Woo Hoo! A new chapter so soon after the last one! Yay! And it's a long one too! There's quite a bit of action packed in here, so I hope you all enjoy! I hope I can keep this up in the months leading up to August 1st.
Also, I'm going to be posting a new Digimon story staring Tai this upcoming Odaiba Day/Anniversary and, lucky you, in honor of my 25th birthday today, I've decided to celebrate by giving you guys a summery of said fic and a small preview that can be found after the Author's note at the end of this chapter and at the end of the new Drowning Memories chapter. And they're two different previews even! ;)
I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE, 02, TAMERS, FRONTIER, SAVERS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
Chapter 20: New Players
Frontier Digital World: Location: Flame Terminal
It was in the mid-afternoon that Rikuto and Umi watched in amazement as Yutaka and Shinya use their devices - D-Tectors! They were called D-Tectors, Riku - and transformed back into the Warrior Digimon they had been last night before arriving in the Digital World.
"Now it's your turn," Sorcermon said, turning to face Rikuto and Umi, and proceeded to try teaching them how to do the same. Much to Rikuto's irritation, Umi got it on the first try.
"Ningyomon!" she cried as she came out of the fractal code cocoon.
Her Digimon form had bright aqua blue-green eyes and an elvish looking face complete with pointed ears and skin as pale as alabaster. She had vibrant seaweed green hair pulled back into a long and flowing braid that went all the way down to her waist with lotus flowers and strands of pearls and shells interwoven together in a headpiece atop her head and mingled with the long strands of her hair. Her chest was clad in only a salmon colored shell bra much like Ariel from Disney's Little Mermaid. Her lower half was clad in navy blue form-fitting swim leggings that covered her from the hips to her ankles. Her feet were bare. There was a harness strapped to her back that cross-sheathed a pair of long twin knives so that the handles could be seen over her shoulders. Another, shorter dagger was attached to a belt on her right thigh. Along the outside of the lovely Digimon girl's bare arms there were elegant white markings that twisted and spun out and up along the body. The lines up her arms continued along her shoulders, around her neck like some inked on henna necklace, and up the sides of her neck where they hovered along the edges of her face and at the temples where they flared out across her forehead and around her eyes.
"Wow!" Umi-Ningyomon said as she examined herself, eyes and smile wide, until she spotted her brother and realized he hadn't changed.
"What's wrong, Riku? Why didn't you transform?" she asked.
"Because it didn't work," Rikuto huffed.
"Sometimes it takes a few tries," Mokuseimon piped up. "I'm actually surprised Umi got it on her first try. I got it on my fifth attempt and it took Yutaka ten tries before he got it."
"Thanks, Shinya," Tetsukomon drawled, before turning a soft understanding smile towards Rikuto, broke his Spirit Evolution, and approached. "I think I know what the real problem might be, though. Come take a walk with me," he said to Rikuto, so the other boy followed while Mokuseimon and Ningyomon started sparring.
"Try again," Yutaka said once they were out of sight of the younger two.
Rikuto did, but nothing happened. Again. With a growl he shoved the device into his pocket.
"What are you thinking about when you're trying to transform?" Yutaka asked.
"Wondering what I'll turn into, I guess," Rikuto sighed.
Yutaka nodded. "I couldn't transform at first because I was trying to be too logical about it. I wondered how humans could turn into these Digimon creatures. Sorcermon said I was failing because I was trying to apply logic where there is none. These transformations have nothing to do with our human physics and natural laws. In the Digital World, a Digimon digivolves as a result of a strong will and of its fighting spirit, hence why these transformations are called "Spirit Evolutions." I think that trying to imagine what you're going to turn into is hindering your efforts because you've got this image in your mind and are trying to realize it. You're not letting it just happen naturally."
"Okaaay," Rikuto said. "So what do you suggest? What helped you Spirit Evolve for the first time?"
"I had to remember why I agreed to do this in the first place," Yutaka sighed, looking in the direction they could hear Mokuseimon and Ningyomon sparring under Sorcermon's calm praise and instruction. "I thought about my brother, Tommy, and how much I want to find him and keep him safe, and I thought about Shinya and how much he needs me right now because his older brother is dead and he needs someone to look out for him. You and I are more alike than I think you realize, Rikuto."
The older boy turned his gray-brown gaze on the other. "We're not here for adventure or out of any sense of duty to any world or war. We're older brothers. We're here because we fear what might happen to those closest to us if we're not. You're here because of your little sister, just like I'm here for my little brother."
Rikuto nodded.
"Now try again," Yutaka said, "but this time, close your eyes and stop thinking about what you're going to be turning into, and think about Umi and how much you want to protect her and keep her safe."
Rikuto sighed, but took his D-Tector in hand again. He closed his eyes and listened to Umi-Ningyomon's laugh. When was the last time he'd heard her laugh like that? If this world and these people and Digimon would allow her to keep laughing like that, then it really couldn't be all that bad. He'd just have to make sure to protect her, just like he always had.
"Would you like to have the power to do that?" a voice asked. It was too deep and gravelly to be Yutaka's.
Rikuto thought. "If it'll help me stay by my sister's side, I don't care what I have to do or become."
"Careful, boy," the voice said. "To want the power to protect your loved one does you credit, but take care not to lose yourself in the process. I'm sure your loved one would rather have you as yourself, than have you change so completely that you become unrecognizable even if it was for their sake."
"I understand," Rikuto thought.
"Do you?" the voice asked. "...I guess we shall see. EXECUTE!..."
"SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Rikuto finished, feeling a change come over him. "ISHIMON!"
When he opened his eyes, Yutaka was smiling.
"I knew you could do it," the older boy said. "Third time's the charm."
Yutaka then spirit evolved into Tetsukomon and held up one of his mirror sheilds and allowed Rikuto to see what he looked like as a Digimon for the first time. He was wearing green armor accented with browns and greys that matched his D-Tector. There was a huge double-bladed broadsword strapped across his back but it felt as if it weighed no more than his school backpack on a light workload day. Which was surprising, because the sword was so big it nearly dwarfed him in spite of his new tall stature. On his face, he had one long grey triangle beneath each eye that brought out his new dark green eyes that were very different to the blue-green ones he and his sister had as humans. He had short chestnut brown hair on the sides, but long floppy bangs in the front and a long ponytail in the back. He also had a neatly trimmed goatee and thin mustache. It kind of reminded him of the DC comics Green Arrow superhero.
"Shall we go rejoin the others?" Yutaka-Tetsukomon asked.
"...Yeah," Rikuto-Ishimon sighed.
When they came back into view of the others, Umi-Ningyomon squealed in delight, her elven form moving with amazing swiftness to reach them.
"You look so cool, Riku!" she said, hugging him.
"Uh, thanks," Ishimon said, hugging her back.
"Come on, big brother!" she said, jumping back with a smirk. "We've got a lot to learn."
Then they started sparring and Rikuto marveled at how easy the movements came to him and how easily he wielded his broadsword. It wasn't so easy, however, when he faced Yutaka head on and found out that the other boy had him outclassed.
He and Umi both were as they fell back and broke their Spirit Evolutions, having been soundly beat by the other two.
"I thought you guys said that you'd only been training a couple of days!" Umi complained.
"We have," Shinya said after he reverted back to human form as well. He looked confused.
"Have either of you had previous fighting experience?" Rikuto asked.
"No," Shinya said.
"He's just a fast learner with a lot of exuberance," Yutaka chuckled. "I, however, have several years of Tae Kwon Do training and experience. I'm a first dan rank."
"Jeez, no wonder I lost so badly," Rikuto sighed.
"Don't let that discourage you. You two did well for your first time," Sorcermon commented. "You're both fast learners and will learn to fight just as well as Yutaka and Shinya. You both also bear the burden of being carriers of Spirit Partners that are one of the four main elements, so some aspects of your Digimon forms might be harder for you to master in contrast to Shinya and Yutaka whose spirits of wood and metal are secondary elements."
"Great," Umi pouted, while the boys laughed softly under their breaths.
Just then a loud boom was heard coming from the other side of the forest.
"What was that?!" Rikuto gasped.
"Dunno, but we'd better find out," Yutaka said grimly, spirit evolving once more into Tetsukomon."
Shinya did the same and was Mokuseimon again. Umi looked worried, but she squared her shoulders and became Ningyomon once more too. Rikuto took a deep breath and tried to execute his spirit evolution again. It was easier this time, much to his relief.
The four Legendary Warriors of Wood, Metal, Water and Earth raced through the forest and once they came out on the other side, they saw a tall dinosaur Digimon that reminded Umi and Rikuto of Tai Kamiya's Greymon, only this dino was red with green spines and stripes and didn't have the horned helmet that Greymon had. He was also as tall as Tokyo Tower.
The dino Digimon bellowed an earth shaking roar when it spotted them and Rikuto had a very sinking feeling that he'd never be able to watch the Jurassic Park movies again after this.
"It's a Tyranomon. He's huge! Huh? Taka, look at his eyes!" Mokuseimon cried.
"What's wrong with them?" Ningyomon asked.
"They're red," Tetsukomon answered. "Normally they're blue. The few Tyranomon we've met were also a lot smaller than this guy."
"This is not good," Sorcermon said, as he eyed the dino in front of him. "Something is very wrong with him. Unnatural forces have made him this way. I sense it's coming from that ring around the base of his tail."
"Ring?" the four Warriors repeated, before spotting the black ring far along it's tail where it was about a meter away from it's rear.
"So what should we do?" Mokuseimon asked.
"Break the ring and you may be able to return him to normal," Sorcermon instructed.
"Got it," Tetsukomon said. "Alright, let's be smart about this. Mokuseimon and Ningyomon are the fastest. You two distract him and try to lead him away from Flame Terminal and the forest, but keep your distance. Try to use your long range attacks only. Ishimon and I'll sneak around behind him and try to destroy the ring."
"Right!" the younger two Warriors cheered but before they could take off, Ishimon butted in with a fair question.
"But what if the distraction doesn't work, or if one of them gets hurt?" Ishimon asked.
"Then you and I'll do our best to keep him away from them and our roles will reverse themselves," Tetsukomon said.
"And Sorcermon?" Mokuseimon asked.
"I'll head back to the village and warn them just in case you are unsuccessful in diverting Tyranomon from his current course," Sorcermon said.
"Alright," Tetsukomon agreed before addressing the others. "Now let's go before he can get any further."
Mokuseimon and Ningyomon took off, their lighter and faster forms allowing them to reach the dino before Tetsukomon and Ishimon were even halfway there.
"Water Funnel!" Ningyomon cried as she sent a powerful jet of water into Tyrannomon's face. He roared and shook his head, trying to get water out of his eyes.
"Splinter Arrow!" Mokuseimon shouted, launching a large arrow from his bow that splintered apart into several smaller arrows that rained down on the wet dino.
"RUN!" they shrieked as they Tyrannomon bellowed in rage and took off after the two that had attacked him.
"Our turn," Tetsukomon panted when he and Ishimon finally caught up and went after the ring on the enraged dino's tail.
"Easier said than done!" Ishimon growled as he had to duck under the tip of Tyranomon's tail as it lashed agitatedly while he ran.
"Watch it!" Tetsukomon cried, jumping over the tail when it made a low sweep.
"Why do I feel like we got the worst job in your plan?" Ishimon snapped.
"Would you rather Umi and Shinya do this?"
Ishimon growled, but didn't complain after that, though he did curse up a storm when Tyranomon started weaving, making dodging the tail even more difficult.
Ningyomon and Mokuseimon were now leading Tyranomon through a gorge, leaping along ledges and across cliff faces. They'd realized that if they'd continued the chase out on open ground, than their heavier armored teammates would wear out before they even got a chance to destroy the ring. They reached a dead end and did their best to stay out of Tyranomon's reach, darting among the higher cliffs that were only just out of the red lizard's snapping jaws' reach.
Ishimon and Tetsukomon took a moment to figure out how to go about attacking the ring. It's placement on it's tail made it tricky to get at. The moment they attacked, Tyranomon would know they were there and could very well turn its attention onto them.
"We need to make this count," Tetsukomon said. "If we miss the ring, but still hit him, we might very well end up squashed."
"So let's not miss," Ishimon said. "You go high, I go low?"
"Sounds good to me," Tetsukomon said, before launching himself up along the cliffs until he was about waist high on the dino. Ishimon kept to the shadows on the opposite end of the gorge from him. Once they were in position they awaited their chance to strike.
"Riku and Yutaka need us to keep him still!" Ningyomon shouted over at the Warrior of Wood. "You ready?"
"Yup!" Mokuseimon cried, giving her a thumbs up before attacking. "Vine Net!"
"Draining Rain!" Ningyomon cried, conjuring a dark cloud and let it pour on the dino.
Tyrannomon bellowed and roared, trying to throw off the net Mokuseimon had summoned, but Ningyomon's rain was weakening him.
"NOW TAKA!"
"NOW RIKU!"
Ishimon and Tetsukomon were on Tyranomon in a flash, the Metal Warrior leaping down from above, his swords slashing down, flashing in the fading evening light, while Ishimon darted forward and swung his broadsword up. Their combined attacks managed to crack the ring, but not sever it.
"Crap," the Warriors of Earth and Steel thought as they quickly darted away from Tyranomon before his tail could flatten them. Tyrannomon threw off Mokuseimon's net, and sent a fireball at Ningyomon's cloud, vaporizing it, before turning on the pests running around under its feet. Mokuseimon and Ningyomon darted away from the flailing tail that made their current footholds too treacherous to stay on.
"Sooo… What's plan B?" Ningyomon asked, voice shaking as the terrifying and thoroughly ticked off Digimon in front of them roared.
"We try again," Tetsukomon said, speaking to them all through their D-Tector. "Are you two fine up there?"
"Peachy," Mokuseimon huffed. "You?"
"Managing," Ishimon grunted, jumping to avoid Tyranomon's snapping jaws.
Having so many opponents, Tyranomon seemed to be trying to bring the gorge down around them, lashing out with it's tail.
"Guys, we have to stop him soon or we're going to get crushed," Tetsukomon said, doing his best to avoid falling rocks as well as the tail and jaws.
"How?" Ningyomon cried, "We're kinda running out of cliff space up here!"
"You two will attack at the same time again," Tetsukomon said, "and Ishimon and I'll take another crack at the ring. Ready?"
"READY!" Mokuseimon and Ningyomon shouted before trying their Vine Net and Draining Rain attacks, slowing Tyranomon down enough to allow Ishimon and Tetsukomon to attack the ring again. This time their blows were met with success and the ring shattered. Tyrannomon let out one last roar before he shrank to about 1/3rd in size and his eyes turned blue. He let out a groan before falling back onto his rear.
Tamers Digital World: Location: Level 3 - Pueblo City
"I see," GrapLeomon said, looking around at the three humans and the large group of Digimon accompanying them. "Then my people and I will do our best to aid you in your quest. I shall ask around for volunteer Digimon and we will find this lock you seek. From your descriptions of the other two locks you have come across, I believe that our best bet would be to search around the highest level of our city. There are three towers that go up beyond the canyon our city sits in that have become inaccessible as of late."
"Thank you," Alice said, bowing her head in gratitude. "We appreciate any help you can give us."
GrapLeomon nodded and then organized his level's volunteers into three groups, each deployed with a couple of Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon to help sniff things out. Alice felt sad watching the dog Digimon, particularly the Dobermon, and Minami had similar feelings upon seeing the Labramon, which was apparently the rookie level of Seasarmon as well as Dobermon. Alice's group had GrapLeomon and a flock of Hawkmon and Biyomon. Minami's group had Palmon and Agumon, and Kai's group had Armadillomon and Veemon. They all split up to search one of the three towers each that GrapLeomon had spoken of and went to investigate their surroundings.
Alice and her group had the first tower. It was stationed at the far end of the city opposite of the opening in the tunnels they'd exited earlier that day. The Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon sniffed around while the Hawkmon and Biyomon flew around the tower to see if they could find anything. GrapLeomon and Alice looked at ground level, trying to find any sort of hidden switch or lever on the tower or in the surrounding buildings. They must have searched for hours before determining that nothing was to be found on their tower.
Minami's group wasn't having much luck either. The Palmon had scaled every reachable inch of the tower and had found nothing. The Agumon had helped search the ground level and the Labramon, Dobermon and Cerberumon hadn't found a thing. Kai's group had discovered nothing as well, even with the Armadillomon burrowing under to find anything.
"Now what?" Kai asked once everyone was gathered together again in the meeting hall in the center of the city.
"We'll have to look elsewhere," Alice sighed, before turning to GrapLeomon. "Are there any strange tunnels that we might want to look at?"
GrapLeomon frowned, thinking deeply before addressing the Dobermon and Cerberumon. "You patrol these tunnels. Has there been anything strange going on?"
"Not that we've come across," the pack leader answered.
"But what about Drimogemon?" a Dobermon piped up. He was a lot smaller than some of the others, meaning that he had recently digivolved in comparison to his fellows.
"What about Drimogemon, little one?" GrapLeomon asked.
"He said that the ground felt funny somewhere," Dobermon explained. "Said he didn't want to tunnel near it."
"Which Drimogemon was this?" GrapLeomon asked.
"The one that likes to dig south of the city," the little dog answered.
GrapLeomon looked consideringly at the Dobermon before nodding. "Then let's go see what he has to say."
Everyone got up and followed GrapLeomon back towards the tunnels and after a little travel came upon a Drimogemon.
"Drimogemon!" GrapLeomon called out. "We wish to speak with you."
"Yes, GrapLeomon?" the mole Digimon asked, backing out of the hole he'd been digging.
"This young Dobermon said that you came across some ground that felt strange to you," GrapLeomon said. "Could you please elaborate what you meant?"
"What? That? It was nothing," Drimogemon said. "The ground vibrated with an energy I didn't fancy running into. Nothing like getting a shock through the drill, ya know? It's bad enough running into the odd large rock. Now that'll give you a headache."
"Indeed," GrapLeomon said, "but pray tell, where was this spot?"
"Why do you wish to know?" Drimogemon asked.
"We're looking for the lock to the next level. We're looking into anything strange that may be going on in the area. Was this spot you found always like that or was it just a recent development?" Alice asked.
"Recent," Drimogemon said slowly. "I've always enjoyed tunneling around this sector, but I'm sure that this spot wasn't around before the lockdown."
"Are you aware of a path up to the next level that is now closed off in that area?" Minami asked.
"Hmm… Now that you mention it, there used to be the lift," Drimogemon said. "But a lot of the tunnels surrounding it collapsed when the lockdown happened. That's why I've been going back and re-digging a lot of my old tunnels."
"Could that be it?" Kai asked Alice.
"It has to be," Alice mused. "The collapsed tunnels are more than enough to seal off a level. Not every lock might be activated by a switch like the first two. I think it all depends on the level itself."
"We'll need a tunneling team, though, if we want to reach it," Minami said.
"Leave that to us," GrapLeomon said before readdressing the Drimogemon. "Get some of your tunneling friends that'll help us dig up these tunnels. It is imperative that the humans continue with their quest to reach the Sovereign. Your help will be most appreciated."
"Oh course!" the Drimogemon cried before taking off back down his tunnel, presumably to get more of his kind.
"So what now?" Kai asked.
"Now we wait and rest, human," GrapLeomon said. "There'll be plenty more work to do when Drimogemon returns, but for now, I suggest we take a break. Who knows how long it'll be before we find that lock of yours."
"He's right," Alice sighed, sitting down on the floor. "We could all use some rest since our last rest break was interrupted."
"Right," Kai huffed, eyeing the Cerberumon who only stared defiantly back.
"Come on, Kai," Minami said softly. "They were just protecting their home. Let's get some sleep. I doubt we'll be able to once Drimogemon returns and starts digging again."
"Fine," Kai huffed, sitting down beside her and conking out within seconds.
"Jeez, that was fast," Alice chuckled.
"He can sleep just about anywhere," Minami giggled softly. "And apparently so can his new partner."
Monochromon was sleeping just a couple of meters away, with the platoon of Gekomon sleeping on his back and a few other digimon curled up beside him.
"We should sleep as well," Alice said, sitting on Minami's other side and leaned back against the tunnel wall.
Within minutes, she was asleep too and Minami not far behind. While the three humans slept, GrapLeomon ordered the Dobermon and Cerberumon to patrol the area and had the Labramon keep an eye out for Drimogemon and his friends.
Adventure Digital World: Location: Gennai's Base
It was around midnight on the base and nearly everyone was sleeping except for the few parents that had volunteered to stay up and keep watch on the children so that if something happened, the others could be awoken quickly. Susumu Kamiya was on monitor duty with Nancy Takaishi and Dan Motomiya. They were scheduled to continue monitoring until 2 AM when they'd be replaced by James Kido, Toshiko Takenouchi, and Masami Izumi.
It was a boring job most nights - not that Susumu was complaining, mind you, because boring nights were good and safe nights for their children - but Susumu figured something was going to happen when TK and Koichi moved away from their post and approached Ken and Ryo's.
Susumu turned on the audio at his station and listened in.
"What's up?" Ken asked.
"Koichi senses something coming from one of the tunnels," TK said.
"Do you think it's an enemy Digimon?" Tai's voice asked.
Susumu looked at his son's channel and realized that his son must have settled down near Ken and Ryo's guard post after they'd relieved him a half hour ago, but hadn't fallen asleep yet.
"No," the Koichi boy said, "I sense no malice or evil intent, but if there are tunnelers working in this area, it couldn't hurt to see how far off they are in case we need to move campsites, or see what they know about any enemy Digimon in the area."
"We're just going to go check it out," TK reassured them. "I'll let you guys know what we find via the D-Terminal."
"Alright." Ken nodded.
"Be careful you two," Ryo warned.
"We will," Koichi said, smiling. "After all, we've got Patamon with us."
"Leave it to me!" Patamon stated, thumping his chest.
"All the same, Patamon, I think Agumon and I'd better go with you three," Tai sighed, turning to wake his Digimon. "Your brothers would kill me if anything happened to you two."
Uneasy chuckles echoed through the speakers. Susumu frowned.
"I don't like that one bit," Nancy said from her station a couple monitors away from his.
"Neither do I," Susumu said, watching his son, Nancy's youngest, and the other boy move away from the others.
"Should I wake the others?" Dan asked.
"My wife, maybe," Susumu mused, watching.
"And Hiroaki as well," Nancy said. "But I see no need to wake any of the others yet."
Dan nodded and left his station of monitors to go wake up Yuuko and Hiroaki. When he came back with them, the other four that made up Hiroaki's DigiDestined team and their partner Digimon were with them as well as the three who were supposed to take over the next watch.
"What's going on?" Yuuko asked. "Dear?"
Before Susumu could answer he heard the kids speaking and only turned up the volume on the speakers in answer. Nancy pulled up Tai, TK, and Koichi's channels on the main viewing monitors, so that everyone could see.
The boys were turning around another bend in the tunnel but torchlight was just too dim for the parents to make out what the children were seeing. Most of the time, the channels were focused on their children's front view from the chest up, but on occasion, especially when something was going on, like a battle or they were conversing with someone or Digimon that weren't their partners, the shot panned around them and provide its viewers with over the shoulder shots, like it was doing now, but at all times the camera always showed some part of it's staring child.
"It's just a Drimogemon," Koichi sighed, sounding relieved.
"Are you sure about that?" a feminine voice giggled.
The parents were on alert in an instant as the dark shape that they'd barely been able to see suddenly moved and stared at them with beady glossed over eyes. The quality of the camera shots suddenly improved, like someone had turned on the night vision.
"Gottcha," the voice giggled again and from behind the mole Digimon, Paressemon appeared. "Time for you to take a little stroll with me, my dear Warrior of Darkness."
"Damn," Dan muttered, "I'm waking the others."
"Gabumon, go find Gennai," Hiroaki ordered and the wolf-like Digimon raced off as well.
No one stopped either of them as they raced out of the room with Toshiko right behind Dan.
"I don't think so," Tai said grimly, placing himself between the Zaigou and Koichi. TK moved to do the same.
"Well I do," Paressemon said darkly and reached out her hand towards Koichi. "Come with me, Dark, and I promise that your friends won't get hurt. I'll even give them the means to leave these tunnels unharmed and reach Netsusa without any detours or interference from the other Zaigou. I give you my word like I did back in the western forest."
"What do you want with him?" TK demanded.
"That is none of your concern," she said breezily.
"Sorry, but no," Tai stated with finality.
"I'll be fine, Tai," Koichi said, placing a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "She won't hurt me."
"I won't," Paressemon said, grinning. "I'll promise you that too if you'd like."
It was at this moment that the other families came hurrying into the room in various states of dress.
"I'm sorry, Koichi, but I can't let you do that," Tai said, ignoring the Zaigou. "We've already lost one member of the DigiDestined and I won't stand by and let another one go without a fight. Think about Koji. He's still distraught over losing Takuya. What do you think your disappearance will do to him even if she doesn't hurt you?"
Koichi remained silent and Paressemon glared angrily at Tai. Susumu didn't like that look at all. While he was tremendously proud of his son for being such a strong leader for all of their kids, he worried for Tai's own well being.
"You said that you wouldn't stand by and let him go, didn't you?" she asked coldly.
"That's right." Tai nodded.
"Then how about you kneel!" she snarled and with a snap of her fingers the mole Digimon lunged forward, the drill on its nose buzzing loudly and ominously through the speakers.
Agumon and Patamon leaped into action, Patamon digivolving into Angemon before they took on Drimogemon, but Paressemon darted past them and with a swipe of her hand she sent Tai flying into a wall. He slid to the ground winded and looking dazed.
"Tai!" Susumu and Yuuko cried out in unison with TK, but while their attention was on their son, Nancy and Hiroaki were watching their youngest as he came face to face with the teenage Zaigou. Then Koichi suddenly crumpled behind TK in a heap and his channel blacked out, leaving only Tai's slightly staticy one and TK's. TK threw out his arms but Paressemon only seemed to be amused by the action.
"TK!" Angemon could be heard crying out, followed by the shrill cry of the Drimogemon.
There was a small gasp followed by a thud, but with Tai's channel focused on where the boy was trying to get up, using the tunnel's wall for support, and TK's was focused on him and Paressemon, so the parents couldn't see how the Digimon fight was going. They could still hear Angemon fighting but no one could hear Agumon. They could only assume that the small dino had been knocked out.
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to leave Koichi alone with you or any of the other Zaigou," TK swore aloud.
"TK!" Angemon cried out again, sounding desperate, but he didn't appear on either channel.
"Is that so?" Paressemon said, smiling sweetly. "Then you leave me no choice. I'll have to take you as well."
"No!" Tai's voice cried out hoarsely in unison with Angemon's, and TK's parents.
TK, however, stared fiercely at Paressemon, his feet stubbornly planting him between her and Koichi. Her smile only widened as she reached out towards him and with a gentle pushing motion, something must have pulsed through the air and struck him. TK cried out loudly, and Nancy and Hiroaki shouted his name as they watched him fall to the ground next to Koichi. His channel was staticy, but everyone could see TK reach out his hand and grip Koichi's.
"I won't let anything happen to you… my friend," they heard TK promise under his breath before his channel blacked out as well.
Nancy let out a distressed sob before falling back against Hiroaki.
"Calm yourselves," Gennai said, announcing his arrival with Gabumon who hurried to Hiroaki's side. "Matt is on his way with backup."
Susumu, Hiroaki, Nancy, and the others returned their attention while Gennai removed TK and Koichi's channels and replaced them with Koji, Matt, Ken and Ryo's channels.
"TK's cries must have echoed throughout the tunnel and woke up many of the sleeping DigiDestined back at camp," Gennai explained, and the parents could see on some of the other monitors that most of their children were awake now as well while Koji and Matt rushed off with Ken and Ryo and their Digimon. Gennai had their channel volumes lowered so that Tai's could be heard clearly.
"How sweet," Paressemon's voice sighed, while Tai took up the same defensive position as TK had before the two fallen boys.
"Out of my way," Paressemon ordered.
"Over my dead body," Tai panted, sending chills down his parent's spines.
"Humans are such silly creatures," she sighed. "But if you insist-!"
Paressemon lunged forward again, but instead of simply swatting him away like she had last time she suddenly had a dagger in hand and slashed at him across the chest. Tai stumbled back and had no time to ward off her follow up attack. She slashed at him again in a series of swipes, grazing his right cheek, left temple and nicking his right shoulder before sliding the long blade home into the center of his chest deep enough that the tip could be seen poking out of his back. Time seemed to stop as the parents stared at the scene, Tai's screen fading into static so bad that they could hardly see anything, but the audio was still clear enough for them to hear Tai's ragged breaths.
"I was careful to make clean cuts and pierce you just below your heart," Paressemon said in a low voice. "You should still be alive by the time the others reach you. I just hope your medic knows enough about crystal healing to save you. I'd hate to have you die by my hands, DigiDestined of Courage. It is an unfit death for one as noble as yourself. I do not relish in killing like all of the other Zaigou, so know that I do not take this action against you lightly. We both know that I wouldn't have been able to take Dark and his friend with you in the way. I hope that one day you will come to forgive me."
Angemon could faintly be heard crying out in frustration in his fight with Drimogemon but otherwise it was quiet aside from Tai's pained and panting breaths until the Zaigou spoke again.
"I do promise you, young man, that no harm will befall these two boys. I swear on my life that you will find them safely again in the desert city of Netsusa. Take this orb and it will not only guide you all safely there, but it will also warn you if any of the other Zaigou are nearby. It will glow whenever one is close like it is doing now with me here."
Tai's channel was darkening beneath all the static, so they couldn't see this orb she was talking about, but there was a slight rustling sound of fabric before she spoke again.
"I am sorry," she told Tai before there was a sound that sounded like snapping fingers, before another voice spoke.
"My Lady?" it hissed.
"Take the boys," Paressemon ordered.
"As you wish," it said before Angemon let out another anguished and desperate cry.
"Farewell, DigiDestined of Courage," Paressemon said softly. "I do hope we meet again under different circumstances."
It was unnervingly quiet apart from Tai's panting breaths and the sound of Angemon's fight for the next couple of minutes before Tai let out a cry of pain and his channel staticed so badly even the audio was cutting out.
"I really am sorry," Paressemon's distorted voice gasped. "Drimogemon! We are leaving."
There was another faint snapping sound and then Angemon let out what must have been a roar of anger before it finally cut out and nothing but dark snow could be seen on Tai's channel.
Yuuko let out an anguished wail, completely collapsing as her legs gave out underneath her. Susumu tried to support her but her dead weight dragged him to the ground as well. He felt utterly numb and helpless as his eyes remained on his son's channel. Nancy and Hiroaki made their way over and kneeled next to them.
"Where are Matt and the others?" Nancy asked softly.
"Still on their way," Dan Motomiya reported grimly. "They should be getting close now.
"There!" Jun Motomiya shouted, and soon the audio from Matt and the other three boys channels were turned up.
"Angemon!" Matt's voice cried out "Are you hurt?! You're bleeding! Where's TK?"
Many of the parents gasped as they took in the sight of Angemon with an unconscious Agumon tucked under one arm while he supported Tai, who was covered in blood, in the other.
"It's not my blood. I'm not even sure if Digimon can bleed," Angemon gasped as he fell to his knees, dropping Agumon in the process. The small yellow dinosaur Digimon groaned and began to stir. Gabumon rushed over to his side friend's side while Matt approached Angemon's bleeding cargo and looked horrified.
"Tai?" Matt gasped. "Oh God, what happened to him?!"
He took Tai from Angemon and the moment he did, Angemon reverted back into Patamon and collapsed. Ken picked up the little Digimon and Ryo saw to Agumon. Koji remained beside Matt, looking shocked, to see the older boy injured. Tai's breathing was shallow but he must have been consciousness enough to speak.
"Matt," he rasped.
Yuuko let out another sob, trembling so hard, Susumu attempted to hold her tighter against him. Nancy was on his other side, hugging her tightly as well.
"I'm here, Tai!" Matt cried, holding his best friend close. "I'm right here. Koji, Ken, and Ryo are here too. We're going to get you to Joe. Everything is going to be alright, Tai, so stay with me, ok?"
"I'm… sorry," Tai coughed. "I'm so… sorry. I… couldn't …stop her. She…s got… them. TK and …Koichi."
"Don't talk," Matt and Koji both ordered.
Tai had a round of wet sounding coughs and the parents knew that Matt didn't have much time if he was going to save him. Koji took out his D-Tector and became KendoGarurumon.
"Let's go," the transformed human-digimon barked.
Matt wasted no time boarding KendoGarurumon's back and with Ryo and Ken's help, they got Tai up as quickly and smoothly as possible. They all rushed back the their camp and when they got there all of the other children were awake and in an uproar. As they rushed in, it became deathly quiet until Kari could be heard screaming when she must have seen Matt dismount KendoGarurumon with her brother.
"TAI!" she cried, but on her channel the parents could see Sora and Yolei holding her back to allow Joe to rush forward with his medical kit in hand with that JP boy right behind him. A space was cleared and Joe ordered the others around for things like spare blankets and bowls of water.
The tension in the monitoring room was palpable as the parents watched Joe's channel while he worked on Tai. Hours passed as Joe worked relentlessly to help the younger teen. Yuuko was finally moved from the floor and was now curled up with Susumu and Nancy on a couch the others had brought in for her from one of their lounge areas. When Joe finally took a break, Tai's channel had cleared enough to see him on it, though it was still staticy like a channel coming in through a bad broadcast connection. Everyone sighed with relief when Joe reported to Matt and Koji that Tai was clear and would make a full recovery in time.
"Good boy," James Kido sighed, sitting back heavily in his chair. "Good boy, Joe. You did good."
His eldest son, Jim, was sitting across the conference table from him nodding.
"I just wish there was something I could do," Jim whispered.
"You and me both," Jun Motomiya said, taking the seat next to him. "I hate feeling so helpless. What if that had been Davis? We've never really got along, but…"
"I hear ya," Mantarou Inoue said as he and his two sisters, Chizuru and Momoe, joined them. "That's our baby sister out there too."
"I hate being cooped up in here, being unable to do anything other than watch," Momoe growled, Chizuru nodding, making her short hair bob.
"But what can we do?" Jim asked, looking around. "It's not like we're DigiDestined like they are, or even like how Mr. Ishida and his friends are."
"Would you like to be?" someone asked.
The four teenagers (and young adult) jumped in their seats before facing Gennai.
"What are you saying?" Jun asked.
"Would you be interested in becoming DigiDestined?" the digital man asked. "You young men are a bit on the older end of the scale, but I think we can manage something."
"Wait," Montarou said, "are you saying we can become DigiDestined like their brothers and our sister?"
"Perhaps not quite like them," the digital man mused. "No one else can possess the powers of Joe's Crest of Reliability, or can use the Digi-eggs of Love and Sincerity like Yolei except perhaps those already on her team, but we can certainly give you a partner Digimon of your own. Interested?"
The teenagers shared a look between them all before Jim stood.
"I'm in," he declared, much to the surprise of his father. "Joe's been doing greet as he is, but I can't help but worry for my little brother. If I can go, than I will."
"Me too," Jun cried, jumping to her feet too. "Davis and I may not get along all that well, but I'm still his big sister and I care about the idiot."
Montarou and his sisters looked at each other before glancing at their parents who were staring with all the others at them.
"Together?" Chizuru asked.
"Well you're not going alone," Montarou scoffed.
"For Yolei," Momoe said before standing and saying, "We're in too."
"Is that wise, Gennai?" Hiroaki asked. "To bring new DigiDestined into this?"
"You and your friends are going to need help," Gennai said, "and the more of you we can send, the better chance we have of helping Tai and the rest of them in that other world."
"You speak as if we're going to wind up in that other world too," Saito said from where his group of adult DigiDestined were gathered around Hiroaki.
"You might not have a choice in that," Gennai said grimly. "If we cannot bring the children home from here, then it is only natural that someone must be sent there to help open a gateway between our worlds."
Saito and his wife shared a worried look.
"We came to help get Hiro's sons and the other children back," Yumi said, "but I never thought we might have to actually go where they were."
"Indeed," Hiroaki sighed. "But if that's what must be done, I understand if the rest of you stay after we clear up the communication and travel issues here and head home to your own families."
"Now wait just a damn minute, Ishida," Yumi snapped. "I didn't say that."
"She's right," Saito said, as firm as his wife. "We came to help you get your sons back and that's just what we're going to do. You're not in this alone, Hiro."
"Sai's right," Haru piped up. "We're a team."
"And I have no wife and kids back on Earth anyway," Keisuke said. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Hiro."
"You can't get rid of any of us," Saito said. "Sure, we might miss our families, and it might take a while longer for us to see them again, but at least we know they are safe. Your boys aren't though. That's why we're here, and we're not going home until they are."
Hiroaki smiled and nodded. Nancy teared up a bit and whispered a soft "thank you" under her breath.
"But, getting back to the original point," Hiroaki said, turning to the young adults before him, "are you five sure that you want to do this? Are you really prepared for the responsibilities of a DigiDestined? Are you prepared to go to other worlds and fight their battles because you're part of a team that may be the only one that can do it? Are you prepared to deal with this world's problems as they arise and even be summoned away from home without even a moment's notice, like the others were?"
Jun, Jim, Mantarou, Chizuru and Momoe looked around at each other, concern and worry on their faces. Then Jim squared his shoulders and nodded.
"Are you sure, Jim?" James asked his eldest son.
"As sure as I can be," Jim said. "All I know is that at the rate the injuries have been happening, Joe is going to need help. Even though I switched majors from medicine to theology, I still have medical training and can be of help. There are so many kids over there and Joe's had to be medically responsible for all of them. Sure, that JP kid can help out now, but that's still only two medics among such a large group. Sorry, Dad, but I'm going if I can."
"Jun?" Dan said when he noticed his daughter moving to stand beside Jim once more.
"I may not be able to be as useful as Jim," she said, "but I still want to help. I can't just sit here and watch Davis and the others go through this nightmare of a trip. I can't even begin to tell you how many times over the last year that I've wished that I had a Digimon of my own so that I can go on adventures with Davis and his friends and I know now that it's not all just fun and games, but I still wish for a partner of my own. Not just a partner for a friend or to go on adventures, but to help them. So if I can… I will."
"We feel the same," Montarou said as he and his sisters faced their parents. "We don't want to go, but if we can find Yolei and bring her home, then we're going to do it. That's why we came to this world, right? And now that we have a chance to do that, are you really going to stop us?"
"Please understand," Momoe implored.
"You can't say that if the positions were reversed that you'd say no," Chizuru argued. "Wouldn't you leave and join the fight if you could just for Yolei?"
The Inoue parents looked down, knowing that they couldn't argue with their children's logic.
"If this matter is settled," Gennai said, "then come with me."
The five youths nodded and followed the digital man out of the room with Hiroaki and his team moving to follow as well.
"Wait!" Mike Inoue said, halting Hiroaki's movement. "Will you look after them? Will you keep our son and our daughters safe?"
"We'll do all that we can," Saito said, his expression serious. "Nothing is ever for certain in Digiworld, but you have our solemn promise that the five of us will be there for them."
"Especially if we end up having to travel to that other world," Hiroaki vowed turning his gaze to the screen where TK's channel was still blacked out and Tai's was still coming in fuzzy. He then turned away and led his team after Gennai.
It looks like the new Warriors are off to a great start as a team, but what was up with that black ring on Tyranomon? And will Alice, Kai and Minami discover the way to the next level buried in those tunnels as they hope? And who will Jim, Jun, Montarou, Momoe, and Chizuru have as partners? I guess we'll find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!
Sorry guys, no Savers/Data Squad part this chapter. Masaru is just kinda hanging out with family and old friends while the smart people get their gear together and there wasn't much I could write about that that couldn't be summarized in the next big part anyway, so I left it out. Besides, this is a super long chapter. The longest I've ever written for this story, I think. I'm also sorry that the Tamers part was so short compared to the others, but this is all happening in the evening to early morning hours and there's not much they can do until after they rest. If you think about it, they haven't really had a chance to sleep since before the Cerberumon attacked them a couple chapters ago. They'll get a bigger part next chapter, promise. :)
ALRIGHTY! So, as I said at the beginning of the chapter, I started working on a new Digimon story. Recently, I watched the entire Digimon Fusion (Xros Wars) series on Netflix and then Hunters part of the series (in japanese with english subs of course) on my computer, and then watched the 3 available Digimon Tri movies/episodes for the first time and was inspired by what was going on with Tai's character and his situation in the first part/episode of the series and this fic was born. I ended up writing 1 1/2 chapters in one evening equaling 22 pages total on Google Docs. I have yet to decided if I want this story to be part of the UGotD verse, or if I want it to be it's own thing. I also haven't really decided if I want to use English dub or original Japanese names or a mix of both (like I am for PM and UGotD) in this, so even though I'm using a mix of both names in this preview, they are possibly going to change by the time I get around to posting the first full and official chapter, but here's a summery of what my new story is going to be about:
Tai Kamiya is nearing the end of his last year in high school and isn't sure what he wants to do with his life after graduation. The other DigiDestined have all seemed to grow up and are following their own paths, but Tai feels stuck and isn't quite ready to let his childhood go - at least, not the DigiDestined part of it that links him to the Digital World and the Digimon. Then one day he gets a job offer he knows he can't refuse because it will allow him to team up with his old Digimon partner, Agumon, again. The catch? He can't tell anyone, not even the other DigiDestined, about it and he is expected to lead an army of Digimon in a war in a different Digital World outside of his home dimension.
Though this fic is Tai-centric, it's going to be a crossover between all of the current Digimon seasons excluding only Tri in the canon because it's technically still ongoing and this is taking place instead of that. I haven't decided on a title for this yet, but a few ideas that I've been playing around with are: "The Courageous General" or "The General of Courage", "The 3rd Xros War" or "Xros Wars III", and "The Orange Sun's Brave Strikers." If any of you have better ideas, PLEASE leave your suggestion in a comment. Thank you!
And now onto that promised preview! Here is a small excerpt from the current draft of chapter 1:
"This is your new Xros Loader digivice," Gennai explained. "It'll be able to carry any and all Digimon you wish to bring with you to and from worlds. At present, it only has one occupant."
"Huh?" Tai said uncomprehendingly until his device lit up and a familiar voice called his name.
"Is that Agumon?!" Tai gasped.
"It is," Gennai chuckled. "To release him, you have to say, "Reload, Agumon.""
"Reload, Agumon," Tai repeated, pointing his digivice in front of him. A beam of light shot out of the Xros Loader's screen and Agumon appeared. "Awesome! It's great to see you, Agumon."
"It's great to see you too," Agumon cried as Tai kneeled to give his old partner a hug. "Gennai's told me what you're up to and I just want you to know that I'm with you one hundred percent."
"Glad to hear it," Tai said, grinning.
"Here is a manual on the new Xros Loader," Gennai said, handing a small booklet to Tai. "Unlike your old digivice, this one comes with a lot of additional functions. I borrowed the design from a couple other Digital Worlds. Mainly, the one you two will soon be fighting in."
"Right," Tai said, flipping through the book, eyes widening to see the various things his new digivice could do. "Holy smokes, you weren't kidding. Maps, data analysis, Digimon Analyzer… Multiple Digimon storage… you mentioned that. What do you mean?"
"In the worlds outside our own, normal digivolving might not work depending on where you're from. The reason I needed your old digivice, Tai, was to integrate it and it's data into this new device, so that Agumon would be able to digivolve into Greymon no matter where you are. The Xros Loader is designed to work in all worlds in the Multiverse. Then when you accepted the Xros Loader, it turned orange, meaning that it became infused with your Crest of Courage, and will continue to allow Agumon to digivolve further into Metalgreymon and WarGreymon. However, whenever you travel the Multiverse, you'll be going alone," Gennai said grimly. "In the past, you've always been able to rely on your friends for back up. Out in the Multiverse you will not. You may be able to rely on the other DigiDestined from other worlds, but all you'll have beside you is whoever you take with you. Namely Agumon and any other Digimon you take into your Xros Loader and make a member of your army."
"Come again?" Tai said, staring. "Did you say army?"
"This Xros Loader allows you to have more than one Digimon partner," Gennai said. "Although Agumon will always be your main partner and the heart of your team, you'll need the strength of other Digimon to help you fight in the war raging across the multiverse. Observe."
Gennai turned to a monitor and began to pull up some footage of a boy that looked a few years younger than Tai, with bushy brown hair and a pair of round lensed goggles on his head in a similar fashion to how Tai had worn his goggles when he was younger and leader of his team of DigiDestined. Beside him was a digimon that looked like red and more pointy version of Veemon.
"This is Taiki Kudo and his partner, Shoutmon," Agent Nanase explained. "He is one of the generals that Omegamon spoke of when we first met. It is in a Digital World very close to his own that the war is taking place. They call it the 3rd Xros War. Taiki Kudo is the general of the Red Fusion Fighters, an army - or team if you'd prefer - of Digimon that banned together to fight evil Digimon that threatened the peace of their world. When young Kudo was first made a general during what is known as the first Xros War, his forces and others fought against the Bagra Army. But unlike the partner Digimon in our Digital World, his Digimon partner could not digivolve like Agumon does. Instead, Kudo fuses his partner Digimon with others to make him stronger."
Tai watched as the boy on the screen reloaded a bunch of Digimon he didn't know the names of (except for one he was sure was a Starmon) and cried out, "Digi-Xros!" The Digimon around the boy glowed and came together to become a transformer like Digimon called Shoutmon X4.
"Whoa," Tai gasped.
"Later on in the first war, Shoutmon gained the ability to digivolve into OmegaShoutmon," Gennai said, playing a clip of a fight that looked like it was taking place on earth instead of the Digital World against a samurai looking Digimon. The digivolution of Shoutmon into the golden OmegaShoutmon reminded Tai of when Agumon Warp Digivolved into WarGreymon. "However, as strong as OmegaShoutmon is, Taiki still needed to fuse his partner with other Digimon to finally beat Bagramon and his forces."
"So the reason I need to be able to bring other Digimon with me is because fusing is much more effective in those worlds than normal digivolving?" Tai asked.
"In a sense," Agent Nanase said.
"Remember Diaboromon?" Gennai asked.
"How could I forget?" Tai sighed.
"Did it not take WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon DNA digivolving together to defeat him that first time?" Gennai asked. "And for Exveemon and Stingmon to DNA digivolve into Paildramon Fighter Mode to defeat him the second time? And even then, Paildramon needed WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to fuse with them in the form of a weapon to take him out. This is a very similar concept."
"I see," Tai mused. "But where do I find Digimon willing to fight with me?"
"I'm sure you'll pick some up along the way during your travels, like Taiki Kudo did," Gennai said, smiling reassuringly. "However, I do have some volunteers."
"You do?" Tai asked. "Who?"
Gennai grinned and the next image Tai saw on screen was a video feed of four Digimon he knew very well from his past adventures.
"It's Andromon and Centarumon!" Tai cried.
"And Wizardmon and Leomon," Agumon gasped.
"They all wish to help you in your travels across the Multiverse," Gennai said.
"That's awesome you guys!" Tai said. "Thank you so much."
"Are you ready for your first assignment?" Agent Nanase asked.
"Wait, already?" Tai gasped.
"It's a small task to help you get used to traveling through the Multiverse," the DATS Agent said. "I'm dispatching you to the dimension that is designated as the Tamers Dimension. I want you to deliver one of Gennai's new Xros Loaders to Mitsuo Yamaki of Hypnos. He needs one to modify for another DigiDestined general that'll be joining you in the 3rd Xros War effort. Because our worlds are so close together in the Dimensional Corridor, you'll likely be working with his world's representative a lot."
"Alright," Tai said. "When do I need to leave?"
"Tomorrow," Gennai said. "You'll need to pack. Plan on staying in the other world for a few days. I'll debrief you more when you come to the Digital World tomorrow."
"We're giving you the rest of the day off," Agent Nanase said, "to allow you to sort out everything you might need to arrange while you're gone."
"Meaning I'd better turn all my college course work in ahead of time," Tai sighed. "Some day off."
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Agent Nanase laughed. "Don't you usually start all your work the day it's assigned anyway?"
"So I don't forget about it, yeah," Tai grumbled. "Come on, Agumon."
So what do you think? You can find another sneak peek at this new story at the end of the chapter 31 of Drowning Memories. Please let me know in a review or PM as to which dub I should use the names of. As you can see I'm kind of leaning more towards a mix, but I feel confident enough to pull of using either version, though for English, Fusion/Xros Wars is going to be tricky because part 3 of the Xros Wars/Fusion series was never dubbed in English, so Tagiru doesn't have an official English name like the others (not that Takato or Takuya were given one either, but still). :P
Thanks for reading!