The bond that transcends reality [Akemi/Amelie/Asher]

The mess of sheer anxiety Anzu was right now and the situation developing at the outside world couldn’t reach Jazz’s insides. Now, the digimon had her own struggle to face, even if what everyone could see was a knocked-out Cho-Hakkaimon.

Jazz opened up her eyes to find herself standing up in the middle of a room covered by a soft, pink light. She had trouble differentiating the floor from the walls since the whole chamber was absolutely empty. While she didn’t know what lied beyond these walls around her, she felt trapped.

Knowing she had a fight to go back to, the pig-girl summoned her Roketto-Dingpaa and started… striking the walls with it. Sadly, she didn’t seem to be accomplishing anything.

“Come on…! She managed while launching her attack. "... I need… to get out of here!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind coming from one of the walls simply made her bounce backward. The strength of this had been enough to make her roll through the spotless floor. At the moment, she could only think she was the victim of one of Amy’s weird techniques. This thought would change abruptly when she heard a voice coming from inside the room.

“Ugh. Why do you always want to break everything?”

When she turned, a bit startled by the sudden presence, the Cho-Hakkaimon immediately realized who this was. This digimon had suddenly appeared. She was not here a moment ago.

“Shut up!” The pig-girl exclaimed while walking by the Lopmon talking to her, heading towards one of the walls to strike it again. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Of course you don’t.” Sitting on the floor, the bunny just frowned while staring at Jazz, while the hog continued with her futile attempts. “But you don’t have much of a choice, do you?”

Instead of delivering any kind of answer and, after finally realizing violence was not working, the Cho-Hakkaimon turned to look at the three-horned creature.

“Why are you here? I got rid of you.”

A firm shook of her head anteceded the Lopmon’s sentence. “You can’t get rid of me. Even if you refuse to accept my existence.”

The Cho-Hakkaimon directed a cold glance to whom she now knew was herself. “I don’t need you. Can't you understand that?”

A sigh. “You might think you don’t need me. But… didn’t you just get squashed by Shisei?” Silence invaded the room. “I think you know you need… her.”

The Lopmon turned her head to her left. Suddenly, another digimon had appeared inside this room.

The Chohakkaimon’s eyes widened. This was a digimon Jazz had never seen.

“W-Who are… you?”

A blonde warrior woman was sitting on… the air. She seemed to be casually floating, not really too interested in the argument between these two. Slowly, she opened her eyes to reveal a pair of green irises. However… she floated there, in silence.

“You really don’t know?” The Lopmon giggled. “I thought you had kept my intelligence.”

“Shut up!” Angrily, Jazz looked at the bunny again. “Shut up already! Don’t you understand? I don’t want to see you!”

“Well, I’m a part of you, you idiot! You kind of have to deal with me!” For the first time since the encounter began, the Lopmon seemed to be getting upset.

“You’re not!” Jazz yelled. “You’re not a part of me. You're not, you’re not, you’re not!” She continued. “You’re weak! You’re a feeble bunny who can’t stand against her enemies, idiot!” Memories of those words Katherine had said in Amelie's house were engraved inside of Jazz's head.

“See…? Jazz wasn’t like this when I met her. She wasn’t afraid of fighting.”
“K-Kath…”
“I made her like this. Because I’m weak. It’s my fault she’s afraid.”

"You're weak! You're scared of fighting and Jasso can't rely on you!"

“Really!? And what are you!? Cause Heraldmon just mopped the floor with you, you weak piggy!”

“T-That’s not--- I’m going to beat her, okay!?“ The pig-girl responded.

“Are you sure!?” The Lopmon was now yelling, too. She was evidently angry now. “Because right now you’re sleeping soundly and Anzu is probably fighting that thing all by herself!”

“A-Anzu…” That name caught Jazz off-guard. The Cho-Hakkaimon even stumbled back for a second.

“Is defeating your enemies the only thing that matters when your friend is suffering!? You told her to fight, you told her that you needed her in order to win this and now you left her all by herself! You only care about being strong and fighting but what about those who need you!?” Standing on her two tiny feet, the Lopmon dropped all of this over the pig-girl.

Silence. Her eyes wide open, Jazz just stared at the Lopmon. She was right. Everything she said was right. Jazz had not become any stronger. Jazz had lost to Heraldmon just like she did to Luke. Jazz had sent Anzu forward and now she was out cold.

“Anzu…”

Another voice reached Jazz. The Cho-Hakkaimon was immediately able to tell it was coming from that blonde warrior she had seen before.

Slowly, the pig-girl walked up to her, while Lopmon followed. This warrior was… beautiful. She was shorter than Cho-Hakkaimon but still seemed majestic and powerful. And she was looking straight at Jazz. The hog remained quiet for a couple of seconds before letting escape some words.

“Y-You… want to help her too.” Almost as if had read this warrior’s mind, Jazz knew what she wanted.

The woman responded with a nod.

Slowly, the Cho-Hakkaimon looked below. “And you… too.” She said, staring at the Lopmon. The bunny nodded too.

“You! I need your power! A swift movement and Cho-Hakkaimon was grabbing the blonde girl's hands, looking at her again. "Maybe I can get up if you give your strength to me!” Now, Jazz didn’t seem to care about defeating anyone. “I’m going to help Anzu! Please…! “ She begged. “If you don’t think I’m ready then just… lend that power to me. But please, let me help her!” This was the request of a desperate friend. "Jasso and I promised to stick to our word. I can't back down now!"

---

Although Anzu had rushed to help Jazz, it seemed that, for Amy, the battle was over. With the golem gone, Katherine was about to rush towards her partner too. However, the sight of a burst of light emanating from the hole Jazz had made with her body by plummeting into the sand stopped the Spaniard in her tracks. From there, everyone could see that Jazz (her body covered by a glowing, yellow light) had started reincorporating.

It was likely Amy wouldn’t even be able to finish the second sentence she had in her head. When Jazz opened up her eyes, she was back at the beach. She could feel a warm sensation going through her body. What was this… new power?

“I-it’s a shame…” While she could feel her body healing very slowly, Jazz still had trouble speaking. Probably the air inside of her was still missing after that hit she had taken.

“J-Jazz…” Katherine just stared at her partner, her green irises affixed on the Cho-Hakkaimon.

“It’s happening.”

“… It’s really a s-shame… Shisei..." A pause. "... That I haven’t done enough merits to make you wait a little longer before calling a battle against me over so quickly.” Jazz managed while her body started… changing. Her data was decomposing and taking a new form in front of them. “… Let’s… see... if I can change that.”

This burst of light ended up engulfing Cho-Hakkaimon completely, blinding everyone at the beach by a couple of seconds. When it faded?



A new digimon stood in front of everyone. Golden hair; White, long wings; a blue hood, pink boots; a sheathed sword and a staff.

Silence invaded the beach for a moment. It was the warrior herself who broke this.

“I don’t have much time, Anzu.” She admitted, her green eyes trailing towards the Mephistomon, who should be not too far from her. “But… I think I can do it.” Her voice? It was a lot more mature. It was firm but also… very calming. This creature was not here to bring war. She was here to bring justice.

Almost unable to move, Katherine just stared at the scene developing in front of her eyes.

“Jazz has evolved into a Perfect-Level digimon, Mrs. Katherine. The DNA can only occur when the two digimon fusing are at the same stage.” It was Bastian’s voice that broke Katherine’s reverie. “I'm not sure about Jazz being able to maintain that form for long. They must do it now.” The robot posited.

Almost at the same time, both Katherine and Jazz addressed Akemi and Anzu respectively.

    Interestingly enough, Amelie would find herself at odds with the words she had just muttered. It was both funny and amazing how things turn around from one moment to the next. In the end, that was what digimons were about.

    She stopped midway through her treading once Jazz addressed her, changing her form into one she had yet to see. A D’arcmon, even though her color scheme was pretty different from the usual. It was a brief, but what happened next was nothing short of amazing. An union between two beings that she had only heard about in the past. Something that she had heard about, yet never witnessed. The so-called jogress.

    Overall, the process was pleasant to watch, and the result was nothing short of impressive; Minervamon stood proud in front of the human, a challenge issued. Regarding the brunette? She just stood there, clapping at the new appearance in front of her.

    “Almost a year, huh? That sounds like a pretty interesting time period.” She commented with a smirk. Truth to be told, it really felt like a fair bit of time had passed on this beach. It would come as no surprise that, quite probably, everyone had moved to different pursuits. Or maybe different time periods altogether. Yet, thinking about that was more than a bit silly. Better to focus on what was happening right now.

    “In any case, you did it! I don’t even know if I helped, but at least I’m glad you two could finally jogress. However.” She didn’t want to sound like a smartass, so she just moderated her tone. “This what what we were aiming for all this time. Keeping on fighting is kinda pointless, isn’t it?”

    Unless she had misunderstood the point of their spar, this is where things should end, hopefully. “We can enjoy the rest of our day at the beach now.”

    Guess the only question that remained was if there was anything else pressing to do at the moment. Else, the group could hopefully just relax.

    In the end, it seemed that things wouldn’t be as easy as Amelie had presented them. Sure, she didn’t fully know how jogress evolution worked, and hadn’t ever participated in one of those herself. But, from what she could observe, Minervamon didn’t seem to predominantly be neither Jazz nor Anzu. An entirely new being, composed of the melding of both their forms, rather than two different consciousnesses living within the same digicore? Utmost fascinating.

    That was overall fine, but it seemed like there was still an underlying problem in this whole situation; apparently, Minervamon’s form wasn’t precisely stable. That, and she sounded like a Deadpool expy. Neither of those were precisely good things, at least in Amy’s mind. In the end, the solution for this problem was a simple one; the two of them had to fight for some more time.

    Did that bother the brunette? Not in the slightest, to be honest. She shrugged nonchalantly at Minervamon sticking her tongue towards her, then followed with a dismissive wave towards Katherine’s pleading gesture. “I don’t really mind fighting if there’s a reason for it, unlikely feisty snake-hat over there.” How was she supposed to call her, anyway? Janzzu? Anzz? Truly, the most puzzling question of recent times.

    “But, in all frankness, and as much as I appreciate the flattery going in my direction I doubt she’s gonna get pushed to her limit. I’m hopelessly outgunned right now.” Her tone was matter-of-factly; neither complaining nor particularly excited about what was about to happen… at least for the time being.

    Hand firmly gripping her D-Tector, she stared at the newly-evolved digimon somewhat dumbfounded. “I’m not sure what kind of kool aid you drank, but if you really want a piece of this.” The brunette proceeded to blow a raspberry at Minervamon. “You’ll have to come and get it. No way I’m rushing forward to get my ass kicked, y’know?”

    It would no doubt be an entertaining fight. And, besides, it’d be her first time fighting an ultimate-level, of all things. It could only be a learning experience, and a potentially valuable lesson for future endeavors. After all, nobody knew what could happen in the future.

    For some reason, Amelie was starting to think Minervamon and her wouldn’t be in the best of terms, but that was probably because the two had very strong personalities, and those never tended to mesh all that well. In any case…

    “I hope you fight better than what you rap, else this fight ain’t gonna be a lot of fun.” Nonetheless, taunting a digimon that was so prone to get ahead of herself was fun. As much as that fact would come to bite her in the ass eventually. “I’m still waiting.”

    It was then when the goddess rushed at the brunette, fully intending to not-quite split her in two. A half-defiant, half-entertained expression made its way towards the young woman’s face as a ring of fractal code began to swirl around her left hand. A transformation sequence later, Heraldmon was back in full force, navigating onwards just to… receive the brunt of the attack? Of course, things weren’t as simple as that; it was a trick that Minervamon was probably already familiar with. She’d briefly see herself in place of her foe before striking, such an event causing at least a decent deal of recoil.

    Regarding the aberration, though? Being on the receiving end of a mega-level attack was something she had experienced a few times before, and didn’t make this exchange any less painful.

---

—Reality Hemorrhage: Reality warps and bends around this digimon, changing the perception of its own self and its opponent. The next time this digimon would receive damage, whoever caused that damage is subject to the same amount of damage. Duration: up to 5 posts. Cooldown: 2 posts.

    It was a weird situation. It was undeniable that, at least at the very start, Amelie hadn’t been particularly excited about the prospect of facing a hopeless situation. However, the notion was oddly liberating, in a sense; if trying to change the obvious outcome was as likely as trying to block the sun with a pin’s head, might as well make the best out of this situation, right?

    While the aberration didn’t precisely appreciate have an indistinct section of itself sliced open, at least that had been moderately effective against Minervamon. The question was, however; would that be enough?

    Lying in a situation like that was pointless; it was almost assuredly a no. Luckily —or unluckily, depending on how you saw it—, the digimon wasn’t able to perceive any of her foe’s various taunts; instead Heraldmon readied itself for whatever came next; something that happened to be no more and no less than a gust of foul wind. Heraldmon disappeared erratically, yet found itself unable to move outside of the attack’s wake. Inconvenient was a bit of an understatement regarding this predicament, yet the aberration did its best to weather the gust as she moved point-blank and discharged a strong current of electricity in the ultimate-level’s direction. Most likely a vain effort, but better than to go down without putting a fight, right?

---

Heraldmon tried to avoid Minervamon's Black Wind. It didn’t work. Rip; however, it uses the momentum to close the distance that separates them.

Then she uses Volemic Ignition on Minervamon.

Volemic Ignition: Electricity 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.

Some cooldowns or whatever.

    It might really have been months, after all. Wonder who was there to blame? Hard to say, in all honesty.

    As things were, this fight was proving to be fairly lopsided, but that had been its whole point, right? Yet, somehow, the fight was probably among the most exhilarating Amelie had been in a while. Weird to place why or how, though.

    Similar questions could be asked regarding the nature of Minervamon’s taunts, or why in tarnation she had decided to lick her sword after slashing… that. Nevertheless, the fact that she didn’t seem to react to the terrible stench —or taste— was a fairly impressive feat on its own.

    Careful consideration aside, there was still an ongoing conflict among the two digimon, with Minervamon seemingly attempting to convert Heraldmon in eldritch ceviche. Kinda disgusting, but that opinion wasn’t very important right now. The eldritch abomination tried to avoid as much of the onslaught as it could, even though such a task was virtually impossible. The slashes opened deep gashes in the digimon’s membranes. Not good, but nearly not enough to stop the fight; that still had a bit to go.

    The whole deal had been a bit on the unfair side thus far, so why not even the scales a bit? A sign was promptly drawn in the sky, a meteor careening from it right away. It was aimed squarely at the armor-clad digimon, and, at least relatively speaking… it meant business.

---

Ayyyyy Abyssal again!

Cooldowns or something.