Reboot
Chapter - Protector
Location: Shinjuku
Time: 09:21
Henry didn't realise he had fallen asleep with his unexpected emotions, having lost the match and cried for his fallen virtual friend until he slipped asleep. His screen had turned itself off from inactivity which made the teen forget the game was still on as he rose from to his feet, heading downstairs for some breakfast. Such was the effect on the teen from the previous night he was strangely muted when he ate, his sister Suzi was with him and their mother in the adjacent room - having eaten with Janyu before he left for work earlier that morning.
So unusual was his silence that Suzi prodded him from where she sat. "Grumpy much?"
Henry's mind was elsewhere when he received the poke, so his startled reaction only made her giggle at his expense. "Huh? I'm not grumpy, just a little tired. I've not woken up properly yet unlike Little Miss Morning Pants here."
Suzi bristled at the nickname like she always has. It wasn't her fault she woke up fast in the mornings and everyone else in the house didn't. Being the younger sibling meant she received her fair share of jokes aimed at her, but she gave as good as she got. It kept their sibling relationship healthy and active. She settled for flicking him on the nose for his remark, barely holding back another giggle when he blinked rapidly and twitched his nose as a reaction.
"Hey come on! That's not fair!"
"Shouldn't act the smart ass then big bro, 'cos smart asses get flicked on the snout." She tapped her nose for emphasis, both of them hearing their mother laughing lightly from the other room.
"Let him wake up Suzi, don't be too mean on him this early in the day."
Suzi reluctantly let the fun end and left Henry to his breakfast, but not without lightly jabbing his side and running off with her giggle. He just let her go, he would get plenty of opportunities for revenge.
Henry was undisturbed to finish his breakfast and once he had done so he went for his morning shower, as per his usual routine. He found eating first helped him find the energy for the day while the shower helped him refresh, and obviously clean down. During his routine, just like breakfast, his mind repeatedly drifted back to his game, more specifically his connection with the virtual digimon on his screen that had drawn such a raw emotion from him. Try as he might he couldn't figure out why he got so upset over losing the game, of seeing an arrangement of pixels and animations get defeated by programmed mechanics. He knew it wasn't real, yet his emotional reaction told him he felt it was.
He let the water of the shower cascade over his face while the scene from the game played in his mind, feeling that same tug on his heartstrings from before. Just seeing the Terriermon, his Terriermon, laying on the ground unconscious broke his heart. What was it about that little computer generated digimon that meant so much to him, when it was just a game?
Henry finished his shower without any more answers than when he started. With a long sigh he returned to his room and flopped on the bed, splayed out as he allowed his mind to wander. But he didn't think too long before his vision found his console again. It was still on.
Remembering his game and fueled by curiosity he switched his screen on. Instantly he was greeted by the game over screen but beneath it was an option to return to the main menu, a feature that appeared after a few seconds of losing the game. With a heavy sigh Henry selected the option and resigned to try again. He set up his character and chose Terriermon again but he paused when a new option came up.
It asked him where to start. But even weirder were the options it gave him. The first was for the Digital World's Alpha Quadrant- which was the normal location the game took place in, but he could also choose Shinjuku. The city in which he lived.
There's something to be said about games that listed real places as areas a player can visit, whether curiosity to see how accurate it is or the feeling of familiarity being around your own known landmarks. Therefore it was little wonder that Henry chose Shinjuku as his starting location for his second attempt with Terriermon.
However things didn't go as he thought they would. He wasn't too sure what he would see when the game rendered his home city, but he certainly didn't expect his screen to glitch out and display rapidly scrolling lines of code. They were so fast that he couldn't see anything in them, picked out no particular lines or characters. But he did notice his console glowing.
Fearing the worst he went to reach to unplug the machine from the mains supply, but he was stopped by the glowing becoming so bright he couldn't see. Backing away again he just watched as the glow began to fade, revealing his console in a completely different shape. A shape he recognised as the digivice design on his game avatar. Even the green ring around the screen was the same.
Hesitantly he picked it up, it felt slightly warm against his palm. It had a few buttons and a card reader just like the one he had seen in the game, and he had no doubt the cards he used would also work with the digivice in his hand.
"I guess this isn't just some hidden level, but why me? Why do I have this- Wait a minute, are digimon actually real? It can't be, but this digivice is real…" Further thoughts were cut off when an arrow appeared on the screen, pointing out over the park.
Henry rose with his curiosity thoroughly raised and collected his cards, he wasn't sure why but he felt right with them on his belt in their holder. Without a second more of delay he left his room, past his sister and out of the house.
Orienting himself with the arrow he began to walk towards whatever the digivice was guiding him to. He had no idea what was going on or why he was holding a digivice, he didn't know they were even real. Real things don't change shape like that, so was he dreaming?
It didn't take long for Henry to make it to the park in West Shinjuku, that red arrow still pointing towards the green space. He entered the grounds and followed the path the digivice guided him down, ignoring the looks of people who passed him by. He reached a bend in the path and pushed through some trees, the arrow leading him off the track and into an overgrown patch of shrubs and bushes.
Fighting through the foliage he managed to reach his destination: a small clearing out of sight of anyone nearby. A few more bushes dotted the area but in the middle of the clearing were glowing pulsating rings of energy, blue circles radiating outwards. A low throbbing filled the air that he didn't hear until he saw the source, and the closer he got the harder it was to hear anything else.
Henry stood as he watched the rings, his digivice displaying four red arrows all pointing inwards. It told him he had arrived, although he had no idea what he was looking at. That was until the area seemed to explode with a bassy 'whump' and a strange fog settled around him and the clearing. Where the rings were though, in their origin point, was a shadow. A familiar shaped silhouette. A Terriermon.
"No way…"
Henry's disbelief was plastered all over his face as the fog parted enough to confirm the being as a Terriermon, lying face up on its back. He stepped closer and knelt before it just as those two same beady eyes opened, a small gasp escaping its mouth. Each saw the other in a brief moment of wonder as if neither could believe what they were seeing. Then the moment was broken by a high pitched, frankly cute, male voice.
"Hi, Henry." Henry fell over on his butt from the shock of the Terriermon talking, let alone knowing his name. "Whoa there Henry, momentai. Momentai. I'm not gonna hurt my Tamer am I?"
"Tamer?" Henry was briefly reminded of the digivice in his grip, the sudden surprise making him forget. "So this is what the game meant by starting again in Shinjuku… It meant for real?"
"Well of course silly." Terriermon flipped up onto his small feet, head level with Henry as he sat on the floor. "What, did you think it was just a game and we're not real? I bet you think you're dreaming right now too, don't cha? Well wake up Henry, this ain't no game anymore. I'm real, you're real, we're real!" And as if to prove that the Terriermon was indeed the one from the game he began to do his victory dance, exactly as Henry had seen in the game.
"Wait, if you're the same digimon I chose in my game, that means…" He grew distant for a moment before he wore a look of regret. ""I'm sorry for putting you through all that Terriermon."
"Oh stop Henry. It's what we digimon do. Besides, we get to do it again better now don't we?" Terriermon's enthusiasm dispelled any remaining doubts Henry had for the moment as he stood up from the ground. "We get to be better than before, we get to be friends, partners and above all else, we get to be winners!"
"Terriermon…" Henry's reserved tone paused the little digimon's celebrations. "I don't want us to just fight anymore, there's so much more to life than that. I don't want to put you in danger all the time. I'm going to protect you this time, okay?"
Terriermon just nodded with his cute smile before he sprang up and flopped on Henry's head, an ear on each of his shoulders. "You got it pal. I'm gonna claim this as my spot though, I get to see more from up here!"
Henry wore a smile that usually only his games brought out, one of excitement and confidence. "Just keep still and quiet when others are around though, I don't want to risk you being taken away if someone notices you're real and alive, okay?"
Terriermon nodded from his new place, a strange sensation for Henry. "Good idea Henry, I'll follow your lead. Momentai."
Henry quirked a brow at the word, Terriermon seemed to like using it a lot. "Momentai?"
"Take it easy. Momentai." Terriermon tapped his head with each of the three syllables.
With a short nod and another smile Henry made his way home with Terriermon perched on his head, looking like a child's toy to anyone who looked. Only the duo knew the truth, and that their lives were about to become very different to what they previously knew.