Canon Roleplay

IT IS TIME
IT HAS BEGUN

There was sand digging into the side of Seiko's face, getting into her dark hair and just about everywhere as sand is want to do. This was normal, this was how sand generally acted, there was no reason to think anything was out of the ordinary.

Except, well, except for the fact that the last thing Seiko remembered she had been in the computer lab at school. Which was nowhere near the beach. She'd been in the computer lab, working on an assignment that she'd been putting off and was now overdue on, and then she'd received a message on the computer. She shouldn't have opened the message, she knew that, but she'd also been fighting against finishing the assignment and welcomed the distraction. The message hadn't been anything she could read, and no sooner had her eyes grazed the foreign script that a burst of light had erupted from the screen, blinding her for a split second, and then...

And then there she was. Face down. In the sand. Which couldn't have been anywhere near the school. Huh.

Seiko scrunched up her face, feeling like she'd just gone through a cycle in the washing machine, knowing she needed to get up but wanting to stay still for just a moment longer. She could hear the crashing of waves close by, stray sea-spray catching her ankles and shoes; there was wind off the coast, blowing through her hair and shifting the sand around her; there was something solid sitting comfortably in the palm of her right hand, as though it had been made specifically for her-

An ear shattering roar broke through her thoughts, shocking her into movement and pushing herself off the ground, coughing up sand and shifting to her back for a better view of what was creating the noise and- oh-

Half in and out of the coast a massive serpent thrashed, angrily looking for something on the sand. Seiko's dark eyes widened, and she began scrambling to her feet, kicking sand everywhere. This wasn't Earth, this couldn't be Earth, so where...? A quick glance down towards the device fitting comfortably in her hand showed two small glowing dots on the screen and a third of a different color nestled in the center, but her attention was quickly drawn back to the monster on the coast.

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(( *AGGRESSIVELY ROCKS OUT TO THIS * ))

Allidamon dodged this way and that as the Seadramon attempted to grab her in his jaws. She hadn't MEANT to nab the meal he was seeking, it just happened that she was quicker. It wasn't HER fault he was such a slow, sluggish, and grumpy old serpent! But now she was paying for it, and she hoped her stolen meal hadn't been her last......

Kaori stirred as the bright sun hit the back of her eyelids, turning them a soft pink. She slowly opened her eyes to the glaring sunlight and sat up. Sand was everywhere! Oh how she hated sand! It always got into her shoes, and her clothes, and her hair.....annoyed, she stood up and began brushing it away, only to stop short and stare out across the ocean. Wait. Why was there sand?! Was this a dream? Had she fallen asleep in class again? Glancing around, she noticed another girl scrambling up and staring at something in along the coast. Squinting, Kaori tried to make out what it was, but all she could see was a large dark shadow of something big.....as she sat there trying to determine what the other girl was staring at, a bright purple light shot towards her and landed in her hand. She looked down just in time to see some sort of device form out of the light. What was this? Where was this? And how was she going to wake up? Shaking her head to try and clear it, she again looked down at the thing in her hand and noticed two blinking lights, and a large one in the middle. Glancing back at the other girl, she decided to see what was going on. As soon as she started moving, one of the dots got closer and closer as Kaori stepped nearer and nearer to the brown haired girl. She had almost reached her, when something blue and white came crashing into the side of her head right before screaming, "watch out!" Both fell back to the sand as Kaori screamed and scrambled to her knees, hurriedly searching for her glasses. The blue thing picked them up and handed them to her. "These yours?" She asked, staring at her curiously. The girl swiped them back quickly and put them on, gasping and backing away from the weird blue monster. "What are you?!" She yelled at it. Then, her eyes finally adjusting to the large dark form in front of them, she screamed "AND WHAT IS THAT?!" Without thinking, Allidamon grabbed the girl's hand and started flying away from the coast, towards a grove of trees. "not something you want to know about!" She explained, right before a blast of explosive energy came barreling towards them. Kaori felt herself pushed to the ground just in time, as the force destroyed the trees they were headed towards. "And that's why..."

Kaori pushed herself up and looked behind her at the other girl. "Shouldn't we go warn her?" She asked, just as the monster began preparing itself for another attack.

Darkness filled Kenji’s senses, as his body floated weightless in the empty void. Where was he? What was he doing? It didn’t matter. His mind was too busy trying to put together his feelings. He wasn’t sure how to describe it. Limbo? Vertigo? He heard faint cries and voice in the distance. What were they saying?

All of Kenji’s sensations came tumbling down when a force propelled him forward, planting him unceremoniously face first in the sand. He coughed, wiping sand from his face as salt water stung his eyes. After a few weak sputters, his eyes went wide.

Inhaler.

Kenji frantically felt for his backpack. Finding the clip across his chest, he threw his bag on the ground before him and searched for his His is arms were shaking. How long had it been since his last breath? He brought the metal cylinder to his lips and air was forcefully put into his lungs. After a few puffs of the inhaler he removed the inhaler and opened his eyes…

Kenji promptly put the inhaler back to his mouth. His gaze was met with a monster: a sea serpent. Its blue body was coiled, ready to spring. The monsters gold visage and silted eyes locked on Kenji. Without making any sudden movements, Kenji slowly started reaching for his bag.

Unable to do much more than watch, Seiko had stared open-mouthed as a small, blue creature came flying away from the sea monster, all but bumped into another girl Seiko barely recognized as having gone to the same school, and quickly grabbed her hand and sped off towards the trees. Was it helping?? Was it planning on eating the other girl????

Her attention returned to the sea monster as it roared again, seemingly having lost interest in the blue creature and looking down at a much closer target: yet another kid Seiko sort of recognized, kneeling down on the sand and puffing hard into an inhaler. For a second, Seiko stood between the two, looking back and forth; go after the girl and the blue creature? Grab the kid before he was eaten? She only had a split second to decide and quickly sped off down the sand as fast as her sneakers would take her.



Seadramon was hungry. That meal that had been nabbed had been the first he had seen in days, wandering from coast to coast and it had been nabbed so quickly from under his nose by the Allidamon and he was hungry. There had been a moment's surprise when, in a sudden flash of blinding light three new 'mons had appeared on the sand, but fate seemed to have favored him as it had dropped one right in front of him, one that didn't seem to have the processing power to run. Instead of gloating, Seadramon let out a horrifying roar and began to descend upon the child, breath and teeth drawing closer to flesh and bone--

Only for his meal to be once again interrupted. Not by the same Allidamon, no, this time by a punch.

Seiko had never felt so exhilarated in her entire life. Then again, never in her entire life had she run up to punch a fully grown sea serpent. She'd reached it in time, leaping forward to deliver a stunning punch to the beast's face before it could tear into the other kid. It didn't seem to do any damage, but it surprised the beast enough for her to lean down and haul the other kid to his feet and begin dragging him down the beach towards the forest. "WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING?!" She couldn't help but yell. Before she could get a reply, however, the monster had recovered and it's long, lithe tail swept out at their feet with a powerful blow and sent them sprawling to the sands.

Why wasn’t he running? This girl just saved his life, albeit through a seemingly rash decision. This could be his chance. Why was he hesitating?

A sharp pain to his stomach brought Kenji back to reality. He and the exceedingly rash girl who saved his life tumbled across the sandy beach. In a swift and graceless moment he snatched his backpack, grabbed the girl’s arm, and bounded towards the woods practically tumbling to the ground in his escape. The forest is just ahead. If they hurried they might make it!

A chill filled the ocean air as a beam of ice shot past them. Sand and ice shards exploded to the right of them as the two made a beeline towards the forest.

Kaori heard someone yell and turned just in time to see not only the girl from earlier, but a guy she didn't recognize scrambling through the trees just as the sea serpent released a huge shard of ice from its maw. The small blue digimon flapped next to her, her eyebrow raised. "Do you know these humans?" she asked, a slight lisp to her voice. "kind of. Sort of....maybe?" Allidamon glanced at her new friend. "So you dont?" Kaori glanced to the side. "No, I guess not......" she was suddenly feeling very shy and like she just wanted to get away. She stood there awkardly, waiting for the others to get closer. She wanted to figure out where they were exactly, what they were doing here, and who these strange monsters were. Allidamon on the other hand flew straight towards them to introduce herself. "Hey guys! Over this way! I know where we can hide!"

What was this in front of him? Another monster? This one looked much smaller and meeker than the one close behind them. Human probably wasn’t the only thing their pursuer’s pallet. Maybe this one *does* know a good place to hide.

“R…right!” Keiji said after a few ragged breaths.

Later, Andiramon would wonder if happening upon the fight on the beach was fate, or a simple matter of coincidence. Normally she would have patrolled the area surrounding her city alone, but this particular patrol she had along with her a particular Usagimon from the guard. Normally, she wouldn't bother taking a rookie digimon out into the field with her, too worried that they might run into something she would have to protect them from, and thus the division of her attention would prove detrimental to the battle. However, this particular Usagimon--not that there were others to distinguish him from, most of the Banimon evolved into a lopmon like she herself had, and even Cherubimon had seemed somewhat surprised at the sudden appearance of an Usagimon in the ranks--had been growing increasingly restless in his own patrols around the city, obviously agitated over something he didn't seem to be able to vocalize. Taking him on a patrol route usually barred to rookies seemed to be the best mode of action, before he attacked someone in frustration again.

Which was how they managed to be on the beach just as a very angry and very hungry-looking--though, to be fair, that seemed to be the state of much of the digital world those days--attempted to crawl its way up the beach and towards a forest of all places, maw wide and ready to fire another blast of cold breath, and, just entering the forest in an attempt to flee, was a group of significantly smaller digimon. A split-second decision was made, and instead of using her bao-fu Andiramon opted for a powerful kick to the jaw, smashing the beast aside with a massive shockwave to writhe on the sand. She planted herself squarely between the Seadramon and its intended prey, glaring it down. "The beach is no place for a serpent of the sea. Go home." The Seadramon backed up, glaring with the madness that hunger could bring. Andiramon's stance softened slightly, holding out one of her massive hands to keep Usagimon from attacking. "I've heard there might be more food on the southern shore. You may have luck there." The Seadramon stared for a moment longer before slipping back into the ocean, propelled by the significant difference in power levels and the prospect of a meal.

Andiramon turned back to Usagimon, fully prepared to continue the patrol, when she realized his gaze was solely locked onto the group in the forest. Following his gaze, she found herself making an amendment to her previous thought: other than the small Allidamon she'd seen around, they weren't digimon at all. They were human.

Awkwardly, not quite prepared for this situation in her lifetime, Andiramon raised one of her massive paws in greeting. "Hello, children." She forced herself to speak, not wanting to scare them. "If... if you would like to follow me I can lead you to a safer place."

Allidamon glanced over from where she was flapping next to her partner and gasped in happiness as she saw Andiramon. She immediately flew over to greet her, having to get quite high in the air to be staring face to face. "Hi! It seems like forever since I saw you last!" She glanced down at the ball of fluff with the large ears. "And who are you?" She asked, not recognizing him.

Meanwhile Kaori watched as the blue thing excitedly flew over to the large misshapen bunny monster, and then glanced over at the other two kids. "Um.....guys? It's speaking to us.....what should we do?" She asked, her eyes on the other girl. She seemed like a tough confident person who might know the answer.

Usagimon was thankful that Andriamon brought him along. He had been having this urge lately to scout out around the coast. A feeling nagging in the back of his mind, as if he was missing something.. He had never had this feeling before these past few days, but when he came upon the party it seemed to disappear.

Which proved the feeling was ridiculous. They were all kids and stray digimon. Whatever force was driving him to this madness was all in his mind. Still, he had a job to do. The people in front of him seemed lost and, while they were wary of the two of them, it was his duty to lead them to safety.

“I’ll scout the area around here.” Usagimon told Andriamon. “There may be other digimon less friendly than seadramon lurking nearby.”

He took a last look at the helpless kids, lingering on the one kneeling in the sand clutching his backpack. Afterward he broke into the forest to look for the tallest tree he could climb.

The feeling returned to him.

- - -

The three kids, Allidamon, Usagimon, and Andriamon made their way upstream until the town was in sight. The town looked fairly modest, aside from the cobblestone wall encasing the buildings for their protection. Wooden houses scattered the inner wall, no more than twenty total. Many of these houses seemed to be two stories and fairly long, likely to house all the digimon staying here. The roads in town were also paved in cobblestone, all leading to a large fountain in the center of town. In the side of the town, almost out of place was a large stone spire.

“Welcome to Bunnytown.” Usagimon said, stretching his arms out for mock emphasis. “We house the largest amount of banimon in the civilized digital world. More than just banimon, of course, but its not hard to see why its named such.”

Not too many miles away Takoda Daishi sat on a tree stump in the forest bordering the beach, pondering the situation.
Those had definitely been human kids not Digimon, with the possible exception of the one with the mean right hook... Were they new Digidestined? They appeared to be new to the digital world, most of them didn't even have their partners yet. When he had seen the recognizable signs of someone entering from the real world he had reacted immediately to try and reach the portal, hoping it might be one of his friends. His urgency had only increased when he noticed the fins of a hungry Seadramon surging in the same direction. Despite his best efforts he was sure he would be too late, but just at he reached the edge of the forest he came to a screeching halt and watched with his jaw dropped as one of the kids punched the Seadramon right in the face. Stunned as he was it wasn't until Andiramon had warned off Seadramon that he regained his composure, and by then it was no longer wise to make contact.
The Tsunomon with chitinous legs bonded to its body hung upside down by a silver thread next to him waiting patiently. Finally Takoda sighed deeply signifying the end of his thought process.

"So whats the plan?" Demi-Dark Tsunomon asked in his raspy guttural voice. "Do we go under the cover of darkness to meet them in the city?"
Takoda stood up and stretched, shaking his head. "No, too risky, we will have to wait until they leave the city and meet them on the road." Takoda's eyes scanned the horizon, noticing slight movement and discoloration near the top of a particularly large tree. "We'd best get moving, looks like their scouts are back out."
"You got it boss." Demi-Dark Tsunomon swung over and wrapped his long legs around Takoda's shoulders. Together merging into the shadows of the surrounding trees.

Seiko had almost punched the smaller, flying blue monster but the way it clung to the other girl made her stop. It was just as well, for not a moment later a monstrously tall rabbit ran up the shore and kicked the sea monster to the ground in an explosion of sand, and then promptly greeted them with an awkward wave.

"Um, guys? It's speaking to us... what should we do?"

Seiko gritted her teeth, giving a quick glance to the other kids who looked just as apprehensive as she did. Seiko didn't do apprehensive. She clenched her hands into fists, then strode forward to the rabbit. "Usually people start with names."

The rabbit glanced off at the smaller, armored rabbit who promptly left to go scout, before answering, "I am Andiramon. My partner is Usagimon. And I see you three have already met Allidamon," She gave a quick smile towards the flying digimon. "But, please, further introductions can wait, it would be best if we got back within the city walls promptly. As you can see," She gave a pointed glance at where the sea monster had been, "it's not safe out here."

Seiko folded her arms and pondered the request. On the one hand, they didn't know Andiramon, and for all they knew they could be walking into a trap. On the other hand, Andiramon was significantly stronger than the sea monster had been, and could force them to go with her if she wanted. Seiko didn't like being forced to do anything. And, besides, what if this was a dream? The scrapes the short fight on the beach felt real enough, and the sand in her hair and the device still in her hand felt solid enough to touch, but... there was still the possibility it was just a dream. May as well see where it leads. "All right, we'll go with you."

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Bunnytown was aptly named. Seiko's eyebrows shot up into her dark hair at the sight of so many tiny, what had Usagimon called them, Banimon? She snorted. "Nice name."

"Function over form." Came the dry response from Andiramon. She led them through the town to a larger building than the others near the end. The interior was mostly a large room with a high ceiling filled with tapestries, but there was no time to examine them as she led them to a smaller room in the back, furnished plainly with a short table and several cushions. "We don't have much food, but I will see what I can find."

With that, Andiramon left the three children and the two digimon. Seiko, quieter than normal, sat down on one of the cushions with a whumpf, placing the device in her hand onto the wooden table and staring at it.

"....This isn't a dream, is it." It wasn't a question, more of a statement she'd more or less realized during the walk.

Kaori timidly followed the other kids, as they followed after the giant rabbit. Allidamon was all too happy to go with them, and flitted around their heads as they walked, chattering away about the little town they were going to, and how cute the little Banimon were. As they reached their destination, Kaori noticed the little blue monster was right. The little bunny things WERE cute, and quite hospitable. Andiramon brought them into a small room that was comfortably furnished, and the short redhead took this opportunity to sit in the corner on one of the cushions. Allidamon followed her and landed in her lap, looking up at her with a smile. "You're nice!" She said simply, before flying into the air again. Are you hungry? I can go look for something for ya?" She asked, wagging her feathered tail. But Andiramon had already offered, so Kaori shrugged at the blue digimon and mumbled a "no thanks" Where did she get all of this energy?! She glanced over at the fighter girl who seemed to be speaking to herself as she said, "this isnt a dream is it." Kaori sighed. No it wasn't. She wished it was. She was dirty, hungry, tired, confused, and worried. How long had they been gone? And how were they going to get home? She glanced out of the window as a few of the banimon passed, carrying what looked like leaves and small bags. Seemed they were off to gather food. Her stomach growled. Hopefully Andiramon would get back soon.......food at least would be a welcomed comfort.

As Usagimon and Andriamon left, a crowd of banimon swarmed the children as they sat down at the large wooden table. They bounced up and down happily, a few of them knocking Allidamon out of the sky and dogpiling the previously airborn digimon.

“Newcomers!”
“Friends!”
“How was your travels?”
“What are you?”
“Lets get you something to drink!”
“Want to play a game?”
“Did you come from the capital”

“Shush all of you! You are overwhelming our guests.”

The banimon, finishing their thoughts in a much quieter tone, shuffled backwards from the party as another banimon, much larger than the rest, hopped out of two swinging double doors on the far side of the room. She looked much older than the others. Her skin drooped, covering her eyes. Her ears layed to these side of her orbulous body, unlike the other excited banimon who’s ears stood straight up.

“I’m sorry for all the commotion. You all must be tired from your travels. Please sit, we’ll have something to fill your bellies soon.

“Thank you v-very much… uh…” Kenji said, at a loss for words.

The elderly digimon chuckled. “I am simply banimon, but I suppose my age does stand me out from the rest. The people here call me Grandmon Banimon, so please just call me Grandmon. Now don’t worry dears, we may seem crowded but there is always room for guests. I’ll have the inn leave a room open for you… but I must ask. You three don’t seem to be from around here. Tell me, where are you from?

When no one responded to her comment, Seiko lapsed into frustrated silence. The boy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well, while the girl was timidly chatting with the blue creature, what had Andiramon called it, Allidamon? There was definitely a theme running with the names. Seiko gritted her teeth. Well, whatever was going on she couldn't simply keep thinking of the other two as "the boy" and "the girl". She opened her mouth to ask their names-

“Newcomers!”
“Friends!”
“How was your travels?”
“What are you?”
“Lets get you something to drink!”
“Want to play a game?”
“Did you come from the capital”

Her jaw dropped as she was interrupted by a veritable flood of banimon, all clamoring around the kids and asking rapid-fire questions and getting very close--a few hopped into her lap and she couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh at their questions and soft fur. She looked over at the other two, an awkward half-smile on her face as she watched their reactions to the fluffy stampede. Before she could decide which question to answer first, an older banimon hopped her way to the center, the others quieting down.

"You three don’t seem to be from around here. Tell me, where are you from?"

Seiko looked at the other two, then back down at the two banimon in her lap looking up at her expectantly. "Shibuya. At least, I am, I think you two go to my school, right?" That had to be where she'd seen them from.

Grandmon seemed to scrunch up her face, thinking, her wrinkles seeming to fold over a bit further, "Hmmm. That is fascinating indeed. I've never heard of that town, and I've heard of quite a few places. What are your names, children?"

"Seiko Himura." Seiko spoke up.

School! That’s why those two were so familiar! Kenji sighed in relief. With how this day was going, it wouldn’t have surprised him if the other two humans here were another planet.

Wait, did she say Seiko? The same Seiko that left a hole in the homeroom wall? The same Seiko who broke her desk leg the second day of school by accident? The Seiko that gave two students a bloody nose after they picked on her?

Kenji stared at Seiko with newfound respect… and terror. Knowing that she was lost alongside him made him feel a bit safer.

“K-k-kenji Fujimoto. I don’t know how I got here, but you all seem like nice people. Thank you so much.” He said, bowing in his seat slightly.

Allidamon gave a muffled laugh beneath the Banimon as they piled on top of her, then burst out a few seconds later to go back to Kaori, who was scrunched as far into the corner as humanly possible, her knees tucked up under her chin as the swarm of bunny creatures assaulted them with questions. She didn't answer any of them aside from a few "um, uh, um, I...." 's. When the older one hopped into the room and called for quiet, Kaori listened and took a liking to Grandmon, who reminded her of her own grandmother. Aside from the...ears. As Seiko and Kenji introduced themselves, the girls interest perked up. So that's why they looked familiar. She had seen Kenji every once in awhile in the halls, but Seiko she definitely remembered. She was still both intimidated and respectful of the tough girl, and tried to stay out of her way whenever she got mad. "She'll be good to have while we're here. She DID punch that sea serpent after all...I just need to remember to stay on her good side..." She looked down at Grandmon as the bunny asked where they were from and their names. "I'm...Kaori Arikawa...." She said shyly, blushing slight in embarrassment as her stomach growled again. "It's nice to meet you..." She said with a smile.

Andiramon did not say anything when Usagimon followed her, and simply allowed him to gather some food to take to their guests. An idea was taking root in her mind, however. She couldn't quite confirm it, not yet, but it was safe to say that the next few hours would be... revealing.

She was not expecting the room to be so stuffed full of banimon when she returned. The moment she entered the door with her free hand, the other carrying some fruit, several pairs of wide eyes turned to look up at her and Usagimon with expectant joy. She glanced down at Grandmon, who gave a sheepish look and a shoulderless shrug.

"I am sorry for the intrusion, I assumed they would understand that a closed door is not an invitation for questions." The banimon shuffled awkwardly at the admonishment.

"It's okay, it wasn't a bother..." Seiko trailed off slightly, realizing too late that while it hadn't been a bother for her--she'd liked how soft the banimon were--Kaori had curled up in a corner, eyes blown wide.

"Be that as it may," Andiramon had quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Kaori, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Seiko, "we have much to discuss. Privately." She enunciated as the banimon looked up at her with blatantly curious looks. "And I have much to show you. Here," She tossed four large fruits that Seiko could not recognize towards the three humans and Allidamon, "You'll have to eat while we walk. I'm sorry we cannot do more."

Some of the braver banimon attempted to hop after them, but Andiramon shot them a look that kept the small procession away from prying eyes. She led them out of the town hall, and down along a small cobblestone path that wound through the town, a stiff breeze blowing off the sea and shifting her fur. "Normally, I would not be the one showing you all this, but our leader, Cherubimon, is off on diplomatic matters and we have not been able to contact him. We could always wait, but, well, let's just say that the appearance of children such as yourselves in our world has never heralded anything good." Their walk ended at the base of a large, stone spire that jutted out from the earth near the eastern edge of the town, standing garishly against the rest of the quaint town. On the double doors that sat at the base, there were a series of carvings running down the center: all of them seemed to be contained in either rectangles or circles, and all seemed to be similar in design, though shifting and evolving as they moved down the doors until the final mark... Seiko felt her heartbeat quicken. The final mark was identical to the device she had clipped onto her belt, the device she had woken up with, the device that had fit so perfectly into her hand. "None of the banimon are allowed in here," Andiramon said, inputting a code into a set of characters next to the doors, "normally it is only open to Cherubimon, or myself in his absence. But these are... extenuating circumstances. Tell me, children," And as the doors swung open, she paused to look at each of them, Allidamon and Usagimon included, "have any of you heard of the Digital World?"

“The Digital World?” Kenji furrowed his brow. “I had heard the phrase tossed around online from time to time, usually in discussions of buggy data or missing people. They say that if you search for such a place, monsters will pop out of your computer, grab you, and drag you in. As far as I know its just another myth born out of an old internet rumor.”

He paused for a moment.

“W-wait, you don’t mean to say…”

“Of course we do.” Said Usagimon, speaking up. “Though how you got here has yet to be explained, you are currently residing in the Digital World… and I certainly don’t appreciate being called a myth.”

Kaori listened quietly as Andiramon led them through the small town and up to a spiral looking building. She looked up at it, and, noticing the marking on it put her hand into her pocket and grasped the device she had acquired earlier that day. As Andiramon explained where they were, Kaori felt her head swim. How had they gotten into a digital world? She then glanced at Kenji who seemed at least familiar with the term, having played a lot of video and computer games from the sound of it. But she herself had rarely dived into the electronics, preferring instead to red good old fashioned books. Confused, she listened intently to Usagimon, flipping through her mental notes in search of any explanation. Finally she spoke, quite hesitantly.

"So...are you saying our bodies are now data?" She asked. "As in, perhaps we somehow got stuck inside of the myriad of electronical systems inside of modern technology?"

She waited nervously. She rarely spoke, and for good reason. She was often teased about her solitary hobbies and laughed at for the way she spoke so formally about everything. She sensed Kenji might understand a bit about this, as he seeks to be a little socially awkward as well, but Seiko could be a different story. She was so tough, Kaoro had placed her into the category of "popular," and therefor "interact with and die a slow and embarrassing death."

During this wait, Allidamon was slumped comfortably over her shoulder, her heartbeat and closeness offering a little comfort. She hadn't felt her anxiety slow down like this for a long time, and relished in it. She didn't feel as nervous with Allidamon so close, and was finally feeling better that this small blue monster had chosen to stick around.

Meanwhile in the forest not too far from the city...

Takoda's heart pounded in his chest as he raced through the trees.

"Has it changed direction?"  He shouted up to DemiDarkTsunomon who was leaping agilely through the topmost branches.

"No!  It looks like its going to cross right in front of their North Gate!"  DT's coarse voiced called down to him.
Takoda and DT had been tracking the movements of this corrupted Shelldramon (or as the Digivice now registered it:  Sh5lL3somon) since before the other kids had arrived in the digital world.  The momentary excitement of that event was now proving to have dire consequences, for while Takoda was distracted the beast had changed its lumbering course and was now dangerously close to the Banimon city.  Time was of the essence if he was going to prevent a confrontation.  Takoda gritted his teeth and skidded to a halt as he came across a large gap in the terrain that would waste precious moments to go around or find a way down then up the other side.

"DT a little help!"  Takoda shouted, but even as he did so he felt a feathery wisp brush his arm as a thick silver spider thread wrapped itself around his outstretched hand.  Then suddenly he was in the air as DT leaped with astonishing power from one of the trees over-looking the gorge.  He landed with a well practiced roll on the other side and continued his intercept course to the corrupted digimon with DT speeding in the same direction through the trees ahead of him.

Seiko had never heard of the Digital World; it was kind of a weirdly direct name, if she were being honest. Anyways, it wasn't as though she were the most technology-savvy person in... well... at this point the most technology-savvy person out of the only three humans in the world if Andiramon's reactions to them were anything to go off of.

"So... are you saying our bodies are now data? As in, perhaps we somehow got stuck inside of the myriad of electronical systems inside of modern technology?"

Seiko could feel her brain start to fry at all the large words. And.. what was her name, Kaori? She looked to be a little younger than Seiko and Kenji... what was a kid that age doing knowing those kind of words? Seiko briefly entertained the idea that the kid had to be an alien.

Andiramon smiled slightly. "Not quite. I am not quite the digimon to answer such a question about what our world is or how it interacts with yours. Really, many of us digimon are as oblivious to your world as you are to ours. Were it not for this tower, I'm not quite sure I would ever know what you three were, or what it means that you are here."

Seiko sighed, tapping her foot and folding her arms. She was beginning to get restless, and the fact that she didn't understand what was going on was making her even more agitated. "And, what exactly does it mean that we are here?" Maybe she was being rude, but the large rabbit was really taking her time getting to the point.

Andiramon's lip quirked at the uprightness. "If you will follow me, I will explain." She turned and walked into the tower. Seiko glanced at the other two kids, before following boldly after. Her earlier fear and confusion was melting away the longer she was in this... Digital World. She was curious, she couldn't help herself.

While the walls of the tower were stacked stone upon stone, the floor was lined with a soft, red carpet; a spiral staircase led up the center of the room to the floors above, made of carved ebony with what looked like a gold inlay along the railing. There were no windows, all light came from softly glowing script written along the ceiling. On the walls were more carvings, of five eggs. All had a soft glow about them, save for one, which was dull and cracked and worn.

"I'm not sure how it is in your own world, but the Digital World has it's own sentience, one we can't completely comprehend. Whenever our world is in danger, it will pull a group of children from your world to save it, usually prophecied for years beforehand. These children are partnered with digimon to achieve these goals."

Andiramon lead them up further to the second level. On the walls, there were now eight eggs, each inscribed with a rune of some sort.

"This has happened time and again, each time with children from your world and digimon from ours, and every time they have been successful in restoring balance to our world."

The third floor held six eggs with some of the runes from the previous floor, though they looked different in shape.

"The devices you hold give you a greater connection to your partner, and they to you. Through this connection you will gain greater strength."

Up, and up they went. Each room had a set of eggs; most glowed faintly, but some were crushed or broken. Seiko ignored the feeling of dread she got when looking at them, focusing instead on Andiramon and the words she was speaking. The second to last floor held 7 eggs, one of which was crushed like some of the others, a second of which however seemed to have had the pieces cut out, then pasted back together in the wrong places. It wasn't crushed, the abstraction was nearly seamless, but it looked like a slide-puzzle that wasn't completed. None of the eggs glowed like the lower floors.

"You three have barely been here an hour, so I doubt you've seen the state of our world. Our crops won't grow. Fresh water is drying up. The Digital World seems... sick, for lack of a better term. And, recently, there are..." She trailed off, distaste clear on her face, "Abominations. Digimon who are not digimon. If anything, I would assume you three have been called to deal with whatever is causing... or creating it."

They reached the top floor. The stairs stopped, going no further upwards. On the walls were three eggs. In the center of the room, were two small bowls, raised on short pedestals-

Andiramon suppressed a gasp, before reaching the pedestals in a quick stride of her long legs. Both bowls were empty, but scattered about both were egg shards, as though something had hatched. She picked up the shards, but before she could tell whatever she was looking at, the shell fragments disappeared in a cloud of static.

"What's wrong?" Seiko asked, looking around, fully expecting something to attack them.

"There.. the last time I was up here there were two eggs. These are only enough shards for one egg." Andiramon was still looking about the room frantically. "One is missing, and the other..."

All froze as a tiny sneeze echoed in the corner of the room.

Usagimon kept close to Andriamon as they ascended they the foreboding tower. He had heard the prophecies before, about how these ‘humans’ in the past have helped and saved the Digital World. He just couldn’t believe that these mere children could be protectors or saviors of anything. They looked like they could hardly handle themselves against in-training digimon.

Except the dark skinned one. She could probably arm wrestle a rookie with some difficulty.

He had never been inside the spire before.  He was surprised to be allowed in. The carvings and runes alongside the eggs and pedestals around him were quite a marvel to look at. It felt like he *belonged* here. It was a very different feeling from what he felt earlier today.

Until he reached the top floor. He felt unusually uneasy as Andriamon opened the door. He realized why as he heard a gasp and examined the room. On one of the pedestals , where he assumed an untouched egg should be, there was instead only shards. Something had hatched here.

Startled by a noise in the corner, he jumped back and summoned a lance to his hand, ready to strike.

Kaori listened intently as the tall rabbit-like digimon spoke of their reason for being here. Or at least her theory based on personal experience it seemed. "So we're made out of data now...." she studied her hand curiously, turning it this way and that. She didn't feel like data, she felt perfectly....solid. Like normal. She glanced up at Allidamon, who had flitted off of her shoulder to fly higher up the tower they had entered moments before. She didn't look nor feel like data either. She definitely felt like a real firm weight on her shoulder before. Kaori adjusted her glasses and sighed, her brain trying to process everything Andiramon had told them. As they walked up a spiral staircase, she noticed the glowing eggs and strange hieroglyphs. She would have liked to stop and study them further, but something told her that something at the top of the stairs was more important right now.

They reached the top after about a half hour climb, where Kaori noticed three empty pedestals, and egg shards scattered about. Instinctively, she walked closer to Seiko and Allidamon. What had come out of that egg?

Suddenly something sneezed, causing her to jump and look around. She didn't spot anything, but Allidamon suddenly flew over to a small something and said "Yay! A new friend!! Whats your name?" Quite excitedly.