[IC] Heed the Call

^{Table of Contents}

Prologue
Episode I: Just Another Day at Camp
Episode II: Strangers in a Strange Land

[AlteredTundra]

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Alarms and sirens went off, flaring red and white and green in a room with nothing but computer monitors, showing various regions and sub-sections of the Digital world: Net Ocean, land masses and the continents, individual islands of the File archipelago -- all of which were close to being under siege. But as for the other regions of the digital world? Fire rained down upon them, armies of digimon came for them, and places that were safe, villages that once were safe havens for refugees were now a hotbed for the forces of evil.

Above the monitors that showed all of the destruction was another, but this one was different. It didn’t show any known location in the digital world nor did it show any location at all, but what it did show was a room. It was one with nine chambers, all a different color. Within them were nine digieggs, devices that looked like stopwatches, and necklaces each with a crest inside them.
On the monitor was a timer.

8:30:05

Eight minutes and thirty seconds. Just under nine minutes until all hope was lost.

That is, of course, if Jericho Watson wasted time.

“Through all of the damage the world has been dealt, the losses of valiant warriors of both sky and land, they must live.” A man with what could be described as a heavy English accent that the humans call said, standing next to a large Lion-like DIgimon.

“Jericho, what are you planning?” Liamon asked in his deep, primal voice.

As he leaned forward, fingers tapping away on the keyboard at such record speed that the older man had a focused look on his face. The moment he began typing away, the images of the Digital World under seige were replaced by a screensaver-like image, symbols and a myriad of ones and zeroes meshing together, connecting with each other, various sounds from beeps to subtle roars began to almost cancel out the impending doom from outside the room Jericho and Liamon were in.

“Jericho!” Liamon spoke up once again, this time getting his attention.

“I’m doing what I can to give us a chance.” Jericho didn’t look at Liamon, but rather the monitor above him with the nine digieggs. “Do you understand, Liamon? They are our only hope!”

5:00:00

“Five minutes left.”

_^bangbang

“Liamon!”

From behind them, the door to the laboratory opened up and three Knightmon burst through the door, metal swords aimed high as they came charging for Jericho. As they did, Liamon jumped in front of them, brandishing sharp fangs at all three, zipping through the air, digging his claws and fangs into the Digi-Chromzoid-clad digimon. Despite being ultimates, Liamon was too fierce of a digimon to have any difficulty with them.

They were reduced to data before their swords even hit the ground.

With a smirk, Jericho spent the next four and a half minutes writing over five-thousand lines of DIgiCode and in that time, it was slowly becoming apparent what he was doing. One by one, each mini-chamber that had those digieggs inside them were teleported out of the facility. They were being sent to a place far away from where they were.

“Only three left to go…”

_^Crash

From above, unlike before where the Knightmon came barging in like amateurs, there came a shockwave that sent Jericho and Liamon flying in opposing directions. Where Liamon crashed into steel pipes, Jericho found himself back first against the solid steel wall. He grunted with agony as he saw Liamon lay what he had to assume was unconscious, but then he saw long, tendril-like arms with red nails. He knew that was the obvious sign of a Devidramon.

“So, if Devidramon is here, that could only mean.” Jericho narrowed his eyes, trying not to make any sudden movements.

The thing about Devidramon, while he wasn’t all that bright, the many eyes on his head could see all things at once. So if there was a hint of movement from any direction, he would see it. But this posed a problem because Jericho needed to get back to the computer. He had to make sure those last three were teleported away safely. If even one of them fell into the wrong hands, who knew what would happen…

“Digi...Destined…” Devidramon’s raspy voice always rubbed Jericho the wrong way like the acid dripping from its mouth. “Where are the DIgi-Destined!” It roared and its many eyes glowed a piercing red.

“Liamon!”

Devidramon turned its large, demonic body towards Jericho, lunging for him but then a zap of an electric shockwave hitting it from the back. It didn’t make it budge, but Liamon now had the beast’s undivided attention.

Jericho used this opportunity to lunge himself to the computer. He cursed under a breath as he didn’t have enough time. Another curse as he bit his lip, hiding back a scream that desperately wanted to come out.

As the battle between the two digimon raged on, Liamon’s grunts and roars met Devidramon’s unholy screams, Jericho had to think. He couldn’t get the other three out of here. He knew the last remaining three would likely be taken by the undead army, but that didn’t mean they would be granted their power.

With fast fingers, Jericho coded a barrier around all three that remained. In the moment it was activated, the three crests glowed brilliantly with the color each crest was unique with. After five seconds, ther would be a protective barrier that not even the Demon Lords could break.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, but..” Jericho hit the enter key, sending an email to the Six DigiDestined. They wouldn’t know what this meant, but…

“Jackson, Wesley, Ryana, Cherrie, Sierra, Alexis - you’re our only hope.”

As the message was sent, it also triggered something else. All of the monitors, which were all back to showing the scenes of carnage had all but been replaced with a countdown timer.

00:00:25

Jericho looked back, seeing Liamon nearly finishing off Devidramon. With a single swipe of his claws, Devidramon’s form was reduced to data. Liamon hunched over, clearly exhausted from several battles over the course of the past ten minutes, but Jericho could only smile.

Liamon wasn’t his partner in the same way those Digimon would be to the Digi-Destined, but there was no denying that he cared for the Lion DIgimon as much as he could. And that’s why he couldn’t let him suffer the same fate - not if he was going to be of any help.

“Liamon…”

“So, this is the end of our partnership.” Liamon smiled through his obvious pain. “Jericho, it has been an honor to--”

“I’m sorry. You aren’t done. I might be, but--”

Jericho’s hand was under the computer station and he pressed a button. Before Liamon could get in a single word, his form was surrounded by a bright light similar to the same light that teleported the DigiDestined’s future partner’s to an undisclosed location.

“Liamon, please help them. Mentor them in ways that I could not. And if they prove to be worthy enough, tell them to look for the light in the sky. When the time is right, they will know what that means.”

He knew Liamon could hear him. He knew that his will would be carried on through his good friend. And when the timer reached zero, Jericho knew that it was all in their hands.

^_BOOM

A flash of light originating from the monitors consumed The Facility, taking all enemy digimon — and Jericho Watson — with them.

It really was in the kids’ hands.

[AlteredTundra]

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As the sun began to set on Ridgewood Utah, the golden rays hitting the Great Salt Lake that separated Ridgewood from Salt Lake City, the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountain Range was given a brilliant mix of reds and oranges and yellows, traditional 4th of July festivities exploded all around town. Great displays of fireworks that would make Time Square jealous exploded into the sky, whistling, screaming, howling into the almost-night.

But this was in the city. Up in Wasatch mountains, specifically at Camp Ridgewood that had over fifty adolescents, who officially were there for “special reasons”, they might hear the faintest whisper from the city. Visually, they might have the best view in the house. Maybe there are a couple who enjoy being so far away from the chaos of the festivities. Maybe it’s just the fact that they can watch it from afar that is enough for them. Or maybe there might be a couple who feel bummed out they aren’t able to be up close.

Whatever their opinion, Camp Ridgewood is about to undergo their own festivities as some campers will gather around an unlit fire. However, there might be a small group that have other ideas.

As they prepare this, six campers specifically will receive a weird email. They won’t know how this Jericho Watson got their private email - be it Yahoo, Gmail, or whatever they happen to have, but one thing will be clear: it’s not an accident.

And the moment they receive this strange E-Mail, that’s when the real mystery begins.

[AlteredTundra]

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Seeing the fireworks jump to the sky and greet the clouds in loud splendor left a bittersweet taste in Jackson Drake’s mouth.

Again, he had been forced to attend Camp Ridgewood, separated from just about every potential for fun that he could be having in town. Right now, he would be on main street, enjoying a classic Ridge-Dog, a cheese-stuffed sausage on a brioche sandwich roll with grilled peppers, onions caramelized until they resemble jam, and topped with a special sauce that consisted of Japanese mayo and a slight drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Just that little hint of the tart, bitter, sour, sweet balsamic makes the whole thing come together.

And of course, he would be hanging with his boys - his crew that he did everything with.

Jackson was missing it because, of course, Felix Lopez, one of the more reputable teachers at the middle school he recently graduated from, had felt the need to put his name down. Jackson was getting older. Lopez knew this and he wanted Jackson to experience the camp life as much as he could. And it wasn’t like Jackson hated being at camp. It wasn’t far from town, so if he really wanted to go home, as much as he knew Felix would hate it, Jackson could just ride the trail down the mountain.

It would be so easy to just head back home.

But Jackson hated easy. Easy was the coward’s way out. Easy was wearing floaties when you were learning how to swim. Easy was using Youtube when you struggled with a trick.

Jackson hated taking the easy way out. If he didn’t persevere, then how would he know what his limits were? Well, okay, he doesn’t know his limits for everything. He doesn’t know how many RidgeDogs he can eat in one sitting nor does he know how long he can go breathing underwater without wimping out.

What Jackson does is this: as tempting as it was, he wouldn’t go down the trail. Instead, he would sit at the edge of the cliff, phone in hand as his board was in his lap. He kept his eyes on the display of fireworks that continued.

And that was when he heard his phone buzz in his hand and that immediately caught his attention for a few reasons. Maybe, the most jarring was how, recently, cell service had been in a fritz today. No matter how hard Jackson tried, he couldn’t contact anyone that wasn’t outside the camp. For some reason, one of those who were in his contacts that were on campgrounds currently could be reached.

So, why of all times, was he getting an alert saying he got a fucking E-Mail?

Opening the email, he read it and it made no sense. Jackson read the wordy email and it made no sense. Someone named Jericho Watson, who went on to talk about something that he clearly didn’t know anything about. Did Jackson claim to see two giant ass monsters fight about six years ago? Yeah maybe. And did anyone believe him? Well, the local conspiracy theorist had a few ideas, but by the time Jackson’s parents had him go through the motions of seeing kid-friendly therapists, they deduced that it was just his wild imagination.

He was eight, after all. Who the hell would believe the wild and active imagination of an eight-year-old kid?

Laughing, Jackson just closed the email and deleted it. “Whatever man!” Remnants of his laugh carried into a sigh and Jackson looked at the sky. “Yeah...It was made up.” As he spoke, he blinked once and swore he saw something spark above the fireworks, the faintest sight of something...different than what he should be seeing. Like something flying that looked too...green to be anything in the sky.

“Oh, great you’re seeing things again.”

And when Jackson shook its head, it was gone. Gone, but what did that mean?

Nothing. Because that’s what it was. You were seeing nothing but your hunger getting the better of you.

Maybe...Maybe Jackson needed to get some food.

Yeah, that was a good idea. And that’s what Jackson did. He got up and went to the mess hall, hoping an evening snack may just help him not pretend like he saw what he did six years ago.

[NeoAJ]

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Fireworks. Who actually cares about fireworks anymore? Loud bangs only made palatable because of a brief flash of color? Get over yourselves.

While the fact that she was alone on a hill near the cabins gave the appearance that the girl was staking out a spot to try and get the best glimpse of the nighttime show, Lexi Parsons just wanted to get away from the crowd at camp. She knew that taking part in this place was going to be a mistake, but she had to get out of the house for the summer. Her father was driving her nuts with his whole push to actually try and give a damn about what his daughter was doing and she just wanted some time for herself. It's the only reason she agreed to come to this camp. Not that it gave her any warm and fuzzy feelings about remaining in Utah when the other option was on the West Coast.

Would they be any better in California? Probably not.

They would probably be swallowed up by the LA smog. Not that her other option was all that close to LA. Or that she would at least have the option to be left alone like this. The mountains did allow for some solitary time that probably would not be available in Victorville. But her dad kept taking her around from place to place as a kid, why did Utah hold such a place in his heart? Lexi knew the only thing that ever stood out about her time in Ridgefield, and she wasn't exactly mentioning that to anyone.

So, how the hell did that Jericho person know about that? And my email address?

She looked back over at her phone, resting beside her on the rock that was serving as her seat for the show she had little interest in. Prior to that message, Lexi's time at camp was spent plotting out the best places to sneak smokes and avoid the gaze of the higher-ups. It was during one of those little side hikes that she discovered the spot she was at now. The faint trail of the cigarette that rested in her left hand wasn't visible from the main camp area, that's for sure. It's why if she was going to try and reason this whole email out, she wanted to not be disturbed. She had a tendency to talk out loud to herself when trying to figure out complex issues.

"I thought for sure that shit was just a dream..." Lexi said softly. It was definitely something that had stood out over any other memories of her time in the Beehive State. Even for someone who didn't care for dinosaurs in her youth, seeing a giant red-and-green version of what would happen when a stegosaurus merged with a T-rex battle the largest, nastiest bug this side of a Scyther would be something that wouldn't be forgotten. She remembered wondering why no one from the base was scrambling out to stop the monsters and by the time Adam had woken up to see why his daughter was standing in their duplex in stunned silence, there was nothing there. So she said nothing. To no one. Ever. Didn't need to have anyone thinking she was going slightly loco. Maybe she Googled it once or twice, but it only led to a bunch of nonsense parroted by tin-foil-wearing rubes, and she erased the history after...

But this guy Jericho knew about it. Knew she saw it.

So what? This dude was probably one of those rubes too! Picked some random emails off some server and just sent them out in the hopes that someone would be duped enough to respond so he could ask for their credit card info. Why was she even giving this any thought in the slightest? It was stupid!

"Nah, can't be anything. Don't know why I'd think it is." Lexi leaned back onto the rock and took a soft puff of her cigarette. She just had to calm her nerves and realize it for what it was. "Gonna have to get a new email address though if I'm on some creep's list. What a pain." She lazed on the rock, ignoring the colors in the sky as she closed her eyes and let herself drift into her own special type of meditation.

[mickilennial]

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“That’s super duper weird.”

Ryana Beckett looked over the e-mail. Not that she didn’t get weird e-mails now-and-again; it was more that the orange-haired girl shouldn’t have been able to access it.

Something about the internet and cellphone service at camp had gone a little crazy and even Ryana’s cavalcade of useless facts couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Other campers could make phone-calls but they were all limited to the camp, as if they were on a dinosaur internet network, like some kind of gonzo closed LAN kind of thing. The orange-haired girl had looked multiple times to the cellphone tower in the distance, wondering if the tower was the problem. But if that was the case her tablet wouldn’t have any issues loading Wikipedia or Google. She had even checked using a landline connection on one of the ancient computers in the counselors’ office! Nothing made sense.

And here was the e-mail. Talking about things she had seen once as a kid that she barely remembered. Jericho Watson? Recount what she had seen in grade school? Did she tell anyone? Did anyone believe her? Was this guy some kind of private investigator? Ryana raised a brow as she swiped down as she tried to think back to the third grade. Her parents were still together back then and well, that’s about all she had remembered particularly well. Perhaps she told her parents, but they certainly didn’t buy that whatever she saw was real. If anything they dismissed it as something she found out on the internet or on TV. She never went to therapy over it or anything. As far as Ryana knew the strange memory was a dream she had that had stuck with her for a few years before the divorce and sports became more significant things to think about.

She closed the e-mail, shaking her head as she pocketed her phone before shoving her hands into her hoodie's pockets.

There were more fun things to think about and grabbing a snack seemed to be the smart thing to do before she decided to find something to do.

[mickilennial]

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Cherrie Blackwell-Carter leaned back against the old Fremont Cottonwood tree, an expression of confusion and annoyance on her face as plain as day.

“Great...” The fourteen-year-old muttered, “...my e-mail has been compromised. Lame.”

This… Jericho Watson knew things about her that her grandparents most certainly did not share with anyone.

Her family lived by a big policy of honesty, but there were just some things you did not share. Cherrie hadn’t forgotten like most kids would have by this point in their lives. Not even a lot of moving around would hinder her from remembering such an insane thing to see. She was pretty surprised to be back in Ridgewood and it appeared someone had seen the same things she had. She looked over the message closely as more questions seemed to form in her mind. So, this Jericho Watson knew about what she saw. But why was he saying she was chosen for something great? Five others? How did he know they were at camp? Then there was the cliffhanger of an ending message which made this Watson person sound more insane than he already sounded.

Your world and mine.

She swiped the message away on her phone as she looked upward to the sky. It all felt so… childish. Like a fantasy. The only thoughtful conclusion the green-haired teenager could make was that it was a joke conspired by someone who had heard her grandparents mention off-hand in a conversation with her parents. Jericho Watson wasn’t likely this person’s real name. That or a lunatic had gotten in touch with her and truth be told the prank part felt a lot less terrifying.

So, prank it was.

“This has to be a prank. Nobody would seriously say that kinda stuff.”

Her eyes moved toward the cabins, catching a few familiar faces moving about. She needed to triple count the items in her bag. It was time to get moving.

[NeoAJ]

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I love fireworks so much…

It wasn’t necessary to tell Sierra Young what was going to be coming for tonight’s entertainment. The Fourth of July fireworks were always one of the highlights over her summer. Even if Salt Lake City couldn’t afford to put on a display that would rival Disneyland or New York or even Denver, it was still pretty in its own way. Many fireworks were.

It would be nice to have someone to share it with though…

Usually she at least had her family to enjoy the festivities with. Her father would be busy putting on fun activities for the kids at the local celebrations in Ridgefield, and her mother would be volunteering, but they would all come together for the nighttime display, complete with barbecued hot dogs and fresh pastries shared with their friends and neighbors. It was a time to be together as a community.

Not that it would have been a guarantee that things would have been the same this year. It just felt more and more like the people around them just tolerated them for the free stuff that came with being around the richest family in town. Sierra had no idea. Her parents felt it would be better for her to be here. Out in the middle of nowhere. She didn’t know what was happening or who her dad was delivering that fake laugh to at this point in the evening. Mr. Taylor from the hardware store? Probably. He’d have Brayden and Tamsyn running around with him. She didn’t know which person her mom would be swapping recipes with. She was alone with her thoughts.

But I’m not alone… That email said there were five more…

Sierra had no idea what this Jericho Watson person was talking about in the email she received, but it said she was chosen for something great. She couldn’t imagine what the fact that she had that dream about the monsters all those years ago had to do with anything. She barely remembered what had happened before that message reminded her of the things she saw and told her parents merely to earn a cookie, a glass of milk and an early bedtime the next night. But this Jericho person remembered. She had to believe someone who managed to find out her secret account address had a good reason to, right? They didn’t even ask for money this time!

And that they are at the camp… I wonder who they could be? I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone else really… I hope they are nice.

The hope and light filling up the sky seemed to have a mirror effect on the blond viewer with the bow in her hair. Maybe things were going to pick up a bit in the Mountains. She could only hope her spirit maintained the energy of a hundred fireworks as she moved forward.

[AlteredTundra]

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As the diluted sounds that emitted from the town and the fireworks that exploded up in the sky were muffled through the walls of the mess hall, Wesley could hear it all. It sounded like everyone was having a good time. Even those who were at camp probably were gathered together in some way and were enjoying the company that they kept.

All except Wesley. And it was by choice, obviously.

Okay, that's a lie. The choice was rarely something he ever had, but he didn't know how to be the kind of person that would socialize with others like him. Sometimes he didn't even think he was like the other kids, or that they would like him. Between the energetic ones and those who almost frightened Wesley, part of him just wanted to stay close to his vest until he went home, but the voice of his brother always seemed to echo in his mind whenever he felt those feelings consume him.

Make friends, it would say to him.

Don't isolate yourself.

Sure, there have been moments when Wesley tried to come out of his shell and not fall back into the same habits he always had, but it was difficult. He was the one his father put all of the expectations on and that often led him to spend a lot of time alone. And sometimes, in his solitude, he'd find comfort in the photos he was taking. The photos he was looking at right now.

Wesley moved by the window and heard the sounds. He took photos of the sky. First with his phone. He wanted to snap some test shots before he used his actual camera, the one with polaroids. He wanted to get the angle right so he didn't waste a shot.

But as he was aligning his phone with the sky, an alert came up from his E-mail. It was from someone named Jericho. They were talking about something that he had no idea about.

No, maybe he did? It was such a blur to him. Dreams of something he was convinced by the adults that he fantasized. "It was over six years ago, right?" Wesley thought aloud. That sight of two monsters. The sight of a red dinosaur and a giant preying mantis-looking creature. It was something that visionaries in the movie industry would think of. So surely it wasn't something that actually happened...Right?

Wesley shook his head as he closed out of his email and went back to his camera. He had the shot of where in the sky, so now all he had to do was take the shot with his actual camera.

But just was going to just that, his phone stopped working. Not in the way that apps typically failed. It completely stopped working. It shut off without warning and that stood out to Wesley for a myriad of reasons. The biggest one, thought? He had just finished charging it back at the cabin. So why did it completely shut off.

He tried to turn it back on, but after a few failed attempts, the mystery just got weirder and weirder. He was just grateful that his camera wasn't digital. A classic camera that could take normal photos.

I wonder if anyone else had this trouble...

That thought stayed in the back of his mind for a few moments until it weighed on him and then it weighed heavier and heavier until he couldn't take it anymore. As he gathered his things, he stepped outside. The sounds from the city became even louder and Wesley just looked around for...anyone who might've been experiencing the same thing.