The three groups followed Sachiko into EDEN.
"I promised some friends of mine that we'd meet here." Sachiko said.
"What're their names?" Lin asked.
"Their users go by Akkino and Blue Box." Sachiko said.
"Those two might be trouble." Hope said. "But I hope they don't get in the way when we go to the Digital World. I can't believe we're headed to the home of the Digimon."
"I don't think we're headed there right away, Hope." Gemini said.
"The problem is I don't know what their avatars look like." Sachiko said.
"Let's ask around and see if anyone knows about them." Ace said.
It was at that moment that Sachiko's Digivice was beeping with a message.
"They're waiting in Galacta Park in Kowloon? Isn't that the place with all the hackers? Oh, I hope they hadn't gotten themselves into any trouble…" Sachiko said.
"I'm sure they're fine." Hope said. "But it doesn't hurt to worry."
And with that, the trio of groups headed to Galacta Park.
They soon spotted a red-haired girl in a pink sweater waiting by the entrance.
"Think that's one of them?" Al asked.
"Definitely." Sachiko said. "Sorry I'm late. My name is Sachiko. You know, Ami?"
"Oh, hey! Yep, I'm Akkino! This is your first time in EDEN, right?" Akkino asked. "My real name is Nokia Shiramine! Nice. To. Meet, You!" she said. "Do you know how long I've been waiting?" she asked in a flaring tone.
"S-sorry. A lot of stuff happened today and I got held up." Sachiko said. "By the way, has Blue Box shown up yet?"
"Oh, he showed up alright. Can you believe this? He was like "Oh, I've got to go find a ghost," and he just took off!" Nokia said.
"A ghost?" Litty asked.
"That's how he rolls, apparently. A 100% full of himself! Thinks he's all that just because he's got good looks or whatever." Nokia said. "The Ghost of the Pale Boy? I've heard the rumors, but don't know the details. What does he even plan to do if he finds it? I mean, ghosts in cyberspace? That's ridiculous!"
"This girl… she's a little bit of a chatterbox." Ichiro thought.
"Anyway, it's not like I'm scared or-" Nokia started before someone came behind her.
"Boo!" The figure said causing Nokia to scream. "Whoa, easy! Overreacting a bit there, aren't we?" he said taking off his hood to reveal a guy.
"Oh, it's just you, Arata. I thought you were a ghost." Nokia said.
"Could've fooled me." Cia said.
"Sheesh. You don't have to act all tough by coming to a place like this if you're chicken, you know." Arata said before looking to Sachiko. "We've never met before, have we? I'm Arata Sanada, nice to meet you and all that."
"Hey now, that's not a proper introduction!" Nokia said. "You might have figured it out, but this is Blue Box."
"He's...a lot different from the chat rooms." Sachiko said.
"Yep, in the chats, he's kind and considerate, like a reliable big-brother figure." Nokia said. "When I first met him, I was completely weirded out. He's surly, self-absorbed, got that weird look in his eye… Talk about a waste of good looks, amirite?"
"Leave the stupidity for later, okay?" Arata asked. "By the way, your avatars look very stunning. I didn't know there were even such customization options."
"Best we play along." Ace whispered.
"My name is Sachiko Yukimura. I go by Ami down here." Sachiko said.
"A pleasure to meet you." Arata said. "Anyway, while we were waiting for Sachiko, I took a look around. I thought the Mr. Navit fellow that called us here might be around."
"Huh? But we thought that you were looking for a ghost." Sachiko said.
"Well, I was doing a little of that, too." Arata said. "But in the end, I've got nothing. Rather there was no one around to be found. You'd think there'd be one or two hackers in an area like Kowloon, no matter how dangerous it is." he said as all three of their Digivices pinged.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm Mr. Navit! I've got something for all you good boys and girls who showed up here today!" the figure said. "This is the miraculous power to change the world!" it said as a weird surge hit Sachiko, Arata and Nokia's bodies.
"What the… What's going on?" Sachiko asked.
"It's hacking! We've been hacked!" Arata said.
"Hacked? Oh, that's not good…" Sachiko said as the three of them got a notice.
"A new program has been installed: Digimon Capture!" the notice read.
"Tch, that Mr. Navit is no slouch. He broke through my firewall like it was nothing." Arata said.
"Digimon Capture?" Erica asked.
"I think it's a way of copying some of their data each time a Digimon is encountered." Mari said.
"Whichever way you believe it works, it's a hacking tool that's been making the rounds with hacks lately." Arata said as a screen opened. "Just as the scientist lady said, there's a certain kind of data known as 'Digital Monsters' that you can 'capture' by scanning. So, Digimon is short for Digital Monsters. Good to note."
"Wait, aren't they those programs the hackers use?!" Nokia asked.
"What are you talking about?" Hope asked.
"Wait, are you saying… The three of us are hackers now?" Sachiko asked.
"That's what it seems like." Arata said. "Not that it's that big of a deal. Hackers are nothing out of the ordinary nowadays."
"Not a big deal?" Sachiko asked. "Urgh… I can't uninstall it! What is going on?"
"Leave it alone. It's a forced program. There's no telling what will happen if you force-delete it." Arata said.
"So…. now what?" Flamberge asked before she saw a glimpse of a figure in the shadows before he disappeared like a ghost. "Ah! I bet that was Mr. Navit running away!"
"No, it must be that ghost everyone was talking about." Francisca said.
"Should we follow it?" Zan asked.
"Definitely follow it, we can't let it get away!" Flamberge said.
"You're right about that!" Arata said as he started running.
"What do you want to do, Sachiko?" Ace asked.
"Let's go. If what Arata said about this place is true, then he might be in danger. Let's go after him!" Sachiko said.
The groups followed Arata's trail through Kowloon, eventually losing sight of the park and went deep into what seemed to a road of undeveloped data.
"Agh...we lost him!" Flamberge said. "And where the heck are we?!"
"I dunno. Are we still in Kowloon? I don't think this was part of the sector…" Hope said.
"Yeah, I'm not getting a read on anything here." Mari said before seeing Sachiko kneel to the ground. "Sachiko, are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine. My body is…" Sachiko said as she looked up to see the figure in white ahead of her, she collapses before the figure heals her. "Ngh… What happened…?"
"You were glitching out like crazy, but luckily this guy fixed you from getting deleted." Kazuichi said.
Who Kazuichi was referring to was a boy dressed up in a white coat and pants.
"Ah! It's you…!" Flamberge said.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." the boy said.
"That and… you're the guy I saw earlier in the park!" Flamberge said. "Are you really a ghost like Nokia thought?"
"If that's true, then the ghost might've been me. Some call me the Wraith of EDEN." the boy said. "They say I'm not of this world. The truth is simply that I'm rather elusive and tend to turn up unexpectedly, that's all. Though, you all can relax. I am not a ghost. I'm very real here in EDEN."
"So, are you like...an AI or a program in EDEN?" Hagakure asked.
"I merely exist to guide those that are lost." the boy said. "This girl here, she's just had a program installed, Digimon Capture, which marks her as a hacker. But...she is merely a fledgling. There are a lot of hackers with different goals here in EDEN. Chivalrous ones that find and report security holes, thieves who steal accounts to rob money and data, others are just out to prove their skills. Truly, a wide variety. What kind of hacker would she be, I wonder?"
"What's your answer, Sachiko?" Hope said.
"These kinds of answers come with time. There is no need to answer right away." the boy said. "What led you to this is neither here nor there. It would seem that whatever the circumstances, you were given the Digimon Capture Program. Therefore, I would recommend you give these Digimon programs a try."
As he said that. Three Digimon popped out, the first one looked like a plant humanoid, the second was a small animal with big ears, and the last looked like it was made of three gears moving with the one in the middle having eyes and a mouth.
"Finally! I never thought we'd see humans here." The plant one said in a girlish voice. "My name's Palmon, nice to meetcha!"
"Momentai. My name is Terriermon, what's up?" The animal one said in a boyish voice.
Akane then saw the gear one. "And you are?"
It didn't say anything as it only looked at them.
"Oh, that's Hagurumon." Terriermon said. "He doesn't say anything really."
"A man or well, Digimon of few words. I can respect that." Hisui said.
"Hmm… I'll go with...Terriermon." Sachiko said.
"Huh? Me?!" Terriermon asked. "Wow, that's amazing. I hope you're as great a partner as Henry was."
"Well, we can't just leave these two here." Mahiru said.
"Does anyone else even have an account here?" David asked.
"Sadly no. I don't think we even have the means to capture digimon in here." Sonia said.
"The only reason the rest of us are here is because of the transporter. I mean, seriously. Do you have any idea how much personal information these kinds of sites ask for just to make an account?" David asked.
"A lot, I'd wager."
"In any case, it would seem the girl has made up her mind." the boy said.
"Yes, I have." Sachiko said.
"Well, then, follow the steps. Start with a Scan. Have Digimon Capture running and target a…" the boy started before a growl was heard.
"What was that?" Kaede asked.
A Chrysalis-like Digimon was seen floating towards them as it caused Terriermon, Palmon, and Hagurumon to get scared and run off deeper into the area as it chased them.
"Damn it. That thing chased them away. Calm down, we can just find another and…" David said as he saw Sachiko run after it. "H-hey, wait!" He said running after her.
"Let's go." Ace said as he and the others followed.
Sachiko saw the Digimon attacking Terriermon.
"I don't think so!" Sachiko said as she drew her blades and got between the two.
"Hmm… How curious." a voice said as she saw the figure beside her. "You are willing to fight, even for the sake of a creature you had only just met. How interesting."
"That's right. Terriermon is my partner after all. I have to protect him." Sachiko said.
"Such devotion is a good trait. However, at your level of power, you can't defeat this Digimon by yourself. Allow me to assist you." he said as a large metallic dragon appeared beside him.
"Alright. Let's do this." Sachiko said as Terriermon came alongside her.
"Guess we'll leave it to them, right?" Ace asked.
"Exactly." Hope said.
"Alright! It's been awhile!" Terriermon said. He charged at the cocoon like Digimon and slapped it with his ears.
"Here goes. Gale Blade!" Sachiko said as she launched three consecutive attacks.
"Now it's my turn!" Terriermon said. "Watch this! Terrier Tornado!" He said as a tornado blew on the Digimon.
"Maybe this will help." the figure said as the metallic Digimon put up some kind of field, increasing their attack power.
"Thanks a bunch!" Sachiko said as she performed another Gale Blade, defeating the creature. "Whew… Looks like that did it. Thanks for the help, Terriermon."
"No problem!" Terriermon said.
"Glad that dust settled. You two work really well together, I'll admit that." David said.
"I was surprised at this fact myself." Sachiko said. "Anyway, it looks like Arata is further ahead. We should go after him."
"Yes. You must make haste." the figure said. "Ah, forgive me. In all of this excitement, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself."
"Oh? So you're not an AI?" Hope said.
"I'm actually a very real person, despite my ghostly looks. My name is Yuugo, of Team Zaxon." Yuugo said. "I trust that we will meet again in the future. Our doors are always open to you." he said as he left.
"He seems like a nice guy, despite his disposition." Scott said.
"Nokia… Arata, and now Yuugo… Why do all of these names sound familiar?" Sachiko asked.
"For now, we should keep going and find Arata." Ace said.
"Ah, we almost forgot about Nokia!" Sachiko said. "She's gonna give us another earful, I'm sure… We better go get her."
"Right." Rutee said.
Suddenly, they heard an ear piercing scream.
"I'm thinking, that was Nokia?" Hope asked.
"Probably." Stahn said.
"Hmm… Doesn't seem like she's in any harm to me." Sectonia said as the group saw two cute looking Digimon running around her.
One was a miniature T-Rex while the other looked like a creature wearing a fur pelt with a horn.
"They seem friendly enough. I don't think there's a lot to worry about here." Mayumi said.
"What are these things?!" Nokia asked.
"They're Digimon, Nokia. They're not that harmful to you." Hope said.
"Yikes! It's...It's more scary people!" The beast Digimon said.
"I'm sick of being chased around. Run away!" The dinosaur Digimon said as they ran off.
"Oh great, I scared them." Hope said.
"Nevermind that. Who's that beside you, Sachiko?" Nokia asked.
"Who, me? I'm Terriermon." Terriermon said.
"This cute little thing is a Digimon?! Then...those two little cuties were Digimon too?!" Nokia said.
"That's pretty much the gist of it." Sachiko said.
"Digimon, huh? Maybe having cute little critters around could be pretty okay. Maybe this Digimon Capture thing won't be so bad after all." Nokia said. "So, Arata's through this area somewhere? Please let me come with you all!"
"What do you think, Sachiko?" Ace asked.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Sachiko said.
The group along with Nokia delved further into the mysterious area and caught sight of Arata standing in front of a warp pad.
"There he is!" Nokia said.
"You alright Arata?" Kendo asked.
Just then, something began forming in an orange light above them before it started taking form of a Nautilus like creature.
"Aaaaaah! What is that thing?!" Flamberge said.
"I have no idea, I've never seen anything like it." Ace said before he pointed his Digivice at it and it went off. "Oh no…"
David shoots the entity, with little effect. "Damn it, our attacks won't work on this thing."
"Pepper Breath!" a fireball then came out of nowhere as the dinosaur and beast creature returned as it hit with no effect.
"Blue Blaster!" the beast said as it too didn't have much effect.
"What the hell is this thing, its not taking any damage!" Akane said.
"If that's the case, then we can't win against it. Retreat!" Ichiro said.
"Arata, hurry up with that warp pad, will ya?" Lloyd asked.
"Okay! The lock is taken care of. You can log out!" Arata said.
"But what about those two?!" Mahiru asked.
"Don't you get it, we're holding them back! Hurry!" Arata said.
"Everyone, get to the warp pad!" Hope said.
Everyone quickly made a run for the warp pad as the creature crawled after them as it closed in on Sachiko.
"Sachiko, behind you!" Ace yelled.
Sachiko manages to make it, but not before the creature makes a swipe at her leg and she hears a voice. "Find us…"
After the events, David makes a call.
"Emi. It's me. Listen, something happened down at Cyberspace. We're alright, but Sachiko is…" David said.
"I understand. I have an associate that specializes in that kind of thing. I'll call her up right away!" Emijo said.
"Yes, please do!" David said.
"Oh man… what the hell did that thing do to her?" Hope said.