A dream. Is this a dream? I'm not too sure. It definitely feels too real. I think I'm sitting inside a car. A blue car. No, it actually looks more luxurious than that. Maybe a limousine? I'll never know. I don't think I've ever been inside one. Besides, I've never seen a car with a bar inside. The alcohol case has several bottles of various liquor bottles as well as a number of glasses in all shapes and sizes. I also don't recall being in a car that has several long blue sofas. In fact, I think I'm sitting on one. It feels comfortable, almost as though I'm in bed. There's also a small table to finish the lounge setting.

The only reason I believe I'm in a car and not a lobby area of some fancy hotel is the windows. Those are definitely car windows. They couldn't possibly be anything else. Also, it feels like I'm moving. Rather, it feels like this whole place is moving. That's how I deducted it was a car. Looking outside the window, I realized it was very foggy. I haven't seen fog like this before. Where is this car going? Where does it plan on taking me?

I could not tell for sure, but I felt as though I was being watched. I think there is someone else here besides be, but my mind feels like it is splitting into pieces, so I cannot fully concentrate to notice who this person is. Was he the one who kidnapped me?

"W■lc■m■ t■ th■ V■lv■t R■■m," the mystery person said.

Huh? What did he say? My ears feel like there are bees buzzing on top of my eardrums.

"W■ll n■w, ar■n't y■■ an int■r■st■ng g■■st. I'v■ n■v■r s■■n y■■ b■f■r■. I w■nd■r h■w y■■ g■t ins■d■. I s■ns■ gr■■t p■t■nti■l o■t ■f y■■. B■t, it s■■ms it is t■o e■rly f■r us to m■■t. I'm s■r■ we w■ll m■■t ag■in, wh■n th■ t■me is r■ght. W■ll th■n, unt■l w■ m■■t ag■in."

I couldn't keep my eyes open. I feel too tired. I have to rest and return to my slumber.

Episode 1

I hear my alarm clock ringing. I don't feel like getting up. I want to rest more. I need to rest more. Five more minutes will not change anything. I feel someone shaking me. I'll just ignore it.

"Tai, wake up," a voice said. "Wake up, already. I said 'Wake up,' big brother."

In an instant, light flashed before my eyes. I had to shield myself from the sudden burst of light. After getting my bearings straight, I wake up to find a familiar face standing before me.

"Geez, you're such a lazy bum, you know that," the voice said disappointedly with her arms on her hips.

"Kari, please give me back my blanket. I need it to sleep," I pleaded.

"Nope. I'm not doing that."

"And why are you waking me up so early? What's the point?"

"Tai, do you even know what day it is today?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's the first day of the new school year. Don't tell me you've forgotten about that."

"It's just the morning ceremony. It's not like there's class or anything. I can afford to be late."

"No, you can't. Now, hurry up and get dressed. Mom has breakfast ready."

"Ugh, fine. I'm up, I'm up."

Confirming that my sister left by listening to her footsteps as she headed out of my room and closed the door, I finally got up and stretched. I took a look at my surroundings. My desk, my bed, my closet - everything that I recognize is here, down to the soccer ball under my bed. This is definitely my room. Yet, that dream that I had last night felt so real. I don't remember watching any horror or thriller films before I went to sleep. Still, it felt too real. I tried to shake it off my mind as I put on my uniform.

After a quick, light breakfast, Kari and I left out apartment and headed to our separate schools. Given the dazzling sun and the bright, beautiful cherry blossoms decorating both the ground and the wind, one can tell that today was the perfect day to start the school year. It was too bad that I don't have the energy to be as happy or optimistic as everyone else. I'm way too tired to think about these things. I almost fell asleep waiting for the traffic light the change color.

I finally started to see more people wearing the Odaiba High School uniform. That's how I knew I'm going in the right direction. I can't have anyone thinking I got lost heading over to school, so I blended in with the crowd. As I walked with them, I was finally able to see that familiar school building. I was suddenly washed by relief and remorse. While I was glad that my high school life will finally be over, I only have a year left to enjoy this moment as much as I can. Thinking about all the things I had to do in the future, such as studying for college exams or looking for a job, is something that I really don't want to go through, even though I have to.

As I made it towards the school gate, I noticed that everyone was crowding in front of the bulletin boards. I forgot that the new school year meant new homerooms for all of us. I should probably check out which homeroom I would be in for the next year. Instead of looking for my own name, my eyes naturally shifted to searching for everyone else's names. I was curious as to where everyone else would be more so than my own location, which I could care less about.

"Tai, over here!"

I turned over to the one who called my name. Mimi was waving her arms around, beckoning me to come over. She was not alone. Izzy, Sora, Matt - the gang was all here with smiles across their faces.

"Hey, guys, how's it going," I said, heading towards them.

"Pretty good, if you ask me," Izzy said.

"Mimi is one who has enough energy to be excited for all of us," Sora said.

"I'm so ready to spend a proper full school year with all of you," Mimi replied.

"So, your family didn't choose to go back to America," Matt asked.

"No, daddy still has some business to take care of here, and it looks like it might be longer than expected, so, for now, I get to spend the next year here with all of you," Mimi explained.

"That's good to hear," I replied.

"And to make the best day even better, Izzy and I are both in the same class together. Isn't that great," Mimi asked Izzy.

"Uh, y-yeah, it sure is," Izzy replied.

"Izzy, you're blushing," Sora teasing.

"I-I'm not doing any of that sort," Izzy replied.

"By the way, what class is everyone else in," I asked.

"You, Sora, and I are all in the same class," Matt explained.

"Well, that sure is convenient," I said.

"Convenient if you mean me keeping an eye on you two," Sora said. "You two better not get into any trouble while I'm around. You're going to embarrass me."

"Thanks, mom," I replied.

"Don't call me that," Sora replied.

"But we all know, deep down, you like to keep a close eye on the two of them, and this turned out to be perfect for you, didn't it," Mimi said to Sora.

"Hey, cut it out, don't say it like that," Sora replied.

"Hey, isn't that," Izzy said, looking at someone.

The rest of us turned towards Izzy's direction. A girl with long purple hair and glasses was looking at the other end of the bulletin board, searching for her name. Mimi smiled from ear to ear.

"Yolei," Mimi screamed, as she rushed towards her and hugged her.

"Mimi, everyone, good morning," Yolei said.

"Congratulations, and welcome to our school," Sora said to her.

"Thank you very much," Yolei replied.

"I'm so glad I get to spend school with you as well. This day is so awesome," Mimi said.

"She's not even in the same class as you, let alone the same year," Matt replied.

"Yeah, but we can spend our mornings, our lunch breaks, and our after school time together. You don't understand that, because you're such a loner all the time," Mimi responded.

"Yeah, whatever," Matt said.

"We're glad to have you here," I said to Yolei. "You must be a bit sad not being able to hang out with my sister and everyone else on your team."

"On the contrary, I'm relieved," Yolei replied.

"Why's that," Izzy asked.

"Now, I don't have to worry every second about what random things I am getting myself into every time I turn around and see that one boy get in trouble. Now, someone else will have to deal with that. Your group seems more mature, and I've always wanted to know what your daily lives are like, so I'm eager to learn more about you and spend more time with you guys," Yolei explained.

"I don't know about the maturity aspect of our group," Sora said. "Your group may have one immature person, but we have several."

"You don't have to look at our direction when saying that," Matt said.

"Does that mean we have two moms to worry about," I jokingly said.

"Two moms," Yolei questioned.

"Don't worry about them. It's an inside joke," Sora said.

"Hey, I know," Mimi said. "Why don't we all hang out after the ceremony and have a celebration for our first day of school together?"

"That sounds great," Izzy said. "How about we do a flower viewing?"

"Great idea," Sora said. "It's such a lovely day out, and most of the flowers are in full bloom, so let's take advantage of it while we can."

"Let's also invite Kari and the others as well," I said. "We haven't celebrated for your group's recovery yet, so now would be a good time to do it."

"Sounds good," Matt said. "I'll let TK know so he can inform everyone about it."

"Then, it's settled," Izzy said.

"This is going to be so much fun," Mimi said.

"Where should we hold the flower viewing," Sora asked.

"I was thinking about the park where we had our summer camp before," Izzy replied.

"Oh, that's a good one," Mimi said. "It'll bring back so many memories."

"I guess I should type out the location as well," Matt said.

I watched on as everyone conversed with one another. I was happy that we were still able to communicate like this. I can only hope that these warm and happy days would last until graduation. Soon, the bell rang, signaling us to head over to our classrooms. After homeroom and reintroductions, we headed to the assembly hall for the usual, generic speech. After standing still and waiting for what felt like hours for the speech to end, we were finally able to head home and return to our everyday lives.

Everyone met up outside of the school gate before heading over to the park. After grabbing some things in the shopping area, we finally made it to the park. There were already several children with their parents hanging out at the park. The weather remained sunny, and the flowers were still in full bloom. After finding a good spot to set up the blanket, we unpacked all the stuff that we bought and set up the food for the party.

A few minutes later, the rest of the group arrived. Kari, TK, Davis, and Cody all came over to our area with bags in their hands. Soon, everyone managed to settle down, and we stuffed ourselves with food and drink while admiring the view around us.

"Why is Davis so happy," Yohei asked Kari.

"He, TK, and I are all in the same class," Kari explained. "He's just happy that he gets to be in the same class as me again."

"I can almost envision it," Yolei replied.

"I know, right," Kari said.

"Hey, what are you girls talking about," Davis asked.

"Nothing, mind your own business," Yolei replied.

"So, Cody, how was our school," TK asked. "Did you fit in alright?"

"I think so," Cody replied. "It's a bit hard to tell since it is the first day, but I think I introduced myself properly to everyone."

"It's a bit overwhelming at first, but I'm sure you'll get used to it," TK replied.

"Where's Joe-senpai? Is he going to make it," Mimi asked.

"I have him a call a few minutes ago," I answered. "He's in class right now, so I don't know if he'll be able to make it or not."

"Oh, I see," Mimi replied, downcast.

Sora quickly nudged me with her elbow.

"But, I did text him when we got here, and he said he'll try his best to make it," I replied.

"Really, that's great," Mimi said, smiling.

Sora nodded as she continued to eat her meal.

"You don't know anything about women," Matt said to me.

"Look who's talking," I retorted.

"Both of you are acting like children," Sora scolded.

"Sorry," the two of us answered.

"H-Hey, Mimi, why don't you whip up one of your special creations for me," Izzy said to her. "I heard you have another good idea for a dish."

"Really, I'm so glad you asked," Mimi said. "I have all my stuff here. Just give me a sec, and I'll make it in a jiffy."

"Izzy, you have a death wish or something," Matt asked.

"More like an iron stomach," I replied.

Sora nudged both of us with her elbows.

"Boys," Hikari said under her breath.

"By the way, is Ken coming," TK asked.

"Ken's coming" Yolei asked, surprised.

"Relax, he's not," Davis said. "I already asked him on the phone. He said he's busy today, so he won't make it."

"Oh, I see," Yolei responded.

"Were you that eager to see him, Inoue-san," Kari asked.

"No, it's nothing like that," Yolei replied. "I just wanted to be prepared; that's all."

"Prepared for what," Davis asked. "He doesn't live that far away. We can see him whenever we want."

Kari pinched Davis' cheek.

"Ow! What was that for," Davis asked.

"This is why boys are so dumb," Kari replied.

"What, I'm not that dumb, right, TK," Davis asked.

"I don't wish to respond to that statement," TK said.

"What, come on, we're supposed to be partners," Davis said. "Cody, you'll back me up, right?"

Cody had his head turned, not looking at him.

"Not you, too," Davis replied.

"See, you can't win. End of argument," Kari replied.

"Hey, hold on a second," Davis said.

The merry conversations that we had continue throughout the day.

One week after our reunion party, the weather took a turn for the worse. I was looking outside the window, watching the rain fall and listening to the raindrops as they knocked on the window. Even though classes were over for the day, all I could think about was gloom and boredom as I continued to stare into space.

"Tai, what are you doing, sitting there looking like the world is going to end," Sora said.

"Oh, hey, Sora, as you can see, I'm not doing anything," I replied.

"But, seeing you all gloomy makes all of us feel gloomy," Matt said.

"Well, if it was sunny, I could be playing soccer right now, but I can't. And the indoor gym is already occupied with other sports teams, so there's no room for us to play," I explained.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to sit here and pout. Just do something else," Sora said.

"Like what," I asked.

"Well, you could study," Sora suggested.

"As if he's the kind of guy who would study during his free time," Matt said.

"If you have so much free time on your hands, why don't you study," I questioned Matt.

"I don't have to study that hard. Unlike you, my grades last year were fine," Matt said.

"Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing that in," I replied.

"I know something that could lighten up your mood," Mimi said, walking into our classroom.

"Mimi, Izzy, what are you two doing here," Sora asked.

"We just came to check up on how you guys are doing," Izzy explained.

"More importantly, I have a major scoop. I bet you're dying to hear it," Mimi said.

"Seeing how excited you are about it, it must be very interesting," Matt said. "So tell us, what is today's gossip of the day?"

"I feel like you're mocking me," Mimi pouted.

"You're just overthinking things," Matt replied.

"Now, now, everyone calm down," Sora said. "Mimi, what is it that you were saying?"

"Well, before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to talk about something very interesting," Mimi said. "You remember how yesterday, it was pouring buckets much like today? Well, according to one student in my class, last night, she was in her room when, all of a sudden, her TV started to turn on by itself, and she didn't even touch the remote. Not only that, on the screen, she saw some weird creatures wandering about. She tried changing the channel and the volume, but nothing was working. Suddenly, a creature appeared on her screen, and she screamed. Then, the TV turned off. When she turned the TV back on and started searching for that mysterious show, there was nothing, just your regular late night shows, almost as if it was all in her head."

"Matt, you're sweating profusely. Are you scared," Sora asked.

"I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine," Matt said, quickly.

"Are you still scared of ghost stories," I asked him.

"Hey, I'm not scared of anything, okay," Matt replied. "Besides, this sounds more like a bad ghost story than anything. It's not even that scary."

"I don't know. I've actually heard that story from one of my friends today," Sora said.

"I know, right? That's what's been bothering me," Mimi said.

"What do you mean," I asked.

"If this was just one person telling the story, I would think of it as just another cool story, but she's not the only one. Apparently, there are other students in this school who had the same type of experience, but saw different things. That's what made me think it might be more than just a ghost story," Mimi explained.

"A TV program that comes on late at night that disappears and does not appear in any actual TV channel," I muttered to myself. "Could it be?"

"You thought so, too, huh, Tai," Izzy said.

"What are you two talking about," Sora asked.

"Think about it," Izzy stated. "Monsters that were walking about in a mysterious world on a television program that is nonresistant in any TV channel. Doesn't that sound like...?"

"The Digital World," I finished.

"The Digital World," Matt repeated.

"Could it be," Mimi asked.

"Are they all okay," Sora asked.

"Calm down, everyone," Izzy said. "Just to be sure, I did a bit of research and scanned the whole Digital World. I can say with confidence that nothing alarming has happened as of today. I'm pretty sure that everyone inside the Digital World is okay."

"That's good to hear," Mimi said.

"But, we're not out of the woods just yet," I said.

"I agree," Izzy stated. "I only did a brief and quick scan of the area. It is possible that, whatever mysterious phenomenon that is occurring in the television might also be affecting the Digital World as well. I'll dive a bit deeper when I get back to my office, but I feel like nothing will happen unless the phenomenon itself is actually occurring. Mimi, do you know at around what time the student saw the TV when it was showing her that weird program."

"Yeah, she said it happened exactly on midnight," Mimi responded.

"Then, it's settled," I replied. "Let's check out the TV tonight to see if these rumors are true."

"You're not serious, are you," Matt asked.

"What if it's not the Digital World? What if it's something even scarier," Mimi questioned.

"All the more reason to check it out to see what it is," I said. "It's also possible that Dark Gennai may be the one responsible for all of this. And, if that is the case, we need to stop him before he harms anyone else. I don't want anyone else to go through what happened with her anymore."

"Tai," Sora said.

"Alright, let's do it," Matt said. "All we have to do is stay up until midnight, right? What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yeah, bring it on. I'm not afraid of some monsters or ghosts," Mimi said.

"I'll have my computer on and everything during the potential unusual event so I can monitor what is going on in the Digital World in real time," Izzy replied. "Hopefully, nothing will happen, but I'm not taking any chances with this."

"Okay, everyone, remember to watch the TV at midnight with the television off," I said.

"Right," everyone replied.

A light jingle echoed throughout the school.

"Attention, all students. Attention, all students," the PA system said. "All students are required to end all student activity early and return to their homes immediately. I repeat, all students are required to end all student activity early and return to their homes immediately. All teacher and faculty are to patrol the area to make sure that all student activity have been cancelled and that there are no students remaining in the facility. I repeat, all…."

"What's going on? Why are they kicking us out? School just ended," I asked.

"You don't think they're referring to that, do you," Sora questioned.

"Oh, you mean the riot in Shimbashi," Izzy said.

"A riot? In Shimbashi? That's pretty close," Mimi said.

"It was all over the news yesterday," Izzy explained. "Apparently, late last night, a shopping area in Shimbashi was completely destroyed: broken windows, damaged signs, ruined products, and more. No one seemed to know what happened, since, at the time, it area was covered in a thick fog."

"A fog," I asked.

"It was probably from the aftermath of the heavy rain yesterday," Matt said.

"According to all the police reports, when they went through all the cameras of the stores that were trashed, the windows just happened to break by themselves, and everything inside and outside the store toppled over by themselves," Izzy explained.

"That's freaky," Mimi said.

"Hey, the moment when the student saw that weird television show and the time when those stores were damaged seem to have happened at around the same time," Sora stated. "Do you think those two events are related in some way?"

"It's possible, but there's no hard evidence connecting the two," Izzy said.

"Let's focus on the TV for now," I said. "We can let the police deal with what happened in Shimbashi. But, if the two are related, then it's possible that the ones that destroyed those stores…."

"Are also Digimon," Matt finished.

"Oh no," Sora said.

"I really hope everyone's okay over there," Mimi said.

"Like I said, they're all okay for now," Izzy said. "Let's keep our heads high and think positive thoughts. Hopefully, there is no connection."

"Yeah, let's hope so," I responded.

"What are you kids still doing here," a teacher shouted from the classroom door. "Didn't you hear what the announcement said? Pick up your things, and start heading home."

"Yes, we were just about to leave," Izzy replied.

"Remember to watch the TV at midnight," I said.

"Okay," Mimi replied.

Later that night, while Kari and my mother went to bed, I stayed in the living room looking at the television screen. Every now and then, I looked at the clock. 11:55. 11:56. 11:57. I was getting very nervous as it was fast approaching midnight. I did not know what to expect, so I brought my Digivice out with me, just to be safe. If things do go south, I was prepared to call out my partner, if needed.

Soon, the clock struck midnight. I braced myself in case something were to pop out of the television. Nothing happened. I waited a few seconds. Nothing appeared to be out of place. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess it was a rumor after all," I said to myself.

Suddenly, the television came on. I quickly got on my feet to get a closer look at it. There was a yellow filter covering the entire screen, but I has a faint idea what was going on. Like the rumor said, there appeared to be a world on the other side of the television. However, it was hard to tell whether or not the world was the Digital World or not. There were some similarities, but nothing too definitive.

"Wait a minute, what's that," I asked.

Without warning, monsters started to appear in that world. There appeared to be other creatures as well fighting against said monsters. It looked like a monster war or some sort, something out of a fantasy movie. At one point, there was one tiny creature fighting against the monsters. Although it was difficult to tell at first, I felt as though I recognized the silhouette of that creature.

"Wait, isn't that…," I said.

I am thou.

Abruptly, my head felt like it was splitting in two.

Thou art I.

All I could hear was incessant ringing in my ears.

Ye shall seek the answers to the truth.

What's going on? What is that voice? I can't think straight. My head is getting dizzier and dizzier. I reached out to the TV to try and keep myself steady. For some reason, instead of touching the screen, my hand went through it. I was not in the mood or in the condition to enter whatever world I was about to get sucked into, Digital World or not. I braced myself against the TV stand and the wall, doing whatever I could to prevent my body from getting sucked into this unknown world.

Eventually, I managed to get myself free. However, due to the sudden escape and my lack of concentration, I tripped and fell backwards, knocking my head on the living room table. For some reason, that stopped the ringing in my ears and my splitting headache; however, now, I had to deal with a new type of pain bulging in the back of my head.

"Is everything alright," my mom said, leaving her room and entering the living room. "Tai, what are you doing walking around in the living room in the dark like that?"

"Nothing, mom, I'm just coming back from the bathroom and didn't see where I was going," I replied.

"Well, next time, turn the light on before heading back to your room. You scared me, for crying out loud," my mother said.

"I will, mom," I replied.

My mother returned to her room. I stared at the television one more time. The screen returned to normal, as though what I had seen was all a dream. I turned on the television and flipped through several channels. Just like the story at school, there was nothing on that resembled what I just saw. I turned the TV off and stared at the screen one more time.

Subconsciously, I reached out towards the television in an attempt to recreate that scene one more time. At the very last second, I pulled myself back. I didn't want to risk going inside the television set alone, and it was too late to get in contact with everyone, as I did not know if they saw the same thing that I did. I decided to return to my room to collect my thoughts as I slept.

*To be continued*