Eighth Plague (Mikemon/Invite)

Well, Haru had just about reached her limit for theoretical thinking for the day - and honestly, who could blame her? The rabbit hole for these sorts of questions went deeper and deeper, and it was honestly impressive to see her curiosity stick out even this far. "Maybe someday, a great thinker will figure it out. Not me - I'll be sticking to medicine. Still, its a fun thing to poke around with sometimes. But trust me," the cat raised his soda, "I'm about where you are on this."

What the Mikemon did understand, however, was the data relationship between tamers and their partner Digimon. Seeing her shock, the Mikemon gave a nod: "Incredibly normal, yes. I'd say that most tamers experience the pain their partners feel, when they reach ultimate level or higher. The Digisoul - the energy that emits from the Digivice - undoubtedly connects the tamer to the partner Digimon in a very close manner. The more energy emitted, the closer the feeling between the two. At mega, some even share thoughts." It was a scary thing to think about, but thankfully Haru took it as a sign of support! "Heh. I see it all the time, but its always heartwarming to see these connections."

But, as useful as tamers were for energy, Haru poked at the very weakness of their battle capability - the human component itself. "Mm. It takes courage - and at times, foolhardiness - to step out where Digimon are fighting to support your partner. Though, if you're concerned on that front..." the cat tilted his head. "You do any sports? Track, or anything like that? If you're looking for 'advice', the more efficient tamers I've seen work on shot-calling and self-positioning. Having a second set of eyes is a very useful thing!"

"Mhm. In its most basic sense, anyway." Again, Mikemon could have made this a lot more complicated than it had to be, but Haru wasn't shooting for the Digimon medical field. At the very least, an understanding of what happened would likely help the tamer to appreciate it, as well as get a general idea of what was going on overall. Megas could share thoughts - and it seemed Haru thought Super Mega was just 'even closer thoughts'.

To that, the cat tilted his head. "Hm. I take it you've never seen an aato reach Super Mega?" The cat tilted his head, before giving a sigh. "In that case, its called a 'Biomerge'. The resonance between tamer and Digimon reaches a peak where their cores temporarily merge together to form a single being, greatly exceeding the capabilities of the Digimon alone. In short, the tamer and the Digimon become so close, they become one."

Naturally, it may have sounded like a joke - but there wasn't a single break in the doctor's tone.

As for the risks tamers took before Super Mega, Mikemon gave a chuckle. "What, you think I have no-one to cover for in a fight? If the field club has to deal with something, I'll be protecting you, Carlos, Yukiko and Miyu, just like everyone else. Power in numbers, ya'know?" Right, that 'advantage' only existed in a vacuum - though the cards she had would definitely help. His ear twitched at Haru's sports career - good, so she already had a basis! "Well, getting a good walk through the Digital World's a start - but considering all this mess with the D-Reaper, I'd suggest topping it off somehow. Not saying it has to be an everyday thing, but, well..."

What was a good way to put it? "The Sangloupmon that might end up chasing you's not going to have their calves burning after an hour, is all."

"Nya?"

That was definitely a rare noise from the Mikemon, but the doctor seemed outright confused to Tawna's reaction. Despite everything else about the Digital World, this 'basic' thing was the one thing that her mind couldn't accept? Tilting his head, his ear gave a flick as Haru gave her reasoning. This went beyond logic, right? And wasn't it dangerous?

"Er... well, yes, it ties you right with your partner and puts you in the thick of the fight, but... is it really that off?" The cat questioned Haru's tone here. "Digimon can combine with each-other to Digivolve as well - why wouldn't it work the same way with humans, at least in some way?"

The 'cultural' divide aside, the feline definitely had the group's back ("Hey, its my job to worry when you guys get hurt!). Hearing that Haru would at least consider getting back in the track life, the doctor returned a nod - and chuckled a bit at Yukiko's expense. "Honestly, an overly aggressive television ad might be liable to set her off. Our leader's great, don't get me wrong, but... yeah."

He really didn't want to say more on that. Taking another sip of the soda, he heard that Haru was about to head off to bed - something that made the cat sweep his eyes over to the clock. "Shoot, this time difference is killing me." Swearing slightly under his breath, he gave a nod to the tamer: "But those late shifts must be a bit hard on ya, huh? Oh, as for Tawna," the Mikemon gave a shrug, "Its just a check-in. Arkadimon data is nasty, so I just want to make sure the data's still as it should be. The data can make Digimon a little-less able to control themselves while Digivolving - she might Digivolve by accident, for example."

A simple enough concern, but the Mikemon's tone suggested he didn't think it was too likely. "If it hasn't happened yet, its likely not a problem. Anyway... I guess I should try to hit the sack myself..."

It would be tricky to believe for a human, but for a Digimon, such a reaction was only natural. Seeing Haru's expression at the 'cat' noise, the Mikemon actually had to stifle a small blush, just now aware of how 'cute' that action made him. Was this the first time he slipped with that around the Club?

Huh. At any rate, he gave an answer: "We may originally be made of different parts, but once you're in the Digital World, you're made of data - just like everything else in there. You're able to breathe our air and eat our food after all - those feats wouldn't be possible if you weren't made of the same stuff we are. Of course, that follows the same the other way around, too." At the science club eagerness, Mikemon could only chuckle: "Well for most, its hardly a feat that can simply be showed off. It takes quite a bit of energy to pull off!"

That aside, it seemed that Haru knew just what it was like to deal with jet lag. Stretching out his own paws, the Mikemon gave a yawn, just trying to convince himself he was tired - though Haru's last minute question perked his ears. What made an Arkadimon so dangerous? "Well, unlike most Digimon, Arkadimon have an interesting trait: they don't have a unified form. Everything from Fresh through Super Mega is considered the same species, and they can move through the forms at relative will."

"Loading that data," Mikemon continued, "Carries the risk of picking up that very dangerous trait. Being unable to control what form you're in can cause very dangerous incidents - whether its using too much force, or being unable to draw the power you need, because you 'slid' too high or low. Its, um," the cat scratched the back of his head, "rare, but it happens."

Of course, curiosity was abound - could Haru and Tawna actually be that close? The tamer seemed to doubt it - perhaps even still confused about the idea as a whole - simply pushing the idea to the back of her head. "Hm... Tawna's nice and all, but it might be a bit much to be on the same page as her. Still, who knows, down the line?"

And yes, Arkadimon data was a little screwy. This was quite a different beast than even the little 'power shift' that Mikemon would have pulled off in the Frozen Mausoleum - the corrupt Digimon just naturally lived in that sort of state! Still, her assessment was quite correct, the Mikemon returning a nod: "And in the latter sense, you have to worry about her burning through her power reserves too quickly. Again, its a rare condition - but loading an Arkadimon is rare enough to begin with."

Thankfully, Tawna hadn't shown any symptoms as of yet - though it could be possible that it only hurt her upper forms. To that 'squid monster' bit, the feline chuckled: "Concerning as that may look, that's par the course for how these sorts of things work." Of course, that only pushed the question to that ethical point:

How far would Tawna take it? "... All I'll say is, I trust her judgement enough." The cat's tone was pretty level, on this sort of topic. He didn't recoil at the thought of her loading Arkadimon, and even now, he was fairly quick to answer. Perhaps the doc had also loaded a 'mon or two in his time? His own abilities didn't exactly match that of a 'cat', at least. "At the very least, she wouldn't do it for the wrong reason."

All in all, well, this talk had been good for both of them. Even if Haru hadn't completely understood Tawna's action - even if she was still nervous of the actions of the Meicoomon as a whole, the tamer seemed to have a better mental grasp of it all. Just twenty minutes prior, both Mikemon and Haru had been on the brink of tears, and now the two were simply spending the evening away, talking about science, tamers, and their Digimon.

"Mm. Well, it won't be just her - I'm sure Tawna looks to you in that regard as well." Perhaps that was just the Mikemon being hopeful, but somehow, the cat didn't feel that he was entirely wrong.

Or perhaps the late night had just gotten to the both of them. Nodding at the tamer, the cat stretched out his arms, slowly peeling his way off of the couch. Seeing that 'stare', the Mikemon returned a nod and a smile back to the tamer. "Any time. And while Tawna's out, just remember to keep me in the loop. Better to have a Digimon at your side in the Digital World, even if its not your direct partner!"

He gave a smile at that, followed by a wave, before heading back to his room. His bed amounted to a pile of blankets in the corner of the room, a few feet from the air conditioning, but what else did a cat need?