Chapter 2: First Contact
The creature resembled a copper dragon with metallic blue streaks adorning his battle scarred body. It was quite injured and neither sibling could think of anything that could hurt it. It looked dead but the breathing was faint and its body was still warm. They had stumbled upon this creature that was sheltering in the vicinity of their house.
"What is it, Kevin?" The tanned girl pointed to the copper dragon. She had short auburn hair and black granite eyes.
"Don't know" Kevin, who looked quite similar to his sister shrugged his shoulders.
It was then that the creature began to shift restlessly.
"It's moving" Gina muttered.
"Humans…." The dragon growled-or more like hissed.
"What do we do, Kevin?" The girl looked to her brother for advice. Despite being twins, Kevin had assumed a role akin to that of a big brother.
The dragon stared into the eyes of the boy who was condemned into making a decision. "Leave me be" was the expected answer. It would have to fend for itself as always. The advancing footsteps had alerted it.
The skin was rough and battered and the dragon's body was exhaling heat. "C'mon, we'll take care of ya" Kevin hugged the dragon close to his body. The dragon was confused at this act but it decided to go with it.
Surrendering itself to the human's care had led the scaly creature to a large room that was quite well decorated.
"You can rest here" Kevin laid the creature upon a soft mat and stroked its head. The dragon enjoyed it for a moment before pulling away.
"Tough customer" the 14 year old teen muttered under his breath. His thoughts were interrupted by a light poke.
"What do we do if mom or dad finds out? They hardly let us keep a cat. A dragon is outta the question" Gina tried to show as much anger and worry as possible in a whisper. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to her parents why a dragon was making itself comfortable in their house.
"A dragon can breathe fire right-"
"Don't even think about it" Gina stopped Kevin before he could finish his line of thought.
"Fine" Kevin grunted, "I was just joking. Don't worry I'll make sure they don't find this guy".
Gina was a bit worried by that last sentence. What were the chances their parents barged in right when Kevin finished what he had to say? Thank God that didn't happen. She had her doubts about this but she couldn't help herself as she advanced towards their "pet" dragon and start stroking his head.
"Oh so when she does it, you enjoy it" Kevin looked a little hurt in the ego but other than that was fine as usual.
"Her hands her soft and caring" the draconian creature retorted.
"See?" Gina smiled a wide grin.
It was then that the dragon began to shift restlessly.
"What's wrong?" Worry became present in Kevin's eyes.
"I have an important thing to ask of you" the dragon took out a device from under him. The device resembled an IPod and was blue and brown in colour. "I am a Digital Monster or a Digimon and I have come here from the Digital World" and thus the explanation continued covering topics in brief.
"That's a lot to take in" Gina was overwhelmed.
"Here comes the kicker. I won't force either of you but I need a human partner. The dangers are real and if you do agree to my wish then you'll find yourself in a series of battles that will determine the fate of both our worlds. Like I said, I won't push you. Think carefully. Once you accept you can't turn back. If you disagree then forget we ever met and I'll go somewhere else to find someone".
Suddenly the jovial atmosphere had turned solemn. Here two teenagers were entrusted with a task to protect both worlds. Not an everyday choice.
"According to you there are others who are faced with this same decision" Kevin felt a need to confirm some things.
"Yes. There are 6 other Digimon, so 6 other humans provided the other Digimon survive" the creature replied.
"So only we can do this? So only we can make a difference?" Kevin stared into the golden eyes of the dragon.
A silent nod was given.
"If you don't want to its-"a hand was reached out towards the draconic Digimon.
"Kevin?" Gina could only stare at the agreement that would take place.
"Partners" Kevin muttered.
"No backing down, the digivice will make sure of that" the dragon grasped the device in its hand and then extended it towards Kevin. They shook their hand and claw. A neon blue light flashed up.
"Registering fingerprint….." a mechanical voice spoke. "Registering Chosen Child….."
The light kept on flashing. Probably more formalities. It seemed like that the boy would be bound by a digital contract of sorts. "Link established" and like that the partnership was sealed.
"Viperdramon" the dragon returned the stare with its piercing emerald green eyes.
"Kevin" the boy didn't back down.
That was a blissful memory from long ago. 4 years to be exact. A sudden change in life doesn't always come so suddenly. It always seems like that. One is never aware of the small subtle changes and acts that foreshadow that change. Until destiny comes knocking at your door in the guise of a guest.
Although meeting a digital dragon that came from an alien world was indeed very strange, the succeeding events that Kevin were to face were even more so-so much so that that particular memory would seem normal in comparison.
That was to be the intended life of a "Chosen Children"- the ones who stand at the boundary between the two worlds along with their sentinels.
Viperdramon shifted lazily from lying on his back to lying on its stomach. Although the snake dragon didn't know where the other Digimon were he still hoped they were all equally comfortable in the shelter they had found. Viperdramon had little to complain about other than the morning when both the residents of the house were absent. Now that both their parents had left to go somewhere the Digimon savored the feelings of freedom. Granted there was still the house maid but his senses were not that dull so that he would be outsmarted. If he was though, he'd have a hard time facing the other Digimon so there was that to worry about.
He looked at Kevin who was busy working on his "home work" as he calls it. Viperdramon had failed to see the point in that as actual experience was much more crucial than reading about it. If someone had told him to read a book and fight a pack of Goblimon then he would throw the book away and start busting some heads. He would learn things on the fly. "It's different" Kevin replied. Naturally that led to an even more confused Viperdramon who later decided to drop the subject.
In between solving math problems Kevin made quick glances at the clock. Viperdramon knew what it was for. Gina had left to go attend some friend's birthday. It was awfully quiet without her. Gina was the more cheerful and kind of the twins. That was not to say that Kevin did not possess said qualities. Kevin was equally, if not more, caring but only to a select few individuals. Outside of this household though, most knew Kevin as a tough loner who rarely showed any emotion. The dragon Digimon felt a strange understanding of his outside persona, considering it similar to how a predator must act to survive. Dragon Digimon, known as Dramon in his world, were naturally feared in the Digital World but despite their fierce appearance and destructive powers many were heroes like the mighty Wargreymon and the legendary Digimon in the V-mon evolutionary line.
Kevin got up and proceeded to take out some clothes from his wardrobe to wear. "It's almost 9" he said to himself.
"Kevin" the dragon hissed and pointed towards the table with his coal black claws.
"Fine" Kevin grunted as he took the digivice and put it into his left pant pocket before leaving. "I'll be going, then".
Tom stood in the hallways with coffee mug in hand, thinking. It had been a few years since he had started working for D.A.R.P.C (Digital Anomaly Research and Prevention Centre). It was that day when he had graduated from a prestigious IT university. Everyone had promised him that he would make it big. While the salary here was nothing to scoff at, he never thought that work would be such a mundane affair. Here he was processing data after data. It could be attributed to being a human being since they were hardly satisfied.
At least there was Ada, his work partner. A prodigious Chinese researcher on computers, she was the only one Tom had maintained a friendly relationship with. Although there were other scientists, Tom hardly interacted with them and only did when it concerned work. Ada was different. She was beautiful to look at and would always talk about things like her family and her plans for the future. Tom would enjoy the chats he had with her.
God, he was in love. He couldn't believe it. A computer geek falling in love.
"Hello there, Tom" a tall and well built man walked in and greeted Tom. Said man looked quite dignified in his custom lab coat. His face had sharp features and he had shoulder length black hair. He wore shades due to having some eye condition-something he told Tom long ago.
"Oh, Lysandre, I'm sorry for slacking off. I'll go back to work right away" Tom tried to leave but the man told him to stay.
"It's alright" Lysandre smiled, "work is stressful. Relax for awhile".
The man was Tom's boss. Tom had always thought that bosses were meant to be the demon incarnates but Lysandre proved him wrong. He couldn't help but feel a bit inferior whenever he was around. Despite his cordial behavior he managed to demand respect, something Tom could never do. Tom used to be the laughing stock of his class. He felt a bit of resentment and couldn't help but feel that he now had the last laugh.
Whenever he saw Lysandre, feelings he experienced during his youth resurfaced back. They even contrasted each other. Tom's messy black hair and average looking face made him look bad in comparison. Then there was his friendly relationship with Ada. Maybe he was over thinking things but he couldn't help feel uneasy whenever Ada talked to him, a smile on her face.
"I often think of how bleak life would be if there was no such thing as coffee. Life would be as black as black coffee then wouldn't it." Lysandre began as Tom took another sip. "Quite a nightmare I would say. Only this nightmare you would see when you're awake. Coffee is a wondrous thing isn't it". Lysandre often thought about mundane things like the one he was going on about currently. He had a wide outlook on life. Tom somehow came to appreciate that.
"Yeah" Tom nodded, "couldn't live without it".
"Oh yes, indeed" Lysandre smiled. For such a dignified adult he did have a somewhat goofy smile.
There was just an inch of black liquid left swirling at the bottom of the white mug. Tom may have drunk it too fast as he felt a burning sensation on his tongue. He decided to endure it for now.
"Well, let's go back to work then" and both of them made their way back.
The laboratory was quite well constructed. The only thing Tom had to complain about would have been the poor lighting. Other than that the male scientist was quite satisfied. Working air conditioners and spacious sections of the room had made it a comfortable place to work in. Perhaps the best thing would have been the lack of papers. Such was part of the ideal office Tom envisioned. He had always disliked writing on paper which may have stemmed from him being scolded for his hard to decipher hand writing during his childhood. He would always perform a task much better on an electronic device almost all the time.
Work was a mundane affair. All he had to do was process data after data. Nothing interesting happens, other than glancing at Ada from time to time. Tom did feel a little guilty about it.
When Tom returned to his work he saw something strange. He disregarded it as a fault in the system but it was then that someone spoke up.
"Hey, what the heck is this?" Some irate scientist stared into the screen trying to fix the anomaly.
Tom couldn't believe it. There was a huge irregularity in the flow of data.
"Lysandre!" Tom beckoned his boss to come and look. At the corner of his eyes he saw Ada's face suddenly pale with worry.
"This digital distortion….. It's huge" Tom observed.
"A distortion this size would cause almost all electronics in London to go haywire. Even the lab will have a hard time getting through this" Lysandre concluded.
It was then at that moment that Tom questioned whether he was suffering from some stress induced mental problems or not. He began to see letters…..no words spout out from the computer screen.
"I want to get out of here" the text said.
To make it even worse different computers showed different words.
"I've had enough"
"Damn it, where's the exit?"
"Keh Keh" the text appeared on Tom's computer. From what he could deduce at that moment he could say that all of those words were actually being said, an audio record or something, and were being converted into text.
"The firewall is over there"
"So the human world lies on the other side."
This had to be some sort of prank by one hell of a hacker. Tom had to give props to whoever did this. In the next second the lights turned off and the violent quaking began.
Kevin had seen his life flash before his eyes just a few seconds ago. He had unknowingly hurt Gina by clutching her so tight so as to protect her from the slabs of concrete that would have crushed them had Viperdramon not melted through them with his Acid Bomb attack. Kevin found himself alternating between apologizing to Gina for unintentionally hurting her and thanking the snake dragon for saving his life like that.
"It's alright" Gina said her voice shaking. No one could blame her. A few minutes ago, her brother was escorting her back to her house since it was getting late. The next thing she knew the streets of London had become a danger zone when the earthquake struck. Then there was the fact that she nearly would have died. It was much to process for her mind.
"What the hell? London's never had an earthquake like this in years" Kevin tried to think but fear was making his heart beat faster and beating of his heart drowned his thinking.
"Destiny" Viperdramon gave a hiss.
Gina looked at him confused but Kevin knew what he meant. He thought back to the day he first met Viperdramon. Now, it seemed like it was a long lost memory. Time flies fast.
"This is what we had agreed to do" the dragon continued.
The ground shook once more and a roar resounded through the night sky. Kevin didn't look back for fear of his life.
"No backing down now" Viperdramon stared into Kevin's' eyes.
Against the shaking of his legs, against the resonance of fear, against the dread clogging his heart, Kevin stood up and took out the key to his destiny from his left pant pocket.
The digivice began to light up and the hologram of a monster appeared. A voice accompanied it, "Deltamon, Champion level, Virus Attribute. Special attack: Triple Force".
"What the hell is that?" When the power came back on, the image that appeared on the screens of all the computers had made them wish it didn't come back.
Ada cupped her hands on her mouth. Whether it was her just reining in her shock or offering a silent prayer, no one could say.
"This has to be a damn joke" Tom still held on to his sinking line of thinking even though the facts and expressions said otherwise.
They all saw the image of a blue bipedal dinosaur like creature with two tails and covered in blue fur and a white nose and underbelly. Both of its arms' consisted of one reptilian head each, one composed of a dinosaur skull and the other a mechanized dragon head. It was a walking nightmare and yet no one was asleep.
"Acid Bomb!" Viperdramon's belly swelled up as he regurgitated a barrage of slime bombs that exploded on contact with Deltamon's body. A direct attack would have no effect on a Digimon like Deltamon. Viperdramon's best attempt was to use the acidic properties of his attack to inflict poison on his enemy and slowly kill it. Until that his speed and small stature would have to carry him throughout the battle.
Deltamon tried to swipe at the small attacker with its skull head. Viperdramon managed to leap over it and the swipe smashed through some concrete buildings. Before the confrontation had taken place Viperdramon had told the two siblings to get as far away as possible from the battle zone. The last thing he would need to do was worry over them and get hit by an attack he could have dodged otherwise.
The snake dragon continued its long range barrage. After the next attack he could see some effects taking place. The enemy dragon grunted which showed the poisoning slowly working its way.
Deltamon quickly changed its attack plan and began to stomp on the smaller dragon. It tried to get rid of Viperdramon using its left foot but the snake dragon dashed away. As the foot crushed through the pavement Viperdramon quickly turned around mid run and fired another barrage.
It was then that Viperdramon realized that he had underestimated his opponent.
Deltamon blocked the barrage using his mechanical arm. The metal was resistant to the acid attack. With this Deltamon had found a way to completely stop the snake dragon's offense.
Still recovering from the shock of his plan falling apart, Viperdramon quickly took the full brunt of Deltamon's strike which caused the smaller dragon to go flying across the city street until he crashed into a structure that could stop his momentum.
"Viperdramon!" Gina's scream woke Kevin from his daze. "He's gonna get killed" Gina was on the verge of running off to tend to the injured creature but her brother stopped him. "Stay here and don't you dare do anything stupid" Kevin spoke and then ran off. At that moment Gina wanted to shout out that Kevin was doing the same thing he told her not to do but she didn't. She only offered a silent prayer.
"Viperdramon!" Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs. When he had reached the site strewn with rubble, he started removing digging through it in search of his partner.
"Viperdramon!" Kevin kept on screaming hoping an answer would come but none came.
"Damn it," Kevin became frustrated as he kept removing the rubble. "Damn it, Viperdramon, we need you". Truth be told Kevin wasn't searching so frantically because Viperdramon was the only one who could save them. He didn't want the dragon to disappear. He enjoyed his company and the change he had brought to his life and didn't want it to suddenly disappear. To him Viperdramon was a friend. Someone he could trust anything with. Even his life.
It was then at that moment that the digivice lit up. "What now?" Kevin grunted as he tried to hold back tears.
A circular screen was projected out from it and the several words popped up
Primary Digital Matrix Set
Accessing Evolutionary Code
Designation: Saladramon
Code: ADLT1378
Digital Evolution Process… INITIATE
The light from the digivice resonated with the light coming out of the rubble. The debris soon shuffled and were tossed aside as a large shape started to grow out from under all the broken concrete.
Said shape resembled a four legged slender dragon with a long neck adorned with spikes. Its back legs had two large spikes mounted on them and its tail resembled that belonging to a snake. Its colour scheme was similar to that of Viperdramon as well as sharing his eye colour.
"Woah" Kevin was stunned by this sudden transformation that occurred. He didn't know what triggered it but he knew one thing. This would allow Viperdramon to turn the tables on Deltamon.
The transformed dragon, known as Saladramon, proceeded to rear his head as he felt the heat energy build up near his long neck. "Venom…." Smoke started blowing out from his nose as he began to unleash his attack. "…..Meltdown!" With a quick snap of his neck he exhaled a large blast of green and purple flame.
Deltamon had barely turned and then was hit. At that moment one could not say with a certainty what really took place. Either the force of the blast was powerful enough to severe Deltamon's skull arm from his shoulder or the attack had incinerated the arm until there was nothing left. One thing was for certain, Deltamon was now lacking an arm as it fell to the ground after losing balance.
Like a predator who had his prey trapped, Saladramon leapt towards the fallen blue dinosaur and proceed to attack him with his claws. Deltamon did what it could to defend itself in its vulnerable position with its only arm. Saladramon then proceeded to wrap its long serpentine tail around Deltamon's neck which slowed down the dinosaur's defense. Saladramon then clawed at the Deltamon's eyes. One of his claws came down and the fallen dragon roared out in pain as it was now missing an eye and some skin.
As a response to that pain Deltamon lashed out using its mechanical arm. Due to the large increase in size Saladramon had sacrificed mobility and dexterity and had no choice but to get hit by the flailing arm. The strike had sent the lizard Digimon crashing into some buildings. Saladramon quickly got up and proceeded to lash out in retaliation with his tail. Using its mechanical arm, Deltamon caught the tail mid attack and tossed its opponent into the ground.
"Triple Force" Deltamon growled as the mechanical arm shot 3 blasts at the now down Saladramon. The shots connected on to Saladramon's body as an explosion took place. Kevin looked at the smoking tower that now enveloped Saladramon.
The retaliation was sudden as a purple blast was fired from under the veil of the smoke. Colliding with Deltamon's chest the victim let out a cry of anguish as it recoiled back from the burning sensation that spread across the area of injury. Saladramon leapt out from its temporary camouflage as he dug his set of jagged dagger like teeth into Deltamon's shoulder. The blue dinosaur dragon couldn't seem to discern which was more painful, the burning across its chest or the teeth digging into its body. It flailed madly like a fish out of water, its two tails crashing through buildings. Having latched onto Deltamon using his fangs, Saladramon started clawing at it.
Deltamon managed to clear its mind for a few seconds from the pain numbing its battle senses. The mechanical arm took aim- not much of a trouble at this close range- and all three shots bombarded Saladramon as the force caused him to fly and crash into another building.
"Viperdramon!" Gina shouted as she saw the retaliation take place. Kevin grimaced as he prepared for the worst.
A resounding roar took place as Saladramon's head jutted out from the cloud of dust. At that moment the fierce salamander Digimon had tilted its head to glance at his human partner. Kevin could have been mistaken but he saw all that was needed to be seen in those emerald green eyes. Saladramon too seemed to understand as it now pointed those eyes at his prey.
"You can do it" the Chosen Child let his words drift into the air. At that instant, the earth itself shook to the sudden burst in speed that Saladramon exhibited in his charge as he now had his prey cornered.
Deltamon reared its only good arm for an attack but suddenly was met with something unexpected. A tail wrapped around the mechanical head like a whip restraining a fierce animal. With its only source of defense barring its tails temporarily disabled, it was an easy feat to get into close range with the dinosaur. In a seemingly impossible bout, Saladramon stood up on its two hind legs as he lunged forward.
Catching both jaws with one claw each, the demonic dragon started to heave as he pulled tightly separating the jaws until he could see straight into the dinosaur's body. It was at that moment that instinct became fear and Deltamon had found itself in a position that all predators fear- that of a prey on its last legs.
In return Saladramon opened its mouth wide. The predator turned prey saw a faint light and a spark and then it felt its insides being consumed by a stream of purple malevolent fire as the killer let loose its vicious attack. Deltamon could do nothing as the flames started burning it inside out. It was a few agonizing moments before Saladramon saw the dinosaur's body starting to melt from the inside out. Loosening his grip on the mechanical arm Saladramon let Deltamon go as the dinosaur took a few steps before the hellfire consumed him and turned him into ash.
"He did it" Gina looked at the victor as he let loose a victory roar and slowly disappeared in a crumbling light. She barely caught a glance of Kevin dashing towards the location which housed Saladramon before he disappeared.
"Viperdramon!"
Kevin didn't know what just happened other than Viperdramon winning. He ran, panting hard.
He saw Viperdramon waiting for him.
"Go home. The other humans will be here and will ask you two questions" Viperdramon growled.
"What about you?" Kevin tried to catch his breath from his mad dash.
"Don't worry. I'll meet you two later. Hurry. I'll distract the humans if needed" Viperdramon hissed to make his point.
No words were later exchanged as the two siblings disappeared into the night scenery with the faint sound of sirens blaring against the backdrop.
"What in seven hells was that?" a bushy haired scientist stood up demanding an answer from Lysandre.
"Monsters" Lysandre answered as cool as possible in a situation like that. "Maybe a little too cool" Tom thought.
"Are you messing with me?!" another irate worker chimed in.
"No" Lysandre replied. "Everyone" he caught everyone's attention, "we will try to cover this incident up. Until we have conclusive information, nothing shall leave these doors".
"Was this what I signed up for?" Tom thought to himself as he reviewed the recent turn of events.
In a badly lit room a person sat working on a laptop. The screen displayed images of the battle that took place.
"So it has begun" the shadow muttered. "Guess all the Chosen Children need to get together."