'Hey.... Daisuke... Wake up.'

"Five... Five more minutes mom..." Daisuke groaned automatically, then opened his eyes.

This wasn't his room.

What he was in, was a large, clear-glass tube, with a number of small devices outside and one inside. Flamedramon and Angemon were similarly trapped opposite him, and to his side, Takeru was stuck behind glass too.

"There's a little intercom thing attached to the inside of the tubes." Takeru said, and Daisuke realised his voice came from a speaker on the floor. The glass itself appeared to be soundproof.

"Okay... Do you hear me?" Daisuke asked, pressing the only device inside.

"Yeah. It looks like it's just us that got caught, but this isn't looking so good. While you were still out the Digimon that caught us petrified a couple of other Digimon he'd caught. "

"Okay.... So, Cockatorimon?"

"No. It's an Archivemon." Angemon intejected.

"And what's an Archivemon?"

"It's a Digimon that works with the data of the Digital World. He's kind of related to Datamon. A Datamon restores, but Archivemon backs it up." Flamedramon said.

"Oh... Okay. And he's petrifying things why?"

"Storing physical samples of speciments as well as copies of codes. He's apparently gone crazy. His real role was supposed to just archive data." Takeru answered.

Daisuke sighed.

"And I guess we're just more samples. Great... I had a date with Hikari tonight..."

"And in reality?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah, okay, I was going to ask her out again..."

"Huh. So that's what, a sixtieth try?"

The two Digimon were now very puzzled.

"Nah, not really. I was going to try asking Natsumi out. You know, that cute girl who sits in front of you in Math?"  Daisuke explained.

"Guys..." Flamedramon tried,

"Oh. Her, yeah. She's pretty cute."

"Guys! We're kind of in trouble here!" Angemon snapped. The humans laughed, unheard as they were not pressing their intercoms.

"Sorry, but  I figure... We're going to be petrified. Might as well talk random crap. We're not going to have much time for friendly conversation until the others save us..." Takeru shrugged.

"IF they save us! You two are way too relaxed about this!" Flamedramon shouted.

Daisuke also shrugged.

"Well, it's not like we're going to be killed. There's always hope."

"That's my line!" Takeru protested.

"I had no idea you were on a script..." Angemon sighed.

However, the brief distraction was over. Archivemon entered.

He was a humanoid digimon, wearing numerous pairs of spectacles, most of them on his head the same way Daisuke wore his goggles, and covered in magnetic tape worn like robes. He rustled as he walked.

"My latest specimens are awake, and the scan of the human data is complete. Wonderful!" The Digimon said, seemingly to himself.

"Hey... Hey, bad guy. Yo, can you let us go?" Daisuke tried.

Archivemon simply walked over to Angemon's tube.

"I think he's ignoring you..." Takeru noted.

"Yeah, I figured that... "

"Nice try though. One day it might work to say that."

Archivemon pressed a few buttons, and Angemon's tube filled with a green gas. His intercom was deactivated also, silencing his brief yell.

"Crap. Looks like statue time." Daisuke noted.

Archivemon finally seemed to notice the humans.

"Oh? No, you two are not ready yet... I have to modify you first."

Daisuke froze in horror.

"Wait... Are you going to take our clothes off?!"

Archivemon pressed the button to fill Flamedramon's tube with the gas. The other tube was still filled.

"...What are clothes?" The Digimon asked in confusion.

"Daisuke, don't tell him! Never give these guys ideas!"

"Okay... I wasn't going to..."

"I have checked my databanks and clothes are not relevant to the modifications. They will not interfere." Archivemon noted.

Angemon's tube had finally cleared. The Angel was a startled looking granite statue.

He began pressing buttons near Daisuke's tube.

"Uh... What are these modifications?" Takeru asked. Daisuke's tube was glowing instead of filling with gas, and the other human seemed to look uncomfortable, but had seemed to stop moving. He was turning red...

"Well, many older species of Digimon are extinct. I only have data samples. What I have done is to archive the samples of other Digimon as a precaution, and then load new appearance data onto them. The old code becomes the main code, and the Digimon transforms, but I have not tried it with humans. Humans only have two variant types as a whole unlike Digimon species, so the two I captured some time ago are enough to archive Humans in the Digitial World."

"Uh... Okay... What does that do?" Takeru asked, glancing at Daisuke. The other humans nose seemed... Longer?

"It quite simply alters your physical shape and size. You won't be changed in personality, but if you were not being archived you would in essence be what the new appearance codes were. Humans have no attack data I have found. All your fighting skills appear to be merged with your minds. Since your data there is empty you would have the correct attacks."

Archivemon chuckled. Shortly after this, Flamedramon's statue of granite was revealed in the glass tube.

"You also have no evolutionary data up or down. I'm surprised so many of you exist if you are all stuck on one level at all times."

Takeru recalled his own advice about no ideas. If Archivemon had no idea all humans were unique or that they aged, then that was good. If he ever learned... He might try to archive every human. Takeru kept silent.

Suddenly, Takeru caught movement in the corner of his eye, and was stunned to see Daisuke's skin was now deep red, with some black markings. His hands looked like paws, and he reminded Takeru of Agumon. His eyes were now yellow, and shifting to the side of his head. Small ears, like bat wings, grew out of his head, where his hair had vanished.

The more alarming thing though was that his clothes seemed to be melting into him, becoming red scales. A tail had formed, poking through his shorts, which had melted away to let the appendage just grow out, before they started to be absorbed like water into a sponge.

As his clothing totally was absorbed, Daisuke grew. Takeru watched in surprise as Daisuke expanded, grew taller, and now was a five foot tall red dinosaur. The glow stopped. Daisuke blinked, lifted his hands up, then pressed the intercom button. It stilled worked.

"What the hell did you turn me into and how?" Daisuke asked.

"It's a Guilmon. They are extinct in the Digital World now.  The process was simple. I first froze your appearance data, hence your paralysis there. I then uploaded the altered..."

Both human and former human zoned out. This guy was worse than Izzy for long winded explanations.

"...Resulting finally in your current appearance. But I have to preserve this look now." Archivemon said, and pressed the button. Daisuke never had a chance. His intercom fell silent. He was masked behind green smoke.

"And now for you... I understand you were one of the Digidestined that were present before the Digital World reformatted and synchronised the passage of time with the real world?" Archivemon asked.

Takeru sighed.

"Does it matter if I even answer?"

Archivemon pondered this.

"Well, it isn't of huge importance. I merely wished to thank you. It has made my archiving efforts much quicker in real terms! To protect all the data here this area was partitioned away from the rest of the Digital World."

"Wait... You mean time goes faster here? So a day outside in the real world is like a year?" Takeru realised. That meant rescue would feel like a long way away and at the same time be a lot faster than he thought... sort of... and hopefully...

"It is an approximate, but one year here corresponds to approximately twelve Earth or Main World hours. It allows me to spend real seconds in here, taking my time checking archives, preparing preservations, and selecting candidates to preserve. Though my assistant has long specialised in this."

Archivemon frowned as he finished this. He was reading a strip of the tape he wore, pulling it between his fingers.

"Strange. There is no image of a Dorumon. I will have to record one once you are converted."

Archivemon then began to press the buttons, and Takeru  felt himself become paralysed before he could ask about the assisstant. At the same time, the green gas faded in Daisuke's tube, revealing the human-turned-Guilmon was now a slightly surprised looking, granite statue.

Out the corner of his stone eye, now somewhat shifted in direct, Daisuke saw Takeru change. His clothing began to melt and twist into grey fur, as did his skin. Takeru seemed to shrink slightly, his digits merging to form paws. His fur was purple, and his hat melted into a gemstone atop Takeru's head. He was assuming the shape of a furred dinosaur, a long, rather bushy, tail sprouting from him. White "gloves" emerged on his paws, and pointed ears grew sweeping back.

The glow ended, and it was done. Takeru was a Dorumon.

"What the heck is a Dorumon?" Takeru protested. Archivemon held up some of his tape, and nodded.

"The image is preserved. A Dorumon is another extinct species. The only remnants of the species before now was the archived codes I had. However, I feel confident the appearance is correct."

Another button was pressed before Takeru could speak, and the gas filled his tube.

Daisuke watched it fade, and expose Takeru now a petrified granite Dorumon.

And then a wicked female voice spoke.

"Ah, Archivemon. You are done?"

"Yes, LadyDevimon. It was most interesting to finally have a human to convert to those two species."

'Damn it... So that LadyDevimon corrupted him!' Takeru realised.

"I thought so. Anyway, once we transfer these four to the main archives, I have two species you lack. An Angewomon and a LadyDevimon..."

Archivemon seemed surprised.

"You offer yourself for archiving? Or one of your kind?"

"It would be no different from you archiving that other Archivemon who had only hoarded data. But no, it's another human and her Angewomon partner. There's a perfect ambush spot to snare them an hour's distance away from here. The human girl will make a fine archive of my kind..." LadyDevimon smirked.

Both former humans realised who she meant.

'Hikari...'

Both had been somewhat counting on her to be trying to find them, not joining them. True, it appeared at best she would do so in a month from their perspective.

"Excellent. I trust your judgement as always. We shall move them, and then head to our ambush spot! Oh, no, wait. I failed to allow the mind links between the two humans. The risks are to great. If left alone the human minds seem to degrade. We were fortunate with our main samples to managed to observe the data loss and reverse it before enacting the countermeasures..." Archivemon noted.

LadyDevimon sighed quietly, Archivemon not noticing it.

"Yes, indeed. We cannot risk any data loss... Not even data that will never be used again..."

Archivemon smiled.

"I am so glad you understand. Now, if you please, press the transfer buttons on the Angemon and Flamedramon's containers. I will send the Guilmon and Dorumon once the two have a mental link, then I will join you and we shall fetch the other two samples."

LadyDevimon did so. Flamedramon and Angemon flickered like an old television switching off, then vanished.

Archivemon twisted some tape in his hands, and pressed a few buttons, and then smiled.

"Now, you can think to each other. You must think about thinking to them for them to hear you. I learned from the other humans being able to share memories was embarrassing for the one designated a 'female' in particular...  Well, it is now time to add you to the archive! Thank you for helping! I shall return in approximately two months from your perspectives."

The pair were "treated" to the sensation of being in two places at once briefly, as the transfer process copied their codes over bit by bit, but in under a second. They now saw the Archives. Row upon row of Digimon now stood on pedestals in front, beside, and likely behind the pair.

'Well, this sucks... and that sucked....' Dasiuke moaned.

Takeru sighed in his head.

'Am I stuck with you complaining for at least two months now?'

'No, I'll try to be good. So, you have anything to talk about?' Daisuke replied

'I really hope Kari and Angewomon kick their asses and come save us...'

'Yeah...'

They were silent for a minute, then another, and another. Each minute of silence for them were mere seconds outside this partitioned area running on the old time progression of the Digital World. Takeru hoped to himself Daisuke had some ideas for something to say, because the former blond human had no clues.

'Hey, Takeru. If we were here a year, could we demand late birthday presents? I mean, we'd have had a birthday each, right?'

Takeru hoped to himself Daisuke also had ideas for something less inane to say... And hoped that any rescued was going to be coming fast in real-world terms.