The next thing he knew, was plummeting headfirst into the sand. After brushing the excess and spitting out what had gotten to his mouth, he glanced around. The presence of sand and rock were the only things around, save for the crater he and Agumon had created with their fall. Speaking of the over-sized reptile, Agumon was still latched onto his back, seemingly knocked out from being sucked into that pillar.
Now the question was this: Where the heck were they now?
"Oi, Agumon," He called, setting his partner onto the sand with a pensive look. "Wake up, will you?"
Blinking, Agumon sat up and gave Masaru a confused look. "… Aniki?"
"What the heck was that?" He say, rapping his fist against the reptile's head. " And why'd you just stand around when that stupid thing came down and sucked us in?"
"I don't know!" He yelped, shrinking away to rub the injured part of his head. "Sorry, I just felt really funny all of a sudden, aniki…"
"Well, whatever." Masaru mumbled dismissively with a disturbed glance. What kind of effect did that thing have on his partner, to cause him to freeze up like that? Agumon had never done that before, even when facing enemies several times bigger than themselves. "It's a good thing nothing bad happened…" He trailed off, feeling more or less relieved. "But one thing, Agumon."
"Yeah?"
"…Where the heck are we now?" Masaru inquired, gesturing to the expanse of desert before them from the crater they stood in. Nothing actually seemed to change. Their surroundings were still the same as ever, as if the data stream had never swallowed them up. Looking back, Masaru threw a glance to Agumon. "You think we're still where we were before or something, and that stupid loud thing just took us for a ride before dropping us out here?"
"I'd say so…" Agumon commented idly, turning around and stopping in his tracks. His tone took a completely surprised note as he yelled, "Aniki, look!"
Alarmed, Masaru swerved to the side. "What is it Agumon? Is it another one of those things?" He asked, straining his ears to find the violent hum he had heard before.
Agumon only pointed a claw.
Following the direction, Masaru in turn also gaped in disbelief.
A group of kids— children that couldn't have been older than Chika or Ikuto, maybe younger— were standing there, staring at the both of them. All of them clearly younger than himself, yet apparently all of them had Digimon partners of their own— the ones he could see, anyway.
What the hell were they doing in the Digital World?
Finally, after the longest time, a boy with red eyes singled himself out from the group, and stepped towards them with a meek expression. Nevermind how young he was, he had a weird taste if he was wearing goggles in the middle of the desert. Or maybe he was using them to keep the sand out of his eyes? In any case, Masaru's train of thought came to a halt a moment later, when the boy's expression was replaced with one of curiosity, maybe awe.
"Who are you?" He asked tentatively.
Masaru smirked as he stood up to face him, forgetting his own questions in favor to introduce himself.
"My name is Masaru Daimon, the greatest fighter!" The boy flinched from the introduction, most likely intimidated if anything. Nonetheless, he stood his ground, and met Masaru's gaze with an even stare as he continued. "And this is my follower, Agumon! Show some spirit, Agumon!"
"Nice to meet you!" Agumon yelled in correspondence.
"Nice to meet you... I guess." He goggle-wearing boy murmured quietly, looking rather unsure of what he was doing. Still, even if he was unsure, he didn't move.
This one's got guts. Masaru thought to himself as he examined the boy thoroughly. This goggle-wearing boy, whoever he was, probably had to be the Leader of the kids. Why else would he step forward?
"You." Masaru called out. "What's your name, kid?"
The boy seemed to waver, but the next moment, his hesitation vanished.
"My name is Takato Matsuda," He answered with a clear voice. "And I'm a Digimon Tamer!"
