The Concrete Jungle Part 1

[Zachary Scryer]

The roar of the activity of the streets below moved in clockwork motion. From the honks of cars, screech of tires, talking, chatter on cell phones-- it was an untamed world to him as he observed the new place. The spires of grey and dark towers made looking out dizzying from the 12 floor window where Zachary was at. It had been only two days since they moved from Westchester county, several miles up north from New York City. He had been here a few times when he was younger, when his mother worked at an office building and commuted over by the train. He would remember how she would spend hours traveling back and forth, and would at times take trips with her into the city for holiday events and things of that nature. 


However, recent work from his family had encouraged them to move. Though Zachary had mixed feelings about the move, being a kid-- he didn't have any real say over to stay or leave. So there they were, 


Zachary was inside his new room. It was relatively narrow, but still plenty of room for his bed, nightstand, bookshelf and desk which had his computer on it. A single window was next to his bed, overlooking the city and landscape. 


His stomach turned. He was hungry but he also was homesick. He used to live near forests, the river, more greenery than what he saw. It was all paved over, mechanical and just seem a little bleak to him. He sat on his bed, recently made as he tried to calm his anxiety. 


"Zachary? Zachary you okay?" 


His door opened to reveal Zachary's mother. She was a middle aged woman with long brown hair. She was dressed in a casual blouse and black pants. Past her, Zachary could see his father, a tall strong man with glasses as he worked to unpack boxes. Zachary turned to her gently, still a bit sad. 


"I'm fine mom," Zachary replied simply. 


Despite his answer, his mother signed. "Zachary, I know this is difficult-- for all of us. But this is a chance for you to expand your horizons. Make new friends and try to find a new life here." she said. 


Zachary turned to her and tried to smile. "I know, Mom. I really will try. Its just scary.  I mean I can't even know where I am going when we visited here. How am I suppose to find anything here.?" he said. 


His mother smirked. "Well that is why we put a GPS on your phone just in case, okay?" she said, "Remember you can always find your way back home if needed. And the city isn't as dangerous if you stay near people and know where to go. This is a safe building and street. This isn't as bad as you think." 


Despite her words, he was still apprehensive to go outside. He still had unopened boxes around him, his bookshelf half complete. His computer was out and running but that was it. "Where is school again?" Zachary asked, looking to the window again. 

"Saint Nicolas' Academy. Zachary, its a good school. " she said, knowing what was on her son's mind. The issues of him being bullied was one reason the move was a good idea. Though there were troubles anywhere you went, the harm it had come to was another good reason for the move. "I am certain you will find good friends there too." 


Zachary nodded, and took a deep breath. "I know mom. I hope so," he said. 


Seeing her son in need of cheering up, she had an idea. "Why don't you finish cleaning up here and then take a walk outside? There is that game store not too far away. Why not go there and play for a bit?" she offered. 


Thinking for a bit, his gaze came to the card pack he left on his bed. His digimon cards. Zachary had picked up the game rather quickly, and was thrilled when he learned his uncle-- from his father's side-- worked at the game company that produced the cards. It was always great when he got to meet his uncle and see his work. He even helped create some of Zachary's own cards, for personal use only anyway. Still, he had grown to love the game and franchise. Though it wasn't as widely popular as he would hope, he still found people who played the game every now and then. 


"Sure, mom. I'll check it out," he said as he stood up from his bed. 


She smiled kindly to her son and turned and closed the door, leaving hi to finish what he wanted to do. 


Reaching for his cards, he proceeded to clean it up and put it into his backpack. With a deep breath, he threw his backpack on, and proceeded to get ready to step outside into the city. Swinging it over his back, he got ready to go. 


Saying his goodbyes to his parents, Zachary left the apartment which led to a small hallway with other doors. At the end was the elevator, which he quickly took down to the lobby. The lobby was relatively friendly, and offered several amenities in addition to security. As a well respected business woman, Zachary's mom was able to afford such a nice place oppose to other places. As the lobby attendant saw him, he waved hello and Zachary did the same. Moving past the rotating doors, he stepped out into the busy streets of New York City, his new home town. 

[Anko Hiroi]

Anko was planning on taking another trip to her mom, at least for the night. She wanted to sleep in her own bed, cuddle with her blankets and Keigo. Perhaps eat a bit of cereal in the morning and then head back to the Digital World. Anko was kind of brainstorming really. She could go to so many places with this.
The little girl looked at Adam as she brought the Digivice up, smiling brightly. "Okay, let's see what my mama's cooking." She told her big brother. Anko turned back to the tv, shut her eyes and.. "Digiport, open!" A white light engulfed her, and when she opened her eyes--

She was sitting in a dumpster, along with Adam.
"Huh?" She said, getting up to look around. "Adam.." She began nervously. "This isn't my home."
A groan came out from under her, and she looked down. She was kind of standing on top of the DemiVeemon. "Uugghh.." Keigo mumbled, and Anko stepped aside to pick him up.
"Adam what do we do?" She asked, trying to climb out of the dumpster, but she was too small.

---

Adam Jackson Zachary Scryer

[Adam Jackson]

Another trip to the human world to see Anko's mother,  In all honesty Adam felt as if he no longer fit in with the humans of the human world. They were all to..civilized for him to be able to fit in and all of the new technology confused him. If it hadn't been for the fact that his little princess Anko wanted him to go and almost pleaded for him to go he wouldn't have bothered. When the tiny tot teleported them however they didn't arrive in Anko's living room but instead a large dumpster in a loud city. When Anko said that this wasn't her home. Adam just rolled his eyes and scooped up both of his in-training digimon and quickly climbed out of the dumpster. He then put his digimon down on the ground and quickly picked up Anko and Keigo out of the dumpster before picking his twins back up.

"Well, we need to find a strong electrical device like a large tv or a computer or something. If I'm right we should be able to use one of those to hop from here to your house with no problem. First things first we need to find out where we are."

Renae then looked up at her tamer from his strong arms with an adorable smile as Remy climbed up onto his tamers head to rest under his hood using it like a blanket.

"No first things first, we gotta find you a pair of flip flops or something. Nothing stands out more then a boy with worn out clothes and no shoes in a big city. They will think you are homeless."

Adam then looked down at Renae with a puzzled look.

"But I am homeless?"

Renae then just huffed and shook her head before turning it to Anko.

"Maybe you can explain it to him. At any rate we need to stick together. This place seems crowded."

Adam nodded and held out his hand to Anko.

"Ready princess?"


Zachary Scryer

Anko Hiroi

[Zachary Scryer]

Having put on a pair of sport-headphones, Zachary began to move through the busy streets of New York. He kept his guard up, despite so many people around. He heard those nasty rumors of how dangerous the city could be, but he had to get out sometime. Listening to the beat of the pop-rock music he had on his smart-phone, he walked down the block and waited at the crossing. He passed by a small ally, where there were two people there briefly but he had not noticed them. Nor the strange creatures. 


For a moment, he waited at the crosswalk-- then suddenly, the music on his headphones stopped as a strange static took hold over it. "Huh?" Zachary said out of habit and pulled off his headphones. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he went to look at the screen. For some reason, while it seemed to be working, there were sudden frizs on the screen, bits of static and sounds like a call or fax trying to move through. At first, he didn't think much of it-- till other people's cellphones at the crossing began to do the same. Everyone looked to their phones, noticing the same strange disturbance. Luckily, nothing else seemed to be going on-- but if one would look at the traffic lights, one could see the light spark of electricity. Something odd was going on on a digital level in the big city. 

As the light turned green for them to cross, Zachary simply forced-turned off his cell phone for the time being. Putting it back to his pocket, he quickly crossed the street. 


Soon he made it to the corner store just a block away-- the comic book and card game store. It was a popular hang out near Grand Central for comic book fans, nerds and anyone who enjoyed comics and games. In short, Zachary's interests. Finding the entrance, he entered the door and climbed the stairs up. It was easy to notice as there was a big digimon logo on the windows that anyone could see, along with many other comic book symbols. As he climbed up, he soon reached the door and opened it. 


Inside was a wide variety of goods. A wall with comic books displayed off them, statues and collectables, stuffed animals , tabletop cames-- and what Zachary was most interested in-- the card games. Tables were displayed to allow people to play on them and a few people were playing games too. One of two of them were Digimon. 


Approaching the main desk, there was a man with a baseball cap and T shirt with a spiderman logo on it. "Welcome. How can I help you?" he asked Zachary. 


"I'd like to buy some Digimon cards... also I would love to know if anyone here is playing?" Zachary asked, putting out some money for him to buy some. As he did he also took out his card binder. If nothing else, he hoped to share his cards with some others who played. 


However, as this went on, the machines in the store were also going a bit wonky. The small computer screen in the corner would show static every couple of seconds. Unknown to them, there was something strange going on with the digital network in this area of new york city. What it was, Zachary was oblivious to it-- but others wouldn't be. 

[Anko Hiroi]

Anko held on to Adam as she and Keigo were pulled out of the dumpster, the girl looked a tad frightened. All she wanted was her mother.
She looked down in shame, feeling like Adam was disappointed in her. "I'm sorry Adam.." She mumbled, picking up Keigo to hold the DemiVeemon to her chest. "Hey, don't feel bad, Anko. Thish can happen to anyone." The in-training said, but Anko clamped her hand in front of his mouth. "Keigo.. this is the human world.." "Oh, right."

Anko looked at her big brother, kind of confused. It looked like they were in a big city, so finding a tv would be no problem at all. The main problem was.. not to be seen. The little girl ran out of the ally, peeking around the corner to see a lot of people crossing the road. A frown appeared on her face when there seemed to be static, the humans looked disoriented and angry when their phones were not working as they should.
"Adam..?" Anko began, knowing that the static was probably from a digimon."I think my digivice brought us here for a reason." She said, and Keigo looked up with a firm nod. "There'sh an enemy here, ishn't it?"
Anko lift her shoulders, like she didn't know. "I'm not sure."

The little girl then turned to Adam as Renae explained that her older brother needed a make over. Anko giggled, nodding heavily. "Nothing worries people more than a homeless walking with a little child." When Renae asked Anko to explain her point, the 7 year old chuckled. "Adam, you're carrying two 'stuffed' animals, wearing ripped clothes and no shoes." She hoped that would ring a bell. Then, an idea popped into her mind. "I KNOW I KNOW!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Can you play guitar?!"
Keigo looked up, a frown on his face. "Even if he could, we don't have a guitar." Anko seemed disappointed. "Well, we need the money to buy Adam some new clothes.."

Anko nodded when Adam asked if she was ready, and she took his hand like the good little girl she was. Then she pointed at a store across the street. "Look! That almost looks like.." Keigo interrupted her. "A digimon shop?"

---

Adam Jackson
Zachary Scryer

[Adam Jackson]

Adam looked himself and his digimon as his little princess like sister started to make sense. The way Adam chose to look in the digital world wouldn't work in the human world. They needed to be careful or they would be hunted by the cops. When Anko mentioned that she thought that they were brought to the big city for a reason and that something didn't seem to be quite right. As Adam took Anko's he pulled his digivice out from under his shirt and watched as it began to flash different warnings on it. The young jungle boy just scowled and tucked his digivice back under his shirt. 

"I think you're right princess. I think the digital powers that be want us here for a reason. We better keep our eyes open for signs of trouble."

Adam then peeked around the corner at the shop that had pictures of digimon in the windows. Both Anko and Keigo looked rather interested in it so Adam didn't see the harm in just checking it out while they looked for a way to get Anko and Keigo back home to their mother. Adam squeezed Anko's hand gently and then quickly walked across the street, making sure to look both ways so that he was setting a good example for Anko. Once they made it to the front of the store he oped the door for the group to walk through. Once they were inside and the cool breeze from the air conditioning hit them, Adam knelt down next to Anko.


"I think I've thought of a cover story for us. Why don't you look around while I see if I can get some answers. Maybe you will find some clues to help us find out while we are here."

Adam then smiled at Keigo and winked at him playfully which made Renae and Remy smile.

"Try not to break anything keigo."

Adam then slowly walked up to the counter with a warm smile while clutching both of his in-training digimon in his arms gently.

""Hey umm sorry for like interrupting ya and junk but my little sister and I need a bit of help. I was supposed to walk her to the other end of the city to visit our grandparents but we got robbed and they took all our money,our phones and my shoes. I was wondering if maybe ya could show us to a computer or something so we could email our grandma to tell her we're on our way? If that's a problem, a little cash for a ride would be nice. I'll gladly work for it."

Adam then gave the store clerk and the boy he was standing next to his biggest wild boy smile. He hoped that his cover story worked or they might be sunk.


Anko Hiroi Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

As Zachary sat himself at a nearby table, he put the digimon cards on the table and opened up the card binder he had. With the door opening, Zachary turned to see an odd pair of people, a boy a little younger than Zachary and a small girl-- possibly his sister. Both looked like they stepped out of a jungle or had been slumming it. Zachary hated seeing the homeless, but these two didn't seem so down in the dumps to be those. Firstly, despite how they looked, they had digimon stuffed animals with them. One of which Zachary recognized as Demi-Veemon, the other two more fox like creatures that he didn't know about. 

The card shop owner looked to the two, flutered and confused. "Um... kids if you were mugged I should call the police, don't you think?" He said, reaching for the phone. As he was about to to try and help them in the more appropriate way, he soon had a sudden busy signal in his ear. The mainline phones were also having trouble it seemed. As for a computer, it was unlikely they were going to just get one to go home immediately. "I can't just let you use our computer. It's staff only." He said, looking at the kids. 

"Did those guys jump off the bus from Comicon or something?" Zachary said, noticing a more Japanese oriented dress in the girls' attire. He had his deck of digimon cards out as he cracked open the first pack and he went to look-- only to nearly drop what he held as he saw what he had unwrapped. "JACKPOT!!" 

The voice was a bit too loud, as it drew a few gazed to him-- probably even the two kids who entered. After looking around a moment, he took notice to the cards he had just got. He couldn't believe his good fortune. He got an Omnimon of all Digimon he could get, including Gallantmon, Machinedramon, and an Ultraforce Vedramon. As he spread out the cards, he counted the others that came-- but something he didn't recognize came to his attention. 

"Huh? What is this?"  he said as he looked at the card-- before him was a strange blue card. It was almost holographic. It was a similar thickness as the others, however, it had a digital card reader on the side. It was purely blue till you turned it slightly, revealing a 'D' with a dinosaur like digimon coming through.

As he spread out the cards, he looked at the card. He never seen it before. It was no 'support' card, with no text or number on it to even identify the product. "Hey! Any idea what this card is?" he said, raising it up to show the shop keeper.

Looking at him, he tilted his glasses to look at it. "No clue. I haven't seen or sold any of that nature before," he said.

Curious, Zachary put down the cards in his hand. As he did, his own personal card came spilling over to the floor. His original digimon.

He reached for the card to try and pick it up-- showing the image of a black jaguar-like digimon with jeweled bracers on its front legs. The card was named "Panthermon".

[Anko Hiroi]

Anko felt slightly excited, as did Keigo, thought the DemiVeemon had to remain very still to look like a stuffed animal. Nothing new, he was used to it since he lived with Anko for about 2 years.
As they entered the shop and Adam knelt down, Anko nodded. "Okay, onee-chan." She said, like a good girl. Anko released Adam's hand and Keigo couldn't help but show a short smile since he wasn't supposed to move. Though as he was told not to break anything, the in-training looked slightly offended for a second before gaining his usual 'stuffed animal' look.

Anko mentally slapped herself as Adam brought up the story that they were mugged. This was a big city, the 'mugged' story wasn't going to call up any sympathy. Especially in a Digimon Store when they were carrying perfect condition 'stuffed' animals.
The smile probably didn't help either.
Her doubts were confirmed as the shop owner told them to call the cops, Anko then walked up to the counter and pull up the best saddened girly eyes ever. "Onee-chan, when are we going to see grandmama?" Even Keigo had trouble keeping a straight face.
Then the man said that his computer was staff only, and Anko sighed inwardly. It wasn't going to work.

As the boy who stood next to them asked if they were from Comicon, Anko leaned back to look at him. "No, we're traveling to see my grandmama and papa." She tried continuing to hold up the act, but she had a feeling it wasn't really going to work. But the boy now seemed to have other things to tend to, seeing as he was opening his digimon card pack. His expression indicated that he got quite the pull, but Anko didn't want to spend anymore time on that.

Keigo, however, was eyeing the boy curiously. It looked like he was holding a blue card. The DemiVeemon then poked Anko's arm, causing her to look down. Keigo's stubby arm then pointed to the boy, hoping Anko would understand.
Then the boy asked if the shop owner knew anything about that card, Anko instead walked up to him and tilt her head. Well, she didn't know what that card was herself, but seeing as Keigo wanted her to take a look at it..

The boy became a bit clumsy and dropped his entire collection, Anko, being the sweet girl, bent down to help him pick them up. She placed Keigo on the ground, who pretended to fall over on his side. Talk about being dedicated to your role.

"Hey.." She said, as the boy reached for the Panthermon card. "That's a digimon I haven't seen before." Anko looked at the boy, the dots finally connecting. This was a tamer-to-be!