Digimon.EXE 3

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE 3 is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome. The lyrics featured in this chapter are original and copyrighted by me. Don't ask me what the song's called though, coz I haven't decided on a name yet.

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File 02: Butterfly

Takato was feeling a bit parched, but it seemed as if the entire stadium didn't have a single drop of water anywhere. He was so thirsty, he was even contemplating licking his own sweat in an attempt to get some water to quench his thirst. An even naughtier idea suddenly entered his mind, but he soon realised that it was highly unfeasible and probably wouldn't quench his thirst anyway.
"Say, Guilmon, you have any idea what DMDs I should load?" asked Takato, as he sat on the bench in the changing rooms. Behind him was the locker that he had stashed his rucksack full of DMDs in, but they weren't to be of any use to him. All participants in the Championships had to use only official DMDs. "How's about some hard-hitting attack DMDs or maybe some attribute-changing DMDs? What do you think?"
"I think you should stop talking," replied Guilmon concernedly. "What with this lack of water in the whole stadium, I don't think you should talk so much. You'd get thirsty."
Takato thought of all the DigiBattle fans that had rushed off to the men's rooms, as the taps there were the only place they could quench their thirst. If he wanted a drink, he would have to stand in line and there was no time for him to quench his thirst. Well, that was if he didn't have these changing rooms, which had been reserved for contestants only.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied with a nod of his head. There was no use in getting thirsty.

Hirokazu looked around him. The place was rather deserted. Many of the fans had already left. It was just him, the referees and his opponent, Takato Matsuda. He looked down at the Battle Arena and at the holographic images of his opponent's Digimon and then at the holographic image of his Digimon, Andromon.
Takato was thinking carefully about the DMDs on the computer screen in front of him. There didn't seem to be any good ones available, or at least, none that he could combine into a good Combo. He glanced upwards towards the clock. There were only five more seconds available to him before they had to start. Takato selected a few DMDs, and then chose the 'Add' option, which would replace the selected DMDs with more DMDs.
Andromon was the first to make his move. He swung his arm in an arc in front of him, creating a Lightning Wave that flew at his opponent.
Guilmon leapt straight out of the way of the attack. He inhaled sharply and spat a fiery sphere of flames at Andromon. They did nothing. That wasn't good.
"DigiModify– RowGrab activate!"
A row of light smashed on to Guilmon's row of red tiles closest to Andromon's rows. They suddenly turned blue.
"Lightning Wave!" cried out Andromon, as he swung his arm in an arc in front of him, causing a wave of energy to fly through the air towards Guilmon.
Guilmon leapt out of the way of the attack, but found his movement restricted. He saw Andromon rush to the edge of his area and then swing his arm in an arc at him. Guilmon was unable to get out of the way in time and was hit by Andromon's metallic arm. The virus-type Digimon staggered sideways, but Andromon stepped sideways and swung again. This time, Guilmon manmaged to leap out of the way. He swung his own claws sideways, scraping past Andromon's exposed flesh.
Andromon cried out and backed off.
"Way to go, Guilmon!" cheered Takato. He checked the DMD Gauge to see where it had got to. Only half full. He looked and saw Andromon's HP was higher than that of Guilmon's. It was an unfair advantage that wasn't covered in the Championship Rules. "Hang on in there, the new DMDs are still loading!"
"Hey, those DMDs won't do you any good, Takato," called out Hirokazu from the other side of the arena. "Andromon, show him!"
"Right, boss," agreed Andromon. He disappeared from his side and appeared right in front of Guilmon. "Gatling Punch!" The cyborg Digimon's fists became a flurry, as he punched repeatedly at Guilmon.
Guilmon stepped onto the back row, knowing that Andromon's punches couldn't reach him there.
"Ha! Can't touch me!" he taunted, before inhaling sharply. "Pyro Sphere!" He spat out a sphere of fire that smashed into Andromon, sending the cyborg Digimon flying backwards.
"Hey, Andromon, try this one!" cried out Hirokazu. "DigiModify– Bubbler activate! DigiModify– Bubl-V activate! DigiModify– Bubl-X activate!" He watched as the three DMDs merged into one more powerful DMD. "All right! DigiModify– BublBomb activate!"
Takato watched in horror as Andromon's arm turned into a cannon. He knew about the BublBomb Combo. Takato remembered using it once when his house's water-heater had been infected with computer viruses. The BublBomb Combo was really effective against sandy viruses and fire-style viruses and Digimon.
He glanced down at the DMD gauge. It was nearly full.
"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath. Too late. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andromon fire a BublBomb into Guilmon's arena. It exploded, covering the red area with bubbles. The gauge was suddenly full. Takato quickly pressed a button and looked at the available DMDs. "Oh, yes!" he cried and selected a few of them.
"DigiModify– Area Revolve activate!" announced Takato, as he activated the DMD. He watched as the stolen row of panels suddenly turned red again, and three spheres of light hit Andromon, taking 40HP each. "DigiModify– EarthBarrier activate!" That would buy his Digimon enough time until he could build up the powerful UltraSword Combo, which he knew was possible using the DMDs the Championship Officials had provided him.
"Oh, please, is that the best you can do?" cried Hirokazu. "I've got a DMD here that can take your EarthBarrier down in an instant! DigiModify– Bamboo Sword activate!"
Andromon's right arm suddenly turned into a sword made out of bamboo staves, like the sort used for Kendo practice. The Digimon then rushed acorss the arena and swung his Bamboo Sword straight at Guilmon.
Though it didn't hurt the fire-style Digimon, it did nullify the EarthBarrier. Guilmon stepped back and spat a Pyro Sphere back at Andromon, which the cyborg Digimon carefully dodged. He tried again, but missed again. That was when he saw Andromon leap up into the air and then smash into the ground in front of him, sending a wave of energy through the floor towards him. Guilmon barely managed to leap out of the way in time.
Takato saw that the shock of the punch had caused the entire column to crack. If Guilmon stepped on them again, they would surely be broken.
"Hold on, Guilmon!" called out Takato. "It won't be much longer now!"
"That's what you said a few minutes ago!" protested Guilmon, as he dodged a well-aimed punch. "Hurry up!" He inhaled sharply and spat out another Pyro Sphere and this one hit Andromon squarely in the chest. Perfect!
"Gatling Attack!" roared Andromon, before he opened fire on Guilmon.
Bullets sprayed towards Guilmon as if they were being fired from a machine gun. It looked suspiciously like they were being sprayed from a machine gun too. Guilmon quickly dodged the bullets, running round in circles around his own area to avoid being caught by the gunfire. He didn't even have time to counterattack.
"Got it!" cried Takato. "DigiModify– Sword activate! DigiModify– KnightSword activate! DigiModify– HeroSword activate!" He watched as the three DMDs merged together to form the powerful UltraSword Combo. "DigiModify– UltraSword activate!"
Guilmon's right arm turned into a powerful, pulsing sword that glowed with a bright golden aura. It was as if it was made out of the energy from the Sun. He rushed forwards and swung the UltraSword at Andromon, cutting through into the opponent Digimon and slashing 600 HP away from Andromon. That left Andromon with 214 HP, which was coincidentally, what Guilmon had left.
The virus-type Digimon began thinking over what he could do next to reduce Andromon's HP down to zero. Guilmon leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding being hit by a Lightning Wave attack. He countered with a Pyro Sphere, but it missed.
"Yeah, I've got it!" cried Hirokazu. He then began selecting DMDs carefully, creating a powerful Combo he had seen hidden among the DMDs he had been given by the Championship Organisers. "Try this Combo for size! MultiSteal!"
Rays of light struck the panels that made up Guilmon's area. Each one that was struck became blue and the front two rows of Guilmon's area was suddenly taken that way, leaving only back three panels for Guilmon. The Digimon was now hemmed in, whereas Andromon wasn't.
Andromon fired several Lightning Waves at Guilmon, which the virus-type Digimon was able to dodge skilfully. That was it. Andromon had had enough. He launched one Lightning Wave at Guilmon and saw the fire-style Digimon leap out of the way. The cyborg Digimon then leapt to his front row and flung a fist at Guilmon, as the Digimon leapt out of the way of the Lightning Wave attack.
"Gatling Attack!" cried Andromon, as he leapt back and opened fire on Guilmon.
Some of the bullets hit Guilmon, making him fall over to the ground of the Battle Arena. He was wounded and his HP had been reduced dramatically by Andromon's onslaught.
"Takato!" he called out to his Operator. "Help!"
"Hold on, Guilmon!" replied Takato, as he frantically searched the DMDs that had now been loaded. "Try this one! DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify– Heavy Punch activate! DigiModify– Desolation Claw activate!" The three DMDs merged together to form one special Combo. "DigiModify– Hyper Punch activate!"
Guilmon whirled round. His claws became metallic fists. He then began punching the air and sent several metallic fists flying through the air like rockets. Each one hit Andromon fiercely, sending the Digimon flying back to the back of his area. The virus-type Digimon didn't relent, he kept on punching until the Combo wore out. There was suddenly a flash and Andromon disappeared from the arena.
"Yes, we did it!" cried Takato joyously, as he leapt into the air.
What little of the crowd was left cheered. Takato had won the battle. He had won the Championships and was now on to the International Championships! A burst of pride overcame Takato. He had never got so far in a contest like this before. Perhaps all that experience fighting against Hypnos and the Dragon Syndicate had proved useful after all.
Hirokazu had disconnected his D-Tector and had walked straight over towards Takato. He extended a hand out towards the brown-haired youth.
"Good fight," he commented.
"Thanks," exclaimed Takato, as he shook Hirokazu's hand. "You weren't that bad yourself. You certainly made me break out a sweat."
"Hey, I'm a good challenge for anybody," stated Hirokazu with a grin on his face. "Next time, I'll win."
"Next time?" exclaimed Takato in surprise. "Yeah, I'd like that. Then we'd be able to use the DMDs we've got. I'm telling you, I've got a real mean Combo that'll wipe the floor with your Digimon's butt."
"Yeah, so have I," retorted Hirokazu.

"Isn't that swell folks?" commented Rosa, a News Reporter for DNN, the Digital News Network. "Good sports to the end."
Jenrya Lee smiled, as he turned his attention away from the TV screen and towards the new program he had installed in his D-Tector. It would help him customise his Digimon further and give Rapidmon an edge.
"I knew Takato would win," he told his Digimon. "It's not as if he hadn't been practising." He couldn't wait until the World Championships, where he would have the chance to compete against Takato and other Digimon Operators from around the world.
"Yeah, but still, he barely won," commented Rapidmon with a tone of seriousness to his voice. "You ever notice that he only just manages to win a fight? That's not good form."
The dark-haired youth sighed.
"Nor's the way you fight, Rapidmon," he told his Digimon. "You go in all guns blazing and you don't even think about how you fight. I have to do all the thinking for you." Jenrya thought about how many times he had saved Rapidmon's butt with a well-thought out game plan. He had lost count. "If it weren't for me, Rapidmon, you'd be deleted the moment you set foot in a fight."
He then selected the 'run' command and let the program do its job.
"There, finished!" exclaimed Jenrya. "Now, what do you say we go log on to the Digital World and find us some choice DMDs?"
"Okay, so, it's the DarkNet, is it?" asked Rapidmon.
"No way," protested Jenrya. "You have any idea how bad the DarkNet's gotten since the fall of the Dragon Syndicate?" He shivered at the thought of it. Even the usual residents of the DarkNet, criminal scum that needed no introduction, were afraid to even set foot there. "We're going to AsiaNet. They've got some really powerful viruses in D6. If we delete them, we can get some really good DMDs."
"AsiaNet?" exclaimed Rapidmon. "Oh, okay, then. Log me in and let's do this!"
The image on the television screen changed to that of a different news reporter from Rosa.
"The Orbital Space Ring is suffering from a water crisis," announced the news reporter. "All over, vending machines have been emptied and shops stripped of all known beverages. No one knows as to when the drinks were removed, yet shop keepers have told us that it will take up to a week for more to arrive. As of now, citizens have been drinking water directly from the tap..."
Jenrya frowned. A water crisis? He turned into the kitchen area and opened the fridge, examining its contents. There wasn't much left. One can of coke and a pack of really ancient beer that his father used to drink. He pulled it out and took a look at the expiry date.
"Sheesh, this stuff's been in the fridge for years," he commented.
The youth went over to the fridge and emptied the contents out into the sink. It was not as if anybody else in the family was going to drink the stuff. His Dad was practically always at the Officials HQ, so he was almost never home to drink the stuff.
Throwing the cans away, Jenrya took out the last can of coke and closed the fridge door behind him.
"Come on, then, Rapidmon," he said to his Digimon. "Let's log on to the Net."

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The Digital World is split into several layers and each layer is split up into several domains, with the exception of the Zerva layer. The highest layer contains the four Domains of the Orbital Space Ring– DyjiNet, InphyNet, PhyleNet and SpyroNet. Below that are the domains of the Earth's Digital World– AfriNet, ArabNet, AsiaNet, EuroNet, NANet the Domain of North America), SANet (the Domain of South America), and Zerva (an International Domain filled with links to every part of the Regular Digital World). Below all those Domains was the DarkNet.
This place was not a part of the regular DarkNet, however. It was far more threatening than even the DarkNet, with its criminal Digimon and strong viruses.
This was HypnosNet, the remnants of the Hypnos Terrorist Organisation's computer networks. Its paths were like metallic grilles, as were the platforms that made up its terminals. All this floated in a black sky that had multiple copies of the Hypnos Organisation's symbol floating in it like some kind of screensaver.
"Sir, everything is in order," announced a voice deep within the depths of HypnosNet. "We have already got the Black Tortoise Key in our possession. All that is left is to find the remaining three TetraKeys and we will be able to revive the Beast."
"Thank you, I can count you know," growled another voice angrily. "Is everything set for the next Operation?"
"Yes, sir," came the reply.
The second voice chuckled.
"Good," it exclaimed. "Soon we will get what we need. The Officials won't know what hit them. The whole Digital Society won't know what hit them and when they do, it will be far too late!"

To be continued...