Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Return to the Frontier ❯ A New Enemy - Return to the Digital World! ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Return to the Frontier

Author: AikoNamika

Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.

Pairings: None at the moment, but knowing me…anything is possible! (That includes shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, and het - more detailed warnings will become available as I figure it out.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing!

Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites - if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.

Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the “episodes” will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. *nods*

 

 

Chapter 1: A New Enemy - Return to the Digital World!

 

Takuya Kanbara sighed happily as he lay back, folding his arms under his head to act as a pillow. The sun was shining comfortably on him, warming him pleasantly. His stomach was full of good Italian food that he'd scarfed until he couldn't eat any more. The most important of all of his surroundings, and the one that was contributing the most to his current feeling of comfort, was the fact that he was surrounded by a group of his close friends.

 

Three years. It had been exactly three years since they'd last gone to the Digital World and found their Spirits, since they'd found each other and discovered the deep connection between all of them. That time spent in the Digital World had been some of the most life-affirming moments he'd ever experienced. However…after they'd defeated Lucemon, they'd had to return to the real world; leaving behind their Spirits to guard and defend all those who they'd met on their journeys.

 

However, even though their adventure was over, they'd all stayed friends - the bonds they'd formed were too strong to be broken by time. Of course, they'd all changed in the past years, both physically and mentally: Junpei had lost the extra weight that had earned him the “fat kid” comments and gained both height and muscle. Tomoki was now regarded a bit as a hero in his age group, his bravery in standing up to bullies and defending the smaller kids earning him a reputation. Izumi was no longer an outcast, now being one of the most popular kids in school - fiery, brave, and always willing to help; having grown more physically beautiful as time passed helped quite a lot as well. Kouji and Kouichi had grown closer to each other, and it was now very difficult to tell them apart - their personalities were still slightly different, and Kouji's hair was still longer than his twin's, but otherwise they seemed to delight in confusing as many people as they could. Not only that, but they'd also grown taller, though they weren't the tallest people in their little group at all. Takuya himself had gained height in a very startling way, now standing almost as tall as Junpei, though he wasn't as lanky as the twins or as muscled as the older boy. The most startling change was the fact that even though he was still just as gung-ho as he used to be, he was now willing to slow down and plan things out for a moment - he'd become a great leader. Of course, there will still many people who could do nothing other than regard him with skepticism and amusement - the fact that he continued to hang onto his goggles made him seem slightly childish to some.

 

The six of them had all gathered here with food brought from their resident chef (Izumi) with a few contributions from the rest of them. Izumi wore a new outfit she'd bought for the occasion - a light purple wrap-around skirt with a dark purple flower pattern, and a white peasant blouse. The twins had apparently decided to appeal to their sense of the ironic, and Kouji wore a black t-shirt and shorts while Kouichi wore white - the opposites of their respective elements. Tomoki wore a green t-shirt with some sort of gray logo on it, and khaki shorts. Junpei had simple gone for a pair of blue jeans and a blue t-shirt, deciding to stick to something simple. Takuya himself wore black shorts and a plain red t-shirt, though small rips and tears indicated that it had been well-worn beforehand. It had been an almost idyllic gathering, with various memories and stories drifting between the group as they remembered the DigiWorld.

 

However, their gentle summer day was not to go completely uninterrupted - and they'd get a chance that they had never thought they'd gain again.

 

Takuya's cell phone rang, and a moment later it was echoed by all the others around him. He sat up and pulled his phone out of his pocket, watching as, one by one, the others did the same. His eyes widened with shock as he suddenly registered the familiar symbol glowing on his screen - one he hadn't seen for far too long.

 

“Is that…” Kouji trailed off, staring as well.

 

“It can't be…” Kouichi continued.

 

“Ophanimon?!” The twins' voices chorused in surprise, voicing the thought that all six Chosen Children were thinking.

 

Words scrolled across the screen, neatly typed letters that got Takuya's eyes widening in excitement.

 

`Play again? Yes/No.'

 

“I can't believe this…!” Izumi's astonished voice broke the silence that had descended, and then she started to smile, and then laugh. “I can't believe this!”

 

“Yes! Hell, yeah!” Junpei leapt to his feet, laughing as well - there were smiles on all of their faces. “A chance to go back to the Digital World and see everyone again?! YES!” He reached for the buttons of his phone, prepared to send out an immediate response, but an unexpected interruption stopped him.

 

“Wait…” Everyone turned to look at Kouji as he stood beside his twin, the smile faded from his face and his eyes dark. “The last time Ophanimon asked us to `play', we ended up nearly dying.” He cast a troubled look at Kouichi. “Some of us came closer than others.”

 

“Yeah, but the last time we were the only hope that the Digital World had. Who's to say that this time isn't the same?” Takuya objected, his brown eyes intense.

 

“But…” Kouji trailed off worriedly. Kouichi placed a comforting hand on his younger twin's shoulder.

 

“I'll be alright - I don't plan on taking the stairs again if I can help it.” He grinned mischievously, eliciting a weak answering smile from his brother. “Of course, Takuya's right, you know. We have to help - we're probably the last resort they've got.” Kouji nodded resignedly at that, and then smiled strongly once more.

 

“You're right. I was just worried.” He nodded towards Junpei apologetically. “Sorry about that - let's go!” As one, the six Chosen Children pressed a button on their phones: `Yes.'

 

A flash of light, and then the symbol and the invitation was gone, leaving only a single message: `Leave on the Trailmon from Shibuya Station at 5:45. I look forward to seeing you once again.'

 

“What time is it?” Tomoki asked, then promptly laughed quietly at himself and checked the watch strapped around his wrist. “I keep forgetting that I have this - my mom just got it for me recently.” He paused, and then answered his own question. “Okay, it's 2:57 right now.”

 

Takuya nodded, and then looked around at the others. “That gives us a little less than three hours to get ready - a lot nicer of a time gap than what she gave us the first time! However, I think we should agree to meet at the Trailmon station at around 5:30 - that should give us a good comfort zone,” he paused and grinned at Kouji, “and hopefully no one will miss it and have to get to the Digital World through a different route.” That remark got a laugh out of everyone, and then they split up to head to their homes so that they could be a bit more prepared for this particular trip.

 

***

 

Kouji and Kouichi arrived last, the pair each carrying matching blue backpacks, the bags packed with a few basic camping essentials, a blanket, a few changes of clothes, and some items that they thought could be useful for bartering with if they needed to. The other four children (now teens, really) stood waiting at the doors, and the six of them stepped into the elevator all together. A slight tingle ran down their spines as the elevator dropped, the light indicating that they were descending toward the bottom floor - and then continued past that indicator, picking up speed rapidly as it fell.

 

“Did this happen to you the first time around?!” Kouichi's question was almost shouted as he held his baseball cap down on his head to keep it from flying off, feeling as if he'd left his stomach several floors up.

 

Before anyone could reply, they landed at the bottom floor with a bang!, the doors hissing open and revealing the empty, and familiar, Trailmon station. There was no Trailmon there yet, but when Kouji checked the watch on his cell phone, he saw that it was only 5:35. They had ten minutes to wait, so to pass the time the six travelers settled down on the steps of the central elevator tower to talk.

 

“I guess they managed to repair this place, huh?” Junpei's idle question started them off, and Kouichi blinked in confusion at the taller teen, then his expression cleared.

 

“Oh yes - when the dark Lucemon went and completely destroyed this when he tried to enter the Real World.” Indeed, there was no sign of the terrible damage that had taken place when the demonic Digimon made his abortive attempt to gain entrance into the Real World, not even places where it was evident that repairs had taken place - it looked exactly as it had before.

 

Time passed quickly, and a Trailmon soon pulled into the station, announcing loudly, “All aboard for the Digital World Express, final stop Forest Terminal!” Laughing brightly, the six of them piled onto the Trailmon, the Train Digimon closing its doors and pulling out as soon as it was sure that all of them were aboard. Izumi stared dreamily out the window at the dark tunnel beyond, her thoughts obviously miles away.

 

“I hope we get our Spirits back - I want to be Kazemon and fly around again.” She sighed happily, and Junpei nodded from his vantage point further up the compartment.

 

“Yeah. It was so amazing to be Beetlemon and have all that power. Just…fantastic.” His voice was just as wistful as hers, and the tall teen rested his chin idly on his hand.

 

“I wonder if it will feel different when I'm really there, instead of just a spirit,” Kouichi wondered. Kouji just hugged his twin, reassuring him of his presence and the unbreakable bond the two shared - it had survived through birth separation, brainwashing, battles, near-death, and a number of other trials. It would easily last through this.

 

Suddenly the Trailmon rocked violently, and everyone grabbed onto the edges of their seats or any other convenient hand hold, their bags going tumbling down to the ground. For a moment, everything flickered, and zeros and ones were the only things that glowed in the sudden complete darkness, then that vision was gone - and each child was surrounded for a moment by the aspect of their Human Spirit, their cell phones lighting up brilliantly and changing shape once more to become the dear sight of their D-Scanners.

 

“Hey, mine's back to the way it was at first!” Takuya's comment had Kouji examining his own D-Scanner, and he confirmed that.

 

“Yeah, it's just like it was before Ophanimon changed them.” Once again all talking was cut off suddenly as the Trailmon lurched, spinning and spiraling and twisting around and around and upside-down until all of them were thoroughly shaken and stirred. Finally the ride smoothed out, and Tomoki let out a delighted cry as he glanced out the window.

 

“Look! We're here! We're in the Digital World again!” There was a general rush for the windows, and they spent a long moment with their faces nearly plastered to the glass as they watched the landscape roll by.

 

“This is so wonderful…!” Izumi sighed happily, and then giggled as she held her familiar pink-and-purple D-Scanner to her chest, spinning around in place once. They all nodded in agreement, not able to think of anything else to say in response that wouldn't sound trite and overly-cliché. There was nothing, and so the once-more Chosen Children settled down to enjoy the trip. Afternoon passed into evening, and then into night, and they all settled down to sleep the trip away, as clouds had covered the sky and there just wasn't enough light outside the Trailmon to see any of the landscape going by. Plus, they wanted to be well-rested and invigorated for their meeting with the Great Angel Digimon…whenever they got to Forest Terminal.

 

Izumi stretched out on a long bench, using her bag as a pillow and pulling a blanket over her, falling asleep quickly, a smile on her face. Tomoki was in much the same state, but Junpei had a bit of trouble getting himself comfortable at first - he wasn't as short as he used to be. Kouichi and Kouji fell asleep against each other, curled up together like a pair of puppies, sharing their blankets and the comfort of their physical presence. Takuya, unlike everyone else, had trouble falling asleep at first, and spent a long time just sitting in his seat with his blanket draped over his knees as he scrolled through his D-Scanner and smiled softly at the images of his two Spirits.

 

“Agunimon…BurningGreymon…It's good to have you back,” he whispered, and tucked the hand-held machine against his chest as he lay down and finally fell into a deep sleep.

 

***

 

 

The next morning they were all rudely jolted awake at the sound of a sudden explosion outside the Trailmon, the startled yell of the attacked Digimon jerking them the rest of the way out of sleep.

 

“We're under attack! Help meeee!” Takuya leapt to his feet, looking out the window and cursing under his breath as he saw the pair of Sneemon harassing their ride. He glanced down the car they were in to see how the others were doing: the twins stood ready, their D-Scanners tightly in hand. Izumi was much the same, though she rubbed her bleary eyes and tried to get her hair out of her face. Junpei had fallen off of the slightly cramped bench to the floor with a yelp, but he levered himself gamely to his feet. Tomoki stood on his bench with one hand against the window and a frown on his face as he tried to make out their enemy.

 

“Twin Sickles!” The buzzing shout caused Takuya to forget the others for a moment as he dove to the side to save his skin. The purple-hued attack tore through the side of the car where he'd been standing, and his eyes hardened in anger.

 

“Okay, that's it!” He looked over toward Izumi, who had stretched her hand out to him to help him up. He accepted it, and then looked toward the rent in the wall. “You were saying you couldn't wait to fly again? Well, here's your chance!” She nodded determinedly, and pulled out her D-Scanner in preparation.

 

A ring of Digicode appeared around each Chosen Child's left hand, and they slashed the tops of their D-Scanners down along the code as they shouted out, “EXECUTE!” They pulled the two hands apart, allowing the code they'd scanned to spiral out and around them, beginning the transformation. “SPIRIT EVOLUTION!” A rush of power surrounded them, and surrounded by their own Digicodes they left behind their human forms and became Digimon again for the first time in three years.

 

“Agunimon!”

“Lobomon!”

“Lowemon!”

“Kazemon!”

“Beetlemon!”

“Kumamon!”

 

The Legendary Warriors were back in the Digital World once more, and they were ready to wreak some havoc.

 

Kazemon and Beetlemon launched themselves into the air outside of the Trailmon through the rent in the side, while the others leapt for the roof to prepare themselves for the battle. The pair of Sneemon who had attacked paused, apparently surprised at the unexpected response to their aggressions. Then one hissed and attacked once more, slashing its scythe-like arms at Kumamon.

 

“Twin Sickles!”

 

“Crystal Breeze!” The icy attack set a thick layer of ice upon the insect-Digimon, distracting them while the white teddy bear-like Legendary Warrior leapt aside, wincing as the dodged attack tore another hole in their transport.

 

“Hurricane Winds!” Whirlwinds lashed out from Kazemon's direction, striking the two and sending them towards the ground; Agunimon lashed out at the same time as Beetlemon, the fire and thunder frying the pair so that they were both covered with scorches. Finally the two Sneemon did their best to escape, only to have one intercept Lobomon's “Lobo Kendo” whilst the other was taken care of by Lowemon's “Darkness Spear.” It was the end for the pair, and they were quick to be scanned, their cleansed Digi-eggs flying off to the Village of Beginnings.

 

All six children - teens now, most of them, returned to the Trailmon and chose a different car to sit in (after Kazemon had made sure the Trailmon himself was alright), de-evolving back to their normal selves. Though they were excited and happy about the fact that they had finally been able to Spirit Evolve once more, something felt…off.

 

“That was too easy,” the twins chorused after a long moment of silence. Takuya nodded his head, and found that he wasn't the only one in agreement.

 

“Why were they attacking this Trailmon? It's not like it was carrying any valuables…” Tomoki commented in puzzlement.

 

“Only us, of course; and what's more valuable than a Legendary Warrior?” Izumi chimed in. However, Junpei wasn't convinced about that.

 

“I dunno - they seemed awfully surprised to see us,” he said seriously. “It was as if they were just attacking randomly, for no reason at all!” This sent them all into a quiet thoughtful state. Could this have something to do with the reason they'd been called back to the Digital World?

 

***

 

They reached the Forest Terminal within a few hours, the bright sunlight shining down upon the woodland Trailmon stop and banishing the heavy mist they'd seen the last time they'd been here. The path to the top was wide open and the six of them bounded up the steps, chattering excitedly amongst themselves and relaying to Kouichi what had happened the first time they'd come here. Hopefully there wouldn't be such a repeat incident, but the happenings of that morning were still heavily upon their minds.

 

Finally they came to the end of the path - the crystalline castle in which Seraphimon had lain protected for centuries until they'd managed to free him. The great white gates loomed over them, closed for the time being, and they all eyed the gates curiously - how were they to get inside?

 

A soft hum answered that question, and lights began to glow on all of their D-Scanners: red for Takuya, green for Tomoki, pink for Izumi, light blue for Junpei, dark blue for Kouji, and dark purple for Kouichi. The beams of light all shot forward and concentrated in the center of the gate for a moment, and a flicker of multi-colored light ran over half-seen runes etched in the gate before it all died away - the light from both the gate and the D-Scanners. With a quiet creak, the doors swung open and admitted them into the front room of the castle - and into the presence of a very familiar 'mon.

 

Sorcerermon smiled as best a being with a cloak covering his face could smile, and spread his arms wide, the snowflake staff in his left hand gleaming in the warm sunlight.

 

“Welcome back, Legendary Warriors! My Lords and my Lady want to speak with you immediately, so come quickly.” With that he turned and began to stride rapidly away, all six Chosen Children darting quickly after him, their longer legs allowing them to keep up far more easily than they had the last time.

 

Up and up they went, higher and higher until finally they reached the tower room in which they had first met the angelic Digimon, and smiles burst over their faces as they registered the presence of all three - Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and the purified Cherubimon, each one looking as healthy as ever. However, there was a slight tiredness about them, as if they had been dealing with things that they didn't really want to - but all that was forgotten as the Angelic Guardians rushed over to greet the new arrivals warmly.

 

“Children! You have all grown so much - I guess it has indeed been some time in your world, as a very long time has passed in ours!” Ophanimon beamed at them, and then gave up all pretense of decorum and hugged each one tightly. “It is good to see you again.”

 

Seraphimon's greeting was similar, though there was an absence of hugging, but a great deal of warm smiles exchanged (though you couldn't really see behind his mask to his face, you could tell he was smiling). At first it was slightly awkward greeting Cherubimon, but as both his looks and his personality were completely different from the dark being they'd first met, things smoothed out after a while. A few minutes were spent engaging in idle chit-chat, and then the trio of Digimon settled down to business.

 

“I am both pleased and sad to see you here today - pleased because I have missed you, and sad because the nature of your visit is not for pleasure,” Ophanimon started, and then hesitated as if unsure how to continue.

 

“We have some new enemy - unfortunately, we know only a very little about him, save for the fact that he is extremely powerful…and that he strips Digimon of their core data and simply sends out the shells to wreak as much destruction as possible before they are deleted. Even then, there is no Digi-egg to go to the Village of Beginnings so that the Digimon may return, but he is instead lost forever to the Digital World,” Seraphimon continued. Izumi gasped in horror while a look of righteous indignation crossed Takuya's face, shock and anger reflected in everyone's expression. Finally Kouji ventured a question of the three.

 

“So why haven't you gone out and taken care of him? I mean, you're supposed to be pretty powerful when not facing those who are of the same rank to you,” a subtle reminder of Cherubimon's corruption. However, the answer he received was not one that any of them expected.

 

“We can't. We can't defeat him, we can't slow him down, we can't even leave the castle!” Cherubimon's cry of frustration rang throughout the room and shocked the Warriors into silence once more. They couldn't even leave the castle…?

 

“He's established some sort of barrier around here that prevents us from leaving, though it doesn't do anything to any other Digimon around here - just the three of us.” Ophanimon's voice was mournful, and her shoulders slumped.

 

“So that's why you called us here…” Kouichi said slowly, his eyes scanning across the circle of defeated-looking Digimon.

 

“Because you can't take care of them yourself,” finished Kouji, finishing the statement his brother had started.

 

“Indeed, though we were loath to call you at first. Not,” said Seraphimon, holding up a hand in a motion for quiet, “Not because we do not think you can handle it, but because we did not want to burden you with such a difficult task.”

 

“Gee, that's nice,” commented Takuya sarcastically, and then he eyed the male Angel. “So, why are we here now?”

 

“Because of a few reasons - one of them is your fellow Legendary Warriors. The four who you fought before were captured by our enemy - they lost their Digital Cores, but they managed to send out their Spirits so that they would not be held captive by their torturer. As we did with you we sent out a call to see if four children could come and be host to the new Spirits - we did indeed gain four new Legendary Warriors, for the Spirits changed to new forms without the previous mindsets that had held them in place before.” Ophanimon's quiet explanation shocked the six into silence once more, and they could only stare mutely at her for a long moment.

 

“They were doing very well, and each had managed to find their human Spirit, when our enemy struck - he caught each one within their Digimon form and froze them that way, blocking all their memory of the human world away from them and sending his dark minions after them to destroy them.” Kouichi's soft gasp of realization echoed in the room - much the same had happened to him when he'd first come to the Digital World via the far less common route.

 

“They don't trust anyone now - they've scattered all over the Digital World in attempts to hide from their hunters, and any Digimon that approaches them is attacked on principal,” Sorcerermon suddenly added his first contribution to the conversation. He winced slightly and rubbed at his arm, and it was apparent that he'd had first-hand experience with this.

 

“And that is why we have called you - because four Legendary Warriors are not enough to defeat this evil one, and because you are the only ones who are able to wake your fellow Warriors out of the spell they've fallen into.” There; that was it; the entire situation laid out for them like it was on a checkerboard. And it didn't look like a single piece was placed in their favor.

 

-tbc-

 

Nall: Well, the Chosen Children are off to a bit of a rocky start - yeah, they get to come back to the Digital World, but it looks like they've got a whole new crisis on their hands. What's going to happen to them next? I guess we're just going to have to find out, huh?

 

[Offstage]

 

Nall: Along with the cheesy commentary at the end, I also beg for plot reviews. I'd get down on my knees to beg, but I'd look pretty silly - seven foot tall Angel/Kitsune hybrids don't exactly look dignified while trying to beg. So…*pops into Chibi form and gives all readers the big, cute, sad eyes* Please review? Though the author will continue writing even if she feels everyone hates her fic, it makes her feel less alone in the world.

 

Aiko: *snatches up Chibi Nall and huggles him* Not to mention that if you review, I'd be ever-so-grateful if you'd include some comments and critiques on not only the story, but my writing style and things I could do to improve it. I wanna get better now, so that when I go to become a published author, people will read my works! *beams*