The space remained black for an instant, before lighting up with a pulse of
white light.

"Status?"

"We're still looking. Give us a couple of minutes."

Silence. The area returned to its darkness, only to be disturbed by the same
light.

"Don't you have ANYTHING yet? I swear, our asses are going to fall off if we
sit here any longer."

"This process cannot be rushed. It is integral to our cause that we take
care in selecting. A wrong decision could prove disasterous to all that we
hold dear."

"But..."

A flash of vengeant navy blue light flared up in the corner. "Do NOT test
me. We are trying as hard as we can to come to a conclusion quickly. Your
incessant whining is not helping our cause any. We'll be able to draw out a
name as soon as we get identifica..." there was a sizable pause as a deep
thrum echoed throughout the air. "...well, well. I'll be."

"TELL me you've got somethin'!"

"As a matter of fact, I think we might. Still, be patient. We will begin to
prepare. Then, we will have who we need."

"...STILL?! It's already been three days!"

"Now, hold on. Soon, we shall be able to begin. And when we do... it's only
a matter of time."

















----------

DIGIMON FRONTIER: COUNTERSYNC
By Ultimanium

1


----------




The bell rang.

Almost instantaneously, everyone who was unlucky enough to be present in the
main hall stepped to their sides and clinged to the lockers for dear life as
each door in the hall flew open with a synchronized crash, and a proverbial
tsunami of high school students began to pour out. The day was over at
Tokoro High, but people would have to take a number if they insisted on
heading against the tide. Meanwhile, around the corner at the end of the
hall, a single bland classroom was still closed up. Behind the reinforced
glass next to the door, the teacher, a light-built man identifiable in his
mid-20s with a head full of long/rough blue hair and large spectacles, could
still be seen hastily scribbling on the whiteboard. He was draped in a
rather large labcoat, reaching down to his knees.

"That should be about it. Practice problems #3-6, and be sure to read pages
314-320. The problems only get worse from here, and it is important to
practice finding total resistance and total current. Have a good weekend."

All the students uncerimoniously tossed themselves up, groaning. One tall
boy could be seen mouthing "about freaking time". The teacher watched the
door until the last student left, slamming the door behind them. He stood
motionless for a second before walking back to his desk and sitting down. He
turned the swivel chair back to the whiteboard, where an intricate set of
circuits was drawn up. Several resistors and ammeters were given variables,
and the question on a whole would've made any other student not in the
stages of Physics fall back and sigh a "huh?".

The instructor was about to get up to leave for a back room when a soft
knock came on the door. "...come in."

The door swung open, and a tall, uniformed woman strided in. She had
shoulder length black hair, and a pair of dark eyes that appeared an even
lower shade than normal. Whatever was happening, it wasn't good.

"...hey, Usagi..." the man folded up his hands and rested his elbows on the
desk in front of him, attempting to keep a straight face. "...can I help
you?"

"In a way, you're NOT helping, Mr. Isuke. I came up here to discuss with
you... on your teaching habits."

"...is something wrong?"

"Mr. Isuke, let me point something out to you..." Usagi leaned forward. "You
know what I'm up here for."

The teacher leaned forward as well, but to pick up a mug of coffee. "...NOW
what did they say?"

"The same thing they've said whenever they've spoken to me. It seems the
superintendant has joined in on the action, as well. For the past term, it
seems most if not all of your current students have had something to say
about your class. They've insisted repeatedly that they have been receiving
too much homework, being marked too harshly, and help from the teacher is a
rare commodity. Your class' average has fallen from 55% at the beginning of
this year to 36%." Usagi's tone began to increase in force. "Keibu Isuke,
this school has a reputation of an above-average physics output, and you're
not necessarily doing us justice."

Keibu took a long sip from his mug before responding. "Not doing you
justice? That 55% at the beginning is enough below average as is. No one
wanted to do anything, and their test marks suffered as a result. They're
going to have to learn to do the little more to increase their aptitude. I
didn't get to this position by doing just what was necessary."

"And I didn't get to this position by listening to this crap." Usagi
snarled. "I'm giving you one last chance, Keibu. You get with the program,
or I'll make sure you don't work at another educational institute as long as
you live."

Keibu shrugged, placing his mug down. "I'll see what I can do."

Usagi gave Keibu a disgusted stare before plowing out of the room. Keibu
watched the door slam, harder than before. Keibu allowed a short pause
again, before he stood from his chair. He turned and examined the whiteboard
once again, running through the circuit in his head. Keibu kept thinking it
through to himself. If there was one Physics unit that Keibu could spend the
rest of his life doing, it would be electronics and electric circuits. He
loved to tinker, and kept several dozen different motherboards and
microprocessors in a heap on the counter next to his desk. Next to them was
a series of empty computer tower cases, half built. Scattered across his
desk over top of various worksheets he was in the process of marking was
various soldering tools, wire cutters, diodes torn out of several other
chips, a large heatsink, and a pair of pliers. Keibu looked up at the wall
clock. 3:43. Good. He had at least another two hours before the school
closed for the night. Smiling to himself, he gathered up all the pieces in
his arms and hauled the equipment over to a table on the other side of his
desk.

Keibu jogged back and picked up the largest tower, placing it on the surface
along with his other tools. He sat down at the table, swiping a pair of
safety goggles that hung off the wall on his way down, and switched on the
solder. He already went to work, beginning to link together a pair of
processors. As soon as he managed to fuse all his available computer parts
together, he would be able to create the most powerful computer in the
district of Tokoro. What he would actually do with it was beyond him. It was
just a source of nerdly entertainment and a great way to pass the time.



********



"Hey, mom, I'm home."

Makato slumped in through the front door of his apartment, tossing his
bookbag to his side and kicking his sneakers into the nearby closet. He slid
off his red hoodie and exposed his white t-shirt as he walked into the
living room, tossing it onto a recliner at the other end of the chamber. He
leapt on the couch, landing on his side. He dug the remote out from between
the cushions and turned on he TV, beginning his great channel-surf crusade.
His view was quickly disrupted as his mother walked by, carrying a basket of
dirty clothes.

"Hi, honey. What happened in school today?"

"Same old." Makato droned. "Math and Social's still okay, but that asshole
Physics teacher just gave me another boatload of homework." Makato leant
over the couch and stared at his bulging backpack with disgust.

Makato's mother bent down to pick a sock off the ground. "Now, Makato,
Physics IS a pretty intensive course. I imagine Mr. Isuke is doing what he
thinks is best in preparing you for your final exams."

Makato remained quiet, still flipping through the stations. "Wheel of
Fortune... Jeopardy.. Pokemon.. ick. If this is primetime, I'd hate to see
daytime television. Hey, mom, I'm going to head out for a while. I'm going
to see if Shinji's around."

"Do you have to leave already? You just got home! I thought you said you had
homew..." her cries fell upon deaf ears. Ears that weren't even there.



********



Makato's bicycle slid itself off of a concrete pad and onto the sidewalk
beneath it, and pivoted itself accordingly. Makato leant upwards and pushed
down on the pedal, causing the bike to speed upas it rolled down the
incline. Applying the brakes from time to time, the houses on both sides of
him began to pass by at a steady pace. Makato's family was one of the lucky
occupants of the first apartment complex in the area, easily the tallest
building in the small town. Two others were being assembled on both sides of
the small tower, but were would take at least another year to get to their
apex. Makato hardened his grip on the brakes, steering around a corner as
the street levelled out.

Makato started to wait for the next turn to come up. He had plenty of time
to waste, Shinji's father didn't leave for his construction night shift for
another ten minutes. And if there's one thing that experience had taught
him, it was that misery certainly didn't enjoy company. We would certainly
not get in if Shinji's father was there enforcing the completion of his
homework.

Shinji Akito wasn't certainly the high tier of high school popularity. He
was often draped in his small, beige vest with a white shirt underneath. He
was nearly a foot shorter than the just-over-six-feet Makato, and he had a
head full of shaggy blue hair and coke-bottle glasses even larger than that
of Makato's Physics teacher. "Physics homework." Makato grunted. "Boy, do I
have a short attention span, or what. It'll have to wait for tonight."

So maybe Shinji wasn't the most social person in Tokoro... at least about
high school associations like hot chicks, skateboards, or binge-drinking
parties that occured on weekends. But just hand him a PlayStation game and
he would probably beat it in two days. Or start a fan club for it, if he
managed to conquer it earlier and particularly liked it. Having a phalanx of
different video game systems in his basement room meant that Shinji's domain
was a literal funhouse - and the perfect place for Makato and him to unwind.

Makato leant forward as his bike slowly rolled by Shinji's house. The
driveway was empty. Makato grinned as he slowly banked his bike into the
roadway of the house, and stopped the cycle with his foot. He leant it
against the wall of the house and hopped up the steps, slapping the doorbell
as he reached the top.

"Whoa! Hang on!" Shinji's voice could be heard from a distance. He suddenly
stepped out from behind the door and started unlocking the screen door.
"Hey, Makato! What's shakin'?"

Makato scratched the back of his head, apparently confused at Shinji's
feeble attempt to use 'cool' language. "...uh, nothin'. I got a bag full of
Physics homework that's currently biodegrading, so I thought I'd show up and
see what was happening HERE."

"Aw, not much. Hey, I checked the new rental place a couple blocks from
here, and they had Tony Hawk 3, so I picked that up."

"Gamecube? PS2? Xbox?"

"PS2. Wanna give it a try?"

Makato looked up into the sky behind him. The normally peaceful clouds were
beginning to turn a dim grey. Before Makato could put any more thought into
it, a drop of rain hit him square in the face. There was no point in heading
anywhere else, let a monsoon hit him midway. "...sure. You got it all set
up?"

Shinji nodded, opening the door wider so Makato could slip through. Shinji
latched the door again as Makato began to climb down the stairway, as a
rumble could be heard in the sky.

For a brief second, it looked like purple lightning...



********



"Nope. Nothing." Keibu lifted the wires carefully, by the rubber insulate,
switching them around. He placed the bared metal cord against the opposite
ends on the microchip. He looked up to the display in front of him. Nothing.
Sighing, he leant back in his chair. It was nearly 5 in the evening. Though
he had plenty of time to make changes with the setup of the computer, it
seemed that effort was beginning to become a harder and harder commodity to
come by. Over, on the board, was a large set of algorithims, corresponding
to the different wire and board setups that had been marked out by Keibu. Xs
were scattered all over the wall, crossing out most of his likely guesses.

"Maybe a GeForce just wasn't built for this kind of thing." Keibu muttered,
pushing himself out of his chair. "It'll have to wait for another time." As
he reached back to his desk for his coat, he looked over and spotted one
blank spot on his graph. It was one he hadn't even thought of trying. He
stood up, rubbing his chin as he went through the calculations for that
setup again. He wrote the final answer on the board, examining it before
shaking his head. "No way. That wouldn't be right."

As Keibu raised his hand to mark another X, he felt a strange tingling in
his upper arm.

**NO...**

Keibu took his arm back from the board. "What the hell... weird..." He
stared at the open box on the whiteboard. Enstranged by what had just
occured, Keibu quickly ran through the equation again. Nothing.

"That's got to be wrong. But why do I think..." Keibu reached for a
different color marker this time, and held it in his right hand, ready to
write, as he stared at the empty slot on the graph. As he reached up slowly
to draw the X...

**KEIBU...***

Keibu suddenly hopped back, having heard what sounded like a megaphone going
off in his head. "Who-who's there?!" Keibu glanced around hesitantly,
remaining stiff until a tree outside stopped swaying. He placed the marker
down, returning his hands to his side. He clenched a pair of fists, and
looked back to the mess on the table. "...I never DID try that
combination..." Keibu checked around himself one last time before sitting
himself back down at the table. He took a deep breath as he reached for the
two metal rods at the opposite edge of the table.



********



Shinji cackled to himself as he hammered away on the Dual Shock, making a
rapid wave of clicks as the shirtless skater onscreen flew up a good 40 feet
in the air, performed a long chain of tricks, then promptly landed facefirst
on the concrete below. "...MAN, this game is SWEET! I don't know why I
didn't get this before..."

While Shinji continued playing, Makato lied crosslegged on Shinji's bed,
deep into reading one of his many strategy guides. Many of them were for old
SNES and NES games, but they still rather interesting. "...I don't know what
it is, but I feel like I'm forgetting something at school..."

"Are you STILL worried about that assignment Mr. Isuke gave us?" Shinji
chuckled. "It's not too hard if you use the preset equations on your graphic
calculator."

Makato growled. "THAT'S what it was! Shinji, I have to head back to the
school, I need my calculator if I want to get that sheet done by tonight!
Sorry, man, I gotta leave."

"Hey, I'll come with you," Shinji replied. "I have to grab some sheets out
of my locker so I can study for Bio." Shinji tossed the controller onto the
bed, switching off the PS2.



********



"Why is it.. that.." Keibu looked between the two metal rods in his hands,
for the twenty-sixth time. They were plain, simple electrodes that Keibu had
dug up, ones that he could use to amplify and redirect electricity through
multiple circuits. All of his attempts to use them in his computer had
failed, though. "Is there something I don't know about these...?" Keibu
reached down and touched them to the circuits, creating a small electrical
shock. This made Keibu suddenly roll his chair back. "...how?! I tried this
millions of times... and I never got anything! The equation said that
nothing IS supposed to happen! But why does it work?"

Outside, a distance down the hall, Makato tossed open his locker. As he
began to dig through it, an impatient Shinji began to jog in place. "Don't
you have it where you can get it?"

"Beats me, I haven't USED it since the start of the year!" Makato huffed, as
steady streams of paper were flung out over his shoulders and onto the
polished floor. "Most of my other teachers just marked it down as
'cheating'!"

"Well, I guess that's what they call an import calculator. I know I would."
Shinji shot back. "...hey, did you check your top shelf?" Shinji leant in
and started tearing books out of the top alclove of Makato's locker. After
he had tossed most of his textbooks in different directions, he took
Makato's calculator out. "Look next time."

"Thanks a bunch." Makato growled. "...now, there was something else I wanted
to get... oh, yeah, I left my textbook in the class by accident. I was
hoping it was still open."

"Mr. Isuke stays here after school all the time, caniballizing computers. He
pastes them back together to create weird contraptions. I asked him myself
and he does it 'for fun'. It creeps me out."

"Well, he should know if my book's in there. C'mon, let's go before anyone
else catches us."

As Makato and Shinji turned to approach the single classroom at the end of
the hall, Keibu began to bring the electrodes closer together. As he placed
them near, the current lit up again. "...alright... when I bring this
together..." Keibu quickly hit them together than brought them apart,
producing a bright flash of light, and an accompanying rumble of thunder.
Keibu checked around himself again.

**KEIBU...**

"Alright, already!" Keibu scowled. He grit his teeth as he brought up the
metal rods again, ready to lay them down on the silicon chip that lied in
front of him. As he began to lower the rods, Makato and Shinji walked in.

"Uh.. hey?" Makato winced.

"Huh?" Keibu looked up... and dropped the rods. An explosion of arcing
purple electricity rose from Keibu's workstation, blasting Keibu and his
chair up and over into a nearby storage room, and planting Makato and Shinji
up against the wall.

"What did I tell you?!" Shinji yelled over the interference.

**KEIBU... YES!!**

Makato looked around, confused. "Someone home?"

**THE RIGHT FREQUENCY!!**

"...r-right frequency for what?" Shinji asked dully.

**FOR... THIS!!!**

Makato and Shinji yelped as they were slammed against the wall once again,
while Keibu held onto the knob of the storage room door for dear life. The
two students covered their eyes as a giant, white disc formed in the air,
blasting outwards until it reached a 20-foot radius. From the static a small
figure lept, rolling on the ground and finally bracing itself. The outburst
of wind quickly died down as the portal disappeared. In the storm's wake,
tables and desks were overturned, most of the windows had Physics equipment
lodged in the panes, and Keibu's papers were scattered across the ground.

Keibu shoved himself to his feet. "What the hell?!"

The small figure stood, chuckling. It was a small, 2-1/2 feet tall tree
stump, with a jagged top, a pair of long, clawed arms and small, beady eyes.
A small leaf grew off the end of the jagged spike. "Second floor! Science
equipment, computer parts, funny-looking people!"

Makato and Shinji blinked. They stared at each other. "Huh?!"

The small trunk pointed out a pointy finger to Keibu. "Hey, we don't have
time to gossip. Are you ready to come or not?"

Keibu blinked. "Pardon me?!"

"I'll explain to you on the way. It's important that you come with me right
now, before anyone figures out that we're here. We need to talk."

"I DEMAND an explanation!" Keibu bellowed.

Shinji scratched the back of his head. "...uh... we wouldn't mind one
either."

The small tree shook its head. "I don't think you're going to have time for
that."

Right on cue, a loud rapping came at the classroom door, blown shut by the
wind. It was in the locked position, too. "Keibu Isuke! I demand to know
what's going on in here!"

Keibu sweatdropped. "Oh, no... Usagi?!"

"I demand you let me in here right now!!"

Keibu's pupils shrunk. "...oh, gods! If she sees the room in this state I'll
get fired for sure!! How could this get any worse?!"

Shinji and Makato shriveled against the wall as a gunshot rang out. A large
chunk of the doorknob clattered to the ground at their feet. They both
looked up in time to see a VERY angry Usagi, backed by a police guard. "What
in the... WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"

Keibu instantly started waving his arms frantically. "I can explain!.."

"How much damage have you done in the past minute?!" Usagi screamed.
"Vandalism of school property, permitting students in your classroom after
hours, that strange light is obviously the work of the occult, and... for
the love of God, I told you when you started working here, NO PETS!!"

"Hey, lady!" the stump snarled. "I'm a little more sentinent than you
think!"

"ARGH!!" Usagi stamped her high-heeled foot down. "Officer, get that man OUT
OF MY BUILDING!!"

Keibu seemed to crumple in place. "No! Now that I've been convicted of all
this... not only is my career ruined but I'll have a prison sentence!!"

"Listen!" the figure scowled. "I can get you out of here, just head through
the portal!"

"You little bastard, you started all of this!!"

"Get those two hooligans over there, too!!" Usagi screeched. "They're
probably Isuke's partners in crime!!" the officer responded with a nod, and
began to stride toward Makato and Shinji first.

They both exchanged stares. "Uh oh."

"Barb Twist!!" the stump lanced forward with its claws spinning, slashing
the officer across the leg. He started hopping in place howling, grasping
the scar near his knee. "C'mon, let's get moving!"

Shinji darted away, attempting to drag Makato by the arm. "Makato? C'mon! If
we get beat down we're history!"

"I'll be history anyways if my parents knew I was running from the cops!"
Makato shot back. "What would my mom say then?!"

"DAMN YOU!!" the officer yelled, yanking his pistol again in an effort to
cap his attacker. Makato and Shinji both jumped as the bullet ricocheted off
the wall near them.

"I think your mom would smuggle you out of Tokoro to prevent you from being
shot BETWEEN THE EYES!" Shinji yanked hard again on Makato's elbow, this
time with Makato cooperating. They quickly ran across the room to where the
portal was situated. They both stood themselves between the portal and
Keibu, who was steadily backing towards the gate.

"Mr. Isuke!" Makato yelled. "C'mon, we're gonna get killed if we stay here
any longer!"

"Yeah!" the wood figure added. Makato and Shinji just stared at it.
"...yeah."

"Urgh!" Shinji growled as he grabbed his Physics teacher in a headlock and
drug him backwards as the officer fired again, this time shattering the mug
on his desk and spilling coffee all over his worksheets.

"But I... that... it..." Keibu stammered as Makato and Shinji both stepped
back into the vortex, Shinji's hands disappearing. Keibu waved his arms as
he began to fall backwards into the gate. "Whaaaaa!!" he plunged straight
into the rift.

"Well, that was certainly harder than I expected." the stump darted between
overturned desks, turning back to give the furious principal and her aide a
smirk. "Sorry, toots. Duty calls." He flipped into the portal, flashing a
light blue before it disappeared in a burst of light-blue particles.

Usagi and her guard just stared for a second. They turned to each other,
with equally disturbed faces. "They.. disappeared!!"



********



Shinji shook his head. Wherever he got his headache, it certainly came out
of the blue. The constant stream of air pushing against it didn't help,
either. "S-someone turn off the fan..."

Actually, he was falling straight down. Shinji rubbed his head as his eyes
began to flutter open. "Where's eve... CRAP!!" he started spinning in place,
fervently trying to right himself. After a while, Makato and Keibu floated
next to him and grabbed on, turning him back into an upward stance. "What
the.. Makato? Mr. Isuke? What happened?"

"I don't know," Keibu shook his head. "but whatever it is, that little freak
that opened the gate should be able to tell us."

Right on cue, he levitated down to Keibu's position. "I'm just taking you
guys on a trip. You should be thanking me for getting you away from the
fuzz!"

"Where are you taking us?" Makato demanded.

"I have to thank Mr. Isuke over there for listening to me. Your tampering
with a pair of electrodes and a GeForce opened a gate to another dimension -
mine! And I needed you all for a purpose."

"I was NOT tampering!! I was... enhancing. And I find the idea of touching
electrodes to a video card to open a dimensional rift is absolutely
preposterous!"

"Those GeForces you humans got are quite a piece of work! You were hooking
the computer up through the heatsink. The heatsinks on most high-level
GeForces are a new experimental model, using highly reactive metals. If you
were to run the wrong electrical current through one, like you did with your
electrodes, it would light up! And that exact frequency of light would be
travelling fast enough to tear apart the air and the fabric of reality!"

Everybody else sweatdropped.

"But light always travels at the same speed." Makato droned.

"Have you tried forcing it forward with a combustion of that magical
reactive metal? Maybe you could've got it to go faster."

"I'm sorry to say this, but your theory is a bunch of rubbish," Keibu
defended. "Light CANNOT travel faster than it normally does, and I think it
would cause more catastrophic events than a tiny dimensional breach."

The little stump grinned, and started counting off his fingers. "Well, you
have to take into account the air moisture, temperature, density of matter
at the target point, a whole bunch of crap. Hey, I don't even think I've
introduced myself. I'm Plemon."

"Well... Plemon, you STILL haven't even told us where exactly we're going."
Shinji folded his arms. Everybody was still falling, of course.

"Where ELSE would we be going?" Plemon laughed. "We're going to the Digital
World!"

"...Digital World?"

Keibu lurched as his fall began to lighten. Everybody soon found themselves
standing in space, slowed down by an unknown force. Denying reaction time,
the darkness around them crinkled and shattered silently in front of them.
The black surroundings began to crumble away, revealing a vast, green field
ahead of them, filled with white flowers. Off in the distance a distinct
treeline blocked further vision.

Makato glanced around. "I was expecting a 'digital world' to be a little
more... well... digital."

Plemon slapped his rough hands, rubbing them together. "Well, you're out of
the line of fire. Now, I bet you're all wondering exactly what you're doing
here, or what exactly this entire dimension's about, for that matter. My
place is a little distance away from here, we can head there, get
comfortable, then answer alllllll your questions!"

Keibu blinked, frowning.

Shinji shook his head. "Mr. Isuke, it's not like we have anything better to
do. If we were to head back, you know how much crap we'd get into? We should
wait until we can clear things up... or at least figure out a way back in
the FIRST place."

Keibu paused, waiting a brief moment before lowering his head. "...I guess
you're right, Shinji. Plemon, how far is it to your.. 'place'?"

"Ah, give it a five-minute walk." Plemon chimed. "C'mon, let's go, we can't
spend too much time out here."

"How come?" Makato asked.

"I'll tell you when we get inside. Let's get a move on!"



********



Plemon's domain was a little less swank than his guests had hoped. Among the
tall trees of the distant forests, a large hollow tree trunk, at least 30
feet across, had its interior carved out. A small twig door led in, and a
single uneven window graced the side perpendicular to it. Makato, Shinji and
Keibu all had to bend down to make it inside the makeshift house, and remain
like that let they punch through the leaf celing. Meanwhile, Plemon sat
comfortably in a small wicket recliner.

"Okay, could we begin?" Keibu asked, annoyed.

Plemon nodded. He took a long sip out of a small mug, placing it down on an
endtable. "Welcome to the Digital World. Keibu unlocked a gate here through
the output of a certain-frequency magnetic field, given off by a
certain-frequency electrical circuit. I saw that Keibu was in the ballpark
of recreating this sort of phenomeona, so I gave him a little
'encouragment'."

Shinji rubbed his chin. "So this IS an alternate dimension?"

Plemon grinned. "As alternate as it gets, as far as I've seen of YOUR
dimension."

"I had no idea that alternate dimensions even existed physically." Keibu
spoke.

"Well, I can't exactly say that this is a truly PHYSICAL dimension..."
Plemon dropped off.

"How CAN'T it be physical?" Makato waved his arm around. "Whoo, physical,
whoo."

"Let me clue you humans in on something. Legends from as far back as I can
remember indicate that this dimension was induced primarily on probability.
A long time ago, in YOUR dimension, there was a guy who made the assumption
that any problem in creation could be solved mathematically."

"That was Grade 9 math or something..." Makato snapped his fingers. "Hell, I
forget his name."

"As you probably know, that theory was tossed out the window. However, the
smarter people around hid the fact that his proposition could be truth. The
old mantra 'anything can happen' was a key factor in keeping this hypothesis
afloat. It might not appear at first glance, but the true matter of the fact
is that everything, absolutely EVERYTHING in any plane of existance is given
a predetermined numerical variable."

"This is already starting to sound wacked." Shinji said flatly.

"Last I recall, I was the one JUMPING DIMENSIONS!!" Shinji narrowly dodged
the empty mug that Plemon hurled at him. It impacted against the wall,
shattering. "...okay, where was I... oh, yeah. Anyways, everything's got a
number associated to it. Rumor has it that in the very very very very very
beginning of Creation, the powers that be bookmarked their tools with these
numbers. So, say, screaming out the number
29750297350273096437094307140-751491-8574-5409850439285094326092734069732409
6320947603294760293406239470623974063724067432069237406973064297234067432096
094327093270697062974230-320-32274039670948592384852304958039460327406932404
98509487609806597360857659837065806358963840965809438975438769083709567943
might cause a flower to bloom somewhere in Bangladesh."

Everybody else sweatdropped.

"This allowed the rather fast creation of the world as God and company had
indexed access to every facet of the modification of reality. Of course, for
some reason these controls weren't locked up when Adam and Eve rolled
around, so from every point after that, whatever someone else did, aka. with
its own numerical code for the event, caused something else to happen. Chain
reaction. You get the picture?"

"That's insane!" Keibu scoffed.

"That's not the extent of it," Plemon chuckled. "Out of every single
possible numerical code, there were several that were forbidden. Namely ones
that started with zeroes and ones. These ones were assigned to the
maniuplation of reality and space. Now, take a look at your world. Nearly
everything is computerized. And with computers flinging data across the
globe, which translates into hundreds of billions of trillions of
centillions of..."

"...zeroes and ones." Makato and Shinji looked at each other in shock.

"Multiverses are popping up at the mere mentioning of data. This world was
created by the ones and zeroes of your computers and technology. This is...
the Digital World. And there are infinite numbers of dimensions just like
it."

Keibu pretended to ignore everything Plemon said. "Alright, now that we're
in this magical Digital World, what exactly ARE we doing here? You seemed to
want us to head through pretty badly..."

"Well, I just told you the basic stuff. If you want anything TOO indepth,
you should talk to my boss."

**AH, KEIBU.**

Keibu jumped at hearing the booming voice rattling inside his head.

KRUNCH

Keibu's head was stuck in the roof. "DAMN IT!! Could someone help me here?!"

"You break it, you buy it." Plemon picked up a nearby newspaper and started
flipping through it. He hadn't even gotten to the third page when a novalike
flash erupted from outside. "...oh, I imagine the boss was givin' you a
speech?"

Keibu pressed against the frail structure, prying his head out. "Is that
him?"

"Yeah. He wanted to talk to you guys."

"KEIBU. COME, WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS." the voice was extremely loud and
deep, reverberating in the background. However, it showed some sign of
honor. Makato, Shinji, and Keibu all exchanged straw-drawing stares, before
Keibu threw up his arms in disgust and marched out the door. He was
instantly blinded.

"Ah, hell..." Keibu threw up his arms, shielding his eyes from the flaring
light. It soon began to die down, revealing in front of Keibu a giant,
11-foot tall armored angel. He was plated head to toe in heavy navy blue
armor, and had a large set of golden wings bobbing in place behind him.
Keibu looked up and down the massive figure, while Plemon walked up behind
him.

"Seraphimon," Plemon murmured. "I didn't expect for you to come by so
early."

"I SEE YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME THE MAN KNOWN AS KEIBU ISUKE. I THANK YOU FOR
YOUR SERVICES, PLEMON. THE OTHER WARRIORS YOU HAVE BROUGHT ALONG ALSO LOOK
FIT FOR OUR MISSION."

Plemon turned. Makato and Shinji were both blinking in confusion. Shinji
suddenly broke into dance.

"Yay! We're gonna be Light Warriors!! Wheeeeee!!" Shinji squealed. Makato,
Keibu and even Plemon all facefaulted.

Keibu brushed some dirt off him. "I don't mean to intrude on your plans...
Seraphimon... but what exactly did you want with us in the Digital World?"

"I ASSUME PLEMON HAS ALREADY BRIEFED YOU ON THE PRICIPLES OF THE DIGITAL
WORLD?"

Plemon tilted his head. "With some resistance. Guys, this is Seraphimon.
He's the leader around these parts, and one of the most powerful Digimon of
the continent of Folder. There's a couple other main islands, File Island
and Server, but we're pressed as far as figuring out what kind of things
hang out around those parts."

"...remarkable..." Keibu turned back to the towering angel. "...entering an
alternate universe and meeting one of its most influential people in a
matter of an hour?"

"DO YOU EVER WANT TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS?"

Makato sweatdropped. "...that would be just dandy."

"THE REASON I HAD KEIBU BROUGHT HERE IS BECAUSE HE MAY BE OUR ULTIMATE POWER
IN DEFEATING THE END VIRUS."

Keibu shrugged. "The End Virus?"

"THE END VIRUS IS A WAVE OF COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE NUMERICAL CODES THAT HAS BEEN
CAUSING RAMPANT DEATH AND SUFFERING TO MANY OF THE DIGIMON ON FOLDER."

"Oh, so the gods' index numbers of destruction?" Makato sighed.

"YOU COULD CALL IT THAT. RECENTLY, THESE DEATH CYCLES HAVE BEEN RAPIDLY
INCREASING AND WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE IT MAY BE DUE TO OUTSIDE INFLUENCE,
INFLUENCE THAT HAS SPREAD FROM YOUR HOME DIMENSION."

"What, you mean this started on OUR turf?" Shinji interjected.

"YES. THOUGH WE HAVE NO IMMEDIATE MEANS OF STOPPING THE END VIRUS, WE DO
HAVE A POSSIBLE METHOD OF KEEPING IT IN PLACE WHILE WE RESEARCH A POSSIBLE
COUNTER-EQUATION FOR IT. THERE ARE FOUR EMERGENCY STASIS GENERATORS THAT ARE
SITUATED ON FOLDER. IF THEY WERE TO BE ACTIVATED, THE END VIRUS WOULD BE
LOCKED IN STASIS, AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO EXAMINE THE END VIRUS' CORE CODE
MORE CAREFULLY, AND ERADICATE IT. THIS WOULD RETURN DIGIMON LIFE CYCLES TO
NORMAL."

"Well, if you're the high-and-mighty person around here, why don't YOU do
it?" Shinji asked.

"Shinji!" Makato scowled.

"IF THAT WERE POSSIBLE, THIS SITUATION WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER A LONG TIME AGO.
MANY OF THE STATIS STATIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN OVERRUN BY END-AFFLICTED
DIGIMON, MANY OF THEM OF EXTREMELY POWERFUL. THE END VIRUS WAS PREDICTED TO
HAPPEN MILLENIA AGO, HOWEVER, AND A POSSIBLE COUNTER-WEAPON WAS CONCIEVED.
IN SHRINES ALL OVER FOLDER, THE SPIRITS OF ANCIENT DIGIMON HAVE BEEN KEPT IN
SMALLER STASIS ZONES. THEY WERE CONTAINED IN THE MANNER THAT THE
PROPERLY-DESIGNATED LIFEFORMS, WHETHER THEY BE FROM THIS DIMENSION OR NOT,
WOULD BE ABLE TO TAP INTO THEIR POWER AND GAIN SKILLS AND POWERS BEYOND MOST
NORMAL DIGIMON."

"So you mean..." Shinji pointed slowly at himself. Makato stared off into
space.

"Whoa... this I have to see!"

Keibu blinked. "Uh... huh... no way! Makato and Shinji here might be a
little more enthusiastic! As much as I'd like to save the world, I'm NOT the
Last Action Hero, okay? I don't exactly think I'm too cut out to become a
superhero or whatever."

"IT WILL COME TO YOU SOON, KEIBU," Seraphimon boomed. "PERHAPS YOU MAY NOT
WISH TO BECOME WHAT YOU CALL THE 'LAST ACTION HERO', BUT YOU WILL FIND
POWERS THAT WILL MULTIPLY YOUR OWN NATURAL SKILLS. YOU MUST USE THESE
ENHANCEMENTS TO SAVE OUR WORLD."

Plemon sighed. "So. We've got a straight path to head on..."

"MAKATO... IS THAT YOUR NAME?"

Makato stepped forward, nodding. "Uh-huh."

"COULD YOU PLEASE BRING YOUR DIGIVICE HERE?"

Makato blinked. "Digivice...? What the hell's a digivice?"

Shinji nudged Makato. "Makato. Your calculator. It's still in your back
pocket." Makato twitched, slowly dragging the large graphic calculator out
of his back pocket.

"You mean this?" Makato held the small computer up to Seraphimon.

"YES. REMAIN STILL FOR A SECOND, I SHALL UPGRADE YOUR DIGIVICE TO BE ABLE TO
INTERACT WITH THE ANCIENT SPIRITS." Seraphimon glowed for a brief second.
Makato closed his eyes and turned away from the calculator in his hand. He
waited... and began to feel as the machine began to change shape. It became
wider at the top, a bit smaller, and its screen slid to the top-left. The
dull grey case was wrapped with a large strip of red plastic. Makato opened
an eye to check... and instantly started to examine his new toy.

"What the..." Makato pressed a button, causing a small strip of green light
to zap by Seraphimon.

"...Seraphimon. Mega-level Seraphim Digimon. The highest ranking of the
angel digimon, he uses his golden wings to fly. Attacks include Seven
Heavens and Testament." the display dimmed at as Makato finished the
sentence, switching to a radar screen showing the island of Folder. A large
red dot pulsed a short distance north of a large blue dot, where everyone
was presumably standing.

"YOU WILL ALL BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THIS MISSION. DO THE REST OF YOU
HAVE YOUR DIGIVICES WITH YOU?"

Shinji rubbed the back of his head. "I... guess not."

"OKAY, I WILL OPEN UP A PORTAL BACK TO YOUR DIMENSION IN THE LOCATION OF
YOUR CHOOSING. SECURE YOUR DIGIVICES AND REPORT BACK AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE."

"Let's make this brief," Keibu muttered to Shinji. "There's no telling
what'll happen if anyone finds us. We're Public Enemy No. 1, remember."

Shinji nodded. "Gotcha." They both turned to face Makato... before blinking
out of existance.

"MAKATO." Makato turned back to Seraphimon. "THE FIRST ANCIENT SPIRIT THAT
NEEDS TO BE OBTAINED IS JUST NORTH OF HERE, IN THE DEPTHS OF MT. EREBUS. YOU
ARE DEFENSELESS UNTIL YOU OBTAIN THE ANCIENT SPIRIT THERE, SO UNTIL THEN
PLEMON WILL ACCOMPANY YOU."

Plemon opened an eye. "Wha? No way! I'm done here!"

"DO YOU WANT THE POWER TO DIGIVOLVE OR NOT?"

"Okay, okay, I get your point." Plemon lumbered forward, ahead of Makato.
"As soon as your little friends get back, we're headin' out!" Plemon
prepared to speak again, but hopped in surprise as the portals reopened, and
Shinji and Keibu stepped out. They both had their graphic calculators. Keibu
had his safety goggles.

"Mine was in my locker." Shinji said.

"I had mine by my desk when I was working out the equations for the currents
of my contraption. I guess I won't be needing it now..."

Makato shrugged. "What's with the safety goggles then?"

"...just in case. Anyways, Seraphimon, can you convert ours too?"

"YES. JUST HOLD THEM TO ME." Shinji and Keibu did as they were told. Their
calculators morphed into devices not unlike Makato's, though with different
colors. Shinji's was green, and Keibu's was blue.

"...hey, Seraphimon." Makato whispered.

"YES?"

"I was thinking... exactly how far is it to Mt. Erebus?"

"I PRESUME A FIVE HOUR WALK THERE, AND A FIVE HOUR RETURN. WHY DO YOU ASK?"

"Okay, good," Makato dug in his pockets, pulling out several sticks of beef
jerky and handing them out to the group. "I was wondering if we could get a
portal again after so we could head back to our dimension and get some food
to take with us."

"WHAT IS THIS 'FOOD'?" Seraphimon asked.

"Eh, guys..." Plemon stepped in. "There's another little thing about this
Digital World you don't understand... it's a lot more open to manipulation.
You know, mind over matter. You'll be able to control your hunger with your
mind, and you won't be going hungry, nor will you get any nasty physical
side effects. You won't even LOOK like you're losing weight. If you keep
that in mind, you'll never have to shower, eat, or tend to small wounds for
the duration of your time here."

"...weird." Makato bit into his beef jerky - and when he started running the
fact through his head, the spiced meat seemed to already lose some of its
flavor.

"ANYWAYS, THERE IS NO MORE I CAN TELL YOU. YOU MUST HEAD OUT INTO THE
DIGITAL WORLD AND RECLAIM THE ANCIENT SPIRITS. WHEN THE END VIRUS IS
DEFEATED, YOU WILL BE HUMBLY REWARDED FOR YOUR EFFORTS. I SHALL STOP BY
OCCASIONALLY AND SEE HOW THE EFFORTS ARE GOING. UNTIL THEN, GOOD LUCK."

There was another annoying flash of light. Seraphimon was gone.

Makato, Shinji and Keibu all turned. In the distance, the granite slopes of
Mt. Erebus could be made out.

"...we're heading up a MOUNTAIN?" Keibu whined.

"Sounds like fun." Makato smirked. "C'mon, we don't have much time."

"H-hey!" Keibu growled, as Makato and Shinji began to walk off into the
distance. "Wait for me!!"

"You're going to want to head a bit faster, Mr. Isuke," Makato said. "'cause
this is as slow as we're ever going to be moving."

Plemon stood still as everybody walked off, scratching his head. "Huh. No
one fazed, not even the two dork supremes. Whatever..."

"GET MOVING."

"YYaaah!" Plemon felt a giant metal foot kick him in the rear. When he
turned around, no one was there. "...yeah, yeah, whatever. C'mon, guys,
let's go."



Makato, Shinji, Keibu and Plemon all marched across the plains, Keibu
attempting to stay as far back as he was permitted. A new quest had begun,
tying two worlds together once again. It was a war, and a journey, started
beyond the other side...

...on a digimon frontier.





********

Makato: Is this it?

Shinji: This is too far underground for my tastes...

Keibu: Watch out!

???: Do you have any idea what you're dealing with?

Shinji: Is this the End Virus?!


Are Keibu and his group up to the task of reclaiming the Ancient Spirits and
stalling the End Virus? What sort of danger awaits in the catacombs of Mt.
Erebus? Find out next time, on Digimon Frontier!
*********