Episode 6: Border

"The border of…?" Lauren starts.

"The Digital World?!" Lance finishes.

Connor nods. "More Digimon seem to be flooding into our world."

"We've been partners for two years," Wormmon continues. "We've only seen this influx of Digimon recently along with a massive spike of Digital Waves."

"Before we only came across one or two Digimon a month and they were unknown to humans," Connor points out.

Wormmon jumps off of Connor's shoulder. "The Digimon coming through at the time were very low level, too! But now…"

"Now there's so many crossing over that humans have noticed," Shelby concludes.

"Not just that," Sara adds, "more people must be partnered with Digimon outside of us!"

"Like that girl that attacked us earlier!" Patamon chimes.

Jellymon extends her full body out of her head. "Or that one Digimon that attacked us at the college!"

V-mon crosses his arms. "They can't all be bad…right?"

"We should stay vigilant," Renamon warns. "There's no telling when one of them will strike and in what way."

"Exactly," Connor confirms.

"If only everyone's partner was strong…" Ezra mumbles under his breath.

Herissmon turns. "I've been wondering about something." Herissmon points to the huge building. "That wasn't there before. What is that?"

Looking to the ground, Connor's face began to droop. "My failure." The group turns to Connor, almost expectantly.

"What do you mean 'Your failure'?" Lance presses.

Drawing a deep breath, Connor looks to the group. "That's a story for another time."

Lauren approaches Connor. "You shouldn't keep that bottled up inside you!"

"I'll share that one day," Connor assures everyone. "I just don't want any of you involved yet."

Shelby tilts her head. "Yet?"

Connor pulls out his Digivice. "It's getting quite late, we should all head on home." Connor presses the side button and they all exit Digital Space.

"What conversation did you have with a friend that you enjoyed today?" a woman asks.

Finishing her bite, Lauren swallows. "Well, we were talking about Digital Waves earlier today."

"I think I read about those a while back," a man sitting across from Lauren recalls. "They've been messing with some of our computers at the hospital."

"Is everything at the hospital going to be okay, Dad?" Lauren worries.

"We should be getting some equipment soon that'll act as a lightning rod for these waves," the man explains.

"Has it been affecting any patients?" Ezra worries.

"Surprisingly, no," their mom assures.

"Thank goodness," Lauren exhales in relief.

Their dad swallows the final bite of his food as their mom grabs her purse. "We should probably get going," their mom notes.

"See you kids in the morning!" Their dad stands from the chair and heads for the door.

"Have a good day!" The two siblings simultaneously wish them.

Lauren practices a song on her guitar, humming the lyrics. After playing a couple more notes, she ends the song.

"That was very good," Renamon states.

Lauren gasps in excitement. "Really?!"

Renamon nods. "You should consider trying out for a band."

"I don't think I'm talented enough for that quite yet!" Sitting on her bed, Lauren looks at Renamon sitting against the wall. "You know, you're always welcome to join me on my bed."

"I'm quite alright here."

Lauren lets out a soft sigh. "It just seems so uncomfortable. But, you're welcome to do what you like." Setting her guitar by the bedside, she reaches for the lamp switch. "Goodnight, Renamon!"

"That hole opened up and I ended up here somehow." Scratching at its green skin, a creature wanders the halls of an empty hospital. "But how do I go back?" The creature rests its wooden club on its shoulder. Walking more, it comes across a sparking computer. "That's the same thing that happened before the hole opened." The creature moves it into a swinging position. "Goburi Strike!"

"What if the Digital Waves become too much for their systems to handle?" Ezra asks. The two siblings walk side by side as they enter the empty school, the beams of early morning piercing through the windows.

"We'll ask Connor later today." Lauren adjusts the guitar on her shoulder.

"He seems to know a lot about Digimon," Renamon acknowledges.

Herissmon nods. "He might know more about Digital Waves than us."

"Exactly!" Lauren points to Herissmon.

They walk by a notice board. Stopping, Herissmon spots a poster. "Looking for a talented singer and guitarist…" Gasping, Herissmon turns. "Lauren!" The others stop to face Herissmon, who is pointing at the poster. "Come look!"

They walk back to look at the notice board. Lauren finds what Herissmon is pointing at. "An audition?"

"That's perfect for you," Renamon encourages.

"No no, I couldn't possibly…"

"Your singing is great!" Herissmon joins Renamon. "I hear you playing all the time! You should do it!"

"I'm not that talented, to be honest."

Ezra groans. "We need to head to the classroom, we're gonna get caught!"

"Why won't it open?!" the creature yells, swinging its club furiously at its surroundings. "Goburi Strike!" Swinging the club, a fireball erupts from the top and hurls at a broken desk, igniting it on fire. "Why am I here?! I WANT TO GO HOME!"

"Connor!" Lauren waves as the light of dusk hits the park.

Seeing Lauren practically running, Connor meets her and Ezra in the middle. "Why the running?" Laruen hunches over on her knees.

As his sister gasps for air, Ezra responds, breathlessly, "We ha-have something to ask you."

"You didn't have to run, we'll be here for a while," Wormmon worries.

"Clearly it's important to them," Shelby tells Wormmon.

Taking in a deep breath, Lauren stands up right. "We wanted to know: If Digital Waves become too much for systems to handle, what happens?"

"Well…" Connor begins. "Digital Waves are carried by our data lines. When they collide in our data lines, they discharge into the waves that we're able to analyze. These waves are usually harmless."

"You come into contact with Digital Waves everyday and don't even realize it," Wormmon adds.

"However," Connor continues, "if these Digital Waves collide too often outside of these data lines, a path to Digital Space opening increases significantly depending on how strong the wave is. A massive amount of Digital Waves is usually an indicator of a Digimon."

Lauren and Ezra turn to each other, exchanging worried looks. "That means…"Lauren starts.

"A Digimon might be at the hospital," Ezra finishes.

"That's bad!" Jellymon panics.

"We'll check it out tomorrow," Connor assures the siblings. "We can go in more prepared tomorrow." The siblings nod.

"How was work last night?" Lauren takes a bit of her food.

"One of the computers discharged a spark last night," their dad explains.

"Gave us a good scare," their mom continues on. "No one got hurt, at least." Lauren and Ezra exchange glances.

Their dad stands from his chair. "It's about time for us to go. We'll see you kids tomorrow morning."

"Have a good night!" Waving goodbye, their parents leave.

Ezra stands up. "If there's a big enough Digital Wave to discharge sparks, that must mean-"

Lauren jumps out of her chair. "There's a Digimon!"

"I want to go home…" The creature wanders near the front entrance of the hospital. "Why won't it-" A nearby computer discharges a spark. From it a hole opens. Smiling ear to ear, the creature runs towards it. "It opened! I can go home!" Jumping through the hole, the creature looks at its surroundings. Its jaw drops, realizing it's the same location but different. "Why am I still…?"

The front doors slide open as two staff members walk through. "Lauren's getting really good with her guitar." The woman praises.

"She should really try out for a band," the man suggests. Looking over, the man notices the creature. "Hey, young man. Are you okay?" Walking over, he places his hand on the creature's shoulder. "Where are your parents?"

The woman walks over, noticing the club. "Is that a toy?"

Clenching the club tightly, the creature shakes in distraught. "...I want…"

"Do you need food?" the man asks. "We can buy you something from the cafe."

"...I want…" the creature croaks as tears well up in its eyes. "...TO GO HOME!"

Running as fast as they could, the two siblings approach the hospital with their Digimon partners. "Almost there!" Lauren pants.

"Do you know if a Digimon has already appeared?!" Renamon sprints slightly ahead.

"I don't know, but one could appear at any time!"

Trailing behind, Herissmon slows down. "I…can't keep up…"

Ezra stops and looks behind, "Really?!"

Halting, Renamon jumps behind all of them. Scooping up Herissmon, Renamon continues sprinting. "Thank you, Renamon!" Arriving outside the hospital, Lauren spots their parents fleeing from a green Digimon. "Mom! Dad!" Renamon drops Herissmon and leaps in front of the Digimon. Their parents look behind, staring at Renamon.

"Another one?!" Their dad gasps.

"Lauren?!"

Lauren pulls out her Digivice and transports everyone, except for their parents, to Digital Space. "WHY ARE WE BACK HERE?!" the Digimon screams.

As an image of the Digimon appears on Lauren's screen, she reads the information. "Goburimon?"

===========Digital Analyzer===========

Name: Goburimon

Level: Child

Attribute: Virus

Technique: Goburi Strike

"WHY DIDN'T THE HOLE TAKE ME HOME?! GOBURI STRIKE!" Goburimon hurls a ball of fire from its club. Renamon jumps to the side to avoid the oncoming attack.

Charging into the fight, Herissmon gets behind Goburimon. "Lightning Fur!" Herissmon fires quills at Goburimon. As the quills hit, Goburimon becomes paralyzed.

Renamon leaps into the air. "Koyosetsu!" The leaves fire at Goburimon, impaling him.

"...Why can't I go home?" Goburimon sobs.

"Where is your home?" Lauren inquires. "Maybe we can take you home."

"The…Digital World."

"Digital World?!" Lauren's eyes curl in concern.

"Take me…to the Digital World."

"I don't think…" Ezra trails off.

"We can't do that…"

"...You…" Goburimon clenches the club tightly. "...you…" Arms in the air, Goburimon yells, "YOU LIED!"

Lauren sprints over. "I'm sorry! I didn't-"

"GOBURIMON EVOLVE!" Goburimon grew bigger, hair becoming white and growing longer, teeth protruding outwards, and the club becoming a bone club. "ORGEMON!" Orgemon jumps at Renamon. "BONE STRIKE!" Orgemon strikes Renamon with the club, hurling Renamon to Lauren.

As Renamon landed on her back, Lauren panics. "Renamon!"

Renamon rolls over and gets up on one knee. "I'm okay."

Herissmon approaches Orgemon. "Lightning Fur!"

Orgemon balls up a fist. "JUOUKEN!" With a punch, Orgemon releases an aura from it and launches it at Herissmon, deflecting the attack and sending Herissmon into the air.

"Herissmon!" Lauren looks to Renamon, who is barely standing. "We should run! We can't do this on our own!"

"We can't run," Renamon states. "Orgemon will keep pursuing us if we try." Orgemon turns to Lauren and Renamon.

"But what can we do?!" Lauren protests as Orgemon walks towards them.

"Fight!" Renamon argues. "We're the only ones who can!"

Lauren looks at her Digivice. "The only ones that can…" Nodding, Lauren turns to Orgemon, who is approaching them. Her Digivice begins to glow. "Let's do it, Renamon!"

"Mm!" Renamon charges at Orgemon as Lauren's Digivice glows a blinding light. "Renamon evolve!" Renamon's body grows slightly bigger, becoming more fox-like and quadrupedal, the purple arm-sleeves disappearing as an ornament tassel appears and the tail splitting into nine tails. "Kyubimon!"

===========Digital Analyzer===========

Name: Kyubimon

Level: Adult

Attribute: Data

Technique: Onibidama

"JUOUKEN!" Orgemon launches another aura at Kyubimon.

Jumping into the air, Kyubimon avoids the attack. In midair, Kyubimon rolls into a ball. "Koenryu!" A dragon-shaped blue flame manifests from Kyubimon and casts itself at Orgemon.

Springing backwards, Orgemon barely avoids the attack. "Why you!"

As Kyubimon lands, all nine tails perk up and emit a small blue flame. "Onibidama!" Kyubimon fires all nine flames at Orgemon.

Almost dancing to avoid all the flames, one hits Orgemon in the chest. "Ow-ow!" Kyubimon dashes at Orgemon and whips the tails at Orgemon, knocking Orgemon over.

"Maybe we can't take you back home," Lauren admits to Orgemon. "But we can take you to someone that can help you while you're here."

"You mean that?" Orgemon asks, sitting up right.

"I do!" Lauren smiles.

Orgemon nods. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you."

Lauren shakes her head. "I think if I was in a weird world, I would be a little upset, too."

"Orgemon has been safely relocated," Connor tells Lauren.

"Thank goodness!" Lauren collapses on to a bench.

"How are your parents?"

"They're okay. I told them that we were home all along."

"And did they believe you?"

Lauren presses her hands against her face. "Who knows." Lauren snaps back up right. "I have an audition tomorrow."

"Break a leg!"

Walking into a garage filled with musical instruments and gear, Lauren sits in front of three people. "Are you Lauren?"

With a large smile, Lauren responds, "I am!"