Chapter 2
Adrian returns to his home later that night, cutting the engine on his old motorcycle. It wasn’t anything big or beefy, nor was it new, but it sufficed to get him wherever he needed to go. He wheels it into the garage for now, grabbing the leftover pizza from their celebration before closing the garage door and heading inside. “Mom, I’m home.” He calls out as he makes his way inside and to the kitchen. His mother’s voice calls out from the living room.
“You’re back late.” His mother calls back. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Marcus and I were celebrating a bit after our win at the DigiZone tonight.” He replies with a smile. “We ordered way too many pizzas and soda, and lost track of time talking.
“Pizza? You boys only splurge like that when something big happens. Let me guess…qualifiers tonight?” His mother enters the kitchen with a smile. Like him, she was average in height with dark hair and light skin. “I’m guessing you finally made it this year?”
Adrian laughs and nods. “Barely, but we did it, yes.” He brushes his hair back a bit and grins, his excitement showing.
His mother laughs and hugs him. “Congratulations, dear.” She says, holding him a moment longer before letting him go. “Just try not to come back so late again, ok? Or at least call ahead if you’re going to be late.”
He nods again. “Sure thing, mom. I’ll remember, I promise.” He makes his way upstairs, heading to the bathroom for a quick shower to unwind from the day’s events. Afterwards, he makes his way to his room, tossing the towel into his hamper after drying off. Pulling on a pair of shorts and a new shirt, he settles into the chair at his desk and grabs the mouse. He shifts it a bit to wake his computer. He opens his email to check it, as well as a browser to check the Digi-Verse forums, wanting to read more into the disappearances if he could. He finds the thread quickly, the title catching his eye again: Another Top Player Missing?
Clicking the thread, he opens it and begins to read. The forum owner, one Geoffrey D’Antonio of Spain reports: “Over the past few months, several notable Digi-Verse Online players have mysteriously vanished from their hometowns all over the globe. From what I’ve managed to learn, the latest to be added to the growing list is Danielle Seabrooke of New York. As you all know, Danielle was last year’s runner up in the Singles matches of the Digi-Verse Battle Circuit. Sources say she was geared up and ready to qualify for this year’s Circuit, even was high on the qualifying list, when she stopped showing up to the local DigiZone in her area. Then when her parents reported her missing, the investigation closed the Zone down for the day as authorities tried to find any clues as to where she could have gone.”
Adrian whistles softly. He’d watched Danielle’s championship match when she’d lost to the champion from last year. She competed in the Battle Circuit as a Buraimon player, a Bird Man Digimon that wielded twin swords. The fight had lasted almost to the time limit and she’d fought hard, only to lose out when her opponent, who had been playing a Wizardmon had managed to hit her with an attack that stunned her long enough for her to fall into the volcano of their battlefield.
Following the message on the forums was a list that Geoffrey was compiling of each missing player. Danielle’s name was at the top, along with where she was from. Then down the list, Adrian reads: Aaron Walker from London, Emilio Ruiz from Madrid, and Mika Tanaka from Osaka. Four names from four different countries, all of them a top player of Digi-Verse Online.
Shaking his head a bit, he hoped that she and the others across the globe that had gone missing would be found soon, or that they’d all come out of hiding and reveal it was all just a stupid prank. He focuses next on his email, deleting the spam and unimportant emails as usual as he checks for anything important. As he works at clearing his inbox, another message pops up in the inbox, causing him to pause. The sender was Aether Dynamics, the creators of both Digi-Verse Online and of the DigiZone franchise. The title of the email reads: Congratulations, Foxfire Pride.
He clicks the email to open it and begins reading the short message. “Congratulations to Foxfire Pride for qualifying for this year’s Battle Circuit. This year, we have a special surprise for all participants. You are requested to go to your local DigiZone tomorrow morning where details regarding this year’s event will be provided. Thank you for your participation, and good luck.” The email is signed simply: The Digi-Verse Team.
Adrian reads the message again, his brow furrowing. A Special surprise? He quickly taps out a text to Marcus in case he’d not seen it yet. “Hey, check your email if you haven’t already.” He waits, grinning as he shuts his computer down and moves over to his bed. He’d want to get there early tomorrow.
“What special surprise?” Marcus texts back shortly.
“Not sure. Get some rest. I say we go in as early as we can.” He sends. “Don’t fall asleep on me when we need to be figuring out new strategies.” He chuckles to himself as he lays down, putting the charging cord to his phone.
“Yeah, yeah. I fell asleep that one time. I’ll see you there, don’t worry.” Adrian sets his phone down finally as he settles in to get what sleep he could. As he turns over, the screen of his computer turns on, the screen showing black with a white cursor instead of the usual startup screen. “Searching… assistance required...please respond…you must come…” The words appear on the screen, flickering for a few seconds before the screen returns to black as if nothing had ever appeared.
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Morning came too quickly. It seemed as if he’d only laid down for a few minutes, when the light of the sun filtered through the window to strike his eyelids and wake him up. Groaning, he gets up, eyes blearily blinking as he looks at the clock. The clocks red digital display read nine-thirty. Adrian makes his way to the bathroom to freshen up, splashing water on his face to wake up a bit more before returning to his room to get fully dressed for the day. Then he makes his way back downstairs to grab a quick bite before he heads out.
He grabs a bit of the leftovers from the fridge, plus a slice or two of the remaining pizza. His mom had apparently cooked meatloaf last night for their dinner. He sits down and eats quickly wishing he’d have come home while it was hot. When done, he gets up, putting his dishes in the dishwasher before looking around. Not seeing his mom, he writes her a note telling her where he was going. He figured she probably already knew where he’d be, as he spent most of his time at the DigiZone. After last night, however, he chose to leave her a note, just in case. Minutes later, he’s back on his motorcycle, speeding quickly back towards the DigiZone and what would await him and Marcus.
He eventually pulls into the parking lot, finds a space to park, and heads to the door. The parking lot wasn’t exactly packed yet as it was morning, but there were quite a few vehicles around. It would more than likely be a busy day at the DigiZone once again. He pushes the door open, the familiar sounds and sights a comfort as he looks around. It didn’t take long to spot Marcus. His friend was waiting, arms crossed, though he held a soda in one hand.
“About time.” Marcus says a note of false exasperation in his voice. “Any longer and I might have started without you.” Marcus laughs, then claps him on the back. “Let’s go see what this so-called surprise is."
Adrian and Marcus make their way to the front desk, where they see an older man working today. White-haired and slightly chubby, he didn’t look like the kind of person who usually ran the desk. As they approach, the man finishes checking in the current customers, directing them toward a section of computers before he looks up and spots the two of them. “Can I help you?” he asks, politely, glancing between them.
“We’re Foxfire Pride.” Adrian says. “We got an email last night, indicating something about a special surprise for those that made it into the Battle Circuit this year?”
“Yeah, what’s up with that, anyways?” Marcus asks. “Are they giving something out to the players as a reward, or…”
The man holds up his hands. He reaches under the counter and pulls out two tablets. “Easy, boys. First, I need to confirm. Please login to your accounts on these tablets.” He notices their looks. “This year has a few security measures, just so you understand.” He gives them a sympathetic look. Adrian wonders if it’s because of the disappearances as he takes up a tablet and quickly signs into his account. Marcus finishes at almost the same time.
“Good, good.” The man says as he glances at the tablets which confirmed their identity as the two members of Foxfire Pride.
“My name is Chris.” He says as he taps a few buttons on each tablet. There is a slight buzzing noise from below the counter as he continues to speak. “With the increased security, I’ve been assigned to help you through what is to come.” When the buzzing stops, he reaches down, then straightens, two plastic cards in his hands. He motions to the boys to follow. “Come with me, please.” He motions to another staff member to take over the counter before leading Adrian and Marcus toward the back.
They are led through the store to a door in the back wall. Above the door is a security camera, its lens focusing on them as they get close. An ominous red light blinks just below it, indicating they are being recorded. Chris pulls out another plastic card from his pocket, quickly running it over an electronic lock, which beeps before the lock clicks open. He pushes the door open and ushers them inside into a dimly lit area. After the lock clicks closed once again and their eyes adjust, Adrian could see rows upon rows of server racks stretching into the darkness. The room is filled with the constant hum of cooling fans, and the temperature wasn’t cold, just cool- offset by the heat of the machines and the steady air conditioning. They are led further in, toward several doors, one of which had light spilling out from underneath. Outside of one, two more tablets are hanging on the wall.
“Now, what you are about to see inside, is something our boys have been working on for years. Therefore, it is asked that you agree to keep this a secret until the reveal at this year’s competition.” He motions to the tablets. “If you two would please read and sign the NDA forms, we can get started."
Adrian and Marcus look from Chris to the tablets, then back at each other in surprise. Neither had expected anything of this sort today. “NDA forms?” Marcus asks. “What, like some kind of government conspiracy type of thing?” He laughs a little, while Adrian turns thoughtful.
“If we don’t sign, we don’t get in, and forfeit our place in the competition?” Adrian asks as he gives Marcus a light, playful shove at his conspiracy theory joke.
“That is correct.” Chris replies. His lips twitch in a smile at the crack about a conspiracy. “It’s just standard practice for large companies, such as Aether Dynamics, when releasing something new.” He explains. Then he grins, letting out a small laugh. “If it were a government conspiracy, if I told you, I’d have to kill you. Now, if you please?” He once again motions to the tablets.
After another brief look to each other, both Adrian and Marcus take the tablets and begin looking them over. Marcus scrolls through quickly, barely reading a word, while Adrian studies it in silence. They both eventually sign their names and hand the tablets over. Chris smiles as he takes the tablets and hands them each one of the plastic cards. Turning his over, Adrian finds his name, picture, and a picture of Renamon printed upon it along with a barcode and number. Glancing at Marcus’s card, he sees his friend’s picture, Leomon, and a different number.
“These keycards will give you full access.” Chris says. “Only you two and the technicians are allowed to be back here, though you two must come straight to this room. No wandering amongst the servers, please.” He motions to the closed door in front of them, indicating they could go in. Adrian passes his new keycard to the electronic lock of this door. With a beep, the lock clicks and slides open, the entryway revealing a chamber filled with many computers.
The computers are humming softly, lights blinking upon their surfaces. Six technicians wander amongst the machines, checking ports and reading diagnostics. None look up as the three enter, too busy with their work. More noticeable are the two cylinders prominently placed in the center of the room with cables running from the bottom to a bank of machines. On the nearest side of the two cylinders are glass canopies and Adrian could see one large chair inside each, a ring of some sort projecting from the wall of each cylinder over the top of the chair. It all looked a little to sterile, too clean, to Adrian.
“What in the holy sci-fi is this?” Marcus cuts in as they stare at the machines.
Chris’s hand claps down on both Adrian and Marcus’s shoulder. “Gentlemen… welcome to the Digital Conversion Chamber.”
