Barking Up The Wrong Tree [Mission]

---

Monodramon couldn't understand how humans even walked on these things. Trying to cross the fallen leaves and roots on foot was bad enough, but with these...things... covering one's feet, somehow it got even harder. In fact, it got even worse when there with bits of torn plants and wood slipping into the things.

"I hate these things." Monodramon declared as he stopped for the umph time to shake off the things.

"I believe humans called them shoes." Rain mentioned, like it was supposed to be common knowledge or something. Silence glanced at her, stopping next to Monodramon in case he needed help.

"I don't see why they use them. All they do is make me slip and get stuff always nagging my feet."

"Humans have very fragile bodies. To them, even something like that probably amounts to some form of armor." Rain attempted to explain, passing in front of Monodramon, then turning to look at him, her towering figure (compared to him anyway) looming over like a mighty judge. "Ma...M.M., you do not need to use that form if you don't desire so. It is true that it provides us with a tactical advantage against the possibility of you being taken by someone who knows of the dojo and who you once were, but if it is too troubling, we can avoid using it when we're not in populated areas. Or are you perhaps having trouble turning off the holosuit?"

Monodramon glanced to the side, knowing full well Rain's eyes were fixed on his every move now. It was hard to say it, but he'd feel terrible simply casting away the holosuit when Rain and Silence went out of their way to gift it to him. Besides, reencountering his friends from the dojo, receiving a gift like this... How long had it been? Since his first week in the human world? Since he last saw Wisemon? He couldn't even recall, but there was a warmth in using this form that felt unmatched, as if Rain and Silence's own feelings were part of it's very making.

"I'll hum...I think I'd rather take it off when we get there only." Monodramon decided. Rain sighed, and in an instant her arms moved and lifted Monodramon off the ground. "Wh-what are you doing? Put me down!"

"If you do not wish to walk more comfortably, but still would complain about the difficulties of walking in that form, M.M., then I think it would be best to carry you to our location. This way we avoid having to stop, and make it with a much faster pace. I doubt we will engage in combat immediately as we arrive, regardless." Following this statement, and before Monodramon could have any words to protest, Rain turned around and glanced at Silence. "Silence, do try to keep up, but watch our back as well."

Silence nodded, Rain leaned while Monodramon gasped, then the two disciples of Dorbickmon sprinted towards the location they had seen in the fliers, arriving in a matter of minutes. Monodramon almost ended up getting sent flying foward when Renamon suddenly stopped, but Silence managed to catch him on time. Not that it would have made much of a difference, as whatever terrain or plants would have been in the way already appeared as wrecked as they could be.

"My apologies M.M., I am not using to carrying loads with my arms yet."

"T-that is fine. You didn't have to carry me in the first place." Monodramon replied as Silence put him down. "We are in the meeting place, right?"

Monodramon stepped foward, while Silence observed the wrecked place. Both of them could tell, the cruelty of seeing such a place in this state, both of them wondered what could have been here before. Was it beautiful? Was it calming? Was it yummy? They would never know now.

"Is anyone in here?" Monodramon inquired loudly, hoping to find however had requested them to come hunt, and not instead the monster they had come to hunt. Rain seemed worried about that possiblity as well, glancing with squinted eyes at every corner and crook and direction, not letting a single nearby movement escape her view.

---

Tags: Cross Talia and Tohru & Simba Hiroyo Oda

Golden light pierces the canopy of the verdant giants like spears from heaven and Hiroyo is once again taken by the beauty of the digital world. Wonder grows here in the form of leaves with veins that look like circuitry and flowers with cables for stems. She tugs her yellow beanie down until it covers the tips of her ears and wonders if the slight bit of pain she feels is imagination or real.

There are consequences to her spending all her time in this world on the beach, after all, and not all of them are as easily dealt with as saying she went to the tanner. She’s normally not one for burning but her skin is hot on the back of neck and trailing down under the thin, light blue long sleeve shirt she’s wearing, the fabric so light as to be floating more than touching her skin. Not every touch everywhere is agony, but it’s enough that Roger is crawling across the ground to her right instead of taking his usual perch on her shoulders.

“I still don’t know why it’s called a beanie when it has nothing to do with beans.” The Kunemon speaks up as if thought of him has summoned his voice. Hiroyo sighs and brings a hand to her face, fingers hovering millimeters away from the reddened skin as the discussion starts up once more. At this point she’s so tired of explaining human fashion that she wishes the monster would jump out so they could deal with it already. “It’s a misleading name, and those who picked it out should be tarred!”

“I still don’t get why you measure your weight in gigabytes rather than any unit that actually measures weight!” She retorts, taking her hand from over her face and using it to shade her eyes as she passes through one of the shafts of sunlight. The underbrush is particularly thick here and she’s glad she chose jeans today, her shorts would not have stopped the assault on her legs. Her voice slips into something dismissive. “It doesn’t really matter what you think should happen to the namers of it- I’m pretty sure they are either dead or laughing on piles of money at this point. Popularity decides opinion after all~”

Before Roger gets a chance to fire back his brother returns from his scouting trip further in the forest and lands to the side of the ‘path’ they’re following. The Fanbeemon is alert and seems to be in same good health as his brother. He too takes up walking across the ground rather than attempting to ride on the human’s back. His voice is as smooth and unhurried as it usually is, and the news he carries is glad. “The meeting point is ahead. It appears two other humans have appeared there, both appear to have twin digimon as well.”

“Wait wait, they both have twins? That’s excellent! With six ‘mons between us we have to have the numbers advantage, right?” Hiroyo asked, her steps picking up pace as she hurried along. Excitement was clear in her voice, clear even in the way she moved and Morgan was forced to take to the skies to keep pace. “Do you really need to babysit me?”

“We are here to hunt a monster, not sight see. You alone would  be an invitation for disaster.”

“Hey hey! Wait up!” Roger called from back. The other two were quickly out of sight, despite him speeding up to considerably. As he huffed and puffed along he was forced to admit that perhaps he should spend less time riding around on Hiroyo's shoulders and more time walking.

---

Hiroyo was first to arrive in the area around the little hut, her run slowing to an excited trot as she approached. A wide grin spread itself on her face as she took in the mob of folks in front of the door. Morgan landed carefully beside her and surveyed everyone carefully but kept quiet as was his habit.

“Hello! I’m Hiroyo! I’m here for the monster hunting with Morgan,” The red head gestured to the Fanbeemon at her side, waiting for him to raise one oversized claw and give a half-hearted wave to those gathered. Her grin triumphant she turned to the other side and waved at the empty space before her, the words that had been begun before she turned halting from her lips as she realized someone was missing. Luckily said someone entered the clearing almost immediately after she realized he was missing. It was still something that probably wouldn't fill her future coworkers with confidence. “And this is-ah, taking hist time apparently! I thought he-there he is! The Kunemon, Roger!”

“You left me!” The Kunemon wheezed as he crawled across the grass to flop down at her side. She grinned in a completely unrepentant way and waggled her eyebrows at him as she crouched by his side.

“Did not, we were only a couple seconds ahead of you! It’s all the weight you’ve been gaining because you’ve been slacking off by riding on my shoulders.” She retorted quietly, poking his cheek before standing back up and raising her voice so she could be heard by everyone. “So has anyone seen the client or do we need to go save her?”

Maybe with all the noisy hubbub the client would find them! Or maybe the monster would, that could really suck.

---

Before even the host of this event arrived, three more who seemingly answered the call for help did. There was a white digimon, a little larger than how Monodramon was normally, and a Lopmon, plus their human. The cloak-wearing twin digimon reminded Monodramon of a certain long-lost chili, causing him to look down at the grass for a moment in contemplation. Truth be told, a part of Monodramon hoped that Cassandra would show up again, greet him, see how he had faired since he came back. He wanted to see her again and thank her and he wanted to get to talk with Cloak and Dagger again. But, in all likelihood, he would never come to have such an opportunity.

As the newcomers waved, Monodramon waved back, and seeing this his companions Rain and Silence followed suit. Naturally, the first Monodramon approached was the awesome-looking white dragon digimon.

"So, you are the Gallant Three? What's that? And what's courage skills, some kind of ability?" He asked with curiosity.

Rain, on the other hand, gave a short bow.

"Excuse my master's rudeness, in skipping introductions. My name is Rain, and the Shoutmon over there is Silence. This one here..." She patted the holosuited Monodramon's head, who turned to face her. "Is M.M."

"Rain..." Monodramon wasn't pleased. He knew they did this for his own safety, but this time they were working together with people! Shortening his name to M.M. was surely gonna be misleading while he was still wearing the holosuit, he probably needed to clarify...

Yet, before he could, yet more allies came rushing in. Another human with a pair of digimon, this time two bugs. They seemed pretty cheery, but began arguing amongst themselves. Monodramon decided to double check, just in case, with the "Gallant Three".

"Do you know them?" he asked, before going to engage with them as well.

"We've called for them, but we have yet to get a response." Monodramon replied to the human. "In any case, shouldn't you keep your digimon close to you? To keep you sa...Oh, speak of the Phelesmon, I think our "client" is here."

Right on cue, a little oddball of a Kyaromon showed up, they seemed at once devastated and excited, their tone fluctuating like a seadramon's long body soaring through the air.

"A few refreshments sound nice. Even when there is destruction, the forest can still provide such nice things, ah so nice! Compared to the desert, forests sure are paradises. I'll take some water mr hum... My apologies, do you have a name?" Monodramon smiled at the Kyaromon, thankful for his offer.

"I suppose it makes sense to give a good look at the resulting devastation. Might give us some clues as to what we're up against and where we may be able to find it." Rain commented, then pointed at Silence. "Besides, Silence was already starting to go at it. Like his name suggests, he doesn't speak much, in fact, not at all, but he does have a sharp intuition."

---

Talia and Tohru & Simba

Hiroyo Oda

Cross

"Ah! Your partners are so adorable! They're such a cute matching pair!" Hiroyo squealed when she caught sight of the Lopmon and Hackmon. She pushed her hands against her cheeks, exaggerating the already large smile on her face. It was clear she was currently distracted by the cuteness factor. She stifled a giggle as Simba slipped and fell. "The little matching outfits are adorable, I can easily tell that your siblings!"

Morgan by contrast was acting just as serious as ever. After a solemn nod to the other groups he turned his attention to the woods. He was very still, his antenna flicking occasionally as he lifted his gaze from those around the little house to the surrounding treeline. The Fanbeemon really didn't seem like one for talking.

"Hey, hey! As long as you remember one thing we'll get along fine! If we run into that monster, I call first dibs on attacking it!" Roger declared the moment he got his breath back. His words were boastful, but in a friendly manner. The tone one might use when declaring their superiority over a friend. He seemed willing to cooperate though. "If one of you want to call tactics, go ahead. I'm always up for a fight, especially ones in my favor."

Hiroyo let her hands drop to her sides when M.M. approached, greeting the other 'human' with a wry grin at the comment about wandering around without the bug. She couldn't resist using the opportunity to throw a side-tease Roger's way, especially when it was truthful. "Hah, yeah but he wasn't too far behind! Honestly I'm probably safer without Roger around!"

"Hey! I've helped you out of plenty of problems!"

"And helped cause many more!" Hiroyo shot back. She seemed about to elaborate but was quick to stop talking when the client showed up. At this physical reminder of why they were gathered she seemed to settle down, her attention becoming more focused on the task at hand. Her face faltered at the reasoning behind a lack of tea or some other snack. For Kyaromon to be too scared to do that Hiroyo thought the situation must be really bad.

"It's not a problem at all, we are here to help you! Some water would be more than lovely!" Hiroyo was quick to reassure the in-training and follow up M.M.'s acceptance of water with her own. The trek out here had left her thirstier than she had originally realized. She'd have to be truly cold-hearted to hold something like that against the Digimon in these trying times.

"I really wanna take a bite outta this monster of yours. I'm going to look at the garden!" Roger called, twitching his tail spike in a way that was probably meant to be threatening. He would immediately start heading for the garden so he could crawl across the area looking for clues about what had attacked the area. He might be the kind who loved to fight, but as he had stated he loved fights that were in his favor the most, and forewarned was forearmed!

Hiroyo was quick to nod after Talia's promise, even going so far as to pump a fist in the air. The red head had a feeling she was going to get along just fine with the other Tamers! "Yeah! With the nine of us, we'll definitely keep you safe! The twins - sorry I should specify - the bug twins and I have a decent amount of experience in this world. Morgan might be the quiet type, but that's because he's always thinking!"

"Hmph." Morgan snorted and turned his attention back to the rest of the group. He focused on M.M., his head tilting a bit. A silent Shoutmon...? That was completely unlike the Shoutmon he had run into before. This probably bore further investigation. "My question may be impudent, but if Silence is not prone to making noise how does he attack? A Shoutmon I've met used sound as their primary means of assault."

The kyaromon seemed to find a little bit of joy again as he went inside to fetch them water. It was a small gesture, perhaps an insignificant gesture. A gesture monodramon didn't even accept out of kindness, but of out of his neverending love of consuming food and drink, a trait seemingly shared by a lot of digimon like him. But still, he couldn't help but mirror the little in-training's smile as he accepted the glass of water from the tray and concentrated to avoid slurping it all up in one go. He returned the glass to the tray once he was finished, and cleaned the droplets in his mouth with his tongue.

"Thank you very much. Don't know what I would've done without a drink little guy, you're a life saver." Monodramon half-lied, reaching a hand to pet the kyaromon before returning to talking with his "coworkers" for the moment. For the most part, they seemed pretty excitable and combat-ready, but with one exception none of them seemed particularly keen on fighting from the back lines. That particular digimon, a small worm by the name "Morgan" approached monodramon to inquire about Silence's attacks. "Well, much like Rain Silence has an FC-"

Mondramon stopped talking after Rain threw a sharp glance at him, he could feel his spine almost getting pierced by invisible shards of ice. He shivered.

"Ah, I mean, well you know... we've all trained together in the same dojo." He glanced at Rain, the anger didn't fully subside. Perhaps even speaking of a dojo was more than she was willing to allow? "He mostly punches. And throws a fireball here and there."

After talking to the other two trios, each group promising to keep the Kyaromon safe, monodramon crossed his arms to think. In the meantime, everyone started heading to check on the garden, so he ended up following them as well. With a few pointers from Silence, monodramon noticed the marcs on the ground, but neither he nor Rain knew what it was, and even if Silence did he had no way to communicate it living up to his name. This was certainly troublesome, but in the end of the day, perhaps it wasn't best to focus just on the enemy. Monodramon raised a hand and waved it at the others.

"Everyone! If it's ok with you, please listen up." No one had proposed any sort of plan yet, so perhaps this was a good opportunity to speak of one. "I'm not sure if anyone knows what this digimon is, but whatever it may be, it won't do us any good to know if end up getting in each other's way. We have the bravest trio over here and ...Roger was it? He's really into the idea of attacking the monster. The way I see it, that means we have three people who want to be front lines, four if the tamer wants to be there too. We have enough to surround it, however it is. I shall be a reserve, and Morgan... I don't know yet. Come to think of it, maybe we should share what our abilities are with each other, so we can have a more solid plan and..."

Monodramon felt someone tapping his shoulder. He looked over it and saw Silence, probably wanting to ask about his and Rain's role in this. I cleared my throat and turned to him.

"Ah, well, we can't very well have Kyaromon over there go unguarded.You and Rain are gonna be staying here with them to protect them."

"But master-" Rain immediately started to protest. Monodramon raised a hand at her.

"No buts, you're staying. I promise I'll be careful with my words. Besides we both know I have ways to escape if I need to, and how am I ever gonna remember anything if I can't get in trouble once in a while?" He gave Rain a wide grin, knowing that last part would probably sell her on the whole matter. The renamon hesitated for a moment before kneeling in front of him, as did Silence.

"If this is your decision, so be it." There was almost a shaking in her voice.

"I'll be fine, I'll be fine don't worry." Monodrmaon tried to reassure her, waving his hands in front of his face. Then he turned to the Kyaromon and gave them a thumbs up. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe, and save however it might be you were talking about."

---

Cross Talia and Tohru & Simba Hiroyo Oda

"Gabby, eh? Well don't sweat it, I'm sure we'll take care foo this monster problem." The flippant attitude Hiroyo had been exhibiting from earlier faded but her confidence was as steady as ever. The redhead had no way of knowing how experienced the other members of the team were, but she plenty of faith in the abilities of her little group.

"Thank you for the water!" She eagerly picked up the offered drink and began sipping at it while the Kyaromon told her story. The smile on her face faded away to a look of heartbreak on her face. How could Hiroyo not feel bad for the in-training? She herself had felt just as helpless  many times before! "Hey listen, I think, I think it's a good thing you're here to tell us about this. If you weren't here, we wouldn't have anything to go on."

Hiroyo turned her name to the blond as Talia started asking questions. Those were really good questions. She was quite glad the other female was coming along!

Meanwhile Morgan was puzzling over the words that M.M. had said. What was an FC? Was it something related to the dojo the girl had mentioned? The way the gold-eyed tamer shivered made him tilt his head. It wasn't that cold in the forest. "I did not mean to pry." He quietly replied.

He kept quiet as M.M. spoke up with a plan, and the Fanbeemon listened intently. He hummed thoughtfully, although it sounded more like buzzing as he considered it. There were no flaws to it that he could see, and the more he considered how M.M. was goign over it the more he thought this was perhaps the best chance of handling it, except for one thing.

"If your partners are staying here to protect Kyaromon, does that mean you plan to stay here as well?" Morgan asked. With the way things were currently working out it looked like M.M. was planning to ditch the only protection she had in this world! Perhaps she wasn't a tamer after all? Morgan narrowed his eyes at her, his head slightly tilting to the side. "Are you able to defend yourself without them?"

Roger came worming around the side of the building covered in more dirt than he had before. He had been rooting around in the garden, quite literally in fact. Still he managed to appear just in time to listen to people declare where they were going. "I'm goin' along for the hunt so lets move already!"

"I will follow my brother and Hiroyo. As for our abilities, i specialize in long-ranged attacks and have a light healing ability. Roger focuses on close-range disruption."

"Alright so, I guess us three are going into the woods!"

Monodramon felt a little ashamed for not having any particularly pertinent questions for the Kyaromon. Truth be told, he was more the exploration type. He would sooner and more easily poke his nose around where it didn't belong, observing things himself, trial and error, all that stuff. Still, he found himself nodding in agreement to Hiroyo's statement about the Kyaromon's presence. It was, in fact, invaluable to have someone who could be here to answer their questions and points them in the right direction.

"Truth be told, if you weren't here Kyaromon, we wouldn't either. It's thanks to you that digimon is going to get rescued and the monster is going to go away. Because you called us here."

Back to topic, however, Laila had the kind of questions Monodramon envied just a little bit. She inquired the small fluffy digimon for a bit, receiving a little cryptic an answer. A loud roar that was unlike any other the kyaromon had heard, one that didn't shake the trees. Monodramon's thoughts immediately jumped to the Behemoths the Beelzemon rode, and those strange things that gobbled up humans in their world only to spit them out after a while. Immediately after though, he shook his head hoping to push away such thoughts. He couldn't afford to think in such a manner! If this thing was truly a behemoth, then it most certainly came with a Beelzemon attached. It seemed unlikely, but then again, the gang Monodramon knew were bullies through and through. Still, they didn't stay long in any place regardless. Plus if it was them, they were screwed either way.

Discussion about his plan began. The matter was naturally anything but simple. Something Monodramon didn't forsee ended up happening, for instance, Simba deciding to stay behind protecting the kyaromon as well. After the white dragon digimon got approval from Talia to do so, Monodramon turned to Rain, who seemed a tad annoyed by this whole ordeal. Then he approached the digimon's tamer.

"Don't worry about it, your partner's gonna be fine. I'm sure he's one tough cookie, and even if something happens, escaping is a specialty of those two." Monodramon made a point of waving his hand towards the two companions he was leaving to protect kyaromon, as if presenting them to Talia. "Isn't that right, Rain?"

She simply looked away and scoffed. She was definitely not happy about this ordeal.

The whole discussion, as it turned out, led to Morgan's curiosity getting sparked again, as he inquired about whether Monodramon was coming and whether he could defend himself without the need for Rain and Silence. In response, Monodramon flexed one those thin, frail-looking arms of his holosuit and grinned at the larva digimon.

"Of course I'm coming. Why would I take a mission I don't intend to see through? Don't worry, I'm stronger than either of those two. So, I agree, we should get going. We'll talk about how to fight together more as we follow the tracks."

Morgan explained that his brother had close-range disruption moves in their arsenal, and he had long-ranged attacks. Monodramon took a hand to his chin, considering the options this opened or closed. He too had mostly disruptive options, though he could also help support his allies in his more powerful Floramon form, though the armor evolution wasn't the best fighter he had ever seen either. With Simba left behind, and not knowing whether the other "humans" were digimon too or actual humans, there was seemingly only one option left open for them. Monodramon turned to Tohru, heading back into the forest at last.

"Tohru, do you think you can take the front lines? If this monster is anything like what we've been described, I'm sure we won't be able to talk it into leaving. I believe you may be our only option with strong brawns, if it is you have them." Truth be told, Monodramon wasn't too sure Tohru had them either, but he had to try. After all, his own looks were pretty deceiving, even if in his case the point of them was to be deceiving.

---

Back in the Kyaromon's home, Rain and Silence followed the little furball in. In response to his question, Rain raised a paw while Silence went to take a seat anywhere he could find that was minimally comfortable.

"I do not have a need for anything at the moment. I do worry about M.M. though... I'll let you know if I require anything kyaromon. Speaking of letting know..." Rain turned and faced Simba, that fourth wheel. She squinted her eyes at him. "I am curious about why you decided to stay behind. What's your objective?"

---

Tags: Cross Talia and Tohru & Simba Hiroyo Oda