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Introducing... the Helpers! (B-Rank)
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Post by ricochet-Stacy on Dec 28, 2021 0:43:59 GMT
Sarumon looked at Zack not sure about acting as one of the helpers. Her species was an ancient extinct species after all. "Not that I can't play mindless zombie if I have to, Zack, but one thing might get in the way of that. My evolution line are all ancient extinct digimon that very few digimon tribes even remember anymore. That and I don't think they have any demon monkeys in their inventory. However if the dumber guards buy me shuffling around like WWE's Undertaker than I'm game."
Seeing the stairs, Sarumon let out a sigh grateful that as a digimon she was basically a relentless ball of energy. That and she was glad she brought snacks with her to satisfy her metabolism as these stairs could take awhile to scale to get to the top. "Damn that kid for messing with the elevator." she muttered as she fluttered her wings hovering just a few inches above the steps before landing on the staircase and following Yasuo and Yuudai who were still carrying Shi. Seemed the Agumon pair had a ton of energy themselves.
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Post by supesman on Dec 28, 2021 16:10:00 GMT
"Oh yea, I'm sure every bored security guard and office worker we'd run across would know exactly which helpers they do and don't have in stock, Stacy, that's totally something they get paid well enough to know and or care about." He said, chuckling and shrugging his shoulders as he started up the stairs. This is where all of his physical training came in handy, letting him look at the walk ahead of him and not want to roll over and die from the effort involved. "Might not be too late to find that kid and toss him head first into a trashcan if you're so willing." He said to Shoutmon as the small red dinosaur stared upward at the trek ahead of them
"At least it will keep people from the ground floor from racing up after us for a while. As it stands we only have two vectors where attacks can come from, three if we're walking past one of the doors into the floors themselves. Watch ahead, watch behind and someone check the windows on the doors themselves and we should be in the clear."
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Post by Adrian Boriker on Dec 30, 2021 19:34:24 GMT
Adrian couldn't help but laugh when Shi told him that the best way to shut Yuudai and Yasuo up would be to simply ask them some math problems. "I guess I'm more like those two than I thought," Adrian said, considering that his math skills were beyond appalling. It was a miracle that he even managed to graduate in the first place with how much he struggled through math during his time in high school. "Half the time I need to stop to remember something as simple as the multiplication table."
The stairs... the dreaded stairs. Easily Adrian and Shoutmon's biggest adversary at this moment. Despite all the adventuring the two of them have done, climbing fifty-five flights of stairs would forever be the biggest challenge for them... for Adrian moreso than Shoutmon though. Zack playfully mentioned to Shoutmon that it wasn't too late to go find the kid and chuck him into a trash bin or something. "Probably not the best use of our time, but it is tempting," Shoutmon replied. Yuudai and Yasuo seemed to be amped up for the climb though, with the latter even stating that his brother could power the house for months with a simple giant hamster wheel. "Yep, I believe it!"
And thus, the big climb began. It started out relatively well, with Adrian and Shoutmon side-by-side as they paced themselves up the stairs. Eventually though, Adrian began to slow down, with Shoutmon going ahead of him for a bit before he too started slowing down. The higher up the stairs they got, the slower they got. "If I... ever see that kid again... I'm gonna... I'm gonna..." Shoutmon groaned in between pants, venting his frustration with the stairs.
"What, is the... mighty RedMagnamon incarnate... gonna be bested by stairs?" Adrian responded in turn with a smirk and a laugh.
"Oh, shuddup..."
The last few flights were agonizing. Both Tamer and Digimon had given up running and were both now slowly sauntering up the stairs, their legs feeling like spaghetti noodles by this point. But they were determined to make it all the way up, they were so close! Eventually, Shoutmon did make it to Floor 55... before he immediately fell face-first onto the ground. Adrian would simply sit down against the railing after he made it to the goal floor. "Ugh, I feel like I'm back in gym class," Adrian said with a sigh, pulling out a water bottle from his Infini-Store and chugging it down. "Need some water, Shoutmon?"
"In a sec... need to rest..."
"Amazing how you're not tired in the slightest after fighting tough Digimon, but a fifty-five-floor jog completely takes you out. You're one hell of an enigma."
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Shi
Official Grader
If you don't make a move, I will.
Posts: 851
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Post by Shi on Dec 31, 2021 14:22:05 GMT
"C'mon, it's just a buncha stairs! They're counting on us to make it up here! Go-Go-Go!" Yuudai wanted to keep everyone's spirits up, after all mentioning that some digimon were counting on them was important to what was going on. "Show your spirit, break your limits. Uhh I can't think of any other good quotes." He did his best, that was all we could ask of him.
"Not everyone is the limitless ball of energy you are Yuudai." Yasuo on the other hand was starting to show a bit of fatigue as he climbed, still he kept his back straight and his eyes focused on his brother, he wasn't about to be beat out just because Yuudai was more physically capable then him, they're twins so either both of them win or neither of them do... If that meant Yasuo was going to sabotage Yuudai if he didn't make it wasn't very clear.
Shi on the other hand had his eyes closed and was bobbing his head to and fro with the music through his headphones, not a care in the world going on. Hell part of him was sad he didn't bring his notebook so he could get some drawing done. Alas he would have to make due with just some music. Which kinda was bad considering he could've been doing what Marigold had mentioned and keeping an eye out since he wasn't having to climb but he was sure that nothing bad was going to happen and it turns out it didn't as the three of them made it to the top of the stairs.
Considering the slowdown Adrian and Shoutmon faced and given they ran up the stairs the trio most likely made it to the top first, Shi noticed the movement stopped and jumped off the two Dinosaurs pulling his headphones down around his neck and stretched for a moment. "Good job you two, wanna take a break in the V-pet?" Shi offered giving a small yawn as he did, pulling out his digivice with his left hand.
"Nah I'm fine, bring on the next challenge!" Yuudai seemed a bit tired but did his best not to show it, with a wide toothy grin and clenched claws.
"Should probably see if the others need rest before we go off Yuudai, Like I said not everyone is the ball of pep you are." Yasuo seemed a lot more tired then his brother but did his best not to show it, giving his own smile albeit a bit smaller.
Shi was completely fine though, the ride was not very comfortable but hey at least he didn't have to climb up all those stairs. "Should start bringing a pillow, neither of your rookie or champion forms are very comfortable." Shi mused throwing his hands in his pockets as the three of them waiting at the top. Adrian and Shoutmon came up, taking a drink of water and resting near the top of the stairs. Shi gave a small wave leaning against the wall near the door.
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Post by ricochet-Stacy on Jan 1, 2022 2:26:50 GMT
Keeping alert was the first thing on Sarumon's mind since, knowing her luck, things could easily become problematic or even irksome. Guards in a place had a habit of being a nuisance so she was ready for almost anything at this point. "Don't worry about me, Marigold. Keeping my guard up has been my plan since the mission started." she said as the group trudged their way up the stairs. She was glad she was in digimon form more than ever since otherwise it would take her forever to climb fifty five floors of stairs.
At Adrian's comment regarding his math skills being bad she said "Don't worry about not being good at math, Adrian. I'm no mathmatical genius either. Hell my math is sluggish at best."
Meanwhile Shi was listening to music through headphones while being carried up the stairs as he seemed relaxed. His partners looked understandably tired with one being more tired than the other. Sarumon was a bit tired herself but said nothing otherwise. After the group made it to the fifty fifth floor Adrian and Shoutmon made a stop to rest. Hopping onto the railing of the stairs, Sarumon said "Yeah I'm not against a short rest cause who knows what we'll find other than those digimon while we snoop around? It would be good if we have as much energy as possible."
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Post by supesman on Jan 1, 2022 15:53:07 GMT
Zack kept himself toward the back of the group, Marigold near the front, buzzing as she hovered up the stars keeping her head on a proverbial swivel. Her father did the same, looking out through the windows on each door that they passed with a slight tensing of his musculature with each passing just so that he would be ready to lash out if someone spotted them. Neither of the pair seemed to be getting too far run down during the trek up the stairs, keeping themselves at a jogging pace the whole time. By the time they topped the stairs, Marigold and Zack smirked at the resting folks.
"One hundred sit ups, one hundred pushups, one hundred squats and a ten kilometer run. Everyday. Does a super-body good." She said, sharing a fist bump with her father. Well, as close as she could get considering she didn't have any hands. It would be hard to figure out if she was being serious and that's what their ACTUAL daily workouts consisted of in part or in full OR equally likely if the pair was taking the collective piss and just quoting the reference.
"That and the nightly parkour runs and no holds barred brawling probably." he said, sitting on one of the stairs as he waited for Adrian and Shoutmon to recover. he wasn't judging anyone else for needing a rest, Zack was the first person who would recognize that his lifestyle was absurdist to the extreme.
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Post by Adrian Boriker on Jan 2, 2022 18:18:53 GMT
Yuudai tried his best to motivate everyone as they climbed the several flights of stairs. On the one hand, Adrian could at least appreciate the effort of what the Agumon was trying to do. On the other hand, the way he was doing it made Adrian want to grab his sock and shove it in Yuudai's throat just to get him to shut up already. While he didn't exactly voice his feelings, his facial expression was loud and clear about how he felt.
The group somehow finally made it up the fifty-five flights of stairs, with Shi, Yuudai and Yasuo making it there first... and Adrian and Shoutmon dead last. It was clear who was the most unfit out of all of them. Though it was pretty clear that Yuudai and Yasuo were both tired, despite them trying to not show it. "Maybe you both should take up that offer to rest in the V-Pet," Adrian said before he looked towards his own partner. "How about you? You wanna rest in there for a bit?"
"...yeah, I do," Shoutmon said after giving it some thought.
The red dragon was zapped right into Adrian's Digivice as Marigold boasted about how much exercise she and Zack got, proving why they weren't as tired as everyone else. Adrian was about to roll his eyes at that before Zack mentioned parkour runs and brawling. "...you really take the superhero thing way too far," Adrian said to him.
After some much-needed rest for the group, there were no other options but to walk through the door to the research facility. It pretty much looked like one would expect out of a research facility from a tech company like Z-Tec. "Okay, so here we need to find something relating to the Helpers... maybe a room specifically focused on special items or viruses or SOMETHING," Adrian said. Clearly, he had no idea what he was looking for.
But maybe the others would. There was definitely a room nearby that seemed as if it had at least some information that the group needed. However, there would be a woman inside the room already, someone who clearly had no interest in attending the press conference. She seemed to be working on... something. But she was clearly struggling with what she was working on.
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Shi
Official Grader
If you don't make a move, I will.
Posts: 851
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Post by Shi on Jan 3, 2022 5:20:32 GMT
It would seem that they would need a small rest, which was fine by Shi as he resumed his stance near the door, holding his balance with his leg against the wall eyes closed and hit hat down a bit. While it might've looked like he was just trying to look cool this was strangely enough the most comfortable position for him at the moment, but people gonna judge what they gonna judge he supposed. He'd feel bad about being the only one who wasn't tired but given he had climbed a mountain before his pity well was most likely bottomed out.
Meanwhile Adrian had given Yuudai a look that he tend to get given a lot, like he really wanted him to shut up. Fat chance, mostly Yuudai just ignored the look. Either that or he really just didn't notice, whichever it was didn't really matter at this point huh. "If you exercised that much you'd probably end up bald." Yuudai joked, given he and Yasuo didn't have much to do around the house but watch anime and chores, also do chores while Anime plays in the background, it was a given they'd know this reference.
Meanwhile with the superhero thing Shi moved from his position on the wall kicking off it slightly offering a small shrug and his views on it. "It's how he wants to live his life, proving pretty useful right about now at least." It was useful so who really cares why he's like the way he is.
Walking through the door though this looked nothing like what the twins had imagined, where was the evil lair. The sinister stairwell leading up to the final boss with potions and poisons littered around the area. Ok maybe a little too much anime.
Back to what mattered, girl in room with stuff we need. Shi put his hands in his pockets with his eyes closed. "Could just try the V-pet thing, either that or try distracting her with something while the others sneak in." Shi was half volunteering himself to do so by accident, after all it would be his idea. Plus he had some good idea for excuses as to why he was here.
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Post by ricochet-Stacy on Jan 3, 2022 6:14:34 GMT
When hearing of Zack and Marigold's exercise routine Sarumon shuddered at the thought before she said "No offense you two but no thanks. If I wasn't in digimon form I would of passed out floors ago from exhaustion. I was never the coordinated or athletic type of human." Though not really tired, Sarumon did appreciate the rest. It was best the group be ready just in case a fight happened. She watched as Shoutmon vanished into Adrian's V-Pet. After fifty five floors Sarumon didn't blame the red dragon one bit so she said nothing.
Then when Yuudai made a anime reference Sarumon, though she had never seen One Punch Man, got the reference and quietly giggled. Shi also had a point about Zack's superhero habits being useful and Sarumon agreed. At least Zack was in good shape even if his habits were eccentric to the point of absurdity.
Finally they made it to the floor they where heading for. In front of them was a door to a research facility and, though they didn't all know what to look for, Sarumon had a rough idea as she said "Researching viruses and the helpers themselves might give us some answers. Maybe then we'd know more about what we're up against."
Silently fluttering up to the room Sarumon saw the woman at the computer then heard Shi and turned to face him before she asked "Are you volunteering, Shi? Better idea than me sneaking in and watching over the woman's shoulder by hovering over her like some kind of assassin."
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Post by supesman on Jan 3, 2022 15:57:48 GMT
"I say we take it a perfect amount of far considering how often it nearly gets me killed. If I'm going to be punching above my weight class I'd rather be able to be swinging for the fences until they blow the whistle. he said, bouncing from one foot to the other with his hands raised up in front of his face just to make sure that nobody missed the already perfectly obvious boxing metaphor he was using.
"He means he doesn't want to have to take a breath inbetween climbing up digimon the side of condos or running a marathon with ten pissed off rookies nipping at his rear." She said, pulling the examples out so calmly and quickly that there was no way she was making them up for effect, she could only be referring to real outcomes
The pair observed the woman in the room they need to be in quietly from around the corner of the door's threshold. Zack quietly cursing and muttering.
"I swear to god people in Japan are workaholics, and always at the worst time. Can never find a moment where a lair is totally abandoned." He said, again pulling out an experienced sort of a tone and an easy expression of the idea that made it clear this was a repeated pattern in his out there lifestyle. "If we want the simple outcome, I can be from here into that room before she even turns around. She could be cuffed and thrown in the supply closet before she really knows what's happening. Cleaners will find her in the morning. Or the cops after we blow this pop stand, whichever comes first." He said, shrugging as he offered the quick and dirty solution to the woman being somewhere she shouldn't just like he had done with the guard.
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Post by Adrian Boriker on Jan 4, 2022 3:29:45 GMT
As Adrian was an avid watcher of most things anime, of course he had to giggle along with Stacy at Yuudai's One Punch Man reference. How could he not? "Well, at least if you went bald like that, you'd have the chance to be just a hero for fun," Adrian said, keeping the reference going to where even Zack might have even gotten a chuckle out of it. Great, now Adrian was going to have the show's opening song stuck in his head for a while...
Then Zack's odd life choices became the next topic of discussion. He claimed he took it far enough considering how often it almost got him killed, with Marigold subtly bringing up the kind of stuff Zack goes through on a daily basis. "Climbing Digimon? Chased by rookies? Heh, child's play," Adrian said with a smirk, "come talk to me after you jump off a flying airship with no parachute or defeat a nightmare Digimon while being trapped in a dream realm."
After the rest, the group would proceed to search for any useful information on the Helpers. When they found the room they were looking for, they would find an African American woman with curly hair still working on something within the room. "Workaholic describes this country well," Adrian agreed with Zack, sighing at how poor the group's luck had been so far. Everyone had their own ideas for how to deal with her, with Zack's of course being the most brutal way. "Is that seriously your solution to everything? You're not Batman, you know-"
"What the hell?"
The group would soon find that the woman had turned towards the entryway to the room right then and there, and not only saw three humans (one of which dressed like a giant bee) but also an ACTUAL giant bee, two yellow dinosaurs and a spider-monkey. Oddly, she didn't seem as freaked out as she should've been. "Why do you all have Helpers? We're not supposed to launch until... wait a minute... maybe this is a good thing... but still, where did you all get those Helpers from?"
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Shi
Official Grader
If you don't make a move, I will.
Posts: 851
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Post by Shi on Jan 10, 2022 9:28:54 GMT
Well that whole thing with Zack did sound quite crazy, Though Shi supposed that if that was what he wanted to do with his life, as short as it might be while doing that, who was he to judge? When asked if he was volunteering Shi also gave a shrug, if no one else wanted to he would be willing to do so. Time to turn on the old Shi charm that he 100% did not have in any sort of capacity or way.
Then came Zack's suggestion, this was really starting to look like a paragon vs renegade sort of dealings with this sorta thing. Shi wasn't used to being on the paragon side but when it came to stuff like this he felt a gentle touch was in order, which did not include cuffing someone and tossing them in a closet, both actions Shi would assume could not be done with a gentle hand. Shi motioned for everyone to shut up given they weren't that far away. Thankfully Yuudai and Yasuo got the motion cause once they heard that lady they clammed up real fast leaving Shi with his hands in his pockets looking over at the workaholic.
Shi didn't even stir, his face had the same expression on it as she asked where they got the 'helpers' Shi had to come up with a lie fast, either that or he'd distract her by lying while the others did whatever they wanted, either way best to have all their bases covered. "Finally we found someone, My names Yuudai Nami. We came here to ask for an internship for some college credit. Figured with this tech it looked interesting enough to try and join up but we couldn't find anyone and someone pressed all the buttons on the elevator." He responded in his normal chill voice.
"As for these things, we saw a guard outside chasing one that flipped em off and we found these ones on the stairs, must've just gotten loose. Sorta just started following us. I know we should've picked a better time to come but we didn't realize there was some sorta presentation going on." If the others didn't know any better it would seem like Shi was 100% telling the truth, absolutely no tells that he was lying in the slightest. If that would work who knows, if the others go along with it? Who knows. Shi didn't explain the bee outfit though, figured she just assumed Zack was beeing himself.
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Post by ricochet-Stacy on Jan 10, 2022 11:39:15 GMT
Everyone ideas on how to deal with matters pertaining to the woman seemed to fall apart in the blink of an eye when she turned and spotted the group. Though how she could mistake a digimon with bright glowing red demonic eyes as one of the zombie like digimon known to her as helpers was beyond Sarumon. Anyway that wasn't important as this woman could be a problem. Since the spirit wielder was in digimon form it was best she didn't speak or make sudden movements for the moment. So she dulled the glow in her eyes to a faded darker red and took on a zombie like stiffness while her wings flapped occasionally to keep her aloft.
Fortunately Shi stepped up then with a convincing cover story for the group to be there and included that someone had messed with the elevator and the digimon with them were found in the elevator. One thing for sure was he was a much better liar than she was as she couldn't really lie to save her life as she had to many tells to the observant type. In any case it was a brilliant performance but would the woman fall for it as the group was an unusual looking one to be sure.
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Post by supesman on Jan 10, 2022 14:15:43 GMT
Zack signaled Marigold to freeze with a flat hand, fingers spread turned to face her as she scuttled across the floor. It was one of the many signals that they used in order to not get in each other's way in the field. Everyone around could see Zack's body tighten as the woman approached, like he was counting down the steps until she got within arm's reach. It was lucky that Shi actually came up with something before Zack was forced to go with his default option. One could hardly blame the vigilante for having a "hit it first, fix it later" approach when confronted directly with someone who could very well be hostile. When questioned though it took him shockingly little time to come up with a cover.
"Me? I'm just a Local Hero who was asked to be here for the launch. Company said that they'd make a donation to a local after school program. I'm sure you know how we are about that sort of thing." He said, obfuscating himself behind a local Japanese custom that would instantly explain why the hell he was dressed like he was and what he was doing at the public launch of a product like this. "Found these two young men lost in the building a figured it wouldn't be right to let them wander about. I'm helping them get to where they need to go." He said, bowing his head slightly. Only his companions, listening closer would be able to hear the ice and steel in his voice.
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Post by Adrian Boriker on Jan 11, 2022 3:43:57 GMT
Oh crap... they've been spotted. By someone who wasn't on their side. The lady had noticed the entire group and asked where they had gotten the "Helpers" from. Shi would respond first, saying that he was "Yuudai Nami," someone who was applying for an internship at Z-Tec, mentioning how someone pressed all the buttons on the elevator. "Damn it, that was Zaan's kid," the lady responded. "Someone was supposed to be watching him, but clearly he snuck off again, so sorry about that, Yuudai." Okay, she believed the intern lie, good to know.
Now for Zack's little story... "Local... Hero? They didn't say anything about that..." she said, looking out the window towards where the conference was with a raised eyebrow. She didn't have a reason to DISbelieve Zack, but the whole thing sounded odd to her. She turned and looked at Adrian. "And you... why are you up here?"
"Er... internship?" Adrian said. "Just like Yuudai here."
"I see..." the woman said as she put her hands on her hips. "Then what are you doing with our Helpers?" The answer that Shi had given her for that... well, yeah. That didn't work out. "Helpers can't do anything on their own unless given a command to do so by the person they're synced with, making it impossible for them to get loose. I should know. considering I'm one of the head leaders of the project."
"Oh crap..." Adrian muttered, his heart sinking a bit. "Look, how do I explain this... your company is lying to you about the Helpers."
"...and you think I don't know that?" she asked with a laugh. "For being a leader on the project, I know close to nothing about how these Helpers even work! All the information on them was kept in the hands of Zaan and those higher up than I am. If that doesn't scream shady, then I don't know what does. Considering you all have Helpers of your own, that proves that Zaan's hiding something important from us."
"Well, we're here to get the information on the Helpers," Adrian explained, "since we think the company's doing something immoral involving them. Would... you be willing to help us?"
"A few months ago, I would've told you no, out of fear of losing my job," the woman said, "I have a daughter at home to care for, and I thought I was just being overly paranoid from stress until now. But if Z-Tec is hiding something as serious as you say it is... just tell me the truth. About the Helpers. And I promise I can get you into Zaan's office, since that's likely where he would keep that kind of data."
Adrian would look towards the others... should they take this woman up on her offer? Do they trust her enough to bestow the secret of Digimon to her?
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