Skip Navigation
[DP 2] The Goonberg Files
|
Post by Erika on Sept 18, 2019 20:25:01 GMT
Among all of those pirates who had begun their search for Astrivia recently, Alan and Levi were probably the ones whose cruise had suffered the biggest change in the shortest time. How come? Let's do a little recap:
After following the lead of a being called 'The Midnight Blizzard', Alan and Levi had reached Powder Island. There, they did not take long to meet a certain Petermon, who offered them a lead on new information about Astrivia. The goal was to find the Goonberg files, documents from an organization dedicated to exploring the sea allied with the Digimon Navy. Following the directions of a card handed by the pirate, they made it to The Lost Droplet, only to be met by equal amounts of relevant and confusing data.
After losing a game with a DarkVeemon who looked and acted like someone they knew, they spoke to a local bartender, discovering that what the Petermon had given to them was called an Invitation Card, granting them a conversation with the Dusk Pirates, who they did not take long to find.
They were greeted by Virkka, the captain of the crew. After a short test of their value, basically overshadowed by Alan's braveness and honesty, the vamp ended up offering them a spot in their crew, giving them two days to think about it before the heist for the Goonberg Files began.
"That is...""If it has that smoke... there's no doubt it's real."
That basic exchange was everything the Weregarurumons at the door that led to the basement of the Lost Droplet needed to let Alan and Levi go through it again. Why? Was it really that hard to duplicate a card like this? Even if there was probably a trait that really defined its authenticity, the tamer and his digimon probably could not tell right now. Finding the way to the exact door that guarded the entrance to the hideout of the Dusk Pirates proved to be as easy as it had been for the duo a couple of days in the past. When they entered, however, the insides looked rather different. It was the same in distribution, but it was... much quieter. No, actually completely quiet! The digimon drinking and talking, the music sounding loud throughout the chamber, all of that were gone! The illumination could also be added to the list of changes, with regular yellow lights turned on across the place. Once again, Shammamon led the way of the pair, who should follow him if they wanted to get to Virkka. "So you actually drank it, huh?" He asked, scoffing a quiet laugh right after. "It'll be fun having you two around." Did they really look different? While it was true they were holding the empty cup, it was likely the duo had not noticed any change in their looks. On the other side, the cup had taken a dark blue tonality, once the liquid being stored inside had run out. But, further than simple looks, how did the pair feel? The past few days, it was likely Alan felt... energetic. Although at first, it was possible he thought it was mere excitement, he would quickly notice he woke up feeling more refreshed, almost as if he needed less time to sleep and actually had more energy to do different activities throughout a day. How had he spent that time, considering he drank the content from the cup immediately after they were dismissed by Virkka? Was this just a psychological effect from pure elation, or had he actually drank some type of long-lasting energy drink? Levi, however, could actually feel his data was changing. When he remained still, he could feel something inside of his structural information was changing, like if something was... revolutionizing his insides. Was his code being rewritten? No... new codes were being written inside of him. What could those be? It was likely he felt if he gave it enough time, something would happen. But what would that be? And when would it happen? The rest of the crew, all of those digimon drinking and sitting around the tables the last time they had come, were all asleep, much of them with 4 or 5 empty jars in front of them, kind of like they had drunk until they passed out. "Hey, Virkka..." Upon arriving, the ogre called for his captain, just like the last time. This time, however, the Ladydevimon was lying on her throne, in a position that did not seem at all comfortable. Many glasses were scattered around the base of the chair, too. With one hand, the vamp covered her eyes, while she issued a dismissive gesture with the other one. "Hnngh... Too early, Bruyne.""Alan Pantell and Levi are here." He muttered, glancing for a second at the blonde and his digimon. "... Huh?" She issued a barely audible sound from between her lips. "Why did they come so early?"After issuing a sigh, Bruyne answered the question. "... You told them to."Apparently, the Dusk Pirates had partied pretty hard last night. "Hehe..." It would be then when the duo noticed... the same Hagurumon was floating around the bottom of the platform, much like during their last encounter. "Master Virkka, you need to wake up!" A very familiar voice would come from behind a door placed right behind the platform, one Alan and Levi had missed seeing the last time they were there, mainly due to the poor illumination. Water seemed to be running on the other side. Finally, the water stopped, and the door opened, Lire coming out of it, using a towel to dry her head. "... We need to go check that place in about an hou- Oh." She stopped, her eyes widening while she stared at Alan and Levi. "He's here." "Hehe... They drank the Soul Wine." Hagurumon giggled "They what!?" Virkka jumped off her throne, immediately looking at the human and the Veemon. "... They did..." She muttered, showing the grin the pair already knew too well. Inventory: -Rocket Pirates Invitation Card. [Crucial item] [Alan] -Old coins. [Gift] [Alan]
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 19, 2019 0:53:41 GMT
Gosh, had yesterday been a fun day.
Alan and Levi considered heading to Shibuya for roughly 4 hours and coming back, but decided they needed the rest and time to prepare for their upcoming meeting, to show the Dusk Pirates their decision.
And rest they did, so it seemed.
It felt like the most productive day of their lives, but all the two were doing was heading back and forth, exploring the parts of Powder Island they had yet to see, familiarizing themselves with the area. Just for the heck of it, they even took the time to go find the tree described in the Rocket Pirates invitation card, though they didn't dare come too close, on the off chance that they had some sort of sense for their nemeses, and it was tied to whatever it was they had drunk the previous night.
They made some calls, texted some friends, and at last, the day had arrived, almost as quickly as to say, they had arrived at the day:
Two days; it had been two days in a row that Alan and Levi had woken up feeling like this. This was fantastic! It was as if life - even their very existence - had just gotten... well, better! They strolled into the Lost Droplet. Before they entered the basement to see if the friendly riddler was back at his haunt, playing chumps like violins, as the human boy and the dragon boy imagined he did quite often. Presumably, they didn't see anyone they recognized, so they headed back down into the depths below. It did feel wrong that if someone else hadn't gotten a way inside, they would have never gotten a chance to prove themselves worthy as they did, but they supposed the Dusk Pirates were the experts on who was worthy of joining their crew. Even so... just who was that riddler?
The two of them looked did their little bashful head-turns, this time with smiles, at the Shamamon's remarks. "Fun having us around?" said Alan.
"We're flattered!" remarked Levi.
"We were just thinking about how fun it's going to be to be around~!"
It was at that point that the tamer and his partner were led back into the room they had been tested in before. It was quite like being inside a dark ride when the lights were on for maintenance, like they were seeing something they were never meant to see. This is why they scanned every corner of the architecture as they walked in.
"Yeesh..." It wasn't exactly hard to put together the implications of the state of the room. "Guess we can't count on interesting conversation in the morning."
"As if there'd be any dawn people in the Dusk Pirates, right?"
Oh, how enjoyable it was to see these familiar faces and personalities under such a different mood!
"Oooo, the Soul Wine..." repeated the blonde at Hagurumon's helpful name drop. "How sophisticated. Gah!"
Virkka had certainly gotten up quickly, but the duo's minds and hearts set at ease once more when they saw that grin again. "Good morning, Captain!" greeted Alan, tipping his hat, knowing full well the only one person who didn't just refer to her by her name so far had called her "Master," and that, to put it bluntly, interested him - not that he was about to risk trying to compete with Lire for anything. "We suuure did... If that was real wine on top of whatever else it was, then that'd be our first taste of alcohol... ever. So, congratulations?"
"Pretty good first impression~" said Levi, who was standing and emitting a strange sort of draconic purr as he just concentrated on the sensations of the libation working its mysterious magic. "Took our drinks as soon as we left! Wasn't like we were changin' our answer, and we were liable to spill the thing on accident if we took too long!"
"Just, wow..." The boy smiled and looked around at the passed out pirates. "You'll need a more convincing argument before we go face down on any tables, though. That looks like an ...acquired taste. So..." He tapped his index fingers together. "...What happens now? And what's everyone looking at, for that matter? I don't think it's the cup..."
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Sept 22, 2019 20:20:03 GMT
Saying you don't do alcohol in front of the Dusk Pirates? That was almost a sacrilege! The whole crew looked at both Alan and Levi with eyes that denoted disbelief and confusion
“Wait… so you two had never had any booze?” Bruyne quirked an eyebrow, looking at his two new crewmates. “W-Why?”
“I don’t… get it.” Much as the rest, Lire seemed lost for words too.
“Hehe…” The Hagurumon giggled, still without haven’t moved an inch.
“Ugh. Of course they hadn’t.” Virkka rolled her eyes, her arms folded. “They are not drunken pigs like you, Bruyne.”
“Hehe… drunken pig.” Was the reaction of the gear.
“He is kind of piggy…” Lire ensued.
“You two are the heaviest drinkers of the crew…” The ogre muttered, sweatdropping. More than saying that to anyone in particular, he was just pointing out a fact.
After that, the two digimon just remained quiet, studying the premise of the pair taking the Soul Wine immediately. Not because it was a bad thing, but because of the implications that had.
“That explains why it is in such an advanced state.” The captain noted, still grinning.
“I think it might not be so easy for them to tell the difference. Unless they look very closely.” With that, Lire glanced at the Hagurumon at the foot of the stage, who just smiled as his face disappeared, leaving room for a shiny, perfectly reflective mirror.
If Alan and Levi did what expected, they would look at their own reflection in what was previously Hagurumon. If they got closer or stare for long enough, they would actually see there was a faint, purple tonality in their eyes. This was a bit more evident in Levi, probably because the purple could not hide behind any blue there.
Once again, Hagurumon giggled, while Lire leaned forward from the side to take a better look at them. “Yes… I can definitely see it. I wonder when will it happen.” She noted, staring specifically at Levi. If he looked back at her, she would only take a step back and shake her head. For a moment, her expression would go back to the annoyed countenance from the day they joined. “A-Anyways!” She turned her back at the crew and started walking towards a door located at the eastern side of the hideout. “Let me know when you’re ready to go. I’ll set everything up.”
Before going through the door, she turned to Virkka, and bowed in respect. “Master Virkka.”
“I’ll see you in a second, cutie.” The vamp let out an audible whisper, accompanied by a smile. Even from there, they could see Lire blushing heavily, before smiling back at the captain and leaving the room.
The Ladydevimon’s eyes shifted towards the duo again, who were blatantly being stared at by Bruyne.
“It’s exciting to imagine what will be the result, right?” Virkka asked, her eyes widening.
“I have never seen a Veemon get an Astrivia Form, although I know the process is different for everyone.” Bruyne confessed. “He could reach it in the next hours or… in days from now.”
“Hehe…” Having recovered his face, Hagurumon issued the same robotic giggle. “… Seeing a new Astrivia Form is always exciting.”
Right now, Virkka looked a lot better than when they found her today. “I think the eagerness has helped me fight my hangover.” Accommodating her outfit, Virkka turned and got off the stage, by its eastern side, heading towards the door Lire had gone out of before. “I’ll take a shower to get ready for our little trip.” After the captain snapped her fingers, the duo would see Hagurumon move for the first time, floating towards the stage and starting to… eat the cups scattered through the vamp’s table and the floor. Was that his way of cleaning?
“Bruyne, please answer any question Alan and Levi might have.” She raised her right hand in a soft gesture. “Unless…” The vamp stopped walking for a second. “… Alan wants to join me.” She giggled.
“Just kidding~!” Virkka punctuated that sentence with her traditional seductive laughter and left the chamber.
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 22, 2019 23:49:26 GMT
Alan just had to make a grin of his own upon seeing the pirates' reaction to his "bold" statement. "Well," he said, "Where I come from, the law says you can't consume alcohol until you're 21 years of age. Digimon, no doubt, don't work in a way that would require such a law to be put in place."
"Hey, who let a law-abiding citizen in here?" Levi interjected.
"Geh-heh, dammit!" coughed Alan, turning his head to the side to laugh. "But anyway, let's see here..." They both stared interestedly into their own reflections. "Oooh, pretty!" said Levi when he noticed what the pirates had been looking at. "What would Archon think if they turned full purple?"
"The real one?" quipped Alan. "I dunno, but he's gonna have to deal with whatever eye color you end up with."
Levi indeed glanced back at Lire while he was being examined. "Well, you were trying to look at my eyes, right?"
Afterwards, his interest was clearly piqued by the term "Astrivia Form." "Ooh, a new form? I hope I'll at least still be able to use my old one, no matter how cool the new one might be!"
Alan blinked at Virkka's jocular offer for him to join her in the shower. "No thanks, I... uh... showered last night... and somehow I don't think much cleaning will get done if... yeah." he paused after Virkka left the room, pondering which questions he should ask first. These were what the pair decided upon, (asked at a speed Bruyne was comfortable with, of course.):
"What is the Soul Wine, and what does it have to do with Astrivia?"
"We will be at least briefed, if not trained, before the heist, right? We've far more experience with direct confrontations than stealth operations."
"Are you familiar with a card-playing BlackVeemon who visited the Lost Droplet two days ago? If so, is he a regular?"
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Sept 26, 2019 16:09:26 GMT
While Hagurumon and Bruyne had their hands full with these questions, the gear did take a moment to give some sort of response to Levi’s comment.
“Hehe… Don’t worry. Once you’re able to evolve into your Astrivia Form, you will be able to reach it like any of your other forms.” So it was like another evolved form. Naturally, the question remained in Bruyne’s head… how powerful this Veemon actually was?
The ogre seemed to be brought back to earth when some questions were actually thrown his way. “Oh. Right.” He glanced at the empty cup for a second. “You can actually put that away or leave it here if you want now.” Unless they wanted to keep it as a souvenir?
After this, Bruyne folded his arms and actually took a moment to think about an answer that was good enough. “We could say it is a fragment of Virkka’s soul. The wine goes into your system and creates a bond with Virkka's data. Naturally, since Virkka herself has been looking for Astrivia for a while, she has unlocked her Astrivia form already, which shakes up your internal data and helps you reach yours. It's like she infected your soul with hers, except it's something good in this case." He explained.
"We all had the wine when we joined, so a part of our soul is tied to hers. You probably can’t feel it right now but…” He scratched his head, seemingly not understanding too well how it worked. “… after a while, you actually can feel where she is and what she feels. And she can feel the same with you two.”
“It’s some sort of ability she has, hehe…” The gear added while he kept vacuuming the dirty cups and dishes, floating now to other tables to clean too.
“Yes. She is the core of our crew. The souls of all of us are connected to hers and, thanks to that, all of our souls are connected between them as well. As you progress and get accustomed to this, you will first be able to feel what Virkka feels, and even when she is at peril. As time passes, the connection will become stronger, and you will be able to feel what everyone else is feeling if you concentrate. Even to the point of feeling things like…”
“… being drunk. Hehe.”
“Yes. Some members have stated they don’t need to drink that much since they feel drunk for every member of the crew who is drunk at the moment. Crazy it can get to that point, huh? Not all of us have reached such level of connectivity yet, though.” After a pause, he glared at the door Virkka had entered, water could be heard running at the other side. “… I can only wonder how Virkka feels. She has the strongest connection with all of us.”
It was definitely an interesting premise.
The second question actually triggered an explanation about what they would be doing next.
“In the strict sense, The Dusk Pirates are an autocracy run by Virkka. She takes absolutely all of the important decisions unless she commands someone else to take the decision for her.” Bruyne explained. “I understand a group will be going to examine some canal that can take you to Goonberg Headquarters since the heist is happening tonight. I have a strong feeling Virkka will choose you to go with them to the actual heist, but I am not totally sure. If she does, I doubt she will let you go there unprepared. She’s smarter than that. So yes, you probably will get some sort of preparation.”
About the last question…
“Hmmm… doesn’t ring a bell.” The ogre turned to glance at Hagurumon.
“Hehe… nope.”
“Sorry.”
Well, those were all of his questions!
“Virkka is probably going to take a while more. Why don’t you get familiarized with the place? I see some of us are waking up. If you have any other question, I’ll be around here, making sure the vacuum doesn’t eat anyone.” Bruyne scoffed and walked towards Hagurumon, who kept ‘eating’ those empty cups and dishes.
So! What awaited for Alan and Levi?
The Dusk Pirates’ warehouse was definitely better illuminated now than the first time they came. Tables and chairs were scattered around the place and some of the digimon were mildly waking up. To be more specific, a Kudamon and a Boogiemon. Maybe it was time to be friendly?
There was also a chunk of used objects and trinkets on some old shelf at one of the corners of the chamber. Maybe they could find something interesting there?
Or maybe some more questions could be asked to Bruyne?
Finally, the pirates seemed to have a break. Time to make the best out of it!
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 26, 2019 17:55:27 GMT
"That's a relief," sighed Levi. They weren't sure whether they should take the cup with them, but when they gazed again at the Hagurumon "vacuum" cleaning up, it occurred to them that it might be wise to invest in the cup's sentimental value. Any first-year Emotional Economics student could tell you that it would do nothing but rise exponentially over time.
And the true extent of the effects of the Soul Wine, now that was interesting. It was beyond any extent of bond that the pair could ever have expected when Virkka had first mentioned that her crew was her "family." Somewhere deep inside Alan, a voice could be heard thinking of Virkka and hoping this didn't literally make them blood-related. Alan told the little voice to be quiet and put it back in its box.
But truly the most shocking revelation was the last: telepathic drunkenness? Of course! It was evil genius! Though they had feared they'd be slipped alcohol when not looking, the Dusk Pirates had no need: one drink and they themselves had been laced with every drink the crew will ever drink! A game lost before even beginning! They weren't actually upset by this, though. The idea of reacting in this fashion was something they considered entertaining. Somewhere deep inside both Alan and Levi, a voice could be heard gleefully cackling over not having to make the choice to be drunk to try it out one day. The boys agreed to let this voice speak, as it was excited over a fact that could not be changed. Having been set at ease by what Bruyne had said regarding being briefed and prepared, they only had only more question to ask before letting themselves wander:
"Wait, Bruyne, one more thing, and this is important, even if it's a long way off: We'll deal with other people's drunkenness, but are we going to have to deal with their hangovers, too?"
After that, the warehouse was their oyster. They took a look at the stirring crewmates, and over to the objects of some interest over by the wall. Neither the human nor the Veemon were social butterflies, to be exact, and they felt that perhaps trying to strike up some introductory conversations while said crewmates were in this state would be awkward for him. Or perhaps Alan was uncomfortable with the idea of initiating interactions altogether. He could never be sure with how he felt about these things. Nevertheless, he reasoned with himself, an even worse case scenario would be to pretend he doesn't exist and have nobody so much as know or remember who he was by the time they were all supposed to be pulling off an important heist together, with 4 years leading up to it, no less!
Let's see... Lire said they had to go somewhere in an hour... how long ago was that? I should still have some time, anyway...
Levi tapped him in the back of the leg. "Hey, Alan," he said, in a half voice, half whisper. "I'm gonna take a look around for myself. I assume neither of us'll be leaving this room without the other."
"That's fine, I was gonna offer, anyway." Levi would go off to examine those trinkets that caught his eye, if he could reach them. If not, he'd ask Alan for a quick change to Flamedramon, but otherwise, he'd opt to stay as Veemon.
Meanwhile, Alan approached the two who were waking up, feeling quite a bit tense now that he had no specific directions and was left in a room full of mostly strangers for the time being.
"Hey... you alright?" he asked, figuring it was the best way to indirectly find out if any of them were in a particularly chatty mood.
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Sept 29, 2019 10:31:23 GMT
While he kept watching Hagurumon do his job, his arms folded, Shamamon turned to see Alan, who seemingly had one more question. The ogre stiffed a quiet laugh after the human issued his inquiry. “That’s a good question. I would say you probably do but… I have never met a member who does not drink and just let themselves get drunk by other’s drinking, so I don’t know what might happen to one who does not drink at all in terms of a hangover. But there’s still time until you gain that… ‘Ability’, so to say, anyways.”
The Boogiemon Alan had approached seemed to be somewhat awake already. He had plenty of cups around him, although not all of them were empty. What was he doing?
The demon, who also had a small chest placed on top of the table, seemed to be too distracted carving through his belongings, not actually noticing the human’s presence before he was already next to him.
“Oh. Hey there.” He raised a hand, a serious but not-unwelcoming expression on his face. “You must be the new guy, right?” He asked, looking at the blonde boy from top to bottom. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the first human we’ve ever had in the crew. That’s kind of cool.” To punctuate that sentence, a smirk.
“I’m Korka.” The winged digimon made way for introductions. “I’m the Sailing Master, along with the old man.” For a second, he glared around, seemingly not finding who he was talking about. “He must be sleeping.” Anyways! “I’m also the official alchemist! Although that’s not really a very official title…” He clarified.
Blinking twice, he seemed intrigued about a certain something. “What are you doing up so early? Is Virkka taking you to the Goonberg mission?” Apparently, not many members of the Dusk Pirates were awake at this hour unless they had to.
Levi, on his own side of the adventure, would find a very poorly organized shelf, looking even a bit dusty. What could raise his attention was the presence of 4 cups, exactly like the ones they had drunk the Soul Wine from. Three of them, however, had a regular, dull, silver-ish tonality, while only one was of a dark blue color, like the one Alan and Levi had. Why would that be?
Different objects were just scattered around the different levels of the shelf. How could these pirates accumulate this much crap? Some old cutlery, seemingly useless trinkets… Oh! A book. The only one around. It should be obvious by now the majority of the Dusk Pirates were not fans of reading. A tittle was engraved on the cover.
“Going through dimensions. How to effectively build your own Portal Software.”
Hmmm. How did that get here?
Was it worth it to spend more time searching for anything else of value on this shelf?
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 29, 2019 22:46:29 GMT
"Huh. I guess I'll find out eventually. The hard way," mused Alan. "All I'm saying is it can't be terribly healthy to be vomiting up stuff I never drank in the first place. They call that "dry heaving," I think, and supposedly it hurts like hell."
Meanwhile, in the present...
"It's a real pleasure to meet you, Korka! My name's Alan, and the one who joined with me is Levi. Not sure if you were there when we were tested two nights ago." Alan would pull up an open chair (if there was one) upon the mention of the word "alchemist."
"We're up 'early' because we were told to come in the morning to turn in the invitation. We're also being brought on the Goonberg mission, no doubt. It was our stated reason for coming here, anyway, even if we decided to make more permanent attachments than we had originally planned. I don't think I'll be regretting the decision one bit, though."
"But also... you said you were an alchemist?" the boy would repeat, a faint non-magical sparkle appearing in his eyes. "I've zero experience with the craft, but I'll be damned if I haven't been curious to learn a thing or two!"
Though Levi noted the four cups, he wasn't quite sure what to make of them. As far as he had been told, everybody in the crew had drunk the Soul Wine, so there had to me more of the blue cups around somewhere. He assumed the silver cups were either unused or represented offers that had been turned out. Were any of the other crew members actually only allies, as he and Alan had originally intended to be?
For that matter, who's to say these allies hadn't approached under similar circumstances? A Treasure Hunter, some invitation cards... and a plan for betrayal. It was a possibility, sure, but only a possibility. The Veemon wasn't about to go suspecting people just yet. It's true that it would suck to get gipped by the same plan we opted not to follow through with... but at the moment I don't see much I can do about that possibility. Now let's see what else is here... Ooh!
The book on portal technology seemed like an interesting read. He decided to ask another crew member if he was allowed to bring it with him. That is, once he was finished checking the shelves. There could be all manner of somehow-important objects here...
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Oct 2, 2019 17:14:13 GMT
“Oh, yes. I was here.” The digimon responded while looking pensive. “I didn’t get to see your faces, though. It was dark and I was drunk.” He reminisced. “You were very brave to approach the giant Skullgreymon. I’ve heard you didn’t know it was just Pillomon using one of his tricks?” A giggle punctuated that sentence. “That’s honestly even more amazing.”After that statement, the demon’s eyes widened up. “S-So you’re actually going...” Suddenly, the alchemist seemed even more interested in his new crewmate. While Alan took a seat next to him, the Boogiemon made room for the human, scooting his own chair to the side. “Well, I can definitely teach you some alchemy.” Korka pointed at himself with his thumb while showing a confident smirk. “But…! Could you help me out with something first?” Right now, his expression had gone back to being the same he showed when Alan told him about him going to the Goonberg mission, like if he had found his own treasure. “I heard the Goonberg Headquarters are located in an islet that’s very close to Powder Island. For a while, I have been looking for a secret ingredient that might work as a catalyst for a potion I’m working on: the Powder Flower.” While he uttered the name, Korka took out a printed picture out of his chest, showing it to Alan. It showed a flower with a purple stem and white leaves like the one of a common white dandelion. “I took this from a newspaper printed years ago. The Powder Flower allegedly came from this island, and it couldn’t be found anywhere else. However, I haven’t seen a single one since we got here. And, trust me, I've looked enough.” He confessed, folding his arms and looking rather worried. “I have the theory the flower disappeared when the streets were built and the whole island became much more urbanized.” Well, that made some sense, right? “I know I’m not going to be called to the Goonberg mission so…” He leaned forward, his eyes glowing while he asked the very important favor. “… if you go there, could you try to look for the flower? If you see it around and you bring it to me… well, that would be awesome.”Leaning back on his chair, he Boogiemon showed another smirk. “I’ll tell you what: if you bring me that flower, I’ll teach you a secret or two about alchemy so you can make your own potions and transmute some cool weapons!” Well, that sounded like a good deal to make! “So? Will you help me out?”
While Alan mused about the situation and the meaning of these cups, he would continue to search through the shelf. Although his results in terms of finding anything of value were not excellent (how could they keep so much crap!?) he did find something interesting below the many objects that were around. There was something written in the actual wood of the shelf, with a permanent marker. “Drop and claim shelf. Leave anything you don't need here and take something else with you!
DO NOT TAKE THINGS WITHOUT LEAVING SOMETHING FIRST.” Basically, Levi could come here and exchange one of his items for the book. Was that a good deal right now?
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 2, 2019 18:46:10 GMT
"Hah hah!" It wasn't often Alan uttered what he could proudly call a "hearty laugh." "It's true! Didn't suspect a thing. A lot was riding on it, you see. Even if I had thought it a strange or unreasonable test, I wouldn't have tried to turn around and call bullshit. Would have done about as much good as trying to weasel out of it, the way I was lookin' at it. I love that people took it so well, though. Thanks!"
As the Boogiemon proposed his favor for Alan to complete, the boy grinned back in excitement. Promises of treasure meant little to him compared to promises of knowledge, especially knowledge of a fantastical trade skill such as alchemy. "You've got yourself a deal, Korka!" The young blonde smiled again and paused. "In fact, with such a good deal, you better hope I won't manage to forget we're looking for some files, too! Heh heh!"
After plenty of deliberation, Levi would decide that it was best to begrudgingly leave the cup, to which they had only recently decided to give sentimental value, on the shelf in exchange for the book. Oh well, it wasn't as if "portal software" wouldn't help them get back there if they ever felt they needed it. The Veemon did definitely hope it would still be there when they got back to it, once they had absorbed any knowledge they felt necessary from the book.
Upon making the exchange, Levi would give himself time to decide whether it was a good choice by sitting next to the shelf with the book and starting to read, right from the beginning...
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Oct 5, 2019 13:05:36 GMT
“Sweet! I think we’re leaving this place tonight, so I’ll see you at the ship after the mission.” Giving Alan a thumbs up, Korka sealed the deal. “You better don’t forget what we're looking for.” A feminine voice sounded behind Alan. Lire, her arms folded, was approaching the table along with Bruyne and Hagurumon. With a single, simple hand movement, both the Coronamon and the Shamamon greeted the alchemist. Korka responded accordingly. “Come on, we have to go.” The lioness stated, glancing at Levi at the other side of the room for a moment. The group of five would start walking towards the door Lire had entered earlier, making his way out of the giant hall they were in and leaving the rest of the Dusk Pirates behind. On the other side of the door, they would find a staircase, not too well illuminated either. After going up the stairs for around 2 minutes, Bruyne would open a door that seemed to lead to the outsides, judging by the bright daylight that entered the space after he opened it. The weather was cloudy, definitely fairly darker than when the duo had entered the Lost Droplet that morning. They seemed to be in some type of forest, some meters away from the bar and the more urbanized area of Powder Island. Other than trees and thicket, the only thing that would raise Alan and Levi’s attention was a bat, going out of the door they had just crossed to leave the dark tunnel. Issuing a short burst of purple smoke, the mammal turned into Virkka. Had she always been with them? “Did you get to meet some of your crewmates?” Seeming genuinely interested, the captain asked, looking at the human and the Veemon. “Most of them are sleeping at this time of day.” She admitted, wrinkling her mouth. “But I guess you’ll get to know them a bit better as time passes.”Now, the LadyDevimon shifted her eyes in the Coronamon’s direction. “Is everything set, Lire?” “Yes, Master Virkka.” The beast responded immediately with a bow while glancing at Hagurumon, who started… oh! “Hehe…”
In a second, the metallic creature/former vacuum had changed form to become a Resshamon. Without losing any second, the rest of the crew jumped on top of the train which, although small, had enough space for the four of them to sit on top. “Come on. Hop on~” With a simple gesture, the captain invited them to climb on top the 8 ft. tall train. Hopefully, Levi could help Alan get on top, right? Once everyone had taken their spots on Hagurumon’s new form, the vehicle would start shaking and elevating. After it was floating around a meter above the ground, the train would start moving forward. Everyone should hold on tight to the handles distributed along the surface of the casket to avoid falling, this thing traveled through the forest pretty fast, dodging every tree on its way. “I already checked the shore and the way back. Once we get there, we should stay behind the bushes, since there is a ship of the Navy patrolling the islet.” Lire stated, taking out a D-Terminal from her fur and touching the screen, seemingly confirming everything she was saying. The Coronamon seemed like a reliable member of the crew, at least in terms of getting the job done. It was clear why Virkka trusted her. "Thank you, sweetie~" Virkka winked at Lire, making the fire cat purr. She was blushing again! While they traveled, the captain seemed to have decided she might as well take the opportunity to ask a couple of questions that had crossed her mind before. “So… Alan, Levi~”Virkka glared at the pair, showing a smirk. Of course, she kept talking with that seductive tone of voice. “According to what you said, you came to us wanting to be our allies in this mission. I assume you want to know the content of the Goonberg Files to get a step closer to Astrivia because… well, why would you, otherwise?” She combined a question with a statement, shrugging. “But… why?” For a second, her eyes widened. “Why are you looking for Astrivia? What is exactly your motivation?”
An interesting question, no doubt. “While we’re at it.” With a tone definitely less friendly, as usually, Lire addressed the pair. “I would like to know who gave you that Invitation Card. Are you planning to hide stuff from us even if we belong to the same crew now?” Her gaze cold as ice, the lioness quirked an eyebrow.
OOC: Inventory: -Rocket Pirates Invitation Card. [Crucial item] [Alan] -Old coins. [Gift] [Alan] -Going through dimensions. How to effectively build your own Portal Software. [Book] [Levi]
Levi dropped the Soul Wine cup.
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 5, 2019 23:22:43 GMT
Alan jumped and looked flustered when he was called out for his joke. "Gah! S-sorry, I won't!" Though it had been a joke, he couldn't fully deny that it was also a warning to himself. The fellow would readily admit to having priority issues, after all. "Come on, Levi! See ya, Korka!"
Before leaving with the book, Levi would make a good mental note of the current state of the shelves to know exactly what would and would not have been touched by the time he say them again. If anything had been touched at that time, there would have been nothing Levi could do about it. After all, that was how the rules of the shelf worked. Even so, he hoped he would be able to later make the swap. For the meantime, he handed the book to Alan for Infini-storage and followed the others out of the building.
"Ah, snazzy entrance," Alan commented once Virkka had reappeared. "I met exactly one other crew member. Korka asked me to see if we could find a "Powder Flower" while on the Goonberg mission. Says he'll teach me something about alchemy afterwards if I bring him one. So that'd be interesting."
"YEEZUS!" was the exclamation of Levi's choice in response to the instantaneous transformation of Hagurumon to a train much taller than either of the pair. For fear it might leave without them, they wasted no time in coordinating an Armor Digivolution to Flamedramon. The flame warrior than hooked his arms around Alan and jumped as high as he could with added weight on top of the train, and the two spent a few awkward moments trying to fix themselves into comfortable sitting positions with the rest of the group.
Now it was time to get to the questions they'd have fun answering. First up: Why were Alan and Levi searching for Astrivia.
"Ah, that's a good question. We didn't know the name "Astrivia" until someone calling themselves "The Midnight Blizzard" was advertising it all over the place a few days back. It sounds pretty silly, but... I think you could say our motivation is... "it seems like a fun and interesting adventure.""
"Although..." Levi added, "...we did say we'd go see every place in the digital world. It wouldn't do us any good if a whole city existed that we couldn't find, would it?"
Alan's eyes widened. "You're right! I... can't believe I didn't think of that."
"Oh, and the invitation cards. A Petermon who mentioned he was a Treasure Hunter gave them to us. First thing that happened after following the instructions of the messages left by "The Midnight Blizzard." Petermon said we wouldn't be able to find The Midnight Blizzard there, then dropped a whole lot of backstory on us about the Navy and Goonberg and we can only hope we didn't miss anything important."
"It was then that he gave us two invitation cards. He explained that two crews, the Rocket Pirates and the Dusk Pirates, were each planning a heist to steal Astrivia-related files from Goonberg, and that if we wanted any leads on Astrivia, we should use a card to get one of the crews to let us help them with their heist. His next instruction..." Alan sighed. "...was to nick the files and get away in a Navy ship, if I remember correctly. Petermon's stated reason for bringing clueless strangers into this? He says he wants "chaos.""
"And for the record... we've decided to deviate from that plan."
"We hope downing the Soul Wine without a second thought helps prove that."
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Oct 7, 2019 16:25:22 GMT
“Ha. Korka is still looking for the flower, huh?” According to Bruyne’s tone, it seemed like the alchemist was, overall, a nice guy. Also, one who had been looking for that particular ingredient for a while.
“He has some talent.” Virkka remarked while hopping on the train. “I bet he can teach you a thing or two~” It seemed like the captain was pleased the duo was already getting along with their crewmates. The whole environment became a lot heavier as the group listened to Levi and Alan’s story. The rest of the Dusk Pirates had become very interested upon the mentioning of…
“The Midnight Blizzard…” Lire muttered. It seemed like this individual was well known among pirates, even if no one seemed to know exactly who they were.
After glancing at his partner for a while, Bruyne inputted too.“I wonder what’s their reason for trying to bring everyone closer to Astrivia, somehow. We still haven’t met the first group who has actually met the Midnight Blizzard.”
However, the rest of the story sounded even moreinteresting!
“A Petermon?” The Coronamon’s eyes widened. “I had never heard of a Treasure Hunter who is a Petermon… I wonder how did he get our invitation card…” Looking at the platform they were sitting on, she mused.
Thanks to the information both Alan and Levi provided, the web started unraveling itself.
“H-he definitely knew a lot about us. How did he find out about that sort of stuff?” Bruyne wondered.
What was previously a smirk on Virkka’s face, slowly turned into a countenance of worriedness as she listened to both the human and his partner. It would be the last sentence uttered by Alan which would, actually, let chaos loose among the Dusk Pirates.
“What did you say!?” “His reason was…?” “Chaos…”
Apparently, with that last sentence, the duo had hit an important key of this whole matter.
“The Chaos Pirates…” The Ladydevimon’s eyes widened, before going back to their regular shape.
“Hehe…” Even if he was now a train, Hagurumon’s classical laugh was easy to spot. “T-That can’t be. No, it is impossible. The Chaos Pirates already have Treasure Hunter Barbara.” Bruyne shook his head. What was this? What did this even mean?
“You’re lying. You have to be.” Lire accused the pair. “You can’t just say something like that, Lire. How did they get the invitation then?” As the exchange between the members of the Dusk Pirates heated, Virkka intervened again. “Although improbable, it is not impossible. The Chaos Pirates might have two Treasure Hunters instead of one in their crew.” SHe now sounded dead-serious. “Just thinking about it… makes me very uncomfortable. Ugh” The Shammamon admitted.
“If that’s the case…” Resshamon’s voice echoed from inside the metal again. “… we’re in big trouble, hehe.” “We certainly are.”
“Master! We can’t work with these guys. I don’t think they’re telling us the truth.” Lire intensively stated, looking at Virkka. “And, assuming they are, things are even worse. The strongest crew in the world knows everything about our mission and they have not one, but two Treasure Hunters on their side. They can wipe both us and the Rocket Pirates easily.”
“That is definitely an issue…” Bruyne folded his arms. Had the air gotten heavier? Suddenly, it sounded like the whole mission was being questioned.
As the train started to lower its speed, it became evident they had reached their location. Behind the thicket, Alan and Levi would be able to see the sea. However, the Dusk Pirates seemed a lot more worried about the situation at hand than anything else.
“I think we need to call this off and rethink everything from scratch." Lire suggested "If the Chaos Pirates are going to kill someone, let it be the Rocket Pirates. They…”
“No…” Virkka interrupted the lioness. “Send a message back to the headquarters. Tell Kudamon and Pillomon to get ready. We’re adding them to the group that's going into the islet.” “B-But Master, they won’t…!” “That’s an order, Lirene.” For the first time, Virkka actually looked terrifying. Her eyes glowed in red, and her voice turned a lot darker. “We’re not backing down. And we’re taking Levi and Alan with us. Is that clear?”
Bruyne seemed to be absolutely shocked by the way Virkka was speaking to Lire, while not even the occasional giggles of Hagurumon could be heard. After three or four seconds of absolute silence, Lire jumped off the Reshamon.
“Fine. Let’s go.” She walked towards the thicket.
Someone was angry.
|
|
|
Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 8, 2019 1:58:59 GMT
Happy the digimon and his partner were to ascertain how much or little the Dusk Pirates knew about the mysterious characters they had met up until this point. The ability to piece together a picture of which pieces of the puzzle are known to which people was valuable, and now Alan and Levi knew three things:
1. The Midnight Blizzard is widely known as a figure, but not as a person.
2. Petermon is not widely known as a Treasure Hunter, but can be assumed to belong to a dangerous group known as the "Chaos Pirates."
3. One of the Chaos Pirates is a Treasure Hunter by the name of Barbara.
They were glad they had remembered to mention the part about chaos. That seemed to be the most important line.
Levi could only shrug at Lire's accusation, having guessed such an accusation would be made. "All I can say is... we wish we knew enough about what's going on to be able to conjure a lie like that. Even then, it'd be pretty easily debunked once we actually met any of the people in question. Heck, if that wine is really all it's cracked up to be, it should become a pretty good lie detector once its effects develop some more."
When the argument was finally order, Alan had a few more things to say regarding the situation, even after they dismounted the train.
"I have no frame of reference for how powerful the Chaos Pirates are, but I trust your judgement. That said, I still agree that we continue with the mission. We came here to find something you've been seeking for a long time, Captain, so I'm not about to turn tail over a potential threat. Neither would I advocate for simply letting people die over this, sworn enemies or not. Now wouldn't be a good time to start throwing around suspicion anyway. If the Chaos Pirates have a habit of knowing things they shouldn't be able to find out, it's highly possible there's already an informant in our ranks. At least one. Unless Levi and I have been bugged without our noticing, we're not one of them."
"Not to mention, if handing out clearance that isn't theirs to give is also a habit of theirs..."
"Right," said Alan. "It's possible we may have run into another such Chaos Pirate on our first visit to the Lost Droplet."
|
|
|
Post by Erika on Oct 10, 2019 20:03:31 GMT
After Lire had jumped down the train, the rest of the group remained there for half a minute more, listening to Alan's statement.
"Not letting anyone die..." Virkka muttered, somewhat recreating the human's words. "... Sworn enemies or not." The vamp giggled mischievously. "Do you actually care... About your enemies' lives? Hehe..." Reshamon's robotic voice resounded again.
"... You really found us some interesting crewmates this time, Virkka." Bruyne scoffed in a mocking manner. Not actually seeming angry about it, just... A bit incredulous. "I know...~" The captain punctuated that with a predatory grin. While it was obvious for the rest of the Dusk Pirates Alan and Levi didn't seem to follow their same code, their crewmates seemed to be more entertained than annoyed about this. Well, at least most of them.
Virkka stared in the direction Lirene had walked before, wrinkling her mouth. Then, she just jumped down the train and started following the same path she went. Once they were all off the train, Hagurumon would go back to his regular form, floating behind the group.
Another chaos pirate? "You mean the DarkVeemon you asked us about?" Bruyne inquired, looking honestly curious. "We don't actually know what are the rest of the members of that crew, aside from Treasure Hunter Barbara... Hehe." And the gear was right! This only made the ogre think further about the situation. After musing about it for a while, the Shammamon shook his head, apparently giving up. "No way to know if they're related for now."
After going across the thicket, only a group of trees separated their position from the sea. There, Lire was staring at the horizon, her head peeking out one of the logs. The Coronamon exchanged her gaze between the landscape and her D-Terminal, apparently studying the situation in front of her and gathering data.
"How does it look?" Virkka asked. "The pattern is the same as when I was here earlier, Master Virkka. It has not changed one bit. I think it's safe to assume it'll remain like that during the night." Almost as if nothing had happened before, the fire Digimon simply responded. Talk about professionalism! "Now that Kuda is joining us, she can be in charge of bringing the Tomb when the time comes."
"That's our ship." Bruyne whispered to Alan and Levi, just in case that part wasn't clear!
"That sounds perfect." Virkka remarked, staring at the horizon. If Alan and Levi looked in the same direction, they would see part (as much as the trees allowed them to decry) of a giant ship. It had dark blue sails, while the rest of it had a silver color, with gold details painted at certain spots for decoration.
Staring at the horizon too, Bruyne finally uttered the question. "So... does that mean we have a clear game plan to get to the islet now?"
While she kept touching and sliding her fingers through the screen of her gadget, Lire issued a nod. "It seems like we do." Out of the D-Terminal, an image materialized in the form of a hologram. "If we were to walk west, we would find this." A circling whirlwind of water could be seen, forming around the surface of the sea. "That's a typhoon. Many of those are formed around the island. That one formed this morning, so it shouldn't disappear until tomorrow."
Staring at the hologram, Bruyne quirked an eyebrow.
"The ship over there..." The lioness lifted a finger to point at the galleon that the crew had already spotted. "... is patrolling around the islet. It just moves in circles around the piece of land during the whole day, every day. Exactly at 1 am, it will be time to change shifts with another ship that looks exactly the same. They do the exchange at the other side of the islet, right where the headquarters are located. Under normal circumstances, it takes one minute and thirty-two seconds for the ship to go around the backside of the islet, where they can't see us. When the change of shifts occurs, it takes the new ship exactly thirty-six seconds to occupy the position of the ship that's going out. That gives us two minutes and eight seconds in total to go from the shore to the islet and then send the ship back to its hideout without them seeing us."
"O-Only two minutes?" The ogre took a good look at the distance. "So that's what the typhoon is for. Our ship can't reach that speed by itself."
"These kinds of typhoons can create a stream in a straight line. That will allow us to reach the island quicker. Of course, going back depends entirely on our ship. We won't have the help of the typhoon on the way back after we had dropped the group that's going into the islet." Lire remarked, still looking at the hologram. "When the time comes, we get into the ship, get propelled there, the group that is going for the files disembarks and the rest of the crew goes back. If we're lucky, we can use the same method to get the stealing group out once they have the files."
That seemed to be the plan for going in and going out.
"Questions?"
|
|
|