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Certainly Not a Party [Sunderlands]
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 2:51:17 GMT
When young Ochaco first came to, short brown hair plastered to her face after a long, fitful sleep upon the outbound train, she did not recognize that anything had gone amiss. It was not until the digital moonlight streamed through the window of the Trailmon and onto her face did she realize that something had gone horribly wrong. The woman awoke with a start, eyes open wide in fear and concern. How long had she been riding the train? Certainly she had boarded in the early evening, when the sun had some distance to set. How was it possible that she sat here now, bathed in moonlight, unless she had been riding her train for veritable hours?
In truth, it had only been a scant forty-five minute nap that had lulled Ochaco into a false sense of security. Time was far from the most pressing issue facing the disoriented young woman; rather, it was the fact that she had woken up in an altogether different world than the one she had dozed off in. The moon was Ochaco's first clue -- the second was the loud cry of the trailmon within which she rode.
"Nice of you to join us, sleeping beauty!" The gruff creature's voice cried out, sending tremors through its form and causing poor Ochaco to shriek in surprise.
"W-What? Who are you? Where are you?" She gasped, eyes scanning the horizon of the train car as she attempted to get a semblance of a handle upon her situation.
"What a rude question! I am me, and I am here! Isn't that obvious?" The trailmon's deep, booming voice scoffed.
It was not obvious, and Ochaco was very confused -- not that she had much time to more thoroughly investigate the gravity of her situation. Within moments, the trailmon chugged to a stop at one of many terminals within the heart of Terminus City. Its doors flung open and the creature practically bucked its car into the air, sending hapless Ochaco tumbling out onto the platform.
Ochaco screamed as she was flung from her standing position within the train onto the cold, metallic surface of the platform itself. The woman groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes in an attempt to regain any grasp of her location. The sight that met her eyes, of course, was not a particularly reassuring one.
Ochaco stared, stunned at the blustering, bustling metropolitan 'mons that were moving about all around her. Creatures the likes of which she had never imagined, let alone seen, asserted themselves to the fronts of queues and to the tops of staircases. Some flew, some floated, and some slithered about -- and none of them could ever be mistaken for a human.
"W-What?" The girl stammered, an expression that could only be described as sheer terror mixed with utter wonder plastered to her slender, angular face. "Where am I...?"
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 11, 2017 3:51:16 GMT
It had been forever since Isaac last went to Terminus City. Part of him wishes that he had kept it that way.
It wasn't that Isaac had anything against the city in particular. As someone who had taken countless Trailmon between the Digital World and the human world before his incident, there was almost a homey feeling to the city. It brought back memories of sneaking out of the house late at night with Elliot to go on their usual adventures. They always got back right in the nick of time, always with just enough time left to get some sleep before school. At the same time, it was a bit of a reminder that those days were gone. Why couldn't he just have his body back?
If he kept on hiding, though, would he even have the strength to take his life back? That was half the reason why he was back here in Terminus now.
Isaac thought that the time that he had been spending in Whitewater City would have prepared him for revisiting Terminus, but it wasn't even close. The second biggest city in the Digital World had nothing on its comparative core. There were enough Digimon to leave the streets a crowded mess, forcing Isaac to hover his way through especially crowded intersections. There were food trucks on almost every corner, selling meat, vegetables, fish, oversized pieces of candy, toxic sludge, and scrap metal, leaving Isaac's nose a confused mess every time he reached a new street. At one point he had to dive to the side when a Shellmon rudely opened a dinosaur-sized door outwards instead of inwards, nearly blocking the entire sidewalk.
It was exactly the sort of mess that a city designed to accommodate literally every variety of Digimon would turn into.
Soon he had made his way back to the Trailmon Terminal. Today had been an interesting adventure, but he'd probably do well to return to Whitewater soon. Luke and Iko were going to be waiting for him so they could get back to investigating his problem. However, he figured he had a perfectly good chance to get some people watching in before he left. There was no better place for that than the Trailmon Terminal, where a practical swarm of Digimon was coming in and out of every train. Isaac hadn't had a chance to peek down on the terminal in a while, so he might as well make up for lost time, right?
Time wasn't the only thing lost. The flow of the traffic may have been unpredictable, but generally it was at least flowing. Usually it was like watching an explosion in slow motion, trails of people drifting off in every direction. This time, however, the explosion seemed to stretch around a particular individual in question. It was like watching water push past a stopper, a few disgruntled Digimon shooting the traffic-blocker glares and irritated murmurs as they tried to get back to their daily lives.
Seeing these traffic patterns, Isaac didn't even need to look in order to realize that it was a lost human. It sure beat falling through a dump of a river and ending up in an endless field of grass, but it still couldn't have been pleasant. The Trailmon wouldn't wait around forever; would it just leave her there, lost and confused? Would she just end up lost in a city that, by definition, distrusted her somewhat?
Curse his good heart. Isaac eased his way down from the nook he was currently floating in, moving through the traffic so he could approach in as hopefully non-terrifying a manner as possible. "You okay?" he asked, voice raised slightly so he could be heard over the clamoring of the crowd.
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 4:10:49 GMT
Ochaco was certainly not okay. The woman let out yet another attention-attracting shriek as the diminuitive little imp creature called out to her. Still on her rear, she scurried backwards upon her hands and feet, attempting to escape -- but only managing to collide with the handrail separating the walkway from the tracks below.
The trailmon behind her snorted. "Well, you're in for a treat," it laughed. "Don't have any interest in watching this train wreck. After all, I have a timetable to keep." With another loud, whistle-like cry, the creature swung its doors shut just as the last of its new passengers boarded and set off for parts unknown. "Have fun with the little devil!" The trailmon's voice was almost jeering as it filed away, leaving Ochaco truly alone, save for the massive crowd and the little Impmon that had reached out.
This is it, huh? This is how I die -- in this weird railway to hell, Ochaco thought to herself. She braced herself for impact and her imminent demise -- but it never came. Instead, the creature's words finally sank into her mind.
"I... What?" The woman's words were high-pitched and quiet, with a quaver that suggested obvious concern and uncertainty (and perhaps a forecast of teary eyes upon the horizon). "I... I am most certainly not okay," she breathes. "I'm trapped in this bizarre world, the train that was supposed to take me home made fun of me before leaving, and I'm almost certain I'm not going to get any cell... Reception... Here." The woman's words trailed off as she reached into her satchel bag, fingers flitting past hardcover texts and half-spent notebooks to find what she believed to be her cell phone. When she finally managed to retrieve it, though, her face sank even further. Clutched between her hands was not her cell phone, but a D-tector colored in white and purple.
"What the hell..."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 11, 2017 4:28:59 GMT
Isaac rolled his eyes as the Trailmon basically jeered at this poor, scared human and drove away. Why was every Trailmon either horrible at their job or a huge jerk? At times like this, Isaac wondered if he was just really bad to a train in a past life and paying the price for it now. At least the new girl was currently curled up against the handrail instead of falling into the tracks or anything like that. That would've been awful, especially if him spooking her was what would lead to her falling off of the tracks.
At least now with the train gone and his words settled in, the new girl seemed a little bit less startled. Her reaction wasn't great, but it was about what Isaac assumed for being lost in a new world with no sense of where she was going, especially when her emissary to this new world was being kind of a dick. As soon as she mentioned her cell phone, though, Isaac knew where this was going. Reaching into the bag? Check. Sudden look of shock on her face? Check. All that mattered now was what kind of Digivice she was going to draw out of her bag, because that would have a huge impact on how the rest of this day was going to turn out.
It was a D-Tector. Isaac's eyes widened a little at the familiarity, a pang of longing faintly visible in them. "Been a while since I've seen one of those," Isaac said, blinking. He wished that he could call out his own again and help explain what was going on here, but sadly he only had his words to work with here. Stupid corrupted code. "There's going to be a lot to explain, unfortunately. But trust me, that's important. You're going to want to hang onto it and keep it safe.
Maybe we should talk more outside. It's a bit crowded in here." Impmon did not have the strong vocal chords Isaac was used to. He was going to go hoarse if he had to keep speaking up! Hovering into the air, he pointed towards the nearby exit. "Just follow the crowd and you'll filter out one way or another. Don't worry. People behave around here, usually. You good to walk, or do you want a bit more time to sit?"
As soon as Isaac had his answer, he would float off and help lead the way for the newcomer. Until then he'd simply hover by her side, shooing off anyone who shot her dirty looks.
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 4:42:13 GMT
"Keep it... safe?" Ochaco repeated the strange floating creature's words as she slowly brought the device against her chest, placing two hands over it protectively. She was not at all sure what was going on, but her purple interloper seemed well-intentioned enough despite his appearance to trust. After all, what other leads did the poor woman have to go on?
Ochaco took a series of deep breaths, clutching her D-tector close to her chest. She could feel the eyes of the commuters upon her; their derisive sneers and frustrated harumphs cut deep. If there was anything that Ochaco despised more than being lost, it was being in the way. After a long moment, she reached out, shaky hand clutching the guard rail upon which her back rested. With a wobbly huff, she pulled herself to her feet.
Ochaco's legs shook, knees threatening to bounce off of one another as she re-established her footing upon the sure ground of the terminal. It was one thing to stand and move and yell when the adrenaline associated with sudden discomfort was flowing through one's body -- that had been the case aboard the Trailmon, and for the first few moments after meeting the Impmon before her. Now, though, she felt drained, tired, and scared. Her left hand left the guard rail and came up to her face, wiping away the tears that had accumulated there. Deep breaths, Ochaco. There's nothing to fear here but fear itself, right?
Her gaze cast out once more towards the monstrous pedestrians that bustled around her. Well, that and the bloodthirsty monsters that would probably eat you if they weren't late for the rush hour train, she added.
The woman's brown eyes turned to Isaac now. She gave the little creature a shaky nod. "V-Very well," she intoned, setting her expression and doing her best to remain composed despite every bone in her body aching to flee and find a place to cry. Her mother had once told her that she used to fear walking into the courtroom every day; but a stiff upper lip and a gaze to shatter guilty souls had seen her through.
Fake it until you make it, right mom? Ochaco thought. She gave another nod to Isaac -- this one more resolute, and full of purpose. "Okay. I'm alright. Let's... Let's go outside." The woman started for the nearby exit and followed just behind the floating boy turned 'mon, eager to escape this place and get literally anywhere else.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 11, 2017 5:07:49 GMT
Isaac nodded as the new girl held her Digivice close. Normally, even if you lost your Digivice, a would-be Tamer or General could at least have their partner support them. A Spirit User, though? They'd basically be incapable of keeping themselves safe in the Digital World. As much as Isaac hated to admit it, the Digital World could be very dog-eat-dog sometimes. Losing the ability to Digivolve was basically a colossal step back in that fight for survival.
Exhibit A, himself.
The girl didn't look in the best way. She was wobbly. She was tearing up. She was stuttering as they spoke. "Are you okay?" Isaac repeated, his voice less the inquisitive 'Are you okay?' towards someone who fell and now the more open-ended 'Are you okay?' of noticing someone trying to hold themselves together. It was up to his new friend to decide how much she wanted to let go of in the end.
At least her resolute nod gave him some hope. He smiled slightly, returning her nod. Just in case he made sure to float close to her, making sure to at least be in arms length of her so he could quickly grab her if they were about to be separated.
Once they reached the end of the Terminal, Isaac looked for the nearest exit. The streets were just as crowded as the station within, but there were a few alleys that seemed sufficiently open at least. He snapped his fingers and generated a fireball within, waving it into the alley to make sure there were no criminals lurking within. After checking the area out to his contentment, he crushed the fireball in his hand and motioned for his companion to follow.
"Alright. Finally got out of that mess, at least," Isaac said, the relief palpable in his voice. "Anyway, my name's Isaac. And this here's the Digital World. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I don't blame you if all this isn't really nice right now." He let out a slight, somewhat nervous chuckle at his own joke. Nobody liked feeling trapped. He knew that the hard way. "So, what's your name?" he added, hoping to at least get to know the newcomer he'd be guiding for the next who-knew-how-long.
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 5:20:33 GMT
Ochaco could not help but marvel a bit at the sights and sounds that surrounded her as she followed at the proverbial heels of her good samaritan guide. Whatever this strange place was, be it hell or heaven or somewhere altogether different, it carried a character about it that defied explanation or definition. It was utterly alien -- but at the same time, it was strangely familiar. After all, as outlandish as the creatures who seemed to dwell within this world were to Ochaco, they still seemed decidedly mundane in their behaviors. Honestly, if I were going to see things like this anywhere I'd expect it to be the cover of an old music album, not walking around a train station.
I wonder if they have Monster coffee stores. Monster money? A monster economy? Monster government? They must, to have a city this size. Not to mention the problem of location -- this can't be on earth, or we would have found it already. Nothing this size could stay so hidden... The woman frowns as she follows, clearly deep in thought.
Eventually, though, Ochaco realized that they had left the terminal itself behind. The crowds were thinning out, and the open atria of the terminals themselves were giving way to crooked alleys and cramped side streets. Her new companion had chosen one such alley for their talk, from the looks of things. Ochaco grimaced -- an expression that turned to fear once more when the creature conjured a fireball at its fingertips.
"H-Hey, careful where you wave that thing!" She griped angrily, a bit of spirit creeping back into her quavering voice as she nevertheless followed behind the Impmon and into the corridor. "As for my name... Well. I'm Hagakure Ochaco. Ochaco being my first name, that is -- I can't tell if this place is anything like home or not." She frowned, biting her lower lip as she mulls over the creature's introductions.
Ochaco pressed her slender frame up against the sleek metal wall of the alleyway. Her eyes wandered outward for a moment, back towards the bustle of the crowded terminal. It occurred to her that this could be a trap; the creature was friendly enough, though, and something was telling her that if this 'Isaac' had wanted to hurt her he could have done so already.
"The Digital World, huh? I suppose that makes as much sense as anything I could have come up with. I figured I was in hell. Being in a computer seems like a much more pleasant, if less expected, proposition." She paused. "...At any rate, it is nice to meet you Isaac. Thanks for helping me out back there... and now."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 11, 2017 5:44:49 GMT
Ochaco didn't seem too happy with Isaac waving his fireballs around. Normally she should've thought about that kind of thing before putting her trust in an Impmon, but it was kind of hard to fault her for it when she didn't even know what an Impmon was. "Hey, relax, I'm not going to point it at you," Isaac assured her, shaking a few ashes from his glove. It was way less messy throwing those things than snuffing them out, but Isaac really didn't want to give Ochaco a real scare by throwing it around. If just seeing a fireball was enough to get her worried, he didn't want to know how she'd react once the Imp-losion went off.
She introduced herself in the proper Japanese style. Fitting. "Most people here don't have last names," Isaac pointed out. He didn't even want to tell her that most of them didn't even have names, because it would probably be best to take this one step at a time. "But Japan's the only contact point between the Digital World and home I know about, so I'm pretty sure when in doubt any human customs are going to be Japanese-style." Wait, did he just call the human world home? Did he mean her home or his home?
He could tell that Ochaco was a little bit uncomfortable, but who wouldn't be while squatting in a shady back alley with a mysterious creature? "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you," he said, making sure to watch whatever side of the alley that she currently wasn't looking at. It was the best way to make sure that there currently wasn't an ambush in store. "If anything, until you get your footing? My job's making sure that nobody does that." Isaac knew damn well he wasn't half the protector he could be in this stage, but generally the worst things in Terminus were rowdy Champion-levels. Any strong enough Digimon to be an Ultimate but ill enough in intention to be a threat usually lurked on the outskirts rather than living in the city proper.
Was the Digital World even a computer? Isaac wasn't sure. "Computer? I guess you could call it that," Isaac said. "I just go with parallel dimension usually. Easier that way. But don't worry, other than there being demons all over the place this isn't Hell." Isaac, for example, being one of them! If anything, there were way too many angels for this to properly be Hell.
"No worries about the help. Everyone needs a hand when they first get there," he assured Ochaco. "At least you picked the proper entrance. Trust me, you do not want to find the scenic route towards here." Isaac still remembered falling through the Shibuya River and getting kidnapped by a Tankmon. It wasn't very fun.
"There's more I'm sure I can help you with, though. That thing you're holding onto right now, right? That's called a Digivice," Isaac started. "The big button should turn it on. There isn't much in it right now, but do you hear it beeping?"
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 6:05:09 GMT
Ochaco furrowed her brow as she listened to Isaac's many explanations and responses. The Digital World seemed to be an entity unto itself, computerized or not. All the same, the reassurance that the young woman had not somehow wandered into hell was a welcome one. Ochaco liked to think that she had been moral enough in her brief time upon earth to deserve something better, after all. That was neither here nor there, though. The brunette held her digivice up to her face, eyes locked on the cubic little screen as her thumb pressed against the large button as requested. Sure enough, a quiet, rhythmic beep echoed from the device. "Yeah, it is beeping," she confirmed, as if the sound were not evidence enough of that particular fact. "...is it low on battery or something? What exactly is it used for, and where did it put my phone?" Ochaco's chief concern lay far beyond the digital world; getting home safely was obviously a priority, but even before that occurred she had to find a way to let her mother know that she was okay. The poor woman would be worried sick if she was not home by sundown -- and something told Ochaco that she had far outstripped that time limit. "Never mind. I guess it doesn't matter. What I need to know is what is the quickest way to get back to Shibuya? My mom's going to be worried sick; I have to imagine that she's going to write a few strongly worded letters regarding the ability of the local trains to cart children off to monster-filled transport hubs. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen." The nineteen-year-old's words were mirthful, but they carried a substantial truth in them. How on earth would she ever explain this to her mother if she was indeed able to get home? Isaac likely would not be afforded an opportunity to answer any of Ochaco's questions in detail. A loud crash echoed from the outer edge of the alleyway as a boisterous looking digimon with dark, floppy ears and large gatling guns for hands stomped into the pair's expected means of egress. "Well, would you look at that?" The BlackGargomon sneered at the pair as its eyes moved over Isaac, and then Ochaco, as if sizing them up. "I saw you two at the terminal. And just as I thought; some hapless human and her impmon companion. Gal like you deserved somethin' a bit more fetchin' than a glorified anklebiter, dont'cha think?" The creature's voice was low, gravelly and undeniably hostile. It leveled one of its gauntlets in Ochaco's direction. The woman's digivice was beeping madly, with an indicator upon the screen pulsing in the direction opposite their newfound foe -- and deeper into the alley. "H-Hey! Leave us alone!" Ochaco's plea was a desperate one, but it did not appear to have any effect. The BlackGargomon merely sneered. "Yeah, right. I'll leave you alone, sweet cheeks -- just give me your digivice and you can leave. Otherwise, I'm fillin' both you and your pesky pal fulla led."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 11, 2017 6:49:24 GMT
Isaac's ears perked up in interest as he listened to the Digivice start beeping away. He then batted at them in frustration until they un-perked. Stupid autonomous reflexes. Nevertheless, beeping was a good sign. It meant that soon Ochaco would be able to help herself. Not that he minded helping her out, of course. It was just nice knowing that she wouldn't get in serious trouble the second Isaac turned his back on her. "The bad news is these things replace your phone nine times out of ten when you come here," Isaac said. Nobody but the Shibuya phone companies were happy about this. "Some people luck out and just have them pop out of their computer, but if you don't have one on the way in here it's your phone that usually bites the bullet.
The good news is the beeping's a good thing. Follow it. You'll find something that helps you get around here better." Vague? Oh, hell yes. Not wanting to tell Ochaco she was going to turn into a who-knows-what? Oh, equally hell yes.
Surviving and navigating this place wasn't Ochaco's main concern, though. Getting home was. Isaac offered a sad smile as Ochaco asked feverishly for a way back. "That train's your best bet," he said, looking back towards the increasingly tied-up terminal. "Maybe when rush hour dies down you'll have a better chance of squeezing back on. As is, it's gonna be a little tight back there. But at least trains back to the human world show up pretty often." The sadness in his eyes only shined brighter at the mention of mothers being worried sick. Just how worried was his, right now?
No. Best not to think of it. Especially when trouble was on its way.
The BlackGargomon was a good deal bigger and stronger than Isaac was in his current state. He also had a gun aimed right in Ochaco's direction. This wasn't a fight that he could win on his own, and even if Ochaco's spirit was pre-loaded she'd have, what? Another Rookie form? Two Rookies would just be target practice for this punk. It seemed like, as much as Isaac was reluctant to bring him out in the middle of a city, NeoDevimon was going to have to come out to play today.
Isaac floated between the duo, clenching his hand to his heart and squeezing his eyes closed. Clouds of darkness surrounded him, and through the obstruction one could faintly see his limbs stretching, distorting, and sharpening. Gold tipped claws were the first to extend from the clouds. Then a pair of spiked boots. Finally, a pair of crimson wings, which beat to dispel the darkness surrounding Isaac. Where a tiny, cute Impmon once hovered, now there was a gangly NeoDevimon looming over BlackGargomon.
"I'm sorry," Isaac said, his voice lower and far more distorted than it was as Impmon. "Repeat that?"
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 11, 2017 7:03:49 GMT
Ochaco screamed in terror as her guardian seemed to explode into shadows. Just her luck, she thought -- the second a threat appears her protector vanishes in a puff of smoke. But then, maybe not -- through the shadowy shade, the young brunette could just make out the shape of something altogether different emerging. What had happened? Was Isaac just eaten by this cloud of gas? Was it one of the strange weaponized rabbit's accomplices? Ochaco was not willing to find out.
The justice-minded girl turned on her heel and dashed in the direction of the long, winding alleyway. Far be it from her to waste the distraction that had prompted BlackGargomon to level its weapon at something other than her. Tears streamed down Ochaco's face as she fled from the digi-hustler and what remained of her companion. She hated that she lacked the strength to stand up for herself, and she loathed that she had been unable to protect her new (and as far as this world went, only) friend.
"Follow the beeping, huh?" She asked herself as she ran, turning the corner as a volley of shots fired behind her, narrowly missing as the BlackGargomon managed to fill the back wall full of lead. Ochaco was out of sight by the time the smoke cleared and revealed Isaac in his new, more devilish form.
The BlackGargomon shrieked in terror. "H-Hey! No need for outward aggression! I'm just a poor 'mon tryin' to make a living in this dump of a town!" The creature backpedaled, lowering its weapons as its ears pinned themselves back in a show of compliance with Isaac's suddenly intimidating presence. "P-Please, just let me go. Hey, your girlfriend is getting away! Don't you wanna go follow her? Never know what could be lurking further in!" The creature's words were pitiful, but perhaps it had a point -- Ochaco was already out of sight.
To her credit, the girl had not run too far -- mostly because she couldn't. The alley, as it turned out, was a dead end, a dark and dank hole where old machine parts had been piled up and left to stew in the heat of the city's center. That was not what had caught Ochaco's eye, however; rather, the girl's brown eyes had become transfixed upon the makeshift shanty roof of the psuedo-indoor space. The sheet metal that covered the top of the alleyway had been punctured, allowing a single strand of moonlight to pass through and illuminate a portion of the refuse pile. It was in this pile of garbage that a strange object lurked -- an almost incorporeal totem that shimmered with a brilliant moonlit energy.
A voice called out to Ochaco, quiet and nigh unintelligible but all the same welcoming and inviting. Transfixed, the girl from Kyoto stepped towards the pile of debris, slicing her hands upon the sharp metal edges as she pushed them around in hopes of unearthing the strange glowing relic. Soon enough, she was successful -- the spirit floated lazily into the air, filling the corridor with its light.
"H-Hey, Isaac? Are you still over there? I t-think I found something," Ochaco stammered, the fear in her voice tempered by absolute wonder.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 12, 2017 4:04:44 GMT
Ochaco was gone, but the point that Isaac tried to make was crystal clear. It also seemed to stick right in BlackGargomon's head, all of the Digimon's bluster vanishing when there was someone his own size to pick on. NeoDevimon clearly enjoyed being in control of a situation like this. A grinding sound, the closest to laughter the cybernetic demon could muster, spilled from his throat as he followed the backpedaling BlackGargomon. He was throwing out every excuse in the book to save his own sorry self. 'I'm just trying to get by.' 'Please have mercy.' 'There's something more important elsewhere.' 'Look behind you.' Isaac knew none of that changed that, were he weaker, BlackGargomon would have pulled the trigger.
He wasn't anything like that, though. He refused to be, even sealed into a far more vicious form. Instead he leaned close to BlackGargomon's face, hot breath and a touch of static apparent between them. "I won't hurt you," he assured the BlackGargomon, letting the "but" over that sentence hover grimly in the air. "This time. Threaten someone weaker than you again, and you won't be so lucky."
With all said and done, he turned on his heel to follow the BlackGargomon's advice. As much as he distrusted the rabbit, Ochaco was gone regardless.
Isaac wondered what form he should have taken as he sprinted through the alley. If she was in trouble, he'd need to get back to NeoDevimon form. That would have cost him precious energy from Digivolving, devolving, and Digivolving again in the span of mere minutes. However, if he kept to NeoDevimon form, he risked being overwhelmed by the bright lights and loud sounds of the city. They were in an alley for now, luckily, but what would happen when he got to the other side? Oh well. Ochaco's safety was priority. He swallowed his nerves and continued, preparing for what he'd see next.
Thankfully, there would be no next sight. The alley was a dead end, only Ochaco's voice letting Isaac know he was in the right direction. That would be good for NeoDevimon's sake, at least. He approached with thunderous footfalls, eventually looking up to see a brilliant totem flooding the alley in soft light. Behind his mask he smiled. The first spirits were always easy to find and essential for continued survival in the Digital World. If Ochaco could load this, she'd be safe.
He tried to keep his voice warm, even with the severe distortion. "Alright. You found your first spirit," he said. "That's why you follow the Digivice's beeping. It'll lead you to these, and they'll help keep you safe. Can you hold your Digivice up to it and start scanning it? Once you do, it's as good as yours."
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 12, 2017 4:32:58 GMT
Ochaco yelped in surprise and no small amount of fear. She turned away from the spirit for the briefest of moments, eyes transfixed on the seeming newcomer. It was a veritably terrifying sight -- demon and machine all rolled into one macabre package. Still, the voice carried a certain familiarity to it.
"I-Isaac? What on earth?" The woman's voice was quiet, but not fearful -- the girl was merely surprised to see her formerly jovial guide inhabiting such a vicious, unfriendly new form. The woman bit her lower lip, nerves and doubt flashing across her face. Was she right to trust this person -- this demon -- after all? Could this really be a trap?
Ochaco set her jaw. No way. I know how to read people, and Isaac is a good person -- no matter what he looks like. The thoughts, and the decision that stemmed from them, floated to the top of the panicked space that currently comprised Ochaco's mindscape. There was just so much data to process -- and faced with such an undigestable amount of uncertainty, Ochaco decided that the only path available was forward.
Which, of course, was somewhat ironic -- they were, after all, in a dead end alley.
Ochaco offered Isaac a broad, genuine smile. The danger had passed, and despite the digimon's wicked form the woman seemed to have accepted her new companion warts, gears and all. She turned her gaze back to the totam floating lazily in the air. "They'll keep me safe, huh? What, is it going to turn into another monster? Are they like little eggs?" The woman held her marble-toned digivice aloft, its top pointed towards the spirit.
In an instant, the totem practically exploded in a burst of prismatic light and many-colored fractal code. At first, the substance moved about erratically, as if simply trying to escape from its totemic prison. Soon, though, it determined a direction -- an avenue towards a more suitable abode than the open air within which it currently resided. The code fed into Ochaco's digivice, which began to thrum and pulse with that same multicolored light. "Okay, now what do I--"
Ochaco did not even have time to finish her sentence. In an instant, the fractal code swarmed around her, forming a perfect, egg-like encasement around the woman. The change felt ethereal; like Ochaco was at once present in the world and also somewhere completely different. Cloth and hair and flesh and blood vanished, replaced by armor and wings and ones and zeroes. The woman's hair turned from a brown to an elegant shock of blonde, and cascaded down her back in long strands before forming itself up into a playful tail and fastening itself with an elegant green bow. Strange little symbolic markings, not unlike the tattoos of a spunky young motorcyclist, emerged on her bare thighs and arms. Her conservative uniform dissolved into a strange halter top and pair of emerald green shorts, and tough leather boots and gloves formed upon her feet and hands.
The most notable change, though, was undeniable; as the newly minted Tinkermon emerged from her cocoon, a brilliant set of shimmering gossamer wings unfurled from her back and flapped lazily in the air. The woman's feet set down upon the earth, a gasp escaping her lips as her eyes opened for the first time -- once an inviting, pleasant brown, but now a striking, enchanting blue.
"--ah... What?" Ochaco's voice escaped her lips, a distinctive fae echo suggesting the change in her person from human to digital monster. "I'm... What happened to me?"
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Jun 13, 2017 2:25:53 GMT
Isaac sighed at Ochaco's not-entirely-unexpected reaction. "Yeah, this form's not pretty. But it's much stronger than the other," he admitted. "Sorry for the nasty surprise. That rabbit could've kicked me around easily as an imp." Should he de-Digivolve now? Ochaco had her spirit cornered, and if anything happened now she'd at least be able to defend herself. Then again, they'd still be in for a messy fight if they got cornered, such as BlackGargomon returning with friends. Maybe he'd best wait for a bit.
At her smile, he nodded. Already she was getting over her shock and moving on to the important questions. Isaac liked that resilience. It meant she was going to be fine in the Digital World, even when circumstances were less than ideal. Her assumptions weren't entirely wrong, either, even if they were aimed in the wrong direction. "No," Isaac said plainly. "You'll know the eggs around here when you see them. This is more like . . . a catalyst of sorts, I guess.
As for how this works, well-"
Isaac wished he could finish that observation sooner. It seemed like Ochaco's spirit wasn't going to wait for him to catch up. Activating more quickly than Isaac could even prepare himself for, Ochaco's Digivice surrounded her in light and fractal code. He took a few steps back in order to give the transformation room to breathe. Coming out of a Digivolution for the first time could be quite disorienting, if only because of the sudden change from having a completely different body.
Ochaco was, needless to say, a bit shocked by her transformation. "Welcome to the party," Isaac said. "I didn't expect your Spirit to activate quite that quickly. Looks like I'm going to have to skip a few steps forward on my explanation, huh? Alright, this is going to sound a bit shocking, but . . .
Alright, first; you're a Digimon now, just like me. Well, not entirely. You're a Spirit User, a human who can turn between Digimon and Human form at will. Yes, don't worry, that means you can turn back." At least one of them could still do that. "Your Digivice channels your willpower and emotions, helping you switch between these forms. It also helps you store more for the future, letting you rise to harder and harder challenges.
Let's roll this back a bit. What did you feel when you transformed?" Isaac asked. For a transformation so sudden, it was important to gauge just how Ochaco got there in the first place.
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Post by Ochaco Hagakure on Jun 14, 2017 2:49:41 GMT
Ochaco took one deep breath, and then another, and then a third -- all in an attempt to calm her rapidly beating heart. The world had suddenly gotten all at once far less frightening and far less familiar (as if such a thing were even possible). The woman's wings beat behind her, scattering a spray of copper-colored dust, each mote dancing like a fervent little pixie in the starlight. She gripped her long, cherry red spear in one hand, examining its serrated edge with some wonder.
"Willpower and emotions, huh?" Ochaco replied. "I suppose that makes sense. I've been feeling nothing but an outburst of emotions since I fell off of the sentient train and realized I was in a different world." The girl giggled, the sound light and fanciful and a little bit mischevious. "All the same, I think whatever this is has its own prerogatives. I'm not nearly as afraid as I was before. Rather, I'm... Curious. Ever so curious."
The woman takes a few shaky steps towards Isaac and strikes a pose, one hand on her hip and the other placed by her face, two fingers extended in what some might consider a sign of peace or victory. "Still, I seem to be... Mostly human." She glanced back at her beating wings with a look of dismay. "Emphasis on the mostly. As for how I felt -- well, I felt like I was wading through a field of ever-changing light. It was like all of the darkness in my world was being blotted out. It felt... Warm, and safe. But it also felt full of purpose."
The woman afforded Isaac a sheepish grin. "Sorry," she intoned. "I'm waxing poetic, and that probably makes no sense. I suppose mostly I was feeling rather cold -- after all, I'm practically not wearing any clothes now." The girl tugged at the hem of her halter top, face expressing no small amount of dismay at the degree to which her skin was exposed in the back alley of this strange city. It was certainly no school uniform.
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