And then... something happened. There we were, housed in the manor of the vile vampiric Phantom Lord, when, all of a sudden, the game froze. At least, we thought it did. Every effect stopped, our characters were unresponsive, and the music slipped into a harsh buzz. The world was still... except for the Phantom Lord. A sly grin crossed his lips as he held his hand outstretched.
"Ignorant children." He began. "This is my castle, understand? I've gone through great lengths to steal it on my own, fair and square. But if this world is going to grant you the powers to fight me, then I suppose I'll have to beef up security." A deep sigh escaped his undead lips before he glared at us again. "Well, enough about that. Get out."
With a snap of his fingers, a dark portal opened to his right as all three of our characters were sucked inside of it! Before we could process what happened, we were all swallowed by darkness as our characters seemed to warp and change! It was the end of our game. The end of one adventure... but also the beginning of a new one. An adventure that none of us would ever forget that would take us across unknown lands, doing heroic deeds wherever we could.
That was the day Yuji, the character, died. But it was also the day Yuji, the hero, the man you see before you, was born!
Digimon: Double Heat Syntax
Ch. 1: The Legendary Hero Awakens
Yuji's eyes opened as he stared up at the light blue sky. He blinked a few times in confusion as the gentle breeze washed over his face. What exactly happened? This wasn't his bedroom, and he wasn't holding any controllers, either. Slowly, he sat up as he started to realize just how strange his current situation was. Around him was a field of glistening sunflowers extending as far as the eyes could see with a heavy fog off in the distance, keeping him from seeing too far away.
"Fog...?" The boy muttered under his breath. That was weird... he glanced up again. Yup, the sky was still as clear as ever, and the sun was shining brightly, as well. It almost seemed like the fog only existed along the ground. Was that normal? A sudden realization dawned on Yui. "Hang on... I'm... outside...?" He looked down to realize even his outfit was different, now featuring gloves and shorts with a small coat. He could have sworn he was wearing pajamas before while they were gaming. Right, Final Blade! He was playing Final Blade 3 when suddenly-
"Oh no... Vex and Rita!" He gasped! "If we were all transported to another world, then-!"
"Funny you'd mention Vex first." A female voice responded. Yuji turned around to see a familiar red-haired woman wearing a cream-colored sweater with a dark skirt and glasses.
"R-Rita!" The boy said, surprised, as he finally stood up. "Where are we? The last thing I remember, the Phantom Lord kicked us out! Was that a bug? Did we get banned?!"
Rita simply sighed as she took off her purple backpack and began rummaging around in it. "No, Yuji. We didn't get banned. I don't think an internet moderator could reach through the screen and yoink us to God knows where." After a bit more searching, the girl pulled out a similarly purple laptop, opening it up as she examined the screen intently. "Well, wherever we are, it seems like we've got wifi. And whatever happened, it seems like not a lot of time has passed." Her brow furrowed as she looked back at the time, almost in disbelief. "Hey, Yuji? How late was it when we entered the castle?"
"Oh, in the game, you mean?" Yuji said before closing his eyes to focus. "I think it was... around 12:59? Maybe 1:03 or so...? Yeah, I remember mom shouting at me to go to bed, so it was pretty late."
Another sigh escaped Rita. "Jeez, that bad, huh..." She looked up for a moment before squinting her eyes at the sun. "That doesn't make a lot of sense, though, does it? My computer's saying it's 1:05 and the sun's still up. Did we get sent to another timezone or something?" The girl raised her hand up to her chin in thought as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Now that I think about it, I don't feel tired either. It's almost like I just woke up after a full night of sleep. This also wasn't what I was wearing. And, now that I think about it, has your hair changed? It's... spikier...?"
"Huh...?" Slowly, Yuji raised his hands to feel his hair. "Oh! You're right! I just got a fresh haircut the other day, but it's all back now!" Suddenly, a realization hit the boy as he began to put the pieces together. "... In fact... this feels similar to what I made Yuji's hair like. You know, my character, Yuji." A grin quickly crossed the child's face as he slowly pointed to his friend, now struggling to contain his excitement. "Rita... you don't think... I know it sounds crazy, but were we XXXXing Isekai'd?!"
The two of them staggered in shock as the indescribable noise came out of the boy's mouth, censoring whatever he was about to say. That definitely wasn't normal! Carefully, Yuji opened his mouth before saying the first thing that came to mind. "XXXX! Piece of XXXX! Uhh... double-double fudge cream with a heaping mound of XXXX! Ohh man, this is wild! It's just like when the chat auto-censors words!"
"Stop!" Rita shouted in a panic. "We don't know what this place is, Yuji! What if there's some moderation to this world?! We could be in trouble."
"Re-lax..." The boy shot back calmly. "What the XXXX could possibly happen?" Almost immediately, a piercing voice shot through the offender's head, speaking in a disjointed scream!
[VIOLATIONS HAVE HIT TERMINAL BENCHMARK]
[ONE WARNING INITIATED - TWO REMAIN]
"Yuji!" The red-haired girl shouted! "What's wrong?! Are you alright?!"
The kid looked up slowly with a horrified expression. "U... uhhh... R- Rita..." He stuttered. "It said I have a warning. There's only two left... Rita... what would happen if I kept swearing...? If this is reality, and I get banned from it... then would I just...?"
"Yes, yes." A third voice uttered. "It's quite a terrible fate, indeed."
The two newcomers carefully looked down as they finally noticed a small brown rabbit-like creature with large ears standing next to them. "You don't want to irritate Ophanimon." The rabbit continued. "She has to enforce the standards of humans such as yourselves. Not swearing is something you humans consider civil, is it not? I once saw a human who kept disobeying and they went straight to the dark area." The rabbit turned to the side in thought for a moment. "Right, your kind doesn't know what that is... do you believe in Hell? Basically, imagine that." A friendly smile crossed the monster's face. "I'm Lopmon, by the way! Have you met either Gatomon yet?"
Yuji's entire body began shaking as he slowly backed away. "R- Rita...!" Did this thing just say it's going to send us to Hell?!"
Rita simply groaned at the reaction. "Come on, Yuji, you're over-reacting."
Lopmon shook its head. "You're only sent if you're rude." The creature re-iterated. "No profanity, no death threats, and no hate speech. Oh, but fighting is allowed, it's in our nature, after all. And humans can die. So even if your data isn't absorbed, you don't come back. I'd assume these terms are generally acceptable in human society? Now, if we're past that, I need assistance."
Suddenly, Yuji's reaction changed as a beaming smile crossed his face. "Wait, like a quest!" He turned around, motioning to the rabbit. "Hey, Rita, you hear that? It's just like Final Blade! He's got a full-on quest for us!"
The color drained out of Rita's face immediately. "W- wait..." she muttered. "We can... die...? Things here are going to try to kill us...?!"
"It'll be fine!" Yuji shouted back, now filled with newfound excitement.
Lopmon simply groaned. "Well for me, I'm starting to believe it most certainly will not be fine... of all the people to have to partner with... I was hoping my Tamer would be more... you know... proper...? Capable...? Someone who can really impress Musyamon!"
The scene was suddenly cut short as the space next to the group crackled with red lightning as a black portal ripped open from thin air! A moment later, a small white cat creature hopped out, standing on its hind legs as it stared at the two humans.
Lopmon simply shrugged. "White Gatomon, huh? I guess that means you're good enough then."
"Huh?" Yuji uttered in confusion. "Why, is that special or something?"
The cat seemed to hold back a laugh at the response. "I would hope not. BlackGatomon and I are ordained to watch over humans who come to this world, like you. Upon coming here, Ophanimon reads the hearts of every human. If she deems your soul pure, then I give you a Digivice of light. But if your soul is impure, then Black Gatomon gives you a Digivice of Darkness."
Lopmon simply nodded. "That one's important." He included. "The power of dreams attracts pure-hearted people, as you would expect. But it is worth noting that even casually using a Dark Digivice drains energy from the World of Nightmares. It might seem odd, but if there were no Dark Digivices then Nightmares would destroy the world. Balance must always be carefully maintained."
The boy nodded back before giving a cheerful thumbs-up. "I don't get it!" Yuji cheerfully admitted. "But if this means I can help people, then I'm all for it!"
Rita simply crossed her arms, looking away dismissively. "I'm not sure I completely believe it. So these cats just show up and give bad people evil devices for the greater good? Sounds like a lame JRPG plot twist waiting to happen."
Gatomon scratched her head awkwardly at the comment. "I'm very sorry... even if I wanted to stop it, I have no control over what Black Gatomon does. I just do as Cherubimon told us to do." Before anyone else could interject, the Digimon walked forward and placed a glowing white stone in Yuji's hand. A moment later, the stone transformed into a small white rectangular device with an octagonal screen featuring four buttons around it. Then, Gatomon handed Rita an identical-looking stone, which transformed into a similar-looking white device.
"I don't know..." Rita muttered. "All of this is really sudden and strange. I like playing games, but I don't know if I want to ACTUALLY risk my life going on adventures. Maybe we should think this through first?"
The cat smiled gently at the two. "These Digivices grant you the power to enhance the data in your Digimon partner! When you form a connection with the right Digimon, you'll be able to become virtually linked. Not only does this allow you to transform them into more powerful forms temporarily, but you'll also be able to modify each form according to your wishes." The Digimon scratched the side of her head a bit for a moment. "Sorry, I always forget, newcomers don't tend to understand everything right away. Does this make sense so far?"
Both of the humans glanced at each other before giving a quick nod.
"So it's like Kamen Rider!" Yuji stated. "If I partner with this bunny thing, I can make it suit up and become stronger!"
Lopmon reeled back at the thought. "Suit up- What?! Are you daft?! I don't know what this 'Kamen of the Riders' is, but I'm definitely not partnering with an improper nitwit like you!" The rabbit turned its head away in defiance before walking over to the girl. "Now her? She seems like she has a proper head on her shoulders, even if it's a fairly anxious one. Go ahead, choose me, and be done with it."
Rita slowly looked away before focusing back on the cat-like creature. "Right, these 'modifications' you mentioned. What exactly do you mean? Could I just, for example, think really hard and give something infinite health or durability?"
The cat thought about the question for a moment. "Well... not quite? The modification, or Nexus Skill, can be almost anything. But it does have to be approved. Some wishes are simply too strong to be granted by the current form. Others are possible, but they might not line up with the partner's aptitudes and abilities." Gatomon simply shrugged. "It happens. Honestly, a lot of people use their Nexus Skill to give their Partner a weapon or tool with a unique effect. Others prefer to make their Digimon stronger or give them new attacks or abilities. One Tamer gave their Guilmon the ability to generate and bake bread, so even non-combat abilities are possible. It really depends on what you believe is the most worthwhile power. Just keep in mind you're limited to one Nexus Skill per form for Rookies and above. Also, each skill is limited specifically to the form, itself, so don't try to overthink things. just pick whatever you feel happiest with!"
The Cat-like monster began to walk away before its ears suddenly perked up. "Right! No using your Nexus Skill to bypass the profanity filter, either! That's a big no-no."
"W-wait-!" Yuji interjected. "But it is possible, right?! You didn't say it couldn't be done!" The boy jogged forward. Then, without warning, his foot smashed into something, causing him to stumble over in pain. "GAAHH- XXXX! What the- the... What the Flowerpot is this?!" Carefully, Yuji sat up and looked down. There was some form of black box half-buried in the field. In fact, looking at it closer... it seemed to be some form of car battery...?! "Who buries a battery in the middle of a stupid field?!"
Gatomon sighed. "I'm afraid it's not up to me to answer questions like that." A bright smile crossed her face as the black portal opened up again. "Well, I'll be off! I'm sure Lopmon can help you with whatever else you may need!" With a friendly wave, the creature entered the portal. Finally leaving the newcomers for good.
Rita could only cover her face in shame at her friend's behavior. "We can't get anywhere like this..."
"Stupid... dumb... battery..." Yuji muttered under his breath. "Wish it didn't exist."
Reluctantly, Lopmon dragged himself over to the boy. "It's called a Field Battery, human." The rabbit said, taking his time to make sure he was explaining things clearly. "Living things need energy to grow. This means that batteries like these power the field of flowers we live in. This is the core idea of the Digital World, things you might consider natural mixed with the things you might consider synthetic. Both the natural and the mechanical co-exist in harmony."
The creature let out a deep sigh before glaring up at the human in front of him. "My old partner used to love this field. We'd sit here for hours, talking about the human world. Her family! Her friends! Her Dreams! This place is special to me. It was special to both of us! And you'd dare to disrespect a place you don't even know about. It's pathetic. At this rate, you'll never be a replacement for her." Another heavy breath escaped the Lopmon as it turned away, seemingly wiping a tear from its face.
"Now come on." The Digimon ordered. "Your friend, Vex, is causing me quite a lot of trouble at Kage manor."
Rita finally spoke up. "What's wrong?" she said. "Is Vex in trouble?"
"Worse." Lopmon huffed. "She IS the trouble..."