MPC: 74BC Trains, Pains, and Chains
May 29, 2020 1:54:36 GMT
Post by Honoka Nijimura on May 29, 2020 1:54:36 GMT
MPC Name: Slave Trade
MPC Number: 74B
Reward Requested: Bits
MPC Name: It's the Journey, Not the Destination
MPC Number: 74C
Reward Requested: Bits
While Honoka was still quite new to the Digital World, if there was one thing she was getting to know well in this bizarre world, it was its transportation. Simply put, Honoka had gotten to know a few Trailmon over the course of her time in this foreign place. There was Trailmon Grey, who was typically serious, yet jovial at times. Trailmon Ribbons was actually quite the chatterbox. So much so that their conversations would frequently annoy the other passengers. Trailmon Spike pretended to have an edgy attitude, but he was just a big ol' softie inside. Trailmon Joker, despite his name, was incredibly uptight and no-nonsense, but would always get to his destinations on time.
Honoka spent a great deal of time in the various Trailmon that transported passengers around here. She didn't have a place to stay in the Digital World just yet, and riding the Trailmon was free. On the nights she didn't have to help at the flower shop, Honoka could take the Trailmon in Shibuya Station, then take a round-trip from Terminus to Rosewood. Then, she could use the time to sleep a little, study for her classes, and depending on the Trailmon and their passengers, even practice some gymnastic routines. By the time she got back to Terminus, she could take the Trailmon back to Shibuya and still make it home before right before dark.
In other words, thanks to the wonders of the Digital World, Honoka had gotten hold of something no other over-achieving student could ever obtain; time.
So when she stepped onto the Trailmon heading to the Southern Tropics, other than the fact that the Trailmon was unusually early, nothing else seemed out of place. She had never ridden in this particular Trailmon before, but to be perfectly honest, she loved getting to know them. The people they've met, the places they've seen... it all made for wonderful conversation topics. This one was gray in color, a light shade but with several large spots and stains all over. Honoka wondered what kind of journey it had to have been to have gotten so filthy. Or maybe it just really didn't like cleaning up.
Everything was normal, until she saw that the Trailmon cart had no other passengers after it took departed. Honoka looked around, confused. Sometimes the carts would be spare, or some human-hating Digimon would move away entirely, but she had never ridden in a cart completely devoid of other passengers before.
"Excuse me... Trailmon-san?" Honoka called out to the empty cabin. "Is there anybody else here?" Honoka waited for a hot minute before she heard a reply.
"Yes." A robotic voice answered. "Proceed to the next car."
Honoka waved her hands to no one in particular. "Actually, I was just checking if there were other passengers. Honestly, if the car is empty, it'll be easier for me to study an-"
"Proceed to the next car," The Trailmon repeated. Its voice hadn't altered in the slightest, but somehow Honoka thought that it sounded more annoyed.
"Okay, then..." Honoka relented, walking further towards the front the Trailmon. "But you could have at least said please, geez..." She stepped up to the door, took a deep breath, and put on a warm smile. Some Digimon were either uncomfortable or outright disliked humans, so she always tried to remain as positive as possible.
And what wasn't more positive than a friendly smile? She stepped into the next Trailmon car, glancing around to look at the other passengers within. Instead, she saw something unlike any Trailmon car she had ever seen before. There were hooks hanging off the ceiling with chains dangling off of them. Rusty manacles were placed in the seats and the only passenger she saw was a green-skinned creature with a green-mohawk and holding a large wooden club. She heard the Digimon yell out, "Now!"
A sudden blur caught the corner of her eye. Reflexively the girl suddenly twisted her body to the side as a wooden club swung out to where she was standing and smashed into the door. Her mind caught up to her then, as she let out a startled scream as she glanced at a green oni-like creature with a red mohawk holding the club that nearly smashed her face in. Another green-skinned Digimon charged her. It held its arms out and lowered its head in attempt to tackle the girl.
Fortunately for Honoka, these Digimon were still fairly short. She jumped into the air, splitting her legs apart in a straddle jump and rising above green-mohawk. It passed right underneath her as she was about to fall, but she placed her hand underneath her, placing them on top of the Digimon's head and pushing it behind her. The Digimon slammed into the door, just as the red-mohawk Digimon pulled its club back for another swing.
At that point, her instincts ebbed from her consciousness as her mind finally began to take stock of the situation. Why were these Digimon attacking her all of a sudden!? She had met some Digimon that were unfriendly to humans before, but none that had outright attacked her without provocation! Still, she knew that thinking about it now wasn't going to help her escape. The pair were now in between Honoka and the door, which meant if she were to escape, then she would have to make it to the other side of the car. But would she be able to get there without turning her back on her assailants?
She didn't have anymore time to think as red-mohawk stepped towards her and swung its club up towards her head. She fell backwards, narrowly avoiding the Digimon's wide swing and kicked off with her feet. She fell into a handstand as she shifter her core and legs backwards above her for a full somersault. She took the momentum from her acrobatic stunt to back away from both Digimon while red-mohawk regained its balance from its wildly aggressive, but inaccurate swing. But by then, the other Digimon had recovered from its encounter with the door. Green-mohawk suddenly held out its hand as a flaming sphere appeared in the palm of its hand. That... Honoka didn't know how to dodge.
"Shama Bomb!!!" It yelled out, launching the burning orb towards Honoka. She flung her body off to the side as fast as she could, trying to roll away once she collided with the floor. The flame orb barely missed her, but the attack called Shama Bomb lived up to its name. Upon impact with the floor that Honoka had previously been standing on the flame orb suddenly shattered, unleashing a concussive wave that sent the prone girl sprawling across floor. Her stomach collided with a nearby seat as the air in her lungs promptly evacuated the premises.
For a while she had forgotten that she was being attacked by Digimon. Just running away wouldn't do any good. Not if they had the capability of launching more of those fireballs. Even if they couldn't, chances were that the Digimon's superior strength and stamina would win out in the end and they'd catch up to her no matter how far she ran. Not that she could run away for very long in a Trailmon, anyways. She placed her arms beneath her, but still couldn't the strength to stand. She looked back to see red-mohawk walking towards her, with green-mohawk standing back.
Honoka didn't have a choice. With a sigh, she pulled out her D-Tector Digivice. The pink device flared to life while a symbol Honoka didn't recognize displayed on the screen. She hated this about the Digital World. Why did so many things have to come down to violence? Why couldn't they open up their mouths and say something other than the name of an attack?
"Sprite... Evolution!" Honoka yelled out as a ring of data appeared around her hand. She slid her Digivice's scanner across the ring, shattering it into countless flower petals of data that tightly formed around her entire being.
Her legs shriveled up entirely and were replaced by a bundle of roots that wrapped themselves towards the ground, pointed out in all directions in a vague semblance of feet.
Around her lower back, a short tail grew out of her rear, its top lined with barbed thorns.
Her wrists began to expand, eventually blooming out into a violet, flowery form while her hands withered into yellow flower stamen.
As her hair flew wildly around her head, it suddenly began to clump together in petal-shaped pieces, forming a crimson flowery mane around her now-spherical head. The top half of her man fell on top of her face, as if forming a floral helmet.
Her eyelids lifted, revealing crystal blue irises that briefly turned gold, momentarily displaying the warm radiance of the sun. She twirled around, throwing one flower-hand straight into the air and the other onto her hip as she stood before everyone as...
"Floramon!!!"
The Digimon with the red-mohawk stopped its advance upon Honoka's transformation, which was for the best. Even though she had transformed, the girl-turned-Digimon was still recovering from green-mohawk's earlier blast, and she could use all the she could get at the moment. Plus, she could use this lull for one last chance to avoid fighting.
"I don't know why you're attacking me, but you don't have to do this!" Honoka pleaded. Maybe if she was in Digimon form, these two would possibly consider. "If I did something to you, then I'm sorry! But terrible first impressions aside, I don't want to fight people I've never met!" Her plea garnered a pensive reaction towards red-mohawk, but green-mohawk didn't seem fazed.
"Quiet, fish!" It responded curtly without elaboration. Fish? What was that about? "If you don't want to fight, then give us your Digivice and surrender!"
"I can't do that!" Honoka protested. "How can you expect me to just trust you like that after you attacked me for no reason!"
"It's not a matter of trust, fish! Either you surrender and save us the trouble, or we beat you down until you can't resist. There are no other options!" The green-mohawk Digimon pointed its at her, and red-mohawk charged forward. It pulled its club back for a massive swing.
Honoka wasn't an expert in using blunt weapons, but she did understand balance and coordination, and the flower-girl could easily see that this Digimon didn't know how to appropriately use its own weapon, instead deciding to overcompensate by taking wildly massive swings. Red-mohawk let out a shout as it swung its club straight down toward's Honoka's skull, but at the last second, the flower-girl twirled around on one rooted foot in a pirouette and narrowly avoided its swing. Then, still using the momentum of her spin, one of Honoka's stamen hands began to emit a warm light.
"Sunshine Vine!" She cried out for no other reason than the fact that is just somehow felt natural. She swung around and swung down at the back of red-mohawk's head. The oni-like Digimon was still staggering from the swing of its own attack, and Honoka's aim struck true. Red-mohawk collapsed to the floor with a grunt as Honoka whispered, "Please, please stay down..."
"Shama Bomb!!!" Honoka spun around just in time to see another flaming orb fly at her. But even if it hit her, the explosion would also hit the Digimon beside her... Honoka threw up both of her flowery hands in front of her. They began to expand into a large shield of flower petals.
"Floral Shield!" The flaming orb collided with her shield, the explosion shattering it into a thousand flower petals, and the scent of lilacs suddenly filled the air of the Trailmon car. Honoka herself skid back a few feet from the impact, putting the red-haired Digimon in between the flower girl and its partner. Green-mohawk seemed confused by the sweet scent, giving Honoka enough time to point one of her flowery hands towards the Digimon. "Sunshine Bullet!"
A small golden light erupted from her hand and darted toward the green-haired Digimon. It collided with its chest, driving it backwards and slamming it back into the door behind it. The Digimon fell to its knees, reeling from the force off the impact.
At that point the adrenaline had washed away from the human-turned-Floramon. Both her opponents were down and trying to get back up, so she decided to take advantage of the situation. "We don't have to keep fighting!" She pleaded. "We... we can stop the train or something! If you don't like me, I can just get off this train and we don't ever have to meet again!"
"But if we let you go, then we wouldn't be very good at our jobs, would we?" A voice called out from behind her. Honoka turned around to see a much larger bronze-skinned demon man Digimon. It had long, ragged, silver hair and a large, gaping mouth with tusks and several sharp teeth. A tiger-print waist-cloth was wrapped around its hips, and carried a massive bone over its shoulder with its over-sized hands.
"Fugamon, sir!" The green-mohawk suddenly cried out, but the Digimon apparently called Fugamon held out its other hand.
"You two said that you could handle just one puny human all by herself," He stated. Despite his hideous appearance, his voice was surprisingly calm and smooth. So calm that it sent Honoka chills up her digital spine. "That it would be easy if she didn't have a Digimon to protect her. But what do I see? A Digimon standing before you, and you two, sprawling on the floor!"
The two Digimon groaned in pain in a desperate attempt to stand, but once more, Fugamon held his hand up. "Don't bother getting back up. This is just going to knock you back down, regardless. Evil Hurricane!!!" He swung his massive bone in front of him. There wasn't anyone in front of him to swing, but the force from the blow sent a massive gale that sent Honoka and the two smaller Digimon flying back into the opposite wall. The hanging chains rattled as the winds disturbed them, and the gale winds shattered the windows along it path. Honoka let out a surprised scream as she flew, only for it to be cut off the instant her back collided with the wall. She slumped to the floor beside the two Digimon she had previously been fighting.
"Fugamon. Do not cause damage beyond repair," She heard the Trailmon suddenly announce.
"We can get you some new windows after our job is done, Laber!" Fugamon announced without a hint of concern. He began walking towards Honoka with a gleeful glint in his eye.
"That is not what my concern regards," The Trailmon corrected. "Damaged merchandise equals a discounted rate. I would prefer to be well-compensated for my services."
"Tch, Well, I guess it can't be helped, then..." Fugamon sighed, lowering his club and letting one end rest on the floor. "Hey, newbies! Try and prove yourselves useful, would ya?" Honoka felt the pair of Digimon beside her struggle to stand, but found themselves unable to. Still, Honoka had to get away before they did find the strength. Not to mention that Fugamon's appearance spelled even greater trouble for the girl. She pushed up with all her strength, but like crabs in a bucket, the two Digimon beside her weren't allowing it. They reached out and grabbed her flower-wrists.
"Let go!" Honoka screamed out, trying to pull away from the prone duo. While the pair were significantly weakened from the combat, the frail flower wasn't able to break free from their grasp. The two seemed to almost desperately holding onto as if their very lives were on the line. Why were these two struggling so much to capture her? Was the Fugamon threatening them somehow? What even was going on here?
"Excellent! You've got ahold of the fish!" Fugamon praised the pair in a gleeful tone, but gave them an intimidating glare. "But how are you gonna catch a fish if neither of you can stand?" The small oni-like Digimon gave each other a hesitant stare, then nodded to each other. The opened up their free hands, a fireball appearing in their open palms.
"No, wait! If you use that so close you-" Before Honoka could finish speaking they drove their attacks right at the transformed human girl.
"Shama Bomb!!!"
"Goblin Bomb!!!"
An explosion of erupting flame covered one end of the Trailmon. Both the mohawked Digimon were sent flying from the explosion of their own attacks, and smoke spread throughout the entire Trailmon car, only to swiftly retreat through the shattered windows. Honoka was lying facedown, still in her Floramon form, but her burns covered her entire body while many of her petals had been incinerated entirely. Honoka had taken a number of tumbles and fumbles in her life, but she didn't think that she had ever experienced this much pain in her entire life. It hurt so bad that just the thought of moving made her scream out in pain. Not that she wasn't already.
"Hardcore!" Fugamon commented with a chuckle. "That's a hell of a lot more dedication than I expected, you two..." He looked to the unmoving forms of the smaller Digimon. "Well, I guess they can sleep for a little while. Can't expect perfection from the newbies, after all..." Honoka heard the Fugamon approach. Suddenly, she felt an intense pressure around her skull as the Champion-level Digimon lifted her up to his eye level. "So, little fish... On scale of one-to-ten, how good of a performance do you think those little rascals did? As their employer, I need to ask; have their actions made you feel sufficiently enslaved?"
Honoka couldn't find the strength to speak, but the shock in her eyes told the Fugamon all he needed to know. "Wait, no one told you yet?" He let out a boisterous laugh. "Man, you just have the worst luck!" He let another laugh before he elaborated. "We're a group call the Anglers! Ever heard of us? No? Well, I guess it doesn't matter too much..." Honoka's vision began to blur as her consciousness was fading, but the Fugamon suddenly shook her around, sending enough jolts of pain through her body to keep her lucid for the time being.
"Hey now, no going to sleep just yet! You're gonna love this next part!" He gave the Digimon-human girl a twisted smile. "We're a group of slavers that operate out of a Trailmon, so we're always on the move! We go all around the continent collecting product and making deliveries to paying clients! And get this; you totally took us by surprise!"
"Fugamon. You are revealing too much information. Your boasting can lead to future complications!"
"S-surprise?" Honoka weakly managed to gasp.
"That's right, little fish!" Fugamon answered, giving her a couple of playful slaps on the cheek. "I was just prepping some new recruits for a collection mission when all of a sudden, Laber speaks up about a surprise passenger; a little human all by herself! So I figured, what the hell, when life gives you lemons, ya know?" He moved her head so it was just centimetres away from his own. "We've never captured a human before, so we're really lucky that you just happened to get on the wrong Trailmon!" He looked up towards the roof. "Hey Laber, what's the going rate for humans, anyway?"
"I am not certain. Which is why I would prefer that you do not the damage the merchandise."
"Relax, Laber. She's got some superficial burns, but I'm sure we can just wash those off... oh?" While the Fugamon was speaking, Honoka slowly raised her arm up, pointing a scorched flower hand towards his face.
"I... can't... just give up... Sunlight... Booster!" She struggled to say. Her entire body began to emit a warm glow. Then all the light began to converge at her extended flower stamen. "Sunshine Bullet!" She fired off the blast of light directly into the Fugamon's face. The Digimon staggered backward as the Digimon let loose his grip and let Honoka collapse to the floor. Having used up so much of her strength and sustaining so much damage, she felt her Digimon form vanish and her human body was now lying on the floor now. Her body was still in terrible pain, but not to the extent of her Floramon body. She didn't want to use such lethal force to stop the Fugamon, but she didn't have a choice.
Still... Honoka wished that everyone could have sat down and talked instead of fighting. They were terrible people for being slavers, sure, but if there had been another way to convince them somehow... Still, she couldn't just let herself get attacked and then enslaved! Honoka pushed herself upwards. She still had the strength to stand now that she was back in her human form. But before she could stand up fully, Fugamon stopped falling backwards and began chuckling.
"Hoo-boy! For such a little fish you sure put up a fight!" The Fugamon began chuckling uncontrollably as he sprang forward and delivered a backhand, knocking the human teenager back to the floor. She screamed out as she hit the floor, her Digivice flying out of her hand and sliding underneath a seat and out of sight. She reached out for it in vain, only for Fugamon to reach out and grab a handful of her hair. "Well, I guess you can't do that so much anymore..." His tone sounded bored, as if he was done toying with the girl. He pushed her into a seat, placing one hand on her collarbone to prevent the girl from getting back up. He reached out under his waistcloth and pulled out a pair of rusty manacles with a chain attached. Try as she might, the human couldn't match the strength of the brutish Champion-level Digimon. So even though she fought back with all her might, there was little she could do to prevent the Digimon from placing the manacles around her wrist and attaching the chain to the hook on the ceiling. Her arms were bound over her head, and she could barely be seated properly.
Honoka groaned with effort as she tried to break free from the chains but naturally it was to no avail. Fugamon chuckled and patted the girl on the head. "You keep struggling, fishie! Just means you'll get tuckered out sooner!" He walked past her, picking up the two unconscious Digimon. "Guess I can't just leave these two lying around here... Hey Laber! I'll be in the next car, so give me a holler if our little fish manages to slip out somehow, okay?"
"I will do so."
"Fantastic!" Fugamon turned to give Honoka a wink before opening a severely scorched and cracked door. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy your ride with Trailmon Laber! Do give us your feedback, later!" The sound of his laughter was cut off by the slamming, leaving Honoka alone in the cart.
No matter how much she struggled, the weren't going to break. Fugamon was right. She was only going to tire herself out at this rate. So instead, she looked out the shattered window to see the Southern Tropics off in the distance. She had a feeling she wasn't going to get a chance to see the sights. She looked away from the sun, the sea, and the trees. She simply stared down, looking at nothing in particular.
What... what had she done wrong? All she wanted was to have a place to study, perhaps get to know a few more Digimon. Get some training in, and all around make the most of the act that one day, a Digivice fell out of the sky and hit her in the back of the head.
She had always worked hard to make her family and her teachers proud. She greeted everyone with a smile on her face, and if someone ever needed her help, she would always offer it no matter how much it inconvenienced her. Every day she worked her ass off to be the perfect student, the perfect stranger, the perfect athlete, the perfect daughter and sister... So why had this happened to her!?
She couldn't find the strength to smile anymore. She couldn't find the strength to hold back her tears, either. So Honoka sat helplessly in her seat, sobbing and resigning herself to her new fate.
Because when you were as powerless as her, whether you deserve it or not, nothing mattered anymore.
Word Count: 4127
What...? Were you expecting a happy ending? Well, too bad, reader! Not everything gets to be sunshine and rainbows! Hell, I've been writing this thing ever since Honoka first got approved, but just writing this damn piece proved to be a major buzzkill!
What's that, you say? Sunshine and rainbows is what Honoka is all about? Shit... that's right. Well... I can't just write in a happy ending all of a sudden!
...
...
Fine! I'll add a little more positivity! But I'm still not writing in a happy ending! You'll just have to settle for this!
At least... that's what Honoka thought at first. But... she knew that she couldn't give up, no matter what. She wasn't able to smile. And she wasn't able to hold back her tears. Her entire body ached and her Digivice was out of her reach. She was all alone and even if she could transform, she still wasn't a match for Fugamon. But, even chained up, she knew that she couldn't give up. Because there had to be some way to get away. It wouldn't be easy, but Honoka hadn't taken it easy for nearly half her life now. She was used to the pressure, and always found a way to make it through the day. This day would be no different.
And underneath a seat across from Honoka, as they got closer and closer to the Tropics, a simple sprite of a flower bud blooming in full flower agreed with her.
This day wasn't over yet.
Word Count: 4384
MPC Number: 74B
Reward Requested: Bits
MPC Name: It's the Journey, Not the Destination
MPC Number: 74C
Reward Requested: Bits
While Honoka was still quite new to the Digital World, if there was one thing she was getting to know well in this bizarre world, it was its transportation. Simply put, Honoka had gotten to know a few Trailmon over the course of her time in this foreign place. There was Trailmon Grey, who was typically serious, yet jovial at times. Trailmon Ribbons was actually quite the chatterbox. So much so that their conversations would frequently annoy the other passengers. Trailmon Spike pretended to have an edgy attitude, but he was just a big ol' softie inside. Trailmon Joker, despite his name, was incredibly uptight and no-nonsense, but would always get to his destinations on time.
Honoka spent a great deal of time in the various Trailmon that transported passengers around here. She didn't have a place to stay in the Digital World just yet, and riding the Trailmon was free. On the nights she didn't have to help at the flower shop, Honoka could take the Trailmon in Shibuya Station, then take a round-trip from Terminus to Rosewood. Then, she could use the time to sleep a little, study for her classes, and depending on the Trailmon and their passengers, even practice some gymnastic routines. By the time she got back to Terminus, she could take the Trailmon back to Shibuya and still make it home before right before dark.
In other words, thanks to the wonders of the Digital World, Honoka had gotten hold of something no other over-achieving student could ever obtain; time.
So when she stepped onto the Trailmon heading to the Southern Tropics, other than the fact that the Trailmon was unusually early, nothing else seemed out of place. She had never ridden in this particular Trailmon before, but to be perfectly honest, she loved getting to know them. The people they've met, the places they've seen... it all made for wonderful conversation topics. This one was gray in color, a light shade but with several large spots and stains all over. Honoka wondered what kind of journey it had to have been to have gotten so filthy. Or maybe it just really didn't like cleaning up.
Everything was normal, until she saw that the Trailmon cart had no other passengers after it took departed. Honoka looked around, confused. Sometimes the carts would be spare, or some human-hating Digimon would move away entirely, but she had never ridden in a cart completely devoid of other passengers before.
"Excuse me... Trailmon-san?" Honoka called out to the empty cabin. "Is there anybody else here?" Honoka waited for a hot minute before she heard a reply.
"Yes." A robotic voice answered. "Proceed to the next car."
Honoka waved her hands to no one in particular. "Actually, I was just checking if there were other passengers. Honestly, if the car is empty, it'll be easier for me to study an-"
"Proceed to the next car," The Trailmon repeated. Its voice hadn't altered in the slightest, but somehow Honoka thought that it sounded more annoyed.
"Okay, then..." Honoka relented, walking further towards the front the Trailmon. "But you could have at least said please, geez..." She stepped up to the door, took a deep breath, and put on a warm smile. Some Digimon were either uncomfortable or outright disliked humans, so she always tried to remain as positive as possible.
And what wasn't more positive than a friendly smile? She stepped into the next Trailmon car, glancing around to look at the other passengers within. Instead, she saw something unlike any Trailmon car she had ever seen before. There were hooks hanging off the ceiling with chains dangling off of them. Rusty manacles were placed in the seats and the only passenger she saw was a green-skinned creature with a green-mohawk and holding a large wooden club. She heard the Digimon yell out, "Now!"
A sudden blur caught the corner of her eye. Reflexively the girl suddenly twisted her body to the side as a wooden club swung out to where she was standing and smashed into the door. Her mind caught up to her then, as she let out a startled scream as she glanced at a green oni-like creature with a red mohawk holding the club that nearly smashed her face in. Another green-skinned Digimon charged her. It held its arms out and lowered its head in attempt to tackle the girl.
Fortunately for Honoka, these Digimon were still fairly short. She jumped into the air, splitting her legs apart in a straddle jump and rising above green-mohawk. It passed right underneath her as she was about to fall, but she placed her hand underneath her, placing them on top of the Digimon's head and pushing it behind her. The Digimon slammed into the door, just as the red-mohawk Digimon pulled its club back for another swing.
At that point, her instincts ebbed from her consciousness as her mind finally began to take stock of the situation. Why were these Digimon attacking her all of a sudden!? She had met some Digimon that were unfriendly to humans before, but none that had outright attacked her without provocation! Still, she knew that thinking about it now wasn't going to help her escape. The pair were now in between Honoka and the door, which meant if she were to escape, then she would have to make it to the other side of the car. But would she be able to get there without turning her back on her assailants?
She didn't have anymore time to think as red-mohawk stepped towards her and swung its club up towards her head. She fell backwards, narrowly avoiding the Digimon's wide swing and kicked off with her feet. She fell into a handstand as she shifter her core and legs backwards above her for a full somersault. She took the momentum from her acrobatic stunt to back away from both Digimon while red-mohawk regained its balance from its wildly aggressive, but inaccurate swing. But by then, the other Digimon had recovered from its encounter with the door. Green-mohawk suddenly held out its hand as a flaming sphere appeared in the palm of its hand. That... Honoka didn't know how to dodge.
"Shama Bomb!!!" It yelled out, launching the burning orb towards Honoka. She flung her body off to the side as fast as she could, trying to roll away once she collided with the floor. The flame orb barely missed her, but the attack called Shama Bomb lived up to its name. Upon impact with the floor that Honoka had previously been standing on the flame orb suddenly shattered, unleashing a concussive wave that sent the prone girl sprawling across floor. Her stomach collided with a nearby seat as the air in her lungs promptly evacuated the premises.
For a while she had forgotten that she was being attacked by Digimon. Just running away wouldn't do any good. Not if they had the capability of launching more of those fireballs. Even if they couldn't, chances were that the Digimon's superior strength and stamina would win out in the end and they'd catch up to her no matter how far she ran. Not that she could run away for very long in a Trailmon, anyways. She placed her arms beneath her, but still couldn't the strength to stand. She looked back to see red-mohawk walking towards her, with green-mohawk standing back.
Honoka didn't have a choice. With a sigh, she pulled out her D-Tector Digivice. The pink device flared to life while a symbol Honoka didn't recognize displayed on the screen. She hated this about the Digital World. Why did so many things have to come down to violence? Why couldn't they open up their mouths and say something other than the name of an attack?
"Sprite... Evolution!" Honoka yelled out as a ring of data appeared around her hand. She slid her Digivice's scanner across the ring, shattering it into countless flower petals of data that tightly formed around her entire being.
Her legs shriveled up entirely and were replaced by a bundle of roots that wrapped themselves towards the ground, pointed out in all directions in a vague semblance of feet.
Around her lower back, a short tail grew out of her rear, its top lined with barbed thorns.
Her wrists began to expand, eventually blooming out into a violet, flowery form while her hands withered into yellow flower stamen.
As her hair flew wildly around her head, it suddenly began to clump together in petal-shaped pieces, forming a crimson flowery mane around her now-spherical head. The top half of her man fell on top of her face, as if forming a floral helmet.
Her eyelids lifted, revealing crystal blue irises that briefly turned gold, momentarily displaying the warm radiance of the sun. She twirled around, throwing one flower-hand straight into the air and the other onto her hip as she stood before everyone as...
"Floramon!!!"
The Digimon with the red-mohawk stopped its advance upon Honoka's transformation, which was for the best. Even though she had transformed, the girl-turned-Digimon was still recovering from green-mohawk's earlier blast, and she could use all the she could get at the moment. Plus, she could use this lull for one last chance to avoid fighting.
"I don't know why you're attacking me, but you don't have to do this!" Honoka pleaded. Maybe if she was in Digimon form, these two would possibly consider. "If I did something to you, then I'm sorry! But terrible first impressions aside, I don't want to fight people I've never met!" Her plea garnered a pensive reaction towards red-mohawk, but green-mohawk didn't seem fazed.
"Quiet, fish!" It responded curtly without elaboration. Fish? What was that about? "If you don't want to fight, then give us your Digivice and surrender!"
"I can't do that!" Honoka protested. "How can you expect me to just trust you like that after you attacked me for no reason!"
"It's not a matter of trust, fish! Either you surrender and save us the trouble, or we beat you down until you can't resist. There are no other options!" The green-mohawk Digimon pointed its at her, and red-mohawk charged forward. It pulled its club back for a massive swing.
Honoka wasn't an expert in using blunt weapons, but she did understand balance and coordination, and the flower-girl could easily see that this Digimon didn't know how to appropriately use its own weapon, instead deciding to overcompensate by taking wildly massive swings. Red-mohawk let out a shout as it swung its club straight down toward's Honoka's skull, but at the last second, the flower-girl twirled around on one rooted foot in a pirouette and narrowly avoided its swing. Then, still using the momentum of her spin, one of Honoka's stamen hands began to emit a warm light.
"Sunshine Vine!" She cried out for no other reason than the fact that is just somehow felt natural. She swung around and swung down at the back of red-mohawk's head. The oni-like Digimon was still staggering from the swing of its own attack, and Honoka's aim struck true. Red-mohawk collapsed to the floor with a grunt as Honoka whispered, "Please, please stay down..."
"Shama Bomb!!!" Honoka spun around just in time to see another flaming orb fly at her. But even if it hit her, the explosion would also hit the Digimon beside her... Honoka threw up both of her flowery hands in front of her. They began to expand into a large shield of flower petals.
"Floral Shield!" The flaming orb collided with her shield, the explosion shattering it into a thousand flower petals, and the scent of lilacs suddenly filled the air of the Trailmon car. Honoka herself skid back a few feet from the impact, putting the red-haired Digimon in between the flower girl and its partner. Green-mohawk seemed confused by the sweet scent, giving Honoka enough time to point one of her flowery hands towards the Digimon. "Sunshine Bullet!"
A small golden light erupted from her hand and darted toward the green-haired Digimon. It collided with its chest, driving it backwards and slamming it back into the door behind it. The Digimon fell to its knees, reeling from the force off the impact.
At that point the adrenaline had washed away from the human-turned-Floramon. Both her opponents were down and trying to get back up, so she decided to take advantage of the situation. "We don't have to keep fighting!" She pleaded. "We... we can stop the train or something! If you don't like me, I can just get off this train and we don't ever have to meet again!"
"But if we let you go, then we wouldn't be very good at our jobs, would we?" A voice called out from behind her. Honoka turned around to see a much larger bronze-skinned demon man Digimon. It had long, ragged, silver hair and a large, gaping mouth with tusks and several sharp teeth. A tiger-print waist-cloth was wrapped around its hips, and carried a massive bone over its shoulder with its over-sized hands.
"Fugamon, sir!" The green-mohawk suddenly cried out, but the Digimon apparently called Fugamon held out its other hand.
"You two said that you could handle just one puny human all by herself," He stated. Despite his hideous appearance, his voice was surprisingly calm and smooth. So calm that it sent Honoka chills up her digital spine. "That it would be easy if she didn't have a Digimon to protect her. But what do I see? A Digimon standing before you, and you two, sprawling on the floor!"
The two Digimon groaned in pain in a desperate attempt to stand, but once more, Fugamon held his hand up. "Don't bother getting back up. This is just going to knock you back down, regardless. Evil Hurricane!!!" He swung his massive bone in front of him. There wasn't anyone in front of him to swing, but the force from the blow sent a massive gale that sent Honoka and the two smaller Digimon flying back into the opposite wall. The hanging chains rattled as the winds disturbed them, and the gale winds shattered the windows along it path. Honoka let out a surprised scream as she flew, only for it to be cut off the instant her back collided with the wall. She slumped to the floor beside the two Digimon she had previously been fighting.
"Fugamon. Do not cause damage beyond repair," She heard the Trailmon suddenly announce.
"We can get you some new windows after our job is done, Laber!" Fugamon announced without a hint of concern. He began walking towards Honoka with a gleeful glint in his eye.
"That is not what my concern regards," The Trailmon corrected. "Damaged merchandise equals a discounted rate. I would prefer to be well-compensated for my services."
"Tch, Well, I guess it can't be helped, then..." Fugamon sighed, lowering his club and letting one end rest on the floor. "Hey, newbies! Try and prove yourselves useful, would ya?" Honoka felt the pair of Digimon beside her struggle to stand, but found themselves unable to. Still, Honoka had to get away before they did find the strength. Not to mention that Fugamon's appearance spelled even greater trouble for the girl. She pushed up with all her strength, but like crabs in a bucket, the two Digimon beside her weren't allowing it. They reached out and grabbed her flower-wrists.
"Let go!" Honoka screamed out, trying to pull away from the prone duo. While the pair were significantly weakened from the combat, the frail flower wasn't able to break free from their grasp. The two seemed to almost desperately holding onto as if their very lives were on the line. Why were these two struggling so much to capture her? Was the Fugamon threatening them somehow? What even was going on here?
"Excellent! You've got ahold of the fish!" Fugamon praised the pair in a gleeful tone, but gave them an intimidating glare. "But how are you gonna catch a fish if neither of you can stand?" The small oni-like Digimon gave each other a hesitant stare, then nodded to each other. The opened up their free hands, a fireball appearing in their open palms.
"No, wait! If you use that so close you-" Before Honoka could finish speaking they drove their attacks right at the transformed human girl.
"Shama Bomb!!!"
"Goblin Bomb!!!"
An explosion of erupting flame covered one end of the Trailmon. Both the mohawked Digimon were sent flying from the explosion of their own attacks, and smoke spread throughout the entire Trailmon car, only to swiftly retreat through the shattered windows. Honoka was lying facedown, still in her Floramon form, but her burns covered her entire body while many of her petals had been incinerated entirely. Honoka had taken a number of tumbles and fumbles in her life, but she didn't think that she had ever experienced this much pain in her entire life. It hurt so bad that just the thought of moving made her scream out in pain. Not that she wasn't already.
"Hardcore!" Fugamon commented with a chuckle. "That's a hell of a lot more dedication than I expected, you two..." He looked to the unmoving forms of the smaller Digimon. "Well, I guess they can sleep for a little while. Can't expect perfection from the newbies, after all..." Honoka heard the Fugamon approach. Suddenly, she felt an intense pressure around her skull as the Champion-level Digimon lifted her up to his eye level. "So, little fish... On scale of one-to-ten, how good of a performance do you think those little rascals did? As their employer, I need to ask; have their actions made you feel sufficiently enslaved?"
Honoka couldn't find the strength to speak, but the shock in her eyes told the Fugamon all he needed to know. "Wait, no one told you yet?" He let out a boisterous laugh. "Man, you just have the worst luck!" He let another laugh before he elaborated. "We're a group call the Anglers! Ever heard of us? No? Well, I guess it doesn't matter too much..." Honoka's vision began to blur as her consciousness was fading, but the Fugamon suddenly shook her around, sending enough jolts of pain through her body to keep her lucid for the time being.
"Hey now, no going to sleep just yet! You're gonna love this next part!" He gave the Digimon-human girl a twisted smile. "We're a group of slavers that operate out of a Trailmon, so we're always on the move! We go all around the continent collecting product and making deliveries to paying clients! And get this; you totally took us by surprise!"
"Fugamon. You are revealing too much information. Your boasting can lead to future complications!"
"S-surprise?" Honoka weakly managed to gasp.
"That's right, little fish!" Fugamon answered, giving her a couple of playful slaps on the cheek. "I was just prepping some new recruits for a collection mission when all of a sudden, Laber speaks up about a surprise passenger; a little human all by herself! So I figured, what the hell, when life gives you lemons, ya know?" He moved her head so it was just centimetres away from his own. "We've never captured a human before, so we're really lucky that you just happened to get on the wrong Trailmon!" He looked up towards the roof. "Hey Laber, what's the going rate for humans, anyway?"
"I am not certain. Which is why I would prefer that you do not the damage the merchandise."
"Relax, Laber. She's got some superficial burns, but I'm sure we can just wash those off... oh?" While the Fugamon was speaking, Honoka slowly raised her arm up, pointing a scorched flower hand towards his face.
"I... can't... just give up... Sunlight... Booster!" She struggled to say. Her entire body began to emit a warm glow. Then all the light began to converge at her extended flower stamen. "Sunshine Bullet!" She fired off the blast of light directly into the Fugamon's face. The Digimon staggered backward as the Digimon let loose his grip and let Honoka collapse to the floor. Having used up so much of her strength and sustaining so much damage, she felt her Digimon form vanish and her human body was now lying on the floor now. Her body was still in terrible pain, but not to the extent of her Floramon body. She didn't want to use such lethal force to stop the Fugamon, but she didn't have a choice.
Still... Honoka wished that everyone could have sat down and talked instead of fighting. They were terrible people for being slavers, sure, but if there had been another way to convince them somehow... Still, she couldn't just let herself get attacked and then enslaved! Honoka pushed herself upwards. She still had the strength to stand now that she was back in her human form. But before she could stand up fully, Fugamon stopped falling backwards and began chuckling.
"Hoo-boy! For such a little fish you sure put up a fight!" The Fugamon began chuckling uncontrollably as he sprang forward and delivered a backhand, knocking the human teenager back to the floor. She screamed out as she hit the floor, her Digivice flying out of her hand and sliding underneath a seat and out of sight. She reached out for it in vain, only for Fugamon to reach out and grab a handful of her hair. "Well, I guess you can't do that so much anymore..." His tone sounded bored, as if he was done toying with the girl. He pushed her into a seat, placing one hand on her collarbone to prevent the girl from getting back up. He reached out under his waistcloth and pulled out a pair of rusty manacles with a chain attached. Try as she might, the human couldn't match the strength of the brutish Champion-level Digimon. So even though she fought back with all her might, there was little she could do to prevent the Digimon from placing the manacles around her wrist and attaching the chain to the hook on the ceiling. Her arms were bound over her head, and she could barely be seated properly.
Honoka groaned with effort as she tried to break free from the chains but naturally it was to no avail. Fugamon chuckled and patted the girl on the head. "You keep struggling, fishie! Just means you'll get tuckered out sooner!" He walked past her, picking up the two unconscious Digimon. "Guess I can't just leave these two lying around here... Hey Laber! I'll be in the next car, so give me a holler if our little fish manages to slip out somehow, okay?"
"I will do so."
"Fantastic!" Fugamon turned to give Honoka a wink before opening a severely scorched and cracked door. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy your ride with Trailmon Laber! Do give us your feedback, later!" The sound of his laughter was cut off by the slamming, leaving Honoka alone in the cart.
No matter how much she struggled, the weren't going to break. Fugamon was right. She was only going to tire herself out at this rate. So instead, she looked out the shattered window to see the Southern Tropics off in the distance. She had a feeling she wasn't going to get a chance to see the sights. She looked away from the sun, the sea, and the trees. She simply stared down, looking at nothing in particular.
What... what had she done wrong? All she wanted was to have a place to study, perhaps get to know a few more Digimon. Get some training in, and all around make the most of the act that one day, a Digivice fell out of the sky and hit her in the back of the head.
She had always worked hard to make her family and her teachers proud. She greeted everyone with a smile on her face, and if someone ever needed her help, she would always offer it no matter how much it inconvenienced her. Every day she worked her ass off to be the perfect student, the perfect stranger, the perfect athlete, the perfect daughter and sister... So why had this happened to her!?
She couldn't find the strength to smile anymore. She couldn't find the strength to hold back her tears, either. So Honoka sat helplessly in her seat, sobbing and resigning herself to her new fate.
Because when you were as powerless as her, whether you deserve it or not, nothing mattered anymore.
Word Count: 4127
What...? Were you expecting a happy ending? Well, too bad, reader! Not everything gets to be sunshine and rainbows! Hell, I've been writing this thing ever since Honoka first got approved, but just writing this damn piece proved to be a major buzzkill!
What's that, you say? Sunshine and rainbows is what Honoka is all about? Shit... that's right. Well... I can't just write in a happy ending all of a sudden!
...
...
Fine! I'll add a little more positivity! But I'm still not writing in a happy ending! You'll just have to settle for this!
At least... that's what Honoka thought at first. But... she knew that she couldn't give up, no matter what. She wasn't able to smile. And she wasn't able to hold back her tears. Her entire body ached and her Digivice was out of her reach. She was all alone and even if she could transform, she still wasn't a match for Fugamon. But, even chained up, she knew that she couldn't give up. Because there had to be some way to get away. It wouldn't be easy, but Honoka hadn't taken it easy for nearly half her life now. She was used to the pressure, and always found a way to make it through the day. This day would be no different.
And underneath a seat across from Honoka, as they got closer and closer to the Tropics, a simple sprite of a flower bud blooming in full flower agreed with her.
This day wasn't over yet.
Word Count: 4384
