Awaiting, in Its House; Dreaming [NPC] [Spirit Hunt]

Overall, the whole journey had been fairly straightforward. Even if the tunnel was wet, cold and slimy, this was way better than trying to escape from the clutches of an Anomalocarimon, a Mantaraymon and an (now dead) Ikkakkumon. Yet... something felt somewhat off about this whole deal.

Maybe it was just her, but the brunette felt like not everything has been said and done just yet. But hopefully, that gut feeling was just wrong as she could just... get away without struggling too much.

Enough of that, however. The walk had been relaxing in its own way, but the tunnel was over and the dome was in front of her. Without doubting all that much, Amelie trespassed.

She examined the room around her intently, taking note of the weird engine and portal that occupied the central part of the room. But most importantly? Her eyes were immediately affixed at the artifact that resided atop the whole thing; not even a second after looking at it, the primal urge to acquire it took over her brain, almost overriding her perception of everything around her for a couple of seconds. It was almost like... a hypnotic trance.

Luckily, and even if that urge still resonated through her brain strongly, she was brought back to the reality by the crackling sound that ensued. Why was it coming from behind her? Did it mean that the digimons she had left behind were catching up to her or... something else?

Well, her answer had been answered rather promptly, and her thoughts couldn't be farther from the true. There was one thing that had just rubbed her the wrong way about the voice behind her, however...

"Not my fault that three digimon tried to eat me, honestly! Else, I'd have just exited without touching anything; blame those three. Or I guess they're two now?" That was a simple truth, after all. "Anyhow, it's usually impolite to address somebody without introducing yourself first. Name's Amelie; who are you?"

In all honesty, she was refraining from evolving and reaching that totem with a good deal of her willpower; after all... she wouldn't be able to communicate with this strange being anymore as soon as she did so.

At least on that regard, Amelie was... willing to defend her position. This was being unfair, and that was, to say the least! "Hey. I didn't point a gun at any of those digimons and told them to try and eat me; besides... two champion levels and one perfect level, trying to hunt... a lone human? Not to say they wouldn't get enough data for their little bloodsport to be worth their while, they also had to share... among three? I'm gonna be that person and say that there was something else, rather than the machines doing their work. That was unnecessary overkill in so many senses..."

She wasn't buying this had been her fault; it seemed so stupidly unlikely that she thought the voice near her was just mocking her. Yet, on the other side... it seemed that it meant to help her? Things were so confusing...

Still, things weren't quite making sense until the hologram began to take form, becoming... a Gomamon, and none 'other' than Dr. Tempra. The brunette's eyes widened at the revelation, and even if she still wasn't all that comfortable around somebody that could be as arrogant as the Dr., she had urgent questions to ask, and she wouldn't let something as petty as a personal quarrel to deter her from those.

"Well... if you're up to it, I've got some questions. What happened to the Dr. Tempra that's not a hologram? Could you complete the trans-dimensional device successfully, or was this sabotaged before anything could be accomplished? Who attacked this place and why? And... the notes on the first quarantine room; what they were about? I wasn't able to read them."

That'd be a good starting point. Of course, she didn't expect for all of those questions to have perfect answers, but anything would help, in all honesty. Suddenly, one last question sprung to her mind. Probably really unlikely, but there wasn't harm in her trying.

"Is there any way to get you out of this place with me?"

Even if the guy's attitude wasn't her cup of tea, Amy still felt like she should help in any way she could.

This story was... depressing, in all honesty. Reality worked in funny ways, but Amelie was sure of one thing; whoever was responsible for this... dramatic result, for the lack of a better word, was probably a monster. Whoever was behind this catastrophe couldn't be a good person or digimon.

For a second, she felt dumb about being annoyed at Dr. Tempra; being confined inside a machine for who knows how much time, and even in the company of his significant other, the loneliness he must've felt was probably nothing short of crushing. The brunette's expression managed to awkwardly shift back and forth between a frown and an awkward, yet sad smile.

As distressing as it could be, in all honesty. And the most frustrating part is that Amy herself couldn't see what was the point of the raid, of sacrificing so many lives for something so selfish... it just sickened her.

She managed to listen to the whole tale in utter silence, finally mustering the courage to speak once the Dr. was done. "I see. What happened in here is undoubtedly a tragedy, even though it seems like everyone tried their best." After a small pause and trying to swallow the knot forming in her throat, Amelie continued. "You don't have to thank me for anything; I'm glad I could help in any way. Honestly."

Yet... one last quest remained, one last favor being asked, one last task she had to accomplish. "What do you want for me to do? I'll be glad to help to the best of my ability."

It had been long and relatively extense. Also tackled with praise and compliments, even though the meaning of those was completely lost when in comparison to the task at hand. For a second, Amelie's eyes widened; things had gotten serious really fast, but it wasn't like she even had a choice in the first place, was it?

"So, what you're asking me is to basically mercy kill the amalgam that resulted from your data merging with the test subject's." It was funny how that lengthy explanation could be compressed into a single statement. It didn't sound as nice and glamorous, but it was still the gist of the matter, much to Amelie's concern.

After a sigh, she just... shrugged. At least everything had fallen into place and her course of action was as straightforward as it could be. "I'll do it, even though I can't imagine what this whole deal is about when that thing is being used as an energy source. But it's too late to think about that, anyway."

D-Tector drawn, some rings of fractal code were already beginning to form around Amy's right hand. "If you wanna say something or bid goodbye, now's the time. Chances are we won't see each other again. I know this might be selfish, but I'd like to ask for a favor of my own, too."

She'd wait for Tempra to do share any parting thoughts or words before speaking. "If you get reunited with your wife, manage to remember at least a fragment of this whole mess and get to have a baby girl together... could you name her Amelie? That'd flatter me by quite a bit."

That's all the brunette would say before evolving into Siftermon. Floating towards the egg her psyche had craved for so long was almost a cathartic feeling. Without a second thought, the aberration would snatch it, then proceed to wait for its opponent.

Things were about to get interesting.

Who would have guessed? Amelie had warmed up to Tempra greatly; maybe hearing his story and getting to know that he's been imprisoned for hundreds and hundreds of years had managed to reach her heart. Or maybe, the fact that in a distant future, a digimon bearing her name would hop around the Digital World, possibly having some adventures on her own and making her parents proud of her.

Wouldn't it be great if she were a Syakomon? The sight of those little shellfish always made her smile.

---

In all honesty, neither Amelie nor Siftermon could care less about the creature that was emerging from the portal. There was a feeling of pure and unadulterated pleasure and joy that acquiring yet another spirit brought.

The aberration didn't waste a second in order to evolve to that next form, knowing more than well what was coming, and knowing more than well what she had to do. It was time to fight, and using anything less than her full power would be unfitting.

Sides, she had to see how this form could do, and how well it'd handle when pitted against an opponent of roughly equal strength. The newly-evolved digimon engaged the Gesomon head-on, keeping her momentum while trying to not get too injured by the oncoming attack. The most obvious course of action seemed like tangling in the melee.

Just then was when it noticed the type of game it wanted to play. Interesting, and even a little boring, but something Wimon couldn't deal with; after closing as much distance as it could, a series of electrical arcs —or not— were unleashed from the aberration's body, its goal to injure the Gesomon was much as it could.

Pity Wimon wouldn't have a lot of time to enjoy itself, but... that was fine, ultimately.

---

---

—Siftermon (H-Hybrid Spirit) evolved to Wimon (Beast Fraction).

—Wimon gets hit by Nature Infuse, Reprocess being supplanted by ExD Nature: Poison.

—Wimon is using Volemic Ignition, ideally relatively near the Gesomon X.

—Wimon gets damaged by two instances of ExD Nature: Poison.

Volemic Ignition: Electricity Poison (I guess?) courses through the digimon, ready to be discharged through 'hot spots' on its body. The charge burns so hot that unfortunate victims will begin to feel their blood boiling, dealing immense amounts of pain. Possesses short-range capabilities if the electricity arcs, otherwise it may be used in a direct attack.

Relevant passives currently active.
ExD Nature: Poison [Passive Ability] [Two Instances]: All of this Digimon’s skills become poison based, poisoning the enemy when they strike. Just by holding this passive, and while it's in their moveset the user will also remain poisoned, its health being drained a minor amount per turn. All poison based attacks are 20% more damaging. If the opponent uses a copy type move, the move is automatically forced to copy ExD Nature: Poison and the enemy will hold it for three turns after using the copy type move. If the enemy uses a copy type move after having ExD Nature: Poison already between their passives, the countdown for the turns they will be forced to hold ExD Nature: Poison gets reset each time they try to copy.
Imperial Decree [Passive Ability]: When a member of the Council wants to get a point across, denying that notion is just a bit of a hard task. Abilities performed by any Council members completely ignore the effects of passive defensive abilities that might affect them in any way.
Assimilate [Passive Ability]: This digimon gains perfect understanding of the effects of any attack that she would be subject of. She can use this knowledge to fuel some of her other abilities (notably, Surreal Memoir). The total number of foreign abilities she can remember per form (using this or any other means) varies according to her level, starting at one passive and one active at Rookie/Child, two at Champion/Adult and so on.

Everything was going according to the plan, the two digimons now facing each other directly; tentacles and limbs thrashing against each other, just to see who'd come on top, and while it was true that Amelie was on the losing side regarding how everything seemed to be slowly sapping her own life force, no direct attack had affected her just yet. She would be able to keep going for a while, unless something catastrophic happened.

The obvious solution to that? Delete the squid before its flabby limbs could concoct whatever they were brewing. There wasn't much Wimon could do about the cloud that enveloped the whole dome and added a third layer of poison to Wimon's body, even if that gesture seemed a bit strange, in hindsight. Shouldn't the digimon be worried about the opponent next to it?

Either something was up, or this guy had its priorities a bit skewed. It wasn't time to complain, however. This was going to be interesting. After all, if one shock hadn't been enough... what about two? The discharges themselves had been bigger and stronger than the aberration's previous attempt, and the reason for that was a bit obvious.

There was a strange symbol currently drawn across the abomination's midsection. Gesomon would surely appreciate it!

---

—Wimon gets afflicted by Noxious Field.

—Wimon uses Digital Hazard on itself.

—Due to Slip Through Time, Wimon uses Volemic Ignition two times on Gesomon.

—Wimon is damaged accordingly by two instances of ExD Nature: Poison, Noxious Field and Digital Hazard.

—ExD Nature: Poison remaining duration: 2 posts.

—Digital Hazard remaining duration: 3 posts.

Volemic Ignition: Electricity Poison (I guess?) courses through the digimon, ready to be discharged through 'hot spots' on its body. The charge burns so hot that unfortunate victims will begin to feel their blood boiling, dealing immense amounts of pain. Possesses short-range capabilities if the electricity arcs, otherwise it may be used in a direct attack.

——DA-33
Card Name: Digital Hazard
Type: Upgrade
Rank: Platinum
Duration: 3 Posts
Effect: The Digital Hazard symbol emblazons on the target Digimon's chest, removing all thoughts but battle from their mind. It gives huge boosts to all stats at the cost of steadily and badly hurting them.

Time was running out, and it was running out fast. The Gesomon's plan became as clear as it could be; shattering the dome as soon as possible, so he could be free and escape Wimon's clutches. Regrettably, that wasn't something that the digimon could or would allow; part of the promise it made to a certain Gomamon involved the destruction of this digimon, and that's exactly Wimon would accomplish, to the last consequence.

The aberration wouldn't relent, and would press the assault on the weakened digimon at every chance it got. It was true that the plethora of effects currently weighing on it was starting to become a liability, but that was something it would have to bear for now.

While Wimon didn't even try to avoid the oncoming attack as it would be a waste of precious time, the digimon took measures to at least survive the Gesomon's relentless assault at all costs. And while... Amelie could feel that she would probably not be able to withstand another strike like that, it was time to... reply in kind. A fourth, and hopefully final surge of electricity/poison would be unleashed while trying to trying to maintain the point-blank distance. With any luck, that'd be enough to deal with the digimon once and for all.

If not... the all or nothing gambit would be in vain. Water would begin flooding in at any moment now.

---

—Wimon uses Chrome Digizoid Armor on itself.

—Wimon is hit by Double the Toxin and is dealt a sizable amount of damage.

—Wimon uses Volemic Ignition on Gesomon.

—Wimon is damaged accordingly by two instances of ExD Nature: Poison, Noxious Field and Digital Hazard.

—ExD Nature: Poison remaining duration: 1 posts.

—Digital Hazard remaining duration: 2 posts.

—Chrome Digizoid Armor remaining duration: 3 posts.

Volemic Ignition: Electricity Poison (I guess?) courses through the digimon, ready to be discharged through 'hot spots' on its body. The charge burns so hot that unfortunate victims will begin to feel their blood boiling, dealing immense amounts of pain. Possesses short-range capabilities if the electricity arcs, otherwise it may be used in a direct attack.

——ME-34
Card Name: Chrome Digizoid Armor.
Type: Upgrade
Rank: Chrome Digizoid
Duration: 3 Posts
Effect: The target Digimon gains an armor made from solid Chrome Digizoid for three turns. Resistant to both physical and elemental strikes, it is a deadly efficient defense.