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Discovering Rhythm (Serena)
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Post by Serena & Gem on Dec 29, 2023 5:13:01 GMT
Serena crossed her arms as she waited for John's explanation. She was mentally fighting back against the urge to immediately place him as the bad guy, since he did seem genuinely interested in learning about music from her father. She just wanted to know what he was obviously trying to hide, if she were to fully trust him. For some reason, John seemed really interested in Serena's watch. "Is that watch capable of connecting to other watches? Perhaps a partner of some kind to monitor your steps so to speak?"
Wait... was he talking about a Digimon partner? The way he phrased it... that had to be what it meant, right? No one would be this interested in a fitness watch. Serena opened her mouth to start to give an answer, before something rather peculiar began to happen. A song could be sung throughout the store, a high soprano song to be exact. At first, Serena and the other customers just looked around, wondering where the source of the song was coming from. It didn't take long for John to notice how Serena's eyes went dull, her expression going completely blank. The same could be said about her parents and the other customers. "Now-how that I ha-ve you a-hall in my traaaaance, briiiing me the too-hoo-hools o-hof song and daaaaance~"
Without hesitation, every human within the store started taking instruments off the shelves in any way they could. If it was behind glass, they would smash the case open and take whatever was inside. Before long, the droves of humans all carrying many musical instruments would leave the store in a single file line, with Serena being among them carrying multiple flutes and a guitar in her arms. Now would be a very good time for John to head upstairs and find the Gammamon. Something tells him that this Digimon would want to know what was happening with his family.
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Dec 29, 2023 15:56:11 GMT
What John said was particularly on the nose in terms of trying to decipher what the bracelet was. Alas, before John seemingly was in the process of backpedalling his question, something immieidately went off. A sudden song erupted from the store as Serena's eyes turned dull and taking quick glances, everyone in the building appeared to be in a immiediate trance as the once warm atmosphere suddently turned into a frigid one as the alluring voice has commanded the humans to take the tools of "song and dance".
It was then the frigid atmosphere turned into pure destruction as everyone appeared to take instruments and even destroy the glass that once contained instruments including the flute John was eyeing before he went inside. John, out of insitinct to keep his human disguise, would try to reach out for Serena before several other humans had got in his way, almost shoving him to the back of the store as the single file line formed. A song to command people to steal? In his experience hypnotism was a rarely used tactic but, he's never seen it be used on humans before.
John would pick himself back up as he turned back to see the door he tried to go into. He does still sense the phantom's prescence but, was this too dangerous for them? Turning back, it appeared the store was almost emptied out as John shook his head and quickly turned the knob and opened the door without hesitation. "Hey! Your customers are being hypnotized to steal things!" He shouted inside before looking back to see the music store was completely emptied out with no one to be found.
The urge to follow them by himself was strong however, he had a feeling that one of the people hynotized by the song had a connection with the digimon. If the hologram were to appear, introductions would have to be on the way to where the entranced humans are going.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Dec 30, 2023 5:25:41 GMT
If Serena did notice John when he tried to reach out to her, she sure didn't show it. She looked as if she was off in her own little world while something else controlled her body for her, and the same went for all the other humans. However, it wasn't just the music store that was affected. Looking outside would reveal a bunch of humans from various different stores all carrying expensive looking objects, and they were all seemed to be heading towards Scramble Crossing.
And all while this was going on, Gem could be found in the kitchen in the apartment upstairs, munching on a nice, crisp apple. Had John not called up to him about the customers being hypnotized, the Gammamon would've been completely oblivious to the entire situation.
"Oh?" Gem asked. He set his apple down and flew over to the front window, looking down at all the people stealing instruments. Gem had thankfully been taught that stealing was wrong, so he was very unhappy with all these ruthless lawbreakers that swarmed his store! Wait, hold on a moment... was that Serena and the Isono's he spotted among the thieves? Were they too stealing? No, this didn't sit right at all for Gem. He rushed as fast as he could downstairs, rushing right past John while still in his hologram form, and hovered next to an entranced Serena.
"Serena? Serena, it's me, Gem. Why are you stealing stuff from the store?" Gem would ask these questions to his partner, waving his hand in front of her face and doing anything he could to get her attention. "Serena! Serena! Serena, please look at me! Serenaaaaa!"
Nothing. No amount of calling or shaking was able to wake Serena up, no matter how loud Gem was or how much he shook her. She just kept obediently walking forward with everyone else. And that's where John would find him, should he catch up to Gem.
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Dec 30, 2023 16:17:47 GMT
After a couple of seconds, it didn't take long before he saw the hologram flew right past him as John quickly followed suit. While running to them, in the back his mind, he wondered whatt hey were doing before he called out to him. Regardless, he threw that thought away as the most heart-wrenching part was when the hologram tried calling out to Serena, attempting to break her out of the trance, but to no avail. If he were to have his own human, would he feel the same way if they were to be hynotized? It does confirm that Serena is a digi-destined though he wished that it wasn't under this circumstance
John would attempt to put his hand on the holograms shoulder though, if it were to phase through, he would keep his hand out to at least give them a little bit of comfort.
"I hate to say this, but..." His voice trailed off as soon he turned his head around to the whole area to see more people stealing stuff beyond the music store. "It looks like we're on our own for now. We'll have to follow where they're going if we want to save your friend." He said to him with urgency.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Dec 30, 2023 17:16:53 GMT
"No... no, no, no!" Gem protested. "I can't fight without Serena! I can't do anything on my own; I need her!" It seemed as if the Gammamon was so dead-set on freeing his partner that leaving her behind was simply not an option. He was so distraught that he wasn't even phased by the fact that this human could see him and talk to him. "Serena, please wake up..."
If you want to help her, then allow me to assist.
Gem's eyes widened. He heard this voice before, once. He looked around for the source of the voice, unaware that it was only in his head. "Who said that?" Gem asked, being the only one who can hear the voice.
If that human means so much to you, then I'll take over with the fighting, as long as you stop with the pity party. It's stupidly grating.
"Um, okay... what do you want me to do?"
That device on your human's wrist, there's a program on it that'll basically make it so no one can see us. And if we get into a fight, it'll also allow us to go hog wild without worrying about something as silly as collateral damage. For my sake, I hope we get to fight something.
"Okay..." Gem took a look at Serena's digivice while she was still walking. There were only three buttons, but it still confused him to no end. He started pressing them at random, hoping they'd do what the voice in his head was telling him. Finally, he managed to get the button presses right. The entire area suddenly turned into what looked like an apocalyptic version of Shibuya, with run down buildings and foliage growing on them. Gem's hologram form and John's holosuit were also removed, revealing their true selves. However, all the mind-controlled humans with stolen goods had also been transported with them. "Was that the thing?"
Heh, yep. Now if you'll allow me, I'll take over from here.
Gem wasn't sure about this whole idea, but he didn't feel as if he had a choice. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes... which then re-opened as pure black. The Gammamon then begun to have his form change, evolving into a higher form. "Gammamon Evolution!"
In Gem's place was a taller, more demonic looking black Digimon, with glowing pink eyes, a torn blue cape, and a long tail with a blade on the very tip. "Finally, it's good to be at the wheel again," the Digimon said with a content sigh. He then got a good look at the Wisemon that was standing next to him. "Huh, so you're a Digimon too, then. Who woulda guessed?" His tone sounded slightly sarcastic. "The one you just met was Gem, and I'm known as Stone. Think of us as a package deal. Now, are we going to pulverize the one responsible for this or what?"
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Dec 30, 2023 18:37:46 GMT
John could understand how the holo was feeling however, before he could speak another word, the holo suddenly started to question who said what? Unbeknowst to John, it was an "alter-ego" that only the holo could hear. "Can you-"
He would cut himself off as all he could do during the hologram's exchange within themself was to follow, despite John's puzzling as to what's going on. Was there another "ghost" he wasn't aware of or are they going into hysterics? Well, John's plan was to follow where they're going so he did just that. During so, he noticed the little digimon fiddle with the buttons. Was there some type of "wake-up call" command, perhaps a jolt to take the tamer out of trance? It wasn't long before the area then immiediately turned into what appeared to be a wasteland. Looking at himself, it became clear his holo-suit was deactivated. In the back of his mind, he hoped he didn't have to pay for another one-
He wanted to answer the now physical version of the digimon's question though, before he could do that, he sensed a surge of dark energy emerging as it appeared they began to digivolve, covering his eyes with his arm before lowering it to see a much more taller and sinister form.
"Good to be at the wheel." They said.
A darker version of them? He's seen what dark evolutions have done to digimon however, none quite like this one. Especially when the both of them are named after minerals except a gem is more "refined" than just stone.
When he asked if he was going to help him pulverize the one responsible, John shook out of his thinking bubble and replied. "Yes, Stone. I may not be fighting alongside you directly but, I can assure you I'll help you "pulverize" them." He spoke as he raised his hand and closed it as he said 'pulverize'.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Jan 8, 2024 4:04:26 GMT
Stone smirked when the Wisemon gave his word to help the GulusGammamon fight the one responsible. "I like your spirit there. For a moment, I expected you to be one of those nerdy goody-two-shoes types. Come on, get on your flying book or whatever your kind has, we can take to the sky and get a better vantage point."
Without waiting for John for long, Stone took to the sky much like a superhero would, despite Stone being the farthest thing from a superhero. He looked down at the droves of brainwashed humans all carrying expensive objects. Jewelry, video game consoles, flat screen TVs... anything not bolted to the ground and cost a lot of money was being carried by these people. "This Digimon has the power to control humans with music, and they use it to steal shit? Un-fucking-believable," Stone scoffed. He could feel Gem wincing in his mind at the use of a swear word. Once Stone got to Scramble Crossing, he would land on top of a nearby tall building, perching on the edge in order to watch what was going on without being spotted. What he could see was a crowd of humans placing their expensive artifacts in the middle of the crossing, all while a Digimon with the appearance of a bird crossed with a fish in a red beret was in the center. Clearly, this Digimon was swooning with all the expensive things being given to them, not caring for the fact that all these humans had lost their free will.
"Sirenmon... supposed to be all cheerful and happy, yuck, but this one's just rotten. Makes sense why only humans were targeted; she's likely not aware that Digimon do exist in Tokyo, and wasn't targeting them. If we're gonna get in close, we need to find a way to plug our ears. I'd rather not be in that shit pickle's control. You got any spells or some shit to block our hearing or somethin', you old Wisemon?"
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Jan 8, 2024 17:06:15 GMT
Following Stone through levitating off the ground, in the back of his mind, he wondered if this dark digimon had instances of people begging them to show mercy. It wasn't unlikely though perhaps it was best to leave the internal judging for another time.
What disappointed him the most was when John landed next to Stone to see a Sirenmon as he already confirmed. A digimon of near similar scaling as well. Wisemon couldn't help but, sigh as it was no surprise that some digimon given the oppurtuinity to learn more about humans were instead using it for their own selfish desires. What was this Sirenmon going to use all the objects for? It didn't make sense to just hoard all of it for themself.
When Stone asked if he had a way to get in close, Wisemon thought about it. Judging by the Sirenmon's energy there's nearly no difference in power. Despite this, John didn't exactly have any "spells" that could help with plugging their ears. Ears? Well, Stone and him must've ears somewhere around their head but, John discarded that silly thought. There was one unconventional idea he could use.
John would take out what seemed to be an empty scroll that looked like it was yet to be filled out. "Sadly, my abilities would either be of no use or get the humans killed alongside them. We could crumple these up and plug..." He trailed off as the thought of where Stone's ears were worsened. "Wherever our ears are and rush in that way."
While the idea of charging at the enemy was certainly not John's method in fighting, he had a feeling Stone just wants to "pummel" Sirenmon into a pulp. His rejuvenating chain and dark restriction could help in that regard however, it wouldn't matter if they can't get in close.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Jan 29, 2024 2:03:02 GMT
If these two were going to want to get in close to Sirenmon without becoming thralls themselves, they would need something to block out the hypnotic songs. Unfortunately, the Wisemon turned out to be useless in that regard, having no abilities or items that could help them block out songs. The most he could suggest was rolling up some scrolls he had and plugging their ears up with them. Stone was about to say something in response to this, but then he felt something fall out onto a building below them from inside his cape. He floated down to the rooftop and picked up what had fallen out; a pair of ear plugs in a small plastic bag. Stone was confused at first as to how these earplugs got in his cape to begin with, but then a memory of Gem's came rushing to his mind...
"This place is too loud, Serena!"
"Well, it's a good thing I brought some ear plugs for you just in case."
"They work! It's not as loud anymore! Thank you!"
"Might be best if you keep some with you from now on, if a place like Scramble Crossing is too loud for you."
Stone chuckled a bit. "I guess her nurturing attitude has some benefits, after all." He took the earplugs out of the bag and placed them in the sides of his head, presumably where what counted as his ears were. He stared down at the Sirenmon below, punching the palm of his hand. "Time to make a Sirenmon beg for their life."
And with that, Stone dashed towards the Sirenmon, able to get up close without them even realizing as he punched them square in the face. The singing Digimon was sent flying, crashing into a nearby wall. "What the...?" they muttered as they tried to regain their bearings. Then they got a full look at Stone himself, and their eyes widened. "A Digimon? I thought there weren't any Digimon here!"
"You're so wrong about that that it isn't even funny," Stone says, his fist igniting with blue flames as he slowly floated towards the cowering Sirenmon. "Now, explain to me, why is a Digimon like yourself forcing humans to steal valuable items for you? I doubt you have a use for human world money."
"Ariaaaaa~!"
"Hnnng!"
Stone could feel his body giving up on him as he fell to the ground, unable to stand on his own two feet, although he was positive that this feeling would be a lot worse had he not been wearing the ear plugs. He'd recover much sooner than the Sirenmon would expect, but it would be best to wait it out until she gave her villain monologue. The perfect chance for John to do something, if he would like.
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Feb 13, 2024 2:53:05 GMT
Perhaps it wasn't exactly wise to encourage him to help him "pummel" if that meant rushing in with no plan. A small part of him wants to rush in there as well however, he only took a slight step before he stopped and looked down, watching Stone on the cusp of burning them before they became a victim of the song itself.
What to do? Perhaps his dark restriction could come in handy if only they were closer to reliably hit them. That would mean it would require Stone to keep them off of him while the effects stack up. That does appear the most optimal plan. The only thing he could for now was to get close without being spotted and not under the effects of the music.
John would walk backwards before his heel reached the end of the roof. Tilting himself backward, he would fall before floating down slowly onto the ground, brushing up against a wall and moving alongside it, shifting his body around the corner of the wall. Soon enough, he could see Stone and the digimon from a better distance but, even the faintest sound of it made Wisemon tense up as he felt like he had one shot at this.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Feb 18, 2024 4:36:45 GMT
"You're as dull as you are stupid," Sirenmon said as she ominously floated around Stone, playing up the trope of the monologuing villain just as perfectly as Stone hoped. "The money isn't for me, per say. Let's just say I'm offering it as a donation to someone who is going to bring real change for Digimon kind."
"And who is this 'someone?'" Stone asked, playing up the, at this point, completely fabricated idea that he was vulnerable.
"Dunno. They only go by some weird nickname, Meddi or something like that. But there are rumors about them. The Knight in Shining Armor, the one who sees human interference with the Digital World for what it truly is; a mistake, a plague, a blight that only the truly righteous Digimon of the Digital World can carry out!"
"What does this Meddi need with human world money, if they're a Digimon like us?"
"They only showed a peek at what they have in store for the filthy humans, but that was enough to let me know that they are a Digimon I would sing the highest praises for! So if they needed money for the plan, what better way to get it than to force these apes to get it for me?"
"Controlling human beings against their will, all for the sake of fighting them... you make me sick."
"Oh don't worry, I'll help you forget that feeling right now. Polyphony~"
Stone closed his eyes shut as the mesmerizing song began to enter his ears. He could hear the song in his head, telling him to join Sirenmon's side in collecting money to send to Meddi. Thankfully, the earplugs were working, as he could still feel himself present in that moment.
"Now-how that I ha-ve you i-in my-y traaaaance, why-hy do-hon't you-hoo-hoo he-elp me advaaaance?"
Stone stayed silent for a few moments... then just started to chuckle like a villain. "You're not a very good songwriter, my dear Sirenmon."
"Wh-"
"DARK PALES!"
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it movement, Stone's fist became coated with blue fire before that fist was used to punch Sirenmon right in the gut, knocking the wind out of her and sending her crashing into a nearby building. When she got out of the rubble, she was very dirty and very angry looking. But Stone was also looking mighty pissed off. He lit both his fists aflame with blue fire and he hovered six feet off the ground, staring down at Sirenmon.
"Usually, I don't get involved in evil plots like this attempt you have going on. But you just had to go ahead and make it personal, so now it's MY turn to play. And I don't like to lose."
"Fine, you wish to go old-fashioned? Then let's get rough."
The two then began to duke it out in the middle of an AR Field version of Scramble Crossing, constantly clashing at each other before flying away briefly and then doing it again. It was very reminiscent of a fast-paced battle one would see in anime, although it was clear that Sirenmon had the advantage in this fight.
What John would notice is that all the brainwashed humans were singing along with Sirenmon as she fought. The more that joined the chorus, the more that it seemed that Sirenmon got stronger. Perhaps if John found a way to stop the singing, then perhaps Stone would have a chance? It helped that Serena and her parents were easy to spot, all three of them singing along with the others. If at least one human could snap out of it, the rest could possibly follow.
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Feb 18, 2024 5:11:09 GMT
John would breath a sigh of relief that Stone wasn't going down for the count. However, it appeared that the Sirenmon was growing slowly in power, they really were dedicated to this "boss" of theirs. Shifting his yellow beady eyes towards the humans, he spotted Serena and their parents amongst the crowd of people.Quietly hovering and bumping into them, not without muttering "Excuse me" and "Pardon me" to the entranced, he got closer.
However, he stopped for a second to watch Stone and Sirenmon before pushing past a couple more people before he started quietly shaking the hand of Serena. "Serena, wake up." He whisper-yelled. As soon as they could get at least one human out of Siren's trance, Wisemon figured it would be time to directly assist Stone before it was too late.
In the back of his mind, he thought of the monologue the Sirenmon spoke about. He had a feeling it won't be the end of it as it would only be soon that this "Meddi" may enable other Digimon to riot by his command. From what he could gather, he could be no different from the few people he fought back at his homeland. Aside from what was told, it was mostly a mystery.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Mar 4, 2024 4:09:25 GMT
In an attempt to wake up Serena from Sirenmon's hypnosis, John decided to politely make his way through the crowd to reach her. Unfortunately, his attempts to snap her out of it weren't working. Her eyes were still as lifeless as the others, and she was still singing along to Sirenmon's song and lending them strength. John would have to try another tactic if he wanted to get through to her. Although he may not have much time to do that. The people he pushed past all looked towards John and seemingly realized that he wasn't enthralled like they were. So they did the one thing they could do: gang up on him, pulling on his cloak and pushing him down so that he'd essentially be buried in thralls. Stone and Sirenmon were still fighting while this was going on. Since they were in an AR field, they would take full advantage of that. They threw and punched each other through walls and cars, destroying this section of the "city" as they fought like a true superhero battle. After one particular crash into the giant 3D billboard, Sirenmon wiped the dust from their face and glared at Stone.
"Canon!"
Suddenly, a music note shaped projectile was fired right at Stone. Since they were so disoriented at this point, the attack missed completely, and it fired right into the crowd... more specifically, right towards Serena and John! With John being held down by all these thralls, would there be any way for him to avoid taking damage from the attack? And what would Serena's fate be? No human could withstand the full power of a Digimon attack...
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Post by TheOneNamedJohn on Mar 22, 2024 2:34:58 GMT
It was tough to peer over the battle when being covered by a pile of hypnotized humans. It doesn't help that the music John was trying hard to resist is turning into a full on head-ache. John didn't want to burst him arms out to break free out of fear of injuring the humans but, the thralls were nauseating to listen to the point that his mind is telling him to join in the fun almost like a battering ram to his psyche.
"Blast.." He thought. This was quite the predicament. However, the worst was yet to come. As John tried to at least shove the humans away with all the strength he could muster, his yellow eyes widened as he then saw a projectile straight at the crowd somewhat covered by the all the hands grabbing John.
Imaginig the worst for these people, despite never even knowing them became more clear in his mind however the worst thought was the possible death of Stone's tamer. Gathering all the strength he could muster, John would forcefully shove the humans back and hover above them as he started to quickly fly toward the projectile, putting his left hand as he balled it into a fist. He doesn't know how much damage it would inflict, but that was risk he was willing to take.
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Post by Serena & Gem on Apr 28, 2024 4:17:20 GMT
Thanks to John's quick thinking, the music note shaped attack didn't hit the crowd at all... mostly because he decided to tank the attack himself as a Digimon shield. As it collided with the Wisemon's fist, the force behind the attack was powerful enough to push him back about twenty feet, and it definitely hurt as much as he was expecting it to. However, there were no other ill effects that the attack had aside from some damage.
Stone was also right there with John in getting irritated by the humans' grating singing. While he didn't feel the need to join in like John was feeling, it sure was giving him one hell of a headache. "WOULD ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR FIVE MINUTES?!" the GulusGammamon screamed at the crowd.
"Don't shame their lovely voices," Sirenmon snapped back at Stone. "Not like they can hear you, anyways. Honestly, I don't even know why you fight for these pathetic beings. You say you care, but you seem just as apathetic about their well-being as I do."
"You're right; I don't really care for humans much," Stone admitted. "Even I don't really know why I stick my neck out for these idiots. But that doesn't mean I don't want to learn how or why. My other half -- Gem -- he cares about the humans. I want to understand what he sees in them, why he's willing to let someone like me take over to deal with the likes of you."
"Yawn... why are you such a cliche?"
"Wise guy, I need you to do something," Stone said to John, ignoring Sirenmon's insult. "Get something to slow this bitch down!"
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