Episode One – Get a Fire Power!
The boy's eyes opened slowly. He sat up, groaning as his back protested. It felt like an elephant had stepped on him. "Where…?" he began to ask, his voice a cracking tenor.
"Inazuma-san! Come here, I think he's waking up!" came a girl's voice. It was a high, bubbly voice, perfect for the little girl roles in shoujo anime. The owner of the voice stood a few feet away, a short girl about his age. She had shiny black curls pulled into two bouncy pigtails, a pink dress with quarter-length sleeves, and sparkling baby blue eyes. She just about defined the word "cute."
"Really, Chibiko? Good, I was starting to worry." The boy speaking was also his age, but he was tall. He wore dark green corduroy overalls over a light green shirt. His short brown hair was a shade lighter than his own, and his mischievous hazel eyes carried a sense of fun-loving to his features. "So, what's your name?"
"Seikyuu. Seikyuu Kanbara. Um, what just happened? I was in the alley, and suddenly there was this—"
"—Flash of light? Yeah, I think we all have the same story," Inazuma interrupted. He then looked behind him at someone sitting beneath a tree. "I think that kid knows more about what's going on than we do."
Seikyuu turned his eyes to the figure beneath the tree. A boy leaned against it, his eyes closed. His short, rich chestnut hair fell across his face like water. He wore a grey sweater with the hood down and grey sweatpants with yellow stripes up the sides. The light filtered in through the leaves played across his soft features flatteringly. Seikyuu sighed inwardly; this pretty boy probably had no trouble with girls.
The boy cracked one sapphire blue eye open, as if he could sense Seikyuu looking at him. "What're you looking at?" he asked in a quiet, even voice.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Seikyuu took the opportunity to examine his surroundings. They were on a grassy hill overlooking several other hills, a small forest, and a river. The sun beamed down on everything, glinting off the burbling river and making each blade of grass shine with its own light. "Where on earth are we?"
Something white popped over the top of the hill. "T-Takuya Kanbara...is that you?" What looked like a cross between a duck and monkey wearing a pink belt stood beside Seikyuu. It had beady black eyes and a dark grey bill.
Seikyuu blinked five times in a row. "No, he's my dad. What the heck are you?"
The girl, Chibiko, let out a squeal. "Oh, you're so cute!" She picked up the talking duck-monkey and hugged it.
After she put it down, the weird animal resumed talking. "I am Bokomon, keeper of the book. Welcome to the Digital World!"
The boy beneath the tree turned his head, obviously interested. "So you're a Digimon...and we're in the Digital World..."
The other three children gasped. "Are we really in the Digital World?!" they asked at the same time.
"Do you have to talk in chorus?" groaned the boy. "You sound like the anime people on TV. And how do you all know about the Digital World?"
"Our parents told us about it," they answered in unison, grinning wickedly at the boy. Then they paused. "Your parents went to the Digital World, too?"
The boy rolled over onto his side. "Hmm, now isn't that interesting? Seikyuu, since you already said that you were Takuya's kid, I'm guessing that Chibiko and Inazuma are the children of Tomiki and Junpei, right?"
As the two in question nodded, Bokomon asked, "Whose child are you, if you don't mind my asking."
"Isn't it obvious?" the boy asked, azure eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm a Minamoto. Saisho Minamoto."
Seikyuu looked sharply at Saisho. Seikyuu had seen photos of his father's friend, Kouji Minamoto, and this auburn haired kid didn't look like him at all. Saisho looked back at him, equally as sharp. Those eyes...they were just as deep blue as the bandanna-clad boy in the photos. They seemed innocent enough on the surface, but they were filled with hidden secrets that Seikyuu couldn't even begin to guess at.
Bokomon interrupted their staring contest. "How did you all get here? You're miles away from any Trailmon stations, so—"
Saisho sighed. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, guys; just stay here until I figure out a way to get you all back." He rose to his feet and began walking away. The sunlight glinted off the watch on his left wrist before he disappeared from view.
There was an awkward silence following his departure. Inazuma broke it. "Well, that was definitely weird; what does he mean it's his fault?"
Bokomon shook his head sadly. "He certainly does follow in his father's footsteps. Don't worry; I'm sure we will be seeing him again. For the time being, however, why don't you come with me? I will take you on a tour of the Digital World, which, thanks to your parents, has been restored to its former glory."
The three kids looked at each other and shrugged. "That's fine with us," Seikyuu said.
Inazuma tuned out the monotonous drone of Bokomon's tour and the few "ooh's" and "ahh's" interjected by Seikyuu and Chibiko. He had already heard all about the Digital World from his parents, and he was more worried about why they were here. Everything happened for a reason, and that kid, Saisho, definitely knew more than he was letting on. Something smelled rotten, and it wasn't Seikyuu's socks, though they did smell pretty awful.
Bokomon was in the middle of explaining the history of meat apples when a shadow fell on the group. A low growl tore the air and Chibiko gasped in fright as they looked up.
The huge, black, dog-like Digimon bared its teeth...all three sets of them! "Human children," it snarled, "human children like the ones who defeated me before! I will have my vengeance!" It lunged at them, snapping wildly with its jaws.
"Oh, no!" cried Bokomon. "It's Cerebusmon, the Digimon that attacked Takuya on his first day in the Digital World!" His account was cut short when Cerebusmon exhaled three giant green fireballs at each of the children.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeee!" screamed Chibiko, paralyzed from terror. Her eyes were fixed on the fireball that headed straight for her.
Inazuma was cut off from Chibiko by a wall of green flame that had followed the initial blast. "Chibiko!" he yelled.
Chibiko felt like she had been turned to stone. She couldn't move from the path of the blaze. The green flares of the fireball reflected in her terror-stricken sky-blue eyes. She screwed them up and opened her mouth for a final scream.
The scream never came. Chibiko felt herself hit the ground with a thud as something pushed her sideways. A wave of heat passed her on the left. She half-opened one eye to see what had happened.
Seikyuu lurched to his feet; he had apparently tackled her to get her out of harm's way. "Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.
"Y-yes," she answered, not completely recovered from the fear and the shock of hitting the ground. She tugged a pigtail to make sure she was really still alive. "Thanks, Seikyuu-san."
"No prob—" Seikyuu abruptly stopped as something caught his eye. No, more like it called to him. It felt like a fire on a cold winter's day, beckoning to him through his mind's eye. He started walking toward a crater in the ground created by Cerebusmon. As he reached the lip of the hole, a pillar of fire erupted from the bottom. He flinched back from the roaring flame towering over him.
"No!" howled the Cerebusmon, sending three fireballs at the pillar of fire. The dog's hackles were up and his ears were laid flat against his skull. His tail was between his legs; Inazuma could practically _smell_ his fear.
Seikyuu was too busy worrying about the fireballs headed towards him to see how scared his attacker was. He almost took a step back, but then he remembered that the pillar of fire was right there. He spun around, desperately trying to get out of the tight space he was in. The fireballs closed in and Seikyuu shut his eyes tight.
He could see the fire even with his eyes closed. Even now, it seemed to call to him, daring him to step through. As he opened his eyes and turned towards it, he mumbled, "I've always been a pyromaniac, but this is crazy!" Nevertheless, he gathered his courage...
...And stepped through, the fireballs breaking on the pillar of fire. The flames of the fire were all around him, but they didn't harm him. They felt kind of nice, actually. He looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. A Spirit floated in the center of the pillar. It called to him, but he didn't have a D-Tector to scan it with. He reached out a hand for the Spirit...
...Somewhere in the human world, Takuya, now an adult, pivoted as his D-Tector flew out of his pocket. He chased it as it flew around the corner of his office and started to sink into a rift of the dimensions. A familiar gloved hand reached out to take it, and as it drew back into whence it came, Takuya sank to his knees. "Seikyuu..."
...As Seikyuu realized he gripped something, he thought he heard his father's voice. He pulled his hand back and almost dropped what it held. It was, unmistakably, his father's D-Tector. "Dad..." he whispered, unsure of what to do.
You know what to do. Follow your heart
Seikyuu jumped at the voice. He didn't hear it with his ears, but with his mind. It sounded like the bays of a wild pack of coyotes on the hunt; the friendly bark of a dog who knows that its master has come home. It was fierce, kind, dangerous, loyal, frightening, and welcoming at the same time. Something in his heart joined the call, and he suddenly knew what to do. "Spirit!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing the D-Tector at the Spirit of Fire. A beam shot out of his father's, now his, D-Tector.
"Execute...Spirit Evolution!" A ring of fractal code appeared around Seikyuu's hand, and he scanned it. There was a blinding flash of light and fire; the two other children and Bokomon shielded their eyes from the explosion of power. When their eyes cleared, where there was once a pillar of fire, a Digimon now stood. His bare feet poked out from under the edges of a baggy pair of red trousers. Over a red kimono top was a breastplate of red and black lacquered armor. Thrust in his belt was a sheathed katana. Over his flowing white hair was a red helmet, allowing a pair of pointy white dog ears to poke through. Suddenly, the pillar of fire erupted again, wreathing the new Digimon in dancing flames. He dispersed the flames with a cry, "Hiinumon!"
Bokomon opened his book. "Well, this is new!" he said as he began writing something down.
Chibiko gasped. "That's Seikyuu-san! He found a Spirit and digivolved!"
"No way," said Inazuma, totally in awe.
Hiinumon: Spirit of Fire; he strikes with his Fire Punch and Flame Sword attacks Ophanimon's voice resonated through the air. Though she had become a Digi-egg in a fight with Cherubimon, her spirit still lingered on in the Digital World. Bokomon scribbled more in his book; who knew when it would come in handy?
Somewhere off in the forest, the pillar of fire could be seen in the distance. The Minamoto boy, Saisho, turned his head and narrowed his eyes at it. "That couldn't be..." He let his voice trail off and turned back onto his original course. He didn't know why, but something about that direction assured him of action. He never could resist a good fight.
Cerebusmon backed off from the new arrival. Though Hiinumon was less than a fifth his size, something about the way he held himself warned the black dog of danger. The three-headed monster recognized the smell of a Spirit in the red-clad dog-like Digimon.
Hiinumon, on the other hand, just seemed to be itching for a fight. He leaped into action, jumping three times his height to the eye level of Cerebusmon. "Fire Punch!" he yelled, striking out with flaming fists in a rapid-fire attack to the sensitive area of his opponent's face; the nose.
Cerebusmon's middle head let out a yelp at his now seriously injured snout. Retaliating out of desperation, he threw a dozen green fireballs at Hiinumon.
"Hiinumon, move yourself!" shouted Inazuma.
Hiinumon seemed to ignore Junpei's son. He faced the fireballs stoically and slowly moved his hand until it rested on his sword hilt. At the last possible moment, he drew his sword in a flurry of sparks. "Flame Sword!" he cried as flares began to race up and down his katana. He leaped again and cut each of the fireballs in half, their unnatural blazes dissipating. Hiinumon landed on Cerebusmon's right head. He pressed the edge of his sword to the middle head's neck. "Care to surrender?" he asked calmly.
Cerebusmon didn't dare move his middle or right heads, but his left head's eyes narrowed evilly. Without warning, it snapped out, its canine teeth long and sharp. Its jaws closed on air, however; Cerebusmon looked around to see where his foe had gone.
"Up here, moron!" taunted Hiinumon. He had used the classic jump up trick and was now bearing down on Cerebusmon at high velocity. "Well, you had your chance. Flame Sword!" Hiinumon raised his sword above his head with both hands and swung it down. A crescent-shaped flame burst from it, incinerating Cerebusmon. Hiinumon landed on his feet and raised his father's D-Tector. "Fractal Code Digitize!" He scanned Cerebusmon's Fractal Code, returning the big dog to its Digi-egg state. Hiinumon De-digivolved to Seikyuu, who promptly sat down hard. He looked at the D-Tector in his hand; it was no longer the red and black one he once knew. It was now red with bronze stripes running diagonally across.
"Thanks, Dad," he whispered.
"Seikyuu-san!" He looked up to see Chibiko, Inazuma, and Bokomon all running towards him. Chibiko got there first, flinging her arms around his neck and almost knocking him all the way to the ground. "You're okay! And you got a Spirit!"
"Uh...yeah..." Seikyuu mumbled, a blush spreading across his nose. As if sensing his discomfort, Chibiko hastily got up, blushing as well. Inazuma looked from one to the other, a mix of relief at Seikyuu's well being and jealousy over Chibiko. 'How come _he_ gets the girl?' he thought enviously.
Seikyuu, not noticing his friend's reaction, picked up his D-Tector. The sign for the Spirit of Fire flashed briefly and then an image of Cerebusmon's Fractal Code appeared. He pressed a button experimentally. The Code flew out of the screen and materialized in the form of a few trees. "So evil Digimon are still after the Fractal Code, huh?"
"Yes, unfortunately," Bokomon answered. "But it seems that more evil Digimon are appearing now than since twenty years ago, when your parents saved the Digital World. I'm not sure what causes them to return to their evil ways, but it seems that fate has supplied us with new Warriors and new Spirits."
The three children looked at each other, not sure what to think about being the new saviors of a world that wasn't their own. Seikyuu was the first to come to a decision. "Well, count me in!"
"Me, too!' added Inazuma, trying to impress Chibiko.
She giggled and put her hand on top of the two boys'. "I'd like to help the world my parents saved!"
"Yeah!" they shouted as one, raising their hands into the air.
A/N: Okay, that took too long to write. I'm trying not to make the kids perfect clones of their parents, either. Oh, and I'm sure you're wondering who ended up with who. TOO BAD!! You'll find out later. Okay, I know that Seikyuu is another goggle-head, but, let's face it, the show wouldn't be complete without one. And, yeah, Hiinumon's appearance was affected by another anime that I'm obsessed with. Now that I'm done with Seikyuu's part, I can move on to my favorite character! Stay tuned for Episode Two: Enter the Warrior of Light; Saisho's a WHAT?!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Digital World, Takuya & co., or the Digimon that you recognize; I do own the kids and their Spirits.