Worm Protocol 2.1: Groundwork

Location: Earth Bet, Brockton Bay, New Hampshire

Date: August 15, 2010. 10:00 AM

"You're going to "School," Idiot Student," Master said as he kicked the door open, and arms laden with groceries. Not his usual greeting, but I had received weirder. Most of those were the beginnings of incidents I had sworn to never mention again. Would this be similar?

I looked up from the book I was reading. "Master, I didn't know humans knew High Coding?"

"No, not the School the Wizardmon run, from what I've gathered it's much more boring. You'll learn stuff like how and why the humans have killed each other, and stuff involving numbers." He put down the groceries on the small table in our room.

"But why? I can learn whatever humans know in about five minutes, just give me access to a computer!"

"Well there's a couple reason. Apparently, it's odd for humans under the age of twenty not to go to this "School" of theirs. Two, I will not have you sitting on your ass for five months while the rest of us are working." 'Because, of course, that's your job.' I mentally added, suppressing the smirk out of long habit. Thought he still glared. "Three, out of all of us—even Crusadermon, and that is saying something—you understand human's the least, and that right there, Idiot Student, is something that's going to change." Drat, he was set on this.

"Okay, what do I need to do?" Humans probably didn't let just anyone into this school of theirs.

"As you said just five seconds ago, you will go to the computer and learn everything the average "sophomore" does."

"Sophomore?" I asked, humans had really weird names for things. Really, "Clever Fool"? Master must be having a field day.

"Yes, apparently this High-School you will be going to is split up into four years. First years are called Freshman. The second years are called Sophomores. The third years are called Juniors, and the Fourth Years are called Seniors. By the way, Idiot Student, catch," he said as he flung a canister at my head. In an instant, Por had manifested above my head responding to the unknown object piercing it and spilling a sticky brown liquid on me. "That is going to stop right now."

"You being an asshole? Because this stuff on me suggests differently." I snapped.

"No, Idiot Student, I meant your dependence on your constructs when you're in human form to defend yourself." I was not agreeing to that, though I did note he hadn't denied being an asshole. "Apparently, humans at the ages of sixteen and seventeen are like you when you were BaoHuckmon."

"So kind, respectful, and thoughtful?" I asked with total sincerity, while running my hands through my hair trying to get the substance out.

"No you were never like that. I remember you trying to stab me in the face after I sent you on that errand. You were such a troublesome student." He said that like it only happened once. Then again, there was only one he ever bothered to mention.

"That probably had something to do with the "errand" you sent me on being stealing that Kuwagamon's honey. They chased me through three forests, and I almost died!" I retorted. "And all just so you could eat it."

"Nonsense, Idiot Student, didn't you learn Evasion, Tactics, and Endurance? Me actually eating that honey was just an unexpected bonus," he said with a wistful tone of voice as if remembering the taste, the bastard. "Anyways, Idiot Student, the fact of the matter is humans can't manifest rip offs of Himukamuy, so no bringing your three pets, and no putting humans through walls or breaking their legs, their species is very fragile."

"No they're not! One punched out Yggdrasil's avatar! There is no way I was leaving Atho, Rene, and Por and going to an unknown location with multiple beings of that power!"

"First off, Idiot Student, If the human known as Marcus Daimon is considered an average human, I doubt the Abomination would be a problem. It also makes that attack even dumber than it turned out to be. Second, tough shit! Not only am I ordering you to leave them behind, Duftmon is as well!"

All fight in me died at that statement. Duftmon out of all of us had been the most helpful during our time here. He had made our identities, helped Gallantmon, or Kaji as he was known as, set up the bakery, and had made sure the knights could get various jobs. Even getting Gankoomon a job at the local dojo, which Master needed so he didn't go stir crazy.

"Okay, okay, I get it! Just what is this school called anyway?" I asked tiredly

"Should I be offended that it's Duftmon that gets you to agree and not your amazing teacher?"

He ignored my cough of, "Minotarumonshit."

"Anyway, it's called Winslow High, Moronic Student, and tomorrow morning you will be Shawn Kim son of the great Gary Kim," he continued, ignored the gagging sound I made at the "great", "and will begin your human life as a ordinary high school student."

Brockton Bay General Hospital 3 pm

Magnamon P.O.V

I looked at the chief of medicine in front of me. He was a short man with white hair on top of his head, he had a wide grin on his face.

"My name is Bob Kelso, and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Brockton General Hospital. I hope one such as yourself will become a fully licensed doctor again, Mr. Villa."

"Neither can I Dr. Kelso." I was lying through my teeth. I had rarely healed, and I had simply picked this occupation so I could observe the parahumans here. I shook his hand, careful not to put too much pressure on it.

"Here let me introduce you to your fellow co-workers." As we navigated around the halls I noticed a lack of patients lying in the beds, obvious evidence of the fact that a parahuman healer worked here. The human noticed my glance to the empty beds beside us.

"Oh, I assume you're curious about the lack of patients. That's the work our resident healer, Amy Dallon or Panacea."

""Panacea," or a fix to all ills. Appropriate for a healer. I've heard about her, I said although I'm wondering why I'm even needed here when you have such a miracle worker."

At this his smile became strained. It seemed I had touched a nerve. "Although, Mrs. Dallon has great power she is still just a teenage girl, and as such can't be in two places at once. Unfortunately, you will still have plenty of work here," Soon enough, we entered the right wing of the hospital where many beds were filled. But not only that I could feel it. I restrained my urge to shift to my digital form, and eradicate the mere presence of the Abomination.

"Ahh, there she is right over there." She looked small was the first thing I noticed about her. There was no expression on her face as she put her hand on a patient and I assumed that she healed them. Was she bored, or just tired?

"Mrs. Dallon, let me please introduce you to our newest employee, Mr. Villa."

As I walked up to her I could make out more of her features, a face with freckles was overshadowed by curly locks of brown hair. The shadows under her eyes took away from her appearance though.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dallon." I offered my hand, crushing the urge to destroy the Abominations presence once again. "I hope I can be of help to this hospital."

"I'm sure you will be, Mr. Villa." she replied forcing a small smile to her face.

Brockton Bay Knights Apartment Complex

11:00 PM

Duftmon P.O.V

I was scouring the webs at a staggering speed. Tracking down the world's history, the parahumans that inhabited it, and any footage that I could find on the Abomination played across my eyes. I saw it get arrested for nudity. I saw it calm a hurricane with that same golden blast that had almost destroyed my God. Nothing, that revealed a weakness. Even these Endbringers were driven off by it, but it never pursued them. It made no sense. I tried to decipher its goal. Its presence in the parahumans gave away that the human's powers were from it, but it merely went around the world saving people, yet never taking out the largest threats when it could.

I rubbed my hands against my face what was I missing? I forced myself to focus, perhaps I was looking at this from the wrong angle. I pulled up the files on the parahumans again, and went over them. Interesting, Case 53's were a deviance from the normal parahumans unlike their other brethren. They took on inhuman appearances when they gained powers, but that wasn't my main point of interest. Most case 53's that appeared shared a similar story, they had no memory and without fail they had a brand of a C tattooed on them. I ran the symbol through an search function. It was a greek symbol, but that wasn't the main selling point, "What's Cauldron?" I muttered as I ran the name through the world's database… I stared blankly at the screen. Omnimon needed to know about this immediately.

End 2.1

So this arc isn't going to be action-oriented it's mostly going to be laying the groundwork for sub-plots, and establishing the knights as actual characters rather than the villains every digimon series likes to portray them as it seems