”...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.
”That is correct. I am glad these children are so observant. That is good. There is much to be done, and We have very little time here.”
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.
”Time is of the essence for you, as well. Victory must be earned before the timer runs out. The rebels will not make this easy, as their goals hinge on this time as well. We fear they will be endlessly merciless, but do not lose determination. You hold the keys to the fate of the Digital World.”
Somehow, without change to facial expression, the being seemed far more serious, almost looming above them despite the respectable distance between them.
”But be warned, for We shall know thy works, if thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So if thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I shall spue thee out of my mouth.”
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!!””I’m afraid that is correct young one. I am afraid that after that point, victory for you would be impossible.”
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.
”That, child, is something even I do not know. Nor do I wish to experiment. It is best to act as if your lives depend on completing this mission, for that very well may be the case, regardless of what the timer means.”
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.
