Prologue: Without a Trace

Authors Notes: It's great to be back everyone. I would like to once again extend thanks to those who read through Digital Demons, and those who are now reading Digital Dynasty. If anyone is attempting to read this without having read Digital Demons first, I'd advise you to do so, since a lot of stuff here won't make sense otherwise. Enjoy.


The little girl, not quite a teenager, sat at the kitchen table across from her brother. Both she and her brother had green eyes and black hair. She was still in her pajamas, while he was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. He was in a hurry, and finished his breakfast long before she did.

"What's got you in such a hurry big brother?" she asked.

"I thought I told you already," he replied. "It's my friend's birthday tomorrow and I have to get him a gift."

"How old is he gonna be?"

"This is his fifteenth birthday; he's a couple months younger than I am."

"Which friend is it? Do I know him?"

"He's a very important one. He was one of the people with me in the hospital the day you started to get better. I can understand if you don't remember though, it was three years ago."

"Was he the one wearing those silly goggles?"

"Yes actually. A bunch of our old friends are getting together for this. He even has a friend of ours visiting from America."

"Sounds like fun. Does that mean you're going to be out tomorrow as well?"

"Most likely; why?"

"Oh; no reason."

The boy eyed his sister warily, but shrugged it off and got up from the table. He tossed his dishes into the sink and walked to the front door. She quickly finished her breakfast as well, threw her dishes into the sink, and then joined him at the door. He had just finish putting on his shoes, and was about to leave.

"Have a nice trip," she said, waving him off.

"Just make sure you behave yourself while I'm gone," he replied. "Even though it's summer vacation, Mom and Dad still have to work. They won't be back until later."

"I know; I'll be good."

The boy still looked wary, but nonetheless he departed from the house, locking the door behind him. The girl waited a few minutes after he left before bounding up the stairs. She traveled down to the end of the hall, where his room was. It wasn't locked, so she was able to slip in easily. She shut the door behind her and walked over to the desk in the corner of his room. On this desk was a personal computer, which he used mostly for schoolwork.

Whenever her brother left the house, the girl would sneak into his room to play games on the computer. It was the middle of the day, so she threw open the curtains instead of turning on the ceiling light. She turned on the computer and waited for it to boot up. When it finished loading, she sat at the desk began to fiddle with it.

Although the girl usually left everything else in the room alone, she suddenly felt a strange compulsion to look into the desk drawer. She knew she shouldn't; since her brother might find out and get mad, but she couldn't help herself. When she opened the drawer, her eyes were drawn to a strange looking electronic device. It was rectangular in shape with rounded corners, and was about the size of a cellular phone. It had four buttons positioned below a small screen.

The girl, still under the same compulsion, picked the device up out of the drawer. The screen lit up at her touch, furthering her desire to fiddle. She closed the drawer and began to press the buttons, trying to figure out what the device did. All of a sudden, the light coming from the device's screen intensified. The computer screen crackled and went blank, seemingly interfered with by the device.

As she was exposed to the light, the girl felt something strange deep down inside her. She wasn't sure if it was the light that caused it, or if her body had started to act up on its own. The feeling began to spread outwards, causing the girl to feel sick. She clutched at her stomach and fell to her knees, the device still in her hands. She began to shudder violently, and her skin seemed to glow along with the light from the device.

Without warning a massive column of light erupted from the device, filling the room and engulfing the girl. When the light faded, the girl was gone. Everything else in the room was untouched, save for a rustling of the curtains. The computer reactivated, since the source of interference was gone. It would be hours before anyone returned to the house and discovered that the girl was gone.

Additional Note: Ooh, we're starting thing off with a mystery this time. Stay tuned for more.