Episode VII
Masatoās Stand
Previous Episode
What got the group more than anything was the silence.
Equimon led the way, following coordinates he had gotten from a deep cover contact to where the auction was supposed to take place. Masato kept close to him, but was staying silent, which was surprising, Aki was afraid that Masato would start bugging Equimon about being his partner and accidentally alert the auction that they were there. It actually surprised him, Masato genuinely seemed to think that saving the children was more important than getting a partner. Never would have guessed from his behavior over the last couple of days.
Isamu and Wemicmon stayed behind them, glancing every direction every few steps. Isamu had his goggles on and was keeping a lookout for strange Digimon. Occasionally he would stop and tense up, but continue on his way. Lutrimon assured Aki that he was probably picking up data from wild Digimon that wouldnāt bother them. Lutrimon stayed on his shoulder, and Ju walked beside him. Her partners never stayed in the same place though, sometimes they were running up ahead and sometimes trailing behind.
Aki kept his eyes on their surroundings, remaining in awe of the landscape even though they had been walking for nearly an hour. The Digital World didnāt seem that much different for their own, it had trees, rocks, roads, and structures that he supposed were bridges of some kind. A light fog made it difficult to see more than about fifteen feet in any direction, but that was hardly a problem. Ā Occasionally, a bit of data would chip off a plant or one of the structures to remind Aki that this was the Digital World, but nothing was jumping out at them so he was starting to relax a bit.
It was kind of spooky, but not a deal breaker for the world. Something about the Digiital World had an eerie, dream like quality to it. It almost felt like he had been there before.
The sky was dark, and the roads were a bit on the shambled side, but all in all it didnāt seem too bad. What were the Digimon making such a fuss about?
He glanced over to Ju, and saw a concerned look on her face, āWhatās wrong?ā He asked.
She nodded to the ground, āThe roads...ā She mumbled, āThe roads werenāt this bad the last time I was here. And those bridges, some of them look like theyāll fall apart any minute.ā
āThey look like theyāre ancient.ā Aki replied, with a shrug āTheyāre bound to be a little crumbly.ā
Ju shook her head, āLook again...see those burn marks there? Something definitely blasted that bridge. And the fog...I donāt know, there just something about it that doesnāt feel right,ā She said, and stopped for a moment, making Aki pause, āListen, Aki, I donāt want to scare you, but Iām not going to lie...The Digital World is faring way worse than I imagined.ā
Aki wanted to argue, to say that it was probably her imagination and that this seemed pretty normal, but then again, Ju had been to the Digital World before. He hadnāt. Who was he to judge? On his shoulder, Lutrimon leaned closer, āSheās right, I havenāt been away that long and thereās way more damage than even I was expecting...This war is getting really out of hand.ā
There they went mentioning a war again, Aki wanted to stomp his foot and scream until someone finally explained all the details to him. But that would be stupid. Especially since the group ahead of them had come to a stop, which could only mean one thing.
They had arrived.
--
Back in the Network, Liv was sitting at a table in one of the many food courts, The emptiness of the city had her on edge, but she was also feeling pretty tired from being awake at a time that was so late for her...or Early, depending on how you looked at it. She rested her hands in her palms, eyes closed, maybe if she just tuned out all her thoughts she could fall asleep right here and get a little rest before she went back to the coliseum. There ought to be plenty of Bugs to clear out after that attack...
Faces flashed under her eyelids. Kids, no more than ten, maybe eleven. A whole busload of them...Sheād thought nothing in the world could be more important than rescuing those kids...they were his age, after all. She opened her eyes with a gasp, and slapped her cheeks to wake herself up. No, she couldnāt think about those sorts of things.
Scorfamon trotted up and bumped her knee with his snout. āAndromon is waiting at the gate.ā He said, looking up at her with pleading eyes, āThose guys from before wonāt make it on their own...Weāre not really going to sit this one out, are we?ā
Liv looked away from him, āI donāt...I just...Canāt...ā A terrible knot settled in her stomach, pressing in like a weight that made her sick.
Her partnerās head rubbed against her hand and he nuzzled her lovingly, āLivvie...remember what we used to say when we used to go out? What if it was Sammie...?ā He asked, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before deciding it was alright to continue, āWhat if it was Dan?ā
Tears bubbled in her eyes, and she pictured their faces...One boyās face came to mind, a soft bright smile that she could never stay mad at, no matter how much of a brat he could be. Liv turned and started to run toward the gate to the Digital World, Scorfamon was quick to join her with a determined grunt.
She knew what needed to be done.
--
Things spiraled out of control faster than expected.
The plan was supposed to be for the Digimon to pose as customers and keep the Auctioneers busy with questions and pointless chatter. Equimonās team leader, Andromon would be there shortly to handle the heavy fighting while the Tamers and their partners saved the children and got them out. Tamers were an essential part of the rescue, children didnāt know which Digimon to trust, but they tended to follow other humans with no questions.
It was unfortunate that one of Wemicmonās distracting comments started a fight. To be fair, none of their partners looked comfortable discussing how to pay for a human and how much, but when Wemicmon stood up to say that a bond with a human was special, a Digimon called Clockmon hit him with a hammer to shut him up. One thing led to another, the twins and Lutrimon both came to his defense, starting a bigger fight and eventually blowing their cover by revealing that they had partners.
That was when all hell really did break loose. Isamu, Ju and Aki were forced onto the battlefield to support their partners with their, regrettably, limited amount of items. Masato was left as the only human to be there to be a comforting presence for the children. He prayed that Andromon would show up soon.
Okay, so maybe that chick from the Network was right, they were in no way prepared for this, but by god, Masato was not just going to give up.
āCome on!ā He growled, yanking as hard on the door as he could, but it still didnāt budge. No amount of American action movies had prepared him for a situation like this.
The kids were being kept in barred carriages, five in total, with eight to ten crying kids in each, it was like the kids had been picked up from a field trip. Briefly, Masato wondered if there had been any adults with them when they were taken, and if so, what had happened to them now? An explosion rocked the ground, almost making him fall to his knees, but Masato steadied himself and tried to open the door again. He dared not look behind him to see if that last blast was from one of the baddies or his friends.
Things didnāt sound good either way.
The leader was a Digimon that Isamu had called SkullMeramon, one of those Ultimate levels the blonde girl had mentioned. He was the strongest, and all he had done since theyād attacked was laugh at them. The Bakemon, like the one heād talked to at the Network, were little more than grunts but they were still a problem. There were a few other Digimon there, a mix of guards and customers that were fighting to protect the merchandise.
āOut of the way.ā The voice belonged to Equimon, the two of them were setting the children free while Masatoās friends were doing all the fighting. From the looks of things, Equimon was doing most of the freeing too. Four of the carriages were already open with the freed kids flocking toward the older human.
Equimon hit the door with the Bo in his hand and the knob broke off, letting the door swing open. Kids came rushing out. Now for the tough part, getting them back to the Network safely. According to Ju, the Digital Gate theyād opened to get here would reopen once someone with a D-Gauntlet came up to it. Masato didnāt have a D-Gauntlet, they would have to wait for the others, or at least one of them.
But there really wasnāt time to wait, eventually one of those Baddies was going to turn around and notice that he and Equimon had freed their merchandise. The kids whimpered and turned to Masato.
āWhat do we do?ā One of them asked, a little girl with freckles and a stubby nose, looking at him like she expected him to know exactly what he was doing.
Never in his life had Masato felt like such a fraud.
āItāll be okay.ā He told them and looked at the group, at a guess there had to have been at least thirty of them, and he didnāt know if he could save even one of them.
Still, he had to act like he knew what he was doing. Masato imagined himself in place of one of the teen protagonists from his favorite films and took a breath. After a moment, he had a plan, not a very good one, but it was better than nothing.
He nodded to the forest, āFind a buddy and hold hands. Weāre going to head for those trees there. Get in line, two people at a time, on my mark...ā He instructed, trying to sound as calm and authoritative as possible.
Masato turned to the battle, waiting for a moment when someoneās attack would mask the sound of him shouting to the children. Wemicmon had Digivolved, the twins were tag teaming with Lutrimon, trying up enemies three or four at a time, while she knocked them out with high pressure streams.
āInferno Bane!ā Namaemon cried, unleashing a breath of fire that charged a few of the Bakemon.
Skullmeramon unleashed a flame attack that completely engulfed Namaemonās technique. āMetal fireball!ā
āAlright go!....Go!...Go!ā He timed it so that no pair left until the one ahead was halfway to the trees. The fog was getting denser, which was good for their escape but it was making it harder for Masato to keep an eye on them.
āNeptune Rush!ā Lutrimonās water technique caused Skullmeramon to take a step back, taking a moment to reignite his flaming chain before he turned on her.
She was small and fast so his assault did not last long before he was distracted by Cannismon and Leptomonās Eclipse Snare. Usually the technique could buy the twins some time, but Skullmeramon broke through it like it was nothing.
āBlazing Iron Whipā He lashed out with the chain, aiming to catch one of them, but Namaemon stepped between them and took the hit.
Half the kids were gone when someone finally noticed them, a weird creature that looked like a Scarecrow. It wasnāt big, and Masato was certain it was one of the ones that was trying to buy a child, not sell them.
āHey, you stop!ā The creature rushed toward them, the kids screamed and started to bolt, drawing the attention of the bigger monsters.
āNo! Stop them!ā
The scarecrow was almost on one of the little girls attempting to flee into the woods, Masato only had seconds to act. He dived forward, tackling the kid to the ground and shielding her with his bodyā only just noticing that she was the one who had spoken to him before.
She screamed and clung to Masato, who had no idea what to do to save either of them when Equimon leaped between them, the ends of his staff began to glow.
āDreamer Wave!ā he shouted, brandishing the staff and unleashing a swell of purple energy and blew the Scarecrow back.
Masato was impressed but Equimon turned to Masato, āThat wonāt hold them off, get the kids out of here, Iāll cover you!ā
āHow!?ā Masato asked, āThe guys back there arenāt doing much better and two of them are Champions!ā
āA little time is all you need, if I can buy you that much thatās all that matters!ā Equimon replied, āNow go!ā
Masato stood up and carried the girl as he ran to the tree line. He counted each kid when he arrived, Ā thirty four in total, and turned back to the battle. āEquimon, we made it!ā He shouted, but the horse-like Digimon didnāt even turn around.
That was when Masato realized he wasnāt coming. Equimon was going to buy them as much time as he could, even if it meant sacrificing his life. The child he was carrying tugged on Masatoās shirt, āWhadda we do now, mister?ā She asked again.
Masato was torn, in his heart he knew he should try to lead the kids back to the Digital Gate, maybe if he pounded on it and shouted and screamed someone on the other side would notice and let them back through. But he also couldnāt let Equimon get killed for them. He tore his eyes from the battle and set the little girl down, they needed his help more than Equimon did. āWeāre going to-ā
ā-Heavy Metal Fire!ā
āHarmonious Barrier!ā
The human turned his head to see a shield appear around Equimon just in time to spare him the full force of the blast that came his way. But the attack of an Ultimate level Digimon was far too strong for a Rookie to completely protect themselves from. The Barrier broke, and the smaller Digimon was blown back toward the trees.
āEquimon!ā Masato ran out from the trees toward the fallen hero.
āMasato...?ā Equimon tried to stand, but stumbled, Masato had to catch him. āGet out of here!ā
āCome with me!ā Masato begged, āWe can get to the Network and somebody will have one of those Digimeds to fix you right up. You can make it out of this too!ā
āMasato, watch out!ā The warning came from Lutrimon, āSea Pulse!ā
The otter Digimonās water attacks were the most effective against the larger Digimon, but not enough. It slowed Skullmeramon down enough for Masato to haul Equimon up and run.
He didnāt go for the trees though, Skullmeramon knew where he was now, he couldnāt lead him to the children.
āPut me down, I can hold him off!āEquimon said, āYou need to lead those kids to safety.ā
āThere is no safety!ā Masato replied, āWeāre not going to make it without someone to open the gate, and if we canāt get someone to open the gate then we can at least hold them off together!ā
All Masato could think about was luring the bad Digimon away from the kidnapped children, if he could buy the others enough time to pick them up and get them to the gate then maybe they stood a chance at saving somebody! Masato almost didnāt notice the glow on his wrist, but he was shocked to a stop when he did. The light faded and a purple glove was on his hand, complete with a beeping watch.
āA D-Gauntlet...?ā He gasped.
āI...Feel strange...āEquimon said as he started to glow too. Before Masato could react, suddenly the Digimon was changing, āEquimon Digivolve to...Destriemon!ā
Next thing Masato knew he was riding a very large, armored horse. Well, a horse-like creature, his ears were large flaps, and rather than hooves, Destriemon had white paws with long claws. Masato dug his hands into a thick pale mane to keep from falling as the freshly evolved Destriemon tested his new form by taking off into a gallop that put far more distance between them and Skullmeramon, and the children too.
āMan...what did I do!?ā Masato asked.
āYou helped me evolve!ā Destriemon replied, āWeāre partners now!ā
āYeah, I got that much, but how did I make you evolve so quickly?ā
āI think Iād save questions like that until after weāve survived!ā Destriemon told him as he circled back toward the others. The Digimon looking to buy had decided that this was not worth their money and were starting to make a break for it, but the Bakemon and Skullmeramon remained.
āWhat do you think the odds are that we can win this?ā Masato shouted to Ju from atop Destriemonās back.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, plainly in shock at his ability to get Destriemon to evolve so quickly, but perhaps she shouldnāt complain. āI...I donāt know, Strong Ultimates have been known to battle up to ten champions with no trouble.ā
āSo youāre saying even with Equimonās help, weāre still outmatched?ā Aki gaped, everyone looked at Isamu as if he would have some miracle solution for them.
And he sort of did, Isamu started to turn as his goggles were picking up a series of new signals, āSomethingās coming, I think itās Andromon!ā
āLightning blade!ā The attack that knocked Skullmeramon off his feet proved that Isamu ws right, but Andromon was not the only one who arrived.
āHeadās up newbies! Here comes the Cavalry!ā Everyone turned in amazement to see a large group of Digimon heading their way.
āItās Olivia and Taivenmon!ā Isamu shouted and waved them down, despite that she could obviously see them. The party split up, chasing Bakemon and surrounding Skullmeramon. Isamu wiped his goggles, like he was trying to clear a smudge āAndromon, Jewelbeemon, Mummymon,Vermillimon, Blossomon- these are all Ultimate level Digimon.ā He observed.
āGotta have the right company if youāre going to be out here.ā Liv replied, patting Taivenmonās side, riding upon him the same way that Masato rode Destriemon. She noted the purple D-Gauntlet on his hand and gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement, āWhere are the kids?ā She asked.
āThe forest.ā Masato replied, nodding to the treeline, but found it invisible through the fog when he looked. āThat way.ā
āRight. You and I are gonna lead the kids back to the Network, the rest of you cover us.ā She said.
Isamu put his hands on his hips, āHold up, who died and put you in charge?ā Masato recognized the joke in the other boyās tone, but Olivia clearly didnāt and glared at him.
āThe senior party buck-oā Taivenmon replied with a snort, āDonāt like it you can put āem up and come at me.ā
āNot now, Taivenmon.ā Olivia told him, patting his side again, āOkay, newbie, with me, now.ā
āItās Masato. And your nameās Olivia- was it?ā Masato introduced himself, as he led her toward where the children were hiding.
āJust Liv.ā She said, guiding her boar-like partner after them.
Masato called out, knowing the children would recognize his voice, āCome out, weāre going to get you somewhere thatās safe.ā He said.
Liv pulled up beside him, āIāll guard the front end, heāll cover the rear.ā She instructed, āYou stay between us and weāll make sure you get to the Network.ā
āGet where?ā A kid asked.
āYouāre not going anywh-ā The voice belonged to a Bakemon, but he was cut off by Taivenmon whirling around and driving his tusks forward to catch the ghost Digimon and throw him away from the children. No special attack required.
Liv didnāt even have a hair out of place when it was over and her partner turned back around, āNo time to explain, get a move on it!ā
There were no further questions, aside from Masatoās āWhy do you get to lead?ā Liv simply glared at him and Taivenmon snorted as he galloped ahead.
Destriemon answered for them, āShe has more experience with this, she probably knows what sort of dangers to watch out for on the way back.ā
Masato frowned, āIām sure she does, but she doesnāt have to be so cold.ā
āShe must have a reason.ā Destriemon continued, āIāve heard stories about her. No one just has a personality switch like that, there must have been some kind of trigger. And I bet one of these auction Raids has something to do with it.ā
That really hadnāt occurred to Masato and he contemplated that while the kids wandered out from the trees to follow Liv. Perhaps sheād lost a friend on a raid once-well maybe no, she certainly acted as if sheād lost friends during these raids before, one more wouldnāt be that traumatic. Still, Masato had a feeling like he was close, she lost something...The kids came out and went forward in pairs, the same buddies theyād picked when Masato and Equimon had first sprung them. He counted them to be sure, two, four six, eight...
Thirty four in total, that was all of them. Destriemon trotted behind the group while Masato kept an eye over his shoulder to look out for danger. Occasionally Destriemon would stop, Masato turned to him to see his ears swiveling, listening for something but then moving on. Probably the wild Digimon that Isamu had analyzed earlier, but better keep their guard up anyway.
The trip back to the gate theyād opened seemed to take twice as long but Liv beckoned him over.
āThis is how you open the gate back to the Network.ā She said, pressing a few buttons on her D-Guantlet, and lifting her wrist so he could see which ones. As if she expected him to be able to remember.
āThe gate can transport ten at a time.ā Liv instructed, hopping down from Taivenmon to separate the frightened children into groups, āAny more than that and you could overload the system. It doesnāt take more than a couple of seconds, but wait until I give you the signal. Once youāre through youāll see more monsters, but theyāre friends like these guys here, so donāt panic. Wait for me and Masato on the other side and donāt wander off until we get there. Alright?ā
Livās tone was far more gentle when she was speaking to the kids. Her calm but firm presence seemed to put them all at ease and they nodded in understanding. The American girl told the first group to go, they passed through the distortion and the gate flashed for a few seconds, then she gave the clear for the second group. Once more the gate flashed a few times and Liv ordered the third group to go.
Only four children left.
Liv turned to Masato, āCall your friends, tell them we have all the kids safe and they can come back now.ā
He blinked at her, āHow do I do that?ā
She reached over and hit the top right button on his D-Gauntlet twice, an input line appeared on the screen. āHit the left bottom button to change the number and the bottom right to move to the next digit.ā She said, āPut in one of their IDs, theyāll tell the others.ā Masato didnāt move and still looked lost, Liv put her hands on her hips, āYou havenāt swapped IDs with any of them!?ā She hissed.
Masato frowned, offended by her tone. āHey, Equimon and I have only been partners for about fifteen minutes!ā
āFine, weāll just have to go get them.ā Liv said, and turned back to the four children that were still waiting for her signal, āRemember what I said; donāt go anywhere until Masato and I come to get you. Go, now.ā
She waited until they were through and then climbed back on to Taivenmon and patted his side to command him to hurry. Masato did the same, but Destriemon didnāt understand the signal so the human had to tell him to just keep up with Liv and Taivenmon. At their top speed, the four of them were back in only moments.
Just in time it seemed, Ju had drawn her partners back, tending to the white one with a Digicure as Namaemon attempted to knock Lutrimon free from Skullmeramonās grasp. Livās friends had the Auction boss surrounded, but none dared attack while he had a hostage.
āLutrimon!ā Aki cried, frantically fiddling with his D-Gauntlet, trying to unlock some kind of power up for her. But this was Akiās first trip to the Network, the only items he had were his hub prize and the Rainbow Plate theyād won from the Betamon that had attacked him. Neither of those did Lutrimon any good at the moment.
Someone else did, though.
āHey Goldilocks, catch!ā Liv lifted her D-Guantlet as an item appeared from itās storage. She tossed it to Aki who blinked in confusion for a moment, before Liv gave an annoyed huff an explained, āScan the item into your D-Gauntlet and use it to save your partner!ā
Aki looked over at Ju, who nodded at him, āTop left button to scan, hit it twice to activate it.ā
Aki did exactly that, light exploded from Skullmeramonās hand, Ā a shield of pure energy surrounded Lutrimon, making the bigger Digimon unable to hold her any longer. Lutrimon was quick to leap to the ground and run toward the other Digimon. With her safely out of the way, every remaining Raiders moved into an offensive position.
āReady to surrender?ā Liv asked, āOr is this going to have to get really ugly?ā
Skullmeramon didnāt appear to be the brightest candle, but he certainly seemed to know when he was beaten and allowed Andromon to put restraints on him. The Raiders all gave their thanks to the new team of Tamers for all the work theyād done to rescue the children and wished them well, but parted ways with them; taking Skullmeramon deeper into the Digital World while the Tamers returned to the Network.
Even Liv had to give them her compliments, as they made their way back to the Network together. Destriemon and Taivenmon only had room for one human on each of them, so Namaemon took the burden of carrying Ju and Aki on his shoulders while holding Isamu in his arms. It was not a comfortable ride, but Isamu didnāt dare complain when Ju fought to keep balance and try to get hold of both her partners still so they didnāt fall off.
āNot bad for your first time out.ā She said with her arms folded, āEspecially given how ill-equipped you were, but still...Next time thereās an auction...could I have your IDs to give you a call for backup?ā
Taivenmonās eyes lit up, āSo weāre back in the business?ā He asked, padding his hooves into the ground.
āYep.ā Liv replied and turned to the others with a sterner look on her face, āOf course, I expect you to be training for it in the future. The games and prizes in the city arenāt just to play with, everything in the Network is meant to prepare you for a real battle. Iād even coach you through some of the tough games.ā
Everyone gave nods, though Ju hadnāt said anything of the sort when she had introduced him to the games, Isamu had gotten that impression from the heavy strategy and combat based games. Whoever designed these games definitely wanted them to be ready.
But for what? Just random Digimon attacks, or was there something else they were being prepared for?
Masato was the first to snap out of the silence, āWell, thatās all of us with partners now.ā He said patting Destriemonās side, āI think we should celebrate. Why donāt you guys all come over to my place? I know a great frozen yogurt shop, itāll be my treat.ā
āFrozen Yogurt? Whatās that?ā Namaemon asked, shifting his shoulders a bit making Ju and Aki cry out as they tried to keep themselves and their partners balanced on them.
Isamu sighed, for the moment wishing his partner was fully quadrupedal like the other Digimon, it would be much easier to ride him than to be carried like a doll while his friends fought to stay on his shoulders. True Namaemon could move between two legs and four, he was stubbornly insisting that caring all three of them was āA piece of cakeā
āItās a kind of food.ā Isamu explained.
āSounds yummy!ā Lutrimon exclaimed, despite not knowing what kind of food this Frozen Yogurt was, the Digimon all seemed to be in agreement, going as far as Taivenmon telling them it was one of his favorite desserts, which got Lutrimon even more excited.
Of course, Liv placed her hand on Taivenmonās face, silently reminding him that they werenāt part of the group, but Masato called over to her, āYou and Taivenmon can come too. I mean- if you want. We woulda been toast without you, so if youāre not doing anything-ā
āIāll pa-ā Liv was about to turn down the offer but Taivenmon turned his head up with pleading eyes that the American couldnāt seem to resist and she gave a sigh but turned to Masato with a smile, āIād be delighted. I canāt stay long though, Taivenmon and I have to be home before morning or momās gonna freak.ā
āMorning?ā Aki asked, āThatās a long way of- oh wait. Time zones, I forgot.ā
Ju nodded, āYouāll get used to that in the Network,ā She said, āI was once on a team for one of the games with a kid from Germany and one from Alaska and our D-Gauntlets were all set to different times so we ended up losing because we didnāt synchronize them before the game and totally messed up our timing.ā
They reached the gate and Masato tried to open it, only to have to be corrected by Liv. The evolved Digimon degenerated back to Rookie before going through the gate where the American girl and her partner then showed them where to find the safe house in the Network for auction victims where they took the children.
āWhatās going to happen to them?ā Aki asked, looking back toward the shelter where the kids were being tended to by older Tamers. Word that the Network was open seemed to be spreading, there were definitely more people than when they had left.
Isamu wondered if the attack on the Network and the Auction had been planned together. He didnāt know much about either the Demon Court or the Auctioneers, they seemed to have different goals between forcing human partnerships and wiping them out. But the timing felt too perfect to be a coincidence.
Liv shrugged, āDepends on them.ā She said, āThis group of kids has been missing for a couple of weeks in the real world, and no adult is going to believe them when they say they were kidnapped by monsters. They could decide to go home and try to forget but some of them might not be ready to go back yet and stick around to find partners here in the City. I know a few kids that were rescued from auctions and turned out to be pretty good Tamers.ā
She looked sad at this and Masato almost wanted to ask, but decided to change the subject. He wasnāt at all a master at this D-Gauntlet stuff, but he had pieced together enough to know that if they came in through Juās computer they could come out through his, āSo whoās ready for Frozen Yogurt?ā He asked.
The Digimon all turned to him with excited cries, the Tamers rolled their eyes with chuckles and giggles.
--
A quick internet search revealed to Kaiyo that she wasnāt the only one who had questions about Digimon. Apparently there were several forums dedicated to asking what they were, but she didnāt have time to read them all. She was only on a fifteen minute break, but just knowing that there was something to look a little more closely at was reassuring.
Especially this Network site sheād found.
From just a quick look, it seemed like this could be the actual role play site that Isamu was referencing in his note. There were forums, daily challenges and score boards and even a login page, but Kaiyo didnāt see anyplace to sign up for a new account. That was weird, maybe she just wasnāt looking hard enough.
Aw well, the rest of that could wait until her shift was over.
After school, Kaiyo always helped her grandparents out at their convenience store, though she wasnāt technically an employee, she was treated like one and it was time to get back to the front counter. It was a little sad that neither of her uncles had married and had children, and that both of them had moved so far away.
Because of that, her grandparents had to hire outside the family in order to keep the business going, and since her mother had died so young, Kaiyo had no younger siblings to help either. The family owned and operated a store that her grandparents built hardly belonged to the family anymore. She supposed that was okay in some right, after all, her grandparents hired such nice people.
The paid employee welcomed her back and left the cash register in her care while they worked on restocking the freezer in the back. Kaiyo sighed and looked out the door, to the cars passing by. The store was empty for now, but in about an hour people on their way home from work would stop in for coffee or a pack of cigarettes.
Her thoughts drifted to the Network and itās mysterious connection to her friend, Puckmon, who was definitely not just some mmorpg character. What exactly were Digimon...?












