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My life changed that day I was walking down the Shinjuku beach next to the ocean.

My name is Joshia (Joe-sigh-ah), and I'm fifteen. My family--blood-related, not adopted--is dead. Everyone. My blonde hair was shaved into a mohawk, and my sparkling blue eyes observed the ocean. I wasn't the most guy around, but I had a decent amount of muscle on me. I had no fat, though.

A slight breeze ruffled my hair as I gazed out over the Pacific. Summer camp had been going well. I wouldn't call it fun, though; no one there knew me, even though I lived in Shinjuku with my adopted brother, Tai. Yet, I felt as if something was missing, like there was something unseen that I should be able to see. It was a disturbing feeling.

That was when I felt the temperature drop--considerably, not just a few degrees, but like twenty. I saw a disturbance in the ocean far out, close to the horizon. As I looked closer, I realized that the ocean was freezing._Wait--freezing? Isn't that impossible at this time? I mean, it's freaking _July.

As the ice raced closer, I realized this was actually happening, and started to retreat, running inside the cabin I had to myself as the temperature dropped--a lot. Thank God the cabin had heating. I didn't bring any winter gear, thinking I wouldn't need it.

A half second later, my cell rang. I checked the caller ID: Tai. I frowned. He wouldn't be calling unless something was wrong. I picked it up.

"What's up, Tai?" I asked.

"Thank God!" Tai said. "You're the first one I was able to reach!"

"Where are you?" I asked. "Why aren't you at summer camp?"

"Long story," he said. In the background, I heard someone--I could tell that it was not Kari--shouting, "Tai, where's the food?"

"What was--" I tried to ask.

"I need to go," he said. "Talk to you later!"

"Tai--" I tried to yell at him, but he had already hung up. "Argh!" I shouted, angrily tapping the hang up button. I felt the blizzard outside rattling the shelter. I knew it would take a while to subside, so I opened up my laptop and started to write.

A few hours later...

I heard the blizzard die down. It left as suddenly as it had come. I peeked outside, and although the ocean was unfrozen, the snow was still left on the ground, the air still chill. I wore gloves, and I only had those because it was something I had found useful on several occasions, especially in my previous life in Colorado, USA.

When I stepped outside, the snow underneath my boots crunched. Odd, I thought. Snow doesn't usually freeze over until at least a day later. It hasn't even been ten minutes since it stopped.

I came to the edge of the ocean, the waves barely touching the toes of my boots. The ocean often had a calming effect on my mind; it helped ease the stress of life. The smell of ocean water permeated the air; it worked its way through my system, rejuvenating me.

When the last wave receded, I noticed something strange happening to the ocean: the water bubbled as if boiling. It also seemed as if the water closest to me was bulging, like an overfilled water balloon. I started to think something, but it was lost as the water exploded upwards, creating a wall of water, then froze again. It reached as high as I could see.

Then what looked like a black hole opened up above and slightly to the right of me--I mean far above--and out of it shot what looked like two shooting stars. One flew over my head in the direction of Shinjuku; the other drilled a hole in between my feet. I leapt backwards, slightly startled and not wanting my feet to have holes drilled in them. The cause of the shooting star seemed to be rising up the hole, but it was still shining; shouldn't it not be luminous anymore? Then again, with the current events, I was about willing to believe anything.

It rose to face level before my curiosity overwhelmed me enough to grab it. Immediately, the glow and self-levitation of the object stopped. It couldn't have weighed over about five ounces--meaning about nothing. When I opened my hand, I found myself looking at a very light blue device with a screen like one of those draw-and-shake toys. There were two buttons on either side of the screen, and one below. I pressed them; they seemed to serve no other purpose than decoration.

Something told me to raise my hand, point the device at the ice. A circular rainbow rippled across it...then another...then another...until the area right in front of me seemed to be made of hundreds of bands of different colors. Another black hole opened in the center of the color, and I felt myself start to stretch and warp. Surprisingly, it wasn't painful.

Yet, as I fell towards what looked like a restaurant, I felt myself black out.

Sometime later...

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I pushed myself into a sitting, then a standing position and slowly took in my surroundings.

There was a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees on one side and on the other, a lake. Pretty similar to where I had come from--the lake was huge. I couldn't see the other side. For some time, I admired how the sun reflected off of the lake, facing away from the restaurant.

Then a voice. "Tai!" it shouted. It seemed to be coming from the restaurant. I turned around.

"Tai?" I asked the boy running up to me...not boy. Young man. He looked about thirteen, Tai's age. "Tai's been here?"

"Oh, you're not Tai," he said. "I'm Matt."

"Oh, I've heard a lot about you," I said. "I'm Tai's adopted brother, Joshia."

"Nice to meet you." Matt nodded, "Yeah, Tai's been here. As well as me, Joe, Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and T.K., my little brother."

"Cool!" I said. "This is quite the interesting world... Why are you working at this restaurant, anyways?"

"It's a long story..." Matt said.

"And it starts with me," came a tired voice from behind Matt.

I half-grinned. "Joe, is that you?"

"Yeah. Like Matt said, it's a long story."

I shrugged. "I have time."

"Okay," Joe said. "So, it starts like this.

"When Tai disappeared through the inter-dimensional portal, we started to look for him. At some point several weeks ago, we decided it would be easier if we split up. First Sora and Biomon left, then Izzy and Tentomon, then Mimi and Palmon. Then Gomamon and I left... I think Matt would tell the story better from here on out."

Matt picked up, barely missing a beat. "Then it was only T.K., Patamon, Gabumon, and I left. We came across an amusement park on the other side of the lake from here, and I thought maybe Tai was on this side of the lake, so I convinced T.K. to let me go. Finally he agreed, and Gabumon and I left, using that swan boat down there. We came here, but instead of finding Tai, we found Joe and Gomamon working."

He passed the story on to Joe again. "When Gomamon and I came here, we were starved, and this restaurant looked as good as any. So we sat down and ate a meal, then got up to leave. But we hadn't paid, and we didn't have any money to pay. So the chef, Digitomamon, forced us to work it off."

"But Joe kept dropping dishes and spilling food, so he kept extending our time working. Gabumon and I agreed to help him, and at that time, he had to work for about two weeks. By now it's about...three months."

"So Gabumon and Gomamon are here?" I asked.

"In the flesh," Gomamon said. "Or is it in the data?"

I smirked. "Still the same old Gomamon. Gabumon, quit hiding."

Gabumon edged out from behind Matt. "Who are you?" he asked.

"You don't remember me?" I asked.

"Wait," Matt said. "You've been here before?"

I nodded. "Which is why I'm surprised that Gabumon doesn't recognize me. I'm Joshia, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Gabumon said. "Good to see you again, old friend."

"Speaking of which," I said, "I think it's about time we left." Then I smirked. "How good are each of you at swimming?"

"Pretty good," Matt said, at the same time Joe said, "Not great."

"But you can right?" He nodded. "Gomamon, help him. We need to get out of here now."

"Why?" asked a nasal voice behind us. "They still haven't paid off their bill."

"I think you're a snot-nosed idiot. They've worked for more than long enough to pay off their bill." I grew angry, and murmured out of the side of my mouth, "Go." They dove into the water and started swimming away.

"NO!" Digitamamon leapt at me. At the last second, I lurched sideways, dodging him.

"Not to smart, are you?" I asked.

"You idiot!" snarled the egg Digimon. "You will pay!"

I laughed. "Hah! How? Will you eat me?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea!" Digitamamon said. "Nightmare syndrome!" A dark, murky shape slipped out from the crack that he saw out of.

"I don't have nightmares. You can't hurt me." I laughed, then quoted...honestly, even after researching it, I can't find out who said it, but I quoted (and these are two separate quotes), "'I am strong because I know my weaknesses. I am beautiful because I am aware of my flaws. I am fearless because I have learned to recognize illusions from reality. I am wise because I have learned from my mistakes. I am a lover because I have felt hate. And... I can laugh because I have known sadness.'" A virtual shield popped up in front of me, the dark substance pressing up against it, but it was stopped for the moment. "'If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.'" Then I quoted a third source, and this was a very important quote in my life: "'Faith does not make things easy; it makes them possible.'" Luke 1:37. One of my favorite Bible verses. However, the dark murk continued to push the shield back, so I continued my stream of quotes. "Luke 1:45: 'Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.' Romans 1:16: 'For I am ashamed not of the Gospel, for it is the Power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.' 'He replied, "Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth: if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."' Matthew 17:20." At this point I had successfully pushed the darkness back into Digitamamon's shell and wrapped the shield around it.

Suddenly, a black gear sailed into the sky and shattered into thousands of little pieces. I smiled just as Matt shouted, "A black gear!"

"Yeah," I said, watching Digitamamon. From previous experience, he should be back to normal. However, I've been gone several hundred, if not thousand, years in the digital world, and I don't know if it's changed. Unlikely, but possible.

"You know them?" Joe asked, coughing up water as he and Matt hiked back up to me, Gomamon and Gabumon trailing behind them.

"Absolutely. Like I said, I've been here before."

"Don't you sing, or did you give that up?" Gabumon asked.

"I still do. Would you like to hear me?" I asked in reply.

"Of course!" Gabumon and Gomamon replied in unison.

"Okay." I thought for a minute, then said, "Okay, you guys like rap, right?" The four of them nodded. "Alright, so this one is called Uncomfortable. It's one of my favorite songs by Andy Mineo." I took a deep breath, then began to sing.

Nobody told me you could die like this

Nobody told me you could die from bliss, yeah

Nobody told me, nobody told me

We never ever saw it comin', no, no

Live it up, live it up

Nobody ever told us we could die like this

Live it up, live it up

Nobody ever told us, we never saw it comin', no

Live it up, live it up

Nobody ever told us we could die like this

Live it up, live it up

Corrupted by the comfort we (love, love)

_ _

God prepare me for the war

Comfort be the thing that'll make a king fall

Eyes on the Lord, gotta grip that blade of the sword

Tell me how you plan on gettin' swole if you don't ever get sore (hold up)

They say, "Andy, this ain't music for your core"

If they jumpin' ship now, they was never on board

I got enemies, man they wanna see me on the floor

I got frenemies, couldn't even tell you who they are

If you're not driven by the mission, you'll be driven by the cars

Focused on what you been gettin' more than becomin' who you are

I tried to point 'em to the Son, but why they callin' me a star?

Who woulda thought we set they minds free with these bars?

In this game, in this biz

Want the fame, want get rich

Comfort, everybody wantin' it

Never knew I could be lost in this

This my sophomore, gotta go hard

When the show over, no encore

I got enough but I want more, want more!

_ _

Nobody told me you could die like this

Nobody told me you could die from bliss, yeah

Nobody told me, nobody told me

We never ever saw it comin'

_ _

My own people owned people, but they don't own that

They say racism dead, man, our president is black

Two terms in the White House, that don't mean jack

If we still believe our present ain't affected by our past

First class with a coach bag, I forgot

When you start eatin' you lose your hunger then grow fat

I apologize for Christians with pickets sayin', "God hates fags"

I promise Jesus wouldn't act like that

He said it's hard for a rich man to get to heaven

When we feel like we don't need God, then we forget Him

We tell 'em that, "If you don't make me money or make me happy

Then I ain't makin' time for ya', so make it snappy"

And I think lately you mistake me for a cabby

Cause this drive that I got put everybody in the backseat

So if you wanna live a comfortable life

Make sure you never love nobody, be selfish and never sacrifice

_ _

We got legal weed that'll keep us high

'Round the world other people die

Where on earth is my wi-fi?

Our stomachs full and our pockets fat

I need love, there's a site for that

I had more when I had less

_ _

I think I got too comfortable, yeah

I think I got too comfortable, uh

I think I got too comfortable, yeah

I think I got, I know I got

I think I got too comfortable

I know I got, I think I got

I know I got, a little too comfortable

_ _

'Scuse me, sorry. Uh, sorry. 'Scuse me, comin' through. Sorry, 'scuse me. No, it's cool

The next stop is...

Uptown!

I took a deep breath. Rapping ran out my breath. The other four clapped, and I smiled a little bit. "Yeah... It means a lot to me, for reasons I'd rather not explain." However, the Digimon nodded; they understood.

"Okay," Matt said.

"Now... I think it's time you got back to T.K. He must be pretty worried."

On the lake, ten minutes later...

I was helping Matt pedal, my endurance paying off. I'd been 'biking' for the past ten minutes. However, Matt was getting tired. "Joe," I said, "why don't you give Matt a break?"

"Because I can't," he muttered from up top.

"Still?"

"Yeah," he said.

"'Kay."

Another five minutes passed, and the other side came into sight. When I saw the amusement park, I understood why Matt left T.K. there. When we got a little closer, I saw a small figure flying towards us. "Patamon!" I cried happily.

After a few seconds--because of the light-sound delay--his reply drifted across the water. "Joshia?"

"Absolutely!" I shouted.

Patamon drew closer, until he finally landed on my lap. "How are you doing, old friend?" I asked.

His wing-ears drooped. "Not well."

"Why?" I asked.

Off of his shoulders slid T.K.'s digivice and crest. "Why'd he give you these?" I wondered aloud.

"Because he renounced me as a partner." Patamon sniffled.

"But why?"

"Because I attacked Demidevimon," he replied.

"Gah, that twerp!" I shouted. Matt's eyes widened. "Not T.K. Demidevimon. What'd he say about Matt? If I know him, probably something bad."

"Absolutely." Patamon sniffed again. "He said that Matt had said that T.K. was a little idiot, and that he never wanted to see him again. I attacked Demidevimon, and T.K. yelled at me and threw his stuff at me."

One of my fists clenched. "Now he's done it. Matt?"

"Of course." He pushed a little harder, and the boat sped forwards.

On land five minutes later...

"Where are they?" I asked. "When you were last here, where were they?"

"On the Ferris wheel."

I turned on one foot and sprinted in that direction. About thirty seconds passed, and in that time, I reached the bottom of the Ferris wheel. "Demidevimon!" I shouted. "Get down here! I want to talk to you. No harm will come."

Several seconds later, a dark speck appeared in the sky, and within several seconds, the bat-like Digimon was hovering in front of me. "What do you want?" he asked snottily.

"Is it true that you told T.K. that Matt hated him?" I asked, struggling to contain my anger and keep a calm, reasonable voice.

"It is, and I would never lie!" Demidevimon said. T.K. approached from the Ferris wheel. "I heard him say it!"

"Where was he when he said it?"

"He was on the mountain over there."

"Was there a restaurant?"

"Of course not! Why would there be a restaurant in the middle of nowhere?" Demidevimon asked, feigning incredulousness.

"Because I was there, and I have two witnesses--actually, four--to attest to it." I smirked as Joe and Gomamon rounded the corner. "Joe, Gomamon? Why don't you tell poor T.K. why Matt didn't return right away--and why this little freak is lying."

Joe recited his story, and at the end, T.K. looked at me. "Is it true?"

"It is," I said, inclining my head. "And Matt and Gabumon will attest to it."

Matt came around the corner. "I'm sorry I didn't come back, T.K. The friendship in me made me stay and help Joe."

"Oh, Matt!" T.K. cried, flinging himself into Matt's arms.

I smiled, then turned so I was half-facing Demidevimon and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "Shouldn't you be reporting to Myotismon right about now? And let him know about me; I want to see how he reacts."

Demidevimon turned and flew off. "This isn't the last you'll hear about me, I swear it!"

"I hope not!" T.K. shouted after him.

I laughed. "That should be the last we'll see of him."

Matt turned. "I need some time alone, to find who I am."

I nodded once. "I understand. I was the same way once. Go on; I'll take care of T.K."

He slowly walked away. Then he stopped while he said, "And, T.K.? I swear I will return." Then he and Gabumon disappeared into the undergrowth.

"Don't worry, T.K." I said. "He's a strong man. He'll be fine."

Several days of traveling later...

I smiled. "Okay, now that we're all back together--except for Tai--we need to figure out our course of action. Izzy, you have your laptop, right?"

"Yeah, why?" He reached behind him and drew it out.

"Can I use it?"

"Sure," he said, "Although I haven't been able to get it to work."

I grunted as I opened it and typed in a few lines of code. The laptop booted to life. "There we go!" I cried, pleased. "Okay...now...mhmm...okay...there we go."

The connection was fixed. I used his communication device to contact Tai's computer. "Okay, the signal is sent. He shouldn't take long to pick up..." Suddenly, Tai's face appeared on the screen. "Told you!" I shouted.

"Joshia? What're you doing in the digital world?" he asked.

"Long story, same as yours, I would guess. Anyways, we need you back here ASAP. Another long story, but they all split up, had different problems. We're back together now--save Matt--and we need you back here to help determine our course of action." I gestured behind me. "There should be Digimon back there too. They're going through interdimensional portals, but they won't be too stable. They'll only be there for maybe a minute. In that time, I believe that if you are near or at the portal, your digivice will transport you back here."

"Okay--" Tai was cut off by what looked like a pink balloon with ribbons as ears. "Tai!" it said. "I'm hungry!"

I laughed. "Hey, Koromon. Other than being hungry--which I think is all the time, get used to it, Tai--how are you doing?"

Koromon rotated. "Joshia! Hi! Fine!"

"Well," I said, as a crash sounded to our left, "sounds like I need to go. There are Digimon all over Shinjuku, Tai. Just look for them, get near one, and let your digivice do the rest. Koromon, I'll see you and Tai when you get back, alright?"

"Okay," he said. "I'll watch over Tai until we meet up! Bye!"

I smiled a little. "Thanks." Then I shut the computer. "Well." I stood and stretched, handing Izzy his computer back. "Here. I don't need it anymore."

Izzy grabbed it. "So, why did you need to contact Tai if you know he's fine?"

"Partially because I wanted to check up on Kari--she had a fever when the rest of the family left--and partially because I wanted to see if there would be any Digimon out the window. Our computer faces the window, so I knew that would be our best bet of finding that out."

"And did you?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, Seadramon. Like I said, though, they're unstable, unable to cause damage."

We relaxed a little. At least, until the crash sounded again. Then I jolted upright. "Darktyrannomon. We need to move. They're fast, and if they catch scent of us... I'll just put it at 'we're toast'."

Everyone ran away from the noise. "No, this way!" I said, running perpendicular to where the noise seemed to come from. "You won't ever outrun one! This way gets us out of its way."

They followed me, attempting to get out of its way. It roared. "It smells us!" I shouted over the noise. "Now we just need to get somewhere safe!"

Everyone else veered off to my right. I continued running forward, glancing behind me as I ran. The Darktyrannomon was right behind me. Oh shit. My life was about to end.

However, just as its foot was about to crush me, something hit me from the side, driving me out of the way. My breath was crushed out of my lungs, but I was thankful. At least they would fill again.

I glanced sideways at my rescuer as he ran out from under the Darktyrannomons foot. Grey furred body, with white neck fur (?), and black sleeve-like things on his forearms. "Thanks," I gasped as he put me down. He nodded once and turned and left.

The Darktyrannomon left, having apparently lost our scent, and the others found me leaning against a tree trunk, grabbing my head as a headache struck.

"You okay?" Joe asked.

I nodded as the pain faded. "Yeah, I just have a sort of chronic headache. I'll be fine."

So we continued on--until I saw a digital portal open up directly in front of us. A ton of debris fell down to the ground--and two slightly larger specks. I started sprinting forward, the others following and struggling to keep up. I watched the larger specks until they fell below the treetops.

I zigzagged through the trees until I reached a border between the forest and a grassland. I continued to run a little past that until I reached a crater. I hesitated, firstly, unwilling to go in, and secondly, allowing the others to catch up. When they finally caught up, I glanced in. All I saw was a blue T-shirt and a slight glimpse of orange before I leapt in and started skidding down. "Tai!" I stumbled to a stop in front of his prone form, wedged in between a light post and a washing machine. "Help me!" I shouted to everyone else. They managed to make it down safely and we all threw our weight into the light post. Slowly, it shifted, groaning its complaints as it did. Once it had been moved far enough, I shouted, "Stop!" and grabbed Tai, pulling him out and slinging him over my shoulder. "Will someone get Agumon for me?"

I didn't stay to see who did. I started running up the side of the crater, and just when it seemed I would fall back down, the mysterious Digimon came and grabbed me, moving at the same near-light speed as before. "Thanks," I said as it set me down at the lip of the crater, and, as before, zipped away without saying anything.

"How did...you do that?" Joe asked.

I glanced back down at them. "Anything is possible in the digital world. It's...hard to describe. It's like a dream world, to some extent. If you wish for something, occasionally it is granted. I've just figured out how to bend it to my will a little more." I smiled. "Why don't you try it?"

Joe shook his head, but Izzy just started running, almost closing his eyes. I noticed that he had Agumon cradled in his arms. He appeared to begin to speed up, his form chivvying in between here and not here. Then he completely fizzled out of existence, just to reappear on top, next to me. He smiled excitedly. "It works!"

"Course it does," I said, glancing away. "The sun is about to set. We should find some sort of shelter for the night." I closed my eyes. Almost immediately, they snapped back open. "There's a cave some two hundred meters to the right. It's stable enough to stay the night."

Just then, Tai woke up. He groaned. "Where am I?"

"You're back in this world."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep," I said. "We were just about to head to a cave I discovered."

"Okay, let's go," he said, standing.

I smirked. "That's the Tai I know." Then I started to lead the way towards the cave. Agumon woke during the journey, basically reacting the same way Tai had. Some fifteen minutes later, we were at the cave I had found.

We prepared for the night, everyone getting comfortable. Izzy got lucky--he just so happened to have his computer backpack with him when he was sucked into the digital world.

Anyways, after everyone had gone to bed, I grabbed my backpack from the ground and pulled out my computer--the same device that I now write this journal on at about 10:00 at night in the digital world.

Thanks for your interest in my life.

­

Hey guys, and I'm serious. Thanks for your interest in my life. This is actually happening to me right now, and it's a little difficult to deal with. I mean, seriously, who gets sucked up into a freaking digital world and has the time of a lifetime in it? I honestly was kinda scared of writing this journal because it's hard for me to admit that this might not be happening.

Ouch! Okay, it's happening. That pinch freaking hurt, Joe! Now go to bed!

Thank you. Okay, anyways, thanks again for your interest, and I hope you come back next time!

Momentine!