Boyscout. Ha. Very funny. Cater let out a dry, singular "Ha." in the direction of Biance. There was something in her voice, the way she spoke to provoke them all that shot Carter's mind back to yesteryear. Maybe he could have been a little more Like Z in terms of treatment of Biance had he not been so fucked up in the past. In a sense, he wanted that normalcy, but there was no escaping this feeling. "Maybe I can pay you to keep your clothes on." He turned away from her with a ghost of a smile and devoted some attention to one of the figures he had barely registered. At least someone was taking initiative, getting a lay of the land and figuring out what was where, and where they were.

He crouched down low and dragged his fingers across the earth below, if it could even be called that. Everything was marked with these strange lines, lining up almost perfectly with everything else. Natural or not, Carter had never seen anything like this before. Everything looked to desolate, yet to perfect and pristine like a little diorama.

Rustle.

Cartner's head snapped towards the sound and stared down the bush the seemed to move in the wind. He didn't like this. He didn't know where he was or why he was there or what else could be lurking in the unseen. He stuck a finger in his mouth, wetting it before holding it above his head. He wanted to test the winds, make sure that it was just wind before he jumped to any conclusions.

Alex honestly wasn't even sure what to make of some of the nonsense that was coming out of some of these people's mouths. Like seriously, was now the time to be acting like this? But it wasn't like the girl was gonna try any stop them, not in the slightest, so instead of focusing one them, Alex bought her attention to something she thought was smarter.

It was the youngest boy here, the one who introduced himself in an even weirder manner than herself, apparently investigating the area by climbing up one of the trees to get a better look of the land. She honestly didn't realize how long she was staring, but it looked like the boy managed some type of breakthrough as he immediately made his way back down towards the ground just as Carter asked if anyone had any ideas on what was going on. Of course she didn't have the slightest, but she could at least learn something from Aaric, who made his way over to Carter specifically.

Taking this as her chance, Alex stood and dusted off her over sized t-shirt before shuffling over to Carter and Aaric nervously, the later explain what he managed to learn over the short span from their descent to now. The fact the sun was gone despite it being pretty light out was confusing and a little concerning, - Alex had to look up and around just in case - the unnatural, almost ley line like, paths on the ground, trees, and the sky sort of made the brunette uncomfortable. Could this mean that someone was here before them and created these lines for some reason? Or what it simply just a coincidence?

Unsure of what to make of this new information, Alex looked up when Carter's head snapped quickly to the side.
"Wh-What?" She questioned, confused by his sudden tenseness as she unconsciously scooted close to the two boys, yellow green eyes peeking towards the direction Carter was facing. Was someone there? Was it a person? Or simply the wind? Alex mentally prepared for both as she clasped her hands together tightly, prepared to run if she needed to.

Had Haruka been present for most of the bickering that was currently taking place, she might've scoffed and rolled her eyes. Thankfully for everyone involved, she was not, deciding as soon as a box of condoms had fallen out of the gas station attendant's hair that she had been sufficiently weirded out for the day. She would soon find out she was wrong, but for now she could live with her comfortable delusion. Instead, she'd wandered down one of the paths that led out of the clearing- far enough away that she couldn't hear details, but not so far that she'd be on her own should she be attacked by a wild animal or something. Not that she'd seen or heard any wild animals nearby, but given how strange her day had been, she wouldn't put it past the universe to disgorge a honey badger from a portal over her head or something.

...And clearly she needed some coffee and food soon, because that sentence sounded crazy, even to her.

She perked an ear back to what was apparently an argument ensuing over where the rest of the weirdos were congregating. She shuddered slightly. She did not do well with people. Especially freaks like all of them. Not that she was any better, whispered a traitorous part of her mind- a part that she quickly squashed under the force of her disdain. She focused again on her surroundings- lots of trees, a weird, pale, pastel blue sky, and not a hell of a lot else. A spike of fear lanced through her chest as she again tried to process what exactly had happened to them. And more importantly, why?

A rustling in the bushes off to the side cut that train of thought off for now, and Haruka went ramrod straight in fear, as thoughts of being mauled to death by badgers or whatever again forced their way into her mind. She reached for the belt knife she kept in her jacket pocket- not really sanctioned by her workplace, obviously, but she was way past giving a fuck- as she turned toward the sound she'd heard a moment before. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was another rustle, and the slightest of movements. Haruka flinched, then sank into a ready position, in case anything tried to lunge.

"...Hello?" God, she hated how scared she sounded. "Is anyone... anything there?"

Silence. Then another rustle, another movement, both greater than before. Haruka took a step back, ready for anything...

...Or so she thought, as a small, rocky dragon- an honest-to-gods dragon- waddled out of the bush in front of her, looking up at her face with surprisingly large, soulful eyes. Haruka's brain shut down.

"What." Then the thing spoke.

"I-is it really you? Is it time?"

"What." Apparently, this answer was good enough for the dragon, as it smiled exuberantly (how the fuck?) and leapt toward her, shouting an equally-exuberant, "FINALLY!!"

"AHH FUCK WHAT--" shouted Haruka as thing tackled/hugged around her legs, bowling her over with the force of its excitement. And the thing just kept talking.

"I knew it! I knew I was right to listen, everyone else said it would never happen, and I was like, 'nuh-uh, they'll totally be here--'"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCK--"

"--and now you're here, so I was right, so HA, I was totally right, and gosh, it's so good to meet you finally-"

"WHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCK--"

"--but you should probably stop screaming and breathe, 'cause I may not know much about humans, but I know humans need to breathe to keep functioning properly, and you haven't done that for a while--"

"GET OFF OF ME!" shouted Haruka, kicking at the rocky little beast, and only getting a sore foot out of it. Damn little thing was as sturdy as hell. The dragon apparently got the gist, as its eyes widened in shock as it scrambled off of her legs.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. You, uh... must have gotten quite a shock, coming here, seeing me... I didn't even bother to ask how you were, I just got so excited--" The dragon stopped its rambling as Haruka raised a hand, still gasping for breath after her screaming fit.

"...Okay. Explanation. Now. Short and sweet, Rocky."

The thing tilted its head in confusion for a second, then seemingly shrugged and went on. "Well, uh... it's pretty simple, I guess. The Lady told me to come here and wait for some humans to show up. I'd been waiting here for a while, and then you showed up. So I guess I did what I was supposed to."

It was amazing how much, and simultaneously how little, that explanation actually explained. Haruka shook her head. At least I know one thing- someone knew we'd be here. Someone knew this would happen.

"Okay... and... why, exactly, were you waiting for me?"

The little dragon brightened up again. "Oh, that's easy! To be your partner, of course!"

...

...Okay, she had nothing for that.

"...What."

"Your partner, silly! That's why you're here, isn't it? You're a Digidestined! And I'm your Digimon!"

...

"...WHAT."

---

((OOC: Let the insanity begin~ *lightning and thunder while I laugh maniacally*))

Biance's head shot up as her whole body came to attention. The sound of some commotion, followed by the familiar-growing sound of Haruka shouting, came from the brush, in the general direction of where she had been looking. Now taking a step towards the Forest's edge, Biance prepared to asses the situation. However, a dark blur distracted her from the literal dragon that seemed to be following Haruka. It dashed in to the group, stopping mere feet from Biance, having threatened to plow into her stomach should it have continued.
"Oi oi! Get out of here! This is mine!" it shouted.
Biance was, for all appearances, dumbstruck. She actually had nothing to say to this. Before her, raised up aggressively on hind legs, was some kind of... hairy... dinosaur? It had a thick lizard like tail, a broad snout, and reptilian claws, but its body was covered in yellow fur. Well, that is, the parts that weren't covered by frikin samurai armor. Indeed, black, segmented armor coated the creature's head and back, ornamented with red tassels, purple trim, and a large, smooth red gem adorning its forehead. Biance wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but it could talk. That may have been what was throwing her off the most.
It was then that Haruka and her guest came in to view, and the compound shock broke Biance's mind out of its shock induced state, "Is that a damn dragon!?" she compulsively shouted.
"You better believe it!" the creature screamed its boastful reply.

"Quite fucking frankly, I think he's the one who gets it," Dorotea smirked, pointing with her thumb to Carter. Everything about this situation was absolutely ridiculous and she was frankly okay with it. Reinacting The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe? Sure. A box of condoms falling out of some dude's hair and then having it be stolen by a self-implied prostitute? Why not. A bunch of tiny talking abominations of nature, a strange, yellow, vaguely amphibious one moving towards her?

"Honestly, I don't know what the fuck you's yelling about," she said, looking to Biance and Haruka before staring at the creature which now stood at her feet, "nothing about this is any more batshit crazy than everything else that's happened since I've met you merry bunch. Ain't that right bud?"

"I'd...Yes, I suppose this is all quite strange to you. It's strange to us as well, and while I understand your kind's alarm, I think it's unnecessary."

The girl paused for a moment, blinking, before shrugging.

"...Wordy lil bastard you are, but at least you make some bloody sense."

"I'd...also appreciate if you cut your profanities for the comfort of others, ma'am. Or do you prefer partner? I - uh - sorry, I'm not...y'know. I just wasn't expecting our meeting to go like this, pardon if I caused any offense."

Dorotea rolled her eyes. "Call me Tey. And you're not my fucking mom."

"What's a 'mom'?"

The creature spoke with genuine confusion that took her off guard. She opened her mouth dumbly, then closed it, then opened it again.

"Well...fuck. Apparently something we both don't got then."

They cocked their head to the side. "I mean...I suppose?"

"Don't worry your head about that bud, no big deal. Not knowing where we are or who you guys are though? That's kind of a big fuckin' deal. Mind explainin' whatever the hell it is that's going on?"

"Language, please."

"Answers, for fuck's sake."

When the commotion began with the goggles person, Aaric quickly turned his head towards the direction of the yelling. The sudden appearance of the small dragon creature made Aaric blink once. Then more strange beings began to appear out of nowhere. He began to think.

“This is supposed to be the place where I start screaming, right?” Though, Aaric’s face betrayed no shock. He was simply unsurprised of the sudden drop-ins. What really shocked Aaric more was his lack of shock on his part! It wasn’t that often that Aaric evaluated his own feelings, but this occasion was an exception.

“Why wasn’t I shocked by these creatures? Have I read something in the books that depicted such creatures?” Aaric combed through his established knowledge. Nothing but generic sketches and illustrations of dragons and generic monsters appeared in Aaric’s mind. However, despite not having anything, Aaric knew that he saw them somewhere. There had to be a reason to why he wasn’t entirely surprised by the appearances. He was looking in the wrong place. Within his mind, what Aaric was looking for was not in the deep trenches of his mind but on the surface where he barely took time to look. As he began to ascend from the depths, he saw it.

“It was that book!” Aaric spoke aloud.

“Sure was, left a pretty hard hit on my head, you know that, right-gya?” A voice questioned Aaric from behind him. Curious, Aaric turned around. It was a small pink spheroid with what looked like bunny-ears which held a book atop its head. “Caused me to de-digivolve since the hit was that hard-gya.” Aaric jumped slightly. Never had he seen in either his recent or older knowledge a talking pink head.

“Who-who are you?” Aaric asked. Aaric leaned closer to get a closer look on the pink thing. “A-and, what are you?”

“I’m your partner and a digimon, a Koromon to be exact-gya. You aren’t that observant of other digimon, aren’t you-gya?” Aaric could only stand there with incredulity.

“Partner?” Aaric asked. He paused for a second in an attempt to recollect himself, wafting at the air with his hands as if there was a haze of misunderstanding. “Partner." Aaric rearticulated as he raised his eyebrows.

“Yep-gya.”

"D-d-do you have a name?” Aaric stuttered as he leaned one ear closer towards the koromon.

“Of course! It’s Hakase, at your service-gya.” the pink head said while doing a slight bow. Aaric could only stare at Hakase with an incredulous look as the library within Aaric’s mind attempted to categorize new information.

The small brunette let out a yelp of surprise when all sorts of strange creatures came bursting out of the suspicious bush. Unsure of what to do, Alex backed up considerably from the steadily increasing group, in fear of one of those creatures latching onto her for some reason. Unfortunately as she did so, she bumped into the very being she was trying to avoid the most. The collision itself was small and completely harmless, but that didn't stop Alex from jumping ten feet in the air before stumbling backwards with shocked eyes.

What now stood in front of her looked inanimate for the most part, kinda like those knights that old castles normally had for decoration. This knight was black and gold and a little more than half her height, resembling more of a chess piece now that she looked at it and standing stock still. Was it always here in the first place? No, she definitely would have noticed something like that. Balled fists tightened in front of her chest, knuckles turning white as she slowly inched her way towards the chess piece.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Hello, My La--"

"WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Alex screamed at the top of her lungs before bolting off, the chess piece following quickly behind.

"...Please wait, my Lad--"

"GETAWAYFROMME!!!!" She squeaked, cutting of the small knight once again as she ran even faster, tripping over her feet a few times before disappearing into the the nearby forest with the chess piece close behind. Her clearly audible wails pierced the heavens as she tried her hardest to get way from the strange talking chess piece, while also trying to stay close to the only people she could trust, seeing as they were all in the same situation.

These things, these creatures, were all popping out of the woodwork. Carter watched with silent horror and moderate interest as they not only spoke English, but also seemed to have picked out a certain member of their group. Everything was happening so fast that he couldn't keep track of all the conversations going on, but in his focus to keep an eye on everyone, he failed to notice the little monster that had walked right up to him, almost at face level.

"Hi!" It chirped, a single arm raised to wave to him.

"AH!" Carter jumped back and fell onto his rear.

"Hey, hey!" It put its arms in front of it to try and pacify him. "You don't have to scream, I'm right in front of you." It pretended to clean it's ears out, seeming to have a mild sense of humor. Carter had never seen anything like this, much less an animal that was fully capable of talking english and engaging in a conversation. "Sorry that I scared you, I thought you saw me."

Elizabeth Imogen McShea, you are in hell. It was the logical leap to make right? These monsters were definitely demons. Even among the few that didn't appear to be cold blooded reptiles most looked like they'd treat a stay in her fireplace back home no different from one at a Holiday Inn. But they weren't actively flaying the souls of the damned, why did that disappoint her?

Lizzy began to pace, "Ma'am" she was completely oblivious to the comment coming from at her feet. She walked back & forth taking in the situation. Small talking monsters had appeared, and appeared to be pairing off with her fellow humans. "Excuse me ma'am" Lizzy began to walk away from the others with no real purpose. "Please ma'am" Lizzy pushed on with purpose if not aim. Before finally coming to a rather large rock grey, granite maybe by the looks of it, to be honest she wasn't concerned with it's composition.

She noted how long it had been since she sat down and climbed atop the small boulder her legs dangling a half inch above the ground."Ma'am" Lizzy felt a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before indescribable really the closest thing she could remotely compare it to was walking directly at a gammy vineyard vine, Ahh France was fun. Lizzy forced herself back to reality to look at the thing that had touched her ankle.

Everything clicked into place in Lizzy's mind as she looked down at the creature below her. "What the hell are you!" The plant thing seemed to smile at her finally acknowledging it. "I'm your pa-" Lizzy had interrupted the creature almost instantly. "I mean I know the spiel I saw the others, but you're a bloody sapling!" The Little creature looked at her intently now "Actually ma'am I'm a Lalamo-" Lizzy continued to speak, once more interrupting her counterpart. "I mean there was a dragon and I'm pretty sure I saw a robot and a dinosaur, you're a plant and not even a big one."

The little plant creature looked almost defeated at her remark and though Lizzy wouldn't let it show she felt bad for the creature. "I'm sorry ma'am." She rolled her eyes at it's apology.

"What's your name then?"

"My what ma'am?"

"Too late, it's Thorn, for what you lack physically & expressivey, we'll have to work on that."

Suddenly as if out of a horror movie little monsters began to appear. It took a moment for them all to begin popping up. Everyone had scattered a bit but remained in their clearing. It was not a good idea to leave the only meat shields behind entirely. Franky couldn't help but shake at the thought of some kind of Jurassic park nightmare to come out. He lifted the stool chair he had close by. He held it over his head and in both hands, ready to swing it or throw it. He felt a need to protect since he was one of the only males here, yet the young one, Alex was her name was on his mind in particular to not allow to get killed. Call it natural instincts to protect children, he didn't think much of his life anyway why not lose it being a hero?

Then it happened. All at once more like. Every Digimon began escaping the forestation and coming into the light. Practically throwing themselves onto everyone. With cheery tones even despite their diverse monstrous appearance. But he couldn't help but feel panicked. "Watch out!" He shouted to everyone. He noticed they were actually holding conversations with these things. A dragon, a chess piece, A dinosaur, a talking plant.. The list went on. This strange assortment felt like a sick dream. He HAD to be on something now. He dropped the chair and rubbed his neck uneasily. He felt there, he felt sober if not a bit delirious. He wiped his forehead from sweat.

As he did so he heard something creep up behind him. He turned with whiplash to see what it was, jumping forward and nearly falling when he saw the shiny metal hide and sharp claws of a full fledged rookie digimon. Though he did not know that. He went for his chair again and scream with all his might and brought it down on the Digimon. The cheap metal of the chair bounced off his head with a clang and Franky was forced to let go of the chair, as it vibrated too strongly. The Digimon looked at him with a cocky grin.

"So you're my partner huh? I imagined you'd be bigger. The names Ludomon!"

Z fell on his ass once it started speaking to him. He tried to regain some composure but couldn't help but just sit and blink. "I'm the toughest thing ever buddy and don't you forget it! That tiny thing felt like a pebble." Ludomon chuckled, wagging his tail to show he was friendly. Franky got the message and crawled to his feet. He knelt down to meet eyes with Ludomon and pointed to himself. "Yo.. I'm Franky. But you can call me Z."

"Yo Z!" Ludomon said with a sharp toothed grin and happy eyes. Z scratched his head. "I'm your.. partner?" He asked in slow realization. Ludomon nodded. "Yup, you're a Digidestined and I'm your Digimon partner. Together there will be no stopping us from taking down those bad guys!" Franky tilted his head. This was a lot to process but he was not one to overlook that these Digimon were all saying relatively the same thing. So it must be true. Just what the hell was going on where HE was chosen to be some kind of savior? This place is doomed. He immediately thought as he looked at Ludomon's cheerful expression.

Biance gave the creature a sideways look, before plunking herself down on the ground. Her shock having subsided, she leveled her eyes to the ornate creature.
"So... what are you?" she asked, unaware of the clamor around her.
"I am Ryudamon!" he shouted, "Now get out! It's mine!"
"What's yours?" Biance replied quizzically.
This gave Ryudamon pause, for a moment. However, it only boiled over into anger.
"Stand down Release Type Digimon!" he snarled in return, "Recognize your superior!"
At this point, Biance stood, as if to walk away. She was done. This was just ridiculous. There was no way she was taking orders from some overgrown iguana. A short huff of breath escaped her lips.
"I'm a human by the way," she muttered, rather indignantly in fact.
"You've got to be kidding," the Digimon loudly snapped, "Humans are just a myth."
She simply shrugged, "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing that happened today."
Her eyes turned to the sky, taking in the din of what was happening around her. Weirdest. Day. Ever.

---

Episode 2: Journey Begins

---

And suddenly from the placid sky came a great strong wind. Now in their presence was a being with ten long wings. Its body was like that of a woman, but was larger than anyone present. It was adorned in a garment of a sleek sheen, each hand coated in unique gloves, its head in a tall feathered helmet. Four white streamers hung down from its hips, and its garment was split in two, half white, and half black, with blue and red accents respectively. Despite its complex appearance, its presence was subtle, calming even. Though its power was obvious to those with a certain intuition, it seemed to offer no threat.

The being's hand waved, causing eight sparks to shimmer before it, causing orbs of light to drift in the air.

The sparks of light then drifted down over the heads of each of the humans, before darting to the wrists of their off hands, where now oblong devices were strapped, each schemed with different colors. For an instant, said hand flashed before the being spoke again.

One by one, the being indicated each of the humans, as colored images began to appear.
"Seek thou Courage," spake the being, hand outstretched to Haruka, a bursting orange sun shimmering at the tip of the being's finger, "Learn thou Love," the being's blue-cloaked hand indicated Biance, in front of whom a heart like shape of pink with altered hemispheres floated, "Reignite thy Hope," Z was indicated this time, in front of whom a glowing yellow star with a ribbon like trail appeared, "Reassume thy Reliability," at that, Alex was indicated, before whom a grey cross with tilted away right triangles shimmered, "Learn Sincerity," Elizabeth was indicated, a green teardrop shape with a hollowed core showing before her, and then Carter was indicated, "Gain Friendship," at that, what looked like a staggered yin-yang shape with a flanged ring surrounding it was presented to him, "Experience true Knowledge," Aric was indicated now, and though the creature's eyes were covered, it almost appeared pained now, as two inequal circles connected by a bar in purple were shown to the young boy, "Remember Kindness," and again, a new indication was made- this time Dorotea- and again, a symbol appeared, a pink circle embraced by what looked like wilting petals.
The being's hands now outstretched, the symbols were drawn in, forming a partial ring between itself and the group.

"...I mean, we'll try? Or I'll try, I guess?"

Dorotea's eyes went from the weird watch-like device on her wrist back to the strange, semi-angelic figure in front of her, before they absently scanned those of the group, searching for some sort of reaction, for hers was lost to fatigue and numbness.

"Hope we're not the only hope point blank for this place's salvation or whatever though, 'cause uh, good chance you guys are fucked."

"Tey!"

Her head sharply turned to the creature who had 'chosen' her.

"No, look bud, I'm not trying to be a smartass here! I mean, like..." she began, glancing at everyone before looking at the semi-angelic figure before her, "...this sounds real poetic and sweet and whatnot and you guys must be real desperate to be betting on someone like me. But I don't know what the bloody hell it means or what it's got to do with 'crests' or 'Love' or 'Hope' or 'Kindness' or whatever, and I don't know what the fuck 'DigiWorld' is other than it being wherever the fuck we are right now or why it's in peril. And maybe I'm bein' a wee bit quick to judge, but some of y'all seem about as cut out for our 'quests' as I am, no offense. Can you explain more, or like...fuck it, nevermind."

Though her language was as strong as ever, her voice was oddly soft. Was it the fatigue? The confusion? An actual sense of compassion behind her crass nature? She let out a sigh before finishing.

"My point is, I think 'DigiWorld' has bet on the wrong fucking horses is all. Clueless, inept horses."

"You're a DigiDestined, Tey - of course you're cut out for this!"

The amphibious monster turned to address the rest of the group, unaware of Dorotea's obvious objection.

"You all are! You were chosen for this - we all were! - so cheer up, okay? This world needs you, all of you! And this world believes in you, too!"

"Yes ma'am."

"And the name is Lizzy McShea, but let's stick with 'ma'am' for now shall we?"

The little creature nodded and Lizzy felt a pang of remorse at her own cold demeanor but shrugged it off quickly."Yes ma'am." Lizzy and her companion made their way back to the others just in time to witness what she could only described as some kind of angel descending upon them. She thought back to her time at school and the regular lessons in the faith that accompanied it. Reflexively she scratched at her neck, it had been many months since she wore her school uniform but she could still feel the irritating touch of her blouse supported by the school jumper rubbing against her neck. Years of that and it never quit being uncomfortable.

Eventually the angel addressed each of them herself included. She felt a bit insulted by it's remark, though she wouldn't contest it's truth she just didn't like having character flaws pointed out by strangers. Especially when they're pointing out the very real fact that she was in a word 'insincere'. Though the real stinger was the context, surrounded by a bunch of strangers in a foreign land she had basically just been labelled. From everything she had gleaned about her situation so far she was going to have to spend a fair amount of time with these folks, a certain level of trust would be essential. Something not easy to cultivate with a group after they witness a divine being label you a liar.

After a few moments of letting it stew she began muttering to herself aloud. "Sincerity!? What gives tacky two-face here the authority to run her sanctimonious gob about my 'sincerity'. Best believe I'm being pretty fookin sincere about that!" Lizzy could hear her own accent begin to exaggerate as her words drew on into a more traditional melodic Irish accent and felt immediately embarrassed. More than a little part of her expected to be instantly destroyed by the being for her insolence. Although she tried her best to remain stoic, Lizzy glanced down at Thorn hoping for the Digimon to do something though she wasn't sure what.

"No need to get worked up ma'am. You're digidestined, she only mentioned it because you are capable of greatness. I have no doubt you're the most sincere person I will ever meet!"

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Look, I think you have the wrong person." She crouched down so she'd be at least near eye level with Thorn. "I'm known for a lot of things, but few of them are good and even less are honest. You're expecting some kind of hero, but I'm the opposite. I once spent four months gaining the trust of a classmate so I could convince her, that her friend slept with her fella. Just so I could watch it play out."

Thorn beamed back at her."Excuse my forwardness ma'am, but if that was who you are, would you have told me that?"

Lizzy rolled her eyes again and stood up, Thorn was right in a way. What she had just done was foolish. Why did she care about Thorn knowing the truth of her character, it would have been easier to keep her mouth shut. Hell the very act of meeting at eye level with Thorn was making a concession she had no need to make. She'd had a moment of weakness but resolved herself to not let it happen again. She made sure to not look at Thorn as she spoke again. "We're done talking about this Thorn."

She wasn't exactly capable of reading the digimon's face yet but she could have sworn the smile that crossed Thorn's face as she replied betrayed a bit of sly satisfaction. "Of course ma'am."

Lizzy finally turned her attention to the weird looking froglike Digimon that was addressing the group. Her only reply was to dismissively shake her head. These Digimon put far too much stock in words and belief, it's sickeningly naive.

Carter couldn't handle much more of this. First of all, he had to deal with these people. threatening to smoke and... Well, other dubious advances with the items that were found. Now he had to worry about this stuffed-animal looking creature that he inwardly thought was the cutest thing he had seen since Alexa's drawings. Maybe she should have been here and taken some inspiration from them.

Not only did he have to worry about himself in a strange and unknown land, not only was this little creature looking at wherever Carter's eyes decided to lock onto at that point, not only did he have to worry about flirty girls, crass language, and guys who would surely take up any offer handed to him, but now the winds were blowing and something appeared in the sky and did things that would make Carter believe in God again.

"Ah!" The Terriermon gasped and got onto a knee in the presence of this being. Carter looked up at it, in awe of it's mere appearance. It seemed royal, powerful, and beyond understanding. Whatever it was, he got the sense that it was not to be trifled with.

It gave them... tasks? Character arcs? Friendship? Carter already learned his lesson on friendship, but if the powerful floating woman in the sky was expecting him to make friend with those around him, she better have someone else in line to take his spot. He knew a thing or two about compatibility, and none of these people seemed like his type. What would friendship even accomplish? He had so many questions, but he wasn't going to tell her that she was wrong.

"Uh-huh." At least the one with the sailor's mouth got it. Neigh, the little thing following her around called her.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. It'll be loads of fun!" Terriermon cheered and turned back around to Carter. "We can get in fights, and learn each others deepest, darkest secrets, and make friends from the survivors!" There was something about that cheerful, childlike voice that made Terriermon talking about fighting and secrets and survivors more than creepy enough to fit into a novel.

"I really don't think I'm cut out for all this. Friendship? What does that have to do with anything?" Carter tilted his head and knelt down to whisper to Terrimon, fearing the reaction the woman would have to him not believing her words and acts. "I don't even... We're all in way over our head here. If she wanted this done, she could have called professionals."

Terriermon shook his head, his ears flopping about as he did so. "I don't think so!" He sang in a jolly tune. "You were picked for a reason! I don't know why, but I believe in you, and I know we can figure it out if we put out heads together." Wow, the little man already had a better sense of what to do than Carter. Maybe it was some kind of teaching act. Maybe he was concussed or unconscious.

"Oh, right!" He exclaimed. "My Name's Chip! I already know you're Carter, so you don't have to introduce yourself to me."

"Right."

Z noticed the sky open up. Though he was not particularly religious he did think aliens existed and stuff. So he immediately fell to his knees and hid behind his Digimon. Scrunching up to do so. "What the ffffuck!?" He spat with confusion and fear. Ludomon chuckled. "No worries here pal just listen up. This is proof you're the real deal." Franky lifted his head to look at the angel from his position. When he took the time to look at her through squinted eyes he could make out a fair woman. Thank god I don't get seizures. He thought looking at the light she had shining around her.

The orbs appearing made him fall back. His instinct made him want to scatter. He's seen this before in games bosses when they summon multiple orbs to kill everyone with. Dark Souls truly brought down his level of hope in video games. Never would he try run in the wheel of some sick game. Yet here he was with virtual monsters in a virtual world. Though he didn't know this. So when the light came his way he flinched. Wait did she say we are the only ones?

He expected to be hurt, or at least protected by his Digimon. But instead he felt something clasp on his wrist. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the device he had. This was the first time he felt somewhat good. Its style was unique to anything sold on the market. But similar enough. But if I can't take it off it's clearly a bomb. He thought with his lips curling with fear. Ludomon simply looked at his partners reaction and chuckled. "Humans are hilarious!"

"Find HER crests huh?" He thought about this. He was being sent on a mission with a party like any old rpg. He couldn't help but feel this moment was a bit showy. For an angel to come and demand things from them was curious. He couldn't shake his doubt of this being some kind of purgatory, the angel confirming this being some kind of major religious event going down. He's seen a movie about something like this. Where the randomly chosen people had already died unexpectedly and were reborn with one last shot at life to fight to the death against monsters. He gripped his chest, mortified. Did that asshole shoot me? Did my boss not really buy bulletproof glass!? THAT CHEAP BASTARD!

Suddenly she began speaking to him. He looked up and saw the light she indicated which turned into a recognizable form. A glowing yellow star with a trail, much like a comet. Though a bit childish looking in his opinion. He preferred something that could be on a metal cover. He noticed the light form a ring around everyone. He looked at the light show in mere awe. "My hope huh? The hell does that mean?"

Alex, as well as the chess piece running after her, came to an abrupt halt as the wind around them began to pick up. She could only watch in awe at what looked like an angel made herself present in front of the ragtag group. Judging by the outfit, Alex would have guessed that this person wasn't as pure as angels are often depicted, but she kept her mouth shut in fear of getting attacked or something.

As the being made several orbs appear in front of her, Alex unconsciously stepped back. She knew all about the 'Orbs of Death', a trope present in most fantasy stories and video games. It looked like Z had the same though judging by his reaction, which ultimately made the short haired brunette suppress a laugh. However, she quickly recomposed herself when she felt the chess piece from earlier giving her a hollow stare. As the orbs grew closer, Alex tensed, shutting her eyes and expecting the worse, but what she was greeted with was the sound and feeling of something wrapping around her wrist. Yellow green eyes quickly opened and she could only gawk at the strange device she had now acquired.

Of course, being who she was, Alex immediately began prodding at the device, attempting to pull it off and even gnawing on it.
"Um, milady? Please don't do that. That is a very important device that will help save our world." The creature said in the most calming way he possibly could. "...S-So this world is the Digiworld? Why is i-it in peril? What's wrong with it?" She blurted out, surprised at even herself for noticing how easy it was to talk to the life sized pawn. Said pawn simply shook its head before sighing. "You will know in due time, milady." It mumbled out before bringing its attention back to the angel figure above.

Alex could only watch as the being soon bought it's attention to her, telling her to 'reassume thy Reliability', followed by a familiar symbol of a cross with four right triangles inverted to frame said cross. Reliability...her? Well, if it was referring to the pawn that kept following her, then yes, that was very accurate, but what kind of Reliability could she have with a body like this? Was she meant to gain the dependency of these strangers? It felt impossible, especially since she can barely do anything for herself, let alone for other people...

Was she offended by what the angel asked her to do? No, not really, but it was clear that she wasn't the best choice to do something like this. Thankfully, one of the vulgar teenagers - Dorotea was it? - practically spoke for her, and all of them really. They didn't look cut out for this at all...
"I am very positive you can do this, milady. With the help of me and the others, you can do this." The pawn said truthfully before nodding and bowing slightly. "Allow me to assist you, milady. This is the one request I will not accept 'no' as an answer."

Still unsure of what to make of this, Alex lowered her head.
"...I w-wanna think about it..." She mumbled before looking up and over at Z, who seemed to be confused by what his crest meant. "My hope huh? The hell does that mean?" were is exact words, and while almost everything about the older man was a bit silly and endearing, she felt pity on him for being forced to acquire such a vague thing.

Shuffling over slowly as not to scare the man, Alex, along with the chess piece silently following behind, brought a hand up slightly to get his attention before speaking up.
"...I-It's expecting or believing that something will happen. U-Um, do you expect anything to happen right now?" She asked, oblivious to how these crests and virtues still work. They had to 'be the crests, in order to find the crests', right?

Aaric and Hakase lifted their heads towards the sky attentive to the heavenly announcement. Aaric, once again, was indifferent. This grandiose display of light and power did not quite impress Aaric, almost as if there was a certain familiarity towards events such as these. Far too often had Aaric seen images of angels, their depictions, and functions in the multitude of stories he’s read. The only that inspired a speck of curiosity in Aaric was the split design of that heavenly being.

“Experience true knowledge,” the voice directed at Aaric. He did not think too much of this statement. To Aaric, knowledge was just knowledge, and nothing else. It was simply a tool that was to could be attained and then used; that was its primary purpose. Aaric looked down onto his left wrist to find that a strange watch-like gadget had been placed. It was somewhat odd that this bracelet did not catch the attention of Aaric. Perhaps he was far too withdrawn within himself to notice or too attentive to the voice that was above the group’s heads.

“Quite the display, right-gya?” Hakase asked Aaric. To answer the question, Aaric began to turn his head towards Hakase, only to be met with the gaze of an unfamiliar creature.

“YAAAH!!!” Aaric yelled in surprise. As he stumbled backwards away from the lab-coated lizard, Aaric tripped on a root. In what seemed like slow motion, Aaric tightly shut his eyes, bracing himself for the impact his bottom was about to receive. Touchdown, his romp was now very much hurt. After Aaric dressed his wounds, he turned his attention towards the little dinosaur. “Who-who are you?”

The dinosaur softly chuckled. In a differently toned voice, he replied, “I’m still Hakase-gya. You know that little koromon that was at your side-gya? Digivolved when Mastemon appeared-gya. Yep, I’m an Agumon-gya… Hey, are you listening-gya?” Aaric was staring at Hakase, dumbfounded. Once again, Aaric found himself staring into the gap within his knowledge, the void that Aaric never wanted to visit. Never in his entire life would he imagine a small dinosaur wearing a lab coat and an Oxford cap, until now.

Hakase waited for Aaric’s reply. After a few short seconds, Hakase sighed. Waving one of his sleeves towards Aaric, Hakase teased, “Hello, anybody in there-gya?” Aaric jolted.

“Present!”

Hakase sighed once more. “Your the most observant being that I’ve met so far.” Hakase said in a sarcastic tone.

“I am?” Aaric asked. Hakase looked at Aaric disdainfully. Hakase raised his arm, Aaric’s eyes following the motion. Then with one swift move, Hakase did a karate chop on Aaric’s head, causing Aaric to recoil and place his hands on the impact site.

“That was a sarcastic comment, blockhead! Pay more attention-gya!” Hakase immediately replied.

“Ow…” Aaric continued to say. He quickly maneuvered his eyes towards Hakase’s eyes. “I may have not picked up on the sarcasm, but that doesn’t give you the authority to give me a smacking!”

“Oh don’t complain-gya,” Hakase retorted. “If you don’t learn to converse with others, then your journey-gya will be more difficult-gya! Communication skills are key when it comes to crucial missions, skills that you evidently are short on-gya!” Hakase leaned in closer towards Aaric. “Not to mention attentiveness-gya!” Aaric motioned to open his mouth but clenched his teeth instead. Hakase could easily read that Aaric was reluctant to accept this criticism but knew that it was all too true. Hakase then swiftly made a 180 degree turn, shifting his attention towards the Angel digimon. Aaric followed suit, begrudgingly.

"...I-It's expecting or believing that something will happen. U-Um, do you expect anything to happen right now?"

While she heard this, she made no real effort to actually respond. Her voice was as tired and low as ever.

"Honestly, at this point? Sky's the bloody limit. Ain't nothing gonna throw me for a loop." She absentmindedly kicked at a rock, which didn't quite feel like a rock - the weight of it was off and it went sailing as a result.

"Heyyy!"

The rock, unknowlingly, had struck true to a target. Chip, the little Terriermon, had gotten a rock to his back. It wasn't all that painful, but still enough to sting a little. Chip turned to see where the rock had come from. While he was certainly one to be all sunshine and sparkles, the rock did make him itch for a good fight. "Who threw the rock?"

"Shit."

Chip really didn't have to look around much. She was already by his side before the word fully left her lips, kneeling to be at eye level.

"You okay lil dude?"

"I'll be fine," said Chip, dusting off his shoulders and arms as if he had just gotten out of a scuffle. "But We'll have to see about yourself once I'm through with you!" He raised his arms to square up. Her eyebrows rose in response. "Chill the fuck out, didn't mean for that to hit no one, especially not a lil guy like you."

And with that, she stretched out her arm and patted Chip on the head, sticking her tongue out before chuckling.

"Jackass."

Carter was more than quick to figuratively step in to stop his Digimon.

"Alright, Chip," Carter knelt down as well. "Let's not get into any fights, not with our own group, anyways."

Turning around, he flashed a smile at the girl who had kicked the rock - she did not return it. This was the one he had overheard talking to her digimon before. Well, if friendship was his aspect or whatever, he might as well be friendly to someone else that thought this was a load of bull. "I'm Carter. You're... Neigh, right?I heard your digimon talking to you just a bit ago-" He was promptly cut off by an awestruck Dorotea.

"I'm who now?"

"Uh, Neigh?" Carter realized only now that it was possible that he might have misheard something, but it was far too late for him to take any of it back. He had to own up to it.

She sputtered for a moment, at a complete loss. And then she finally returned the smile.

"Know what? I'll give it to ya, that's the best bloody one yet."

Welp.

He was wrong.

He blinked in silence, his lips pursed tightly.

"That's her name, please wear it out!" Chip chirped, smiling and folding his arms. He knew that wasn't Dorotea's real name, but Carter was absolutely stumped and it was the funniest thing he could have ever imagined. And it seemed he wasn't alone in this sentiment - Dorotea clearly thought this was a riot.

He didn't even have a reply ready for this. Somehow the conversation had taken such a turn in his mind that he had no idea what to even say anymore, or how to get back on track to whatever he was going to say before he just called her something that apparently clearly wasn't a name or nickname. Thank God that she wasn't born with the name Neigh, though. That would have been tough in high school.

"So, uh," He looked around. "I'm Carter. You can just call me an Idiot. And you... are...?" His hands rolled over one another, begging for her to set him straight so he could forget this embarrassment. She seemed a bit younger than him, which was perfectly fine, but something about that look in her eyes made her seem a little older than one would think.

"Like hell I'm gonna call you an idiot, bloody fuckin' genius you are, holy shit-" she took a breath to stifle her giggles, "-Neigh, god, how has no one else thought of that? That's who I am to you from now on, army boy."

There was a rare light in her eyes, genuinely, childlishly bemused. Frankly, she wasn't expecting something like that coming out of Carter, but perhaps that's what made this trivial slip of tongue all the more humourous to her.

"Marines..." He muttered to himself. Even now he was still red in the face over getting it wrong, even moreso with her laughing and getting genuine enjoyment out of his mistake.

"Tomato, potato,"she said, shrugging. "Big fuckin' difference."

"...Yeah." He breathed out. Looking down, he could see Chip stifling a laugh or two as he hid behind his large ears. Though it didn't hurt, he did exhale a little more after being lightly punched in the shoulder by the younger girl.

"Oi. Lighten the fuck up, would ya? Things are doomy and gloomy and shit enough as is to be beating yourself up over your own genius." There was that old jaded look in her eyes, but the smile was there nonetheless. Teasing but well-meaning.

Carter shook his head and looked around once more to those around him, then to the device on his wrist. As he set eyes on Dorotea again, he raised his hands to his head. How could any of them be taking this so well? All of this was absolute nonsense. Monsters? Some sort of god? A Digiworld? What the fuck was a Digiworld?

"Look," He shook his head once more. "I can't be the only one who thinks this is crazy, right? We've all been abducted and were put on drugs, that's the only way it makes sense."

"Crazy ass drugs to be givin' us all the same hallucinations, of course none of this shit makes any fuckin' sense. My question is why you's acting as if it should at this point?"

She looked to Chip, Bud (still busy with their pep-talk it seemed), and then back to Carter. She then pointed with her thumb to the holy glowing angelic mess behind them, and raised a brow quizzically, as if to further the point of how absurd it all ways.

"Only ones here who don't think this is all batshit insane are the little bastards at our heels, and honestly, they seem all the more happier for it, don't they?"

His brows raised. She had a pretty valid point to all of this. All of the little monsters were as right as rain and perfectly fine with how things were.

"I mean, even if we were all kidnapped and drugged, we're all just stressing out for nothin' if we're just trippin' balls because that means none of this is real anyhow."

Real or not, she had a point. Carter was starting to lose himself pretty quickly to all the chaos and new developments happening. He needed a little grounding. "You're right," he smiled at her, which took her completely off guard. She snorted and mumbled under her breath.

"First time for everythin' I guess."

”...So. Let me get this straight,” said Haruka, shaken, yet excited, by the news she’s gotten from both her rocky dragon “friend” and the giant bipolar woman. She cleared her throat, then began anew.

“You say I’m some… digi-whatsit—“

“Digidestined,” corrected the tiny dragon-y thing. Haruka nodded.

“That,” she said, still processing. “You say I’m that and I’m your partner… which, according to Tall, Half-Dark, and Gorgeous up there, means you and I are supposed to get some sort of superpowers once we find these… whatsits.”

“Crests.”

“Crests, right. And mine is… Courage?”

The little dragon nodded. “That about sums it up. You’re the Bearer of Courage, which means that, when you find your Crest, you’ll invoke its power through that virtue. That’s how we’ll get strong enough to do whatever it is the Lady Mastemon wants us to do.”

Haruka nodded again, looking at the rose-and-black implement on her wrist. “I suppose this thing will blow my arm off if I refuse?”

The dragon flinched, then started waving his wings frantically. “Oh, no no no, Lady Mastemon would never—“

Haruka chuckled, patting the thing on its head. “I’m just messin’ with ya, dude, relax.” She sat back on her elbows, looking up into the trees with a smile that was… almost fond. “Well… it’s more interesting than anything else I was gonna be doing today. And at least I’ve got a virtue that matches pretty well with me.”

The dragon perked up at this. “Really? That’s- that’s great!”

“Yeah,” grinned Haruka, getting into boasting mode. “I worked security for a hotel in a pretty shady part of my town. Nice place, not-so-nice area. Got all sorts of roughs and toughs. I’m small, but I can fuckin’ handle myself, y’know? Courage isn’t a trait I lack, that’s for damn sure.”

The little dragon wagged its… self, in excitement. “Wow… I had no idea! I knew I picked the right Bearer when I chose you! Or… maybe I was always meant to pick you. It’s hard to say. Maybe I should ask the Lady about—“

Haruka snapped to get the thing’s attention. “Kid. Relax. Small sentences.” She frowned, realizing something. “So, uh… I can’t just keep calling you ‘kid.’ Or ‘Rocky.’ Or whatever. Ya got a name?”

The dragon tilted its head. “Name?”

“Yeah. What you call yourself. The term by which your parents or whatever refer to you as when you’ve… I dunno, spilled milk on the carpet, or drawn on the walls, or some shit.”

The dragon pondered this for a moment. “Well, it’s not really something we do… this name thing. I’m a Vorvomon, so, I guess just call me that?”

Haruka blinked. “A Vorvomon? There’s more of you? Like, a species?”

“Yeah. That’ll work, right? It’s something to call me.”

“No, kid, no. That’s… that’s fucking dumb, is what it is. What if we run into more of you? If I try to call you, I suddenly get a bajillion of you trying to get my attention. That’s weird. It’s like naming a dog, ‘dog.’”

The thing looked at her blankly. “What is… ‘dog?’”

The sound of Haruka’s palm meeting her forehead could be heard from the very edge of the forest.

“...Fuck it. Fuck it. You’re made of volcanic rock, that’s sharp, you’re Sharp, now. That work for you, Sharp?”

“A-ah? Uhh… y-yeah, sure. Whatever works for you.”

Haruka smiled and patted Sharp on his head. “Good dragon. You and I are gonna get along just fine~”

“...”

“...?”

“...What’s a dragon?”

SMACK.

“You know, you should probably stop hitting yourself.”

---

Biance blinked. Okay, so this was the weirdest thing to happen today. She had been staring- maybe a little too much?- at the spectacle that had unfolded before them, and now was dumbstruck.
"So… humans are real?” the equally befuddled Ryudamon exclaimed, staring at the warm-purple device with red-and-pink detailing strapped to Biance’s wrist, "But that means...”
The angelic creature nodded slowly.

At that, the placid grey screens of the devices on all their wrists flickered to life, displaying a bold digital ‘40’. A small alarm clock shaped icon at the bottom of the screen was showing, with the others greyed out to the point of obscurity.

Somehow, without change to facial expression, the being seemed far more serious, almost looming above them despite the respectable distance between them.

“Uh… hold up,” said Haruka, still staring at the timer on her wrist. “W-what the hell is this, a time limit? What gives? And what’s with the Bible speak? ‘Cold and hot?’ What the fuck?! Give me plain Japanese, lady!!”

As odd as it seemed, Biance was actually somehow relieved to hear this. While the part about winning being ‘impossible’ was certainly ominous, the fact that there was a concrete ending somehow granted the girl a small amount of comfort she couldn’t fully explain. Ryudamon, however, was not as pleased. Not by a longshot.
“That’s crazy talk! Don’t you know who you’re dealing with?” the armored Digimon spouted, “I’m Ryudamon! A Prototype- which means all other Digimon are second best!”
The larger creature simply ignored this, as if Ryudamon was not being addressed in the slightest.
Haruka grit her teeth in anger. ”That still doesn’t tell me shit! What happens when the timer hits zero? Answer me!!” She pointedly ignored Sharp gesticulating wildly at her, trying to keep her from offending the giant half-and-half woman.
The shimmering woman’s posture seemed to drop all at once, though she hardly moved. Several of her feathers now pointed downwards, and the blue and red glow her body gave off shrank visibly.


Haruka deflated, feeling significantly less thrilled about the “potential superpowers” deal.

”You… you don’t know…? We’re potentially risking our lives, for a quest we still don’t know all the details for… and you don’t know what’ll happen when the timer hits zero??” Suffice to say- and she was willing to bet she wasn’t alone in this- “disconcerted” did not even begin to describe Haruka’s mood at that moment.