Malkavian Madness Network
Other Systems => Digimon: Digital Adventures => Topic started by: MrParaduo on July 14, 2022, 07:14:36 PM
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Beneath the Kaua Arena, at the center of its boiler-works and a foul scheme undone, the group was led by Eyesmon to the systems control room. Here, surrounded by monitors and windows overlooking a cargo-elevator shaft, they found gear-shaped digimon; unconscious and tied up with black cables.
"This is where I found it," said Eyesmon, the thousand-eyed shadow slithering into the room like a serpent. Barbs that reminded Alemana of a lionfish had extended from its back after recovering from the poison. Still, it clung to the shadows, its two, twig-like arms clasping at any nearby surface it could peek over. "The Hagurumon were knocked out before the bomb was set to go off..."
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“Those poor gears.. but I’m curious- why are you down here? Do you work for the Arena?” He asked as he turned the bomb around in his hands.. focusing on the skull and crossbones. “It’s not a coincidence that this bomb was set up today.. but why would they put this symbol? That seems too on the nose..”
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"Secret!" it said, flattening itself against the floor. Literally. In doing so, it became two-dimensional and slithered without a sound across the surface, only to pop its head back up from behind a desk. "Can't say a word! Not here! NOT HERE!! Too many eyes!"
"(That goes without saying,)" mused Renamon, her voice inside Al's head again.
"The symbol, though, yesss, that's a good question. Usually means the content is poisonous, but I know for a fact only one bomber was skulking around."
"You mean you saw them?" asked Malie, the girl carrying Kukuimon now that the piglet had reverted to his Rookie form.
"Of course I did!" said Eyesmon, shifting out of the floor to flash its name sake all across its body. "I see everything!"
"What did they look like?" asked Kukuimon.
Raising an index claw, the grinning shadowy beast opened its mouth... then it slammed it shut.
"I don't remember," it said, covering its face to one side.
-
(“It’s just scared, I don’t blame it.”)
“Hey, it’s okay I understand secrets.. I mean look at us,” and he placed his mask back into place.. before then pulling free a fruit.. offering it to the eyeball snake. With his other hand- he would try to scan the Digimon.
When It said it saw the bomber.. and then couldn’t remember .. he would shrug. “I’m sure things will work out. After all.. we have this bomb as evidence. I’m confident we can figure out who did it!” In fact, he had two sinking suspicions.
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The shadowy beast peeked from behind its clawed hand as Al offered the fruit. All of its eyes became fixed on it, shifting from red to violet as it snatched the morsel away and swallowed it whole.
//Eyesmon
++//Level: Champion
++//Type: Dark Dragon
++//Attribute: Virus
++//Family: Nightmare Soldiers
++//Attacks: Janengan, Deceptive Illusion, Shadow Bind
"Thnk 'u," it said, munching.
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“Hey, no problem. So.. are you hurt anywhere?”
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"Not anymore. Your pig friend fixed me up good."
"You're welcome!" cheered Kukuimon.
"(That's two red-eyed, dark dragon digimon in this many days,)" said Renamon. "(Think there'll be a third?)"
"Wait!" said Eyesmon. "I just remembered! The bomber came from inside the arena! I was watching through the security feeds!"
"How do you do that, by the way?" asked Renamon, the vixen walking over to untie the Hagurumon. "Are you a hacker?"
"Off the record? I totally am! I can shift between two modes. One lets me access computer networks, the other--wait, forget I said anything! Too many blank spots! Someone could be listening!"
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(“Hey, be nice Rena. And probably tomorrow,”)
“They came from the arena? Can we go back through thr feeds and see who it was?” He asked before petting their snoot.
“You’re safe, it’s okay!”
-
"(I'm always nice,)" mused the fox. "(How dare you.)"
Eyesmon chirped to themselves, rumbling in the back of their throat as they regarded Alemana. "I could," they said. "But... what if the Hagurumon wake up?"
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(“Yeah yeah,”)
“Well we will just tell them the truth. But just in case.. let’s hurry”
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In what Al assumed to be Eyesmon's equivalent of a shrug, the dark dragon dissipated into a chittering black cloud, surging forth towards every console in sight. Like a poltergeist, they caused screens to flash, glitch and distort with their signature eye patterns, as data was streamed at incredible speeds. All of a sudden, every monitor was showing the same content. Nine separate camera feeds were on display, then five, then three. One showcased the entrance to the boiler-works. The second showed the outside of the control room. The last showed said-room's interior, where Hagurumon were seen levitating above the floor as they moved between terminals and workstations. The footage would slow down than speed up at random moments, or even go backwards, till they all matched up with the time of the attack.
The group saw someone skulking down the hallway towards the front entrance. Bipedal, maybe roughly around Gazimon's height - though no signs of claws or long ears were to be seen on the intruder. Static then took over the camera-one's feed, only to come back up in five seconds to no sign of the figure. A few minutes later, camera-two showed the intruder bypass the control room's security by slipping behind a grate in the floor. Two minutes after that, in camera-three, smoke began filling the room, at which point the Hagurumon began dropping to the floor. When it cleared, the intruder was climbing out of a grate at the center of the room, placing the gas bomb on the central computer terminal. That's when they turned around to glare at the camera, revealing their face.
"Sailormon #2!" said Malie, the girl pointing to the number on the digimon's bandana.
The feed then cut off, and remained so. Glancing around the room, Alemana saw what the problem was with the camera: a knife.
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“So.. the good captain is involved after all,” Alemana said, though he then thought about it “Unless that’s a Mo-“ he then paused as the feed cut- and glanced at the knife. “What?”
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"Eyesmon," said Renamon, "Is there a live current still active on the camera?"
A message popped up on screen reading: N o p e.
Seeing this, Renamon hurried over to the ruined device. She gave the knife's hilt a measured and precise blow with the back of her knuckle, dislodged the weapon so it dropped into a waiting hand.
"It's a combat knife," she said, looking it over. "Smaller than the ones used by Mo'omon, but definitely of the same make."
"Did either of the Sailormon have knives?" asked Kukuimon.
"I don't remember seeing any, but it's possible."
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“Well we should go tell MachGaogamon about this bomb.. he needs to know. And you should come with us, Eyesmon!”
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Another message came on screen.
++But my secret! Nobody was supposed to find out about me! They'll ask questions! Too many questions!++
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“I mean.. you know my secret. We can keep yours!”
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[Roll Persuasion]
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[rolling: 4 1 6 + 6= 17]
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A moment of silence, then another message sprung up.
++Okay, but only if I get to hide in your shadow++
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He thought about that, and after a moment of patting the terminal like he was doing the same to it’s snout again he shrugged “That sounds reasonable to me, deal!”
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The computer screen began blinking in different colored lights. From every nook and cranny, ribbons of black vapor streamed outward, only to condense around Alemana and 'leak' into his shadow. Glancing down at it, he saw violet eyes staring back up at him, alongside a toothy, crooked grin.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Renamon, her own eyes on the dark dragon.
"I'll be good!" said Eyesmon. "You won't even know I'm here!"
"That's a neat trick," said Malie. "Can't feel too good getting stepped on, though."
"Pfffft--not even! I'm perfectly fine like this, as long as you don't try hitting me or anything."
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Watching as the smoke wafted towards his shadow, he would look Renamon reassuringly- or he sent her reassuring thoughts. (“It’ll be okay, Rena.”)
He then looked at his shadow
“We’ll make sure the little gears are seen as heroes , stopping the threat.”
-
In response, the vulpine said nothing, looking away as she used her kohenkyo technique to reassume her Pagumon disguise.
Time passed. Roughly five minutes after everyone had put back on their masks and bucket, the whirring of cogs and gears portended the Hagurumons' revival. They bobbed and swerved as they each began levitation off the floor, shaking their metal heads as a tiny cog extended from either side of their faces.
"Ohhh," said one of them, their voice layered with a metallic tine. "My circuitry... I think I need a full systems diagnostic..."
As their red-black eyes regained focus, one of them flew backward on seeing the group. "Hang on, what are YOU doing in here?! This is a restricted area!"
"Lord Bucketmon has no such restriction!" said Malie, raising her arms up, toy knife in hand. "Lord Bucketmon CANNOT BE CONTAINED!!"
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That was when Alemana would hold up his hands. “Calm yourselves.. you were attacked by an assailant who was trying to sabotage the city defense force rally.. but thanks to our assistance you two were able to avert the disaster.” He then held up the empty gas bomb. “You two heroically were able to contain the weapon..you guys are amazing!”
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[Roll Manipulate with a -3 from difficulty but a +2 from circumstance]
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Rolling: 6 1 5 + 5= 17]
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"We did?" they asked in unison.
"That's right~!" said Renamon from atop Al's head. "You must've fainted from the stress, though! You two were out like a pair of lights!"
The Hagurumon glanced at each other, their attention then turning to the rest of the room. "I... I guess we did," said one of them.
"That still doesn't explain who you guys are," said the other. "Lord Bucketmon, was it? Do you have authorization to be down here or not?"
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And that’s when he held up that card "We are authorized, yes."
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The literal gearheads gawked at what they were seeing.
"That's MachGaogamon's personal keycard!" said one.
"The only ways you could've gotten that are off his dead body-"
"Or because he gave it to you!"
"Lord Bucketmon haveth mad-dog street cred!" proclaimed Malie. "Gaze upon her glory and behold!"
"We-we need to call it in!" said both the Hagurumon. They then proceeded to headbutt each other as they raced towards opposite ends of the room, spinning in the air before reorienting themselves at computer terminals. "Wait, did the floor just blink?"
"Don't be stupid! We're on the clock!"
"Okay, so," said MachGaogamon. "From the top, tell me how it all went down."
The boiler-works were now swarming with security guards as the cyborg met up with the group in control room, his arms folded as the Hagurumon floated to one side.
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Alemana would take a breath, and explain the order events - though leaving out Eyesmon and playing up the heroic actions of the two mechanical digimon: with the assistance of Lord Bucketmon and her entourage of course.
“That said… there is a disturbing revelation. The security feed- before it was tampered with and cut, revealed who was attempting to set off the weapon. And the perpetrator.. looked to be Hookmon’s #2 Sailormon.” He would then sigh. “But it’s possible that it’s a Mo’omon trying to sow dissent and misdirect us.”
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Kukuimon walked over to MachGaogamon, offering the cyborg the combat knife he had in his mouth. Mach frowned as he knelt down and took it, giving it a once over as it rested in the palm of his mechanized hand.
"Today's just been full of surprises," he said. Sighing, he put the knife inside one of his belt-pockets. "Listen, now that this is an active crime scene, I'm gonna need you guys to keep this on the downlow for now. We'll tell the public about the bomb threat, and close the arena until further notice, but the details have to stay secret until we catch this guy. Can you do that for me?"
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“Absolutely. If there is one thing Lord Bucketmon and all of us understand, it’s discretion.”
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Al didn't need to see the faces of his teammates to know they were avoiding eye contact. He could hear Malie coughing into her fist.
Mach smirked. "I'll tell the cops what you told me," he said. "Right now, you may wanna skedaddle on outta here. Police interviews and paperwork are a time sink, and you guys could do with some R&R, amirite?"
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“Right, absolutely right. Well then, until next time I suppose we will get out of your fur. There were a few other things we were needing to do today as well.”
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"Wait," said the Hagurumon. "Does that include us, too?!"
"You bet your modems it does," mused Mach. "You're heroes, remember? Have a beach!"
"Mr. MachGaogamon!" cheered the cogs, weeping oily tears. "You're the greatest, sir!"
"Try n' stay outta trouble," he chuckled, giving Alemana a wink of his golden eye.
"Hey guys?" said Malie, the gang making their way down the street. "Did we mention why we were down in the boiler room in the first place?"
"I'm still wondering why they call it a boiler room if there's more than one room to it," said Kukuimon.
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Nodding, he would thank MachGaogamon and would usher everyone else out.. and as then closed the door behind them when they finally left the boiler complex he spared a glance at his shadow before then reaching up, gently scratching Renamon’s ear flap.
(“MVP for best acting goes to you and Malie, Rena,”) he thought with a chuckle.
_____
“I think you were dozing off during that part, because I told him we heard commotion coming from the boiler door, and as good citizens we offered assistance.”
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("I should hope so~") mused the faux-Pagumon.
"That part is true," said Kukuimon.
"Pfft, traitor," said Malie.
"It's not like it was a secret!"
"Speaking of which," said Renamon, her eyes on Alemana's shadow. "What are we going to do about our new friend?"
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Chuckling at his friends antics, he would look at the shadow again as well. “Yeah.. that’s a good question. Let’s get somewhere less in the open.”
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*Rollz*
Thinking better of staying in the same district as the Kaua Arena, the group made for the dark underside of an empty parking garage, far from the prying eyes of other digimon. Renamon disposed of her disguise to once again fade into the background to the sound of a distant flute. Kukuimon used his snout to sense the presence of anyone that might have been hiding.
"Alright," said Renamon, the vulpine reappearing beside Al. "We should be clear. We're far enough away from the exits, and no one appears to be tailing us. Kukui?"
"Nothing," said the piglet, sniffing the air. "But I'll keep an eye out just the same."
The floor came alive with hundreds of violet-colored eyes. With Alemana's shadow concealed by the even bigger shadow of the ceiling, Eyesmon rose up the nearby wall like a terrible specter, grinning.
"See?" they said, gesture with twig-like claws. "I told you I'd be quiet! Not a peep!" they said, zipping their toothy maw shut.
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“Good,” he then looked up at the shadow, and would turn sigh
“Care to share some of those secrets now? You already know I’m a human, so I have nothing to gain by blabbing about whatever you’re hiding.. you could just turn me over to the Green Lady.”
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Eyesmon emerged from the wall, snout inches from Al's mask as the living shadow giggled behind a claw. "That is true. That is very, very true."
"Eyesmon," said Renamon.
The dark dragon glanced at the fox, who had her arms folded.
"I wasn't talking to you," said Eyesmon. "I was talking to Aly."
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“Hey now.. no need to fight!” Al said..though he felt a little embarrassed now-
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"Yeah!" said Eyesmon, coiling around the tamer as she massaged his shoulders from behind. "See? Why can't you be cool like Aly?"
"I haven't even said anything besides your name," retorted Renamon.
"You don't have to! I can see it in the way you look at me!"
Meanwhile, Malie said nothing, having fallen asleep on her feet again.
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Alemana was at a loss for words at what was happening. He had never once been the center of an argument before, and he would then look up at Eyesmon, and back at Renamon.
“What do you mean, Eyesmon? Renamon is super cool. She’s my partner..” he was feeling rather uncomfortable now.
“I don’t want either of you to fight!”
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[Roll Persuasion with a -3 from difficulty ;) ]
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[Rolling: 2 3 2 + 2= 9]
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"I'm not fighting with anyone," said Renamon, eyes closed. "I'm being quite civil. We made a deal and made good on our part, now I think we're owed some answers."
"Don't talk like I'm not here!" hissed Eyesmon, barbs rattling as her eyes turned red. "Ugh! You're DELIBERATELY pissing me off!"
"Can't we all just get along?" asked Kukuimon behind a wavering smile.
"NO!!" said Malie, startling the green piglet as she punched the air.
Eyesmon and Renamon stared at the bucket tamer, taken aback. But already, Malie was snoozing again with her head a-bobbin'.
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“H-hey! I want both of you to get along, okay? Renamon? Eyesmon?”
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The vixen pinched between her eyes, sighing into her chest. "This is ridiculous," she said. "Call me when we're ready to move out."
Once more, Renamon melted into the background to the sound of a distant flute.
"I can still see you!" said Eyesmon, slithering over to where the fox had been standing. "Don't you walk away from me!" the dragon then gasped. "Oh you did NOT--!! Get back here and fight me, fur ball!" Eyesmon then shot back around, facing Alemana. "Ask me a question!"
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“Renamon wait! Don’t do that-“ and then he gasp as he say Eyesmon get poked or punched by Renamon.. he couldn’t see. And when she turned to him he gave a startled “Whuh?! Uh.. uh… what are you after?”
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"Information! SECRET information! About SECRET meetings and a SECRET vie for power! You think the interference is all the Green Lady's doing? Varamon's? Don't make me laugh! If you knew what I've seen, you'd die on the spot!"
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“Well.. what are these secrets?”
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Like someone who had drank a full energy drink and been told to stand still, Eyesmon trembled in place. "Chaos!" they blurted out. "Something - or someone - managed to tamper with universal protocols centered around Waihona Island's infrastructure! Worse still, they've managed to exploit holes in the programming, even bypass firewalls that only digimon with moderator or admin privileges are allowed through! It's only being made worse by the criminal underworld, digimon like Hookmon and Varamon having no trouble finding anomalies thanks to their network of spies and hired muscle!" The dark dragon then grabbed Alemana by the shoulders and shook him. "I'm losing my mind out here, Aly! Humans are the key to it all! TAMERS ARE PEOPLE!!"
-
Alemana listened to Eyesmon, but as she talked he started to realize that maybe the Digimon afraid of one or two too many things. That said.. he did agree that humans were special in this world, seeing what his partnership with Renamon could do. But when she started shaking him, well that was when he started to get frightened.
“I-I know they’re people! I’m one of them! Please stop, y-you’re scaring me..!”
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"YOU'RE scared?! What about my par-" The digimon snapped shut their jaws, wrapping their arms around it like a bola. Eyes wide and dilating to the size of a needle point.
"Eyesmon?" said Kukuimon. "You okay?"
The dark dragon crushed their crocodile snout against the floor, mumbling something behind their lips as they avoided eye-contact.
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Alemana would take a few steps away from the Digimon- and he would pant as he tried to calm himself down.
(“Don’t.. don’t hurt Eyesmon Rena, I-I’m okay! Did you hear what she said..?”)
He would then slowly approach her, kneeling down as he carefully reached to pat her snout.
“That rumor about the human being held hostage isn’t a rumor is it? That person is your partner..?”
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("I make no promises,") grumbled Renamon. ("...And yes.")
Eyesmon screwed their eyes shut. Screaming through their teeth as they rose from the floor, their fists shook in place as their arms crushed against their sinuous body. "Nononono-NO!" they whined. "You weren't supposed to find out yet! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!! I-I've gotta go! I can't stay!"
"But why?" asked Kukuimon. "We're on your side! We can help!"
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This took him entirely aback, and he would wave his arms as he tried to get in front of thrm. “H-hey, calm down! It’s going to be okay, it’s gonna be okay!”
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[Hmm... roll Persuasion with a -4 penalty.]
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[Rolling: 5 6 6 + 1= 18]
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Against all odds, the dark dragon began to breathe easier. In and out. In and out.
"Nobody's supposed to know about us," they mewled. "I have to keep her secret...!"
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“We’re humans too..” he said quietly “Why would she have to be secret to us?”
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"Because it's dangerous to be a human in Cypher Bay." Renamon reappeared beside Al. "If what Sunshine Monitamon told us is true, a human child has been living here a full month now. It only makes sense that paranoia would become part of survival. One wrong step, and they would have nowhere to run. And then there's the risk that any humans they found were just Mo'omon or worse in disguise, looking to drop their guard by giving a false sense of security or hope."
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He was quiet.. but he would then look at Eyesmon and then pull out the Digivice, holding it up for them to see. “Look.. I have this. We aren’t Mo’omon.. and we aren’t going to hurt you or your partner. We want to help her be safe too…”
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With a single eye open, the dragon gazed upon the reseda-green digivice. "Aly," they said, extending their hands out to hold the back of Alemana's.
"We're looking for a way home," said Malie, walking over. "We've even got a plan, too!"
Eyesmon glanced between the two tamers, their eye glazing over. "...I can't take you to her," they said. "N-not because I don't wanna, just, you won't be able to reach her. I can come and go because I can squeeze through the tiniest gaps and travel through computer networks to where she is."
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He would gently pat her hand before slowly pulling his digivice away, putting it back into his pocket.
“We’re friends, we look out for each other. And if we can’t go to her.. well that’s okay. When you go back to her, tell her that Alemana, Malie, and Ike will meet her wherever she wants and feels safe. Malie is right too.. we do have a plan to get home.. it just looks like it might take longer than I want it to.”
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Eyesmon nodded. "I'll tell her," they said. "I promise."
Just as the dark dragon started turning to leave, they glanced back at the group, a small smile crossing their face before Eyesmon began sinking into the floor. A slithering shadow vanishing into the distance...
-
He would wave goodbye to Eyesmon.. and would smile behind his mask as relief came over him. He was worried that the human they heard about was in mortal peril or was being held hostage, and hearing that they were okay? It was like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.
“So… who’s ready to head back to the house? I think our schedule just got cleared by a big margin. We could see if your family responded, Malie!”
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"Yeah!" she said. "They've had to have gotten it by now! Come on!"
In the darkness of a room barely larger than a broom closet, hidden far away from the bustle of the city above, a computer screen turned on. A green emblem emblazoned the center, yet barely did the light reach the figure that knelt before it.
"++The situation has changed++" said the masked voice of the Green Lady. "++By proceeding with this little stunt of theirs, our colleagues are forcing my hand. Acquire the captain's stolen Ki'i. From there force Gessomon to comply if you must. The human has overplayed herself. The time to act is nigh++"
"Y'know, after everything that happened yesterday, about us freaking out because neither Renamon or Gazimon didn't call in to say what was happening, I think I am in my right to say--WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!"
Nearing sundown, the group had made it back to Gotsumon's basement, the Tumblemon watching from the stairs as Ike began ranting at maximum volume. Even after explaining the whole story to him, the platinum blonde couldn't hide the twitch in his brow, much to the snickering delight of Pagumon.
"You're just mad because we saved the day and found out about another tamer," mused Malie.
"I thought you guys were in trouble," growled Ike. "I've been stuck here, unable to enjoy my day off, because of the ulcer I've been having - agonizing over whether or not to go look for you!"
-
Alemana was busy brushing Renamon’s fur while he listened to Ike rant and rave.
“It’s actually pretty sweet, seeing you care this much about us. I feel like we’ve grown even closer as a group!” He said as he then hugged Renamon’s tail as he glanced at Malie
“Did they respond?”
-
If Ike's face hadn't red before, it certainly did now.
"Sh-shut up!" he said. Meanwhile, Pagumon was rolling on the floor, laughing. Both went quiet when they heard Al ask his question to Malie. Bucket gone, the girl was sitting in front of Gotsumon's computer, her eyes downcast.
"Still nothing," she said.
Renamon, who up till now had been lounging across a worn out sofa, looked back at Alemana.
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“No?”
He would get up, and walk to the chair. A moment later he would lean down and hug the girl.
“It’s only a matter of time. Maybe they responded and it just hasn’t crossed over yet is all.”
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[Roll Persuade real quick]
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[Rolling: 2 6 4 + 6= 18]
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Malie nodded, giving a shrug before she got up from the chair. "I know you're right," she said. "Still a bummer."
"We're here for you, Malie," said Kukuimon, the piglet following his tamer over to the couch, where Renamon rolled off and out of the way to let the two sit.
"I think knowing that there's another girl tamer - whose been at this for a month on her own - is giving me perspective, you know?"
"You've grown stronger, too, Malie," Renamon added. "Even before you met up with all of us."
The tamer smiled, her hand stroking the back of Kukuimon's head as he laid it over her lap.
"So what now?" asked Ike, taking back the desk chair. "Just sit back and wait for Menehunemon?"
-
“I agree with you Renamon, and not just Malie, all of us are way stronger than we were before, I like to think.” And he would gently flop against Renamon.
“And yeah.. nothing to do right now than wait. Kuku said he’d be here soon.”
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"But where here?" asked Pagumon, upside-down. "Here here, as in, Gotsumon's place? Or here as in Cypher Bay?"
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“Here at Gotsumons house, silly.” And he would toss the little ball a chip
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Pagumon pushed himself up with his hand-ear-flaps, catching the chip in his mouth.
"Maybe we should contact him," said Renamon, her arms folded around Al. "Just in case."
A moment later, a knock echoed from upstairs, startling the Tumblemon.
-
“Well if you-“ and he heard the knocking.
“I got it!” Putting on his mask, he would walk upstairs to the door, opening it.
-
Rushing past the tiny boulder digimon on the way up, Alemana heard another knock just before he reached the front door. He opened it to find a familiar dwarf standing just outside.
"Aloha ahiahi," said the ancient digimon, looking up from a map in his hand. "You wouldn't happen to know if a Gotsumon lives around here, do you?"
-
Alemana would blink as he saw the short digimon, and he would blurt out
“You made it, Kuku!”
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"Keiki?!" gawped Menehunemon. "Keiki, is that you?!"
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“Yeah it’s me!” He would lift the mask just enough to show that it was indeed him.
“Come in, come in!”
-
"Gee," said Gotsumon, the rock digimon standing beside the staircase as Menehunemon entered the building. "Guess I gotta let people in if you answer the door. Sure."
"Thanks for your sense of hospitality," retorted the dwarf. "You treat your elders with such love and tenderness, it chokes me up."
Gotsumon cracked a deadpan smile. "I like you."
"About time you showed up," mused Renamon, stepping out of the basement. "Was wondering if you'd gotten senile, kuku."
"Ah great," said Menehunemon. "A minute through the door, and the apoleke's giving me lip."
The vulpine chuckled, walking over to hug the old digimon before sauntering over to Al. That's when the boy noticed the rest of the group peeking from behind the basement door, heads stacked on top of each other.
"That's him?" asked Ike, eyebrow raised. "Not much to look at."
"What was that?" growled the kuku, instantly shutting the blond up.
-
Alemana flinched ever so slightly “Sorry about that Gotsumon-!” He said apologetically, before then taking his mask back off.
“It’s so good to see that you got here safe!” And that’s when he saw the others peeking
“Oh! Guys.. this is who we’ve been talking to, Kuku- I mean Menehunemon! Kuku.. this is Ike, Malie, Pagumon, and Kukuimon!”
-
The others filed out of hiding and into the living room. Menehunemon would not as they did so, stroking his beard.
"Aloha, cousin!" said Kukuimon, the piglet the first to approach the dwarf. "It's so great to finally meet you in person!"
"Finally, a digimon with some manners," mused Kuku. "You must be Malie's partner."
"Pololei! She and I are best friends!"
"That's right," said Malie. "Best friends forever."
"Ah, it's good to put a face to the voice. Aloha Malie."
"Aloha ahiahi," corrected the girl, getting a laugh out of kuku. The ancient digimon then turned to face the last of the group.
"And you," he said. "The keiki with no manners at all. You must be Ike."
"Y-yeah?"
"And a Pagumon? A rare friend, indeed. Haven't seen one of those in a 'umi makahiki or two."
"Heh? 'umi makawhat?"
"It means a decade, Pagumon." said Renamon.
"Uh yeah, I knew that!" blushed the blue ball. "I knew that!"
"Hey wait," said Ike. "You've seen other Pagumon on Waihona before?"
The dwarf nodded. "It was a long, long time ago. Back when things weren't so turbulent. Unlike them, however, this Pagumon has a tamer. That's good luck, right there."
Ike and Pagumon exchanged looks, smiling at each other.
"Now tell me," said Kuku, turning to face Al again. "We gonna just stand here, or can we sit down and have us a lū'au?"
-
Listening to this back and forth, he was lulled into a relaxed state before being brought back to the conversation
“O-oh, right! Well we could go downstairs if you’d like. Some crazy things have been happening.”
-
Moving the foam bag chairs into the basement, the group sat in a circle along with Gotsumon and his little brothers. At this point, Alemana had become quite good at recounting their exploits across the city. Through it all, Menehunemon kept quiet, stroking his beard as he listened, down to the last detail.
"Kupanaha," he said, leaning back in his seat. "So, a fourth child's been hiding in town this whole time, and with a Champion-level digimon for a partner."
"I was wondering about that as well," said Renamon. "Aren't all digimon partners meant to be Rookie-level or below?"
"Not necessarily. While it's far from the norm, Champion-level partners can happen for a number of reasons. For instance, digimon naturally digivolve after they reach a certain threshold, be it age, experience or a drastic enough boost in power. It's possible Eyesmon is one such digimon, but more likely, it's because of they're unique nature. Eyesmon grow in size and power by accumulating data from observation, they then spend that data to utilize their Deceptive Illusion ability, which allows them to create near-exact duplicates of inanimate objects. These objects are weaker in composition to the originals, though, and depending on their complexity and relative size, can drain a lot out of a given-Eyesmon. But, if they're smart, they can maintain their Champion-level form using excess data they've stored. As long as they don't go spending it all like, say, in combat, they could potentially stay at Champion-level indefinitely. A very useful trait to have if you're able to become a living shadow. Especially in a place like Cypher Bay."
-
“Wow… that’s actually pretty amazing.. and a little overpowered don’t you think?” Alemana said as he hugged Renamon. “And I thought Renamon was the broken boss monster,” he teased as he then looked back at Kuku. “Oh, that reminds me. I think we told you that we found something at Kanemon’s Heiau. I was wondering if you knew what it was, because I’ll be honest…” he would then remove the Ki’i from his Digivice, and held it up to the bearded digimon.
“This thing has done some crazy things the past couple days.”
-
"Broken implies a malfunction," mused Renamon, the vulpine head-locking her tamer as she ruffled his hair.
"Careful with that!" barked Kuku, swiping the offered item as the pair began horsing around. "This Ki'i's a sacred relic!" With the object in hand, the ancient digimon sighed, examining it with his hand as much as his eyes (wherever they were beneath that facial hair). "The fact that it's done anything for you speaks volumes. It means Kānemon himself has taken an interest in you."
"Really?!" asked Malie.
"Does that mean we've got a literal god on our side?!" asked Ike.
"Yes," said the dwarf. "But also no."
"...What?"
"The Akua manage everything about the Kumulipo Server. From the clouds in the sky to the growth of forests and mountains. Expecting them to do everything for you would unwise. They prefer to intervene only when issues that could put the Digital World at risk happen, or in small ways that guide rather than command their disciples."
-
“Ack! Renamon stop! K-kuku is trying to tell us something important!” Al said as he looked up at Menehunemon
“He has shown us things.. I think. I also think it wasn’t just this Ki’i that we’re supposed to find. I think we have to find all of them.”
-
The dwarf nodded. "Very astute observation, keiki. You see, the way back home I promised you requires using a gateway of sorts. On Waihona, there's one such place, and in order to activate it will require a major power source, the permission of the Akua, and a digivice. The four Ki'i solve the first two issues, so long as their respective Akua approve. It's my hope that combined, they'll be enough to bypass the interference caused by the Green Lady, and get you safely home."
"What happens if one of the Akua doesn't help?" asked Kukuimon.
"Then things'll get a lot trickier. But you let me worry about that. Right now, you need to find your new friend. If you said is true, she might know where to find one of the Ki'i, and I know for a fact at least one of them is here in Cypher Bay, though a second one is nearby."
-
That got Alemana thinking. The sheer resistance they had to endure to even get to town made him believe that the Green Lady on some level knew- somehow- that they had the Ki’i.. otherwise why would she risk provoking a unified response from the Digimon of Cypher Bay? Even as powerful as she seemingly was, there had to be a limit to her reach and influence … after all there was a large population of Digimon who actively were opposed to her and they hadn’t yet been brought into subjugation. And the fact that two Ki’i were conveniently close together..
“Do you think the Green Lady is after the Ki’i as well, Kuku?”
-
"It's possible," reasoned the dwarf. "Though whether or not it's related to why's she's hunting human children's still out there."
"Maybe she's trying to open the gate, too," said Ike. "Y'know, like an invasion or something."
"If that's the case," said Renamon. "Why give Varamon their digivices? If what Kuku is saying is true, she would need a digivice to even make the attempt."
"Good points, all," said Kuku. "But here's the problem. Digivices only ever work for the tamers they belong to, they're useless to anyone else, including other tamers."
-
Alemana was silent as he gently pet Renamon’s side.. his brow furrowed as he took in what was being said. “What if.. she doesn’t need Tamer’s digivice? Or maybe she’s found a way to make use of one , and the others she just-“ he then went quiet. He didn’t want to finish that thought.
-
Renamon laid a paw on Alemana's shoulder. "It's pointless to speculate until we know more," she said. "We'll only end up wearing ourselves down, letting out imaginations get the better of us."
"I'm with Renamon," said Malie. "Let's just focus on Kuku's plan. We'll burn that bridge when we get there."
"You mean cross the bridge," said Kukuimon.
To which his tamer doth reply: "I know what I said."
"If all of you go look into this rumor about Gessomon you got from Sunshine Monitamon," said Menehunemon. "I'll go and grab the nearby Ki'i. We'll meet back here unless you find someplace else that's better." He then turned to Gotsumon. "Is that okay, hoaloha?"
"Eh," said the rock digimon, shrugging. "Sure, why not. Door's always open."
-
He was still quiet, but he nodded as he hugged her a little tighter.
“I think we could do that. What about Hookmon? He seems to be involved somehow, if Sailormon really planted that bomb..”
-
"I wouldn't put it past 'em," said Pagumon, an edge in his voice. "Mon's got his hook in almost everythin' shady here in town. The only things keepin' him from takin' over are digimon like MachGaogamon."
"Would he really risk killing so many digimon?" asked Renamon. "You said so yourself that many of Kauma Arena's fighters work for him."
At this, Pagumon looked down to the floor, red eyes narrowing as he bit his lip.
-
“If it would get rid of MachGaogamon, he’d try it right?” Alemana asked. “Is there anything you’re not telling us?”
-
"I dunno, I'm thinkin'!" chided the blue ball. "Rrrrrrrrrmm-GAHHHH!! Rena's right!" He said, throwing his ear-flaps up. "Hookmon cares too much about money to risk losin' it all with somethin' like a bomb. But mark my words! That scumbag's put to somethin', and it ain't good!"
"Well," said Kukuimon. "What happens now? Do we split up? One group goes after Gessomon, the other investigates Hookmon?"
-
“Well I… I dunno. What do you think, Kuku? Should we risk it?”
-
"No," said the dwarf. "Naauao ole. Fighting a digimon face-to-face is one thing, but someone like Hookmon is dangerous because they have more than just themselves to throw at you. Go together or not at all."
"Got it," said Ike. "Don't split the party."
"Split the party?" echoed Kukuimon, tilting his head. "How do you split parties? Wouldn't that just make two?"
"Kukui, you're being literal again," warned Malie.
-
“.. Got it, Kuku. You’re right.”
-
("Alemana?") said Renamon inside Al's head. ("What are you up to?")
-
(“We can’t let Pagumon meet Hookmon right now.. it might trigger him. But we can’t let Hookmon think he’s in the clear. We have to confront him.”)
-
("I'm not sure about this,") she said, pretending to listen in on the others debating. ("But... you may be right. Hookmon will also be more likely to see us coming if we go in a larger group. Should we make a cover story to tell the others?")
-
(“You don’t sound confident that we’d pull it off..”) he then was quiet as he also pretended to listen for a moment. (“Don’t worry about it then, it was too risky of a plan anyway.”)
-
The fox let out a quiet chuckle. ("Alemana,") she mused. ("Since when has risk ever been an issue for us? Honestly, if any of us has a chance at confronting Hookmon, it's you and me.")
-
That chuckle seemed infectious (“We are pretty badass aren’t we? But what about Kuku? He’s gonna be pretty firmly against the idea..”)
-
("Kuku won't be any trouble. If he doesn't leave immediately, he'll fall asleep hard and fast. I'd give him... about an hour, at best. That just leaves the others.")
-
(“Hmm.. that could work! Do you think the others will really go with this plan though?”)
-
("They might, but Pagumon will likely throw a temper tantrum if he doesn't come with. He and Hookmon have too much of a history together for it go any other way.")
-
(“I know.. but we can’t let him go.”)
-
Al was then pulled from his mental conversation when Kukuimon nudged him with his snout. "Cousin?" he said. "You okay? You look like something's on your mind..."
-
Taken out of his daze, he would look down at Kukuimon “Oh, I’m okay. I’m just thinking about how close we are to getting home is all.” He said as he gently pet the top of the piglet’s head.
-
[Roll Manipulate]
-
[Rolling: 5 1 4+ 6= 17]
-
Kukuimon smiled, stretching his neck out as his leafy ears were ruffled by Alemana's expert touch.
As things began winding down, Gotsumon left to do a last minute grocery run for dinner, leaving the group to work things out for themselves. Menehunemon, however, did just as Renamon predicted, and fell fast asleep on his foambag chair, his snoring louder than thunder. This of course, led the others to move back into the living room, where they began watching Jelstation News.
"++--in an act of terror that leaves more questions than answers++" said Jellymon, the news anchor sitting behind her desk without the mirth Al recalled her having the last time he saw her. "++When asked for details, Kahuna MachGaogamon would only state that the investigation is ongoing, and that the perpetrator will be brought to justice. In other news, a freak typhoon has been detected off the coast, due west, prompting a red alert to close all non-essential services. All digimon are advised to seek shelter and remain indoors until further notice++"
"A typhoon?!" echoed Ike. "Where did THAT come from?!"
"Off the coast, boss," snickered Pagumon from atop his lap. This resulted in Ike punching down on his partner's noggin, causing a sound Al had only ever heard from squeaky toys.
"How're we going to move around now?" asked Malie. "Did they say when it'll get here by?"
"Looks like it's sometime tonight," said Kukuimon.
-
He smiled and gently rubbed those ears before rejoining everyone else’s conversations. Seeing Gotsumonl leave and Menehunemon fall asleep, and watching the report on Jelstation News.. he would then speak up.
“Well that changes the timetable. Okay guys.. huddle time-“ he said as he got close to the other kids.. being sure to gently rub Pagumon’s noggin.
-
Not willing to be outdone, Malie followed Al's example, the two proceeding in a war of head pats that resulted in Ike pulling away his now spoiled partner.
"Don't encourage him," he grumbled, eyeing the hands of his fellow tamers.
"So what's the plan?" asked Malie, smiling as she loomed over Pagumon.
-
“Well.. I was thinking about what was said.. and I think that maybe we should divide and conquer. If Gesomon is holding a Ki’i, I think that you and Malie should go together and see if he will let you have it. We don’t know which might be the one to get it, so it’s best for you guys to go as a group.”
-
"You can't be serious," said Malie.
"Didn't Kuku tell us splitting up is a bad thing?" asked Ike.
"It's no longer an option," said Renamon, raising her pointed finger. "We have a narrow window of action before the storm hits. By the time it's over, Hookmon will have had ample opportunity to cover his tracks."
Pagumon hopped out of Ike's hands, flapping up onto his tamer's head. "You're makin' a mistake," he said, glowering. "The SS Paradiso ain't your average ferry. It's a five-star ocean liner, a friggin' floatin' castle. You may be good at pokin' around, lady. But if you're lookin' for dirt on Hookmon, you'll need to know where to look."
"Pag, I know what you're thinking," said Ike. "And the answer's no!"
"I'm the one on top of your head, boss. That means I'm in charge."
"No."
"But boss!"
"No! I almost lost you yesterday, and now you wanna go charge in after Hookmon? Get real! What're you gonna do? Sit on him?"
-
Alemana knew that Pagumon was right about needing help with finding what he was looking for, but at the same time he also agreed with Ike. Yesterday’s events with Devidramon almost resulted in a disaster, and like his tamer… Al didn’t want anything to happen to the blue ball either.
“I hate to say this, Pagumon.. but right now it just isn’t safe for you to go. Besides.. what if that Ki’i that Gessomon is guarding is meant for you and Ike? Don’t you want to see what it would do?”
-
[Roll Persuasion with a -2 penalty]
-
[Rolling: 4 6 5+ 2 = 17]
-
Glaring down at the floor from the corner of his eyes, the blue digimon's earflaps curled into tiny fists. "Tch, this is bogus," he muttered to himself.
Kukuimon turned to face Al and Renamon. "E 'olu'olu, cousin," he said. "You're not going to kill Hookmon, are you?"
-
“I know.. it’s just the best choice right now buddy.” He then pet pagumon “but is something bad happens.. I know you’ll come running.”
He then looked at Kukuimon and pet him as well “You know us well enough by now, that’s not how we do things. If we have to fight, we will do what we can to not kill him.”
-
"Okay," said the piglet. "I trust you, cousin."
"We should get going," said Renamon. "If Gotsumon comes back with food, Kuku might wake up."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," pouted Pagumon, drawing a sigh out of Ike as the tamer watched the blue ball fly towards the second-floor stairway.
"Watch your back, man," he said, giving Al a two-fingered salute.
-
“Thanks. You guys should get going too.” He then would actually give Ike a hug at that moment- before moving to do the same with Malie.
“Hopefully we all will get back before the Typhoon hits.”
-
"Don't worry," mused Malie. "I've got a bucket."
*Rollz*
It was a long trek, but Al and Renamon made it to the harbor. Dressed once more as a Troopmon, Al saw the SS Paradiso long before making it onto the same street as the ocean liner. Even under a night sky of brooding clouds, in the tepid light of streetlamps and buildings, the ship was magnificent to behold. Emerald green windows glimmered from the warm glow light off the glossy, white hull. Dozens of ropes as wide as a lamppost strapped the ship to the docks, whilst the familiar shape of Sailormon patrolled gangway leading aboard.
("There it is,") said Renamon inside Al's head, the vulpine having made herself invisible long before their arrival. ("Looks like security is what we expected. I'm counting four... five Sailormon watching the docks. Likely more watching from aboard the ship.")
-
(“I’d be disappointed if there were less. Okay Renamon, follow my lead.”)
The boy would steel his nerves and walk calmly and confidently towards the gangway and straight to one of the Sailormon. “Greetings. I am here to meet with the captain, on the behalf of Lord Bucketmon. We have discovered something that he may want to know.”
-
[Roll Manipulate with a -2 penalty.]
-
[Rolling: 5 6 5 + 4= 20]
-
On seeing Alemana's approach, the Sailormon raised a hand. "That's close enough!" he said. Hearing the tamer out, however, the digimon then put a finger to his ear. "Hey, I got a Troopmon here on the dock. Says he wants to talk to the captain... something about a bucket... uh-huh... uh-huh... yeah, just a second." He pointed at Al. "Don't move. Someone'll be down.'"
("Looks like they're on high alert if they can't afford to pull one guard from their station,") said Renamon. ("If Hookmon isn't aboard, that will only make things even more suspicious.")
-
And he would nod and wait.
(“If he’s not here.. maybe we can take advantage of his absence and cause some shenanigans on his boat. Maybe he has some booty we can liberate.”)
-
The vulpine chuckled. ("Booty, huh? Interesting choice of words~")
A minute later, another Sailormon began walking down the gangway, the dark sky drizzling onto the lenses of Al's mask as he watched.
"This way," said the newcomer. #81, judging by his bandana. "No funny business, or we're throwing you overboard."
("The second time someone's threatened to do that while on their ship,") noted Renamon.
-
(“Ha ha. Let’s just focus on the mission. Though you definitely have quite the ‘treasure trunk’” )
“Right. Well lead the way, good mon.” And he would follow #81
(“Look around, but don’t stray too far- just in case something bad happens.”)
-
("You'll never know I'm gone,") she mused.
The tamer followed his mirthless guide, the sound of the churning sea all around them as they climbed. When they came aboard, the sudden shift from total darkness to a deck bathed in flood-lights was almost jarring. There was no fear of falling overboard by accident. A wall of safety-glass with painted wood and metal railings protected the rest of the deck they were standing on. Their footfalls were loud as they walked across the timbered floor, stepping through a pair of mahogany doors to arrive inside a luxury casino. Alemana couldn't even hear the wind rain, much less feel the crashing waves against the hull. It was like the wide open space was its own little world, devoid of digimon though it was.
"Wait over there," said #81, the Sailormon pointing to a lounge area near the windows. "The captain'll see you when he's ready."
-
As he followed, he would look around before waiting where he was told. “Impressive ship youve got here.”
A lie, this was obviously a monument of overcompensation.
-
"The SS Paradiso is the jewel of the sea," said #81, his words flat and automatic. "Catering to the rich and famous across the Kumulipo Server and beyond. She offers 2874 staterooms, including 178 suites; 20 restaurants; 4 pools; a water park; a casino bar; central park; spa and salon; sports court; and royal promenade."
Al didn't need to be psychic to see the long, tired look on #81's face, as if the words coming out of his mouth were a dull, dull agony.
[I took inspiration by the Wonder of the Seas ocean liner.]
-
“How impressive, it seems like such a legitimate center of commerce.”
(“How are things looking?”)
-
"Assumin' you can afford it."
("Pagumon wasn't kidding,") said Renamon. ("This place is like castle, town, and amusement park all in one. Hookmon's cabin appears to be connected directly to this ship's equivalent of a wheelhouse, but security's tight, even for me.")
-
“Ah I see. Can you afford it?” He asked, making conversation.
(“Hmm… we’ll make it work. I have no doubt he would’ve been a help, but getting that Ki’i is more important than what we’re doing right now. And besides.. I don’t want Ike or Pagu to get hurt. Keep looking around, and keep me posted Renamon.”)
-
("Warn me the moment you see Hookmon or that Sailormon with the red-bandana.")
"I work here," said #81, folding his arms. "Of course I can't. Only Sailormon #50 and below are given special treatment. Everyone else's too busy working off debt to go beyond essentials."
-
(“Can do. Don’t go casino crazy if you find it,”) he teased .
“Wait… what do you mean paying off your debts? Aren’t you all the same team?”
-
("If only yellow were an option to bet on,") mused the vulpine.
A shadow crossed the Sailormon's face. "Ever heard of something called pressganging?" he asked. "Funny thing about Sailormon, when we're under the command of a Hookmon with a ship, we get a Unison ability that allows us to turn Rookie-level digimon into more Sailormon. It's taboo in most waters, but our - MAGNANIMOUS - captain, in his wisdom, found a loophole. Pay off your debts from the casino, or a ticket off whatever backwater you were on that we happened to be harbored at, and you can either join the crew with all the benefits, or leave as the digimon you used to be." The venom in #81's words was so biting and terse it threatened to burn through the stoic façade he had kept up until now, grinding his teeth the way he did.
-
This took him aback, the boy didn’t expect to hear something like that was even possible.
“I’m guessing the latter happened to you?”
-
"What's it to you?" he asked. "Or your pal Gazimon? Wherever he is." The Sailormon closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I dunno why I'm even telling you this stuff. They'll dock my pay if they find out, blabberin' on about 'trade secrets'. Hmph."
-
“Well it’s wrong to do that to mons, for one. And how do you know Gazimon?”
-
[Hmm... roll Persuasion]
-
[Rolling: 4 2 4 + 6= 12]
-
"Let's just say we have a history, and leave it at tha-" #81 stopped, his eye wincing as he put a hand to his ear-piece. "What about the Troopmon?" he asked, turning away from Al. "Yeah, he's still here... no, he hasn't touched anything... because I've been watching him like you told me to!"
("Alemana,") whispered Renamon. ("We've got trouble. Something's got the Sailormon scrambling.")
-
“Oh I see, well if you need any-“ he was then cut off by the Digimon talking into his headset. As he listened, he frowned behind his mask.
(“Why is it when we try to do anything, something complicates the plan almost entirely? Try to see what’s going on.. but don’t reveal yourself unless you have no choice. I’ll try to see what’s happening on this end.”)
He turned his attention back to the Sailormon.
“Is something the matter?”
-
"None of your business," said #81. He then glanced away. "No, I wasn't talking to you. The Troopmon--well what do you want from me?"
("Understood,") said Renamon. ("From what I can tell, they're splitting their focus between the lower decks and what they're calling the bridge. My guess is either there's a malfunction with the main systems, or there's another infiltrator aboard.")
-
“Well it seems like you are running into quite a few problems today, what with the fiasco at the arena, that run in with that freak Devidramon.. it just seems like business is getting obstructed.”
(“Be careful while snooping around Rena, I’m getting a bad feeling. I love you,”)
-
The boy then felt a hand rest atop his shoulder. ("I love you, too, Alemana...")
Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. Both Al and #81 glanced up, and in that moment, all went dark. A massive thunderclap reverberated beneath Alemana's feet and within his ears.
"#81 to bridge! #81 to bridge! Come in!" snarled #81, his silhouette barely visible. "Swell, that's just absolutely swell, the signal's dead."
-
Alemana felt his ears grow hot, but he didn’t need to say anything- she knew what he felt. When the lights went dead and the ship shuddered under his feet.. he would then respond to Renamon
(“Find out what just happened! I’m gonna try to find Hookmon!”)
“Take me to your captain. Something’s very wrong!”
-
[Roll Persuasion with a -4 penalty]
-
[Rolling: 3 6 6= 15]
-
"Don't even think about it!" said the Sailormon, but even he was struggling to hide the wavering in his voice. From the windows of the casino, flashing of lightning flickered in the distance from behind the clouds. It was enough to betray the hesitation in the digimon's eyes. "Dammit," he said, balling his fists. "Alright, come with me. Run off or get in the way, and it's your arse."
Out of nowhere, #81 procured rope, tying it around himself and Alemana's waist before he led them towards the center of the ship. "The elevators are likely down," he said. "There's a stairwell leading up, but we'll need to use a maintenance ladder the rest of the way to reach the command bridge. Part of the captain's security system. Paranoid bugger."
-
And Al would follow him, though sneakily he would keep his eyes peel for a certain object.
“He seems like the life of the party. Well let’s hurry.. the storm doesn’t seem natural.”
-
[Roll Perception with a -3]
-
Rolling: 5 2 6= 13]
-
Perhaps it was the adrenaline now running through him, but against all odds, Alemana managed to spot a fire extinguisher hanging from the wall right next to the door he and #81 were hurrying past.
Renamon could see it all on camera. The command bridge was dark, but the screens bathed the room in a dull green as a backup generator hummed under the vulpine's feet. Judging by how dark the rest of the ship was, she could only assume the generator was separate from the rest of the ocean liner. All except for the camera feeds. Multiple Sailormon were fumbling about in the dark, both on the bridge and across the ship. Never did any come close to bumping into her, the fox folding her arms as she took in every detail she could.
"What's taking so long?!" asked #2. "The captain wants a status report NOW!!"
"Nothing doin', sir!" said one of the others. "That lightning bolt shot our comm. tower! We're relying on messenger tag over here!"
Renamon looked out the windowed front of the bridge, a blinking light flashed from one of the nearby rooftops. Morse code.
"Do we at LEAST have eyes on the intruder?!"
"Sir, we're getting multiple reports from the lower deck and way up here! We think that there're two of 'em, but with the lights out, the details are scarce!"
"You sure it ain't one of the guests?!" reasoned #2, "The Captain'll have us keelhauled if we try tackling them to the floor!"
"No sir! The areas targeted are all off-limits to passengers!"
As the crew continued to yell back and forth, Renamon's eyes narrowed on the computer screens in front of her. Night-vision tech did wonders for spotting the movements of patrols. Then she noticed two shadows. One was too fast to keep up with, but the other... the other was all too easy. A figure with a monitor for a head, and wearing a tropical t-shirt.
-
And he would swipe the extinguisher. It had done surprisingly well against Aikilomon and his brother.. surely the device would serve him well this night too. And as the pair of them raced for the service ladder, he would send out a call for Renamon
(“Have you learned anything? What’s going on?”)
-
("Bad news,") said the vixen. ("One of the intruders is Sunshine Monitamon. At the moment, I can't be sure on whether he's in over his head or not. As for the other one... it's unclear. Whenever I see them on camera, they're just as fast at disappearing. Even with the night-vision display on, all I see is a shadow.")
Climbing the stairwell, Al and #81 crossed through a hallway to reach a door. The moment the Sailormon pushed it open, however, the two were blasted by the wind and heavy rain.
"The service ladder's this way!" he shouted, shielding his eyes as he stepped outside. "Watch your footing!"
-
(“Sunshine? What on earth would they be doing here? Do you know where they are right now? And if it’s a fast moving shadow.. maybe Eyesmon is also here? Keep an eye out.”)
He would continue following, gritting his teeth behind his mask
-
("I wondered that too,") said Renamon, just as Al felt and heard the pattering of rain against his suit. ("But if it really was Eyesmon, why risk being seen on camera when you can phase through walls? Why not hide in the ventilation system where it's safe?")
[Roll Athletics with a -3 from difficulty.]
-
(“Great.. we’ll keep me posted.”)
[Rolling: 5 4 6=15]
-
("As for Sunny, he's somewhere just below the weather deck. Looks like a restaurant overlooking the inner court.")
Remembering his time aboard the Smiling Simon, Al made good use of nearby handrails and rope lines to avoid slipping across the deck, letting his feet see for him when his vision was drenched with rain. #81 was shouting something to him, but he couldn't hear over the peal of thunder. After a hundred steps or so, the two made eye-contact again, with the Sailormon standing beside the metal ladder, arm wrapped between the steps.
"What're you doing with a fire extinguisher?!" he yelled. "Leave it!"
-
(“Got it! Let me know if you see what Sunny or that shadow are doing. And let me know if you spot Hookmon!”)
He would look at Sailormon uncomprehendingly at first, but when he mentioned the fire extinguisher Al shook his head. “We might need it, it could come in handy!” He said as he used the tail of the Troopmon Delux as a sort of rope to carry the extinguisher with him as he climbed.
-
*Rollz*
"I don't have time for this!" said #81. "If you slow me down because of it, I'm cuttin' the tether and tossing you in the drink!"
Alemana was almost finished fastening the extinguisher when the Sailormon began climbing the ladder, the sudden jerk of their shared rope almost pulling the tamer over and onto the deck. Grabbing the ladder, Al steadied himself again, making the ascent before #81 to get back to yelling at him some more. The ladder climb went up three decks, exposing the two almost completely to the elements. Yet still, Al managed to carry on.
("Wait!") said Renamon, her voice ringing clear through the storm. ("The shadow! There are two of them!")
"What's the hold up?!" barked #81, the digimon looking down. They had just reached the halfway point of the climb. Another crack of thunder lit up the blackened sky.
-
“You’re super low on the totem pole, I don’t think anyone actually cares if you take time to climb a ladder when a STORM is happening.” Alemana shot back, making sure that his hold was steady with each step he took up the ladder.
What Renamon said next caused him to feel a wave of concern
(“What?”)
-
("It's not just one shadow,") she explained. ("There's the one from before, and now this one! It's on the same deck as Sunshine Monitamon! One moment there's a Sailormon patrol, and they're gone by the next!")
"What part of Hookmon don't you understand?!" scoffed #81.
[Roll Athletics, with a -5 from difficulty.]
-
[Rolling: 5 4 6 + 1= 16]
While a challenge, the boy held fast as he climbed.
(“We won’t be getting anywhere if we don’t do something..”)
-
("I can try to intercept. There's a map of the ship's layout in here. I can follow it to reach him, but it might blow my cover.")
When it seemed Al would slip and fall, #81 motioned to pull on the rope, only to surprised at the tamer's dexterity. The two shared a look with each other, the Sailormon nodding at him, before they returned to the climb. To their fortune, the top of the ladder was protected as they climbed onto a roofed balcony. #81 hurried to open the nearby door hatch by way of the wheel crank at its center, ushering Al in before slamming the door back behind them.
"Aight," he coughed, wiping the water from his eyes. "Welcome to the command deck, the bridge is just up ahead."
-
“Thank you. The captain is indeed up here?”
(“If you can disguise yourself as a Sailormon, that should help. Figure out why Sunny’s running around.. be careful about those shadows.”
-
("Right away.")
"Should be," said #81. "The bridge connects directly with his private suite. Makes it easier to reach in the middle of the night."
Low beams of light stretched the length of the darkened hallway, guiding the pair towards a door reinforced with comically large bolts to its metal frame. #81 swiped a keycard through the reader before punching in a code on the number pad, causing the door to slide open like it was straight out of a starship sci-fi.
The bridge was a wide open room, bathed in the light of monitors and low beams like the ones in the hallway. None of the Sailormon gave the two any notice, too busy running back and forth, or relaying intel from their workstations. #81 grabbed a crewmate as they past by, whispering something to him. The crewmate then pointed towards the back of the room, towards the tall chair built into the floor. In the dark, it was a miracle Al could make out the massive blastdoor behind said-chair, but notice it he did. Bulky and depicting the reptile skull and crossbones.
"#81!" called out a voice. Standing in front of a monitor, #2 was easy to make out as he approached them. "You better have a good reason for bringing that Troopmon onto my bridge!"
-
“There is a good reason why. I’m here to talk to your captain. Especially since something is going wrong and it is likely related to what happened today at the Arena.”
-
The second-in-command let out a sharp laugh. "Lemme guess! After you unfairly sicced MachGaogamon on us, you finally realized we had nothin' to do with it!"
"Sir," said #81, "This really ain't--"
"Shut it, #81. What makes you think we're not above accusin' you of setting up this heist? Eh? Your bucket leader tryin'a win some points here with the mangy mutt? Or tryin'a start up her own business by stealin' from a legitimate one?"
-
That made him look at the Sailormon more intently, those eye lenses seeming to bore into him.
“And what exactly did we accuse you or your captain of doing today? I don’t recall Lord Bucket or myself speaking to the Kahuna about anything other than the Green Lady. Are you saying you know something about the attack on the Arena that we don’t?”
Alemana would’ve smiled, if his face were visible. The Sailormon made a lapse in judgement.
“And really, if I was involved in this ‘heist’ as you call it… why the hell would I come straight here to talk to your captain and risk losing whatever it is you think I’m trying to steal? I’m here because there is something Lord Bucketmon wants to discuss with the Captain.”
(“These guys definitely were aware of the bomb.. Unless- no, never mind-“) he said to Renamon. (“But they think we’re here to steal something.. and if they think we are here to steal something.. I kinda think that we should look for whatever it is they don’t want us to have. It seems like they have ahold of something really valuable if they are desperate enough to try to blame us for what’s happening.”)
-
And just like that, #2 jumped in place, darting his attention between his less than impressed crewmate and Al. "I...! You...! And just what the hell would they want?!" he said, pointing the finger. "Last I remember, you got your money!"
("I'll handle it once I've secured our friend,") said Renamon. ("Something is definitely down here, though. Something methodical enough to leave no trace, but efficient enough to make fast their disappearing act. No sign of any Sailormon whatsoever...")
-
“Frankly, Lord Bucketmon’s business is none of yours. I’m here to discuss matters with the captain, not catch his inept second in command in their own lies. Where is he?” Alemana asked, more sternly now.. though he spared a glance at #81.
(“That’s upsetting.. please be careful. And don’t hurt any of the Sailormon too bad- a lot of them aren’t here willingly.”)
-
[Roll Persuasion with a +2]
-
[ Rolling: 3 6 5+ 3= 17]
-
("Understood.")
From what he could tell of 81's features in such dim lighting, Al saw how deadpan the Sailormon's expression was; chin down, eyes staring straight at #2 from underneath his bandana. This was not the look of a digimon with high expectations.
"The captain's in his room," said #2, almost under his breath. "I'll patch him through." The Sailormon then walked towards captain's chair, pressing a button concealed in the armrest. "C-c-captain? It's me, #2. One of Bucketmon's lackeys is here. They wanna t-talk?" Looking over his shoulder, the Sailormon gestured for Al to approach, hands trembling.
-
And he would step forward, confidently stepping up to speak up. “I apologize, it clearly seems that you are experiencing difficulties at the moment. However, this cannot wait. May I speak with you privately?”
-
A heavy silence filled the room. Al suddenly realized that everyone, every single Sailormon was now facing him and the chair, holding their collective breaths.
"++You may enter++" said Hookmon, the captain's voice devoid of mood or intonation. "++#2 and #81 will accompany you++"
"B-but c-captain!" said #2. "Only Sailormon rank 10 or below are allow-"
"++That is all++" said Hookmon, silencing his subordinate.
The loud whirring of magnetized locks drew Al's attention to the blast-door, the crossbones straightening upward to form door-handles. This proved superfluous, however, as the heavy doors slid into their respective walls to reveal a long corridor, a red and gold carpet stretched the length of it, while gilded wall lamps flood the room with a warm glow contrary to that of the command bridge.
"#3," said #2, pointing to a Sailormon that was handing out hard tac to the others. "You... you're in charge till I get back."
"I AM?!!" he gasped, dropping the tray he was holding, eyes beaming as he touched the sides of his face.
#2 and 81 ignored their crewmate as he began dancing across the bridge giving orders to the others, choosing instead to lead Al through the corridor before the scene became to whimsical to stomach.
The length of the hallway was a display in extravagance, the walls decorated with portraits and landscape paintings that may have very well been actual places in the Digital World for all Alemana knew. Some even portrayed digimon other than Hookmon, though each was either monstrous or slain and under the triumphant captain's boot. At the far end, a door that wouldn't have been out of place in the Palace of Versailles awaited the trio. Both Sailormon then looked at Al. #81 coughed into a fist, looking away.
Edit: [Roll Perception for me, real quick.]
-
“No, they won’t join us. Your crew has repeatedly shown that they aren’t trustworthy. I have no intention of discussing anything with them in earshot. If you have any sort of pride as a legitimate businessman, you’ll honor that stipulation.”
Alemana had no way of determining who was a Mo’omon and who wasn’t, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to be outnumbered three on one by these pirates.
[Rolling: 1 6 6 + 5= 18]
-
The lack of acknowledgement from Hookmon to Al's demand neither agreed nor condemned the terms thereof. Much to both Sailormons' visible chagrin as they glanced between the door, the tamer, and each other. Yet just before reaching the gilded door, before he stepped through alone, Alemana noticed a single painting among the collection. On it, he saw a womanly figure with their back to the viewer, dancing beneath the light of a full moon while garbed in the colors of a wildfire. It reminded him of a hula dancer, or even a priestess... he was then interrupted from his viewing by an impatient #2, who shoved him past the threshold before slamming the door behind him.
"So, you finally bothered to show." Alemana looked ahead. There, standing over an electric fireplace, Hookmon twirled the wineglass in his hand. What was most alarming, however, was the fact his other arm was missing, replaced by a massive blunderbuss barrel. "Forgive me if I am terse, my mood is dark, and the wine's gone off."
-
Taking a moment to collect himself, he would step to the threshold.. though when his eyes landed on the painting and give him pause. He didn’t know why this painting caught his attention.. but for some reason it did. The shove into the room and the sudden spotting of Hookmon caused him to give a surprised stumble.
“So you were expecting me to be here tonight?”
-
"Yes, you interrupted me with that call from the bridge," said Hookmon, supping his wine. "I've been waiting well over fifteen seconds, when it should have only taken you eight. Now what business drives a fool to meet with me in the middle of the night when a storm is fast approaching?"
-
This was unexpected, Hookmon was so suave this afternoon, so to see him that curt was a surprise.
“Oh, the kind of fool who has come to see just how deep into the hole another fool has dig for himself.. and perhaps one who might be able to help said fool climb back up again before he’s buried alive.”
-
Once more, the captain took a sip from his glass downing the last drop. "Tred lightly, corpse creature. This room is soundproof, and my arm-cannon aches for a target. Speak your missive, or get from my sight."
-
His jaw locked a little behind his helmet, and he would take a moment before speaking. “Your number two let slip that you believe Lord Bucketmon may or may not have implicated you in some sort of nefarious plot. May I ask why you think as much?”
(“Talking with Hookmon now, he’s seriously on edge.. any luck on your end with Sunny or these strange shadows, Rena?”) Alemana silently inquired.
-
The tamer's thoughts were met with silence. Only a vague imprint touched at the back of his mind. The holding of one's breath, the narrowing of eyes, the raising of hair on the back of one's neck.
"Did he now?" said Hookmon. "Perhaps you are unaware of the facts. After you and yours left the Arena, our illustrious colleague MachGaogamon paid a visit to my VIP booth overlooking the arena proper. He mentioned a certain detail about the would-be terrorist. Something about skulls and crossbones, hm? Or perhaps the visual similarities they shared with one of my own crew?" Alemana could hear the wineglass as it cracked in the digimon's hand. "I am not beyond taking as much as I give, good sir. In my line of business, you come to expect it. But to be so boldly accused, so brazenly humiliated within the presence of fellow businessmon and alumni? I dare say that rankles something fierce and unbecoming." The glass shattered into pieces, shards crushed together into the slick palm of Hookmon's hand. "Now, after spending the good part of an afternoon being interviewed at the CBPD, I am now dealing with thunderstorms, stowaways, blackouts, and the walking reminder of my frustrations asking silly questions in my personal cabin! Tell me, does that not seem all too coincidental?"
-
It took all he had to avoid tightening his grip on the fire extinguisher, especially when feeling Renamon’s sudden anxiety.
“While I’m sorry you’ve had a bad day, but how is that our fault? The arena has security systems, does it not? Maybe the perpetrators were caught on camera.”
-
A cold, harsh laugh escaped the captain as he turned to face Alemana. "You really think me so incompetent not to have done my own investigation on the matter? I have eyes everywhere, Troopmon. I know what the footage contains, and also where you and yours scurried off to during the incident. It was you who pointed the dog in my direction, you who told him that the would-be mass murderer was a Sailormon. And while I no doubt would have been questioned regardless, given our mutual hatred for one another, you made it all too easy for him to maximize the scandal!"
-
Alemana would stand tall in the face of Hookmon’s revelations, and his eyes would narrow. “And what all did you truly see and hear? Because I will tell you right now: I explicitly told MachGaogamon that we had to also assume that the attempted terrorist might have been a Mo’omon in disguise in order to sow confusion and distract us from whatever it is that the Green Lady was planning. And if your eyes and ears are even in half the places you say they are, you’d also hear about what happened on the Smiling Simon. It had a Mo’omon stow away, and was assaulted by a host of Kapualeimon. The Green Lady clearly is desperate to find something in this city.. and I’m willing to wager that she thinks you are either a tool to get it, or an obstacle to her plans.. if what you said is true and you really are against her. Something is happening on your ship, and seeing everything that’s been happening over the past week… I am definitely sure that she’s at least partially involved.”
He then, quite boldly, stepped forward. “So you tell me captain.. what’s happening on this ship?” He asked, his tone steady.. but there was an edge to it.
(“Renamon.. talk to me sis.. what’s happening?”)
-
[Roll Persuasion with a +3 from logic.]
-
[Rolling: 4 2 3+ 6 + 3= 18]
-
Again, no words reached into Alemana's thoughts from afar, only another impression. A rising heartbeat, a rush of air, the tensing of muscles in a rhythmic tempo. Between that and the stare-down he was in with Hookmon, it was all the tamer could do to hold back the strain.
"...Very good, Troopmon," said the captain, his voice no longer raised and wroth. "You understand, now, my current predicament. The witch has sent her crocodile of a lackey to strike me down. Were it not for my many contingencies, it would have happened long before now. But now the game is set. They come for my life, and lay claim to my precious heirloom. May the depths take them all."
-
He was doing what he could to control his breathing, worry seeping into his mind for Renamon’s safety.
“Crocodile..? Who is that? And what is this heirloom? Maybe we can protect it together.”
His mind started racing. While he had no way of knowing what this heirloom could be.. the conversation with Kuku about the Ki’i came to mind.. and he couldn’t help but wonder if Hookmon had one of them. And if he did.. he immediately felt regret about insisting on coming here alone.
-
"Varamon," said the captain. "Whom else but that wretched lizard? Always scheming, always toying with me. He greedily hogs the waterways of this island, laughing at the irony of a sea captain being trapped against the coast and whatever damnable power that blocks access to the Net Ocean."
Suddenly, the door slammed open. "Captain!" said #2. "There's fightin' on the weather deck!"
"Ah, at last!" said Hookmon, walking past Alemana. "They've shown their hand, have they? Send auxillary crew to scour the lower decks, I shall deal with these interlopers myself."
-
“Varamon-?”
Alemana froze, his eyes wide behind his mask. Varamon was here? Now?
(“Renamon! Renamon are you fighting Varamon?!”)
He would force himself to start moving. “Hookmon, what is Varamon here to steal? Where is it? It’s not down on the weather deck is it?!”
-
"The time for words has passed!" said the captain. "Now is the time for action!"
The rain was coming down in sheets. With Hookmon taking the lead, Al and Sailormon #2 and #81 climbed out of a hatch in the white roof of the command bridge. Overflowing with water, its aesthetic curvature did nothing to help the tamer hold his balance. Only with the help of strategic handholds built into the hull did Alemana avoid slipping off his feet or worse.
Hookmon was saying something, but between the peal of distant thunder and the hammering of rain, it was a miracle to catch the sound of his voice. From what Al could see, the captain hand wedged his boot into a handhold, kneeling as he pulled out a spyglass and looked towards the center of the ship. The tamer scanned in the same direction. Floodlights illuminated the outline of the weather deck, taking the shape of a stylized "H", whose intersection was a roofed bridge. In the dark, he could see the glittering of golden arrowheads flying in one direction, only for bolts of lightning to fire from the other side.
That's when, at long last, he heard her voice again.
("Alemana!") she said. ("Stay back! The enemy's been watching the camera feeds this whole time!")
"Ahah!" laughed Hookmon. "So! We've two intruders fighting here! Too fast for even my good eye, and too far away to fire upon! #2! #81! Ready the zipline!"
"Aye aye, captain!"
-
Alemana would follow, trying his best to not fall.. but when Renamon warned him to stay back, his heart started pounding.
(“What? But we’re a team!”) he protested, barely catching what Hookmon said.
“Wait, Captain! Don’t attack the Renamon! She’s Lord Bucketmon’s captain, she’s fighting the intruder!”
-
[Roll Persuasion with a -2 penalty but a +1 from previous success]
-
[Rolling: 5 2 4 + 6- 2 + 1= 16]
-
("I didn't say you couldn't help!") said the vulpine. ("Where are you? Can you see them?")
"I might have known!" said the captain, passing the spyglass over to #2 as the Sailormon traded it for handlebar. "Come then, you and I shall take to the field before they can further damage my ship! #81, you're with us. #2, return below. You know what to do!"
-
“Right, after you sir!”
He would then bite his lip and respond to her (“About to zip line to you- and no, all I see is lightning shooting at you.. I can’t even see you down there!”)
-
Al could feel Renamon's stress, the way she clenched her teeth. ("Understood,") she said. ("Stay close to cover as much as possible.") Burning frustration then cooled as her pulse slowed. ("I love you, Alemana...")
"Oi," said #81, elbowing the tamer. "Hurry it up, it's time to fly!" The Sailormon then handed Al a copy of the handlebar both him and Hookmon had, before pointing to the nearby zipline. "The captain likes to use this for making an entrance on special occasions! Consider this one of them!"
"Unto the breach once more!" bellowed Hookmon. Flourishing his handlebar, it turned into a pirate hook in the blink of an eye, the captain of the Paradiso howling as he took to the zipline and into the darkness below.
[Roll Bravery with a +2. Then, regardless of success, roll Athletics]
-
(“Right. I-I love you too!”)
Steeling himself, he took the bar and would get onto the zip line.. and took off
[Rolling Bravery: 3 4 3 + 5= 15
Rolling Athletics: 2 6 5 + 6= 18]
-
Having stared death in the face so many times since his journey began, Alemana was unfazed when he felt the blood rush to his feet as he kicked off the roof. Rain made it impossible to see clear, but even without his suit, his grip on the handlebar was ironclad, the eponymous zipping sound of the line like a daredevil defiant in the face of the roaring elements! Sparks flew ahead of him, the only signifier of Hookmon's presence in the dark. When they went out, it was all the warning Al needed to let go of the handlebar, the tamer tumbling onto the bridge below. The glass railing stopped him at just the right time for his back to be on the deck with his feet still in the air. Above him, the white metal of the roof cast the illusion of a tent, giving Al a chance to wipe the rain from the lenses of his mask. Low beams gave him enough light to see #81 land beside him, yet already, he could hear Hookmon stomping away.
"Come out, you wretched beast!" howled the captain. "Tonight you die by cannon fire!!"
"You alive?" asked #81, pulling Al onto his feet.
-
Getting to his feet with 81’s help, he nodded. “Fine, I’m fine. Now where is that thing..?” He asked as he looked around- for both cover and the enemy.
-
[Roll Perception with a -2 from difficulty.]
-
[Rolling: 3 6 6 + 5= 20]
-
Al didn't need an answer, he found it himself when lightning shot up at an angle from one of the cabin balconies below. Following the flash now burned into his retinas, he saw his yellow shadow of a partner just as she took to the air.
"WITHERING STORM!!" she cried, letting loose another volley of golden arrowheads before spinning behind the cover of weather deck to avoid another shot of electricity.
"THERE you are!" barked Hookmon, raising his arm-cannon as he took aim at the unseen digimon. "From hell's heart I stab at thee, reptile! CAPTAIN'S CANNON!!"
Alemana's ears began ringing as a literal cannonball fired from the blunderbuss-like appendage, flushing out Hookmon's prey as it arced over the inner court below and onto the deck.
[Roll Initiative]
-
"Rena- I mean captain! Are you alright?!" he called as he quickly took cover, and while using the chaos of the battle, he would pull his digivice free and kept it at the ready.
[Rolling: 4 2 6 + 6 = 18]
-
*Rollz*
[Unknown: 5 6 2 + 8 = 21
Hookmon: 4 4 4 + 7 = 19
#81: 1 2 5 + 5 = 13]
[Al & Rena go third.]
From the cover of a nearby sun sofa, Alemana watched as the lightning-user's silhouette raced across the weather deck, leaping over the edge to land on the slide of the exposed waterpark directly below. From there, another shot of electricity fired off, this time at Hookmon, and while the captain narrowly missed being fried where he stood, Alemana caught a glimpse of the enemy. It wasn't a reptile, it wasn't even a bestial digimon. Dressed in black, a crimson scarf flapped in the high winds beneath the large television screen the assailant had for a head, complete with parabolic antenna.
"You'll have to do better than that!" barked Hookmon, aiming his cannon. At first, Al though the rain was starting to light up, only to see that it was only slowing down in midair all around Hookmon. Not just the rain, but water, water everywhere was being pulled towards the captain, as though magnetized to the point of his arm-cannon, where it began spiraling into an orb.
-
(“Renamon, let him take the brunt of everything. We have to find those shadows as well.. so let’s knock this guy out!”)
Renamon nodded and would leap forward, high into the air
”Withering Storm!!” and she would launch a rain of golden leaves at their foe!
[Rolling Accuracy: 5 3 1 6 5 2 6 = 4 successes]
-
[Dodge: 5 5 1, 6 2 2, 2 4 1 = 3 suxx = DMG +1 - Armor]
The attack sliced through the rain without impediment, striking the black-and-red Monitamon as the digimon tried to evade. The light they gave off only made it easier for the others to see the attacker now, trailing lines of gold following as they rushed for cover.
Out of the corner of his eye, Al noticed #81 as the Sailormon drew a saber from out of thin air, watching the opposite end of the bridge.
"That's a Hi-VisionMonitamon!" he yelled. "Champion-level! It's got tricks aplenty, and not just lightning!"
"I'm counting on it!" said Hookmon, still drawing nearby water into his liquid cannonball.
"DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF HIM!!"
-
[10 damage- armor, target Weakened til end of next turn]
-
[Your turn, dude.]
-
(“Okay Renamon, hit him again!”)
”Withering Storm”
[Rolling: 4 2 6 5 1 5 3= 3 suxx]
-
[Dodge -1: 5 2 1 1, 2 3 6 3 = 2 suxx = Hits = (DMG +1 = 10) - (Armor -1) ]
The disappointment in the vulpine's voice was self-evident as she fired another volley at the Monitamon. But the LCD digimon managed to block most of the arrowheads as he tumbled across the deck, brandishing a glowing, yellow baton from out of nowhere. It almost looked like a crooked dowsing rod, but he carried it by the long end, and was thick as a truncheon. For everywhere arrowhead that hit him, particles of light sparked into being around it.
"I'm not waiting any longer," snarled Hookmon, the sphere of water growing unstable in the mouth of his arm-cannon. "LIQUID BULLET!!" The captain's arm recoiled upward as he let loose the shot, sending the ball off at such a speed that Al felt the air pressure around him tighten hard and fast before rebounding back to normal. In the blink of an eye, the shot made contact with the foe, drenching him in pressurized water that would have torn the limbs off a human! But Hi-Vision wasn't human. In a flourish he'd used his weapon to block the shot, the force of it still pushing him several feet back. Sparks flew across his body, no doubt the intent of Hookmon's attack, hoping to short-circuit the lightning-user the moment he tried to use more of it.
The baton was shining like a baleful sun.
"FILM BUSTER!!" the Monitamon hollered out, and suddenly, #81 grabbed Al by the scruff of his neck, throwing the tamer to the far side of the bridge.
"DUCK AND COVER!!" said the Sailormon, the warning not lost on either captain or Renamon.
-
Alemana would gasp in surprise as he was thrown.. and he hit the deck with a gush of breath. He would lift himself up a bit as he saw what was happening.
(“Renamon, hit him before he sets that off!”)
Renamon would just to the side, and then let loose several more golden leaf arrows
”Withering Storm!”
[Rolling: 5 3 5 1 6 4 5= 4 successes!]
-
Hi-Vision didn't bother to dodge, taking the entirety of Renamon's attack as he continued to charge power into his weapon.
[Automatic Hit: (DMG +4 = 14) - (Armor - 1) ]
At the last minute, Renamon sensed the approaching threat and dived under the cover of a waterslide. In that moment, a new storm was upon them all. It started with a twirl of the baton... then grew faster, and faster, and faster still. Suddenly, the rain was falling from left to right.
"Whirling WIND TUNNEL!!" he shouted out, his LCD screen showing a clip from the Wizard of Oz as a monstrous tornado spun into existence atop the ship, the digimon acting as the center of it all.
[Attack: 5 2 3, 5 4 1, 6 6 1 + 4 4 1 = 4 suxx. Roll Dodge for both Renamon and Al, with a +2 from hiding place.]
-
[Rolling Renamon: 6 3 6 5 1 6 6 = 5 successes
Alemana: 5 2 5 3 1 4 6]
Al would suddenly shout “Juke it!” And he huddled behind his cover and hold on for dear life, surprisingly not pulled away. Renamon would make a long dash in a semi circle towards Hi-Vision and leap high into the air, dodging the attack completely.
She then fell downwards through the eye lot the tornado fist at the ready.
”Red Paw!”
[Rolling: 4 1 6 3 1 5 2 6= 3 successes]
-
[Dodge: 2 2 4, 5 6 6, 1 2 3 = 3 suxx = Hit = (DMG +2 = 12) - (Armor -1). Regain +1 Wound. ]
Racing skywards, Renamon's momentum was amplified by the wind as she rode the current. And as she came down, her paw hammered home against Hi-Vision's literal headset, breaking his concentration, and disbursing the twister.
"Why'd you have to interfere?!" he snapped, round-housing kicking at the vulpine only to hop away as she dodged it. "Since when are you guys chums with Hookmon?!"
"You're asking that now?" said Renamon. "After attacking me the minute my back was turned? Don't play innocent with me, I know you can see just fine in the dark."
As the two argued, Hookmoon raised his wrist up to where his mouth allegedly would be. "#2," he said. "Are preparations complete? Wait for my mark."
-
Alemana watched from his vantage point, confused by the digimon’s outburst. Was the initial attack a mistake? Renamon clearly didn’t think so. But before he could ponder more on the matter, he heard Hookmon’s order, and he would then call out “Break! Something’s coming, Lady Renamon!”
-
"Mark!" said the captain, and in an instant, the weather deck was flooded with light. The lenses on Alemana's mask protected his eyes enough as he saw LED fixtures bear down on the scene, hidden from view by the storm up till now. While Renamon was shielding herself from the glare, Al could hear, then saw, two turrets rise up on either side of the Paradiso, both pointed directly at the vixen and her opponent. "This is Hookmon of the SS Paradiso," called out the captain. "Surrender now or perish! I care not which!"
"Captain?" said #81. "They're too close to each other, if we fire, we risk hitting Renamon!"
"I don't remember giving you permission to speak, 81," said Hookmon, eye still affixed to the exposed pair.
Renamon turned back to face Hi-Vision. "It's over, Sunny!" she said. "Turn yourself!"
"He's bluffing!" he scoffed. "If I get deleted, he'll lose more than just a barrel of bullets!"
-
Alemana would look at the turrets, and then at the two digimon before he then shouted “Hold your fire! If you hit Lady Renamon there will be severe consequences!” He said as sternly as he could. “Don’t forget that we came here to determine if you were innocent of what happened!”
(“Renamon.. get Sunny out of there..!”)
“And there is a worse threat sweeping through the ship, are you going to destroy a potential ally so carelessly!?”
-
[Roll Persuasion with a -3 from difficulty]
-
[Rolling: 2 4 4 + 2= 12]
-
*Rollz*
If Hookmon was listening, he made no outward show of it. The tension in the sea-soaked air became like a stranglehold under the new-found threat, suffocating even those who held their breath.
("Above us!") thought Renamon, her words punctuated by the slamming--then exploding of metal. From where he stood, Al saw it as one of the turrets exploded, something large crashing down upon it before disappearing in the blast! Whatever it was, the sudden attack brought the remaining turret to fire down upon the digimon as Hookmon barked orders into his wrist!
[Turret: 6 1 2 5 6, 1 6 6 5 6 = 7 suxx]
-
Alemana would look at the scene in horror, bolting upright. “Renamon!!”
[Rolling: 3 6 2 1 6 3 4= 2 successes]
-
[Hmm...]
*Rollz*
Just before the first bullets began to fly, Renamon pushed off the deck to one side, racing the gun as she drew its attention off Hi-Vision. But even she couldn't outrun a speeding bullet. Al watched as the first few grazed her, causing her to tumble...
"STATUE BOMBER!!"
As Renamon readied to block, as Alemana expected to see the worst possible outcome, a shadow appeared right before the vulpine, spreading wide its wings as the volley of gunfire bounced off its body. A moment passed. Al could make out what the creature was. At first it looked like a gargoyle statue, with feathery wings and leather belts strapped over its limbs, and a metal "O" and "X" seemingly bolted into its flesh. The texture of the statue started to change. No, not a statue. From rocky grays to actually gray flesh, a digimon stood with its back to Renamon. In that moment, Alemana recognized it, the face, the claws, even the tail was reminiscent of Devidramon, yet devoid of the malevolent eyes, which lay hidden behind straps that made an X across its dragonic face.
"How's that for flyin'?" it rumbled, looking over its shoulder to "stare" back at Renamon. "Eh, toots?"
The vulpine blinked, clutching at her wound. "Gazimon...?"
[Renamon takes 3 DMG. Thank god for the Intervention mechanic! x'D]
-
At first, the only thing that went through Alemana’s mind when the gun went off was anguish.. and when the large flying creature appeared- panic. Had Devidramon returned? What could’ve been so terrible that Gazimon underwent that dark transformation again? But when the beast landed.. and it started booming out so conversationally.. He was stunned.
“Gaz? Is that really Gazimon..?!” He exclaimed- his tone one of shock- yet exhilaration.
Did that mean.. did they get the Ki’i?!
(“Are you alright Renamon?! How badly are you hurt? What about Sunny?”)
-
("Huh? Yes, just a scratch,") said Renamon, her thoughts rushed as she hurried back onto her feet.
The gargoyle then turned towards the bridge. "You got a lotta nerve pullin' a stunt like this, Hookmon!" he said, pointing a claw at the captain. "What's a matter? Gettin' paranoid?"
"Gazimon?" scoffed the captain. "So! You really did survive! And instead of coming here as Devidramon, you came here as... this."
"The name's Gargoylemon! And I ain't here for you!" The beast glanced back at Renamon. "I'm here for my friends."
Out of the corner of his eye, Alemana noticed #81 lower his saber, the Sailormon's mouth agape as he stared at new digimon.
A cold laugh wheezed out from Hookmon. "Friends? Like the ones you abandoned by leaving my service? After they worked so hard to let you stay as yourself instead of being pressganged? Or perhaps you mean the friends that you've now revealed to me?" Without turning away, the captain pointed his arm-cannon at Alemana. "A worthless dog whom arrives back in my city, only to dark digivolve into the Devidramon of ill-omen, only to disappear as if by magic, only to reappear as an entirely different digimon? There are only two ways in which such a scenario could unfurl. Either by a miracle, or through the aid of a Digimon Tamer."
("Alemana!") thought Renamon. ("Don't move!")
"Admit it," said Hookmon. "All of this, from the very beginning, was a tale of revenge. That you would even parlay with terrorist elements at a chance of taking me down, I'd say you're finally thinking like a pirate!"
Gargoylemon snorted. "My team ain't got nothin' to do with it, Hookmon! Let the kid go!"
"Fool! I am the one that makes demands! I am the one that keeps the peace in Cypher Bay! If you seek to give this city to your human masters, it will be over my dead body!"
"Knock it off," said #81. At last, Hookmon glanced to the side. There, standing between him and Alemana, the Sailormon stood scowling at the captain, saber at the ready.
Hookmon's eye narrowed. "#81," he said. "Mutiny?"
"You're drunk, captain. Hi-Vision Monitamon's the one we want."
-
(“Good! How’s Sunny?”) he asked as he kept his eyes on Gargoylemon. He was conflicted- he wanted to jump for joy, congratulate him on digivolving, and ask if the others were with him..but it wasn’t the time or place. And when Hookmon then suddenly swung that blunderbuss in his direction- he did what Renamon said and froze in place. Hearing his disdain towards humans.. it made him consider that perhaps Hookmon really was the one who ordered the bombing.
But seeing #81 stand up to Hookmon in his defense shocked him almost as much as seeing Gargoylemon.. and that gave him the confidence to now speak up. “For saying that you are a defender of the city.. you have a really backwards way of showing it. They only one who’s trying to hurt the city, to take over the city.. is the Green Lady! And you’re playing into her hands! That’s why someone’s attacking your ship isn’t it- they’ve seen that you’re losing control.”
He then glanced in the direction of his Partner “Picking a fight with us only hurts your crew and let’s the Green Lady get what she wants! Like that heirloom you’ve talked about!”
(“Get ready.. I don’t know what’s gonna happen next-“)
-
("Sunny-") Renamon shot a glance at the deck. Hi-Vision Monitamon was nowhere to be seen. She then locked eyes upon the remaining turret, noticing a spark flashing from atop it.
In both his hands, Sunny was holding live wires, electricity arcing between them as he linked them up. The turret whirred and sputtered... then came back to life.
"Sorry, folks!" he said, standing up. "Love to stay and watch, but I got a delivery to make! Alo-alo-alolololololaiiiiiiiiieeeeeha--and goodnight!" Giving a salute, he then backflipped out of sight, just as the turret began firing another volley.
Cursing, Gargoylemon flexed as he turned to solid stone again, taking the brunt of the machinegun fire as Renamon crouched behind him. In the ensuing chaos, Al felt 81 grab him once more, this time tossing him over the side of the bridge. It would have been a death sentence had it not been for the rope that had found its way around Al's waist, causing the tamer to swing for one of the nearby cabin balconies.
[Roll Athletics! >8D ]
-
Alemana also cursed under his breath, which was replaced with a Yelp as he was thrown over the ledge. “Aaaaah!”
He then would try to swing to the balcony, gritting his teeth behind his mask!
[Rolling: 3 6 4 + 5 = 18!]
-
Suddenly, the rope-climbing exercise in school proved more than enough experience for Al to make the landing, his feet barely missing the glass railing as he landed atop of a sun chair, no worse for wear!
(Alemana!) called out Renamon in his head. ("Alemana, please respond!")
-
He would pant for a few moments as he silently thanked his own attention to gym class before then answering Renamon
(“I’m okay, just a little shook up! What should we do? Sunny is getting away, Hookmon is losing it.. and those shadows are probably still swarming around!”)
-
("Gaz--Gargoylemon is saying he'll take care of Hookmon. If we want to catch Sunny, we'll have to do it now and fast.")
-
(“But- well.. okay if He says he can handle Hookmon, I believe him. Come get me. And also-“) he looked at his Digivice, pulling it free from his pocket. (“Might as well go all out- Hookmon is convinced you’re partners with a Tamer anyway.”) and his Digivice began glowing reseda green.
“Digivolve!”
-
Even in the heat of all that was happening, Al could still catch the hint of a chuckle from the vulpine. A flash of light soon appeared above the tamer, obstructed by the weather deck. But even through the storm, he could hear her voice.
"Renamon digivolve to--KYUBIMON!!"
The sound of Hookmon firing another cannon ball sent wood and smoke into the air, but through it came the nine-tailed fox, landing without fail beside her tamer. The moment Al was aboard, Kyubimon launched back out into the air, but instead of climbing up towards the battle, she fell to the bottom of the inner court, hitting the ground running. What Sailormon were present quickly ran for cover as the pair passed them by, capsizing tables and tripodal-floodlamps. In barely a few seconds, they were outside the ocean liner, leaping over the bow to land on the docks.
[Roll Perception for both Al and Kyubi]
-
The boy would grin behind his mask, and once she landed he would climb atop her and give her neck a hug. “Let’s go get em,” he said as they rocketed back into the sky. And as they flew through the air.. he caught sight of her shoulder and the nearly fully mended injury from the he turret, and his blood boiled. “When this is over- you have permission to punch Hookmon in his stupid pirate face.” He exclaimed as he then looked about at the chaos below them.. where could Sunny have gone?
[Al Rolling: 5 2 4+ 6= 17
Rena Rolling: 6 3 4 + 3= 16]
-
"I might just take you up on that," mused Kyubimon. Between her and Al's keen eyes, they managed to spot their runaway digimon leaping across the nearby rooftops. One leap and the nine-tails was already halfway in closing the distance between them. "His movements are getting erratic," she noted. "I think his condition's getting worse."
Al could make out Hi-Vision's silhouette as the digimon ran across a telephone cable. It was like watching someone being electrocuted, the way his limbs seized up or moved out of synch with everything else. How he managed to keep balance was itself a small wonder to behold. When it looked like he would melt away in the shadows, his LCD monitor would flash with static, giving him away, no matter how hard he tried to outmaneuver the pair.
-
“I guess we hurt him more than we thought- the turret probably didn’t help,” Al said as he then called out to Hi-Vision “Sunny, you better get back here! You owe Kyubimon an apology! Not to mention explaining yourself!!”
-
When nothing came from the digimon in response, Kyubimon leaped over to the next five buildings, landing square in front of the him.
"Persistent!" sneered Sunny, brandishing his strange baton. "Fine, if you wanna rumble, let's do this!"
"Sunny, stop," said the nine-tails. "You're in no condition to fight me. What would it even accomplish?"
"Save-save-savesavesaaAAAAAAeeeve--it!" Onscreen flashed a number of images and video gifs depicting rage over a handicap. Clasping his free hand across upper leg, the LCD raised his baton skyward, shouting: "HEALING SKY LIGHT!!" As if on stage beneath an invisible spotlight, a cone of light centered on Sunny, his wounds healing the longer he bathed in it. His posture eased up, the LCD digimon swinging his leg up and down as he tested the weight. "I know what you guys are! I've known since you deactivated the bomb! Stupid kids and your stupid, self-righteous interference!"
Renamon gawked. "You didn't!"
"Yes, I did!" he said, throwing his arms out. "It was me! Hi-Vision Monitamon! I set the bomb under the Kaua Arena!"
-
Alemana had brought his digivice up and had tried to call Gargoylemon when they caught up to Sunny.. and he then gasped when the tv-headed Digimon healed himself.. and the boy would would hit the speaker button as Hi-Vision spilled the beans and outed himself as the bomber. “.. Did you catch anything? I think we owe Hookmon an apology.. after you’re finished with smacking him around. Tell him that we found the bomber!”
He then would look at Sunny. “You’re gonna tell us everything- even if we have to beat it outta you! Right, Kyubimon’?”
-
"Exactly," she growled.
"++'fraid Hookmon ain't backin' down++" said Gargoylemon. "++Boss just made it onto the ship, we'll try and rendezvous with you ASAP++"
"Tch, don't act high and mighty with me," said the terrorist, flipping his baton just to catch and repeat. "I'm not the one carrying a handicap on his back. Not that I'm allowed to kill him. Varamon'd be pissed if I robbed him of another souvenir."
Kyubimon's eyes narrowed. "Is that who you're working for? Varamon? Why?"
"Like I gotta tell you anything. I'm a professional. The only reason I'm admitting to anything is because it's not gonna matter. Once I drop off this package, I'll be set for life. All I gotta do now is go. Through. You."
Rolling the baton over the back of his hand till its handle was back in his grip, Hi-Vision crouched into a fighting stance as he hopped back several meters away.
-
“Got it- I’ll see you soon.” He then hung up as he then glared at Hi-Vision from behind his mask.. and he would then point at him threateningly. “I hate to break it to you, but this is one job you’re gonna fail at. We aren’t like Hookmon and his cronies. We aren’t just some kid and a digimon either. We were chosen to be here! And if you have something that Varamon wants.. we’re not letting you give it to him!” He then took hold of the holy cord around Kyubimon’s neck.
“Let’s go, Partner!”
-
"Thunderous Lightning Attack!" said Hi-Vision, letting loose a bolt of electricity from the tip of his baton.
[Attack: 1 1 2, 4 5 1, 2 2 1 = 2 suxx]
[...Pitiful. I swear to god I need to get new d6s.]
-
[Dodge: 1 4 5 3 2 2 6 5= 3 suxx]
Kyubimon would leap to the side, eyes narrowed as she unfurled her tails.
“Clobber him, Kyubimon! He has to answer for trying to hurt all the Digimon in the Arena!” Alemana shouted, holding his Digivice tightly in one hand.
”Wailing Inferno!” Nine green-pink flames launched themselves at Hi-Vision, the vaguely vulpine faces in the flames grinning with wicked glee as they raced towards the tv-headed Mon.
[Rolling: 5 3 2 1 6 4 6 2 5 4= 4 suxx]
-
[Dodge: 6 5 2, 1 1 2, 1 1 2 = 2 suxx = Hits = (DMG +2) - Armor]
Hi-Vision shielded his monitor screen as the foxfire charged at him, the flames licking at his suit and scarf, defiant in the face of the torrential downpour.
"Gonna have to do better than that!" he hissed, screen flashing a tiger mid-roar. Again, he leaped backward, and again he fired lightning from his baton, only now he pointed towards the flooded rooftop.
[Attack: 1 3 4, 5 5 2, 6 6 1 = 4 suxx]
-
[12 damage -Armor, target Weakened for three turns]
[Rolling: 6 2 4 6 1 5 4 5]
Alemana gasped and tightened his grip as she leaped to another building to just barely dodge the bolt, turning to snarl at Hi-Vision as she wreathed both herself and Al in flames as she then rocketed towards the Mon like a green-pink missile
”Foxfire Slipstream!!
And as they launched forward, Alemana would give a fierce - or as fierce as a twelve year old boy could manage- war cry as the digivice began glowing a brighter green.
[Rolling: 1 2 4 1 6 2 6 5 1 5+ 3 Inspiration spent= 7 suxx]
-
[Dodge: 1 5 6, 1 2 4, 4 6 1 = 3 suxx = Hits = (DMG +4) - Armor. Hi-Vision suffers -3 penalty.]
Like a living fireball, Kyubimon set Sunny aflame, the intensity of the heat evaporating the water from the mon's suit in a cloud of hot fog! First he boiled, then he burned. Even as he managed to keep one side of his body from being struck by tamer and digimon, Hi-Vision spun in the air just to land in the overflowing puddle that was the roof. Electricity sparked from his monitor as he struggled to roll over and drown the green-and-pink fire. Indeed, his monitor had a crack in it now.
"Th-THUNDEROUS Lightning Attack!" he cried, firing off yet another bolt.
[Rolling: 2 3 6, 1 2 3, 1 5 1 = 2 suxx]
-
[14 damage- Armor]
[Rolling: 3 1 1 5 2 4 5 1= 2 suxx]
The flames around them died down as Kyubimon turned to continue her attack, and that was when Alemana called out to him. “You can’t win, Sunny! Are you gonna surrender, or do we have to beat you until you bla-“ he then yelped as the bolt just barely whizzed by both his and Kyubimon’s heads as she sidestepped just in the Nick of time.
“.. I’ll take that as a no, then! Okay Kyubimon, let’s give him a one-two-three punch!” He said as he hoisted that Fire extinguisher!
A truly impish glint appeared in Kyubimon’s eye as she nodded.. and her tails fanned out once again. ”Wailing Inferno!” she then launched her fire balls at Hi-VisionMonitamon, but she wasn’t done there. A wildfire of Green-pink flames erupted around the pair once again as she flew towards the mon, trailing just behind the barrage of mischievous fox- wisps. ”Foxfire Slipstream!”
… and once close enough, Alemana would swing the extinguisher straight at Sunny’s monitor. “HAAAAAH!”
[ Wailing Inferno: 5 6 1 6 3 2 1 1 5 4= 4 suxx
Foxfire Slipstream: 4 2 2 6 1 3 2 1 6 5 = 3 suxx
Alemana: 5 2 4 6 2 4 = 2 suxx]
-
[Dodge: 4 5 6, 4 4 5, 1 3 6 = 4 suxx = Miss
...2 3 6, 2 3 5, 4 3 = 2 suxx = Hits = (DMG+1) - (Armor -3)
...1 4 6, 3 4 5, 2 = 2 suxx = Miss]
Clenching his fist around water, Hi-Vision pushed himself back onto his feet, spinning, juking and diving to avoid the oncoming fireballs. This only left him exposed, however, to the giant fireball that was Kyubimon herself, as she barreled into him. It was more out of reflex then, that he managed to block the dreaded fire extinguisher of yore, sparing him the fate of a certain pair of reptilian brothers.
"GAHHH!!" he wailed, Kyubimon pining him down with a paw on his chest. Steam and smoke alike belched into the air as Hi-Vision shuddered and twitched, his broken screen glitching in every color and texture. "IT BURNS!! EVERYTHING FRAAAWU_EEKING BURNS!!"
-
[11 damage - armor]
While he was disappointed by the fact that he couldn’t smack some sense into Sunny personally.. he would gently pet along Kyubimon’s neck and scratch behind her ear affectionately. “You’re amazing like always, Kyubimon! This guy doesn’t hold a candle next to you!” He beamed, before looking down at Hi-Vision.. his tone becoming more serious now. “Keep him down, we gotta put the screws to him and find out what his job was. Hey, Sunny. You lost man. Now I’m gonna ask you to play nice and tell us what we wanna know. If not, well.. you don’t want Lord Bucketmon to get ahold of ya.”
-
Kyubimon murred as she leaned into Al's scratching, smiling. "If anything," she mused. "I made a candle out of him."
"Why-" Sunny started to say, only to cough as Kyubimon let the flames die out. "Why do you care? Half the digimon in this city would sell you out or kill you just for being what you are under-undddddder that suit. Why treat them any different...?"
-
That made him grin under his mask, and his petting resumed before he sighed. Hi-Vision might be right, maybe a lot of Digimon would do such a thing. But at the same time… his mind drifted to Renamon, Gazimon, and Kukuimon.. and Eyesmon too. These four stood by their partners no matter how easy it would be to just abandon them to the Green Lady. He also thought about Kuku, the Tanemon and Yokomon who helped them.. Gauntmon and Pumpkinmon.. Chamelemon and First Mate Palmon, Gotsumon and all his brothers.. and he smiled to himself.
“Maybe there are. We’ve already met more than a few digimon who Want to hurt us. But if it’s true what you say and half the city really would turn on us too.. well that also means that half the city are potential friends who we could help out- and who could help us. And even then.. the fact of the matter is that we aren’t like those digimon. Varamon and the Green Lady are bullies and murderers who think that they can take what they want and kill anyone who say that they can’t.. and I’m not gonna let them get away with it anymore. We won’t let them get away with it.” And he would gently stroke Kyubimon’s muzzle as he said those words.
“That’s why I treat them different. We’ll prove that humans aren’t monsters- that we belong together! Since meeting Kyubimon.. It’s clear that humans and digimon are far stronger when we work with eachother than we do apart.”
-
Between the rain and the glitching of Hi-Vision's monitor, it was difficult to read what the mercenary was thinking, whether he understood or took to heart the words of his conqueror. He simply lay there, in the rain, staring skyward, past the haunting glow of Kyubimon's foxfire, as his convulsions eased away.
Edit: Al climbed down from his partner, kicking Sunny's strange baton a safe distance away before crouching down over the mercenary. He was still wary of Hi-Vision, suspicious that the LCD digimon was playing another act, but even so, he needed to search Sunny's pockets. Among them were a number of oddities; pill bottles full of cogs, gears and wires; a pocket book written in nonsensical pros; a half-eaten bagel; hardware tools; a flip phone; smoke pellets--and more besides. Then he found something at odds with the already bizarre collection. It looked like digivice, the way it was engraved with strange symbols and made from the same metal... but, it also reminded Al of an archaic astrolabe.
It was broken.
"Wretched mongrel," muttered Hookmon. "I saved you from that dying world of yours. Stowaway that you were, I could have thrown you overboard at any given time."
Laying against a wall, the captain stared up at the gargoyle looming over him, the weather deck ruined beyond recognition, surrounded by the Sailormon crew. Of them, only twenty stood beside Hookmon. But none of them raised their sabers at the winged digimon.
"You made my life a livin' hell," said Gargoylemon. "Not just mine, neither. And yeah, you saved us from dyin' as the Server came crashin' down around us. But that don't excuse nothin'." Turning, he looked back at Ike and 81, who stood side-by-side with him. The living statue smiled. "I messed up big, an' more than once. I let my ego get in the way, and ended up making things worse for the few friends I had. If anyone deserves repayin', it's them. For all the shit I pulled to get here, an' all the pain it brought on 'em." He then pointed a claw at Hookmon, unfurling his wings. "I ain't here to end your sorry ass, Hookmon, so I'm gonna make you a new deal. Let everyone outside the Elite 50 free of the pressgang. If they wanna job, you let 'em do it as themselves, and pay 'em in actual Bits, no your stupid ship credit. Do that, an' I ain't gonna bother you no more."
As Gargoylemon made his demands known, Al and Kyubimon arrived on the scene, with Hi-Vision tied up in a clothesline the pair "liberated" along the way back.
"Looks like we missed the big finale," mused the nine-tails.
-
And he would look at this broken device.. and he then looked at Kyubimon in surprise. “Do you think that this thing is-?” He asked.. though he let the question trail off as he carefully pocketed the device. And would work to restrain Sunny with a clothesline. “Okay, let’s go, Kyubimon!”
_____
And once they arrived back to the ship- Alemana whistled in awe as he saw the aftermath. “It’s good that we weren’t here, wouldn’t want to steal his thunder. Tonight’s a big win for him and Ike!” Speaking of that. Once they touched the deck though.. Al would hop off Kyubimon’s back and then sprinted towards Ike- practically running into him before practically jumping with joy. “You did it! You did it!”
-
"Hell yeah, we did!" laughed Ike, the shorter tamer jumping to hit his belly against Al's like a pair of soccer hooligans. "You should've seen the look on his face when we pulled it off! Nearly punched a hole in the wall, he was so stoked!"
"Yeah, sounds about right," said #81, arms folded. "The nob-head."
"Guess there isn't much point in pretending anymore," said Kyubimon, walking up behind Alemana. "You know what we are now."
"That I do."
-
“Oh that reminds me- did you guys get that thing?” He asked.. before turning his head to look at #81 “Well.. what do you think of people like us?”
-
"Thing?" echoed Gargoylemon, finally turning his attention away from his nemesis. "What thing?"
"There were others aboard that shouldn't have been," said Kyubimon. "Had the whole crew in a panic?"
Ike and Garg stood there, and while Al couldn't see Ike's face, he knew all too well it was a perfect reflection of the blond's space cadet of a partner. Everyone present could tell the exact moment the two connected the dots when they shot their shoulders up and started screaming.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Aw DAMMIT!!" said Ike. "We screwed up!!"
"How were WE supposed to know?!" asked Garg, covering his eyes as he threw his head back. "DAMMIT!!"
As the two began trying to out-bitch the other, 81 remained unfazed by it all, instead choosing to talk to the calmer Tamer team like nothing had happened. "I'll ask around to get the details, but seeing how most of the crew's up here, they've either been taken care of, or ran off n' away."
-
Alemana sighed and then gently pet the side of Kyubimon as he nodded to #81 “I thought as much. I’d appreciate it. Now then..” he would then look at Hookmon, and slowly approach him. “We have a few things to talk about. I only heard the last of what Gargoylemon was saying.. but I have my own issues with you that will be resolved tonight as well.”
Looking back at Ike and Garg, he would then called out. “Hey, Could you watch that tied up guy while me and Kyubimon talk to Hookmon?”
-
"Hmph, and what would those be?" asked the captain.
Without waiting for him to finish, Kyubimon about-faced and kicked Hookmon square in the chest, causing him to lurch over and hit the deck, arms wrapped around his sides.
"That was for the automated turrets," she said coolly.
-
While he didn’t feel sympathy for the Captain, he deserved it, but the boy would still wince behind his mask. (“Glad I’m not him right now.”) he mused to her, before then kneeling down to look at him. “Well you did deserve that. But let’s talk about something that interests you, yeah?”
-
Hookmon was too busy fighting between growling and moaning as he turned onto his side, his titular hook keeping his hat from falling off.
"Talk, Hookmon," warned the nine-tailed fox.
"Speak and be done with it!" he spat, glaring up at Alemana. "Or is this your way of gloating?"
-
And that was when he would pullout the strange device. “Is that anyway to talk to the person who recovered your property?”
-
The captain's eye went wide. His arm-cannon shifted away, replaced by arm and trembling hand as he reached out to touch the device.
"My astrolabe!" he said. "Wha-what have you DONE to it?!"
Gasps erupted from all the Sailormon and even Gargoylemon, as they heard Hookmon's words.
Ike glanced about the deck. "Astrolabe?" he echoed.
"Not just an astrolabe," said #81. "That there's the key to Hookmon's enterprise!"
"It's how he an' the ship're able to travel between Servers, boss! You tellin' me Hi-Vision broke it?!"
"Impossible!" snapped Hookmon. "It's made of digizoid! No Champion-level digimon, no matter how powerful or leashed to a tamer they may be--could have possibly even put a dent in it!"
-
“Well… it was broken when we recovered it. If it is that tough.. I don’t have any idea how it could’ve been broken like this.” He said as he looked at Kyubimon.
(“Do you think we actually did break it..?”)
He then looked at Hi-Vision “.. but he can answer that question.”
-
"It's a faaaake!!" wheezed the captain, grabbing the object just to crush it between his fingers.
"Of course it's a fake," said Sunny. "Wish I'd known sooner. Knew it was too easy..."
"Wait," said Ike. "So you came here to steal something you thought was real, and neither you nor Hookmon ever thought about making a decoy?"
("You know what this means?") asked Kyubimon to Al, as if she already knew the answer.
-
“Fake? Wait.. if you didn’t plant a decoy.. and you didn’t realize it was fake until after you got it… then who stole it?”
(“Do you think there is a third player?”)
-
("Without a doubt in my mind.")
"#1!" barked Hookmon. "#1! Where is he?!"
As if snapped awake from idleness, Sailormon #2 raced over to his fallen captain. "Sir," he said, saluting. "You told #1 to stay with MachGaogamon after we left the police station, remember?"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT I TOLD HIM!! SOMEONE GET ME A PHONE THIS VERY INSTANCE!!"
"So much for playin' it cool, huh, Hook?" said Gargoylemon, folding his arms as he smirked.
-
“What would #1 have for this Situation?”
-
"He's the only one with a spare keycard to the Paradiso's vault!" said #2, again saluting, only to catch himself as Hookmon struggled to his feet.
"If Hi-VisionMonitamon was able to get in without it," said Kyubimon. "Wouldn't it be safe to assume it's already been unlocked?"
Hi-Vision gave a cold laugh. "I didn't need a keycard to get in," he said. "All I did was lockpick the blast doors."
"Don't insult my intelligence, you glorified oscillator! My security system is the best that money can buy! Three sets of locks were set up before the keycard is required!"
"And I'm telling you, no keycard came into the equation! I got through the locks and found nothing else to deal with inside!"
-
“Hmmm… either way we should get ahold of MachGaogamon too, and let him know what’s happened.” Alemana said as he then leaned against Kyubimon. “But what else could’ve been stolen.. there was more than Sunny running around your boat.”
-
With Hookmon overthrown, and Gazimon finally at peace with his past, not even the oncoming typhon felt like a threat to the tamers and their digimon. But questions abounded on the nature of the heist. With one thief in tow, how many remained? Who else knew of Hookmon's prized possession? What else resided within the vault of the SS Paradiso?
What none realized, however, was that all the while, another set of eyes watched from behind Hi-Vision's broken screen. Far from the coastline, deep beneath the earth, a Mo'omon knelt behind his chieftain. Multiple screens lit the dark room as Varamon as sat cross-legged before them. With the push of a button, the footage froze, the Dragon flashing a grin.
"Lose this frequency," he said. "Our dealings with Hi-VisionMonitamon are at an end."
" 'Ae, Chief Varamon. And what of the artifact? Should we send warriors to retrieve it?"
"'A'ole. I already know who has it. That fact alone is worth more than what was spent to manufacture the bomb and pay our mercenary hoaloha combined." Varamon pressed another button on his remote. One by one, the screens before him changed to showcase images of different digimon: MachGaogamon, Hookmon, Pua'amon, Kukuimon, Gargoylemon, Gazimon, Kyubimon, and Renamon. Cold-blooded eyes stared transfixed on the vulpine, a low chuckle reverberating within the chieftain's chest. "At last, a worthy opponent..."
Like a living mountain waking from sleep, the ground trembled as Varamon rose to his feet, corded muscles taut as he rolled his shoulders and neck.
"Time to make an introduction."
CHAPTER COMPLETED
Firestorm in Paradise! +2 EXP + 3 DP
Old Friend's Reunion! +1 Inspiration
Black Ops. Diplomacy! +1 EXP + 1 Inspiration
He's a Pirate! +1 EXP
Prime Time Ninja Show! +1 DP
Crimebuster +1 EXP +1 DP +1 Inspiration
Total: 5 EXP, +5 DP, + 3 Inspiration!