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[Open] Make Sure to Smile (Or Die)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2020 5:45:19 GMT
As she slept, Airi had a terrible dream. She dreamed that one of her little city explorations went terribly awry. That there were two goons hiding in the building that she broke into and they captured her. She had barely managed to escape once she explained how idiotic they were, but was tripped by a bizarre weeby nun lady, then promptly knocked unconscious. Her entire body began to shake, as if she were inside of some moving vehicle that was coming to a stop.
As she stirred, she felt hand gently caressing their fingers through the little girl's hair. She opened her eyes, looking up at the face of the bizarre nun looking back at Airi with a gentle smile on her face.
"Forgive me, but I hope that my lap was comfortable enough for you to rest on, my child!" The nun whispered to the prone girl. She suddenly sat up in an instant, trying to distance herself as far away from the strange nun as possible. But the woman simply wrapped her arm around Airi's shoulder and pulled her into a tight embrace. "It's okay, child! The bad men aren't going to hurt you any longer! I'm your partner now, and I'm not going to let any more harm come to you!" She said this rather loudly. If there were any other passengers on the train they would no doubt be able to hear this.
But the woman's next words were whispered for only Airi to hear, as she mover her lips close to the girls ear. "You're going to see some strange things, child. But if you make a scene, I will hurt you. If you try to run from me, I will track you down. I came a long way to find you, child, because you're a necessary part of my plans. But if you're going to ruin them for me I will kill you..." She placed her hand on the back of the girl's head. "Now nod if you understand."
Airi's face was completely and utterly frozen with terror, but the black-robed woman's embrace completely blocked it from other's view. But after a second of contemplation she nodded.
"Good... Now I'm going to let you go know, and I want you to smile, okay?" Airi nodded again, and the nun pulled back her embrace, letting Airi see her icy cold stare that turned into a warm smile the further their faces grew apart. Airi did her best to put on the best smile she could, though her lips smiled she couldn't keep the nervousness off her face. "Now then, child, grab your things, for we've arrived at our destination; the Digital World!" She handed Airi her book-bag that she had lost back at the abandoned building with the goons. And then she saw the nun grab a large black duffel bag and sling it around her shoulder. That was... the bag that those goons had been watching over. What exactly was she doing with that?
"Forgive me, child! I wasn't sure which bag belonged to you, so I just grabbed both! We were in such a hurry to leave, after all!" Airi nodded with a bewildered expression as the nun stood up, grabbed Airi's hand, and pulled her up along with her. But there was something the nun said that bothered the nine-year-old.
What the heck was a Digital World?
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Magnus
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OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 18, 2020 16:19:28 GMT
Thankfully, Magnus’ second trip to the Digital World would be a lot less eventful than the first one. This time, he knew more or less what digimon were, and he was relatively acquainted with whom his partners were. Both Akemi and Katherine had their quirks, but were ultimately pleasant digimons to have around. Sure, the younger sister’s smell was… definitely something at times, but it wasn’t like she could help it, and given how sensitive the topic was, better to just not address it whatsoever.
Sides, their adventures thus far had been more or less fun. Kind of strange, all things considered, but no less fun.
Right now, the trio was sitting in a Trailmon, and, like it was customary by this point, following a signal emitted by the teenager’s xros loader.
“So, apparently, this thing wants to lead us to where random eggs that won’t even dare to hatch just yet, right?” At least that had been the case with the first two times the thing had decided to beep incessantly.
“Yep.” Even to somebody like Katherine, that fact seemed to be obvious. “I also think that the eggs are related to me ’n sis, but I have no idea how. I had that lingering feeling ever since...”
Yup, that encounter with Tsukiko and Eleonora. It had answered a couple of questions, but it had also managed to ask at least thrice as many. It was obvious that this quest was ahead of them, and that it was a pretty loud one, but what was its purpose? Truly, a mystery.
“At least we’re… on the right track, aren’t we?” Akemi managed to pipe in, which was responded to by a nod from both her sister and the human.
In the end, the collective thinking session was stopped primarily by the train reaching his destination, but also by a Sistermon Noir that had loudly proclaimed how much she was willing to protect her prospective human partner. Not suspicious at all, mind you! Such proclamation served to pique Katherine’s curiosity, but not for the reason one might think.
As everyone exited the trailmon, she began to advance towards the duo’s direction, and, once she was close enough to the girl.
“Hey!” She greeted, rather cheerily. “Are you okay? I couldn’t help hear your partner say that you were hurt by some ‘bad men’. Do you need help? I can help!”
An otherwise harmless proposal! Nevermind the fact that somebody ignorant about the Digital World had been approached by a talking clam. Everything was completely fine!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2020 17:12:56 GMT
Airi was so wrapped up in the aftermath of her previous incident that she had only just now begun to get a look at her surroundings when an admittedly helpful - but overall horrifying - clam monster had approached her and asked about her well-being. The little girl heard her voice then looked over towards the pink-shelled monster. She stared in bewilderment for a long minute, before jerking back and screaming, "What the fuck is-" But her voice was cut off when her hand suddenly felt like it was getting crushed by the ironclad grip of the cat-nun.
"Oh, there is nothing to worry about, dear child!" She said, kneeling down to place her and down on the top of the clam monster's shell. "You see, this girl simply had a run-in with two brutishly cruel adult men! But I happened to be in the nearby at the time, so I disposed of those cruel human men and took this precious child under my care. She had no place to go in the human world, so I chose to grant her the sanctuary of my undying devotion!" She removed her hand from the shell and placed her hand on her chest as she melodramatically announced that last line.
Airi saw this as a chance to escape. She took a step back while cradling the hand that the cat-nun nearly crushed. But she saw the woman's other hand reach around behind her back, holding some sort of metallic t-shaped object. At the end of it was unmistakably a gun barrel. Why... how... what the hell was this nun creature!? And this clam creature!? And why were they just chatting like everything was normal.
"Is that not correct, my dear child?" In a single swift motion the nun stood up, spun around, and hid her odd-looking firearm from sight. She stepped over to Airi and placed her hands on her shoulders, applying so much force that Airi's legs nearly buckled from the pressure. Airi was stunned silent, but the nun followed up with a cold, quiet whisper. "I asked you if I was correct..."
"Y-Yeppers!" She announced loudly in high-pitched cutesy voice she immediately regretted using. It's not like anyone here knew her or anything, she should have just used her normal voice! "Th-those bad men sure were nasty! I thought I was going to get k-kidnapped for sure! But it sure is a nice thing that I'm not getting kidnapped right now! Because being kidnapped would be real bad, wouldn't it?" The nun clamped down on her shoulders to get the little girl to stop talking.
"Oh, you poor thing, you must be so traumatized that you can't stop repeating yourself!" The nun knelt down and embraced the little girl, taking the time to whisper in her ear, "You cheeky little shit..."
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Magnus
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OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 18, 2020 19:18:53 GMT
In hindsight, the exchange between Katherine and Airi went just as expected. A thoroughly weirded out girl using words that maybe were a bit too profane for a maiden of her age, even though that managed to convey how she felt pretty well.
The Shakomon couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off with the situation at hand, however. But maybe it was her imagination, given that the Sistermon seemed pretty nice! Not to say that getting her shell patted felt pretty nice.
“I’m not a child.” She added, her tone being a bit teasy. “Judging how new your partner is to the whole Digital World thing, I’d say that you’re the child! It’s pretty nice that your protected her from those humans! You must be pretty strong for a child!”
Yeah, Katherine. You’re not childish. At all. Luckily for this conversation’s fate, Akemi and Magnus managed to catch up the kid’s completely inconspicuous and totally calm speech about how kidnappings are bad and how she totally wasn’t being kidnapped at the moment.
Was this situation worthy of worry? For the moment, Magnus decided that maybe the Sistermon was just a wee bit quirky, and decided to grant her the benefit of doubt.
“Hi.” He greeted, all while Akemi decided to hide behind his left leg. “Sorry if Katherine was being a handful. She means well, I swear.” Of course the clam shot him an accusatory glance after that. “Name’s Magnus, by the way. And these are Katherine and Akemi. Pleased to meet you two.”
A hand was extended at the Sistermon while Akemi decided to wave from her hiding spot in what amounted to a barely visible gesture. After that, the teenager would squat until he was at eye-level with his human peer. “Say, if you’re a newcomer to the Digital World, would you mind doing some traveling together? I’m a bit of a newbie myself. Safety in numbers and that stuff.”
Nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. A pretty nice offering, wasn’t it?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2020 20:01:48 GMT
"Ch-child!?" The nun pulled back from the embrace, and for a brief second, Airi saw the fake smile on her face crack into a flash of irritation. But she managed to recover her facade before shaking Magnus's hand and turning back to Katherine. "Oh, my dear Shakomon friend, I did not mean any offense! But even though I am... in this form... I can assure you that I am no child, either! I'm just..." She pulled out a black and silver device from her sleeve. It was different in color but had the same design as Magnus's Xros Loader. "Just a little stunted is all. If it weren't for this curs..." She stopped herself for a moment. "Blessed device, I'm sure I would have... Digivolved into a powerful Digimon ages ago!"
The nun seemed to be talking nonsense for a bit, but Airi saw another opportunity. "My name is Hirano Airi! But you can call me Airi, Magnus onii-chan!" She gave the young man a stupidly-wide grin that hurt her face. She was really regretting putting on this persona. She then looked up to the nun beside her expectantly.
"Oh, and where are my manners?" The nun spoke up. "I am Mother Sable, the Sistermon Noir that has devoted her life to all things belonging in the realm of love and justice! It is my destiny to guide all of those who need it down the path of peace and righteousness!"
"Isn't that funny?" Airi suddenly piped up. She didn't know what the hell "Mother" Sable was going on about, but she needed the steer the direction of the conversation to something less... grandiosely noble. "I never knew your name until now, even though you're my savior!" She placed her index finger over pursed lips, glancing at Magnus and his companions before looking off to the side as if she were trying to comprehend something she was too young to understand. "Don't you think that's totally weird?"
"But you were knocked unconscious by those horrible, awful men!" Sable replied almost immediately. "But you're right, dear child! I should have introduced myself the moment you woke up! And for that I truly apologize from the bottom of my digi-core!"
"That's okay, but we should let Magnus onii-chan and his..." She had no idea what to tall the clam creature and the... She didn't want to imagine what the other thing was. Cause if it was even remotely similar to what it smelled like... "And his friends! After all, I'm feeling so weak from the person that knocked me unconscious, I don't think I feel safe if it were just you alone!" She grasped the Sistermon's hand while looking towards Magnus. "Cuz one of us could get hurt if it's just the two of us!" She looked up to Sable with a pleading gaze. "I don't you to get hurt from trying to protect me while I'm hurting like this, Mother Sable!" The Sistermon gave her a long glare before turning back Magnus, Katherine, and Akemi.
"Well, if the dear child wishes to have more traveling companions, then it is fine by me!" She spread her arms out wide like she were inviting the entire planet for an embrace. "After all, nothing possibly bad could happen if we all travel as a group!"
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Magnus
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OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 19, 2020 0:33:33 GMT
Katherine could almost feel how annoyed the smug nun was at her response. And that made her smirk with mischievous satisfaction. It wasn’t as fun when you were the one being called ‘child’, was it?
“All’s fine. Don’t worry! Nobody wants to be a child, I think.” Poor Airi. She was getting shade from the most unexpected direction. The trio’s eyes widened when they saw Sable’s Airi’s Xros Loader.
“Oh.” The realization hit Magnus pretty much instantly. “That explains why you haven’t been able to evolve. It also means your partner’s a general.”
For better or worse, the male wouldn’t be able to elaborate on what that entailed, since it was introductions time!
“Onii-chan!?” Yep, now it was his turn to be flustered. He definitely wasn’t ready to deal with this responsibility! He couldn’t deny that the little girl was as adorable as she could, though. Sable’s greeting on the other hand, was managing to ooze quite a bit of grandeur and… some arrogance as well. What you’d expect from a religious type, more or less.
Magnus decided to put that aside for the time being and smile at the duo. “Hope we can be good friends. Xros Generals are pretty rare, so I think we should help each other out!”
“Why is her name ‘Mother’?” Akemi couldn’t help to ask, her tone both shy and innocent. “Does she have kids?”
Probably not the most opportune thing to ask, but both Magnus and Katherine couldn’t help to snicker at such a comment. They didn’t miss Airi’s comment and expressions, nor Sable’s reply, and while the situation was strangely awkward in that regard, the best they could do was to stick around. All in all, it seemed like they’ve gotten a pretty nice traveling group rolling! Nevermind the fact that they were complete newbies, though.
“Sounds like a plan! We’ll have lots of fun! Where should we head first, though? Magnus was getting a signal from something we gotta find near this place, but it’s kinda vague.”
Magnus himself couldn’t help to give Airi a look after her comment, however. “Are you injured?” He asked, worry evident in his tone. “Maybe it’d be for the best for me to carry you until you feel better? It’d probably be for the best if we need to run from something dangerous. Guess Sable could carry you as well, but if she does that, she might not be able to reach her weapons in time in case something happens. So, it’d be for the best if I did it, right?”
“Yep, I think so!” Katherine herself couldn’t argue with that logic. “In the meantime, Airi-chan can ask us any questions she has about the Digital World. We learned a lot from another Xros General we found earlier, so we can answer a lotta those!”
It seemed like a fair deal, right?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2020 3:32:24 GMT
Sable didn't bother to answer the Shakomon, barely giving Katherine a cursory glance. She got her point across, but she did give the pink slime monster a curious glance when she asked her question. "Why of course I have children, dear ch-..." She seemed to have forgotten Akemi's name. Come to think of it, Airi couldn't recall Sable ever using her name, either. Just "dear child".
"Every weak Digimon in need of solace and refuge is my child, for I am Mother Sable, a bastion of peace, justice, and righteousness that will soon echo throughout the entire Digital World as a singular guiding light of hope in dark times!"
Slowly but surely, Airi was piecing the puzzle together. Sable had mentioned something about Digimon earlier. It was clear that Sable wasn't quite human... and the boy had his two pet creatures following him around like it was nothing. Which meant that it wasn't likely that they were going to eat the girl. They also mentioned Xros Generals, as if that was some kind of special term. A general was a... military thing, right? But was this scruffy-looking teenage punk really some kind of military officer? It didn't seem likely. It didn't seem like she had enough information to figure things out on her own.
Still, Magnus didn't seem like a complete idiot. She was able to pick up on her hints enough that he wanted to stick around. Either that or he liked kids a whole bunch. But he seemed harmless enough. Plus, like it or not, he was probably her best bet in escaping this lunatic nun.
Come to think of it, why exactly did Sable kidnap her in the first place? They kept mentioning a "partner". So monsters had to work together with humans for some reason? And of all the people Sable had to pick... it was her? Or was it because of the device that had kind of just showed up in her backpack the other day? So perhaps she didn't get to pick after all... Still she has the damn device now, so why did she kidnap her?
So many questions that needed answers, and the only people capable of answering were either a weird monster, a religious kidnapper, or a young man offering her a piggy-back ride. Airi wanted to throw up in her mouth at the very suggestion, but she didn't want the boy to leave, either.
"Come to think of it... I sure am feeling tired!" She said swaying back and forth like an impatient child. "Can I please ride the nice man, Mother Sable? It'll be really bad if you were too distracted carrying me and got yourself hurt! I don't think anyone would want that!"
She could tell that the Sistermon was trying to find some kind of logic to deny her request, but instead she smiled and nodded. "If you would bear the burden of easing this dear child's travel, it would be a great blessing!" She replied, holding her hands to her mouth as if she were about to tear up at Magnus's kindness. "Surely, you must be a blessing sent down to follow the path of love, peace, and righteousness as well!" Was... Sable acting this... exuberantly in order to drive the trio away? If so, it had a good chance of working. Maybe Airi was biased at the moment, but all she wanted to do was kick the Sistermon in both shins and run away. Unfortunately, she knew her normal personality wouldn't be of any help. Especially for these idiots. So back to being a dumb child... "Yay! I get a piggy-back ride from onii-chan!" She giggled like a simpleton as threw her arms out to her side like she was a stupid fucking plane, excitedly running behind Magnus. She reached up as high as she could while standing on the tips of her toes. "I'm ready when you are, onii-chan!"
"Now, sweet child, what do we say when a stranger offers you kindness?" Sable lectured the girl as if she had done it a thousand times before. Nag.
"Oh, thank you for offering me kindness!" She replied cheekily with a goofy smile. She felt like if she kept this up her face would crack. "So onii-chan! You said you were looking for something! Why are you looking for something if it's going to be dangerous? That just seems silly! I'd much prefer to be safe right now!"
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Magnus
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OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 19, 2020 4:55:49 GMT
Well, one thing was for sure right there. Sable was probably the most magnanimous being in the entire universe. Both universes. Maybe this was how priestesses were supposed to behave in the Digital World. Or maybe she just came off as arrogant and boring; the worst part was that she never got tired of repeating how magnanimous she was. Even Katherine was bored of it at this point.
So, saving herself the rude comment and just hiding within her shell in order to scrunch her face in disapproval. Oh well, at least things were going relatively well. He then proceeded to shake his head towards the Sistermon, just as he waved his hand in a rather dismissive way.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Gotta make sure everyone’s safe, right?” At least for the time being, he wasn’t interested in being a blessing and all that jazz! Somehow, there was a quota of aggressiveness perceived in the nun’s gestures, but for the time being, neither the male nor his partners seemed to mind. Well, maybe Akemi did, but she minded pretty much everything.
Airi had accepted Magnus’ offer and Sable hadn’t objected, so… in a pair of swift movements, the brunette picked Airi and placed her atop his shoulders. She was relatively light, so carrying her like this would be no problem whatsoever.
“No prob. Hope it’s comfortable enough.” The initial offer of thanks was followed by a question that… genuinely puzzled the guy. Up to the point that he looked visibly confused for a couple of seconds. “Um… that’s kind of what this world is about. I don’t know it very well myself, but the deal with xros generals is for them to gather a digimon army and then complete some ancient objective or something of the like? It’s a tad confusing even to me, not gonna lie.”
It really sounded like he was doing it for the heck of it, which was… more or less accurate, to be honest. “At least on my case, it’s related to these two’s past. Getting everyone together is key to unlock what seems to be their past memories. Or, at least that’s what I think. That’s why I’m looking for the eggs; they’re supposedly related to Akemi and Katherine somehow.”
He made a small pause. Maybe he was going too fast? Oh well, he was confident on Airi chiming in if she didn’t understand something. “Since each digivice” he proceeded to wave his. “chooses its owner and the digimons bound to it, it’s not like I can just dump this task on somebody else, which is also why there’s a connection between my partners and me, just like Sable and you. You’re in this together; if one succeeds, everyone does. If one fails… everyone does as well.”
In the end, he just shrugged. “I’m mostly doing this for Katherine and Akemi, since I’m not interested in the whole Digital World deal and I’d rather continue with my life normally. But.” He made a pause, his tone growing notably serious. “Lots of humans don’t care about the fact and just decide to leave this world behind despite being chosen. I assume Sable has talked to you about the whole human-digimon dynamic before just like most partners do, but I kinda wanna remark that this isn’t an obligation nor anything of the sort. If you’d prefer to be in a safer place, we can probably bring you back to the Human World. We’re not even that far from the Trailmon station.”
It only made sense, right? If a human didn’t feel prepared to face this place, maybe they just needed more time. Forcing the whole thing seemed pointless.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2020 7:23:23 GMT
"Yes, please excuse us for intruding upon your quest!" Sable said with a smile. Still, she slowed her walking pace as to be behind Airi and Magnus, presumably so she could keep her eye on the little girl. Or perhaps for other sinister reasons, Airi supposed. But as scary as she acted, she wasn't sure it would go over so well. This Magnus character certainly seemed confident. Either he was an absolute fool... or there was a reason for his nonchalant attitude. But maybe it was a little bit of both.
Airi personally didn't like being carried. It was all to impractical. The higher she was up, the more it would hurt falling down, after all. Besides, it would be difficult for her if she needed to make a break for it. Not to mention the fact that she stuck out like a sore thumb when going through crowds... but even Airi knew that the real reason was that she hated being treated like a child... like a lesser being. Like some kind of pet adults would say "oh, she's so adorable!" then proceed to ignore her whenever she tried to include herself in a conversation. Tell her stuff like, "oh you're too young to understand!" Then learn how to explain stuff better, stupid! Her stupid grin cracked for a while as recurring thoughts swirled around in her head like a wildfire, broken up only by Magnus's explanation.
Some things didn't really add up so well for her. She understood the part about gathering army. Basically people could collect monsters called Digimon, right? She thought she had heard of that concept before. She didn't quite understand the "ancient objective", though. "Ancient objective? Do you mean like one of those... Umm..." She paused purposefully for a second as she pretended to forget the word. "Like some kind of pro-ce-phy thingies? Is that written down somewhere?" If there were something she could look at with her own eyes she would sure as hell prefer it.
And he was looking for... eggs to get back memories? What kind of crazy situation was that? "I've heard of that before! That's called amnesia, right! My mommy used to talk about it on drama shows!" You know, if she actually had a mommy. Or any parental figure that would even talk to her. She wondered if Sable had a similar condition. Were humans supposed to help these Digimon get back their memories somehow?
Then Magnus paused for a second, annoying the little girl. Nothing he was saying was all that complicated, so what the hell was he waiting for? Was that really all the information that he had? Then he talked about the little toy he had and how it essentially bound him to his partners or whatever. And that the same had been done to Airi and Sable.
"It's true, dear child! We're tied together by the unbreakable string of fate that is both every color yet as black as night!" Airi heard Sable proclaim from behind. What the hell was that supposed to even mean? And what was with all this destiny bullshit? Some little gadget appears in front of you one day and you're supposed to go "Oh well, looks like it's time to upend my life and aim for adventure!"
...Actually, that didn't sound so bad. After all, the real... She looked around towards the three Digimon with them. Real wasn't quite the right term. The human world, rather, was kind of boring. Nothing but a bunch of shitty adults that constantly looked down on her... idiot kids that couldn't even hold a decent conversation. Why the hell should she care about what kind of "cool design" of band-aid was on Takeshi-kun's scraped knee? He probably scraped his knee on purpose just to show it off!
As Magnus finished up his last statement, however, Airi hadn't even paid attention to the most of it. If what Magnus said was true, then that meant that she really didn't have much to worry about. If Sable needed Airi for whatever lofty goals she had intended... then that means that the crazy nun Digimon couldn't hurt Airi. So all of her little intimidating threats were simply that.
She did catch the very end of Magnus's statement, however. About offering her an out. Which for a long time Airi considered. She wasn't sure what the outcome of that decision would be, however. She was getting the feeling, from how everyone was treating Sable that the gun-toting nun wasn't nearly as much of a threat as she initially assumed. But as far as Airi knew, bullets were bullets, and she wasn't sure how clams or stinky slime monsters would react to those. She had a feeling she knew how she or Magnus would react, however.
But it wasn't like she had anything to do when she got back to the human world. Plus, she wanted to see for herself what this Digital World had to offer her. So... while she was still so high up she gave the young man a couple pats on the head and pointed off ahead of him. What the hell. She could afford to act like a stupid brat for a little while longer. "That's okay, onii-chan! I want to see the pretty eggs! Pretty please?"
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Magnus
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OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 19, 2020 8:13:49 GMT
It was indeed, a very complex matter. Mostly because Magnus could barely understand it. Was prophecy the right name for it, however?
“Honestly? No clue. A good deal of digimons and people say that this world was opened to humans because they supposedly had a purpose, and these devices would help them associate with digimons in order to fulfill that very purpose. Kinda vague and not very concise, but considering what these gadgets can do, it’s hard to deny they’re quite powerful. Under normal circumstances, a digimon takes years, or even decades to evolve, but with a xros loader? You can accomplish that feat in a matter of months, sometimes even weeks or days.”
Which was mostly what Sable was after, judging by her previous words. “That’s one of the reasons why humans are sometimes seen with distrust by unpartnered digimons, and why you should be careful while approaching them in the wilderness.”
He nodded at Airi’s mention of amnesia, even though Katherine seized the moment to speak. This was about her, after all!
“Yep! Apparently sis ’n me were very important digimons in our past lives! And these eggs too! I think we’re all related somehow, and maybe once they hatch they can tell us that by themselves! We’ve gotten two thus far, and right now we got the signal for the third. Sadly, none has hatched just yet, but maybe they’ll do so soon!”
It was quite funny how, in the end, Airi had decided that going back to the Human World wasn’t that good of an idea, especially when she had pretty much asked to leave all along. Kids would be kids, Magnus guessed. “Suddenly feeling the thrill of the adventure, huh? Well, that’s fair. We can search for the egg if that’s what you want.”
Their pace was relatively slow, so getting where the male’s xros loader pointed would take a fair bit of time. “In the meantime, anything you’d like to ask? I don’t really think I’m a knowledgeable person, but I can try.”
“I have a question!” Well, in all fairness, Magnus hadn’t addressed anyone in particular. If Airi didn’t want to ask anything in particular, he guessed he could listen to Katherine. “So, since everyone knows our backstories now, I kinda wanna hear Sable’s! You sound like one of those religious types, so you must’ve been trained in a temple, right? How was it? I’m very curious!”
Oh no. With any luck, the Sistermon would take less than half an hour to explain with only the absolutely necessary magnanimity how glorious her past was. But… at least that’d help to pass the time until they drew near the egg’s site, right?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2020 9:05:40 GMT
Airi knew what it was like to be considered an outsider, so Magnus didn't have to explain that much. Just meant that Digimon were just as much of assholes as humans were. And considering she had met Sable already, this revelation wasn't exactly new information.
Katherine elaborated on their situation even further, and it felt like something out of a storybook, or a serialized television series or something. She was about to say something purposefully stupid, but Sable spoke up.
"Oh, but I know that follow the path of virtue and righteousness, you will surely find what has been lost to you!" Airi heard the Sistermon declare in a moderately condescending tone. "I can tell that you're all good-hearted humans and Digimon, and your rewards thus far have been a direct result of your kind deeds! For helping a lost Sistermon and such a sweet child you will no doubt find your third egg! And the fact that we will be there to witness what transpires... Oh... the idea of seeing with my own eyes the rewards that your virtue has brought upon you... I can hardly contain my excitement!"
Airi gave a long pause before continuing the conversation. "A-anyway, if I'm feeling like an adventurer it's 'cause you and Mother Sable will be there to protect me, onii-chan! I'm just a little girl, so I can't do anything by myself! I didn't even understand all of the complicated stuff that you were talking about earlier. But I get that Digimon are nice, and we should be friends with them, right?" She forced out the bubbliest giggle she could.
Then Katherine asked Sable about her story. And to be honest, Airi was interested in it, too. Or at least, see what kind of lie her "partner" could come up with.
"You wish to know my own backstory?" Sable asked, as if the very question shocked her to the core. Yet it didn't take long for her to answer. "It is only fair, and perhaps my tale could inspire you all during this journey! It all began in a small temple in the Western Flatlands. Or should I say it was more like a wasteland. There was nothing around for miles, and it was far away from any convenient Trailmon track! There was a priest Digimon by the name of HolyAngemon who took in three apprentices! There was myself of course, my sister Azura, and of course, the youngest of us all, little... Ivori..." Her voice began to choke, as if cut off by trauma. But she managed to find the strength to continue.
"We worked diligently and passionately for any Digimon foolish enough to pass through these wastelands! We would give them supplies, tend to the wounds of the travelers besieged by the more rampant Digimon, and of course, attempt to guide them in the correct path of virtue! Things went well for a time, until HolyAngemon abruptly informed us that his work here was done, and that he had to return to his home in the Empyrean Skies! Thanks to his strength as an Ultimate-level Digimon, he was able to fend off those Digimon that were willing to attack us, but the three of us couldn't just give up on the temple that we all worked our entire lives for!" There was an energy coming from Sable's words, as if there was rising hope waiting for the story to come.
"Out of the three of us, Azura had the greatest combat strength, so she would patrol the area and fend off any rampant Digimon! Little Ivori was well equipped to take HolyAngemon's place as a healer and guide the wayward Digimon towards the path of righteousness, and of course, I took the administrative duties for myself! I ran it so well, the little Ivori even began to call me 'Mother Sable'... Of course it was embarrassing at first, but eventually I grew to accept it!"
She took a short break to gather her words. "But it was ultimately too much for us. While Azura was out on patrol, a fierce, fiery Digimon of the likes I had never seen before had barged into the temple! He demanded a tribute from out paltry temple, and when we tried to explain that there was no such thing, he attacked Ivori and I in a prominent rage! Without Azura, we were no match for him, and the monster burned down the entire temple! I was buried in enough rubble to avoid the scorching flames, but my sister... she was not so lucky. The screams I heard from her haunt my nightmares to this very day..." Airi heard the Sistermon suddenly sniffle as wiped away some tears.
"Eventually, Azura managed to free me from the rubble... and then... we had an argument. Azura wanted to go on a quest to take revenge for our fallen sister, while I wanted to take up little Ivori's path of righteousness! But there was no point in righteousness without strength, so I knew that I had to become stronger! And when I made that realization, I began to have a dream!" She suddenly walked up beside Magnus and Airi, patting the girl on the back. "A dream of a little girl just as lost in her world as I was in mine. So I decided to find you. And when I found you, were under attack by those horrible, awful men! So I knew that I needed to bring you refuge here! And that how I met you all today! Forgive me if it wasn't as entertaining as you hoped, but it is the truth!"
Airi resisted the urge to sigh. If she thought the whole amnesiac twin thing was cheesy, then Sable's story was like something out of an unnecessarily tragic novel. A really, really, bad one.
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Magnus
Champion
Posts: 137
OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 19, 2020 16:19:10 GMT
The situation eventually reached what could be described as… a comfortable routine, in all honesty. Magnus would explain things. Katherine might pip or not to add something to the conversation. Akemi was the everpresent awkward mess. Then Sable would repeat ‘child’ and a collection of virtuous words enough times to give the impression the group was playing a drinking game of sorts. And Airi would teeter on the fine line between being a completely innocent girl and… kind of an opportunistic one? No harm done, so no point on altering the whole deal.
Right?
“Well, I sure hope so.” Nevermind the nun’s condescending tone. Good wishes had to be taken at face value. “I have no idea what’s next after the eggs are found, though. Or if I’d be able to handle what amounts to ten to twelve digimons. Katherine is already a handful all on her own, you know?”
“Hey! Rude!”
Magnus’ smirk already made it clear that he was mostly joking, even though he couldn’t help to snicker at Katherine’s response. Airi’s own take on the situation surely was convenient, but, as it was deemed before, it was pretty harmless. The brunette nodded at it; having company was something hard to refuse!
“Can’t refuse the request of such a cute girl, can I? I’m sure you’ll understand the digimon deal in no time. Sides, Sable seems to be quite the excellent teacher. I’m sure she’ll repeat those concepts to you as many times as you need to. Right, Sable?”
Conversation aside, Sable’s own origins seemed to be… pretty tragic, all things considered. A temple amid the wastes seemed like a pretty nice location, even though it was kind of a shame that it was ruined now. And that a Sistermon had to die; that was pretty sad, all things considered.
Sable’s goal —at least in paper, mind you— seemed pretty noble, even though, just like Magnus’, it linked her general on a task that it wasn’t quite hers. Bit of a coincidence, wasn’t it?
“At least everything is more or less well!” Katherine commented. “Have you ever thought about visiting the Village of Beginnings? Maybe you’ll be able to find Ivori’s reincarnated form there. I’m sure that she’d be proud of how far you’ve come, and would no doubt help you in your goal! After all, it’s kind of the same, isn’t it? Maybe she’s even one of your army’s members!”
Katherine herself was kinda partial to the idea of ‘sisters’ working together, since that was kind of her deal. What could be better than that? Nothing at all! Those words slowly trailed off as the group stumbled into the opening of what looked like… a cave of sorts? Except it was in the middle of a plains, with no mountain or rocky formation to support it. Worst part? Magnus’ xros loader began to beep more insistently as they drew closer.
“Seems like we’ve found our destination, as strange as it is. Hope none of you is afraid of the dark, because I can’t see anything past that thing’s threshold. Quite the lovely place, isn’t it?”
He approached it until being face to face with the entrance. Yep; still pitch black. “Are y’all ready?”
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2020 17:51:34 GMT
Ten... to twelve? That was a lot of monsters to have... And was Airi supposed to have that many Digimon as well? Logistically... it didn't seem practical. She had to ask. "Hey onii-chan, are you rich or something? How are you supposed to take care of so many Digimon? Cuz' that seems like a lotta mouths to feed!" And how exactly are you supposed to hide a clam monster and a gross slime monster from your landlord, let alone ten other creatures of weird shapes and sizes!
"And you can be sure I shall instruct you as many times as you need... to learn your lesson, dear child!" Sable called out to Airi. Airi thought that was the most thinly-veiled threat of all. Learn your lesson? Who uses that kind of speech anymore unless you're threatening someone? And when Katherine suggested that Sable visit some village to meet her reincarnated sister... like it was some sort of normal thing? Airi was baffled at the expression. So did people not die in this world? Still, she didn't want to disrupt the conversation, so she figured she'd ask later.
Meanwhile, The Sistermon turned to Katherine and simply shook her head. "I'm afraid little Ivory... even if she has been reincarnated... I'm not worthy to look upon her just yet! I simply could not face her again until I'm strong enough on my own to protect her! For it would shatter my very Digicore if I had to watch her die once more! I want her to have a peaceful and tranquil life, not this dangerous life of adventure that I've chosen for myself!"
And yet, she grabbed some random child off the street and dragged her into her "dangerous life of adventure"... Airi couldn't help but see the... what was the word, irony? Bullshit - that was it. She couldn't help but see the bullshit behind her words.
They then drew closer to a cave in the middle of literally fucking nowhere, and apparently this was the spot. Because of course it was. "Y-yeah!" Airi agreed once she could get past the insanity of it all. Did anyone else realize how ridiculous this was? "B-but onii-chan, if we're going to a dark and spooky cave, then I should probably get off of your shoulders! You might trip on a rock and my weight could hurt your neck!" Or more importantly for her, the young man could not be watching where he was going and bump her head into a stalactite or something. She's already suffered enough head trauma for the day, thanks to Sable.
"Oh, but I'll still hold your hand if you scared, onii-chan!" What the hell, why not try and use the cheesy line? "C-c-cuz it's not like I'm s-scared or anything, okay?"
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Magnus
Champion
Posts: 137
OOC Name: Yuu™
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Post by Magnus on Jun 20, 2020 0:45:56 GMT
Airi sure had her way to ask armor-piercing questions when she wanted to. All things considered? Magnus, being the easygoing individual that he was, hadn’t given such a query much thought. Or, better said, any thought at all.
“I honestly have no idea how I’m gonna feed them all, not gonna lie. I'm hoping I get a plant-like digimon so they can photosynthesize, or maybe more digimons like Akemi! They’re pretty low-maintenance.” Did Airi want to know what Numemons eat? Nope. She didn’t. Nobody was answering that question.
“In any case! You shouldn’t be as irresponsible as me and probably think about a way to deal with that. But I guess Sable should be an expert on the matter, since the place where she spent most of her life was devoted to tend to others? She’s probably pretty good at rationing and that jazz.”
A blind guess, but at least it sounded like a pretty accurate one? Not like that mattered a lot, considering how Sable decided she wanted to protect little Ivori at all costs. Not the most sound reasoning, but that was seldom a novelty by now.
The difference was that, this time, Katherine was ready to dispute the point! “I think that the mature thing to do is to let her decide. But I can also understand not wanting to face her. It must have been pretty traumatic to watch her die in front of you. I hope she’s fine; maybe if you do well, she’ll hear about your exploits and decide to search for you! Wouldn’t that be awesome?” By now, the fact that the Shakomon was a sucker for sisterhood stories was more than evident. Who could’ve guessed?
In any case, the group was now by the entrance of the cave, ready to enter. Save for a small fact, it seemed. “Oh, yeah. Good call. Don’t want you to inadvertently snap my neck or something of the like. That’d be pretty bad.”
Thus, Airi was brought down and a hand was extended for her to hold. “Thanks for holding my hand. You make me feel way better.”
Luckily for the group, the cave wasn’t completely dark. Its walls and ceiling seemed to have a fair bit of bioluminescent moss on them, and while not completely optimal vision, it was quite better from what Magnus had expected.
And, on the list of things the group didn’t expect! As they advanced inside, in between the stalactites, stalagmites and various other mineral formations, remains of cracked eggshells could be spotted. Katherine was the first to approach them.
“What’s this supposed to mean? We’re kinda far from the Village of Beginnings. There shouldn’t be any eggs here.” What they had found was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. From that spot, a trail of eggshell fragments could be seen advancing deeper into the cave.
This didn’t bode well at all.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2020 1:42:32 GMT
"If I do raise an army, I have no idea what I'd do with something like that..." She pondered out loud, using her kiddie voice. "There isn't any way to fit a bunch of Digimon like Sable in my small apartment..."
"Don't worry, dear child, for the human world isn't a proper place for so many Digimon to reside in! Instead, I intend on... securing... suitable living quarters once we ever get to that point!" Sable encouraged the girl. Did that mean she wanted Airi to stay in this place? It wasn't like the human world was all that exciting or anything but it wasn't like Airi absolutely hated living there. It just got boring from time to time.
"And you can be sure that my administrative capabilities cover rations and supplies! I will no doubt be the head of a splendid army worthy of my old temple!" She was speaking a little too loudly now, and Airi wished she would just shut up. Did she... want the group to be attacked? Why would she want that? Magnus and the others were pretty much treating Sable like she was weak, so... what was the point of getting into a fight? If you're weak, you need to move fast and think faster. Was she just planning on ditching this group once they were under attack, or something? Airi couldn't quite comprehend what was going on beyond that ever-present smile.
"I'm... so happy we have you by our side, Mother Sable!" Was all she could say through the fake smile of her own.
"Thank you, dear child! But as for little Ivori, if she wants to look for me I would welcome her with open arms, but she's too gentle a soul to... live a life like mine!" She explained. "And if I did ask her for help, she would graciously accept, regardless of whether she wanted to or not! And can someone who would take advantage of that fact truly be considered righteous? I think not!"
The group entered deeper into the cave, encounter glowing moss and cracked eggshells along the ground. It was enough to creep Airi the hell out as she gripped Magnus's hand tighter without even realizing it. "Th-that's... well... whatever's in there... probably has a cholesterol issue, I'm guessing..." She muttered out loud, too nervous to say anything useful at the moment. "But if you're looking for an... egg, I think you've come to the right place..."
"Indeed, dear child!" Sable agreed in a much quieter voice than normal while placing her hand on the girl's head. Condescending jerk. She turned to Magnus and said, "Well, sir general, would one of your partners like to take the lead? Or perhaps they'd wish to evolve to a stronger form in preparations for any danger to come?"
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