>>1746252

>Responses loaded

>[] A Red Dinosaur-dragon thing curled up into an almost spikey ball surrounded by a virtual volcano with active magma flows. It looks pretty vicious when it wakes up. What did they say this was? Berserker or something, you weren't really listening at the time.

>[] A Yellow fox sitting cross-legged surrounded by a virtual meadow shaded by a single tree. You had the aptitude to be a Technical type.

>[] A Blue thing.. no, a yellow thing wearing a blue coat. It's sleeping on its belly with a bubble at its nose surrounded by a tundra. You had a cool head so they gave you a gunner type.

>[] A White monster in armor covered by a red cloak, its surroundings are just blank. They gave you this All-Rounder, but it's been -hard- figuring out this moody critter.

They say that Dmons you have affinity with are a reflection of oneself.

>>1746255
>>[] A Blue thing.. no, a yellow thing wearing a blue coat. It's sleeping on its belly with a bubble at its nose surrounded by a tundra. You had a cool head so they gave you a gunner type.

>>1746255
>>1746377
Sure why not.

>[X] A Yellow fox sitting cross-legged surrounded by a virtual meadow shaded by a single tree. You had the aptitude to be a Technical type.

>>1746377
>>1746419
>>1746435

Players acknowledged.
Pending responses confirmed.
Defragmenting parallel lines.
Responses will be submit in T-10 minutes.

>>1746447
Responses submit.
Loading next segment.

>>1746255

It's a blue thing, or rather a yellow thing wearing a fur coat. It snoozes away in its arctic environ as though it were as cozy as a fireplace. Tapping the screen, the thing's bubble pops and it wakes up, eyeing you through the screen. The two of you seem to make direct eye contact... Though it promptly runs off at high speeds through the snow, disappearing from view. You notice the big guy, Bruce looking over your shoulder. “A Gabu, huh? That's a speedy gunner type.”

“I'm aware.” You mutter back, under the rumble of the jets as he takes on a big ol' meaty grin.

“You'll be decent back up if you can handle that thing, I'm a berserker type, striker. I was given a goburi, turns me into a mad looking green monster with a club. It's friggin sick!” Bruce keeps yelling over the T-DEV. Will this guy please just let you have some quiet?

“Stop harrassing the Rookie, Cadet!” Alexis's pristine eyes suddenly shift into a fierce glare as she stares at the guy that could snap her like a twig.

“As if lift off isn't loud enough.” Someone from the other side of Alexis leans over, coming into view, another guy, this one's skin is the color of smooth chocolate with a head shaved bare. Private Smalls is his name. His demeanor is relaxed, even lucid. “When are we going to breach Sergeant Tudrow?” He stares at Alexis.

“Any moment now.” She replies. “Rookie, go over your gear one more time. When we land, we'll all need to be on point.”

“Thought you said this area's safe?” You bring your voice loud enough to really be heard for the first time.

“It is, but procedure and caution never hurt anyone.” She smiles back and opens up her own interface, rapidly moving things around on her D-Trigger.

Checking yours, you go to your loadout, familiarizing yourself with it.

>Blue Blasters.exe(Dmon exclusive)
Twin guns capable of changing between a searing blue fire shot
or a chilling ray.

Tundra Adaptation.dat(Dmon exclusive)
Blisteringly cold weather has no effect on you, hot areas however hurt.

>Lillyhopper.exe
Tosses out pads that set whatever makes contact with them
flying in the corresponding direction at high speed.

>Warpwind.exe
Line of Sight based teleportation. Allows the user to quickly teleport short ranges.

>Shield.exe
Projects a floaring shield concentrated by the user's will. Smaller shields are harder to break. Fragile to heavy hits

>Abort.exe
Optional program that allows the user to defuse with the D-Trigger and forcibly warp them back to area designated as HOME. Automatically triggered in case of critical integrity failure.

>>1746535
As you finish reading about your programs, there's a sudden heavy rumble as the T-Dev makes contact with something and the window outside goes pitch black, shortly followed by a surging fractal code and heavily bordered materials spilling off as though a computer was leaking data all over the world.
Alexis quickly pulls down a terminal from above and inputs a coordinate... And then she inputs it again... And again... The fourth time panic is written on her face as she begins opening complex screens that look like advanced admin controls.

“What's wrong?” You say as the rumble of the engine suddenly stops- and with her frantic work, suddenly and dearly miss that droning thunder.

“The coordinates won't take- it's almost like something is forcing a command into our ship. I'm accessing controls to override whatever might have given itself the privilege.”

Private Smalls looks intently to her, then scans you and Bruce before asking Alexis, “Should we realize now? Before we get roped in by whatever wants us elsewhere?”

Alexis frowns, shakes her head, bites her lip, and then furiously begins typing a new thread of commands, before hitting accept.

“I put in an artificial thread of possible coordinates, we won't end up where we were supposed to, but we also won't end up where whatever hacked us wants. Get ready! After the breach, we're going to realize in our digital forms!”

Through the window, the black expanse swirls with more fractal code before a large snowy mountain appears far off in the distance, spotted by large fans and colossal pumps, chugging away at the sea to cool down the area to its natural frigid state.

As the T-DEV falls, Alexis puts it into auto mode and it begins to stabilize as the harnesses fling up from everyone with a metallic thunk against the low roof. Turning the hatch, the internal air pressure screams as cold air begins to flood in. “Deploy shoots and jump trainees!”

She gestures for the others to go ahead.

>[] Take a moment to gather your feelings and then jump last. This is looking bad.
>[] Put your goggles on and go first. You won't be caught staring at someone's back.
>[] Hyperventilate with the cold air in your seat.
>[] What else might you do?

>>1746535

Also meant to mention: The Loadout Reading shows your loadout as being 4/8 full. The Dmon exclusives not included in its capacity limit.

This terminal is going to sleep. User will return in 7-8 hours.
Pending responses will be submitted then.
I await your next orders.

>>1746579
>>[] Put your goggles on and go first. You won't be caught staring at someone's back.

>>1746579
>Transform first, then jump. The cold protection will make it easier to keep an eye out while falling.

>>1746579
>>[X] Put your goggles on and go first. You won't be caught staring at someone's back.

>>1746665
>>1746692
>>1746807
Responses locked.
Autoloader enabled.
Submitting...
Pending entry...

>Congratulations on Human-type: Cool-headed leader!

>>1746579

To prevent the air from screwing up your descent, you flip down your goggles, and lock them tightly into place. Standing in the T-DEV, you're actually a bit surprised at how stable the autopilot's made the vehicle as it's coming down. First order of business as far as the manual's concerned is securing the landing zone.
Striding out before anyone else, you glance back at the others with a reaffirming nod and jump out in full battle gear and armor made of a chrome digizoid blend. Taking the leap, you spread your arms into freefall and quickly access the slider and engage the D-Trigger as cold air whips past you, biting your lips and cooling your teeth.

Unlocking the transformation function D-Trigger, a semi-transparent egg of fractal code emerges, holding your little blue-yellow Gabu Dmon. Your eyes meet on the same plane and it immediately begins to snarl at you. No time for this, the ground is fast approaching.

“D-Trigger Activate!” You call out as you soon hear the others from behind you do the same.

The code explodes and surrounds you, disassembling the Gabu as it quickly scans and compresses your body, storing it in extra space as a copy replaces it and merges that second body with the Gavu's code. The loadout and extra options are loaded immediately after as part of the D-Triggers interface. As your new body comes to completion, your feeling and motor functions begin to return.

“Gabuhumon, Realized!” Your call out as your form is larger, more lean and incredibly toned in the parts that you feel. A long coat frames your chest and trails off your back as a full hood covers your head and a single horn jutting at your forehead with holes for your eyes to come through. The cold doesn't sting you at all anymore.

“Renahumon, Realized!” A calm voice calls from above with a supple, elegant tenor.

“Goburihumon, Realized!” A gruff voice roars out thick and deep, cackling into a hearty laughter before a hacking cough from the cold air battering.

“Sisterhumon Noir, Realized!” A surprisingly childish voice rings out like a gothic bell. “Everyone, brace for impact!”

As the icy wastes fast approach, you twist in the air and stretch out your legs with knees slightly bent, you notice in the corner of your vision you see two gauges sliding across your screen, one green and the other blue. Along with a compass interface and a rapidly building map.

>HP: 100%
>MP: 100%
>Area: Iceburg Beach

> How do you want to land?
> For loadout options please refer to above. Your digi-fused body is strong.

>>1747110
>Normally

>>1747114
>Error: Normality not recognized

>>1747110
Shoot flame element at the landing spot to make sure we don't slip on some ice or something.

Land normally, char gen's over let's skip the hows and get with the whats

>>1747110
I'd vote but I have no idea what you want as an answer to "How do you want to land"

>>1747127
>Action acknowledged.
>Deploying Blue Blaster

File: medal1007 (Texture 0).png (68 KB, 256x256)

68 KB PNG

>>1747110
I'm seeing hints of Frontier. Since Hackmon is presumably rookie power level as a starter option, this quest will probably ignore the many power level exceptions like Lucemon.

>>1747110

Accessing your loadout with a mental tug, a gun materializes in your hand, assembling itself into a heavy pistol of metal construct with a long barrel and heavy slider.

>Blue Blaster engaged

The clip acknowledges MP cost that ride around negligible as you pull the trigger and it goes into full auto fire, sending down dozens of blue-white glowing explosive rounds that erupt the snow and great a hazy cover as the high heat mixes with the cold air. You land on your feet against the slushy remains of ice and snow, limiting the amount of damage taken from descent.
Your eyes adjust to the presence of the haze and see things moving in the distance, taking notice of your landing as well as the sudden explosive rattle of your attack. They don't quite see you yet as the figure lurking like a ghost in the fog.

This isn't your first time in this form, but your first excursion into enemy territory in said form. Roars of monsters echo across the landscape.
You hear a presence land softly beside you, like a shadow to your wintry ghost as a darkly colored bipedal fox with a yellow tip of its tail stands quietly beside you.

Then there's a sudden thud and a huge green goblin gripes at it pulls its head out of the snow, spitting slush everywhere as he forms a huge bone club and swipes it at the haze you created. “Bah, you messed up my landing rookie!” He stomps, arms still bigger than a toddler all the way across. That way of speaking, must be Bruce.

“Quiet, we have Dmons at our twelve.” The Black fox snipes, engaging a flurry of floating materialized beads that loom in the way, seemingly awaiting instruction.

Without the slightest sound of a landing, standing about half the size of any one of you, and wearing all black with a black cat hood steps through the haze with her own pistols primed and suffused with radiating black energy. Her mouth doesn't move, bat all of you hear her speak, engaging a sub-channel “Easy there cadets, private. We've got Seadras in the water, they've alerted other possible monsters in the area. We'll clear the area for the T-DEV's landing. Once we secure position we'll work on setting its return course, or failing that a distress beacon for pickup.” Ah, this is Alexis...

As the haze begins to clear, you see from the direction that those roars came from there lies a huge serpentine form, craning back into the water as one colossal shadow in the frozen sea. With everyone collecting themselves, Alexis calls for everyone to split off and secure the cardinal directions. You get the 9, Private Smalls gets the 3, Alexis gets the 12, and Bruce gets the 6. Your map registers all of them as allies and keeps track of their location. The Subchannel that Alexis established stays on for everyone.

>>1747205

You speed off westward, finding this body to be perfectly acclimated to the terrain. Claws on your feet dig into the ice and snow, giving you secure footing, and your thick coat protects you against the bitter chill air while your coloration gives you some degree of winter camouflage. As you move at your superhuman speed, you get a sudden ping of several enemies around you from your map and stop suddenly, readying both of your blue blasters as the slopes of the frozen land loom around you, a cool breath from one of the computer fans on the coolant mountain bristling your coat.

The maps pinged, yet there are no enemies in sight, no enemies in- “They're right in front of us, human.” You hear a growling voice whisper to you.

A piece of ice suddenly jumps out of the snow, sprouting a pair of eyes and a gnashing frozen maw as it runs at you with crazed abandon. Startled by the strange voice, you're a little slow on the pull of the trigger and the giant ice boulder monster eats only a part of your salvo before you need to cast your vision aside and engage the warpwind to avoid a colossal blow.
>MP: 80%

As you appear to the creature's side, it seems confused as it raises its hand, lumbering at a size twice as large as you as it checks the snow for any signs of you or the damage it should've caused. Three others begin to wake, up, scrambling about to try to pull themselves out of the ground, large holes being left in the wake of their hiding places. They seem slow, clumsy, and stupid. Their bodies made of crags, and their joints large with gaps in their glacial armor.

>[] Call for backup, and play this defensively until they arrive.
>[] Use your speed and assault them like a ghost, using your agility to your advantage.
>[] Trick them into running into each other, maybe you can get these oafs to fight?
>[] What else might you do? See loadout.

>MP: 80%
>Blue Blasters: Fire Auto/BurstFire modes, Freezing blast laser alt-fire
>Shield: Protects against light and grazing hits, medium hits if focused on one point. 5% MP
> Lillyhopper: Sets a floating platform that bounces small-medium targets in opposite direction 5% MP
>Warpwind: LoS short-range teleportation. 20% MP

>>1747210
Loadout options can also be included to amend any other option.
Your Hybrid form is strong and fast.
Your loadout further improves these attributes.

>>1747210
>>[] Trick them into running into each other, maybe you can get these oafs to fight?
>Further freeze them, particularly in their gaps. Make them crack their own armor just to move.

>>1747210
>>[] Use your speed and assault them like a ghost, using your agility to your advantage.

>>1747182
Power levels are a little more generalized.
Hackmon is an all-rounder but starts with very low affinity due to its moody nature so it stifles its early power level.
The others however start with higher early affinity and have more easily accessed specialties.

With good design in mind, this has less effect on the beginning and you won't be limited to just the one Dmon for fusion in the future.

>>1747228
>>1747241

Actions acknowledged, Realizing.

>>1747210

Steadying your guns, you unleash a hail of burning ammunition at the first one's shoulder joint, alerting it to your presence as you move around it, focusing fire as it brings its arms up to defend itself, a fresh foggy steam erupted from its body from the salvo. The other two scramble past it, lunging and reaching for you like a pack of wild animals, you circle around to the first's back as the others knock it off balance and quickly dematerialize a blaster to throw out a lillyhopper platform and contact it to jump high, altering modes of the remaining blaster to the freezing mode and forcibly freeze together the partially melted ice.
The two others scramble around, colliding with the first as it tries to turn around, cracking its arm and causing it to fall off, tripping the third in its path and causing it to roll and tumble into the first as you swiftly land on one's head and run across their body. Just then, you see the first finish turning, a huge icey ball of energy loaded in its mouth. “Watch out!” You hear from that other voice again as you drop a lillyhopper right before you, getting thrown far up into the air like a ragdoll as the ice monster launches a colossal explosion of freezing energy at the other two.
An especially crisp breeze blows past you as the shockwave settles and the first ice monster is all that remains as it turns its head toward you, only one eye left as its attack blew away part of its face...

This is the way of Aikido, letting your opponent use their own strength against them...

>MP: 70%

However with the destruction of the other two Ice Dmons, fractal code spills out of them and into the remainder, the creature's form begins to glow, and a digital egg begins to form around it as it cackles with a half-broken face and one arm left.

“Intercept the code! We can't let it get any stronger!”

>[] Listen to the voice and put yourself between the Ice Dmon and the code.
>[] Forget that, focus fire on the monster to end this.
>[] Call the others, tell them something big is coming.
>What else might you do?

>>1747286
I am guessing that if we intercept it now, we'll get some slow armor/pow kind of code. But blasters and armor is a bit too similar to Anode, so BALLS TO THE WALLS
>[] Forget that, focus fire on the monster to end this.
Shooting with ice might make the resulting Dmon more compatible with us and less able to harm us, but fire is the obvious and sane choice. Decisions, decisions...

>>1747286
>>[] Forget that, focus fire on the monster to end this.

>>1747301
>>1747308
Actions acknowledged. Realizing.

File: Zudomon.jpg (33 KB, 480x360)

33 KB JPG

>>1747286

Ignoring the voice, you bring your guns up and pepper the Ice Dmon as the hexagonal shell continues to form around it, going full throttle with your two blasters in fire mode, they launch a flurry of the blue-white explosive rounds into the creature.

The shell however completes and you hear the words chilling, gravely words of the monster, “Icemon digivolve to...”
And start to give yourself more distance by running further away, ready for whatever comes out.

The Digital Egg peels away to show a huge lumbering form with a colossal hammer, orange fur forms a mustache over its huge tusked maw and runs back across its head parted around a huge barbed horn in a messy mane ending in a giant shell with three curved spikes. One of its paws is furry with claws designed to scrape against ice and one hand of its is humanoid, wielding a giant hammer shining with a metallic gleam that your display confirms to be Chrome Digizoid, one of the hardest digital constructs out there. It's still missing its left eye and sports only one tusk due to the damage inflicted upon it.
“Zudomon.” It growls out with a triumphant snarl.

You open fire right away and the burning rounds hiss against its fur and grey hide as it lifts its hammer, crackling with lightning that clouds the very sky like the god of thunder himself.

“We should probably run now.” Your other inner voice whispers meekly.

It still seems slow, but that hammer is gonna hurt... You feel a burning sensation in your gut as your inner pulse begins to spike...

>[] Dive into its guard before it swings down, and fire directly at its gut.
>[] Assume evasive maneuvers as you flee up the icy mountain, get to the high ground!
>[] Call for backup.
> What else might you do?
>MP: 70%

>Blue Blasters: Fire Auto/BurstFire modes, Freezing blast laser alt-fire
>Shield: Protects against light and grazing hits, medium hits if focused on one point. 5% MP
> Lillyhopper: Sets a floating platform that bounces small-medium targets in opposite direction 5% MP
>Warpwind: LoS short-range teleportation. 20% MP

>>1747344
>[X] Dive into its guard before it swings down, and fire directly at its gut.
>[X] More specifically, fire YOURSELF directly at its gut. Point-Blank shots & taking advantage of their Size in reckless abandon.

>>1747344
>>[] Call for backup.

>>1747363
>>1747383

Actions acknowledged.

>>1747344


Dismissing a gun, you quickly throw down a lilyhopper platform to send you diving into the Zudo's gut just as it swings his hammer down. You strike hard with your elbow as its hammer- while offbalance- still crushes into the ice, exploding with rippling lightning. With the other blaster in hand, you bring the barrel right into its body and let it unleash a rippling tide of flames as you feel that warmth from in your body radiate outward, filling you with strength. The gun, stutters for a moment and then the blue blaster goes berserk, wearing a deep hole into the titanic creature.

Accessing the channel, you tell the others, “Perfect-class threat engaged, designation, Zudo at this location.” You ping the map, and Alexis quickly responds.

“Hold ground Rookie, I'll be on my way. Repeat, Hold ground. A perfect class threat is-”

In your distraction you take a brutal swipe from the Zudo's claw, sending you careening through the air, taking a huge hit out of your integrity and a second brutal hit as a glacier breaks your flight path, ice breaking in a small crater around you as black spots flood your vision, leaving you dizzy and winded. You slide off the ice, and things go black for a moment as you fall, only to come on a moment later as you great a shield halfway down to break your fall, the floating hexagon halting your descent for a moment before crumbling under the velocity. It allows you at least to land.

The Zudo monster's already turned to face you with its broken face leaking out data, your own body doing the same as it's suffered critical integrity damage due to that hit. The smoldering hole you put in it does the same, leaking even more stability than its face. If you do nothing but dodge, you anticipate that your leak will do you in first and force the Abort function for your safety.Yet it would give Alexis some time to arrive. That warm feeling in your body begins to feel like a blaze as your vision starts to phase-shift to blue...

>HP: 24% Danger! Integrity leaking!
MP: 65%

>[] Reach hard for that feeling, seize it, and go with it. You won't let some walrus-thing show you up!
>[] Suppress that feeling, you can't let emotions sway your judgement.

And...

>[] Continue to fight, focusing on evasion.
>[] Flee back in the direction of Alexis to meet her halfway.
>[] Go in, if it bleeds, you can kill it.
>What else might you do?

>Blue Blasters: Fire Auto/BurstFire modes, Freezing laser alt-fire
>Shield: Protects against light and grazing hits, medium hits if focused on one point. 5% MP
> Lillyhopper: Sets a floating platform that bounces small-medium targets in opposite direction 5% MP
>Warpwind: LoS short-range teleportation. 20% MP

>>1747479
>>[] Reach hard for that feeling, seize it, and go with it. You won't let some walrus-thing show you up!
>Shield: Protects against light and grazing hits, medium hits if focused on one point. 5% MP

>>1747506
>Admin is going offline. ETA of next update 8 hours.
I'll check in during my lunch break. Post questions and I'll answer them in the interim.
Question for you guys however, what do you think so far?

>>1747479
>>[] Reach hard for that feeling, seize it, and go with it. You won't let some walrus-thing show you up!
>Shield: Protects against light and grazing hits, medium hits if focused on one point. 5% MP
>[] Flee back in the direction of Alexis to meet her halfway.

>>1747479
>Reach hard for that feeling, seize it, and go with it. You won't fail here.
>Fight, focus on hit&run
>Lilyhopper
>Blue Blasters: burst fire

Stacking a lilly over our shield might deflect the hammer enough that we survive a hit we can't dodge. A lilly on the Zudo's foot could cause it unbalance enough for us to get in some good blasts. Try things, stay alive, and remember that MP is no use if we Abort.

>>1747736
seconding

>>1747479
>>[] Reach hard for that feeling, seize it, and go with it. You won't let some walrus-thing show you up!

>[] Go in, if it bleeds, you can kill it.
Set a Lillyhopper to strafe around it. As we pass, set another hopper under its foot. A third going in the other direction to trip the other foot when he tries to get up. that should keep it down long enough to unload one more burst in the back of the neck/head.
>15%

Make a small-ish Shield for the hammer strike. When he goes for the swing, Warp as late as possible right above his face, and unload our special/evolution there.
>25%

Warp again afterwards, still close to keep the pressure, but towards the ground where we lillyhopper once more into the gut.
>25%

>>1747532
I'm probing both you and the players. You seem to be adapting well enough to few voters and I'm testing more and more complex votes.

Players aren't talking too much, but there's not much to talk about. That they were around after I went to sleep is plenty. There should really be someone telling me my plans are stupid, though.

User is back online.

>>1747506
>>1747719
>>1747736
>>1748698
Reaching f0r Th@ f331ing, c0ns3nsus 4ppr0V3d.

>D4t4 C0RRUPt3D
>Pl332 H0Ld

>ov3rr1D3 4pPrOV3D

>PROCEEDING. STANDBY

>>1747479

You focus hard on that feeling, a burning pit in your stomach. As power surges through your being you grit your teeth into a hard bestial snarl as your avatar begins to flicker and morph, static breaking the lines in your vision, the frames of the Perfect-class Dmon breaking apart in your optical feed.

It lumbers towards you, with a wide grin along its broken partly fragmented face, as though it's got you now, as though it's won with every ice crunching, earth-shaking step of its huge body.

Casting out a Lillyhopper you bound toward the beast and it prepares to swing its large claw at you, predicting the trajectory, yet that's expected as you cast another one n the air and change velocity from X axis to Y and just as it's about to react with a high swing of its hammer to knock you down, you do it again, bounding off of the midair platform and using your superior agility as it seems to drag its feet, as though the world even began moving like a glacier.

>Danger! Integrity depleting! HP 20%

You set multiple Lily's around the monster, keeping a hand free to direct them as you begin to unleash focused burst fires of blue-white flames from the blaster in your other hand. You focus the blistering heat on its wound, keep to the blind side, throw a lily, change trajectory, another five round burst. The thing starts to look really mad, but it just keeping getting slower.

>Danger! Integrity depleting! Hp 15% Condition Critical! Non-essential systems shutting down to conserve remaining integrity.
“Override.”
>Non-essential systems continuing.

Zudo finds the gap in your focus from the distraction and swings his hammer crackling with lightning, putting up a shield, you stop a spark from laying into you before engaging the warpwind and standing right in his cracked face. You see static covering half of your vision for a moment as you bring up your gun and pelt him right in the face, dropping down in time for his claw to slam right into his own damaged head... But the blasters aren't good enough, you need more, more...

>Danger! Integrity depleting! Hp 10%

shut up.

>Danger! Integrity depleting! Hp 9%

Shut up.

>Danger! Integrity depleting! Hp 8%

Shut up!

>>1749831

The molten lead core in your being seethes, as static completely fills your vision before turning into black fuzz. You hear the swing of the hammer come down. You can't let this thing take even a single swing at the T-DEV or you're not getting out of here. Alexis won't arrive in time to stop it, and the others have their own sides- you were the fastest.

Your frame warps and a hexagonal shell partially forms around you as you sidestep it at the last moment like a flicker, or rather a glitch.

That molten lead feels like its pouring through your veins, your being, and you feel it changing you.

>D191vOLuT1On

A Dark egg falls around you, and everything goes black.

You feel yourself pull something apart with your bare hands. The kick of an extremely heavy pistol.
You hear someone scream. You feel pain in your guts. And then, you feel yourself breaking away piece by piece and going elsewhere...

Head pounding and heart responding in sympathy, you slowly peel your eyes open to see a ceiling that's a bit more normal, familiar. You're back in the human world... What happened? The bird chirps of a heart monitor carry on beside you, an IV hooked up to your arm and you realize that you're in a hospital or something.

A button to call for assistance lies among the sheets, and a phone rests on the nightstand beside you. Should probably call your sister to let her know that you're okay... Where's everyone else?

>HP: Human
>MP: 10%
>Loadout: None
>Zone: Thanatos headquarters/ Medbay
>You have control. What will you do here?

>Search for Bruce, only his strong, toddler sized arms can comfort us now. lol, jk, hit the button, find out what happened after you blacked out.

>>1750018
Response acknowledged. Realizing.

>>1749889

You sigh deeply, wondering and hoping if the others are alright. You must've blacked out during the battle, but you can't quite remember what else happened. Squeezing your eyes shut, you get flashbacks of looming figures and drills, opening your eyes again suddenly with a cool sweat beading your brow. Touching your head and temples, you check for scars or bandages of surgery. Nothing, No shaved bits on your head that shouldn't be and smooth skin where it should. Strange.

Leaning over in the sterile room, you press the button to call a nurse, or better yet a doctor. It's not long until someone's with you and checking your vitals. Your head's still throbbing, and you feel drained.

“So what happened when I was out?” You say near the end of the examination, content to let your head rest back on the cool side of the pillow, nursing your aching head.

The Nurse, whose uniform is austere and military appropriate looks down on you, blinking suddenly and jotting down another note before answering, “Apparently there was an anomoly with your D-Trigger. You managed to do something akin to the enemy's evolution ability while fused.” She pauses, staring at you with flinching, grimacing eyes, “That... Isn't supposed to happen. Normally we process acquired digital lifecode into captured Dmons and put them through the synthesis process to advance them for our agents. You pushed it to a level while your flesh and blood body was still part of it.”
The nurse turns to the door as the doctor comes in. A man with a large grey coat and small reading glasses and messy hair looms at the sterile threshold. Without a word, the Nurse jots down a few more notes in shorthand and passes the board over to him.

You want to speak, to say something to him, but something in his demeanor tells you to let him focus as he looks over your chart. Without looking up, he says in a crisp-impatient voice, “That will be all Nurse Alderleaf.” She leaves quickly, shutting the door quietly behind her.

The Doctor sits down, crossing one leg over the other as the man, leans on his cheek with a knuckle, “I'm Doctor Resco. Some call me Rex. I do not prefer that. Tell me agent, what was it that you felt when this... incident happened? Do you remember anything?”

>Do you tell him...

>[] About the burning sensation in your Digifused form...
>[] About the sudden increase in speed, power, and reaction...
>[] About the unstable code...
>[] About the sudden blackout...?

>And what might you specifically not mention?

>>1750226
>[] About the burning sensation in your Digifused form...
>About generally disobeying the Dmon's advice
>Dmon partners CAN talk to us, right? That's not unusual?
>[] About the sudden blackout...?

>Don't mention the overriding we were consciously doing.
>....or purposely letting the zudomon appear

>>1750226

>>1750226

Not a vote, just thinking this through.

I don't know if there's any point in not mentioning the blackout. It seemed like the obvious choice to hide at first, but we had to ask the nurse what happened. Then again, I guess we could play it off like we blacked out afterwards. I get the feeling keeping quiet about this might bite us in the butt later, though. But so might mentioning it.

The unstable code... what are the pros and cons of hiding this? Or rather, the advantages and disadvantages of revealing it. If we reveal it, they'll come to the obvious conclusion that our Dmon is special/glitched in some way, and they'll want to study it. This could mean increased scrutiny in the best case scenario--we'll already have that, so this would serve as an area to focus that scrutiny--to experiments, and finally to the worst-case scenario: our Dmon getting confiscated and us being assigned a new one while the lab rats do science at Gabu instead of us. On the other hand, that science could stick, and provide our team/organization with a new discovery that could lead to that all-important pornography of quests: *upgrades*

Hiding the increase in stats might make us look more skilled than we actually are. I don't know what that'd do for us. It's the dumbest reason to hide it there is, but it's all I got.

As for the burning sensation, I don't see any reason to reveal it or hide it one way or the other.

>>1750396
Wait, we let it appear on purpose? Reading through I thought we just thought that blasting the enemy down as fast as possible was better than trying to play monkey in the middle with the data it was absorbing.

Wish I could have posted earlier to prevent that, personally.

>>1750399
well I don't know what that other anon who voted to also blast it down was thinking.

>>1750399
>>1750405
hell, you're here right now and you're not voting to disagree with me on anything.

Bzzzt....
Admin currently offline.
Expected time of return: 6 hours.
Thank you for your continued participation in our journey.

>>1746252
Martian Triggerman is that you?

>>1750523
Admin has return.
Initializing...

>>1750396
>>1750399
Responses received.
Latter response states "Not a vote,"
This extensive Data will be compiled as internalized thought patterns of the players' avatar.
Submitting...
Pending entry...

>>1750637
Query incompatible with subject.

>>1750226

Under the scrutinizing gaze of the gray haired, sharp-eyed doctor, you find yourself sweating a little, and squeeze your eyes shut on your pillow to soothe your aching head as you give yourself a moment to think.
There was a moment to keep the situation from escalating, and you didn't listen to your Dmon... Wait, they're not really even supposed to talk, are they? Why was that thing talking to you? And how? Where even is it? Peeling your eyes open, you left up your left arm, finding it a bit too light without the weight of the D-Trigger.

“Well?” The Dr. Resco insists on a response impatiently, the butt of his pen tapping the chart.

“There was a burning sensation when I was fighting the Zudo-” You start.

“A Perfect-class Dmon that your superior told you is beyond your capabilities.” The Doctor cuts you off, the tapping stops.

“I- I didn't hear that part. I got hit by an attack that put me at near-Critical.”

“At what? 40%? 30%?” Resco stares at the chart, not looking at you.

“25%” The doctor makes a few marks and stares at you quietly, waiting for you to continue. “My Dmon tried to get me to intercept the data stream before the Zudo appeared, It evolved from a damaged Ice that destroyed its two friends while trying to attack me. I believe they were adult-class threats.”

“You are trained to handle adult-classed threats.”

“Yes.”

“And your Dmon was... talking to you?” He lifts his gaze from the notes, eyeing you carefully.

“...Yes.”

“What happened then?”

You tell him about the blackout, about the burning sensation that began to well up in your gut that felt like it started from the descent into unknown territory. You were fighting the Perfect-class threat by the skin of your teeth after that hit and after realizing that you couldn't do any more real damage to it after you suffered an integrity leak you blacked out.

“You are unaware of what happened after it swung its hammer down on you?”

There's sudden flashbacks in your vision, images twitching from one to another with a static fuzz. Tearing open the Zudo with large claw-like hands. Turning to a small nun-like shadow that suddenly screams as you descend upon her. And then looking down to a glowing blade in your chest.

Shaken by the sudden images, you slowly shake your head. “No... no sir.”

>>1750808

Resco jots down some notes before languidly rising. He doesn't make any eye contact as he checks the sheets and slots them into a nearby device on the wall, slides his keycard, and as it hums to life, scanning the documents he slowly shakes his head, “Some nurses, no idea why they don't just make a chart digital from the start.” The board pops out and he says to you, “Go ahead and make any calls to family that you need. Let them know that you're okay or whatever, but don't tell them about the incident. Calls here are recorded and this is unusual circumstance that Thanatos PR shouldn't have to worry about. I'll be back after checking on data compiled from your D-Trigger.

“When can I have it back? Will I still have my Gabu?”

“Soon enough. And likely so long as it doesn't have any of its own bugs. Understanding those monsters is... finicky. Also, don't tell anyone else that you heard it talk, I wrote that under mild PTSD symptoms. As far as we are concerned, you were hallucinating.”

You're quiet at that.

“Good day, Cadet.” The obelisk-gray coat finally leaves and you find yourself exhaling deeply for the first time since his arrival.

Now, all that's left is to call your sister... She's younger and lives in the south burbs of new Chicagoland. Lot of people were relocated when Thanatos decided to use the remains of the Willis tower as a beacon for all Dmons to realize there instead of across North America.
She's your only family now with Dad having never been around even before their arrival and your mom having been abducted along with... Static splits your vision again and it leaves you reeling with a gouging headache. The Heart monitor's sound goes erratic for a moment.

What?

You... You need to call your sister. Taking up the phone, you put in your home phone and hear it ring a couple times , no answer, goes to voicemail.
“Hey Canelle, Sorry I haven't come back in a couple days. Mission took longer than I thought. If you need to get anything, there's some money in the false panel in my bottom dresser. Make sure you put the receipt in there so I can turn it into claims. Call HQ if you need me, they'll put you through.”

>>1750822

Hanging up, you lay on the hospital bed and close your eyes for more much needed rest.

* * *

>Zone: ??? In Digital World

In a dark space with bright circuits running through and along the air in a polygonal abstraction and
actualization of cyberspace many little mechanical beetle Dmons sit at stations, tapping away an
monitoring terabytes of data apiece.
One perks up, tapping and triangulating an anomalous signal of particular interest before it begins to
chitter with glee and flies off through extradimensional space and into a golden room of light and
something nearly sovereign, nigh royal.

The creature buzzes, its voice more a cause of electrical static than actual words, yet they translate an understanding to one of their leaders that slowly turns around to listen further. “Lord Ωmon Zzzwart, a zzzeed! One of the lozt zzzeeds activated in our world!”

“Carry on Kokuwamon 28-54,” An omnipresent voice drones out in a pristine disembodied digital burble from the Black-clad and Darkly cloaked figure with an obsidian left arm fit with a dragon's head and a spiked pitch right arm topped with a wolf's maw.

“It hazzz returned to the human world in the place of one of zeir beaconzzz.”

“One of their strongholds then.” The Voice echoes again with a discordant cacophony of sound.

“Coordinatezzz 41.8789° N, 87.6359° W.”

“Return to your duties. We will send infiltrators to retrieve it.”

>End Episode 1

>Taking Queries and Comments.

>>1750842
A cut above most people doing their first quest. Just need to pitch it to people who actually care about digimon.

And since at least a couple of those anons know what /tg/ is, I hope things won't be quite as rocky as with other fanfic quests.

>>1750842
when's the next thread?

>>1750851
Establishing twitter connection now.

>>1750848
Pitch it in QTG or just keep going with it? Also, your responses were rather interesting.
I liked those sort of things even if they weren't optimal they led to an interesting scene in my mind's eye.

>>1750854
qtg's fine. How about you try this for a hook next time?

>Name
>link to thread
>Post the entire loadout here >>1746535


I'm considering whether it is necessary or advisable to shill anywhere else.


Eh, trying to be 100% optimal is nofunallowed and will eventually clash with the QM's sense of "reality". I'll take it as a compliment.

>>1750842
Will we ever have a name?

>>1750863

I'm bad with naming protagonists and wasn't sure what would be aesthetic for this character yet.

I was legitimately thinking of doing something here like Anton Agonist.

Give me a suggestion and I might throw that in. Twitter almost done.

>>1750860
Sounds good, all part of the schilling post?
And fun is great! So long as it's not wrongbadfun.

>https://twitter.com/Dmon_Trigger
Twitter has Realized.

Post loading...

Four days later and you're just getting out of the infirmary, the headaches have finally begun to stop and you can focus on things again. You couldn't get used to the disinfected air or the comstant checks by the austere Nurse Alderleaf as she came by at minute 21 of every hour during your waking moments. You knew that because she would always glance up at the digital clock on the wall first thing upon entering and your gaze would follow hers. She'd take notes on your condition- which seemed rather strange, but this is paramilitary and a lot of the things Thanatos does is rather experimental to say the least.

Canelle had called back the next day after school hours, “I hope you're doing okay big bro. I got scared when you didn't come home. When you're better, let's go get some Korean BBQ, yeah? Your treat for making me worry.”

Yeah, sure. A soldier's salary isn't infinite. But it's better than her holding it against you.

On the third day they put you in an MRI to check your brain function. Apparently passing out from the D-Trigger is an unusual thing with the normal limiters in place. It was a strange experience getting jammed into the tube and patiently waiting for the humming to be over. It gave you a slight headache...

They told you on the way out that they would look over the results carefully, but nothing really kept you from being discharged and back into active duty within the week.

During checkout of the infirmary they return your D-Trigger, stating the obvious about it not having its full arsenal in restricted areas as well as warning that command will be made immediately aware if its primary function is used outside of orders or mission parameters.
Supposedly the idea is that it's your discretion to break the rules or not and only if there's absolutely good reason to.

Fitting the weighty device back on your left forearm is nice, not having it started to feel kind of naked...

>>1769050


Before you're able to leave, the clerk makes you aware of a message left on your D-Trigger from the RnD department. Seems like one of the developers wants to speak with you on something.

As you scroll through the backlog of messages on the D-Trigger you find Alexis and Bruce sent you mails. Seems that Private Smalls didn't bother however, strange.

Bruce brags about how he took down a couple child-class Dmons that had noticed the landing of the T-Dev.
>He should probably just have that small victory. “Congrats.”
>I should put him in his place. “I destroyed two adults and a perfect-class.”

Alexis's message is a bit more brief. Something about wanting to meet up. What could she want?

There's also an alert from the infirmary to make an appointment with Doctor Resco soon to get the results of your MRI.
>MP: 100%
>Zone: Thanatos HQ Lobby

>[] Go see your sister in the South Burbs for KBBQ,
>[] Check in with RnD, see what they want to talk about.
>[] Meet with Alexis. As an Officer she might have something important to say.
>[] Check on Gabu in your D-Trigger, how's that little guy been?
>[] Something else you'd like?

>You can make the appointment when it suits you.

>>1769053
>>He should probably just have that small victory. “Congrats.”

>[] Check on Gabu in your D-Trigger, how's that little guy been?
>[] Check in with RnD, see what they want to talk about.
>[] Go see your sister in the South Burbs for KBBQ,

in that order. No point in meeting Alexis if we don't get our medical results first.

>>1769053
>>[] Check in with RnD, see what they want to talk about.
>[] Go see your sister in the South Burbs for KBBQ,

>>1769509
>>1769343
Admin has awoken.
Compiling entry.

>>1769612
In the interim, here is a script for words in this story.

Queries on certain topics and subjects unveiled will be archived here.
>https://pastebin.com/REtxL3Pw

>>1769053

Other agents walk past as you sit in the lobby, fiddling with your D-Trigger. Many of them seem to be on their way to one thing or another.
It's a relaxed period as the clock approaches noon, with no one save for a few being in a particular rush as Thanatos serves its purpose in keeping the Dmon threat at bay.
Of late they've lowered recruitment rates to preserve resources for the odd Dmon that might decide to realize.
With the aggressive greeting many of them face, it must have spread through their world that humans are not to be trifled with.
Though, the T-DEV getting hit with something that forcibly altered its coordinates... The manuals never said anything about such a thing.

You send off a brief message to Bruce, “Congrats. That's a real big accomplishment, right?” You try not to let the sarcasm drip off the text. He sends you a grinning smiley back. What?

You're at the screen that shows your Dmon, Gabu. He's sleeping on his side, turned away from the window. You tap the screen and he turns his head over his shoulder with a lazy leer. His eyes brighten a bit when he sees you, and he spins around to sit up, letting his lays splay out.
“Hey there. You... can understand me, can't you?” A series of digital growls come out of the D-Trigger, but for whatever reason they... make sense to you?
A little taken aback, you nod slowly and his eyes suddenly darken as he looks angry, pissed even.

His mechanical growls go loud in rapid fire “Why didn't you listen to me! We could have stopped Icemon from evolving!That Zudomon really hurt you know!We could've gotten some tasty data and not
wacked by a chrome digizoid hammer. And what was that freakout about?! You hurt Sister Noir. And
then Rena had to stab us, and we were really fast but really dumb and-”
You press mute.
He seems fine? But you're suddenly not sure that you are. Dmons don't really talk, and you shouldn't be able to understand the digital rumble that they make.
In fact, it still sounds like that, but you understand him. Maybe you're just imagining things?

Heading to the elevators, you hit the floor for RnD and hold onto the railing as it shoots you up to the floor, stopping only a couple times to let other people on.
When you stop off onto the RnD floor, you realize that you've never really had a chance to go up here.
Lights are buzzing about, holograms show holding cells for captured Dmon data in more “Common workspaces” and other things that they're working on. There's actually a lot of people here and at least five monitors for each of them to monitor and check each other's projects as the AC blows hard making your skin prickle up as you shudder, your breath visible on the air. The people here are nearly wearing winter clothes.

>>1769684


Showing someone the note in your D-Trigger, they direct you to the person that left it, Dr. Amaranth. Her workspace is at the far end of the common area and through a door that requires security clearance of a level that requires the person to call for their supervisor to open up the door.

On the inside, you see a young woman with long red hair tied back into a messy ponytail and in nothing but a tanktop and shorts despite the winter-cold air. She's busy tapping away with multiple screens flickering with strange characters flowing across them at the speed of her furious fingers.

“Dr. Amaranth?” The Supervisor. Dr. Harding clears his throat to get her attention. It doesn't work. With a sigh, he says, “Your guinea pig is here.”

Your eyes go wide, and you start to turn around to leave at that, but you notice that there'a a sudden silence, the typing stops, and a pair of very strong, yet claw-like hands are gripping into your shoulders. “And where do you think you're going my precious little piggie?” She giggles like an evil witch from a child's fairytale as Dr. Harding closes the door on you with an apologetic look at your pleading eyes. You pray for god to save you from this digital demon, but there is no answer, and her claw-like nails are like vice-iron.

>Bad end?
>Kzzzrt. False flag.

Dramatics aside, Amaranth sits you down in what she calls a “seat” which is really just a pillow she tosses on the floor and gets back to her monitors, grabs a heavy laptop that you swear is more like a suitcase and she plops down in front of you on her own pillow.

“So what do you-” You begin after she's silent in that spot, fingers flying at the laptop.

“This.” Suddenly, she turns the screen around for you to see and there's what looks like your Blue Blasters, but in... chrome? “These are upgrades I modeled for you after the absorption of the Zudo's data, more specifically its chrome digizoid hammer. It's not often that we literally get Perfect data like this and from a rookie no less.
I pulled some strings with the powers that be and got them to approve you to be my personal guinea pig for my experimental weapons and upgrades. It's voluntary of course, but I urge you to do it.” She smiles devilishly.
“After all, I'm not sure about many guys that could pass up a gun like this. I call it the Zudo Magnum. Though I guess if it integrates with your Gabu it's be called the Blue Magnum? Packs a lot more kick, should still feature the original firing options and then some.

“Once more, this is voluntary, but I urge you to accept.” Despite the cold, she seems flushed, almost as though with arousal at the thought of someone handling her data?

>Uhhh... Sure? You agree test things for an eccentric developer.
>I'll pass. I think I need to pass. You'll go with the more standard stuff...

>>1769686
>>Uhhh... Sure? You agree test things for an eccentric developer.

>>1769686
>>Uhhh... Sure? You agree test things for an eccentric developer.
what does plating the guns do for the bullets, though?

>>1769686

“Uhhh... Sure? I guess, I mean. This is a big deal right?”

“Of course it is.” Amaranth grins widely and she whips out a cord from under her pillow, plugging it into her heavy laptop, and already she's putting it into your D-Trigger and starting the installation.

“Can I ask though, what does plating the guns do for the bullets?”

“I'm glad you ask! Good Piggies should ask questions so they know how to use their goodies” She says with another witchly giggle as she's focused on the screen. She pulls up a different window displaying flowing digicode to monitor the install.
“The Chrome magnums aren't just plated, the barrel's remodeled with it to withstand higher calibers of ammunition. See, Chrome Digizoid isn't the same as our chrome, it's actually an extremely hard to come by data-based metal that's one of the strongest materials in the Dmon world.
Think of it as being akin to mythological mithril but not necessarily orichalcum. Furthermore, I was able to imbue the Zudo's power of lightning into the gun, so it shhhould have an additional firing mode in the form of a lightning Magnum shot.
I haven't gotten the chance to perform calibrations to your humon form yet so I can't exactly say how much MP it'll take or how much damage it'll do.
But it'll be a perfect-class bang wielded by a rookie class humon.
Well, until you're approved to have you Gabu evolved into a champ or something...
Oh, and this shouldn't be an issue, but it also fires a wee bit slower.”

After that long explanation, the download finishes, and the icon appears as part of your digimon exclusive loadout. “Thank you, I guess. I look forward to working with you in the future.” You say with a smile, and your nose oozing from how cold the room is.

“Baw, stop.” Amaranth chuckles. “Let me know when you have time to test it in a training room. I can perform calibrations then. Now isn't really good for me, I have other work to get to.” She bounds up, slides her keycard in the door and lets you go.

It's afternoon now... You head out of Thanatos on a shuttle to the south suburbs. The mag-train is smooth and fast as it sweeps over the mostly desolate landscape of ruined buildings, the train and track being the only new things as flora have begun to overtake the ruins of old Chicago.
Your stop is the first one, New Chi-town, a place with not only housing, but a school fit for Thanatos families.
What you call home is an apartment with room enough for you and your sister. The place is simple and clean as you walk in, your sister's on the couch playing a game on the living room tv. She looks over to you and smiles, “Hey. You feeling better? I was starting to get a bit lonely.”

>[] “Yeah, I'm fine. Need a player two?” (Coolbro)
>[] “Nothing much to worry about. Just work.” (Working Bro)
>[] “Did you already finish your homework?” (Dadbro)
>[] Something else you'd rather say as a bro?

>>1769766
>>[] “Did you already finish your homework?” (Dadbro)

>>1769766
>[] Something else you'd rather say as a bro?
I've been thinking about running a digimon quest for a while, is it ok with you if I ran one? I don't want to be stepping on your toes, I might not run one even if you give me the ok but I thought I would ask

>>1769789
>[] Something else you'd rather say as a bro?
Error#42B. Input related to this task cannot be understood. Please try entering input again.
Message from admin:
Run your quest if you want man, it's cool.
I'd be kind of stoked to catch it when I could actually.

>>1769804
Oops I copied the wrong option, I meant
>[] “Did you already finish your homework?” (Dadbro)

>>1769804
Thanks by the way for being coll with another possible digimon quest, I'm still planning this stuff out though so I don't know when and if I'll ever run it

>>1769815
cool*

>>1769768
>>1769808
Choices accepted.
Admin must leave for other tasks during this time. ETA 9 hours. Should thread die before then, a new one will be compiled.

>>1769766
>"You've been playing that same game for 2 years, I have GOT to get you something else."

>>1770076
Admin's returned. Choice added.
Loading post...

>>1769766

Kicking off your shoes at the entryway, you put them in a little shoe cabinet, a relic habit of yours. “Yeah. Got a scan, getting the results soon.”

“Doesn't mean that you're feeling better.” Canelle's voice has the inflection of worry, and yet she stays focused on her game.

“I'm doing well enough. Did you already finish your homework?” You say as you pour yourself a glass of water in the kitchen just around the corner from the living room.

“Yeah, I did it. I didn't want to have to wait for Korean BBQ, and I knew that'd be the first thing you'd ask.” She keeps on fiddling with the controller, explosions and particle effects from the tv reflected in her glasses, her black hair's let down and a little unkempt as it frames her dusky skin. You take a seat on the couch and take a long drink from the glass as you watch her play for a bit.

“So what game is this?” You ask.

“Legend of Avatars: Flute of Space.”

Sipping a bit of water, you watch the character on the screen run around with a sword and shield in hand. It kind of reminds you of some Thanatos agents that use a similar loadout set. It's actually been known to be very effective as the damage firearms inflict on Dmons vary along with the kind of armor they're wearing as well as their defensive attributes.
Blades tend to have an overall higher attack power. Your job in reality is more to lay down suppressive fire and help wear them down. That's not to say that you couldn't pick up a sword or something in your loadout.
“You've been playing this game for what, like two years?”

“It came out a year ago.”

“Do you want a new game?”

“I don't think I need one right now, I'm still working on getting all the achievements on this one.” She says absently, rather distant in fact. “When are we going to KBBQ?”

“As soon as you get ready.”

She scratches her head which drives her hair further into a mess, then frowns, and finally pushes up her glasses, “Save point's not for a while. Don't want to lose progress.”

“Need me to grab you socks?” You ask.

“And shoes please.”

As you get up, you notice a bit of static fuzz in your vision briefly as you head into her room that's kept rather clean if only for the fact that there's not much to it besides games and cartoon paraphernalia. As you grab her socks out of the drawer as well as a brush and tie for her hair you hear her scream.
Rushing out, you see her face planted on the floor. “Canel-” You start to say, but then you see what's up on the screen.

“Save Data Corrupted”

Oh. Ohhh...

Canelle sniffles on the floor, “I- I just got a rare item drop...”

>[] “Come on, there's worse things in life.”
>[] “I feel your pain. Let's get going to fill that void with meat.”
>[] “What could've done that?”
> What else might you say?

>>1771727
>"If this turns out to be my fault, sorry in advance."
>[] “I feel your pain. Let's get going to fill that void with meat.”

>>1771754
Input accepted.
Compiling.

>>1771727

Staring at the system message on the screen you can't help but find yourself frowning with a bit of guilt. You make a mental note to yourself to apologize to Canelle if that turned out to be your fault.
“Hey sis, I feel your pain.” You kneel down beside her as she's huddled face-down on the ground, her hair spilling over her shoulders. “Lets fill that void with some meat, alright? How's that sound?”

She holds her hand out, and you help her back up onto the couch. She uses the remote beside her to turn off the tv as you help her out with putting her socks and shoes on. She doesn't usually let you do this, but her recent frustration with the game must've drained her will to fight. Her legs dangle uselessly in front of you as you finish the small task. You grab her chair from beside the couch and pull it in front of her, “Need help getting in?”

“I... I can do it myself.” She sniffles as she shakes off the last of her tears over the game. Reaching over, she swings herself into the chair, and settles herself in. She looks back at you with a sort of glare and you let go of the handles. She rolls herself along. “Come on, let's go, I've been waiting for days.”

“Yeah. I won't keep you waiting any longer.”

The drive to the restaurant isn't long, but it certainly doesn't feel brief. After you got laid out by your D-Trigger, you have some mild doubts now that you're back at home with Canelle. What if something did happen to you? What if the abort feature failed and suddenly it wasn't just down two parents but her brother as well. You swallow dryly at the thought.

Now and then, you glance over to her and catch her staring at you. Finally, in the silent ride she starts to ask you about Thanatos, about your excursion and the like. Of course, not much of it can really be made public, and you don't want to worry her... Though saying nothing at all might leave her to come up with her own conclusions...

>You may select multiple options or the last here.
>[] … tell her about the T-DEV for excursions.
>[] …tell her about the D-Trigger and becoming a humon.
>[] … tell her about the mountain that looks like a CPU cooling system in Iceberg Beach
>[] … tell her about the giant ice monsters you laid out, keeping out the bitter details.
>[] … Something else?
>[] … Not much to say about Thanatos really, Sorry Sis.

>>1771895
>>[] … tell her about the T-DEV for excursions.
the thing drives itself
>>[] … tell her about the mountain that looks like a CPU cooling system in Iceberg Beach
>talk about the people he's met going in. squadmates, training seargents, navigators, etc

>>1771923

Response accepted.
Post Compiled.
Loading post.

>>1771895

“Well, we use this sort of pod thing called a T-DEV,” you start, and explain to her how it's basically what's used to get into and out of the Dmon world safely. “All it really needs are the proper coordinates and it can warp itself to the right area. Besides that, it can functionally pilot itself, even going so far as to landing despite unfamiliar terrain.”

She listens intently, glancing up at you from the corner of your eye as you keep your focus on the road.

“That's... Pretty cool.”

“I'll tell you what's cool. When we got there this last trip, there was a mountain that was like a giant computer cooling system. Water pump kind. It was the center of this place that's called Iceberg Beach.”

She frowns at that. “So it's like a beach... but with icebergs? That sounds awful.”

You shrug. “Would be. My Dmon is adapted for cold terrains so it worked out fine for me.”

“That's right... Thanatos uses them, right?” She mumbles a little at that, suddenly turning rather dour.

“Well, it's hard to fight them without. They're not allowed to roam free though, we make sure of that.”

“Good.” She sighs with a bit of relief. “Monsters like them shouldn't be allowed to hurt anyone. Especially not...” She trails off there. Not really intent on continuing.

You carry on talking about people you've met going in such as these two that are actual twins named Victor and Victoria that were a really good team in basic training.

“Their parents were creative.” Canelle gives a smug smirk at a stoplight.

“Hey, you're named after the french for cinammon.” You tease.

“Yeah, well that's better than your name-” She snipes back and you immediately change the subject.

“Then there's this crazy Doctor lady that I think might want to jump my bones.”

“That's gross. And was she the one taking care of you?”

“No, that'd be Doctor Resco. He's not really too fun of a guy. Think of a stick in the mud, and then think like a hundred feet deeper. The Crazy one is Amaranth, and she's a doctor of... research, I guess?”

“A doctor of research? Are you serious?”

“I literally have no idea what her field could be besides successfully giving me chicken skin.”

>Zone: The House of Hot Meat
You pull up into the KBBQ and go through the process of getting in the restaurant and taking a table that can do without a seat. You carry on a little about a training Sergeant that pushed you to shoot a lot straighter, often saying that this wasn't like shooting in an fps and a bunch of other stuff. You'd like to talk about squadmates and navigators but you haven't quite been assigned to a squad yet since you're just getting out of basic.

Hopefully someone recommends you or asks you to join their squad so you don't have to worry about taking up missions. Dr. Amaranth's notice might get you a few people interested.

>>1771976

As you dig into the sizzling meat with Canelle, your thoughts drift again to the past. When the attacks first started you were both Chicagoan suburbanites, only too close to the city at the time. Dad died a long time ago due to an accident and mom disappeared thanks to the abductions. Strangely enough, there's scarcely any recordings of Dmons outright killing anyone. Most of what's been shown is that they drag them back to their world... The big question Thanatos has been asking is for what?
And that's one of the things that you'd like to find out.

Canelle points at your D-Triggers, swallowing a mouthful of tender beef, “It's blinking. What's that mean?”

You check your D-Trigger and find that the blinking is coming from Gabu trying to get your attention. At his window, he's salivating as he looks over at the mass of meat that's being served to the two of you.

>[] Unmute him.
>[] Ignore him.
>[] Switch his environment to volcano field.
>[] Show him to Canelle?
>[] Something else?

Admin will be sleeping here.
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>>1771980
>send some veggies to Gabu
>Prepare some meat as reward later if he can learn how to write. Or, at the end of a hot and watery obstacle course that will freeze and become slippery if he tries too hard to cool it down

>>1771980

Tapping the screen, you scan the pickled veggies around the grill into the device, and some food drops in his little virtual world. As he consumes the digital veggies with wild abandon, you see if you can put on the training mode only to find that the feature's been locked. The message says that it's restricted outside of base. Guess they don't want Thanatos dmons to get trained without supervision.

“What was that?” Canelle asks after swallowing.

“Ah, this is how they're fed. They need to eat too, and this is the quickest way about it.”

“Huh...” Canelle frowns a little bit at that. She starts staring at the D-Trigger, seemingly a little wary of it. “You think they... ate mom?”

You're at a loss for words at that as you stare down at your serving plate. You can't really say that with certainty but... “I'm sure I'll find her on the other side. Just hang tight, okay?” You give her a reassuring smile and she returns a feeble one.

The two of you kind of lose your appetite after that, heading home for a silent ride. This time, Canelle's glances keep falling onto your left arm. Guess bringing it home was another thing altogether. Heading inside, she lets you take off her socks and shoes before she sets off for bed proper and you get another little rush of static in your vision. Cringing, you try to ignore it again, but it's a bit more persistent than before.

>Zone: New Chi-Town, Thanatos Off-Site Residential Units

As it lingers, you hold your hand before your face as the static churns your vision like poor reception on a vintage satellite television.

Your D-Trigger starts blinking again, likely Gabu trying to bother you for more food again or something...

>[] Ignore him, and go to bed.
>[] Unmute him finally and see what he wants.

> Something else?

>>1772329
>>[] Unmute him finally and see what he wants.

>>1772329
>>[] Unmute him finally and see what he wants.

>>1772329
>[] Unmute him finally and see what he wants.

>>1772811
>>1773349
>>1773392
Accepted, compiling post.

>>1772329

After the long day you're tired and just want to sleep. With this guy flashing this light, what the hell could he want? In the wee hours of the night, in your simple room as streetlights waft in from across the street through the blinds of the apartment complex. The window's cracked open to let in the slight autumn breeze giving some reprieve to the lingering summer days.

In these fresh dark hours, you access the gantlet that is the D-Trigger with its broad tablet-like interface and many side buttons for hot-access. You switch to the wintry screen that shows your Dmon's storage and access the options to tick off the mute.

Suddenly, the vaguely animal, machine-like growl of Gabu's voice comes through. “Hey, I smell something! I smell something bad!” He blinks a moment, and then growls before stamping his foot in the snow-scape in anger. “Hey, have I been muted this entire time! Ah, I've been trying to talk, no wonder you haven't heard me.”

You sigh deeply, exasperated by the shenanigans of the day. “What is it? And what do you mean you smell something?”

Gabu bears his (un)surprisingly ferocious teeth, “There's a Dmon around here, I can smell it. It's realized!”

“What are you talking about? Dmons can't realize outside of the beacon's area. And if they do, agents respond and clean it up right away.”

“Pfft. Don't believe me then.” Gabu crosses his arms and pops a squat on his hindquarters. “I just thought I'd warn you since you gave me those delicious veggies earlier. I mean, so what if you or some other human dies 'cause you're stupid.”Gabu gives you a cheeky grin before plopping over on his side and turning around, facing away from you.”

Static buzzes in your vision again and it kind of makes you cringe.

“Fine. Let's say I believe you. Where is it?”

“It's close.” Gabu turns around, a little bit. “I'll tell you when we get closer. Ir's small, but it could still hurt someone.”

“I should report this in-”

“Yeah, and wait for those dopes at Thanatos to respond? It's gonna get someone before then.”

>[] Send in a report that you've detected a Dmon outside of the Forbidden Zone.
>[] Disregard sending in the report and hunt the thing down now.
>[] Check on Canelle, and make sure she's safe before anything else.
> Something else?

>>1774349
>>[] Check on Canelle, and make sure she's safe before anything else.
>Send in a report that you're getting strange readings similar to a Dmon, investigating now

>>1774374
Accepted, compiling.

>>1774349

If the thing is close it could hurt Canelle, your sister. You breath deeply, to calm yourself as you throw in your shoes, keeping Gabu's window open. “I'm checking on Canelle first. Then I'll send in a notice to HQ that i'm investigating a Dmon reading. Fair?”

“Do what you want human, I'm just your slave after all.”

“There's a lot of things not exactly right about that we'll have to talk about later.” You whispoer to the device as you throw on a jacket and creep into the hall.

“Not exactly wrong either.” He growls, then sniffs deeply a few times. “It's close.”

You creep in the hall to your sister's room. “How close exactly?”

“Real close... Getting closer.” He growls back.

You pause, and suddenly start feeling your heart thumping in your ears. “Do you think...”
Sweat beads at your brow, “That it's...”
Your breathing quickens, “In her room?” There's light coming from underneath her door, and the sound of rapidly changing electronic sounds catches your attention.
Static creeps at the edges of your vision. You get closer to her door, and as you turn the handle, static noise floods your vision. “Ah, what...” You cringe, it actually kind of hurts. Your hands are shaking.

“Keep going, it's in there.”

Throwing the door open, you see a little blob sitting on the computer desk, manipulating the keys at preternatural speeds as it rapidly shifts the screen, reads something with a strange digital buzz and instantly switches off to something else. Canelle is on the floor, out of her chair and unconscious.

From what you've learned, this Dmon must be at the first baby stage or something. How could it have realized out here though? If the beacon's working, it makes no sense.

>The monster has yet to be made aware of your presence as it's focused on doing... whatever it's doing. What's your course of action?

>[] Get a pillow and smother the thing.
>[] Rush it and see if you can punch it in its stupid face.
>[] Put that report in- now.
>[] Try... talking to it? [Enter Text] !May ruin element of surprise.
>[]Something else?

>The D-Trigger is unlocked for use however its armament is locked outside of the forbidden zone without permission. It's meant for emergency and rescue in this state.

>>1774737
Can we jam it into the D-Trigger? We can talk to it there.
If not:
>[] Rush it and see if you can punch it in its stupid face.

>>1774744
You could see about using a capture function outside of your transformation. You're not exactly sure where that was as it wasn't stressed as highly in training due to the reliance on the hybrid form.
Would you like to seek that function now?

>>1774747
yea, sure. Unless anyone has other ideas?

>Admin is turning in for sleep.
>Responses will be compiled in morning.
>Post following will be the last for this part until next "weekend."
>Twitter will be deployed to give playerbase notice,

>Message from admin:
I hope those reading are enjoying this so far. I haven't written anything for a while so this is me polishing off the rust.
I hope to give you guys a good experience and I'm open to commentary and questions here or via twitter.
I know responses are a bit slow right now, especially since I have to catch sleep and life-stuff between the few responses here and there.
However I'm willing to persevere. I'd thought about this strange crossover of two of some of my favorite series' for a while.
Cheers, and thank you for playing this weekend, though it's kind of dragged into tuesday.

>>1774758
Testing interface.
Testing interface
Testing interface.
Testing i nterface.
Testing interface.
Testing interface

>>1774766
New UI established.

>>1774758
It's always a rocky start, but here's hoping more come in.

Accessing you D-Trigger, you start looking for the Capture mode. It's typically supposed to be used in hybrid form, after derezzing a Dmon, however this is just the barest base form of the monsters, so it shouldn't have that much resistance.
As you look for the function, the thing seems to continue its work on your sister's computer and you can eventually hear its voice as it's talking to itself in a mixed low and high pitched voice with several strange and distorted digital warbles.
“Stu-pid, stu-pid. Hate be baby. More da-ta. More...” The creature growls and redoubles its efforts as a single eye glides across the screen, absorbing as much as it can.

Finally, you find something that seems relevant in the options, and you point it at the creature, ready to fire.

“It's trying to digivolve!” Gabu blurts out suddenly in his own digital growl.

You look down at your D-Trigger with a fierce glare as you'd been trying your best to keep quiet. Looking back at the monitor, the creature is gone. Holding your D-Trigger forward like a loaded gun, you can around the room with the capture function. “You idiot!! I almost had it, why did you talk?”

“I can't see what you're doing! I just heard him talking about data and-”

“Quiet. Is it still here?”

“Its smell is still in this room.”

As you sweep the room, you start to see flickers of static in your vision again and a pounding in your head, the computer monitor flickers the same. Not now, what is happening? Suddenly, the little one-eyed jelly monster leaps out at you with its little claw-like feelers and you immediately drop down to duck under it, swiftly turning around and fire the capture ray only for another surge of static to whirl in your vision and cause you to miss.

The thing scrambles back into hiding, the occasional rustling betraying a location that it's already moved from by the time you turn back to it.

“Brother... What's...?” Canelle starts to rouse.

“Stay down. Keep your head down, I'm taking care of it.” You bite through your teeth as you try to push back the static in your vision. Where is this thing?

The thing exposes itself for a moment and you take a shot at it with the beam, it uselessly phases over a pillow, as it scrambles through the sheets. You aim the beam at the edge of the blanket, however partway through it leaps at you, wrapped in the blanket, blinding you as you try to thrash the sheet away.

“Brother...” Canelle's voice trembles as you work to get the blanket off.

“It's alright, I've got this-”

“Heheheh. B̷̵ro͝t̸͡h̢̀e̷r̛͠ ,” Your sister's voice sounds as though it's glitching into the electronic growl of the monsters. You blood goes cold, and you finally get the edge of the blanket, and cast it off. There, propped up, you see Canelle sitting up, her eyes glowing red.

“What did you-”

>>1775233

Canelle's body suddenly lurches up to her feet, standing. “Canelle?”
With unnatural movements she lunges toward you, slapping away the D-Trigger with a wide smile that threatens to break her face apart. “Bye bye brother.” She then flips over you with movements like a professional gymnast and quickly throws the door shut and scrambles down the hall and outside with the sound of a breaking window.

Your sister disappears into the night...

>End Part 2