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"The Raimon Chronicles, Part 1: Birth"
A Digimon "serious" fic by CNash.
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(I don't own Digimon, or anything else mentioned here, except for Raimon and his evolutions.)
First, the void... And then, a cracking sound. A tiny face peeped through the cracks in a strangely-colored egg. In a secret hideaway somewhere in the Digital World, a young man sat at a computer, monitoring this egg. "It's hatched."
The tiny creature that came forth from that egg did not know much, but what it did know confused it. Firstly, it was male. It had guessed that. Secondly, he was a member of a species known as 'Botamon'. What this meant, he did not know. He appeared to be lying on a flat, barren land. The sea stretched out in front of him. The Botamon decided that, since he had not been given a name, he would name himself. He was lost in thought for a while, until he came up with the perfect name. Botamon. His name reflected his physiology - what better to call oneself? He had not been given much time to contemplate where he was, or what he should do, when a rumbling sound echoed through the clouds above his head. "Good morning, little one." Botamon shrieked in terror as he saw a huge, transparent dragon, wrapped in chains. It spoke through a mouth covered with a thick white beard. "Sorry! Don't run away, I didn't mean to scare you...my purpose is to inform you. After all, this world was once new to me, too. My name is Azulongmon." And then, the creature known as Botamon uttered it's first words. Strange how they should be to a twenty-metre floating dragon, he thought. "What are you?" "I am the guardian of the eastern region. The land on which you stand is known as Server, part of the Digital World." Considering that he'd only just popped out of an egg, most of that sentence made no sense to Botamon. "Could you...explain that?" "Hmm...the Digital World was created around three years ago. It's comprised of computer data. Unfortunately, around the eastern region, desert is all we've got at the moment. It's hard to find the exterior decorators, hehe. And across the ocean, that's File Island. Since it's in the east, it's under my jurisdiction as well." "Computer data? Is that all I am?" "Of course not. You are alive. A breathing, living being, just like everybody else here." "Everybody else? Others like me?" "Actually, there's no-one like you yet. You're the first member of your species. Many more digimon will be named after you." Digimon. Yes, that sounded familiar. Botamon was a digimon, and Azulongmon was a digimon. Botamon wondered how many more digimon exist. "If you want to find anyone around here, File Island would be the best place to look. Although, until you mature, you'd be best off staying here. Besides, we need to watch you. After all, we wouldn't want your species to become extinct, would we?" Azulongmon spoke with such a wise and resounding voice that Botamon found it hard to disagree. As he flew off into the clouds, he delivered this cryptic message: "We have big plans for you, little Botamon. You're special. Farewell!" "Special? How am I special? What do you mean? Come back!"
Botamon was more confused than ever. He wandered Server's eastern side, looking for answers. He hadn't gotten far, when the weirdest creature he'd ever seen appeared from out of nowhere. "Hello. Have you seen Azulongmon around? I need to speak with him." This creature moved on two long poles, sticking out of his body. His face was similarly detatched. On the sides of his body where two more poles. Still staring at the odd being, Botamon almost forgot it's question. "Huh? Oh - I was just speaking with him. Over that way. Say, can I talk to you for a minute or two?" The creature thought for a moment, then replied. "I don't see why not. You're the Botamon that hatched around half an hour ago, right? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gennai. You could call me the caretaker of the Digital World. If you spoke to Azulongmon, I apologize. He can be a little cryptic, can't he?" "R-right. He said something about me being special, and not to go to File Island until I mature, or something like that. Do you know what he means?" "Indeed. Maturing is just his way of describing the moment in life when a digimon changes shape. You're a baby now, but when you mature, you'll be in-training, and finally a rookie. We're still in the process of examining this phenomenon, so it's unsure when you'll mature. As for you being special, he was right. You are special. We don't quite know how or why yet, but I sense you have the potential to do great things for this world. Anyhow, I gotta run, to keep up with Azulongmon! Catch you later!" And with that, he disappeared.
Intrigued by what both strange beings had said to him, Botamon started hopping to the south, in the hope of finding someone who could tell him more. Perhaps there were more beings like Gennai? Or, if Azulongmon was the eastern guardian, who guards the other three quarters? He soon found, however, that the Digital World was a much bigger place than he'd expected. Hours passed, and it seemed that Azulongmon was right - the eastern side really was all desert! Thinking that if he did not find water soon, he would simply collapse, Botamon powered his jumps to cover more distance. His prayers were answered. A small oasis lay before him. Most people would expect it to be a mirage, but thankfully for Botamon, it wasn't. Better still, three digimon were crowded around the pool! The larger of the three, who introduced himself as Elecmon, proceeded to tell him all about... "Drinking! Of course, all we digimon need is water, but some prefer it under special conditions. My friend Penguinmon likes it ice-cold. I really go for it if I can charge it up with a little electricity beforehand. How do you like yours?" "I, uh, don't really know yet. Y'see, this is my first drink, and..." "Ah! Say no more. Don't be scared about trying it - I was a little intimidated at first, but now, I have nothing but praise! The best drink in this world, and it's readily available!" Botamon paused for a moment. He tentatively dipped his tongue into the shimmering surface of the water - and found that it was surprisingly refreshing! Though a little bland in flavor, he thought. Still, it quenched his thirst. "Have you eaten yet? If you find yourself in a forest, try a mushroom. There are several different kinds. Or in a place like this, you might like coconuts. They're those brown things at the top of the tree. You might need a larger digimon to knock it down and break it open, though - I usually ask Azulongmon, if he's in the area, or a Flymon." This came from a Betamon, sitting opposite him. Botamon was surprised that such an almighty digimon as Azulongmon wold consent to breaking coconuts. Betamon saw his puzzled expression, and added, "Azulongmon's a really nice guy. Doesn't talk much, but he protects us all from harm. Guess that extends to helping us with our food." The other digimon at the pool was a Punimon. His words of wisdom were, "Look, I know I'm only young, but I still have info worth knowing. Resting is the best thing to do when you're tired! Just stop, close your eyes, and you're away! It's so fun." Thinking of how tired he was, Botamon decided that he would try this 'resting' thing. After all, what harm could it do? He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting away...
"Azulongmon! Quick, you have to come look at this!" Gennai exitedly paced the floor of his secret hideout, his eyes glued to one screen in particular. The screen showed the same oasis that Botamon was sleeping in. But there was something different. "What is it, Gennai? You know how busy I am." "Sorry, but this is amazing! Look - the Botamon that just hatched had digivolved!" "So? They do that all the time." "But this is different. The parameters for this digimon aren't on the database. This is a completely new type of digimon, and we know nothing about it! "Now that is strange. You'd think they'd have the courtesy to put a new digimon on our databse for us, if we're going to study it." And what of Botamon? He certainly didn't feel any different when he woke up from his nap. Elecmon and Punimon had moved on. Betamon was asleep. He looked down - and was totally shocked at what he saw. His body was now a light blue color, with short, stumpy feet at the bottom. His face was more pronounced, and he had a crest of spiky fur jutting out of the back of his head. His in-built sense of discovery told him that he was now a 'Edamon'. And he thought, he might as well change his name. After all, what would be the point of being named Botamon if he was not a Botamon any more? "Pretty cool, huh?" Gennai was back, sitting next to him by the pool. "This is what we mean by 'maturing', little guy. You're now at the training stage of your development." "Am I an Edamon now?" "Edamon, huh? Interesting name. I'll have to record this." "You mean...I'm the first Edamon to ever exist? Just like I was when I was Botamon?" "'Fraid so. Only this time, we weren't expecting a new digimon. I was expecting a Tsunomon, or a Tokomon. See what I mean about being special?" Edamon did not quite see what Gennai meant, but he nodded anyway. "Anyhow, we'll se how it goes. I'll speak to you soon. 'Bye!" "Uh, goodbye." Betamon had woken up, and was eyeing his eating partner with some scrutiy. "You know, I've never seen a digimon like you around. And I've travelled the length and breadth of the eastern region. What are you?" "According to Gennai, I'm the first Edamon ever to exist." "In-training form, huh? Well, now you should have an attack. And a type, I'd imagine. I need to find something. Will you come with me?" Eager to learn more about both the world and himself, Edamon followed Betamon to a small stone structure, around half a mile away from the oasis. On top of the structure were strange symbols. Betamon jumped up, and pushed some of these symbols into the structure. A glowing computer screen appeared out of nowhere, the words "Digimon Analyzer" displayed at the top, and a picutre of Edamon near the middle. "Ah. It says you're a vaccine-type digimon, although I'm not sure what you vaccinate. And your attack is the "Spike Press". You can try it on me - I'm Rookie level, it won't hurt me too much." "How do I attack?" "I'm guessing it involves those spiky hairs on your head. Maybe, try backflipping onto me? But watch out for my fin, OK? Oh yeah, you have to say the name of the attack as you perform it. It seems to help." Betamon stood himself at the base of the stone computer. Edamon jumped, high into the air, flipped himself around so that the spikes on his head were pointing towards the ground, and....hit the sand with a dull thud. "OK, don't be disheartened. You just need to aim a little better. Try standing on the computer, then jumping." Edamon jumped on the computer - but, in his excitement, accidentally pressed in one of the stone buttons. "What was that button? Whoah...this is bad! We'd better get out of here!" The stone computer was receding into the ground! White light streamed out of it, and Edemon tried to jump off and away. But he was too late - it pulled him in!
All Edemon saw was white. All around him. The room was covered in it. Azulongmon descended out of the whiteness. "I don't usually get visitors in the Room of Light - least of all newly discovered digimon! How, exactly, did you get here?" "Well, I was practising my attack with Betamon, but I accidentally pressed a button, and then the ground shook, and I was here!" "Interesting. Usually only digimon who's speciality is the power of light ever make it to this room. This would indicate that you are one of the digimon of light, my friend. You are in a position of great responsibility." "How do you mean?" "When a digimon is eyed by the Powers of Light, they become a digimon of light. Same goes for the other powers - Courage, Friendship, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope, Love, Kindness and Darkness." "So what do these powers do?" "They maintain the balance between good and evil in this world. Believe it or not, exil does exist. It must exist - there is no light without darkness, after all. If the balance is thrown off, then the Digital World and all the other worlds start mixing in together, creating chaos. You have a special ability to thwart the dark powers. Your main goal is to keep the balance exactly the same as it is now - as is my goal." "I think I finally understand - you and Gennai both said I was special. I never really believed it until now. Thank you for explaining, Azulongmon. I'll go now." But Azulongmon hovered in front of him, preventing him from leaving. "Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than we thought. There are only two digimon of light in this world - yourself, and I. We must work hand in hand to protect this world. So, you need to be familiar with the other major world - the real world." The image of strange, metal structures appeared all around the walls of the Room of Light. Creatures who looked similar to Gennai were walking around in green fields. Edamon could see that they were very similar to digimon - they ate, drank and slept just as he did. "Who are they? There must be over a thousand of them!" "They are known as humans. They're the main inhabitants of the real world, though there are others. There are more than a million humans in the real world, and none of them know about the Digital World. Therefore, we must protect them from it. We must stop the dark powers having any influence over the real world." "But how will we do that? Can we go there?" "Of course! But there is a problem - the humans know nothing about digimon. Imagine if you or I or any other digimon were to suddenly appear! There would be panic and anarchy. So Gennai was created in the likeness of a human. This enables him to monitor both worlds from inside either. The main problem with this idea is that Gennai is not a digimon. He's made from the same data, but has no attributes - attacks, a type, everything that makes us digimon." Azulongmon paused, to think for a moment. Edamon didn't really know what to say - it was all so much to take in, so fast! "I believe I have an answer. Digivolution, as Gennai has named the process, means changing your physical form. You did it once before, when you were a Botamon. Now if I open up the gate..." A shimmering gate of golden light appeared in the Room of Light. The light streamed onto the two digimon. "This gate leads directly to the real world. I've never gone through it, and neither will you - at least, not for some time yet. I'll attempt to adapt this light into your data. This may feel a little tingly, but it shouldn't hurt." Edamon suddenly felt extremely strange. There was power coursing through him - more power than he could handle! If he didn't find a way to control it, he felt he would explode! Then, the answer came to him, from the back of his mind. "Digivolve, Edamon! It's your only chance! Do it!" Edamon concentrated...pushed all the energy out away from him...and began to change. "Edamon, digivolve to....Raimon!" It was complete. He felt different - stranger than the had been when he was Botamon or Edamon. He was now named Raimon. Looking down on himself, he saw a human torso, arms and legs, covered in soft material. He didn't know what to make of this, so he did what anyone in his position would have done - fainted.
When he finally came to, he saw five faces looking down upon him anxiously - Azulongmon, Gennai, Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon. Gennai smiled as Raimon sat up. He was back at the oasis. "Well, this certainly came as a shock to us", piped up Punimon. "Yeah! As soon as I told Gennai what happened, he came over right away! But all he found was you - and Azulongmon hovering over you." This from Betamon. "Was there something in that water? I wouldn't have said drink it if I'd known..." "There is nothing wrong with our water, Elecmon. My plan worked out perfectly. As soon as I redirected the energy from the real world gate into your data, you felt supercharged, right? So you digivolved to control that power. But due to the nature of the power, the form you took was human." Azulongmon's words calmed Raimon. So it wasn't all a big mistake - he was meant to be in human form. "That was a good idea, Azulongmon. At least now, we have someone who can go to the real world, like me, but has all the capabilities of a digimon, like you. Tell me - what's your name?" "I-I think...Raimon. What does this mean, Gennai? What am I?" "You are a digimon who has taken human form. You are still a digimon, and are subject to all physical traits common to digimon, including an attack. Another interesdting name...literally, 'Rai' means 'Thunder' in a real world language. Your attack may involve controlling thunder or lightning - which we haven't seen since Azulongmon was created." A computer terminal had been set up in the oasis. The digimon analyzer flashed Raimon's details onto the screen. He was still a vaccine- type digimon, but the data also listed that he was a 'light digimon' and was 'human-shape'. His attack was the 'Thudercrash', bringing down hails of lightning upon his enemies. "Azulongmon, you told me that there are ten powers. I'd like to meet some of the digimon chosen by those powers." "Only four exist, I'm afraid, other than ourselves of course. The digimon of Courage, Love, Knowledge and Kindness are on File Island. Now that you're at the highest level of digivolution, you can go there." "How?" "Go to the beach. There you'll find many trees. Push one, and you can control a mini island that will take you to File Island."
Raimon walked to the beach, accompanied by his first friends - Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon. He found a tree, and presumed that it would take all four of them to push. But as Raimon laid a hand on it, it immediately tilted towards the Island. The small patch of land that the four digimon were standing on was moving! As they cruised across the sea, Raimon took the chance to examine himself more thouroughly. He was a little younger-looking than Gennai - Elecmon estimated that he was a biologically 14-year old human. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with blue shorts and beach sandals. His hair was a light brown color, short and straight. Finally arriving on File Island, the friends trekked though the dense jungles for a few hours, before finding what they were looking for. A temple, set at the foot of the mountain in the middle of the island. Inside, they were met by several baby digimon, including more Punimon and some fur-covered Yuramon. At one stage they had trouble distinguishing which Punimon was their travelling companion! Climbing up the huge stone steps towards the top of the temple, Raimon wondered what these digimon of Courage, Love, Knowledge and Kindness were like, to deserve such a nice place. As they entered through the door arch, Raimon heard laughter, and then the more serious tone of another digimon. "Who goes there?" The voice was very nasal, sounding like this digimon was talking without opening his mouth much. An intelligent-sounding digimon continued. "You must be the new digimon of Light that Gennai told us about! Please, come on in!" "Your freinds, too! The more the merrier!" To Raimon, this voice sounded...kinda silly. Thinking nothing of it, Raimon walked in, followed closely by Elecmon, Punimon and Betamon. Sitting around a huge stone table were the four digimon. All four (well, three - one was asleep) yelled "Welcome!" so loudly that Punimon dashed behind Betamon in fright. The nasally-voiced digimon introduced himself as Wormmon. Indeed, he looked like a fat green worm, with a small purple mouth. The intelligent- sounding digimon said he was named Hawkmon, and it was a pleasure to make their acquaintence. He was a bird-type digimon with a headband. The silly- sounding digimon was a blue dinosaur-type named Veemon. And the sleeping digimon Hawkmon introduced as Armadillomon. He had a hard shell, with a tail, legs and tired-looking head poking out. "So...you guys are the famous chosen digimon?" Hawkmon answered. "As are you, my friend. Though I didn't know we were that famous. I guess Azulongmon told you where to look, am I right?" "Yeah. I wanted to know...what are your responsibilities? How do you live? I'm really just inquisitive. I was only born yesterday, you know!" Armadillomon had woken up. He answered them in a slow and tired- sounding voice. "Why, we protect the Digital World, of course! What else?" "Come now, Armadillomon, you can't expect him to know that, we've only just met! We live and do our day-to-day stuff in this temple. It's a nice place." "Though it does get a little stuffy in here, sometimes. So we have parties and big meals every so often! You walked in on us just as Wormmon was about to cook his yummy Mushroom Stew!" Veemon sounded so exited at the prospect of food. But it got Raimon wondering. "How do you cook? For that matter, how do you light the place at night? I don't see any fires." "We don't need fire - we go to sleep as soon as it gets dark, and get up when it's light again. As for cooking, Veemon's got that covered." "How? Does he have a fire attack?" "Not exactly. Shall we show them, Armadillomon?" "I'm not in the mood. You demonstrate, Ok Veemon?" "Lazybones. See those digi-eggs along the back wall there?" Raimon looked, and saw three of the most oddly-shaped digi-eggs he had ever seen. One looked like a helmet, with horns. Another was a weirdly- shaped yellow egg. And the last one was the normal shape, but it had a sharp spike sticking out of it. "These are our special digi-eggs. They were given to us by the powers of Courage, Love and Knowledge. They allow us to do this." "What?" "Digi Armor Energize! Veemon, Armor digivolve to...Flamedramon, the fire of Courage!" Veemon had digivovled at will! This came as quite a shock to Punimon, who fainted. No one noticed. Betamon was in awe. "H-how d'you do that? You were at Rookie level!" Flamedramon laughed, then answered him very calmly. "This is the power of the digi-egg of Courage! I can use it to Armor Digivolve! Same for Hawkmon and Armadillomon!" "What about Wormmon?" Wormmon answered this question. "The powers of Kindness elected not to give me a digi-egg. We were born separately from each other - we only hooked up around a year ago, when Veemon and I found this temple. Hawkmon and Armadillomon were already living here, so we thought, why not?" "Armor digivolving is a different type of digivolution. It focuses our special character traits to give us more power. We believe that aside from Azulongmon and the other three guardians, we're the most powerful digimon in the Digital World!" "Thanks, Hawkmon. I hate explanations. You asked me how I cook? Fire Rockets!" Flamedramon shot balls of fire out of his hands, igniting a small stove set into the wall. "If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, you four can join us for a meal! Hey, what happened to your friend?" Armadillomon alerted everyone to Punimon's state of unconsciosness. Waking him up (finally!) they all sat down to enjoy their meal. Of course, Raimon had plenty more questions to ask, whhich the digimon answered between mouthfuls. They continued talking long into the night, even when Elecmon, Betamon and Punimon had fallen asleep.
In the morning, the travellers said their goodbyes and thankyous to the four chosen digimon, and set off back to Server. Before they went, Hawkmon mentioned another interesting fact. "Did you know that you can use the computer terminals as communication devices? You can talk to anyone wherever you are - provided both of you are near a computer, that is. Even so, it's a very handy tool." Back on the mainland, they discovered a landmark that had not been there before - a village! Two rows of houses, made out of building blocks, and a small stone mansion. It looked very welcoming, and they could see that a number of digimon had already made homes there. There was a nursery school for the baby digimon, a place to get water and food, and a fountain in the center. Gennai appeared to greet them. "Wow! Gennai, when did you build this? It looks great!" "And not before time, I might add!" Elecmon added, still staring at all the developments. Raimon was strangely speechless. Gennai attempted to fill them in. "While you were away, the parameters of the Digital World changed! It was so strange - one minute it was desert, the next it was this! Unfortunately, this village is only small, and there is a lot of Server to cover. We'll endeavour to find out how this is caused, and then maybe we can actually do something with all that sand!" "Who's the mansion for?" "Anyone. Mostly the head of the village - they decided that an hour ago - and other influential people. I suggested that you guys stay there, too." "Us? Why? I can understand if Raimon was to stay there, but-" Betamon asked, puzzled at Gennai's statement. "You are Raimon's friends. He won't want to be cooped up in the mansion alone, would he? Value friends above all other things, as you cannot guard against the darkness alone. I have a place, up somewhere else, but I'll be staying here too sometimes. Even when I'm not, you can contact me via computer." And so, Raimon, Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon moved into the mansion, with the head of the village (a Floramon). They learned more about the village while they were staying - Floramon ran the nursery, while Trashmon looked after the environment. There were many more Elecmon to act as guards (Elecmon immediately enrolled himself), and everyone who stayed there seemed to be so happy! No one had any idea what was happening in a remote corner of Server's southern side...
"I...am...created...." The strange digimon floated in the center of a stone cavern. He was black in color. Chains extended out of his body, ending in huge metallic claws. His body was a huge sphere, with a torso and head connected by pulsating red and blue veins. "Who will serve me? No one? Then...." He sent out a shockwave of power, reverberating around the entire Digital World. Four new digimon stood next to him. The dark shockwave didn't have much power when it reached Azulongmon in the Room of Light, but it was enough. He knew. Somehow he had always known this would happen. It had to. After all, as he had told Edamon, there is no light without dark...
"Will Azulongmon do anything about this evil? What will happen to Raimon? Find out on the next Digimon - Digital Monsters!"
---To Be Continued---
(I don't own Digimon, or anything else mentioned here, except for Raimon and his evolutions.)
First, the void... And then, a cracking sound. A tiny face peeped through the cracks in a strangely-colored egg. In a secret hideaway somewhere in the Digital World, a young man sat at a computer, monitoring this egg. "It's hatched."
The tiny creature that came forth from that egg did not know much, but what it did know confused it. Firstly, it was male. It had guessed that. Secondly, he was a member of a species known as 'Botamon'. What this meant, he did not know. He appeared to be lying on a flat, barren land. The sea stretched out in front of him. The Botamon decided that, since he had not been given a name, he would name himself. He was lost in thought for a while, until he came up with the perfect name. Botamon. His name reflected his physiology - what better to call oneself? He had not been given much time to contemplate where he was, or what he should do, when a rumbling sound echoed through the clouds above his head. "Good morning, little one." Botamon shrieked in terror as he saw a huge, transparent dragon, wrapped in chains. It spoke through a mouth covered with a thick white beard. "Sorry! Don't run away, I didn't mean to scare you...my purpose is to inform you. After all, this world was once new to me, too. My name is Azulongmon." And then, the creature known as Botamon uttered it's first words. Strange how they should be to a twenty-metre floating dragon, he thought. "What are you?" "I am the guardian of the eastern region. The land on which you stand is known as Server, part of the Digital World." Considering that he'd only just popped out of an egg, most of that sentence made no sense to Botamon. "Could you...explain that?" "Hmm...the Digital World was created around three years ago. It's comprised of computer data. Unfortunately, around the eastern region, desert is all we've got at the moment. It's hard to find the exterior decorators, hehe. And across the ocean, that's File Island. Since it's in the east, it's under my jurisdiction as well." "Computer data? Is that all I am?" "Of course not. You are alive. A breathing, living being, just like everybody else here." "Everybody else? Others like me?" "Actually, there's no-one like you yet. You're the first member of your species. Many more digimon will be named after you." Digimon. Yes, that sounded familiar. Botamon was a digimon, and Azulongmon was a digimon. Botamon wondered how many more digimon exist. "If you want to find anyone around here, File Island would be the best place to look. Although, until you mature, you'd be best off staying here. Besides, we need to watch you. After all, we wouldn't want your species to become extinct, would we?" Azulongmon spoke with such a wise and resounding voice that Botamon found it hard to disagree. As he flew off into the clouds, he delivered this cryptic message: "We have big plans for you, little Botamon. You're special. Farewell!" "Special? How am I special? What do you mean? Come back!"
Botamon was more confused than ever. He wandered Server's eastern side, looking for answers. He hadn't gotten far, when the weirdest creature he'd ever seen appeared from out of nowhere. "Hello. Have you seen Azulongmon around? I need to speak with him." This creature moved on two long poles, sticking out of his body. His face was similarly detatched. On the sides of his body where two more poles. Still staring at the odd being, Botamon almost forgot it's question. "Huh? Oh - I was just speaking with him. Over that way. Say, can I talk to you for a minute or two?" The creature thought for a moment, then replied. "I don't see why not. You're the Botamon that hatched around half an hour ago, right? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gennai. You could call me the caretaker of the Digital World. If you spoke to Azulongmon, I apologize. He can be a little cryptic, can't he?" "R-right. He said something about me being special, and not to go to File Island until I mature, or something like that. Do you know what he means?" "Indeed. Maturing is just his way of describing the moment in life when a digimon changes shape. You're a baby now, but when you mature, you'll be in-training, and finally a rookie. We're still in the process of examining this phenomenon, so it's unsure when you'll mature. As for you being special, he was right. You are special. We don't quite know how or why yet, but I sense you have the potential to do great things for this world. Anyhow, I gotta run, to keep up with Azulongmon! Catch you later!" And with that, he disappeared.
Intrigued by what both strange beings had said to him, Botamon started hopping to the south, in the hope of finding someone who could tell him more. Perhaps there were more beings like Gennai? Or, if Azulongmon was the eastern guardian, who guards the other three quarters? He soon found, however, that the Digital World was a much bigger place than he'd expected. Hours passed, and it seemed that Azulongmon was right - the eastern side really was all desert! Thinking that if he did not find water soon, he would simply collapse, Botamon powered his jumps to cover more distance. His prayers were answered. A small oasis lay before him. Most people would expect it to be a mirage, but thankfully for Botamon, it wasn't. Better still, three digimon were crowded around the pool! The larger of the three, who introduced himself as Elecmon, proceeded to tell him all about... "Drinking! Of course, all we digimon need is water, but some prefer it under special conditions. My friend Penguinmon likes it ice-cold. I really go for it if I can charge it up with a little electricity beforehand. How do you like yours?" "I, uh, don't really know yet. Y'see, this is my first drink, and..." "Ah! Say no more. Don't be scared about trying it - I was a little intimidated at first, but now, I have nothing but praise! The best drink in this world, and it's readily available!" Botamon paused for a moment. He tentatively dipped his tongue into the shimmering surface of the water - and found that it was surprisingly refreshing! Though a little bland in flavor, he thought. Still, it quenched his thirst. "Have you eaten yet? If you find yourself in a forest, try a mushroom. There are several different kinds. Or in a place like this, you might like coconuts. They're those brown things at the top of the tree. You might need a larger digimon to knock it down and break it open, though - I usually ask Azulongmon, if he's in the area, or a Flymon." This came from a Betamon, sitting opposite him. Botamon was surprised that such an almighty digimon as Azulongmon wold consent to breaking coconuts. Betamon saw his puzzled expression, and added, "Azulongmon's a really nice guy. Doesn't talk much, but he protects us all from harm. Guess that extends to helping us with our food." The other digimon at the pool was a Punimon. His words of wisdom were, "Look, I know I'm only young, but I still have info worth knowing. Resting is the best thing to do when you're tired! Just stop, close your eyes, and you're away! It's so fun." Thinking of how tired he was, Botamon decided that he would try this 'resting' thing. After all, what harm could it do? He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting away...
"Azulongmon! Quick, you have to come look at this!" Gennai exitedly paced the floor of his secret hideout, his eyes glued to one screen in particular. The screen showed the same oasis that Botamon was sleeping in. But there was something different. "What is it, Gennai? You know how busy I am." "Sorry, but this is amazing! Look - the Botamon that just hatched had digivolved!" "So? They do that all the time." "But this is different. The parameters for this digimon aren't on the database. This is a completely new type of digimon, and we know nothing about it! "Now that is strange. You'd think they'd have the courtesy to put a new digimon on our databse for us, if we're going to study it." And what of Botamon? He certainly didn't feel any different when he woke up from his nap. Elecmon and Punimon had moved on. Betamon was asleep. He looked down - and was totally shocked at what he saw. His body was now a light blue color, with short, stumpy feet at the bottom. His face was more pronounced, and he had a crest of spiky fur jutting out of the back of his head. His in-built sense of discovery told him that he was now a 'Edamon'. And he thought, he might as well change his name. After all, what would be the point of being named Botamon if he was not a Botamon any more? "Pretty cool, huh?" Gennai was back, sitting next to him by the pool. "This is what we mean by 'maturing', little guy. You're now at the training stage of your development." "Am I an Edamon now?" "Edamon, huh? Interesting name. I'll have to record this." "You mean...I'm the first Edamon to ever exist? Just like I was when I was Botamon?" "'Fraid so. Only this time, we weren't expecting a new digimon. I was expecting a Tsunomon, or a Tokomon. See what I mean about being special?" Edamon did not quite see what Gennai meant, but he nodded anyway. "Anyhow, we'll se how it goes. I'll speak to you soon. 'Bye!" "Uh, goodbye." Betamon had woken up, and was eyeing his eating partner with some scrutiy. "You know, I've never seen a digimon like you around. And I've travelled the length and breadth of the eastern region. What are you?" "According to Gennai, I'm the first Edamon ever to exist." "In-training form, huh? Well, now you should have an attack. And a type, I'd imagine. I need to find something. Will you come with me?" Eager to learn more about both the world and himself, Edamon followed Betamon to a small stone structure, around half a mile away from the oasis. On top of the structure were strange symbols. Betamon jumped up, and pushed some of these symbols into the structure. A glowing computer screen appeared out of nowhere, the words "Digimon Analyzer" displayed at the top, and a picutre of Edamon near the middle. "Ah. It says you're a vaccine-type digimon, although I'm not sure what you vaccinate. And your attack is the "Spike Press". You can try it on me - I'm Rookie level, it won't hurt me too much." "How do I attack?" "I'm guessing it involves those spiky hairs on your head. Maybe, try backflipping onto me? But watch out for my fin, OK? Oh yeah, you have to say the name of the attack as you perform it. It seems to help." Betamon stood himself at the base of the stone computer. Edamon jumped, high into the air, flipped himself around so that the spikes on his head were pointing towards the ground, and....hit the sand with a dull thud. "OK, don't be disheartened. You just need to aim a little better. Try standing on the computer, then jumping." Edamon jumped on the computer - but, in his excitement, accidentally pressed in one of the stone buttons. "What was that button? Whoah...this is bad! We'd better get out of here!" The stone computer was receding into the ground! White light streamed out of it, and Edemon tried to jump off and away. But he was too late - it pulled him in!
All Edemon saw was white. All around him. The room was covered in it. Azulongmon descended out of the whiteness. "I don't usually get visitors in the Room of Light - least of all newly discovered digimon! How, exactly, did you get here?" "Well, I was practising my attack with Betamon, but I accidentally pressed a button, and then the ground shook, and I was here!" "Interesting. Usually only digimon who's speciality is the power of light ever make it to this room. This would indicate that you are one of the digimon of light, my friend. You are in a position of great responsibility." "How do you mean?" "When a digimon is eyed by the Powers of Light, they become a digimon of light. Same goes for the other powers - Courage, Friendship, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope, Love, Kindness and Darkness." "So what do these powers do?" "They maintain the balance between good and evil in this world. Believe it or not, exil does exist. It must exist - there is no light without darkness, after all. If the balance is thrown off, then the Digital World and all the other worlds start mixing in together, creating chaos. You have a special ability to thwart the dark powers. Your main goal is to keep the balance exactly the same as it is now - as is my goal." "I think I finally understand - you and Gennai both said I was special. I never really believed it until now. Thank you for explaining, Azulongmon. I'll go now." But Azulongmon hovered in front of him, preventing him from leaving. "Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than we thought. There are only two digimon of light in this world - yourself, and I. We must work hand in hand to protect this world. So, you need to be familiar with the other major world - the real world." The image of strange, metal structures appeared all around the walls of the Room of Light. Creatures who looked similar to Gennai were walking around in green fields. Edamon could see that they were very similar to digimon - they ate, drank and slept just as he did. "Who are they? There must be over a thousand of them!" "They are known as humans. They're the main inhabitants of the real world, though there are others. There are more than a million humans in the real world, and none of them know about the Digital World. Therefore, we must protect them from it. We must stop the dark powers having any influence over the real world." "But how will we do that? Can we go there?" "Of course! But there is a problem - the humans know nothing about digimon. Imagine if you or I or any other digimon were to suddenly appear! There would be panic and anarchy. So Gennai was created in the likeness of a human. This enables him to monitor both worlds from inside either. The main problem with this idea is that Gennai is not a digimon. He's made from the same data, but has no attributes - attacks, a type, everything that makes us digimon." Azulongmon paused, to think for a moment. Edamon didn't really know what to say - it was all so much to take in, so fast! "I believe I have an answer. Digivolution, as Gennai has named the process, means changing your physical form. You did it once before, when you were a Botamon. Now if I open up the gate..." A shimmering gate of golden light appeared in the Room of Light. The light streamed onto the two digimon. "This gate leads directly to the real world. I've never gone through it, and neither will you - at least, not for some time yet. I'll attempt to adapt this light into your data. This may feel a little tingly, but it shouldn't hurt." Edamon suddenly felt extremely strange. There was power coursing through him - more power than he could handle! If he didn't find a way to control it, he felt he would explode! Then, the answer came to him, from the back of his mind. "Digivolve, Edamon! It's your only chance! Do it!" Edamon concentrated...pushed all the energy out away from him...and began to change. "Edamon, digivolve to....Raimon!" It was complete. He felt different - stranger than the had been when he was Botamon or Edamon. He was now named Raimon. Looking down on himself, he saw a human torso, arms and legs, covered in soft material. He didn't know what to make of this, so he did what anyone in his position would have done - fainted.
When he finally came to, he saw five faces looking down upon him anxiously - Azulongmon, Gennai, Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon. Gennai smiled as Raimon sat up. He was back at the oasis. "Well, this certainly came as a shock to us", piped up Punimon. "Yeah! As soon as I told Gennai what happened, he came over right away! But all he found was you - and Azulongmon hovering over you." This from Betamon. "Was there something in that water? I wouldn't have said drink it if I'd known..." "There is nothing wrong with our water, Elecmon. My plan worked out perfectly. As soon as I redirected the energy from the real world gate into your data, you felt supercharged, right? So you digivolved to control that power. But due to the nature of the power, the form you took was human." Azulongmon's words calmed Raimon. So it wasn't all a big mistake - he was meant to be in human form. "That was a good idea, Azulongmon. At least now, we have someone who can go to the real world, like me, but has all the capabilities of a digimon, like you. Tell me - what's your name?" "I-I think...Raimon. What does this mean, Gennai? What am I?" "You are a digimon who has taken human form. You are still a digimon, and are subject to all physical traits common to digimon, including an attack. Another interesdting name...literally, 'Rai' means 'Thunder' in a real world language. Your attack may involve controlling thunder or lightning - which we haven't seen since Azulongmon was created." A computer terminal had been set up in the oasis. The digimon analyzer flashed Raimon's details onto the screen. He was still a vaccine- type digimon, but the data also listed that he was a 'light digimon' and was 'human-shape'. His attack was the 'Thudercrash', bringing down hails of lightning upon his enemies. "Azulongmon, you told me that there are ten powers. I'd like to meet some of the digimon chosen by those powers." "Only four exist, I'm afraid, other than ourselves of course. The digimon of Courage, Love, Knowledge and Kindness are on File Island. Now that you're at the highest level of digivolution, you can go there." "How?" "Go to the beach. There you'll find many trees. Push one, and you can control a mini island that will take you to File Island."
Raimon walked to the beach, accompanied by his first friends - Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon. He found a tree, and presumed that it would take all four of them to push. But as Raimon laid a hand on it, it immediately tilted towards the Island. The small patch of land that the four digimon were standing on was moving! As they cruised across the sea, Raimon took the chance to examine himself more thouroughly. He was a little younger-looking than Gennai - Elecmon estimated that he was a biologically 14-year old human. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with blue shorts and beach sandals. His hair was a light brown color, short and straight. Finally arriving on File Island, the friends trekked though the dense jungles for a few hours, before finding what they were looking for. A temple, set at the foot of the mountain in the middle of the island. Inside, they were met by several baby digimon, including more Punimon and some fur-covered Yuramon. At one stage they had trouble distinguishing which Punimon was their travelling companion! Climbing up the huge stone steps towards the top of the temple, Raimon wondered what these digimon of Courage, Love, Knowledge and Kindness were like, to deserve such a nice place. As they entered through the door arch, Raimon heard laughter, and then the more serious tone of another digimon. "Who goes there?" The voice was very nasal, sounding like this digimon was talking without opening his mouth much. An intelligent-sounding digimon continued. "You must be the new digimon of Light that Gennai told us about! Please, come on in!" "Your freinds, too! The more the merrier!" To Raimon, this voice sounded...kinda silly. Thinking nothing of it, Raimon walked in, followed closely by Elecmon, Punimon and Betamon. Sitting around a huge stone table were the four digimon. All four (well, three - one was asleep) yelled "Welcome!" so loudly that Punimon dashed behind Betamon in fright. The nasally-voiced digimon introduced himself as Wormmon. Indeed, he looked like a fat green worm, with a small purple mouth. The intelligent- sounding digimon said he was named Hawkmon, and it was a pleasure to make their acquaintence. He was a bird-type digimon with a headband. The silly- sounding digimon was a blue dinosaur-type named Veemon. And the sleeping digimon Hawkmon introduced as Armadillomon. He had a hard shell, with a tail, legs and tired-looking head poking out. "So...you guys are the famous chosen digimon?" Hawkmon answered. "As are you, my friend. Though I didn't know we were that famous. I guess Azulongmon told you where to look, am I right?" "Yeah. I wanted to know...what are your responsibilities? How do you live? I'm really just inquisitive. I was only born yesterday, you know!" Armadillomon had woken up. He answered them in a slow and tired- sounding voice. "Why, we protect the Digital World, of course! What else?" "Come now, Armadillomon, you can't expect him to know that, we've only just met! We live and do our day-to-day stuff in this temple. It's a nice place." "Though it does get a little stuffy in here, sometimes. So we have parties and big meals every so often! You walked in on us just as Wormmon was about to cook his yummy Mushroom Stew!" Veemon sounded so exited at the prospect of food. But it got Raimon wondering. "How do you cook? For that matter, how do you light the place at night? I don't see any fires." "We don't need fire - we go to sleep as soon as it gets dark, and get up when it's light again. As for cooking, Veemon's got that covered." "How? Does he have a fire attack?" "Not exactly. Shall we show them, Armadillomon?" "I'm not in the mood. You demonstrate, Ok Veemon?" "Lazybones. See those digi-eggs along the back wall there?" Raimon looked, and saw three of the most oddly-shaped digi-eggs he had ever seen. One looked like a helmet, with horns. Another was a weirdly- shaped yellow egg. And the last one was the normal shape, but it had a sharp spike sticking out of it. "These are our special digi-eggs. They were given to us by the powers of Courage, Love and Knowledge. They allow us to do this." "What?" "Digi Armor Energize! Veemon, Armor digivolve to...Flamedramon, the fire of Courage!" Veemon had digivovled at will! This came as quite a shock to Punimon, who fainted. No one noticed. Betamon was in awe. "H-how d'you do that? You were at Rookie level!" Flamedramon laughed, then answered him very calmly. "This is the power of the digi-egg of Courage! I can use it to Armor Digivolve! Same for Hawkmon and Armadillomon!" "What about Wormmon?" Wormmon answered this question. "The powers of Kindness elected not to give me a digi-egg. We were born separately from each other - we only hooked up around a year ago, when Veemon and I found this temple. Hawkmon and Armadillomon were already living here, so we thought, why not?" "Armor digivolving is a different type of digivolution. It focuses our special character traits to give us more power. We believe that aside from Azulongmon and the other three guardians, we're the most powerful digimon in the Digital World!" "Thanks, Hawkmon. I hate explanations. You asked me how I cook? Fire Rockets!" Flamedramon shot balls of fire out of his hands, igniting a small stove set into the wall. "If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, you four can join us for a meal! Hey, what happened to your friend?" Armadillomon alerted everyone to Punimon's state of unconsciosness. Waking him up (finally!) they all sat down to enjoy their meal. Of course, Raimon had plenty more questions to ask, whhich the digimon answered between mouthfuls. They continued talking long into the night, even when Elecmon, Betamon and Punimon had fallen asleep.
In the morning, the travellers said their goodbyes and thankyous to the four chosen digimon, and set off back to Server. Before they went, Hawkmon mentioned another interesting fact. "Did you know that you can use the computer terminals as communication devices? You can talk to anyone wherever you are - provided both of you are near a computer, that is. Even so, it's a very handy tool." Back on the mainland, they discovered a landmark that had not been there before - a village! Two rows of houses, made out of building blocks, and a small stone mansion. It looked very welcoming, and they could see that a number of digimon had already made homes there. There was a nursery school for the baby digimon, a place to get water and food, and a fountain in the center. Gennai appeared to greet them. "Wow! Gennai, when did you build this? It looks great!" "And not before time, I might add!" Elecmon added, still staring at all the developments. Raimon was strangely speechless. Gennai attempted to fill them in. "While you were away, the parameters of the Digital World changed! It was so strange - one minute it was desert, the next it was this! Unfortunately, this village is only small, and there is a lot of Server to cover. We'll endeavour to find out how this is caused, and then maybe we can actually do something with all that sand!" "Who's the mansion for?" "Anyone. Mostly the head of the village - they decided that an hour ago - and other influential people. I suggested that you guys stay there, too." "Us? Why? I can understand if Raimon was to stay there, but-" Betamon asked, puzzled at Gennai's statement. "You are Raimon's friends. He won't want to be cooped up in the mansion alone, would he? Value friends above all other things, as you cannot guard against the darkness alone. I have a place, up somewhere else, but I'll be staying here too sometimes. Even when I'm not, you can contact me via computer." And so, Raimon, Betamon, Elecmon and Punimon moved into the mansion, with the head of the village (a Floramon). They learned more about the village while they were staying - Floramon ran the nursery, while Trashmon looked after the environment. There were many more Elecmon to act as guards (Elecmon immediately enrolled himself), and everyone who stayed there seemed to be so happy! No one had any idea what was happening in a remote corner of Server's southern side...
"I...am...created...." The strange digimon floated in the center of a stone cavern. He was black in color. Chains extended out of his body, ending in huge metallic claws. His body was a huge sphere, with a torso and head connected by pulsating red and blue veins. "Who will serve me? No one? Then...." He sent out a shockwave of power, reverberating around the entire Digital World. Four new digimon stood next to him. The dark shockwave didn't have much power when it reached Azulongmon in the Room of Light, but it was enough. He knew. Somehow he had always known this would happen. It had to. After all, as he had told Edamon, there is no light without dark...
"Will Azulongmon do anything about this evil? What will happen to Raimon? Find out on the next Digimon - Digital Monsters!"
---To Be Continued---
