"Ugh, what a day," said a tired brown haired boy. Today was Ryo's first day in college, and he already had mountains of homework. He put down his new MacBook, which was now filled with notes on Computer Technology and Data Encoding. His teachers didn't give anyone a break, not even on the first day of school. He hated it. The only thing Ryo desired was for a long nights sleep in his soft bed back in Shinjuku, but he knew that wasn't possible. Sighing, he sat down in his swivel chair and faced his desk. He let another sigh out of his lungs and collapsed his head onto his desk. He was tired, no doubt about it. His long, messy brown hair drapped over his ears and onto his MacBook. The door opened behind him, making an annoying squeaking noise that one would kill not to hear it again in his lifetime.

"Hey there, you must be my roommate," said an enthusiastic, yet studious voice from behind him.

Ryo knew there he was going to have a roommate, but not one like this. His roommate kept everything clean and organized, but not his workspace. Piles upon piles of papers, pens, pencils, etc crowded his roommate's desk, including his massive computer set up, not mentioning his fairly expensive laptop. Ryo lifted his head and turned to see a smiling redhead in the doorway carrying a yellow and white laptop in his arms.

"Yea, I'm him," spoke a tired Ryo. "I just got back from my classes and didn't catch anyone this afternoon. You're the first person I've spoken to all day."

"I know how you feel," the redhead said. He smiled and set his laptop on his bed and sat down at his fairly cluttered desk. "I've been computing theories of mine relating to Internet downloads and…"

The brunette didn't want to hear any more computer talk, he was to tired and drained. He lifted his head and opened his MacBook, thinking if he didn't get his homework started now, he'll never get anything done. The white laptop made the typical Mac "bing" when starting up, the only other noise than his roommate's babbling. The former Tamer looked at the back of his roommate's head, seeing what he was doing. Some sort of game was on all three screens of the complex computer set up. Several creatures were on the screen and they seemed to be talking with the redhead. Ryo leaned his chair back to get a better view, only to fall on the floor, his chair following him.

"Ow, my head…" he moaned.

The redhead heard the crash behind him and quickly shut off the computer and his chatting. He looked over the recently fallen boy.

"Are you okay?"

Ryo clutched his forehead, closed his eyes and hurtfully said, "Yea, i'll live." He opened his eyes and saw a hand in front of his face. He took it and lifted himself up, staring his roommate face-to-face. A silence filled the air as the two looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The redhead stuck out his hand again, this time for a shake.

"We never formally met. My name is Izzy Koushiro Izumi from Odaiba,"

Not breaking eye contact, Ryo took his hand and shook. "Nice to meet you Izzy. My name is Ryo Akiyama from Shinjuku."

'Where have I seen this guy before?' Izzy wondered to himself. 'He looks so familiar.'

Ryo broke the shake and went back to his homework. Izzy continued to stand there as he got a text message. He flipped up the phone, read it, and placed the phone back into his pocket. He lifted his head and turned to Ryo.

"Hey Ryo. I'm meeting some of my friends right here on campus in about an hour, and I wanted to know if you wanted to join us. You don't know a lot of people, and I figured this would be a way to make some friends," Izzy offered.

Friend. The word stuck in Ryo's mind as he thought back to Takato, Henry, Rika and the others back in his hometown. But most of all, he thought about Monodramon, his digimon partner back in the Digital World. He missed the little guy, although he became a monster when he hit the Ultimate level. Nostalgia surged through him and remembered his D-Arc was in his pocket. He kept it on him for remembrance and just in case if he ever saw Monodramon again. He doubted it could happen, but anything is possible. A low rumble came from his D-Arc, almost if it was telling him to join Izzy and his friends. He pushed himself back from his chair, stood up and faced Izzy.

"Sure," he smiled, "I'll join you guys."

"Sounds great!" Izzy got all excited. "I'll text my friend back and tell him we're one more for tonight!" He rapidly texted his friend back and slid the device back into his pocket. "Let's go."

The two boys left the dorm room to the school quad, where students can hang out with their friends. As they walked down the hall, both boys' Digivices vibrated, telling each other that their together again; part of the chain has been repaired.

The crowd roared loudly; Edo Stadium was packed. The Digimon Tamer tournament just commenced, and everyone was already going wild. The ovular stadium reached up for almost 100 meters, and seated over a million people. In the back sat a group of kids from Shinjuku, reminiscing on old childhood fantasies. They all looked very different, but they fitted together. They all belonged with one another. Most of the kids were Juniors in high school, barely holding onto the innocence of their childhood, while three others were younger than they: 11 and 8. It was a surprise to all that the eight year olds came, but they had a reason to be there as well.

"And now to begin the Semi-Finals of the Digimon Tamer tournament, let us welcome our first two competitors, Tsurugi Tatsuno and Akane Sato!" yelled the announcer over the PA system. Two figures, one male and one female, walked onto a platform placing a small rectangular device into a port. A blue-haired boy, from the group mentioned earlier, turned to his friend on the left, who wore goggles a top of his messy brown hair.

"Hey Takato! The guy down there has goggles. Just like you!" the boy yelled to his friend over the cheers of thousands. Takato leaned over the edge of his chair, trying to get a better view. His friend was right, the boy known as Tsurugi did have goggles on. The gogglehead in the stands turned back to his friend.

"I bet it's just a coincidence," he remarked. He heard his friend, Kenta, talk to another friend of his, Kazu.

"I wonder if this is anything like the Digimon Card Tournament back in Shinjuku," the ocular kid wondered.

Kazu fixed his visor on his head, the one he's worn for five years. "I doubt it. Southerners do things differently then we do. I'm surprised they've ever heard of digimon."

"Yea, I guess. They don't even have any cards. All they use is a little de- WHOA!!!! WHAT'S THAT?!?!" Kenta pointed to a figure of Greymon. The rest of his buddies stood up to get a better view. A Greymon and a Togemon appeared before the boy and girl down at the platform. A loud cheer went through the hall as the great dinosaur charged at cactus-like digimon, almost knocking it back.

"I thought the Digital Gate was closed," commented Henry. He looked down in meloncholy, remembering how he had to send back Terriermon to the Digital World. 'How are digimon appearing now?'

"You idiots, it's not that big of a deal," said a cold tone from the far end of where the Tamer sat. A girl stood up, her red hair in a ponytail, and turned to her friends. "It's obvious that the devices they have project digimon as holograms. They aren't real. Just extractions of light."

"Rika, why do you have to make us sound so dumb?" Takato remarked. He never liked being shown up by her.

"Maybe you look dumb dear, not everyone else," a sweet voice behind Takato said. His sides were taken by two arms, wrapping around him in a light squeeze. "Rika's just being Rika. You know that."

The gogglehead sighed. His girlfriend was right. Rika's always been the cold one in the group, opposite of the girl hugging him. "I know Jeri. I know." Jeri and Takato have been dating ever since the D-Reaper's defeat. Their relationship is still very strong, unlike most high school relationships. "And besides," she whispered in his ear, "she's just jealous." Jeri planted a light kiss on Takato's cheek. He instantly blushed a deep red.

"Must you two do that here?" a disgusted Henry said. The Tamers all sat back down in their chairs only to hear the announcer's voice again.

"And Tsurugi wins another round. He knows what he's up against next: the Champion of last yeat, Taichi Yagami!" Another boy appeared on the far corner of the stadium, dressed in a blue shirt and brown shorts. His hair was held down by a pair of goggles.

'Is this gogglehead convention or something?' Rika thought. One is enough for her. If she met the rest, she'd be sick.

Once Taichi entered the room, something strange happened. The lights went out, electricity off, and a low rumble was heard. It came from the Tamers' pockets. They reached in and pulled out their D-Arcs, which they still kept with them as a memory to their digimon. A light shined from each one, illuminating their faces. Takato looked and saw four five lights coming from down below, and he heard the rumbles too.

"Henry, I'm scared," Suzie cowered against her brother. Ai and Mako, the youngest in the group, cowered with her.

"It'll be okay Suzie. Everything'll be fine," he consoled his sister and friends. He too noticed the rumbles and lights from down below. 'Are there other Tamers besides us?' he wondered. He felt a great tug on his legs, only to find nothing was pulling on him. Yet, him and his friends were disappearing into the floor. The vibrations from their D-Arcs became more intense, along with the lights shining brighter. The team was dragged under the floor, more and more, till only their heads were poking out. They all screamed at the top of their lungs, but no one heard them. The lights came back on; and no one even knew they were there.

The Tamers appeared in a bare white room, no way in and no way out. Whiteness seemed to go on forever in all directions. It was empty. A pit of dispair, one might say, but a happy one. They weren't the only ones down there. Five bright lights ignited right before them, causing everyone to shield their eyes. As the light died, the five lights became five teenagers standing, facing towards the Tamers. The boy in front wore a red shirt over a white one, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. He had brown unkept hair, and dark skin. The girl next to him wore a pink v-neck, blue short shorts, and white Converse. Her hair was red, and had lighter skin than her friend in front of her. Around the same age as the boy and girl, a black-dressed teen materialized next t them. He dressed in all black, unlike his blonde hair. A younger lad appeared next to the first. He had on a white hat that was to big for his head, a white t-shirt, and dark shorts. The last boy appeared the farthest away from everyone else; as if he didn't belong to the others.

The young boy turned to the girl, and said, "I'm scared Ami. Where are we?"

She smiled and tousled his hat. "I don't know Yuu. But we'll get out of here."

"I hope so."

The girl smiled lightly and turned to the black dressed boy, "Any thoughts on this place, Shou?"

He shook his head and sadly said, "No."

She frowned slightly, only to be interrupted by an annoying voice, "Hey Ami! I'm fine, thanks for asking!" The red-shirted teen ran over to his friends.

"Are your goggles on too tight Tsurugi? I didn't ask you anything!" she remarked, snapping her friend's goggles against his head.

"Owww! That hurt!" He rubbed his head for comfort.

"That's the point, doofus," she snapped.

"Hey love birds," Rika interrupted the two. "Just who are you, and how did you get here?"

"I guess we should be asking you the same question," Shou shot back.

"But you didn't, did you, emo boy?"

He gritted his teeth in anger, clenching his fists. He started to walk towards the cold hearted Tamer, as she did to him. Henry stepped in the middle to break them up. "Stop it you two," he said in his peacemaking voice. "Let's not start off on the wrong foot." He relaxed his arms and turned to the new comers. "So who are you?"

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Shou," the boy in black bowed respectively. Henry returned the favor and motioned to the younger boy on Shou's left.

"Hi, I'm Yuu," the young boy said in a slightly scared voice.

"Your name is Henry?" Suzie asked slightly confused.

The boy giggled, "No, silly. My name is Yuu. Spelled Y-U-U. Not Y-O-U."

Suzie blushed, "I knew that."

Yuu giggled again, only to be interrupted by the tall girl. "My name is Ami, and this idiot," she motioned to the boy to her right, "is Tsurugi."

Kazu stepped forward, "Hey, you're the Tamer that was dueling the other guy."

"Yep that's me! The best there is," Tsurugi sheepishly said and placed is arms behind his head.

"I wouldn't go that far," Ami said matter-of-factly and smiled at her friend.

Tsurugi's face went from happy and triumphant to disappointment. "At least I had the courage to enter the tournament, and have a decent digimon." He swung his Pendulum in front of Ami's face, who whacked it aside.

"At least I know how to use my digimon," she took her own Pendulum and swung it in his face.

"Life's too short to waste on you," he turned his back and faced the Tamer gang. "Hey! You didn't tell us who YOU are!" he accused.

"My name's Henry," he stood up straight and bowed. Behind him, Suzie came forward and introduced herself, "I'm Suzie, his sister."

The goggle boy of the group stepped forward and smiled, "I'm Takato."

"What am I at? A goggle head festival?" Rika mumbled cooly.

"And if you are, we're gonna need to know your name," Shou said.

"I'm Rika, and that's all your gonna need to know."

"Pleasure to meet you Rika," Shou held out his hand. She looked at it and turned away, denying his claim.

"Don't take it personal," a sweet voice said behind Takato, "she's like that to everyone. I'm Jeri by the way." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and stood close.

"We're Kenta and Kazu," Kazu said, grabbing his best friend and pushing him forward. "Chumly, you're way too shy for your own good."

"Shut up Kazu!" The two boys started pushing one another, getting into a friendly fight.

"Someone break them up," Henry sighed. Rika went over and pushed both of them to the ground. Satisfied, she walked back to Henry and Takato. "Wimps"

"Unorthodox, but works," Ami remarked. She noticed the small twins next to Suzie. "Who are they?" she asked.

The twin girl shyly spoke up, "I'm Ai, and this is Mako."

"You!" Rika shouted to the boy in the back who hasn't said anything yet. "What's your name punk?"

Taichi stepped forward confidently. "My name is Taichi, master of Digimon Dueling."

"Yea, only second to me," Tsurugi gave a huge smile to his opponent.

Taichi turned his head toward the other goggle head and defiantly asserted himself, "You weren't the champion last year, weren't you?"

"That's cause I was off dueling with real digimon! Not holograms you fight with!" He held out his orange iC toward Taichi. "I fought alongside my partner and defeated Barbamon. You got nothing to me."

Taichi rose his voice, "Nothing? I doubt that!" He brandished his 01 Digivice from his wrist. "I single-handedly defeated Neo Saiba and Daemon, only with the help of my partner, Zero! There is no way anyone can top that!"

"Wait a minute," Henry interrupted, "you know that digimon exist?"

All five of the other group nodded. "Ami, Yuu, Tsurugi and I harnessed the powers of the DigiMemories to defeat Barbamon, a Demon Lord," Shou said.

"I too defeated a Demon Lord, Daemon," Taichi added.

"Guys, I think it'd be fair if we showed them our digivices," Henry pulled out his green D-Arc, the first time he's shown it to anyone in a long time. One by one, the Tamers took their digivices out and held them in front of themself. All of a sudden, all the digivices started to vibrate and emit a faint glow.

"What's up with my D-Arc?" Rika questioned. No one knew the answer until Suzie spoke up, "Henry, there's an arrow pointing somewhere."

Her brother looked around. "I don't see anything Suzie."

"No, on here," she held her pink digivice in front of her brother's face. The D-Arc's compass tool was up, pointing right of their location.

"Suzie! It means Lopmon is somewhere close by!" Henry's voice rose with excitement.

"Lopmon!" Suzie yelled, bolting in the direction the arrow pointed.

"Suzie get back here!" Henry started to run after his sister. "Henry, we gotta stay together!" Takato ran after his friend. Next thing they know, all of the Tamers were running in Suzie's direction. Tsurugi, Ami, Yuu, Shou and Taichi watched as the teens ran off into oblivion. Shou began to walk after the Tamers. "Where are you going Shou?" Tsurugi asked. "Might as well follow them; it might be a way out." He continued walking into the nothingness. Tsurugi shrugged, "If not now, then when?" He followed his lifelong friend, with Ami, Yuu, and Taichi following him.