Me: Lordy, I need to start working on my other fanfictions, but this one is just too damn amusing to not write! Seriously, every time I read one of those fanfictions where they retell the story with an OC or a twist, I subconsciously insert my own OC. So I just went 'fuck it' and started writing this. There are going to be some tweeks to fit my own needs. Read and review, please!
DISCLAIMER: Shiningheart of ThunderClan does not own Digimon. She forgets the name of the dude that does, but it most certainly isn't her. The only thing mentioned in this story she does own is Alex, and she's way too annoying for Shiningheart to be proud of. XD
CHAPTER ONE: All aboard!
A loud yawn escaped me, causing my already cracked lips to crack even further. "God, I'm bored." I complained to my life-long best friend, Takuya Kanbara. The brunette sat next to me on his couch, feet propped up on the wooden table and arms crossed behind his head. "Dude, your parents throw lame birthday parties." I grumbled quietly to him. Didn't want to offend the adults that were like second parents to me, after all.
Takuya shrugged his shoulders without moving. "You're the one that decided to come over without telling me. You're just lucky that Mom already knew you would probably crash, or else I'd have kicked your ass out of here long ago!"
Yeah right, you twit. You couldn't kick me out even if you tried. I mirrored his shrug and said, "Your fault for not telling me about Shinya's birthday party. And hey, why stick around my house with She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named when I can hang out with you and siphon off that musical genius of yours?" This, of course, was said with sarcasm as I gestured to the blank music sheet in front of us. Takuya had about as much musical prowess as a bowl of fruit.
He gave me a blank look that pretty much PROVES that I was right about him being able to read minds when his phone went off. "Huh? A message..." he said while picking it up.
"No shit Sherlock." I said, leaning on his shoulder to get a look. The words 'Do you want to start?' were blinking up at us. Beneath it had two choices, YES and NO. "Jeeze, somewhere in the world is someone more bored than us. Who would have thought it?" He shrugged at me, inadvertently knocking me off of his shoulder, and pressed YES. "What the hell, fool? Did you even check if it had a return number?"
Takuya rolled his eyes at me and said, "Hey, you were the one who said you were bored. It's better than just sitting around here doing abso-freaking-lutely nothing."
Then the phone beeped and a voice spoke. "Takuya Kanbara." Both of us jumped, shared an incredulous look, and stared back at the phone. "It's time to decide your future, Takuya." God damn my parents for taking away my cell phone. It sounds like a chain message, but a pretty cool one all the same. "Your destiny is calling. Take the 5:45 outbound train."
The words Take the 5:45 Shibuya bound train from Jiyuugaoka Station were displayed proudly on the screen. The voice said no more. Before I could even begin to think about it, Takuya had all of my stuff packed into my bag and hauled me to my feet. "Dude, this is easily the most awesome thing that's ever happened to us, Alex!" He pulled me to the door while yelling back to his mom, "Going out with Alex, Mom! Be back later!" He bounced back and forth from foot to foot while waiting for me to finish putting on my shoes, going "Come on, come on, come on..." the entire time.
The minute both feet were covered with my sneakers, he had my arm once again in his hand and dragged me bodily from his house. A full ten minutes involving a near death experience later, we just barely made the station. He pulled me in front of the ticket dispenser and turned out both of our pockets, me protesting when he suddenly shoved his hand in my jacket pocket. Can you say pocket rape, anyone? "Oh well, we don't have any money. Such a damn shame." I shook my head solemnly. "Can we go home now?" Just as I ask, everything goes haywire. The machines flashed lights and the buttons lit randomly. Tickets start spewing everywhere, and Takuya snatched two out of the air before grinning triumphantly at me. "Dammit." I grumbled as he tugged me again.
We just barely got through the doors before they closed, and I slumped against them while Takuya put his hands on his knees. Both of us were panting. "Congratulations, we're on the train." I growled to him, frustration making me sharp. "Your destiny damn well better be kick ass, Kanbara, or else your ass is grass." With that, I looked around. The part of the train we'd entered was sort of packed, but not really. There was enough elbow room, but you couldn't see everyone all at once. I caught a flash of a startlingly familiar navy-and-yellow bandanna before Takuya's phone beeped again, as well as everyone else's. "What now?" I groaned, dragging myself to my feet.
Takuya shrugged while taking his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open to reveal a symbol. Huh... I hadn't noticed that before. Weird... "Transfer to the 6:00 west-bound train." the voice said. Like last time, the words Transfer to the 6 o'clock subway from Shibuya station. My best friend whined angrily and glared at the small device in his hand. "Oh, come on! We- or at least I- am doing the best I can here!" Someone in the crowd caught his attention, and he craned his head to see over everyone else's. I don't see how that would help since he's shorter than even me, for God's sake... "I wonder if that kid got one too..." he muttered under his breath.
I tried to see who might have caught his interest. But then the doors opened and I was once again unceremoniously dragged out of the doors. "Ow, ow, ow, let go Takuya!" I cried, trying to keep up. "Damn it, I'm not as fit as you!" I snapped, glaring at the hand around my wrist. He's just lucky that looks can't burn limbs...
"Almost there..." he panted, ignoring me. He shoved passed everyone to make a path for us through the crowds, making his way to the elevators. We broke through the mass of irritated persons just as that same unnervingly familar bandanna entered one. "Hey, hold the elevator!" Takuya yelled out.
The doors started to close. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I suddenly felt an inward pull forward. I needed to get on that elevator. With a spontaneous burst of speed, I passed Takuya and zipped through the doors, just as they started to close. Ignoring the boy already there, I watched my best friend. "Run, bitch, run!" I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth.
Takuya launched himself forward when the doors were a mere three feet apart. I reached a hand out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him in just as the doors closed all of the way. His face hit the glass windows on the back and I worried for a second that his hard head would crack the glass. The only thing hurt was apparently his face, because he held it in his hands for a minute before glaring at me through his fingers. "Jeeze, that hurt... Thanks a lot, Alex!"
I stuck my tongue out at him before turning to observe our silent companion. As soon as I saw the black hair and cobalt eyes, I knew why the bandanna had seemed so familar. 'Oh fucking hell, it's Kouji Minamito! Shit, Cecil would piss her frilly little skirt if she knew I was this close to her idol!' I opened my mouth- why, I didn't know- when the elevator shook. I stumbled, crashing against the wall next to Kouji. All three of us braced ourselves and looked up to the ceiling to see the lights flicker. I felt myself pale and whimpered the only thing I really could at that moment. "Fucking hell, we're all gonna die."
The lights shut off entirely and the elevator picked up speed until it felt like we were free-falling. "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" It came as a chant to me. I clung to the railing as tightly as I could, really not wanting to die. I was too young to die! There were still things I wanted to do before I was tossed into the fiery pits of hell!
Amazingly enough, it was Kouji who responded to my cursing. "Would you shut the hell up girl? You're giving me a headache." And the way he said it too, it was all blase and nonchalant and casual and totally like we weren't falling to our deaths. Well, excuse me for worrying for all of our lives! We're probably being lured into a trap by a serial child rapist who's going to do horrible and unmentionable things to us before chopping up our bodies and sending the bits back to our parents one by one!
We came to a painful and sudden stop, Takuya flailing about and falling back onto his head. "Ow..." he moaned for the thousandth time that day. "Man, I really have to stop landing on my head..."
Panting for breath and willing my heart rate to drop down, I said sarcastically, "That might have been useful for the hundreds of times you were dropped on your head as a baby." He scowled at me for a second before the doors hissed open. For a moment, smoke blocked our vision before it faded and both of us gasped in shock and wonder. "Woah..."
The first thing to catch my attention was all of the kids. Boys and girls, teenagers and children, skirts and dresses and pants... There was every style of clothing ever invented. I saw nerds, geeks, girly girls, emos, and every other clique that shouldn't have developed until high school. There must have been at least a hundred of us there. How could all of us fit into the basement of a subway? At least, I thought it was a subway... I mean, it wasn't like I had time to look at a directional before coming down here.
Kouji bolted passed us and into the crowd, weaving his way through children until I couldn't see him anymore. "H-Hey wait, what train are you taking!" Takuya shouted out. He didn't get an answer and I wasn't expecting one. "Jeeze, my phone talks more than that guy..." Don't be offended Takuya. That guy doesn't speak to anyone.
The huge clock that hung over everyone chimed and doors all around us closed. The trains, one by one, started to leave the boarding area. "Shit, shit, shit!" I once again chanted. I ran to the closest one, one of the last to leave, and stretched out my hand. Takuya passed me easily. He grabbed the bars at the back and turned, stretching out a hand to grab on to me and haul me aboard. Much like he did upstairs, I lunged for him and he pulled me up beside him. I felt his warm breath panting across my neck, and I forced myself to ignore the shivers his closeness caused. "Thanks buddy."
He nodded slowly, backing away and looking over my shoulder. I turned as well, and saw Kouji on the train next to us. The two had a short staring contest before Kouji broke it to look at me for the first time. Recognition flared like a bottle rocket for the brief moment our eyes met before we were separated by a wall.
My heart felt like it was lodged my throat. Bloody hell, he recognized me! I didn't think he was paying attention in any of our classes together! Holy crap... Please tell me Takuya didn't notice... The one glance I risked at him didn't say he suspected anything. He led the way into the first cart and looked around at the empty seats. "Huh, there's no one here..."
I cleared my throat inconspicuously and shoved my heart back down to my chest. "Or maybe they're just invisible." It was a pathetic attempt at sarcasm, and Takuya's curious glance confirmed it. I grinned at him self-consciously before brushing passed him to the door for the next cart. I figured it would be empty as well, so imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find three other kids already there.
On my right was a girl, the only other one on the train besides me. She was decked head to toe in lavender. She had a hat on her head that had a dark blue stripe on the hem, and it covered most of her dark blonde hair. The rest of it hung down to her shoulder blades. She had on a blue-and-white short sleeved shirt that showed her belly, and a lavender vest that was more for fashion than warmth, though the hood on it could at least do something for her. A lavender skirt stopped down by her knees, and just below them were long socks. Oddly enough, they looked like the same shade of dark blue on her hat. White shoes completed her attire.
Subject number two, the only one on my right, was a decidedly plump boy. He sat directly across from the girl and was dressed in a blue-and-yellow jumpsuit. He had brown hair cut short and brown eyes that were currently observing me and Takuya warily, much like the same way I was observing all of them. He passed over Takuya indifferently, though he smirked as he looked me over. I'm guessing he liked what he saw.
The third kid sat on my left beyond the girl. He was the youngest of us there, much younger than me and Takuya. A giant fluffy hat shielded his head from view. His shoulders, though, were trembling. It looked to me like he was trying not to cry. His shirt was short-sleeved and white, with dark green lining the sleeve ends and the hem, as well as the collar. He wore light green pants that only reached about his shins and white and green shoes. Just looking at the small child tugged at my heart strings. "Erm... Hiya everyone!" I said nervously. Everyone but the child blinked as I gave a small finger wave. "My name is Alex. This here is my buddy, Takuya Kanbara." I slapped Takuya on the arm and he mumbled his own greeting, rubbing the place where I'd hit him.
Takuya looked back and forth between the thick-set one and the girl. "You guys here because of the phone thing?" he asked, waving his phone at them like they didn't know what a phone was. I swear, sometimes I wonder why he's my best friend... They both nodded anyway, and the girl said, "With them here, it makes five of us. I wonder if that means something special..."
You have no idea how hard I kept from making a sarcastic comment right then. Takuya sent me a sharp look like he knew what I was thinking and looked back to them. "Why'd you guys get on this train? Was it the message?"
The jumper dude brandished his bar of chocolate like a weapon while saying in a bored-like tone, "Hey kid, this was the closest train to the elevator, okay? Now look, just leave me alone." Takuya jerked back like he'd been stung, and I glared at jumper dude. He didn't have to be rude about it... Apparently he realized his mistake and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, I'm just nervous."
Takuya said nothing to it, but turned to look at Blondie. "What about you? There must be a reason why you chose to get on this particular train." Well look at you, buddy! First date and you're already trying to impress her with big words!
Blondie shrugged her shoulders with a smile and said, "Sorry, I'm like him. This was the closest one of the elevator." Takuya looked put out for a bit. What was he really expecting? That they'd all received some mystical shaman message telling them to get on this particular train? ... That was actually probably way closer to the truth than either I or Takuya would like to admit.
Jumper got a look over his face that made me cringe. He leaned a bit towards Takuya and said, "Hey, watch this," before saying to Blondie, "Hey honey, want some chocolate?" She shook her head politely and Jumper shoved Takuya out of his way while standing. Takuya yelped a bit and staggered. Probably would have fallen too, what with his lack of grace, if I hadn't caught him. Jumper didn't seem to care much about Takuya's glare at his back. "So, my name is JP. What's yours, cutie?"
Blondie smiled and waved. "Hi, my name is Zoe. Nice to meet you!" She said something in Italian and looked surprised when I returned the foreign greeting. "Oh, are you Italian too?"
I smiled at her and shrugged sheepishly. "French, actually. My full name is Alexandra Cardon, but I prefer Alex. And this is Takuya!" He waved a bit, looking a little lost and awkward. But he's always a little lost and awkward, so that's not saying anything new. I swiftly got behind him and pushed him forward, wearing an impish grin. "And just because I feel like being annoying, he's single."
Takuya gaped at me with a slight pink tinge to his tanned face. "ALEX!" he roared, trying to turn around and hit me. But I stayed to his back the entire time and laughed when he gave up with a pout. "You're mean to me, you know that?"
With a cackle and a twirl from behind his back, I planted my ass next to the giggling Zoe. "That's what happens when you grow up together, Taki. You get both the good and the bad." I used his childhood nickname with a smile and a laugh, and the pink tinge appeared on his ears too. "Wow, that's twice in the past five minutes I've made you blush. New record!"
He scowled at me again and was about to retort before a quivering voice interrupted what would have no doubt dissolved into an argument. "I-I'm Tommy. But I didn't want to get on this train. T-Two bullies..." He broke off with a small sob before continuing, "Th-they pushed me onto this train." He looked up at us then and revealed teary green eyes. "Why are kids always picking on me?" And with this loud exclamation, the boy named Tommy burst into loud tears.
Without me knowing it, my feet carried me to his side and I sat next to him. I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him to my side, and the kid freaking latched on to me. He bawled loudly into my shoulder, soaking my shirt with his tears. Just under his sobbing, I heard JP mutter, "Oh great, a crybaby..." I'd hit him if I didn't have a small child attached to me...
Ignoring the others for now, I rocked Tommy back and forth while whispering words of comfort to him. "Sh, I'm here Tommy. Don't worry, I'll protect you. I won't let anyone else hurt you ever again." His sobs dulled down to slight sniffling. "There you go. Feeling better buddy?"
He nodded and pulled back, rubbing at his eyes and staring at the floor shamefully. "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry about your shirt." I shrugged it off and leaned back against my seat, turning to look out the window. There wasn't really anything to see though, everything was pitch black. He peaked up at me from under his head in such an adorable way that I almost squealed and hugged him again. He rubbed his arm nervously as he asked, "Did... Did you mean it? Will you stop people from bullying me?"
It was enough to make up my mind and I smiled at him. "I've been taught not to make promises I might not be able to keep, but I will make this one promise to you." I stood up and knelt down so that he didn't have to look up and I was on eye level with him. "So long as we're friends, I'll protect you the best I can. This I promise you. And I always keep my promises to my friends."
He wiped at his eyes a bit more before returning my smile when the train suddenly jerked. All of us fell over with varied yells and shouts, and Tommy fell over onto my middle. I instinctively held him to me to protect him and looked around to find Takuya. He and the others were all on the ground as well. When he spotted me looking at him, he reached out like he was going to try and shield me.
That's when I got a shock. Something that looked like an after-image appeared over him. A guy in red armor with blonde hair, superimposed over Takuya... On a whim, I looked over everyone else. Zoe had a girl with purple hair and pink armor with fairy wings and JP had a blue-and-yellow armored guy that had a helmet shaped like a beetle's horn. A glance down showed that Tommy was a white polar bear looking thing with a green headband.
What. The. Hell. What the hell. WHAT THE HELL? Dude, what the hell... Yeah, you can tell that that's pretty the only thing I'm capable of thinking. Takuya seemed to be the only one else to see these images, because he looked down on his hand like he'd never seen it before. That's an idiotic thought though, because it's his hand. All of their cell phones lit up then, and I picked Tommy up and rushed to Takuya's side just as it began to change.
Takuya's cell morphed in a neat little doohickey. It was red and black with silver buttons, and was smaller but bulkier than it's original form. The same voice from earlier came out of it now. "Welcome to your destiny, Takuya. This is your d-tector."
I shivered at the ominous words, and pressed closer to Takuya for comfort. "That... That's kind of creepy..." He nodded silently, seemingly unable to come up with any words. Sunlight suddenly flooded into the windows, which is kind of weird since we were underground not even five minutes ago.
Apparently, I was the only one who noticed the sunlight. Takuya lifted his head towards everyone else and asked, "Did anyone else get that message?" No one answered him, being too busy staring at their own devices- what did that lady call them, d-tectors? I didn't even notice their phones change as well. Tommy's was green and white, Zoe's was lavender and white, and JP's was blue and yellow. I felt a bit left out, since I didn't get one. But then again, my phone was left at home. Maybe I'll get one later, since I didn't have a phone to magically transform.
A loud noise echoed everywhere, and everyone covered their ears. It sounded like a poorly imitated train whistle, and I took advantage of the fact that Tommy's ears were covered to yell, "OI, IF YOU'RE GONNA FUCK WITH US, AT LEAST USE SOME ORIGINALITY!" Once the sound faded, everyone uncovered their ears and looked out the windows. JP cried out in shock and I, completely abandoning my best friend, rushed to see what caused him yell. "DUDES, THERE ARE FLOATING MARSHMALLOWS OUTSIDE!"
And there were. Little white blobs floated all around our train, just floating or zipping around. I never wished more than that moment that I could fly. Then I'd just jump out of the train and chase after them and eat them until I exploded from the fluffy marshmallowy goodness... That's when one of them turned around. It had a face. Upon a closer evaluation, I discovered that all of them had faces. Well, fuck me. That means I can't eat them. Le sigh...
Everyone else crowded around the windows as well, exclaiming both shock and fear over the blobs. One floated to the window closest to Zoe. For a few seconds, girl and blob looked curiously at each other. Then blob pressed close to the window, and girl winced. Blob pressed closer until he looked kinda creepy, and Zoe flinched back. Rinse and repeat left blob making a Troll Face, causing Zoe to screech out loud. I only pointed and laughed at it, making my own face back.
Zoe's screech made all of the blobs leave, though. I pouted and glared at her half-heartedly until Takuya said, voice quivering with fear, "Maybe they're the ghosts of the kids who've been here before! Ah man, what have I gotten us into, Alex!"
He turned his pleading eyes to me for an answer, but I only glared. His mention of ghosts had caused Tommy to whimper and huddle closer to my side. "Well, at least you take responsibility for your idiocy. Next time, though, bite your tongue off. You scared Tommy, you nitwit!"
He ducked down like he was afraid I was going to hit him, then stood straight and blinked when no such thing came. "Wow, you didn't hi- OW!" He rubbed his arm where my fist had just connected and glared at my smirk. You'd figure that, being my best friend since before we could walk, he'd be used to my little quirks and oddities. But no, this is Takuya we're talking about. He wouldn't notice a rampaging rhino if it came right up behind him and bit him in his ass.
After a bit of our usual bickering, everyone went back to looking out the windows. Zoe pointed and said, "Hey, look!" We did. I was fully prepared to see nothing and hear Zoe go 'ha ha, made you look!' because that's totally what I would do. But I'm an idiot, so that's probably just me. Well, me and Takuya. We're both idiots. Must make the rest of the world seem a hell of a lot smarter. Instead, we saw metal buildings with train tracks crisscrossing everywhere. "I bet that's the train station! I hope there aren't any more of those ghost things around..." For the love of- they weren't ghosts, people! Ghosts don't exist. And even if they were, they would have just floated right through instead of pressing up against the glass.
The train pulled in to the station and stopped with a groan that I told myself was just the metal cooling back down and not the train itself, as it sounded like. The door opened on it's own and we all crowded around for our first look at this new place to be met with roundish, grayish creatures that were both adorable and creepy at the same time. They had floppy ears and red eyes that seemed to stare straight into my soul... Or that's just me being dramatic... Yeah, probably just me being dramatic...
The creatures all looked at us and were speaking at the same time. "Human kids!" "Someone to play with!" "Just don't break them this time!" The last sentence caused me to tense up and glare while they all chuckled to themselves, and what very evil chuckles they seemed to be. Forget that part where I said they were somewhat adorable. Now I just want to punt the little gray bastards in the face...
Smoke built up behind us all and pushed us out of the train. Gravity was defied when we were all picked up in the air and deposited in an undignified pile in the middle of the creatures. A voice came from no where, a gravelly one that gave the distinct impression of a chain smoker. "Yeah, that first step's a doozy."
A glance to all of the D-tector carriers told me that it wasn't coming from any of them. While we picked ourselves up, Takuya stared at the train with widened brown eyes. "Um... Is it just me or did the train just talk?" We followed his gaze to see a face on the train. It had four eyes that I had first thought were just lights back in the basement of the station, and a full set of teeth that looked scary.
Those eyes shifted towards us, and I abandoned all pretenses of dignity and jumped behind Takuya with a squeal. Trains. Should. Not. Have. Eyes! "Hey, I'm not just any ol' train! I'm a Trailmon! And I'm alive just like you! Although I am way more handsome than you scrunched up little pugs, thank you very much!"
I took that as an insult. I am not a pug, thank you very much! I stuck my head out from under Takuya's arm and stuck my tongue out at this Trailmon. "I'm not a pug, you asswipe! If I'm gonna be called any dog breed, I'd prefer a collie or a husky, thank you very much!"
The eyes seemed to focus on me for a bit, causing me to squeak and go back to hiding behind him. Thank the Gods for Taki's hero complex, or else he probably would have pushed me away from him when I first ducked behind him. "Uh... Right... Well, anyway," Trailmon seemed to ignore my outburst in favor of informing us, "this here is Flame Terminal. You're in the heart of a digimon village."
So, let's sum this up. We have no idea where we are, how we got here, why we're here, what we're here for, and this guy- who happens to be a talking train, which, in case you were wondering, just isn't natural- expects us to know what a digimon is. In three words, here's our situation: What. The. Fuck. The little gray bastards surrounded us then and jostled around for a bit, grumbling all the while among themselves. "Hey there pals!" The lead thing said to us. "Our last friends didn't last very long."
We all went back to back instinctively, and I made sure to put Tommy between Takuya and I. There was no way I was going to let him get hurt if I could help it. JP fidgeted nervously and said, "Uh, I've got enough friends..."
Tommy burst into loud sobs again and wailed, "I didn't even want to be on this train!" You know, my maternal instincts to quell his sobbing aside, I could see why that would get on anyone's nerves.
Smoke started to appear from beneath Trailmon again, and he started to slowly back away from us on the train tracks. "Sorry you feel bad kiddo, but I can't stick around. If you wanna go home, you'll have to find a spirit or something!"
Zoe stomped one of her pretty little boots and shrieked after him, "What's a spirit? And where do we get one?" Trailmon picked up speed until he was chugging backwards. "Hello?"
JP backed Zoe up and yelled, "Where're you going? Give us an answer! Hey!"
"Hey yourself!" I had to strain my ears to pick up the words Trailmon shouted back at us, he was so far away. My head was beginning to hurt just listening to this. "I've got a schedule to keep!" And Trailmon is going... going... he's gone, ladies and gentlemen! Let's hear it for JP and Zoe, king and queen of Chase-Off-Our-Only-Way-Home-opolis!
A disgruntled silence fell over us as we all mulled over our thoughts with Tommy still sobbing. We were alone in a foreign land with little devices we knew nearly nothing about and no way to get back. Since their cell phones aren't phones anymore, we don't even have a way to contact our families. Who knew when we were going to be able to go home, or if that was even an option anymore? Takuya was the first to break the silence with a sigh, and all he said was, "Well, that's it then. We're all alone..."
I felt Tommy quivering again a minute before he renewed his sobs. "Take me home!" He ducked beneath my arms when I tried to hug him and jumped down to the train tracks. My heart literally stopped for a moment in my chest. Did nobody ever tell him how dangerous it was to play on the train tracks? People have died that way! There's glass and sharp rocks and... and... And that's just in our world! Who knew how things worked in the digital one?
Due to my temporary paralysis, Takuya was the one to chase after him. "Hey Tommy, come back! You're going to give Alex a heart attack!" Yes, that's wonder, tell the hysterical child that the only reason you're chasing after him is to save your best friend from imminent demise. That will go over well. NOT.
Through Tommy's sobs, I heard, "Go away!" He started to walk on the single railing that was suspended in the air with his arms thrown to the side for balance. My hand went to cover my mouth so fast that I think I cut my lip on a tooth. He's either really desperate to get away from us or just not thinking correctly at the moment.
Takuya stopped running when he got the edge. At least that's one thing to be grateful for. For a minute I thought that he'd chase after him on the railing. But he's not that stupid, despite what I may say when making fun of him. "Tommy, this isn't helping! You're going to fall!"
The child's reply chilled my heart. "At least I won't be here!" Did he really not like life enough to fall to his death? We didn't even know how far the fall would be. I eyed the drop beneath the two boys fearfully and shivered. I couldn't speak for Tommy's balance, but I knew that Takuya occasionally had bouts of clumsiness when he wasn't playing soccer. What would I do if he tripped...
I saw Takuya's fist clench. I didn't know if it was in fear or frustration but, given the circumstances, I could be decently sure that it was a fair mixture of both. "I-I'll take you home!" Tommy stopped walking and Takuya blundered on. "Y-Yeah! That Trailmon said that all we have to do to go back is find a spirit, right?"
No one saw me wince. It was a stupid thing to promise him. None of us knew what a spirit was or where to get one. Who knew how long it could take us to find it? It could take ages to even get a whiff of one, let alone actually obtain it. By that time, who knows what Tommy will feel like?
To my relief, Tommy looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Right... Okay, I'm coming back." He started to turn around. My relief turned to horror when Tommy stumbled over his own feet and nearly fell off, only to catch himself and climb back up.
My heart pounded, harder than ever before. I wondered if it would give out soon and murmured to whoever would hear, "Holy fucking God, this kid's going to give me a fucking heart attack before we even find a damned spirit!"
I barely heard Zoe give an agreement before Takuya shouted out to Tommy, "Stay there, I'm coming to you!" I know that I originally said that I was glad Takuya stopped, but now I wish he'd at least gone half-way. I knew that I wouldn't calm down until they were both safe. For the first time in a long while, I cursed my maternal instincts to the fiery depths of hell for making me care about strangers.
Takuya took one step forward and the area to the left of us all burst into emerald flames. Two weird looking creatures- more digimon, most likely- ran frantically away from the fire and crashed into Takuya, sending all three to the ground. I was already moving forward to check on them, conveniently forgetting that the gray blobs were blocking my way, when Takuya sat up. One of the digimon- a white one with a pink waist-band- pulled out a magnifying glass from his waist-band. "Oh, it's a human."
The other one, a yellow rabbit with red pants, said, "You think everything's a human."
The shorter one glared at the rabbit and huffed. "Don't start with me, you!"
My best friend sat looked back and forth between the two. I could tell from his expression that he was torn between amusement, shock, and disbelief. All three, I could understand. Amusement because that sounded like an argument we would have, shock because he'd just been tackled to the ground, and disbelief because... well... they were freaking digimon. "Yeah, I'm human. Now can you get off of me?"
The white one looked like he was about to reply when something stepped out of the green fire, growling. I barely heard Takuya question what it was, caught up as I was in examining the new creature. It looked like it had three heads, but a closer look revealed that the two heads to the side weren't alive, just armored plates for his shoulders. He had two pairs of claws on each paw, one natural set and another that looked like sharpened knives meant for ripping stabbing and tearing. White hair came from behind a helmet fitted to his head, which looked like a dog.
All in all, my terror for my best friend and the little boy grew. I knew Takuya was strong. I've never been able to beat him at wrestling once in our entire lives together, and him playing soccer really helped his muscles. But how was he supposed to fight that... that... whatever it was? The white creature answered Takuya's question in an informational tone of voice, sounding like he was reading from a book. "That is one bad dog. Cerberumon, special attack is Emerald Blaze." That explains the green fire, at least... "And that's why we need your help."
Cerberumon spoke in a gravelly voice that sent my form quaking. "Where's the ancient spirit?"
He took a step forward threateningly, making the two digimon in front of Takuya jump behind him and clutch at his shoulders. "So whenever you're ready, go and get him!" The yellow rabbit agreed in a voice squeaky from fear, sounding more like a mouse than a rabbit. Then again, I've never heard a rabbit make a noise, so I couldn't really compare the two...
The ferocious-looking digimon took another step forward. "I can sense the spirit's presence all over this town. I must destroy it! Tell me where it is!"
Takuya half-sat up and yelled, "No way, it's mine!" The rabbits sent him wide-eyed stares that I'm absolutely sure mirrored my own. What. The. Hell. Takuya, you just went way down on my respect-o-meter. Well, I mean, you're still my best friend, but what the hell? You don't even know what this stupid thing is, where to find it, or how to fight this retarded ass mutt-looking thing. And you're claiming this 'spirit' as your own? I said it once, and I'll say it a thousand times more before we die: you. are. an. i-di-ot.
At least he had the presence of mind to laugh nervously when Ceberumon growled at him again. "Then you shall be destroyed along with it! Emerald Blaze!" At the shout, all of the digimon surrounding me, Zoe, and JP all dove for cover under the platform we stood on. I started to run forward as soon as the way was clear, but JP snatched the back of my hoody and kept me from reaching Takuya.
I almost snarled at him when Ceberumon's attack created two walls of flame around Takuya, blocking off his escape. I swear to every god in the whole damned world, if my best friend is barbecued because JP wouldn't let me go, he'll need to start eating his 20-square-meals through a damned straw! The white digimon on Takuya's shoulders said something that I couldn't hear over the roar of the flames, and Takuya stood up in a panic. His yell was loud enough that I could make it out. "Yeah, but where am I supposed to go?"
A third stream of green fire from Ceberumon went right for him, and he dove to the side desperately. He went right through the fire wall and, luckily, onto the train track where Tommy was watching fearfully. Takuya ran along the tracks clumsily until he reached the child and picked him up. That probably wouldn't do much for his balance, but it made me feel slightly better. At least he hadn't forgotten about Tommy when Ceberumon popped up.
The land between us and them turned pale blue, and it was moving in a constant... stream-looking thing, while giving off a high-pitched humming sound. Ceberumon opened his mouth and I tensed, readying myself for another Emerald Blaze. Instead, he started to suck up the stuff that the ground had turned to, and I heard the white thing with Takuya shout, "That mutt is going to eat up the whole village!" at the same time the yellow bunny said, "And there goes the train tracks."
They started to fall, and JP and I shouted in unison, "TAKUYA!", while Zoe just cried out with an, "Oh no!" They slid down the railing and I turned away, not wanting to see them fall. I heard them screaming and then a grunt and multiple 'oomph's. I looked over the edge, and imagine my surprise when I saw a second level! I almost started crying in relief, and nearly fell over the edge. JP managed to drag me backwards again, and I got control of myself.
A nod of thanks was all he was getting, though. I wouldn't do anything else until Takuya and Tommy, plus maybe those two digimon with them, were safe. A bright beam of light shot from the ground near us, and we all yelled out in shock before running away from it. Not far, but enough that whatever that beam was wouldn't hurt us. I heard the same humming as before, and realized that whatever that light was made from was the same as what Ceberumon had snuffed up.
Speaking of, the mutt had just leaped from his perch to the ground. Rather stupidly in my opinion, I ran to the edge and kneeled down to watch what happened. Takuya and Tommy were both standing and facing Ceberumon. Tommy was hiding behind Takuya, having a hold of his shirt and whimpering. Not that I could hear the whimpering from here, but I assumed that's what he was doing. Takuya glanced at Tommy, and his eyes hardened. I knew, just from that look, that Ceberumon was going to have a fight on his hands. I didn't register the words forming in my mind until I'd whispered them to myself, "Get him, Taki..."
Takuya pushed Tommy away from himself gently and bent down, grabbing a hold of a metal pipe. Ceberumon was charging at him with green fire dribbling from his mouth, like it was spit or something. Takuya shouted out, "This rates pretty high on a scale from one to stupid!" Ceberumon lunged for him and bit down on the pipe. Takuya tried to push him back. I saw the strain on his muscles, but they didn't shake. Shaking meant struggling, and struggling meant possibly losing, and losing meant defeat, and defeat meant... meant... I was almost scared to acknowledge what would happen to them if he lost.
Ceberumon bit right through the pipe and leaped over them all, going straight for the beam of light. Takuya grabbed his tail as it passed them, screaming all the while, and the two of them entered the beam of light. Ceberumon was the only one I could see for a while, and he was standing in front of what looked like a red figurine. I couldn't see any details from where I was. Ceberumon was lit on fire, this time the fire being red instead of his own green. He ran out of the fire and rolled around, howling and whimpering and smoking.
Takuya stood in the middle of the beam, untouched and fine. He looked as puzzled at this as I was. I always knew that he had a thing for fire. I wouldn't really call him a pyro, since he didn't go out of his way to start a fire or stop and stare at it whenever one happened to pop up. Takuya was one of the few people I knew who saw fire as not being destructive, but for giving life and light. Could it be possible that fire returned his affections?
He looked at the figurine in front of him and his eyes glazed over. He threw his arms out to the side and yelled out, "SPIRIT!" His d-tector, which up until this point had been lying on the ground forgotten, floated up and flew into his hand. He pointed it at the figurine with a wordless scream, sucking it up. The same screen lit up with a different symbol than before, but the same voice called out, "It is time."
At that point, a cocoon of the same swirling pale blue light surrounded him. I lost Takuya from my view and started hyperventilating. I was sure my face was as white as a sheet, to use the old cliche. I looked at Tommy to see if he was still okay. Not only was he okay, he was looking at the cocoon with pure amazement on his face. He might have been able to see what was happening inside of it, but I couldn't. The cocoon of light swirled a bit more before breaking up into fragments, revealing Takuya.
Or at least, what should have been Takuya, but most definitely wasn't. It was the same afterimage I'd seen on Trailmon. He was covered in red and yellow armor, the yellow parting having the pattern of flames on them. Whatever wasn't covered in armor was striped black and white. There was a belt around his waist with a buckle on it. There was a symbol on the buckle, but I couldn't see it. The only reason I knew it was there was because it was faintly glowing. His hair had gone from short and brown to long and blonde. In a short phrase... Takuya looked bad-ass. Way more than before he'd made his transformation.
Zoe and JP were on their knees by my side, both as wide-eyed and staring as I was. "No way..." JP breathed out in awe.
Zoe answered in the same tone of voice. "Every way." It's nice to know that I wasn't delusional and seeing things. Then again, maybe we'd all been knocked into comas when we fell on the train and now we're all sharing the same dream.
My trance-like state was broken by the white creature calling out, "Agunimon!" He had a book that I hadn't seen earlier open, and Tommy and the rabbit were both peering over his shoulders. "The legendary warrior of flame!"
Legendary who-ey of what-y? Sorry, the only legendaries that I know of are in Pokemon, and I've never heard any of them being referred to as a 'warrior of flame', even the fire types. Ceberumon finally stood up, a snarl on his face. "No matter who you are, you'll lose!" He leaped for Agunimon, but I felt no fear for him. I knew instinctively that this new transformation would give him the boost he needed to fight.
Ceberumon let loose an Emerald Blaze attack right where Agunimon was standing, only for him to flip out of the way. The Takuya I knew couldn't even somersault properly, so I felt fairly safe in assuming this new skill of flips-and-shit was due to the spirit. Agunimon picked up Tommy and the two small digimon and leaped out of the hole with an ease that shocked everyone, including myself. He deposited his cargo in front of us. I didn't even think before nearly crushing Tommy in a hug. With a growl that sounded nearly too much like my mother, I said to the small boy, "You and I shall have words after this, Tommy." He nodded against my belly, still looking up at Agunimon. I met the flame warrior's eyes, surprised further by seeing blue instead of the warm brown I've become used to. "Kick his ass, Taki."
Agunimon nodded and leaped back down with a flip, drawing a small grumble from me and amazed exclamations from Zoe and Tommy. JP looked jealous as all hell. Ceberumon growled again and the heads on his shoulders glowed an unearthly purple, and he shouted out a new attack. "Portals of Darkness!" Holes appeared in the ground, all varying in size. Agunimon had to leap again as soon as his feet touched the ground to keep from falling into one. He repeated this twice before a hole opened up where he would land next. He tried to hang on to the edge, but Ceberumon his his hand with his claws, making Agunimon fall in.
I lost sight of them after Ceberumon leaped in after him and all of the holes closed. I tightened my hold on Tommy, more for my own comfort than for his. I prayed to every God I knew, made promises that I knew I probably wouldn't be able to keep, and even went as far as to threaten the Pope. I just wanted Takuya to be safe, and to come back to me whole and in one piece.
My prayers worked. An explosion came from under the ground, and a tornado of flame appeared in front of us. There were gasps and exclamations galore, before Zoe asked worriedly, "What if he's in trouble?"
Then the tornado faded, showing Agunimon with his foot firmly planted in Ceberumon's stomach. I pointed at them unnecessarily and said sarcastically, "I don't know about you, hon, but I wouldn't exactly call that in trouble."
Ceberumon's eyes glowed white and he yelled out, "A human child defeated me? Noooooo!" More amazed 'woah's and 'awesome's. I was getting annoyed. Didn't these people know any other ways of saying 'kick-ass'? The white digimon, whose name I still didn't know, had the best way of putting it. "Well, I must admit, I am impressed."
A ring of pale blue, exactly the same as earlier, appeared around Ceberumon's darkened outline with the hum that was starting to make me twitch. Agunimon held out Takuya's d-tector and said, "Now to take the fractal code!" He pressed a button, making a sparking white light appear at the top, before running it over the... what did he call it? The 'fractal code'? It disappeared into the d-tector and what was left of Ceberumon became a white, glittering egg. The egg flew off into the distance, but my eyes were on Agunimon's form as he floated gently to the ground.
I left Tommy and the others standing there and slid down the hill, landing with a tumble near Agunimon just as the shell of data wrapped around him again and left Takuya in his spot. Takuya was on his hands and knees, panting like he'd just had a work out. Not surprising, considering all that he just did. "Wow, that's tiring..." he muttered, not seeing me standing with him. He looked at his d-tector, which was still clenched in his hands, and continued speaking to himself. "But... but how did I know how to do all that?"
The screen lit up again and the voice said, "You are digidestined, chosen for great things. But don't be frightened. The one who chose you, was you."
Deciding it was time to announce my presence, I spoke. "In other words," I said, smirking at him when he jumped. Idiot can fight a fire-spewing digimon with no problems, but not hear when someone walks up to him. "You fucked yourself over big time, buddy."
Takuya scowled at me for the tenth time that day, before sighing and looking back at his d-tector. "I guess this means we're not going home, huh?" I echoed his sigh and shrugged. I didn't have an answer to give him.