LEVEL I: WELCOME HOME
In the darkness of his study, an elderly man glances back at the girl behind him, finally able to sleep peacefully in a small beanbag chair. The harsh glow of the computer brings a new paleness to his face and he yawns, stretching his arms out for the first time in hours. Shaking off the tiredness, he types his final command for the night and presses the RETURN key.
# RUN
Dozing off to sleep, neither the man nor the girl move from their chairs until the morning.
It's 4AM and fifteen year old Izumi Koushiro is, unfortunately, wide awake. Moaning in annoyance, he tries sheltering his ears from the noise with his hands, but the beeping persists. He reaches under his pillow tiredly, feeling around for his alarm clock, but even after he presses [snooze], the noise does not go away. It continues to grow in pitch, becoming higher and higher, and the redhead quickly discovers there's no way for him to tune it out. So much for sleeping in on the first day of summer vacation…
Dragging himself up in his bed, Koushiro decides, reluctantly, to get up and face the day. He swings his feet over the side and is slipping them into his black slippers, when he freezes. Slowly turning around to face the only window in his room, the lack of light streaming in from his window has become glaringly obvious. He kicks off his slippers and dives back into bed, only to leap back out in frustration at the incessant beeping noise.
Mumbling curses to himself, Koushiro stands up with a silent vow to find the noise quickly and then rush back to bed. It doesn't take long for him to find his PiBook laying very innocently on his desk, as if it's totally not the source of all this racket. The pineapple on it's back seems to glow with urgency and the beeping reaches a crescendo. Koushiro plugs his ears with his finger as he walks towards the laptop. He's surprised his parents haven't woken up. At the very least, if it's coming from my laptop, it shouldn't take long to correct.
He pries open his laptop, jumping back to shield his eyes from the bright white light coming out of the screen. The beeping dies down and is slowly replaced by 8-bit video game music. Huh?
Slowly, a start screen for a video game fades in and the letters jump up and down in time with the music. Koushiro's eyes widen and his jaw slackens as he reads the title of the mysterious game.
| — |
| LET'S PLAY |
| DIGIMON |
| ADVENTURE! |
| — |
Am I still asleep? Leaning over the desk, he brings his face closer to the screen. The melody tinkled in his brain, his throat choking on nostalgic feelings as he read the title over and over. Digimon Adventure… is it really possible? He closes his laptop and takes a deep breath. Immediately the beeping noise returns, shrill and angry, and Koushiro jumps in surprise. He re-opens the laptop and lets out a sigh as the music comes back on. The start screen is still up, the letters jumping up and down as if they're doing the wave at a basketball game.
Koushiro stares at the screen, still not believing everything he was seeing. But…where was the start button? Sitting down, he presses the space key and hopes for the best. The screen turns black and a prompt appears on the screen, the letters still dancing in that same merry rhythm.
WHO ARE YOU?
Before he has the chance to type his name, more words dance onto the screen.
WELCOME BACK, CHOSEN CHILD OF KNOWLEDGE!
ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN? _
[ YES ] OR [ YES ]
Irritated, Koushiro slams his head into his desk. Why ask if both choices are the same? He slumps in his chair and spins it around with his foot, staring at the ceiling. He has to choose something, but he can't say no and he can't go to the Digital World without the other Chosen Children. He would close the laptop, but he couldn't risk the noise waking up his parents.
Out of options, the red-head grabs his phone and makes a call.
"Yeah, Yamato? Sorry to wake you."
In the Yagami house, there is chaos.
"Aah~ Where is that noise coming from?!"
13 year-old Hikari Yagami, with her fingers plugged in her ears, is lying on her side on the floor. Grimacing, she shuts her eyes tightly, trying to block out both the faint continuos beeping and her older brother's yelling. It's 4AM and she is now fully awake, along with her brother Taichi, his best friend Yamato Ishida and Yama's little brother, Takeru Takaishi .
"Taichi, sit down, will you!" growls Yamato, crawling around on the living room floor to find the source of the noise. He moves slowly around sleeping bags and popcorn with both caution and fatigue. His unbrushed blonde hair is matted and untidy and, unfortunately, this alone is enough to piss him off.
"I…can't…take…this! I'm going crazy!" groans Taichi, flailing his arms around wildly.
"You got that right- would you sit down?"
In the panic, Takeru has since gotten up and is walking around the living room. Checking each electronic in the house, he picks up everything with a battery and puts it to his ear.
Lamp? No.
Phone? No.
Nintendo? No.
TV? N- ouch, yes!
He jumps back, clutching his ear. He scowls. Maybe he shouldn't have held his ear so close. Walking back over to his friends, he rubs his ears in pain. "Guys, I think it's coming from the TV…" he mumbles.
Taichi stops yelling and runs over to the television, with Yamato trailing behind. As more people crowd around it, the noise becomes even louder, eliciting a groan from Takeru as he cradles his eardrum. The sound reminds him of a pulse-monitor at a hospital. "The TV?" says Hikari, yawning from her spot on the floor. Everyone nods, clutching their ears and looking at each other as if to say: What do we do?
Taichi, put on edge by the infuriating noise, is quickly becoming impatient. "Why are we just sitting here?!" Before anyone can stop him, he turns on the television. A bright white light shines off the screen and Hikari groans and shields her eyes with one of the sleeping bags.
"Taichi, stop messing with stuff, I need to sleep!"
"Hey, I didn't do anything!"
She sits up straight and glares at him in her pink pajamas, her bed-head prominent. The once-energetic older boy gulps and looks away as she drags herself back to the ground.
"Nothing much anyway…"
The beeping slowly fades away and energetic 8-bit music bounces off the television speakers. Slowly, a start screen for a video game fades in and the letters jump up and down in time with the music. The boys' eyes are wide and Taichi suddenly finds it very hard to breath.
| — |
| LET'S PLAY |
| DIGIMON |
| ADVENTURE! |
| — |
Hikari, hearing the peculiar music, peeks back out from her sleeping bag. When she sees the words on the screen, however, she scrambles out from under her tangle of blankets, unable to believe her eyes. "No way…"
The four teens gawk at the TV, afraid to move. A faint beeping noise distracts them from the screen and Taichi lets out a shriek. "Not again!"
"It's just my phone, Taichi" says Yamato, getting back on his hands and knees to find his cell in the sheets. Flipping it open, he puts it to his ear. "Yo, Koushiro."
"Koushiro?" says Takeru, kneeling to put his ear next to the phone in his brother's hand. Yamato pushes him away as he listens to the red-head on the other end of the line. He nods and gives noises of affirmation, causing Takeru to reach for the phone impatiently.
"What's he saying?" the younger blonde whispers.
"Shhhh!— sorry Koushiro, not you."
The group is silent and the air is full of confusion.
"So it doesn't give you any options besides 'yes'? That's lame…"
"Yeah, I know…" replies Koushiro, his lips pursed in thought. He stares at his computer screen, the music still echoing in the room. "Who else is with you?" he asks. The other children crowd around Yamato, trying to hear.
"It's just me, Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru. We're sleeping over."
"Can you put me on speakerphone?"
After a little maneuvering, the oldest blonde places his phone on the floor in the middle so everyone can hear.
"What do you guys see?" Koushiro says. Hikari pipes up.
"The television is showing a video game start screen, but it says Digimon Adventure…"
"That's what my laptop did. Did you press anything?"
This time Takeru answers. "No, we've just been staring at it for now. There's music too."
Koushiro is spinning on his chair at his desk, the "yes or yes" still showing on the screen. His back leans into the chair as his head hangs, his short bangs swinging in the air.
"I think you have to activate the prompt." he mutters.
Yamato snaps his fingers. "You mean the prompt you got, right?"
"Right. It should be asking you if you're ready to begin. You just have to activate it somehow. Press the SELECT button on your remote and see if it triggers something." he instructed them. Taichi gets up from the floor and grabs the remote from on top of the television. Pressing select, he drops the remote in shock when white letters appear on a suddenly black TV screen, jumping up and down in time to the retro music.
WHO ARE YOU?_
"Woah…" he says and he falls to his knees. The rest get up from their spots and walk slowly to the television set, Yamato carrying his phone.
"It only says 'Who are you?' Koushiro-kun…" whispers the blonde, not sure what to do.
"Just wait."
All of a sudden, the screen begins to move again, typing out more letters.
WELCOME BACK, CHOSEN CHILD OF FRIENDSHIP!
WELCOME BACK, CHOSEN CHILD OF COURAGE!
WELCOME BACK, CHOSEN CHILD OF LIGHT!
WELCOME BACK, CHOSEN CHILD OF HOPE!
ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN? _
[ YES ] OR [ YES ]
There is silence in the room. Not hearing anything on the other side, Koushiro coughs.
"Hello?"
Hikari answers him. "I think we found your prompt, Izumi-san…"
"Oh, that's good."
"No, it's not good! What are going to do now?" grumbles Taichi. "We can't press no, but we can't just say yes without the other Chosen-ah!" Pop music begins to play loudly, making Taichi cringe.
"Sorry, that's my phone!"
Hikari jumps up, running back to the sleeping bag area. Riffling through the blankets, she fishes out her pink cell. Huh? Miyako? She flips her phone open and cringes to hear Miyako's shouting.
"Hey, hey- Miyako-chan, what's the matter?"
"Hikari, help us please!" cries Miyako on the other end, sniffling.
"Us? Who's with you?" Hikari says, sitting down on a chair. The boys around her get closer, all trying to to get a listen.
"I'm with Tachikawa-san- Hikari, what do we do!"
"What happened?" asks Taichi, confused as to why the younger girl was so scared. Hikari shrugs. "Probably the same thing…" she whispers.
"Miyako-chan, I'm going to put you on speaker phone. Please try to calm down."
"O-okay…sorry, Hikari-chan. It's just, we heard these beeps coming from Tachikawa-san's television…"
"Right…"
"And when Takenouchi-san went to check on it, we heard a crash and she hasn't come back!"
"EHHH?" shouts the entire room. Yamato drops his phone in shock. Koushiro, unable to hear through his phone, sits up in his chair, worry creasing his brow. "H-hello? What's going on over there?" he asks as Taichi paces up and down the apartment anxiously.
Miyako, hearing the group's panic, begins to cry. As Hikari attempts to calm her down, Takeru's phone rings. Rubbing his temple, Takeru finds his baby blue cell and is surprised at who's on the other end.
"Ken-kun?"
"Ah, Takeru-kun, you wouldn't happen to have gotten any messages about the Digital World from your computer, right?"
"Yeah, well- actually no, ours is on our televisions."
"Ours?"
"Me, Yamato, Hikari, Taichi, Koushiro, Miyako, Mimi…"
"You're all together?"
"Me and Yama are at the Yagami's for a sleepover. The rest are on speakerphone. Is it just you over there?"
"No, I'm here with Daisuke, Iori and Kido-san."
"Jyou?"
"He's was talking to my dad about medical school, but it got dark soon after so we let him join our sleepover-" There is muffled yelling on Ken's side. "Daisuke, relax, I'm talking to Ishida-san, he's at the Yagami's…"
Taichi walks over to his sister and taps her on the shoulder. "Mind if I?" Hikari shrugs and hands her phone to her brother. He paces around the room, talking urgently to Mimi, who has since replaced Miyako on the phone. Takeru, listening attentively to Ken's situation, grimaces suddenly and beckons Hikari. As she tilts her head to the side in confusion, the youngest blonde sighs.
"What's wrong with Ken-kun?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just Daisuke wants to know if you're okay."
"Seriously?!"
Finally Taichi stops pacing and claps his hands loudly, jerking Yamato out of an intense conversation with Koushiro. Takeru and Hikari look up and children on speakerphone strain to hear. All attention is on the leader.
"Now, that we're all gathered, I think we should make our decision!"
Hikari points to the television. "Taichi, whatever decision we make will be the same, we only have one choice…"
"I'm talking about our plan!"
Koushiro pipes in. "I believe our primary goal should be finding Sora-san. It sounds like she pressed 'yes' all on her own, not realizing it might actually do something."
"Well, then let's go after her!"
Yamato grunts. "We can't just run after her—" "Yamato is right, what about our parents? Summer homework? Breakfast tomorrow morning?" cries Jyou.
There is silence.
In the corner of the pinkest room on the Tachikawa Residence, Miyako sniffles and speaks into her cellphone.
"If we don't begin, we'll never know how it ends, right?"
Special Updated Version of the original first chapter!
#FOR SAFARI USERS: has been having upload problems in Safari. If you need to upload something to meet a deadline, do what I did and use Chrome until it's fixed. I waited too long.. XD
Thanks for reading!