"HA! You just play the same game over and over again...boring!"
- T.K.
Digimon Adventure 1
Jeff rolled out of bed. 4 AM, the clock said. He couldn't sleep. This peaceful silence felt artificial, perverted even. There was no use pretending to be at ease. Guilmon appeared to feel similarly. They both wanted out, out into the coolness of the oncoming dawn. Rid themselves of yesterday and be pacified under an endless black sky. Sleep seemed to only come to Jeff when he least could afford it, anyway.
There was certainly a liberating feeling to be felt once they stepped outside, despite that new Digimon-license weighing heavy in Jeff's pocket - he had been hesitant to bring it. Guilmon sniffed the cold air and snorted as he trotted down the pavement, looking like a dog on an uneventful morning walk. Jeff followed, quietly. Does it hurt, he wanted to ask Guilmon. Could he feel that implant inside his system? Had he been sent into silent panic knowing that something within his body was slowly destroying him? If so, it wasn't visible. The creature's demeanor was calm and steady. Jeff felt a bit selfish - His life wasn't the one at stake here. Why couldn't he be the brave one?
"There's a Digimon nearby," Guilmon suddenly said, cutting off Jeff's train of thought and leaving his mind lame for a second. The boy looked around to see that they had stopped in the middle of an unusually dark crosswalk. Shit, he thought, there's already another one? "Can you smell it," Jeff asked in a quiet voice. They froze still like bird watchers who had just stepped on a twig. Guilmon perked his ears and slowly turned to the right. Jeff looked as well, squinting in an attempt to make out what he saw. It was a very dark alleyway with dim streetlights, but there was certainly something there. A very small figure was coming down the sidewalk towards them. It couldn't have been bigger than a rat, and as it closed in they began hearing the faint mechanic noise it was producing. "What the hell," muttered Jeff in confusion when finally seeing what it was. A plastic toy soldier - one of those wind-up toys with a cartoonishly large grin and wide eyes that became visible at closer range. They stared at the it, puzzled and even feeling a bit ridiculous for wanting to back away.
"Don't tell me that thing's a Digimon," Jeff said, almost cracking a nervous smile. Guilmon continued to look at the toy without responding. It eventually slowed down and stopped a few feet away, and Guilmon approached carefully. There was a low growl in his throat. Jeff crossed his arms and shook his head a little, more interested in where the thing had even come from. He looked back down the same street, almost expecting to see another one, but it was empty.
Jeff was about to let out a tired sigh when he all of the sudden could hear the sound of footsteps. He immediately turned around to look the opposite direction. This time, he did see something - and whatever it was he saw was certainly bigger than a toy, looking almost like a child as it got closer. It was such a peculiar sight in fact, that when Jeff finally realized how fast it was approaching, it was only seconds away from him.
"Guilmon--", he said sharply, but Guilmon only had time to lift his head to catch a glimpse of the the dark figure as it came down upon him. He stumbled onto his side but quickly snapped at the attacker with his jaws, managing to grab onto them and toss them off to the side. They tumbled a good bit before easily springing to their feet and scattering off into the darkness with a wicked cackle. Guilmon growled and breathed heavily, about to chase after but Jeff was quick to order him to stay. They turned their backs to each other, sporadically moving in a small circle as they tried to follow the sound of the footsteps. The echo made it nearly impossible to hear whether it was coming from behind the buildings or the dark open streets around them. "Wait until he comes out again," Jeff murmured to Guilmon, "This bastard is clearly some kind of jokester."
