Chapter 1: First Connection

"Isn't Bad Apples a little dark for what you had in mind Rai?"

"Oh come on, you'll sing the English version. Nobody will understand it then, and it's got a great beat to it. Besides, our designated fans will love it!"

The redhead stared at him in bewilderment. "We have designated fans?"

The blonde sitting behind the drums scoffed. "We have fans period?"

"Lo, you're not helping! And no, we don't have fans yet but we will soon."

"We're a garage band." Lo said with her arms crossed. "I don't even like our music. Do you realize what the odds are of us ever hitting the big time? Its…Jasper, what is it?"

Sitting by the door to the garage was a smaller boy, also with tan skin and black hair. "After very generous rounding, I'd say somewhere in the ballpark of .1%. But I'm your fan!"

Rai scowled as he said, "You're family Jasper. You don't count."

"Aw…"

"Maybe we should pick something a little more light-hearted." The redhead suggested. "Something catchy and likable. Nobody will take us seriously if we take ourselves too seriously."

"I know!" Rai cried. "But nobody will take us seriously if we don't take ourselves seriously enough!"

Lo smirked. "You need to stop taking this so seriously."

"That's why I don't want people to know." Rai sighed. "Nobody will take us seriously if they know I take this too seriously! But at the same time, we have to take ourselves seriously enough to perform well, but not so seriously that people make fun of us!"

"Yeah…we're officially going around in circles now. Maybe we should just take a break for today and pick it up tomorrow?"

"I am all over that plan!" Lo cried. "Screw whoever came up with the drum seat. Sitting in this thing hurts like a bitch!"

"Lo! Not in front of Jasper!"

"Oh calm down." Lo chuckled. "I'm sure with Rai around he hears plenty of bad words." She smiled at Rai cheekily, who responded with a dark glare. "What? You gonna deny it?"

"…No."

The redhead dipped into her pocket, feeling the telltale vibrations of her cell phone. "Hello?" she asked, answering it. "Yeah sure." She said before reaching for the notebook on the little table beside her. She flipped to the back and scribbled a few things down, nodding slowly as she did. "Yep, got it. I'll see you later. Bye." She hung up and put her phone away, along with the torn out list. "Don't let me forget. I have to pick some stuff up on the way home."

"Why do you always say that Celena?" Lo wondered. "When have you ever forgotten anything? You carry around a little planner with you all the time at school, and it has that cute little spot on your desk with that fuzzy pink pen right beside it."

"I like being organized!" she answered, trying to keep the blush from coming over her face. Naturally she failed, but it was a valiant effort. She followed the other three as they moved out of the garage and into the main room of Rai's house. Jasper ran over and plopped down on the sofa, switching the TV on with the remote while Rai himself went to grab a couple cans of soda.

"Break in was recently reported. The police promptly responded and discovered upon examining the apartment building the body of its only tenant, Amano Masato. A call was made to the police station at approximately nine o'clock this morning reporting the break in. The caller has requested their name be withheld. Upon entering, the police discovered the body which has been torn into viciously by the attacker. This is the third such killing in the past three weeks but the police have refused to comment on whether or not this victim is related to the previous ones."

"Isn't that place nearby?" Lo asked curiously, her eyes glued to the news report.

"Oh. Oh God, that's right by my house." Celena said. She fought down the little tendrils of paranoia that clutched at her heart.

"Creepy. Y'know, you came over pretty early. You could have been walking right past the house when,"

"No." Celena said her voice stern and commanding. Lo backed down with a frown as Celena continued. "I came by around ten. I do remember seeing some police cars nearby though. I had no idea it was… like that."

"Are we gonna be okay?" Jasper asked as he looked up at the two girls. "We're not in any danger right? I mean, even at one person a week that's still only four a month and there are so many people that live in this city so the chances of any one of us or anybody related to us getting hurt is really, really high so obviously I don't need to worry because there's next to no chance of it happening so,"

"Breathe Jasper!" Lo cried out. "Calm down and take a deep breath. I was just kidding okay? Nobody is going to get you. I mean, it wasn't even three break ins. The news reporter said three because the first apartment broken into was owned by a couple. Relax okay/ that's the kind of stuff you hear about on the news. Nothing more."

"She's right Jasper." Rai said with a reassuring smile on his face. He handed his brother a soda and put a hand on his head. Jasper smiled back and nodded, opening the can. Rai tossed the other two to Celena and Lo. The blonde caught hers easily, but Celena fumbled and it hit the hardwood floor. "Nice." Rai grunted. "Don't you play baseball?"

"Sh-shut up! I play soccer, it's totally different. You're lucky I didn't kick it back into your face."

"Uh-huh."

Celena made a face before setting her can down on the coffee table. She sat down on the sofa beside Jasper, who was currently flipping through the channels. She checked the time on her cell phone and pocketed it again. "So Lo, you got the research done for our project right?"

"Huh?" Lo asked with her eyes wide, looking up suddenly. "Oh, uh, yeah. Of course I did."

"Lo."

"I did, I sear!" Lo cried. "It's at home, and I'll give it to you tomorrow and then we can back the cake to bring in tomorrow. I promise."

"What about cake?" Rai wondered.

"It's for the Culinary Club tomorrow." Celena explained. "Every member is paired into a group of two and over the week we research foreign foods and their history. Then we make a bunch of it, take it in for everyone to try, and then go over at the club how to make it. We can't actually afford enough equipment so that everyone can make their own but it usually works out pretty well. I already got the stuff to make it at home. There's 20 kids in the club, so if we split the cake in eight pieces we'll need to make three."

"Aw, work!"

"Eight times three equals 24 minus twenty will equal four extra pieces."

"Score! I can't wait until tomorrow!"

"Can you save me a piece?" Jasper asked with a sheepish little smile on his face.

"Of course!" Celena said with a nod. "Now, I need to go so I can pick up a couple of things for dinner tonight." Celena stood up off of the sofa and stretched. "Lo. You better get that stuff ready."

"I know, I know!"

Celena smiled and walked back toward the front door. She slipped her red boots on before calling one last good bye back into the house before walking out into the cool autumn air. She walked down the patio and out the gate surrounding the house, moving down into the busy streets. She slid into the crowd, becoming just another face in the mass of people. Even with her dark red hair acting as a beacon she was still hard to point out. She liked that about the city. If you wanted to just sort of vanish for a while then it was easy. You could just be another person in the crowd. One felt oddly close to the people around them, despite not actually knowing any of them.

She looked up, the bright sunlight hitting the large buildings to cast large black shadows over the streets. She walked along the street, happy in the action's own simplicity. She turned through the twisting city streets. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the list, nodding to herself as she knew she had enough money for it.

Her smile diminished as her eyes fell on the tall apartment complex nearby. She paled a little, thinking of what had happened in one of the little rooms. The horror they must have felt as their home was broken into. The home was like a sanctuary, no matter what form it took. To have someone invade it and attack you while inside, feeling so safe. It must have been awful. Celena shuddered as she opened the door to the small store, ducking inside quickly.

"Cold?"

Celena look up, a little blush on her face. "Oh, uh yeah a little." She chuckled surprised that someone had caught her so deep in thought. The boy smiled back from beneath his blue scarf, his bright yellow eyes twinkling in amusement. He wore a tight, dark blue jacket and black jeans. His hands were covered in blue gloves, and his boots were a very dark black. He chuckled a little bit before turning back to the clerk. He handed a few bills over and took the large brown bag form the counter. Celena opened the door for him, to which he smiled happily in return.

"Thank you." He said sweetly. Celena nodded back with a smile and closed the door behind him. She moved through the small aisles, collecting the items for dinner and coming back to the front desk. She smiled at the clerk as he rang up the items. He paused on a jar of cause, angrily swiping it again and again.

"Something wrong?" Celena asked.

"It's this stupid scanner!" the man grumbled as he tried again, finally getting the beep he needed. "It's been screwing up for a couple of days now. I told my boss we need a new one, but of course it works fine whenever he comes by." He continued with the items until he got stuck on a small jar of spices. "That boy that was just here was asking about it actually. Apparently we're not the only ones that have had the problem."

"Weird." Celena said curiously.

"Annoying." The man corrected, giving up and typing the price in directly. He did it a couple of times, explaining "And the keyboard does it too. I'll put the price in, but it'll ring up something totally different. Like one bar of chocolate being a million yen!"

"Wow. That must be good chocolate." Celena chuckled. "Sorry to hear it's been such a problem though."

"Yeah. And guess who gets in trouble if I over or undercharge the customers." The man griped. "There. I think that's all right." He took Celena's bill and popped open the register. He traded the money and handed back her change before pulling a large brown bag out and slipping the groceries inside. "Have a nice day." He grunted.

"You too." Celena said, offering a hopeful smile. She grabbed her bag and left out the door. She walked down the streets, quickly making her way home. She looked up, and as she did she froze. The streetlights, which had just switched on as the sun had fallen enough by then, were flickering rapidly. Now, while one or two flickering in a large city wouldn't be much, all of the lights were flickering now on and off. Celena watched for a moment as they flickered. She shook her head and kept moving, though the time really had caught up to her.

She turned her head as she passed by the park, an idea coming to her. She turned and walked down the sidewalk leading into the park. It had gotten a bit later than she realized, perhaps she had spent more time getting the groceries than intended, and already it was getting dark. The streetlights here were also flickering rapidly, but in such a way that there was always at least two illuminating the path ahead.

She looked over as she heard some rustling in the bush, no doubt a little animal scurrying to its den for the night. But in the moment, the moment the thought left her head, a white blur went slipping out from underneath the bushes and right underneath the park bench ahead of her. Celena frowned, wondering why the little cat was so afraid. She looked back at the bush he had shot out from, finding it to be rustling fiercely.

Rising up from the bush, scales as black as night and eyes as bright as gold, was a monster. It tore through the bush, crawling out from the wreckage. Hunched over with claws large and gleaming in the flickering lights, it slid out of the blackness. Its acute ears, shaped like little bat wings, flickered in the night. His long green tongue flickered out and slid back in like a snake's. He eyes Celena for a moment curiously before turning to the rest of the park. His tongue continued to flicker in and out.

Celena stood frozen in terror. Her legs were locked in place, her arms tightly clutching the bag of groceries tightly against her chest. The creature stalked across the park and stopped on the sidewalk. His bright eyes continued to scan the park while he completely ignored Celena despite being only ten feet away. Celena could now see the brilliant red markings that littered his arms and back. The air around him shimmered as his eyes locked onto the bench. He opened his mouth and let out a ferocious roar. "Pyro Grenade!"

Celena leapt back, the bag falling from her arms as a large black sphere shot out of its mouth. She cried out in horror as the ball struck the bench, exploding in a massive cloud of smoky black flames. The white creature, which Celena now saw to be no ordinary cat, flew out from under the bench. The black lizard flung himself at the white creature, an odd seal with a red mohawk from what Celena could see, and pinned him to the ground.

"Got you thief!" the lizard roared, crushing the white thing down further.

"Please let me go!" he cried, tears streaming down his eyes. "Please, please!" He flailed his black claws around uselessly as he tried in vain to force the reptile off of him. "I'll give it back, I promise! Just don't hurt me! Ack! Hurt me anymore I mean!" He squeaked as the black monster lifted him up by his right claw, light green meeting dark amber.

"You ask for mercy?" he growled. "The only mercy I'll grant you is a swift death! I-Ungah!" The black lizard roared as Celena tackled him to the ground, the white thing flipping off into the night sky.

"Leave him alone!" she cried, running on pure instinct now. She had no idea what she was doing or why she was doing it. All she knew was that he was going to hurt the cute little guy and she couldn't let that happen. She hit the ground with a grunt, feeling the lizard's warm body under her. She leapt up off the ground and turned to the white thing. "Run!" she cried.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Just run!" she snapped.

"Don't you dare you damn seal!" the lizard roared, letting out another black burst. The seal screeched, flipping around and dodging it. He stuck his tongue out, picking up his black necklace and waving it at the reptile. "Ha-ha! I've got the prize!" On the end of the black chain as a thick white crystal which twinkled as he dangled it.

"Not for long!" the black lizard roared as he flung himself at the seal once more at the seal. The seal flipped around on the ground, rolling away from the strike. "I'm faster, stronger, and smarter than you thief! Give it up now and I'll make your death swift!"

"And painless?"

"Bwahahahahahaha!"

"Screw you!" the seal roared. "You wanna get this crystal? Well too bad! My boss will be here any minute to rescue me and kick your ass! I've just gotta survive that long so bring it!"

"I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should." Said the lizard with a big, fang filled grin. He opened his mouth wide and launched another burst of black fire. The seal cried out as he leaped into the air, the grenade exploding under him and sending him flipping through the air. He landed with a pained squeak on the sidewalk. He forced himself up with a pained cough.

"Lay down and die." The lizard growled. "Give me the stone back or else I'll eat you."

"Never!" the seal sobbed as he tried to crawl away.

"Leave him alone!" Celena cried. She jumped between the seal and lizard, her arms spread out wide. "He's just a little guy! Where do you get off picking on him anyway?"

The lizard's mouth dropped open, clearly stunned. "Are you joking, girl? He stole that crystal from my boss, Boss! I'm just trying to get it back and give the thief his due reward! Now move. I don't want anyone innocent getting in the way. Even if you did knock me down back there."

"I'm not going to let you kill him!" Celena insisted. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. She still had no idea what she was doing but she just couldn't let this monster hurt the poor little seal thing. Even if she was putting herself at risk, she had to at least try to talk him down. If that didn't work then…well she'd think of something else.

"I'm not really going to kill him." The lizard mumbled sheepishly. "They're just threats. I was trying to get him to come quietly! Then you got in the way and…well hell I can't hurt you. You're just a human. Just move already! Uhm…please?" He faltered when Celena's piercing glare struck him. "Aw hell, I never was good with girls. Listen, I…fuck, get down!" he roared as he charged at her. Celena gasped as the lizard grabbed her and leapt away, narrowly dodging the explosion where she was a moment ago. He landed and let her down, her head spinning from the sudden jump.

"I don't…wait what?" The seal had grown and was now covered in thick, shaggy white fur. A large horn extended from its forehead, while long tusks edged downward. His claws had grown massive and the claws were as bright a red as the lizard's markings. His blue eyes were cold and filled with anger.

"Well then!" a taunting chuckle filled the air. The necklace floated off of the ground where it had snapped off after the seal's sudden growth. "Seems we'll have to do things the ugly way then. I did really want to keep Gomamon around but this is fine too." A swirling black vortex opened in the air, a thin arm draped in a cloak the color of dried blood reached out and caught the necklace. He withdrew into the portal, another dark little chuckle filling the air. "Have fun with Ikkakumon then."

"Oh my God…" Celena gasped as he eyes widened in horror. "You're the good guy here!"

"…you say that like it is surprising."

"Well I mean, with all the death threats and stuff it wasn't exactly obvious."

"Good doesn't mean nice you know! And besides, I already explained that…"

Ikkakumon roared, Celena shuddering in fright. "On second thought, can we discuss this later? I'm sorry but please take him out or something!"

"Are you kidding!" the lizard roared. "He's an Adult level now! Even if I was beating him around like a ragdoll before, and I was, there's no way I can now!" He glared at Ikkakumon as his horn flew off of his head. He dove to the side as the horn split open to reveal a green missile. It crashed where the lizard had been standing and exploded on contact.

"Crap!" Celena cried. "We've got to do something! We can't let this thing get into the city!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" the lizard roared before firing a black burst. It exploded against Ikkakumon who turned to him with a dark glare. He roared and launched his newly regrown horn, making the lizard cry out and run out of the way. Celena watched the battle slowly, the gears in her head starting to turn. The lizard continued fighting, throwing himself at Ikkakumon only to be forced away as he blasted his constantly re-growing horn. The lizard roared as it struck him and sent him flying through the air.

He landed on his front claws and flipped through the air. He shot out two powerful bursts of black flames, but each one exploded against Ikkakumon meaninglessly. The lizard roared and charged at him again, but narrowly dodged the retaliatory horn missile. He landed to the side on all fours and took a deep breath. From his mouth he sent out a thick jet of black flames. Ikkakumon growled, swiping at the annoying flames as he covered his face with a claw.

"That's it!" Celena cried. "Lizard Guy, I've got it!"

"BlackGuilmon! My name is BlackGuilmon!"

"A boss named Boss, a black lizard thing named Blackguilmon. Your side isn't much for original naming is it?"

"Shut. Up." He leapt aside and dodged the missile, growling at Ikkakumon.

"Charge!" Celena roared.

"What?"

"Charge!" she insisted.

BlackGuilmon let out an annoyed sigh but agreed all the same. No reason not to really. He turned to the beast and rushed towards him. Ikkakumon roared and fired another torpedo but he leapt aside and kept charging. As he ran he watched the beast's horn slowly grow back and smiled. "I get it!" he cried as his claws burst into black flames.

"Aim for the face!" Celena ordered.

Black Guilmon grinned and he flew up, striking the beast in the face. Ikkakumon roared as the lizard pummeled him, beating his face in with repeated flaming strikes. He landed on the beast's chest and viciously tore into his fur. Ikkakumon desperately tried swiping at him with his claws but he just couldn't get at him at the right angle. BlackGuilmon opened his mouth wide and roared "Pyro Grenade bitch!" The black ball shot out and crashed into the beast's face, exploding viciously and sending Blackguilmon flying off of him. He landed on all fours with a wild smile.

"Hell yeah!" he cried.

"Thank goodness." Celena sighed.

"That was great! How'd you know?" BlackGuilmon wondered as he walked towards Celena.

Celena blushed a little and said, "Well it wasn't much. I just noticed that his horn took a while to grow back, so that was the chance to get close. And his face was the easiest target not covered in that thick fur, and really who likes getting hit in the face? He was so big I figured he wouldn't be able to move easily so him dodging wouldn't be an issue, nor would him throwing you off with those weird arms of his."

"Nice job girl. Heh, I get a little blind in battle. I'm told I get in over my head a lot."

"Really?" Celena said without even bothering to hide the sarcasm dripping from her voice. BlackGuilmon laughed nervously in return while also blushing a little. "What do we do with him?" Celena wondered, nodding over toward the prone Ikkakumon. The great white beast moaned as it slowly crawled up onto all fours. "Oh crap!" she cried.

"Damn. I figured that wouldn't be enough." BlackGuilmon growled as he glared at the beast.

"Run!" a light voice cried out form the bushes. Blackguilmon growled, looking around anxiously. "Don't worry, we're friends! Run and we'll take care of this!" Ikkakumon roared as he was knocked down by a large purple beast. BlackGuilmon's eyes widened in awe as the two beasts viciously tore at one another, fighting bitterly.

"We should go." Celena agreed. She wasn't bothering to hide her fear anymore either. "We'll go to my house. This guy looks like he knows what he's doing."

"Are you sure?" BlackGuilmon asked.

"Positive, let's go!" Celena insisted. She turned and ran with BlackGuilmon close behind. The ducked out of the park and headed for the main city. They ducked into a back alley, keeping BlackGuilmon hidden from view. He stayed close to Celena as she led him through the alleyways of the city, moving ever closer to her home. When they arrived they slipped in through the backdoor and Celena led the lizard to her room.

He slipped inside and leapt onto the bed immediately, curling up with a happy sigh. "Ah, so comfy!" he declared in a pleased voice. Celena sat down beside him and lay back. She let out an exhausted sigh. With everything finally starting to calm down the adrenaline was leaving her system and she felt beyond exhausted. She looked over at the black lizard and sighed. "What are we going to do with you?" she mused.

"I only need a place to bunk for the night." He answered with a small yawn. "I'll go back home tomorrow, but for now I'm too exhausted."

"How'd you get here?" Celena wondered. She forced herself to sit up before she fell asleep. "What are you anyway?"

"BlackGuilmon, Virus type, Child level, Reptile type, Unknown family."

"You're an orphan?" Celena asked sadly.

"Uh, no. Family is another classification. I am an orphan though, but I'm quite happy with my lot in life thank you. As for what I am, I'm a digimon. Digital Monster. I am a creature born from a world that exists outside of this one, based on the electronic signals and energies produced from electronic equipment primarily computers."

"Like a video game character?"

He let out a small sigh and nodded. "Yes, if you want to look at it like that then I'm a lot like a video game character. I have to say, you're taking this rather well. I was warned that most humans would freak out over me or try denying me or what have you."

"Hard to deny what I've seen with my own eyes. And we'll know if I'm crazy tomorrow when I show you to some friends of mine before you go. Honestly I figure it's safer to just role with it than fight any of this." She forced herself up from her bed and stretched. "Now, you stay here. I'll go downstairs and have dinner, and I'll be sure to save some extra for you. We'll talk some more after that, but you must not let anyone see you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was already given the whole speech by Boss. I'll hang out in here and go on your computer, and if anyone other than you opens the door then I'll dive under the bed or something. I've got a great sense of smell so it'll be fine. Go, relax, eat dinner. I'll wait for you here."

"Thanks." Celena said with a smile and a nod. She reached over and hugged him close, the lizard pausing as she did. "And thank you for all of your help tonight. Sorry I got in the way at first."

"I-It's nothing." He murmured sheepishly. Celena let him go and left her room, closing the door behind her. He watched her go and sighed, lying back on the bed. Tomorrow he'd be safe and sound in his own bed back in the digital world. All of this would be behind him. The Boss would chew him out for screwing up, but he'd think of something. That's why he's the Boss and why he was in charge. Tomorrow he'd go back home and tell him all about what happened. A small frown came over his face as he thought that, closing his eyes thoughtfully.

What if he didn't want to go back?