File Island

[Kimiwriter]

Darya De Lucia​

Sitting in the circle around the piles of odd fruit and vegetables, Darya combed her hair with her fingers, gently breaking off the burnt ends of her curls. Some scissors and a mirror would be nice, but she could worry about that later. She just didn't want to hear it crinkling by her ears.

"Here, try this," Lopmon held up a fruit that looked like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange with bulbous lumps that made it unappealing. "It's one of my favorites."

Darya smiled and took the fruit and pealed it. Lopmon grinned, plopping down beside her and chowing down on her own fruit. Juice squirted and dripped into her fur.

A small voice piped up from the other side of the circle. "Excuse me."

Looking up, Darya smiled at the shy girl-- Lily from Sweden-- as she introduced herself. It wasn't until then that she realized no one had bothered to really introduce themselves.

"I'm Darya from Washington. United States."

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Amy Warren & Ravyn Cooper

...Dinner and Data Files…​

“Amy,” said Amy, a little absentmindedly, as everyone else was introducing themselves, She indicated herself with a lazy sort of wave of one hand and then returned her attention to what had grabbed her attention before hand. She poked the food before her gingerly, with a suspicious expression on her face. It looked pretty normal and over on the other side of the room Monodramon was tearing through the food, it actually reminded Amy of the way he had leapt at the Goblimon earlier. So obviously it was safe for digimon but that just reinforced the fact that it was probably made of...data? What would happen if she tried to eat it?

How many bytes are there in this piece of fruit? Amy wondered, before snorting at her own, inadvertent pun. Amy's stomach rumbled and she sighed, she was too tired and hungry to overthink this much more so she cautiously ate a couple of nuts, chewing and swallowing with a scholarly expression. They certainly tasted okay? Did that mean she was data as well? Maybe she was just a copy of her real self, a complex set of variables going around thinking she was a person while the real Amy got on with her life.

Amy rubbed her nose with one hand and turned to the person next to her with a pained expression. "If I spend too much more time inside my head I'm gonna have an existential crisis. So we're having a conversation now, what's your deal?"

“My… deal?” Ravyn looked over at her. Like Amy, she’d been rather… suspicious of the food they’d been given. They were in a whole other world, would any of it be safe to eat? What would they do if it wasn’t? Aside from die a slow and shitty death. At least all the Digimon seemed perfectly content with the meal.

Patamon, who was apparently meant to be her partner, seemed ecstatic at the prospect of a decent meal. The small creature now contently sleeping on her lap.

“Like…” Amy made “Who are are you? What are you about? Crap like that. Look I’m not good at this sort of thing. But I guess we’re all gonna leg it off this goddamn mountain or whatever so we might as well get to know each other,”

“Yeah… I suck at this kind of stuff too- Ah, I’m Ravyn, by the way.” She offered a slightly embarrassed wave before turning back to her meal. She’d tried to grab the ones that looked the most… normal.

“I guess it’s nice to meet you? I really wish it was under less messed up circumstances though.”

Ravyn snorted, “Yeah, no shit.”

Amy followed Ravyn’s example and took a bite. There was a few seconds of relative silence as she chewed then: “You reckon it’s true what that wizard dude was saying? That we aren’t here by accident? If that’s the case then something or someone is responsible for us being here.”

The woman was silent for a long moment, looking down at the slumbering digimon on her lap. “I . . . Fuck, I really don’t know.” Ravyn rubbed her eyes, “I can barely even wrap my mind around this whole mess. I mean, being dragged into another world? It’s like some weird dream.” Her fingers brushed the cut on her neck, some of the dried paste Lily had given her flaking off at the touch. “But it’s too real to be one.”

Patamon shifted as she moved to pull the digivice from her back pocket. “These things and us apparently having partners… guess some asshole really did drag us in the mess.”

“At the very least, we owe somebody a punch in the mouth,” said Amy, sounding grim. “I wish we had a better lead than checking out some random mountain though. Doesn’t ‘Infinity Mountain’ sound like kind of a pain in the ass though? Maybe the guy who was naming it just got tired and gave up,”

“He musta been a weakling then,” opined Monodramon, having wandered over, still holding a meat covered bone. “That mountain doesn’t look that big, I bet it’ll be a breeze!”

Amy rolled her eyes. “I’m hoping we don’t have to climb it at all and whatever clue we’re chasing is playing nice and waiting for us at the bottom of the massive fuck off mountain. I don’t know about you guys but I’m a city girl, mountains aren’t really my thing,”

“I think they deserve a lot more than a punch,” Ravyn muttered. Now if one of them could throw a punch like Leomon… Amber eyes flickered over to Monodramon as he spoke up, waiting for the pair to finish. “As long as there’s a path for us to walk it shouldn’t be too bad. Safe to say most of us are screwed if there’s some sheer cliff to climb or something. Know I would be.”

“Hmm, maybe Monodramon can digivolve those little baby wings into something capable of flight,” Amy mused, triggering an angry outburst from her partner.

“Hey there’s nothing wrong with my wings!” insisted the purple dragon. “I keep ‘em this way on purpose cause flying is for wimps who can’t stand their ground!”

“Alright, alright,” Amy replied, patting him on the arm and taking another bite of food. “I won’t get my hopes up then. Not like we have any idea how it works anyway,”

“What is that digivolving thing anyway?” Ravyn had heard it mentioned once or twice but unlike the others had yet to see it happen.


“It’s how digimon get stronger!” Monodramon butted in, eager to show off whatever scant knowledge he possessed. “It takes the average digimon lots of time and tough battles but if you’re awesome like me you can bust it out in the middle of a fight!”

“I’m pretty sure that part has more to do with this thing,” commented Amy, fishing her digivice out from her pocket and placing it on the table next to her plate. “Damn thing went off like a siren and that was when you pulled off your little transformation act,” she turned to Ravyn. “He went from one of those little blobby things to that in the space of a few seconds. There’s no comparison to anything in our world, I mean where did all that extra mass come from for starters?”

“Data,” Patamon yawned, having been woken up by Monodramon’s boisterous voice. He looked between the two tamers with bleary eyes, “We spend years gathering data before we can digivolve. Don’t know what that thing of yours did to him though.”

“So she forced him to… evolve or whatever you called it?” Ravyn looked from the small creature to the digivice in her hand. The screen lit up as she pressed a few buttons, displaying a menu, but it did nothing like Amy had just described.

“I dunno, maybe?”

“Hey I didn’t force him to do anything!” said Amy, a little defensively. “I tried to leave him out of it, not my fault if he’s too stubborn for his own good!”

“Heh, no way I was getting left out of a good fight,” said Monodramon, studying his long looking claws and looking pleased with himself. “And anyway your idea of keeping me safe was throwing me in the river! What were you gonna do if I drowned?”


“Data huh…” Amy looked thoughtful as she tapped mindlessly through the digivice’s menus, ignoring her partner’s accusation. “If that’s the case then the obvious answer is this little doohickey is somehow providing data in place of what you would normally provide yourself.” She frowned. “But is that data stored in the device? If data takes up physical space here you wouldn’t think… But if it just works like a harddrive or whatever you could easily… Nyargh!”

Amy dropped the device and went back to her food. “I guess we don’t know enough about how this world works to really be sure yet. For all we know none of the rules we’re used to apply here,”

“At least gravity seems to work?” Ravyn offered halfheartedly. Her tumble down the slope to the underground hideout confirmed that much easily enough. She shook her head, “But if they’re all data then how can we even exist here?” She massaged the bridge of her nose, all of this was giving her a headache.

“I knew it! We’re freaking copies!” exclaimed Amy, slamming her fist into her palm. “Think about it, what would be easier to do? Somehow convert our physical bodies into data? Or do some kinda brainscan and then design a bunch of computer programs that think like us and have all our memories? I mean we’re from all over the world right? Yet somehow all of us were grabbed at the same time and wouldn’t some of us be missed if we all just disappeared? But if we’re the copies then it’s not a problem. The real versions of us are out there going on with their lives while we have to deal with all of this!”

“Then why do we bleed when the Digimon apparently don’t?” She and Amy had both received injuries that day, but despite the vicious attack on the village, there wasn’t a drop to be found.

“C’mon, that’d be a pretty easy thing to add onto our ‘programming’” said Amy. “And that’d be the first thing someone would check if they’re trying to figure out if they’re real or not, it’s practically a cliche. The digimon don’t bleed because they already know that they’re data, so there’s no point overcomplicating it but with us, the goal is to convince us we’re actually human,” Amy wasn’t a hundred percent sure she actually believed in what she was saying, intuitively she definitely felt real, even if her hypothetical scenario was logical. But now that she’d started arguing it was hard to stop before she had won.

‘Mmm, I don’t know,” Ravyn muttered, picking up another piece of fruit. Given the obvious complexity of the world they were in, she supposed it was a possibility. Not that it was any less bizarre than being thrown into another world entirely. “Still pretty dumb luck for everyone to be able to speak English,” imperfect as it may have been.

“Maybe some of us don’t speak english,” said Amy, gesturing vaguely with a piece of fruit “Maybe they edited our memory to make us think we do and instead we’re just exchanging data streams or whatever. I guess it’s not really helpful to think in those terms though. Even if we decided we’re not real where do we go from there? Do we sit around and do nothing to spite whoever’s taking notes on us? We might as well operate on the assumption that we can get back until something proves conclusively that we can’t,”

“And I’m guessing you’re going to say the obvious not English is on purpose then?” It was hard not to roll her eyes, but it wasn’t like Ravyn had anything for a counterpoint. She noticed Patamon had gotten up to search for another piece of fruit.

“Maybe?” shrugged Amy, absentmindedly reaching for more fruit from her plate and then realizing after a few seconds that there was none there. “Maybe that’s our programming glitching out and accessing the wrong data, I dunno. I guess if I was really trying to fool people into thinking my computer simulation was a real place I would make it more… consistent? Like this village, the digivolving, none of it feels like an organic system that grew up over time, more like this is just the way some outside person made it,”

“Are you still talking about that stuff,” chimed in Monodramon, having left and returned with another plate piled high with food. “You’re here right now aren’t you? What’s there to be confused about?”

“Well I mean you’d probably be confused if you suddenly appeared in… I guess our world?” Ravyn shrugged slightly, the whole ‘parallel worlds’ thing being more than she wanted to deal with at the very moment. “No… you’d just pick fights with anything and everything, wouldn’t you?”

“Heh, well obviously, not like I’m interested in anything else,” said Monodramon, looking down at his claws in a very self satisfied manner.

“Don’t be proud of that!” snapped Amy, before sighing when her admonishments produced no effect whatsoever in the digimon, a fact that was made when he opened his mouth again.

“Are there even strong people in your world? I might consider going if there’s someone at Leomon’s level,”

“I don’t really know how to answer that,” said Amy. “There’s definitely dangerous people in our world but probably they aren’t strong in the way you’re thinking. There are no giant, walking talking lion dudes at least,”

“Pfft sounds lame, hopefully there’ll be strong guys to fight on the way to Infinity mountain then,”

“Hopefully we don’t have to fight anyone,” said Amy, stifling a yawn. “On that note though, I think I’m gonna turn in. Regardless of what happens tomorrow it’s gonna be a long day,”

“Yeah,” Ravyn sighed, “no doubt.”

KageYuuki

 

[Juju]

After being dragged into a realm inhabited exclusively by talking monsters with superpowers Jupiter should've run out of surprises by now. Yet when her broken heels were reformed like clay by Wizardmon's magic she couldn’t find any words. Her mouth fell open, momentarily granting her the look of a fish brought above water. Visions of childhood tales of Cinderella welled up in her head. She stared down wide-eyed at her ‘new’ shoes and saw that the heels had flattened into soles and the once low top-line had filled up with lace like a sneaker. In the depths of her awe a small thought trickled through. A thought that brought her back to her old self.

Not my first choice but not horrible… I guess I could pull it off with this dress. It's not like this lot can judge, anyway.

She was so busy studying the shade’s contrast to her dress that she almost missed Wizardmon’s parting comment about thanking him later. Wait… what did he...Then it clicked. The mountain. Right. She turned her gaze towards the horizon, now hazed with the blanket of dusk that was slowly settling in, and found the jagged silhouette of a distant mountain. Her heart sank with the setting sun.

"We have to walk all the way there? But it's so far..." Jupiter turned to complain to the gnomish digimon only to find that he had already left. "...away." she finished the sentence on a half-hearted note, allowing the words to trail away. She doubted the digimon would've cared anyway.

Pretending she didn't just talk to herself, Jupiter knelt to place her new shoes about her feet and quickly took note of how comfortably they fit, a vast improvement to her heels. She felt a slight pang of guilt for not thanking the digimon for them but it faded as quickly as she stood back to her full height. By now the others were migrating towards the enormous tree that served as the center of the village and not wanting to be left behind, Jupiter followed.

The pelted creature had been waiting for her near the entrance, the yawn escaping its tooth jaws a telltale sign that it had been napping. As usual, Jupiter ignored the stout digimon while walking by it and didn't spare a glance back when it followed her. Only when all the humans had settled down at the make-shift table did Jupiter really decide to acknowledge his presence... and that was when it tugged on the hem of her dress in order to alert her to the speckled fruit it was holding up to her expectantly. Did it expect her to eat that?

Jupiter tilted her head down at the creature, sighing heavily. "Alright. If you're going to be following me around there are a few rules. First, don't touch my dress with your filthy paws... hands... you know what, just don't touch me. Period." The creature blinked, providing no indication if it understood.

With a semi-concealed look of disgust Jupiter gingerly took the multicolored fruit from the thing's paw. "What is this? Smells like a lemon" The others seemed to be eating fruits of a similar caliber so it was probably edible. Jupiter gave it a cautious sniff, wiped off the part touched by the digimon and then took a thoughtful bite out of it. To think of it as a lemon was incorrect. It tasted like a mango, no a pomegranate. With every chew the sweet flavor seemed to change from one tropical delight to the next. It was magnificent "C'est délicieux!" she explained with a smile, realizing just how hungry she had been.

She was so pleased after finishing off the fruit that she decided to talk to the digimon. "How come you can't speak?" Now that she thought of it, he (for some reason the creature struck her as a male) didn't talk or interact with the other digimon either. All he did was follow after her and stare with those red eyes. It was bordering upon the eerie and Jupiter could not shake the feeling that she was being judged... but that was preposterous. This one was most likely a primitive relative to the more civilized creatures.

Her question remained unanswered by the time the Swedish girl introduced herself, prompting the others to share their own names. It was no surprise they didn't know who she was.

In a matter-of-fact tone she introduced herself. "Jupiter Bourgeois. I don't live in one spot, per se, but my father's biggest mansion is in Monaco."

 

[AnimeGenork]

Skylie Lavigne

"Can we all just not today?"​

Skylie was not in the mood to deal with life today. Maybe that was why the “Brunette Demon of Philadelphia” barely had to glance at other encroaching street urchins for them to flee. Damn kids weren’t going to take her alley on her watch.

Even her daily visit to her only friend, Piper, an artist who ran a shop and studio and lived above it, failed to cheer her up. As she sat in front of an in-progress landscape depicting a canyon, Skylie tried in vain to name this feeling eating her up inside. Despair? No. Rage? Nope. Maybe hunger? Considering she’d just had a delicious brunch courtesy of Piper…that was a negatory.

So, really, it didn’t help matters when her burner cell (provided by Piper in case she was dying or something) seemed to malfunction. Skylie glared at it over her shoulder, willing it to shut up. For some reason, it was chirping nonstop. Finally, Skylie got up from her stool and stood over it, gazing down at…a blank, white screen? Great. Just great. It was broken. “Hey, Piper! I think my phone’s broken!”

And then she lost consciousness.

~ ~ ~

Waking up, Skylie found herself face-to-face with the source of her name: the sky. Today was just not her day. She didn’t need to be reminded that her name was uncommon and stupid and girly, but noooo. The sky just had to exist and remind her of this fact.

Sitting up, Skylie took stock of her inventory first. (Rule of the Streets #45: Make sure nothing’s been taken from you when you wake up. See Rule #46 about what to do if such has happened.) Her daggers were still tucked into her combat boots, so that was good, and her phone was beside her…

Wait. Was that really her phone?

Instead of the lame burner cell, the device beside her was a metallic gray thing with a bunch of buttons that reminded her eerily of a game console of some sort. Not that she liked challenging Piper to Mario Kart every now and then.

Standing up, Skylie let her sky-blue (Laugh. I dare you.) eyes scan her surroundings. (Rule of the Streets #67: If you have no idea where you are, chances are you’re dead.) Contrary to what her concept of heaven was, this place seemed to be a scene out of a children’s book with rolling hills, lush forests, and brilliant skies.

Ew.

It was one thing when she painted them, but now she was living them? What the hell type prank was this? Skylie was really starting to get annoyed at all this.

That is, until she saw smoke rising up from the middle of the forest.

Either someone else was here and had built a fire…or there was trouble.

Skylie decided to take her chances.

The trek could’ve been worse. After all, she inhabited a damn alley, where trash cans and other litter were the main safety hazards. Not to mention the cats. Those damn cats always stole her food…

After a while, Skylie stopped in a clearing to rest, sitting down on a large rock and letting out a large breath. The forest was peaceful, with apparently no threat of bears or wolves or even lions… Was she even anywhere close to Philly, anyway? If she wasn’t, that would require some hefty explanation. Or a punch to someone’s face. Preferably the former.

A little voice squeaked, “Are you one of those humans that’s come to our world?”

Skylie opened her eyes and found a… What even was this? It resembled a pink ball with two antenna—er, ears?—that were bent in twin zigzags. But what really caught her attention were its red eyes. Unlike a stuffed animal’s glassy eyes, this creature’s eyes were lively and playful. It didn’t seem dangerous.

Then again, her ex-boyfriend hadn’t seemed psychotic.

(Rule of the Streets #99: First impressions are complete and utter lies.)

“What are you?” Skylie asked apathetically, trying not to show her suspicions.

The thing grinned. “I’m a Digimon! I come from this place, the Digital World! My name’s Koromon; what’s yours?”

“…Skylie.”

“That’s a pretty name! You never answered my question, though. Are you a human?” The creature—Digimon? No, wait, his name was Koromon—repeated, hopping up onto her lap.

Part of Skylie desperately wanted to shove him off, but that would’ve been extremely rude. She leaned back on her hands and responded. “Yeah, I’m human. Is this a dream or something? I’ve never heard of the Digital World.”

“Oh, it’s real, all right!”

Before Skylie could ask him anything further, something came crashing through the undergrowth toward them. A huge green monster burst through the bushes and into the clearing, wielding a wicked club. Skylie was so shocked she barely heard the weird gray device saying something about her and Koromon being registered. Taking Koromon and setting him down beside her on the rock, she stood up. “Stay back, Koromon. I’ll take care of him.”

The monster leered at her and raised his club while Koromon gasped, “Goblimon!” Skylie wasn’t sure what that meant, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let this thing intimidate her. Reaching down to her boots, she whipped out her daggers.

She never took the first step.

Koromon took a flying leap from the rock to the space between Skylie and the…Goblimon? (What were these names, anyway?) “I’ll protect you, Skylie!” Just then, he began glowing, blinding Skylie and Goblimon. Koromon’s shadow slowly grew larger, and he bleated, “Koromon Digivolve to… Agumon!”

No longer did a pink blob of thing stand in front of her. Now, the Digimon in front of Skylie was an orange dinosaur reminiscent of a T-Rex, with large white claws and luminous green eyes.

What even? What was Charmander doing here? (That was the only Pokémon besides Pikachu that Skylie could name…)

Agumon glared at the Goblimon and shot a flame at him, screaming, “Pepper breath!” as if naming the attack. (It was then Skylie realized she was in one of those universes.) The Goblimon screeched and ran away, leaving a trail of embers behind him.

Turning to Skylie, Agumon raised his arms. “How was that? What do you think of your partner now?”

Skylie was already walking away. “I’m out. I want no part of this.”

Sprinting after her, Agumon panted, “But don’t you want to find out how I was able to do that?”

“Not really.”

“Well, you’re no fun at all, are ya?”

“I left my funny bone at home.”

It was then Skylie’s stomach chose to growl. More like grumble. Okay, more like complain. Loudly. With a smug look, Agumon remarked, “You know, since I’ve lived here all my life, I’m pretty sure I’m your best bet at getting food.” He turned in the opposite direction and began walking, seemingly knowing already that Skylie was right behind him, muttering something about a “cocky lizard."

When they emerged from the trees, they were in a village that looked like mega building blocks from Skylie’s childhood.

It was absolutely terrifying.

Skylie shoved her hands in her pockets and followed Agumon as he led the way through the village—the Village of Beginnings, he called it—where hundreds of other blobs like Koromon were bouncing around. If she hadn’t thought them mildly cute, she would’ve considered them disgusting.

Soon, Skylie realized Agumon was leading her to a tree where pack of people sat around, apparently eating and settling down for the night. Just her luck. She had to deal with people, too. But with the sun setting and her having no Piper to go to… It looked like she had no choice.

Trudging up the hill, Skylie stuck close to Agumon, not out of special trust, but out of recognition. As of right now, he was the only one she knew in the slightest, and that failed to alleviate her concerns.

As she approached, she announced, “I’m apparently late to the party. Before you ask, the name’s Skylie, or Sky, but don’t call me anything else or I’ll ignore you. It seems we’re all stuck in this Digital World together, and while I’m not fond of people, it looks like we’re each other’s best bet on getting out of here. So what I’m really trying to say is… Is there any food left?”

Her stomach growled.

KageYuuki Pretzel Heart V viska Kimiwriter Juju AtlannianSpy Seraph X Pequeno Burraidh

Coding by AnimeGenork ​

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Rin Kuromoto ​

Rin was sleeping—the back of his head cradled by his hands, and his body strewn atop a fairly durable branch. Or, at least, he was trying to sleep. The small, squishy creature bouncing on his body didn’t help matters. It had introduced itself as Gummymon. Rin called it Mochi…and couldn’t be persuaded otherwise. Mochi was a much more suitable name for the little tyke who stuck to him like glue anyway.

Why it was following Rin? The boy had no clue. However, given that Mochi was the first contact he’d made in since finding himself in a strange, new world, Rin didn’t really have much of a reason to dissuade the creature. No, that was a lie. He had plenty of reasons, starting with it was annoying and bossy, and ending with it was annoying and bossy. Still. It was…cute. When adorable eyes of a helpless puppy looked up at him and said it was lost, needed help finding its way home, it was..hard…to ignore. Even for him. Rin sighed.


“Look! It’s there! It’s there! The Village of Beginnings! We’re almost there!”

Rin cracked an eye open, peering below him at a village that was visible in the distance. Mochi’s home was a small place. Fitting for a small creature. However, Rin didn’t voice his thoughts, not feeling the need to. His attention was on the globlin-like creatures running from the village like panicked ants. “…Friends of yours?”

“Goblinmon? Ewww. No way. No way.” Mochi tilted its horned head confusedly as it looked towards the tiny village where smoke was rising from. Smoke meant fire. And it seemed a bit too much smoke for a bonfire. “I hope everything’s okay.”


“Whatever’s going down in there looks dangerous. Let’s just wait for it to pass.”


“B-But what if Leomon’s hurt?” Mochi sputtered adorably.

Rin closed his eyes. “What can you do? Can you fight off those club-wielding monsters?”

Mochi’s pouted, its squishy cheeks puffing angrily. “Digimon,”

Rin shrugged. Fortunately the Goblinmon didn’t notice him while they rushed to get away from the village. Eyes still closed, Rin listened to the stamping feet as the green club wielding monsters climbed the hill and passed his tree, none bothering to look up. He heard many things. Ogremon dead. Enemies too strong. Leomon. Sorcerermon. None of that meant a thing to him. What caught Rin’s attention was the word humans uttered by one of the green goblins. There were other people in that village. Humans like him. Excitement, with a tinge of relief, fluttered in Rin’s heart, though he’d never say it out loud…especially not within Mochi’s hearing.

Once all the goblins passed, Rin sat up and swung his legs over the branches as he dropped himself to the grassy ground, startling Mochi with his movement. Gummymon squealed in surprise, falling off him and onto the grass “W-what are you doing, Rin?”


“I’ve changed my mind,” Rin said simply, stuffing his hands to his pockets as he began his trek down the hill and towards the Village of Beginnings. “Let’s get you home.”

Delighted, Gummymon(Mochi) trailed after human. “Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be sure to pay you back someday.”

Rin glanced down at the little digimon that was struggling to keep up with his long legs, his expression disbelieving. “Uh-huh. Sure you will.” Mochi didn’t seem to hear his sarcasm. Not that Rin cared. Unspoken jealously bubbled within Rin, one he kept in check. Mochi was on his way home, while Rin had no idea where his home even was. The only thing he remembered was receiving a another call from his sister, which he refused to answer, tossing his phone angrily aside, then going to bed. The next thing he knew, Rin opened his eyes to a different world…greeted by a crying little monster. Normally he wouldn’t mind being trapped in another world. His own world had nothing good going for him anyway. Except for Akane. Thoughts of her, and how worried his girlfriend probably was by his absence, made his direction clear.

Rin’s fingers brushed against a device that had somehow come into his possession. He kept it on a whim. A mystery item. For some inexplicable reason, he figured it was the key to getting him home. Not like he had any other clues to work with.


“I hope the other humans won't be annoying.”

Rin didn't have high hopes.

 

[viska]

Lilly turned to each of them as they spoke, but avoided making eye contact.
She listened carefully to everyone, taking mental note of the names and places they came from.
She wasn't very well traveled so she simply assumed most of them were American.
Lilly felt a bit relieved to finally know who these strangers were.
At least now they had names and homes; not some group of vagrant strangers.

Finally the groups diva spoke up about herself, as Lilly listened starry eyed to her announcement.
Perhaps it was her innocent naivety, or perhaps it was a cultural thing, but where the others saw a conceited little brat, Lilly saw a princess.
While she wasn't just like in those old cartoon movies, she dressed and acted with a regalia that Lilly ate up.
For all Lilly knew, she could have been a real princess.
Who's to say only 'normal' people got sucked into this magical world.

Completely oblivious to the small city-state, Lilly blurted out "Oooh, Morocco. I hear it's very lovey. Min far went there to to study cacti for a few weeks."
Realizing just how cringe inducingly lame that sounded, she slowly recoiled and fell silent again.
She felt a new hot wash of embarrassment beginning to creep up on her when suddenly she felt a tug at her arm.
It was Palmon, still trying to stifle a laugh as she got Lilly's attention.

Palmon whispered "You Hu-mon sure have some weird names for places. Why not call it something more fitting like 'dry dry dessert. Or cactus dunes."
Lilly was about to explain that you can't simply name a country like zones in a video game..But she had no good reason why.
For a moment she sat there with a puzzled look on her face unsure how to answer.
In the end, all she could reply was "Because those humans are strange that way." said with a defeated sigh.
Pleased with her victory, Palmon laughed happily and munched another odd looking fruit.

It was about this time Lilly started to overhear the big existential debate about the reality of all this.
It had crossed Lilly's mind several times that this world was some kind of dream, but she never thought that SHE might not be the real thing here.
The very thought of it all was terrifying.
Lilly looked down at her hands, trying to see if she could somehow tell if she was real or not.
Beginning to dwell on the dark side of the idea, those very hands began to tremble.

Palmon noticed her new friend staring at her shaking hands and stopped eating mid bight.
She could tell something was wrong but wasn't sure what; after all, she was fine just a minute ago.
Trying to brighten her mood, Palmon joked "you know, that's not the best way to shake fruit seeds from your hands.
Working to an extent, it at least snapped Lilly out of her spiral of existential crises long enough for her to give a short " huh? ..Oh. Ja.. Sorry."
Again Palmon tried to cheer her up "Well, if your not gonna eat, what's eating you?"

Lilly was about to try and explain when a new human arrived on the scene.
A new brash American named Skylie, with an attitude of piss and vinegar.
Her gruff nature completely contrasting Lilly's to the point of intimidating her.
Unfortunately for Lilly, when Skylie if there was any food left Palmon waved her over announcing "Sure ! over here. Any Hu-mon is a friend of village of beginnings today."

 

[Pretzel Heart]

Otonashi Keiran and Gomamon​

Otonashi's brow furrowed as he listened to the wizard kid's - Sorcerimon's - explanations. He couldn't really understand what people were saying let alone the implications of such. Something about Egg-Dra-Seal and a big, far-away looking mountain. As much as he needed to practice his English so that he could go back to school, he really wished he could figure out if the game had a Japanese setting.

As the others began to clear out, apparently sobered by whatever they'd been able to understand of the kid's babble, Otonashi decided to take matters into his own hands. Releasing Puka from his grasp, he approached Sorcerimon.

"Hmm...what? Uhm..."
"Hey, what's 'Tutorial' in English?"

"So, uh, hey. Sorry, but I'm not really good at games, and I think I missed something. Could you show me the..." he paused, looking around as he frustratedly scratched the back of his head, "なんだっけ。。。えと。。。" at last turning helplessly towards Gomamon, "「チュートリアル」は英語で何すっか？"
^{"Nandakke...eto..." / "Chuutoriaru ha Eigo de nansska?"}

"Tutorial...?" The Digimon asked, head cocked.

"Yeah!"

"ソダ！Can you show me the 「Tutorial」?"
^{So da!}

But Sorcerimon, despite being able to give people cool scars and answer bucketfuls of questions, didn't seem to have any advice for him. He just kept going on and on about how "it wasn't a game." Man, the level of detail put into this VR sure was deep! Otonashi might be a bit annoyed if he wasn't so in awe.

That planned failed, he began kicking around some small pieces of debris as he stirred up thoughts to himself. As much as he wanted to go off with the others (as it seemed the perfect chance to finally get them to tell him their gosh darn names!), Otonashi couldn't help but feel uncomfortable thinking he was the only one who didn't know how to play, couldn't speak English very well, and was 100% guaranteed to say something to get himself into trouble. After all, it wasn't like the foreigners were particularly friendly...even if some of them were pretty much his type. And besides, no matter what his stomach was saying, he was used to going long periods without food. The past few weeks living with Ayumu had only spoiled him. So ignoring the pleading of his body and worrywart Digimon, Otonashi decided to do (what he considered) the right thing (for once). Before anything else he was gonna figure out how this damned game worked! That way the next time there was a battle he wouldn't let himself get sidelined or almost killed, or have a tiny talking seal boss him around.

"Otonashi Keiran, the others are gathering over there. Where are you going?"

As he suspected, the tiny talking seal in question followed him from the wake of the great tree, starting up his nagging once again.

"I have to learn how this game works. I'm not gonna miss another fight."

Worried what these ominous words might mean, Gomamon did his best to keep up with his Tamer's quick stride.

"Do you really like fighting that much?"

"Yup~"

"But it's so...dangerous...you heard what Sorcerimon said, we don't know what could happen to humans who get injured in this world!"

"Look, no matter what I'm gonna be fine." Despite not being the brightest tool in the shed, Otonashi figured it was probably a big waste of time explaining the finer points of reality to a character in a videogame, "And it's not that I think fighting is fun. I don't wanna, like, hurt people or anything, and I don't care about getting stronger. It's getting hit that's the fun part~"

"I...see...Fascinating. So humans enjoy being hurt?"

"This one does~" Otonashi punctuated the comment with a wink, letting out a chuckle-like hum to himself as he walked. He most certainly wasn't expecting what came next.

Barreling into his human for the hundredth time that day, Gomamon began frantically thwacking at him with his powerful claws.

"T-Then Otonashi Keiran! I'll hit you as many times as you'd like! Just promise me you won't do anything else dangerous!!!"

Completely surprised by the nearly-in-tears Digimon, Otonashi, face now bright red, did his best to try and shake the distraught creature off.

"S-Stop that! It doesn't count when you do it!!"

"It doesn't...? Why not?"

"B-Because..." But just as he was trying to think about how to explain the quantifiers of muscly beauty to a cat he was interrupted once again, this time shoved under the cover of a nearby bush...adding twigs and leaves to the list of things now stuck to his still-damp clothing.

"Ow!"

"イタ！P-Puka...you, like, really have to stop doing that..."
^"Ita!"

"I apologize, but, just as I feared, you were about to walk into a dangerous situation again already!"

With a sigh Otonashi peered through the foliage, following the Digimon's gaze. Striding down the path they had just been standing on was yet another foreigner, though strangely it was one the would-be student couldn't remember ever having seen. In fact, much to his joy, this one...might not actually be a foreigner at all, with a style of dress and way about him that screamed Japan almost as much as his dyed hair and intense gaze screamed delinquent.

Naturally, Otonashi's interest was piqued.

But the human wasn't the only thing setting Gomamon off. There was also his partner, practically skipping alongside him. And it was the most delicious-looking Digimon yet. With a gelatinous green body it was practically a walking piece of candy, reminding Otonashi once again that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.
Sitting in the cluttered kitchen with Ayumu...was that really in this same lifetime?

"That little thing?"

A buzzing came from his pocket where Ayumu's phone was but Otonashi ignored it, instead turning to Gomamon with hands on his hips and the most unfamiliar sensation of a mother about to talk to a wayward kid.

"You know, you were a looot cooler earlier."

"I'm serious! Why wasn't that human with the others? What if that Gumimon is possessed, and they're working for Ogremon! Or even worse--" Though Gomamon was now making an attempt to lower his voice, his attempts at whispering weren't all that great and Otonashi was sure that there was a good chance the others could hear it.

"Well, you never know until you ask~" Completely ignoring the terrified look on his partner's face, Keiran popped up from the bushes, waving frantically at the new pair.

"ヤハロ〜！Watcha doin? Aren't you a player, too? Or, like, one of our party members? I don't really know how games work. But this guy here," he picked up the surprisingly heavy Gomamon by the scruff of his neck, "seems to think you might be one of the bad guys. So...is it true? If so, let's fight!"
^"Yahallo~!"

He smiled brightly as his poor Digimon clawed at him to be dropped.

QuirkyAngel ​

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Rin Kuromoto and Gumimon
​

Rin blinked, stopping when a stranger popped out the bushes and waved at him. Wierdo. That was Rin’s first thought as he assessed his fellow human. If the leaves sticking to the damp boy’s clothes weren’t enough, the guy’s following words certainly implicated him as such. The greeting was in Japanese, which suggested that the brunette hailed from the same country Rin did. Yet the rest was in English. Why it was in English, Rin had no idea. It had taken Rin a second to recognize the language for what it is, and another to begin the translations in his head. Thankfully, he was decent in the language. Though the words escaping the boy’s lips may as well have been Arabic, for what little sense it made to Rin.


A game? Does he think we’re in a game?

Rin didn’t play many games. His childhood didn’t permit much of that, and he’d never really picked up gaming, but he wasn’t unaware of the jargons used. He might’ve scoffed that the boy’s implication…but then, who was he to say they weren’t in a game? A couple of hours ago, he’d been convinced he was dreaming, given how he’d arrived at the new world. Even now, everything seemed far too surreal to be real. Yet, the scent of burnt wood in his surroundings, the pain he’d felt from punching that tree(trying to wake himself up), Mochi’s tears when they first met, it all felt real. That was enough.

“How rude!” Mochi’s voice drew him back into the conversation. The little gelatinous digimon had found it way in front of Rin and was now staring up at the opposing human with displeased adorable eyes. “Rin isn’t a bad guy! He helped me back to the village! If you want a fight I’ll—,”

Gumimon found himself in the air, lifted up by the horns, and tossed behind Rin, before he could finish.

“Heeeeeey,” Mochi’s squishy body didn’t take much damage. Rather, the gelatinous thing seemed to bounce on the ground a bit before scrambling back to its non-existent feet. It still got teary eyed though. “I may be small, but I’m not weak! You can trust me to protect yoooou!”

Ignored.

Rin looked from the shorter boy to the talking seal he held, as if contemplating what to say, before cool, reddish brown eyes settled on positive, hazel-green ones…that were clearly foreign-born. He spoke in fluent English. “I have no idea what kind of game you think you’re playing, but I want no part of it.” Nor did he care what the other boy or his monster friend thought of him. Finding another human in this strange world was a stroke of luck, but not if that luck planned on being annoying. Or a hindrance to his quest of returning home. Reaching into his pocket, Rin pulled out the strange contraption that the world had give him. He looked from the seal to the human, his gaze revealing no expression.“If either of you can tell me what this is we might have a conversation started. Otherwise, I suggest we part ways here. I don’t plan to stay in this village for very long.” He’d only come to the Village of Beginnings to bring Mochi back home. That was it. Not pick a fight.

“A-ah, but aren’t you hungry? Don’t you want to rest here a few days?”

"あんまり" There was no reason to stay in a village that was not his home. He had no intention of doing what a weird, fight-loving, stranger wanted. And, if the stranger before him was an example of what the other ‘party members’ would be like, the level of annoying-ness of the other humans in the village was probably too great to be worth the trouble. “Besides, your home looks like it has seen better days.”

Eyes widening, as if it had just remembered that goblinmon had been found raiding its village, the squishy little digimon scrambled in front of the rude human, looking towards the talking seal he held. “What happened? Why were there goblimon here? Where’s Leomon? Wh-,” Mochi (Gumimon) tilted its head curiously at Gomamon. “Who are you? I don’t remember you being in the Village of Beginnings. You’re too biiiiiig. Not as big as Leomon though.”

Rin rolled his eyes.

Pretzel Heart

 

[AnimeGenork]

Skylie Lavigne

"Can we all just not today?"​

Skylie wasn’t too surprised that her mildly rude greeting didn’t cause much of a stir. It was still disappointing, though. After all, back in Philly, she was known to go on a rampage if she wasn’t listened to…and that was just about staying out of her damn alley. But anyway.

Unfortunately, it seemed she’d intimidated a poor girl with bright purple hair. Yowza, that was a color she didn’t see often. The last time she saw a purple that vivid, her mother had been wearing it. And her mother hadn’t bothered to speak to her in quite some time.

Her stomach continued growling even as the Digimon beside the girl invited her to share some food with them. Skylie, ever the wary one, took perhaps one step closer and sat down, staring at the ground. Agumon, however, remained a social butterfly. Er. Digimon. Social Butterflymon?

“Thanks, Palmon! Skylie here is unlikely to say so, but thank you for sharing with us!” He took a bite of some strange looking food before asking, “Did you just call her a Hu-mon? What’s that?”

Skylie refused to partake in this conversation, mostly out of respect for the girl she’d seemed to scare. She ate her food silently, finally calming the incessant growling. Glancing around, she took in the other people gathering as well as their Digimon. What weird creatures…too bad she only worked in landscapes. Wouldn’t this make a popular one at Piper’s studio.

Ah, crap. She was starting to miss Piper a little bit. Even if she was a pain.


V viska

Coding by AnimeGenork ​

 

[Kimiwriter]

Darya De Lucia​

Darya nibbled on the fruit in her hands. Having so many people wander into the village made her nervous. She'd been able to convince herself her brother was safe at home since he hadn't woken up with the rest of them in that little clearing, but if other people had been transported to the Digital world, and hadn't been with their group, that meant Maverick could still be out there and she'd never know it. Shifting, she leaned into the circle so she could be heard.

"Excuse me, Skylie?" She figured she would just have to ask each of the newcomers directly and hope someone knew something. "When you woke up or while you were on your way here, did you happen to see a boy, curly brown hair like mine, anywhere in the woods? His name's Maverick."

Darya silently prayed the answer was no, but then realized it could just mean he was in a different area and she'd have to go searching for him. She quickly switched the prayer to the answer being yes, and possibly with detailed directions on where to find him. She held her breath and waited.

AnimeGenork

 

[AnimeGenork]

Skylie Lavigne

"Can we all just not today?"​

Skylie had a fruit half in her mouth when she was addressed by someone else in the group. The girl was pretty, she supposed, with curly brown hair and an anxious look about her. She was immediately irritated at having been interrupted, especially since the fruit was half in her mouth and she therefore couldn’t properly speak.

Holding up one finger for her to wait, she finished her fruit in the most painstaking way possible, to get the girl back for asking her a question in the middle of eating. During this time, she formulated her answer. Boy, would she have words to say.

“The only thing I’ve seen since coming here is this orange dinosaur and a creepy green thing. Unless this boy you’re looking for is one of those, no, I haven’t seen him. Sorry to disappoint you. But even if I had seen him, I probably wouldn’t remember the color of his hair, or his name, or where I had seen him, because frankly, I don’t give a damn.”

Yeah. It was rude. And mean. But it was the truth.

If there was anything Skylie did, it was tell the truth.

“And while I’m at it, you might want to decide whether or not you want him here. Anyone within a mile of you can tell you’re conflicted about it.”

She was also good at reading people.


Kimiwriter

Coding by AnimeGenork ​

 

[Juju]

Cacti? Vast desert? In Monaco? Jupiter supposed it got hot during the summer, and the beaches were superb, but she didn't remember any cacti or deserts. Her head tilted, eyebrows pinched lightly in a look of bewilderment. Then it hit her; Morroco, filled with mysterious ancient cities and more than enough shantytowns. This girl, whom Jupiter had already forgotten the name of, had doubtlessly confused the two.

She shielded her mouth with the back of her hand, laughing in a sickeningly sweet manner that hid the poison. "Oh, petit crétin..." oh, you little moron...

The girl soon took up a conversation with her digimon -- which seemed far more intelligent than Jupiter's own -- leaving the french girl to try some more of the fruits. To her right, the pelted creature remained silent as ever while it devoured a sharp smelling blob of who-knows-what. It bothered her that she had ended up with a degenerate as a 'partner', as the others had coined. Perhaps she still had time to switch out for another? It was a nice thought, but she knew the fat little thing would still follow after her.

Jupiter wondered if he even had a name. The goblin things had said something before they had ran but she could not remember what they had said. Ganmon? Garumon? Her pondering was soon cut short at the arrival of a new face.

The accent, the overbearing ego -- she had to be American.

Jupiter immediately took a disliking to the girl.

"Oh. My. God." she muttered in disbelief, batting her eyes as if to blink away this strange mirage. When that didn't work, she eyed the newcomer up and down with a look of poorly concealed disgust. Ripped jeans and a baggy sweater want of a wash. Jupiter could tell fashion wasn't her forte, or perhaps that was fashion where she came from. She watched the girl saunter over to the table and chow down while the others waited for her to speak. It reminded Jupiter of a goat.

"Je suis entouré d'animaux..." I'm surrounded by animals...she sighed. Her partner looked up from his meal and followed her gaze to Skylie, observed her for a moment, then turned back to Jupiter. As usual, he just stared at her blankly before returning to his food.

Juju Juju Juju
(Juju is never late. Nor is she early. She posts precisely when she means to...)

 

[Kimiwriter]

Darya De Lucia
Lopmon​

The rage blossomed in Darya's chest before creeping up her neck and into her cheeks and ears. She struggled to keep herself from shaking. She didn't mind having to wait for an answer. Frankly, she always hated it when people asked her things while she was eating, so the whole "wait while i chew this" thing didn't bother her. But the stranger not caring at all about someone else who might be in trouble was pushing it too far. In her mind, she pictured herself chucking a fruit at the girl, maybe using a few choice words before storming off. Instead, she stood, took a steadying breath and tried to keep her voice as diplomatic and sweet as her mother's whenever her parents fought.


"You're right. Sorry for bothering you with something so silly." The fear and rage crept back into her voice, making it pitch slightly. "If my baby brother does show up, can someone tell him to stay here until I'm back from looking for him?" Not looking at the others and not expecting a reply, she strode away from the fire into the growing night.

Lopmon chucked a fruit pit at Skylie. It landed harmlessly by her foot. "You're mean!" The little rabbit hopped after Darya.

She caught up at the edge of the woods. Darya stood at the edge, hugging herself as she stared into the gloom. Lopmon stopped beside her and gently put a paw on Darya's leg.

"He was in boy scouts for a while," Darya whispered. "He stopped going after . . . Anyway, he'd know to stay put until someone found him. I just don't know where to look."

"He's probably with another Digimon. They'll keep him safe until morning."

Darya cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled "Maverick!" into the dark. There was no answer. Maybe he didn't hear me. Or maybe he can't hear me. Or he can't answer. What do I do if he's hurt? What if I can't find him? What if one of those goblin things finds him first? She walked into the woods. "Maverick!" She walked faster. “Maverick?” Faster until she was jogging.

"Darya-mon, wait!" Lopmon hopped after her.

“Maverick, come on, answer me!”

“Darya—“

Darya tripped over a fallen tree branch and fell, scrapping her hands and knees for a second time that night. “Ow. . .”

Lopmon hopped over, panting a little, and put her paws on her partner’s shoulder. “Getting yourself lost in the woods isn’t going to help. We should wait until morning so your friends can help.”


“They don’t care. None of them care if he’s here or not.” Darya shook, struggling to keep the wet sobs from escaping. "I’m supposed to look after him. Dad made me promise. God, it was easier thinking he was safe at home.”

“Shhh.” Lopmon wrapped her ears around Darya in a hug.

Still crying, Darya hugged her back.

“Let’s go back. Leomon or Sorcermon will know what to do.”

Nodding, Darya stood, still holding the little rabbit, and slowly retraced her steps to the forest’s edge.

 

[Pretzel Heart]

Otonashi Keiran and Your Highness, Prince Gomamon​

It didn't take long for Gomamon to successfully wriggle his way out of Otonashi's grasp, his claws leaving behind a smarting reminder of why it wasn't a great idea to pick up strays...whether they be neighborhood cats or prissy Digimon. As the yummy green creature responded Keiran began to zone out, instead looking disparagingly down at the large tear now starting to show through his dress shirt, thankful for the fact that he had hung his jacket around his shoulders to help it dry, and for the first aid kit that was seeming increasingly handy the more claw-happy his new friend became. Well, Puka had apparently had nothing but flippers up until that morning. He probably wasn't aware of his own strength yet.

The sound of the other human's voice brought back Otonashi's attention. He met his gaze, wondering if such a skinny-looking delinquent could actually be useful in a fight, but under the scrutiny of that unamused glower quickly found himself losing courage, an already bright face somehow growing even redder. Just a second ago he had been delighted by the prospect of having another Japanese person in their ragtag group. But in all honesty...... well, it was always the same. No matter where he went, it wasn't exactly easy to shake outsider status. He could practically hear the thoughts passing behind the cool brown eyes...

A lopsided smile formed on Otonashi's face as a sheepish hand ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

"That's okay, I have no idea what kind of game this is too. I didn't mean to turn it on, I just wanted a new uniform..."

And after this experience, he was really going to need one.

But when the stranger whipped out his device the light came back in Otonashi's eyes.

"Huuh? It's the same!"

"エェェ？同じだよ！"
^{"Eee? Onaji da yo!"}

Apparently he was so convinced that the delinquent was also Japanese, he was already forgetting to speak English.

"Hmm, but yours hasn't ~transformed~* yet."

"でも、まだ変身じゃなくってね。。。Is that why yours is so small? And tasty-looking..."
^{"Demo, mada henshin janakute ne..."}

He knelt down to the green Digimon's level, his eyes reflecting the shine of its gelatin form. What kind of flavoring did it have...Apple? Macha? Pear? The possibilities were endless...

But that was when he heard it.

"Aha! I knew it! You're Japanese! I'm like totally Japanese too, but the rest of us are all foreigners, hm..."

"アァ！やっぱり日本人だよ〜！アタシもけど、残りは外人だよね。。。"
^{"Aa! Yappari Nihonjin da yo~ Atashi mo kedo, nokori ha gaijin da yo ne..."}

He was so excited that he couldn't prevent his "girl talk" from slipping out again. Ah well. The delinquent sounded so good at English, too, which did little to ease Keiran's self-consciousness. Maybe he also went to some fancy English school...though he certainly didn't dress like it.

Resisting the urge to sigh behind his smile, Otonashi realized just how strange it felt to be talking about foreigners to a Japanese person. Honestly...outside of Ayumu, Megumi, and his own parents...he couldn't remember the last time he was alone with someone from Japan. A true weirdo born and raised. He already felt like he stood out enough in front of the others. And now somehow that paled in comparison to his growing unease under the delinquent's gaze.

"Otonashi Keiran! Show them your device!"

"Oh, right. Here."

"ア、そ。これ。"
^{"A, So. Kore."}

Puka was, of course, oblivious to such meandering distress. Perhaps they didn't have to worry about such things as cultural differences and language barriers in the virtual world. He briefly wondered if all Pukamon looked the same before he gingerly pulled out a device to match the stranger's own. Seeing it made him think about all the duress the poor object had gone through, and how it was the only way Ayumu was ever able to remember which trains to take to get home.

"It's an iPhone 7 Plus! At least...I think...it is?"

The screen was currently flashing some text as if with a notification, and at the touch of Otonashi's fingers the voice that had earlier interrupted his battle rang out once more.

Gummimon: A cheerful and lively Digimon. It's body tissue is unstable, giving it a squishy feeling. However, watch out for its horn! It likes to intimidate its opponents with head-butts and by spewing out adhesive bubbles.​

"Huh. That happened before, too." The iPhone 7 Plus must have some sort of app integration with the VR. And those were all both very big words and very big ideas for Otonashi. He was simultaneously a bit surprised and proud of himself that at least some of Ayumu's technology-themed ramblings had managed to sink in...

"The Eye Phone Seven Plus...a most powerful and fascinating device. Somehow its use allows us to Digivolve much faster than at the normal rate." Heika, true to form, was standing with his chest puffed. "At least, I had to in order to protect this one."

"I said I was doing just fine!"

"That must be why you don't know who I am." One Digimon was now directly addressing the other as Gomamon, with something of a hurt look, approached who was apparently Gummimon. "I was Pukamon, remember? The smartest Digimon in the Village of Beginnings?"

"And now he's a prince~ Even if he doesn't act like it..."

"Right, call me Your Highness, Prince Gomamon." The look of satisfaction spread across his face made Otonashi think the statement was a bit more than a joke. "And I'll be just as big as Leomon soon enough, if not bigger!"

"Huuh!? I wanna see! I wanna see!"

"エェェー！？You mean you're gonna grow again!? 見たい！見たい！"
^{"Eee-!? Mitai! Mitai!"}

"That is my prediction, at least...if the stories are true...... But before we get to that, I should let you know that you have nothing to fear, Gummimon. From what I can tell the raid was just another one of Ogremon's attacks...and again, he was unsuccessful. Though he got rather closer than I would care to repeat. Leomon survived intact, and the others seem to be fine as well. There are more humans in the village now, each with their own Digivolved partners. Thanks to everyone's efforts, I have no doubt we will make short the time it takes to rebuild. Unfortunately, that still leaves us with many more questions than we have answers to..."

Almost subconsciously Gomamon couldn't help but look to his human, concern clouding the bright green of his new cat-shaped eyes. It had been less than a day, but...somehow, he knew in his heart that he was bound to this person in some special way. The very threads of history and fate had entangled to connect them through time and space, after all. Using the power of the mysterious Eye Phone......somehow, a simple Digimon like himself had become involved in replaying the legends of yore. In truth, Gomamon had grown up addicted to tales of humans past who had pried open the space between their worlds. They were always brave heroes, able to change the Digital World's path, with no small thanks to the powerful partner Digimon by their side. Such stories...they couldn't have been more inspiring to an awkward bumbler, a literal fish out of water who had passed so many days of wasted youth looking at others living the things he could only dream about. There had never been a question in Gomamon's mind that the legends were based in truth. He had dedicated his life to finding out more about them...and then, when he had first heard the call......

If this really was a reenactment of such tales, Gomamon couldn't feel more honored to be one of those chosen to take center stage. Perhaps that night he could talk it over with Otonashi Keiran, relaying to him all that he knew. Honestly, the human seemed like more trouble than he was worth. But it was now his responsibility to see them both through to this mystery's end. He didn't know why Otonashi Keiran kept going on about some "game," or why he liked getting hit so much, or how he had come into possession of the Eye Phone or entered the Digital World. It made him worried that perhaps he didn't understand the severity of their current situation. While Sorcerimon's words had gone high over the human's head, they weighed heavily upon Gomamon's. The humans had been brought here for a reason; the legends only existed because their deeds held weight. The path ahead was not only long, but full of untold dangers. Would someone like Otonashi Keiran really be up for such a task? This wasn't even his world to save... and, as Sorcerimon had predicted, wouldn't he want to return to the place where he belonged? Gomamon could only hope that he would take him with him, at that time...

"In any case, I can take you to the others now. I believe they are all eating dinner...as, I think, so should we." His nervous gaze never leaving his human, Gomamon wondered just how long they could go without food. He also hadn't eaten since that morning, getting so wrapped up in his research, but if Otonashi Keiran could go without, then he could too! ...though he would rather not.

"エェ？But I already promised I wouldn't eat until I knew how to play!"

"Otonashi Keiran, we have a bigger responsibility now. To help-- er...actually, I believe a proper introduction is in order."

"Ah, I guess you're right."

"ア、そうだね. As you just heard, I'm Otonashi Keiran. Please call me Otonashi, or Keiran! Just not both," he punctuated this statement with a sharp stare in Gomamon's direction. "My hobby is taking walks and my strong point is...nothing~!" Finishing with his typical peevish beam, he felt like he was in elementary school again. "Nice to meet you, deliquen--I mean, stranger. And this one," he finished, making a grandiose gesture towards his Digimon," is Puka."
^{"A, sou da ne."}

"No this one is not!"

Clearing his throat after this outburst, as if to pardon himself from having shown the others such an unsavory side, Gomamon tried to push back any lingering darkness to his thoughts as he found himself once more dragged into his partner's ridiculous pace. Stepping proudly forward, Gomamon did his best to mimic everything Otonashi had said to make a smashing human-style intro, sometimes giving his partner an unsure side-eye as if looking for (and expecting) approval.

"If your memory actually functions, please recall that I am actually Gomamon-- at least, for the moment. So please, call me Gomamon. My hobby is researching both the Digital and Human Worlds, and my strong point is, of course, my vast knowledge and high intelligence."

He finished with flippers crossed, looking very proud of himself. If he had been searching for approbation, Otonashi was all too happy to give it, clapping with delight.

"Wow! Wonderful! You sound so Japanese!"

"うわあ! 素晴らしい！日本人みたい!"
^{"Uwaa! Subarashii! Nihonjin mitai!"}

Ignoring the fact that, under their white fur, his own cheeks were now quite red, Gomamon turned towards the other Digimon one last time.

"Don't worry, Gummimon. When the time comes, I'm sure your human's Eye Phone will help you Digivolve, just like the rest of us. Then you can show him just how big and strong you can be." Flashing what he could only hope was a reassuring smile, perhaps more to assuage his own fears than that of the little Digimon's, Gomamon briskly turned and started to lead the unlikely pairs back towards the tree, which still managed to sparkle even in the falling light.

QuirkyAngel
​

Spoiler

(( Ah yes technically on hiatus but I got an email that peeps were talking about me and had this post mostly finished so """daddy up""" Looking to be back to full in another two or three weeks. Haven't read but glad this place is a bit more active of late right when I leave ))

*Technically this word for "transform" is most widely used for Magical Girl transformations and the like and as much as I would love to write Otonashi saying "Magical Girl Transform!!" it just didn't feel right--

 

[KageYuuki]

The Next Day
For most, if not all of these displaced strangers, the night seemed to drag on. Being thrown into a completely foreign world for reasons no one seemed to know left a lot of the group on edge. Yet another wayward soul had stumbled into the group before the night was over.

Just how many had been dragged into the Digital World? And why? With any luck, Infinity Mountain would hold some answers.

Slowly, the night sky moved through the colors of twilight and then finally dawn. A light fog had settled into the ruined village as its inhabitants began to stir. The sounds of activity slowly rousing those that had actually fallen asleep. Following breakfast, Sorcerimon offered the group what scant few supplies they had to spare. Much needed water and food to at least get them started on the road ahead.

The sun's now much higher in the sky as our ragtag group follows what could barely qualify for a road. Long out of the village's clearing, Infinity Mountain was lost behind the thick canopy of trees.

AtlannianSpy Kimiwriter V viska Juju Pretzel Heart QuirkyAngel Oswald_C_Cobblepot Shadow Alpha AnimeGenork


Ravyn Cooper

Sleep was a precious thing that evaded Ravyn's grasp throughout the night. Something she was definitely starting to feel a few hours into their hike. Patamon had taken to lounging on her shoulder as she walked, enjoying what sunrays managed to slip through the canopy of the forest. Ravyn had never considered herself all that talkative of a person, but the silence had become stifling at best. "So, uh... Patamon, right?"

"Mmhm."

"The Digital World have any... regular animals or anything?" It sounded like a stupid question the moment the words left her lips.

"Animals?"

Yep, bad question. "Uh... maybe nonsentient creatures is a better phrasing?" So far at least, it seemed a lot of the plant life wasn't like Palmon.

The small digimon hummed in thought for a moment, "Not that I've ever seen."

A lot of the digimon following along didn't seem to be the types to eat only fruits and the like. Not with the sharp fangs she could see in many of them. "Then... what do you guys do for meat? It doesn't look like you only eat fruit." Ravyn almost didn't want to know the answer.

"Oh! You can just get that in a meat garden!"

Ravyn opened her mouth to say something but stopped, pursing her lips. A meat garden...

Just...

What?

 

[Shadow Alpha]

Kaiser Jäger​

The day had started off like any other for Kaiser, he rolled out of bed, got dressed for the day, and put on his tiger onesie

Spoiler: Onesie

, and turned on his TV. He was preparing for his usual routine with his sisters that involved watching the early anime. Kaiser rocked back and forth in excitement as he waited on them to rush to his room. In the meantime, he enjoyed watching the previous episode of BNHA that he'd missed until the screen suddenly went snowy before the climatic fight scene. "Nooooooo!" Kaiser cried out in anguish as he rushed towards the flat screen and frantically searched for what may have caused the problem. He was too busy panicking to notice the ominous voice coming from his TV. The next thing he knew, Kaiser was screaming his lungs out as he was suddenly freefalling towards what appeared to be a forest. He had his eyes closed for the remainder of the fall only to realize that he couldn't feel the wind scraping against his face.

Kaiser warily opened his eyes and sighed at his current situation, "Just when I thought that this strange day couldn't possibly get any worse, I somehow manage to get wrapped up in vines pretty high above the ground. Wait...where the hell am I anyway?" He wriggled around for a moment before giving up as he swung. Something quickly dashed by his peripheral and wondered what it was to be able to move so quickly. As soon as Kaiser turned his head, the mysterious thing had appeared on the nearby branch. Kaiser could pick out golden fur that seemed to glisten in the light as it bent down and grabbed him by the scruff of his onesie, "Do not squirm little one or you will get hurt." The voice was surprisingly soothing as he allowed the creature to carry him down to the ground. Kaiser looked over his captor in awe, the fox-like creature was quite regal. "...I must've electrocuted myself when I was messing with my TV, that's the only logical thing. Must be a coma dream inspired by all the anime I watch, normal foxes don't talk or walk on two legs. Jeez I hope I didn't die from that." Renamon continued to carry Kaiser while wondering what kind of strange digimon he was based on his appearance. All he knew is that there was someone in need and that she could help, "I am Renamon, not a fox little one, who are you?" Kaiser puffed out his cheeks, "I'm not little! Well, technically, but that doesn't mean you can call me that, my name is Kaiser while some call me Kai." The lithe digimon pondered on that name, she had never come across a Kaisermon or a Kaimon in the entirety of her life.

While the duo continued with their introductions, they unknowingly walked up to the other group of humans that had been sent before Kaiser. Both of them were quite startled as Renamon had never encountered humans while Kaiser was wondering why people he had never met were in his dream. "Well, hello strangers and weird looking dogs!"

AtlannianSpy Kimiwriter V viska Juju Pretzel Heart QuirkyAngel Oswald_C_Cobblepot KageYuuki AnimeGenork

​

 

[viska]

As things began to wind down and the digimon started to drift off to sleep, Lilly found herself in a familiar silence.
She was use to being alone an only 'latch-let's child.
But in this new world, the quiet only allowed for her thoughts to race.
Why were so many people from all over the world taken here?
Would they ever get home?
Was this place even real?
Was SHE even real!?

As her thoughts tormented her, she could feel the panic welling in her chest.
She was terrible at dealing with stress and often retreated into her horticultural studies to take her mind off it.
But here she had no books, no internet ,
Nothing she was use to at all.
Her eyes began to tear up as a soft *sniffle* escaped her.

It was that sound that woke up Palmon, who was sleeping next to her.
Seeing her partner so obviously distressed, she rubbed the rest of the sleepy from her eyes and asked "Hey.. What's the matter? Got a tummy ache.?"
Realizing she had woken up Palmon Lilly tried to apologize " oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you. I just.. I guess I'm just a little homesick."

Looking over her shoulder at the ruined village of beginning Palmon sighed and said " I know what you mean.. Things just aren't gonna be the same."
Lilly clasped her hands over her mouth and again apologized "oh I'm so sorry Palmon. I didn't mean to. I mean I had forgotten .. You lost your home to."

Palmon Gave a half hearted Smile and waved dismissively "Don't be sorry. You had nothing to do with this. Heck, if it wasn't for you and the other Hu-mons we might not have digivolved to save the village.."
Sitting down next to Lilly Palmon rested her hand on her shoulder and tried to cheer her up "besides, we're both rookie level digimon. Part of growing up is moving on to new more challenging places, right?"
Trying to keep her voice down she assured Lilly "we'll be ok as long as we stick together."

Lilly through her arms around Palmon and whispered "your so good." As twin tears rolled down her cheeks.
Eventually the two managed to fall into a restless sleep.

As daylight chased away the darkness, Lilly's mood improved dramatically.
The same could not be said for everyone however.
The tension among the group was a bit uncomfortable , but more then understandable considering everything that had happened yesterday.

Suddenly a new digimon appeared carrying a smaller tiger like thing.
Oddly enough, Lilly's phobia of people didnt apply to digimon.
She had no qualms hurrying over to the fox digimon and asking "aww, so cute. Is this your baby?"
Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but such a cringworthy assumption made even Palmon face palm.
She muttered to herself "Hu-mon have some pretty strange ways of saying hello to strangers."

 

[Juju]

With primitive bedding conditions and a symphony of unidentifiable animal calls in the distance, sleep didn't come easy for Jupiter. The digimon beside her, on the other hand, had no such trouble. Hell, most of the reason she couldn't sleep was due to his damned snores. Despite napping at every single chance, he was sleeping like a log... a noisy log. Jupiter's patience lasted for approximately half of minute of internal screaming until she shot up into a sitting position and shook the pelted lizard in an attempt to wake him.

"Tais-toi!" she hissed. Shut up!

It did little to bring him out of his stupor, but at the very least her efforts stopped the methodical butchery of sound. Jupiter gave a content huff, settled back down and shut her eyes once more. Blessed silence at last. Just when she was on the brink of sleep she heard it again, the low rumbling sound of that blasted creature's breathing. With a groan she promptly gave up, too exhausted to care anymore. She knew there was no waking up that oaf. Her only option would be to wait it out, and that she did... second after agonizing second, praying to whatever god this place had to just smite her down and be done with it. Jupiter was convinced it would never stop until it did, quite abruptly, really. The relief was so great that she hardly noticed herself drift off into sleep.

And as soon as her breaths slowed, two red eyes flashed open in the darkness. The creature slowly rose up onto his hind legs and padded closer to the human on muted paws, surprising for one of his gait. He stood beside his sleeping 'partner' and gave her a long stare, his eyes narrowed slightly in a look of thought. The spell was broken when he turned his head to her beloved purse, extending a paw to bring it closer. He pried it open and began carefully pilfering through it's contents until his paw reemerged with the Digivice.

The areas around immediately the screen had turned yellow whilst the back was pearly white with veins of blue streaked across it like marble. The digimon took a moment to frown at this before clicking the power button with a claw and delicately flipping open the lid. Light flared from the screen, reflecting in his eyes and revealing an information box with a rotating 3D image of himself. Beneath it read:

DIGIMON: Gabumon
TRAINER: Jupiter Bourgeois
LOCATION: Village of Beginnings
STATUS: Rookie

There were a few other lines of text, though the digimon was focused on just one... Trainer: Jupiter Bourgeois. Crimson eyes lingered on the name, gleaming dully in the screen's meager glow. With a drawn-out sigh he then closed the device and switched it off, placing it back into Jupiter's purse. He crawled back into his previous spot and curled up, staring at Jupiter for a time before shutting his eyes in rest.

---- the next day ----​

"Tck.... how much further is it? Are we almost there?"

Jupiter was close to the rear of the group, her face flushed an unflattering pink from the exertion. The last time she had gone on a hike was in Peru with her father, and that was years ago. Needless to say, she welcomed the chance to rest her legs when a strange pair of digimon appeared from out of the wood. The striped creature in the lupine one's arms was particularly suspicious with its lifeless eyes and floppy head. It looked fake, but then again the dimwit behind her was wearing a striped pelt too. When Lily rushed to greet the creatures Jupiter tilted her head to the side, peering beneath the drooping hood to find the bottom half of a human face. Or rather, it looked like one.

"Wait... is that a human?" she said. A look of bewilderment passed over her face while she contemplated what would possess someone to wear something so outrageous.

 

[Shadow Alpha]

Kaiser Jäger​

Renamon stared at this new human that had approached her with no fear ,it caused her to question if these humans had any sense of self-preservation. Kaiser, on the other hand, had a small vein throbbing on his temple when she had asked Renamon if he was her baby. "Listen here weird dream person, I am not her kid. Plus how would I even be her child? She's clearly a fox-thing and I know you can see that I'm...human...oh." Kaiser had just realized that he was still in his onesie and he quickly moved it from his head to reveal his mop of unruly blonde hair, "See? Completely human, no fox ears or a tail. The name's Kaiser, or Kai, and I'm actually an adult."

Renamon took notice of Kaiser's appearance and gently put the adorable creature back down. "Yes, like the little one has mentioned he is not of any kin to me even though he has a strange appearance. I'm Renamon, it is a pleasure to meet you humans and other digimon." Renamon had focused once more on Kaiser and couldn't help herself as she ruffled his hair and found its softness amazing.

Kaiser huffed and just let her do as she pleased, its not like he could be mad at the one that had saved his life, "Oi! stop calling me little already, I have a name ya know." While he was being coddled, it kind of clicked in that moment that he had felt the pain of the vines when he had gotten caught and that he had never seen a single face among the group before, "Ummm this may be a really odd question but is this really a dream?" Kaiser's light violet eyes scanned the group for someone that could answer his question and reassure him.


AtlannianSpy Kimiwriter V viska Juju Pretzel Heart QuirkyAngel Oswald_C_Cobblepot KageYuuki AnimeGenork

​

 

[Pretzel Heart]

Otonashi Keiran and Heika
​

By the time they had gotten back to the tree most of the other foreigners had already finished eating and wandered off to sleep. Still, Gomamon had done his best to see his human outfitted with a proper meal which Otonashi was too tired and careless to question the validity of. Though seeing the little seal chow down so ferociously made him feel a bit guilty that he had unwittingly stood between him and his dinner. He resolved to try and be more mindful of that in the future. Gomamon was incredibly stubborn, that much was clear, so it would be up to him to make sure he wasn't following him into trouble.

While Otonashi was frankly a bit worn down by all the day's activity, Gomamon steamed ahead, continuing his pummeling of questions from before. The Digimon's dearest won victory was finally getting Otonashi to promise to erase "Puka" from his vocabulary. Which had prompted an in-depth discussion of names and their differences between the human and digital worlds...one which a rather exasperated and tired Otonashi did his best not to give up on, though it certainly made his head spin. He couldn't quite wrap his brain around the fact that Digimon could talk to one another and look nearly identical and yet not have anything to distinguish themselves. Meanwhile Gomamon was fascinated by humans' need for an "identity reinforcement"...and not just one, but two, or even three, four, five... Otonashi was sure he had unintentionally inspired him to go on a rampage demanding the full names of all the other humans, but as that also worked out to his own advantage he decided to leave the issue. And they were still a ways away from finding a new and proper name for Gomamon himself.

Despite feeling a pounding headache coming on, Keiran did his best not to complain. It was all just a chance for them to regain health before moving on to the next level, right? He spent the evening assured that at any moment the game would advance. But even as Gomamon took him to the remains of his house, apparently on the edge of the village within the river's reach, and he undressed for the night to the sound of his Digimon forcing tales of past heroes like some kind of kids' show down his throat, the day still progressed normally as if he weren't in a game at all.

By the time his sleep-heavy eyes dropped shut he couldn't help his last thoughts. I wish I knew how to turn this off...

But if anything had been amiss, the bright rejuvenated shine of the sun replaced doubt with determination. Apparently Pu--Heika enjoyed sleeping in, meaning that Otonashi went about trying to repay him for dinner by whipping up breakfast. He was actually something of an early riser and had gotten used to cooking for his mom, enjoying the way her eyes lit up at the sight of his meals and the feeling of giving her even just a few more minutes rest. When he was younger he had proudly produced dishes for his father, too, but eventually stopped as the food would go untouched.

And before he could touch anything Otonashi needed to wash up. So he returned to the river in naught but the boxers he had slept in, having found it unacceptable to sleep in his day clothes, not to mention his prize uniform, and really not to mention the fact that it was still a bit damp. At least everything finally seemed to have dried into a sort of strange stiffness like when he forgot to put detergent in with the wash, or when they couldn't afford the laundromat and had to scrub things in the sink. After shaking out his clothes he had examined himself for potential new bruises. He loved the way they were sore to the touch, elongating sweet memories of a fight for days as they spread across sallow skin, allowing him to pick out patterns in the grey and blue. But alas, nothing. Not even any lingering marks from the last fight he had been in nearly three weeks before, right after he had gotten thrown out. When he had been fending for himself...well, strangely enough, he had somehow lost his appetite for the sport, filling himself instead with...other things. And then Ayumu had taken him in and he had really done his best to be on good behavior.

Eventually he became fascinated by the complete accuracy with which the game seemed to have rendered even his half-naked body...the texture caused by running his fingers over countless scars, the feeling of his bones all-too-close to the skin...it was hauntingly realistic. Did that mean he was also sitting in only his boxers back in the apartment? It was all just...so confusing. For just a moment he questioned if this truly was just a game. But instead of thinking too deeply about it, his mind became more interested in the state of his gut. He had always been too malnourished for any muscle to develop, but ever since moving in with Ayumu and picking up his friend's less-than-healthy eating habits...things were quickly starting to go in the other direction. Before Otonashi could always count on being skinny (in fact, rather sickeningly so). But now he could almost pinch a centimeter of flub. If only Ayumu hadn't shown him the golden world of being able to eat choco melon pan whenever he pleased. The fact that day after day he was always bringing back homemade pastries from various girls didn't exactly help, either. Every evening Otonashi would watch with greedy eyes to see what beautiful delicacies his suave roommate would unpack. And at least one of the admirers was truly accomplished, perfecting all kinds of fancy things like the「marcarons」. But while Otonashi would happily devour the sweets, Ayumu would just look so...sad. "Don't they know you already have a girlfriend?" "They do, they just......" Personally Otonashi would consider it heaven if he could get so much as one girl to look at him with something other than disgust, let alone having half the school and baito falling over him. Of course he'd tried to pry away his friend's secrets...but on top of the looks, manners, and talents that were already out of reach, Ayumu had one thing that Otonashi could never hope to attain: Breeding.

But he had Ayumu, and while he spent his days staring heart-eyed at bruisers, deadbeats, and neerdowells, at night he would have a warm smile and the glow of true friendship to look forward to.

It wasn't hard to see what drove the ladies mad.

After breakfast Otonashi, Rin, Heinrich, and the rest of the still-unnamed party finally regrouped; apparently they were all going to walk towards the big mountain the wizard kid had previously pointed out. Luckily Keiran loved wandering around outdoors, and so in complete contrast to his timid hanging at the back of the group the day before, he found himself practically skipping towards the front. Unfortunately his partner wasn't as spry. Eventually, despite the proud Digimon's protests, Otonashi decided to just carry him. Gomamon quickly got used to it, feeling like a real prince on a palanquin. Unfortunately he was heavier than Otonashi had predicted, and, well...we just got through saying how the kid doesn't have any muscle. He tried to distract himself from his aching arms by letting his mind do what it did best: getting lost. And some time passed that way in relative quiet.

When suddenly...

"Whoa! What a totally cool-looking Digimon!"

"ワァ！超かっこいそう！"
^{"Waa! Chou kakkoisou!"}

What could only be described as a tall, lean, battle-ready fox had suddenly stepped onto the path before them, stopping the ragtag party in its tracks. Apparently its appearance signified the coming of yet another member of their party, but Otonashi was far too distracted letting his eyes wander over the sleek golden form to pay much attention to anything important. The fox walked upright like a human and yet only wore a pair of fighting gloves, as if to emphasize a life spent in battle. Frankly the gigantic claws tipping each of the toned arms frightened him...but that was the most exciting thing of all.

"I'm a cool-looking Digimon too, right?" Gomamon looked up at his human expectantly. He didn't actually understand fully what the word meant, but it seemed important.

"Huh? Oh. Sure. You were really cool when you saved me yesterday. Otherwise..."

"You can just delete that addendum."

Apparently the really tall baby-faced girl didn't recognize the lump the battle fox was carrying as another human being, prompting more discussion which Otonashi had zero interest in. Though come to think of it, the kid's clothes were kind of strange.

"I'm actually an adult."

"エェェー！？The kid is over 20? That's older than me..." *

The adult's clothes were kind of strange. It took Otonashi a moment to put his finger on it, then...

"Aha! I know what that is. It's a kigurumi, isn't it."

"アハ！やっぱりい「キグルミ」だね。"
^{"Aha! Yappari kigurumi da ne."}

Kigurumi. It was something that little kids and fashion girls liked to wear. He had even been punched by a gyaru wearing a Kitty-San one at the exit of Takeshita Street once. That fight had actually been a complete accident, as he hadn't meant to knock the crepe out of her hand...he had just been trying to flirt. He had actually felt pretty bad about that, but it had all worked out, either way. Even if it had taken him a whole afternoon to wash the whipped cream and strawberry sauce from his clothes. But more importantly, his mind had finally finished computing one of its classic Otonashi-patented equations. A foreigner wearing a kigurumi...it could only mean one thing.

"Then...I guess you must be like...an Otaku...or something."

"それから...オタク...かしら？"
^{"Sorekara...Otaku...kashira?"}

He had heard stories about such people, who were so obsessed with Japan they would fly thousands of miles just to go shopping in Akihabara and sing their favorite "waifu" songs at karaoke. Some of them even changed their clothes and hair hoping to become Japanese. Every cent they had went straight to mobile games and figurines...which, rumor said, they would do terrible things to that you could find evidence of online. They were a strange and dark people...and that was coming from someone dark and strange. Honestly, Otonashi wished he had that kind of money to burn on fictional characters, though he had never understood the appeal. Like videogames, television wasn't exactly a huge part of his childhood. They only had one TV, and whenever his dad was home it was reserved for him. Occasionally on Sundays his mom would win ownership, inviting her son to curl up with her on the couch to watch Idol Fun Variety Hour together. But Otonashi had only liked the show because it was her favorite.

But if "the adult" was truly one of those foreign Otaku......then that was actually great! They loved all things Japanese, right? So he might actually have a chance to be seen as cool in someone's eyes!

"Pleasure to meetcha, Otakai~"

"よろしくね、オタカイ〜 But are you sure your head is working OK? Obviously this isn't a dream. Cause that'd mean I'm dreaming too, and trust me, my dreams are a looot more interesting. We're in a game!"
^{"Yoroshiku ne, Otakai~}

He slid in closer so that he could lower his voice.

"But everyone will keep saying that we're not. It's part of the VR experience!"

Then again, it is Otonashi we're writing about. Being cool is simply beyond him.

Shadow Alpha , @ Whoever
* 20 is the age of adulthood in Japan (just to clarify in case anyone here is not a weeb)​

 

[Oswald_C_Cobblepot]

Arthur S. Poe​

I spit on your happiness! I spit on your idea of life-that life that must go on, come what may. You are all like dogs that lick everything they smell. You with your promise of a humdrum happiness-provided a person doesn’t ask too much of life. I want everything of life, I do; and I want it now! I want it total, complete: otherwise I reject it! If life must be a thing of fear and lying and compromise; if life cannot be free, gallant, incorruptible-then, Creon, I choose death! Jean Anouilh, Antigone

Not many things in life were certain. Death. Some say taxes. And rain in London. Whenever, wherever and however you ended up in London, it was absolutely certain that you would make acquaintance with its infamous rain at one point in time. Still, reading Jean Anouilh's modern classic, Antigone, indoors during the rain pleased the artistic sentiment of the boy named Arthur Severus Poe. Reality seemed like a black and white photograph in that rain, a distant world of imagination filled with expressionless architecture and faceless guests, hiding underneath their raincoats and umbrellas, from the magical droplets that have taken the colour out of reality. His world was, on the other hand, was unaffected by that sudden change, always equally coloured by his endless imagination. For him, reality was just a more brutish manifestation of (his) imagination, a more greyscale variant of how the world might have been constructed. With that said, one has to know that Arthur mostly enjoyed his time escaping from the grey world, usually through books or quality cinematic endeavours, as he did on that very same day.

Laying down the book, he took a few moments to observe the street through the raindrops on his window. The people all seemed to be rushing, as if wanting to escape the persistent droplets, hidden like turtles under their cloth-wrapped-around-metal shells, disappearing just as quickly as they appeared from the street corner his room was facing. The part of London he was living in has kept a large amount of its historic charm, that unique Victorian sentiment that crawled into your mind, opening doors and portals to different stories and ideas, most of them filled with mystery and obscurity present during that area.

Pondering the sherlockian pathways of his mind, Arthur took his phone and have a ring to James. ''Fancy a walk in the rain?'', he asked. (...) ''Don't be such a drag, James. Remember what I always tell you - being a coward will not get you far enough, and we are aiming to infinity, even beyond'', Arthur replied. (...) ''You see, that's the spirit, chap. See you in five'', he hung up.

In his usual attire, a raincoat and Chucks (yes, despite the rain!), Arthur was waiting for James, well hidden under that so often seen metallic shell, who was fashionably late. James W. Wilson was a boy he'd met in high school; they were in the same class. Intelligent, witty and unusually funny, James was an open-minded realist, very much in touch with the reality that so often eluded Arthur. He didn't think of him much, initially, but after his persistent attempt to form a certain bond, even a friendship, Arthur finally gave him a chance, like a true Victorian snob observing a commoner. After months of socialising, they became friends, much to Arthur's surprise, as he had thought that he would lose interest in the boy quite quickly. James managed to show him that not all people are dull and that not all people pose a threat to his sensibility, to his specific mindset which James understood, although he was far from it. He accepted Arthur, all of him, his quirks, his ideas, his dreams and welcomed him to his own world. He became his link with the world. He became his friend.

''I'm sorry I'm late, I had to put on more clothes than usual'', James said as he arrived, somewhat at the end his breath. He had been running, aware of his tardiness. ''But you still manage to be late, as usual'', Arthur emphasized the end of his sentence. Rolling his eyes, he started walking through the nearby park. The rain was calming down, obviously tired from all the falling. ''Do you think clouds get tired?'', Poe asked. ''Tired? From what? Rain? I think it's a mechanical process'', James replied. ''So?'', Arthur asked, bewildered. ''I just don't think it works that way'', the boy replied, shrugging. ''Your imagination is so... limited'', Arthur sighed, but James didn't react. This was a typical innuendo for the two of them, nothing overly serious, but a reminder of their differences, of the different views on life they shared, views that, despite their contrast, connected the two of them.

As they continued walking, the rain stopped. Arthur withdrew his umbrella and started using it as a cane, an act which always bewildered his friend, despite the many times he had witnessed it. The topics of their conversation shifted quite rapidly, from literature to philosophy, from practical politics to history, from psychology to humanism. Arthur was, since he was 14, obsessed with the human fate, la condition humaine, and decided to pursue that issue until he reached a satisfactory answer. His Sisyphean quest was the main casus of their conversations, as Poe found it stimulating and useful to discuss important issue with his friend and peer. James, on the other hand, never had the persistence to pursue those questions so vehemently as his friend, although he had the capacity, which is why he was able to make a dialogue out of Arthur's habitual monologues about life and death. They walked for an hour or so, before parting ways in front of the same entrance they had earlier met at. ''Tomorrow, same time and place?'', Arthur asked before leaving. ''Sure. Although you are insufferably omniscient, you know I enjoy these walks of ours. See you tomorrow, old chap'', James greeted him, leaving for his home.

Upon returning to his room, Arthur Poe returned to his imaginary world of modern Ancient Greece, yearning to finish Antigone before the day was over. And so he did, late into the night, when the grey sky had disappeared, making way to the darkness of the midnight, disrupted intermittently by the light of a few starts that managed to fight their way through the atmosphere of the big city. He was getting ready for bed, for a brief moment of contemplation before greeting his Sandman, just as his phone rang. ''Really? At this hour? Bloody Hell, James, people tend to sleep at some point of the day'', he murmured to himself, taking the phone without looking at it, not knowing that this habitual act of answering his phone would be his first mistake of the day.

''Yes, what is it now?'', he answered, looking through the window. After a brief moment of silence, a strange sound came from the other side of the line. ''I!&%?*""# ur#"!%@/ Po$"$@!¤'', Arthur could hear. ''What? James, is everything alright?'', he asked. But, there was another burst of the same, strange sound. It wasn't James. His friend was prone to jokes, but to such an extent? Certainly not. Confuser and somewhat angry, Arthur decided to see who the caller was, which soon proved to be his second mistake of the day. ''Who the Hell is this?!'', he burst out and took it to look at his phone screen, almost dropping it from the sudden shock. The screen was white, filled with blue ones and zeros, like some weird coloured variant of the Matrix had been running on his phone. ''I know iOS is specific, but this is just ridiculous'', he commented, observing the rapid numbers during their flow.

Nothing happened for a couple of moments and then, suddenly, the numbers just stopped. The phone seemed to be frozen. Arthur observed it from different angles, pressed the buttons, even tried to turn it off, but to no avail - it seemed dead. He was about to let it go, postpone it for the morning (James might be able to help), but just a soon as he moved his hand, the phone reacted. The numbers started flowing again, seemingly out of control this time and after a brief moment, someone, or something spoke: ''Found you!''.

Everything that followed happened so quickly that one could think it was just a hallucination, a bizarre and surreal figment of one's imagination that transcended even the ambiguousness of dreams. Arthur was petrified, shocked, scared and confused, but he never quite managed to comprehend any of those feelings because his phone suddenly shone in a bright, white light that blinded him into oblivion. All of that, can you imagine, happened in less than a second. And with no proof. No proof except a boy who was there, who was a witness to it all, but wasn't - anymore.

An empty room. Sudden, heavy rain. The memory of inhuman pain. And oblivion.

***​

It was sunny. The rain clouds had decided to withdraw, obviously, thanks to the refreshing breeze that caused chaos in Arthur's hair. Why did I leave the window open?, he wondered, thinking about his walk with James later that day; it's certainly going to be nice walking through the park with such a breeze. There was only problem - he wasn't in London.

Opening his eyes, Arthur had the pleasure of noticing he he had been sleeping in a sitting position, leaned against what seemed to be the southern side of a larger hill, one that rose just above the trees. In light of the fact that he had woken up in the middle of bloody nowhere and without any apparent reason, the young Londoner took it surprisingly calm, stoically observing the narrow path that seemed to lead towards the top, or at least some higher part. ''Well, this is unexpected'', he said. He was wearing his usual attire - white shirt, black pants, red Chucks and a dark raincoat on top of it all - also rather unusual, as he was certain he had put on his pyjamas.

Looking around him, he heard a strange sound. Someone was coming. Small steps, not overly loud, probably a child. Maybe it could help. Still, Arthur thought it wiser to pretend he was still sleeping, as it allowed him a somewhat better perspective on things. He closed his eyes, leaving only a small crack through which he was able to see, pretending to sleep as he was waiting for the slowly moving entity.

The tension was, despite the harmless sound of the approaching steps, quite strong as the boy had no idea who or what was to appear behind the oddly shaped chunk of mountain that was hiding him from his soon-to-be companion. He was near. Quite near. He was behind the rock. He was there. And it was not a he. It was an - it.

As if the day had not been full of surprises already, an unnaturally large, odd red insect was walking in front of him on two feet, carrying what seemed to be fruit, but weirdly shaped and coloured. Not being able to control his reflexes, Arthur opened his eyes wide and stared, rather impolitely, at the insect that was certainly not from this world. This is a bizarre dream, a thought escaped his head. The insect turned to him. It nodded. ''Oh, you're awake. Great. You're human, aren't you?'', it asked. Arthur's jaw dropped. ''Now, that's just impolite'', the insect commented, seemingly chuckling. The Briton in him instantly replied and Arthur composed himself, full of dignity and nobility. ''And you're a talking insect'', he commented, observing the little critter. ''Tentomon's the name. Nice to meet you...'', the insect replied. ''Arthur. Arthur Poe. The pleasure is all mine'', the boy bowed slightly, from his unchanged position. ''Here, eat this. I don't know if you'll like it but it'll give you strength. You must be exhausted after such a trip'', Tentomon said, offering him the suspicious fruit. ''Don't worry, it's not poisonous. I think'', he added, thinking. ''T-thank... you'', Arthur said carefully, taking a good look at what seemed to be a blue orange with a hairdo. ''Wait, you said something about a trip. What trip?'', he asked, peeling the skin, only to reveal something violet inside. Something that did, in fact, resemble an orange. He took a piece, hesitant to try it. ''Eat, you'll need the strength. And yes, the trip. I've heard that the experience of traveling from one world to another is quite painful. You don't remember?'', Tentomon asked. ''No?'', Arthur replied, finally putting the small piece into his mouth. A little sour, but tolerable. It was, in fact, fruit. ''Oh, you must have passed out, then. It can happen'', the insect replied. ''Do you like it?'', it added.

''It's alright. I'll eat, don't worry. I won't die on you'', Arthur said, continuing to eat. ''You know, this is quite possibly the weirdest dream I've had'', he added. ''A dream? Oh no, this is not a dream. You're in the Digital World, a parallel world that exists along with your world. We call it the Human World in here, but I suppose you just call it home. I, myself, am a Digimon. We inhabit this world, just as you, humans, inhabit yours'', Tentomon explained. ''Not a dream? I can hardly believe that, I am sorry. But you're very vivid, I must admit. Everything is'', Arthur said. ''It's because it's real'', Tentomon replied shortly. ''It can't be'', Arthur was stubborn ''Oh well... you'll see for yourself soon enough'', Tentomon shrugged his limbs and looked downward. ''Where are we? Do you live here?'', Arthur asked, still eating. ''We're on File Island. It's just a small portion of our world, but very isolated. That big mountain over there is Infinity Mountain. Don't know why the name, though. It's not infinite. You can even see the peak'', the Digimon replied. ''I live down there, in a small village. But I wander around often, so I'm rarely down there'', he added with a dose of gravity. There was more to his story, that much was clear.

Arthur finally stood up, his tall, slender figure leaning in the fresh air. He looked at where Tentomon pointed, but one could hardly see anything between all the trees. The village was visible, but just barely. Arthur then turned to the mountain. ''Is there anything up there?'', he pointed to the peak. ''A large mansion. They say it's cursed. I haven't been up there, yet'', Tentomon replied. ''Want to go up there?'', Arthur asked. Believing it was a lucid dream, Arthur wanted to further explore his subconsciousness, thinking it would provide a unique and unrepeatable experience for him. ''Ummm... yes, but you're new here, I don't think you're ready. It might really be cursed'', Tentomon said, rather carefully. ''So? This is a dream, after all. If I die, I'll just wake up'', Arthur said, courageously.

Tentomon gave him a look. Not that Arthur could properly define it, as he was looking at an insect, but he was sure was sceptic. ''Look, Arthur, I'd suggest we head back to the village to pick up some necessities. Then, we could head towards the peak. If you agree?'', Tentomon finally suggested. ''If you're just a manifestation of my subconsciousness and you're suggesting this, then it means that I should, really, visit the village first. It's only logical'', Arthur said, mulling it over. Tentomon sighed. ''It's not a dream... so just stop thinking, get back into reality and follow me'', the Digimon said and started walking towards the foot of the hill.

Bedazzled for a moment or two, Arthur just shrugged his shoulders and started following the strange creature. A dream. Or a new world?

 

[AnimeGenork]

Skylie Lavigne

"Can we all just not today?"​

Skylie fully ignored the part of her that winced at how angry the girl got at her brutal response. She closed her eyes and waited until the girl was gone before continuing to eat. Agumon glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, sensing there was something she wasn’t expressing. Even when rabbit thing chucked a fruit pit at her, she didn’t react. “I’m not the one that’s mean,” she muttered. “It’s reality that’s mean.”

She didn’t pretend to ignore the snooty reaction she got from the French girl. A part of her wanted to say, “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I left my royal gowns back in Philadelphia in my cardboard box. Then again, I bet you’ve never had to kill a man just to get your next meal, have you? Didn’t think so. You’re so prissy even cats look better than you.” But she didn’t. Not yet, at least. She’d save such choice white lies for later. She did have to kill that rabid dog that one time though…

Skylie couldn’t take this anymore. She stood up abruptly, going off to find her own tree to sleep under. Heaven knew it wouldn’t be as comfortable as a bed at Piper’s place or an alleyway in Philly, but it would have to do. Agumon sighed and followed her, his heart aching to reach out to her, but knowing that she wouldn’t let him in, not yet.

Settling under her tree, she stared up at the darkening sky. What she wanted to do, now more than ever, was paint this sky. But she couldn’t. Not here. She was far, far away from the only place she called home. And yet, she was also far away from her mother, her father’s grave, and the boy who had made it his mission to make her life hell. Well, he’d succeeded, alright. The only friend she had wasn’t here, and now she was stuck with people who would never understand what it was like to fight for survival, to wish every day that things were different, that you weren’t so broken and messed up inside. What it was like to never smile.

Agumon gently laid his clawed hands on her knees as tears dripped off her chin and onto her sweatshirt, a gift from Piper, who was far away.

~ ~ ~

Skylie wasn’t in a much better mood the next morning—hell, she hadn’t been in a good mood since she was born. So she ate her breakfast far away from everyone else and decided to just go along with it all. Ignoring Her Highness to the full extent of her ability (and considering how long she’d ignored her mother, that was a pretty lofty extent), she didn’t even bother try to process the newest addition to their group of… What was this, exactly?

Agumon stuck close to her, but as soon as he got the chance, he planned to apologize to the girl with curly brown hair and Lopmon on her behalf. Skylie wasn’t all that bad; he could tell. It just seemed like social interaction and caring in general weren’t her strong suits. But maybe it was because she cared so much that she pretended she didn’t at all. He’d noticed Skylie had woken up earlier than everyone else and disappeared into the woods, as if looking for something.

She’d been looking for the girl’s brother, hoping that she’d find him and be able to make it up to her. But she’d failed, and it was killing her.


Kimiwriter KageYuuki Shadow Alpha Juju

Coding by AnimeGenork ​

 

[Kimiwriter]

Darya De Lucia
Lopmon

Camping had never been Darya's favorite family event. Spending time with her brother and dad away from the bustle of the city was nice, cooking over a campfire, and seeing the night sky for once, no worries in the world. Even dealing with the mosquitoes wasn't too bad. But sleeping on the hard, uneven ground for days at a time was absolute misery. The fact her mother never joined them didn't help.

Waking up in the Digital world on the edge of the small camp that all of the strangers had set up, Darya fought the urge to cry. Maverick was still missing. She'd told herself he was safe at home, though she wasn't sure if it was true. Lopmon lay snuggled in her arms. Darya quietly petted the rabbit's head while the rest of the party rose for the day. She didn't eat breakfast before they started their march.

She kept to the back of the group, not feeling like dealing with them. Lopmon silently hopped alongside her, eyeing Skylie as they walked. The hike was fine. They were making some progress and no one was at each other's throats just yet. With any luck they'd make it through the day without much trouble.

Then came the appearance of another Digimon and a person. . . in a onsie?

Lopmon hid behind Darya's leg when the fox appeared.

"Dream, game, it doesn't matter what you think this place is," Darya snapped. She didn't feel like dealing with idiots today. "You can get hurt, get hungry, and get tired in here, so just treat everything like it's real." Picking up Lopmon, she continued forward past the rest of the group and further up the trail.

Lopmon looked up at her. "You're being kind of rude."

Darya gave a dry laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Shouldn't we all stay together?"

"The sooner we reach the mountain, the sooner I'll know if Maverick is safe or not. If he is, I can relax, if he's somewhere in the Digital World, I'll have to go and find him. But the longer we take, the more likely he's going to be in trouble."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to be mean."

Darya stopped and sighed.

Lopmon pointed to a boulder that sat just off the trail. "Let's wait there for the others."

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Rin Kuromoto

Yes, he’s most definitely an idiot.

The thought came up uninhibited as Rin watched Otonashi interact with the new arrival—a short boy and a tall, yellow bipedal fox. Trailing in the rear of the group, not too far from the girl who seemed to be struggling to keep up, but not close enough to say that they were walking beside each other, Rin didn’t speak much to the rest of the group. The teenager was content with silence. Besides, what was there to say? He didn’t know any of them. He didn’t want to get to know any of them either. The only reason he’d joined the group at all was because Gomamon sounded like he knew what he was talking about—more than Otonashi did at least.

Rin didn’t buy into Otonashi’s Iphone 7 plus claim. Even if he didn’t already know what the model looked like, the device just didn’t seem to have any of the regular phone functions. No dial pad. No contact list. Surely no creation of Apple’s could cause a digimon to…digivolve?(whatever that meant). Listening to Otonashi speak, both then and now, Rin concluded that the guy hadn’t a clue what was going on any more than he did.


“It’s better not to talk if you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rin commented in a dry, uncaring manner after one of the girls snapped at Otonashi. Given that many of them seemed to be from different cultures, Rin decided to stick with English. It was the universal language, wasn't it? "It'll only spread misleading information."

Redish brown eyes darted away from the Otonashi and the new kid towards their destination . Infinity Mountain. Ominous name, but so long as it gave him the answers he sought, Rin didn’t care. At least he’d gained some information from the Village of Beginnings…little that it was. At the insistence of the baby monsters, he’d packed as many supplies as he was willing to take with him. He supposed he should be grateful to Otonashi’s friends. It was thanks to their actions in driving away those Ogres that the little villagers were as generous as they were.

Night had been spent eating a little, but mostly listening and observing. Otonashi and Gomamon discussing digimon names. Gumimon complaining about how it ‘wasn’t fair’ that its friends could ‘digivolve’ while it still couldn’t. The noticeable tension in the air. Rin was probably more tired than he thought because he’d simply fallen asleep while listening to inane chatter despite his intentions. It was possibly due to the warmth of the bonfire. He wasn’t even sure who carried him to their house. However, the morning brought with it new faces and more people than had been previously around the shining tree.

It made sense to go with them. Sorcerermon reaffirmed for him that the answers he was looking for—a way to return home—was probably in Infinity Mountain. Mochi(Gumimon) insisted on coming along.

Since you helped me find my way home, I’ll help you find your way home as well!

That was what the gelatinous digimon had said. Rin wasn’t sure how helpful Mochi could be given it had chosen to spend most of the morning playing with the mysterious device (Rin refused to call it an Iphone 7) in a vain attempt to grow bigger like the others. Suddenly the sack at the end of his stick came to life with the same voice that had introduced Gumimon.

'Renamon: A Man-Beast digimon with the appearance of a slender golden fox. Depending on how it is raised, it can be very intelligent. It rarely loses its composure in any situation and, rather than power battles, prefers to make sport of the enemy with various arts that utilizes its speed.'


“Lookie! Lookie! I did something!” The sack shook a bit and Gumimon(Mochi’s) horned head popped out of Rin’s newly created bindle.

Sighing, Rin tightened his grip on the stick and trudged forward through the forest with only a passing glance at the new arrivals. Perhaps it was a game after all. The Digital World did sound like something straight out of an otaku's fantasy novel. But even so, Rin’s goal remained the same.

Pretzel Heart , Shadow Alpha , V viska , Juju , KageYuuki , Kimiwriter , and whoever else may be present.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

AMY WARREN
...Too Early For This Shit...
​

"For Christ sake! Why can't we meet up with somebody competent? Or at least normal..." Amy muttered, running a hand through her short green hair, she couldn't resist rolling her eyes when one of the group stormed off ahead either. Amy walked ahead a little and then turned around to address the group as a whole.

"Alright listen up!..Darya? Darya is basically right, we need to start taking this seriously. It's possible this place is some kind of simulation, but its about a thousands times more complex than what I've ever heard anyone being capable of. Everyone we've spoken to so far has seemed sentient and capable of holding complex conversations, the environment around us is being rendered in detail indistinguishable from reality and we're all still getting hungry, thirsty and tired. The idea of someone or something being able simulate all of that perfectly is not actually that much less far fetched than the idea that we're somehow in a new world.

If we assume all this is real and it turns out it was a game or something then worst case scenario we end up looking stupid. But if we assume this is a simulation and it turns out we were wrong then somebody could get injured or even die while we're screwing around. Until we have some actual facts to work with we shouldn't take any chances. We've already been attacked once and we're walking through what is basically wilderness. So let's stick together, stay alert and not fuck around."

"Yeah! I didn't really understand any of that but I'll beat the stuffing outta anyone who meses up!" Monodramon piped up from Amy's side, crossing his stubby arms over his chest and attempting to look stern. Then Amy's fist came down to smack him lightly on the back of his horn.

"I don't want any screwing around from you either," she snapped.