"A prairie…how did we end up walking through a prairie?"
Everyone shrugged in response to Rach's complaint as they walked.
A large, shady tree came into view, and Leo agreed that they could rest there for now. As they sat in the shade, Don turned on Elisa's laptop.
"It's working!"
Elisa nodded, smiling, as Mikey inched closer.
"Can I see?"
"No touching."
Leo was looking around, and saw a pillar of smoke in the distance.
"Hey, guys. There's smoke over there."
Everyone strained to see it, but eventually nodded.
"That means there are humans…" Raph concluded.
"Maybe they're nice and will help us get home." Mikey suggested hopefully.
"…Maybe…" Rach answered, looking tense.
"Then let's go!"
They followed the hyperactive turtle, and a huge grey factory came into view. They went inside, but the whole place was as quiet as the grave.
"…I say we split up." Leo stated, and the two groups split up…
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Leo, Rach, and Elisa were walking down the halls, and soon saw a room , door ajar, and a strange android-like creature with his lower body caught in a bunch of gears.
Elisa was the first to run to his aid, but the others followed, if more hesitantly. Gomamon, on Rach's head, looked at the Digimon.
"It's Andromon."
They tried to pull him out by his arms, but he seemed pretty stuck. Rach lost her hold, falling back and hitting a lever. The gears started moving, and Andromon slid out easily.
He seemed out cold, and Rach knocked lightly on his head.
"Maybe a good smack would work…"
"NO!!!"
They stopped Rach, but they weren't fast enough to stop Agumon. Elisa checked on Andromon as Leo lightly reprimanded Agumon for what he did.
"He seems friendly enough…" She said softly as Andromon's eyes opened.
When his hand grabbed her ankle, she instinctively flinched back before he lifted her into the air.
"El!!!!"
"Spiral Twister!"
The attack struck Andromon's arm, making him drop the pink-banded turtle.
They ran for the door as Andromon righted himself, and Leo saw metal beams above the android.
"Agumon, shoot up!"
Agumon nodded.
"Pepper Breath!"
The beams fell on the Digimon, and they ran for their lives down the hall.
The lights shut off, and Elisa stopped, Biyomon beside her.
"What happened to the lights?" She whispered.
"I don't know, but we should keep moving-."
Leo cut himself off when he saw two glowing red eyes in the darkness behind them.
"Be quiet and run." Leo ordered in a whisper, and they all moved with ninja stealth until a voice made them bolt.
"Lightning Blade!"
They jumped around the corner, and the attack struck the wall behind them.
"Move!"
They scrambled to their feet, running as fast as their adrenaline-pumped legs would allow, when the power came back on and they ran onto a mesh bridge.
"Lightning Blade!"
They jumped over the railings with their Digimon, gripping tight as the attack sped by. Leo looked around, and saw a crane below him.
'Yes!'
He jumped down as Andromon stepped onto the bridge.
"Leo, ya better have a plan!" Rach warned, Gomamon on her head.
The crane picked Andromon up, dangling him in the air as the girls pulled themselves over the railing and Leo jumped to the bridge.
"We've gotta tell the others!" Rach stated.
'I hope we get there in time…'
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Don was leading Raph, Mikey, and Gio down a hallway, reading the signs on each door.
"'Energy Room'. Perfect!"
Don opened the door, and his eyes widened in amazement. A huge battery, as tall as a vertical sewer pipe, stood before him.
"…Whoa…"
As Don inspected it, the other three turtles, bored, headed off to the assembly line. Don pressed against the wall of the battery and a door opened.
The purple-banded turtle went in, Tentomon by his side, and looked at the interior.
It was pale yellow, like stone, with colorful markings covering it like hieroglyphics.
"…Cool…"
Don was still carrying Elisa's laptop, and sat down to start his research.
As he immersed himself into the world of fact-finding and discovery he loved, it felt like all his troubles were lifted off his shoulders.
"Don't you want to be out with your family and friends having fun?"
Don turned to his partner, snapping out of his trance.
"Not really. I like doing this kind of stuff."
"Don't you want to interact, socialize, anything?"
"There's too much to learn."
"…Don't you get lonely?"
Don froze, really thinking about it.
"I…"
His mind raced to find an excuse.
"What about these markings, anyway? And why isn't this battery functioning like a real one?"
Tentomon shrugged.
Don looked at the markings, an idea sparking in his head.
"…Maybe…"
He stood up, gently placing the laptop on the floor before walking to the wall. He wiped off the corner of a marking, and everything went dark.
"Smart move, Don…" He muttered to himself, grabbing a marker from his belt and redrawing the corner.
The lights came back on, and Don, satisfied, went back to the laptop.
After putting in a certain program, the screen went black, and showed a grid of an island. The device on his belt started glowing, it's light catching his attention.
'It's activated!'
He remembered when Agumon, Gabumon, and Biyomon Digivolved, the devices his brothers and Elisa had glowed, too.
"OW!!!! IT BURNS!!!"
Tentomon was dancing around, white light escaping the cracks in his bug-like armor.
"TURN IT OFF, DON!!!"
The smart turtle did so, memorizing the program, and Tentomon relaxed.
"Sorry, Tento…"
"…It's okay…I hate computers…"
Don only smiled, and put the laptop in its bag before heading for the door.
"We've got to find the others, Tento."
Tentomon followed him, and they found his group on the roof.
"Hey, guys! You won't believe what I found out!" Don exclaimed, ecstatic.
"In this world, data is a living, viable substance! It's ALIVE!"
He stopped when Leo, Rach, and Elisa ran in, breathing heavily.
"We've gotta get OUTTA here!" Rach snapped, looking ready to fall over from exhaustion, Gomamon under his arm.
"What? Why?" Gio asked, confused.
Andromon busted through the floor, and everyone jumped back.
"Gattling Attack!"
Two missiles headed straight for the group of four, but only three moved…
"Mikey!!!!"
Rach tackled the orange-banded turtle out of the way, but the missiles came back.
"Gabumon, Digivolve to…GARURUMON!!"
He moved in front of them.
"Howling Blaster!"
One missile blew up, but the other only went off course, heading straight for Leo and Elisa.
"Agumon, Digivolve to…GREYMON!!"
He whipped the missile with his tail, making it spin into the air before exploding.
Both Champion level Digimon jumped at Andromon, and the wrestling mass fell off the ceiling, falling to the dirt floor a few stories below.
"Get 'em, Garurumon!"
"Burn him to a crisp, Greymon!"
But it was soon obvious Andromon was too strong for the two Digimon to handle alone.
"Don."
The purple-banded turtle turned his attention to the bug Digimon beside him.
"Enter that program from before. I believe it's the key to my Digivolving."
Don nodded, turning on the laptop and speedily entering the program.
The same thing as before happened, only there was a bright light, and…
"Tentomon, Digivolve to…KABUTERIMON!!"
"…Whoa…COOL…"
Kabuterimon flew down, nearly ramming into Andromon, who dodged, before recovering and flying back up again.
Don saw a strange electrical discharge around Andromon's more human left leg.
"Hit his left leg! It'll disrupt his energy source!"
"Electro Shocker!"
The ball of electricity struck the android's leg, and another Black Gear came out, shattering like glass. Andromon was now back to normal, and everyone was soon surrounding him as he awoke.
He apologized for attacking them, and decided to reconcile.
"I don't know the origins of this place, but I know how to leave. The only exit is through the sewers."
They nodded, and thanked him before heading into the sewer tunnel.
"Donnie, could you use that laptop to make Patamon Digivolve?" Mikey asked, Patamon on his shell.
"Why not?"
Don entered the program, but the laptop shut itself off.
"That's strange…I know I put it in right…"
Elisa smiled thoughtfully, closing the laptop.
"Maybe it's already served its purpose…"
Don blushed lightly, nodding.
'Maybe…but there's still so much I don't know…'