Episode 9: Transfer Of Heart

[Megane Hara]

Staring down at the city below, it was hard not to feel somewhat prideful from such a position. It was as if you were a giant among ants, and the Tokyo did seem small from Megane office. Housed within the Metropolitan Government Building, who would guess that so many undercover operations could be held in one location. It had surprised her the first time she had entered just how many secrets were within this place.

But with all the other programs run, Hypnos was its main header. It was here that their origins were made, where their operation was started. It would be here that she continued the work that had been halted due to...difficulties. These...Digital Monsters, creatures from a world not too unlike their own, they had to be controlled or eliminated. From recent information brought to her, the agents within the organization had gained some control over a few. Duplicates of the ones that had helped in stopping the threat of D-Reaper. It had been hard data to come by, especially the lizards.

But there were many more that would be willing to give up information. Some digimon were working with them to save themselves from deletion, a fate she had no problem delivering. Megane would have order and she wouldn't let some monsters try and take over. Thought such thoughts were mute to her at the moment, as she had a pressing matter to deal with.

A week ago, data upon a creature digimon had been recovered and was manipulated into the digimon of it's origins. Though there appeared to be a few problems with this one. From the list at her desk, it refused to follow orders, was extremely violent, and continued to request...his tamer. It was behavior that hadn't really been seen in the last clones, so the research team didn't know what to do other than keep him caged.

"Tamers and digimon.....Is it some kind of genetic link that binds them...or rather something far deeper? A Soul perhaps...No...Digimon lack such things...as do many human beings for that matter..."

Walking back to her desk, Megane sat down as she began to review the observations of this...Leomon or so he called himself, and continued to ponder how to proceed. If something couldn't be done to make him useful, he would have to be destroyed. There was no use for a non-subjected digimon

[Observer]

Alright... this was just another dingy gray day at the Hypnos... Well, no, not really, but here, surrounded by literally miles of grayish concrete walls, everything seemed dingy and depressing. Not a plant, no bright color, not a single one. And people blended well with this colorless environment, and Larry often got crept out by how easily he became a part of it. Guess this is what the term "consumed by collective" means.

He was heading from the lab section of the complex, his trademark coat sporting 3 long gashes, made by claws, and which were mended very quickly, probably on site too. A reminder of what exactly he had to be doing in the labs. What those sick'o scientists' new "greatest invention yet" tried doing to him. Greatest invention - my foot. The guy felt sooner or later they'd have him killed.

This was supposed to be HIS new digimon, coming to replace the "lost in service" Renee. These guys in labcoats, however, did not stick with relatively stable rookie patterns, oh no, that wouldn't be any fun now would it? Instead they used a champion one, which they had never did before. With ... predictable results - the newborn digimon's first activity would be killing his assigned overseer, that was him, and roar demanding his "real tamer". Who was he talking about? What the hell? Larry decided not to pounder himself with questions - he was called into the chief's office immediately afterwards. His guess would be he's in trouble or something. What else would she need him for?

- Arright, here goes. Knock knock... - Larry knocked at the door of her office before entering. Usually he'd try avoiding the big people, but now there seemed no way to go around. Plus, if it was not some sort of berating, the chief must have called him for something very important.

- You summoned me boss? - the digiop leader asked, closing the door, behind him...

[Megane Hara]

"Glad to see your in one piece Laurence..."

Megane kept her eyes on her paper as she heard the door close behind him. Mr. Smith, one of the senior agents within Hypnos, and possibly one of her 99 problems for the month. His previous partner was on the run, and Leomon was supposed to be assigned to him. Though sadly, it didn't seem like he was taking much a liking to the idea. It almost brought a smile to her face, if she ever did smile. Instead, she leaned back against her chair, allowing her gaze to rest upon the agent.

"It appears that the lastest pet project isn't cooperating as planned. I really would hate to waste data, considering we're only given so many chances of making digital monster replicas and this being the first time it's been done on a creature of it's....unique level. But I won't have that thing around if it can't fall in line like the rest. Japan is already becoming an landing site for these monsters, do we really need to have our own clones acting as wild as the real ones?"

The young woman raised her eyebrow before clasping her hands in front of her lips. Closing her eyes, she then opened then to return her sight to the man in front of her.

"So I have two things I can do here...I can simply blame the process or the operative that's supposed to handle it? Considering your record at the moment, I'm thinking to go with the second...Unless you have something to sway me?"

[Observer]

Larry simply shrugged. So it was about the failed champion prototype after all. In that case, the boss's accusations of his own incompetence were a stab in the sky - the report about the incident was on her table, if she had opened it - she'd know the beast attacked Larry before he could say or do something wrong, thus clearly showing that he was the last person to be blamed for this fiasco. And he knew it, so coming up with a proper defense was not much of a problem.

- You can always try arranging another agent for it. If everything goes smoothly - then I managed somehow to get to the animal's bad side in a matter of seconds. Alternatively, you'll have one less agent. - he replied, his glare meeting hers. A habit of looking into eyes when talking to people. Never managed to get rid of that. Overlapped with times brutal honesty were to be developed.

- I see the root of this fiasco in the scientists though. They made 5 digimon so far, including this one, and not one of them was entirely stable, not one. This seems to have retained memories of his older tamer, which raises the question why they weren't erased by them in the first place, this is why he refuses to accept our agents as tamers. I'm afraid there's little we can do besides deleting him and declaring the whole thing a collosal waste of effort and resources. - Larry used the opportunity to deliver a jab at the scientific corps of the Hypnos organization - they were the cause of 99 percent of their screw-ups, ultimately having to deal with issues their "products" had, instead of doing his job exterminating the pests... It's a living...

[Megane Hara]

Megane continued to look at Laurence, before calmly sighing as she shook her head. He had a point, but there was a reason for keeping bits of memory within these clones. They were there to keep some sense of loyalty to humans, a safe guard to insure that they bonded to their agents and not try and kill them. While they may not have been stable, they were just the first in what she hoped would be the beginning of something far greater. But for now, they were what they would work with.

"I'll have a chat with them...Though some of their methods may appear unneeded, they have some reasons for their madness..."

Her tone held a bit of sarcasm as she returned back to her files before picking up an envelope and tossing it towards Larry.

"Jeri Katou.....If you aren't completely rusty on your history, then you should be aware that she was part of the original group of children that ventured down the rabbit hole into Wonderland two years ago. From the reports of the original Hypnos, she possessed a digimon that matched the very description of the one we just duplicated..."

It at that this point that a smirk came over her face. Children and there little monsters. It was a waste in her mind, but she wouldn't lie to herself in saying that she understood the system of this outer world. If she did, she would stop it completely and ensure these kids weren't at risk. To Megane, giving a kid a digimon was like handing them a gun with unlimited rounds of ammo.

"She was also the same one that had been used as a spokes person for the disaster known as the D-Reaper..."

[Observer]

- I read her file. - Larry replied, upon catching the envelope tossed to him, and put it in his pocket. There was no reason to open the thing - anything that would be hidden inside was not going to be something he did not know already. He notoriously studied files on all of the original tamers, and their records in particular. Still, he did not even think about arranging one of them for the clone, mostly because he disregarded the idea in general... Until now, when it seemed the woman was serious.

- Still, she's just a kid. And, unlike most of the tamers, that mayflower lacks ... grit, the other kids seem to have... - he said, being extremely unsure, if not wary, about the idea his boss was so heavily implying. - Wouldn't it be safer to just destroy the faulty prototype? For both us and the kid? I mean, she'd make a worthless soldier, and ... can we be sure the prototype would still be loyal to us? If it already attacks our people... - Larry related his concerns. Seriously, that thing was more dangerous than a wild one, perhaps keeping it alive was not worth the risk.

- And even if we do keep it, chances Katou will accept having it? Tamers have been very reluctant to resume cooperation with us lately...

[Megane Hara]

"Don't tell me your losing your nerve Laurence...."


Megane returned to her serious expression as she rested her hands upon her desk as she leaned forwards over it. It was a risk, she was aware of it. But not only she wasn't willing to take. It would be a good test run, if not the single most important one. So far, the bond between the agent and digimon clone had been based on a single thread of chance. This time, they were attempting to reconnect a tamer with a digimon that possessed similar data to her previous one. The question she wanted to answer was did digimon data hold more than just information?

Was it possible to create a stable bond simply through a hopeless memory and the physical presence to back it up? In the end, they would perhaps hold the key to making it work. If it failed, they still got information on what to take out of the process. There were more than just these digimon out there, and from the data that was collected regular, they would soon be able to do more. This would only be so if she had enough to gain the support of her superiors.

"I'm aware of her psych-profile as well. Unstable as it may be, its also the easiest to manipulate. That, I can assure you. If you have the puppet master under control, the puppet will follow as well. You can mold anyone into a soldier...which is why I'm going to be assigning her to you...should she bite...and she will..."

[Observer]

- Mold a psychically unstable child into a soldier? If this doesn't backfire, I dunno what will. - Larry replied bluntly. This was low. Way low. Of all morally ambiguous things Hypnos did so far this had to be the lowest. He still did not believe this to be a good idea, not at all. No kind of useful data was worth this, even evil had standards. But his boss, apparently, hadn't. If she had to use a kid to achieve her goal - she would, Larry figured that out long ago. Now it only proved he was right. But still, orders were orders, whether he liked them... or not.

It was funny how she mentioned that he could make a soldier out of anyone. Considering Larry was not a soldier himself when he signed up, but by this time, after going through more combat situations than an Afghanistan trooper in a matter of a few months, he become someone who could give a trained trooper a run for the money. If anything, Hypnos "molded" him, which was ironic.

- Very well, I will do it. She used to have plenty of nasty encounters with digimon in the past, and the present. Children are susceptible to influence, especially minds weakened with internal struggle. Perhaps if I were to show her videos of the atrocities the monsters commit in our world every day, it will sew seeds of hate. And that hate would substitute for backbone she's lacking. - his eyes were as cold as ice, as he sounded his plan to make it work. Work was work indeed, and Larry learned compartmentalizing his emotions, being able to shut off all compassion, when things required it. Like right about now. If he'll have to break her and then put back together - he'll do it. He won't like it, but he'll do it.

- There might be a problem with her current digimon though. What must be done about it?

[Megane Hara]

It was true, observations had shown that the girl appeared to have gained a new monster as a substitute for the one she previously lost. This would pose a challenge, but only a minor one. Jeri Katou appeared to have a very hardened dislike for death, a problem and an advantage. But she also believed that seeing her old partner reborn might just stop all feeling towards the other. Of course, this was simply theory. Megane wouldn't know in till they got her up involved. A Big risk indeed.

"Deal with it if you must...But I'm counting on that matter to resolve itself..after all..."

Crossing her legs, she then turned her gaze towards the window with a calm expression.

"No one wants to be second place....I'll arrange so that one of our less important location is available for their...meeting. Stay in contact and make sure that she is reliable before leaving her to her own devices...Also.."

Resting her hand under her chin, she glared towards Larry as she made sure that this was spoken clearly.

"Don't mess this up Laurence. You're attempt to hide the fact that you lost your partner hasn't fooled me as much as you think. If you blow this on your part, you can consider it your pink slip...and permission to find a bullet in your head...are we clear?"

[Observer]

People react differently to a shocking news. Some yell, some cry, some get with their face frozen in sheer horror. Larry's remained as still as a stone mask, despite the bluntness the revelation was delivered with, and a very, very grim warning about consequences of failure. There was a more unseen reaction to it though - when the news about his failure to deceive was disclosed, his already gray head just received a few more gray hairs. The poor guy was aging at his job, literally.

- Crystal. I will make sure everything on my part is done peerlessly. So if this plan is doomed to fail, it would be for reasons other than my incompetence. - he replied dryly. If the faulty clone would suddenly go berserk, he was not about to take the blame. Fortunately she did say about failure "on his part", and not in general. His part was small, it would be pretty hard to screw this up.

- Is there anything else I should know about the mission? - he then inquired, though they both probably knew that this was a more discreet and polite way of asking "Can I go now?". Larry indeed would be busy now - both with this ridiculous idea of making a child soldier out of a poor unfortunate kid, and using an unstable clone as part of fighting force. The probability of this going smoothly was like playing a russian roulette with 6 bullets in the revolver - the only chance you'll get is if the gun accidentally jams.