virtual-eden

[virtual-eden]

[virtual-eden]

> CONTINUE

[ ♪♪♪ ]

Behind you, you hear the familiar sound of crashing chairs, muffled groaning, and --

“<Fucking hell!> Took us long enough!”

When you turn, it is to a sight that confirms the soft reboot’s success -- your success. The rest of the club members, sensei included, are sprawled out on the ground similarly to how you were moments ago. The only ones standing without trouble are Kotori and... Hotaru.

Heath had been the first to curse and speak, sitting up and cracking his shoulder dramatically while Hotaru sighs at him.

“It was only a few days… And it’s not like they’d even know that…”

As your eyes adjust in the computer lighting again, you realize that...

...

Is that Impmon!?

Why is he in your computer lab!? Not to mention, there’s Fantomon and Wizardmon and, wow, the rest of them are here too, actually -- Wizardmon, apparently sensing the confusion, speaks up.

“...Did you think travel was only a human thing, Digidestined? How do you think Miyamoto-san continued living here before?”

The Digimon chuckles joyfully before continuing.

“I’m sure you have questions that need answers. You see, DigiDestined… The passage of time in the digital world had previously not been aligned with your world. Your catty friend here spent the last few days in the digital world fixing our code to align the passage of time with your world as well as allowing us all to leave and come here.”

While Heath flashes his usual bastard grin in the background, Wizardmon sighs.

“...However, I must warn you in the same way Miyamoto-san warned the rest of us. Your friends will not be able to live in your world like they once have. Digimon can exist outside of the computer for an extended period of time, but they do not age the same way you all do, and must return after so long to keep their code intact. We can only assume that the same would go for digital humans… Though, you should be able to maintain and finish your normal school lives well enough. Even so, I plan to begin my search in the digital world for a way to restore your friends to their former state, as you all attend your classes as normal.”

Everyone goes silent, and the looks on the faces of dead and living kids alike are solemn. Things... Still aren’t perfect, huh?

Sensei decides to pipe up with something more positive, sharing the information that they had been told with the kids.

“We were able to scan the Digital world as well, though! At the time, it looks like we can confirm that all of the corruption is gone, and there’s no guarantee right now of Milleniummon coming back again… and don’t worry, we’ll find some way for us to return to the real world and live with all of you fulltime like normal! Ah -- and we’ve started regaining the memories that were erased over the last few days, so you should begin to soon, too! Which is good, since we all class tomorrow, and --”

As she speaks, she is suddenly cut off by a sound on the computer.

On the screen is an... E-mail? No -- this is some strange looking messenger client. It doesn’t look like it has a source, but there is a message that reads --

Stalling us for months is both impressive and annoying. So is stealing our code. Who are you?

...Well. That’s awkward timing. You all look around at one another, unsure of how to respond -- but in that same moment, it suddenly dawns on you that you’re all here.

[ ♪♪♪ ]

All of you.

Whether you decide to deal with whatever this is right now, or decide to go the hell to bed because God dammit you earned it, it doesn’t matter because --

You’ll all be making that decision together.

From the look of it, your journey with the Digital World together as a club -- as friends -- is far from over. But... Maybe that’s okay. You just saved two worlds, didn’t you? You can take whatever the hell is about to come your way next.

As the entirety of the Game Development Club starts to discuss, joke, and laugh together while weighing the situation’s current options, there is one thing to be sure of:

The future is uncertain, but yours is together -- and it is bright.

Fight on, Digidestined!

[virtual-eden]

Home

There’s no time to linger, no time to reminisce as the ground begins to shake further after Kotori’s words. The floor below, the walls, everything begins to fade and corrupt into nothingness piece by piece, leaving barely any space for you all to stand. Thankfully, everyone had enough time to tell Impmon their votes.

“A soft reset it is, huh? I can’t say I blame ya… it’d be hard to lose you all right after we became friends again! Just be careful, okay?! We’ll see ya later!”

Grinning, Impmon steadies himself, grabbing one of the switches and giving it a hard tug.

With that, a portal opens behind them, forcing all of the currently uncorrupted kids through it as the Digital World resets. It’s scary, to say the least, but the feeling is not entirely foreign, and you’re sure you’ve done this before even if you aren’t able to remember.

[ ♪♪♪ ]

Before you realize what’s happening, you’re all sitting on the floor of the computer lab, sprawled out and dizzy from your trip, as well as a bit sore from bumping into the chairs. The light from the computer is blinding, and when your eyes have adjusted back, you realize that it’s pitch black, save for the light from the monitors shining onto your faces. You look around, out the windows… How long have you been in there? How much time has passed? You all rush over to the computer, mouse hovering over the date.

“I-it’s s-still…!” Hanae starts, but she doesn’t finish the thought. You can all see what’s on the screen.

Based on what you discovered about when you actually came to the Digital world for the killing game... Not one more day has passed since you’ve been gone.

How is that possible? You’ve been gone for weeks -- months, maybe…

You don’t have the time to wonder when a familiar face appears in the doorway, the school librarian.

“What are you all doing here this late at night?” She looks between you all with a puzzled look on her features. “Where is Yasuda-sensei? If she’s gone, you all should really be in your dorms!”

She says it so nonchalant it’s almost uncomfortable, but you suppose she has no idea what you’ve been through, how long you’ve been gone…

After all, to her, it’s only been a few hours.

After the librarian leaves with a disappointed sigh, you all peer back at the computer, the file known as virtual.EDEN just sitting there almost as though it’s mocking you.

Despite how much you want to open it, you can’t bring yourselves to. Instead, you all simply wait -- for what exactly, you’re unsure, but you wait together without ever verbally having to agree to it.

...But you can’t wait forever. Restlessness takes over as minutes pass and nothing happens. The only logical thing to do is... Sleep, probably.

Resigned to exhaustion, you all turn away from the lit computer, intending to return to your dorms --

And then the room lights up as the screen flashes.

[virtual-eden]

happiness, only real when shared

Despite all of her pain, Kotori couldn't help but smile at her friends. Even if they wanted to risk the fate of the world -- they were going to risk it together.

She had cried so much in these past few hours, but the tears just kept pouring out of her eyes... she laughed, shakily running her sleeve over her face as everyone made their decisions.

Hanae had even kissed her, and it felt so... foreign, but not in a bad way at all. It was nice, and she didn't care if she felt any pain from the glitching combined with physical contact. She was happy that for once in her life she knew she mattered to someone.

If you had told her a year ago that she'd make a whole club of friends, Kotori never would have believed you. The idea was so far-fetched at the time, but as everyone said their part, she knew that this was where she belonged. 

Perhaps it was selfish, but deep in her heart, she was happy to continue existing in the soft reboot, even if it was only in the program mostly.

"I... I love you all so much. Thank you, thank you so much. I'm sure everyone's just as happy, too. N-No... I know that they are."

[virtual-eden]

じゃあ、また明日。

Taiki stood, holding his breath as the others gave their own verdicts on the fate of their friends. Guilt gnawed at him, as he couldn't tear his mind away from Kyousuke. His eyes darted nervously from person to person, before he felt a tug on his arm. Looking down, the worried face of his partner digimon, Elecmon, stared back up at him. Taiki blinked as Elecmon took his hand in his paws.

"I-it's gonna be ok, Tai-chan... I know it... We'll all make sure of it, together, no matter what."

Taiki nodded, holding back his tears as he gripped Elecmon's paws. As the others spoke, he slowly felt his paralyzing torrent of emotions begin to calm. Even as Misaki voted for a hard reset, with her words that followed, his lips tugged into a soft smile. He gives the logician a nod, but glances away a moment later with an embarrassed smile. A warmth found its way into his heart as all the others spoke...

No. As all of his friends spoke.

That's right... None of them would ever have to be alone ever again. For so long, he'd been alone, clinging to Kyousuke as his connection to a normal life. His tether against the rapids of time. When Kyousuke had died... It felt as if his life line, the only thing keeping him alright, had been severed. Though all he did was resign himself to feelings of helplessness, tumbling aimlessly through the depths of his loss, all he could do was cry out against his fate.

But crying won't change anything. Crying won't save the things he held so dear. For so long, he'd always been the one who's been protected.

"... I vote for a soft reboot too."

Taiki shifted nervously, a look of guilt on his face as he figured it was obvious what his choice would be.

"I... Know I'm making this choice for selfish reasons... I, I just... Want to save everyone, Kyousuke too... I don't want them to disappear... I just-- I want to live those happy days I wrote about... I want to be happy together with everyone again... For me, that's something that's worth fighting for."

With that, Taiki turned away from the others. Letting go of Elecmon's paw, the guitarist stepped over to his glitched out friends, a tired smile on his face. He gave them all a nod before his attention turned to Kyousuke, reaching out a hand in an attempt to hold his, doing his best to hide the pain that shot up his arm when he did so.

"Kyou-chan..."

"Thank you."

[ ♪ ♪ ♪ ]

"You've done so much for me... All this time, you've always protected me. That time when we were little kids... When I first moved into our neighborhood. Do you remember, Kyou-chan? The first time we met, I was still upset about moving away from all my other friends... And even though I was so quiet, you still wanted to play... And when you stood up for me, when your friends all just wanted me gone...... I fell in love with you then, all those years ago. The fact you wanted to protect someone like me... It made me so so happy."

"But now... It's alright... Let me protect you too, Kyousuke. We'll do this together. We'll fight to be happy together. It'll be just like the old days, back at our secret base... Hahah, we're gonna be heroes of justice again, Kyousuke... We've gotta go find Excalibark again, huh..."

Taiki's smile softens as he gives Kyousuke's hand a squeeze.

"We'll have each other's backs, just like the old days... We can go to see the fireworks this summer... I bet I've begged you enough times by now to go pick mushrooms in the woods every fall... The snowmen we made in winter, the cookies you'd make every spring... I want to live those days again with you, Kyousuke..."

For years, tomorrow had always been so far away. A dawn that would never come. But for the first time, for what felt like eons...

It was the dawn of a new day for Taiki Tashiro.

"I love you, Kyou-chan. See you tomorrow."

[virtual-eden]

River Flows In You .

As everyone else's votes pour in, Ichika sighs softly to herself while she prepares her own vote. This... This really was it, wasn't it? What they decided now would decide what happened in the future...

"I... I had a hard time making a decision, I'll be honest... Between risking the rest of the world and losing our friends, it may seem like a hard reset would be the best choice for me to make, but..."

As Ichika trails off, her shudders have fully turned into sobs. She can hardly see through her watery eyes, but she still makes an effort to look at everyone.

"B-but I decided to vote for a soft reboot. I don't think I could bear never seeing you all again, never getting to hear your voices... You all mean so much to me, it would hurt far too much... It wouldn't be right."

Ichika walks over to Valkyrimon, pulling them in to a hug and holding on for what feels like an eternity before slowly pulling away. Still sniffling, Ichika wipes her eyes and smiles as wide as she can while turning around to her friends.

"Besides... Like you guys said, we beat them once already -- and we'll beat them again and again if we have to. As for you all who got hurt by this... I don't know when or how we'll get you out of here, but we just gotta be patient. We'll figure it out, I know it!"

[virtual-eden]

The Courage to Change the Things I Can

"Soft reboot."

...

Was that it?  Is he supposed to something cool, too?  Did everyone else prepare a sick speech and he just missed the memo?  He feels like he should say SOMETHING. 

Oh god.  Nobody else is saying anything.  Every second that goes on feels like minutes of awkward static.  His hands grip the fabric of his jacket, a nervous habit that's only gotten worse here.

Despite it being the best option (despite Misaki's objections), despite their adventure coming to what looks like a happy ending, despite how far they've come... he's still scared.

"I... I mean.  I also, um, vote to soft reboot, if that's okay.  There's... no reason not to.  If there's a way to... bring everyone back, and undo all of this.  That's what we should do."

"Like- it's... it's scary.  Cause we don't... know what's gonna happen.  We won't know till we make a decision.  But what else is new?  We got- we got sucked into this wild fucked up digital world.  We uh, you know... watched our friends die.  Dudes we just fuckin fought like.  Actual Digimon Satan."

This isn't what he was expecting to say when he opened his mouth, but he can't bring himself to stop.

"Everything about this whole damn adventure has been scary.  I wake up scared.  I go to bed scared.  I don't... remember th' last time I wasn't scared."

He swallows, looking up to their friends trapped in corruption.  Rubbing his eyes, he continues.

"... But... I'd rather risk havin' to do it again, then make y'all pay the price for my peace of mind.  W-we all... none of us deserved what happened here.  Not even Kotori or Kyou."  

JESUS CHRIST LET IT GO.

"So... whatever happens, let's all be there to face it together, yeah?  I think... that's what a courageous person would say, in a situation like this.  And it's... a little easier to play the part knowin' that everyone's gonna be alright."

[virtual-eden]

A Curious Faith

The victory was sweet but short-lived. Every time they overcame something, one thing or another presents itself as an additional hurdle. This time it’s the decision between restarting the program entirely or reverting it to a time before Milenniummon returned. The former, a hard reset, would wipe away all that this is the virtual world including their friends that hadn’t been as fortunate. The latter, a soft reboot, would keep this world alive as well as the possibility of a repeat of this cycle coming to fruition and threatening the lives of many. The differences between these two weighed heavily on Misaki's mind.

The logician was pretty much set in the her decision, but she wanted to hear some of the others voice their choices to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake. Listening to Eri, Misaki nodded with her approval but had to cover her mouth to refrain from chuckling over how much the other girl has grown. Following Eri, Hanae had voted for a soft reboot as well. They started this off well, so Misaki decides to be the third person to make her decision. She looks over to where their fallen friends are.

“I’ve thought about it for quite some time now-- what you all are to me. Each and every single one of you, both the class and digimon alike, are friends of mine.” She looks to each of them in turn, happy to call this her first friend group. “I mean that, so please don’t misunderstand my actions...”

Misaki looks over to Impmon with a frown.

“I’m voting for a hard reset.” She then looks to Eri, Hanae, Hiro, Ichika and Taiki who might be a little confused. “I can’t bring myself to vote any other way. I’m thinking about the greater good and everyone from our world. It’s like we’ve already discussed...”

Misaki steps away from the group. She rubs one of her arms gently and keeps her gaze on the ground. After a few moments pass, she looks back over to them.

“Hmm. I do want you all to know that I voted for a hard reset, but that doesn’t mean that’s what I want. My values are shifting, but I’m uncomfortable voting for a soft reset right now... and that’s okay.” A smile appears on her face. “I'm curious to know what will happen, but I'm already certain that we will achieve what is it that we desire because I have faith in all of you.”

[virtual-eden]

Hopes and Dreams

Naive, weak and a crybaby are some of the words that describe Hanae, but idealistic, empathetic and loving are right, too. It’s a little bit of everything that keeps her firm in her stance right now.

When Eri begins speaking, she feels herself smiling and nodding along as she listens, that felt… very sweet and as it should be, even if she had knew it all along, it was still nice to see just how nice and kind Eri could be when she wanted to.

Letting go of Kotori’s hand, she steps a bit closer to the corrupted students.

“Ummm, l-like E-Eri-chan, I-I’m not th-that g-good w-with t-talkin’, y-y’know? A-and uhm, I-i d-don’t know if y-you guys c-can h-hear m-me, b-but… w-we’ll m-meet a-again, I-I’m s-sure. I, uhm.. c-care about all o-of y-you, so, so… uhm! I-I’ll t-try and b-be l-less, uhm… a-avoidant a-and s-stuff. L-like… a-a b-better f-friend t-to y-you a-all ‘cause I really d-did enjoy our time together, i-in th-the club, e-even h-here, as s-scary as i-it’s all b-been, I’m g-glad I met everyone. D-digisdetined or not, y-you’re all s-so cool!”

She gives them the biggest the grin she can manage, and then turns her attention to Impmon, Wizardmon and Fantomon, crouching down to the former’s level, making her best to keep eye contact with it.

“T-to be honest, I-i s-still don’t really r-remember o-our f-first a-adventure but, uhm…, I wanted to say t-thank y-you.”, she gives it a hug, “s-sorry I-I was s-so scared b-before, I-I bet that was annoyin’ f-for y-you.”, she continues to pet it as she speaks, giving its fellow digimon a smile. “I’m g-glad you t-trust us to make the right decision, Impmon-chan.”

With one last head pat to it, and another two to the others, she walked over to the rest of the Digidestined.

“My m-mind’s been m-made up for a while n-now, I-I v-vote for a soft r-reboot, too. O-our f-friends are w-worth the r-risk, th-this w-world is o-our w-world t-too, and the Digimon are o-our f-friends a-and not just some lines o-of code. I-I f-feel th-that way about everyone h-here, th-they all deserve a ch-chance at a future. I-I want to give it to them.”

Walking over to Kotori, and leaning over sightly to give her a quick peck on the lips, and with a smile, and her face bright red, she says:

“L-let’s do all the th-things we t-taled about, Koto-chan!”

[virtual-eden]

A Special Kind of Power

The problem with making really big decisions was Eri wasn’t good at it. She was the type of person to do something and deal with the consequences later. But even she could figure out the gravity of the situation at hand.

Still, as the argument died down, she felt her heart changing. Though she had originally advocated for a hard reset, she felt a change of heart. Was this the result of actually thinking things through? Probably.

The whole time she’d been here, she’d done a lot of thinking things through. She hoped after making this decision she’d never have to make a hard choice again. But if she had to… she felt like she’d be capable of doing so. After all, she’d grown a lot during her time in the virtual world.

From gaining friends to fighting a terrifyingly powerful digital creature, she’d experienced a lot too. And so she looked over at her fellow club members and nodded.

“I’m not fuckin’ good at important speeches... But I trust you idi-- guys to make the right decision.”

Was that a threat? Probably. But at least she didn’t make fun of them in that moment.

Eri then turned to Impmon.

“Shit, I guess this is it, huh? I vote for a soft reboot.”

She cast a glance towards her glitching friends. Could they hear her? She decided to say something to them anyway.

“I hope I’ll see you all later. I've decided I don't want you to be gone for good, even if the real world might be in danger. How would I be able to tell everyone about all the sick friends I made if those friends stopped existing?”

As for the other living people…

“And the rest of you… I hope you know I… tch. I care about you all a lot. Especially you, Misacchi. Let’s go on a date soon, got it?"

She grinned.

“And you know what? I’m glad we’re all friends… and no matter what, you’re gonna stay my friends. Heh, you won’t be able to get rid of me!"

And with that, Eri had made her decision.

[virtual-eden]

The Final Decision

[ ♪♪♪ ]

As Milleniummon’s body fades from existence, you are all thrown out of the corrupted world you were in. The portal collapses, but you’re left with little time to collect yourself before you realize just how corrupted the world around you has become. It’s almost as though the ground is falling away from you, and everything is becoming distorted, fast. You make a break for the throne room, the one room that you can think of that might have something, anything to fix this.

When you enter the room, you only manage to get a few steps in before you see your recently revived friends begin to corrupt, almost like a choppy frame animation. Soon enough, they look like Hotaru’s distorted Hologram from the trial, and they cannot speak to you no matter how hard it seems like they’re trying to.

Kotori clenches her fists tightly, observing as her body begins to corrupt in front of their very eyes too. While certainly not as severe, her expression looks pained. All this time, she was the one doing the corrupting, but now it truly was out of her control…

She clenched her jaw tightly.

“W-We’re going to disappear.” She said plainly, her voice shaking. “Like Miyamoto-senpai, r-remember? Everyone who died, they– they aren’t truly ‘alive’! They’re data now, just like the Digimon, just like files on your computer… if w-we keep living like this, the world…” Tears well up in her eyes. “The world is going to corrupt us into nothingness.”

Her eyes flicker to the buttons and switches of the Throne Room, the very ones that had been brought up earlier in the trial. As her body corrupts more, she grimaces, and looks to Impmon, mumbling: “Time travel…” under her breath.

“Y-You guys need to reset the world. I-If you do, then we can go back to a time before t-this, or even delete the c-corruption entirely… Millenniummon didn’t want anyone using these because they had the power to do that. P-Please, listen to me, though…” 

Her voice trails off.

“You need to make an important decision here. You either need to restart the program entirely to get rid of the corruption forever, or to revert it to a time before Millenniummon came here. If y-you restart it entirely… everything that happened here will disappear and start over, including the corruption.” She sighs. “…And me and everyone else who died, along with the memories of our Digimon. It’d all be gone… forever. If we just reset it to before Millenniummon came into this world, that means Chimeramon and Machinedramon are still out there, which could just result in a repeat of what happened to us. I think in that case, we’d still exist here, in this world as data. I-I-I don’t even care which it is, but you need to choose…!” Kotori smiles at her friends as if the corruption isn’t continuing to painfully consume her body. “I trust you all to make the right decision.”

Impmon is standing near the throne, in front of a large monitor with an oddly ornate lever. His face looks solemn, and even he realizes that this is not the time for gloating.

“Well, whatever ya choose, I’m here t’ make it happen…. But you better choose quick. It doesn’t look like there’s much time left.”

> MAKE YOUR CHOICE

SOFT REBOOT

HARD RESET . . . |

[virtual-eden]

Genesis of Evil

[ ♪♪♪ ]

Ｐａｔｈｅｔｉｃ．

One word uttered by two voices in unison, the origins of which you cannot see. Their overbearing quality is almost an attack on your senses; they are not in your head, but they are all around you.

Ｔｏ　ｄｅｎｏｕｎｃｅ　ｍｙ　ｂｏｏｎ　ｉｓ　ｔｏ　 ｄｅｎｏｕｎｃｅ　ｍｙ　ｉｎｆａｌｌｉｂｌｅ　ｃｅｒｔａｉｎｔｙ；　ｙｏｕ　ａｒｅ　ｏｆ　ｎｏ　ｕｓｅ　ｔｏ　ｍｅ　ａｎｙ　 ｆｕｒｔｈｅｒ

Around you, everything appears to start crumbling away into the distortion. What is left behind is a petrifying emptiness.

The voices continue to speak.

Ｆａｔｅ　ｈａｓ　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｔｏ　ｐａｓｓ，　 Ｄｉｇｉｄｅｓｔｉｎｅｄ．　Ｙｏｕｒ　ｄｅｓｔｉｎｙ　ｉｓ　ｏｆ　 ｍｙ　ｏｗｎ　ｃｈｏｏｓｉｎｇ，　ａｎｄ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｂａｔｔｌｅ　 ｉｓ　ｆｕｔｉｌｅ．　Ｔｈａｔ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｙｏｕ　ｈａｖｅ　 ｋｎｏｗｎ　ｈａｓ　ｃｅａｓｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ．

As the voices continue, they begin to merge -- until finally, they are one.

Ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｈａｄｏｗ　ｏｆ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｆａｉｌｕｒｅ，　 Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｂｅｃｏｍｅ　ｗｈｏｌｅ　ａｇａｉｎ．

The room shakes --

Or perhaps it is the world itself that trembles under your feet, sending you to the ground as it disappears into nothingness. The overpowering, oppressive presence that was once intangible makes itself visible to you in the open void of pure corruption and evil you now find yourselves placed within.

Before you stands what can only be described as a monster -- impossibly large, and impossibly powerful.

It’s maw makes no attempt to move, but its voice booms through the space around you.

Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＷＨＡＴ　ＨＡＳ　ＢＥＥＮ，　ＡＮＤ　ＷＨＡＴ　 ＷＩＬＬ　ＣＯＭＥ　ＴＯ　ＢＥ．　Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＴＨＥ　 ＡＢＳＯＬＵＴＥ．　ＭＹ　ＥＸＩＳＴＥＮＣＥ　ＩＳ　 ＩＮＦＩＮＩＴＥ

Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＭＩＬＬＥＮＮＩＵＭＭＯＮ．

...A mighty foe has appeared before you, and in this instance, you are almost inclined to agree that there is no hope for your victory.

But -- you will fight that destiny. You’ve come too far, haven’t you?

These are your lives, and in many ways, these are both your worlds.

You can’t lose hope here.

[virtual-eden]

An Old Enemy Returns

[ ♪♪♪ ]

As Dianamon fell from the battle, an equally exhausted Kotori fell to her hands and knees, digging her fingers into the ground as she did so.

Her harsh gaze suddenly turned soft, and a completely different Kotori looked up at her friends and clubmates with remorseful tears in her eyes. She let out a sob, looking down at her hands once again. She couldn’t bear to face them after... all that.

“I-I’m... I’m... I’m so sorry!”

The defeated Dianamon had reverted back into regular Lunamon, and made her way over to Kotori, putting her paw on the girl’s head. Kotori looked up at Lunamon and produced more tears and sobs.

“I was so tired... I was so tired of being alone all the time...” She shook her head. “They said I could finally have friends if I helped, b-but I didn’t know it’d be like this... I just wanted to be h-happy... I n-never wanted to hurt anyone, but I-I...”

She sat back, putting her hands over her eyes, and Lunamon continuing to give her supportive pats.

“We can’t defeat them...” She said, her voice wavering. “W-We couldn’t before... and we can’t now... it’s impossible to defeat. He’s... impossible to defeat.”

Wizardmon approaches the fallen Kotori, and silently raises its staff over her. Briefly, it glows, but the light is quick to fade. Immediately, the tense Digimon seems to relax as it pulls its weapon away from the defeated girl and speaks quietly.

“...The corruption is gone from her. Your friend has returned to you, and the Digidestined have finally returned to us.”

...You succeeded. Even as you silently take that truth in, you recognize it as cause for celebration! But --

Hiro blinks and glances around to the others. He clears his throat, to break the silence.

"So like... is anyone else gonna ask who the fuck he--"

Hiro is cut off by the sudden shift of energy in the room. All around you, everything begins to contort with familiar corruption, but the severity is like nothing you have seen before.

Something is here.

[virtual-eden]

Far From The End

She felt numb.

She wanted to cry. Tears began to well up in Kotori’s eyes as everything unfolded. She had known they were alive, but something about the manner of their appearance came as a painful shock to her.

Their words felt like knives in her chest. Of course everyone liked her, she knew that, but at the same time, there was some voice in her head telling her that she couldn’t be happy. These were her enemies.

Kotori said nothing as Hanae took off her goggles and gave her a hug, instead, she just slumped into the other. She held back her tears for a moment before sobbing.

“Bwahahaha… hahahaha!”

It was hard to tell what kind of a laugh she was making. Was it happy? Pained? Both?

“You… you really don’t get it, do you? I don’t care if you’re all back together and happy, it won’t stop the destruction of this world. Did you hear a word they said? Or were you too blinded by your pathetic ‘friendship’? This world is a ticking time bomb still, idiots!”

Her lips quirk upwards as she disconnects herself from Hanae, backing away from the other.

“I really wish it could end here with me finally getting the thing I’ve wanted all these years– for people to like me– for people to acknowledge that I exist, that I’m a human being who deserves things like friendship and birthday parties and human connection…” She pauses. “And a chance at redemption.”

Kotori blinks, and her eyes go blank. Any emotion she was once feeling soon left her face as she let out her final thought. “But it can’t.”

Corruption begins to swirl around her body once again, and Kotori puts her hand over her face dramatically. “You’re in my way.”

“Leave us alone. I’m happy when I’m with Machinedramon and Chimeramon! Because they’re… they’re my friends too! They let me make this game so I could have friends, so let me do what I need to do for their part of the bargain…! They’re not going to destroy this world, they– they just want to use their power to make people like me happy! They made me happy!”

Kotori makes her way into the center of the courtroom. For a second, it's quiet. The courtroom begins to rumble, and through the wall bursts Kotori's now Mega-level digimon, Dianamon. The once upbeat and happy-go-lucky Lunamon looks much different now. It appears that even Kotori's strong-willed partner wasn't immune to the force of the corruption.

Kotori looks up at her digimon with a smile. "Thank you, Dianamon. We're almost ready." She says, turning back to face the rest of her club members.

“If you’re really my friends who care about me,” She glowers. "If you really want me to be happy..."

“You’ll let us have this.”

From the hole left behind by the corrupted Dianamon, other Digimon are quick to follow; you recognize them, because they are your own partners. With their entrance, you feel a surge of something in your chest -- something tangible rather than a simple feeling.

This is an unbreakable bond, and with it, an unbreakable power that you will use to save your friend once and for all.

Together, you will fight.

[ It’s time for a boss battle! The fight will be taking place on Discord, just like the rest of our dungeons! ]

[virtual-eden]

United Again || Misaki || Trial 6 || RE: Revival

The more Kotori spoke, the more Misaki considered tuning her out and returning to the elevator. But suddenly, things started to shift. Impmon returned and... everyone returned (save for one)!

"......"

The logician had no words. There was so much happening all at once. Everything they said, she needed time to let it all sink in and come up with the best course of action, but she knew she didn't have that luxury. If things were about to get bumpy, reactions will have to be enough.

And speaking of reactions-- not only was there so much happening around her, but there was something complex happening in her heart. This feeling in her chest, the smile on her face she had no control over and the tears starting to form in her eyes. She didn't know what to think of it, but did it matter? She missed them... she really missed them.

"......"

She's still not able to say anything, but she wipes at her eyes. She has to remain composed as she always and do what she does best. So, she goes to take a stand next to Eri and places a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm with you. Let's save her, our friends, and this world. That is the most logical thing to do."

[virtual-eden]

a tiny, enormous miracle || Hanae Trial 6.10 || Re: Revival

As Kotori starts insulting herself again, Hanae is ready to go on another of those sappy friendship, faith and love speeches that she’s spent half the trial going on with but before any word can leave her, something incredible happens.

An all too familiar voice rung around the room from the monitors, and before she knew it, Hanae was staring wide-eyed at the once presumed dead Impmon talking to them through the monitors and then… then…!

One by one, the holograms became people, or rather their friends appeared out of them, somehow, whatever Impmon had done when he flipped that switch, she’d be eternally grateful, she would never forget hearing Sensei and everyone else’s voices after she thought them all gone, this was nothing less than a miracle.

As they all take turns talking and people go to hug each other, Hanae’s eyes weil up with tears, for the first time in a good while, they’re of the kind that comes when overwhelmed with happiness, and in her case, filled with love for everyone around her (yes, Impmon too).

Moving to Kotori’s side, unable to convey how happy she is with words she grins at everyone as they speak encouragement and when Wizardmon finishes talking, Hanae wipes her tears

“Y-you’re a-all… o-okay….!”, she sniffies, “I’m, I’m s-so happy…!”

Then, she puts herself in front of Kotori, reaching for her face, gently taking off the goggles, brushing her sleeves softly against the other’s cheeks, wiping away her tears.

“Y-you d-don’t need th-those a-anymore.”

Tossing the goggles aside, she takes the glasses she had been holding onto as if this moment was meant to happen, she carefully puts them on Kotori, smiling brightly at her, she looks way cooler now. She can’t help herself, pulling her into a hug, in a way, it felt like Kotori had left and came back, too.

“I-I’d never h-hate you.”, she begins to go in that belated sappy speech, more tears coming out, “Y-you a-aren’t s-some evil p-person, you don’t n-need th-the corruption f-for u-us, f-for me, t-to like y-you, I-I like you plenty as you a-are e-even if y-you d-don’t! I-I see how amazing you a-are! B-believe in u-us a-again, ‘cause I won’t s-stop believing in you not matter what, Koto-chan!”