Hey, guys, GaeaChronos here with another chapter of Digimon Helix!!! Here we go straight ahead back to Rai's house after the events at the station. Sorry about SRW : Remnant, I just have MAJOR writer's block regarding the second chapter. I'm already halfway done, but that's about it. I'm having trouble, but I promise, I WILL have it uploaded.
By the way, for this fic's opening theme, I always imagined it would be "transfer" by livetune adding Megumi Nakajima.
Disclaimer : I neither own, or regret, nothing
Chapter 2
"So, you mean to tell me..." Rai trailed off rather menacingly, making me back off , though not much, considering I'm sitting on a couch. "... you caused that earthquake that destroyed the station?!" He finished with a shout.
The man from before, Junya apparently, just sipped at the tea Rai's mom gave him, seemingly unfazed by the death glare Rai was giving him.
"... Yup."
"'YUP'?! You reduced a train station to rubble, injured several civilians, almost got me killed, and all you can say is 'yup'?!"
"To be fair, I did save you, so you can't hold the last one against me."
"That's not -"
"This tea is very good, Mrs. Nakamura. Chamomile, am I right?" He asked Rai's mom, ignoring Rai.
"Yes," she nodded "it's also rather nice to see you again, Junya. What brings you here? I thought you wanted to see the rest of the united world."
"Well, I wanted to make a quick stop. Also, Dracomon missed you guys." He answered, pointing to a green dragon-like Digimon looking curiously at Moonmon. Nodding, Rai's mom went back to the kitchen.
"Junya," it called "this is a new Digimon. I've never seen it before."
"It's just a Moonmon, partner," he said back, then looked at me "I don't think I got your name. You were with Rai at the station, weren't you?"
"Um, yes sir, I'm Haruka Tsukiyama, nice to meet you." I answered, caught off guard at the sudden shift in attention.
"I'm Junya Ishida. Nice to meet you, too. I take it you're Moonmon's partner?"
"Yes."
He whistled, eyebrows raised in mild surprise.
"Wow, lucky you."
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Um, excuse me...?"
"By the way, know anyone with a Coronamon?"
"Uh... actually, yes. My brother-"
"Seriously?!" he cried out in disbelief, before breaking into a fit of laughter, slowly turning to an evil laugh, "Oh yeah, the future looks bright..." he said while rubbing his hands together, as if scheming.
"Why are you here, Junya?" Rai interrupted, "I highly doubt you came here just to hang around my house and flirt with my mom and Tsukiyama."
All of a sudden, as if forgetting about his earlier jokes, his face became more serious. To be honest, the sudden shift in his demeanor made me uncomfortable, especially with those bright red eyes.
"I was investigating on your brother's disappearance..." he started, taking a sip of his tea before setting it back on the table "And I found something you might want to see." he finished before pulling out a device and setting it down on the table.
It was a red flip phone. Judging from the numerous scratches and dents it had seen better days. However, judging from the screen that was still on, it was still working. But what did it have to do with anything? I looked over to Rai, who looks like he had seen a ghost.
"It... it can't be... this is..."
Junya nodded.
"That's Yuuichi's phone."
Yuuichi? Where have I heard that before...?
Wait...
The Heroes' Memorial...
"Your... brother...?" I asked, to which Rai nodded, still looking rather dazed before he shook his head.
"Y-yeah..." He answered shakily before slowly reaching out to pick up the phone, feeling its weight in his hands, after which he gripped it tightly, but not too tight.
"It... it is his phone..." he said softly, and then looked at Junya. "But where did you find this?"
"... At the Dark Area."
'Dark Area'? What's that? The confusion must have been apparent on my face because Junya sighed before explaining.
"The Dark Area is a very dangerous part of the Digital World. Most of the coldest, most ruthless Digimon thrive there. As far as I know, all of them are Virus Attributes, and they only care about one thing: survival."
"But why? Why was it there? A better question would be, why is it still functioning after all these years?" Rai asked, looking intently at Junya, who gravely shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't know, sorry."
"Is there anything in the memory that could be a clue?" I asked, to which Junya shook his head.
"Nothing helpful, really. All of the files in there are files we already know about."
I look at the phone in Rai's hand. He was looking at something. It was the wallpaper. I couldn't make out who were there because of the angle.
Junya must have noticed because he asked Rai to hand him the phone so he could show me something. He took the phone from Rai and showed me the wallpaper. It was a picture of four kids, three of them about the same age around 15, while one looked about 10-11 years of age. One of them was a boy that had red hair and bright amber eyes, the one next to him was a boy with bone white hair and blood red eyes, clearly Junya, and the third one, a girl, had light brown hair and dark blue eyes. The youngest one was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, who I immediately recognized as Rai.
Only one thing came to my mind as I saw the younger Rai.
Too cute!!!
Shaking my head, I try to focus on the photograph again, not just a part of it.
A very cute part...
Goddammit, brain, FOCUS!!!
"The one with the red hair must be Yuuichi, right?" I asked, to which he nodded. I then pointed to the girl in the photo. "Then, if you don't mind me asking, who is this?"
It must have been a sore subject, due to how Junya's expression became solemn and how Rai tensed, fists clenched.
"That's... Anko. She and Yuuichi... used to date."
"S-Sorry for asking. It must be a sore subject."
"No, it's fine." Rai assured. "It's just... hard. After what happened, she just... sort of shut down. It hit her really hard, and began to shut away from the rest of us."
"I don't think she ever moved on..." Junya said.
There was a long moment of silence before Rai stood up, grabbing the phone
"I... should go to the Memorial. I'll put this by my brother's statue."
"I'll go, too." Junya also stood up. " I sort of owe you for what happened at the station, so I'll take you there."
"I'm coming, too." I said, standing up, too. "I did promise to go with you, didn't I?"
Rai looked at us before sighing. "Alright, let's go."
We told Rai's mom and she told us to take care, and we were off.
But, instead of going through the front door, we exited through the back, to their backyard which leads to the forest. Junya then took out a strange device from his pocket. It looked like a phone, but heavily modified with green as the main color. He pointed its screen towards Dracomon.
"Digivolution!" he announced, the markings on his face glowing.
"D... - Charge!!!" he placed his hand on top of the device, a beam of light shooting out from it wrapping his partner in a bright, floating green orb that continued to grow in size.
"Dracomon digivolves to..."
The orb then burst, revealing a large green winged dragon Digimon.
"Coredramon!!!" It declared, slowly landing.
Junya quickly hopped on its head, and looked over to us.
"Well? Get on!!!"
"Uh, after you." Rai said, helping me on. It felt super weird riding on a dragon's back. The scales were rough, but not enough to cause discomfort. But when Rai got on, it started to get cramped.
"Yyeeaahh, this won't work..." Junya said, scratching his head. "No way all three of us could fit here. Coredramon!" He commanded. All of a sudden, Rai and I were grabbed and were being carried into its arms.
"Ah, much better." Coredramon commented, cracking his neck. "Alright, we're set! Next stop, Heroes' Memorial!!!"
Without any warning, we took flight. Caught off guard, I was clinging onto its shoulder, screaming. I could feel tears in my eyes as I held on for dear life. Junya, on the other hand, was laughing like a maniac, clearly enjoying every second in the air. As for Rai...
"GODDAMMIT, JUNYA, A LITTLE WARNING WOULD'VE BEEN NICE!!!"
"AWW, C'MON!!! WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT!!!"
"JUNYA, PLANE!!! LOOK OUT!!!"
All of a sudden, Coredramon violently jerked to the side, nearly dropping us, barely dodging an oncoming plane.
"WHOOPS!!! SORRY, GUYS!!!"
"OH, GOD, WE'RE GONNA DIIEEE!!!"
Yup, this is it. This is how I die. My only regret is that I'm taking Rai with me. I hope he survives. I didn't even get to tell him how I feel. But, I think it's better that way...
Those were the last thoughts that entered my head before I blacked out.
I wake up moments after we landed. I looked around to see we were at the entrance to the Heroes' Memorial, with myself still in Coredramon's arms, with the Digimon looking at me with an apologetic look on its face, but it quickly looked up in concern. I looked in the same direction to see Rai and Junya in an argument.
"I can't believe you made her faint!!!"
"Hey, I said I was sorry, get off my case!!!"
"'Sorry' won't cut it!!! You scared the shit out of us and made her faint!!! For what?! Your own amusement?! Why did you even do that?!"
"Look," Junya sighed. "I was stupid, okay? When I heard you started getting all dark and broody, I got worried. Worried that you might make a mistake you'll regret your entire life. You already got it hard after five years ago, I didn't want you to spiral further into your own darkness."
"Wait, you never called us. How do you know what's going on here?"
"... From your sister."
As I walk towards them, I could hear Rai mutter, "That explains it..."
"Um... guys...?" I said, making them both jump.
"AH!! God, Tsuki, don't do that!!!" Rai said to me. I muttered an apology. I forgot he gets really jumpy sometimes.
Wait... Did he...?
"Did... Did you just call me 'Tsuki'?"
Rai blinked, realizing what he had said.
"Uhh... yeah... I guess I did..."
We stood there in awkward silence, when we heard panicked screams from inside the Memorial. We looked to Junya, only to see him on his way inside.
Rai gave a heavy sigh. "We should follow him."
"R-Right!"
We ran inside the Memorial, finding most of the statues destroyed. Everyone was running, fear present in all their eyes. This isn't right. The Memorial was built so that people could get away from fear and pay respects to their loved ones in peace. This is a place of peace, not fear.
I slowed to a stop, looking down on the ground, clenching my fists, biting my lip.
Whatever is causing this, it needs to be stopped.
"Tsuki!!!"
I looked up at Rai's call, only to be met with the most terrifying set of teeth I've ever seen, up close, before it got tackled by Coredramon.
"Tsuki!!!" Rai called out, running towards me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, still a bit dazed.
I was snapped out of it by a roar of pain. We turned to see Coredramon clawing at the strange Digimon, whose jaws were clamping on its left wing.
"That's not right..." I heard Rai say. "Greymon aren't supposed to look like that..."
I took a closer look to see that he was right. Greymon usually look like fire breathing, bipedal orange dinosaurs. This one kinda looks like that, but that was where the similarities seemed to end. It looked larger, with spines jutting out of its back. Its bright orange was replaced with a cold, dead grey. A third arm appears to be sprouting from its right side, next to the normal one. Veins seemed to throb angrily throughout its entire body. And its eyes seemed to be unseeing. No irises, no pupils, just a blank white.
"Coredramon... it's having trouble." I said, noticing its injuries. I quickly reached for my phone, only to find the battery dead.
"Strike Bomber!!!" It declared, smashing its tail against the opponent after wrenching its wing free.
The strange Greymon just takes the hit, not even flinching. Then, it began to spew a hot blue flame from its mouth, which knocked Coredramon back a good twenty meters. Coredramon tried to get back up, but it was stomped back down by its opponent.
"No way. With just one hit...?" Junya asked in disbelief.
I look at Rai, finding an intense look in his eyes.
"We gotta do something...!"
All of a sudden, something in his pocket began to glow. He reached into it, finding out it was the old phone.
"Wh-"
All of a sudden, the light stopped, a strange device, similar to Junya's, took the phone's place. Rai stared at it in surprise for a few seconds before turning towards the battlefield, a determined look on his face.
He pointed the screen. "Go!!!"
The screen began to emit light, which formed a small, yellow orb. It didn't grow much before it burst, revealing a small, humanoid, blue rhinoceros beetle. Rai gaped at it.
"I don't believe it... You're-"
"KoKabuterimon!!!" It announced, striking a pose after landing. It then walked up to Rai.
"Rai, we meet again!!!" It greeted happily.
Rai stared for a good five seconds before running up to it, enveloping it in a tight hug.
"It's you. It is you..." he kept repeating.
"Um, Rai? As touching as this is, I don't think Coredramon is gonna last over there." I said.
Rai looked up towards me, then towards KoKabuterimon.
"KoKabuterimon..." he started "Let's help Coredramon out!"
"Right!!" It nodded before running towards the strange Greymon. Rai quickly pushed the home button on the device, revealing a sensor.
"D-Charge!" he declared, slamming the palm of his hand on the sensor.
"Commencing D-Energy transfer." the device announced.
KoKabuterimon was suddenly enveloped in a bright yellow light, forming some sort of aura.
"Beetle Lariat!!!" It declared, catching the Greymon's leg in a lariat, actually causing it to fall despite the size difference.
"What the...?" Junya asked, turned to us, then nodded in understanding.
The opponent was about to breathe fire again when its jaws were forcibly closed.
"Strike Bomber!!!" Coredramon shouted, slamming its tail on the chin, forcing the mouth shut, then held it shut with its hands. With no exit, the flames began to burn the inside of its throat, a hole already opening up at its neck.
With all that held-in pressure, the flames tried to exit the tiny gap, widening it even further, the Greymon writhing in pain. Then, its skin started to catch the flames as well, burning it alive.
"How...?" I asked.
"Looks like there really is something wrong with thar Greymon..." Rai commented "It shouldn't be unable to handle its own flames like that..."
The two Digimon backed away from their opponent as it thrashed and burned until the flames died out. It lay there, unmoving for a few seconds, before standing up again, injuries already healing.
"Aww, come on!!!" Junya shouted in frustration.
This kept up for a good five minutes. They take it down, it stands back up as if it was nothing. Rinse and Repeat. To be honest, it was getting frustrating. Only when it had its back turned towards us we noticed something.
It was a glass tube, sticking out of the back its neck. We couldn't see it before because of the spines.
"You don't think...?" I trailed off.
Rai nodded, then called his partner back to him. Upon returning, he whispered something which it nodded in affirmation, then it dashed back to battle, going for its tail. When it reached the tail, Rai slammed his hand on the sensor again.
"D-Charge!!!" he declared.
"Commencing D-Energy transfer."
KoKabuterimon was once again covered in the same yellow light. It lowered its head, using its horn to smash through the spines with relative ease. Upon reaching the glass tube, it dashed towards it, head lowered.
"Scoop Slash!!!" it declared, ramming into the glass, shattering it. It then jumped off into a safe distance.
"Now, Coredramon!!!" the two of us shouted.
"Green Flare Breath!!!" It declared, bright green flames spewing from its mouth, enveloping the opponent. It writhed there for a few seconds before falling on the ground, the flames burning it into... ash, I guess? Do Digimon even go through the same chemical changes?
"Well, that takes care of-" before Rai could finish what he was saying, he fell to his knees, clutching his face, screaming in pain before falling unconscious.
"Rai!!!" I cried out in concern. I immediately ran to him, and nearly screamed at what I saw.
He waa bleeding from his eyes. But, the blood was different, if you could call it blood. It was a bright, glowing yellow.
"Ah, shit." I heard Junya say from behind me.
Can this day get any worse...?
POV-???
So the test was a failure.
It wasn't enough to encourage a Digivolution.
But no matter.
I have obtained useful data from that encounter.
The next test will yield better results.
Aaaand, that's about it!!! Don't really have much to say as an endnote. So, I'll just say that I'll explain a few more next chapter.
As an ending theme, I think it would be either "RPG" by SEKAI NO OWARI, or "PEOPLE GAME" by Ruka Matsuda.
GaeaChronos is out!!! PEACE!!!