Chapter 15: Creator
Chapter Text
Tai has now been living in the United States for almost a year, since he graduated from university and was recruited by the Office for Public Safety. The office also tried to recruit the other DigiDestined, but Matt had the least interest, Joe was focused on medicine, and Mimi was too freedom-loving. Tai wasn't sure about Sora, as he hadn't seen her in a while. Izzy, however, was willing to act as a private partner, as his company was a major ally of the authority.
Tai didn't have a good start, as Maki Himekawa had betrayed the authority, which led to the malicious Digimon Ordinemon wreaking havoc in Tokyo. Daigo Nishijima was also considered missing, presumably dead. Despite this, Tai was chosen as the liaison officer for the USA, not least because of his connections to people like Yamada-san or Michael Barton, who both worked in American authorities. Tai had to quickly realize, however, that connections alone were not enough and he had to deal with politics and the principle of give and take.
Fortunately, he had already learned how to tie a tie in middle school, so he was able to get dressed quickly. When he entered the living room, however, Agumon was still asleep, as he had been watching American cartoons late at night that Tai didn't particularly like.
Tai was happy to have Agumon back, thanks to a DigiDestine from another world who had provided Izzy with the program for data recovery. Without Agumon, Tai probably wouldn't have taken the job, but now he had decided to unite the real world and the DigiWorld, at least in a partnership sense.
Takeshi felt a bit strange about not being able to tell anyone about his experiences in the Digital World. He had Shun and Tsubasa, who had accompanied him, but he couldn't imagine anyone he would confide in that he was a DigiKDestine. Especially since he wished he could talk to someone about the death of LeoHeartmon and whether Digimon are really reborn and have the same bond.
The three friends met after class to discuss whether Izumi-san had found out who the man they had met in the Digital World was. They decided to visit the ramen shop to find out more.
When they arrived at Takeshi's regular restaurant around 4pm, they recognized T.K. and Kari at the counter, but no one else was present. Davis came from the back and nodded when he saw them. He hung the sign for the break outside so they could talk in peace. The Digimon freed themselves and hopped around.
After a while, Shun asked if Izumi-san had any idea who the man might be. T.K. denied it and mentioned that they had met people in the Digital World before, but they had mostly turned out to be DigiKnights. Kari remembered that there were also Digimon who could disguise themselves as humans, such as Mummymon and Arukenimon. The man who could simply delete Takutoumon, however, seemed to have inexplicable powers and did not use a DigiVice or anything similar.
Davis handed the newcomers their ramen bowls and pointed out that there could also be cases where a Digimon is reborn as a human, such as Bagramon, who still had many of his powers as a human. They concluded that they could come up with many theories, but without further clues, this would not be of much use.
Finally, the door opened and the bells above it rang. A man with a full beard and a long coat entered and examined the ramen bowls. Davis wanted to turn him away, as they were just closed, but T.K. invited him to join them. The man sat down without hanging up his coat and ordered the specialty of the house, which made Davis a bit nervous, as he remembered the man's casual appearance in the DigiWorld.
That seemed to have been a mistake. An older man came from the back to the front. Takeshi recognized him as the owner of the ramen restaurant. He gave Davis a warning look. He didn't have to say a word, Davis' attitude changed immediately.
"I mean... I'm sorry. In this restaurant, of course, we serve everyone who loves ramen!", he said quickly.
The owner nodded in satisfaction and went back to the back. Takeshi knew how much respect Davis had for his trainer.
"Order accepted, Veemon will prepare it for you right away.", Davis assured him.
The man nodded and took a pair of chopsticks from the container in front of him. Takeshi wanted to speak up, but Kari put a hand on his shoulder.
"Since you've gone out of your way to come here, could you tell us your name?", she asked.
The man didn't look at her, but only at his chopsticks. "Ah... Nishi, my name. Nice to meet you."
The DigiDestined exchanged glances. Well, that was a start. T.K. ventured another approach.
"Nishi-san, if you've come especially, I assume you want to talk to us?"
Again, he avoided eye contact, but nodded. "Yes, I want to ask for something."
Now Takeshi also got up. "And what? Don't let us pull everything out of your nose."
Nishi looked at him. "I want... you to stop entering the Digital World. It's disturbing... if you continue to interfere. What happened with Takutoumon was understandable. But... now there's no reason anymore."
That wasn't enough for Takeshi, of course. "What are we supposed to disturb? What do you have planned in the Digital World?"
Nishi played with his chopsticks. "That... you wouldn't understand. It's too complicated."
"Then try it!", Shun couldn't help but say.
Nishi refused, however. "No... that would be too strenuous. And wouldn't lead to anything."
Finally, Veemon came in and handed Davis the order. He accepted it and put the bowl extra loudly in front of the guest. "Well then! So, explain at least who you are and why you have these powers."
Nishi's expression clearly showed how annoyed he was by the request. Tsubasa tried to mediate. "Well, if you want us to leave you alone, you have to explain to us what's going on here!"
Nishi's expression relaxed and he stirred in the bowl. "That makes sense. You wouldn't be satisfied otherwise anyway."
With that, he was right. "Well then. While your ramen cools down, you can tell us how you even got into the Digital World. You're not a DigiDestine, are you?"
Nishi shook his head slightly. "No. It was never planned... that humans would enter my world."
Takashi was taken aback. "Your world? How do you dare to claim the Digital World as your own?"
Nishi fished a noodle out, swallowed it, but realized that his meal was still too hot. "The Digital World... I made it."
Confused and disbelieving looks followed. But for the first time, they didn't have to ask any more questions, because Nishi began to tell his story on his own.
Nishi's head was still pounding. His department manager had yelled at him twice today. He found this behavior simply exhausting. He was constantly insisting that Nishi coordinate with his colleagues. On the other hand, he was insisting on a fast pace. The employee had no idea how to reconcile both. If he interrupted his work every time, the resumption would take forever.
He thought about quitting, he wouldn't be the first. But what else could he do? He had been considering for some time to enter the gaming industry. He liked to write his own stories. But what if he had another problematic boss? That demotivated Nishi immediately.
He decided to go to his regular restaurant and cheer himself up with ramen. As soon as he entered, he realized that it was overcrowded. He sighed. Crowds of people robbed him of his last strength. Nevertheless, he hung up his coat and went to the counter. He ordered the usual and looked for a place. The counter was full, so he had to settle for a table. He was accepted at the penultimate one when someone called his name.
"Nishi-kun! Is that you?"
Nishi needed a moment to recognize him. Then his face brightened a little. "Hida-kun! It's been ages!"
He walked to the table where Hida immediately offered him a seat. He sat down and greeted his counterpart. "It's been a really long time! Are you still working for the same company?"
Nishi nodded. "I can't believe you're still putting up with it there."
Nishi scratched his head. "I... have thought about quitting."
His counterpart frowned. "Didn't you want to... do that when I left? That was over a year ago."
Nishi didn't answer, but looked at the counter. With the crowd, his order would take a while. "Nishi-kun, I know what incredible talent you have. You're just wasting it at this company."
Nishi himself shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. They're the only ones who hired me. So what the heck."
Hida couldn't understand it. They talked for a while about the good old times, until Nishi's order arrived. He immediately dove into it, but burned his tongue.
Hida laughed. "You really haven't changed. Totally impatient."
He had almost eaten his ramen, but slowed down his pace to wait for Nishi.
A little later, both bowls were empty and Nishi wanted to say goodbye. Hida, however, seemed to have something else on his mind. "Oh, could you wait a moment?"
He reached into his bag and pulled out several disks. "Do you remember Yukio-kun?"
Nishi needed a moment to remember. "Oh him! He had a lot of talent. But he always seemed so pale and lonely."
Hida cleared his throat, he decided not to respond to the description. "Anyway... we've been working on a project for a while and could use the opinion of an expert like you."
Nishi nodded and thought about it. It didn't happen often that an acquaintance asked him for something. Usually, he was averse to it. It was very time-consuming and unnecessary energy-sapping. He decided to reject Hida's request, but couldn't put it into words. "What is he working on?"
Hida seemed to be pleased that he had apparently aroused his interest. "Life."
When Nishi only looked at him incomprehensibly, he continued. "Digital life to be exact. Artificial intelligence that can think and decide for itself. And that can grow, respectively evolve."
Nishi became grumpy and ran his hand through his tousled hair. "That... sounds like a huge project."
Hida nodded. "Yes. I have explained to Yukio-kun that we will not be able to do everything in our lifetime. But... that I meet the best programmer in the world today, must be a sign of fate."
Nishi was uncomfortable and averted his gaze. "Don't flatter me so. There are better than me."
Hida became serious. "No, there aren't. I have seen what you are capable of. If you didn't waste your time, you could achieve great things."
Nishi sighed. "Achieving great things. That sounds... exhausting. That would be... so much work."
Hida pushed the disks towards him. "It would be, but that's what progress requires. Please just take a look at them, okay? Yukio-kun and I have already achieved a lot. We were able to communicate with the programmed beings. But... they don't last. And that's because we can't save them like simple programs. They always reset themselves. It would need... a place where we could settle them and where they could evolve. But on a simple hard drive, that seems impossible."
After a while, Nishi took the disks. He promised to take a look at the matter. This one gave him his business card, on which his number was to be found.
Then he paid and said goodbye. He didn't want to make any promises.
At home, he first let himself fall onto his bed and rested for a few minutes. The conversation with his old colleague had been exhausting, especially after the long day of work. Finally, he decided to take a look at the disks, in case he should run into Hida again in the next few days. This one would address him, and Nishi couldn't explain why he hadn't looked at them yet.
He sat down at his computer and started it up. He inserted the disks and skimmed the data. The programmed digital beings were as Hida had described them to him. He could even talk to them and they seemed to learn. Nishi admitted that he was more fascinated by it than he thought. He even set about creating such a being himself. Next to him on the table stood an old PVC figure that depicted a samurai with a green armor. He programmed the digital being and gave it the name 'Takutoumon'.
It was fun to talk to the self-created being. But when he closed the window, he realized that Takutoumon had also disappeared. Now he understood what his ex-colleague had meant. What a waste. His own created being had disappeared. But that was probably how life was. Everything found an end, it didn't matter if it existed or not. That depressed Nishi and he closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, he opened a program and put his fingers on the keyboard. Hida had mentioned that they needed a place where they could store the beings. Since they were constantly evolving, however, a storage medium such as a hard drive would be impossible. Nishi knew the solution to this problem. A physical storage medium would not work, as it would always reach its limits. A virtual one was needed, otherwise the project had no chance.
He had an idea of how to approach the matter. But then he let go of the keys. It would be about repeating data sequences that he would have to enter. It would take years. That was absolutely out of the question for him. Spending more than one day on the project would exhaust him.
However... he admitted to himself that he was interested in the result. So he made a plan. He would simply program a bot that would write the code sequences for him. So he set to work.
After a week, he was finally done. All that was missing was a suitable name. Nishi was terrible at such things. He let himself fall back in his chair and stared at the back wall of his room. There hung an old picture that had been given to him. It showed a tree whose branches branched out endlessly into the sky.
Yggdrasil. The World Tree. A place where the beings could unfold freely.
Nishi chose this name and the bot began to write the first lines. "A world of its own... a new world...", he murmured as the bot did its work.
He had been running his PC for a month. That wasn't good for the electricity bill, but Nishi was important for the first time again. When he came back to his apartment that day, he immediately turned on the monitor. To his surprise, Yggdrasil was finished. The virtual hard drive was written. But... where exactly was it located?
Nishi had no idea where to look. Obviously not on his own PC, because it was physical. At the end of the code, there was a line: "Hello! Are you... there?", someone wrote.
Nishi sat down and typed something: "Yes. Who are you?"
A few happy smileys appeared: "It's me, Takutoumon. Your Digimon partner."
Nishi frowned: "Digimon? What is that?"
Of course, he remembered Takutoumon, it was the Digimon he had created himself. "That's us! You created us. And we live here, in the Digital World!", explained Takutoumon.
"Digital World...", grumbled Nishi and repeated the term. "How... do I get there too?", he wrote.
It didn't take long and a beam of light shot through his monitor. In front of him landed an odd object. It reminded him of a Tamagotchi.
Nishi picked it up and examined it from all sides. Takutoumon instructed him to hold the object against the monitor. He followed the instruction and a little later he was enveloped in light.
The programmer was completely confused when he found himself not in his apartment, but on a meadow. Had he... been teleported? Where in the world was he? Or... was he even still in his world?
A look at the sky gave him more clarity. There was a net of data strings to be seen. Had he... been sucked into his computer? No, if then into the digital world that Yggdrasil had created.
Nishi took one step after another. He didn't feel any different. Was he still made of flesh and blood here? Or did he consist of data himself? He stopped when some unknown beings rushed past him. They looked like shoes, from which a stuffed animal was peeking out.
"To the left of him, yellow Digimon with vines instead of arms jumped around and played happily. Then they were attacked by another yellow Digimon. On its back sat a mouse and as a projectile... it was poop, which the being used as a weapon there.
How crazy was that? "Those are all Digimon.", said a voice behind him.
Nishi turned around and recognized a figure that was made entirely of light. Was that also a Digimon? He could exclude it. And like Takutoumon, it didn't seem to be. "You... must be Yggdrasil.", he concluded.
But the figure shook its head: "No, I'm not. Although Yggdrasil is also located somewhere here. It forms the host computer of the Digital World. I am the Homeostasis, I ensure the order."
Nishi snapped his finger: "Ah, I see! You must be something like the operating system, right?"
The glowing being spread its arms: "We owe our existence to you. That's why we're grateful to you."
Nishi let his gaze wander again and recognized many beings that were strange to him, but also fascinatingly appealing to him. "This world... is beautiful. Maybe... I could stay here..."
"That's impossible.", the Homeostasis said immediately.
Nishi looked at her perplexed: "This world is only for digital beings. You belong in the human world."
Nishi raised his arms in defense: "But... I don't feel at home there! This place here seems much nicer to me!"
But the being shook its head: "That would contradict the order. Farewell, Nishi. But we will be forever grateful."
The creator of the world wanted to say something else, but then he was again enveloped in light and found himself in his chair. Had he... just been thrown out of the system? He rummaged around, but the device with which he had been sucked in seemed to have disappeared. They had simply taken it away from him again.
He typed on the keyboard and demanded to be let back into the Digital World immediately. Takutoumon reported and apologized for the decision of the Homeostasis. But he didn't have enough influence to counteract it. That's why he said goodbye to his partner and wished him all the best.
Nishi felt the anger rise inside him. How ungrateful could one be? He would not let it rest and find a way into the Digital World. But how could he do that? Maybe Hida knew a way.
He rummaged for the business card and finally dialed the number on it: "Yes, hello. I would like to speak to Hida-kun."
The woman on the other end swallowed hard. Then she explained to him why this was not possible: "Hida-kun is unfortunately deceased."
"Ah, I see. Hida-kun is dead. That's sad.", he said and hung up.
His former colleague wouldn't be able to help him either. He had to do it again all by himself. As always.
Nishi slurped the first ramen and swallowed them down. "Mh! Delicious!", he exclaimed and immediately went for the next ones.
It didn't seem to matter to him that he was being eyed with critical looks. "So that we understand correctly, you programmed Yggdrasil, which then created the Digital World, right?", T.K. asked again.
Nishi nodded. "Yes. I would have done it myself... but it would have taken forever."
Gatomon jumped in front of him onto the counter. "Apparently, you have managed to re-enter the Digital World. And you have received special powers."
Instead of answering, Nishi comfortably ate up his ramen. When he was done, he put the sticks in the bowl and got up. "The ramen were delicious. Please give my compliments to the cook.", he put a bill on the counter and turned to the door.
Davis stopped him from doing so. "Hey! You can't just leave now! You still haven't explained what you're up to!", he reminded him.
Nishi looked tired from the story.
"Too complicated. I said so. But... I will take care of everything in the future. So don't enter the DigiWorld anymore and keep me from it, okay?"
But the ramen chef wouldn't have it. Davis stomped towards him, but Nishi raised a finger and suddenly chains had wrapped around him.
Prismamon reacted immediately and attacked the man. But he was much faster. With one movement, he made sure that Takeshi's partner was forcibly digitized back into a small crystal.
The rest of the DigiDsetined also went into position now.
"How... are you doing that?", Kari wanted to know.
Nishi sighed and tilted his head slightly to the right.
"Well, you see... atoms are nothing more than data. And data is nothing more than atoms. Both are interchangeable with each other, understand?"
When he only got confused looks, he felt confirmed that he was just wasting his time here.
"Please remember my words. It would be annoying to have to take care of all of you. You're so... unnecessarily persistent.", he said and then left the restaurant.
Takeshi hurried to the crystal, Prismamon had apparently been forcibly digitized back. The little creature in his hands croaked an apology. While T.K. and Kari freed Davis from his chains, Veemon had also come to help.
"Davis! Everything okay? Should we follow him?", he asked.
The DigiDestined decided against it. That would have led to nothing. Nishi was too powerful for them. He had somehow acquired superpowers in the Digital World. If he was really responsible for the creation of the Digital World, that was certainly no big obstacle for him.
Takeshi was worried about his partner, but Patamon reassured him and assured him that he would soon develop back into Prismamon after some food.
Kari pulled out her cell phone.
"We have to inform the others and warn them about this Nishi.", she decided.
T.K. agreed with her.
"We at least know his name now. Izzy should be able to find out more information about him."
And so they decided to first separate and think about everything.
Takeshi discussed the events with Shun and Tsubasa in the park for a while. His partner was so small at the moment that he could easily be carried around in his hand and didn't attract anyone's attention.
"We've fought against Digimon, okay. But now against humans? Who also have superpowers?", Shun stated the obvious.
"Like Kamen Yusha", murmured Tsubasa.
Takeshi immediately denied it.
"No, definitely not like Kamen Yusha. This Nishi has taken care of his own partner. And he hurt Prismamon. And we have no idea... what exactly he's planning in the Digital World."
Shun decided to do an internet research. If Nishi was really such a talented programmer, he might be known in these circles. His friends thought that was a good idea and they separated for today.
At home, Rurimon was shocked by the condition of his best friend. Gently, he took care of the little crystal while Takeshi got food. Was it impossible to fight against Nishi? Should he really put Prismamon... through it a second time?
