"OK, let's try not to start hating each other on the first day, yeah?" asked Makoto, somewhat meekly trying to play moderator. Taking charge and going in guns-blazing was something he was good at doing in games, but in real life with actual people? Forget about it. Still, he had say [i]something[/i] to prevent a serious argument from happening, especially given how confrontational Haruko had already shown himself to be thus far. A fire alarm sound may have been just the interruption this group needed. Accompanying the loud noise was Pixelmon's shrill voice.

"Cyber Beast! Cyber Beast! It's a Cyber Beast! Right here at D-Connect!" she squealed, her pixelated form bouncing around in a hyperactive manner.

"Can you identify it?" asked Makoto, quick on the draw to get away from the argument-to-be and focusing on something else.

"Sure can! It's Meramon! Try not to touch him or you'll get burned!" Pixelmon's form suddenly darted out of the room toward somewhere outside the building.

"Meramon, huh? Why do I get the feeling there's something she wasn't telling us?" Makoto scooped up his D-Scanner and made for the door himself, "Looks like there's no rest for the wicked, come on let's check it out!"

[hr]
Outside of D-Connect, there indeed was a Cyber Beast attack in progress. It surely couldn't have been a coincidence that they would target D-Connect almost immediately after Project Destiny was enacted. But that was also impossible, nothing in any of the reports suggested any kind of planning or strategic reasoning for the attacks thus far. Could this one have been the first? At the front of the premises was a tall, fiery humanoid with features that - like the previous Cyber Beast - seemed to be blurred out and hidden in some kind of murky silhouette. Surrounding the perimeter, the Defense Team had already arrived and were in position to cordon off the area while two different firefighting teams were already present to deal with what they suspected would be an inevitable fire breakout.

Among the Defense Team was two men more distinct than the others. Most of the officers were in uniforms reminiscent of American SWAT teams, but not these two. One was formal attire, a dark brown longcoat worn over it to keep himself warm in the cool air, while the other looked a lot more casual, his leather jacket and dark colored pants making him look more like a biker than an officer. But both men had flashed their badges, proving they were indeed genuine officers. They both looked to the Tamers once they emerged from D-Connect and looked to be talking among themselves.

"That's [i]them[/i]? They really are just kids." said Officer Honda Owada, the man in the leather jacket. He sounded irritable, his voice deep and gruff. Or perhaps he was just having a bad day? Apparently he wasn't present at the previous Cyber Beast attack. His partner, the other man, was.

"I was surprised, too. But they're the ones Kuroda picked. Not much we can do about it but support them as best we can." he was the man in the long coat, Superintendent Shinnosuke Ichijou, the officer chosen to lead this task force meant to support the Tamers, while Owada was his partner and right hand man. Unlike Owada, Ichijou was calm and seemed to be able to keep his cool even in the midst of a Cyber Beast attack.

The Cyber Beast - Meramon - seemed to sense the arrival of the Tamers and immediately lashed out against them with a gout of flames from his hands. It was a slow enough attack that the Tamers had moments to dive out of the way and safely out of the fire's reach. But something was off about this fire. In fact, all the fires that Meramon set was not a natural fire at all. Small flaming spheres seemed to emerge from the flames and began acting as minions for Meramon.

"What the? Pixelmon, what are they?" it was Makoto, already aiming his D-Scanner and pulling the trigger to release Commandramon.

"DemiMeramon! His fires are summoning DemiMeramon to help him fight!"

"Why can't it ever be easy?" Makoto then took a deep breath before pushing his hair, his demeanor changing again and his tone once more confident and prideful, "Commandramon's rifle should let us handle the small ones, so you two go ahead and focus on Meramon himself!"

[@tobiax][@DarkwolfX37]