"Hey, Yuuki."
"La-la-la ♪"
"Hey! Yuuki, listen to me!"
"Whoa! What's going on, Impmon?"
"You're always like this! Why don't you try listening when people are talking to you?!"
"Oh... My bad."

　A little more than a year ago, in the middle of the Digimon Liberator beta test in Lacuna, Yuuki sat bobbing her head to the music in her headphones. Meanwhile, her partner Impmon looked on in annoyance.

"What the heck are those things?"
"They're headphones. Never seen a pair before, Impmon?"

　Yuuki explained that checking out the items in the game was a proper duty in itself, albeit somewhat pompously.

"You can listen to all sorts of stuff, like the battle BGM, but I think the theme song might be my favorite! What's your favorite, Impmon?"
"No clue. What's so great about blasting noise in your ears..."
"You don't get it—it really amps you up! Come on, why don't you give it a shot?"
"Huh? I'll pass."
"Come on, don't be a stick in the mud! Here, show me your ears!"

　Yuuki grabbed Impmon as it tried to wriggle away and clamped its head with her headphones, now blasting rock music.

"Hey! What the heck is this noise?!"
"Hush, hush, just give it a chance, will ya?"
"I don't think this is for—actually, it's not half bad."

　Impmon finally gave up on resisting, then pressed the headphones tighter to listen more intently. Yuuki watched on gleefully as Impmon started swaying to the rhythm.
　Finally, once the song had finished, Impmon removed the headphones and exclaimed excitedly at Yuuki:

"This is so good!"
"So you're saying you like it too? I knew you would."
"What's the name of this song? And who's the singer?"
"Hmm? I’m not sure."
"What?"

　Impmon looked dumbfounded at the lackluster response they received in response to their enthusiastic question.

"How can you be listening to it and not know?! What's wrong with you?"
"Nah, I just listen to whatever pops up, ya know? It's in some foreign language, so I don't really understand it."
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be a college student?! ...Gah, you're hopeless! I'll figure it out myself. Gimme that."

Then, Impmon swiped Yuuki's D-Storage and began searching through its sound library whilst quietly humming the chorus of the song from earlier.

"Dang, you're even more into it than I thought..."

　Yuuki muttered in surprise at Impmon, who had found the song and was listening intently to another track from the band.

"There we go! One more down!"

　In a corner of Cross Connectia, Yuuki held up her HeavyMetaldramon card, proudly announcing her victory. Before her, a pile of three runaway NPCs, all now no longer operational.

"That worked out nicely."
"Hehehe. Three-in-a-row and without breaking a sweat! Looks like you won't be able to deny my gamer prowess any longer, huh, Impmon?"
"...Yeah, I guess"
"...! Wait a second. Did you just praise me?! That's super very good!"
"Shut it! As if I'd ever praise you! Cut it out! Let go of me!"

　Impmon resisted as Yuuki pounced onto it. From behind the two of them rang out a hearty laugh, accompanied by the rumbling of a motorcycle.

"Gaa-haha! You two are fierce, and as close as thieves, too."
"You know it!"
"We are not!"

　As Yuuki's sincere exclamation and Impmon's feeble attempt to hide their feelings clashed and echoed, another peal of laughter erupted from the Digimon, Rebellimon.

"Anyhow, I appreciate your help! We didn't stand a chance against those spiky humanoid things!"
"Don't worry about it! I'm just glad to see you, Rebellimon! We haven't run into anyone all day!"

　Yuuki and Impmon had gotten the geographical data for Cross Connectia from Mirai Kinosaki and Hanimon, and it had been an entire day since they saw them off to Lacuna. They tried to walk straight to the location on the map that was labeled "Mistymon," but after finding not a hint of Digimon activity, the two simply walked, bickering as usual.
　At some point along the way, they happened upon a Rebellimon being pursued by several runaway NPCs. Yuuki watched for some time as the Rebellimon danced just out of reach of the NPCs, running around in circles. Finally, she had had enough and defeated the NPCs in a card battle.

"I don't really get it."

　Impmon muttered.

"It looked like you could have just run away at any time. Why were you just circling around the same spot over and over?"
"Yeah, I was wondering that too!"
"Oh, if you're curious, come see."

　Rebellimon beckoned them to follow, leading them into the shade of a large nearby boulder.

"I wasn't alone. I was acting as a decoy to buy them time to flee, but they got scared. —All right, guys, it's safe now!"

　No sooner had Rebellimon said this, two more Digimon resembling Rebellimon, but with different-sounding motors, appeared.
　They were both Digimon that appeared to be wearing vividly-colored animal pelts. But in terms of shape, these Digimon were unlike any that Yuuki had seen before.

　One of them had a wheel-like carapace on both arms and legs. It would use these wheels to drive around on all fours, just like an F1 car.
　The other Digimon was a bestial type with wings. However, these were not like bird wings. Instead, they were straight, almost like the wings of a fighter jet.

"Apparently, they're called Turbomon and Maneuvermon. Though I can't say I've ever seen these Digimon before."
"Whoa! You're cute as heck! You're fluffy, and yet you're like machines! You're super cool and adorbs!!"

　As Yuuki said this, she attempted to grab Turbomon, who quickly shifted into reverse and screeched away to keep its distance. Sensing her advances, Maneuvermon also leapt into the air, landing on top of the boulder.

"These guys have been getting chased around by those 'spiky' guys quite a lot. So they're pretty on guard around humans."
"Oh, I had no idea... Sorry. Turbomon and Maneuvermon."
"Sorry we scared you. Yuuki is like this towards everyone, so don't mind her."

　Once Yuuki and Impmon had apologized, the timid duo slowly crept back towards Yuuki. Their gazes appeared to be fixated on the D-Storage around her waist.

"Oh, this thing? Ahh, I get why you're afraid. It's 'cause those runaway NPCs had 'em too, huh? Hold on, I'll put it away."

　As she went to put away the D-Storage, Turbomon shook its head. Maneuvermon slowly floated down to her and handed something over.

"Huh, is this..."
"What's that, a card?"
"Yeah. And it's no ordinary card. Look at this, Impmon!"

　It was a Tamer card. The silver-haired, sunglass-wearing kid, Cool Boy.

"This is Cool Boy's Tamer card... Have you two met him?"

　As Turbomon and Maneuvermon emphatically nodded, Yuuki and the others exchanged glances.

"Tell me all about it!"

　With Rebellimon as their guide, Yuuki and the others made their way to a nearby town. It appeared to be some sort of market lined with rugged machinery and bustling with cyborg and machine-type Digimon. Wincing at the stench of machine oil wafting in from all around, Impmon leaned up against a bench.

"So anyway, you guys... You must have met with Cool Boy several days ago, right?"

　Turbomon and Maneuvermon both nodded.
　From what they could gather, Turbomon and Maneuvermon were being chased by some rogue NPCs several days prior, before they were saved by none other than Cool Boy. He gave them his Tamer card and seemingly instructed them to show it to any humans that they encountered.

"It seems like you get attacked quite often."
"Yeah, several days ago and today to boot."

　Yuuki softly patted Turbomon on the head as if to say, 'there, there.' Impmon looked utterly unamused watching Turbomon, who had taken a liking to Yuuki, joyfully accepting her pets.

"It's true, some damage from those spiky things was reported recently. But it's rather unusual how they were being chased."
"You think so too, Rebellimon? Why's that?"
"Maybe it's got something to do with the new type that we're not familiar with."

　Yuuki glanced at Turbomon and Maneuvermon while murmuring contemplatively. Despite being machines, they really stood out in the machine town, since they appeared to be made of organic materials.

"...Welp, like any amount of thinking will gimme any answers! For now, let's just be happy to know that Cool Boy was safe and sound. Yeah, let's go with that!"
"Well, we don't know what has happened since then. He could have been captured by Mistymon, right?"
"Ugh, can't you try to be positive, Impmon?"
"Mistymon?"

　Rebellimon piped up, sounding surprised.

"You guys aren't trying to go to where Mistymon is, are ya?"
"Huh? You betcha! Problem?"
"Yeah, 'problem'..."

　Rebellimon scratched its head out of exasperation.

"I'm warning you, it's best that you give up. The security in the Guardians' fortress is incredibly tight. It doesn't matter how strong you are. You'll be caught in a second, and then that's that."
"Yeah, if they come at us in numbers, it could be tricky, even if I'm in my Mega form."
"But we gotta go! Our friends could be there."
"So there's nothing I can say to change your minds?"

　Realizing that they were a stubborn bunch, Rebellimon shrugged its shoulders.

"If you're dead set on going, you better not go with just the two of you. Don't you have any other friends?"
"We do, but we can’t reach them at the moment."

　She sighed and opened up her D-Storage. She had been periodically checking her reception, always to no avail, possibly due to the Cross Connectia weather, or maybe interference on the part of Unchained.

"Wanna just walk and hope we bump into everyone?"
"No, we've been heading straight for the Mistymon this whole time. If we keep going, we'll get there for sure."
"Ah, you're probably right. I feel like everyone will eventually make their way to the fortress..."
"It would really suck if everyone trickled in one by one and got captured."
"Yeeeeah! What if we just shouted really loudly: WE'RE OVER HERE!"
"What are you even saying, Yuuki? You moron."
"You got any better ideas?!"

　While the bickering duo started fighting yet again, Rebellimon stood mulling things over, grumbling to itself, until finally, it nodded with purpose.

"That might actually be a good idea."
"Wha?"
"What do you mean?"
"The suggestion you brought up before."
"No, it's not like we have a plan or anything..."
"I TOLD you."

　Watching the somewhat hopeless expressions of Yuuki and Impmon, Rebellimon spoke.

"Shouting as loudly as you can, 'we're right here' will do nicely."

"A rock festival?"

　Yuuki looked at the flyer Rebellimon was holding, mouth agape.

"We Digimon have no clue what this 'rock' thing is. But they hold it here once every season. It gets pretty wild! They even get complaints from the Guardians' fortress because it's too loud."
"Huh? I know it's 'nearby,' but the forest where the fortress is is kinda far away, right? They can hear it all the way over there?"
"Oh, you can hear it all right! You can hear it throughout this entire world."
"Say what now?"
"That's because they have some ultra-giga-huge speakers that were cooked up by the machine-type Digimon here in this town. We're talking so massive that the bass will knock you back a hundred meters if you're anywhere near it."
"Wh-whoa..."

　Yuuki was a bit slow to react to this, in the face of a tale of scale so foreign to that of the human world. And yet—

"—You know what, if we all shout into those, it might just work! Hey Rebellimon, when's this festival?"
"Tomorrow."
"Oh, tomorrow? For real?!"

　Yuuki's voice cracked in surprise.

"C-c'mon, that's a bit of a tough ask... I mean, yeah, I'm not bad at karaoke, but I've never been in a band. Hey, Impmon..."
"..."
"Impmon?"
"Yeah, bring it on! You're all in on this, right, Yuuki?"
"Huh?!"

　Yuuki was surprised to hear her partner going along with the antics, when they were usually the last one to do so.

"Seriously, Impmon? How are we gonna be ready in a day? That's gonna be brutal!"
"What's wrong with you?! All we gotta do is be really loud, right? Leave it to me! I'll teach all the Digimon of this world how to ROCK!"

　Now that I think about it, you were listening to that rock song way more than I did...

　As Yuuki thought to herself in a flustered mess, Impmon sharply pointed its finger.

"Better yet, this is actually what you want, Yuuki."
"I do?"
"Your voice will reach every Digimon in this whole world."
"Oh!"

　Indeed, this was a dream-come-true for Yuuki, since her goal was to befriend all Digimon in existence. Her expression gradually began to shift from bewilderment to uncontainable exuberance.

"...Looks like you made up your mind."
"Yep! Rebellimon, let's—"
"Do it! Yuuki, you got the mic, leave the rest to me!"
"So I really do have to sing?!"
"Uh, DUH! Come on, Yuuki, you better practice your death metal growls!"
"U-uh, Impmon, I don't think that death metal growls would be very cute..."

　Rebellimon chuckled as they watched Yuuki get dragged away by Impmon.

"What an interesting duo. —I can't wait to see the performance tomorrow!"

　Turbomon and Maneuvermon both nodded beside them.