Okay, so I decided to give another go for this Novel With Prompts challenge by using the canon universe. So I hope you guys enjoy this prologue, be sure to tell me what you think, and the prompt I used was 'breathe'.
-X-
May 9: Odaiba Neighborhood – 2:48 AM
"Koushiro? Are you okay? Where are you right now?"
Koushiro's labored breathing was clearly worrying his mother who was near hysterics on the other line. He tried his best to reassure her that he was okay. "Everything's fine, but I think I should stay away from home for a little while."
"Koushiro… I need you to be completely honest with me. Are you in any kind of danger right now?"
He swallowed and he realized just how dry his throat was. He desperately wanted a drink but at the moment, he had to keep running. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tentomon turning the corner as quickly as possible.
"Yes…," Koushiro finally answered.
He clutched the strap of his bag so tightly that his knuckles were white. Inside it were a couple of changes of clothes, his laptop, and any other necessities.
"...What about school?"
"I'll still be going," he answered honestly just as Tentomon began to tap on the pay phone's glass door frantically. "I'll call you every day so you know that I'm okay. I promise I won't be away for long. This is all to keep you and dad safe. I'll see you later."
"Koushi-!"
The Chosen Child hung up and left the booth, pointing his digivice at his partner. The night blanketed street was illuminated instantly by the bright light of digivolution and from the street; a large insect flew out of it. Anyway who was still awake at that hour would just need to look outside their window to see the monster for their own eyes.
Koushiro looked behind him and saw the shadow run between the buildings.
"I won't be able to lose him!" Kabuterimon informed his partner.
Koushiro took his laptop out of his bag and turned it on. He saw the last message he had received which was from Gennai, telling him to run away from home. He questioned it but when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up because of some cold presence from outside, he immediately packed up, and shimmied out the window. Now he felt like a criminal on the run. So much for being one of the heroes of two worlds.
The teenager snapped out of it and looked back at the screen. There were some more instructions from Gennai. "Okay, Kabuterimon!" Koushiro shouted over the buzz of the bug's wings. "Here's what I need you to do!"
May 9: Kawada Residence – 3:17 AM
Noriko Kawada heard a beep coming from her bedside and for a second, she thought that it was from her alarm clock. She peeked through one of her eyes and noticed how dark it was, the only light coming from the streetlights filtering into her window.
"Noriko-sama?" her partner chirped groggily from beside her.
The young girl rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she looked to her nightstand and noticed that she had gotten a message on her D-Terminal. She only ever used it to chat with Sora and more recently, Hikari, about random stuff. But why would either of them try to reach her in the middle of the night?
She took a look at the communications device and noticed that it was actually Koushiro who had contacted her. Her eyes widened when she read the message. "Chicchimon, something bad is going on," Noriko told her sleepy partner.
The small ball-like creature was suddenly wide awake. He may have been round but it was still evident that he was a bird Digimon with long strands of hair sticking out from the top of his head in a single ponytail. "What's going on?"
Noriko didn't answer; instead she got out of bed and quickly changed into clothes that were more suitable for going out in public even if no one was going to see her. She grabbed her D-3 and her partner, raced down the stairs and flung open the door. Just in time to see Koushiro running towards her from down the street with Kabuterimon flying close behind him.
At first, she tried to figure out why the boy wasn't riding his partner but then she realized that Kabuterimon was keeping someone distracted even further in the back. A loud roar that could only be described as monstrous reached her ears and the neighborhood awoke with lights and confused conversation.
"Run!" Koushiro shouted as he sprinted past the younger child.
Noriko followed him and glanced backwards to see Devidramon in hot pursuit of the insect Digimon.
Digital Analyzer: Devidramon are known to be the messengers of evil. They're a demon beast species feared by many for his elongated and highly-developed arms that can be used to rip foes to shreds. Their sharp tails are also capable of turning into a claw which is just as strong as their arms in terms of destruction. The most significant detail about these creatures is that they are embodiments of wickedness so they are unmoved by the spirit of compassion.
"Didn't you fight a Devidramon before?" Noriko asked Koushiro.
The redhead nodded. "But he's really strong and I only defeated him when I evolved Kabuterimon into MegaKabuterimon which, as you know, isn't possible for me anymore." She noticed that he was going to collapse from exhaustion if they didn't stop soon. He didn't strike her as the athletic type.
Noriko grabbed the older boy's wrist and yanked him into an alleyway so that he could catch his breath. They watched as Kabuterimon stopped and rocketed upwards to keep Devidramon distracted from the two humans below them.
Chicchimon began flapping his tiny wings rapidly as he looked to Koushiro. "Koushiro-dono, what is going on?"
Koushiro shook his head. In all honesty, he wasn't completely sure either but he knew that they needed to defeat Devidramon soon if they didn't want any damage to be done to the neighborhood. He was still breathing heavily but he didn't bother resting as he swung his backpack into his lap. He pulled out his laptop, turned it back on, and quickly started trying to contact Gennai for some clarification on the current situation.
"I'm about to find out," Koushiro muttered.
Noriko peeked out from the alleyway to get a better view of the battle above them.
"Crimson Claw!"
Devidramon began swinging his claws around wildly but despite looking random, they had one target, Kabuterimon. The partnered Digimon took advantage of his hard head and used it to block the claws though to say that it didn't hurt would've been a lie.
"Electro Shocker!"
Devidramon used his strong wings to avoid the attack and charged forward again, getting into a wrestling match with his opponent in midair.
"Things aren't looking too good up there…," Noriko murmured.
Koushiro's eyes widened when he received a message from Gennai. He quickly started pulling some cables out of his bag before turning over to Noriko. "I need to borrow your D-3 for a moment! I need to give it an upgrade."
"What?" Noriko blinked. She felt her heart jump into her throat. "But Chicchimon and I have never been in a fight before. He can't even evolve further than the Child level. Why can't you give your own digivice the upgrade?"
Koushiro gave Noriko a hard look into her eyes. "Listen to me. You are a Chosen Child and you're capable of doing great things. If I could give myself the upgrade, I would. But I'm asking for yours."
Noriko felt her pulse quickening as she thought about her own partner getting into a dangerous fight but she knew that if she didn't do anything, then Tentomon could be destroyed. She nodded and placed her D-3 into Koushiro's palm who automatically attached the cable to it and his laptop.
"How long is it going to take?" Noriko asked.
For a moment, Noriko flashbacked to the times before all of this happened, over three years ago on that Christmas day. She had willingly followed a strange lady into a dark alley which, in hindsight, was an awful idea. She was told that she could be liked the child prodigy, Ken Ichijouji, and stupidly enough, Noriko decided to take that chance.
Before that day, Noriko used to get sick all the time. She would have trouble breathing like she was having an asthma attack and she sometimes went into a relapse whenever she started panicking. It was like a severe condition so she always carried an inhaler with her but not tonight. And it felt like she was entering a relapse.
"Noriko-sama?" Chicchimon inquired when he saw her partner fall to concrete floor and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders were heaving up and down like she was crying but she certainly didn't sound like she was. "You're hyperventilating… Do you have your inhaler?"
Noriko shook her head in distress. "I was in a rush…"
Chicchimon fluttered to her partner's and gave her a small, feathery hug. "Don't worry, just calm down. I'm here to protect you…"
"But I'm afraid that something might happen to you if you fight," Noriko breathed. "I'm not experienced enough."
"I know you're not very confident, but as long as you are here, nothing bad will happen to me," Chicchimon promised.
Noriko nodded shakily before glancing over to the other human who was still working frantically. Her D-3 was still plugged in but it was shrouded in a soft yellow glow. "What about the others? Can't you call one of them?"
"That Devidramon took them all somewhere," Koushiro answered without looking up. But his typing became slower. "I don't know where any of them are. I tried to contact them but it's like they all dropped off the face of the Earth. My theory is that they ended up in the Digital World but they know how to get back. So… I have a feeling that something really bad is going on. And if Gennai hadn't told me to get out of my house, I would've been a victim too."
"They're… gone?"
Koushiro nodded before his head snapped upwards, hearing his partner shout in pain.
"Red Eyes!"
The two humans and Chicchimon turned back to the fight in time to see that Devidramon had used his attack to paralyze Kabuterimon. The insect was stunned which gave Devidramon the chance to grab him by the horn and fly straight downwards before throwing the other Adult Digimon into the asphalt. From the debris, Tentomon rolled out and stumbled into the alley where Koushiro snatched him up into his arms.
Devidramon landed in front of the narrow passage since he was too big to actually fit inside. He stuck an arm inside in an attempt to nab the one he was after but they quickly moved deeper to avoid the demon beast.
"Come on…," Koushiro willed the D-3 plugged into his laptop. "Hurry up and finish downloading already!"
Tentomon weakly tried to shoot an electric bolt at the black claw but it did nothing more than tickle Devidramon. Chicchimon even evolved into Hyokomon and attempted to make cuts using his sword but it was like poking a cinder block with a toothpick.
As if on cue, the D-3 suddenly stopped glowing and beeped multiple times before changing shape. It took on a brand new physical form of a brace with a keypad of the numbers 0-9 and a small, square screen. On one end of the device, there was a small orb that kind of looked like the spot where you'd shoot a laser out of. And the color, the main color was black but it was lined with saffron. To the right of the 0 button was a white button and to the left, a black one.
"What is it?" Noriko blinked as she slowly picked it up. It looked rather heavy but as it turned out, it felt like she was holding a piece of pumice.
"That is the D-Max, short for the Digivice Maximum," Koushiro answered. "It's more powerful than the D-3 and has a multitude of functions. Point the saffron orb at your partner to get him to evolve to the Adult level."
"Evolve?" Noriko repeated nervously.
Hyokomon landed next to his partner. "I can do it, Noriko-sama! Then I'll be able to protect you and Koushiro-dono!"
"But if Kabuterimon couldn't defeat Devidramon then…"
Noriko couldn't even finish her sentence when her human companion yell out suddenly. She looked back up and saw that Devidramon had grabbed the redhead by using his tail-claw rather than his regular claws. Tentomon tried to save Koushiro but he was swatted away, hit a brick building, and was unable to get back up.
"Noriko! Press the numbers 1, 4, and 7 in that order and then press the white button in order to activate digivolution!" Koushiro shouted. "Hurry!"
Noriko felt her breathing getting shallower and even her vision was getting blurry as she tried to balance herself. She saw Devidramon swipe his claw and ripples were sent through the air, making a portal appear in the middle of the street.
Noriko shook her head frantically. "I-I can't!"
"You have too!" Koushiro snapped. "If I'm taken then…"
Hyokomon looked between his partner and Koushiro before flying forwards and trying to get Devidramon to keep away from the portal. "You fiend! Let go of my friend or I will tear you to shreds!"
"I'd like to see you try," Devidramon growled before grabbing the bird in one of his claws.
"Hyokomon!" Noriko screamed when she saw her partner in pain.
"I'll crush you like the bug you are!"
Noriko bit her lower lip as an image of Hyokomon getting destroyed flashed through her mind. To her, if a Digimon as experienced at fighting as Kabuterimon lost in a battle, then she wouldn't stand a chance. But if she didn't try then she would lose her partner anyway. What kind of DigiDestined was she?
Noriko's vision was back to normal and she stopped hyperventilating. She strapped on the D-Max to her left wrist and pressed the 0 button. "D-Max Online!" The teenager then proceeded to press the sequence of numbers Koushiro told her to. "Charged Up Digivolution!" Noriko pointed the saffron orb at Hyokomon and a beam of light shot out to the bird, enveloping him in a blinding glow, causing Devidramon to let go.
"Hyokomon Digivolve to…," Hyokomon's form became a little more human-like but his appearance was still very much that of a bird. He wore a blazing red garb along with a bamboo hat. His magnificent wings looked strong enough to produce whirlwinds with a single flap and his weapons of choice seemed to be a katana attached to each hip. "Buraimon!"
Digital Analyzer: Buraimon are noble bird warriors, continuing on the oath as a righteous samurai. However, due to how he had been influenced by the great phoenix warriors Garudamon, their Adult form has been altered to match their appearance slightly.
Buraimon moved much faster than Devidramon could anticipate and unsheathing both of his katana, he sliced off Devidramon's tail which meant Koushiro dropped from the demon's grasp. Devidramon roared in pain and tried to swipe at the bird-man but only touched air as Buraimon was quick enough to evade the attack. The redhead quickly stood back up and joined Noriko on the sidelines who was watching her newly evolved partner in awe.
"Buraimon… Incredible!" Noriko gasped excitedly.
Devidramon continued trying to claw at the samurai but he couldn't hit him and it was frustrating the beast to no end.
Tentomon slowly got back up. "Do you think Buraimon will be able to win this fight?"
Koushiro nodded. "I believe in him and besides, what do you think the other buttons on the D-Max are for?" He grabbed his laptop and scanned the words on the page before turning to Noriko. "As I mentioned, there are more functions on this digivice than any other, including ways to boost your partner in battle. Do you see a glowing cable that connects from your D-Max to Buraimon's heart?"
Noriko glanced down at the device attached to her wrist and gasped when she saw the link. "Yeah! But why can't you?"
"It's a physical manifestation of your bond with your partner that only you and Buraimon can see," Koushiro explained. "But it's only there when your partner is at the Adult level or higher. Furthermore, this cable is used for you to send power boosts to your partner. For example, if Devidramon tries to use Crimson Claw, press 1, 0, 3, and then press the white button to give your partner some extra speed."
Devidramon reacted as if they entered a tutorial. "Crimson Claw!"
Noriko inputted the sequence lightning quick and she felt energy pulse from the D-Max, go through the link, and into Buraimon. The avian Digimon gained the speed boost like Koushiro said and using this newfound speed, he was able to avoid every quick slash from Devidramon's claws.
"Stay still, you feathered rat!" Devidramon snarled.
Buraimon even used his dual blades to grab one of Devidramon claws and with all his strength, he flung the demon beast into the pavement. The dark Digimon got back up quickly and reached forward, but Buraimon just dodged the attack again, Noriko did notice that her partner was back to her original agility.
"Do you think I could give Buraimon another speed boost?" inquired Noriko.
Koushiro shook his head as he stopped her from pressing the same buttons as she did before. "Everything has its own repercussions, nothing is perfect," he warned. "The boost will only last for about ten seconds at a time and it will need to recharge before you can use the same boost. It should take about five minutes before you'll be able to use the speed boost again but until then, you should be able to use other power-ups."
Noriko paid close attention to her partner's opponent to figure out his next move so that she would know exactly what to do next. When she saw Devidramon's eyes glowed red, she was able to figure out that he was about use his Red Eyes attack and at point blank so if the attack successfully connected, Buraimon would be paralyzed and they can't make that same mistake.
She pushed in the sequence for a defense boost which was 1, 0, 2, and then white. Another glowing ball of energy pulsed through her digivice and into her partner which made a saffron force field to appear around Buraimon.
The Red Eyes attack bounced right off the force field and stunned Devidramon instead.
Koushiro's eyes widened at the opportunity. "The attack boost! We can end this battle with that!"
"Way ahead of you!" Noriko cheered. She breathed in the cool, night air, and it felt refreshing. Her sinuses had never felt this clear before as she pushed in the sequence for the attack boost which was 1, 0, 1, and the white button. "Finish this, Buraimon!"
Buraimon nodded as he unsheathed both his swords again. "Swallow Duet Reverse!" In one graceful movement, the samurai brought his blades together and slashed right through Devidramon, cutting him in half.
Noriko gasped in horror when she saw their enemy's data burst in front of their eyes. "Wait, I didn't mean to kill him!"
"Push 1, 0, then 2 and the black button, then point it to the dispersing data," Koushiro instructed the younger Chosen Child.
Noriko did as she was told and when she pointed it at the data, it gathered into an elliptical black ball. They recognized it to be a Digi-Egg which Koushiro caught in his arms.
Buraimon floated down to his human and bowed down to her apologetically. "I did not mean to destroy Devidramon, Noriko-sama. The attack boost you gave me was far more powerful than I could've imagined and I had not been aware that it would be enough for me to slice through my opponent that way I did."
Noriko shook her head. "It's okay. I'm just glad we didn't delete him permanently."
Koushiro nodded and just when she was about to shut off her D-Max, he stopped her again. "Before you press anything else, I'm going to need you to open up a digital gate because I can't do it with my outdated digivice. Just press 1, 0, 1, and then the black button."
"Right," Noriko nodded.
She pushed in the sequence and a gate opened up in front of them. Koushiro picked up his bag, slung it over his shoulder with one arm and used the other to hold onto the egg. Tentomon crawled over and used his weak wings to get onto his partner's free shoulder.
"Noriko, I'll talk to you more about how the D-Max works tomorrow after school is out," Koushiro told her.
"You're going into the Digital World?" questioned Noriko.
"I'm going to be meeting Gennai and staying with him while trying to keep myself safe from whoever is after me," Koushiro explained. "While I'm there, I want you to look for any other kids who seem like they have potential to have D-Maxes as well. According to Gennai, there's a new prophecy speaking of five children who will save the multi-verse again." He sighed. "Why can't things ever stay safe for more than three years?"
Buraimon degenerated to Hyokomon and he landed on Noriko's shoulder. He glanced at the egg. "I just wonder who sent Devidramon to capture you."
"I'm hoping to find out."
The dark gate that Devidramon had opened earlier suddenly became bigger and it caught their attention. They looked up and they saw some sort of octopus creature rear his ugly head in the gate but it wasn't big enough for him to slip through. The first thought that came to the humans' minds was Cthulu as they saw him laughing at them.
"Who are you?" Noriko gaped.
"My name is Dagomon," the creature replied in a deep lull of a voice. "I am the king of the Dark Ocean."
"The Dark Ocean?" Koushiro repeated, remembering it to be the world that both Ken and Hikari had gone to.
Digital Analyzer: Dagomon is an evil god Digimon who takes refuge in the Dark Ocean, a chunk of the Digital World that was thought to be destroyed by the Sovereigns. It is a belief that Dagomon was born from a computer virus that would infect the computers aboard ships, throwing them off course and possibly into dangerous seas. They are bundled up in their innumerable, multiplying tentacles and takes on a humanoid appearance but its true shape is a strange evolution of a mollusk Digimon.
Tentomon was fuming and it showed in his voice. "Were you the one who kidnapped all of our friends?"
Dagomon laughed as he held up a tentacle, showing a small pink ball holding a teenage girl. She wasn't scared but she was definitely confused and frantically looking for a way to escape her prison. Koushiro and the others gasped when they realized it was Hikari.
"Does this answer your question?" Dagomon asked. "Hikari Yagami, my beautiful young queen."
"Let her go!" Koushiro shouted, surprising Noriko. She had never seen the older boy so furious before and his rage was beyond anything she had seen before. "Let them all go!"
Dagomon shook his head. "You have no idea how to make requests politely, do you?" he inquired. Every statement he made had that same dark chuckle in his eyes. He moved a little to the right so that they could see the other abducted Chosen Children in colored tubes filled with Dark Ocean seawater. They weren't drowning but it was difficult to see them. "I wish I could destroy them but they are protected thanks to you, bearer of Knowledge."
"Because of me?" Koushiro muttered.
"Yes… You see, I have no need for these other children and I intended to get rid of them since they may pose a threat to me," Dagomon told them. "However, as long as one of the heroes is still in the human or Digital World, a barrier made by the Sovereigns will keep them from being destroyed. So I must take you if I want to delete them permanently."
"So, you're protecting them by not getting captured?" Noriko reiterated. It must have something to with their bonds. She felt sure of that.
"I guess so," Koushiro murmured before readdressing Dagomon. "But why are you doing this?"
"Because I want to rule a great kingdom with my beautiful future wife," Dagomon explained. "Unfortunately, I cannot come into your world myself and capture you but I have plenty of minions who will do my bidding. That Devidramon was only one member of my Chaos Army. I will continue sending more of them until I have my tentacle on you, bearer of Knowledge."
Koushiro turned away from the digital gate and ran for the dark one when he saw that it was starting to close. Hikari had seen him while she was stuck in the orb and she started yelling something but it was like she was on mute. He couldn't hear her but he could guess what she was trying to communicate to him.
"No!" he shouted. "Don't go! Give them back!"
But it was too late, the gate was closed and all that was left was Dagomon's condescending laughter. The boy dropped to his knees and stared at the spot where Hikari just was. Noriko went over to him, along with both of their partners flying behind them.
"Koushiro," she said. "They're going to be okay, I know they will."
Koushiro let out a shaky breath. "Yeah… I know… Noriko, we'll talk more about this tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Noriko smiled grimly. She then looked over to Hyokomon on her shoulder. "And Hyokomon and I will get the others back. We promise."