Butter-Fly Effect

Well. It's taken you roughly three hours, you're pretty sure Birdramon is going to collapse the moment you land, and you haven't gotten any sleep tonight, but you can finally see the distant landmass that you believe is the Gear Savanna.

Maybe. You're not entirely sure- the thin air has left your mind more than a little foggy. Izzy's head seems to be clear, though, so you're letting him navigate.

Probably for the best that you're not calling the shots right now. Even if you weren't so high up, you're starting to get pretty tired. Unfortunately, Birdramon is many things, but a nice soft bed is not one of them.

There's a few shapes moving in the darkness below. Kabuterimon identified them earlier as a pod of Whamon, an odd aquatic species that can be either Champions or Ultimates. Not that you're looking for a confrontation at the moment.

"Do you think we'll be landing soon!?" You call over, hoping that the redhead hasn't dozed off in the past five minutes. He's normally a bit better than that, but all things considered, you want to be as safe as possible after that scare earlier.

"I hope so!" He replies. "What happened to the island, anyway?" Huh, you were wondering when he was going to question that. But in the time you've been in DigiWorld, you've gotten used to just accepting the strange things as they come along. Better for your sanity, that way.

"I think it was the Gears," Birdramon comments. "The mountain just... opened, and everything went dark for a bit, right?" That does sound about right. Even if the only way to know for sure would be to capture Devimon and interrogate him, and you know there's no way that would work out in your favor.

You can't really tell in this light, but you're pretty sure Izzy sighs. "Possession, control, and rearrangement of the local geography... just how many features to these things have!?"

"Tell me if you figure it out!" You call back, before pausing to catch your breath. Right. You've kept the same altitude since Infinity Mountain, that can't be healthy.

"Hey, Birdramon? I know we aren't quite at land yet, but could we go just a bit lower?"

---

Once your head's as clear as it can possibly be for being sleep-deprived, you look up to see the grass of Gear Savanna. Once your partner's talons hit the grass, you slide off, just barely managing to break your fall without hurting yourself. Izzy slips off of Kabuterimon as well, just as tired as you are, but somewhat more alert, likely due to being less comfortable with using his partner as a mount.

Or, possibly, because Kabuterimon is not soft and feathery. That might play a part in it.

Still, as soon as your partners are sure you're safe for the moment, they return to their Rookie forms. Probably for the best, they need rest as much as you do.

You just need to figure out what to do next.


Sora's DS: 316/462

Izzy's DS: 147/289


[ ] Try to keep going until you find someone else. Safety in numbers, after all. (Good chance of finding Mimi, further exhausts Biyomon and Tentomon, does not recover Digisoul)

[ ] Stay awake long enough to ascertain your safety where you are now. Just long enough. (Further exhausts Biyomon and Tentomon, lowered risk of being attacked, recover Digisoul)

[ ] Who cares? Just sleep. (Fully heals party. Some risk of attack)

Well, first thing's first- you need to find Mimi. You sort of left her on her own with a new Champion, a fusion, and BlackGatomon, as well as whatever help Ogremon could possibly have to offer. You don't think it's that much, though. He seemed a bit of an idiot, even if he's Leomon's rival.

Either way, Mimi's probably upset that you ditched her. And she sort of has the only real survival kit in the world since Digimon are good at living wild and don't really need them.

Thankfully, tired and groggy though you might be, use of the Digivice is still well within your capabilities. A few expert presses of a button, and you find yourself looking at your radar, Izzy's dot beside you and Mimi's somewhere to the northeast.

...Just Izzy and Mimi's dots. No sign of Tai and Kari, or Matt and TK. That's probably a bad thing, though you'll worry about that once you've had time to process everything that's happened today- and there's a lot that's happened today.

"Mimi's over this way," You note, starting off in the same direction as her dot. "We should be able to get to her pretty quickly, right?"

"We can try," Izzy agrees. "Tentomon, how are you feeling?"

"I'm a little tuckered out, but I should be fine," The little insect buzzes. "Just don't expect me to be able to fight anything before I've had food." Fair enough. You don't really expect Biyomon to do much, either, but so long as they can fly to keep up with you, things should probably be fine. Maybe.

Okay, you have no clue. But the plains seem calm and peaceful, so you should be okay.

---

Well, you don't get attacked, at least. Well, you don't think so, your head's kind of fuzzy from not getting any sleep- and you mean any, the sun was well above the horizon when you finally reached Mimi, who, according to Ogremon, spent the night using Lunamon as a pillow, much to the white rabbit's displeasure.

Still, you manage to report your findings, and your team reacts accordingly. "So it was Devimon, huh?"

"You know that Digimon, Ogremon?" SnowAgumon asks, before trying to stretch, failing, and falling back down on her tail.

"Yeah, Leomon and I never said anything, but..." The Champion trails off, and you're not sure you want to hear the rest of what he has to say.

Not that you have a choice in the end, either. "Angemon always was the smart one of you three," BlackGatomon comments. "If anyone could figure out the Black Gears, it would be him. But you'd told the rest of the town that he'd just died."

"That's the thing! He did!"

...What?


Sora's DS: 316/462

Izzy's DS: 147/289


[ ] Ask Ogremon for clarification.

[ ] Change the subject to something else.

[ ] Forget the conversation! You want to get moving again.