Digimon Frontier
Sin
Chapter One: All Aboard!
Time marched onward at a seemingly impossibly slow rate. The second hand of the clock jerked its way around the clock, making a faint ticking noise. The sound of a telephone blared suddenly. Nothing could rouse him from his slump.
Takuya Kanbara sat at the kitchen table, staring at nothing in particular. He heard his mother talking over the phone to his father about something. Possibly something to do with his younger brother's, Shinya, birthday. He sighed and cast his gaze upon the clock hanging on the wall. The time read 17:32.
He was a handsome looking boy, with tan skin and spiky brown hair that was longer at the back. His deep brown eyes were reflections of his utter boredom as they wandered around the room. He wore a red button up shirt with short sleeves and a yellow t-shirt beneath it with a strange black symbol stamped on the front, he also wore a pair of brown cargo shorts.
He cast his mother a cautious glance before reaching his finger out toward the iced cake before him. His finger rested on a strawberry for a moment, before his mother started turning round. Takuya quickly retracted his finger and tried to look innocent. His mother gave him a slightly scathing look before returning her attention to the phone.
"Bored," Takuya muttered. "Painfully bored."
As he sat their bored out of his skull, his mobile phone vibrated on the table top. He looked down at it and saw a line of type. It simply said: Do you wish to begin?
"Probably just spam," Takuya muttered. "But it's better than being bored."
He tapped a few keys on the phone's pad and immediately the message disappeared. Before Takuya could raise an eyebrow his phone rang. He picked it up and pressed receive before putting the device to his ear.
"Takuya Kanbara," a female voice said. "It's time to decide you future Takuya."
"Wait what?" Takuya asked confused. "Who are you? What do you mean by deciding my future?"
"Your destiny is calling," the woman said simply. "If you wish to catch it, then take the five forty-five outbound train from Jiyuugaoka Station."
The woman hung up. Takuya paused then slipped his phone into his pocket.
"This is way better than being born," Takuya muttered. "My destiny? That's outright awesome!"
He looked toward the clock to see what time it was. He gulped. 17:36.
"I'll never make it," he sighed, disheartened. Then he smirked and picked up his cap, complete with rectangular goggles. "Nothing like that's ever stopped me before."
He slipped out from his seat at the table. He rushed to the hallway and pulled on his shoes, whilst his mother continued to talk to his father. She paused and looked as Takuya hastily tied his laces.
"Takuya, no playing in the street," she warned. "It's dangerous."
"Okay, got it mom," Takuya said in response, pulling the front door open and leapt out into the street.
Takuya ran, practically flying down the street, the setting sun causing the sky to blaze with orange light. It almost looked as if it was on fire. The warm air was pleasant on Takuya's tanned skin. As he ran he fixed his green cap backwards on his chestnut brown hair.
Takuya ran faster, diving between the few pedestrians on the sidewalk. He checked the road for cars. It was late in the afternoon so there wasn't much traffic in a domestic setting like this. He stepped out into the road and started running downhill. He checked his phone and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Five forty!" he panted. He passed a father and son kicking a football between them. As Takuya rushed by the father's phone rang.
"Dad the ball!" the boy cried.
"Sorry, son. Something's wrong with the phone."
"I'll get it," Takuya cried, stopping the ball as it rolled into the middle of a cross road. He passed it back to the father just as he heard a rumbling engine. Takuya looked up as a truck came barrelling towards him. He stood frozen to the spot, unable to believe his foul luck. The truck driver seemed to have seen Takuya; there was a squealing of brakes and the truck started to veer to Takuya' right.
"Why do moms have to be right?" Takuya cried out in exasperation. He leapt to his left as the truck's rear screeched over the road, threatening to slam into him. He landed heavily on the gritty road as the truck finally juddered to a halt.
"Hey kid are you okay?" called the driver from the cab of the truck.
"Y-yeah," Takuya breathed. He checked his phone shakily for the time. The time was now 17:39.
"Why does this happen to me?" Takuya asked as he got to his feet. His blood pumping with adrenaline he ran for the station with unsteady balance but tremendous speed.
With time running out Takuya panted heavily as he reached the station. He leant on the ticket dispenser and stuffed his hands into his pocket. His eyes widened as he noticed a distinct lack of money in there.
"I knew I should have asked for more allowance!" Takuya cried with despair. He slammed his head on the ticket machine in frustration. The machine whirred and a scarlet ticket slipped from the dispenser. Takuya looked at it, amazed. A strange ripple seemed to cross the ticket, like a wave of numbers, binary code.
"Maybe this is destiny," Takuya said, smirking. He plucked the ticket from where it had appeared and ran up the steps. He passed through the ticket barrier and raced to the platform. The train's engines hummed with impatience as the doors began to close. Takuya however leapt nimbly between the closing doors and collapsed, panting into a seat.
The train began to rattle out of the station and the urban scenery began to roll by. Takuya felt a buzz in his pocket and he pulled his phone out to glance at it. As he did so, he noticed a boy on the other side of the carriage pull out his phone to look at a message had just received.
Takuya wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if he had also received a message but he focussed on his own message. Transfer to the six o'clock underground train, Westbound from Shibuya Station. Please take the elevator.
Takuya glanced at the time in the corner of his phone's screen. 17:54. Takuya gave a loud groan and smacked his head into his hands.
"Give me a break!" he moaned loudly. "I'm doing the best I can!"
The train seemed to move painfully slowly, and Takuya was well aware of the time trickling past, seemingly at double speed. At last the train arrived at Shibuya. Takuya leapt out of the train as soon as the doors were open wide enough. He walked slowly off the platform, bewildered. He'd never been here before and knew next to nothing about where anything was.
As he realized he was hopelessly lost he saw the boy from the train dash past him. Takuya raised an eyebrow before deciding that this was more than mere coincidence. The boy was either following him or had received the same messages as him. Takuya dashed after the boy, determined to keep him in sight in the twisting crowds.
Every other step he took the other boy disappeared from Takuya's line of sight but more often than not it was only for that split second of terror. Takuya chased after the boy until he reached an elevator at the end of the station. The boy was already pressing one the buttons on the inside panel. Takuya sprinted towards the elevator and leapt at it, arms over his head. He just made it.
He slammed straight into the wall on the other side of the elevator. He landed on the ground and groaned into the metal. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the the other boy. He looked at Takuya with a mixture of snide amusement and slight annoyance. Now that Takuya wasn't having to keep up with him, he finally got a proper look at the other boy.
He was about Takuya's age, with jet black hair that seemed to be navy blue under the lights of the elevator. Said hair was tied back in a pony-tail and wrapped up in a blue-black bandanna with dark green stripes. The effect made the article of clothing seem like tiger pelt. His eyes were a deep navy blue too. They seemed like deep pools of dark water that stared at Takuya. He was wearin a royal blue jacket with yellow stripes down the sleeves and was wearing a yellow t-shirt underneath it. His hand was stuffed into the pocket of his grey combat jeans and as Takuya looked at him, he rubbed the back of his leg with his foot, clad in a pale blue trainer.
Takuya looked at him for a while and the boy looked at him, his black cell-phone held in his free hand. Takuya held up his own phone and gave a weak smile.
"You here because of the phone thing?" Takuya asked, a small attempt at conversation.
The other boy snapped his phone shut before slipping it into his other pocket and looking at the other wall of the elevator. Takuya scowled.
"You could answer me at least," he growled.
The elevator picked up speed. Takuya and the other boy looked up. The floor counter registered that they were now well below the station. The count had gone off of the registered scale. The entire elevator shuddered a little and the metal was began to vibrate and hum. The elevator light flickered off, causing Takuya to panic. The walls hummed even louder, creating a strange ringing sound.
A strange silvery-blue light seemed to throb through the enclosed space. The walls of the elevator were riddled with it. The light seemed to be in the form of long chains of numbers, all layered on top of each other. More numbers lay beyond these, hiding underneath. Takuya looked at them in awe when, quite suddenly, the lights switched back on.
The metal walls of the elevator had been replaced with glass. Takuya looked out expecting to see earth and stone but her was wrong. A strange purple mist hovered outside the little box. Through the mist her could see those numbers again, some taller than buildings, others little more than dots. Some were on angles, some were regular. All of them ghostly.
The only way Takuya could be sure they were moving was the sensation of practical free-fall in his stomach. And then the elevator stopped. The sudden lack of motion slammed Takuya's head against the railing on the wall of the elevator. He groaned and rubbed the wounded area as the doors opened.
"I really gotta stop landing on my head," he grumbled, eyes screwed up in pain.
When he opened them however, a curious sight met his eyes. It was another train station. This one however was different. For one its, central and only platform was circular, with other longer platforms running alongside the trains like the spokes on a wheel. The trains were all different too, unlike the uniform styled trains above Takuya. These trains were different colours, shapes and sizes. The train tracks ran between the spoke-like platforms and stretched out in the black, mouth like holes of the tunnels the disappeared into. Some of the tracks were devoid of trains and everywhere Takuya looked, he saw children. Kids of his own age, some older, some younger. The entire place was also bather in a strange purplish light.
Takuya's phone buzzed in his hand. He looked at the message he'd just received. He dimly noticed that his phone didn't have any bars so how he could receive a message was anybody's guess. The message simply said: Choose.
Takuya could only assume it meant choose a train. They all seemed to go in different directions. Takuya stood up slowly and stepped forward, before looking at the other boy.
"Which one are you choosing?" he asked.
The stranger sniffed slightly before he took off at a run towards on of the trains.
"Geez my phone talks more than him," Takuya scowled.
There was a great booming sound. The toll of a bell, ringing harshly out across the platform. It was then that Takuya noticed the time. An old, analogue clock, with crimson numerals around its face and purple metal hands. The minute hand had just ticked onto the twelve and the hour hand was lying resolutely on the six. Takuya blanched at both the time and sudden sound of every train door swinging shut almost simultaneously. A loud, high-pitched whistle blew.
There was a great hissing sound and great gouts of steam rose from the trains. Takuya looked wildly around before he spotted a earthy brown coloured train. He dashed towards it as it began to roll steadily faster away from the station. Takuya piled on the speed, consigning himself to the fact that he might not make it when he spotted the small platform at the end of the train's last carriage. Changing tactic, Takuya swung his hand around and grabbed the railing at the back and swung himself onto the train, not a moment too soon, as he leapt off the end of the platform.
He hunched over panting, when he spotted the boy from earlier. He too had taken Takuya's approach, and was standing on the end of the train. He was looking amusedly at Takuya. Takuya simply glared back at him, when the wall of the tunnel hid him from view.
Takuya growled and opened the door into the train, the rushing air cold on his skin. He had expected the train to have kids on it, but as he walked through each carriage, he saw that the train he boarded was deserted. He was vaguely afraid that he'd be going to wherever he was heading to alone. He'd seen several trains filled with kids but this clearly wasn't it.
He opened what felt like the hundredth carriage door and felt a small sense of relief. Three people sat in the carriage. True that wasn't a lot but it was better than nothing. Two boys and a girl.
The girl was slender and about Takuya's age, with pale skin and bright green eyes that stared at Takuya with passive curiosity. She was dressed in practically all pink. A skirt that came down to about her knees, a white and blue striped t-shirt and a pink sleeveless cardigan. She was also wearing a pink hat with two nubs on either side of her head, like horns.
The closer boy was slightly plump and also slightly older in appearance. He had a spiky shock of muddy-brown and his skin was slightly tanned. He bizarrely wore a blue jumpsuit with yellow pockets. He looked at Takuya lazily with his muddy brown eyes, before reaching into his pocket and picking out a chocolate bar.
The boy sitting father away from Takuya was much smaller. He had pale skin like the girl, but his hair was hidden by a large orange hat. He was hunched over so Takuya couldn't see his face but he could see his white t-shirt and yellow shorts.
Takuya cleared his throat before holding his phone up nervously.
"You hear 'cause of the phone thing?" he asked. The first boy gave a grunt in affirmation and the girl nodded.
She turned to face the boy and said, almost to herself: "With him here, there's four of us. I wonder if that means something."
"Probably doesn't," the boy grunted. "There were plenty of other kids in that station." The girl scowled and crossed her arms. Takuya approached one of the lime green seats and flopped down on it. He turned to the older boy.
"So why'd you pick this train?" Takuya asked. The boy scowled at him.
"'Cause this one was closest to the door 'kay?" the boy grumbled.
"Okay geez," Takuya said, backing away from the other boy and turning to the girl.
"How 'bout you?" he said. The girl squirmed uncomfortably.
"Because I didn't see that many people bored this train," she muttered.
"Why's that?"
"I'm not good at making friends," she muttered. Takuya frowned before stretching his hand out.
"My name's Takuya," he said, smiling. The girl smiled and took the hand, shaking it politely.
"Zoe," she replied. Takuya looked at the other boy.
"You?" he muttered.
"J.P. Now leave me alone," he mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate.
Takuya squirmed before he looked at the last boy.
"What about you?" he called.
The boy shuffled away from him.
"I didn't," he mumbled. "I got shoved here by some jerks."
It hit Takuya then that the boy was crying. The boy looked up at Takuya and sniffled, rubbing his hand against his aqua green eyes. The boy was clearly several years younger than Takuya. Takuya looked at the girl who glanced at him hopelessly. Takuya sighed and looked at the boy.
"What's your name then?" he asked. The boy sniffed before looking at Takuya.
"I'm Tommy," he sniffed.
"Well Tommy, it'll be okay," Takuya tried to reassure Tommy the same way he would Shinya. "I mean, really, what's the worst that could happen?"
No sooner as Takuya said this, did a loud, roaring wail come from further up the train. Takuya got to his feet, J.P. And Zoe following suit. Tommy curled up and cowered in a ball. The lights within the train failed and the only illumination came from the light that flashed by from the walls of the tunnel.
The train shook violently, throwing Takuya off of his feet and down the carriage. As he looked up, he saw that J.P. Too had been knocked to the floor and that Zoe was now pressed up against one wall, looking terrified. Tommy was crying in earnest now, his terrified wails drowned out by the sudden screaming of the train's wheels on the track.
Takuya rubbed his head with his hand, trying to make sense of the situation when he noticed something. His hand was strangely encased in a glowing, holographic gauntlet of red and silver metal. A flame design was prominent and his fingers were wrapped in black bandages.
He looked at the others and saw similar holographic images taking over their entire bodies. J.P. was clad in blue and yellow armour and appeared much larger than he really was. Zoe looked to be a fairy of some sorts with light purple hair and azure coloured wings. Tommy looked like a snowman crossed with a teddy bear, though not nearly as cuddly with the strange weapon strapped to her back.
The moment passed however and Takuya felt a vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out the cause of the vibrations. His phone. Only something was different. It was vibrating madly, practically jumped in his hand and every inch of it was glowing with a bright white light. As he watched, the device stretched and warped in his hand, becoming a small, hand-held device about the size of his hand. It was mostly black, but a had a red grip on one side. There was a small square screen in the upper portion of the device, surrounded by a grey wheel. There were two buttons beneath the screen that were the same grey as the wheel and a third, smaller green button bellow and between them. Above and to the right of the screen was a scanner of some sorts.
The screen was active at that moment. A strange symbol was glowing at the centre, like a round cross but with and eye in the middle. The same voice that had spoken to him earlier spoke again, though now it spoke through some speaker on the strange device.
"Welcome to the Digital World Takuya," she said with pride. "This, is your D-Tector."
"Digital World?" Takuya breathed in shock. "You're kidding me."
The same roaring wail bellowed out again as the train left the tunnel and began to race through thick smoke and mist. There was a sudden lurch and Takuya and the others was thrown forwards. Takuya groaned before looking up from his new D-Tector.
"Did you guys get that message?" he asked. Silence greeted him. I'm guessing yes, Takuya thought.
An even louder bellowing roar came from ahead and Takuya and the other clapped there hands over there ears. The sound was deafening as it rattled the windows in their panes.
"You could hear that on Mars," Takuya groaned as the noise quietened.
Zoe slowly got to her knees from her position on the floor, looking out the window. She gasped. Takuya followed suit and joined her at the window and looked sharply up again. There was no ground beneath them. Tracks stretched out beside them on either side, twisting here and turning there but nothing could be seen supporting them. Far below them there was darkness. A great cloud of black mist and filthy earth. Takuya felt an ominous feeling crawl up into the pit of his stomach as he looked down.
Closer at hand however were thousands of flying creatures. They were a pale blue in colour, almost white. They looked kind of like jellyfish, but with no stings. They had faces too, happy wide smiles and shinning black eyes.
Poyomon: A Newborn, Jellyfish Type Digimon from the Deep Savers family of Digimon. A friendly and lovable Digimon that spends most of its time drifting through the oceans/skies of the Digital World. However despite its cute appearance, Poyomon are quick to defend themselves with their Powerful Acid Bubbles attack.
"Are those ghosts?" Zoe asked nervously.
"T-they l-look like it," Tommy sniffed.
"Or marshmallows," J.P. muttered happily. "They go great with chocolate."
Two dozen of the creatures came up close to the windows of the train smiling happily at the passengers within. The one that hovered beside Zoe's window pressed up against it, its body flattened and its features contorted into a sinister expression that made the girl blanch, before screening. The creatures flew away from the train and began to fly lazily hither and thither, Zoe's scream of terror petering off into silence.
"They're probably ghosts of kids who came here before," Takuya said with fearful realisation. What have I gotten myself into? Takuya thought. And what if there's no way of getting back out?
The train began to slow down. Takuya looked back out of the window and saw that it was another station. The temperature also seemed to rise by an alarming degree as they drew up to the platform. Outside was a building a dirty, soot-stained metal.
"I guess this is the train station," Zoe said. She shivered before saying, "I hope there aren't more of those ghosts in there." She paused before continuing rapidly, "Not that I was scared or anything."
"Yeah, I always scream in terror when I'm not afraid," J.P. muttered sarcastically.
Zoe scowled and said something that sounded like 'Boys'.
The train pulled the a stop at the platform and the doors swung open with a great hiss of pneumatics. J.P., Takuya, Zoe and Tommy gathered around the open door and stared out at their first sight of the Digital World. The sooty metal of the train station stretched out as far as they could see. Large pipes rose from random areas and up to the domed ceiling. Some opened up to let out a blazing torrent of flame. Blood red and sunny yellow fires mixed and danced together.
Gathered across the station were clusters of more, strange creatures. All the same. They were small, each about the size of a football. They were each a sickly greyish blue in colour with small ears like a rabbits, but folded into their heads/bodies. Their eyes were deep and red and bloodshot, shaped like crescent moons and each one sported a wicked, sinister smile.
Pagumon: An In-Training, Lesser Type, Virus Digimon that belong to the Nightmare Soldiers family of Digimon. Pagumon are wicked, cruel and deceitful creatures. They lie, cheat and cause mayhem for many a unsuspecting Digimon. Be wary of their Poison Bubble and Tackle attacks, especially if in large numbers.
As soon as the group appeared at the door all the creatures looked up. Their wicked grins widened and they bounced quickly to the door where Takuya and the others were gathered. There was a collective, sinister chuckling passing around.
"Human kids!"
"Someone to play with!"
"Let's hope nobody breaks them this time!"
Takuya and the others stayed apprehensively at the strange creatures before a sudden gush and burst of hot steam forced the group out in the the air, causing them to land heavily in the middle of the group of strange creatures. A grunting snorting sound could be heard from the engine of the train. The train then spoke.
"That first step," he chuckled. "It's a doozy am I righ'?"
"Yeah," Tommy muttered fearfully.
"Is it me or did the train just talk?" Takuya asked sceptically, stepping to his feet and walking to the front of the train, carefully tiptoeing around the smaller creatures. It was clear then, that this was no ordinary train.
The front of the train was a face. It had a huge, gaping mouth that was filled with huge, yellow stained teeth that were each as big as Takuya. Four lamp like eyes glared at Takuya, casting faint yellow light over the boy. The train gave a snort and a spurt of steam escaped his mouth.
"I take offence to that," the train grunted. "I'm not just any old train pally. I'm Trailmon. I'm alive jus' like you guys. Although if I say so myself I am more han'some than you shrivelled up pugs, thank you very much."
Trailmon: Champion Level, Machine Type, Data Digimon from the Metal Empire family of Digimon. All Trailmon have the same digital attributes, however their physical attributes differ, resulting in multiple sub-species of Trailmon. The personalities of these Digimon also vary depending on their physical form. The common sub-species of Trailmon are as follows: Worm, Raccoon Dog, Angler, Franken, Mole, Kettle, Buffalo, Ball and Dark. Most Trailmon are steam powered aside from Dark Trailmon, who is a diesel powered. By wary of their Energy Break Spark attack.
"Any-who," the Trailmon was saying. "Welcome to Flame Terminal. This here is the heart of a Digimon Village."
"Digimon Village?" Takuya repeated.
"Yeah," said one of the small creatures who were now gathering around Takuya and the other once more. There was a malicious glint in there eyes.
"Welcome to Flame Terminal."
"Good thing you came here too."
"Yeah, our last friends didn't last very long."
"I have enough friends thank you very much," J.P. chuckled nervously.
Tommy burst into tears and started wailing: "I didn't even *hiccup* want to be on this t-*hiccup*-train."
"Sorry that you feel that way kid," Trailmon said, pulling away from the platform, "But I can't stick around. I've waster enough time chatting to you guys. If you wanna go home, I suggest you find a Spirit of something."
"This kid could get a job as a fire alarm," J.P. muttered darkly.
"What's a spirit?" Zoe called after the Trailmon, "And where do we get on?" After receiving no answer from the Trailmon she got to feet and yelled after it: "Hello?"
"Where you going?" J.P. yelled. "Give us an answer! HEY!"
"Hey yourself!" the Trailmon called back with an angry edge to his voice. "I got a schedule to keep dummy!"
"You're kidding me," J..P. groaned.
"So, is that it?" Takuya said looking after the Trailmon. "We're all alone?"
"Come back here!" J.P. cried, throwing the remains of his chocolate bar after Trailmon. (It should be noted here that J.P. throw not only fell pitifully short of the Trailmon, but also landed nowhere near the line the Trailmon was actually on.)
"Come back!" Zoe cried. "Pretty please?"
"Take me home!" Tommy wailed at the top of his lungs. The cry caused some of the small creatures to back off.
Tommy scrambled to his feet, tears in his eyes and slid off of the edge of the platform and onto the railway lines.
"Hey wait!" Takuya cried, jumping off the platform after Tommy. Though the other boy was much younger he could sure run when he wanted to. "Tommy stop!"
J.P. turned to Zoe as he said, "Why do I get the feeling we're going to spend most our time rescuing the baby?"
Tommy had now left the station and was running to where the metal ground fell away into open air. Takuya was closing in on the boy, sure that Tommy would stop when he ran out of ground. To his surprise and utter horror, Tommy climbed onto one of the railway tracks and began walking along it, even as the ground disappeared beneath it.
"Tommy!" Takuya cried in exasperation.
"Go away!" was Tommy's tearful response.
"This isn't helping the situation!" Takuya growled. "You're gonna fall!"
"At least I won't be here anymore," Tommy sniffled.
J.P. looked at Zoe, who was watching Tommy aghast. "What is with that runt?"
"I'll take you home!" Takuya cried franticly, suddenly noticing how oily the tracks looked. "Trailmon said if we find this Spirit or whatever we can go home right?"
Tommy stopped and looked back at Takuya.
"Tommy you're more likely to get home with us and this Spirit than by doing that!" Takuya cried.
"I... I guess you're right," Tommy said. "I'm coming back."
Tommy began to turn around when suddenly he lost his footing. His feet slipped on the oily metal and he fell.
"Tommy!" Takuya screamed. He let out a sigh of relief however when he saw Tommy had not plummeted to his death, but rather had grabbed hold of the track his was on and was clinging to it with everything he had.
"Don't, move Tommy," Takuya said carefully. "I'm coming to get you."
He set his foot on the rail, ignoring the hammering in his chest. I can't believe I'm gonna do this, he groaned internally.
Acid green fire leapt into to life to Takuya's right. He looked over at the blaze and saw it sweep across several metal buildings. As he watched, he saw them crumble into fragments, becoming a long stream of numbers that flowed to the heart of the blaze. Two figures were running from the inferno, crying out in fear.
"Look what you've gotten me into!" cried the one on the left. A small creature that came up to Takuya's thigh. It was a milky white in colour and had what appeared to be a five o'clock shadow around its mouth. It had deep black eyes and three stubby fingers on each hand. Around its waist was a pink body warmer.
Bokomon: A Rookie Level, Mutant Type Vaccine Digimon. Bokomon are from the Nature Spirits family of Digimon. Although they are brilliant scholars, they are not the most brave of creatures as proven by their Wild Escape Dash attack.
The other creature was taller than the first. It appeared rabbit-like and had yellow fur. It was wearing a large pair of red pants with legs that came past his feet and were trailing behind him. This creature was squealing like an infant.
Neemon: Rookie Level, Beast Type, Data Digimon from the Nature Spirits Family. A simpleton in most senses Neemon is more often than not helpless in most situations. It will try to evade difficulties with its Feign Sleep attack, with marginal success.
The two Digimon were drawing close to Takuya. As a particularly loud bang sounded from behind them, they screamed and jumped at Takuya, taking boy down. Takuya tripped over the rail and landed painfully on the ground. The white Digimon was the first to notice Takuya.
"It's a human," it said excitedly.
"You think everything's a human," the other Digimon complained.
"Don't start with me you," the first muttered, who was now examining Takuya with a magnifying glass.
"I'm human," Takuya groaned. "Can you get off me now?"
"I'm so sorry," the white Digimon said,leaping to his feet and bowing in respect. He glanced at the other Digimon and pointed saying quickly, "His fault."
"Yeah my fault," the yellow Digimon said smiling, then: "HEY!"
A booming growl rippled across the plane. Takuya looked back into the fire and saw another form. A large, dog-like creature. It stepped closer and it was revealed to Takuya in full-horrifying detail.
It was large and covered in black armour plating. Red, corded muscle could be glimpsed from beneath the armour and its paws were armed with three, viscous talons of glistening, deadly steel. On its shoulders were tow, dog head, acting as armour. Its face was harsh and brutal. Yellow eyes glared at Takuya as it sniffed the ground, long fangs dripping with drool. Its skeletal tail whipped the fire behind him.
Cerberumon: Ultimate Level. Demon Beast and Virus Type from the Dark Area family. A guardian Digimon of the Dark Area it is appropriately named 'The Watchdog of Hell.' Cerberumon is a deadly hunter and is not to be trifled with under any circumstances, unless you want to feel the terrible power of his Emerald Blaze and Portals of Darkness attacks.
"What is that?" Takuya breathed in terror.
"One bad dog," the white Digimon whimpered. "He is Cerberumon, and you can see the damage he's wrought with his Emerald Blaze attack. Which is why we need your help."
"My help!" Takuya cried.
This caught Cerberumon's attention. He looked at Takuya and growled hunrgily.
"Where is the Ancient Spirit human?" he growled, his voice dark and gravelly.
"Why are you asking me!" Takuya cried.
"Don't play dumb!" Cerberumon roared. "I know it's here. I can feel its presence all over this rotten little town! I must destroy it."
Takuya didn't know why but he stood up.
"You won't lay he claw on it!" he yelled. "That Spirit's mine you hear me? Mine!"
"If you stand in my way of the Spirit human," Cerberumon growled, "Then you shall be destroyed with it!" He drew back his head and opened his mouth before roaring, "Emerald Blaze!"
A wave of green acrid fire swept across the ground towards Takuya and the two Digimon. The small Digimon gathered around J.P. and Zoe fled screaming in terror. The two humans could only watch in horror as they saw the fires race towards Takuya.
"RUN ALREADY!" the white Digimon screamed, clinging to Takuya's shoulder. Takuya picked up the other Digimon and ran onto the train track just as the flames screamed past him. Takuya reached the spot where Tommy was cowering and shielded the younger boy with his body.
Takuya looked back and saw everything that had been touched by Cerberumon's attack had been transformed into those strange numbers. The numbers were flying towards Cerberumon's open mouth.
"That mutt is going to eat the whole village," the white Digimon lamented.
"Forget that. He's eaten the tracks!" the other Digimon cried.
Takuya looked back and saw that the tracks had been devoured and now that they weren't supported on both ends, their piece of track was bending towards the open gaping drop beneath them. Takuya gulped and wrapped his arms around Tommy, his hands trying to find purchase on the slippery metal beneath the younger boy.
It was inevitable however that the small group would slip down the track. Slowly at first, but soon Takuya's hands couldn't find any more grip. He and the others shot down the greased metal like a bullet from a gun.
"Takuya!" J.P. cried.
"Tommy!" Zoe wailed.
Takuya and the others flew off the end of the rails and sailed through the air. However they did not fall into the bottomless pit that lay below them. There was a large alcove in the cliff face, which the group landed in. Rather painfully. Takuya groaned as he D-Tector slipped out of his pocket and onto the rocky ground.
The D-Tector exploded into life. The symbol that had been on the scree when it had first appeared was back, shinning brightly. The scanner on the device glowed too and the small gadget lifted itself into the air, turning to face something in the darkness.
"My D-Tector Takuya breathed.
A beam of fiery light exploded from the D-Tector and dove into the darkness. Fire bloomed. A great towering flame the size of a house. And the heat? Takuya felt as though he had been doused in magma. The blazing light that had shot out of Takuya's D-Tector circled around the fire, as though it was controlling it, the circles it drew becoming tighter and tighter. The light then dived into the heart of the fire.
The flames blew wildly out of control, before rising even higher in a column of blue fires. At its heart was a pulsating orange glow.
"The Spirit," the white Digimon breathed.
The orange light began to take on form. It was a small statue, about the size of Takuya's fist, but the detail of the small artwork was astounding. It was the upper torso and head of a man-like figure. It wore flame patterned armour and had two horns coming from the side of its forehead. A mane of spiky yellow hair flowed down its back.
"The Spirit of Flame," the Digimon muttered in awe.
"That wasn't so hard," Takuya muttered, smirking slightly. "Time to go home."
A thought suddenly hit Takuya as he stood up.
"How am I supposed to get it?" he said to himself. "And... what do I do with it when I do?"
"No need to worry about that!" growled a voice from behind them. Takuya spun and gulped. Cerberumon was staring intently at the Spirit over Takuya's head. "It will soon be destroyed!"
And he charged, rushing towards the fire and, unfortunately, Takuya and his friends. Green fire escaped from between Cerberumon's teeth. Takuya looked behind him at the cowering form of Tommy, who was clutching the back of his shirt. His resolve steeled and he pushed Tommy back. He knelt down and grabbed a pipe from beside his D-Tector, holding the metal in front of him.
"This sure rates pretty high on a scale of one to STUPID!" Takuya growled at himself as Cerberumon pounced.
His fangs clamped down on the metal and tore it from Takuya's grasp as he leapt over the boys head. Takuya growled and grabbed on to Cerberumon's tail, only realizing a moment later that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. He cried out as Cerberumon carried him into the fire.
Cerberumon ignored Takuya, instead focussing on the Spirit.
"The Spirit of Flame," he chuckled. "Now it is time that you burned."
Before he could attack however, the fire he stood in scorched his flesh. Cerberumon yelped in surprise and pain. Fire was not supposed to burn him. He yelped again, the flames burning his flesh. He howled and tried to swipe at the Spirit with the talons of one paw but the fire melted the steel before it even touched it. Cerberumon screamed and dived out of the flame, rolling around to extinguish the pain.
Takuya had watched this in amazement. Both at the Spirit's power and the fact he was not a crispy corpse. In fact, the fire didn't feel hot anymore. It was strangely cool on his skin. He looked at the Spirit. The Spirit seemed to stare back at him, with kind eyes.
You have fire, young one, a voice said in his mind. Takuya knew it was the Spirit. He didn't say anything as the Spirit had more to say. My time was long ago, it said with melancholy. But your time is now. Take up my embers, young Takuya. I have chosen you, Digidestined of Flame.
Takuya nodded. As if in a trance he stepped forward. His D-Tector had somehow appeared in his hand though he had no memory of picking it up. He pointed it so the scanner was at the small statue. The fiery light escaped the scanner and enveloped the statue, drawing it into the D-Tector. A symbol blazed on the screen, Three parallel lines, the centre one branching off into two more lines, again parallel only beneath the other two lines above them.
Two voices spoke in Takuya's mind. One was the Spirit's, the other belonging to that mysterious woman. Both said the same thing.
It is time.
Takuya felt the fire converge on him. It felt warm, comforting. He felt himself become taller, his muscles becoming larger, more defined. The flames became solid, becoming metal armour with a patterned flame design. The armour was light on him, exposing the charcoal black skin suit beneath. He felt stronger, faster, more agile. His vision focussed, brown eyes becoming blue. His hair grew longer, turning from brown to blonde, to blazing yellow. He felt horns grow from either side of his forehead. He smiled, feeling pointed incisors in his mouth. He felt powerful.
Agunimon: Hybrid Level, Wizard Type, Vaccine Digimon from the Dragon's Roar. Agunimon is the last remnant of the Legendary Warrior of Flame. Though he retains a small portion of his ancient powers, he is still a formidable force to be reckoned with especially with his Pyro Tornado attack.
"A human turned into a Digimon?" Cerberumon gasped. "Impossible!"
Fire leaked from the gaps in Agunimon's armour and the blue column of fire had disappeared, replaced by a golden flame that bathed Agunimon in a heavenly glow.
"What happened to him?" Tommy asked.
"He has merged with the Spirit," the white Digimon said. "He has become, Agunimon."
"No matter who he is," growled Cerberumon. "He will die!"
Cerberumon leapt at Agunimon, spitting green fire. Agunimon cartwheeled out of the way, grabbing Tommy and the two Digimon as he went. With a powerful jump he re-entered the Flame Terminal and set the three down with J.P. and Zoe before back-flipping off down to face Cerberumon.
"You think you can fight me!" Cerberumon roared. The eyes of the dog heads on his shoulders began to flicker this way and that, leaving laser trails in the air. "Portals of Darkness!" Cerberumon roared.
Black holes appeared in the ground below Agunimon. He leapt nimbly to avoid them, just managing to evade gateways that opened as his feet touched down. But Cerberumon leapt at him, taking them both into the shadows.
"Now we'll how you fair in my element!" crowed Cerberumon as the portals above them closed. "Darkness."
Cerberumon disappeared from Agunimon's sight. He heard the other Digimon cackle madly before he felt his claws racking across his body. The attacks weren't enough to penetrate the armour but the power of the blows was enough to wind the Spirit of Flame. Agunimon growled and caught Cerberumon's assault, catching him by the paw. Cerberumon glared into Agunimon's eyes.
"No one escapes the Darkness," he growled before opening his mouth and crying, "Emerald Blaze!"
Agunimon smirked as the fire enveloped him. The green flames were nothing but cool air on his skin. He swiped a fist through the fire, his balled hand striking Cerberumon in the jaw.
"How 'bout I defeat you without escaping?" Agunimon growled. He raised his hands, flames bursting into life around his fists. "Pyro Tornado!"
He span around, the orange flames enveloping his entire body and wrapping around Cerberumon. Agunimon reigned down fire and first alike on Cerberumon. The other Digimon screamed in agony. Agunimon was dimly aware that they risen from Cerberumon's shadowed world and were now above Flame Terminal. He saw Cerberumon was weakened and delivered the final blow. He drove his foot into Cerberumon's unprotected stomach.
"You... you have beaten me," Cerberumon whispered. "How?"
Agunimon didn't answer. Cerberumon's body became dark, a shadowed silhouette. A ring of tiny numbers Agunimon now knew to be called Fractal Code, appeared around Cerberumon's torso.
"Now to take what you have stolen," Agunimon said to himself. He drew his D-Tector and swiped it, the scanner snagging on the Fractal Code. "Be cleansed in fire my friend," Agunimon whispered softly. "Fractal Code, Digitize!"
The Fractal Code surged into the device and Cerberumon's body disappeared, to be a replaced with an egg like shape comprised of Fractal Code. The egg shape disappeared into the sky and Agunimon touched back onto the ground. He watched the egg fly away. It was Cerberumon's essence, all his memories, his thoughts, but now they had been cleansed, cleared of all the darkness and bile that had consumed him. Perhaps one day they would meet again and be friends.
Agunimon gasped and dropped to his knees. He felt his new strength and size leave him in a whirlwind of light. When the dizzying feeling had vanished he was crouched on the ground panting, no longer Agunimon but Takuya once more. Just a human kid, not a Digimon warrior.
"Man that was..." Takuya couldn't think of how to describe his experience. One word leapt to his mind however. "Exhausting." He looked at his D-Tector numbly. "But, how'd I know how to do that? What happened to me."
The symbol of Flame appeared again and the Spirit's voice answered.
You are Digidestined, it said.
"I'm what now?" Takuya asked.
Digidestined Takuya, the Spirit said again. Chosen for great things.
"Chosen by who?" Takuya asked.
A greater power than I chose you to be a Digidestined, the Spirit said. The one who chose you, was you.
"I chose myself?"
Yes Takuya. And I chose you to be my Digidestined of Flame. You are meant for greatness Takuya. I know it.
The D-Tector went silent and inert. Takuya shook it slightly, expecting more from the Spirit. But nothing came. Takuya had a sinking feeling that though he had found a Spirit, he and his new friends weren't going home any-time soon.