Silent Hope Chapter 1
Enter Flamedramon-Silent Edition
"Run for your lives, it's the evil Digimon Emperor!"
Takeru Takaishi woke up with a start to a warm, April day. After four years of living in Setagaya, he and his mother had moved back to Odaiba, where his brother and the other Chosen Children lived. Today was the start of a new school year, and while most children would be worried about starting at a new school, Takeru had a very different problem to worry about.
" That voice, who was that? Pain, pain, that voice was definitely in pain. What did the voice mean by Emperor? Digimon don't have positions of power like that, do they? I suppose it wouldn't matter. I should probably check it out but-"
He was snapped out of his thoughts when his mother barged into his room. A slightly annoyed look on her face as she continued reading the paper in her hand.
"Your alarm went off 10 minutes ago, Takeru. You're going to be late if you stay in bed any longer."
Takeru glanced at the small digital alarm clock on his bedside table, which flashed '7:55'. He quickly pulled off his sheets and shook his hand to signal to his mother to leave. She smiled and left the room as he pulled on his yellow long-sleeved shirt with a blue and yellow vest overtop, as well as gray-teal shorts. Takeru grabbed three thick pads of paper and shoved them into the bag carrying the rest of his school supplies. He was almost out the door when his mother entered the living room.
"I can pick you up from school today if you'd like. Or would you like to walk home?"
Takeru paused, signing to his mother in a hurry.
"It's alright Mom, I can walk. I'll see you when you get home from work. I really need to get going now, bye."
His mother nodded, and he ran out the door, hoping that he would make it to school in time to find his classes before he ended up late. He stopped when he reached the elevator, clicking the button and waiting impatiently for the elevator to reach him. He heard a high-pitched ding and the doors opened to reveal two other children. The small boy had light brown hair in a bowl cut with gray eyes staring curiously at him. While the taller girl had long, lilac hair and dark brown eyes behind large, round glasses. She beamed at him and grabbed him, practically dragging him into the elevator with them.
"Hi, my name is Yolei! This kid is Cody, but that's not important. You're pretty cute, are you single? What's your name? Are you going to Odaiba elementary too?" The girl said eagerly.
Cody sighed, clearly having anticipated Yolei's outburst and smiled up at the new boy. Takeru bent down and pulled a paper that he had prepared, knowing this would happen at some point in his day. The two children stared at him, confused. Takeru then held up the paper for Yolei and Cody to read.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Takeru. I am in class 5-a and am eleven years old. I am mute, so I can't talk, but I can hear and see just fine. Since most people don't understand sign language, I usually write out whatever I want to say on paper."
Yolei looked back up at Takeru and then read the paper again. Takeru grabbed a pen out of his pocket and began to write another message on a new paper.
"Yes, I am going to Odaiba Elementary, and I'm also not dating anyone if you still wanted know to know." Takeru wrote.
Yolei giggled and began to walk out of the elevator, followed by Takeru and Cody. They hurried at a brisk pace to get to school on time.
"Do you know where to go? Or do you need us to show you your classes?" Cody asked.
"No, I'm alright. I have to meet with the principal first to get my schedule, so I'm sure they'll give me directions, thanks though." Takeru wrote.
Yolei turned around a few yards ahead to the boys. She smiled and winked at them, then began to sprint down the sidewalk. Takeru and Cody looked at each other and grinned before running after her.
After Yolei had slowed down to a walking pace and allowed the boys to catch up with her, Cody asked Yolei to fix his computer. When he began to elaborate on why his computer needed fixing, Takeru took the opportunity to take in the size of the fields. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a soccer ball zooming at him. He quickly put his hands out, catching the ball before it could nail him in the face. A maroon-haired boy came running up to him.
"Hey man, that was awesome! I'm Davis. You should play with us sometime!" The boy's voice was so loud he was practically screaming.
Takeru smiled and nodded, returning the ball to Davis. He watched as the boy turned around and punted the ball back towards the game.
-At the middle school-
Taichi Yagami was sitting in class with his head in his hand. He did NOT want to be in school, but society had rules, so here he was. As the teacher began to lecture about classroom expectations, Taichi heard a high-pitched beeping coming from his pocket. He quickly stood up, recognizing the sound as a distress call from the Digital World. He asked if he could go to the bathroom and ran out the door.
-Elementary School-
"Hey Kari, I'm glad we're in the same class again!" Davis said in his ever-loud voice.
"Yes Davis, wonderful." The short-haired girl replied, not nearly as excited as Davis was.
Takeru stood outside the door, reaching out for the knob, but not quite touching it. "This is always the worst part." He thought to himself. No matter how many times Takeru transferred schools, the nervous feeling of meeting so many people always scared him. His disability tended to surprise people, he knew that, but adults did a much better job hiding their initial shock and reserving judgment. Kids, not so much. In a quick burst of courage, grabbed the metal knob, and started opening the door.
"Everyone, settle down, please. My name is Mr. Shimanoshi. It's almost time to start class. We're just waiting for-" Once Takeru had fully opened the door, he immediately felt like a deer in the headlights. Most of the children in the class stared at him curiously and began to whisper to the others next to them. Takeru smiled uncomfortably at Mr. Shimanoshi and held up his pad of paper, and their teacher began to read. He took his eyes off the paper and looked at the boy for a moment, then smiled.
"Oh, so you're Takeru!" Mr. Shimanoshi exclaimed. "It's wonderful to meet you. You can sit down next to," He paused scanning his classroom for an open seat. "The girl with a camera around her neck, I'll explain to everyone."
The boy nodded and began to walk to his seat while everyone continued looking at him. Kari stayed quiet, but smiled and hugged the boy's arm, much to Davis' annoyance.
Mr. Shimanoshi looked back up at his class and began to speak. "Everyone, this is Takeru. He is mute, meaning he cannot talk. Since most people don't know sign language he writes down what he needs to say."
The students all stared at Takeru with more intrigued expressions than before. He shifted his eyes to the front of the room, ignoring the eyes he knew were looking at him... No one really knew what to think as they hadn't seen something like this before. He knew that, but he still hated how people would look at him as if they were trying to see inside his soul. Mr. Shimanoshi called the students attention back to himself and began the lecture on classroom rules.
"Wraaaaaaaaar!" The Monochromon cried, red eyes glowing brightly as he ran through the dense forest. "It is useless to run! Accept your destiny as a servant to the Digimon Emperor!"
Only a few yards in front of the rhino-like Digimon ran a small, orange dinosaur Digimon and through the surrounding trees jumped a white, cat-like Digimon with green and orange gloves on her paws. "C'mon, Agumon!" Gatomon yelled. "There's a clearing up ahead! If we can get far enough ahead of him, he won't know which way we went!"
"I'll-" Agumon panted as he continued to run from the Monochromon. "-try. But he's fast."
Once they had arrived at the clearing they began to run left instead of continuing straight in an attempt to evade the Monochromon's capture. Before they could get far, however, Agumon tripped on a clump of dirt.
"Agumon, get up!" Gatomon cried.
"I-I'm trying," Agumon replied, pushing his small orange claws against the ground in a vain attempt to get himself off the ground. When his arms were about to give out and drop him back onto the ground, a strong hand grabbed the dinosaur and pulled him into a sitting position.
"Agumon! Are you okay!? What happened!?" Taichi asked.
Before Agumon could respond, they heard the loud cry of the Monochromon quickly approaching the clearing they were in.
"Agumon, it's time for you to Digivolve!" Taichi said as his Digivice began to beep rapidly.
"That's the problem Taichi," Gatomon began. "We can't Digivolve."
"Hold on," Taichi said, confused. "What do you mean you can't Digivolve!?"
Before Gatomon could explain, they heard a loud crashing nearby.
"We'll explain later Taichi, just follow me!" She shouted, hopping from tree to tree toward a cave, Taichi and Agumon following behind her.
When they entered the cave, there was a small, flame-patterned egg with a large spike on the top, marked with Taichi's crest, the Crest of Courage.
"Woah, what kind of Digiegg is that?" Gatomon asked.
"I don't know, "Agumon replied. "But it can't be that bad, it's got the Crest of Courage on it after all."
"What do you think it's for?" Taichi asked, staring at the egg with a curious expression.
"Everyone!" A small, orange bat-pig Digimon cried, entering the cave. "Monochromon went after another group of Digimon, so you guys are safe for now. I wish I could say the same for those other Digimon though."
Gatomon sighed, looking back towards the Digiegg. "There's nothing we can do now, we aren't powerful enough without Digivolving, and with the Emperor in charge, the chances of us doing that are quite slim."
"The Crest of Courage," Taichi thought, turning his attention away from the Digimon's ongoing conversation. "Is this the signal that appeared on my Digivice earlier? That seems to mean it was made for me, and just when the Digital World was finally at peace."
Taichi approached the egg cautiously, reaching his hands out to touch the egg. As soon as his fingers made contact, the egg began to glow. Three sparks of blue, red, and purple light burst out of the egg, flying up out of sight through an opening in the roof of the cave.
"What were those?" Taichi asked himself. "And more importantly, where are they going?"
After the final school bell had rung, Davis quickly got his things together and changed into his outdoor shoes. He ran to where Kari was putting her school supplies in her cubby. When he arrived in the doorway, he saw Kari speaking to Takeru. A flame ignited inside his chest, but he quickly took a deep breath. Seeing Kari with that kid didn't sit well with Davis. Kari was his best friend, not Takeru's. But of course, it wouldn't sit well with Kari if he told this kid to get lost, and the last thing he wanted was for Kari to be mad at him.
"Stay calm, Davis, stay calm. People don't like you when you're mad, you scare people when you get mad." He thought to himself.
"Hi, Kari. Hi, Takeru," Davis said, trying to contain how upset he was. "I was looking for just you Kari, but if Takeru wants to come to get some food with us," He cursed himself for saying that. "I thought we could-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Yolei walked in and interrupted him.
"Hey, you're Kari Yagami aren't you?" She asked. "Oh, hi Takeru."
"I am, why?" Kari responded while Takeru gave the girl a friendly wave.
"This email came on the computer for you. It seems weird to me, but I think it's from your brother, so it might make sense to you." Yolei held out a piece of paper in front of Kari's face and she scanned her eyes across the sheet, then looked to Takeru.
"It's the Digital World, Taichi needs us!"
Kari and Takeru began to sprint to the computer lab, leaving Yolei and Davis alone in the cubby room, looking at each other with bewildered expressions. They began to run after the two, curious as to what was so urgent.
"What's going on?" Yolei asked. "What's a Digital World? Where are we even going? What does Taichi need you for?"
Without answering any of her questions, Takeru and Kari rounded the corner of the hallway and ran through the doorway to the computer lab. Once they were inside, they reached into their pockets and grabbed two identical stopwatch-looking devices.
"Woah, what is that thing?" Yolei asked, walking beside Kari to get a closer look. "Where did you get that? It's super cool!"
Takeru reached over from his chair in front of the computer and tapped Kari's shoulder. He pointed to the screen, which displayed an array of black squares with a picture of a lush forest.
"Yolei, are you ready to go fix my computer now?" Cody said, appearing in the doorway of the computer room.
"Oh, yeah," Yolei said sadly. "I said I'd do that, didn't I?" She sighed and walk towards the door, turning around before she had completely left the room.
"You two," She looked at Takeru and Kari. "Will be explaining all of this to me tomorrow, got it?"
"We got it," Kari said as Takeru nodded his head.
"Yolei," Cody said urgently.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." She said as the two walked out of sight.
"Alright," Kari said, looking towards Takeru."The Digiport's open, let's go help Taichi."
"Wait a minute!" Davis exclaimed. "Go where? What's a Digital World? And more importantly, why can't I come too?!"
Takeru had grabbed a piece of paper and began writing a response but was interrupted when the computer glowed a bright white, and three colored lights came out of it. Davis caught the blue light in his hands, while the purple and red ones went out the window behind them, followed by a startled shriek from Yolei. Takeru quickly scratched out the message he was writing and wrote a new one, which he handed to Davis. Then the blond boy pointed his digivice towards the screen and disappeared into the computer.
Kari stared at the blue and white device in Davis' hands before glancing at Takeru's note.
"Looks like you'll be coming with us after all, Davis."
She glanced at the computer and looked Davis in the eyes, as if she was trying to see his very thoughts.
"I suppose your wish has been granted, Davis," She said. "Just point your Digivice to the computer, and you'll be sent to the Digital World."
Davis looked at the device in his hand and walked towards the computer. He pointed his Digivice towards the computer and immediately felt a tingling sensation throughout his whole body.
"Wha- What's happening?" He thought as he felt his feet leave the floor of the computer room. "Maybe I shouldn't have just jumped into this so quickly. I should've asked more questions. What trouble have I gotten myself into this-"
Before he could finish his thought, he fell on to a soft, grassy ground. He opened his eyes to see Takeru and Kari standing nearby beneath one of the forest's many trees, discussing where to go next. He stood up and began to dust his legs off when he realized that he was no longer wearing his school clothes, but a white shirt and beige khaki shorts beneath a blue and red fire-patterned jacket.
"Woah!" He exclaimed. "This place comes with a new wardrobe."
Kari and Takeru looked over to see Davis's new outfit with confused expressions. They looked down at their own unchanged clothing.
"This is strange," Takeru thought. "First that voice, next the Digiport is unlocked, then Davis gets a Digivice and his clothes change. Is the Digital World really in enough danger to call forth new Digidestined? I hope not, for the Digimon's sake."
Before Takeru could continue his thoughts, Taichi, Agumon, Gatomon, and Patamon came out from the bushes beside them.
"Hey Kari, Takeru!" The boy, who Davis recognized as Taichi Yagami, the star soccer player on this high school team.
"Taichi! Gatomon!" Kari exclaimed as her cat-like partner jumped into her arms.
"I'm glad you guys are here and," He paused, squinting at Davis. "Who is this?"
"Hi, I'm D-Davis."
"His Digivice appeared out of the computer along with two others, but they look different than the ones we have," Kari explained.
"I suppose that's another issue." Takeru began. "Where did Davis' Digivice come from, and why is it so different from ours? Wait, three lights came out of the computer, who got the other two?"
While Takeru was thinking to himself, he was knocked over by his cheerful partner, who nuzzled his cheek and flew up in excitement.
"Keru! Keru!" Patamon cried. "I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! Oh, Keru, I haven't seen you in forever! And forever took so long!"
Takeru stood up and grabbed his partner out of the air, hugging him close to his chest. He had missed his partner so much in the past three years, like a part of him had been cut off from the rest. He had worried every day since they had been separated if Patamon was okay, and seeing him here, so happy, was the most relieving thing Takeru had ever felt.
"Takeru," Taichi said, interrupting the two friend's reunion. "There's a cave up ahead with a weird-looking Digiegg inside. We're going to go check it out, are you two coming?"
Takeru nodded, following after Taichi and the others. Whatever new evil plagued the Digital World, he and Patamon would handle it together.
After explaining the concept of partners and the Digital World in general after reaching the cave, the Digimon finally began to explain what was currently going on in the Digital World.
"One day, a human came to our world and declared himself the Digimon Emperor," Gatomon said. "He uses what he calls 'Dark Rings' to control and enslave innocent Digimon. I even lost my tail ring while I was running away." She said sadly, holding her ringless tail in her paws. "Most Digimon who aren't under the Emperor's control are hiding away, in fear of getting caught."
"That's horrible!" Kari yelled, disgusted at what the Digimon Emperor had been doing.
Takeru bit his lip and looked at Patamon sitting in his arms. "I can't believe this. As Digidestined, our responsibility is to help Digimon, not hurt them. Poor Patamon, living in fear like this. I'm so sorry, buddy."
He scratched Patamon on the ticklish spot behind his left ear, causing his partner to giggle softly. He glanced at the fiery-looking Digiegg, he could feel a burning aura oozing from the very core of the Digiegg.
Takeru turned his attention away from the Digiegg and looked towards Taichi and Davis. The same fiery passion that was a core trait of Taichi could be felt just as strongly from Davis. He got out a piece of paper and wrote.
"Lift it, Davis, I can feel it. It belongs to you." Davis stared at Takeru in confusion and then looked to Taichi, who nodded back at him. He stepped forward and pulled as hard as he could. The egg came off the ground like it weighed absolutely nothing. He fell over, not having expected to be able to lift the egg so easily. From where he lay in the dirt, he watched in awe as an orange light came from a hole where the egg had been, and a small, blue and white dinosaur materialized in the middle and opened its eyes.
"Woo-hoo!" It cried. "I'm free, I'm free!" It chanted as it hopped in circles around Davis, stopping in front of him and looking him in the eyes. "Hi, my name is Veemon, but you can call me Veemon. Since you lifted the Digiegg of Courage, that means you're my partner. Welcome to the Digital World uhh, uhm. What's your name?"
"I-I'm Davis." He replied, shocked. "It's nice to meet y-"
Suddenly, the Digidestined heard a loud roar from the outside of the cave. Followed by screams of small Digimon and trees being knocked down outside.
"Uh oh, that doesn't sound goo-" Agumon said, before being interrupted by a large, rhino-like Digimon covered in silver armor crashed through the ceiling.
"Look!" Kari cried. "He's got a Dark Ring on him!"
Sure enough, the Digimon right leg had a shiny black ring around it, and the Digimon's eyes had become a blood red color.
"Come on everyone, this way!" Taichi yelled.
Davis, Takeru, Kari, and the Digimon ran after Taichi out of the cave, a fiery blast following them as they ran.
"Davis get down!" Taichi shouted as Davis was pushed to the ground by Veemon, the Digimons fire blast flew by just inches away from him.
"Davis, use your courage and activate the Digiegg so I can Armor Digivolve." Veemon urged.
"What do you mean?" Davis replied. "At times like these, it's best to stay-"
"Kari, are you okay?!" Gatomon yelled.
Davis turned to see Kari lying on the ground, clutching her ankle and wincing. Taichi was bent over her ankle feeling it, worried about his younger sister. Takeru ran towards Davis.
"What is he doing?" Takeru thought. "Now's not the time to freeze up! I've got to help him before someone else gets hurt."
Takeru with Patamon in his arms ran to Davis, who was trying to explain to Veemon that they had to think rationally and not do anything that could get someone hurt. He grabbed the maroon-haired boys shoulders and turned Davis towards him. He looked at Patamon, and nodded, Patamon flew onto Takeru's head to be closer to Davis' eye level.
"Davis!" Patamon yelled. "If you don't get yourself together and do something, everyone will be worse off than if you continue sitting here! We know you can do it, Davis, gather your courage!"
Davis looked to Takeru and Veemon, then back at Kari, Tai, and their partners, and back to where the Monodramon could be heard running towards them. He grabbed the Digiegg in his hand and yelled.
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Veemon, armor digivolve to... Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"
The light that had surrounded the small dragon-like Digimon had faded, revealing a taller dragon Digimon with flame-looking armor on his head, legs, arms, and chest. The Crest of Courage blazed on his chest armor, and a large spike grew out of his forehead.
"So that's why his Digivice is different," Takeru thought "A new type of Digivolution. I'll have to tell Izzy about this, Armor Digivolution is amazing."
"Woah, did I do that?" Davis asked in awe, snapping Takeru back into the battle.
Flamedramon smiled back at his partner before pouncing at the Monochromon, aiming his attacks at the Dark Ring his right leg.
"Flame Fist!" He exclaimed as flames shot out of his hands.
The Dark Ring on the Rhino Digimon's right leg began to crack after being hit by multiple Flame Fists. Seeing this, Flamedramon jumped up and covered his entire body in a blaze.
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon cried as he flung himself toward the Monochromon, creating a fiery mini-explosion.
The Dark Ring burst into data and the Monochromon collapsed, free from the Emperor's control. Takeru and Kari, as well as their partners, walked over to the Monochromon, worried about the poor Digimon's health.
"It's okay, it's okay Monochromon. " Kari said in a soothing voice. "Don't worry, you're free now."
The Monochromon stood up and nuzzled both Takeru and Kari before walking back into the forest towards his home. Takeru approached Kari and put his arm beneath hers, supporting her weight instead of letting her put pressure on her injured ankle.
"Thanks, Takeru." She said sweetly. "I really appreciate it." They began to walk back towards Taichi and Davis, who had just been gifted with Taichi's signature goggles.
"Taichi's really matured," Takeru thought. "Passing the torch like this, if he were younger, he'd probably just run around until he found the Emperor himself."
"Thank you. Wow." Davis said, clearly excited about his new position as leader.
"Hey, Keru," Patamon leaned over his partners head to look him in the eyes. "Shouldn't you all be going home soon?"
"Patamon is right," Gatomon said. "It's getting late, your parents will be worried."
"Definitely." Taichi agreed. "Be careful," He said to Davis. "Never stay too long, if the Digiport closes on you, it'll take a while for us to get you back safely."
When the kids arrived at the TV, they all held their Digivices out towards the screen and felt the same tingling sensation they did when they came in.
"Oww!" Demiveemon, a smaller form of Veemon, yelled beneath a pile of children, as well as Patamon and Gatomon, who had landed gracefully on the top.
"That's strange," Taichi said after the kids got out of the pile they had been in. "I can understand why Veemon could come back, but why are Patamon and Gatomon here?"
"I hadn't seen Keru in so long," Patamon began. "I didn't want to leave him so soon! Maybe that's why I came to the real world?"
"I feel the same way," Gatomon agreed. "I'd missed you so much Kari, I'm glad we get to stay together, no matter the reason!"
Taichi turned back towards the now closed Digiport and glared at his partner.
"Gee, thanks Agumon. Glad to see that you care." He said.
"Taichi!" Agumon exclaimed. "I don't want you to leave me either!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know Agumon," Taichi replied, grinning at Agumon.
"Ready to go everyone?" Kari said, Gatomon in her arms. "Our parents will be getting worried if we aren't home soon."
"You're right Kari," Davis said gleefully. "Let's go home."
Wow! My first chapter ever completed! Go me! I hope you enjoyed my first chapter. I'd really appreciate constructive criticism, but please remember that "It's bad" and "I hate Digimon" is not constructive. I did my best and will update as fast as I can. Thank you soooooooo much to davishater and ToastyToaster22 for giving me tips and helping me a ton with the 10-30-18 revision! Thank you for reading, upvoting, and commenting! Later Taters!