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Section B-3: Investigating the Source
D-Reaper Scout
In-Training
Never The End
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OOC Name: NolChannel™
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Post by D-Reaper Scout on May 13, 2021 15:53:24 GMT
‘Finding the source of light would be a challenge’.
This was true, but it wasn’t as if the investigative team was flying completely blind over all of Dragon Valley. Though the dragon tribes were protective and didn’t take well to outsiders, that didn’t mean that it was impossible to speak with them – and when asking them about what they felt was an irrelevant piece of information, that being the direction that they saw the beam of light, at least a few tribes were willing to either give the information freely or for little cost.
All it took was three ‘hits’, and the Mistymon leading the investigative team would have the coordinates for everyone to meet: ‘The Grand Basin’, an area located in the northeast region of Dragon Valley. Named for its shape, the area was a several-mile-wide, near-circular ‘dip’ in the landscape, as if a meteor had struck down here about a year prior. Despite its name, though, there was hardly anything smooth about it: several cracks ran across the valley floor which were wide enough to make it risky to simply walk across.
Given the wide-open landscape with little practical cover, and with very little to speak of in natural resources, this place was of little value to the dragons, and thus was largely abandoned by the ‘warring’ types. That, at least, gave the group some reprieve to meet up…
… Though the Mistymon found himself baffled by the scope of the task in front of them. ”Even narrowing it down this much… hm.” He hoped, after piecing the information together, that the source of it all would just be apparent. But no:
There was nothing out of place. Noting immediately apparent about what had happened. ”Looks like we don’t have a choice but to just get our hands dirty, here.”
Kenny O'Hara and Skadi Cion Hanako Hoshidate
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Post by Hanako Hoshidate on May 13, 2021 16:28:23 GMT
Honestly, Hana didn't really understand what exactly she and her partners had signed up for. Someone wanted help with finding the source of a weird pillar of light, so they had volunteered to help. Hana figured that it couldn't possibly be crazier than their fight with the ExD-infected Flymon.
"Well, getting our hands dirty is what I assume we were called out here for." Data said, as the Hagurumon took in the surrounding basin. Hana and Rush agreed with him, the Keramon currently clinging to Hana's back.
Hana was certainly glad she bought an EV suit before coming out to the arid desert. It didn't completely block out the heat, but at least she wouldn't get a sunburn. "Should we armor digivolve you to Kenkimon, then, Data?"
"I don't think he literally meant getting our hands dirty by digging, Hana. But it is good that you thought ahead and brought the digimental with us." Data replied to his tamer's question. "Keep it ready, in case we need it."
"You got it, boss!" Hana enthusiastically said with a salute, before both she and her partners all broke out into giggles. What? There's nothing saying you can't have a little fun while you're working?
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Post by Cion on May 13, 2021 17:03:00 GMT
The pillars of light... the newest enigma that harrowed their restless realm. Or did they? Truth be told, their nature was uncertain. Vile forces such as the D-Reaper, the lords and the onyx monoliths had clearly negative effects on the digital world, but as of yet these incandescent beams had practically not done anything. The unfinished events in that desert had left a sour taste, but that appeared to be the fault of people and not these objects. So what was their function? Who or what created them? And why did they manifest now?
To receive the answers to these questions and hopefully more, she had decided to join this expedition.
Nothing else would have made her enter the Valley of Dragons willingly. Though a secret since nobody had asked her opinion, she loathed this place and what it represented. Not because of its natural beauty, but its inhabitants, whom she considered not much better than ferals pretending to exist in a civilization. Tribalistic, primitive, xenophobic... and worst of all unchanging. Was this dismissive attitude justified? Perhaps not in its entirety, but when compared with locations like Ys her reasoning became clear. And although her views were of no importance, she remained quiet to let the apparently unnamed Mistymon do the interaction.
Fortunately, she, their fugleman and the other participants of this undertaking reached the estimated location before long. It was a shame that the pillar's visibility functioned diametrically opposed to its proximity, but it was better than having to work with literally nothing. And if this basin required them to dirty their hands then that was no problem to the silver fennec.
Waiting for the tiny family to finish interacting with itself, she turned her aureate eyes to the magic warrior as she gently folded her arms. "Shall we utilize precision or brute force?" She inquired, confident that agreeing on a method was superior to blindly doing whatever came to mind. She was capable of both, but deciding upon either was essential and excluded the other.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on May 14, 2021 7:30:27 GMT
You'd think that, after the last incident with a gigantic pillar of light with a crazy megalomaniac android in tow, Kenny and Skadi would rather just rest on their laurels and let somebody else do the work for them?
Well, that would require them to not have the urge to stick their noses where they didn't belong. But having already dealt with the aforementioned first pillar of light (and the consequences it brought with it, for better and for worse), it was only fair they'd go tackle the second pillar of light, this time having reared it's ugly head inside the Dragon Valley. That couldn't have been the same HiAndromon's doing, not especially since Mae and Silence had torn him asunder with relative ease the last time around.
Whatever the case, the young man, clad in his own EV suit and Skadi, in her Canandenmon form, would ride up to the Mistymon's meeting spot with little trouble, and for good reason, too; Skadi's hooves in this form made it easy for her to traverse even the most dangerous areas on foot, combined with her immense amount of stamina that would keep her going even in this adverse heat.
It did help her body was also coated in hardened ice, so cold that even the scorching sun wouldn't even hope to melt it.
Once they had arrived, they'd give the others a small but pleasant greeting before Kenny would address the Mistymon, "Hello, the name's Kenny O'Hara, and this is my partner, Skadi, of KIZNA." The Canandenmon would give a little bow of her head in response, "Before we begin, do you know anything about this tower in particular? We've dealt with this sort of stuff before, but I'd figure it'd be a good idea to understand what's going on here first."
Hey, it wouldn't hurt to try.
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D-Reaper Scout
In-Training
Never The End
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OOC Name: NolChannel™
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Post by D-Reaper Scout on May 17, 2021 17:59:52 GMT
Well, at least the group was eager!
The Mistymon chuckled a bit at the Hagurumon's comment, looking over the cracked basin. "Honestly, at this point, who knows? Heavy digging equipment might prove somewhat advantageous." After all, they were looking at something of a blank canvas. As for the Arniomon's comment, the Mistymon took a moment to consider it, the thought put on pause as Kenny and Skadi made their appearance.
"Ah, that's right - you two were part of the desert excursion, I believe?" The Mistymon shook his head, and pointed over his shoulder. "No tower this time, I'm afraid. If it were that obvious, we wouldn't have advertised it as a search team."
That said? "I'm confident that this incident has at least some similarities to the last. Well, there may be some other explanation, like a Digmon's drill reacting with some underground metal to create some sort of luminescent reaction, but given this event's proximity to the last, we're considering it related."
Proving a negative would also solve the case, of course! "Now, its my understanding that 'something' was found at the origin point of the light when it sprouted up in the desert, so our first goal - and perhaps our only goal - is to find said origin point and see what's there. The dragons described the light itself as one that shot 'straight upwards, so we need to look for one of two things:"
"One, evidence of a mass of energy erupting from the ground around here. Think burn marks, fresh debris, or even stone bleached yellow by a sudden surge of light. Two, we're looking for cracks in the ground that we can't see the bottom of."
To that end, the Mistymon would pass out a flashlight, a close-range radio, and a cheap-looking GPS to each participant. "Flash the light down any large cracks you find, and if you still can't see the bottom, call back the coordinates to me. Same if you find direct evidence of the burn. We're looking for large clusters of similar holes - that would provide evidence of an underground cavern that might note the source."
"I'll give it two hours of that at max. If nothing looks promising, well, this basin ain't that important, its just a bunch of rock. We'll blast through it from the top, and see what comes out on the 'new' top. Oh, and be careful not to fall into any of the cracks yourselves, alright?"
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Post by Hanako Hoshidate on May 17, 2021 18:27:18 GMT
"So, we're looking for either really deep cracks or holes, clustered holes, or burn marks? I think we can probably manage that." Hana said as she took the equipment the Mistymon handed her. "Oh, I'm Hana, by the way. And These two lovable goofballs with me are Data and Rush."
"I like to consider myself as the voice of reason among the three of us, not a goofball." Data grumbled. "Introductions aside, how do you guys want to split this up? Even with all of us here, two hours is not a lot of time to scour an entire basin."
"Well, I'm thinking that we could have Rush look around from the air and point out any potentially unusual things he sees. His Eosmon form is pretty quick, and with his cloning ability he can potentially cover a fair bit of ground on his own. Then once he finds something, you and I go check it out while you dig around the site as Kenkimon." Hana explained, before turning towards the other members of the team. "How do you guys want to go about this?"
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Post by Cion on May 17, 2021 18:49:40 GMT
Well... aside from all the unnecessary banter, the task at hand was refreshingly simple - straightforward yet open-ended. With the gadgets and gizmos at her disposal, the primary objective was crystal clear. They would either attempt to find something, and if that failed then she had the permission to blow up this basin sky-high. Regardless of the outcome, Cion approached the undertaking with her signature poise, confidence and steadfast smile. Perhaps for once this was actually going to be enjoyable and bereft of combat. Tranquility and serenity were too rarely savored by the inhabitants of this realm. However, the day was unfortunately still young.
Nodding affirmatively when the unnamed Mystimon finished the debriefing, the silver fennec's aureate eyes briefly shifted towards the stranger who was called Hana. Truth be told she had no idea who this individual and her kin was, but the questioned she asked was one that she could answer with ease. "I'll wing my way." She quipped chummily, hoping that this pun would not go over her allies head as she herself intended to. The very same second, an aura of iridescent blazes enshrouded her before she launched herself into the heavens with the rumpus of a reversed thunderbolt.
Doing it the way of the bird seemed to be the most reasonable. Moreover, she was confident that her companions were wise enough to choose a different direction than the one she had.
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on May 20, 2021 4:36:43 GMT
"Hm. My apologies." Kenny duly noted towards the Mistymon, "Guess the perpetrator, if any, must have learnt from the mistakes from the whole HiAndromon fiasco, at least." If that was true, then both he and Skadi'd have to give a little iota of credit there; HiAndromon seemingly went down in a matter of moments the second he was let off basically glorified life support in all but name.
But other than that? The duo would listen intently to him as he gave his instructions towards the group and gave them their supplies. The mention of this hypothetical 'underground cavern' was food for thought, however; judging from what they could tell so far, that seemed to be the most likely possibility at this point. That was pretty much the easy part out of the way now.
The hard part would be how to actually go through with this.
With Cion opting to hit the skies, Skadi would turn to Hana, Data and Rush instead, "Well, I think you'd probably need an extra set of eyes here, just in case something, or someone, tries to attack us while we're moving. And a possible bodyguard as well, juuuuust to be safe."
"And a packmule in case we find something valuable and heavy as evidence we could bring back to Mistymon." Kenny added with a small chuckle at his little joke.
"Yeah... what he said." The Canandenmon jokingly rolled her eyes in response, "But anyways, my hooves are strong enough to carry us through these craggy mountains without so much as a hitch. Plus I can keep going for a good long while in this form anyways. It's become second nature for me at this point."
"So whaddya say? You mind us tagging along?"
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D-Reaper Scout
In-Training
Never The End
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OOC Name: NolChannel™
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Post by D-Reaper Scout on May 21, 2021 14:05:16 GMT
Well, that was quick. Just as Mistymon finished the explanation, Cion took to the skies for her own investigation, leaving the remaining two groups below to discuss how they wanted to scout the ground. To that end, the Mistymon gave a shrug:
"However you all want to go about it is on you, though I'm not certain how important a 'bodyguard' or 'sticking together' is. I'm not a slouch myself, and I'm reasonably confident that everyone here knows how to defend themselves." Heck, their individual feats and strengths were the reason that the three groups here had clearance to do their jobs in the first place. "Besides, you have miss eagle-eye up there watching all of our backs indirectly. Any threat will be seen by her long before it ever gets close to you."
Such was the advantage of a bird's-eye view! What the 'ground group' would find over the next couple hours would depend on how they decided to go about it, but Cion's aerial view would get quicker results - though the 'quality' of the information might be rather dubious.
As hinted at by its name, the 'Grand Basin' was once a thriving pond, drained over the years by the shifting earth below, leaving it as the sun-scorched earth that it was nowadays. What the Arniomon did see would fascinate ecologists: stark red and orange strips stained the edges of the basin, where clay particles had once washed ashore. Throughout the middle would be an almost spider-like web of white strips and 'veins' protruding off, acidic burns that came from having a lake in such an arid environment. Nearer the middle of the basin, at the deepest point, the stone would be darker, evidence of a faint amount of water still bubbling to the surface.
However, these were features of the basin that were ancient, and far more detail than what would be expected of a non-expert. Restricting it to what Cion could actually look for, there was one oddity that would be easier to see from the sky than on foot: on the northeast edge of the basin was what looked like one big crack, a thin line several tens of feet across. From such a height, it would look like a long shear, like a crack in a broken piece of glass. But on the surface? Well, they'd have much more detail in a far smaller area. However they started, the Mistymon would spread out in a different direction, floating a few feet above the ground as he made his way forward and to the west, occasionally flashing a light down into the cracks below. A few times, he even slipped down into one - as he could easily just 'fly' back up - and tapped at the earth below with his sword.
"Solid here, too..."
Slow-going, would be the start, but they could fairly quickly rule-out a good part of the southern area, and start to get used to how difficult it was to traverse this area. It wasn't as if there were any set paths, after all, and left alone, it was easy to put too much weight into a single step, and feel the ground start to crack or 'give' underneath. The Mistymon did give one more piece of advice for that: "If the ground looks white, don't mess around with it. That stuff breaks more easily than sand."
It was, perhaps, a warning that the Mistymon should have led off with, but it wasn't as if this basin was well-traversed anyway. In fact, this was something that the sorcerer had just learned, now brushing debris off of his right shin!
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Post by Hanako Hoshidate on May 24, 2021 17:44:42 GMT
"Well, luckily for all of us, you won't have to worry about carrying the three of us! For Data and Rush can both fly in their ultimate forms!" Hana proudly stated.
"True. Heck, my Megadramon form would probably be big enough to carry all of us at once, although constantly sliding between Megadramon and Kenkimon would be pretty draining. I'll probably stick with carrying Hana as Guardromon." Data added as he shifted into his Guardromon form.
"Since when could you digivolve on your own?" Hana asked in confusion at the sight.
"Hours of practice. Champion's as high as I can go without your assistance, though." Data explained, which seemed to pacify Hana. Now that Data had digivolved, Hana took the opportunity to evolve Rush into his Eosmon form, with Rush being wrapped in tendrils that formed into Chrysalimon's shell that then split open at the back to allow Eosmon to emerge in his full glory.
"MAN IT'S ALWAYS FUN TO DIGIVOLVE THE LONG WAY AROUND, EVEN IF IT ISN'T ALWAYS PRACTICAL." Rush said as he twirled around in the air. "ALRIGHT, I'M DONE SHOWING OFF. LET'S GET TO WORK!"
"Agreed. We shouldn't waste any more time." Data agreed as he picked Hana up and rose into the air using his back thrusters. The three started flying away from the direction the Mistymon went, with Data maintaining a slow enough pace for Kenny and Skadi to keep up while Rush darted off to scout ahead.
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Post by Cion on May 24, 2021 18:43:11 GMT
What colorful radiance this unassuming place in the digital world possessed. Unlike many other locations, its beauty was natural and untouched by intelligent life. It was merely the result of forces working in accordance with causality. There was a certain degree of fascinating mystique to the vista that Cion traversed over. She was neither spiritual nor of faith, but the pure elegancy at hand was touching her soul. It was soothing, allowing her to focus better on her task. Yet it made her wonder if the white pillars were the same, or simply another artificial creation that beckoned through temptation.
Ultimately, the silver fennec concluded that the answer to this question was precisely why she had joined this expedition. Thus she scanned her surroundings, seeking to find facets that did not fit into the larger picture. Eventually, she believed to have found exactly such a thing. A ravine perhaps? Like the iridescent thunderbolt she was, she crashed into the ground in a sudden impact. Yet her landing, though dispersing dust, was as graceful as the poise that she carried herself with. Tranquility and serenity quickly returned to the environment, only briefly disturbed by her impetus.
Engulfing her right paw in aureate fires of purity, she held it above the edge of the earthy crevasse to assure that no details lurking in hidden depths would be missed by her prying eyes. That did not mean she was not cautious however. After all, entities and mysteries residing in shadow were often hazardous to those of the light. "Come on..."
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on May 30, 2021 6:35:34 GMT
"Eh, it's just basic KIZNA protocol." Kenny merely shrugged back towards the Mistymon, "'sides, teamwork's actually one of our biggest strengths there. I'd like to go on about it, but we've a bit of a scavenger hunt to do now." No use wasting time arguing about something so minor; at least compared to their main focus today. They had a job to do.
But still, at least Hana and co. were more on board with the duo's idea, and once her two Digimon had gone and evolved themselves, the Canandemon would give a nod to Data before following behind as needed, her four hooves keeping her good and steady upon the otherwise rough and uneven earth. Keeping heed to the Mistymon's advice, she would, indeed, steer clear of the white patches like if they were the plague.
Kenny, meanwhile, would use his own trusty hand-me-down flashlight to poke through the cracks the Mistymon wasn't. Already, a sense of unease started to rear it's ugly head inside the both of them as they moved along, the Canandemon glancing around, "Either the perpetrators kept this place really well hidden, or we're nowhere near close enough to find the source yet."
"Give it time, Skadi. I'm pretty sure all hell will break loose soon enough."
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D-Reaper Scout
In-Training
Never The End
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OOC Name: NolChannel™
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Post by D-Reaper Scout on May 31, 2021 16:58:21 GMT
Indeed, this was a bit of a scavenger hunt.
One had a birds-eye view, and the rest had their eyes on the ground. Each had their advantages: it was hard to tell if the disturbance would be large enough to spot from the sky, and it was hard to say if they would find the source of the light pillar within the prescribed time limit, either. The sorcerer would see Cion descend towards the northeast - had she spotted something?
Well, maybe. The 'crack' from above was evidence of a large shadow cast across that part of the basin, starkly visible due to the position of the sun above. There wasn't so much an opening or a crack to look through: rather, it was as if two 'plates' of rock had ground against each-other over the years, and now one surface was starting to be pushed below the other. Maybe the ground underneath was hollow?
Rush would see little, given how quickly he was going over the ground. Kenny and Skadi's group, however, would find something roughly 100 meters south of where Cion had descended - by pure chance, in fact. This wasn't a crack in the earth, but a near-perfect circle, offset only by the brittle soil that had scraped up one of its sides, with distinct burn marks around the side.
Even looking down that hole with the flashlight would not allow Kenny nor Skadi to see the bottom - and the hole was on the same 'low' plate that Cion had discovered.
Perhaps it was an entrance, of sorts... putting everything together, the group could likely find their way 'inside'.
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Post by Hanako Hoshidate on Jun 1, 2021 4:19:11 GMT
"ROCKS. ROCKS. OOH, WHAT'S THAT OVER THERE? NEVER MIND, THAT'S JUST AN ODDLY-COLORED ROCK." Rush said to himself as he looked around the basin. So far, he had found absolutely zilch. However, a flash of something shiny in the distance did catch the Eosmon's eye, and he zipped off to check it out.
Back with Hana and Kenny's group, Hana attempted to get to know the duo that she and Data were currently partnered with. "You said that you were from KIZNA, right? The group that's based in Ys? I've heard about the group, but I'm not quite sure what they're... ooooh, that's a deep hole."
Indeed, the group's search had led them to an almost perfectly circular hole that went so deep that it was impossible to see the bottom with a flashlight. Having found the pillar's likely origin point, Hana pulled out her ocarina and blew a sharp note to call Rush, who rejoined the group after only a couple of minutes.
However, he didn't come alone, as he was accompanied by the shiny, golden form of a Pegasusmon X. "I MADE A NEW FRIEND. CAN WE KEEP HIM, PLEASE?"
Greetings. I am Chiron. The Pegasusmon X telepathically said to the group.
"Nice to meet you, Chiron." Hana cheerfully told the newcomer, before handing her flashlight and walkie-talkie to Rush. "We found a hole, so can you go check what's down there?"
Rush gave his partner a salute before walking up to the edge of the hole and T-posing. He then leaned forward and let himself fall down the hole, still T-posing as he fell. "WHEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Hana could only stare in stunned silence at the sight. That... wasn't what she meant by "checking out the hole".
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Post by Cion on Jun 3, 2021 13:38:06 GMT
Huh... it appeared that her initial assessment had been wrong. Perhaps a bird's-eye view was not always the optimal approach. Still, if Cion had stuck to the ground, then this oddity at hand would have likely went past her senses. But what was it - some form of tectonic bulge? Scratching her head, she tried to contemplate if she had ever seen something like this, and in fact she had. Organic wounds often behaved in a similar way to cover the injured area. Humans rarely suffered them in this realm, but she was acquainted to a certain doctor who certainly knew plenty about them.
But was it wise to tear a hole into the earth and hope for the best? Presumably not, but such sagacity was evidently not shared by a few of her comrades who were pursuing their own destination not too far away. Shifting her aureate eyes to behold them from afar, she spotted one of them descending. Was this maybe the entrance to this subsurface enigma? Shrugging, the retrieved her walkie-talkie with the intention of reaching the Mystimon and to an extent her companions. "Request to confirm to regroup or continue separately."
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