(DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Digimon franchise, the digimon featured in this story, or the lyrics of the songs I use so you can go on YouTube and listen to them. All I own are the humans characters, and the concept of "Chronotic Energy.")

Time for the first (or is it second?) official arc to Digimon Chrono! I just want to say thanks to all of you that read the filler chapter. And yes, I admit that it's filler, but hey, these characters deserve it!

Seriously, this arc is gonna get crazy.

Now, without further adieu, time for episode 9... of DIGIMON: CHRONO!

...

EPISODE 9: Journey to the Digital World!

[Saturday, September 24, 2016]

[3:10 PM]

"That is the last time you are ever getting soda again, Shoutmon," I angrily growled as I dragged my struggling digimon partner by the tail with my left hand inside my house, with him squirming and trying to get free.

"Come on, let me go!" Shoutmon complained, trying to struggle himself free. "This is unfair!"

"What's unfair," I said back to him, "is me with a freaking bite on my hand and having to explain that to my parents, which will most likely mean I have to go to the hospital." I looked at my right hand, which was still bleeding greatly from when Shoutmon bit me.

You don't want to know that story.

"Maybe something in the soda is what caused you and Hawkmon to go cuckoo-bananza. It must be the caffeine."

"There is nothing wrong with me," Shoutmon fought back. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Tell that to my hand," I responded as I threw him onto my bed. "I think what you need right now is a good, long nap."

"But I'm not tired!" Shoutmon complained. "You can't make me sleep, you can't-"

He didn't get to finish. I punched him in the face so hard, he was knocked out immediately. Chrono-strength can come in handy, in most cases.

I sighed, and sat down next to the sleeping Shoutmon on my bed. I got out my phone and started texting Seina.

Me: Hey. Just brought shoutmon home and put him in bed. You?

A minute or so later, I got a response.

Seina: Still trying to chase Hawkmon. You do not want to know what he's doing.

Huh? That statement just wanted me to know more.

Me: I think I do. Cmon tell me.

Seina: He's constantly shaking his butt at me and taunting me.

This made me break down in a fit of giggles and quiet laughter, in hopes of not waking up Shoutmon. The self-concentration for that was extremely difficult, though.

Me: Huh. Very un-Hawkmon thing to do. He usually acts fancy.

Seina: He's not fancy. He's just very polite, and has proper manners. That soda is definitely doing something to him. Never making that mistake again.

Me: Knock him out the first chance you get, and wait until he wakes up. Should bring him back to normal.

Seina: Thanks adrian :)

Seina: Oh crap hes running into traffic ill call u later

That last message made me giggle a little bit. The soda must've made the digimon stupid as well. Hawkmon, of all digimon, to run out into traffic willingly? I would pay to see that video.

Oh, that's right, my hand is still bleeding. Damn Shoutmon. I went into the bathroom and searched for something I could wrap around my hand. Luckily, I found some gauge, and there was just enough to cover the bite and stop the bleeding. Now to wait until my parents ask about why my hand is bandaged and red soaked.

That's going to be so much fun.

I laid down on my bed with my feet touching the carpet, and rested my eyes. Chasing Shoutmon around actually kind of drained me a little bit.

Ten minutes later, however, my phone rang. I looked at it and saw that it was a text from Connor.

Connor: Hey, man! Got Shouts yet?

Shouts? Oh yeah, Shoutmon. Is he really going to call him that?

Me: Yeah, but I had to whack him just to knock him out. Fingers crossed he'll be normal again when he comes to.

Connor: Oh, that's great! I wanted to see if you needed any help. I just finished showing Dorumon this epic jump close to my house.

Me: No i dont need it. Seina might tho. She just texted me how hawkmon was running into upcoming traffic.

Connor: Whoa, thanks for telling me. I better get going to her. Catch ya later, adri.

After this point, I turned off my phone so no one could disturb me, and lied down on the bed so I could take a nap. A nap sounded like a good idea at the time.

...

[9:21 PM]

I was just sitting on my bed, looking at Facebook on my smartphone when Shoutmon finally started to come to.

"Feeling better now?" I asked Shoutmon after he woke up from his surprising nearly six hour nap.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," Shoutmon said, rubbing the back of his head. He turned and looked at me, confused. "Was I sick or something? Why are you asking me that?"

"You don't remember?" I asked. "Anything about the movie?"

"No, not a thing," Shoutmon answered. "All I remember is taking a sip of that soda, and everything's a total blur after that."

"Well, you're never having soda again, that's for sure. But don't worry, we'll see a movie again sometime."

Shoutmon started to laugh. "What happened today reminds me of a time back in the digital world, when it was still a beautiful place. I was with my sister at the time, and despite being underaged, I conviced her to come with me to this one bar. That night has long since left my memory, and the only thing I remembered after that was waking up in a random Renamon's bathroom, while I was wearing a blue speedo." Shoutmon continued to laugh. "She literally throws me out, and I see Musimon hanging from a telephone wire. We still have no idea what happened."

I began laughing along with Shoutmon. "Wow, that's some pretty crazy story," I said. "It sounds like you had a good life back in the digital world."

"Well, the life of a pop star is automatically a good life."

"Oh yeah, you were a pop star back in the digital world," I stated. "Can you sing me a song right now?"

"Oh, definitely," Shoutmon nodded with a huge smile. He got off of the bed and walked to the center of the room as he switched back into his disguised form, so that my parents couldn't hear him. He summoned his microphone staff, and began to sing.

"Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you,

Go see the world 'cause it's all so brand new,

Don't close your eyes, 'cause your future's ready to shine!

It's just a matter of time

Before we learn how to FLYYYYYY!

WELCOME to the rhythm of the NIIIIGHT!

There's something in the air you can't DENYYYYYyyyy!

It's been fun but now I've got to go!

Life is way to short to take it slow!

But before I go and hit the ro-o-oad,

I gotta knoooow... 'til then,

When can we do this again?

(Oh oh oh oh)

When can I see you again?

(Oh oh oh oh)

When can we do this again?

(Oh oh oh oh)

I gotta KNOOOOW... WHEN CAN I SEE YOU AGAIN?"

Wow... no wonder he was a pop star. Shoutmon has an amazing voice! I could definitely see him on a big stage, with thousands of adoring fans cheering for him.

"WHOOO!" I cheered as I gave him a standing ovation, which he responded by bowing. "That was amazing, Shoutmon!"

"Thanks, Adrian," Shoutmon said, his face blushing. "But I wasn't alone during my days as a singer. I had my sister with me, and we were stars together We were an unbreakable duo. You should've heard us both sing!"

"Musimon... that's your sister, right?" I asked him. "From your world?"

"Yes, she is," Shoutmon confirmed, slowly nodding his head. "I lost her during the first day of Zsalm's attack. We were trying to escape the city, but we were cornered by some of Zsalm's first followers."

"And... do you know what happened to her?"

"That's the thing... I'm not entirely sure. She may have been corrupted, because the last time I saw her, she was covered in that dark mist. But she may also be dead as well, as Zsalm treats his followers as disposable helping machines."

Wow... Shoutmon's life was pretty much perfect, and then Zsalm attacked. His life fell apart along with every other digimons'. And to add insult to injury, he lost his own sister. If Aaron had just suddenly disappeared, I'd feel extremely crappy as well. But then, I got an idea.

"Shoutmon?" I asked. "You say you think Musimon's been corrupted, right?"

"Either that," Shoutmon said, "or she's dead. But yes, that's what I said."

"Well, if she is just corrupted, then we can go and save her. We can literally absorb and destroy Zsalm's corruption from other digimon. We can go into your world, and-"

"Go where?!" Shoutmon suddenly yelled, making me flinch in fear.

"Y-y-your world?" I stammered. Shoutmon then pushed me onto the bed, and hopped onto my torso.

"You listen to me," Shoutmon warned me. "My world is an inhabitable landscape now. Going there will SURELY get us either killed, or ending up as one of Zsalm's minions. We will NOT be going into the digital world, by any means. Got that?"

"But what about your sister?" I asked. "Surely, you have to be worried about her. She's one of Zsalm's minions somewhere, and we can save her. Don't you want to do that?"

"Musimon would've wanted me to live on," Shoutmon responded, "instead of getting myself killed. There is no way I am going back to the digital world, unless it is with a huge army to defeat Zsalm. And like I said, she could be dead, and we risked our lives for nothing. Are we clear?"

So, what I got was that this guy would rather hide like a coward instead of going to save his sister? The only blood family he has left?

"Oh, that is so rich, coming from you," I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Remember when we first met? And I refused to help you because I didn't want to die? Well, guess what? That's what you're doing now."

"This is completely different, Adrian."

"How so? You told me we eventually have to fight Zsalm anyways."

"When we're READY! We are clearly not ready yet."

"You know what? Let's just sleep on it. I'm not in the mood for another fight. Thanks for the song, Shoutmon. Now goodnight." Before he could respond, I was under the covers and beginning to fall asleep.

...

I slowly open my eyes and saw that I was not in my room anymore. Instead, I was in some weird, dark place. It was nothing but grey, concrete-like dirt for miles, with dark purple clouds acting as a sky.

I immediately got up with amazing speed and looked around. Where was I? And how did I get here? Oh, where is Shoutmon when you need him?

"Hello?" I called out. Obviously, there was no response. "Is anyone out there? I... I'm pretty sure I'm lost."

"Oh, don't worry about that, young Adrian," I suddenly heard a dark, deep, menacing voice. It seemed to come from everywhere at once. I slowly backed up after hearing this voice.

"Who... who are you?" I asked, trying so sound as confident as I could, even though I was truly terrified.

"Oh, there's no need to hide it. I know you're afraid. I can sense it. Smell it. FEEL it." As I was backing up, I felt a tap on my right shoulder. That caused me to nearly piss and shit myself, as well as turn around.

The monster was truly horrifying. It was as big as two Greymon, and seemed to be made of what the sky was made of, except... darker. His eyes and mouth were bright yellow, while his nose was bright orange, and looked a lot like a nose a lizard would have.

A very, VERY horrifying lizard.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked this creature.

"I am known as Zsalm," it began to say, starting to rub his hands, which looked like claws more than anything. "But I am confident that you have heard of me, no?"

Oh fuck. Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. This was Zsalm, the thing Shoutmon despises so much. And now I see why. This guy was so ugly.

"I'm sorry, but can I see your face please?" I asked Zsalm. "Your butt's nice and all, but I'd rather talk to the other end."

This was pretty much a mistake on every level. Zsalm growled in anger at my stupid joke and smacked me with his right claw, which sent me flying a few dozen feet back.

"Owwww... was my joke seriously that bad?" As soon as I got up, I was greeted by that same ugly face yet again. I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut this time.

"Oh? Got nothing to say this time?" Zsalm teased. "No jokes?"

"Look, assface," I told him, "what the hell and I doing here? And what do you want with me?"

"Oh, you're perfectly fine," Zsalm said. "I am just invading your dreams for a quick moment to tell you something... of dire importance."

Dire importance? "What the fuck did you do?" I growled at the being.

"Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions," Zsalm chuckled. "I'm not going to do anything to your little Chrono-League friends... yet." Suddenly, a weird portal appeared, floating above the palm of his left claw, which he lowered down to me. "...but that also leaves your friends oblivious to the digital world in my hands." The portal then showed something I was not expecting, or wanting, to see.

It was Jessie, locked up in a cage, trying her hardest to try and break out.

"YOU LET HER GO RIGHT NOW, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I screamed, summoning my sword.

"Please, that toothpick wouldn't even give me a cut," Zsalm bragged. "I can wipe you out in two swipes. But, there is a way you can save her..."

"Tell me! NOW!" This freak was not going to hurt my friend. AT ALL.

"What I want you to do is bring me the heads of your digimon friends. Then we'll see what your friend's fate is."

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. If I wanted to save a childhood friend, I'd have to behead the digimon. And he really expected me to just do what he said?

"I won't do it," I shouted. "They're my friends, and I don't go back on friends."

"Oh, but by refusing, you're going back on your friend in the cage. And besides, are they REALLY your friends?" I kept listening to what he had to say. "Think about it; you only knew them for two weeks. How can you be certain that they are your friends? And the digimon... they are not human, as much as you would like to think. Not only that, they are nothing but data. Killing a digimon is as wrong as killing mosquitos, is it not?"

"No, it's not the same! Digimon have their own lives and dreams, just like us humans. Killing a digimon is equally as wrong as killing another human... but I guess life is meaningless to you, isn't it, asshole?"

"Now, now, now... words like that will shorten your caged friend's lifespan in no time. To show that I'm not truly evil, I'll give you some time to think. I am just trying to improve the lives of everyone. Remember that. Good night to you, Adrian." The last thing I remember is the dark clouds coming closer to the ground, seeing everything around me turn into darkness.

...

[Sunday, September 25, 2016]

[5:02 AM]

I woke up in my bed with a loud scream, which woke up Shoutmon, who was sleeping on the floor.

"Adrian, what's up?" Shoutmon asked in both a worried and exhausted tone.

"We have to go. NOW," I told him as I turned on my bedroom light and frantically started getting my clothes on.

"Go where?" Shoutmon asked.

"The digital world."

"What did I tell you last night?" Shoutmon asked, now sounding more awake. "We are not going to the digital world yet! We still need to-"

"THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU," I screamed at him. "I'm going to get the others, and we're going to go there. Whether you are too chicken to join or not is up to you, but I am going no matter what you say." I finished getting dressed, grabbed my Chrono Watch, and ran out the door.

"Adrian, wait!" I heard Shoutmon call out for me. Intentionally ignoring him, I got onto my bike and started riding to Connor's house. While riding, I got out my phone and did a group call with the others.

"Hello?" I heard the sleepy voice of Seina through my phone. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yo, I was catching z's when you called, bro," I then heard Connor's voice. "What's up, Adri?"

"You two get dressed, right now," I told them. "And Seina, you and Hawkmon come over to Connor's house. We're going to the digital world, right now."

"Wait, what?" Seina asked, now sounding more awake. "Why do you suddenly want to go there? Wasn't Shoutmon the one telling you how dangerous it was?"

"Shoutmon isn't coming. It's just gonna be us. He was too much of a coward to come."

"Hey, man, what's with insulting Shoutmon?" Connor asked me. "I thought you two were, like, the best of friends."

"Maybe they had a falling out," Seina told Connor. Then she talked to me. "Adrian, why isn't Shoutmon coming?"

"I'll tell you all later. Just meet up at Connor's house, specifically the backyard. Now." I hung up the phone, and continued to ride towards the house. Jessie is one of my best friends. She does not deserve to be pulled into all of this digimon craziness. I have to save her.

With or without the help of Shoutmon.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the Sicamore house. I rode my bike into the backyard, as silently as I could, and waited for the others to show up. Connor and Dorumon came outside five minutes later, and Aquilamon landed with Seina on his back two minutes after that.

"Okay, Adrian," Seina started to say. "Tell us; why are we going into the digital world this soon?"

"It's Zsalm," I said. "He took one of my friends, and is using her as a hostage."

"But what about Shoutmon's-" Connor tried to say, before I cut him off.

"Fuck his warnings. Who Zsalm took was Jessie Anners, one of the sweetest, funniest, best people I have ever met in my life. He has kidnapped her, and is threatening to kill her if I don't do what he asks me to do."

"And what did he ask for?" Dorumon asked me.

"He asked for the heads of you, Shoutmon, and Hawkmon," I bluntly told Dorumon. Everyone's faces had a look of pure horror on them now.

"Is that why you brought us here?" Seina quietly asked me. "To kill them? And what did you do to Shoutmon?"

"No, no, I'm not going to kill anyone," I tried to reassure them. "I think killing a digimon is as wrong as killing another human. What I plan to do is bring us to the digital world, and then we break into Zsalm's hideout and rescue my friend. Pure and simple."

"And, by any chance, do you have a plan for this?" Hawkmon asked.

"I just told you my plan," I informed him.

"No, no, no, that isn't a plan, that's a goal," Hawkmon told me. "We can't just jump in and hope everything will go alright. We need a set course of action."

"If we wait around for that, Jessie will surely be killed. I'll take my chances."

"If we just jump in, WE will be killed."

"I don't care. Jessie deserves a chance to live. And if we don't get to her soon enough, she'll be tortured, or even killed. You're acting just like Shoutmon."

"Hawkmon..." Seina told him. "Maybe he's right. I mean, his friend's in danger, and she can't defend herself. If what you said about Zsalm is true, then we don't have much time."

"Oh, you just want to side with him because-" Hawkmon didn't get to finish that, as Seina kicked his behind to make him fall down and shut him up.

"Well, I'm with you, Adrian," Connor told me. "Both me and Dorumon. Zsalm is gonna pay."

"Count me in, as well," Seina said, smiling and holding her left arm with her right. I smiled at her. These guys truly were great friends.

"Well, count me out," Hawkmon said, getting up.

"Hawkmon, please," Seina begged the small bird digimon. "We need you."

"No, no, let him go," I said. "Let him join Shoutmon in staying behind."

"But, doesn't Seina need him to fight?" Connor asked. "We'll need his Aquilamon transportation in the digital world, right?"

"No, no, I'm staying behind," Hawkmon said. "Going to the digital world this soon will surely be suicide. If you want to do it, go ahead, although I strongly advise not doing so."

"So, you'd rather just sit back and let one of my friends die? Wow, you are just like Shoutmon."

"Who's just like me?" I heard a voice say. I turned around and saw Shoutmon walking towards the group.

"What are you doing here, Shoutmon?" I asked, crossing my arms. "To stop me? To tell me we'd all be killed?"

"To help you."

"What?"

"Look, you're right," Shoutmon sighed as he admitted. "I am being a coward. It's just... it's just that I've seen what Zsalm can do with my own eyes. I was... scared. Plus, if I did become a Corruptmon... I wouldn't want you to see me like that."

"Shoutmon..." Hawkmon said.

"Hawkmon, we need to go back," Shoutmon told the bird. "Adrian has been a great friend these past two weeks, and one of his friends is in danger. We need to go back and save her. Do you understand?"

"But Zsalm-"

"Who gives a Terriormon's ass about Zsalm? Besides... there may be a chance I can save my sister as well. And you... you could finally save your cousin."

"Wait, a cousin?" Seina asked. "You never told me about a cousin."

"To be honest, I did not really want to talk about him," Hawkmon admitted, rubbing the back of his head. He looked up and stared into Shoutmon's eyes.

"Are you with us, Hawkmon?"

It took about one or two minutes for Hawkmon to come up with an answer. Needless to say, we were all surprised by his response.

"Yes. Yes I am, Shoutmon."

"Alright then," Shoutmon said. He started to walk towards the lake behind Connor's house, and we all followed him. "Did anyone bring their phone?"

"You can use mine," Seina offered as she handed her light purple smartphone to Shoutmon. He then placed it on the grass and faced his palm towards it, as if he was waiting for a high five. The phone's screen then started to do the exact same particle effects as the day I met Shoutmon. Before I knew it, there was a portal on the screen.

"Everyone, jump in!" Shoutmon yelled as he jumped onto the phone, and promply disappeared, with Hawkmon and Dorumon following suit. Me, Seina, and Connor looked at each other in doubt for a bit, but then we nodded, and proceeded to jump onto the phone. I went first, and as soon as I did, I found myself falling through a tunnel of digital numbers, squares, and circles, all glowing bright red. I looked down and saw the three digimon falling as well.

A few minutes of falling later, the bottom suddenly opened up, and I landed hard onto the ground.

"Well, that hurt," I muttered. I looked up, and saw Shoutmon offering his paw to me. I grabbed it, and he helped me up.

"Welcome," Shoutmon told everyone, "to the digital world."