The Meadow of the Beast, Digital World
Ron fell to the ground. When he got up he saw a vast meadow with a forest standing in the distance. He felt the breeze whistling through his hair as he looked around. When he noticed his comrades he was shocked. Tai wore a blue long-sleeve with jeans and wore his goggles. Matt's hair was spiked and he wore a green and white long-sleeve with grey cargo pants. TK's ball cap was almost a helmet, matching his green outfit. Mimi's dress now had an almost Indian braiding to it while Izzi looked the same. Sora also looked the same. Joe and Kari looked completely different. Instead of wizard's robes or shirts, Kari's hair was longer, going past her back. She wore a cloak made of brown eagle feathers and a winged helmet. Joe looked similar, his cloak black with raven feathers. Davis had a coat patterned with flames that looked like something an aviator might wear. Yolei had an orange helmet over her hair and an outfit for traveling. Cody had crème colored pants and shirt. Ken had a crème outfit with a short cape in the back. Kazu had his blue visor and a dark shirt. Rika wore a shirt with a blue heart and blue cargo pants. Ai had a pretty purple dress on while Mako had jeans and a purple top. Suzie wore a pink Chinese outfit, her brother wearing one in shades of blue and green. Ryo had an armored vest and brown machine like clothing. Jeri was wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts. Kenta had a black jumpsuit on, under a grey t-shirt. Marcus wore torn clothes, red shirt and blue pants. Keenan sported blue and purple face paint and a cloak of feathers. Kristy had pink shirt and blue jeans. Sampson was in his old DATS outfit and Homer was back in fishing gear. Spencer had a grey-brown traveling cloak under a pair of pants and a shirt. Miki wore a black jumpsuit and Megumi, a white one. Thomas had on pants and a blue shirt and Yoshi wore the same, a pink shirt instead. Willis wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans. The outfits of the Warriors were more shocking. JP wore a cloak with some funny lines on it over his favorite jumpsuit. Zoey had a purple skirt and a striped top under a cloak with a picture of what looked like a woman done in lines. Tommy had his hat and clothes on but again, he had an odd symbol on a cloak. Koji was back in his bandana and blue clothing, also sporting a weird symbol'd cloak. Koichi was back in green, his hair free. Just like his friends, he too had a weird cloak. These outfits were nothing compared to Takuya. He had his cargo pants on as well as a yellow shirt, but both had holes all over them, through which Ron could see glowing skin. His goggles looked like they were made of fire, the lenses even clearer than ever. Even this was nothing compared to Harry. The boy's eyes were blazing fire as was his hair. The cloak he wore also was made of flames. Around Harry, the air wavered, flames covering the boy. Even through his amazement, Ron could see the look of pure anger on Harry's face.
"How did you get here?" Harry demanded.
Before Ron could answer, Takuya laughed, "Easy Harry, didn't you do the same thing?"
"No! I was forced here; he came of his own free will!"
"Fair enough."
"Well no matter, we didn't go exploring much last year so why don't we go wander?" Spencer said.
Harry and Takuya looked at each other. "You guys go ahead, Takuya and I need to do something first." Harry spoke up.
Sampson froze and then spoke up, "We'll all go and then explore."
Harry held up a flaming hand. "It's too dangerous for anyone but us to go. Wait, that's not true, Joe and Kari have to go too. We have something to do in the forest but anyone else will be infected there."
With that, the four set off. Ron tried to follow but Sampson stopped him. "Harry cares for you. This isn't about him spending time with Takuya; this is something deeper that only the four of them can be a part of. I noticed you are jealous of the time he spends with Takuya but it isn't because he doesn't care, it's because they have been through things none of us have. When he gets back, perhaps you should ask him to tell you about how he found out about us."
"Well why don't you tell me?"
"It isn't my place to do so."
When the four entered the forest, Kari and Joe began feeling power coursing through their bones. Takuya felt clear and Harry had better control of his flames. The group walked a path unknown to most, stopping at a lake with white water. Without a word, everyone jumped in.
As Harry hit the water, he felt the metallic liquid press around him. Taking a deep breathe, the liquid entered his bloodstream, renewing the connections it had made last year. When the dinosaur digimon, DarkTyrannomon had run out of the forest, it had carried a virus that transformed the first human it touched. Unable to stand the pain, the digimon had gone on a rampage, attacking the first thing it saw, Harry. The blow had transferred the virus to Harry but since he was not human, it lay dormant. The force of the blow slammed the boy into his friend, Takuya. Having found a human host at last, the virus started to take effect. As a result, Takuya had changed into the beast, with only one goal in mind. Find a rider and go to the lake at night. The beast had grabbed Joe, flinging the boy onto its spikes. Next, Kari had kicked Joe to the ground, becoming the next rider. In a noble effort to protect everyone from something he saw as his fault, Draco Malfoy had replaced Kari. As night began approaching, Draco's anger at Harry led the two to a confrontation. Harry faced the beast without fear and this allowed him to ride it without pain. Night fell and the beast took Harry to the lake, both falling in together. The metal that the lake was made of bonded with the boys, connecting them completely. After they and those Takuya had hurt, they took down Randalf and the connections were muted. Now, the boys were drawn back to the lake to replenish the connection.
The Steel Digizoid in Harry's bones began reaching for the Digizoid in the lake, tears and damage being repaired. The process was happening in Takuya as well, slightly shrinking his bones. Kari and Joe had never been to the lake so they fought it.
At last, Kari opened her mouth and swallowed some Digizoid, her mouth now frozen. Unable to cough or sputter, she soon took a breath. The Digizoid coursed up to her brain, unlocking hidden parts of the brain. As there was no immediate threat, her brain was not altered to the point where she was compulsively forced to do Harry's bidding. Liquid Digizoid entered her blood stream and nervous system, stopping all activity. Outside, Digizoid stuck to her skin, turning solid. By now, Joe had also begun this process. Connecting tubes linked both of them to Harry and Takuya and then seemed to vanish, not being needed. The spines of both children grew, bringing them to six feet each. Bone structure and heart rate altered as the change continued. When the quartet was released, both Joe and Kari had armor of Steel Digizoid under their feathered cloaks and both were six feet tall. Harry had his goggles on and had grown skinner and taller. An extra layer of flaming muscles now covered the old layer, both making him stronger and slightly more toned. Takuya's mind had been minorly repaired, the boy now able to change to the beast as he wanted. Both boys realized that the transformation would not be complete until many more trips had been made.
When daybreak came, Ron was sitting on a log watching the forest for his friend. He heard the trees rustle and watched as Harry appeared, riding a huge beast. Above him, Kari and Joe flew born on wings of raven and eagle feathers. Their cloaks were gone, revealing white armor around their bodies. When the two landed and Harry drew near, he saw Harry had more muscle and the other two had gained a large amount of height. "Harry?" He asked.
"In this form I am Hakuya." Hakuya said, leaping gracefully from the beast. Hakuya then grabbed one of Ron's hands and held it up to Joe. "Raven, if you'd be so kind?"
Joe folded his wings, both reforming into his cloak. The boy stiffened his fingers, claws quickly growing at the tips. The boy then jabbed them into Ron's hand, opening a faint scar on the hand. The claws continued to grow until they came out the other side. After hesitating a moment, the boy jerked the claws, slitting the hand completely. With this done, Hakuya let go of Ron's hand and he and Raven stepped back.
Ron had no time to be angry as the pain began. His hand turned black and changed, each joint becoming double jointed. His fingernails stopped their slow growth and receded, stopping half an inch from the cuticle. They folded down, sewing themselves instantly to the skin. His arm grew slightly, joints altering so they could move in all directions. Excess body fat faded away and his stomach altered slightly. The other hand and arm also altered and Ron's collarbone broke and was replaced by muscle. His neck changed, muscles altering to allow 360 degree movement. The legs double jointed and grew larger as his feet shrank and nails attached themselves to the skin. When Ron's transformation finished, the pain he had felt melted away. He was free to move everything but his legs which had frozen. He felt his feet leave the ground, twisting painlessly until they pointed down. His knees bent and his legs opened wide. His head stiffened neck no longer under his control. His head moved, neck pulling back. As his neck moved, his stomach and legs came with it, now leaving him with his body parallel to the ground. His arms swung around, resting in front of him. With everything but his hands in position, they moved, each finger curling around the air. As soon as his body stopped moving, Ron was floating four feet from the ground, completely paralyzed. His hand seemed to split open and blood rained down. Unlike normal blood, this did not fall to the ground, instead gluing itself to Ron's hand and changing into a body. The blood around his hands turned coarse, splitting into golden hairs. His body now rested on the back of a tiger with a lion's mane, head peering over the ears. Somehow, Ron knew the tiger would be there for him, never letting him be hurt.
Draco woke up and got ready for the day. With Crabbe and Goyle, he walked over to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, washing grime from his talons. When he next looked up, he saw a group sitting in a meadow, watching a smaller group. Two people stood on either side of a third, his flame hair blowing in the wind. Beside him was a dragon-lion. On his other side, a red-headed boy sat on a huge tiger. At this sight, a feeling stirred inside Draco. He mentally willed the circlet in his hair to activate. In response, the circlet grew into a winged helmet. Draco took off his school robes and stood patiently. A drop of metal fell from the helmet, landing on his chest. The small dot expanded, covering Draco's body in armor. He pulled a strand of hair from his head, revealing a single feather. This feather in turn multiplied, fusing with his hand until a cloak of golden feathers covered his armor. Without a look back, Draco gave way to Hawk and walked through the mirror.
A.N. So now Ron's got a mount. Will he become a Valkyrie? Speaking of Valkyrie, they all have returned; Hakuya, the Beast, Hawk, Raven, and Eagle. This chapter also marks a special occasion. One week ago, I rode home from Aikido, a martial art I take, with a single sentence burning through my brain. That sentence was read 244 times, by 181 people. These people came from a large multitude of countries:
The US, The UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, France, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Finland, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Belgium, Argentina, Croatia, Mexico, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Italy, and Israel.
I myself have only been to two of these countries, The US and Canada. Yet I have people I may never meet reading what once began as a simple sentence, from five continents. Some of these countries warred with the others, some may even dislike others, yet I have brought this collection together as they read about Takuya, Harry, Draco, and all the rest. What was supposed to be a 'moderately simple' fanfiction has now become an elaborate ride through multiple realities. For this, I thank you all.
Last night, a friend of mine who, like you I have never met, tried to pick apart the story one scene I had written to him. He was shocked that I would write an HP/Digimon crossover and tried to trip me up. He did manage to pick up the one hole in my story, how the Digidestined were able to talk to their parents. A week later, I still have no answer. My best guess is that the owls go to a place Gennai lives and he sends them through the Digital World. If anyone has a theory, I'd love to hear it.
One last thing, The Beast needs a name. Like a weapon, it is an extension of Hakuya's body. Even so, it has thoughts and feelings. If anyone has a good name, PM or review and I will consider it. Please make sure that it is a name fitting of the steed of the leader of the Valkyrie, names like Fido won't work. I know that Odin's horse was Slepnir, but I don't think that fits for some reason, maybe since it isn't a horse? And with that, I start my second week off with the posting of this chapter.