Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Indiana Matt and the Isle of the Serpent ❯ Chapter 1
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: dareru 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.30.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 194 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.30.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 194 | Status: Completed
INDIANA MATT AND THE ISLAND OF THE SERPENT
By Dareru (furidashi@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Contains action, mystery, suspense, suspenders, yaoi, airplane chases, gunfighting, bad language, and plenty of other stuff too numerous to mention in this disclaimer.
Disclaimer #2: Digimon and all characters are property of Toei, Bandai, and Saban. Indiana Matt is the intellectual property of Koani (koani@larekas.freeserve.co.uk) and Claire Ishida (ffenics@hotmail.com). He and his ladyfriend are borrowed with permission.
Disclaimer #3: I'm not well versed in the pantheon of gods of ancient cultures, so cut me a little slack, please? I'd welcome any corrections, but I plead ignorance as my defense for any religion-related errors.
~~~
PROLOGUE
Panama, 1913
A lone bead of sweat trickled down Matt Ishida's face. This was it. If he made the wrong move, it would be over. He searched wildly for an opening, but couldn't find one. He was about to give up and surrender when it hit him...
"Checkmate."
Masaharu Ishida looked down at the chessboard and frowned. "So it is." Then he looked at his son. "That's the third time today you beat me! You should get someone else to play with you, you know. Like that other boy, what's-his-name, Dr. Kamiya's kid. I think I'm getting to old for this sort of thing."
Matt beamed up at his father as his hair was ruffled.
"Dr. Ishida? The excavation of the tablet is almost complete."
Masaharu got up and walked out of his tent into the hot, moist jungle air. He swatted at a few mosquitoes as he and Dr. Kamiya talked shop. Matt watched his father for a few moments when a blue and brown blur streaked out of nowhere and attached itself to Dr. Kamiya's leg. He looked down - it was his son. He spoke with him for a moment, but the conversation didn't reach Matt's ears. Then, the elder Kamiya indicated the Ishida's tent, and the boy wandered towards it. He pushed aside the mosquito net, accidentally getting some of the large nest of hair on his head caught in it. Matt laughed and helped him out. In response, the other boy smiled back.
"Thanks. My name's Tai."
"I'm Matt," said Matt. "Pleased to meet ya, Tai." He sighed. "Not much to do around here, though."
"Mmm, yeah," agreed Tai. Then his eyes glittered for a second, and he walked over to Matt.
"What's up?" said Matt quizzically.
Tai responded by tagging Matt in the shoulder and running out of the tent as fast as he could.
"Hey! Come back!" shouted Matt, and, laughing, he raced after Tai.
To Matt's surprise, Tai's agglomeration of hair proved not to be a hindrance at all. In fact, Matt had a hard time keeping up with his friend as they crashed through trees, tents, and vegetation. After a while, they came upon a series of caves on the edge of the dig site, and Tai ducked into one.
Matt paused for a breather, then realized that he'd forgotten which cave Tai ducked into. He frowned...each one looked exactly alike.
"Tai?"
No response.
"TAI!!?"
Matt closed his eyes, randomly picked a cave, and ran into it.
A few minutes later, he ran out of it, picked another, and ran into it.
A few more minutes went by, then Matt ran out of that cave and finally went into the right one, and he found Tai hiding behind a rock, giggling.
"Gotcha!" said Matt, hauling Tai to his feet. They both grinned at each other, and Matt was about to say something when they heard voices at the cave entrance. They ducked behind their hiding place, listening.
"So it's in this one, is it?" said a gruff voice.
"Yes, at the end of the cave," replied a second, with a decidedly British accent.
"Well, let's get it, then!"
Two men, one a tall, thin man wearing a fedora, another a short, squat, slightly overweight man in a business suit, walked past the boulder behind which the two boys hid behind. They watched the two men go past a bend in the tunnel, beyond their view. They heard sounds of digging, an anguished hiss, and then a squeal of pain.
"Ouch! It bit me!" shouted the British voice.
"Serves you right, digging in its nest like that," responded the gruff man.
"Is it poisonous?"
"Well, if you keel over in a few days we'll know the answer, won't we?"
"That's not very funny."
"It's not supposed to be. Now keep digging."
For a few minutes the boys could hear the labored grunts of the two men as they dug for whatever they were seeking. Feeling brave, Matt grabbed Tai by the hand and crept up to the bend in the wall, both of them peeking out so they could see the backs of the men.
"Aha! I found something!" said the overweight fellow, who was the owner of the British voice. He fell to his knees and began tearing at the ground with his hands.
"Good, dig it up properly. Is it the Buddha?" The other man could barely conceal the excitement in his voice.
The Englishman held up a small, perfectly formed golden figurine of Buddha that glimmered in the faint light from the cave. The tall man smiled.
"Excellent. Congratulations, Dr. Morris, we've found it. Or, should I say...I have found it." He pulled a gun out from the recesses of his coat. Dr. Morris gasped. "Give me the Buddha."
"But...we had a deal!"
"Fair enough, then. The deal is now null and void," the tall man said, pulling the hammer of the gun back. It clicked ominously. "Now hand over the Buddha."
Dr. Morris stood up slowly to give the Buddha to the tall man when he stumbled and fell. The Buddha rolled away, coming to a stop right in front of Matt. The eyes of the two men followed the figurine's path and, as it stopped, looked right into a pair of very frightened blue eyes. Then, without thinking, Matt picked it up.
"Run for it, Tai!"
The tall man in the fedora snarled. "Stop right there!" He fired a shot from his gun that ricocheted harmlessly off of the cave's rock. "They've got the Buddha!" Both men took off running at full tilt after the two boys.
Again Matt and Tai ran through the undergrowth, but this time they were running for their lives. They narrowly avoided a low branch that caught the Englishman full in the face, and he fell groaning to the ground. But the tall man in the fedora matched the two boys stride for stride, and soon he was close enough to hear their labored breathing. Just as they were about to be overtaken, the two boys ran into a forest ranger.
"Excuse me, boys, what can I do for you?" said the officer.
"That man found this in the cave over there! It's a golden Buddha and it belongs in a museum," managed Matt between gasps. He placed the Buddha figurine in the ranger's hands.
The man in the fedora slowed to a halt in front of the three, but Matt and Tai missed the wink that passed between the ranger and the man. To the two boys' surprise the ranger handed the small figure to him.
"Well, I think that if it belongs in a museum this man should be the one to deliver it," the ranger said.
"But...but..."
"No buts, now, young man. You just run along with your friend and play nice, okay?" And with that the ranger strode off to other parts of the forest.
The tall man laughed. "You almost got away with it, kid. What's your name?"
"My name's Matt Ishida, and this is my friend Tai Kamiya."
The man removed his fedora and set it on Matt's head. The hat was too big for him but he wore it as best he could, his eyes barely peeking out from under the brim. "Better luck next time, Matt," said the man, giving him a wink before walking off.
~~~
By Dareru (furidashi@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Contains action, mystery, suspense, suspenders, yaoi, airplane chases, gunfighting, bad language, and plenty of other stuff too numerous to mention in this disclaimer.
Disclaimer #2: Digimon and all characters are property of Toei, Bandai, and Saban. Indiana Matt is the intellectual property of Koani (koani@larekas.freeserve.co.uk) and Claire Ishida (ffenics@hotmail.com). He and his ladyfriend are borrowed with permission.
Disclaimer #3: I'm not well versed in the pantheon of gods of ancient cultures, so cut me a little slack, please? I'd welcome any corrections, but I plead ignorance as my defense for any religion-related errors.
~~~
PROLOGUE
Panama, 1913
A lone bead of sweat trickled down Matt Ishida's face. This was it. If he made the wrong move, it would be over. He searched wildly for an opening, but couldn't find one. He was about to give up and surrender when it hit him...
"Checkmate."
Masaharu Ishida looked down at the chessboard and frowned. "So it is." Then he looked at his son. "That's the third time today you beat me! You should get someone else to play with you, you know. Like that other boy, what's-his-name, Dr. Kamiya's kid. I think I'm getting to old for this sort of thing."
Matt beamed up at his father as his hair was ruffled.
"Dr. Ishida? The excavation of the tablet is almost complete."
Masaharu got up and walked out of his tent into the hot, moist jungle air. He swatted at a few mosquitoes as he and Dr. Kamiya talked shop. Matt watched his father for a few moments when a blue and brown blur streaked out of nowhere and attached itself to Dr. Kamiya's leg. He looked down - it was his son. He spoke with him for a moment, but the conversation didn't reach Matt's ears. Then, the elder Kamiya indicated the Ishida's tent, and the boy wandered towards it. He pushed aside the mosquito net, accidentally getting some of the large nest of hair on his head caught in it. Matt laughed and helped him out. In response, the other boy smiled back.
"Thanks. My name's Tai."
"I'm Matt," said Matt. "Pleased to meet ya, Tai." He sighed. "Not much to do around here, though."
"Mmm, yeah," agreed Tai. Then his eyes glittered for a second, and he walked over to Matt.
"What's up?" said Matt quizzically.
Tai responded by tagging Matt in the shoulder and running out of the tent as fast as he could.
"Hey! Come back!" shouted Matt, and, laughing, he raced after Tai.
To Matt's surprise, Tai's agglomeration of hair proved not to be a hindrance at all. In fact, Matt had a hard time keeping up with his friend as they crashed through trees, tents, and vegetation. After a while, they came upon a series of caves on the edge of the dig site, and Tai ducked into one.
Matt paused for a breather, then realized that he'd forgotten which cave Tai ducked into. He frowned...each one looked exactly alike.
"Tai?"
No response.
"TAI!!?"
Matt closed his eyes, randomly picked a cave, and ran into it.
A few minutes later, he ran out of it, picked another, and ran into it.
A few more minutes went by, then Matt ran out of that cave and finally went into the right one, and he found Tai hiding behind a rock, giggling.
"Gotcha!" said Matt, hauling Tai to his feet. They both grinned at each other, and Matt was about to say something when they heard voices at the cave entrance. They ducked behind their hiding place, listening.
"So it's in this one, is it?" said a gruff voice.
"Yes, at the end of the cave," replied a second, with a decidedly British accent.
"Well, let's get it, then!"
Two men, one a tall, thin man wearing a fedora, another a short, squat, slightly overweight man in a business suit, walked past the boulder behind which the two boys hid behind. They watched the two men go past a bend in the tunnel, beyond their view. They heard sounds of digging, an anguished hiss, and then a squeal of pain.
"Ouch! It bit me!" shouted the British voice.
"Serves you right, digging in its nest like that," responded the gruff man.
"Is it poisonous?"
"Well, if you keel over in a few days we'll know the answer, won't we?"
"That's not very funny."
"It's not supposed to be. Now keep digging."
For a few minutes the boys could hear the labored grunts of the two men as they dug for whatever they were seeking. Feeling brave, Matt grabbed Tai by the hand and crept up to the bend in the wall, both of them peeking out so they could see the backs of the men.
"Aha! I found something!" said the overweight fellow, who was the owner of the British voice. He fell to his knees and began tearing at the ground with his hands.
"Good, dig it up properly. Is it the Buddha?" The other man could barely conceal the excitement in his voice.
The Englishman held up a small, perfectly formed golden figurine of Buddha that glimmered in the faint light from the cave. The tall man smiled.
"Excellent. Congratulations, Dr. Morris, we've found it. Or, should I say...I have found it." He pulled a gun out from the recesses of his coat. Dr. Morris gasped. "Give me the Buddha."
"But...we had a deal!"
"Fair enough, then. The deal is now null and void," the tall man said, pulling the hammer of the gun back. It clicked ominously. "Now hand over the Buddha."
Dr. Morris stood up slowly to give the Buddha to the tall man when he stumbled and fell. The Buddha rolled away, coming to a stop right in front of Matt. The eyes of the two men followed the figurine's path and, as it stopped, looked right into a pair of very frightened blue eyes. Then, without thinking, Matt picked it up.
"Run for it, Tai!"
The tall man in the fedora snarled. "Stop right there!" He fired a shot from his gun that ricocheted harmlessly off of the cave's rock. "They've got the Buddha!" Both men took off running at full tilt after the two boys.
Again Matt and Tai ran through the undergrowth, but this time they were running for their lives. They narrowly avoided a low branch that caught the Englishman full in the face, and he fell groaning to the ground. But the tall man in the fedora matched the two boys stride for stride, and soon he was close enough to hear their labored breathing. Just as they were about to be overtaken, the two boys ran into a forest ranger.
"Excuse me, boys, what can I do for you?" said the officer.
"That man found this in the cave over there! It's a golden Buddha and it belongs in a museum," managed Matt between gasps. He placed the Buddha figurine in the ranger's hands.
The man in the fedora slowed to a halt in front of the three, but Matt and Tai missed the wink that passed between the ranger and the man. To the two boys' surprise the ranger handed the small figure to him.
"Well, I think that if it belongs in a museum this man should be the one to deliver it," the ranger said.
"But...but..."
"No buts, now, young man. You just run along with your friend and play nice, okay?" And with that the ranger strode off to other parts of the forest.
The tall man laughed. "You almost got away with it, kid. What's your name?"
"My name's Matt Ishida, and this is my friend Tai Kamiya."
The man removed his fedora and set it on Matt's head. The hat was too big for him but he wore it as best he could, his eyes barely peeking out from under the brim. "Better luck next time, Matt," said the man, giving him a wink before walking off.
~~~