The cool ocean breeze tickled the patchy scrub as the sun slowly set. A crimson glow splashed off the endless expanse of cool water. On one of the many sandy beaches beneath the setting sun, Kyra Evans walked slowly forward, her partner Vanguard at her side.
Kyra's gait was odd. It appeared to be a slight swagger, legs bandy, like an old west gunfighter. Not her usual stride at all. But, watching her carefully revealed the movement in her right leg was slightly sluggish. Not suprising, considering a few hours ago the full weight of a Garurumon had fallen on her leg. It was only thanks to the city Doctor that she wasn't still hurting. It was strange. The battle with Garurumon had done a number on her, and yet, her injuries were almost entirely gone now. The only lingering reminder was a slight stiffness in her leg.
"Ky-RA" said the Dokunemon scuttling along by her partner's side. "You shouldn't be walking so much."
The tall dark-haired human gave an annoyed sigh. "Peh, a bit of exercise is good. Besides, that's why we're here at the ocean. If I'm swimming, there's no pressure from my weight on that knee."
"I don't like the water," Vanguard remarked, a less than pleased look in her eyes.
"Well," said Kyra with a faint smile "I love the ocean." She pulled off her shoes and socks, then removed her leather gloves.
"You're not going swimming, are you?" said Vanguard, her voice tinged with fear.
"I'm the one going swimming fuzzball, you can stay here if you want," said Kyra, taking several steps forward. The wet sand squeezed up between her toes, creating a gentle tickling feeling. She breathed the deep salty air, and continued forward as the salt water licked at her ankles.
"This is a bad idea," said Vanguard, scuttling back away from the water as a wave splashed against the beach "If humans were meant to swim, they'd have fins and gills."
The dark-haired tamer rolled her icy blue eyes "Whatever." She emersed herself in the water, up to her neck. The warm, salty water, and the weightlessness felt good. She closed her eyes and held her breath, submerging beneath the water.
A moment of peace. The first time she'd been truly alone since entering the Digital World. It was then she remembered the Digimental. With a flourish, Kyra surfaced once more. "Hey, Vanguard," she yelled, planting her feet on the sandy bed. She held up her d-ban "Let's try out the Digimental, okay?"
"Uh," said Vanguard, still seemingly unnerved by the water "Okay."
"Right," she said, pressing several buttons in sequence "Here we go!" The display flashed reddish pink, as did Vanguard. "Dokunemon Armor Evolve!" Her body glowing radiantly, Vanguard began to transform. Her body increased in size and grew two large, clawed arms. Her tail elongated and split, forming a sharklike tail. Blue armor appeared all along her upper body, and her green exoskeleton gave way to silver armor.
"To Depthmon, Voyager of the Deep!"
"Ironic, fuzzball," she said with a smirk "You hate the water, and here you are, a Depthmon."
"Wow," said Vanguard, her body shifting as she admired her knew form "Come here, Kyra." The Depthmon's body was none too nimble on land, lumbering forward on her two large arms. But the canopy on her head slid open with a hiss, and Kyra understood. A smile on her face, she hauled herself up out of the water.
Dripping wet, she stepped into what turned out to be a canopy inside Vanguard's head. The glass bubble slid shut, and Kyra strapped herself into the single seat. "Wow," she said, looking around "You're like some kind of submarine now, aren't you?" She dropped her gloves, shoes, and socks onto the floor of the cockpit, remembering to grab them later. No telling what would happen to them when the cockpit didn't exist any more.
"Let's go for a swim!" said Vanguard said, lumbering forward. In moments, the massive blue and silver creature vanished beneath the waves, speeding away with a mix of her fishlike tail and propellers.
----
"You know, I don't know why I was so afraid of the water," said Vanguard, swimming through the now-darkening waters. Kyra remembered her concerns about the Digimental's effect on Vanguard. Although it would be hard to say until they saw a battle, it seemed the only change was Vanguard losing her fear of water.
"Told you," said Kyra, leaning back and enjoying herself. "I took every chance I can get to swim, back home" Though she didn't notice it, that nagging desire that had haunted the edge of Kyra's awareness had subsided during the journey.
"Let's keep going, and see where we end up," said Kyra, interlacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles.
----
Kyra and Vanguard switched off, sometimes with Kyra riding along, other times, the two swam together. Both found it simply wonderful. The hours stretched on, and after much wandering, the undersea duo headed up a river delta. They'd traveled far enough that the trailmon platform they'd arrived on couldn't possibly be the closest one any more. Depthmon skimmed the surface, both her eyes and Kyra's searching for some sign of a trailmon platform. Sandy beaches and rocky cliffs gave way to expanses of grassland as they headed upstream, into the Grassy Plains.
