Chapter Eight

It started with finding people unconscious in Hypnos.

Their computers were broken, the screen glitching with a strange line of code that ran endlessly down the screen. To the Monster Makers, it had been nigh incomprehensible. Not even Shibumi could take a crack at it and have it make sense. All they could do was try to reset the computers. It left the Tamers on edge for days, but there was nothing they could do. Juri had started walking home more often with Takato. Kenta and Hirokazu took turns with the twins and Shaochun. They had digimon abd Juri, at best, had Culumon. So it was important to be safe. They couldn't protect all of humanity, but they at least could protect each other.

Ryo was much better as a regular patroller anyway.

Juri, herself, had felt… off. It was like her skin was covered in acupuncture needles from head to toe. Even her eyes tingled. It felt weird.

It would get worse at random times, and eventually, they realized, right around when someone would fall unconscious.

Their proof was a call from Reika. There'd been awful static and her panting desperately for air and trying not to scream, explaining what she saw as she ran around the base of Hypnos.

The last thing Jenrya had heard was her screaming and had promptly dropped his phone as it burned in his hand, something trying to wiggle out of it.

"And it just got worse from there," Juri continues. Her expression is oddly serene. "My friends had power, great power, to merge with their partners." She looks at the device in her hand. Something moves on it for a moment. "I never… I couldn't get that power. But I made peace with it, mostly. Then Takato-kun and I were attacked. "

Juri closes her eyes. "The air… ripped. Digimon, those monsters from before, have been appearing in our world for a long time, so I think they had an easier time than they do in this world. It's like being able to rip seams. You can tighten them back up but you still have holes. So one monster slipped through from your world to ours… and I think our Digital World as well but we don't have much contact with it. Anyway, Takato-kun evolved to protect me. I tried to help where I could, but when he destroyed the monster, it touched him… and devoured him and his partner digimon." She looks at the goggles strapped to Yuugo's arm. "I don't know what happened to Guilmon… but that's not the same guilmon… anyway. the thing is, we discovered a few days later when I was alone, that it couldn't touch me… that monster. It eats data, but for some reason, it can't eat me and mine."

"Some reason? "Arata says skeptically. Yuugo had honestly expected an outburst before now. Arata, bless him, did not know the meaning of shutting the hell up. "Bullshit. You know the reason."

Juri looks at him without blinking. "I do and it's none of your business right now. We're not even friends."

Arata scowls at her. "Anything we need to know to fix this, you need to tell us."

"When you can tell me how you created those things in the first place," Juri shoots back. "I'll tell you the story."

Arata balks and shrivels into his seat. Yuugo squeezes his hand and says nothing. He's still unraveling these memories himself.

"I don't know… but." His gaze suddenly hardens. "I know who might. I need to go talk to my uncle."

"Isn't he working?" Yuugo points out.

"So's your dad," Arata says dismissively. "You should still talk to him."

Yuugo's blood runs cold at the idea of talking to his father. His father can't even wish him a good morning, how could he talk to him about monsters and things that ate the minds and data of humans and digimon alike? How could he explain digimon? "Yeah…"

"Your father created EDEN, I heard?" Juri narrows her eyes. "It just launched a couple of years ago right?"

"Officially," Yuugo says distantly. "I… I was one of the beta testers. With my sister, and… friends. And…" The story slowly tumbles from his mouth and with it, the sounds of Yuuko's screams rattle in his skull.

Juri nods slowly as he explains, mouth twisting. "A human became a core for a non-human entity… that's what happened to me. It was manmade and made to delete data… who says this is any different… or…" Juri jumps to her feet and she runs to the door. "I need to make a call. I'm sorry! We'll meet tomorrow!"

"Hey, wai-" Arata reaches for her but she's at the door toeing her shoes on and out before he can follow.

He slumps back to the floor as the door clicks shut. "What was that all about?"

"I…" Yuugo looks at his hands, at the expensive phone now buzzing in his hand. "I don't know but I need to take this. Do you wanna stay?"

"Like I'm going anywhere from my place."

Yuugo punches him in the arm, trying not to laugh or cry or scream. He flips it over to see his father's name chiming anxiously. "Dad…?"

Arata stiffens and leans closer immediately. Yuugo accepts the call. "Father?" He hates how his voice shakes.

"Are you at the hospital?" His dad's voice shakes with frenetic energy like he's not sounded in years, not since that day.

Oh. Normally he would be. It's Wednesday. "No, I was studying with Arata. Why?"

"Your sister is missing."

What. "What? Did she just… wake up and walk away?"

"Yes." It occurs to Yuugo a few moments too late that his father is trying not to cry. "She got up, walked to the nearby computer, and just… disappeared."

Yuugo doesn't hear what happened next. The world roars in his ear, the thunder of a tornado. There's everything wrong with the world. His sister was supposed to be sleeping, eaten, gone. He was supposed to help her. What… happened?

Someone … knocks on the door. It can't be Juri, she just left. It can't be Dad, he wasn't here. It can't be Arata's uncle, he just walks in at two in the morning.

Who is knocking at the door?