Hello again, everyone! Chapter 2 has arrived.
First, I'd like to say thank you for reading. This story received a surprisingly positive reaction, which surprised me because I figured it'd be too niche for folks to really enjoy, considering Digimon's popularity in recent years, and the fact that this is based on one of the more recent entries in the series rather than something more recognizable like Digimon Adventure. I know some folks are here for more of the To Aru side of things, I'm still happy this story got the response It got. Truly, thank you.
Before we dive in, we have some reviews to respond to!
whwsms: Hehe... yeah I've been a tad excited about this, but I'm glad you decided to take a look. Most of the digimon stuff can be looked up or found out somehow: I think even the first Cyber Sleuth game even has a complete "The Movie" video out online, where it is just all of the story bits all in one package (It's a tad long, but it is everything), as well as wiki information for just about everything else. As for why our unlucky friend was thrown to the wolves... well; you'll see. That said, thanks for taking a chance, and if you have the time in-between your own writings, I hope to see you here again!
Mr. X: Sorry that you feel that way. As said, I did attempt a third story... but it fell apart around the halfway mark. I'm thinking about giving it a rework... but the question of whether or not the series needs a third entry is kind of up in the air. I understand that this is a left-field decision for little ol' me, so if you would rather not stick this story through, I understand. I'll see you in December's edition of The Bust Upper Incident.
Animan10: Glad your enjoying this start! Good luck in your wiki-diving!
Ace1stonewall: I've noticed that finding crossover stories is easy... but finding good ones that continue is exceptionally difficult. Hopefully this one keeps your attention and lives up to your standard of quality.
Willamz0: Hehe! Thanks for taking a look and following the story! Ami will appear... just not right away. Don't worry though; our unlucky Kamijou will interact with both sides of the Cyber Sleuth games.
MrQuestionMark: Believe me, I know. Making sure everything mixes well is very important, and making the story seem plausible can either set or sink a story... but I'm glad you feel that this one is going well! I'll try to give as much information as I can, as for with my idea with this, I can't just do a full rewrite of both Cyber Sleuth and Hacker's Memory, but I will be doing my best! Ask any questions and i'll be more than happy to explain... as long as they aren't spoiler-ish. Touma starting off by being tossed into hell and being told "Good luck," really is the norm for him now, isn't it!? Hopefully were all this is going will make sense here!
Guest (1): Hopefully you'll enjoy this, despite being crossed with the games! Truly, Touma's dinner will not be good that night... such misfortune...
EspadaJ18: His life is nothing but misfortune... and with no sign of that changing in sight. Sadly, not it is not; it's in its own continuity. No sudden Gilgamesh or Artoria appearances here.
ptl: Imagine Breaker rules on nullifying "Unnatural" things, even if something is Super Natural, like souls, they sometimes won't be negated. Digimon, even if foreign entities, are a natural occurrence... and the implication for Eaters here... i'll let you figure out.
wiliamsusanto: More or less; Touma adventures in Cyber Space. As for the locals looking into our unlucky Kamijou... you'll see how that plays out.
wolfking: Yes, yes he will. And now that you mention it... fufu~
NeoShadows: Well, call me surprised! I didn't think you'd be into Digimon, let alone the specific-ness of Cyber Sleuth! yes, Kyoto Kuremi will appear... but more as a occasional minor character. As the idea here is that Touma's situation is more of a additional story, running alongside the events of Cyber Sleuth, much like its sequel, Hacker's Memory did. Touma with cross path's with both sides of the coin, but his path is his own... for the moment. Glad you enjoyed the first chapter!
vietnamese guy: Shhh! Don't tell him I'm heeeerrrreeeee! Glad your enjoying the story so far. Perdicting Dorumon's line, are we? We will have to wait and see if you end up being correct...! I can kind of understand that desire for him to have a more no-name digimon, considering who Touma is, but there is a method to my madness, I assure you.
Guest (2): ...Yeah, Othinus is 15CM Tall. Are you suggesting you are too!?
Alright, with all that said... I hope you enjoy!
"This is an unusual job among unusual jobs… I mean; if Yuugo wanted to look into someone, why wouldn't he do it himself? I mean; he has the resources and the man-power with Zaxon… why delegate something like this to us?" A teenager spoke openly as he wandered the EDEN Community Area, speaking as though he was on the phone. He was rather average looking at first glance; he was a Japanese teenager who had short black hair, and wore a blue hoodie, a white shirt, and black pants. The most notable things about him were the butterfly-like insignia on the back of his hoodie and his shirt, and the fact he had natural dead-fish black eyes, which had the oddity of making him look more average yet more unique at the same time.
"Don't know… it is a little unusual." A reply came from the other side of the Digiline. "Keisuke, is it clear enough for a video chat? The line is getting some weird readings and I'm having trouble seeing things from my end."
"Should be fine Imai-san, the target isn't around yet." Keisuke stated. Not long after a video screen opened up in his HUD.
What displayed was a male in his early twenties with amber-colored eyes, short but wavy blond hair, and a blue shirt with black pants. He also had a blue hoodie with the same insignia as Keisuke.
The blond's name was Imai Chitose, and the one in the field currently was Amazawa Keisuke.
They were both part of a hacker group, simply known as Hudie, a four man team that took on hacking jobs for a living.
And they had been given a rather specific job by the head of Zaxon, the dominant hacker team in all of EDEN.
"How many times do I have to tell you? There's no need to be formal around here! Chitose is fine! Especially when I'm running support for you; I have other things I could be doing you know!" Chitose shouted.
"F-fine… Chitose-san, can I get a refresher on the job?" Keisuke asked.
"Eh? Forget the target because you're nervous?" Chitose laughed lightly. "It's fine… loosen up! A Zaxon job is a Zaxon job, even if it is from the head honcho himself!"
"…Come on; just humor me. I want to make sure we get the right person is all." Keisuke sighed.
"Fine, fine. Here's everything we know," Chitose began. "Targets name is Kamijou Touma. Preliminary background check states that he is sixteen years old, average high school student. Height is 168 centimeters, has dark blue eyes and black spiky-black hair. Only real thing of note is that he's a resident of Academy City… other than that; he's more average than you are, and that's really saying something."
"…Thanks." Keisuke grumbled. "…Why someone in Academy City though? You don't think-"
"That Yuugo might have a beef with the city or someone inside? Not likely." Chitose replied. "If that were the case, we'd be targeting some bigwig, not your typical high school student… though the possibility of him being the son of someone important exists… I suppose that'll be up to Ryuji and Erika's side of this job though."
"They're handling the in-depth background check, right?" The black-haired teenager slipped his hands into his pockets as he began to look around again.
The other two parts of this four-man team were Mishima Ryuji and Mishima Erika; a brother and a sister. Ryuji was a tall and lean man in his early twenties with short grey hair and grey eyes, and normally carried a serious expression. Erika on the other hand was teenager around the normal age of a high school student with distinct yellow eyes and long blue hair, and normally carried a rather depressed expression.
"Right; the preliminary check is just what we can find on public record. The dark secrets the guy has locked away is what they're looking into; family, criminal history if applicable: the works. But considering it's Academy City they're working on…"
"…Yeah, I can see why I was put on actually tracking the guy. We got the easy side by comparison." Keisuke frowned.
"No lie; breaking Academy City's encryption will be tough… might even give the little lady a run for her money." Chitose replied. "And that's even if the information we're after is up on EDEN at all; a lot of their hush-hush stuff are in private networks outside of EDEN or the internet as a whole, and anything on that front we can't touch without breaking into the city itself and hacking from the inside, which if it wasn't obvious, is way out of our league… but if there is anything on EDEN, they'll find it. I know you're disappointed that the little lady isn't running as your support this time, but Ryuji really needed the help."
"It's fine… and what are you implying with that?" Keisuke crossed his arms.
"Nothing, nothing at all~ I'm innocent, I swear." Chitose laughed. "You just need to make contact… an accidental bump should be enough to sneak one of my special packages onto him… then we'll be able to track and listen in on him at our leisure."
"And he's going to show up here sometime soon?" Keisuke looked around the EDEN Community area; no one matching the description Chitose gave him.
"I happened to know a guy is all. Kamijou Touma should be meeting someone within the next half hour in this area; we just need to keep our eyes and ears open." The blond replied. "…Well, look at that! The funky distortion I was getting is gone, so I can properly read the area… awesome!"
"I'm closing the video portion then; it's a bit of a distraction." The black-haired teenager replied.
"Roger that; if I need it open again I'll let you know… huh?" Chitose's tone suddenly turned serious. "Eyes up rookie, someone is joining the server now."
Keisuke's eyes shifted over to the logout zone; typically, anyone first arriving would land just in front of it.
And a certain someone just happened to land right in that very spot.
Black spiky hair. Dark blue eyes. Exuded an aura of average.
It was as close of a match as one could get for the information he had to work with.
"…Man, Tsuchimikado better show up this time." The spiky-haired teenager stated, rubbing the back of his head. "This misfortunate Kamijou has better things to do than wait around for someone who doesn't even bother to show up…"
"…Hear that? Kamijou; that's the family name… unless he has a twin brother, it looks like our man. It's your time to shine, rookie!" Chitose spoke cheerfully. Keisuke nodded and began to approach his target.
He just needed to walk past him, maybe bump into him to lengthen the time he would be in range.
As luck would have it, he would get exactly what he needed… just not in the way he expected.
Just as they would cross paths, the unlucky Kamijou tripped and fell forward, inadvertently flinging his arms out as he did so, accidentally grabbing Keisuke and dragging him down with him, the two landing with a rather loud thud.
"…Such misfortune…" Touma lamented.
"You can say that again… ow…" Keisuke stated.
"Sorry… are you ok?" Touma pushed himself up.
"I'm fine… I'm just glad we didn't fall near the stairs…" Keisuke rubbed his head as he climbed to his feet.
"…No kidding. We can't break bones in EDEN, can we?"
"If we can, I demand a refund."
"Guh… I can't… I'm stuck with this otherwise I'll have to repeat a year because of a programming class… such misfortune…" Touma sighed.
"I suppose that's life… take care, ok?" Keisuke spoke and turned away from the spiky-haired teenager. They parted ways with that, Keisuke heading towards the various boards while Touma descended into the proper seating area, taking a chair for himself and waiting for a certain someone to arrive.
Keisuke stopped and slumped down onto a bench with a sigh.
"…Chitose, you there?"
"Yeah… sounds like you got to find out what EDEN's floor tastes like." The blond joked.
"Don't remind me… did it work?" Keisuke asked.
"Like a charm; we have him right where we need him to be. Infection is active and transmitting data." Chitose replied. "We can spy on his conversations and track his location at our leisure!"
"…Though I still have to wonder," Keisuke crossed his arms. "…Why him? He doesn't look like a hacker… no clear ties to anyone that we can see… sure we might find something in the full background check, but don't you think Yuugo would tell us if it was something like that up front?"
"You do have a point… kid is average in every way… other than the hair." Chitose replied. "For Yuugo to take a personal interest enough to request a job like this…"
"…You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Hell yeah; our work is done, so anything we do now is only extra. What do you say we spy on him a little bit in person?" Chitose stated.
"You say that, but I don't see you racing to login and join me…" Keisuke grumbled.
"Hey; someone has to run support! Just stay out of sight and I'll keep an eye on incoming and outgoing data and see if anything pops up." Chitose stated.
"I got just the thing… it's a trick I learned recently." Keisuke opened up his console and began tapping away, and just as it closed, his avatar seemed to vanish from sight, only just barely remaining visible as his entire body became transparent.
"Nice… I can't even see you on the active user list… heads up; we got company." Chitose commented.
True to his word, another person was entering the area. A few people actually, but without another name or a face to attach to them, it was difficult to figure out if any of them had any relation to the unlucky fellow they were stalking.
They got the answer to their questions when a blond teenager in a green Hawaiian shirt approached the spiky-haired teenager.
"Hey, Kami-yan. Waiting long?" He asked.
"…Oh hey, you actually showed up today, Tsuchimikado." Touma pushed himself up to his feet.
"Sorry about yesterday; thing's got complicated when Maika came home…" The blond replied.
As the two spoke, Kamijou Touma's stalker waited a fair distance away, carefully watching the two with his camouflaged avatar as a cover.
"So that's who he was meeting…" Keisuke commented. "Anything special on your end?"
"…This just got a lot more complicated…" Chitose sounded uneasy. "Know how I said I knew a guy who had the information? THAT'S the guy."
"Y-you're kidding! The one Kamijou-san is talking to!?"
"Yup; Tsuchimikado Motoharu… he's my contact for the Academy City area in my information network." Chitose stated. "This is some top-tier weirdness… Kamijou knows my contact but was also going to be meeting him, yet he gave me the information anyway, knowing that I'd be looking into the kid…?"
"…Think we're being set up?" Keisuke asked.
"Hard to tell… keep an eye on them; I'm recording everything they're taking about, so just make sure they stay in sight." Chitose replied.
The black-haired teen nodded, turning his attention back to the two in front of him.
"Ah… so you ran into some monster and met Yuugo huh? That's one hell of a story… and Yuugo gave you Digimon Capture and you got a Digimon too… that makes things a lot easier on my end; good work, nya." Tsuchimikado grinned.
"…You planned this." Touma deadpanned.
"You getting a Digimon? Yeah. You being attacked by some tentacle monster and meeting Yuugo of all people? No way; I just wanted to set you up with a Digimon is all." Tsuchimikado shrugged. "I don't know what that thing was… maybe it was some weird girl modifying her avatar? With your Kami-yan disease it would make sense, nya."
"And there you go with that again! You're going to really make me punch you, Tsuchimikado!" Touma clenched a fist, shaking it in the air at the sunglasses-wearing blond in front of him.
"Seriously though… I did intend to meet with you after. Sorry; the whole situation is rather… tense to say the least." Tsuchimikado scratched the back of his head. "You don't have any plans tonight, right? This is going to take a bit to work through… we should get going."
"Hold on, where to? You still really haven't told me anything." Touma crossed his arms with a sigh, evident of frustration.
"…Necessarius is waiting, Kami-yan." The blond replied simply.
"...Really? Here in EDEN?" Touma asked.
"Yeah; that's how chaotic this is getting. It'll be easier to meet with Stiyl and have him go over it with you, nya." Tsuchimikado replied.
"…Well… alright then. You have my attention… just lead the way I guess. We heading to that Kowloon place?" Touma uncrossed his arms.
"Right on the money. Stick with me; I'll be around this time in case something happens along the way, nya." The blond replied. With little else to discuss, the two left for the logout point and left the server entirely.
Unaware that they were being watched.
"…So they're going somewhere in Kowloon…" Keisuke crossed his arms. "…What the heck is Necessarius? Do you know, Chitose?"
"Not a clue… if it's a hacker group, I've never heard of them… this Kamijou kid is giving us way more questions than answers…" The wavy-blond replied. "…What do you say? We did do the job; everything else from here on out is extra."
"…Something isn't adding up here." Keisuke replied. "I'm going to keep following them. When you get a chance, pass along that something isn't right with this case to the others… particularly with the person it revolves around."
"Right; I'll drop them a line while you're in transit. Yuugo wanting us to look into him is beginning to make sense, but this is starting to go from weird to straight freaky. Be careful." Chitose advised. Satisfied, Keisuke made his way over to the logout area to continue on the trail.
The mystery of one Kamijou Touma was an intriguing one indeed.
-Kowloon Level 1, 7 Minutes later-
"Hey, you found them?" Chitose's voice suddenly came on Keisuke's Digiline, slightly startling the black-haired teen.
"Yeah… looks like they're making their way over to the elevator to level 2… though that lazy hacker is back camping out in front of it. Did you manage to get ahold of Mishi- …Ryuji-san?" Keisuke asked.
"Yeah… I'll be straight with you; he wants us to bail." Chitose replied. "He said the final decision was ours since it's technically related to the job, but made it clear he wants us out of there. It wasn't just us who though this entire situation seemed sketchy since the start."
"Well… we've come this far… a bit late to back out now, right?" Keisuke replied. "How is their side of things?"
"Hard to tell; security over there is the kind where it's hard to know if you just got started or if you're almost done." Chitose replied. "Anything new?"
"…Well, the blond guy… Tsuchimikado? I don't know what he did, but the hacker that was camping out in front of the elevator just ran way for his life…" Keisuke replied.
"…I have a feeling I know what he said… and you don't want to know; it's not the first time I've tangled with that guy." Chitose replied. "They taking it up?"
"Yeah; just got on. I'm making my way over now."
"Right; stay safe and out of sight."
Keisuke nodded and got on the elevator, taking it up to floor two. Very little changed in-between floors in terms of design; the only thing that was different was the floorplan.
As soon as he arrived, the black-haired teenager pressed onward. Ahead were two paths; a short one to the right that lead to a dead-end, and a long one to the left what went around the whole area.
A quick look around showed that the two he was following had elected to the longer path. He was quick to catch up to them but stayed a fair bit behind just in case; though he was mostly see-through, someone looking hard enough could still find him.
The two took a right, and Keisuke darted around the corner. About halfway up the path, they appeared to have been stopped by someone.
He was very tall with straight red hair, and wore a long black cloak that covered most of his body. The main physical characteristic noticeable, other than his absolutely massive height, was a barcode underneath his left eye.
"Stiyl Magnus… so you made it after all." Tsuchimikado spoke. Keisuke was just close enough to hear the conversation.
"What? You thought I was going to bail?" The man frowned at the prospective accusation.
"Kind of; figured you would have delegated it down to those three witches of yours upon hearing Kami-yan's name being attached to the operation, nya." Tsuchimikado smirked.
"Please; work is work, even if it is with someone I despise." Stiyl replied. "Go back and make the report like we planned."
"Report? You're not staying with us Tsuchimikado?" Touma asked.
"Someone's got to update the ones in charge of this operation… plus I have some little things to take care of myself; I couldn't stay longer even if I wanted to." The blond replied. "Don't worry, Stiyl is familiar enough with EDEN; he'll take care of you."
"Well… alright then. Try and take it easy; I'll call if I need you." Touma replied.
"No worries; it'll work out. See ya, nya~" with that, Tsuchimikado left, turning right back around and walking back the way he came.
However, it wasn't that simple.
Tsuchimikado turned the corner, walking right past the transparent Keisuke. However, just as he would pass, he reached out one hand, placing it right on the black-haired teenager's shoulder and squeezed tight. Keisuke began to panic, but the blond let go just a moment later and spoke.
"Try not to work too hard, Hudie-san."
With that, Tsuchimikado left without another word, heading straight for Kowloon level 2's logout area.
Keisuke was breathing rather hard. The contact didn't break his camouflage, but the experience was more than a little chilling to say the least.
He had been caught in the act… yet he was let go… why?
"…I think it's safe to say he knew you were there since the start." A third voice suddenly came loud and clear on the line.
However, this one belonged to a girl.
"E-Erika-san!?" Keisuke called out. "W-what are you doing here!? I thought you were busy with Ryuji-san!"
"Just finished. Found some data, but its encrypted. Since its alongside other esper personal data, it's reasonable to suggest that it's what we're looking for… but it will take some time to crack it." Erika spoke. "…I heard things got confusing to say the least."
"No lie… hey; eyes up! They're moving!" Chitose stated. Keisuke's head snapped up as he looked around, and true to his supports word, Kamijou Touma and Stiyl Magnus had begun to walk down the path. "Though... I don't know what they're looking for; this is Dinosaurist territory…"
"…I'll keep on them. I have a feeling this Stiyl person might be from the Necessarius they talked about earlier…" Keisuke was quick to sneak up behind the two as they began to walk and talk.
"…So since you aren't going to start the conversation," Touma began, crossing his arms. "Let's start with what exactly is going on then? Or are you going to give me the silent treatment the whole time?"
"...Miserable boy." Stiyl sighed.
"Remember; I'm older than you."
"T-that's beside the point!" Stiyl turned and shouted, obviously flustered by the comment.
"…That guy is a giant, yet Kamijou-san is the older of the two…?" Keisuke questioned as he snuck around them.
"Alright; fine." Stiyl cleared his throat. "Hopefully, I don't need to explain the separation laws of science and magic to you."
"No I got it. The magic side and the science side can't interfere with each other, and either side forbids certain techniques from use by the other… I'm guessing there is a violation rolling around here since you brought that up." Touma spoke.
"…Magic?" Keisuke whispered gently.
"More or less. It's a full cabal causing a ruckus in EDEN. It's been decided since this system was first established in the world that use of magic inside of it would be a violation, yet a cabal has been blatantly ignoring that decree. Chaos has ensued as neither side wants or can claim responsibility for their actions… so we've been called in to deal with it; a magic organization stopping another magic organization is a convenient way to calm down all sides involved."
"…Can you even use magic in EDEN?" Touma asked. "Doesn't it require refining mana with your life-force to cast? I figured something like this would separate things enough to prevent it…"
In response, Stiyl suddenly stopped.
"…Ash to ash…" He held up one hand as a small flame appeared in his palm. "…Dust to dust…" He lifted up his other, with a similar result.
"H-hey now, I get it! There's no need to-"
"…Squeamish Bloody Rood!" Stiyl suddenly turned and swung both of his arms down, unleashing a wave of fire in an X-shaped formation, launching the attack at the unlucky Kamijou.
Touma however, simply raised up his right hand and upon contact, a loud shattering sound erupted as the flames broke apart like broken glass, fading away completely shortly after.
"…Ho, so your Imagine Breaker works here was well then?"
"Y-you used that without knowing if I could block it!? Get over here; I'm going to kick your ass!" Touma shouted, stomping towards the redheaded mage.
"Stop with the comedy routine; we have a job to do, and I don't like having to work with you any more you do." Stiyl sighed.
"You're the one who decided it'd be a good idea to throw fire at me! Everything from here on out is your fault!" Touma shouted again.
"…Machina Revolution," Stiyl started, snapping the spiky-haired teenager out of his anger. "They might be known around as a hacker group, but in reality they are a magic cabal. I have tracked some of their ilk to the location ahead… something about a rare instance of working on a "live specimen," whatever that means."
"…So they are up ahead?" Touma asked.
"At the end of the path. They apparently took this territory from another group, and I'd very much enjoy a chance to ruin their plans." Stiyl stated.
"Then let's move already then. The sooner this is done, the better." Touma replied.
"Something we can agree on; wonderful." Stiyl smirked lightly and resumed walking ahead with the unlucky Kamijou close behind.
While not far behind them, Keisuke quietly followed them, though the look of confusion on his face was quite telling as to how he was feeling.
Confusion.
"Did… did that guy just throw fire!?" Chitose shouted on the Digiline. "Like, legit fire in cyber space!? Can I get a replay of that please!?"
"It's probably some kind of program he has running; making something like this is very possible you know… don't start buying into all this talk of magic and cabals just because someone made a little fire; it could also be a Digimon he has too." Erika quickly spoke up, seemingly eager to shoot down the idea of mysticism.
"…The part that concerns me isn't the fire throwing… it's how Kamijou-san no-selled it. He stopped it like it was nothing, and acted like he's done it a million times… even if that fire was just a program or even a Digimon's attack, Kamijou Touma is a new EDEN user, right? What are the chances of him having a counter program to stop something like that in either case if he really is new?"
"That… is…a legitimate question…" Erika suddenly sounded unsure of herself.
"Either way; the name that guy dropped is legit." Chitose spoke up. "Machina Revolution is an up and coming hacker team; really shady. They take over areas with crash and burn tactics… looks like the Dinosaurists were their most recent victims…"
"…I'm going to stick with this; call me crazy, but I feel like this kind of freaky stuff is exactly what Yuugo wanted us to look into." Keisuke's face turned serious as he sped up his pursuit.
"You think… Yuugo saw that hand-thing up close?" Chitose asked.
"…The man called it Imagine Breaker…" Erika spoke softly. "…Who exactly is he?"
"Name is Stiyl Magnus apparently; not much else known… running theory is that he is part of some organization called "Necessarius," we mentioned it earlier if you remember. What that means is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you." The blond replied.
"…I'll look into it then. It's not any team or group I've heard of before… the name alone implies it's definitely not Japanese…" Erika stated, seemingly thinking aloud.
"Hold on… looks like they found who they were looking for." Keisuke spoke up.
True to his word, Stiyl and Touma had stopped moving. They had entered the very last area of Kowloon level two; a circular area with a rather wide path leading to it.
Before them stood two men and one woman. Their appearances varied wildly, but they each had one thing in common: each one wore some kind of a black cloak, and each one wore four large gold rings, two around their wrists and two around their ankles. Other than that, their looks varied rather wildly.
The last thing to note: there was an unconscious Digimon laying in-between them. It appeared to be a giant black wolf with white stripes and a long, curly tail, and it appeared to be resting on a particularly complicated magic circle. Touma had no idea what the creature was, other than it must be some kind of Digimon, but the Digimon Capture tool he had appeared to give him the answer on his HUD.
BlackGarurumon.
"Well… what do we have here? Having some fun I see." Stiyl stated as the current residents took notice.
"…So we have been found out already, huh?" One of the men spoke up. "Shame… we were just getting settled in before the rest of us arrived… I suppose that means we need to find yet another new hideout then?"
"Run for as long as you want. It will just make it more satisfying when I put you into the ground." Stiyl boasted. Touma eyed the magi before his eyes drifted toward the motionless BlackGarurumon.
"…Hey, what are you doing with that Digimon?" Touma demanded.
"Gentlemen, I suggest we begin the experiment while we can." The woman suggested. The two men nodded and turned their attention to the BlackGarurumon in-between them, and began a chant.
Stiyl was not interested in waiting around, and displayed such when he unleashed a wave of fire upon the three. However, it crashed right into a barrier separating them; only visible when it was being struck.
"Damn it all… Imagine Breaker!" Stiyl called out.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Touma ran straight for the barrier with a prepared fist, smashing his right hand into the barrier.
It shattered upon contact, Imagine Breaker shattering it quite effectively.
"T-the barrier! To take it down that easily… I-is that the Imagine Breaker!?" One of the men called out.
"It's too late; the ritual is complete!" The woman shouted. The magic circle began to glow as a surge of energy could be seen flowing from it into the Digimon laying on top of it. The seal slowly began to vanish, giving the illusion that the Digimon was absorbing it.
When it was fully absorbed, the BlackGarurumon began to transform.
It took to its hind legs and stood up, its front-paws lengthening out to proper hands as the beast began to resemble a werewolf. Clothes appeared, consisting of ripped green camouflage jeans and kneepads, a brace across its chest that attached to a single sleeve on its left arm. Around its neck, a set of non-descript dog tags rested and it wore spiked brass knuckles on its hands.
It was now BlackWereGarurumon. He stood up fully and howled loud, seemingly full of energy.
"A forced Digivolution…!?" Stiyl grit his teeth.
"A forced what!? What the hell just happened!?" Touma shouted.
"Quickly; we must retreat. With this being a success, we must report back." The woman stated. Both men nodded quickly. All three ran to the back of the area, which would normally lead to only a pit.
However, a rift in space appeared as the three ran for it, vanishing inside.
"Wait!" Stiyl ran forward, launching a blast of flames at the BlackWereGarurumon to distract him, running for the rift.
"Hold on, Stiyl!" Touma attempted to follow, but the BlackWereGarurumon, angered by the sudden attack, lashed out at him violently, trying to kick him. "H-help me with this guy, I can't take him by myself!"
"Not a chance; this thing is unusable and won't last long. Right now, either I head in alone to track them or not at all." Stiyl replied. He stepped part way through the rift before looking back.
He smirked.
"Besides; you're a creative young man. Surely you can figure something out." He then vanished completely into the portal without a trace.
Touma's eyes twitched lightly. Regardless of the circumstances, he knew exactly what had happened.
With Stiyl's abilities, he could have easily done something to keep the beast-man digimon in check; he simply chose not to.
Kamijou Touma was ditched and left to die.
"That bastaaarrrrddddd!" Touma shouted as loud as he could as the BlackWereGarurumon charged at him. Touma was quick to dodge, but the beast-man digimon proved to be faster than he could properly react to, as a follow up kick into Touma's stomach sent the spiky-haired teen flying back.
He wasn't done however as he leapt into the air, intending to stomp down on the unlucky Kamijou. He rolled to the side however just in time, almost slipping off the edge in the process but managed to get back on his feet.
The BlackWereGarurumon ran full speed at him. Suddenly, an iron-ball hit him in the snout and forced him to stop due to the sudden shock.
Dorumon had suddenly appeared from Touma's Digivice and had opted to attack the large monster with its special move, Metal Cannon.
However, other than being an annoyance due to hitting sensitive areas, it did little else to slow down the beast-man digimon, who was quick to dispatch the tiny Dorumon with a quick punch, sending him flying.
As the battle roared on, Keisuke watched from afar.
"…This is bad." Keisuke stated.
"No lie; he's trying to fight an Ultimate-Level Digimon with a Rookie. This is going to get ugly really fast." Chitose spoke over the digiline.
"Our job by all means is complete though…" Erika spoke plainly.
"…Yeah, but a lot of what we've done would be rather useless if his account were to be deleted. He put us through a lot of trouble…" Chitose commented.
"…That is true." Erika admitted. "…Though at this point it should be Keisuke's decision."
"The little lady is right; you're the man in the field. It's your call what happens next." Chitose agreed. Keisuke closed his eyes, weighing his options carefully.
When he opened them again, he had made his decision.
Touma rolled back after a fierce kick sent him flying. BlackWereGarurumon quickly ran after him, chambering a fist, intending to bring it down on top of the unlucky Kamijou.
"Kabuterimon; Electro-Shocker!"
A blast of electricity fired and slammed right into the beast-man digimon's chest, sending him back. Touma blinked in confusion, but had little time to question it as he was suddenly pulled up to his feet.
"Hey, are you alright!?" Keisuke asked.
"Y-you're that guy-"
"A bad time to talk, don't you think!? Kabuterimon; hit him again!" Keisuke ordered. A blue beetle-like Digimon with four arms and four wings flew overhead, launching another electric based attack. However, the BlackWereGarurumon was able to maneuver around it this time, moving to attack again.
At least until a humanoid mass of stones suddenly appeared in his path.
"Golemon; Curse Crimson!" Keisuke ordered. Smoke and fire erupted from the stone-based Digimon's back as it opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of flames right into BlackWereGarurumon's face.
"S-so these guys are yours, aren't they?" Touma asked.
"Yeah; I got one more waiting in the wings… seriously, are you ok?" Keisuke asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine… this is just another Tuesday for me." Touma replied. "Though getting thrashed by a digital werewolf is new…!"
"I have serious questions about your life if THIS is normal!" Keisuke shouted.
"Hah… truth hurts more than fiction… such misfortune…" Touma replied. "…Listen; something weird happened to that big guy over there… it's going to sound crazy, but my right hand can fix it. I just need an opening to hit him. Think you can do that?"
"…No problem." Keisuke had seen enough of recent events to know questioning things at this point was pointless. "Just go; I'll take care of the rest!" Touma nodded and ran forward, racing back toward the BlackWereGarurumon.
The beast-man digimon in question jumped back out of the fire with a loud howl. It attempted to run forward again, but something coiled around his leg.
And before he knew it; that something was wrapped up all around his body. A large blue sea-serpent creature was completely coiled around his body.
"Seadramon! Ice Blast; right in his face!" At Keisuke's word, the sea-serpent digimon reeled its head back before throwing it forward again, unleashing a torrent of freezing breath right into the beast-man digimon's eyes.
BlackWereGarurumon howled loudly; clearly in pain due to the attack. Touma ran straight for him without a hint of slowing down.
In the last minute however, the beast-man digimon was able to throw off Seadramon. One of its eyes opened, focusing right on the unlucky Kamijou as he prepared to throw a punch at him.
Until a single large iron ball shot out of nowhere and slammed right into that open eye, causing the BlackWereGarurumon to cry out in pain.
Dorumon, while injured, was far from finished, and proved such with his final attack right into the beast-man digimon's face.
"Alright; it's time to snap out of it you stupid dog! This is a special wake-up call from me to you!" Touma managed to get in close enough and threw his right fist, slamming it right into the BlackWereGarurumon's side.
The effect was immediate as Imagine Breaker activated: without warning, the beast-man digimon was forcefully reverted into BlackGarurumon instantly, rolling on its side due to the force of the sudden negation.
The BlackGarurumon looked up at the foes surrounding him and promptly ran off, jumping off the edge of the area onto the floating cubes around the area to make its escape. The fight was over.
"…Guess who found it just now it's possible to get exhausted in EDEN? This misfortunate Kamijou, that's who!" Touma fell onto his butt with a heavy sigh.
"Well… that takes care of that… who knows what could have happened if that thing was allowed on a rampage." Keisuke commented. He walked toward the unlucky Kamijou and as he did so, his digimon vanished, seemingly into his Digivice.
"No kidding… thanks for your help. I'd be paste all over the floor if you hadn't of happened by…" Touma stated.
"Oh, that's good; he thinks it's a coincidence. Play along, Keisuke." Chitose spoke on the line. Lucky for the hackers, it was a private call Touma couldn't hear.
"…Sometimes life is like that; help can just pop-up out of nowhere… I have an experience or two with that." Keisuke replied, lightly thinking of his first encounter with Ryuji at the Digimon Market.
"Suppose so… it's been one hell of day, let me tell you." Touma sighed. His Dorumon wandered over and nuzzled into his side.
Dorumon looked beat up; scruffs were visible all over his fur and he noticeably winced when Touma moved to pet him.
"I can take care of that; just a second." Keisuke opened up his console and went tapping away. After a moment, a green aura enveloped the little beast and when it faded, Dorumon was as good as new. He let out a little call before nuzzling Touma's side again, this time with much more vigor in his step.
"…Guess that means you're a hacker, huh? Thanks." Touma stood up, picking up Dorumon to hold him in his arms. "Didn't think a random hacker would willingly help me out though…"
"Not all hackers are bad you know…" Keisuke slipped his hands into his pocket and smiled. "Some of us just use questionable ways to help people; that's all. You should be careful in Kowloon though… at least this little scrap is over…"
"…Over, huh?" Touma looked back toward where the rift had been. Keisuke played dumb; he knew he was referring to the rift that had opened up that his partner ran through.
Touma's response however caught the Hudie-Hacker off guard.
"…Meh, if he was confident enough to pull that stunt, whatever he gets he deserves."
"Eh?" Keisuke blinked.
"Someone I came with ditched me, leaving me to die against that digimon." Touma replied. "If he gets messed up then it's his fault for going alone. Besides… I have no idea where he went, and we didn't exchange numbers, so I don't have a way of contacting him or finding him if I even wanted to chase him down… it's his problem now."
Keisuke continued to blink, careful not to say anything that might top Touma off that he had been following him.
"…This kid has a vindictive side when he's been wronged." Chitose commented.
"I'm siding with him; that red-head was a real piece of work." Erika joined in.
"Anyway… I'm heading home. It's about dinner time and Index will bite me if I don't cook something… considering yesterday was…" Touma shivered, not wanting to relive past trauma.
"Take it easy… em…" Keisuke continued to play the fool; something he was getting really good at.
"Oh, my name is Kamijou Touma." The spiky-haired teen stated.
"Ah, I see! I'm Amazawa Keisuke, weird way to make friends, huh?" The Hudie-Hacker replied.
"No lie… I sent you my contact info; reply if you want to share information. I don't mind returning the favor; I really owe you." Touma replied.
"…I'll keep that in mind. Take care!" Keisuke bid the spiky-haired teen goodbye one last time before he left, heading for the logout terminal.
"…So? Final verdict?" Chitose replied.
"…I can tell he gets involved with a lot of weird stuff, but he seems like a really nice guy… just don't piss him off, I guess?" Keisuke replied.
"Yeah; definitely." Chitose agreed. "Well; I think I understand why Yuugo wants tabs kept on him, for what little its worth. We recorded all of that, and we'll probably get more info in the coming days… seems like this job as complete as it can get, right?"
"…Hrm… magic, huh…?" Erika seemed lost in thought.
"Everything alright over there little lady?" Chitose asked.
"I'm fine; just thinking. I'm going to check on the decryption now." Erika stated. "…And Keisuke; good work." She then disconnected from the call. He didn't know for sure, but Keisuke for some reason imagined her smiling when she said that.
"Well; that's a wrap. Come on back so we can give this information to Ryuji, ok?" Chitose was the next one to disconnect. With little reason to remain, Keisuke logged out without incident after a short walk back to the logout terminal.
What they didn't know was that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
And we have reached the bottom once again.
So now we're diving a little bit more into the meat of things. A cabal causing a ruckus in cyber space! It might be a bit of time before the plot really gets moving, but there will be bits and pieces sprinkled around here and there.
I hope you all enjoyed. Please, review at your leisure; I still enjoy feedback.
Have a good day, my friends!
Sincerely,
ArmoredCoreNineBall, your friendly (not)robotic (not)overlord (possibly)person who occasionally writes things.