Forward after the Fall [Carlos]

Well, at least the doctor had one helpful assistant for the day - though really, even that was more than he had on a normal basis. Continuing to pack up the clinic, the Mikemon simply rolled his eyes at Dio's comment. "Yeah, just make sure to keep in the shadow of that umbrella. Would just hate to see you bake under all that dark purple there, Dio."

Getting that one little shot in, and once more keeping the 'Dark Lord' title out of the name, the Mikemon clicked another bag shut. "Yeah, I can't see myself spending every day moving boxes or whatnot. Doing this is fine for a while, but I don't think I could stay in one of those 'the customer thinks they're always right' places." He gave his own chuckle at that, but the cat's ear twitched at the next point.

Carlos was surprised? "Guess that might seem a little strange, but just because we can breathe fire and whatnot doesn't mean we're invincible." Giving a small laugh, the cat explained: "Especially around the city, you'll find that not a lot of us are fighters. Its also easy for some to lose track of what to do when they're in an environment they're not familiar with."

"Granted," the cat continued, "the damage it does to us in long-term's probably less than what it would be to a human... but I'm rambling." Right, these two had been here all day to help out! "While you're here, any place you wanted to check out? At the very least I figure I could grab us something to eat, pick-up on the way back to the office or something." Heck, had these three ever really just had a chance to talk? Until now, Mikemon's just been 'another cat in the Field Club'!

There was a reason that Mikemon chose not to use Dio's preferred title, but from the doctor's perspective, the Impmon had it quite easy. He'd been allowed to sit around all day - sunbathing, in every way except the name - only taking the occasional 'break' to grab something from the cooler. Perhaps this was why the Impmon's reaction was far more muted than it could have been, deciding to respond to sass with sass - which was something the doctor could honestly respect. He simply gave a shrug, chuckling with a smirk as he continued to pack up. "Right, right, we won't be in the sun too much longer."

That said, it didn't take them that long to start to make their way back into the city, Carlos seeming to still be in well-enough spirits despite a long day at the beach. "Sheesh, if it were a bit earlier I'd show you were to go so you aren't crowded out. And I could throw you a whole list of restaurants, but..." Considering the lot were disheveled and their ankles were coated in a fine layer of sand, the cat wisely decided to shy away from sit-down places. "Well, if you want to eat cheap and good, all you need to do is turn onto this block."

Yup - just as Mikemon turned the corner, Carlos and Dio would be greeted by a likely pleasant sight: foot carts on display, with both human and Digimon delicacies delight, both good to look at and cheap on the wallet! "You two grab somethin, and meet me on the other end so we can talk at the office. My treat, today." The feline handed a few bills to Carlos - nothing more than a couple hundred bits, but enough to get both him and the Impmon whatever they wanted from the line. "Oh, and what about..."

The cat stopped himself, shaking his head. "Never mind, that can wait 'til we get back!"

"Eh, don't worry about it, you worked hard today." Mikemon gave his own smile back to Carlos. Indeed, to the cat, this was already a repayment for the work that Carlos had performed today. If the tamer took it as a favor he needed to return, well, who knows? This may very well end in a constant string of trinkets and favors shared between the two, without ever knowing quite where it started.

For now, though, he just gave a nod, and made his own way through the block. Unlike Carlos and Dio, who were likely in the midst of a small option overload, the cat already knew his preference for a quick bite here: a pressed chicken sandwich, with a slightly rich cheese drizzling out from the side of the toasted white bread. In relatively short order, the cat would settle himself in on a bench, already starting to chew through his sandwich as he waited for the other two to arrive.

It took a little over five minutes, but not enough to keep the cat waiting for long! Wrapping up the other half of that sandwich, Mikemon stood up from that bench, taking a brief look at the two's choices. Carlos had been slightly adventurous, whereas Dio... well, was unexpectedly Dio, but what could be helped about that? Blinking, the cat would smile and sigh as he took the bag from Carlos, chuckling at that shot towards Dio.

"... You're not an easy one to repay, are you? Thanks, of course!" Giving a laugh more than anything else, he would rest that bag over his elbow - and take a look inside, should Carlos insist, before heading back to the office.

---

No point souring the mood before a good meal, of course! Back at Mikemon's abode, the three would take residence in the break room in the back, likely sitting around the table as they had their makeshift meals. Carlos would likely have a good sense of his likes and dislikes from the delicacies he picked, the cat giving him a slight warning over that blue pepper ("It looks innocent, but its basically a ghost pepper!")

Eventually, as they started to wind down, the cat would finally ask that question he'd been dreading, for the longest time:

"Well... gonna be honest, I saw what happened on the chat. You two got a look at Haru, right? How does it look like she's holding up?"

Yes, there was a reason why Mikemon waited until everyone was happy, comfortable, and fed before asking that question. As expected, neither Dio nor Carlos seemed at all comfortable about what had happened - though, at the very least, neither of their expressions seemed grave.

Just understandably concerned. Mikemon's ear twitched at Carlos' answer, shortly giving a nod as he finished piecing through his explanation. "It's a difficult position to be in - heck, its difficult for me to say anything about it without it sounding like I'm making light of it. At the very least, its nice to hear that she's recovering. I'll... have to figure out how to talk to her about it when I'm back at her place."

Well, he could at least mull that over - but Dio quickly switched the subject to the Meicoomon. "Mm? Only that it was an Arkadimon - and honestly, that little bit worries me." He sighed, giving a shake of his head. "Ignoring everything else about the topic, there's something in our field called the 'Corrupt Three' - the three Digimon data types you should never try and load, regardless of the circumstance. The top of the list is the D-Reaper. Second is Arkadimon - the forms are so fluid that picking up that sort of data can make it very easy to Digivolve - or even De-Digivolve - by accident. And the third type..."

The cat sighed. "... Is the Meicoomon family itself. The high data density can make our 'lag response' permanently impaired - imagine waking up with a hangover, except that it never goes away." Mikemon's response was probably a bit off the mark than the Dark Lord expected, but heck, it brought up a new bit of concern to the table.

"Regardless, I guess all we can do is support the both of them. Judging an impossible choice is only going to put everyone at each-other's necks." The cat wasn't about to say his real opinion on the matter, either - though he clearly understood Dio's intent when asking the question. Heck, most of that last remark was directed towards the Impmon.

"Heh." Nervously, the Mikemon gave a scratch behind his head: "I've been trying better as of late, but honestly its the nurses that have the bedside manner. Fair warning, a doctor that's hunting for answers is about the least sociable thing you'll run across. Tensions get a bit high."

He gave a sigh, letting that little truth slip off into the background. The topic soon shifted to Tawna's own condition, as well as the 'Corrupt Three'. Carlos was right to be concerned - especially with such an unknown threat - but as he asked that question, all the cat could do was shrug. "That could be anywhere from 'no ill effects' to 'about half as bad as it could have been'. Its hard to make something that's inherently corrupt more corrupt - if that makes sense?"

This also tied into Dio's question, the cat's ear twitching at his concern. "I'd say... nine-out-of-ten-times, no, but I'll be examining her data structure personally to ensure that there's no long term effects. Don't get me wrong, I'm concerned for both of them." And that said, the cat was ready to leave the topic on the table, at least for the moment.

... Easier said than done, of course - that was a pretty heavy topic to just lean into. Though there was something else the cat wanted to get at, and it was something he was sure would spin the topic quite quickly:

"So... 'Dio'. I'm sure you figured this question was coming at some point, but..." The cat's tone was curious: "How'd you end up with that title of yours?"

Honestly, Carlos' question was one asked a lot in the medical field - and as much as the cat wanted to say that was the case, that a corruption would block another, all the cat could offer was a shrug. "It depends. In some cases they slow each-other down, in some cases they progress independently, and in some cases they speed each-other up. In Tawna's case, I'd say she's more resistant to it than most."

But, without a proper diagnosis, all the Mikemon could do was speak in hypotheticals. The Impmon, quickly trying to pass off his expression as 'well that's good, I guess', simply earned an eye-roll from the cat. "Right, I'll make sure I don't take any shortcuts."

That said, the topic switched - and Dio was more open with the question than Mikemon honestly expected. Granted, the answer boiled down to 'It's nothing more than a feeling, but respect it anyway'... but surprisingly enough, Mikemon didn't tease him for that answer. "Interesting..." He mulled it over once in his head. "When you put it that way, it sounds credible enough... hm?"

The cat's ear twitched at Carlos' question, though the cat chose not to answer. Rather, the doctor took a deep breath. "Well, its not like 'Dark Lords' were told by someone else what they are. So, excuse me for just one second, there, Carlos."

Taking a step away from the chair, Mikemon gave a nod in Dio's direction: "Watch carefully." Slowly, the Mikemon extended out one paw, tensing it up to a fist, a dark aura surrounding it. This alone didn't mean anything - most Dark Area digimon could imitate a signal like that.

No, it was the color afterward that meant something: the purplish aura flared up, picking up a dark red tint, black specs flickering like a flame within. To those sensitive to it, one might feel their hair stand on edge.

"This feeling." The cat gave a nod. "If you can do that much, then that thought in the back of your head's not just a thought."