Shelter (Spirit Fraction Hunt)

For the time being, the trek through the Eastern Timberlands was peaceful. A calm breeze blew through the woods, rustling the boughs above - and twigs and leaves would crunch underfoot, as the four made their way along. Even off in the distance, there would be the sound of running water; perhaps a creek, or a river? It was hard to say, given that it sounded as though it was a ways off; but either way, the natural ambience of the forest made for a calm and soothing walk for the Village of Beginnings, beyond...

... Or... at least, it did at first. It was perhaps 10 minutes into the walk, and things thus far had been rather uneventful, as far as actual troubles go. But as the sound of the river got louder - a sign that it was curving, crossing over their path - with it came the sound, the sound of voices that were... Calling out? Crying out? It was hard to make words out quite yet, but the calls would be coming from towards the river; and the voices certainly sounded distressed.

If Pickles were to come closer, she and her trio of travel companions would begin to be able to make out the voices more properly; and none of it, to say the least, was exactly comforting.

"G-get away from me; let go..!"

"Mama! Papa! W-wwaahhhh!"

It was like a mix of voices, a majority of them sounding rather young; perhaps even around the age of the very in-trainings that Pickles was escorting. Now that they could properly hear the shouting though... It didn't sound so much like a multitude of people calling out at once. No, it was as though the multiple voices were melting and melding into each other, shifting into one another as they pleased, as the source of the shouting continued to make distressed sounding calls...

... It was hard to say, what, exactly, could have a voice like this; but what was Pickles going to do, in the face of someone calling out like this..?

As the trio of in-training hurried off for the safety of the village, it was likely they would quickly disappear from sight into the undergrowth of the forest. Perhaps leaving a group of children this young to navigate their way home themselves wasn't the safest idea; but at least they likely knew where they were going, and had plentiful cover to hide amongst.

In the meantime though, what was more pressing was the concern of the strange, distressed shifting voices. As Pickles spirit-evolved into Labramon, the scents and sounds around them would indeed become more apparent; the strange little distortions in the cries for help, the sound of something clicking or gnashing together in-between the shouts...

... as well as the faint smell of traces of data, of liquid data. Not from just one digimon, but instead from a good handful of different digimon; some far more stale than others.

It seemed that wherever Pickle was going, multiple digimon had gotten hurt there; hurt, or something even worse. And those scents and sounds would only grow stronger and more apparent as she continued to make her way towards the river. It was likely that Pickles could also sense the signal of a digimon out here, now that she didn't have to pick it out from amongst the signals of the three in-trainings. That digimon's scent was much more fresh than the scents of the digimon who had gotten hurt here - and it had a strange, metallic, fishy tang to it; which raised the question of, what kind of digimon was she about to meet..?

Well, assuming that that was indeed the question she pondered, she wouldn't have to wonder on it for too long. Upon bursting onto the scene - a clearing along the shore of the river - she would be able to see for herself, just what awaited her...



A strange, metallic fish-like digimon - a Babelmon - would be sitting upon the shore of the river; its tail barely submerged in the running water, whilst the rest of the body was on land; claws dug into the sand beneath it. Its mouth was wide open - the sounds of the distorted, distressed, wailing coming out from its mouth - while it otherwise appeared completely still, as though it were a statue, or as though it were in waiting...

... At least, until it noticed Pickle's presence. Almost like that aforementioned statue coming to life, there would be a brief creak as the Babelmon began to move; its jaws suddenly snapping closed, cutting off the voices that it seemed to have been producing. It'd briefly gnash its teeth, as it turned to regard the human-turned-Labramon; a low, almost electrical and guttural growl rising up from it. It seemed to almost be observing her from afar, just as she was likely observing it.

A tense moment would pass initially, as it likely didn't take much for Pickles to put two-and-two together as to what, exactly, this Babelmon was here doing; what it had been doing for the past while.

Babelmon didn't care what Pickles thought, though; in its more animalistic mind, all that it cared was that it had prey. Prey to hunt, prey to kill, prey to eat; and this prey might be different from the typical fare that it had been munching on - looking to be stronger, larger, and perhaps a bit strange-smelling compared to its last hunt - but it didn't care. It'd been growing fat and strong off of its last handful of hunts, here; and it would gorge on her data all the same.

And with that in mind, Babelmon would attempt to capitalize on its opportunity. Eliciting that same electric snarl a second time, the Cyborg digimon would suddenly dart forward at Pickles, and attempt to close its powerful jaws on her leg with its Crush Chomper attack..! If this attack were to land, it'd begin to shake its head side-to-side; almost as though it were a dog or wild beast, more than a digimon..!

---

- Babelmon notices Pickles as she crashes onto the scene, and after a moment of consideration, makes the first move!
- Charging forward, it attempts to bite Pickles with Crush Chomper!

Move Used:
[ATTACK] Crush Chomper: Babelmon bites at the target with powerful jaws; sometimes attempting to shake the foe as they bite! [1 Turn Cooldown]

Cooldowns:
Crush Chomper - 0/1

Babelmon would crash into the earth; jaws closing on and getting a mouthful of grass and dirt as its prey leaped above it, deftly dodging the bite as a result. It'd make a mix of strange noises; something resembling the sound of a drill morphing into a brief 'beep' from a car, before it'd attempt to get back up onto its feet (the one benefit of being such a stout little digimon, was that standing up whilst upright wasn't too hard) and turn back towards Pickle...

... Just in time for it to be struck by Retriever Bark; the force of the sonic attack briefly pushing it back down into the ground! Another car beep, as though it was expressing disgruntlement; but this one was a bit quieter, as it rose back up onto its feet - cocking its head from one way, and then the other, before it began to speak, seemingly.

"Re...triever Bar-bar-bar-bark?"

It was almost as though someone took a soundclip of Pickle calling the attack, and put it into a faulty record; her voice coming out of the Babelmon's mouth in a distorted, but otherwise near-perfect, imitation. It'd continue to repeat this imitation to itself a couple of times as it steeled itself - as though testing it, seeing if it liked how it sounded, until...

"... Retriever Bark!"

... suddenly, the Babelmon would charge forwards at Pickle, and let out its own shockwave-inducing bark; sending a mimicry of the Labramon's own attack right back at her!

---

- Babelmon is struck by Retriever Bark; being shoved into the dirt between that, and the dodged Crush Chomper!
- After a briefly unusual show of its ability to mimic sounds, Babelmon uses Mimicry to fire an imitation of Retriever Bark right back at Pickle!

Moves Used:
[ABILITY] Mimicry: Babelmon is able to mimic things that it has heard before with near-perfect accuracy - such as voices, machinery, music, and certain types of moves. The only limit, is that it has to be a sound-based move that it has heard in use before; and that Mimicry's cooldown is that move's cooldown + 1 turn. [X + 1 Turn Cooldown]

[Attack]Retriever Bark: Attacks at medium to short range via a powerful bark.

Cooldowns:
Crush Chomper - 1/1; Ready Next Turn
Mimicry - 0/1

"Bark! Bark! Bark!" The Babelfish would briefly chant the 'bark' portion of Retriever Bark as its attack landed on Pickle; claws kneading into the ground beneath it, and head tilting to either side. It was hard to say if it was out of any form of excitement or similar positive emotion at having landed the attack, or if it was simply repeating the word because it liked repeating them. It seemed as though the latter was the most likely explanation, though; as it would imitate other words that Pickles was using, mixing together random phrases and words from the things she was saying. "You fishy. Fishy play jerk. Jerk fishy jerky fish play plerky?"

At this point, the Babelmon was, well, babbling nonsense. It still had its eyes firmly set on Pickle as she darted in for the bite, though; seeming prepared to meet her in the middle with a bite of its own..! What it didn't expect, though, was for Pickle to suddenly strafe around it - and it only had enough time to turn around, for her fangs to sink into its shoulder as it tried to face her; bowling over onto its side!

The metallic armor was indeed tough, though; denting underneath her fangs, and eliciting a... Car alarm of pain from it? It was the only way to describe the sudden alarm-esque whistle it'd elicit, in reaction to the pain, as it began to thrash underneath Pickle. "Gnaw! Gnaw! Gnaw! Gnaw!" In the midst of its thrashing and shouting, though, it'd attempt to bite her back; the head being just able to crane towards one of her forelegs, as it attempted to use Crush Chomper on her once more!

---

- Babelmon is struck by Gnaw in the shoulder, and knocked onto its side.
- Whilst being Gnaw'd, Babelmon begins thrashing, and attempts to use Crush Chomper on Pickle's leg!

Move Used:
[ATTACK] Crush Chomper: Babelmon bites at the target with powerful jaws; sometimes attempting to shake the foe as they bite! [1 Turn Cooldown]

Cooldowns:
Mimicry - 1/1; Ready Next Turn

Once more, Crush Chomper would land on nothing; its teeth gnashing together at the air with a sound like a bear trap. It would, briefly, beep at this as it continued to thrash under Pickle; certainly not about to make it easy to pin down. And this only became apparent as it would use the opportunity of Pickle changing targets, to squirm away; her fangs just barely grazing its tail as it got away, continuing to babble nonsense. "GNAW. GNAW. JERKY PLERK GNERKY!"

The Babelmon would right itself, as it managed to get away; making a run for the river's edge. Instead of jumping into the water however, it would whirl around once it reached the sandy shore to face Pickle; something seeming to be up its sleeve...

It wouldn't take long for Pickle to figure out just what that thing was, though - the Babelmon inhaling deeply, before letting out a blast of water at her! The Pressure Blast attack - if it landed - would surely hurt; feeling as though Pickle were being hit by a pressure washer, and it was even aimed right at her face..!

Though the Babelmon didn't appear to be anything more than a wild beast in nature - aside from its limited intelligence in using its mimicry - it certainly seemed to be quite a vicious fighter...!

---

- Babelmon is able to squirm out from under Pickle just in time; her fangs grazing its tail as it moves away from her.
- Next, Babelmon moves towards the water's edge, and uses Pressure Blast on Pickle!

Move Used:
[ATTACK] Pressure Blast: Babelmon fires off a medium-to-short range blast of pressurized water at the foe.

Cooldowns:
Crush Chomper - 1/1; Ready Next Turn

Another sound-based move. Babelmon would tilt its head one way, and then the other; babbling once more. "Howl howl Barrihowl bade Barkicade..." It didn't seem to even react to the fact that its attack didn't land, this time; focused more on Pickle's slow advance and her words, for the time being. "Eatdren singiven, Fall fall fall sin sin sin! Eat! Eat! Eat!"

Was it a good idea, to use Barricade Howl against a simple projectile move, as opposed to the harder-hitting Crush Chomper, let alone in front of a digimon whose deal was mimicry? It was hard to say; but the Babelmon wasn't using the move immediately, that much was for certain, at least.

Instead, as Pickle began to sprint towards Babelmon, the cyborg-fish would be more than happy to meet her in the middle; sand kicking up as it began to charge forward at her, fangs bared. Once it got close enough, the Babelmon would attempt to leap upwards at her throat; attempting to bite her in the neck with Crush Chomper! "GNAW! GNAW! GNAW!" It would shout and chant as it came in; and if its attack was successful..?

... Well, being bit in the throat certainly didn't sound safe.

---

- Babelmon meets Pickle's charge halfway, and attempts to use Crush Chomper to bite her in the throat!

Move Used:
[ATTACK] Crush Chomper: Babelmon bites at the target with powerful jaws; sometimes attempting to shake the foe as they bite! [1 Turn Cooldown]

Cooldowns:
Crush Chomper - 0/1

Babelmon did not exactly expect Pickle to slide under its leap; the cyborg fish being unable to adjust or change its directory mid-jump, and thus being unable to do much about the dodge. However, when she'd attempt to bring her legs up to kick Babelmon in the jaw, she'd find that it'd take more than a basic kick to counter its bite; its jaws were much too strong for that! Instead, all she'd simply succeed in is putting her legs at risk for being bitten.

The Retriever Bark, however, was more successful. Although it was difficult to aim at the shoulder from this angle, the blast of sonic energy would proceed to - indeed - launch the Babelmon into the air! It would twist and tumble, flying in a steep arc; before it would, finally, begin to descend like a rock (or a hunk of metal shaped into a fish) into the river with an audible 'sploosh'!

For a few tense moments, things would be quiet from here; as the Babelmon did not immediately surface. Did it run away? Was it ko'd under the water? For those couple of moments, it was hard to exactly say; but it didn't take long for the Babelmon to be sighted - surfacing a short distance downriver! The cyborg-fish would pull itself back onto shore, its metallic surface dripping with water, as it continued to babble aimlessly to itself.

Once it was able to regain its bearings and spot Pickle once more, however; would come its next move. It'd attempt to charge her once more; lashing out with its front claws in a basic attack!

This wasn't all, either; the beast's babbling began to get increasingly louder, and louder, as it came in close - and so did its choice of vocals. Car alarms, metal ripping and tearing, loud drills and even the sounds of screaming and yelling from its past victims; the Babelmon would proceed to make an utter ruckus of noise that blended together into an obnoxious and headache-inducing Output Noise!

---

- Babelmon's Crush Chomper isn't completely countered by the basic kick
- It is hit and launched by Retriever Bark, falling into the river!
- Once it is able to pull itself onto land, it counters both with a basic claw attack, as well as Output Noise

Move Used:
[ABILITY] Output Noise: Babelmon harries and harasses their target, all the whilst making a terrible racket of noise; breaking down the target's focus, and likely giving them a headache. Any moves that are currently on cooldown remain on cooldown for 1 turn longer. [3 Turn Cooldown]

Cooldowns:
Crush Chomper - 1/1; Ready Next Turn
Output Noise - 0/3