Tamer of Wicked Dragons [Digimon SI]

[bronxterror]

"-Damnit!"

I hiss as I stumble, nearly rolling my ankle as what I thought was soft earth revealed itself to be a ledge. I only barely manage to catch myself, but still fall into the undergrowth. A thick layer of leaves and muck and lord knows what else covered the forest floor, still slightly damp. Above me, the strange blue-black trees shake and rustle. An odd, white-blue light shines through the treeline, almost coming from the leaves and the fog. If I hadn't acclimated already, my head would be pounding.

Aghgh, it hurts. My whole body feels shaken and sore…

"Pull yourself together…" I mutter, stumbling to standing. "I need…I need to get somewhere…"

The aftershock makes my bones creak and protest with each step. I should lean against something and rest, but I can't afford to. Knowing my luck, and with a good idea of where I am…

No matter how comfy one of those overgrown, tree-logged and abandoned buses may look, I know that's just asking for trouble. Being stuck in one position, where whatever lingers knows the perfect 'safe spaces' to scout? No thank you.

Grabbing onto a misaligned solar panel, I take a few moments to catch my breath.

Just…

"Just a moment…" I say with an exhale. "There has to be…be a city somewhere…!"

If only this stupid Digivice would turn on!

Oh, I certainly recognized the shape well enough. A 'burst' style Digivice, with one side being a burnt orange and the other being a sharp black. The fact I landed in a forest that was bogged down with buses, vending machines, and solar panels like it came out of a post-apocalypse ruin gave me another hint.

And of course, the goggles on my head.

"Normally…" I say, as I start walking again, "You get your partner almost immediately upon arrival. This…is…bullshit!"

Before I can get much further or whine much longer, though, I'm interrupted by the deafening sound of wings. Massive wings, a buzzing hurricane that almost brings me to my knees. And the screaming, the screaming -!

"VEEEE-RUUUUUUU-SUUUUUUUU!!!!"

Worst time to be noise sensitive, as the screaming brings me back to my knees in the undergrowth. Hammering, hammering into my skull!

…Perhaps it's lucky, though. The massive red bug - Kuwagamon - passes overhead. Searching for something.

"VEEEEEERUS!!!! PARTONEERRRR!!!!"

Nope.

Not going to think about that.

After who knows however long, the pounding stops. I center myself with my breathing, in and out. Focus on the inhalation. In, expand the stomach. Out, let the chest fall. In, and out. The words of my middle school play director are, as usual, a centering mantra.

I need to get headphones asap, if not even the woods can be silent. The rustling background noises have been enough to smother my tinnitus, at least.

"Ah, what a horrible host that creature is…" Someone, a masculine voice, says nearby. It sounds like they're walking from the way I was running - was there a settlement that way? I can't see. My eyes are still locked shut. Try harder, try harder. Breathe better, recover faster already! "Are you alright? I heard the screaming of Kuwagamon, and thought it best to see what had driven it into a tizzy. I did not expect to find an unpartnered human out and about."

"Yeah…Just my luck. No partner to pick me up when I landed, huh?" I grit out, trying to stumble up to standing. That strange blue-white light of the forest burns my eyes now that I'm off-step, no longer acclimated. "It's nothing like the show…"

A curious hum comes from the other person, as they reach out and support me. They must be tall, with the angle at which their arm grabs me. "Nothing like the 'show'? Not a term I am familiar with - but yes, there are quite a few stories of humans falling here. This place just seems to catch them, like fish in a net."

With their help, I managed to stand up. Rubbing at my eyes, I can just barely start to see again. It's still a haloed mess, blue and white making the man's black clothing seem to take up his entire being. "Yeah…It sucks. What was up with that Kuwagamon, anyway? I can't imagine just one human would normally send it into…whatever that was."

"Not normally, no," The man says. "But you seem to be a very special human. Something about you has…a smell. An irresistible smell. So, so dark and lovely. An alluring haze…"

My vision clears, just in time to see Devimon staring into my eyes with a solid red gaze.

"Won't you be mine?"

With one hand still in his (massive demonic clawed nightmare), I sweep out one of his stupid too long legs.

He stumbles - and lets go of my hand. It didn't hurt, I could never manage to hurt an Adult level digimon, but I startled him enough to get him off of his feet.

Rather than waiting for him to react, I start running. Not along the vague trail I had been following earlier, but elsewhere. Into the thick of the woods, boots tromp-stomping loudly across foliage and thick twigs. This isn't where you're supposed to go or what you're supposed to do, I know, I know, I know, but it's that or -!

"That was incredibly rude, my future partner…!" Devimon's voice echoes through the woods. I hear his wings spread - fuck, he has wings - as he takes to the air. "I will not hesitate to play games, you need but simply ask! I shall catch you, and grant you safety and serenity of thought in my arms! Hell Contract!"

I don't look back, because I can hear it.

His wings write contracts of flame and shadow into the air, and then with a single flick, they scatter. Like missiles across the open sea, they fly randomly, crashing down as they attempt to catch me. Or, rather, as they clear the brush and tree cover.

A particular explosion gets too close, and sends me flying forward slamming hard into a tree. I'm able to roll and absorb most of the blow with my shoulder blade, rather than my face or my spine. It still rings through my system, an earthquake before the wildfire. Everything that had been behind me had been burnt down. Blue-white replaced by red-black, a haze of smoke and smoldering embers born from levelled trees.

Your average Child level digimon was ten times the strength of a human man. An Adult, ten times that…

No, sometimes, more than that.

I just had to hope this wasn't a sometime.

Devimon lands, his wings creating a heady gust of wind that smothers the worst of the flames and embers, and cloaks him in smoke and shadow before they snap back into a closed position. He snaps a finger, as shadow begins to cling to it.

"Now, my partner, I hoped to be kind to you - to hold you in my arms and welcome you into my world of shadow. To fight alongside me as I become a general of darkness, willingly. But it would appear, instead…" He sighs with a wide, cruel smile, "I shall have to steal your thoughts away from you. I promise that the serenity of shadows will welcome you, and the pain and suffering your body forces upon you will be no more. Death Cla-!"

"Goburi Bomb!"

A fireball crashes into Devimon's hand, knocking it away. The explosion seems to startle the devil, who vanishes into shadow and teleports backwards.

Step, step, step, step, step -!

"Oi! Sorry I'm late!" A voice barks, as a green figure moves to stand in front of me. "Ya need to learn to sit still and wait for help! If I wasn't as good as I was, I'dda lost you already!"

My Digivice, finally, lights up around my neck.

"The name's Axl!" The Goburimon grins, all sharp teeth and spite. "And I'm your partner, Noah!"

The glow of my Digivice, and the angered screams of Devimon, seem to agree.

 

[bronxterror]

Name: Noah
Partner(s): Axl (Goburimon)
Age: Mid 20's
Race: Human
Bias: Virus - 100%; Vaccine - NULL%; Data - NULL%;
Tamer Rank: N/A
Digivice: Orange with Black Accents. Blue Screen, Blue Signal Light.
Occupation: Wanderer

Spoiler: Digivice

A human who fell into the Apocrypha Server from this world. They have the worst compatibility with all Digimon in the Digital World, except for Virus Attributes.

[To be Updated in the Future]

---

Name: Axl
Species: Goburimon
Attribute: Virus
Type: Beast
Highest Stage: Child
Best Stat: Strength
Worst Stat: Intelligence
Line: Gigimon -> Goburimon -> ????? -> ????? -> ?????

The partner Digimon of Noah. He is a rude, prideful, and stubborn Digimon, who always keeps his promises and is perfectly honest. Emotionally intelligent, intellectually challenged.

[To be Updated in the Future]

 

[burningclaw2]

Bun has rejected fluffy, and returned to gobbo.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

Can't wait for more; just so you guys know.

 

[World Reader]

Ohhhh, a new Digimon fic!

I can't wait to see what this 'Apocrypha' Server is like!

A human who fell into the Apocrypha Server from this world.

Click to shrink...

I believe there's a typo? 'This world' was probably meant to be 'his world'.

 

[bronxterror]

I believe there's a typo? 'This world' was probably meant to be 'his world'.

Click to shrink...

No it is not. Noah is from our world - "this world".

 

[bronxterror]

"I will not stand for this!" Devimon screams, its clawed hands flaring open wide as energy gathers in his palms. Cinders and smoke billows up and around him in a haze. "That human is mine…! That scent, that sweet scent - a fountain, a fountain of power the likes of which I've not felt before…!"

"They will be mine! Demon's Ray!"

Beams of scintillating, vibrant red light tears from his palms and annihilates the ground as it passes over. The beams crossover, to slash clean through Goburimon - Axl!

"Tch! Not even close!" Axl barks, throwing his shoulder forward. "Living Shield!" In response to his call, a shell of green light manifests, causing the attacks to wash over the shield. Red light scatters and peels away from the green, leaving us both untouched.

Still, Axl pants.

"Yeesh…can't do that one too often, partner…" He mutters. "Uses up a lotta stamina…"

A shield that spends your HP to protect yourself?! That's really inconvenient!

Apparently seeing my disbelief and concern on my face, he laughs. "It's better than dying in one shot, partner! Now, move it!"

I follow his lead, despite not knowing what for, and run off to one side. Just in time for Devimon to tear through where we were standing with his claws, running past us like a raging bull. His instincts are good…!

As we run, Axl looks back. "Goburi Bomb!" He calls, throwing another fireball Devimon's way. It doesn't seem to do a ton of damage again, but it hits his back and causes him to stumble forward further into the tree I crashed into earlier. He slides to a stop, and I come to stop beside him. "Okay, partner, heal me!"

"What?!"

"Heal! Me!" He holds an arm out. "I haven't gotten hurt bad yet, but that shield took some outta me. Use that Digivice to heal me! You, like…make a bunch of Virus power and give it to me."

"Make a bunch of virus power, he says…" I mutter, before looking down at my Digivice. If it works like in the show, it has an option to return him, release him, and some other stuff. But the only one the Tamer really interacts with is the one at the top, and… "How about…this?"

With my eyes closed, I run my hand across the signal light at the Digivice's side. Imagining, power building inside me, and flowing into Goburimon. Not to evolve, but to do…something! Repair his wounds, anything -!

It takes a shape, then. A word comes to mind, as that energy blooms like a flower.

"Hack: Reco.Vi!"

Black, orange, and red data dig their roots into Axl's body, and blossom into a sickening flower of energies. This seems to perk him right back up, thankfully…!

"Hoo…hooo boyyyy…!" He grins, jumping around excitedly. "OI! TALL BLACK AND GOTHY! YOU'RE REALLY MISSIN' OUT ON THIS GUY -!"

"HELL CONTRACT!"

"Living Shield, numb nuts!" Axl responds, throwing up another shell. Somehow, it seems more vibrant…! "Now, gimme a boost! Think of a file type that will give me more, well, anything!"

"R-right…?!" I mutter, as Axl runs forward to leap for Devimon. "Uhm…! Hack - Dama.vi!"

It's just 'Damage - Virus'. Hopefully that's enough!

I run my hand over the signal light on the Burst Digivice again, and it flares before sending that power right over to Axl. It briefly surges through his veins - circuits? - as he swings his club against Devimon's crossed arms.

There's a crunch as they impact, snapping the devil's stretched out noodle arms in half within their bandage sockets…!

"THAT'S A RUSH!" Axl cackles, before flipping forward in the air to be right above Devimon's head. "Alright, partner, here it goes -!"

"Right…!" I grip my Digivice tightly. "DO IT!"

"Goburi…Rush!" Axl declares, as he lands and slams the club against Devimon's skull with an echoing thud. "Rush! Rush! Rush!"

Each repetition is another slam, slam, slam into its head!

"Goburi…RUUUUUSHHHH!" Axl screams one final time, as flames gather around his club and he drives it down right between the horns of that devil. It shatters, the skull and the club alike, data and pieces exploding out into the air.

Axl lands, and turns to me. "Put your Digivice out, and take the data!"

"Ugh…r-r-right…!" I listen to him, and hold my Digivice up. It flashes, and then sucks the data up - like a vacuum, or a magnet. Completely consuming it like it was just a bunch of dust in the wind. But, honestly - I had trouble feeling bad for it, considering how it almost stole my mind away. Coming to terms with killing digimon was still going to be the hardest part of this whole arrangement, though.

Panting heavily, though, I push that out of my mind. "Good…good job, Axl…" I mutter as I stumble to the ground. My partner runs over to me, and uses his body to support mine.

"Yeesh," He says, "Two Hacks and you're out…? Maybe this is that newbie stuff…"

"Shut up," I say back. But I don't have energy for actual malice right now. "We need to find a town or something…"

Axl huffs. "I'd say you could Evolve me so I could move us faster, but then you'd pass out. And that'd of course rely on me actually becomin' somethin' fast…"

"Yeah, you don't seem the type to know about other Digimon," I tease as he drags me across the burning wreckage. Maybe that's a bad idea, but he's stuck with me.

"I can throw you and drag you by your foot instead!" He says, but doesn't do any of that.

Before our bickering can continue on for much longer, though, my Digivice lights up. Picking it up, I click one of the buttons and its light expands. Showing a compass, marked with the nearest location.

Well!

"I think…I think we can go this way, and find some shelter. And maybe some food?"

Axl huffs…and then his stomach growls. "...Aye, some food sounds pretty damn good right now!"

I have a feeling that's going to be what he thinks of a lot, considering your average Digimon's appetite in the shows and games. Hopefully I will find a steady supply of meat on the horizon…

"...Thanks, Axl."

"No problem, partner."

 

[burningclaw2]

Can I offer meat-on-a-bone in these trying times?

bronx: "The power of gobbo compels you!"

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter
Looking forward to more of Noah's and Giburi mons digital adventures.
Continue on
Cheers!

 

[bronxterror]

"So you can't handle loud noises, bright light, or rough skin? Dude…You're gonna be miserable fighting digimon."

I wince. "Yeah. If I'm prepared for it, I can handle it better. If I know it's going to happen, I won't get knocked down or out of it, but…well. If it's surprising and out of nowhere, then I'm gonna have a bad time."

"Which is, uh, gonna be always, I think?" Axl says. "Because, y'know. Tamers and all that. I can't remember a lot, cuz…I think I appeared just for you. I was born t' meet you."

Oof.

"I was born t' meet you," He continues, "And to help you. So I know some things, but not a lot. I know we gotta work together, and find other Tamers. And that we gotta fight the Darkness, n' stuff. I know how your Hacks 'n' Cracks work, and that you gotta gather data. But…"

He snaps with one of his hands that isn't carrying me.

"Everythin' else is up in smoke. But I know you, Noah. We're gonna be together forever, until one of us bites it," He says emphatically. "So trust me, like I know I can trust ya."

"...Yeah," I choke out a little bit. How…how do you even react to that? "I trust you. Definitely."

What else can I do in times like this? I'm stuck in the Digital World. Something that shouldn't be possible. From all the shows, and the movies, and the games and the cards - it was supposed to be fiction. Becoming a Tamer was supposed to be a fantasy, something you indulged in with games and your own dreams. Not…

Not this.

"...Axl…Axl I nearly died, back there…" I say, voice small. "And you, too. We were really lucky."

"Nah, it wasn't luck, partner," He denies. "It was us bein' great together. You'll learn better."

I swallow. "Yeah…yeah, I hope so."

"Though, a bit of advice, man," Axl continues, "You're crazy weird. I can sense it."

I furrow my brow, "And what am I supposed to do with that information?"

"Hell if I know. My brain says that humans are supposed to feel a certain way - and you feel like that way, times a thousand. Really, really gotta be careful." He says, "Especially around other Virus types - and even more around Vaccine types…"

"...Alright, I will."

 

[bronxterror]

Btw, just to clarify, I'm not really trying to do anything big or special with this.

I just have a lot of ideas and I wanna write them. Some scenes might even end up going out of order, cuz I'll just write them when I wanna write them.

This isn't like my usual style at all, so please just enjoy it as light reading when you like.

 

[burningclaw2]

Just sort them in the threadmarks so when people reread it'll flow.

And Noah is apparently gonna have a very rough time.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[bronxterror]

The town up ahead, according to the radar, is "Bitsville". A tiny town full of machine digimon, it said, which was somewhat close to the 'Union City' (wherever that was). Speaking of, apparently the 'URL' I had landed in was the 'Launcher Forest', a spooky place that drove up a lot of anxiety. Made sense to me…

Rather than what I might have expected to hear as we approached, however, what I instead heard was an unmistakable sound of guitar coming from a speaker. And it was one I could never forget - though, why was it playing here?!

"Alright, Bitsville!" A voice, perky and sugary sweet, comes out from that same speaker, "Let's get a Fire Power! Join in if you know the words, and dance even if you don't! Idol Tamer, Jude, is on the scene!"

…There's no way whoever that is can be serious, right?

"Are all humans this way, partner?" Axl asks with a snicker, as he starts to run faster. I'd recovered enough to be able to walk alongside him, so of course I have to sprint after him, too. Luckily, the noise of the 'concert' was far enough away and I had enough warning that I could be prepared for it as we approached. Concerts were always pretty rough - I always had to wear headphones during them back home, even if I wanted to enjoy them. Hopefully I could find some here, too…

When we get into the town, there's the person performing on stage. Honestly, his voice is good - it's just, is this really…the…place…

Oh no.

My face reddens, as I see the man on stage. Tanned skin with golden blond hair - the kind you can't tell is natural or from a bottle - that reaches almost to the ground in a long ponytail. His body is stuffed into a tight ensemble in white, black, and gold, matched with a white and gold Digivice on his hip. Behind him, a Coronamon - presumably his partner - holds up the speaker with his backing track on it, and is doing a little dance.

The thing is.

I am…incredibly, absurdly weak for the 'entertainer' type of person. Singers, dancers, performers of any kind. I could even lose it over a particularly dashing circus master.

So this cute femboy idol-wannabe, with the tantalizing chest window and sunkissed skin and sunshine hair and even eyes like sunbeams -

"Axl I am in so much trouble…"

He sighs. "Oh, of course you are…"

All the digimon around us - mostly ToyAgumon of various colors, shades, and transparencies - seem to be enjoying it. They don't totally get it, because this is a super human thing, but they like the music and the performance. The pretty boy, who is very pretty indeed, snaps and dances, flinging his body around and getting into the choreography. I don't think this song ever had choreography, so he clearly made all of it himself.

"And I'm taking you along~!" He sings, holding his arms open. Just as he's about to go into the next section, his eyes meet mine and go wide. He changes his tune immediately. "Okay, everyone! We'll take five, but the concert isn't over yet, I promise!"

He then runs forward, leaping from his makeshift stage of crates and carts and everything else to land in front of me. With sparkling amber eyes, he takes my hands in his.

I'm going to die here.

"I've never seen you around before!" He says with a grin, "Did you come here to help me on my mission? What rank are you? Oh my gosh, your partner's a Goburimon?!"

He crouches down and takes Axl's hand, shaking it rapidly and nearly knocking the Child level off of his feet.

"I've not seen one of those around the Union City! It's nice to meet you! I'm Jude, but you probably know me already! I'm the big deal Idol Tamer, Jude~!" He winks, sticking out his tongue a little. "I'll be happy to work with you, Tamer~!"

I stammer and mumble, completely unable to respond with real words at this.

Then Axl wacks me with his club, and my head has to clear.

"Right! I'm not! From the Union City?" I say, awkwardly, "I'm new here. We just, uh, ended up here. And had to walk…"

Jude blinks. "Eh? What, really? You landed out…out here, in the boonies?! Oh my gosh you must have had a rough time of it! There's this nasty Devimon going around that I was supposed to take care of, but I had to do my show first - I hope you're all good -!"

"Took care of it." Axl says, cutting the Idol Tamer off. "Noah and I got him good!"

I nod awkwardly, and show him my Digivice to prove it. Devimon's data is displayed, and Jude's eyes go wide.

So pretty…

"Woahhh…! Congrats, then…Man, now I don't have a job to do out here…" He crosses his arms and pouts. At his side, his partner pats him on the leg.

"Cheer up, Jude!" The little Coronamon says, "At least now we can do the full concert and go back with time to spare! Plus, you can show this guy around town!"

Jude perks up at that. "Oh, gosh, right! You wouldn't even have the URL for the Union city…! Here, lemme get you that -!"

As he sends the data over, my heart keeps pounding loud in my chest. A fast, constant pounding, like a haze, a buzzing -

Wait.

"VIIIRUUUSUUUUUUU!!!!!"

Damnit!!!!

 

[bronxterror]

I am, in fact, helplessly weak to idols and musicians.

 

[burningclaw2]

I am, in fact, helplessly weak to idols and musicians.

Click to shrink...

Also smug blondes, and himbos.

 

[bronxterror]

Also smug blondes, and himbos.

Click to shrink...

Drag me why don't you.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Zetakille]

I'm curious what evolution line you're going to give Axl. I'm assuming the first will be either Ogremon (the obvious choice), or a dragon of some kind. Like the Growlmons or (the one I'm hoping for) the blue Greymon.