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Like Minds [Team Silence]
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 4, 2021 1:50:32 GMT
"Ugh... did you really have to pick this place? This salt is killing me..."
Angel's complaint spoke to her discomfort, but really, one could scarcely ask for a nicer day. The sky was blue and the day was clear, the weather overcast enough such that the sun wouldn't be beating down on everyone's head. As it was off-season, the beach was scarcely occupied this time of year, except for the occasional fisher or diving enthusiast.
This made it the perfect place for what Denryu had in mind today, despite the Renamon's protest. "Just bear with it for now. You'll forget all about it when things get going."
"Hmph..." Shaking her head, the Renamon sat down on a beach blanket. Next to her, a Devidramon gave a derisive snort. Not like we get breaks often. Don't screw it up."
"True," the visor, adorned on the Devidramon's head, gave a chirp. "Its rare we get to go out of the base like this. Besides, it doesn't look like you're going to be worrying about the ocean smell for long."
Volt had that right - having been contacted by Team Silence a few days prior to meet up, Team Metal Drive offered a time and date - as well as an offer to 'kick in' to help cover the costs for lunch. With eight members themselves and probably more than that on Tadayoshi's team, both groups knew just how hard it was to keep everyone fed and content.
Which is how the Knightmon found himself manning a set of grills near the top of the beach, near a number of ice-filled coolers and the like. "No, seriously, when's the last time we dug that stuff out?"
Keeping you lot fed with a kitchen is hard enough." Denryu shook his head, taking a moment to check the time. Right around 10:00 AM - any minute now, right?
Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence |
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Jan 5, 2021 0:15:57 GMT
It was a genius idea on Denryu's part, suggesting a beach for this rendezvous, to which Tadayoshi immediately agreed. Their arrival was not a surprise; the boat bringing them in was plainly visible from a long way off. However, it wasn't until the boat got a bit closer that anyone could notice that it had eyes at the bow. In fact, the bow of this barge looked an awful lot like a snout... and eventually it became clear an entire body was mostly under the water, a massive tail dragging behind. The barge approached the shore with all the urgency of a crocodile between hunts.
The plethora of digimon on Deckerdramon's back as well as a single human all knew that barge travel was neither swift nor luxurious, but it was a safe and ever available way to glide across the water when the distance would tire out Helomon or the Silencer... well, Tadayoshi didn't want to think about the APC at the bottom of a body of water again.
Obviously, Silence had been busy. When the giant alligator docked, there were certainly lots of familiar faces disembarking like the general himself, Commandramon, Jetmon, and the Rocketmon twins. The Rocketmon siblings, in particular, were yelling and shouting about their excitement around a beach day while the MetalKoromon seemed content to continue magnetically clinging to Deckerdramon's port and starboard. There were also plenty of new faces besides Deckerdramon, including a Searchmon that was perching on Tadayoshi's shoulder, a Strabimon who jumped over the water to shore, presumably to keep his jeans dry, and a Rukamon, the only digimon accompanying Tadayoshi to arrive at this place under his own power. Missing from the roster was the BlackTerriermon Metal Drive had faced before as well as its Renamon.
Most of those digimon went straight to milling about their own leisure, but Dakota the Strabimon, Kamushi the Searchmon, Deckerdramon, and Commandramon all accompanied Tadayoshi in approaching Denryu to greet him. As Commandramon's feet met the sand, his camouflage pattern changed to a more blotchy sandy color. The salutation, "Thank you for meeting us here," was followed by a handshake and the introductions, "You haven't met. This is Kamushi and Dakota. The dolphin digimon frolicking around out there is Rashi, and Deckerdramon was kind enough to let us all ride him here."
"It was no bother." Even though Deckerdramon was quite imposing, the size of a two-story house all by himself, he didn't feel the need to hang back. Even as he towered over both the humans, Tadayoshi always felt like he was in no danger of an accidental tail swipe or surprised jerk; the gator was just too gentle a giant for that.
"Nice to meetcha. Where's the grub?"
Commandramon shot Dakota a look at this brazen request, but he would have been a hypocrite if he didn't acknowledge his own groaning tummy. That was when his expression softened a bit. "Forgive him," Commandramon plead on Dakota's behalf, "He lost most of his breakfast to sea sickness." Even though Commandramon was mostly unarmored, he was still wearing a combat vest and boots, which was apparently his idea of 'casual.' At least he wasn't openly carrying a rifle to this.
"Lies and hearsay," was Dakota's hasty defense.
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 6, 2021 23:37:14 GMT
Ah, there they were.
Seeing the 'vessel' as it was make its way over the ocean, Denryu gave a wave, showing the group that they had made it to the right part of the beach. Demon, the Devidramon, found himself standing a bit taller as the group approached, as Angel took an extra moment to get up and stand away from the beach blanket.
"And there they are, with all the subtlety of a military roll-out." Angel gave a sigh, as a chuckle echoed from Denryu's Xros Loader. The General held it off to the side, a Reppamon taking shape next to the fox. While the General was at it, he also clicked another chip into place, a rapier appearing sheathed at the fox's side.
"And you expect some ten-odd Digimon to make a quiet entrance, Angel?" Guru joked, but there was a definite contrast between these two teams. Team 'Silence' had a largely military aesthetic, whereas Metal Drive had most of their focus in blades and generating electrical current.
As the group made their landing, Denryu made his way over to Tadayoshi, quickly meeting that handshake. "Likewise. Judging by the number of additions, your team must have kept themselves busy - "
"Mm? Didn't you lot have a Renamon of your own before?" Angel gave a quick scan over the group, eyes narrowed as if she tried to 'pick' one out of the crowd. "And yet you still have all the toy magnets, I see..."
"Alright, behave." Denryu sighed, giving Angel a bop on top of her head with the back of his hand. As for the Strabimon's question, the Reppamon was happy to answer!
"Ah, you see the Knightmon up there? He's working the grills a bit further up the shore. Just steer clear of the red boxes, that's meant for the machine types we have here." As Guru spoke, Angel found herself giving a snicker at the Commandramon's comment.
"Honestly, I'd say 'let's get down to business', but I think both you and I know that a pack of hungry Digimon's not that easy to keep sorted. I don't think our teams have really had a chance to meet outside of trading blows, so let's let 'em kick back a bit."
"Whatever, just let me know when the food's ready." Angel shook her head, while the Reppamon grinned, under the mask.
"Oh, really? Can't get interested in this sort of thing unless there's a scrap?" The weasel shook his head, before turning to face the Commandramon. "We got a couple volleyballs and a net we can set up, if anyone's up for it.
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Jan 21, 2021 0:59:58 GMT
Watching Denryu lay his hands on Angel was something Tadayoshi had to try and ignore ignore, though he didn't do it easily. What made it a little easier was knowing he himself had faced plenty of criticism for the dynamic in his own team by people who didn't quite get it, and that was a big part of why he sought Denryu in the first place: fresh eyes, a fresh perspective from someone who did things so similarly and yet so differently. Besides, Angel didn't show much sign that either her head or her feelings were really hurt. "It's true, we've had some... personnel changes." Tadayoshi was obviously choosing his words carefully as he acknowledged Angel's and Denryu's observation about their roster.
Even Commandramon's eyes silently drifted away at the mention of the Renamon in particular. He didn't know where she was, but he knew why she was gone and that it was ultimately his own doing. If he hadn't coerced her the way he did, maybe Dakota-
"Alright, alright, stow the sour faces, soldiers," Dakota stood between the pair and used his paws to physically grip both their faces and point them back upwards. "It's not like we're fresh off the reveal. Mom left me, then she left you. It's not some dramatic reveal, y'know." For all the positive energy the Strabimon was trying to project, he wasn't smiling... until he looked into Angel's eyes and smirked, amused. "Gotta say, though, you kinda remind me of her." Dakota did not go on to explain why this was or how Angel should have taken the compliment/insult/neutral observation. The wolf went on to pull his reptilian superior away then with the demand, "Cap'n, it's your lucky day. After second breakfast, you get to learn how to play volleyball."
Commandramon was obviously about to protest, but as Dakota rushed him away, Denryu Kamushi, Tadayoshi, Angel, and Guru all missed exactly what sort of insufficient objection he raised.
"Hey, Bossman, mind if I...?"
"Um, sure. Just, no pranks on the machine digimon, please."
"No promises!"
"Wait!" But Kamushi the Searchmon was already gone. So, the general addressed Denryu. "Of course they can have their fun, but I wasn't really planning for a vacation day. I... need something." The difficulty the younger general was having with admitting that fact was apparent. It was at this point his eyes drifted down the beach a ways, where it was clear Denryu was onto something about the appetites involved in this place. Most of the others waited in line a bit more politely. Denryu's Knightmon was already getting quite a lot of attention from Silence, especially a clan of six Missimon who remorselessly buzzed around their head in a very distracting manner. He couldn't hear what Deckerdramon and Dakota were arguing about, but Tadayoshi personally suspected that Dakota wanted the titan's size advantage on his volleyball team. Jetmon was trying to chat up a Mailbirdramon, probably about tactics and their respective roles with each team, since the two were of apparent similar design (at least in Jetmon's larger fusions size).
The sight made him smile a little bit, but Tadayoshi also couldn't ignore how, well, large each member of Metal Drive was. They were fewer, sure, but even unfused they were something to behold. Even Tadayoshi himself felt a little small looking at them. Still, the two teams mingling and socializing a bit did bring him a small smile. When he turned back to Denryu and the digimon with him, he softly asked, "Would you walk with me?"
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 21, 2021 2:49:36 GMT
Indeed, Angel didn't seem too perturbed at the 'bop' on her head. Perhaps there was a little sideways glare from the side of her eyes towards her General, but the Renamon shook it off, even taking a moment to stretch an arm up in a stifled yawn. More than that, the Renamon found herself looking from Tadayoshi to the Commandramon.
Had she struck a nerve? Her ear flicked, the fox's attention on Dakota as he quickly gave the explanation. Family trouble, then? Angel was interested, but even she wasn't dense enough to try prodding further than that. Though, as the Strabimon gave that comment, the fox found herself raising an eyebrow, returning a small laugh to the wolf. "That bad, huh?" With that, Angel and Denryu looked on as Dakota dragged away the Commandramon, the Searchmon soon following after.
"Looks like this break's overdue all around." The Reppamon, smiling under his mask, gave a nod to the remaining group. He expected that the rest would follow along towards the grills shortly after - but, it was clear that Tadayoshi had other ideas.
The reason why the younger General came to meet them in the first place. Hearing that tone, Denryu gave a nod, and glanced over to the Reppamon. "Guru, keep an eye on this place for me. We won't be far."
"Mm." Guru returned a nod, and made his way back to the rest of the group. And though Denryu had the 'bigger' team, that didn't mean that he had the larger one: the Knightmon quickly found himself with what looked to be a mile-long line of Digimon, even taking a step back at the number of Missimon buzzing around his head! Jet would find that Falcon, the MailBirdramon, was quite open to talking - and was perhaps more 'peppy' and talkative than she was expecting! Only the Devidramon seemed to be distant from the rest of the group, preferring to stay in what little shade was around.
This left Tadayoshi, Denryu, and Angel alone. At the offer to walk, the General gave a nod, and he'd follow along as Tadayoshi took the lead. Angel kept up her pace a short distance behind the rest of them, crossing her arms as she idly looked out towards the ocean. Slowly, the cheery tone of the group would fade away to the gentle, crashing wake of the sea.
"... Its tough, isn't it."
Denryu was the first to break the silence. "You look to all of the tamers and their partners, or even the spirit wielders. None of them knew what they were doing at first, either, but there's so many of 'em that they can easily look to others for help. As for Xros Generals..." Denryu held up his green Xros Loader, "simply put, you're the only other one I know who has one of these."
With that, he would stop, and turn to face the other General, giving Tadayoshi a short nod. For the other General to make the trip all the way out here? All Denryu could do was give Tadayoshi the two words he was probably looking for.
"I'm listening."
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Jan 23, 2021 1:09:26 GMT
Maybe Denryu was listening, but Tadayoshi wasn't talking. Not immediately, anyway. He needed a minute to gather his thoughts, during which time he mirrored Denryu by holding his own Loader, and in that moment the only thing that made the sustained eye contact a little less awkward might have been the sound of the waves crashing. It was after a deep exhale that Tadayoshi asked Angel and Denryu, "What do you know about fusions beyond X4?" The younger general went on, "I know it's possible. It has to be. Most digimon, particularly Tamer digimon, can surpass the mega level - at least in theory. I've seen a human and a digimon fuse their energy into a single digital entity to push themselves beyond the natural threshold. I've even seen a human alone control the energy contained within a perfect spirit." The general thought it wasn't relevant to mention that he had first seen these things very recently.
"I've been doing some research. The running theme seems to be that power by itself isn't enough in these sorts of evolutions. It takes something else to violate these limits - biomerging, the burst mode, the Ancient Spirits. But the books don't always talk about the ones like us, not the ones I've found. When they do, the relevant information is... inconsistent." Tadayoshi wasn't truly frustrated at this time, but as he went on about the time and effort he poured through digital world libraries he flashed back to that frustration momentarily. That was why he stopped to huff. "Sometimes I can't even tell fiction from legends from theories from observed phenomena. At first I thought the simplest solution was the most likely: add more digimon to the fusion. But when I tried that-"
"-I failed to keep the xros stable." Commandramon's voice caused Tadayoshi to jump. It made sense to the general who knew him best that the workhorse didn't know how to stop and smell the roses or the briny air, but he hadn't expected him to materialize from his blindside. The soldier spoke that sentence with a straight face; if he was beating himself up inside, his poker face was much better than Yoshi's. It was a report of a past event, no feelings necessary. It clearly didn't affect his appetite, seeing as between these observations he was chomping on a kebab in one hand with four more reserved in the other. Clearly, even the stone-faced soldier still had a digimon's stomach. At least he didn't talk with a full mouth. "It's happened plenty of times in training. Some combinations just won't work. Others just didn't work until they did, like the X4's. It's incumbent upon the core of the xros to keep it together."
"That's where we disagree," Tadayoshi interjected. "I know what happened. I was scared. I wasn't focused. I haven't reached the threshold that I need on my end yet." Tadayoshi seemed to forget that he never explained 'what happened.'
"If that were true-" Commandramon interrupted himself to take a nice big bite, chew it all, and gulp it down. Manners still mattered, and it was rude to talk with his mouth full, especially in front of their gracious hosts. "-we would have managed it fine in training. Yet the xrosses never take. I accept responsibility."
"But it used to be that the largest possible combination would cause you strain. You've told me the X4 isn't as difficult on you as it used to be." Commandramon didn't reply because he had nothing to add. Even though that was true, that didn't change the captain's opinion. "We were hoping to pick your brains. It's important that we learn how to break the mega limit, too."
"Whaddya think they're talking about?" One Missimon asked the rest as they clustered around a picnic table. Their small size allowed them to all share the same burger.
"I dunno. Human stuff."
"Doesn't look like happy human stuff."
"Is human stuff ever happy?"
"Humans are weird."
"He didn't even get a burger!"
Meanwhile, "...So I'm like three seconds away from putting an arrow straight between the final boss' eyes when my frame rate drops to like negative ten per second. By the time it recovers, I'm already dead and I don't even get to see what happened." The chatty Strabimon clearly had no compunction about walking straight up to the obvious loner Devidramon and talking up a storm. Someone excluding themself from the fun just didn't seem right, and the upbeat wolf wasn't inclined to let that happen. "Fine, OK, I restart from the last checkpoint, and I die again! I'm stuck in a death loop right at the end of the game! Don't you hate when that happens?" He didn't seem to mind whether the dragon answered him or not.
Rashi erroneously believed that starting a splashing contest with a giant crocodile was a good idea. The dolphin's opening salvo was impressive by most standards, to be sure, but with a little chuckle Deckerdramon beat it with quite a lazy flick of the paw. "Hey, no fair!"
At some point, the rocketmon brother Jekyll approached Guru and queried, "So, um, if you don't mind us asking, my brother and I were curious. We couldn't help but notice you cover-"
Hyde wasn't patient enough for this line of questioning. "He wants to know what's under your mask."
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 24, 2021 4:11:11 GMT
There was no need to rush the conversation - and it was clear that Denryu hit the nail right on the head. Seeing Tadayoshi hold out his own, Denryu would stop and turn, listening as the question came:
"What do you know about fusions beyond X4?"
That was the crux of it - and as Tadayoshi, and later the Commandramon explained, Denryu listened. There definitely seemed to be a sense of frustration in Tadayoshi's tone, as if he'd been driven up the wall trying to find an answer. The Commandramon, on the other hand, seemed casual about the whole ordeal. Short, to the point, and completely willing to take the blame himself. Angel crossed her arms, tilting her head at the lizard's explanation.
"I like the gusto on that one."
"Hm." Denryu, during the conversation and a few moments after, was busy organizing the thoughts in his head. Tadayoshi would likely be 'used' to Denryu now, the older general keeping a professional and almost 'distant' tone. To start off? "I'm familiar with forms up to X-5. Currently, my team has two different combinations that lead to those 'Super-Mega' level evolutions."
"Yeah, but... is it really something you can explain?" Angel gave a sigh. "Its like he just said: hitting a new form for the first time's harder than hitting it later."
"Like we didn't hit the same wall ourselves?" The General shrugged, turning his attention to the Commandramon. "But you're both right. Its a matter of the combination being possible, and a matter of a sufficient amount of focus to draw the energy to the surface." Still, what was the best way to explain it? The General mulled it over for a few more moments.
"You mentioned the issues yourself. 'Scared', 'Unfocused'. The crux of being a General is being in command of the situation. Even if subconsciously, your team will sense your own uncertainty. Feelings like 'If I fail' or 'This is my last chance' do not sit well with them all. The more your own thoughts are scattered, the more they will be scattered - and its only natural the Xros will fail."
"Still," Denryu admitted, "those are fairly subjective terms. If you would like, we can show you an example."
"... So much for kicking back..."
"Its not as if the food is going anywhere."
Knightmon found himself sitting across from the Missimon, joining those curious Digimon as one more of the group. As for the Strabimon, well, he'd find that Demon didn't seem to care one way or another just what the wolf was talking about, keeping his gaze away towards the ocean. Then again, he didn't seem to be bothered or annoyed by the company - and, despite that, the Strabimon actually would get a response, from the visor on the Devidramon's head:
"Seriously, those modern games just tend to be full of holes. I think you could have done something like quick-save repeatedly and clip through the wall behind you? Tedious, but better than hitting back up to town..."
As for the Reppamon? The weasel, taking a bite of a fresh-grilled rib, found himself tilting his head as the first Rocketmon brother asked the question - and chuckled at the second. "Is that all? Well..." Guru seemed to shrug, reached a hand up, and moved to flip the mask upwards. But, just as he did so, the entire Digimon vanished from sight, for a good five seconds!
As his form became visible once more, the two would see the mask already slid right back into place, Guru chuckling as he squared his stance.
"Satisfied?"
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Jan 27, 2021 21:16:30 GMT
Denryu and Angel definitely had their counterparts' attention when they told of their own X5 capabilities. Them, too, huh? Just another peer that had already long exceeded Tadayoshi. The pair's eyes quit wandering during the natural pauses in conversation, and they stood a bit more stiffly. Commandramon didn't quit snacking, of course.
The boy wasn't sure exactly how to answer to Denryu's offer quite straight away, and Commandramon wouldn't have dreamt of speaking for the boy himself. It was only with a little hesitation that Tadayoshi responded, "So, you've achieved it yourselves already. I hate to impose upon you or them; I expect it takes a lot out of the digimon to complete that kind of fusion." That was without even thinking about how it wasn't exactly kosher to assume a form of that caliber in a peacefully populated area... but then again, that wasn't where they were. It was populated to be sure, but not by any strangers. "If you're willing, I suppose, I'd like to see it done."
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 28, 2021 15:36:35 GMT
Indeed, if they were closer to any main city, Denryu probably wouldn't have made this offer. It wouldn't have been worth drawing the ire of Whitewater over something as menial as a demonstration, but out here? Well, the group might scare a few fishing boats, but it was about as good a place as anywhere else.
"Hmph." Angel seemed to be a bit put off at Tadayoshi's flippant attitude towards the situation (from her perspective, the younger general should have been more assertive to see just what he needed to see), but Denryu simply replied with a nod. "Honestly, its a good idea that my group take the form anyway. Its been a while since we've last had a good reason to use it."
"Right, right, which one - Savage or Titan? I'll round up the troops."
"Savage." The Renamon would give a nod, and would start her way back towards the grills, as Denryu started to adjust the chips into the Xros Loader. Five chips were soon set into place, ready to be 'clicked in' at a moment's notice. "Honestly, I don't know how much you'll be able to pick up off this. The means by which your team 'combines' is wholly different than mine."
Then again, maybe it was just a matter of seeing it at all.
This, unfortunately, meant a 'break' from the barbeque for most of the members of Metal Drive. The Knightmon was still with the Missimon, and the MailBirdramon still stayed near the Jetmon - but Guru had to take a break from teasing the two Rocketmon, and Dakota would have to put that video game talk on hold.
"Ah, to be on my own two legs for a hot minute..." The 'visor' from before had turned back to his base form, a Kokuwamon, as the Devidramon behind him gave a derisive snort. "Oh, calm down, big guy. Just think of this as a chance to show off."
"Any reason we're doing this starting completely split, this time?" The rapier, previously at the Renamon's hip, had taken to its base form as a BladeKuwagamon, floating just above the sand and sparking with each word.
"Shortcutting this at all is not going to help our audience as much as it could. Angel, you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, boss." Angel chuckled - but what followed was in sheer contrast to the rest of the environment for each of them.
Silence. All five components of the Xros either closed their eyes or otherwise focused, as Denryu himself held up the Xros Loader. Now, if Tadayoshi expected the process to be smooth from this, he'd be mistaken - his comment that this process was taxing was right on the nose. Not even one moment later, Tadayoshi would see the sheer amount of energy, the 'Digisoul', flowing right through Denryu's arm and into the Xros Loader itself, to the point that the ordinarily stoic Denryu was gritting his teeth.
"... Execute." As Denryu strained that last word, Angel gave a nod, holding her arms right off to the side. The remaining four gave a flash, swiftly turning into mere spheres of data, their very cores moving right towards the Renamon's midsection. Each sank right into her frame, her data signal spiking with each one. And with that, Denryu would click each chip right into place, the very energy stored into the device now radiating from Angel's body.
Her body gave a white glow, as the Renamon's back gave an arch, the powerful wings of the Devidramon sprouting right on her back. She gave a heavy stomp forward, the claws on her hands replaced with vicious-looking nails. And, after several seconds, that white glow would give way with a 'snap'. Where five rookies once stood, there was now just one, powerful Digimon - and despite the mere form as a 'black-furred Renamon', the form was still visibly imposing.
Flat, red, glowing eyes, with matching metallic nails that dragged through the sand below. Impressive, red-steel coated dragon wings that looked like they could simply slice through the air. And to top it all off, her expression looked absolutely brutal. And with the appearance of 'Savage', Tadayoshi could see that Denryu himself hadn't stopped focusing, the Xros Loader still taxing his energy.
"As you can see, its not just about compatibility." Denryu turned, and showed his loader towards Tadayoshi - the screen ablaze with light. "This is every bit as taxing as a biomerge or an ancient spirit."
"As it should be." 'Savage' finally spoke up. "Digimon don't transform from nothing. Like it or not, you Generals act as our batteries."
"More than that, the Loaders link ourselves to our team. That much is obvious - but its not just an outward connection of energy. In this state, your focus is going to be entirely on the condition of your partner. Emotions, thoughts, even damage feedback - everything has to be in sync, or you risk the entire thing falling apart."
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Jan 28, 2021 23:16:56 GMT
Tadayoshi tried his best not to make much of a face as Denryu and Metal Drive schooled him, in all senses of the word, in the art of the X5. But he was obviously paying attention, and he soon learned that he was right to. While Denryu hedged on how much he expected to learn from a demonstration, Tadayoshi was almost certainly taking away more from the experience than the other general had predicted. In his own head, Yoshi was comparing this fusion with the time he attempted it during the machine tower op. Some of the differences were obvious, others less so. Those he would spell out explicitly a bit later. For now, it was almost a comfort that even Metal Drive clearly strained to both create and maintain the xros. It made the dejected general feel a little less left behind, but here was the evidence before him: it could be done.
"That's... truly amazing." Tadayoshi regarded the demonic amalgamation with admiration but also a healthy level of respect for the danger he was in just by standing next to it... and a hint of disgust if he was honest. The 'Angel' was now some sort of chimeric demon. Tadayoshi looked Angel's entire new body over, perhaps accidentally forgetting his manners in the process. Commandramon was the one who made an attempt at reigning this gawking behavior in with a loud, diplomatic clear of the throat. It worked.
"May I speak to what I noticed?" Presuming he could, he went on, "The six of you were intensely focused on the task right from the beginning. I suspect that was out of necessity. When we tried it in an emergency-" Tadayoshi looked at Commandramon. "-we were hasty. I was scared for our friends. Some of them had just been incapacitated."
"That's not all. What you did was beyond even a X5. Metal Drive didn't push that just now. And it almost goes without saying, your team has put the work into discovering which combinations will produce a desirable result."
"Right. I've, er, done the math on that. Do you know how many possible ways there are to combine exactly five digimon from a sample size of eleven without repeating?" The answer clearly amused Tadayoshi on some level because it made him scoff. "You might. You're a general, too, after all. It's four hundred sixty-two. Or if we assumed Commandramon here had to be a part of the fusion, the number only falls as far as-"
"-Two hundred ten, without accounting for super evolution or Deckerdramon's own data space use. It's not an experiment that can be run in a day; I will certainly tire out long before that." Yoshi only nodded in agreement. "I may be seeing something myself. As core, my team relies on me to hold keep the whole thing together, to sustain it, drive it, control it. I may borrow some of the strength to do it from my general, but the onus is on the core to apply it correctly." Commandramon was now stepping ahead of Tadayoshi to address Angel. "I'm starting to think that's not how you're doing it. Tell me: is it you alone, Angel, whose incalculably strong will holds you together? Or, as I now suspect, does it take everyone's strength in tandem?"
"Uh, before we go any further," the boy cut in, "we should let them break the xros. It's clearly hard on them."
"Dude, though, that is so cool!" Both of the Silence members turned to acknowledge the Strabimon, who had noticed the light show and come running. He wasn't alone, either. Hagurumon, Deckerdramon, and the Rocketmon twins had shown up, too. "Can you imagine if we pulled that off when the other guys went ultra? Hohohoho, man, I have got to nail that!"
It wasn't just them who had noticed the event either. Even from a ways down the beach, Jetmon unconsciously interrupted her own shop talk to watch what she with her long-range vision could see clearly from here. "...but WarPteramon is primarily a recon machine. If the situation calls for direct action, I can act as a spotter for Scorpmon on the ground. Us together is not a combination I've seen beaten yet, but a close second-" Falcon wasn't going to find out what the lieutenant's opinion of the close second was because she was too busy looking past him down the beach. "-ah, of course. It's always work with those two."
"No-"
"-freakin'-"
"-way!"
"That-"
"-was-"
"-X5!" The Missimon made a fatal mistake in all simultaneously taking their eyes off the remaining half of their burger. One of the MetalKoromon swooped in to attract the food item toward its own body, then levitate out toward the water where a certain dolphin was awaiting the drop with an open mouth.
"Nice one, Foxtrot! Sweet steal!" They weren't the only victims, either. Seven other mischievous MetalKoromon with bright red letters A-H (except for F) painted on their backs were making a stealthy play for the plates of Guru, Hagurumon, Dakota, Jekyll, Hyde, Jetmon, and Raider if they weren't alert.
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Post by Metal Drive on Jan 29, 2021 21:11:00 GMT
For Team Metal Drive, achieving this form was hardly a measure of pride.
Sure, it was a grand accomplishment for any team to get this far, but it didn't underline the story of why they had to come this far. Something as incredible as an X-5 didn't come without great need and equal sacrifice, so for Savage to hear that compliment, the fox couldn't help but give a chuckle. "You're the first one to say it. Granted, you're also the first 'outside party' to see it outside of a fight. And don't worry," she grinned, "you're also not the first to glare at me like that."
As for Tadayoshi's request to speak? Denryu of course gave a nod, and heard just what the younger General had to say. It was true: from the start, Denryu and his team were completely focused, whereas Team Silence had some discourse in their prior attempt.
"Do you think we were this calm in our first attempt?" Denryu didn't 'shoot back', but moreso challenged the perspective. "Fear and desperation are natural, but simply forcing it or 'wishing' for the power to come often aren't enough. To be a General is to try and take command of the situation. Assessing every possibility - even those you haven't achieved yet - can be critical."
"Yeah, that still sounds vague, boss." Savage rolled her eyes - but as the combination turned to math, the Renamon found her ear flick. Did 'she' know the answer? No - but Denryu was quick on the uptake:
"Not off the top of my head, but... eleven-factorial over five-factorial times six factorial. Something like... 40 million over 86 thousand... 465, or something?"
The answer was deadpan, and as Tadayoshi gave the actual answer - only three off - Savage couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose. "Right, I didn't have time to warn you, the General here's something of a math whiz."
"That aside," Denryu pushed the topic away, "there's other factors you can consider to look at the more likely combinations. Members that combine well at lower levels tend to combine well at higher levels. Case in point for Savage, the 'Renamon' and 'Bladekuwagamon' are more-or-less an inseparable pair, as is the 'Devidramon' and 'Kokuwaymon'. Adding Reppamon creates 'Savage', but adding Knightmon creates 'Titan'."
"... Not that I really thought about it that way. When the chips were down and in the moment, it just 'popped into my head'."
Of course, there were other ways to look at it. As the Commandramon stepped forward to ask his question, the stronger Digimon would find herself raising a palm towards Tadayoshi, to 'hold on for a moment'. "It sounds like you already know the answer. As a Core, I feel incomplete without at least one of our 'Augment' types leveling out my data. To Xros for us is to request help - in a way, its to admit that you alone aren't strong enough."
"Its up to you to decide if that means your own will isn't important - oh, lord." Savage blinked as the Strabimon, and several others, rushed up to get a look at the show. There was a lot the fox could say at the moment, but to the Strabimon's apparent goading, it seemed that 'wise' tone from before was shoved to the back, the fox just returning a sharp grin. "And what, exactly, is stopping you now? You lot better catch-up - its boring practicing these forms out in the middle of the desert."
"... Hm." Denryu gave an offhand remark to the other General: "I actually don't think I've seen 'Savage' act outside of combat. Her personality's entirely different than Angel or any of 'em alone..."
As for the rest of the group?
Well, the MetalKoromon might have been skilled bandits, but Raider was already used to the site of their own team's X-5. As such, the Knightmon's attention didn't stray far from the table, the champion-level easily snagging one of the MetalKoromon from behind, as he grasped at his burger with his other hand. The little in-training was put back down on the sands a moment later - the Knight shaking his head as everyone else's food was quickly stolen.
'Falcon', the MailBirdramon, found himself hooked on the Jetmon's explanation. "Hm... often, I'm not even part of the Xros, and just help the General keep his feet off the ground and away from the action. Quite a sense of balance, really - otherwise, I work to make the rest of the team faster. Volt handles all of the analytic stuff, and I make sure our big brute of a Devidramon can get in nice and close..."
"And yet," Falcon sighed, "I'm not a part of that. Nor am I a part of the 'other one', either."
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Feb 3, 2021 1:21:36 GMT
Dakota clearly didn't understand Angel's comment. What had he done to deserve that sting? He furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, deciding not to make another comment comparing her to his impression of his mother this time.
"Interesting. Their very personalities change?" Commandramon, too, folded his arms, though more casually and less defensively. "I've never noticed the same. The cores of our fusions, though we sense the feelings and hear the whispers of the rest, our minds remain entirely our own. There might be some things we'll never be the same in."
To this, Tadayoshi pocketed his Loader. "That's down to Denryu and I, I wager. I wonder how much of it that is the machines we wield and how much is down to the wielders."
Knightmon's dexterous catch ended with the H-MetalKoromon beeping and booping loudly and quickly in some language no one but them could really understand but which was probably expressing some kind of alarm or distress. It kept this up even as it rejoined the rest of its cluster a safe distance away from its victims. The whole group began to mimic Hotel, overreacting together while revolving around a center in some oddly perfect circle formation. It looked like they were performing some sort of occult ritual which involved some of them holding barbecue foods.
"I'll be honest. I don't know exactly how all of this has helped yet, but I'm convinced that it has." The younger boy inclined his head gratefully in front of Angel and Denryu. He was taking all this on board, of course, as best he could. Talon seems quite inseparable in the xrosses, and Deckerdramon seems to get along with Rashi. I'm not sure that it's a good thing our Angel has a strange sort of rapport with the Missimon and Hagurumon.
Commandramon, too, had things to think about. Even as the core, I take on too much of the burden. There must be a balance of contribution between my comrades and myself, not necessarily equal but quite necessarily less lopsided.
And at this level, it's not just about effort anymore. There's a decision to be made.
The onus is on all of us command our Xros to take and hold.
I will command myself to succeed.
I command myself to succeed.
"Sorry, guys. They do that sometimes. Spacing out and all that. They're the 'overthinkers' type, you know?" Dakota thought he had to interject that to fill a little dead air in the conversation.
Both of the pair smirked. "Well, he's right," the boy humbly admitted. "If nothing else, meeting with you is always a humbling experience. We could think and train and learn on our own for a year and still learn less than I did during our little war game."
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Post by Metal Drive on Feb 3, 2021 19:11:27 GMT
"No, that's not it."
Denryu, after a moment, corrected the Commandramon's assumption. As Savage continued to tease Dakota in the background, the General worked to revise his statement. "I keep a couple of my partners around X-2 - their preference - and the personalities of the pieces are different. Even when Angel has a sword, both the 'Renamon' and the 'Bladekuwagamon' think separately - they even still talk to each-other. Sure, they combined, but they all have their separate thoughts."
So, Savage was a different case. There was no discourse, and at least no 'visible' conversation happening between the individual components. "Perhaps the synchronization requirement is so high that the thoughts 'effectively' merge together. It would make sense - any sort of discourse or lag would through off the entire fusion. But I could very well be talking out of my ass here."
Perhaps it would give Team Silence a hint, or perhaps it would through them off. Denryu himself didn't put much stock into it.
"Alright, calm down, you lot."
Yeah, the Knightmon probably aggravated the rascals, but there was no reason to be so rude about it! The Champion-level would briefly stand, shaking his head at the group. It probably wasn't his place to scold, but: "Remember who cooked and put all this stuff together in the first place? If you all want more, you should know better than to bite the hand that feeds you!"
"... Or maybe you should know that being a champion-level grabbing onto an in-training's not going to get the best reaction." Falcon found himself laughing in the back-ground, at least somewhat picking up on the MetalKoromon's 'distress signal'. "Maybe if you had another mode other than 'strong knight', you'd actually look like a friendly 'mon."
"Of course. From the start, our teams are fundamentally different."
"Hmph... for now..." 'Savage' closed her eyes, and in the next moment, her frame turned a bright white, a brief red 'crack' appearing through the frame. In the next moment, all five of the components appeared - either scattered in the sand on their back or their knees.
It didn't take much for the group to get back up to their feet, the tired group either yawning, stretching their back, cracking their limbs, or otherwise working to get the 'fatigue' that had built up out of the system.
Angel's ear gave a flick at Dakota's comment, the fox rolling her eyes. "Oh, c'mon. I've seen Denryu have his face buried in computer screens for hours-on-end, working on one of his 'math things'. I know all-too-well how focused these humans can get."
"In my experience, that's just how these things shake out." Responding to Tadayoshi, the General gave a nod. "You can waste an entire semester trying to learn something, only to figure it out in a couple days messing around with the program. Application's often the better teacher overall."
As for that war game, well, Demon couldn't help but give a snort, as Guru gave a chuckle. The Reppamon picked up on the conversation: "If anything, that spar of ours is one of the most interesting scraps I've had as part of this team. Knowing that your opponent can do the same, do you split up the team for multiple objectives, or do you keep everyone as one to try and split down the center? How much of your power do you devote to protecting your General?"
"Hmph. Its 'fun' when its a game." The Devidramon growled, the Kokuwamon shaking his head. "Oh, just let him have this one, big guy..."
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Post by Tadayoshi Teppei and Silence on Mar 28, 2021 0:09:38 GMT
"Hey, hey, guys, come on now." The team's Strabimon crossed his arms with an exaggerated sort of indignation. "Don't go reminiscing too much. I wasn't there, remember? Don't ice me out."
Tadayoshi was quick to humbly apologize even though the offense was obviously slight in reality. "You're right. I apologize. It's rude to go far down a line of conversation you can't relate to."
"Apology accepted." The wolfboy wasn't indignant for long after that. He uncrossed his arms and became his old laid back self again. "And hey, don't go sucking up to 'em too much, boss. I mean, sure, they can do that fancy X5, but have you ever clawed your way up a space elevator full of killer robots and royal knights? I don't think so! Don't go talkin' like they're so great and we're so little, man. I mean, geez."
Both Tadayoshi and Commandramon shot Dakota looks, the latter's expression much more skeptical and negative than the former. Dakota was undeterred. "How 'bout a little confidence, eh? Good example for the troops and all that jazz. I mean, they're good, OK, but they're just dudes, right?" Dakota only amended himself when he made incidental eye contact with the center of Metal Drive who was, quite definitively, not a 'dude.' "You know what I mean."
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Post by Metal Drive on Apr 3, 2021 19:59:53 GMT
Oh, the Strabimon was missing out? As the Strabimon gave that fake indignation, the Renamon couldn't help but return a chuckle. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that you can't forget this next one, then."
"Mm... be careful riling this one up, Dakota." The Reppamon furthered that tease, but otherwise backed off of the reminiscing. Of course, it didn't take long for Dakota to try and one-up them with his own story, to which the Renamon returned a shrug. "I dunno, have you ever fought inside a circus tent against an eldritch abomination and a pissed-off firebird?"
That comment earned a derisive snort from the Devidramon, as Guru returned a sigh. "Okay, that one I wasn't there for."
That aside, it seemed like the group had a plan! Denryu took the moment to try and get the conversation back on track. "Well, assuming the MetalKoromon over there aren't going to try and stage a coup against the Knightmon's cooking, we should probably figure out just how we're going to do it. Last time, we had the generals as targets, but maybe we should try something a little different..."
And for that, the group shot out a few ideas. "Just a fight?"
"Capture the flag, maybe?"
"We could each start with a flag, and whichever side has more at the end would win... hm."
"But don't they have more members?"
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