Shattering Worlds [M/IC]

[TheUglyDucklett]

Shattering Worlds
A Digimon Roleplay
(Rated M for violence, crude languade and potential mild, adult themes)
IC; Submit SU's to the OOC thread!

The Beginning

Chaos has swallowed Earth and the Digital World as corrupted Digimon swarm and destroy as much of both worlds as they possibly can. When the first corrupted brood came to be the attacks were at first random and harmless. The natural order was able to dispatch with most of the mindless Digimon. However, survivors managed to grow and establish their strength. Filled with years of malice and suffering, the corrupted survivors orchestrated attacks on Earth and raids inside the Digital World to bend both worlds to their will. The first of the corrupted Digimon, four in total, to reach the tier of Mega learned to expand their numbers by corrupting other Digimon. They became the new gods of their revolution, and spread their corruption as far as possible.

It took weeks for the United States to realize that the increasing number of Digimon attacks were actually organized and connected. By that time, though, the threat was recognized too late. Communications were sabotaged and the nation was the first to feel the might of the corrupted Digimon. Weakened by the sudden insurrection and world affairs the armed forces weren't enough to counter the threat. All the other countries shied away from the doomed continent as Canada and Mexico closed their borders in preparation for their own war. After three months the entire country fell. After the fall, the corrupted Digimon were given free reign to destroy and kill as much as they pleased. Humans found shelter where they could, but no area was safe for long.

Similar conditions were apparent in the Digital World as well. Unaffected Digimon lived in fear of being corrupted by the Megas that plagued their world. Not even their saintly guardians could hope to quell the conflict that the corrupted Digimon raised. Their only hope was the co-operation of Humans. In time, a small group of chosen Digimon were sent to Earth to find Humans that could possess their digivices and restore order to both worlds.

More About The Plot

The RP will be broken up into chapter-like installments. It will begin during a corrupted Digimon rampage in New York where the tamers and Digimon will first meet. Together they'll fend off their common enemy and find an escape route out of the state. Each chapter following will continue the story until the end. The ultimate goal will be to defeat all four corrupted Mega Digimon (anonymous for now) and find a way to either eliminate or cleanse the rest of their corruption. This might be difficult, however, because they may also have to deal with the rest of the world and Dystopian United States.

Corrupted Digimon are usually Deep-red in eye color, yellow if the usual color is red. They may be different in body color-scheme, but they all "glitch out" with their form suddenly distorting in some way. Any Digimon partner could become corrupted in the later chapters!! (recoverable condition, so no worries about losing the Digimon partner)

RP Rules

1.) Mind the "M" rating! Violence, language and adult themes are fine mild.
2.) I would like a minimum of at least 1-2 medium-sized posts a week; notice me in advance if something comes up so I don't give away your spot!
a.) Any replaced person's character will be killed in-story and the new person will start off where that player left off (this will affect Rule #3 by my discretion depending on circumstances)
3.) A Digimon is allowed to start off with the capability of digivolving to Champion level. However, this will result in a slower climb to Ultimate. The Tamers and Digimon will be Biomerging to Mega in this RP (Being in the Digital World is required to Biomerge).
4.) Any Player-on-Player conflicts in-game will be a joined post (does not complete the post requirement for either player unless mentioned). It will be left to the players themselves to decide a winner and the terms the battle ends unless IC/OOC intervention is requested.
5.) There will be a position to help control NPCs, but I will ultimately control them. They are available for reasonable bunnying to advance a player's post.
6.) Bunnying is allowed with owner consent, but I must be alerted that there's permission. No Godmodding!!

Prologue: Resistance
During an attack on New York the fated heroes rise up in rebellion against the corrupted digimon. Finding their chosen partner digimon, they make their way to the heart of the corrupted forces to slay the "commander" pulling the strings. It is there that they will decide either to run for safety or campaign against the corruption.



Dontae: Someone Important?

Dontae could feel the presence of the attacking creatures, those "digimon," getting closer. Huddled under the stairs of some ruined apartment complex, he trembled in fear as the last half an hour played over and over inside his head. His breathing was deep in hyperventilation, but it was rough and coarse. That was the first time ever in his life that he was louder than mutterings. His throat was still scratchy and hurt from the over-exertion. He had no idea what possessed him to scream that loud. At first he felt the familiar fear of his father about to yell at him, but then he felt something different, more primal, take over. He felt anger boil his blood and explode from his very core. With wild fervor he let out the loudest, most aggressive sound in his life. About a decade-and-a-half's worth of anger to be exact. It couldn't have been that much longer than half a minute, but at the time it felt like minutes. But now? That was a different tune. He didn't want to feel the way everyone in his life made him felt anymore. He didn't want to be another tool for someone to use. And yet, he also didn't want to kill anyone.

He knew the consequences of his actions; that one digimon had told him how the weaker of them were more driven by the will of extreme emotion. He knew that they would come if he yelled. Why did he do it? How could he do what he knew would get his own father murdered? He was tired of being a minor character in his own life, but to go through with murder? It wasn't noble; if he truly regretted his choice he should have let the digimon kill him too. Instead, he ran away to save himself. The young man could feel his heart almost rip into two. Burying his face in his arms, tears were pressed between his arms and his coat. He didn't feel like he deserved to cry, but he couldn't stop himself.

That was when the young man heard the footsteps. They were small, but they shuffled across the carpeting. They were coming right for him. Lifting his head slightly, his eyes caught the sight of a small creature. It looked like some kind of rabbit-ghost with a crescent moon on its stomach and forehead, a moon medallion around its neck (supported by a pink ribbon), and other outlandish features. He recognized every detail: it was that creature that confronted him before all this. A "Lunamon." "So, this is it?" Dontae's hoarse voice spoke up as he pulled that odd device from his pocket. It looked like some weird green-on-black PDA with a small screen and a set of buttons underneath. No matter what he had tried he couldn't get the thing to turn on. "You came by to kill me yourself? Did I do your dirty work or something?"

"I never meant for you to actually use that bit of information that I told you. If I had known that there was such a bitter relationship between you and that man I would have kept quiet," the Lunamon stated as she walked closer to Dontae. She had the voice of some cutesy teenage anime girl or something. "I take full responsibility for your actions--"

"Don't you belittle my sins!!" Dontae growled, dropping the device to the ground before reaching out and grabbing the digimon by her sheet-like shoulders, "I know what I did, and I'm not about to let you think you influenced me!" Lunamon frowned as she touched his hands. She stared remorsefully into his teary eyes.

"You really hurt your voice yelling that loud. That scream might have called those corrupted digimon, but it also declared your defiance-- your freedom. A Leomon couldn't roar as proudly as you did," Lunamon said as she hopped onto Dontae's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, "There's a story behind your choice, but I don't think you're the villain. If you want to feel bad then fine, but don't beat yourself over it! You don't deserve to die here because you're stronger than that!" Dontae slowly released his grip on the digimon as he wiped his eyes with his coat's sleeve. He wasn't sure why, but her words were swaying him.

"What makes you say that? You don't know me," Dontae said bitterly, "What makes me so special all of a sudden?"

"You might be one of the few people that could stop all this. This chaos. It has swamped my home, a world perpendicular to Earth, and you can see for yourself that it's going to happen to your world, too," the Lunamon stated as she shook her head gravely, "No, I think you are one of the few people that can save both our worlds. Your heart might be gentle, but it is also strong. What do you say? Please...?" Dontae said nothing as he took in what the creature told him. Savior of a world he's never seen before and his own? Him? If he wasn't already being hugged by one while others were destroying everything in sight he would have called it a joke. There would also be no reason to play with his emotions unless she really was trying to lead him astray. But she seemed too sincere for that...

"...Might as well take a crack at it if you're entrusting all your faith into some sad guy that you just met. Do you have a name?" Dontae asked, the strain on his eyes fading as he started to feel calm. His voice was still hoarse, but it started to sound more confident. He felt important for the first time. Maybe this was his wake-up call to finally believe in fate? At the very least this wasn't the time nor the place to shed tears for himself. He could put it off until later; right now there was someone that needed him to be strong. He didn't know how much help he could be, but if it meant he could forget himself and be some help then he was willing to try. He could atone later; maybe by that time he wouldn't feel obligated to do so.

"You can call me "Artemis," since that's what friends call me," Artemis stated with a smile, looking down to see the digivice start to react, "What's yours?"

"Dontae--" the young man stated before the foundation behind them suddenly collapsed. He cursed to himself as his vision started to grow black. The corrupted digimon finally broke through.

[heretostay123]

Bakura Jinguar: A Strange Occurance

I was just doin' his thing, buyin' some fries, eatin' some burgers. The usual. I was having a jolly old time...Damned digimon and their screwing up my life. I was just trying to eat my damned hamburger. Grah! I'm so damn mad! Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes.

I was running throughout the street without a care in the world....except I was hungry. Always hungry. Friggin' stomach and its smallness. I wish I could punch it in the stomach....wait...I'd be punching myself in the stomach. Damn logic....Well, I downed a large fry in moments and I scarfed down a hamburger. Best hamburger I ever had, Five Guys. I friggin' love their food. It's amazing.

These friggin' cars kept coming at me. They were running from the corrupt Digimon. Who wouldn't these days? They were terrifying. A good question would be why I'M not running away from them. They had seperated me from my parents earlier. It wasn't like I missed them. Tch. What kind of sappy little woose do you take me for? They were good parents and all, but I feel like they smother me. It's really irritating, ya know?

I dodged this car and kept running, only to be knocked aside by the next one. I stood up to come face-to-face with a...red...dinosaur? "What. The. Hell. Are. You?" I asked the creature with a pause between each word.

The dinosaur replied. "I-I'm Guilmon. My friends called me Gil..." He seemed a little quiet. "Wh-who are you?" He was nervous. I could tell.

"I'm Bakura. Come with me. The Corrupts are coming!" Bakura had started to give the corrupt Digimon their own title: The Corrupts. Guilmon nodded, and Bakura took off with Guilmon right behind him. "I don't suppose you're a corrupt, so we're cool." Guilmon just nodded and followed behind. They rounded the corner of the next block to come across a horde of corrupts. "Damn. This blows."

[KingKaos]

"Follow me, we shall teach these rebellious tyrants the power of king Kaiba." "Are you still following me? I've got no time for your big head to block my view of saving these other puny humans." "They are of no use to us, but I'm glad my servant is willing to please the peasants. I myself live among them but refuse to soil my hands with their lower quality." "Can you hear yourself talk or is there just a big roaring sound in your ears when you speak?" "Watch your tons with your King! I picked you up off the streets."

Draco suddenly turned around "You have been following me and calling me your servant or subject for I don't know how long, but best believe you aren't doing me any favors by following me!" Kaiba was stunned but simply smiled back. "To raise your voice at the King, I should punish you but that has suddenly earned my respect subject. I never asked you your name. What is it, subject?" "I told you to stop calling me subject! My name is Draco!"

After shouting at the top of his lungs, Draco and Kaiba stopped walking and noticed the ground start to shake. Together they looked at each other and moved to the middle of the street. "What are you doing, human? Go find safety!" "A king does not bend to the will of others so easily, I shall be a king that fights along his faithful servant and subject Draco." "I didn't need anyone back where I come from and I don't need anyone now! Now go find cover!" "It shall not happen, we are a king and his servant. You are my shield as I am the sword!"

Draco and Kaiba continued to go back and forth with their fighting. They failed to realize that the corrupted digimon were beginning to move to their location at an alarming rate. "We don't have time for this...here they come." Kaiba and Draco said together as they readied for the corrupted digimon to come to their location.

[DavidtheDeadPhilosopher]

Miles Forrester: Sometimes a Man Has To Listen.

Miles was continuing his journey out of the city at a brisk pace, not quite running, not quite walking, just a smooth crisp even pace. He might not be outrunning many of the panicked individuals around him, but he was fairly certain he wouldn't tire out as quickly. He took a few seconds to glance around him. It seems none of those things we after him directly, but they were close. He could hear the car alarms, screams of people, machinery, and broken glass. In the distance closer to the centre it sounded like a war zone.

There was one of the creatures following him however, although his eyes were a different shade from the rest of them, and it showed no signs of aggression or malevolent action. The creature was several feet shorter then he was, brown with pink accents. His ears were almost the length of the creatures body, and with the pink tips having a almost hand like appendage, you could tell the creature used it more often then it's actually arms.

It took Miles a few yards or so in this chaotic environment and steady rhythmic focus of his jog, to realise that the creature had been trying to get his attention. The creature spoke as if human, having a voice that sounded somewhere in between Alfalfa and Dennis the Menace.

"Look guy, your going the wrong way, where we need to go is in the other direction" his voice came off as half whiny, half excited. His deep black eyes glimmered. Miles said nothing to his newly acquired companion, and continued onward as if the creature wasn't even in his presence. The creature carried on.

"Guy, cmon, you don't understand, I'm going to need you. Your the one!, Your the one!!" his voice raising the more he was continuing to be ignored. Miles was starting to get wary, if the little one kept continuing to raise his voice and exaggerate his actions, they could become a quick target. His mind was only on escape, he could sense the creature was adamant. Miles was just going to have to try to dissuade this creature of it's current objective.

"We would be outnumbered." Miles said in a soft, steady tone. (Think, Clint Eastwood, without all that edgy coolness) He tried to sound as if he entertained the notion that he was the "one" that the creature spoke of, even though he had no intention on actually believing it. The creature wasn't fazed by this.

"I can handle anything around us, I have a trump card" the creature said, boastfully, and then continued. "I need you to help me get there though."
"How?" Miles asked, his curiosity for the first time getting the best of him. The creature then jumped onto his back, holding onto him with his arms, while his ears carried an object that looked similar to a Tamogachi and shoved it in front of Miles' face. It was Brown with a Pink accents, just like the creature. "This device links us together, as long as we have a bond, we can grow stronger." the creature said matter-of-factly. "I know it's kinda weird and all, but trust me. I know your the one" The creature would of continued, but stopped as he heard a women scream.

Miles glanced to see what got the creatures attention to see a women trapped in her car, 4 Orange dinosaur looking creatures were attacking it, viciously trying to get to the women, using claws, and what looked like fire. Miles' new found companion, apparently thinking he already succeeded with convincing Miles' jumped off and started to glide towards the aggressors shouting "Come on Guy! We can start by defeating these losers"

Miles just stood and lit up a cigarette that was hiding behind his ear. Curious to see the creature in action.

[heretostay123]

Bakura Jinguar: Round One! Fight!

Recap of the last post-Bakura was running through the streets with some words that were not very kind, but running through the streets none the less. He was knocked aside by an oncoming car and stood up only to see a red dinosaur. Instead of panicking, much like what a normal person would do, he asked it what it was, and then asked it to follow him. It agreed and now they are confronted by a horde of Corrupts composing of 2 Snowagumons, three Monodramons, and 2 Hawkmons. Victory is imperative.

So there I was, face to face with some Corrupts with nothing but my fists and a red-freaking dinosaur...Gil. "Hey...Gil...I don't suppose you can fight like these guys?" I turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I can, Bakuramon." He replied weakly. "I can't say I like it though..." He lowered his head in shame.

Bakuramon? I like it. "Well, I think we'll have to fight our way out of this mess." Gil nodded in agreement. The first one to attack was a Snowagumon. It attempted to get a vicious slash at me, but was only blown away by a....fire ball....that came from Gil's mouth. It slammed against a wall and fell defeated. I whistled in amazement. "That was impressive. I get the next one." The next one came shortly, a Hawkmon. It came within inches of me before I jabbed a fist into its throat lightning fast. I began to go all Jackie Chan on it and finished by delivering a Norris-like roundhouse kick to its throat. These things could be defeated!

They didn't come in one-by-one anymore. It was a storm.

The other Snowagumon came at me. "Come at me bro!" It did, and showed no mercy. I ducked under its first slash and rammed into it shoulder-first, battering it to the ground. I was going to finish it, but it rolled out of range and launched an icy blast at me. It would've taken my head off if I didn't duck. They may be defeatable, but they're still dangerous. He charged again with renewed vigor, only to be ended with a well-placed jab to the throat. It fell quietly.

The next one to come was a Monodramon. This fool didn't stand a chance. It charged in recklessly for a headbutt, but I moved out of the way quickly and it slammed into a car. Before it could remove its head, I punched it three times in the back of the head with all my might. I was gonna let out a war cry, but I heard something.

"Bakuramon, help!" I spun around to see a defeated Hawkmon and the other two Monodramons standing over Gil, bloody but not defeated.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" I roared and rushed them while they were still shocked by the roar. I took the first one with a knee and slammed it to the ground. I unleashed a rain of punches and jabs and ended its corrupted life. "Take THAT!" I yelled in triumph. I turned to deal with the second one, but he was already there. It fired a burst of air that knocked me back into a car. "Damn..." I muttered under my breath. "This is how it ends..." I was thinking it was over. The Monodramon agreed apparently.

When it was inches away from my face and opened its mouth to fire another blast of air. I mouthed the words "Burn in hell" to him. Death was iminent. I was screwed. I was also forgetful.

Gil ran up behind the last Corrupt and grabbed him by the scruff. "NO ONE MESSES WITH BAKURAMON!" He shouted with a vengeful rage and tossed him against one of the walls. When it hit the ground, Gil rushed it and pummeled it furiously. It was a bloody pulp by the time he was done.

"Holy. Crap." It was all I could manage to say. This...Guilmon just saved my life.

He walked over and hung its head apologetically. "S-sorry. I do-"

"Don't be sorry! You just friggin' saved my life! You're awesome!" This guy was the friggin' Bomb.com! "Come on! Let's go get some more of these baddies!" Encouraged by our victory, we set out to defeat the entire army of Corrupts.

Nothing was going to stop us.

[KingKaos]

And so it began, Kaiba and Draco were now surrounded by corrupted Goburimon. They were cornered with about 20 of them that had created a circle around them. Draco and Kaiba turned their backs to each other simultaneously. "It would seem that we both had the idea to guard our backs." "A king never leaves himself unguarded my dear Draco." Draco smirked a bit but then slowly began to focus. The digimon were starting to come at them. They came in drives of five with Kaiba and Draco separating from each other.

Draco jumped above the heads of two the Goburimon, using his claws to stab them in the back. After his claws were in deep enough, he turned the digimon to the from of him and used then as shield against the drove. Once their bodies were of no use, he slashed past the remaining three Goburimon. "I've fought Champion level digimon twice my size. You puny punks are just lambs here for the slaughter." Draco moved on and began to slash and tear three more Goburimon. The drive now only had 12 left to fight or so they thought.

The Goburimon had also started to try and club away at Kaiba. However their strikes failed to do any damage. Kaiba had no problem dodging their attacks. The Goburimon looked on in confusion at why their attacks were ineffective. "I've been practicing a special martial arts so that I would be a king that can fight along his subjects in his own special way. Your brutish attacks shall not even touch my kingly body for I am a thousand years your senior." As Kaiba ended this line he delivered a powerful kick to the temple of one of the Goburimon. This attack knocked him into another Goburimon. Sending them blth back into the side of a flaming car. The Goburimon in the back smacked his club on the car in order to prepare an attack, but that instead caused an explosion that killed both digimon. Kaiba continued his attack by standing on his hand and delivering a whirlwind of kicks to the surrounding three digimon. "As a King I shall not soil my hands with your peasant blood." Kaiba delivered three stomps to the skulls of the Goburimon on the ground.

Kaiba and Draco noticed the remaining Goburimon were charging at them. "Royalty's Privilege" Kaiba screamed as he jumped into the air and from the air he dropped both his heels into the skulls of two of the Goburimon charging. "Dragon's Crushing Claw" Draco screamed as he rushed at the drove by jumping off Kaiba's back and slashing the remaining three Goburimon with his enhanced claws.

There were now only two Goburimon left. They decided to stop charging and attempted to run away. "I won't let you go that easy!" Kaiba and Draco said together as Kaiba delivered a final heel drop to the skull of one of the fleeing enemies and Draco cut off the head of the other. "I'm surprised you can hold your own in battle and that footwork wasn't half bad." "Of course, a King should always be on his throne physically and metaphorically. Meaning a King she be above others in a ways possible. If one cannot then they are not worthy to be a king."

[Puppeteer Mask]

Samantha LaRoux: Cryptic Metaphor

Samantha had never been in New York before, but she was quite certain that it wasn't supposed to be like it was right now. She was aware that the streets were supposed to be busy and bustling with life, but the crowds that surged all around her weren't businessmen on their way to their nine to five, or tourists eager to soak up every sight the Big Apple had to offer. The unifying expression that the French girl could gather from the mobs was one of desperation and panic. There was no time wasted, no pleasantries exchanged. Sam was quite sure that if she didn't hold her ground any better she would've been knocked over and trampled a dozen times over by now. There was an icy cold feeling in her stomach, gripping at her insides like an iron vice. One thing was quite clear, she was going the wrong way.

And yet she kept going, her nimble body swaying through the crowds, bobbing and weaving like a butterfly. She could hear the dull roar of the people around her, deep down she could hear the few stragglers that would pause long enough to tell her to turn around... but they were just white noise, unremarkable notes in a cacaphony of chaos. She wasn't going to turn back around... she had promised her aunt and uncle she'd make it here, she promised herself she'd see her family again. This is where she was supposed to be, this was supposed to be the way home. She knew that this path wouldn't lead her back to Lyon, but she kept going like it would... it was all she had. These thoughts cycled through Samantha's mind a handful of times before she realised that she was no longer being jostled about in a sea of bodies. Tiredly, the girl blinked a few times and looked about. The streets were now emptied, traffic had become so backed up that people had abandoned their cars. It was like someone had taken a picture of a typical day at rush hour. Wary about what would come next and yet compelled to move on all the same, Samantha walked out into the middle of the road, looking around the city. She knew better than to say it was empty, but it certainly looked that way. "Cities are turning into ghost towns..." She muttered to herself in both horror and awe. She already knew what was happening to this town. She had seen it herself once already. But New York was... different. This one street was now so devoid of noise and life that it felt like she had mindlessly waltzed into the eye of the storm.

There is only one ghost here that I know of.~

Samantha felt a deadly chill run down her spine as she whirled about. She knew she had heard a voice, raspy and lilting in a sing-song tone. It was most definitely not hers, but there was nobody here except her... right? "...is somebody here?"

Of course!~ Of course there is!~ You are here, and you are somebody, are you not?~ And as things would have it...~

A pair of bright red eyes and a motuhfull of large teeth met Samantha's gaze.

I am somebody too!~

[Fuyu]

Kit-Freedom

She awoke warm.

The furry body’s breathing was soft and deep against hers. However, when Kit opened her eyes, bright pink ones stared back at her, wide awake and followed by a big wet nose. Kit almost screamed, but she stopped, staring at the silent creature, which she now noticed, had a device in her mouth. A soft whine left the dog’s lips and Kit groggily remembered. The animal, monster, whatever, had poked into her stall and sleepily laid down there. Since it hadn’t attacked her, because who would attack her, especially since she had a pipe?

… Granted these were insane monsters who seemed not to care but still.

Where was Jake? Her mind asked this incoherently. She couldn’t see his shadow but maybe he was standing on the toilet to not be found. Kit realized she should have done that, but at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to be upset. The dream was quite unusual anyway. Her eyes traveled over the dog and hesitantly, the young woman reached out and stroked the dirtied, but still white, fur gently. “Why are you here?”

The creature let out soft, gentle whines. “I think... I am here for you. I was looking for someone... and I found you.” She dropped the drool covered device onto Lark’s lap and Kit examined it. “Could we examine this... later please? I think we could be attacked soon.”

Instantly, the female froze. “A-Attacked? But, but Jake-”

“Who?” the dog asked softly. “I smelled no one but you here, not even any blood.”

Lark panicked mentally. Where was Jake? Where? She had to find him, so he could explain the dream. But if he wasn’t here, then where... where was he? She wanted to cry. However, she didn’t do so. Instead, she nodded a bit, standing on half-asleep legs. Before she could take a step, however, the creature nudged her onto its back. Being twice the size of a human, let alone the girl herself, it didn’t take much effort, nor did she even seem to notice Lark there as she padded along. She sniffed cautiously. “Wield that pipe carefully miss. It seems we have company of the violent sort.”

Kit hesitated before raising it over her head like a baseball bat. She kept one hand in the creature’s fur and swung.

When metal hit... flesh, she almost let go. Yet Lark decided in that instant to hold on more tightly and swung again. The device bounced on her belt loop and she glanced at it. Why would anyone be looking for her?

Did dreams mean you had to be the star?

[Puppeteer Mask]

Samantha LaRoux: Something's Rotten In The State Of Den-er... New York

Samantha's first instinct - aside from the shrill noise that came out of her against her will - was to backpedal as fast as she could away from the rows of giant white fangs before her. She moved quickly back, trying to make a desperate run for safety, but instead she backed into the hood of a car. The girl winced as pain shot up through the back of her legs and she tumbled onto the hard ashphalt. Sam clenched her eyes shut, expecting the monster to descend upon her immediately. After all, she had seen this once already, she knew these monsters were ruthless...

But she didn't feel any pain aside from what her collision gave her. She had expected something, anything, but instead she felt relatively fine. The raspy, sing-song voice was still there, now giving a surprisingly gentle and jovial laugh. Samantha slowly opened her eyes, seeing the creature in its entirety. The monster's face took up most of its large body, which reminded Samantha of the poor man's equivalent of a ghost costume. However, the being's monstrous face, the frayed and tattered hem of its cloth-like body, and the way that it floated in mid-air implied that it was far closer to the real deal than the French girl cared for it to be.

Oh no, oh no!~ Don't run, don't cry!~ You musn't lie about, you musn't fly!~ Come up!~ Come up!~ Back on your feet!~ I must give you my test, my token, my treat!~ The ghost-like creature floated about all around Samantha, its bobbing and weaving motions through the air akin to dancing. Its ragged arms waved about, one of them lowering towards the girl. A powerful looking, monstrous blue hand tipped with razor sharp claws slipped out of the outstretched tatters.
Samantha gave another, smaller shriek, but cut it short when the claw did the same. The monstrous hand didn't strike at the girl, nor did it move in any threatening way aside from its rapid movement. Instead, the hand slowly and reassuringly stretched out its fingers in a welcoming gesture and offer to help her up. Uncertainly, Samantha took the monster's hand, squeaking as it hoisted her back up onto her feet.

"Mon dieu..." Samantha breathed airily, staring at the monster with a mixture of fear and fascination. "Erm... thank you, monsieur...?" The girl trailed off, half expecting the thing to actually answer her passive request for a name. "You... are not going to... attack?"

The phantom gave another raspy laugh and danced about some more, as though the mere implication amused him. Oh no, oh no!~ I am not one of the sick!~ I am well, quite well!~ I am not here to destroy, I am here for a task!~ An important task!~ An imperative task!~ It is my task, you see!~ But it is more than just mine, oh no, oh no!~ It is only mine to share!~ But with who, with who?~ Why, I do believe that I must share it with you!~ ....erm... woohoo!~

The French girl couldn't help but try to suppress a grin as she watched the strange monster flit about. He certainly looked frightening, and it had given her more than a few scares, but its jolly dancing and eccentric speeches were starting to convince her that he was quite harmless - and more importantly, benevolent. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand, monsieur. Could you possibly... well... speak plainly?"

The dancing ghost stopped mid-chuckle and froze in the middle of his erratic dance. Well I suppose I could, but that's not particularly fun, now is it? But if milady insists, I'll manage. I'm here looking for somebody, somebody special. I have an important job here, you see. To save my world from the monsters that are now attacking yours. There is a sickness, a corruption, spreading through us Digimon. That is what we are called. It is spreading through our world, driving us mad with rage and evil. Some of us Digimon have become strong, very strong with the sickness, but a few, a small few of us that are blessed, have seen a light. A prophecy, fortelling how we may find the Digidestined.

Samantha took in the ghost's story, it was certainly a tall order to swallow, but given what she had seen so far it wasn't like it had no evidence to back it up. "I... see... and what exactly is this Digidestined? I don't particularly think that I've ever heard of it... or you."

The Digidestined are humans, like you. They are gifted with the power, and with this, the Digivice... The creature's other monstrous hand came out, clutching a charred and tarnished thing that looked vaguely like a walkie talkie. Samantha gathered that it must've looked quite wonderful in the past, but now it was a mottled lump of black and rusty brown. They can make their partner Digimon more powerful. If I can find my Digidestined, and fight alongside them, I could be a hero! I can cure the sickness!

"Well, I still don't quite know how I can hel-" Samantha had started to reach for the Digivice, intending to inspect it herself when it suddenly gave a crackling hum and lit up with a flickering, sickly light. The girl cut herself off and quickly drew her hand back as though the thing was a venomous animal.

The creature, on the other hand, looked ecstatic. It's resonating! It's still weak and recovering, but it's resonating! You are the key! You are the one! You are my Digidestined, human girl! You are the heroine to my hero!

Samantha's eyes quickly darted between her hand, to the ghost, to the digivice, and repeated the process several times. "I... am the person that's supposed to help you? I..." The girl looked down the streets, her stomach churning. "But... my family... I was trying to go back to them..."
If you were to help me, then you would reunite with them when we are done, and if you were to help me, then your family would be protected from the sickness! Surely you'd want them to be safe, right?

"Of course!" Samantha said immediately, unintentionally letting a bit of anger seep into her tone.

"I... I'm sorry. I understand, if I am the only one who may help you..." The newly christened Digidestined took the glowing object into her hands, clutching it like a treasured heirloom. "My name is Samantha LaRoux, and I shall assist you. I shall be the heroine to your hero, brave sir. And you are?"

I am Rosencrantz, my lady! That is my name, and I am a Bakemon by nature! Some would think that makes me weak, but I shall show you I am strong! Quite strong!

"Excellent!" Samantha said, her partner's enthusiasm spreading to her. "Oui, you have the spirit that we all must have in our hearts! Though you and I look very different, I can tell we are very much the same! I will help you in your quest, Rosencrantz, but..." The girl walked past the ghost, her hand gesturing for him to follow as a distant commotion grew ever nearer. "We shall do it as we both desire, we shall have fun with it, oui?"

Rosencrantz floated about again joyfully, his raspy laugh back as he once again adopted a sing-song tone. Oh yes, oh yes!~ We're off, we're gone!~ We'll fight, we'll win!~

"Go forth!~ March on!~"

Our road is harsh, cruel, imposing!~ But our spirit shines bright, brilliant... foreclosing?~

"Damn rhyming!~ We're heroes!~ We make our own rules!~ We pave our own path!~ We cross our own pools!~"

And if danger lurks, seeking to make us unwell?~

"Then we meet them head on, and send them straight back to Hell!~"

Both Tamer and Digimon marched off towards the chaos, heads held high and laughing heartily in the face of the danger that awaited them.

[heretostay123]

Bakura Jinguar: Freedom Fighter

The Armadillomon didn't stand a chance. The uncorrupted digimon was swarmed by those corrupted bastards. Gil and I decided that fighting Corrupts is a fight worth fighting. Gil had promised me that he would fight his very best to end their misery. He and I made the perfect team, the Dynamic Duo, Hell's Janitors. Hell, I could come up with an infinite amount of awesome names.

We were surrounded by Corrupts outside of what was town hall. It wasn't good. They had superior numbers. We had superior skill. We were pretty much screwed. "Well Gil...We fought the good fight. We might not make it out of this alive...If we don't...it's been nice knowing you buddy." I was sincere. Gil was possibly the first
real friend I've ever had.

"I agree, Bakuramon." The nickname had stuck. We both liked it. "I-I wish it didn't have to end with fighting..." He looked down with sorrow in his eyes. We both knew that once they charged, we would certainly die. "I have one thing to give to you." He handed me a strange looking device. "If we had got stronger, I could take a stronger form." It was a final gift to a true friend.

"Listen...if we go down, let's go down fighting. We can take at least half of these chumps." I said encouragingly. None of them were going to escape unharmed. "We can do this..." The last statement was more of a lie, but I couldn't tell Gil that. He's fragile. "Come on! Let's get this show on the road! I shouted out to the surrounding Corrupts.

They obliged.

Gil took out about five of the monsters before they hit. He began to swing his claws in every which direction, save mine. I, myself, was doing a large amount of damage on their forces. I lashed out a kick here, delivered a volley of punches there, and gave a good headbutt or two as well. They didn't stand a chance in single combat, but they were going to over-run us, no doubt.

"Bakuramon, look out!" I heard Gil cry out and turned around to see a Gabumon getting ready to gore me. I kicked its knees out from under it but it managed to get off a powerful blast of energy off at me. I was sent flying back and landed right in front of the town hall, leaning against one of the steps. Blood was pouring from my arm and there was a sizable bruise on my stomach. "Damn..." I was in pain. Death was iminent.

Gil rushed over to me. "Bakuramon! Are you ok?"

"I would say yes, but I would be lying to you." I coughed up a little blood. There was some internal damage.

"Bakuramon, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're getting through this...or you are at least. Fight until you can't fight anymore." At least thirty Rookies were approaching. It was over.

A look of rememberance flashed across Gil's face. "Bakuramon, the digivice!"

"The digiwha-" I remembered the MP3-like thing. I pulled it out and it was beeping and flashing blue. What I said next came to me naturally. "Guilmon, digivolve!"

Gil was surrounded by Rookies. I heard him shout "Guilmon digivolve to-!" There was a flash of light. When it cleared, there was an eight-foot dinosaur standing over all of the Rookies. "Growlmon!"

"Gil?" I was shocked.

The new Gil swiped three Rookies out of his path and made his way towards me. A handful of Rookies fired volleys of energy, knocking him down.

"Gil? Gil get up!" I was yelling at the top of my lungs. "GET UP!" I was close to tears. I was almost crying. "Get up..." I said a final time, though much quieter.

I was about to give up hope when he finally replied. "I'm Growlmon now." He stood up and roared. "Fire Breath!" He then breathed a torrent of flames on to the crowd of Rookies, felling about ten of them. There were fifteen left. The rest was easy.

[TheUglyDucklett]

Dontae: Artemis: I save Dontae!! <3<3<3 (Kit and Paopao helps, too!)

"Bane Claw!!" Artemis cried as her claws glowed a pale black aura. Slashing at a group of three Agumon, dark energy flowed from the gashes created and enveloped the corrupted digimon. The force of the dark energy managed to obliterate all three opponents. With no more enemies attacking the complex, Artemis sat down to catch her breath. She managed to get out of the way of the debris, but Dontae wasn't so lucky. Looking over her shoulder, she frowned as she saw her tamer laying on the ground with his waist-down covered in the rubble. Their digivice, lightly flickering right next to the young man, was just inches from his hand, but he had yet to wake up. "At least I was able to keep those corrupted digimon from his body; I wish there was something I could do to wake him up, though."

Looking around, Artemis sighed as the destroyed city surrounded them. Even for weak digimon they could still do this much damage. If only she had been quicker to the point she could have tagged along with Dontae instead of finding him inside. Snapping out of her daze, though, she crouched low as she saw a curious figure come down the street. "What's that...?" Artemis wondered to herself.

Paopao continued to tread slowly onward. Lark had lowered the pipe in favor of resting her sore arm, which had knocked away quite a few adversaries. They had been knocked surprisingly hard but the Digimon took no chances and howled a strange attack, typically sending them through walls or floor. It was already broken anyway, so Lark took little notice of it. "Hey... doggy," she mumbled softly, causing Paopao to look at her curiously. "Aren't we going a little slow?"

"If I go any faster I'll be heard," the dog said patiently in reply. "I am actually a Labramon. Do call me Paopao. It's a memento of a name."

"Oh..." She watched the road ahead of her now. Lark's head was marginally clearer now and while she still worried for her father figure, she knew Jake was like a bear. He was probably better off than she herself. Paopao stiffened sharply below her and her gait became a slightly fast trot. She frowned. "What's the matter?"

Paopao whined as the device on Lark's belt began to flicker. "Someone is trapped here." Lark's pale face flushed with dismay before the girl nodded firmly.The Labramon smiled. "That's a smart decision there girl. If he dies, we may have a whole new problem on our hands: hungry creatures."

Artemis gasped as she noticed the Labramon and human traveling together. No doubt they had to be one of the other pairs she and her partner was to unite with. At least, she was hoping that they were. The fact that she had found a Labramon was enough to get her to slide down the mound of debris.

"You two! Hey!!" Artemis called out as she ran up and jumped onto Paopao's back. Ignoring her nimble entrance, she began explaining as fast as she could. This literally meant that she talked as fast as she could without a stop for breath. "You two need to hurry Dontae needs our help. I'm sure I don't need to explain too much but without him our journey is going to be much more difficult-- not to mention I don't want to have to go through finding a new partner all over again. Some people are just mean and chase you away with pointy things and torches, you know? W-w-wait that's not important!! Dontae!! You can heal him right Labramon? Pleasepleaseplease help him!!" Luckily for her she stopped there or else she might have passed out herself.

Lark stared for a few moments, trying to process the words the rabbit had thrown at them both. She turned slowly to look at Paopao. "Can you do that?" The dog nodded, pink ears flapping at the motion. Lark nodded back and smiled gently at the unnamed creature. "Okay, you can relax now. It'll be okay!" She patted the other's head without preamble.

Paopao barked at Lark for a moment, the words indistinguishable from any normal dog's barks. However Kit seemed to grasp it after a few moments. "Um..." Kit asked with a soft tilt of the head. "Can you show Paopao where to climb? The rubble might break on us..."

Artemis sighed with relief as Lark patted the top of her head and promised to help. Looking back at the mound that she jumped off of, she realized the problem. Not to mention she knew where Dontae was and if Paopao tried to leap over it the digimon might have crushed him upon landing. She almost freaked out over the thought, but collected herself as she pointed to the intersection right next to the complex. "There's a giant hole in the wall over that way; Dontae is inside. He's... partially under rubble inside," Artemis explained, tapping two of her fingers together coyly, "I'd have pulled him out of there but those corrupted digimon kept me busy."

Lark looked where Artemis had pointed and frowned. "But... but... if we try to move him, couldn't it collapse on us?"

Paopao frowned. "I might hit him if I go in there...I could possibly hold up the rubble for a moment... but I don't know if that would be enough time to drag him out."

Artemis frowned as the two were hesitant to move. Almost huffing to herself, she hopped off Paopao and up the mound. "Then I'll just move him myself. I can move fast enough. Meet me around that corner and we'll tend to him there," Artemis said without giving the two a chance to stop her. Sliding down the other side of the mound she vanished from the other two's sight.

Stopping short of Dontae, Artemis started wildly throwing rocks out of the way. She grumbled to herself as she did it; she couldn't see why they couldn't just follow her and unearth the young man. "Oh well, this is simple!" Artemis said to herself with a satisfied smile. Freeing a majority of his body, she grabbed the digivice and Dontae's coat and pulled him out. Glad to see her partner free, she turned to the gaping hole in the wall and made her way out. As soon as she did, though, the slow shifting of the destabilized mound sounded behind her. Turning quickly she could see the debris start to wobble. "Heheheh... oops."

Breaking into a run, she pulled Dontae with her as the debris rock-slid into the building. The two managed to escape and get out of the way as some of the rubble settled just outside the impromptu exit. Letting Dontae lay flat on the sidewalk she held onto the digivice and laughed slightly to herself.

Lark stared at this whole occurrence with mild confusion before sliding off of the Labramon's back and following Artemis' directions. "Um... is that creature okay Paopao?"

Labramon whined a neutral reply. She didn't know and she was concerned, but she was more pleased by the fact that Lark had not been hurt. If she had gone in there with that silly rabbit, well, Paopao would have had a few words for that bunny and more than a couple of barks. She went over despite this, leaving Kit clutching the pipe nervously. Sniffing the human, she dripped drool onto his face, gently licking to avoid clothes.

Artemis stood back as Paopao tended to Dontae. At first there seemed to be no response and he remained out cold. A moment later his body twitched slightly as his eyes slowly flickered open. Groaning slightly he shied his face away from the digimon standing over him and licking his face. When the light hit his eyes he flinched and decided it was about time he stood back up. When he did Artemis ran up to him and hugged one of his legs. "Dontae!! You're finally awake!!" the Lunamon cheered as she handed over his digivice. As soon as he touched it it stopped flickering.

Nodding slightly, Dontae turned to look at Paopao. "And I'm guessing that I have you to thank for it," Dontae said with a slight bow of respect, "Thank you very much."

"Not just her, but this girl too!" Artemis spoke up as she pointed to Lark, "I also helped you, Dontae!" Turning to see Lark holding a pipe in defense, he said nothing as he gave her a quick inspection. Clearly she knew what she was going to do with that pipe if she needed to, but he could appreciate being careful around strangers. He also noticed her purple hair and fox-hat; somehow it seemed more natural than his own snow-like hair. In any case, he slowly stepped towards Lark and gave her a grateful nod as well. Remaining humble was the only way he was able to actually communicate with the two newcomers without resorting to his normal social tendencies.

"Then thank you as well," Dontae said casually as he held out a hand to Lark, "My name's Dontae, and from the look of it we're in the same boat. What's your name?" Even though he was in the perfect range to get clobbered with the pipe, he ignored the weapon and focused on the girl holding it. His only thoughts were about how he could help the two for helping him. At the very least he could feel like he was taking baby steps towards redemption.

Lark spun the pipe behind her left hand. She wasn't all too surprised at how easily she could hold it. There was something to be said for constantly playing the violin, which required a lot of arm strength. Paopao dipped her head at the human, going back to sit by Kit's foot. Lark didn't quite notice this, listening to the other person. His eyes were dark, dark with something she could only vaguely recognize. It was disheartening however, and she found herself disliking it. Now wasn't the time to mention it and so she smiled at him happily, shaking his hand with ease.

"It's okay, really," she demurred. "I didn't do anything special. You were hurt so people needed to help. I'm happy Paopao and I could!" It was a rather flooring amount of sincerity from her, but this was a fact. She was happy he was okay and she was even happier that he wasn't panicking. "My name is Lark, but you can call me Kit! Everyone does... or did at any rate." She glanced in the direction of her apartment. It wasn't destroyed yet, which to her was a good sign. Maybe Jake had gone back there. "This is Paopao by the way." She gestured to the Labramon, who gently licked her clenched hand. "What... do you want to do now?" She wasn't sure it was okay to leave them alone but staying out here in the open could be any better.

It made Dontae feel a little better that his attempt at talking with Kit and Paopao at least seemed successful. In a morbid kind of way there was a benefit to having people you knew dead; the ones that put pressure on your social activity no longer have that power. It obviously wasn't something he was proud of, but as long as no one knew the truth it would remain his and Artemis' dirty secret. Besides, how hard could it be to protect one personal secret?

He did however feel a little envious that Kit could show such prowess at wielding a weapon. Even Artemis and Paopao were weapons in themselves. At a time like this he figured that it was about time he learned to fight with something. Still, he wasn't going to be useless to potential allies and friends. "Maybe, but I'm not going to sit right with myself unless I reciprocate that kindness. See it however you want, but to me I owe you one," Dontae said simply. At the same time Artemis climbed up his back and hung over his shoulder. To his surprise she was so light it was difficult forcing himself to recognize her weight on his shoulder. Reaching his hand up he gently pat the top of her head.

"According to the Divines I was supposed to find other pairs of humans and digimon in addition to my own partner. More than likely we'll find more allies on this battlefield," Artemis spoke up, though almost mewing like a kitten as Dontae pat her head. Dontae could tell that he was going to have an interesting time no matter what happened.

"Artemis is probably right: there's power in numbers. However, I'm guessing you and Paopao have business elsewhere," Dontae stated as he looked beyond the three around him. Seeing some kind of flash of light, his eyes were drawn to it. It vanished almost as suddenly as it appeared, but it brought his attention to the town hall close by, and standing particularly tall in relation to the other buildings. It was strange, but no doubt others would be drawn to using it as a landmark. If they were lucky some of the people they were supposed to meet would be there. He pointed to it and looked back to Kit. "If it's personal business then I won't intrude. Let's promise to meet at the town hall within the hour. I'll make sure it's secure."

OOC: Special thanks goes out to Fuyu for agreeing to put up with me join-post :D

[DavidtheDeadPhilosopher]

Miles Forrester: A Man Without a Plan, is Not a Man At All




Miles was a little more than surprised when his companion dispatched the four with ease. The creatures, with their attention on the women in the vehicle, didn't even see him. He glided into the one near the front of the car first, causing both of them to go violently forward into the side of the shop nearby. The creature being hit by the attack turned into something simuliar to white ash, that started it's soft rise into the skies above. He had the others attention. All three of them aimed towards their fallen comrade and shot bursts of fire form their mouths. Mile's companion was already a step ahead of them, Having taken to the skies long before the first shot came close. It was rather impressive considering how fast they fired.

He descended into the middle of the group, landing with an amazing amount of litheness. He started to spin his entire body around using his whiplike ears to lash at his opponents. He then grabbed 1 of them with his ears, using the force of the spin to carry the creature, and tossed him into his comrades. With all 3 of them knocked down and confused, he began to spin even faster, until he became a blur. He then launched his attack, becoming a flurry of brown and pink, dispatching the remaining 3 into that ash-like substance. He then slowed his spin down to nothing almost instantaneously. He looked backed at Miles and smiled, and then shockingly, gave Miles a thumbs up and started to laugh, as if that was just a game to him. He then went to try to calm the lady down, but at the sight of him, she just screamed even louder.

Miles finished his cigarette as he made his way across the street. Throwing the remaining butt into the sewer grate . He stared at the sewer grate almost entranced, until he heard the women scream even louder, and his companion's raised voice, trying to calm her down. That was enough of a spark to confirm what Miles wanted to do, and he made his way across the street towards the two.

"Why is she still screaming, I'm just trying to help her!" he said in that "almost" whine of his. Miles replied "She's still in shock, to her, your just one of them. You have bought her time to escape, that's good enough."

His companion started to interject, but Miles silenced him. "Your going to have to trust me, there isn't anything further we can do. We need to start looking around the area for any supplies. We are in luck, because there are plenty of shops in the area. It seems like quite a few of them have been emptied, and no one has thought to loot them yet...except us." Miles said with a slick smile on his face. The women, gathering enough of her wits, exited the car through the passenger side, and started her journey out of the city.

"Why? We need to start going that way" his companion said pointing towards the general commotion happening a little further in to the city. Miles went down on both knees next to him, one hand reaching to stroke the back of his head to hopefully to keep his attention. "I can tell your very anxious to get to the root of the problem, and that isn't a bad thing. It's a very long walk to the centre of the city though. There are an untold amount of those creatures..." "Digimon" his companion piped in, excited by the fact he had something to contribute. "yes...digimon" He paused, allowing himself to absorb the new word. "These Digimon are in untold numbers, and while you are without a doubt an excellent fighter, I am not. We will be outnumbered and outmatched." His Digimon nodded in agreement. "We seem to have a little bit of time before they start coming this way in larger numbers. We can scavenge for supplies, mainly, food, a first aid kit, and a weapon for myself. I'll have enough space in my bag to keep a small supply that could last us awhile."

His Digimon looked up at him, nuzzling a little as Miles continued to stroke the back of his head. "We need to bring stuff for everyone else then too" Miles looked at him slightly irritated "You never mentioned others before." The Digimon looking slightly hurt "Yes I did! It was like one of the first things I said when I approached you!" Miles instantly felt regretful for ignoring his companion like he did. "I'm sorry" Miles said sincerely "We'll go over details again when we get into a little bit of a safer spot, and I'll try to pack as much food as I can for everyone, but the sooner we carry out my plan, the sooner you get to fight." That was all the convincing his Digimon needed, he jumped on to Mile's back, fastening himself with his ears. Miles started to walk towards a drug store, fairly confident he would find everything they needed there.

"By the way" his Digimon spoke up "My name is Cinni". Miles said nothing at first, and then answered softly "Miles"

[KingKaos]

"Why is washing off their blood from my shoes so difficult?!" "Hey my claws are just as dirty from their stinking blood as your shoes so stop whining over there." "A king does not whine, Draco! Know your place." "My claws are still sharp enough to cut you up, King Kaiba the dork." Kaiba and Draco were still learning to get along with one another. While they had fought together, they still found each other's attitudes unacceptable. "I refuse to treat you any differently than the rest of the humans we encounter from this point onwards." "As a King, you should be treating me with more respect and admire my honor more than those peasants we may encounter."

"Just because you made yourself a crown, doesn't make you the King of anything!" "Once again you step out of line with your King! Understand that you are also a peasant to me. Learn to control that tone before I have to smash your skull in as well." That was Kaiba's first threat to attack Draco. "Well if you're feeling like a Frogmon, then jump and come at me, bro!" "I said I was a King not a bro!" Kaiba and Draco prepared to lunge at each other with their kicks and claws, respectively. Before they got any closer, they heard an explosion coming from a distance. "We should check that out before we even think about cutting each other up." They said together which they followed up by shaking hands. "This isn't over, Draco." "I was just about to say the same thing to you, King Kaiba."

The pair began running towards the explosion to see what had transpired. "Do you think there were any humans injured?" "I don't know, Draco. There could be a pile of corpses for all we know." "Let's hope it's not that bad then." Kaiba and Draco soon found themselves on a cliff made of cars that had been destroyed. They climbed to the top and looked down. "That building in the distance, I'm sure that is town hall. There also seems to be humans there." "Not only humans, but other Digimon seem to be collected there too. Some are friendly and others aren't so friendly." Draco and Kaiba looked on from their cliff of destroyed cars. "Are we going to join them, over at town hall, Kaiba?"

Kaiba snickered at Draco. "If they were able to survive this long, that must mean they were strong enough to survive the horde of Digimon attacks. With that being the case, I think they will all make excellent subjects for my new kingdom." Draco simply facepalmed at Kaiba's words. "Are you really going to do something this stupid again?" "I told you that I'm going to make a Kingdom that fits my needs. Those fine humans and digimon will do just fine. Of course, it will be a slow process but in time they will begin to come around." Kaiba and Draco then leaped off the cars and made their way to the steps of town hall where the humans and Digimon were. "Don't screw this up, Kaiba." "Same to you, Draco."

[TheUglyDucklett]

Dontae: They promised to meet up again

"I hear fighting!!" Artemis stated as she and her partner ran through the alleyways. The two parted ways with Kit and Paopao to make sure that the town hall was safe. The young man had managed to find a discarded shovel in one of the alleys along the way. It was a little odd to swing, but it would be a nice ranged weapon to jab, hack and disorient with. He had a feeling that he'd have to get used to improvising weapons.

"We're close; whatever's going on over there must be intense," Dontae said as they entered the square. Right away they could see the Growlmon in front of the steps. "That's... one big dinosaur." That wasn't all. Two corrupted digimon, an armadillomon and a kunemon, seemed to be running away from the dinosaur. And yet they seemed content with attacking the newcomers. Claws glowing pale black, Artemis charged in and tackled the armadillomon with bane claw. Left to deal with the other digimon, the young man kept his hands firm on the shovel. His opponent started spitting thread that wrapped around the metal of the shovel. Dontae stood his ground as the digimon reeled the thread back in an attempt to disarm him. Digging his feet in, the young man swung the shovel behind him. This launched the digimon towards him as he got ready to swing the tool.

"Out of the park!" Artemis cheered as the hit connected and sent the corrupted digimon into the air. Having already defeated her opponent, the crescent moon on her forehead shined brightly as the water vapor in the air condensed around her. The water collected and formed into a sphere at the top of her antenna. "I'll finish him off! Tear Bolt!!" The water sphere fired at the velocity of an arrow out of a crossbow and shot the kunemon. Both its body and its thread started to turn into ash-like dust as it writhed in pain.

"You're full of tricks, aren't you?" Dontae asked with a smirk. He was genuinely impressed with that attack, but then his eyes rested on the large digimon up ahead. "... So how do we deal with that one?"

"I don't think that one's bad! I think he's actually protecting someone," the lunamon said as she pointed to the figure of someone on the stairs leading up to the building. Trusting her judgment, he followed her to the stairs. As she said, a wounded Bakura was sprawled out on the stairs and looking to be in poor shape. Unsure of what to say, and a little timid to ask, the young man knelt down and patted the older male's shoulder.

"Sir, can you stand?" Dontae asked.

[heretostay123]

I coughed up some blood. "Damn kid, do you think I'm alright?" What kinda' question was that? I'm layin' here with a bloody arm and a jacked up inside! "I'm pretty sure I might die soon!" I wasn't lying. "Gil over there saved my butt!" I slammed my fist down. It hurt to talk. "Please, if you're gonna help, heal me or help Gil fought!" Gil, now Growlmon, was tearing through the rookies like a hot knife through butter. "Come on!" I shakily stood up, but found a nearby metal rod to help me stand. It would double as a weapon. "Let's go!" A little more blood was coughed up.

Dontae frowned to himself, almost flinching, as the older male barked at him. In hindsight he guessed it was a ridiculous question, but he was just trying to help. At least there was a straight-forward response after the coarse greetings? Dontae didn't know if that was so redeeming. When Bakura tried to stand up and fight, though, Dontae could see his answer for himself. Lowering his shovel to the ground, the young man grabbed one of Bakura's shoulders and arms. "N-no, you shouldn't fight!" Dontae tried to say sternly, "You're hurt and need some medical attention. Artemis, go and help ward off the other digimon." He remembered that it was Paopao that helped heal him, and it made him wish that she and Kit were there. However, he wasn't sure if he should mention them and give the other male false hope.

"You got it!" Artemis said with a nod as she scampered off to the Growlmon's side. Jumping over the beast's tail, she declared her presence by sniping one of the incoming corrupted digimon with a Tear Bolt. "Hi Gil, I'm Artemis! I'm here to help; can I hop onto your head and fight there? Please?"

"Hell yeah, I can fight!" I protested. "Gil needs help!" I hobbled past and brained a nearby Goburimon with his staff. "And stay dead!" The sucker dropped dead in seconds. "Let's get this thing on the road!" Forget you, kid! I can fight these guys with, or without Gil! I layed into them with that damned rod. They couldn't stand. When I got hit with a Agumon's Claw Attack, I staggered back. "Damn, that hurt!" I cried out in pain and chucked my rod with full strength, knocking the literal snot from the Agumon's nose. "HELL YEAH!" I cried in triumph, but quickly coughed up some more blood.

"Of course, Artemis." Gil lifted Artemis onto his head and backhanded a horde of approaching Corrupts. The Growlmon was a force to be reckoned with, if you include his flaming breath, swinging claws, and lashing tail. The Rookies couldn't get close enough to count.

Artemis giggled to herself as she was lifted up to the Growlmon's head. The white fur was so nice and soft she was temptedto nap there instead of fight. Although, she had some enemies to defeat, so she'd have to wait for later to act on that. When she thought about it, though, Dontae had hair of a similar color. She'd have to inspect how soft his hair was later. Getting back to the enemies at hand, the moon on her forehead started to shine again. "Tear Bolt!" the lunamon declared her attack as she aimed water spheres at corrupted digimon out of Gil's reach. From her spot on the Growlmon's head she didn't have to worry about dodging his attacks and she was a little out of reach from the other digimon. She could get used to fighting like this!

Dontae gritted his teeth slightly as Bakura continued to push himself beyond what his body was comfortable with. And yet the obvious signs weren't enough to get the older male to stop fighting. He could understand not wanting to be out of the action, but coughing up blood was something too serious to ignore. Mustering all his nerve the young man picked up his shovel and went into a flurry of swings as he darted in front of Bakura. None of the swings hit the other male, Dontae was too controlled for that, but they did knock three of the corrupted digimon heading for Bakura into a burst of Gil's fire. Turning to face the other male, he used the combat rush to chastise the older male.

"Listen, you stubborn ******* idiot, you're too injured to keep that up!! Gil, Artemis, myself and all the others that are supposed to help us fight need you alive! Kit found me unconscious so I doubt she'd be that fazed by you being the same way. I'll use this shovel to make you that way if it means keeping you from fighting, **** it!!" Dontae growled with vigor. It looked as though he was trembling with rage, but in reality it was just the shock of listening to himself. He never made it a habit to cuss someone out like he had, but then again he never thought he'd be bashing corrupted monsters with a shovel. It could be said that he was beginning to learn what he had the strength for.

Dontae cussed me out. "Damn, kid! You got some fire in that little heart of yours. I like you." I burst out laughing, only to cough up some blood. "**** it. You're right. I'll sit down, but I get to brain any of these Corrupt bastardsthat come near me." I walked to the nearby car and opened the door and took a seat in the driver's seat. An idea crossed my mind. I got my driver's license...the keys are right there...they need help....I can't help out in the open..."Maybe..." I started the car, a Dodge Ram. It started with a quiet purr; Operation Roadkill was a go.

Gil was beating back the Rookies with an insane amount of skill. "THIS IS FOR BAKURAMON!" He roared. The Lunamon, Artemis as she was called, was firing Tear Bolts from the elevated position of his head. "I have this!" He blasted dozens of the Rookies with a powerful Fire Breath. He was tired, but he had to defend Bakuramon. "I can't fight much longer!" He reported to Artemis.

Dontae stared dumbfounded as Bakura limped to the sidelines. That actually worked? Usually he was the bad guy for losing his temper. Had the world gone mad? Or, maybe, it was the proof that he hadn't been the guilty party all along? First Artemis, then Kit and Paopao, and now this guy-- Bakuramon? Probably just "Bakura"-- and Gil. Left and right he was being shown just how much an improvement life for him was now that everything was being torn apart. But all of this was cataclysm! There was no way any of this was good!! Deep inside, though, Dontae couldn't help but feel some drive spark itself to life.

It seemed to come with its own sound: the revving of a vehicle starting up. No, wait, that wasn't the inner drive. That was Bakura inside a truck starting it up. "Wait-- he's," Dontae murmured to himself as he refocused on what was going on around him. Fully realizing what Bakura was intending to do, he started to panic. Not that Bakura would be able to understand him; the truck's exterior and revving was enough to drown out his voice. "B-B-Bakura?! What're you do--"

"Just knock them back with your tail. I could keep this up for hours!" Artemis said as she fired off more Tear Bolts. It was more of a bluff than anything. While Tear Bolt wasn't her most exhausting attack, it took enough energy out of her to tire her out after using it consistently. Bane Claw was just too dangerous with the dinosaur engulfing corrupted digimon with wide-spread flames. After a moment her ears start to perk up. Even though she was standing on top of Gil she could hear the engine of the truck as if she was right next to it. Looking down, she could see the injured male behind the wheel. "Hey, what's Bakuramon doing?" she thought out loud to herself.

I grinned when I saw Dontae, as well as Gil and Artemis, look at me dumb-founded. "This is for the Mom and Dad." I said to no one in particular. I revved the vehicle and switched into third gear. I am going to enjoy this. Probably a little more than a healthy person would. I rolled down the window. "Clear the way!" When I made sure my path was devoid of Dontae and the digimon, courtesy of Growlmon carrying Dontae to the side. I drove out the little corner the truck was stuck in and swung around to face the approaching horde of Rookies. I turned to the gang and shouted out. "WATCH THIS! I'LL TRY AND SAVE SOME FOR YOU!"

What I did next was absolutely crazy.

I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal and floored it. The truck had high torque, so I was goin' full speed in seconds. I called out the window, "I''LL SEE YOU IN HELL!" The Corrupts began to run, but it was too late. I was in the midst of the horde, mowing them down three at a time. I was laughing maniacally. "DAMN THIS IS FUN! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm officially crazy.

Gil just watched from the sidelines. He told the other two, "I think Bakuramon is being...Bakuramon." There was no other explanation for it. Gil hadn't known me very long. He didn't know I was crazy. "Well...Should we go help him?" He wasn't sure how to answer the action. "Let's go mop them up." He began to trot towards the carnage with Artemis on his head.

"I think I'm starting to reconsider all of this," Dontae stammered to himself after being gently placed on the ground by Gil. With a look of pure confusion he looked up at Artemis and asked: "It's too late to back out, isn't it?"

"Way too late; c'mon let's go clean up the rest of them!!" Artemis cheered as the Growlmon started trotting for the remainder of the corrupted digimon. Dontae took a second to shake off the shock. That inner rush of life he was feeling a second ago was hiding itself again. He had still only met two people he was going to team up with. He was hoping that Kit was as stable as she seemed when they first met. Even if she was, Bakura and Artemis made him a little timid to see the other people that they might meet.

"... I'm so conflicted," Dontae deadpanned as he joined the two digimon. He readied his shovel and steeled himself for clearing the town hall area of the rest of the corrupted.

I'm thinkin' this was a bad idea. The car was being totaled, I was in the middle of a horde of digimon that want to kill me, and my only help would be too far away if it all went south. There were very few options in a situation like mine: Keep driving and go out in a blaze of glory, or bug out. I choose option number three.

In a quick swerving motion, I fish-tailed the truck to clear a small path. The digimon didn't know what to make of this roaring monster that was killing so many. "DAMN RIGHT!" I yelled at a nearby Renamon that had cursed me. These fools messed with the wrong dude.

I cleared a path to the others. "Hey, listen, this things won't last long! I'll have to fix it up when we're done!"

Gil rushed over to the vehicle. "Bakuramon, are you ok?"

I laughed. "Never better, buddy." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Do you think reinforcements are coming soon?"

Checking the clock built into the town hall, Dontae saw that it almost a new hour. "Kit should be here soon. With any luck she kept to our time-frame and will be along any minute," Dontae said with slight reluctance. He promised her that he'd make sure that the meeting place would be secure, but there were more corrupted than he had bargained for. At the very least the problem was in check; the corrupted digimon seemed to be thinning out in numbers and some were even retreating thanks to Bakura. With Gil tiring out and the king of all improvised weapons in some pretty bad shape, though, it would be up to Dontae and Artemis to hold the line while Paopao tended to Bakura. They'd just have to hope that more people will be arriving soon.

"We've got some of them on the run. If we focus on the ones that are still picking a fight we should have this area under control!" Artemis replied optimistically. Dontae nodded, but then added: "For your sake, though, I hope you like dogs."

Dogs? Why the hell would I need to like dogs? "Well, I don't hate them. I used to have a dog." I shrugged. I opened the truck's door and hopped on, then limped my way over to the gang. "Alright guys...I don't think I'll last much longer." I can't back down. Not now. Gil is exhausted. We'd be down to a bunny-thing and a kid. "I think we need to pull back inside the courthouse. Let's go!" I began to hobble towards the courthouse and spun around. "Gil, give me a lift?" The Growlmon ran up to me and scooped me up into his arms. "Come on Dontae!" I cried out and Gil scooped him up anyway and he ran to the courthouse. "We can take cover in there!"

As Gil squeezed through the door, Artemis jumped off his head and landed on the arm holding Dontae in place. Slipping herself into the dinosaur's hold she used all her might to push Gil's arm out. This allowed Dontae to slip free and land on the ground. The lunamon also hopped out of Gil's hold and landed in the young man's arms. Turning around, he stood guard by the courthouse doors. "I have to stay outside to flag people down-- at least try to hold them off," Dontae said as he shifted a quick glance to Gil and Bakura, "Wait in there until help arrives. Gil, make sure you lay low and keep Bakura out of sight."

Gil nodded. The ****? "You think I'm just gonna lay in here?" Gil kept me cradled. "Damn it buddy! Let me go!" I tried to struggle, but it was no use. "Ah **** it. Go. I'll be fine." Gil grunted in agreement and carried me up the stairs into the board room. Now I know why it was called a board room. I was bored. "Gil, you're my bro, but you can keep me up in here."

"According to Dontae I can." He sniggered. I'll remember that.

(OOC: It's the longest joint post that I've seen XD Ducklett and I have been working on this.)

[Fuyu]

Kit departed from Dontae with a smile and wave, letting Paopao lift her and carry her away. She pointed in the direction of her apartment and spun her pipe, whacking it against the head of an oncoming opponent. Paopao ignored this, focusing on the way she was supposed to go. As they moved, Kit thought.

I’m not dreaming am I?

If I am, does it matter if people die?

“This is real,” she decided aloud. She didn’t need to think about this. She couldn’t. Dream or real, it wouldn’t matter because it would still be awful if people died because she didn’t or couldn’t do anything about it. Paopao glanced at her and away. Her face was stiff as her thoughts took her more places. If Jake wasn’t there, it was possible he had been dragged away or something. Or he was...dead.

If she had known what Dontae had done to his family, Kit would have been perturbed. It may have even horrified her. However, that would only be because it was a human life and no other reason. After all, she had only one bond remotely close to family and she knew it wasn’t the same. Her family was, in her mind, nonexistent, and any families she could have had were dead. It was probable that she wouldn’t have even been remotely affected by the knowledge at all. The sort of thing that normal people considered important, the connection of parent and child, was something she found as understandable as calculus.

However, she didn’t know at the moment. She only knew that she had to at least find everyone a safe place. Who everyone was, she didn’t know. “Paopao,” she began softly. “What was Dontae talking about?”

Paopao whined softly as she gently padded to a halt in the oddly quiet streets. She wondered why this place seemed so... empty. “There are Digimon... like myself, looking for people that will work with them. This epidemic is with us as well and... frankly we would not enjoy living this way forever. So we looked for people to help us.”

“Oh... I see...” She looked around then slid off of Paopao, examining the apartment’s destroyed steps with mild amusement and dismay. “Wow, they didn’t get through...”

“Hands up Felix.” Paopao instantly growled at the voice, even as Kit gently shushed her. Reluctantly she lowered the pipe in her hands, placing it by her foot. If they thought she was gonna throw it closer to them, they were stupid. And she knew Carlos could not be that dumb. “Why are you with one of those weirdo mutant things?” She heard a click that had been familiar to her since the age of nine as a dark-skinned boy stepped from the side of her home.

Kit frowned. “Um... she hasn’t bitten my head off or pointed a gun in my face?” Carlos glared at her before lowering the weapon. Cheek really did get her everywhere. “You guys... have been defending this place?”

Carlos glared. “Course we have! This is our turf Felix! We aren’t letting anybody past. Guns are a powerful thing.” She gave him a sigh. Carlos was her friend but she didn’t quite get his obsession with this. There were so many fights. Kids died too... yet at the same time, if the whole city was in deep, the gangs had a city loyalty thicker than blood and a network that probably surpassed the CIA. He saw her slightly crestfallen expression and smiled nervously. “He’s not here Kit. Sorry.”

She wished her fox ears could droop with her. “I didn’t think so... the apartment.”

The boy grinned, dreadlocks swishing as he reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. “Still goin’ girl. Not sure about the electricity or water but I’m pretty sure it’s all right. At least it should be with that place being decked out like somebody’s military bunker.” She giggled a little. “How long will you be?”

“There are people with me,” Kit responded at once. “I don’t know how many but... I want to bring them here.” She fixed her steel blue eyes on the other boy, daring him to say no.

“Have they got crazy critters like you?” he inquired, holding out his gun-free hand to Paopao now. She sniffed it and placed her nose against his palm, acknowledging him. When she nodded, he sighed. “Okay, whatever, but unless you all-clear ‘em, I’m shooting on sight. You got it?”

Lark smiled and hugged him. “Thanks Lolo.”

His face colored. “Get out of here you idjit!” She picked up the pipe and smiled, hurrying to unlock the door. The fact that it hadn’t been busted down was enough to make her sigh in relief. Numerous drawers and plants were tipped over and the place was eerily silent. It was likely everyone was gone. Lark hurried up the stairs. It was likely not long before she had to meet Dontae and she had a couple of important things to get before it was too late. She may not have guns, but she knew a few other tricks. Jake had failed the police academy for his test scores, not his fighting ability. She unlocked her loft door and breathed slowly in relief at the sight of nothing more than their panicking mess.

Looking at it, gratitude rose in her chest. There was a lot of room for her and Jake alone and most of it was paid by the money left in her will. That allowed for plenty of space to do as she wished and she had. There was more space than there was stuff, much to her relief. Lark ushered Paopao in, shutting the door as silently as possible. Looking around, she nodded firmly and got to work. Testing the sink and lights, she found both working minutely.

“Paopao can you help me?” The Labramon, who had been watching all of this eagerly, skidded to see Kit carefully trying to reach a container on a shelf. The two of them yanked it out and Kit dove in, fingers moving carefully to reach two tubes of metal. She smiled. “Got them.” She left her pipe by the door and sliced the air with one tube. Out slid a baton, the metal gleaming dully in the flashlight’s gleam. Lark planted her backpack on the ground and threw supplies carefully into its large space. Just in case... right Jake? That completed, the young woman began to clear up space. There were going to be a lot of people here, and while Lark knew Jake had hidden enough survival supplies for an army for at least two weeks throughout the house, she didn’t know how long the regular stuff would last.

“Knowing him,” she giggled aloud. “He has a year’s worth of cans under the dryer.” Her expression slackened with misery and she clenched a fish. “Mewri... I’ll be okay Jake... Wherever you are, you stay safe too... okay?” Paopao smiled as Lark dropped the first aid kit into her bag and zipped it up. “Kay Paopao,” she chirped, moving her Digivice to rest on her bag strap. “Let’s get ‘em.”

The dog smiled. “Yes ma’am.” Lifting her up, the pair charged out the doors and out of the apartment. Kit held her weapons at the ready, making sure her legs had a steady grip on the dog’s back. She was going to have to trust Paopao completely and you know what? She thought she could do just that.

Of course, the town hall was in chaos when she arrived. There were so many Digimon here... Kit wrapped herself around Labramon’s neck and tugged at her fur. “Hurry...” she hissed as carefully as she could. Paopao snarled her acknowledgement and charged.

“Retribark!” howled the dog, the wave smashing Digimon into the walls. A few died on impact but some merely snarled, lunging forward. Kit’s reaction was quick, and she struck with the baton, smacking it into the ground to be torn at by Labramon’s fangs.

“Dontae!” Kit called anxiously as the two of them hurried towards the town hall entrance. “We have a safe place! We have a safe place!” She frowned as she said this however. She couldn’t just send them in there though. Without a peace sign, Carlos would get his fellows to shoot on sight and screw consequences. Paopao would have to go with them... but the trouble was all these guys. She could... no, she would, fight them off if it came down to it. She whispered this in Paopao’s ear and reluctantly, the Digimon nodded. Kit let out an odd noise of sadness and then leaped off her back, knocking a green and white rabbit out of the air and jabbing the baton downward into the creature’s eye.

[KingKaos]

Kaiba and Draco headed down to the town hall to see the digimon fighting it out. Neither one of them didn't want to fight after their bloody battle. "We are still kind of tired and I don't feel like fighting." Kaiba said yawning loud. He seemed to have become sleepy for some unknown reason. They thought it was a weird feeling because their fighting spirit was burning quite stronger earlier. "What is this unexplained feeling that's engulfing me?" Draco asked as he yawned too. That's when both of them noticed some spores were falling on their clothes.

"Battle mode, engaged!" Draco and Kaiba said it together as they punched behind themselves. When they turned around they found themselves punched into a group of Palmon. "Trying to sleep the king. You shall be pounded into the ground." Kaiba prepared another series of kicks into the Palmon behind him. The Palmon flew back into cars but shot its ivy claws to catch his arm. Kaiba's eyes began to glow red with rage. "How dare you lay your grubby hands on the mighty king Kaiba?!" Kaiba jerked the arm and pulled the Palmon into his leg. He smashed the head of the Palmon into the ground. "Don't touch royalty you filthy peasant!"

Draco continued to attack the Palmon that attacked him with his spore. Draco was known to be a brawler back in the digital world. "This lion/dragon shall not sleep when battle is involved!!" Draco quickly slashed at the Palmon. He cut off its head with a quick slash. That was the end of the digimon that stopped Kaiba and Draco from moving towards the town hall. They continued to walk towards the town hall where they saw a group of humans and digimon standing tall. "Seems like they have a few battle scars from fighting these battles too."

[DavidtheDeadPhilosopher]

Miles Forrester: A Man Doesn't Windowshop


We return to find are fateful companions already in the drugstore, Having spent time talking and looting. It's nothing you havn't heard before. What are Digimon?, What are the Digidestined?, What are the Corrupted?. All those answers were answered in ways we, the reader, have already discovered. I will say that Miles took all this information in like a sponge, and wasn't soon to forget it. That time spent gathering supplies in the Drug Store was bonding the two. Conversation was their ally. Most of the shop has been searched. They found food, water, First aid Kit, and a 25 Foot Length of hose (that will be most likely used as rope). It is then, that Cinni asks a question that we havn't had an answer to yet, and where we start the ease dropping -DavidtheDeadPhilosopher


"So what made you decide to do this so suddently?, I mean I knew you were the one, but you didn't seem so sure at first." Cinni asked from the top of the counter of the drug store. Miles looked up from what he was doing to look at Cinni from across the store, established eye contact with his partner, and then said almost as if he was thinking out loud "Your Pure..." He continued to gather his thoughts before he spoke again. Cinni scooting closer to the edge of the counter, eager to listen.

"You don't have any other motives, Your not doing this for yourself, It's clear that this desire of yours is unselfish." He paused. "Well, at least mostly unselfish at any rate. Everyone always is at least doing it for themselves in a small way." Miles frowned, Cinni remained fixed on Miles words, curious as a kitten. "Your Drive, you see, Cinni. Your pushing forward with 100% certainty. However you arn't acting out of foolish abandon. You actually believe in what you say, and you back it up with more then just words. The moment that you tried to save that women earlier, I had decided that."

"...I don't get it." Cinni said with an almost whimsical amount of confusion on his face, only to have it brighten up in a instant, then become crestfallen again. Cinni spoke "If everyone does it for themselves, what's your motive then?" Normally, he would feel compelled to misdirect the question. This was different though. From what he was told, he knew that the only way this "prophecy" was going to be fulfilled was through relying on each other. Which meant that he was going to have to put his full trust in Cinni, as it was clear Cinni was already gave Miles his all.

"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Miles quoted respectfully. Cinni started looking confused so Miles immediately continued. "Curiosity, and in a way, I want to protect something that I hold in high regard" Cinni interjected "What's that?" Miles tried to think of a way for Cinni to understand how he felt, the room was silent for a good minute. "There...is an order to this world, a natural, beautiful order. As it stands, these Digimon are taking away from it. Can you understand that?" Cinni slightly nodded and then shook his head violently "Not at all!" he then grinned wildly "Do we have everything...I'm reallllllllllllly bored." Cinni jumped off the counter and glided onto Miles' back, looking over his shoulder at the bag stuffed tightly with all the new provisions.

"It doesn't seem like it would fit any more so let's goooo" Cinni whined. Miles responded "Yes, I suppose we should get going, if we stay much longer, the corrupted will start coming in larger numbers. As if almost to confirm this, a few stray Patamon decided it was a good idea to "Bubble Blast" the store windows out to get their attention.

Miles remained calm, looked to Cinni and said "Well, You said you were bored." Cinni frowned a bit, and climbed onto Miles' head prepared to launch from it. "I'm still going to be bored". Cinni lept to meet his new opponents, Miles as if starting a tradition of sorts, pulls out a cigarette.

[Puppeteer Mask]

Samantha LaRoux: Looting With Kindness And Courtesy

(Brief bunnying (...hehehe... bunnying a bunny...) of Cinni is done with permission from DavidTheDeadPhilosopher)

How sad, how sad! These buildings are bare... Rosencrantz was floating about by Samantha's side as she pushed a shopping cart through an abandoned grocery store, filling her cart with assorted items for the road. The ghost digimon watched as his tamer stuffed her bag witheven smaller bags. The whole affair meant little to him, but Samantha had insisted. We should be somewhere fuller, with purpose, out there!~

"We'll go out there eventually." Samantha insisted, walking down an aisle full of large instruments that Rosencrantz assumed were human weapons. The girl picked up a hooked metal bar and tossed it into the cart. That made sense, she should have something to defend herself. Surely it was more useful than these bags in bags in bags that she seemed so fixated on. "But first, there's one last important thing we need to do." Samantha directed her cart back towards the entrance of the store, constantly looking from side to side. This was also good, Rosencrantz thought. Vigilance. Those corrupteds could be hiding anywhere. Why, those chilled rooms in the back were so big that a Frigimon could've been inside!

And then, and then, when all is done. Away, away, towards the sun?~ Rosencrantz was quite insistent. This preparation and sneaking about wasn't how they were supposed to stem the corrupted tide. Samantha, however, paid no mind, instead fixated on a strange metal box on a counter.

"Yes, but first there's a matter of money." Samantha was fiddling with the box, trying to pry or jiggle it open. There was a hole for a key, but the girl had made it quite obvious that she didn't have the key for it. She yanked, and tugged, and pulled, but the box remained closed. Sighing, she marched back to the shopping cart, angrily grabbed the hooked metal bar, and went back to the box. She shoved the hook into a crack in the box and heaved with all her might, causing the register to come open with a snap and a crunch and dangle haplessly on its hinges. Bills and coins scattered everywhere, and Samantha was quick to snatch them all up. Rosencrantz flitted here and there, helping his trainer gather the things. Her hands full of money, Samantha reached into her bag...

And pulled out a wallet, putting the scattered money back in the till as well as adding a clump of her own from the wallet. "We can't pay someone directly, so we're just going to have to hope that this goes to the right person when all is said and done." She said, putting her wallet back and walking off with the bar over her shoulder.

"Okay, now we're off." The French girl made a bee line for the doors, waltzing right outside until she noticed a group of creatures soaring through the air. "Rosencrantz! Get over here!"

The Bakemon was at Samantha's side in a matter of seconds, floating in place instead of his usual dancing about. The girl pointed at the air, picking out the Patamon flying about. "Those're the corrupted digimon?" She asked.

Why yes, why yes... I do believe they are!~ Rosencrantz asserted, his eyes growing wider as a different digimon soared into the air on widened wings. But oh my, oh my! We have guests! And they are not sick, not sick at all!~ A dark blue claw pointed at the Lopmon that gracefully spun through the air, dodging blasts of air when it didn't merely slap them aside with its big rabbit ears. The brown rabbit fired off blasts of its own, shooting down the corrupted left and right.

"Hmm." Samantha watched the dogfight with keen interest. "If that digimon's well, it might be another digidestined's partner. Rosencrantz, you help the bunny out, I'll see if there are any other humans around."

I'm off! I'm away! I'm gone! Rosencrantz floated off as Samantha ran across the road, closer to the fighting.

---

As Cinni had expected, the Patamon were, to put things lightly, chumps. He could probably take them all on blindfolded, if he felt so inclined. The Lopmon spun around in the air, slapping a Bubble Blast aside before peppering the offending Patamon with his own attack. The corrupted digimon plummeted out of the air, defeated. Cinni scanned the area carefully. It didn't seem like there was any Patamon left, but then-

Bubble Blast!

The attack was shouted from behind, and Cinni knew that he was going to have to try to block it instead of dodge it. The Lopmon whirled around to defend himself when suddenly the air seemed to take an unexpected chill. A thick mist wrapped around Cinni, somehow stopping the Bubble Blast as though a pillow had been held up in front of it. A faint, raspy whisper that sounded vaguely like Evil Charm met Cinni's ears before the mist faded away as though it was never there. The absence of the mist was replaced by a much louder rasp.

DARK CLAW!

The Bakemon practically popped into existance behind the Patamon, his monstrous hand shooting right through its chest. The corrupted Patamon gave one final scream before fading away into nothing. Contrary to its disturbing appearance, the ghost digimon began to laugh merrily, floating about in a dancing pattern.

Hoory, hooray! I saved the day! The sick ones are gone, they're sent away!~

[TheUglyDucklett]

Dontae and Artemis had been swinging the final jabs at a pair of Gotsumon when the shockwave of Paopao's retribark shook the ground slightly. Turning to see both Paopao and Kit, they watched as Kit stabbed through the corrupted digimon in a rather unsettling way. As necessary as fighting was, the gory display only seemed to make the girl more displeased. It almost made him regret that they needed Paopao to heal Bakura, but as unsettling as his injuries might have been they needed him alive.

At the very least Kit arrived with some good news. A safe place to hide and get their act together would have been needed at some point, and at the very least it came sooner rather than later. Casually swinging the shovel over his shoulder, Dontae walked over to the other two with Artemis skipping nimbly behind him (he could have sworn that she appeared winded a second ago). She was humming some kind of tune, something odd and unfamiliar to the male, but he could tell it was upbeat. It was amazing how she could slay so many of her own kind and keep such a cheery attitude in between conflicts. If everyone else was dour after the fighting was over then he could find some comfort in Artemis' positive behavior. He would need it: looking at the corrupt at the end of Kit's baton was starting to pluck at his heart. There were mixed feelings between nausea and pity.

"Artemis... put it out of its misery," Dontae instructed gravely as the two approached the other pair. The Lunamon obliged and silenced the struggling corrupted digimon with a quick Bane Claw. The digimon cried softly as its body was enveloped in the dark aura and was broken up into the ash-like dust. It was already close to death, but Dontae figured it shouldn't be delayed. Artemis' words still echoed in his mind: many of these digimon were unfortunate innocents forced to bow to the whim of the corruption that plagued them-- a regular zombie apocalypse. Having sympathy for their enemy was probably crazy, but he liked thinking that it proved that he was still human on the inside. He would have killed it himself, but swinging the shovel so close to Kit might have freaked her out or something. He also felt that his digimon's attack would be a cleaner kill.

Looking back up to Kit, Dontae tried his best to give her a reassuring smile. It was something he actually had to put effort into because it was one of those actions that he didn't practice that often. What he was good at, however, was acting like he had himself under control. He could make it sound like he wasn't so fazed with being in the middle of a battlefield, and hopefully that might help Kit feel a little more at ease. "If you want to hear the truth, I'm not much of a fighter myself. But here I am, out in the open, swinging this shovel around like some kind of barbarian hero. It's something I have to do," Dontae said as motioned to the entrance of the courthouse with his thumb, "There's another guy with his digimon inside the courthouse. He's pretty banged up, but alive. I think I heard them go upstairs... Instead of crushing your soul out here, maybe you and Paopao would like to take a moment to go help him? Artemis and I can manage out here." He didn't have the nerve to try and assert the idea; he was more worried that she was going to hop into a car and go wild. That would be the last straw!!

"We have a car out here! Don't worry about us!" Artemis added, making the male laugh hesitantly, "We're happy to see you guys, but we'll have the time to catch up later!" At that time she and Dontae heard someone yelling off in the distance. It was a little too far away to make out a coherent sentence, but the term "royalty" seemed to come out. Another moment later they saw another male appear in the square. He was wearing some sort of crown while accompanied by his own digimon. What was up with that?

"... Again, we'll be okay out here," Dontae reassured Kit and Paopao as he walked beyond them to confront the new male. Artemis nodded to the two before following her tamer to greet the newcomers.

[KingKaos]

Following his arrival to town hall, Kaiba noticed a female and her digimon had gone inside town hall. "They don't look like those measly peasants that we have been fighting so far." Kaiba said as he continued to walk towards the only human outside. "You better watch your mouth, stupid king Kaiba. I would hate for you to be in a fight that you can't win. I have no worries for I know I could win any fight that comes my way." Draco smirked at Kaiba with confidence. "You're becoming a great subject, Draco. Maybe one day I will make you my knight. However that dream day is quite a long ways away from now." Draco grew irritated at Kaiba's remark and tried to attack him with his claws, to which Kaiba countered with a roundhouse kick to send Draco's attack into the ground. "Lucky shot!" Both of them said as they prepared to go at it again. However, before they could continue their worthless struggle, the human male had come into their range with a digimon not far behind him.

"Hello there, peasant. My name is King Kaiba. You may only address me as such though I would not mind if you wished to call me sir. Beside me is my first subject at the moment, Draco. We have only been travelling together for a short period of time, but rest assured he is quite loyal to me." Kaiba patted Draco on the head then pushed him forward. "Introduce yourself, Draco." Draco snarled at Kaiba before extending his claw out to the male's digimon partner. "My name is Draco and I am the toughest Dragon Digimon in the digital world. I fight for the weak and destroy bullies. This ignorant human thinks he is a king. The only reason I stay with him is because he actually has some fighting ability. We have been fighting for quite some time. So I apologize if we smell like corrupted Digimon blood. We fought a horde of Goburimon that just weren't worth the time."

After introducing themselves, Kaiba glared at the male and his digimon. "From what we saw, it seems that you are pretty good with a shovel. With that in mind, I wouldn't have a problem with you joining the kingdom I'm creating with my subject Draco. However, I must warn you that you should never cross the King." Kaiba said with arrogance as he started to walk towards town hall and up its stairs. "Earlier I saw a female go into this hall, along with a male and his big dinosaur digimon. Might I inquire if they are friends or foes? And will they be willing to join my cause in creating a new kingdom?" Kaiba was no longer paying attention to the male outside.l He could only think about creating a new kingdom as he watched the world around him burn to the ground.

"Those poor peasants...sadly they won't survive to see my kingdom in all its glory." Kaiba turned to the male. "So do you have any plans, peasant?"

[Fuyu]

Kit- Wartime

In the beginning, Kit had completely missed what Dontae was saying, having been trying to hold off another monster. She didn’t actually reply for another moment after the creature fell. Then she shook her head as Dontae left. “I’m okay!” She tried to tell him so, but Dontae and Artemis were already gone. Kit shook her head and smiled. “I’m okay,” she repeated gently to herself and closed her eyes, hearing the rush of creatures coming towards her. “After all, this was bound to happen anyway... because...”

Happiness is a fleeting thing, but it’s not yours anyway.

“No,” she said quietly. “Because sometimes bad things just happen.” Kit lunged, spinning firmly on her back heel to strike again. “Jake taught me that. You just have to be ready... for when they do!” Balancing back on both feet, she let out a sharp, piercing whistle. “Paopao, go heal whoever that guy is!”

“But...I must stay with you,” the dog protested, looking dismayed.

Kit shook her head, almost losing her hat in the process. She grabbed at the ties and wound it around her neck, brushing her bangs aside. “It’s okay! You gotta go! If someone else dies because you were too busy with me, it will be worse, okay? Go! I can protect myself for a little while!” She swung down, glowering steel-blue down at the enemy. Unlike Dontae, she had no idea that it wasn’t their fault. And unlike the others, who could have seen it as exciting and fun, to her it was a task to complete.

If you wanted to live, sometimes you just had to sully your hands. That was all there was to it.

Meanwhile, Paopao reluctantly turned away and raced through the crowd, nosing the door open in her rush. “Excuse me,” she barked. “Where is the patient?” As much as it killed her to leave Kit out there alone, it would be better to have more fighters out there than that pair with the Lunamon. Especially since Artemis nearly crushed that poor human.

[TheUglyDucklett]

Dontae could only stammer out a confused "Huh?" as the new male, Kaiba, and his digimon partner introduced themselves before heading into the building. 'Peasant'? Joining a kingdom? What was that all about? Before he could get his answers, though, the "king" and his "subject" had already disappeared inside. Frowning slightly, the male looked down at his own partner to see if she had any idea what they were talking about. Her cheeks were puffed up indignantly. "Artemis?" Dontae addressed the digimon.

"How dare he call my partner 'peasant'!! I'm closer to royalty than he is, so that makes you my knight in shining armor!" Artemis huffed. Dontae half-raised his arms up in surrender as the rabbit-digimon showed some actual anger in reaction to Kaiba's introduction. The corrupted digimons' rage was already threatening, but the rage of a digimon stronger and less prone to expressing it? That might even be scarier than Bakura's joyride.

"Wait, you're a... noblelady?" Dontae asked dumbfounded. That was just adding a layer to the scary. Before he could really question it, though, Paopao had appeared by his side and asked about Bakura. Pointing to the door, he tried to act like all the information being dumped onto him wasn't strange. "I'm pretty sure his digimon took him to the courtroom on the next floor up. He's got some internal bleeding by the look of it, but I don't think that'll be the most of your headache up there. Just... try to ignore that guy with the crown. I'm still backwards about it."

"He's the backwards one if he thinks Dontae's anything less than a knight!!" Artemis spoke up with a pout. Laughing awkwardly in hesitation, the male picked up the Lunamon and gently covered her mouth.

"Let's save that talk for later. We'll-- I'll make sure Kit's safe while you do what you have to," Dontae said with a small nod before wishing the Labramon good luck and running for the battlefield. Removing the hand over Artemis' mouth, he grabbed the shovel from the pit of his arm and allowed the digimon to run up his arm. Catching up to Kit, the male kicked out to intercept another of those Gotsumon lunging for them and used the momentum to swing the tool and strike the top of its head. As it slumped dead to the ground, Dontae hid his surprise at the sight of his "first" kill. Of course he had helped to dispatch with the corrupted digimon, but this was the first one he delivered the official killing blow to his opponent.

"I guess you'd prefer to fight," Dontae stated bluntly as he faced the tentative line of corrupted digimon, "Hope I don't get in your way." That was mostly a joke; to his surprise he felt like he was actually making friends in the middle of the battle. That irony would just be his defining statement: finding good fortune in the midst of cataclysm. On the other hand, since he still started with little combat experience and was still more-or-less swinging an impromptu weapon around wildly, he still held the paranoia of being in the way. Artemis nimbly jumped to the ground and readied herself for more fighting.

"We've got this, Dontae! Looks like they're starting to get scared of us," Artemis stated with a confident smile, "if we cause enough chaos they might just turn tail and-- Wh-what's that?!" Being directed to look up at the town hall's tallest tower, a figure could be seen standing at the base of the spire. Jumping to the ground, the figure landed with a thunderous stomp. The ground around it crumbled as the shock erupted under their feet. The new digimon's form distorted itself as if it was an image on a television experiencing static. Still, it glared at the three beings with a confident smirk as it raised its cleaver to point at them. It seemed humanoid, but parts of it also resembled something like a reptile. Artemis stared back grimly. "Brace yourselves, that's a Dinohumon: a Champion digimon."


(a quick part with Bakura and Gil because I have permission :b)
Gil carefully sniffed the air as he tried to scan the room. It was so dark that it was difficult to see much of anything that wasn't a few feet away. "Gil, what's with you?" Bakura asked as he tried to sit up. Both the pain and Gil's arm pushed him back to the ground.

"Bakuramon, I smell something," Gil warned, still in search.

"No bull****? Is it Dontae's bunny-thing trying to play peekaboo or something?" Bakura asked.

"No, it smells much different than Artemis; something corrupted," Gil admitted. Bakura gritted his teeth at the mention of a corrupt. He could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Was that Dontae and Artemis? Or maybe a trick being played on them by the corrupt in the building. Either way, he wasn't going to give up without raising some kind of hell for it.

[Fuyu]

Paopao

Following Dontae's directions, the large dog hurried inside the large building. She growled and sniffed. There was a monster in the building. Well to be precise, there was another one. Did they ever end? With a shake of her large furry head, she hurried on. As much as she was hesitant to alert the corrupted creature, the fact of the matter was that Kit was outside, without her protection. Yes, her, specifically her. She had very little trust in Dontae. He and his partner smelled incredibly off and wrong to her... and it wasn't just the smell of sweat either. He was a threat somehow.

If he was too close to Kit, well... either that rabbit would need a new human or there would need to be a new precious tamer pair. Either way, that was her decision and she would face Kit's wrath if it came to it.

"Hello, is there an injured pair around?" It wasn't the nicest turn of phrase, but Paopao had a task to do and quite frankly, other humans and Digimon didn't have to be a part of it. "Please hurry up, outside it is quite dire and we'd like to get people to safety before there isn't any.

Kit

Kit looked slowly at Dontae. Was this a guy thing? It had taken ages for Jake to teach her how to fight, and even longer for Lolo to get off his butt and show her how he loaded his gun. Mentally, she sighed as she swung back, striking brutally at the side of the head and then the throat. It coughed and she spun, kicking the small creature into the side of another. At his joke, she cracked a tiny, if not placating, smile. Proving people wrong once in a while wasn't a bad thing.

She wondered how long she could last, how long any of them could, until they just collapsed. Even adrenaline had a stop button.

Then she felt the earth tremble and winced, nearly falling with a twist of her ankle. The reptilian Digimon smirked at them all and Kit winced, turning to face it with a small bit of fear in her face. It was a strong one, this, one with experience... and possibly sanity.

She wasn't even going to mention the cleaver. "Now what..."

[heretostay123]

Bakura Jinguar: Heedless in New York

Boo friggin' yah! Gil and I are up and running. Screw my injuries! Screw healing! Woohoo! I managed to urge Gil to take me outside. "Fine, only for you Bakuramon." The huge Growlmon stood up and carried me outside.

The scene was utter chaos. "They need a sniper." I was absolutely sure of it. I could find good position in an apartment building and find something to rain hell on the Corrupts. It was foolproof. "Gil, take me to that building over there." I gestured to the building opposite of town hall. He nodded and made his way, getting there in ten easy strides. "Go to the roof." He nodded yet again. When we got there, we noticed a Corrupt Biyomon trying to get a drop on our new pals in the courtyard. Big mistake buddy.

"Fire Breath!" Gil roasted it like Thanksgiving dinner.

"Good job buddy." I nodded approvingly and noticed a pile of rubble. "Bring that over here." He sat me down on the edge of the roof and placed a large pile of rocks next to me. Then I began to throw them over. "Hell yeah!"

After a little while, Gil carefully sniffed the air as he tried to scan the roof. It was so large that it was difficult to see much of anything. "Gil, what's with you?" I asked as I tried to stand up. Both the pain and Gil's arm pushed me back to the ground.

"Bakuramon, I smell something," Gil warned, still in search.

"No bull****? Is it Dontae's bunny-thing trying to play peekaboo or something?" He was starting to freak me out.

"No, it smells much different than Artemis; something corrupted," Gil admitted. I gritted his teeth at the mention of a corrupt. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Was that Dontae and Artemis? Or maybe a trick being played on them by the corrupt in the building. Either way, I'm not going to give up without raising some kind of hell for it.