Good gravy is it late in my time zone. The update's just bearly on time though. :P
I pulled another late nighter on this one, but I'm happy with it. The ending made me smile so i hope you all like it too. I'm tired so I'll make this brief. Please review and tell me what you think!
I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, FRONTIER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
Chapter 14: Fire and Light
Takuya finally emerged from the darkened chamber much to the relief of the other three, but when they saw the flame he was holding in the palm of his hand they stared, not even noticing that the entrance to the Fire Chamber had disappeared.
"Umm… Takuya?" Koji pointed.
"Hmm?" Takuya blinked.
"Your little ball of flame stupid," Davis sighed.
"Oh!" Takuya gasped, shaking the flame off his hand, extinguishing it. "Forgot all about that thing. Ha ha."
"You forgot your hand was on fire?" Koichi chuckled, shaking his head in bewilderment.
Takuya shrugged.
"And who's that?" Koji asked, noticing the small figure standing behind Takuya.
"This is Flamemon," Takuya smiled. "He's my new Digimon partner."
"What?" ExVeemon growled, eyes narrowed at the green eyed little demon clinging to Davis' hand. (Gee. Tell us what you really think of him ExVeemon. :P)
Flamemon ducked back behind Takuya to hide from the heated glare. Koji and Koichi glanced back at ExVeemon, shocked. Takuya seemed to be a little stunned as well by the obvious dislike ExVeemon was expressing towards the poor Rookie.
"ExVeemon, he's my partner," Takuya emphasized, trying to sooth the jealous champion. "Not Davis'. No one could take your place as his partner."
"I think it's time we switched back," Davis stated. "You've had your fun and we got what we needed."
Takuya shrugged and sat down with his back against the now closed chamber door.
Flamemon cocked his head to the side and kneeled down next to his new human partner.
"What are you doing?" the mute Digimon telepathically asked.
"Changing back," Takuya smiled. "It would seem that I've overstayed my welcome in Davis' body."
The other three looked on with confusion as Takuya continued to talk to the seemingly unresponsive Digimon he was "conversing" with.
"You mean you're going away?" Flamemon whimpered. "But we just met!"
"I know, but I'm not really going away," Takuya shook his head. "But this body isn't mine. I have to give it back. Davis and ExVeemon will look after you ok?"
ExVeemon bit back a growl at what this body snatcher was suggesting. Flamemon shivered under ExVeemon's hostile glare but nodded sadly to Takuya.
"Hey," Takuya smiled, taking hold of his new partner's hand. "I know that you've only know me for all of five minutes, but could you do something for me?"
Flamemon nodded vigorously.
"There's not much I can do to help Davis at the moment, so do you think you could help ExVeemon in keeping him safe for me until I can get a body of my own?"
Flamemon nodded firmly.
"Thanks. I know that it's sudden, but I'm counting on you buddy," Takuya grinned before letting go of Flamemon's hand so that he could start relaxing and switch consciousness states with Davis.
Unlike Davis, Takuya had no problem making the spiritual switch. One moment it was Takuya sitting there with his eyes closed as he took in deep calming breaths and the next Davis was opening his eyes.
"Davis?" ExVeemon asked the dazed looking boy.
"Don't worry, it's me… Damn Takuya makes it seem so easy," Davis grumbled before getting up.
Koji and Koichi chuckled, helping Davis when he stumbled to his feet. Davis looked over at Flamemon who was staring at him nervously.
"Hey there," Davis smiled. "So you're Takuya's new Digimon partner huh? I'm his cousin, Davis. It's nice to meet you."
Davis extended his hand out to the Rookie Digimon who took it tentatively.
"Not much of a talker is he?" Koji frowned.
"Oh he can talk," Davis laughed. "Just not out loud. He's incomplete without Agunimon's data. He speaks with Takuya through their spiritual bond as partners or something. According to what Flamemon was telling Takuya earlier he's the Rookie form of the completed Warrior of Flame. BurningGreymon made him out of half of his own data before entering Takuya's D-Tector. In a way he is BurningGreymon."
"Really?" Koichi blinked. "That's BurningGreymon as a Rookie?"
"Hard to believe," Koji mused, staring at the fire Digimon. "He's seems to be pretty shy. BurningGreymon was much more intimidating."
"Give the little guy a break!" Davis frowned. "He was only born like ten minutes ago. He doesn't know any of us either. I'd be pretty nervous too. I was pretty freaked out when I first met Veemon."
"Really?" ExVeemon frowned.
"You were one of the first Digimon I'd ever met," Davis smiled up at his own partner. "I knew what Digimon were because of Takuya's memories, but I'd never thought I'd get to meet one for real, let alone have one for a partner and best friend. It was an entirely new concept for me. Digimon were only creatures that I saw in dreams before I met you."
Davis walked over to his partner and placed a hand on his arm.
"I know you're upset with all that's going on. Things are happening a little too fast, but Flamemon is going to be staying with us from now on," Davis informed his Digimon gently. "Until we find Agunimon, I'm going to be the only one capable of understanding what he says. I'm really going to need your help on this buddy. He's scared right now since it's me and not Takuya that he's with. He's young like you once were and I think he could really use a friend. He doesn't appear to be as excitable around those he doesn't know like you were."
ExVeemon glanced at Flamemon wearily. The rather tall and lanky Rookie did look a little lost now that Davis was back in control of his body and Takuya wasn't "there." ExVeemon sighed and nodded his head. Now he felt bad. It wasn't Flamemon's fault that his so-called partner was a body snatcher. Davis smiled and walked over to Flamemon who was still looking up at ExVeemon nervously.
"Don't mind him," Davis told the Rookie. "He's just a little confused right now. We all are. I'm sure you two will become good friends once things begin to settle down."
Flamemon nodded, cracking a small smile.
"If things ever settle down," Koji sighed. "So what's next? What did BurningGreymon have to say about finding the other spirits?"
"Oh!" Davis gasped. "I almost forgot! He said that the spirits – both human and beast apparently – have hidden themselves away where you guys first found them. We just have to find the current landmarks that exist in this world."
"And how do we go about doing that?" Koji sighed.
"Well… Flame Terminal was buried underneath a desert because of its fire properties that didn't allow anything to grow above ground," Davis mused. "Where were your spirits hidden Koji?"
"Well…" Koji mused, thinking back nine years. "I found my human spirit underground in a cavern not far from Flame Terminal and my beast spirit was hidden away in a sacred statue."
"So which location do we try to locate?" Koichi asked.
"Hmm…" Davis hummed. "Any ideas Takuya?"
The others watched Davis as they waited for an answer that none of them – save for Flamedramon – would be able to hear.
"Well… I suppose we could continue to search the deeper reaches of the ruins for the cavern, but I think that a sacred sight seems like the most logical place to look for Koji's spirits of Light since I doubt that the spirits would want to hide in such close proximity to each other," Takuya stated. "But who really knows? Sometimes the best place to hide is one that seems to be too obvious. I mean, we hid Bokumon's book in Bokumon's house for Pete's sake!"
"Sound about right?" Davis asked Flamemon.
Flamemon nodded.
"What?" Koji frowned.
"Takuya thinks that the most likely place to find your spirits is probably some sacred sight," Davis summarized. "But there's also the chance that your spirits could be found somewhere deeper in Flame Terminal's ruins."
"So do we search here first just to be thorough?" Kochi asked. "I mean, we're already here, aren't we?"
"What time is it?" Koji asked.
Davis reached into his pocket to check the time on his D3, but ended up pulling out Takuya's D-Tector by mistake… and it looked very different than it had earlier. It looked a lot more like Davis' D3, only with a few modifications. It still had the same colors – black with red grips and white buttons – but it was more oval shaped like the D3s. The screen was the same as it had been on the D-Tector model inside the same spike cornered hexagon. Below the screen was a round toggle, like on the D3, but had two buttons in the center. The top of the oval shaped device was flatter and instead of an antenna like the D3, it had a small red square in the right "corner" of the device, meaning that it still had scanning abilities like the D-Tectors. It was a perfect fusion of both digivice models.
"What is that?" Koji gasped.
"Takuya's new digivice," Davis mused with awe.
"Of course!" Koichi cried. "Takuya's got an actual Digimon partner now and would need a new digivice to compensate for the change."
"What I'd like to know is why Takuya would even need a real Digimon for a partner in the first place," Koji sighed. "I mean, he hasn't even got a body of his own. Surely he couldn't be as much help to Flamemon, like you are to ExVeemon. A Digimon needs it's human partner's energy to feed off of to Digivolve right? Or did I misunderstand that part of the conversation last night?"
Davis shook his head.
"No, you're right. We're not sure how the Digimon access our energy to Digivolve and frankly I don't think they know either."
"Nope," ExVeemon confirmed. "All we know is that the stronger the bond is between a Digimon their human partner, the stronger the DigiVolution. That's all Gennai ever told us."
"So it's more of a spiritual connection," Koichi mused. "Maybe Takuya doesn't really need an actual body to help his partner digivolve so long as the bond between them is strong and in tact."
ExVeemon and Flamemon nodded. It sounded right to them.
"That still doesn't answer my question as to why Takuya needs an actual partner at all," Koji pointed out.
"Before BurningGreymon returned half of his spirit to Takuya's D-Tector and used the other half to create Flamemon, he mentioned that you Warrior DigiDestined wouldn't be able to Spirit Evolve in the human world," Davis recalled.
"Why would we need to?" Koji asked.
"Digimon have developed a nasty habit of sneaking into our world lately," Davis laughed. "We're bound to find ourselves battling in our world as well as the Digital World. BurningGreymon sounded pretty sure of this."
"Alright," Koichi mused, "So Takuya was given Flamemon as a way to means to fight in the real world?"
"Yeah," Davis nodded. "That and BurningGreymon gave Takuya the ability to have control over fire."
"What?" Koji and Koichi gasped.
"How else do you think he was able to come out of the Flame Chamber holding a fire ball in his hand without getting burned?" Davis shrugged. "We were both pretty freaked out about it, but apparently it's a gift BurningGreymon has given Takuya. …When it was happening it felt as if Takuya's entire spirit was consumed by fire. Even though I was in the subconscious I could feel it through our mental link. Everything burned… everything hurt… we couldn't breath…"
Davis's eyes became unfocused for a moment as he remembered that feeling of nearly being consumed by fire.
"Are you alright?" ExVeemon demanded.
Davis blinked for a moment before smiling at ExVeemon.
"I'm fine. It was worse for Takuya. I was only feeling what managed to slip through the consciousness barrier."
"Can you use Takuya's new fire wielding abilities?" Koichi asked curiously.
"I doubt it," Davis laughed. "Takuya's the Fire Warrior, not me."
"Have you even tried?" Koji asked.
Davis looked at his hand for a moment and tried imagining the fireball that Takuya had managed to form. He tried – he really did – but Davis just didn't feel any of the warmth in his gut that Takuya had felt. All he could feel was the cold tunnel air and the fatigue his body was beginning to feel again.
"Nope," Davis shook his head with a laugh. "Nothing. Can't say I'm really disappointed though."
Koichi smiled.
"Well are we going to stick around here and look for Koji's spirit or are we heading home?" ExVeemon asked.
Davis looked down at Takuya's D-Tector/D3. The screen told him that it was 11:23 PM.
"Well?" he sighed, looking at the Warrior of Light.
"Might as well take a look around," Koji shrugged. "Tomorrow is Saturday after all, so it's not like we couldn't sleep in after we get back."
"Although I think we should still try to make this quick," Koichi suggested. "Our bed dummies won't be so realistic in the daylight."
Koji and Davis nodded in agreement.
"Well Koji," Davis smiled. "You better lead the way. You'll be the first to know if we're in the right place."
Koji nodded and took point with Koichi right behind him. Davis smiled at Flamemon and waved the Rookie Digimon after Koji so that he could hang back and talk to ExVeemon alone at the back of their small party.
"Are you ok?" Davis asked softly.
"I'm getting there," ExVeemon sighed. "I should be asking you if you're ok."
"I'm fine," Davis smiled. "Better than I have been in a while in fact. …I'm glad that I've finally told others about this. You especially. I've missed you ExVeemon."
"I've missed you too, Davis," ExVeemon smiled.
"Koji?"
ExVeemon and Davis returned their attention back to the front where Koji was now frozen, staring off into space. Koichi was standing next to him looking concerned while Flamemon stood back, looking nervous.
"What's wrong with him?" ExVeemon asked.
"He senses something," Davis gasped, rushing forward. "Koichi back up. Leave Koji alone and wait to see what he does next."
Koichi did as he was told and everyone waited for Koji to move. After a couple long minutes, Koji finally snapped out of his revere and began to wander down a tunnel to their left, taking them down even deeper below ground and further into the ruins. Davis wasn't sure he liked the way the rusted structure creaked and groaned as they made their way down, but he continued to follow Koji who didn't seem to notice. It seemed like they were traveling for hours before Koji finally came to a stop at the edge of an opening where there was a long drop into a large and empty chamber.
"This is it," Koji whispered.
"What?" Koichi blinked. "How can you be sure?"
"He's right," Davis mused as Takuya's memories came flooding to the front of his mind. "Takuya remembers this place."
"If he does then how come Koichi doesn't?" ExVeemon asked.
"…Koichi wasn't with Koji and the others when they first came to the Digital World. He joined them later, like Ken did with us," Davis informed his partner while Takuya relished in the irony of his statement. That comparison was a little too… accurate.
"Wait here," Koji told them just before he jumped down into the chamber.
"Koji!" Koichi gasped, making to follow his twin, but Davis held him back.
"Wait," Davis told him. "This is sacred ground, just like the Fire Chamber was. You set foot in there and you could get hurt. …Especially if you consider what element that you represent."
This last comment was whispered so that only Koichi heard.
Koichi nodded.
The moment Koji touched down the entire space lit up with bright lights streaming through holes in the walls and ceiling. Davis and Koichi had to shield their eyes from the sudden light, but Koji seemed fine. Then again, why wouldn't he be? He was the Warrior of Light. After their eyes adjusted to the light, Koichi and Davis noticed the hole in the center of the room and that Koji was headed straight for it.
Koji stood at the edge for a moment before looking over his shoulder back up at the others. He gave a small smile before facing the hole once again.
"Guess it's time to take a page out of Takuya's book," Koji muttered to himself. "I can't believe I'm doing this…"
Koji closed his eyes and reached out to the powerful source of light he could sense below. He could feel it calling out to him, the warmth of light flickering behind his closed lids. He raised his arms up away from his sides before taking another deep breath and opened his eyes. This was perhaps one of the stupidest things he'd done in eight years…
Koichi and Davis gave out startled cries when Koji suddenly swan dived into the hole.
"Koji!" they gasped, racing forward, but ExVeemon and Flamemon had the sense to grab both boys and pull them back.
"Why did he jump?" Koichi gasped, trying to wrestle out of Flamemon's hold.
Davis had already ceased his struggles, but ExVeemon didn't let him go as a precaution in case Davis was faking him out.
"…Because that's where his spirits are," Davis groaned as one of Takuya's memories flashed through his mind's eye. "Apparently last time Takuya accidentally pushed him in when they were up against a Raremon. Seriously Takuya?"
ExVeemon bit back a chuckle, but Flamemon didn't bother hiding his smile.
"It was an accident!" Takuya protested. "I was trying to keep Tommy safe. I didn't know Koji was behind us!"
Davis groaned. He hoped Koji was all right…
Koji felt exhilarated as he continued to plummet downwards into the darkness below. It was a lot better than last time when he'd been scared stiff after being pushed in and thought he was going to die. Now he reveled in the feeling of free falling. His heart was pounding a mile a minute and he could hear the wind roaring around him. It was after a few minutes of falling that he remembered how insane this was. What on earth had driven him to make such a reckless jump? He'd definitely taken a few pages from Takuya's book of recklessness over the coarse of their friendship. He'd probably given Koichi and Davis heart attacks with the stunt he'd just pulled.
A light suddenly began to shine before him and it made him smile as he felt its warmth. One moment he was falling and the next he was floating in a space where everything around him was pure white. The only thing to really look at was the figure waiting for him.
"Hello Lobomon," Koji smiled.
"Koji," the Human Spirit of Light greeted him. "Are you ready to take up your duties as the Warrior of Light once more?"
"I am," Koji nodded.
"Before I join with you, there are something things that you should know," Lobomon informed Koji. "It concerns your twin and the missing spirit of Agunimon."
"I almost forgot about him," Koji frowned. "Where is Agunimon? …And what does his disappearance apparently have to do with Koichi?"
"Agunimon came to KendoGarurumon and I with the book after he recovered it," Lobomon explained. "It needed to be hidden again, so KendoGarurumon set out with the Human Fire Spirit to find a better hiding place. One that won't be easily reached. I'm happy to say that they've succeeded."
"Alright," Koji nodded. "But what does this have to do with Koichi?"
"Everything," a deep voice answered.
Koji turned around and faced Lobomon's other half: The Light Beast Spirit KendoGarurumon.
"When Agunimon and I hid the book, we enlisted the help of the Spirits of Darkness," KendoGarurumon informed Koji. "It is hidden with them."
"So when we find Koichi's spirits, then we'll find the book," Koji summed up. "…Sorry for questioning you but how does that make reaching the book hard? And where is Agunimon now that the book had been hidden again?"
"He remains with the book as a final defense," KendoGarurumon sighed. "But getting to the book will be impossible until you find Koichi's spirits and he becomes the Warrior of Darkness once more. That's what is so ingenious about the manner of which we've hidden the book. You need both the powers of Light and Darkness to reach it, and even then you'll need to get past Agunimon."
Koji nodded. Sealing the book away with Light and Darkness would make it impossible for any one Digimon to get to it, but…
"Why do I feel like there's a catch?" Koji frowned.
"Because there is, young one," KendoGarurumon barked a laugh. "It won't be so easy to find the Spirits of Darkness. Remember that your twin received his spirits in a different manner than you and the other four children."
"So how do we find them?" Koji asked.
"That is for you to figure out," Lobomon interjected. "It is not our place to inform you where the others are hidden. We can only give you clues."
"Then give me a clue," Koji sighed.
"The Spirits of Darkness are hidden at the place where their element is absolute," Lobomon stated.
"…That's it?" Koji frowned.
"That's it kid," KendoGarurumon rumbled in an amused tone.
Koji shook his head. Spirits.
Lobomon and KendoGarurumon traded smiles before they began to glow.
"Hold out your D-Tector Koji," Lobomon instructed. "We've told you all that we're allowed to, so now it's time for us to resume our positions as your guardian spirits."
Koji did as he was told and fished out his D-Tector, holding it out towards his spirit partners. Lobomon held out his beam sword, pointing it at the D-Tector, reactivating it, making it light up and whistle and beep. It flashed and something shot out of it and into his left pant pocket. Koji was tempted to reach for whatever it was, but decided to focus on Lobomon who'd sheathed his beam sword and was glowing brighter. Kendo Garurumon was also glowing brightly by now to the point that they were both beginning to appear see through like spirits should be, but something was beginning to take shape between them.
Before Koji could ask the Warrior Spirits of Light what was going on it was like the light inside both Lobomon and KendoGarurumon exploded and light was everywhere. Koji couldn't see anything accept white now, and it was so bright that it seared his eyes. He wondered vaguely if he would go blind. Even when he closed his eyes, he couldn't escape the light. He suddenly felt cold. The light may have been everywhere but it was failing to give him the warmth that he usually felt from it. The cold pierced him deeply, to his very core. He cried out, hating the cold, and curled in on himself.
"Don't fight the cold Koji," Lobomon's voice told him softly. "Let it spread. It is to be your inner light."
Koji shivered, but listened to his spirit guardian and forced himself to unfurl.
"Like BurningGreymon gave the power to wield fire to Takuya, we wish to give you a gift as well. The ability to bend light and all it touches to your will," KendoGarurumon's voice announced. "It is a powerful gift and should not be used lightly. Use it well kid."
Then suddenly the light was gone, but before he fell into darkness, Koji saw two large yellow eyes stare at him. They appeared to be full of concern…
Davis and Koichi waited nervously just outside the Light Chamber. Koji had jumped into the hole just a little over half an hour ago.
"Do you think he's alright?" ExVeemon asked Davis.
Davis looked up at Flamemon who still had a firm grip on Koichi's shirt.
Flamemon nodded, a small smile on his face.
"…He's with the Spirits of Light," the tiny voice informed Davis. "I can sense it."
"Flamemon tells me that he can sense Koji with Lobomon and KendoGarurumon right now," Davis informed Koichi gently. "I'm sure he's safe."
Koichi nodded slowly.
"I suppose I would know if something bad had happened," Koichi smiled sadly.
"That your twin-telepathy at work?" Davis grinned.
Koichi actually smiled back at the long-standing joke.
Suddenly Koichi's D-Tector and Takuya's D-Tector/D3 thingy began to beep and light up, the Warrior's symbol for Light glowing brightly in pale blue on their screens.
"Just like that night when Takuya's Warrior of Flame character appeared," Koichi whispered.
An even brighter light suddenly erupted from the hole for a minute before the entire space was plunged into darkness. Davis and Koichi instantly turned on their flashlights and began to wave them about the chamber before picking up Koji's prone figure lying on the chamber floor a few feet from the edge of the hole. But Kouji wasn't alone. There appeared to be a smaller figure lying near Koji, but it was hard to tell in weak beams of the flashlights…
Koji groaned as he forced his eyes open. He was no longer in the white space with Lobomon and KendoGarurumon. He noticed the flickering beams thrown by the others' flashlights that came from above, which told him that he was no longer inside that hole, but back on the surface… or at least where he'd been standing before he'd jumped at any rate.
"Are you alright, Koji?" a soft voice asked from somewhere on his right him.
Koji jumped, letting out a small cry of surprise.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
"Are all you humans going to ask the same questions every time one of us appears?" the voice sighed. "I thought that you were supposed to be intelligent."
"Well I know what you are," Koji frowned. "I figure that you're supposed to be my Digimon partner like Flamemon is Takuya's, but that doesn't answer my question."
"Oh?" the voice chuckled. "So you were asking for my name then?"
"A name would be nice," Koji shrugged. "It's better than calling you 'hey you' or 'that annoying Digimon without a name.'"
"I suppose you have a point," the voice laughed, sounding a lot friendlier that it originally had. "I'm Strabimon."
"Are you a Rookie level Digimon too?" Koji asked.
"I am."
"At least you can speak," Koji sighed.
"Yes, but I'm complete," Strabimon corrected. "It's not Flamemon's fault that he's the way he is. Now are we just going to sit here in the dark or are we going to rejoin your brother and the other three?"
"We'll rejoin the others," Koji sighed, rising to his feet.
"So are we supposed to just follow those pathetic beams of light to them or are you going to give us a better light source so we're not tripping over ourselves?" Strabimon asked, sounding amused. "I know that KendoGarurumon told you not to use your new gift lightly, but I think shedding a little light on this place wouldn't do much harm."
"And how do you suggest that I do that?" Koji snorted. "It's not like I know how you know."
"It should be instinctive and feel natural," Strabimon mused. "Lobomon and KendoGarurumon wouldn't give you a gift that you couldn't use."
Koji sighed before closing his eyes. He realized that he could actually sense where Koichi and Davis were casting the beams of their flashlights. There were warm streams of energy humming around. He could feel one on him now. There was a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, but inside that warmth was a freezing cold lump. Was that it? Lobomon had told him that the cold was his inner light. Should he draw it out? Unable to think of another option Koji focused on that cold lump and drew it into his hands. It froze his fingers and Koji wanted to let it go. It was so cold…
"No, hold onto it," Strabimon's voice instructed inside his mind. "That's your light."
"But it's cold," Koji growled.
"Then warm it up," came the snarky Digimon's reply. "No one said that the Powers of Light would be so easy to wield, you know. It's the strongest power in the universe, perhaps second only to the true Powers of Darkness."
Koji scowled, but calmed down and focused on his now numb hands and the cold feeling that was spreading up his arms. Koji tried to think of all the warm sources of light; the sun, a nice warm fire, a light bulb that had been left on for a while…
"Good," commented a delighted sounding Strabimon. "Now focus that warmth on your hands."
Koji did, thinking of how warm the light chamber had felt before he'd had this "gift" forced upon him. The cold feeling in his hands lessened until the cold lump was simply cool to the touch. His hands were beginning to thaw. He suddenly felt this warmth on his chest and smiled. It was coming from a beam emitting from one of the flashlights. Koji didn't know how, but for some reason he knew that Koichi was on the other end of the light. His brother was still with him and knowing that, he didn't feel cold anymore. Koji opened his eyes and realized that there was an orb of light glowing brightly in his hands.
"Good job. Not bad for your first time. It should be easier from now on. Your first time is usually the hardest."
Koji looked up and got his first look at his new Digimon partner. Strabimon was a purple and white furred humanoid wolf looking Digimon with bright yellow eyes that gleamed with intelligence and good humor. He wore black gloves over his clawed hands and a pair of grey pants clad in black brace belts. The one around his waist had a loose loop on each his hip. A long full purple tail poked out the back of his pants and was now swishing back and forth in mild amusement.
"Like what you see?" the Digimon teased, white teeth gleaming in the light source in Koji's hands.
"Come on," Koji rolled his eyes.
Strabimon smiled before taking off after his human partner. Koichi and Davis stared as they approached and for a moment Koji didn't know what to do with his light source. He needed his hands free if he was going to climb back up… Acting on impulse, Koji gently pushed the orb of light into the air where it hovered above his head, rising slowly until it was suspended high enough to cast it's light around that section of the chamber. Koji then mentally told the light to stay put before he started to climb with Strabimon right behind him. Koichi helped Koji up into the passageway and Flamemon helped Strabimon who smiled up at the fellow Rookie Digimon Warrior. When he was up, Koji called back the light and it melting back into his hands, the cold feeling tingling his fingers momentarily before being flooded with warmth.
"So who's you're new friend?" Koichi asked.
"Strabimon," Koji sighed as he pulled out his own flashlight.
"Does this one talk at least?" ExVeemon asked.
"Of course I do," Strabimon snorted. "And Flamemon will too once we track down Agunimon."
Flamemon smiled brightly at this.
Suddenly Koji and Koichi's cell phones went off.
"Probably Zoe, Tommy and JP," Koichi mused. "My D-Tector went off a moment before you emerged from the hole. The character of for the Warrior of Light was glowing."
"Just like it did with Takuya's huh?" Koji mused.
"If Zoe, Tommy and JP's D-Tectors reacted, then I bet that you're reemergence with the Spirits of Light must have caused an energy serge in the Digital World," Davis frowned.
"Your friend Izzi's computer must be going haywire tonight then," Koichi smiled. "I'm sure that there must have been some kind of reaction earlier when BurningGreymon returned his spirit to Takuya and became Flamemon. It was enough to black out the Flame Chamber."
Strabimon and Flamemon shared a confused look.
"Of course there was a reaction," Strabimon frowned. "Tonight two of the Warriors have been reawakened and that's nothing to sneeze at. …Well… ok, one and a half Warriors. Sorry Flamemon."
The fire Digimon shrugged, taking no offence.
"Well then lets get out of here," Koichi suggested. "There's nothing else left for us to do in the tunnels. Besides, reception appears to be terrible down here. I've only got one bar… Although I bet Zoe, Tommy and JP will continue to try and get a hold of us until we answer."
"You know they will," Koji sighed. "Common. Lets get back to our world. I'd hate to be here when those other friends of yours send in a search party to investigate the crazy light shows going on in the ruins Davis."
"Me either," Davis smiled.
Getting out of the ruins proved to be a slower process. With the two new Rookie Digimon in tow, ExVeemon needed to make two trips when flying up both levels to the surface. It was a quarter after 4:00 when they all finally made it back to the TV that would take them back to the human world. As they got ready to head back, Koji pulled out his D-Tector and realized that it was now the same model as Takuya's new digivice, only white and blue. It was then that he remembered the thing that had been sent to his pocket and pulled it out.
"What's this?" Koji mused, pulling out a rectangular device.
"A D-Terminal," Davis grinned. "Looks like you've got one now too."
"D-Terminal?" Koji and Koichi repeated.
Davis pulled out his own and showed it to them.
"It's a communications device. It's how my team of DigiDestined stay in touch even if we're separated. It also serves as a holder for my Armored Digieggs, but I'll explain about those later."
"Can we go home now?" a tired Veemon asked.
"Sure thing buddy," Davis smiled. "Lets go."
All three humans held up their digivices and were returned to Davis' bedroom. Veemon was DemiVeemon again and Koji and Koichi realized that Flamemon and Strabimon had been reverted to their In-Training levels as well. Strabimon had become Koinumon, a Digimon that looked like a chibi purple and white wolf's head with a fluffy tail. Flamemon had become Flaremon, a tiny Tokomon looking Digimon with orange fur, big green eyes, and a fluffy tail like Koinumon's. The two new In-Training Digimon looked around the space with wide eyes before short attention spans kicked in and they chased each other under the bed, their childish nature kicking in. Not one to be left out of the fun no matter how tired he was, DemiVeemon joined them and soon the room was filled with quiet giggles coming from DemiVeemon and Koinumon, and the occasional scuffling sound.
"Ah geez," Davis sighed. "I forgot what trouble new In-Training Digimon can be. They've got reserves of untapped energy."
Koichi chuckled.
"At least there's a benefit to Flamemon being mute now," Koji rubbed his temples as he plopped onto he makeshift bed. "Lucky you."
"You kidding?" Davis laughed. "With him and DemiVeemon living here, I'll be lucky if they're not caught within the week!"
Koji and Koichi smiled. Then their cell phones went off.
"I'm just going to send them a text telling them to meet with us at the park," Koji sighed. "I'm too tired to deal with Zoe."
"I was just about to suggest the same thing," Koichi smiled. "This way Davis can join us."
"Better tell them not to meet until after noon then," Davis yawned. "Cause I'm not moving from this bed until then."
Koji and Koichi shared another smile before finishing their texts, stating that they'd meet in Shibuya Park at 1:00 PM. The twins and Davis settled into their sheets and had just managed to drift off when three In-Training Digimon decided to emerge from under the bed. Koinumon bounced over to join Koji and buried himself beneath the covers against Koji's chest. Koji frowned for a moment at the offending toddler Digimon for waking him, but soon drifted off once more, holding his new partner close in his sleep. DemiVeemon and Flaremon managed to help each other climb up into Davis's bed.
"He rollsh over in hish shleep so we should shleep right here," DemiVeemon suggested, cuddling up with his new friend beside Davis near the edge of the bed. It seemed that after playing tag and hide-and-seek together under the bed with Koinumon the two Digimon had bonded. DemiVeemon's earlier animosity was forgotten, and a new friendship had formed.
So DemiVeemon is getting along with Flaremon after all. But what about Takuya? Will DemiVeemon's feelings for the Warrior of Flame change? Who knows? You'll have to find out next time on Digimon Digital Monsters!
As a good few of you know I posted a poll about giving the Frontier DigiDestined partners. I was surprised that half of those of you who voted said that the living (in other words everyone but takuya) warrior digidestined shouldn't have partners. Well obviously that's a little moot point now because I obviously went with the 50% who wanted to see Frontier have partners, so I'll be putting up a new poll as soon as i post this. :P Sorry. I was just really surprised. :O
I love Strabimon and Flamemon. They are so cute! If you want to see the adorable pair, I found a cute fan art of them on diviantART by *ashflura that inspired the way I write these two characters. The link can be found on my profile page. It's really cute! ^w^