Chapter Three -- Chronicle of Knowledge
A Digital Ally and The Legend of the Human World!

It was dark, all he could see were the faint shadows lurking around him. He examined what he could of his surroundings--nothing to block his escape, just an endless expanse, but how could he be sure? Surely they're prepared for that, they'd stop me if I tried to run. I'll just have to fight.

...But no, they don't want me. He realized this now, they only wanted her, his one true love. They had no right! And if they wanted her, that probably meant they wanted her boyfriend as well. Now it all made sense, this was just a mistake. They want her and her boyfriend, they just made the mistake of thinking we were together--as we should be, after all. It's an honest mistake.

They wanted to get in his way, to get between him and her, but he wouldn't let them. I'll kill every last one of them, and then she'll finally realize how amazing I am and we would be together at last. Yes, that's exactly what I'll do!

The darkness closed in around him, but he was ready. Electricity crackled around him. I'll show them my power! I'll do it just for you, my beloved!

---

Will sighed, making his way up another flight of stairs. "Can't they just give me a break?" he muttered to himself. "I use the wrong honorific once, and I'm already the laughingstock of the whole school!" He had fallen into the habit of talking to himself ever since he came to Japan, but since he did so in English most people didn't really pay attention. As an exchange student in a foreign country, he had been having a bit of a rough time. Japanese wasn't his first language, after all.

He reached his floor of the apartment building and quickly found his room. "Bah, I'll get the hang of it sooner or later," he added optimistically, pausing to find his key and open the lock. With his other hand he adjusted his glasses, which always seemed crooked no matter how hard he tried to straighten them. The door swung open. "Maybe they'll forget about it by tomo..."

He froze, his bag slipping off his shoulder and landing on the floor beside him. Sitting on his windowsill was the biggest beetle he had ever seen. "What the hell?" he gasped. "What is that?!" It had a bright red shell with grey spikes all over it, and two sharp looking talons for arms. Two wavy orange antennae stuck out of its head.

The beetle, which had been staring out at the city, turned its head toward him. It stared at him with its huge green eyes. Will stared back. The beetle's eyes whirled and it tapped a talon on the glass gently.

Snapping himself back to his senses, Will took a cautious step toward the window. It doesn't look too dangerous, he thought. I mean, it's just a bug, right?... Well, a giant one... He chuckled nervously. "It didn't know Kyoto had giant beetles like this one..."

The beetle cocked its head slightly. "Kyoto?" it said. Will reeled back.

"It... talks?!" he exclaimed. "Okay, I'm insane, this just isn't possible." He was tempted to run back into the hall and wait for the thing to go away, but... I'm probably not going to ever see something like this again. Maybe I should try and take a picture or something. Perhaps it's some undiscovered species?

He took another step forward, the beetle just stared at him. He took a few more steps closer.

"H-hey!" it shouted, making Will flinch. "Could you let me in please? I... don't like heights." It looked over behind itself. His room was on the fifth floor, so Will could understand that it might be a bit frightening to be up there, but something still didn't make sense.

"Then why did you come up here?" he asked. After saying that, he noticed something else strange. "And why do you speak English? What are you?"

"English?" the insect buzzed curiously. Its antennae shivered, electricity jumping between the ends. It made the situation seem even more strange. I'm talking to giant talking electric bug, I must be insane. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, but I really, really don't like heights... C-can we talk after, please?"

Will hesitated, then sighed deeply. "...Alright, I'll let you in," he replied. "Just don't try anything, okay?" He walked over to the window, and after another hesitant pause he opened it. The beetle fell into the room and let out a cheerful hum.

"Ah, thank you! I'm so glad you came, I was afraid I'd be stuck out there all day!" it buzzed. "You said something about 'Kyoto,' is that what this place is called?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Will replied, staring at the creature. "What exactly are you?"

"Ack, where are my manners? I'm Tentomon." It bowed slightly.

"Uh, I'm William. William Martin."

"Oh, okay! Well, William Martin, I guess I owe you now!" Its eyes seemed to glow slightly. Did that mean he was happy or something?

"Yeah, well anyway," Will said, falling back into a chair, "Maybe you could explain a few things now. First of all, what are you? You're obviously not human."

"Human?!" Tentomon cried, electricity jumping across his antennae again. "Are you saying that you're human? A real human? No joke?!"

Will blinked. "Er, yeah, but--"

"No, that's stupid. Jeez, this stuff is weird and all, but I wasn't stuck out there for that long! I mean really, a human?" The insect chuckled, as if Will being a human was some kind of joke. Will just stared. "Forget it, what were you saying?"

"Uh..." What the hell am I supposed to say to that? He cleared his throat, trying not to seem awkward. "How did you get up on that ledge?"

The creature hummed thoughtfully. "Actually, I don't know, I must have damaged my memory. All I remember before then was walking in the woods."

"That's all? I wonder what's going on here..." He straightened his glasses again, glancing over at the window. "Where are you from?"

"Indra Server, I live on the outskirts of Kobag." Tentomon's eyes flashed. "Ah, did I somehow change servers? I heard that could damage your data, maybe that's what happened!"

"...What are you talking about?" He's talking like some kind of computer. Will stared at the insectoid creature, but it was definitely alive. It can't be a robot, can it? That would explain a lot of things, but...

"What, you didn't know server changes could do that?" Tentomon replied. "It's only a rumour, though. I guess only the Knights would know about that for sure, right?"

"Uh, no, I meant--"

"Anyway, what Server is this? I'm sure if I just report this I'll get sent back. My friends are probably worried about me!"

"Actually--"

"I hope Piyomon's worried." The creature sighed dreamily, "Ahhhh, Piyomon..."

"Hey, would you listen to me?!" He fixed his slanted glasses again, getting a little frustrated. "I don't know what your are or what you're talking about, but this isn't a 'server' or whatever." With a pause, he added, "And I'm human," unsure of what that even meant to the strange beetle in front of him. Tentomon stared blankly, electricity jumping across its antennae.

"...Uhhh?" it buzzed. "But... that's impossible. Really, it just doesn't work that way. I mean, there isn't really a world outside the servers!" Tentomon laughed uneasily, tiny sparks showering from his antennae. "...So, uh, you're just kidding, right?" Will slowly shook his head. "...Ah." A few sparks bounced of the insectoid's head during the brief silence. It tapped a talon gently against its eye, creating a weird static-ripple effect across the surface.

"This is unreal," Tentomon hummed, "But if this isn't a server, then... how am I still functional?" After a pause, it--no, he asked, "Well, what are humans made of?"

Will raised an eyebrow. "Well, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen," he replied, listing off a few of the substances he could remember. He shrugged lightly. "Lots of things."

"So, no data?" The insectoid's eyes flashed again, seeming curious now. "Wow, so the stories must be true! There are non-digital lifeforms out there!" Will chuckled.

"Yeah, same here I guess. I didn't know anything like you existed," he replied. "But what are you? I mean, I know your name is Tentomon, but there must be more creatures like yourself, right?"

The creature's eyes flashed again. "I'm a Digimon, of course!" he exclaimed. Will blinked.

"A...what?"

"Digimon," Tentomon repeated, carefully pronouncing each syllable, "Short for 'Digital Monster'. A Digimon is any digital life form capable of altering or rearranging its data to accommodate its environment."

"Oh, I see," Will replied, pushing up his glasses. "You must be some kind of highly advanced A.I... but you can't be man-made, can you? No, you're more complex than anything I've every heard of..." He trailed off, noticing he had said that out loud. I should probably get rid of that habit. "Uh, sorry."

"The stories I know about humans are limited," the Digimon said, ignoring William's train of thought. "I was always a little suspicious, though, they're all very far fetched. But then again, this doesn't feel the same as a server, and I was sure that non-digital life wasn't real, but here we are!" He buzzed cheerfully, creating a sound that reminded the teen of laughter. "Maybe they're not stories after all!"

Will glanced at his watch--he didn't have anything to do for a while.

"What kind of stories?"

---

"Nemesis Ivy!" cried the small green creature. Its leafy fingers shot forward, wrapping themselves around the waist of its target.

"Is that all you've got?" the boy, no older than fifteen, snickered, a venomous aura in his voice. He grinned, revealing a row of short fangs. "I've seen tulips more threatening than you--Power Paw!"

Golden flames came to life around him, swirling dangerously around his hands. With barely a flick he shredded the vines trapping him, causing his attacker to shriek in pain. Black ash broke off of the ends of the limbs, dispersing into faint digits before fading into oblivion.

"I think this is over," he sighed, flipping back his long silver hair. The inhuman teen folded his arms and leapt into the air, his white-tipped fox tail trailing behind him. "Diamond Storm!" Suddenly, shards of crystal materialized in front of him, their shard edges pointing down at the plant. He let forth another grin and swung open his arms, and on cue the diamonds shot toward their target, ripping it apart. It didn't even have enough time to scream before it was destroyed, nothing left but a few strings of data. He extended an arm as the binary settled around it.

::That was a good kill,:: a female voice said, echoing gently in his mind.

"You're not half bad, you know," the boy replied, examining his arm as the data melted into it, passing through his bracer with ease. It stung slightly, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "I think I'm going to like this power..."

::Good, because I'm not leaving,:: the girl grumbled. ::This isn't about whether or not you like it, I'm not giving you a damn choice here. Now that we've fused there's no turning back--::

Yeah, yeah, I hear you, he chuckled, allowing his voice to remain in his mind this time. Anyway, we better get going. Sooner or later someone's going to show up, and I don't want to explain this to anyone. The other voice sighed.

::Agreed. Fusion and de-fusion work the same way, I think, so just do what you did before to change back.::

Thanks for the tip. Let's go, I'll "drive" this time.

He flexed his hand, examining his attire--a purple fingerless glove with a yin-yang symbol on it, covered by a metal blue guard that covered his forearm. Jagged blue armor covered his chest and shoulders, and every twitch of his ear reminded him that they were now long and pointed. The tail was another dead-giveaway--he wasn't human anymore. Well, not completely. He still had the overall appearance of a human, but from the strange markings covering his skin to his fox-like features he doubted he would be treated like anything less than a monster.

Still, he shrugged it off. What did it matter, anyway? Taking a step into the shadows, he disappeared into the night, leaving behind no trace of their fight but a few wrecked flowerbeds and some scorched earth.

---

The loud beeping of an alarm clock forced Will awake. He groaned, slamming his hand down on the snooze button. "Shut up, clock," he muttered before slipping back into a daze.

"Heeeey! Get up, Will! You've been sleeping for hours!"

He jumped awake, scrambling for his glasses. "Who the..." Suddenly, the previous day's events came rushing back to him. He sighed, falling back into his bed. "Oh, it's you, Tentomon. You scared me."

"Of course it's me!" the Digimon buzzed, antennae sparking. "I'm the only other one here!"

Will found his glasses on the bed stand and put them back on, scratching his head tiredly as he recalled the situation. "I guess you still haven't found your way home, then."

"Of course not, I doubt it'd be that easy," the insectoid replied. "I'm sure I'll figure it all out, though. It looks like I'm not the only one who showed up here."

"Well, that's good," Will said. He paused. "...Wait, what?! There are more Digimon around here?!" Tentomon nodded.

"I saw it on the TV. It doesn't look like the other humans are very pleased about it. Those Digimon weren't acting very nice, though."

The teen took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead. "And what does that mean, exactly? What were they doing?"

"Attacking the humans. It didn't look like many of them could fight back, either, but there were also some weird Digimon that were fighting the other ones. I couldn't name them, though some of them were familiar--"

"The hell is going on?!" William stood up, pacing in front of his bed. A friendly alien bug popping up in his apartment was one thing, but this sounded like an all-out war.

"I don't know, but I don't like this either," Tentomon hummed quietly, a few more sparks shooting off his head. "Without Devas to keep order, who knows what will happen? Not to mention, how is anyone going to get home? There might even be some humans in the Digital World for all we know."

"This is a disaster... I'm going to go check some news sites, maybe we'll find something."

"Oh, uh, about that," the insectoid Digimon muttered sheepishly. "You know that laptop that you showed me? I, uh, I kinda reprogrammed it..."

Will stopped and looked at Tentomon. "You did what?" He sighed, just resting his head against the door frame. "Great. Well, I hope it does something useful, then."

"Not yet, but I'm working on that," the Digimon continued. "You see, it's a lot like the technology we have in Indra Server, so I thought maybe if I made some changes I could create a link, but... well, it isn't picking anything up but static. I'd put it back the way it was but I don't know how, sorry."

"Don't worry, it was old anyway," the human said, giving the creature a forgiving smile. I really did like that laptop, though. Gahh, all my files!

"Well, I'll make it up to you someday, I promise!" the bug buzzed. "You're already helping me enough, anyway. I hate leaving unpaid debts. So you just wait, I'll make it up to you big time!"

"Okay, enough," Will chuckled, amused by Tentomon's sudden enthusiasm. "You don't owe me anything, so don't worry about it. I don't mind helping."

"Ohhhh, you're too nice, Will, too nice!"

Now wide-awake, the teen slipped on his blue jacket and checked his watch. It was Saturday, so he wouldn't have to worry about school. "I'm going to head down to a cyber cafe, so you just stay here, okay? I don't know how people would react if they found you wandering the streets or something like that, so just wait here until I get back. Got that?"

"Yep, I got it! Don't worry, I'll stay right here!"

"Good, I'll be back in a couple hours. Help yourself to to anything in the fridge if you want."

"Okie-dokie! See you later Will!"

He smiled, then slipped on his shoes and stepped out the door, locking it behind him. "Tentomon better not run off anyway," he mused. "I don't think the neighbours would appreciate finding a huge bug thing in the building." With a quiet chuckle, he headed down the first flight of stairs and off to the nearest cyber cafe.

---

In the beginning, the Digital World was a paradise. There was no hatred, violence, or deceit, and all lived in harmony with one another. Ruled by the gods, Digimon lived without any fear or sadness.

Then, seven mysterious beings appeared in the Digital World. They carved the world to their desires and corrupted it, filling it with despair and placing it in the clutches of their dark master. The world became twisted and vile, friends turning against each other and chaos erupting across the lands. The great evil and its servants fed on the pain and suffering they had caused and grew ever stronger, and soon nothing could stand up to their might.

But just when all hope had been lost, the humans appeared from a distant realm. They held a strange power, one that allowed them to resist the influence of the demons. They breathed hope back into the world, and with their power the Digimon grew stronger and rebelled against their false king. The evil was overcome, and the humans slipped back into their realm, never to be heard of again. The demons were sealed in the core of the Digital World, to suffer the rest of their days in pure pain just as they had inflicted on so many others.

A droplet of the humans' power was left behind, and from it was born Culumon, the prince of light who shined as a beacon of hope to the world. From his presence the Primary Oak sprouted and grew, creating the Calu Server from its great roots and branches of rebirth. Its immense power brought the lost ones from the dead and refilled the Digital World with life.

However, the demons left their mark. The damage had been done, and the paradise lost forever. The gods faded away, using their dying breaths to create the Twelve Devas to protect the world in their stead. The chaos had been weakened, but not eliminated, for despite their best efforts it would flicker forward for a moment, bringing destruction in its wake before dancing off again into the shadows; a terrible monster that fed on hatred and woe, but it was now a burden the world would have to bear.

The gateway between the humans' world and the Digital World was shut, and a guardian placed before the gate to keep out intruders. Great rivers and oceans formed between the two dimensions to separate them forever, and the worlds were isolated, never to touch again.