"MetalGreymon's effect lets me borrow three Memory!"
MEMORY
1-4
"MetalGreymon, take to the sky as you gain the power of the blazing sun! Digivolve into WarGreymon!"
Adam scanned his trump card across his D-Case as a spiral of flame and binary overtook MetalGreymon completely. Within moments the flames died and all that remained was the muscular warrior dragon Digimon who towered above them both.
WarGreymon (BT1-025)
Color: Red
Level: 6
DP: 11000
The Stranger stood enamored by WarGreymon's utter radiance as Adam's impending anger burned as furious as its flames.
"Meet my Ace…" Adam said with burning fury.
The Stranger looked back at Adam, and underneath their facemask...
...they smiled.
Chapter 4: Shadow of the Day
[Two Hours Earlier...]
"You guys ready to have the experience of a lifetime?" Trevor asked his two friends as they walked up the staircase from the subway.
"Well, when you put it like that, it's debatable," Adam answered him.
"Put it like how? It's literally how the Beta test we had years ago but much more expansive and interactive."
"I am, definitely!" Megan said. "I can't wait to see what Cyberspace is like! Jokes aside, is it like how it is in the movies?"
"Yeah, but this is more than that," Trevor explained as they crossed the street. "Basically, our consciousness will be connected to Babylon's main server and from it, digital avatars of us are copied and inserted into the server to interact with each other. We'll be able to experience all of our five senses, in addition to being able to navigate like we were in a video game."
"So, calling it a 'Digital World' is more literal than not, right?" Adam asked, remembering how Marissa described it days prior.
"That's the ultimate goal after all. Once it goes live, there's no telling what else they'll come up with. Honestly, wouldn't be surprised if they make multiple ones via booster and server expansions."
The trio entered the building, SAIBA Enterprises' lobby being busier than during the week. Children zipped back and forth through the waiting area, while a mass group of people was off near the DigiTerminals battling to their heart's content.
Megan looked further out in the distance, noticing a small group of businessmen and women wearing visitor passes on their persons. "Guessing those are some of the shareholders?"
"Likely their representatives. Which means, that I need to be heading upstairs to check in with Marissa. Do you guys mind waiting down here? When they're ready I'll come to get you guys myself.
"Yeah, that works." Adam agreed.
"Don't have us waiting too long," Megan added.
"Yes, Dear," Trevor smirked, catching Megan off guard.
Adam didn't expect it either, watching as the teen cackled as he ran off. Adam then turned his attention to Megan who was trying to keep her composure, even though her dark skin sported a slightly rose color around her cheeks.
"Are you two…"
"Don't even think about it!" Megan snapped.
"What?! Just asking what all that was about just now! You guys have been acting weird since the other day you realize that?"
"I don't know! Maybe he's got tired of me teasing him and he's getting me back." She explained.
"Okay…? If it bothers you so much, why don't you tell him to stop…?"
Megan couldn't answer.
"You…like it, don't you?"
"Adam shut up!"
Adam's eyes grew. "I knew it! You actually do like him!"
"No, I don't!" Megan snapped with her cheeks flaring up again.
"Okay, fine, but you're liking the attention you're getting from it. That's basically the same thing."
"Okay, can we just stop talking about it? I already give myself a headache trying to figure it out I don't need you in my ear making it worse."
"Okay, fair enough…hopefully Tyrone won't find out…"
"Adam, stop!" Megan snarled.
"Haven't you guys noticed how loud you are at times?"
The pair looked up and saw Emily walking up to them.
"Hey, I thought you had plans today," Megan said.
"As it turned out, they fell through at the last minute. Plus, I'm here with my father. He's one of the shareholders and he had the option to bring a plus one with him, so I took it."
"Oh, cool that it worked out like that."
"Yeah right, after the drama SAIBA caused my family, to think I'd be here for this."
"Drama?"
"You don't remember the—"
"Hey, where did you get those earrings? Can I see them?" Megan approached Emily. The latter felt a little uncomfortable with Megan standing so close, but after a second she relaxed and allowed Megan to take a closer look at the earrings. "They're so pretty…You have to take me shopping with you one day."
Emily was hesitant, looking for Adam for help. The latter simply shrugged, and the former gave up. "If I have a weekend free, I'll keep you in mind…"
Megan smiled as she backed off, "looking forward to it."
Trevor approached Melissa's office door and went in to knock
"…is there a chance they may strike during the demo?" Trevor hesitated, hearing Melissa's concerned voice through the door.
"…The database servers and the Babylon server are two different things, the latter of which is layered in firewalls to keep unauthorized individuals out."
That was Trevor's father's voice then. Trevor leaned into the door, resting his ear against it.
"…what about the data stolen? Were you all able to recover it or…?"
"…Afraid not. Hopefully, whoever got a hold of it won't do anything reckless outside of leak it on social media.
"…Michael, they cut through SAIBA's interface like a hot knife through butter; these aren't amateurs!"
"…I'm fully aware of that, but as we both know, the Digimon programs are much more complex than what people realize. Arguably they can take care of themselves…"
Trevor backed up, feeling as though he heard enough. He cleared his throat and knocked on the door.
"It's open!" Melissa's voice called out.
Trevor turned the knob, coming inside to see Melissa and his father about a foot apart from one another.
"Trevor!" Melissa exclaimed.
"Yeah, what's up Mel?" He waved. He looked over to his father. "Hey, Dad."
"Trevor." He nodded, "How are you?"
The boy shrugged, "can't complain too much." He turned his attention to Melissa. "The others are downstairs, just came to check in and tell you we're ready to get started."
"Right! Just uh…" she checked her watch and snickered, realizing she had no time to continue the conversation.
"We'll talk later, Melissa. I'll have my team be on standby for when you all come down." Michael began to walk out of the room, stopping when he found himself next to Trevor. "Good to see you, son."
"Likewise." Trevor nodded.
Michael proceeded to leave and close the door behind him afterward. Once Trevor saw he was clear, he turned his attention back. "Was I interrupting something?"
Melissa threw her head on the desk and groaned. "I can trust you to keep a secret?"
"Mel, it's me of all people." Trevor crossed his arms, seemingly insulted.
Melissa sat up, "fair point." She folded her hands over her face and took a deep breath. "Trojan hit us last night."
Trevor's face nearly went pale. "The Cyberterrorists? How—what happened?! Did they steal anything?"
Melissa didn't know where to start, "As you know, we were set to release two new colors to the game the same day as Babylon's debut, Purple and Black. The intention today, was to show the shareholders what to expect along with Babylon in the coming future. But as luck would have it last night, we had a security breach, and the intruders stole the information of both the decks meant to be showcased today.
"But I heard that plans to introduce Purple and Black this early were scrapped due to—"
"Trevor, believe it or not, I don't know as much as you think I do," Melissa interjected. "I don't know who made the call, nor why, but all I know is that R&D got the green light to go through with it and that's that."
"Mr. Saiba didn't say anything either?"
"Not much. He's basically entrusting us to figure it out on our own."
"Hands off as always." Trevor deduced. "Guess with that in mind, we just pretend that we don't have a crisis on our hands?"
"The shareholders are expecting something today. It's not like we can cancel things when the event starts in the next ten minutes."
"Fair enough…" Trevor pondered.
"Your father said there shouldn't be anything to worry about. They patched the hole they snuck through. It should last until the demo is over and by then they can get to work securing it properly."
"Fingers crossed it will."
After a few minutes, Melissa, Trevor, and several other staff members came down to the lobby to greet all of the invitees. Adam and the two girls joined the suited individuals, sticking out in the crowd due to their casual clothing.
"Good afternoon everyone! My name is Melissa Reinhardt, Community Manager of SAIBA Enterprise. Will everyone who been invited to take part in our event please follow my assistant and me to our Research and Development department? If you haven't been checked in yet, please get your pass verified at the security desk next to me and then rejoin us afterward."
Melissa then took point and she and Trevor moved ahead of the small group of people as they made their trek onward into the building. Adam and the other two girls likewise followed the crowd as they were taken downstairs to a basement floor where the R&D department stood waiting. Adam was slowly feeling nostalgia, being reminded of the hallways he trekked through with Melissa and Trevor years ago during the beta test; back when he was obsessed with the game and being innocently naïve as to what the game entailed, to Trevor's detriment and Melissa's humor.
"As we approach the department, allow my assistant here to briefly explain what it is we've achieved thanks to advancing technology in the creation of Babylon. Trevor, if you please?"
Trevor turned around as well, "For starters, Babylon is a one-of-a-kind Virtual Reality space created and maintained right here at SAIBA Enterprise. For the last several years SAIBA has been working on advancing how we experience cybernetics as a whole, paying particular regard to how we interact with it. SAIBA, in an attempt to create a cyber world made to appeal to all ages, created these guys…" Trevor pulled out his D-Case and hit the button, Gabumon materializing from the screen on top.
"…Digital Monsters, known as Digimon," Trevor said. "Digimon are creatures that live in cyberspace and are currently the sole inhabitants of Babylon. Once Babylon goes live, it's SAIBA's goal to have the Digimon coexist with users all over the world to allow them to not only have their own virtual pet but to play the ever-popular card game with life-sized Digimon."
"As for the Digimon themselves, they are artificially intelligent programs which are stored within one's Digital Case, or D-Case. The AI can access SAIBA's servers directly for any updates to its original program, from hotfixes and patches to overall maintenance. They are also customizable, able to be turned into several hundred different Digimon, all of which can be downloaded from SAIBA's Digimon TCG website." Melissa added. "All of this and more will go be explained further in detail by our skilled R&D staff."
With the explanation stated, Melissa and Trevor lead the group inside the familiar, spacious white room of his memory, only this time it was much more expansive, resembling a full gymnasium of sorts. Like the room before, there were machines attached to the corners of both the floor and the ceiling, likely projectors.
Adam blinked, as the memories of the match he and Trevor shared played back in his mind, of the clashing Digimon. MetalGarurumon coming in for the final attack, WarGreymon emerging as a Security Card…
…and then…
…Fire…
Megan tapped Adam on the shoulder, sending a jolt through him. He spun around, seeing Megan equally startled.
"Are you okay? You kinda zoned out for a second…" She spoke.
Adam cleared his throat, realizing he did, and shrugged it off. "I'm good. Just reminiscing and stuff."
Megan slowly nodded. "Are you sure? You're looking a little pale."
"Yeah, I'm good, no worries!" Adam said, feeling anxiety creep up.
His dream was resurfacing. As much as he's gotten used to it, for it to suddenly trigger him now…was weird, to say the least. Trevor approached the group with a handful of Bluetooth headsets.
"What are these for?" Adam quickly asked, to divert some attention away from him and onto Trevor.
"D-Coms," Trevor answered. "They hook up to your D-Cases and act as mics when interacting with Babylon to keep everyone connected to their parties."
"Okay…" Adam said taking hold of one. He wrapped it around his ear and tapped the button on the side.
"D-Com powered on. Standing by for Cyber Drive."
Emily and Megan followed suit, the latter of the two prompting the question. "What does it mean when it says it's on Standby? And what does 'Cyber Drive' mean?"
"That'll be explained in a second," Trevor said, backing off. "Once everyone's on the same page we'll show you just what it is."
Trevor skipped off to assure everyone else was situated.
Emily turned around, "I'll meet up with you guys in a bit. I'm gonna go and look for my father."
Megan nodded, waving the girl off, before approaching Adam one more time. She rested her hand on his shoulder to draw his attention. "Can I just say, I'm kinda scared about all this?"
Adam heard her nervous chuckle and turned to her, "I mean this is Trevor. We can trust him to not kill us. Unless…this is some Sword Art Online scenario in which case, yeah, I'd be hesitant too."
Megan stifled her laughter, reminded of the retro Japanese anime. "Yeah, I think it's just my nerves getting the better of me. This is going to be awesome like you said."
Adam nodded.
"So, with that said, be honest with yourself. If you can't handle it, speak up." Megan followed, revealing her reason for her statement.
Adam turned to his friend and exhaled, "Megan, trust me. I'm okay. Really."
Megan crossed her arms, "you can't lie to me, Adam Russo."
Adam bit his lip. Before he could respond to hear, Melissa's voice came over the conversations in the room.
"To introduce the Babylon interface, I invite the Department Manager: Michael McKnight to speak briefly on what's to take place."
Adam and Megan watched as Melissa turned her attention upward, while the rest of the group followed her lead. Michael approached the window, a D-Com on his person as well. Moments later his voice began to speak into the microphone.
"First off, thank you all for coming this afternoon for what will be one of the most important investments in SAIBA Enterprises' lifetime, and what's hoped to be what takes our beloved company to the next level. Babylon is prepped and ready for access. If you haven't, activate the D-Coms you have been handed and wait for the AI to say: 'Standing by for Cyber Drive.' Once that's activated, the D-Com will be able to connect the user into Babylon. Further instructions will be available once everyone touches down in the world. Is everyone ready?"
Adam looked around as Melissa and Trevor surveyed everyone and gave Michael the thumbs up.
"Good! He said happily. Cyber Drive will Activate in 3…2…1…"
A harsh breeze from behind drove itself into Adam's backside, forcing his eyes awake as a result. A crisp, blue sky stared back in him, as it seemed as though he was being ripped further and further away from it by an unseen force. A glance towards both his right and left side confirmed it for him:
He was falling.
In a panic, Adam continued to plummet downward, yelling hysterically for a moment.
"Hey, Doofus, 3 O'clock!"
Adam's attention was drawn to Trevor's voice, which spoke through his D-Com that was still placed on his ear. He looked off to his right, seeing Trevor diving forward and coming up next to him.
"Dude! What—!" Adam was panicking.
Without saying anything, Trevor grabbed a hold of him and came to an abrupt stop, nearly yanking Adam's arm out of its socket. Trevor stood in the air, holding a dangling Adam by his arm.
"DUDE!" Adam snapped.
"Doofus? Relax."
"Don't tell me to—"
"No, I mean, relax!" Trevor reiterated. "Don't you remember what I said earlier?"
Adam blinked. "We can navigate this place like a video game…"
Trevor nodded. "In other words, we can fly."
Adam took a moment to process that, looking down at his feet and pressing down as if he was standing on solid ground. He felt the force of the wind beneath him balancing him out.
"Whoa…" He was a little astounded.
"It's not perfect, but it's doable for the demonstration. Trevor said.
"Nice catch, Trevor." Megan's voice spoke through the coms.
Adam quickly recognized the girl's voice and spoke before Trevor could, "Where'd you end up?"
"Look down; we're on the rooftop waiting for you both to get down here. Also, Melissa said to hurry up, so we have more time to explore."
"You heard her, the last thing we need is to give Mel any more headaches." Trevor joked as he began his descent.
Adam didn't respond right away, watching Trevor go down before him. The thought of wondering what he meant by that statement lingered for a minute before he joined them below. Once he landed, he made his way over to the rest of the group.
"Can you all hear me fine?" Michael spoke once again.
"Crystal," Trevor responded.
"Excellent. Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you all to Babylon!"
The small group of users all applauded, thoroughly impressed by the world they found themselves in. With the aesthetic of a futuristic landscape, Babylon's skyscrapers were illuminated with neon colors and holographic projections, reminiscent of places like NYC's Time Square and Tokyo's Akihabara. The city extended as far out as possible in all directions, giving off the implication that this cyber city was truly its own world.
Once the clapping ceased, Michael continued to speak, "From here, you are all free to explore the city's landscape to your heart's content. After one hour, the system will trigger a log-out function that will automatically log out individuals after sixty seconds. Be sure to log out when prompted to avoid being forced out of the system."
"Only an hour? That's not a lot of time is it?" Adam crossed his arms.
"Babylon still has some things that need finalizing," Melissa explained, walking up to them. "With today's demonstration, we're hoping to see how the public reacts to being in this new environment. So, you guys better go and enjoy yourselves; got 59 min left."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Megan broke from the group and grabbed Adam and Trevor's arms, dragging them towards the edge of the Skyscraper before leaping off and releasing them so they all free-fell. Megan's scream of excitement and the boy's anxious how's echoed as they descended, drawing Emily's attention as she watched from the distance. The blonde-haired girl turned her attention away, fixating her gaze on the black-haired girl who stood far off from the rest of the crowd, the latter herself staring off in the infinite cyber skyline…
Michael looked through the windowpane, staring down at the still statues that were the participants. With their minds fully transferred into Babylon, their real bodies stood in a paralyzed state, to keep from causing injury. While this was a convenient feature to keep users from collapsing during the transfer…having everyone stand still like that did seem off-putting for some.
On the screen behind him, his team had their eyes and ears on the surface of Babylon, watching as the groups each took their respected routes to explore the greater city beyond. Trevor and his friends took off in one direction, while Melissa took the group of Shareholders, hesitant to go off on their own in the unique space.
"Everything checking out so far?" Michael asked his team.
"Everything's green sir. Vitals of each candidate remains stable." He got a response from one of the monitors.
"And the Digimon set to roam the area?"
"Deployed and dispersing as we speak."
"Music to my ears!" Michael said, his voice laced with glee and excitement. "Years of hard work are about to pay off."
"Maybe we should save that for after we confirm that Trojan isn't planning a round 2." Melissa chimed.
Michael chuckled. "You heard that? Needless to say, you're not wrong. While it would be odd for Trojan to strike twice, what better opportunity would they have otherwise? Fortunately, we can safely assume they haven't found a way to access the Digimon in the Purple and Black Server Data in such a short time. And if they did, the Digimon in them wouldn't take kindly to being kidnapped."
"Saying it twice doesn't make me feel any different if we're being honest."
Michael understandably nodded. "Trust me, Melissa. I'll make sure there won't be any hiccups today. Now go have fun; clocks ticking for you too."
Michael hung up and crossed his arms, focusing in on Trevor's group. Time has put a strain on the relationship with his family, he'd be the first to admit to it. As hard as he could to try and save his marriage, he made an arguable mistake choosing a career at SAIBA. What he thought would be a benefit for his family, turned out to be the nail in the coffin for his marriage. With Trevor throwing himself into the pro-life, Michael felt torn, knowing that he was responsible for that, for better and worse.
Just a little while longer and he can start repairing what he broke, he would tell himself. Just…a little while longer… and he can make things right.
"That was awesome!" Megan exclaimed shortly after landing. The transparent green street shimmered with each step as the two boys followed behind her.
"Seriously, what's gotten into you?" Adam snapped, feeling his heart rate come back down to normal.
"What? Now's not the time to be a stick in the mud. We're here to have fun, right? So, let's do just that."
Adam's eye twitched before Trevor stepped in. "She has a point dude, it's time to just have fun and leave everything in the outside world alone for a minute."
"That actually reminds me," Adam mentioned. "You and your Dad seem pretty chummy."
Trevor hesitated, looking around before switching his D-Com to mute. "Switch yours to mute too."
Adam and Megan looked at one another and did just that. From there, Trevor spoke. "Gotta keep up with appearances. Truth is, my Dad, insisted that I took part in the demo. I don't know if he's trying to appeal to me, or what the case is, but to avoid making a scene, I took him up on it. Not for nothing, but my jaw is cramping from all of the forced smiling I had to do."
"Yeah…it was getting kind of cringey at a certain point." Adam agreed. "Melissa's in all of this too?"
"To make my job easier, yes," Trevor answered. "Plus, the other reason I agreed was because she managed to replace those cards for me as well, so this makes us even. By the way, wasn't Emily with you guys?"
"She said she was going to be with her father, and she'd meet up with us after we got here," Megan explained. "I don't know why I didn't think about it before, but Riverbank's a high-class neighborhood, so it's no wonder her father was a shareholder in SAIBA."
"Yeah…only one problem with that." Trevor pondered.
Adam and Megan looked up as Trevor brought his fingers together and pulled back, projecting a holographic screen with a list of guests. "There's only one invitation labeled 'Parker' on here and that's her's."
"Okay…so what, she lied about her father being invited?" Megan crossed her arms.
"What does it matter, she had an invitation anyway with our group right?" Adam added.
"Yeah, but if that was the case why did she back out and then suddenly pop up this morning with a sudden change of heart?" Trevor pointed out.
"You have your detective status on today, what's up?" Megan asked.
Trevor thought a bit deeper but waved it off. "Nevermind. Nothing for us to worry about."
"You sure? You look like you're wanting to pin Emily with something." Megan leaned in.
"Like I said, it's nothing to worry about," Trevor repeated. He started walking away from her.
After he was about a yard or two away, she called out to him, "You know you can't lie to me!" she called out to him.
"Can't lie if there's nothing to hide." He countered her, continuing to walk on.
Megan gritted her teeth and ran to catch up with him. Adam began to follow but stopped short, noticing something glistening around the corner of a nearby structure. The small object had a chrome spike jutting from the top, and as Adam went to give the mysterious object its full attention, it moved, looking up and revealing the red eyes underneath the dome. It turned, flashing its purple and white striped tail, and bounced off. Adam went to reach out but hesitated. He turned, seeing his friends further off, and thought for a minute.
"Hey, you guys! I'll catch up, I'm gonna go and try and find Emily!" Adam called out.
Trevor and Megan turned around, noticing how far he was from them. "Maybe we should just stick with Trevor and we can all find her together."
"Nah, you two need some alone time, so we can settle the whole 'will-you-won't-you' bit you guys keep putting on."
Trevor and Megan both were taken aback, their faces turning colors as a result, They refused to look at each other to not give the other an edge. Adam hysterically chuckled as he turned away from them.
"If time runs out before we catch up, I'll see you on the other side!" Adam waved off, running off in the direction he saw the Digimon.
"Do you even know where you're going?!" Trevor called out.
"I'll figure it out…!" Adam disappeared around the corner, leaving the two remaining teens alone.
Megan sighed, "Speaking of which, Detective McKnight, is it just me, or has Adam been acting a bit off since we got here…?"
Trevor shrugged, "Honestly I don't know what goes on in that doofus' head from time to time. "Goes from standoffish to driven at the drop of a hat."
"Should we follow him?"
"Babylon's going to force everyone out after an hour, so as he said, if he doesn't catch up with us, then we'll just see him on the other side."
Trevor continued to walk forward, with Megan staring back for another moment, before joining along with Trevor.
Adam jogged down the crystal-green pathway down the alley where his mysterious new friend went through. He could see the shining dome in the distance and pursued it. The small Digimon continued to bounce, happily giggling as if this was a game of tag between the two of them. It wasn't long until Adam realized he wasn't feeling tired, so as the small Digimon cut through and sideswiped corners, Adam kept up like a humored child. He was enjoying himself more than he thought he would.
Eventually, the Digimon cut through one path, and from a way's off Adam could see a bright light emanating from that direction. He slowed up as he got closer, not knowing what he was going to expect. He reached the corner and leaned over to peek, seeing his new friend approach a mysterious figure on the opposite end. Behind the figure was the source of the light, a portal-like construct etched into the wall just behind him. The Digimon meanwhile bounced happily in front of the individual, with the latter kneeling to pet the eager creature.
Adam immediately could feel something was off. Trevor didn't mention anything about NPCs or any of the sort aside from the Digimon. Was this figure a new Digimon or…
"I know you're there…" The figure said in a distorted tone.
Adam froze in place.
"My Digimon says it had fun with you…" it continued.
Adam didn't know what to say to that. The figure looked up, revealing its face covered in a black mask with red-lensed goggles over their face. Their appearance captured Adam's gaze and motivated the teen to come out of hiding.
"You're…not a shareholder, are you?"
The figure's Digimon looked over to Adam as its owner rose. Having a better look at them, the figure was dressed in a white cloak that covered their body from their shoulders down. From underneath their cloak, the figure tossed something to Adam to which the latter caught. Adam examined the mysterious item, quickly realizing it was a wrist guard of sorts, with a large rectangular slot on the top of it.
"Your D-Case goes in that space. It'll allow us to have a Battle here within this world."
Adam looked up at the figure again. Their face masked up the way it was, left little to the imagination regarding expressions they were showing. Was this part of the Beta…?
To encourage Adam, the figure undid their cloak, revealing the black and silver uniform underneath, and the black and silver D-Case docked and strapped to their own arm. "Like this."
Adam looked down one final time, taking his D-Case and clamping it into the dock. He went to rest the device on his arm and the moment it clenched on…
…fire
The dream triggered in his head again, only this time, more than a brief flash. This time he found himself, surrounded by the sea of fire, smoke clouding the world above as he stood isolated at the mercy of the flames.
…Adam! Adam where are you…! ADAM…!
"Melissa!" Adam cried out, finding himself on his knees, clutching his head in terror.
Why…why did he call Melissa's name just now…?
"Kapurimon, come on back. It's my turn to have fun with your new friend…" The figure told the smaller Digimon who obediently turned into a stream of data and reinserted itself into the D-Case.
Adam still trying to process what just happened looked up at the figure who awaited Adam to recompose himself.
"Who…who are you…?" Adam said, his voice starting to break.
Instead of responding, the figure raised their arm, flashing their strapped D-Case. "Digi-Gate…Open!"
The front of the D-Case projected a unique, black gate-like hologram from its screen that rotated and clicked about like an unlocking gate, before expanding within the area around them. Adam, realizing where this was going, got back on his feet, and mimicked what he saw: "Digi-Gate Open!"
Adam watched as his D-Case did the same, projecting a red variant of the gate-like construct before expanding and covering the surrounding area. Each of their D-Cases following projected a glowing orb of their respected colors that floated up and joined together to form the Memory Counter for the pair. Adam noticed the split in the counter for his opponent was Black, which Adam quickly realized was abnormal, being the game only has 4 colors. Before he could even question that, his D-Case continued to whirl about. Five rectangles projected next, each of them with the Security Icon branded on them, folding over along the outside of his wrist as if shielding him. Following that, a screen projected before him, providing instructions on how to play the match.
Cards would be represented by holographic projections created by the D-Case based on the data of the cards within, including the Digi-Eggs. Digi-Eggs are hatched with a simple command, and cards are played by scanning them on the small screen of the D-Case. Each time one would draw, a card would materialize, and used cards would automatically be recorded as trashed, with an option to see the condition of a player participating in the match.
The projection cut out and projected five cards for Adam to take hold of. He did so, noticing how they felt solid in his hand just like real cards. Overall, the instructions didn't seem too off-putting so all that was necessary was giving it a shot.
"I Hatch!" Adam called out, starting the game. His D-Case responded, materializing a Digi-Egg before him that hatched into the familiar Koromon. The sight of the life-sized Koromon brought flashbacks to his childhood when he first saw the Digimon before him. He quickly re-focused himself, however, to keep from triggering his anxiety of the nightmare.
Koromon (ST1-01)
Color: Red
Level: 2
Adam took a card from his hand and swiped it across the face of the D-Case. "Koromon Digivolves into Agumon!"
Like the tabletop variants, binary materialized out of thin are and encircled the pink ball, turning it into the familiar orange dinosaur Digimon.
Agumon (ST1-03)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 2000
A card materialized over the D-Case, prompting Adam to draw it. Looking at it, he swung it back over his arm to play it. "I pay 2 Memory to play Biyomon!"
A life-sized Biyomon also made its appearance in Adam's Battle Area, closing out Adam's opening play in a relatively simple manner.
Biyomon (ST1-02)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 3000
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Stranger)
The Stranger took the opportunity to draw themselves. "I Hatch."
Their Digi-Egg also materialized, hatching into the Kapurimon that was roaming free earlier.
Kapurimon (BT2-005)
Color: Black
Level: 2
"Kapurimon, digivolve into ToyAgumon." The Stranger commanded, scanning the card across their D-Case.
"Toy…Agumon?" Adam questioned the bizarre name, which made him all the more confused as the Digimon was overtaken by the binary code and reformed into the Lego-inspired version of Agumon.
ToyAgumon
Color: Black
Level: 3
DP: 1000
"What in the…?" Adam really tried to process what that was.
The Stranger drew. "For three Memory, I play Gotsumon." The Stranger continued with their turn, scanning the next card across their D-Case. From it, a small golem Digimon materialized matching Biyomon's role in the Battle Area currently.
Gotsumon
Color: Black
Level: 3
DP: 3000
MEMORY
2-1 (Turn Change: Adam)
The turn switched back over to Adam who drew. He opted to access the status of the game, the projection appearing for him. He tapped on both ToyAgumon and Gotsumon to see their stats and potential abilities. Gotsumon was a 3000 DP Blocker that would eat away at 2 memory if it attacked, and ToyAgumon had an Inherited Effect that gives the Digimon "Reboot" …whatever that was.
"I move Agumon to the Battle Area, then, I'll attack with Biyomon!" Adam commanded. He figured one attack will go through that blocker, and if he blocks Biyomon, it'll be a trade between them.
The Stranger raised their arm and one of the Security Cards on their side expanded and took the hit. It like usual, shattered to bits, only to reform and reveal the illustration hidden.
Stranger
Security: 5-4
Adam was taken aback by what he saw, as Tai materialized on the Stranger's side, emerging from the black border card.
"Security Trigger: I play the 4-cost Tai, who gives all of my Black Digimon +1000DP during your turn, in addition to setting my Memory to 3 at the start of my turn."
Tai Kamiya (BT2-089)
Color: Black
"Hold on, that should be a Red card…right?" Adam said, trying to process the identical Tamer to the one he's familiar with.
"Digimon aren't tied to one color. Nor is a Tamer." The Stranger explained, in a tone that made Adam uneasy.
Adam pulled another card from his hand and scanned it. "I Digivolve Agumon into Greymon to end my turn! Agumon's IE effect grants Greymon +1000 DP, by the way."
Agumon roared as the binary overtook it and reformed it into the horned dinosaur Digimon.
Greymon (ST1-07)
Color: Red
Level: 4
DP: 4000-5000
MEMORY
1-1 (Turn Change: Stranger)
The stranger drew. "Tai grants me 3 memory at the start of my turn."
MEMORY
1-3
"I will also move ToyAgumon into the Battle Area, and digivolve it into Greymon as well."
"What?!" Adam exclaimed as he saw the revealed card in his opponent's hand. Once it scanned, ToyAgumon, with the aid of the binary code reformed itself into an identical variant of its opponent. Both Greymon stood before one another, sizing the other up.
Greymon (BT2-057)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
3-1
The Stranger drew their card, "ToyAgumon's IE effect grants Greymon the Reboot ability and Kapurimon's IE Effect grants a Digimon with Reboot +1000 DP.
Greymon: 4000-5000 DP
"Greymon attacks Biyomon." The Stranger declared, causing Adam to react.
Greymon: 5000 DP
Biyomon 3000 DP
Biyomon flapped its wings and fired its Spiral Tornado, but alas it was overtaken by Greymon's Nova Blast.
Biyomon's data traveled back to Adam and flew into the screen of the case, indicating that it was sent to the Trash. Adam shook off his shock thinking ahead for the next turn. His Greymon got a boost thanks to the IE Effects, so that crosses out attacking it head-on…not to mention his Tai gives them another +1000 DP during his turn. Gotsumon's still on the field with its Blocker so even if he did try to attack, it'd just be blocked…
"I play Guardromon for 5 Memory to end my turn." The Stranger said, playing the new Digimon.
A large steam tank-looking bronze robot materialized, with a rather steampunk aesthetic.
Guardromon (BT2-058)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 7000
MEMORY
1-4 (Turn Change: Adam)
"Greymon unsuspends itself due to the Reboot Ability, as well as my Black Digimon gain a power boost thanks to Tai."
Gotsumon: 3000-4000 DP
Greymon: 5000-6000 DP
Guardromon: 7000-8000 DP
"So that's what Reboot does…" Adam said, hating the fact that the biggest threat on the board could unsuspend itself and make it impervious to a direct attack. Along with another, even stockier blocker too… "That's really frustrating."
"A perfect defense to the perfect offense." The Stranger commented, as though clarifying what it was.
Adam smirked, "Yeah, we'll see about that." He drew. "I Hatch!"
The new Egg materialized and hatched itself, revealing Yokomon.
Yokomon (BT1-001)
Color: Red
Level: 2
"Yokomon, digivolves into Monodramon!" Adam said, scanning the card and watching as the small bulb reformed into the purple bipedal dragon.
Monodramon (BT1-009)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 3000
Adam drew. "Greymon, go one step further into MetalGreymon!"
Greymon roared as the binary overcame it and reformed it into the metallic cyborg version of itself.
MetalGreymon (BT1-021)
Color: Red
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
4-1
"With the IE Effects, it gains from its sources, with 8000 power, Double Security Break!" Adam ordered his colossal beast.
"Gotsumon blocks!" The Stranger countered.
MetalGreymon: 7000-8000 DP
Gotsumon: 4000 DP
MetalGreymon threw its cyber arm outward and shot its claw forward towards the Stranger, only for Gotsumon to jump and intercept it, dispersing into data after a moment.
Adam scoffed, "Didn't wanna scratch up your tin-can so early, huh?"
The Stranger shook their head. "Gotsumon wanted to do it, so I allowed it."
Adam went silent, not expecting an answer like that. This for some reason made Adam grow irritated. "MetalGreymon's effect lets me borrow three Memory!"
MEMORY
1-4
"MetalGreymon, take to the sky as you gain the power of the blazing sun! Digivolve into WarGreymon!"
Adam scanned his trump card across his D-Case as a spiral of flame and binary overtook MetalGreymon completely. Within moments the flames died and all that remained was the muscular warrior dragon Digimon who towered above them both.
WarGreymon (BT1-025)
Color: Red
Level: 6
DP: 11000
The Stranger stood enamored by WarGreymon's utter radiance as Adam's impending anger burned as furious as its flames.
"Meet my Ace…" Adam said with burning fury.
The Stranger looked back at Adam, and underneath their facemask, they smiled.
Back on the outside, Michael was furiously pacing as his team rushed to understand what was happening in Babylon. The moment that Adam and the Stranger began their battle Babylon's security detection went off, sighting the anomaly. He was so confident that if Trojan were going to strike that they would've been intercepted, or that the Digimon in Babylon would drive them out even. But not only did neither of those take place but one of the intruders is currently in a battle with one of the testers.
"Melissa, do you copy?" Michael attempted a third time, the previous two times communications inside Babylon were jammed.
"Mi…wha…ca…me…?" Melissa's voice broke up into fragments as they traveled into his ear.
"Melissa! Trojan is in Babylon! I Repeat, Trojan is in Babylon!"
She continued to break up and he gritted his teeth, seconds away from pulling the D-Com off his head. "Proceed to force eject everyone. We can't wait for the hour."
"But sir, a force ejection at this stage could have—"
"Any negative side effects are better than being the target of terrorists; just do it!" Michael screamed.
The monitors at the computers silently followed instructions and hit the final key, prompting all users to brace for an emergency ejection from the system. Michael then watched anxiously for the people below to wake up one by one.
Slowly but surely the people below felt the whiplash of being woken up from their dream-like states, attempting to maintain their footing despite the headaches that began to radiate from each of them. Trevor and Megan jolted back to life, feeling the same effects, dazed as to what happened. Megan's gaze shot directly towards the direction she remembered Emily to be, the latter waking up and frantically looking around. She rushed towards the exit, causing Megan to trail behind her before she got too far.
As Megan chased the girl down the hallway, she could hear Emily swear underneath her breath as she fought back tears. Megan slowed up and slowly approached her, hesitant to make any sudden movements. When Emily noticed her, she turned completely around and without any indication, embraced Megan and cried into her arm, the latter not knowing what to do outside comfort her.
Trevor meanwhile tended to everyone else in the room to assure that they were all safely ejected. One by one he was able to assure that everyone was accounted for.
"Adam? Adam, wake up! Come on, this isn't a joke…!" Melissa's voice bounced off the walls in the room, making Trevor jerk himself around towards her. He saw the young woman frantically trying to wake Adam up, who seemingly was yet to be ejected like everyone else.
"Dad, we have a problem!" Trevor didn't hesitate to call his father through his D-Com.
"There is no problem." A distorted voice echoed back, freezing Trevor solid. "He shall be released once we get what we came for."
The mic cut out, prompting Trevor to grit his teeth in anguish. "Lie him down and get the medical team down here now!" Trevor's angered voice took control of the room and he left his instructions with the anxious shareholders as he dashed his way upstairs to where his father was. Once he was upstairs, he nearly kicked the door down, seeking his father above all else. "What just happened and who was that on the comms just now?! Where's Adam?!"
"Trevor, calm down!" Michael snapped at his son.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Trevor retorted. "My friend's in danger and it's my fault, how do you expect me to calm down now of all times?! Huh?!" He looked at the open console and dashed it. "I'm going back in."
Michael grabbed a hold of his son, "like hell you are!"
"Let me go! I need to get that idiot out of there! Before Trojan does something that I can't fix!"
"Listen to yourself!" Michael nearly shook his son. "Going to pick a fight without a plan of action, that's unlike you! You know better than to throw yourself in a situation you can't even begin to comprehend!"
"When it comes to my friends what does it matter?!"
"If you make one wrong move you both can end up dead!"
Trevor went quiet, as did the rest of the room. Michael was turning red from anger as well and he began to take deep breaths. "Trojan…never left Babylon. Most of their team escaped but they planted stragglers for some reason and like an idiot, I locked them inside. Explains why the Digimon didn't react to their presence either because they've been cloaking themselves somehow." He exhaled and turned back to him. "Look, don't blame what happened to your friend on yourself. No one could've predicted this."
"We shouldn't have gone through with this. Why did Mr. Saiba insist we held the event knowing we risked dealing with Trojan?!"
"I don't know how to answer—"
"No one knows how to answer that! No one knows why he does what he does! What, is going to sweep this under the rug too? And just pretend that this situation didn't happen like five years ago?!" Trevor was growing more emotional. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for him to pick the game up again?! How hard Melissa and I had to bend over backward just for him to even open that stupid D-Case?! Or even getting him to even come here! To this room! Of all the rooms in this god-forsaken building?! Just for this to happen?!"
Trevor in his brief hysteria began to laugh to himself. "He's so lucky…he was able to forget about it all these years. Just completely block it out of his mind…only to find himself back where we started…"
Trevor knelt, ready to give way to his emotions. His father came down with him, put his hands on his son's shoulders, and patted him on the back. "As long as he wins, we won't have anything to worry about. I guarantee it…"
As he turned over, his monitors all watched helplessly as the battle between Adam and the Stranger continued.
The Stranger passed the turn back over, starting with 3 Memory, and hatching another Kapurimon, Digivolving it into ToyAgumon, then into Numemon for 1 Memory, and then into the Ultimate Digimon Andromon, a tall worn android-looking Digimon for another 3.
Numemon (BT2-056)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 3000
Andromon (BT2-061)
Color: Black
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-1 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam drew, seeing that the Stranger put down yet another powerful Blocker. "Monodramon moves to the Battle Area!"
Monodramon obeyed its Tamer's command and moved. Adam knew if he played anything, he'd forfeit his turn, so he decided to go headfirst into it. "WarGreymon's IE effects give him Security Attack +1 as well as +2000 DP from Agumon and Koromon's effects. Double Security Break!
"Guardromon Blocks!"
WarGreymon: 13000 DP
Guardromon: 8000 DP
Guardromon braced itself for the WarGreymon's attack, as the latter dug its gauntlet into the ground and ripped it upward, sending waves of flames that engulfed the Digimon.
"Monodramon, follow up, Security Break!"
Monodramon leaped over the blockers who remained on standby and punched a Security Card as it expanded for it.
Stranger
Security: 4-3
Like before, the card dispersed and reformed to reveal the illustration on the other side. Revealed was a 6-cost Option card with a machine-like dragon firing two large cannons on its back in a blaze of power. That same blaze ejected from the card image and swallowed WarGreymon unexpectedly, much to Adam's horror.
When the blast concluded, Agumon was all that remained of what was Agumon, who laid dazed and confused as to what happened to it.
Just like Adam, who was just as dumbfounded. "What the…?" He looked up as the Security Card ejected itself and into the Stranger's D-Case. "Where's WarGreymon?!"
"Infinity Cannon is an Option Card that De-Digivolves a Digimon down 4 levels, or until they reach Level 3. All cards above it are sent into the Trash."
Adam grew cold. His trump card was incinerated without warning, reduced down to Agumon's poor state. Desperate, he played the 4-Cost Red Tai card in his hand, as a reassurance that he can come back come the next turn.
MEMORY
1-3 (Turn Change: Stranger)
The Stranger drew their card. "I Move Andromon into the Battle Area."
Andromon moved into the Battle Area as commanded, replacing the Guardromon that perished earlier.
"Greymon, Digivolve into MetalGreymon." The Stranger stated, revealing a black card-variant of Adam's.
Just like before, the Stranger's Greymon reformed into MetalGreymon, roaring to announce the changing tides.
MetalGreymon (BT2-063)
Color: Black
Level: 5
DP: 7000
The Stranger drew. "MetalGreymon, Security Attack!" The Stranger ordered.
With no blockers, Adam was forced to take the hit from the oncoming missiles that shot from MetalGreymon. The Security expanded and cracked apart, revealing the illustration. To Adam's reassurance, Garudamon revealed itself, a 7000 DP Digimon that could rid him of—
"Greymon's IE effect: While the current Digimon has Reboot, it inherits Jamming, protecting it from any Security Digimon."
Adam's reassuring feeling crashed through the floor and shattered as Garudamon's Security Card did.
Adam
Security: 5-4
"No way…"
"Andromon attacks Monodramon!"
Andromon: 7000 DP
Monodramon: 3000 DP
Monodramon attempted to put up a fight with Andromon, but the spiral blade of the android came down and made quick work of the young dragon.
"No…way…"
"MetalGreymon…Eclipse the sun with your unparalleled strength and burn the world in a lake of fire…! Digivolve into WarGreymon!
Adam felt the weight of the words come down on him as he found himself staring back at the WarGreymon that arose before him, towering over him like a shadow. He started, this familiar, yet not familiar entity, the sight of it, the magnitude of its presence…
He was once again that little boy…eager as ever to meet his favorite Digimon…playing a game that grew more frustrating as time went on. But eventually sparked a moment where he made a friend…
…and nearly died at the same time.
