Stuck Between Lives [MPC 95X]
Jan 11, 2024 1:01:57 GMT
Post by Vergil on Jan 11, 2024 1:01:57 GMT
MPC Name: Cloister of Trials
MPC Number: 95A
Reward: Posts
Maruki laughed. “They go hand and hand together on occasion.” After taking a look at the coding, his expression went from one of relaxed to one of utter bewilderment. “This is…experienced-level work… almost professional level! You must have a genius student that’s two years ahead of the curve.”
Vergil rode his motorcycle along a dizzying round ale that snapped him around Scramble Crossing and into the main intersection. Through the helmet he wore, he couldn’t help but instinctively try to ruffle his head, only to find him rubbing the top of his helmet. Once the light turned green, Vergil revved the handlebar and took off, into the mostly clear roads.
Even though he had gotten used to riding at such high speeds on a motorcycle, he had to admit he got a kick out of it. What he didn’t get a kick out of, however, was being late for class. Again.
It shouldn’t have been a problem. He’d left plenty early, but then he’d wandered into the middle of that daylight holdup, and one thing had led to another at AEGIS and… well, now here he was, trying to make up for the lost time by riding his way across town.
He had his laptop, homework, and textbooks snug in his backpack, which was, naturally, on his back. It lacked a certain “coolness” factor from a superhero point of view. Then again, he’d never really cottoned to the term “Super Hero” that the media loved to bandy about. It was too self-aggrandizing for his tastes.
As he drew near the campus, Vergil felt a pang of frustration over how things were going in his GIS class. Dr. Maruki had made it clear that he thought Vergil had tons of potential… potential, Maruki never hesitated to point out that Vergil consistently failed to live up to. Well, Vergil was determined to turn that around, starting this very day. No more missed classes, no more being late. It was time to get his priorities in order.
Granted, he knew he had responsibilities. Not only was he a Chosen Tamer, but he was also an agent of AEGIS. A private task force acting as gatekeepers and protectors of Tokyo, preventing wild Digimon from establishing themselves here to cause mayhem, as well as providing guidance to new Tamers that find themselves overwhelmed by the task of looking after Digimon that had just recently become their partners.
At first, he took pride and excitement in his newfound responsibilities. They were essentially like the Ghostbusters for Digimon. And with his partner Digimon, Vee and Gummy, getting restless at the time, he thought it was a good opportunity for all three of them to gain experience from peers that knew better than them. But now, that excitement had worn off, with the threat of bad Digimon getting increasingly more frequent. First, it was the Priest Twins they encountered back alongside Bezil, and now there’s a new threat of Digimon arising, one that’s more organized and seemingly after Gummy and Bezil’s son, Amper the hyperactive Pulsemon.
He pondered how strong his bond between himself, Vee, and Gummy had gotten. With the ability to reach up to the Ultimate level, the two brothers were now strong enough to protect the new things that mattered to them in their lives. They were stronger…thanks to their brotherly bond with him.
The fact that they had accomplished so much wasn’t what daunted or haunted him. It was that he couldn’t get movies out of his mind.
In movies, as sequels progressed, the hero always found himself facing greater and greater obstacles. Not that Vergil thought of his life as a movie: He wasn’t insane. He knew better than that. He knew that his life, however over-the-top it had become, was still his life.
But, what if life imitated art? Sometimes he would lie awake, imagining the stakes rising like floodwaters. What new dangers awaited him? What tremendous new challenges would be hurled at him? What dazzling new exploit would the witted Vergil be required to pull off next?
Vergil sighed, shaking his head as he pulled into the parking lot of the campus. He looked at the art wing, which suffered some damage from the night that Ogremon attacked a few weeks ago. The night where he met Amper.
“Just one more year left til graduation…” Vergil said to himself.
As he got off his motorcycle, his D-Watch made an audible notification noise, freezing him in his tracks. It was an alert from AEGIS. An Ultimate-Level Digimon was planning to appear near downtown Shibuya, at the Shibuya Crossing. Whoever responds to the call will have about 20 minutes to the area before the hostile Digimon appears.
Vergil stood still, waiting to see if some other AEGIS agent would take up the call to action and he would make it on time to Dr. Maruki’s class, but no response from any other active agents.
“Man, come on now…why today?” Vergil exhaled, clearly frustrated. “Someone…anyone… pick up this call.”
No dice.
All of Vergil’s thoughts and plans went out the window as his body took over and acted completely out of instinct. He bolted back to his motorcycle, put his helmet back, and put the keys into the ignition, revving his bike up.
“This is Vergil," he spoke into his D-Watch. “Responding to the emergency. Will be there in fifteen minutes. Give Vee and Gummy my coordinates.”
His heart sank. He’d prepared for this lecture and everything. He laughed in a defeated manner. “I am so going to fail Dr. Maruki’s class.”
And he sped off, down the street, and on his way to Shibuya Crossing. Briefly, he’d considered summoning Vee and Gummy here right now and hitching a ride on one of them since it’d be faster, but he didn’t want to be on the national news. A twenty-year-old American riding on the back of a monster from a parallel world…try explaining that to the authorities while putting your friends and colleagues at risk. Better just stick to normal means for the time being.
Upon arriving at Shibuya Crossing, he parked his motorcycle at an empty parking spot and sprinted, weaving through the crowded intersection. From the way people were gaping at him, he realized that he was moving far faster than any normal person should be going. But he didn’t have time to slow down. If anything, he sped up, until he arrived at the 109 Building.
He checked his D-Watch: five minutes remaining until the mayhem began. Now all that’s left was Vee and Gummy.
“Ooooooi, Vergil!” His eyes widened, a familiar voice blared from his D-Watch. Quickly acting, he rushed to one of the nearby alleyways as his Digivice became engulfed in a blinding light. Vergil shields his eyes, and two streams of light shoot out: one materializing as a Veemon wearing paladin-like adventurer armor with a black undersuit underneath, and the other, a goggled-wearing Gumdramon with a button-up red vest and a yellow scarf fluttering in the wind.
Despite the whirlwind that’s been going on in his adult life for the past couple of weeks, Vergil couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Well, well, well, if it ain’t Vergil ‘all work but still can’t find the time to get a new hairdo’ Hoskins," Gummy teased, chuckling. He offered the young man a fist bump. “How's it hanging?.”
Vergil reciprocated the fist bump, with Vee joining in as well. “Ehh, managing. And what’s wrong with my dreads? I just got them restyled a few days ago.”
“I dunno…you still look the same to me, as always.” Gummy wisecracked. “I’d like to see you in a new style for a change. You can only rock the asparagus look for so long before it gets stale, hehe.”
Vergil rolled his eyes, still trying to keep a smile on his face. “Oh, playing that card, huh? OK then, what about you? When are you going to grow a few more inches? Doesn’t look good when one of your sons is taller than you~”
“W-What did you say?!” argued Gummy, flying up to Vergil’s face to literally butt heads with him. "I’ll have you know that I’m not the little pipsqueak from before!”
“You right. You got a point there,” Vergil said, “but if a little girl saw you, you’d be mistaken for a marketable plushie.”
Gummy grimaced, gritting his teeth in annoyance.
“Ladies, ladies, I get it, you’re both pretty,” Vee stepped in, separating the two of them. “Let’s get back to more pressing matters at hand, yeah?”
Vergil and Gummy both nodded in agreement. All three of them turned their attention to the exit of the alleyway, into Shibuya Crossing. “So, Ultimate level Digimon is about to show up and wreck the whole place, endangering the lives of hundreds of human lives in the process.” Vee turned to Vergil. “Cool! I mean—bad. Very bad.”
“Yup," Vergil answered. “HQ didn’t holla out a reason why, but my money’s on another human-hating ass Digimon group.”
“Heh, my money’s on a wild stupid Digimon cruisin’ for a bruisin’", Gummy chimed in, putting his fists together.
Thirty seconds remained on Vergil’s timer. Maybe they should have used the time they had to formulate a plan instead of having a little banter. But when you’re around Digimon like these two, nothing’s bound to go according to plan.
“Uhhh, are we going to fight a Digimon here?” Vee asked nervously.
“Yup,” Vergil said firmly, fiddling with his digivice, his answer surprising the two Digimon.
“That’s…a nonchalant response,” Gummy replied rather worryingly.
“B-But every human here is in danger,” Vee responded.
“I know,” Vergil responded rather callously, “but where else can we go?” The two Digimon stare at him with a wide-eyed expression. The two brothers both looked at each other. The situation was dire, and they didn’t expect their Tamer to simply brush aside the expected risk of humans getting hurt, or worse, killed. But he was right…where else can they take the fight? Their best chance was to minimize damage as best they could to the surrounding populace.
The timer on Vergil’s D-Watch counted down to zero. Almost immediately, the neon billboards around Shibuya Crossing began to glitch out, grabbing the attention of a couple of citizens. On one of the nearby buildings, one of the largest billboards—which was live streaming a news broadcast— began to go haywire with electric currents, until a digital gate began to materialize.
“Aaaaaaaaand NOW!” Vergil held down two buttons on his D-Watch. A large pulse emitted from his Digivice, enveloping their surrounding area. The large populace throughout the scramble crossing vanished as a pseudo-Digital World field projected over the current area. Everything was largely the same, but largely consumed with overgrowth. Even the pavement underneath them had tall blades of grass sprouting.
“This is—" The ground began to shake with tremors; Vee put his immediate thoughts aside.
“Whatever is coming out of that portal, is a biggie.” Gummy walked ahead of the others. Vee quickly joined him, the two determined to protect their partner from whatever was coming their way.
The sound of a “CAW” was heard as a giant figure’s talons burst out of the portal, clenching both sides of the building as he flew out.
“That is…one…huge…chicken?” Vergil stepped back, in somewhat disbelief at what he was seeing.
The giant Digimon was pretty much around three stories tall. Its green feathers shook with each step, while everything it stepped on was crushed under its talons. It walked slowly, gauging its surroundings before its eyes pinned towards the trio, and the two feathers on its forehead began glowing.
“It’s a Parrotmon!” Vee shouted. “It can fly really, really fast to mow down enemies with its beak. It can also rain down thunderbolts from the two feathers on its forehead.” Vee brought his head down "But…usually they don’t like to battle, so why is this one…?”
“Less talking more DODGING!” Gummy shouted, Vee looked up just in time and dodged out of the way as bolts of lightning hit dead in the middle of the street.
Everyone found themselves on the ground, getting up as quickly as possible.
“Alright, whatever this place is, we can go all out without any worries. Let’s ruffle some feathers! Ready Vee?”
“You know it!”
The two dragons raced towards Parrotmon, being engulfed in an orange and blue light.
“Yeah, let’s wrap this up quickly,” Vergil added, with a slight annoyance. “Some people have places to be.”
The vital gauge on Vergil’s D-Watch filled up, fully initializing Digivolution.
“Veemon, digivolve to…” His form changed, growing in size. The data that had accumulated and surged throughout his body broke off. The markings on his face moved to accommodate the changes as his face grew longer. A horn erupted from his nose, gleaming. His chest became muscular, each muscle well-defined as his body flexed. Two lines intersected across his chest, forming an X. With white wings sprouting from his back, he clashed his fists together, spikes materializing on his knuckles. With a swift kick and a pose, his red eyes glared as he roared. “XV-mon!”
"Gumdramon, digivolve to..." The small purple dragon grew, shifted, and morphed. The data surrounding his body started to break off, revealing a Dragon Digimon wearing rubber Battle Armor along with black leather pants yellow gloves, and yellow foot bracers. His hammer tail transformed into a sharp tail in the shape of an anchor. On his back, his wings grew. Wiping the flame data out with his arm, he stood tall and proud. "Arresterdramon!"
As the two evolved Digimon closed in on Parrotmon, the Ultimate-level Digimon flapped its wings and took to the skies, ready to bring its talons down on them. Vee flew forward, extending his fists outwards
“Searing Fists!” He rushed and attacked with precise, well-judged punches, each one shooting out small infernos that exploded on contact with the Digimon’s talons. Parrotmon was thrown back from the impact of one hitting it between its legs.
Parrotmon quickly recovered, roaring back. It reared its head back, forming a ball of electric energy in its mouth. Its two long feathers flowed once more, seeming to add more energy to its attack.
To retaliate, Gummy charged two spheres in his hand. “Crimson Bang!” He threw them at the Digimon. Instead of impacting the giant bird, the two energy spheres stopped in front of it, confusing it. The Arresterdramon then snapped his fingers together, causing them to detonate, causing an explosion that enveloped Digimon.
“Hah! How was that, featherbrain?” Gummy laughed. His joy then turned to shock as the smoke settled, revealing that his attack barely scratched the Digimon, as it was still charging its attack. “Uh oh…”
Parrotmon released his attack. Gummy jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack. The electric ball crashed into a building, sending flying flashes and debris into the street. Gummy’s shoulder was slightly scorched, causing him to seethe in pain a bit.
Parrotmon expanded its wings and flapped them heavily, creating strong wind gusts that sent the two Digimon flying for a bit, before taking off high into the skies. Once recovered, Vee and Gummy quickly got into hot pursuit.
Soaring at high speeds, Gummy unleashed a barrage of Crimson Bangs, each sphere aimed dead-center at the Ultimate Digimon. But Parrotmon’s speed was too fast; it easily angled itself to dodge right through each energy ball before exploding. Angling it’s wings, it made a sharp right turn, flying towards the Arresterdramon as it shot a lighting bolt; Gummy tilted his body out of the way. The Parrotmon came charging at him at high speeds, ramming him.
Now at point-blank range, the Parrotmon’s feathers began to charge with electric energy again, making sure to not miss its mark again. Before it could fire its attack, Vee came from above at high speeds with a downwards kick, making the Parrotmon lose its grip on Gummy and send it downwards. Without a second to waste, the X on his chest began to glow blue as he launched a beam attack. “X-Laser!”
The laser collided and sent the Parrotmon further down below, now aimed to crash into one of the buildings to do further damage. However, the Parrotmon spread his wings. With one flap, it created a powerful updraft that propelled it upwards, ascending back to Vee and Gummy’s height.
“Man, it feels like it’s not being fazed by our attacks at all,” Vee said.
“Yeah,” Gummy agreed, “And it's way faster than us. Can't close in on it. Let’s see if it likes our pincer attack.” He began to charge another Crimson Bang, but this time, Vee kicked both of the energy spheres like soccer balls, aimed at the sides of Parrotmon. Gummy snapped his fingers, and the two spheres exploded, acting as a sort of flashbang, temporarily blinding the giant bird as it cawed painfully. The two dragons then flew around it in opposite directions, preparing their long-range attacks once again.
“X-Laser!”
“Crimson Bang!”
They attacked simultaneously, delivering a constant barrage of energy blasts from all directions, causing the Parrotmon to struggle to keep afloat.
On the ground below, Vergil watched as Vee and Gummy lit up the enemy like it was New Year's Day. So far, it looked as if his partner Digimon were going with swift tactics to not give Parrotmon a chance to retaliate since one good attack from Ultimate-leveled Digimon would the two flying below. And while he was relieved that the fight was in an AR field space that allowed them to fight without being worried about causing property damage or injuries, one thing puzzled him.
Why weren’t his partners taking this fight seriously?
It was obvious to him that the two of them could further evolve to Ultimate and defeat Parrotmon quickly, but they weren’t doing it for whatever reason.
“Why are they prolonging this?” Vergil muttered to himself. “Don’t they realize the longer they rely on hit-and-run tactics, the more pissed that Digimon will get?”
And unfortunately for Vergil, that would soon come true. As Vee and Gummy kept circling Parrotmon, the two would accidentally crash into one another, causing them to reel in pain
“Ugh! Watch it!” Gummy yelled, holding his head in pain.
“No, you watch it!" Vee growled. “Why would you even fly in the opposite direction of me?”
“I could say the same to you, dipshit! Always so eager to one-up me!”
“Na, that would be your role. I can’t help it that I’m more app-lic-able in the muscle department than you.”
“…you mean applicable, dumbass!”
“Hey! Take that back!”
“In your dreams, muscle-head!”
The two began to lock hands with one another, struggling to overpower the other. Seeing this from above, Vergil rolled his eyelids back in frustration, cursing under his breath.
As the dust from all the explosions dissipated, Parrotmon, who only suffered minor injuries saw the twin Digimon in their scuffle. It reared its head back once again, forming another ball of electric energy, then firing at the two distracted Digimon. Noticing the surge of power, the two Digimon ceased their bickering, turning their attention to the attack heading straight for them.
“Oh shi—“ was all the two said before they were engulfed in a fiery explosion, crashing down to the streets of Shibuya Crossing. Vergil shielded his eyes, protecting himself from any debris flinging in his direction. When he opened them, the next thing he saw were Vee and Gummy in separate craters.
“GUYS!” Vergil yelled out. He rushed to the two’s aid. They were in tremendous pain, but still alive. He sighed in relief, before furrowing his brow in disappointment. “Ayo what the fuck are you guys doing?! Why are you picking a fight with one another in the middle of a battle?! I mean, Jesus Christ, you’re both grown-ass Digimon. And Gummy, for fuck’s sake, you’re a father! You’re the last person I expect to act like that! Is this the example you want to set for Amper and Vinny?”
Gummy groaned, coughing a bit before weakly responding with a “Nooo…”
“And Vee… come on bro, you never let insults get under your skin,” Vergil continued. “Shit man, you typically laugh that stuff off. You’re the example of never letting bad stuff you here get under your skin.”
The XV-mon winced as he picked himself up, looking at Vergil with shame in his eyes. “You’re right…I’m sorry. I just wanted to impress you with our new skills since we haven’t seen each other in a while. Guess we still have some work to do…”
“Impress me?" Vergil repeated, tilting his head in confusion. “What do you—“
The ground began to tremble as the Parrotmon landed in front of them. Vergil slowly turned around, then took a step back as the large parrot Digimon cawed loudly, emitting thunder all around them.
With both of his Digimon down for the count, Vergil was the only thing standing between them and certain defeat. He panicked internally, and then exhaled deeply, thinking. Throughout all of his adventures, he was usually the one cowering when things didn’t go exactly to plan, only for Vee, Gummy, or someone else to save him at the last minute. Sure, between him and the Parrotmon, he was nothing but an ant. But he was an ant that wasn’t going to back down.
His eyes opened, now determined to protect his brothers. With a motion to his D-Watch, he summoned his hard light sword and got into a battle stance. The Parrotmon saw this, its laugh flooded the sounds of the digital streets. But Vergil didn’t waver. He stood his ground, ready to put it all on the line.
Vee and Gummy picked their heads up with wide-eyed expressions.
“What the HELL is Specs doing?” Gummy said, completely flabbergasted.
“Vergil…get out of here! Call for help” Vee grunted in pain, reaching out to him. Vergil turned around to his two partners, a smile forming across his face as he nodded to them.
But the smile quickly faded.
Parrotmon’s head came into focus in front of Vergil, his eyes glowing blue, ready for an attack.
Vee and Gummy frantically looked at each other, as if they were having a mental conversation with one another. Their expressions calmed, nodding to each other. They realized that now was not the time to engage in some petty beef that children get into. If they wanted to win, they needed to combine their power into one. At that moment, they were only focused on one thing: protecting Vergil.
Parrotmon roared out, the feathers on his forehead glowing brightly while another beam formed in its mouth.
“Vergil!”
The two Digimon were suddenly surrounded by a white aura , their Digicores syncing together harmoniously.
“XV-Mon!”
“Arresterdramon!”
“Jogress Digivolve to…” the sky pulsed as if it was almost alive. The energy that surrounded Vee and Gummy began to consume their entire bodies as they were enveloped into swirls of orange and blue that coalesced into a tornado. The winds were so strong that it knocked Vergil to his feet as he was sucked into the whirlwind. Parrotmon struggled, its attack being sucked into the tornado and shot out into the sky. It planted its talons firmly into the ground. Its eyes widened, wondering what was happening.
The tornado slowly dissipated, and from within its core, a brilliant white beam of light shot out into the sky, containing a dark figure. Wings expanded outwards, and with a flick, the energy that pierced the sky expanded in a dazzling display, forcing purple hazy clouds to be surrounded by bright, vibrant green, as if the field of the entire city was in the center of a hurricane.
The figure somersaulted to the ground, its yellow-gloved hand carrying the uninjured Vergil. The young man, who was shielding his eyes, opened up, patting himself down to make sure he was in one piece. The Digimon set him down to the ground. Vergil looked up, mouth agape, in utter amazement.
The Digimon that stood beside him was a tall, bipedal dragon with dark blue scales, red-pink eyes that were behind a pair of goggles, a pair of large blue wings, and a long tail that was very similar to Arresterdramon’s, but with a barbed cross at the end. The Digimon wore a gold-plated rubbery armor similar to the aforementioned Digimon, now with pronounced shoulder pads and armor plating on its sides. X-like symbols were patterned across its chest, forearms, and pants.
“Vee…Gummy? Is that you?” Vergil asked.
“Yes…and no.” The Digimon said, lifting his goggles, his eyes inundated with confidence. “We have merged to become one. Your determination, your support, and your resilience to never back down in the face of danger shook our very soul to the core, and now it’s our turn to respond to your heart. We'll call ourselves…” he shouted with pride, “ARRESTERVEEMON!!”
Parrotmon cawed and ascended high into the sky.
“You stay right there, Vergy~. We’ll wrap this up quickly.” With that, ArresterVeemon blasted up into the sky, following Parrotmon. The bird reared its head back, feathers glowing, and released another beam from its mouth. ArresterVeemon dodged it with ease, and his hand was suddenly engulfed in energy, forming a digital blade.
“Ignition Slash!” Diving towards Parrotmon, the attack hit, causing the giant parrot to yell out in agony as explosions ignited from the impact area.
The Digimon retailed, discharging a huge current of electricity all around as both an offense and a defense. ArresterVeemon smirked, then took off at high speeds. The electrical current homed in on him as he maneuvered from building to building, before reaching the top of a high-rise skyscraper with an antenna.
‘Perfect!’
Reaching onto the roof with a stylish flip, the armored dragon Digimon scaled to the top of the antenna. Reaching the zenith point, he performed a handstand with one finger, allowing himself to lose balance as he skydived. The strong electric current scaled up the antenna, until it reached the antenna’s electric rod, quickly being absorbed. The electric rod overloaded, causing a big explosion.
Thinking that the dragon got fried or caught in the explosion, the corner of Parrotmon’s beak cracked into a smirk, bellowing in laughter.
“Yo.”
Parrotmon screeched frantically, turning around to see ArresterVeemon staring at him upside down, arms and legs crossed with a cheeky smirk on his face. Before the parrot Digimon had a chance to unleash another attack, he was met with a face full of his elbow, then a swift kick to the belly. Parrotmon cried out in pain, falling below.
“Crimson Laser!” ArresterVeemon creates two blue balls of energy in front of him, then prepares an X-Laser from his chest to fire into spheres, coalescing into a tremendous beam wave that sends Parrotmon hurling towards Scramble Crossing below at high speeds, causing a tremendous explosion. When the dust settled, Parrotmon struggled in pain, trying to claw its way out of the giant crater before ultimately falling unconscious.
“Goddamn…” Coming out of cover, Vergil was left in utter amazement. “Fusion, huh? I guess there’s still a bunch of things I still need to learn about Digimon.”
ArresterVeemon descended towards Vergil, giving him a thumbs up. Crisis averted!
Upon arriving back at the campus, Vergil parked his motorcycle and sprinted across the grounds. From the way people were gaping at him, he realized that he was moving far faster than any normal person should be going. But he didn’t have time to slow down. If anything, he sped up.
In the aftermath of the battle, Vergil deactivated the Digital Field Generator. ArresterVeemon devolved back into Vee and Gummy. Before the three of them could celebrate, Vergil had lost track of time as he was late for class.Terribly late. He left it to them notifying AEGIS about the outcome of the fight and what to do with the unconscious Parrotmon. As he did, Vee mentioned to him about plans for tonight; Vergil could barely hear him, and he was too busy taking off on his motorcycle. He’ll inquire what he said later.
He hurtled around the corner of the science building, backpack flapping against his spine, and at the last split second, he saw an obstruction in his path. His instinct was to somersault over it, but he fought it and instead managed to break to a halt at the last instant. It wasn’t enough to avoid impact, however, because the “obstruction” had kept moving. Consequently, they collided, sending papers and books flying everywhere. Vergil pulled himself together quickly, looked up, and saw that he had slammed into the very last person with whom he’d want to have such a violent encounter.
"Oh, hey… wow! Maruki-sensei! Sorry about that!” Vergil immediately bent down to help the geography professor gather his fallen study materials.
“Where were you headed, Hoskins?” demanded an annoyed Maruki.
“To your class.”
“My class ended two hours ago. See? See me,” and he pointed at his head, “right in front of you?”
Vergil felt his face burning with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Maruki. I lost track of time.”
Maruki shook his head, and when he spoke it wasn’t scoldingly, but more with an air of disappointment. “I don’t think it’s time you’ve lost track of. I think maybe you’ve lost track of your life.” He held up individual fingers, counting off the instances as he went. “Your grades besides computer science have been steadily declining. You’re constantly late for class. You always appear exhausted. You look disheveled, like you’ve been in a fight.” He sighed. “Your research paper is still overdue…”
At that moment, Vergil saw a chance to solve two problems at once. He’d given no thought whatsoever to his paper for the past two weeks, but at this moment, he’d thought of an idea. A really good topic about human vulnerability that would impress his professor, since it focused on his country, the U.S.”
“I was planning on writing it on how and why the Southern United States’ mobile home population is vulnerable to severe weather.”
“ ‘Planning’ is not a major at this university. Finish that paper or I’m failing you.” He started to turn away, then paused and glanced at Vergil with a reflective look. “I studied abroad in America when I was your age. Was in a nasty hurricane. Better do your research. Get your facts straight! I’ll be looking forward to reading it.”
That final admonition left Vergil wondering just what the hell he was doing to himself, and why he was doing it. It wasn’t that he’d lost track of his life. It’s that he was trying to live a second life, and it wasn’t exactly meshing with the first.
But before he could dwell on it further, he noticed that the clock tower said it was one minute before 16:00.
“Shit!” he yelled “I’m late for work!”
And he was gone, running across the campus to reach his motorcycle.
On the roof of the science building, a figure stood alone at the edge, watching Vergil. A blue cape was fastened around their neck with a black belt as it blew in the wind. They were a Digimon, a bipedal black dragon with a ceratopsian-like head, with magenta lines on their body. A gold skewer-tipped tail swung around.
Their white eyes took on a purple hue as their zagged mouth grimaced, making a sucking noise with their jagged teeth.
“Hmph. Pathetic.”
End
MPC Number: 95A
Reward: Posts
Kiyoe Usami, professor of computer science at the college wing of the Shibuya School grounds, sipped her coffee as she meticulously graded her students’ recent assignment where they learned how to create databases from SQL, pull data from example databases she provided, and analyze the results. Not an easy assignment, but enough for her upper-level students to keep on their toes. She was in her early forties and had an air about her that managed to be both distracting and intense. In other words, she tends to be very focused on things that have nothing to do with her work.
She muttered under her breath, trying to figure out how one of her students managed to code this certain visualization together that exceeded her instruction, and was extremely relieved when a familiar voice called from her office door, “Usami-San!”
A man with brown, short unkempt hair and a small stubble underneath his chin wearing a lab coat knocked on the door. “Faculty brought in catering for lunch. Stocked to the brim with ramen and gyoza!”
“Oh have they? Usami asked distractingly. “I’ll join you in a minute, Maruki-san. I’m having some difficulties grading a student’s assignment.”
“Oh really?” His brow raised rather curiously. “Mind if I take a look?”
“If you insist,” invited Usami. “The last time I checked, you were a Geographer, not a computer science major.”
Maruki laughed. “They go hand and hand together on occasion.” After taking a look at the coding, his expression went from one of relaxed to one of utter bewilderment. “This is…experienced-level work… almost professional level! You must have a genius student that’s two years ahead of the curve.”
“Yes, my thoughts exactly,” Usami stated. “The student’s level of work has been phenomenal. So phenomenal that I’m not even sure if I should take points off for going against my instructions.”
“I’d say pass him with flying colors,” said Maruki. “It looks like he’s overqualified for your class. What’s the student’s name?”
“His name is Vergil Hoskins. The transfer student from America who decided to stay here,” Usami responded. Maruki’s elevated expression suddenly dropped into a frown.
“Something the matter?”
“No, not at all,” Maruki responded. “My experience with Hoskins-kun has been mostly positive. He’s brilliant…but lazy. He has a bright future ahead of him if he could ever get his mind into his work…”
“Ah, well. Young people.” Usami shrugged. “More often than not, they have their heads in the clouds.”
Vergil rode his motorcycle along a dizzying round ale that snapped him around Scramble Crossing and into the main intersection. Through the helmet he wore, he couldn’t help but instinctively try to ruffle his head, only to find him rubbing the top of his helmet. Once the light turned green, Vergil revved the handlebar and took off, into the mostly clear roads.
Even though he had gotten used to riding at such high speeds on a motorcycle, he had to admit he got a kick out of it. What he didn’t get a kick out of, however, was being late for class. Again.
It shouldn’t have been a problem. He’d left plenty early, but then he’d wandered into the middle of that daylight holdup, and one thing had led to another at AEGIS and… well, now here he was, trying to make up for the lost time by riding his way across town.
He had his laptop, homework, and textbooks snug in his backpack, which was, naturally, on his back. It lacked a certain “coolness” factor from a superhero point of view. Then again, he’d never really cottoned to the term “Super Hero” that the media loved to bandy about. It was too self-aggrandizing for his tastes.
As he drew near the campus, Vergil felt a pang of frustration over how things were going in his GIS class. Dr. Maruki had made it clear that he thought Vergil had tons of potential… potential, Maruki never hesitated to point out that Vergil consistently failed to live up to. Well, Vergil was determined to turn that around, starting this very day. No more missed classes, no more being late. It was time to get his priorities in order.
Granted, he knew he had responsibilities. Not only was he a Chosen Tamer, but he was also an agent of AEGIS. A private task force acting as gatekeepers and protectors of Tokyo, preventing wild Digimon from establishing themselves here to cause mayhem, as well as providing guidance to new Tamers that find themselves overwhelmed by the task of looking after Digimon that had just recently become their partners.
At first, he took pride and excitement in his newfound responsibilities. They were essentially like the Ghostbusters for Digimon. And with his partner Digimon, Vee and Gummy, getting restless at the time, he thought it was a good opportunity for all three of them to gain experience from peers that knew better than them. But now, that excitement had worn off, with the threat of bad Digimon getting increasingly more frequent. First, it was the Priest Twins they encountered back alongside Bezil, and now there’s a new threat of Digimon arising, one that’s more organized and seemingly after Gummy and Bezil’s son, Amper the hyperactive Pulsemon.
He pondered how strong his bond between himself, Vee, and Gummy had gotten. With the ability to reach up to the Ultimate level, the two brothers were now strong enough to protect the new things that mattered to them in their lives. They were stronger…thanks to their brotherly bond with him.
The fact that they had accomplished so much wasn’t what daunted or haunted him. It was that he couldn’t get movies out of his mind.
In movies, as sequels progressed, the hero always found himself facing greater and greater obstacles. Not that Vergil thought of his life as a movie: He wasn’t insane. He knew better than that. He knew that his life, however over-the-top it had become, was still his life.
But, what if life imitated art? Sometimes he would lie awake, imagining the stakes rising like floodwaters. What new dangers awaited him? What tremendous new challenges would be hurled at him? What dazzling new exploit would the witted Vergil be required to pull off next?
Vergil sighed, shaking his head as he pulled into the parking lot of the campus. He looked at the art wing, which suffered some damage from the night that Ogremon attacked a few weeks ago. The night where he met Amper.
“Just one more year left til graduation…” Vergil said to himself.
As he got off his motorcycle, his D-Watch made an audible notification noise, freezing him in his tracks. It was an alert from AEGIS. An Ultimate-Level Digimon was planning to appear near downtown Shibuya, at the Shibuya Crossing. Whoever responds to the call will have about 20 minutes to the area before the hostile Digimon appears.
Vergil stood still, waiting to see if some other AEGIS agent would take up the call to action and he would make it on time to Dr. Maruki’s class, but no response from any other active agents.
“Man, come on now…why today?” Vergil exhaled, clearly frustrated. “Someone…anyone… pick up this call.”
No dice.
All of Vergil’s thoughts and plans went out the window as his body took over and acted completely out of instinct. He bolted back to his motorcycle, put his helmet back, and put the keys into the ignition, revving his bike up.
“This is Vergil," he spoke into his D-Watch. “Responding to the emergency. Will be there in fifteen minutes. Give Vee and Gummy my coordinates.”
His heart sank. He’d prepared for this lecture and everything. He laughed in a defeated manner. “I am so going to fail Dr. Maruki’s class.”
And he sped off, down the street, and on his way to Shibuya Crossing. Briefly, he’d considered summoning Vee and Gummy here right now and hitching a ride on one of them since it’d be faster, but he didn’t want to be on the national news. A twenty-year-old American riding on the back of a monster from a parallel world…try explaining that to the authorities while putting your friends and colleagues at risk. Better just stick to normal means for the time being.
Upon arriving at Shibuya Crossing, he parked his motorcycle at an empty parking spot and sprinted, weaving through the crowded intersection. From the way people were gaping at him, he realized that he was moving far faster than any normal person should be going. But he didn’t have time to slow down. If anything, he sped up, until he arrived at the 109 Building.
He checked his D-Watch: five minutes remaining until the mayhem began. Now all that’s left was Vee and Gummy.
“Ooooooi, Vergil!” His eyes widened, a familiar voice blared from his D-Watch. Quickly acting, he rushed to one of the nearby alleyways as his Digivice became engulfed in a blinding light. Vergil shields his eyes, and two streams of light shoot out: one materializing as a Veemon wearing paladin-like adventurer armor with a black undersuit underneath, and the other, a goggled-wearing Gumdramon with a button-up red vest and a yellow scarf fluttering in the wind.
Despite the whirlwind that’s been going on in his adult life for the past couple of weeks, Vergil couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Well, well, well, if it ain’t Vergil ‘all work but still can’t find the time to get a new hairdo’ Hoskins," Gummy teased, chuckling. He offered the young man a fist bump. “How's it hanging?.”
Vergil reciprocated the fist bump, with Vee joining in as well. “Ehh, managing. And what’s wrong with my dreads? I just got them restyled a few days ago.”
“I dunno…you still look the same to me, as always.” Gummy wisecracked. “I’d like to see you in a new style for a change. You can only rock the asparagus look for so long before it gets stale, hehe.”
Vergil rolled his eyes, still trying to keep a smile on his face. “Oh, playing that card, huh? OK then, what about you? When are you going to grow a few more inches? Doesn’t look good when one of your sons is taller than you~”
“W-What did you say?!” argued Gummy, flying up to Vergil’s face to literally butt heads with him. "I’ll have you know that I’m not the little pipsqueak from before!”
“You right. You got a point there,” Vergil said, “but if a little girl saw you, you’d be mistaken for a marketable plushie.”
Gummy grimaced, gritting his teeth in annoyance.
“Ladies, ladies, I get it, you’re both pretty,” Vee stepped in, separating the two of them. “Let’s get back to more pressing matters at hand, yeah?”
Vergil and Gummy both nodded in agreement. All three of them turned their attention to the exit of the alleyway, into Shibuya Crossing. “So, Ultimate level Digimon is about to show up and wreck the whole place, endangering the lives of hundreds of human lives in the process.” Vee turned to Vergil. “Cool! I mean—bad. Very bad.”
“Yup," Vergil answered. “HQ didn’t holla out a reason why, but my money’s on another human-hating ass Digimon group.”
“Heh, my money’s on a wild stupid Digimon cruisin’ for a bruisin’", Gummy chimed in, putting his fists together.
Thirty seconds remained on Vergil’s timer. Maybe they should have used the time they had to formulate a plan instead of having a little banter. But when you’re around Digimon like these two, nothing’s bound to go according to plan.
“Uhhh, are we going to fight a Digimon here?” Vee asked nervously.
“Yup,” Vergil said firmly, fiddling with his digivice, his answer surprising the two Digimon.
“That’s…a nonchalant response,” Gummy replied rather worryingly.
“B-But every human here is in danger,” Vee responded.
“I know,” Vergil responded rather callously, “but where else can we go?” The two Digimon stare at him with a wide-eyed expression. The two brothers both looked at each other. The situation was dire, and they didn’t expect their Tamer to simply brush aside the expected risk of humans getting hurt, or worse, killed. But he was right…where else can they take the fight? Their best chance was to minimize damage as best they could to the surrounding populace.
The timer on Vergil’s D-Watch counted down to zero. Almost immediately, the neon billboards around Shibuya Crossing began to glitch out, grabbing the attention of a couple of citizens. On one of the nearby buildings, one of the largest billboards—which was live streaming a news broadcast— began to go haywire with electric currents, until a digital gate began to materialize.
“Aaaaaaaaand NOW!” Vergil held down two buttons on his D-Watch. A large pulse emitted from his Digivice, enveloping their surrounding area. The large populace throughout the scramble crossing vanished as a pseudo-Digital World field projected over the current area. Everything was largely the same, but largely consumed with overgrowth. Even the pavement underneath them had tall blades of grass sprouting.
“This is—" The ground began to shake with tremors; Vee put his immediate thoughts aside.
“Whatever is coming out of that portal, is a biggie.” Gummy walked ahead of the others. Vee quickly joined him, the two determined to protect their partner from whatever was coming their way.
The sound of a “CAW” was heard as a giant figure’s talons burst out of the portal, clenching both sides of the building as he flew out.
“That is…one…huge…chicken?” Vergil stepped back, in somewhat disbelief at what he was seeing.
The giant Digimon was pretty much around three stories tall. Its green feathers shook with each step, while everything it stepped on was crushed under its talons. It walked slowly, gauging its surroundings before its eyes pinned towards the trio, and the two feathers on its forehead began glowing.
“It’s a Parrotmon!” Vee shouted. “It can fly really, really fast to mow down enemies with its beak. It can also rain down thunderbolts from the two feathers on its forehead.” Vee brought his head down "But…usually they don’t like to battle, so why is this one…?”
“Less talking more DODGING!” Gummy shouted, Vee looked up just in time and dodged out of the way as bolts of lightning hit dead in the middle of the street.
Everyone found themselves on the ground, getting up as quickly as possible.
“Alright, whatever this place is, we can go all out without any worries. Let’s ruffle some feathers! Ready Vee?”
“You know it!”
The two dragons raced towards Parrotmon, being engulfed in an orange and blue light.
“Yeah, let’s wrap this up quickly,” Vergil added, with a slight annoyance. “Some people have places to be.”
The vital gauge on Vergil’s D-Watch filled up, fully initializing Digivolution.
“Veemon, digivolve to…” His form changed, growing in size. The data that had accumulated and surged throughout his body broke off. The markings on his face moved to accommodate the changes as his face grew longer. A horn erupted from his nose, gleaming. His chest became muscular, each muscle well-defined as his body flexed. Two lines intersected across his chest, forming an X. With white wings sprouting from his back, he clashed his fists together, spikes materializing on his knuckles. With a swift kick and a pose, his red eyes glared as he roared. “XV-mon!”
"Gumdramon, digivolve to..." The small purple dragon grew, shifted, and morphed. The data surrounding his body started to break off, revealing a Dragon Digimon wearing rubber Battle Armor along with black leather pants yellow gloves, and yellow foot bracers. His hammer tail transformed into a sharp tail in the shape of an anchor. On his back, his wings grew. Wiping the flame data out with his arm, he stood tall and proud. "Arresterdramon!"
As the two evolved Digimon closed in on Parrotmon, the Ultimate-level Digimon flapped its wings and took to the skies, ready to bring its talons down on them. Vee flew forward, extending his fists outwards
“Searing Fists!” He rushed and attacked with precise, well-judged punches, each one shooting out small infernos that exploded on contact with the Digimon’s talons. Parrotmon was thrown back from the impact of one hitting it between its legs.
Parrotmon quickly recovered, roaring back. It reared its head back, forming a ball of electric energy in its mouth. Its two long feathers flowed once more, seeming to add more energy to its attack.
To retaliate, Gummy charged two spheres in his hand. “Crimson Bang!” He threw them at the Digimon. Instead of impacting the giant bird, the two energy spheres stopped in front of it, confusing it. The Arresterdramon then snapped his fingers together, causing them to detonate, causing an explosion that enveloped Digimon.
“Hah! How was that, featherbrain?” Gummy laughed. His joy then turned to shock as the smoke settled, revealing that his attack barely scratched the Digimon, as it was still charging its attack. “Uh oh…”
Parrotmon released his attack. Gummy jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack. The electric ball crashed into a building, sending flying flashes and debris into the street. Gummy’s shoulder was slightly scorched, causing him to seethe in pain a bit.
Parrotmon expanded its wings and flapped them heavily, creating strong wind gusts that sent the two Digimon flying for a bit, before taking off high into the skies. Once recovered, Vee and Gummy quickly got into hot pursuit.
Soaring at high speeds, Gummy unleashed a barrage of Crimson Bangs, each sphere aimed dead-center at the Ultimate Digimon. But Parrotmon’s speed was too fast; it easily angled itself to dodge right through each energy ball before exploding. Angling it’s wings, it made a sharp right turn, flying towards the Arresterdramon as it shot a lighting bolt; Gummy tilted his body out of the way. The Parrotmon came charging at him at high speeds, ramming him.
Now at point-blank range, the Parrotmon’s feathers began to charge with electric energy again, making sure to not miss its mark again. Before it could fire its attack, Vee came from above at high speeds with a downwards kick, making the Parrotmon lose its grip on Gummy and send it downwards. Without a second to waste, the X on his chest began to glow blue as he launched a beam attack. “X-Laser!”
The laser collided and sent the Parrotmon further down below, now aimed to crash into one of the buildings to do further damage. However, the Parrotmon spread his wings. With one flap, it created a powerful updraft that propelled it upwards, ascending back to Vee and Gummy’s height.
“Man, it feels like it’s not being fazed by our attacks at all,” Vee said.
“Yeah,” Gummy agreed, “And it's way faster than us. Can't close in on it. Let’s see if it likes our pincer attack.” He began to charge another Crimson Bang, but this time, Vee kicked both of the energy spheres like soccer balls, aimed at the sides of Parrotmon. Gummy snapped his fingers, and the two spheres exploded, acting as a sort of flashbang, temporarily blinding the giant bird as it cawed painfully. The two dragons then flew around it in opposite directions, preparing their long-range attacks once again.
“X-Laser!”
“Crimson Bang!”
They attacked simultaneously, delivering a constant barrage of energy blasts from all directions, causing the Parrotmon to struggle to keep afloat.
On the ground below, Vergil watched as Vee and Gummy lit up the enemy like it was New Year's Day. So far, it looked as if his partner Digimon were going with swift tactics to not give Parrotmon a chance to retaliate since one good attack from Ultimate-leveled Digimon would the two flying below. And while he was relieved that the fight was in an AR field space that allowed them to fight without being worried about causing property damage or injuries, one thing puzzled him.
Why weren’t his partners taking this fight seriously?
It was obvious to him that the two of them could further evolve to Ultimate and defeat Parrotmon quickly, but they weren’t doing it for whatever reason.
“Why are they prolonging this?” Vergil muttered to himself. “Don’t they realize the longer they rely on hit-and-run tactics, the more pissed that Digimon will get?”
And unfortunately for Vergil, that would soon come true. As Vee and Gummy kept circling Parrotmon, the two would accidentally crash into one another, causing them to reel in pain
“Ugh! Watch it!” Gummy yelled, holding his head in pain.
“No, you watch it!" Vee growled. “Why would you even fly in the opposite direction of me?”
“I could say the same to you, dipshit! Always so eager to one-up me!”
“Na, that would be your role. I can’t help it that I’m more app-lic-able in the muscle department than you.”
“…you mean applicable, dumbass!”
“Hey! Take that back!”
“In your dreams, muscle-head!”
The two began to lock hands with one another, struggling to overpower the other. Seeing this from above, Vergil rolled his eyelids back in frustration, cursing under his breath.
As the dust from all the explosions dissipated, Parrotmon, who only suffered minor injuries saw the twin Digimon in their scuffle. It reared its head back once again, forming another ball of electric energy, then firing at the two distracted Digimon. Noticing the surge of power, the two Digimon ceased their bickering, turning their attention to the attack heading straight for them.
“Oh shi—“ was all the two said before they were engulfed in a fiery explosion, crashing down to the streets of Shibuya Crossing. Vergil shielded his eyes, protecting himself from any debris flinging in his direction. When he opened them, the next thing he saw were Vee and Gummy in separate craters.
“GUYS!” Vergil yelled out. He rushed to the two’s aid. They were in tremendous pain, but still alive. He sighed in relief, before furrowing his brow in disappointment. “Ayo what the fuck are you guys doing?! Why are you picking a fight with one another in the middle of a battle?! I mean, Jesus Christ, you’re both grown-ass Digimon. And Gummy, for fuck’s sake, you’re a father! You’re the last person I expect to act like that! Is this the example you want to set for Amper and Vinny?”
Gummy groaned, coughing a bit before weakly responding with a “Nooo…”
“And Vee… come on bro, you never let insults get under your skin,” Vergil continued. “Shit man, you typically laugh that stuff off. You’re the example of never letting bad stuff you here get under your skin.”
The XV-mon winced as he picked himself up, looking at Vergil with shame in his eyes. “You’re right…I’m sorry. I just wanted to impress you with our new skills since we haven’t seen each other in a while. Guess we still have some work to do…”
“Impress me?" Vergil repeated, tilting his head in confusion. “What do you—“
The ground began to tremble as the Parrotmon landed in front of them. Vergil slowly turned around, then took a step back as the large parrot Digimon cawed loudly, emitting thunder all around them.
With both of his Digimon down for the count, Vergil was the only thing standing between them and certain defeat. He panicked internally, and then exhaled deeply, thinking. Throughout all of his adventures, he was usually the one cowering when things didn’t go exactly to plan, only for Vee, Gummy, or someone else to save him at the last minute. Sure, between him and the Parrotmon, he was nothing but an ant. But he was an ant that wasn’t going to back down.
His eyes opened, now determined to protect his brothers. With a motion to his D-Watch, he summoned his hard light sword and got into a battle stance. The Parrotmon saw this, its laugh flooded the sounds of the digital streets. But Vergil didn’t waver. He stood his ground, ready to put it all on the line.
Vee and Gummy picked their heads up with wide-eyed expressions.
“What the HELL is Specs doing?” Gummy said, completely flabbergasted.
“Vergil…get out of here! Call for help” Vee grunted in pain, reaching out to him. Vergil turned around to his two partners, a smile forming across his face as he nodded to them.
But the smile quickly faded.
Parrotmon’s head came into focus in front of Vergil, his eyes glowing blue, ready for an attack.
Vee and Gummy frantically looked at each other, as if they were having a mental conversation with one another. Their expressions calmed, nodding to each other. They realized that now was not the time to engage in some petty beef that children get into. If they wanted to win, they needed to combine their power into one. At that moment, they were only focused on one thing: protecting Vergil.
Parrotmon roared out, the feathers on his forehead glowing brightly while another beam formed in its mouth.
“Vergil!”
The two Digimon were suddenly surrounded by a white aura , their Digicores syncing together harmoniously.
“XV-Mon!”
“Arresterdramon!”
“Jogress Digivolve to…” the sky pulsed as if it was almost alive. The energy that surrounded Vee and Gummy began to consume their entire bodies as they were enveloped into swirls of orange and blue that coalesced into a tornado. The winds were so strong that it knocked Vergil to his feet as he was sucked into the whirlwind. Parrotmon struggled, its attack being sucked into the tornado and shot out into the sky. It planted its talons firmly into the ground. Its eyes widened, wondering what was happening.
The tornado slowly dissipated, and from within its core, a brilliant white beam of light shot out into the sky, containing a dark figure. Wings expanded outwards, and with a flick, the energy that pierced the sky expanded in a dazzling display, forcing purple hazy clouds to be surrounded by bright, vibrant green, as if the field of the entire city was in the center of a hurricane.
The figure somersaulted to the ground, its yellow-gloved hand carrying the uninjured Vergil. The young man, who was shielding his eyes, opened up, patting himself down to make sure he was in one piece. The Digimon set him down to the ground. Vergil looked up, mouth agape, in utter amazement.
The Digimon that stood beside him was a tall, bipedal dragon with dark blue scales, red-pink eyes that were behind a pair of goggles, a pair of large blue wings, and a long tail that was very similar to Arresterdramon’s, but with a barbed cross at the end. The Digimon wore a gold-plated rubbery armor similar to the aforementioned Digimon, now with pronounced shoulder pads and armor plating on its sides. X-like symbols were patterned across its chest, forearms, and pants.
“Vee…Gummy? Is that you?” Vergil asked.
“Yes…and no.” The Digimon said, lifting his goggles, his eyes inundated with confidence. “We have merged to become one. Your determination, your support, and your resilience to never back down in the face of danger shook our very soul to the core, and now it’s our turn to respond to your heart. We'll call ourselves…” he shouted with pride, “ARRESTERVEEMON!!”
Parrotmon cawed and ascended high into the sky.
“You stay right there, Vergy~. We’ll wrap this up quickly.” With that, ArresterVeemon blasted up into the sky, following Parrotmon. The bird reared its head back, feathers glowing, and released another beam from its mouth. ArresterVeemon dodged it with ease, and his hand was suddenly engulfed in energy, forming a digital blade.
“Ignition Slash!” Diving towards Parrotmon, the attack hit, causing the giant parrot to yell out in agony as explosions ignited from the impact area.
The Digimon retailed, discharging a huge current of electricity all around as both an offense and a defense. ArresterVeemon smirked, then took off at high speeds. The electrical current homed in on him as he maneuvered from building to building, before reaching the top of a high-rise skyscraper with an antenna.
‘Perfect!’
Reaching onto the roof with a stylish flip, the armored dragon Digimon scaled to the top of the antenna. Reaching the zenith point, he performed a handstand with one finger, allowing himself to lose balance as he skydived. The strong electric current scaled up the antenna, until it reached the antenna’s electric rod, quickly being absorbed. The electric rod overloaded, causing a big explosion.
Thinking that the dragon got fried or caught in the explosion, the corner of Parrotmon’s beak cracked into a smirk, bellowing in laughter.
“Yo.”
Parrotmon screeched frantically, turning around to see ArresterVeemon staring at him upside down, arms and legs crossed with a cheeky smirk on his face. Before the parrot Digimon had a chance to unleash another attack, he was met with a face full of his elbow, then a swift kick to the belly. Parrotmon cried out in pain, falling below.
“Crimson Laser!” ArresterVeemon creates two blue balls of energy in front of him, then prepares an X-Laser from his chest to fire into spheres, coalescing into a tremendous beam wave that sends Parrotmon hurling towards Scramble Crossing below at high speeds, causing a tremendous explosion. When the dust settled, Parrotmon struggled in pain, trying to claw its way out of the giant crater before ultimately falling unconscious.
“Goddamn…” Coming out of cover, Vergil was left in utter amazement. “Fusion, huh? I guess there’s still a bunch of things I still need to learn about Digimon.”
ArresterVeemon descended towards Vergil, giving him a thumbs up. Crisis averted!
Upon arriving back at the campus, Vergil parked his motorcycle and sprinted across the grounds. From the way people were gaping at him, he realized that he was moving far faster than any normal person should be going. But he didn’t have time to slow down. If anything, he sped up.
In the aftermath of the battle, Vergil deactivated the Digital Field Generator. ArresterVeemon devolved back into Vee and Gummy. Before the three of them could celebrate, Vergil had lost track of time as he was late for class.Terribly late. He left it to them notifying AEGIS about the outcome of the fight and what to do with the unconscious Parrotmon. As he did, Vee mentioned to him about plans for tonight; Vergil could barely hear him, and he was too busy taking off on his motorcycle. He’ll inquire what he said later.
He hurtled around the corner of the science building, backpack flapping against his spine, and at the last split second, he saw an obstruction in his path. His instinct was to somersault over it, but he fought it and instead managed to break to a halt at the last instant. It wasn’t enough to avoid impact, however, because the “obstruction” had kept moving. Consequently, they collided, sending papers and books flying everywhere. Vergil pulled himself together quickly, looked up, and saw that he had slammed into the very last person with whom he’d want to have such a violent encounter.
"Oh, hey… wow! Maruki-sensei! Sorry about that!” Vergil immediately bent down to help the geography professor gather his fallen study materials.
“Where were you headed, Hoskins?” demanded an annoyed Maruki.
“To your class.”
“My class ended two hours ago. See? See me,” and he pointed at his head, “right in front of you?”
Vergil felt his face burning with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Maruki. I lost track of time.”
Maruki shook his head, and when he spoke it wasn’t scoldingly, but more with an air of disappointment. “I don’t think it’s time you’ve lost track of. I think maybe you’ve lost track of your life.” He held up individual fingers, counting off the instances as he went. “Your grades besides computer science have been steadily declining. You’re constantly late for class. You always appear exhausted. You look disheveled, like you’ve been in a fight.” He sighed. “Your research paper is still overdue…”
At that moment, Vergil saw a chance to solve two problems at once. He’d given no thought whatsoever to his paper for the past two weeks, but at this moment, he’d thought of an idea. A really good topic about human vulnerability that would impress his professor, since it focused on his country, the U.S.”
“I was planning on writing it on how and why the Southern United States’ mobile home population is vulnerable to severe weather.”
“ ‘Planning’ is not a major at this university. Finish that paper or I’m failing you.” He started to turn away, then paused and glanced at Vergil with a reflective look. “I studied abroad in America when I was your age. Was in a nasty hurricane. Better do your research. Get your facts straight! I’ll be looking forward to reading it.”
That final admonition left Vergil wondering just what the hell he was doing to himself, and why he was doing it. It wasn’t that he’d lost track of his life. It’s that he was trying to live a second life, and it wasn’t exactly meshing with the first.
But before he could dwell on it further, he noticed that the clock tower said it was one minute before 16:00.
“Shit!” he yelled “I’m late for work!”
And he was gone, running across the campus to reach his motorcycle.
On the roof of the science building, a figure stood alone at the edge, watching Vergil. A blue cape was fastened around their neck with a black belt as it blew in the wind. They were a Digimon, a bipedal black dragon with a ceratopsian-like head, with magenta lines on their body. A gold skewer-tipped tail swung around.
Their white eyes took on a purple hue as their zagged mouth grimaced, making a sucking noise with their jagged teeth.
“Hmph. Pathetic.”
End
