Malkavian Madness Network
Other Systems => Digimon: Digital Adventures => Topic started by: MrParaduo on June 27, 2022, 07:08:06 PM
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When Alemana and the others arrived back at the hideout, it was still raining hard. The streets were empty save for those unlucky digimon (or those too indifferent) to already be indoors. Malie was the one to answer the door, with Kukuimon bombarding the others with questions as Kyubimon digivolved there and then back to Renamon. Ike and Al had remained relatively dry, with Pagumon hiding inside Ike's suit on the way over. Renamon, however, was soaked to the bone, and quickly traded answers for one of Malie's spare blankets.
"It's all over the news," said the tamer, her bucket laying on top of the coffee table. And sure enough, Gotsumon's TV was showcasing Biyomon at the scene of the construction site the others had been at not long ago, though the volume had been turned way down. "I'm sorry we weren't there to help out."
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And once they finally returned.. Al would safely place the Ki’i onto the coffee table as he did his best to not sit on any furniture- mask removed as he gave Renamon an apologetic rub along her shoulder.
“Things went south in a lot a ways we didn’t expect, we were trying to help Gazimon make some money by winning a fight.”
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Renamon let out a sneeze.
"Bless you," went the group.
"Thank you."
"We knew the guys were sketchy from the start," said Ike, unzipping his suit. "I got careless. And Gazimon almost paid the price."
Malie and Kukuimon then watched as the blond tamer pulled out Pagumon from inside his disguise.
"Is that-" began Malie.
"--Gazimon?" finished Kukuimon.
"Hey fellas," mumbled Pagumon, the tiny digimon trying to hide his face behind an ear.
"Nani 'o IA!!" cried Malie, practically phasing through solid matter as she appeared barely an inch between his face and Pagumon's. "AWWWWW!!"
Renamon let out another sneeze.
"Kihe a mauli ola," said Kukuimon.
"Thank you."
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“Luckily we were able to keep anyone from getting killed.. though Renamon almost didn’t make it for a second… but she’s fine!” He looked over at her as she sneezed.
“Just a little sneezy.”
He then turned his attention to Pagumon, stifling a laugh. “Pagumon definitely has cuteness going for him, doesn’t he?”
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"I do not!" countered Pagumon. His outburst was all it took to let his guard down, however, as he found out upon being snatched away from Ike by an infatuated Malie.
"M-Malie," chuckled Kukuimon. "Maybe you should go easy on him? They said they've just been through a lot, you know?"
The girl couldn't hear the piglet over the sounds of Pagumon's squeaky protests as she squeezed him to the point of suffocation. It was to her surprise when the living spheroid popped out of her grasp and began flying away on his earflaps, landing on top of Ike's head before flapping towards the stairs.
"We should keep an eye on the news," sniffled Renamon. "I doubt the police will give up on this, especially if they've taken the Sailormon or Thundermon into custody."
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“Careful Pagumon, we don’t want you to get stuck in a place you can’t get out of!” Al called after him, Before turning his attention to the TV.
“You’re right Renamon.. I don’t know if I trust them to not blab about us.. after all both of you Digivolved.. and we took off our masks-“ he then would gently pat her leg.
“Do digimon get colds?”
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"Sort of," she said. "Digimon can get sick, much like how programs can become corrupted from viruses--"
"Hey!" said Pagumon.
"--Or poor conditioning."
"I can help with that if you want," offered Kukuimon.
"That's alright, Kukui. But really, I'll be--" The vixen froze, paws raised halfway up as she wrinkled her nose, mouth open as she leaned back, and sneezed her (figurative) lungs out.
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Al would gasp, and then get sneezed on “H-hey! Gross!” He complained before he started laughing a bit
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The laughter proved contagious, albeit short-lived.
"Where's Gotsumon?" asked Ike. "He still around?"
"He's sleeping like a rock downstairs," said Malie, still eyeing Pagumon from the base of the stairs. "Not sure where the Tumblemon went off to, but the Golemons're still in the garage."
"Then I'm coming out of this," he said, taking off his suit. It was then he remembered he was half-naked, his chest still bare while his shirt and vest were tied as belts around his waist.
"Pfff. Lookin' good, boss." snickered Pagumon from between the beams in the balcony handrails.
Ike cringed. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up, fuzzball."
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Alemana would hug the sneeze-y fox, gently rubbing her back as he laughed along the others.. and then he glanced at Ike, also Snickering.
“Careful, this is a family friendly living room!”
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Ike began muttering to himself as he put his clothes back on. His mood only changed when he was finally laying his back against a foam-bag chair. Meanwhile, the cold war between Malie and Pagumon raged on as one tried to move without the other noticing.
As for Renamon, she gave Al a soft smile, her silver-blue eyes looking into him as she laid a paw on his hand.
"You should get some rest," she said, though only loud enough for her partner to hear. "This whole day has been one crazy moment after another. I'm surprised any of you are still up on your feet."
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He would look at the group before looking back at Renamon
“It has been crazy today huh?” He asked as he leaned against her. “A lot of things I never expected happened..”
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"Hmhmhm, what happened today that was expected?" she mused. "Besides getting here in one piece."
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He would yawn, nuzzling up with his partner. “You have a good point.” He numbered, one arm gently wrapped around her waist as he absently picked up the Ki’i, and then safely returned it to Storage. “You surprised me a couple times too, today.” He said quietly, so the others couldn’t hear as he sleepily watched Malie and Pagumon play their little game.
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"Oh~?" she said, her thumb stroking the side of his hand. "I'll admit, getting clawed out by Devidramon wasn't one of my best moments, but, I think my comeback speaks for itself."
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That made him chuckle as he gently squeezed her hand. “You definitely helped turn things around, that’s for sure..” he then would hug her a bit tighter. “Devidramon made me realized that things can go horribly wrong… and I’m not gonna lie.. I’m a little scared,” he whispered.
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The vulpine leaned into her tamer, laying her chin across his head.
"It's alright," she whispered back. "I'm scared, too."
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“You’re scared? Of what’s?” Al asked, looking up at her.
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"A lot of things. Of you getting hurt, of making a mistake that puts others at risk, hmhm, of kuku's bad cooking." She then slid down the side of Al's head, looking into his eyes. "But being afraid doesn't make us weak," she whispered. "At times, it can overwhelm us, make us doubt ourselves... but sometimes, it can be a gift. It can remind us of what's important in life, what we're fighting for, and when others are just as frightened as we are--" she rested her forehead against Al's. "--that we're not alone in our struggles."
[Roll Torment with +3 from Renamon]
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[Rolling: 5 4 5+ 5 + 3= 22]
Alemana felt something resonate within him at those words, and suddenly tears began brimming at the corners of his eyes as he then hugged her tightly. Renamon was right, but in more ways than she imagined. Alemana had spent so long feeling like he had been abandoned by the people he loved most, and had felt crushing loneliness and bitterness towards his parents, the few friends he had at school, and most of all Keilani. He kept pushing people away and had taken it upon himself to try to taken on the burdens of the world by himself, and he had almost forgotten what Ohana truly was- he had just been paying lip service to a degree.
But here, surrounded by a group of people who in many ways had become his team- a second family even in such a short time.. being enveloped in Renamon’s arms.. it clicked. He had been gifted with friends, and a partner to rediscover what Ohana meant. And not just here.. he now understood that his sister, his parents. They hadn’t abandoned him- they still loved him just as much as they always had. Life merely changed around them, but it didn’t change the bond they shared.
“Thank… thank you Renamon..! “
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The fox smiled, closing her eyes as she and the boy sat there in each other's arms, taking in the quiet ambience. Or perhaps they were simply too tired to care how loud the others got. More so over once Kukuimon began his Gentle Song. Pagumon would sneak back downstairs to sleep with Ike as he snored, and Kukuimon would turn the light off before sleeping beside Malie, though he kept the TV on.
Basking in the glow of the news channel, the distant rumblings of thunder hushed by the pitter-patter of rain, the group slept beneath the watchful gaze of three Tumblemon from the balcony, till they, too, drifted to sleep.
The next day started late, already past noon when Al awoke. When he did so, he found the news still on, and Ike still out cold on his foam-bag chair. The digimon were gone, but so was Malie. And takeout food was strewn over the coffee table...
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Alemana would wake up, stretching and groaning. “Oh man.. haven’t slept on a beanbag since I was like nine.. how did you sleep Renamon?” He sleepily asked.. then he sat up when he saw that Renamon was nowhere to be seen.
“Renamon?”
Not just her, but the others seemed to be missing as well. “Malie? Kukuimon? Pagumon?”
That was when he started to nudge Ike
“Hey, pretty boy wake up… I think everyone ditched us-“
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The blond tamer snorted halfway through a snore as cracked open his eyes.
"Huh-? What? What's happening?" he yawned.
"Oh, good," came a voice. "You guys're finally awake."
The two tamers looked towards the basement door to see Gotsumon waving back at them. It then dawned on them both that neither of them were wearing their Troopmon Deluxe.
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Alemana felt his heart skip a beat, and he instinctively patted himself down for his digivice while keeping eye contact with Gotsumon
“Hey there… where is everyone else?” He asked, not willing to try to fabricate a charade- clearly the jig was up
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"Lord Bucketmon stole my computer," he said, thumbing over his shoulder. "Kukuimon's downstairs with her. Your friend Pagumon's out back playing with the Tumblemon, aaaaaaand--no idea about Renamon."
"Are... are we still cool?" asked Ike.
Gotsumon shrugged. "Shouldn't we be?"
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“Oh, I see..”
(“Renamon, can you hear me?”)
He then rubbed his arm a bit at Gotsumon’s question. “Well some folk around here don’t seem to take kindly to people like us, so it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
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*Rollz*
There came no response... yet somehow, the boy had the sneaking suspicion she was right behind him.
"I know," said Gotsumon. "And honestly? I don't really care. As long as you don't go wrecking the place or rip me off, it doesn't matter. 'Sides, the whole point of the Fright Shack & Laundromat is that you can be anything, so why not a digimon?"
"Really?" asked Ike. "Thanks dude, you're the best!"
"Also the idea of having wanted fugitives in my house that're responsible for billions of Bits in property damage reeeeeaally excites me. Reminds me of the good ole days."
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He then let out a sign of relief before he then had a question.
“Quick thing then: where are our costumes by the way?”
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"In the laundry," said the rock digimon. "Where else? Given the gunk and grime, I'm surprised nobody's called you out for smelling ripe."
At this, Ike lifted up an arm and sniffed only to recoil.
"Look, we've been through a lot," he said. "Good hygiene ain't always an option."
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Alemana winced, but nodded. “Do you guys have a shower?”
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"Technically," said Gotsumon. "Not that we use it. We're rocks. Why would we?"
"So that's a no on soap and shampoo bottles," reasoned Ike.
"Not unless you wanna try the heavy duty stuff we use to get rid of mold and crap." The rock digimon then let out a dry chuckle. "I'm kidding. Bought you a bottle've body wash earlier, but just the one, okay? It's upstairs in the bathroom."
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“Okay, thank you.. so I guess -“
And Alemana began sprinting towards the stairs-
(“You should come up too Renamon, so we can wash your fur! It’s been awhile since the Yokomon bath after all!”)
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"(Oh,)" said the vulpine, her voice in the back of Al's head. "(So you did notice I was there. Good, you're learning~)"
As the tamer closed the door to the bathroom behind him, Renamon appeared to the side of it, rubbing her chin as she regarded the bathtub. It was basic, stretching from one side of the room to the other, with a waterproof curtain for modesty - despite the small, frosted window on the wall.
"Hmm... I'm not sure about this," she said, looking over the scratched base of the tub. "Won't my fur clog the drain?"
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(“Maybe I could feel your heart, Renamon~“) and once the door was locked and she appeared.. he would look at the drain
“If it can survive occasional use by some rocks.. I’m sure your fur won’t hurt it.” Al said absently as he began to undress.
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Renamon raised a brow at that, huffing a smile to herself as she began taking off her arm gloves. When Alemana turned to look back on her, his face was met by them, followed by his partner's chuckle.
"Careful," she said, sauntering over. "A lady is present~"
At the risk of activating some deadly bathroom-styled trap, she turned on the water, testing the temperature with a naked paw as she waited for Al to finish undressing.
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“A lady who’s always acting like a demon,” Alemana teased as he watched her do so.. and despite himself he felt his cheeks redden. A moment later he finished and gently tapped her tail.
“How.. is the water?”
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"Lukewarm, but better than cold." Peeking over her shoulder, she then gestured for Al to climb in. "I'll wait out here so it's not too cramped for you."
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Covering himself, he would climb into the tub, before looking up at her.
“So, what have you been up to today while we’ve slept?”
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"A few things," mused the fox. "One of them's even a surprise."
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“Oh?” He then shivered from the water, before sudsing up his hair. “Is it a good surprise?”
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"It is to me~"
Drawing the curtain, Renamon then slid down so her back was propped against the outside wall of the tub.
"As for the rest," she said. "I've been doing the usual. Scouting the neighborhood, keeping an eye out for trouble, was afraid I'd have to incapacitate our host when the Tumblemon told him what was going on."
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“I’m a little scared now,” he said with a chuckle.. and then he sighed
“I mean we have ourselves to blame for that one, we all took off our masks. Besides.. I couldn’t be mad at the Tumblemon, can you?”
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"Gotsumon did warn us not to use the front door at night. Hmhmhm, and no, not in the slightest."
Alemana then began hearing something from the window just above him. It sounded like Pagumon, yelling.
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“I take it we got complacent huh.. but it’s a good thing that Gotsumon is a lot like Gauntmon, huh?” And then he rinsed his hair.
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"To be fair, it had been a long day of near-nonstop action for us," said Renamon. "Exhaustion can make even the most airtight plan fall short of the mark."
There came a metallic crash of what must have been trashcans outside, followed by more yelling from Pagumon.
"As for Gotsumon," continued the fox. "I agree, though he's difficult to read at times. Being overworked as he is, it's almost like he wears a mask himself. All you see is the tiredness in his eyes and body language, not truly knowing what he's feeling on the inside."
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“Heh.. true. Hey Renamon? Can you get my back? I can quite reach while sitting down and I don’t wanna stand because.. well you know-“ Alemana said with a nervous chuckle.
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The boy felt it as the vixen's paw touched his back, so soft he had to look over his shoulder just to be sure he hadn't imagined it. Renamon smiled as their eyes met, the two working in tandem as the sound of a chainsaw outside was coupled by the maniacal laughter of Pagumon.
"Want me to show you that surprise I mentioned?"
Renamon was standing with her arms behind her back as Alemana stepped out of the shower, squeaky clean.
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He would give her a quick “thank you” as she helped him, and soon enough he would get fully clean.. and he winced as he heard the chainsaw start up “I hope he isn’t causing too much trouble…”
He then looked over at Renamon curiously “What’s the surprise?”
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[Alright, for this I want you to describe how Renamon activates her Kohenkyo as she turns into a Mo'omon. Go wild. ;3 ]
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As soon as he asked.. multicolor flames began spreading along her body, causing Al to Yelp and leap away from her in alarm.. though as he watched in shock it was lol like her body was like paper mache being burned away, and underneath it stood a Mo’omon!
“What the heck..!!!”
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"Like it?" mused the lizard, speaking and holding itself like Renamon despite its big frame. "Ever since hearing about the Mo'omon's shapeshifting ability, and then seeing it in action, I've been trying to replicate it during downtime. Introducing my new Kohenkyo technique."
[Gain +1 Inspiration]
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He would calm down as he took in her disguise “that’s.. that’s amazing! What else can you turn into?”
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Flashing a smile, the faux-lizard caught fire again, her façade burning away to reveal a Gazimon underneath.
"Still need practice doing voices," she said, looking over the results of her new disguise. "But I think I've got the hang of it otherwise. All I need is to have seen enough of the subject, and I can theoretically copy their appearance right down to what they're wearing."
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And Al would kneel down, scratching behind the faux Gazimon ‘s ears “This will really come in handy a lot of places, seriously handy!”
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Renamon made a show of slowly closing her crimson eyes, only to open them again as her silver-blue ones.
"You're getting good at that," she mused, leaning into her tamer's scratches. Suddenly, she once again caught fire, revealing a series of different digimon. Mushroomon, Antmon, Palmon, Gotsumon, even Thundermon... then, as she shrank into the shape of Kukuimon, she began panting, sweat dappling her porcine features as she stared at the tiled floor. "Alright," she said. "Small shapes... are trickier than expected...!"
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Alemana watched as she swapped from form to form.. and he would pull her into his arms, petting her leafy ears
“Don’t exhaust yourself.. you still need your own bath yknow!”
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"It's faster... when there's not as much surface-area to clean," she chuckled, laying her head against Al. "Hoo, that wasn't a half-bad workout..."
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And he would chuckle.. and he began to tickle her belly “Well you should always be compact when we wash you then~”
And then he dipped her in the tub!
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A relaxing sigh escaped the vixen as she felt the water wash over her.
"You're turn to scrub my back," she said, stretching her small body out.
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“Right, right!” And he would begin to wash her back, along with her belly.
“How do you like it?” He asked, rubbing that soap in.
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"Mmmmh, it's a lot different without a fur coat," she said. "Water doesn't pull nearly as much. So smooth..."
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“Oh? Well I hope I’m not making you feel uncomfortable , my hands are a little rough,” he softly began scrubbing between her tiny toes
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"You're doing just fine~"
The newly-minted shapeshifter then paused, chuckling as Al got deeper between those tiny, tiny toes, till it became full-blown giggling as she rolled onto her back, her veggie-belly completely exposed!
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“Well that’s glad to hear,”
He then couldn’t help but laugh a bit as she started giggling like a little loon. “What’s this? You didn’t seem to be the ticklish type!” Alemana teased as he then went for her little belly, tickling and scratching it as well.
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"I-I'm not!" she gasped, squirming all over. "I swear!"
The giggling erupted into manic laughter as Alemana persisted, Renamon's borrowed face rolling back and forth from side-to-side as she completely lost control of herself. Even as something Pagumon-shaped splat into the window from outside, slowly sliding down to the accompaniment of running water and child-like cheering, Renamon struggled to catch her breath.
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And Alemana would keep at it for a few more seconds before relenting.. lifting her up to kiss the Faux piglet on her little nose
“I love you, Renamon.” He then pressed his forehead against her mask.. before then whispering
“… Is it just me, or did Pagumon just hit the window a second ago..?”
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Once more, Renamon's eyes replaced those of her disguise, leering back at the boy over a warm smile. "I love you, too... Alemana."
On hearing her tamer's question, she chuckled, neither confirming nor denying what they had both bore witness to.
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“Love you more,” Once again, hearing her say that made butterflies fill his stomach, and he would gently rub behind her ears. “Hopefully he isn’t burning down the neighborhood.” A chuckle then left his lips.
“Do you want to get out of the tub?”
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"Hhmhm, sure," she said, before licking the tip of Al's nose.
After the pair had fully dried off, Renamon had once again assumed her true form, not wanting to startle Kukuimon should the piglet catch sight of his doppelganger. When they left the bathroom, they found Ike tapping his foot outside, arms folded.
"Finally!" he said. "Geez, you guys, what the hell took you so long?"
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“H-hey-!” And now his face was as red as a beat, and he would resume his tickle attack.
————
“Sorry, Renamon was wanting to be a bit difficult. Has Malie come up stairs yet?”
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"Huh? Uh, no. Think she's still in the basement."
"Wouldn't be surprised if she fell asleep in front of the computer," said Renamon. "Though that does make me curious. If Gotsumon has a computer, would he have Network access?"
"Network access?" echoed Ike. "You mean like the internet? Wait--why I am I asking, I need the bathroom! MAKE WAY!!"
The platinum blond pushed the two to either side, rushing past the threshold before slamming the door behind him.
Renamon tilted her head. "Hmm... looking back, I realize this house only has two bathrooms."
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“Huh.. I wonder why he didn’t just use the other one.” He then shrugged.. and then gave her a hug
“You’re fur is so fluffy.. aren’t you glad you got washed?” Al asked.. though he then suddenly asked
“Is the Network your guys’ version of the internet or something?”
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"The other one's for the Golemon," chuckled the fox. Upon hearing Al last question, she would explain. "From what Kuku's told me, it's a good approximation, but, not exactly. For you, the internet is a collective pool of digital information spanning countless servers. For digimon, where everything is composed of digital information, the Network is both a physical place and a source of information. When we use computers in the Digital World, it's more akin to using a microscope to examine bits of data so small they could never form into anything as complex as another digimon."
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That took him by surprise. “It’s a place? You can actually go there? What’s it like from your side?”
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"I have never been," she said. "Kuku says it is a "liminal space" or "place between". It separates your world from the Digital World, while also bridging the gap between them." She then laid a paw atop Al's head, rubbing her thumb through his hair. "If there's a way to get there, I'll be more than willing to take you there, someday."
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“Oh. Well in that case, I’ll hold you too that, Renamon.” He turn smiled up at her- and his stomach growled
“Oops..”
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The vulpine chuckled. "Looks like somebody's hungry. C'mon, I think there's still food left on the coffee table." Renamon then led the way downstairs, handing Alemana a bag of potato chips as she helped herself to a stale muffin. That's when the door to the basement opened up, Kukuimon slipping through the gap to walk towards the others.
"Aloha 'auinalā," he said, ears bobbing in tandem with his steps. "Good to see you're awake, cousins!"
-
Eating the chips, Al would see Kukuimon and smile “Oh there you are. What have you and Malie been doing down there? He asked between bites.. gently balancing a chip on Renamon’s nose
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"Malie's been showing me how to use a computer," said Kukuimon, sitting down. "We even found some interesting stuff you might wanna look at."
"Oh? Like what?" asked Renamon, taking Al's balancing challenge without trouble.
"Like did you know we can access human websites? Malie just finished showing me pictures of Hilo!"
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“Well she’s nice like that-“ he then sat up, and then would gently kneel in front of Kukuimon, his eyes wide.
“Wait, you can go to our websites?!”
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"Huh? Well yeah," said the piglet, taken aback. "Connection's not perfect, but it works."
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“That’s perfect!” And Alemana would lift the piglet into the air, spinning around with him and laughing as he did so. “Thanks for letting me know little guy!”
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Kukuimon exclaimed as his world began spinning, his eyes blinking heavily as brought them back into focus.
"N-no problem, cuz," he said, only to glance at Renamon, who was too busy eating her chip to do anything but smile as she stood up again.
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“C’mon Rena, let’s go downstairs!” He would set the piglet back down and then begin descending the stairs.
-
...
"Yep, I know what you're thinking," said Malie. "And it's up in the air."
Sat atop a blanket she was using to cushion the rock-hard chair she was on, the girl's face was illuminated by the pale light of Gotsumon's basement computer as Al, Renamon and Kukuimon gathered around her.
"The lag is like five minutes behind, my typing," she said. "And most of the sites I tried to reach are glitchy, or even broken. The good news is we can still send text messages to people. I was gonna tell you guys the moment I got a response from my parents, but it only just now finished sending my text."
"That's wonderful news!" said Renamon. "Alemana, you can contact your family with this!"
-
He was on one hand relieved.. but on the other he felt oddly trepidatious
“Was there any mention of us going missing?”
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Malie shook her head. "I tried checking, but I think news-sites are just too much for what Gotsumon's computer can handle."
"Perhaps we can find a more advanced one somewhere in town," said Renamon. "One with better processing power."
"I should go tell Ike," reasoned Kukuimon, the piglet making for the stairway back up. "He'll want to know."
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“Dang.. we’ll it was worth asking. And yeah, go get Ike please.”
He then looked at his digivice. “I wonder if I could use this computer to send Kuku a message where we’ve been staying..”
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"Do you know how?" asked Malie.
Renamon nodded. "If we connect the digivice to whatever the computer's using to access the Network," she said. "And then call Kuku, it should give it the boost we need. Even if there's interference, once the message is sent, all he'll need is a place with enough signal to receive it."
"Worth a shot!"
-
“That’s how it worked on the boat, let’s hope it’s the same here!” And he would attempt to connect his digivice to Gotsumon’s terminal
[Rolling computer: 3 6 4 + 7= 20!]
-
Perhaps growing adept from his time in the Digital World, Alemana managed to not only link up his digivice, but also open a tap on the computer showcasing his map and current location.
Booop... booop... booop...
"++Keiki?++" came a familiar voice. "++Keiki, is that you?++"
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“Yes, got it!” Alemana would quickly cheer- before noticing that he actually got ahold of Menehunemon
“Kuku! Yeah it’s me, I’m here! We made it to town, barely, and are staying with a mon who was willing to take us in! Are you close to town?”
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"++Yeah, I'm getting there. Should be in the city limits by tomorrow morning, if not sooner. How're you holding up? Staying out've trouble?++"
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“Okay that’s good to hear. And well.. mostly!”
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"++Mostly?++" echoed Menehunemon. "++What do you mean mostly?++"
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“Well I mean, no more trouble than we’ve been getting into so far! The city is a little more bustling that what we’ve seen so far, is all.”
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"++Right... well, keep an eye out, would you? Something got the valley all riled up. The plant-life's getting aggressive, and not just the digimon. I think the Green Lady's behind it, making it next to impossible to move through the wild++" The ancient digimon then went quiet. "++There's also been some nasty rumors going around++" he said in a low voice. "++I'll spare you the graphic details, but someone matching the description of Stingmon's been spotted flying your way++"
Renamon ears perked up, though she kept the rest of her body devoid of emotion.
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Alemana, however, seemed to grow a bit stiffer when he heard that, and his face was a trifle paler. “Stingmon? It sounds like The Green Lady is getting more anxious the longer we’re running around free..” his voice was mostly measured, but the others could detect an edge in it.
“Do you think there’s any truth to the rumors?”
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"++I wouldn't be telling you if I thought it was just hearsay. Listen, whatever you do, don't fight him alone. Stick together with your friends, and avoid the forest. Understand?++"
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“Hopefully we won’t have to fight him at all.. and I understand, we won’t go near the forest. We are waiting for you anyway, so I don’t think we will be wandering out in the woods any time soon.” He then sighed. “When you get here, we have something important to tell you.”
-
"++Same here, keiki. Stay safe++"
"It's a good thing we still have those disguises," said Renamon. "Even a trained assassin like Stingmon would have trouble spotting tamers in a crowd."
"Stingmon?" echoed Malie. "Who's that?"
-
“You too, see you soon.”
He then hung up, turning to look at Malie. “I met Stingmon not long after I ended up in the Digital World, and his idea of making a first impression was to try to skewer me. He would’ve done it too, if Renamon hadn’t saved me,” he would gently take hold of her paw, squeezing it. “We only knew each other for like five minutes, but we were able to beat the crap out of Stingmon, digivolve, and nearly turn him into a peace of charcoal.”
-
"Wait, I thought the Green Lady wanted us alive," said Malie. "Why would she send an assassin?"
Renamon shared a look with Alemana.
"You're... you're right, Malie," said the fox. "It doesn't make sense."
The trio's attention was pulled up towards the stairs as Ike began following Kukuimon and Pagumon down.
"Aight, I'm here," he said. "Is it true? We got contact with Earth?"
-
“Maybe there’s more going on than we are seeing.. not that we’ve seen all that much..”
When Pagumon hopped down the stairs, Alemana as ready, scooping the little ball up- it was his time to hold Pagumon.
“We do.. but the connection is really janky.”
-
"Wha--oh, I guess we're doin' this now," said the blue ball, though he did nothing to escape.
"So no callin' home anytime soon or not?" asked Ike.
"I sent something to my parents," said Malie. "But it's taking forever to get a response."
-
“It’s your fault for being adorable, shh,” and he would give the tiny digimon a head pat
-
Pagumon continued to grumble, though again he did nothing to stop Al's affections.
"By the way," said Kukuimon. "While we were upstairs, they were saying on the news that a new coalition against the Green Lady's being set up at the Arena."
"A coalition?" echoed Renamon.
"Ae. The mayor says the attack on the peace center construction site was a wakeup call for Cipher Bay. He wants interested parties to join up with the city's protector, Machgaogamon, to fight back against outside threats."
-
And Alemana would gently play with his ears as he listened.. and then he let out a long sigh.
“Not only do those pricks have us fight in an construction sight.. it’s also a peace monument? Lovely.”
-
"It might be worth looking into this new task force," reasoned Renamon. "While it's too early to say what their stance is on helping humans, if they plan on fighting Varamon and the Green Lady we could do worse than trying to learn what they know."
"I wanna see the Arena," said Malie. "I mean, after someone responds back."
"Not sure Pag and I should go," said Ike.
"Why not, boss?" asked the blue ball. "It's not like the police're lookin' for us. They're lookin' for a Gazimon and two Troopmon, if at all."
"Maybe, but it still sounds risky. Especially if any of the Sailormon narced on us."
"Narced?" echoed Kukuimon, tilting his head to one side.
-
Alemana would gently offer Pagumon another of the orange slices he kept stored, and gently pet the top of his head.
“I understand your reasoning, and it’s all good. Malie and I can handle this one, you and Pagumon can relax and rest up!”
-
While Pagumon devoured with the orange slice like a mad 'mon, Ike gave a laid-back shrug. "You know what? I'm okay with this. After the crap that happened yesterday, hanging out sounds like paradise."
"Yehhh!" mused Malie, getting up from her seat. "Just remember to check on my message, I wanna know as soon as someone answers!"
"What should I say if they do?" asked Ike.
"Don't. Just call me and I'll tell you, dingus."
"Ooh, this is exciting!" said Kukuimon. "I'll finally get to see the city up close instead of a TV monitor!"
-
“And don’t be burning down the house, Pagumon,” Al playfully admonished as he booped where a nose would’ve been as he handed the little blob back to Ike.
“The city is pretty interesting, not gonna lie. Though I do think maybe we should show everyone your new trick before we leave- so we don’t confuse anyone, Renamon.”
-
Flashing a smile at her tamer, Renamon initiated her kohenkyo, prismatic flames began spreading along her body, startling everyone else present. Bit by bit, her vulpine form burned away till all that remained was an exact duplicate of Pagumon.
Standing face-to-face with his doppelganger, Pagumon -- the real Pagumon -- stared with twinkling eyes as his mouth hung agape, balancing what remained of his orange slice on his lower lip.
"...Shapeshifting!" he exclaimed. "AND she can do SHAPESHIFTING!! What kind of OP doo-hickey is this?!"
"You're just jealous because I wear it better," winked Renamon. Pagumon's cheeks turned from blue to violet in what Al could only assume was the digimon blushing.
"S-s-screw you!" he stammered, one of his ears proceeding to pending like a hand to cover face as he looked away.
They both realized their mistake all too late, however. For in the dark, a certain tamer's eyes flashed like cold stars in the dead of winter. A crescent moon smile stretching from cheek to cheek.
"Mine," said Malie. Faster than lightning, the two Pagumon were trapped in the grip of Malie, the Iron Maiden! Telling the two apart was as easy as looking at their expressions as one tried to fight for freedom while the other snuggled against their captor's bosom.
"Any other tricks you wanna tell us?" asked Ike. "Like being able to walk on water, maybe levitate a bus while you're at it?"
-
Alemana watched, and then laughed as he saw them get scooped up.. and he would reach up to pet fake Pagumon- Renamon. “You should’ve seen her earlier, she was pretending to be Kukuimon .” And he then looked at Ike
“I’m sure when she’s ready she’ll bust out some new moves.”
-
"Aww," said Kukuimon. "Renamon would make a great pua'a. You have to show me later!"
"I could get used to this," mused the transformed vixen, chuckling as she listened to Pagumon scream bloody murder till he passed out.
"No respect," he mewled to himself, going limp in Malie's arms.
After putting the flabbergasted blue ball to bed, Alemana, Malie, Kukuimon and Renamon set out from the house towards Kaua Arena. By request, the vulpine turned Pagu-ball rode atop Kukuimon while the tamers navigated.
"Wish I could sneak a peek at the scenery," said Malie, now wearing her Bucketmon apparel. "So far, all I've gotten a good look at is the ground."
-
"Well if you want to peek, I could shield for ya.." Alemana said, also back in his Troopmon disguise. Glancing over to Kukuimon and "Pagumon", he would chuckle.
"Comfortable, over there?"
-
"I don't speak for the both of us," said Renamon. "But I know I am. Honestly, Kukuimon, you didn't have to."
"Lapuwale!" chuckled the piglet. "It's the least I could do! I like not being the smallest in the group for a change!"
"You're the biggest in Champion-level, Kukui," Malie mused.
To which the piglet laughed: "This hits different!"
As the group made their way through the city, Malie would take Alemana up on his offer, taking in the sights whenever the coast was clear. It was a stark difference from the day before, almost feeling like they were genuine tourists, till at long last they reached the arena.
"Wooow," said Malie, the group hiding in the shade of an alleyway across from street. "It looks so cool...! Why are we standing all the way back here?"
"I thought it'd be best if we took a moment to prep ourselves," said Renamon. "Chances are security will be up during the event, meaning we'll need to watch what we say if we're questioned."
-
Al would just grin as the group continued their way.. though eventually he would gently scoop the transformed vulpine into his arms. “Well if anyone asks, you’re an orphan we’ve adopted.”
-
Renamon chuckled. "Oh? Am I your little foundling? To be taught and raised in the nuances of Lord Bucketmon's court?"
"Yeeehh!" said Malie. "Now that's the good stuff! We'll say we're here on a diplomatic mission to sponsor good relations with Waihona Island! Nobody in law enforcement'll risk an international incident!"
-
He began laughing as he lifted her up so he could look her in the eyes.
“Yep, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!”
-
While Alemana was distracted looking into her silver-blue eyes, the fox-in-disguise stole a smooch off where his nose would be under his suit's mask. That is, before the sound of a whistle blaring put everyone on guard. Turning, they'd relax only after seeing a Guardromon arguing over an apparent jaywalker.
"We should probably get moving again," reasoned Kukuimon. "It'll look real suspicious if we're caught loitering in an alleyway."
-
He was lucky his mask was in place, otherwise she’d see how red he was. Before he could say anything however, he nearly dropped her when the whistle sounded.
“Yeah, yeah let’s quicken pace..”
-
Sobered by the police presence, the group made their way out towards the Arena once more - being sure to cross the street at the designated crosswalk. Once they entered the building, however, they beheld a menagerie of different digimon. The air was alive with their activity, an endless stream of chatter, debate and arguments rolling across the bustling crowd. The front desk was practically an island beset on all sides by the tide of people coming in, barely visible from the doorway.
A loud but gentle chime then rang over the speakers.
"++Attention++" spoke a woman's voice. "++All digimon currently looking to refund tickets for today's cancelled matches, please form an orderly line to the left side of the main entrance hall. If you are too big to enter the main entrance hall, a station has been set up at the Arena's Champion gate. If you are here to apply for the City Defense Force, please form an orderly line to the right side of the main entrance hall. Digimon too large for said-entrance hall will find a secondary station manned by Mamemon at the Arena's Champion gate++"
"This is lōlō," said Kukuimon. "If all these digimon are here to join the Defense Force, we'll be here all day!"
"Not necessarily," reasoned Renamon. "Not everyone here is joining up, and it seems more reasonable that those who are will be in the minority over digimon getting refunds."
-
“Well it’s not like we have anything pressing to do, right?” Al asked as he gave Renamon a orange slice as well.
“Besides, I don’t know why but MachGaogamon seems weirdly familiar… I think meeting with him is the best course of action right now.”
-
[Hmm... roll Perception with a -1 penalty.]
-
[Rolling: 2 5 3+ 5 = 15]
-
As Renamon nommed down the succulent orange jewel that was Al's orange slice, her tamer began overhearing snippets of conversation between neighboring groups of digimon.
"Think it's true what they're saying? About Devidramon?"
"Don't be stupid, it's just a terrorist attack by the Green Lady's goons. You think if it was the end of the world, it'd just wreck up a building nobody was working on?"
"What kind of power does she even have? First talk of humans reappearing all over the island, then the sea's impassible, and now this? It's starting to feel like the Makahiki's not gonna happen this year!"
"That's just it! They're saying Lonomon's--"
"HEY!!"
Al's attention shot back to what was directly in front of him. Standing over Kukuimon was a pointy-eared figure almost as tall as Renamon was in her natural form. Unlike her, the only hair this digimon had was a red mohawk that contrasted with the lime-green of its flesh. It reminded Al of a monster from fantasy-style video games, like an orc, or a goblin.
"Watch where you're going!" it barked, balling fists bigger than the width of its arms.
"E kala mai," said Kukuimon, backing away. "I didn't see you there."
"Like hell you did! How can someone so puny NOT notice me! You making fun of me?!"
"N-no, I-"
"Hey, back off!" warned Malie, stepping forward. "You're the one who should be apologizing, you jerk!"
"(M-Malie!)" whispered the piglet. "(Malie, please!)"
"And who the hell are you?" asked the leering brute. "Is that a bucket on your heard?"
-
While it it was impolite to eavesdrop, Alemana couldn’t help but listen in to the conversations going on, and he would absently rub one of Renamon’s little ear flaps.
(“It sounds like the Green Lady has a lot of folks on edge- not that I blame them after everything her goons have put us through. Luckily no one seems to be mentioning Kyubimon, so I think you might be in the cle-“)
He was then interrupted when the goblin-ish creature began causing a scene.. and he looked down at his partner
(“Crap! What should we do?”)
-
"(Stay in character,)" whispered Renamon. "(We need to de-escalate things before we draw too much attention!)"
"Not just a bucket," said Malie, arms akimbo. "MY bucket! I am LORD Bucketmon of Pail Island! And this little piggy is my royal vassal!"
"Royal vassal?" echoed the towering digimon. "All that fancy talk don't make you better than me, pipsqueak!"
-
(“Right!”)
And then he would come up, Renamon in his arms “I wouldn’t try anything funny if I were you sir, would you want to start an international incident by attacking a diplomatic team from the illustrious Pail Island?”
-
[Roll Manipulate! xD ]
-
[Rolling: 6 1 5+ 7= 19]
-
Other digimon began turning their attention to the group, muttering to each other. The big green digimon glanced left and right, his mouth hanging agape as he started sweating from the attention.
"Uh-! I-! I'd-! I uh-! Duh--look, it's whatever, okay?" he said, shrugging. "I got no gripe with you guys, just pay a lil' more attention, lil' guy."
"No!" said Malie, raising a hand up to the digimon's face. "Lord Bucketmon demands an apology! Not for herself, but for her loyal retainer, Kukuimon!"
"Huh?"
"If you are sincere, it should be no effort at all to say."
-
“Uh.. lord Bucketmon, maybe it would be best to not force protocol on foreigners? We don’t want to set the wrong example to the little one do we?” He asked, holding up the (not) Pagumon
-
"NO!!" rebuked Malie. "Justice! Mercy! Compassion! What good are such things unless honored and true? If given to a digimon with power because they have power, it's little more than a gesture to curry favor or curb one's wrath! But to the meek, the little, and without reward, it is everything! Pay hark onto thee! Look at my vassal, my friend, and comrade! Apologize to him and him alone, or as the Great Akua as my witness, I shall never forgive you!"
The growing audience awed at this, there words quietening down as they awaited the tall digimon's next move. Said-digimon grimaced, looking back at Kukuimon's timid eyes. Letting his head hang, he got on his knees and kowtowed to the piglet.
"I'm... sorry, Kukuimon..." he said, the words awkward in his mouth.
"Mahalo iā 'oe," said the pig, bowing his head in turn.
An applause came from some in the ring of digimon surrounding the group, and the humbled brute got up to his feet just in time to see someone even taller than him lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Now that's what I call ohana," said the newcomer. And Alemana instantly recognized him. He'd seen the digimon on a poster just yesterday.
"Ma-MachGaogamon?!!" stammered the goblin digimon.
"Couldn't help but notice there was something going on over here," laughed the blue canine, his perfect teeth shining in the light. "And boy was that a speech I can get behind! Lord Bucketmon? Welcome to Cipher Bay!"
-
“Well.. it is as you say, Lord Bucketmon.” And he bowed his head, holding Renamon to make it look like she was bowing too. Well.. no one could ever accuse Malie of breaking character- that was for sure. But before he could say anything else- he turned as he saw the large canine digimon approach- and he then gave a gasp. “Wait.. that’s him.”
-
And as if Alemana's words broke the spell, the entrance hall was suddenly filled with the screams of jubilant digimon racing towards MachGaogamon. He only smiled as he scratched the back of his head as they near trampled on anyone in their way -- only to be stopped by various canine digimon in black suites and sunglasses.
"Everybody back off!" one of them yelled. "Nobody touches the merchandise!"
"Sorry about this, everyone!" said the cyborg canine. "I'm still on duty! I'll get to you when I get off work!" He then returned to looking at Al and the others. "So, what brings you over to our neck of the woods, cousins?"
-
The sudden commotion seemed to snap him out of his own stupor, and he would speak up again. “Well, sir MachGaogamon.. simply put we are here to help deal with this Green Lady problem.. for her actions have complicated our prospects regarding our home island as much as she has been doing so for yours.”
-
"Yeah, President Muchomon told me the story about you guys."
"Wait," said Renamon. "President Muchomon?"
"That's right," said the cyborg. "President and CEO of Tropical Fantasy Tours. You didn't know?"
"No," said Kukuimon, shaking his head. "He said he was just a tourist who loved the ferry."
MachGaogamon laughed. "That he does! Little guy's from a different beach, but he's one heck of a friend. I owe you one for saving his life."
-
That sly bird. Alemana couldn’t help but smile under his mask- he felt a newfound and greater respect for the little bird.
“It was no problem at all sir, we would’ve always done what we could to save his life, or anyone who was being threatened by the Green Lady’s henchlizards.”
-
"Speaking of which," said the cyborg, glancing to the amassing crowd. Already, the most diehard fans were testing the literal watchdog security team's defenses. Star-struck eyes undimmed as they were tackled to the ground, pushed back, or held off by a foot to the face.
"MachGaogamon!"
"Give me your babies!"
"AUTOGRAPH MY MOOBS!!"
"Let's pick this up somewhere else. Got a few minutes before the conference picks up, aaand this could get messy."
"Then let us avaunt for higher ground!" bade Malie, raising her arms up and outward. "Lead on, o' mighty dude!"
Chuckling, MachGaogamon put fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle, gesturing his snout towards the front desk as he eyed his security team. Like a well-oiled machine, the canine unit sped into overdrive as they ushered the group past the ravenous digifans. All this, while leaving behind the goblinoid who later wept massive tears when he realized he'd missed his chance to follow the group.
"(This is fantastic!)" whispered Renamon. "(We couldn't have hoped for a better outcome, Alemana!)"
-
Alemana would look at the ravenous fans, and he chuckled. Fans were fans no matter the world it seemed. But when MachGaogamon offered to speak with them privately- Alemana could scarcely believe his ears. “We are honored to get this audience with you.” He said respectfully, though he gave Renamon the most subtle of squishes.
(“Things might be turning in our favor. Talk about good luck huh Renamon?!”)
-
"(Exactly!)" chuckled the fox-in-disguise.
"Don't mention it," said MachGaogamon. "Like I said, I owe you guys one. Not to mention I'm a sucker for digimon who stick up for the underdog, heh, no pun-intended!"
The cyborg gave a short wave to the front desk as the group passed it by, his security then creating a wall behind the group as the cyborg led the way through the double doors. The stark difference in noise-level was almost jarring. Fewer digimon were wandering the hall they were now in, which ended in another three-way split between curving paths to the left and right, and another set of double-doors.
"You guys ever been to the Arena before?" asked the cyborg. "Love to give you guys a grand tour of the old place. The food's nothing to write home about, but the fights are worth every bit during tournament season."
-
“Well that is essentially what allowed Lord Bucketmon to rise to such prominence on our island, she is the patron for all the downtrodden back home.” Alemana said as he gently pet Renamon. And as they followed him, he gave a quiet sigh of relief.
“We’ve never actually competed, but we have visited once before.”
(“Alright, put on your best wide Eyed and wonder filled expression Renamon.”)
-
On command, The cresent-shaped eyes of Renamon's Pagu-form became full circles as her yellow irids widened to fill the red of her eyes, till they too were eclipsed by magnified pupils that twinkled like a thousand stars! She began a long, drawn-out gasp, her voice rising in pitch as she took more and more air into her tiny lungs.
"Like wow, Mr. MachGaogamon!" she said, unable to hold in her breath any longer. "You're so cool! One day, when I'm as big and strong, can you teach me to be just like you?"
Somewhere in the back of Alemana's mind, he heard the distant protests of an angry Pagumon. And it was glorious.
"Sure thing, little mon," said the cyborg, the canine bending forward to look Renamon in the eye as he gave her a thumbs up. "Be the heat, and reach for the sky! You can run with my pack anytime!"
They soon arrived in what almost looked like a classroom, with stacks of chairs lining the far wall, a whiteboard with colored markers and erasers, even foldable, round tables. The only thing out of place was the water cooler beside a stack of water bottle packs.
"Alrighty then," said MachGaogamon. "This aughta work. Now, tell me more about your mission. Feel free to grab a chair n' bottle of water. On the house."
-
Alemana watched as her eyes seemed to defy the laws of the universe- but he would gently scratch her ears before speaking up. “If she grows up to be anything like you sir, I know our island will truly be prosperous.” Alemana said respectfully as he stepped into the odd conference room.. setting Renamon down in a chair and getting her a bottle of water.
(“Now you’re just showing off.”) he silently teased.
“So sir MachGaogamon.. we’ve heard you are building an Anti-Green Lady task force?”
-
Renamon's chuckle tickled at the insides of Alemana's mind.
"Yessir we are," mused the cyborg. "With everything that's been going on, the mayor's finally listening to reason and taking this threat for what it is. The police force can only do so much outside the city, and with Varamon controlling the riverways, we can't guarantee anything if he decides to dam off the water."
[Hmm... roll Decipher Intent]
-
“Well he has certainly proven that he’s not afraid to attack innocent tour boats..”
[Rolling: 2 3 3 + 7= 15]
-
While it was tough for Alemana to pierce MachGaogamon's laid-back charm - and he was very charming - the faintest shadow crossed the cyborg's demeanor when he mentioned Varamon, and then again on mentioning the word "dam".
"It's times like these that heroes need to step out the shadows," he continued. "And with the City Defense Force, we're aiming to do just that. It may take a while, but with training, we'll be an unstoppable powerhouse."
"Training?" echoed Kukuimon as he and Malie came back with their own bottles.
"Sending untrained Rookies to fight organized opposition would be fatal," explained the cyborg. "Even Champion-level digimon need to know how to coordinate and think like a team, or else they'll get buried or worse, dish out friendly fire when under stress. And then there's the risk of abusing power. Some're gonna see this job as an excuse to do whatever they want. After all, you're a hero, you're only getting what's owed you. That sort of attitude is how you get crooks calling the shots. This is my task force, and I'm not gonna let it slide."
-
That made him look down at Renamon, then at Malie- or more specifically Kukuimon before speaking up.
“Well if it’s experience fighting as a team.. we have a bit to offer.”
-
"You guys look like you can handle yourselves," said MachGaogamon, he then slipped a mechanized claw into one of the pockets in his championbelt-made-pauldron. From it he fished out a red keycard with stylized, blue circuitry in the shape of a howling wolf. "Alright, if you're serious about joining, we'd be happy to have you, at least until it's safe to travel between islands again. Hold onto this. I'll let security know you're allowed back here, free of charge."
-
And Alemana would reach out for it
“I will hold onto this on Lord Bucketmon’s behalf. I assure you, few are as determined to stand against that Green Lady as we are.”
-
As he handed Al the card, the cyborg smiled, though it didn't reach his golden eyes. "You guys must be homesick," he said. "Being trapped here."
-
“I… believe you are right, to varying degrees.”
And he hugged Renamon a bit harder
-
A familiar quiet fell over the room, the group looking at one another, despite knowing what they all felt inside. Renamon turned in Alemana's arms, nuzzling her tamer as best she could.
"I'm sorry," said MachGaogamon.
"It's not your fault," said Malie. "At least you're trying to help."
The blue canine nodded. "For what it's worth, you're not alone. More than a few digimon in Cipher Bay were visiting when the lockdown happened." Getting on one knee, the cyborg looked Al in the eye. "But you know what? When everyone's a prisoner and you hit rock bottom, there's nothing left but to shoot for the stars." Pumping a mechanized fist, the canine flashed a grin at the group, his teeth shining in the light. "The way out is through, cousins. Let's get out there and show 'em what we're made of."
-
And that made him pause- he had heard that before, When he was much younger. He looked up at MachGaogamon, and though his face was covered.. his gaze was confused , but strangely reassured. “I’ve heard someone I care about every much say that before.. it must be a very popular saying..”
-
"It's a personal favorite of mine," mused the cyborg. Saying so, he stood back up and rolled his shoulders. "Alright, I've gotta take care of some things. The conference'll be in about an hour, but you can stay in here or walk around till then. Any questions before I head out?"
-
“Ah I see.. well do you have any questions, Lord Bucketmon?”
-
There came no response but the sound of light snoring.
"D-doh!" started Kukuimon. "E kala mai. Lord Bucketmon's fallen asleep. Nothing personal, she's just exhausted!"
"(She's getting better at hiding it,)" thought Renamon.
"I do have a question, though! Is there any way we can contact you? Just in case there's an emergency."
"No problem, cousin," said MachGaogamon with a wink. "Just flash that keycard I gave Troopmon here to someone on staff, they'll get you in touch, no problem."
-
(“That she is.”)
“I do have a question actually. There has been a lot of talk about humans.. what is your stance regarding them?”
-
That made the giant pause. "Oh? You guys worried about humans? I'll admit, I haven't been looking too hard into it."
-
“Me personally? No. In fact I think this Green Lady is completely out of her mind thinking that one or two human children- or whatever they might be- would be a threat to this world. If anything, I think most human kids would be more interested in making friends and exploring our world than trying to harm it.”
-
"(Alemana,)" thought Renamon. "(Be very careful. The walls could have ears.)"
"Heh, who can say for sure?" reasoned Mach, shrugging as he began walking towards the door. "Anyway, I'll catch you guys later. Have a beach!"
As the door closed behind him, the others gathered up.
"What just happened?" asked Kukuimon.
-
(“If they do.. that just makes it easier for us in that long run. We’ll know that our enemy is trying to be close to MachGaogamon. But I’ll be more careful in the future.”)
He would wave before then huddling with the group. “Okay.. I think we might have an in with this guy.”
-
"How do you mean?" asked Malie.
"Well he does seem to like us," said Renamon. "Then again, we are pretending to be representatives from another island."
-
“Well we aren’t pretending when you really think about it, it’s only the particulars that we’re embellishing ever so slightly!” Al said with a chuckle.
-
"Hmhmhm, true enough."
"So should we tell him the truth?" asked Kukuimon. "Or should we wait for Menehunemon?"
"Kuku won't be here until later tonight," said Renamon. "Until then, we should try finding out more about this new Defense Force while we can."
-
“I agree with Renamon.. best to wait for Kuku before just spilling the beans just yet.. and I’m curious about the Force as well.”
-
"Maika'i loa!" said Kukuimon. "Then let's form us a plan."
The huddle-conference was interrupted, however, by the sound of knocking on the door. As the group turned in its direction, something slipped under the door.
"Is that a letter?" asked Renamon.
Already, Kukuimon was waddling over to it, hopping up and grabbing the door-handle to swing it open.
"There's no one here," he said, sniffing the floor. "Smells like shoe-leather..."
-
“Huh.. that was weird..” Alemana said as he walked over and picked up the note while Kukuimon sniffed the floor
“Well let’s see what this letter says,” and then the boy opened it
-
The letter itself was a piece of embroidered stationary, written with swirling penmanship. It read as follows:
To Her Ladyship Lord Bucketmon and her esteemed entourage,
You are invited to the VIP lounge on the second floor, room 202, on matters concerning a delicate nature that must remain private on the chance of this message being intercepted. Please attend at your earliest convenience within the hour.
Yours sincerely,
~H
-
“Uh Lord Bucketmon.. you have an invitation to go to a lounge with the hour…”
-
"Lord Bucketmon does as she pleases!" said Malie.
"Who sent the invite?" asked Renamon. "Does it say?"
-
“Well considering that it was signed with an H.. I have a sinking suspicion that I know who it is.. and if it is who I’m thinking, we definitely should see what they want”
He then gave her ear flaps a Rub. “You might have to get changed in a hurry if that’s the case, Rena.”
-
The faux-gumon nodded, a glint in her eye. "It may prove suspicious if I change now or disappear," she said. "If MachGaogamon informed the exact makeup of our group to Arena security, it could draw more unwanted attention."
"I don't understand," said Kukuimon. "Who's H?"
"I say we keep you cute and small," said Malie. "That way, if it's a trap, we've got a secret attack fox!"
"Who's H?!" asked Kukuimon, bouncing.
"That might also prove risky," reasoned Renamon. "I can't use any of my combat abilities until I release the disguise, and I haven't tested releasing it in battle."
"WHO'S H?!!"
-
“Just as well.. if worst comes to worst we know that it’s an option.. hopefully it won’t come to that. But like Malie and you said, best to stay as Pagu-“ he then looked at Kukuimon, shocked from his little outburst.
“Are you okay?” He asked, kneeling down to pat the top of his head. “I’m not 100% certain I know who H is.. but I have an inkling. Let’s just say that they are connected to Gazimon, if I just so happen to be right.”
-
"Okay," sniffled the piglet, a wobbling smile on his face. "That's all I wanted to know...!"
"So then," said Renamon. "Shall we pay our new friend a visit?"
-
“I think we should.. just to be safe, yknow?”
-
And so, with the group speaking and nodded in agreement, they took their leave for the second floor. Unlike the levels below, here, the carpeted floors further muted noise from the outside. Almost no other digimon were seen save for a suit-wearing Kamemon who was guarding the VIP Room door. The turtle digimon said nothing as the group approached.
-
And once they arrived to the lounge’s door, Al would play the part of trusted body guard once again.
“We have been invited to enter this lounge by H, good sir. Lord Bucketmon wishes to have an audience.”
-
The Kamemon glanced at each of the group-members, one by one, before nodding as he pushed the door open for them. The lounge was a decent sized room, decorated with cushioned chairs and fainting couches, as well as an bar and a series of wall-mounted television screens. However, the only digimon there were another Kamemon, acting as the barkeep, and a trio of figures in the far corner of the room. Alemana instantly recognized two of them as Sailormon, though one had a red bandana instead of blue. Both stood on either side of a fainting couch that the last figure was sitting across, their back to the entrance, but with a glass of wine in a white-gloved hand, wearing a white, bicorn hat with gold trimming.
"(Take it slow, Alemana,)" said Renamon inside the boy's head. "(Nice and easy.)"
-
His blood had almost started to boil when he saw the Sailormon, and his hands clenched ever so slightly as he held Renamon. Nonetheless, he took her advice and kept his breathing calm, steady.
(“Would you look at that, I was right. Note my complete lack of surprise.”) he silently remarked to Renamon.
But he would aloud say: “The benevolent and illustrious Lord Bucketmon has accepted your gracious invitation, and has deigned to entertain this meeting.”
-
The Sailormon turned to face the group, though said nothing as they approached. The red one had the number 1 emblazoned on his bandana, while the other was designed number 2.
"Ah, welcome!" spoke the third member of the trio, raising his glass up though not himself from his seat. "Pray forgive my rudeness for calling you here on such short notice. Please, join me and allow me the honor of ordering us some refreshments. Tea? Wine? Perhaps something with an umbrella in it?"
"Lord Bucketmon shall suffer only the FINEST of mango-banana juice!" ordained Malie.
"But of course, but of course!" chortled the would-be gentleman. "#2, see to her order, won't you? There's a good lad."
"A-aye, captain," said the blue Sailormon, giving a stiff salute before walking towards the bar.
"(I think the barkeep already knows,)" said Kukuimon under his breath.
The group turned as they past the fainting couch to sit on its twin on the opposing side of the coffee table in front them. From there, Alemana got a full view of the new digimon. His face was obscured by the shadow of his hat and the high collar of a white dress uniform worthy of a five-star cruise ship. All except for an eyepatch with a compass rose embroidered on it, and one cobalt eye. A blue kerchief was tied around his right arm, and his boots were polished to a perfect shine.
"Salutations, my friends," he said, nodding. "My name is Captain Hookmon. It is an honor and privilege to be at one's service."
-
“Perhaps some of the highest fat content milk you have for the little one, and a plate of mango slices, she requires a lot of sustenance,” Alemana said as he sat Renamon on a table.
“Forgive my query.. but what is it that you’ve invited her high Bucketness here?”
-
"(Highest fat content, huh?)" mused Renamon, pretending to watch the bar as Sailormon amended the order. "(Alemana, are you trying to tell me something?)"
"Well, I heard that we had a member of high society and a foreign dignitary in the building," said Hookmon. "As a gentlemon, I felt it only just to welcome you to our little corner of the Digital World. Tell me, from what island do you hail? I think of believe I'm a bit of a traveler, myself, you see."
"He really quite is," said the red Sailormon.
"Thank you, #1. You flatter me."
"We hail from Pail Island!" proclaimed Malie. "Great and mighty shall be the tale told of our glory, from sea to shining sea!"
-
(“H-huh? You’re a growing girl, it’ll help is all I’m saying..!”) even silent as his response was, his embarrassment was still noticeable… and he would look at Malie, his worry thankfully hidden away behind that mask.
“It was very lengthy journey, getting here from Pail Island. It almost felt like this island was an entire world away.”
-
[Hmm... roll Manipulate]
-
[Rolling: 4 3 6+ 7= 20]
-
"Ah, a poetic truth," mused the captain, taking a sip of his wine. "Every island is as a microcosm of strange new wonders, separate from all the rest by the Net Ocean which is a world all its own. That is why I went into the business, you know, of sojourning across the waves, delivering digimon of interest along in a tour de force. An odyssey from which a lifetime of experience can be achieved with every dismemberment."
"And at a reasonably affordable price, too!"
"Thank you, #1. You give me too much credit."
The second Sailormon then returned, carrying a silver tray on which he presented everyone's requested drinks. Malie's had an umbrella with stylized 8-bit characters on them, while Renamon got the most elaborate curly straw Alemana had ever seen.
-
(“Does he really expect us to believe he’s anything other than a bully and a pirate?”) Alemana silently asked Renamon as he bent the straw down so she could drink her milk, and he began cutting up her mango slices into smaller chunks.
“I suppose you must’ve gotten hit pretty hard then, with this Green Lady shenanigans going on lately”
-
Alemana then saw Renamon use her earflaps like hands, doing her best Pagumon impression by scarfing the slices down by the fist full before doing a 180 and sipping the juice like it was fine dining.
"Oh without question," said Hookmon, ignoring the faux-mon. "Her ability to make the sea impassible boggles the mind. Not even those who call it home have any luck in breaking through, or getting in for that matter. But I'm not here to-"
The sound of air pockets being sucked through a straw interrupted the captain. Everyone's eyes were upon Renamon.
Hookmon cleared his throat. "But I'm not-"
Again, more snorkeling.
"...I-"
Snorkel.
"...Lord Bucketmon, too, require a curly straw," said Malie.
Frowning, #2 marched off to retrieve the new order.
-
Alemana had never been more grateful for his mask in his life, with how hard he was trying not to laugh at the display before him. Clearing his throat, and taking a steadying breath.. he spoke up.
“Please forgive her, Pagumon is young and was raised by Snailmon tourist industry workers before we found her. The entertainment or food she’s ever known are sunflower seeds and listening to Snailmon read travelers brochures.” A pause.
“Please continue.”
-
"A she, you say?" Hookmon paused in the swirling of his wineglass' content. "Interesting..."
#2 soon arrived with Malie's order. And it was by far the larger of the two straws.
"Tell me," said Hookmon. "Were any of your illustrious ente-"
The snorkel returned, now in stereo.
"...#1?"
"Aye, captain!"
While Hookmon continued to stare back at the group, the red Sailormon took the wineglass from his captain's grasp, resting it on the table as Hookmon folded one leg over his knee.
"Tell me," he said. "How long has it been since you first came to Waihona Island?"
-
That made Alemana pause.. he wasn’t sure how to answer right away. If they told the truth and said only a couple weeks or so- collectively, their cover would’ve been blown immediately.. assuming it wasn’t already and Hookmon was just toying with them.
“It is difficult to say.. with how much has gone on recently the days have blurred together a bit. We have been on the island for a good while though, I assure you.”
-
Hookmon let out a dry chuckle. "Indeed, especially when one wanders the jungle a good while."
"Jungle?" echoed Kukuimon. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, I've heard a tale or two about the daring exploits of her lordship. So much so that I wanted to offer her a... parlay, or sorts. See, I was told that among her vassals was a curious digimon, a sort of dog-cat-rabbit hybrid. Yesterday, in this very establishment, three of my crew had made a bet with them, you see, along with two Troopmon of differing heights. Would any of you be familiar with such matters?"
-
“If we were, what business would you have with said individuals?” Alemana asked, his tone even, though there seemed to be a crispness to it.
-
Hookmon's one eye, glanced at #1. The red Sailormon exchanged looks with him before returning to looking over the group, then shot back as he realized what his captain was waiting on. Ruffling through pockets, #1 presented an envelope, laying it across the coffee table.
"On the off chance that you know of them, I wish to bestow into your keeping what was due. I heard my employees lost in spectacular fashion, and as such, bestow onto you the promised winnings, plus interest for the tardiness of its delivery."
-
“Well if we are being transparent, on behalf of those Troopmon, I respect the fact that you would honor their agreement. I do have to let you know though, that some of your men apparently attacked those Troopmon during the cat-rabbit-dog’s fairly agreed upon match. So I do hope you do impress upon them that they were fortunate that one of those Troopmon was willing to save their lives from that freak Devidramon appearance.”
-
As Alemana spoke, Malie took up the envelope, opening it up to reveal a debit card... alongside two bandanas marked #26 and #37.
The room fell quiet.
"M'yes," said Hookmon. "Suffice it to say, two of them were let go, shall we say."
"What happened to the third?" asked Kukuimon.
"Still in shock, I'm afraid. Poor lad's just not all there anymore. Might very well have to hand him over to sanitorium for treatment. You know how it is."
Renamon glanced at Al.
-
He would gently stroke one of her ear flaps, glancing at the bandanna’s.
(“Shh…”)
She could feel his remorse- but more strongly.. she could feel his anger.
“Well that is unfortunate, sir Hookmon. Condolences for your loss.”
-
"It is the way of things," said the captain. "Gambling can be such a nasty habit when unevenly tempered. But I take full responsibility for their actions, and have done so accordingly... there is, however, one last item I wished to discuss, if you would indulge me. Believe it or not, I see myself as a bit of a peace keeper, or at the very least, a negotiator and businessmon. Where MachGaogamon is very good at the overt threats to our fair city, he sometimes lacks the finesse on more delicate matters. In fact, the only thing we really, truly agree upon, is our disdain for the lack of action against ne'er-do-wells such as Varamon, and now especially the Green Lady. If you come across any useful information pertaining to such matters, I hope you take it upon yourselves to tell at least one of us. After all, we're in this together now... aren't we?"
-
While he didn’t believe much of what Hookmon was saying.. but he did agree that something had to be done about the Green Lady.
“While ultimately it is up to Lord Bucketmon..I believe that we are aligned. That regard.”
-
The others turned to Malie, who had grown quiet. At first, it was feared she and dozed off again, but then she spoke in a clear and even tone: "The eatable of the worthless taro are mixed. Lord Bucketmon accepts a truce only so long as it is honored."
"Capital," said Hookmon. Getting up from his seat, he then motioned to take his leave. "I look forward to this venture of ours. If you should have any need of me, you're welcome to visit my ship the SS Paradiso. Until then, I bid thee adieu."
"Yep yep, have a good one!"
"#1."
"Aye, captain!"
And with that, the group was alone, all save for the Kamemon barkeep who was busy cleaning his glassware.
-
Alemana would nod to the group as the left.. and he would wait a couple minutes before speaking up.
“Thoughts, Lord Bucketmon?”
-
"He's gonna stab us in the back," said Malie. "Once he gets what he wants, it's open season."
"I agree," whispered Renamon. "This digimon's a different kind of predator to the ones we've faced."
"Should we tell MachGaogamon?" asked Kukuimon.
-
“There’s nothing we can tell.. no witnesses, and we have blood money. We should keep an eye out though.”
-
"What should we do now, then?" asked Malie.
"Let's take a moment to clear our heads," said Renamon. "We still have time before the conference."
-
“I agree.. best to have a clear mind . So how was your snack?” He asked, scratching behind her ear flaps
-
"Decent," mused the faux-Pagumon. "The real taste was in the salty delivery of our "generous" host."
"Yehhh!" snickered Malie, as she began finishing off her drink. She then noticed the longing in Kukuimon's eyes and gave him the honors instead.
-
“Heh.. well.. what do you want to do while we wait?”
-
"Why don't we check out the Arena?" asked Kukuimon.
"Ooh, that could be fun!" said Malie.
Renamon chuckled. "Alright then," she said. "I guess we have our next move."
-
“Right you are! Well, up you go.” And he would rest Renamon on top of his head
-
Malie chuckled. "If she wraps her earflaps around your mask's horns, it looks like she's piloting a giant mech."
And as the group laughed, they left the VIP lounge, the tension of the scene easing if only for a moment's peace.
"Well I think that went really well, captain!"
"#1, if I required your input, I'd tell you what to say back to me."
Hookmon led his two crewmon as they walked at a leisurely pace around the second floor. Most other digimon either ignored their passing or hurried out of the way without a word. Not that trio paid them any mind.
"These newcomers have complicated enough of my plans as it is. Talking with them tells me all that I need regarding their stance on developing a profitable enterprise. #2, go dig up what you can about them. I want leverage before the day is out."
"Aye-aye, captain!"
"One way or another, " said Hookmon. "Everything will go according to plan."
"Well that's a bummer," said Malie.
To the dismay of the group, the Arena itself was barred to all except staff and Champion-sized digimon in the middle of signing up for the task force. So said the paper taped to the double-door entrance.
"I wonder how any large-scale digimon are going to get into the conference," said Renamon, still atop Alemana's head.
-
“Is that so? Well just call us PaguTroopmon: Hero of Justice!” Alemana said as he put the bandannas in his pocket.
_____
Well.. that was disappointing, but not unexpected.
“Maybe they have a special room for thr big ones?”
-
"Kali," said Kukuimon. "Doesn't that keycard MachGaogamon gave us mean we can go in anyway?"
"That's a good point!" said Malie. "I say we go in. I came to see a fight club, and I mean to see a fight club!"
Before anyone could ask her what a "fight club" was, the mighty Lord Bucketmon pushed wide the twin doors. And lo, the group did gaze upon it. Surrounded on all sides by an elevated, octagonal ring of polished stone, and then by consecutive tiers of wooden stands, there rested an arena as wide as two football fields side-by-side. High above, Al could see VIP booths built into the inverted step-pyramid that was the ceiling, whose centerpiece was a black pillar with four-jumbotrons attached. On the far side of the room, a warrior tiki statue identical to the one Al had seen at the front of the building towered over it all, with a two-story archway at its base, no doubt where the bigger digimon entered from and exited.
As the group began walking deeper in, they saw the stands were empty but for digimon cleaning and looking over the proceedings down in the pit. There, digimon that neared or outright dwarfed Pua'amon gathered in front of the tiny desks that clerks were using to file paperwork from.
"Wow...!" said Kukuimon, Malie having picked him up to show him a better view. "I've never seen so many big digimon before!"
"They acoustics are amazing," awed Renamon. "You'd think such a cavernous room would cause a serious echo problem!"
-
Alemana was likewise mesmerized.. and he would carefully get out that digivice and take a picture, before quickly putting it away.
-
[Hmm... roll me stealth.]
-
[Rolling: 4 2 5+ 6= 17]
-
*Rollz*
Just before Al tucked away his digivice, he noticed a strange glitch on the screen. He looked again for a moment longer at the picture, and swore he could make out an odd shadow just barely visible in the background...
"Hm? Something wrong?" asked Renamon.
-
He would glance at the screen for a moment, confused. “I thought I saw.. eh never mind.”
-
"Hey look!" said Kukuimon. "I can see MachGaogamon from here!"
Following the point of the piglet's snout, the group saw the canine cyborg talking with none-other than Reporter Biyomon from Jelstation News, alongside a digimon with a monitor for a head, similar to the one Al had seen yesterday refereeing Gazimon's matches.
"Is that digimon wearing a TV on its head?" asked Malie.
"What's a matter, friend? Never seen a Monitamon before?"
Al glanced in the direction he heard the voice to find a digimon sitting several meters away from the aisle. Just like the digimon Biyomon was with, this one had a monitor for a head, but was wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt and khakis.
"Aloha!" he said, waving back at the group. "You guys with security? Journalists?"
-
He would turn to look at the small tv-headed Digimon and would shake his head “Diplomatic Relations reasons is why we’re, actually.”
-
[Hmm... roll Manipulate with a +2]
-
[Rolling: 3 4 4 + 9= 20!]
-
That got Monitamon's attention. "Really?" he asked, his screen showing a clip of a man showing surprise from a silver screen movie. "Where're you guys from? Anywhere famous?"
-
“Well we are from a far away place called Pail Island, home of the great and mighty Bucketmon.”
-
"LORD Bucketmon!" corrected Malie, thrusting a blanketed hand forward, hanging from the wrist. "All shall know me by my mighty works and despair!"
Another gif appeared across Monitamon's screen, this time showing an applauding audience. "No way! I think I've heard of you guys! You outsmarted Varamon and his goons and saved President Muchomon on the Codec River!"
"Thaaaat's right!" chirped Renamon.
"So, you guys must be here for MachGaogamon's conference! Does that mean Pail Island's backing the mayor's decision?"
-
“Right you are, on both accounts. We absolutely are against Varamon and the Green Lady.” And he would reach up to pet Renamon.
-
"Name's Sunshine Monitamon," said the digimon as he offered his hand. "But my friends call me Sunny!"
"Aloha, Sunny!" said Kukuimon. "I'm Kukuimon!"
"Pagumon~!" said Renamon.
-
“Troopmon, and it’s good to meet you.” And he would stifle a chuckle at just how much gusto Rena was putting into her performance
-
"D-d-deeeeee-di-dehhlightful!" said Sunny, a glitch cropping over his screen as his voice clipped. "Erm, sorry about that."
"What just happened?" asked Malie.
"White Noise Syndrome. Ever since the interference, we Monitamon've been suffering from sudden static, glitching, and lagging runtimes. It's why I'm out of a job. I've been having it worse than most."
"Is there no way to treat it?" asked Kukuimon.
"Afraid not," said Sunny. "For digimon like us, working means being able to monitor and capture activity across Cypher Bay. Can't do that if you're getting hijacked by rogue signals and poor connection. We share footage with each other, you see. But again, it requires having a wireless connection."
-
That made him tighten his fist a bit.. her felt sorry for Sunny, and angry towards the Green Lady.
“Don’t worry.. once the Green Lady is taken care of, things should go back to normal.”
-
"Wish it was that easy," shrugged Sunny. "See, before WNS, my fellow Monitamon have been having our own troubles in the form of--" he stopped, his face turning into a zipper-face emoji. "Never mind, that stuff's its own can of worms. I'd get yelled at for telling you more. Uh, suffice it to say, we've got differences on "workplace etiquette"."
"What," said Malie. "Like, sexual harassment?
A series of images raced across Sunny's monitor as he jumped back.
"W-wah--weeee-wa-wo-wi-what-wait-no!" he glitched. "Nothing like that! Look, it's complicated. That's all! G-geez, is it hot in here? Oof!"
-
“Lord Bucketmon, it’s best to not say such extreme things. If it’s got nothing to do with the troubles caused by the Green Lady and he doesn’t want to say.. we shouldn’t pry.”
-
"I still don't get it," said Kukuimon, tilting his head.
"Wait," said Renamon. "If you're unemployed, how did you get in here?"
Eager to change the subject, Sunny gave the faux-pagumon his full attention. "Oh! Well, you see-see-seeeeeeee-s-s-s-say-sah-sawwu-" He smacked the side of his head. "Hah! I'm a private eye investigator!"
"A detective?" said Malie. "But, isn't that a job?"
"Well, I mean, yeah, buuuut - nobody's paying me to do it. I'm working on a case that could be a big game changer for me. If my suspicions are confirmed, and I get proof, I'm gonna sell it to Jelstation News for big Bits!"
"So a journalist?"
"Investigative journalist," corrected Sunny. "But I digress. What matters is that this event might hold the key to uncovering something big that other digimon don't want us knowing about."
-
“I see. Well what is this suspicion of yours?” Alemana asked, though internally he couldn’t help but chuckle.
(“Well there is a big secret at least, regarding us.”) he mentally mused to Renamon.. before looking over the crowd. Without really meaning to, his mind wandered back to that strange shadow he saw through his camera. What was that? Hopefully it was nothing.. but seeing how monumental this meeting potentially was.. he was a little nervous that something was about to go wrong.
After all, that’s how it had always been since he got here.
-
[Roll Persuasion with a -3 from difficulty]
-
[Rolling: 3 6 5+ 6- 3= 17]
-
"(I'll never tell~)" thought Renamon.
Sunny's monitor showed a cartoon character sweating bullets like a waterfall as its eyes dashed left and right. "Well... alright, you didn't hear it from me, but! I have reason to believe that there's a human being held captive somewhere in Cypher Bay!"
-
And just like that, the other shoe dropped- and his body went rigid as he heard that. He didn’t dare glance at Malie.. but he was almost certain that she had to be reacting to that information under her helmet.
“What makes you suspect that?”
-
"I can't divulge my sources or anything," said Sunny, whispering with one hand to the side of his mouth(?). "But get this: about a month ago, just before the interference and lockdown came into effect, sightings of the cryptid were spotted near the beach. Anyone involved in said-sightings, however, ended up either shutting up about it or disappearing. No investigations, no amber alert, no nothing. It was like finding a ghost of a ghost, you know? The only connection that didn't dry up was the kahuna of Kanaloamon, but he rarely visits dryland, and was next to impossible to get an interview with."
"Kanaloamon?" echoed Kukuimon. "You mean the Great Akua of the Ocean?"
"That's right. His kahuna, or priest, here in Cypher Bay is Gesomon."
-
Alemana’s mind was racing.. and he suddenly didn’t want to be here any longer. If these rumors even had a hint of truth to them, there was a kid who was in danger somewhere in this town, and the Kahuna might know where to start looking for them. At the same time… they had to stay, this meeting was incredibly important.
(“What should we do?”)
-
"(What if we called Ike and Pagumon?)" asked Renamon. "(Even if Pagumon's not ready to fight, they can still move around faster if it's just the two of them.)"
"Does he have a heiau he tends?" asked Malie. "Or even just a place he likes to hang out?"
"He does," said Sunny. "But whatever timetable he had for visitors got whacked after the interference hit Waihona. Believe me."
-
(“I’ll try to get ahold of them later…”) he tried to sound calm, but the edge in his thoughts was palpable
“Well.. would it be possible to get directions to it, just in case?”
-
"I mean, I guess I could. Not like it's a secret." Sunny then displayed a map of the city onscreen, a red dot blinking near the harbor. "There were plans to make it into an oceanarium linking land-based digimon to the undersea heiau, but it got cancelled due to budget cuts. Now it's just a collection of tidepools with a giftshop."
"Is Gesomon nice?" asked Kukuimon.
"As long as you don't litter or disrespect his patron, I think so."
-
“Well I think we will get along just fine. So how do we get there exactly?”
-
"Walking, or riding an Automon should get you there. It's actually just a hop and a skip from the Peace Monument, if you can believe it. Heard that part was intentional, especially since it's near the end of the main beach. You'll know you're there if you find a lookout point with a bench and telescope. Just mind your manners, don't mention pirates, and - lemme emphasize this - Don't. Litter. Especially in the tide pools. Otherwise you'll be up to your necks in calamari."
"Calamari?" echoed Malie.
"Also don't probably mention calamari, but I digress."
-
“Well… good to know. Thank you Sunny.”
-
"Weeeee-aaaaaa-aeaeeeuuuuuuu-ait!" modemed the Monitamon. "Since I did you a solid, you-you uh, wouldn't mind returning the favor, right? If you guys find out anything about this human, you'll share it with your pal Sunny?"
-
This was when Alemana would glance at Malie for a moment before answering him.
“Well if there really is a human or not, we’ll let you know. Right, Lord Bucketmon?”
-
"So be it!" harkened Malie. "As you have scratched our lordly back, we shall endeavor to scratch yours!"
"Aw, thanks you guys!" said Sunny, giving the group a thumbs-up as he displayed on his monitor a smiley face sun. He then noticed the watch on his wrist. "Oh! That reminds me, the conference's about to start!"
"Wait, it's in here?" asked Renamon.
"Guess so! Better grab a good seat before they start letting people in!"
-
“Oh, well then we will be on our way- come now Lord Bucketmon.. you deserve only the best seat.” And hr attempted to guide her away from the tv headed digimon
“Thank you again!”
-
After watching the Monitamon wave back and wander off, the others huddled as best they could without looking (too) suspicious.
"So what's the plan?" asked Kukuimon.
"We gonna save the kid," said Malie. "Hope they're alright."
-
“Malie’s right, we have to find them. But if they’ve really been somewhere in town a whole month.. I really hope that they’ve at least been able to get away from whoever kidnapped them like you did..” he looked up at Renamon “That means we should try to get ahold of Ike as soon as we can…”
-
"Should we try using your digivice in here?" said Renamon. "There could be cameras everywhere, even if we obstruct you with one of Malie's blankets, there's no telling if someone's listening in or not."
-
“Well.. there are pay phones outside aren’t there? I think I remember seeing some.. maybe I could try to use one of those-“
-
The group turned as they heard the double doors swing open. Digimon began shuffling into the room, their voices echoing from the main lobby as staff-members began ushering them along the aisles.
"Time's running out," said Kukuimon. "I'll take care of Ma--Lord Bucketmon, you go find that payphone!"
-
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Something about What Sunny said makes me worried about splitting up..” not to mention that inexplicable shadow they just appeared and vanished .
-
"We'll wait then," said Malie, stepping to the side as a digimon past her. "Ike'll still be at the house by the time we're done here."
"Agreed," said Renamon.
Seeing the amassing wave of applicants, the group moved to take their seats before the other digimon decided for them.
[Alright, how close to the ring do you wanna be? Front row? You can also get closer to where the officials appear to be setting up a line of desks to sit behind - it's where MachGaogamon and Biyomon were standing.]
-
“I like that plan better. Let’s find a seat now..”
[The latter.]
-
The group found a place both close to the panel, but not so far that they'd be staring at the backs of those sat behind it. Dozens upon dozens of digimon filled the stands, yet from where Al was sitting, the arena looked almost deserted. Larger digimon sat atop the stone terrace overlooking the fighting pit, while the largest were forced to standing or sit at the center.
"This is amazing!" said Renamon, back in character. "Are all these digimon applying for the Defense Force?"
When at last it seemed the waves of incoming digimon had subsided, a new wave arose in the form of Monitamon all dressed in red suites. Like ninjas, they leaped and bounded across the arena, each crouching in front of someone in attendance and staring back at them with their monitor-screens. This was true of Alemana's group, as one landed in front of them in a flash.
"Lord Bucketmon?" she said, judging by her voice. "I will be your monitor for today!" The ninja then pulled out a microphone, offering it up to Malie. "There will be a chance to ask questions during the event. When it comes, I will let you know, and connect you with the panel."
Managing to find the mic with her helmet still on, Malie promptly handed it over to Alemana.
"This is my spokesperson," she said. "He knows what I want."
The red Monitamon glanced over at the faux-Troopmon.
-
Reaching up to gently let his partner again from atop her perch, he would settle into his seat, sitting up just as the red suited digimon appeared. And when he was given the microphone, he shrugged. “I will be taking and presenting questions in Lord Bucketmon’s stead, then.”
-
"IT IS LAAAAW!!" proclaimed Malie as she folded her arms.
A stop watch appeared on the Monitamon's screen, but she nodded all the same.
Meanwhile, more and more Monitamon bounced around like pingpong balls, even pushing off against each other in mid-air. Soon, however, the lights began to darken. All save for those that illuminated the panel, and the cyborg standing in front of it, facing the audience. MachGaogamon had his sunglasses over his eyes, yet the charm never left him as brandished his own mic and stepped forward.
"My fellow Waihonans," he said, his real-time image appearing on Monitamon's screen. The deafening roar of the crowd cut him off, but not the smile on his canine face. "Thank you! Thank you! My fellow Waihonan, today, we're here not just to address the chaos that transpired yesterday, but to also remind ourselves of the injustice plaguing our city, cutting us off from the rest of the Digital World, and for some, a way back home..."
The crowd quieted down.
"For too long, our home has been terrorized and taken advantage of by scumbags too craven to come out and fight, who don't have the guts to look their victims in the eye, and answer for their crimes. I say not-any-more! Today, we make a solemn oath! To protect ourselves AND each other! Those who join Cypher Bay's City Defense Force will be my brothers and sisters! As Kūmon as my witness! And as his kahuna! I will teach you! Lead you! Fight for you till my dying breath!" Punching the air with a massive fist, a strange pair of tubes extended from the cyborg's back. Then Al realized, those weren't tubes, they were rocket engines. "Be the heat!" said the canine. "Reach for the sky! Fight the power! IT'S DO OR DIE!!"
These last words the crowd cheered and howled alongside the beast, just as he launched into the air and made a circuit around the arena like a bird of prey. Alemana could have sworn he heard Renamon hollering with them, only to stop just as the boy turned to look at her.
-
He had to admit, MachGaogamon definitely knew how to pump up a crowd. Listening to his speech and watching him fly around the entirety of that area, Alemana had to restrain himself as best he could to avoid shouting and whooping with the others.. but when he heard Renamon do so, he looked up at her.
(“Looks like MachGaogamon has a fan girl!”) he teased
-
"(I... don't know what you're talking about,)" lied the fox.
-
(“Mhm.. suuuure you don’t!”) he silently laughed , turning his attention back towards the flying lupine.
(“Rena and Mach, sitting in a tree~”)
-
"(Alemana, I swear, when we get home, I'll--)"
"--answer all your questions with the help of my fellow co-hosts," said MachGaogamon, making a sweeping gesture towards the panel. "Ladies and gentlemon, please give a big shout out to Chief of Finance Ganemon and the beautiful Assistant Mayor Pomumon!"
Monitamon's footage split to showcase two digimon sat behind the panel. One looked like a top hat-wearing coin had sprouted arms, legs and a mustache. The other was a bird-like digimon with the coloration and shape of a dragon fruit. Of the two, only the latter showed any enthusiasm in waving for the cameras.
"For the sake of getting things started," said Mach. "We'll begin asking any and all questions. Just tell your Monitamon you want in, and, if there's a line, the system will choose at random. Ready? GO!!"
-
(“Oh, you’re gonna what?”)
He then turned his attention to the other two digimon.. and he couldn’t help but notice that the bird Digimon seemed happy to be here at least.
“So.. I wonder who will ask questions first..”
-
Before Renamon could counter with witty repartee, a *ping* rang out over the speakers. A snapshot of a hedgehog-looking digimon flickered onto Monitamon's screen.
"This question's for MachGaogamon. Are we gonna be training together? Like, one on one?"
"Well I'm glad you asked, cousin," said Mach. "I'd say training's half the work. Depending on how you guys perform, personal training sessions may not be outside the realm of possibility, especially if you're just starting out. For the CDF, teamwork will be essential, but even if you're a lone wolf, I guarantee we can work something out."
Another ping came from the speakers.
"Hey Mach! Long time fan! What do you use to get such a shiny coat? Mine's always looking like a flea-bag, you know what I'm saying?"
The cyborg let out a laugh. "Don't sell yourself short, hoaloha! While I can't give up all my secrets, I'd say I have to give credit to exercise, sleep, and a healthy diet of vitamin-rich doggy-chow. Shout out to my main mon Doggymon, best lū'au in town!"
Another ping.
"MachGaogamon? What's your favorite training routine?"
"MachGaogamon, are you single?"
"MachGaogamon!"
"(He's so cool under pressure,)" mused Renamon. "(Even when he's embarrassed, he's so down to earth about it.)"
"Everyone, please," chuckled Mach. "I love you guys, and I am digging that energy! But let's keep our eyes on the prize! Anyone got a question they'd like to ask about the CDF? I know I'm a part of the whole thing, but I'm far from the only one!"
-
Glancing up at her, that seemed to give him the impetus to formulate a question.
Lifting up the microphone, he would then speak up into it.
“I have a question about that: What is your plan to take the fight to Varamon and the Green Lady? There has been talks about this before now right?”
-
"Right you are," said Mach. "It was a week after the interference hit, right Pomumon?"
Monitamon's screen flickered, a blizzard of white noise stalling on her before camera feed of Pomumon popped up.
"That's right, Mach!" she said. "The initiative was put on hold due to uncertainty regarding the interference's nature. Cypher Bay is home to an estimate of 100,086 digimon, and the safety of the civilian populace was deemed top priority by Mayor Kokatorimon. Funds were then allocated to the Police Department to keep the peace!"
"Something doesn't feel right," said Kukuimon. "Anyone else feel a chill?"
"Now that you mention it," said Renamon. "It does seem a little colder in here."
"And this smell, at first I thought it was because of all the digimon here, but it's like this oily, sickly sweet bouquet..."
Just then, Al felt his digivice begin to vibrate. Glancing at Malie, it looked like her was doing the same, the tamer clutching the spot behind her blanket cloak where she kept it.
-
“Well I am glad at least some progress has been made. So if everyone here were to join the defense force, what would be the first..” he then paused, listening to his friends and their notice of the change of temperature and the strange smell. “The first-“ the sudden buzzing of his digivice again interrupting him.
“My apologies- I must’ve lost my train of thought..” he said sheepishly as he carefully looked down, and pulled out the digivice just far enough to see the screen.
-
Alemana's digivice was glitching like crazy. A series of texts were popping up in a zigzag and written in that weird script engraved on his digivice, then in binary, then in wingdings, before expanding down and outside the textbox before going completely back... but it hadn't turned off. No... three symbols flickered onto the screen, as if something were sifting through images before settling on them one by one. An eyeball, a surf wave, and the letter "U".
In that moment, Alemana felt a ringing in his ears. And so did everyone else, for all the digimon began grabbing at what they had for ears as every Monitamon's screen turned to a white-noise blizzard. MachGaogamon was saying something, but his mic wasn't working.
-
Okay that was concerning, his Digivice had never done that before. But when the ringing started , he winced as he looked up at Renamon “What.. whet the heck I’d happening..!?”
-
*Rollz*
The tamer heard a scream from somewhere behind the group. Turning, he saw a digimon with their hands around another's neck. Suddenly, far to the left of him, Al saw another scuffle break out between two more digimon. Others were trying to pull them off each other, but just as quickly became caught up in the brawl.
"(Digimon are starting to panic!)" said Renamon. "(Alemana, keep your head down!)"
-
He would take her off of his head, and hug her to his chest as he tries to stay close to the others as possible. “So what should we do..?!”
-
More cries rang out from across the arena. Sparks of electricity, tongues of fire, anything and everything seemed to be getting thrown around as digimon began attacking one another. Alemana watched, only to feel a sense of deja vu. The maddening noise grew distant, as if he were hearing it from underwater. Fragments of the room flickered behind squares squares, big and small. Then came a surge of activity. Frozen in place, Al saw all the digimon warp in size and shape, just like how Gazimon had done back at the heiau against Aikilomon, though strangely neither MachGaogamon, Renamon, nor Kukuimon were affected. His vision then shunted him backwards, racing him past digimon this way and that till he was flying past the double doors - which slammed shut as he left the arena. From there, he was pulled down flights of stairs and past hallways till he reached a dark room.
*Rollz*
Bullet-time occurred, just long enough for Al to catch a glimpse of the sign on the door: Boiler Room. Then Al was off again. Within the darkness of the Boiler Room he was greeted with an abyss... then, from nowhere, an eyeball blinked into existence, red and rippled with concentric circles. Then another appeared. And then another. Suddenly, the tamer was standing in the center of countless, identical eyes, all staring at him... just as it seemed like he'd be overwhelmed, the vision slowed to a crawl... and went in reverse. In the blink of an eye, Alemana was back in the arena.
"--were then allocated to the Police Department to keep the peace!" said Pomumon.
The boy looked around. Nobody was panicking. Nobody was fighting.
"(It happened again,)" said Renamon. "(Didn't it.)"
-
As the chaos escalated and he wracked his brain for a way to deal with the situation that didn’t tear their cover to ribbons in front of the dozens and dozens of Digimon.. he felt that sense of vertigo, and his eyes widened as once again he was hit with a vision very similar to what he saw with Gazimon- and then he felt himself be yanked away from the arena- and he gave a gasp as he raced towards the boiler room and saw the inky blackness.. the myriad eyes. And then he was back, his body having been rigid and then suddenly relaxed.
(“It did.. we have to get to that Boiler Room. Whatever’s in there.. it’s connected to what’s about to happen!”)
Now that he had a plan, his panic was notably lessened- though he was still tense. Standing up, he then looked at Maile, leaning closer to her ear- a sense of urgency in his voice.
“We have to go to the boiler room- everything is gonna go crazy in a few seconds.”
And he would stand up, offering his hand to her so he could help her walk.
-
"Crazy?" echoed Malie. "Wait, how do you know?"
"No time to explain," whispered Renamon. "Kukui, make for the doorway."
The green piglet shared a look with the red Monitamon, before bobbing his head and excusing the group. When he scurried past Al, Renamon was there to hop onto his back, mushing him through the crowd. With the tamers not far behind, the two digimon opened the doors. Quietude filled the room outside as the doors closed behind Al and Malie. Renamon used her Pagumon ear-hands to direct everyone as she continued riding Kukuimon, leading them towards - then down - the stairwell Al had seen in his vision.
"Al, you're scaring me," said Malie, hurrying down as fast as she could. "Why're we going to the boiler room?"
-
“I.. I’m scared too. I can’t explain why, but I think that Ki’i is sending me visions. And my vision told me that something’s in the boiler room that’s connected to everyone going crazy and attacking each other-“ he then took a breath.
“So that’s why I need your help. Renamon’s strong, but after what happened yesterday… I don’t want her taking on this thing alone. We’re a team.. and I know that with you here, we can’t lose!”
-
"Thing? You mean a digimon?"
Passing a Kamemon on the way down, the group at last reached the bottom of the stairs. Unlike the other floors, there was no décor to be seen. Just spartan walls of painted over cement, ceiling pipes, and florescent lighting. That's where Al saw it, the door from his vision. It was reinforced with metal, with a built-in glass window that showed only darkness beyond.
"We're here," said Renamon, pointing to a card reader in the adjacent wall. "Alemana, I think you can use that keycard MachGaogamon gave us to open it."
-
“I don’t know if it is a digimon.. I hope it is, that means that maybe we can reason with it, like with Aikilomon and Haneleamon.” And when they reached the door.. he would look left and right, to see if any other Kamemon were still around.
“Once we get inside, change back. The electronics got all messed up when everyone went crazy.. so hopefully if there are any cameras.. that will take care of it for us.”
And he took out the keycard, and swiped it.
-
"On it," said Renamon, hopping off of Kukuimon before her disguise began burning away. From there she began stretching her arms, watching Al swipe the wolf-keycard, causing a green light to blink of the card-reader to the accompaniment of a *beebong~!*
"I'm just as confused, Malie," said Kukuimon. "But if Al and Renamon think we should be here, then I say we follow them."
"It's not that I don't trust you guys," said his tamer. "I'm just trying to figure out what the heck is happening!"
Al swung the door open. The space beyond was dark but the moment he took one step in, thin lights began blinking on near his ankles, revealing a hexagonal corridor with ventilation grates and walls plated by sheets of metal. AC fans echoed alongside the clank and rattle of machinery, followed by the sound of everyone's footsteps as they came through. At the end of the hall, the glow of computer screens lit up a small terminal booth, but a map displayed across one of them showed a labyrinthine maze of access corridors and chambers beyond this one.
"Woah," said Malie, pulling off her bucket. "Is this a boiler room or secret laboratory?"
-
Alemana felt bad, he wanted to explain things more clearly, but they didn’t have the time..not did he fully understand why these visions came to him.
“I wish I knew more, but I’m just barely less lost than you guys..” and when Renamon returned to normal he attempted to provide a bit of levity. “Oh good.. I almost started to forget what you looked like, Rena-“ but whatever he was about to say next caused him to go quiet. “No kidding, I’ve never seen a boiler room like this one before.. well.. I guess maybe we should go look at that computer thing? Good place as any to start..”
-
[Roll me Computers, Izzy. ;3 ]
-
[Rolling: 2 3 5 + 8= 18!]
-
From what Al could tell, the terminal was used for basic diagnostics on not just boiler room temperature adjustments, but also "arena hydraulics", showcasing a map of water flow that linked the arena upstairs with the rest of the building's water supply. A series of backup generators were also set up somewhere further below, but required accessing a different terminal.
*Rollz*
While looking over the text, Al noticed multiple times how random letters and numbers would randomly glitch out of the corner of his eye. They all stopped after a brief flicker of the screen.
"Strange," said Renamon, looking over Al's shoulder. "The software's buggy, and there aren't any prompts for passwords or verifying authorization."
"Doesn't us having the keycard already mean we're allowed?" asked Kukuimon.
"Only if you're sloppy about your security. Given how complex this machinery is, you'd expect a whole lot more than a simple card-reader and locked door."
-
Alemana would frown as he looked everything over, and he had to wonder if that other terminal dealing with the generators was showing bugs like this one.
“Renamon is right.. it wouldn’t make sense to be that lax. Whoever or whatever later down here clearly is doing.. something.”
-
Renamon then glanced at Al. "Some of the rooms down here look like they're intended for larger-sized digimon, but it may prove difficult to fight in close quarters if there's any delicate equipment with an active electrical current. Plus we don't know who or what we're looking for." The fox paused, her attention pulled away as she and the others heard, then saw Kukuimon sniffing the air.
"Do you guys smell that?" he asked.
"Smell what, Kukui?" asked Malie.
"That smell. It's like this oily, sickly-sweet bouquet..."
-
“Well it’s a good thing we are small and slinky at the moment.. so if this thing is big maybe we can use that to our advantage..” he then trailed off as he looked at Kukuimon
“Wait..” he then knelt beside the piglet “in my vision you mention a scent like that.. do you think you could follow it?”
-
"I think so," said the piglet. "Can't say I'm a fan, though."
"If Kukuimon takes point, should I back up the rear?" asked Renamon.
-
“I appreciate that.. and to make it up to you, I’ll buy you whatever snack you want when we’re done here.. deal?” Alemana asked before almost sputtering when he heard what Renamon said “I’m sorry?”
-
"I said watch our backs so the way is clear," mused the vulpine. "What did you think I said?"
I'll hang in the middle with Al," said Malie. "That way we can both see what's going on!"
-
“I- nevermind! That sounds like a plan, everyone!”
Thank the Akua for his mask..!
-
The decision made, and after Malie had copied the terminal's map onto her digivice, the group followed Kukuimon deeper into the arena's underbelly. Even with the map, without the piglet's keen sense of smell, all sense of progress would have been speculative at best. From passing dead-ends to walking through entire rooms without a second glance. All the while, screens came to life that showcased machine code that flickered and glitched the deeper they went, till at last they came to a wide open room dominated by two hydraulic turbines built into the wall.
"E kali!" said Kukuimon.
"What is it?" asked Malie. "Did you find something, Kukui?"
The piglet said nothing. Confused, the group walked into the room to look at him. One look of his face, however, said it all. His eyes were straining as the green of his foliage started browning, his cheeks puffed out as Kukuimon held in his breath.
"That can't be good," Renamon surmised.
Kukuimon then began coughing as he tried breathing through his mouth.
"In here!" he wheezed, trying to cover his nose. "It's definitely coming from in here...!"
-
“Malie, maybe you should get him back in the hall.. I don’t want him to suffocate!”
“Alright.. we know you’re in here, and we know what you’re trying to do! Come out and let’s talk!”
-
Silence met the tamer's demand, but across the room, in a work station that had a window between it and the turbines, a computer screen lit up...
-
“Renamon, Cover me.. Malie, see if Kukuimon is okay!” And he would carefully move towards the screen… what he wouldn’t give for a trusty Fire extinguisher right now-
-
Malie was already on it, pulling out a handkerchief from her digivice's storage and turning it into a makeshift mask around her partner's snout. While she patted the poor piglet on the back, Al and Renamon approached the monitor to find it was a touch-screen. There was a message already on it, written in a mess of words in different pictograms. From binary, to wingdings to kanji, then English. Pixelated eyeball gifs were playing in the background, yet somehow Alemana knew they were watching them.
-
He looked at that.. and he then had a small “aha” moment.
He then typed: Come out now, or I’m shutting these machines down.
-
A split second later, a new message pinged.
--//SeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreTSeCreT
trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr/hrluwuZEDZEDZEDZED
--//[Trait]_OR?
--//No-? S.O.S!
--//Input InPUT INPUT!!
Renamon took a step back as everyone heard a noise emanating from the pipes above.
--//WARNING: Contamination detected! Ventilation unit offline!
-
Traitor? SOS? This didn’t sound like something a minion of the Green Lady would say. Alemana would hold his ground, and then type out again: Come out, we want to talk, not fight. Hurting everyone in the arena will only help the Green Lady! If you’re in trouble, we can help you.
-
--//DIE_Agnostic?? [Trouble] Bypass!
--//SABOtaGE.exe!?!
--//oN screen BRrrRrreach!! CAN'T HOLD ON!! Toomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuchtoomuch--RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMumu.#@!
Renamon shot out her arm to shield Alemana as sparks flew from the corner of the computer screen.
--//SOS.HELPx012!!
-
“Renamon are you okay?!” Alemana asked as he then looked at the screen, and then the pipes, then to Renamon.
“Rena, the pipes.. attack the pipes! Relieve the pressure!”
He then would begin typing: We are going to get you out of the pipes! Hold on!
-
"Stay back!" said the fox. In a blur of motion, she sped from the terminal before leaping into the air. "WITHERING STORM!!" she bellowed out, conjuring leaves that fired at the pipes in the form of golden arrowheads. Steam shrieked as it escaped into the room, but instead of visible vapor, there came a black miasma that glitched, twisted and writhed. In a frenzy, it congealed into a singular pool of shadow that fired off into the nearby walls, slamming against pipes and forcing a web of cracks onto the nearby window!
-
Alemana took cover for a moment.. but he would then look at the shadowy blob.. and he would cautiously approach.
“Are you.. okay?”
-
From the undulating mass, a single eye appeared, staring straight at Alemana. Both he and Renamon could hear it as a thousand more such eyes blinked into existence, each locked onto a different subject, bloodshot and unblinking. Like a fish out of water, the creature spasmed, flailing its entirety against whatever was near enough. Renamon pulled Al back to avoid either of them being crushed, and in that moment two tendrils shot out from the shadow-beast, cracking like whips before going rigid. At their tips, they frayed into facsimiles of wicked claws, which it then slammed hard into the floor, digging deep into the metal. Swelling, the digimon split open a mouth at its apex, revealing a purple tongue behind an endless row of serrated teeth! Its breath was sicky-sweet to the point of suffocating, and as the group struggled to breathe, so too did the strange digimon begin to hack and wheeze. Plumes of black smoke vomited forth from its maw, as a stream of... cubes? Yes, blue, crystaline cubes poured out onto the floor, where, on contact, they transformed into ones and zeroes that faded into nothing, or coalesced into random objects. A pipe, a fire hydrant, a bicycle, a vending machine, even a cardboard cutout of MachGaogamon giving a thumbs-up. Renamon kicked away what objects got too close, but with every object formed, the smaller the new digimon seemed to get.
-
Upon seeing the eyes- he froze.. and looked at Renamon in surprise . “I think this is-“ and he would then Yelp as his partner pulled him out of the way of its bulk. Even through his mask, his eyes watered and as it began vomiting up random objects, he saw that it was getting smaller and smaller. Eventually however, he couldn’t take the sensation of his mask obstructing his breathing- and before he stopped to think about it he tugged the mask off his face- coughing and gasping as well.
“Did.. did it over eat or something..?!”
-
[Roll me Endurance with a -2]
-
[Rolling: 4 3 3+ 5 = 15]
-
Despite the air-filters in Alemana's suit having little effect on the stench, the tamer was able to resist keeling over. He could see Renamon buckling at the knee to stay standing, yet the vulpine's piercing eyes refused to betray any weakness.
The shadow digimon continued to retch, heaving back as it arched whatever it had for a spine. It stretched and stretched and stretched some more, snapping shut its jaws as it began to balloon up, drool trickling down onto the floor. Renamon didn't wait, she grabbed Al yet again and raced for the entrance to the room, her tamer watching from over her shoulder as the thousand-eyed digimon belched forth a torrent of black smog.
"Now, Kukui!" said Malie.
"KUKUIMON DIGIVOLVE TO--PUA'AMON!!"
The flash of coral-orange and amber-brown light penetrated the miasma, shockwave of Pua'amon's digivolution creating a small pocket of air between the gas and the group. The giant boar was pushing against the ceiling, but did not move an inch from where he stood. Instead, he began to glow. "PUA MANTLE RELEASE!!" he boomed. Pollen vented from between cracks in his mantle of mud, a veritable army of soft motes in the air charging into the darkness. Wherever they touched, the poison retreated, disintegrating all traces of the pathogen in their wake. This went on until the shadow digimon was visible again, sprawled out on the floor like a rag as it pushed away something beneath its claws.
"Help... me...!"
-
Wiping sweat from his exposed face, Alemana would struggle to catch his breath as he saw the creature flop around and writhe in the pollen.. and he would find himself stumbling over to it.. taking care not to get hit by it’s flailing claws.
“What can we do to help you? What’s wrong?!”
-
Barely moving, the digimon pushed the object it was clutching towards Alemana. "Take it," it rasped, its arm shivering as it recoiled back into its body.
No longer obstructed by the digimon, the object appeared to be a series of tanks strapped together to box with a skull and crossbones spray-painted on, as well as a finger-pad. Four red zeroes were blinking on the screen...
-
“Huh?” Alemana looked at the tank.. and then his eyes went wide. He might have only been twelve years old- but he knew a bomb when he saw one.
“You.. we’re trying to stop this from going off, weren’t you?”
-
Though the digimon said nothing, a weak smile creased its lips, its breathing growing more relaxed with time.
-
He would gently reach out.. and tentatively pet it’s snout
“Thank you. I’m- well” he then paused.. his mask was off!
“I’m.. Alemana..” he said with an embarrassed laugh
-
"Eyes...mon..."
CHAPTER COMPLETED
The Price of Peace! +2 EXP + 1 DP
Foxiest of the Hounds! +1 DP
Smooth Operator! +1 Inspiration
Shadow Warfare +1 EXP
Bomb Squad! +1 EXP
Total: 4 EXP, +2 DP, + 2 Inspiration!