Skip Navigation
Past Meets Present (Part 2)
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 10, 2018 3:40:30 GMT
Leith shook his head as he looked around the place; given the car traffic in Shibuya, he was plenty familiar with it by now. That wasn't why he was looking around; he was after Niko Sasanishi. Silly as it may have been to think, Leith for a moment believed he could identify the stranger by sight, either though an obvious visual cue or their behavior. No one stuck out, however. It probably seemed a little odd that Leith was obviously distracted while replying to Colin's offer with, "Ha, yeah, right. Last thing I need right now is a reminder-"
Just then, though, Leith's phone vibrated again, and he could hear it even over the hustle and bustle of the crowd since he'd been alert to it throughout the whole walk. Indeed, he'd received another e-mail:
I'm glad you came! Didn't think you'd bring a friend, but the more the merrier! You'll want to head to the platforms that go to the digital world. See you soon!
The young man was not a good enough actor conceal his obvious anxiety about these messages. His thumbs were fast as lightning as he typed a response:
What is this even about?
After sending that, he put his phone away and revealed to Colin his 'spontaneous' change of mind. "Actually, yeah. I guess if you're already on your way there anyway, and you're offering, I'll take you up on that. Maybe you can even tell me about some of your merc work." Slick a liar as Leith was in terms of his tone and expression, he still had to take a breath after telling it to try and calm himself.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 10, 2018 21:05:27 GMT
As Colin led Leith through the busy station, careful not to bump into anyone lest they discover that Bellamy wasn't actually a toy, he noticed that Leith was messaging someone on his phone. That gave him a reminder. "Oh yeah, in the digital world you know cellphones don't work, right?" he asked, turning his own off while he remembered. They soon stood in front of the elevators that would ordinarily take passengers down to the lower levels. However, there was a function of the lifts that made them work differently for humans connected to the digital world, which Colin would soon demonstrate. However, there was something of a queue first. Luke meanwhile couldn't help but get the feeling that they were being watched. Not only by the standard cameras and odd looks that Colin was getting for carrying a toy monster character, but, something else. He couldn't put his finger on it though. "Alright then" Colin answered Leith, not suspicious of anything so far. "Trick is to wait until the elevator's clear, although if you're in there with a passenger you just have to wait for them to get off on the platform. Most of them just use the escalator though, which makes it a bit easier".Eventually the coast was clear, and they were able to enter the elevator without others joining in. "Okay, perfect. Next, you take out your digivice and hold it up to the panel like this" Colin continued, then the doors closed and the lift descended. First to the Tokyo metro platform, but then, it went even further below that, continuing its descent. "And that's all you need to do to get to the digital world platform" Colin finished for the moment. The platform was hidden deep underground, so it would be a few seconds more of waiting.
"Phew, finally" Bellamy said, jumping off Colin's back. Now it was safe for him to walk around as normal from here on.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 10, 2018 21:42:26 GMT
Leith was almost surprised to see Bellamy so suddenly abandon his act, but he supposed this had to be the safe zone for digimon if the trio was so calm about it. Since the way was apparently clear, Leith supposed the little blue digimon could safely come out and act on his own.
"Hiya, guys!" was how Veemon greeted the new friends. Before Luke and Bellamy could have known it, Veemon had one of their paws in each of his hands to shake it whether they liked it or not.
"So that's how it works? We came out this way, but we didn't come in. And don't worry; I know about the phone thing. Man, I'm still pissed I can't tun on some Killswitch in the digital world!" Like the timing had been arranged by the devil himself, Leith's phone vibrated again as it became the subject.
You should know! If you don't, ask Veemon. He'll tell you.
Well, that's not ominous. How am I supposed to know if you won't freakin' tell me? Too bad there wasn't really any subtle way to go about it in a cramped metal box. Leith did point the phone away from the trio, though, as he tapped Veemon's shoulder for his attention and asked, "Hey, look at this again, Veemon."
Veemon didn't even try to hide his confusion; his eyes went wide as dinner plates and mouth gaped open a little. "I... I don't know. Wait, are you actually going to-"
"-Are you sure?" Leith's interruption was partly an attempt to keep Colin and company in the dark still longer. "Veemon, 'Niko' sounds pretty sure."
"You said yourself you can't trust her!"
"Yeah, well... it's not like I can just call the police, now, is it?" Uh-oh. Leith knew he slipped soon as that came out. He'd just have to hope Colin wasn't too nosy, it seemed. "Anyway, I guess we'll find out in a second anyway." When Leith pocketed his phone again, he tried to change the subject to distract from what he'd just said. "So... welcome back to the world of the living, I guess. It looks tough pretending to be a doll like Tails from Sonic X or something."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 11, 2018 2:28:28 GMT
Supposing it was safe to do the same, once again, Luke deactivated his holosuit. Then, as Veemon emerged from Leith's digivice, it seemed there were now three digimon there in the lift. To the twins' surprise, Veemon shook their paws rather quickly, but neither really minded.
"Hiya" Bellamy said, grinning, Luke did the same, this guy seemed kinda friendly.
Once again Leith's phone vibrated. It seemed to be something private, so none of the trio stuck their noses in for now, but they simply glanced on with confused expressions.
"Can't trust who now?" Bellamy asked out of curiosity. Luke nudged him as a way of encouraging him not to be so nosy, but Colin by now was a little curious too, given that it involved this 'Niko' person from earlier. But still, he didn't ask where it wasn't his business, even though 'police' were mentioned.
As Leith pocketed his phone and mentioned to Bellamy it must be good to come back to the world of the living, he just had to mention Sonic X. "Hmph, I'm nothin' like Tails" he pouted.
"More like Bokkun" Luke couldn't resist joking. He soon regretted it when his brother pulled him over for a headlock.
"Say that again..." the Impmon growled, knuckling Luke's head, not enough to cause him pain though.
"Okay okay stop, just kidding!" Luke laughed. Just a bit of brotherly messing around.
Thankfully the elevator doors opened and the lift came to a halt on the Trailmon platform floor. Here was a little slice of the digital world on Earth. The only people down here were ones familiar with the digital world, them and their digimon partners could walk around freely, all of them either hanging out with each other, or waiting for a Trailmon to take them to the other world. Unlike the floors above, there were very few down here.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 11, 2018 3:08:15 GMT
Still so new to the world, this was humor Veemon didn't quite get. He did, however, recognize a little brotherly love when he saw it. Normally he would have grinned and laughed at the sight, but his smile was more subdued this time; he was worried about what Leith was getting himself into. So, before the elevator made it to the ground, Veemon quietly inserted himself between his partner and the elevator doors as he waited for them to open.
"It's a personal thing, Bellamy," Leith tried to deflect in response to the fuzzy Impmon's question, "I mean, hey, I'm still just some stranger from the park, after all."
When the doors opened up to reveal the sight of the extradimensionally-familiar only section of the train station, Leith didn't have long to admire the view of digimon and partners all socializing freely and openly. Veemon stood resolute in Leith's path and, when the young man took a step forward, held out both hands to try and keep him in place. "Vee-?"
"That human isn't your friend, no matter what she says, and you know that! Please, from your real friend, ignore this bait, and-" Another vibration. "Please don't."
Leith pursed his lips as he held his phone awkwardly in his hand. "We should at least see what it says."
"We should walk away from an obvious trap!"
"Since when are you the cautious one, Veemon?" That was Leith's last word before he opened this newest mail.
It's pretty cool down there, right? You'll have to get on the next Trailmon that arrives in the real world. When you pull into Trailmon Terminal, you'll run into an old friend. Look for the Renamon on one of the benches.
An old friend? Renamon? Does she mean Blake? If she does, what's he got to do with anything? In any case, why isn't she showing up herself? Leith's lips pursed tighter and tighter until he relented, "Alright... you might be onto something. At this point we're just getting led on a wild goose chase."
It was at this point that Veemon finally got fed up with the secrecy and spilled the beans. "Leith's been getting strange emails ever since he met you three! They told him to go to the train station, then down here, and now the digital world! He's being lured into some trap, and I don't like it!"
Leith couldn't even be angry at Veemon. After all, it seemed this path was being extended quite far, and Colin was sure to grow suspicious of why Leith was constantly changing his mind and deciding to stay close. "Yeah, this is turning into a real wild - wait, I said that already. Point is, Veemon, what's the other option? I mean, this person knows who I am, and she knows who you are. What else does she know? When we met? Where we live? Who my family is? Maybe she hasn't threatened anyone yet, but someone obviously wants me to be somewhere - badly." Boy, Leith only then realized what a bombshell he'd just dropped on three complete strangers. He had to address that then. "Uh... so, yeah. Sorry, I know that was kinda nuts. If we're both taking the next train then I guess you're stuck with us a bit longer, but you'll probably wanna go your own way from there." That was Leith's attempt not to burden others with what he saw as his personal problems.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 11, 2018 10:57:15 GMT
Bellamy then felt a bit bad for being nosy. "Alright, sorry bout that" he apologized, supposing that he wouldn't want others sticking their noses into his business either. But as time went on, there was clearly something... off going on. Veemon was beginning to act in opposition to Leith's plans with increasing determination, it was getting to the point in Colin's opinion where it would be rude not to ask what was going on. After all, he didn't like seeing bad things happen to people.
"Hey, um..." he began. "Sorry to butt in, but, it sounds like you seem to be having trouble with something?" he asked, cautiously. "Is there... anything we can help with?".
"A trap?" Luke then asked, the Elecmon's attention snapping to Veemon. "What kind of trap do you mean? Is there an ambush up ahead?" he looked out at the terminal, looking a bit worried. Yes, he and Bellamy could evolve and take on any threat, but they'd never done so on Earth itself before.
Then Veemon spilled the beans and explained to them what was going on. Apparently he was getting emails since he had met them in the park. This made Colin's eyes widen with shock. "Since... you met us?" he repeated, now a little worried. Were they linked to him somehow? Were the enemies that he had made on his adventures on the digital world, trying to keep the peace, beginning to catch up on him? But... no, it didn't seem to be linked with him, just a coincidence.
Leith then admitted that they probably had no choice other than to go ahead and see what was going on. He offered them the chance to back out, but Bellamy shook his head.
"Ain't no way that we're turnin' our backs on a problem, not to a fellow digidestined" the Impmon said. "Besides, if it's someone plannin' to hurt you, we can help you out. I think you'd kinda be surprised by just how much firepower we got-".
"Yeah, and we should use it carefully, Bells" Luke reminded him. But still, this sounded like a risky endeavor, and on the whole, Colin was willing to provide assistance to Leith and Veemon if needed. It was just something in his nature after all.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 11, 2018 18:04:42 GMT
Leith couldn't answer all of those questions for sure, but he thought he could be reasonably certain about one aspect of the situation: it wasn't about Colin. For proof, Leith reluctantly handed over his phone to show the others his e-mails, including the one where 'Niko' claimed not to have been expecting more company. "I'm gonna be honest; I came with you all this way intending to use you like unknowing bodyguards, thinking this person wouldn't do anything in public view. But I imagine in the digital world, all bets are off - or some bets, at least. I couldn't put-"
"Leith, what am I gonna do with you?" Veemon grumbled as he became quite clearly more and more agitated. This was a side Leith hadn't seen of his partner since the boy was trapped in bed by a stomach bug but wouldn't let Veemon do anything nice for him. That very fact was not lost on the blue digimon either. "Friends are offering to help you in a tough time, and you're pushing them away! It's the food poisoning all over again!" That did it. Leith's expression changed from slight worry to resigned shame before everyone's eyes. "And what happened when you offered to help strangers with their dangerous problem?"
Leith both knew the answer and that Veemon wouldn't be satisfied unless he said it out loud. "We came out of it OK and all made new friends." Leith turned to the PROFIT members then, a fact he thought was relevant as he clarified, "But, uh... I should mention you're not getting paid. I'm not exactly rolling in money of any currency. But Veemon's still right... like he always seems to be for some reason." Leith rolled his eyes a little at the blue digimon, but he also smirked a little. Veemon finally sighed in relief and seemed to calm down. "Still, I guess the point of no return for you guys isn't until we pull in, and in order for that to happen we still need a Trail-" Just then, there was a rumbling in the ground, the now-familiar sound of a coming train. "Oh... I guess that's our ride."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 12, 2018 3:11:34 GMT
After looking at the emails, Colin couldn't help but fold his arms and give an unimpressed look at the idea of being used as an unknowing bodyguard. But he supposed it wasn't something to be truly angry about. Just showing caution wasn't an insult.
"Okay, well, thanks for letting us know anyway" he said. "And in Terminus City? It's mostly safe lately... well, unless you go near Old Terminus. But if you're having problems with someone and need help, it's fine to ask, really".
Veemon seemed to do the rest of the convincing, which made Leith turn and say that he was alright to let them in on it. And then he mentioned them not getting paid. "Oh, right, don't worry about that" Luke said, the Elecmon waving a paw dismissively. "If you're new to the digital world and are having trouble, we'll help you out. After all, loads of people helped us out when we were just starting".
That was nearly 2 years ago now, at least Earth time. Colin was happy to have the chance to return the favor and help out those that had been in his situation.
The Trailmon soon arrived after that. A Buffalo type, who moved along in a professional silence, carriages coming to a halt at the platform. "Well, here we go then" Bellamy said, leading the trio on the Trailmon. Colin picked a four-seat berth with the seats facing each other.
The journey to the digital world wouldn't take long, but, he wondered exactly what was waiting for them on the other world. Colin was more curious than afraid.
"So, we're lookin' for a Renamon, right?" Bellamy summarized, he and Luke sitting either side of Colin.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 12, 2018 22:15:35 GMT
"That's what I was instructed. Now I guess we just hope this is the last stop on the world's worst treasure hunt ever. I mean, it has to be, right? I can't well receive emails in the digital world, now, can I?" Even though there were two seats free, Veemon sat in one of them alone across from the trio while the Tamer stood for the sake of both courtesy, his own personal space, and the safety of his guitar while he hung onto one of a few things attached to the frame of the 'train. "Man, this sucks. You don't know this about me, but I've got this policy of never bringing my guitar to the digital world for obvious reasons. I guess that's out at the window after-" The young man pretended to count on his fingers for some moments. "-one trip. We had one good trip following that rule." "That's what you're worried about?" Veemon scolded his Tamer. "I mean, it's one of many things I'm worried about. I've just chosen the one that's least likely to send me into a nervous breakdown." Leith's body was suddenly jerked by sudden movement, then; the Trailmon was pulling out. "Oh! I guess we're underway. But guys? One way or another I do owe you for this - even if I'm more broke than the Battlestar Galactica Online combat system."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 14, 2018 7:30:10 GMT
Leith mentioned that he couldn't receive emails in the digital world. Colin had a solution to that. "Well, there's the D-Terminals" he said, reaching into his pocket and showing his model. "It should've appeared at the same time as your digivice. You can use these to communicate in the digital world I guess".
"Even if you don't have one, you can buy a substitute from a store in Terminus City" Luke added. "Most of our digimon friends that don't have human partners get one, it's a useful thing there".
As they sat down in the berth, Colin noted that Leith remained standing. He hoped he wasn't too uncomfortable, but, given that the carriage around them wasn't particularly full and he could find a seat if he wanted, he supposed this was deliberate. But he wouldn't judge him on that.
Leith seemed to be annoyed about bringing his guitar to the digital world. While this made Colin and Bellamy confused, it made sense to Luke. "Yeah... I get what you mean. Music really feels different in the digital world compared to Earth" he said. "Digitized music just... kinda doesn't work well? But hopefully your guitar should return to normal once you return". He didn't know the truth of that though.
But regardless, he noted that he would owe them a favor after this. "Thanks, but you don't have to think of it as something that's owed. We're happy to help out friends, if you want to think of us as that" Colin said.
"Yup, better that ya bumped into us rather than some evil lyin' jerk that woulda tried to steal your soul or some crap like that" Bellamy added. The Trailmon thus proceeded into motion, beginning its journey forward to the barrier that separated the Human and Digital worlds.
"So, uh, how have ya liked Earth so far, Veemon?" Bellamy asked the dragon opposite, aiming to strike up some conversation while they travelled.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 15, 2018 0:46:33 GMT
Crap, I forgot about the D-Terminal. Now who knows how long this'll last?
The reptile seemed to enjoy being directly engaged for conversation; usually he'd had to interject himself into Leith's talks when he had something to say. He visibly perked up a little as he responded to Bellamy, "I guess it's OK, but in the digital world I can walk around on my own two feet. In the real world I only get to do that if I'm stuck in Leith's bedroom. Or if his parents aren't home I get to wander the house. But I don't get to really go outside and experience it, you know? Except from inside Leith's digivice."
"Believe me, Veemon: I'd love more than anything to introduce you to Mom and Dad, but I have no idea what they could do. They might actually deal with it OK and eventually even like you, but it's about as likely they'd call the cops or what ever government agency deals with aliens."
Right then the conversation was interrupted by a girl, something around 16, asking in Japanese, "Are these seats taken?" just before peering around the corner and seeing that most were. So instead she continued down the length of the train, probably to find more seats, Leith supposed.
"Wait a minute..." The young man leaned back in order to look out into the aisle, but by then the girl was out of his sight. That couldn't have been... there are lots of humans on this train, male and female. Can't jump to conclusions.
Veemon didn't seem to acknowledge his Tamer's distractedness as he responded, "I know. I don't understand why digimon seem to be fine with humans and the real world, but humans aren't!"
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 18, 2018 1:08:07 GMT
Bellamy listened to Veemon's experiences with curiosity and a bit of pity. Man was he glad that Colin had found out about holosuits instead of the V-Pet function. He was no pet, although... he supposed his current dilemma was a downside to the technology.
"Aw man, sorry to hear that. Colin's already introduced me and Luke to his parents" Bellamy said. "They kinda already got to know us in our holosuited form, so, they were probably more cool with it than they would've been otherwise. But ya never know, does Leith's parents like cute things? That helped a lot too with Colin's folks".
"Could do without his dad picking me up and rubbing my belly all the time though" Luke added with a grimace. He didn't particularly dislike that, just, he wish he'd ask first. But he felt since Mr and Mrs James were letting him and Bellamy live under their roof with seemingly no strings attached, well it was something he'd just have to live with.
"Well what choice does he have? Pattin' you on the back just ends up gettin' him zapped" Bellamy said. "But yeah, ya might be surprised. Best probe their opinions on the matter first".
They were interrupted by a girl around Colin's that seemed to be looking for a seat. Colin glanced up and gave an apologetic look, but didn't think much of it, he was paying attention to Bellamy and Veemon's conversation.
"Yeah, I get how it can be a pain in the butt" the Impmon variant said with sympathy. "Just I guess humans in general might, y'know, get the wrong idea about us if we just show ourselves to the world. I mean Colin's great but humanity as a whole? Yeesh, no thanks".
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Jul 18, 2018 22:36:53 GMT
"'A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.' That's from Men In Black, and, honestly, that's probably one of the most profound, true things I've ever heard." Apparently, Leith had been listening to the conversation in the background, even if he still wasn't looking at the others yet. "And I'll tell you what: I can totally see my sister actually taking it OK. Her reaction to my coming out was, 'Uh, OK? And?' The real problem will be Mom and Dad. And I guess, yeah, it's not like they can just kick him out by force when he can turn into a badass electric dog-lizard, but who really wants it to come to that?"
Only after a few more seconds of staring did Leith finally come back inside to sit down, though as his little joke he reached out toward Luke's belly and pretended to be almost rub his belly without asking before yanking his hand back. That was his way of balancing respect for bodily consent with a one-off little joke. "I don't wanna treat you like a pet, Vee. I just know my parents wouldn't be thrilled about their son dimension-hopping and getting unnecessary danger. They wouldn't understand that our thing isn't really a choice for either of us - not that I'd choose differently, of course." Veemon beamed at Leith then.
"Sounds like you're a pet, Luke!" the digimon then scoffed.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 19, 2018 3:08:22 GMT
Colin was intrigued by that quote, as were his partners. "Huh, guess it is true" he said "Although I'm probably a bit young to have remembered that movie" he chuckled a little.
"Guess that's true of us digimon too" Bellamy shrugged. "Good thing his sister's got an operation up that prevents nasty wild digimon from just strolling onto Earth" he jabbed his thumb toward Colin.
Leith then explained his sister should be fine with it, but he wasn't so sure about his parents. "You're gay? That's cool" Colin said, indicating he was fine with it. "So are these two here" he smiled at his partners, both of which were in relationships with other male digimon.
"Yeah, eh, guess it don't make a difference though" Bellamy shrugged. "Not like ya can tell with us digimon. But I woulda proposed to Coronamon anyway if he was a girl".
Luke chuckled at that and then made an "uh, okay, what's this?" face as Leith made to rub his tummy but it was just a joke. Colin snickered while Luke made an "aw come on, really?" face. "It's not like I'll freak out like a cat or anything" he said. "And I'm not a pet, I happen to be a studied engineer" the Elecmon scoffed back.
But Leith made a good point about the dangers involved. "Yeah... I kinda left that part out when I talked to my parents about digimon" Colin said awkwardly. "My big sister knows, but she's taken up most of their attention about digimon anyway, so that kinda makes it easier".
Still though, how would his parents react if they knew the truth about just what they got up to in the digital world. Colin tried to justify it to himself with the fact that if he didn't use his power as a tamer to help the other world, who would?
|
|
|