Digimon Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Fire Within ❯ Takeru's World ( Chapter 2 )

[ A - All Readers ]

an original story by Kaiko (foresteaglet@hotmail.com)
ideas from:
Final Fantasy 8 (www.squaresoft.com)
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Digimon (www.digimon.com)
The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman)
My Imagination

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The warm rays of sunlight pour through my window, and I slowly crawl out of bed and look in the mirror. A tired looking 16-year-old boy looks back at me, with wispy long bangs covering deep shining navy blue eyes. Jet-black hair with a tint of dark red rests atop a rebellious yet gentle smile. His 5'8" height and lean body give the effect of a track star. An arched eyebrow added an aura of mystery and with a touch of curiosity. The sleek silver-black watch he always wore shone against his tan skin. The sign of Hopeful Fire emblazoned on his cheek has a healthy reddish glow to it. I slowly traced the symbol over and over again - its pattern etched in my mind.

The symbol was a curious thing. Everyone over the age of 12 had one, and nobody questioned why. On January 1, the day of the Receiving, anyone who would turn 12 that year would receive their element and symbol. Everyone had their own element, but no one knew exactly what it was until they turned 12. Then, an elder of the community, known as an Element Giver, revealed the child's power to them. The elements known so far are: fire, water, thunder, earth, air, strength, hope, light, psychic and shadow. There was also the element of fear, but only one person ever received it. And thanks to some stupid git it was loose. The element nature only appeared once and died with its owner. Usually, elements go back into the earth and are reborn into another human. The element nature seemed to not be able to reincarnate. Fear, on the other hand, didn't go back into the earth. It started flying around after its owner died, loose in the world, doing whatever it darn pleases. Anyway, whichever element you got meant you were somehow connected to it. For example, a person who was revealed to have thunder could use electric magic after the Receiving, like Lightning Blow. They cannot be harmed by electricity (meaning they can't get electrocuted) but their magic is useless against the element ground. The counter elements are: fire vs water, thunder vs earth, air vs strength, hope vs psychic, shadow vs light. Fear had no known counter element. As for the symbol, well, it was your symbol. The lead Element Giver (I think the oldest one) would mutter some sort of incantation and a symbol that represented your element(s) would appear on your cheek. Some looked similar, while others were very unique.

I can clearly remember my day of receiving. "Mysteria Takeru" the announcer called. I walked up to the stage with an indifferent face, although inside I was shaking. I bowed respectfully toward the lead Element Giver. "Mysteria Takeru, you were always a rebel, never listening to your teachers." Oh boy, I thought, here comes the lecture. My mind started to dream about what element I would receive. "But you studied hard and found your own way to the top of the class. Today, you are not a normal boy anymore. For on this day, I reveal to you your elements." When he said "elements", my mind snapped back onto the stage. Elements… meaning plural of the word element. That meant I had 2 elements! Having 2 elements is very rare and your partner is very hard to find. "Takeru" he continued, "you have, hidden deep inside of you, Fire and Hope. Use your skills wisely and think before you act. Your partner will be waiting by the Hope fountain. Good luck in life."

As I walked/stumbled down from the stage, I was amazed. Me, normal old TK, the one who always gets in trouble, had 2 elements! My symbol, Hopeful Fire, had the crest of Hope, and inside the top circle was a flame. It means I could use both the powers of fire and hope. But how to control them was a different story. I had to take a lot more lessons than usual on summoning and using my power. I stumbled out of the dark meeting room and ran over to the Hope fountain. The Hope fountain was a beautiful fountain that flowed with crystal clear water that glittered in the sunlight. It was a myth that 500 years ago, a horrible war broke out. Two survivors, each who had the element of hope inside of them, died back to back, defending their beliefs. Their strong sense of hope and courage moved the survivors to build a memorial to them. Thus appeared the fountain, which flows with the hope they had, urging people today to never give up. Next to the monument was what seemed like a flying red fireball. Or that's what it looked like. As I walked closer, the fireball unwound and turned into a flying red dragon. It looked like a 2-foot long snake with red wings tipped with silver attached to its red body. It had a small silver horn on top of its head with my symbol glowing underneath it. Bright sky blue eyes stared back at me as the two partners met. This red thing was my partner? I had expected a tiger or something... but when life gives you lemons, make sour lemonade.

What is a partner? I'm not too sure. All I know was that, everyone had one and when you died, it dies with you. The partner pairings are made very carefully, because it is for life. Most of them can speak and have their own personalities. After you receive your elements and symbol, the Element Giver tells you to go to a certain place to find your partner. Your partner is a creature that is unique in its own way. Mine was a red flying dragon. Your partner has the element(s) that you have and helps you in your training. Over years of hard work, the trainer and partner will share a very strong bond and their abilities will greatly increase. Some even learn how to combine their mind, body, and soul to become one with more power.

Over the past 4 years, a lot of training and adventures have brought Quillfire and me very close. Now, we can almost read each other's mind and know what we're thinking. He is my closest friend, the only one I could truly trust, although we are almost total opposites. Quillfire is a dragon, the flying kind that seems really innocent, but can pack quite a punch. He knows mainly fire magic and some healing magic. He is a little too friendly and can be seen talking to complete strangers. He enjoys the morning exercises (8 laps around the track for me and a 15 minute long nap for him). He also likes flying real high, then falling down in the shape of a spinning fireball, which unrolls and stops at the last minute. It's what he calls fun and what I call suicide. Aside from his strange antics, he is very loyal and what you would call a true friend.

Suddenly, the smell of something burning snaps me out of my memories. I look around and find that a certain red dragon was so bored that he had nothing to do but set fire to my homework! I quickly extinguished it with a handy cup of water I always have in my room. "Quillfire! What are you doin'? The professor's gonna be mad and he won't accept the 'my partner did it' excuse... Are you trying to make me fail?!" He looks up at me with innocent blue eyes, brimming with tears.

"I was just trying to wake you up…"

"Yeah, by setting fire to my homework? And don't start crying or you'll drown yourself."

A teardrop falls. "Ahh... come on, Quill... look, I'll write it over okay? Now stop."

The faucet keeps leaking. "Fine, you'll get ice cream too."

"Yay! I want mint with chocolate chip. No, wait… vanilla with strawberries… no, not that… maybe coffee? Or chocolate! Hmmm…" the fireball pondered.

As he got lost in his mental battle, I make a mental note to beg for a new partner- one who doesn't finish a quart of ice cream a day.