Datamon stopped the mechanical arm it was using to type and lifted its head. "King Tai, everything is ready. We can begin."
"Mm." Tai nodded, stepped down from the throne, and placed his hand on the sensor. "DigiDestined Project—activate."
As soon as his palm settled, the sensor flared with golden light. The radiance flowed along countless circuits, passing through layer after layer of walls and converging on the towering spire that shone with golden light.
Energy continued to gather, and when it reached its limit, countless beams of light shot up toward the sky of the Digital World.
In the human world, countless golden "shooting stars" streaked across the heavens, falling toward the earth. People lifted their heads to watch that miraculous moment as the golden lights rained down toward the ground.
The chosen children—those who had been selected—saw that wondrous scene as well.
"So many shooting stars, I have to hurry and make a wish!" Mimi clasped her face in both hands, eyes sparkling. "I wish I could go on a trip to Hawaii!"
"This light feels so familiar… I'm sure I've seen it somewhere before, but where?" Izzy frowned, resting his chin in his right hand as he tried hard to remember.
All over the world, beams of light fell and, under the astonished gazes of children and their Digimon partners, came to a halt floating right before them.
Slowly the light condensed, solidifying into an octagonal silver-white device with gold trim and three buttons—none other than the D-2 Digivice.
Child and Digimon traded a glance. The child hesitantly picked up the D-2 Digivice, unsure what to do. At that moment, a beam of light shot out from the D-2 Digivice's screen and wrapped around the Digimon. Bathed in that glow, each Digimon felt a spiritual bond form between itself and the child at its side. The same scene was taking place all across the globe, and the real world was no longer quite the same as it had been.
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At some point, an odd rumor began to circulate among children in cities all over the world—an urban legend that somewhere, in some corner of the city, there was a mysterious bus stop. A strange bus would stop there, and if you got on it, it would carry you to a vast arena where you could battle alongside your partner Digimon against all sorts of other Digimon.
According to the legend, if you managed to claim the final victory in that Digimon arena, you would receive a mysterious item, and you would be able to set off on all kinds of wondrous, thrilling adventures in that fantastic Digital World filled with every sort of Digimon.
The legend spread from child to child. Every kid talked about it, hearts full of curiosity and the desire to explore. Yet almost no one really believed it was true, because hardly any children had actually seen that mysterious bus stop with their own eyes.
But the children who possessed D-2 Digivices knew this was more than just a story, because by following the guidance of their D-2 Digivices, they had found their way to that "urban legend" bus stop and were now waiting there for the wondrous bus that could take them to the Digital World.
"Ding, ding." Two beams of light, like twin blades, cut through the mist and came to a stop in front of the children waiting at the stop.
With a hiss, the bus doors swung open, and the waiting children rushed aboard, peering around the interior in curiosity.
"What, it's just an ordinary bus. I thought it would look different or something," one child grumbled, unable to hide his disappointment.
"Who cares what the bus looks like? The point is we're going to the Digital World! Just thinking about it gets me all pumped up!" another child said, face flushed with excitement.
"By the way," a child said, raising the D-2 Digivice in his hand, "how did you all get yours?"
The conversation shifted back to the D-2 Digivices in their hands.
"Well, mine suddenly popped out of my computer one day while I was online. As soon as I picked it up, it lit up, and a message appeared on the screen telling me to come here so I could take the bus to the Digital World."
"Mine came out of my computer too."
"I got mine during a meteor shower a few months ago. One of the meteors fell right in front of me and turned into this. A few days ago the screen lit up and told me to come here."
"Same here."
Amid the children's chatter and laughter, the bus slowly started to move. Instead of following the road, however, it rose up into the sky. Inside, the kids watched in amazement as the high-rises outside the windows grew smaller and smaller. Down on the streets below, cars and people continued to flow past as if the bus didn't exist at all.
Behind the bus, a tall figure stood frozen, mouth hanging open as he stared at the vehicle flying up into the sky. Ripples spread around it, and space itself tore open to reveal a stretch of land that did not belong to the night sky.
"That's…" Tears streamed down the tall man's face. "The Digital World… Wait! Take me with you!"
But his shout had no effect. The bus vanished into that distant land, and the ripples in the sky faded away. Everything returned to normal—save for the man, who collapsed to the ground.
"Does the Digital World not welcome adults? I have to go there… I have to. I swear I will." With that muttered vow, he staggered away and disappeared into the night.
At that very moment, the children on the bus had arrived before a massive arched stone gate. Looking up at the towering gateway, they let out one cry of amazement after another.
"That gate is huge!"
"Yeah, we're not even as tall as one of its bricks."
Passing through the gate, the children were even more astonished. A vast circular arena spread out before them, its countless seats packed with kids. In the center stood several round platforms. On each, two children holding D-2 Digivices were enclosed within two separate circular barriers, and atop the platforms two Digimon were locked in battle.
"Come on, Guardromon!"
"Don't lose, Balamon!"
"All right, kids, the final result is in. The winner of this round is Willis and his twin Terriermon!" Mecha Etemon announced into the microphone.
Mecha Etemon, like Etemon, wore oversized sunglasses on his face, but unlike his counterpart, his entire body was wrapped in imitation digi-alloy, greatly boosting his defense. Though still an Ultimate-level Digimon, that armor's protection made his overall power nearly rival a Mega. His special attack was a despairing chant unleashed from his mouth that could instantly throw enemies into confusion and leave their bodies limp and powerless.
On the stage stood a blond boy. At one side of his feet was a Terriermon with long floppy ears, and at the other a black Lopmon.
Terriermon is a mysterious Digimon with a single horn on its head. Its body structure marks it as a Beast-type Digimon, but its evolutionary route remains unknown. There is also a rumor that, in rare cases, Terriermon are born as twins. It's an extremely cute kind of Digimon, and from its laid-back behavior you'd never guess it belonged to the "combat species." When it fights, however, it can unleash power far beyond what its appearance would suggest. Its oversized ears don't match its small body, but by spreading them wide in midair, it can drift gently down from the sky.
Its signature attack: spitting out a superheated blast of air in the form of a fireball—Blazing Fire.
Its favored technique: spinning both ears like propellers to whip up a small tornado—Petit Twister.
While spinning its body in midair, it can launch Petit Twister as a small airborne tornado projectile, or batter its opponent with both ears in a series of blows known as Terrier Punch.
Double Typhoon: a combo technique with Lopmon. Both of them simultaneously unleash Petit Twister and combine them into a gigantic tornado that blasts the enemy.
Lopmon is a very rare twin Rookie Digimon. The one with a single horn on its head is Terriermon, while the one with three horns is Lopmon. Its ecology is shrouded in mystery; aside from its body structure marking it as a Beast-type Digimon, everything else remains unknown. Terriermon has a relaxed but energetic personality, whereas Lopmon is its opposite—an easy crier who gets lonely very easily. Neither really seems like a "combat species" Digimon, but once they enter battle, they can show strength far beyond what their looks imply.
Techniques: releasing explosive ice blasts in midair—Blazing Ice;
spinning its body to form a small tornado, creating a miniature whirlwind;
charging forward while spinning to form a rushing tornado attack—Sprint Tornado;
spinning its ears in midair like a spindle—Spindle Ears;
and spreading its ears wide to float gently down from the sky in a move called Lopnor Balloon.
Double Typhoon: a joint technique used together with Terriermon, where they both unleash Petit Twister at the same time to form a massive tornado attack.
The children in the stands shouted at the tops of their lungs for the spectacular match.
"All right, now we're going to present the prize to our victor," Mecha Etemon said, taking advantage of the roaring crowd to make his announcement. He produced a card. "This is a Digital World Pass Card. With it, you can freely travel between the Digital World and the human world through any computer. From this moment on, you can set off on your wondrous journey with your Digimon. Enjoy your travels in the Digital World!"
As he spoke, a beam of light descended from above and enveloped Willis and his twin Terriermon partners. They stared at the light in fascination, reaching out their hands to touch it.
"Your journey begins now," Mecha Etemon declared. The light carried Willis and his twin Terriermon up toward the sky, beginning their adventure in the Digital World.
Meanwhile, Tai and the other seven DigiDestined had gathered together. After exchanging greetings and happily catching up, Tai opened his backpack and took out eight palm-sized cases. Each child took one and examined it curiously from top to bottom.
Tai picked one up and explained, "This is a DT Digivice. You can use it to send messages to each other, and if you press this button it will connect to the Digivice system so you can video chat with your own Digimon."
Hardly had he finished his explanation before the kids eagerly flipped open their DT Digivices. When they pressed the button, the faces that appeared on the screens were those of their partners, whom they hadn't seen in so long.
Behind them, the television was broadcasting the news: "...there was a traffic accident today. A boy named Ash was tragically killed..."
That day passed in peaceful calm. The children chatted for a long time with the partners they had been separated from for so long. The real world carried on as usual. But somewhere on the network, a fragment of data left behind long ago stirred as if it had just received an order. It awoke from its slumber and began to roll forward, like a snowball gathering speed and size.
And none of this was yet noticed by the children, lost in their happiness.
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