Chapter 6: Those Who Came!
In the real word, an unoccupied computer monitor, somewhere in Australia, illuminated a dark room, a new message icon flashing brightly. The message was from Yggdrasil, and it had been sent to player of the Digital World game whose username was "Sapphire-Phoenix".
Meanwhile, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, a jet flew just over a violent storm as headed towards the continent and country of Australia. Even above the clouds the sky was black, the only light being the stars above. It was very late, or early depending on how you put it, in Japan the clocks would read almost four in the morning. The plane sifted violently as it experienced turbulence, waking a few of the sleeping passengers inside.
One of these passengers was a boy who appeared to be about age 16. His hair was so messy it was hard to determine if it was more red or brown. It was short, so it didn't cover his blue eyes. He wore a short-sleeved navy blue polo shirt with two yellow stripes up the sides, along with a white T-shirt underneath. His pants were long black cargo pants that completely covered his white socks, which were also hidden inside his dark blue sneakers.
The boy looked out the window and heaved a deep sigh, trying to close his eyes again, but unable to.
"What's wrong, Brandon?" a female voice asked, the voice seemingly coming from a woman behind him.
"Nothing, mom," the boy replied. "I just can't sleep. So much for a smooth ride!"
"It was worth the trip though, wasn't it?" his mom asked. "You had fun visiting grandma and grandpa, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I guess," Brandon sighed. "I just feel like there's something else I should be doing right now."
A few hours passed by, and in the Digital World, the humans and their Digimon partners began to stir; or at least, most of them. The Digital World was round like the Real World, so the time zones were different as well. However, if a person in Japan played with someone from the United States, and if the player from Japan visited an area that would represent the United States, the Japanese player would experience the same time of day in the game as the player from the United States.
The areas where most of the humans that came to the Digital World landed were chosen based on nearby areas that the players had gone to when Nero first sent out the Digivices. So, even if they had gone to other sectors afterwards, they would still end up back where they were originally. Naturally, they only landed in areas in the same sector, the actual location varied.
As Nero and the others awoke, stretching themselves out, Nero took out his Digivice and was surprised to find that twelve people, including himself, were already in the Digital World. Nero remembered the events from the previous day and was relieved to find out that they had not come under attack during the night.
"We should get going!" he announced. "Who knows when the virus will launch another attack!"
"Can't we get something to eat first?" asked Agumon.
Nero sighed, knowing that eating something would be a good idea. Still, Agumon ate the most out of everyone the previous night, Veemon coming in second. Dorumon would've probably eaten a lot as well if he had not been in Nero's presence.
"Why did I program you guys to eat so much?" he mumbled.
Alex and Aimi both giggled at Nero's expression. Meanwhile, near the border of the current sector and the next, in an area known as the Dragon Spring Mountains, one boy was still asleep inside of a cave.
The Dragon Spring Mountains consisted of fairly weak Digimon for a border, but most players still avoided the area. Truth be told, the Digimon that could be considered the area's boss was Gaiomon, a Mega-level Digimon. Very few, if any at all, players currently had Digimon with enough power to take down a Mega on their own, and finding others of a strong enough level to help was difficult. Still, Gaiomon did not care if any players were in the area, and would even allow passage if they asked him for it, so long as the players could resist the urge to obtain the powerful items that he guarded. Most boss-level Digimon had some kind of powerful item that could be obtained if beaten.
In addition, Gaiomon was also the guardian of the Dragon Springs Village, which housed several young dragon-type Digimon. Gaiomon would attack any player that tried to enter the village if he viewed them as untrustworthy.
The boy inside of the cave remained sound asleep. He looked to be about Brandon's age, and he wore what looked like a school uniform, though gray instead of blue or red. He looked quite strong for his age. His hair was black, and it was neither long nor short.
A Digimon approached the boy, a Ryudamon to be precise. Ryudamon was a yellow dinosaur-like Digimon, almost like a young raptor. The Digimon covered its back with a thick black armor with purple laces running through it. The Digimon also wore a bronze helmet with a red jewel on top, covering most of its long brownish-red hair that was tied in a ponytail. Ryudamon also wore a pair of armored gloves with open slots for the claws.
"Hikaru-sama, wake up," the Digimon said in a kind female voice.
The boy did not stir, causing Ryudamon to try shaking him while calling his name at the same time. The boy simply turned on his side and waved his hand in his sleep, trying to signal the Digimon to leave him alone. Ryudamon heaved a sigh and tapped him in the back of the head with the back of her armored glove. The glove was hard, resulting in the boy quickly getting up and grabbing the back of his head.
"Glad to see you're finally awake, Hikaru Kusanagi," Ryudamon stated.
"What the heck was that for?!" Hikaru growled.
"We need to get moving, Hikaru-sama!" Ryudamon replied.
Ryudamon used the Japanese honorific "-sama" to show Hikaru respect and show him that she served him. The fact that she had earlier used his full name meant that she was slightly annoyed with him.
"All right," Hikaru groaned as he stood up and brushed himself off. He took a looked at his Digivice and saw that three of the dots were already together. He assumed that the others would head there as well. "Guess we should head west."
"Very well," Ryudamon responded.
"Think we could stop for some breakfast on the way?" Hikaru asked.
"That would be wise," answered Ryudamon, causing Hikaru to believe that she was hungry too.
By the time mid-day had arrived, Nero and the others had also begun their trip through the Training Forest, already nearing the end. They fought a few wild Digimon for experience, but most seemed to avoid them, sensing the strength of the three powerful Digimon. Nero remembered the events from before they left, when Wizardmon and the In-Training Digimon wished them luck and said their good-byes. Nero carried a sack on his back that had been given to them by Wizardmon, food for later. Agumon continuously trailed behind him.
"Keep doing that and you'll be the last to get ANY food when we finally do eat," Nero told him.
"Sorry, Lord Yggdrasil," Agumon apologized.
In another sector of the Digital World, in one of the oceans to be precise, a boy that appeared to be at least 18 was travelling in a small boat across the water. The boat was more like a small ferry, carrying a few other Digimon as well. The wind blew through his short blonde hair, allowing his blue eyes to show clearly on his face. He currently wore a plain red and white sweater, the sleeves rolled up, and long black pants.
"Aren't you hot wearing that?" a female voice from behind him questioned.
The boy looked back and saw a green, vividly colored tropical fish-like Digimon traveling in the water. The Digimon had a red mouth and teeth of a piranha, though the look in its big yellow eyes suggested that it was quite friendly.
"I'm fine, Swimmon," the boy assured.
"You don't look all that fine, Aaron," the Digimon replied. "Once we get to Lava Resort Island, we're getting you some new clothes!"
"Would you prefer it if I changed back into a suit?" Aaron asked in a sarcastic tone. "By the way, what kind of a name is Lava Resort Island? It doesn't sound that peaceful."
"Lava Resort Island is tourist attraction for Digimon everywhere," Swimmon explained. "It has an active volcano, but it's designed to only send lava away from the town. It's a very low-class volcano, but it creates enough lava to expand the size of the island by an inch or so every year."
Aaron took a look at his Digivice and saw that there was someone on the island. In fact, that's the main reason they took the detour trip instead of a direct trip to the main land.
"Think the infamous Yggdrasil is on that island?" Aaron wondered.
"Doubt it," Swimmon answered. "Still, it would be good to meet up with whoever is. They might need some help."
Back on Lava Resort Island, Sandra and Dracmon had entered the city region of the island. Sandra looked at her Digivice and saw that someone was heading in her direction.
"So, what should we do while we wait?" Sandra wondered.
"There's a restaurant over there!" Dracmon alerted, pointing towards the end of a street. "Let's grab something to eat."
"All right, but you better not get us a kicked out," Sandra replied. Sandra took out a small wallet and opened it. "One question, how am I supposed to pay for all of this? I don't know if real money will work here."
"Don't you have any Digidollars on your account?" Dracmon questioned.
"Well, yeah, but I don't know how to…" said Sandra, stopping when she saw Dracmon put up his finger in an effort to signal her to stop.
"That Digivice you hold should have your memory stored for that kind of information," Dracmon informed. "Any other Digimon you might have had in the game have been stored on a server in a sleeping state. You can't access them from here. However, you can access any items or money you had by tapping it on the menu on your Digivice. There is one catch, once you withdraw something, you can't put it back, so only take it out if you need it."
"I understand," Sandra replied, a bit surprised by Dracmon's knowledge.
In yet another sector of the Digital World, in a small old-western kind of saloon, a young girl about 9 years old was seen helping set up some tables. The saloon was located in Sand Town, a town that got its name from being located in the middle of a desert. This was not the same area that Zaki and PawnChessmon were located in. In fact, both of them were now in an open field-like area beyond the desert they first appeared in. The saloon itself contained a small inn on the second and third floor.
The girl had long brown hair that went to her shoulders, her skin pale and eyes brown. She wore a white tank top with a light blue short-sleeved, zipped-up jacket. In addition to that, she wore faded denim jeans and white socks with white sneakers.
As she did her work, her partner sat on a stool, talking to a Digimon shaped like a silver star; he was known as Starmon. The strange thing about her partner was that her partner Digimon was Veemon, not the same Veemon that was partners with Alex, but a different one.
"Thanks again, Starmon," Veemon said to Starmon.
"Hey, don't mention it," Starmon replied. "You're just taking care of your human partner, something I never thought I'd see in this world. I admire your dedication to protect her, the least I can do is offer you a room and food until you meet up with the others you mentioned."
"Jillian, you don't have to do that anymore!" Veemon called to his partner. "Starmon says you've done more than enough to help already!"
"It's all right, Ms. Jill," Starmon added. "Please, come and have a snack before customers start showing up."
The girl's name was Jillian Parker, though most people called her "Jill".
"All right!" she said, walking over.
Jillian and Veemon began eating some special soup that Starmon had given them.
"Digitamamon spent a while on this one," Starmon informed. "How's it taste?"
"Tell him not to change a thing," Veemon replied.
"It's delicious!" Jill complimented.
"So then, how are old are you, little lady?" asked Starmon, trying to start a conversation.
"I'm nine," Jill answered truthfully, sounding a bit depressed. "To be honest, my brother should be the one here instead of me. The Digivice came out of the computer while I was using his account. I didn't even tell him or my mom where I was going. I'm sure they're worried about me."
"Yes, Veemon told me already," Starmon responded in a kind tone, hearing more than what he asked.
"Don't worry, Jill! I'll protect you!" Veemon promised.
"You two may here as long as you like," Starmon told the Digimon and his partner. "Helping me won't be necessary anymore, though I would appreciate if you became Digitamamon's taste-testers."
"That sounds like a fair deal," Veemon agreed.
Fortunately for them, another human was in the sector, the opposite end and heading their way. It was an 18 year-old boy, though he was a bit short for his age, only 5 ½ feet tall. He had short and spiked hair, dirty blonde with auburn highlights. He wore a very fancy-looking blue buttoned shirt, the sleeves about mid-length. He also wore long white pants with gold-colored stripes going down the sides.
The boy was sweating a bit, only natural from walking in the desert. Luckily for him, or maybe not so lucky, it would be dark in a few hours.
"You're not helping!" he shouted as he felt the heat near him increase.
To his right was a Digimon that resembled a candle with arms and a face, the top slightly melted. Perched upon the wick atop his head was a flame with a face as well. The flame was actually the Digimon's Digi-Core, and blowing it out would kill it.
"How exactly am I supposed to help you, Conrad?" the Digimon asked. "I'm a candle, something used for light and heat."
"You can start by getting me to the nearest town, Candlemon!" the boy complained. "My clothes are going to smell like sweat after this!"
"Perhaps if you stopped barking orders and started walking, we could get there before sundown!" the Digimon retorted. "I'm trying to get you there quickly, but you keep complaining about everything."
Conrad looked up towards the sun in the sky. He heaved a sigh and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm.
"You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "The heat's just getting to me."
As the sun began to set off in the distance, and everyone in the various areas began getting ready for the fast-approaching night, Conrad and Candlemon had managed to make it to Sand Town.
Meanwhile, Belphemon was slowly gathering up his forces in his sector, the same sector Nero and the others were in. The amount of time before he would make his move was slowly running out.
