Bleached White [A Rank]

To say Kenny and Skadi were nervous for the mission ahead was an understatement. And it wasn't just because of all the circumstances that were surrounding the situation and the subsequent dangers involved, but also the little Valaismon's senpai and mentor, Valt would be joining them as well. She kept a brave face on the outside, reassuring herself, and anyone else who saw it, for that matter, on the outside that neither she nor Kenny would let him or Ryouta down, but a twinge of nervousness still lurked underneath.

Apart from that? As the Wormmon in front of them introduced herself as Fiora and briefly explained who she was, the other, female tamer partnered with the weird, winged, guinea pig-like Tsukaimon perching on her head introduced themselves in turn as Akemi and Anzu, respectively, Kenny and Skadi would do the same, the tamer, well-dressed in his KIZNA uniform, leading things off, starting by walking over and shaking the Wormmon's hand(?).

"Hello, I'm Kenneth O'Hara, you can call me Kenny, everybody does that," He gave a little chuckle at his joke, helping to ease the tension, before gesturing to his waving partner, "And that little Valaismon's over there is Skadi, my partner Digimon."

"Nice to meetcha, Fiora!" Skadi piped in in her usual chipper tone. No doubt that, despite her nerves, she would still lighten the team with her usual radiating optimism.

Kenny chuckled once more and smiled at his partner, ruffling her hair, before turning back to Fiora, starting to ponder, "So from what we've heard so far, every single one of these villagers seemed to have disappeared without so much of a trace, all at once too. And somehow, whatever, or whoever, did this didn't leave a trace. Did you get any reports of any suspicious figures or happenings near or in the village before complete contact died out, at least?" He asked the Wormmon, his mind trying to piece together just what was going on. Best to get as much preliminary information as they could beforehand before setting off, right?

There appeared to be a wide variety of people, as well as questions - from Ryouta especially - to consider. Fiora would be more than happy to accept Kenny's and Skadi's handshakes, extending a claw for them to shake with what might've been a Wormmon's closest thing to a smile they had; given their vertical mouth. "It's nice to meet you all; I'm glad to see that there's, well, plenty of people willing to help, even when we're tight on monpower," She'd mention as she did; glancing between them.

Fiora would not waste much time before she'd work on answering questions, though. "You both have it right, Anzu, Kenny." She'd begin, nodding to the two in turn as she addressed them. "A few days ago, there had been reports of the village going completely dark - everyone disappearing without any trace. We tried our best to look for leads, between then and when the white digimon - we've taken to calling them Bleached Digimon - appeared, but we had no luck in finding any leads, or any mentions of strange figures or happenings beforehand..."

"It doesn't help that we've been stretched thin, with the different incidents that have been going on across the Digital World... Maybe we'd have been able to find something, if we had more time to look, and more people searching..." Fiora would sigh briefly, shaking her head, before glancing in Ryouta's direction, and nodding. "I believe I've heard of your group before, Tatsu; though as for your questions..."

She'd pause for a second, seeming to be considering how to word it, before nodding. "In my digivolved form, I'm able to fly and scout decently well; but combat is not my forte, and I'm under orders to not engage, if I can at all help it. I can only do very brief flights over the village, before a winged Bleached Digimon spots me and attempts to engage me; forcing me to retreat." She'd explain; shuddering briefly at some thought; likely something to do with the Bleached Digimon themselves. "As the name probably implies, they... Appear more or less completely stripped of color, being a subtly-off white, down to even having solid white eyes."

"Danger is... Well, to say the least, fighting any anomalous digimon is dangerous work. They tend to have unexpected tricks up their sleeves; typically tricks you don't usually see in your average digimon, at that. This makes them highly unpredictable; and as we've been unable to properly observe a Bleached Digimon in combat or get close enough to scan one, we've been unable to figure out just the range of their capabilities. Fighting them might be just like fighting a normal digimon, or... It could turn out that there's something unexpected about them, that could turn the tide of combat if you come unprepared."

"As far as levels go, though; the ones I've been seeing range from Ultimate stage to Mega, and they're highly aggressive, as I'm sure you've gathered by now. There's a handful of them that wander around and near the village; and it's likely you'll have to fight a few of them unless you have some tricks up your sleeve to sneak past them. They're spread out enough that you probably won't have to expect to be swarmed, but... They're not exactly pleasant to face, either." Fiora explained; taking a moment to tap at her laptop, before turning it to show the group.



The image on the screen would be of a Garudamon, flying towards the camera with talons outstretched and readied. However.... Much as Fiora explained before, the Garudamon seemed completely stripped of color; and even its own eyes were a solid white. The file's name, if any of them were to look closely enough, appeared to be 'B-07 GARUDAMON'

"Their behavior we can most closely compare to a clever feral digimon; they show no signs of being able to communicate with us or each other, and they are unwilling to communicate anyways - going immediately to fight upon spotting someone that isn't one of their own. However, they seem to understand pack tactics and teamwork well enough if you do end up in a fight with more than one of them."

"As for the villagers, well... As you may imagine, this wasn't a village of just Ultimates and Megas. While some of the Bleached Digimon we have observed are ones that we cannot link to any of the villagers, a portion of the ones that we are able to link to the villagers... We believe them to be digivolved forms of the species that the villagers were." Fiora explained; tapping to the Garudamon in particular, and bringing up what looked to be a missing person's report of a Birdramon.

"For example, we've linked this Bleached Garudamon to a local Birdramon that acted as a courier for the village, before they disappeared among the rest of their village. What this might mean, exactly, though... They could be doppelgangers, they could be body snatchers, or it's possible that these digimon resembling the villagers is even a coincidence altogether; given the digimon that we're unable to link up."

Fiora would pause for a minute; crossing her front legs, as though they were arms. "We do not yet have enough information to know for sure what they are, or where they came from; and we'd likely need a subject to study, or otherwise data that you might be able to glean from your own investigations, before we can give you a solid answer on that. Speaking of subjects..."

Fiora would unhook an Infini-Store from her hip; digging through it. "There's no preference in level; any Bleached Digimon works, as long as you're able to properly fit this onto some part of them." She'd pull out what almost looked like a thick metal collar, made from digitzoid with a glowing line running along the outer edge of it. She would pass a couple of these to the group, explaining "This is typically what we use to keep dangerous anomalous digimon under control, while we take them into custody."

"Just be careful; though the material itself is sturdy, the electronics collar won't survive being knocked around by a Mega if you try to put it on them without tiring them out, first. You'll have an easier time if you can incapacitate or weaken one before you slap this on them, and it should force them into a Rookie stage - or something equivalent. Once you have a Bleached Digimon in your custody, either keep them safe, or bring them straight to me and I'll take them off your hands."

With everyone's introductions out of the way (even Ryouta was donning his 'Tatsu' persona for the mission), Kenny and Skadi, like the rest of the group, would listen to Fiora telling them everything she knew about the mysterious white Digimon, or 'Bleached Digimon', as she called them. Not only did all the events preceding the arrival of the monsters that happen completely without warning, the perpetrator did it right under everyone's noses. Just what was going on?

Kenny could feel his heart skipping one beat too many as he and Skadi looked at the Bleached Garudamon image, and even the normally brave Skadi felt a little unnerved; something just felt a little off about this particular Digimon. The missing pupils especially was a telltale sign that something was amiss. And the fact that this one feral Garudamon was connected to one of the missing locals started to ring plenty of alarm bells in their head.

Just what happened to these Digimon, exactly? The current state of the Garudamon and their connection to the villager Birdramon practically screamed 'zombie' to Kenny and Skadi. On one hand, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that all the affected Digimon in the village were essentially zombified by the perpetrator(s) in question, but the existence of the other Digimon unrelated to the village still prowling around it anyways said otherwise.

Kenny's train of thought quickly broke up as Fiora handed the group a set of what looked to be shock collars in all but name, and as he held his in his hands, Skadi looking up in interest and curiosity, both of them continued to listen as Fiora pointed out their purpose; to force a Digimon back into at least a Rookie stage. And the only way to do that would be to weaken them to the point of exhaustion, then slap them on. From what they heard, they knew it would be much easier said than done, but they nodded once more as she finished her explanation.

So what other questions they had to ask? Kenny was a little silent for a moment, taking this all in (even the normally chipper Skadi was visibly disturbed by what she saw), before he asked, "Um, yeah, have you spotted any Bleached Digimon wandering outside of the village so far?" If his theory was correct, and this was basically a zombie virus in all but name... well, it wouldn't be pretty.

Fiora nodded to Akemi. "The more information that all of you can provide us, the better. And if we can get a bleached digimon alive, we would likely be able to learn a lot more about them just by studying and researching them - even if you guys are unable to figure out anything new or strange about them on your own."

At Kenny's question of if Bleached Digimon have been spotted outside the village, though... Fiora would think for a second, before shaking her head. "As far as my own observations go, well... I haven't seen them wander any further than the clearing surrounding the village? We haven't had any reports of any sort that could resemble these Bleached Digimon anywhere else, either."

She'd fidget briefly; glancing down the road, in the direction of where the village would be. "It's... not usually strange for anomalous digimon to pop up out of nowhere; for those who are more sapient like us, sometimes an anomalous digimon will come across their strange quirks completely by accident. But... It feels strange for a whole group to pop up at once, with no clue as to how they reproduced, or where they came from, or what..."

With Valt's and Ryouta's - or, as far as Fiora knew, Tatsu's - questions, Fiora would think for a second. "No changes that I was able to see, beyond color; at least on a physical level. Though..." She'd pause briefly, thinking for a second. "... This is just a theory, for the most part, but... When the Garudamon tried to attack me, even its fire looked different from a normal Garudamon's fire. I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that its own element was changed, from fire to light. I'd say keep that in mind, if any of you are particularly weak to light-based attacks."

She'd glance to Anzu and Akemi in particular, in saying this. While she didn't know everyone's combat capabilities entirely, if any of the three digimon gathered here were weak to light, Anzu would most likely be the one; given that Tsukaimon were typically dark-type digimon.

As for the question of forcing them to evolve while hijacking their bodies, though... Fiora glanced to Ryouta. "It's a possibility, though I wouldn't assume anything until we know more about these Bleached Digimon." She'd warn gently with an almost chiding wave of one of her claws; adding "Making too extreme of an assumption about an anomalous digimon can lead to disaster very quickly."

With Ryouta's call to help assign everyone to roles, though... Fiora would speak up once more, raising a claw and making what might be a Wormmon's best attempt at a sheepish smile. "I'm, uhm, not a fighter; but if you want me to come with, I can act as support! I'm good with a variety of chemicals, including using my own venom as a painkiller, and well... My silk makes good bandages and sutures, too..!" She'd think for a second, before adding "Otherwise, if I remain here, you can still keep in contact with me for asking questions, and passing on information; you all should have my contact info, from when I sent you all my coordinates and starting instructions."

If there was any small blessings coming from the Bleached Digimon case so far, at least that the zombie-like monsters seemed content with staying near the village and that village only, with no known cases of spread thus far. Still, they would continue to listen to Fiona explain further, telling them that while it was normal for extraordinary Digimon to show up, a whole group of them were another kettle of fish altogether.

Was it honestly a misunderstanding on Kenny's part, taking Fiona's words a little out of context, resulting in him thinking that the sudden spawning of the white coated warmongers as not-quite-isolated incidents happening all over the Digital World? Certainly, this wasn't the first time, as when he was training with Ryouta he'd immediately thought would be flinging him around like a ragdoll thanks to misunderstanding what he said. Admittedly, he'd need a little bit more work on that front.

Anyways, that wasn't exactly the focus right now. That was another issue for another day. The focus was more on Fiona and the Bleached Digimon, mainly the apparent changes from their normal counterparts. The fire that the Garudamon wielded, for one, may have hinted at changed elements. Skadi merely twiddled her fingers a little in uncertainty; with physical and Ice-element Digimon, she had an advantage over due to her sheer bulk alone. Fire-element Digimon, on the other hand, she struggled with heavily, all thanks to her thick coat alone.

Speaking of battle capabilities, Ryouta would start off by explaining what Valt was capable of, mainly that he could take hits like a champ and hit like a truck in his higher forms, along with his Armour Champion capable of recon, followed by Fiona adding on her possible support capabilities to more than make up for her lack of fighting skills, able to patch up wounded fighters with ease, and Akemi throwing in Anzu's scouting skills and the fact she could inflict crazy damage in her higher forms.

With Akemi's glance over to them, the spotlight was now on Kenny and Skadi... hoo boy this was gonna feel a little awkward, considering Skadi hadn't even reached Mega yet. Kenny just rubbed his arm a little awkwardly. "Well, my partner Skadi is a pretty beefy fella in her natural Ultimate form. She's more suited for fighting grounded enemies, but she does have a few techniques up her sleeves to take on flying ones as well. Plus, her Armour Ultimate has a bunch of utility skills to hold down and slow down enemies as well. Sadly, she hasn't exactly hit Mega yet, though. I'm sorry, I hope you understand..." Man, it felt weird to be the odd one out here.

Skadi eagerly raised her hand quickly, before piping up, "I also have this!" She cried, digging into the wool inside her neck, before pulling out a small golden necklace adorning her neck. A small red gem on the necklace gleaned in the sun, as she explained, "I can use this magical artifact to turn myself invisible, like so!" With a mere tap of the gem, the entirety of Skadi's body vanished into thin air. No fanfare, no callouts, no fancy effects, she just vanished almost instantly.

Not a moment later, Skadi gave it another tap, reappearing back in the flesh, again with nonexistent fanfare and a proud grin on her face, "Combined with my Armour Ultimate's abilities, I bet I'd be really good with helping to scout out any of the Bleached Digimon myself."

"And, as for me?" Kenny added, as he pulled out his current card deck and showed it to Fiora, "I have these too, they could really help us out if we get in a pinch." While Kenny and Skadi weren't as strong as the other two tamers, they hoped that what they had right now would be enough to give the team a little extra 'oomph' they needed to save the day.

As for Fiora? Skadi turned to listen to Anzu talk to the Wormmon before she chimed in herself, "She's right. We don't want to pressure you too much out there. If you want to come with us, we won't stop you. Besides, even if you do decide to stay, you're still helping us out, right?" Throwing someone who couldn't really defend herself proper into danger just didn't sit right with Skadi, to be honest. But ultimately, like Anzu before her, she let the choice fall onto the Wormmon's shoulders herself.

It seemed that everyone had a variety of skills and tools that they could bring to the table; in particular, a lot of them had their own ways to scout or stealth. Fiora couldn't help but look on in awe as Skadi in particular would show off her own tool - particularly, the necklace that she wore around her neck. "That's rather intriguing..." She'd murmur in that same awe, leaning in a little to get a better look at the necklace; though she was quick to remember her manners - "Oh, u-uhm, pardon me..!" - and would back off to give Skadi her personal space.

Instead, she'd think for a second as Anzu and Skadi both chimed in about wanting her to make her own choice on whether to come or not; the notion that she'd still be helping, even if she stayed behind, being a comforting one. She'd nod to Ryouta at the request for a map, already getting to work on her laptop; though the mention of actually bringing out a Grand Locomon would catch her attention; visibly curious.

"Hmm..." She would begin with a brief hum, tapping away at the keyboard of the laptop. "If your friend is as large as the species name implies, your best bet would probably be to set them up at the edge of the village clearing, but... Their size might also mean that they might draw attention from other Bleached Digimon, which might mean you'd have to fight one or two of them off, to secure your position." Of course, that likely wasn't a huge issue - it sounded as though this friend of theirs had their own way of providing support, if the mention of an anti-flying field from before implied anything.

And as for staying with the train... "I appreciate your concern, uhm, Tatsu," She'd add; smiling in his direction as a Wormmon might. "It isn't the first time I've had to play combat medic; but... It probably would indeed be for the best that I stay with you and your Grand Locomon friend as backup." She'd agree with a nod; continuing to tap away. Once given some time, Fiora would have drawn out a topographic map - with a basic layout of the village itself included - and have it sent to Ryouta's D-Nexus. "There we are; how does that look? Let me know if you all need anything else."