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This is a digimon fan fic I've been working on for quite some time ^^ I hope you enjoy it. I also have quite a few pics that go with it, but I'll post them in the art forum when I have the chance. Well, here goes:

Chapter 1: When One Door Closes, Another Opens

The overbearing silence of the Digital Arena was too much for the crowd as they watched the two combatants face each other with grim determination written on both of their faces. The youngest of the two, a boy just starting his teen years, gazed intently back down at a watch-like device that covered his wrist. His forefinger lingered over a square button, but he cast his hesitation aside and pushed it down.

A series of beeps and clicks punctuated the quiet and small multicolored particles flew up from a device on the floor, casting a rainbow of colors on the ground around it. Some of the fragments began to connect in order to form a body along with arms and legs. A reptilian head rested upon the newly formed shoulders and a stiff, green-spiked tail formed on the rear of the image.

Everyone ‘ooh’ed as the red and white t-rex stomped a gargantuan foot against the ground and belted out an earthshaking roar. Its blue eyes narrowed as it gazed down at the slim figure that stood just a few large steps ahead of him. It would have unnerved anyone who stared into those menacing, slitted orbs.

That was…everyone but the seventeen year old girl who stared back with a courage that paled in comparison the men that were much older than her. She knew every single creature in this game, its strengths and weaknesses, its programmed personality. It was what made her a champion to the eyes of all kids that were watching, young and old alike.

As she looked at her own metallic blue watch, she pressed an arrow-shaped key on the device and than pressed the activator button. Similar sparks flew above the ground, only these ones converged into smaller limbs. Two muscular forelegs and two strong hind legs touched the ground to reveal the support for the creature that was to be revealed. A long body connected to a flexible tail appeared upon the legs, which soon began to be covered by gleaming red scales. As the neck formed, spike-like stripes appeared as some scales turned black in color. Upon the neck came a reptilian head with a long snout. Sharp teeth poked from the upper and lower lips of the maw and two black horns stretched from the sides of the skull. Two gleaming emerald eyes shot open, the pupils wide and alert.

From between the horns, a row of small, triangular spikes began to run down the creature’s neck, along its spine, and ending at the tip of the tail of which formed a sharp spade-like spike. Upon the shoulders, two large limbs formed on the side, one stretching straight out while the other grew towards the t-rex. Small rib-like appendages grew from the mainstay and a dark red membrane grew between. At the tip of the wings, two claw-like struts formed which flexed as the dragon spread his great wings to the side, revealing the flight tools in all of their glory.

“You’re sending out a rookie to take out a champion?” A voice shouted from the crowd, “No way can you win!”

The girl closed her chestnut eyes and the corner of her mouth lifted in a grin, “You know little of power…” she whispered softly as she slowly lowered her hand to her side, “Size doesn’t make power, nor does brute strength alone. Power is what is given when you share a bond with the creature you raise, so that you can learn all of its traits: its pros and cons, its strengths and weaknesses. Only than can you realize what power truly is…Dramon! Brace yourself for an attack!” she shouted, not to the voice sensor that rested on her watch, but to the creature itself.

To those closest to her in the arena, it appeared as if the dragon could really understand and it dug its ivory claws into the ground and bent its elbows and knees to use them against the force. The larger digimon before them thumped its tail against the ground and released another shattering roar.

“Tyrannomon, use your primary attack! Send that dragon to oblivion!”
The T-rex planted its feet firmly against the ground and held his head up in the air as a ball of red fire began to form within its fanged maw. As the flame grew bigger, tongues of fire snaked out of the dinosaur’s partially opened mouth, foreshadowing the strike that was to come.


“Fire Blast!”

As the creature cried out its signature attack, it clenched its fore claws and leaned forward before propelling the huge fireball out of its mouth. As it soared dangerously towards the small dragon before it, Dramon’s eyes narrowed and it leaned back slightly and turned his head before the blast hit him full on. After it slid over him, the attack flew towards the girl who held her arms in front of her eyes as the illusionary flames engulfed her, leaving no mark upon her where the fire struck. The crowd sat on the edges of their seats as they watched the flames clear, and all gasped in amazement as they saw the small dragon standing straight with no signs of injury upon him.

More bustled voices came to the girl’s hearing, “Wow! A rookie withstood a champion attack!”

“Dramon? Has anyone heard of that digimon before?”

“That Tyrannomon’s going down! That there is Adrianna and Brian’s’ kid, Amanda Dracoanas!”

The girl smiled and brushed a few of the golden brown strands of her hair away from her eyes as she looked at the creature before her, “All right, Dramon, you did great so far!”

The dragon nodded in agreement. Even though he wasn’t a real living, breathing creature, her parents programmed him to respond to multiple commands, “Now, let’s show him what true power is, take flight and show him that even a kid could defeat a giant!”

The small dragon lowered himself to the ground so his belly nearly touched the soft dirt floor of the coliseum. His outspread wings began to beat, slowly at first, than gaining in speed as he prepared to take off. The simulated wind from the flaps caused the sand around him to fly around in a whirlwind, and in a giant leap, he escaped the dust in order to take to the skies.

The tyrannosaurus watched his prey with a vacant expression, wondering what kind of damage a small bug like that could do to him. His summoner was also as impartial to the strength of the rookie. It just didn’t look that threatening.

The small dragon slowly glided towards the dinosaur, small sparks flashing within his open mouth. With his claws clenched, he inhaled a deep breath of air and emitted a large stream of fire that completely enveloped the large dinosaur below, which bellowed out in pain as sparks flew off of its body.

The boy stared in disbelief as the large t-rex slowly began to disintegrate. The sparks flew again from the ground, this time taking darker colors such as black and red, and a deafening applause shattered the suspenseful air that had taken place just seconds before.

“And our continuing champion is, Amanda Dracoanas and her partner Dramon!”

The girl clicked another button on her watch and Dramon disappeared in a flurry of gold and white sparks that circled him even while he was in flight. He too vanished as well, but in a more glorious way, as he was last seen in his flying position.

As the audience began to file out of their seats in the coliseum, Amanda walked up to the boy who sat in the dirt, his knee bent with his arm hanging limply upon it.

“How…? How could I be defeated by a rookie? I trained that Tyrannomon for months on my Watch. But it was no good.” The boy muttered as he kept his eyes trained on the dirt.

“No, you did a great job.” The champion said as she knelt down beside the boy, getting her own jeans dirty along with him to prove their equality, “Not many kids around your age and older could do what you did. You got as far as to challenge me, and trust me, I fought the same competitors you did, and I had troubles with them along the way.”

“You mean…” the boy looked up at her with hope shining in his blue eyes, “You mean that you started off the same way as well? Just like me?”
Amanda smiled and nodded before picking up a handful of the sand beneath them, “Yes, just like you. Just think, with just a little time,” she let the sand slip through a hole in her enclosed fist until there was none left, “You could be the champion. Maybe even better than what I can ever be.”

The boy looked down at the pile of sand beneath her fist and than looked back up at her, noticing that she was now standing with her hand offered down to his, “So, are you going to stand up and train harder?” she asked with a slight twitch of her hand.

The boy looked at it and than nodded before grabbing it and allowing her to bring him back to his feet. The two patted the other on the shoulder while they grasped hands and they broke away and went their separate ways, both feeling a sense of accomplishment as they left the arena behind.


*Beep…Beep…*Custom data ready. Is User ready to activate?
“Yes, activate the Celestial Caves now.”

Action loading….download is complete. The Celestial Caves are now created.

“Good, now we only have one last level to create and our virtual digital world will be complete.”

The clicking of the buttons on a keyboard struck in a continuous cycle as the male scientist switched glances between his quickly moving fingers and the wide, wall-sized screen before him. Behind him, a similarly dressed woman stood before her own computer, using a stylus upon a smaller black screen on the control panel to create pictures on the larger screen. These two-dimensional pictures took on the forms of random creatures. Some were furry while others were scaled, some were humanoid while others were more animal-like, and many other different variations took form with the woman’s creativity.

When she was done drawing the first sketches of the monsters, she pressed a button and more realistic versions took their place. With a few quick clicks of a mouse at her side, she assigned certain textures and colors to each of the creatures, giving each one a unique presence. She stepped back a bit to survey her work and approved it with a nod before pressing a button beside the black screen, causing a download bar to appear.

Digimon set 500 loading…

The bar didn’t take too long to fill, and the woman smiled with satisfaction as the computer spoke out, Download Complete

“Brian, the last of the digimon are created. How’s the last setting coming along?” the woman asked as she placed her fair hand upon his shoulder.
Her husband reached over and patted her hand with his own and continued typing, “It’s almost done.” His fingers flew effortlessly across the keyboard as the last commands were put in, “We’re just about…finished!”

*Beep…Beep…* Custom data ready. Is User ready to Activate?

“So Arianna, are you ready to see our creation?” Brian asked as he held her hand tightly, bringing it up to his lips and gently planting a kiss upon it.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She replied with a smile, her brown eyes gleaming with anticipation. She waited a long time for this day, the day that would make everything they did with the Digimon Advance game worth while.

Brian turned to the computer and said in a strong voice, “Yes, computer, activate the Chronos Lab set now.”

The computer once again showed the loading data, but oddly enough, the mechanical voice didn’t speak out once again. Instead, a low humming sound filled the room and the florescent lights began to flicker a few times before they completely burnt out.

Adrianna gasped as the darkness consumed her and her husband and she clung tightly to his arm, “Brian, what’s going on?” she asked, the panic she felt welling up inside her throat cut her voice short.

“I…I don’t know.” He said as he looked around, groping for the switch that would turn the generator on. An empty click followed as he flipped the switch. Nothing happened.

Adrianna began to shiver as she pointed to the screen, “What’s that?”
Brian turned his hazel eyes towards the computer, only to see a red pulsating blot appear on the large screen. It appeared as if the sides of the screen were melting into the red mass, causing swirls of crimson and black to overtake the screen.

“Pathetic humans…” fluttered a whispering voice within the room. With a sense of foreboding, Brian wrapped his arms around his wife for her protection as the voice continued, “You should have known not to mettle in the affairs of the digital world. You should have realized that your creations had an intelligence that could disperse your control. Now, you are going to make me new, so that I may control this world.

The two scientists could only watch in fear as three metal claws slowly surfaced from the computer. They were attached to an arm that was tattered and worn, which leaked data from the large gaps in its armor. Brian looked around for something to use to attack it, but no loose object was in the room with them.

“Time to say goodbye to the world you knew, and say hello to mine!”
The claws lashed out and ensnared the couple before pulling them into the computer. The two held each other in a final embrace before they were pulled into the red mass, not knowing what would be revealed on the other side.

They felt a cold feeling as they passed through, and they saw a bright, blinding light flash before them. Then, darkness took over their senses…


The sun was just sinking over the horizon as Amanda Dracoanas cut through the park on the outskirts of the city. The occasional chatter of a squirrel or the singing of a bird usually caught her attention, but it didn’t disturb her thoughts on the battle that took place an hour ago.

Even though she was a bit proud of her rank as the top duelist within the whole United States, she felt that she only got that rank from the modifications that her parents programmed into her D-watch. She had made up her digimon, yes, but she didn’t know it would turn out stronger than the usual digimon that she challenged. It seemed that her parents wanted her to win at all costs, but what was the fun in that?

A small sigh escaped her lips and she slowly lifted her head to gaze up at the few stars that managed to shine through the fading light. Life was kind of hard for her, though none of her fans would know it. Her parents were never home, for they were working on a project that seemed to take a toll on both their bodies and minds. Whenever they came home in the middle of the night they would go to bed with no spoken “hello” to her or any sort of greeting, and would wake up earlier than her in the morning to continue their work. It seemed that they didn’t even care that she existed, just as long as they could get their big money making program working.

The girl shook her head and wiped away a tear that streamed down her face. She wanted parents like the ones she saw at the arena who would bring their kids with them wherever they went, who would embrace their children when they were feeling down, or pat them on the back for something they did right. She would even be satisfied if she could see their faces, unmarked by exhaustion or disappointment.

And then her one true friend came to mind, and a new energy sprang in her step.

He was the only friend she ever had, but like her parents, she had never seen him face to face throughout the five years she had known him. Because she had no friends around home that she could count on, she would always talk to the one she had by means of the computer. He went by the screen name of Imperial Ericmon, named so by the digimon that he made up himself. He would often talk to her about the problems he faced in life, about how he was glad that he could be there for her when her parents didn’t acknowledge her.

Eric was definitely a true friend. He would always find the means of cheering her up when she was down, and she gladly did the same for him. Though one thing she never heard from him was about his school or family life. It was as if he didn’t have either, just like her, only it seemed that both were completely inexistent in his life.

It was their visits that kept her going each night. She thought she’d go insane if she had no friends to talk to. Right now she thought of the things they could talk about, and maybe they could find some way of getting her parents back into a loving relationship with their only daughter.

She was just in the center of the park, the rays of moonlight caressing her face, when a shadowy figure emerged from behind a tree a few yards ahead of her. When her eyes darted to the right, she could see another, and to the left was one more who joined the first two. She backed up a bit as the figures stood together and walked towards her, and she could see in the moonlight their fancy black suits and the dark sunglasses that hid their eyes from view.

“Ahh, Ms. Dracoanas. We thought we’d find you here.” The man in the middle said as he folded his arms over his chest in a carefree attitude, “We are sad to inform you that your parents have both gone missing from their lab.”

The news struck her like a bolt of lightning, unexpected with a rush of questions that pounded in her mind like an energized blacksmith. (Corny comparison, I know)

“What do you mean, missing?” she asked with a hint of venom in her voice. Whoever these men were, she didn’t know if they could be trusted. She had never seen them before, and who in their right mind would confront a seventeen year old girl in the dark?

The man stepped forward, gently lifting his sunglasses over his head to reveal two ice-blue eyes that gleamed eerily, almost cat-like, in the darkness. “We mean that your parents are no where to be found. We presume that they might not be living any longer, for we did see a bit of blood on the ground…” he took in her frightened glance and he took his glasses off completely before continuing, “All of the evidence within the room shows there was a struggle. The computer screen they were working at is cracked, and large scratch marks are marked on the walls, obviously made by a sharp steel object.”

“You’re lying!” Amanda snarled as she took another step back, her eyes growing misty with tears, “I don’t believe you! Who are you and why are you here? I won’t believe a word you say until you reveal yourself!”
One of the men reached behind his ear, he obviously had a headset on, and muttered some inaudible words within a small microphone that rested before his mouth.

“That was the boss,” He said as he turned to his partners before addressing the teen girl, “He said he wants to speak with you about some business from the Matrix Labs that your parents were working on.”

Something within Amanda’s memory clicked and she clenched a fist before pointing an accusing finger at the men, “You! You’re working for Digital Destinies! You’re the ones that my parents warned me about! You were always after their technology in order to make money for your own company.” She backed off and her eyes narrowed, “You guys are thieves and crooks! I’ll never believe you!”

The lead man smirked as he stepped closer to her, a glint of greed shining in his eyes, “Very observative, but believe it or not, your parents are long gone, and you’re coming with us whether you like it or not.”
“Forget it!” Amanda screamed before she turned around and hightailed it out of the danger zone.

Though the men were much bigger and stronger than her, she knew she was much faster than them, and because of her daily walks, she was just as fit. Once she made it home, she could tell her parents that they were after her, and maybe they could do something about it. How could those men even think about telling her that they were missing?

But what if her parents weren’t there when she got home? What if they were still at the lab? What if the men were telling the truth? She shuddered at the thought.

She heard the men shouting behind her, and she quickened her pace. She wasn’t about to doubt their motives of bringing her to their boss by force. Her parents had warned her many times about rival companies that would resort to kidnapping in order to get the information needed. Her parents’ data was so high tech that they created a system that would only allow the family in to access it. No way could she allow them to use that technology.


Amanda had run for almost two miles when she came to the small rural town that she lived in. A quick glance behind her revealed that the two larger men of the group were hot on her trail.

She saw the familiar two-story house that she lived in, and relief flooded through her. She stopped at the door, threw it open and went inside, and than slammed it behind her while locking all of the deadbolts and chain locks that covered the door. As her breathing came in large gasps, she turned to look at the time. It was 7:00, not even close to the time to when her parents were home.

She felt completely miserable with her sweat-drenched hair and her sore legs as she grabbed the phone and collapsed upon the couch. She didn’t really care now if the men broke through; she just really needed to rest right now.

Halfheartedly, she dialed the number of her parents’ lab in the phone and clicked the remote control with her other hand, causing the television screen before her to flash to life. The phone rang as the news came on, and she impatiently tapped her fingers upon the remote, not knowing that she turned the volume to an audible level.

Amanda rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling while the phone rang. She alternated listening to the phone and the news, in case anything interesting was on.

“…and now, Breaking News from the Matrix Labs. There seemed to have been an attack in the Finishing Department earlier today. Adrianna and Brian Dracoanas, the lead experts in the Digital Technologies Field, are both reported missing…”

The phone fell from the girl’s sweat-drenched hands and her heart skipped a beat as she turned to look at the TV. The sight she saw was unbearable, unbelievable, and the words fell upon her ears as if she were standing before the gates at the Judgment Day.

The lab that her parents had always been working in was completely demolished, just as the men in black said. The walls had been scratched up so badly that large gouges covered random points, usually three long ones parallel to each other, as if a giant animal had scratched them on there. The computer screens all looked like the insides exploded, for shattered glass stretched as far as you could see. The main computer had a large crack upon it that webbed into all directions. It was the only monitor that wasn’t completely ruined.

The whole sight was unbelievable, and Amanda grew paler and paler by the minute as she watched the sight. She didn’t want to believe it, but the proof was right before her. Now, she was all alone in her house while a bunch of corporate creeps were trying to break in to kidnap her. Things couldn’t get any worse…

The front door shook with each pound upon it, but the strong oak barrier held firm. Amanda decided to do what she always did when she had no idea what to do. She was going to talk to Eric…

It only took her a brief second to whip out the laptop from beneath the glass coffee table that stood in front of the couch. She wanted to stay downstairs so she could keep an eye on the door in case she had to block it even more. For now, the locks were definitely holding out, as if they were built for this kind of thing.

“It wouldn’t surprise me…” she muttered as she started up the computer, “Mom and Dad were probably ready for this kind of emergency…I really wish I knew what happened.”

The screen blinked on and her fingers were already flying across the keyboard in order to log on. Even though the laptop was the latest and greatest, it seemed to load slowly as the banging on the door became more frequent and much louder.

She quickly went through her routine of getting on the internet, going to her Favorites, and clicking on the one chat site that her and her friend usually went on. She was so glad to see the words “Join live chat (1 person in room” on the top of the screen and she quickly clicked onto it, causing yet another window to pop up.

DragonTamer has joined

The words were like friendly beacons to her sight and she was very glad to see the words “Imperial Ericmon” revealed in the user screen at the side of the chat box.

DragonTamer:: Eric! Oh thank God you’re here! I desperately need your help.

Imperial Ericmon:: Calm down, Amanda, what’s the problem?
She had been so excited that he was on that she didn’t know how to explain what was going on. She kept her eyes on the screen and continued to type:

DragonTamer:: Have you seen it on the World News? My parents have gone missing and now a bunch of creeps from their rival company are after me! They’re right at my door, trying to knock it down to get to me. I really need your help!

Imperial Ericmon:: I knew this time would come…

DragonTamer:: What?

Amanda backed away from the computer. She could tell from the tone of the writing that he knew something that she didn’t.

Imperial Ericmon:: Listen, your D-watch, take it off and look on the back of it.

She did as he said and clipped the device off of her wrist and turned it around, letting it fall limp in her hand. She saw a small brown screen, sort of like the fingerprint indicators that many security devices have, and she placed her forefinger upon it.

Imperial Ericmon:: I can guess that you figured out the security device. Now just wait and see what happens.

The watch seemed to take on a mind of its own as it slid over her arm and wrapped tightly around her wrist. The metal clasp clicked together and seemed to harden, as well as the rest of the leather strap, causing the device to become more of a shackle. Amanda gasped and tried to take it off, and her attention was drawn to the new text on the computer.

Imperial Ericmon:: It’ll attach to your wrist permanently, but don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.

“Now he tells me…” she muttered as she stared at the gleaming metal watch, wondering why it became that way, and how Eric knew about it.
Before she knew it, the computer screen went completely black and the whirring of the machine completely stopped.

“Oh, come on!” she shouted as she slammed the sides of the screen. Nothing happened, so she tried to turn it back on…no effect.

Than, a small pinprick of light appeared in the middle of the screen; growing larger and larger as the seconds slowly slipped by. Her attention was torn from the computer as the door slammed down, allowing the corporate workers to barge in. They all surrounded her with black pistols held out at her, obviously the three called for reinforcement, for ten gun barrels were pointing at her head right at this second.

The leader of the group stepped forward, glaring down at her from his position in front of the laptop, and the coffee table, “Nice try, girl, but you’re coming with us. Or would you prefer having ten bullets embedded in your skull?”

Her eyes darted from the man to the computer screen. The light had become larger and within a white box were the words, “To achieve safety, press enter.”

Slowly, her hand drifted to the keyboard, and she kept her eyes on the muzzle of the gun. The man noticed the motion of her hand and he cocked his weapon, “Don’t you dare press that button!”

Ignoring his warning, she quickly pushed her forefinger down upon the “enter” key and she heard the gunshot go off. Instead of feeling the intense pain of a bullet ripping through her, she felt a strange numbing sensation flow through her as she was engulfed in a bright light.

There were flashes of color that darted before her vision as the feeling of falling overcame her senses. Her stomach seemed to have been left in the space above her. She couldn’t tell if she was falling up or down, or to the left or the right. All she was aware of was her state of being, and the fact that something large and green was beginning to grow closer and closer. It didn’t take long before the air around her became blue, and small dark specks on the green land beneath her took the form of trees.

“Oh…crud.” The girl muttered before she threw her arms out before her face, as if bracing for impact.

However, something seemed to have caught her in midair, for she felt two strong arms wrap around her stomach. A sound like a gust of wind beating against the sails of a ship met her ears, and she noticed that the ground came at her at a slower pace. When she looked down, she noticed the arms that held her were covered in gold and red scales, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight, like polished jewels.

The figure that caught her had slowly lowered her to the ground and her red and black sneakers met the ground. As she brushed away a few strands of hair from her eyes, she turned around to see her rescuer, but no one was there. She averted her eyes to the sky and saw a shining figure flying away, but she could not distinguish any of its features.

“Umm…thanks?” She didn’t know how to react. She had no idea where she was, or how she got here in the first place. Right now she looked around at her surroundings, taking in the vast forest to her right, at the trees that grew close together, their branches weaving in and out of each other to make a tent-like canopy. As her eyes turned to the left, she saw a large, grassy plain. The landscape wasn’t flat like many types of grassland, this one rolled and dipped like the surface of an ocean, each wave of grass a different shape and size than others. She was awestruck at the site, yet it seemed almost…familiar.

All of the exhaustion she had felt earlier had all vanished, leaving her energized and ready to take on anything. So, ready to exert that energy, she stretched out and sat upon the ground to contemplate (X_x).

As she rested her head upon the soft grass, she gazed up at the blue sky, thinking about the events that had happened so far. The last duel she had, the disappearance of her parents, the attack from Digital Destinies…Than the arrival here from her computer. Could this possibly be the computer program that her Mom and Dad were working on?

She breathed in the fresh air and felt the gentle blades of grass against her arms. If this was the program they created, than her parents had really outdone themselves.

She was just about to close her eyes for a small rest when an earsplitting screech shook the ground beneath her. With lightning reflexes, she leapt to her feet and covered her head as a large red bird swooped from the sky, blasting her with a strong gust of wind. Amanda lowered her arm from her eyes before she turned to see the creature that attacked her. Her feet moved a step back as the creature hovered in the air and turned around to look at her with gleaming red eyes which glared down at her above a tooth-lined beak.

“A…Birdramon?” Her eyes widened in shock as the bird flapped its fiery wings, allowing it to take a higher position over the girl below. Its body flashed with an occasional flare, and its razor-sharp talons flexed open and shut, ready to strike at the enemy below.

“Meteor Wing!” The large bird spread its large wings as it screeched a barely audible phrase and gave one strong beat of the large wings. Amanda gave a weak scream of fear and threw her hands in front of her face as a barrage of fireballs came from the wings of the beast. Her legs fell beneath her and she tightly closed her eyes, expecting any moment the impact of the attack upon her.

It never came.

Instead, a high-pitched voice with a slight growl to it shouted above the crackling of flames, “Doragon Flame!”

Amanda chanced a peek beneath her outstretched arms only to see a mass of red scales standing before her. She lowered her guard and started as she saw a small black-striped dragon before her. She could see that its jaws were open and a stream of flames were pouring from its mouth, counteracting the flames of the bird.

“D…Dramon?”

There was no mistaking it; those tiger-like stripes covering its muscled form, those strong, membranous wings which spread out defensively before her, and those emerald eyes which gleamed with so much protectiveness, and so much character.

Amanda could feel the heat of the intense flames beat against her, but she was too awestruck to move to safer ground. When the dragon’s flames destroyed all of the bird’s, his mouth snapped shut, and his lips curled up in a ferocious snarl which revealed his gleaming white fangs. His arms and legs spread out a bit and his claws dug softly into the ground, as he was bracing himself. Once again, his mouth opened and a ball of energy began to form within. It started out as a small ball, not even the size of a pebble, but it grew larger and larger with time, and soon the edges were illuminating his mouth, casting a frightening light upon his eyes.

“Inferno Force!”

Dramon gently pushed himself back and shot his neck forward as he released the beam of energy towards the flying digimon. Birdramon only had time to scream in fear and fly clumsily backwards before the attack struck true right in the monster’s chest. The attack pushed the creature back, scattering a few small flames from where it hit, and than pushed all the way through. Birdramon shrieked in unbearable pain and began to disintegrate into tiny particles which scattered every which way. Amanda watched as the beam died out and the dragon clamped its mouth shut once again, a triumphant smile written across its face.

When the dragon turned around, Amanda couldn’t help but smile in amazement at how real he looked, much more real than those holograms she used in the duels. He sat down upon his haunches, as if examining her, and she slowly inched towards him on her knees. She slowly reached out an arm towards his snout and allowed her fingers to gently caress the hard, smooth scales that covered his nose. Than, with tears slowly rolling down her face, she wrapped her arms around the dragon’s neck, allowing herself to cry for both herself, and for the shocking discovery about her parents.

And Dramon, his search for his tamer finally over, reached a claw across her back, and returned the embrace.

Apollomon Bump!