Ben anxiously watched as Ceresmon materialized over the Babylon skyline like a massive Kaiju, the action putting Carlos at an even further disadvantage, and putting the users in even more potential danger than he was already aware of. He didn't expect his night to turn into this. Not that he had any particular plans to speak of but…who wanted to be stuck at work? Especially at a time like this?
When he filled in the role of community manager, Melissa explained to him that his primary role was interacting with the fans of the game and Babylon. Basically, he was the middleman between them and R&D. With that all said, what happened here? What was going on with R&D that this ended up happening barely a week into Babylon's release? And how was he going to clean up this mess from a public standpoint? The last time something this catastrophic happened was when Melissa stepped down and he replaced her. He could do the same thing but…that wouldn't look good, would it? Not to his future employers and definitely not towards Melissa…
Ben threw his head back over his chair and screamed in his head, while physically taking deep breaths to ease his nerves. Just when he thought things wouldn't become more hectic, his phone began to ring. He wasn't in the mindset to talk to anyone, but he decided to look at the caller ID anyway.
His demeanor suddenly shifted, not allowing the phone to go past a third ring.
"It's me. Right. I was just reviewing it. These people are giving more work than I was expecting…no I'm not complaining, just thinking out loud a bit. Overall it's a minor setback but it hasn't disrupted anything. I'll continue things on my end. With things playing out the way they have, I can only imagine that Akiyoshi is going to be bolder with his moves. He's bound to slip up at some—"
A knock interrupted his conversation, causing his neck to jerk around towards the door.
"Ah—yes sir. I'll update you shortly." Ben hung up and cleared his throat, "door's open!"
Melissa opened it, barely acknowledging the resident as she found her spot on the couch and embraced it. Ben awkwardly watched her motions, taking a moment to walk across the room to close the door before giving her attention.
"Pleasant surprise this evening…" Ben sheepishly spoke, clearly seeing the anger traced on the woman's face.
"I didn't sign up for this…" Melissa let slip.
"That makes two of us…" Ben murmured under his breath.
"I'm fully aware that I'm a leader and all, and that my teammates are my responsibility, but why am I the one taking the fall because one of them had to be an idiot and disobey orders?"
"Because that's how that works…?"
"And what the heck is going on with Megan involving herself with Trojan? Doesn't she realize she's putting me in an awkward situation because I know her on a personal level, and that she risks getting Adam and the others tied up in this as well?!"
"That's…just an unfortunate set of events I guess…"
"And finally, why are you not giving me the answers I wanna hear? I came for support, not a reality check!"
Ben was taken aback. "Ah—well, I mean…"
Melissa sighed heavily. "Sorry! I didn't mean that! I'm just…" she threw herself into the couch cushions and took every ounce of willpower to keep from screaming into it.
"I hate this!" Her muffled voice barely made out.
Ben naturally felt awkward at this point. For what it was worth, he, like many others, looked up to Melissa as she served as Community Manager due to her vibrant, engaging personality that attracted both young and old to play the game. And when he took the job and she went through the motions of training him, as well as being there whenever he had a question or needed help, she would always be there for him. They've only known each other for a month, but in that month, Ben learned enough to know that this isn't the Melissa he's come to know and appreciate.
"I wouldn't normally suggest something like this, but…wanna get a drink?" Ben nervously brought up. He had to second guess his request to assure himself that he was in the right state of mind but granted he needed one. Melissa needed to go to bed and just forget the rest of the day, yet he couldn't leave her by herself when she's borderline a mental break.
Melissa turned her head and found herself nodding at the request anyway. "As long as it's somewhere quiet."
"My place works?"
"At the risk of rumors starting?"
Ben's cheeks flared. "What kind of guy do you take me for?!"
Melissa cracked a smile. "I'm joking. Honestly, I could go for some tea."
"Tea works too." Ben walked over to his chair to shut down his computer and grab his jacket. "Shall we?"
Melissa nodded, standing and stretching her sore muscles, her body picking up on the lingering side effects of being in Babylon back and forth over the span of the last few days.
"We shall."
Chapter 17: Shining Synergy
[Digi-Citadel, Babylon…]
Located Northeast of Central Park, the Digital Citadel was a library of sorts, containing information both on Babylon's fictional timeline, as well as in-game lore for the series for patrons to look up and enjoy. On top of which, near the very top of the citadel resided the digital hub of Babylon moderators and the Royal Knights, allowing them to arrest troublemakers in Babylon and deal with them there. This provided safety to both the users of Babylon, as well as SAIBA itself out in the real world. For Babylon to be the first step in a potential digital world, they strove to imitate the real world as much as possible. So rather than ban someone outright for misconduct, the Royal Knights and other mods were able to bring them here to get insight into their actions and determine whether it required a warning or a more severe punishment.
Tyrone, sat at the digital table, his muscled wrists cuffed with neon-green handcuffs. In a way he found this to be comical, yet unsurprising. Knowing Quincy to be one to do things by the book, rather than wring his neck outside he's actually going the formal route.
The Black Knight materialized in the small dark room, his gaze fixated on the teen. Tyrone continued to smirk, and this only made Quincy all the more annoyed.
"Didn't realize they allowed Digimon in Bootcamp." Tyrone quipped.
"Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you caused us?" Quincy snapped, throwing formalities aside for a moment.
"You really expected me to just stand there and not help my friend out?"
"You don't make friends with people like that!"
"And who are you to dictate that?"
"The brother trying to keep your dumb self out of trouble!"
Tyrone grew silent. He just had to pull that card on him. "Good job on that front."
Quincy snickered, turning around, and pinching the bridge of his nose. After this, he had to wring Carlos's neck as well.
"Look, I know you're trying to look out for me but don't. Mom and I've managed just fine without you around."
"Why do you think that is? And managing just fine? How does getting detention, ending up in the hospital, and aiding a terrorist constitute as managing?!"
"That's what happens when your older brother decides to drop everything and enlist in the army. Or at least that's what I thought until a little while ago."
"Being a Royal Knight for SAIBA pays better in the long-term."
"Wow…funny how you're trying so hard to prove Dad wrong and you end up doing the exact thing he did: Lie."
Quincy was growing heated. The reminder that their father, due to plenty of poor choices in life, left their family at a young age, putting all the responsibilities of "man of the house" on Quincy's shoulders. His teenage life was cut short by the abrupt role change, and for almost nearly a decade he worked himself to prove to be a better man than his father.
On the flip side, this caused a strain on his relationship with Tyrone, who Quincy worked to keep him out of trouble, getting him involved in various school activities and hobbies until something stuck—namely football. But even then, football clearly wasn't enough to keep him on the straight and narrow as, despite his accolades in school, he still finds ways to get himself in trouble.
"Be serious." Tyrone looked at him, drilling holes in Quincy's back. "When you said you were headed off to boot camp, was it really this instead?"
"I did actually go to boot camp. The Royal Knight Project was designed to prevent altercations with Cyber Terrorists like Trojan. Out of thousands of candidates, four of us were chosen. But due to the risk of it all, I had to keep this secret from Mom and you."
"You're not a superhero."
"Never said I was, either."
"So then why the secrecy?"
"Because being a Royal Knight involves a lot of classified topics. And being that we're dealing with Terrorists, the government can potentially get involved. Back to your previous point, I'm a soldier, either way, you look at it. If I can't share military intel with you guys, then the same principle stands here."
"So not only are you lying but you're justifying it?"
"What about you?" Quincy threw it back at him. "You're the one being interrogated, not me. Why did you help that Trojan Agent?"
"Because she's a friend of mine."
"No, she's not. If she was then that ended the moment, she joined Trojan."
"Whatever, the point is, Trojan kidnapped her sometime last month, and I was making up for it this time around. That's it."
"Are you sure?"
"What else do you want from me? You forget I'm going to see Mom later. And unless you want me to spill, you should probably back off."
Quincy scoffed, putting his hands on his hips as he slowly came closer to Tyrone. He leaned forward and took a moment. "You're lucky there's no place between the Real World and the Netspace where Mom can't find me…"
Tyrone smirked. "Does that mean I'm free to go?"
Quincy leaned back up and tapped his D-Com, releasing the cuffs. "You ever pull a stunt like that again and I'll risk dealing with Mom."
Tyrone rubbed his wrists. "Yes, Sir."
Quincy pulled up the menu before him and ejected Tyrone out of the room. He once again pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling an unnecessary headache come on.
And he still had to deal with Carlos…
"Still struggling to come up with a deck idea?"
Adam leaned back, taking note of Emily who made her way over to him. It's been about an hour since Morris presented the cards to the teens and by the looks of it, everyone except Adam was well in the process of their ideas. The screens that were presented to them before had the capability to become tabletops for easier access for them, as well as giving them a stage for testing their new creations.
"Would you believe me if I said that I have no clue what I'm doing?"
"I would."
Adam groaned, leaning back forward and towards the virtual tabletop that was before him. The Agumon line-up that enamored him before now stared back at him awaiting some sort of progress on his end.
Emily looked over to the catalog and back at him. "Do…you still need help?"
Adam looked over. "If you're offering, I wouldn't mind some advice."
Emily took note and sat next to him, taking over the catalog and homing in on the cards. "What made you want to try Yellow all of the sudden? Or did you literally pick it because it's Agumon?"
Adam turned his gaze away, giving her the answer. "Well, first off, Yellow doesn't play like Red. You can be aggressive, but it's gonna require setup first. Plus, Yellow's focus is controlling the field between DP decreasing and security manipulations…" she explained, reading the effects of the Greymons. She paused briefly before commenting. "these guys rely heavily on Tamer Cards…that's interesting."
"'Good' interesting or 'bad' interesting?"
"Just…interesting…"
"Tamers and Digimon go hand in hand, right? Plus, SAIBA's desperate for Tamer Data so what better way than to use that against them?"
"Yeah, that's one way to look at it." Emily moved on, "anyway, Agumon draws a card when you have 3 or more Yellow Tamers, GeoGreymon minus 2000 DP, RizeGreymon gives Security Attack +1…and ShineGreymon…wow, suspends your Yellow Tamers to minus 4000 DP per Tamer, and get a power boost for each one, regardless of color…!"
"I already called dibs on this card so you can't have it." Adam reminded.
"My deck's already done." Emily ignored him.
"Wha—wait am I really the only one struggling here?"
"…yeah? Why do you think I'm helping you?"
"Okay yeah, rub it in. What did you change since you like to flex?"
Emily made a square with her fingers and expanded it, projecting the holographic screen for Adam. Adam looked over to her screen, seeing familiar cards like Tinkermon, Petermon, Darcmon, and Magnadramon…and an unusual wave of Blue.
"You're doing two colors too…?" Adam realized, taking note of the Patamon lineup that traded their Yellow borders for Blue.
"Mhmm. Magnadramon is considered one of the Four Great Dragons in the game's lore. Goldramon here is too. Figured it'd be a neat idea for a deck. Also, Shakkoumon here is a Digimon that can digivolve from either Yellow or Blue Level 4s, so it makes the synergy easier."
"Huh. Cute."
"Wasn't aiming for 'cute', I was going for synergistic." She dismissed, her cheeks turning a faint rose hue.
"Synergetically cute." Adam reaffirmed.
"The word you're looking for is synergistic. Also, stop calling it cute."
"Just saying that being able to mix two colors is neat. Tyrone when I faced him before mixed his old red deck with some Green cards and kicked my butt. And there was that AI that Trevor and I fought before that used a deck full of Megas from different colors…And Omnimon could also digivolve from a red and blue Digimon too…
Emily turned to him and gave him a minute for the idea to come. "You wanna try and mix Red and Yellow, don't you?"
"…Kinda?" he double-tapped on ShineGreymon, the Level 6 Mega Digimon expanding before them on the screen. "I mean, the way this card is set up seems so fixated on strictly yellow. How can we make it syner…gestic?
"Synergistic."
"That word, with Red?"
Emily closed her deck out and typed "Red" in the provided search box, pulling up the catalog of cards available. "Good place to start obviously is to pull cards from your old deck for starters and work from there."
"Yeah, about that…"
"What now?"
"Melissa made that deck for me."
Emily paused. "Oh."
"Yeah…after what happened, I want to make something that shows her that I can stand on my own. I haven't talked to Trevor about this, but I imagine that he may feel similar about whatever he's planning on doing with his deck."
"I completely understand that," Emily replied. "Gonna severely screw your consistency, because Greymon's IE effects and WarGreymon's Option Jamming…"
"Not having Agumon on top of it makes it feel worse."
Emily couldn't catch a break. "Maybe Morris has an alternative…" she began skimming, diverting her attention to the catalog. She scrolled for a minute, and stopped, coming across a brief flash of a level 5 card. "Silphymon…"
Adam looked up. "It's a level 5 that can Digivolve from Yellow and Red! What's its Digivolution Line like?"
Emily pulled it up. Presenting themselves were cards depicting a line from a pink bird-shaped ball of feathers, all the way to a pristine bird-man warrior Digimon.
"Poromon deletes a Digimon with 1000 DP or less, Hawkmon is a 3-cost 4000 DP vanilla, Aquillamon's IE deletes 2000 DP or less Digimon, Silphymon can set any Level 4's DP to 1000 when it's digivolved, and it's Level 6…Valkyriemon. When it Digivolves and when it attacks you can delete a Digimon with 4000 DP."
"And if I combine this with Yellow's DP reducers…" A light bulb lit in Adam's head.
"It's kinda gimmicky, no?" Emily pointed out.
"No, it's Synergestic!"
"Synergistic!" She reiterated.
"Whatever! The point is it's a cool idea, let's do it!"
Emily didn't have the nerve to argue with him. "Got nothing to lose at this point I guess…"
"This is such crap!" Carlos howled, unable to find something to kick in the break room. Sydney sat at the table, watching Carlos pace back and forth for the last ten minutes after the verdict came down on him. For his actions, of disobeying orders, he was put under suspension for the next 48 hours. Sydney also felt the way he did, but it was with the added fact that he got beaten by the Trojan Agent in a one-sided fashion that put more emphasis on his screw-up.
"You should've listened when Melissa said to step down." Sydney reminded. The unopened can of Pepsi sat next to her, adjusting to the room temperature as the seconds dragged.
"I know that!" Carlos hissed. "But what would you've done in that situation?! People were in trouble! I couldn't sit and wait!"
"So then why not just go into the city like Quincy did and focus on evacuation?"
Carlos hesitated, that thought not crossing his mind. "Why didn't you do that?"
"Because I was with my assigned partner, as you should've been." Sydney countered. "You should've been with Quincy. Seriously, what's so hard that you two can't be at the same place at the same time?"
Carlos scoffed. "This coming from the one who attaches herself to Melissa every chance she gets? Yeah, unlike you, I'm not vying for Quincy's attention."
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you were you wouldn't have screwed yourself."
Carlos gritted his teeth, reluctantly pulling the chair from the table and plopping into it. He snatched Sydney's Pepsi, though the latter didn't seem bothered by the gesture. "How did we end up here?"
Sydney leaned her head on the table. "You wanted something outside of Deli Manager and I need to pay tuition. Not much to it."
"But why this, specifically? Of all jobs to have applied for, what possessed us to become…I don't know, glorified Reddit Mods?"
"Aside from the aforementioned, because Digimon is fun, and what's cooler than working a job that pays super well and we can have fun?"
"Be honest, in the last month have we had any fun? We applied to a job that was literally struck by terrorists and got put in cyber boot camp."
"You're complaining more than usual." Sydney pointed out, taking her soda back. She cracked it open and took a long sip, the carbonation setting her throat ablaze before the chilling aftermath shocked her body. "Is your pride really that bruised?"
Carlos, realizing she took her soda back rolled his eyes and proceeded to make his way over to the vending machine. "I don't know at this point. The last week's been wonky."
The sprite hit the bottom of the vending machine, Carlos fishing it out from the tray before returning to his seat. "Like, the odds of everything happening this week. Getting Omnimon was one thing, but Trojan's attack straight after? And between the Beta Testers and that Trojan chick…"
Sydney picked up that Carlos was suspicious of something. "Melissa explained to me that she's close with the Beta Testers. She was involved in the accident from five years ago too."
"So, what explains how she knows the Trojan Agent? And what did the agent mean about how SAIBA isn't the 'beacon of hope, in everything?"
Sydney scoffed, "You're really gonna believe that—"
"Melissa sounded like she would…" Carlos cracked open his soda and took a sip. "What would you do if she all of the sudden turned her back on SAIBA, hm?"
Sydney took a moment to think that one through. She couldn't deny what she saw when Melissa was taking back Omnimon, and she couldn't argue the conversation they had either. Melissa obviously has a lot of emotional ties but still…"
"She wouldn't turn her back on us." Sydney reaffirmed.
"But if she did…what would you do…?"
Carlos clearly expected an answer. Sydney looked at her phone. It was clearly getting late so that drink she wanted to get and celebrate Omnimon's capture wasn't happening. Not that anyone was in the mood in retrospect.
Sydney stood up and took another sip of her drink. "I'll cross that bridge if I ever get to it."
"Finally, it's done." Adam stared at his spread-out virtual deck. He tapped a button that brought all fifty cards and five Digi-Egg cards together in a neat stack for him to upload to his D-Case.
"Took you long enough," Trevor said as he and the others made their way to them. "You two were really over her for a while."
"He insisted on a really gimmicky strategy. As the resident Yellow player, I can't have him embarrass me when trying to beat SAIBA."
"Yeah yeah, keep talking trash."
"You mixed colors too?" Trevor crossed his arms.
Adam nodded. "Red and Yellow."
Megan's lips curled. "Oooh, what sparked that concept I wonder? Did something happen between you two while I was gone?"
"I saved her butt before—ow!" Adam jumped when Emily jabbed his side. "What?!"
"You didn't miss much," Emily answered, trying to divert her subtle embarrassment. "He said Tyrone did a Red and Green deck build and wanted to try something similar. I just gave my input because Layla here wants me to open up a bit more."
Megan's sly look could see through Emily's demeanor. "I'd like to see 'more open Emily myself."
"Ahem," Layla inserted herself. "Have you tested your new deck yet? Either of you, I mean?"
"I was, but then I started helping him out," Emily admitted.
"Wanna do a test run then?" Adam asked.
"Yeah alright. Would like to see for myself what a Yellow Greymon can do."
"Then allow me to set the stage." Morris was far away at his workstation, overhearing the teens converse. He typed a bit and hit the enter key. The room began to glow, binary erupting around them in furious ascending streams of data, physically changing the room around them.
The teens suddenly found themselves in a spacious open field. Trees outlined the area far out in the distance, while a bright blue sky hung above with little clouds.
"As I am still affiliated with SAIBA and all, I figured that I could obtain virtual arena data while we test your new decks," Morris said, turning away from his workstation that stuck out like a sore thumb. "These are still in the Beta Phase, but the intention is to update Omni Coliseum with changing battlefields for more dynamic battles."
"Even when we're trying not to be Beta Testers, we're still Beta Testers…" Trevor crossed his arms, looking around. The area looked as realistic as expected, but it was clear it was all virtual.
"There was no real escaping it," Emily replied. "In any case, I'm ready when you are."
Adam smirked. "Same. Let's get this party started."
The virtual tabletops materialized between the two of them. Both Adam and Emily set their D-Cases on the deck space, activating the rest of their tabletops respectively.
"You may begin when you're ready," Morris told them.
Adam and Emily nodded. With their hands drawn and Security set, they declared the signal to begin:
"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!"
Red and Yellow waves expanded from where they stood, setting the stage for the Digimon to materialize. Emily looked at her hand and proceeded to take the first turn.
"I hatch Upamon!" She flipped the white card over revealing the Yellow Digi-Egg. Upamon materialized on her side and bounced happily in the wide field of grass.
Upamon (BT3-003)
Color: Yellow
Level: 2
"I'll digivolve it into Tinkermon," she continued, drawing, "then I'll play Armadillomon from my hand."
Upamon was replaced by her Partner Digimon and in her Battle Area, appeared a yellow armadillo Digimon with a brownish-gold shell on its back, sporting similar ears to Upamon.
Tinkermon (BT1-047)
Color: Yellow
Level: 3
DP: 3000
Armadillomon (BT1-027)
Color: Blue
Level: 3
DP: 4000
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Adam)
"Not even hesitating to mix things up," Adam noted.
"It's your turn now. You were so insistent on it so let's see what you can do."
Adam smirked, "Challenge accepted!" He drew. "I hatch Poromon!"
As he flipped the card over, the small pink bird ball materialized on his side of the field.
Poromon (BT3-001)
Color: Red
Leve: 2
"I'll digivolve it into Hawkmon, then play Agumon from my hand!"
Poromon digivolved into a red-bodied, white-headed hawk Digimon with a belt strapped to its forehead and a sole feather held on by it. Meanwhile, in the Battle Area, the new Agumon materialized, brandishing the red belts it wore on its claws.
Adam was expecting Agumon to speak, or at least turn and acknowledge him, however, this Agumon stood firm and eager to fight.
Hawkmon (BT3-009)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 4000
Agumon (BT2-033)
Color: Yellow
Level: 3
DP: 3000
MEMORY
2-1 (Turn Change: Emily)
"A Yellow Agumon?" Trevor noted. "Didn't see that coming. Though at the same time, I'm not particularly surprised."
Emily drew. With one memory she couldn't really do much except play it safe. "I'll just digivolve Armadillomon into Leomon and pass it back."
Armadillomon embraced the infusion of binary and reformed into the anthropomorphic Lion Digimon.
Leomon (BT1-035)
Color: Blue
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
1-1 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam drew, taking note of the Turuiemon he drew. He's seen enough of Trevor's matches to know she's likely gonna sacrifice Leomon to gain extra memory. And knowing her, the more memory she has, the more Digimon to swarm with.
"Hawkmon moves to the Battle Area; then, Hawkmon will digivolve into DarkTyrannomon, and Agumon into Turuiemon!"
Both Hawkmon and Agumon took their new boosts of power and powered up, becoming the black tyrannosaurs Digimon and a purple rabbit Digimon with a yellow martial arts uniform, with a pair of weaponized gloves known as "Tokaku Tessou."
DarkTyrannomon (BT1-019)
Color: Red
Level: 4
DP: 6000
Turuiemon (BT3-037)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 6000
MEMORY
1-1 (Turn Change: Emily)
"Way to utilize the Memory choke!" Megan cheered.
"In all fairness, if Emily helped him build the deck, then she'd likely saw that coming." Layla pointed out.
"True. Emily's not gonna let Adam get the advantage over her so easily…" Trevor began.
Emily drew. "Leomon, Security Attack!"
"…so, she's gonna try and bait him."
Leomon took off into the air, throwing his arm behind him to catch the rays of the sun above. Visually speaking, it seemed as if the sun was charging the building flames around his fist. Once he was ready, Leomon descended and unleashed the flaming lion head downward towards Adam. A Security Card appeared between them and took the attack in his stead.
Adam
Security: 5-4
"Security Check!" Adam declared, flipping the top card. "Nice! Security Trigger: T.K. Takaishi to my Battle Area!"
Emily clicked her tongue, knowing that T.K. was a bad sign of what was to come. She was obviously familiar with his effect, but Adam's new trump card and what it could do with Tamers filled her with an annoying sense of uncertainty.
T.K. Takaishi (BT1-087)
Color: Yellow
"When T.K. hits the Battle Area, I can look at my remaining Security and take one card from it. If it happens to be a Yellow Card, then I can recover one from the top of my deck.
Adam fanned his Security, finding Hawkmon, ShineGreymon, the 2-cost T.K., and Aquillamon." I choose the 2-Cost Tamer T.K. from my security." He added the Tamer to his hand and recovered the Security, the cards shuffling in their space.
"I end my turn by digivolving Tinkermon into Darcmon," Emily played, seeing this was her only option for the time being. Meanwhile, the youthful Tinkermon took her new form, Digivolving into the Level 4 Darcmon.
Darcmon (BT1-053)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
1-1 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam drew. "TK sets my Memory to 3 to start."
MEMORY
1-3
"Turuiemon digivolves into RizeGreymon!"
Turuiemon leaped into the air as binary began to surround it. It began to glow white in color as the rabbit Digimon reformed into a slimmer, armored Greymon. Unlike MetalGreymon who was a muscular, silver-armored Dinosaur Digimon with a large metallic claw, RizeGreymon was slim and toned, covered in crimson armor with large cybernetic wings and a large revolver-like cannon for its left arm.
MEMORY
3-0
"When my Digimon digivolves into RizeGreymon, I'm allowed to play a Yellow Tamer from my hand for free, with its On Play effects nullified. With its effect, I'll play the 2-cost T.K."
Next to the initial T.K. appeared another T.K. appeared, the coloring of the clothes being slightly faint to differentiate between the two.
T.K. Takaishi (ST3-12)
Color: Yellow
"That's two, you know." Adam pointed out.
"I can count, thanks," Emily replied.
"Then you should know what this means: I end my turn by playing T.K. Takaishi from my hand for four!"
Emily felt her body tense as the 3rd Tamer appeared. She watched further as Adam repeated his move, retrieving ShineGreymon from his Security and replacing it. At this point, it was a no-brainer as to what needed to be done.
MEMORY
0-4 (Turn Change: Emily)
"Adam's focused on layering his field with Tamer cards…" Layla pointed out.
"That's because this specific line of Greymon Digimon utilizes having multiple tamers on their field." Morris chimed in. The Royal Knight's Digimon was originally designed to utilize the full extent of Tamer Data, however, only two of the four were compatible with the particular code. Coming up with a countermeasure, I created this Agumon line in the event I could use this concept against SAIBA. Through this Digimon, you will see the full potential of Tamer Data and by extent, get a glimpse of Akiyoshi's ambition."
Emily drew. "Leomon, Security Attack!"
"You realize that T.K. gives my Security Digimon +2000 DP right?"
"Naturally. You lose security, and I potentially gain +2 memory."
"Spamming a bunch of Level 3s isn't gonna stop me."
Emily smirked. "Did you forget that quickly who helped you build that deck? I wouldn't be attacking if I didn't have a plan in mind! Go Leomon!"
Another flaming fist ate away at another Security.
Adam
Security: 4-3
"Security Check: Hawkmon; with T.K.'s boost, it gains +2000 DP putting it over Leomon.
Leomon: 5000 DP
Hawkmon: 4000-6000 DP
Hawkmon appeared from the broken Security and flapped its wings, propelling the flaming fist back towards Leomon with interest.
"With Leomon deleted, I gain +2 Memory."
MEMORY
4-6
"And again, spamming rookies isn't gonna do you—" Adam stopped talking the moment Emily flashed the unfamiliar Option Card in her hand.
"I play the Option Card: Eden's Javelin," she began. "I draw a card, and from there one of your Digimon gets -1000 DP for each card in my hand." As she drew her card, the silhouette of an armored angelic figure appeared above her, said javelin in hand. She fanned her hand out before her, showing she had a total of seven cards.
MEMORY
6-0
Adam bit his tongue. "So that's what you were going after…"
"That's -7000 DP to none other than RizeGreymon!" Emily chose her target and lighting railed off the javelin and into the armored Digimon, igniting in an explosion that nearly blew Adam back. When it was clear, Adam reluctantly looked up to see his Digimon wiped from existence.
"That's what you get for assuming!" Trevor laughed.
"Buzz off!" Adam snapped back. "This deck is far from done."
"I know. The question is whether or not you can show them that." Emily said. "I end my turn."
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam drew, "We'll just have to find out ourselves then." He flipped a Digi-Egg over, "I hatch Tokomon!"
Tokomon materialized on Adam's side in response, letting out a little roar.
Tokomon (ST3-01)
Color: Yellow
Level: 2
"Tokomon digivolves into Agumon, then into GeoGreymon!" Adam layered the cards on top of Tokomon, as the small mammal Digimon reformed into the unique Greymon variant. Resembling the original Greymon to some degree, GeoGreymon was slimmer and more muscular compared to its counterpart. It retained the red braces Agumon sported, as well as having spikes protrude from its shoulders, as well as on its helmet-like faceplate, which appeared more aggressive due to the red stripes covering it.
GeoGreymon (BT2-035)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
3-1
"DarkTyrannomon, return the favor, will ya? Security Attack!"
DarkTyrannomon heeded Adam's declaration, readying itself to launch. Letting out a ferocious roar, it violently spun itself, lashing its almost steel-like tail like a whip, shattering Emily's Security.
Emily
Security: 5-4
"Security Check…" She flipped the card over. "Security Trigger: Matt Ishida."
"That's gonna be annoying…" Adam noted, knowing Matt's capabilities as a Tamer Card.
The Tamer materialized on Emily's side, smirking in anticipation.
Matt Ishida (BT1-086)
Color: Blue
Adam pulled another card from his hand and set it in the Battle Area. "I'll end by playing Monodramon from my hand."
Monodramon appeared, eagerly punching the air in anticipation as well.
Monodramon (BT1-009)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 3000
MEMORY
1-1 (Turn Change: Emily)
Emily drew. "Matt sets my Memory to 3 to start."
MEMORY
1-3
"Darcmon moves to the Battle Area," she continued.
Darcmon nodded, floating forward to the frontlines.
Emily took hold of another card from her hand and flashed it, the card, in particular, having two Digivolution Costs printed on the card, the top yellow, while the bottom blue. "Darcmon, Digivolve into Shakkoumon!"
Darcmon floated up into the air, allowing her wings and the incoming binary cocoon her briefly, reforming into a Dogu-themed Digimon, its exterior pearl white with gold accents.
Shakkoumon (BT3-040)
Color: Yellow
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-0
"Now, Dragon of the Golden Stars, I call upon thee to usher in an Era of Hope!" Emily exclaimed. "Shakkoumon, Digivolve into Goldramon!"
Emily slammed her table, triggering the evolution to take place. As she moved her hand, Adam was shocked to see the color of the card.
"Guess I forgot to mention earlier, that while it's my turn, Shakkoumon counts as a Blue Digimon as well," Emily smirked as the wind began to stir around her. "Which means it can serve as Evo Bait for both Blue and Yellow Digimon alike."
Adam taken aback at the spectacle, watched intently as the brief Shakkoumon took to the sky once more and began to fracture across its being, before shattering and revealing the muscular dragon underneath.
Goldramon was a muscular gold dragon with an ancient-looking mask and six metallic wings. It wore a pair of vambraces on both its arms, a red one on his left, and a blue on his right. Once its digivolution was complete, it stood behind the teens with its arms crossed, waiting for its time to strike.
Goldramon (BT3-029)
Color: Blue
Level: 6
DP: 11,000
MEMORY
0-3
"Can't wait to see how you manage to take him down." She continued as things settled.
"Yeah, you and me both…" Adam hesitated. "Man of all the things to have to deal with…" he drew. Silphymon revealed itself as the card was drawn. Its ability to set a Digimon's DP to 1000 would be amazing right now…had it not have been for the fact that the target has to be Level 4. Meaning that even if he moved GeoGreymon out and digivolved it would do nothing. On the other hand, he still had ShineGreymon, and with its ability, he could get rid of Goldramon right now…
But then there's the chance that she'd hard play Magnadramon, something that she does whenever she's desperate. If anything, he'd better off using ShineGreymon on Magnadramon than Goldramon, at least for this turn.
"DarkTyrannomon digivolves into Silphymon!" Adam set the card down, empowering DarkTyrannomon. The black T-Rex began to glow with the infusion of binary, becoming smaller and more human-sized. A humanoid Digimon with a feline-like white upper body, and an avian-like red lower half. It had feathers on its arms similar in style to Monodramon's fin-like blades as well as a visor that hid its eyes.
Silphymon (BT3-014)
Color: Red
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-0
Throw caution into the wind and attack while the opportunity presents itself. "Silphymon, Security Break!"
Silphymon, with its uniquely shaped legs, bent down and propelled into the air. It took its hands and pulled back, drawing red energy in between them before unleashing it downward towards Emily. The Security Card intercepted the attack and shattered as a result.
Emily
Security: 4-3
"Security Check," she flipped over. From the broken Security, emerged SlashAngemon, who dove upward, its blades drawn. The surprised Silphymon could do little to react as it watched SlashAngemon speed towards it.
Silphymon: 7000 DP
SlashAngemon: 8000 DP
One clean slice and Silphymon dropped from the sky, bursting into binary before it could hit the valley.
"Not done yet!" Adam continued. "Monodramon!"
Monodramon dashed forward towards Emily and successfully punched the Security Card that blocked it. It hopped back, awaiting the contents of it on the other side.
Emily
Security: 3-2
"Security check…" she flipped it. "Security Trigger: Hammer Spark; I gain +2 Memory, ending your turn and passing it back to me."
Adam gritted his teeth, reluctantly conceding to the result.
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Emily)
"Nice Try." She said. "In my opinion, digivolving Silphymon into ShineGreymon should've been the move you made."
"And give you the chance to throw Magnadramon in my face with that +2 Recovery and the Level 3 Spam?"
Emily smiled, "Trevor said before not to assume right? Anyway, Matt sets my Memory to 3 to start."
MEMORY
2-3
"I hatch Upamon." She flipped the blue variant of the Digi-Egg as the Digimon bounced about on her side.
Upamon (BT1-003)
Color: Blue
Level: 2
"Upamon digivolves into Patamon."
Patamon now materialized over Upamon, flapping its small orange wings in bliss.
Patamon (BT3-020)
Color: Blue
DP: 4000
"And now Goldramon, Security Attack! Upamon's IE effect allows me to draw a card for having 3 Security or less."
Goldramon unfolded its arms and raised its left arm, drawing the heat from the sun's rays to charge its fist, similar to Leomon before. Once it was empowered it pulled back and punched, sending a beam of fire barreling towards Adam, who was saved by a Security Card.
Adam
Security: 3-2
A Terra Force would be ideal at a moment like this, he thought. "Security Check…" he exhaled in disappointment. "Monodramon. T.K. Boosts him to 5000 DP
Goldramon: 11,000 DP
Monodramon: 3000-5000 DP
Monodramon appeared though it could do little as it was quickly overwhelmed by the massive heatwave.
"I end my turn by playing Petermon from my hand. Petermon pulls Tinkermon from my hand as well, and thanks to playing a Digimon, Goldramon's own effect triggers, unsuspending it."
Adam's eyes widened. "Are you for real?!"
"Now you see why Shine would've been the better play?" Emily asked him. Meanwhile, both of the fairy Digimon made their appearances, joining alongside Goldramon.
Petermon (BT1-056)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
3-2 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam, regretting his decision drew. "By the way…you seem to be enjoying yourself more than usual."
"I'm allowed to enjoy myself, aren't I?"
"Yeah but…just saying it's kinda out of character. Normally you're either quiet or brooding."
"I'm allowed to change right?!" Emily snapped.
Adam stepped back. "That's not what I—"
"Forget I said anything. Just do your turn so I can win already." She crossed her arms.
Adam was silent, trying to process what just happened, though he could see the slight glint in Tinkermon's eye. Nonetheless, he shook it off and drew. "Fine, you want ShineGreymon to come out so bad… T.K. sets my Memory to 3!"
MEMORY
2-3
"GeoGreymon moves to the Battle Area!"
GeoGreymon did just so, squaring off with the opposing Digimon.
"GeoGreymon, Digivolve into RizeGreymon!"
The Digimon roared as the binary came down upon it and clad it in the red and silver armor. Its jet boosted wings pulled it upward to bring itself on a footing with the dragon before it.
MEMORY
3-0
"And now, Harness the power of the blazing nova as you are reborn anew: RizeGreymon, Digivolve into ShineGreymon!" Adam exclaimed, slamming the card on RizeGreymon.
The sun's rays intensified and beamed directly on RizeGreymon, prompting it to fly forward towards the sun. Binary and sunlight encapsulated it, taking it over and forming it into the newest Greymon to bestow itself.
Moments later, the Dragon emerged, basking in the sunlight. Covered completely in red and white armor, it sported golden gauntlets and helmet, and it descended towards the enamored teens, as it carried in both of its human-like palms, raging-hot plasma energy from the sun itself.
ShineGreymon (BT2-041)
Color: Yellow
Level: 6
DP: 11,000
MEMORY
0-4 (Turn Change: Emily)
"ShineGreymon's Effect: All three of my Tamers, suspend and give your powers to ShineGreymon!"
The three T.K. clones knelt, binary pouring from them and into the orbs that ShineGreymon held onto.
"For every Tamer suspended like this, I can -4000 DP from one of your Digimon. Since three suspended, I can activate this effect 3 times!"
"And you're gonna inflict all of that onto Goldramon?"
Adam shook his head. "That opportunity's gone. Instead, once to Tinkermon, and twice to Petermon, giving them both -4000 DP and -8000 DP respectively.
Emily was somewhat surprised by that, looking up at ShineGreymon as it cast the orbs towards the pair. The pair were absorbed into them and were zapped of their DP, fading along with the orbs.
Petermon 5000-0 DP
Tinkermon: 3000-0 DP
"You seem surprised," Adam noted again. "Whether I targeted Goldramon or not, you would've had two attacks to get me with. Not to mention Patamon in your Breeding Area would've made it three, actually."
"But your chances of survival would've been higher. Assuming I would've been left with those three instead of Goldramon, your deck has more options to deal with them than Goldramon. Plus, your T.K. would've boosted your security Digimon anyway."
"She has a valid point," Morris commented, being silent for a majority of the battle. In a situation like this, given Goldramon's ability, it would've made more sense to eliminate it instead of the lesser Digimon, especially given that ShineGreymon used its ability twice on Petermon, who was just shy of the DP cap."
"How much you wanna bet he's relying on a lucky Gaia Force?" Trevor leaned over to Megan.
"Pfft, of course, he is," Megan replied. "Even then it can't deus ex machina his butt out of this screwup."
Overhearing the commentators, she came to a decision. "We're gonna practice you using Yellow from here on out," Emily stated
"What, am I that bad with it?"
"Actually, you're better than expected. But if you want this gimmick to work, you need to be more confident in your strategy. It's not like Red where you power up to the point where you're stronger or luck out on a powerful Security Trigger. It's bringing the enemy down to your level and punishing them for letting it happen. Get control of the situation before your opponent can."
"Restrict them with Yellow and beat them down with Red."
"Basically. Though, ShineGreymon pretty much does both those things on its own."
Adam looked up at the Dragon who was busy having a staring contest with Goldramon.
"Learn to utilize ShineGreymon to control and punish, and you'll be fine," Emily concluded. "That way you can rely less on luck and more on skill."
"Got it."
Emily nodded. "Great. Now to punish you accordingly." She drew. "Patamon moves the Battle Area. Followed by Goldramon for a Security Attack!"
Meanwhile, Patamon flapped forward, whereas Goldramon conjured power in his opposite fist, generating lightning from thin air. Throwing its fist forward, electricity careened into the Security leaving Adam with one.
Adam
Security: 2-1
"Security Check…Aquillamon."
It was Red, but it wasn't Gaia Force.
Goldramon: 11,000 DP
Aquillamon: 5000-7000 DP
The large horned Eagle Digimon attempted to take a stand against Goldramon, but the latter's might took it over and deleted it all the same. Adam considered the scenario if that was Petermon in its stead.
"I play Armadillomon for 2 Memory, allowing for Goldramon to unsuspend, and for Matt to suspend, for me to remove Tokomon from ShineGreymon's sources," Emily said as she played the card from her hand, following up by unsuspending Goldramon, suspending Matt and then suspending Patamon.
MEMORY
4-2
"Patamon, Final Security Attack!"
As Armadillomon appeared, Patamon took a deep breath and shot a quick air bubble that took out Adam's last Security. One last chance at a Gaia Force…
Adam
Security: 1-0
"Security Check…Security Trigger!" He exclaimed, catching everyone by surprise.
Adam dropped the theatrics and revealed it. "Lightning paw. Minus 4000 DP to Patamon and Armadillomon."
Patamon: 4000-0 DP
Armadillomon: 4000-0 DP
He watched as the effect went off, taking out the two Level 3 Digimon, thinking how one of those could've been Tinkermon had he waited a turn.
"One last question: Would you've played Magnadramon if I got rid of Goldramon last turn?"
"If I had it in hand, maybe," Emily replied.
Adam blinked. "But you—"
"Stop assuming." She reminded him. "This deck is new after all; why rely on only one ace when I have another putting in work?"
"Guess you have a point… I want a rematch after this."
Emily motioned over to the group. "I promised Layla that I'd help test her deck."
Adam turned over to her, seeing Layla with her deck and the Gatomon sitting as the face of it.
"I'm guessing everyone mixed colors…" Adam deduced.
"Except me," Megan said. "My green thumbs are working just fine."
"Alright, bet. I'll take you one after this." Adam stated. He turned back to Goldramon who was waiting patiently with its arms folded to act. "Sorry big guy, I'm ready! Give it your best shot!"
"You heard him Goldramon, Direct Attack!" Emily exclaimed.
Goldramon nodded, conjuring energy in both of its hands and merging it. He rose its arms overhead and proceeded to bring them down to claim victory for Emily…
Michael sat in the darkness of his office, spending yet another long night pondering over the information on his screen. Akiyoshi's words ran through his mind, at times frustrating him, and others feverishly sparking his curiosity.
Axel's birth opened the door to unknown possibilities: sentient artificial intelligence. The potential to usher in an age where humanity itself can transcend the restrictions of their base limitations and become something greater. Naturally, with such a discovery, others would seek to capitalize on this prospect. That's why Trojan was enacted, to halt the progress of others. To disrupt and destroy any means of having godhood be stripped. Morris, the Digimon, the Beta Testers, the Knights, all of them; necessary sacrifices towards the legend of how SAIBA rose to the pinnacle of greatest.
That's what Michael has dedicated himself to seeing. Even if he had to make himself the villain in the narrative, to see a world flourish through his actions was his dream. If only his son saw that as well. That falling in line with the ever-changing world in the most optimal way possible was not only the smart thing but the right thing to do for generations to come…
Akiyoshi as well…delaying the progress to greatness due to his own foolish arrogance. His desire to have the legend he's carving be a spectacle for the ages…
When Morris first came back to them, Michael didn't admit that he was skeptical, but the thought lingered in the back of his mind anyway. And now that Akiyoshi handed him Omnimon, his creation, what's to say he won't use the very thing to bring about SAIBA's downfall?
"You seem deep in thought…" the AI spoke.
"I'm contemplating a change in strategy," Michael admitted.
"I believe that was my role, was it not?"
"Sometimes a change in strategy needs more than an AI's touch."
"Judging by that statement you insinuate that you are superior to me…?"
"I created you after all."
"Therefore you are aware of what I am capable of."
"Indeed."
"So why are you hesitant?"
"Because the situation presented is more nuanced than zeroes and ones."
The AI scoffed, "hardly."
Michael furrowed his brow. The computer took it upon itself to expand on a diagram of the cocoon where Millenniummon is housed. after some data crossed the screen, eight bubbles appeared around the cocoon, connected by brackets.
"Morris has Omnimon, which was to serve as a power source to empower Millenniummon and the subsequent Saibatars. Assuming we have lost access to it, for the time being, I propose an alternative."
One by one each of the circles was filled with a specific Digimon. One of which lit up green—the circle that Machinedramon fit into.
"Machinedramon, Piedmon, Puppetmon, and your MetalSeadramon, all contain adequate data to empower Millenniummon up to just over 50% capacity, provided they exhibit enough combat data. Meanwhile, the Royal Knights, Kentaurosmon, UlforceVeedramon, Craniamon, and Gallantmon, will suffice for 40% of the requirements."
"And where do you expect to get the remaining ten?" Michael asked, noticing the major flaw in this description.
"That, I will leave up to your discretion." The AI concluded. "After all, everyone involved in this is to be a necessary sacrifice for generations to come, correct?"
Michael didn't answer that, knowing full well what the AI was suggesting. "I'll think over."
"I will see you to it."
The AI went silent, leaving Michael alone to his own thoughts. Ten percent was what separated him from the future of humanity. An opportunity like this would not come again. However, he took a deep breath at the end of it and proceeded to pack up for the night to sleep on it.
Such a weighty decision shouldn't be made on impulse after all…
