Realized I had this old concept sitting around in my files, figured I'd post it for fun after a quick skim through.

Though I definitely apologize for the opening that beats you over the head with Main Character exposition lol let me know if you enjoy but I honestly don't blame anyone that clicks away after the first section XD


A door slamming punctuated the end of yet another argument, as Sen Chikara made her way down the stairs and away from her home. Leaving behind the apartment complex while slipping in her earphones, turning on her music to block out the world around her.

For a girl of only 16, Sen had been forced to experience some terrible things in her short life. Just a year ago, both her and her mother were in a terrible car accident. While her mother was killed, Sen survived with some bad injuries. It was a miracle she lived, but what followed sometimes made the young girl wish she hadn't...

Hitoshi Chikara was by no means a bad Father, he had always been hardworking and dutiful to his family. But after the accident, death of his wife and medical bills piled on by his daughters injuries, the man changed. His patience was limited, his temper short, and his blood pressure high. Working hard throughout the week, and spending most of his weekends drinking away the stress, a gap formed between Father and Daughter.

They grew distant, rarely spoke and when they did was often antagonistic. Things that needed to be said were buried beneath spite and resentment, issues were left untended to. And even a year later, neither of them had gotten over what happened Hitoshi's wife, Sen's mother...

And after a particularly nasty argument, over Hitoshi's bad drinking habits, Sen had left on possibly the worst note she could have.

But that didn't matter now, as she made her way further and further away from home. With her music playing, the world around her didn't exist, she could put away all those complicated feelings and pent up emotions. Sen needed stability, and spending a few hours or an evening as far away from home as she could walk was always a good start.

. . .

"Today marks the 5th anniversary since the fall of the A.o.A at the hands of-"

Rolling her eyes, Sen scrolled past the headline on her phone. Relaxing on the bench while waiting for her bus to arrive. By now it was nearly evening, the sun was setting beyond the city skyline. She'd been walking for at least four hours, assuming her Father was even awake he was probably going to start looking for her. Which would just lead to another argument, so she figured it was about time to head home.

She adjusted her ball cap a bit to hide her eyes and brushed her short red and black hair aside. Wincing as she refocused her eyes onto her phone screen. Images of a long forgotten company logo attached to an article about the events that took place Five Years ago. The game that changed the world with the advanced technology that came alongside it. Changed the world, and nearly destroyed it...

Digimon Online

She'd never been interested in video games, and after the terrorist events surrounding the game most people were surprised it was ever revived by the company that came after MAGAMI. Even so, the idea of running around a fake world with weird little creatures following her wasn't very appealing, so unlike most of those in her class she avoided it. But it was popping up more with the anniversary of the day that kid saved the world.

Her thoughts returned to reality, as the bus came to a stop before her. Not that she heard it, music playing too loud in her ears, blocking out all other sounds.

"Sen."

She stopped in her tracks, looking around confused to find who had said her name.

"Sen..."

Wait, how could she hear anyone? Her music was-

"Sen!"

Her headphones cut out, the music in her ears replaced by quiet static. Her head whipped around, the voice sounded like it was speaking directly into her ears!

"What the..." Before her was a small store window, a few old tube TVs stacked on top of each other inside. The screens were static, pictures distorted but she could just barely make out a strange face. It was almost human, but had sharp teeth, yellow hair and... Some kind of red mask?

"SEN!"

"Agh!" She stumbled back, as if the distorted images would jump out at her, "Okay, screw this!" She said aloud, turning back to the bus only to see it was already driving away, "HEY!"

"Sen... I need your help." Stopping, she slowly turned back around, staring at the screens. One look at those passing by told her nobody else was seeing or hearing this. "The old warehouses on Kanima Street, hurry!"

Before the screens returned to being blank, and Sen was left standing there confused. She looked back to the bus already turning the next corner and narrowed her eyes. Whatever this was, it was way more interesting than going home just to get yelled at again.

Pulling open her phone, she searched for the location online. And took the first step in a long, treacherous journey.

. . .

The address Sen was given wasn't very far away, surprisingly. It only took her about twenty minutes of walking to arrive at the old broken down warehouse. She was keeping her eyes out for any suspicious people in the area but it looked completely abandoned. The darkening clouds overhead certainly didn't help with the atmosphere.

After hopping the fence, she spotted a broken door on the side of the building. Sen took a single step towards the door before it creaked loudly, sending a chill down her spine as she spotted a familiar logo on the side of the building. It was faded and nearly worn away, but there was no mistaking the symbol of Digimon Online.

"Yeah okay, screw this." Sen huffed, turning to leave when the roar of thunder filled the sky above, followed by a downpour of frigid rain, "Agh! Okay okay!" She shouted, covering her phone as she ran towards the door, not seeing anywhere else to take shelter. She pushed it open and stepped inside, wiping some of the water off of her face, "Ugh... Great." She muttered in annoyance, clothes soaked.

Looking around, she tucked her arms together tightly for warmth and started looking around. The warehouse was filled with shelves upon shelves, each one packed full of old broken down equipment. Mostly large orb-like chambers? From what Sen could tell, this was all decommissioned stuff from Digimon Online... Or maybe that was just the logo on the building?

"Huh?" Sen stopped as she spotted some light emitting from one of the pods. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she started walking towards it. Her curiosity piqued and her common sense being tossed aside as she tucked her phone and earphones into her pockets. The pod had some lights flickering, but wasn't connected to anything. Peaking inside the open chamber, she could see it had a chair inside.

Leaning over, she quirked an eyebrow trying to get a read on what this thing was.

"Ngh!" She yelped suddenly, leaning a little further forward than she'd meant too. Tumbling head first, she landed in the pod upside down and only had enough time looking up to see the door closing, "Hey! Let me out of here!" She shouted, readjusting herself and pounding on the door.

But her senses were totally overwhelmed, as more lights turned and a loud humming filled her ears.

Sen had no idea what was going on, but knew it couldn't be any good!

What came next was the feeling of falling, flashing lights swirling around her and making it impossible to see. They filled her eyes even when she closed them tightly. Sen could feel her body moving, lurching and going over great arches like she was riding some kind of roller coaster. She felt like she was going to vomit, the entire ride lasted for a few minutes before something sparked and the lights began to flicker.

The movement ceased, and the lights shut down in an instant. But she could still barely see, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she shoved open the door to her container and hit the ground roughly, "Ugh... Th-That was... Oh god..." She held her stomach, fearing she might vomit any moment now.

But as her sight returned, she realized she was in total darkness. The floor beneath her didn't feel like concrete but some kind of metal. She pulled out her phone hastily, turning on the flashlight and trying to look around. Fear began to grip her, as Sen realized she was in a completely different place now. Standing up on shaky legs, she turned back to the pod.

"What did you do? Where did you take me!?" She demanded, slapping the old, broken down looking piece of equipment. Sen demanded the answers she was already afraid to accept, the realization of what that pod had been was sinking in. Inside that warehouse, all that old tech from Digimon Online. The truth was weighing heavily on her, and she could feel her heart starting to race, "I-I can't... I can't be here... This place shouldn't even exist anymore..."

As the tears of fear began to well up in her eyes, Sen had to accept that she was in the old Digital World.