Digimon.EXE 3

By Wolf O'Donnell

Author's Note: Mr. Stevenson is based on an actual teacher I once had. His name has been changed... but not by that much... to protect his identity.

* * * * *

File 13: Now is the Time!

Mr. Stevenson, Takato's science teacher, was droning on about gravity.
Takato wasn't listening, even though Mr. Stevenson was one of the scariest teachers he ever had. He was thinking about the day he had received the Commendation in Ottawa, the Capital of North America. It had been a grand day full of pomp and ceremony, and Takato had met the North American Head of State, President Michael Reisz. It was all quite exciting and in the end, he had received a Grand Certificate with words of appreciation on it.
"Mr. Matsuda, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" shouted Mr. Stevenson angrily.
"Uh..." was all Takato could say in reply.
Mr. Stevenson was the sort of person that reminded you of an ape. He had hairy knuckles and when he was angry he looked very ape-like indeed. The man was also a formidable P.E. Teacher, which made things even worse.
"Mr. Matsuda," said Mr. Stevenson calmly, as he paced down towards Takato, "I would appreciate it if you would listen in class. Listen or I hang you from the ceiling by your toenails!"
This was one of Mr. Stevenson's favourite threats, since, for reasons unknown to the students and even Mr. Stevenson himself, there was a hook in the ceiling. He loved threatening to hang disobedient students from that hook 'by their toenails'. Another favourite threat was to take out a human skull and say to the class gently, 'This is the skull of a boy who did not do his homework'.
Takato nodded nervously.
"Y-y-yes, sir," he replied stutteringly. He was scared, not because he thought Mr. Stevenson would go through with his threat, but because the man would make things even worse for him during gym.

* * * * *

Zerva was a web domain located in between all the web domains of the Earth. It was also situated between the web domains of the Orbital Space Ring and the DarkNet. Its paths looked like different coloured wires entwined together. The terminals look like sheet metal. This all floated in a black screensaver that had the Officials symbol floating in it– a six pointed star formed from one red triangle and three black triangles– for Zerva was the Web Domain of the Officials.
And deep down in the very centre of Zerva stood two very metallic Digimon. They did not have feet but had caterpillar tracks like tanks and they were like robots with cannons for noses. These were two Tankmon, fearsome Digimon that guarded the firewall they stood on either side of. It was their job to see that no one was allowed through the firewall without proper ID, because behind the firewall was something very special.
It was the Blue Dragon TetraKey confiscated off the Dragon Syndicate upon its defeat. The TetraKey was the last in a set of four and it was vitally important that they keep anyone from getting it. Repeat. It was imperative that they keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
A red Digimon with eight spidery legs and red horns sticking out from her head, scuttled across the path towards the terminal on which they stood on. She had a red mask across her face and looked very threatening.
"Halt!" cried one of the Tankmon. "Who goes there?"
"None of your business," replied the spidery Digimon, as she plucked a few strands of hair from her head. They stood up straight, as if they were glass needles. "Spirit Needle!" She flung the strands of hair at the Tankmon and they stuck into the metallic hides of the two Digimon. "Acid Mist!"
"Fire!" cried the second Tankmon and he opened fire on the spider Digimon. He missed. "Fire! Don't let her through!"
The spider Digimon laughed.
"Too late, pal!" she cackled, as she swung a hand at one of the Tankmon's face and pushed the Digimon aside. "Acid Mist!" She breathed out a mist of pure green that floated towards the firewall and melted it, destroying it. "At last, all of the TetraKeys are ours!"
"Good work, Arukenimon," stated a feminine voice. "Now log out! We've got to go to the ShibuNet Servers if we're to use the TetraKeys."
"Hey, you're not escaping!" protested one of the Tankmon. "Initiate Security System!"
Arukenimon looked around her.
"Reiley, it's no use!" she protested. "I can't log out!"
"Those foolish Officials," snarled Reiley angrily. "Fine! Delete them all until you can leave Zerva! I'll log you out once you're outside of their control."
A smile spread across Arukenimon's face.
"Delete them all," she said with a nod of her head. "Yes, I like the sound of that." She then watched as the two Tankmon advanced towards her. "That's right, boys. Come straight at me." She laughed and her laugh echoed throughout Zerva.

* * * * *

As Takato packed his things away into his backpack, the P.A. System suddenly screeched into life.
"Ahem, this is the Principal speaking," announced the voice over the P.A. System. "I have just been told by the Officials that an International Crisis is on our hands. The UN is mobilising peace-keeping troops and is placing the Earth and the Orbital Space Ring under martial law. All students are to return to their homes immediately. Any student that does not do so will be punished severely." The Principal paused for a while to let that information sink in. "That will mean a year's detention. Also, the Officials have asked me to inform all Reservists to report for duty immediately."
Takato thought carefully about what the Principal said. All Reservists that meant him as well.
"Wow, did you hear all that, Gallantmon?" he asked his Digimon. He had a sneaking suspicion that Hypnos was behind all this. If they were, whatever they had up their sleeves seemed a million times worse than the Juggernaut Virus. "Guess that means we have to go up to Level 3."

Jenrya looked around him as he walked through the streets. They seemed absolutely deserted with the exception for the patrolling police cars. Numerous police officers had stopped him, asking him where he was going and he had shown them his D-Tector and the Z Licence that had been installed in it.
"This is serious, Rapidmon," said Jenrya quietly, as he walked down the street to the elevator that would take him up to Level 3 and the Officials HQ. "They've never placed everyone under martial law before, not even when Hypnos was trying to hack into the military satellites."
"It does seem really bad," agreed Rapidmon from Jenrya's D-Tector. "Do you think what Hypnos has is worse than the Juggernaut Virus?" For a while, there was no reply and it made Rapidmon nervous. The silence was nerve racking. "Jenrya?"
"I'm not sure, Rapidmon," replied Jenrya with a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure." He suddenly stopped in his tracks, upon seeing a white jeep with UN plastered on its side. "Man, that's quick," said Jenrya, as he watched the jeeps drive past. The youth reasoned that they must have come from the nearby military base. "Guess they're already setting up the barricades and everything. We'd better hurry."
The dark-haired youth then ran along the streets, running towards the huge elevator that stretched from the floor up to the metallic ceiling above. There was no time to lose, he knew that.

The entire hall was filled with Officials and Reservists and somewhere in the crowd were Takato, Jenrya and Ruki.
Up on the stage were two men. One was Dr. Jiangyiu Lee, Jenrya's father and the other was Dr. Merzuno. Both wore very grave expressions on their face, as they looked at the assembled Officials and Reservists. This was a drastic time indeed, one not seen on the Orbital Space Ring since the terrorist activities of the Nova Organisation back in the awkward era of fighting when the Space Ring was first founded.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," greeted Dr. Lee, as he walked up to the podium. "I have called you here because of a drastic situation. As you may be aware, the Hypnos Organisation is back and it poses a great threat to our lives and our way of life." He paused for a second and then continued. "We have reason to believe that the Hypnos Organisation is planning on reviving a 'Beast' from old times in order to destroy the Digital World. To explain further, here is Dr. Merzuno, the Founder of the ShibuNet." Dr. Lee then stepped aside.
Dr. Merzuno took the podium.
"Afternoon," he greeted abruptly. "Many of you may remember a terrible incident, eleven years ago, when a strange virus took over the Digital World and nearly destroyed it. That was no virus. It was a program created by Dr. Oikawa that somehow went beserk. It was called DAEMON, the Digitally Amalgamated Electronic Manager of Online Networks. You could think of it as a prototype Internet, which was supposed to be a better version to replace the then version of the Digital World."
"DAEMON went beserk, however, and absorbed all sorts of Programs and Digimon," continued Dr. Merzuno sternly. "DAEMON literally devoured everything. Due to certain restrictions, we could not destroy it, so we sealed it away in a large expansive area, the old pre-Apocalypse Internet that was invented in the late 20th Century AD. It was renamed ShibuNet, but you may have heard of it by another name, the DarkNet."
A murmur of voices then arose from the crowd. It started off quite then erupted into a roar of voices. A multitude of worried Reservists and Officials began shouting and all speaking at once. It was a tumultuous roar of gigantic proportions.
"Order! Order!" shouted Dr. Lee. "Please, may we have quiet!"
The entire hall fell into a deafening silence, as numerous faces turned to look at Dr. Lee and Dr. Merzuno.
Merzuno reached out and pressed a button on the podium and image appeared on the screen behind him. He stepped aside and then brought out a laser pointer.
"Here is a diagram of the ShibuNet," stated Dr. Merzuno. "In the centre of it is the Dark Ocean where DAEMON is being held. Surrounding it is the Forbidden Account, where the only entrance to the Dark Ocean is located." He moved his pointer up and encircled the region with the laser. "The Forbidden Account can only be accessed via the main ShibuNet Servers located in a military base on the Moon."
He turned to face the multitude assembled in front of him.
"That is why we need a few good Digimon Operators to go with Dr. Lee to the Lunar Base," continued Dr. Merzuno calmly. "The rest of you will be assigned special tasks and will be required to send your Digimon to strategic positions around the Forbidden Account shown by the red dots on this map. If DAEMON is released, you will be the Digital World's first line of defence. DAEMON will spread quickly if it is released, which is why you must be vigilant at all times and be prepared to fight..."
As Dr. Merzuno spoke, Jenrya turned round to whisper to Takato and Ruki.
"My Dad's briefed me on what's going to happen," he told them. "Takato, you and Ruki are coming with me and my Dad to the Lunar Base. Your parents have already been notified of this decision."
"And Mom agreed on it?" exclaimed Takato in surprise.
"She had no other choice," replied Jenrya with a smile on his face and Takato smiled back. "After all, this is war. It's all of us against Hypnos."
Takato nodded in agreement. Yes, this was going to be a tough battle. It would be all of the Digital Society against the Hypnos Organisation and as long as he had breath in his body, he would not let Hypnos win. He would not let them release DAEMON on to the Digital World.
"Very well, you're all dismissed," finished Dr. Lee, before he walked down the stage and straight towards his son and his friends. "Jenrya, I want you and your friends to prepare for the trip. Remember, there'll be no rest stops on the way to the Lunar Base, and don't forget to take all the DMDs you think you'll need. This may be a tough mission." He sighed. "You know, at first, I wasn't too willing to let you kids go to the Lunar Base, but it seems that you've proved yourselves more than capable of fighting against Hypnos. Even though this may be the most dangerous mission you'll ever go on, I'm sure that you can all pull through."
Jenrya looked away with an almost embarrassed look on his face.
"Dad, please," he said in an embarrassed tone of voice. "Not in front of my friends." He heard a laugh from Rapidmon. "Hey, it's not funny!" he protested.
Takato thought abou it.
"Dr. Lee, I don't know about Ruki and Jenrya, but I'm ready," he told Jenrya's Father.
"That's the spirit!"

The surface of the Moon looked incredibly desolate and devoid of any military base at all. As Takato looked out of the window of the space shuttle, he couldn't help but wonder where the Lunar Base was. Was it hidden underneath all those moon rocks, hidden within a crater?
Below the surface opened up to reveal a hidden runway. The shuttle gently touched down and rolled to a slow halt, before the runway disappeared beneath the surface.
The door opened and Dr. Lee floated out wearing a black spacesuit which looked exactly like the Radiation Suit he wore during the Hypnos Incident at Phyle, two years ago. Four more followed him. One was Reiko Manun, the Operator of Uranekimon. The other three were Takato, Ruki and Jenrya.
"Okay, you four go straight to the ShibuNet Servers," ordered Dr. Lee. "I'm going to talk to the Commanding Officer." He then floated off.
A soldier dressed in a white spacesuit floated up to the four.
"You're the Officials?" asked the soldier. "Please, as a security measure, state your names and present your D-Tectors for inspection." He looked at them all carefully, scanning the D-Tectors for any hidden viruses. "Fine, thank you," he said. "Please, follow me." He then led them across the low gravity environment of the Lunar Base, taking gigantic leaps.
The soldier led them through a series of insanely protective security measures, past several armed soldiers and towards the room that contained the ShibuNet Servers. He gestured towards the middle one and asked them to plug their D-Tectors in. The soldier then stepped back slightly and watched them like a hawk, scrutinising their every move carefully.

* * * * *

"Say, this is the place from my dreams!" stated Takato.
"Your what?" exclaimed Ruki in disbelief.
"Er... nothing," mumbled Takato.
Everything was black, save for the red lines that criss-crossed the place and formed a grid-like pattern on the floor. The floor and the ceiling were both the same, with red grid patterns on them. They looked like someone's diagram of the Universe and at certain points were these pillars that rose up from the floor and joined with the ceiling, looking for all the world like wormholes that connected the two planes together.
The place had a rather retro cyberpunk look to it, the sort dreamed up by people when the movie, Tron, gave people the best insight of what the inside of a computer would look like. This was the Forbidden Account, the Domain of the DarkKing, Ruler of all the DarkNet.
Uranekimon stood in front of the three Digimon behind her, looking around her.
"This place seems real empty," she stated, as she brushed her platinum-coloured hair back. "Where's the security measures?"
"Halt!" cried a voice that roared around them. "Who dares trespass in the Realm of the DarkKing, MetalEtemon, Ruler of all the DarkNet?" A Digimon appeared in front of them and he had blue fur and armour on with a Chinese word painted on it. He had large fangs and stood on all fours. "I am Catsuramon, one of the Twelve Sentinels that guard the Forbidden Account. Identify yourselves or be deleted!"
"I am Uranekimon and I'm from the Officials," announced Uranekimon. "We are here to protect the Entrance to the Dark Ocean."
Catsuramon roared out in laughter.
"You?" he chortled. "Do not lie to me. You have come to harm the King, haven't you? Well, I won't let you! Come, my bretheren! Join me and show these infidels the true might of the Twelve Sentinels!"
Eleven data streams flew down from the sky and struck the ground. When the light subsided, eleven Digimon appeared. Each one took on the form of one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. There was a purple humanoid horse, a ram with a centaur appearance, a bull with a centaur appeance, a large shaggy boar, a rooster, a strange rat with spidery legs, a thin dragon, a monkey dressed in the uniform of an Imperial Chinese soldier from the bygone days of Imperial China, a large rabbit with pink-tipped ears, a snake and a tiger.
"There is no escape for you now, infidels," stated Catsuramon calmly. "Those that enter the Forbidden Account must be deleted. Those are the orders of the DarkKing!"
Gallantmon stepped forward bravely.
"Look, we didn't come to overthrow your DarkKing," protested Gallantmon. "We're genuinely here to help you protect the Entrance to the Dark Ocean. A group calling themselves Hypnos has managed to get all the TetraKeys and are trying to awaken DAEMON."
The rabbit Digimon, Antylamon, not related to the one that had attacked the space shuttle two years ago stepped forward from her bretheren.
"I have heard of this Hypnos," stated Antylamon calmly. "They have surrounded the Forbidden Account and have been besieging this Domain for quite some time. You say that they have the TetraKeys?"
"That's right," replied Rapidmon with a nod of his head. "They're planning to use them to release DAEMON."
"Nonsense," cried the bull Digimon. "They could be from this Hypnos themselves, here to trick us!" The bull Digimon, Vajiramon, unsheathed his swords. "I say we delete them now!"
Taomon braced herself. She was ready for a fight and she knew that Ruki was ready to help her out.
"Look, El Toro, we don't want any trouble from you," protested Taomon in the most disrespectful manner she could manage. "All we wish is to prevent DAEMON from being released. Are you not also Protectors of the Entrance to the Dark Ocean? Our goals are one and the same and we are here to help you!"
A smirk spread across Vajiramon's face.
"You are a pretty one and your words match your beauty," commented Vajiramon, "yet I still do not believe you. Prove yourself to us or perish."
The ground suddenly shook violently. No, it wasn't just the ground. It was the entire DarkNet. The very fabric of reality seemed to blur and become blocky. It was like the Mother of All Earthquakes and it was happening in the Digital World, a place where such things as earthquakes did not exist.
"No!" cried Takato in sudden realisation. "It's him! He's coming!"
"Who?" cried Ruki.
"Beelzemon," stated Takato sternly.
The ground began to crackle with electricity and a vortex made from the darkest of energies appeared. Beelzemon rose out of it, glowing from the light of his UltraBarrier. There was an evil smirk on his face, as he turned round.
"Oh, it's you lot," he exclaimed in surprise. "I never thought I'd see you here in the Forbidden Account." He turned round and smiled upon seeing the horse Digimon. "Ah, Indramon, I see you're here too."
"How did you get in here, foul beast?" cried Indramon angrily.
"Does it really matter?" asked Beelzemon. "All that matters now is that I get what I came for." He raised his right fist into the air and it began to glow. "And I'm not goin' to let you get in my way! Multiple Impact!" He spread his arms out and sent several bolts of energy flying outwards from him in a highly unpredictable pattern.
None were left standing.

To be continued...