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Our Reflections [Isaac/Ask]
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Post by darkblade on Mar 27, 2017 1:31:06 GMT
Request to all Virus or Dark Area Digimon!
A dark item has been placed within one of our forest shrines.
Please remove and destroy this item. Inquire within for details!
Well, this definitely wasn't a normal day in the Digital World for Luke or Iko. Just a few hours prior, Iko had spotted this poster pinned on the outside of the Spartan Training Grounds' entrance gate, but the details simply amounted to being given a compass and the promise of a rather paltry reward. Nonetheless, the wolf had taken up the task (as Iko had said, "Well, I'm the only Dark Area Digimon you'll see in months."), and Luke followed close behind. Though as they entered the woods, the compass did prove to be more than just a glass piece of junk:
A glowing purple stone seemed to be locked onto something, pulling the needle insistently in one direction. Well, at the very least, it wouldn't be hard to get where they needed to be! "Iko, careful, you're veering off to the left again."
"Well, excuse me for not wanting to be ankle-deep in mud." He chuckled back. In his champion form, the Ankomon formed one emerald blade from his right wrist, using it to cut through the heavy brush. Unlike his partner, Iko was used to much harsher conditions, which made him want to follow a more natural path. But as he heard Luke's complaint, he adjusted his path, before abruptly coming to a stop: "Black caps." He motioned to the mushrooms, mere feet in front of them. "Some medical genius figured out how to use it in something or other, but its worth nothing more than an annoying rash... lot of dead woods around here. Maybe we should work our way around?"
Luke shook his head. "Sorry." He held the compass in front of him, in view of the wolf. In fact, it pointed right towards the dead part of the woods, and as Luke moved the compass left and right, the needle moved slightly, following something closely enough to have the needle turn just enough to think it might be in those decrepit woods.
"Well, it might make sense... if the artifact is here, it might be making a bit of a tumor in the woods." Iko shrugged, and then motioned Luke to follow. "Let's head around, anyway. Keep your eye out for a way in not filled with those mushrooms."
"Hmph. How do you know these woods so well, anyway?" Luke rolled his eyes, as he once more followed his partner. Iko just gave a grin: "Well, for one, I'm a fair bit older than you. And two, you don't get very far if you don't know the gritty."
"Oh, right, you're older. I believe I saw you hatch-"
"Heh. And talk fluently the moment I was in-training?" Iko cut him off, Luke looking on in stunned silence. "C'mon, Digimon aren't that simple. Now let's get going, before something catches our scent out here. Maybe that spooky Impmon will be on our trail!"
Luke could at least share in that chuckle. Just how bad could a rookie haunting be?
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Mar 29, 2017 5:26:43 GMT
While Maia and Elliot were still there, Isaac did his best to try and keep strong. "Don't worry," he said. "This can't last long," he said. "I'll find a way out of this, and then you'll have me back before you know it," he said. Even when Elliot worried, he kept up a smile so sure that there would be no choice but to accept it. After all, what kind of big brother would Isaac be if he let Elliot get all bent out of shape over this? The least he could do was minimize any pain coming Elliot's way, if only for a tiny bit of time.
Now, all on his lonesome, he was faced with a completely different story. When Maia and Elliot left, Isaac was forced to acknowledge that it could be the last time he ever saw them. What good would he be as a boyfriend if he was half Maia's size and made of data? What use of a brother would he be if he couldn't even spend time with Elliot, lest he cause a giant governmental scare? Hell, the amount of people that Isaac didn't even get to say goodbye to was making his blood boil. He was pissed. He was terrified. Above all else he was determined, if only because he couldn't bear to see what consequences awaited if he remained in this form for too long.
For this reason, Isaac had taken up residence in the Server Woods. Nobody really came around here due to the distance from civilization and rumors of hauntings, so it meant that it was exceedingly unlikely that Isaac would have to face somebody he knew. It was dark and lacking in reflective services, so he would be spared the indignity of having to look at itself. It was also quite dangerous, so if push came to shove he could throw himself into all kinds of trouble in order to see if it would force a degeneration. If desire didn't do the trick, maybe fear would. If fear didn't do the trick? Perhaps harm could step up to the plate. It would suck really badly, but it would all be worth it if he could just shed this form . . .
Of course, even the best laid plans were prone to failure. In Isaac's case, it seemed that a pair of very familiar voices were making their way over to his position. Why was it that the exact thing he didn't want to happen had to end up happening? In his frustration he went to hide behind a tree until the voices left, only to hear what one of them had to say. "Maybe that spooky Impmon will be on our trail!"
It was unmistakable. That was Iko's voice. The Digimon had been somewhat of a mentor to Isaac in the past, and part of him really wanted assistance in getting out of this predicament. Maybe if he approached Iko about it the right way, he could get a proper hand. For the time being, however, he remained hidden behind the treeline. "Yeah, a spooky Impmon. Real terrifying, isn't it?" he asked, voice positively dripping with sarcasm. With that said he poked out from the tree, making the most bored, sarcastic ghost sounds imaginable. |
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Post by darkblade on Mar 29, 2017 23:55:45 GMT
"Yeah, a spooky Impmon. Real terrifying, isn't it?"
Wait, what? Just a moment after Iko parsed that joke, a familiar-sounding voice filled the air. Iko's ear twitched as he looked over his shoulder, Luke turning around to face this new 'threat'. And there it was, an Impmon. An Impmon making sarcastic ghost gestures towards them. What was first mild shocked turned to laughter, Iko gripping his ribs at the sheer timing of it all! "Aha... alright, alright, good joke." He shook his head, clearing a tear from his eye. Alright, hopefully the Impmon wasn't being serious!
"Well, at least you don't seem like a ghost. That said, what are you doing all the way out here?" Luke started to ask, but Iko already put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Impmon take to dark places like this. Honestly, there's nothing weird about it. Still..."
Well, this was awkward. Iko and Luke had never seen Isaac in his 'rookie' form before, their previous bout having involved Yasyamon and Orochimon. And one spooky joke wasn't enough to tip either of them off to his identity - both of them just thought he was a local Digimon! "Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but have you seen anything 'weird' over on the other side of this dead patch?" Iko pointed over his shoulder, to the blackened, fungal-infested woods. "Apparently there's some shrine or something-or-other that popped up recently, and we were sent to try and figure out what its all about. But it looks like just a bunch of poisonous undergrowth... if you know a way around, that'd be great!"
Huh, Iko's little stint as a diplomat made him a bit better at these kinds of conversations. Luke gave a nod, as Iko wrapped up his point. "Heck, even if not, why don't you come along? The flier called for virus types, and we could use a hand. We'll cut you in on the take."
It seemed that these two were completely un-spooked, if nothing else! And even though they didn't recognize Elliot, well, they didn't just leave the Impmon alone after that joke, either!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 2, 2017 3:04:25 GMT
Hearing Iko laugh at his antics was somewhat reassuring to Isaac. It was a sign of normalcy, and for a second helped Isaac forget about the cursed form he was kept to. Okay, so it didn't do that in the slightest. It still helped him feel a tiny bit better, however, and that was progress.
At mention of not seeming like a ghost, it suddenly became Isaac's turn to laugh. His laugh was as thick and bitter as sludge, and it only got worse the more he mediated on the terrible irony of this situation. Sure, he wasn't dead, but he was still a ghost of his former self. That said, maybe it wasn't meant as an insult. Maybe Luke was just happy to see him alive again. He may not have told the two that he was going on what ultimately amounted to a suicide mission, but little details like that tended to fall by the wayside when dealing with a lot of grief.
It wasn't until Iko started talking, and the two started making their businesslike proposal, that Isaac realized something wasn't adding up here. They were acting like Isaac was a complete stranger, talking about him as if he was a random Impmon that patrolled the forest. All of the little inconsistencies in this conversation were starting to make sense now, and the tone of the conversation went from one of a happy reunion to a cold reminder of his lost life.
"I'll help, but . . ."
Isaac's voice trailed off as he looked down at his feet, fist clenched. He couldn't believe this was happening, but it was probably what he deserved for going off and doing something so stupid. For a while he remained silent, fist clenched and eyes dark as he kept staring at the ground. It was only after this period of contemplation that he finally dared to speak again. "Guys, it's me. Come on, you have to recognize me, right?" He tried his hardest to stress his voice, pushing through the higher pitch and scratchier throat of his form. They had to hear it was him, at the very least! Right? |
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Post by darkblade on Apr 2, 2017 17:59:43 GMT
Well, Luke and Iko certainly didn't expect this.
After all, this was just an Impmon in the woods. Luke didn't know exactly what to expect, but Iko figured that the Imp could laugh them off, string them along for a while, smile and follow out of curiosity, or just try and pickpocket one of them down the road. Even the Impmon's flat acceptance of their proposal was somewhat of a surprise, but his demeanor when answering was far different than either of their expectations.
"Whoa... you okay out here, man?" Iko blinked, worried that he might have been too overbearing. Actually, come to think of it, this didn't seem like a woodsy Impmon. The more he looked over him, the gloves and scarf seemed far too clean to have been out in the woods as long as a native, and he certainly didn't immediately respond by just pointing them in the right direction. Further, someone hardened by the environment definitely wouldn't get into this type of response: this was far more the mentality of a city Digimon, someone who had time to worry about personal affairs and social plans.
And it all came to a head a moment later:
"Guys, it's me. Come on, you have to recognize me, right?"
"... What in the world?" Luke muttered to himself, barely audible. He had barely seen any Impmon before, and definitely never had a long conversation with one. Just what was he talking about? "I'm sorry, I don't - huh?"
Luke was immediately cut off, by his partner. Iko held his arm out in front of him, the focus on the wolf's eyes intensifying as he looked towards the rookie Digimon. "Luke, back up just for a moment, keep an eye on your Digivice. I'm not the best at 'seeing data', but..."
Iko would try, anyway. With his focus on the Impmon, Luke's Digivice reacted, the tamer pulling it out and seeing the basic description of an Impmon displayed on his screen. That much was easy enough to understand, a normal interaction between the Digimon and its Digivice, but Iko peered deeper.
"... Odd data... its almost like I can see what forms you've been in. Sectioned areas each with their own different feel..."
That was as much as Iko could see, the wolf now closing his eyes. That was as much of a hint as he was going to get, Iko mulling on that information for a momen-
"Isaac!
"Eh?!" Luke seemed shocked, by that sudden answer! "But we've never seen him as an Impmon-"
"Isaac!" He stepped forward, kneeling down, looking over the Impmon's frame, with even a hand on his shoulder if he could manage. It all just clicked at once, it was the only thing that made sense! "Why are you all the way out here? Where's Elliot, is he okay?"
And why was he all the way out here? This was a stupidly dangerous place for one of those kids to be!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 3, 2017 5:20:55 GMT
Hearing the concern in Iko's voice was a mixed bag for Isaac. On one hand, the recognition was a huge relief for him, as was the fact that somebody actually cared about him being gone. On the other hand, it just continued to hammer in how bad of a situation he was currently in. The fact that Iko seemed very shocked by peering into his data was just more proof that whatever the D-Reaper had done messed him up badly. Surely if the situation was easily reversible, Iko would've had a much more measured reaction. He was a spirit user! He transformed all the time!
Nevertheless, even as these thoughts crawled through his head, he tried to keep a cool head. "Oh, good, so you're not messing with me," he said, trying to seem like he was still joking. He was good enough at putting on false faces to at least keep up appearances, but there was still a strong undercurrent of nerves outlining his voice. "But yep. It's me, in the flesh. Or these days, the distinct lack of it. Just data here nowadays."
Naturally, the first thing Iko did was start asking about Elliot. He muttered a brief "Of course," under his belt, not really surprised that Iko didn't even ask if he was okay. Either he figured Isaac was obviously okay due to his presence here, or that he obviously wasn't here after peering into his data. Still, at least asking about how he was doing would've been nice! "Elliot's home. Finally had a chance to get away from all of this, live a normal life," Isaac said. Whether Elliot was fine or not was distinctly absent from that statement. "As for me? Well, you know, business as usual. Just sightseeing and skipping along through this beautiful forest full of death.
I'm doing just peachy, by the way. How about you guys?" |
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Post by darkblade on Apr 4, 2017 0:48:28 GMT
Well, there was no doubt there - that was definitely Isaac. Even to Iko's reasonable concern to Elliot, Isaac's unique personality glowed through the guise of the Impmon, something that the wolf (and Luke, to an extent) was quite familiar with. Of the two, Isaac always seemed to get more caught up on these small sorts of things, and as Isaac let out that last bit, Iko couldn't help but give a chuckle!
"Oh, alright, I get ya." He gave a pat to Isaac's shoulder, before he stood up, stretching out his back. "And I guess I should say, 'it's good to see you too', but we're out in this beautiful forest as well. And considering that was our last chance of getting directions-"
"Well, we've been walking this way for a bit, right?" Luke cut in, Iko looking over his shoulder. The tamer tapped the compass. "Its still pointing right across all these dead woods. Fungus or not, we should try and make our way directly across. Maybe across the trees?"
"What, these dead things?" With a single nail, he tapped the branch of an old, oak-looking tree, its branch splintering at the merest touch. Sighing, he knelt over, pressing his hand against the loamy soil below, mulling over something in his head. "Wet enough, I guess. Alright!" He stood up, and pointed to Luke's feet. "Tuck your jeans into your socks, that should be enough for you. And, Isaac?"
He turned his attention back to the Impmon. "If you want to come along, I suggest getting on top of my shoulder, or Luke's. Trust me on that much." Even as he spoke, Iko's feet were surrounded by a black flame, a gentle smolder appearing underneath as he stepped in that wet wood. And after the shortest moment, he stepped out, using that flame as a shield against the poisonous grass underneath, Luke following shortly behind.
And presuming that Isaac followed along, one way or another, it would take about five minutes of working through these gnarled woods, before Iko would swear at a stubbed toe. His gaze shot down, his foot resettling on a smooth, stone tile. "Freaking finally... this it?"
"Well, if the stone glowing brighter means something? Probably." Luke pressed past Iko, left hand pulling away a branch. Indeed, it gave way to a clearing, a rather unique one at that: hidden away in this corner of the Sever Woods, past all the death and an honestly repugnant smell, lied this stone platform. Both Luke and Iko stepped forward, the latter cutting off the fire around his feet as he ran his hand over the stone. Near the middle was an open tile, stairs leading into darkness below, signs of torches long burnt out against the spiraling wall.
"... Flashlight..." Luke muttered to himself, pulling out and reaching into his bag. And assuming Isaac was there, Iko would smirk, looking over towards him. "Freaking guy thinks of everything, I guess." Iko could see below perfectly fine, but he kept that fact to himself. "So, you keeping yourself busy, at least? Gonna be honest, Server Woods is the last place I thought I'd bump into either of you."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 4, 2017 22:54:31 GMT
Isaac shrugged and hopped onto Iko's shoulder without much resistance. Sure, he grumbled a little, but that's because he was much more used to being the one supporting people than the one being supported. Was that weird? Then again, he used to be capable of turning into a giant dragon. The fact that he could give people important to him quick transportation was part of what made the form so handy, and the weirdness of being ridden on just kinda died off after a while. In contrast, needing to ride on someone else? That was quite new to him. "Yeah, good call on this one. Don't think I could fly it all the way there," he admitted. The heavily limited flight Isaac was capable of would've never lasted for that much distance.
Surely enough, the stone lead to a secret forest dungeon. By this point Isaac had completely given up on wondering if dungeons here made sense or not. At least the woods were a nice change of pace compared to the tundra, the desert, or god forbid the Dark Area again. As Luke looked for a flashlight, Isaac snapped his fingers and generated a small ball of fire. It wouldn't cast much light in its current state, but it'd be a help. If he flicked the ball out for an explosion it'd certainly shed some light on a situation too, albeit in a very unsubtle way. "There ya guys go," he said. "Between the two of us this should be good."
At mention of being kept busy, Isaac tried to stifle a snort. "You could say that," he said, deliberately giving the details of his situation wide berth. "Certainly got a lot on my plate, at least."
The Server Woods was certainly an interesting place, true. At least Iko acknowledged it was a properly hard to identify place. "Yeah, me neither," he said, continuing to wonder whether he should go into more detail about his situation or not. "I just needed to get away for a bit. A long bit," he finally settled on. |
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Post by darkblade on Apr 5, 2017 2:56:11 GMT
Well, the trek to the temple was uneventful enough, and as the group sorted out their lights sources, Iko pulled his head a bit away from that conjured flame from the imp on his shoulder. "Careful, there." The Impmon seemed in control, and it didn't take Luke long to get the flashlight out, a quick click confirming that the batteries were in order.
For now, Iko wasn't going to push too much into Isaac's reasoning, though he did raise a curious brow at Isaac's careful choice of words. So he was out here to get away from it all... but why, exactly, was it the Server Woods? Maybe the ghost story of the spooky Impmon did lead him all the way out here in the first place! "Room to breathe, then." There was no quizzical tone in the wolf's voice, making it clear that he wasn't looking to continue the conversation. After all...
"Shall we head on down, then?"
There was a shrine to trek into! Shooting a nod towards his tamer, Iko followed along as Luke took the lead, light showing the light-colored stone that made up that spiraling staircase. There wasn't too much to it at this point, just the equivalent of two stories of steps, until the group would reach a subterranean floor. Here, not even the light from the outside peered in, the three just left with the Impmon's flame and the solitary flashlight, leaving an orange glow around the group and a single beam of light. Luke gave a pass over the floor, then to the far side of the room, a second dark staircase visible underneath. "... Simple enough, but what's the point of this room-"
"Stop. Stand where you are." Iko glared towards Luke, as the wolf took a step forward. Slowly, he knelt down, and passed his fingers near the floor - when he lifted them up, they were coated in a dark flame. "Just so you're not confused? Not mine." He clenched his hand, extinguishing it, before shaking out his hand. "There's a pattern of this black fire here, right above black stone. If I had to guess, its blocking the exit..."
"So, a maze?"
"Yeah, good luck seeing it." Even with a flashlight, only bare wisps gave even a hint of where the 'walls' even were! "No, there's no way its a maze... something like this has to have a stupid answer. Hm..."
"... There were torches in the stairwell, right?" Luke passed the light of the flashlight over the walls of the chamber: "And none here. It has to involve fire, somehow."
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 6, 2017 23:40:58 GMT
Room to breathe, huh? "You could say that," Isaac said, shrugging. Escaping the fact that he lost his body, his family, and any chance he could've possibly had at a normal life probably counted as some sort of breathing room. Then again, breathing room usually referred to a temporary situation, whereas this was one Isaac was rapidly seeing no chance of escaping from. Not for a lack of trying, of course. He had been running himself ragged since escaping to the forest in search of a cure, no matter how unpleasant the end result may be. "Everyone needs a chance to get away sometimes, right?"
He was being so casual about issues that were tearing him up inside. Asher would be proud.
Today's adventure started off with stairs. Annoying, but nothing compared to the thick undergrowth and tangled vines that made up the forest. If it came between the two, Isaac would've picked a hundred flights of the damn things. Where Luke took the lead he took the rear, making sure that both sides of the group would be well-illuminated. The lower down the stairs the group descended, and the further the sunlight receded, the better Isaac felt about that choice. Besides, if push came to shove, the two of them would've kicked up plenty of shadows for Iko to work with. That was worth putting the two squishiest team members in the least defensible positions, surely.
Thankfully, instead of an ambush they were greeted with a puzzle. Dark stretched over the floor, apparently so far as to block the exit. Sure, Iko's guess could have been wrong, but his judgment was way too assured to have no backing. With the floor, walls, and surely even ceiling coated, how would the trio even see where they were going? Any attempts at advancing would probably be quite painful.
With mention of torches, however, Isaac raised an eyebrow curiously. "Those were all burnt out, weren't they?" Isaac said, curious. "So I doubt fire is the answer. Otherwise, the stairs would've been covered in black fire. And it can't be no light, or else the sunlight would've messed everything up."
Slowly, Isaac came to a solution. He "burnt out" the torch he currently carried, smothering the Imp-losion between his hands. "Lets see if this works," he said, squinting as he peered towards the fire. |
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Post by darkblade on Apr 7, 2017 3:10:34 GMT
The initial ideas were clear in Luke's head: use fire to part the flames, keep the light as a shield as the group bunched up, and run through the flames... or perhaps Iko's natural resistance would just get him through the exit? Perhaps if Iko evolved, they could just fly over it? All of these ideas seemed worth trying, but Iko wasn't being vocal about any of these. Were they too obvious, for such a simple solution?
Isaac thought so, at least, and Iko concurred: "This was a recent addition: if there were torchlight down here, we'd see soot on the floor. There's no wind to blow any of that away." Or, well, it could have gotten burnt away in the flames, Luke mentally interjected, but after a moment, the Impmon seemed to come to his own solution:
Turn off the light. Seeing the Impmon smother his own flame, Luke followed suit and flicked off his flashlight. Immediately, this made the room pitch black, only the sounds of the forest's insects flooding into the room. "... Hm..." And slowly, the Ankomon stepped forward, carefully checking the floor with his feet. "It's clear. Hah, nice one, Isaac!"
"Wait, like clear, clear?" Luke took a few steps forward as well, and indeed, he wasn't being engulfed by black flame - something a bit risky to blindly check, but all the same, it was a good outcome! "Wait... black fire that can only present itself with shadows? Isn't that-"
"Yeah," Iko's voice cut in. "Same as mine. I can't even get a spark in here... all I can do is see. Now c'mon." This time, he put a hand on Luke's shoulder - and if he could, he'd drag Isaac back up on his own, as they'd move towards that dark staircase on the other end.
Two more flights down... well, the pitch black darkness didn't stay for long. As they came out of the staircase, the three would happen upon a more ornate room, with lit, glass lanterns hanging around the border of the room, a sickly, dusty orange glow bouncing off the black stone. In the center was a raised platform, a stone, and a decrepit-looking blade, stabbed right through the center.
What was surrounding the blade was of far more interest: a literal twister of black flame, from the floor of the room to the ceiling, turned around the center. More of the flame was creeping straight from the artifact, fueling that cursed flame. Well, now they knew how the room above got filled with it!
"Hm... well, I think we found our cursed artifact." Iko muttered that - it was obvious enough.
"Well, what now? Same as before, do we take out the lanterns?"
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 7, 2017 5:11:32 GMT
Isaac was surprised to see that his solution worked, but damn if it wasn't good for his ego! "Looks like I'm still good for something," he muttered under his breath, shortly after shooting Iko a grin as if he didn't say anything.
"Thanks," he said, hopefully answering Iko fast enough that his earlier mumbling was written off as nothing. "Guess that means I'm gonna have to be careful if we get into a fight, huh? One wrong move on my part and I could get us all surrounded real quick." At the very least, Orochimon wouldn't be subject to that kind of restraint. Could he even reach Orochimon, though? That needed a functional human spirit to leech off of, and every time he tried to tap into Yasyamon he found far too much D-Reaper corruption bubbling for proper usage.
That said, apparently the fire was of the exact same nature as Iko's. "Think this trap's been set by a related Digimon?" he asked. Digimon were rarely one of a kind, after all. Even if not quite the same as Iko, it could've been close digital kin. "You don't have an evil brother hell-bent on vengeance you haven't told us about, do you?"
He was a little grumpier about getting on Iko's shoulders this time, but then again it wasn't clear if they were fully done with traps yet or not. Who knows what would be present in an abandoned crypt like this?
The answer turned out to be swords. The sword was practically a nexus of shadowfire, either the source of it or just completely slathered in the stuff. Interestingly enough, the only things illuminating it seemed to be a few glass lanterns. "I mean, it worked the first time, right?" Isaac asked, eyeing one of the lanterns and thoughtfully walking over to it. However, before swiping it off the shelf, he stopped short.
"Don't you think this seems too easy, though?" he asked. "We know light turns off the flame. Anyone who gets down here would. They could be making this look open and shut to sucker us in. Maybe we should examine these things more before we do anything rash. And if we do decide on smashing these? Well, that's probably just step one of this puzzle."
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Post by darkblade on Apr 8, 2017 2:39:50 GMT
"A related Digimon, huh?" At Isaac's words, Iko just gave a small laugh. "Don't worry, I don't have any evil brothers to speak of. Its just me, your neighborhood shadow-wolf. Besides, its a pretty poor trap if you're going to hide it this far in the woods." Well, that seemed right, at least - even Luke couldn't help but crack a smirk!
"Alright, alright, let's get on down to the next room..."
I mean, that's it, right?
It was rudimentary, but Luke's initial answer made sense to him, at least. The first room showed off how the fire worked, and this room was about using what was learned in the prior room to solve the puzzle: once all the lanterns were extinguished, the pillar of fire would vanish, and they would be able to go after the artifact! At least, that was Luke's guess... was there a mechanism for what order the lamps should be turned off?
And why didn't Iko move? The Ankomon stood, outside the perimeter of the lamps, and as Isaac stepped forward, he carefully observed him-
"Isaac, hold there!" He gritted his teeth, and pointed, slowly, to the Impmon's shadow. It was being cast from the lantern's light, pointed inward towards the room. "Think. What do you think would happen if his shadow intersected the flame?"
"That's..." Oh. Okay, that one, Luke didn't think of. And thankfully, Isaac hesitated long enough before that was a reality, but Iko kept on: "And even if you turned off one of the lights..."
Iko demonstrated, using the lantern far across the room from Isaac, the wolf's shadow snaking across the floor. The fire gripped around the light, and as soon as it was smothered, flame rushed out in that direction, from the pillar, overtaking the wall! "Yeah. This is different."
"H... huh." Alright, Luke wasn't so eager to jump in, now! "So we need to shut off all the lamps at the same time, that's all, right?"
"... Wouldn't it be interesting if there was no puzzle to this at all?" Iko's voice perked up just a bit. "The light casts from the left and right. If you walk right up the middle, your shadow won't intersect the flame."
"... But... the tempest in the middle?"
"Exactly. I wonder whose is stronger." Iko chuckled, giving a glance towards Isaac. "Honestly. This is feeling much more like a spirit hunt. You have any other ideas?'
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 8, 2017 7:14:28 GMT
With Luke and Iko working with the puzzle, Isaac found his eyes drawn to the wall that was now smothered in flames. Did any of the fire seem to be drawn away from the sword? "If we're not careful with these lanterns, we might end up surrounded," Isaac warned, noting how the wall went from bare to covered in seconds. "I don't know how much flame we're dealing with here. If we snuff them all out, and we end up with both the sword and all the walls coated in flame, we'll be in really big trouble."
Briefly, he considered relighting the lantern with an Imp-losion. However, he realized even the soft glow cast by that fireball could end up making this room far more complex. "I think we've only got one shot at this, too," he mumbled, looking over at the lantern. "Relighting these is going to be a major pain once we've put them out, so if we put even a single lantern out, we're stuck with what we've got."
He looked over the area once again. Lanterns to the left and right kept the flame sectioned off in the middle. With one lantern gone, flame peeled off to pass the lanterns and spread onto the nearby wall. The other walls seemed untouched. He peered at the sword, trying to see if the sword looked any less covered than it did before. If it didn't, this would be a fool's errand. If it did . . .
"I think you're both right," he concluded. "It's gonna come down to Iko brute forcing it, but maybe we can try and even up the odds while we're at it. I'd say we try and remove all the lanterns on one side. That way, enough asymmetrical light forces flames to one wall. If we remove the lanterns on both sides, that'll probably go back to canceling out and leave the flame at full strength, right?
Once we've gotten as much flame pushed away as possible, then Iko can try to grab the blade. What do you guys think? Does that sound like it'd work?"
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Post by darkblade on Apr 9, 2017 2:36:40 GMT
To be honest, it was hard to tell if the flame had subsided at all, especially using just one torch. In some moments, the flames did seem less dense, but that may have just been due to the general random nature of the fire's flickering.
That said, Iko's ear twitched as Isaac presented a compromise, and honestly, it seemed like a good enough idea to try: "At worst, we're just at the same point we are now. If all the light's on one end, my shadow will be cast off to the side, anyway. Alright, Luke, Isaac, come here for a second." He motioned for the two to come closer, and once they did, Isaac would reach down, and press his palm against their respective shadows. After a moment, he would lift his hands up... and, against 'real world' logic, pulled both of their shadows away, holding them as dark spheres of energy in his hand. With further focus, Luke's shadow turned into three thin needles in his left hand, and Isaac's, two in his right.
"... You know I hate when you do that..." Luke muttered, shaking his head. It was moments like this, that Luke was keenly reminded of just what a dark Digimon Iko really was, the wolf just giving a smirk. "Relax, you two will have your shadows back in a day, or so. Besides, like this, your shadows can't touch the flames."
And, in the next few seconds, Iko would toss the needles out, piercing every lantern on the left side of the room: the flame would spark, and then extinguish itself in the presence of the black fire. Immediately, the entire left side of the room was contorted into a black mass of fire, and the lanterns on the other side of the room sparked up, casting Iko's shadow over towards the flame. Quickly, the wolf focused, his own shadow retracting to a narrow, dark circle around his feet.
"... He did it again." Luke was stunned at this: Iko always had a level head, but the level of logic he applied here was beyond what he expected of the brute. And here the wolf was, stretching his arms like it was no big deal! And as for the blade itself, well... maybe it helped, a little? If nothing else, it definitely seemed like the fire was lower than before. Using the remaining shadow at his feet, Iko surrounded his right arm in an intense, burning black flame.
"Pay attention, Isaac." His voice was suddenly more direct: "If you want to know more about darkness in this world, well... I just have a feeling this is a place for it."
Even as the Ankomon said this, he was already walking towards the platform. As neither he, nor his two allies, had any shadow left to cast, there was nothing to draw it: he could stand a half foot from that pillar of flame, and not have any of it jump to himself. And Iko had no hesitation: raising that shielded arm, he thrust his arm forward, through the flame, and grasped directly on the blade's hilt.
The next moment? Iko winced in pain, gritting his teeth. "GRAUGH!" His voice sounded absolutely primal, red energy like electricity sparking from his hand. The effect sparked from there, the black fire on the left sparking with the same energy, the fire rebounding back towards the center!
"Iko! Get away-"
"Stay back!" Iko's voice echoed throughout the room, the wolf squaring his stance. "The fire... it doesn't burn me! Its my arm that hurts like hell!"
"... Its not hurting him?" Not only that, but a light shone from Luke's Digivice, giving a flash of light every few seconds. Luke, though, took no note of this, merely looking at this display:
From Iko's arm, the fire seemed to stretch outward. Unlike the flame from before, though, the energy was thick, a pitch black hue in color stretching over his arm, and over his shoulder. Arching on one knee, Iko started to pull, trying to free the blade with a straight jut upward, even as the effect started to take over his back and shoulder. "... C'mon, already!"
This reaction, well, it was beyond anything Luke expected. Iko's own shadowfire never behaved like this... just what was happening? "... Damn it, you fool. You better pull this off..."
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