Chapter Text
“Your brother is in the Digital World”
Daniel stared at the mysterious message that had just popped up on the family computer, then shouted.
“I knew it!”
“Hmm, knew what, Danny?” asked Blue, Daniel’s partner Dracomon as he looked up. The red-eyed, small blue-green dragon with little red wings and antlers had been gnawing on a dog bone on his favorite spot on the family room’s recliner.
“I just got a message from the Digital World saying that Andrew is there,” replied Daniel, “and don’t call me Danny”.
It made sense, of course. This would be the second time Andrew disappeared into the Digital World. The first time was in 2000, not long after he watched the battle between the Japanese DigiDestined and Diaboromon on the internet. After a full two months, he returned home to a terrified brother and father with tales of a world full of digital monsters. To prove it, he brought back a partner Digimon, a Dracomon. Andrew never said much about what he went through on his adventure in the Digital World, but his Dracomon was accepted into the family. Two years later in December 2002, Daniel witnessed Andrew sending the light of his Digivice to help a new team of Japanese DigiDestined defeat the terrifying MaloMyotismon. Not long after, a digi-egg and Digivice emerged from the family computer, granting Daniel his own partner Dracomon (nicknamed Blue to tell him apart from Andrew’s) and marking him as a DigiDestined.
“Wha’s the rest of it say?” asked Blue, his interest suddenly diverted from his beloved bone.
Andrew turned back to the computer and read the message out loud.
“Your brother is in the Digital World. We want to help him and we want your help. We don’t have much time. If you want to help, touch your Digivice to the computer screen over this message. You have an hour to decide or we’ll have to go without you”.
“What do you want to do, Danny?” asked Blue
“Of course we’re going to help, he’d do it for us. Plus, we can finally go on our own adventure just like he did”.
Blue looked excited. “Yeah, adventure!” Then his face fell and he looked down at the dog bone. “But what if there aren’t any bones there?”
“Fine, go get as many as you want, I’m going to write dad a note”.
As Blue ran to grab a bag to collect his precious bones, Daniel went to write his dad a note. He paused before beginning, unsure of what to say, but decided it was best to keep it simple and direct.
“Dad, Andrew is in the Digital World again. He needs my help, so me and Blue are going to go bring him home. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine and back again before you know it. See you soon. ~ Daniel”
“I’m ready, Danny,” Blue cheerfully stated, carrying a plastic shopping bag full of at least 4 dog bones still in their packaging.
“I told you, it’s Daniel. I’m not nine anymore,” retorted the annoyed boy as he walked back into the family room.
It was time. Daniel took a deep breath and took Blue’s hand.
“Let’s do this,” and with that, he held out his Digivice to the computer and the world dissolved in a swirl of colors.
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“Keiko, something’s happening!”
At the sound of her partner’s voice, Keiko Kurose looked up from reading her book. The young Japanese girl’s short, black hair, broad-rimmed glasses and outfit (consisting of her school’s blue and white seifuku underneath a black sweatshirt emblazoned with a cartoonish skull) marked her as the quiet type with some unusual interests. What she saw was one of the many television monitors scattered around the Digital World beginning to glow bright enough that she was forced to turn away and shield her eyes. When the light faded, there stood two new figures. One was a human boy a year or two older than her wearing a red tee shirt emblazoned with a yellow star, a pair of khaki shorts, and an expression of wonder. His brown hair was unkempt, causing it to look spikey and showing that he wasn’t the type to care much about how he looked. Next to him was a small blue-green dragon Digimon.
Daniel looked around in amazement. They had arrived in a clearing in a forest, scattered through which were multiple shipping containers buried part way in the ground with no apparent logic or order. Two humans were present, one was a girl in glasses, who was crouching on the ground reading a book. Next to her was a Digimon that looked like a large, purple and white hamster with batlike wings in place of ears. The other human was a few years older than Daniel, around Andrew’s age. He had Asian features and dark, angry eyes underneath short black hair. His clothing (consisting of hiking boots, long pants, a jacket over his black shirt, and a backpack) was practical and clearly intended for someone who spent a lot of time outside. No Digimon stood next to him.
Woah, Blue,” exclaimed Daniel, “We’re really in the Digital World aren’t we?”
“Beats me,” was the dragon’s reply. “I’ve never been there either”.
“You are in the Digital World,” said the girl. “You can call me Keiko”. Normally she wouldn’t let someone she just met use her given name like that, but when surrounded by Americans do as the Americans do, right?
“What’s up, I’m Daniel,” Said the American (a bit too loudly), as he grabbed Keiko’s hand, making her start a bit at the sudden gesture. “And this is Blue, my partner. Are you DigiDestined, too? That’s your partner? A Patamon, right?”
Keiko was taken aback by Daniel’s abruptness, but she was granted a second to think of a response as her partner angrily spoke up.
“You got dust between your ears? I’m no Patamon, I’m Tsukaimon!”
“Calm down, Tsukaimon,” admonished Keiko. “And yes, she’s my partner.”
Blue opened his mouth to give some response to Tsukaimon’s bluntness, but was interrupted by the third human, who had stepped up to the children and Digimon.
“Now that you’re here, we need to get a move on,” he said bluntly.
“Who are you?” asked Daniel.
“Clark Yun,” responded the older boy. “I’m a friend of your brother’s and the one who decided to bring you in on this. Let me get something straight right away. I’m the most experienced one here and if you want to get through this safely, listen to me.”
“Uhh ok,” responded Daniel, bewildered by the older boy’s bluntness.
Clark nodded. “I’ll fill you in on more later. For now, we’re in a hurry and need to get moving. But first, there’s someone we need to talk to.” With that, he turned and walked toward the center of the clearing, where a small metal object was embedded in the ground.
“Is he always like this?” Daniel whispered to Keiko as the two followed.
She shrugged in response. “I just met him today and he’s barely said two words until now.”
“I reckon he could use a lesson in manners,” angrily muttered Tsukaimon.
Clark reached down to the metal object and flipped a switch. Above it, a hologram flickered to life, displaying a young, brown-haired man in a robe.
Daniel gasped. “You’re Gennai, right? The DigiDestined chatroom has tons of stories about you!”
The man chuckled. “As happy as I am to meet a fan, no. My name’s Benjamin. You can think of me as Gennai’s colleague or brother. Or both. Clark here has helped me out with quite a few issues in the Digital World. Right now we have a problem I think you, Daniel, and you, Keiko, will be uniquely suited to solve.”
“My brother, right? Is he in danger?” Daniel asked.
Benjamin nodded. “I’m afraid so. You’ll need help to rescue him. Clark is going to guide you to the Subroutine Jungle, the home of lord Baihumon of the Harmonious Ones. He will give you aid. On your way-”
Whatever Benjamin was about to say was cut off as a combat knife shot out of nowhere, impaling the hologram projector and destroying it in a shower of sparks.
‘GET DOWN!” yelled Clark. He shoved the shocked Daniel and Keiko behind the nearest shipping container. Their Digimon, being programmed for a dangerous life, had automatically started moving toward cover.
“What’s going on?” asked Daniel as he picked himself up from the ground.
“It must be a wild Digimon,” said Keiko. “Maybe we intruded on its territory or scared it.”
“That’s no wild Digimon,” replied Clark in a deadly serious tone of voice. “I’ve seen those throwing knives before. It’s Sealsdramon. An assassin. It will wait as long as it needs to to get us. We need to fight and I don’t have a Digimon. It has to be one of you.”
Keiko and Tsukaimon shared a look. “We’ve been to the Digital World before, but not to fight,” said Keiko. “Tsukaimon hasn’t even Digivolved past her Rookie stage.”
“What about you?” asked Clark, turning his gaze to the least experienced member of the team.
Daniel swallowed. Blue had Digivolved, but never been in a real fight. All they knew was what Andrew had showed them
“Don’t worry,” said Blue. “I’ve digivolved before. We can take care of this, right, Danny?”
Daniel nodded. Of course they could do it. Andrew could, and he showed them what to do.
“You bet we can, partner,” Daniel said, forcing down the shock and worry of the unexpected attack. He pulled his Digivice out of his pocket and held it out toward the little dragon. “Let’s do this”
Dracomon Digivolve to… Coredramon!
In place of the little dragon stood a much larger one. Seven feet tall, with dark blue scales and a pair of wings, the Coredramon’s razor-sharp claws and powerful fangs showed this was a creature programmed for combat. Blue’s wings raised, then beat down, propelling him above the shipping container in one powerful motion.
“Blue Flare Breath!” A stream of blue fire shot from the dragon’s mouth in the direction the knife had been thrown from. The flame shot toward the trees, splintering them with the sheer power of the blast. Something moved between the fallen trees.
“Left!” yelled Clark.
Blue, still airborne, whirled left just as another knife shot from the forest, clipping him in the shoulder. Blue roared in pain and let loose another Blue Flare Breath toward the new origin of the knife. More trees splintered and ignited, creating a haze of smoke that began rapidly filling the forest. As Blue squinted, trying to see through the smoke, a figure shot out of it behind him. This Digimon, Sealsdramon, stood shorter than Blue, no taller than an adult man. It had the appearance of a bipedal dinosaur, but its entire body was covered by or composed of metal, making it look more mechanical than biological. One eye was a large blue lens while the other was smaller and red. Two scabbards emerged from its shoulder, a knife held in each one. A third knife was clutched in one mechanical hand.
Daniel barely had time to yell a warning before the Sealdramon leapt forward. “Death Behind” it declared in a monotone voice as it drove the dagger into Blue’s back.
Blue roared in pain as the Sealsdramon leapt off of him, leaving the blade in his back. It quickly drew a replacement from one of the twin scabbards, which quickly grew another knife. Blue whirled around and dropped to the ground. The two Digimon glared at each other before charging. Blue lashed out with his powerful claws, aiming a blow at Sealsdramon’s neck, but the assassin dropped down, sliding along the ground and delivering a slash to the dragon’s ankle.
“Coredramon!” shouted Clark. “Sealsdramon can’t fly!”
Blue’s eyes widened. He once again turned to face Sealsdramon, this time with a notable limp. He roared in challenge and began another charge. Sealsdramon accepted the challenge and once again rused at the blue dragon. Bue once again reached out a claw at Sealsdramon’s head and the other Digimon once again dropped into a slide. This time, however, Blue’s strike had been a decoy. His powerful tail whipped around and wrapped itself around Sealsdramon’s arm. With mighty wingbeats, Blue the Coredramon lifted off into the sky, carrying the captured Sealsdramon with him.
Sealsdramon slashed at Blue’s tail, attempting to free itself. It needn’t have bothered though, as the coils of the Coredramon’s tail loosened and the larger Digimon dropped it. Too late, Sealsdramon realized its mistake. It has no ability to maneuver in the air, a prisoner of its own momentum. Here, the Coredramon possessed all the advantages. Sealsdramon threw its knife at the target, but Blue the Coredramon was too fast up here. Before the assassin could draw a new knife, Blue had flown directly above it.
“Blue Flare Breath!” Another jet of blue flame burst forth from Blue’s jaws, aimed directly downward at Sealsdramon. The enemy Digimon, unable to dodge, could only cross its arms in front of it to try to deflect the flame, but this was in vain. The Blue Flare Breath impacted Sealsdramon, slamming it to the ground in a pillar of blue fire. Sealsdramon twitched a few times, then fell still. In less than a second, it died, dissolving into the raw data from which all Digimon are born.
Blue was barely able to reach the ground before he de-Digivolved back into Dracomon and fell on the ground in a heap. Daniel ran over to his partner.
“Blue! Are you ok?
Blue opened an eye to see Daniel holding him. “Hey, Danny. I did it.” he said weakly
“Yeah, buddy. Yeah you did,” responded Blue’s human, with a worried voice.
Clark, Keiko, and Tsukaimon hurried over to the pair. “We have to go, it’s not safe here,” said Clark. “You did a great job, but you’ll need to rest on the go. They know we’re here now.”
“Who is? What’s going on?” Demanded Tsukaimon as Daniel scooped his partner into his arms.
“I’ll fill you in on the way,” was the response. “We need to go before they find us again.”
With that, the older boy turned and walked into the forest. After exchanging a look, Daniel, Keiko, and Tsukaimon followed him into the unknown.