Here goes! Next chapter!
Thanks to LightRiver33 For edits!
Thanks for reviews/comment/faves/follows!
Also, I'm still waiting for the chapters of Fading Whisper to be edited by Crimson. She is currently overwhelmed by her school stuff. Thanks for the patience!
Elite Group A-Rise's Hall — Digital World;
A-Rise gave them all a ride to the Digital World in the car they brought and welcomed them to their hall. Honoka, Umi, Kotori and Niko are very astonished by the luxurious objects around them while Eli is trying hard to not show how intrigued she really is. Nozomi is the only one who seems the least interested but the chat in her digivice is probably what was distracting her.
"Sorry that we had to greet you with such an incident..." Tsubasa said—her voice suddenly reflectsher charisma and mannerism, though she is also pulling Honoka around like a child.
"This is embarrassing..." Erena whispered to Anjuu.
"Don't worry, Erena, I'm sure Tsubasa knows what she is doing..."
"...as you can see, this is our elite hall. You might feel alienated with these, but after you train your Digimon enough, you will get to know each of items here..." Tsubasa explained to Honoka who seems to be totally clueless about everything she is saying.
"...as an Elite Group, we have plenty of facilities, such as, our personal Digi-lab, personal Portal, and, as you already know, a personal vehicle..." Tsubasa continued.
"That's cool!" Honoka said.
"Really? You think so?"
"Yup! Hehe... although, I don't really know what Digi-Lab is for..." Honoka said.
"The Digilab is where you can junction your Digimon—if you're not within the Elite Club, you will have to queue with the rest of people. You can find the public Digi-lab by the lobby..." Erena said.
"Or try go to another city and see if the queue there isn't as long as in the main city..." Anjuu added.
"Aah...I see... but what kind of 'junction' we're talking about here?" Honoka asked again.
"Remember about the enchantment thing, Honoka-chan? That's one of things you can do in the lab..." Kotori said.
"Yes, it's exactly junctioning your Digimon with the enchantment drive. It will take a lot of money to be able to successfully enhance your Digimon and S-Rank tamers are getting them at better prices than the other tamers. It will also be better if they joined the Elite Club..." Erena said.
"Also, you can erase your Digimon evolution in the Digilab. You would spend some money but it's better than having to upgrade the Memory Chip... and most people erase their Digimon Evolution because they evolved into something they don't want." Anjuu added.
"There's also a feature where you can give your Digimon a chip-set. A chip-set is like their equipment and you can get them through adventures or by purchasing from merchants or vendors..." Tsubasa said.
"Uh...is that like, when we kill a digimon and they drop an item?" Honoka asked.
"Kill? Not quite. Maybe it looked you we're killing a Digimon but you don't really kill them. Their data are just consumed by your digimon, which makes them physically stronger—but it does not improve their skill. That's why training is still required to make a perfect Digimon." Tsubasa said.
"C-Consuming?" Umi blinked rapidly in her shock.
"Don't worry. Just like what everyone always say, the wild ones are like zombies—they act but they don't think… They just move. That's why we are here to help the Digital World raise the quality of inhabitants..." Anjuu said.
"Please also remember that you're not allowed to be bad to other tamers...except when you're in an Elite Group. The Elite Group's actions are always approved or ignored by the official. They say that the consequences affect their fame." Erena said.
"Many Elite Groups chase after fame, but some prefer to be infamous." Anjuu added.
"Yes, and the official also says that even if an Infamous Elite group remains infamous, as long they do not break the official rules, it is fine for then to continue..." Erena said.
"I see..." Umi replied.
"Famous groups are able to get special items from the official's store but the infamous are known for buying special items from the black market. Alas, having transactions in the Black Market always hurts your group reputation..."
"It sounds like an Elite Group is a very fun thing to have.." Honoka said.
"It is, Honoka! That's why if—..."
Before Tsubasa was able to finish her statement...
"Kotori-chan! Umi-chan!" Honoka exclaimed loudly.
"Yes, Honoka-chan?" Kotori replied.
"Let's work some more and make our own Elite group!" Honoka said.
"H-Huh?!" Umi raises her voice. A-rise is surprised to hear it as well.
"Uuh...H-Honoka-chan... are you not... taking the hints?" Kotori asked as she glanced to the dumbfounded Tsubasa.
"Eh...what hints?" Honoka asked innocently.
"Uhhhmmmm..." Kotori still glancing at Tsubasa who is now smiling widely.
"That sounds fun, Honoka!" Tsubasa said cheerfully.
"E-Ehh...?" Kotori blinked in her confusion.
"We will be allies when you get there! Or perhaps rivals? I can't wait to fight you in a Tournament one day!" Tsubasa said.
"Really? Then you think I'll be a strong tamer?!" Honoka asked.
"Yup! Totally! Now, should we go on an adventure to help you practice?!" Tsubasa asked.
"Ok!" Honoka replied.
Then the two ran out of the hall—leaving everything else in the room unexplained.
"H-Honoka!" Umi ran after her.
"W-waitt! Umi-chaaan!" Kotori followed.
Erena and Anjuu would have run after them too but they remembered that there are still three other people left in the room.
Eli, Nozomi, and Niko were listening to them the whole time, though they did not comment.
"I guess Tsubasa is really bent on doing thing her way right now..." Anjuu said.
"Who would've expected that Honoka to be that similar to her...?" Erena said.
"Hehe. That's good… though it means that no one will ever be able to stop them..." Anjuu said.
"Tch...what's with that though, suddenly acting so cute together..." Niko said.
"My, Nikocchi, you need to be less jelly and start finding your own Sugar Momma..." Nozomi said.
"The heck are you saying?!" Niko complained.
"By the way, Ayase-san..." Erena turned to Eli.
Eli only turned her face a bit,
"...You are an S-Rank , right?" Erena asked.
"Yes, what about it?" Eli replied.
"Why don't you join us? We know about your Digimon and we don't mind helping you take care of her..." Erena said.
"No thanks… I'm not going to join any Elite Group before Nozomi reaches S-Rank..." Eli replied.
"Then what about you, Toujou-san? We know you're not an S-Rank yet but you and your... 'husband' here are very promising." Anjuu said as she glanced to Eli with her playful smile.
"Me...? Hmm... I think I want to take my time thinking about it..." Nozomi replied.
"It will be such a waste for us to not recruit a person with that much luck like you...or a person with that much skill in raising a Digimon like Ayase-san. That's why, if you two happen to change your mind, our doors are always open for you two..." Erena said.
"Sure..." Eli replied with less enthusiasm.
"That's too bad though..." Niko said with her smug face,
"...I wouldn't mind joining A-Rise anytime...I know I'm such a promising—..."
"I should go ahead to the Tournament Hall. I have a beauty contest to enter with my Lalamon..." Anjuu said—completely ignoring Niko who wasn't even able to finish her statement.
"Ah, you're right, I can't let Ryuudamon wait for too long too. We should get going..." Erena said.
"Alright. Ericchi and I will go do our own business as well..." Nozomi said.
"Let's go Nozomi..." Eli said before she held Nozomi's hand gently and pulled her away.
Erena and Anjuu also took their leave. Niko is left alone.
"Sheesh...people are so busy lately..." she said with a smirk on her face,
"Maybe I should just continue selling my goods..." she continued.
Before she was able to do anything else, though, Nozomi returned.
"Come on, Nikocchi, you're coming with us..."
"W-What the heck!? I don't wanna go and watch you doing lovey-dovey whatsoever with Eli!"
"I'll match you with a potential sugar momma..."
"The heck is that?!"
Meanwhile, The Beginner Ground—Digital World;
"Good job, Lunamon!" The red-haired tamer cheered as the rabbit-like Digimon hopped back after defeating a small digimon.
"Looks like we're getting better!" Hanayo said as she pat her flowerbud-like Digimon who just returned from battle as well.
"That was fun! hehe!" Rin said as she and Gaomon joined them.
"Yeah, maybe we should take a little break for a bit now... then perhaps try to find tougher one after?" Hanayo said
"You're right..." Maki said as she sat down on the grassy field. The sky is so bright and everything else looks so… digitally beautiful.
There were unusual circuit patterns covering the rock walls, trees actually look alive with all the light carved inside it, bushes grow with strangely unique and charming flowers, and the clouds hovering above have a strange sky pattern.
"Come to think of it..." Maki started as both of her friends and their digimon sat down to rest.
"This place is so beautiful; I wonder how the graphic designers do it..."
"… must be through a real hard work." Hanayo said.
"What is a graphic designer?" Lalamon asked.
"Uh, they're people who produces graphical objects, I guess?" Maki said.
"Hehe, but they could be called artists too, if they're also the one who conceives the idea." Hanayo said.
"What's the difference between an artist and a designer...?" Maki asked.
"Designer are the ones who execute the design. It could be a structure, a pattern, a work of art or machines while artist are those who produce works in any of art forms that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria. It also means that Artists design their own work and Designers don't always execute their own ideas..." Hanayo explained.
"Then—what if someone create a Fan Art? Does that mean that someone is a designer-nya?" Rin asked.
"Hehe. Then that does mean someone is an artist and a designer. As I said before, Artists create an idea, even though someone is making a fan-art, that someone is still the one who came up with the idea of making the character do something or looking like something else" Hanayo replied.
"It's still a little vague for me. Can you help me with by giving an example of a designer that is not an artist?" Maki asked.
"Hmm... you can't say that a designer isn't an artist because there will always be art in every design. But..." Hanayo took a moment to think...
"Let's just say this, this place is created from a concept—which is created by the artist or concept artist, then the designer will execute his or her idea...does that help?"
Maki tried to absorb the knowledge but it seems that she is still somewhat confused.
"I still don't get it too-nya! But it's ok! Let's just change the topic!" Rin said.
"Hehe. I guess that's better!" Hanayo replied with a gentle smile.
"Anywaayy!" Lunamon yelled.
"Yes, Lunamon?" Hanayo replied to her.
"Let's train some more! I want to be the artist of my own power!" Lunamon said.
"W-what?! What the hell is 'artist of your own power'?!" Maki shouted.
"You'll be my designer, so you better train me like how I want myself to be like!" Lunamon continued.
"Erh...ok?" Maki raises her eyebrow.
"L-looks like Lunamon gets it..." Hanayo said.
"Get what-nya?" Rin asked.
"Nevermind, let's continue—..."
But before Hanayo able to finish...
A gigantic, deep scarlet, mechanical dinosaur-like digimon with huge canon on its back appeared.
"W-what the heck!?" Maki exclaimed.
"What is that-nya?" Rin said as she and Gaomon stared at it curiously.
"U-uh..." Hanayo presses something in her Digivice,
Rust Tyranomon (Lv142 / 225%)
Type : Virus
Attribute : Machine
Owner : Kira Tsubasa
Personality : Defender
"L-looks like it's owned by someone...w-wait...Kira Tsubasa?! Tha-Th-that's...!" Hanayo pauses.
"Kira Tsubasa...? Who?" Maki asked.
"Yeah, who the heck is Kira-Tsubasa-nya?" Rin asked.
"That's the A-Rise Leader! An idol too! She is one of my reasons for playing this game!" Hanayo said in panic.
"O..oh...so she's an important person, huh?" Maki said less enthusiastically.
"W-waaahh! Her Digimon is so huge...what is she doing in the beginner field though-nya?" Rin asked.
Soon as she asked the question, they could all hear someone shouting from somewhere around the gigantic digimon.
"Honokaaaa! Are you readdyyyy?!"
Then the three could see a ginger-haired girl running across from them with a yellow Lizard-like Digimon—followed by a lot of angry baby digimon...
"Ayeeeeee!" shouted the ginger-haired girl who stood far away from any wall or person.
"Ok! Let's Shock the party!"
The shout is followed by a large electromagnetic force that exploded on the ginger girl and the angry digimon.
"W-wow...is she going to be fine...?" Maki said as she watched the dark clouds surrounding her.
"uuh...well...I just read that yesterday... we're all protected by a program that will not allow any Digimon's attack to harm us— also, other tamers can't hurt another's digimon if not in duel mode..." Hanayo said.
"So...basically...she is fine?" Maki asked to confirm.
No one replied since they all could see the answer themselves. The ginger girl and the yellow-lizard-like Digimon are perfectly fine.
"That was awesome, Tsubasa-chan!" she said.
"Really?" Tsubasa looked so excited.
"Yep! I reached level 20 in instant!" the yellow lizard-like Digimon said.
As soon as they see her running to the Rust Tyranomon, they also realized that they're not alone. There is a familiar figure who stood with a bluenette whose fists were clenched.
"Isn't that Kotori-senpai?" Hanayo asked.
"Yeah..." Maki replied.
"I wonder what she is up to-nya...?" Rin asked.
Once again, they didn't have to wait for an answer because they all could see and hear what's going on...
"Someone...please help me stop them..." the bluenette said.
There's a penguin-like digimon standing next to her with concerned face.
"I-It's ok...Umi-chan, they're having fun!" Kotori said. Biyomon is standing next to her with an awkward smile.
"They should've done this in another place...I mean, look at that dinosaur! We could've done something like what we did with the birds! It makes no sense that we're here to clean up what the beginners could use!" the bluenette said somewhat angrily.
"I-it's ok...Umi-chan! T-they're going to respawn!"
Then suddenly, a long black shadow passes across them. When they all looked up, they could see a bronze and gold armored long dragon with wings holding a black blade as his weapon—gold battle mask, cloud aura all over him, and a maroon-haired girl riding on his head.
Hanayo tried to identify the dragon out of curiosity.
Owryumon (Lv143 / 223%)
Type : Vaccine
Attribute : Nature
Owner : Erena Toudou
Personality : Fighter
"E-Erena Toudou?!" Hanayo panicked again.
"Who the heck is that, Kayo-chin?"
"Another important person?" Maki said with her lazy voice.
"T-the most feared A-rise member, everyone always talks about her!" Hanayo continued.
"Oh...sounds...interesting?" Maki replied.
"Tsubasa! I realized that maybe I shouldn't let you do things by yourself!"
"Oooh! Erena! I thought you went to do something else!"
"We were certainly about to—but we both realized that we can't let you two do it your way!" Owryumon replied.
"Hmmph! Owryumon! You do realize that you're talking to me as well, huh?" Rust Tyranomon said.
"I do—and I mean it! Now you better get back to your rookie form or move to a different place!" Owryumon said.
"You can't tell me what to do!" Rust Tyranomon said.
"We can!" Owryumon set his battle stance.
"Just like what Owryumon said, we can!" Erena said as she pressed a button on her digivice.
"A duel invitation? Sure...this is going to be fun!" Tsubasa said before both of their Digimon was surrounded by bright circling aura.
"Haaaa! Eiseiryuuoujin!" Owryumon fired an attack from his blades.
"Terror Cluster!" Rust Tyranomon extended his gun battery on his back, firing the same large electromagnetic blast like before.
Then the fight continued with a few other moves that aren't called out.
"What is this? Wrestling show?" Maki smirked.
Lunamon crossed its tiny arm and one of her ears go down—showing how uninterested she is.
"T-this is an epic fight, Maki-chan!" Hanayo said.
Lalamon nodded as she slightly interested on watching the fight.
"Go-go-go-nya!" Rin encouraged. Gaomon looks somewhat excited as he keeps air-boxing while watching.
"Good Luck! Tsubasa-chan!" the ginger-haired girl shouted.
"Kotori...is it just me or... do you also think that they should not duel here?" the bluenette asked the ash brunette.
"Hehe...as long as they can finish the matter, I guess?" Kotori replied.
The bluenette only can sigh.
Far from the City of Memory—The Screen Hills, Digital World;
A thousand blocks of unknown objects that have transparent circuit walls on each of its sides shine and reflect the blue sky. The gravity is not as strong here compared to the other parts of the Digital world and everyone could almost fly if they wish to—and most importantly, they will never land roughly since there is not enough force that would cause them to smack their own face to the ground.
Nozomi, Eli, and Niko are here to start their training. Their Digimons are ready to start, as well.
Eli's Renamon evolved into a nine-tailed fox—Kyuubimon— and stands on four legs, Niko's DemiDevimon is in Soulmon form, the ghost-like digimon, and Nozomi's digimon, Angel and Lady, are in their Ultimate form—LadyDevimon and Angewomon.
"Now, we're going to start our practice..." Eli started.
Nozomi and Niko remained silent as they watched their Digimon line up in front of Eli.
"I suppose Lady and Angel already know what kind of training this place offers..." Eli said.
"Yep, speed and agility..." Lady replied with her right hand on her hips.
"Exactly, everyone can move as fast as they can here, but moving fast is not enough. I want all of you to compete—collect anything you can get and I'll grade them later in the finish line..."
"I'm ready!" Angel said cheerfully.
"W-what the heck are we going to do, though?" the Soulmon asked.
"You just need to run, jump, float, or flying, Chibby..." Nozomi said.
Lady snorted when Soulmon's nickname was called. She is trying so hard to not make her laughter obvious but it seems that Kyuubimon could see her and it makes her tilt her head, wondering what exactly made her laugh.
"Anything then?" Chibby asked.
"Yep, anything. You can even crawl if you like, if that's your fastest way to move, of course..." Nozomi said.
"Alright, I'm in..." Chibby said somewhat eagerly.
"Are you ready?" Angel asked Kyuubimon.
"M-Me...?" Kyuubimon replied nervously.
"Good luck!" Angel said—and even though it was just a friendly banter, Kyuubimon feels like something is tingling along her spine. It's so bad that she began to feel even more nervous.
"Ready...!" Eli shouted, All the Digimon are setting themselves on ready position except for Kyuubimon who is still nervous. It took her a few second late to realize that she needs to get ready as well.
"Set—!" Eli continued.
All the Digimon prepared to dash.
"Go!"
And while everyone started ahead, Kyuubimon ran off a few second late again. Even during the dashes, she is the one who takes the last place. Angel and Lady are flying way ahead while Chibby floats and passes through all obstacles—thanks to her ghostly body.
Kyuubimon struggled to hasten herself, though compared to Lady and Angel or Chibby who are just going straight away, she is still nothing. She can't even get any closer even though she tried to run as fast as she could.
The time passes while the four Digimon dash through the less-gravity field. Kyuubimon still couldn't surpass anyone—alas, she can't even see anyone again.
This is really bad for her...
Really-really bad...
She already knows that she was too arrogant when she decided to enter the rookie tournament by herself...
She also already knows that she is nothing compared to the previous digimon that Eli trained.
But this just adds to the humiliation...
She can't beat anyone...
She can't surpass anyone...
Her victory was nothing...
She is really nothing...
It's so embarrassing...
All the talk she did in the video that she sent to Eli before...
She couldn't prove it...
She couldn't prove to Eli that she is doing her best...
This is not her best...
She knows she is supposed to be able to do more than this...
That's why she struggled again—even if she has to breath too quickly, even if her legs go numb, and even if she feels like she is dying...
The road is still far from the finish line. Eli, Nozomi, and Niko are probably already there, thanks to the teleportation system in their digivice.
Obstacles began to show up along the path...
There were a lot and she had to take a few turn to be able to get through it.
From time to time, she saw Chibby passing through obstacles easily.
And Lady and Angel—do they even need to care about those obstacles?
They're gracefully flying, they don't need to care about that.
It's so unfair...
It's very unfair that she was the only one who is running and needs to go through all those obstacles.
When Kyuubimon finally decided to stop trying to be the first, She slowed down her pace and took her time to pause for a breath...
"Ridiculous... who am I to compete with these Digimon?" she mumbled...
As soon as she said it, she could feel someone catching up to her—she turn around and...
She knows...
Someone is definitely catching up to her right now...
Eli is running in a very human way, except her speed is much-much more incredible than when she is running with the stronger gravity. She passed Kyuubimon who started to realize...
Eli, a human being, could jump through the obstacle or perhaps, she is using the obstacles to jump. She looked almost like she was flying as she glides in the air so swiftly.
It isn't impossible to do if she could do it like how Eli did it...
Now that she is motivated again after watching such a strategy, she once again set herself before starting to run again.
She could see an obstacle ahead—it's a pretty high obstacle, but she assume that Eli passed through that one so she has to be able to do it as well.
When she tried to jump after a quick dash—she realized that she jumped poorly and soon, her head will hit the rough, transparent wall.
Which it actually does...
Kyuubimon fell to the ground and she swears her head is numb and she couldn't really see clearly.
, she got up again and, this time, she tried to run through the wall— like how her species do it.
People always say, her species are like ninjas with magical power. Even if she evolves, she is supposed to be as agile as the so-called ninjas.
But why not her?
Even though Eli is not even moving like an actual ninja, she is so much more agile than her.
Plus, she is not even a Digimon!
It makes her feel bad...
This pressure is too much but she wants to stop caring about that.
She wants to just keep moving forward, but she can't even pass through this obstacle.
Maybe she can just do it like how she did it before?
Take a turn...
Use the longer way...
Maybe that's the only way for her to move forward after all...
As soon as she is about to turn, someone called her out.
"Kyuubimon..." the comforting voice said.
"Nozomi...?" she replied.
"Hehe, are you tired? Let's take a break..." Nozomi said.
"But... I have to finish this..." Kyuubimon replied.
"Just take a break for a bit… it wouldn't hurt..." Nozomi replied.
Kyuubimon hesitated.
"Are you going to stand there forever?" Nozomi asked.
Kyuubimon shook her head and, instead of responding with words, she ran off.
Nozomi chuckled when she saw the fox Digimon running off like that
"People do say...like master, like their digimon..." she said as Lady and Angel landed next to her.
"Do you want us both to watch over her again?" Lady asked.
Nozomi smiled mischievously.
"Yep, and I hope you know what else to do..." she replied.
"Ok, got it!" Angel said before she flew off along with Lady.
The Beginner Ground—Digital World;
"What's done is done, Erena..." Tsubasa said proudly as she stood on top of her Rust Tyranomon.
"Tsubasa..." Erena and Owryumon look exhausted.
"W-wow... I thought Owryumon was going to win...he is vaccine..." Kotori said.
"Vaccine, Virus, Data, or free types… they are nothing to care about when you are above S-Rank. Skill is all that matters..." Tsubasa said proudly again.
"Whoaaaah! That's really-really cool!" Honoka said energetically.
"I know, right? This victory is for you!" Tsubasa said cheerfully.
"That looks really amazing..." Umi said with a smile.
"Yay! Umi-chan is enjoying it!" Honoka said.
"But..." Umi's voice suddenly becomes serious.
"Eh...?" Honoka knows this is a bad sign.
"There's something very serious we need to talk about..." Umi continued.
"W-whoaa! Tsu-Tsubasa-chan! S-Save me!" Honoka quickly distances herself.
"Ok!" Tsubasa is about to pick Honoka up with her Digimon but, suddenly, a flash of light appeared.
A lotus petal is stuck on the ground near Honoka,
"Oh no..." Erena said as her eyes lifted up to the sky. There was Anjuu sitting on the shoulder of a Digimon with Lotus crown wearing White skirt and sleeves, purple string stockings and holding a double wand.
"Tsubasa...Erena..." Anjuu called, with a strange smile on her face.
"A-Anjuu...?" Tsubasa and Erena said nervously.
"Didn't we agree that...there should be no duel outside… that place...? Remember the mess that you two caused in the city before..." Anjuu frowned, yet her lips still held a smile.
"A-Ahahah...Anjuu, I thought you went to the beauty contest today?" Erena tried to change the topic.
"Y-yeah..it will be bad for you if you don't go right now... I mean...you look really perfect now, Lotosmon!" Owryumon said.
"Well, my entry got canceled because I was called by the official—to take care of two troublesome duellers before the officials take action...Plenty of people were complaining, you see? Even though the mess didn't hurt them, they were certainly unable to do any activity in this Beginner Ground..." Anjuu said.
"And then, Owryumon... are you saying my beauty is going to rot...?" Lotosmon said.
"N-No! Not exactly, Lotosmon!" Owryumon said.
"Yeah! Your beauty is already rotten long ago, right?" Rust Tyranomon said. Lotosmon chagrinned at Rust Tyranomon.
"I can't believe you..." Owryumon hid his face behind his swords.
"Well—it's time for us to leave, Rust Tyranomon..." Tsubasa said.
"Ok!" Rust Tyranomon said before he ran away with Tsubasa.
"Lotosmon! Don't let them get away!" Anjuu said.
"Certainly..." Lotosmon said before she operated something through Anjuu's digivice.
Erena, Tsubasa, Anjuu, and their Digimon suddenly teleported.
"Wh-whoa, they're gone!" Honoka said.
"Honoka, will you listen to me now...?" Umi said.
"E-Eh? W-what's wrong, Umi-chan?" Honoka asked.
"So many things are wrong, Honoka! You could've stopped them yet you didn't! You encouraged them! Now they got into this problem!" Umi stated clearly.
"B-but...it was really fun!"
"I know—I did enjoy it for a while until I realized that they're bothering the rest of the beginners in this area! They wanted to play, not watch two experts dueling in their grounds! Sheesh...why are you always—!""
While Umi continued lecturing Honoka, Kotori, Biyomon, Agumon and Penguinmon are watching them.
"Do they always do that?" Agumon asked.
"Uhh...sort of...?" Kotori replied.
"Seems troublesome. Maybe we should continue practicing anyway...?" Agumon asked.
"...and leave them alone...? Uh...that seems to be the best option..." Kotori said.
"Ok! Let's go practice, everyone!" Agumon said as he ran off.
"W-Whoa! Agumon! Don't wander off on your own!" Biyomon said.
Penguinmon is about to chase them, but for some reason, he seems to be hesitating.
"Aaah—uh...they got away... uh...I need to stay here to watch over these two... Uhhmm... Penguinmon! Please watch over them!" Kotori said.
"W-W-Watch over them! G-G-Got it!" Penguinmon said before he dashes toward them.
"W-whoa! He dashes! Uhm... I feel like this kind of situation is familiar..." Kotori said as she began to think for a moment...
"Ah well...hehe..." she giggled.
The Screen Hills—Digital World;
All the Digimon has reached the goal. Chibby the Soulmon reached it first, Lady and Angel are second while Kyuubimon is the third. Kyuubimon looks very exhausted—legs limp and body all sore. She worked too hard to get to reach the goal.
"Eli... aren't you a little too hard on her...?" Niko asked, looking at Kyuubimon with concern.
Eli remained silent.
"Maybe we should try to do something less hard? I mean, it's already unfair for her to be the only one who runs..." Niko continued.
"Ericchi was running all the way from there to here too...it's still possible to win this..."
The purplenette smiled faintly.
"...this was the same training that she always did with Kuzunoha before...Kuzunoha always scored the first in every form..." Nozomi continued.
"hmm..ok. But still, Albert Einstein once said: 'Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid'" Niko said.
"That's not an excuse... Renamon and her kind are always known for their agility and wisdom..." Eli replied coldly. Her eyes are piercing deep into the exhausted fox. Lady and Angel look very concerned when they heard the sharp words.
"I didn't see this agility nor this wisdom...perhaps I should really retire from this game..." Eli said coldly, which agitated Kyuubimon.
"There! Ericchi!" Nozomi warned her.
Lady and Angel could see how Kyuubimon is trying so hard to not speak out her thought.
"...you're all talk, nothing to show for it..." Eli continued before walking away from them.
"Ericchi!" Nozomi warned her again before she ran after Eli.
Niko, Chibby, Lady and Angel are still looking at Kyuubimon. The pity in their faces might was never really intended to mock her but Kyuubimon could feel that she is very pathetic right now.
"Sheesh, that girl… can't even tone down her sharp words..." Niko complained.
"Is she always this harsh?" Chibby asked Lady and Angel.
"Well..." Lady tried to think of an answer.
"...you just have to look at the bright side..." Angel said with her sweet smile.
"Huh? Bright side? What kind of bright side can you find in this?" Niko asked.
"Hehe... this is how she loves Kyuubimon! She really wants you to be a strong Digimon, not just physically but mentally as well! I know this is harsh, but we all can do it! Nozomi-chan said so!" Angel said cheerfully.
"Angel, aren't you a little too ...you know... 'bright eyed'...or ears... I can't really see it that way..." Lady said.
"Oh! Lady! Come on! Do you remember that time when Nozomi-chan left us both in Eli-chan's hands?"
"She was smiling and...everything else... she never talked to us that harshly..." Lady said.
"Oh! It's not that part! Silly Lady! It's the part where Kuzunoha told us back then that she was always competing with Eli-chan in running through this path. She also told us the pressure is very real as she hardly wins against Eli-chan back then. Until at some point, she began to outwit and outrun her — she started to gain her confidence and, since then, Eli-chan is always smiling at her..."
"Huh? Isn't that the story of when she got her 'Kuzunoha' nickname?" Lady asked.
"It was in the same time as that story, Lady! She called her Kuzunoha since she began to win everything!" Angel said.
"Oh...alright? I don't quite remember it that way, but since you're the one who said it..." Lady scratched her head a little awkwardly.
"Either way, Kyuubimon! Don't get discouraged. Do the opposite! Keep trying until she smiles for you!" Angel said to her.
Kyuubimon nods gently before she finally succumbs to her exhaustion. She fell asleep and, perhaps, will take some time to recover fully.
The Beginner Ground—Digital World;
"Now!" The bluenette said.
"We shall do this properly, ok?" she continued as she glares at the three Digimon who just returned from their wild adventure. Agumon has a bandage attached on his head, Biyomon looked too dirty from her usual look and Penguinmon has a bruise on his left eye.
"Ehehe...hang in there everyone..." Kotori said.
Umi continued to explain her plan for practice but the digimon don't seem to pay much attention.
"This is all your fault, Agumon..." Penguinmon said.
"My fault?" Agumon replied innocently.
"Why did you drag them to us—we can't even use any area attack..." Penguinmon said.
"Now-now, you two...let's get along, ok? Hehe..." Biyomon said.
"Are you all listening to me?!" Umi stated loudly.
"Y-Yes!" the three Digimon replied.
"Good! So I suppose everyone knows what they're supposed to do!" Umi said again.
"Uhm…sorry…what are we supposed to do again?" Agumon asked.
"You need to be more disciplined!" Umi yelled as she hits Agumon's head which caused him to make a very cute throaty voice—not that he will be forgiven with that, though. Umi doesn't care about how cute they looked like—or how dorky they seem to be. She composed herself and keep her charisma on the show as she explained once more about what they need to do.
"Hhmmm…Umi-chan makes a great trainer, don't you think?" Kotori asked.
"Uh…well….." Honoka averted her gaze.
"I wonder if it's really fine for them, though?" she asked.
"Hehe… I'm sure they know that it's time for training so being rough is fine?"
"I'm a little worried, but I guess they will make it—it's Umi-chan after all… even though she shows no mercy sometimes!" Honoka said.
"Yep! Hehe… I wonder if we all can score some nice levels and training this month? If we do, we can try to join a tournament next month!" Kotori said.
"Ahh! You're right! I wonder what Agumon will turn into!"
"Hehe. Well, all you need to do is to focus on what you want him to focus on then, treat him like how you think you should be. I believe if you do all of that, you can evolve him into a very decent Digimon!"
"I hope so!" Honoka says cheerfully.
Further in the Main Server Room;
The Human and Digimon staff are working together and tending to the data that comes to their computers. Each of them are carefully reading and typing the necessary action and executing it through technologies that they possessed.
The atmosphere is calm, as usual, until one of the computers suddenly froze and showed a big red emergency alert.
"Alerting the Security! Something is wrong with the server!" said a purple dinosaur-like Digimon with fur and a fox-like tail.
"Dorumon, freeze the server and tell us what's wrong…" said a humanoid Digimon with purple armored body. He is carrying a duo-solar-spear and a black shield.
"Understood!" Dorumon ran back to his PC and quickly froze his PC's status. He returned to the humanoid mechanical digimon and started to explain…
"Craniumon, there was a strange object trying to merge with our system for the past few days. I've been trying to remove and block it but it could dodge me and began to mess up our data. The messed up data are doing an auto mass copy and paste! Then, just now, this strange object began penetrating our first defensive wall. I tried to send a few protectors but they're all slain and consumed!"
"Auto mass-copy and paste? Are you sure that's what you're telling?"
"Yes, apparently, because this object could consume any data and it is copying any object and devouring it slowly…"
"Could this be a Virus Digimon entering our system?" Craniumon asked.
"I've tried to inject a lot of vaccine essences and sending a lot of vaccine troops, this object remains undefeated. I also scanned it but it's nothing like a data, then I tried to send Virus essences and Viruses troops as well but it still remains undefeated. It's like it was eating everything…"
"Then, perhaps it is like those eaters?"
"No, I tried to use the same solution with as before but it didn't work. It's like it has its own thought! It's really nothing like them!"
"Hmm…this is bad, maybe we should try to scout for it and see its true form before deciding the next action…"
"I've tried to put on camera too but all I can see was something like a transparent cyber body. It wasn't a massive being, it shaped like a winged humanoid Digimon—almost like Lucemon but not quite!
"Is that a consciousness? How could a human get inside the system!?"
"Sadly, I also tried to teleport it out of the system, but the human world rejected the very object because it's not a human too! This object is really, really unknown!"
"Also...to add…." A female human staff said.
"Humans don't have wings… that object…is not human…" she continued.
"Then what is it?" Craniumon asked the human staff.
"Should we try to communicate with it? We can try sending a camera and microphone again." The human staff replied.
"If that possible, then try…." The female staff said as she headed to Dorumon's Computer, insert a USB and began to operate it while the computer status is still frozen.
A small screen popped out on the side showing a holographic map with a strange transparent object in the middle of it.
"Hello? Can you hear me….?" The female staff said. Dorumon and Craniumon tried to peek in.
The unknown object moved and acted like it knows that someone is talking to it.
"Who are you and what are you? Please explain yourself and we will talk some more…" the female staff said.
A static noise is heard, and it seems like the unknown object is trying to figure out which one is the mic for it...
…..I am….
Another static noise made as the female-like voice stated its name—rendering it unheard until the next word is spoken
….the strongest….
And the static noise worsens as it once again made a skip to the sentence
…in the entire universe. Nothing can defeat me… nothing at all!
It says.
"What's your reason for being here…?" The female staff asked again.
I just want to ….
Another static noise is heard between the words,
….those people who have been trying to destroy me.
"You're destroying our system, please get out…" the female human staff continued.
As I have said….
Another static noise.
…..doesn't matter to me. If you want….
Yet another static noise...
….make me leave. I dare you!
"I don't get it, but that doesn't sound friendly to me…" Craniumon said.
"I agree. This object is furious… we have to destroy it…" Dorumon said.
"I know. We cannot tolerate any further chaos! We're going to delete you at all cost!"
…sounds good to me….
Then the static noise suddenly went off after a loud bang. All computers suddenly sounded a red alert and a real emergency chaos is began inside the server. All staff tried their best to hold the situation.
"Damn it, this object is a serious threat!" Craniumon said.
"Craniumon! The walls are broken so quickly! We need to act fast before this object reaches our gates!" A tall slender mechanical humanoid Digimon said.
"Hi-Andromon! Just shut down all gates! We need to take immediate action and develop a better plan!" Craniumon replied.
"Understood!"
"I'm sending more troops to stall this object!" Dorumon said as he helped the female human staff operating the computer.
"We need to make an announcement. Stop all people from using the Terminal! The gates will be closed in two minutes!" the female human staff said to her co-workers.
"Understood!" they replied at the same time.
See you next chapter!
Also, I'll put all the credit of what Digimon reference I'm using in last chapter! Meanwhile, I'll let you all guesses lol.