Digimon Adventure: Revised

Written by Divine Guidance Alpha

Requests and private comments may be sent to HitoSorrelius

Chapter 02: A Friendly Plant and a Hungry Dinosaur

It was a strange feeling, waking up. For a moment, he believed that he had dreamed the whole thing. He would open his eyes, see that his alarm clock had fallen off the nightstand again, and he would have to rush to get everything in the car so he could make it to the meeting place on time.

He opened his eyes. He had not been dreaming. And now he was far, far from camp, if the desert around him was any indicator of location.

He pushed himself up, sand rolling off of his lower body and legs; he had been partially buried. As he staggered to his feet, he could tell that this place was not Japan, or anywhere else on Earth, for that matter. He was fairly certain that there was no desert that held a replica of the Coliseum of Rome. Still, everything felt real, from the heat of the sand and sun, to the sudden push he felt on his back that sent him tumbling down to the foot of the dune he had awoken on. As he picked himself up again, something small rolled off of him and landed on the ground beside him. It looked a bit like a seed that had just started sprouting its leaves, but there was no shell to it. Instead of roots, it had tiny legs. The face, when he saw it, was alive and animated. In all, it looked like a plush doll from some show he probably wouldn't recognize if he saw it; TV wasn't really his thing.

"Where did you come from?" he asked it, but he wasn't expecting it to right itself, hop-turn to face him, and reply.

"I came from a Digi-Egg, Evan. And you came out of the sky!" This caused him to stare a bit, which made the little creature frown. That big, anime-like face was rather cute, if he were the cute-liking type.

"...Okay. Obviously I hit my head during the blizzard. Or maybe that meteor killed me. Is this hell?" The creature giggled a bit, then jumped into his arms...or, it would have, if he had caught it. Instead, it tumbled down to land at his feet again, pouting a bit. Still not a fan of cute.

Still, it wasn't rude enough to not reply. "No, this is the Digital World. And I'm Tanemon, your partner. I have been waiting to meet you." He looked to the creature, then to his right hand, which he realized was still clutching the device.

"Okay, then what is this?" He showed the device to the plant-like creature; maybe he could consider this an adventure, at least until he woke up or snapped out of it.

"That's your Digivice! It is a powerful tool that will help the both of us become stronger." He nodded, accepting that for the moment.

"So, you're Tanemon, and you are my partner. How do you know that? And how do you know my name?" For some reason, the little plant's voice sounded familiar, like he'd met the little guy before. He was pretty sure it was a guy, since it sounded a bit like T.K. with a cold. "...Come to think of it, what are you? Not who, but what?"

The little plant giggled again, and Evan didn't quite find it annoying. "I think that's a pretty weird coupling of questions, but I'll answer anyway: I'm a Digimon, short for Digital Monster. There are a lot of types of us out there, and not all are as friendly as me. And I know I'm your partner the same way I know your name, I just do." He was willing to accept those answers, so he nodded.

"...I can accept that as truth. So, do you know why I was brought here? Why you are my partner? Most importantly, do you know of a way I can get back home?"

The little guy had been frowning thoughtfully until the last question, which caused a smile and a proper laugh. "I do know the last one, boy do I!" He hesitated, the smile becoming a small frown again. "But...the only way I know of is pretty dangerous. Not only is the way itself protected by a puzzle that requires nine keys, but recently, a powerful Digimon named Myotismon has laid claim to the castle where it is hidden." He looked frightened at even mentioning the name.

"I see...and you seem very young, so I doubt you can help me take on someone like him just yet." Tanemon gave a sad little nod. "I bet that there is a way to make you stronger, though."

The plant grinned. "Yep! Even simple fighting can make me stronger, but I was told that you would need something very special to make me strong enough to stand up to Myotismon. I was told that you would need to find something called a Tag, and that would lead you to a Crest." Now this was sounding more like a video game, and he was good at this kind.

He was about to ask if the little one knew where he could find such items, when the dune he had awoken on seemed to explode, and a figure was bull-rushing the duo as the sand flew. It looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and a dinosaur, with one horn, black plates along its scaly gray body, and four feet with three claws on each. The boy scooped up his supposed partner, and started running for his absolute life, the creature in hot pursuit, his destination obvious: The coliseum.

To his great disappointment, the opening ahead was big enough for the pursuing monster to get in. Still, he ran for his life even once inside, cutting through the narrow halls until he was out in the stands, and he started upwards.

As he reached the top row of seats, he realized that there were many ways in and out of the place, but all of them were noticeable. Down below, where they had emerged, Monochromon was roaring and stomping, trying to figure out how to get up to the pair without slipping. Finally, he decided on a slow approach, one step at a time as he climbed up to his little meal.

Tanemon hopped from Evan's arms, and shot a small pink bubble at the giant dinosaur. It only opened its mouth in return, and sent back an orb of fire twice as large as Tanemon himself. Evan caught the little plant by the stalk, and ran towards the next set of doors. The beast roared after him, and even tried to give chase, until it slipped and skidded down a few sets of steps.

Once he was safely inside the walls again, Evan was off like a frightened rabbit, trying to make sure that the tunnel he left from didn't have anything nasty waiting on the other end. Most were locked and barred, which made Evan wonder about the actual usage of the structure. When he finally found a door that was not barred or blocked, it was not pleasant: Another of the giant dinosaurs. Thankfully, this one was sleeping, and rather heavily, since it didn't hear the door creak open. There was a gaping hole to the outside world just beyond the dinosaur's head. The boy began creeping slowly, silently, so that he wouldn't disturb the sleeping giant.

"What are these things, Tanemon?"

"They are Monochromon. They are dinosaur Digimon that are normally very peaceful, unless they are hungry or territorial." Both were speaking softly, so they didn't wake up the mon. Sadly, fate must have been conspiring against them, for there was a great crashing and smashing sound coming from behind them, as well as the familiar roar of the first Monochromon.

The sleeping beast opened a great eye, and saw a human and small plant Digimon right in his line of view. He blinked stupidly, and Evan took off back through the open door. There was a roar of shock and anger when the beast realized it was not still dreaming, and the wall behind them exploded as the fresh Monochromon began pursuit.

Two of them, and he said that they were territorial. I just need to get them into the arena, and they may decide to fight it out...or they may decide that working together will nab them the bigger meal.

"No choice," he said out loud, and before Tanemon could ask what he meant, he was sprinting out into the open air, the newer enemy crashing out behind them. The first one was visible, as he had been waiting near where they first escaped into the inner walls. "If you have anything you have been hiding, I would appreciate you showing it now," Evan said to the little plant, who again hopped out of his arms.

"Don't worry, Evan. I will help you. I promise." As Tanemon spoke, Evan figured out where he felt he knew the mon's voice from. He had heard it when he was washed into this...Digital World.

Suddenly, the device, which he had refused to let go of, began to glow brightly. As it did, so too did Tanemon. Without thinking, without even reasoning, he pressed the button on the side. As he did, Tanemon's glow became blinding. All he heard was the voice, and it deepened slightly as it spoke.

"Tanemon Digivolve to...Aururaumon!" The glow faded, and where the little seedling had stood, a fine blooming plant now stood, with a purple-and-spotted flower on its head. "Evan, get moving. I'll at least slow them down so we can escape." Evan did as he was told, starting to back towards their original entrance, wide open and unguarded for the moment. However, he couldn't just abandon the plant; they were partners, and even if he didn't know what to make of that statement, he felt attached. So, he stood ready, waiting for the chance to grab Tanemon...er, Aururaumon, and escape.

With both Monochromon now watching the plant, he pointed his claws at them. "Poison Ivy!" he shouted, whipping both hands towards the pair of dinosaurs. The little claws on the end of his...leaves...became long whips, and both sets of three landed their marks, taking out a leg on the Monochromon. Both took a huge tumble down the steps, and into the middle of the arena.

As Evan had thought, the moment that they noticed each other, they started fighting. Without skipping a beat, Evan grabbed the plant by the...hand?...and began sprinting for that escape route again. Hopefully, there would not be a third encounter on the way out.

Long story short, there wasn't, and Evan was now walking in the desert with his partner, Aururaumon. For a time, Evan asked questions, such as how many Digimon were out there, to which Aururaumon asked how many humans there were in Evans' world. He asked about the diurnal cycle of day and night, and found it was identical to his world.

When he finally stopped sweating and started feeling like he was just baking all the juices out of his system, he had to stop and catch his breath. "I don't suppose you can make water or anything like that?" he asked as they stopped at the bottom of a dune, his voice a bit raw from lack of water.

"No," the plant answered sadly, shaking the slightly wilting flower that Evan recognized as belladonna; his mother was a botanist, and she was always working with some exotic or deadly flower or another. "I don't even know if we are close to anywhere with water. I traveled across the desert from the opposite direction to find you. I didn't even know if you would be coming today, tomorrow, or at all. I just kept looking."

Evan sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. The plant made a sniffing sound, and the boy opened his eyes, prepared to try and stop crying. He hated hearing or seeing crying, it made him feel...weird. He had never cried, and until today, he had never really panicked. However, his partner was not looking teary-eyed; no, the plant was sniffing the air, turning towards the dune they had yet to scale. "Hang on...I smell water. And it's close!"

That got Evan off of his rear, and the two made their way up the hill, stopping to stare in shock as they got to the top of the dune. At the bottom, the desert seemed to fade instantaneously into thick forest. "There it is!" Aururaumon pointed, and Evan could see a great lake some ways in.

"Do you think you can find your way to it through the forest?" Evan asked the plant.

"Leave it to me. I'll get us there no problem." With that, Aururaumon began walking down the dune with Evan close behind.

It was a strange world he had come to, he decided, but until he found a way back to his own, he wouldn't let it get him down. He would keep going the path he believed was true.