  "That would get very confusing..."

 The black Nyaromon blinked twice in rapid succession.  "She's
right, Elecmon," he said.  "Can't you think of something?"

 Elecmon suddenly looked a little wan.  "Well, let's go take care
of all the new babies, and then we will sit down and think about
this," he suggested quickly.

 We could both tell he was at a loss for a solution.

 "I suppose," I said after a moment, then turned to the black
Nyaromon.  "We should start thinking, though," I told him.  "We need to
come up with names for ourselves..."

 The black Nyaromon looked thoughtful for a moment as we trailed
behind Elecmon.  Then he looked up, and his blue eyes brightened.

 "Elecmon," he beckoned, and Elecmon made a wordless sound of
acknowledgement, though he did not stop walking.  "Elecmon, what are
those things?"

 Now Elecmon paused his stride.

 "Hmm?  What things?"

 He pointed with his tail.  "Those, up there," he clarified,
"dangling from that tree.  The things with the spots."

 "Those would be called dice," Elecmon asnwered, giving the black
Nyaromon a strange look.  "Why do you ask?"

 "Perhaps I could be called 'Dice' as well?" the little digimon suggested,
and Elecmon smiled.

 "Very well," he said, "Dice it is."

 "I like that!" I said, and grinned, eager to find a title for
myself.  "Okay, my turn!" I cried.

 Elecmon looked back at me.

 "Well," he said after a moment, "you could be just Nyaromon."

 I pouted.  "But, Elecmon," I whined, "we're unique!  You said it
yourself; we're not like other Nyaromon!"

 "Yeah!" Dice said ardently.  "We have spots!"

 "So, unless I have my own name," I concluded, "what is to
distinguish me from any normal Nyaromon?"

 Elecmon was a little startled by this.  I suppose he hadn't
expected us to be so...insightful.  After all, we were still mere
children, in the life span of digimon.  He paused, and glanced around.
He spotted something on a nearby boulder, and huried over to it.

 "How about 'Domino'?" he suggested.

 "What's that?" I asked, eyeing the little balck-and-white piece
of plastic he held in one claw.

 "It's actually a game," he explined, "that I challenged TK to.
But dominoes have spots, just like dice.  See?"  He held it up to the
light.

 I smiled.  "A game, huh?" I said.  "I like games...  Especially
games with spots..."  I looked over at Dice.  "Well, what do you
think?" I asked him.

 He smiled widely.

 "I like that!"

 "All right!" I said, and--had I had any--I would have pumped one
fist victoriously in the air.  "Domino and Dice!  What a team!!"

 Elecmon just sighed and shook his head at out juvenile
enthusiasm.

 "Well, Dice, Domino," he called over his shoulder as he headed
toward the village again, "come give me a hand with the others.  It's
time we ate..."

 Dawn slowly began to brighten the Eastern horizon as we three
very tired digimon put the last of the babies back into their cradles
and managed to get them to sleep.  Elecmon grunted and stepped back,
then glanced at us and noticed his two proteg�s were falling alseep on
their feet.

 Well...in a matter of speaking, anyway, as Nyaromon have no
feet...

 Elecmon dropped to all fours then proceeded to curl up, resting
his head on his forepaws.  "Okay, you two," he said, "I think we're
done for now.  Try to get some sleep."

 "Sleep?" I slurred.  "Hah!  I laugh in the face of sleep!"  I
yawned, and my eyelids felt extremely heavy.  "I could go on for
days..."

 Beside me, Dice flopped down and fell instantly to sleep.  Just
like a man, I thought with a grin.  Lazybones.  Then I turned to
Elecmon.

 "Elecmon, can I ask you something?" I said softly.

 He yawned and opened one eye to look at me.  "Yes, Domino, what
is it?"

 I looked around us.  "Is all of the Digital World like this?  I
mean...what is the rest of this world like, anyway?" I asked.  "Is it
all green and lush like Primary Village?"

 Elecmon opened his other eye and gazed at me, amused by my
curiosity.

 "Some parts are," he said, "but most of them are--"  He stopped
himself, and yawned again.  "Listen, you're still too young to worry
about all that, Domino...  Myabe once you're a little older you can go
exploring, but right now, it's time for sleep."

 I frowned.  "Okay..." I said, and closed my eyes.  With a sigh, I
managed to eventually fall asleep.  I was still curious, but too tired
to really pursue my inquisitiveness.

 Over the next few weeks there was a frantic rearrengement of the
Primary Village. With so many new babies to deal with, Elecmon, Dice,
and I were forced to ask for help from other nearby digimon. The other
digimon were quite happy to help, and made rounds, feeding and playing
with the babies, helping ease off the amount of work on the three of
us.

 They served another purpose, also. As every new digimon came to
town, both Dice and I would stick to them like glue, to learn of the
places they had seen and where they lived.  Some of them, like Meramon,
had encountered the same fabled Digidestined Elecmon had, and, when the
famous Leomon graced the village with an offer to help out, he told us
about the children's battle with Devimon, feeding our minds with images
of glory and action.

 When each day came to an end, each of us would tell the other
about what we had heard.  Dice told me of how the Digidestined had
managed to break through Devimon's frightening illusions and freed
Leomon from the evil digimon's dark control.  I told him how Meramon
had been rescued from a black gear and how the children had stopped him
from nearly destroying a village of Yokomon.  Steadily, our need to see
these adventures for ourselves grew, until it was an almost paplable
energy that clung to us like an aura.  We were growing restless within
the confines of Primary Village, and I'm sure Elecmon noticed it,
too...

 Elecmon and I looked up as Dice jumped behind Leomon, trying both
to gain his attention and help him carry the food he held within his
massive arms.  I quickly learned that Dice had gained a hero in the
mighty Beast King digimon, and Leomon was more than glad to turn his
"helping out" around the village into "training sessions" that would
help him become stronger.

 I, on the other hand, while just as enthusiastic, was a little
less obvious than my friend, gathering every scrap of information I
could into my mind, and even taking control of the situations at times.
I discovered I was quite the born leader, and I hated taking orders.  I
much prefered giving them.  Dice and I had never spent so much time
apart, and at the same time been so close than we had now. Somehow, the
different stimulations from different digimon and different situations,
while drawing us each in our own direction, seemed to unite us in a
single wish.  Our wanderlust was increasing every passing second.

 It didn't come as much of a surprise when Dice digivolved again
not long after Leomon first showed up.  About a week had passed before
the little black Nyaromon we had all gotten so used to was again
engulfed in that familiar white light, emerging as a new creature
altogether.  When the light faded, where the In-Training form of a
Nyaromon had once been, now stood a Salamon, the Rookie form.

 For a moment, we could do nothing but stare.  Then, after the
initial stupor had worn off, we all rushed forward to congratulate him.
I laughed as I watched Dice happily dance around Leomon, praising the
larger digimon on how well his training had worked.

 I moved forward and smiled.  "Wow, Dice, you've got legs now!"

 He beamed at me.

 "Yeah, it's great!" he exulted, and proceeded to jump around me.
He suddenly took a misstep and pitched facefirst into the ground.

 I jumped back, a little startled.

 "Seems you might want to work a little more strength into those
little legs, Dice," leomon said benevolently as he plucked the young
Salamon from the ground and placed him back on his feet.  I grinned
wickedly.

 "Yeah, and you might wanna take a crash course in walking on
them, too," I laughed.

 Dice blinked at me, then said, unabashed, "Let's get going!  I
wanna see if I can digivolve again today!!"

 Leomon smiled, amused by Dice's enthusiasm, and Elecmon gave me a
patient smile.  "I think you'll have to wait a little longer for that,
Dice," he said.  "Right now, we should get going, there's still a lot
of work to do today."

 I bounced around him as he started forward.  "So when do i get to
digivolve again, Elecmon?" I asked.  "I wanna be a Salamon, I want
legs!  I wanna run!"

 He smiled as he picked me up.

 "I don't think you will have to wait too long, Domino," he
assured me.  "Remember, before, there was only a difference of a few
hours in your evolutions..."

 Several days passed, and, as the second week approached, and I
feared I would just die from waiting, I finally digivolved, to the
pleasure of everyone, but mainly myself.

 "Why did I take so long to digivolve, Elecmon?" I asked the
rabbit-like Digimon, as we watched Leomon say goodbye to Dice.  The
huge lion digimon had decided that it was time he continued with his
travels, and possibly help those Digidestined kids along their way.
Dice had been very sad to learn this, and Leomon was a little reluctant
as well.  It would seem he had grown used to having a student.  But it
was time to go, and both had excused themselves to talk a little before
Leomon left.

 Elecmon gave a little piece of food to one of the babies and
stopped to consider my question.

 "Well, Domino, I think it was because Dice spent so much time
training with Leomon.  He had enough energy and strenght to Digivolve
faster."

 "You mean it depends on how strong you are?" I asked, startled.
I hadn't really thought of that.

 Elecmon nodded. "Among other things, yes."

 I watched as Elecmon continued feeding the babies, then turned,
and noticed that Dice was alone. Apparently, Leomon had already left,
and Dice looked a little depressed about the whole situation.

 I gave Elecmon a big grin.  "Then I am gonna train really hard so
I can digivolve quickly!"  I flashed him a toothy grin, and then my
eyes moved back to Dice.  I fronwed.  "Erm...'scuse me for a second,
Elecmon."  I walked over to where Dice sat by himself, staring
wistfully out at the horizon.  "Dice?" I said, sitting down beside him.

"Dice, are you okay?  What's wrong?"

 He looked up at me.

 "Oh, it's you, Domino," he said, almost as if it had taken him a
moment to recognize me.

 I blinked.  "Are you okay?" I repeated.

 He half-nodded, then let out a sigh.

 "It's just that...I wanted to go with him, Domino," he told me
softly.  "I want to see all those places he and the others have told us
so much about."

 I frrowned.  Truth was, I was thinking the same thing.  I longed
to see the world they painted with their words, I yearned for the
adventures they spoke of...but...but we were only...

 "But, Dice, you're just a Salamon," I protested, trying to play
the voice of wisdom, "you're not strong enough to go with Leomon, you
heard about all the battles he said had been in."  I paused a moment,
and gave him a look.  "Dice, you could get hurt."

 Dice sighed again, gazing longingly into the dense forests
surrounding Primary Village.

 "You know what, Domino?" he asked me.  "Right now, I don't care.
I don't care about the danger factor, I just feel I'm missing so many
things!"

 I stared at the ground and sighed.  "I know how you feel, Dice,"
I said, "believe me, I do...  I'm bored  here...  I mean, Elecmon is
great, and the babies are fun...but..."

 Dice looked at me, and I sighed again.

 "But I feel trapped here...like I know there's just this whole
big other world out there that's just crying to be discovered and
explored..." I concluded slowly.

 He nodded, then stood up and reluctantly turned away from the
forest.

 "Let's go back and help now," he said.

 I didn't get up.

 "I don't want to babysit anymore..." I complained, scowling.
"We're more than this, Dice. We could be something so much bigger."  I
looked at him, yearning in my eyes.  "I want to be that...I don't want
to spend the rest of my life here..."

 Dice looked a little contrite.

 "But... shouldn't we help him out?" he asked. He looked at all
the Digimon working alongside Elecmon. "Although, he seems to have
plenty of help as it is..."

 I pouted.  "I know we owe him...he raised us to be who we are
now..." I sighed.  I looked at my paws.  "But I am just not satisfied
here anymore..."  I glanced up at Dice, frowning.  "You're not
either...are you?"

 The black Salamon looked at the forest longingly.

 "No..." he admitted.  "No, I'm not..."

 There was a pause of silence, and then I shook my head.

 "We have to tell him, Dice..." I insisted.  "We can't keep lying
to him and saying we're happy...  We're lying to ourselves, too..."  I
paused, a little discouraged.  Then I brightened.  "I'm sure he'll
understand...this village is his destiny...  We have to find ours..."
I paused.  "And we won't find it here."

 What we didn't realize was that Elecmon had watched the entire
interchange from where he stood, still feeding the babies.  He had
noticed the looks we both had given the forest. Hw would later admit to
us that the last few weeks, ever since we had hatched into his life,
had been some of his most rewarding. We had both had helped him a lot,
taking care of babies, and taking care of him, too, in some ways.

 We had also apparently become favorites of the rest of the
digimon, who were always happy to tell us their stories. But, as we
started walking towards Elecmon, we could see the look of sadness on
his face as he realized  that the day when when we would leave his side
had finally come. It was true that he had noticed our restlesness
before, but it would seem had tried to brush it off...avoid this moment
for as long as possible.

 He gave the food to Meramon, who had to lower his flames
considerably, and walked up to us.

 "Is something wrong, Domino, Dice?" he asked, as if he hoped we
would suddenly change our minds.

 I frowned and twitched my nose.  "Erm...Elecmon..." I stamered,
fidgeting.  Then I sighed.  "Okay, I'll be blunt...you deserve to know
the truth..."  I looked up at him.  "Elecmon...we can't stay here
anymore..."

 Elecmon looked from me to Dice.  "Dice?" he asked, perhaps a
little to hopefully.

 "I... m-me too, Elecmon..." Dice answered, looking away, and
fearing the reaction.

 Elecmon nodded.

 "I see... I knew this would eventually come up... I..."

 "Elecmon..." Dice said taking a couple of steps forward, and the
older Digimon looked away.

 "I'm okay," Elecmon said, "really." We didn't believe him.  He
had glittering tears forming in his eyes, tears that he tried, rather
in vain, to prevent from falling.  "Well, I won't try to stop you, but
I will ask you to stay here tonight, and get on your journey early in
the morning. What do you think?"

 I smiled broadly.  "Thank you, Elecmon," I said, "we'd appreciate
that."  I paused at the pensive look on his face.  "Oh, don't look so
sad, Elcmon," I chided, "it's not like you'll never see us again, we'll
come back and visit someday.  I promise."

 Elecmon managed a smile, and turned around. "Well, I'd better
help Meramon with that, he seems afraid of burning the babies!"

 I paused, my heart writhing at how casually he seemed to be
taking it.  I growled softly, then ran up after Elecmon and wove around
his leg in a very catlike manner.

 "Thanks for everything, Elecmon," I said.   "We'll never forget
your kindness."  I paused and looked up at him.  "And when we come
back," I added excitedly, "just think of all the fine stories we will
have to entertain the babies!"

 Elecmon's smile grew even wider as Dice copied my actions. "I'm
sure you will, Domino. I'm sure you will."

 I turned to Dice as Elecmon headed back to the babies.  "We're
really gonna do this, aren't we, Dice?" I asked boisterously, bouncing.
"The two of us, Domino and Dice, out on a big adventure all by
ourselves!!"

 Dice nodded and looked absently at the forest. "At last..." I
heard him whisper.  "At last..."

 It seemed we would finally get to go on our adventure...

 The next day Dice woke up before me, and I slowly opened my eyes
to find him gazing longinly at that forest again, in the direction
Leomon had left. His constant pacing had awakened me, and I looked at
him for a moment.

 "Dice?" I asked, blinking groggily.  "You're wearing a hole in
the ground..."  I sat up.  "What's up?"

 Dice looked back at me, then stopped and sat down  beside me.
"You think he's already found a new adventure, Domino?"

 "Who, Dice?" I asked, following his gaze to the horizon.  "You
mean Leomon?"  I paused.  "I dunno..maybe..."  I gave him a sidelong
glance and frowned.  His pensive attitude was starting to irk me.  I
quickly jumped to my feet.  "But, it doesn't really matter, because
we're gonna find our own big adventures, right?  We have to be brave
enough to lose sight of the shore if we want to discover new oceans!"
I puffed out my chest and looked over at him.  "I'm brave!" I cried as
he looked at me like I was completely insane.  "Are you?"  My shoulder
slumped as he did not reply.  "Well, are you?"  I hesitated, then
sighed at his unresponsive mood.  "Dice?" I asked, sitting back down.
"What is it with you? I thought you would be happy we're finally
getting to go exploring!"

 He regarded me soberly.  "Well, yes, Domino... I am, in a
way..." he admitted.

 "But?" I prodded.

 "But, well, I think we should go now, so we can find him and
train with him!"

 I almost fell over.  "Train? That's all you want to do?" I cried,
shocked.  "You don't want to go and explore the world?  You don't want
to get your paws dirty and learn things the hard way?"  He gave me that
what planet are you from?  look again.  I shook my head.  "All you want
to do is train?"  I squinted one eye.  "That's so much work!  It sounds
like school."

 Dice looked a little startled by my outburst. "School?" he asked.
"What's that?"

 I blinked.  I honestly didn't know.  School?

 Luckily, before I had time to come up with some lame explanation,
he continued, "And what's wrong with Training?  Besides, travelling and
training will make me stronger and I'll get to know more things!"

 "I guess so..." I sighed.  "But, Dice...don't you want to go and
have...fun?"  I stood up and walked around him in a circle.  "Being
strong is good, sure...but it's so much work..."  I paused and sat
down.  "All work and no play, so they say..."

 Dice thought about it for a moment.

 "Well, you didn't spend that much time with him, so I guess you
wouldn't know how fun it is..." he said, and I guess he had a point.

 Not that I was going to admit  that to him...

 "Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes, "I'll bet he's a slave-
driver..."  I hesitated, and looked at him.  "So...I guess that means
you won't be coming with me..."  My eyes moved to the Northern horizon.

 "But.. why don't you wanna come along?" Dice asked, evidently
unsure if he wanted us to separate.

 To be honest, I really didn't  want to split up...but...

 "I'm headed North, Dice," I said firmly, "toward the spot where
Elecmon said that boy and his Gabumon found Frigimon. I want to see
snow. Don't you want to see snow? I'll bet it's a lot more fun than
training."  I paused to think.  "And maybe I will travel to Mount
Miharashi, and see where Meramon came from. Or perhaps I will go to the
forest where the Digidestined children first came to this world... Who
knows?  I might even meet one of them!"  I looked at him hopefully.
"Don't...don't you think that sounds like a lot more fun than...than
training?"  I hesitated when he didn't respond, then sighed gistily.
"Dice, I don't want us to separate..." I said honestly, with a sad
look, "but I think perhaps we're headed in too different of directions
to stick together on this one..."  I plopped down on my haunches and
hung my head.

 Dice looked a little uncomfortable by all this.

 "But..."

 He looked again towards the forest and then nodded slowly.

 "I think you're right, Domino," he said, and I snapped my chin
up.  "But...but I want you to promise something..."

 I smiled.  "Anything," I said without missing a beat.

 Dice gave me a warm smile.

 "Domino, if you're ever in trouble, look for me, okay?  I will
become stronger and help you whenever you need me!"  He hesitated.
"And... promisme me...promise me that meet again someday...okay?"

 I smiled at him.

 "I promise, Dice," I vowed.  "But you promise me something,
too..."

 Dice blinked.

 "What?"

 I sighed again.

 "I may not ever be as strong as you...and I might not train as
hard as you will...but I will always be your friend...and promise you
will always be mine, no matter what happens, no matter where we end
up..."  I straightened my back.  "Promise me nothing shall ever come
between us..."  I stuck out my right forepaw.

 "I promise," Dice answered, holding his paw out in return.
"Friends forever, right, Domino?"

 I shook his paw.  "Friends forever."  I beamed at him.  "We will
meet again someday, Dice... Someday, somewhere..."--I drew in a deep
breath and exhaled silently--"we'll see each other again."

 Dice stood up and started walking towards the forest.

 "I'll see you later, then," he said haltingly.

 Then, as if afraid to stop, he started running, and jumped into
the forest.

 Elecmon, who was also awake, unbeknwonst to us, had heard
everything, and waited for a few moments, a little hopeful that Dice
would return, but also, at the same time, knwoing he owuld not.  When
he didn't, the elder digimon sighed.

 "Good luck, Dice," he said softly, "I'll remember you, always."

 I saw Elecmon, and gave him one last smile before heading North.

 Then I whispered to myself, as I made my way toward the snowy
Northlands of the Digital World, "Semper fi, my dear friend Dice...  If
ever you need me, you need only call.  No matter where I am...I will
hear you..."

 That having been said, I put on speed, sprinting as fast as I
could toward the undiscovered horizons before me...

----
END FIRST PART


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