13) DarkLizardmon, Darker Intent
"Guilon!", Takato called out: "MetalGarurumon: digimodify!"
"Cocytus Breath!"
Guilmon's latest opponent collapsed, to Takato's relief. This was a tough opponent indeed.
"Why...", the digimon Takato identified as DarkLizardmon started.
"Pyro..."
"Wait!"
"I will live in this world. Let me evolve".
"Stop attacking, you two!", Takato ordered. "It's a misunderstanding!"
Suddenly, bright lights flooded the tunnel. There was the noise of landing choppers.
"Did we do something wrong?", Guilmon asked.
"No. We didn't".
"Should we run?"
Before he could answer, several metal cylinders bounced across the roadway. These began releasing thick fumes that quickly made it next to impossible to see anything.
"Guilmon!", Takato called out.
"Takato!"
Through the fog, Takato saw the digimon they were fighting try to stand, only to fall to the ground, unconscious. Next, through the fog, he saw that man he now knew as Yamaki approaching.
"Digimon Tamer... that's what you call yourselves, I believe. It's fine if you play with cards, but if you insist on playing this dangerous game, your parents will give you a well deserved ass-whipping..."
"It's not a game", Takato began to explain.
"Then what are you doing, boy?"
"There are some dangerous digimon crossing over, and..."
"Like that partner of yours? He's also a digimon, is he not?"
"Guilmon isn't like that! Guilmon is my..."
Takato stopped as he saw that the techs Yamaki brought with him were loading DarkLizardmon onto a stretcher: "What are you gonna do?", he asked.
"I could take that red monster of yours, too", Yamaki threatened.
Takato looked shocked as he heard this. He didn't realize that it was a bluff.
"You're nothing more than a cowardly kid", Yamaki dismissed Takato. They left as quickly as they arrived.
"Takato?", Guilmon asked.
"I have no idea..."
Guilmon's Shed
"Good night, Guilmon"
"'Night, Takato... What should we do? If Yamaki comes..."
"I don't think he knows... I'll have a word with the others... Think of something..."
"Takato?"
"Yes?"
"You want me to get stronger, right? Evolve more?"
"Yeah, I guess so"
"If I do, how will I change?"
"I don't want you to change. I like you the way you are".
"But if I evolve more, what will happen?"
"I don't know! I... don't want you to change!"
"I don't understand", Guilmon said to himself as he watched Takato run off.
Hypnos
"Wild One detected", one of the techs reported.
"Don't bother with the small ones".
"Sir?"
"The Tracer is behaving most strangely", one tech observed to the other.
"It's just circling the Wild One, not going straight for it".
They'd never seen this before" "What could that mean? Is there a bug in the system we haven't seen before?"
One pushed up the visor, that's when she saw it...
"Pika, pika, pika... So big, culu?! So many different voices, culu?! Fun, culu?!"
Calumon looked up at the tech, who smiled back at him.
"So cute!", she said.
They left their stations, to look for what they'd seen: "Huh?', where did it go?", one asked as she bent down to look under an equipment rack.
"Who brought it here, anyway?", the other asked.
"Who?"
"Yeah, who brought that talking doll to work?"
"It was a doll?"
"Don't you pay attention to the commercials? I've seen them advertised. They're quite popular with the kids. Someone must've brought it, either deliberately to play a practical joke, or some kid's gonna be really disappointed when she finds her doll's gone missing at bedtime".
"You're sure that's what it was?"
"What else could it be?"
Yamaki arrived in the subbasement lab. DarkLizardmon was already in a water tank, undergoing ultrasonic scanning. They already had a visual of his skeleton. Next, was to do a scan to increase the resolution to get a better idea of how the internal organs were arranged, and the structure.
"Apparently, all the particles making up that 'fog' or 'mist' that appears whenever a Wild One materializes is made up of virtual protein..."
"Release me, I will live in this world", DarkLizardmon was saying.
"Beings like you are nothing more than programs created by human beings", Yamaki answered. "You're artificial intelligences that only imitate life. And the fact that you appear here in the Material World is just as accident".
"It is true that the main component of their bodies is virtual protein", one tech was explaining his findings,. "However, its molecular structure is very fragile. We haven't determined if this fragility occurs only in vitro, or if they somehow regenerate it continuously in vivo. It has to be one or the other, otherwise they could not survive for very long... no more than an hour or two".
"As expected... from cheap imitations", Yamaki remarked. He nodded to one of the techs.
"Sir, if I do that, it will kill him".
"A garden slug is more entitled to call itself life than that thing..."
"It can still suffer..."
"Either you do your job, Mister, or I get someone else who will, and tomorrow morning you can report to the unemployment line. Am I making myself clear here?"
"Yes, Sir"
The tech just might have told him to go to hell, but for the rough economy, and that good jobs were hard to come by. He increased the sonic output.
DarkLizardmon's struggles increased.
"Our God, punish this world!", it was his dying declaration.
"God?", one tech asked.
"I guess it meant humans?", the other speculated. "It's disappearing?"
He didn't know digimon turn into data, not corpses, when they die.
"I assume you recorded all the data?", Yamaki asked.
"Yes, sir, we did"
"Then sterilize the tank. I don't want anything of it to remain".
"Yes, sir".
"Wild Ones... artificial intelligence out of control", Yamaki said into the now empty tank, "soon, I will get rid of all of you".
Homeroom 5-B
"Mornin'", Takato greeted.
The rest of the students were looking at him strangely. He looked to Juri, who looked away. He knew: she told everyone about Guilmon.
"Mornin', Takato", they greeted uneasily.
"Yeah, good mornin'", Kazu greeted.
Takato chuckled nervously, as he made his way to his desk.
(Shirakaba was the main literary style of the Taisho Era, with Mushanokoji Saneatsu as theoric leader. His talents also went beyond literature. He's popularly known for his drawings of pumpkins and eggplants, along with the aphorism: "It's wonderful to be good friends".)
This time, Takato's notebook page was filled with drawings of Growlmon. At least, his drawings were getting better, even if his attention span wasn't.
The student sitting next to him slipped him a folded page when Ms. Asagi wasn't looking.
(Now, everyone read it after me...)
He looked up, and saw Juri smiling back at him, so he knew it was from her.
"It's wonderful to be good friends", everyone repeated.
He unfolded the note and saw that it was a drawing of Guilmon, but he was wearing a white T with one of those smiley badges drawn on it, and blue shorts. She was a better artist than Takato. He smoothed the drawing out.
"Again: 'It's wonderful to be good friends'"
"It's wonderful to be good friends", Takato said it to the drawing, not Ms. Asagi.
Juri was imitating the "woof, woof" gesture she would make with her hand puppet. It was a thoughtful gift that erased whatever lingering anger he had for her and her big mouth.
The Playground
Kazu was sitting on a swing as Kenta stood by. Takato approached: "Hi, guys", he called out.
"What?", Kazu said.
"Err...", this wasn't the greeting he was expecting. "Well..."
"Woof!", it was Juri.
"Say, aren't you playing your card game today?", she asked.
"Cards? With Digimon?", Kenta asked, as if there were any other.
"Just forget about it", Kazu reprimanded.
"Well, I...", Takato began
"Yannow, I've been thinking", Kazu interrupted, "Digimon is just a kids' game. Right, Kenta?", he prompted with a nudge to the back.
Takato looked disappointed to be hearing this.
"Ahhhh... yeah?", he didn't sound so sure.
"A kids' game?", Juri asked.
"If it's just a game, and you don't like it anymore, you don't have to keep playing", Takato explained.
"I don't understand", Juri said, "but..."
"...If Takato's friend, Guilmon, is a digimon, then I like digimon", Juri's hand puppet completed that thought.
"Yeah, me too", Juri agreed.
"Kenta, let's go to my place", Kazu suggested, and they walked off.
"It's not a game", Takato said more to himself than to Juri.
"Was it something I said?", ahe asked.
He shook his head no: "It's just..."
"Hey, are you playing with Guilmon today?", Juri's puppet asked.
"I said it's not a game!", he said more sharply than he'd wanted, startling Juri: "Uhhhh..."
"W... well, Juri, I'm going"
Hypnos
Yamaki was having a four-way conference call. This was something he despised over anything else: dealing with politicians and bureaucrats. They held the purse strings; they set policy. They were clueless about computers, the network, the digimon - they were largely technical illiterates. He considered them beneath his contempt. But he had to keep them happy.
"It's important that we avoid anything that can give the public at large the impression the 'Net is a threat", one was saying the obvious.
"The phenomenon of the materialization of these virtual lifeforms outside the 'Net is being hidden this time, censoring all media...", another reminded. This one seemed brighter than the others, though that wasn't saying much.
"Don't forget that that is made possible by our network surveillance system: Hypnos", Yamaki reminded these politicians.
"The existence of Hypnos itself shouldn't become public knowledge either".
"So far, the public is largely in the dark. Sure, they suspect that the government - all governments - are monitoring on-line activity. They aren't exactly stupid, but are unaware of Hypnos' true capabilities".
"Just who created this Digimon thingie?", the dimmest bulb in the chandelier asked.
"It began as an Open Source project that anyone could participate in, and donate code. The original intent, to create virtual life, attracted too little attention to attract adequate funding. The program was pretty much canceled, but being Open Source, anyone was free to use the code. As a result, Digimon lived on as video games for kids", the smartest one was explaining.
"It is also true that the original imperative, to evolve, lived on, and that's what happened. These video game characters, or so we thought, continued evolving without our being aware of it. They first attained self-awareness. That, in itself, would be of little consequence, except for the fact that they are appearing in the Material World in fully physical forms. Do you realize how this poses a threat?", Yamaki continued.
"Digital Monsters: their instincts are rather simple. They attack and defeat opponents to load the data, thereby increasing their own store of data. They're like wild animals in that respect - survival of the fittest. The big difference is that wild animals fight in nature with tooth and claw. These digimon fight in the street, in broad daylight, with particle beam weapons, lasers, fire, heavy caliber fully automatic weapons and high explosive ordnance. The military doesn't have some of these weapons in their arsenals, and we don't know how to defend against them should these digimon decide to turn their weapons on us.
So far, we've been lucky: the damage hasn't been too severe, and, so far - so far - no one has been seriously injured or killed. If that isn't a matter of national security, then I don't know the meaning of those words... Humans created them, and humans must destroy them".
"Yamaki, about your request..."
"Shaggai", he added.
"Yes, how would its deployment affect the 'Net?"
"It would cause a period of confusion for a short time. There are always glitches and errors from time to time, and I doubt most users would even notice".
"What concerns me is that this project really amounts to our country's arming itself against the whole world, even if it's virtual. That could have international repercussions".
"No one will discover Shaggai".
"In any case, you don't really need our official approval to run a 'test'".
"Then we'll proceed along these lines, Yamaki".
"Understood. We'll conduct a 'test'"
"Cowards", Yamaki dismissed them as soon as the conference was concluded. He didn't realize the implication of what he'd just heard.
So far, it had been a lousy week. Except for the love making, that is. Ruki and Icdevimon had struck again. So far, they'd deprived would-be Tamers of: Biyomon, Elecmon, Lunamon, Gomamon.
So far, they'd rescued but a single partnered digimon: Rhythm. With a little hair coloring, she could literally hide in plain sight, as she looked like a young girl. Still, she was a digimon, and so attracted, and was attracted to, other digimon. Hopefully, her Tamer would be wary of Ruki and Icedevimon. Was that good enough? They could only hope so.
How was it that they always seemed to know which digimon were coming for partners, and which were not?
Chou Park Playground
A couple of young kids were admiring Guilmon, but neither he nor Guilmon were paying much attention.
"Guilomn, remember when you evolved to Growlmon?"
"I do"
"Right then, I was afraid of you".
"I'm always myself"
"But you weren't listening to anything I said. And the look in your eyes..."
"Takato, we're friends, right? It's the same feeling I have right now, of Takato being Takato. No evolution will ever change that, I can assure you"
"Guilmon"
"What?"
"That's great, when I first met you, you were like a baby. Now, you're reliable, you've mastered pronouns, and your grammar has improved greatly. You don't sound like a complete 'tard anymore".
He chuckled: "That's because I'm with Takato"
"I... haven't changed at all"
"Takato evolve!"
"I'll... evolve! I promise!"
"Takatomon!"
"Guilmon, I think I didn't trust you enough... I'm sorry"
"What? Why are you sorry?"
"I knew there was a reason for your evolution, but I'm still a coward, and I hate that part of myself"
Hypnos
Over the past week, Hypnos had filled with strange men installing strange equipment.
"What's this all about?", one tech asked the other, as they stood by.
"You got me. I have no idea... Hey!", she called out, "could you be a bit more careful with our equipment?", she reprimanded one of these foreign techs.
The Lee Residence
"Jinyu Lee?", Jen's father was intercepted by some strange man in a dark suit who was wearing a fedora pulled low over his eyes to partially conceal his face and dark sunglasses.
"That's Janyu Lee", he corrected.
"The kanji are read differently here in Japan", the stranger explained. "Anyway, you led a rather interesting life as a young man. The 'Net was a much smaller place back then where you could do as you please".
"Who are you?"
"That's not important. I'm searching for one of your old playmates. Apparently, one of you hasn't quite grown up yet".
"What are you talking about?"
"You will know in due time".
"Wait!"
By the time he turned to confront this asshole, he was gone.
"Jenyra?" His son was standing there, looking very perplexed. Janyu knew, whoever the nysterious stranger was, he had to be government, military or intelligence, to disappear that fast.
"Dad? What's wrong?"
"Uhhhhh..."
He was "rescued" from having to answer by his youngest.
"Welcome back!", she said. "Terriermon, welcome them back!"
She had dressed Terriermon up in this elaborate baby outfit, complete with a knit cap and pacifier stuck in his mouth.
"I... I'm back", Jenyra said to his partner.
West Shinjuku
Calumon was watching the sunset. The sky was filled with high altitude clouds that glowed with a golden light.
"Kind'a looks like where I came from?", Calumon thought he had a fleeting memory of a life before his arrival in this world. It had happened before, and he wondered why he couldn't remember that former life.
Suddenly, Impmon appeared, startling him enough to make him fall off the overpass railing where he'd been sitting.
"What's with that dumbassed look on your face?", Impmon challenged. "I'm sick of your 'culu, culu, culu'"
"Why'd you do that, culu?! I haven't done anything to you, culu?!"
"You piss me off, with your flying around, your 'culu, culu', your constant sucking up to the Ourworlders. What are you? Definitely not a digimon. If I bother you that much, then why don't you try to defeat me and evolve?"
"Calumon doesn't evolve, culu?"
"The hell you say", Impmon began walking along the guard rail. "I always knew there was something wrong with you, but this is too much. You're a disgrace to all digimon. So I guess I'll load your data, though I don't think I'll evolve by loading something like you, but you never know: every little bit helps"
"Culu?"
Hypnos
"Shaggai activated!", came an announcement over the PA.
"What?", one tech commented to another, "it's inverting the network's flow"
"The Wild Ones are taking the bait", Yamaki explained, "that was made from that captured digimon's data. And the program that will terminate all Wild Ones once and for all... that is Shaggai"
"Incredible...", one tech said.
Guilmon's Shed
Takato was discussing Battle Card strategies with Guilmon. He recognized that his problems were the result of not having strategies in place, that he was wasting too much time trying to deal with every contingency as it arose.
"Guilmon?"
His partner seemed to be off in the O-zone for some reason.
"Guilmon?"
"It's coming", he announced.
"What's coming", he asked, as he got no alert from his digivice.
"A very powerful digimon"
The Lee Residence
"I'm home!"
"Itadakimasu!", Shiuchon greeted her older sister.
"Frozen dinners again?", she complained.
"I had two meetings today", her mother explained. "it couldn't be helped"
"What do you prefer? Stew or salad?", Jenyu asked.
"It's all the same", she complained, "but I don't want stew"
"Thought so", her father said.
"Dad?"
"We're having a family dinner now, Jenyra", Janyu reprimanded.
"When you were younger, you also studied Digimon..."
"Not an appropriate dinner time subject", he warned his son off a second time.
"Sorry".
"What's wrong?", Itadakimasu asked.
"Huh?", Jen asked himself. He heard something coming from his bedroom...
"Terriermon! Hell're you doin'?!"
The dog/bunny digimon was throwing himself repeatedly against the window pane.
Hypnos
Yamaki stood on a pedestrian overpass a couple of blocks from the Hypnos building. He wanted to watch his program in action. The digital warp beams projected from the roof of the twin towers. These beams looked as though they hit an invisible barrier, sending out ripples of blue across the sky.
"There's an abnormal packet developing in the network", one of the techs reported.
Yamaki chucked to himself in glee.