Dark Diaries

Chapter 2

"Birth of a Champion"

Author ~ Rocker Starlight

With permission by Lord Archive

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The summer sun beamed down brightly, shining on the small cities' population as they went about their daily business. With the schools done for the year, the young people of Mt. Morris were spending their time hanging out, relaxing with the lack of studies. The streets bustled as people went about their daily lives, unknowing of the changes the small town had gone through in the recent weeks.

 

Erin sat quietly, letting his somber attitude isolate him from the cheerfulness around him. Resting against the wall of the town library, he stared blankly into the sky, almost completely unmoving. Small beads of sweat were dripping down the side of his face, since the summer heat had settled in, but even this didn't seem to be effecting the young teen. Laying his hand on the pocket of his gray jean shorts, he felt the small black coin he had been carrying with him for the last couple weeks. He still couldn't bring himself to leave it in his room, using it as a reminder of his best friend, Selene, since her departure only a couple weeks ago.

 

Sighing softly, Erin pulled the coin out, moving his stare to it now. Thinking of the girl always made him stare at the small black coin, as if it would keep her memory fresh in his mind. At times, he thought the dragon man imprinted on the coin was staring back at him, like he knew something Erin didn't. Closing his fingers around the coin, Erin shut his eyes, sighing again as he remembered his last day of school.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Erin walked out of the school building, carrying his almost empty book bag over his shoulder. He looked around the masses exiting the building, unable to find the one person he wanted to see. Frowning slightly, he started walking a little farther, stopping on the sidewalk to wait patiently.

 

He waited for an hour, sitting against the school's sign in the lawn, before a car pulled up in the street in front of him. Recognizing the car, Erin slowly stood up, dragging his bag behind him as he slide into the passenger seat. He kept his head down, never looking at the driver, as the car pulled away down the street.

 

"You were waiting for her, weren't you?" Ms. Klink asked quietly. Although in her early forties, the orphanage worker only had a little gray in her hair, just on her temples. Wearing a blue t-shirt with matching jeans, it was rare that people realized the type of work she did, taking care of children in the Mt Morris Orphanage.

 

At the nod from Erin, Beverly Klink continued speaking. "I'm sorry Erin. Selene left during the middle of the day. She tried to get them to wait for you, but they didn't seem to care, saying their flight was leaving too early." She gave a sigh, giving the silent boy a sympathetic look, realizing this must be hard for him. She said she would leave you an e-mail once she is there."

 

            Erin gave another soft nod, feeling numb as he listened.  Staring at the floor, he ran the words over in his mind.  She was gone.  He had known she was going, but until this moment, it had never truly hit him.  The drive went quietly from that point, the older woman giving him his space.  To the young teen, however, it simply felt like he the only person in the world.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

            Erin stared at the fist holding the small coin, as his memory faded.  A couple days after it, Selene had sent an e-mail like she had promised, saying the family had set everything up before she arrived, and she would let him know how her new home felt to her.  Although reading the e-mail had comforted him some, the emptiness inside him wouldn't seem to go away. 

 

The first couple days, Erin had tried acting the same as when Selene was around, but this quickly faltered.  He just could not keep up the act of being in a good mood without her around.  After that, the depression began settling in once again.  Although it was a feeling he was used to at times, he had not had to deal with it this much when Selene had been around.  She always seemed to know just what to do or say, to the young man.  Now, he had to learn to deal with it himself again, and it wasn't proving to be easy.

 

More often then he wanted to think about, people from the orphanage or with the government would suggest talking to a psychologist.  He had tried that, a couple months after his parents had died, and all it had gotten him was another person to dislike.  As much as the man had seemed to know what he was talking about, he couldn't seem to understand that no matter how hard Erin tried, he couldn't make himself not feel the pain of losing his parents.  But even Erin couldn’t explain it.  It had just seemed like he could feel the pain his parents had felt when they had died, and would never seem to go away.

 

            Then she had shown up.  Another orphan, Selene had been sent to their orphanage like many, at the moment none of her family could be found to take her in.  But the minute he had seen her, the pain in his heart lessened, as if her presence had caused it to retreat.  Taking it as a good sign, Erin had taken to trying to help the girl whenever he could, understanding what she may be going through, and hoping to help her to be able to cope with it. 

 

Shaking his head, Erin shook off the memories.  Now wasn't when he wanted to be thinking about those times.  Standing up, he brushed the grass off his jean shorts and stretched a little.  He had been sitting in the spot most of the day, and his joints ached slightly from their lack of use.  Having forgone a shirt today, since it had felt nice earlier, he gave his shoulder a small scratch. 

 

Erin looked up at the sky, taking a guess at the time from the red in the evening sky.  'About nine, I think.'  Watching one of the clouds float for a moment, he admired the multitude of colors in it, squeezing his hand tighter on the black coin.  It reminded him of the feelings people had, if you put colors to the emotions.  Although of late, he only seemed to think of his own feelings during the night sky.

 

Frowning slightly, the brown haired teen started walking, heading for the neighborhood park, since it was only down the block from him.  "If Ms. K needs me, she can come find me…" 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The park was still slightly active, a couple families enjoying the summer's evening.  About a half a dozen children were playing in the playground that had been built for them, laughing happily as they darted in and out of the wooden structures. 

 

Erin walked to the small pavilion, taking a seat away from the people there, and quietly watched the scampering children.  He tried unsuccessfully to not think about Selene and himself running around similarly, during their childhood.  Sighing softly again, he let his mind relax, trying not to let the darker emotions he was feeling overrun him again.

 

            The joyful feeling in the park was not to last, however.  A shimmering silver line appeared on the opposite side of the playground, catching most of the people in the park's attention.  Erin watched, a bit interested, before his eyes widened in shock.  A large black claw emerged from the line, as it slowly began widening into a circle.  As it opened, the claw showed the large tyrannosaurus rex it was attached to, giving a slight glimpse at the jungle like background behind it, before letting a fierce roar escape it's maw.  

 

            Erin stood up, as most of the people began scrambling in fright.  Although he felt a couple of them bolt past him, he couldn't seem to move his own feet.  He stared as one of the claws swept down, crushing a small jungle gym.

 

            About to run himself, Erin felt something in his hand, giving a hot sensation into his palm.  Opening his hand, he stared at the black coin, which was giving an almost purplish glow around it.  Simply staring at it, he felt something touching his mind, as if wordlessly explaining something he could do.  As the sensation faded, he nodded to himself, giving a defiant glare at the rampaging dinosaur. 

 

            "Coin Fusion!"  Gripping the coin again in his hand, feeling it merge with his body.  Standing a little stiffly for a moment at the sudden rush of energy into his body, he held his arms out to his sides.

 

"Digital Assimilation!"  A dark light formed over his body, engulfing him as he felt the energy coursing through his body begin to take form.  His feet and shins were covered in a pair of metal boots, the part over his legs only covering the front, with a pair of yellow cords wrapping around.  His chest and hips were next, being completely encased in the same metallic armor, while he felt a shield form on his back, spitting down the middle and spreading out behind him like a pair of wings.  As a pair of shoulder pieces digitize and form, he crossed his arms in front of him, watching as a pair metal bracers form over each forearm and hand, leaving the underside exposed, as well as having three claws extending from the end of each.  Finally, a helmet formed over his head, covering his face save underneath his nose.  The helm extended from his face slightly, revealing a pointed horn at the nose of it, just as he could feel the two bull-like horns forming on each side of his head.  Although it wasn't armor, he could feel a black material covering his legs, and his neck, extending up to coat his chin slightly and the sides of his face.  Although he didn't know what it was, he knew it was formed of the same energy that had formed the armor.  Finally, as he swung his arms out to his sides, he felt the dark light disperse, revealing himself to the Black T-Rex mere moment later.

 

            Taking a few steps forward, Erin barely had time to react as the monster yelled, "Fire Blast!"  A jet of flames came from it's mouth, aiming right for the armored teen.

 

            Acting on instinct, Erin reached behind him, grabbing the two sides of the shield and bringing them in front of him, holding them together in front of him.  The flames split in two, torching the pavilion behind him as he waited until the fire ended. 

 

Replacing the shield onto his back, Erin pointed one of his claw bracers at the large T-Rex, who tilted it's head slightly.  Before it could attack again, Erin jumped forward, using his new speed to launch himself at his opponent.  Connecting with it's mid-body, he pushed it back and over the fence of the nearby baseball field, tripping the monster up.

 

Jumping off as one of the monster's claws swatted at him, Erin barely realized he was floating in the air, as another realization came to him.  The portal was gone!  While he had been transforming, the portal had closed behind the large T-Rex, stranding it here.  Dodging a couple more swipes, while staying in the air, Erin frowned slightly, unsure what to do next. 

 

Caught up in the worrisome thought, the dark creature caught Erin by surprise, striking with it's claw and throwing him into part of the wooden structure of the playground.  Erin pushed a piece of the timber off of him, growling slightly before a small whimper caught his attention.  Glancing to his side, he saw a couple of young children hiding in wooden structure he had just crashed into, holding onto one another and crying in fear. 

 

Staring at the children a moment more, he waved one of his covered hands at them, revealing the underside to try and make it a little less frightening.  "It'll be ok, kids.  When I leave, run for it, alright?"  Not waiting for a response, Erin pushed himself back to his feet, staring at the large black Dinosaur that was moving to engage him again.  Floating into the air, he felt his body moving on instinct again, his anger rising at the thought of the young children in danger.

 

            "Enough!"  The teen's yell caused the T-Rex to pause a moment, as Erin extended his arms in front of him.  A small ball of energy began forming between his palms, his muscles straining as he pushed the power inside him into the little ball.  Swinging his arms over his head, he pulled his hands further apart, as the small ball suddenly grew in size, almost the same size as the monster it was being aimed at. 

 

"This ends now!  Terra Destroyer!"  Swinging his arms forward, he launched the ball of destructive power at the dinosaur, engulfing it completely.  It screamed in pain, before the ball of energy and the monster it had struck were both gone, small black bits dispersing into nothing. 

 

            Erin stared at the place where his opponent had been standing, a small crater formed by his own attack the only thing in it's place.  Lowering himself back to the ground, he walked over to the children, kneeling before them.  "It's alright now.  The monster is gone."  For the first time since the battle had begun, he could hear something different about his voice.  It was as if a deeper and stronger voice was overlapping his own perfectly.

 

            The two children stared at him, looks of fear and shock running over their faces.  One of them -- A young boy, Erin thought--, stood up, helping his friend to their feet too.  He looked up at the teen and nodded his head to him.  "Thank you, sir."  His voice was very shaky, revealing how uneasy he was.  His friend simply stared at Erin, unable to even work any words out.

 

            Giving a soft smile, Erin nodded to the pair.  Standing up, he glanced over, seeing a small group of adults running towards the trio.  As two women grabbed the pair of children up in tight hugs, Erin was suddenly faced with three very angry adults, two of them male and one woman.  Although standing a little taller then Erin, all three acting uneasy at the appearance of the young man, before the more muscular man puffed his chest up slightly and poked Erin in the chest plate of his armor.

 

            "Get out of here, you little demon!  We don't want things like you in our town!"  Although half hiding behind the braver of the trio, the other two adults nodded their heads fiercely, glaring at Erin as if he had some sort of disease they didn't want to catch.

 

            Mentally sighing, Erin simply turned away, taking a few steps, then floating slowly into the air.  Hearing a yell behind him from a new voice, he turned his head, seeing the woman holding the young boy watching him.  After a moment she gave a soft smile, nodding much the same way the boy had.  Giving a sad smile and nod back to her, he let himself fly away, not wishing to cause any more of a problem.

 

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AN~Wow, I finally got the second chapter done.  ^_^  Haven't written a fight scene in ages, I hope I did all right.  Anyway, Erin's problems are only beginning.  When another digimon is spotted in his hometown, Erin finds out brute force won't always win.  With a battle of speed on, will Erin be able to keep up?  Find out next time, on Dark Diaries!!