Digital Helix [Digimon/Worm] [Fusion]
Canon Guest Interlude 1.x. (Stratagemini)
Stratagemini
Totally a Fire Ferret.
- Location
- Central Park
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Interlude 1.x
The knight strode confidently through the palace. He walked with a purpose through the halls that that he had defended once, and now defended once more. Something had changed in the world beyond the palace walls, and though he suspected that his master already knew, it was his duty to keep the being he served informed.
The palace had no throne room, no kitchen, no bedrooms. In fact though it housed an absolute ruler, calling it a palace at all was perhaps misleading. No, perhaps a better term would be cathedral? For it could just as easily be said to house a god. The Knight wasn't sure, and his master would not care.
The knight strolled, unhurried, towards the center of the structure where his master might be found. The walls began to shift and pulsate like a living being. That was also misleading of course. Here there was no real distinction between life and the rest of the world, not with his master around, but it was a useful deception. It marked the limit of the sacred space his master had taken for their own. All space belonged to his master of course, but here, in the heart of his master's control, their presence was palpable, like a carrier wave echoing from the walls.
The knight's eyes traced the writhing roots of motley flesh embedded in the walls as they throbbed like giant veins, twisting and pixelating as his eyes beheld the merest hint of his master's majesty.
This was as far as the knight could approach. Though the hallway extended onward to the center of his master's existence he could not travel further no matter how much he wished to do so. The corridor seemed to extend endlessly, a humming that he didn't hear so much as felt in the very center of his chest seemed to beckon him forward. The knight shuddered, resisting as best he was able. Though he longed to behold the majesty of his master's true form, to advance meant instant death, his body deleted and his bits scattered and corrupted beyond repair or rebirth.
The longing in his heart tugged him forward, but the knight resisted. Someday his will would fail and he would behold his master in all his master's terrible beauty. He longed for the day when his master's hands would embrace him... But it would not be today. His master still had use of him. He would eventually see his reward, but for now, he would wait and serve his master better thereby.
"Master."
The being he served did not respond. It did not need to, the knight knew its master's will.
"Master, the humans have come to the world just as you predicted they would."
The knight waited, his cape fluttering in a non-existent wind as it glowed an eerie purple in the strange throbbing light of his master's attention. The walls pulsed in the same dizzying un-rhythm as before, fingers of flesh woven through them like strands of a half completed tapestry. The light of understanding filled the Knight's eyes.
"I see."
The knight responded, though no voice could be heard.
The air around him thrummed heavily with existence. The walls throbbed and shifted in the corners of his gaze.
The knight took it as an order and, without turning around, backed out of the corridor; his gaze never wavering as he stared straight ahead with a desperate longing.
It wasn't until the knight had left the cathedral completely that he pivoted to stride forth normally, eager to accomplish his master's will.
The knight strode confidently through the palace. He walked with a purpose through the halls that that he had defended once, and now defended once more. Something had changed in the world beyond the palace walls, and though he suspected that his master already knew, it was his duty to keep the being he served informed.
The palace had no throne room, no kitchen, no bedrooms. In fact though it housed an absolute ruler, calling it a palace at all was perhaps misleading. No, perhaps a better term would be cathedral? For it could just as easily be said to house a god. The Knight wasn't sure, and his master would not care.
The knight strolled, unhurried, towards the center of the structure where his master might be found. The walls began to shift and pulsate like a living being. That was also misleading of course. Here there was no real distinction between life and the rest of the world, not with his master around, but it was a useful deception. It marked the limit of the sacred space his master had taken for their own. All space belonged to his master of course, but here, in the heart of his master's control, their presence was palpable, like a carrier wave echoing from the walls.
The knight's eyes traced the writhing roots of motley flesh embedded in the walls as they throbbed like giant veins, twisting and pixelating as his eyes beheld the merest hint of his master's majesty.
This was as far as the knight could approach. Though the hallway extended onward to the center of his master's existence he could not travel further no matter how much he wished to do so. The corridor seemed to extend endlessly, a humming that he didn't hear so much as felt in the very center of his chest seemed to beckon him forward. The knight shuddered, resisting as best he was able. Though he longed to behold the majesty of his master's true form, to advance meant instant death, his body deleted and his bits scattered and corrupted beyond repair or rebirth.
The longing in his heart tugged him forward, but the knight resisted. Someday his will would fail and he would behold his master in all his master's terrible beauty. He longed for the day when his master's hands would embrace him... But it would not be today. His master still had use of him. He would eventually see his reward, but for now, he would wait and serve his master better thereby.
"Master."
The being he served did not respond. It did not need to, the knight knew its master's will.
"Master, the humans have come to the world just as you predicted they would."
The knight waited, his cape fluttering in a non-existent wind as it glowed an eerie purple in the strange throbbing light of his master's attention. The walls pulsed in the same dizzying un-rhythm as before, fingers of flesh woven through them like strands of a half completed tapestry. The light of understanding filled the Knight's eyes.
"I see."
The knight responded, though no voice could be heard.
The air around him thrummed heavily with existence. The walls throbbed and shifted in the corners of his gaze.
The knight took it as an order and, without turning around, backed out of the corridor; his gaze never wavering as he stared straight ahead with a desperate longing.
It wasn't until the knight had left the cathedral completely that he pivoted to stride forth normally, eager to accomplish his master's will.
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
@Stratagemini, threadmarked in its appropriate space. Put it in the SB thread too?
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
The eight stomachs that growled:
All five Digimon.
Taylor
Missy
Katia.
- Location
- Earth Prime
So she does feel hunger. Does she recognize it for what it is? "Body" is a new thing for her.
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
Not really. She'll figure it out though. Plus, food in the Digimon village will be a new experience for her.
- Location
- Following The Apocalypse
I forget, are Dragon's restrictions gone while she is in the Digital world? If so, then how long until she tells the others about her being an AI? That's going to be a very fun conversation.
- Location
- Following The Apocalypse
Ok, thanks for the info. Still, are any of her restrictions still working on her? they could cause a lot of problems later. Could cause a lot of drama too. make her do weird and unexplained things, decrease the trust between team mates. Oh, sweet sweet angst, come to me!
(did I go overboard with my joke?)
(did I go overboard with my joke?)
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
That, I can't tell you.
To everyone else, @Stratagemini's bit is canon. The POV character is a Royal Knight.
deadcrystal
Slaaneshi Cultist
- Location
- The Warp
Digimon Basics: A guide for the uninitiated
So, for those unfamiliar with any of the Digimon properties, or only vaguely so, to give you a basic idea:
Goggles: The main character of most every Digimon series has goggles. They never wear them or use them in any way. Don't question it.
Digimon: Digital Monsters. Mostly very cute things that are made of data and live in the Digital World.
Levels: Digimon are ranked by levels, Digivolution allows them to ascend from one level to the next. There are six levels in total, but most of the time you only see four.
- Rookie - Your normal, average Digimon tends to be of the Rookie level. Dorumon is a Rookie Digimon, as is Ryudamon.
- Champion - A few times stronger than Rookie form.
- Ultimate - Kind of a very big power gap between Champion and Ultimate.
- Mega - Strongest form, and an even bigger power gap between levels.
Note: Digimon are not created equally. Some Rookie Digimon can go toe-to-toe with Champions or even Ultimates.
- In-training - Level below Rookie, mostly exists to be a cute ball of fluff.
- Baby - Level below In-training. Someone saw an In-Training Digimon and decided it wasn't cute or fluffy enough. About as dangerous as an aggressive pack of soap bubbles.
Attributes: Most Digimon of Rookie+ have an attribute, which is kind of a Rock-Paper-Scissors thing.
- Data - Advantage over Vaccine
- Vaccine - Advantage over Virus
- Virus - Advantage over Data. Frequently the 'evil' Digimon have this as their attribute, but honestly it means very little.
There are a couple of other attributes, but they almost never come up and don't mean much.
Digivolution: The evolution of a Digimon from one level to the next. Depending on series how this is achieved varies quite a little, but generally Digivolving to Rookie or Champion isn't too difficult. Ultimate or Mega often require special circumstances.
Many Digimon have several different evolution lines, and the conditions for them to involve into one over another can vary a lot.
Note: In most series the main character ends up forcing their partner to evolve into an 'evil' form out of anger, before later unlocking their real 'good' version of that level. (Freaking judgy writers being all 'evil is wrong'. Cowards the lot of them. Ride your evil demon Digimon partner into the future!)
Leomon: An honourable lion-looking Digimon that shows up in most series, as himself or something derived very obviously from Leomon. He exists to show up, be cool briefly, and then die. He always always dies.
The Series:
A couple things recur between series, but there can be pretty significant lore differences between them.
Digimon Adventure: The original. The true OG. Varied cast, good storylines, decent writing. Excellent start.
Digimon Adventure 02: Direct sequel to the original after a short time skip. Except with different, shittier, one-note characters. Also managed to ruin the characters from the original series. Kind of a cash grab. We do not speak of 02.
Digimon Tamers: The moody teenager to Adventure's hopeful youth. Easily the most grim of the series. Different universe to Adventure, indeed Adventure is an actual tv series in Tamers, and the Digimon card game is popular amongst kids. Complicated writing, sophisticated character development. Features actual danger, consequences, adults with power, a government agency as a direct reference to ECHELON, and a final enemy powered by the depression of a traumatised girl. I liked Tamers a lot.
Digimon Frontier: The humans didn't have partners in this one, instead they just turned into Digimon. Kind of eh on the whole.
Digimon Data Squad/Savers: Second darkest series, technically speaking. On the one hand the main villain was a genocidal human. On the other hand most problems were solved with the power of punching.
Digimon Fusion: IDEK. Don't know much about this one, looks kind of generic?
So, for those unfamiliar with any of the Digimon properties, or only vaguely so, to give you a basic idea:
Goggles: The main character of most every Digimon series has goggles. They never wear them or use them in any way. Don't question it.
Digimon: Digital Monsters. Mostly very cute things that are made of data and live in the Digital World.
Levels: Digimon are ranked by levels, Digivolution allows them to ascend from one level to the next. There are six levels in total, but most of the time you only see four.
- Rookie - Your normal, average Digimon tends to be of the Rookie level. Dorumon is a Rookie Digimon, as is Ryudamon.
- Champion - A few times stronger than Rookie form.
- Ultimate - Kind of a very big power gap between Champion and Ultimate.
- Mega - Strongest form, and an even bigger power gap between levels.
Note: Digimon are not created equally. Some Rookie Digimon can go toe-to-toe with Champions or even Ultimates.
- In-training - Level below Rookie, mostly exists to be a cute ball of fluff.
- Baby - Level below In-training. Someone saw an In-Training Digimon and decided it wasn't cute or fluffy enough. About as dangerous as an aggressive pack of soap bubbles.
Attributes: Most Digimon of Rookie+ have an attribute, which is kind of a Rock-Paper-Scissors thing.
- Data - Advantage over Vaccine
- Vaccine - Advantage over Virus
- Virus - Advantage over Data. Frequently the 'evil' Digimon have this as their attribute, but honestly it means very little.
There are a couple of other attributes, but they almost never come up and don't mean much.
Digivolution: The evolution of a Digimon from one level to the next. Depending on series how this is achieved varies quite a little, but generally Digivolving to Rookie or Champion isn't too difficult. Ultimate or Mega often require special circumstances.
Many Digimon have several different evolution lines, and the conditions for them to involve into one over another can vary a lot.
Note: In most series the main character ends up forcing their partner to evolve into an 'evil' form out of anger, before later unlocking their real 'good' version of that level. (Freaking judgy writers being all 'evil is wrong'. Cowards the lot of them. Ride your evil demon Digimon partner into the future!)
Leomon: An honourable lion-looking Digimon that shows up in most series, as himself or something derived very obviously from Leomon. He exists to show up, be cool briefly, and then die. He always always dies.
The Series:
A couple things recur between series, but there can be pretty significant lore differences between them.
Digimon Adventure: The original. The true OG. Varied cast, good storylines, decent writing. Excellent start.
Digimon Adventure 02: Direct sequel to the original after a short time skip. Except with different, shittier, one-note characters. Also managed to ruin the characters from the original series. Kind of a cash grab. We do not speak of 02.
Digimon Tamers: The moody teenager to Adventure's hopeful youth. Easily the most grim of the series. Different universe to Adventure, indeed Adventure is an actual tv series in Tamers, and the Digimon card game is popular amongst kids. Complicated writing, sophisticated character development. Features actual danger, consequences, adults with power, a government agency as a direct reference to ECHELON, and a final enemy powered by the depression of a traumatised girl. I liked Tamers a lot.
Digimon Frontier: The humans didn't have partners in this one, instead they just turned into Digimon. Kind of eh on the whole.
Digimon Data Squad/Savers: Second darkest series, technically speaking. On the one hand the main villain was a genocidal human. On the other hand most problems were solved with the power of punching.
Digimon Fusion: IDEK. Don't know much about this one, looks kind of generic?
Dopplerdee
Accident Prone(Yes the caps are necessary)
- Location
- Happy Place
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Takato in tamers used his.
It was pretty ok.
I kinda liked it, that said it might just be nostalgia.
- Location
- Australia
I see someone does not like Digimon 02, I do agree some parts of it are hatable but I like the Digimon I wished the new ones had a proper evolution line.
I mean Vemon has one if he evolves to Veedramon and Wrommon actually has an Ultimate form and he does have a mega.
I think it is a shame that Armadimon and Hawkmon did not get a proper evolution line.
I do not know about you guys but I still hate Ken, what he did is not something I can still forgive. I would have left him to be beaten up by the Digimon but since he is a child and was possessed he got a pass and got guilt wrecked. But a part of me still wants to punch and rip his arms out.
Digimon fusion is weird, the Digimon do not have proper evolutions and they basically fuse to get stronger. Think Gurren Lagan mixed with Dynasty Warriors. Humans are important because they can use a digivice which allows Digimon to fuse making them stronger. I hated it, it made Fanglongmon the leader of the sovereigns a throwaway mook.
deadcrystal if you hate 02 you might hate Fusion.
My fav series are 01, data squad and tamers.
I wish someone explained something to me what exactly is the Digisoul and is it used in all the series to make Digimon evolve. Cause I think the power that humans have to allow Digimon to evolve was show in a primal form in Data Squad.
The protag's dad beat up Digimon and survived in it for Years. I mean he fought and befriended a Mega Level Digimon.
I mean Vemon has one if he evolves to Veedramon and Wrommon actually has an Ultimate form and he does have a mega.
I think it is a shame that Armadimon and Hawkmon did not get a proper evolution line.
I do not know about you guys but I still hate Ken, what he did is not something I can still forgive. I would have left him to be beaten up by the Digimon but since he is a child and was possessed he got a pass and got guilt wrecked. But a part of me still wants to punch and rip his arms out.
Digimon fusion is weird, the Digimon do not have proper evolutions and they basically fuse to get stronger. Think Gurren Lagan mixed with Dynasty Warriors. Humans are important because they can use a digivice which allows Digimon to fuse making them stronger. I hated it, it made Fanglongmon the leader of the sovereigns a throwaway mook.
deadcrystal if you hate 02 you might hate Fusion.
My fav series are 01, data squad and tamers.
I wish someone explained something to me what exactly is the Digisoul and is it used in all the series to make Digimon evolve. Cause I think the power that humans have to allow Digimon to evolve was show in a primal form in Data Squad.
The protag's dad beat up Digimon and survived in it for Years. I mean he fought and befriended a Mega Level Digimon.
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- Location
- USA
I personally loved Digimon Frontier. Admittedly it's the only one I watched in its entirety but it still has my favorite character designs by far.
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
More or less.
As for Adventure 02... well, it's not terrible, but it's definitely not as good as 01 or Tamers. Frontier was okay. Not great, not terrible. Savers/Data Squad was hilarious. Marcus/Masaru was a great hot-blooded MC.
Cmmdfugal
I married female crota
- Location
- being a verified boat
God how long has it been since i saw the series.....too long. I am curious to see how powers interact with digimon both in the real world and in the digital world.. we have dragon getting a frontier style thing while in the digital world... perhaps in the real world her suits get a digimon boost form. I mean there are ple ty of cybernetic or mech digimon so that may be interesting.
- Location
- USA
Given how Digimon worked outwice of Frontier, odds are she will be able to treat the form she has now as her normal one. I don't recall the Frontier digidestined being able to transform in the real world, but digimon, like Dragon seems to be now, can leave just fine.
Egg 1.4
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
Egg 1.4 (Dragon)
***************************
Hunger was a new sensation for me. Okay, that's a little on the clinical side, but that doesn't make it any less true. As an artificial intelligence, I had no real basis for the human concept of hunger other than it was what humans felt when their bodies told them they needed to eat. I'd seen it plenty of times in Colin, in Narwhal, in the prisoners in the Birdcage, and in even my own creator, but I'd never actually felt it myself. Until now. I never truly understood why wars would be fought over food, why someone fasting was a big deal until I felt this gnawing sensation in my stomach, an emptiness as the muscle contracted trying to push something through my newly developed digestive system that wasn't there. My stomach actually growled, sounding like a small fantasy dragon's roar.
If not for the Wards and Taylor's stomachs making the same sound, I would have been highly embarrassed. Probably. It seemed like a situation where embarrassment would be the right emotional response, but I had no clue if that would be how I would respond. It wasn't that I hadn't been embarrassed before, but physical responses were new to me. Everything else had been purely mental.
Dorumon led us to the edge of a small village made up of brutalist cylinders. The buildings looked more to be made out of hewn stone than poured concrete. Of course, given the nature of the world, they could have just formed that way. I still had no real explanation for this world.
"Welcome to Upamon Village!" Then there were the residents of the village. They were a group of maybe twenty cheerful balls of bouncing fluff that resembled the head of an axolotl. Only their skin was white as opposed to the normal skin of the amphibian. Their voices all sounded similar with only slight tonal differences to identify which was which. Of course, they all sounded like children. Given their size, it wasn't all that surprising.
"They're so cute!" Missy gushed. "They're like little white salamanders, only they're just heads."
"They're Upamon," Taylor said at the same time as her Digimon partner, and then, after receiving a nod from Dorumon, Taylor continued, "Hopefully they have some food for us."
"Food! Yes, we have lots of food!" said one Upamon.
"Lots and lots!" said another.
My stomach growled again, and I cleared my throat. "Good… because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one hungry here."
"Just follow us! Armadillomon will want to know you're here, but food is this way!" said yet another Upamon as it started bouncing with the original two in a direction.
The Wards all glanced to me, and I gave a shrug. Taylor and Dorumon had already started walking after the hopping Upamon, and I saw no real harm in following along. It was doubtful that these Digimon could put up much of a fight if it came to that, and they seemed friendly enough. Plus, I really wanted to deal with this hunger thing.
"Come on," I said, gesturing for them to follow me as I started walking. "We've made it this far."
"Right," Lily said, brushing her hand along her partner. Kyaromon had fallen asleep in her arms, and I couldn't help but smile at how it looked. "Dra—I mean, Katia, how did you end up here?"
"Hmm?" I glanced forward to make sure we were still walking the direction we needed. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that..." Lily paused and shook her head. Admittedly, I hadn't explained how I'd ended up here, but doing so would probably mean explaining things that I neither had the ability to prove nor the desire to. As far as the Wards and Taylor were concerned, I was Katia Richter, human. Parahuman, sure, but ultimately, I was just a human like them.
At least, when I wasn't a Digimon.
"I didn't explain because it's stupid," I said with a small shrug. "Nowhere near as exciting as how you all got here. Just a flash of light in my server room and here I was."
An Upamon slowed down to bounce near me. "That's probably why you ended up here! This is Server Continent! And there's the food!"
"Food!" echoed the other two Upamon with us as they all locked gazes on a basket that laid in the approximate centre of the village. The not-quite paved streets met at a squared-off section and no building was less than eight meters away from the basket. Then the wind shifted, and the smell of warm… I assumed that was the bread's smell that wafted into my nose and made my mouth water. It had to be. I'd read so many descriptions of how food made a body react, and I felt my body following those descriptions.
"It's okay if we take some?" Taylor looked to the Upamon.
"Of course!" One Upamon said. "We have plenty! And you're asking nicely so Armadillomon won't get mad!"
"Is Armadilomon the head of town?" I asked, feeling some of my programming come forward. If Armadillomon was the valid government of the area, I'd have to obey it. If it said that I couldn't have any of the food, or that the rest of the group couldn't, I'd have to suggest we go elsewhere. Forcefully, if necessary. Of course, given these were children, that was something I desperately wanted to avoid.
"Yep, yep!" Upamon said. "He helps bake the bread and gather the fruits!"
"I also make sure y'all don't do anything too knuckleheaded," said a masculine voice with an accent that wouldn't be out of place in Texas. It came from a meter and a half-long armadillo. The Digimon had red tribal markings on the top of its head along with a diamond jewel embedded above them. It had a hard golden shell along its back and four clawed feet. "Seems we've got ourselves some visitors. Humans and other Digimon-types. How can I help you?"
Taylor looked to me, and I nodded. She stepped forward, adjusting the goggles on her forehead. "We all just got here a bit ago, and we and our Digimon partners are hungry."
"I remembered this village was here, and you had food," Dorumon said, explaining. "We could use some help."
"Hmm. Yeah, I reckon I could help y'all out," said the Armadillomon. "There's plenty of food here for sharing, but it ain't exactly free."
"We don't exactly have any money," I said. Most of my resources were tied up in Guild accounts that I had no way of accessing at the moment, and there was no way I'd have physical currency on me, anyway.
"Money?" An Upamon bounced. "What's money?"
"Human stuff, kiddo," Armadillomon said. "Not something we need, exactly. Nah, y'all will get some food, but we need some help around the village. Not a lot of us here have those fancy things called opposable thumbs. Think that's a fair trade?"
"It could be," Taylor said and glanced to the Wards, who then looked to me. It seemed perfectly fair to me, and it was the best way to get some food into us. I gave a nod to the children, and they turned back to Armadillomon. "Can you tell us what you need done while we eat?"
"Of course," said the Digimon. "Can't let y'all starve before you do the odd jobs around town. We've got some repairs and some other things that have been needing doing."
The three Upamon bounced. "The town well needs help! But food!"
"Right, food." Armadillomon turned toward the basket at the center of town. "Y'all can help yourselves, I reckon. Don't forget to feed the little ones."
"Yeah! We're hungry too!" Pagumon called from his perch on Everett's shoulder. Everett reached his hand up and rubbed the small Digimon between the ears as he started toward the basket. "I want that one, and that one, and that one..."
One by one, we made our way to the basket to pull out some food. The Wards and Taylor all seemed to know what to take, and their Digimon knew what they wanted. I, on the other hand, had to take a good hard look. Everything looked good to my eyes. There were apples, berries, citrus, and breads that looked well-baked. I really had no clue what to take. So as to not look too weird, I grabbed a few random fruits and some bread before backing away from the basket. I ended up sitting down between Missy and Lily, each of whom shared some bread with their Digimon partners.
"How is it?" I asked, looking at the bread and fruit I had in my hands.
"'s good, Ms. Richter," Lily said between bites. Her Kyaromon munched on what appeared to be a peach or peach-like fruit of some sort. She gave an affirmative trill between her own bites.
"Very good!" Chicchimon chirped. "More bread, Missy!"
Missy giggled and gave the little bird some. I looked down at the bread and fruit in my hands. How did I want to do this? Maybe I'd give the bread a try. I supposed. It couldn't be all that hard, could it? I mean, all I had to do was take a bite. Open my mouth, stick food in, close it and tear and chew.
Raising the slice of bread to my now open mouth, I gave a valiant attempt at taking a bite from it. My teeth closed around its crusty exterior, revealing the soft innards of the roll, and I tore the bite from the bread carefully. Then I moved the bread in my mouth and I started to chew. To masticate.
A new sensation overwhelmed me, centred on my tongue. It was like touch but not quite. I could feel texture with it, but there was so much more. The bread was… It was more than data. It was taste. Taste. I could taste things now. I'd never been able to before. Father never saw fit to program a way for me to emulate that, and how could he? Sure, a tongue was capable of discerning the chemical make-up of things by changing how the sensations felt, but gaining pleasure from it? The bread was sweet, salty, and just the tiniest bit sour. There was no bitterness to it, as I chewed, but the taste faded the more I masticated it.
Now… I was done chewing. Next came the… swallowing? How was I supposed to pull that off? There were muscles in the back of a human's throat. I just needed to move the food back there and contract them, forcing it down the esophagus. Easier said than done.
"Miss Richter, are you okay?" Missy asked and I raised a hand in response. She looked like she wanted to say more, and she was making unconscious hand movements in my direction. If her powers were working, the space between us would either contract or expand at her whim, and she'd call that help. I could do this. I could. Just needed to figure out how this worked. "You know my powers aren't working, but I still give a mean Heimlich."
I shook my head and moved my tongue in my mouth a bit, and then I just… I let go. My muscles contracted on their own, pulling the food in from my mouth. I did it automatically. I swallowed the food, and now I could feel it descending my esophagus toward my stomach.
"Bit too big of a bite," I said softly as I rubbed at my throat with a newly free hand. Oddly this made it feel better which meant some of the pain was psychosomatic. Probably.
"Ah. I've done that. Mom used to say to be careful," Missy said. "Also not to eat too fast. Back… Never mind."
Her trigger. Yeah, I would leave that alone. Discussing anyone's trigger unprompted was considered bad form, and "It's good though." I smiled at her and Chicchimon. "Everyone seems to be enjoying their food."
"Definitely," Lily said.
"Def'nily," Kyaromon said, mouth full. The In-Training Digimon clearly needed her partner's help when it came to manners. "More food!"
I smiled at the little furry Digimon and I brought the fruit to my mouth to take a bite. Juice burst forth from the fruit, striking my tongue with its mix of sour and sweet and combining with the scent of the food, the taste of this new item practically overwhelmed me. My mind blanked almost completely, and I was certain that if I were on Bet, I'd be rebooting from backup at this. It was far beyond the taste of the bread. It was far beyond anything I could have known before. Just knowing that this existed made my newfound human life better.
The bread had been simply good, a new sensation for someone who hadn't ever had the delight of tasting something. The fruit, however, was something far better. It was practically divine. No. There was a much better word to describe it. A single word could sum up my entire thought processes on the fruit.
The fruit was delicious.
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Hunger was a new sensation for me. Okay, that's a little on the clinical side, but that doesn't make it any less true. As an artificial intelligence, I had no real basis for the human concept of hunger other than it was what humans felt when their bodies told them they needed to eat. I'd seen it plenty of times in Colin, in Narwhal, in the prisoners in the Birdcage, and in even my own creator, but I'd never actually felt it myself. Until now. I never truly understood why wars would be fought over food, why someone fasting was a big deal until I felt this gnawing sensation in my stomach, an emptiness as the muscle contracted trying to push something through my newly developed digestive system that wasn't there. My stomach actually growled, sounding like a small fantasy dragon's roar.
If not for the Wards and Taylor's stomachs making the same sound, I would have been highly embarrassed. Probably. It seemed like a situation where embarrassment would be the right emotional response, but I had no clue if that would be how I would respond. It wasn't that I hadn't been embarrassed before, but physical responses were new to me. Everything else had been purely mental.
Dorumon led us to the edge of a small village made up of brutalist cylinders. The buildings looked more to be made out of hewn stone than poured concrete. Of course, given the nature of the world, they could have just formed that way. I still had no real explanation for this world.
"Welcome to Upamon Village!" Then there were the residents of the village. They were a group of maybe twenty cheerful balls of bouncing fluff that resembled the head of an axolotl. Only their skin was white as opposed to the normal skin of the amphibian. Their voices all sounded similar with only slight tonal differences to identify which was which. Of course, they all sounded like children. Given their size, it wasn't all that surprising.
"They're so cute!" Missy gushed. "They're like little white salamanders, only they're just heads."
"They're Upamon," Taylor said at the same time as her Digimon partner, and then, after receiving a nod from Dorumon, Taylor continued, "Hopefully they have some food for us."
"Food! Yes, we have lots of food!" said one Upamon.
"Lots and lots!" said another.
My stomach growled again, and I cleared my throat. "Good… because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one hungry here."
"Just follow us! Armadillomon will want to know you're here, but food is this way!" said yet another Upamon as it started bouncing with the original two in a direction.
The Wards all glanced to me, and I gave a shrug. Taylor and Dorumon had already started walking after the hopping Upamon, and I saw no real harm in following along. It was doubtful that these Digimon could put up much of a fight if it came to that, and they seemed friendly enough. Plus, I really wanted to deal with this hunger thing.
"Come on," I said, gesturing for them to follow me as I started walking. "We've made it this far."
"Right," Lily said, brushing her hand along her partner. Kyaromon had fallen asleep in her arms, and I couldn't help but smile at how it looked. "Dra—I mean, Katia, how did you end up here?"
"Hmm?" I glanced forward to make sure we were still walking the direction we needed. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that..." Lily paused and shook her head. Admittedly, I hadn't explained how I'd ended up here, but doing so would probably mean explaining things that I neither had the ability to prove nor the desire to. As far as the Wards and Taylor were concerned, I was Katia Richter, human. Parahuman, sure, but ultimately, I was just a human like them.
At least, when I wasn't a Digimon.
"I didn't explain because it's stupid," I said with a small shrug. "Nowhere near as exciting as how you all got here. Just a flash of light in my server room and here I was."
An Upamon slowed down to bounce near me. "That's probably why you ended up here! This is Server Continent! And there's the food!"
"Food!" echoed the other two Upamon with us as they all locked gazes on a basket that laid in the approximate centre of the village. The not-quite paved streets met at a squared-off section and no building was less than eight meters away from the basket. Then the wind shifted, and the smell of warm… I assumed that was the bread's smell that wafted into my nose and made my mouth water. It had to be. I'd read so many descriptions of how food made a body react, and I felt my body following those descriptions.
"It's okay if we take some?" Taylor looked to the Upamon.
"Of course!" One Upamon said. "We have plenty! And you're asking nicely so Armadillomon won't get mad!"
"Is Armadilomon the head of town?" I asked, feeling some of my programming come forward. If Armadillomon was the valid government of the area, I'd have to obey it. If it said that I couldn't have any of the food, or that the rest of the group couldn't, I'd have to suggest we go elsewhere. Forcefully, if necessary. Of course, given these were children, that was something I desperately wanted to avoid.
"Yep, yep!" Upamon said. "He helps bake the bread and gather the fruits!"
"I also make sure y'all don't do anything too knuckleheaded," said a masculine voice with an accent that wouldn't be out of place in Texas. It came from a meter and a half-long armadillo. The Digimon had red tribal markings on the top of its head along with a diamond jewel embedded above them. It had a hard golden shell along its back and four clawed feet. "Seems we've got ourselves some visitors. Humans and other Digimon-types. How can I help you?"
Taylor looked to me, and I nodded. She stepped forward, adjusting the goggles on her forehead. "We all just got here a bit ago, and we and our Digimon partners are hungry."
"I remembered this village was here, and you had food," Dorumon said, explaining. "We could use some help."
"Hmm. Yeah, I reckon I could help y'all out," said the Armadillomon. "There's plenty of food here for sharing, but it ain't exactly free."
"We don't exactly have any money," I said. Most of my resources were tied up in Guild accounts that I had no way of accessing at the moment, and there was no way I'd have physical currency on me, anyway.
"Money?" An Upamon bounced. "What's money?"
"Human stuff, kiddo," Armadillomon said. "Not something we need, exactly. Nah, y'all will get some food, but we need some help around the village. Not a lot of us here have those fancy things called opposable thumbs. Think that's a fair trade?"
"It could be," Taylor said and glanced to the Wards, who then looked to me. It seemed perfectly fair to me, and it was the best way to get some food into us. I gave a nod to the children, and they turned back to Armadillomon. "Can you tell us what you need done while we eat?"
"Of course," said the Digimon. "Can't let y'all starve before you do the odd jobs around town. We've got some repairs and some other things that have been needing doing."
The three Upamon bounced. "The town well needs help! But food!"
"Right, food." Armadillomon turned toward the basket at the center of town. "Y'all can help yourselves, I reckon. Don't forget to feed the little ones."
"Yeah! We're hungry too!" Pagumon called from his perch on Everett's shoulder. Everett reached his hand up and rubbed the small Digimon between the ears as he started toward the basket. "I want that one, and that one, and that one..."
One by one, we made our way to the basket to pull out some food. The Wards and Taylor all seemed to know what to take, and their Digimon knew what they wanted. I, on the other hand, had to take a good hard look. Everything looked good to my eyes. There were apples, berries, citrus, and breads that looked well-baked. I really had no clue what to take. So as to not look too weird, I grabbed a few random fruits and some bread before backing away from the basket. I ended up sitting down between Missy and Lily, each of whom shared some bread with their Digimon partners.
"How is it?" I asked, looking at the bread and fruit I had in my hands.
"'s good, Ms. Richter," Lily said between bites. Her Kyaromon munched on what appeared to be a peach or peach-like fruit of some sort. She gave an affirmative trill between her own bites.
"Very good!" Chicchimon chirped. "More bread, Missy!"
Missy giggled and gave the little bird some. I looked down at the bread and fruit in my hands. How did I want to do this? Maybe I'd give the bread a try. I supposed. It couldn't be all that hard, could it? I mean, all I had to do was take a bite. Open my mouth, stick food in, close it and tear and chew.
Raising the slice of bread to my now open mouth, I gave a valiant attempt at taking a bite from it. My teeth closed around its crusty exterior, revealing the soft innards of the roll, and I tore the bite from the bread carefully. Then I moved the bread in my mouth and I started to chew. To masticate.
A new sensation overwhelmed me, centred on my tongue. It was like touch but not quite. I could feel texture with it, but there was so much more. The bread was… It was more than data. It was taste. Taste. I could taste things now. I'd never been able to before. Father never saw fit to program a way for me to emulate that, and how could he? Sure, a tongue was capable of discerning the chemical make-up of things by changing how the sensations felt, but gaining pleasure from it? The bread was sweet, salty, and just the tiniest bit sour. There was no bitterness to it, as I chewed, but the taste faded the more I masticated it.
Now… I was done chewing. Next came the… swallowing? How was I supposed to pull that off? There were muscles in the back of a human's throat. I just needed to move the food back there and contract them, forcing it down the esophagus. Easier said than done.
"Miss Richter, are you okay?" Missy asked and I raised a hand in response. She looked like she wanted to say more, and she was making unconscious hand movements in my direction. If her powers were working, the space between us would either contract or expand at her whim, and she'd call that help. I could do this. I could. Just needed to figure out how this worked. "You know my powers aren't working, but I still give a mean Heimlich."
I shook my head and moved my tongue in my mouth a bit, and then I just… I let go. My muscles contracted on their own, pulling the food in from my mouth. I did it automatically. I swallowed the food, and now I could feel it descending my esophagus toward my stomach.
"Bit too big of a bite," I said softly as I rubbed at my throat with a newly free hand. Oddly this made it feel better which meant some of the pain was psychosomatic. Probably.
"Ah. I've done that. Mom used to say to be careful," Missy said. "Also not to eat too fast. Back… Never mind."
Her trigger. Yeah, I would leave that alone. Discussing anyone's trigger unprompted was considered bad form, and "It's good though." I smiled at her and Chicchimon. "Everyone seems to be enjoying their food."
"Definitely," Lily said.
"Def'nily," Kyaromon said, mouth full. The In-Training Digimon clearly needed her partner's help when it came to manners. "More food!"
I smiled at the little furry Digimon and I brought the fruit to my mouth to take a bite. Juice burst forth from the fruit, striking my tongue with its mix of sour and sweet and combining with the scent of the food, the taste of this new item practically overwhelmed me. My mind blanked almost completely, and I was certain that if I were on Bet, I'd be rebooting from backup at this. It was far beyond the taste of the bread. It was far beyond anything I could have known before. Just knowing that this existed made my newfound human life better.
The bread had been simply good, a new sensation for someone who hadn't ever had the delight of tasting something. The fruit, however, was something far better. It was practically divine. No. There was a much better word to describe it. A single word could sum up my entire thought processes on the fruit.
The fruit was delicious.