Act 1: Beating Heart

Segment 3: A Glorious Arms Race

Chapter 3-1: All Aboard

"Takaharu, leaving again?" Aki looked over. He was hurriedly putting his shoes on. "You Tamers okay?"

"Yeah, just fine!" He sounded rushed.

Aki put her hands on her hips. "You do not sound fine." She had seen the news from yesterday. "Weren't you guys in Olinas when that news came out?"

"Uh…"

"You were, weren't you? What happened?"

Takaharu paused. He didn't want to lie. It wasn't in him to do that. But if he said the truth, he might not be allowed to go.

"Mom… I'm sorry."

She squinted. Shunpei was out at work and Izumi was with her own friends today. Tailmon was sleeping peacefully, and Lomamon was about ready to make the jump into Takaharu's phone. "About what? You didn't have anything to do with it, did you?"

His lip twisted and his jaw knotted. "I… we… things are getting weird out there." Aki stared wordlessly. "I'll… I'll explain later, okay, mom?"

She put her book of scrap ideas down and looked at Lomamon. "Lomamon? Please… watch his back."

"Got it."

"Takaharu, stay safe, okay?" He nodded wordlessly and escaped out the door with Lomamon. Aki buried her face in her journal and moaned, "Aye, this kid…"

"Hawkmon, let's hurry!" Asuka rushed past Rei.

"Asuka, what's this about?" asked Bunzo. He had taken an extra two days off, hoping to spend it with his daughters, but Asuka seemed agitated and needed to go somewhere. "Where are you going? Rei?"

Rei shook her head. "Sorry, dad, but it's urgent."

"And you're not going? Just Asuka and Hawkmon?"

"Yeah."

He blinked and looked at Sora. "You know, this… this is bad."

"It is," breathed Asuka, trying to get her shoes tied up, "and I think you know what's going on, a bit."

"Not exactly, obviously, but… Asuka, was this about yesterday?"

"It is," replied Hawkmon.

"Exactly what's happening?"

Asuka grabbed her backpack, just in case they needed something in it, like the first aid kit. She had no idea, but it might be useful. "It's about how the Digimon got here. There's something else trying to get through. And we can't let it."

Bunzo and Sora stared. "Oh, dear," Sora whispered. Her fingers were gripping her travel mug. They were supposed to be taking a day trip out north-east, but it seemed it would have to wait. "Should we wait for you?"

"Uh… no, don't. I'll try to be back within an hour, but I can't guarantee anything." Asuka hefted her backpack up. "Ryuta, Yuuka, and Takaharu will be there, don't worry!"

"What about the other two?" asked Rei.

Asuka snorted. "Bad timing."

"Dang."

"Sorry, I'm out! Enjoy Sendai!" she waved and disappeared with Hawkmon. The door slammed shut.

Rei collapsed into a chair. "Shit. I'm sorry, mom, dad, I got her into this."

"I'm still not sure what she means, Rei," Bunzo remarked. "What is she up to? And why is it always with the other Tamers?"

Rei folded her hands together on the table. "Let me tell you what she told me, yesterday night." Rei paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Actually, it's been the last few months. Ever since the new year, they've been running into parts of the world that link up to some kind of distorted space. Nobody is sure why yet, but we suspect it's something from the Digital World trying to break in."

"Oh… oh my," whispered Bunzo. "Is that what your conversation this morning with that professor was about?"

"We didn't tell him exactly that, but we just wanted to know if he's had any strange experiences lately, and he has. Data gone wrong, missing, programs corrupted, all that."

"And this is related to yesterday?"

"Asuka told me that when they found of these abnormal Junctions yesterday in Yamada, it messed up the electronics in the area too. Cameras, TVs, even phone signals got disrupted. That's why those customers got lost in that space. They had no idea until they got attacked by whatever was trying to get out."

Sora gripped Bunzo's shoulder hard. "Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Ah, sorry!" She released her grip.

"So what exactly are these things trying to get out? Not Digimon?"

Rei shook her head. "Kazuhiko, somehow, got a photo while inside that place yesterday. Here," she turned her phone to them, "look at that." It was a photo of a Plasmid with mixed features. Her parents stared wordlessly at it.

Bunzo finally responded. "And we can't just… let police or the military deal with it?"

Rei sighed. "I wish we could count on them. But I think they'd just laugh at us if we called."

Bunzo grunted. Rei was right – this was such an unbelievable thing that they'd never bother investigating. "How dangerous are these things?"

Rei stashed her phone back in her pocket. "Dangerous enough to cause injury to us. We can't let them escape these spaces." The three of them stared in silence at various parts of the apartment. Rei suddenly got up and walked to the window. "Damn it!" She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" asked Sora.

"Nothing… I just wish I could help more."

Bunzo nodded. "We all do."

Mariko yelled, "Yuuka, Ryuta's here!"

"Coming!" She hurriedly switched to something suitable for running in. "Falcomon!" It rushed to her side and jumped into her phone. Ryuta and Mariko were standing in the back of the konbini. "Ryuta, you got here fast."

"Bicycle."

"Really?"

"If I push it, I can break the speed limit on the road."

She gave him a look. "That… whatever." His recklessness could know no bounds sometimes.

"Yuuka, what's this rush about?" asked Mariko.

"Mom, I can't explain right now, but I'll do that when I'm home." The three of them paced to the front door. "Ryuta, how is your chest?"

"I'm good." He glanced at his phone. "We should hurry, the other two might be waiting for us."

Mariko followed them to the door. "Where are you going?"

"Waseda," replied Ryuta. He flicked down his phone's clock. The transit time was painfully long.

"The university? Why?" Mariko was confused. Ryuta wasn't going to a university in Japan and Yuuka wasn't going there. It also wasn't where Nagisa worked, either.

"Mom, please, we have to run."

Her mother relented. "Alright, I trust you. Ryuta, keep her safe."

"I'll do my best."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" complained Falcomon.

"You too, Falcomon, Amedramon!" Yuuka and Ryuta rushed away on foot.

Yuuka looked at the bike parked next to their building. "Just gonna leave it there?"

"I'll come back for it later. That's not important." He stared at the mapping app on his phone. "How do we get from here to Waseda…" His nose crinkled. They were right in the middle of a dead spot for transit, despite being boxed in by stations – Honjo-Azumabashi to the north, Kinshicho to the southeast, and Ryogoku to the southwest. "That's annoying. Hm." He hadn't been out west that often, admittedly. "Yuuka?"

"Oh… you've only been here six years, I forgot. Here, I'll look." She pulled up her phone. "Waseda? We should get on at Kinshicho. We might get either a local or rapid Sobu or maybe Hanzomon, and then we can figure out after that." She paused. "Wait, are you sure it's Waseda we're looking for?"

"Huh? What?"

"I remember Rei mentioned once she wasn't on the main campus." She looked up the science faculty. "Phew, okay, so it's not Waseda, but Nishi-Waseda. That's not that far away from main campus."

"Thanks. The trains are confusing."

"Is it that bad?" she asked as she broke into a jog.

He started jogging alongside her. "Have you seen the attempts at mapping everything out?"

She blinked. "I guess I'm just used to it, then. You never figured them out?"

"No, it's ridiculously complicated." He shook his head. The trains' service patterns, between the many station timings and providers, never failed to make his head spin. He preferred to walk or bicycle instead, even if it meant staying up late or leaving early.

"So you don't take the trains?"

"Not often enough to figure out how they work."

"Even as a kid in Burnaby?"

"The Skytrain? I did there, but that was a lot simpler. Just three lines to worry about, and no weird expresses and locals."

She stifled a laugh as they plodded their way to Kinshicho. "That seems a little boring, actually. Only three? Is Canada that sparsely populated?"

"Yuuka," he said, "The population of the whole country is less than three times that of Tokyo."

"Huh. I always thought it was bigger. The country is giant, though."

"That's America you're thinking of."

"I see." They made it to the station. "Do you have a card on you? It's fine if you don't."

"An IC? Yeah, I barely use it."

"Oh, good!" She looked for some information boards. "Ah, we're too late for the Sobu local," she said, staring up at the information board. It disappeared off the panel and flipped to the next time. "Okay, never mind." She thought for a moment. "Let's take the Hanzomon." She started towards the escalators down into the subway.

"Does it matter that it's an express?"

"Nope."

"Got it. And after?"

"We can just get off at Waseda and walk the rest, it's almost literally the same time as getting off at Takadanobaba."

Ryuta was confused. "Nothing gets us directly to Nishi-Waseda?" She shook her head. "See what I mean by too complicated?"

Takaharu was first to arrive. "Anything weird, Lomamon?"

"No… but I don't know if that's because the phone is dulling my senses."

"Man, there are more people here than I expected." He looked around nervously. There were a lot of people much older than he was. He felt a bit intimidated. "Come on, guys… how long could it take?"

He walked about, trying his best to not look suspicious, then stopped next to the school gate. "Yuuka! Nice, Ryuta is with you, too."

"Yeah. Asuka's not here yet?" Ryuta said.

"I dunno, I guess not."

"Maybe the trains messed her up."

"She's lived here her whole life! I think."

"No," Yuuka replied, "she grew up in Kyoto, didn't move here until she was nine."

Takaharu shrugged. "Trains aren't that hard to figure out." Ryuta made a noise. "Wait, you didn't?" he snickered. "Of all the things, I didn't realize you wouldn't have figured out the trains by now."

"Why are there six different service patterns?" he complained. "What the hell is a commuter express?"

Takaharu laughed. Yuuka sighed. She kind of agreed, in retrospect; it was a lot to handle. "Falcomon?"

"Nothing yet."

"Amedramon?" Silence from Ryuta's phone.

"Just barely."

"Oh, no," Yuuka worried. "How bad could it be?"

"I don't know. This is where it's supposed to be running, after all." It sniffed. "Great timing for Satsuki and Kazu to be out, too."

"Mmm, I don't disagree, but that's how it is. Asuka!" She was running full speed ahead, dodging some pedestrians.

"Sorry, sorry, I got on the wrong train!" she apologized.

"See what I mean?" pointed out Ryuta. "Anyway, Amedramon, lead us." They filtered past two professors having a conversation and several students into the campus.

Takaharu looked around. "I feel so out of place," he remarked.

"Aren't you going to veterinary school after this?" Yuuka asked.

"Yeah, but still." He shrugged. "Don't you feel the same?"

"Not really." Yuuka looked at the faces. "They look not much older than Rei or Makoto. I guess that makes sense."

Takaharu sighed. "I'm not sure, I just don't want to be here for too long."

Ryuta stopped momentarily. "Amedramon, I hope this isn't indoors."

"I think it is. Why?"

He blinked. "We might have to bust in then."

"You mean, like, break into a lab?" asked Asuka. "I kind of want to see one, honestly. Rei showed me some pictures but I want to see them for myself."

"Let's not go about-" he started, then paused again. "Did Rei give you her pass?"

"She did, why?"

"Okay, then maybe this won't be so bad. If we need to access anything, there's a better chance we can."

Asuka blinked. "Right… Rei said that the professor said it was locked up."

"If we're lucky, or unlucky, I guess, we won't have to bother."

They filtered into a building as Amedramon's senses led them indoors. "Is it still approaching us, Amedramon?" Ryuta whispered. There was no telling who was listening.

"Yeah, go down."

"Down?"

"Yep!"

"Weird. Who would put their servers below the water line?" They went down a set of stairs.

Asuka held out her arm. "Whoa. Hold on. Guys?"

"What?" asked Takaharu. "Nothing looks wrong."

She thought for a second. "These stairs shouldn't go this far down. This is it, everyone."

Ryuta nodded. "No wonder nobody's noticed. These stairs should end in a dead-end, but if nobody was paying attention, it wouldn't look out of place. These are getting too real."

Asuka agreed. Whatever it was, it was starting to mimic reality too closely. "Let's get in, everyone."

"Right behind you, Asuka," said Takaharu. They continued walking down. The virtual stairway continued lower and lower. Even the floor numberings continued to descend. By the time they got five apparent levels deep, their Digimon emerged, expecting it to be safe to come out.

"Sheesh." Takaharu looked back up the stairwell. "We're really far down."

"Amedramon, sense anything new?" asked Ryuta.

It glanced around. "Just a lot of baddies."

"Nothing new, then. Let's run."

"Okay!" The two of them hurried down the stairs, followed by the other six. Suddenly Amedramon's footing slipped as the stairwell turned to a slope. "Aah! Ryuta!" He managed to grab hold of Amedramon, but not before the two of them continued to slide.

"Amedramon! Shit, let's go after them!" Lomamon exclaimed, and jumped down the slope, followed by Takaharu. "Where's the bottom?" it exclaimed.

"No idea!" Ryuta yelled back. The eight of them kept sliding down, save for Falcomon and Hawkmon, who glided down instead. The previously brick and fluorescent light stairway faded into a dark and foreboding place. Black veins crept along the white walls until they formed into a mat. Amedramon and Ryuta rolled to stop themselves at the bottom. He looked back up.

Only Asuka and Hawkmon followed. "Where are the others?" he demanded.

"The path split somewhere up there," Hawkmon confessed. "You didn't see it?"

"Shit!" he yelled and squatted. He buried his face in his hands.

Asuka looked around. The place was cavernous and barely lit. There were little dots of light embedded everywhere in what seemed to be a giant tunnel. If Vanadramon was big, this tunnel was giant. She swallowed. Anyone could get lost in here. "Ryuta," she said, holding back her nerves, "we'll find them. Don't worry."

He didn't respond. She put a hand on his shoulder and squatted next to him. "Yuuka's a grown lady. She'll be fine." She snickered. "If you're worried about her and Takaharu-"

"I'm not thinking about that!" he roared. "There's only one Champion here, and it's Vanadramon! What if-" he rose suddenly and paced around. "What if they run into too much? It's not a guarantee either Falcomon or Lomamon will evolve!"

"We just have to trust that they can. And you know what?"

"What?"

"If we just have to trash these hearts to get out of here, then let's go as quickly as we can."

Ryuta inhaled deeply and stared into the dimly lit tunnels. "You're right." The ground shook next to them. "Vanadramon, keep a sense out for the heart."

"Of course," it responded. They proceeded into the tunnel. The place was disgusting. They could hear the sound of something wet squelching around. Strands of goo dangled and threaded randomly about, pulsing and throbbing with something inside them. A Plasmid would probably jump them at any moment.

Vanadramon growled. "What's wrong?" Ryuta asked. Vanadramon whipped its head around. "What are you picking up?"

Vanadramon lowered its body, as if getting ready to pounce on something. "Why are there so many hearts?" Before anyone could respond, a giant Plasmid formed before them. It no longer had a featureless face. A pair of insect-like mandibles exposed multiple rows of daggers. It screeched at them and, with blade arms exposed, ran at them. Vanadramon reared its head back as its maw glowed. "Ionic Burst!" Its horn glowed with energy, and it channeled into its maw. An orb of plasma flew out and struck the Plasmid in the face, disintegrating it in an explosion of goo.

"So many hearts? Fuck! We really have to hurry then!" Ryuta motioned to Asuka and Hawkmon. "Let's stick together!"

"Okay!" Asuka replied, and ran after Vanadramon and Ryuta.

"Whenever we come up on a heart, Hawkmon, you go deal with them. Vanadramon can be your cover."

"Understood! I'll do my best!" Hawkmon replied, flapping alongside Asuka.

"Ryuta, don't do anything stupid," Vanadramon reminded him.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."