Author's Notes: Sorry for the late update. I had to go out earlier, but here's the next chapter. Also earlier this week, there was news of another Cyber Sleuth game coming out called Hacker's Memory. I'm completely excited for it but also weirded out by the timing of it all. Well... here's hoping they'll localize the PS Vita version... Anyway, the plot advances!
Takumi stood outside the CD shop of Broadway's second floor for a while before bringing a hand up to his face. He finally spotted his friend walking up to him and he greeted her with a smile. He paused though when he noticed she seemed a bit down. "You called for me, Nokia? What is it?"
"I'm sorry for calling you all of a sudden," she apologized. "I hope it wasn't too much of a pain."
"No, it's fine," he reassured her. "Is something wrong?"
"Um…" she lowered her gaze. "There's something I want you to hear. It's… actually…" She brought her hands up over her heart. "I… I just…" She shook her head as she finally worked up her nerve to say it. "I have a case for you!"
"Eh…!?" Takumi blinked at her in surprise.
Kyoko sternly shook her head at her assistant. "So then the client is a friend of yours? We don't get to pick out clients, you know. We have to go with whoever can pay." She turned towards the teenage girl sitting across from her on the client's sofa.
Nokia wore a crooked smile. "No, it's just that I… had something to ask of Takumi, but…"
"That's not how this works," the detective shook her head. "Shiramine Nokia," she began with a cross of her arms, "your friend here is a professional sleuth earning a paying wage for his work."
"Not really…" Takumi crookedly smiled. "You're only paying for my rent…" He shook his head. "I mean… it was supposed to be room and board, but… your taste in food is just as amazing as your taste in coffee," he nervously chuckled
Kyoko selectively ignored him as she continued speaking to Nokia. "The only way to ask something of a professional is to pay a professional rate for a case. Also, Takumi is my assistant. A case for my assistant is a case for me. Do I make myself clear?" her eyes flashed as a dangerous smirk appeared on her face.
"Whoa…" Nokia tensed up. "Perfectly clear," the girl nervously nodded. "I didn't think it would be such a big deal," she wryly flashed Takumi a smirk as she had not been expecting the detective to be so business-minded.
"I warned you, didn't I?" the boy shrugged.
"Well, what kind of case is it?" Kyoko asked.
"Oh, right," Nokia looked back to the woman. "Actually, I want Takumi to look for some Digimon."
"Oh? Digimon?" The detective didn't seem to be expecting a request like this.
The girl cast her aquamarine eyes towards Takumi. "You remember, right? The Digimon that helped me in Cron. Agumon and Gabumon. That's all I want you to do," she began to plead to him. "No matter what else happens. No matter what! I'm really worried about them!" She frowned at herself. "But it's too dangerous for me to go searching around Cron all by myself and I'm scared. So please!" she closed her eyes. "Help me!"
"Nokia…" Takumi gave her a sympathetic frown.
"It's a request—I mean, a case for you," Nokia said, knitting her eyebrows together.
"Her attachment is interesting," Kyoko chuckled. "It's almost as great as yours," she nodded at her assistant.
Takumi sheepishly smiled at that and shrugged. "Well… given my circumstances…"
"Well, she asked for you specifically," Kyoko seriously stated. "I'm inclined to leave it to you. What do you say?"
"Of course I accept," the boy adamantly nodded. "I'm a Cyber Sleuth after all."
"Really?" Nokia brightened at hearing his answer. "You'll help me? Yes!"
"Hmm," Kyoko proudly nodded to her assistant. "If you've taken on this job, be sure to see it through to the end. It'll reflect on the agency's reputation. She'll probably be good advertising for us."
"Kyoko-san…!" Takumi frowned at his employer's intentions. "Is that what you're really thinking about at a time like this?"
Nokia didn't seem to mind though. "Okay, for starters, I want to go back to where we logged out before," she said as she got to her feet. "There's a lot I need to prepare too, so let's meet in Cron, okay?"
"Sure, at Galacta Park. Just like before," Takumi nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you later, then," the girl started for the door. "But don't be late this time, all right?"
As soon as she left, Kyoko let out an amused chuckle. "From missing persons to missing Digimon. Perfect cases for a Cyber Sleuth, no?"
"I guess," Takumi shrugged.
The detective chuckled as she returned to her desk. "Excellent. Get started with your investigation."
The detective's assistant nodded before noticing something different about the blonde woman. "You seem to be in a good mood today," he noted aloud.
"What's that? I seem happier than usual?" Kyoko turned to look at him. "If it's that obvious, I won't deny it," she smirked. "But, to be honest…" she brought her hand up to her mouth. "I'm a little perplexed by this offbeat case. Hunting for Digimon… People are totally careless when it comes to their affections, be they real or digital. It doesn't make any difference."
"I suppose…" Takumi frowned. "But that's what it means to be human."
The detective nodded in agreement. "This is going to be very interesting," she laughed to herself.
"Just what are you thinking of now?" her assistant wondered aloud. He shook his head though as he had work to do. "Well, if that's all, I'll be going."
Kyoko saw him off with a smirk. "Friend or not, a case is a case. Don't slack off."
Takumi frowned when he saw two hooded hackers approaching Nokia. He increased his pace and hurried over to her to make sure she wouldn't get herself into trouble.
"Hang on!" Nokia glared at the two Zaxon hackers. "What is it with you guys? Do you want something from me?"
One thug, wearing a blue vest, chuckled at her. "You got a nice one, don't ya?" he asked.
"What?" the girl blinked at him in confusion. "What do you mean 'a nice one'?"
The hacker's friend, wearing an orange vest, smirked. "Hey, you're gonna make us come out and say it? We're Zaxon hackers. You can figure out that much by yourself, right?" He shook his head. "You're not a kid, after all."
"Not a kid?" Nokia knit her eyebrows together in confusion. "What?" She frantically shook her head. "You're kidding me! Whoa, h-hey, hang on! Could you not stare at me like that? It's giving me the creeps!"
"What?" both hackers backed up from her in confusion.
"Wait, this…" the girl's face went red. "This isn't what flirting is supposed to be, is it? Ick! No way!" She shook her head in disgust. "Ew, ew, ew!"
The blue-vested hacker shook his head. "Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Nokia!" Takumi called out to her.
Nokia shrieked a little as he surprised her. "Hang on. Takumi?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Where were you!? You're late! And because you were late, look at this situation I'm in!" she pointed at the two hackers frowning at her with lost expressions on their faces. "They've got me dead-to-rights here! Who knows what they'll do to me?"
The orange-vested hacker shook his head. "What the hell are you talking about? And who the hell are you?" he glared at Takumi. "A friend of hers?"
"I'm also a Cyber Sleuth, so I would think twice about hacking our accounts if I were you," Takumi warned.
"Oh-ho!" the delinquent hacker looked the teen over. "You want to get into it? All righty, then," he shrugged. "I'll rip the two of you apart, real simple!"
The blue-vested thug laughed. "Your accounts, now!"
"Gazimon Claw!"
Takumi's eyes widened as he quickly pushed Nokia out of the way of a grey Digimon he's never encountered before. "Look out!" he cried as the Digimon jammed its long claws into the ground.
Nokia screamed when a black wolf suddenly appeared before her. "What…!?"
"Garurumon (Black), guard Nokia!" Takumi ordered as he sensed there was another Digimon about to attack them. "There's a PicoDevimon at your five!"
The large Digimon snarled as he quickly turned to pounce on the flying bat-like Digimon. "Freeze Fang!" he yelled as he bit into the small Digimon.
Takumi quickly scanned the field for the first Digimon, but frowned when his Digivice couldn't pick up its signal. It did manage to analyze it though so Takumi quickly rotated his team in preparation for the Gazimon. "Yukidarumon! Galgomon! On your guards!" Positioning himself between both Vaccine Digimon, he rapidly searched the park and noticed the ground partially flicker. Did it hide underground?
The orange-vested hacker crossed his arms and smirked at the red-haired sleuth. "Alright, Gazimon! Take them down in your Pitfall!"
"Garurumon (Black)!" Takumi called out.
His Digimon quickly grabbed Nokia and jumped to safety before the ground could collapse beneath them. Nokia quickly shook her head in protest. "H-hey! Wait! Takumi!"
The Cyber Sleuth carefully balanced himself on the unstable ground and used himself to lure out the Gazimon. The feline rabbit jumped out with a fierce growl. "Gazimon Claw!"
Takumi swiftly dodged out of the way and called out to his other two Digimon. "Let's go!"
"Dum Dum Upper!"
"Zettai Reido Punch!"
The Gazimon was knocked out of the pit and landed at his hacker's feet. "Aw, nuts!" the thug cried out, recalling his fallen Digimon. "We won't forget this!"
Takumi climbed out of the pitfall and watched as both hackers ran away. He smiled at his Digimon and thanked them for a job well done before turning towards Nokia. "Are you okay?" He frowned as he looked back towards the direction they two boys disappeared off to. "I didn't expect Zaxon hackers to still be out doing account raids…"
"Oh, man!" Nokia crossed her arms. "What's a Zaxon? Are all hackers like that? Coming on to you suddenly? Looking at you luridly? Going after you all lustfully like that?"
"H-huh…?" the Cyber Sleuth frowned at her in confusion.
"They really suck!" the girl stomped her foot. "Doesn't matter how much I'm rockin' this bod," she posed.
"They weren't coming on to you," Takumi tried to explain. "They were trying to hack your account just now."
"Huh?" Nokia blinked at him, not understanding. "What about just now? They weren't flirting with me? They were account raiders?"
"Exactly," the redhead nodded.
"Account raiders, huh?" Nokia frowned. "Like the kind you hear about on the news? I guess I remember hearing that there's a lot of that going around in Cron. So that means…" she nervously looked around them, "that there are a lot of hackers like the ones we just ran into?"
"That's right," Takumi stated, glad she was beginning to understand.
"In other words, my…" the girl shakily began, "my virtue was at risk?"
Takumi groaned. "Like I said, they weren't flirting…"
"Oh, my!" Nokia clung onto his arm. "Takumi! Y-y-you'll keep me safe, right? Pleeeease!?" she begged.
"Well, of course," he nodded. Seeing that she was still a bit uncomfortable being in Cron, Takumi placed his hands at his hips and gave her a bold smile. "Don't worry, Nokia. I'll protect you!"
"Don't tell me…" the girl backed away from him. "You're hitting on me now?"
"Who knows?" he laughed as he started off without her.
Both teens searched the abandoned logout point. Takumi shook his head as there was still no sign of Agumon and Gabumon from the last time he was here. It was a bit worrying though as this was where they previously saw them. Maybe that monster really did get them? Takumi quickly dismissed such thoughts before returning to Nokia's side. "Any sign of them?"
Nokia frowned and shook her head. "I guess they're not on level one…" She quickly cheered herself up though and decided to check somewhere else. "Well, no problem! We'll just keep going!"
Takumi nodded as he led her back to the lift. "Going up," he grinned. "Watch your step, Nokia," he warned her. "The Digimon here are a bit tougher than the first levels."
"So… this is Cron's second level?" Nokia asked looking around. "Seems like the security level is higher here…" she nodded. "I'm counting on you, okay?"
"Sure," the Cyber Sleuth smiled as he took the lead. He pet Garurumon (Black)'s side and Nokia curiously watched the rest of his Digimon obediently follow behind her.
"Hey, Takumi?"
"Hm?" the boy looked back at her but kept continuing forward.
"Even though you're a hacker, you don't really do any of that illegal stuff, right?"
"Eh?" Takumi stopped before blinked at her in surprise. "Why would you ask me that? Of course, I don't." He fondly smiled at Garurumon (Black) and the wolf affectionately nuzzled the boy with his snout. "Besides, I can't really go around committing crimes if I'm a Cyber Sleuth."
"That's right," Nokia crossed her arms and crookedly smirked at her friend. "You're a 'Cyber Sleuth'… I still don't really get it. Aren't you just a normal detective's assistant?"
"I wouldn't say 'normal'," he chuckled in response.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Takumi paused and stared at her seriously. "Oh, never mind," he shook his head. "I probably shouldn't say anything."
"What?" Nokia frowned at him. "Hey, we're best friends, aren't we? We always tell each other everything! Tell me, tell me, tell me! What's the big secret?"
The Cyber Sleuth studied her for a moment before giving her a trusting smile. "Well, because it's you, sure. So do you remember that monster thing we faced in Cron?" he asked as they started walking again.
"Y-yeah…" the girl wore an uncertain grin.
"I don't know what happened but after you and Arata logged out, I tried to follow you guys. It must have gotten me just as I logged out, but now, I have a half-cyber body while my actual body is in the hospital."
"What!?" Nokia shook her head in disbelief. "But you're right here in front of me! How are you going to get your body back?"
"I'm not sure," Takumi shrugged. "That's why I'm working for Kyoko-san. In exchange for her taking on my case, I'm to be her assistant."
"Oh…" the girl frowned at him. "So that's it…"
"It's not so bad," the boy quickly shook his head and smiled. "It's actually a lot of fun! Besides, Kyoko-san really thinks I can become a specialist in cyber crime thanks to my ability to Connect Jump."
"Connect… Jump?"
Takumi nodded. "I can directly connect into any digital network with this body," he told her.
"Huh…" Nokia smiled at him. "Well, I guess you seem fine with it."
"Of course I am," her friend cheerfully laughed. "Anyway," he noticed they reached the end of Cron's second level, "it's time I got back to work."
The red-haired girl blinked as she looked around the area. "Not on level two either?" she sighed. "Then… nothing else to do but level three… Yay," she weakly cheered.
"Come on," Takumi chuckled. "We'll find them for sure. We can't give up just yet."
Nokia frowned when they accessed the third level of Cron. She cautiously took a look of their surroundings before stopping. Takumi paused too and turned to give her a questioning glance. The girl shook her head at him. "Hey, do you come to Cron often?" she asked him.
"Often enough," he replied, "but I've never been on this level before."
"I was thinking earlier…" Nokia frowned. "Cron has this sort of dangerous vibe to it. How can I put it? It's just weird or something. The one thing that really struck me after coming here was how dangerous hackers really are," she said with a nervous smile. "I'm so glad you came along when you did."
Takumi smirked back. "Well, it is my job to—"
"Ack, whoa!" the girl cried out of nowhere.
"Huh? What is it!?" Takumi whirled around, prepared to have his Digimon attack whatever it was and protect them.
"Yikes, did you see something over there just now?" She haphazardly pointed in multiple directions, confusing the boy. "You saw it, right? You had to have seen it! I just caught a glimpse of it, but it was there!"
"I… didn't see anything…" he sighed as he took a good look around him.
"Don't tell me there was nothing there!" Nokia glared at him. "It was absolutely there! I swear I'm not lying!"
"I'm not saying you're lying," Takumi shook his head. "I'm just saying I didn't see it."
"It was there!"
"Okay, but I—"
"I saw it!"
Takumi closed his eyes and groaned. He took in a deep breath before opening his eyes again. "Where did it go?" he asked with a sigh.
Nokia looked around and pointed at a spot further back. "So I was over there and it was there. Wait…" she paused as she walked to another spot. "No, I was here and it was there, right?"
The boy smacked his palm to his forehead. "Nokia… what did it look like?"
"What?" she blinked at him. "Well, I… It was just for a second, so I don't know the size or shape, but, but…" She flashed the boy a wry grin. "I was so scared I guess I plum forgot," she let out a sheepish laugh.
"Eh…" Takumi stared at her in disbelief. Did she just make herself forget?
"Hey, come on," Nokia nervously smiled. "Don't give me that look. I don't need your pity." She shook her head. "But really! I really saw it! Or… I mean I'm pretty sure I did…" With each passing second, she became more and more unsure of herself. "Did I really just imagine it?"
Well, I believed her but… Takumi sighed. "I didn't see anything," he repeated himself.
"Well, let's just say it was nothing, then," Nokia stated. "If you're willing to go with me on that!"
"Sure…" As he turned away from her, he closed his eyes and shook his head. You completely missed the point, but okay…
"Yes, I totally overreacted," Nokia frowned. "I'm sorry for causing a commotion."
"It's fine, Nokia," Takumi flashed her a reassuring smile. "Just keep calm and we'll find them."
Takumi crossed his arms when he saw a hacker standing in the way in the path leading deeper into the area. He paused when Nokia walked straight past him to speak with said hacker. "Nokia! H-hey!"
"Uh, hi, hi!" the girl crookedly smiled at the capped hacker. "If I could just… scooch past," she giggled. "Thanks!"
The man shushed her. "I'm trying to focus!"
Seeing the man wasn't dangerous, Takumi decided to relax. "What's wrong?"
"I've been working on solving this puzzle for ages," the man explained. "Aaaaages… I'm so close."
"Uh… Sure…" Nokia crossed her arms. "That's totally healthy. What's the puzzle, anyhow?"
"One of the most troubling ones of our time: How…" the man paused for dramatic effect, "do I get a girlfriend?"
"That's it?" Takumi asked.
"Oh…" Nokia frowned. "OH! Yeah, well, that's tough." She tried to sneak past the hacker again. "I kinda totally gotta go though and—"
"It's more than tough!" the hacker cried. "It's ridiculous! I'm almost thirty and have freakin' no one! You don't know my pain. You'll never know my pain… Just… let me alone with my sorrow," he sobbed. "One day. One day I will find my way… to a super-hot chick!"
Nokia backed away from him and returned to Takumi's side. "Well… that guy's got some core problems that need working out, but I think we need to focus on finding Agumon and Gabumon."
"Why don't you agree to go out with him so he'll get out of the way?" Takumi jokingly asked. "Ow!" He winced as the girl hit him. "Either way, he's not going to move unless we do something."
The girl looked at the man with a strange mixture of pity and disgust. The man frowned at the teens pleadingly before Nokia caved. "Fine… Fine, fine, fine! I'll help. Let's go around asking for advice or something." She frowned at the older hacker. "Stay around Cron though. It's already crazy enough as it is, I don't wanna have to go hunting around for you."
"I still think it'd be easier for us if you went out with him," Takumi chuckled as he ducked Nokia's fist.
Takumi paused as he saw two hackers talking. "Hey, how'd you meet your girl?" the first hacker asked his friend. "She is… Wow…"
The second hacker rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. "Come on. Let's talk about something else. It's kinda embarrassing." He sighed when his friend wouldn't let up. "We…" he began with a weak chuckle, "we met through our Digimon. See, we both had the same one and… Well, it just happened."
"Wait for real?" his friend blinked. "Digimon'll get you some chicks!?"
"Digimon…?" The eavesdropping redhead crossed his arms. Takumi shook his head to himself before walking away. He looked around Cron and noticed Nokia was harassing a hacker on how to score girls.
"Hot friends!" she ecstatically nodded. "Got it!"
Takumi returned to her side and patted the Digimon he had assigned to guard her. "Are you ready, Nokia?"
"Mm-hmm!" the girl brightly nodded. "I've got tons of good info!"
The pair returned to the hacker obstructing their path but Takumi noticed he was intently glaring at empty space. "Um…" the boy began. "Excuse me?"
"I told you. Don't talk to me!" the man shushed him. "I've almost figured it out… almost…!"
"Still trying to figure out how to try to get a girlfriend?" the redhead sighed.
"Yes—exactly! How DO I get a girlfriend?" the man nodded. "That's what I want to know more than anything! What do I do…? What do I dooo?" he wailed.
Nokia brightly came up with a suggestion. "A speed dating mixer!"
"Huh?" the man blinked at her. "I should try speed dating?"
"Yup!" she nodded. "It's all about what happens after the speed date. Whether it's a hook-up or a flop is up to you!"
"N-no," the hacker groaned. "Why would you even say that? I need a pure, simple love… Something as trashy as speed dating would never do the trick!"
"You can at least try to smile!" the girl scolded him. She quickly flashed him her biggest grin. "A cheery smile is number one!"
"Huh? I should just try smiling? Like this…?" the man tried to mimic her smile. "Cheeeeese?"
Nokia's smirk fell as she looked away from the man. "Well, not in every case…"
"You just looked at my face and thought I looked creepy!" the man complained. "Ugh, I knew this was wrong…"
"Then why don't you get a friend to introduce you to someone hot!" Nokia said with a certain nod.
The man gave her a deadpan frown. "I have no friends…"
"Well, I'm trying to help you here, you—"
"Nokia," Takumi cut in, "don't you think you're both going about this all the wrong way?" The two looked at him strangely.
"What do you mean?" Nokia frowned.
"You need to start somewhere when building a relationship, so what better place than a shared hobby or interest?" the Cyber Sleuth explained. "I overheard a hacker talking about how he met his girlfriend through their interest in Digimon. The two of them were raising the same breed of Digimon and that's how they met. It was a sign that they had something in common, right?"
"Digimon?" the man blinked at the boy's profound wisdom. "A shared interest in Digimon can create a lasting bond with a woman?"
"That's not what I—"
"That… that… that's it!" the man jumped up with a laugh. "That is how I can find a real, true love!" He raised an arm to the air triumphantly. "I'm going to go capture all of the Digimon!"
"W-what!?" Takumi's eyes widened. "H-hey! You seriously missed the whole—"
The hacker warmly grabbed the boy's hand and shook it. "This is all thanks to you. Prepare yourself, Digimon!"
Takumi frowned to himself as he watched the man happily take off. "Hopefully he'll be a good tamer or else I'll have to deal with both him and Mirei-san…" he sighed. He shook his head as that was a problem for another day. "At least the path is open now," he smiled. "Let's go, Nokia."
Nokia stopped walking as a thought came to her. "Oh yeah… Those two—the Digimon you helped told me something," she said, looking up towards Takumi with a gentle smile on her face. "They said that I smelled reassuring and familiar." Takumi blinked at her oddly and the girl shook her head as she didn't understand it either. "I wonder what that meant. Could it mean that I met them once before?"
"Reassuring and familiar?" the boy repeated as he leaned his face closer to Nokia.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Nokia asked him in surprise. "Why are you bringing your nose so close?"
"I'm curious as to what they smelled from you…" Takumi straightened up and frowned as he didn't notice anything strange.
"You were checking what I smelled like? Huh…" Nokia crossed her arms. "And? What did you smell?"
"A faintly sweet fragrance mixed with a vaguely sour smell," the Cyber Sleuth concluded.
"I see…" Nokia cautiously backed away from the odd boy. "Yeah… that's it…" She shook her head and looked further down the path. "You still haven't checked over there yet, right?"
"Not yet," Takumi shook his head. The two paused though when a familiar voice cried out.
"Hey! What are you doing?" the voice asked in panic.
"Knock it off!" another voice whimpered.
"Huh!?" Nokia tensed up. "Did you hear that voice?" she asked Takumi. "This time you really heard it, right?"
"Of course!" Takumi readied his goggles. "It sounds like Agumon and Gabumon are in trouble."
"That voice… It has to be!" the girl nodded as she let him take the lead.
Nokia spotted the two Digimon being harassed by a pair of hackers wearing Zaxon vests. "I knew it!" she cried out. "It's my little Digimon pals! They must be in danger! Let's hurry!"
Takumi nodded to his team. "Everyone! Let's go!"
"Hooold on a second!" Nokia called out to the hackers. "What are you doing to those critters?"
Agumon and Gabumon brightened as soon as they saw her. "Nokia!?"
"Huh?" a blue-vested hacker turned around. He frowned at the two red-haired teens before speaking in a thick accent. "What're you gonna do about it? We found these things fair and square. That means we can do whatever we want with 'em. You got a problem with that?"
"As a matter of fact," Nokia glared at him, "I DO have a problem with it!" Her tiny body began to shake. "In fact, I've got nothing BUT problems! Are you ready for me, punks?
"Nokia…!?" Takumi looked at her in surprise.
"Nokia, you're so cool!" Agumon cheered her on.
"H-hey, don't encourage her!" Takumi shook his head.
A green-vested hacker crossed his arms as he looked Nokia over. "Oh really now? And what are you gonna do about these problems, hmmm? You know, you're almost my type, too," he smirked.
Nokia let out a shriek before and the first hacker immediately took advantage of her weakness. "What could you possibly do? We're Zaxon hackers!" Takumi narrowed his gaze on the two as they didn't seem like the type of hackers Yuugo would approve of. "Cross us and there's a thousand ways you'll live to regret it."
Nokia let out a shuddering breath and the green-vested hacker quickly picked up on her fear. "You talk big, but your body is telling another story," he laughed. "You're shaking like a leaf, ain't ya? Yeah," he nodded approvingly. "You really are my type, aren't you, hon?"
"You're barking up the wrong tree!" Nokia managed to stammer. "I've got a problem, but what's more…" she quickly pushed Takumi in front of her. "My friend has a problem with you! Ain't that right, Takumi?"
"Eh!?" Takumi blinked when he was suddenly shoved towards the hackers. The two hackers gave him confused frowns and Takumi closed his eyes. After a deep breath, he opened them again and nodded. "Of course I do if they plan to abuse the Digimon!"
"What was it you said? 'Don't worry, my dear Nokia! You leave those Zaxon thugs to me'!" Nokia smirked.
"Well, it is my job to protect you…" Takumi shrugged.
"Y-yes, well said, Takumi! You are truly worthy of being my pupil! Now, time to put those words into action!" she cheered him on.
Gabumon frowned at her. "Nokia, you're maybe not so cool after all."
The dangerous hacker in blue looked Takumi over. "What is this? Is it some kind of joke?" he laughed.
Takumi smirked at him as the Digimon behind him tensed up for battle. "Just wait until you hear the punch line."
The hacker shook his head. "I'm getting sick of this. We'll shred you both. We'll take your accounts and then rip you up." He called out two Digimon and Takumi quickly scanned them.
"Goburimon and BlackTailmon… Both Virus types," Takumi nodded. "Galgomon! First strike!"
"Gatling Arm!" the Beast Man Digimon jumped into the air and quickly rained bullets down onto the enemy.
"Living Shield!" Goburimon quickly protected himself with a magical wall.
Unfortunately for the BlackTailmon, it couldn't evade the attack in time and was quickly taken out. The Digimon's hacker shook his head in disbelief. "N-no way! There's a hacker this strong outside of Zaxon?" He grit his teeth and yelled out new commands to the other Digimon. "Rush them with your club!"
Goburimon let out a roar and started running towards Takumi's Garurumon (Black). The redhead shook his head as he quickly called out a counter. "Wolf Cry!" The wolf howled, stunning the Virus Digimon with a powerful shockwave. "Yukidarumon! Go!"
"Zettai Reido Punch!" the large snowman sent Goburimon flying into his tamer, ending the battle.
Takumi smirked at the results. "So how's that for a joke?"
Nokia stared at the Cyber Sleuth in amazement. "Wow! Y-you were really something just there! I have nothing further to teach you, my pupil."
"I'll take that as praise then," the other teen smiled, placing his hands on his hips.
"But enough of that for now!" Nokia exclaimed turning on the two hackers. "We gotta get to the Digimon!"
"Yeah!" the Cyber Sleuth nodded. He was about to take a step forward when a voice began speaking from behind him.
"Non, non, non… You kids… don't rock!"
"Huh?" Nokia blinked as she thought she recognized the voice from somewhere.
"That voice!" one of the hackers cried out.
"It's Jimiken-san!" his friend nodded in surprise.
"What? Jimiken?" the girl was taken aback. "THE Jimiken?"
"Jimiken…?" Takumi turned to see what the fuss was about.
A man with long wavy black hair and painted face rolled in while playing the air guitar. "Yeow!" he cried out. "I. Am. JIMIKEN! Yahooo!"
"Eh…? Jimiken is a clown?" the Cyber Sleuth stared at the strange man.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jimiken shook his head as he studied the two defeated hackers. "HEY, HEY, HEY! You kids, you aren't rad at all! What happened to make you so un-hip? Tell me, please, like as soon as poss!"
"So sorry, Jimikien-san!" the green-vested hacker apologized. He quickly pointed over to Nokia. "That girl's totally my type and she stole my heart."
"Wow! An excuse!" Jimiken shook his head. "Totally not rockin'. So far from rock 'n' roll! Right?" He paused for a moment. "If I had to choose lyrics to suit you… 'Inside out, you worthless lout, even the heavens are gonna give up on you!' It's perfect for you, makes me wanna puke," he said, crossing his arms into an 'X' in front of his chest. "Are you feeling me?"
"We feel you!" the blue-vested hacker nodded with a smile.
"Well, then. Ooo-kay!" Jimiken exclaimed with a satisfied smirk. He next focused his attention onto the two teens staring at him. One had a blank expression on his face, while the other wore one of horror. "Now then, you two. You little fools took a hand to these punks?"
Nokia slowly found her voice. "But why, Jimiken, why?"
"A foolish question, that," Jimiken said, bringing a hand up to his forehead. "Very foolish! So foolish, it rox my soxx! I maybe be a superstar! Ooh! But I have one more face! Oooooh!"
"What?" Nokia frowned at him, slightly confused.
"To the world I am a superstar!" he explained. "But behind the scenes, I'm a top-ranking member of the Zaxon hacker team! What do you think of that?" he sternly gazed at them as he flashed them hand horns.
"Ah…" Takumi frowned, crossing his arms. "I figured Yuugo wouldn't be able to handle a team that large on his own… So you're an admin…"
"It rocks!" the blue-vested hacker fist-pumped. "It's the devil's rock 'n' roll!"
"Yeah, baby!" Jimiken exclaimed. He shook his head though as it seemed the two red-haired teens didn't understand his vision. "But you two! Why give them a hard time over a little thing like Digimon? It's kinda rad but…" he chuckled.
"If you're going to misuse Digimon, it's my job as Cyber Sleuth to intervene," Takumi seriously stated.
"You're kidding, right?" Jimiken sneered at him. "You've gotta be joking. Wait, could you two possibly be…" he chuckled and brought his hand up to his face, "folks who like to say pets are family?"
"There's nothing wrong with that," the Cyber Sleuth shook his head.
"You want to save the world with love?" the singer shook his head at him. "Folksy people like that are still around, I guess. Are you feeling me?"
"Not really," Takumi blinked at him.
"Just knock it off," Nokia shook her head at the rock star. "My MP is way down. It's been at zero for a while." She turned to her friend with a look of broken disappointment on her face. "To think of all my hard-earned money, wasted. Ohhh, I wanna just curl up and die."
"What?" Jimiken frowned at her. "Wasted money on me? You want a fight with me? It's not rock if I don't answer your challenge! My style is to go easy on no one, even scum."
"You're rockin' it too much, Jimiken!" one of the hackers stated in awe of the singer.
"Yee-hawww!" the other hacker fist-pumped. "Knock 'em sideways, Jimiken!"
"Whoa!" Nokia froze up.
Gabumon looked up at her in curious concern. "Nokia is really out of it. What happened to her?"
"Let's try cheering her on," Agumon suggested. "Uh, go for it, Nokia!"
"Sorry… Agumon… Gabumon…" the girl turned to them with an apologetic smile. "I can't… keep… going… There's no way I can stand up to his Dream Crush attack."
Takumi looked back towards her with a crooked smirk on his face. "Dream… Crush…?"
Jimiken let out an ecstatic cry. "I found a weakness!" he cried out as he began to air guitar. His Digimon appeared behind him and rushed towards the girl.
Sensing the incoming attack, Takumi immediately called out for his team to intercept the attacks. Galgomon, Yukidarumon, and Garurumon (Black) protected Nokia just in time, but the attacks of the enemy had been more powerful than they had anticipated. "Ah! Everyone!"
Jimiken let out a wild laugh. "Devimon! Death Claw!"
The dark demon Digimon smiled as he reached his hand out to puncture Garurumon (Black)'s body. Takumi shook his head. "Galgomon!"
"Dum Dum Upper!" The Vaccine Digimon slammed his Gatling arm into Devimon's hand, pushing it away.
Takumi's eyes darted to the two flaming Digimon flanking Devimon and saw them both simultaneously prepare an attack. His eyes widened as his Digivice notified him that they were Data types. "Yukidarumon! Switch out!"
"Crimson Flame!" both fiery humanoids roared.
"Foxfire!"
"Exhaust Flame!"
"Ah! Meramon!" Jimiken was surprised by Growmon's sudden appearance. The red dinosaur roared as he aided Garurumon (Black) in countering Meramon's flames. The rock star frowned when both Viruses charged straight into his Digimon.
"Keep it up, Galgomon!" Takumi called out to the Vaccine Digimon.
"Dum Dum Upper!" Galgomon struck Devimon square in the jaw before jumping backwards. "Gatling Arm!"
"Leather Wing!" Devimon flapped his wings, hoping to blast Galgomon away, but the Beast Man Digimon spread his ears, using them as pseudo-wings to adjust his position in the air. "Hell Contract!" A string of strange letters appeared and wrapped themselves around Galgomon, confusing him.
Takumi flinched when his own Digimon began firing at Garurumon (Black). "Galgomon, snap out of it!"
Garurumon (Black) snarled at the attack and quickly turned away from the Meramon he had been fighting. He quickly lunged at Devimon and opened his mouth wide. "Freeze Fang!"
Devimon growled as he tried to through the wolf off of him. Jimiken frowned but decided to use the mess to his advantage. "Meramon! Finish off that bunny!"
Takumi frowned. "Growmon! Defend him!"
"Burning Fist!" Both Meramon roared.
"Plasma Blade!" Growmon swung his forearm's blade at one Meramon before swinging his tail into the other. "Dragon Spine!"
"Foxfire!" Garurumon (Black) continued to distract Devimon while Takumi took the time to approach Galgomon.
He took out a recovery ship and applied it on his Digimon. "Alright, you're set! Growmon! Garurumon (Black)! Round them up! Xros Combo!"
Growmon roared as he lifted both Meramon and tossed them towards Devimon. He opened his mouth and took in a deep breath. "Fire Blaster!"
Garurumon (Black) jumped into the air. "Ice Cannon!"
"Gatling Arm!" Galgomon took aim and fired.
Jimiken watched as his three Digimon collapsed, unable to get back up. He nervously laughed and shook his head. "What's this? These Digimon are useless! They're too lame! This doesn't rock!"
"It's not the Digimon's fault!" Nokia glared at him as she noticed that throughout the battle, Takumi's Digimon seemed more willing to respond and react to his orders than Jimiken's. "You're the lame one!"
"Whoa! The fury of the flowerbed!" Jimiken backed away from her. "So ya know, I ain't even gotten serious yet!"
"Oh? An encore?" Takumi smirked as he prepared his Digimon for another round.
"Was that a prelude? Or were we just tuning up?" Jimiken smirked at him. "Well, I've got a more powerful Digimon next. It's sure to get you headbanging, ya heard?"
"It doesn't matter," the redhead smirked back. "I'll make it so you won't get a standing ovation."
Jimiken readied his Digivice, but a voice suddenly called out to both battling hackers. "Enough. Stop this now."
Takumi turned towards whoever it was and blinked in surprise. "Yuugo!" He frowned though as there was a strange girl following the Zaxon leader. I've never met her before…
The two hackers following Jimiken tensed up in fear. "Yikes!"
"Oh, this ain't good!"
They quickly ran away, leaving Jimiken to face their leader on his own. The man didn't seem too fazed though as he smirked at the light-haired boy. "Hey, hey, hey! What a coincidence, running into you here like this," he chuckled, "leader of Team Zaxon, Yuugo-san."
"Huh?" Nokia looked at the stoic boy in surprise.
Yuugo placed his right hand on his hip and shook his head at Jimiken. "No more of this high-handed foolishness. Your style has led the group too far astray."
"What?" Jimiken laughed at the boy's serious tone. "You might be the team leader, but you think you can just tell me what to do when I'm your buddy and one of your top dawgs? You lording your power over me? Forcing your hand?"
The girl beside Yuugo narrowed her eyes on him, but Yuugo shook his head at her. The powerful hacker coolly stared at Jimiken. "Zaxon's rules must never be broken," he calmly stated.
"Rules?" the man mockingly repeated. "Those have long gone by the wayside, baby! Of course," he laughed, "it was me who got rid of most of them. Rock 'n' rooooolllll!"
The strange girl crossed her arms and frowned at the man's flagrant disrespect. "This is how y'all are gonna talk to yer leader?"
"Oh, look, Fei-sama has come all this way," Jimiken shrugged. "For little ol' me, eh?"
"I'll say this one more time," Yuugo calmly spoke. "Zaxon's rules—"
Jimiken broke out into laughter. "You're kidding, right? You big kidder, you! It's a rockin' joke. I'm tellin' you! Super hacker Yuugo-san's gonna set me straight? No way! No way, no how!" He shook his head at the boy. "You're gonna ice me for real? Have your 'lover' there do it for you, I suppose?"
Fei chuckled at that. Takumi noticed she seemed to be looking forward to being rid of the foolish man, but he said nothing as he watched the power struggle continue to unfold before him.
"It's allll a big joke!" Jimiken exclaimed. "Just a joke! Like, why so serious, amirite?" He shook his head as he had enough of all this. "All right. I'm gonna jet here in a bit. I've got shows and gigs and all that to do! Buh-byyye!" He ran off with a cackling laugh.
Yuugo and Takumi both closed their eyes and took a deep breath. Takumi quickly opened his first though when he sensed Fei coming towards him and Nokia. The brunette frowned at them both. "So, uh, how long are y'all gonna just stand there lookin' stupid?"
"What?" Nokia wryly smiled at her.
Takumi raised an eyebrow at her. "So you're another admin of Zaxon?" he guessed.
Fei didn't answer his question as she continued to study them. "I don't know what hacker group y'all're in, but we'll overlook this for now. Go on, now. Git."
"What?" Nokia crossed her arms.
Fei looked over towards Agumon and Gabumon and smiled at them. "Hey, look at the sweet Digimon! Can I have 'em?" She started towards them, but Nokia quickly ran forward to protect her two friends.
"You think you can just show up and say that?" she defiantly asked. "As if! I'm not giving them to you!"
"Nokia!" Takumi ran in between the girls. "This isn't a fight you should be getting yourself into!"
Fei curiously looked the boy over. "Really? You wanna have a go with me, precious?"
The Cyber Sleuth shook his head. "I'd rather not since I have no reason to, but I will if I have to," he calmly stated.
"Ain't that just fine and dandy!" she smirked. "Makes me all warm and fuzzy! I'll take right good care of y'all."
"Enough, Fei," Yuugo finally spoke. "This is a pointless argument. Let's go."
Takumi relaxed as at least Yuugo understood the situation. "Yuugo…"
The light-haired boy didn't respond as he walked away. Fei turned towards him and frowned. "Aww, shucks. And I was just feelin' purdy good about it, too." She shook her head before looking back towards Takumi and Nokia. "We'll probably have the chance to meet all y'all again sometime, so don't forget us, hear?" She narrowed her eyes on Nokia. "I know I ain't forgettin' that face! See y'all later!"
"Who the heck was that?" Nokia asked with a glare. She growled a bit before she noticed Agumon jumping behind her.
"Hooray, it's Nokia!" he cried out. "Nokia came for us!"
"Thank you for saving us!" Gabumon bowed to her.
Nokia frowned at that and sheepishly looked over towards Takumi. "Oh, I didn't do anything. If you want to thank someone, thank Takumi." She pushed her friend forward.
"Eh?" the redhead blinked in surprise.
"Both Digimon gratefully smiled at him. "Thank you!"
Takumi smiled back at that and nodded. "No problem. I'm just glad things worked out."
"Even still," Nokia frowned, "this place gives me the creeps. Let's get out of here for now."
Nokia let out a sigh of relief when they all returned to Galacta Park. "I feel much better back here, don't you?"
Takumi stared at the decrepit park around them. "If you say so…" he said with a light smirk.
The girl giggled before kneeling before the two Digimon they just rescued. "Aw, Agumon, Gabumon! I'm glad you're okay!"
"But how did you guys end up in Cron's third level?" Takumi asked.
Agumon laughed a bit as Gabumon spoke. "We felt like seeing you again. So we came looking for you! That's when we ran into those scary guys. They chased us off!"
"That was a close one," Agumon sighed. "If they'd captured us, we'd be doomed."
"No kidding," Takumi nodded.
"Um…" Nokia frowned at that. "I don't really understand this very well yet, but… Weren't Digimon like you…? I mean, aren't you programs created by hackers?"
Takumi and the two Digimon blinked at her in surprise. The boy tilted his head to the side. "Eh?"
Agumon stared at her blankly. "You think that we…"
"…were created by humans?" Gabumon finished.
The three began laughing and Nokia stared at them in surprise. "Huh? Wait, what's the deal? Did I say something that you and Digimon find funny?" she asked Takumi.
Gabumon chuckled some more. "She said it, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did! She did!" Agumon nodded. "She said that humans created us!"
"Huh? We didn't?" Nokia asked.
"Nokia, come on!" Agumon began. "Of course you didn't! We're alive same as you, aren't we? Just look at us! It should be obvious."
"Yeah," Takumi nodded. "How else did you think my Digimon get so strong?" the Cyber Sleuth smiled. "It's because our bonds are so powerful that we can't lose."
Nokia smiled at that. "Yeah, well," she nodded to Agumon and Gabumon. "I get that you're alive! Just like we are. Sure!"
"Check this, Nokia," Gabumon began. "We come from a different world than the one you humans know."
"A 'different world'?" The girl was taken aback by this startling fact, but Takumi calmly crossed his arms.
"The Digital World…" he remembered Mirei telling him once.
Gabumon was surprised Takumi already knew about it. "Uh-huh. That's what we call it!"
"The Digital World?" Nokia frowned in confusion.
Takumi brought his gloved hand to his chin and closed his eyes. "What can you tell us about the Digital World?" he asked.
"Normally, the Digital World where Digimon live and the human world aren't connected," Agumon explained. "But something happened and now the two worlds come together from time to time."
"That's why there are so many Digion wandering about, lost in your world," Gabumon nodded. "Those scary guys capture Digimon and force them to do whatever they're ordered to do!"
"We can only exist in digital space," Agumon added. "But nearly all the digital space in the human world was created by humans. That might be why we get mistaken for programs made by humans."
The two Digimon smiled at the humans. "Well? Do you understand?" the simultaneously asked.
"Uh, yes, I do. I see. I think…" Nokia turned towards Takumi as he opened his eyes again. The girl crossed her arms and flashed him a shaky smile. "How about you? Did you follow that?"
"Digimon are inhabitants of the Digital World," Takumi nodded. "And the Digimon we see here, like Agumon and Gabumon, are lost in this world."
"Well," Agumon shook his head, "Me and Gabumon are different. We came to this world of our own free will."
"There's something we need to do here," Gabumon nodded.
"Something you need to do?" Nokia asked. "What would that be?"
Gabumon frowned as he tried to recall their reason for leaving the Digital World. "That would be…" the Digimon fell silent and shook his head.
"Oh? Something you can't talk about?" Nokia nervously smiled. "Could it be maybe… world domination?"
"Th-that's not it," Agumon crossed his arms.
"The truth is… we can't remember," Gabumon admitted.
"Huh?" Nokia stared at them sympathetically.
"Ah…" Takumi pensively nodded. "Another case of amnesiac Digimon… You both lost some memories when coming over to this world, didn't you? You even forget the reason why you came…"
Agumon nodded. "It must have been very important, too."
"What did we come here for?" Gabumon asked.
Takumi sighed when he didn't know enough quite yet to help them. "I'm sorry, you two… I don't think it'll be easy finding that answer."
"Agumon… Gabumon…" Nokia sadly frowned at them. She shook her head and put on a wide smile for them. "It's gonna be okay! Trust me! You'll remember it soon! I'm sure of it! And I can help you! Let's do our best to help each other out until you remember, okay?" she cheerfully grinned.
"Eh?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together at her before chuckling at her infectious energy. "Well, if it's a case about Digimon, I'm in too!" he nodded.
"Nokia!" Gabumon smiled at her.
"Thanks, Nokia!" Agumon nodded. "We'll do our best!" He paused though, before looking up at her in confusion. "So, what should we start doing our best at?"
"Um, right…" Nokia averted her gaze as she tried to come up with somewhere to start. "I kinda figured trying our best would be enough, for starters. Liking running toward a point on the horizon. Like feeling you could do anything with enough energy." She sighed.
Takumi chuckled. "You don't really know, do you, Nokia?"
She shrugged. "Let's start by doing our best to think about what we should do!" she decided.
"Okay, Nokia!" Agumon nodded. "I might not understand this, but I'm willing to do my best now!"
"I'll do my best, too!" Gabumon exclaimed. He suddenly became shy again and lowered his gaze. "So what do you say, Nokia? Can we stay with you?"
Nokia squealed at the two Digimon. "You're so cuuute! Of course you can! Let's be together forever!"
"You do know they'll be a huge responsibility," Takumi reminded her.
She nodded at him before grabbing the two Digimon's hands. "Agumon! Gabumon! Let's be besties from now on!"
"Yeah!" both Digimon cried out.
Takumi laughed at the trio. "Well, good luck, Nokia!" He paused when he sensed his Digivice about to ring. "Kyoko-san?"
Kyoko blinked at him at the odd timing he had. "Hmm. Looks like it's case closed, I guess. Good work out there," she nodded to him. "Normally, we'd go back to the agency, have some coffee, and I'd thank you. But I need you to head directly to Shinjuku."
"Eh? What happened?" Takumi asked.
"A mysterious incident has occurred in Shinjuku. Could you go and give me an eyewitness report?" Kyoko crossed her arms. "And if you could do it before the police arrive on the scene, that would be appreciated."
"Understood," her assistant nodded. "Just leave it to me." He cut the call and wryly smiled at Nokia. "Sorry, but…"
"I heard it all," the girl nodded in understanding. "You have to go right away, right? Thanks, Takumi! Without you, I wouldn't have been able to help my new Digimon pals." She gave him an encouraging smile. "It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate! Good luck in Shinjuku! And I'll do my best too!"
"Right!" Takumi nodded before taking off.
Nokia waved goodbye as her two new Digimon jumped up and down. "Thanks!" they cried. "See you soon!"
Final Notes: Thus marks Nokia's first steps in becoming a Tamer. The first time I played, I didn't really like her. I thought she was annoying and useless since she was always a damsel in distress. Later on towards the latter half of the game, I learned to cope with her. On a second playthrough though, I actually discovered she's actually a well-written character. You can really track her growth throughout the game and towards the end, she really can hold her own alongside Takumi. Really, if Takumi weren't the protagonist, Nokia would be first runner up for that role and it really shows.