Butter-Fly Effect

Well, when given the option, you'd rather stick to familiar territory. As little as that matters, when it's such a big lake, but... "Hey, Izzy? Do you think the others will want to see that amusement partk?" You ask.

"Amusement park?" Gomamon perks up. "What's that? It sounds fun."

"I don't know..." Joe sighs. "It all goes by just a bit fast for me."

"There's a lot of things to do at an amusement park!" Biyomon chirps happily. "There's rides, and treats, and sometimes there's games! Though I didn't see any games at this one..."

You're not really sure why she's upset by that. She can't really play most of them, she doesn't have hands. It's probably just the principle of the matter.

"I don't think it'd be easy to make games that would be fair for everyone, though," TK points out. "So isn't it better to just not have them?"

"But games are fun, and they don't make everyone complain about me being too short!" Or it could be that. Honestly, maybe amusement parks in general just aren't the best place to take your partner. But it's not like you didn't offer to let her stay home...

"I don't think that'd be a problem here," Tai notes. Which is true. If only because of a complete lack of supervision, but you can still just hop on whatever ride you want and not worry about anyone stopping you.

"Well, yeah, there's nobody there," Izzy shrugs. "There's food, too. It might not have the most nutritional value, but it exists."

"Is there cotton candy?" Patamon sounds far too excited about that, and you send yourself a mental reminder to keep an eye out for your personal airspace being invaded by sugar loaded guinea pigs.

"...They make candy out of cotton?" Poor Palmon sounds so confused, which makes sense when you remember that her entire life before meeting your group was a jungle full of temperamental insects.

"Oh, it's not actually cotton," Mimi shrugs it off pretty quickly. "But it's really sweet, and melts in your mouth, and it comes in all sorts of colors!"

"Oh, that sounds nice! I want to try some!" Somehow, this sets off a whole clamor of agreement from the group of Rookies.

You glare at Izzy. You don't know why, but you're sure it's his fault for unleashing this disaster in the making. He doesn't seem to notice or care, so you give up and turn to your fellow DigiDestined.

"So... I guess they just made the decision for us?" You suggest. Everyone else agrees.

Hopefully, this doesn't go too terribly...

---

When you arrive at the amusement park, the Digimon all immediately set off on a hunt for cotton candy. This is probably going to come back to haunt you later. "So, while our partners go off on a sugar rush... what are we supposed to do?" Matt asks.

Honestly? You didn't really think that far ahead. Generally, you don't need to- something new always seems to come up right once you hit your original destination.

But this is a free day at an amusement park. It's not like you really need a plan for that. "Maybe we should just go have fun," You reply. "Lots of rides, no adult supervision..."

"This sounds like there's a lot of ways for things to go wrong," Joe points out. "Aren't there other things we should be doing?"

"Not really," Kari shrugs. "There's... nothing's going to change, in a day." You wish you could say you understood why she said that. Or, at least, that you knew of a reason that didn't just make you feel bad for her. "So... go have fun."

"You should come, too!" TK states, grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's go on the roller coaster!" She follows after him, looking more than a little overwhelmed.

...Hopefully, that turns out okay.

Still, you agree with the kids. You''re at an amusement park, and nobody can stop you from doing what you want, and it's not like you're going to get another opportunity for this kind of thing.


[ ] Follow the kids to the roller coaster. Make sure they don't hurt themselves, that kind of thing.

[ ] Where could those Digimon have gotten off to? Maybe you should be doing something to limit their intake of sugar... or just get some cotton candy of your own.

[ ] There's a ferris wheel.
-[ ] Go by yourself.
-[ ] Ask a friend to go with you. (Who?)

[ ] On second thought... Maybe you should just relax by the lake.

You've been to an amusement park before. You had fun, and thinking back on it, there's not really a lot that you didn't like.

Mimi, though... you're pretty sure she's never been. She probably traded it for having actual camping experience before getting thrown into another world where that was important. In which case, it's probably the reason the others were able to survive on their own for any length of time outside civilization.

But you remember her saying, once, that going on a ferris wheel looked like it would be fun. You're sure she'd make her way there on her own, but... "Hey, Mimi. Do you want to go on the ferris wheel with me?"

"A ferris wheel!?" And it seems you've remembered correctly, if her reaction is anything to go by. "I'd love to! Still..." As one, you glance over to where Tai and Matt have already run after TK and Kari, "Are you sure they'll be okay?"

"It'll be fine." Probably. Really, Matt will probably just be herding the kids and Tai, but there's no need to mention that to Mimi. She probably already knows.

You don't know what Izzy and Joe are going to get up to, but they're responsible enough that it shouldn't matter.

Hopefully.

"If you say so... Come, on, then. I bet we'll be able to see everything from up there!" Well, yes. That was your second reason to do this. Visibility is important, and you've never been afraid of being high up in the air.

...Come to think of it, that's probably why your partner's a bird.

---

Mimi was right. The view is amazing.

Not that you'd thought it would be any other way. That's just how things work. The higher you are, the more you can see, and you like being able to see the far-off reaches of the world.

"Does it usually look like this when you fly on Birdramon?" Your friend asks, fiddling with the cord on her hat. Given how rough the Digital World is, you're pretty sure that cord's the only reason it hasn't been lost yet.

"Sort of. I mean... we don't really go outside the city." Really, the main reason anyone would have to be surprised by your Digimon's existence is the fact that people generally don't look up. "That's part of why she's good at dodging, we're used to going around buildings." Being in the flat expanses that the Digital World offers... well, if it weren't so boring to look at, you think you'd find it freeing.

"So, all I'd have to do is look out a window, and...?" Okay, you can sort of see how Shin and Shuu Kido managed to find out you were a DigiDestined before Joe did now.

"...Probably."

For a few moments, all is silent. And then, "So, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"About all... this." She gestures out to the vast expanse that is the visible Digital World. "Everyone else knew, why not me and Joe?"

"Honestly, I just... didn't think about it. I mean, first I got Biyomon, then I found out TK had Patamon about a month later, and on the same day Matt and I found Tai and Kari trying to raise a Koromon, which ended up spiraling out of control..." That was the day you got the first sign of what being a DigiDestined would be like. And of the people involved, you can safely say that none of you will ever forget that day.

"What about Izzy?"

"He ended up apprenticed to the previous generation's mad scientist," You remind her. "So she brought him in. And she never said anything about the Digital World to Joe, back when we had a study group together, so I just... figured it wasn't worth mentioning."

Really, the Digital World has never been something you made out to be a huge secret, at least not once you'd met Daigo and the others. It just... didn't matter, so much. Though, in hindsight, maybe the mad scientist wasn't the right place for you to get your social cues.

"And now?"

"...At least you don't have to deal with a homicidal parrot?" She looks at you for a moment, and then sighs.

"Yeah, about that..."

"What!?"

"...We really need to talk about what happened while you were gone."


[ ] ...Okay, yes, this is something you need to hear about immediately.

[ ] ....Shouldn't Izzy and Joe be here for this?

[ ] ...Actually, maybe you don't want to know.