Writing Digimon: Regaining Lost Passion

[Digital Monster]

Right, I did post this story up some time ago, but as hardly anyone replied to it, I hope to get a few more reviews this time. I think it was the fact that the story was in links rather than on the post which put people off reading it. So, here for your viewing pleasure is Chapter 1 of my debut fan-fiction, Digimon: Regaining Lost Passion. Please read and review.

Note: As there's no yellow in the vB code, T.K.'s speech (what there is anyway) is [color=green]green[/color], not to be confused with Mimi's, which is [COLOR=limegreen]lime green[/COLOR].

[b]Chapter 1- Back in the Digitude[/b]

[color=purple][i]?Tai! You?ll never guess wha- oh, hello Mrs. Kamiya.?[/i][/COLOR]
A slightly embarrassed Koushiro ?Izzy? Izumi chided himself on his hastiness. Who knows what could have slipped out?
[color=sienna][i]?Oh, hi Izzy. Hold on, I?ll get him. TAI! Izzy?s on the phone! Seems to be something important!?[/i][/COLOR]
A teenage boy with a huge mop of tousled brown hair came out of his room. His younger sister followed close behind him. Taichi ?Tai? Kamiya and his sister Hikari (or ?Kari?) had been talking about their favourite subject; their adventures in the Digital World a couple of years before, and their Digimon partners, Agumon and Gatomon. But this was a subject they could only talk about in secret, between themselves and the other DigiDestined. Tai took the handset from his mum, and Kari listened in.
[color=orange][i]?Hey Izzy, what?s up??[/i][/COLOR]
[color=purple][i]?You?ll never believe this but Gennai-"[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?GENNAI!?[/COLOR] [color=deeppink]?GENNAI!?[/i] [/COLOR]
[color=purple][i]"-just sent us an e-mail. He wants us all to meet up at my house. He?ll speak to us then.?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?You?re right. I don?t believe you.?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=deeppink][i]?So when do we come over, Izzy? Now??[/i][/COLOR]
[color=purple][i]?That would be the most preferable scenario.?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?Ya-wha??[/i][/COLOR]
[color=deeppink][i]?He said yes. Come on Tai, let?s go!?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?Well why didn?t he say that?[/i][/COLOR], said Tai as he put down the receiver, [color=orange][i]?instead of using all those long words? Not everyone?s a genius like him.?[/i][/COLOR]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[color=blue][i]?So, we all here??[/i][/COLOR] a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy asked Izzy as he walked through the door of the Izumi residence with a small, similar-looking boy with him. ?Sorry we're late. Had to pick T.K. up from the station?. Yamato ?Matt? Ishida and his younger brother Takeru Takaishi lived separately since their parents divorced several years before. T.K. now lived across town.
[color=green][i]"And get candy."[/i][/COLOR] piped up T.K.
[color=purple][i]?That?s OK. Yeah, we?re all here.?[/i][/COLOR] All three walked into Izzy's bedroom where the other DigiDestined, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, & Jyou 'Joe' Kido were waiting with Tai and Kari.
[color=red][i]"Right, we're all here. So what's all the commotion, Izzy?"[/i][/COLOR] Sora voiced what everyone was thinking.
[color=purple][i]"Well, like I said on the phone, Gennai contacted me a little while ago. He said he'd contact us again when we're all together."[/i][/COLOR]
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Gennai appeared on Izzy's computer screen.
[color=teal][i]"Greetings, DigiDestined. Good to see you all again. I'm only regretting we must meet again like this. The Digital World needs your help once more."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=silver][i]"Can you give us a heads up on the enemy this time, Gennai?"[/i][/COLOR] asked Joe.
[color=teal][i]"I'm afraid I have no information at this moment in time. I was captured by him, but managed to escape. Unfortunately I found no information on the new enemy. Whoever this is knows how to keep themselves to themselves. He's a very slippery character."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?You mean he's a coward. Well, we'll show him if he messes up the Digital World, he answers to us. Right guys?"[/i][/COLOR] When Tai got himself fired up, it was hard not to follow his example.
[b][i]"Yeah! We'll show him whose boss! Let's get him! We'll get to see our Digimon again too!"[/i][/b]
[color=limegreen][i]"Well now that that's settled, I have a question. How do we get to the Digital World?"[/i][/COLOR] This slightly out-of-character, insightful statement from Mimi stopped the general kerfuffle of noise exploding from Izzy's room. In an instant they all remembered the last time. Gennai had said that the gate between both worlds was closed.
[color=teal][i]"Hold your Digivices up to the computer screen. The Digital Gate has opened."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=green][i]"Yay, I'll see Patamon again!"[/i][/COLOR] T.K. remembered the pact the two made at the end of their last adventure.
All the DigiDestined now had their Digivices at the computer. A bright light surrounded them and dragged them into the screen. Just as the light faded, Izzy's mother knocked on the door and entered with an assortment of snacks and drinks.
[color=sienna][i]"Izzy, you there? Funny, I could've sworn I heard them a minute ago."[/i][/COLOR]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[color=sandybrown][i]"Why did you let that old oaf get away?!"[/i][/COLOR] A cruel, evidently annoyed voice growled at the small Digimon at the voice's owner's feet.
[i]"I'm sorry, Your Grace, but..."[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i][b]"I DON'T WANT EXCUSES!"[/b][/i][/COLOR] The voice rose to an angry snarl.
[i]"I'm sorry."[/i] The winged Digimon hung its golden head respectfully. The voice's owner sighed and started to pace the room.
[color=sandybrown][i]"Well, what's done is done. We must simply make the best use of a bad hand. This turn of events has upset the plan and perhaps pushed it back somewhat, but hopefully we can turn it into an advantageous situation rather an unlucky screw-up. But that doddering idiot will call for back up, the DigiDestined no doubt. We must prepare for their arrival. Go, summon the troops and brief them on the situation. I will personally give them further orders when the time comes."[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Hkum hai!"[/i] (It is an order!) The Digimon bowed and left what appeared to be a planning room or study. The other presence in the room moodily slumped into a chair, lifted its right arm and a computer appeared from a manacle stretching almost to the elbow. The only sound was the faint tapping of buttons and one statement-
[color=sandybrown][i]"Yes, we will be ready for them."[/i][/COLOR]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[b][i]?WOOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! OOOOFF!?[/i][/b] It was always a rough journey to the Digital World, and this time was no exception.
[color=limegreen][i]"Are we there yet??[/i][/COLOR]
[color=red][i]?I think so, well, we?re on solid ground anyway.?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=blue][i]?We?d better find Gennai, see what?s happening.?[/i][/COLOR]
[color=deeppink][i]?I wonder where our Digimon are.?[/i][/COLOR] Kari's wondering was soon answered, for after walking for about 10 minutes, a metallic voice was heard several feet above them.
[i]?IZZY!?[/i]
[color=purple][i]?TENTOMON!?[/i][/COLOR] Izzy was extremely pleased to spot his red, robotic, mosquito-like partner swooping down to greet him. After a quick hug, Tentomon led them to the lake underneath which Gennai?s house was located. All the other Digimon had gathered there and an extremely happy reunion was had by all the partners- Tai and Agumon, Matt and Gabumon, Sora and Biyomon, Mimi and Palmon (rather emotional), Joe and Gammon, T.K. and Patamon, and Kari and Gatomon. After all the catch-up had been done, and a quick meal, they all gathered around the fireplace to discuss the situation (a bit of a squeeze with 17 people and Digimon).
[color=orange][i]?Right, so, does anyone know anything about this new guy?"[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Our digivolving's gone. We can't digivolve to Ultimate at all."[/i] Gabumon started the conversation on a very serious note.
[color=][red]"But I thought the energy for you to digivolve to Ultimate came from us and the Crests."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=teal][i]"Certainly at first,?[/i][/COLOR] put in Gennai, [color=teal][i]"but once you had actually done it a few times, and especially since you fully realized that the power came from within, the Digimon were able to do it without you actually being there."[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Until this guy showed up,?[/i] continued Gabumon. [i]"We sometimes digivolved to Ultimate to cross big distances or solve problems. Suddenly you can't digivolve and you don't know who to trust. We've kept in a very tight group since the new evil appeared. Made sure no outsiders-"[/i]
[color=blue][i]" 'Outsiders'?"[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Digimon not in our immediate circle. We think that some Digimon have become evil, but there's no obvious sign that they are evil. It seems a few Digimon have been persuading others to join the cause. There's been a few surprises as to who's joined."[/i]
[color=blue][i]"Like who?"[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Some of our friends from last time, as well as some very powerful Digimon. Andromon, Monzaemon, Leomon, the list gets bigger every time we look."[/i]
[color=silver][i]"Wow, I wonder who's doing this, and how."[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"But the weird thing is, the Digimon disappear for a few weeks, but they always come back like nothing's happened and simply go about their business as usual."[/i]
[color=purple][i]"It sounds as if whoever has them under their control is waiting for something to happen."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?I think you're right Izzy, or maybe they're spies gathering info for this most heinous villain."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=red][i]"You've been watching those James Bond movies again, haven't you?"[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?No..."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=red][i]"You so have."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=orange][i]?Matt, call her off."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=blue][i]"Leave him alone, Sora. Leave him to his little childish fantasies."[/i][/COLOR] Matt smiled and put an affectionate arm around Sora. The two had become an item some months before.
[color=orange][i]?Hey, a guy can dream, you know. You're the one that said you wanted to be an astronaut."[/i][/COLOR]
[color=blue][i]"When I was 6!"[/i][/COLOR]
[color=silver][i]"Will you please stop bickering? There's more important things to worry about!"[/i][/COLOR]
[color=limegreen][i]"You tell them Joe."[/i][/COLOR]
[i]"Joe's right, we won't stop this new evil taking over if we just sit around."[/i] Gomamon turned around from staring through the window at the fish in the lake.
[color=orange][i]?All right, it's settled then. From tomorrow, the DigiDestined are back in business!"[/i][/COLOR]
[b][i]"Yeah!"[/i][/b]

[Devidramon]

You might want to put in a key to the color-coding, I can't tell who's saying what. (Or even better, do an "Izzy said, '[whatever Izzy said goes here].'" thing so we don't have to refer back to a key at all. Makes it ten times easier.)

[Solo Tremaine]

They're supposed to correspond with their Crest colour, I believe.

I still like it, DM ^_^ Even reading it again I can't find much fault with the dialogue style. It's well-written.

[Digital Monster]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Devidramon [/i]
[B]You might want to put in a key to the color-coding, I can't tell who's saying what. (Or even better, do an "Izzy said, '[whatever Izzy said goes here].'" thing so we don't have to refer back to a key at all. Makes it ten times easier.) [/B][/QUOTE]

Actually I thought the colour coding was quite obvious, it was so I didn't have to do what you just suggeseted and made it easier to read. But hey, I'm just the author. ;)

[Na'dou]

Since I didn't catch you before you got off, the part of Ch.5 of the story you sent me was great...It was pretty funny too...

[Jagan]

Pretty good. I can't really say that anything was wrong because it was all great. Color codes were off a little for me, but oh well.

[Digital Monster]

[B][u]Chapter 2- The First Sighting[/u][/B]

Recap: Tai and the others have returned to the Digital World, where a new threat is causing worry, but no-one seems to know anything about this new character, who they are or what they're up to. Meanwhile, it has already known of their imminent arrival, and prepares for war...

[color=orange][i]?Alright, where do you think we should start?[/i][/color]
[color=green][i]"Probably in a town. Where's the nearest?"[/i][/color]
[color=purple][i]"The nearest population of Digimon is...?[/i][/color], Izzy tapped for a few seconds on his computer, [color=purple][i]"near Mount Miharashi. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"[/i][/color]
[color=red][i]"Yeah, the Yokomon village. I remember."[/i][/color] Biyomon had first digivolved to Birdramon while battling Meramon there.
[color=blue][i]"Good. Someone will be willing to answer our questions there."[/i][/color]
[color=orange][i]?How long will it take to get there Izzy?"[/i][/color]
[color=purple][i]"Approximately 1 and a half to 2 hours straight, longer if we include breaks.[/i]"[/color]
[color=limegreen][i]"OOH! Do we always have to walk?!"[/i][/color]
[color=silver][i]"Mimi, if you have a better answer, we'd love to hear it."[/i][/color] That put Mimi in her place until they'd been walking for about half an hour.
[color=limegreen][i]"It's not the walking I mind, it's the boredom. At least in the mall there's things to look at, and you can stop for something to eat and you're not always in a hurry."[/i][/color]
[b][i]"MIMI!"[/i][/b]
[color=limegreen][i]"Sorry, are we there yet?"[/i][/color]
[b][i]"NO!"[/i][/b]
Eventually they arrived at the village, which really hadn't changed much since the last time. Yokomon were crawling all over the place, but as soon as the group were spotted, the Yokomon surrounded the DigiDestined, especially Biyomon. After all the formalities had been taken care of-
[color=orange][i]?OK guys, the reason we're here is to ask some questions. We've heard that there's a new jerk in town, but no other info apart from that, and we were wondering if you guys knew anything."[/i][/color]
A silence came over the Yokomon as they seemed uneasy to talk. Eventually one of them, who appeared to be a spokesmon, bounced forward.
[i]"We really haven't seen much, just heard rumours. You should talk to Meramon perhaps, he might know something."[/i]
[color=orange][i]?Alright then, you heard the mon, it's up to Mount Miharashi."[/i][/color] They started to walk towards the foot of the mountain when Sora noticed Mimi and Palmon weren't following.
[color=red][i]"Not coming, you two?"[/i][/color]
[color=limegreen][i]"No, I'm not."[/i][/color]
[i]"I would, but I'll stay with Mimi."[/i]
[color=red][i]"Won't you be bored?"[/i][/color]
[color=limegreen][i]"No. You guys go on, we'll stay here. Maybe... we can get some more info out of the Yokomon."[/i][/color]
[color=red][i]"Suit yourself."[/i][/color] Sora ran to catch up with the others.
[color=blue][i]"What's with her?"[/i][/color]
[color=red][i]"Trying to get some more out of the Yokomon."[/i][/color]
[color=blue][i]"Yeah... that's likely."[/i][/color] Matt just couldn't hide the sarcasm in his voice.
[color=red][i]"Well, nothing we can do about it. She'll be fine with Palmon if there's any trouble."[/i][/color]
Meanwhile, a Flymon circled around the village in the sky above, and from its back, someone was watching...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[color=sandybrown][i]"Aha, the flower power girl's decided to stay behind, eh?"[/i][/color]
[i]"It would seem so, Your Grace."[/i] another voice came from the first speaker's shoulder.
[color=sandybrown][i]"Hmm, seeing as she likes plants and she's alone, I think I'll send her a tree to give her a hug."[/i][/color] the first voice chuckled. Then it opened up the manacle on the left arm and seemed to speak into a com device.
[color=sandybrown][i]"Vrksasmon, go to the Yokomon village at Mount Miharashi, and deal with the troublemaker you find there with her partner."[/i][/color] A woody voice came back over the com.
[i]"At once, Your Grace. Will that be all?"[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Until I issue further orders. You know what to do until then."[/i][/color] The com device was switched off.
[i]"I thought you wanted a worthy opponent to battle."[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Still do."[/i][/color]
[i]"Then why are you sending Vrksasmon to fight 1 DigiDestined who's on her own?"[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"This is an opportunity too good to miss, my friend. I've seen them do battle before. Their teamwork is both efficient and powerful. If we can pick off one, even someone who is not the strongest in the group, something becomes lost from that team and they have to compensate more for that loss. The team becomes weaker as a unit because of that. It's like soccer, it's not just the quality of the players you have on your team, but your teamwork and tactics to overcome your opponent. War follows the exact same principle. Others thought the DigiDestined to be weak, and strength-wise, they were weaker, but working together gave them a strength none would have alone."[/i][/color]
[i]"So this is a tactical decision?"[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Exactly. You're getting the hang of this, my friend."[/i][/color] The speaker turned to the Flymon.
[color=sandybrown][i]"When you see Vrksasmon, try and see if you can go down lower without being seen. It's about time we saw some action."[/i][/color]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The DigiDestined (bar Mimi and Palmon) had reached the lake on top of Mount Miharashi where the fiery Meramon lived, and had started to question him on what he knew, but it seemed he knew as much solid information as they did.
[i]"I'm afraid I've not been much help to you guys. I wish I could do more, but I only get titbits of information from the bird Digimon who rest here. I've never really left this mountain since the battle against Piedmon."[/i]
[color=red][i]"Well, it was worth a try, and it's nice to see you again."[/i][/color]
[i]"Thank you, and I'll ask around for more info next time."[/i]
[color=orange][i]"You're welcome. See ya around, Meramon."[/i][/color] The group started to walk back down the mountain.
[color=purple][i]"This is very mysterious, and very frustrating."[/i][/color] Izzy certainly seemed a bit annoyed at something.
[color=green][i]"What's the matter, Izzy?"[/i][/color]
[color=blue][i]"Izzy's just miffed coz now there's something he knows nothing about."[/i][/color]
[i]"Wait a minute! I've just remembered something!"[/i] The group turned round to Meramon.
[i]"I heard a Deramon saying that whenever there's been trouble recently, a Flymon has sometimes been seen in the area. I don't know if that'll be any help, but it might be something."[/i]
[color=orange][i]"Cool, Meramon. Thanks a lot."[/i][/color]
[color=deeppink][i]"Uh, guys, I don?t know about you, but there's a Flymon over there, hovering above the village."[/i][/color] Everyone looked at each other.
[b][i]"MIMI!"[/i][/b]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mimi had been trying to talk more to the Yokomon about the recent troubles, but even turning the charm full on couldn't get much out of them, so she decided to dip her feet in the lake. Palmon was as welcome as her for the cold water on her feet (or in Palmon's case, roots). Suddenly there was chaos all around them, Yokomon flying in all directions, houses being demolished, and a huge tree -like Digimon running towards them.
[color=limegreen][i]?OH NO!! [b]NIGHTMARE!![/b]"[/i][/color]
[i]"Palmon, digivolve to... [b]TOGEMON![/b]"[/i]
[i]"Leave her alone, you over-sized shrub! Needle Spray!"[/i] The hard bark covering the Digimon simply repelled the cactus's primary attack.
[i]"WILLOW WHOMP!"[/i] Togemon went flying as a branch extended and slammed into her. She then decided on a close-range attack.
[i]"Light-Speed Jabbing!"[/i] The punches came in thick and fast as Togemon desperately tried to protect Mimi. No way was this enemy getting near her. Meanwhile, in a nearby patch of forest...

[color=sandybrown][i]"Fancy getting in there while Togemon's occupied?"[/i][/color]
[i]"From what I see, Vrksasmon is doing quite well on his own."[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Sounds reasonable. No point wasting resources on what doesn't need them. We'll just sit back and enjoy the fun."[/i][/color]

'Fun' definitely wouldn't be the word Togemon and Mimi would have used, as Togemon was getting pummelled by Vrksasmon and was now being used as a green punching-bag. The other DigiDestined arrived just as Togemon couldn't take much more punishment, and the other Digimon lost no time in digivolving to help their friend.
[i]"Agumon digivolve to... [b]Greymon!"[/b][/i]
[i]"Gabumon digivolve to...[b]Garurumon!"[/b][/i]
[i]"Biyomon digivolve to... [b]Birdramon!"[/b][/i]
[i]"Tentomon digivolve to... [b]Kabuterimon!"[/b][/i]
[i]"Gomamon digivolve to... [b]Ikkakumon"[/b][/i]
[i]"Patamon digivolve to... [b]Angemon!"[/b][/i]

Izzy quickly put up the Digimon Analyzer.
[color=purple][i]"Vrksasmon. Vegetation Virus, Ultimate Level. Attacks- Willow Whomp & Graft Saw. A tree Digimon that could easily cut most other Digimon down to size."[/i][/color]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Aw, nuts. The others are here. That's that strategy down the plughole."[/i][/color] The com device was quickly activated.
[color=sandybrown][i]"Vrksasmon, return to base."[/i][/color]
[i]"As you wish."[/i] The DigiDestined heard the order being given.
[color=silver][i]"Wonder what that's about."[/i][/color] Joe pondered as Vrksasmon quickly made his exit.
[color=orange][i]"I'm telling you, whoever this is, is a right big chicken."[/i][/color]
[color=deeppink][i]"I saw the Flymon land in the forest. Think we should go see what's there?"[/i][/color]
[color=orange][i]"Good idea. Let's go."[/i][/color]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Uh oh, looks like we've had enough fun here for today."[/i][/color] As the Flymon?s rider remounted, she suddenly caught a look at one of the other girls in the group.
[color=sandybrown][i]"Sora? I never noticed her when I last saw them all together. It's not like me to miss something like that."[/i][/color]
[i]"Your Grace, we have to go. If we wait any longer, they'll catch us."[/i]
[color=sandybrown][i]"Right."[/i][/color] The rider quickly snapped out and ordered the Flymon upwards. Not long after, the DigiDestined caught up to the spot only to see two figures jump off the Flymon to a nearby cliff and run off.
[color=blue][i]"Well, should we go after them?"[/i][/color]
[color=orange][i]"Let it go. I'm sure they'll come out eventually, and we'll be ready when they do."[/i][/color]



So, the new threat decides to make an appearance, and appears to know Sora. What's the connection? Well, keep reading to find out!