Author's Note: My first 3 OCs get introduced in this chapter. Brief introduction, banter, a little tiny bit of backstory, nothing major. 2 More will be introduced shortly, and the last...well..that's kind of classified.
First battle scene takes place in this chapter, be it very brief. I'm still working on improving that aspect of my writing and it will hopefully get better as the story goes on.
By the way, if I fail to describe a digimon in-depth in my writing and you feel you would like to see the Digimon yourself, or whatever, feel free to visit Digimon Wiki and look up the Digimon. I find it extremely difficult to capture the image of certain Digimon sometimes. (i.e. Ghoulmon.)
Anyways, without further ado, enjoy and remember to review! Your critique is extremely appreciated.
It was a bright, sunny day as Hanako Ushiba sat under a tree, enjoying the shade and the slight breeze that swept through her lime green hair, swaying her long ponytail back and forth. She looked up to the sky and shaded her saffron eyes with her hand, blocking out the blazing sun. Hanako, or "Hana" as she was referred to as her friends, was a 14-year-old girl who was at the tail end of her 8th grade year. She was wearing a simple sleeveless white blouse that fluttered gently with the breeze and a pair of jeans. She had been wearing white flipflops until she had removed them to allow her feet to absorb the feeling of the soft soil beneath her. Unlike most girls, she loved the feeling of the dirt at her feet. It was comforting to her. She couldn't explain why, it just was. She could just lose herself in thought when the weather was like this. She wished it would be like this year round, but that's never the case in Shibuya.
As she dozed lazily under her tree, a group of five teenagers caught her eye. Four boys and one girl were gathered around near a tree not far from her own, seemingly waiting on something or someone. The raven-haired boy who was leaning against the tree looked a few years older than her, his dark hair tied in a ponytail much shorter than hers under a bandanna. His cobalt eyes wore an intimidating glare and his mouth was in a scowl. He seemed to be ticked off by whatever seemed to be holding them up. The girl next to him was beautiful. Her hair was golden blonde and flowed down her back. On top of her hair was a fancy magenta beret. She stood like a model and judging by her looks, she was around the same age as the boy.
As she shifted her eyes to the boy on the other side of the girl, Hana was forced to do a double take. This boy looked exactly like the one against the tree, but had shorter hair, glasses, and no bandanna. He also looked a lot less angry and seemed to be enjoying himself. They must be twins or something. thought Hana.
Her eyes shifted again to the third boy in this group. He seemed to be the oldest in the group. He was tall and muscular and wore a basketball jersey. His chestnut hair matched a neatly shaven goatee on his chin. He was now teasing another boy in the group. This boy seemed to be about Hana's age and was wearing a baseball cap that covered his brown hair. He had green eyes that lit up like those of a child. He was skinny and it made him look even younger, hanging out with people that were at least two years older than him. For a little guy, he's kind of cute. Hana thought to herself. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and giggling about something. Even the boy with the ponytail flashed a few smirks.
They all shifted their gazes toward her as she looked behind herself, confused as to what they were looking at. One thing got her attention immediately. A boy, about the same age as the group she'd been observing, was sprinting rapidly toward them, his hair a complete mess under a hat with a goofy pair of goggles and wearing two different socks. He must have just woken up. As he dashed past her, he began to slow down. He was keeled over, panting tiredly. The group was obviously commenting on his fashionable lateness now, as they were all laughing and he was just glaring. She heard the oldest boy say something to the late boy, and he responded angrily. Apparently the older boy had a pet name for him, and he was none too pleased about it. As they began to leave the park, the blonde girl said something, resulting in a moan from the late boy. She watched them until they were out of sight.
"Earth to Hana!" a voice brought her back to earth. Hana looked over to the source, her friend Sayuri Etsuko. The girl had crimson red hair cut to shoulder length and tied in red and white bows. Her Scarlet eyes matched her hair perfectly. She had a vibrant red skirt on and an untucked white blouse. She had black leggings under her skirt and red Converse hi-top shoes. Sayuri was sixteen, a sophomore in high school. While they were two years apart, they were extremely close. Sayuri was like a big sister to Hana, though sometimes Hana wondered about Sayuri. Sayuri went to the same grade school as Hana and protected her from being picked on six years ago. She took Hana under her wing and turned her into a capable girl who could stand up to herself. Since then, they've held a special bond.
"You are really out of it today, huh." said the voice of her friend Shirou Nakahara.
"Shut up, Shirou!" Hana shot back. "I was just daydreaming!" Shirou was seventeen years old. He was extremely smart and was a good problem solver. He always had answers for issues that Sayuri and Hana had. He was funny and laid back and his sarcasm was always refreshing and witty. He had light brown hair that fell messily over his head and eyes that matched hidden behind semi-rimless glasses with rectangular lenses. He was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, black athletic shorts, and black sandals.
"Daydreaming about that boy you were staring at?" Sayuri said with a devilish smirk on her face.
"What boy?" Hana asked, a little more defensively than she intended.
"The young one in that group that just walked out." She said. She'd been watching Hana the entire time.
"I wasn't staring at him!" Hana said, blushing "I was just observing them. They were making a lot of noise, after all." She explained. "Besides, that kid was like three years younger than me! What do you think I am?" she asked
"He was maybe a year younger than you, hon." Sayuri teased. "It's alright to admit it. We're all mature here."
"'Mature' wouldn't be the first word I'd use to describe you, Sayuri." Hana shot back. Shirou was snickering and Sayuri slugged Hana in the shoulder playfully. They sat there for a long while, chatting and enjoying the beautiful weather until finally Shirou looked at his phone.
"Damn it! It's already 3:30!" he exclaimed. "I gotta run guys! My dad's gonna kill me if I'm not home to help him with the renovations!"
"Renovations?" Hana asked. "You guys having work done on your house again?
"Yeah, he woke up one day with this genius idea to turn the old nursery into some sort of workout room," Shirou explained "as if he were gonna use it."
"Maybe it's for you." Sayuri said. "You are pretty weak, after all."
"Shut up!" Shirou exclaimed "I'm perfectly strong!"
"Whatever." She retorted "Don't you think you should get home before Daddy gets angry and we don't see you for another month?" At that, Shirou nodded, waved goodbye, and took off towards Shibuya Station.
"Well, I better get going too." Hana said "Mom wants me home to work the dinner rush at the restaurant tonight." She explained.
"Dang, it must really suck to be the daughter of a restaurant owner." Sayuri said.
"Eh, it has its perks" Hana responded. "You learn how to cook pretty well."
"Oh I know that." Sayuri said. "You're a great cook!"
"You only think that because you can't work a microwave." Hana giggled.
"How was I supposed to know metal can't go in the microwave?" Sayuri whined. "Just go home already! Leave me here to die of boredom!" She teased as she hugged Hana goodbye. "I'll probably come by the restaurant later to entertain you during your shift!" she called as Hana waved goodbye and headed off.
"You three must get out of here immediately!" said Paladin Imperialdramon. "Your safety is imperative in the survival of the Digital World and the counterattack against these Dark Triad clowns!" The Mega-level Royal Knight founder and his six remaining allies were guiding Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon to the secret Trailmon Escape route in the Celestial Castle as a cataclysmic war ensued around them. The entire roof of the castle had been torn from its place, pillars of fire and smoke bellowing up to the sky above.
"But Imperialdramon!" started Salamon "There isn't a chance that you guys survive when half the Royal Knights have turned against us! They have a whole army out there!"
"Don't worry about that, Salamon!" said Omnimon. "The main priority right now is your safety."
"We could always warp digivolve to our Mega levels and fight back, though!" Lopmon protested. Getting them onto the Trailmon was not going to be an easy task for the seven remaining Royal Knights, even if they were just rookies right now.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Gallantmon "We can't risk losing any of you to the dark forces! Don't you remember the last time?" Lopmon frowned in shame, remembering all the problems he'd caused when he'd been possessed by Lucemon's dark power.
"Now get out of here!" insisted Alphamon. "We don't have time to argue this! They'll find us in a matter of minutes!"
"Don't worry about us." said Magnamon gently. "We can hold our own."
"But even if we do go," Patamon began, "What happens if they intercept our Trailmon?" The Knights pondered this possibility. Surely the Dark Triad had anticipated an attempt to smuggle the Celestial Angels out of the castle.
"Patamon could be right." said Ulforce Veedramon "We don't know who's watching the rails right now or even where they'll go at the end of the line, seeing as the last time it ended up in an undersea cave."
"Perhaps one of us should stay with them," began Gankoomon "In case something goes amiss."
"Well, where is Jesmon?" asked Magnamon, looking toward Gankoomon. "Surely he could do it, seeing as you've told us all about how he's been such an excellent guardian. Tell him to meet them at a checkpoint along the Trailmon track."
"Sorry, Magnamon." Said Gankoomon. "I haven't seen Jesmon in days. It's worrying. I fear he's met the same fate as the others. It will have to be one of us."
After considering amongst themselves for the few minutes they had to spare, they chose to send Magnamon along with the Celestial Angels. The three angels and the knight boarded the Trailmon and just as the door slammed shut, there was a loud crash.
"Laser Lattice!"
"Breath of Wyvern!"
"Pendragon's Glory!"
"Black Aura Blast!"
"Shock Ringer!"
"Inferno Frost!"
The six attacks of the now-evil Royal Knights raced toward their former partners.
"Positron Laser!"
"Supreme Cannon!"
"Digitalize Soul!"
"Final Purification!"
"Jinshin! Kaminari! Kaji! Oyaji!"
"Ray of Victory!"
The two massive waves of attacks met with extreme power. The force created a massive explosion, resulting in a cloud of smoke and cutting Magnamon and the Celestial Angels off from their protectors. As the Trailmon began to pull away and the smoke cleared, a massive battle ensued.
Crusadermon battled fiercely with Paladin Imperialdramon. Kentaurosmon had Gankoomon pinned to the floor with his massive hoof. Dynasmon and Gallantmon exchanged blows. Omnimon squared off with the defensive-minded Craniamon in a stalemate. Alphamon was engaged with Leopardmon. Ulforce Veedramon had risen to the skies to take on Examon. They struck back and forth intensely above the rest. Eight knights battled on at ground level and Ulforce Veedramon continued to battle Examon in the sky, but Alphamon was gone and Leopardmon lay crumpled and unconscious.
Suddenly, Examon rose high above Ulforce Veedramon and launched hundreds of explosive shells from his mighty cannon. The evil knights scattered and left the good knights confused. The sky was showered with the bombs as they began latching onto the Royal Knights below. Simultaneously, the bombs exploded with shattering impact. Each of the knights was thrown to the ground, struggling to gather the strength to defend against the reappearing enemies, as Ulforce Veedramon darted toward Examon at top speed. Examon narrowly evaded the charge and took aim at Ulforce Veedramon's back.
"Pendragon's Glory!" the mighty dragon roared as a crimson ray of energy burst out of his arm cannon. The ray streaked toward Ulforce Veedramon, who was completely thrown off balance after his failed attack. The beam was about to annihilate Ulforce Veedramon.
"No!" cried the angels in unison, beating at the door, as Imperialdramon sped toward the beam at full speed. Everything seemed to slow as Imperialdramon cut the beam off. It crashed straight through his chest as there was a collective gasp. He seemed to hang up in the air as his body absorbed the entire blast, then began plummeting back down to his defeated allies.
The Trailmon was already well on its way and the castle was fading out of view as they saw one more black dot plummet toward the ground.
"It was what they were meant to do." Magnamon said softly. "I only wish I could be there with them; fighting against the forces of evil." He said. His voice was distant and cold. His mind was miles away, focusing on the final act of deception he'd just witnessed.
How could they do something like this? he thought, anger swelling inside him. We were brought together to protect this world, not enslave it! It hurt him to feel so helpless, but Magnamon knew it was for the best. He got the angels to calm down and eventually fall asleep, as their young bodies weren't meant to deal with such stress.
He sat in silence, reflecting on the final orders Paladin Imperialdramon had given him. "Those three Digimon decide the fate of the world. Their safety means more than all of our lives combined. I believe in you Magnamon. Make sure they get to safety. Salamon will relay a message to the real world and call forth the Legendary Warriors. We'll meet again someday, be it as allies or enemies, but I ask you that if it may be as enemies, put your all into defeating me. Do not hold back. It's for the best." He couldn't let Imperialdramon down. His ally's sacrifices would not be in vain. He knew that he had to do everything in his power to get these three rookie-level Digimon to safety at all costs. The fate of two worlds depended on it.
"Nearly everything went as planned." said NeoDevimon "The remaining Royal Knights are, well, no longer remaining." He laughed maniacally. "We've taken Gallantmon, Ulforce Veedramon, Gankoomon, and Omnimon prisoner and Ebemon is in the process of manipulating their minds as we speak." He reported with a devious smirk.
"That's only four." Bagramon said, frowning.
"Well, yeah." NeoDevimon muttered.
"What happened to the other three?" Bagramon demanded through clenched teeth.
"Well, you see," NeoDevimon began. "Magnamon wasn't there to fight. He must be off with the little runts."
"And by runts, you mean the Celestial Angels." Bagramon said sternly. "So I take it that you failed to secure them as well." His frown had turned to a glare. "We must have different interpretations of 'nearly everything' because so far you've failed your two tasks." Bagramon said heatedly.
"Now, hold on a second." NeoDevimon said. "I wasn't done." He smirked, pointed teeth gleaming. "Alphamon was there at the battle, but must have left the others behind because he knocked out Leopardmon and then disappeared."
"I don't see why you're smirking about that!" Bagramon roared, temper flaring.
"That's not what I'm smirking about, you hot-headed moron." NeoDevimon said, shrugging off an ice-cold stare and cracking a wide smile. "What I'm smirking about," he said with excitement "is that Examon killed Paladin Imperialdramon."
"How did that happen?" Bagramon said. His mood completely changed.
"Well, he wasn't trying to kill him or anything." NeoDevimon began. "He was aiming for UlForce Veedramon, but Imperialdramon sacrificed himself."
"What an imbecile!" Bagramon laughed hysterically. "I planned on just enslaving him as well, then taking him out when his service was no longer needed. He just made things easy on us." While NeoDevimon and Bagramon shared an insane laugh over the death of the Royal Knights' founder, a cloaked figure shuffled into the room.
"Ah!" said NeoDevimon. "Look who we have here, Bagramon. He finally decided to show up!"
"Yes. How nice of you to finally make an appearance, Phelesmon." said Bagramon. The figure threw his cloak over his shoulder, revealing his true form. Phelesmon was a vampire-like devil ultimate-level Digimon.
"How is the production of the Aphotic Acid? Did everything go as planned?" asked NeoDevimon
"Fine." reported Phelesmon coldly. His voice was completely blank and his stare was distant. With that, he threw the cloak back over himself and walked out. He made no attempt to say good bye, just as he did not say hello.
"Please remind me why we have to be stuck with such a mindless, emotionless outcast." complained NeoDevimon.
"Because, that 'mindless, emotionless outcast' has a power that no other Digimon in the world has and he'll only ensure our domination." Bagramon replied with a tone of annoyance. For such an evil mastermind, he's such an idiot sometimes. He thought. "How else would we get the Aphotic Acid?" As NeoDevimon considered this, Ebemon stormed into the room in hysteria.
"Boss! Boss!" He cried "He's betrayed us! He's breaking the prisoners out!"
"What?" Bagramon asked, enraged. "Who? How?"
"That little robot you enslaved from the Autumn Fair, Datamon!" Ebemon squealed.
"What?" NeoDevimon and Bagramon roared simultaneously as both their glances darted toward the monitors. Each monitor seemed normal. No suspicious activity could be seen in any of them. Bokomon stood in his cell, banging his head against a wall in defeat. Neemon just slept. Both Megas returned their glances to Ebemon.
"What is the meaning of this, Ebemon?" said Bagramon. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary here?" he indicated toward the screens.
"That's a trick, Boss!" Ebemon screeched. "That little robot set every one of those cameras to record, made recordings, and played the recordings on loop! He broke them out while the cameras were looping the recordings!" Ebemon was panting in excitement and fear as he watched a feral expression overcome Bagramon. NeoDevimon darted to the control panel for the P.A. system and smashed the glass that protected a big red button that said Emergency.
"Catch those twerps!" NeoDevimon said in rage as he threw Ebemon into the hallway.
"Emergency! Emergency!" blared the intercom as Datamon led Bokomon and Neemon through the maze that was the dungeon of the Dark Triad's base. They darted through narrow hallways, ducking into dark corners to evade security.
"We are experiencing a lockdown. We are experiencing a lockdown. All exits will be locked in ten minutes." The intercom blared as red lights lit up the hallway.
"Damn!" cried Datamon. "We need to pick up the pace, or things are going to get real difficult." He said as they dove into a closet to their right. Minotaurumon stomped through the hall, searching for the fugitives. When the coast cleared they continued their escape, diving out of sight when the occasional guard appeared. Time was ticking as the lockdown was a mere three minutes away.
"We're never going to make it!" cried Bokomon dramatically. "We're doomed!" Neemon just whined alongside his pal.
"Would both of you just shut up! They're going to catch us!" scolded Datamon. "We're going to be fine. We only have about a minute and a half to get to the main floor or we're going to have to detour." As Datamon turned to continue, an ugly fiendish Cyclops rose up through the floor in front of him.
"Ghoulmon?" shrieked Bokomon. The creature's giant eye blinked slowly as it glared at the fugitives.
"Death Arrow." He said in a ghastly voice. He raised both of his three-pronged hands, revealing smaller eyeballs. The eyes glowed red and crimson arrows shot toward the trio.
"Data Crusher!" cried Datamon as a giant barrier appeared in front of them, absorbing the attack. Datamon thrust his arms forward, launching the barrier toward Ghoulmon.
"Explosive eye." He said eerily as his main eye glowed red and a similar red beam burst from it. The beam struck the barrier, breaking it to pieces.
"Digital Bomb!" cried Datamon as he launched several virus bombs from his fingers. The bombs darted toward Ghoulmon. Just as they were about to make contact, the fiend disappeared. The three looked around frantically, confused as to where their enemy could have gone.
"Explosive eye!" roared Ghoulmon's voice from behind. The beam raced toward them faster than Bokomon and Neemon could react to it. As the beam was about to obliterate them, Datamon jumped in front.
"Data Crusher!" he cried as he set up yet another barrier. "Listen up you two." He said imperatively. "Get out of here fast. You're not going to make it to the next level in time, so follow these instructions carefully. You cannot mess this up." He spoke quickly with a burden in his voice as he tried to keep his barrier up.
"Keep going down this hall. At the very first right you see, go left. Regardless of what you see, go left. It'll look like a solid wall, but turn left at the exact point where the right turn is. It's a mirage. You can go straight through it and into a secret hallway only I know about." He said, his struggle growing more difficult. "That will take you directly out of here if you just follow it exactly. It will also end in what will look like a dead end. Walk through the wall directly ahead of you, and you'll be out of this hellhole. Got that?" he asked. Bokomon nodded as Neemon just stood there. "Good. Now scram. I can't hold this much longer."
Bokomon and Neemon took off down the hallway. As they approached the first right turn in the hall, they made the left turn Datamon instructed them to make. Just as he said, it looked like a solid wall, but like he said, it was a mirage. They walked straight through the wall, into the secret passage way. They followed the winding path for twenty minutes before it came to an abrupt end after a right turn. Bokomon took a deep breath and dragged Neemon through the fake wall and into the moonlight.
It was late at night. Bokomon had no way of telling how late it was, other than looking at the moons. They were all visible and all were relatively close to each other. It must've been just after midnight. Bokomon took off running, dragging Neemon with him. I need to get us as far away from here as possible. He thought to himself. Since he had no idea where he was, he just assumed he was in Earth region because the land was barren and dry. I suppose this could be any of the regions, however. He thought to himself. They are all falling apart after all. Fire Region looked similar to this prior to my capture. In his thought, he was completely unaware of his surroundings as he walked straight into something. He fell to the ground, coming back to reality.
"Hey! Watch where you're-" The creature began as he turned around. "Oh! It's you guys!" Bokomon looked up at the source of the familiar voice. The voice came from a human-like Digimon made entirely of rocks.
"Oh thank heavens!" cried Bokomon. "We've found a friendly face! You have no idea how excited I am to see you, Gotsumon!" he said in relief.
"You guys look pretty roughed up." Gotsumon observed. "What happened?"
Bokomon spent the next hour explaining as they trudged through the region Gotsumon had informed them was the Forest Region. As Bokomon summed up the events of the past day, they came across what used to be Gotsumon village. The only remaining part of the village was one home, in which all of the Gotsumon were living now. They took shelter in the home as dawn approached. While Neemon snored away, Bokomon couldn't even think about sleeping. They had to make it to Toucan Paradise before the Celestial Angels to ensure their safety.
"You should really get some sleep, Bokomon." Gotsumon said. Bokomon hadn't even realized he was still awake. "You won't make it very far without the energy." Bokomon had too much on his mind to sleep, but Gotsumon was right.
"I suppose so." He said. "Neemon and I need to leave first thing tomorrow morning, however. We need to get to Toucan Paradise as soon as possible and we still need to figure out how to get there." He explained. Gotsumon thought for a minute.
"I think I could get you two there." He said "I'd have to consult a friend of mine, of course."
"Could you really?" Bokomon said, his eyes lighting up. "I couldn't thank you enough, Gotsumon!" It was like a burden was taken off Bokomon's shoulders, because with that, he slowly drifted off to sleep. As he slept, however, Bagramon and NeoDevimon plotted away at their headquarters.
"We will get them back, Bagramon." assure NeoDevimon. "There's no way they've gotten out of the castle. It is completely locked down."
"There was also 'no way' they would get out of their cells," Bagramon began, annoyed, "but that didn't stop them."
"They had inside help with that." NeoDevimon said. "We don't have to worry about that anymore." He grinned evilly. "We'll get them. Even if they did make it out of the castle, I have our newly acquired pawns combing the world as we speak. Examon, Dynasmon, and Crusadermon are searching by air, the rest by land. We'll have them by noon tomorrow."
Kentaurosmon stomped through the ruined village and Examon flew overhead, knocking down everything in their wake. Gotsumon fled in all directions and some were slaughtered by the Knights.
"Where are they?" Examon demanded of a nearby Gotsumon that was cowering in a corner.
"Who?" The Gotsumon replied, his voice quivering.
"You know exactly who we're looking for." Examon roared.
"I don't know!" The Gotsumon proclaimed in tears.
"Useless!" Scowled Examon as he jabbed his lance threw the Gotsumon's body. He tossed the limp body to the side and interrogated several others, each also meeting their end, until he got the information.
"They left with another Gotsumon about four hours ago!" cried the Gotsumon as he wimpered in fear.
"Where?" Examon roared, his eyes blazing with anger.
"I think they were heading to the coast! I think I heard something about Toucan Paradise!" the Gotsumon was in tears, completely broken down. Examon showed no mercy or gratitude toward the Gotsumon, however, tossing him sky high and walking away. He approached Kentaurosmon.
"We're leaving." He said urgently. "Now!" he yelled, angered by Kentaurosmon's slow reaction to the command. "The fugitives have been gone for hours. We don't have time to be standing around, you moron!" he spat. The insult seemed to hit a switch in Kentaurosmon's brain. He picked up Examon by the throat and slammed him against the mountain in which the Gotsumon's last house stood.
"What did you say?" he said, grunting in Examon's face. "You don't run things around here. You're lucky I don't flatten you here, you worthless snake." With that, he released Examon's throat and galloped away from the Gotsumon village. Examon lay on the ground, shocked by the violent reaction from the usually calm and emotionless Kentaurosmon.