AN: As the summary said, this is a prequel to my current project, Guardian Algorithm, and is basically composed of short 'origin' stories for five of the characters, including a few OCs. You don't have to have read Guardian Algorithm to understand it, although that would be recommended if you want the stories to make complete sense. I'm going to tell you which character the current chapter is going to be about, for I'm sure that the narrative itself should give you enough clues. That's all.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon Tamers, that would belong to Toei, A. Hongo, and Bandai. Got that? Good. Then let's get this party started.
PRE-CODING ALGORITHMSA Tamers Fic
By Fizzy 13 PRE-CODE ALGORITHM="#081954-1AG6" TITLE="ONE MESSAGE RECEIVED""One Message Received… hmm…" he had just opened his email account's mailbox this morning. Whoever sent it would most probably be one of the Tamers who saw him off. The question was, why did he – or she – send it only at this time? Couldn't who ever the sender was have just said it at the airport before he left?
Speaking of senders… "Let's see who you're from, little guy…" he opened his inbox half expecting a 'how's it hanging' letter from Takato, or maybe another one of Henry's ridiculous little chain letters – he never did like chain letters, considering them a waste of time – but this one, strangely enough, had an unknown sender. The subject… was also blank. "Well, it ain't a royal announcement from pumpkin queen, that's for sure."
His eyebrow went up at the obscurity of the message's significance. Whatever the case, a letter was a letter, and maybe the sender just forgot to fill in the subject space. 5 KB… shouldn't take too long. He clicked on the message proper and his eyes widened at what he saw. It was one of those porn site banners complete with a nude chick and the usual 'FREE XXX MATERIAL – CLICK HERE' flashing on it.
Porn? At age fourteen and a half? He was in the States now, hence, far from legal. He figured if he tried it out, the FBI would be on him in no time flat. He scrolled down. More porn links. Further down. Even more porn links. Whoever sent him this message was either a major pervert, or simply had a sick sense of humor.
At last, he reached the bottom of the message, where the porn banners finally dissipated, a single link in their place. "The Real Message, huh? Why not?" He clicked on the link. He was surprised, yet somewhat relieved, to see that the following page wasn't as perverted as the last. Not even a single picture was on it.
It was a simply designed page, enough to have been most probably done by a kid. But what kind of kid would link this page to a message containing porn banners? No matter. It was usually better not to worry about such nonsense
A single sentence was all that comprised the said page. Log on to chatroom '#columbarium', Hades Server, MIRC. "Well, that's direct…" he opened an MIRC window. He was then prompted to provide a name, last name, nickname, and the works. "Okay… what about…" his fingers played uncertainly on the surface of the keys, typing in and deleting several nicks until he finally settled on one he thought would work out. DigiKing01… just perfect.
"Hades server, eh?" he keyed in the word 'Hades' under the search prompt. Conveniently enough, only one address turned up. He ran a hand through his brown, crown-like hair as he typed it in, and searched the chatroom listing for a '#columbarium'. Now that he thought about it, a columbarium was a vault where people placed urns containing the remains of cremations. Then there was the fact that the server's name was Hades… and one couldn't help but notice that most, if not all, of the chatrooms had names that were all somehow related to death. "#Flatline? #Avalon? #Eighty-six?"
Strange as it was, he didn't mind the oddity and proceeded to find his missing chatroom. These things were usually listed alphabetically, but in this specific server's case, it appeared as though they were arranged by the date. He continued scrolling down until finally, he found what he was looking for. "#columbarium… thought I'd never find you in this haystack…"
DigiKing01 has logged in
KeyMaster: So you got the message, huh?
DigiKing01: You sent me those porn pics? What kind of sicko are you?
KeyMaster: Sicko? Heh. Not really. I put those there for a reason.
What was that supposed to mean? Something about the whole situation made him uncomfortable. As though he shouldn't have opened that email in the first place. Leave it to his curiosity to convince him to open up an unmarked message that probably ended up in his mailbox by accident. And like the cat, he had no idea if he was going to drop dead all of a sudden or not.
DigiKing01: What're you saying?
KeyMaster: I knew you'd scroll past them, being a good kid and all.
DigiKing01: Who are you, anyway!?
Now he was starting to sweat. He didn't even know the guy, and the guy knew about him. What was this all about in the first place?
KeyMaster: My nick don't ring a bell? Well, I guess… you don't know squat about me after all. Name's Robson, Mike Robson.
DigiKing01: And you know who I am?
KeyMaster: Who doesn't these days? You're Japan's top Digimon Battle Card Player, right? Or did I send my message to the wrong address?
This was definitely getting out of hand. Of course the guy knew him, but how'd he get his address? It wasn't like his personal file could be read like an open book by anyone. Speaking of which, the concept did sound disturbing. After all, what was life without privacy?
DigiKing01: So where are you from… err… Robson?
KeyMaster: From the US, of course. If you can't trust me 'coz of all the little information I've given you, I don't blame ya. I'm 28, male, live in Washington D.C., and basically work with a corporate type firm that's into cyber technology. 'zat enough info for ya?
DigiKing01: Corporate firm?
KeyMaster: Yeah, my boss wanted me to contact you as soon as possible.
DigiKing01: Anybody I know?
KeyMaster: Nah… not unless J.D. Biggs is your uncle or anything.
DigiKing01: You're right. Never heard of him.
KeyMaster: Whoops, gotta go. Lunch break. You should wait for my boss. He'll be here in a couple of minutes or so. Although ya might wanna get a drink while you're at it.
DigiKing01: Thanks… I think.
KeyMaster has left the room
So, he just had an online conversation with some kind of corporate employee. Big deal. Maybe he should wait for this J.D. Biggs. After all, this could be one of those sudden offers for financial backing. He proceeded to the kitchen, passing by the living room as he did. His father was lying down on the couch, either reading the papers, or watching the TV. Maybe both, since he had the sheets in front of his face as the TV news reporter continued to babble about how things were going on in Afghanistan.
He opened the fridge, half expecting one or more moldy sandwiches to jump out at him in attempts to free themselves from the low-temperature confinement. "Let's see… onion rings, baloney, uh… some of Takato's bread…" How old was that half-eaten Guilmon-shaped loaf/bun/whatever it was anyway? Probably a couple of months… It was a parting gift after all. He could already see a few layers of fuzzy blue stuff growing on the insides.
Looks like I'll be getting a drink after all… he grabbed a can of Root Beer and closed the fridge, passed by the living room - where on the news, rangers, marines, etc. were fighting with Taliban troops - up the stairs, and finally, into his room where he sat at the computer once more. He popped the can open and gulped down some fizz just as a new avatar entered the chat room.
Gatekeeper has logged in
Gatekeeper: So you're the guy I'm looking for?
DigiKing01: That depends on who you're looking for. J.D. Biggs?
Gatekeeper: That's right. And you're that Digimon King?
DigiKing01: You got me. So, why'd you go through all the trouble just to contact me?
Gatekeeper: I'm the supervisor for the recruitment department.
DigiKing01: Recruitment Department? For what? Sounds different from the 'Employment Section', if you ask me.
Gatekeeper: Here at our company, mister, we keep the lid on lots of things. And, yes, the Recruitment Department is different from the Employment Section. My boss heard you were coming over from Japan seeking an American-oriented education; he wanted to fund it. Don't ask me why.
DigiKing01: What's the catch?
Gatekeeper: We'll talk about the fine print later. Right now, though, we have a few other things to discuss.
DigiKing01: Yeah, like who your boss is.
Gatekeeper: Sorry, that's also confidential.
DigiKing01: Okay, then what are we gonna talk about, then?
Gatekeeper: Let's start with your personal life, shall we?
Something told him that this was going to be a very long online conversation. And he wasn't wrong. First, his whole name, then, his family tree, then, his medical history, followed by many other things that were usually asked during an employment interview. This was starting to get really suspicious.
Gatekeeper: Now I'm sure you're looking for answers by now, right?
DigiKing01: Hell yeah, I'm really confused.
Gatekeeper: If you wanna get those answers today, grab a jacket and head out the door. I'll be waiting for you at the junction of First and Rogers. I'm wearing a light blue cap. Don't worry, I already know what you look like. See ya there.
Gatekeeper has left the room
DigiKing01 has left the room
He gulped down the last of his root beer and shut his computer off. Following instructions down to the last letter, he grabbed his jacket, along with some cash, and proceeded to head for First and Rogers… without so much as his father's consent. Little did he know that the last time he saw his father would be the last time he'd ever see him, lying down on the couch, either reading the papers or listening to the news on how the United States' forces were handling the situation in Afghanistan, maybe even both. And he owed it all… to one message received.
/PRE-CODEAN: Don't know why I decided to use 'tags' for the chapter openings/closings. I guess it just felt right. Maybe I should use them for the next chapter as well… ah, whatever. FYI, to whoever was still unable to figure out the protag for this fic (I assume this is a waste of space), it was Ryo. But then, I guess I am just wasting space. Another thing: Note that Tamers was released in 2001, D-Reaper I assume, manifested in 2002, hence, the references to the early days of the War on Terror. If the story didn't make too much sense, then I recommend you read Guardian Algorithm. Thank you for reading, and please review.