~Digimon Tamers 02~

One year following the events of the Locomon Incident, the Tamers have all settled into somewhat normal lives. However, with the arrival of new friends and enemies, they are quickly thrust back into the world of Digimon. Only this time, their enemy is far greater than anyone they could have ever imagined.

DarkFox2009: This is a re-upload of my old series. I felt as if I was rushing it the first time around, coming up with the story as I went along instead of pre-planning anything. Several months, and numerous notes later, I present to you the true beginning to my series...

A New Beginning

Since the beginning of time there have existed two opposing forces: Good and Evil. The war between them has raged on in many ways, shapes and forms with each side vying for ultimate supremacy over the universe. And it continues here…in the Digital World.

A hint of dread, accompanied by approaching black and grey storm clouds on the horizon, engulfed the digital desert in a sea of foreboding darkness while also tainting the once beautiful indigo sky with an air of menace. Thunder echoed through the barren land below followed by flashes of azure colored lightning with a powerful wind adding to the already cold, depressing setting.

Out of the storm emerged a dark colored haze which snaked its way down to the ground in a spiral pattern. A pair of glowing red eyes suddenly began to illuminate from within the monstrous vapor. Must…feed…need…power...

At the same exact moment, somewhere deep within the mountains halfway across the digital world, another set of eyes sprung open, only from a deep slumber instead. "The time has finally come."

The golden royal doors slowly began to open revealing a large dimly light chamber, walls lined with hundreds of stone glyphs telling the ancient story of how the digital world ultimately came into existence. Strabimon entered along with a cloaked figure whose face was hidden by a hood and shadow. "It's happening. Just like he said it would." He motioned towards their mysterious acquaintance in the cloak, merely crossing his arms with justification.

"Then you know what you must do." All eight red eyes of the creature, blanketed in darkness, moved from Strabimon to his cohort. "Both of you…and there is not much time. Now go."

The two of them bowed down before exiting the chamber and making their way down the long stone covered hall. "I hope that you know what you're doing. The fates of two worlds are at stake. But there's one thing I still don't understand." Both came to a stop for a moment. "Just what exactly is your involvement in all of this?"

There was a deafening silence that seemed to last an eternity as Strabimon awaited a reply. "I'm here to set the chosen one on his path." He walked over to one of the church sized windows, looking out onto the mountainous landscape. "It's his destiny to destroy the darkness and save the digital world from what's about to happen to it."

Hundreds of students at Emerson Intermediate School were anxiously awaiting the final bell on their last day of school before summer vacation officially started and as the end drew near the sounds of anticipation radiated from one classroom to another throughout the entire building turning it into one large, erratic heartbeat.

The last ten seconds were followed by a countdown which culminated in a sea of pre-teens flooding out the blue painted metal doors all around the school, desperate for their freedom.

Twelve year old Ryan Riley and his best friend, Zack Thomas, made their way down the stone stairs and across the street to escape the crowds still flooding out. "Jeez. I'm glad it's summer too but that was nuts! And I used to think Black Friday was bad."

Zack laughed at the joke and patted Ryan on the shoulder. "I know, right? But you really can't blame anyone. We're both just as happy to be out of there as they are."

"You got that right. Three months of no school, no homework and best of all…no Scott Gerardi." A fist connected with his stomach causing Ryan to drop his backpack and fall to the pavement clutching his mid-section in pain, coughing to try and regain the wind that was knocked out of him. He looked forward and saw a familiar pair of silver converse a foot away and immediately knew who it was. "Guess I spoke too soon."

The blonde, spikey haired bully then reached down and pulled Ryan to his feet by the collar of his black tee-shirt while two others surrounded Zack. "I thought I heard my name. Now you didn't think I was going to start my summer and end my last year at this crappy school without getting some last licks in on you, did you Riley?"

"Well, if you really want to lick something…" He pointed a finger at the grass behind Scott who turned his head lightly. "…why don't you try that dog crap over there? Looks tasty, you may like it." His comment earned him a swift punch across the face, propelling the boy into the green chain link fence behind him.

A trickle of blood falls from his lip and onto the sidewalk as he slides with his back against the fence all the way to the ground. "Was it something I said?"

Again he is dragged to his feet and slammed into the intertwined metal. "You got a big mouth, you know that! But…if you say you're sorry, I may just let you live to breathe another day. So, you have anything you want to tell me?"

Scott released his grip but continued to stand right on top of him. Ryan glanced over at Scott's posse who were still subduing Zack. "Yeah, actually I do." Without warning he shoved his tormentor who ended up falling backwards onto the grass. "Shit happens…! Oh yeah, and curb your dog!"

In an instant the enraged teenager realized what he had landed on and became even more furious. "You are so dead! Get him!"

Ryan took off down the block leaving his backpack behind knowing that it would only slow him down and, after being helped up by the other two boys, was immediately pursued by the terrible trio leaving Zack standing there bewildered. "Oh man. He's in some really deep shit. Run, Ryan, run!"

Several blocks away, Ryan came to a stop to catch his breath having lost his pursuers by cutting through a couple of backyards.

With one last gasp of air deep into the lungs he looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was following him and resumed walking towards home while hoping to meet up with Zack later on. As he faced forward he collided right into the chest of a cloaked figure causing him to jump back in fright, stumble and fall onto the asphalt.

A rush of adrenaline, caused by fright, was coursing its way through his veins and his heart began racing faster than a horse on a track, his attention instantly drawn to the abyss beneath the hood due to his inability to see a face. "Sorry. I didn't see you there." There is no movement or verbal response which rattled his nerves further. "It's a little early for Halloween, don't you think?"

The cloaked figure took one step forward making Ryan cringe in pure terror. "It's not for another four months, right?" The question, while rhetorical, is accompanied by a helping hand which brought the young man up to a vertical base, having been knocked down for the third time in one day. "If you're thinking about going that way, I'd strongly reconsider if I were you."

Confused by the statement, Ryan turned to his left and spotted Gerardi and his buddies coming up the side street he was about to go down. "How did you know…?" The question ended in mid-sentence as he came to the realization that whoever he was talking with had disappeared literally into thin air.

"Hey, there he is!" Scott exclaimed to the others while attracting Ryan's attention at the same time. Without hesitation he sprinted off the road and into the woods using his arms to block the many jagged branches of the surrounding trees from hitting him in the face. "He's going into the woods! Come on!"

Knowing that they were hot on his tail again Ryan raced through the woods, jumping over countless logs, rocks and even tripping a few times but keeping on the move like an animal desperate to escape from the hunter.

The chase continued for another several minutes until he came to a dead stop at an old, rusted barbed wire fence with a half termite eaten sign reading "Danger: Keep Out" in faded black paint. Oh, great! End of the line. The sounds of feet approaching got louder and louder with every gasp of air taken in and every bead of sweat that dripped from his glistening forehead. Now what am I going to do?

A sudden explosion of wood and steel temporarily stunned Ryan until the dust settled enough that he saw a section of the old fence had somehow been completely annihilated. Not caring to speculate on how it had gotten that way he ran through the now open portion and continued his attempted escape through the restricted area.

Scott and his friends reached the same spot Ryan had just gone through less than a minute later. As he got ready to enter the hole a hand swiftly grabbed his arm. "Dude, we can't go through there. That's where "The Pit" is."

"I don't care about any stupid pit! If you're scared then go home! As for me, I'm going after that little punk! And when I catch him I'm going to kill him!" Two of them continue on and, although reluctantly, the third teen follows. "You hear me Riley? You're dead meat! I'm going to hurt you so bad your parents aren't going to recognize you when I'm done!"

The tree line had come to an end as Ryan entered a clearing filled with mostly mud and grass which stuck to the bottom of his shoes like glue or gum, making it all the more difficult to keep running. However, he is forced to stop entirely as he arrived at the pit in question: a fifty foot deep crevice in the ground, made up entirely of mud, moss and rock, stretching across most of the field. If I can get across this I can go through the golf course, up Raccoon Run and I'm home free. He backed up a few feet and readied himself to make a leap over. "This is a bad idea!"

Ryan gathered up what courage he could muster and hurried forward, jumped high into the air and landed a mere few inches away from the ledge. He prematurely breathed a sigh of relief only to have it short lived when the ground beneath him crumbled.

Gerardi and his friends showed up just in time to see him fall backwards. Before they could attempt to react, a bright turquoise colored light blinded them as it erupted from inside the crevice and over the entire area, ending as fast as it had begun.

The three teenagers carefully made their way towards the pit and peeked over into the wound of earth. "Oh, dude, I don't see him. And what the hell was that light? Did you see that?"

"I totally saw it. Looked like something right out of The Twilight zone." The other two discussed what they have witnessed leaving Scott to ponder his own ideas, especially the consequences of being directly involved in what they all feared had happened. "You think he's…? I mean…we should probably go get help, right? Like the police or the fire department?"

"And then what? Tell the cops we chased him all the way up here and right into a big hole! He's dead. End of story. Not our fault."

"So then what should we do? What if he's still alive? We can't just leave him down there. Not to mention his friend Zack watched us go after him. He'll rat us all out faster than you can say juvenile hall."

"I'll take care of that loser. You both just keep your mouths shut because, if either one of you say a word about this, I will throw you down there myself." With that they retreated back into the wooded area headed back towards civilization.

The same light he'd fallen into launched Ryan backwards onto a soft patch of grass underneath a large oak tree. "How many times am I going to get thrown on my butt in one day? I've got to hold the world record by now. Oh…well at least this time it was a softer landing."

While on his back he had no other option but to look straight up into the sky which prompted his jaw to go agape. High in the sky he spotted something that literally took his breath away...the Earth surrounded by three separate rings of digital code with dozens of pink colored data streams protruding from its surface. "Something tells me... I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore."