Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
Thunder cracked and lightning flashed as rain poured from above. School had let out for the day and I was running back home as quickly as I could through the drenching rain. I had to chide myself for not thinking of grabbing an umbrella that day, but the weatherman said the storm would miss Twin Rivers completely. Turns out the weatherman was wrong. Again. So much for practicing my parkour tricks.
I didn't live far from the school, just a twenty-minute walk, but if I ran, I figured I could get back there in ten. I made a mad dash home, to the Empty Cup Cafe. My feet splashed in a puddle, completely soaking my foot. I cursed at how cold the water was. I loved autumn, with its changing leaves and spooky ambiance, but I hated running in the rain during the chilly season.
A boy on a skateboard passed me, kicking up water as he drove by and nearly splashing me. His hood was up to protect him from the rain, but I recognized him as an upperclassman. I think his name was Deckard…or something like that. I saw him skate home every day, but never really tried to get to know him. I didn't figure he'd want to talk to a freshman like me, anyway. "Sorry, 'scuse me," he said as he skated by me and then turned slightly to avoid a puddle on the sidewalk.
The rain was freezing cold and the wind picked up. I shivered as I ran, really wishing that I had called Aunt Ruby to see if she could pick me up. I knew that she would have dropped everything to come and get me, but I hated being an inconvenience, especially since I knew she was working and was most likely busy with the cafe.
As I turned the corner, a car pulled up beside me and stopped. It was an old and rusty blue jeep, and inside was another upperclassman who I knew was named Tobias Powell. He was tall and a little heavyset, with disheveled jet-black hair that was dripping from the rain. He always wore black band t-shirts, none of which I had ever heard of. He played in a band in which he was the singer and only guitarist. I usually heard him in the hallway, being loud and rowdy with his friends. That was all I really knew about him.
Tobias rolled his window down and said, "Hey, want a lift?"
I didn't waste any time and ran around the front of the car, threw open the passenger side door, and slid inside. He continued driving and I gave him instructions on how to get to my place. I was immensely grateful that he had the heater on, as I was a shivering and soaked mess.
"It's easy to spot. It's called the Empty Cup Cafe."
"That's not too far," he said. "I pass by that cafe of yours every day on my way to and from school. Never been in though."
"You should stop by sometime, if you like coffee that is."
"I love coffee. I usually grab one from the gas station every morning."
"Our coffee is way better than any gas station's coffee."
"I would hope so." Tobias turned the windshield wipers on to its highest setting as the rain and howling winds picked up. "Man, it's pouring out there. You should have asked someone for a ride instead of trying to walk in this."
"Don't know anyone with a car," I replied.
"You know me now. The name's-"
"Tobias, I remember you from the talent show. I really liked your band. What was it called again?"
"The Biscotte."
I laughed. "Right, I remember it was a goofy name."
"Please, it's a great name."
"Never said it wasn't."
"And your name is?"
"Oh, right. I'm Piper Calloway."
"Piper? Why does that name sound familiar? Aren't you that one kid that hops rooftops or something like that?"
"Yeah, that'd be me. What can I say? I love parkour."
"That's pretty cool. But, hey, you liked how we sounded? I have an extra cd here if you want to have it." He reached into his armrest compartment and pulled out a cd with the words "The Biscotte" written on the front of the case in sharpie, and under that was the name of the album; "The Solar Winds of War." I put the cd in my backpack to listen to later. Shortly after our conversation, he pulled up to the parking lot of the Empty Cup Cafe and parked as close to the building as he could. We were oddly busy for a stormy day like this, but I suppose a hot cup of coffee pairs well with the rain.
"Hey, I'll stop by sometime," Tobias said just before I got out of the car. "That coffee of yours had better be better than the stuff from the gas station."
"I promise you it is. Well, thanks for the ride, Tobias!"
"No prob, man."
He pulled out of the cafe's parking lot as I ran around the building and unlocked the back door. I stepped inside quickly and walked down the hallway and towards the kitchen. Water dripped from my drenched clothes all over the hardwood floor. Aunt Ruby was probably going to be a little annoyed by that, but I was too cold and wet to care.
To the right of the kitchen was a staircase that went up to the next floor. Our home was divided into two levels. The lower one was used for the cafe, and the upper one was our home. I went to my bedroom and got changed out of my wet clothes and put on dry ones. A fresh pair of cargo pants and a plain grey shirt would suffice. I also threw on my favorite black jacket as I was still a little chilly from earlier.
I headed to the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a few cookies that Aunt Ruby had made the day before. Once my drink was done brewing, I retreated back to my room to play some video games before I got started on my homework.
I sat at my desk and began mindlessly playing Chronos on my laptop. It was my favorite mmorpg and I typically played alone rather than with a group. I never could find a guild to join, which was odd for a player. It didn't bother me, though. I didn't need to play with anyone else. There was always something to do, so a guild never really felt necessary.
Thunder roared loudly from outside and a quick flash of lightning illuminated my room for just a moment. Rain pattered against my window as it continued to pour from the sky. It was going to be a slow, boring Friday afternoon, I could feel it. This was the last week of September and summer was coming to an end, meaning that the fall rains were rolling in. I was frustrated at being cooped up inside but it's not like I really had anywhere to be.
My cup of coffee was still steaming and I took a sip of it. Plain black coffee was my favorite. I wasn't sure why, I just loved the bitterness of it. It wasn't the only thing that made me odd, but it definitely added another tally to the list.
Hours passed and I was lost in my game. I could smell something cooking from the kitchen. Aunt Ruby had closed the cafe for the evening and was now making dinner, and, man, did it smell good. It had to be spaghetti, one of my favorite dishes that she made. She was one hell of a cook and even homemade her own sauce. After a few minutes of feeling my hunger grow, I heard her call out, "Piper, dinner's ready."
I stood up and walked over to my door, and said, "Okay, be there in a minute. Let me finish what I'm doing in this game."
"That's fine, just don't take twenty minutes again."
"It will only be a second-"
I turned around and my computer's screen was flashing brightly. I ran back over to it, panicked that I may have lost all my progress in the quest I was currently on. The screen was nothing but a bright white, and to my shock, something shot out of the computer and landed on my desk. I jumped back and yelped. I was surprised that Aunt Ruby didn't hear my outburst. The object was glowing brightly like it was radioactive, but soon the aura faded to reveal what the item was. It looked like a black smartwatch with the letters "DM" right above the screen.
Curious about the device, I put it on and pressed the top right button. Nothing happened. Maybe it needed its battery charged? I was about to start looking for a charging cable when my computer's screen lit up until it was emitting a blinding light. I pressed a few keys but the light never went away. Fearful that something was wrong with it, I finally decided to reboot my computer. I pressed the power button but still, nothing happened.
The laptop's screen suddenly flashed a multitude of colors and made a strange, whistling sound. My eyes burned from trying to look at it. My ears began ringing loudly, and I felt dizzy. A numbness overtook my body like I had been electrocuted, lightning coursing through my veins. I closed my eyes, trying not to retch. Every fiber of my being was being torn apart and strewn about the atmosphere. I could barely breathe. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. I wasn't even sure I had a mouth anymore. My chest tightened as panic clenched me. I was sure that I was dying.
Just as quickly as those horrible sensations came, they faded away. I felt normal again, but what I saw when I dared to open my eyes was anything but.
There was a strange world stretched out before me. Spires of shimmering glass jutted from the ground - both of which felt like glass, but no matter how hard I stepped, the glass wouldn't break. The ground was lined with a glowing blue grid that stretched on for miles, and my footprints left a temporary glow with every step I took. Panels and geometric shapes hung high in the air, far out of reach. Above me was a nighttime sky, or so I thought. There were no stars, but rather, a strange glowing pattern that almost resembled the coils and wires of a circuit board. It all looked like something out of a strange computer game.
I stared in awe at the strange world around me, when I suddenly tripped over something. That something let out a startled, "Ouchie!" and rolled around. It was a little white blob of some sort, with two small horns and a fin coming out of its body. Its large, yellow eyes stared at me and I stared back. We both screamed at the same time.
I nearly tripped over myself as I scrambled back to my feet. The little creature did nothing but flinch at my sudden movements. "What are you?" I demanded, a little harsher than I originally intended.
"Gurimon," it replied. The little creature, Gurimon, was trembling. He was terrified of me. I came to the realization that this little blob wasn't a threat, and I felt very bad for tripping over it. I figured I should apologize.
I knelt down, trying to get closer to Gurimon's level. "I'm sorry for tripping over you, Gurimon. My name is Piper Calloway. I'm not from this place and I'm lost."
Gurimon stopped shaking and appeared a little less frightened. Cautious, but no longer afraid. "I don't know if I'm from this place. I just woke up here," he said.
"Do you have amnesia?"
"What's that?"
"It's when you lose all your memories."
"I don't know if I have that. I don't know anything except my name."
Poor little Gurimon. I couldn't just leave him there, all alone. I said, "Why don't we stick together. You can stay with me until you get your memories back."
Gurimon perked up and smiled. "Really?" his little voice squeaked. "Thank you, Piper Calloway!"
"Just Piper will do." I bent down and picked up Gurimon, tucked him under my arm, and started walking. He seemed a little timid at first but didn't fight against me. He relaxed and wriggled a little to get comfortable. I looked around, wondering which way to go. Everything looked the same and aside from the giant geometric structures shooting up from the ground and floating in the air, there weren't any significant landmarks.
Gurimon hopped out of my arms and took the lead. "Let's go this way," he squeaked happily. "This looks like a good direction."
The two of us traveled together for a while, but the landscape remained the same. It didn't feel like we were making much progress. I checked my phone to see if I could make a call, but the screen was black. I tried turning it on but nothing happened. I sighed and shoved it back into my pocket. I held up my wrist that had the watch strapped to it and started pressing buttons out of curiosity. Just like my phone, nothing happened. All it did was display the time.
As we walked (or hopped in Gurimon's case), he turned to me and asked, "What exactly are you, Piper?"
"I'm a human."
"Never heard of a humon before. You look kinda funny, y'know."
"Human, not humon. And I look funny? You're one to talk."
"Do I look funny? I don't even know what I look like."
"Well, I can safely say that I've never seen a Gurimon before."
"I've never seen a humon before."
"Human - oh, forget it."
"And why don't you have "mon" at the end of your name, like me?"
"Because this was the name that I chose for myself and it doesn't have "mon" at the end of it."
"That's a shame. We would have more in common that way."
I was just about to stop playing with the watch when Gurimon suddenly tackled me, knocking me to the ground. He was surprising strong for a little guy. "Ow, what was that for?" I asked sharply.
Something flew by us. It was small and round and almost looked like a little yellow slime ball. "That gives me bad vibes," Gurimon said.
My watch suddenly lit up and a sprite image of the creature flying around us appeared on the screen. Above the picture read one word; "Zurumon".
The Zurumon spun around and flew back over to us. It opened its mouth and looked like it was about to bite me when Gurimon jumped up and headbutted the strange slime creature. It fumbled back and suddenly burst into particles. Those particles floated away into the air and slowly disappeared.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I made it go kaboom!" he replied as he looked around for any more enemies. We both spotted another Zurumon floating over to us and Gurimon tackled that one as well. Suddenly, more seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by the slime creatures.
"We should run while we have a chance," I said, trying to pick up Gurimon, but he wriggled about and jumped out of my hands.
Gurimon took a fighting stance, or as close to a fighting stance as his limbless body allowed. "I'm going to make them all go kaboom!"
One of the little slime monsters flew over to me. I punched it as hard as I could and the impact stung my knuckles. I had been in only one fight before this and it was against a fellow student. I knew from experience that I had a pretty good right hook, and the Zurumon I punched started floating to the ground before bursting into particles.
I turned to Gurimon and saw that more Zurumon were ganging up on him. He headbutted the ones that came close to him, but he couldn't shake them all. Without a second thought, I ran over and swatted them away from Gurimon. Some of them started swarming me but I kept punching them away. One of the Zurumon came up behind me and bit my shoulder. I cried out and yanked it off of me. It didn't break the skin or anything, but it still hurt. It struggled in my grasp but I refused to let him go. I glanced up and gasped when I saw more Zurumon swarming around me, circling me like sharks.
"Piper!" Gurimon shouted, and he began glowing brightly. His body changed and was growing larger. When he stopped glowing, the creature standing there was no longer a blob, but rather a small white dinosaur with tiny black wings and a blue handkerchief wrapped around his neck.
"Gurimon?" I asked. "Are you okay?"
"Breaclaw!" He cried out as he leaped at the Zurumon I was holding and ran his claws into it. I ducked out of the way just in time as he struck Zurumon in the face. The Zurumon burst into particles just like the other creatures.
The other Zurumon stopped what they were doing and floated away, retreating. Gurimon and I did nothing to hinder their escape, as we were relieved that we didn't have to keep fighting.
"Yay! We won!" Gurimon exclaimed.
"Gurimon, what exactly happened to you? Why'd you change into a dinosaur?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I just got a big boost in power and then - woosh - now I'm Gammamon. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Regardless of how you did it, you saved both our lives. Thanks, Gurimon - er, Gammamon."
Gammamon blushed and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. He was grinning widely and giggled. I couldn't help but smile too. He was just so darn cute!
When the two of us turned around, we realized what had actually scared the Zurumon away. Walking over towards us was a large white wolf with tiger stripes. It was wearing a visor of some sort and appeared to have running shoes on all four of its paws. It had to be twice the size of a great dane.
Gammamon got in front of me and took a defensive stance. "I'll protect you, Piper" he said.
"I don't think you should fight this guy. He's way bigger than you."
Gammamon bared his teeth, snarling at the wolf. The two stared each other down like they were sizing the other up. Gammamon's claws were raised and he was ready to attack. "I'm gonna make you go kaboom, too!"
((Author's Note: I'm limiting myself to only using digimon that appear in the vital bracelet DIM cards for this story, so huge shout out to humulous for all the information on them. There are also some elements of Ghost Game, Cyber Sleuth, and the Adventure 2020 reboot in this, but I'm not trying to copy them exactly.
Thank you for reading!
7-10-22 UPDATE: I'm revising the first few chapters of this fic so don't be surprised if they read a little different. Nothing has been changed plot-wise, just doing some editing.))
