Chapter 3: Coredramon's Blue Flame

"Can the sun cool down? It's way too hot!" Kira complained loudly, by now they had stumbled out of the woods and into an electric pole infested open field to the north of where they had landed on this strange island that combined heavy forests, with large beaches and now lengthy yet desert level in terms of heat, temperature fields.

"Stop whining, Kira. It's annoying and undignified." Sakura scolded, half heartedly. "Can I ask you one thing? Can you pass your fan, please?"

"First you scold me, then you ask for my fan? Who's the undignified one, now?" the diva answered back.

Dracomon piped up. "Maybe if we imagine that we're all cold, eating cold food, and in a cold place we might feel better."

"Like that would work." Sana whined just a short distance behind them and to the left.

The sun was unbearable. The field they travelled across may as well have been a desert. Plants were growing, but there was no water in sight. And then came the humidity, as Japanese this wouldn't normally be a problem, except for the fact that it was on a level none of them had ever realized was possible, which combined with desert like heat that seemed to defy all logic, given the amounts of flora they were surrounded by, made things bewildering in more than one way.

At the back of the line, the sickly pale Itachi, was trying to keep moving one feet in front of another. However, he what he didn't tell anyone was that he was starting to see double, heating up to a boiling point, as he coughed and struggled to keep from falling forward.

"Stop… We need to stop." The bossy Japanese girl stated. "We need to rest a moment." The group practically slumped to the ground.

Letting himself sit down, Michiru commented as he wiped at his brow exhausted already. "Logically speaking, it wouldn't be wise to just slow down now. It would just waste energy."

The pale youth arrived, and almost fell forward. This resulted in Sana responding. "Uh… Itachi's being sick again." Her voice stated with a tremor. Sakura stood up, despite wanting to pass out herself.

"Itachi. You should pace yourself. Here, why don't we let Elecmon carry you." She tried to be sisterly. He was gasping for breath, even removing his jacket.

"N… No… I'm fine," He gasped. He wiped his forehead of the sweat, his stubbornness taking the vanguard.

"Say what? Who's carrying Itachi?" Elecmon slightly panicked, worried about not just the heat, but extra carrying capacity.

Kira sighed irritably, as Dracomon looked up at him curiously, as he wondered what it was other than the heat that could have annoyed the human so.

"What?" The green haired youth asked as he caught the look his partner sent his way.

"Well, since everyone's exhausted, I was thinking maybe I could go scout around. I don't feel that hot myself. My body temperature's rather different." The little dragon offered.

"I guess resting for a few minutes while Dracomon scouts around might be a good idea. I guess I take back the comment I said earlier." The computer geek agreed.

"Good idea. It might be good for Itachi to rest up. He shouldn't be in the sun like this." Dorumon whimpered, feeling sorry for the poor boy.

"Yeah. He should be in a cool area. If you find a lake or something, that should be good for him. That way we he can rest up, until he feels better." The group 'president' stated.

Itachi on the other hand gritted his teeth. "Keep… going…" He was quietly fuming over the two coddling mother hens that were fretting over him.

"I vote scouting too. I'm really tired, and I might pass out, Dorumon." Kaito raised his hand up, trying to get his partner's attention. This put the dino in a bit of a panic.

"Are we resting? Then good. I'm fine with that." Elecmon agreed, as he curled up for some rest.

"We shouldn't stop… We need to brave the heat! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Kotemon voted to move on.

"How are we gonna get to that waterhole if we just take another break?" The youngest girl argued, as she huffed at them from where she sat to her brother's right. "Honestly."

Her partner on the other hand slumped on the ground. "I'm too awesome to die of dehydration! Let's rest." The bird imitated Kira's melodramatic tone. "I need my beauty sleep."

This left only two left to state their feelings on the matter. Keramon and Kira. The internet-bug type digimon usually kept to himself, and as he evaluated both courses of action, he actually spoke up.

"The lizard has a point. No point in wasting needless energy just walking randomly if we don't know where we're heading. Short term scouting is a good idea. If it takes too long, then it's a waste of time and energy." The anti-social digimon gave his thoughts on the matter.

Sakura got up and turned to the melodramatic narcissist. "We need to stay and take care of Itachi. I don't know why you would abandon a child like that, but it's just not proper. Proper etiquette would dictate that in his case, we should have found proper shelter, and-" Before she could go on, she was cut off.

"Okay, fine. Dracomon, go ahead and scout around. Sakura, will you quit nagging? Ever since we landed here, it's been nag, nag nag! You drive me crazy! Proper etiquette? What the hell is that supposed to do here! We aren't in Japan, never mind Tokyo! If you want to smother Itachi, to the point that he's sick of you, go right ahead, see if I care! Hell, he doesn't even seem like he wants it!" Kira shouted at the girl as he cut her off.

This had the result of starting yet another argument, which at last count was reaching in just one day and a half, the double digits already, and resulted in the girl shouting back. "You idiot! Itachi's sick! He can barely take care of himself! Why are you so insistent on leaving him behind! We can't just abandon each other! We have to look out for one another! But of course, you're just focused on yourself! Nothing gets past that inflated green ego of yours!"

"Listen you-" The boy was cut off by lightning at their feet. The arguing pair jumped, ready to dash off, at the possibility of an attack. But the attack wasn't meant to hurt them.

"Super Thunder Strike!" It was a light zap that was meant to catch their attention. "Will you two cut it out? I can't get a proper nap in."

"Can't you two, think of the children? Your arguing is going to tear us apart!" Everyone stared at Dorumon, like he was being melodramatic.

Michiru then stepped in, and grabbed Kira by the arm, and took him aside. "Listen Kira, we need to talk."

Sakura sighed and was going to speak out, but was stopped when Kotemon put his right hand on her wrist only to shake his head at her, with a sorry look in his eyes.

"It's not worth it, Sakura. No amount of shouting or lecturing is going to change his mind." The wise, kendo wielding digimon advised her heavily in a quick whisper as he pulled her aside away from the others.

"But he's wrong about this… It's not right!" the 12-year-old girl blurted out, still shocked by Kira's callousness, having grown up in a loving family with nothing but those who believed and encouraged her, she had never seen anyone dismiss another's life in such a cold manner so that she didn't know how to react other than with outrage.

The creature sighed through the men. "I'm not disagreeing with you. But a powerful warrior once told me, that 'every mon has to find their own way in life'. Kira's a narcissistic jerk. I won't deny that. But you do deserve better than to waste your time and energy, fretting over him."

"But we should stick together; our survival depends on it." The girl complained loudly.

"I agree. But you've got your journey to become a powerful warrior, and so does he. Although we walk the same path, your journey is different from his, and you both have different obstacles. You do well to worry over the younger ones. Itachi can only go so far without our help." The wise warrior spoke, as he went back over to the rest of the group. "And that's one of Itachi's obstacles."

Meanwhile, the two boys were a bit of a distance away. With Kira still sending angry looks over at Sakura, while Michiru prayed to the heavens for patience and for some sort of miracle to maybe shut Sakura and Kira up, as he fell back onto logic, which had always helped him in life, and hadn't failed them yet, to see him and the group through day once more.

"Who does she think she is, telling us what to do! It's frustrating." The melodramatic youth complained once more, the other boy sighed wearily in response.

"Kira, can we focus more on getting out of this field? It feels like a sauna that we can't escape, but arguing won't solve the problem." Michiru was trying to be tactful.

"I hate it when she just tells us what is 'proper' and what is the 'correct way to proceed'." The narcissist mocked the prim and proper Japanese girl. "She can be such a princess."

'She's not the only one being a princess. Man… Why'd we have to get stuck with these two, and without someone that can be a good mediator and leader…' The nerd thought cynically, with another sigh which was sure to suck away his youth as the old proverb went, at least it was likely to be sucked away the more time he spent with Kira or Sakura.

He opened his mouth when he heard a voice shout to the group. "I found something I found it!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the noise, to see Dracomon flying back. Everyone ran to follow the little dragon. Before the two could proceed too far though, Michiru just stopped his friend, and tried to stay tactful. "Kira… try to be considerate. I don't want you to do something you'll someday regret."

Thinking for a second, Kira sulked. "Let's just follow the others. I hope we can get something to eat."

The group traveled across the plains with a renewed energetic vigor. At the rear however, it wasn't the chronically sick Itachi, but the group diva, Kira. Thinking a bit, he looked at the ground as he walked. Next to him walked his partner, Dracomon, who looked up at the young human, and sighed.

"By the looks of your brooding, I would almost say that black nail polish, lipstick and raven hair would suit you more." The little dragon commented. "What's eating you up?"

The boy stopped for a moment, and looked up. "I'm wondering why I out of everyone had to crash here in this barbarous digital world, with a weird little creature. I'm no hero. Kaito seems to enjoy being the hero, and the br… Itachi likes it here." He added that last part dryly. "Seems to enjoy it here. Like he's some kind of shonen manga superhero. Sana thinks she's in the fight of her life… And even Sakura is considerate over others. Even if she is frustratingly annoying. So rigid…" He sidetracked.

The digimon looked forward at the rest of the group. "You don't have to have all the answers right away. Just because you came here doesn't mean that you don't have to get everything told to you. Maybe you'll get an answer later. All I know is that I waited my entire life for you. I may know that you have gaudy tastes, but I'm sure you'll find an answer to your questions. You're at the rookie stage. Still at the point where you question everything."

Kira looked at him, a little surprised by the wisdom in the reply, by the usually sarcastic creature of myth. Although it was a good and wise answer, it didn't answer his own question.

'Why me?' The green haired child was brooding over this, when suddenly, his face shifted into a smile.

"Brooding isn't going to solve anything! And it wouldn't help my complexion. I am grandeur defined! Life is an adventure! Carpe Diem! And even if I don't understand what Carpe Diem means, or have the answer, I will come up with a regal response to all these questions!" The orator spun his words.

His partner sighed. 'I really wish that if he needs to lie, he would do a better job.' Deciding that there wasn't anything he could say, he decided on something that would amuse him.

"Besides, worrying about all this will give you grey hairs. And they would stand out in a sea of neon green." The dragon commented, leading the way. This got an over the top reaction.

"Really? I hope not! I'm too beautiful for grey!" The boy panicked over his hair, as he followed Dracomon and the rest of the children.

About an hour later, the group of kids finally found what the tiny dragon found. Nearby, was a small group of huts. The children cheered and jumped, as they saw the first sign of civilization.

They charged, only to find out, what looked tiny in the distance, wasn't as big as they hoped. Arriving at the village, they found that most of the huts were about as big as the older kids.

"Wow. Welcome to the world of the miniature homes. What could live here?" Sana asked curiously.

As if in reply to her question, a small group of pink blobs started to wander about, looking curiously at their new guests.

"Visitors! We've got visitors!" One shouted, in an excited tone.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Another tried to rush to the front to see what came to their village.

"Those are weird digimon."

Digimon analyser/Biyomon: "Those are Motimon. Curious little fellers. They may be gentle, and pretty gullible, not that I would know. They're also harmless, like little balloons and very friendly and very, very trusting, um, or so I've heard."

The humans were a little overwhelmed by the massive group of little creatures flocking around them. "What kind of digimon are you? There's hardly any digimon that look like that." One of the creatures asked.

"Wow. They are kind of… Cute!" Sakura broke character as she picked up one little monster, not that she found him scary like the others they faced, and she rubbed her cheek against the one she grabbed.

"Hey! Watch it… I… whoa! Feels soft and silky! And a little dirty!" the creature commented, which was intended as an observation. The girl would have gotten upset, if she didn't sigh.

"We've been walking for a few days, without a proper meal or bath. And the heat was overwhelming!" The green haired diva started to paint a picture. This got a dirty look from the proper Japanese girl.

"We shouldn't impose on them! We're guests after all!" The girl was tempted to agree with her constant adversary, but wanted to stick with her upbringing.

"No problem! We have a nice bathing area, we'll put together a nice meal, and we can offer massages! It's the least we can do for friendly visitors, other than Ex-Veemon and a Tentomon that passes by."

"But it would be rude to impose." Sakura spoke out, divided on the issue, in a weak tone.

"It would be even ruder to refuse their hospitality. We are hungry, dirty, sore and tired. There's no reason why we shouldn't rest here. Besides. We'd be able to stock up on food while we are at it." Kotemon rebutted. "Besides, I'm exhausted! I could use a nap." He followed some of the pink powderpuffs into a hut, to find a bed.

"I guess a short bath and meal will do." The girl relented. Sana actually lead the way, as Dorumon followed.

"It is very important to bathe properly. I can't remember the last time I properly groomed myself. Kai-chan! Ita-chan! Come over here! Chop chop!" The dinosaur called out to the two young boys, who both cringed at the childish nicknames sent their way.

"But Dorumon…" Kaito whined, about to argue.

"No buts young man! You need a good cleaning." Kaito's digimon partner wagged a claw.

"But I'm hungry…" The whining continued. The purple-furred creature didn't give an inch.

"A bath, then food. Understood?"

This resulted in the energetic gogglehead to kick the ground as he grumbled, following the girls. Itachi rolled his eyes and just made a comment.

"Don't want to." The boy stated silently, as if it were a law.

"I'll drag you by the ear, and you won't get desert!"

The boy dressed in black crossed his arms, and had a pout on his face. Next to him, the mysterious Keramon just blurted out.

"Just go, Itachi. If you want to keep up with the rest of us, taking care of yourself is a priority. Staying clean will actually help your health, and keep illness at bay." He just stated as the boy sulked for a moment, and relented. Going to turn around, he was heading to a hut.

"Thanks for convincing him, Kera-chan. I'm glad that we can all get along and support each other~!" Dorumon just smiled, and Keramon had the mental thought of seeing a very feminine woman in the dinosaur's place. The bug actually shuddered.

"I didn't do it for your hugs and pink bunnies. We can't have anyone holding us back." He coldly commented, as his tentacles trailed in midair behind him, as he moved on over to the hut himself. "Oh yeah. You call me 'chan' again, and I will eviscerate you. I'll have you drawn by Monochromon, then quartered. Got it?" The bug gave a piercing and threatening look.

"That's not a very nice thing to say. It's very hurtful! I'd rather talk about our positive feelings about each other." The reply got the bug to lose his midflight pattern and crash to the ground, not expecting that kind of remark.

"… Just go take your bath." Keramon just finished, flabbergasted by the lack of fear. 'Or is it stupidity?' He thought.

Meanwhile Kira saw this, and had a sweatdrop. "I think Dorumon just lost his last drop of masculinity just now."

"Affirmative. He's the most feminine member of the group, and that's even considering Sana, Dracomon, you and Sakura." Michiru remarked to his friend.

"You can say that agai- Hey!" Kira objected to the remark giving his friend a dirty look.

"One question; he had masculinity in the first place?" Dracomon asked earnestly confused by Kira's comment.

Michiru didn't realise the silly implication, but he then snickered. "Indeed, I can. He's the most…" His repetition was stopped by the green haired preteen.

"It doesn't mean you can just repeat it! It's not true! Oh no! Look at this hand! It's so rough and callused! I think I need to take the Motimon up on the massage treatment! And I need to track down proper products for my hair! I can't just have the cheap drug store shampoo! And I need a good proper bath, clean my hair, get the proper hair gel, and a hairdryer, and let's not forget I need to get my clothes washed!" The melodramatic narcissist replied very shallowly about his appearance and high maintenance standards. This caused some of the Motimon to start to put a bit of distance between them and the diva, seeing this Elecmon sighed.

"Kira's right! I deserve to be pampered because I found this village! Food and massage!" Dracomon piped up, agreeing with his partner.

The two followed the small pink digimon in a different direction, as something caught the rookie digimon's eye. He looked up at the sky, and noticed something black that looked tiny from where he was. The object was heading to the mountain, but the small dragon shrugged and continued on, not thinking much.


Meanwhile, on a mountain peak, a blue and white bipedal dragonic creature was overlooking the sea in front of him. His position gave him a beautiful, panoramic view of the area. He loved looking at this spot for hours. Feeling the wind, and taking the serene atmosphere inside.

"The blue sea rises/ The wind sings from the heavens/… Huh?" The digimon was about to finish a haiku, when he noticed something falling towards the mountains. "What's that? And I was on such a roll…" He grumbled, but as he raised his white wings, he flew into the air going to investigate what was coming his way. Another digimon? No. it seemed inanimate. A meteor? No, meteors aren't black… It was…

"A ring? Why… It's coming for the mountain peak… No wait! It's coming for… AAAAGH!" He realised too late what it was, as it latched onto his arm. His eyes glowed red.


"Ahhh… This is the life." Kira was laying down, getting a massage. The little Motimon were a lot better at giving massages than what one would assume when looking at them. Dracomon looked like he was getting the full spa treatment, right down to red coloured cucumber-like vegetables on his eyes.

"Are you sure we aren't taking too much advantage of them?" The little dragon asked his partner. One of the veggies slipping down, they both looked at each other, and smiled.

"NAH!" Both commented, in unison. Both partners sighed out of relief. After a moment of comfortable silence, the digimon asked a question.

"How long are we going to stay here?"

"Maybe forever…" The egocentric child commented as he moaned when the Motimon hit the right spot in the boy's back.

"That would be fun." Dracomon relaxed, and heard a Motimon that rushed in.

"Everyone! The guardian of the mountain, ExVeemon is coming down to visit! Hurry!" He shouted excitedly.

All the pink little creatures dropped what they were doing and rushed out, like a fire were to engage, right then and there.

The children came out, the younger two boys came out with sopping wet hair and clothes, as Dorumon chased after them with a towel. The young girl Sana was dressed, and looked clean. Sakura had a towel around her hair, and was curious about why the little digimon suddenly came out in an excited hurry.

Michiru came out of a tent, looking half tired, like he just woke up from a nap. His hair also was a little messy.

Looking up, they saw something coming from the direction of the mountain. It looked like a dot in the distance, but it grew as it got closer.

The small digimon cheered, but soon realised that instead of just landing in front of the village, as he usually did when he came to visit, he flew down at full speed, pass right over the village, as a large number of the small In-Training digimon went flying, and some of the huts got unrooted, and flew over, the Motimon were quick to panic.

"Oh no! What has happened to the guardian of the Mountain!" On panicked as it froze.

"He's never attacked us! What have we done to deserve this!" Another panicked, as they started to run in random directions, almost trampling each other in a panic.

Watch out! He's turning around!" Michiru shouted, alerting everyone to the troubled digimon that came around.

As the blue dragon came around, he dashed passed, but this time, his chest glowed. "Vee Laser!" He launched a blast at the village, which started to look like a warzone.

Leaving into the distance, the human children spent quite a bit of time trying to calm down the Motimon from panicking and trampling each other, as Kotemon and Dorumon worried over injured digimon.

"Calm down everyone! If you panic, then even more of your friends will be hurt!" Sakura fretted almost freaking out herself.

"How can someone be so mean, and bully these guys? They are so nice!" Kaito's innocence started to show.

As the digimon started to calm down, Keramon took point, ready to fire on the oncoming Champion Digimon. Elecmon was by his side, also calculating the trajectory of the airborn speedster.

Biyomon meanwhile was by his partner, trying to help with cooling the frazzled pink puffballs.

"What is that?" Sana asked, a little frightened by the sudden attack. She was trying to hang on to a hut, and a few Motimon, to keep them from flying off. Kaito and Itachi were doing the same, although Itachi started with a coughing fit whenever the digimon flew overhead.

Digimon analyser/Motimon: "That's Ex-Veemon! He's usually a very friendly and well-natured digimon. He's supposed to be the guardian of the mountain, and protects us! He's fast like a jet (whatever that is) and has a mean right hook! He's also fond of Haikus!"

"What do we do? Where do we go?" The helpless little victims were starting to lose track of their self control, as they were tempted to run to avoid getting hurt, or worse. Then, to everyone's surprise, Kira spoke up.

"Don't you guys have shelters, in case of a flood or something?" The boy spoke loud. Sakura replied.

"But traveling all there, would make them open targets!" The girl was concerned over the safety of all those around her, something that tossed many more around with another blast to the area, as dust began to fly.

"They are sitting ducks here anyways! The least we can do is get them to a mountain area!" The green haired child found his courage. One Motimon came up and spoke.

"We do have a shelter in the mountain, but it's quite far! But what if he strikes at us? What happens if we are caught in a cave in?" The friendly little creatures were not accustomed to being attacked from above by the one who swore to protect them.

Nearby, Elecmon and Keramon were firing off attacks, which weren't landing properly. Although some would strike, it didn't have the desired effects.

"Everyone to the shelter! We'll cover you!" The electric digimon roared. Beside him, the internet virus was getting irritated.

'These blasted bugs… In our way! And of course, the humans want to play hero! But then again, this wouldn't be the first time that children's emotions have changed the game… Urg! Damn In-Trainings! So useless!' Keramon was getting frustrated by the combination of fly by attacks, and the massive amounts of Motimon just freaking out.

The small creatures finally got the message, and they started a literal stampede to the mountain area. ExVeemon decided to follow, as Dorumon, Kaito and Itachi took the front to lead the way, and to keep the small digimon calm. In the middle, Michiru, Sana and Biyomon were managing this area, while the bird decided on a matter, as Exveemon broke into the middle.

"Alright creep-o! Time for some Spiral Twister! Eat this, sucker!" The pink bird taunted, firing the green spinning fire at the giant blue dragon.

The attack connected, but barely had any effect. "Nice try, how about this? "Heart Breaker!" The guardian's mouth started to burn, as he launched a fire ball at the flying bird, hitting him straight on. This threw the brave little guy down into the field. Exveemon roared in delight as the small creature looked injured.

This was followed by three attacks.

"Super Thunder Strike!"

"Bug Blaster!"

"G Shurunen!"

This time, the blue digimon was thrown back a little. It resulted in chuckling. "That's it? Try this on for size! Vee-Laser!"

The bug and the small dragon barely escaped this attack, but Elecmon barely avoided the attack, but the ground underneath him erupted by the shockwave of the attack that hit the ground, that sent him flying a bit.

Keramon's eye was twitching. 'Come on… Why isn't it happening again? Why aren't I digivolving? If I did, I could toss this chump aside!'

Down below, Kotemon was guiding the last of the Motimon to the cave. He wanted to join in the battle, but it was best to stall until the innocent victims of this attack were out of harm's way. His job was an important one. "One after another, don't rush. We'll all make it! Sakura, that should be the last of them… I'm gonna make one last round of the village… Sakura?" The kendo digimon looked around to see his partner missing. "Oh no…"

"Come on Dracomon! Roast his ass!" Kira punched at the sky. Kotemon turned to the overly aggressive diva.

"Kira, can you look over the Motimon? I think Sakura went to the village on her own." He asked, volunteering for the difficult duty.

This shocked the young boy. "What? Why would she do something so stupid! That idiot! Don't bother! I'll do it!" Kira then dashed for the village, but up above the diversion wasn't working as well as planned.

Keramon was tossed down, into crater, but got back up and stubbornly attacked his prey. Dracomon was playing a nasty game of David and Goliath, but was quickly losing. He was trying to dart around the large mind-controlled creature, trying to lead him away from the helpless little friends he's made, but even though ExVeemon would launch blasts, often missing, so the small creature returned fire, with no effect, darting back and forth, with Keramon helping out.

Unfortunately, the large Champion digimon found out about the pattern, and managed to change his own movement, and surprised the little dragon.

"What?" Dracomon stopped midflight, as his foe appeared in front of him.

"Surprise! Vee-Laser!" The chest of the large monster glowed, firing a blast point blank at the small green dragon, launching him into the village.

Kira arrived in the village, to find Sakura, that reached into a demolished hut getting a frightened small Motimon out of there.

"Here you go, little guy. I'll help you…" She smiled sweetly.

"Sakura! Sakura!" We gotta get to the shelter!" The youth shouted, running towards her.

"But the stragglers…" She started before the stubborn lad replied.

"Will not get hurt, if they hide well! We need to focus on the ones that that creature is… LOOK OUT!" Kira was going to point something out, before he saw a blast come their way, as he was partially proven wrong, as he jumped forward to push Sakura and the Motimon around her, out of the way, of an incoming blast that left a crater.

"Kira! What?" Shocked by the sudden rush of events, and by the fact that this selfish, self-centered boy jumped in to save her life from a stray blast.

"Oww…." Kira rubbed his head. The girl coughed out the dust in the air, as she helped him up.

"Thank you, Kira." Still shocked by what had happened.

"Okay, you have a point. Go ahead and…" The boy was going to correct himself, when he heard a groan coming from the impact of the crater. "DRACOMON!" Jumping down into the crater, the human child went to cradle his injured partner. "Why did you do this…"

After a cough, and a slight moan, he got his answer. "Because the Motimon were nice to us. They are worth protecting. Besides, I'm claiming them. Their massage techniques are legendary. Gotta go help Keramon…" The little dragon tried to get up, but found it difficult to do.

Gritting his teeth, Kira turned and glared at the blue digimon. He managed to get his hand on Keramon, and was divebombing with the bug in hand. The bug had a panicked look in his eyes.

A blast flew past Kira's shoulder, towards the large digimon, not doing any damage, but just enough to disrupt the landing of the digimon.

"G Shurunen!" Dracomon was injured, but he wanted to keep on fighting. With a noble heart, he was observing the human he was sworn to protect.

The same human that picked up a rock on the ground.

"Hey ExPeemon! Take this!" Kira threw the rock and the digimon, which had no effect, except get his attention. Dropping the unconscious bug, he roared as he went forward to eliminate this new challenger. Flying and charging, fire started to form in his mouth.

The young pubescent boy had a twitch in his eye, showing a bit of fear, as he was soon grabbed by Ex-Veemon before he could respond. Starting to squeeze, the boy would start to yelp in pain. Despite this, he managed to shout out a last reply.

"Why do you have to hurt those smaller than you, you big bully! You should be protecting them!" This shout seemed to have a reply, from the boy's belt. His digivice shining was resonated from Dracomon, who crawled out of the crater.

"Come on, Dracomon! Let's join the others! You're injured! Kotemon will save Kira!" Sakura pleaded with him.

"No! He's my partner! I can't just abandon him!" The dragon stubbornly insisted, despite his injuries. The he felt something burst from inside of him. "Wait… What is this feeling?"

He started to shine brightly, as he cried out a new battle cry, getting his second wind.

"Dracomon, digivolve to… Coredramon!"

Dracomon was now a large blue dragon with a white belly. He had a large snout, with a red horn on the end, and red horns on top of his head, jutting backwards. His large, three fingered hands finished in claws, just like his legs finished with three toes each. His large tail was frilled with small red spikes, that went from his back. The one attribute that set him apart from a blue dinosaur, was his large blue and white wings, that looked like a bat's wings.

Digimon analyser/Kotemon: Oh my! I am so glad Dracomon digivolved to Coredramon! He holds the pure essence of dragon digimon within him. He makes the mountains his home, and his Blue Flare Breath can burn away just about any armour of an enemy! I must confess, I've always dreamed of fighting one! And uh… just between you and me, don't touch his Gekirin. That's a scale that grows in the opposite direction of his scales. That will only get on his bad side.

Coredramon reached out with his mighty wings, and flapped them once, and releasing, as he flapped again, and once more, to start flying in the direction of the red-eyed Ex-Veemon holding his partner in his hand, trying to crush him, as the boy was screaming in agony. Charging forward, he built up speed, and as he approached the humanoid dragon, he drew his arm back, and when he reached his target, he released a high-speed punch, hoping that the human would be dropped.

Unfortunately, Ex-Veemon did not let go, but as the recently digivolved digimon continued in the direction he started in, he passed on the side with his partner, on the right, and twisted his body direction slightly, just to release his powerful tail, to not just whip at the oppressive danger, but give him a good beating to the arm holding the frail youth.

This not only sent him flying to the open ground below, but dropped Kira as he was now in freefall, screaming in panic.

'Ohcrapohcrapohcrap gonnabeapancake!' Freaking out, he closed his eyes, and when he hit what he perceived to be the ground, it was a lot softer than he expected. He thought he was going to hit something hard, and it would end up sounding a lot more like a splat. It was rough; softer than the ground, but rough. And scaley. Can't forget that.

"Just as planned. Not bad for a wicked cool dragon. Too bad you blinked." A deep voice answered right where the ground would be.

Kira opened his eyes slowly and found his partner's new form. He gasped. "Whoa! Dracomon… you…"

"Digivolved? Yeah. Now I'm Coredramon. Just give me a sec. I'd drop you off, but This guy won't let me. I'm going fast, so hang on to the spikey scales." Coredramon instructed, as his focus returned to Ex-Veemon, who was getting back up, roared, and returned to the skies.

"Vee Laser!" He fired an attack, which the dragon acrobatically avoided, like a ballerina in the skies. To Kira, it was much like a roller coaster, if a drunk built, designed and inspected it.

"Whoa! That was close!" The boy panicked.

"Not even! Watch this!" The dragon got ready to show off, as he charged diagonally, ensuring that he wasn't going to get hit. Another Vee Laser missed him, and it seemed like long range wasn't working anymore. The two blue dragons decided to take it to melee attacks.

Ex-Veemon opted for some boxing, and punching that landed on the heroic dragon, thrown back a bit, but Coredramon recovered. The mind controlled digimon opted for a flyby kick, but that didn't work.

Actually, it was his downfall, as the mighty new dragon, caught the kick, and using the momentum that was built up, threw the off-balanced digimon in the direction he continued in.

Ex-Veemon balanced himself in midflight, when he turned around to face his opponent; however, it was too late for him. Coredramon's mouth was billowing blue flames, as he shouted his attack's name.

"Blue Flare Breath!" Coredramon launched a searing blue flame, that struck his target, and as the roasting dragon screamed, the black ring around his arm cracked.

The guardian of the mountain fell to the ground, at the same time that the newly digivolved digimon landed close by, ready to retaliate for another attack. Kira hopped off his partner, with a mix of excitement and nausea. As they approached Ex-Veemon, the ring shattered into dust.

"What the-" Kira was cut off by a groan coming from their foe. "Uh oh, he's ready for more."

The two jumped into a battle formation, as Ex-Veemon got up, his eyes no longer having the same glow. He rubbed his head, as he looked around.

"Ow… That stings!" He stated, feeling the aftereffects of the sapphire flame. "What got into me?"

The boy approached cautiously. "Are you going to attack us again? 'Cause we can completely take you on!"

"No thanks! Maybe another day, once this ringing gets out of my head!" The dragon guardian complained. He got up, and looked around at what was left of the village, and sighed. "Oh man… What happened? Did I do this?"

The human boy looked at his huge dragon partner, who glowed yellow, and returned to Dracomon. They then looked back.

"Don't you remember what you did?" The small dragon asked.

"I remember reflecting on the beautiful sight, thinking up a new masterpiece of a haiku, when something came from the sky, latched onto me, and made me go insane! I remember bits and pieces." He then panicked as shot up to his feet, face torn with terror for his beloved friends. "The Motimon! Where are they? Are they safe?"

Sakura and Kotemon approached at last. "What is going on?" the girl asked wondering about the change of behaviour in their enemy.

"Let's just say he wasn't himself…" The tiny dragon explained. The small shy Kotemon spoke up.

"Lord Ex-Veemon, the Motimon are safe, and were evacuated to the mountain shelters. We are relieved that you are yourself again."

This calmed the large Champion digimon for a few moments.

"Well, that's a relief. I'll help rebuild. It would be a good time for a new Haiku." He then opened his eyes and gasped. "Oh no! What kind of Guardian Digimon of the Mountain destroys the village he is sworn to protect! Oh no!" He started panicking in a melodramatic way.

A few of the straggler Motimon approached gently, and worked to reassure their friend. "Don't worry, we know you wouldn't hurt us intentionally. We're just happy to have you back to normal."

They started to swarm them, as they popped out of the woodwork, and the ones from the shelters returned.

"Thank you all… I'm relieved to have your forgiveness." He then turned to Kira. "You have great courage in you. Probably untapped… I thank you. I will help you all in any way I can." Ex-Veemon let out a small gasp. "I know… The last line of my Haiku! The blue sea rises/ The wind sings from the heavens/A true man is born!"

This got a cheer from the Motimon. Some of the humans and digimon partners had a multitude of reactions

Itachi shrugged and shook his head. Keramon was trying to hide his face. Sana snickered and was about to laugh. Dorumon let out a few tears, commenting on the beauty of the poem.

The In-Training digimon would return, and although a little depressed, they were already starting to work on plans to rebuild. ExVeemon stayed to help some of the rebuilding, as the children and their partners were recovering from the battle.

As evening fell, and the village had shelters recovering, the young human children had eaten, and Sakura took Kira aside. She wanted to speak to him, in regards to earlier matters.

"What's this about, Sakura? I'm hungry, and want to go eat." The green haired youth, complained, as he scratched the back of his head. She sighed.

"I wanted to apologize for how I treated you earlier. I misjudged you." She bowed, gracefully. He smiled.

"Of course, you did! What did you expect? I make a great hero, don't I?" Kira whipped out his fan, and opened it, posing like he was on a poster.

"Seriously, Kira. There's no need for melodramatics. I judged you, and you fought to protect the Motimon. I never realised you hated bullies." She noted, trying to get a grasp on who this boy was.

"I hate people who use their power to pick on those weaker than them. Makes sense that I turn out to be a hero! I accept your apologies!" Kira reverted to his annoying theatrical self-centered attitude.

"Kira! You idiot! Here it is, I'm apologising, and trying to give a heartfelt moment, and you ruin it, with that attitude! I take it all back! You are definitely a fool!" She replied, rather annoyed.

"Ouch! That hurts!" The boy feigned emotional distress. At this moment, when the bickering started, a couple of the small village digimon approached them.

"Kira! Sakura! ExVeemon is asking for all of you!" The small puffballs, led the way.

"Whoa, wait up!" The girl replied, following, with the hero of the day trailing.

When the humans and their partners reached the center of town, the blue digimon sat down on a log.

"Thanks for everything, children. I don't know what I'd do, if you weren't here to protect the Motimon."

"You're welcome, Lord ExVeemon. They are good kids, and are well raised." Dorumon replied, in a very motherly tone, as if it was him that raised them, himself.

"Um… uh… okay…" This left the champion digimon with a sweatdrop, a little nervous. "So, human children, with digimon partners… I heard something about this from a friend."

"Really? What do you know?" Michiru got up, excited about finally having a lead.

"I actually only heard rumours from my friend across to the next island over. We sometimes talk over battleship matches. That and a thing or two from the Tentomon that sometimes passes by. Although he does seem a little out there, and easily distracted. What he says is sometimes disjointed, and not to mention hard to track down."

Kira then got up. "Then let's head over there! We're on a roll!" Opening his fan, like he was imitating an anime character.

"I'll wait till the morning. It's a good idea for all of you to rest up, and get proper nutrition. Those are the basics for a good and proud warrior. And you will meet a very powerful warrior tomorrow. I'll carry you there tomorrow morning!" The large bipedal dragon got up, and was about to fly to the mountain top, only to pause and add to the Motimons. "Oh yes, and make sure they've got food in their bags. An army marches on their stomachs after all!"

"Yes sir!"

"Of course, guardian of the mountain!"

"Aww! Do we have to? Slave driver!"

"We'd be honoured to share food with the brave saviours of the village!"

"Can we build a shrine, statue and monument to them in gratitude?"

"All right, kids! I'll be back early in the morning! Right after my morning stretches and my morning coffee! Good night! Hope you have wonderful dreams!" ExVeemon flexed his wings, and soared up, leaving some wind fly around, as he flapped his mighty wings, and he returned to his home in the mountain, leaving the young children, and their digimon partners, finding their way to their designated beds.

Dracomon looked at his partner, and smiled, as Kira fell asleep himself.

'I guess he can think of someone other than himself. Hard to believe. I guess he isn't completely insufferable… in his few good moments.' The smile turned into a smirk, as he sighed, and fell asleep himself, putting off the adventure to the following day.


Kira : Ah, Kira. He has a special place. Him and Itachi were initially the main characters of the story, but before, one could have admitted, he may have been a tad overpowered. He would have been far more dramatic, and yet, very Machiavellian, who couldn't give a straight answer even if his life depended on it.

In the beginning, he was more influenced by Ayame and Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket, with a hint of Lelouch mixed in there. He was going to be a brilliant strategist that would match his brother in a battle of wits, manipulating everyone around him for revenge against those that he swore to kill. This was a fairly dark anti-heroic portrayal, and now, it fell through. As with the other Digi-Destined of this fanfic, he would have been a little older, and much more ruthless. He also had a bit of a sadistic side, trolling other characters, with little games. Unfortunately, as much as I loved this version of Kira, it did fall within the realm of Mary Sue/Gary Stu.

After we modernised the characters, after a few years, I saw the flaws and weaknesses within the story I presented, and the character balance. His sadism has been toned down considerably, although he would still find some schadenfreude euphoric when confronted with those he didn't like. His egocentrism and theatricality were altered, as played up for laughs a little, and it turned from a two-faced masked, to quirks in personality. There is less Shigure, and more Ayame in the character. As I rewatched Digimon Season 01 and Tri, I realised that sometimes, you don't need to go over the top on a character. In the end, what he was initially got toned down, and I added some moodiness and hormones to the character.

Kira is now a character with a lot of layers. He is moodier than he was, and his egocentrism is still an important part of his personality. He is now more confused about his place, and is an absolute "No!" child. He can't stand being told what to do, and he rebels horrendously. His hair was a sudden aesthetic choice to make at the last minute, there is a story that will be told about it. Writing him with a temper is definitely a change in what I pictured, but it does add to the personality. In the midst of a rebellion against conformity, he comes across as self-centered, arrogant and a major bully, even if he hates bullies himself. In one way, this adventure is as much a story of redemption as it is for Keramon.

His relationships have been altered. At first, he held contempt for Itachi, but now it's more frigid and dispassionate. He couldn't care less. Michiru was another that he interacted with, but the friendship that was first established remained, but was altered. Now, Michiru acts like the older, more mature of the two boys, and we will see how Michiru's kindness affects Kira's coldness. Sakura was a surprising character to bounce the drama queen's energy off of. She is order, traditional and proper Japanese, and Kira is absolute rebellion against these norms. It was going to happen sooner than later, and it's best to tackle some of these problems early. Kira's relationship with his partner, Dracomon remained very identical to the Digimon's early prototype on the other hand. This will lead Kira in a very different direction overall, then I initially intended it. And I love him far more now, than before.