Queen of Puddles (Digimon) (Ranamon SI)
- Thread starter Flairina
- Start date
-
- Tags
- digimon self insert
canned Tomatoes
verified non-perishable
- Location
- Germany
I sincerely hope that MagnaGarurumon and KaizerGreymon won't be a thing in this fic.
They are one of the worst parts of Frontier in how they sideline everyone but the two main protagonists.
- Location
- EXA_PICO
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Unfortunately, those two forms existing is specifically a response to two utterly BS overpowered villains who show up to curbstomp the kids every episode for an extended period of time later in the series. That's kind of a cosmic deadline hanging over everyone.
- Location
- Earth (unverified)
I'm unfamiliar with Digimon, are their flying forms not big enough to carry the non-flying members? Or did they just forget they have flying forms right after teasing one of them about forgetting they could fly? Because if so that would be hilarious.
Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
BurningGreymon, Beetlemon, and Kazemon could indeed likely carry the remaining members of the group between them. However, they're currently on an island with no apparent mainland in view, and the closest continent to them at the moment is the one they are actively running away from. "Fly off into the yonder hoping you'll come across another continent sooner or later, carrying two humans and two Digimon worth of baggage, with no food and no plan if you get tired in the middle of open ocean with nowhere to land" really just isn't the best plan regardless. Looking the chapter over again however, I can see how that didn't really come across, so I've added a couple of lines in to make that reasoning clearer/more explicit.
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IMO now that they know you can mix and match, theres no reason the Light and Fire warriors have to be the centerpieces for the advanced combination forms.
canned Tomatoes
verified non-perishable
- Location
- Germany
That was a thing, yes, but that was also because the show writers made the decision of only giving the two protagonists the upgraded digivices that can combine the human and beast spirits.
Which is why, not counting Susanoomon, Takuya and Koji have four digimon forms, while the rest of the cast only has two.
That is built on the formula of Adventure, but Adventure simply had more forms.
By using the spirits, there are no child level digimon forms, which has the effect that the human spirit is needed to be an active participant of the plot.
So, while everyone in the cast does reach the perfect level in strength, just like in Adventure, it doesn't have the same feeling.
That gets then aggravated by two more forms for the main protagonists, before the final form, and taking away the power everyone else had.
It's as if in adventure you got WarGreymone and MetalGarurumon, while the other digimon only ever got to their adult level forms and then got stuck as baby levels for the last fifth of the show.
They could have always done something else.
Everyone gets fusion forms and together they are strong enough, a quest to revive the other legendary warriors, but not corrupted, both of those things, Digimentals, Crests, etc.
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Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
Apparently Ranamon can digivolve from Otamamon - Wikimon - The #1 Digimon wiki
could see that being a good option.
if nothing else, she'd get a good move out of it.
Eternal slumber could be another word for death, but a permanant coma could also be useful.
Also,
counting Octmon (she could start a DJ business), and Culumon of all Digimon.
i'm imagining her turning into that and just, removing the digivolving capabilities of the bad guys and Zoe.
RinKaihou
AllSeeingEye
- Location
- Behind You
I need the Ranamon rendition of Calamari Inkantation in my life.
- Location
- America
So the party could be carried by their flying members but they'd have to land when they get tired and landing in the ocean isn't good.
However, can't Tommy use his ice digimon spirit to freeze up a platform in the ocean to land on? Or make a 'raft' out of?
Though I understand that wouldn't be the first option given that's not exactly a comfy place to rest, but it is an option
However, can't Tommy use his ice digimon spirit to freeze up a platform in the ocean to land on? Or make a 'raft' out of?
Though I understand that wouldn't be the first option given that's not exactly a comfy place to rest, but it is an option
E.I.G.
Robo-Bird
- Pronouns
- It/They
Tommy actually might get smaller when he turns into a digimon. He isn't a very big snow-bear like that, and from my memory most of his big freezing attacks are more shapeshifting into a chunk of ice than freezing other stuff.
Not to mention that salt water is harder to freeze in the first place, or the fact that they are in tropical waters that probably aren't great for keeping it frozen.
Or the fact that Frontier wasn't that good at having them play around with or otherwise use the digimon forms they were given. It was a lot more about trains.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
it even has a sort of Digivolving effect in 3.
- Location
- Poland
I mean, we can always look at something interesting that I think has been on hiatus or cancelled, not quite sure as to its status...
- Location
- MN
still holding out hope they start it back up one day.I mean, we can always look at something interesting that I think has been on hiatus or cancelled, not quite sure as to its status...
Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
Fixed, and I'm glad you liked it! It is indeed a rather nice thing for them to realize so soon after first obtaining the spirits of a former enemy. Time will only tell where that leads...
Heh, even if I'd been inserted into Digimon Frontier as someone or something completely different, this was going to happen. It was a massively missed opportunity in the original series IMO, so like hell am I not going to try and explore it myself while I'm already playing in the property's sandbox.
I mean, there's nothing to say he couldn't do so offscreen before anything else major happens, which one might assume is what everyone other than Zoe did in canon. But perhaps next time we check in on the kids, we'll find out if anything went wrong in that regard...
~And no one was happy~
While I can't speak on the possible consequences of using a spirit not "meant" for you, bear in mind that while the spirits do appear to have preferences, they also weren't ever meant for specific children/owners in the first place the way the partners from Adventure were. "Chosen" here is thus less "predestined/literally made to be together" and more along the lines of simply "favored" or "well-matched", with significantly more flexibility in who can use what — especially since, if you ascribe that much awareness to the spirits, then the more a given user makes use of one, the more they'll likely in turn potentially learn to work together. But I'll get into the impact of "switched" spirits more a little later.
Possible! Though, Ranamon!me doesn't know any more than the kids do regarding where or which way the Toucanmon fled during that mess, and I'm already quite a ways further away from the island. Ranamon was implied to have directly contacted the Toucanmon in canon through her computer somehow, but for me to do the same would require me to first get back to the lair, then discover that function on Ranamon's computer (assuming that's actually how she contacted them), then figure out how to use it to contact the Toucanmon specifically... and also the Toucanmon would need to be in a position to receive that message while the kids are still around. Quite a few points of potential failure there. ^^;
I mean hey, they pulled it off in canon! Somehow. Cartoon children are strikingly competent at engineering those sort of things, aren't they?
I guess he could maybe do that? I'm not sure a relatively thin ice platform would manage to stay both floating and intact on the waves for very long, but Tommy did manage to freeze a short bridge out into the water just last chapter, and the group shouldn't be that heavy while they're all human, so that might at least solve half the issue. Not a solution they seem to have come to yet though, or may ever for that matter, because to be honest (as EIG noted) the Frontier kids very rarely used the spirit forms for anything but direct combat/rescue scenarios. Even the one time I can recall that they did (the Wacky Races parody that crops up post-Korikakumon), it was STILL mostly about trains, regarding how Takuya could push the Trailmon off the actual track.
All told, the kids will likely get off the island one way or another. The point is mostly just that they need either a specific direction (and estimated distance) they can expect to find land in, or a method that will let them bring supplies and not be constantly exerting themselves, such that they don't end up stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food or energy to go on.
...you know what? Fair. The kids aren't likely to worry themselves too much about it right now regardless, since the moment/incident is already past, but on reflection I do feel someone would at least consider it, as well as its potential counterpoints. I'll try to add a couple lines in to reflect that when I'm a little less tired.
EDIT: Orrrrr maybe not. Please hold.
Thankfully, Digimon heal quite quickly! Less thankfully, "quickly" is not "instantly"!
Pretty sure the the spirits Cherubimon had possession of were straight up based on that schema, with fire exchanged for darkness because... well, evil. As for elemental match ups, while those aren't nonexistent in the show, they appear to have considerably less impact or influence than they do in the games, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
Considering the Human Spirit of Water is part of MagnaGarurumon, which would presumably require Ranamon!me to have been reverted to spirit/statue form (and very likely "purified" in the process), I certainly hope they won't be either. ^^;
You kind of have to count on the reference entries to overstate any given Digimon's abilities. Unless you are in Ghost Game, these kind of "instant kill" moves rarely actually work the way they're stated to be capable of, and that goes exponentially more so for rookies, so I really wouldn't put too much stock in that description. It probably doesn't even matter though, since...
Ranamon!me is fairly certain no "original form" exists underneath my current one, so simply reverting to some unknown rookie form would honestly be close to the most favorable outcome of having my spirit(s) taken. Since I can't seem to stop being Ranamon by simple force of will, the more likely-seeming scenarios to me are that the spirits get beaten out of me, and either 1) my mind goes with Ranamon's egg, which loses all data upon death, memory-wiping me, 2) my mind goes with the mostly-inanimate Human Spirit of Water, and it becomes a pseudo "And I Must Scream" situation, or 3) the spirit resets to its default state, and my mind just gets thrown out entirely in favor of whatever is supposed to be there.
...so maybe Ranamon!me should just try to avoid losing my spirit in the first place.
Yeah, unfortunately those forms were predicated on the fact that Takuya and Kouji's D-Tectors specifically were the ones that Ophanimon managed to "upgrade". Thus if the same circumstances occurred here, then even knowing about spirits being relatively free use wouldn't keep Takuya and Kouji from still being the only ones capable of Unified Evolution. That's rather far off regardless though, so let's just hope the same circumstances don't occur here.
...pfft.
Takuya: "Wha- no, you can't 'kin' BurningGreymon, he's mine to begin with!"
JP: "You don't own him! You don't understand the connection we've built!"
Tommy: "Um, I guess I'm fine with keeping MetalKabuterimon then..."
Kouji: "Did I not SAY that we shouldn't be trading around our spirits like-"
Zoe: "Just give it up Kouji, it's too late."
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ThatOtherSatori
Lover of Spicy Food
- Location
- Indiana, USA
Tommy would probably be the one to twig to it I reckon, he's the sharp one of the lot after all. just needs to find his courage to bring it up.
Honestly, I am currently hoping that one of them makes the logical leap that was now laid out by Tommys question and reinforced by Takuyas experiment. Namely that, if it is possible for them to use any spirit, what would stop any other digimon from using/getting "possessed" by any other spirit. Like, say, that one strangely behaving Warrior of Water...
- Location
- Poland
Actually... is there anything stopping them from using D-Tector of another kid? Like, were the D-Tectors themselves tied to specific child or could one of other children grab Takuya's D-Tector but do the thing with their own spirits? I'm actually curious.
Chapter 9: Rise to New Depths
Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
This sucks.
Still gliding smoothly just above the surface of the ocean, I narrow my eyes over my mask. Now that I'm no longer swept up in the heat of battle, that vaguely uncomfortable feeling I noticed even the first time I took this form is really starting to get to me. While I don't think it's actually grown any stronger, it feels more prominent in my awareness than before, which is only compounding my existing vexation at everything else. I almost wonder if it's the Beast Spirit of Wind subtly lashing out at me for letting things go like that — though, if it didn't want that to happen, you'd think that it just wouldn't have done a lot of that in the first place.
My wings sweep downward in frustration. It doesn't help that I'm still finding it quite hard to control myself. Zephyrmon's instincts aren't separate from my thoughts, they're in them, contaminating my every mental process with foreign urges and impulses that I can't even easily identify as such. It feels normal, natural even, to think that I should probably find a place to both set down and calm down after that rather exhausting fight. In fact, I wouldn't even say that's unusual on its own. However, the fact that I also feel like finding someone to prank would somehow aid me in that feels just as normal, even though I can't think of a single time I've even played a practical joke on someone before. That can't be coming from me...
I squint. Come to think of it, this is probably why I wanted to go tease the Toucanmon earlier, isn't it? If I'd noticed just how uncharacteristic that thought was then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way... though, I suppose at least now if Mercurymon gets smart with me again, I can just pick him up and dangle him out the side of the lair until-
Groaning, I cut myself off and violently shake my head, wishing it was possible to physically force a thought out of mind. Damn it, out of all ten existing beast spirits, I had to wind up saddled with the only one that's neither feral nor destructive, yet somehow mischievous enough to be even worse. Why is Zephyrmon even like this?! She's the least visually beast-like of the entire lot; her design isn't exactly indicative of the fact that she apparently acts like Impmon if she's allowed free reign!
My flight slows. Come to think of it, why am I even still Zephyrmon right now? I'm not being chased anymore, I'm not particularly comfortable, and this form has caused me basically nothing but trouble thus far. I should really just switch back already.
...though, all instincts aside, today really has been extraordinarily stressful, and I've not truly slowed down at any point for more than a few minutes. Maybe I actually should take some time to go... I don't know, check out the coast of the Continent of Flame or something? I can see it from here, and it might at least help me unwind a little, I doubt it'd take me too long to find someone to have a little ~fun~ with once I-
I nearly scream. Re-readjusting my course, I force myself to focus-
-and dive back down into the water, magnitudes happier than I've been since waking up like this to simply be Ranamon again, no longer stuck wrestling with my own mind.
...which of course means I can now actually focus on just how badly I screwed up back there. I'm genuinely struggling to think of a single way that encounter could have possibly gone worse than it did. It was the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong words...
A growl cuts past my teeth. And the wrong spirit. A stupid, uncooperative, self-sabotaging-
Forcing myself to the surface, I slam my eyes shut and concentrate, feeling around in myself, or rather my data, for the offender in question. I can't really distinguish anything beyond the physical at first, my attention mostly just drawn to my various lingering injuries — both my jaw and shoulder are feeling more than a little bruised, and I guess I must still have actual hands beneath these gauntlets, because they ache like nothing else. As I focus in on the same internal trigger I just pulled to slide evolve however, something seems to enter my awareness, gathering itself from throughout my entirety to coalesce just behind my breastbone.
Placing a hand over my heart — or at least where my heart would be if Ranamon actually had one — I give the object a mental yank, and the Beast Spirit of Wind emerges, floating out of my chest like a ghost. It's a lot smaller than it was before for some reason, standing barely even six inches tall, but any curiosity I might have as to why is vastly overshadowed by my fury.
"You." I snarl, glaring at the tiny figurine now floating over my outstretched hand. "Got anything to say for yourself?!"
…
"I know you can hear me! Why did you do that?! Just because things weren't going well didn't mean you had to actively antagonize them! I needed their help, and to help them, and Zoe was right there, but now you're probably stuck with me until I can figure out how to fix this!"
…
"...hello...?"
The surrounding air remains steadfastly silent. Not a single gust of wind blows by to indicate that the harpy-shaped idol is even aware I'm speaking to it, or has any desire to respond if so.
Sighing, I drop my arms and allow the spirit to slowly sink back into me. Here I am trying to chastise a mostly-inanimate statue, as if I don't own the lion's share of the blame for this regardless. Zephyrmon may have made things worse, but I fumbled the initial negotiations all on my own, not to mention stupidly flew off the handle upon seeing Zoe as Calmaramon. Hell, I'm not even sure the Beast Spirit of Wind has any real agency or influence over Zephyrmon beyond providing the template for her form, so maybe that part was completely my fault too. I didn't even have a real plan to justify why I wasn't actually hostile to the kids, I sort of just expected handing over Zoe's beast spirit to do all the work of convincing them of that on its own, letting my assumption that they didn't pose a threat at the moment make me careless, and- well, look how that turned out.
Hanging my head, I start pulling myself through the water. About the only solace I can take in this is that "stealing" Zoe's beast spirit means I now literally can't die the way Ranamon did in the show, since I'm all but certain that Zephyrmon was part of that scenario. That doesn't mean it can't still happen however, just that it might play out slightly different now, and in doing so I've potentially ruined my ability to even semi-accurately predict how events will proceed from here, so it's cold comfort indeed.
The world around me silent save for gently lapping waves, I quietly glance up at the darkening sky, a profusion of stars greater than any I've ever seen before already partially visible. I'd probably be a bit more awed by the sight, if not for how sore and tired I currently am.
I blink. I'm tired...? Ah... guess it's safe to assume I do in fact need sleep then, incarnated spirit or not. In which case, I suppose I'd better hurry back to the hideout. I was already on my way, as I'm not sure how much time I can reasonably spend away from it without raising questions or starting a manhunt, and I might actually be safer sheltering there than I would be anywhere else anyways. Certainly more so than I'd be out here in open ocean, where any given sea-dwelling Digimon evidently stands at least some chance of recognizing me as the Digimon responsible for the ongoing destruction of their ecosystem. If I want to be sure I won't get figuratively shivved while I'm dead to the world, returning to the lair still makes the most sense, despite its other inhabitants.
...alternatively, since Zephyrmon isn't a known reverse eco-terrorist, I suppose I could just spend the night as her somewhere. Take the risk of missing my unknown, perhaps even nonexistent curfew, make myself a nice little nest up a tree or something, and simply "relax", as I seem so perpetually inclined towards doing in that form.
I snort. Well, if my options come down to trusting I'll be safe in the evil warriors' lair for a night, unconscious in the midst of such charming figures as Duskmon and Mercurymon, or trusting that Zephyrmon won't end up getting me in further trouble in the time between now and morning, the choice seems pretty obvious. Where's that tunnel again?
My gaze pans across the horizon. I'm pretty sure that island I passed a couple miles back was the one where the Seadramon attacked me, and the water's edge is off to my left, while the continent is to my right, so I must be at least relatively close. Just need to look around a little...
It takes me a bit in the fading light, at least 15 minutes of which I accidentally spend searching the entirely wrong area, but eventually I manage to triangulate the reef I arrived here through, aided by the sheer size of the underwater hill it lies on. I then of course still have to find the actual entrance, but the number of Digimon in the vicinity seems to have died down significantly with the onset of evening, leaving me free to scan the hill's exterior at my leisure. The symbol that marks the portal turns out to be hidden under a metric ton of coral on this end, to the point I doubt I'd have ever found it had I not arrived here through it, but it still only takes a simple touch to activate, and soon enough I find myself slipping back down into the passageway, embraced on all sides by the same luminescent water I awoke in this morning.
As I propel myself past the rough stone walls of the literal digital shortcut, I find myself thinking back again, still a touch concerned about the Toucanmon and Gomamon. I really hope they got away safely... in the chaos of everything that went on back there, I didn't even see what happened to any of them. I didn't see any eggs fly off though, which I have to assume is a good sign. With any luck, they all managed to escape the beach without further incident or injury.
...unlike me.
Once I arrive back at the central hub, I wind up lingering in place for a minute or two, part of me wondering if I can just stay down here all night. If I'm pretending to be Ranamon though, then I need to at least put in the bare minimum effort to mimic her, and based on where I woke up initially, I'm inclined to believe she doesn't sleep down here. So...
Tapping the ceiling, I pull myself through the hole that appears and back up into Ranamon's living pool. Despite my reservations, after spending so long out in the comparative frenzy of the ocean, it's surprisingly soothing to be back in a space that's mine and mine alone. Spartan or not, it's still comfortingly spacious, smooth as marble, and reassuringly empty. Even the hole leading up to the cavern above is-
Is... currently being loomed over by a rather bulky silhouette.
"Yo Ranamon, youse in there?"
...oh, joy. Seems the fourth member of this little group found his way back while I was out.
I swim upwards, and the silhouette comes into clearer view, revealing it to indeed be Arbormon, the Warrior of Wood. To my recollection, he's something of a brute, with additional tendencies towards both laziness and gluttony. As such, he's not exactly the brightest of the bunch, and while he's not really what I'd call an idiot either, he's the member of the group I'm honestly the least worried about.
Not that it means I can let my guard down around him.
Breaching the surface of the pool, I pull myself up and out into the cavern, silently noting that while Arbormon is shorter than Mercurymon, the top of my swim cap still only comes up to his torso-bound "mouth". Great, another giant.
"Ey, there you are." Arbormon says, his shoulder armor lifting up slightly in his version of a smile. "Where you been?"
"Out." I say, casually but noncommittally. "Ah just got back. You?"
Arbormon shrugs. "Same 'ere. I caught up with them humans, but they dropped a cave on my head 'fore I could finish 'em off. Wasn' too tough ta dig my way out, but it took a while, and I lost 'em. Pretty sure theys went out over water, but I ain't as good at trackin' mon from underground as Grumblemon is... or uh, was."
While I try my best to ignore it, I still can't help but find it hard to concentrate on what Arbormon is actually saying given how he's saying it. Between Mercurymon the ren faire enthusiast, Ranamon the southern belle, Grumblemon the high-pitched caveman, and Arbormon the presumed mafia stereotype, Duskmon is apparently the only one in this base allowed to not sound at least mildly ridiculous.
...wait, what was that last part?
"Was?" I repeat.
Arbormon nods, seeming to slump a little.
"Yeah... Grumblemon got done in by them kids."
My eyes widen slightly. That's right... Grumblemon was defeated for good just after Seraphimon died, before the kids got to the island I just met them on. Meaning that's one of the other evil warriors already taken care of, and one less that I'll have to fool. I suppose this mess at least has a small silver lining to it.
"Ah'm sorry to hear that." I say. "Ah'm sure he went down swingin'."
Arbormon shifts. "Ey, that's real nice of ya to say, Ranamon. Didn't think youse cared."
I side eye him. Seriously? Apparently Ranamon really was just that unconcerned about her nominal allies, or at least that's the impression she gave them... I already said otherwise though, so I'd better at least commit.
"Ah ain't that self-absorbed." I insist, crossing my arms under my chest as though insulted. "Ah wasn't exactly fond of the little gnome, but it ain't like ah'm happy he's gone."
Arbormon scratches his head. "Huh..."
He suddenly claps me on the back, hard enough that I nearly fall over. "Well, dontchu worry, we'll get them puny humans sooner or later. Revenge izza dish best served warm, amiright?"
Not... really, at least going by the traditional phrasing of that idiom, but I'm hardly going to correct you.
Arbormon suddenly smacks his fist into his palm, the wooden parts clacking against each other like rattles.
"Oh yeah! Almost forgot, Mercurymon said that if you was here, he wanted to talk to ya's real quick."
...thrilling.
"Thanks." I say, barely withholding my sarcasm. "Ah'll just go find him then, shall ah?"
Arbormon gives me a thumbs up as I make my way over to a ceiling hollow and allow myself to be lifted upwards.
With night having now fallen in full, the inside of the structure is quite dark, though the light of this world's trio of moons shining in through the gaps in the walls remains more than enough to navigate by. My gems flicker dimly as I progress to the third floor, where I find Mercurymon sitting with his back to a pillar, seemingly admiring one of his own arm mirrors. He looks up as I approach, lips quirking upward slightly as he stands.
"Our sodden siren rejoins us." he greets me, if you can really call that a greeting. "How kind of her to grace us with her continued presence."
I wrinkle my nose at his choice of epithet.
"And how kind of ya to notice."
"But of course." Mercurymon easily replies. "And how fared thy latest excursion? Doth the fair lady return from her quest triumphant, or in miserable failure, as she has so many times prior?"
I half-lid my eyes and scowl.
"Take a guess."
I don't elaborate — I'm hardly going to tell him what actually happened, after all. I may not like Zephyrmon very much, but she's what I've got to work with right now, and as I don't see Duskmon anywhere, I think I can get away with keeping this particular card up my sleeve for the time being.
Mercurymon keeps his smile, even he shakes his head.
"How regrettably predictable. Thou hast my condolences, but I shall ask that thee attempt to keep the volume of thy grievances to a minimum this time, oh mistress of moping."
...good lord, just pick a vaguely derogatory nickname for me and stick with it, will you?
"Ah'll keep that in mind." I say flatly. "If that's all ya wanted, then if you'll excuse me, ah need my beauty sleep."
I turn to walk away-
"Hmm... a small question, before we taketh our leave of one another."
I pause, looking back from the corner of one eye. "What?"
"For a trip of no apparent remark, thou appear notably more damaged than expected."
He gestures to my lower body, prompting me to glance down at myself in minor confusion. Sure enough, my stomach, hip fin, and some additional bits of skin peeking out from the holes in my swimsuit are still visibly burned, BurningGreymon's parting shot having left a clear mark on me even in this form. I hadn't really noticed them around the background ache of everything else, but against the otherwise teal expanse of my skin, the purplish-blue brands still stand out like smoke upon the sky.
"Now what ever could have done such a thing to our drizzly damsel?" Mercurymon muses.
I grimace. Great, now I have to tell him something. Could I maybe use the Seadramon as an excuse? No, none of its attacks were capable of burning me, and I can't afford to look so weak as to have had trouble with a Digimon that relatively minor in front of this guy anyways. I don't know what else I could fake having run into though...
Ugh, fine, truth it is — the extremely abbreviated, un-detailed version of it, at least.
"Ah ran into those kids." I mutter with a distinct thread of petulance. "They got in a couple lucky hits."
He doesn't even have eyes, but I could swear that Mercurymon's brow somehow shoots up.
"Oh?" he remarks, clapping his hands together with a sound like colliding pots and pans. "Well then, I suppose congratulations for thee are in order for escaping such a scenario intact. As I recall, tis a better outcome than you yourself were expecting... as in part was I, for that matter."
I glare where he can't see it, idly wondering how the hell the other evil warriors put up with this guy — though, I guess Grumblemon technically doesn't have to anymore.
"Thanks ever so much for your vote of confidence." I snap. "Now unless you've got any more snide remarks, ah think we're done here."
"Mmm, I'm certain I do, but perhaps I shall save them for the morrow." Mercurymon says, turning back to his arm mirror. "Rest well, milady."
It's only with a supreme effort of will that I don't tell him to shove his "miladys" where the sun doesn't shine as I drop back down to the previous floor.
Arbormon is gone when I return to my pool, despite the fact that I didn't see him on either of the floors above, which are too open for me to have realistically missed him. Maybe he stepped outside or something? Not that I know where he could possibly have done that and not walked straight out onto open air, but at the moment it's hardly my highest priority.
Stumbling over to the water, I slide back in, relaxing more than I'd like to admit as the liquid washes over me. Digimon thankfully heal quite quickly, to the point I already feel better than I did just an hour ago, but Mercurymon pointing out the most obvious of my assorted damage has only brought the rest of it back into focus. Even if I'm in less pain than I probably should be, I'm still more than glad to have an excuse to be unconscious for the next however-many hours.
Less unnerved by the prospect of sleeping here than I was this morning, I swim down to the bottom of the pool, settle myself in the water, and allow my eyes to drift shut, trying to remind myself that despite how today went, I don't think I actually ruined anything that would keep the kids from being able to take care of my "fellow" warriors. So long as I still manage to avoid my own canon end, I should only have to deal with this in the short term.
...
...
...
...although...
...in the long term...
My eyes snap back open.
In the long term, that still won't actually save me, because this is the season of Digimon where the villain essentially wins.
I bolt back upright as my dim memories of Frontier's finale finally fit themselves back together. I only saw the final arc once, and I've been so focused on my immediate situation that it didn't even occur to me, but... even after Cherubimon was defeated in canon, that wasn't the end of things. Because no one bothered to keep track of the giant mass of fractal code he'd accumulated beforehand, it ended up falling to Lucemon, the Digimon responsible for Cherubimon's corruption in the first place, in his prison within the partially-exposed core of the planet. That data in turn allowed Lucemon to release two more servants to finish what Cherubimon started, and Dynasmon and Crusadermon turned out to both be much better at it, utterly overpowering the kids and getting the better of them at essentially every turn. The pair rampaged through what remained of the Digital World nigh-unopposed, until nothing remained of the planet or its inhabitants, letting Lucemon break free of his age-old imprisonment... whereupon he proceeded to absorb his own servants, along with all the code they'd collected, before going on to launch an assault on the human world, having gained more than enough power from subsuming the data of everything else on his plane of existence to make doing so a plausible feat.
The more I think about it, the more comes back to me, dropping my nonexistent heart ever further into my stomach. Lucemon was ultimately still defeated in the end, but by that point, there was nothing left of the Digital World to save. While the code of the planet itself was restored, every living Digimon was left reduced to an egg, their memories, culture, and history all completely wiped away... a factory reset in all but name, performed on a planetary scale. I found it such a drawn out and depressing conclusion to the show, with multiple episodes largely just consisting of the same losing battle even before the downer ending, that I apparently all but scrubbed it from memory — and now I almost wish it had stayed that way. Because if events play out that way here, then even I manage to escape Ranamon's original fate of being killed off by the heroes?
I'll ultimately just die anyways, when the rest of this dimension does.
I almost laugh. Hell, it goes even further than that! In order to finally stop Lucemon, the Digidestined ended up having to use all twenty legendary spirits in tandem to collectively become Susanoomon, the only entity in this continuity with enough power to pose any real threat to him. But if even one of those twenty spirits isn't available, Susanoomon won't be an option... and I'm currently the physical incarnation of one of them. Ranamon isn't just doomed by canon, she's doomed by the narrative stakes — if I don't die, everything else permanently dies.
Surprisingly, the actual panic I feel at all this is relatively limited, perhaps because it somehow only seems natural after today that my already ludicrously bad situation was somehow even worse than I'd remembered. My thoughts briefly flash to the prospect of taking a Trailmon out of this world again, but no — Lucemon will still come for the human world eventually, so I'd just be exchanging short-term theoretical safety at best for a slightly-delayed apocalypse, and in the process essentially guarantee that apocalypse happens. Assuming it didn't just happen instantly that is, given the time-dilation effect that exists between the two dimensions. Though I didn't know it at the time, fleeing from this world was never an option.
But the alternative is...
I bite down on nothing. Damn it, there has to be a way around this! Maybe if I just jumped into Susanoomon alongside the kids...? Even if that worked I'm not sure I'd come back out without just reverting to an inanimate statue though, same as all the other spirits when they're used by someone or something else. Could Susanoomon still form without me, and maybe just be a little weaker than normal? There's so many spirits to make up for a single one's absence, and surely Susanoomon at 19/20ths strength would still be enough to defeat Lucemon... but do I have enough faith in that theory to bet both myself and the rest of the world on it?
Even as I pose the question to myself, I already know that I don't. This is the season where essentially everything that could go wrong did go wrong, after all. If I prevent Susanoomon from forming at full strength, it's entirely possible that when Lucemon eats all the data of the world and everyone in it, it will ultimately stay that way.
Do I really have no choice but to die for the cause...?
I clench my fingers over my gauntlets. No- no, I refuse to accept that; refuse to simply offer myself up as a willing sacrifice! Like hell I'm going to let myself be doomed by the plot twice-over! If I literally can't live through the actual ending of this story, then I'll just have to ensure that things never reach the point Susanoomon would even be needed — that is, ensure that Lucemon stays imprisoned, permanently.
My thoughts gradually begin to calm. Yeah... this is fine. Well, not fine, but while terrifying in the abstract, the stakes were already at the damn ceiling, and this hardly raises them much further. I already knew this world was being actively deleted, after all. The only real difference is that now, I'm aware that deletion will come to full fruition if I don't do anything about it. Nothing about my situation has actually changed... I've just got a slightly bigger job to do than I realized.
Closing my eyes again, I settle back down and try to relax, however futile that now seems.
Better get some sleep... I get the feeling I'm going to need all the rest I can get.
Still gliding smoothly just above the surface of the ocean, I narrow my eyes over my mask. Now that I'm no longer swept up in the heat of battle, that vaguely uncomfortable feeling I noticed even the first time I took this form is really starting to get to me. While I don't think it's actually grown any stronger, it feels more prominent in my awareness than before, which is only compounding my existing vexation at everything else. I almost wonder if it's the Beast Spirit of Wind subtly lashing out at me for letting things go like that — though, if it didn't want that to happen, you'd think that it just wouldn't have done a lot of that in the first place.
My wings sweep downward in frustration. It doesn't help that I'm still finding it quite hard to control myself. Zephyrmon's instincts aren't separate from my thoughts, they're in them, contaminating my every mental process with foreign urges and impulses that I can't even easily identify as such. It feels normal, natural even, to think that I should probably find a place to both set down and calm down after that rather exhausting fight. In fact, I wouldn't even say that's unusual on its own. However, the fact that I also feel like finding someone to prank would somehow aid me in that feels just as normal, even though I can't think of a single time I've even played a practical joke on someone before. That can't be coming from me...
I squint. Come to think of it, this is probably why I wanted to go tease the Toucanmon earlier, isn't it? If I'd noticed just how uncharacteristic that thought was then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way... though, I suppose at least now if Mercurymon gets smart with me again, I can just pick him up and dangle him out the side of the lair until-
Groaning, I cut myself off and violently shake my head, wishing it was possible to physically force a thought out of mind. Damn it, out of all ten existing beast spirits, I had to wind up saddled with the only one that's neither feral nor destructive, yet somehow mischievous enough to be even worse. Why is Zephyrmon even like this?! She's the least visually beast-like of the entire lot; her design isn't exactly indicative of the fact that she apparently acts like Impmon if she's allowed free reign!
My flight slows. Come to think of it, why am I even still Zephyrmon right now? I'm not being chased anymore, I'm not particularly comfortable, and this form has caused me basically nothing but trouble thus far. I should really just switch back already.
...though, all instincts aside, today really has been extraordinarily stressful, and I've not truly slowed down at any point for more than a few minutes. Maybe I actually should take some time to go... I don't know, check out the coast of the Continent of Flame or something? I can see it from here, and it might at least help me unwind a little, I doubt it'd take me too long to find someone to have a little ~fun~ with once I-
I nearly scream. Re-readjusting my course, I force myself to focus-
[ S L I D E - E V O L U T I O N ]
-and dive back down into the water, magnitudes happier than I've been since waking up like this to simply be Ranamon again, no longer stuck wrestling with my own mind.
...which of course means I can now actually focus on just how badly I screwed up back there. I'm genuinely struggling to think of a single way that encounter could have possibly gone worse than it did. It was the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong words...
A growl cuts past my teeth. And the wrong spirit. A stupid, uncooperative, self-sabotaging-
Forcing myself to the surface, I slam my eyes shut and concentrate, feeling around in myself, or rather my data, for the offender in question. I can't really distinguish anything beyond the physical at first, my attention mostly just drawn to my various lingering injuries — both my jaw and shoulder are feeling more than a little bruised, and I guess I must still have actual hands beneath these gauntlets, because they ache like nothing else. As I focus in on the same internal trigger I just pulled to slide evolve however, something seems to enter my awareness, gathering itself from throughout my entirety to coalesce just behind my breastbone.
Placing a hand over my heart — or at least where my heart would be if Ranamon actually had one — I give the object a mental yank, and the Beast Spirit of Wind emerges, floating out of my chest like a ghost. It's a lot smaller than it was before for some reason, standing barely even six inches tall, but any curiosity I might have as to why is vastly overshadowed by my fury.
"You." I snarl, glaring at the tiny figurine now floating over my outstretched hand. "Got anything to say for yourself?!"
…
"I know you can hear me! Why did you do that?! Just because things weren't going well didn't mean you had to actively antagonize them! I needed their help, and to help them, and Zoe was right there, but now you're probably stuck with me until I can figure out how to fix this!"
…
"...hello...?"
The surrounding air remains steadfastly silent. Not a single gust of wind blows by to indicate that the harpy-shaped idol is even aware I'm speaking to it, or has any desire to respond if so.
Sighing, I drop my arms and allow the spirit to slowly sink back into me. Here I am trying to chastise a mostly-inanimate statue, as if I don't own the lion's share of the blame for this regardless. Zephyrmon may have made things worse, but I fumbled the initial negotiations all on my own, not to mention stupidly flew off the handle upon seeing Zoe as Calmaramon. Hell, I'm not even sure the Beast Spirit of Wind has any real agency or influence over Zephyrmon beyond providing the template for her form, so maybe that part was completely my fault too. I didn't even have a real plan to justify why I wasn't actually hostile to the kids, I sort of just expected handing over Zoe's beast spirit to do all the work of convincing them of that on its own, letting my assumption that they didn't pose a threat at the moment make me careless, and- well, look how that turned out.
Hanging my head, I start pulling myself through the water. About the only solace I can take in this is that "stealing" Zoe's beast spirit means I now literally can't die the way Ranamon did in the show, since I'm all but certain that Zephyrmon was part of that scenario. That doesn't mean it can't still happen however, just that it might play out slightly different now, and in doing so I've potentially ruined my ability to even semi-accurately predict how events will proceed from here, so it's cold comfort indeed.
The world around me silent save for gently lapping waves, I quietly glance up at the darkening sky, a profusion of stars greater than any I've ever seen before already partially visible. I'd probably be a bit more awed by the sight, if not for how sore and tired I currently am.
I blink. I'm tired...? Ah... guess it's safe to assume I do in fact need sleep then, incarnated spirit or not. In which case, I suppose I'd better hurry back to the hideout. I was already on my way, as I'm not sure how much time I can reasonably spend away from it without raising questions or starting a manhunt, and I might actually be safer sheltering there than I would be anywhere else anyways. Certainly more so than I'd be out here in open ocean, where any given sea-dwelling Digimon evidently stands at least some chance of recognizing me as the Digimon responsible for the ongoing destruction of their ecosystem. If I want to be sure I won't get figuratively shivved while I'm dead to the world, returning to the lair still makes the most sense, despite its other inhabitants.
...alternatively, since Zephyrmon isn't a known reverse eco-terrorist, I suppose I could just spend the night as her somewhere. Take the risk of missing my unknown, perhaps even nonexistent curfew, make myself a nice little nest up a tree or something, and simply "relax", as I seem so perpetually inclined towards doing in that form.
I snort. Well, if my options come down to trusting I'll be safe in the evil warriors' lair for a night, unconscious in the midst of such charming figures as Duskmon and Mercurymon, or trusting that Zephyrmon won't end up getting me in further trouble in the time between now and morning, the choice seems pretty obvious. Where's that tunnel again?
My gaze pans across the horizon. I'm pretty sure that island I passed a couple miles back was the one where the Seadramon attacked me, and the water's edge is off to my left, while the continent is to my right, so I must be at least relatively close. Just need to look around a little...
It takes me a bit in the fading light, at least 15 minutes of which I accidentally spend searching the entirely wrong area, but eventually I manage to triangulate the reef I arrived here through, aided by the sheer size of the underwater hill it lies on. I then of course still have to find the actual entrance, but the number of Digimon in the vicinity seems to have died down significantly with the onset of evening, leaving me free to scan the hill's exterior at my leisure. The symbol that marks the portal turns out to be hidden under a metric ton of coral on this end, to the point I doubt I'd have ever found it had I not arrived here through it, but it still only takes a simple touch to activate, and soon enough I find myself slipping back down into the passageway, embraced on all sides by the same luminescent water I awoke in this morning.
As I propel myself past the rough stone walls of the literal digital shortcut, I find myself thinking back again, still a touch concerned about the Toucanmon and Gomamon. I really hope they got away safely... in the chaos of everything that went on back there, I didn't even see what happened to any of them. I didn't see any eggs fly off though, which I have to assume is a good sign. With any luck, they all managed to escape the beach without further incident or injury.
...unlike me.
Once I arrive back at the central hub, I wind up lingering in place for a minute or two, part of me wondering if I can just stay down here all night. If I'm pretending to be Ranamon though, then I need to at least put in the bare minimum effort to mimic her, and based on where I woke up initially, I'm inclined to believe she doesn't sleep down here. So...
Tapping the ceiling, I pull myself through the hole that appears and back up into Ranamon's living pool. Despite my reservations, after spending so long out in the comparative frenzy of the ocean, it's surprisingly soothing to be back in a space that's mine and mine alone. Spartan or not, it's still comfortingly spacious, smooth as marble, and reassuringly empty. Even the hole leading up to the cavern above is-
Is... currently being loomed over by a rather bulky silhouette.
"Yo Ranamon, youse in there?"
...oh, joy. Seems the fourth member of this little group found his way back while I was out.
I swim upwards, and the silhouette comes into clearer view, revealing it to indeed be Arbormon, the Warrior of Wood. To my recollection, he's something of a brute, with additional tendencies towards both laziness and gluttony. As such, he's not exactly the brightest of the bunch, and while he's not really what I'd call an idiot either, he's the member of the group I'm honestly the least worried about.
Not that it means I can let my guard down around him.
Breaching the surface of the pool, I pull myself up and out into the cavern, silently noting that while Arbormon is shorter than Mercurymon, the top of my swim cap still only comes up to his torso-bound "mouth". Great, another giant.
"Ey, there you are." Arbormon says, his shoulder armor lifting up slightly in his version of a smile. "Where you been?"
"Out." I say, casually but noncommittally. "Ah just got back. You?"
Arbormon shrugs. "Same 'ere. I caught up with them humans, but they dropped a cave on my head 'fore I could finish 'em off. Wasn' too tough ta dig my way out, but it took a while, and I lost 'em. Pretty sure theys went out over water, but I ain't as good at trackin' mon from underground as Grumblemon is... or uh, was."
While I try my best to ignore it, I still can't help but find it hard to concentrate on what Arbormon is actually saying given how he's saying it. Between Mercurymon the ren faire enthusiast, Ranamon the southern belle, Grumblemon the high-pitched caveman, and Arbormon the presumed mafia stereotype, Duskmon is apparently the only one in this base allowed to not sound at least mildly ridiculous.
...wait, what was that last part?
"Was?" I repeat.
Arbormon nods, seeming to slump a little.
"Yeah... Grumblemon got done in by them kids."
My eyes widen slightly. That's right... Grumblemon was defeated for good just after Seraphimon died, before the kids got to the island I just met them on. Meaning that's one of the other evil warriors already taken care of, and one less that I'll have to fool. I suppose this mess at least has a small silver lining to it.
"Ah'm sorry to hear that." I say. "Ah'm sure he went down swingin'."
Arbormon shifts. "Ey, that's real nice of ya to say, Ranamon. Didn't think youse cared."
I side eye him. Seriously? Apparently Ranamon really was just that unconcerned about her nominal allies, or at least that's the impression she gave them... I already said otherwise though, so I'd better at least commit.
"Ah ain't that self-absorbed." I insist, crossing my arms under my chest as though insulted. "Ah wasn't exactly fond of the little gnome, but it ain't like ah'm happy he's gone."
Arbormon scratches his head. "Huh..."
He suddenly claps me on the back, hard enough that I nearly fall over. "Well, dontchu worry, we'll get them puny humans sooner or later. Revenge izza dish best served warm, amiright?"
Not... really, at least going by the traditional phrasing of that idiom, but I'm hardly going to correct you.
Arbormon suddenly smacks his fist into his palm, the wooden parts clacking against each other like rattles.
"Oh yeah! Almost forgot, Mercurymon said that if you was here, he wanted to talk to ya's real quick."
...thrilling.
"Thanks." I say, barely withholding my sarcasm. "Ah'll just go find him then, shall ah?"
Arbormon gives me a thumbs up as I make my way over to a ceiling hollow and allow myself to be lifted upwards.
With night having now fallen in full, the inside of the structure is quite dark, though the light of this world's trio of moons shining in through the gaps in the walls remains more than enough to navigate by. My gems flicker dimly as I progress to the third floor, where I find Mercurymon sitting with his back to a pillar, seemingly admiring one of his own arm mirrors. He looks up as I approach, lips quirking upward slightly as he stands.
"Our sodden siren rejoins us." he greets me, if you can really call that a greeting. "How kind of her to grace us with her continued presence."
I wrinkle my nose at his choice of epithet.
"And how kind of ya to notice."
"But of course." Mercurymon easily replies. "And how fared thy latest excursion? Doth the fair lady return from her quest triumphant, or in miserable failure, as she has so many times prior?"
I half-lid my eyes and scowl.
"Take a guess."
I don't elaborate — I'm hardly going to tell him what actually happened, after all. I may not like Zephyrmon very much, but she's what I've got to work with right now, and as I don't see Duskmon anywhere, I think I can get away with keeping this particular card up my sleeve for the time being.
Mercurymon keeps his smile, even he shakes his head.
"How regrettably predictable. Thou hast my condolences, but I shall ask that thee attempt to keep the volume of thy grievances to a minimum this time, oh mistress of moping."
...good lord, just pick a vaguely derogatory nickname for me and stick with it, will you?
"Ah'll keep that in mind." I say flatly. "If that's all ya wanted, then if you'll excuse me, ah need my beauty sleep."
I turn to walk away-
"Hmm... a small question, before we taketh our leave of one another."
I pause, looking back from the corner of one eye. "What?"
"For a trip of no apparent remark, thou appear notably more damaged than expected."
He gestures to my lower body, prompting me to glance down at myself in minor confusion. Sure enough, my stomach, hip fin, and some additional bits of skin peeking out from the holes in my swimsuit are still visibly burned, BurningGreymon's parting shot having left a clear mark on me even in this form. I hadn't really noticed them around the background ache of everything else, but against the otherwise teal expanse of my skin, the purplish-blue brands still stand out like smoke upon the sky.
"Now what ever could have done such a thing to our drizzly damsel?" Mercurymon muses.
I grimace. Great, now I have to tell him something. Could I maybe use the Seadramon as an excuse? No, none of its attacks were capable of burning me, and I can't afford to look so weak as to have had trouble with a Digimon that relatively minor in front of this guy anyways. I don't know what else I could fake having run into though...
Ugh, fine, truth it is — the extremely abbreviated, un-detailed version of it, at least.
"Ah ran into those kids." I mutter with a distinct thread of petulance. "They got in a couple lucky hits."
He doesn't even have eyes, but I could swear that Mercurymon's brow somehow shoots up.
"Oh?" he remarks, clapping his hands together with a sound like colliding pots and pans. "Well then, I suppose congratulations for thee are in order for escaping such a scenario intact. As I recall, tis a better outcome than you yourself were expecting... as in part was I, for that matter."
I glare where he can't see it, idly wondering how the hell the other evil warriors put up with this guy — though, I guess Grumblemon technically doesn't have to anymore.
"Thanks ever so much for your vote of confidence." I snap. "Now unless you've got any more snide remarks, ah think we're done here."
"Mmm, I'm certain I do, but perhaps I shall save them for the morrow." Mercurymon says, turning back to his arm mirror. "Rest well, milady."
It's only with a supreme effort of will that I don't tell him to shove his "miladys" where the sun doesn't shine as I drop back down to the previous floor.
Arbormon is gone when I return to my pool, despite the fact that I didn't see him on either of the floors above, which are too open for me to have realistically missed him. Maybe he stepped outside or something? Not that I know where he could possibly have done that and not walked straight out onto open air, but at the moment it's hardly my highest priority.
Stumbling over to the water, I slide back in, relaxing more than I'd like to admit as the liquid washes over me. Digimon thankfully heal quite quickly, to the point I already feel better than I did just an hour ago, but Mercurymon pointing out the most obvious of my assorted damage has only brought the rest of it back into focus. Even if I'm in less pain than I probably should be, I'm still more than glad to have an excuse to be unconscious for the next however-many hours.
Less unnerved by the prospect of sleeping here than I was this morning, I swim down to the bottom of the pool, settle myself in the water, and allow my eyes to drift shut, trying to remind myself that despite how today went, I don't think I actually ruined anything that would keep the kids from being able to take care of my "fellow" warriors. So long as I still manage to avoid my own canon end, I should only have to deal with this in the short term.
...
...
...
...although...
...in the long term...
My eyes snap back open.
In the long term, that still won't actually save me, because this is the season of Digimon where the villain essentially wins.
I bolt back upright as my dim memories of Frontier's finale finally fit themselves back together. I only saw the final arc once, and I've been so focused on my immediate situation that it didn't even occur to me, but... even after Cherubimon was defeated in canon, that wasn't the end of things. Because no one bothered to keep track of the giant mass of fractal code he'd accumulated beforehand, it ended up falling to Lucemon, the Digimon responsible for Cherubimon's corruption in the first place, in his prison within the partially-exposed core of the planet. That data in turn allowed Lucemon to release two more servants to finish what Cherubimon started, and Dynasmon and Crusadermon turned out to both be much better at it, utterly overpowering the kids and getting the better of them at essentially every turn. The pair rampaged through what remained of the Digital World nigh-unopposed, until nothing remained of the planet or its inhabitants, letting Lucemon break free of his age-old imprisonment... whereupon he proceeded to absorb his own servants, along with all the code they'd collected, before going on to launch an assault on the human world, having gained more than enough power from subsuming the data of everything else on his plane of existence to make doing so a plausible feat.
The more I think about it, the more comes back to me, dropping my nonexistent heart ever further into my stomach. Lucemon was ultimately still defeated in the end, but by that point, there was nothing left of the Digital World to save. While the code of the planet itself was restored, every living Digimon was left reduced to an egg, their memories, culture, and history all completely wiped away... a factory reset in all but name, performed on a planetary scale. I found it such a drawn out and depressing conclusion to the show, with multiple episodes largely just consisting of the same losing battle even before the downer ending, that I apparently all but scrubbed it from memory — and now I almost wish it had stayed that way. Because if events play out that way here, then even I manage to escape Ranamon's original fate of being killed off by the heroes?
I'll ultimately just die anyways, when the rest of this dimension does.
I almost laugh. Hell, it goes even further than that! In order to finally stop Lucemon, the Digidestined ended up having to use all twenty legendary spirits in tandem to collectively become Susanoomon, the only entity in this continuity with enough power to pose any real threat to him. But if even one of those twenty spirits isn't available, Susanoomon won't be an option... and I'm currently the physical incarnation of one of them. Ranamon isn't just doomed by canon, she's doomed by the narrative stakes — if I don't die, everything else permanently dies.
Surprisingly, the actual panic I feel at all this is relatively limited, perhaps because it somehow only seems natural after today that my already ludicrously bad situation was somehow even worse than I'd remembered. My thoughts briefly flash to the prospect of taking a Trailmon out of this world again, but no — Lucemon will still come for the human world eventually, so I'd just be exchanging short-term theoretical safety at best for a slightly-delayed apocalypse, and in the process essentially guarantee that apocalypse happens. Assuming it didn't just happen instantly that is, given the time-dilation effect that exists between the two dimensions. Though I didn't know it at the time, fleeing from this world was never an option.
But the alternative is...
I bite down on nothing. Damn it, there has to be a way around this! Maybe if I just jumped into Susanoomon alongside the kids...? Even if that worked I'm not sure I'd come back out without just reverting to an inanimate statue though, same as all the other spirits when they're used by someone or something else. Could Susanoomon still form without me, and maybe just be a little weaker than normal? There's so many spirits to make up for a single one's absence, and surely Susanoomon at 19/20ths strength would still be enough to defeat Lucemon... but do I have enough faith in that theory to bet both myself and the rest of the world on it?
Even as I pose the question to myself, I already know that I don't. This is the season where essentially everything that could go wrong did go wrong, after all. If I prevent Susanoomon from forming at full strength, it's entirely possible that when Lucemon eats all the data of the world and everyone in it, it will ultimately stay that way.
Do I really have no choice but to die for the cause...?
I clench my fingers over my gauntlets. No- no, I refuse to accept that; refuse to simply offer myself up as a willing sacrifice! Like hell I'm going to let myself be doomed by the plot twice-over! If I literally can't live through the actual ending of this story, then I'll just have to ensure that things never reach the point Susanoomon would even be needed — that is, ensure that Lucemon stays imprisoned, permanently.
My thoughts gradually begin to calm. Yeah... this is fine. Well, not fine, but while terrifying in the abstract, the stakes were already at the damn ceiling, and this hardly raises them much further. I already knew this world was being actively deleted, after all. The only real difference is that now, I'm aware that deletion will come to full fruition if I don't do anything about it. Nothing about my situation has actually changed... I've just got a slightly bigger job to do than I realized.
Closing my eyes again, I settle back down and try to relax, however futile that now seems.
Better get some sleep... I get the feeling I'm going to need all the rest I can get.
And so that penny finally drops. Took long enough, ne?
A huge thanks to @Pheonix14, @Warclam, @ScorpioBot, @Captain Skipjack, @CCBubba, Leaf, Bertucchi, Jordan Juengel, Alxariam, kleinerToaster, and my eight other Patrons not named here, as well as an extra special thanks to a certain generous patron who wishes to remain unnamed. Each of them receives a bottle of accent-changing pills (either assorted or specific). Pop one of these, and for the next hour or so you'll naturally speak in that accent! Unfortunately, they do not help in writing accents, which is where I would personally like them to work, because the other evil warriors' speech patterns will be the death of me at this rate. What idiot chose to set this in the English version of the show again? Honestly, what were they thinking??? 💊
A huge thanks to @Pheonix14, @Warclam, @ScorpioBot, @Captain Skipjack, @CCBubba, Leaf, Bertucchi, Jordan Juengel, Alxariam, kleinerToaster, and my eight other Patrons not named here, as well as an extra special thanks to a certain generous patron who wishes to remain unnamed. Each of them receives a bottle of accent-changing pills (either assorted or specific). Pop one of these, and for the next hour or so you'll naturally speak in that accent! Unfortunately, they do not help in writing accents, which is where I would personally like them to work, because the other evil warriors' speech patterns will be the death of me at this rate. What idiot chose to set this in the English version of the show again? Honestly, what were they thinking??? 💊
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- Location
- Elsewhere
From this summery, this sounds like the most viable place to stop it.
I can already imagine the scene.
"We did it! We won! Wait, what's Ranamon doing?"
"Bwahaha! I will now eat this ball of energy bigger than my head!"
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Another fantastic chapter as always! Though less fantastic are FlaiRanamon's prospects for the future, which are looking rather grim at the moment.
Unless she does this, I guess, which I'm sure would have no lasting consequences.
Unless she does this, I guess, which I'm sure would have no lasting consequences.
The Crimson King
It's possible to eat an orange with just teeth.
- Location
- America
Nice work on Mercurymon and Arbormon's dialogue, it's really hard to write in an accent and you nailed it here!
Takareer
Words and feathers
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
If you had gone this route, it would make for a real tearjerker of a chapter. FlaiRanamon goes to "fight" the kids, but it's obvious she's scared and halfway to crying, and is only barely trying at the accent.
- Location
- America
Ah yes, Most Omnipotent Goddess, Take 2, Digital Edition