Everywhere At The End of Time [MPC 88 - Double Wild Cards]
Jul 7, 2021 18:53:56 GMT
Post by Miyako + Mantis on Jul 7, 2021 18:53:56 GMT
MPC Name: All The Me I Could Be + Fast Forward
MPC Number:88X and 88Y to do 38 and 70A
Reward Requested: Posts on both.
Terabyte Mountain.
The source of many a conflict over the seeming eon that the world had existed within. It held significance to many for different reasons, but to the party that had elected to ascend to it's peak, it was simply another trial to overcome.
It was said that an artifact lay at the summit of the mountain, and while the quartet held no true need for artifacts or anything of the sort, there was an insistence by the leader, the tamer, the world's most menacing albino, one Isa Miyako, to see what it was--and maybe use the journey as a means to improve.
Everyone else, on the other hand, really just wanted to go home as they ascended the cliffs of the mountain. It was chilly. Almost perilously so, but the miracle of technology had managed to offset that. "Y'know, I...never really looked into who made the EV suit, but...I owe them a lot." Miyako uttered as the group took a pause, at an area of the mountain that provided a rather...stunning view of the world before them.
"Why do you say this unprompted, Miyako-donno?" Nanashi would reply, shortly after the Hawkmon took a seat, crossing her legs and folding her arms as she attempted to take the time to meditate. "Because without it, she would not be able to see the things you and the simp are able to see. Not without enduring great pain." Miyako's partner, The Kotemon Who Only Calls Himself The Praying Mantis, interjected. "I am not versed on albinism, but I heard somebody refer to it as being allergic to the sun."
"...What does the sun have to do with the cold, though? This is basically the equivalent to Mt. Everest, not..." Nanashi grumbled. "...Bah. Boomers."
"Hey, hey! Let's not get each other riled up! I think we're almost to the top!" Robin squeaked! The Patamon would have been a source of relief if he hadn't been saying that they were almost to the top for the past several hours. Miyako seemed to be the only one who believed him, too! "Well. It's true, with every step we do get a bit closer to the top. I'm still kinda curious as to what the artifact is..."
"I think it will be a gun." Nanashi stated. Factually.
"No. A sword. They always put swords on mountains. This is a trope that will come to pass." Mantis offered a counterargument that was about as plausible as half of what was said in arguments upon a Discord server.
"I've got a counter to both of these." Miya decided, standing up on both feet as she began to continue the ascent through the mountain. "Oh? Is it a staff? I think it's a staff!" Robin said, before Miyako shot him...No, that wasn't a glare.
"I think it's a shield."
All of these were great guesses, even if they'd just end up starting an argument. One that quite frankly, is boring. One that, quite frankly, serves as much purpose as arguing in a Discord server. It lends little to the text, and even less to the narrative. So, we shall fast forward a couple of minutes later within this sordid tale.
Miyako and Mantis had been walking within the mountain, now. An icy cavern that led to many more caverns, and, according to Mantis' daughter--the other one, at least, also led to where a Demon Lord had been sealed away! ...Again!
Probably? Mae never seemed the kind to lie...
Anyways.
"...Nanashi and Robin haven't said anything in a little bit...Mantis, aren't they supposed to be behind us?"
"In a perfect world, they would be. Unfortunately. This is not a perfect world. In fact, this is an extremely imperfect world, one rife with furries and scalies." Mantis grumbled on, as the Kotemon took a pause and glanced back to find...
Nobody.
He saw nobody there. He did not see his daughter, nor the idol-crazed Patamon. "...They are not behind us. Should we go back?" Mantis would turn his head back to find...Miyako continuing to move forward, after a brief pause. The way the 11 year old moved was...not her own. It was as if she was being moved like a marionette upon strings, by some force that wasn't there. All towards a room that Mantis was very certain was not there earlier.
Confound it all.
The Kotemon found himself rushing after her. Found himself yelling her name as both went into the icy chamber--more like frosted glass than anything. Miyako regained her senses at that point, the feeling that had came over her was like...fainting. Cold, a loss of awareness around you, vague ideas that someone was speaking to you.
And with a gradual regaining of the senses, she found herself fallen over, with Mantis trying to get an arm around his shoulder. "I would say you are finally awake. But not enough time has elapsed. However, you sprung whatever kind of trap this is."
"...Sorry. I...genuinely don't...know what came over me. Or what this...even is."
Something that neither of them knew, really. It was like a hall of mirrors but condensed within a singular room made of ice--they were able to see their reflections all throughout, yet...They felt wrong.
Like they should not be there.
Anxiety.
There was a period of silence, before a voice made itself known to the duo. It was feminine, cryptic in tone. Cryptic in nature. Yet quiet, ever so quiet.
Light, and the Repentant...Do you know why you stand here?
"I mean, if I'm being honest...not really. I wanted to do something with my friends and..." Miyako trailed off. She wanted to try reasoning with this voice, just like she had tried with another being she knew little about, yet...There was a lingering feeling that it would not work.
"No. Tell me before I shatter this place to splinters." Mantis' answer, however, was far more crass and hostile.
It is...an assessment.
"An assessment of what?" Miyako rubbed at her eyes a bit.
Of character. You travel with one who has a long story behind them, yet you do not know the truth of the matter. Or...his truth. Because it is locked. Those who reincarnate into new individuals...they cannot look upon their past honestly. Not unless it is in front of them.
Neither party knew how to respond to this. Miyako didn't know what this entity spoke of. She did know that Mantis himself had come from a very traumatic past life, one that he refused to speak of. And it was something that she didn't really fault him for.
They were friends. Partners. They shouldn't be striving to touch upon bad subjects for them. "...You're not going to do something like...blast Mantis' past on me, right? Why? I never asked him what he's been through, though that's...More because I trust him to tell me on his own time. When he feels ready."
...It is not a matter that involves you alone, Light. Run as one might, they cannot escape forever.
In front of them, the wall shimmered, becoming opaque rather than reflective. The rest of the room took that characteristic as well, as something began to move, before it stepped out. It was...
A Kotemon. In fact, it was the exact same Kotemon as the one that was right next to Miyako. She stood up on her feet and dusted herself off as she stared this one down. The only difference between the two was that where Mantis had color to his form, and bright yellow eyes, this one was entirely greyscale. As if he had stepped away from a black and white film. His eyes had no shine to them.
"...The failure." Mantis finally spoke. "He who I said I was not. A faker, in all senses of the word."
Failures. The lot of them. "So, what is the gambit here? Make me yell at someone I'm not?" Mantis spoke out loud, questioning the voice. Yet they did not reply.
MPC Number:88X and 88Y to do 38 and 70A
Reward Requested: Posts on both.
Terabyte Mountain.
The source of many a conflict over the seeming eon that the world had existed within. It held significance to many for different reasons, but to the party that had elected to ascend to it's peak, it was simply another trial to overcome.
It was said that an artifact lay at the summit of the mountain, and while the quartet held no true need for artifacts or anything of the sort, there was an insistence by the leader, the tamer, the world's most menacing albino, one Isa Miyako, to see what it was--and maybe use the journey as a means to improve.
Everyone else, on the other hand, really just wanted to go home as they ascended the cliffs of the mountain. It was chilly. Almost perilously so, but the miracle of technology had managed to offset that. "Y'know, I...never really looked into who made the EV suit, but...I owe them a lot." Miyako uttered as the group took a pause, at an area of the mountain that provided a rather...stunning view of the world before them.
"Why do you say this unprompted, Miyako-donno?" Nanashi would reply, shortly after the Hawkmon took a seat, crossing her legs and folding her arms as she attempted to take the time to meditate. "Because without it, she would not be able to see the things you and the simp are able to see. Not without enduring great pain." Miyako's partner, The Kotemon Who Only Calls Himself The Praying Mantis, interjected. "I am not versed on albinism, but I heard somebody refer to it as being allergic to the sun."
"...What does the sun have to do with the cold, though? This is basically the equivalent to Mt. Everest, not..." Nanashi grumbled. "...Bah. Boomers."
"Hey, hey! Let's not get each other riled up! I think we're almost to the top!" Robin squeaked! The Patamon would have been a source of relief if he hadn't been saying that they were almost to the top for the past several hours. Miyako seemed to be the only one who believed him, too! "Well. It's true, with every step we do get a bit closer to the top. I'm still kinda curious as to what the artifact is..."
"I think it will be a gun." Nanashi stated. Factually.
"No. A sword. They always put swords on mountains. This is a trope that will come to pass." Mantis offered a counterargument that was about as plausible as half of what was said in arguments upon a Discord server.
"I've got a counter to both of these." Miya decided, standing up on both feet as she began to continue the ascent through the mountain. "Oh? Is it a staff? I think it's a staff!" Robin said, before Miyako shot him...No, that wasn't a glare.
"I think it's a shield."
All of these were great guesses, even if they'd just end up starting an argument. One that quite frankly, is boring. One that, quite frankly, serves as much purpose as arguing in a Discord server. It lends little to the text, and even less to the narrative. So, we shall fast forward a couple of minutes later within this sordid tale.
Miyako and Mantis had been walking within the mountain, now. An icy cavern that led to many more caverns, and, according to Mantis' daughter--the other one, at least, also led to where a Demon Lord had been sealed away! ...Again!
Probably? Mae never seemed the kind to lie...
Anyways.
"...Nanashi and Robin haven't said anything in a little bit...Mantis, aren't they supposed to be behind us?"
"In a perfect world, they would be. Unfortunately. This is not a perfect world. In fact, this is an extremely imperfect world, one rife with furries and scalies." Mantis grumbled on, as the Kotemon took a pause and glanced back to find...
Nobody.
He saw nobody there. He did not see his daughter, nor the idol-crazed Patamon. "...They are not behind us. Should we go back?" Mantis would turn his head back to find...Miyako continuing to move forward, after a brief pause. The way the 11 year old moved was...not her own. It was as if she was being moved like a marionette upon strings, by some force that wasn't there. All towards a room that Mantis was very certain was not there earlier.
Confound it all.
The Kotemon found himself rushing after her. Found himself yelling her name as both went into the icy chamber--more like frosted glass than anything. Miyako regained her senses at that point, the feeling that had came over her was like...fainting. Cold, a loss of awareness around you, vague ideas that someone was speaking to you.
And with a gradual regaining of the senses, she found herself fallen over, with Mantis trying to get an arm around his shoulder. "I would say you are finally awake. But not enough time has elapsed. However, you sprung whatever kind of trap this is."
"...Sorry. I...genuinely don't...know what came over me. Or what this...even is."
Something that neither of them knew, really. It was like a hall of mirrors but condensed within a singular room made of ice--they were able to see their reflections all throughout, yet...They felt wrong.
Like they should not be there.
Anxiety.
There was a period of silence, before a voice made itself known to the duo. It was feminine, cryptic in tone. Cryptic in nature. Yet quiet, ever so quiet.
Light, and the Repentant...Do you know why you stand here?
"I mean, if I'm being honest...not really. I wanted to do something with my friends and..." Miyako trailed off. She wanted to try reasoning with this voice, just like she had tried with another being she knew little about, yet...There was a lingering feeling that it would not work.
"No. Tell me before I shatter this place to splinters." Mantis' answer, however, was far more crass and hostile.
It is...an assessment.
"An assessment of what?" Miyako rubbed at her eyes a bit.
Of character. You travel with one who has a long story behind them, yet you do not know the truth of the matter. Or...his truth. Because it is locked. Those who reincarnate into new individuals...they cannot look upon their past honestly. Not unless it is in front of them.
Neither party knew how to respond to this. Miyako didn't know what this entity spoke of. She did know that Mantis himself had come from a very traumatic past life, one that he refused to speak of. And it was something that she didn't really fault him for.
They were friends. Partners. They shouldn't be striving to touch upon bad subjects for them. "...You're not going to do something like...blast Mantis' past on me, right? Why? I never asked him what he's been through, though that's...More because I trust him to tell me on his own time. When he feels ready."
...It is not a matter that involves you alone, Light. Run as one might, they cannot escape forever.
In front of them, the wall shimmered, becoming opaque rather than reflective. The rest of the room took that characteristic as well, as something began to move, before it stepped out. It was...
A Kotemon. In fact, it was the exact same Kotemon as the one that was right next to Miyako. She stood up on her feet and dusted herself off as she stared this one down. The only difference between the two was that where Mantis had color to his form, and bright yellow eyes, this one was entirely greyscale. As if he had stepped away from a black and white film. His eyes had no shine to them.
"...The failure." Mantis finally spoke. "He who I said I was not. A faker, in all senses of the word."
"Astute. Though, I must confess. You appear to be the faker, running away from who you truly are and taking a title akin to those who cannot be named. You and I are one in the same.
You and I are Kappy."
You and I are Kappy."
Failures. The lot of them. "So, what is the gambit here? Make me yell at someone I'm not?" Mantis spoke out loud, questioning the voice. Yet they did not reply.
"No. I am here to reclaim who I am. You are not leaving this chamber alive, 'Praying Mantis.' Not while I still breathe. Once I get out, then Rangda dies next." The gray Kotemon raised his weapon.
He charged at Mantis, and while one would not be blamed for thinking Mantis would retaliate, the true Kotemon took a deep breath. Before he heard the telltale sounds of leaping as he closed his eyes...And swung his own weapon. It caught the other's strike.
"...Do you really need to fight?" Miyako asked. "Is...Is that the only way to solve this?" She backed away as the two engaged in a stick-lock.
Kappy spoke, only for Mantis to let out a screech and a violent shove back. "Next you'll say that you were betrayed, yet you held no hand in what happened to that other. I do not need to atone for YOUR mistakes. I need to RECTIFY them."
"...Do you really need to fight?" Miyako asked. "Is...Is that the only way to solve this?" She backed away as the two engaged in a stick-lock.
"It is the only language we speak. Violence is one of the few honest things left in life. Just as betrayal can be seen as an essence for society. So can violence. Another was like you. Another thought fit to try teaching me like mankind does. To forgive. To let bygones be bygones."
Kappy spoke, only for Mantis to let out a screech and a violent shove back. "Next you'll say that you were betrayed, yet you held no hand in what happened to that other. I do not need to atone for YOUR mistakes. I need to RECTIFY them."
"So you do that by stringing a little girl on? Instead of keeping her away from the world that took her away?"
"...What do you know about me? What's my name?" Miyako put her hands on her hips. "I'm not being strung along by anyone, I'm here because I choose to be. If there's danger, so be it."
"Do you even know what dangers lie here?"
Both the Kotemon spoke at once, as if in unison while the lock between their weapons continue. Finally, some headway was made, and both leapt away from each other.
"Monsters that could raze Tokyo with a mere thought. Creatures that can see what will be, and deny it. Phenomena that you couldn't even begin to dream of. Horrors, too. Monsters that should not be. Is this what you want to experience?"
"...I know you never came here of your own will. But I never asked. Why do you stay, Isa Miyako?"
It was a pretty good question. One you could reasonably pose to any tamer. It was unlikely that they asked for the circumstances which brought them here, and all three parties within the room thought it'd be crazy for people to WANT that to happen. It was a cruel world.
"I...can answer that. It's changed a few times, but...It's pretty much the same at the core? There's people here I care about. People I want to help and who's lives I think I'd help by being a part of. It sounds really selfish, sure, but I'm just..."
"That one, I can't answer, Mister..." Miya trailed off. If this was the previous Mantis, then this one was... "Kappy. If you want, I can come back later when I've figured it out?"
Silence.
A long, long minute of silence was what followed.
"...If you're still alive by then, I won't be. I know where your path ends. I was the Fatebreaker once. No longer."
As if on cue, the very room around the duo shifted and changed, from a endless realm of glass to that of a black, featureless void. Miyako was able to at least make out some figures in the distance, and a much...larger one. A much more uncompromising one. Seven arms. Eight eyes. Obscured by a haze of uncertainty.
Yet standing in front of it, were a number of individuals. People Miya could recognize, Digimon she could recognize, all standing with an air of defiance in front of an awaiting cataclysm. She watched as the people and Digimon all became one. Each pair, triplet, army becoming realizations of legend.
Kings, knights, Banchos alike. And yet she finally managed to get a glimpse at the center. It was unmistakable, that was her in the center. Older, sure. More scarred, but...She'd seen herself in the mirror enough times to know how she looks. What was more striking was her partner. That was not a Kotemon at all, no. It had the same sort of height as one, the same sort of stature, yet...
He seemed dead. Also shrouded in the haze of uncertainty, a fog obscuring most of his form. He seemed more an undead knight than anything, his gaze unseen.
If there were words, she had not heard them, but she heard two as the Miya in that vision raised her hand, the Digivice within turning a steel gray.
"Matrix Evolution!"
A ball of black and white enshrouded the duo, before shattering to reveal a figure best described as an amalgam of the 'concept' of the Grim Reaper...And a demon, in all senses of the word. Yet much like the strange Digimon by the older Miyako, she couldn't make much out of it's form.
Merely the idea of what it should be. It was uncertain. Everything about it was uncertain, only that it was the apex of what she could potentially achieve.
And yet, it would not be enough. The gathered would charge, and the looming catastrophe would swing it's seven arms in a single, foul stroke to cut them all down.
The vision ended in that single stroke.
...
As everything went white for a moment, Miyako found herself outside of the chamber. Far outside of it, actually. Her eyes opened, and she jolted up to find herself and an unconscious Mantis at the foot of Terabyte Mountain, Nanashi and Robin nowhere to be found. "...They should be coming down soon. If not..." She'd have to go look for them.
...
What was that? What did she see? Who were those...? Would that really come to pass...?
It was a pretty good question. One you could reasonably pose to any tamer. It was unlikely that they asked for the circumstances which brought them here, and all three parties within the room thought it'd be crazy for people to WANT that to happen. It was a cruel world.
"I...can answer that. It's changed a few times, but...It's pretty much the same at the core? There's people here I care about. People I want to help and who's lives I think I'd help by being a part of. It sounds really selfish, sure, but I'm just..."
"A kid." Kappy uttered. "You're literally not even twelve. Yet you're here instead of somewhere safe. Why do you risk yourself so? Why does the me over there allow it? Why does anyone around you?"
"That one, I can't answer, Mister..." Miya trailed off. If this was the previous Mantis, then this one was... "Kappy. If you want, I can come back later when I've figured it out?"
Silence.
A long, long minute of silence was what followed.
"...If you're still alive by then, I won't be. I know where your path ends. I was the Fatebreaker once. No longer."
As if on cue, the very room around the duo shifted and changed, from a endless realm of glass to that of a black, featureless void. Miyako was able to at least make out some figures in the distance, and a much...larger one. A much more uncompromising one. Seven arms. Eight eyes. Obscured by a haze of uncertainty.
Yet standing in front of it, were a number of individuals. People Miya could recognize, Digimon she could recognize, all standing with an air of defiance in front of an awaiting cataclysm. She watched as the people and Digimon all became one. Each pair, triplet, army becoming realizations of legend.
Kings, knights, Banchos alike. And yet she finally managed to get a glimpse at the center. It was unmistakable, that was her in the center. Older, sure. More scarred, but...She'd seen herself in the mirror enough times to know how she looks. What was more striking was her partner. That was not a Kotemon at all, no. It had the same sort of height as one, the same sort of stature, yet...
He seemed dead. Also shrouded in the haze of uncertainty, a fog obscuring most of his form. He seemed more an undead knight than anything, his gaze unseen.
If there were words, she had not heard them, but she heard two as the Miya in that vision raised her hand, the Digivice within turning a steel gray.
"Matrix Evolution!"
A ball of black and white enshrouded the duo, before shattering to reveal a figure best described as an amalgam of the 'concept' of the Grim Reaper...And a demon, in all senses of the word. Yet much like the strange Digimon by the older Miyako, she couldn't make much out of it's form.
Merely the idea of what it should be. It was uncertain. Everything about it was uncertain, only that it was the apex of what she could potentially achieve.
And yet, it would not be enough. The gathered would charge, and the looming catastrophe would swing it's seven arms in a single, foul stroke to cut them all down.
The vision ended in that single stroke.
...
As everything went white for a moment, Miyako found herself outside of the chamber. Far outside of it, actually. Her eyes opened, and she jolted up to find herself and an unconscious Mantis at the foot of Terabyte Mountain, Nanashi and Robin nowhere to be found. "...They should be coming down soon. If not..." She'd have to go look for them.
...
What was that? What did she see? Who were those...? Would that really come to pass...?
