[IC] Digimon: Cyber Beasts

[Double]

In the late 90's, collectible Mons were all the rage. There were several games and toy lines attempting to sell their merchandise and entertain audiences, but one stood out among the rest: Digimon. It began as a manga in Japan that was later adapted into an anime. That anime proved successful enough to warrant an international release, and thus Digimon became popular worldwide. From this popularity, a trading card game was born, one where players built a deck with Digimon they could apply power up cards to in an attempt to overpower their opponent. It proved popular enough, and the Cards remained in print for several years.

But soon a gaming company called D-Connect came along. At the time of D-Connects formation, the Digimon trading card game had waned in popularity, and rights to the cards and monsters they represented were purchased by D-Connect for purposes that were soon revealed. D-Connect's enigmatic President, Ken Kuroda, unveiled his brilliant idea: the D-Scanners. Resembling Digivices, D-Scanners came with a Digi-egg pre-installed. It would hatch into a Digital Digimon, able to be raised like previous popular digital pet games, but this one came with a twist. The Digimon in the D-Scanners were programmed to be compatible with the card game, meaning players could apply power ups from the TCG to boost the Digimon's abilities. Coupled with the D-Scanners' ability to connect via WiFi and allow the stored Digimon to engage in battle, this reinvigorated Digimon's popularity, with D-Scanners selling like hot cakes all over the world.

Now, in the present day, Digimon is as popular as it's ever been. Several new manga and anime series have been made since the original, and both the D-Scanners and the TCG have been regularly updated to keep up with them. In fact, battling Digimon through the D-Scanners have become a rather popular sport in and of itself, spawning tournaments in regions around the world complete with rules and regulations, and even ban lists for the TCG aspect of the game. In fact, it's become all too common for Digimon battles to be used as a means of settling disputes. This popularity and widespread play has made the game far more influential in the economy and politics than it ever was at first, and this of course also applied to D-Connect, the company becoming rather enigmatic in its dealings and Ken Kuroda, its president, making only rare public appearances anymore. It's been the cause for some speculation among the populace.

This only increased further when - on November 29, 2016 - a Digital phenomena occurred in an Electronics store in Tokyo, Japan. Several computers and other devices within the store went haywire and suddenly produced a vicious creature made up of digital data that rampaged. It caused substantial damage to the store, but soon after its appearance it vanished back into the circuitry from which it originally came. All eyes were suddenly on D-Connect when the creature was described as looking vaguely like a Digimon. D-Connect found itself under fire both legally and by the media, and as such was quick to ensure the public that the "Cyber Beast" - as it was dubbed - was not their doing, but that they would work to find out the creature's origin and help create a means to prevent such an attack from happening again in the future.

Behind closed doors, D-Connect greenlit "Project Destiny" and on December 6, 2016 a cryptic email was sent out to a select group of players within their gaming database, the email even being signed by Mr. Kuroda personally. This email informed the readers that they had been chosen for a special promotion of an upcoming update for the game, and they would be given an exclusive tour of D-Connect's headquarters in Tokyo, all expenses paid. As if to sweeten the deal even further, the email promised the recipient an actual meet-and-greet with Mr. Kuroda himself as well as early access to the newest set of cards currently in line for a Christmas release. This email, should the chosen players - the Tamers, as they are called within the gaming circuit - accept the invitation, their world would be changed forever.

Because, you see... it's no longer just a game.

---

D-Connect CEO Office ~ Tokyo, Japan

The sun shone brightly on that lovely December morning. There were some odd clouds in the sky here and there, but otherwise the weather seemed to promise an all around nice day, if a bit chilly due to the winter season. It was the morning of the 13th, exactly one week since Kuroda personally signed and sent each of the email invitations that would begin Phase 1 of Project Destiny. Kuroda was thorough, having made sure he did his homework on each of the recipients. He honestly felt like he knew them about as well as their own parents did. He researched their hobbies, interests, and even career aspirations. In so doing he was able to add a personal touch to each individual invitation, playing to that recipient's personality and attempting to appeal to them on a more personal level to give the impression that he knew who each individual player in his game was and wanted each to feel absolutely comfortable with accepting the offer.

"They should be arriving shortly." announced a woman's voice. Having entered Kuroda's office was the seemingly ice cold Samantha Chase. She wore her usual work attire, which was a slick business suit consisting a short black skirt, a black suit jacket worn over a purple sleeveless shirt, and her usual jet black stilettos. Her blonde hair was tied back into a business knot, and her look was completed by a small pair of glasses that gave her an air of cunning intellect to accompany her confident presence. Chase had formerly worked for an American software company, but realized early on just how well the D-Scanners would skyrocket in popularity and sales. She since moved from her previous station to work at one of D-Connect's American Branch offices, but Kuroda was quick to know talent and skill and when he saw it, so it wasn't long before he had her working in the main office in Tokyo.

Kuroda smiled, looking like nothing less than a grandfather who had just been told he would soon see his grandchildren. Ken Kuroda was a man now pushing fifty years old, but he didn't look it and certainly didn't act like it either. Even in the early days of D-Connect some fifteen to twenty years ago, Kuroda was universally described as the Willy Wonka of the gaming industry. He was cheerful, playful, still very much like a kid at heart. But he was also charismatic, almost inhumanly so. With just his smile and personality alone, he could probably convince a person to buy a house they already owned. Most importantly, Kuroda was a dreamer. Evidenced by the design specs of the D-Scanners, Kuroda put much more priority in ensuring user friendliness and players having fun over cost efficiency. He was very much like John Hammond in his "spare no expense" approach to business. Sure it meant ventures could be more costly, but it also meant that they could turn much greater profits in return.

"Fantastic!" the man exclaimed, clapping his hands together in an excited gesture. Kuroda was practically the polar opposite of Samantha. Where as Samantha was ice cold and pure business, Kuroda was instead instead warm and very informal. Even Kuroda's wardrobe was... not all businesslike. In fact he dressed very casually, in blue jeans and sneakers, even wearing some kind of floral shirt as if he were on vacation. His office was also very eclectic in its decor, reflective of the man himself. There was Digimon memorabilia all around him. He had figurines of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon on his desk, posters for the various anime on his walls, a bookshelf with some of the mangas kept on it along with some business files. He even had two Digimon arcade cabinets in the corner where he also kept a small refrigerator and coffee machine, sort of a personal break area. Finally there was his pride and joy, a shelf containing plushies of all eight of the original Digimon partners: Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentamon, Patamon, Palmon, Gomamon, and of course Gatomon. They were sitting on the shelf in alignment, with Agumon and Gabumon taking the center spots, but with Patamon next to Gabumon and Gatomon next to Agumon. Their human partners were siblings after all.

"I still advise against this." Samantha said coldly, "They're civilians, kids at that. Who are we to-" she stopped when Kuroda put up a hand.

"I'm well aware of the risks. But we also agreed that doing nothing was an even worse move."

"Yes but-"

"Relax. Yes, it could be risky. But that's why they call it a 'gamble'." at about this time, Kuroda peeked out of his office window and saw what could be described as a conga line of limousines, "Ah, they're here! Fantastic!" in addition to providing first class air fare to those that needed it, Kuroda also went to the trouble of arranging limousines for the emails' recipients as well. After all, he spared no expense.

---

In one of the Limousines pulling into D-Connect, Makoto Houjou had been reading and rereading the email he received. Truth be told he probably should have opted out of the tour, since it would require missing some of his classes. But the words in his emails appealed to him on a surprisingly personal level. It clearly wasn't something the company just copy and pasted several times and Kuroda stamping his signature on them. No, the letter seemed too painstakingly personal for that to be case. Made even more surprising when the invitation flatly referred to Makoto as M quite a few times, meaning whoever wrote these up had certainly done their research. One excerpt in particular stuck out to Emu, though:

I am aware you wish to pursue a medical career. Certainly a worthy aspiration, and I will happily wish you nothing but the best in that pursuit. But if you truly wish to retire the Genius Gamer, then why not play one last great game? Go out with a fantastic bang!

Emu stared at the passage and then smirked to himself, "One last game, huh?" he said to himself softly as his Limousine came to a stop and his door was opened for him by the driver. He closed the email on his phone down and put it away in his pocket. Unlike the other recipients, who probably made sure to bring all their necessary Digimon gear, Emu instead apparently decided to come empty handed. He had no D-Scanners with him, nor any Cards. He just looked like a random student.

"Welcome to D-Connect Headquarters, Mr. Houjou." the driver spoke. Emu looked around and noticed others getting out of their Limos in similar fashion. He then looked to the building to spot a smiling man eagerly awaiting to greet the arrivals, at his side was an American woman tapping silently on an iPad.

"Welcome! Welcome Tamers! To D-Connect!" said Kuroda, making a point to personally greet each arrival, "You're all on time, that's fantastic! Today, you're about to make history!"

[Acid Hippie]

"Time to take it to the next level, I guess."

Zakai inhaled a deep breath, filling his lungs completely before he exhaled.

As his limousine pulled into D-Connect he again began to wonder why someone would spend so much money on getting him here. The flight was understandable, but a limousine for each one of the selected Digimon gamers? Talk about sparing no expense. Zakai should probably just be grateful that he was given this opportunity and enjoy a limousine ride by himself rather than with a group of people he might have nothing in common with. But then, if they're into Digimon maybe they aren't so bad?

Or they're all genius child gamers . . .

Still, that wouldn't be the worst situation.

Ken Kuroda had called him different, which, was nothing new or surprising. But in the message, it wasn't just Digimon that he mentioned. He brought up Zakai's interest in parkour, which is in no way connected to his time spent playing Digimon, and other things that Zakai just wasn't expecting. At first he thought it was cool to be selected to visit D-Connect for something as simple as playing Digimon alone, but then he became suspicious as to why someone with knowledge in his personal life was inviting him to "take it to the next level".

Zakai loved to do some pretty crazy things, but what was so crazy about playing Digimon? At least, that someone else would spend all this time and money into it? It made him think this might be some sort of reality TV show or promotional event for the sake of sales. In the end, his love for Digimon and the fact that someone seemingly knew so much about him from his Digimon experience tempted him to bite and take the chance however. Now those paranoid thoughts were creeping back into his mind, but he was already here in front of D-Connect and there was no turning back now. And he didn't see any cameras so far . . .

As the limousine came to a stop behind another limousine already parked, Zakai opened the door and stepped out slowly. Once on his feet he looked to his left at the other arriving gamer. Not a child after all, though still very young. Hearing the rest of the limousines arriving, Zakai turned his gaze to the right and watched as doors began to open. Before examining the the new arrivals however, his eyes shifted and eventually rested on the man himself, the one who called them all here: Ken Kuroda. He looked nice enough with his floral "forever vacationing" shirt.

History, he says.

[tobiax]

---

15:00 22 October

Flames roared as a troop of Goburimon rushed in against an increasingly smaller number of Hawkmon. Explosions rocked the sky, curbed only by a blinding light. Behind it all, an armored figure glowered to the opponent beyond. A sound like war horns rang out as an angled, crystalline blade was raised to the smokey sky. The armored form's throat seemed to begin to bellow, but not quite. Not yet. It wasn't ready. And the scale of the barrier of light was stifling the crimson glow the armored one could accrue.
Soon...

---

The ride in the limousine was silent.-
Its arrival in front of his modest home was a bit of a surprise. Of course, his mother made a fuss, from which he encouraged her to calm down before leaving. A tousling of his hair and a 'go get 'em kiddo', met with a nervous wave, and he was off.- The ride in to the center of Tokyo from Saitama was pleasant, if not short. Despite the large aggregate of other limo's- somewhere around five or six- traffic moved smoothly, much to his liking.
He gripped the D-Scanner, which was clipped on the reverse side of his pocket, as his bag rested on his lap. Inside, the screen flashed brightly, the LCD display showing the image of an egg, under it the words 'hatch me' in smallcaps. There was a slight lurch as a concrete median was passed over at low speeds, causing the cylindrical bag to slump, prompting it to be donned upon his back.

As the door was opened, Haruka stepped out, met with the bright view of a marvelously sized business building. His stance shifted almost instantaneously, his feet met together, shoulders wide, bag on his back, the slight breeze fluffing his pink hair as his jacket clung to him tightly. This was it. A jolly, older looking man in bright, informal clothes greeted them rather bombastically, full of hyperbole. It was all he could do to stop himself from rolling his eyes, but the slight sting of cold and the presence of the businessly looking American woman did indeed stop him. A quick eye-dash over the other attendees, and it seemed to be mostly rabble. Still, he'd have expected more to show up at a promotional event such as this. His hand slipping into the top of his bag, he withdrew a rather worn looking hard deckbox and clipped it to the back pocket of his pale slacks, moving fluidly, so as to avoid notice, and appear as cool and collected as his visage.

[Pudding]

No, Mama, don't you tell me to not put mayonaise on my Wackdonalds burger... Mew... Mew... Mirei was curled in the back of the limousine, dreaming of cheap yet delicious Wackdonalds. The padded seating was soft and comfortable, enough for Mirei to get a few extra minutes of sleep in. The only reason she left the house today was because of a suspiciously accurate email sent to her by the creators of D-Connect.

"Tired of your boring life? Nothing impresses you or your family? Is our game starting to become a little stale for you? Join us on this specific date, it's there that you'll finally find something to place you above and beyond your brother. If you don't, not only will I have to express my sincere sadness, but also ponder the question what will you do with your life?" ... How creepy. Yet she still accepted the offer and there she is, riding in the back of a limousine headed towards a stalker company that knew more about her than it should. All she did was play their dorky little card game. Perhaps not dorky, the monsters can be kind of cool, some of them even cute. The driver in the front seat was very polite, he attempted to wake Mirei softly, but it wasn't necessary, she was aware it was time to get out and interact with more of her own species.
I know, I know, we're there already *yawn* - the car hasn't been moving for over ten minutes so I just assumed we were already there. She uncurled herself, move to the front of the limo, sticking her hand through the small window within the wall, sectioning off the passengers and driver. She patted him on the back. You're a good driver, I managed to dream about a real tasty Wackdonalds burger.

Mirei exited the Limo, readjusting her backpack so it wasn't too tight. Within her bag were the bare essentials that she could fit, her phone, phone charger and some mint gum in case her breath started to stink. She didn't think to bring anything Digimon related, the email didn't really instruct her to. If she was supposed to, she decided to just bare the consequences. Looking around she noticed a group at the building entrance alongside an obvious employee and what appeared to be a man on vacation. Seeing no other way to get in Mirei dusted off her pink sweater and waddled up to them imagining what could be a welcome party with thousands of Wackdonald burgers. After all, this looks like the type of company that would spare no expense.

[Crimmy]

Houkoushi Koutaigo (皇太后 蜂光子 Koutaigo Houkoushi)

A limousine was a pretty swanky ride. Of all the cars she'd expected to be picked up by when she'd ditched the longass train ride, a limo hadn't even crossed her mind. Sure, the Digimon guys seemed like bigwig rich corporation dudes, but you usually didn't usually connect a game company to fancy expensive cars. She'd even never actually seen a limo before in real life, only on television whenever her pops checked out some entertainment show. They were supposed to carry around celebs, not pick up a girl like her from the station because of some video game promotion thing.

Houkoushi gently squished the padded leather seating.

It was pretty awesome. Wasn't everyday she got to chill in such a fancy ride.

The car turned a corner, slowing down as it parked in front of the company. An impressed "oooh" left the girl's mouth as she gazed out of the windows at the sight. She still wasn't sure why she'd been picked for this promotional thingie (and she wasn't super enthused about it all), nor did she really dig the ten hour trip from Nagasaki all the way to the capital, but the sights were definitely great. Houkoushi knew that Tokyo was a pretty big city, but even when compared to her native metropolis, it was big.

She opened the door with a click, huffing quietly as she heaved out her sports bag (containing her uniform, some clean clothes and other assorted sports gear) and hockey stick from where they had been sitting next to her. It'd been a rush getting to the station from her hockey game because of the time it'd take to get to Tokyo, so she needed to bring the stuff along. And because Ma and Pa threw a lot of extra stuff at her to bring all the way down to Kanto.

And for video games, too!

Shoulda brought her bro along. Kid loved Digimon.

The fifteen year old girl rapidly blinked out the sunlight, silvery eyes adjusting to the outside after so long.

So that was the chief of the D-Connect shebang in the suit then? And the foreign woman ... probably his assistant yeah. Her gaze swept over the others who'd arrived. They all looked way older than her. So even high schoolers or adults played with this Digimon game thing too? Wow, she knew it was big, but getting exposed to it made it seem more real. There was a handsome guy, a foreign-looking dude with a wack hairstyle, and an older girl in a pink sweater and a backpack. A real childish backpack. Man, talk about elementary school aesthetics.

"Ey there fellas," she said with a smile. "Howzit hangin'?"

Her tone was lilting, and very, very clearly accented.

[Double]

The young girl had an accent, Makoto noted. Osaka? Didn't quite sound like it. Either way, she wasn't from here. Though the same could be said of all of them, save perhaps for Makoto himself. He did live in Tokyo, though practically on the opposite end of the city. Even so, Tokyo wasn't his birthplace. No, that was Tohoku, Sendai City to be more specific. Makoto also noted the D-Scanners and card decks most of the others sported. He probably would have been wise to bring his own, but it'd been so long since he messed with them that the Digimon on his D-Scanner could very well have starved by now or ran away. The thought of that did make Makoto feel a little guilty, but not anything he would dwell on. It was just data in a game after all.

Mr. Kuroda's wide smile never left him, "Let's say we get out of this cold and head inside, hm?" he suggested with a warm expression. Security escorted everyone in and all the visitors were given keycards of some kind with their names programmed onto them, "These are your Passcards. Consider them like Backstage Passes at a concert. They'll get you into all of our visitor areas as well some exclusive areas normally off limits to visitors. Take care not to lose them, now." at Kuroda's side, Samantha continued tapping away on her iPad. She was either taking notes on what was happening or on the visitors themselves since her ice cold gaze occasionally passed over each visitor. It was possible she was even doing a little of both along with her usual workload of the day.

The tour began with the group being led to one of the building's departments. This one was a room full of computers with people pecking away at the keyboards, the computer screens covered in what may as well have been incomprehensible hieroglyphics, "Our first stop is the programming department." said Mr. Kuroda, sounding a bit scripted but still very much enthusiastic, "In a way, this is the room where Digimon are "born": their appearance, their numerical attributes, all originate from one of these computers before being downloaded into D-Scanners like the very ones you yourselves own." having given the most relevant information about the department, Mr. Kuroda led them to another one nearby.

This one had more computers, but they weren't the same. Instead of the screens being filled with numbers and codes, these were instead filled with sketches and inked in pictures. Beside some of the computers where physical sketch books being drawn in or colored on by artists, "This is our Art Department," said Mr. Kuroda, "this is where the looks and colors of each Digimon are given form. If the Programming Department we were just in gives the Digimon their abilities and functions, this one gives them their forms. Concepts for Digimon's looks, their colors, any weapon or armor they use, it all takes "physical form" here." Kuroda still sounded somewhat scripted, as the tour itself was very much a rehearsed affair. But that wouldn't be the case for too much longer. For now, Kuroda led the group to a third department.

This one was different. It wasn't computers or drawings. This one was a factory floor. This particular factory area was for printing TCG Cards and then packing them for shipping, "Ah, this is one our manufacturing departments, more specifically for the thousands upon thousands of different kinds of Cards that we print and ship out to be bought and used by players like you. We have factory floors for assembling D-Scanners as well that you'll get to glimpse at in due time. For now, however, what if we deviated a bit and did something a little more... interesting?" Kuroda suggested, hinting at what was likely the real reason most of these players came here. They were promised early access to the next set of cards that had yet to be released, after all.

As such, the tour group was taken to one of D-Connect's R&D Departments, where the next line of Digimon Cards were wrapping up production and needed only to be mass produced and shipped, "Here is where some of the magic happens. Where the newest ideas and concepts are tested and their details ironed out, where they are given their first physical forms before going mass production. And it's here where you will have some of your first early access to the next set of cards to be released during the Christmas Promotional Events in the weeks to come. By all means..." Kuroda gestured to some of the display areas where Cards were being showcased and - for this particular special event - could be taken and tested out by the players, "...see for yourself what the future of the game has in store."

Makoto had to admit this was one of the parts he was most curious about. Seeing some of the development and production departments was interesting in its own way, but this part of the tour was what really started to reinvigorate Genius Gamer M's old passions. Makoto approached the displays and picked up one of the Cards. It was a weapon card called "Legendary Cannon", depicting what looked like the plasma cannons normally found on MetalGarurumon, the card apparently allowing the Digimon it was used on to temporarily equip the cannons and use MetalGarurumon's signature technique for a single attack. There were others, such as one that apparently granted temporary access to WarGreymon's shield and another called "Megamorph" which allowed the user to use a single attack from their next digivolved form.

"These will make some interesting decks, alright..." said Makoto to no one in-particular.

"Indeed." said Kuroda with a thoughtful tone, "Hmm, is the genius gamer having second thoughts about his retirement from Digimon?"

Makoto moved as if to answer, but Mr. Kuroda had already turned his attention elsewhere before he could.

[tobiax]

As the group began to move, Haruka gave a soft, yet distinct, and audible scoff. Whether this was towards the mention of the cold, the manners of the director, or something else- that wasn't as obvious, as he moved with the rest of them. There was a snap of curiosity in his eyes at the explanation of the programming room, but it was silenced quickly. As they were lead past the art room, there was more of an interest, even a moment of wonder in his eyes, though the boy simply flipped his pink hair and reestablished his cool demeanor in a single moment.
"It's.. a printing room," he remarked to himself in the reverse-hush caused by the noise of the whirring machines.
For a half a moment, it seemed as though his face began to flush, but it faded as quickly as it came.
Nageki would love to see this... Wouldn't he?

---

He'd want you to go see it for yourself, since he couldn't.

---

Haru's musings were cut short as the group began moving around him. Someone may have even bumped into him, but if they had, he hadn't noticed. Once Koruda had explained the use of the final room, however, the boy looked up, speaking up for probably the first time during the entire tour.
"So this is... some kind of exclusive per-release then?" his tone was a little biting, but reserved, almost to the point of seeming... regal? "You could have put that in the email at least. And why only invite, like, five people?"
The potential tongue-lashing was left as a somewhat impudent question. That was, however, before a rather interesting phrase came from Koruda's mouth, directed at the boy who was already shuffling some cards. With an air of confidence that bordered on intolerably smug, Haruka approached the shaggy looking boy with the mysterious card in his hand.
"So, you're one of the legion of copycats who thinks they look all big and tough by making an account with the same name as someone else. Is that right?" he said in a quiet voice.
He didn't want anyone else to hear, but is was clear the boy in whom Koruda had seemed to take a vested interest was the one being addressed.
"Just admit to being one of those 'M' copycats. There's no use denying it. You're just some account-copy trash who only takes things seriously on an account with someone else's reputation," his voice was quiet, but between a scoff and a sneer.
It was clear that such antics and superstitions- that some 'genius gamer' could really exist- was foolish and wasteful in his eyes, and perpetuating it made you no better than the fools who fell for such drivel. This was, after all, a world where everything could be witnessed. He had seen the copy cat accounts himself. High-ranked players of many different online games, all with the same exact moniker. It was ridiculous to think that one person could have either the time, or the natural ability to maintain such a front. Thus, it was only logical that this 'legendary genius gamer' was only a hoax. In fact, he had known when the accounts stopped appearing, and none had returned since, especially in the online Digimon servers. It was probably because the mods zapped all the duplicate accounts out there, wiping the foolish myth of 'Emu' out with them.
And without so much as another word- only this pseudo warning-to-stay-in-line, Harkua walked to the far end of a different table, and began shuffling slowly, observantly, through the new cards. Almost without noticing, he scratched the pocket in which he usually kept his money as he viewed the set in its entirety, and gazed at the glossy packaging.

It was then that a jingling, repetitive tune began to sound from his backpack. The boy stood almost to attention in surprise, and began to fumble around, fishing the phone out of his tall backpack.
"Nobunaga here!" he answered, his formality coming off as stiff and tense.
A reply came, which, while unheard by others in the room, caused the tension to simultaneously dissipate and recollect in Haruka's body._{"Nageki here. Hello Haruka"}
"Gah! N- Why are you calling?" came the hushed reply, as Haruka cupped his hand over the bottom of his flip phone.

_{"Just wanted to make sure you were there safe. How is it?"}

"I, um..." Haruka was about to go into detail, but he could almost feel the eyes on him, and suddenly the businesswoman's tapping was all-too-real, "I'm sorry. I have to call you back. I'm in the middle of the tour, I think," came the hushed explanation, and, after a few moments, the call was ended, and the small phone stashed once again in the backpack.

[Acid Hippie]

Appreciating the short introduction, Zakai followed after Mr. Kuroda; to the side and towards the back of the group. The old man was pretty happy to have them here. He was expected to be friendly and grateful, of course. But there was definitely a happiness in the man's eyes that was more obvious to him than what showed on his face. Even if it was somewhat off. Walking into the programming room, he acknowledged how lucky he was to be there, but lingered behind the group with little excitement. It's not that he wasn't grateful, but this was exactly what he expected the programming to look like. He wasn't a professional per say, but he knew a thing or two about what went on behind the scenes with this sort of stuff. Numbers and the like came easy to him.

Upon entering the design department, his interest began to spark more however. How cool would it be to create your own Digimon? Zakai wondered, eyes darting around the room from canvas to canvas. Or, really be with your Digimon? In a virtual reality? For a moment Zakai fantasized at the thought of standing next to Machinedramon as he shouted himself, "Giga Cannon!", prompting his Digimon to fire a powerful blast from his immense cannons. That would be a dream come true. But his dreaming would have to wait, as the group was moving on and leaving him behind for the next department. Even the cold, quiet and stiff businesswoman analyzing every detail seemed to either forget or not care about him as Mr. Kuroda continued on with the tour.

Better not get lost here. Though, I might not mind at first, we haven't gotten to the good part yet, have we?

Zakai followed the group's trail, walking into the next department as Mr. Kuroda could be heard saying "Here is where some of the magic happens." Before he could even finish his speech Zakai was already dreaming again, envisioning Terriermon with Metalgreymon's claw. Then he began to picture what crazy things the next batch of Digimon cards would allow their Digimon to do. This is what he was waiting for. What they were all probably waiting for. To play.

Once Mr. Kuroda had given them permission to examine the decks of cards, Zakai instantaneously moved over to one of the available decks.

"Nice."

Looking at the first card of the deck, his eyes widened a bit when he saw the effect. A card that temporarily changed a Digimon's elemental damage. That could come in handy when in a tight spot. He continued flipping through several cards until he stopped, a grin suddenly emerging on his face.

"Giga Blast? No way."

In his hands was a card that granted a Digimon the power of Machinedramon, the aid of a single cannon. Despite being nothing more than a single cannon, the damage output was heavy, and no matter what the evolution of Digimon you equipped. But the higher the evolution of Digimon, the higher the multiplier on the cannon's damage. This would be a useful wild card, helpful in a variety of situations. This time Zakai wasn't daydreaming. He was actually thinking of how he could use this card with Digimon he'd used and eagerly anticipating the opportunity to test it out.

A phone went off and interrupted Zakai's thoughts. He turned slightly, eyes locking onto the boy with the pink hair. What was he doing on the phone at a time like this? Surely whoever was calling him could wait. Why was his phone even on if not on vibrate? He raised an eyebrow as he watched the boy fumble around in his bag and on his phone. Looks like he wasn't the only odd one around here. But then, he was paying as little attention to the others as they were to him right now because he was so wrapped up in thoughts about Digimon. Who were these people next to him really? They all seemed so different from one another and yet they all must have been really good Digimon players. Or have something in common that Mr. Kuroda wanted to invite them all the way out here, to this. He twirled one of his many dreadlocks between his fingers. This would be an interesting time.

[Crimmy]

Houkoushi Koutaigo (皇太后 蜂光子 Koutaigo Houkoushi)

It was pretty cool seeing how all that Digimon stuff worked behind-the-scenes. She wasn't a big fan and all, but it was a pretty schmancy workplace they had going on. Sorta reminded her of those extras on DVDs where they went into the process behind making a movie. Houkoushi let out the requisite "ooh" as the tour continued through the offices where everyone was working. She wondered how much money they got paid for working here. Maybe if she tried to do some more computer-y stuff, she could get a job here in a decade. It seemed like it was pretty fun.

The idea was discarded as quickly as it came. She wasn't some hot-shot programmer or artist or whatever, and besides, Digimon was really more her lil' bro's jam. Not hers. It was still weird to her why she was chosen instead of him though, but maybe D-Connect just picked some fellas at random.

Still, she was soon forced away from her attempts at taking peeks at computer screens when the group made their way into the print room. This was actually something she was more familiar with. The printing, not the cards. Okay, those were familiar to her too, but that was because her bro kept kicking her butt at the game whenever they played. The sound of printers churning was something she actually heard everyday, because her classroom was right above the school print room.

She pressed a hand against a display, glancing at the cards protected by the cold glass. The ones inside weren't any she'd seen before; maybe she should have tried to get a bit more brains on the entire thing before coming along. If there were any good cards that Hachirou wanted, she'd be able to find them. Without all that know-how, all she could do was gander at the sweet art.

Or maybe he should've been lucky to be chosen himself, hahahaha.

The fifteen year old blinked when somebody's phone went off. Her silvery eyes immediately looked around for the source. It was that handsome-looking high schooler. It was actually totally weird seeing somebody who looked like one of those drama stars hang around Digimon cards, but hey, the world was pretty big. Must've been people like that somewhere. Weird ringtone though, but it sounded sorta familiar.

Houkoushi mentally shrugged.

That didn't really matter.

But man, Digimon really appealed to adults too huh?

[Pudding]

BGM
So the group was all invited inside for a tour of the grand facility. This, of course, happened when the remaining group of stragglers showed up. One of them being a girl younger than Mirei. Her hair was clearly dyed, so she must be a trouble maker. To her dismay, the entrance to the place didn't have any wackdonalds to be seen. No burgers stacked as high as the ceiling at all, how despair inducing.
They were handed these flimsy things called 'passcards' they were basically backstage all access VIP E-passes that were the size of a visa card. Figuring she wouldn't have to use it if she was in a group, Mirei brought it out her purse, sliding the card in one of the free slots right next to her debit card.

The group hadn't even started their tour yet but Mirei was already C&TC vibes. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of tiny people came out singing about their impending doom. But in this scenario, nobody would be falling into a chocolate river, the tiny people would probably also be dressed up as different Digimon.
Our First Stop Is The Programming Department
'Oh Boy!' thought Mirei, she so totally wanted to go there. She couldn't possibly imagine sneaking away to nap under a table or something. The only thing keeping her going was the hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. A paid meal. To the companys' credit, the room was fairly interesting, to somebody who was actually interested in coding and data. There were several workers taping away at keys that flashed upon a monitor with every key pressed. Mirei peered over the shoulder of a worker, resisting the ugre to spook them as she watched them furiously type away in some kind of language she'd never seen before. The one thing she knew about computers is that it uses 0's and 1's so what was this stuff?

Leaving the worker to his device she listened to the jolly man Kuroda talk about Digimon. This room is where they're 'born' Mireis' mind moved to her D-Scanner she left at home. The Digimon inside probably reset by now or something. It didn't particularly bother her, it had happened multiple times already, after all, it's just a toy.

The next stop on their tour was the art department. To Mirei it was the most interesting, she could look and gaze at the amazing designs of old and new Digimon. The colours of some attracted her like a mosquito to a bug zapper. She practically drooled over the dragon-esque Digimon, they looked so awe-inspiring and powerful. There was, of course, the one time only, Burgermon, which of course Mirei had several copies of when they released them with a promotion with Wackdonalds. Unfortunately they had to move along from there and went to where all the cards for the game are produced. It was more interesting than the coding room but not by much, everybody else seemed mildly interested.

[Double]

"...Copycats?" was the only answer Makoto could offer to his fellow tourist who suddenly seemed very irritated with him all of a sudden. Why he was so suddenly frustrated was anyone's guess. Did Makoto have actual copycats on the internet? If he did, he never saw them, but maybe they only cropped up after the accident? He did leave the internet rather suddenly and had been gone for about two years now, so it was highly likely he missed something during that time. Yes, that had to be it, surely. Not that the guy actually gave Makoto any time to respond or defend himself. Instead he turned away with a huff and an instant later was on his phone.

As for Kuroda, who suddenly found himself under fire by questions from Haruka, he offered a smile and a semi-shrug of sorts, "It wouldn't have been much of a contest if everyone won the prize, now would it?" hadn't the letters specifically explained to his guests that they were randomly selected winners of a promotional contest? He was certain he included that information in the invitation, "And yes, my letters specifically promised you early access to this material, did it not? What kind of a businessman would I be if I made promises only to break them?" but then he shook his head and waved his hand in a dismissal gesture.

"But enough about marketing. I think it's about time we get down to the real reason you are all here." at this he picked up a stack of the unreleased cards and started shuffling through it, "Samantha-kun, if I could have some visual aids here?" the woman had been there all along but was so quiet that one would be forgiven for thinking she left the tour group at some point. She pushed a button on a remote and that seemed to lower a projection screen, the projector for which she then switched on so that she could cycle through images as they were needed. The first thing to appear was, of all things, the news about the Cyber Beast incident?

"I'm sure you've all heard of this incident in the news. The Cyber Beast, they call it. And I'm sure you all viewed the press release statement I made a mere two days after the fact, denying my company's involvement but promising to work toward solving the mystery." A security team then entered the room and handed the President a metallic briefcase that looked like it was locked tight. Meanwhile, Ms. Chase updated the projection to depict other locations that appeared to have suffered attacks, "I'm afraid that the attack we all heard about may not have been first, and nor was it the last. Not if these images are anything to go by. Rather, it was the first attack that made it into the public conscious, while I presume the others were kept tightly under wraps in order to prevent a panic. This brings me to here, and now."

Ms. Chase clicked the image forward to the next one. It showed... an image of the Digimon Anime? Well, one of them anyway, featuring a group of the fictional kids standing alongside their Digimon partners. Without Kuroda giving any explanation, she clicked forward again, this time depicting an image of five D-Scanners, the phrase "Project Destiny" shown above them in large print, almost like a fanfare of some kind, "I give you... Project Destiny!" Kuroda gestured to the projected image before opening the locked briefcase and unveiling its contents: a set of five D-Scanners. However, they didn't really look any different from the normal ones, "For the first time in our world, humans and Digimon will be able to fight side by side. And who better to pioneer this trail than the select group of players who have the shown the most exemplary skill in the very game this technology was created from?"

Ms. Chase suddenly cleared her throat and decided to cut into the explanation, "What Mr. Kuroda means to say, is that these D-Scanners are no ordinary ones. They contain the data of "real" Digimon." this probably confused a number of the kids so she spoke further to clarify, "We believe the Cyber Beasts to be physical manifestations of data, possibly from old or rejected Digimon designs infected by some unknown outside virus to give them "life". These D-Scanners were designed to project a physical manifestation of the Digimon within them. We're confident they should have the necessary power to fight the Cyber Beasts and eradicate them before they become any more of a threat. And like any D-Scanner, these are fully functional with the cards, so these Digimon will require human partners to provide the necessary strategy and power ups to deal with the Beasts. Tamers, if you will."

"Exactly!" said Kuroda, cutting back in, "You five have a unique opportunity here. To become like real Digidestined who along with their treasured partner can fight to defend our world from these Cyber Beast monstrosities." he almost anticipated a skeptical response, especially from Haruka. With this foresight in mind he took one of the D-Scanners from the briefcase and pointed away from himself and activated it. It seemed to spill forth pixels of some kind that melted together in the form of a Digimon: Commandramon, the machine dragon Digimon who almost looked to be standing at attention like a soldier of sorts before the D-Scanner sucked him back in. With a confident smirk, Kuroda then held the D-Scanner toward Makoto in an offering gesture.

This? Was this what he meant by "one last great game"? Could something this serious really be just a game to him? Makoto considered turning around and walking away. This seemed like a job for someone in the military or something, not a fledgling medical student. But then he couldn't stop imagining his face. Dr. Hongo. The man who saved Makoto's life and inspired him to study medicine. Would he walk away from this? Makoto wanted to become a doctor so he could save lives as a way of thanking Hongo, but couldn't he do that with this as well? Only here he would be able to use his old gaming skills to do it. Suddenly without warning, Makoto reached forth and snatched the D-Scanner from Kuroda.

[tobiax]

Big deal to make over a pre-release that will happen in every shop in Tokyo within a month, and the rest of the world soon after. he thought to himself, remaining quiet, although his thoughts were mildly betrayed by the folding of his arms, and his purposeful lack of eye-contact.
As the projector lowered, he slid his sharp gaze onto the blank screen, which didn't remain as such for long. The explanation that was given was dubious at best to be sure. Digimon existing in physical space? Impossible. Maybe as some form of hologram, maybe. But being able to interact with objects, especially enough to damage a store, was complete nonsense. And from scrapped concepts no less. Haruka rolled his eyes, scoffing softly at the very idea. It was probably some failed attempt to mask the footage of a robbery, and no one wants to admit that anything was taken- or the thieves failed so badly that they didn't take anything. Either way, it was the only logical reason for the news footage. It wasn't the first time they had gotten something wrong or blown things out of proportion, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
That being said, however, he was quick to step up to the opened case. His approach was rapid, making sure he was among the first to reach an appropriate distance. There he stood before Mr. Kuroda, waiting to be given one of the colored D-Scanners from the case- hopefully with a Digimon more interesting than Commandramon. And if he got to expose some shoddy criminals along the way, then all the better.
"I'll do it, Haruka declared, raising a clenched fist to around shoulder height rather dramatically, "After all, if anyone deserves to be able to do this, it's clearly me," he added with a smug flip of his hair, "Especially more than some half-rate legion of copycats."

[Crimmy]

Houkoushi Koutaigo (皇太后 蜂光子 Koutaigo Houkoushi)

She'd seen the 'Cyber Beast' thing on the news too; it was big stuff, even all the way over in Nagasaki, but there had been more of those attacks? And the government or somebody had decided to hide it or something? That was pretty unbelievable at first blush, especially when it sounded like a theory of one of those conspiracy whatsit schlumps, but it actually did make some worrying sense. Stuff like that didn't happen in a vacuum. There had to be some place somewhere for those schmucks to have come from if these D-Connect guys had been working on doing something for it.

This anime thing or whatever went way over her head though. Houkoushi could honestly say that she wasn't so big of a fan; that was her lil' bro, which made this entire thing even more weird for her. Actually shoving those Digimon into like, the D-Scanner things to make real? Not just virtual pet things? Using them to fight monsters? The world never seemed like it was one of those shows she watched as a little brat, but if the rich old guy was gabbing on about it, it was really real?

She stared at the materialising Commandramon in shock, her expression one of surprise even after it was returned to its home. The entire thing was unbelievable. Totally unexpected. Did these guys' know-how do this stuff already? And why her? She was an awesome hockey player sure but not all TV needed a sporty person for a hero? She wasn't that big of a fan too? What was the selection process anyway?

The new D-Scanner before her drew in her eyes.

Man, this was a total surprise. Like, no warning whatsoever.

Houkoushi reached out anyway, carefully taking the device into her hands.

Maybe her bro'd find it cool.

And ... if there were these shmucks hurting people ... there needed to be cool folks like her ready to stop them right?

"Perfecto, padrone," she uttered, accent bleeding through.

It was a lot less heavy than she'd thought it'd be. Huh, weird.

She looked around. Those two older dudes had already taken the thingamabobs too. And the one that looked like one of those handsome drama stars ... wow, that was some serious dramatic posing. And more ego than even her, hahaha.

"Copycat legion, ey senpai?" she asked, her attention now focused on the older boy. She wondered what he was talking about. Sounded like a weird thing to compare himself to when getting a snazzy new monster-hunting device.

[Acid Hippie]

Zakai took his attention off the goofy pretty boy when Kuroda mentioned the Cyber Beast story from the news. He learned about the Cyber Beast rumor from online sources and saw the news clip on the internet as well. When he first heard about it he thought it was kind of funny, because he knew quite a bit about how data worked and humans were no where near manifesting data in such a way. But, Zakai was also well aware that there were things humans did not understand. And when Kuroda made an appearance on the news, it was interesting to him.

Why would Kuroda bother making a statement about a rumor; an event that appeared to be caused by a certain something but had no real evidence behind it and was laughable as even a theory. At the same time, this further peaked Zakai's interest for that same reason. The news was gullible and likely to follow any story for the sake of views, but if Kuroda bothered to make a statement then that could mean there was some kind of evidence to incriminate him. Or was he just interested in publicity also? Zakai did not really know anything about the man.

And then Kuroda answered the truth by explaining similar events were happening all over the world and actually being kept secret. Something was happening, at least, something that was causing danger to people. Still, what did that have to with this tour? Why they were all here? Zakai felt his stomach twist a little as he began to wonder if there really was a stronger connection to Kuroda then it seemed.

Moving closer to the projector, Giga Blast card still unconsciously in hand, Zakai kept his eyes locked on Kuroda as he finally was about to explain why he brought them here. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the Digimon cast and then simply blinked as Kuroda told them they were actually to be apart of Project Destiny, become Digidestined. Kuroda was saying this was real. Before Zakai could even begin to form an opinion on the matter, Kuroda took one of the D-Scanners and did the unbelievable.

As pixels emerged from the D-Scanner right before him and formed a Digimon, Zakai could only stare wide eyed and utter, "No way."

He watched as Kuroda handed one of the D-Scanners to the guy named Makoto. There was no time to question things. And was he about to miss out on a chance to see something incredible, experience events no other human had? Not a chance. He would accept the offer for now, see what this was all really about. The world might really be affected by this too. There was no doubt, he was doing this.

Zakai faced Kuroda. "I'm in."

[tobiax]

Haruka's gaze slid to the side, locking a cold, acidic glare on the younger girl who had addressed him.
"Yes, it's quite a shame," he replied, a slight lilt to his voice, still not moving his chilly gaze, shifting his D-Scanner to a more natural position in his hand, "That parents would allow such delinquency in children is simply deplorable."
Now, he had turned, and was slowly walking towards the back of the room, his sights now anywhere but on the blond girl, though it appeared he was still addressing her- if you could really call it that with his distant, almost disinterested tone and gait.
"Especially with the birth rate what it is," he remarked again, though it was unclear exactly who could hear, as only the blond girl was likely paying attention, "Abhorrent delinquents like that would never be able to successfully have children," he made as a final, slightly more quiet remark.
Now near the middle-back of the room on the far side from the door, and facing away from the projector, he held out the D-Scanner in his hand. His eyes were caught by the ring and trigger on one end, and he fitted it onto his index finger, finding that it fit rather comfortably. Holding out his hand, he placed his finger on the trigger, pointing the screen towards the open area on the floor.
"Alright, let's see what this has got."
There was the sound of something charging, then a whirring noise, as thin beams of light began to shine out of the screen, hitting near the ground. Soon, more shone out, until they made a strange, shaped grid. Something seemed to be flowing from the device now, filling the free-standing grid, until, with a flash, a brown and white creature floated there.
The Bakumon drifted in the air on its wispy tail for a moment, before turning to look around the room, its expression placid. Haruka, on the other hand, was fighting back a bewildered, dumbfounded expression.

[Acid Hippie]

As Haruka was familiarizing himself with his new D-Scanner, Zakai had also reached out and taken the D-Scanner that seemed to call out to him. It was a dark, almost midnight purple. He traced his fingers over its design. It didn't seem too different than the ones all the tamers used to play games. But he saw first hand a Digimon emerge and take form from one of these D-Scanners. Which Digimon did he pick? Or, what Digimon picked him?

He wasn't about to wait any longer than he had to. Without hesitation, Zakai held up his D-Scanner and activated it, lost in his own world and paying no attention to the conversation going on around him. His face remained surprisingly neutral as the bright light illuminated from his device, but once pixels started flowing from out the D-Scanner and literally forming a data file right before him, his eyes lit up with a fiery curiosity. Within a few moments, the pixels had shaped a small form with what would appear to be long ears and a tail.

Another moment later, and the frame began to populate with a light purple fur that covered the Digimon's entire body, save for his grey under belly. The Digimon's tail had three small buckles wrapped around the more distal part of his tail. Thick, black claws could be seen on his feet and hands (or four feet, depending on how you look at it). The Digimon continued facing away from Zakai and the others, before a voice suddenly boomed.

"Well it's about time!"

Zakai raised an eyebrow as his jaw dropped slightly. For some reason, hearing a Digimon speak was different than seeing one. Also, that wouldn't have been the first line he expected to hear from a Digimon.

The Digimon turned around now and lowered a pair of stylish sunglasses, revealing his blood red eyes as he looked over all the Digidestined.

"The name is Gazimon, or you can just call me Gaz. Now who's supposed to be my 'partner'? Who thought they were good enough to summon me?"

Scratching the back of his head, Zakai angled his face as Gazimon looked the others up and down. He was clearly standing right in front of him.

"Umm. Well. I don't know about thinking "I'm worth it", but I guess I'm the one who summoned you?"

Gazimon's eyes were now locked onto Makoto, but as Zakai spoke he shifted his gaze. His eyes then gave Zakai a quick once over.

"So you're the Digidestined?" His voice was almost apathetic. Taking a pause, he pushed his sunglasses back up to cover his eyes with one of his claws.

"Well, we'll just have to see how "destined" you are, or rather, what you're actually destined for." Now Gazimon shrugged carelessly, however his head soon snapped violently in one direction as he realized something.

"Oh great, what's he doing here?" Gazimon sneered in Bakumon's direction. "A vaccine Digimon? I mean, figures, of course he'd be on the roster. But what are we doing here next to each other?"

[Double]

Whilst every one else brought out their Digimon to meet them for the first time, Makoto instead gave his new D-Scanner a closer inspection. It looked very close to the ones you could find in a store, but it had subtle features that made it stand out a bit more to someone with a sharp enough set of eyes. For one thing, this model of D-Scanner was a bit larger than the store-bought variety. That made sense, holding a live Digimon probably required a larger memory space than the store-bought models could provide. Makoto also noticed a small switch on the side opposite of the Trigger-Scanner. Normal D-Scanners didn't possess such a switch, and close inspection the reason became apparent. It seemed the switch could toggle the trigger between two functions. One setting allowed the user to pull the trigger in order to send out and recall the Digimon within, while the other setting made the trigger activate the scanner system as it would on any normal D-Scanner.

"Hmm..." Makoto aimed the D-Scanner like a pistol with the intention of calling Commandramon out of the device once again, but dropped the device to the floor when he suddenly felt a sharp migraine in his head. It made him cry out, but the pain was as brief as it was sudden. He scooped the device off the floor and looked around, "I'm okay... I think." he said, assuming everyone would be curious about what happened. He looked around at Ms. Chase, Mr. Kuroda, Haruka, Zak, and... and...

"Where'd the girls go?" Makoto asked, noticing that Mirei and Houkoushi were no longer present.

"What girls? The only female here is Ms. Chase, you see." answered Kuroda, thoroughly confused.

"No she isn't. There were two girls who came in with us... right?" Makoto shook his head, feeling less certain about this with every passing second. After another moment's thought, he found he couldn't remember these girls he'd insisted were there with them, "I... guess I was just imagining things. Sorry about that..."

With that awkwardness passed, Makoto finally released Commandramon from the D-Scanner. The soldier-like dragon stood at attention and practically saluted its partner, "Commandramon, reporting for duty! Sir!"

[tobiax]

Haruka was still trying to wrap his head around this. The Bakumon before him looked way too real, but just couldn't be. Waving his hand around the D-Scanner in his hand, he began looking for some sort of hologram projector. With none being found, and no flickering appearing in the image of the Digimon, he waved his hand above it, expecting the projector to be above.
"Register entity name?" the creature asked in a soft, neutral voice.
Haruka was stunned, and incredulous, "Ex-... Excuse me?"
"Potential Partner detected," Bakumon spoke, only now turning its gaze to the boy, "That is you. Please affirm identity to accept partnership."
"Haruka Nobunaga," he replied, still in disbelief.
"Welcome Haruka Nobunaga."
The Digimon's eyes then flashed, and it rotated in the air, its cloudy tail billowing as it did so.
"Unanalyzed Virus Digimon detected. Offer input."

[Acid Hippie]

Zakai, still in slight disbelief, looked back and forth between Gazimon and Bakumon. What were they going on about? Their types?

"What'd ya say your name is again? Gazimon asked dryly as he stared Bakumon down.

"I didn't. But it's Zakai." Crossing his arms now, Zakai was slowly becoming accustomed to the talking Digimon in front of him.


"Right, well. Virus Digimon don't exactly get along with Vaccine Digimon, you see. So I don't know what kind of team you're putting together, but I'm not so sure this going to work out." Gazimon nodded his head over in Haruka and Bakumon's direction.

Before Zakai could comment, Makoto suddenly cried out and then there was a flash . . . wasn't there?

As quickly as the thought came to him, it was soon replaced with a question. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he felt something and Makoto's question made Zakai whirl his head around in confusion.

There were more people here with them. At least, it felt like there were. He wasn't really paying attention . . . and Kuroda said there was no one else there . . . Kuroda . . .

Gazimon's voice snapped Zakai from his thoughts again.

"Ah, another Virus Digimon! Maybe I wasn't the one who got the wrong invitation."

Zakai looked over at Makoto and his new Digimon, Commandramon, and decided to walk over in their direction. He didn't want to interrupt their introductions, but wanted to see if Makoto was feeling okay.

[Double]

"Uh, no need for the military treatment. I'm your partner, not your commanding officer." said Makoto, scratching his head. This at least prompted Commandramon to relax, if only a little bit. Apparently he was programmed with military discipline. Thinking back to the game, Makoto remembered that Commandramon could evolve into forms that specialized in cannons and other forms of high-level firepower. Already ideas for strategies and tactics swam around in the gamer's mind, at least until he remembered that he brought no cards with him. He'd have to obtain some from the company, enough to put together a deck at least.

That was when Commandramon cleared his throat, pointing at someone walking up behind Makoto, "Huh?" he turned around to find one of the other contestants, "Oh, uh... I'm Makoto. Friends call me Emu." he said, having forgotten whether or not he actually introduced himself to the other tamers yet, "That's, well I'm guessing you can tell he's Commandramon."

"Incidentally," Kuroda spoke up with a clearing of his throat, "it may be wise to put the Digimon back in the D-Scanners soon. You see they..." he started to say, but seemed as if he couldn't quite explain it. Thankfully Ms. Chase was there to pick up the slack.

"Even in their physical forms, the Digimon are still made up of data. For this reason, they can't sustain their physical forms for long before it becomes life-threatening to them. Apparently the real world is dangerous for them to stay in for prolonged periods of time. We think that may be one possible origin for the Cyber Beasts: Digimon programs that were somehow brought into the physical world and then stayed for too long, driving them mad." she said all this without even missing a beat or even looking up from her tablet.

"Yes, yes, couldn't have said it better myself!" said Kuroda with a clap of his hands. That was when an employee rushed into the room, looking worried about something, "What is it?" asked Kuroda, seeming a bit more serious for a change.

"We have another sighting. This one's rather close by, only a few blocks away! Police and the Special Assault Team are already en route to form a perimeter." he said, sounding a bit out of breath, probably because he'd run from whatever department he was assigned to to deliver the report.

"Fantastic!" said Kuroda, sounding strangely happy considering the seriousness of the situation, "A perfect chance for us to really put Project Destiny into action. We'll provide you transportation to the hostile site. Once there, the SAT should allow you entry. All the cards we have in print here are at your disposal, as are the upcoming sets we've previewed. Make sure you use them to make a suitable card deck before you go."

That was a relief. The part about the cards, not the Cyber Beast sighting. Truth be told, Makoto was still a bit nervous about this. Still, he was relieved to know he'd be able to construct a new deck for himself before they set out. He'd already come up with an idea for a card load-out, remembering certain cards like Positron Rifle, Rail Gun Shooter, and of course the Giga Blaster and Megamorph cards. He'd be sure to include those in his new deck. Once it was constructed, he pointed the D-Scanner at Commandramon, "Our first mission. Ready?"

The Digimon nodded and gave a short salute before he was drawn back into the D-Scanner.