2 chapters left everyone! Additionally, I will add 1 extra and another extra on From If To I'm Sure.
The two destructive Digimon are aggressively attempting to crush Tsubasa and the others.
With two Honokas in Sebastian's arms, Tsubasa couldn't really tell which is the real Honoka and which is the fake one.
"I-I'm here! I'm the real one, Tsubasa-chan!" one of the Honoka shouted.
"Really? What about the other one? Are you Honoka?" Tsubasa asked.
The other one remained silent.
"She is not! She is my copy!" the other Honoka shouted.
"Ohh! So, what do I do to her now?" Tsubasa asked.
"It seems that those two Digimon are after her copy. We can try throwing that one away and see what happens." Umi said.
"Eeeh?! Umi-chan! Even though she is my copy, it's still creepy to see her being eaten!" Honoka said.
"Hmm… I wouldn't want to do that too, but if it will save us some trouble…" Tsubasa paused to think.
"Alright, I get it. This way will work." She nodded.
"W-what will?" The real Honoka asked.
"Sebastian! Throw the copy to Umi!"
"W-what?" Umi became flustered but she didn't get the chance to refuse since Sebastian threw Honoka's copy to Umi immediately after Tsubasa's command.
Umi focused her attention to the two destructive Digimon that were after them and she saw that they both turned their attention her as soon as she caught Honoka's copy, which also proved that her theory is right. But what can be done right now? If she threw this unresponsive copy of Honoka, she will be eaten and those two destructive Digimon will rampage until another copy appears.
She needs to be a distraction.
That's all she could think of And, without even uttering a single word, Yamato ran faster and switched to another direction. It seems that the two have the same thought. It makes Umi glad but also troubled by the fact that she is similar to a creature that is pictured to as a creature of darkness.
Then again, she must not care about that. There must be a reason behind the image she got for the Digimon that she raised; a reason why the result of her serious feelings is pictured as something dark; a reason why her discipline and education are pictured as virus instead of vaccine; and a reason why she can't get the blue majestic wolf she wished for.
Umi remembered what she heard when she was under the duplication effect. She recalled that there was a voice saying something to her:
Your Greatest Desire is what we need.
"Dignity"
She reminded herself.
What is that voice trying to tell her?
Putting all those thought aside, Umi kept her distance from the two monsters. She didn't stop until a specific woman appeared right in front of her, along with her Lucemon. In a blink of an eye, Lucemon blasted a very powerful skill and destroyed both the destructive Digimons. Umi didn't get any chance to look, but she is glad that she is safe along with the copy of Honoka on her arm.
What to do with it now?
Umi is about to call that heterochromatic woman, but she never caught her name. She needs to ask, but she doesn't know how she should do it. Fortunately for her, Kotori showed up.
"Ah! Kotori!" she called her best friend instead.
"Heidi-san! They are over there!" Kotori shouted someone else name. Umi's turned to the heterochromatic woman. Now she knows her name, but what's the point of calling her name again?
"Umi-chan! Catch me!" Kotori shouted before she jumped off her flying birdramon's back.
"W-wait! Kotori!" Umi couldn't help but catch the falling girl And, for that, she had to let go of Honoka's copy, which broke into fading cubes and left a transparent bright cube when it hit the ground.
"Ah! That's another one!" Kotori said before she quickly picked the cubes up.
"What are those for…?" Umi asked.
"This is what they are seeking."
"They…? They who?"
"They! Those Digimons from outside this dimension!"
"What are those exactly?"
"Nozomi-chan told me that these are memory fragments. For some reason, a lot of Digimon are re-programmed to eat these fragments and destroy it. They are created from the malfunctioning back-up data."
"Malfunctioning Back-up data?"
"Yep, when you do anything in this digital world, the data will be recorded into those fragments. It looks like both your and Honoka-chan's burst evolution triggered these data to be sent into your back-up file, but also broke into the security walls around this server. It's not a bad thing, though. Nozomi-chan also said that it proved Anjuu-chan and Erena-chan's theories. Now, all we have to do is to fight this one off, just like what Tsubasa-chan said!"
"S-so, we somehow 'did' something according to the plan?"
"Hehe, not quite. It's too early. None of us are ready with strong Digimons and Eli-chan hasn't done the research to make all of our card engines perfectly useable. We are all prematurely entering the cruel dimension!" Kotori said cheerfully.
"W-why are you so cheerful about it?!" Umi was flustered.
"Because! It seems fun!"
"W-what?"
"Oh, anyway! Honoka-chan and the others are going back to the area where we fought in order to find Ichigo. We need to join them quick before we go our separate ways. This Dimension is going to be destroyed soon and it will be hard to look for each other when that happens."
"H-huh?! Wh-why you didn't tell me that earlier?!" Umi complained.
Yamato doesn't need any command to act. He quickly ran back to where the trouble all began.
The crumbling Farm-land;
Some of the city Digimon have gone to a temporary domain that can be used until Eli is able to connect them with their incoming perfect domain. A-rise also settled up their track points to drag their team into the real world, but Honoka and the others have to complete their team before they can jump into the other temporary domain.
"Have you found him yet, Honoka?" Eli asked with hint of concern in her voice.
Honoka scanned around the area, looking for a hint of Ichigo's presence.
"I believe he is around and well, but, I'm not sure where he exactly is!" she replied
"Are you sure? You've been looking through that spot for a while now. We can't waste too much time. This world is about to crumble and these Wild Digimon are not going to give you more time than what our team can give." Eli replied as she pointed at the girls and their Digimon who are fighting with the incoming waves of wild Digimons.
Nozomi used her card to evolve Angel to Ophanimon while Lady stayed as Devidramon to carry Nozomi and fight off the weaker wild ones. Rin, Hanayo, Maki, Niko, Tsubasa and their Digimon tried their best to ward off the wild's attacks. Anjuu and Erena stood near an entrance to their first save point, making sure that there's no Digimon that tries to enter it.
After a while, Suzaku approached them while carrying a big bag of unknown objects. Heidr and Lucemon tagged along with her, also carrying bags of unknown objects in their arms.
Suddenly, all the wild Digimon turned their attention to Heidr and the others. They all quickly moved like mindless creatures chasing after the bags.
Lucemon quickly dropped his bag and channeled his energy. He blasted them off just as easily as how he blew up Megidramon and Diaboromon. Despite being massively cleaned up, new wild Digimon spawned through the broken dimension and once again went after Suzaku and the others.
"Hurry up! Find your friend's friend!" Heidr said. Eli and the rest of the girls nodded. They understand that they need to help Honoka look for Ichigo in the scattered area.
It took a while until Kotori, Umi, and Yamato caught up to them. Kotori quickly threw the one cube that she found off Honoka's copy to Heidr.
"Honoka-chan! Have you found Ichigo yet?" Kotori shouted when Yamato ran closer to the group.
"No, I haven't!" Honoka replied.
"There must be a way to summon your own Digimon, right?" Umi asked.
"There is and I did try! But he isn't responding!" Honoka said.
"Then, call him out!" Umi said.
"I did! Same result!" Honoka replied.
"What about your map? Did he show up there somehow?" Kotori asked.
"Yes! He is around here but he isn't!" Honoka replied.
"Alright, times up everyone! Gather up in that spot and we shall dispatch!" Heidr said before she, Lucemon, and Suzaku ran closer to them.
"Tsubasa! Come here! We need to get to the real world and warn the others!" Erena said.
"But… Ichigo!" Tsubasa replied with concern.
"Yeah! What about Ichigo?" Honoka said.
"He must be somewhere, but he will return to you, Honoka. Believe me." Eli said.
"What touching words from you, Ericchi. But you are not speaking from experience, are you?" Nozomi said a little teasingly.
"S-shut up, Nozomi! If her map says he is around here, then we just need to place our domain portal around this area. Hopefully, he is teleported with us. After all, he is part of her and she is part of him." Eli continued.
"I see… then off we go. Ichigo please come with me!" Honoka said.
Tsubasa knows that she has to be somewhere else in order to keep their plan on track. She ran to where Erena and Anjuu are, turned around to face the ginger girl's group and shouted:
"Ah! Right! Honoka! Before you go!"
Honoka remained silent as she looked at Tsubasa.
"How about my question before? Are you going to accept me as your girlfriend?" Tsubasa asked boldly, causing an uproar in the group. Honoka is dumbfounded by the question. Other than because she forgot about that question, it's also because she still has no idea about what being a girlfriend means to someone. Is it truly important?
Tsubasa looked at her with an expectant smile but, before Honoka could respond…
"Tsubasa! Get inside! We don't have time for that sort of thing!" Erena said as she pulled Tsubasa into the entrance. Anjuu giggled at them before the three and their Digimon, disappeared along with the entrance.
Eli noticed how flustered Honoka is, but truth to be told, it really is not the time to think about that. What was Tsubasa even thinking? Asking something like that out of nowhere will just make one flustered. Worst case, they can refuse her offer since it might annoy them instead.
There's always a time and place for everything. It's true that love can be forgiving, but love is also finicky. It can't be done perfectly without plan and luck.
Putting those thought aside, Eli gestured the group to gather closer together so that she can launch her domain and open the portal. With a shield set up by Heidr and Lucemon who blasts off all the invading Digimon, the group hoped for a successful launch.
The loading bar in Eli's laptop moved quickly, her arm also lit up brighter than usual which somewhat worried Nozomi. She wondered if it's still painful for Eli, but looking at how quick she can work, she thought that Eli might nolonger feel the same intensity of pain as before or if there is a chance that she is just already used to the pain in her arm.
When the loading bar finally filled up, the ground lit up and the pixels began to scatter as if they are moving into another dimension. Soon, when they no longer see any obstacles around them, Honoka spotted a black round thing laying on the ground. She quickly picked it up and watched it.
"Botamon! W-Wait! Is that you, Ichigo?!" Honoka said.
"Hnn…?" Botamon woke up from her slumber.
"Honoka-chan…?" he called her with sleepy voice.
The group was astonished by how the baby Digimon called her but, after a moment of thinking, they realized that the baby Digimon is the one they were looking for.
"D-Don't tell me?! Ichigo reverted into baby Digimon?!" Umi said.
"Really! There are two things you did that confuses me! First, how the heck are you are not girlfriends with Tsubasa yet?! Second, how the hell did your Digimon revert back into a baby Digimon?!" Niko said loudly.
"Eh…ehehe, I wonder too…" Honoka replied.
"I can help you answer the second question." Eli said.
Everyone turned their attention to the blonde.
"Three lives. The Digimon in our previous domain are given three lives. When they die three times, they will turn back into a Digi-Egg. There can't be anything lower than those digi-eggs, so when it is destroyed, it's over." Eli said.
"So our Digimon will not die as long as it isn't a digi-egg?" asked.
"Yes, that's why I decided to adjust this domain with that system, except I don't want them to reincarnate, we have to aim for the toughest result." Eli replied.
"This is only a temporary domain though, so it has a time limit. Once this domain stops moving, we will be moved to our real domain. Then after that, we will invade the City of Memory's system." Nozomi added.
"Tsubasa-chan suggested we make some videos and be popular in the real world so that we can have more save points. The more save points we have, the easier it will be for us to invade their server and solve the mystery." Kotori said.
"What mystery are we trying to solve?" Honoka asked.
"H...Honoka. Don't tell me that you don't understand what we are all dealing with right now." Umi said with an unfriendly smirk.
"Errh… I understand that we are stuck in this Digital World and planning to get out… but why do we have to invade the City of Memory server again?"
"B-because Digimons are appearing in the real world-nya!" Rin supplied.
"Y-Yes, and we can't be ignorant about that. We have to somehow return everything back to normal." Hanayo said.
"We suspect that those City of Memory suckers are behind this. They might have been toying with Digimons and humans just so that they can get more money." Niko said.
"Really, Nikocchi? You said that in front of an official?" Nozomi said as she gestured to the official who stood near them prettily. When Niko turned to her, Heidr giggled and waved like there's nothing happening.
"W-wha! Right! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Niko said.
"It's fine. Being a sucker isn't that bad." Heidr replied with a giggle.
"Sometimes I think she is a little drunk." Kotori whispered to Umi.
"K-Kotori…!" Umi sighed.
"Anyway, everyone… Heidr-san will help us prepare our real domain. Please work on making a video that might be popular enough to cause people to create save points for us. Idol video or whatsoever is fine, as long as you believe that it will turn out great." Eli said.
"Huh? You are not against it?" Niko asked.
"It's not like I'll be the first person to join. Nozomi and I will not join since we need to take care of something else for now." Eli said.
"I'll only be a support for you all." Nozomi said.
"Don't forget to train your Digimon though. There is no more day and night time in this domain but time is still running in the real world. That's why we have A-rise to connect us to the real world. Once they get there, they will contact us." Eli said.
"How long can our cyber body stay awake here? When do you think we need to sleep?" Honoka asked.
"No sleep is required. This temporary domain is set to keep us away from exhaustion. Just keep working. If you need to restore a Digimon's health, just come to Nozomi and she will heal them for you." Eli replied.
"Ah, it will feel like an actual game." Kotori commented.
"Except we still have a time limit." Umi added.
"How many days do you suppose we have to prepare for the invasion?" Maki asked.
"Approximately a week of free time and a week of serious combat preparation." Eli replied.
"That means we have 336 hours to prepare." Maki replied.
"We don't need any break time, so we can do a lot of things while we are here." Umi said.
"What if we can't be fully prepared in that time frame?" Hanayo asked.
"Then we are doomed. The Absolute Destroyer is going to complete her form and we don't know what she will do to our world." Nozomi said.
"Yes, Nozomi is right. AD is unpredictable, I can't guarantee you any safety." Heidr added.
"We better hurry up and work on the first thing to do : Form some groups and make our video. We really need to become popular." Niko said.
After a few hours of discussion;
They split into three groups: The Actor, The Engineer, and The Preparation Teams. Honoka, Kotori, and Umi are the Actors; Nozomi, Eli, and Heidr are the Engineers; and Maki, Niko, Rin, and Hanayo are the Preparations team. Each team has its own job-desk. While the actors are meant to prepare to be the center of attention in the video, the preparation team would work on their overall needs, and The Engineer team will work on the field's system.
Heidr helped Eli and Nozomi set up their House Area, which is still properly secured in their files in the new domain, Maki and Niko are preparing the needs of the actors while Rin and Hanayo are taking care of the Digimon's trainings. Even though the Digimon are already tasked with a schedule, they still require some supervision to help them understand the concept of each assigned task.
"Hnng… so each Digimon will have their own training focuses-nya?" Rin asked her best friend who understood the concept.
"Yep. Also, they will not evolve until we want them to do so!" Hanayo said.
"Aaah! That's back to the City of Memory's system!"
"Yep! Isn't it fun?" Hanayo said cheerfully.
"Hehe, to think that we will get something like that, it makes me feel strange! But then, Ihaven't experienced enough of the previous system-nya!"
"It's true! We're just tasting it a bit, but I guess this feels a lot more convenient!" Hanayo said.
"But are Digimons meant to be controlled-nya?" Rin asked.
Hanayo smiled a little bitterly.
"Hmm…maybe they are not…" she replied.
"Hehe, maybe we can just tell them to have free time instead of a real training?" Rin asked.
"Uh…so… we are going to…?"
"Play with them-nya!" Rin said cheerfully before she run into the Digimon who have been working on their own practices.
"Oh! T-there, Rin-chan!" Hanayo tried to catch up.
At another side of the place;
Honoka, Umi and Kotori are busy trying to prepare their outfits. They even have a few video recording tools set up where they are.
"Uhh…so we are going to make these outfits?" Honoka asked as she looked at the sketch that Kotori offered.
"Skirt lower than my knees, please." Umi commented.
"But, these are already very idol-like so we can't lower the skirt anymore! It will be hard for us to move around!" Kotori replied.
"Yep, I'll just agree with this uniform so that's a two to one vote! We are going to make these clothes!" Honoka said.
"Seriously though, why are we doing these again?" Umi sighed.
"To gain popularity! We better hurry up and create everything we need!" Honoka said.
"But, do you really understand the essence of why popularity is needed here?" Umi asked.
"Ehh…uhm… Not really! But, Tsubasa said that it will help so we have to do that! Also, even though it might look hard, I just believe that we can all do this! This is the only way we can raise our popularity."
"Do you think anyone would watch it?" Umi asked again.
"Maybe? Haha, after all, Tsubasa-chan and her team are popular because of this too!"
"Hehe, we just need to give it a shot." Kotori said.
"Sheesh, really. You two are so carefree about this. I mean, if it gets posted in the internet, anyone will be able to see it!" Umi said.
"That's the point though…" Honoka replied.
"Yep, that's the point, Umi-chan. It's to make everyone see it!" Kotori added.
"But, that will be embarrassing!"
"Stop being silly, Umi-chan! Should I remind you again that we are after the popularity?" The ash brunette replied to her.
"I…I know! But…"
"Now-now! Instead of being confused, Umi-chan, let's start practicing!"
"O…Ok?"
Then the three set up their positions and stayed silent for a few minutes until they realized…
"Uh…shouldn't we wait for Niko-chan and Maki-chan to make us music?" Umi said.
"R-right… and I need to tailor the clothes. Hehe… I got carried away…" Kotori said.
"Oh…so… what are we both going to do? Can we at least think about how we are going to dance?" Honoka asked.
"We can't think of that until we get the music. Should we check on Niko and Maki?" Umi replied.
"I think so…" the ginger girl nods.
"I'll just stay here and start tailoring the clothes, ok? It might take a while!" Kotori said.
"Alright, good luck!" Honoka replied before she and Umi walked to where Maki and Niko sat.
At where the two sat;
"Niko-chan! Maki-chan!" Honoka greeted them first.
"Ah, Honoka, Umi." Maki greeted them back.
"Hey, what's up?" Niko followed.
"We are here to ask about the music. How is it going?" Umi asked politely.
"Heh, we have no progress. My partner is so worthless." Maki smirked.
"Huh?! You're blaming me? It was your fault that you didn't want to take my suggestion!"
"Haha, there's no way of that kind of song and lyric would pass any musical standard. You might as well be popular as a clown instead of an idol." Maki replied.
"Huhh?! You are really annoying, aren't you?"
"Now-now, is there anything you made by yourself, though?" Umi asked.
"I can't show you yet. I'm not very good at writing lyrics so I might need a little more time."
"Then, maybe Umi-chan can help you!" Honoka said.
"M-Me…?!" Umi exclaimed.
"Yep, Umi-chan's poems are always so good!" Honoka encouraged her.
"Then write down the lyrics and I should be able to work the tune from it." Maki said.
"Hmmph! I don't want to believe you! You just rejected the lyrics that I wrote!" Niko complained.
"Huh?! Who the heck would want to sing something like Niko Puri! Niko-Niko! Niko-puri! Yeah! Niko-Niko!" Maki sang with brilliantly cheerful tune.
"W-whoah! You did make a song out of it!" Niko smirked at her.
"You are the only person that will sing something like that!" Maki replied with annoyance laced in her voice.
"Hey now! It's not like you will have to sing that with my name, unless you want to worship me as the number one idol in the galaxy!" Niko replied.
"Like what, huh? Maki-Puri? Maki-Maki! Maki-Puri! Yeah! Maki-Maki?!" Maki replied with a somewhat sarcastic tune.
"Ooo! Then my song should be like, Hono-PanPan! Hono-Hono! Hono-panpan! Yeah! Hono-Hono!" Honoka said.
"What the hell is Hono-pan-pan? That sounds so awkward." Niko said.
"It's not like Niko-Niko-Ni is not awkward."
"Umi-Manjuu! Umi-Umi! Umi-Manjuu! Yeah! Umi-Umi!" Umi sang softly as she faced the wall that surrounded them. Despite singing in her softest voice possible, the way she acts like Niko's dance attracted everyone's attention, including their Digimon who stopped in the middle of the most awkward practice pose. She didn't realize it until she noticed the silence that enveloped the area.
"What the hell you are doing." Eli said coldly at her.
Umi's face turned red. She could scream so loudly for her stupidity, but instead of letting her embarrassment come out of her mouth, she lost her balance and fainted.
"U-Umiii-chaaan!" Honoka and Kotori quickly caught her.
In the real world;
The A-Rise reached their destination smoothly. At first, the people around the portal were panicked since they thought a chaotic Digimon would be coming out from it but, when they saw the A-Rise and their Digimon in rookie form, some expressed their joy and some expressed their worry.
"A-rise! Where you have been! We were overwhelmed here!" one of the men with a gold beetle digimon said.
"Sorry-sorry! We got a little trouble here and there! But anyway! Instead of attacking aimlessly, let's start to haul our power to attack one specified destination!" Tsubasa said.
"Isn't that what we all doing right now? We are going to attack that thing over there!" another tamer replied as he pointed to the tower-like building that created with a strange, root-like object with a black and white moving pattern.
"Wh-what the hell is that?" Erena asked.
"The official said, they sent the eaters to reduce that one specific creature's potential, but it feels like those eaters are just covering it without actually getting anyting done. Random strange Digimon are appearing from it!" another tamer explained.
Anjuu bit her lips and whispered,
"This is bad. We might need to delay our main plan to get rid of this thing from the real world."
"What's the condition?" Tsubasa asked Erena.
Erena quickly browsed on her digivice's web browser.
"Looks like that thing is a lot more popular than anything right now. This is really bad for µ's too. We need to get rid of it so that they can gain popularity." She said.
"You think we could change the media? It seems impossible in this kind of crisis." Anjuu replied.
Tsubasa remain silent to gather her thoughts.
"There might be a way to get rid of that thing with their help and find a way for them to come back to the real world after. I believe that people will get tired and will seek for entertainment once they are not overwhelmed by a huge fear." Erena said.
"So we just need to reduce the tension, huh?" Anjuu confirmed.
"That's it. We are going there!" Tsubasa said.
"Huh?" Erena raised her eyebrow as she glanced at Tsubasa.
"Erena! Evolve your Katsu ya!" Tsubasa said.
"It's Tatsuya!" Erena protested.
"Doesn't matter! Just evolve him and fly us to the peak of that thing!" Tsubasa said.
Erena sighed at her.
"Alright, just make sure you know what you're making us do, ok?"
Back in the temporary domain;
Their floors are still moving through the unknown circuit. Each of them are still working on their own tasks, especially Umi who is still trying to get over her embarrassing act and work as well as possible. While Honoka, Niko and Maki are chatting about practically anything, Kotori is working as fast as possible to finish the costume. Rin and Hanayo are also still helping out the Digimon in their practice's routine while Eli, Nozomi and Heidr are working on the system.
A few minutes passed before a call is received on Nozomi's digivice.
"Oh, Anjuu." Nozomi said before she immediately accepted the call and set it on loudspeaker.
"Halo! Nozomi-chan, we have a little problem here." Anjuu said.
"In the real world?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes! There's a strange tower-like building covered with the eaters… we might be able to clean it up a bit to see what's inside it but can your blonde darling help us identify it?"
"Sure, Ericchi can. What's the deal with it though?" Nozomi asked.
"Random Digimon are appearing from it."
"So that might be a spawner or the world's gap we need to know about." Eli said.
"Tsubasa-chan will send you some sample data she can hack out of it. Your job is to identify them." Anjuu said.
"No problem, I'll make this quick." Eli replied.
They waited for a few minutes. Even though each of the group were working on their own tasks, they still paid attention to the conversation.
"There, it's sent!" Anjuu said.
"Thank you. I'll work it out, please wait for a minute." Eli replied before she quickly typed in her laptop. While she is working, Nozomi noticed that her arm is lit a little brighter than before. She scanned the room and it seems that the group either had no interest on her lit up arm or were too distracted to notice it. Without giving it a second thought, Nozomi approached her girlfriend and obstructed the group's view of her arm.
Eli didn't bother to stop her and Heidr, who sat in front of them, seemed to be amused with the view. It's like she is a proud mother who is witnessing her daughter being lovely with someone who is worth more than the most precious diamond.
A minute passed and Eli came up with her result.
"There it is. It looks like the part you sent me came from the same part we detected from the creature we call 'Absolute Destroyer'." She said.
"Ah, so, this tower might be where the absolute destroyer is?" Anjuu asked.
"Maybe it's just a little part of it. What else did you find, Tsubasa?" Eli asked.
They waited a while for a response, but they understood since they can hear a few explosions and zapping noises.
"Well, Eli, you are right and wrong. You were right about the one who owns the part, but this isn't just her part! We found that creepy bastard taking her nice slumber inside, at the top of the tower, protected by a transparent dome. But the Eaters are covering it again so it's not that transparent anymore. We need City of Memory to get rid of those craps."
"Then we should cancel our plan to invade the City of Memory." Eli said.
"Eh? We should? But then… what about the Digimon from File City?" Hanayo asked.
"Yeah-nya! They are bullied by the people in the City of Memory, right-nya?" Rin added.
"Don't worry. it's not that we are going to be on their side. We will just pretend to be on their side until we can get what we want." Nozomi replied.
"Yes, we will play the victim and gain their support so we can finish that specific problem. After that, we will stab them in the back." Eli added.
"E-eh? Is that ok? I will feel bad since they might be hospitable towards us!" Honoka said.
"I know it's a bad thing to do, but… I guess I can't really say much about it. Sometimes we have to act smart instead of acting loyal," Umi said.
"The Digimon are tormented. If we defend the City of Memory, we are supporting them in milking more money off of this 'game' they made. The Digimon aren't meant to be treated like this." Kotori said.
"It's still quite a wonder to me but… perhaps the right thing to do is to destroy the City of Memory and return the Digital world into its real state. I mean, who the hell believes that wild and mindless Digimon exist naturally? They have to have written their own story and covered it with the thickest lies so that we appear to be the great heroes in their game." Maki said.
"Even though I still don't know what exactly those Wild Digimon are, I have to agree that they must be hiding a secret. We can unveil it while we are trying to gain their support to 'save' the world." Niko added.
"But honestly though, we have been killing each other before humans are there." Ichigo suddenly spoke. The girls were surprised and they all turned their attention to Ichigo.
"When I was de-evolved into this, some of my memory returned. I remember that there's something that happened before humans appeared in our Digital world." he continued.
Everyone remained silent.
"It's not like anything will be different without humans. To be fair, humans actually made some parts of our lives better. Even though we had to cause some of us to become a horde of mindless creatures, some of us have better lives than before. We don't have to worry about where we are going to live or what we are going to eat. We don't have to worry about how we can become stronger and what we will become. Those who are left behind are set free or become one of the Digimon who takes care of the other Digimon." Ichigo continued.
"But, don't you want to be independent and create a better life by yourselves?" Umi asked.
"We cannot create an idea. Anything that we call 'ideas' already exist somewhere within the servers. All of them." Ichigo replied.
"So, you are saying that Digimon don't have their own minds?" Honoka asked.
"No, we are created from fragments of data." Ichigo replied.
"Yet, it feels like you all have your own minds." Kotori said.
"We are created from your part." Ichigo replied again.
The group remained silent.
"Everything about us are just fragments of data created by Human beings. We are all unreal. The only reason humans are able to befriend us is because, after all, we are created from human parts. It's just like how a human befriends another human." Ichigo continued.
"That must not be true! I don't want to believe it!" Honoka said.
"But, Honoka, it's true. Remember how you created me the first time? You collected Botamon data. Some of the Botamon data caused me to have this knowledge and I believe some of us have this knowledge too." Ichigo explained.
"Do they?" Honoka asked before the group turned to the practicing Digimon.
"I have that knowledge, but I don't see the point in telling that to everyone." Polymnia said.
"Ah, right. Lunamon are not created from data fragments. They are special digimon. All of them have the same data source, except the owner's data is injected to it and this causes them to have varieties." Heidr commented.
"Heidi-san, we forgot that you were there!" Kotori said.
"Oh! True! We have an official here, why did we never ask you anything?" Umi said.
"Well, I wouldn't answer your question if I never heard it. But I like guessing, so sometimes I answer before you ask." Heidr replied with a playful smile.
"Say, though, Heidr-san… we have never heard you talk about yourself. Can you tell us a bit while explaining what exactly happened before The City of Memory was created? I've read the theories that Eli and Nozomi wrote for us, but I'm curious to hear it from the official's lips."
"It's not much different from their theories, though there are a few mistakes. For example, about the digital shift…"
"I haven't written anything about the digital shift other than what already happened in the real world." Eli said.
"That's where you are wrong because you never wrote it." Heidr replied.
"Please explain it to us." Maki said.
"Alright, so let's start from the theories. The reason why you are all planning to invade the City of Memory is because you think those humans are booting File Island out of the big digital world, right? You all wanted to help them so that they can return to where they belong?" Heidr asked.
The girls nodded.
"Part of it is true, the city of memory never existed before humans created it. They are created in a domain just like how Eli creates this new domain we are in right now. Before it became crowded, there was no Digimon in it, only a system designed to fit in the game they were making. Before this Digimon Online existed, there was another Digimon online that was left behind after a little incident happened. The place where The City of Memory stands now used to be Asuka City, not File-island." Heidr explained
"E-eeh!? Not File Island?" the girls are surprised.
"Yes, but it's not like everything about File Island is wrong. The File Island is truly the place that's considered as the depth of the Digital World. It's one of the earliest Digital Worlds that ever existed, but it's just a small island, unlike the other parts of the Digital world which are absolutely a lot bigger than that island."
"Then, the other part of the File Island is where The City of memory is?" Hanayo asked.
"Nope, that's wrong. Do you believe that Digital World only has one surface just like the real world?" Heidr replied.
"The Digital world is indeed round like our world, but it is layered. The earlier a layer was created, the deeper in the Digital World it exists in." Eli said.
"The only reason why everyone always says that the depth of the Digital world is dangerous is because the Digimon in it have grown stronger than the Digimon which were born later." Nozomi added.
"Interesting." Maki nods.
"I have a question though. How can humans travel between worlds? Also, if a human is actually the one who creates ideas in the Digital world, why are there only some parts of the Digimon that resemble humans?"
"Because humans are not the only creatures that exist. Plus, humans also create fantasies. To help you understand the concept, let's just say that the Digital world is equal to the internet. Anything that you do inside it is recorded in the system, and it is shaped into anything and carried over to many others. As you share your idea, you will also let another person to gain another idea and they create another creature. It goes on and on, creating layers and layers of the Digital World until it finally became how it is right now." Heidr explained again.
"Whoah, that enlightens me so much-nya!" Rin said.
Heidr giggled at her remark.
"Well, just for fun, let me tell you that the Digital World can be your bridge to another universe. A world where you existed as another person. It could be better, could be worse." She said.
"E—eeh?! So that means, I can meet another me-nya?" Rin asked.
"Of course not literally, silly head! She means that digital world lets us create our own character. It's like role-playing in a forum!" Niko said.
"Ah, I understand-nya!" Rin replied.
"Human desire is recorded in this Digital World, yet they are not meant to be fulfilled. They will only form into a memory of wanting something so badly and it ends up getting shaped into how it was before." Heidr added more to her explanation.
"Human… desire…?" Honoka started to think. She remembers well that she heard something related to that explanation but was still trying to process how it is really related.
"Then! Do you mean that the more we want something in this Digital World, the more copies we have?"
"Mmhm. It wasn't like that before they created the City of Memory, though." Heidr said.
"So you mean, it only began to happen since the City of Memory was built?" Kotori asked.
"It's a glitch that they are trying to hide. In order to be able to combine two worlds, they need to partially Digitize the ecosystem. That's why they need a massive power to be able to run their domain and the engine to digitize the real world. The only way for them to gain enough power is to use someone who has infinite power, someone who can convert the light into energy, and someone who will never be remembered in the world they are in." Heidr explained.
"W-wait wait, what do you mean by 'someone'?!" Umi asked.
"Someone. ..Literally someone." Heidr replied.
"It sounds impossible if you think that someone comes from our world. This someone has to be a living being coming from another world, possibly be someone created by human fantasy." Umi said.
"Then that someone is a Digimon?" Kotori asked.
Heidr once again giggled.
"Maybe, you can call that creature as a digital monster, except it never copies and never had a name." She said.
"We named it the Absolute Destroyer." Nozomi said.
"Absolute Destroyer? That sounds epic. But if I name that thing, though, I'll name it something cute instead. Loveless-chan? Pouty-chan? Or should I just add –mon instead? Lovelessmon and Poutymon?" Heidr giggled.
"There, it's not the right time to joke around!" Maki said.
"What's special with human beings is how they are capable of breaking through their limits, creating new ideas, and adjusting to their surroundings. They can learn from experience, they can learn from socialization, and they can observe to learn." Heidr said as her eyes met Maki's gaze.
"Digimons and Robots are similar. Even though they may act like a human, they cannot create their own ideas, they cannot laugh if they aren't given the idea of humor, and they cannot express feelings if they are not programmed with the idea of what they should feel after experiencing an event." She continued with narrowed eyes and a mysterious smile.
"G-gh…!" Maki shivered all of a sudden.
"Sh-she is a little scary…" Niko smirked.
"Have you ever heard of cyborgs? It's a human being with mechanical parts. It could be used to complete their missing part or to be used to surpass their limitations as a human being. But personally, I've never thought of being limited as a human being. It's true that they are not gods but, somehow, humans create their own version of god, right? Then they claimed their fantasy about god as the true god that controls their lives?"
"T-This is getting a little heavy, I don't get it." Honoka commented.
"For how we existed, we never know and we will never know. To believe too much in the existence of gods is silly, but it is as silly as believing that they never existed. So the only way for a human to express the existence of god is to pretend to be both the god and the loyal worshiper then make people believe in it and let the knowledge be inherited from generation to generation."
"You are blabbering a little too much, Heidr-san. What we believe about God doesn't matter and we are not supposed to talk about that." Nozomi said.
"Ah, right, I'm sorry. I was trying to give you a little hint, but I got carried away." Heidr replied with her sweet smile.
"But still, A Cyborg... Does that mean the Absolute Destroyer is half Digimon and Half Human?" Eli asked herself.
"Is that even possible?" Umi asked.
"The Cyber body. Even though you can say that cyber body is only a digitized human body, data is data and it's possible for a human to turn into a creature like a digimon." Eli replied.
"Then, it really is bad to stay as a digitized human being!" Hanayo said.
"As long as we are secure, we are fine. But if we go back to this absolute destroyer, could she actually be an infected digitized human? But what infected her to become such a powerful creature?" The blonde placed her fingers to her chin.
Heidr giggled once again.
"You are so close to the truth, but I'll be leaving you there. I don't want to ruin the fun." She said.
"Thanks, I'd love to figure this out myself." Eli replied.
"This is getting a little too confusing for me." Honoka said.
"Don't worry your little head, Honoka-chan. I know you don't get it, but I'm sure you will later. Just try to memorize the points, ok?" Kotori said.
"Y-yeah I guess?" Honoka smiled awkwardly.
"A-Rise, are you still there?" Eli said.
"Yep, we're listening. Tsubasa-chan fell asleep though." Anjuu replied.
"Tsubasa!" Erena shouted and a loud smack was heard along with it.
"W-whoa! I fell asleep! What was it about again?" Tsubasa asked.
"I'll explain later! But anyway, what should we do now? I bet we need to review our plans." Erena said.
"Yes, but it won't be much different than our main mission. Let's re-do our discussion about this." Eli said.
"Ok!" the girls replied to her before they stood and gathered together again.
"We will keep practicing, don't stop, everyone!" Yamato said as he took the lead after Rin and Hanayo left their spot.
"Got it!" The Digimon replied before they continued to practice their own assigned training.
I hope you enjoy it! I'm eager to release the Ending! MWAHWAHWAHWHWHWAHAWHA \(｀∇´)ψ