Friendly Encounters

"What is that?" asked Shamoo, pointing to the opening in the fence. She, Viv, Nini and Amardip had just been let out from lunchtime in the school and were taking their usual everyday walk.
"What are you talking about? It's just- whoa!" said Viv. "Mountains?"
"Maybe it's a mirage," suggested Nini.
"You only find those in deserts, stupid," replied Amardip.
"Don't call me stupid!" protested Nini. "You bum!"
Amardip shook her head as Viv and Shamoo laughed. "No, but seriously you guys - what is that?"
The group leaned in for a closer look. But still, the mountains remained. "Maybe it's just a very realistic picture," Viv said doubtfully. "Hmm…" Viv reached out a hand to touch it.
"Ahh!" she screamed as it sucked her in.
Everyone stared speechless at the space where their friend had been. "Uhh…"
"Viv?" said Nini tentatively. She put out a cautious hand, but it sucked her in too. "Oh my-"
Shamoo and Amardip looked at each other. "Is this good or bad?" asked Amardip.
"No clue."
"Well...now what?"
"Let's join them!"
"What?!! Are you crazy?"
"Well, I guess you could put it that way."
Amardip sighed. "Oh, fine. We can't just leave anyway."
The two stepped into the opening and proceeded to - well, wherever it took them.

"Ow! That hurts," Viv said painfully. She rubbed her scarred legs and stood up carefully. "Where am-"
"God!"
"Ow ow ow ow OW!" screamed Viv as Nini fell on her.
"Oh, sorry," said Nini. "Um, where are we?"
Viv shrugged. Nini got up and turned around. "Ahh!"
"What is it?" asked Viv, alarmed. She turned around and gave a shriek of delight. "Digimon!"
"Digimon?" Nini said, taking a step back.
"Yeah!" Viv cried excitedly.
Two large figures came hurling out of the air above and landed on Viv. "Get off me!" she yelled.
Amardip and Shamoo slowly got off poor Viv, staring at the little creatures in front of them.
"What," croaked Shamoo, "are those?"
Amardip bravely walked over to what resembled a large pink bird with blue markings. "Hey, where have I seen you before?"
"You guys, they're Digimon!" burst out Viv. "Remember those cute drawings I always made at school? They're of these guys!" Viv let out another happy squeal. "Look, it's Gabumon, Biyomon, Patamon, Tentomon, Agumon, Palmon, Gatomon, Gomamon-"
"Your point?" asked Nini.
"-and look, here's Tai, Matt, Sora, Mimi, Joe-"
"People!" said Nini, relieved.
"-T.K., Izzy, Kari, and Pan. What a sec - Pan, what are you doing here?"
Pan shrugged. "I came through my usual portal hole."
"More humans? Where did you guys come from?" asked a seal-like creature with red hair and purple stripes named Gomamon.
"Well, we were sucked through a fence," said Shamoo.
"Right," said Tai. Whispering to Matt, he said, "These guys are total weirdos."
"You got that right," Pan told him.
"Hey!" yelled Amardip. "I thought you were our friend!"
"I am," answered Pan. "It's not my fault you're the way you are."
Amardip turned red and replied," Well, you're-"
"I've got it!" screamed Viv.
Everybody stopped talking and looked at the red face of discovery that Viv had. "What is it?" asked Nini.
"There was an opening between the real world and the digital world. A fault of some sort," explained Viv. "That's why we could see mountains. We were looking right at the digital world!"
"Prodigious!" said Izzy. "But under what conditions did this glitch in the digital system occur?"
"I don't know," said Viv slowly. "I suppose it was just an accident of some sort."
"And I don't get it," said Shamoo. "Digital glitch?"
"The opening," replied Izzy. "The door between the real world and the digital world."
"Oh. I get it now," said Shamoo. "Yeah, sure, I understand it totally."
"She doesn't get it," Amardip whispered to Biyomon.
"Hey, you know what?" said Viv. "I just realized that your hair looks just like the hair of this guy in my class!"
"My hair?" said Izzy.
"Yeah! It's got all these spikes!" Viv said. "And hey! Your hair's really, well...funky!" She looked excitedly at Matt.
"Funky?" said Matt.
"Yeah… how do you keep it like that?" asked Viv. "You must used an entire bottle of hair gel every day!"
"Actually, it's naturally like that," said Matt.
"Oh…stay still!" Viv pulled out a wad of paper and a pencil from her pocket.
"What are you doing?" asked Matt.
"Drawing," replied Viv.
"Drawing what?"
"You. You and your funky hair."
"Uh, okay," said Matt dazedly. "I guess that's alright."
"Great!" Viv bit her tongue and concentrated.
Gabumon walked over. "can you draw me too?"
"Sure! I do it all the time anyway."
"Yeah," agreed Amardip. "She loves Digimon."
"Okay Gabumon. Lean down beside Matt. No, wait, beside him, not in front of him where I can't see his hair...perfect!"

"This is boring," complained Amardip.
"Yeah, like what are we supposed to be doing?" whined Shamoo.
"Well, if you guys are here anyway, why not have some fun?" suggested Sora. "there are lots of things to do."
"Like what?" asked Nini.
"I'd say go to the mall," said Mimi, "but there aren't any malls here."
"I know!" cried Amardip. "Biyomon could teach me how to fly!"
"How to fly?" said Biyomon.
"Yeah!" said Amardip, her face filled with inspiration.
"Okay!" said Biyomon. "Here, come with me. I'll give you a private lesson." Amardip and Biyomon walked over into the woods beside them.
Shamoo gazed out into the lake d. "too bad I don't have my bathing suit with me. I guess swimming is out."
"You don't need a swimming suit to swim! Just jump right in!" said Gomamon.
"Well...okay!" Shamoo dived into the water. "Hey, it's nice and warm!"
"Here I come!" said Gomamon. He jumped into the lake. "Ahh, refreshing. Hey Joe, wanna come?"
"No thanks," said Joe, tilting back his glasses. "I'll just watch."
Nini turned to Mimi. "So you're sure there are no malls here?"
Mimi shook her head.
"Bummer. I really wanted this blue sweater. I also saw this red dress and it had this fringe thing at the bottom and I really wanted that too," said Nini.
"Does it look like my dress?" said Mimi.
"Yeah! Isn't that just dandy?" said Nini. "I need more dresses. I've got tons of shirts, though. Most of them are really cool, like this poo green- I mean moss green shirt I have. But some of them are childish. "Like the one with Pluto dangling Mickey from his shorts? It's really cute, though, and since it's a T-shirt, I wear it for gym." Nini went on about her wonderful wardrobe. And on…and on...and on...and then she stopped! But then she started talking about her pet bird… and she went on...and on...and on...and then she stopped again! But then she began talking about the essay she wrote for school...and she went on...and on...and on…and on…
"Boy, she talks a lot," Mimi whispered to Palmon.
"Tell me about it," said Palmon. "And we're the only ones listening to her because everyone else left. Lucky us."
"...And we lived in Florida for 6 months…" Nini went on.
Mimi sighed and rested her head on a patch of grass. "Look Palmon - Izzy and Tentomon are using the computer, Tai and Agumon's joined Matt and Gabumon to be drawn by Viv, and Sora, T.K., Patamon, Pan, Kari, and Gatomon are playing tag. Why do we have to be stuck here? It's so hot and everything."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Palmon. "My roots are drying up as I listen to Nini talk!"
"...And I've taken piano lessons when I was four but I didn't like it so I quit…" Nini said as Mimi sighed again.

"Wow! This is really fun! I love splashing water!" shouted Shamoo. "What a blast Go-go-what's your name again?"
"Gomamon. And watch this!" Gomamon splashed the water with his claws and jumped around. "Marching fishes!"
A school of colourful fish jumped out of the water and surrounded Shamoo. "Wow!" she exclaimed happily.
The fish lifted Shamoo and carried her around the lake. "Boy, Gomamon, this is really fun!" She started singing. "Shamoo and the Fishes!" she sang, diving off the fish and into the water. "Da na na na na!"
Joe looked at them from the shore. "Careful! You might catch a cold!"

"Flap harder! Flap harder!" shouted Biyomon.
"I'm trying! I'm trying! It's just not working!" panted Amardip, waving her arms up and down in a desperate flap.
"I...just...don't...get…it!" she said between heavy breaths. "I've...tried...so...hard -"she took a big gulp of air- "but...it's...just...not...working!"
"That's okay," said Biyomon. "you tried your hardest."
"I...won't...give...up!" Amardip panted. She finally stopped flapping her arms. "I know! I've got the perfect idea!"

"Gotcha!" shouted T.K. "You're It Patamon!"
"Okay!" Patamon flew after Gatomon. "Watch out!"
Pan collapsed on the ground. "Can we take a break? We've been running around for hours!"
"Yeah, my feet are a little tired," said Kari.
"I guess we could use a break then," decided Sora.
"Aw, but I was just about to get Gatomon!" protested Patamon, landing on the ground beside T.K.
T.K. took Patamon and hugged him. "Don't worry, you can get Gatomon later."
"No, I'm much to fast for you, Patamon," said Gatomon. She grinned and sat down with Kari. "Don't even try!"

"Are you sure? It really doesn't look very safe," Biyomon said worriedly. "Why don't you think this over first?"
"No!" said Amardip fiercely. "I'm gonna fly!"
"But - but -" began Biyomon.
"Okay," said Amardip. She took a step forward. Flapping her arms at an incredible speed, she began to jump off the cliff. "Here I - Ahh!"

The fish screamed and swam away from Shamoo, who they were dancing with. "Hey fishes, what's the matter?" Shamoo instinctively looked up and found that a very large thing was about to land on her. "Hey-"
Splash! The thing fell on Shamoo and they were now both underwater. Shamoo gasped for air and managed to pull her head up over the water. "Air!"
Beside her Amardip, was looking at her with shimmering eyes. "I was flying!"
"What are you talking about?" demanded Shamoo.
"I felt it for a second! When I jumped of the cliff! I was flying ! It was great!"
"I really hate to burst your bubble, "said Gomamon, "but what you felt was kinetic energy. You know, like, you gathered up energy before you fell?"
"Actually," began Shamoo, "kinetic energy is energy in motion."
"Really?" said Gomamon. "Well, that explains your fall."

"Are you done yet?" I'm really getting tired," complained Tai.
"What are you talking about?" asked Matt. "You're sitting down!"
"Well, still…"
"It's okay Tai. Just give me a second…" Viv trailed off in deep concentration. "Done!"
"Let me see! Let me see!" cried Agumon, rushing over to Viv. "Do I look good?"
Viv laughed. "Hold on! Here you go."
Agumon took the paper with enthusiasm. A strange look came over his face.
"What's wrong Agumon?" asked Gabumon. "Do I look okay?"
"Yeah, it's just that…"
"Here, let me see." Tai took the paper from Agumon and Matt and Gabumon leaned in for a look.
"Um, Viv?" said Matt.
"Yeah?"
"Why do we look like cartoons?"
"Because you are car-" Viv paused as she looked at the confused faces. "Because - because I like to draw cartoons!" She smiled broadly and took the drawing back. "Nothing wrong with that!"
"Uh...right," Matt said slowly.
"Nothing wrong with that," Gabumon agreed.
"Great!" said Viv. "Now let's see what the others are up too!" She grabbed Tai and Matt's hands and let them over to the lake.

"You guys!" Izzy shouted. From inside the ten, Izzy and Tentomon came running. "I've discovered another digital glitch!"
"Oh, you did?" said Viv. Her excited face turned sad. "I guess that means-"
"What's a digital glitch?" interrupted Shamoo.
"An opening between the two worlds," explained Izzy patiently.
"An opening? Oh, I get it!" said Shamoo. "An opening. Yeah, I get it."
Amardip sighed and shook her head. "She still doesn't get it."
Izzy looked seriously at everyone. "There might not be another glitch for a long time. Especially not one that leads you right back from where you came from," he said.
"You mean we have to go back?" said Nini, disappointed. "But I didn't finish telling Mimi and Palmon about my 5th birthday, when I-"
"That's okay!" Mimi cut in quickly. "Believe me, I'll survive!"
Amardip looked sadly at Biyomon. "I guess I'll never experience the true feeling of flying."
"Just keep working on it," said Biyomon. "You'll get the hang of it."
"You think?" Amardip brightened.
"Hurry!" Izzy cried suddenly. "The opening I closing!"
"Where is it?" Viv asked.
"Follow me." Izzy ran into the woods. Everyone followed. They came to a sudden clearing with a large tree in the center. The tree had an opening, and they could see a school in the background.
"Do we really have to go?" asked Shamoo. "I mean, I'll probably never get to come back and play with Gomamon and the fishes!"
"Hey, what's your e-mail address Izzy?" asked Viv. "We could at least keep in touch."
"Okay." Izzy gave Viv his e-mail and she gave him hers.
"Thanks," said Viv. She looked around at everyone. "Oh, I'll miss you guys." She hugged Gabumon and Agumon. "Bye! I'll e-mail you!" She paused. "And Matt? Don't cut you hair, okay?"
"Okay," answered Matt.
"Believe me, he won't cute it anyway. I tried to talk him into it, but he just won't listen," Gabumon told her.
"Oh, I see." Viv grinned and waved. "Bye!" She stepped into the opening and was gone.
"Hey Mimi, what's your number? I can phone you so we can finish our conversation!" said Nini.
"My number?" said Mimi weakly. "Uh...I forgot!"
"Oh, that's too bad," said Nini. "well, bye then!" She entered the digital opening and disappeared.
Mimi gave a sigh of relief. "Thank god she's gone."
Amardip gave Biyomon one last hug. "I'll keep working on flying, Biyomon. One day I'll make you proud!"
Shamoo shook Gomamon's hand. "I'll miss you and your fishes." With one last wave, Shamoo and Amardip stepped into the opening and were transferred back to the real world.

"Was that a dream?" asked Viv.
"What was?" said Nini.
"You know."
"No I don't."
"Remember? Being sucked into the digital world?" said Viv.
"Sucked into the digital world?" said Shamoo. "What movies have you been watching?"
"But - don't you guys remember?" asked viv.
"Remember what?" asked Amardip.
"The mountains? Shamoo, don't you remember Gomamon? What about Biyomon Amardip? And remember Mimi Nini?"
Shamoo, Amardip and Nini shook their heads.
"We have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," said Shamoo. With that, she, Amardip and Nini walked on.
"But I know it happened," Viv whispered to herself. She touched the fence behind her. She pulled out a crumpled drawing from her pocket, followed by a piece of paper with an e-mail address. She smiled to herself. "We were there. I remember."