Foreword: Oh, this chapter. Every time I looked there was a problem. So glad it's up now.
Taichi let out a groan. These beds were the worst. It felt like he was sleeping on stone and his pillow was so flat he couldn't feel it. He was cold too; just how light were these blankets? And why did the air smell so musty? He moved his hands against the hard surface- I'm sleeping on stone.
Not wanting to open his eyes, he felt around. Yep, it was stone alright. Did he fall off the bed or something… and roll away from it… and go outside away from the wooden floor? He slowly forced his eyes open, fighting the glue keeping them shut. Still dark. Okay then. Back to slee- wait, no. If it was dark, he was inside- no it'd be dark outside too. Too much thinking for this early! He worked on keeping his eyes open as they adjusted to the darkness. He began noticing traces of large, stone blocks where the cabin's wood ceiling, or outside's night sky, should be. Looks like one of those ancient temples. He closed his eyes again. He didn't know there were any ancient temples near the camp site, especially so close to the cabins.
Taichi's eyes snapped open again. Why was he in an ancient temple?! He was supposed to be in the cabin, wasn't he?! He racked his brain, trying to remember. It was getting very dark and he was leading everyone back to the cabins. It wasn't far but every shadow, at least the ones cast by the trees, were becoming those super cold ones and they were angling towards him. Avoiding them definitely slowed him down. And then… and then… I woke up here. Where was here? What was here? Did they even get back to the cabins in the first place?
"Taichi!" a cheery voice suddenly shouted, causing him to sit right up, "You're finally up!" What was that?! He frantically looked around and his eyes fell on a pink ball with a very happy face and a big mouth. Two streamer like appendages were attached to the top, ears maybe? "You're finally up!" it said, "They weren't kidding when they said you were late sleeper!"
"Uh, who… Uh, what… Uh, who…" Just what was this creature? And how did it know him? At least it didn't seem dangerous. And if it was, well, it was roughly the size and shape of a soccer ball. But he did appreciate it not calling him "san" or "kun" or any of those other annoying honorwhatsits. Besides, this creature being so familiar with him felt right.
"My name's Koromon," the talking ball answered, "or, well, maybe 'name' isn't the right word. I mean all Koromon are called Koromon and it gets confusing. Anyways, I'm your new partner!"
"Uh, okay?" At least the ball had a name, or title, or whatever, but partner? It was definitely too early for this. And this air was so heavy, it was almost giving him a headache, like a heavy blanket was thrown over him. He started to stand and felt a wave of dizziness wash over.
"Easy, Taichi," Sora's voice sounded, "The air in here is terrible. Take it slow." He gave a slow nod and settled back down on to his back, looking over at her. She was sitting next to him with some sort of pink flower bulb with a flower poking out on her lap. And a face, of course.
"I'm Sora's partner, Yokomon," the bulb said, "and before you ask, I am girl just like Sora." The bulb was about helpful as the ball it seemed, but at least he no longer had to think of Koromon as an "it". Feeling the cobwebs in his head clear up, he started pushing himself to his feet while looking around. The room appeared to be rectangular with himself right in the center, though it was a little hard to tell given that right behind him was a stone wall that went up to his neck. On the far end directly in front was a large doorway with a lit torch on both sides though said torches really didn't do a good job illuminating this darkness. In fact, it almost looked like they were being smothered in a black haze. Following the walls on both sides of the doorway lead to two large pillars that had seen better days, and he could barely make out some small stones scattered around. Pieces of the pillars maybe? The walls looked to be made of the same stone as the ceiling but were also covered in strange symbols that somehow made him feel uneasy, though not as badly as this haze-like darkness filling the room.
Torchlit doorways were on his left and right too, though they were lacking the pillars. He looked over the partial wall and found a pitch black chasm that seemed to stretch across to the other side. Five torches were placed evenly along the wall with the center one being rather close to him, though strangely enough, he couldn't feel any warmth coming off of it. He reached out towards it, still feeling nothing.
"Careful, Taichi," Sora said in a teasing voice, "I know fire looks pretty, but-"
"Oh, shut up," he grumbled as he pulled his hand back. The chill filling this room was starting to remind him of the shadows from the campsite. "There is really something wrong here."
"I know what you mean," Koromon said, "We weren't supposed to be here. At least I don't think we were."
"This place is evil," Yokomon said, "I can feel it." That Taichi could agree with. He looked at Sora about to ask if the others were here too when he noticed something. A small squarish object on her belt.
"You have one too," she said, "but be careful with it." He looked at his hip and there it was. He grabbed it, noticing that it didn't feel clipped on to his belt or anything. In fact, the back of the object had nothing to clip on to with. The front had a small screen. He started getting a strange feeling from the object, like it was calling him or something.
"Be careful," Koromon warned, "I don't think it's ready yet." The object continued "calling" him. He closed his eyes and allowed it to reach him, or whatever it was trying to do. A screaming pain erupted through his hand as he felt something like a tentacle or tendril covered in static electricity begin burrowing in. He threw the object to the ground with a scream.
"We both told you to be careful!" Sora snapped, her tone laced with worry. Breathing heavily, Taichi looked at his hand. Not a scratch, though it sure felt like something had dug in.
"Should I have told him too?" Yokomon asked.
"It wouldn't have mattered," the last person he wanted to hear spoke, "When he wants to do something stupid, no force on Earth can stop him." Ignoring Ishida, Taichi glared at the object that looked so harmless now. And it was still calling him.
"It tried to eat me!"
"You must be careful with the digivices," another voice said. A very polite sounding one. "They are not quite ready for use yet." Taichi slowly picked the digivice back up, bracing himself for another "bite". Nothing. He placed it next to his belt and it stayed like before. He took a breath to calm himself and faced Ishida. The blonde was slowly walking in from the right doorway's along next to him was another ball with a face, though this one had orange fur around his face and a spike coming out of his head.
A scream came out of the doorway behind Ishida. Taichi jumped and looked around. "What's happening?!" As if on cue, Jou came barreling out of the doorway. Flying right behind him was some small gray creature. It almost looked like a tiny aquatic dinosaur that was missing half of its body. And a tuft of red hair on its head.
"Booga! Booga! Booga!" it, or going by the voice, he said with his fins up. Taichi almost burst out laughing at the sight. The thing that Jou was so terrified of looked like one of Hikari's stuffed animals. And the creature was clearly just playing around.
"Seriously, Pukamon?!" Yokomon snapped, "You're supposed to be his partner!" Jou stopped, leaning against the partial wall, breathing heavily.
"P-Partner?!" he panted. Taichi shrugged, still struggling not to laugh at the older boy.
"I don't get it either," he said, "but I'm pretty sure you don't have to be afraid of this little guy." Pukamon stopped in front of Jou with a big smile.
"Yeah, sorry about the booga booga booga. You were just so jumpy I couldn't resist."
"I-I thought you were a ghost," Jou panted. Pukamon's eyes lit up.
"You do kind of look like one," Koromon said, "You know, with that half body thing you have going on."
"I do?! Cool!" Pukamon chirped as he held out a fin, "But no, I'm just a friendly neighborhood Pukamon." Jou slowly stood, took Pukamon's fin, and gave it a nervous shake.
"May I take it everyone is settled, then?" Koushiro's voice sounded. He was coming out the same doorway Jou emerged from carrying a happy looking blob with two arms. The blob almost looked like a pink cactus minus the needles. Mimi was behind him carrying a green bulb with two leaves on top. "This fascinating creature is Motimon."
"Hi!" the blob said, "I'm the fascinating one, apparently."
"And this future flower is Tanemon," Mimi said, "Isn't is fitting for her to be my partner, given the beautiful flower I'm going to become?" Uh, okay? Did this girl even realize what was happening? Thankfully Sora spoke up, sparing Taichi the hopeless task of responding.
"Seriously, Mimi-san? We're trapped in this creepy place and that's all you can think about?" Mimi gave Sora a haughty look.
"Jealousy is such and ugly trait."
"Don't start!" Ishida snapped. Both girls looked at him, Sora looking a little annoyed at herself. Mimi just looked ready to shout back. "We're all here now." He looked at his orange ball partner. "Tsunomon, we need to know what's going on."
"Wait," Taichi interrupted, "Are we all here?" He looked everyone over. Himself, Ishida, Sora, Koushiro, Mimi, Jou, and T… Teeth. Lots of teeth. Very sharp teeth. With a shout he jumped back and landed on his rear.
"We got him, too, Tokomon!" TK laughed. Taichi just focused on catching his breath as he looked at the little meat grinder his little buddy was friends with. It was a big marshmallow with stubby legs, the ear streamer things… and those teeth.
"He got Yamato-kun and me too," Sora said, her laughter barely poking through. Ishida was looking like he was going treasure this moment. Growling, Taichi stood back up knowing full well that even if he did come up with some kind of revenge, he'd never be able to go through with it. And even if he did, Hikari would find out and get mad. Ah, well, better TK being annoying than being scared.
"Are you okay, Taichi?" Koromon asked. He also looked like he was trying not to laugh. Traitor.
"Fine," Taichi grumbled, "Just my pride. Now can someone explain what's going on?"
"This is the Digital World," Koromon answered, "Those digivices you have will give you special powers. And we are the Chosen Digimon, here to protect you, the Chosen Children."
"To be specific," Tsunomon said, "We should be in the File Kingdom, the capital of the Server Continent. This is File's architecture, but…" he looked around, "File was always considered holy ground. The Harmonius Ones would never allow it to be perverted by this darkness."
"The Harmonius Ones are kinda like gods," Tokomon said, "In fact, they were supposed to be here. They were gonna, um, modify the digivices so they work with you better."
"Human bodies are too complicated to do the final adjustments without you being present," Motimon said, "Otherwise the digivices will have to figure it out on their own. With great discomfort." Taichi grimaced, remembering the "discomfort".
"Sorry we know so little," Tanemon said, "The Harmonius Ones were supposed to fill you in."
"Better than nothing," Taichi assured, though he couldn't help but feel like the digimon were just really bad at this.
"What about this strange darkness?" Ishida asked, "It doesn't seem natural."
"And those really cold shadows from the camp?" Taichi added, "They actually felt kinda like this place, only colder."
"Darkness is the absence of Light," Tokomon said, sounding like he was reciting something, "Shadow is where the Light is blocked. I don't know what it means, but I know it's important."
"Can we please continue this somewhere else?" Mimi complained, "It's dark and creepy here. And Tanemon will wilt in this awful environment."
"I will?!" Tanemon asked, sounding worried.
"Yeah, we really should get out of here," Taichi agreed.
"But what about the kitties?" TK asked. Taichi inwardly groaned. No, no, no, TK, no.
"Kitties?!" Mimi asked, her eyes brightened, the darkness seemingly forgotten, "There are kitties?! I love kitties! Where are the kitties?!" Before he could even begin to think of a response that could get out of this mess, TK dug him in even deeper.
"When you and Sora-san were arguing, Taichi-san said that some kitties were fighting." The room's temperature somehow dropped even further as he felt Sora's eyes fall on him. He didn't even have to look to see the expression on her face. Mimi just looked confused.
"But I didn't hear any kitties."
"Well, Taichi saw them," Sora's voice was a cold as the shadows from camp, "Why don't you tell us about the cats you saw fighting?" Before he could even begin to think of a response that could get him out of this mess, Mimi spoke up again.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry. They were probably just playing which can look like fighting." Everyone fell silent over Mimi's clueless response.Welp, that's my cue to leave.He began silently backing away as a stunned Sora visibly mulled over what to say. TK just continued looking around.
"There's one!" he exclaimed. What?! TK was pointing at the doorway at the far end, and… a white cat was walking in… on its hind legs… and it was wearing yellow gloves. What kind of cat is that?
"She's a Tailmon," Koromon said, sounding surprised, "but I thought they went extinct ages ago." Taichi just stared at the cat, not to sure what to make of her. Other than those massive claws, she really didn't look that dangerous. If Hikari were here, she'd be running over to cuddle her. But there was something about her eyes, something almost predatory.
Then her face warped into a feral grin and time slowed down for Taichi as she rocketed towards him, claws out. He quickly dove away from the others, feeling her claws whiz right by, and seeing a few strands of hair float down. He hit the ground rolling and stopping on his back. "Taichi!" Koromon called out, bouncing towards him as he scrambled back to his feet.
"Everyone else stay back!" Ishida shouted as Sora started to move. He held up Tsunomon while she grabbed Yokomon. Tailmon flew towards Taichi again but this time a spray of pink bubbles erupted from the two digimon. As the bubbles popped against her, she began wobbling and this time completely missed him, crash landing with a roll.
"Nice bubbles," he found himself saying, trying to process that last few seconds of flying killer cats and bubbles.
"Our bubbles are pretty strong," Koromon said as he hopped up in front and a large bubble began growing out of his mouth. Tailmon, meanwhile, was back on her feet and was already charging at him again. This time he calmly watched as the psycho cat rushed towards Koromon's bubble. Unfortunately, before she reached it, she somersaulted, her tail slamming into the ground, catapulting herself upwards. Taichi's eyes widened as she dropped down with her claws out. He scrambled over further right as she whizzed by, leaving a sharp pain in his shoulder. And the sensation of a liquid running down his arm.
"Taichi!" Sora shouted.
"We've got this!" Ishida said as he hurled Tsunomon at Tailmon.
"Taichi! I-I'm sorry!" Koromon started.
"D-Don't worry about it," Taichi said as he watched Tailmon sidestep Tsunomon, "Just do your best." That was what he'd say whenever the younger kids in the soccer club would mess up and right now he just couldn't think of anything else. Not with the absurd site of a spiked ball hopping around, trying to stab some psychotic cat and his shoulder telling him just how serious that cat was. She's seriously trying to kill me. Tailmon actually looked amused as she stepped around each of Tsunomon's thrusts, but then her paw or hand or whatever, in one lightning fast move, grabbed Tsunomon by the spike and stuck him into the floor.
"Um, I could use some help here!" he announced, frantically trying to wiggle himself free as Tailmon faced Taichi again. Uh, right! Help! Tsunomon needs help! Taichi started to move when two others ran in front of him with a spray of bubbles aimed at Tailmon.
"Koromon!" Sora called as Tailmon leapt away from the bubbles, "Stay close to Taichi in case this doesn't work!"
"And Taichi-san!" Koushiro said, "Please compose yourself!" Yokomon and Motimon began forming big bubbles that touched and merged into one even bigger. The colossal bubble began floating towards Tailmon, forcing her to leap away. As soon as she was away from Tsunomon, Ishida ran out and began pulling him out of the floor. As Tailmon landed, Pukamon started raining bubbles from above. Then another spray from Tanemon and Tokomon. Taichi found himself starting to grin. "You've got her!"
Tailmon looked him in the eyes, and then gave a grin that chilled his blood. She spun, slashing a claw into the floor, and then a piece of stone flew from her paw. The giant bubble popped with a bang and Taichi, Sora, and Koushiro were bowled over by a burst of wind. Koromon rolled back with a scream, Yokomon and Motimon following. Pukamon went straight up and hit the ceiling before dropping. Tailmon was on all fours, her claws dug into the floor, having braced herself against the burst.
Crap! We can't stop her! Sora and Koushiro both started to stand up while Yokomon and Motimon hopped up in front of them again. Damn it! I should be protecting them! Angrily, Taichi started to push himself up, but without thinking, he pushed on his wounded arm. The sharp pain caused him to yelp and fall back down.
"We've got this, Taichi," Sora said, though the quiver in her voice said otherwise. Tailmon was moving again while Yokomon and Motimon fired their bubbles.
"Taichi," Koromon said in a quiet voice, "This isn't working. We're too weak."
"We'll find a way," he said, making sure to get up more carefully this time. He wasn't giving up now. He wasn't sent to a "Digital World" or whatever just to be killed by cat. That just didn't happen. "We'll find a way." Tailmon practically became a white blur as she weaved through the bubbles.
"You all need to run! We can at least be data shields!" Any response Taichi had to that died once Tailmon reached Sora and Koushiro. Sora shoved Koushiro aside but Tailmon, in one movement, grabbed Yokomon by the stem, spun, and smacked the digimon, bulb first, into Sora's face, sending the girl sprawling. Then, while still holding Yokomon, Tailmon leaped at her, somersaulting, smashing Yokomon down on her stomach. Sora! A sudden rage exploded from within. No one, no one, hurt Sora in front of him! He was going to kill that cat himself if he had to! "See?! We're just getting in your way!" Koromon spoke up again, "We're just bodyguards! You still have the digivices!"
The digivice! He remembered the pain the device caused, but it was nothing compared to watching Tailmon beat up Sora like that. He started focusing on it again, allowing its call to reach him. "What are you doing?!" Koromon asked. Taichi just barely noticed Ishida do a spin and hurl Tsunomon towards Tailmon, but she reached out, grabbed the digimon by the spike, performed her own spin, and tossed him back. Ishida barely ducked in time while the digimon's spike drove into the wall right next to Mimi's head. Her eyes widened as blood began to run down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry!" Tsunomon exclaimed, "Please forgive me!" Mimi touched her cheek, looked at the blood on her finger, and jumped away, screaming, with Tanemon hopping after her.
"Getting super powers," Taichi answered Koromon. He once again opened himself up to the digivice's call, and closed his eyes. The pain returned as badly as before, with the electric tendrils tearing into his hip. He let out a scream and fell to his knees, holding himself up with his hands, but allowed the digivice to keep digging. The tendrils reached his stomach, and a liquid with a rusty flavor started bubbling into his throat. He coughed it out, his eyes opening to the red puddle. He looked away from the blood and saw TK pulling at Tsunomon with Ishida rushing over. Ishida tackled his younger brother as Tailmon dropped down. The older blonde screamed, blood spraying from his back.
Even Ishida didn't deserve that! Using is anger at the sight, Taichi clenched his eyes and allowed the tendrils to reach his heart, bringing with them an awareness that this process was going to complete itself even if it killed him. His heart began beating rapidly and another wad of blood came into his mouth. Then the tendrils tore into his upper arms and thighs, and his arms nearly gave out. He risked another look, and the edges around his vision were darkening. Koushiro was charging at the cat while holding Motimon. As he reached her, he spun and Motimon's bubbles flew out, quite a bit faster than normal. Tailmon jumped to the side and Jou suddenly grabbed her from behind, his face expressing his own disbelief at what he was doing.
Taichi fell to his side as the tendrils ripped through his elbows and knees, his body feeling like an overcharged battery. Tailmon's tail snaked around Jou's neck, causing him to let her go, and as she landed, her tail snapped, throwing Jou into Koushiro. The tendrils reached Taichi's neck and he screamed and coughed, finding it almost impossible to breathe. He closed his eyes again, his vision getting too dark to bother keeping them open. The tendrils reached his eyes and they nearly burst out of his skull. He wanted to put his hands in front, but all he could do was roll on to his back as his fingers went through awkward twitches with the tendrils digging through each. His feet and toes were going through a similar torment- no make that his entire body shaking and twisting as if the tendrils were trying to contort him.
Then they reached his brain. His mind went fuzzy and his senses shut off. He couldn't hear, couldn't smell, and he knew if he opened his eyes, he wouldn't be able to see. But at least he couldn't feel the pain anymore. A reddish light appeared in his mind and began growing, washing over him with a calming and comforting warmth. Then it was gone and his senses returned, but no pain. His shoulder still hurt, more than before in fact, but other than that, he was just fine.
"Taichi! You did it!" The voice was unfamiliar, but he knew it was Koromon. Was. When he looked at his partner, the pink ball was now a small orange tyrannosaur. His head began to throb and his eyes began feeling ready to burst as the tendrils began acting up again but he somehow understood what was happening. Namely, the initial connection with the digivice was complete, but the specific functions, such as the digimon scanner, weren't completely adjusted yet. Still, the worst was over, making this next pain much easier to deal with.
A small image of the dinosaur appeared in his mind. He could see it as clearly as if it were in front of his eyes but it wasn't obscuring his vision. It was three dimensional and he could view it from any angle and distance. Information about the digimon poured into his head. It was Agumon and while the image showed him an average Agumon, he could switch it to the Agumon he was looking at. Agumon was able to breath fire, or expel the flames as a projectile. His claws could cut through stone with little effort. I did it. I connected to the digivice and I… Information entered his head. Evolved Koromon?
Taichi turned his attention to Tailmon who was slowly advancing on Mimi while popping the bubbles Tanemon and Tokomon were firing. Mimi was cowering behind the two digimon, while keeping TK behind her. But with Tailmon playing around like that, he had time to scan her. There's something he didn't notice. A gold ring on her tail that made her stronger. Other than that, her claws could cut through steel and her eyes were… hypnotic?
"Koro- er, Agumon," he whispered to his partner, "I think she's still stronger than you, but she has a ring on her tail. If we can remove it, she'll be weakened. And watch out for her eyes; they're hypnotic." Agumon nodded and began to circle towards Tailmon. Once at an angle where he wouldn't hit anyone else, he spewed a steam of orange flame. Tailmon jumped over and towards Agumon with her claws out. Agumon jumped at her with his claws, the two passing each other with a spray of sparks and appearing to land unharmed. Taichi rescanned Agumon, this time using his specific image. A couple of his claws were chipped. Not good.
Agumon began spitting fireballs which Tailmon expertly jumped around. Agumon can't do this alone. Maybe there was something else the digivice could do? The problem was that if Tailmon went after Taichi again, he wouldn't notice in time. A scream interrupted his thoughts. His eyes quickly fell on Ishida and he could see a reddish mist coming off of his back. The digivice?! In his condition?! Taichi quickly looked around for others; he couldn't go himself without Tailmon noticing. There was Jou, frantically digging through his bag, and removing a roll of bandages. And Sora was moving to Ishida, though her steps were a little unsteady. Koushiro was moving to Mimi and TK. Just have to trust them. And hope the blonde moron didn't kill himself.
Back to Agumon. He was chasing Tailmon with a steam of fire while she jumped over him. The flames died out as she landed in front of Taichi. "Always wanted an orange handbag," she said with a cruel smirk and bolted towards the dinosaur. Wait! She can talk?! She and Agumon slashed at each other again, ending the same way. Taichi couldn't help but wince slightly; Agumon's claws were not strong enough for that. As Agumon turned around, Tailmon jumped over and her tail shot out, wrapping around Agumon's snout. She flipped around, dragging him with her, slamming him into the ground back first, and then landed on his chest, pointing her claws at his throat.
Taichi glanced at Ishida. He was still working through his digivice. Damn! How long did I need again?! But wait, Sora was heading over to him, no doubt to give him whatever protection she could. Still, it wouldn't be much. He needed to buy time. Time for Ishida to finish, or even time for Agumon to get free. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. Hopefully Tailmon was one of those monologueing villains.
Tailmon looked at him with her usual predatory grin while her tail released Agumon. "Why? Cause some digimon are just good by nature. And some of us are evil. And me? I'm one bad kitty." Then she shrieked and jumped off Agumon. Watching her run around, waving her tail around, Taichi could just barely make out Tokomon clamping on to her tail and, despite how much he hated the cat, he felt a pang of sympathy for her being bitten by that marshmallow piranha. "Get… off…. me… you… little… bastard!"
After one last shake of her tail, Tokomon was flung off, but another digimon came running in, head lowered, revealing a horn which was a dead giveaway as to who this digimon used to be. Taichi quickly scanned the former Tsunomon as Tailmon jumped over the attack. The digimon was Gabumon, some sort of yellow, lizard thing, though it was hard to be certain. Gabumon was covered in a light blue wolf skin with dark blue stripes. And he was capable of breathing fire like Agumon, though his flames were freezing, however that worked. His horn was as strong Agumon's claws.
Tailmon landed behind Gabumon, but her foot slipped and she went down. Taichi quickly noticed a dark glint on the floor. A very icy dark glint. "Now, Agumon!" Gabumon shouted and then spit three dark blue fireballs at Tailmon. She ran her claws into the floor and flung herself away, but Agumon's flames caught her dead on. She flew across the room and crashed into a wall.
"There's a ring on her tail!" Taichi called out as she stood back up, "She'll be weaker without it!"
"Ah, hairballs! You had to open your big mouth" Tailmon glared, "but I'm pretty sure you got bigger problems than me now!"
"What are talking about?!" Taichi demanded, but the cat was already running off to the central doorway.
"TK-chan!" Mimi cried out. Taichi immediately rushed over, a thousand horrific possibilities flashing through his mind. And there was TK, in front of a frantic Mimi, lying perfectly still. And on TK's chest wasn't Tokomon, but some sort of purple hamster with bat wings, who looked at Taichi with tear filled eyes.
"Help! A ghost came and now TK's not moving!"
Afterword: The digivices are going to be doing a lot more than just evolving the digimon now. I wanted to make the Chosen Children more active in the battles than just a power source for their digimon but I'm tired of biomerging.
I'm sure you noticed I'm not using attack names. I think the fights'll be more interesting if I keep the powers a little more general.
