Hi! Welcome to my Digimon fanfic~ Some observations first:
1. English is not my first language, so some mistakes might appear here and there, but I do my best to keep them to a minimum!
2. I write the story in a way that even if someone doesn't know much about Digimon, will understand it
3. I use the Japanese names for levels and most of the Digimon names. Original Digimons will make some appearances too.
Feedback is more than appreciated. I hope you enjoy it!
It's a dark place. Two tall non-human creatures stand in front of each other in the shadows, discussing something.
"Things are not getting better. No, this is an understatement. Things are getting worse faster than we predicted, and because of that, they decided to resort to... Extreme measures" says the creature with feminine voice
"What would that be?" asks the calm male creature
"They... Declared a war on them"
"That's rather… Extreme indeed, but... expected from your kin. But telling me that is not the actual reason why you came to see me"
"I'm against that idea"
He lets out a gasp in shock. "What was their reaction to this?"
"I didn't tell them that, obviously!" She turns around. "All they wanted is for me to foresee the future to guarantee their success in winning, but this is not how prophecies work. It's a message with no single answer or way to see it"
"Hm… You did foresee something then. Care to tell me more about it?"
"All I will say is that it's very catastrophic. Where? To who or to what?" she shrugs
"Okay. But that still doesn't tell me why you came by"
She shows an egg to him. "They created this using their holy data. Their plan is to send it to the Surface, so it can gather as much data as possible about that world and make the best plan to destroy them. But I don't think we should destroy a whole world just like that! We don't even know the details of the cause!"
The male creature nods. "I understand your concerns. So you want me to give a new birth to this egg and make it less-"
"No, no! If you directly modify the egg, they will immediately notice it! I want you... To balance it by external means"
"Wait, that would mean…"
"Yes, and I know you have the power to do it"
The male creature stares at her for a few seconds, shakes his head and sighs. "Very well. I favor your objective, so I will grant you what you wish"
Then, after some time, he shows her the second egg.
"Keep in mind that you are partially responsible for this. I wish you luck" says the male creature
One year later
"It's finally time to leave!"
A young dark skinned woman - around 19 years old - in formal clothes rushes out of her office room. It is Tayna Bambadi, relieved that the work in the office ended. Her white braid swings from one side to another while she walks fast. She grabs her backpack while her brown eyes scan the room, checking if she is forgetting something behind. She sees that her colleagues are still working and waves at them with a sincere smile on her face.
"Tomorrow will be the greatest day for you, Tayna! The Big Day! I hope you are excited!" says one of the colleagues
"I sure am!" she answers, "I hope you are excited as well! Remember, I don't make the team alone"
She then rushes to the elevator while the colleague keeps waving at her frenetically. There was something that she was looking more forward to than the 'Big Day': going home. The elevator opens, and in front of her stands Gabriel Smith, the CEO of the company she works for.
"Oh, good evening, Ms. Bambadi! I didn't expect to see you still here" says Gabriel, with a docile smile on his face
"Ah!" says her, while startled by his sudden presence. "Mr. Smith! Do you need something from me? I don't mind staying for a little long-"
Gabriel sighs. "I really appreciate your hard work, but I will say that again: go rest, girl! You know what awaits you tomorrow!" He gives her a thumbs up.
She nods. "Thank you. See you tomorrow!"
She leaves the big building, Diamlock Tech - the fastest growing cybersecurity company of the decade - and walks to the direction of the central station of Soutriver, which is only 5 minutes away. The bright and colored neon lights in the city are an indication that it's been dark for some time. The cold breeze goes through her body, so she gets her jacket and she wears it. She also puts on her earphones and plays a playlist of her favorite alt-rock songs, blocking all the noise a big and crowded metropolis can offer.
She arrives at the train station and takes her train just in time. She stands next to the door, since the train is already crowded. While she waits to arrive at her destination, a little TV in the train plays an ad about a debate between two groups that will happen in a few days regarding cyber crimes and privacy.
One group talks about better and stronger online security regarding personal and sensitive data, making access harder and more restricted for everyone, no exception. They are informally known as 'Team Privacy'. The other group wants the privacy laws to be completely changed, giving unrestricted access to government and the police, so that crimes and other problems can be solved faster. Their motto is 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear'.
She sighs and thinks to herself. "I don't know why people are still in doubt about that… I hope they realize that handing over their privacy is the worst choice of their lives before the referendum. Tomorrow we have to shift their opinion away from that nightmare with our project"
After a full hour of commuting, she arrives in a decent-looking old building. She runs upstairs, unlocks the door to her apartment and removes her earphones.
"Solar System" She says, while turning the light on. "Boot up!"
The computer turns on, and a half sun half moon logo appears on the screen.
"Welcome home, Komet" says a male voice coming from the computer
Komet. The name she is mostly known by on the internet. While she is Tayna in the offline world, she is Komet online. Almost no one knows they are the same person, and hopefully for Komet, this will be the case for the rest of her life.
"Thanks, Sonne!" She changes her clothes. She wears her favorite violet hoodie, which is a bit loose on her body. Then she straps a smartwatch on her wrist and crashes down on her bed.
"I want to know about your day, Komet! You sound relieved" says a female voice from the computer.
This is Lua, and along with Sonne, they are Komet's AI assistants, which she uses to take care of her health, manage tasks, inform her of new messages and news and more.
"I will be honest, it was pretty tiresome, but all of that will be worth it" she says, smiling proudly
"It is a pleasure to hear that" says Sonne
"I'd like to know more about it!" says Lua
"Tomorrow is finally the time to announce and launch the first part of the project!" says Komet, while looking at the ceiling with a big smile. She starts explaining the details of the project, which involves better control of private data and better safety measures. Then she pauses herself to yawn.
"Komet, there are new messages for you" says Sonne
"Hm? From who?"
"Janaina Bambadi"
"F-from mom?" Komet immediately jumps out of her bed and sits in front of the computer. "Lua, can you read the message?"
"'Hi sweetie! Since you didn't answer the calls, I decided to send you a message-'" reads Lua
"Ah, right…" she thinks. She checks her phone and sees the missed calls. "I forgot, sorry…"
"'-about our current situation. Your grandma is finally properly housed again-'"
"...after six years. Finally!"
"'-and this is thanks to our combined efforts!'"
Then her 'mother' proceeds to talk about the specifics of how they did it, including overworking even more. Komet wasn't happy about that. Then the last part of the message was the financial report. Komet opens her Excel table to update the values. The table was about her parents' and grandparents' finances, which she created to manage their finances after her grandparents were victims of a big scam around six years prior.
Even though the authorities knew how severe the dimensions of the scam was, they weren't much help. No one was held accountable for the data leaking - thus no arrests ever happened - nor her family financially helped. Because of that, they had to deal with the big debt themselves. This kind of crime became so normal that people started to rely on vigilante hackers to protect them and expose criminals. This is when cyber security companies and the police decided to step up. The population kept siding with these hackers for a long time, but a tragedy changed that forever.
Komet updates the table. Most of the debt was finally paid. Usually opening that table always makes her heartbroken, but this time she is giving a small smile.
She nods to herself. "Hopefully tomorrow we are gonna change the future for the better. Sonne, speech to text, I will send a message to my mother"
"Why not a call?" asks Lua
"Well… I'm still quite busy… You know how my mother won't stop talking as soon as I call her… Really, I really would love to call her now…" she sighs "I will do it tomorrow after the project presentation, the 'Big Day', when everything will finally be done"
Komet proceeds to say the message for Sonne to convert into text. She gives quick updates about how she is doing well in her job, apologizing for not answering the calls and telling her how much she misses her and her father.
"May I ask something?" asks Sonne, after the message is sent
"Go ahead" says Komet, while rubbing her eyes
"It is regarding the 'Big Day'. Have you thought about the possibility of this project backfiring on you?"
Komet sighs
"Have you added any sort of backdoor to guarantee your safety?" he continues
Komet shakes her head. "No, of course not! I can't give other hackers opportunities to breach the system. It's pointless"
"How are you gonna carry on with your investigation if you are trapping yourself then? You will end up losing your job and going to jail because of your own creation!" says Lua
Komet is a vigilante hacker herself, despite also working for a cybersecurity company. Despite that, she avoids targeting her own company for obvious reasons.
"Don't worry, I still have time! The Big Day will happen in 17 hours after all". She walks towards a covered table. "Now, I need you two to leave for some moment, I want to-"
"Komet" called Sonne before being shut down "according to your current body activities, you are not in conditions to do things that demand such focus. I highly recommend that you rest"
Komet looks at her smartwatch, which shows her body activities and vital signs, yawns and gives a little smile. "You sound like my mother, you know? Except for the very technical speech, that is"
"I am fulfilling my role of taking care of you"
"I know… But what I mean is- You know, I've been feeling like you two are becoming less… Erm… Machine-y… and more like… Actually having feelings and caring about me"
"But we actually care about you!" says Lua
"Ah! Please, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to accuse you two of being emotionless tools- Aaaah, what am I trying to say?" She shakes her head quickly to keep her awake. "What I really mean is… I don't care if you two are just AIs… You two always make me very happy. Thank you very much…!"
"If we make a full analysis of your body's vitality and general health in the course of one year…" Sonne proceeds to say things about her health back then and compares it to it now, but in a very technical way.
"Let me translate that for you! What he means by all that is that your well being and happiness increased since we started assisting you!" says Lua
"We are proud of this achievement" finished Sonne
Komet closes her eyes and gives a sweet smile. "Thank you for your company" she nods "I'm truly happy and grateful for having you. You two are…" She looks at the clock "Oh, crap! I really need you two to leave now. See you later! Solar System, shut down"
After shutting it down, Komet reaches out for her backpack, then she puts her hand in one of the pockets and grabs something that looks like a pendrive with the logo of Diamlock Tech on it - an authentication token. It displays a set of numbers that changes every 30 seconds. She then sits in front of the covered table and uncovers it, revealing a different computer, connected to different things.
She removes the objects that were covering audio input and output. She opens a side software, created by herself, that helps protect her from being identified or conceal herself in some situations. Gabriel, who is also her direct boss, is aware of that and allows her to use it.
She smirks. "Of course someone tried to invade my system. Get lost!" It was an attempt at ransomware, but it was so weak that Komet could immediately tell it was just a noob. "You are lucky that I have no time now to get back at you"
She cleanses the threat, then she inserts the numbers that's being displayed in the token, along with her login name and long password, and finally a voice authenticator.
'AUTHENTICATION COMPLETE' appears on the screen. She now has complete access to the Diamlock Tech Network. She goes through the files related to her work. She has a list of ongoing projects, a few with a 'finalized' checkmark, and one with a lock icon. She accesses the project of the 'Big Day'. Then she starts working on it. Actually, more like revising it, checking if everything is in order. She can't afford a flaw in her project, even if it's a very little one. It has to be perfect. No mistakes, no anything. Flawless. Even if there's a flaw, she's already thinking of a plan B, C, D. Everything should be predictable. She checks, rechecks and re-rechecks it.
One thing that she hates is that she can't get her AI assistants to help her, after all, they would be considered malware for the Network, and if she had to explain about them, they would find out about her hacking activity, since the assistants have illegal software on them. Another thing that she hates is the feeling that someone could be observing her at any moment. Maybe through the webcam, maybe they are listening to her by using her mic while she is in the Network. One big problem is that she doesn't realize that her extreme cautiousness is making her more tired than normal.
Komet revises the project for about one hour, when her sight starts to get a bit too blurry. She closes the Network, shuts everything down, covers everything back and puts the computer back in the closet.
"Solar System, boot up"
"Komet-"
"I know, I know"
"Komet" says Lua, mimicking Sonne's tone
"Do you really want me to shut it down again?"
"In all seriousness," replies Sonne, "you should take some rest now, you have been overworking again. Surely you did not forget what awaits you tomorrow"
She puts on her casual shoes. "I can't go to sleep yet… There's one more thing I need to do, or I'll lose that chance forever. You said it yourself!" She raises her voice. "It's a now-or-never situation!"
"Apologies for saying that, but you have jeopardized your investigation already. Perhaps you should let it go before you get yourself in trouble"
"I still have time! I'm very close to the answer! You know how important this is for me! I'd rather lose my life than miss that chance!"
"Do not say that. Your life has more value than some information on a crime unrelated to you"
Komet abruptly stands up while she tenses up, punches the chair and raises her voice more "Shut up! A machine would never understand it!"
After realizing what she just said, she quickly sits back down and covers her face with her hands. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean that…" She sighs in sorrow and gets up to get her wallet. "Please… Don't say it's unrelated… He was my friend…" She shakes her head. "I will get some coffee at the coffeehouse. I will be careful, I promise… Again, I'm sorry…" She commands Solar System to go on standby and then leaves, locking the door.
Despite being late in the night, the streets are busier. After all, it's Friday. A lot of people talk at the same time, making it hard to understand any of them, but easy to see that they are having a good time. Komet puts on her earphones and dives into the crowd in the main street. The warmth of so many people together makes her forget it's a cold night cold.
After 15 minutes walking while immersed in her thoughts, she smells the fragrance of caffeine in the air: she has finally arrived at her destination. She slowly enters the coffeehouse, and as usual for that time of the day, it's not that full. After all, they don't sell beer there. She walks towards her favorite spot, all the way in the corner, as isolated from other people as possible. As the waiter walks towards her, she removes one of her earphones.
"Oh, it's you! Would you like the usual?" asks the waiter
"Yes, please"
While she waits, she checks her phone, looking for news. She looks around to check if her order is coming, and she sees a familiar face. "Why is he here?"
It's a tall guy around her age, with light skin and green eyes. He has reddish brown spiky hair with yellow locks, making it look like flames. Bigger locks fall on his shoulder on both sides, tied with a silver band. He wears a black trench coat over a small red shirt that shows a lot of his muscular chest. Two other guys, which she doesn't recognize, accompany him, but the tall guy walks in alone like he owns the world. Komet covers her head with her hood and lowers her head.
Meanwhile, an ad from the Diamlock Tech starts playing on the tv, and people in the coffeehouse make that their current subject. Of course, some people start to argue about the state of online safety. After some arguments, they started to talk about crackers and vigilante hackers. They were more aligned about that: all kinds of hackers should be punished. Some people were more extreme, saying they should be tortured and killed.
"Isn't it nice to hear that?" says someone to Komet, in a sarcastic tone
Komet whips her face towards the voice.
"Did you really think I didn't see you here, Hacker Komet?" says the guy
"Drake" She scowls and discreetly looks around
He puts a malicious grin on his face. "Don't worry, I told them to wait outside"
Drake is one of the Big Three from the well known hacker group The Dragons. This group was once the most influential hacker group on the internet. Every member of the group is named after a kind of dragon. People that try to impersonate one of them are not spared nor forgiven.
Komet gets off her chair. "I need to go"
Drake pushes her back to the chair. "Is this how you greet an old friend? How rude of you, huh! I guess you really became one of them, huh?"
Komet just looks at him seriously
Drake opens his arms. "Long time no see, miss bigshot! How's it going? Enjoying your new kingdom?"
"Get to the point"
"Oh, 'let's go down to business', huh?" Drake sits on the chair in front of Komet, and leans closer to her, using his hand to support his head. "Soooo… I know you are up to something veeeery special tomorrow, and we all know how the competitors can be stones to your path to success. I'm pretty sure you would love it if some of them had some… Inconveniences"
"Nice try, but you know this is not the type of person I am. Now scram"
"Oh, trying to be the tough girl now? Maybe you are right. You are more like the opportunist type, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I am talking about you, bitch! Isn't that obvious?"
"Elaborate"
"As you wish, princess! You want to emerge as their heroine at all costs, right? You are trying very hard to get aaaaaall the glory to yourself while using others like stepping stones. I know very well that you avoid all kinds of contact outside your stupid office, and that's because you are trying to hide whatever dirty secret you have. You don't make friends. Why? To be the people's savior while resorting to dirty tricks, of course! 'The perfect plan', is this what you call it? Gimme a break"
"That makes no sense! Are you trying to stalk me?"
"What are you gonna do about that? Report me to the police? Well, you know very damn well you fucking can't, miss hacker"
She squints at him. "How come you didn't report me to Diamlock Tech yet?"
"Are you kidding me? Don't play dumb! I know very well you can simply get back at me. Besides, unlike you, I have morals. I won't go around reporting my peers, specially my rival"
Komet inhales, and then exhales "Rival? You act like I'm your mortal enemy! What's up with all those random accusations anyway?"
"Are they really random?" Drake smirks and puts a magazine on the table
Komet looks at the magazine. The magazine is two years old, and it's on a page where the headline says 'The Fall of a Dragon'. It's an article about the execution of a hacker named Hydra for mass murder 'in the name of justice'. Hydra was the leader of The Dragons - therefore one of the Big Three - and the most respected hacker among all hackers. At some point, a lot of hackers believed he was innocent and used as a scapegoat to make the population hate on vigilante hackers. Many dropped this belief, but some still didn't.
Komet clenches her fists. "This again? What are you trying to imply this time?"
"Isn't it a bit of a fortunate coincidence that not so long after Hydra was gone, you suddenly became part of Diamlock Tech?"
"Are you calling me a sellout, implying that I turned him in in exchange for joining Diamlock Tech? Are you insane? You, of all people, know how much I respected and liked him! That was a big loss and we all felt that!" She looks at Drake, disgusted. "Look Drake, I understand that you are still mourning his death, but-"
Drake punches the table. "'But' what? If you liked him so much, why did you turn your back on him? On all of us? You weren't part of the Big Blackout. You were just gone, fucking gone, and when I heard of you again, you are on their side! The side where people want to see us dead"
"Stop that! I am not on their side!"
"Are you sure about that? Then why didn't you turn your back on them yet? Aaaaah, I know why. You want to get the best of both worlds, since you didn't actually quit hacking. You sure enjoyed your hiatus leaving us to burn, just to return gloriously and alone. Gotta work hard to reach perfection, huh?"
Komet shakes her head
"And for that you are willing to throw your friends under the bus to rise to glory, right?"
"I'd never do such a thing"
People in the background keep trash talking about all kinds of hackers.
"You hear that, right? The ones who accommodated you are in danger while you live like a princess. What are you doing about it? Are we all really just disposable gadgets for your 'greater goal'? Or are you just the worst kind of coward?" asks Drake
Komet shakes her head. "No, this is not it…"
Drake puts an evil looking grin in his face again. "'This is not it'? What is it then? Hm?"
She stays silent.
"You're still not coming clean after all, huh?" he says, shaking his head
Still silence
"Everything would be so much better if you were the one that died there-"
Komet quickly gets up. "We are done here"
"No, we are fucking not!" Drake holds her by her arm. "Since this pathetic excuse of a person that you are is being rewarded for her bullshit, then why don't we take the time to thank the people that helped you achieve glory? I'm sure you won't just forget all those poor carbonized victims involved in all this mess, right? They really wanted to be saved, but thanks to their sacrifices, you got a nice job! Maybe you should also celebrate the last breath from Hydra while they injected that thing that took his life, because without that, you wouldn't be where you currently are, right? Aaaah, I guess their sacrifices were worth it for you"
Komet starts to shake. "Shut up!" She puts her hands on her head. The screams of innocent women being burned alive come to her mind. "T-that shouldn't have happened!" Then sees and hears Hydra saying the last words before getting killed. Her eyes shed some tears as she yells. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Drake sees Komet having a panic attack and chuckles. Then he realizes that the coffeehouse personnel are walking towards them. "Tch, you are lucky today. But remember that, bitch: I will make your life hell until your mask falls, your castle of cards crumbles down, and then make sure you come crawling to me to admit your shit. Then I'll be at peace. Until then, I will be pleased to make a worm like you suffer!"
As soon as Drake releases Komet, she runs away as fast as possible. Her heart races as she can't take those memories out of her head. She hyperventilates as she bumps into people without noticing. "Why… Why…?" She keeps running like there's no tomorrow. More tears start rolling down her face. She doesn't take her hands out of her head. People are yelling, chanting 'Die! Go to hell!'. People are crying and screaming. She starts to feel helpless. "Why did that happen? Why wasn't it-"
"KOMET!"
She snaps out of her thoughts. She looks around and realizes that she is already back home, huddled in the corner of her room while breathing heavily and sweating cold.
"I am registering high levels of stress from you" says Sonne
"What happened?" asks Lua
Komet looks at her smartwatch and just shakes her head
"You had left to relax your mind, but instead, you have returned in a worse mood. I believe we have the right to know what happened to you" says Sonne
"Yeah! We very are worried" says Lua
"Drake saw me, and…" She sighs. "Yeah…"
"Drake? That dumbass from The Dragons that keeps annoying you with messages at times?" asks Lua
"I believe it is safe to assume it is him, and the encounter had a very negative impact on her" says Sonne
Komet shakes her head. "That doesn't matter now"
"Did you teach him a lesson? If he made you feel that bad, then he deserved a lesson" says Lua
She is taken aback. "N-no, I didn't… It's not that simple"
"How is it not that simple? He damaged you, you damage him back"
"He is… Just a troubled old friend, that's all"
"As far as I know, friends don't hurt each other!"
"Could you elaborate? From what I have learned, this is not the common human response to a situation like this" says Sonne
"I will keep it short, okay?" says Komet while still a bit distressed. "His family was shitty to him, and The Dragons is where he could finally feel like a family. Hydra was like his big brother, and now that he is dead, his feelings are all over the place"
"I do not recall knowing who Hydra is" says Sonne
"Hydra, alongside Wyvern and Drake, was one of the Big Three - the three strongest hackers, therefore the leaders - from The Dragons. Drake is now the only remaining Big Three from the group. How come you don't know something as trivial as that?" says Lua, almost yelling
"I do not search for information that will not enhance my capabilities. We have already established that this is your job, since somehow you take pleasure in doing that"
"You sure sound like you are fun at parties"
"Is this sarcasm?"
Komet giggles, feeling a little bit better
"I love that you two clearly have distinct personalities" says Komet while giggling "You two act like siblings, even arguing with each other sometimes, something I would never expect from ordinary AIs"
"Don't change the subject, Komet! How come you feel bad for an asshole because of a sob story?" asks Lua
"Let's leave that for another day, okay? We have something else to do before I go sleep"
"He is probably just salty because you have been getting a lot of renown lately. You are taking it too easy…"
"My gods, she can really be overprotective at times, can't she…?"
"Komet, you know you should actually rest. I do not approve of your overworking" says Sonne
"It doesn't matter for me at this point, I am restless now. I can't sleep even if I tried. Some breaching is what is gonna calm my nerves now"
"I understand. Although I still do not agree with your position, I will do as you command. You shall proceed with the next steps"
Komet nodded. "Solar System, protocol 12 initiate"
The screen that had the half sun half moon logo on it changes to a dark screen. Then Komet starts typing a lot of codes very fast. She is checking up her system and seeing if there is anything infecting the assistants before she proceeds. After thirty minutes, she finishes the checkup and terminates protocol 12. She then goes to a different room, closes the door and boots yet a different computer. This one had two screens, and looked very fancy. A lot of cables are connecting the computer to different things. Komet then cracks her knuckles. "Sonne, Lua, are you ready? Then let's go, Team Twilight!"
Komet goes through different pages, types some codes, and goes through deep and dangerous places on the internet. She enters the Deep Web, then the Dark Web. She gets information that leads to a different way. Now it's time for some breaching. This will get her to her ultimate goal: know what secrets Don Werisley - the criminal related to the women that were set on fire, which got Hydra executed - tried to erase when willingly letting himself burn to death with his victims. "I have to- no, I will get this done today". She opens a new software. Sonne and Lua are assisting her in all that. Hour passes, until…
"Bingo!"
Komet finds something else related to the person that Don Werisley kept in contact with, someone that leaked personal and sensitive data to him. "I will finally find out who that partner in crime is and then expose everything". It is one hour away from the sunrise. Komet presses the button to execute her code.
"Jackpot!"
It is finally the moment.
"I will finally bring justice to Hydra"
Her heart races. When she finds the real name of the crime partner, her eyes widen in shock.
"No fucking wa-"
That exact moment, a black goo comes out of her screen, violently pushing her against the wall and holding her.
"WE NEED SOMETHING FROM YOUR BRAIN" says the goo monster, as it starts covering her left side of her face with goo. Komet panics and tries to scream, but one part of the goo stretches out and chokes her. The monster seems to absorb some energy from her. "YOU SAW TOO MUCH".
Komet tries to fight back, but the monster stretches three stakes from its body and stabs her. The goo starts swallowing her left arm. She panics harder, still trying to break free from the unknown creature. She looks down, and realizes that a red puddle is quickly forming under her feet. She can't move. She can't ask for help. She is helpless. She looks towards the screen. Tears start to roll through her face. Her vision starts to get blurry, and the last thing she sees is something else jumping out of her screen.