Yo.
I know, I know - Picking Up the Pieces isn't done yet. I promise that will be done, but I just had to get this out there. In fact, I'll work on the current chapter after this. XD
Well, a few nights ago I grabbed a notebook and pretty much poured all my thoughts into my notebook. The plot took up four pages, and I was writing from 12:15 - 1:30 in the morning. I'm mental, I know.
I will be using the English forms of names (Zoe instead of Izumi, for example) because this actually has Digimon in it (whoot!), and I watched the whole series in English. Hope you don't mind.
Anyway, here is the first chapter of 'Never Too Late'. The name came from the song, but this is not a songfic. I credit the name because listening to it helped me think up of this plot. Also, it fits pretty well.
Also, if there are mistakes, really sorry.I have done spell check countless times, but for some reason sometimes FanFiction mashes to words I had put a space in together, so sorry if you see anything like that.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
The First Mistake
Takuya reached for his cell phone, buried deep in the pocket of his khakis. He searched it for any new messages, but there seemed to be none.
He didn't know why he was so persistent. There hadn't been anything new for the last ten times he had checked during the past ten minutes.
Takuya had just finished soccer practice that quiet, hot summer evening, and was on his way home, his uniform and cleats (among other things) tossed in his duffel bag, and his soccer ball dribbled at his feet. It had been a pretty good practice, and he awaited the following week's game with high hopes of winning.
His cell phone vibrated.
Takuya trapped his soccer ball and rashly tried to whip out his cell phone, succeeding in nearly dropping it. When he flipped the screen open, a text message appeared:
bored
-Koji
Takuya growled in anger. He waits forever for...something...to call him, and all he gets is a load of nothing from Koji.
Takuya replied in a haughty matter, jabbing the dials with his gloved thumbs.
"Stupid Koji..." he grumbled.
-o-o-o-
Koji glanced up from his book at the beeping of his cell phone on his desk. He bookmarked his page in Code Talker and glanced at the message:
alert the media.
-Takuya
p.s - correction: alert the media, leave ME out of it
Koji was not surprised at Takuya's heated response. In fact, he had expected it.
For the past week, things had become strained for Takuya. In fact, all of the Digi-Destined - Zoe, Koichi, Tommy, J.P, and even Koji himself. The only thing was, no one was sure why.
Their tempers had begun to flare up, and it seemed everyone was always waiting for something. Zoe would always argue about everything, Tommy would be stubborn, J.P would sulk, Koichi would be silent half the time, Koji was more irritated, and Takuya was being bossier than ever.
And Koji believed he had realized what it was.
He deleted Takuya's message (he didn't like filling up his inbox with his garbage), and sent a message that would change their lives forever through the very mysteries and secrets they searched for.
Subject: IMPORTANT
Recipients: Zoe Orimoto, J.P Shibiyama, Koichi Kimura, Takuya Kanbara, Tommy Himi
Sender: Koji Minamoto
Meet at the Shibuya train station at 4:00 P.M tomorrow. You know why.
No exceptions, no excuses.
-Koji
Zoe fumbled with her locker code, always passing the numbers and having to start over on the metal lock. She only had half an hour to get to the train station before Koji would interrogate her for being late.
At last, she yanked the lock, and opened her locker. She had just finished volleyball practice, and needed to change out of her uniform. She pulled out her clothes and hurried to dress.
Locking the door again, Zoe stepped out of the sports complex front door and checked the time on her clock again.
3:48 P.M
She had twelve minutes to get to the train station.
No problem, Zoe thought brightly to herself. I'll be there in less than half that time. In fact, I'll be there before anyone else, knowing the boys.
She towed her bike out of the rack (she had 'forgotten' her lock and was silently thankful nobody had stolen it), looking out at the road for cars. She saw nothing either way, and jumped onto her bicycle and down the sidewalk.
Three minutes had passed when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her hand, which also gripped onto the handle bar. She skidded to a stop and picked up the call.
"Zoe here,"
"Are you on your way?" came a familiar voice from the other end.
Zoe sighed.
"Yes, Koji, I'm coming right now. I just got out of volleyball practice and will be there in a few minutes." Zoe paused.
"Good. 'Cause your the last one."
He hung up without another word.
Zoe stood there at the side of the road, her cell phone still recording the time of the call.
I'm the last one?
Her phone started to beep, reminding her the call had been ended.
He had changed the time to trick her.
Stupid Koji. She thought irritably.
"What's so important that you had to make us come all the way to Shibuya Train Station for, Koji?" whined Tommy as he swayed side to side on a gate rail. His large mushroom-shaped hat slipped over his eyes, and pushed it back up with his thumb.
Koji sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. It was true; he had changed the time to three-thirty and had not told Zoe, just to frazzle her. But she could arrive a little early.
"It's not that far from your house here, Tommy," said Takuya. He was pacing up and down the sidewalk, searching for Zoe, flipping open and close his cell phone.
"I'm sure Zoe will be here soon," Koichi spoke up. "Yes, she'll probably have a fit because Koji tricked her, but she'll get over it." He was leaning against a street lamp pole, gazing longingly at the train station.
"Well, I think Koji deserves getting yelled at," accused J.P, who was standing next to Tommy. "Zoe doesn't deserve to be tricked like that!"
Koji still hadn't said anything, J.P noticed. He stood in the middle of the sidewalk, pony tail hanging out of his blue and gray bandanna.
"It's sooo hot, too," complained Tommy again. He wore shorts and a thin tee shirt, but J.P bet half the problem was his huge hat.
"Then take the hat off, buddy!" suggested Takuya, prancing over in his jean shorts and soccer jersey and snatching up the hat.
"Hey! Takuya!" cried Tommy, half-laughing, as he chased after Takuya.
"And to think if anyone else did that to him he would freak," chuckled Koichi, brushing the dirt off his shorts and gray tee. Just then Koji saw her come up the street.
Zoe gracefully swerved her lavender-chromed bike into a rack, tied it to the pole with a piece of string (much to Koji's utter confusement), and came over to the group.
"Well, 4:00, on the dot." She said calmly.
"Right on the -!" began Takuya.
Slap.
Koji didn't know which made him turn redder - the unexpected smack in the face from one of his best friends or the fact his was just smacked in the face by a girl.
"Ouch," giggled Tommy.
"He deserves it," scoffed J.P.
"Oh, hi, Zoe," said Koichi, obviously not aware of what just happened.
"That was for ding-dong-ditching me," snapped Zoe, rubbing her hand daintily.
"Thirteen years old and you have quite the attitude," Koji snarled back. "And it's a joke. Not ditching. Ding-dong ditching would be ringing a doorbell and -"
"In other words, you spent to much time at Italy last month." Takuya chortled, breaking off the fight. "So, Koji, what's up? Why did you drag us out here?"
Koji turned to face the rest of the group, ignoring the smothered laughter coming from J.P and Tommy.
"I had us all meet today," he began quietly. "Because of a place somewhere deep inside ofthe nexttrain station,"
He waited in the awkward silence, but no voices rose.
"The Digital World," Koji said. "I think it's calling for us. Something must be wrong."
"How would you know? The Spirits wouldn't be able to tell us. They left; not a part of us anymore." interrupted Takuya. "At least, not here on Earth...I think,"
He furrowed his brow, as if thinking very hard about something, and was silent.
"I don't know how! But - "
" - We've all been pretty impatient lately," interrupted Koichi. "And don't deny you've been guarding your cell phone like a savage all week, Takuya. We're all just waiting for them to let us know that we need to come."
Koji was waiting for that.
"Perfect." he said cooly. He untied his windbreaker from around his waist, wearing it over his navy shirt. "Then let's go."
"So, it all turned out in the end, Zoe, so don't -," Takuya began, referring to the dramatic scene just moments before.
Zoe whirled with one hand raised ominously in the air.
"You're next," she warned darkly.
-o-o-o-
Koichi had expected something rash and stupid from his brother, but he ran after him nevertheless. He heard the plodding footsteps of the other four Digi-Destined following behind them.
As they came to the ticket vendor, Koji whirled around, and quickly waved six tickets in the air for them all to see. Koichi winked at their confused faces.
Sure saves a lot of time to buy the tickets ahead, thought Koichi wryly as the gang passed through the gates.
A few minutes later they had all made it on the train, exhausted and cramping. They knew their next step was the elevator, but what they all silently wondered was how they would get down to the destroyed underground train station.
When they had saved the human and Digital World from Lucemon, the entire cavern of Trainmon had been destroyed, and the elevator severed from the main floor. How would they possibly get down to the port when their was no way to get down?
Did they plan that far ahead? wondered Takuya silently as the train screeched to a slow stop. The others focused their attention on the train station.
Koji's feet slapped onto the ground the moment the sliding doors opened. Koichi was glued to his shadow, with Takuya, Zoe, Tommy, and J.P all racing behind them. It didn't take long, however, to find the elevator -
Out of order.
"Damn," muttered Takuya quietly. So they had repaired the elevator; it just happened to break during their time of need.
Zoe, J.P, and Tommy all exchanged looks of disappointment with each other, but Koichi and Koji seemed strangely placid and confident. Koji stepped up to the glass of the elevator, gently brushing the back of his hand against the chrome metal supporting it. He then gave it a sharp knock, shaking the door's figure slightly, causing the OUT OF ORDER sign to wobble.
All of the Digi-Destined, save Koichi, gave Koji a puzzled look. But in moments, the elevator rattled and opened its doors to the children.
"What the...?" murmured Takuya, watching Koji step into the small space, leaning against the corner. He gave the others a 'Well, aren't you coming?'look.
Koichi strode in after him, slowly followed by the other confused and bewildered kids.No one seemed to notice them, either; people seemed not to see them, walking right past the elevator.
Suddenly, it gave a sharp jerk, and slowly began to descend.
Zoe stood next to Koji, giving him a worried smile, then turning to face the silver of a window, pressing her hand against the cold glass. Koichi stood next to Takuya, who was fidgeting madly, and Tommy and J.P gazed around in wonder as the elevator sped down to the lower levels.
Moments later, it had gained momentum and started speeding down. Takuya, remembering his first time on the elevator, quickly wrapped his arms around his head to protect it from the continuous injuries he had received.
In seconds, the elevator slammed into the ground, nearly knocking all of the Digi-Destined to the ground. The elevator opened its door once again.
The thing was, there were no Trainmon.
The tunnels that had led the Trainmon to this very location were no where to be seen, and they were too big to miss. The entire area was still littered with some debris, and it seemed that the entire ground floor had been trampled.
Koji was the first to step out of the elevator, followed by Koichi. They surveyed the area before turning around to face the others.
"Well, I don't think the way is blocked," said Koji, gesturing to the cleared area around each track. "They may just not know we were coming,"
"They never called us, so how could they possibly know?" snapped J.P, delicately stepping over cement bricks, and followed by Tommy.
"They probably couldn't," said Koichi rather gravely, as if he were predicting the end of the world.
Takuya was not listening to their conversation; he was too busy hopping from track to track to see if the way really was clear enough to drive a Trainmon too. Darkness engulfed the tunnel past three yards, but besides a scrap of wood Takuya removed from the rail, it seemed clear.
"Hey!" cried Takuya. "Come over here!"
The others ran over to the goggle-head, tripping over the mess they had made trying to save the world a year before, to see what he had found. His face lit up with childish joy as he walked along the rail towards them.
"Koji! Remember when we were both standing at the end of the Trainmon? Remember what happened when we passed a certain place in the tunnel, it got dark and then we were in the Digital World?"
Koji nodded, his eyes blazing with the memory.
"Then that boundry is the portal to the Digital World."Takuya concluded. "We wouldn't need Trainmon. Since the Digital World is fully restored, we could just walk along the side of the track until we got to the Flame Terminal!"
"Or me, Zoe, and J.P could Spirit Evolve into Agunimon, Kazemon, and Beetlemon and carry you, Koichi and Tommy so we could get there faster!" interjected Takuya excitedly. "Does everyone have their cell phones?"
The Digi-Destined whipped out their newer cell phones, presenting them for Takuya to see.
"But the Spirits left us, remember?" Koji pointed out, shoving his mobile back into his pocket. "We might not be able to evolve. In fact, we couldn't."
Takuya's face fell for a moment, but then it lit up just as quickly.
"But maybe they'll come right back to our D-Tecters as soon as we make it through the portal!" he exclaimed, jittering around with pent-up energy. "You never know until you try!"
Koji was silent. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself since nobody was really listening to him.
"Well, it's settled!" Takuya decided. "Lets all walk through the same tunnel until we make it into the Digital World! Let's go!"
Tommy hollered with joy, J.P cheered, Zoe smiled lightly, Koichi suffered a small grin, and Koji was silent and stoic. Takuya jerked his thumb in the direction of the tunnel (as if they couldn't see it), and took the lead with the others following.
In the cave, Takuya began to chatter to J.P and Tommy, while Zoe and Koichi laughed at their antics. Koji fell purposely behind the others, not wanting to have his thoughts interrupted.
There was something wrong about this. That Koji knew. He was positive that they had been called into the Digital World to save the Digimon, but once Takuya mentioned the portals (well, Koji spoke of them directly, but Takuya was referring to them), everyone seemed to think the whole idea was just a game, just a vacation from the real world. Even Koichi had lost the seriousness of the situation considerably.
As they got closer and closer to the portal, Koji felt a sense of dread. It grew as they continued to walk, and soon it became overwhelming. He tried to ignore it, but the danger of it seemed so immense that it felt like a alarm clanging in his ear.
"Hey, Takuya...,"
"Come on, guys! We're there! The light from the station is almost gone, this must be it!" Takuya exclaimed, Koji's soft voice unheard.
"Zoe, Koichi, I don't think we should...,"
"Zoe!" cried J.P. "It's rather dark in these tunnels, no? Let me hold your hand and lead the way...!"
"Koichi, are you sure you're not making it darker in here...?" joked Tommy nervously, his white shirt only just visible.
Koji finally couldn't ignore the warning screaming in his brain.
"Will you all just shut the hell up and stop -!"
He never got to finish.
There was a flash of white and a loud snap.
Because they had reached the portal.
Except something was wrong.
Something had turned out very, very wrong.
Wow, an ending I actually like.
Well, that's the nearly 3,000 word Chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!
It will probably be the only one for this story until April, because I am leaving to Europe, as you know. But that's not until the 19th, and I'll probably be up that early morning to check my mail one more time and stuff, so please review until and after then! Thanks!
Enjoy!
WingsOfSilverSorrow