Digital Conundrum
Additional Disclaimer: Just for the record, anything copyrighted that I mention in this story is not a property of me! They belong to much more wealthier people than I.
Author's note: Hikari and Takeru are in the Dark Ocean for three months because Hikari chooses to lead those digimon she encountered in "Dagomon's Call" against the 'dark undersea master', instead of refusing as she did in the series. And yes, she did bring her D3 this time around.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....
Backstep 01
Dark Ocean High Tide
*Location - Dark Ocean*
*Time - seven days before Digital Conundrum*
Hikari Yagami and Tailmon stood before the Dark Ocean, the pink aura about them the only color in the grayscale world. Behind her stood an army of Hangyomon, led by their appointed leader, Takeru Takaishi. Takeru's partner, Patamon, was seated atop his head.
"Hikari," Takeru ventured, "we've been here for three months. Daisuke and the others are probably worried about us now. We haven't even had contact with Earth or the Digital World." He sighed. "Hikari, you shouldn't have even volunteered for defeating the Dark Undersea Master."
Hikari, her eyes blank, turned to face Takeru. "I had no choice," she droned, her voice surprisingly adult for her young age. It had been like that since she had led the Hangyomon armies. "The power of the Crest of Light has told me to smite the darkness."
Takeru shook his head. "You didn't have to drag me into it. At this rate, we'll be back by the end of summer vacation. And what about our group project with Daisuke?"
"Daisuke's a jerk."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Tailmon groaned. She leaned on Hikari's leg. "Now where are Dagomon and his troops?"
Hikari turned back to face the ocean. "They're coming. Takeru, I want you to have Patamon and Tailmon armor evolve. Take Pegasmon and Nefertimon over the ocean. When you see Dagomon, signal with your special attacks."
Takeru reluctantly nodded his head. He was always following Hikari's orders. "Patamon, are you ready?"
Patamon jumped off of Takeru's head, almost taking the boy's hat with him. "Sure am."
"Okay." Takeru took out his D3 and raised it before Patamon. "Digimental Up!"
"Patamon, armor evolve! Galloping Hope, Pegasmon!"
Hikari slowly moved her D3 from her waist and pointed the screen at Tailmon. "Digimental Up," she droned unenthusiastically.
"Tailmon, armor evolve! Angel of Light, Nefertimon!"
Takeru jumped onto Pegasumon's back and signaled for Nefertimon to come beside them. "I'll be back, Hikari," Takeru sighed as the two armored digimon rose into the air.
*Location - Mount Prospect suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA*
Parker emerged from the Sphere, bloodied and bruised from the backstep. He threw off his helmet and tenderly rubbed his eyes, finding an unexpected scene before him.
It was a street lined with houses.
Parker groaned, but it was not from the pain. "Just great," he complained as he clambered back into the time machine to grab his duffel bag. "Talmadge is going to have a heck of a time with this one."
When Parker climbed out of the Sphere again, he found a few people in sweats staring at him curiously. It was no big surprise - Parker was dressed in an orange flight suit, and a top-secret government experimental time machine was behind him.
"Don't worry folks," Parker said as he made his way to one of the houses. "The thing won't hurt you - except for your morning commute."
Parker made his way to the front door of the nearest house and rang the doorbell. It was a decent house, two stories tall, made of weathered brick. There was even a semicircular drive that went up to the doorstep.
A man in a dress flight suit answered the door. He, too, had a duffel bag in his hands. Parker recognized him from the previous timeline as Rayford Steele, the pilot of the plane he took to England on the day of the disappearances. Rayford had a frown on his face.
"Hi there," Parker smiled. "By any chance could I borrow your phone?"
Rayford budged his way out of the door and walked over to his SUV in the drive. "I suggest that you ask my wife," he grumbled as he climbed inside the vehicle and drove off.
Parker walked inside and shook his head. "Some bedside manner," he mumbled.
The house was festively decorated with balloons and streamers. A die-cut paper banner proclaiming HAPPY BIRTHDAY was hung over the doorway to the kitchenette straight ahead. Before the stove in the kitchenette was a woman with straight blonde hair and a casual shirt and skirt hanging off her body. She was flipping some flapjacks onto a plate.
"Mrs. Steele?" Parker ventured cautiously, not wanting the woman to burn herself.
The woman turned around, revealing a friendlier face than her husband's. "Oh, hello ... sir," she stuttered, looking down at Parker's flight suit. "Uh, what are you doing here?"
"I need to make an urgent phone call. Would you mind if I used the phone?"
The woman nodded. "Sure. It's right next to the fridge."
Parker nodded. "Thanks."
A minute later he had dialed the Conundrum number and waited for the signal from the NNL switching board.
*Location - NNL*
"Conundrum."
Talmadge picked up the phone in the briefing room and pressed the speakerphone button. "Talmadge here. Parker, what's the mission?"
Parker's voice came through the speakers in the briefing room. "A series of mysterious disappearances will take place seven days from now. The President and Vice President were killed in the past timeline due to the crash of Air Force One."
"Do you know who caused the disappearances?" Talmadge asked as the rest of Project Backstep's senior staff entered the room.
"No. We only had three leads before backstepping. The first was a phone call from a girl named Delores that claimed that she was my girlfriend. Of course, I don't know anyone named Delores."
"That's an understatement," Ramsey groaned as he settled into his seat.
"Second is a streaming feed on the Internet dubbed by nerds as the QuickTime Version 6.0 special. I think Owsley knows something about it."
Owsley, still in his pajamas, sat into one of the chairs. "I've heard of it. Even planning on downloading it, too. Could you tell me something about the movie?"
"Yeah, sure, Owls. According to what I saw in the previous timeline, there were some 'digimon' and some kids having to save some kind of holy stone from a black dragon. Then some angel blew a trumpet, and all the kids in the movie disappeared out of their clothing."
"Does that have anything to do with the disappearances here, though?" Donovan asked.
"It does. Right when the disappearances occurred in the movie, they happened all over the world. All the children vanished, guys. Even some adults - including some senior staff members."
"Like who?" Olga ventured.
"Oh, well...." Parker laughed. "Ramsey-"
"Me!" Ramsey roared. "Why do I disappear?"
"I was kidding, Ramsey. But those that did disappear were most of the welders...."
"Who needs all of those welders, anyway?" Owsley yawned.
".... Isaac, some of the medical staff, and Olga, just to name a few."
Talmadge bowed his head. "And this will all take place in seven days, right?"
"It will. I also have a disk here from reporter Buck Williams that has some kind of plan. There are schematics for the failed air strike on Israel three years back, along with a strange map and two pictures of things shown in the QuickTime special. Owsley will have fun deciphering the two codes on this disk."
"Yahoo," Owsley cheered unconvincingly.
"Okay. So, where are you, Parker? And where's the Sphere?" Talmadge asked.
"Well ... you wouldn't believe me," Parker chuckled, "but the Sphere landed in the middle of a residential street, I think near Chicago. I'm calling from a house."
Ramsey struck the table with a fist. "Just great," he yelled. "Here we are on the most urgent mission of our lives, and the Sphere lands in a residential area! How are we going to pull this one off without the people noticing?"
"Don't worry, Ramsey - it's a Monday," Parker said calmly. "Most people are at work. We'll get the Sphere and me out of here fine."
"I hope the Panel doesn't take this badly," Talmadge sighed as he hung up the phone.
*Location - United Nations Headquarters, New York City, New York, USA*
Buck Williams climbed the many flights of stairs to Nicolae's private office in the main UN Building. The reporter didn't know why the Romanian president would want to see him - Nicolae was not known well as a press sympathizer. Yet here he was, in his best suit and tie, ready to face the man that was taking the global political world by storm.
Three minutes later Buck knocked on a wooden door marked only with a plaque that read NICOLAE CARPATHIA - PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA. Within seconds a blonde man with power suit and tie answered the door.
"Oh, good morning to you sir," the man said with a thick Russian accent, extending a hand. "I am Nicolae Carpathia. You must be Cameron Williams."
Buck shook the man's hand and looked into his blue eyes. "Please, call me Buck."
"Buck," Nicolae nodded. "You may call me Nicolae. Please, come inside." He led the reporter into the office and closed the door.
Nicolae's office was nothing less than spectacular. There was a minibar beside an oak desk at the far end of the room. Behind the desk was a floor-length window, heralding a view of the city of New York. An open laptop was upon the desk.
"Buck," Nicolae started as he sat behind his desk, "I have a little proposition to make. Please, sit down."
Buck uneasily sat at a chair on the other side of the desk, facing Nicolae. The man's formal disposition was unnerving him. "So, what is this proposition?"
Nicolae smiled. "Well, Buck, I need a publicity manager. The world is already being swooned by talk of world peace, and the press is hounding at me."
"So, why would you want me?" Buck asked. "I'm press."
"Yes, Buck, but you have not hounded trivial questions at me. You are the best journalist in the nation, Mr. Williams. That is why I officially name you now as my publicity manager."
Buck gasped. Here he was, at his first meeting with the Romanian president, and he was naming him publicity manager? It was too much for him to handle.
"Mr. Carpathia, I'm honored," he finally managed to gasp. "Is that all you want me here for?"
Nicolae pressed a button on his laptop, and a CD tray emerged from the side. He picked up an unlabeled minidisk and raised it before Buck's eyes.
"This disk has all the plans you need for the advertising campaign," he stated as he pressed the disk into Buck's hands. "Keep it safe. I do not want others to see the items upon it."
Buck nodded and looked down at his watch. He turned the alarm mechanism dial, and the clock face popped off, revealing the battery. Buck dropped the disk inside, satisfied that it fit, and replaced the face.
"I'll be sure not to reveal the disk to anyone," Buck nodded. "Is that all?"
"It is. Be sure to keep in touch - I will need you here for the UN meeting." Nicolae rose from his seat and signaled for Buck to do the same.
"I will," Buck said as he made his way to the door. He was about to turn the door handle when he doubled back and pulled some crisp papers from a pocket in his jacket. He laid them on Nicolae's desk.
"Mr. Carpathia," Buck said, "these are the recommendation papers for Miss Durham, your secretary elect. I've even written a letter of recommendation for her."
Nicolae nodded and sat back at his desk. He took the papers into his hands. "Thank you, Buck," he said as he buried himself into his work.
Buck made his way back to the door and walked out. "You're welcome," he muttered as he gently closed the door.
A strange voice from inside Nicolae's office caught Buck's attention. He leaned his ear on the door, hoping to hear more.
"Archnemon? Yes, sweetie ... I've got Mr. Williams as publicity ... yeah, I still have the Digital Conundrum disk ... let me check ... darn it! I have the publicity disk! And that means that Buck has the Digital Conundrum...."
Buck looked down at his watch and hurriedly made his way down the hall, away from Nicolae's office. He opened his watch and found the disk still inside. He sighed and ran down the stairs to his car and drove to his apartment. Whoever was talking in the Romanian president's office seemed that he wanted the disk in Buck's possession urgently.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Takeru, Pegasmon, and Nefertimon landed on a rocky bluff a few miles away from the shore. The boy jumped off Pegasmon's back and walked to the edge of the rocks, the spray of the gray ocean sprinkling his body.
"It's been three months, guys," Takeru sighed, "and we still have not defeated Dagomon and his Gesomon army. Do you two have any explanations as to why?"
"Hikari seems not to have her heart into the battle," Nefertimon stated, "and you don't seem to go along with her orders."
"And what does that signify?" Takeru asked, turning back to face the digimon.
"Nefertimon and I don't seem to fight as well if your hearts aren't into your actions," Pegasmon said. "But then, I have another proposal."
"And what is it?"
"We haven't tried battling Dagomon and his army in our natural evolved forms."
Takeru sighed. "That's true. Do you think we should try it?"
Pegasmon nodded his head and reverted back to Patamon. "Sure. You ride on Nefertimon, leaving me free to battle."
Takeru nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Let's give it a try." He took his D3 from his waist and pointed it at his partner. "Evolve!"
Patamon shined with a golden light. "Patamon, evolve! Angemon!!"
The angel stood by Nefertimon, their light seeming to add some color in the grayscale world. They stared off at the ocean, warily awaiting something.
Then the shadow rose from the waters off the bluff.
It was a strange shape, almost like a macabre cross between a squid and a human.
Yet Takeru and the digimon knew whom this creature was.
Dagomon.
The Dark Undersea Master.
*Location - NNL*
Parker settled himself in Owsley's quarters at the NNL complex and threw the young man the minidisk he had obtained in the previous timeline. It had been hours since Ramsey had arrived in Mount Prospect to recover him and the Sphere, and now the chrononaut wanted a rest.
"I call the disk Digital Conundrum," Parker said, pulling a chair up before the computer next to Owsley. "Those will be the first words that you see."
Owsley placed the minidisk into a minidisk reader connected to his computer. Immediately the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM flashed on the screen.
"Digital Conundrum," Owsley remarked, nodding his head. "Is there more?"
The map of the Middle East appeared on the screen next, the code numbers still at the bottom of the screen. Arrows then appeared, flashing towards Israel from the north, east, and southwest.
"I guess these were the plans for that air strike on Israel three years back," Owsley said. "The attack plan's exactly the same. There's a code number down here, too - I'll figure it out later." He pressed a few buttons. "Here's some more."
The map of the world, with the flashing regions of green, replaced the Middle East map. "What do you make of that, Owls?" Parker asked.
Owsley could only shake his head. "Don't know. But these regions all seem to be inhospitable areas." He pointed to where Siberia and the Sahara would be. "I don't see why they would be important."
"Wait - there was a scientist that created a formula that could make plants grow anywhere," Parker suggested. "Do you think these are plans for growing things there?"
"Yeah, it might," Owsley agreed. "The man that created that Eden Formula came from Israel."
"And the attack on Israel might've just been a way to scare the Formula out of that scientist's hands. But why then use it on other parts of the world? As I remember, only Russia, Egypt, and I think Iraq attacked Israel three years back."
"Maybe other nations would have bought it from those countries." Owsley looked back at the screen, and saw the code number at the bottom. "Great - another code. Looks the same as the other, but I'll find a way to figure it out." He pressed some more buttons on the keyboard.
This time the picture of the black spire and the ring-adorned stone graced the screen, surrounded by the strange characters. Owsley looked at the characters in recognition.
"I've seen these symbols before," he said excitedly. He typed in something, and immediately another window opened up on the screen over the pictures. This one had Japanese characters on the bottom, an input field on the top, and the words DIGITAL ANALYZER written on the far left side.
"What's that, Owls?" Parker asked.
"It's a Digital Hieroglyph Translator," Owsley replied. He selected an item on the analyzer, and the Japanese characters changed into their Digital Hieroglyph equivalents. "It translates from Japanese to Digital Hieroglyphs and vice versa. I've tweaked with this program, though, to instantly translate English into Digital Hieroglyphs and Digital Hieroglyphs into English."
Parker nodded. "Good - you should've told me this in the previous timeline. Now where did you get this program?"
Owsley gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, a website for the Japanese band Teenage Wolves. They're pretty good."
"And why would something like this be on a band's web page?"
"Rumor has it that the leader of the band, Yamato, he was transported to some place called the Digital World five years back," Owsley shrugged. "Yamato learned that the Digital Hieroglyphs correspond with Japanese phonetic characters. I downloaded this just for the heck of it, but I never thought that I would actually use it. But that stuff about a digital world - I think it's all crud."
"Exactly what I would say."
Owsley copied and pasted the Digital Hieroglyphs into the input field of the Digital Hieroglyph Translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE button, and immediately an English translation appeared in a separate window. Owsley scrolled through the translation quickly before he spoke again.
"You were right about this disk being some sort of a plan, Parker," Owsley remarked. "This part describes what the stone and the black Washington Monument thing are."
"What are they?" Parker asked, moving closer to see the translation clearly.
"Well, the Washington Monument thing is called a Dark Tower. It is an object of pure darkness, with the same dimensions as the Washington Monument. When these things were powered with darkness, they put some sort of lock on the evolution of 'digimon'... what?" Owsley looked closer at the screen. "I have no idea what a 'digimon' is."
"I think I might," Parker sighed. "In the previous timeline, I saw the QuickTime special, right?"
"Yeah. So?"
"There were some characters that looked like stuffed animals. They claimed that they were these digimon. And they changed their forms in a process called 'evolution'."
"Oh. I see." Owsley rubbed his eyes. "Well, anyway, these Dark Towers also serve another purpose - they can be used either to create these digimon that you talk of, or they could amplify the powers of darkness after the Trumpet of Hope is blown, causing darkness to flood the Earth and the 'salvation' of the children and faithful of both worlds ... Parker, this isn't making any sense!"
"Nothing on this disk makes any sense," Parker scoffed. "But I do remember that people disappeared when the Trumpet of Hope was blown in the movie."
"And that could only mean, then, that this place where the Dark Towers are - the digital world mentioned in the movie you tell of - really exists."
"That's what you thought in the previous timeline. Now tell me what this stone thing is."
Owsley scrolled further down the translation. "The stone is a Holy Stone. It contains the powers of light that supposedly keep this digital world in balance. There is some sort of legend behind it - if some Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope calls upon the stones' power, then the said trumpet is revealed. And you probably already know what happens when that Guardian plays that horn."
"Yeah, I know," Parker sighed. "Not a happy sight."
"Well, there's more to it. The same results also occur when all seven of these Holy Stones are destroyed."
"Let me guess - horn revealed, Guardian revealed, horn played, we all die. Right?"
"You got the picture. Now here's the last one." Owsley closed the translation window and pressed a few keys. The final image, that of the angel and the horn, covered the screen.
"Great - more of these Digital Hieroglyphs," Owsley grumbled as he selected the text and copied them into the field of the translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE key again, and this time a smaller translation window popped up.
"Wow - very self explanatory," Owsley droned.
"What do you mean?" Parker asked. "What does it say?"
Owsley stared at the text. "This angel-digimon is named 'holy Angemon', and he's the Guardian of this Trumpet of Hope thing. There's statistics and everything about him - height, weight, special attack-"
"Wait up - special attack?" Parker exclaimed. "An angel has a special attack?"
"Hey, don't ask me," Owsley said, backing away from the computer. "See for yourself."
Parker looked over at the translation on the screen. "Holy Angemon. Height - ten feet. Weight - four hundred pounds. He must work out. Let's see ... special attack - Heaven's Gate. He did that in the movie. Secondary attack - Excalibur."
"That's so Stan Lee," Owsley droned.
"Hey, Owls," Parker said, staring at the screen, "I think I figured out why the disappearances had occurred in the previous timeline."
"And what's that?"
Parker turned to face Owsley, his face grim. "The translation said that if the Guardian summoned the Trumpet of Hope and the Center is destroyed ... then the Guardian's strength would be stolen, resulting in the immediate playing of the horn and the Guardian's death."
Owsley just stared at Parker with an 'I think you're out of it' look. "Parker, was that what happened in the previous timeline?"
Parker could only nod his head. "Yeah."
*Location - Buck's apartment, Manhattan, New York*
Buck ran into his apartment, panting. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his mouth. The salty taste was uncomfortable to his tongue. He slowly made his way into his private office and closed the door.
"What has gotten into Nicolae?" Buck asked himself as he sat before his computer. Normally - which was whenever Buck saw him on television - Nicolae was a pacifist, always bowing down to the needy. 'Father Theresa', that was what the senior staff at Global Weekly called Nicolae. Always trying to do something good for the global community.
But the Nicolae that Buck had heard in his office only moments after he left - that was a man the world had yet to meet. The journalist wondered whom that Archnemon character that Nicolae spoke to was - the name didn't sound Romanian or American to Buck. Heck, it didn't even sound like it a name anybody on Earth would have. And what was this business about a Digital Conundrum disk?
Buck took the disk from his watch and slipped it inside his computer's minidisk drive. Instead of Nicolae's advertising ploys, as he had expected, the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM graced the screen.
"What is this?" Buck asked as the screen showed a map of the Middle East, arrows shown pointing to the general area of Israel. A code number appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Then Buck's phone rang.
*Location - NNL*
Buck's voice came over the speakerphone in Owsley's quarters. Parker sat by the phone, with a ready view of the computer.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Williams?" Parker asked, falling into a comic book covered couch. Owsley sat beside him.
"Uh, yes," Buck stuttered. "Who is this?"
"My name's Frank Parker," Parker said. "Do you have the Digital Conundrum disk?"
There was a long pause. "Are you with Nicolae?" Buck asked at length.
"No - I'm NSA. No connection with Nicolae at all."
A sigh. "Good. I just heard from Nicolae after I left the UN that he wanted to get back some Digital Conundrum disk. I don't even know what the Digital Conundrum disk is!"
"Do you have a disk with you?"
"I do."
"Does it say DIGITAL CONUNDRUM when you insert it into your computer?"
"Yeah."
"Then that's the Digital Conundrum disk."
Buck seemed to gasp, but a sound on a phone couldn't reveal much. "What do you want with it, Mr. Parker?" he finally asked.
"We also have a copy of the Digital Conundrum disk," Parker replied. "We have figured out some of the codes that are in the latter part of the program. Now, you might have noticed the code numbers on some of the images, right?"
"Yeah. Do you know what they mean?"
Parker shook his head. "No. But we would like you to come over to NNL to help us figure it out."
"No. I have a job, Mr. Parker. I have to work on the publicity for Nicolae Carpathia."
Parker sighed in defeat. "Well then, Mr. Williams, I'll just leave you my number. You get yourself into trouble, you call me, all right?"
"Fine," Buck said. "What's your number?"
"It's 555-6751. You'll reach my cell phone."
"All right. But don't expect an answer, Mr. Parker." He hung up.
Parker turned off the speakerphone. "That was not the Buck I remembered from the past timeline," he sighed.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Takeru jumped onto Nefertimon's back when Dagomon fully rose from the water. The monstrosity was nearly twenty feet tall from the water to his head. His long tentacle-like arms swept along the edge of the rocky bluff.
"Angemon, Nefertimon, fly out of the way!" Takeru yelled. Immediately the digimon jumped from the ground. Dagomon's arm moved over the bluff - if they had jumped a second later, Takeru, Angemon, and Nefertimon would have been knocked into the gray ocean.
The shadowy Dagomon then faced his miniature opponents, the maw of his ebony eyes boring into their hearts. He did not say a word, but his eyes told all. You must be destroyed!
"Nefertimon," Takeru ordered, "do your Rosetta Stone attack! Angemon, when Nefertimon fires her attack, strike the stone with a Heaven's Knuckle! We have to alert Hikari!!"
Nefertimon's armored back shone with a pink light, and a tome-shaped rock covered with Digital Hieroglyphs emerged. "Rosetta Stone!" the digimon cried out, and the rock shot out from the light.
Angemon's staff glowed a brazen shade as it fell into his fist. He saw the stone shoot forth from Nefertimon's back and readied himself for the attack. The stone was halfway between Nefertimon and Dagomon when he fired the light from his hand.
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
*Location - Buck's apartment*
Buck fell asleep for a few hours before his computer. When he had finally awakened, he was disoriented, unsure of where he was. It was only by looking at his computer did he know that he was home.
There were no windows in Buck's private office - only his computer, a phone, and a digital clock. He glanced at the clock and found it was eight in the evening. His stomach started to churn audibly - he hadn't had a meal since before he had met Nicolae.
Buck removed the Digital Conundrum disk from his computer and returned it to the secret compartment in his watch. It was too late to go to a restaurant - it would be another night of eating instant soup before the television. He grudgingly rose from his chair and opened the door that led to the rest of his apartment.
Buck, though, could only stick his head out of the door. The floor of the apartment was strewn with furniture stuffing and papers. It was as if a hurricane had made its way through the room.
"What the hell is going on here?" Buck asked himself as he walked out of his office.
Then he heard a yell come from his living room.
"Snake Bandage!"
Buck could see a shot of white and crimson lightning arc its way through his living room, striking the television. Sparks flew from the demolished TV, briefly setting some pieces of paper and stuffing on fire.
That was when Buck saw the culprit.
It was ... a mummy.
A mummy with a machine gun.
Buck took a closer look at the creature in the room, being sure not to reveal himself in the act. It was a mummy all right - or at least a man wrapped in toilet paper. He held a machine gun in his right hand and fired it randomly around the room. Occasionally he would laugh, the sound similar to that Buck heard in Nicolae's office after he had left....
Buck then ran back to his office and muffled the sound of the closing door. He placed a chair and a few heavy folders against the door, and then locked it. "It must be the one that wants the disk," he breathed. "But why kill just for a disk ... wait - the maps!"
Buck looked on his desk, finding the paper that he had written Frank Parker's phone number on. He took it and dialed the number into his phone, hoping that the NSA agent would pick up. If he were lucky, then the agent would send some special operation troop ... granted that one was available.
*Location - NNL*
Parker and Donovan were drinking in Parker's quarters when the chrononaut's cell phone rang.
"Uh-oh," Donovan laughed drunkenly, slamming his bottle of beer on a table. "Looks like you've got another urgent call."
Parker, still holding his beer, took his cell phone from his pocket and pressed a button. "Parker here."
"Yes?" a familiar voice answered. "Is this Frank Parker?"
"Yeah," Parker said, setting his beer down on the table next to Donovan's. "Who is this?"
"It's me, Buck Williams. Listen here, Parker - I'm in trouble."
Parker sat up. "What kind of trouble?"
"There's a man, in my apartment. He's wrapped in toilet paper and has some sort of strange machine gun that shoots out electricity. I think he's after the Digital Conundrum disk."
Parker's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait up - a guy ... in toilet paper? With a machine gun? Are you sure about this, Buck?"
"I am!" Buck's impatient voice replied. "I think that maybe you could transport me to somewhere safe - somewhere where I could help you decipher the disk. Can you do that, Parker?"
Parker looked up at Donovan, who had stood up rather shakily. "Could you set up a Special Ops team to rescue Mr. Williams, Donovan?"
Donovan nodded. "I could, but I'd have to clear it with Talmadge."
Parker nodded and returned to his phone. "Buck, we're setting up a Special Ops force to storm your apartment. We'll be sure to drive out that man in toilet paper in an hour. Call me back in fifteen minutes - if you don't hear me pick up, the team is on its way."
"All right," Buck sighed. "Just be sure to come quickly - I don't think I could hold out here much longer."
"Okay," Parker said as he hung up.
Donovan was on the intercom, and managed to get Talmadge on the line. "Talmadge, we've got us a situation," the Navy SEAL said, impatient though drunk.
"What is it, Craig?" came Talmadge's voice through the scratchy speakers.
"There's a man, Buck Williams, that's being ambushed by some guy in toilet paper holding a machine gun. Buck has the Digital Conundrum disk too, Talmadge - he may be essential for solving the other code on it."
There was a pause. "All right, Craig. The Panel has given us permission to rescue Buck Williams. Despite that he's press, you're to bring him here. Understand?"
Donovan nodded. "Understood, Talmadge." He hung up the intercom.
"So, we're going to save Buck?" Parker asked, taking a beer and slamming it down.
"Sure," Donovan smiled. "Oh - and that was my beer."
*Location - Buck's apartment*
Fifteen minutes after calling Parker, Buck cowered underneath the computer table in his office, phone in his hands. He remembered what Parker had told him - call back in fifteen minutes. His hands shaking, Buck picked up the phone and dialed the number.
The phone rang once when the sound of a door slamming open reached his ears. Machine gun fire followed, along with unintelligible shouts. Cackling electricity was then heard, the words "Snake Bandage!" nearly inaudible over the racket.
And then it was silent.
A man kicked down the door to Buck's office, knocking down the folders and chair. The man was dressed in black military fatigues, and a machine gun was in a hand. He looked forty, but Buck knew that some people looked older than they were.
"Hey, Buck," the man said in a voice Buck recognized. "I'm Frank Parker. You safe?"
Buck nodded and dusted himself off. "Yeah. Where's the guy in toilet paper?"
"Oh, we just chased him off," Parker said, helping Buck to his feet. "Your apartment's a mess. You really think that guy was after the disk?"
"I think so. I heard the guy's voice after my meeting with Nicolae Carpathia, the Romanian president. The guy sounded as if he wanted the disk - immediately."
Another man, dressed like Parker, came up behind him. "What would the Romanian president have to do with this?" the man asked.
"I don't know," Buck replied. "How about you, Parker?"
"Beats me. Now come on - Donovan and I have to take you to NNL."
"NNL?" Buck asked. "Where's that?"
Parker's companion shrugged. "Hey - not even we know."
Buck failed to notice the wink that Parker gave to his friend.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Nefertimon's Rosetta Stone attack splintered into thousands of barbs when Angemon's attack struck it. Yet the attack did nothing to faze the giant digimon.
"It didn't work, Takeru!" Angemon yelled. "Now what?"
Takeru looked down at the ocean, finding a beacon of pink light walk silently upon the waves.
Hikari.
The shadows of the Hangyomon swam beneath their appointed leader, their hunting spears armed to attack the giant Dagomon. The collective cries of "Hell Dive!" could be heard, muffled by the waves. Dagomon winced in pain as the spears were driven into his body.
"He's distracted!" Hikari yelled. "Attack!"
Nefertimon and Angemon readied themselves for another attack.
"Now!" Takeru ordered.
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
The attacks struck Dagomon's face, and the giant digimon crashed into the ocean with a giant splash.
The Hangyomon army rose from the water, bloodied spears in hand. Their eyes, shielded with diving masks, seemed to smile with the hope of victory.
"We did it," Hikari said. "We defeated Dagomon."
The Hangyomon raised their spears in triumph. "Long may Queen Hikari reign!" they yelled, the sound echoing across the grayscale world.
Then the Gesomon rose from the water, Dagomon behind them. Their number was more than twice that of the Hangyomon, a much larger army than Takeru and Hikari had faced in the past three months.
"Hikari, I guess you celebrated too soon," Takeru said, shocked.
Hikari stared out at the army that seemed to stretch across the entire ocean. "They're much larger than I anticipated," she droned over the roar of the sea. "What do we do?"
"We attack!" Takeru yelled. "You have to have a plan for this!"
Hikari shook her head. "I'm sorry, Takeru - I don't."
"This isn't good," Angemon moaned, seeming to look out at the ocean. "We're outnumbered."
"I doubt that we could hold them off," Nefertimon sighed.
Takeru saw the Gesomon and their Dagomon general advance - they were almost at the bluff. "We have to try," Takeru said. "Attack them - now!"
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Heaven's Knuckle!"
Again Angemon's attack struck Nefertimon's, creating stone grenades that struck a third of the Gesomon. The fallen enemies fell into the ocean with no more than a groan of pain. Yet the army still advanced without a will to retreat.
"Hangyomon," Hikari droned, "I want half of you to swim towards the Gesomon. When in range, I want you to fire your special attacks. Understood?"
The Hangyomon nodded and dived into the water. Seconds later a few more Gesomon were seen sinking into the ocean. The invading army was now at the bluff, Dagomon only a few yards away from Hikari, Takeru, and the remaining digimon.
"Hangyomon, charge!" Hikari yelled, the details of the Gesomon now clear to her in the gray world.
Takeru saw the surging waves of battle below and looked towards Angemon. "We have to help out too," he said, and saw the angel's nod of agreement. "Attack!"
Nefertimon again was the first to fire. "Rosetta Stone!"
Angemon recoiled his fist for the attack, and was ready to fire. "Heaven's...."
He never finished.
One of Dagomon's tentacles struck Angemon, reeling him almost to the shore of the Dark Ocean. He seemed to be dazed, but Angemon only shook his head and flew towards Dagomon, fist readied again for attack.
"Angemon, are you alright?" Takeru yelled over the din of battle as Angemon flew by. He could see a spot of darkness where Dagomon had hit him.
"I'm fine, Takeru," Angemon said through clenched teeth as he fired his attack. "Heaven's Knuckle!"
The light struck Dagomon's face again, but this time the digimon was not affected. He pointed his dark eyes at Angemon, seeming to fire a message through them. Angemon could only stare into the dark maw, or at least it looked like he was.
"You will not do that to me again, Guardian," Dagomon hissed, wrapping one of its tentacle-like arms around the angel's body. It was the first time the enemy had spoken.
Nefertimon looked over at Angemon and saw him struggling to break free of the dark digimon's grip. "Takeru, we have to rescue Angemon!" she shouted, looking up at the human boy on her back. Her sessile face seemed to show some urgency.
Takeru nodded. "All right. Nefertimon, fly towards Angemon and fire a Curse of the Queen at Dagomon."
Nefertimon banked towards Angemon and nodded. "All right!" The crown upon her head glowed pink in preparation for the attack. When she was only a few feet away from the tentacle that held Angemon, she fired a beam of pink light.
"Curse of the Queen!"
The tentacle was cut cleanly off Dagomon and disintegrated in a burst of digital data. Angemon was released from his bonds, yet something seemed to still be wrong.
The angel just hovered before Dagomon, arms hanging limply by his sides. Nefertimon turned to face Angemon at Takeru's command, and could only stare at him, worried. What was going on?
"Angemon!" Takeru yelled out, the sounds of battle seeming to fade away. "Angemon!!"
The angel did not move to acknowledge Takeru.
"I don't know what's going on," Nefertimon mused. "Angemon's never been this way."
"Same here," Takeru added. "Why won't he answer?"
An aura of white light formed around Angemon, bringing a slight tint of color into the world of darkness. He brought his head level with Dagomon's eyes and seemed to glare at him intently. "I shall be the one to destroy you, Dagomon," Angemon whispered, his voice strangely different. It seemed to be deeper, monotonous. Nobody had heard Angemon speak that way - except for Takeru.
"It's happening again," Takeru breathed, closing his eyes. "He spoke that way before - when he fought Devimon five years ago. And he had that aura about him, too...."
"Guardian, why do you sound so confident?" Dagomon crooned, moving his face closer to Angemon. "What makes you believe that you are to defeat me?"
Angemon did not respond, and the aura about him grew in size and intensity. Takeru had to shield his eyes just to see clearly. He looked below, and saw Hikari and the two armies staring upward, too. Takeru was so engrossed with the sight below that he was almost unable to catch the words that Angemon whispered next.
"God's ... Typhoon."
The white light that surrounded Angemon engulfed the whole of the Dark Ocean, blotting everything from view. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon could only look away as they were blinded by the aftereffects of the attack. Soon all that was left in the realm of the Dark Ocean was silence.
*Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA*
Delores sat before the multiple computer consoles in the defunct apartment, basked in the blinking lights of the LCD screens. A phone was in her gloved hands, and a bowl of ramen was on the table before her.
"What do you mean, you don't have the Digital Conundrum disk?" she hissed, slamming her hands on the table. "Why weren't you able to get it from Buck Williams?"
Nicolae's voice trembled from the other end. "Well, you see, I did manage to trash the entire apartment-"
"Imbecile! You could have destroyed the disk! That disk has all the information we need to start the Digital Conundrum!!"
"Well, don't you have a backup on one of your hard drives?"
"Of course I do," Delores said, brushing her white hair away from her face. "We just can't have any proof lying around for curious people to discover - like Mr. Williams."
"So, what now, sweetie-pie?"
Delores stood up and kicked the table, spilling the bowl of ramen over her red dress. "Don't you dare call me sweetie-pie! Do that again and I'll do more than start the Digital Conundrum!" She sighed and sat herself back in her chair. "Invite Buck Williams to your next conference and kill him there. It might do him some good."
"Well, you see," Nicolae stuttered, "we might have some trouble doing that. An NSA Special Ops teams came in and fired at me while trashing Buck's apartment. I barely escaped!"
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Delores shrieked.
"Well ... Mr. Williams is in the custody of the NSA. But ... I did manage to copy the Digital Conundrum files from his computer. I have a backup disk right in my hands."
Delores nodded and leaned back in her chair. "That's good. At least you finally did something right." She sighed. "Well, with Buck Williams in the custody of NSA ... I think I might have to start the Conundrum a little early."
Nicolae gasped. "And how will you manage that?"
"Easy. I get Buck and my old friend Frankie to come here. And then I trap them in the digital world, and then press the big red button. You know what happens when I press the big red button."
"Oh, yeah," Nicolae said hurriedly. "But ... we haven't even placed the explosives in the Center yet."
Delores smiled and glanced at one of the computer screens. This one was blotted out in white, but shapes in grayscale were starting to form. In a few seconds the forms of Hikari, Takeru, Nefertimon, and Angemon were clearly defined.
"Don't worry," Delores crooned. "I'm sure that two little brats are going to lead us there."
to be continued
Additional Disclaimer: Just for the record, anything copyrighted that I mention in this story is not a property of me! They belong to much more wealthier people than I.
Author's note: Hikari and Takeru are in the Dark Ocean for three months because Hikari chooses to lead those digimon she encountered in "Dagomon's Call" against the 'dark undersea master', instead of refusing as she did in the series. And yes, she did bring her D3 this time around.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....
Backstep 01
Dark Ocean High Tide
*Location - Dark Ocean*
*Time - seven days before Digital Conundrum*
Hikari Yagami and Tailmon stood before the Dark Ocean, the pink aura about them the only color in the grayscale world. Behind her stood an army of Hangyomon, led by their appointed leader, Takeru Takaishi. Takeru's partner, Patamon, was seated atop his head.
"Hikari," Takeru ventured, "we've been here for three months. Daisuke and the others are probably worried about us now. We haven't even had contact with Earth or the Digital World." He sighed. "Hikari, you shouldn't have even volunteered for defeating the Dark Undersea Master."
Hikari, her eyes blank, turned to face Takeru. "I had no choice," she droned, her voice surprisingly adult for her young age. It had been like that since she had led the Hangyomon armies. "The power of the Crest of Light has told me to smite the darkness."
Takeru shook his head. "You didn't have to drag me into it. At this rate, we'll be back by the end of summer vacation. And what about our group project with Daisuke?"
"Daisuke's a jerk."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Tailmon groaned. She leaned on Hikari's leg. "Now where are Dagomon and his troops?"
Hikari turned back to face the ocean. "They're coming. Takeru, I want you to have Patamon and Tailmon armor evolve. Take Pegasmon and Nefertimon over the ocean. When you see Dagomon, signal with your special attacks."
Takeru reluctantly nodded his head. He was always following Hikari's orders. "Patamon, are you ready?"
Patamon jumped off of Takeru's head, almost taking the boy's hat with him. "Sure am."
"Okay." Takeru took out his D3 and raised it before Patamon. "Digimental Up!"
"Patamon, armor evolve! Galloping Hope, Pegasmon!"
Hikari slowly moved her D3 from her waist and pointed the screen at Tailmon. "Digimental Up," she droned unenthusiastically.
"Tailmon, armor evolve! Angel of Light, Nefertimon!"
Takeru jumped onto Pegasumon's back and signaled for Nefertimon to come beside them. "I'll be back, Hikari," Takeru sighed as the two armored digimon rose into the air.
*Location - Mount Prospect suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA*
Parker emerged from the Sphere, bloodied and bruised from the backstep. He threw off his helmet and tenderly rubbed his eyes, finding an unexpected scene before him.
It was a street lined with houses.
Parker groaned, but it was not from the pain. "Just great," he complained as he clambered back into the time machine to grab his duffel bag. "Talmadge is going to have a heck of a time with this one."
When Parker climbed out of the Sphere again, he found a few people in sweats staring at him curiously. It was no big surprise - Parker was dressed in an orange flight suit, and a top-secret government experimental time machine was behind him.
"Don't worry folks," Parker said as he made his way to one of the houses. "The thing won't hurt you - except for your morning commute."
Parker made his way to the front door of the nearest house and rang the doorbell. It was a decent house, two stories tall, made of weathered brick. There was even a semicircular drive that went up to the doorstep.
A man in a dress flight suit answered the door. He, too, had a duffel bag in his hands. Parker recognized him from the previous timeline as Rayford Steele, the pilot of the plane he took to England on the day of the disappearances. Rayford had a frown on his face.
"Hi there," Parker smiled. "By any chance could I borrow your phone?"
Rayford budged his way out of the door and walked over to his SUV in the drive. "I suggest that you ask my wife," he grumbled as he climbed inside the vehicle and drove off.
Parker walked inside and shook his head. "Some bedside manner," he mumbled.
The house was festively decorated with balloons and streamers. A die-cut paper banner proclaiming HAPPY BIRTHDAY was hung over the doorway to the kitchenette straight ahead. Before the stove in the kitchenette was a woman with straight blonde hair and a casual shirt and skirt hanging off her body. She was flipping some flapjacks onto a plate.
"Mrs. Steele?" Parker ventured cautiously, not wanting the woman to burn herself.
The woman turned around, revealing a friendlier face than her husband's. "Oh, hello ... sir," she stuttered, looking down at Parker's flight suit. "Uh, what are you doing here?"
"I need to make an urgent phone call. Would you mind if I used the phone?"
The woman nodded. "Sure. It's right next to the fridge."
Parker nodded. "Thanks."
A minute later he had dialed the Conundrum number and waited for the signal from the NNL switching board.
*Location - NNL*
"Conundrum."
Talmadge picked up the phone in the briefing room and pressed the speakerphone button. "Talmadge here. Parker, what's the mission?"
Parker's voice came through the speakers in the briefing room. "A series of mysterious disappearances will take place seven days from now. The President and Vice President were killed in the past timeline due to the crash of Air Force One."
"Do you know who caused the disappearances?" Talmadge asked as the rest of Project Backstep's senior staff entered the room.
"No. We only had three leads before backstepping. The first was a phone call from a girl named Delores that claimed that she was my girlfriend. Of course, I don't know anyone named Delores."
"That's an understatement," Ramsey groaned as he settled into his seat.
"Second is a streaming feed on the Internet dubbed by nerds as the QuickTime Version 6.0 special. I think Owsley knows something about it."
Owsley, still in his pajamas, sat into one of the chairs. "I've heard of it. Even planning on downloading it, too. Could you tell me something about the movie?"
"Yeah, sure, Owls. According to what I saw in the previous timeline, there were some 'digimon' and some kids having to save some kind of holy stone from a black dragon. Then some angel blew a trumpet, and all the kids in the movie disappeared out of their clothing."
"Does that have anything to do with the disappearances here, though?" Donovan asked.
"It does. Right when the disappearances occurred in the movie, they happened all over the world. All the children vanished, guys. Even some adults - including some senior staff members."
"Like who?" Olga ventured.
"Oh, well...." Parker laughed. "Ramsey-"
"Me!" Ramsey roared. "Why do I disappear?"
"I was kidding, Ramsey. But those that did disappear were most of the welders...."
"Who needs all of those welders, anyway?" Owsley yawned.
".... Isaac, some of the medical staff, and Olga, just to name a few."
Talmadge bowed his head. "And this will all take place in seven days, right?"
"It will. I also have a disk here from reporter Buck Williams that has some kind of plan. There are schematics for the failed air strike on Israel three years back, along with a strange map and two pictures of things shown in the QuickTime special. Owsley will have fun deciphering the two codes on this disk."
"Yahoo," Owsley cheered unconvincingly.
"Okay. So, where are you, Parker? And where's the Sphere?" Talmadge asked.
"Well ... you wouldn't believe me," Parker chuckled, "but the Sphere landed in the middle of a residential street, I think near Chicago. I'm calling from a house."
Ramsey struck the table with a fist. "Just great," he yelled. "Here we are on the most urgent mission of our lives, and the Sphere lands in a residential area! How are we going to pull this one off without the people noticing?"
"Don't worry, Ramsey - it's a Monday," Parker said calmly. "Most people are at work. We'll get the Sphere and me out of here fine."
"I hope the Panel doesn't take this badly," Talmadge sighed as he hung up the phone.
*Location - United Nations Headquarters, New York City, New York, USA*
Buck Williams climbed the many flights of stairs to Nicolae's private office in the main UN Building. The reporter didn't know why the Romanian president would want to see him - Nicolae was not known well as a press sympathizer. Yet here he was, in his best suit and tie, ready to face the man that was taking the global political world by storm.
Three minutes later Buck knocked on a wooden door marked only with a plaque that read NICOLAE CARPATHIA - PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA. Within seconds a blonde man with power suit and tie answered the door.
"Oh, good morning to you sir," the man said with a thick Russian accent, extending a hand. "I am Nicolae Carpathia. You must be Cameron Williams."
Buck shook the man's hand and looked into his blue eyes. "Please, call me Buck."
"Buck," Nicolae nodded. "You may call me Nicolae. Please, come inside." He led the reporter into the office and closed the door.
Nicolae's office was nothing less than spectacular. There was a minibar beside an oak desk at the far end of the room. Behind the desk was a floor-length window, heralding a view of the city of New York. An open laptop was upon the desk.
"Buck," Nicolae started as he sat behind his desk, "I have a little proposition to make. Please, sit down."
Buck uneasily sat at a chair on the other side of the desk, facing Nicolae. The man's formal disposition was unnerving him. "So, what is this proposition?"
Nicolae smiled. "Well, Buck, I need a publicity manager. The world is already being swooned by talk of world peace, and the press is hounding at me."
"So, why would you want me?" Buck asked. "I'm press."
"Yes, Buck, but you have not hounded trivial questions at me. You are the best journalist in the nation, Mr. Williams. That is why I officially name you now as my publicity manager."
Buck gasped. Here he was, at his first meeting with the Romanian president, and he was naming him publicity manager? It was too much for him to handle.
"Mr. Carpathia, I'm honored," he finally managed to gasp. "Is that all you want me here for?"
Nicolae pressed a button on his laptop, and a CD tray emerged from the side. He picked up an unlabeled minidisk and raised it before Buck's eyes.
"This disk has all the plans you need for the advertising campaign," he stated as he pressed the disk into Buck's hands. "Keep it safe. I do not want others to see the items upon it."
Buck nodded and looked down at his watch. He turned the alarm mechanism dial, and the clock face popped off, revealing the battery. Buck dropped the disk inside, satisfied that it fit, and replaced the face.
"I'll be sure not to reveal the disk to anyone," Buck nodded. "Is that all?"
"It is. Be sure to keep in touch - I will need you here for the UN meeting." Nicolae rose from his seat and signaled for Buck to do the same.
"I will," Buck said as he made his way to the door. He was about to turn the door handle when he doubled back and pulled some crisp papers from a pocket in his jacket. He laid them on Nicolae's desk.
"Mr. Carpathia," Buck said, "these are the recommendation papers for Miss Durham, your secretary elect. I've even written a letter of recommendation for her."
Nicolae nodded and sat back at his desk. He took the papers into his hands. "Thank you, Buck," he said as he buried himself into his work.
Buck made his way back to the door and walked out. "You're welcome," he muttered as he gently closed the door.
A strange voice from inside Nicolae's office caught Buck's attention. He leaned his ear on the door, hoping to hear more.
"Archnemon? Yes, sweetie ... I've got Mr. Williams as publicity ... yeah, I still have the Digital Conundrum disk ... let me check ... darn it! I have the publicity disk! And that means that Buck has the Digital Conundrum...."
Buck looked down at his watch and hurriedly made his way down the hall, away from Nicolae's office. He opened his watch and found the disk still inside. He sighed and ran down the stairs to his car and drove to his apartment. Whoever was talking in the Romanian president's office seemed that he wanted the disk in Buck's possession urgently.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Takeru, Pegasmon, and Nefertimon landed on a rocky bluff a few miles away from the shore. The boy jumped off Pegasmon's back and walked to the edge of the rocks, the spray of the gray ocean sprinkling his body.
"It's been three months, guys," Takeru sighed, "and we still have not defeated Dagomon and his Gesomon army. Do you two have any explanations as to why?"
"Hikari seems not to have her heart into the battle," Nefertimon stated, "and you don't seem to go along with her orders."
"And what does that signify?" Takeru asked, turning back to face the digimon.
"Nefertimon and I don't seem to fight as well if your hearts aren't into your actions," Pegasmon said. "But then, I have another proposal."
"And what is it?"
"We haven't tried battling Dagomon and his army in our natural evolved forms."
Takeru sighed. "That's true. Do you think we should try it?"
Pegasmon nodded his head and reverted back to Patamon. "Sure. You ride on Nefertimon, leaving me free to battle."
Takeru nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Let's give it a try." He took his D3 from his waist and pointed it at his partner. "Evolve!"
Patamon shined with a golden light. "Patamon, evolve! Angemon!!"
The angel stood by Nefertimon, their light seeming to add some color in the grayscale world. They stared off at the ocean, warily awaiting something.
Then the shadow rose from the waters off the bluff.
It was a strange shape, almost like a macabre cross between a squid and a human.
Yet Takeru and the digimon knew whom this creature was.
Dagomon.
The Dark Undersea Master.
*Location - NNL*
Parker settled himself in Owsley's quarters at the NNL complex and threw the young man the minidisk he had obtained in the previous timeline. It had been hours since Ramsey had arrived in Mount Prospect to recover him and the Sphere, and now the chrononaut wanted a rest.
"I call the disk Digital Conundrum," Parker said, pulling a chair up before the computer next to Owsley. "Those will be the first words that you see."
Owsley placed the minidisk into a minidisk reader connected to his computer. Immediately the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM flashed on the screen.
"Digital Conundrum," Owsley remarked, nodding his head. "Is there more?"
The map of the Middle East appeared on the screen next, the code numbers still at the bottom of the screen. Arrows then appeared, flashing towards Israel from the north, east, and southwest.
"I guess these were the plans for that air strike on Israel three years back," Owsley said. "The attack plan's exactly the same. There's a code number down here, too - I'll figure it out later." He pressed a few buttons. "Here's some more."
The map of the world, with the flashing regions of green, replaced the Middle East map. "What do you make of that, Owls?" Parker asked.
Owsley could only shake his head. "Don't know. But these regions all seem to be inhospitable areas." He pointed to where Siberia and the Sahara would be. "I don't see why they would be important."
"Wait - there was a scientist that created a formula that could make plants grow anywhere," Parker suggested. "Do you think these are plans for growing things there?"
"Yeah, it might," Owsley agreed. "The man that created that Eden Formula came from Israel."
"And the attack on Israel might've just been a way to scare the Formula out of that scientist's hands. But why then use it on other parts of the world? As I remember, only Russia, Egypt, and I think Iraq attacked Israel three years back."
"Maybe other nations would have bought it from those countries." Owsley looked back at the screen, and saw the code number at the bottom. "Great - another code. Looks the same as the other, but I'll find a way to figure it out." He pressed some more buttons on the keyboard.
This time the picture of the black spire and the ring-adorned stone graced the screen, surrounded by the strange characters. Owsley looked at the characters in recognition.
"I've seen these symbols before," he said excitedly. He typed in something, and immediately another window opened up on the screen over the pictures. This one had Japanese characters on the bottom, an input field on the top, and the words DIGITAL ANALYZER written on the far left side.
"What's that, Owls?" Parker asked.
"It's a Digital Hieroglyph Translator," Owsley replied. He selected an item on the analyzer, and the Japanese characters changed into their Digital Hieroglyph equivalents. "It translates from Japanese to Digital Hieroglyphs and vice versa. I've tweaked with this program, though, to instantly translate English into Digital Hieroglyphs and Digital Hieroglyphs into English."
Parker nodded. "Good - you should've told me this in the previous timeline. Now where did you get this program?"
Owsley gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, a website for the Japanese band Teenage Wolves. They're pretty good."
"And why would something like this be on a band's web page?"
"Rumor has it that the leader of the band, Yamato, he was transported to some place called the Digital World five years back," Owsley shrugged. "Yamato learned that the Digital Hieroglyphs correspond with Japanese phonetic characters. I downloaded this just for the heck of it, but I never thought that I would actually use it. But that stuff about a digital world - I think it's all crud."
"Exactly what I would say."
Owsley copied and pasted the Digital Hieroglyphs into the input field of the Digital Hieroglyph Translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE button, and immediately an English translation appeared in a separate window. Owsley scrolled through the translation quickly before he spoke again.
"You were right about this disk being some sort of a plan, Parker," Owsley remarked. "This part describes what the stone and the black Washington Monument thing are."
"What are they?" Parker asked, moving closer to see the translation clearly.
"Well, the Washington Monument thing is called a Dark Tower. It is an object of pure darkness, with the same dimensions as the Washington Monument. When these things were powered with darkness, they put some sort of lock on the evolution of 'digimon'... what?" Owsley looked closer at the screen. "I have no idea what a 'digimon' is."
"I think I might," Parker sighed. "In the previous timeline, I saw the QuickTime special, right?"
"Yeah. So?"
"There were some characters that looked like stuffed animals. They claimed that they were these digimon. And they changed their forms in a process called 'evolution'."
"Oh. I see." Owsley rubbed his eyes. "Well, anyway, these Dark Towers also serve another purpose - they can be used either to create these digimon that you talk of, or they could amplify the powers of darkness after the Trumpet of Hope is blown, causing darkness to flood the Earth and the 'salvation' of the children and faithful of both worlds ... Parker, this isn't making any sense!"
"Nothing on this disk makes any sense," Parker scoffed. "But I do remember that people disappeared when the Trumpet of Hope was blown in the movie."
"And that could only mean, then, that this place where the Dark Towers are - the digital world mentioned in the movie you tell of - really exists."
"That's what you thought in the previous timeline. Now tell me what this stone thing is."
Owsley scrolled further down the translation. "The stone is a Holy Stone. It contains the powers of light that supposedly keep this digital world in balance. There is some sort of legend behind it - if some Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope calls upon the stones' power, then the said trumpet is revealed. And you probably already know what happens when that Guardian plays that horn."
"Yeah, I know," Parker sighed. "Not a happy sight."
"Well, there's more to it. The same results also occur when all seven of these Holy Stones are destroyed."
"Let me guess - horn revealed, Guardian revealed, horn played, we all die. Right?"
"You got the picture. Now here's the last one." Owsley closed the translation window and pressed a few keys. The final image, that of the angel and the horn, covered the screen.
"Great - more of these Digital Hieroglyphs," Owsley grumbled as he selected the text and copied them into the field of the translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE key again, and this time a smaller translation window popped up.
"Wow - very self explanatory," Owsley droned.
"What do you mean?" Parker asked. "What does it say?"
Owsley stared at the text. "This angel-digimon is named 'holy Angemon', and he's the Guardian of this Trumpet of Hope thing. There's statistics and everything about him - height, weight, special attack-"
"Wait up - special attack?" Parker exclaimed. "An angel has a special attack?"
"Hey, don't ask me," Owsley said, backing away from the computer. "See for yourself."
Parker looked over at the translation on the screen. "Holy Angemon. Height - ten feet. Weight - four hundred pounds. He must work out. Let's see ... special attack - Heaven's Gate. He did that in the movie. Secondary attack - Excalibur."
"That's so Stan Lee," Owsley droned.
"Hey, Owls," Parker said, staring at the screen, "I think I figured out why the disappearances had occurred in the previous timeline."
"And what's that?"
Parker turned to face Owsley, his face grim. "The translation said that if the Guardian summoned the Trumpet of Hope and the Center is destroyed ... then the Guardian's strength would be stolen, resulting in the immediate playing of the horn and the Guardian's death."
Owsley just stared at Parker with an 'I think you're out of it' look. "Parker, was that what happened in the previous timeline?"
Parker could only nod his head. "Yeah."
*Location - Buck's apartment, Manhattan, New York*
Buck ran into his apartment, panting. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his mouth. The salty taste was uncomfortable to his tongue. He slowly made his way into his private office and closed the door.
"What has gotten into Nicolae?" Buck asked himself as he sat before his computer. Normally - which was whenever Buck saw him on television - Nicolae was a pacifist, always bowing down to the needy. 'Father Theresa', that was what the senior staff at Global Weekly called Nicolae. Always trying to do something good for the global community.
But the Nicolae that Buck had heard in his office only moments after he left - that was a man the world had yet to meet. The journalist wondered whom that Archnemon character that Nicolae spoke to was - the name didn't sound Romanian or American to Buck. Heck, it didn't even sound like it a name anybody on Earth would have. And what was this business about a Digital Conundrum disk?
Buck took the disk from his watch and slipped it inside his computer's minidisk drive. Instead of Nicolae's advertising ploys, as he had expected, the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM graced the screen.
"What is this?" Buck asked as the screen showed a map of the Middle East, arrows shown pointing to the general area of Israel. A code number appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Then Buck's phone rang.
*Location - NNL*
Buck's voice came over the speakerphone in Owsley's quarters. Parker sat by the phone, with a ready view of the computer.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Williams?" Parker asked, falling into a comic book covered couch. Owsley sat beside him.
"Uh, yes," Buck stuttered. "Who is this?"
"My name's Frank Parker," Parker said. "Do you have the Digital Conundrum disk?"
There was a long pause. "Are you with Nicolae?" Buck asked at length.
"No - I'm NSA. No connection with Nicolae at all."
A sigh. "Good. I just heard from Nicolae after I left the UN that he wanted to get back some Digital Conundrum disk. I don't even know what the Digital Conundrum disk is!"
"Do you have a disk with you?"
"I do."
"Does it say DIGITAL CONUNDRUM when you insert it into your computer?"
"Yeah."
"Then that's the Digital Conundrum disk."
Buck seemed to gasp, but a sound on a phone couldn't reveal much. "What do you want with it, Mr. Parker?" he finally asked.
"We also have a copy of the Digital Conundrum disk," Parker replied. "We have figured out some of the codes that are in the latter part of the program. Now, you might have noticed the code numbers on some of the images, right?"
"Yeah. Do you know what they mean?"
Parker shook his head. "No. But we would like you to come over to NNL to help us figure it out."
"No. I have a job, Mr. Parker. I have to work on the publicity for Nicolae Carpathia."
Parker sighed in defeat. "Well then, Mr. Williams, I'll just leave you my number. You get yourself into trouble, you call me, all right?"
"Fine," Buck said. "What's your number?"
"It's 555-6751. You'll reach my cell phone."
"All right. But don't expect an answer, Mr. Parker." He hung up.
Parker turned off the speakerphone. "That was not the Buck I remembered from the past timeline," he sighed.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Takeru jumped onto Nefertimon's back when Dagomon fully rose from the water. The monstrosity was nearly twenty feet tall from the water to his head. His long tentacle-like arms swept along the edge of the rocky bluff.
"Angemon, Nefertimon, fly out of the way!" Takeru yelled. Immediately the digimon jumped from the ground. Dagomon's arm moved over the bluff - if they had jumped a second later, Takeru, Angemon, and Nefertimon would have been knocked into the gray ocean.
The shadowy Dagomon then faced his miniature opponents, the maw of his ebony eyes boring into their hearts. He did not say a word, but his eyes told all. You must be destroyed!
"Nefertimon," Takeru ordered, "do your Rosetta Stone attack! Angemon, when Nefertimon fires her attack, strike the stone with a Heaven's Knuckle! We have to alert Hikari!!"
Nefertimon's armored back shone with a pink light, and a tome-shaped rock covered with Digital Hieroglyphs emerged. "Rosetta Stone!" the digimon cried out, and the rock shot out from the light.
Angemon's staff glowed a brazen shade as it fell into his fist. He saw the stone shoot forth from Nefertimon's back and readied himself for the attack. The stone was halfway between Nefertimon and Dagomon when he fired the light from his hand.
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
*Location - Buck's apartment*
Buck fell asleep for a few hours before his computer. When he had finally awakened, he was disoriented, unsure of where he was. It was only by looking at his computer did he know that he was home.
There were no windows in Buck's private office - only his computer, a phone, and a digital clock. He glanced at the clock and found it was eight in the evening. His stomach started to churn audibly - he hadn't had a meal since before he had met Nicolae.
Buck removed the Digital Conundrum disk from his computer and returned it to the secret compartment in his watch. It was too late to go to a restaurant - it would be another night of eating instant soup before the television. He grudgingly rose from his chair and opened the door that led to the rest of his apartment.
Buck, though, could only stick his head out of the door. The floor of the apartment was strewn with furniture stuffing and papers. It was as if a hurricane had made its way through the room.
"What the hell is going on here?" Buck asked himself as he walked out of his office.
Then he heard a yell come from his living room.
"Snake Bandage!"
Buck could see a shot of white and crimson lightning arc its way through his living room, striking the television. Sparks flew from the demolished TV, briefly setting some pieces of paper and stuffing on fire.
That was when Buck saw the culprit.
It was ... a mummy.
A mummy with a machine gun.
Buck took a closer look at the creature in the room, being sure not to reveal himself in the act. It was a mummy all right - or at least a man wrapped in toilet paper. He held a machine gun in his right hand and fired it randomly around the room. Occasionally he would laugh, the sound similar to that Buck heard in Nicolae's office after he had left....
Buck then ran back to his office and muffled the sound of the closing door. He placed a chair and a few heavy folders against the door, and then locked it. "It must be the one that wants the disk," he breathed. "But why kill just for a disk ... wait - the maps!"
Buck looked on his desk, finding the paper that he had written Frank Parker's phone number on. He took it and dialed the number into his phone, hoping that the NSA agent would pick up. If he were lucky, then the agent would send some special operation troop ... granted that one was available.
*Location - NNL*
Parker and Donovan were drinking in Parker's quarters when the chrononaut's cell phone rang.
"Uh-oh," Donovan laughed drunkenly, slamming his bottle of beer on a table. "Looks like you've got another urgent call."
Parker, still holding his beer, took his cell phone from his pocket and pressed a button. "Parker here."
"Yes?" a familiar voice answered. "Is this Frank Parker?"
"Yeah," Parker said, setting his beer down on the table next to Donovan's. "Who is this?"
"It's me, Buck Williams. Listen here, Parker - I'm in trouble."
Parker sat up. "What kind of trouble?"
"There's a man, in my apartment. He's wrapped in toilet paper and has some sort of strange machine gun that shoots out electricity. I think he's after the Digital Conundrum disk."
Parker's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait up - a guy ... in toilet paper? With a machine gun? Are you sure about this, Buck?"
"I am!" Buck's impatient voice replied. "I think that maybe you could transport me to somewhere safe - somewhere where I could help you decipher the disk. Can you do that, Parker?"
Parker looked up at Donovan, who had stood up rather shakily. "Could you set up a Special Ops team to rescue Mr. Williams, Donovan?"
Donovan nodded. "I could, but I'd have to clear it with Talmadge."
Parker nodded and returned to his phone. "Buck, we're setting up a Special Ops force to storm your apartment. We'll be sure to drive out that man in toilet paper in an hour. Call me back in fifteen minutes - if you don't hear me pick up, the team is on its way."
"All right," Buck sighed. "Just be sure to come quickly - I don't think I could hold out here much longer."
"Okay," Parker said as he hung up.
Donovan was on the intercom, and managed to get Talmadge on the line. "Talmadge, we've got us a situation," the Navy SEAL said, impatient though drunk.
"What is it, Craig?" came Talmadge's voice through the scratchy speakers.
"There's a man, Buck Williams, that's being ambushed by some guy in toilet paper holding a machine gun. Buck has the Digital Conundrum disk too, Talmadge - he may be essential for solving the other code on it."
There was a pause. "All right, Craig. The Panel has given us permission to rescue Buck Williams. Despite that he's press, you're to bring him here. Understand?"
Donovan nodded. "Understood, Talmadge." He hung up the intercom.
"So, we're going to save Buck?" Parker asked, taking a beer and slamming it down.
"Sure," Donovan smiled. "Oh - and that was my beer."
*Location - Buck's apartment*
Fifteen minutes after calling Parker, Buck cowered underneath the computer table in his office, phone in his hands. He remembered what Parker had told him - call back in fifteen minutes. His hands shaking, Buck picked up the phone and dialed the number.
The phone rang once when the sound of a door slamming open reached his ears. Machine gun fire followed, along with unintelligible shouts. Cackling electricity was then heard, the words "Snake Bandage!" nearly inaudible over the racket.
And then it was silent.
A man kicked down the door to Buck's office, knocking down the folders and chair. The man was dressed in black military fatigues, and a machine gun was in a hand. He looked forty, but Buck knew that some people looked older than they were.
"Hey, Buck," the man said in a voice Buck recognized. "I'm Frank Parker. You safe?"
Buck nodded and dusted himself off. "Yeah. Where's the guy in toilet paper?"
"Oh, we just chased him off," Parker said, helping Buck to his feet. "Your apartment's a mess. You really think that guy was after the disk?"
"I think so. I heard the guy's voice after my meeting with Nicolae Carpathia, the Romanian president. The guy sounded as if he wanted the disk - immediately."
Another man, dressed like Parker, came up behind him. "What would the Romanian president have to do with this?" the man asked.
"I don't know," Buck replied. "How about you, Parker?"
"Beats me. Now come on - Donovan and I have to take you to NNL."
"NNL?" Buck asked. "Where's that?"
Parker's companion shrugged. "Hey - not even we know."
Buck failed to notice the wink that Parker gave to his friend.
*Location - Dark Ocean*
Nefertimon's Rosetta Stone attack splintered into thousands of barbs when Angemon's attack struck it. Yet the attack did nothing to faze the giant digimon.
"It didn't work, Takeru!" Angemon yelled. "Now what?"
Takeru looked down at the ocean, finding a beacon of pink light walk silently upon the waves.
Hikari.
The shadows of the Hangyomon swam beneath their appointed leader, their hunting spears armed to attack the giant Dagomon. The collective cries of "Hell Dive!" could be heard, muffled by the waves. Dagomon winced in pain as the spears were driven into his body.
"He's distracted!" Hikari yelled. "Attack!"
Nefertimon and Angemon readied themselves for another attack.
"Now!" Takeru ordered.
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
The attacks struck Dagomon's face, and the giant digimon crashed into the ocean with a giant splash.
The Hangyomon army rose from the water, bloodied spears in hand. Their eyes, shielded with diving masks, seemed to smile with the hope of victory.
"We did it," Hikari said. "We defeated Dagomon."
The Hangyomon raised their spears in triumph. "Long may Queen Hikari reign!" they yelled, the sound echoing across the grayscale world.
Then the Gesomon rose from the water, Dagomon behind them. Their number was more than twice that of the Hangyomon, a much larger army than Takeru and Hikari had faced in the past three months.
"Hikari, I guess you celebrated too soon," Takeru said, shocked.
Hikari stared out at the army that seemed to stretch across the entire ocean. "They're much larger than I anticipated," she droned over the roar of the sea. "What do we do?"
"We attack!" Takeru yelled. "You have to have a plan for this!"
Hikari shook her head. "I'm sorry, Takeru - I don't."
"This isn't good," Angemon moaned, seeming to look out at the ocean. "We're outnumbered."
"I doubt that we could hold them off," Nefertimon sighed.
Takeru saw the Gesomon and their Dagomon general advance - they were almost at the bluff. "We have to try," Takeru said. "Attack them - now!"
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Heaven's Knuckle!"
Again Angemon's attack struck Nefertimon's, creating stone grenades that struck a third of the Gesomon. The fallen enemies fell into the ocean with no more than a groan of pain. Yet the army still advanced without a will to retreat.
"Hangyomon," Hikari droned, "I want half of you to swim towards the Gesomon. When in range, I want you to fire your special attacks. Understood?"
The Hangyomon nodded and dived into the water. Seconds later a few more Gesomon were seen sinking into the ocean. The invading army was now at the bluff, Dagomon only a few yards away from Hikari, Takeru, and the remaining digimon.
"Hangyomon, charge!" Hikari yelled, the details of the Gesomon now clear to her in the gray world.
Takeru saw the surging waves of battle below and looked towards Angemon. "We have to help out too," he said, and saw the angel's nod of agreement. "Attack!"
Nefertimon again was the first to fire. "Rosetta Stone!"
Angemon recoiled his fist for the attack, and was ready to fire. "Heaven's...."
He never finished.
One of Dagomon's tentacles struck Angemon, reeling him almost to the shore of the Dark Ocean. He seemed to be dazed, but Angemon only shook his head and flew towards Dagomon, fist readied again for attack.
"Angemon, are you alright?" Takeru yelled over the din of battle as Angemon flew by. He could see a spot of darkness where Dagomon had hit him.
"I'm fine, Takeru," Angemon said through clenched teeth as he fired his attack. "Heaven's Knuckle!"
The light struck Dagomon's face again, but this time the digimon was not affected. He pointed his dark eyes at Angemon, seeming to fire a message through them. Angemon could only stare into the dark maw, or at least it looked like he was.
"You will not do that to me again, Guardian," Dagomon hissed, wrapping one of its tentacle-like arms around the angel's body. It was the first time the enemy had spoken.
Nefertimon looked over at Angemon and saw him struggling to break free of the dark digimon's grip. "Takeru, we have to rescue Angemon!" she shouted, looking up at the human boy on her back. Her sessile face seemed to show some urgency.
Takeru nodded. "All right. Nefertimon, fly towards Angemon and fire a Curse of the Queen at Dagomon."
Nefertimon banked towards Angemon and nodded. "All right!" The crown upon her head glowed pink in preparation for the attack. When she was only a few feet away from the tentacle that held Angemon, she fired a beam of pink light.
"Curse of the Queen!"
The tentacle was cut cleanly off Dagomon and disintegrated in a burst of digital data. Angemon was released from his bonds, yet something seemed to still be wrong.
The angel just hovered before Dagomon, arms hanging limply by his sides. Nefertimon turned to face Angemon at Takeru's command, and could only stare at him, worried. What was going on?
"Angemon!" Takeru yelled out, the sounds of battle seeming to fade away. "Angemon!!"
The angel did not move to acknowledge Takeru.
"I don't know what's going on," Nefertimon mused. "Angemon's never been this way."
"Same here," Takeru added. "Why won't he answer?"
An aura of white light formed around Angemon, bringing a slight tint of color into the world of darkness. He brought his head level with Dagomon's eyes and seemed to glare at him intently. "I shall be the one to destroy you, Dagomon," Angemon whispered, his voice strangely different. It seemed to be deeper, monotonous. Nobody had heard Angemon speak that way - except for Takeru.
"It's happening again," Takeru breathed, closing his eyes. "He spoke that way before - when he fought Devimon five years ago. And he had that aura about him, too...."
"Guardian, why do you sound so confident?" Dagomon crooned, moving his face closer to Angemon. "What makes you believe that you are to defeat me?"
Angemon did not respond, and the aura about him grew in size and intensity. Takeru had to shield his eyes just to see clearly. He looked below, and saw Hikari and the two armies staring upward, too. Takeru was so engrossed with the sight below that he was almost unable to catch the words that Angemon whispered next.
"God's ... Typhoon."
The white light that surrounded Angemon engulfed the whole of the Dark Ocean, blotting everything from view. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon could only look away as they were blinded by the aftereffects of the attack. Soon all that was left in the realm of the Dark Ocean was silence.
*Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA*
Delores sat before the multiple computer consoles in the defunct apartment, basked in the blinking lights of the LCD screens. A phone was in her gloved hands, and a bowl of ramen was on the table before her.
"What do you mean, you don't have the Digital Conundrum disk?" she hissed, slamming her hands on the table. "Why weren't you able to get it from Buck Williams?"
Nicolae's voice trembled from the other end. "Well, you see, I did manage to trash the entire apartment-"
"Imbecile! You could have destroyed the disk! That disk has all the information we need to start the Digital Conundrum!!"
"Well, don't you have a backup on one of your hard drives?"
"Of course I do," Delores said, brushing her white hair away from her face. "We just can't have any proof lying around for curious people to discover - like Mr. Williams."
"So, what now, sweetie-pie?"
Delores stood up and kicked the table, spilling the bowl of ramen over her red dress. "Don't you dare call me sweetie-pie! Do that again and I'll do more than start the Digital Conundrum!" She sighed and sat herself back in her chair. "Invite Buck Williams to your next conference and kill him there. It might do him some good."
"Well, you see," Nicolae stuttered, "we might have some trouble doing that. An NSA Special Ops teams came in and fired at me while trashing Buck's apartment. I barely escaped!"
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Delores shrieked.
"Well ... Mr. Williams is in the custody of the NSA. But ... I did manage to copy the Digital Conundrum files from his computer. I have a backup disk right in my hands."
Delores nodded and leaned back in her chair. "That's good. At least you finally did something right." She sighed. "Well, with Buck Williams in the custody of NSA ... I think I might have to start the Conundrum a little early."
Nicolae gasped. "And how will you manage that?"
"Easy. I get Buck and my old friend Frankie to come here. And then I trap them in the digital world, and then press the big red button. You know what happens when I press the big red button."
"Oh, yeah," Nicolae said hurriedly. "But ... we haven't even placed the explosives in the Center yet."
Delores smiled and glanced at one of the computer screens. This one was blotted out in white, but shapes in grayscale were starting to form. In a few seconds the forms of Hikari, Takeru, Nefertimon, and Angemon were clearly defined.
"Don't worry," Delores crooned. "I'm sure that two little brats are going to lead us there."
to be continued