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Corrupted Wood (N-Rank) (5/5)
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Post by Cion on Oct 16, 2017 20:17:51 GMT
Before they took care of the yellow flower, Isaac made a fair point. They had only encountered traps, but not hostile digimons corrupted by the black mist, since quite a while. Were they possibly walking right into an ambush, or was there something even more sinister to it? The vulpine digimon honestly did not know, but neither was she truly scared. They had both very powerful and sturdy digimons in their group that could easily dish out and takes hits. If it came to a battle, she'd simply support them with her abilities and they would certainly emerge victoriously, not?
"Then let's be extra aware of our surroundings." Cion stated calmly, believing that was the only thing they could do for now. That and of course taking care of the flower, which Valeria volunteered for this time. As long as they made sure to destroy the flowers, they could not affect the entire group, but it would often bring temporary harm to the attacker. If they were ever to be involved in combat, then they had to deal with them first before fighting their adversaries. Careful planning and consideration had to be taken, but taking into consideration how many they were that was probably not such a big worry. Besides, the Arnamon could always restore everyone back to good health.
Uncertain what the effects of the yellow flower were, she still tilted her head towards the only direction that they could take. "Nobody against moving on?" She asked, wondering when something else than flower traps would happen. It was bound to occur considering the corruption had to have an origin, but what it was she could barely even imagine. A fiendish digimon, a piece of corrupted data? Whatever it was, it was likely as dangerous as the rest of this labyrinth.
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Post by John Davis on Oct 20, 2017 22:14:59 GMT
Another flower burned, another energy attack released. Like the flower, John and Casimeir noted that this energy beam had a yellow coloration. There was no telling if this technique would have the same effects that the last one did, nor was there a way to know how long it would last. If this miasma-spewing flower was anything like the previous, all it would do is create a nuisance.
The pair had to be quick to react if they were to prevent Koneka from getting hit. But thankfully, NeoDevimon moved to protect Koneka with his wings acting as a shield. But that raised the question; would it be blocked, and effect Isaac? Or would it merely dissipate?
Jon patted Casimeir's crown, letting him know that it was alright if they couldn't immediately help. "Don't worry, Cas. They've got this handled."
Casimeir offered a slight nod of the head to respond to his words. "Yeah. Even if I could bring up a Firewall in time, it would have just held us up longer."
John then glanced to Cion, and would express what he had to say to everyone there. "I'm for moving on. We seem to have this down pretty well."
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Post by NolChannel on Oct 20, 2017 22:59:56 GMT
As expected, the yellow flower gave off a similar reaction to the red one upon being destroyed: a wafting pulse of yellow energy struck against Valeria, and...
... Wait, did it even have an effect? Valeria just seemed to be standing there, unphased! "You okay there?" Behind the tensed wings of the NeoDevimon - the instinct of protection earned a literal pat on the back from the grateful Gatomon - Koneka peered over at the golem. Perhaps Koganemon was immune to these flowers after all-
"... Ugh, finally!" A frustrated tone in her voice, Valeria managed a step forward, metal foot sinking down in the dirt beneath the dark smog. "Its like it froze up my code, just for a second or two. I couldn't move the golem at all!"
"Huh... that would make the yellow ones more dangerous than the red ones. Thank goodness we're getting a chance to see them in isolation, though." Ami sighed, shaking her head. "A momentary pause like that is just asking for trouble in a fight."
"The Devimon's got it right, though, its weird that we're seeing these up-front at all." Koneka considered for a moment: "Maybe they're trying to get us focused on the colors, so they can switch them up later? For example, if we were to plan for someone to go after all the yellow flowers, but red and yellow switched around, or something? Heck, maybe they'll all be white in the forest's center..."
"Hm. So if the code could mean nothing, then maybe one person should burn them all, and try to outrun the shots?" That was the one thing red and yellow had consistent with each-other, and the group didn't know the effects were unstoppable yet!
"We'll see where it comes to. Let's take this quietness to our advantage, now, and see if we can get a jump on the center. And, er... thanks, Isaac."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Oct 26, 2017 1:22:29 GMT
Thankfully, the flower didn't explode into a huge burst like Isaac feared. Instead, much like the red flower, it simply lashed out with a burst of energy at Valeria before going down. Isaac let out a sigh of relief as he let his wings drop, looking up at Koneka to make sure that she was okay. He let out a slight grunt from the pat on the back, which due to NeoDevimon's odd voice box sounded more like a CD-Rom tray shuddering open. Upon realizing that no, this wasn't an attack or a trick or anything, he simply nodded. After a few seconds, Isaac managed to add a slight "Thank you." Why did his spirit have to be so rude sometimes?
The effects of the flowers were quite interesting so far. The yellow one left Valeria rooted in place, incapable of even moving a muscle. The red one was a headache by comparison, but this? In the middle of combat, it could be quite deadly. Cion at least seemed confident that everyone could handle this in a proper fashion. "Extra extra aware," he stressed. The maze stretched on for who even knows how long? Each dark corner was another chance for a flower to be hidden. Heck, every wall could be a chance for a flower to be hidden, with the thick foliage of the maze being any indication. "These things could be anywhere. And I doubt any opponent will be so gracious as to give us time to handle them."
Still, the group had been handling this admirably. A weaker group would've panicked as soon as the first flower went off, rather than handling the second one with such finesse. "I'm ready when you are," he said, once more letting his wings catch the air around them. He couldn't fly too high in such cramped corners, especially when he needed to stick with the group in a shadowy maze. However, any bit of extra eyesight was welcome help, and Isaac did not mind being the group's eye in the sky.
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Post by Satoshi Himura on Oct 29, 2017 22:46:50 GMT
The yellow flower sent a burst of energy at Valeria, which seemed to root her on the spot. Between that and the red flower, Satoshi was starting to get concerned. He sat quietly on Garurumon's back, formulating a plan for them to deal with these if they continued to pop up. If these came up around an enemy, they could pose a serious problem. He kept his thoughts to himself for the moment, though.
Garurumon, meanwhile, felt a pulse of data come from deeper in the forest as the flower struck. He wasn't really able to track its origin, but figured that the flowers were coming from whatever was there.
The Champion made his way over to John and Cas, ready to move on. "Let's keep going," he said, not wanting to stand around and chat about being careful.
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on Oct 29, 2017 23:19:47 GMT
A pressing silence began to fall on the group as they moved forward. Very little sunlight was passing through the thick twisted canopy above them. As they moved forward, they could sense a faint smell of sickly sweet... something on the route ahead. Further, the path was beginning to get slightly wider, as though they were starting to get close to an opening. A bend in the path was the only thing they could see though.
However, as they continued, a second wave of misty data would rush toward them, and this time, a message was spoken.
"This is your final warning..." a voice seemed to rumble right through them. "Everything in this forest is as it should be. This data... must not be changed. Turn back... or be destroyed".
As this was said, a third flower blossomed in the wall ahead, emitting a light cyan mist, gradually intensifying. This one was blue.
A blue flower appears.
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Post by Cion on Oct 31, 2017 9:43:21 GMT
Now knowing that they had to be aware of at least two additional dangers in form of colored flowers that imposed debuffs on them, Cion remained quiet and deep in her thoughts, as always sitting on Casimeir the Greymon's hardened muzzle. They moved on, almost total silence creeping into their minds, as if the forest had turned completely lifeless. It turned darker, the top of trees becoming thicker so less light of the sun could reach them. Combined with the mostly tattered wall of the maze left an atmosphere of dread. The Sagitamon was thankful that she did not have to endure this alone.
A strange, sweet scent entered her nostrils when their way began opening up in a thin cone. Her nose twitching often, she tried to comprehend what it was, but she honestly could not, as it did not smell like food. "Do you smell that?" The vulpine digimon asked the others, at least trying to make them aware of something yet unclear that might pose a threat. More moments of silence past them by when suddenly, a stream of bizarre, misty data past right through them. Briefly gasping, she could hear a voice in her head, and it was clearly antagonistic. "Did... did you hear that?"
Okay, this was getting truly fearsome. Whatever the origin of the corruption was, it was clearly sentient and rather... umbrageous. Still, Cion did not believe that the forest was the way it was, hence, as she had often done, ignored the warnings and took them as what they truly were; a confirmation that they were on the right path. Unfortunately however, there was another obstacle that they had to deal with. A groan of frustration escaped her lips as she beheld the blue flower, likely another trap. "Greeeaaat..... so... any volunteers?" She asked in a tone akin to someone affected by dull routine.
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Post by John Davis on Nov 4, 2017 23:40:54 GMT
John and Casimeir's hearts sank when yet another flower came into blossom. Except now, it happened before their very eyes. And with an eerie voice that offered them a warning, no less. Despite the disembodied voice, neither John nor the Greymon was willing to back down. John would speak up.
"You're the source that is destroying the labyrinth, I guess. Well, we aren't giving up now after we came so far. This place was home to a lot of Digimon." With confidence brimming within the human, he was willing to trudge on. This time, like before, he and Cas thought it best to let someone else take on the flower. But if there were no volunteers, Cas would be more than happy to burn it to a crisp.
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Post by NolChannel on Nov 5, 2017 1:55:54 GMT
Well, this was certainly a thing. As Koneka remained perched on Isaac's back, Valeria led the way deeper into the forest, Ami once more following in step with Casimeir. Honestly, the tone of the forest didn't change that much, save for one interesting thing - the smell.
As Cion brought it up, Valeria gave a shrug: "Nothing here. Can't smell anything as a golem." Koneka, however, was a little more helpful, closing her eyes and parsing the stench. "Can't be sure, but it might be a bunch of flowers sprouting at once up ahead? Keep your eyes open."
Still, it wasn't too concerning, and they pressed on, just to hear a voice rumble in the wind. Cion seemed startled, and John seemed defiant - good, they weren't going crazy! To this, Ami sighed. "And the disembodied voice in the air calls itself natural? Oh, scary. I've seen worse." It didn't even intimidate any of the three, even as the blue flower blossomed! Cion 'passed', so by Koneka's earlier 'rule'?
"Well. This one's either Isaac's or Garurumon's, then."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Nov 9, 2017 4:00:46 GMT
When the voice came, NeoDevimon was prepared. His whole body swung in the direction the voice was coming from, a low growl echoing from his throat. Even as the voice faded NeoDevimon stared after it, lightning crackling from the space between his claws. It was only when the rest of the group started talking again that Isaac reset back to equilibrium, pushing his spirit back down. "We won't let this overcome us," he said, still a growling tone to his voice from his previous on-edge nature. "This is another one of the forest's tricks. Another one of the corruption's tricks. And we're not letting it spread any further than it already has."
Another flower. And this time, there weren't many to take on the current levels of corruption. Two of the assembled company had already taken up a flower of their own. One, the healer, passed, and you never argued with the healer. That basically left Garurumon . . . and Isaac. Isaac, who currently had a nasty strain of D-Reaper bouncing around in his head and was piloting behind the wheel of a particularly unstable spirit. Somehow, Isaac figured this little trio didn't have room for a fourth, especially when all three forms of corruption would form a terrible sandwich. "Not me," he said, a little annoyed at how definitively he was bowing out. "Already enough going on in here. I don't think me picking this one up would be very pretty."
What else was there to say or do? He kept a safe distance away from the flower, a wing draped in front of him and Koneka just in case there was some unexpected backlash.
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Post by Satoshi Himura on Nov 10, 2017 1:57:03 GMT
Things were starting to get downright spooky as a disembodied voice spoke to the group. Garurumon and Satoshi froze, but as it passed, a blue flower appeared. Satoshi was sitting atop his Digimon hypothesizing what effect it could have, but Garurumon grew impatient and shot a Howling Blaster at the mysterious flower.
Satoshi was shocked. "Hey!" he shouted. "We don't know what that's going to do!"
Garurumon would've retorted, but he was busy breathing fire.
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on Nov 10, 2017 3:54:38 GMT
As Garurumon destroyed the blue flower, predictably, it retaliated with a burst of blue light. However, unlike the date of the red and yellow flowers, this one did not home in on Garurumon, but shot toward him directly like a spear of light. If he was fast, he would be able to dodge it. But if not, he would feel a numbness in his body, particularly his throat, that would temporarily prevent him from using any ranged attacks, and he would find it difficult to speak, only whisper.
"Home to digimon perhaps... but not the pure ones" the voice answered John. "And how dare you presume to defile this place, human. You humans are the true enemy of the pure digimon".
It seemed that they intended to continue. As they did so, they would hear a highly stifling silence. Other than them and the voice that spoke to them, not another sound could be heard.
At the final turn, they would come across a large clearing. The darkness here was at its thickest. The black data here smelled faintly of rotted wood and dried flowers. Until they entered the clearing proper, they would be unable to see what laid at the other end. The only thing they could make out was three pairs of crimson dots in the darkness, seemingly glowing in the dark like malicious stars.
"Very well, it seems you intend to ignore my warning" the voice rumbled. "So be it".
The entity did not seem to intend to stop them. However, it seemed clear that this was the last point where there would be no hostility.
- Blue flowers must be destroyed via a named attack on the turn that they appear. Upon doing so, they will rebound a pulse of blue light that renders the one that did so unable to use a ranged ability on the next turn. Effect pierces through barriers, but can be avoided.
- Otherwise, the flowers will emit a pulse of blue data that affects ALL of the group and prevents them from launching ranged abilities for 1 turn. They may still use melee attacks or use special abilities on themselves.
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Post by Cion on Nov 12, 2017 12:04:34 GMT
Well, she was clearly not the only one who had heard the voice commanding them to leave and never return. However, her companions were just as defiant as she was, not allowing evil and corruption to prosper, which was why they continued to move towards their destination, not knowing what it ultimately was. But before that, there was yet again a flower they had to deal with, which was colored blue this time. That meant it most likely had a different status effect associated with it than the red and blue flowers. Another trap, another aspect they had to be cautious about.
Thankfully, Garurumon volunteered this time to assault the flower so they would know what it was capable of. The blue dart it released upon destruction soared towards the lupine digimon, but its effects remained uncertain since it was not yet determined if it actually hit or not. Ultimately, being struck by it now on purpose would be beneficial, since they would be able to strategize with its effect in mind. But in the end, it was upon Satoshi's partner.
As the voice spoke again, Cion couldn't help herself but groan a little, almost frustrated by the impetus the being behind the incorporeal voice had. "Oh, another Original the Villain. Why is it that in every of my incarnation, there is some puristic fanatic that hates humans and makes lives worse for them and everyone else as well?" The Sagitamon more or less thought out loud, talons grinding through her face as she yet again let out another sigh of displeasure. It was always the same, was it not? Things never changed, people never changed, drives never changed. How... frustrating.
Eventually, as they pressed on, they reached a large clearing where the black darkness was at its thickest. Everything looked decayed if not rotten, and in the distance three evil, red eyes would meet them. The person behind those was shrouded in darkness, but it was clear that they were not allies. "Indeed." Cion responded calmly, ready to end this madness once and for all. To her, it was just another task that needed to be finished, nothing else. That did not mean she was would not give it her A-game of course.
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Post by John Davis on Nov 17, 2017 8:57:50 GMT
After everything that the group had been through thus far, it all seemed to have lead up to this. A final confrontation with the entity that corrupted the wooded maze. Three eyes were all that was revealed in the smog-like black data. Was it one single being, possibly the origin of the voice from before?
John climbed further up his partner's head to get a better look. His new perch was atop the Greymon's skull, standing alongside Cion. The added weight was meaningless to Casimeir, no doubt due to the muscles in his neck and spine. John wished to see if he could reason with this being, or collection of beings, before having to resort to fighting. Confidence surged within him, and he prepared to speak.
"I haven't been around the block very much in the Digital World," the human began, "but from the time that I've spent with Casimeir, since the day we met, we have been nothing short of best friends. Casimeir isn't under any kind of mind control, and he's certainly not my hostage. I'm not even his tamer. I'm his partner. I can't begin to understand why you hate humans. But I may have an idea. Humans can be cruel, but so can any living creature. Including Digimon. And it pisses me off when I even hear about a human mistreating their partner, or vice-versa."
Casimeir's core burned brightly from hearing these words coming from the human that was his best friend. And so, he would add to John's words. "John has always put my well-being first before his own from day one. This doesn't have to end with one of us perishing. Let us help you. Just know that we will protect the Digimon that call this place home, just as we will protect Digimon and Humans from getting hurt both in the Human and Digital Worlds."
John nodded to Cas's sentiments. "I mean, just look at where we are right now. You could have attacked us outright the minute we arrived. And yet here we all are, still standing, still talking. You could have wiped us out without a second thought. Surely, we can settle this without fighting?"
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Post by NolChannel on Nov 19, 2017 0:51:43 GMT
Assuming that Garurumon stood and took the retaliatory attack, the group would know the effects of all three flowers. Each seemed problematic in their own right, but disabling ranged abilities seemed to be less impactful - the yellow flowers remained the biggest threats!
As for the disembodied voice, Valeria simply rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, Aato's are the cause of all of your problems. So why not take it out on a giant forest that has nothing to do with humans in the first place?"
"I have to admit, it's a child's logic." Koneka chuckled, as the group continued to advance. It wouldn't take long: they'd all soon be in a clearing, that dark, dense fog mist almost up to her chest. Koneka covered her nose at the rotted smell, and Ami, staying near Casimeir, leveled her focus on the red-eyed Digimon.
Valeria, as the Koganemon, wasn't going to waste any time! Expelling four gems from her palm, the golem would root in its feet, the construct aiming its palm outward. The gems would circle in front of the palm, a bright light forming in its center: "Quadric Beam!" The light would blast out, a powerful energy beam roaring out towards the center of the 'red-eyed' group! Even if they didn't have perfect sight, why not siege up and take the first shot?
Valeria used 'Quadric Beam' towards the center figure!
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