NeoWorld
Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
The streets of Tokyo, Japan were crowded. People were going about their daily business, never realizing that their world was in danger, a mere breath away from destruction. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's focus on a quiet park in one part of the city, detached from the hustle and bustle nearby. A girl sat in a cluster of trees, typing something on a laptop in her, well, lap. She looked to be about 15 or so, with blonde hair and blue eyes, staring out from behind glasses. The teen wore an open, orange button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Underneath was a simple black T-shirt. Her hands, blurring on the keyboard, were in fingerless black leather gloves. She also wore olive green shorts, and purple, lightning-patterned sneakers. Just another human girl, right? Wrong. She was a girl, but far from being human. That was confirmed when, with the press of a key, four D-3's appeared on the grass in front of her. From left to right they were a pale purple, dark metallic blue, ice blue, and yellowish-green, all of them glittering in the light trickling through the trees. The girl closed her laptop and put it aside, getting up on her knees in front of the devices.
"I guess it's time," she said to herself. "I didn't want to get anyone mixed up in this...but we need outside help." She leaned forward, touching her fingers to each D-3's screen. They glowed briefly, before becoming engulfed in light balls their respective colors, and shooting off to the sky. The teen watched them go, sighing softly. She picked up her laptop, and headed for another part of the park. "Guess all I can do now is wait."
In her room, Kerai Unimatsi was currently having trouble. On the screen in front of her was a boss monster in the game Final Fantasy 7, who was currently...well, kicking the crap out of her characters. She groaned when "Game Over" flashed on the screen, causing her to reset her Playstation.
Kerai was a 14 year old girl, with blondish hair tipped with brown, and green eyes that were partially hidden by her naturally ruffled bangs. She wore a thin-strapped, dark blue tanktop and black jeans. Sticking out of her back pocket was a pair of cloth gloves, a tan color. Staring at the screen, she paused for a moment before engaging in the battle...for the fourth time that day...
"You're mine now, Carry Armor!" she exclaimed with a growl. Suddenly her window was thrown open. Kerai paused the battle and stood up, moving to shut it. "Guess the wind blew it open---huh?" She blinked blankly at a green streak in the sky, zigzagging back and forth between the clouds. "That's something you don't see everyday," Kerai remarked, putting her hands at her waist. She blinked again, and gasped as the light started to head her way! She scrambled backwards, tripping over a pillow and crashing to the floor. Landing hard, she covered her head with her hands, closing her eyes.
The light came in through her window, flying towards the cringing teen. Inches away from hitting her it came to an abrupt stop. The light faded to reveal a yellow-green D-3, which clattered to the floor. Kerai moved her hands, looking down at the device in confusion.
"What...in the world is this?" A clang behind her caused the girl to whip around. A strange, seal-like creature was sitting on her bed, looking down towards an overturned glass on the floor. The...thing was blue with purple spots on its back, a silver mohawk, white claws, and yellow eyes.
"Umm...oops. Sorry I spilled that cup," it apologized. Kerai blinked once, then screamed.
In another part of the city, young Felicia Andrews walked outside of her school. She held her notebook close to her chest, watching other kids streak by, laughing happily. She sighed softly, muttering to herself while stopping near a bike rack. Felicia watched a couple kids toss a ball back and forth. But her attention drifted at a meow near her feet.
"Huh?" She watched as an odd cat padded out from between a pair of bikes, smiling happily.
"Are you Felicia?" it asked.
"Umm, yeah," Felicia softly responded, nodding slightly. The feline seemed pleased at finding her, and sat down at the shy teen's feet. The two of them looked over the other, seeming to judge one another, though both had their own reasons for doing so.
Felicia was of modest height for a girl of 14, though timid hunches often made her seem shorter. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a few stringy bangs brushed above her pastel blue eyes. Her glasses were well-polished, gold frames shimmering. She wore a blue T-shirt with a crescent moon design, and matching blue jeans with similar moons embroidered on the pockets. Around her neck were two pendants--one of a cat, and the other of a crescent moon. Her sneakers had blue, swirly patterns along their sides, partially covered by silver and blue laces.
The odd cat seemed to be bipedal, but was crouched on all fours. Her fur was overall a lavender color, broken only by white stripes on her tail. Just below a silver tuft of fur at the end of her tail was a thick, equally silver ring. The fur at the ends of her ears were also the same color. Oddly enough, the creature wore gloves over her front paws; they were white with silver stripes. Curious, but cheery turqoise eyes closed as she smiled, her whiskers twitching.
"Glad you're Felicia! 'Cause I've been looking for you!"
"Y-you have?" Felicia asked, blinking once. She kneeled down, not seeming at all surprised a cat was talking to her.
"Mm-hmm! And that's yours!" the odd feline announced. Felicia looked over her shoulder, to see a dark blue beam of light heading her way.
Minako Tajiri sat outside on top of a dome-shaped jungle gym, with a Gameboy in her hand. She tilted it more towards the sunlight, to see the screen better. On the screen, the pixelated images of an Arcanine and a Sandslash were doing battle.
"Alright Arcanine! Time for a Flamethrower!" the 16-year old said to no one. The game-Arcanine sent out a stream of fire, fainting the opposing trainer's Sandslash. Minako whooped with joy, throwing one fist in the air. Some people in the park looked up to see what the noise was about.
Anyone looking would see a somewhat short in stature teenager, doing nothing much out of the ordinary--playing one of the Pokémon games, which I hope has already been established. She wore a white T-shirt with an Arcanine emblazoned on the back; on the front was a typical Pokéball. Sticking out of the left pocket of her jeans shorts was a case for the Gameboy, with a Pokémon sticker on its cloth front. She wore simple brown sandals. Her blue eyes danced as she watched the battle, pressing buttons with a grin whenever it was her turn. In fact, she was so absorbed in it that she didn't notice an ice blue ball of light head her way, or a white paw reach out and grab the object as it came close. The figure, whoever it was, cleared its throat.
"Not now, I'm in a battle!" Minako barked.
"Minako..." a voice said in a flat tone.
"If you want me to move, it'll hafta wait until I can save!"
"Minako," the figure repeated.
"Just a moment, I'm almost done!" Minako replied.
"MINAKO!!!" The sudden shout was such a surprise to Minako, that she started and dropped the Gameboy. It clattered downwards, its screen blank even before it hit the ground near her bag.
"Hey!" Minako said angrily. She whipped around to confront the one that startled her. "If you'd just been patient, I woulda---" she started to say, but the words caught in her throat when she saw what was standing a bar or so away.
Looking a little exasperated with the girl was a dog, a spaniel to be exact, but standing on two legs, with mostly white fur. Its ears were a light blue, as were the areas of more ruffled fur around its wrists and ankles. Its eyes were just a scant few shades darker. In her right paw was some odd device, which she thrust forward.
"Here, this belongs to you," the dog said, looking serious before smiling. Minako blinked, looking at the ice blue D-3 the canine held.
People mulled about through the picnic area of the park, talking about various things. Some unfolded tablecloths, others tossed a frisbee around with their dogs. Over to one side, an adolescent by the name of Talia Kirana relaxed, basking in the warm sunlight.
Talia appeared to be your average teen, though slightly overweight. She had blue-green eyes and dark brown hair, with blond streaks, that framed a heart-shaped face. She wore blue jeans and a purple T-shirt decorated with gold stars. Talia, like Felicia whom we met earlier, wore a necklace, though hers had an intricately carved silver unicorn pendant. She also wore purple heart-shaped glasses and a white headband. Her sneakers are white with purple and gold accents, and lightly thumped in the grass as she happily kicked her feet.
"Man, today is a great day!" she said with a happy sigh.
"Isn't it, though?" a sudden voice agreed. Talia quickly sat up, looking for the source of the statement. What she saw took her breath away.
Sitting beside her was a pony-sized...pony, with shining golden fur and blonde mane and tail. Her hooves were white, and not even in the least bit messy from the ground. It had striking violet eyes, though what may've been most surprising about the horse was the white, spiraled horn it possessed. It laughed cheerily, nodding once.
"A very nice day indeed!" it repeated. Talia seemed about to say something, but turned at the sound of something screaming through the air. She gasped as a pale purple object streaked across the sky, seeming erratic until it homed in on her, and started to race home.
"Gah!" Talia exclaimed. The horse watched with a smile. Talia started to scoot backwards, but instinctively threw out her hands as the light ball zoomed in, landing neatly in her grasp. After a moment the glow fell away, revealing a lavender D-3.
"That's yours," the pony announced. Talia stared at it, at a loss for words. She then grinned brightly, and threw her arms around the horse's neck.
"Oh my god! My very own Digimon!!" she shrieked. The small unicorn blinked once, clearly stunned.
At another area of the park, four little lights appeared on the screen of the purple laptop. The same girl who issued the D-3's turned the computer towards her, leaning on her hands.
"Looks like they have them," she said to no one. A gloved hand reached forward, pressing a key.
Simultaneously, in four different parts of Tokyo, four D-3's lit up. Four Digimon said the same sentences to four different girls. These Digimon then took off, with the humans following. In the park, the laptop was shut and once again picked up, as the mysterious girl awaited the arrival of others. Within a few minutes four children ran up--Talia, Kerai, Minako, and Felicia--from different dirrections, each tagging along after the Digimon. The four beasts ran up to the one with the computer, who stood up as everyone approached.
"Whoa, what's going on here?" Kerai asked, as she stopped with the others. Felicia looked around nervously, and shrank back a bit. Talia folded her arms, looking down at the ground. Minako blinked once, resting her hands behind her head. She shrugged.
"Dunno."
"I can explain." Everyone turned to the teen standing beside the picnic table. She cast her serious eyes over the group. "But first, introductions. My name--or rather, what you can call me--is CB," she said, resting a hand on her chest.
Kerai raised a hand, waving a bit. "My name's Kerai, but you can call me...Kerai."
Minako grinned, putting her hands on her hips. "My name's Minako! Don't forget it!"
Felicia scuffed a shoe on the ground, muttering, "Felicia. Felicia Andrews....hello."
Talia coughed slightly, forcing a wave, though her smile was genuine. "Hiya. I'm Talia."
"Alright CB, or whatever, you said you'd explain this," Minako said abruptly. "So spill, what's the deal with these monsters? And these funny little devices I see the others holding?"
"Alright, I guess you guys deserve an explanation," CB said, seeming to smile slightly. "Those devices are called D-3's, and yes, each of you have one. The monsters are called---"
"---Digimon." CB blinked in surprise, looking over at Talia, who blushed faintly.
"I uh, met someone else with a Digimon once--he went to my school."
"Ah, I should have remembered," CB said with a laugh. "Anyway, as Talia said, these are Digimon, short for Digital Monsters. They're from another world, connected to this one, called the Digital World." She leaned over, with her hands on her knees. "Time to introduce yourselves, guys!"
"I'm Marinamon!" the blue seal chirped.
"My name's Kiramon!" the unicorn whinnied, rearing up on her hind legs.
"I'm Spaniemon, it's a pleasure!" announced the white dog, bowing slightly.
"Mreow, and my name's Felamon!" the cat said.
"Whoa," Kerai whispered. She blinked, and pointed at Marinamon, at her feet. "So what do the Digimon have to do with us?"
"I'm getting to that," CB sharply replied. She leaned on the picnic table behind her, sighing. "A bit of explanation first. The Digiworld is a place that's sort of a mesh between the early beginnings of the human's world, and the way it looks now. Technology is alongside forests and lakes, and there's every sort of climate you could imagine. Many other Digimon exist for any stretch of imagination and then some. It's normally a peaceful world...unfortunately, that's all in jeopardy.
"Over the past year or so, many other humans partnered with Digimon have been fighting for the safety of the Digiworld. Any reports you may have heard about missing children, mysterious monsters, glitches in machines and destroyed parts of the world have all had to do with Digimon, and the weakening barrier between both worlds."
"Hey, I remember that. This past Christmas they really started to show up!" Minako stated. CB sighed, then continued.
"Fortunately, the one that caused all the chaos has been destroyed. He was a ruthless, demonic Digimon known as MaloMyotismon. Afterwords, the Digital World again fell into peace. Unforunately, there's a new threat. Some wayward evil Digimon has been wreaking havoc. The guardians who protected the Digiworld have all been destroyed. Repairs that were done after MaloMyotismon's destruction were torn down, and---"
"What about the DigiDestined, the others partnered with Digimon?" Talia asked.
"They were captured, and possibly killed," CB bluntly answered. She clenched her fist on the tabletop, and looked down. "I hope that they're still alive, but even if they were, they wouldn't be any help." After a moment of silence she raised her head, wiping away wetness under her eyes. "But that's where you guys come in."
"Whoa, us??" Minako screeched. CB nodded, and balled a fist.
"You four have been chosen for unique qualities you each possess. Rare Digimon have been given to you as partners, in hopes that you'll be able to save the Digiworld, and succeed where many others have failed."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute," Minako said, waving her hands. "You expect to just waltz up to us, ask us to save somewhere we've never even HEARD of, and hope we agree? Plus, even if we do, how do we do the job? It doesn't sound very easy!"
"No one said it'd be easy," Kerai stated. She looked away innocently at Minako's glare.
"How do you know so much about the Digiworld? And umm, about us?" Felicia softly asked.
"A good question," CB said. Felicia smiled softly. CB sat on the edge of the picnic table, leaning on one hand. "See, I myself am a Digimon. A rather important one, actually. I hand-picked you guys out of millions of other kids, because I knew you could do it, if you tried." At this revelation, the humans in the group gasped.
"But you look human!" Talia exclaimed. CB chuckled slightly.
"I do, don't I? Well, I guess I'll have to fix that," she said. The girls passed confused glances between themselves. CB smiled to herself, just before closing her eyes. Nothing happened, for a moment. Then, a small tendril of light appeared, growing larger as it curled around the sitting girl. The light expanded until it engulfed her entire body, remaining there for just a moment before bursting apart. Felicia, Kerai, Minako, and Talia gasped.
Sitting before them was an angel Digimon, her age appearing to be no more than any of their's. She wore no helmet, showing the fact she sorta looked like CB, just without glasses. Her top was sort of like a skintight tubetop, a beautiful white in color. The top and bottom hems were jagged, the top edge dyed a rich blue. The serated waistline of her white pants were also the same color blue. The pants were unbroken by any change until just above her right knee. Here, the cloth was torn away, leaving her leg bare until the top of the white ankle boot on the same foot. On her left foot, the tight pants leg formed its own boot, sort of like Angewomon's. There was a single, golden wing design there; everywhere else was devoid of any symbols. Behind her glittered 10 feathery wings, which spread a bit further as she bowed from her sitting position.
"MarineAngewomon, at your service." When she sat up, she noticed the Digimon bowing. "Hey guys, stop that!" she ordered.
"What's the deal?" Minako asked, glancing to Spaniemon as the dog Digimon righted herself.
"Well, she said she was an important Digimon. I guess the others are showing her respect," Felicia guessed.
"Yeah, but it gets annoying," MarineAngewomon huffed, crossing her legs.
"You're totally correct when you said she was an important Digimon," Marinamon affirmed. "She's the numero uno, the head honcho, the all-time Mistress, ultimate never-mess-with-her-to-stay-alive, the legend, the big cheese, the--ack!" A foot came down on the seal's head, holding her to the ground.
"That's enough, Marinamon," MarineAngewomon sighed. "All of you know I don't like others reacting to what I am. That's why I have the human form."
"Well, what are you?" Kerai asked.
"I'm the...head of a group of Digimon called the Holy Angel Council," MarineAngewomon admitted. "To put it simply, I help control the power of the Digiworld, and among my many tasks, I check up on population, keep evil at bay, and assign DigiDestined." The angel let Marinamon up as she hopped off the table. "But I HATE others making a big deal about it," she said, waving a dissmissive hand.
"You know, the situation in the Digiworld, or whatever it's called, must be pretty bad if the lead Digimon came to recruit us," Kerai remarked to the others.
"I say we go," Talia decided. Felicia nodded in silent agreement.
"What happens if we don't?" Minako asked, folding her arms.
"This world gets destroyed," MarineAngewomon stated.
"WHAT?!?"
"The Digiworld and the human world are connected. If one falls, so does the other," the angel explained. MarineAngewomon walked around to the side of the table, spinning her laptop so the front faced her. She opened it, and sat down. "Let me know if and when you guys are ready to leave," she requested. With that, she began typing.
"What do you guys say?" Kerai asked, looking around at the others.
"It doesn't sound like there's much choice in the matter. If we don't go, both worlds get destroyed," Talia stated, rubbing the back of her head. She grinned down at Kiramon. "Besides, having a Digimon is cool, and I'd like to see the Digiworld."
"Uhmm...I'm for...for going," Felicia said. "I don't like turning down her...her offer when I know I can help..."
"That's the spirit!" Felamon mewed.
"Gehh, this is confusing," Minako sighed, resting her hand against her forehead. She looked at Spaniemon, and smiled. "Alright, we'll go. On one condition though. Hey angel!" MarineAngewomon glanced up from the laptop's screen, blinking. "We ain't gonna die, are we?" Minako asked.
"You'll get home safely."
"That decides it, then!" Minako said cheerily. "We've decided to help."
"Great," MarineAngewomon smiled. She stood up, walking back over to the rest after tucking her laptop under her arm. "Just be glad you guys didn't find yourself in a situation like the one that happened to seven DigiDestined about 3 years ago, though I didn't have a hand in it. They were dropped in the Digiworld, suddenly presented with Digimon, with the guardians just hoping they survived until the next day." She stopped in front of the group, letting her arm drop as the laptop vanished in a swirl of water. "But if they could do it, so can you!" she reassured.
"We're going back to the Digiworld," Kiramon said with a smile. "Finally, the light of good will shine again! And the hopes of all good Digimon will be realized!"
"We'll prove ourselves to be reliable!" Marinamon said, grinning at MarineAngewomon. "And with our already strong friendship, how can we fail?"
"We can do it, we just gotta have the courage!" Spaniemon said, balling a fist. She threw it in the air, smiling broadly. "And that's the sincere truth!"
"We're not gonna show the evil Digimon any kindness or love!" Felamon said, her tail swishing. "Someone like that don't deserve it!"
"That's the spirit, guys!" MarineAngewomon laughed. "And with our knowledge, there's no way we can fail!" she said jubilantly. Closing her eyes, she grinned at the group. "So, ready to embark on a new adventure?"
"Yeah!" came a chorus of voices.
"Good," MarineAngewomon said, smiling. "Then hold out your Digivices, and we'll get a move on!" Four hands held out four D-3's, the screens sparking with life. The clouds high above split, and a rainbow-colored beam of light shot down, engulfing the group of nine in its warm glow. The humans looked around in surprise as they felt their feet leave the ground, their bodies starting to drift up. MarineAngewomon went back to her human form, floating up with the rest.
"Keep all arms and legs inside the ride at all times," Marinamon joked. CB laughed, looking at the little seal.
"I've heard that before." Looking up, she smiled, as the group soared above the trees, gaining speed as the beam rose up with them. "Here we go!" Shortly after those words, the sky seemed to swallow them whole as they vanished into a circular portal. The hole closed without a sound, and the clouds slid back into place. Down in the city below, the people moved about, completely unaware that four girls were on their way to the fight of their lives, with two worlds at stake...
~To be continued.
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