"Suspension?!" Adam's astonished expression was contrasted by Trevor's calm demeanor. What was Trevor thinking?! Faking a fight to get into the principal's office was weird enough, but getting suspended surely wasn't in his master plan!

"Until Monday." Principal Ozera said, his sausage fingers folded on his desk. "With a hospitalized and missing student on my hands I have far too much to deal with. You two have already served Detention no less than a week ago and clearly, that didn't work."

"Yeah, but still—"

"I'm not going to repeat myself. Your parents will be informed, and they will be here shortly to come to pick you up." He then turned his attention to Trevor. "If anything, I'm actually surprised that you've become so irresponsible in such a short time."

Trevor furrowed his brow.

"I can only imagine your status as a local celebrity may have gone to your head as did Mr. Kingston. It's shame that you had to drag your friends down with you."

Adam wanted to say something but kept silent, waiting for Trevor's move. Without saying anything Trevor uncrossed his legs and got up, making his way for the door.

"Mr. McKnight you are to remain here until I dismiss you!"

Trevor was already turning the handle. "What for? I got what we needed."

It took Adam a moment to realize, and Principal Ozera's pink complexion was turning into a fiery red by the time that happened. Adam glanced at the adult and reactively joined Trevor at the doorway.

"If you both walk out that door right now, I'll make it a week!"

Trevor pulled the door handle. "See you next Wednesday then."

Adam blindly followed Trevor as Principal Ozera howled through the doorway of his office, following the boy down to the first floor and through an emergency exit. Adam continued to follow Trevor, convincing himself there was a method to all this madness.

"Mind explaining what all of this was?" Adam asked Trevor.

Trevor didn't answer, continuing to lead the way to the front of the building. Adam grew impatient and brought it up again to no avail. "Look I get it I messed up big time, but what are we—"

"We're gonna go fix your mess and save Megan." Trevor answered him.

Adam grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him around. "And how are we going to do that?"

A car horn honked at that moment and Trevor motioned his head to the side to indicate the source. His father, in a blue sedan, rolled down the window and honked again to get their attention.

Caught speechless, Trevor went to jump into the front passenger seat with Adam reluctantly getting into the back. With that, Michael pulled off and started making his way to SAIBA Enterprise…


Chapter 9: Attack on Titans


Adam and Trevor were brought to the R&D department, where they watched the staff scrambled back and forth to contain the elusive creature that made years of hard work look like an all-you-can-eat buffet. The sense of panic seeped into Adam, and the weight of guilt snuggled itself deep inside, knowing he caused this chaos. Still, he kept himself silent, the only people to his knowledge knowing about it is Trevor and Emily.

"We first detected the virus a little over sixteen hours ago. What started as a bug in the system suddenly morphed into the biggest threat to SAIBA in the last several years." Michael explained.

"This may be a stupid question, but what's so special about this virus?"

"It's code is similar to a Digimon…" Michael continued.

Adam couldn't pretend to be surprised, even though it was in his best interest. When he thought before its similarity in aesthetic, he didn't dismiss the idea that it could very well be. Digimon just have that iconic of a look about them after all.

"Which leads me into how we can delete it and salvage any data it may eat up."

"And why you needed us to come, right?" Trevor asked.

"Actually, I needed you two for something else. The reason why we've been having such a hard time trying to contain the stupid thing is because it locked us out."

"Locked you out?" Adam repeated, not necessarily understanding.

Michael nodded, "We lost access to Babylon because the Virus corrupted the security protocols. I don't know how Trojan's doing it, but it's like the Virus has a mind of its own. It's not going to stop until it eats its fill and it's clear it doesn't want to be disturbed as it does so."

"So…how do we come in?"

"Naturally, the only way the both of you know." Michael said pulling a spare D-Case.

Adam looked at the D-Case and back at him. "You're kidding…"

Michael shook his head. "Trust me, I wish I were, but beating the Security System in a battle is the only way we can get through it. To make things more complicated, it's not a standard battle.

Now Trevor was surprised, not expecting that. "Not a standard battle? In what way?"

"This Virus is clever. It modded the security system to need two Tamers to battle it simultaneously."

"A 2 vs 1? How is that even possible?!" Trevor exclaimed. "SAIBA's never developed a format like that before, how do you expect us to—"

"There actually was a format still in its Beta. It looks like the Virus implemented that in the Security AI's code, likely for insurance purposes."

"So…if that's the case, how are we gonna learn it?" Adam asked. "If the Virus ate the data then we don't have access to it."

Michael smirked, foreseeing that argument. "Let's head back to my office and I'll explain.


Michael pulled out an old marble-covered notebook, visibly worn and beat up. Opening it, Adam and Trevor watched as he flipped through the fragile, stained pages filled with scribbles and diagrams until he came to a stop about two-thirds through. "Here we are."

He flipped the notebook over and the pair looked down at the pages specified.

"Tag Tamer Match?" Adam read the title which had a small "working title" note in parenthesis.

"In this special format, the number of cards one can use depends on the participants on each side. Normal deck rules apply if it's a team of two, but in the matter of 2 vs 1 the single player is allowed to have a deck of 100 cards with up to a maximum of 10 Digi-Eggs." Trevor began to read. Following this, the two began to alternate between the rules.

"Memory Counter is set up to twenty per side instead of the usual ten. Likewise, the number of Security Cards is set to ten, the usual five for each tamer, or ten if it's a 2 vs 1. If a Tamer loses their respected Security and are attacked directly, they are knocked out of the match and their partner inherits any remaining cards in the Battle Area as if their own."

"Tamers are allowed to block attacks towards their partner, and any Digimon Effects, Main and Inherited, as well as Option and Tamer cards, that would affect your own Digimon, can affect the Digimon of your partner as well. However, the Tamer who owns the cards is the only one allowed to activate them, and only when the turn is passed to them.

"With that said, Partners share the Memory Counter and must work together to manage how much Memory each of them uses. If for example, Player A starts the turn with 13 Memory, they have that much memory to play any cards they would like. However, at any point they can pass their turn to their partner, Player B, to use the remaining Memory however they wish until the counter passes 0."

"If one side passes the turn to their opponent before the Memory Counter reaches 0, then the counter will reset to 6 instead of 3, giving each opposing Tamer three Memory to work with. In addition to that, Tamer Cards that set Memory to 3 will continue to do so if the counter falls under 3 when the turn passes. If however, each Tamer has one of these special Tamer Cards in play, the game will recognize that both of their effects will activate simultaneously and therefore stack to a maximum of 6."

"This special format is continuing to be tested and once approved a battle royale format will soon follow…"

"Any questions?" Michael asked the two as they both looked up.

Adam and Trevor didn't know how to answer, finding it more complicated than it probably was.

"I get that it's a lot to take in, but if we're gonna kill this thing then you guys need to be confident that you can work together. So, if you have any questions, get them out now before we get to work."

One, in particular, came to mind for Adam. "So…you staged a fight at school to get us suspended, all so we could head off to SAIBA to take care of this?"

"Not only that, but there's no telling how long this is going to take so the more time we have on it the better. Literally the one time I would say school is irrelevant for now."

"…Does Emily know about this?"

"I'm gonna leave it to you to explain it later."

Adam's eye twitched. "Of course, you are."

Michael cleared his throat. "Ahem, any questions about what to expect?"

It was Trevor's turn for questions, "Has Trojan given the explanation for the Virus or what their intentions are related to it? There has to be more than just eating data, right?"

"I think they're looking for something. Something SAIBA has—or may be taken from them…?"

"How do you figure that?" Michael crossed his arms.

Adam choked, but Trevor was able to recover for him, "Last time we were in Babylon the agent who took Layla away mentioned something about how we were supposed to play a role in their final plans. We were spitballing ideas what that could be and we're thinking that like the Purple and Black Decks they're looking for something else within SAIBA."

Michael pondered the theory while Adam took an internal sigh of relief. Nearly gave his secret away. It both scared him how Trevor was able to come up with that on the spot, as well as how easily Michael may very well believe it.

If diffusing the security system basically meant a tag-team takedown Digimon style, then by the looks of things there was little to worry about.


Once the Cyber Drive was initiated, Adam opened his eyes, capturing the sight of the dark, green-tinted surroundings that extended outwards into the endless void, rather than the large futuristic cityscape he was used to. Trevor followed, materializing besides Adam and floating alongside him in this new area.

"Welcome to what we call the Netspace." Michael said. "This is the space that exists outside of Babylon. After Babylon goes live to the public, this space will be expanded upon adding new digital spaces, including cyber cities just like Babylon."

Adam continued to curiously twist and turn to capture everything. The area, as barren as it was, had the same sensation that he imagined astronauts to have when moving about in space; floating about, weightless and filled with anticipation. Like his first time in Babylon, the idea that he was in literal cyberspace was surreal, to say the least.

"Let's not waste time." Trevor said. "What direction is Babylon at?"

"Straight Ahead," Michael replied. "Fortunately for you, the Virus left a trail of crumbs in its wake. I can trace them on my end, so just follow my lead before you find yourselves drifting off."

"So, this really is like space, isn't it?" Adam was still taking it all in, oblivious to the fact that Trevor started moving out. Once he did notice, Adam started to glide to catch up."

"If you have time to gaze you have time to get a move on." Trevor stated, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.

"Look, being here has so far been the least stressful part of the last few days, let me have it?"

Trevor rolled his eyes. "Such a doofus."

"Gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Adam responded. He continued to look around as they moved, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit him. "This is just like the Beta Test…you know, back when we were kids."

"Guess so." Trevor acknowledged.

Adam glided further ahead and cut Trevor off, causing the latter to pull back.

"Stop wasting time!" Trevor exclaimed.

"You really think we can pull off a tag battle if we're both pissed at one another? Let's be real."

"You really think we have time to discuss this?"

"I mean you got us both suspended from school, so yeah."

Trevor exhaled sharply, "Be serious for once."

"I am serious! Like come on, if you were in my position wouldn't you've done the same thing?"

"No, I wouldn't! We barely know what Trojan wants so to strike a deal with them would be the furthest thing on my mind!"

"What if it meant Layla was set free?" Adam crossed his arms.

Trevor hesitated, "That's not fair…"

"Why not? Who matters more? Your best friend, or your boss' daughter?"

"Shut up!"

"What are you afraid of?" Adam asked him. "What, did you finally realize Megan actually likes you and you're too chicken to address it?"

"I said shut up!" Trevor exclaimed in a harsher tone.

"Not until you tell me why you'd be any different in my position!"

"BECAUSE I'M SCARED AS HELL!"

Adam got quiet. Trevor was panting from his sudden exclamation, getting that weight off his shoulders. He could feel additional emotions beginning to well inside, and he gritted his teeth as he looked up angrily at Adam. "You happy? You got your answer!"

Adam took a deep breath and shook his head. "I was scared too. But unlike you I didn't run away, I actually tried to—"

"Bullcrap!" Trevor interjected. "You tried to find an easier way out! I've been bending myself backward trying to figure things out since Trojan kicked your butt into the hospital! You have no idea how badly I wanted to reach Megan, but I couldn't! Not when I had Melissa, Layla, Emily, and you on my mind each step up to this point!"

Trevor had his fist wrapped up in Adam's collar, his eyes drilling holes in his. "Don't talk like you know me…" Trevor shoved Adam back and began to push ahead.

Adam floated, processing what just happened, and silently followed him along.


The Alien-like Digimon sunk its jaws into the side of a building and forcefully pulled back, a stream of binary spewing from the jagged edges and into its mouth like a roll of film. A trio of jellyfish Digimon hopped up to it, attempting to keep up with it. As the alien acknowledged its offspring, a loud stomp rocked the area, resulting in the trio frantically hiding behind it.

The red beetle known as Kuwagamon appeared from the rooftop where it landed and caught sight of the prey below it. Like a wild predator, it didn't hesitate to dive down to snatch the alien and its babies as a quick meal.

The Alien grinned gleefully as it turned Kuwagamon into a hearty snack for itself and its offspring. The trio of jellyfish digivolved into copies of the Alien Digimon as a result, whereas the leader of them took off into the air in between the building Kuwagamon landed on, as well as the adjacent from it. Its tendrils shot all across, anchoring themselves into the digital walls of the buildings. Once secured, the Alien encased itself in Binary code and reformed into a purple cocoon-like Digimon with a red horn protruding from the top, and a gold stinger on its bottom. Data then began to flow from the digital grounds, through the buildings, and then through the tendrils, it extended. As it siphoned data, the newly digivolved aliens went about to do repeat the actions of their predecessor…


It wasn't long after the confrontation did the pair begin to see a shape within the Netspace. From where they stood, it was hard to make out completely, but it was a safe bet that what they saw was Babylon.

"You should be approaching the security system's AI momentarily. Remember, you two need to work as a team to beat it."

"Didn't forget." Trevor replied.

"What he said." Adam added.

"Don't forget I have eyes and ears inside the Netspace; I saw what you two just did a while back. Put your emotions aside and focus on bypassing the security. Fight it out once you're done."

Adam and Trevor ignored Michael's warning, the latter cutting comms speaking.

Security Alert! Security Alert! Unauthorized personnel approaching Babylonian Interface. State your purpose or else face consequences.

"Remember, the Virus has hacked the system. No matter what you tell it, it's going to view you as an intruder and challenge you."

"In that case, might as well be honest." Adam stepped forward, "We're here to rescue our friend and stop Trojan from destroying SAIBA Enterprise. And we need to kick your artificial butt to do it!"

Trevor rolled his eyes; he wasn't wrong, but he could've gone about it better.

Unauthorized personnel will be dealt with accordingly. Proceeding with Operation MegaZoo.

"MegaZoo…?" Adam repeated.

"Should've figured as much for an AI system." Trevor commented, setting his D-Case onto the brace.

"What's that mean?" Adam noticed Trevor's arm and went to do the same.

"Just get ready to see a lot of Mega-Level Digimon come flying our way."

"Really? A deck full of straight Megas? Can that even be useable?"

"With a counter that goes up to twenty memory per side, it's almost an insult not to implement it."

Adam was reminded of the special circumstances about this particular battle and looked over to notice the sudden appearance of a white silhouette figure materializing before them. It resembled a glowing mannequin, one of who summoned ten Security Cards to encircle its person.

Adam and Trevor split from one another, forming a triangle formation with the personification of the AI. They likewise had their Security Cards set and their hands drawn, ready to begin the battle.

"You two ready?"

Adam and Trevor both nodded. "Digi-Gate: Open!"


"I'll start by hatching Koromon!" Adam declared, taking the lead as the pink Digimon spawned behind him.

Koromon (ST1-01)

Color: Red

Level: 2

"And then, Digivolve into Agumon!"

Agumon took the place of Koromon after bursting from a cocoon of binary that surrounded it.

Agumon (ST1-03)

Color: Red

Level: 3

DP: 2000

"I pass the turn over." Adam drew looked to Trevor who took over.

"I hatch Tsunomon!" Trevor declared as he took over, hatching Tsunomon on his side.

Tsunomon (ST2-01)

Color: Blue

Level: 2

"Tsunomon digivolves into Bearmon, then I follow up by playing Gabumon from my hand, allowing me to draw an extra card.

Tsunomon, as stated, Digivolved into the bear Digimon while Gabumon materialized on Trevor's side. Trevor drew his two cards and allowed the turn to pass to their opponent.

Bearmon (ST2-04)

Color: Blue

Level: 3

DP: 4000

Gabumon (BT1-029)

Color: Blue

Level: 3

DP: 1000

Memory

0-3 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The figure acknowledged the turn pass and drew. After a moment of processing the events, it responded. It played the same Gabumon as Trevor did, allowing it to draw a card. Then, as Trevor mentioned before, it flipped the card it drew and played it, Seraphimon suddenly appearing as the glorious, winged Titan it was.

Seraphimon (BT1-063)

Color: Yellow

Level: 6

DP: 10,000

MEMORY

3-12 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

Normally a move like that wouldn't be possible, because the opponent would've run out of memory. But with the counter set up the way it was, it essentially cut the cost of Mega Level Digimon in half. Trevor processed the information in his head, not paying attention to what Adam was about to do.

Adam all the while drew and played the card that was drawn. "I pay eight Memory to use Gaia Force on Seraphimon!"

Trevor snapped back into it, albeit too late. Seraphimon braced itself against the careening sun but was deleted all the same.

MEMORY

12-4

"You idiot! Why would you use Gaia Force so early?!"

"How else would we kill it?" Adam countered.

"You doofus, think about it! Both of his effects are conditional; A) he didn't digivolve, so its Recovery effect doesn't activate; B) They have way more Security than three which means it doesn't get that 2nd Security Attack. And C) Yellow has some of the weakest Megas DP-Wise, so either WarGreymon or MetalGarurumon could've knocked it out, heck my LoaderLiomon could've traded!"

"Again, it's dead so what did it matter?"

"You wasted it! That's why it matters! Assuming there are black cards in the deck we need removal cards for the blockers, don't we?"

Adam grew silent and scoffed. "Just do your move; we have four memory left."

Trevor shook his head and drew. "I play Hammer Spark to gain an extra Memory."

MEMORY

4-5

"I move Bearmon to the Battle Area, then I play Leomon from my hand for five Memory.

Bearmon hopped over into the Battle Area, as Leomon as well materialized before them.

Leomon (BT1-035)

Color: Blue

Level: 4

DP: 5000

"Gabumon, Security Break!"

Gabumon acknowledged Trevor's command and unleashed a stream of blue flames from its throat, that struck the center of the expanded Security with pinpoint precision

AI

Security: 10-9

The Security flipped, revealing HerculesKabuterimon. A massive ball of electric energy shot from the card and deleted Gabumon on impact.

"We end our turn." Trevor declared. He watched as the counter broke from zero and shot up to six Memory for his opponent. The AI didn't hesitate to begin their turn.

MEMORY

0-6 (Turn Change: Security AI)

Birdramon suddenly appeared before them. It screeched, causing Gabumon to begin glowing with a red aura suddenly.

Birdramon (BT1-017)

Color: Red

Level: 4

DP: 4000

MEMORY

6-2

"Birdramon gives Security Attack +1 when it's played." Trevor explained. "That's not good.

The AI motioned, sending Gabumon charging towards Adam.

Adam braced himself as Gabumon leaped into the air and unleashed a more lively blaze of blue in comparison. Adam's Security responded in kind, shielding the attack.

"Security Check." Adam said, revealing the first card. "Tai Kamiya to the Battle Area!"

Tai Kamiya (BT1-085)

Color: Red

Adam

Security: 5-4

"Second check…Muchomon with 5000 DP."

Adam

Security: 4-3

The Security Digimon did away with Gabumon. The AI responded by Digivolving Birdramon into SkullGreymon, a bare, skeletal form of the iconic Digimon.

SkullGreymon (BT1-023)

Color: Red

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

2-1 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

Adam drew. Tai set the Memory Counter to three, but with the way, his hand was looking that wasn't gonna do him much good. Down to three Security, he didn't have a lot of options to work with to keep that number from getting lower.

"I pass." Adam said.

Trevor looked over, not expecting Adam to pass his turn to him. Regardless, he took the opportunity. Assuming Adam was stuck, that only made one of them. "I hatch Upamon!"

Upamon materialized in Trevor's breeding area awaiting its moment of growth.

Upamon (BT1-003)

Color: Blue

Level: 2

"Upamon digivolves into Gomamon, then into Grizzlymon!"

Grizzlymon roared as it materialized in place of Upamon. It patiently waited for its moment to be unleashed as well.

Gomamon (BT1-030)

Color: Blue

Level: 3

DP: 3000

Grizzlymon (ST2-07)

Color: Blue

Level: 4

DP: 6000

MEMORY

3-1

"Leomon, Security Attack!" Trevor ordered the Lion Digimon. Leomon drew its blade and charged the AI's Security. Once striking, its blade sliced through, revealing its contents.

Volcanicdramon was on the other side of the card, unleashing a torrent of lava as a counter towards Leomon, who was deleted.

AI

Security: 9-8

"With Leomon deleted, We gain an extra Two Memory as a result!"

MEMORY

1-3

"I'll end by playing Matt for four memory." Trevor stated, setting his own Tamer on the field.

Matt Ishida (BT1-086)

Color: Blue

MEMORY

3-1 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The AI processed the development and acted. It drew, and played Andromon, sending the turn back to them immediately.

Andromon (BT2-061)

Color: Black

DP: 7000

MEMORY

1-6 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

Adam drew. WarGreymon stared back at him, waiting to see what he was going to do.

"Sorry for going off on you earlier…" Trevor suddenly said out loud, diverting Adam's attention from WarGreymon. "I…" Trevor exhaled.

"You're good dude." Adam reassured. "I'm sorry for what I said too."

Trevor nodded. "You're good. To be honest, you're right. Megan should've been my priority from the start. But, with things the way they are, I can't bring myself to abandon Layla either, so…"

"So we rescue both of them. Simple as that." Adam nodded.

Trevor nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We'll stop Trojan, rescue them and get you ready for your first tournament."

Adam scoffed, "yeah, no. I'll stick to being a filthy casual if you don't mind."

Trevor laughed, "We'll see. Anyway, it's your move."

Adam nodded, "right." He slid WarGreymon into his hand. "Agumon moves into the Battle Area, then digivolves into Greymon and then into MetalGreymon!"

Agumon hopped into the Battle Area and unleashed a tremendous roar as binary code turned it into the metal-plated Greymon.

Greymon (ST1-07)

Color: Red

Level: 4

DP: 4000

MEMORY

6-4

MetalGreymon (BT1-021)

Color: Red

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

4-1

"I pass the turn." Adam said, Trevor, taking his cue to draw.

"Grizzlymon moves to the Battle Area, and Bearmon will Digivolve into Ikkakumon!"

Grizzlymon materialized in place, while Bearmon roared and digivolved into the horned walrus Digimon

Ikkakumon (BT1-034)

Color: Blue

Level: 4

DP: 5000

MEMORY

1-1 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The AI drew. With a total of three Digimon, champion and Higher, and two Tamers, the AI adapted and opted to attack with SkullGreymon. The latter leaned forward and shot the organic missile stored on its spinal cord towards Trevor. A Security Card expanded and blocked the attack in response.

Trevor

Security: 5-4

"Security Check…Security Trigger: Boring Storm. It's effect allows me to draw two cards from my deck."

The AI finished by playing MagnaAngemon, an angelic Digimon with several of its wings folded over its body like armor, clad in a purple helmet, shoulder pad, and a glowing purple energy saber from its gauntlet.

MagnaAngemon (BT1-060)

Color: Yellow

Level: 5

DP: 6000

Due to MagnaAngemon's effect, the AI recovered a Security Card.

AI

Security 8-9

MEMORY

1-6 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

Adam drew. "Alright, let's do this! I Hatch Koromon, and Digivolve MetalGreymon; Take to the sky as you gain the power of the blazing sun! Digivolve into WarGreymon!"

MetalGreymon did just so, spiraling upward as Binary took it over. From it, WarGreymon emerged in a blaze of glory.

WarGreymon (BT1-025)

Color: Red

Level: 6

DP: 11,000

MEMORY

6-3

"Try to keep up, because I got a list of IE effects waiting to go off! First, because I have four Digivolution Sources, Koromon gives WarGreymon +1000 DP. Agumon grants another 1000 DP, and Greymon adds Security Attack +1. While I'm at it, Tai gives all Red Digimon with four or more sources another Security Attack +1! And let's not forget about WarGreymon's own effect which gives it Security Attack +1 for the turn when it digivolves!"

WarGreymon: 11,000-13,000 DP

Trevor smirked at the sound of WarGreymon's abilities. Adam still has a lot to learn naturally, but at the very least he has one strategy he's committed to as a red player.

"WarGreymon, Quadruple Security Attack!" Adam declared.

WarGreymon who remained ariel summoned a Gaia Force between its large Gauntlets and hurled it downward. But before the four Security could line up, Andromon jumped in front of the blast and shielded the cards, Gaia Force eating the blocker.

WarGreymon: 13,000 DP

Andromon: 7000 DP

WarGreymon descended while Adam passed the turn to Trevor. Trevor drew and began to make his move. "I Hatch Tsunomon, then I digivolve Ikkakumon into WereGarurumon!"

Tsunomon materialized in the Breeding Area while Ikkakumon got up on its hind legs, transforming into the Werewolf Digimon.

WereGarurumon (ST2-08)

Color: Blue

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

3-0

"Howl, champion of the Netspace! WereGarurumon Digivolves into MetalGarurumon!"

WereGarurumon howled, feeling empowered by the binary that was absorbed into its body. Like MetalGreymon before, this Digimon transformed into Trevor's Ace, MetalGarurumon.

MetalGarurumon (BT1-044)

Color: Blue

Level: 6

DP: 11,000

MEMORY

0-3 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The AI drew and simply digivolved MagnaAngemon into Seraphimon, whose effect now kicked in, recovering yet another Security Card.

AI

Security: 9-10

MEMORY

3-0

Seraphimon then turned its attention to Adam, generating a ball of light in its palm. Adam realized he was the target for the attack and braced for impact.

"Grizzlymon Blocks!" Trevor countered as Seraphimon unleashed its beam of light.

Seraphimon: 10,000 DP

Grizzlymon: 6000 DP

Adam lowered his arms after realizing that Trevor blocked the attack. Grizzlymon looked at Adam and gave its equivalent of a smirk as it faded away.

"You forgot we can block attacks directed at our teammates, right?"

Adam shrugged, "Must've missed that point."

Trevor smirked and looked back at their opponent. "By the way, Gomamon's IE Effect triggered, giving us a Memory and ending your turn.

MEMORY

0-1 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

"Nice one!" Adam noted.

"Always good to pre-plan after all." Trevor said. "Now where were we?"

"We were just about to let this AI have it." Adam drew. At the start of our turn, both of our Tamers' abilities set our Memory Counter, allowing them to stack and set our counter to six Memory!

MEMORY

1-6

"WarGreymon, Triple Security Attack!"

WarGreymon took to the air, lining itself up straight, and twisting itself rapidly so it would spiral like a drill. The Dragon Digimon spiraled downward towards the AI, the Security Cards surrounding it lining up to block WarGreymon's descent.

"One last thing, any Option Cards WarGreymon Checks have their effects nulled!"

WarGreymon drilled through Trump Sword, as well as Infinity Cannon, each of their security effects disabled due to WarGreymon. The final Card was the Red MetalTyrannomon, at 10,000 Power. Due to WarGreymon's base power of 11,000 as well as its power boosts, MetalTyrannomon couldn't stop it.

AI

Security: 10-7

"Go for it!" Adam shot towards Trevor.

Trevor nodded, drawing his card. I play Grizzlymon from my hand for five Memory!

MEMORY

6-1

"Since I played a Blue Digimon, I suspend Matt to remove Birdramon from SkullGreymon's Digivolution Sources!"

SkullGreymon's skeletal body jerked upright as the ball of light expelled itself.

"And now that you have a Digimon with no Digivolution Sources, MetalGarurumon gains Security Attack +1 thanks to WereGarurumon's IE Effect! Go, Double Security Attack! Thanks to it's effect I move Ikkakumon from its sources into the Battle Area!"

MetalGarurumon howled and charged its laser inside of its mouth. A blue beam of ice-cold energy shot forth, crashing into the Security Cards that defended the AI.

The first Security Card revealed was Terrors Cluster. The Security Card fired back, breaking from MetalGarurumon's beam and soaring into the air in the direction of WarGreymon. Making contact, WarGreymon was knocked aside, disappearing, and leaving behind the orbs of light that represented his sources. WarGreymon, per the Option's effect, was sent to the bottom of the deck whereas its sources were trashed.

MetalGarurumon's assault wasn't finished as it kept at breaking through the Security. The Second card revealed this time, Machinedramon, whose card fired two rockets that swam through MetalGarurumon's beam and destroyed it.

AI

Security: 7-5

Trevor snickered at the results of the attack. "We end our turn…"

"Look at the bright side, we got rid of five Security. Just rinse and repeat and we're through." Adam reassured.

"I know; Just that this is taking longer than I expected. Had it not been for those triggers I'm sure we would've been able to finish this by next turn."

"Yeah well…life's not fair." Adam said as the AI began to make its move.

The AI, starting at six memory for its turn drew and Digivolved SkullGreymon into Volcanicdramon. The dragon clad in obsidian rock and magma had a look of destructive eagerness about it, ready to burn down everything in its wake.

Volcanicdramon (BT2-018)

Color: Red

Level: 6

DP: 10,000

MEMORY

6-3

It cast its arm outwards towards Adam, and Adam watched as the lava monster raised its head to generate a fire blast. Like before, Trevor was at the ready, sending Grizzlymon to take the hit in his place.

Volcanicdramon: 10,000 DP

Grizzlymon: 6000 DP

The AI then flashed the Option Card "Great Tornado," granting Seraphimon an additional +2000 DP and Security Attack +1.

MEMORY

3-0

Once again, the AI chose Adam as its target. Seraphimon shot out its pairs of wings and began to shine with radiant power. A sword extended from its gauntlet and it launched forward towards Adam. With no additional blockers, he relied on his Security to intercept. The first Security revealed itself.

"Security Trigger: Starlight Explosion! Until the end of this turn, All of our Security Digimon gain +7000 DP."

Seraphimon didn't care, pushing through the first Security and moving onto the second. This one now revealed itself to be Flareizamon, whose 4000 DP was boosted to 11,000 DP. Alas, what would've countered Seraphimon under normal circumstances, would falter, due to Great Tornado's DP Boost up to 12,000 DP.

Flareizamon disappeared, but Seraphimon continued to Adam's surprise. Seraphimon destroyed the final Security Card, revealing Coredramon, who due to being boosted by the Option Card, reached the 12,000 DP threshold to repel and delete Seraphimon for good.

Adam

Security: 3-0

The AI passed the turn over, but Adam was too focused on Trevor to notice. "What happened just now?! I thought you said Seraphimon didn't have an extra Security attack if their Security was over three!"

Trevor was taken aback. "No, I didn't. I said as long as it had more than three."

"Liar! You gave me so much crap earlier about using Gaia Force before!"

Trevor remembered what he said and realized that he did in fact misspeak. He cleared his throat and motioned to him. "Start us off."

"Are you serious?!"

"Ahem. If you two are done with your antics, I would like to keep the match ongoing."

Adam and Trevor paused, realizing quickly that wasn't Michael's voice. It also struck them how familiar it sounded.

"Honestly though, I shouldn't be surprised. Although you would like to think it, at the very end you two hardly have changed in five years."

They turned to the AI that was before them who was using their body language to show some sort of impatience on their end. They put two and two together and realized the AI was finally speaking to them.

"Are you…?" Adam began to speak. He found himself reminiscing immediately afterward…


"How is it that you were chosen as a beta tester and you don't even know how to set your field up?"

"Shut up!" Adam snapped.

"Alright Tamers, settle down, save the fighting for the Digimon, yes?"

Adam and Trevor paused at the sound of the mysterious voice.

"Don't worry, that's just the Test AI booting up. From here on out, I'm gonna keep quiet and watch. If anything happens, the AI will pick up on it and instruct you going forward. Any questions before we get started?"

Adam raised his hand. "Does the AI person have a name?"

Melissa paused. "Um…not really but did you want to give it one?"

"He can't be serious right now…" Trevor muttered.

"Hmm…how about—!"

"Ahem, if I may interject…" The AI began, "Do keep in mind we have other participants in the waiting area, Ms. Reinhardt. I will see to it that these boys proceed accordingly, as you do the other participants."


"You're the AI from the Beta Test…!" Adam pieced together.

The Security AI nodded. "I am known as the Ontological Master Network Interfacer, Or for short, I am known as Omni."

Adam blinked. "Onto…what?"

"It's a special AI created to maintain the Netspace and everything in it. It's also the AI who manages all data about the Digimon." Michael spoke, reminding the pair that he was still present.

"Why is it here?" Michael asked. "You said the Virus went and infected the security system, right? So, what are we battling against right now?"

"You are in fact facing the system itself." Omni answered. "However, thanks to your last attacks, the security system left itself open for me to gain some control over it. I can delay some of its computation data, however, I cannot force it to surrender. So to get past it, you must defeat it in the next several turns."

"We were planning that anyway, right?" Adam turned to Trevor.

Trevor nodded, "Start us off and we'll see."

Adam nodded, "Our turn!"

MEMORY

0-6 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

"I Hatch Koromon, then digivolve it into Agumon!" Adam played his cards and passed the turn. Trevor drew to follow up.

"Ikkakumon digivolves into WereGarurumon!"

WereGarurumon (BT1-040)

Color: Blue

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

6-3

"WereGarurumon, Security Attack! It's effect grants us three Memory!"

MEMORY

3-6

WereGarurumon jumped into the air and performed a dropkick towards the Security AI, their Security Card blocking contact and shattering the card.

The card revealed as Trump Sword, but being there was no target, it fizzled out.

AI

Security: 5-4

"Then, I play the Option Card Cocytus Breath to return Volcanicdramon to your hand!"

MEMORY

6-1 (Turn Change: Security AI)

WereGarurumon crossed its arms, heaving a deep breath before unleashing the subzero torrent from its jaws towards the lava dragon. Volcanicdramon vanished from the Netspace, returning to the AI's hand while SkullGreymon went to the trash.

MEMORY

1-4

The AI drew and looked at them with its blank face. It played the card, and Adam and Trevor looked up, realizing that the counter shot all the way to eleven.

"Wait, fifteen memory? Is there a card that even goes that high?" Adam said quickly doing the math.

"No, there isn't…" Trevor noted. "Dad, what just happened? What did it—"

"Dude…" Adam said, finding himself speechless.

Trevor looked over and his eyes widened as well. An orb of light split from the AI itself stepped forward and rose into the air, as streams of blue and orange began to pour in from each direction towards it.

"Don't let it intimidate you!" Michael exclaimed. "Returning Volcanicdramon was probably the best thing that could happen in this case! You two can still win!"

Adam and Trevor ignored Michael's reassurance as they stood dumbfounded at the large Digimon that the Security AI turned into. It was a white knight figure, cloaked in a cape it wore on its shoulders. It flashed its green eyes and cast the cape outward, sending a wind blast in their direction which they attempted to resist. Looking back, both continued to be stuck with awe as its arms each resembled both of their aces in some way; WarGreymon's warm-colored armor aesthetic on its left, and MetalGarurumon's cool-colored cybernetic aesthetic on its right.

?

Color:?

Level:?

DP:?

"There's no Data on it?" Trevor was shocked as he accessed the battle area on the holographic screen. The Unknown Digimon wasn't registered in SAIBA's records, yet it stood here before them.

"Look out!" Adam exclaimed.

Trevor's vision darted upward, finding himself and WereGarurumon staring down the barrel of the cannon that pried itself from the mouth of the MetalGarurumon Gauntlet. Before it could process, WereGarurumon was wiped out in a flash, leaving Trevor without any Digimon.

The wave nearly blew Trevor back further out, but he managed to maintain himself. The mysterious Digimon barely did anything and yet it packed such an obscene amount of power. If the MetalGarurumon side had a cannon, what could the WarGreymon side possibly have?

"You good?" Adam asked, worried.

"I'll live." Trevor said, regaining his composure.

"Good, because I'm one hit from being knocked out."

"Yeah, I know." Trevor said. "We're gonna need a miracle at this rate…"

"I've already stated I can subdue the Security's computations…" Omni quipped.

The light bulb lit in Trevor's head. "That's it!"

"…what?"

"You'll see. This turn, use all the Memory; go as high on Agumon as you can!"

"You sure?"

"Positive. Your deck is focused on getting WarGreymon out, and its ability to nullify Option Cards gives us a huge advantage. We're gonna need it."

Adam looked at the WarGreymon card that's been sitting in his hand for all this time. With its high play cost, he held onto it, but if Trevor's given him the OK to take the whole turn for himself, he wasn't gonna waste it."

MEMORY

11

Adam drew for turn. "Agumon, let's go! Digivolve into Greymon!"

MEMORY

11-9

"Then into Garudamon!"

Garudamon (BT1-022)

Color: Red

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

9-6

"Then finally WarGreymon!"

MEMORY

6-3

Adam drew for the last digivolution. A smirk came across his face. "I play Coredramon from my hand to end my turn!"

The blocker came at the nick of time, materializing in Adam's Battle Area.

Coredramon

Color: Red

Level: 4

DP: 6000

Trevor smirked, seeing that the extra draws Adam got granted him a blocker. His original thought was that Omni could force the Security AI to focus on attacking him, but that Blocker could very well make it turn its attention to him anyway. Either way works in their favor.

MEMORY

3-2 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The Security AI drew. Like he predicted, it faced Trevor and cast its arm forward, the AI throwing out its Greymon Gauntlet, which had a long-engraved sword emerge from it. It took its arm and swung, sending a wave of fire across towards Trevor's Security.

Trevor

Security: 4-3

Trevor checked the card and revealed it. "Security Trigger: I play the 2-cost Matt Ishida.

The additional Tamer materialized on his side of the field in response.

The AI adjusted itself and opted to play Andromon once again, pushing the counter back to them with five Memory. With the 2-cost Matt, their Memory was pushed back up to six.

MEMORY

2-6 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

Adam drew his card. "WarGreymon moves to the Battle Area. Then I'll play Monodramon from my hand, as well as Biyomon."

The small purple dragon and pink bird Digimon took their stand beside WarGreymon, filling in as its backup.

Monodramon (BT1-009)

Color: Red

Level: 3

DP: 3000

MEMORY

6-4

Biyomon (BT1-012)

Color: Red

Level: 3

DP: 3000

MEMORY

4-1

"WarGreymon, like before is boosted by my Digimon's IE effects as well as Tai's effect. Go for it, Triple Security Attack!"

Events repeated themselves, WarGreymon unleashing a Gaia Force that was countered by Andromon's attempt to stop it.

"Garudamon's IE effect lets me draw a card whenever it's blocked." Adam took his draw. "Trevor, over to you!"

"Got it!" Trevor drew. "I play Hammer Spark to give us an extra Memory

MEMORY

1-2

"Then, I play the Option Card Kaiser Nail on my partner's WarGreymon, moving Garudamon into play!"

Adam watched as the bright orb emerged from WarGreymon and emerged as Garudamon, giving Adam an army of Digimon to work with.

MEMORY

2-2 (Turn Change: Security AI)

The AI processed the turn of events and drew. It played Mistymon, a humanoid Digimon resembling a wizard, dressed in a navy-colored uniform armed with a jeweled blade. Mistymon's effect triggered, subtracting -3000 DP from both Monodramon and Biyomon.

Monodramon: 3000 DP-0 DP

Biyomon: 2000 DP-1000 DP

Both Digimon, having their DP dropped to zero were deleted as a result. Also due to Mistymon's cost of seven, the turn was immediately flipped back to them.

MEMORY

2-6 (Turn Change: Adam/Trevor)

"Let's end this." Adam drew. "Garudamon digivolves into Volcanicdramon!"

MEMORY

6-3

"And, I play the option card Great Tornado! Volcanicdramon gains +2000 DP and Security +1!"

Volcanicdramon: 10,000 DP- 12,000 DP

"WarGreymon! Triple Security Attack!"

WarGreymon, with nothing stopping him, took to the air and summoned one final Gaia Force, casting it down towards the three Security cards that went to shield it.

The first one that revealed itself: Gabumon, with 1,000 DP, followed by a pair of Puppetmon in the other two.

AI

Security: 5-2

"Volcanicdramon, you're up!"

Volcanicdramon as well took to the sky, circling and diving downward. As it got close, it swooped upward, its sword-carrying tail slicing the two remaining Security cards. The first revealed MetalSeadramon, a blue Mega with 10,000 DP, and the second, Machinedramon, who with 11,000 DP barely missed the mark on Volcanicdramon's power boost.

AI

Security: 2-0

"Coredramon, Direct Attack!" Adam exclaimed, causing the blocker to fire a beam of green fire that collided with the AI.

Coredramon ceased its fire and the pair watched as the Security AI faded away, similarly as when it materialized.

Security Systems disabled! Babylonian Interface compromised! Requesting emergency deployment of—

The voice cut off abruptly. Adam and Trevor looked up and realized the unknown Digimon was still present before them, staring back. Standing quietly for a moment, Adam snapped his fingers. "Omnimon!"

Trevor looked over at him. "What?"

"Because it's half WarGreymon and half MetalGarurumon! And because if it wasn't for Omni coming to bail us out, we wouldn't have won in the first place."

The Digimon now known as Omnimon nodded in agreement. "I favor the name as well—As simple as it may be."

Trevor looked up, realizing the AI was speaking through the Digimon. He had so many questions that he reluctantly had to hold onto for the time being. "Can you bring us to Babylon?! Maybe with your help, we can stop the virus before it can get any—"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Michael chimed in. "This is what I needed your help with, and still do for that matter."

"Wait…this is the Anti-Virus you've been working on? But it's a…"

"What better way to fight a virus that acts like a Digimon, than with a vaccine program that is one?"

"This Digimon still needs more data before it can be utilized at full capacity, but as it stands it's more than able to bring you two towards Babylon to assess the situation." Omni explained.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Adam said, jumping upward onto the titan's shoulder. "Let's go!"

Trevor couldn't argue, getting on its other shoulder. Omnimon readied itself and took off like a rocket, vanishing at an unreal speed…


Emily approached Mr. Morris's desk to collect her test. Despite everything that happened Sunday, she still found time to study, and her A- was a clear indication of that. Her smile was diminished though as her eyes traveled up over Mr. Morris' shoulder. That drawer that bugged her was still closed. Her curiosity has bugged her since Monday, and with Megan missing her anxiety is throwing its hat in the ring as well.

"Ms. Parker, you can have a seat; unless there's something wrong with your grade?" Mr. Morris asked, noticing she was standing there still.

Emily snapped back and waved it off, "Sorry, thanks." Emily quickly went back to her seat, ignoring the whispers behind her back. That Battle with Layla changed a lot and the thought of Trojan controlling her threw everything she thought was true out the window. She hasn't seen Adam or Trevor either, but rumors were spreading that they were both suspended, which wasn't helping. She was basically on her own.

She was wishing she opted to make more friends, but hindsight is 20/20.

Morris, in contrast, kept his attention fixed on Emily from the corner of his eye, as he finished handing out the tests to the students who were lined up. He could tell she was acting odd and has been ever since the week started.

By the looks of things, he thought to himself, it would seem the events of the day were far from over…