FicWad

Episode Five: The Idiot Gambler

It finally stopped raining at noon, though it had been close to torrential.

However, it might as well have rained all day, for it definitely had made amark on them. They were now extremely annoyed. It reminded the Digi-Destined of some of their worst nights in the Digital World.

Forgoing using the blankets, as blankets tend to be very inefficient umbrellas and had a tendency to smell when they were wet, Alex and Ramus, with a little help from Tentomon, had pulled a large tent out of Nall’s subspace pocket and set it up. They all piled into it almost immediately, all thinking dark thoughts about heavy rain. They now knew that Lunar was also at the mercy of Mother Nature, and to soak up whatever she dished out.

Once they were all inside, Joe had pulled out a few towels so everyone could dry themselves off. None of them knew why he had towels with him, but none of them cared either. At that moment, they had referred to him as their savior.

Kari had never seen anyone bow before like Tai was, or get hit upside the head with the hilt of a sword, but now she had a good case study to compare if it ever happened again.

To make the time go faster, the Digimon decided to tell their friends about more of their adventures. For several hours they enlightened the others as to what they had been doing over the last year, duties, inventions, or just kicking some bad rookie level Digimon’s ass. It proved to be very informative, and taught Kari a whole new slew of words. Words she decided she was going to wait until she was in really serious danger before using. Tai and Gatomon agreed with that, and the subject had been dropped.

Then Patamon spoke of the first time that he had digi-volved into Angemon and battled Devimon. T.K. recognized it as the battle of File Island, as the Digi-Destined were fond of calling it. Had it really been ayear since that had happened? It felt like it was longer to him somehow.

Finally though, it had stopped raining, and they could go on. They all came to the conclusion that they were going to buy umbrellas when they got to Saith. Either that, or they were going to ask Althena to find another way for the fauna to get their water.

For two days they traveled, talking about menial things, laughing as Izzy and Ramus butted heads on every financial subject in creation. Patamon, Tentomon and Nall tried to outdo the other two in acrobatic maneuvering before Alex and T.K. told them to stop, after a dive bomb attempt from Nall almost took off Alex’s head. Mimi, Sora and Luna spoke of various things, like life-dreams, beauty tips, and secret crushes.

At the beginning of the third day, they entered the port village of Saith… and stared at it. “Seems a tad small to be aport,” Gomamon spoke up, stating the painfully obvious to everyone present.

“This island doesn’t exactly have a lot to offer,” Alex mentioned, throwing a look of exasperation at the aquatic Digimon.“We only have the White Dragon’s Cave, and not everyone’s crazy enough to go through the cave just to meet him. Besides, this is the only other town on the island.”

“Yeah, and here’s some advice that Noah gave Nall. Don’t speak unless spoken to,” Joe hissed. Gomamon just snorted quietly to himself.

Tai rolled his eyes to the heavens. This had the makings of a long day.

----

Saith was very much like Burg, as it was also preparing for the Goddess Festival too. Like Burg, it had streamers and balloons and even abanner that welcomed everyone to their town. Tables and stands had been set up, ready to receive food and others gifts for the people.

Unlike Burg though, there was one thing missing; Joy. And that was for agood reason, as the group soon discovered at the town bulletin board.

“Sea Port closed? What do they mean Sea Port closed?” Ramus cried out, staring at the sign like they had just told him that he was going to be poor for the rest of his life. He looked pitiful.

“I think they mean that the Sea Port is closed.” Tentomon shook his head in annoyance. “Not a good thing by any account. What deity did we manage to piss off?”

Joe looked even more crestfallen than before. “Well, so much for going to Meribia today. We’re stuck here.”

“Now don’t say that, Joe!” Gomamon replied optimistically.“We’ll find a way to get there!”

Joe looked skeptically at his Digimon partner. “And how pray tell are we going to do that?” he asked sarcastically. “You gonna digi-volve to ultimate now?”

Gomamon looked rather hurt by this, which Sora noticed almost immediately.“Calm down, Joe. There’s no reason to take it out on Gomamon for being an optimist.” She turned towards the others.“I agree with both of them. With the Port closed, we can’t get to Meribia.”

“I agree, Sora. But I would love to know why it’s closed before we come to any decisions.” Tai turned to the others. “We might as well go to the port to find out what happened.” He paused, changed that sentence. “On second thought, how about we split up into groups? Biyomon, you, Nall and Luna go to the port and find out why it’s closed. Everyone else, pick a couple of people to go with, and mingle.”

“Right. Izzy, Tentomon, Sora, you’re with me,” Alex called out.“Let’s go and ask the people milling around for some information.”

“Good idea. I’m going to need some help with buying more supplies. Joe, would you accompany me?” Matt asked.

“Okay. Gomamon, get your hands out of that right now!” Joe yelled, startling the Digimon in question. Gomamon jumped, then quickly withdrew his paw from the barrel he was feeling around inside. “Don’t ever put your fin in a barrel that unless you have /permission/to. Is that understood?” Gomamon nodded, hearing how heavily his human partner empathized permission.

They separated, Joe keeping his eyes on Gomamon at all times. Alex and his group began asking questions to random citizens. Tai and the rest of them began mingling in the crowd, having a look around.

Luna, Nall and Biyomon began walking in the direction of the Port. They were taking a lucky guess as to where it was stationed at, but then again, they had guessed before, and it had been right.

Meanwhile, in order to pass the time, Biyomon asked, “When we get to Meribia, what are you going to do? Besides help Ramus sell the Dragon Diamond?”

Luna had been caught off guard by the question, but she recovered quickly. She hadn’t really given it any thought, considering everything that had happened. “I guess I’ll have a look around first, then go see if they have a bookstore,” she replied after a moment of thought. “I’m always partial to new story. What about you?”

Biyomon thought for a second. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve always stay next to Sora in case of trouble, but maybe I’ll take a look around as well.” She stopped talking when they reached their destination. “Here we are.”

The building they were looking at had a sign that was labeled HARBOR ENTRANCE in bold lettering and stationed on the roof of the building. It was one of the larger buildings in the town it seemed. But that wasn’t what had caught Biyomon’s attention.

It was the smell.

‘It stink’s like the inside of Whalmon,’ the bird like Digimon thought, grateful that she didn’t have the ability to vomit. Otherwise, she would have had to void her stomach of her breakfast. “What is that horrid smell?” she gagged, holding her beak with both of her wings.

“That.” Nall pointed to a stack of crates and bags. “Rotting from the looks of it. I hate rotting food.”

“Maybe it will smell better inside,” Luna suggested hopefully, her voice muffled due to the fact she had a hand over her face. Turns out, she was wrong.

It actually smelled worse inside, but that could easily be explained by the three dozen or so people crammed in there. The combination of that many people, coupled with the horrible ventilation and oppressive heat, was nearly overwhelming. Every person within was shouting at the top of their lungs, pushing and shoving without much success.

The three of them couldn’t hear any of the words, but they got the gist of it. “Okay, I am never going to do this again!” Biyomon shouted to Luna.

“What?” Luna shouted back, unable to hear, before she came up with an idea. And the idea was shouting really loudly in her ear.

“Be quiet everyone!” she practically shrieked. The response was immediate, as everyone immediately turned around in surprise, quieting down. “Thank you,” she rasped. “Now could someone please tell us where the harbor master is?”

One person, a heavyset man, spoke up. “He’s right over there.” He pointed towards the front.

“Thank you. Oh excuse me…pardon me…” Using her elbows to good effect, Luna started moving through the crowd. She noted grumpily that Biyomon and Nall were flying over her. She was gratified though that they were staying right above her. It was also annoying, as she couldn’t fly.

Finally making it up to the desk, huffing and puffing as she did so, she found herself face to face with possibly the burliest man she had ever seen in her life. “Could you tell us where we might find the Captain of the ship in the harbor?” she asked, gasping for breath.

The heavyset man pointed to his left. “Over there, kid,” he grumbled, making it sound like the captain was a man that he didn’t like at that particular moment.

“Thank you.” Luna turned and began walking in that direction, Biyomon and Nall on her heels. Thankfully, there was no one packed in that space, so the going was easy.

The man in question was leaning against the wall near the entrance to the docks. He was a tall man, with a neatly trimmed beard to complete his look. He wore a Captain’s uniform made of forest green cloth, and a similarly colored hat to top it off. And he seemed to be preoccupied with something, as he didn’t noticed them as they approached him.

Biyomon decided on a frontal assault in order to get his attention. “Excuse me?” She smirked as he jumped slightly. “Hello there,” she stated, quieter now that they had his attention.

“Ohoy, mates!” The captain greeted them with a traditional greeting of the high seas. “I’m the Cap’n of the Hispaniola, bound for Meribia.” He gave a hearty growl at the end of his sentence. “So what can I do fer you?”

Biyomon noted that he acted more like a pirate than a respectable captain.‘I’ll tell Sora and Mimi to watch themselves around him and his crew,’ she thought.

“Why are you here?” Luna asked, making a mental note to ask for private quarters, if they could afford them. “I saw the cargo manifest before we entered the building. You should’ve been on your way to Meribia by now.”

“Aye lassie, but the sea is tossin’ so hard that I need me Sea Chart to navigate…” his voice almost became a whisper, “but I seem to have gambled it away.

Biyomon and Nall fell from the sky, startled to have heard that come out of the man’s mouth. “/W//h//at/?!” Nall shrieked.

Luna turned and caught Nall before he hit the ground. Biyomon managed to get enough lift to stop only half an inch from bruising herself.“Well, that answers that question,” she muttered to Luna.

The Captain meanwhile started to grumble, “That scurvy dog…he won’t be so lucky next time. I’ll have a rematch or his head, I tell ya!” He started stomping out of the building, pushing everyone aside…or trying to. The crowd however, was not as lenient as they were with Luna. There was a brief scuffle, some rather rude language used, and the sound of flesh meeting flesh He found himself flat on his back, nursing a bump on his head and abruise on his jaw.

Luna and Biyomon just looked at each other. “That was a nice story,” Luna muttered to the spot the Captain used to occupy. “Thank you for sharing.”

Nall looked at Luna in worry. “This is terrible! This is awful! Just one question: What’s a Sea Chart? Some kind of really yummy fish?”

Luna giggled, grateful for Nall’s eternal good humor. “No, silly. It’s a map of the oceans sailors use to avoid hazards!”

“Oh…I knew that! I was just seeing if you knew.”

“Yeah right. Suuurrrrreeee you were,” Biyomon replied mock seriously.“Let’s go ask the harbormaster if he knows anything about our mystery gambler before there’s a mass riot. Move it, unless you want to get pecked!”

The crowd parted at Biyomon’s command, allowing the three of them to get to the harbormaster with far greater ease than before. As they did so, Luna reflected on their change of fortune. We just need to find this elusive man, and find a perfectly legal way to get the Sea Chart from him.’ “Excuse me,” she said aloud,“but could you tell us who has the Sea Chart? We really need to get to Meribia.”

The man looked up. “Well, the Captain did,” he replied, “but he was fooled into losing it in a card game with an infamous gambler named Brett.” The man began cleaning off the top of his desk.“The Captain is a fine sailor, but the worst poker player in history. The man’s eyes twinkle with delight every time he gets two cards with pretty pictures on ‘em. Now I have a port full of angry passengers, drunken sailors, and rotting cargo. Lovely.”

Luna and Biyomon looked at each other, understanding his pain, if not sharing it. “Well, can you tell us where we can find this Brett?” Biyomon asked, clutching on to that name.

“Brett?He’s gloating at the bar.”

“Thank you. Excuse us!” Biyomon and Luna began to push their way back through. As they did so, Biyomon asked, “Are we going to do what I think we’re going to do?”

Luna nodded, determination in her expression. “Let’s tell the others first. Then, let’s pay Brett… a little visit.”

Nall groaned from Luna’s shoulder. “I knew you were gonna say that.”

----

Tentomon was now understandably frustrated. Everybody seemed to tell him and the others in his group about an unbeatable gambler by the name of Brett, who appeared to inhabit the local bar as if it were his home. And he wasn’t well liked at all in town. In fact, there were alot of people who wanted to tear him apart, limb-by-limb.

On their way to the bar, they had run into Tai and his group, all who were looking relatively annoyed. When they heard why that was, they all came to the conclusion that they didn’t like Brett much either. And they never met the guy, so that was saying something!

“So, now what?” Agumon asked.

“Well, it’s obvious! We pay Brett a little visit!” Ramus replied, rubbing his hands together.

Tentomon looked at him. “For any particular reason, or do you want to learn the art of gambling?” Tentomon asked, a little scathingly.

Ramus ignored the implied tone, but not the question. “Well, if my‘conman’ sense is working properly,” he said, throwing a sly glance at Izzy, “Brett might have the answer to our problem.”

Izzy returned the glance. “Oh I agree /completely/,” he stated emphatically. “In fact, I was going to suggest that as well.”

“So were we,” a voice sounded off. They turned to see Luna, Biyomon, and Nall walking over to them. The looks on their faces told the story.

“Brett has the Sea Chart,” Luna reported gloomily, “and unless anyone has a spare one, we are going to have to find him, and get it back.”

“And I’ll give you two guesses as to where he is,” Biyomon added.

They all said it at once.

“The pub!”

----

The village pub wasn’t among the largest establishments any of them had ever seen, but it wasn’t by any means the smallest either. It was also clearly not the most elaborately constructed, but it did look sturdily built.

“Why is it,” Gabumon asked, “that the best gamblers in all an alternate world always choose the smallest bars?”

Nall answered. “Because they have something got hide. That’s why.”

“That was rhetorical, Nall. It didn’t require an answer.”

Ramus shook his head as Alex opened the door. He sometimes wondered how Nall had managed to survive all of these years, without Alex shaving him.

Inside the pub, there weren’t a great many customers. The bar itself was well worn, but well kept. The floor was clean, and there wasn’t a remnant smell of smoke in the air. Windows gave the bar a twilight feel to it, but also a feeling of openness. It was a place you’d want to go, where everybody would know your name.

Gomamon didn’t seem to care, though. Granted, he seemed to take everything that came his way with a relaxed air. “Now if I was a gambler with a Sea Chart, where would I hide?” he asked.

Joe pointed over to the corner, where two men were hunched over, playing what appeared to be a card game. “Over there,” he answered, “with the rest of the vermin.”
“Joe, I said to lighten up, not to insult people! …Not that he isn’t one, mind you…”

“Gomamon!” Biyomon, Palmon, Mimi, Sora, and Luna exclaimed at once, all staring at the aquatic Digimon. Gomamon shrank back a little as Tai and Matt smirked.

Once again, so as to cover maximum ground, they broke into four groups. Tai took one group over to a group of tables near the entrance. Sora and her group went to get drinks for everybody, letting the man behind the bar that they weren’t here for liquor, as they ordered. Tentomon simply buzzed around, shocking everyone that didn’t know about Digimon as he asked around for information on Brett, then relaying it to Ramus.

Ramus, Nall, Alex, T.K., Kari and their Digimon started looking for a table that was closer to the man in question, just as the one he was facing got up, leaving in disgust. They managed to get one two tables down from their quarry. There they watched him, as he paid for a drink, sitting back, looking smug about something.

“He looks like a bad person,” Kari noted, frowning slightly.

“He makes my head hurt just by sitting there,” Alex stated. “He’s got to be a complete sadist.” He sipped his water. “Or he’s just stupid.”

Gatomon studied him closely. “’Idiotic’ is a far more useful term. ‘Shark bait even better.” Her eyes narrowed as her claws flexed. “Ramus, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Ramus nodded slowly. “He’s definitely up to something,” he muttered. “He’s too confident. And according to Tento, his victories border on divine.”

“So what’s so bad about that?” Patamon asked, curious.

“Because,” T.K. replied, “no one has that type of winning streak without atrump card at his disposal. They would need to know their opponent and what they’re thinking. Something I don’t think Brett has time to do.”

Alex looked thoughtful. “So the question is, how does he do it?” He looked around, deciding that it was time to face him. “Let’s go and talk to him.” He got up and headed over to Brett, Ramus and Nall right behind him.

Kari slid out of her chair and followed them, after finishing of her glass of water. T.K., Patamon and Gatomon looked at each other, shrugged, then got up to follow her.

----

Brett sat his table like he always did, sipping his brandy, and observed the rest of the bar. Every now and then, he saw someone from another table look at him, but for the most part, the people ignored him. It suited him just fine. Sometimes, it paid to be ‘unbeatable.’

Looking at his winnings, he smirked to himself. ‘Another day, another victory,’ he thought gloatingly. ‘I could clear this town out if I wanted to, but that wouldn’t be right. How would I get to Meribia? Maybe next time the captain will gamble his ship away.’ He laughed softly to himself at that thought. Then something caught the very edge of his vision. Startled, he looked up.

A group of children were standing over him, all of them looking like they wanted to be somewhere... anywhere but where they were at the moment. With them were some of the strangest pets he had never seen before seen in his life. And the most surprising thing was that they were all staring rather intently at him for some reason.

With an effort, he put his patented ‘Brett’ smile on his face, looking at them with a benevolent expression. The last thing he needed anyone to learn was that he had been caught off guard by children. “Howdy kids,” he said in greeting. “My name’s Brett. I reckon I’m the best there is when it comes to gamblin’.”

The little brown-haired girl looked at him for a moment. “It’s him all right,” she said, making Brett wonder why they were looking for him. Then he realized why. After all, he was the one who won the Captain’s Sea Chart. They apparently wanted it for themselves, which was understandable. “Can we have a word with you?” she asked sweetly, maybe too sweetly.

Brett blinked, taken off guard by the forwardness of the girl. “Now see here,” he stated harshly, “I ain’t talkin’ to you till you gamble with me, understand?”

The kids looked at each other with what could only be termed as exasperation. “Look,” the brown-haired boy spoke up, clearly unintimidated, “we’re not here to gamble with you. We’re wondering if you could give us the Sea Chart that you won.”

‘Damn! I knew it!’ Brett began to sweat inside his clothes. He had to get them away somehow, and he knew how too. “Pardon? You want the Sea Chart?” He made a show of thinking it over. “Gamble with me and I reckon we can talk.”

The white cat with the big ears suddenly asked, incredulously, “We have to gamble /with you in order to /talk about the Sea Chart? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Brett was understandably shocked, as he had never heard an animal talk before. He noticed that his other ‘guests’ were treating this like it was an everyday occurrence, though. They had caught him off guard yet again. “That’s about the scope of things, yeah. How about it?”

The pudgy one looked up. “People, conference,” was all he said. The group of them huddled together in a circle, whispering amongst each other. Brett saw that two of them were gesticulating alittle, indicating a small disagreement among them, but in the end, he saw all of them nod and break. “I reckon we will,” the small, blond hair boy stated.

Brett was secretly exulting inside. He knew it would work. “Awright then,” he said. “Let’s play for a hundred silver. We’ll start by playing a really simple game.” He pulled out a coin. “I toss a coin. You guess heads or tails.”

The pig-like flying creature flew down on the table. “Gentlemen, lady, we got us a bet,” he said rather calmly.

Brett absorbed all this in, a little bit scared now for his personal safety. He had to get rid of them soon, but maybe he could make a few extra silver while he was at it. “Call it!” he yelled, tossing the coin in the air, preparing to put on his sympathy face.

“Tails,” the little girl called out, as the coin hit the table.

“Sorry kids. It’s heads,” Brett remembered to put a face of false sympathy. ‘This is too easy,’ he thought in triumph.

----

‘That was too easy,’ Ramus thought irritably. He stared at the coin on the table with a frown on his face. ‘There’s something funny with this coin. I know there is. But what?’

Suddenly, he had a theory. It was a theory that only a con man would come up with, but then again, he was something of a con man, especially an observant one. He thought he had seen a slight flick of Brett’s finger, about a split second before he flipped the coin. Also, the sound of the coin as it hit the table sounded off.

“How about another round, son?” Brett asked, clearly enjoying this little game. Ramus nodded. He needed to be sure before he told anyone else.

“All right. Call heads or tails!”

“Tails,” Ramus said distractedly, already having an idea what it was going to land. Sure enough, he heard Brett exclaim in false sympathy, “Dang nab your luck kids! It’s heads. I win again!”

“Hmmm…” Ramus had all the information he needed. He had observed the coin as it had flown through the air, and what it had on it was “CHEAT!”“Guys, could I have a few words with all of you please? It’s important.”

They all backed away from Brett like he was a disease, huddling in a group a few feet from him. Ramus immediately asked, “Did any of you look at the coin he was using? I mean, really look?”

Gatomon and Kari nodded, knowing what Ramus was talking about. Alex and T.K. looked confused. Nall simply asked, “What do you mean, Ramus?”

Ramus was looking at Brett, watching him smirk at them before returning to his drink. “The coin he flips isn’t the same coin he shows us. I think he switches the coins just before the first toss.” He gave them all a very serious look. “Brett is cheating.”

Gatomon and Kari nodded, having reached the same conclusion. “I knew there was something fishy about him,” Gatomon added, her gaze narrowing even further than they were. “I say we expose him before he ruins someone else’s sea-faring job.”

“What?” Nall exclaimed, amazed by the audaciousness of that particular statement. “Are two sure we should accuse the best gambler in this town of cheating?”

“Yes, Nall. We do.”

Ramus looked a little annoyed at the question. “Come on, Nall! If anyone knows anything about money, it’s me!” He watched T.K. and Patamon as he said this.

T.K. looked thoughtful.“We’re going to have to find a way to catch him in the act. Make him slip up somehow…” His voice trailed off, than he looked at Ramus. “You have a plan.” It wasn’t a question. Ramus nodded, looking extremely confident. “Then it’ll have to be something valuable. And we do have something valuable with us.”

Kari perked up even further. “Yeah, we do!” she exclaimed.

Ramus grinned. “Let’s do it one more time. It’ll be fun.” His began twinkling wickedly. “I promise!”

“It better,” Nall grumbled as he took off again, “or I’m gonna claw you into a bloody mess.”

“I’ll let him,” Alex added. “Your plan had better work, Ramus.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Ramus replied. “It’ll work.”

----

Brett looked up to see the children standing in front of him again. “You kids are back?” he asked, disbelieving. “Come on now, Idon’t wanna win no more of your allowances…it just ain’t right.”

Alex refused to take the bait. He had been trained to remain level headed, regardless of the situation he had been out in. It didn’t always work, but no one was perfect. “Pal, unlike others you have beaten, we do win once in a while,” he stated, drawing asmirk from Gatomon in the process. “And we’re going to prove it today.”

Ramus took over. “We want to make things more interesting Brett.” He removed his pack from behind him and opened it. “We want to bet…” and with that, he removed the Dragon Diamond,“this.”

Nall practically turned whiter than a sheet, which was an incredible feat considering the fact that his fur was already that color. “Ramus!You better be sure you know what you’re doing! We didn’t come all the way to Saith to lose the Diamond on a coin flip!”

Ramus just winked at Nall before turning back to Brett. “Well, how bout it Mister Gambler?” he asked casually. “You game?”

Brett’s eyes had gone saucer shaped, as he had never seen a diamond more beautiful ever in his thirty-three years of life. If he won that, then his position as the best would be unquestioned. He wouldn’t even have to swindle anyone ever again. eH“Holy Goddess Althena! I reckon that’s the purtiest rock I ever seen!You got yourself a bet, son!”

Ramus grinned, as he knew no self serving conman would give up the chance to take an extremely large diamond from a couple of unsuspecting people. Now he was going to have to time his next move just right…

Brett let the coin fly up in the air, probably thinking that this was going to be a sure thing for him to win. It reached its apex, and started to descend. Everyone’s eyes were on it… except for Ramus. He was watching Brett with the look of a man who was on amission.

The coin hit the table, started to fall on one side… and Ramus, with a little bit of effort, shoved Brett out of the way and grabbed the coin off the table. “There! See?” he asked, brandishing the coin like a bomb. He showed it to Gatomon, who nodded before showing it to T.K.

Nall on the other hand was not impressed. “So Ramus’s plan was to beat up Brett? Pure genius.”

Actually,” Gatomon spoke up, admiring her claws, “that/ //i//s/part of the plan... if he doesn't give us what we want.” She then flexed those very claws threateningly, smiling as she did so.

Brett was not happy. “Put that coin down, boy!” he snarled, looking like a volcano ready to burst.

Ramus was very calm, seeing how impotent the creep really was now. “Why Brett? So I don’t notice that it has two heads?” he asked nonchalantly. He handed it over to Alex so he could examine it. He quickly grabbed Brett’s arm, shaking it. Another coin rolled onto the table, which he picked up, revealing it to be a coin with two tails. “I may have a one track mind, but I do know few things about deception. I saw the slight movement you made, just before you flipped the coin. I had a feeling you were good at sleight of hand.”

Nall flew over to the coins and saw for himself. “Brett,” he stated, annoyed that he didn’t listen to Ramus in the first place, “you’re nothing but a lying, cheating weasel!”

T.K. stared at Ramus in amazement. “Ramus, how’d you know?” he asked.

“I knew it was a fake when it hit,” Ramus explained, looking very proud of himself. “A real coin makes a deeper ‘clink’.”

“And it also has a much shinier surface than a fake one,” Gatomon looked at her claws again in admiration. “It also doesn’t look like it was bought from a joke shop.” She smirked at the gambler.“Little things only a cat could see.”

Alex tossed the fake coin back to Ramus, then walked up to Brett, lifting the con artist up by the collar of his shirt. “Now are you going to give us our money and the Sea Chart, or am I going to have to show you how strong a farm boy can be?”

Brett was terrified for the first time in his life. The reputation he had worked so hard to build up had been reduced to tatters in the space of ten minutes. “Oh dear!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been caught by children! If news of this were to get out, I’ll be ruined!” He looked at Ramus. “You naughty, beastly boy!” he shrieked, dropping his accent entirely.

Ramus laughed. “I see your accent is as fraudulent as your coins!” He basked in the glow of his victory for a few seconds more before setting his mind back to what they had come here to do. “Game’s over, Brett! Hand over the Sea Chart!”

At this, Brett became even more frightened. “I…I’m afraid I don’t have the Sea Chart,” he managed to get out.

Gatomon stopped looking at her claws and threw a glare at him. “You want to run that by us again?” she asked.

Brett took a deep breath, and said, “I don’t have the Sea Chart. Please don’t push me again. I bruise easily, and I’m a bleeder!”

“What?” Kari, T.K., and Nall exclaimed at the same time.

“You said we had to gamble for it!” Nall shouted.

Brett started to shake even more. “I said you had to gamble! I never said I had the Chart!”

“You…you…” Nall was at a loss for words for about a few seconds. “Ninny-ninny, dumb-dumb, poopy-head!”

“Um… well said,” Ramus said, looking rather unnerved. Kari managed to stifle a giggle. T.K. just grinned.

Alex lifted Brett a little higher. “So where is the Sea Chart?” he asked, his voice not even portraying the tension he was feeling in his arms. He felt Patamon fly a bit farther from them, and Gatomon approaching Brett, ready to give him a claw-down that would make an ordinary cat’s look like a small slap. If that happened, they were going to see how much of bleeder he was.

Brett understood the implications immediately. “I traded the Sea Chart to an old woman in the forest northwest of this town. She gave me this.” He pulled out a cane that had a flower carved into it. “Take this with you. Perhaps the woman will trade for it again… or something else.”

Patamon looked rather pale. “A woman with eccentric tastes. Wonderful,” he groaned flying around in a circle before hovering over T.K.’s head to observe the staff. “What is that thing?”

“No idea,” Alex replied, looking it over. “Guess we’ll see if it’s in that ‘file’ thing Izzy told us about.”

----

“It’s called a Fortune Cane,” Izzy explained, reading the information as it appeared on the screen. “It’s supposed to give its wielder good luck in battle.” He shut his computer. “How does it do that?”

“Haven’t a clue,” was the answer he received as Alex put the cane in Nall’s subspace pocket. “Just because you live on Lunar doesn’t necessarily mean you know everything about it.”

“Hmm… good point.” Izzy looked at the assembled group in front of him. “It appears that for whatever reason, the Digi-Analyzer is capable of not only analyzing the monsters here, but it is also capable of analyzing the equipment, so I think we’re just about ready for anything.”

Luna nodded, sipping her water slowly. “So, we’re going to this Old Woman’s house then?” she asked knowingly.

“Yes, we are. And could you stop hovering over me Tentomon. It’s getting on my nerves,” Palmon grumbled, looking extremely irritated.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Tentomon dropped until he was hovering next to Palmon. “How’s this?”

“Ha…Ha. Verrrrry cute.” Palmon slapped him upside the head. “Get with the program, Tento!”

“Yes, Tentomon. This is no laughing matter.” Izzy put his computer back into his backpack. “We are going to need our heads about us for this. So Palmon, please don’t remove my partner’s head just yet. We might need him later.”

Palmon pouted. “Where’s the fun in /not /letting his head roll?” But she complied.

Mimi looked on with amusement. “Someone would think you had a crush on him or somethin’,” she mentioned mischievously.

“Me?Have a crush on him? Hah!” Palmon said, not even blushing slightly. She turned her back to Mimi.

Mimi just shrugged. “Just a thought…”

“A bad thought.”

Luna looked at her glass. “Now that we have agreed that we’re going to the Old Woman’s house, I’m assuming we’re going to buy enough food to get us there and back.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yep, and a little bit more in case someone is injured beyond the herbs capabilities.” Tai started making a checklist on a napkin.“Let’s see… bread… milk…”

“What amazes me,” Agumon spoke up, picking up his partner’s place in the conversation, “is how all the food can stay cool for days on end, even when it’s the middle of the day and inside a sweltering back pack.”

Alex grinned. “One of the more common uses for magic, I’m happy to say. It’s a cooling charm that anyone with even the slightest hint of magic can use. It keeps the food fresher, longer. All in all, a very good thing.”

Sora looked visibly happier. “Definitely sounds more convenient than a refrigerator,” she said. “Can we learn the incantation for it?”

“For starters, you’re going to have to tell me what a refrigerator is, and second, even though it’s the easiest spell to do, it’s also one of the hardest to say correctly. It usually takes a few months to say it properly, and even then, you have to have some magic to use it.”

“Hey, it was just a thought.”

“Also, we don’t know the chant,” Luna added, “but someone in Meribia might. It has a street that’s supposed to be a slice of the magic city that resides there.”

“Okay. So when do we leave?” Gatomon asked, cleaning some of her fur with her tongue.

Tai checked outside. “It looks like it’s starting to get dark,” he reported, sliding back into his seat. “We might as well stay here for the night. Anyone know where the nearest hotel is?”

“Hotel?” Alex stared at Tai with an expression of confusion.

“I think he meant the nearest inn,” Luna mentioned lightly, watching the comprehension dawn on her friends face. “It takes awhile, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

Tai once again got up. “Come on, Matt. Let’s go find the inn.”

Izzy motioned them to sit back down. “No need. I can show you where it is.” He smirked at their confused expressions. “I saw it while we were getting some supplies, which includes easy-to-carry umbrellas.”

“It’s a pretty small place, but there is enough room for all of us.” Kari reached over to get her glass of water, but she couldn’t reach it. Luna smiled and pushed over to her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Luna watched in amusement as Kari drained half of her glass before she got up. “I’m going to ask Brett if he knows how much it’ll cost,” she said.

Alex watched as Luna walked over to Brett’s table and began to talk to him, admiring the slight sway of her hips as she moved. ‘She’s got more patience than I do,’ he thought, with a slight lovesick expression on his face. Tai noted this, grinning wickedly.

Agumon however, asked, “How does she do it? How can she keep her cool with that man?”

“Sheer willpower, and feminine wiles,” Gomamon replied, with a wink in Alex’s direction. Alex merely looked at him. “Well, it’s true. I mean, how else do you think that they manage to keep the peace between us? Dumb luck?”

“Also, we know what we want, and we can get it.” Sora tried to look seductive, not an easy feat when one had such an open expression. “I mean, who could resist our charms?”

Gomamon answered that with, “A man who likes other men. Also, most women.”

Everyone laughed at Sora’s expression. “Thanks,” was she managed to get out of her throat.

“No problem.”

Kari drained her glass, looking rather confused. “What are you all talking about? Are you making fun of how some people’s choices?And do we have to pay for this water?”

“No, just Sora, to answer the first question.” Tai ducked under the hand that would have given him a nice handprint on his face. “To answer your other question, we were discussing on the lines of who could continuously resist a woman’s charms.”

“And to answer your last question, no. The bartender said all the water’s free.” Sora giggled as Kari immediately jumped out of her seat and began to make her way to the counter. “She sure is thirsty these days,” she mentioned.

Tai looked up. “Well, what did you expect? She hasn’t been sleeping well, and there are the dreams.”

Nall turned around sharply in midair. “Dreams?” he asked, an uncomfortable knot forming in his gut.

Tai looked up. “Oh, nothing to worry about. Just some dream that keeps occurring every night.” He sat back in his chair, pondering for a moment the ramifications. “Actually, now that Ithink about it, it’s because of that dream that we’re here to begin with.” He sat back up. “I hope Luna was able to ‘steal’ the number we’re going to need to pay for the inn.”

As if on cue, Luna plopped down in her seat, just as Kari sat back down with a new glass of water. She had a look of triumph in her eyes.“I’m guessing you won?” Kari asked, a small child’s smile on her face.

“The inn is four silver per bed, but they only have eight beds.” Luna looked somewhat redder than usual.

“Well, we Digimon are used to sleeping on hard surfaces. I mean, most of the Digital World is little more than a rock face.” Agumon looked over at Tai. “But what about you guys?”

Tai steeled himself. “Looks like some of us are going to have asleeping partner,” he said.

“Yeah, but who?” Matt asked.

“Well, T.K. and I can share a bed, so that eliminates two people.” Kari blushed slightly, but no one noticed this. After all, why would anyone think anything wrong with that? They were only kids.

Tai stood up. “We’ll figure out who else gets the dubious honor later. Meanwhile, let’s get to the inn so we can get some sleeping arrangements. Also, I want to know how to use this properly.”

“Good point Tai.” Matt looked relieved. “Now I won’t feel like I’m going to accidentally kill someone.”

----

They found that even with the cost for all of them, which equaled seventy-two silver, they still had sufficient money to get sufficient supplies for everyone, as well as a few more herbs, so everyone decided to split up.

Tai and Matt managed to procure Alex’s services, and the three of them found an empty spot in town to practice in. Alex immediately showed them the fundamentals of sword fighting; thrust, parry, overhead swing, cleave, as well as a few of the more elaborate movements. The two Digi-Destined were able to get the hang of it rather quickly, and while their styles were a little rough, Alex assured them that they would only improve with training and time.

Sora, Mimi, their Digimon, and Luna went over and asked if there was akitchen in the inn. When they learned that there /wasn’t/, they went to find a nearby café to purchase dinner for everyone. The food, they soon found out, was cheap, but pretty decent, and soon spread the word to the others.

Izzy and Ramus went looking at the weapons in the store, purchasing what each one the others would use. Izzy himself had purchased a pretty sturdy bow, which reminded him of the short bows they had used in Russia thousands of years back. He found it… ironic to say the least.

Joe simply stayed at the inn with the others, getting stuff out that they would need for the night, and warning Gomamon to not get on any of the beds. Gomamon had muttered, “No respect,” as he shuffled away, much to the amusement of the other Digimon.

T.K. and Kari however, had decided to explore the town some more. It was the first time they had ever been in a port town before, and they hadn’t been on Lunar for very long, so they were understandably curious. Patamon and Gatomon decided to join them in this little venture, with Tai giving them strict orders to keep them safe. It was something that the two of them took seriously, as usual.

For almost an hour, the four of them wandered through the town, taking in the various sites. They learned of several games that they had never heard of before. When they got the gist of it though, the other kids asked them where they had learned to play those games. To that, T.K. and Kari basically told them they just got lucky. Then they went on their way.

As they walked, they noticed people setting up stands, getting displays in place, and others dragging something or other to an empty space.“They must be getting ready for the Goddess Festival,” T.K. commented. Kari nodded.

As they reached the center of town, they approached a stand with various items set in an orderly fashion. The stand had a sign that said, SERE’S SHOP in bold lettering. What had caught their attention though, was a poster that had been set up on some kind of bulletin board. Curious, they looked at it more thoroughly.

The poster was apparently hand drawn, and depicted what appeared to be eleven people posing. Four of them, set near the bottom of the poster, told them that the portrait had been done within the last decade.

A pasty-faced man with an elaborate wood staff, held such timeless wisdom in his eyes, had been perfectly captured on the paper. A woman without any visible weapon, with hair golden like the evening sun, held a gaze of stern kindness. A large man with pointy ears was wielding an enormous axe. He had a scruffy brown beard, as well as fierce grin adorning his equally fierce visage, looking like he could take on the world and quite possibly beat it. And finally, a man wearing some type of strange armor and a sword hanging from his waist, a serious expression gracing his face. They only got a passing glance though, as the two humans and two Digimon began looking at the others on the piece of paper.

The person that caught Kari’s eye was the brown haired woman on her left. She had hair and eyes the same color as Kari, as well as the form of a combination of a dancer and a farmer. She was wearing adress that was a red-pink color combination with pink ribbons on the hip areas. She was also wielding a scepter that was much more intricate than the one Kari had. It also seemed familiar to her.

T.K.’s gaze was drawn to the man next to the woman. The man had blue eyes and dirty-blond hair in the same color that T.K. had, and he had adevil may care expression on his face. He was wearing bluish-black armor with golden trimming, as well as a similarly colored cape, only with a reddish-gold underside. He had a sword strapped around his waist, as well as holding a short sword in his open hand. He also had an arm around the brown haired woman’s waist, making it obvious to T.K. and Kari that they were a couple.

Patamon and Gatomon gaze were, unsurprisingly, on the couple to the right. Patamon in particular was observing the male, while Gatomon was checking out the female.

The male had golden orange-blond hair like Angemon, as well as his muscular build. His eyes were blue, like blue twin lakes. He was also carrying a silver staff, similar in design to Angemon’s, as well as the smile that every once in a while graced the champion level Digimon face.

The female, whose hair was of a lighter gold color, was the same color of Angewomon’s. She had a silver bow, with a quiver of arrows on her back. A gentle smile completed her lovely face, and a slight twinkle in her eye. The male angel had his hand around the female’s waist in much of the same way as the human male did.

The next group they observed was the couple underneath the center. The woman seemed to have a great deal of wisdom, but also looked as though she a great deal of experience as well. She had no visible weapon, but she looked like she /was /a weapon, coiled and dangerous if provoked. A crop of bluish hair adorned her head in astyle that reminded them all of Sailor Mercury.

The male one had what looked to be a light blue blade strapped to his back, but had much of the same set up as the woman. He also seemed atad nervous to be there, but that was all irrelevant. His eyes spoke of incredible knowledge that others didn’t know.

Now Kari and her friends turned their attention to the person in the center; a woman stared right back at them. She was truly magnificent, looking very much like the brown haired woman, only with blue hair and eyes. She wore a completely red dress with a bowtie impression on her bosom. A sash was tied around her waist, and she had shawl around her arms as if to ward off a draft. She also had a smile graced on her lips, but she also seemed… sad. As if she had a burden that she didn’t want anymore.

The four of them stared at the picture in awe and confusion. Once again, they were hit with a strong surge of deja-vu, only this time, it was more pronounced. And now, they were extremely confused.

“Who are they?” Kari asked. She was under the impression that she had met those people before, thought she had no idea why that was the case.

T.K. still continued to stare at the portrait. “I don’t know Kari,” he replied, “but those two kinda look like grownup versions of us.”

“And they look like Angemon and Angewomon,” Gatomon elaborated, pointing the two angelics, “and that looks like an older version of Luna.” She knew that she had seen them before, she just didn’t know where. And right now, she wanted answers.

As if to answer her prayers, a voice broke through their trail of thought. “Amazing, isn’t it?” it asked warmly. “It was done around sixteen years ago, a few months after the Heresy Wars. It’s the only one of its kind.” Startled, they turned around.

A lady stood right behind them, looking not at the poster, but at the four of them. She appeared to be around middle age, with silver hair tied into two meatball pigtails. Her eyes were a soft gray, and she had an aura of open friendliness about her, something that made people want to trust her. She wore a simple white dress with a bow-tie on her chest. It reminded T.K. of the bow-ties on the Sailor Scouts uniforms.

The woman smiled. “I’m sorry. Did I startle you?” she asked. “I didn’t mean to. It’s just that you were so engrossed on the poster I thought you were going to burn holes into it.”

Kari smiled and began to giggle. “You caught us. We probably wouldn’t have known if a big elephant came up, picked up one of us, and showed how big people act.”

“I guess you have a point there.” Their arrival suddenly gasped. “Oh, I’m being rude! I haven’t even introduced myself yet. My name is Sere.”

“I’m Kari, and this is Gatomon.” Kari held out her hand. Sere shook it, showing surprise at Kari’s grip. Kari wasn’t going to tell her that she wasn’t using even a fraction of her newfound strength. It didn’t seem a good idea to tell someone that a kid had the strength of a superhuman.

“And I’m T.K. This is Patamon.” The two of them bowed. “What were you saying about the poster?” he asked hesitantly.

“It’s the only one of it’s time, and also the most accurate one to depict the people.” Sere looked at the poster with an appreciative gaze.

Patamon asked, “How do you know?”

Sere turned her gaze to the flying pig. “Because I’m the one who made it,” she said, drawing looks of surprise from the kids. “I also taught a man many of the techniques that I was taught. He’s currently the one who’s responsible for the bromide rage that’s sweeping the world.”

“Bromides?” Four voices sounded off at once.

Sere’s eyes gained a mischievous glint to them. “Let’s just say that the boys will try to keep them like keepsakes.”

“Oh.” Kari decided to wonder about it later. Instead, she asked, “Who are they?” pointing at the four on the bottom.

Sere looked at the painting for a moment. “Those four are called the Four Heroes, the protectors of Lunar. The pasty-faced one is Ghaleon, premier of the Magic Guild and their most powerful mage. The woman next to him is Lemia Ausa, the leader of magic city of Vane. Those two are the most powerful magic users on Lunar, as well as two people you never want to screw with.” Sere shuddered with the grin still in place. It made Kari think that Sere might be more powerful than she was letting on. She certainly felt like it.

The gray eyed woman pointed at the axe wielder. “The giant beastman is Mel de Alkirk. He wields a large battle axe as his primary weapon of choice, though he’s a skilled boxer as well. He’s currently governor of Meribia, but he still likes to party every weekend. And finally, Dragonmaster Dyne.” Sere’s eyes got a faraway look about them. “He was the ambassador for humanity in their dealings with the Goddess, as well as the Goddess’s protector. All in all, the most fearsome group of warriors ever in Lunarian history. They played a major roll in the recent, well recent in history anyway, heresy wars.”

“Really.” Gatomon pointed two the two angels. “Who are they… if it’s not too much trouble?” she asked hesitantly.

“I believe their names were…Angelus and Angelica.” Sere frowned as she thought of something. “They were human angels, as the portrait describes them. Angelics is the popular phrase when they are spoken about. Angelus’s weapon of choice was either the silver staff he’s holding in that picture, or a blade that he called… Excalibur. Angelica was an expert archer, and always had her custom made bow and arrows with her at all times.”

Patamon pointed to the couple right below the blue haired woman. “And they are?” he asked with the forwardness that was him.

Sere smiled, intrigued by their drive for knowledge. “They were the Planetary Guardians, Ami and Ryo,” she replied. “Ami was the environmental expert, and always took an active interest in the ecology of Lunar. Her weapons of choice were two twin swords that she summoned whenever there was a battle. Ryo was the stronger of the two, as well the more cautious. He carried a katana blade of ice with him at all times. He possessed the ability to predict the future, but never really used it except in emergencies…or when he wanted some time alone.” She saw them looking at the couple to the left. “And to answer your next question, I don’t know much about those two,” she added, pointing to the couple in question. “All I know is that they were the Guardians of Hope and Light.”

‘Hope and Light?’ The four thought at the same time in surprise. None of their shock or disbelief showed on their faces, however, as that would wait until later. “Okay, so who was she?” Kari asked, pointing to the woman in question.

Sere laughed, a warm, cheery sound that put them all at ease. “My, aren’t we curious today? Such a drive for knowledge.” She thought long and hard. “Well, I’m not completely sure, but I do believe that that’s the physical representation of the Goddess Althena herself.” She paused. “She does look quite lovely, doesn’t she?” she asked.

Gatomon nodded. “I’m guessing that the picture doesn’t do her justice?” she asked knowingly.

The twinkle returned to the silver haired one’s eyes. “Right you are, Gatomon. This is actually the only way a male can admire this picture without generating any form of response other than the usual.” Kari laughed. “In real life, any man who gazed upon the Goddess was said to have instantly fallen in love with her.” Sere gaze suddenly became thoughtful. “Actually, now that Ithink about it, her male guardians didn’t seem to act any different around her, so not every one fell in love with her. And the Dragonmaster seemed to treat her as an older sister of sorts.”

“I most certainly hope not,” Gatomon stated. “I don’t think their girlfriends would take too kindly to that.”

“I think you may be right there Gatomon.” She suddenly asked,“What’s the time?”

Kari took a look at her watch… and gasped. “T.K. it’s almost dinner time! We’re going to be late!” She turned to bow to Sere. “Sorry, but my big brother wanted us back at the inn after an hour. It was nice meeting you.” With that, she turned, grabbed T.K.’s hand, and practically sprinted back to the inn, Patamon and Gatomon on her heels. ‘I hope Tai hasn’t eaten everything yet, because my tummy wants food!’she thought hastily.

Sere watched the four of them run, a tender smile still gracing her face. At the same time, she remembered their curiosity about her picture, as well as their slight reaction when she told them about Hope and Light. /‘I knew they would come here and ask questions,’/she thought, putting some items that she reserved for the Goddess Festival only onto one of the display stands, adding an anti-thief charm to it. ‘And I can help them, even if it’s indirectly.’

She remembered the first time she had met them; all veterans, all wanting a change, all wanting a chance to start a new life. ‘And Iwas almost able to help two of them!’ she thought angrily./‘Damn you monsters! You took away Ryo’s life!’/

With an effort, Sere calmed herself down, breathing slowly, deeply. ‘What did she call this? Earth relaxation breathing?’ It had been so long since she had last seen her old friend. She didn’t even remember what she looked like. She would worry about that later, though.

Looking up to the Blue Star she stared at it with tears shining in her eyes.“I will help them Althena. I swear I will help them with every bit of wisdom I possess. I swear it, in the name of the moon.”

And then Sere went back to the harbor to get the rest of her stock, alone cloud of sadness in a town full of love…and very short fuses. Which were only going to get shorter if that Sea Chart wasn’t brought back to the Captain soon!

Turns out, the Digi-Destined were going to get more than they bargained for in the quest to do just that.