Episode 4: Mischief; Mayhem; Music

The old man in front of Kurohi's counter was rambling on about something or other. His elderly wife was looking at him with faces reflecting both embarrassment and annoyance. To be honest, this was basically the highlight of his last few days. It'd been a few weeks since the last attack, and with no sightings of the bug monster that was currently plaguing the internet. Link had finally settled down a little.

"My wife thinks I should get a toupee. Says my hairline's been thinin' too much lately. What do you think?"

Kurohi took one look at the man's forehead, and turned to the man's wife. "The customer is always right." He gave her a curt nod, to which she chuckled. The old man didn't seem to get it. Right before they left, the old woman dropped a few few hundred Yen in Kurohi's tip jar.

"So Knight-sama, art thou ready to vanquish thine insectoid foe?" It was dark. Kurohi was talking to Linkmon on the cold walk home.

"Your patronizing is noted."

"Oh, but you were so gung-ho about finding it. Where'd all that energy go?"

Linkmon did not answer.

"Well, do you want to do something else tonight? We could try and find a new arena that'll let us in, or we could ring up Melor and Misceomon and see what they're up to."

"Don't they live in a different time zone?"

"Well yea, but it's Russia. It's like two hours back or something, so it should be fine, right?"

"It'll only be fine if that gorilla keeps his hands to himself."

"...Y'know Link, you gotta work on your people skills a bit. We have friends now."

"I do not need friends."

"Not even me?" Kurohi put up a big pair of teary puppy-dog eyes.

Linkmon just looked at his childish expression with his jaw slightly agape. "I'm beginning to think so."

"Hey Melor, what's up?"

"Hello Kurohi. We do not have anything going on at the moment." He still wouldn't look Kurohi in the eyes, which he found a little unnerving.

"Well, you and Misceomon wanna do something then?"

"Such as what? Have you received any information on the creature you have been searching for?" Honestly, this kid was supposed to be younger than him, yet he was all business no pleasure.

"No, we haven't, but that wasn't what I meant by 'do something'. I thought we could hit up an arena or something."

"Misceomon and I do not normally participate in arenas. Most Tamers do not take kindly to Illegals."

"No duh. I meant a Hackers' arena. Have you ever been to one?"

"No, I have not. I do not know where to find them."

"It's easy. All ya gotta know is who to talk to. So, interested?"

"I see no reason why we couldn't go. Where should we have our Digimon meet up?"

"Hold on, I'll send you the address of the site."

A few minutes later, after winding down their video conference, the two Digimon met outside a popular American stock exchange site.

"Thees the place, comrade?" Misceomon seemed to be in good spirits. His apish arm was wrapped affectionately around Linkmon's neck.

"Yes, it is. Now if you wouldn't mind please stop suffocating me!" He forced the green limb off, and hurried inside, having his associate follow him in short time. It didn't take them long to find who they were looking for, either. Bazaarmon was humming to himself as he perused one of the boards in front of them, only turning around when they were within a few meters of him.

"Ah, Sahib Linkmon. It is so good to see you again so soon. And it appears you have brought along a new customer for me as well. I do thank you kindly." He extended a feather claw to Misceomon. "How do you do, Sahib. I am Bazaarmon. I deal in the information trade."

"Pleasure's all mine. Name's Misceomon." He took his wing in hand and shook vigorously, disorienting Bazaarmon slightly.

"You are quite strong Sahib Misceomon. I would be very greatful if you do not ruffle my feathers too much now." After being released, he patted down his matted plumage. "Well now, if you have come to see me, Sahib Linkmon, then you are seeking my services, correct? What may I assist you with today?"

Linkmon responded quickly, very much wanting to avoid prolonged exposure to rancid poultry. "We're just looking for a Hackers' arena. Perhaps you could give us the location of one that's gotten a lot of traffic lately?"

"Ah, yes, I know just the one, but as you are well aware, Sahib Linkmon, my information is not free."

Misceomon, as if finally picking up on the tension between the two of them, eyed the situation nervously. "And what kind of payment do you accept? Money?"

Bazaarmon chuckled. "Oh, no, no Sahib Misceomon. No, I don't deal with such trivial things. The value of money ebbs and flows like the tides. I am an information dealer, and such is what I trade for. If you want my information, you must also give me yours."

Linkmon snorted. "And what do you want today? I could captivate you with a story of one of Kurohi's drunken escapades."

Bazaarmon waved his wing at him as thou to gust the information away. "I do appreciate the offer, Sahib Linkmon, but I have already accepted two such stories of your Tamer, and while they do bring a chuckle to my beak, valuable they are not." He turned his attention to the confused and misshapen Digimon beside Linkmon. "But I must say that I am quite curious about you, my friend. Perhaps you might be able to supply me with a suitable payment."

Linkmon moved quickly to stand before Misceomon.

"Is something wrong, Sahib Linkmon?"

A very serious expression now caked Linkmon's face. "I know what it is you want...and it is not something that some are willing to surrender lightly."

Misceomon looked very confused. He couldn't make heads or tail of what the two of them were talking about. "Uh...What is it that he wants, comrade?"

"The one thing that separates we Illegals from other Digimon..."

"Your birth, Sahib Misceomon."

"Pardon? I'm sorry, but I can't really follow what the two of you are talkeeng about."

"Your birth, Sahib Misceomon, your origin, your creation, your coming into being. It is something Illegals have that no other Digimon can ever hope to possess, and it is something that some would pay a high price for." He cleared his face of his devilish smile that seemed to have crept upon his face without his knowledge during his explanation. He coughed once. "It is my proposed payment. If you wish to barter with something else, you may."

Linkmon glanced at his associate nervously, only to find him seemingly without care in the world. "Ees that all? It's not a very eenteresteeng story, but if you want to hear eet... Basically, my Tamer created me from a lot of scrap data he collected from the eenternet. He compiled eet all together, tweaked a beet here or there, and here I am." He ended it bluntly. Linkmon was rather shocked at how easily he was able to deliver it.

"That was...quite the tale, Sahib Misceomon." Bazaarmon wore a sour face that made it very aware that he had gotten the raw end of the deal. "We had an agreement. Here is the site address." He handed a memo pad icon to Misceomon. "I suggest you hurry over there. I received word a little before you arrived of an interesting little disturbance there, but if you wish to know more, I suggest you make haste. Come again Sahib Misceomon, Sahib Linkmon."

"Remind me again why we couldn't go with them?" Kurohi was leaning back while trying to send a telekinetic message to Melor about how bored he was.

"Because if your informant is being observed by those in power, than I do not want them to know that I am Misceomon's Tamer."

"Wow, dude, that's harsh. I know he looks a little mismatched, but you should take some credit in your work."

Melor still averted eye contact with him. Kurohi could hear him clicking away at his keyboard. "That is not what I meant."

Before Kurohi could retort, two specks in the distant caught his eye. One black and one neon pink. It was obviously their partners. "Yo Link, how'd it go?"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

He stared interestedly at Linkmon for a for seconds more before completely ignoring him. "Yo Misceo, how'd it go?"

The Digimon put a clawed finger to his chin and scratched it. "Hmm. He was an eenteresting person. He said sometheeng about a deesterbance at the site address. Eet Might be a good idea to hurry there."

Ignoring Linkmon's furious glares, Kurohi gave a bemused chuckle. "Lead the way."
They had been traveling to the address for over 10 minutes, with Linkmon still refusing to speak to anyone.

"Wanna talk about it, Link?"

"No, not particularly."

"Want me to get Misceomon to tell me what happened?"

"I just hate that creepy little bird."

"I'm sure that's not all of it."

Linkmon was silent again. His face had switched from anger to somber. He stared at the wall before he answered. "My creation story is morbid."

"...Oh." Kurohi couldn't really say anything else. It was a tough subject for them to discuss, even without two people they didn't really know within earshot. "Sorry."

"Well, if anything, at least it sounds cooler than. Misceomon's. He's literally made of garbage." Linkmon cracked the first smile Kurohi had seen him make in a while. It was infectious enough to get him smiling as well, and the two of them eventually broke out into a laugh.

Misceomon, who was only a little ways ahead of them, was not that happy about them laughing at his expense.

"Singapore?" They had reached their destination after only a few more minutes of travel, and Kurohi was in a state of bewilderment. "The arena's in Singapore?"

"Eet's what the address said."

"It makes sense. There are no direct branches of the company within Singapore, so its internet is policed less. It would be the perfect place to hide an arena."

"Oh. Yea, I knew that." He didn't. "But it's kinda disappointing that we're not there in person. Singapore's got some crazy awesome buildings, tons of resorts, and more hot babes than you can shake a mere-lion at." That last comment earned him 'the look' from his digital companions and a distinctive twitch from his web-cammed cohort.

Trying to get the conversation back to the matter at hand, Misceomon pushed forward. "I think I can see eet. We should be there een less than a meenu-" Misceomon's voice was cut off by a distant explosion. It was coming from the direction they were heading. Without a word, the four mismatched companions hurried to find its source.

When they were finally close enough to get a clear view, all they could see was a scurrying nest of Illegal Digimon. They were all minor edits; Digimon in alternate color schemes, Digimon with tattoos, Digimon with arms or wings from other Digimon; more customized Digimon than new ones. It was the typical type of crowd one would find at an arena, other than the scurrying. Seeing as an original Digimon like Linkmon or Misceomon were rare amongst the rare, finding one in a place like this would be a one-in-a-million shot. But they did. There was one original Illegal floating above the crowd, raining fire deletion on those below him from a large cannon-like program perched on his shoulder. He was a tiny Digimon, most likely a child level. He wore a black tuxedo on his slightly chubby body, complete with bow tie and cumber bun. His head looked like a black 1/8 music note, noted Kurohi who still remembered those grueling days in middle school.

Next to the musical Digimon was an image of a young blonde girl. She was cackling madly, and berating the other Digimon in English. "HAHAHA! That's right! Run, weaklings, run for your lives!"

Kurohi watched over the scene, his face stoic and emotionless. He could only hold that expression for about ten seconds before the smile began to form. "Now this is a party." He turns to his three companions. "Who wants to hit the dance floor?" Linkmon was furling and unfurling his wings, while Misceomon was cracking his gorilla knuckles. They were obviously just as itchy as Kurohi was. "How 'bout it, Melor?"

They all silently anticipated the boy's response with baited breath. "Let's cut a rug, Kurohi."

"A'ight!" Kurohi suddenly felt like he had more energy than he had had all week. "Link, we're gonna smash that program. Melor, we'll buy you some time to boost up then left-side pincer. Everyone ready?"

"Ready."

"Standeeng by."

"Activating programs."

"Let's move, Link!"

Linkmon and Misceomon split up, the former charging straight at their target, while the latter strafed to the left, moving through the crowd and avoiding being seen. It didn't take any time at all for the unknown Digimon and his partner to notice Linkmon's approach. It turned its cannon program at the oncoming reptile and let loose its fury. Unfurling his wings, Linkmon was easily able to dodge the lasers with his enhanced speed. Unable to find his mark, the musical Digimon balanced the gun on its shoulder and moved to touch a strange pattern running down its left arm. Just as it was about to make contact, however, a giant pink and green gorilla fist made contact with its circular head, sending it reeling across the space.

The little girl started yelling angrily at the two assaulting Tamers. "Hey, hey, hey! Two on one is cheating! No fair!"

Kurohi, knowing Melor wasn't about to make a comeback, did instead (in English). "Says the brat who brought a cannon to a brawl? Baka~"

The girl was red in the face. "Shut up! I'm gonna totally kick you ass! Sopranomon!"

The chubby butler straightened his bow tie and righted himself. "Yes, Milady?"

"Digivolve to Champion Level and kick their asses!"

Kurohi went on the verbal offensive again. "What? I thought you said that you were gonna do it. Instead you're gonna your chunky little man-servant to do it for you? Guess the little Ojou-sama can't back up her words."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut! Up!" Her face was tomato red from ear to ear now.

Her calm Digimon, on the other hand, just gave a slight cough. "Excuse me good sir, but I would like to point out that I am not, as you said, 'chunky'. I will admit that I am a bit rotund around the waste, but as I am a data being, there is nothing I can do to change this."

"Ah." Kurohi was a little taken aback. He gave the Digimon a small bow. "I'm terribly sorry, it wasn't my intention to insult your feelings. I hope you will accept my apology."

Sopranomon gave a bow as well. "It is no trouble, good sir. Your apology is accepted with much gratitude."

The little girl's head was flailing back and forth as she was switching comically from staring at her Digimon and Kurohi. "Oy, what the hell are you two doing!? We're supposed to be fighting!"

"Just because we're fighting doesn't mean we can't be civilized. But maybe you're too young to understand that, Ojou-sama."

Kurohi's retort made her go from red to purple. "I'll show you civilized!"

Program Activated – Evolution

"Sopranomon, digivolve to-" Sopranomon was surrounded by the usual light the preceded a Digimon's evolution. "-Mezzomon!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Um..." He looked exactly the same. "You did shinka, right?"

Their enemy tossed her head back and let out a malevolent cackle, which eventually quited down to nothing (thou she remained in mid-laugh pose). "...Hey." She turned her head to Kurohi. "What's shinka?"

Kurohi paused. "Um...In english it's...evolve, right?" He turned to Melor to back up his claim.

"Correct."

"Oh. Yea, he digivolved." She gave a small cough before returning to her raucous laughing. "Now, Mezzomon, attack!"

"Yes, milady." He pulled out a trumpet and pressed it to his mouth-less face. "Crescendo Tone!" A rain of orange music notes burst out of the instrument and darted toward the other two Digimon. Linkmon was having difficulty dodging them all, even with his speed. Misceomon was faring far worse, using only his natural defenses to repel the shower.

Kurohi called out to Melor through the chaos. "Hey, Melor. If she's gonna step up her game, then I think we should, too."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Alright! It's time to go big or go home!"

Program Activated – Evolution
Program Activated – Evolution

"Linkmon, evolve to-
Misceomon, evolve to-"

The two were surrounded by swirling light. As their temporary cocoons fell away, the two monstrous Digimon, one black and one dark pink, prepared to enter the battle once more.

"-Jackmon!
-Editusmon!"

Kurohi took a brief moment to scan over his ally's adult form, as he hadn't seen it before. He was nearly twice the size of Misceomon. His colors had dulled slightly, now a more dark pink and green, rather than their previous screaming neon, and were a little more proportional (but just a little). His face was a little more dog-like than before, and his one wing had grown out to normal size. Overall, a very cool Frankenstein of a Digimon.

The two giant Digimon charged at Mezzomon, flanking left and right as to avoid both of them taking a frontal assault. The musician, however, didn't try to attack the either of them. With a wave of his hand his trumpet disappeared to be replaced by a flute. He placed the instrument to his non-existent lips and shouted. "Time Tempo!"

Both Jackmon and Editusmon slowed to a stop.

"What's up, Jackmon?"

"I...I can't...move..."

"Our bodees...Eet's like they won't...leesten..."

"Haha, of course you can't!" They all redirected their attention back to the one girl amongst them. "Mezzmon's Time Tempo can slow down the processing speed of any Digimon. You're helpless to stop us now!" She directed her undivided attention to Kurohi. "So, are you going to surrender? If you beg me, I might just let your Digimon go."

A tiny laugh escaped Kurohi's lips. It kept escalating, like he was laughing at a really amusing joke. "You know, when I made Linkmon, I didn't do any of the normal stuff." The girl's faced reflected her confusion. Melor seemed to be staring intently at Kurohi's shoulder. "I didn't increase his strength, or made him lightning fast. I didn't give him a range of attacks or a variety of evolutions." He raised his eyes to meet the girl's bewildered ones. "But what I did give him..." He raised his DP. "Was crazy processing speed." He slid his thumb up the screen dramatically. "Program activate!"

Program Activated – Natural Prominence

The girl and Mezzomon both turned just in time to see Mezzomon vanish. The two looked around wildly for him. Jackmon appeared in front of Mezzomon in a burst of speed and socked him where his jaw should have been. The shock of being punched seemed to have broken the effects of his musical attack, as Editusmon regained his ability to move. Making up for lost time, he sped at the musical monster. "Heavy Lariat!" The inside of his gorilla arm struck Mezzomon's stomach. As the small Digimon went flying, he seemed to catch a second wind and steadied himself mid-flight, but was met with Jackmon's claws pointing menacingly toward his face. The two froze in a picturesque state of predator catching its prey.

"You offered us the chance to submit. It would only be fare to give you the same option."

Mezzomon seemed very nervous with his face surrounded by pointy fingers of death. "M-milady, if you'd please, I could use some assistance."

She looked over the scene with mixed looks of embarrassment and anger on her face. "C-can't you...I dunno..."

"Don't worry so much." Kurohi's demeanor wasn't boastful or arrogant. "Jackmon may act like that, but it's just an empty threat. There's no way he'd actually run him through."

Jackmon lowered his hand. He smiled. "Really, Kurohi, there's no need to go telling that to our opponent, now is there?"

Kurohi brushed off the comment with a smile of his own. "You can just leave if you want. We'll call it a draw."

The girl was quiet. Her silence hung in the air for a minute before answering. "How did you beat us?" By the tone of her voice, Kurohi could tell she wasn't angry.

"Natural Prominence is a program that ups a Digimon's natural abilities, like WarGreymon's Dramon Destroyers. Linkmon has a natural ability called Digital Slipstream which allows him to travel quickly through the internet, but not areas like arenas. I'm not a fan of cheating."

Again, she looked confused. "But you use an Illegal Digimon."

"I work with my partner. Nothing more, nothing less." Linkmon, now reverted, glided over to Kurohi's image. Misceomon did the same.

"You're really weird." Kurohi had heard that enough times for her comment to have not fazed him. Her arrogant attitude seemed to be building itself back up slowly. "Well, whatever. Remember, this was a draw. Next time you won't be so lucky." She and her Digimon turned and headed off in the direction of the exit. Just before she exited the area, she turned back. "Pop!"

"Nani?"

"My name is Pop. Remember that for next time, Kurohi!" And she disappeared.

Kurohi laid on his bed. "So, whadoya think, Link?"

"Think about what?"

"Our new troublesome friend."

Linkmon snorted. "I doubt she'd like you calling her that. I do approve of her partner, thou. I have a feeling we would get along."

"And what about Melor and Misceo?"

"What about them?"

"Has working together with them raised your opinions of them at all?" Kurohi could no longer see Linkmon on his computer screen, but he knew he was still there.

"I'm warming up to them."

He smiled. "Good to hear. I have a feeling we'll be seeing him a lot." He couldn't help thinking that they'd probably be seeing a lot of Pop, too, but he wasn't yet sure if that was a good thing or not. Only time would tell.

"Another report? What's this one about."

"There was a large exodus a Illegal Digimon in Singapore, Master. Apparently a class-3 illegal destroyed an arena there."

"Another class-3? We've been seeing a lot of them lately, haven't we? So? What's this got to do with us? It's out of our jurisdiction."

"Three class-3 Illegal Digimon in total were sighted at the arena. One of them was confirmed to be the Digimon from the China Virus Incident. The higher ups wish for you to investigate this Digimon and his connection to both the other class-3s, and the virus that appeared."

The woman stared at the image of a black Digimon on her computer screen. "Yea, yea, I got it. It's not like this kid is trying to hide himself too hard." She picked her coat off the back of her chair and threw it over her shoulder. "Time for the best part of the job, D'Arcmon."

"What would that be, Master?"

"Going home." She picked her DP up from next to her computer, and walked out the door.