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Lost on the Outskirts [Cassandra]
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 23, 2018 16:54:51 GMT
Dr.,
I will be turning my tracking signal on for ten minutes, on the top of the next hour. Respond with one word if you intend to come.
-D
Amidst everything that had happened, that was the one message, the one sign that Dr. Cross received to indicate that at least part of her team managed to survive their own ordeal. Whether or not the doctor would have responded, the general still put out that signal, from 16:00 to 16:11, reflecting that his location was in a suburban area in Whitewater - and really, it was the best place he could think of in such a short notice.
That first message updated his signal to a new ID, and for such a short span, it was unlikely that he would be tracked - and even if it was, Denryu wasn't entirely certain if current events spread his visage too far past Whitewater. Still...
Just what was he supposed to do, now?
"Oi."
The General - a blonde-haired, green eyed 'tamer' in his mid twenties, gave a blink, finally breaking out of his own thoughts. He found himself sitting on a crate, in the back room of a diner. Standing above him was a Renamon, eyes somewhat cross as she stood, arms folded, tapping her foot. "You sure we have time to be dragging our feet like this?"
"Even if we don't, its not like we had a choice." He gave a 'tch', looking down at his own beaten clothes, taking brief stock of what he still had: a practically random stack of cards, a single USB of preserved information, and whatever was loaded onto his own Digivice. Past that, well, they had gone from 'floating island owner' to 'flat-out-broke', and the best they could do was find work in some corner diner in Whitewater. Well, that was how the Renamon was spending her time, anyway.
"Tch. Whatever, this should be the last day we have to do this... I have to help open up." The Renamon, on edge as it was, would see Denryu just give a small nod, the Renamon pulling herself towards the front room once more.
Just stay calm, Angel. He has a plan... he's ALWAYS had a plan...
Well, she wasn't wrong: it certainly would have been suspicious if Cassandra was sneaking around a warehouse, but who would question a tamer going to an open, corner end diner in a safe city? And that would be how their visitors would find the place: the Renamon, clearing and cleaning tables from the front, a few of the wait staff having their own idle chit-chat. For everything that had happened, the scene here was just... pleasant!
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Post by Cross on Dec 23, 2018 17:36:16 GMT
Yes, ~Dr ______________________________________
Cassandra Cross was tired. Words couldn't describe the exhaustion that weighed on the woman, but in that moment for the first time in days the Doctor was awake. Truly awake as she dragged herself up from her cot in the clinic checking to ensure she was alone as she switched out her holosuit. Too much had happened for her to risk wearing her own face as she settled into her new guise. A Sorcerimon stared back at her. Her appearance garnering a wince, but it couldn't be helped. None of it could be helped, but she could still help her team. Argent arrived at the diner with an armful of data tablets and the weary air of a researcher looking for a morning pick-me-up and a change of pace. Settling into a booth with a soft grumbling sigh the Sorcerimon ordered a cup of tea from the very familiar looking Renamon and set about their work. Only pausing the waitress after their third refill tilting their tablet towards the Renamon. "Does this look like the right spelling for 'Thermal reactive amalgamation' to you?" The Sorcerimon questioned ignoring the sentence above it which read "It's the Doctor. How is your partner surviving without his kruig cup coffee?" The joking comment serving as identification as she doubted Luminas knew the General's coffee preferences.
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 23, 2018 17:49:04 GMT
In all, this seemed to be about an average day. Outside of the 'meat' of Whitewater, the locale largely consisted of a number of beloved regulars and a handful of tourists that wandered out to see some 'out of the way' settings.
It appeared that this Sorcermon either belonged to the latter, or the 'extremely hung-over' crowd. Well, Angel didn't pass it up, taking the order and refilling that tea as necessary. She wasn't a talkative waitress - even giving an annoyed sigh as she looked down at that screen.
... Wait...
"... Tch. There's no 'e' in amalgamation... here, I don't want to spell it out." Blocking the table with her back, the Renamon picked up the device, and started to tap back: He's fine. Check out the back, they're terrible about keeping their stock room locked. Handing it back to the Sorcermon, she gave a well-rehearsed sigh, simply topping off the tea once more.
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Post by Cross on Dec 23, 2018 21:40:07 GMT
"Tch~ Thanks. Thought it looked strange." The Sorcerimon muttered carefully clearing the chat soon as Angel straightened and went back to sipping their tea. The Digimon would sit there for a few more minutes finishing their tea before muttering something about an appointment and leaving their payment and tip in bits on the counter. Carefully gathering up their tablets they tucked them under their arms before turning into the alley as if taking a short cut. Only to duck into the shadow of the storage doorway. Slipping through the door in one smooth movement and closing the door behind them with nary a click.
"Please restrain yourself from jumping me General." The Doctor quipped primed to dodge in case she startled the man. Her eyes scanning the darkness of the store room for the General in question unsure what she would see and perhaps more disturbed should she find herself unaccosted. The only reason either him or herself would fail to 'deal with' a potentially hostile intruder is if they couldn't.
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 23, 2018 22:21:07 GMT
Angel's reaction was a bit brash, but even to the others of the diner, it didn't seem too out of line - and as the Sorcermon didn't complain, she wasn't even told off about it.
For the moment, the Renamon simply played the part of an employee, clearing and wiping down tables as necessary, keeping a careful eye on the Sorcermon. As she finally left - Angel swiftly picking up the payment - the fox gave a simple sigh. The payment proper was deposited right into the register, before the fox would give a half-wave towards her manager, a Divermon. Really, it seemed like she was just slipping in the back to start another load of dishes... As it was, however, Cassandra wouldn't find herself 'unaccosted', though it would be perhaps in a way she didn't expect. With the door clicking open, Denryu swiftly moved to his feet, plucking up a simple piece of metal pipe, before hiding in cover away from the door.
Thankfully, however, it wasn't necessary. Cassandra's disguise as a Sorcermon was something that he'd seen before, and the way he was addressed, well, both the voice and the 'manner' seemed recognizable enough.
"Well, that's at least one good piece of news this week." Denryu set the pipe aside, carefully setting it down so as to not alert anyone of his presence. "Any trouble getting in?"
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Post by Cross on Dec 24, 2018 2:01:19 GMT
"No trouble getting in, but we're going to take a three part jump when I take you out. Cloak and Dagger are hiding in my D-pet." Cas murmured holding her position until Denryu had relaxed once more before carefully clicking over to her secondary disguise. Revealing her own marred face briefly, complete with rumpled clothes, and tired eyes. Before it was concealed behind the visage of her former and far more human looking face.
"What happened?" She asked softly stepping forward until the two stood nearly node to nose as she inspected him before slowly lifting a hand to cup his cheek. Her eyes searching his own.
"Where is Emma?" Cas questioned, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer. If whoever attacked the base had taken the Spirit User they would need to muster a rescue party quickly. If they had killed her...
There would be hell to pay.
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 24, 2018 2:28:33 GMT
Three part jump, huh? Denryu gave a slow nod to that, as well as the fact that Cloak and Dagger were indirectly present. "Hm." As per usual, the General wasn't all that talkative - but considering the situation, he seemed even worse off than he usually did.
For one, as Cassandra moved to cup his cheek, she'd most likely notice the cotton bandage now pressed against her palm. Though the General didn't look seriously injured, it was out of place for him to look as beat up as he did. He was briefly silent to that first question, enough time passing for Cassandra to ask the second.
Thankfully, he had a more immediate answer to that one: "Emma's fine. Her spirits aren't suited for such a drawn out battle, so she managed to escape via portal before the worst of it... tch." That was, perhaps, the one bit of relief he had to give her. As for the rest? "Simply put, a Code Black. Either the Wisemon or some bounty hunter in Luminas got a bit more of a lead than they should have."
That explained the why, well enough, but the 'what'?
"It was a raid, at the worst time. Most of the 'army' was split up into their own rooms - unfortunately, I didn't have the time to organize a proper defense. As efficiently as we could-"
"... We tried to burn the place to the ground and cover our own asses." With the door clicking behind them, the Renamon finally stepped into the back room, stretching out her back. "Demon apparently led the group through the west wing - and even Dreadnaught managed to disembark on his own. I'd... like to say that all we lost was the base..."
She'd like to, but she couldn't. With a sigh, Denryu drew his Xros Loader into his hand. Slotted into the side were seven chips - six of them were a dull, jade color, signifying their use and the fact that the Digimon were currently outside of the device.
The seventh, however, was black. The General removed the chip, and pressed it carefully into Cassandra's palm. On its side was a label, a small inscription of a ghost settled on the plastic.
It was clear, even against Denryu's stoic visage: that one hurt.
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Post by Cross on Dec 24, 2018 2:56:07 GMT
Cassandra's fingers closed slowly around the chip her face blank. The only sign of her inner turmoil the way her holosuit flickered and roiled like steam. For a moment the woman was left speechless unable to form words around the lump of pain in her throat. Only managing to whisper out a strangled, "I'm sorry," knowing already that mere platitudes could never suffice.
"I should have been there," Cassandra murmered, but they both knew there was nothing she could have done. Only be forced to run, fight, or die like the rest.
"He was a good Digimon and a loyal friend..." The Doctor spoke allowing her eyes to drift close for a moment the reality of the situation settling in. Luminas knew. Luminas knew she was a D-virus carrier even if they couldn't identify her as a Reaper. It would only be a matter of time now before she was hunted. Her only hope now was to remain two steps ahead
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 24, 2018 3:24:57 GMT
It hurt. Even for Cassandra, it was a little too close to home.
It was true that Cassandra's secret might have been exposed to Luminas, and in fact, that was the most likely occurrence. What made it so much worse, however, was that neither Cassandra or Angel even knew what happened to Phantom. Without the input of the rest of the team, and with everyone scattered across the four winds, it was next to impossible to figure out what led up to that moment.
"... Enough. You were where you needed to be." What good would it have been for Cassandra, Cloak, and Dagger to get mixed up in this, too? No, they had to move forward. It was Angel who changed the tune:
"I hate to cut in, but we're in quite the bind here. Our base is now nothing but a pile of smoldering rocks being picked through by Luminas in the middle of nowhere," really, that was a sobering thought, "and so we're stuck just trying to make due with whatever work we can find. Well, I can find - its not like the General over there's too keen on showing his face.""
"Hmph." Even Angel was off, even more 'sharp' in her tone than she usually was. "Well, if you're here, doc," the General took the chip back in hand, re-slotting it into the Xros loader, "then I suppose you had some sort of plan?" At the very least, she seemed to have a 'destination' in mind!
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Post by Cross on Dec 24, 2018 3:45:34 GMT
"We'll be stepping over to the human world for the night in order to lose any would be pursuit. Not to mention buy us time to regroup. While I trust you've looked after yourself I would like to take a look at your wounds. We can't afford you being out of commission from something as preventable as infection." The Doctor explained watching quietly as the General replaced the chip. They would be starting from scratch. They would however learn from their losses and it wasn't as though she was unused to beginning again.
"You'll likely be meeting a few associates of mine. We'll depart when you're ready. I don't wish to say more till I know we're some place secure." Cassandra spoke her eyes drifting to Denryu's digivice, "I won't risk anymore losses. Not one of you. Not today." She murmured priming to coordinates for the location near their destination.
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 24, 2018 4:13:14 GMT
"... Sounds like a plan."
It was short, but with everything that was currently going on, it was about as much as Denryu could muster. This was a new low for him, a far cry from the General willing to take calculated risks to carry out a plan. He had bitten off more than he could chew before, but not like this. After everything, was he truly at a loss for ideas?
Maybe, maybe not. Seeing their display, Angel gave an audible sigh, more vocal in her response: "Fine, I have no qualms leaving this place how it is."
It would have been simple enough to leave it at that, Denryu once more pocketing that Xros loader. But as Cassandra gave those last words, the General grit his teeth.
"... Just... don't risk yourself in the process."
That tone - it sounded like he was stumbling over saying something else, there.
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Post by Cross on Dec 24, 2018 16:12:56 GMT
"I shan't General," Cassandra assured him her gaze softening minutely, a barely perceptable gentling of her countence in regards to the man. Before her lips were lit by a positively vicious smile.
"Besides they'd soon learn I'm far more dangerous dead than alive." The Doctor added with a cruel chuckle, before carefully blanking her face as her D-terminal let out a low chime. The portal opening before them to reveal a rundown grungy alleyway. The barely there glow of the streetlights flickering as the trio stepped out onto the still damp pavement of The Shibuya Housing district steam rising up about their feet as the portal closed behind them with a hiss.
"Welcome to Shibuya. We're about two blocks off from my Human world outpost. Jegan my merc mans it mostly these days." Cas explained as she began to wind her way down the backstreets cassualy offering Angel her secondary holosuit of 'Alex.'
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 25, 2018 21:03:03 GMT
"Hm."
Such an odd thing to put confidence into, but Denryu wasn't going to argue it at this point. With that portal made, the three would step out into the alleyway, the general raising a hand to cover his eyes from the sudden change of light. This was an alleyway in...
"Shibuya. huh? Never been here." Denryu gave his response rather plainly. "But honestly, its been ages since I've set foot on this side."
"As you say, the time difference is too big a wrench, right?" She gave a shrug, raising a hand to deny that offered holosuit. Instead, the general simply raised his Xros Loader, the Renamon disappearing in a small blip of light, taking residence in the top-most chip of the Loader.
"Well, at the very least, it'll be nice to finally be able to talk a walk without hiding my face?"
"Yeah, for you, maybe." Angel's voice crackled out, through the filter of the Xros Loader, a short chuckle following.
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Post by Cross on Dec 25, 2018 21:46:12 GMT
"Yeah..." Cas murmured eyes distant and wistful as she stared out over the rain dampened streets the lights flickering ominously above her. Before the woman seemed to shake herself and flashing the General a slim smile took a turn down a narrow cracked alleyway with a towering high wooden fence with barbed wire strung across the top.
"Well this would be my back yard." The Doctor quipped leading him to a tall door in the fence held closed with a combination lock. Typing in the code Cassandra pushed open the door to reveal where she'd once had a large back yard there was now numerous heated storage sheds that had been converted to cabins and lodging for various mons passing through.
"Gazi and his crew upkeep the place and I provide medical aid and room and board for his mons passing through or any patients that need to stay overnight. It pays well and let's me keep up the place while residing in the digital world." She explained waving to the few faces that peered out the storage building windows as she shut and locked the gate.
"It also makes a good place to lay low." Cas added as a frazzled looking Medicmon burst through the backdoor blinking in surprise.
"Doctor?" Jegan questioned in surprise before blinking at Denryu in mild shock. "General!?"
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Post by Metal Drive on Dec 25, 2018 23:04:26 GMT
A back-yard?
Denryu's mental image of Japan was far more 'compact and dense' than what he was seeing in Shibuya, but this place seemed a lot more 'familiar' in most aspects, at least compared to the General's expectations. He wasted little time following Cassandra into the back-yard. "Gazi? You sure keep a lot of hands around for someone whose not a Xros General." Denryu gave his attempt at dry humor, giving her a nod to the rest of her words.
Though, Jegan's sudden appearance certainly changed the mood! "Oh, come on! He gets to waltz around like that, and I gotta be stuffed up in this thing?"
"Oh, quiet down for now and give it a minute." With a sigh, he gave a nod towards Jegan, and if permitted, would walk inside...
... To see the current state of Cassandra's ground floor. Granted, she hadn't been here in a while herself, but what was once the unassuming ground floor of a vet's office had been turned, more-or-less, into a corner Digimon clinic. Beds, bandages, white sheets thrown over old sofas, perhaps a patient or two... honestly, with all the apparent traffic, it was amazing this place still looked as good as it did!
"Ah, doctor!" The Gazimon walked up, a smile on his face as he nodded towards the disguised veterinarian. "Its been a while. What's the occasion, this time?"
"Doctor, you sure you can even call this your place anymore? They seem pretty settled in."
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