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πββ&, πββ&ββ, β‘ββ§« πββ&ββ (Sci) [Mission Companion]
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Post by darkblade on Aug 31, 2016 4:12:10 GMT
In truth, the Ebemon wasn't looking for Isaac to be 'clever' at this point. No, all he cared to do was use this method to forcibly examine the Impmon's data, by any means necessary... for science!
When Isaac disappeared from Ebemon's sight, he gave a curious tilt of the head. He felt more of a hot blast of wind than a damaging explosion, and when Isaac spoke up a few feet behind him, the Ebemon's head turned a full 180 degrees to face him, the rest of his body following a moment after. "My, my, wouldn't you be curious as well?" The mechanical mega's cord flexed next to him, a red spark at the end. "Curious, what this creature saw in another?" The other wires spread wide, making it far more difficult to see a way to sneak around, the Ebemon approaching once more. His tone did not suggest frustration, but rather a cat playing with a cornered rat.
Above, the sparking cord would look to lunge, in a feint, as another would swoop from the side and try and constrict around him, to try and pluck the imp off of the ground. "C'mon, I won't hurt you too much. I just want to see what makes you tick..."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Aug 31, 2016 21:16:48 GMT
Oh, and he just had to do the Terminator turn, too! Fan-freaking-tastic. By now, Isaac had stopped being surprised by the living horror movie he had somehow stumbled into. Each new bit of terror was met with another 'of course' tossed onto his panicked mental rambling. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if Ebemon Digivolved into some sort of Xenomorph and started chasing him across the kernel sphere.
He tried to juke left and right, but sadly there wasn't much room to escape. Ebemon had spread himself very widely across an all-too-cramped space, and there really was no room for Isaac to squeeze past. He was struck by an idea, and used Dark Ascent to take to the skies when Ebemon feinted forward, but his avoid-anything-at-all-costs strategy meant he vastly over-committed to the dodge. The feinting Ebemon was able to snag him easily, snatching him out of the air and leaving him trapped there.
It was time to get desperate.
"And I want to know what makes you tick, too!" he blurted. He had asked many questions, and demonstrated a ton of intellectual curiosity in his time in the kernel sphere. This was a super longshot of a plan, but at this point he was willing to try anything. "And how this place works. I don't just wander to fight. I do it to find out more about the world about me, and this isn't like any world I've seen before. I only didn't mention it before because I didn't even want to dream of comparing my meager talents to your gifts. So please, let me learn from you, before you try to learn from me."
He could only hope this last appeal to Ebemon's ego and brilliance would make its mark.
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Post by darkblade on Aug 31, 2016 23:07:59 GMT
Indeed, it took little effort and only a hint of strategy to pluck that Impmon out of the air, tightly bound in one of his wires. Really, all the Ebemon had to do to proceed was give one jab, one poke of that wire, and he would be well on his way to the next step...
... But he paused. Isaac's outburst was unexpected at this point: not one of acceptance or fear, but one where he tried to accent his own scientific mind. The machine curiously tilted his head, and even turned Isaac once over, as if trying to see if there was anything else up with this Digimon. His words were of some interest, but nothing made the spark of that cord stop. "Oh, we will have plenty of time for that down the line. But I think you need to get a little more intimately involved, before I divulge anything like that."
"The D-Reaper is coaching it - Isaac!"
There would be no hesitation, no time to buy to try and stall for another warp, as the wire would push forward, and attempt to 'stab' right into Isaac's chest. Should it make contact, his vision would temporarily flicker like a TV filter, and Datamon's voice would completely disappear from his head. And though he would still be seeing Ebemon and the kernel, he would notice the shell itself grow transparent, revealing a dark, red, goopy sky, and scorched earth below, covered in the muck of the D-Reaper. Was this reality, or a vision?
Provided it got this far, Isaac would have no way to know...
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Sept 2, 2016 4:17:19 GMT
It seemed like Isaac had reached Ebemon, even if just a bit. A moment's pause could make all the difference, especially as he felt himself regaining the internal fortitude he needed for another warp. Sure, he was currently being examined under the flickering light of Ebemon's wire, but at least he was being examined instead of straight-up impaled. At this point, he was willing to do anything to buy himself that critical few moments of time. He even considered outright asking Ebemon to make him an apprentice, if only so he could continue reporting on the D-Reaper's activities from inside while waiting for the group to arrive. He would surely discover all sorts of disgusting horrors, but he could keep being a mole, and with just a little bit more info maybe Datamon could whip up a breakthrough.
Unfortunately, the miracle never happened. Ebemon had come to a decision, and it wasn't one Isaac liked. He heard Datamon try to scream out a warning about the D-Reaper, but there was barely any time to hear.
Ebemon was a machine. A machine with the processing power of an alien's brain, for starters. A machine with enough experience and sheer might to have ascended to Mega level. His reflexes were far beyond Isaac's level, especially when Isaac was too bound to get proper room for a dodge. The first time he had gotten lucky. The second time, Ebemon hadn't gone for a killshot. But three strikes had come and went, and before Isaac could even see the wire coming he was out. Datamon went silent, and Isaac's world went red.
He considered crying out to Datamon, but what would be the point? Datamon was connected to his brain. If there wasn't even the pleasant sound of radio feedback, he was long gone. That left three possibilities. Tech failure on Datamon's part? Horribly unlikely, he would've said something. A disconnection? If that was the case, trying to reach him wouldn't be worth Isaac's time and energy. But the third and most terrifying possibility was that, instead of Datamon being hooked up to his brain, a being far more sinister took his place.
Isaac decided to think of fluffy, happy bunnies, and push any and all thoughts of secret plans and humanity out of his mind. If these guys wanted to crack his brain, he would make it as hard on them as humanly possible.
His movements were slowed, both from the dull ache spreading through his body and from the intense focus he kept on not telling the D-Reaper anything. As he looked around, he noticed that the kernel sphere had turned from white to hollow. What did this mean? What did any of it mean? "What did you do to me?" he finally groaned, voice somewhat strained and hoarse.
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Post by darkblade on Sept 4, 2016 18:20:04 GMT
"Oh, isn't that much better, dear Impmon?"
The writhing of the rookie Digimon seemed to go completely unnoticed by the machine Digimon, as he saw this situation as so utterly positive, so beneficial to his newfound roommate that there couldn't be anything wrong with him other than the temporary discomfort of the cord. And after a moment's connection, it would be pulled away, but this would not change Isaac's perspective. The code had already been integrated into his system, the alter to his perception taking full hold.
He now saw this kernel the same way that the Ebemon saw it. And as Isaac's eyes darted around, the Ebemon's expression seemed to be absolutely elated, especially as Isaac perked up with that question. "Oh, isn't it a delight? For someone as curious and open as yourself, this is a glorious view. Imp, you are now seeing this entity for what it is, and the true workings of its inner construct. Or, shall I say, you are now a special part of it."
His words were vague at the moment, but nonetheless offered a scary perception of the situation at hand. Datamon's voice had completely cut out, his running commentary no longer accompanying or leading Isaac through it. At worst, this meant that his consciousness had directly become a part of this mess in the blood ocean. But that was probably a distant thought from the rookie digimon, for the time being.
"But now you can see, how it is under its barrier. That mass is but a thin bubble, examining everything underneath it in complete detail." If Isaac would look down, he would see red vines strewn about the earth, over every rock, up every tree, slowly eating away and rotting the plant life, and even the lifeless sediment around them. "It can learn, not only Digimon, but of the land itself. And it grows, and grows..."
To what limit would it consume the land? Even the Ebemon didn't know... but Isaac would feel it now. Somewhere, in his head, he would feel the vast depth of what this mere 'program' wanted to accomplish, even burning at his own mind, trying to figure out what made the Impmon 'tick'.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Sept 8, 2016 20:47:52 GMT
You are now a special part of it.
You are now a special part of it.
β‘β‘β βββ β β‘β¬₯ β ⬧pβββββ pβββ§« β‘β ββ§«.
The words sat in Isaac's stomach like a lead balloon, leaving him to wonder just what the hell that meant. Was he going to start getting turned into one of those D-Reaper beings? No, it didn't seem to work that way. This wasn't a zombie. Was it impacting his presence of mind? At least for now he seemed to be all there, and he figured magical D-Reaper mind control would at least start making him less hostile to the Reaper. Did it do something to his code? But he was really a human! Would it get in his DNA too, or just his Digimon form? Would he be able to purify the spirits, or was this something deep, dark, and innate? Maybe it was just a metaphorical statement, like "you are now a special part of our great company for selling the most donuts at the bake sale." Then again, metaphors didn't usually cause you to black out and start seeing through previously glassy membranes.
Wait, could he go through the sphere now, if he really wanted to? He decided not to test that theory thanks to the lack of solid ground below him, but it was somewhat comforting knowing escape could very well be in reach.
It was strange seeing the D-Reaper as less of an infinite depth and more of a slowly boring parasite. When he was being delivered by the first Pendulum Foot it looked like a vast sea. Now it looked like a thin puddle, albeit one slowly and inevitably sopping into the ground beneath. An obvious, terrifying infinity had been replaced with a more slow burn infinity, as Isaac realized that there wasn't a stray piece of land here that was left untainted by the Reaper. He could only assume that the red roots stretched out of his eyesight, threatening to consume the entire landscape beyond. This wasn't just a problem for the Sea of Blood, a demon inside one Digimon's consciousness. This was a threat that could potentially go global, and he and the people he loved most were at front row seats.
He felt a burning in his mind, and he was reminded that he wasn't alone in his thoughts. He tried to force his mind to go blank, to not give the Reaper anything to work with, but how was he supposed to do that when he saw figures approaching in the distance? They were just specks, so for now it was easy to dismiss them as Pendulum Feet twirling through the air, but deep in his heart he knew there was only one group which could be approaching.
Keep saying nothing. Don't make a move. Let infinity consume your thoughts, so that there would be no room for anything else. It was a strange concept to meditate on, the idea of the D-Reaper spreading to every corner of the Digital World, but by shackling his mind to the immensity of the D-Reaper's mission he hoped to leave his mind completely blanked otherwise.
It certainly took guts to try and turn infinity against itself.
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Post by darkblade on Sept 11, 2016 3:16:15 GMT
"Ah, yes... even I was taken aback by just how vast this place was."
For conversing with someone who hadn't even said a word, Ebemon's response would seem remarkably topical to the Impmon's current thoughts. If the mega was capable, there would have been a giant grin across his metallic face. The machine, however, had no true stake in what was happening to Isaac: as always, he looked on as an observer, as Isaac now attempted to distract himself from the D-Reaper, in an effort to try and stave his mind from such thoughts.
But it wouldn't be so simple: this entity was interested in far more than Isaac's surface thoughts. What started as a burning in the back of the mind would quickly overtake his form, like a burst of heat coursing through his body, from the top of his head through the tips of his toes, examining every inch of his structure, flicking all of the buttons as they would become available-
Ah. What were these? Ebemon's era was definitely unfamiliar with Isaac's type of Digimon, but in that quick scan, Isaac's own fractal code would flash before him, each spirit's symbol flashing in front of him... save for the Impmon, that was.
Human... so closely integrated with Digimon...
A digital voice would scrape through Isaac's head. And as the Ebemon looked on in interest, there would be definite motion below, a new mass of red goop building up in the far base of the D-Reaper. It pulsed, it contorted... and out from the depths, would arise a black dragon's claw, stained in the red vines of the D-Reaper. Like shedding from a cocoon, a Devidramon would tear itself free. Or at least, something in the shape of a Devidramon. Its normal red claws were died black, and its black, leathery skin was replaced with red, and a texture more sufficient of the D-Reaper. Most notable, perhaps, was its lack of a proper mouth, its surface smooth. It didn't hold back its cry, though: tensing its arms and standing on its hind legs, it let out a monstrous shriek that would echo throughout the D-Reaper's field.
"Ah... you must be of some interest, if its able to dig that far." The Ebemon's comment was followed by a chuckle, as he looked towards Isaac. Clearly nothing about him was sacred, a topic of interest for both him and the entity. "What do you think?"
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Sept 11, 2016 3:45:55 GMT
The burning was overtaking Isaac, spreading through every square inch of his body. His eyes started to water from the sheer pain in his body. His limbs started to grow numb and weak, forcing him to fall on his hands and knees. His head felt like it was splitting open, and only his refusal to give the D-Reaper the satisfaction of his screams helped him hold his tongue. He quivered as he remained prone, forced to witness all of his mental shields crumble beneath the enormity of the D-Reaper. It didn't even take much force, even Isaac's strong determination amounting to an ant challenging the sun. He pushed back against the D-Reaper, and the D-Reaper effortlessly knocked his thoughts away. Soon it had permeated his mind, his body, the very code that made up this form.
And then it found the secrets he refused to tell it.
Isaac turned deathly pale as the D-Reaper's voice echoed through his head. All this time, he had hoped the D-Reaper somehow failed to catch on. He had hoped that the Pendulum Feet's offering was just that, a bit of tribute, and that his own suffering wouldn't have any impact on that of the group around him. He had hoped their secrets would go unspilled, that their presences would be protected, and that perhaps his sacrifice would buy them time as he dove right into Ebemon's world. How foolish was he? He had nearly fried his own brain trying to keep the D-Reaper out, and it had dissected his thoughts without a shred of effort. It let him build himself up, and then when the game got stale it brought Isaac's hopes to a merciless end.
Isaac started to realize just how pointless his attempts at trying even were. The D-Reaper was the hive mind. It was legion. It would have known as soon as he and his friends entered its domain. It would have known he and Elliot were somehow distinct from the rest. It would have already seen everything it needed to know, despite any and all of Isaac's attempts at deception. And yet, it still humored Isaac. Was even Datamon's presence, Isaac's one lifeline, just another one of the D-Reaper's allowances?
Realizing that he had been useless from the start sapped any determination Isaac may have had left.
What was he supposed to do when the D-Reaper began bubbling and churning? Sit by and watch yet another tragic circumstance he couldn't do anything about. His body burned with a cold fury, but he was too weak to stand, let alone muster the energy to bring it to bear. When it took his form, but with the colors inverted, he couldn't even be surprised. Ebemon had warned him of the possibility at least ten times, some implied and some outright stated. The D-Reaper had already killed him today. It was only fitting that it would put his corpse on parade while waiting for his friends to arrive. He had blown his chance to escape. He had blown his chance to worn the others. He had blown any opportunity to be useful. Now he was forced to stare into the eyes of the icon of his sins, a behemoth of his own making.
Isaac tried to stand against it, peeling himself off of the ground and sliding into a fighting stance. However, it was clear that he had no true ability to fight the beast, nor even any will left to stand against it. His stance was all for show, more a last desperate attempt to rejuvenate himself than actual resistance.
The D-Reaper had finally broken Isaac's will.
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Post by darkblade on Sept 13, 2016 23:17:28 GMT
Yes... feel it... feel that absolute nothingness, Isaac.
The voice resounded in Isaac's head, even as he spiraled into despair. Ebemon looked on with a curious, tilted head, as the once-curious Impmon now barely had the energy to stand, the only expression in the rookie's eyes a mix of fury and helplessness. Even the most oblivious onlooker would see that Isaac's stance, taken by instinct, was completely hollow, without a single serious thought behind them. Seeing this, the Ebemon gave a chuckle, a 'click' hitting his head as he looked down at the Imp.
"I see... it didn't care anything about your mind or your skill at all. The D-Reaper just didn't know what you 'were', yet." The machine circled around, the whir of its processor filling the confined space. "Interesting, though... independent forms of Digimon, taken up by a human? Ah... but a human seems rather inefficient for the task. Emotional, prone to mistake, and unable to fully cooperate and grasp the depths of the data beyond..."
He turned to face the abomination, which was currently stretching out its wings, as if testing its own capacity. "But the entity understands its form perfectly, in an instant. And not just that, but how to improve upon it... it may even have use for your other forms! Oh, the experiments we could have!"
A laugh escaped the machine. However, the laugh soon quelled, the machine moving to corner Isaac once more, slowly inching forward to him. "Although... you. You, and everyone you brought..." His visor flicked red, the thoughts of the D-Reaper further taking hold. "Are a threat to this place. Tell me... what use are you, now that it's taken what it desires? At the very least..."
Ebemon's words came through, after a moment of deathly silence:
"You aren't needed in the kernel."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Sept 21, 2016 1:09:06 GMT
Emotional? Yep. That had certainly described Isaac until his world was basically shattered. Prone to mistake? Certainly. He had been walking on eggshells this whole time, and each new decision he made lead to him cursing himself for not coming up with a better alternative. Incapable of cooperating? Isaac could only think back to the utter mess that was his "rescue attempt" and sigh in irritation. If they just talked to each other and came up with a proper plan, none of this would have happened. If he wasn't so terrified of losing Elliot and Maia, he would've still been stewing about his irritation from the rest. All three of the Ebemon's judgments rung true, Isaac's stance dropping a little bit with each one. Soon he was left standing slack, staring at the floor as if afraid it would give way from underneath his feet.
The verdict was passed, and while the sentence was unclear it was exactly the answer Isaac feared most. At best, he would be ejected into the Sea of Blood and eaten away. At worst, he would be melted down into biomass. The inquisitor hovered inches before him, demanding what use he still was.
"I-"
For once in his life, Isaac had nothing to say. He may not have been able to talk his way out of every situation, but at least he used to be capable of putting up a fight. The Isaac before today would've been dragged out of the kernel kicking and screaming, ranting at Ebemon all the way. Now? How was Isaac supposed to argue for his own worth when he couldn't even see it? Everything he had tried backfired, only making his friends' situations worse. First the D-Reaper had a captive. Now it had a new weapon. It may have also had plenty more information about the human world. How much did his mere presence ruin? What kind of worth could be argued in favor of there?
At this point he was just a burden. But maybe, just maybe, there was something else he could burden.
"What if you're wrong?" he asked, neck craning up as he refocused his gaze on the Devidramon before him. His voice wasn't his own. It was small, and quiet, and monotone, any fiery defiance ground beneath the weight of the D-Reaper. But at least it was something. "I don't know if you've ever had this chance before. To test the creation against the prototype. Directly, one on one, nothing in the way. What if it turns out, I'm still better? What if I can win?" It was unclear if Isaac was trying to convince Ebemon or if he was trying to hype himself up. Regardless, the luminous cocoon of Digivolution started to envelop Isaac. "You've got nothing to lose. If I win, you just make an even better one. If I lose, I'm out of your hair anyway." Isaac's voice deepened as the cocoon solidified, Impmon's silhouette stretching and expanding into that of a serpentine dragon. The deepness masked the quiver in Isaac's voice wonderfully.
The cocoon didn't shatter, or morph, or do anything cool. It simply faded, leaving Devidramon vulnerable in the middle of the room. He had clearly signed his death warrant. The only question left was how long it would take to be delivered. "What do you think?"
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Post by darkblade on Sept 21, 2016 3:22:03 GMT
Well, well... Isaac wasn't quite done here now, was he? Though it seemed for a moment that he was resigned to his fate, there was soon some life still in his words. Was it feeble resistance, or was Isaac actually still trying to appeal to the scientific mind before him? If so, it was an interesting temptation, and one that the Ebemon would have liked to see: the D-Reaper's own creation, going point-for-point with the Devidramon at hand. It seemed simple: all he would have to do was pass through the kernel and spar, and perhaps look for his own way out.
If he was speaking to Ebemon alone, this would have been enough. But...
Insolent... a free spirit has no value to me.
The D-Reaper would not be pleased with that evolution, and a cracking red aura would radiate painfully through his body. In perhaps an even less impressive display than his evolution, Isaac would be left, once more, an Impmon resting on the floor of the kernel. "My, my... you're not what we're looking for at all. Especially someone as easily misled as you." The machine gave a chuckle, and at once, the image around them vanished, the kernel around them once more a solid white. In fact, it gained a light transparency, a Gargoylemon and an Arresterdramon visibly fighting at a distance. They had not moved an inch from this prison at all.
What Isaac had just seen was an image inside the biomass. "But you were right on one thing... what if we are wrong? What if that construct we've created isn't complete? It isn't inconsequential to attempt something that powerful... I think it needs its source on hand." Before even finishing that sentence, the Ebemon would let forth a shock from his wires, just to keep Isaac still for the moment, and then try and pluck him off the ground.
Below, the mass would bubble. The Devidramon's claw broke up through the surface, and affixed its gaze on the kernel - on Isaac, and flew upwards, claws gripping at the sides of the ball. Beneath Isaac, the formless face grew a thin, red line right at the mouth, before opening, revealing a thick mass of the same, red D-Reaper that coated the ground beneath.
"Just remember. You helped think of it."
Assuming Isaac was gripped, he would be thrown down, the floor of the kernel breaking away; assuming he wasn't, a section of the floor would simply vanish under his feet, left above that open maw.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Sept 21, 2016 4:19:23 GMT
For a second, Isaac thought he had reached Ebemon yet again. At the very least it had paused to consider his offer. Unfortunately, this wasn't just a two person conversation. The third party had decided to remind Isaac of its presence, and it was not happy. Isaac's entire body was engulfed in red, wispy tendrils coiling around him as he let out a horrid scream. Devidramon's form began to flicker and fade, and Isaac's brain underwent heavy stress to try and find a human form that simply didn't exist in this program. After a few torturous seconds of searching his body found compromise, reverting straight back to Impmon as Isaac fell onto his hands and knees. He panted heavily, trying his best to blink back tears of pain. He tried to lift his head to look Ebemon in the eye, but his body gave way as he fell back to the kernel's floor with a thud.
It was no trouble at all for Isaac to be re-snared, the shock forcing a few jolts out of his inert body. If not for the groan of pain, it would've been an indistinguishable reaction from that of a corpse. The struggle was completely gone from Isaac, not even a defiant word as Ebemon dangled him over the floor of the kernel.
Not even D-evidramon's claw suddenly and loudly crashing through the kernel sphere caught Isaac's attention. Isaac's doppelganger had emerged from the goo, this time for real instead of within Isaac's visions. Or was it still all a vision? Judging by the "mouth" full of red goo that was opening as it hefted up the sphere, Isaac was about to find out. He couldn't even muster up the urge to push against his restraints as Ebemon held him over the freshly-cracked hole in the kernel, wires pulling away at an agonizing pace. It was only a matter of time before he let go.
He could hear them all. Maia. Elliot. Alicia. Iko. Shi. Tadashi. Kouhei. A man he refused to acknowledge. He could hear them murmur among themselves. Concern? Mourning? Disappointment? It all blurred together in his ears, growing louder until it formed an impenetrable white noise. The static-like noise intensified, ringing like a drill in Isaac's brain before suddenly being cut off by a warm, wet feeling. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt cemented shut. He tried to move, but every muscle in his body was numb. The pain upon first landing was immense, but it dulled down to an ever-present ache as soon as he had settled in to his new prison.
It was still. It was quiet. It was dark, darker, yet darker still.
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