An All Time Low [Spirit Hunt]
Sept 25, 2019 4:39:55 GMT
Post by Toki Akiyama on Sept 25, 2019 4:39:55 GMT
A dull roar of rain above ground echoed throughout the winding pathways of Tenebrous. The dark undercity loomed ahead of Toki, whose eyes were dark and baggy from a lack of sleep. He had heard rumors that remnants of Cherubimon’s black market existed somewhere in the shadowy depths of this twisted reflection of Terminus. His brow furrowed as he began his trek below. The air here was suffocating for him and he just wanted to be out of here as soon as possible. An anger pulsed deep within Toki as he began his search in earnest. These people were part of the reason his spirit was now dormant. That constant voice and companion aiding him on his journey was now silent, and that silence was absolutely deafening. He had managed to suppress his grief up until now, but that grief was about to be unleashed in pure, unfiltered fury. That was the plan, at any rate…
Various merchants of…questionable integrity tried to beckon Toki to their shops and sell him things that may or may not have been stolen from the city above. What desperation drives people to do stuff like this? He couldn’t help but feel sorry for some of the people living down here, but that was not Toki’s concern. Wherever this was, it was likely in the darkest corners of Tenebrous. While this was a shady place in general, selling the spirits of Digimon may be frowned upon even here, so he had to explore further. The dimly lit alleys and streets all started to mesh together, looking the same. Toki was beginning to space out and feel dizzy. It must have been the exhaustion…then, he found himself standing in an old, abandoned building when he was just walking the streets a second ago.
Did someone get the drop on him? How did he get here? He reached for his Digivice, looking around for whoever was responsible. “The would-be hero and wielder of the ancient moon spirit, Tsusagimon…what a disappointment that he belonged to one so young and naïve.” In a dark blur, a Ravemon materialized in the shadows nearby “And how ironic that a master of the night brings an end to his pitiful suffering.”
Without a word, Toki held his hand out to conjure the data necessary for spirit evolution. He brought the data to his Digivice, only for it to spark violently as the data is disrupted. Toki yelled out in pain and clutched his hand as he dropped the Digivice “W-what’s…why can’t I…?” He muttered to himself as he looked at the screen on the Digivice. “SYNC ERROR.” Flashed on the screen repeatedly. He reached out with a shaky hand and held it close to his chest “Why…?”
“It looks like you’ve fallen out of favor with your precious, supposed friend. How does it feel?” He warped around Toki as his afterimages looked on in cruel mockery “To be abandoned by the mentor you so dearly cherished? He must be so disappointed in you.”
Toki shook his head “No…h-he’s not. He can’t be. I’m…in control.”He said, hands shaking against his chest. His breathing was getting heavy. His eyes widened in a mix of confusion and terror. He couldn’t…defend himself. He couldn’t defend anyone in this state! Ravemon grinned maliciously as he dashed towards Toki, swiping his blade at the defenseless human.
Panicked, Toki ducked under the blade and began running for his life as he held his Digivice close to his chest “This can’t be happening. Please…answer me!” He couldn’t believe what was happening. He was letting his fear get the better of him now. Was he really so powerless without the spirit? All this time he felt like he could handle anything the Digital World could throw at him with his own power…but he was just fooling himself. He really was…a fake. A powerless human borrowing the power of Digimon. Now, without that power, he was running through an abandoned warehouse to avoid an enemy Digimon he used to be able to fight with on an equal level.
Eventually he found himself cornered, unable to flee anywhere else as he turned to face the enemy Digimon. He gulped, legs barely holding him up. “I’m not afraid…I-I’m stronger than that…I have…I-I have to protect everyone…” He bit down on his knuckle, an old fear reflex resurfacing.
Ravemon’s laughter echoed across the warehouse “Oh you’re joking. The proud defender, Toki Akiyama, was this whimpering little coward all along? Without your Digimon power to back you up, you’re nothing. You’re less than nothing, aren’t you? Here you are, shivering…if only you had the sense to bring along some backup.”
Toki felt completely defeated. He slumped to the ground and stared at Ravemon, unable to muster up the energy to run. He didn’t want to bother anyone with his problems…and once again that put him in a terrible situation. He forced himself to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and for what? Two of his dearest friends were lost and the Digital World didn’t seem much better than when he started. Was he truly so insignificant? Even more so without the ability to spirit evolve? All that anger disappeared into fear and regret.
“Everyone…” he muttered to himself as Ravemon prepared the killing blow “I’m so sorry…I’ve let you all down…” He felt so useless. What good was he to everyone he had met? He fought for them, but never really attempted to form a lasting bond. So in the end, he felt as if the only reason people liked him was because of that power. Without it…would they even look at him the same way?
“You’re joking, right? Is that what you’re really thinking?” A voice echoed out as a bright light shined in front of Toki and blocked the incoming attack. “I could handle watching you be afraid. I could handle you feeling powerless in a time where, yeah, you’re pretty powerless compared to this guy. What I can’t handle, is you pretending like everyone’s just going to up and abandon you for something so petty. You want to know why you can’t spirit evolve? It’s because you’ve lost sight of what Tsusagimon wanted from you. As for me, I have a debt to repay after your friend rescued me from the depths of Ultimate Chaosmon.” A spirit floated between Toki and Ravemon “Now hurry up. You want to stand and fight again? Then I’m here to help you out.”
Toki reached out his Digivice but hesitated for a moment. He grit his teeth as he swiped it at the totem, adding the data as it seemed to branch off from Lagosmon as an alternate Digivolution “I don’t know why you care…” He reached his hand out as data spiraled around it “…but you shouldn’t have gotten involved with me.” He said as he brought the data to the Digivice “Spirit Evolution!”
Toki rose up in a spiraling field of data, taking on a form he was not familiar with, but he felt a rush of adrenaline. The form of a large humanoid Digimon with red, drill-like quills sprouting all over his body appeared from the light as it took on a combat ready stance “Stiffilmon!”
Ravemon winced slightly “So you’ve got yourself a new spirit…that won’t save you! Moushugeki!” he shouted, dashing towards the newly digivolved spirit user, claws slashing down upon him.
Toki turned slightly and braced himself, quills shooting outwards “Spiral Form…Quill Barrier!” Ravemon ends up slamming right into the quills, pierced deeply from his attempted attack. Toki kicked Ravemon away as he took in a deep breath, the drills across his body rotating at rapid speeds “Seismic Boost!” He howled, a red glow enveloping his body. He grinned widely as he clenched his fists “Come on. Where’d all that bluster go, huh?! You were more than happy terrorizing me when I couldn’t defend myself! Who’s whimpering now?!”
Ravemon blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in personality as Toki disappeared in a blur, only to reappear in front of Ravemon, fist already digging into his torso “Spiral Form…! Sunder!” In a rapid onslaught, Toki began to strike Ravemon with blow after blow, drills tearing into his body with each punch and kick. “Overclock!” He added as he slashed across Ravemon’s body with his claws before cutting into him with the metallic claws on his boots.
Even as Ravemon stumbled back in pain, Toki continued walking towards them, his glare piercing Ravemon to his core. “I’ll give you a chance to get out of here. I never want to hear about any spirits being sold and corrupted ever again, you got that?”
Ravemon nodded “Y-yes…you’ll never hear from me again…I promise…” He said. As Toki turned to leave, Ravemon smiled once again. Toki was always too merciful for his own good. He’d never bring himself to kill a Digimon if he could help it. Silently he raised his blade and swung down towards Toki in an attempt to finish him off. However, Toki turned and grabbed Ravemon’s throat, lifting him into the air slightly “I’m sorry it’s come to this.” He said as he tossed him in the air and prepared himself, claws digging into the ground “Spiral Form, Shatter.” He said before shoulder checking the falling Ravemon, piercing him with his quills and charging through the wall of the building and landing outside.
Toki watched as Ravemon’s data dispersed. A sharp pain shot through his features as he clenched his head, digivolution forcefully ending and returning him to his human state. The other Digimon gave Toki space as he shuffled his way out of the city. High above Tenebrous, Toki managed to make it outside, the rain had stopped and given way to a bright sky. Still, Toki looked tired and weary. He sat down outside, hugging his knees.
“I feel...so many negative emotions coming from you. What in the world are you even doing to yourself? You haven’t let yourself grieve or come to terms with what’s happened. You’re just shoving it all deep down and letting it fester.”
“Quiet…” Toki said “What are you even still doing here? You did what you wanted...now just...go. Find an actual spirit user.”
“No can do. I’m bonded to your digivice now. There’s not much I can do to change that fact, so as far as I know we’ll be working together for the foreseeable future. Besides...out of all the spirit users I could be bonded with, I’m honored it’s with someone like you.”
Toki clenched his fists “Just be quiet. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not who you think I am. I’m just some weak, self-righteous human who thought he could change the world just because he had some semblance of power. And you know what that got me? Two dead friends and nothing to show for what I’ve done. You think I’m happy to have you try and be a replacement?”
The new spirit was slightly taken aback at the word ‘replacement.’ “Toki, I’m not trying to replace anyone here. All I know is...you need someone to lift you out of whatever this is.”
At this point, Toki wasn’t sure what to say next. It took him a while to really respond to what he had said “What do you want from me? Why did you even come to me? I...without Tsusagimon I’m useless. I'm just going to mess up again and then you'll probably die just like him and K...”
“That’s enough out of you. You want to know why I came to you? It’s because I’m not the sort to just sit around and watch you throw yourself at every death trap that comes your way. You need to breathe and take time to come to terms with everything.”
“What is there to come to terms with?!” Toki shouted. He was at his limit as he cried out, running his hands through his hair “All that I’ve done...it just feels like it hasn’t done anything worth while...the people who call themselves my friends...if they knew what happened around me they wouldn't give me a second glance!"
“All you’re doing is bottling everything up because you feel like to have to be this big hero who doesn’t have any faults. Well you know what that’s doing? That’s destroying you. It’s okay to let yourself be sad...to let yourself be angry...to enjoy the thrill of battle! Most importantly it's okay to accept kindness in return. That doesn’t make you any less of the hero you’ve been. And if you’re so worried about what your friends are thinking, then maybe you should actually spend time with them instead of disappearing every time you help them with a problem and actually get to know them. I guarantee you this is all in your head.”
Toki sighed heavily, wiping the tears from his eyes “Just...leave me alone. I don’t want to hear it right now...I don’t…” he stood up, looking down at the grassy hill ahead. “I don’t want to become who I was before this…” All this pent up anger and frustration with himself was doing him far more harm than good. He was isolating himself, becoming lonely and bitter.
“Well good, because I’m not going to let that happen to you. You’ve made all these friends that you’re too scared to consult because you don’t want to drag them into your troubles, am I right? It’s time you accepted that it’s alright for you to accept help from others. You can’t do this on your own, so stand up and let’s get started.”
Toki didn’t even know what to say at this point. There was truth to what his spirit said. He had lost his way. This isn’t what Tsusagimon would have wanted from him, but he had just reached the breaking point. Now was the time to build himself back up. But he couldn’t do it alone.
Various merchants of…questionable integrity tried to beckon Toki to their shops and sell him things that may or may not have been stolen from the city above. What desperation drives people to do stuff like this? He couldn’t help but feel sorry for some of the people living down here, but that was not Toki’s concern. Wherever this was, it was likely in the darkest corners of Tenebrous. While this was a shady place in general, selling the spirits of Digimon may be frowned upon even here, so he had to explore further. The dimly lit alleys and streets all started to mesh together, looking the same. Toki was beginning to space out and feel dizzy. It must have been the exhaustion…then, he found himself standing in an old, abandoned building when he was just walking the streets a second ago.
Did someone get the drop on him? How did he get here? He reached for his Digivice, looking around for whoever was responsible. “The would-be hero and wielder of the ancient moon spirit, Tsusagimon…what a disappointment that he belonged to one so young and naïve.” In a dark blur, a Ravemon materialized in the shadows nearby “And how ironic that a master of the night brings an end to his pitiful suffering.”
Without a word, Toki held his hand out to conjure the data necessary for spirit evolution. He brought the data to his Digivice, only for it to spark violently as the data is disrupted. Toki yelled out in pain and clutched his hand as he dropped the Digivice “W-what’s…why can’t I…?” He muttered to himself as he looked at the screen on the Digivice. “SYNC ERROR.” Flashed on the screen repeatedly. He reached out with a shaky hand and held it close to his chest “Why…?”
“It looks like you’ve fallen out of favor with your precious, supposed friend. How does it feel?” He warped around Toki as his afterimages looked on in cruel mockery “To be abandoned by the mentor you so dearly cherished? He must be so disappointed in you.”
Toki shook his head “No…h-he’s not. He can’t be. I’m…in control.”He said, hands shaking against his chest. His breathing was getting heavy. His eyes widened in a mix of confusion and terror. He couldn’t…defend himself. He couldn’t defend anyone in this state! Ravemon grinned maliciously as he dashed towards Toki, swiping his blade at the defenseless human.
Panicked, Toki ducked under the blade and began running for his life as he held his Digivice close to his chest “This can’t be happening. Please…answer me!” He couldn’t believe what was happening. He was letting his fear get the better of him now. Was he really so powerless without the spirit? All this time he felt like he could handle anything the Digital World could throw at him with his own power…but he was just fooling himself. He really was…a fake. A powerless human borrowing the power of Digimon. Now, without that power, he was running through an abandoned warehouse to avoid an enemy Digimon he used to be able to fight with on an equal level.
Eventually he found himself cornered, unable to flee anywhere else as he turned to face the enemy Digimon. He gulped, legs barely holding him up. “I’m not afraid…I-I’m stronger than that…I have…I-I have to protect everyone…” He bit down on his knuckle, an old fear reflex resurfacing.
Ravemon’s laughter echoed across the warehouse “Oh you’re joking. The proud defender, Toki Akiyama, was this whimpering little coward all along? Without your Digimon power to back you up, you’re nothing. You’re less than nothing, aren’t you? Here you are, shivering…if only you had the sense to bring along some backup.”
Toki felt completely defeated. He slumped to the ground and stared at Ravemon, unable to muster up the energy to run. He didn’t want to bother anyone with his problems…and once again that put him in a terrible situation. He forced himself to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and for what? Two of his dearest friends were lost and the Digital World didn’t seem much better than when he started. Was he truly so insignificant? Even more so without the ability to spirit evolve? All that anger disappeared into fear and regret.
“Everyone…” he muttered to himself as Ravemon prepared the killing blow “I’m so sorry…I’ve let you all down…” He felt so useless. What good was he to everyone he had met? He fought for them, but never really attempted to form a lasting bond. So in the end, he felt as if the only reason people liked him was because of that power. Without it…would they even look at him the same way?
“You’re joking, right? Is that what you’re really thinking?” A voice echoed out as a bright light shined in front of Toki and blocked the incoming attack. “I could handle watching you be afraid. I could handle you feeling powerless in a time where, yeah, you’re pretty powerless compared to this guy. What I can’t handle, is you pretending like everyone’s just going to up and abandon you for something so petty. You want to know why you can’t spirit evolve? It’s because you’ve lost sight of what Tsusagimon wanted from you. As for me, I have a debt to repay after your friend rescued me from the depths of Ultimate Chaosmon.” A spirit floated between Toki and Ravemon “Now hurry up. You want to stand and fight again? Then I’m here to help you out.”
Toki reached out his Digivice but hesitated for a moment. He grit his teeth as he swiped it at the totem, adding the data as it seemed to branch off from Lagosmon as an alternate Digivolution “I don’t know why you care…” He reached his hand out as data spiraled around it “…but you shouldn’t have gotten involved with me.” He said as he brought the data to the Digivice “Spirit Evolution!”
Toki rose up in a spiraling field of data, taking on a form he was not familiar with, but he felt a rush of adrenaline. The form of a large humanoid Digimon with red, drill-like quills sprouting all over his body appeared from the light as it took on a combat ready stance “Stiffilmon!”
Ravemon winced slightly “So you’ve got yourself a new spirit…that won’t save you! Moushugeki!” he shouted, dashing towards the newly digivolved spirit user, claws slashing down upon him.
Toki turned slightly and braced himself, quills shooting outwards “Spiral Form…Quill Barrier!” Ravemon ends up slamming right into the quills, pierced deeply from his attempted attack. Toki kicked Ravemon away as he took in a deep breath, the drills across his body rotating at rapid speeds “Seismic Boost!” He howled, a red glow enveloping his body. He grinned widely as he clenched his fists “Come on. Where’d all that bluster go, huh?! You were more than happy terrorizing me when I couldn’t defend myself! Who’s whimpering now?!”
Ravemon blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in personality as Toki disappeared in a blur, only to reappear in front of Ravemon, fist already digging into his torso “Spiral Form…! Sunder!” In a rapid onslaught, Toki began to strike Ravemon with blow after blow, drills tearing into his body with each punch and kick. “Overclock!” He added as he slashed across Ravemon’s body with his claws before cutting into him with the metallic claws on his boots.
Even as Ravemon stumbled back in pain, Toki continued walking towards them, his glare piercing Ravemon to his core. “I’ll give you a chance to get out of here. I never want to hear about any spirits being sold and corrupted ever again, you got that?”
Ravemon nodded “Y-yes…you’ll never hear from me again…I promise…” He said. As Toki turned to leave, Ravemon smiled once again. Toki was always too merciful for his own good. He’d never bring himself to kill a Digimon if he could help it. Silently he raised his blade and swung down towards Toki in an attempt to finish him off. However, Toki turned and grabbed Ravemon’s throat, lifting him into the air slightly “I’m sorry it’s come to this.” He said as he tossed him in the air and prepared himself, claws digging into the ground “Spiral Form, Shatter.” He said before shoulder checking the falling Ravemon, piercing him with his quills and charging through the wall of the building and landing outside.
Toki watched as Ravemon’s data dispersed. A sharp pain shot through his features as he clenched his head, digivolution forcefully ending and returning him to his human state. The other Digimon gave Toki space as he shuffled his way out of the city. High above Tenebrous, Toki managed to make it outside, the rain had stopped and given way to a bright sky. Still, Toki looked tired and weary. He sat down outside, hugging his knees.
“I feel...so many negative emotions coming from you. What in the world are you even doing to yourself? You haven’t let yourself grieve or come to terms with what’s happened. You’re just shoving it all deep down and letting it fester.”
“Quiet…” Toki said “What are you even still doing here? You did what you wanted...now just...go. Find an actual spirit user.”
“No can do. I’m bonded to your digivice now. There’s not much I can do to change that fact, so as far as I know we’ll be working together for the foreseeable future. Besides...out of all the spirit users I could be bonded with, I’m honored it’s with someone like you.”
Toki clenched his fists “Just be quiet. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not who you think I am. I’m just some weak, self-righteous human who thought he could change the world just because he had some semblance of power. And you know what that got me? Two dead friends and nothing to show for what I’ve done. You think I’m happy to have you try and be a replacement?”
The new spirit was slightly taken aback at the word ‘replacement.’ “Toki, I’m not trying to replace anyone here. All I know is...you need someone to lift you out of whatever this is.”
At this point, Toki wasn’t sure what to say next. It took him a while to really respond to what he had said “What do you want from me? Why did you even come to me? I...without Tsusagimon I’m useless. I'm just going to mess up again and then you'll probably die just like him and K...”
“That’s enough out of you. You want to know why I came to you? It’s because I’m not the sort to just sit around and watch you throw yourself at every death trap that comes your way. You need to breathe and take time to come to terms with everything.”
“What is there to come to terms with?!” Toki shouted. He was at his limit as he cried out, running his hands through his hair “All that I’ve done...it just feels like it hasn’t done anything worth while...the people who call themselves my friends...if they knew what happened around me they wouldn't give me a second glance!"
“All you’re doing is bottling everything up because you feel like to have to be this big hero who doesn’t have any faults. Well you know what that’s doing? That’s destroying you. It’s okay to let yourself be sad...to let yourself be angry...to enjoy the thrill of battle! Most importantly it's okay to accept kindness in return. That doesn’t make you any less of the hero you’ve been. And if you’re so worried about what your friends are thinking, then maybe you should actually spend time with them instead of disappearing every time you help them with a problem and actually get to know them. I guarantee you this is all in your head.”
Toki sighed heavily, wiping the tears from his eyes “Just...leave me alone. I don’t want to hear it right now...I don’t…” he stood up, looking down at the grassy hill ahead. “I don’t want to become who I was before this…” All this pent up anger and frustration with himself was doing him far more harm than good. He was isolating himself, becoming lonely and bitter.
“Well good, because I’m not going to let that happen to you. You’ve made all these friends that you’re too scared to consult because you don’t want to drag them into your troubles, am I right? It’s time you accepted that it’s alright for you to accept help from others. You can’t do this on your own, so stand up and let’s get started.”
Toki didn’t even know what to say at this point. There was truth to what his spirit said. He had lost his way. This isn’t what Tsusagimon would have wanted from him, but he had just reached the breaking point. Now was the time to build himself back up. But he couldn’t do it alone.
