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Post by Sasha on Jun 4, 2020 2:13:46 GMT
Northern Providence. Mountain Peak. Thursday. 6:00 PM.
In the near vicinity of one of the coldests and tallest peaks of the entire mountain range on the Northern most part of the digital world stood a small pair of square buildings, their red walls sticking out amisdt the white wasteland of snow surrounding it, at least when there wasn't snow or mist to hide it from the naked eye. Atop the largest building sat a lonely antenna tower, a single green light resting on top of it blinking at regular intervals. At this time of the day when there was still some relative amount of sunlight this was the only indication any onlookers would have that the place was indeed functioning and inhabited still. Partially buried in the snow rested a metal sign that simply read "Quazar Research Institute", and on a finer print next to it "A subsidiary of Terminus Digizoid Incorporated". The inside of the building was a lot less obviously hostile and desolate as the exterior where it sat. In fact it looked quite homely, or at least like a place one could reasonably be expected to live in without too much hassle. At the very least the rooms dedicated for such basic tasks as cooking, sleeping and the like looked less like the inside of a lab and more like a ski inn one would stay at during a Winter holiday. The rest of the rooms deeper on the facility weren't nearly as homely however: cold concrete walls kept the freezing temperatures at bay in every single one of the hallways, and made for a more stern and durable material in case there was any kind of unforeseen accident on the basement lab. On that very basement loud sounds could be heard of the clanging of metal against metal, loud whirrs of machinery and...music. On the inside, three digimon worked tiressly fixing up the massive set of metal floor doors on the farthest side of the lab. Well, technically, only two digimon worked tirelessly, the third digimon who also happened to be the smallest of the bunch simply sat next to the stairs out of the basement, walking back and forth. Then checking his watch. Sighing. Then walking some more. "Oi, can ye relax already? It's not even 6:15 yet, we still have some time before the volunteers get 'ere." The Prairimon said to the anxious looking mon without looking away from it's current work, his metallic hand spinning rapidly to drive some screws out of the metal floor. The beleaguered looking Assistant Terriermon glared daggers at this reply. "Every second we sit here waiting is another second the higher ups could be taking out of our pay and retirement, so forgive me if I'm not keen on waiting around for the "proper" time to start working.""Then you're free to get a head start and go down there first. I'm sure you'll get far without any backup."The terriermon didn't reply, merely giving out an annoyed huff as he walked up the stairs, making sure to loudly stomp on each step as hard as he could on his way out. The prairiemon simply rolled his eyes, and continued trying to get the massive set of doors open. A bit close to him sat a relatively small Groundramon...well, small for Groundramon standards, as he was still a good 10 ft tall, though luckily for him the ceieling of the lab was at least 20 ft. away from him. The green dragon happily hammered away at a pair of digiports on the wall, hammering and swinging at the beat of some electronic song blasting from the small tablet sitting next to him, too entranced by the music to pay attention to the petty squabbling happening behind him.
6:08 PM.
A lonely aerial lift recently installed at the foot of the mountain would be finally be slowing to a stop close to the entrance to the research center. Within it travelled the mission takers recently hired by T.D.Inc.. As the lift slowly opened it's doors they would be met by the cold and air of the mountain top, and the sight of the two red buildings just waiting for them to arrive...
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Jun 4, 2020 10:29:11 GMT
Man, why did it feel like just yesterday since these three KIZNA groupies successfully helped to quell Ebonwumon's fears and save the day?
You'd think after something crazy and stressful like that, our heroes here would just take some time out, kick up their feet, and relax. But no. Whenever it was the underlying feeling of inadequacy compared to Holly and Toki, a good buildup of some much needed funds to help support their bottom line, or just another reason to push themselves further, they would find themselves in the elevator up the snowcapped mountains.
Again, Kenny and Skadi would be wearing their cozy scarves by Persephone wrapped nicely around their necks, but worn above the young man's KIZNA uniform would be his own snow jacket to keep him warm. Already his eyes were constantly scanning the D-Nexus, listening to a recording of the broadcast from T.D.Inc. Just what was down there in the caverns? Or rather, who? Certainly, the duo were more prepared than ever for what lay ahead of them. But a small voice in Kenny's head still reminded him to keep their strengths and limits in check.
Meanwhile, to stave off the cold for the both of them, Skadi snuggled up to Kitt, her egg-shaped nose nuzzling into his fluffy mane. The young sheep already knew first-hand on what Kitt was capable of at this point, and already she held a lot of faith in her noble teammate, especially after the Ebonwumon mission. He was tough. He was brave, and to her, he was more than ready to handle everything this mission had thrown their way.
The moment they could feel the elevator grind to a halt, the two would get off from their seats, and trudge throw the snow and winds to reach the nearest possible buildings. Already, shivers started to run from Kenny's spine, and even Skadi's thick wool still couldn't repel all the cold from her body. She could feel light goosebumps forming on her skin. Regardless, once they reached the nearest building, the tamer would give a small knock, and as soon as it opened, he'd lead the group off, with the Valaismon waving at whoever greeted the group.
"Oh, hello. We are Kenneth O'Hara and Skadi of KIZNA, here to help you today." He started off, keeping a calm and collected tone of voice, despite all the chills, "And that Spadamon over there is Kitt, also of KIZNA. Can you please outline some details for us, and tell us what we need to do, and what we need to get, if necessary?"
Already he proved he could contribute to a mission without Ryouta or Bezil holding his hand the entire way. Could lightning strike twice here?
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Post by Kitt on Jun 4, 2020 16:33:50 GMT
Kitt has been to many places in the Northern Prominence: the Ancient Capitals of Ys, where the headquarters of KIZNA was at; Terabyte Mountain, where Ophelia, Cassie, Laertes, and their parents lived at; and Snowflake Village, where he was born at, and a place that he’d vowed to never go back to. But Spyware Caverns on the other hand, he hasn’t been here before...until now.
After their celebration of his first mission as a member of KIZNA, Kitt thought he would wait another week or two before heading out on another mission. Truth be told, the whole deal with Ebonwumon exhausted him. It ain’t everyday you help out one of the Sovereigns of the Digital World after all, so something as daunting as that deserves a bit of R&R, right? No. The fact that citizens—even from the cold outbacks—are calling for help proves that KIZNA is needed. And as one of the newest members, it was Kitt’s duty to see this through, but he wouldn’t be alone on this mission as he sat on one of the seats of the gondola lift.
Accompanying him was none other than the human Kenny and his partner Skadi, two of Kitt’s friends that he was becoming more close to. He didn’t mind the Valaismon nuzzling him; a light red blush spread across his face as he happily nuzzled the wool on her neck. After the Sovereign mission, he was able to get to know her more through their exchange of fists and bravado. She reminded him of his big sister, Ophelia, but minus her wildness.
Plus, there was something so comforting with being around those closest to you: From the comfort in their warmth, or just enjoying being in close proximity with each other. It was something Ophelia loved, and it was something Kitt was beginning to understand. Because now, it was enough for him to ease his worries as he listened to the broadcast from Kenny’s D-Nexus. It worried him, yes, but with Kenny and Skadi on his side, he had nothing to fear.
The gondola lift came to a slow stop, reaching its destination. Kitt would get off of his seat and put his hood up, trudging across the snow. The cold barely bothered him as his winter coat had puffed up since coming here. He felt a little bad for his two friends, especially Kenny since humans don’t have any fur and have to bundle up in heavy coats. Despite that, they would arrive at a red building with an antenna tower on its rooftop.
Entering inside, the group saw three people: a Prairimon, a Terriermon wearing a lab coat, and a Groundramon. Kitt bowed politely at them when Kenny introduced him. He remained silent, but gave them a soft smile.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2020 22:31:17 GMT
Dead silence.
Darkness all encompassing.
This was the oddity of his life for the moment; or at least by his count judging on the sensation of time… The second week of this abyss. He was getting better with time and was getting better in figuring things out in general. Something he had to thank was that rehabilitation. It had made him into a much more effective hunter and a much more effective task manager.
But that didn’t amount to much when you found yourself falling in whatever the middle of the digital world and human world was. He had tried to use a portal to take himself from one to the other but didn’t seem to do it properly given that this was where he ended up.
Thankfully he wasn’t tumbling anymore, just sort of falling through space. It was kind of annoying that the portal refused to function during all of this. The charred black remains of the damnable box just awkwardly sitting in his grasp like it didn’t know what was going on.
He’d sigh a bit and close his eyes one by one, at this point he might as well rest a little bit.
6:08...
6:09...
6:10...:
It was almost jarring enough to send most into a panic; instead the sudden appearance of wind screaming around his body and the freezing cold was enough to wake shade up from whatever trance he had stumbled into. To the others they would hear a loud crack, much like a lightning bolt splitting the air before striking where it wished.
Shade had a few seconds of cohesive thought before landing hard. A massive plume of snow blasted out from his impact location and the wraithmon pulled itself out of the crater. Shaking it’s head and slapping at the charred box.
”Infernal contraption! Where did it bring shade??”
Gawking or no, the creature looked around. It still was very high up and the mon didn’t know whereabouts it was. It had heard about the frozen north but figured it’d never be going there. The many eyed creature glanced around and scratched at it’s head; the main eye on it’s chest the first to spot the others.
Shade’s motions would freeze and after a moment all of it’s eyes flicked to stare at the four others. Was this where he’d get captured again? Or was this just… his luck in the digital world telling him he had to be here and do something? Remembering from his lessons back in the city; shade puffed up his chest and his one free hand raising up in a stiff wave.
”Hello, Shade is shade. Where is shade? Erm… What is shade doing here. No no… What is up… uh… Erm. Oh sovereigns damned it. What are mons doing here and in the cold no less???”
Shade still didn’t seem to understand the regulars of a simple hello...
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Post by Sasha on Jun 5, 2020 21:07:54 GMT
The KIZNA trio would soon meet the pouting Terriermon waiting at the entrance of the building. Though he was so wrapped in coats, scarfs and other layers of thick clothing it would probably hard to tell it was a Terriermon were it not for the multiple pair of mittens and socks used to cover his otherwise distinctly long ears. Clearly, the small mon was not as used to the cold as the other three, though his face did seemed to brighten quite a bit as they arrived and Kenny introduced the group.
"Doctor Wizens Haft, the pleasure is all mine." The tiny digimon replied, extending one of his ears to each member for a "hand"shake. "KIZNA? Oh that's terrific. Maybe this expedition isn't doomed after all!" He added with a genuine grin despite the rather bleak comment.
He would have been glad to explain things to them right then but details would have to wait however as the large impact on the snow . The rather odd looking creature that emerged from the crater was enough to send the Terriermon hiding behind the trio, unsure what to make of this new arrival. Other than sheer fear, obviously. "Oh sweet merciful Yggdrasil what is that? What is that?!" He cried out, only taking a quick peek at the digimon as it introduced himself in quite an equally odd fashion. "I take it this Shade fellow wouldn't happen to be a friend of yours?"
At the very least he(?) didn't seem particularly hostile, and while the name somehow seemed familiar to the Terriermon, truth was they were already pretty spread thin in personel, even with the arrival of KIZNA. A spur of the moment idea flashed in his mind as he carefully stepped from behind the others and back into the entrance.
"W-well, we'll give you guys the rundown inside where it's not freezing. If uhm...Shade would like to he's welcome to join in? There's...money to be made." With that left hanging in the air he quickly made his way inside, waiting for the others to follow. Once they made it to the basement the small doctor (now minus most of the warm clothing from before and down to his lab coat) offered the four of them some metal chairs to sit on, as he placed a small metallic contraption on the floor in front of them.
After pressing a couple of buttons and switches said object would display a large holographic display of a mountain with two familiar looking buildings on top.
"Make yourself comfortable, there's a lot to discuss and not a lot of time. Alright, first some context." The terriermon began, his ear pointing at the hologram. "A month ago, our "lovely" patrons from T.D. Inc. funded the construction of this research center to monitor the rather abnormal energy signatures that have been ocurring in the North ever since that incident with a certain Slothful creature took place, I'm sure you don't need me to explain that part."
A light pat at the hologram would make it zoom into the two buildings, before slowly panning downwards and showing a large network of interconnected lines under the lab. Underground tunnels.
"As you can see here, turns out this place used to have a now abandoned mining site some years ago that the Company recently bought, probably to reopen it and begin working at a later date. Now, we've had teams working here monitoring and trying to trace the energy signatures happening all around, and not too long ago they made a breakthrough: a lot of them were coming from beneath the ground, some of the strongest spikes apparently located on the very mine underneath us. So logically, the higher ups decided to send some colleages of mine down below to dig and search the inside of the mine and mountain range."
The tunnels on the hologram would slowly begin to increase with each tapping from the Terriermon, both in lenght and number. While a lot of them seemed to abruptly stop on a dead end, a lot of them went in increasingly erratic directions. Some up, some looping into eachother, and a lot of them further down and down, so much so they ended up going completely out of the reach of the hologram entirely.
"...that's when trouble started as you can probably imagine, as the team soon found out the tunnel network reached deep. Several miles deep in fact. They continued exploring for the past weeks up until five days ago. Three or four hours after the team was sent down again we...completely lost contact with them. No distress signal, no warning, nothing. It was as if they had literally ceased existing. Some of my colleages went down to look as well despite my warnings. They too dissapeared at around the same location." Wizen sighed wearily, giving one final tap at the hologram's base, making the entire thing dissapear back into it's projector on the ground. He pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his brow. "Obviously, as soon as the higher ups got wind of it they sent a largely better equipped rescue team and...well, no guesses as to what happened for the third time in a row."
"That's where we and you guys come in." The Prairiemon that had so far been quietly working on the metal door on the back finally spoke up, approaching the group as he did so. "The big wigs are tired of wasting workers and expensive equipement on something that's not giving them any profit, so they're thinking about closing this frozen dump for good...buuut they're also too cheap to replace all the possibly still intact equipement, and too stubborn to just let this place be buried after sinking so much money into it."
"Indeed. So they've resorted to...pardon my bluntness for calling it what it pretty much is: Mercenary work. These two who are apparently the best at finding things underground, and whoever else was available to help out as extra muscle or whatever other useful talents you may have. You are to go down that mineshaft, find and recover whatever you find belonging to the past expedition and, if possible, find out what went wrong."
"Any questions?"
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Jun 7, 2020 9:17:11 GMT
You'd think that, after that whole incident/PR nightmare back in Rosewood, that their reputation, especially as members of KIZNA, wouldn't exactly be anything to write home about to the average Digital World citizen. But Kenny and Skadi could internally breathe a huge sigh of relief that the (very snug looking) Terriermon Assistant, Dr. Wizens Haft, had outright shown a sense of pleasant surprise underneath that bundle of thick layers, and the two were all too happy to shake his... hand... ear... things, the young man bending down to at least get down to his level.
He barely had enough time to straighten himself out when a loud crash rocked the area, making him and Skadi flinch in surprise, only slowly turning around to take a peek at the aftermath... that being a large crater holding a rather particularly eerie jet-black monster calling themselves 'Shade', with countless eyes in countless places that stood out the most upon them. For a moment, neither dared to say anything, lest they end up setting them off.
At least, initially.
But after Shade introduced himself to the rest of them, the young man just bit his lip, and took a deep breath, looking up at the hellhound in front of him, before glancing at the Terriermon, "I... uh... well... guys, let me handle this for a second." He raised a hand before stepping forward, still keeping a good distance from him and close to the rest of the group. After taking a moment to clear his throat, he address the massive hellhound,
"Um, excuse me, Mr... Shade, sir." He waved back at the monster, albeit a little nervously, "We were just about to help these nice people here on a little mission. If I told you that you could join us and we could help you with... whatever that was, will you promise not to devour any of us whole? Please?" Skadi, likewise, would give the towering beast a little nod, but stayed mum.
At least, towards Shade anyways. She shot a glance towards Kitt, a reassuring smile forming on her face, "Don't worry, Kitt. No matter what happens, I'll make sure you guys stay safe. Promise?" She wasn't exactly one to judge based on first appearance alone, but who could blame Wizens for being just a little bit terrified of the giant hulking demon-like creature who's first appearance was them literally blasting a hole into the earth like it was nothing?
Regardless, once everything was said and done, the group would follow Wizens into the building and take a seat, the two opting to listen as best as they possibly could.
The mention of a certain 'slothful' entity rang one alarm bell too many inside their minds. Just a while back the human and sheep duo found themselves in their own little mission to investigate the innards of Belphmon's mysterious nightmare realm, only to find their travels cut short without much of a warning. Perhaps the supposed 'rescuers' they theorised about managed to hit Belphmon in a certain sweet spot, loosening his iron grip just enough to free them all. Perhaps. They never really did meet their supposed savours.
...probably. Nobody they ever met after this point mentioned anything about it.
Speaking of, the mention of the prior two teams did spring another bit of theorising. Were the bickering Gotsumon in the restaurant one of the aforementioned teams trapped within the mines, thanks to the landfall they were going on about? Without even so much of a warning? Whatever happened to them after that? Did they, like the ShimaUnimon carting them in before them, succumb to the nightmare after they left?
That little train of thought would be broken off by the Prairiemon speaking up himself, explaining why they needed the group to do the job, as they turned to listen to him for a bit, before steering their focus back to the Terriermon finishing up his explanation. As far as the two were concerned, they were all geared up for the mission, at least in terms of their own gear and equipment packed, but there were some other things they had to iron out.
Force of habit kicking in, Kenny would quickly raise his hand to speak up, "Yes, um, how are you guys going to keep in contact with us and track us while we're down there? Just wondering..." It'd normally be a little cut and dry in nature, but this was the friggn' Digital World, of all things. Technology was pretty damn advanced already (see: the Infini-Store).
Just what did it have up it's sleeve this time?
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Post by Kitt on Jun 11, 2020 0:16:06 GMT
Shaking Dr. Wizens Haft's ear in the form of a handshake, Kitt could tell that he was much more pleasant than their previous mission handler, Doku from Rosewood. Even though he was bundled up in layers of clothes, the warm generosity made him feel more welcome, whereas with Doku, his serious and somewhat cold attitude made the young Spadamon felt like in inconvenience.
Before their mission handler could go into details about the mission, something came crashing into the snow, much to Kitt's surprise. Turning to see what can only be described as a digi-devil spawn, Kitt quickly materialized his weapon, Blue Queen and put himself in between the trio and the creature in a protective stance. His fur stood on end, either through a fight-or flight response or through fear he wasn't entirely sure.
"No he isn't!" Kitt replied to Dr. Haft, keeping his guard and defenses up. The creature then identified itself as Shade and asked what it was doing here. He watched as Kenny talked to the creature, prepared for things to get ugly. He became shocked when Kenny offered the monster to join them on their mission. "What?! No! We don't know anything about him. What if he lies and decides to eat us anyway? No way will I'll let that happen!"
It was only when Skadi reassured that she'll keep them safe did Kitt reluctantly lowered his guard, before shooting a distrustful glare at Shade and followed Dr. Wizen inside.
Throughout most of the mission briefing, Kitt would glance at Shade every so often, making sure he wasn't planning anything malicious. He didn't trust him. What would he gain from helping them? Bits maybe, or maybe as snacks? The mere thought sent shivers down his spine. But he had to focus his attention back to the briefing as he didn't want to get caught by the digimon himself.
With the information concise and to the point, now it was time for questions. Kenny asked a really good question about how they were going to keep contact with them, considering that the expedition team and the rescue team got lost the deeper they went. "I'm not very good with technology , but I know that the deeper you go beneath the earth, the more difficult it will be for radio signals to bounce from location to location. So if we were to find something, there would be no way to contact you, sir."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2020 14:43:09 GMT
Hearing the terriermon cry out only made shade a little more hesitant to approach these individuals. He wasn’t that scary was he? Or that surprising to see? The red was far worse than he was in any regard! Shade let out a low growl and shook his head.
”Shade doesn’t see any friends of his here. Only fleshlings and their ilk.”
He stared at kenny as the other approached him; he’d hop back once or twice. Keeping the distance between the two of them about twenty or so feet from the human. He didn’t fully trust the other but he’d cock a head as the other spoke to him. Helping the others on a mission of sorts? He’d huff a little bit; the request wasn’t exactly out of norm; wanting help in some mission.
A few ears of his flicked this way and that which led to all of them flicking up to the terriermon as he said that there was money to be made. Money meant food. Money meant he’d have to risk the streets of the civilized. But money did mean he could make others look the other way while he bought or fed.
”Shade isn’t interested in fleshling’s flesh or mon’s data. Only bad memories and feelings.”
The mon leaned this way or that; he knew that humans had horrid memories and were constantly stressed out. But in comparison to the ones he had met in the slums all those years ago this human didn’t seem to have the same intense frustration that they did.
Shade looked to kitt as he seemed to be rather upset with the idea of him coming with. He didn’t blame him; he didn’t trust any of the others and couldn’t help but huff again. Raising a finger to point it at the small… Lion… thing?
”Then if shade is not friends of mons or fleshlings here that means that there is less of a reason to work with the others here. But. Shade could use the money. Fleshlings and datalings like bits. Makes it easier to get meat or for others to let shade feed off of emotions.”
The mon huffed again and followed after the other; looking around without even moving his head. His movements were fluid, almost animalistic. He kept his distance from the others and leaned up against a wall as the terriermon explained some things. What they wanted from them and what they wanted overall. The monstrous mon mulled things over for a moment and clapped his hands together.
”Shade has one. How many mons were there in expeditions?”
The fact that they had no way of contacting the others when down there didn’t seem to bother the monster type mon at all. In fact he seemed a little happy about that fact. It’d be better for them all not to be bothered by some person in their ear all day!
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Post by Sasha on Jun 19, 2020 15:05:19 GMT
If there was anything that gave Wizen a little bit of solace about Shade it was that at the very least he wasn't the one a bit put off by him. At the very least he seemed...friendly enough? If anything the rather calm way the other mission takers had approached the situation only inspired more confidence in their skills. Maybe they had a good chance of returning from the hell below.
Once the debriefing was finally over, the small digimon turned to the applicants and gave a nod, a small smile forming on his face.
"Yes, great, all perfectly good and valid questions, so let's start with the easiest one." He said, turning to Shade. Though there was still a clear hesitation in his voice before he could speak clearly in front of him, he still managed to mostly keep his composure. "There were around five total employees per expedition, so around ten at the most. Add to that the lost rescue team of five and...we should have have around 15 confirmed MIA mons down there, give or take."
He would sigh and grimace a bit however, one of his long ears scratching the top of his head. "Frankly...the chances of every single one of them still being alive are slim at best, that's...probably why they're a lower priority for the higher ups."
On a lighter subject... "As for communication, that's slightly less straightforward, but still simple." He would point to the Prairiemon sitting next to him, "Thanks to good ol Auric here you won't have to worry about that, he was willing to share some of his top of the line equipement with us."
With that the prairiemon would step forward, and produce a trio of small microchips on his hand, which he would extend outward waiting for the others to take one each.
"Signal boosters. These little babies will let you communicate back to the surface without a hitch even if you were right next to the planet's core. Connection might be a bit laggy though, them Sloth power spikes can be a bit overwhelming and such." He'd quickly instruct them on how they would have to fit those into their respective devices (that is, if anyone besides Kenny had such a thing).
"Alright, I think that's enough debriefing. Let's get to it!" Wizen would proclaim, walking to the top of the conspicuously large floor doors that the other two digimon had been working on momemnts ago. With a quiet clap of his hands the doors would slowly and lowdly begin to open up, revealing a metal platform hiding underneath. An elevator. The terriermon would motion the group to come on over and stand on the elevator. Once there the Prairiemon would join them again, and hand them a small backpack.
"One last thing. You'll need to take these." Inside the bag the four mission takers would notice a large amount of what could only be described as very long belts made out of metal and some sort of crystaline fiber. Auric the Prairiemon would point to them, then to the large teleporter on the other side of the lab that the Groundramon was still hammering away at. "You see, we obviously don't expect you guys to carry all that heavy equipement back up here, so when you find something and are absolutely sure it's valuable, we want you to strap one of these around wherever you can on the devices you find, then we'll use these belts to teleport them safely back up here."
"The same applies to any survivors you find or any of you when you need to be extracted...just uh, please let us know we're teleporting living matter before hand. Teleporter's a bit finnicky and if we don't properly tune it to the right frequency well..."
"I don't think they need all the grim details, Doc." Auric said, promptly cutting off the doctor and possibly avoiding scarring the volunteers for life. Some things were better left up to the imagination. "If you guys don't mind I'm going to be accompanying ya guys for a bit if that's alright, just to make sure the signal boosters and teleporter actually work well and such." With that said, after all was finally said and done, the elevator would finally begin it's slow descent into the abyss below, the Terriermon waving the five of them all from the safety of the lab, though it was easy to disern a hint of concern behind his smile.
The trip to the bottom of the elevator hatch was slow, but uneventful, nothing but the light of the platform and the sounds of the elevator to keep the group company.
Once they hit rock bottom however, they'd find themselves at the entrance of rocky tunnel, dim electric lights handing along the tunnel's ceiling being the only proof that this place had ever been visited by sentient life before. There was nowhere else to go but forward...
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Jun 21, 2020 5:38:14 GMT
In his bid to play it safe and to not agitate the hulking hellbeast in front of him, Kitt's words rang and echoed throughout Kenny's head, as his heart quietly pounded away, looking into the monster's many eyes. And for good reason; they did know nothing about 'Shade' apart from his freakish, grotesque appearance. It was understandable Kitt and Wizen would initially hold some sort of distrust for a monster who literally crashed into the group upon arrival. Unfortunately, a heavier, and much more damning, truth lay over the young man's head.
Let's say for the sake of example, Shade did decide to strike right then and there and go in for the kill. Kitt was a small but powerful warrior harbouring great strength inside his fun-sized lion body. He could easily take on Shade directly, throwing himself in front of him to prevent him devouring his trusted friends whole, managing to take him on without needing to break a sweat, and sending him back where he came.
Kenny wasn't. He couldn't.
It was to his momentary relief that, thankfully, Shade opted not to. Rather, simply, he opted more to feast on, in his words, 'bad memories and feelings'. As far as Kenny himself knew, it was better not to ask. The words continued to ring in his head, even as he and Skadi listened to Wizen's talk. The thought itself was enough to give him a fair few goosebumps across his body.
But he still listened. 15 people managed to end up MIA down there, vanishing without a trace? Kenny just silently bit his lip, while Skadi lightly drummed her fingers against the seat nervously. No way that could be chalked up to a simple coincidence. Something, or rather, someone must had had a hand in orchestrating their supposed demise. Whatever happened, they knew they had to play it safe.
The communication bit on the other hand? Thankfully, they had a little something ready, and Kenny and Skadi would indeed follow Auric's instructions, sticking the microchip onto their respective D-Nexus'. As they did, Skadi turned her head towards Kitt and simply asked, "You want me to help you, buddy?" If she could, she would.
The mention of Sloth, on the other hand, made Kenny raise an eyebrow, and Skadi's twitch her ear as they both directed their attention back to Auric, "Oh, I know a little too well for my own good." Kenny joked, "A few months ago, we entered his nightmare domain, and let me tell you from first hand experience; Sloth energy can really screw with you if you're not careful. You push too hard against it, and it's just gonna slow you down further. All I know is that we need to conserve our energy as much as possible."
After everything was said and done. It was time to go.
Almost.
On Auric's request, the two would take up the crystaline belts and store them into their respective Infini-Store, putting them in with the rest of the gear as they listened to the other two explain what to do. Already, morbid curiosity creeped into Kenny's mind, but he knew better than to try and satiate it. Instead, he and Skadi would simply give a nod in response in understanding.
But as for the Prariemon joining? "No, it's fine." Kenny reassured Auric as he pat him on the back, as they went into the elevator, "Just make sure that you do stay close to us whenever possible, and don't forget to tell us when you want to go back up to safety." He had to take a few pages out of Yuuki and Bezil's book, making himself a sort of impromptu leader for this ragtag team. Rushing ahead was just not an option.
As the elevator rattled down, Kenny and Skadi would pull out their own torches from their storage cubes. The moment they hit the earth, the two would give it a simple twist of the business end, blinking it to life. Likewise, Kenny would hand out an extra to Kitt. One simple twist of that and it too would brighten up the darkness in front of him.
Finally, it was time to set off. Before they walked, Kenny turned to the group, pointing at the respective Digimon in order, "Alright, Shade, you be on the lookout for any attackers and warn us if you spot something. Kitt, you keep an eye out for any valuables or workers inside the mine. Skadi, Auric, you guys stay close to me."
"On it, Kenny!" The Valaismon chirped, standing right by his side.
"Good girl." Kenny patted her on the head, with her bunting her nose against it in response. Once they were ready, they would set off deep into the mine inside, taking careful steps and eyeing everything they could to find whatever they could find, with Shade and Kitt taking care of whatever they may have missed.
All they needed to do was play it safe.
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Post by Kitt on Jun 23, 2020 2:55:57 GMT
Kitt gave a grimace expression to Shade's response to him from earlier, to which he reacted by taking a step back. Unlike Kenny, who seemed willing to trust the hellbeast enough to invite him, Kitt remained unconvinced, even after the helleast said that he feasted on 'bad memories and emotions.' He couldn't help but silently grunt to himself. For all he knew, the mon was probably saying all of that to lead them into a false sense of security, acting all friendly to make them drop their guard, allowing him an opening to strike them when they least expected. He wasn't going to let that happen, not on his watch.
What really baffled him was that Skadi seemly went along with this, trusting her partner 100% on this. He thought she would have been the one to agree with him, coming in defense of Kenny, but no, she just went with him. It was like he was the only one that knew of the big, big risk of allowing that monstrosity to come with them. The thoughts mused in his head, even as Dr. Wizen continued to talk. But never the less, he took a deep breath to calm himself down to listen in some more.
A total of fifteen Digimon went missing underneath the caverns. Kitt's eyes widen. He didn't expect that many to go missing. This didn't seem like a random chain of events; all of them were connected. Kitt didn't want to assume the worst. He hoped that everyone that went down their were still alive.
As for the communication bit? Kitt became reassured that they'd thought of that before hand as Prairiemon gave them a small microchip for their D-Nexus. Skadi asked if he needed help putting it in, to which Kitt responded by shaking his head, not looking at her.
"I got it." To the Valaismon, his tone was cold and somewhat distant. It took a few attempts for Kitt successfully inserted the chip in the correct spot. Unbeknownst to the two, he got to explore his D-Nexus during their little break, thanks to Hikaru.
With that done, he followed Dr. Wizen along with the others to two large doors, which slowly began to open with a quiet clap from his tiny hands. The doors open up, revealing an elevator that will lead them underground. Stepping on the platform, Kitt received a crystal-like belt, putting it on his waist with his other belt as he listened on how to use it.
As the elevator began its slow descent into the dark caverns below, Kitt scooted to the other end, not wanting to be near anyone, especially not near Shade. In his little corner, he sighed and put his hand over his face, closing his eyes. Kenny handed out a torch to Kitt, to which he silently decline. Instead, he materialized his Blue Queen, focusing his energy into his weapon until he conjured a bright illumination flame across one of the blades. It used less energy that way, and shone brighter.
Kenny instructed Kitt to keep an eye out for anything valuables or any of the Digimon that went missing, with Kitt grumbling something in response, but agreeing with him, giving an unenthusiastic "Aye aye." If any attackers they should be looking out for, it's the man-red-eyed monster that was with them when he decides his diet isn't enough to satisfy his hunger anymore.
Once the elevator reached the botton, they would set off deep within the mines, with Kitt keeping a lookout for anything while still eyeing Shade every now and thing, just to make sure he was doing as he was told. He was here now, so there's no use in complaining.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2020 11:52:27 GMT
Hearing that there was fifteen people that potentially needed rescue made shade blink slowly. Many of his eyes looked around in abject confusion before his two eyes on his head cracked open. They looked a bit surprised and he’d lean a bit to stare at the small digimon. ”What sort of mons were they? Does scientist know or have list?”Shade shifted his ‘weight’ to one side and he’d glance to the prairiemon as he started to speak. Communication would be key here wouldn’t it? The wraithmon frowned as he was handed the chip; not having anything to put it into he’d hand it right back to the mon. ”Shade has no such device.”Shade looked unsure once they approached the elevator; he didn’t much like technology. He understood simple things like how to make a fire, how to make pots and how to work with some kinds of metal. But this was getting silly to him. He’d glance at the belts that the other was going to hand them. So they had to use these to teleport the equipment up? He’d sigh a bit and rub at the bridge of his nose. Fifteen to rescue. Equipment to transport. Figure out what went wrong. Three very simple things that all could go wrong if the world felt like it. But the mon didn’t seem terribly worried; just annoyed at all the technology it had to deal with. An ear flicked and he’d step onto the elevator. He considered what sort of environment they’d be in; if it was a mine then that meant there’d be plenty of lighting and shadows to hide in. Once on the ground the monstrous mon flicked his ear as he stepped off of it. Kenny wanted Shade to keep a look out for any attackers? The wraithmon turned his head at a strange angle. Considering for a moment if he should listen or not. He’d sigh a bit and shake his head after a moment of consideration. ”If shade must.”With that many of his eyes snapped open and began to look around as the large mon trudged forward. If there were enemies and he was the first line of defense? Well… Shade paused near the edge of where everyone could see him. Slipping into the shadows and slowly spreading himself along them. It’d be damn near impossible for people to detect him and it’d be damn near impossible for them to hide from him. It’d also give him a surprise advantage if someone decided to try to attack the group…
Just going to toss these passives here… Old One|Passive: This digimon is far older than it remembers, far older than those that interacted with it feel. It's memories are halting, it's body is shifting and twisting to such a degree that none can remember that it too was an old one. It puts off a constant wretched and forgotten aura, one that derives from primal times of the digital world. It is merely a fraction of it's potential of it's power. Manifested in a fifteen foot aura of wrong and fear. Those that reside within the digital family of 'unknown' are the only ones not affected by this aura. Outside of combat this digimon's aura is less intense. Fighting against this digimon long term is difficult as this aura can indeed mess with even the most potent warriors of equal level to it. Those more powerful are unaffected and individuals immune to such mind effecting abilities on the same level... find that their immunity is far less as this ability bypasses them completely. [PC/NPC approval required for fear effect.]
Shadow|Passive: This digimon can manipulate itself to fit in places none would think. It's fluid and natural, though to some would seem the opposite. Additionally this allows it to hide in shadows, becoming almost undetectable. Though this doesn't stop it from getting hurt from attacks and if a light is shone upon it it's hosting shadow will move and it will not. It is capable of taking up to three others into the shadows with it. It however is incredibly draining and cannot last longer than two posts with other people with it, while he can fit back into the shadows he must wait three posts to drag others in.
Eyes|Passive: This digimon naturally possess a large sum of eyes. This allows it to see all around it at almost all times. It's smaller eyes are better for closer range while it's larger eyes allow it to see longer distances unhindered. It naturally possess the ability to see even in the most pitch of locations. Blinding moves are extremely effective and bizarrely painful to this digimon. If a blinding move has a damage category it's increased by a step.
Darkness|Passive: This digimon fed off of so many negative emotions in a previous state that it's physical body has manifested to an extreme. It's body is much like normal digimon, however it is completely weightless. It's speed is unparalleled at this stage, but many hits that some would shrug off send it flying.
Passions|Non-Combat-Passive: This move allows this digimon to connect to a host digimon or human. Siphoning off negative emotions in order to feed it. Willing NPC's and PC's will find that their negative emotions or even memories that they associate with these emotions are rapidly drained. Long term damages may occur; but it's also extremely unlikely. Individuals unaware of the wraithmon will often feel odd of this presence. [Requires Player approval.] It is impossible to feed off of a target during combat unless they are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.
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Post by Sasha on Jun 29, 2020 16:38:18 GMT
It seemed things were almost ready to get started, but Shade brought up a good point. His question made the Terriermon stop on his tracks, slowly turning back to face the creature. It was clear from his body language he still was expecting to be pounced on at any given minute. "W-why yes! Allow me just..." Without another word he'd make a beeline back to stairs the upper floor and come back just a moment later, four pages of recently printed A4 paper grasped tightly in his tiny hands. He'd carefully would hand out each copy to each mission member (extra care and hesitation when it came to Shade, obviously). In each paper they would all see the same list of names of each missing member, accompanied with a small addendum of what digimmon species each of the members belonged to. It had clearly been written in a hurry, as the lack of punctuation (but surprisingly no spelling mistakes) made it apparent, but it would have to do. The List:
Research Team: 1 Assistant lopmon 3 Datamon 2 Toyagumon 1 Marineangemon 1 Cupimon 1 Monzaemon 1 Koemon
Rescue Team:
1 Mummymon 1 Andromon 3 Guardromon
Just as the report had implied, Kenny and Skadi already had first hand experience with Sloth related phenomena. Hopefully they wouldn't have to deal with such forces during their expedition, but Auric would be lying if he said there wasn't a bit of relief to have someone that knew about such things on the team. "Sounds nasty. I'm no good with all this esoteric stuff like dreams n' the like, really. We're more of the...hands on type, should I say."Once on the elevator Auric gave Kenny a small grin after his reassurance, giving the young man a playful prod to the side with his elbow. "Heh, thanks boyo. I feel safer already." He said, though he'd give a quick look at Kitt standing on the corner. No doubt there was something going on through his head, but he knew better than to ask someone that clearly wanted some space. "Don't think I'm the one you should be worried bout though." That was all he would say on the matter, and really until they reach the bottom, outside a slightly awed whistle as the small spadamon brandished his glowing weapon. "Damn, I need to get Brok one of those..."Despite Kenny's directions however (or perhaps because of them) their initial walk through the cave would be quite uneventful, if rather eerie as there was a distinct lack of sound down there, save for the sound of their own footsteps. Not the moving of pebbles, nor the dripping of water, the underground world being the complete opposite to the storm they had experienced on the surface. Said silence would come to a screeching and perhaps startling sound as their ears would probably be flooded by the distinct sound of static interference, though it quickly became clear where it was coming from. "Testing, testing, one, two, three, can any of you hear me well?" The rather chipper voice of Wizen spoke out from the group's devices, sounding just a bit metallic but otherwise clear. "Alright you five, if you follow the tunnel you will eventually come to a fork where the tunnel splits into two separate directions. Now I know what you're thinking, but I have two good news: we know for a fact both teams went on the left tunnel, and that none of the dissapearances or technical hiccups happened in it, so there's nothing for you all to fear...hopefully. We also know the right side eventually leads to the same place as the left one, so if for any reason you wish to split up now there shouldn't be any risks to doing so."Sure enough, as they made their way into the tunnel they would find the split a couple of minutes afterwards, the left side looking having barely better lighting than the one on the right, but otherwise looking pretty much identical. It would seem the way forward couldn't be any more obvious...but... "Tch." The prairiemon squinted, sniffing into the air for a moment before approaching the right entrance. He peeked long and hard into the dark and dimly lit tunnel of rock. He turned to the group once again, a rather grim look on his face. "I think there's something there." "W-what do you mean something? Our scanners haven't detected a-..." The terriermon piped up once again, before quickly going silent for a moment, before coming back with a distinctly surprised (and concerned) tone. "O-oh. So there is...I mean there was. The screen was going crazy just a moment ago but now it's just...gone."There was a bit of a pause on the other side of the line, as if the doctor was either lost in thought or considering his options. He would soon speak up again, however he seemed even more doubtful than before. "I-I hate to ask you this, but could any of you check on that?" He quickly then added, "I-It doesn't have to be the whole group, whatever happened there seems to have quieted down so there shouldn't be any risk...""Eh, don't worry bout it lads." Auric shook his head, giving (or rather forcing) a confident grin to the group. "I'll take point here, you all can take the left side. Does that work for ya?"
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Post by Kenny O'Hara and Skadi on Jun 30, 2020 10:23:39 GMT
The drooping ears and disappointed look on Skadi's face was clear as day as Kitt coldly rejected her assistance on the D-Nexus, but she said nothing to him. But from this point onward, as they'd set out with everything they needed, she would often shoot off a worried glance towards the distant Spadamon. She trusted Kenny's decision on the matter concerning Shade, primarily for their own safety, but she too knew of the risk as well. It was, at best, at complete and utter gamble.
Speaking of 'everything they needed', the two would take a quick glance at the sheet of the lost teams and each of their members, before they'd quickly stuff that into their Infini-Store. A lot of time spent in the Digital World had allowed Kenny to familiarise himself with the more common residents of their species. The only thing he had on his mind concerning this was what or who had attacked them while underground. Both teams looked to have a decent defence in the form of a few Perfect-levels scattered about.
But that was a thought for when they got there. Auric was right; Kitt had grown quite distant from the rest of the group after Kenny's cautious, yet admittedly controversial decision. Skadi couldn't even take a single step towards him before Kenny put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, "...Just give him his space please, Skadi. I'll patch this up as soon as possible." His voice was much more softer, laced with concern over the Spadamon, and the Valaismon quietly nodded in acceptance.
Still, it proved to be near impossible to keep their sight off him.
Regardless, despite the apparent, and noticeable, reluctance coming from both Kitt and Shade, they still were willing to co-operate with Kenny. Already, both the young man and Valaismon could feel goosebumps rising upon their skin as Shade slipped within their shadows with ease. The only thing giving them even a bit of reassurance from the lurching, towering demon was that he simply answered with reluctance rather than flat-out resentment.
As they trudged through, Kenny simply glanced down at Kitt and sighed sadly. He had a lot of explaining to do, and bridges to mend on that front. Best to take care of that, rather than risk fracturing the team further, "...I'm sorry, Kitt, but we only had to do what he had to do for our own safety. You're right, we don't know what Shade is capable of, exactly, but as far as I'm concerned, I don't want any of us to be on the business end of that. I should've talked to you about it, honestly, but at the same time, if we just started to attack him, right out there in the open, right then and there, we'd essentially exhaust ourselves and waste valuable time we could have spent on the debriefing and the gear."
In turn, Skadi would also turn to Kitt, and while she tried to give a kind, reassuring smile to him, it wasn't hard to see the worry hidden underneath, "What we're saying is, we can't just jump into fights or get all offensive willy-nilly. I know you're worried about Shade, but we're not doing this to upset you or anything. We let our emotions get the better of us, and things are just going to spiral out of control. I... just hope you understand where we're coming from, Kitt."
That was all they could do for now. How could Ryouta, Yuuki and Bezil make leadership look so ridiculously easy, a baby could do it? He barely stepped into their shoes for this mission and already things were starting to go pear shaped team wise. Only Skadi, Wizens, and Auric looked keen to keep the team in check; his idea to coerce Shade to not lash out only made Kitt grow resentful, and even Shade had let out a tone that more or less told them 'I don't want to be here'.
Oh, if only he had the guts to actually keep the team together proper.
Regardless of the answer, the sudden shock of static threw the two off guard. Thankfully, it was only Wizen, explaining what they knew of the cavern and the fork in the road ahead. Both paths (supposedly) lead to the same spot, with the left only having light peeking out from within. Seemed easy, right?
Well, no. Something was out there, lying in the wings. Despite Auric insisting they go ahead without him, Kenny and Skadi were more than willing to disagree, walking up to the Prariemon's side, "Actually, I think it's best we accompany you there. For all we know, there might be one of the lost team members still alive out there."
"But just in case we do see some nasties," Skadi added, "I'll be sure to help you get out of there unscathed. Me and Kitt here can reach Perfect-level, so even if we do end up in combat, we have more of a fighting chance to survive!"
Looking up to the dark cavern ahead, Kenny turned to the rest, "Alright, everybody, try not to make a sound, and just keep a lookout, alright?" There was something up ahead, alright. . And no matter their differences, they needed to stick together.
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Post by Kitt on Jul 2, 2020 18:26:01 GMT
Shivers were sent down Kitt’s core as he saw all the eyes on Shade snap open at once, then blending in to be one with the shadows. His tail puffed up and curved behind him, but he quickly tucked it into his cloak, not wanting to concern the others.
He took a slow deep breath, and took out the sheet of the lost team members to look as he walked deeper into the quiet, eerie cave. As Dr. Wizen said there were a total of fifthteen Digimon missing: ten Digimon from the research team, and five from the exploration team. However one of them caught Kitt’s eye: MarineAngemon, a Mega-level Digimon. They’re a rare-sighted Digimon, so rare in fact they only inhabited the Net Ocean, so what was one doing out here as a researcher? Regardless, a Digimon of that level out here—missing as well as a few Ultimates—means that they weren’t dealing with a normal threat.
His thoughts would be interrupted by Kenny. Kitt folded the paper and placed it into his coat pocket, as the human spoke. Honestly, Kenny and Skadi’s justification did little to reassure the little Spadamon. He couldn’t help but growl in frustration. It wasn’t about his fear of the dark, demonic hell beast that was now hidden in the shadows, it was how Kenny took matters into his own hands without talking it over with him first. So now he had to commit his trust to someone that could potentially turn on them when they least expect it. They were a team, yet it seemed like his opinion didn’t even matter.
“No...I can’t understand…” was all Kitt said before he proceeded, readjusting his hoodie so that his eyes would remain hidden. It’s not like Shade cares about the safety of the Digimon that went missing; he’s just in it to make a quick Bit.
Suddenly, Dr. Wizen came blaring on his D-Nexus, startling Kitt a bit. He explained that there’s a fork up ahead of the tunnel they were in that splits into two separate directions, both paths leading to the same spot.
Sure enough, they would arrive where the paths diverge. As Auric began sniffing, Kitt’s ear flipped up, looking at the right entrance. They weren’t alone. It took Dr. Wizen a minute to confirm this as well. Auric insisted that they split up for the time being, to which Kenny disagreed, with Skadi explaining that herself and Kitt can go into the Perfect-level if things go south. Kitt shook his head in agreement. But then, he looked into the left tunnel, biting his lip.
“I’ll take the left tunnel if that’s ok with everyone.” He said. “Even though nothing happened to the teams when they went down this path, who’s to say conditions haven’t changed? What if there’s a clue that’ll help us find the missing Digimon? So...just in case, I’ll go in there by myself. Besides, both paths converge to the same point, anyway.” He turned to Kenny, adding, “I’ll call you if I find anything.”
With that, Kitt ventured off into the barely lit tunnel, with his Blue Queen at hand lighting the way for him. After three minutes of walking, he felt his heart beating faster and faster, his breath becoming more heavy. The brave and fearless facade he put on everyone was beginning to break.
Kitt swallowed hard, feeling like there was something stuck in his throat and it was choking him. He couldn’t breathe. He steered himself to the left and placed one hand on the tunnel walls. He was trembling.
“Why…” Kitt whispered, his voice cracking, with tears forming in his eyes. “Why am I so afraid of him?”
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