The scene is a daytime cityscape, with crossings and traffic lights amid masses of buildings.
Overlooking the main street are two creatures: a penguin on the sign for a 24-hour general store on the corner, and a black kaiju on the roof of a much larger building in the center.
The endless streams of traffic and crowds you would expect in a place like this are totally absent. That's because this isn't reality—it's a digital space.
More specifically, it's one of Digimon Liberator's test servers, where someone has reproduced Shinjuku Main Street in painstaking detail.

　There are three visitors, two are big and one is little.

　One of the former is a man with flamboyant sunglasses, his trademark gray hair and white coat fluttering in the urban wind. He is Digimon Liberator's operations manager and development chief. Known only as "Cool Boy," it was he who discovered Lacuna and undertook its initial setup.

　The smallest of the group is a Digimon somewhat resembling a mammal, with rodent-like teeth and rotund little ears, but an oddly shaped cyan body. This is Espimon.

　Even more unusual is the third member of the trio, who appears humanoid yet somehow alien. He has a sapphire torso and cyan components that emit a dim, cosmic-seeming glow, and green lights that serve as eyes. Every person who meets him agrees he has the aura of a tokusatsu hero.
Called Altea, he is an AI created by Yao Qinglan, the ace Digimon Liberator programmer and GM.
Although both he and the Shinjuku street are virtual in nature, the sight of him standing there feels undeniably real.

　For Altea, visiting here, a place so much like the "outside" world, is something of a wish come true. It's been one year since he was created, and eight months since he divulged said wish.
It was during the beta test, just after he had completed his basic "studies" in the Garden about the Digimon Card Game, when Yao asked him whether he had any goals.
At this point, the scenery of Lacuna and the Garden were all that Altea knew, and so he straightforwardly stated his desire.

"Certainly, that's simple enough!"

　The reaction from his "mother" Yao was memorable—startled, she clasped her fist to her tiny torso and smiled slightly awkwardly. Similarly, his partner Espimon was gobsmacked. Altea did not expect that he had any hope of visiting the outside world. He was a being composed of data after all, bound to the digital world. He realized his request was unreasonable.
And yet...

"It's truly incredible."
"Agreed. I'd seen Yao sneaking off from work now and then, but I'd never have guessed she was working on something like this."

　Judging from Cool Boy's body language as he nodded, he was genuinely caught off guard. Who else could have single-handedly made such a precise replica of Shinjuku? Altea knew nothing of the real thing, but the scale of the achievement alone reaffirmed his creator's remarkable talent.
As he once again took in the unpopulated Tokyo district, he welled up with a mix of pride and loneliness, feeling Yao's absence keenly.
If it hadn't been for an urgent task for the debugging team, she would have come as well.

"*sigh* I'm honored to be here. Some parts resemble Lacuna, but it's amazingly chaotic, what with how these buildings are all sprawled out. I have to say, I really love it."

　As a Digimon known to covet knowledge, Espimon's enthusiasm was understandable. It was acting like a kid in a candy store, breathlessly rushing around and exclaiming in awe.

"Right, although it's the other way around. Lacuna is based on the real world."

　Seeing Espimon nodding along to Cool Boy's words, Altea also wanted to express how strongly he felt.
What did this strong feeling of surprise remind him of? After thinking it over for a few moments, he recalled one thing in particular, and shared it with his "audience."

"I've not felt such shock since I heard about the tangerine that wasn't peeling well after it was beaten to a pulp."
"Oh?! You must be citrusly impressed then!"

　Cool Boy bemusedly tilted his head, glancing sideways at Espimon.

"Huh. Seems like a pretty low-hanging pun..."
"No way, Mr. Cool Boy! That joke's practically the pick of the bunch!"
"Is that so... Fascinating."
"..."

　By now Altea had realized that whenever Cool Boy said "fascinating" with a serious look on his face, it generally meant he didn't really understand. Altea reflexively fell silent. AIs like him still sometimes struggled to get their meaning across to people. It appears that was true even with someone of Cool Boy's intelligence.
Espimon, on the other hand, was joyfully bouncing to and fro, having evidently appreciated Altea's "humorous" remark.

"Ah, good stuff. But Master, tell us more. How would you sum up your feelings about all this?"
"All right. Let's see..."

　Altea didn't mind that his partner's pleas were somewhat put on. At an apt moment like this, it was only reasonable for Espimon to expect a joke of the highest caliber he could offer.
Keen to meet expectations, Altea worked his cognitive circuits at full output.

"Well, if you're really wondering, wandering around today has been great. Wanderful, in fact."
"Wahahahaha! Master, your language cortex is as sharp as ever!"

　Bullseye. Altea clenched his fists with satisfaction. Having got the reaction he'd hoped for, he could feel elevated activity in his emotional circuits. Cool Boy tilted his head once again, but Altea decided not to let that bother him.

"Right then, we've had our moment of levity. Do you mind if we get down to business?"
"Let's."
"Of course!"

　The cyan Digimon and the silver-haired administrator both nodded. The latter snapped his fingers, bringing up a holographic window.
It displayed a single image of Maquinamon. This was the enigmatic half-beast half-machine level 3 Digimon that had been repeatedly spawning in Lacuna of late.
The debugging team is responsible for conserving them. Even at this very moment, they were frantically traveling across Lacuna to track them down.

　Maquinamon is still shrouded in mystery.

Altea knew two main things about them. Firstly, they are fully adapted to Lacuna's environment. This was discovered through thorough analysis of the first one that was captured. Secondly, they do not appear in any of the Digimon databases installed in him.
This made him suspect that it was a new type of Digimon native to this world, just like Pteromon, Shoemon, Elizamon, and other debuggers' partners. Still, he wasn't confident, as the evidence was only circumstantial.

"What's your take on Maquinamon, Altea?"
"My take...is that..."

　What Cool Boy most likely wants to know is whether this Digimon is ill-intentioned.
Although his moral values may be different, he seems to want a second opinion on whether it may pose a threat.

"In all honesty, they don't appear that dangerous—not enough to justify lengthy discussions within a closed network such as this."
"I agree. Despite their adaptations to Lacuna, they're physically very weak. And unlike most Digimon, they lack a primal desire to seek competition. There's no way they could last long in a survival of the fittest situation."

　So, assuming that Maquinamon doesn't have any secret powers able to drastically alter Lacuna, and that they won't harm players...

　What should be done with them after they're taken in?

　Just what kind of life would be right for these Digimon? The trio must come to a decision. 　 Cool Boy is right to say that Maquinamon are weak, possibly due to how their mechanical and biological halves are imperfectly fused. They cannot survive if left alone, so a laissez-faire approach is unacceptable—even more so given the debugging team's dedicated efforts to track them down.
The risk of them perishing needs to be minimized somehow, and it's a sensitive matter. It wouldn't do for there to be eavesdroppers, which is why they've come to this deserted space.

"If you wouldn't mind me giving my opinion, Mr. Cool Boy, I think Unchained could likely find a solution."
"Hmm... It's true, Unchained might be just the person for the task."

　 This "person", Unchained, a special consultant to the debugging team, is in fact a digital lifeform, composed purely of data, just like Altea.
However, unlike Altea, an AI created by Yao, Unchained is a "native" of Lacuna, having come into existence independently of any human's design.
Unchained's birth was, by their own account, a spontaneous event resulting from the influence of Digimon upon structural data in the Digimon Liberator application.
Altea's impression of Unchained was by no means negative—they had spoken several times, and he frequently saw them in jovial conversation with Cool Boy. Since their relations were reasonably friendly, the idea of relying on Unchained gave Cool Boy and Altea pause for thought.

"I think personal reservations must be put aside, Cool Boy. We lack alternatives, and besides, Unchained is inextricably involved already."
"I know... Honestly, you have to hand it to our special consultant."
"You sure do..."

　 It was undeniable—without Unchained, the debugging team would be at a loss regarding how to handle Maquinamon. Their special consultant possessed an isolated virtual space, and had lent it to house the hybrid Digimon.
Perhaps the similarities between the two of them—both having been born from Liberator data—was what motivated Unchained to assist. The help came without any persuasion. This was something that Altea, often occupied with attending to the Garden, was most grateful for.

""In any case, we still need to decide how the Maquinamon should be handled."
"Indeed. That's the main objective of this discussion, isn't it."

　The analysis of Maquinamon had been completed, and its weaknesses had been reported on. The issue now, assuming the rest of them are successfully rounded up, is finding a way to circumvent their weaknesses and ensure their survival. Naturally, the three had already given it consideration.
Espimon was the first to voice its thoughts.

　"Master, in my humble opinion, we ought to go ahead with what we previously discussed with Cool Boy: simply giving them an isolated environment."
"Yes, maybe. And I suppose that ties in with this choice of location. This Shinjuku area Miss Qinglan kindly invited us to is indeed isolated... What are your thoughts, Cool Boy?"
"Could be viable, but I don't know about optimal. First we'll need to go back and research Maquinamon's make-up and behavior, and then we may need to prepare a specialized space."
"I was thinking virtually the same thing."
"Your subtle references always hit the spot, Master."

　Altea couldn't help but make a little quip, but on seeing Cool Boy recoil in bemusement, he regretted detracting from the conversation's seriousness. The joy of visiting "Shinjuku" had made him unexpectedly giddy.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cool Boy. Staying on topic, I ought to mention that I'll be continuing to thoroughly analyze the Maquinamon study sample data."

　As the administrator of the Garden, Altea has access to several private areas. Among these is a research facility sector where the Digimon Database is accessible.
Here, Altea began his analysis by running Maquinamon's sample data against the database in order to find similar Digimon.

"The most vital point to consider is how it manages to have biological and mechanical components simultaneously. I believe you mentioned there is a member of the debugging team with relevant expertise."
"That's right. In fact, he'll be arriving here any minute."

　Cool Boy took out his watch and checked the time. So far the meeting in the virtual Shinjuku had consisted of just himself, Altea, and Espimon, but a fourth person was due to arrive—an "expert" they were counting on.

"He is a debugger, but more to the point, he's a GM, although less senior than me."

　Just like Cool Boy and Yao, this person is apparently a member of I.D.E.A—a developer. He was known for successfully stopping a rampaging Digimon during the Beta test, resulting in his appointment as a Game Master. Apparently, that very Digimon now works alongside him as his partner.
Altea had spoken with his teammates beforehand to learn more about him, and his "interesting" personality was frequently brought up.
In short, he's said to be something of a geek.

"Good, he's here."

　As if on cue, a portal opened behind Altea. A man in a white lab coat stepped out of the bright light and into the virtual Shinjuku.
He was of medium build in every dimension, with a very hunched back. His black hair was unkempt and shaggy, so chaotic that it almost looked like a perm, with bangs covering his eyes.
An ID pass was hung around his neck, printed with the name Chitose Horaiji.

"Hey, thanks for coming."

　Facing Cool Boy, Horaiji lifted his hand awkwardly and nodded in greeting.

"Hey, good to see you. Altea, I think this is the first time we've spoken? I'm Horaiji, of the Digimon Liberator development department, sorry I'm la—– Whoa! It really does look like Shinjuku! Mr. Cool Boy, this is seriously impressive! Perfect in every detail!"

　He didn't finish his greeting, overcome with amazement as he surveyed the reproduction of Shinjuku he found himself in. Sure enough, it seemed that even those who knew the real thing found it very impressive.
With a slightly reproachful air, Cool Boy interrupted Horaiji by awkwardly clearing his throat.

"I understand your excitement, Horaiji. But I didn't call you here today for sightseeing."
"Oh, sorry, I couldn't help myself! So, you need to know about Composite types, was that it?"
"That's right. Altea is currently researching Maquinamon, and your knowledge might be able to help him."
"Well, if you're the one asking, you can be sure I'll give it my all!"

　In truth, he came across to Altea as rather haphazard. But Yao had always told him not to be misled by a person's demeanor. He promptly straightened his own posture.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Horaiji."
"The pleasure is all mine, Altea. Ask me anything you like—I hope I can help."

　With introductions out of the way, Cool Boy looked again at his pocket watch. He had mentioned an imminent meeting about a new T.A.L E. production.

"I'm afraid I've something else I need to attend to. I hope I can leave this matter in Horaiji's capable hands."
"That you can!"

　Horaiji's shaggy hair swayed as he bowed to the departing Cool Boy.

　It was apparent that he held Cool Boy in high esteem.

　Even though Altea couldn't see his face as he bowed, he could sense there was a sparkle in his eyes.

"Altea."
"Yes?"
"It's no exaggeration to say he's a specialist in Composite Digimon. As you know, when the first level 5 wild Digimon appeared in Lacuna...this was the man who cleaned up that mess."
"I've heard the story. If I'm not mistaken, that rampaging Digimon was..."

　Altea once again fired up his cognitive circuits and fell silent for a brief moment.
But just before he was about to say the name he had remembered, Horaiji beat him to the punch.

"It was Kimeramon, Altea."

　A Digimon emerged from the D-Storage Horaiji was holding. A level 3 with a rabbit-like appearance and a sharp gaze.

"Although these days it works alongside me in the form of Gazimon."

　Horaiji's partner stood there, looking at them.

To be continued.