You're Not Alone (Spirit Hunt)
Dec 4, 2019 18:08:34 GMT
Post by Pickle on Dec 4, 2019 18:08:34 GMT
Cipher Jungle, a hot, thickly wooded, muggy as heck locale full of all sorts of danger for the unwary. Feral Digimon dwelled here in higher numbers the deeper you went, the natural hazards were many, and even the heat and humidity could be a danger to the unprepared. This was where Pickle had elected to explore today, expanding ever outwards in their regular after school travels into the myriad locations of the Digital World. They wanted to become at least somewhat familiar with every area after all, who knows when they’d need to go somewhere to provide assistance to someone in danger. It was best in their opinion to have an idea of what would be waiting for them rather than stumbling in entirely blind and hoping for the best.
They had an alternative motivation for going to this place today as well. It wasn’t the first day they had chosen to spend in the Cipher Jungle’s dense atmosphere, and indeed the first time they hadn’t been entirely prepared for the heat and had been forced to make a hasty retreat, they were much more prepared now thanks to some handy gear they’d picked up ahead of time. On their first excursion they had picked up on an odd blip on the small map they had called up on their D-tector, right at the edge of what it had shown at the time. They had already been relatively deep in the jungle before they’d picked up on it and had to head back, and now intended to investigate fully. They couldn’t simply let a mystery like this go, not when this was the first time anything had shown up like that.
They activated their EV Suit and strode into the lush trees, pushing their way off the path and into the unknown. It was a fair distance to where they had first noticed the odd marking on their map, and so first they had to find their way back. Luckily on their fist trek they had taken to using small bits of thread tied to branches and streaks of chalk on trunks or stones to mark their path. Some were missing by now of course, but enough of the path markers were still in place that they rarely lost the trail for longer than 15 or 20 minutes. Pickle did their best to stay inconspicuous and not attract any attention from the local Digimon living within the jungle, but they knew the luck that had followed them so far would have to wear out eventually. They could only hope that when it did they’d be able to handle any problems that arose.
The jungle itself was relatively quiet and dim. No breeze rustled the leaves, any light that filtered down through the canopy was dyed green and came through in small amounts, the sounds of various kinds of Digimon echoed from the distance. Nothing seemed to be nearby to Pickle’s current senses, and not for the first time they considered Spirit Evolving into their Labramon form to improve their odds of picking up on nearby danger. But they could only stay changed for so long, even if they were able to handle the load much better. They needed to save their time for when it was needed, especially if they ran into anything stronger and had to use their Wolfmon form instead. They couldn’t handle that one quite as long.
They walked for hours, stopping briefly from time to time to rest, eat a snack, and drink some water. Their new EV suit was definitely worth the Bits it cost to acquire it, the thin energy field keeping them from overheating even in this humid, scorchingly hot environment. Pickle couldn’t help but wonder if it would work just as well in the human world, and resolved to give it a try some time if they had a chance.
If they hadn’t been here for a reason, Pickle would happily have left their current course a thousand times over already, the sheer volume of stuff they were passing by was amazing. Every new flower, fruit, or oddly shaped rock or tree was a source of incredible curiosity, and they knew they’d be coming back to this place over and over again to explore, just like pretty much every other area in the Digital World that they’d seen before. As time went on, Pickle grew more and more grateful for the time difference between the Digital and Human worlds, the shift allowing for them to explore so much more easily.
It was during one of their breaks that Pickle had their first close encounter with one of the native Digimon of the Cipher Jungle. A massive red insect-like Digimon that Pickle recognized as a Kuwagamon from previous sightings moved through the trees. Pickle heard it before they saw it, and were taking cover as best they could to try to avoid detection. While ordinarily they may have considered an introduction, they couldn’t be sure if this Digimon would be hostile or not. And at any rate, they knew that a Kuwagamon was a bit stronger than they were now. If it was a feral Digimon and on the less intelligent side, the odds for victory were relatively high. If not however… Pickle didn’t like their chances. And so they hid and watched as it moved away on its own path. Even once it was out of sight, Pickle waited a while before moving out of cover, wanting to be sure the potential danger was gone. They weren’t about to go around picking fights after all, that wasn’t alright.
They moved onward for about another hour or so, the marker on their D-Tector getting closer on the map as they progressed. As they drew nearer to their destination, Pickle noticed two things; One, the marker that they had been following appeared in fact to be not one, but two that were incredibly close together, nearly overlapping in fact; and two, this area of jungle was…. Damaged. The plant life here was duller and looked as if it were in the early stages of wilting, what little soil they could see looked a bit grey and ashy, and the bark of many of the older trees was scuffed, burn scarred, and gouged. The further into this odd area they went, the worse it got, and they began to see crumbling walls or distorted and smashed stone, areas where the ground still looked cracked and crushed in, it looked like the site of a furious battle.
In the back of Pickle’s mind, they could still feel their spirit, fainter than when they’ve Spirit Evolved, but now a constant presence with the walls between them torn down during that first transformation. They were getting faint pulses of something that almost felt like anxiety and righteous anger. This place was stirring something up in the memories their spirit still held and whatever it was it didn’t care for it. If their Labramon spirit didn’t like it, well, then Pickle knew to be cautious.
It was as that thought crossed their mind that Pickle came to the clearing and halted, eyes wide as they stared at a pockmarked, chewed up, scarred and burned landscape that brought to mind the photos of what was left behind whenever a volcano erupted. It was clear something massive had occurred here, and right in the middle of this almost perfectly circular space was the opening to a deep, deep hole. Or maybe it was a cave? Crater? Something. Pickle couldn’t help but feel trepidation at stepping out of the cover of the trees and into this ruined place, the sheer openness and lack of places to take cover meaning that whatever happened, Pickle would need to deal with it quickly to avoid any unwanted attention. They had no intention of drawing in a fight right now.
They trekked through the battle ground, taking in the signs of the jungle reclaiming the site, plants growing in here and there, saplings scattered amongst the fallen and scorched carcasses of their larger fellows, and again and again small walls of broken and crumbling stone. Passing nearby one, Pickle took a moment to examine it closer. Furthering the almost volcanic nature of the area, the wall looked as if it were made of rapidly cooled lava, almost like pillow basalt. It was incredibly bizarre, but Pickle was aware that the bizarre was normal in the Digital World and so didn’t let it bother them too much.
Reaching the edge of the hole/cave/crater/whatever, Pickle looked down to find a nearly horizontal shaft of stone that descended down about 15 feet before curving off out of sight. Their D-tector was indicating that whatever it was picking up was in that hole however, so down Pickle must go. They dug into their bag for the grappling hook they had acquired a while ago and began searching around for a place to anchor it. Luckily the ground here was just as craggy as everywhere else, and so they were quickly able to find a solid place to hook onto before descending rapidly downwards.
The bottom of the initial entry shaft was oddly smooth, Pickle assumed that if could be due to rain weathering, but then again who knows if that’s how things work here. Leaving the grappling hook in place for now so they’d be able to get out, they instead pulled from their bag a small flashlight, shining it further into the tunnel ahead before moving forward into the darkness.
It was much cooler down here than outside, and the darkness became almost oppressive as they moved through the winding twists and turns of the passage. They would be worried about getting lost if there was more than one path to take, but as it was they really only had a single direction to go unless they wanted to leave, and so onward they pressed. It took probably about another half an hour to reach the end of the tunnel to find what awaited them, and when they saw it they gasped, awestruck.
A cavern opened up, not massive, but larger than the tunnel. All along the walls, the stone looked almost like it had been melted and cooled to form strange, swirling shapes. A pool of lightly steaming water sat near the back of the chamber, and jutting out of the water was a large cluster of crystals. The crystals were like phantom crystals, a thick outer layer of orange that seemed to glow and flicker slightly like a candle flame, and within that was a deep poisonous purple that occasionally pulsed with energy.
Pickle’s D-tector was going nuts at this point, clearly indicating that this crystal, whatever it was, had what they had come here to find. Mindful of the water, Pickle stepped towards it, and as they drew near realized that within the heart of the crystals there was a shape. It looked like a carved stone idol, although in this case it seemed as if it were two in one. The first looked like a humanoid figure with a face like a mask resembling something that to Pickle seemed familiar, although they couldn’t put their finger on it. That figure seemed to be restraining the other one, a monstrous beast that looked like a horrible humanoid lion twisted into a horror of misshapen limbs and elongated features all wrapped up in chains and restraints. Something in Pickle knew that these were what they had come here to find, now they just needed to figure out how to get to them.
The water didn’t seem like it would be any hotter than a hot spring, but Pickle wasn’t sure they wanted to risk that. They sat at the edge of the pool, staring with a furrowed brow at the crystal containing the odd stone figures with their D-tector in hand, thinking. They could feel their spirit in their mind, a jumble of emotions that contradicted each other with each moment, and then as if a switch had been flicked their surroundings changed.
Pickle found themself seated in a dark void, the cavern, the crystal, all of it gone. They weren’t alone though. Next to them sat a spectral Labramon, blurry at the edges and faintly transparent as it stared ahead at the other two beings that had appeared. The first matched the appearance of the first figurine, a humanoid being wearing patterned robes with a mask-like face. In its hands it clutched the chains that wrapped around its counterpart, a purple, misshapen, leonid beast of a creature that strained against its bonds with its maddened eyes fixed on Pickle.
“Hello child, hello old friend. It has been a while has it not? What brings you to this site of my lonely vigil?”
Pickle found that the figure with the mask-like face had a nice voice, its tone was formal, measured, and there was an intrinsic kindness in its voice that made the words sound warm. They weren’t sure how to respond however, so they just sat back to listen for now as they felt Labramon replying a moment before the words were spoken.
“It is good to see you, Baromon. We have come to seek help. This child, Piscesius, is able to take the forms of those that choose to allow it, and I have been helping them in their quest to provide protection and aid to those in need.” They’d heard Labramon’s voice before to an extent, but this was still different as it wasn’t a muted and garbled whisper, but actually a voice. “If they had been here during the time out troupe wandered the Digital World all those years ago, I do not doubt they would have become one of us.”
“That is quite the recommendation coming from you. However much I would like to provide my aid and leave this place alongside you both, I cannot leave this beast unattended.” At that they shook the chains binding the captive monster that let out a snarl and a wheezy giggle in response.
“What if I take you both?” They all looked at Pickle, Labramon and Baromon with cautious interest and the mad monster with a savage glee. “I wouldn’t want to use the power of someone like… that” they gestured at the bound creature as it began to once more chuckle “and if you both come then you won’t be containing it on your own anymore.”
“Can you do that? Are you compatible enough to take its data into yourself?” The Baromons voice was both intrigued and concerned, knowing that if Piscesius really could scan the data of their captive, it meant that the pair were compatible on some level.
“Yes! Let the child take us both! It will be wonderful! I can see the outside, I can feast on the anger they have inside!” The bound Mad Leomon surged forward, coming within a couple inches of Pickle’s face before the chains tightened enough to hold them in place. “Let me give you my power, I will crush your enemies, I will make them weak and afraid and then we will feast on their remains.” The stench on its breath was rancid, decay and old data, the teeth stained with remnants of old gore. “Take us both if you must, but I go willingly from one prison into another to see the outside again.”
Pickle’s expression remained impassive, although inside they were panicking a bit at their proximity with such a horrible creature. “I’ll take you, but I’m not using you. You can stay locked up forever for all I care, it sounds like you deserve it.”
The Baromon was watching the exchange closely, and once Pickle said their piece yanked back on the chains to remove the Mad Leomon from their personal bubble.
“Then it is decided. Scan us both, I happily join you for a chance to reunite with an old friend and to make a difference once more for the good of our home. I accept you, Piscesius, as my teammate and master.”
The darkness faded along with the spirits of the Digimon, the cackling, high pitched laughter of the Mad Leomon ringing in Pickle’s ears as they opened their eyes, still seated in front of the pool of water and the crystal containing the two Spirits. They raised their D-tector with a deep intake of breath and activated the scan function, watching as the Spirits were pulled from their long time prison into their Digivice, and they felt the faint, currently disconnected presence of two more spirits settle next to Labramon’s.
Pickle smiles and begins their trek back up to the surface, H-Spirits collected.
Final Wordcount: 2788 Words.
Protection H-Spirit Baromon acquired
Fury H-Spirit Mad Leomon acquired
They had an alternative motivation for going to this place today as well. It wasn’t the first day they had chosen to spend in the Cipher Jungle’s dense atmosphere, and indeed the first time they hadn’t been entirely prepared for the heat and had been forced to make a hasty retreat, they were much more prepared now thanks to some handy gear they’d picked up ahead of time. On their first excursion they had picked up on an odd blip on the small map they had called up on their D-tector, right at the edge of what it had shown at the time. They had already been relatively deep in the jungle before they’d picked up on it and had to head back, and now intended to investigate fully. They couldn’t simply let a mystery like this go, not when this was the first time anything had shown up like that.
They activated their EV Suit and strode into the lush trees, pushing their way off the path and into the unknown. It was a fair distance to where they had first noticed the odd marking on their map, and so first they had to find their way back. Luckily on their fist trek they had taken to using small bits of thread tied to branches and streaks of chalk on trunks or stones to mark their path. Some were missing by now of course, but enough of the path markers were still in place that they rarely lost the trail for longer than 15 or 20 minutes. Pickle did their best to stay inconspicuous and not attract any attention from the local Digimon living within the jungle, but they knew the luck that had followed them so far would have to wear out eventually. They could only hope that when it did they’d be able to handle any problems that arose.
The jungle itself was relatively quiet and dim. No breeze rustled the leaves, any light that filtered down through the canopy was dyed green and came through in small amounts, the sounds of various kinds of Digimon echoed from the distance. Nothing seemed to be nearby to Pickle’s current senses, and not for the first time they considered Spirit Evolving into their Labramon form to improve their odds of picking up on nearby danger. But they could only stay changed for so long, even if they were able to handle the load much better. They needed to save their time for when it was needed, especially if they ran into anything stronger and had to use their Wolfmon form instead. They couldn’t handle that one quite as long.
They walked for hours, stopping briefly from time to time to rest, eat a snack, and drink some water. Their new EV suit was definitely worth the Bits it cost to acquire it, the thin energy field keeping them from overheating even in this humid, scorchingly hot environment. Pickle couldn’t help but wonder if it would work just as well in the human world, and resolved to give it a try some time if they had a chance.
If they hadn’t been here for a reason, Pickle would happily have left their current course a thousand times over already, the sheer volume of stuff they were passing by was amazing. Every new flower, fruit, or oddly shaped rock or tree was a source of incredible curiosity, and they knew they’d be coming back to this place over and over again to explore, just like pretty much every other area in the Digital World that they’d seen before. As time went on, Pickle grew more and more grateful for the time difference between the Digital and Human worlds, the shift allowing for them to explore so much more easily.
It was during one of their breaks that Pickle had their first close encounter with one of the native Digimon of the Cipher Jungle. A massive red insect-like Digimon that Pickle recognized as a Kuwagamon from previous sightings moved through the trees. Pickle heard it before they saw it, and were taking cover as best they could to try to avoid detection. While ordinarily they may have considered an introduction, they couldn’t be sure if this Digimon would be hostile or not. And at any rate, they knew that a Kuwagamon was a bit stronger than they were now. If it was a feral Digimon and on the less intelligent side, the odds for victory were relatively high. If not however… Pickle didn’t like their chances. And so they hid and watched as it moved away on its own path. Even once it was out of sight, Pickle waited a while before moving out of cover, wanting to be sure the potential danger was gone. They weren’t about to go around picking fights after all, that wasn’t alright.
They moved onward for about another hour or so, the marker on their D-Tector getting closer on the map as they progressed. As they drew nearer to their destination, Pickle noticed two things; One, the marker that they had been following appeared in fact to be not one, but two that were incredibly close together, nearly overlapping in fact; and two, this area of jungle was…. Damaged. The plant life here was duller and looked as if it were in the early stages of wilting, what little soil they could see looked a bit grey and ashy, and the bark of many of the older trees was scuffed, burn scarred, and gouged. The further into this odd area they went, the worse it got, and they began to see crumbling walls or distorted and smashed stone, areas where the ground still looked cracked and crushed in, it looked like the site of a furious battle.
In the back of Pickle’s mind, they could still feel their spirit, fainter than when they’ve Spirit Evolved, but now a constant presence with the walls between them torn down during that first transformation. They were getting faint pulses of something that almost felt like anxiety and righteous anger. This place was stirring something up in the memories their spirit still held and whatever it was it didn’t care for it. If their Labramon spirit didn’t like it, well, then Pickle knew to be cautious.
It was as that thought crossed their mind that Pickle came to the clearing and halted, eyes wide as they stared at a pockmarked, chewed up, scarred and burned landscape that brought to mind the photos of what was left behind whenever a volcano erupted. It was clear something massive had occurred here, and right in the middle of this almost perfectly circular space was the opening to a deep, deep hole. Or maybe it was a cave? Crater? Something. Pickle couldn’t help but feel trepidation at stepping out of the cover of the trees and into this ruined place, the sheer openness and lack of places to take cover meaning that whatever happened, Pickle would need to deal with it quickly to avoid any unwanted attention. They had no intention of drawing in a fight right now.
They trekked through the battle ground, taking in the signs of the jungle reclaiming the site, plants growing in here and there, saplings scattered amongst the fallen and scorched carcasses of their larger fellows, and again and again small walls of broken and crumbling stone. Passing nearby one, Pickle took a moment to examine it closer. Furthering the almost volcanic nature of the area, the wall looked as if it were made of rapidly cooled lava, almost like pillow basalt. It was incredibly bizarre, but Pickle was aware that the bizarre was normal in the Digital World and so didn’t let it bother them too much.
Reaching the edge of the hole/cave/crater/whatever, Pickle looked down to find a nearly horizontal shaft of stone that descended down about 15 feet before curving off out of sight. Their D-tector was indicating that whatever it was picking up was in that hole however, so down Pickle must go. They dug into their bag for the grappling hook they had acquired a while ago and began searching around for a place to anchor it. Luckily the ground here was just as craggy as everywhere else, and so they were quickly able to find a solid place to hook onto before descending rapidly downwards.
The bottom of the initial entry shaft was oddly smooth, Pickle assumed that if could be due to rain weathering, but then again who knows if that’s how things work here. Leaving the grappling hook in place for now so they’d be able to get out, they instead pulled from their bag a small flashlight, shining it further into the tunnel ahead before moving forward into the darkness.
It was much cooler down here than outside, and the darkness became almost oppressive as they moved through the winding twists and turns of the passage. They would be worried about getting lost if there was more than one path to take, but as it was they really only had a single direction to go unless they wanted to leave, and so onward they pressed. It took probably about another half an hour to reach the end of the tunnel to find what awaited them, and when they saw it they gasped, awestruck.
A cavern opened up, not massive, but larger than the tunnel. All along the walls, the stone looked almost like it had been melted and cooled to form strange, swirling shapes. A pool of lightly steaming water sat near the back of the chamber, and jutting out of the water was a large cluster of crystals. The crystals were like phantom crystals, a thick outer layer of orange that seemed to glow and flicker slightly like a candle flame, and within that was a deep poisonous purple that occasionally pulsed with energy.
Pickle’s D-tector was going nuts at this point, clearly indicating that this crystal, whatever it was, had what they had come here to find. Mindful of the water, Pickle stepped towards it, and as they drew near realized that within the heart of the crystals there was a shape. It looked like a carved stone idol, although in this case it seemed as if it were two in one. The first looked like a humanoid figure with a face like a mask resembling something that to Pickle seemed familiar, although they couldn’t put their finger on it. That figure seemed to be restraining the other one, a monstrous beast that looked like a horrible humanoid lion twisted into a horror of misshapen limbs and elongated features all wrapped up in chains and restraints. Something in Pickle knew that these were what they had come here to find, now they just needed to figure out how to get to them.
The water didn’t seem like it would be any hotter than a hot spring, but Pickle wasn’t sure they wanted to risk that. They sat at the edge of the pool, staring with a furrowed brow at the crystal containing the odd stone figures with their D-tector in hand, thinking. They could feel their spirit in their mind, a jumble of emotions that contradicted each other with each moment, and then as if a switch had been flicked their surroundings changed.
Pickle found themself seated in a dark void, the cavern, the crystal, all of it gone. They weren’t alone though. Next to them sat a spectral Labramon, blurry at the edges and faintly transparent as it stared ahead at the other two beings that had appeared. The first matched the appearance of the first figurine, a humanoid being wearing patterned robes with a mask-like face. In its hands it clutched the chains that wrapped around its counterpart, a purple, misshapen, leonid beast of a creature that strained against its bonds with its maddened eyes fixed on Pickle.
“Hello child, hello old friend. It has been a while has it not? What brings you to this site of my lonely vigil?”
Pickle found that the figure with the mask-like face had a nice voice, its tone was formal, measured, and there was an intrinsic kindness in its voice that made the words sound warm. They weren’t sure how to respond however, so they just sat back to listen for now as they felt Labramon replying a moment before the words were spoken.
“It is good to see you, Baromon. We have come to seek help. This child, Piscesius, is able to take the forms of those that choose to allow it, and I have been helping them in their quest to provide protection and aid to those in need.” They’d heard Labramon’s voice before to an extent, but this was still different as it wasn’t a muted and garbled whisper, but actually a voice. “If they had been here during the time out troupe wandered the Digital World all those years ago, I do not doubt they would have become one of us.”
“That is quite the recommendation coming from you. However much I would like to provide my aid and leave this place alongside you both, I cannot leave this beast unattended.” At that they shook the chains binding the captive monster that let out a snarl and a wheezy giggle in response.
“What if I take you both?” They all looked at Pickle, Labramon and Baromon with cautious interest and the mad monster with a savage glee. “I wouldn’t want to use the power of someone like… that” they gestured at the bound creature as it began to once more chuckle “and if you both come then you won’t be containing it on your own anymore.”
“Can you do that? Are you compatible enough to take its data into yourself?” The Baromons voice was both intrigued and concerned, knowing that if Piscesius really could scan the data of their captive, it meant that the pair were compatible on some level.
“Yes! Let the child take us both! It will be wonderful! I can see the outside, I can feast on the anger they have inside!” The bound Mad Leomon surged forward, coming within a couple inches of Pickle’s face before the chains tightened enough to hold them in place. “Let me give you my power, I will crush your enemies, I will make them weak and afraid and then we will feast on their remains.” The stench on its breath was rancid, decay and old data, the teeth stained with remnants of old gore. “Take us both if you must, but I go willingly from one prison into another to see the outside again.”
Pickle’s expression remained impassive, although inside they were panicking a bit at their proximity with such a horrible creature. “I’ll take you, but I’m not using you. You can stay locked up forever for all I care, it sounds like you deserve it.”
The Baromon was watching the exchange closely, and once Pickle said their piece yanked back on the chains to remove the Mad Leomon from their personal bubble.
“Then it is decided. Scan us both, I happily join you for a chance to reunite with an old friend and to make a difference once more for the good of our home. I accept you, Piscesius, as my teammate and master.”
The darkness faded along with the spirits of the Digimon, the cackling, high pitched laughter of the Mad Leomon ringing in Pickle’s ears as they opened their eyes, still seated in front of the pool of water and the crystal containing the two Spirits. They raised their D-tector with a deep intake of breath and activated the scan function, watching as the Spirits were pulled from their long time prison into their Digivice, and they felt the faint, currently disconnected presence of two more spirits settle next to Labramon’s.
Pickle smiles and begins their trek back up to the surface, H-Spirits collected.
Final Wordcount: 2788 Words.
Protection H-Spirit Baromon acquired
Fury H-Spirit Mad Leomon acquired
