The End of an Era [Xros Hunt]

Right on cue.

As another portal appeared in their midst, Angel briefly stood at the ready - just in case - before relaxing as the familiar spirit wielder stepped on through. His smile was met with the fox's own, Angel letting out a bit of a chuckle as Toki introduced himself to the girl. "Your dad told you about that one, eh?"

Angel's embarrassed chuckle was paired with the annoyed grunt of the Devidramon, as the spirit wielder returned her own bow to Toki. "Hm... 'Denryu'? Are we using code names, here?"

"No need, he's already seen me without the mask."

Right, then - Emma turned her attention back to Toki. "Then I'm Emma Havlock. 'Denryu' is Oliver, my older brother." Denryu gave a nod to confirm, "And this Devidramon here is 'Demon'."

"Hmph."

Introductions aside, Toki had a good question: just what was so important to call him all the way out here? To that, Denryu would answer: "A bit of background first - back with that whole mission incident, before we pulled you out of the tower, we had to get by a front guard in the form of an Ancient Wisemon - a spirit that they had convinced to fight for their cause. As for what happened to that -"

"I got it." Demon interrupted with a growl, a tight ring of fractal code appearing around his claw - that same spirit totem flicking briefly into view. At that, Emma gave it a look. "Yup, that's definitely one of mine." Emma's tone sounded a mix between relieved and annoyed, as if it was just in an inconvenient place.

"I'll take it from here, brother. But before I get down to the point, I should ask - Toki." Emma turned her attention to the other spirit wielder, in full. "From one spirit wielder to another - if you had to leave the Digital World, what would you do with your totems?"

'To think he corrupted and manipulated a spirit belonging to your sister.'

At those words, Demon gave a frustrated snort. Of everyone present, that little fact hit the Devidramon the hardest, but it also put up more questions. How did the Cherubimon find the spirit to begin with? Did the AncientWisemon go along willingly with the plan, or was the totem tricked into it like Toki was? Regardless, they seemed in agreement with that last line.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about it with that Cherubimon. It is a bit concerning that he used a device rather than a technique to manipulate the spirits." Denryu sighed - if that blueprint had gone out, the matter could easily be replicated in the future, to some other unwitting soul. That, however, was not the concern for the day.

And as Toki answered the matter at hand, Emma gave a short nod. "For the spirit's best interest, then. I can see why Angel took to you." She let that thought set in the air for a moment, before pressing on: "Well, our objective today is two-fold. The first step is to expunge the foul data away from Ancient Wisemon's totem and return it to its general state-"

"For the last time, I'm not corrupt!"

That little retort erupted right from the Devidramon, the demon's eyes briefly flashing gold, before the Devidramon himself ripped control right back. "Fool. Totems do not stand on their own. Stay still without human. You don't. You're altered."

"... And as you can see, Demon will be glad not to have a roommate in his mind anymore. Brother, has he been doing fine, otherwise?"

Denryu gave a nod. "Mhm. Demon's core has proven far more potent than the totem. It's not able to get out more than little outbursts like that."

"Alright, second point then. Sorry to put you off-guard with that last question, but..." With an annoyed sigh, Emma crouched down, and pulled down one of her long socks, revealing the scar hidden underneath: a long, lengthwise one from a surgical cut on the outside of her calf, the leg itself supported by a metal brace. For a fellow spirit wielder, this might have been a wake-up call.

"This is from damage I sustained as a Mercurymon. Its easy to think that the 'spirit' will be able to take all of the damage, but the protection's unfortunately not absolute. To put a sob story short, I can't run, and this leg's only able to support my weight because of this brace."

She pulled the cloth back up, standing back up in full with Angel's support. "So aside from keeping one for self defense, I've decided to leave the rest behind."

"Of all the..." That annoyed voice crept up from the Devidramon again. "Insolent humans! You tear me away from paradise, and now you'll even deny me completion? I should have wiped you all out while-"

"QUIET." Devidramon's fangs gnashed in fury - finally leaving the clearing in silence.

"... Well. That's about the gist of it."

"Trust us," Angel said, crossing her arms as she gave a sigh, "For a good half of this, we're about as blind as you." Really, they just needed another spirit wielder's thoughts on the matter... and, well, perhaps the fate of the Ancient Wisemon would be of some interest to him, considering everything that had happened.

Seeing that scar stretched across Toki's chest, Angel gave an annoyed 'tch', as Emma took a look at the mark. "Looks like it dug quite deep... you're quite a lucky one, aren't you?"

"Luck, nothing. This guy went and fought a fucking Megidramon on that injury with just a flash heal." Yup - 'righteous dumbass' was definitely a good way to sum it up. On the apology, Emma shook her head. "You've got nothing to apologize for. Its a risk we took and I ended up paying for it in the end."

Past that, it was time to mull over just how to go about this. The Devidramon sat tense in the background, clearly not even wanting this wizard to speak any more of that 'prattle', giving a slight growl as Toki suggested the opposite. "..."

"Demon, give him five."

"... Fine." With an annoyed growl in protest, those red eyes gave way to that golden glow - and almost immediately, the Ancient Wisemon proved that he wouldn't be so free with his information.
"'Schemes'? He spoke the truth, and whether your blind partner of a spirit could see that or not isn't my concern." Well, that answered one question: he was either still being controlled, or this was his own line of thought.

... And Toki's next point didn't help matters either. "Oh, how convenient. You want to come up with a solution to being an heirloom locked in a temple for some odd number of years? To be treated like some object by this girl. Not that I would lend it, but the strength I would give her, how could she deny it?"

"Well, I've already said why, but you're not making a good case for yourself for the opposite." Emma's annoyed voice cut in, the girl clearly having her own opinion on this. "Your compliance would be helpful, but its not needed. If you want to make this easier on everyone here, then stick with the program." As opposed to the tone she used with Toki before, Emma's tone here was cold and precise, not an inch of empathy given to the spirit that gave none himself.

A moment of silence... and he'd actually answer, properly.

"He found me in my own temple, I presume. I didn't realize much until I had actually been given form. My own body, my own anchor, and the ability to fight for other spirits to have the same? Why would I not follow him?"

"There we go." Denryu gave a nod. "See what else you can find out. We're going to set up the next step on our end."

"Tch." As if he'd simply turn around on a pin and follow Toki's logic on a mere utterance. Human life was just as precious as his? Was this even an argument on that? "Then what crime has mine committed to be subject to this fate?"

A likely unfair question with no clear answer. That said, it seemed the Ancient Wisemon couldn't keep up his logic to think that all humans were unilaterally terrible. It was clear, at the very least, that Toki had a connection with the Tsusagimon. Why else would he have dragged himself out there in the first place? That fact alone wasn't enough to make she spirit agree, however.

"You so easily give them the benefit of the doubt? The 'General' isn't even a man who will show his face." That retort was enough for Demon to growl in irritation, clearly not pleased with the spirit's words. "I'll entertain you for now. Not much else I can do in the grip of this brute..."

---

In the meantime, Denryu, Emma, and Angel had set off a short distance away, a good hundred or so yards away from the tent, the girl clutching a yellow D-Tector in her right hand. The device gave a soft glow, and Emma simply muttered:

"Once more. Just once more." She closed her eyes, light erupting from around her body.

"Bring forth a reflection of our minds and hearts. The strongest temple - Sakkakumon!"

With that declaration and an impressive data signal, Emma's human form vanished into a sliver of light, building up in a mass a good distance off the ground. From that, an interesting form took shape, in that of an impressively sized spirit. Its color quickly dulled, as if mimicking the color of the rough sand around them. To this, the spirit looked on in awe.

"A form beyond mine? She faced our final trial without even using my power?" Astonishment and frustration filled Demon's stolen tone. Angel and Denryu largely seemed to ignore his comment, the fox looking over Denryu's shoulder as he tapped at the D-Terminal.

"Looks like she's got it set up, more or less..." Denryu gave a nod, then called over to Toki. "It'll be easier to explain our intent here in a minute. For now, follow on along." Even as he spoke, one of the temple's eyes gave a blink, looking down at a relatively flat clearing in the sand, before giving a glow, lighting up a wide circle like a bright, red spotlight. The General, more familiar with how Sakkakumon worked, simply motioned the other two over, stepping right on into that light.

Was the free will of one Digimon worth more than another?

Again, this wasn't a question that the Ancient Wisemon could comfortably answer, seeming to stall out of his own logic. Despite his own anger, perhaps he truly wasn't an unkind spirit - or, at the very least, he could still see the fault in his own morals. But he did remain skeptical! "If you humans are truly able to bring forth the 'miracle' of giving me a form, then I wait with bated breath to see it. Until then, I'll be watching."

That comment came before the first 'miracle' that he saw before his own eyes, though, as Emma took the form of the intimidating Sakkakumon. Toki's words were simply met with silent astonishment, though he knew a bit more of the spirit's capabilities than Toki did. Ancient Wisemon was able to pull the group into his own static realm, but the next spirit went beyond that. As Toki and the Devidramon stepped through the light, they'd find their vision overcome with a white flash...

---

... And in the next, the spirit wielder would find himself standing several yards behind Denryu and Angel, wild grass built up on his feet up to his knees.

No longer were they standing in the desert: a clear blue sky stretched overhead, pleasant white fluffy clouds slipping by in the breeze. The faint wind had the scent of mountain air, and in every direction would be a seemingly endless field of rolling hills and rocky outcroppings. In fact, it was very similar to the peak where Toki encountered Tsusagimon's university.

If Toki looked over his shoulder, he'd see a large, red eye, the gate to enter this area. And if he looked forward, he'd see a deep crevasse, earth unnaturally torn from the ground, as if a section of the world itself had been removed.

"Is this about what you had in mind?" Emma's voice called, echoing from above, as Denryu gave a nod. "Just about. Angel?"

"Ugh. Finally, time to get this white noise out of my data." What the Renamon did next was something that Toki might have been more familiar with, as a spirit wielder: she held out her hand, a bundle of fractal code appearing in her claw, before she directed her palm towards the crevasse. The data itself would stream out, wrapping in, repairing the ground as it began to install the data. And before long...

... The very pagoda that Toki had been imprisoned in would take shape. "... She actually loaded a building THAT building?"

"You know, if you're going to act surprised at everything, this is going to lose its novelty." The Renamon cracked her neck. In actuality, the appearance wasn't perfect. The Renamon didn't know what the building looked like from the other side, for example, and sharing some of the structural data with the MeiCrackmon at the time only gave it a rough picture, 'gaps of imagination' filling the flaws.

The structure was unimportant. "Alright, I guess I should apologize for keeping it away from you for this long." The General turned his attention to Toki. Any spirit wielder would have been useful for reference, but in this case?

"This is about the best tool we have for the job - and you're about the only person I know who would have half an idea how the siphon works."

"..."

Starstruck was definitely a good word for it. Despite still being 'in control' of the Devidramon, the beast's gaze simply looked on in this space in astonishment - both at the area and that very pagoda that appeared before them. Angel herself stretched out her back, her tone one touch brighter now that her data didn't feel so bogged down.

Save for that eye, it was almost an exact replica of the mountain they found the pagoda on - and Toki's tired tone spoke volumes about how he felt about it. Still, he managed to push through, even pointing out the positive aspects of the siphon. "Interesting... so its a means to load and process data closer to its initial form..."

"Well, it doesn't seem too far off." Emma's voice echoed from above. "Even without a tool, a spirit can subject the consciousness of another user to its bidding. In the most basic sense, the title 'Spirit Wielder' simply means that the relationship is symbiotic rather than parasitic."

"Would it really be as simple as letting this one borrow from your other totems?" Angel questioned that much - and Emma gave a sigh. "Hardly. On their own, spirits don't even have enough energy to create a physical form by themselves. Toki and I lend our presence to give them form. Surely, a whole Spirit Wielder could complete the process, but there's not enough in the totem's reserves to meet that minimum threshhold."

"... Let's get a look at this thing, anyway."

"Roger. Removing the excess." There was definitely no need to keep the entire pagoda 'realized in this space - starting from the top, each floor vanished in a brief cloud of red trash data, until it was left with just the ground floor - the set-up of the device itself left on its platform. One more pulse removed the chains and implements specifically designed to torture the donor.

On the sight of it, Angel rested a hand on Toki's shoulder. "Sorry about this. My General's quite direct when going about these problems." With that, she gave a grin. "Give me the word and I'll clock him once on the head for ya."

"Hm..." Denryu himself circled once around the device, though he left the more detailed analysis to his sister: "You have a handle on its code? How much would be needed to make this work?"

"... Roughly 140% of a full data signature for the process to be clean." Emma's rough analysis came down rather flat. "No wonder the spirits would go mad..."