Fish of Oblivion

Labyrinth

Lynn decided to pretend not to hear Vincent, sure she'd probably just make a fool out of herself again. She was staying quiet until they got to the Labyrinth, and that was that.

"..." Vincent just eyed the girl as she gave him the silent treatment, grumbling something quietly before he turned his attention back to what was in front of him. It wasn't far to the Labyrinth even if they didn't rush there, maybe she'd open up a bit more when they arrived. At the very least, he didn't feel particularly inclined to continue prodding her, encouragement or otherwise.

So the two were completely quiet for the rest of their trip, not deigning to talk to themselves or any of the various bystanders and fellow, less distinct in character Guild members that they passed along with the Vishnu and Hephaestus Guilds on their way along. After what was roughly a five minute walk, they reached the area of the independent zone where the buildings became far and few between, where what buildings did exist shrunk away from a rock formation rising out of the earth with a gaping wide, ominous maw.

"Well, this place is as goddamned creepy as I remember it being," Vincent muttered, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the mouth of the cave that lead into the Labyrinth depths. It was a pretty spooky sight, to be sure.

Lynn had never gone this distance before; although she did have a passing interest in the place, it was too much work for her to actually check out in person. She could agree with Vincent on that point, though. "C...Creepy or not, we're still going," she responded, unsure of the truth of this statement herself. "...I'll take the back."

"Sure thing," Vincent replied, walking up to and taking a step forward into the cave without a moment's hesitation. Unlike Lynn, he'd come to check out the exterior of the Labyrinth a handful of times before, when he was nearby- he understood well enough why she'd want to take up the rear, but his previous visits had prepared him for this.

The air and atmosphere that met Vincent as he entered was quiet and still, even as the actual structure of the gateway to the Labyrinth became visible a short distance away. He couldn't even hear the sounds of other Guild members nearby, let alone any of the monstrosities that he had been told were lurking down here.

"It feels kind of...empty, don't you think?" Lynn asked in a whisper, still afraid of alerting any living being in the area to their presence. Well, until she accidentally stepped on a stick, breaking it under her foot with a loud snap. So much for that. Nothing seemed to be trying to murder them yet, though, so everything was probably going fine.

"Yeah. Maybe a group already passed through here-" Without any further delay, Vincent pressed through the gate into the Labyrinth, craning his neck to look around as he entered the first floor proper.

It was like Lynn had suggested- this floor was completely emptied of anything alive. The only sign that something HAD been alive here were what Vincent assumed were a couple of corpses a short distance away, but they looked pretty far from human.

In fact, a sudden, rather curt voice in his head suddenly felt fit to lay out details about the dead creatures. Goblins, apparently, stupid and violent creatures, and completely worthless in terms of salvageable material.

"Figures, with my luck," Vincent grumbled, the informative voice in his head tuning out as he yelled back across to the entrance- "All clear! Bunch of dead Goblins, and that's all. We might be able to head straight through to the second floor, if we're lucky!"

Lynn made sure to stay a good distance away from the Goblins - they were gross, smelly, and very unattractive. This adventure was already turning out to be not very fun. "If there's nothing here, then can we move on?" Although... she was supposed to be figuring out how to use magic or something, and the enemies were only going to get tougher from here on out. Still, there's no helping what's already been done.

"Like I said," Vincent replied, a little perturbed by having to repeat himself. "If we're lucky, whoever killed these Goblins cleared the path to the second floor for us." Clearly about as willing to waste time as Lynn was, he began to walk towards and then past the corpses before so much as another syllable slipped out of his mouth.

As with the walk to the Labyrinth, the walk through the Labyrinth was a quiet one. True to her word, Lynn stuck behind Vincent as he led the way, and in a few minutes, they reached what seemed to be a tunnel heading further into the dungeon-

"Ah, here we go."

- and the first Guild member they'd seen since they entered the labyrinth, a young, redheaded lad cleaning his armour. He could have sworn that there was someone else there, but he couldn't see or feel anything to suggest that there was.

"I take it you're the one who killed the Goblins?" Not the most elegant way of starting a conversation, but nonetheless it bore asking. There had been a fair few corpses, and even if they were weak beasts the lad seemed in fair shape for someone who might have been swarmed on his own.

Lynn watched cautiously from behind Vincent's back, passing by Senna without even noticing her. To be honest, this warrior dude was a little scary - he did certainly seem strong enough to defeat those goblins, but that also meant that he could probably crush her in half an instant. It'd be nice if he were willing to work with them, though.

Labyrinth

'... Maybe it's different with her Guild,' Vincent felt somewhat inclined to re-assess the idea that Lynn wasn't dead weight, though he kept that thought to himself. Aside from anything else, the girl seemed earnest enough about everything that he didn't feel any particular need to be unpleasant. The money helped too, of course.

"Just try the physical abilities, then," He said to the girl, as she began to sulk behind him. What he knew of her Guild suggested that they were relatively lacking there, but lacking as a superhuman wasn't the same as lacking as a regular human. "If your particular blessings are magic-based, they might not work properly until you get into the Labyrinth. Just see if it's any easier for you to run."

It was just a guess- maybe even a little bit of encouragement, for all that was worth- but Vincent did recall being told something similar to that- the Labyrinth was a bizarre place, and God(s) knew what was down there besides treasure and monsters.

He did hope that it wasn't going to be the two of them on their own, though. An old geezer like him and a little thing like her with their particular blessings weren't exactly going to take the Labyrinth by storm.

Not that he particularly liked the look of some of the other Guild members he'd seen about the place. They just didn't seem like team players, to him. Lacking in character, just shuffling along in their roles. It was still early, perhaps there were still some people on the first floor of the Labyrinth that they could intercept.

Labyrinth

As Lynn mentioned the name Heka, Vincent gave a nod in understanding. Right, so she was a member of a guild- that at least meant she wasn't going to be dead weight. The name Loxaerion rung a bell, though Vincent couldn't quite tell why off the bat.

"I wouldn't worry about that, it'll come to you if you need it," He started, addressing the fact that she'd only just joined a guild. Per his experience, much of the knowledge and basic ability granted by a God's blessing was instinctual- green around the ears or not, the girl was now a superhuman existence and would be able to conduct herself like one. Provided this display indicated that she was more nervous than stupid, she would likely be fine-

But of course, the sight of the handful of gold being offered to him was enough to ease any of Vincent's doubts. Screw the medical supplies, the thought of all the meals and liquid lunches he could fund put an expression on his face much like that of a man who'd just dug up ancient treasure in his garden.

"We can work it out later, but you have my full co-operation for now," Vincent replied to Lynn with another nod, an uncharacteristically friendly if somewhat indecent-looking smile crossing his face as his ears pricked up at the sound of "I-I have more."

"The entrance to the Labyrinth is in the south, if I recall. Try out your new abilities on the way, it might be a fair walk but you'll cover it in no time at all with those."

Labyrinth

Coming hot on the heels of his thoughts about pilfering an extra potion, Vincent's mind jumped leagues ahead of him as something hit him head-on in the chest and knocked him backwards into the door. Giant bird or no bird, it seemed as if he was about to be sent up to the Goblin Party in the sky anyway.

But no sound marked his brain's sudden jolt of panic- whilst whoever it was that had collided with him fell safely to the ground, his impact with the door combined with the force pushed into his chest knocked the wind clean out of him. In the moments he was left to stagger about, catching ragged, laboured breaths as his lungs tried to recover from being winded, his eyes darted about and, after a moment, caught sight of the one who'd crashed into him.

A small girl with light-coloured hair, who seemed to steal a spooked glance at him before rattling off a 'request'. Not an angry God- in fact, she seemed marginally friendlier than Thoth had been just moments before, despite the looks towards him that suggested she'd been expecting something else entirely. Though maybe the way he was almost glaring at her as he caught his breath didn't help that much.

Fortunately for Vincent, the blessings bestowed upon him meand he didn't take long to recover, and looking the girl straight in the eyes, he opened his mouth, only for her to suddenly look at her bag and then quickly crouch down onto the ground, scrambling about at something. He paused, his mouth curving into a frown, before his eyes followed her downwards and-

Oh. OH. 'Damn, that's a lot of money,' He thought to himself, almost slack-jawed as he watched her pick up the Gold pieces.

"... Look, pick it up and start from the beginning," He started towards her, crouching down and handing her a piece of gold that had landed by his feet, a visible twinkle in his greedy old eyes as he felt the tiny nugget. Greedy or not, it wouldn't do to drag someone like this into the Labyrinth unless she knew full well what she was getting into. All this gold wouldn't amount to much if he got a civilian killed under the God's watch. "Why do you want to go into the Labyrinth? Are you a civilian or part of a Guild?"

Digimon: The Convergence of the Human and Digital Worlds

The moment the terrifying scream of fury filled the air, it took more than a little effort for Examon to resist flinching. Only the urgency of the fight before him kept him from turning back to face whatever it was that had chosen to join the battle, as well as-

“It’s not important!!!” Parasimon yelled at him, as the insect knight shot into the air to avoid an attack from Millenniummon, throwing out a storm of strikes with his lance that were all deflected by the raging monstrosity, “Just keep fighting and we can deal with that thing later!”

Examon didn’t offer a reply, only gripping his lance tighter before joining Parasimon in his attack. Whilst the two would fare poorly on their own, their teamwork was turning out effective- with similar styles and almost identical abilities, the two co-ordinated well in battle and managed to leave lasting damage, no matter how small, on the monstrosity before them.

But it just wasn’t enough, and for every slight wound they inflicted on the beast, it gathered more and more power to level the city with.

They doubled back, avoiding multitudes of sloppy attacks from the enraged Millenniummon-

"If any of you have a better idea I'd love to hear it, but here's something: Get this damn thing higher in the sky, away from civilization, and move Southeast at the same time, getting it closer to water. No idea if it can drown, but at least damage will get minimized.”

When UlforceVeedramon got himself involved again.

“You think it’s that fucking easy?” Parasimon just about snapped at the blue knight, as he pointed to the berserk Millenniummon. “It doesn’t matter how strong we are, we can’t make that thing move by ourselves!”

“He’s right, Ulforce,” Examon muttered, in reluctant agreement with Parasimon. “We’re going to need more power than the two of us to drag that thing anywhere, let alone a few miles into the sea-”

Examon didn’t quite get to finish his sentence. As the Royal Knights argued among themselves, Millienniummon roared, firing the cannons on its back, sweeping across the sky as he tried to hit the gnats before him.

Examon and Parasimon were quick to respond, priming their shields and overlaying them before the torrent of destruction. They held fast for a few seconds, as they had before, and then as it finally gave way and the attack burst through, the Knights had scattered in different directions.

“Shit…” Examon hissed, as he saw Parasimon dive down towards Millenniummon with a primal scream of fury, and as he lost sight of UlforceVeedramon. This was going nowhere fast, he’d lost track of half their number, and- “Is that Dynasmon?”

As Dynasmon rushed in with his Dragon Collider, Millenniummon screeched in alarm, desperately trying to swerve out of the way of the Knight’s fist. Dynasmon’s massive punch only managed to clip the abomination, but the sheer force behind the attack interrupted Millenniummon’s flight, knocking him towards the ground before he righted himself in midair, screaming incoherently in fury.

And he was joined a second later by another incoherent scream, this time as Parasimon saw his opportunity and blasted downwards to tackle the startled Millenniummon head-on, throwing the entire weight of his body and all the force he could muster into the Digimon’s chest and knocking him several hundred meters back through the air.

“WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY” The insect continued to scream, absolute fury fueling every movement he made as he tore through the air after Millenniummon again, not content to give him even a second’s respite.

Startled for a moment, Examon just shook himself and prepared to jump back into the fight-
Just as Dorugoramon, having taken the time to fly into the fray, made a beeline charge right from behind Examon’s gigantic wings, an equally incoherent primal roar and flames of fury trailing as she tackled Millenniummon in the chest.

‘... So that’s what made that noise,’ Siggy thought to himself, within the union of minds. The dragon was massive- still smaller than Examon or Parasimon, and Millenniummon by proxy, but still large enough that it utterly dwarfed everything besides them. Not helping were the vivid, violent flames blazing across its claws, but worst was-

‘Something about this thing feels off,’ Examon grumbled, also within the link, to Siggy. It was more than the Digimon’s sudden appearance- there was a feeling it was giving off, familiar but utterly wrong. It made both of them feel distinctly sick to their stomachs, perhaps even worse than Millenniummon had.

“... Just keep fighting...” Examon Mordred muttered to himself, readying his lance again as he began to move through the air. As horrid as everything seemed, all he could do was keep fighting- there was too much at stake to falter for any longer.

Digimon: The Convergence of the Human and Digital Worlds

I wanna be friiiieeeeends!

@Vincanity

Labyrinth

"... I suppose it doesn't matter who sent the summons," Vincent replied to Thoth as she nervously explained herself. He could have sworn the summons came from the Guild, though perhaps Heka- seemingly as officious as the stories he heard had made her out to be- had merely borrowed some paperwork in order to motivate some of the less punctual Guild members.

He had to admit he was guilty of that much. If it wasn't for the idiot barging in the night before and him needing to restock, he might not have made it to the Labyrinth on the opening day. Leaving everyone else to get a head start and fill their pockets with whatever they could get their grubby little mitts on.

Vincent reflected on that idea as if it had come and personally pissed in his pot. Cutting people a share for their troubles was one thing, letting them swan off and leave him high and dry was another. If the Labyrinth was open, he was going to get in there whilst the going was good, like a lawyer after an ambulance.

In any case, Thoth pulled him out of his thoughts when she started talking again, mentioning being kept up by Ares. Used to being kept awake by noisy goldbrickers too, Vincent offered the God an uncharacteristically sympathetic nod before she finished up and pointed him towards the flasks on either side of the entrance behind him.

"Y-You can go to the Labyrinth now, if you want then t-take a flask on your way out, but just one. Intermediate Antitoxin☆"

"... Still not sure how you're capable of pronouncing that," Vincent grumbled to begin with, before he spoke up louder with, "Thank you for your generosity, I'll be on my way and leave you to your work." And nodding respectfully to Thoth, he turned, only making a quick stop by the entrance to pick up one of the blue-green flasks of Intermediate Antitoxin☆.

He was almost tempted to sneak a second out, but he thought better of it. He'd made it to his age in one piece, getting smooshed by an angry god for pilfering a surplus potion would be an embarrassing way to cap that off, if nothing else.

Stepping out the door and closing it behind him once more, his eyes darted about, looking for anyone besides simple mundane onlookers in the slowly approaching crowd around the independent zone. And he hadn't taken any more than a single step from the entryway to the laboratory, when-

Labyrinth

As the patron God of the Guild turned to him, Vincent prepared to stand his ground and explain himself if need be-

"...h-hi. A-Are you going to the Labyrinth?"

Right, he remembered how it had been when he'd 'met' Thoth the last few times he'd checked in at the Guild. Any remaining idea that the summons had come from her vanished- half due to her question, and half because of the way she stared at him like he was a poisonous snake about to strike.

At the very least, though, she would be able to point him in the right direction.

"Good afternoon, Miss Thoth. I received summons-" He began as politely as he could manage for the God in front of him, reaching into his coat pocket and producing the letter that had been sent to him, before showing it to the God, "I assume they were from another Guild member, and I'll further assume they have something to do with the Labyrinth?"

The question was complete formality; to Vincent, it seemed fairly clear that the day the Labyrinth opened had finally come. That would explain the larger-than-usual crowd around the independent zone, as well as why there didn't seem to be many- if any- guild members in the building. At least, if she confirmed as much, he could see about being directed to other Guild members. From what he'd heard of the Labyrinth, it wouldn't do to traipse around in the place by himself.

Digimon: The Convergence of the Human and Digital Worlds

@Draconis Nevyn Only as a positive example. Otherwise, fair enough, I can understand why you'd want to sit out of this.

But yeah, shame about not getting the promotion, though seems it's been a decent learning experience anyway. Good to know it's given you some confidence, at least, and that you're on the way to getting places.

Labyrinth

By the time Vincent had gathered the bulk of his remaining supplies into a more portable form and pulled together the appropriate apparel for what might be waiting for him, the streets were already beginning to fill with people curious about what was happening. By the time he'd left and made it halfway to the guild, the path to Thoth's guild was awash with an excited crowd.

Privy to speed and instinct that greatly exceeded those in the crowd, Vincent was able to make the full use of skills he'd collected over a decade or so of quick getaways. Weaving his way through the crowd with whatever openings he could find, and being careful to keep a tight grip on the case in his hands, it only took him a matter of minutes to clear the most densely-packed of the hundreds of meters before him.

Once he'd made it through to the point that the independent zone was in clear view, with the Thoth Guild just visible besides the hulking form of Ares' Colosseum, it took even less time to clear the remaining crowd. It didn't hurt that those brazen enough to come this close to the territory of the Gods were more inclined to head towards the grander sights in the zone; once Thoth's abode was in clear view, practically no-one remained to slow Vincent down.

When he reached the face of the alchemical laboratory, he reminded himself that he'd been summoned; and so, he reached out to see if the door was open.

It was.

Without any further delay, Vincent pushed his way through, carefully closing the door behind him as he went.