---

The young Miss Black was unsure what to do at this point. She'd gotten as settled as she could be in her hotel room just fine, her parents had helped her put her things where they belonged, and now (barring any future problems) she was alone for the foreseeable future. She wasn't even sure how long she was supposed to stay in Hawaii, but after barely managing to sleep on the plane over she had gotten some semblance of control back over herself. Finally ready to inspect the quality of the furnishings, deciding to start with the bed, she switched the gloves she'd had on for the flight with a new pair and carefully pulled the topmost layer down to the midway point.

She was glad she'd been careful almost instantly, because there was an envelope just below the pillow. Surely her parents hadn't put it there, they knew how she'd react. Which meant someone else had done so, for some reason. As she weighed the options of asking for the bedding to be replaced in her mind, she opened the folded paper only to see instructions to go to the ballroom. Either the one who put it there didn't know her very well, or it knew her extremely well to not place it on top of the pillow instead. That would have been an easy fix for her, after all. She'd just have to swap it with another, but compromising the sheets, comforter, and pillow by placing it exactly where they had? That was a much more targeted attack against her, or an unlucky fluke. She wasn't sure which, but she also wasn't about to follow the instructions without preparing first.

And so it was that she found herself heading down the stairs, on the long walk towards the ballroom, her twin bags packed and on her shoulders. Normally only needing the one, she reasoned that if the mysterious note placer's intentions were against her then she might need both. As she rounded the corner to see the open doors of her destination, she froze. There were people there, several people, and they seemed to be around her own age. Panic seized her heart and she walked quickly backwards to go back behind the corner she'd just passed, out of sight once more from the ballroom.

That didn't make any sense. What was this, a birthday party or something? Did they put the invitation in the wrong room? If they had, then... No, that wouldn't make sense. They'd have to have the keycard to her room, and that would mean the staff would have to be involved. But if they were, surely they'd know who was staying in the room and would catch that Kari wasn't who was meant to be invited, right? She didn't recognize any of the people she saw in the two seconds she had before fleeing, of course she wouldn't in another state entirely, so why was she told to go there? There wasn't supposed to be any event taking place at this time according to the official postings. Which left only a few other possibilities...

Glad that she hadn't had to touch anything other than her room's door on the way down, and having already switched her gloves from that just in case, she was thankfully able to get into her bag and grab a pill. After swallowing it, the medicine wasn't kicking in yet but the placebo was, she did her best to steel herself. The only way she'd find out why she was called there was by waiting around until she was told directly, so she quick-walked her way into the room. There was a table in the corner of the room in her peripheral vision so she instantly turned left and went to it, pulled the chair out with her foot in a single fluid motion, and sat down, purposefully sitting at an angle that let her just barely see the other people.

It couldn't have been even thirty seconds before it happened. The lights stopped shining, and in what seemed like an instant to her the world changed. Suddenly she was staring at a colorless sky.

...the sky? And it was... getting farther away?

Oh shit was all she had time to think before hitting something. She thought it wound be the ground, but whatever she landed on and bounced off of was a bit too soft and mushy to be the ground. Thank the gods that there wasn't a splash or she'd have been well beyond a panic attack from falling in water, or worse, mud. Instead she quickly looked at what she had crashed into only to see her bags falling slightly behind her, also smashing into the strange green thing. As quickly as she could, she retrieved the two bags and put them back on. Despite the desire to wash them being nigh-overwhelming, if she was outside like she thought then there was no other choice.

Speaking of that... where was she? Looking up from the green and brown pile she'd hit, (Ew, not a great color combo...) she could see a... what was a car doing there? No, scratch that, what were many cars doing there? Where the hell was she? She didn't have time to look around any further, because the mound of flesh and fabric she'd fallen on stood up.

"An orc?" She got isekai'd!? How did she even die!?

"Are you picking a fight with me!?" That angry question was all the response she received.

---

Hyokomon had been depressed recently. Ever since that Ultimate [Perfect] stage digimon had brushed her off, she'd been slacking on her training, with no motivation to do much of anything. She'd found herself sitting in a field of strange-shaped boxes, leaned against one to take a nap when her dreams turned strange. She found herself fighting the Ultimate again, or rather for the first time, since there had been no battle in the waking world. After barely managing to dodge one of its attacks, she heard it scream at her.

"Are you picking a fight with me!?" But the Ultimate's question went unanswered, as its volume broke her from her sleep. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes to see a Goburimon angrily shaking its club at a digimon she'd never seen before. Something about it seemed strange...

---

Kari didn't get the chance to talk down the orc. Goblin? Kobold? Whatever it was, that didn't matter. What mattered was that it took a swing at her and she barely managed to dodge back out of its reach. Well, that was that, then. If there was one thing about her that she knew, it was that she couldn't stop herself from punching back when someone tried to hurt her. Unknown to her there was an avian witness to Kari kicking the green creature in the head. Or attempting to, at least, since it blocked it with its club-wielding arm, not even flinching. The creature smiled.

Oh shit.

Kari once more managed to get away from one of the creature's attacks as it swung its free fist at her, once again doing so only by the skin of her teeth. But to the viewing bird it seemed purposeful. Like she was toying with the goblin digimon, rather than the reality of her struggling to stay away. She stumbled backwards, the club missing its target again from the human's sudden loss of balance. Without pausing, the Goburimon swung another horizontal attack. Unable to dodge, Kari tried to block it with both of her gloved hands, but...

DAMNIT!

That hurt way more than she was expecting! Despite barely managing to block the swing with both hands, the monster's follow-through on the swing pushed her back a few feet. Kari wasn't sure how she got away with anything less than broken wrists. She lost her balance, stumbling backwards, stopping only once her back hit something, a vehicle. She'd have to get cleaned up later, because right now the main priority was stopping this thing from killing her. The only saving grace she seemed to have was that she didn't take the blow to her rib-cage...

---

Hyokomon was stunned. She had never seen fighting like that! Whatever this digimon was, it was incredible! To the bird's mind, it seemed almost like it was toying with the Goburimon. Like it was purposefully pretending to be having trouble, when it wasn't actually in danger. Perhaps if Hyokomon had been able to see Kari's face, instead of it being blocked by her hood, she would have realized how wrong she was. The vagabond couldn't help but begin running towards the battle herself.

Just as the Goburimon was about to swing its club down onto Kari's head, the human closed her eyes in fear. But the inevitable brain damage and/or death never came. Instead, the sound of the club hitting steel rang into her ears.

Huh? Opening her eyes showed a scene straight out of a muppet's version of a Sengoku era drama. A small yellow bird. which stood on two legs and wielded a sword, had stopped the goblin's attack and protected her. It seemed that Kari would live another day. Or at least another few minutes.

Oh, this is a fever dream then. It was the only thing she could think of. She'd had plenty of lucid dreams in the past, but even those were rarely this strange. She watched as the green monster lifted its club once again, but a single near-miss slash from Hyokomon across the goblin's jaw was all it took to sever the Goburimon's anger and replace it with fear. It turned to run, but not before shouting once more at the human. "I'll get you for this!"

As soon as the goblin was out of sight, Hyokomon turned to Kari and spoke. "I've never seen a digimon look or fight like you! That was amazing!" An undeniable note of enthusiasm was in her voice. She gave a slight bow and continued. I'm Hyokomon. Since I helped get Goburimon out of your hair, I'd be honored if you would spar with me!

The avian stood once more as thoughts raced through Kari's mind. Deciding not to heed any of them, since this was all just a dream anyway, she agreed. Even in her own delusions, though... "I guess I don't mind, but isn't it unfair for you to have a sword when I don't?"

"Don't worry," Hyokomon replied as she spun her katana backwards in her grip, "I'll only use the back!"

Well, as long as she was trying to beat her clearly medicine-induced dream with logic... "Isn't that unfair to you, though? I think using a sword like that is pretty different from using one properly, isn't it? Though maybe that evens the unfairness out..."

"Exactly!" Hyokomon couldn't help but begin hopping in place out of excitement. Already, this strange digimon was sparking something in Hyokomon's heart. After a few hops she regained her composure and stopped, holding her sword at her side as though it were in a sheath, though still upside down in her grip. "Are you ready?"

Kari's only response was to settle into her approximation of a fighting stance. Though her hands still felt broken, and she couldn't quite close them properly, she payed them little mind. After all, hands were always weird in dreams, so she might as well enjoy the fever high, right? Besides, if manga was to be believed, a fight was the best way to start off after getting isekai'd.

"I guess so." Even with her belief in the fiction of the situation, she couldn't quite force herself to be excited.

As soon as the last word left Kari's mouth, Hyokomon was airborne, having jumped to the level of the human's head with a vertical attack already baring down at her skull. All she could do was dodge to the left, just managing to move her legs out of the way as well. But as the bird was falling, she managed to send a kick at it, and somehow, in spite of the odd angle and lack of effect on the earlier goblin, she connected, straight into the bird's chest as gravity brought it back to the ground. The only result was it being knocked back a few feet.

Oh shit. I just kicked it as hard as I could, and I hit it right in the - Wait, what's the weak-spot on a bird? I'm so screwed, this thing is extremely...

No way... This digimon was able to restrain itself so much that it could knock me back without hurting me? That's incredible! This digimon is really...

Strong!

Something seemed to click in both of them, causing a simultanious pause. "Okay! Out of respect for your power, I'll finish this with one more attack! If I don't win with it, I'll concede, so I'll do my best!"

Please don't do your best, please don't do your best, please don't do your best!

"Um..."

Kari blinked, and when her eyes reopened, Hyokomon was once more eye to eye with her, blade held above her head.

Something happened. Kari didn't react in time, she knew that she didn't. Her body was moving on its own, mimicking the way it had to survive the previous attack.

"Cleaving Cut!"

The bird was fast, too fast to not be able to hit her. Kari wasn't moving as quickly as she had a moment before, either. Her right foot was still partially on the ground. She tried to twist her body away from the attack, but logically, it wouldn't be enough to let her avoid it. And yet by some twist of fate, Hyokomon's momentum carried the avian forward and to Kari's right, just enough to not strike the human's moving body.

By the time the young Miss Black was able to process a thought, the attack had already finished. Somehow, the sword didn't strike the foot or attached leg which was only just now being lifted to complete her attempt to dodge it. It was solely by luck, but she had survived, somehow.

Eyes wide, Kari looked towards the avian samurai only to see that where the tip of her sword was, being held an inch above the ground, a foot-long gash in the earth was left behind.

Oh. Oh. I almost just died...

Even with her sword bearing its dull side, Hyokomon's attack would have done as it was named and cleaved the human in two if it had hit. Kari thought it was purely luck that had saved her, but in Hyokomon's mind it was her own lack of mastery that caused it. If she had only started her attack from the other side, she would have won. She was sure of it. Still...

"You're amazing!" Happiness was obvious in her voice, for the first time in quite a while. "Seeing you fight with so much control and restraint... I haven't felt this excited in a while!" It was more than that. Hyokomon felt like she was freshly digivolved once more, the rush of adrenaline and hope surging through her was perfect.

Hyokomon sheathed her blade on her back and then turned to the human and bowed once more, deeper this time. "I wasn't able to win with that attack, so I concede my defeat. Still, though, I can't believe it! What stage are you?"

The bird didn't give Kari a chance to reply. "Would you be willing to accept me as your student? I'll follow you as my Daimyo." She paused a moment before jumping into a standing position, childish excitement filling her voice. "No, better, a Shogun!"

But Kari didn't get the chance to even process what was happening. Because that's when what she believed to be the goblin creature from earlier returned. But strangely, it came from the direction opposite where it had ran to...

"Greetings." Its voice was a bit different too. "I have come here at Dorumon's request. I was told I would meet one who bears the same voice as God here. I've looked around, but none of the other humans have Her voice, so I must assume that you are the one I'm looking for." The creature tilted its head slightly to the side in question.

Instantly, Hyokomon was between Shamamon and Kari, blade held defensively. "Nice try Goburimon, but you won't trick me or my Shogun that easily!"

Things have escalated.

"Um... Sorry, for earlier. I didn't mean to fall on you." It was the human's turn to bow her head. "Besides," she continued, bitterness suddenly obvious in her voice, "I have nothing in common with god."

In response, the slightly darker goblin merely shook his head in disappointment. "It seems that you are not the one with the voice of God either. Then it seems I was incorrect to come here. I believed I would find one who God would speak through, sharing Her voice. I cannot leave my village alone if that is not the case, so I apologize for taking your time. I'll speak with Dorumon and return home. If I cannot find God here, then I cannot leave them unattended for long."

With that as his only explanation to the duo, Shamamon began to walk away from them, back to Dorumon.

The human and the bird watched him leave, and as they did they noticed the other humans and digimon for the first time. The battle and sparring match hadn't taken particularly long, but in that time the others all had been clued in on the situation, something these two had not been lucky enough to have heard. They looked at each other. Both opened their mouths to say something. And then the sea erupted.

Sashia

Renamon was silent for a few second before she looked over at Danny and Tatl, before saying to Sashia. “Come, this matter is a private matter that your friend over there doesn’t need to hear till his partner is willing to tell him”. Renamon would lead Sashia to an area furthest away from Danny and Tatl.

She folded her arms under her chest before sighing as she began to explain the situation to Sashia. “Effectively, She is or was a baby thief. Tinkermon used to hang out with a strange boy who would kidnap digimon babies and take them to a land where they would never grow up” Renamon told Sashia. “Kinda like the original story of Peter Pan, before it became child friendly” Sashia thought out loud. Renamon as almost like reading her mind nodded “I’ve never heard of that but if that's the analogy that works for you, She often tried to kidnap my sisters and brothers from the village I came from” Renamon continue taking a breath before going on “Her and her boyfriend/partner whatever, were never successful in taking my sibling with our parental figures always keeping them away or taking them down if they ever got too close”

Sashia listened to Renamon's story though she had a few questions. “Those are very human concepts considering you're made of digital data, why do you refer to yourself and others like that?” She asked curiously. “Well, our village was founded by a Sakyumon who met humans before. She was the one who came up with the concepts we use to this day, we are adopted by Sakyumon and Kuzuamon who then become our mothers and train us in the art of being Spirit Guardian” Renamon told her. “Kinda like a good Kitsune, I think thats what I’ll call you Kitsune or Krystal” Sashia said,

Krystal chuckled at that before she said “I like the name Krystal” Before she sensed something and quickly used diamond storm to bring up a protective barrier around the others from the sudden attack by Coelamon, at least the ones who might not react in time.

Klara Langston

---

This dorumon guy was saying a lot of words without actually saying anything at all. It was rather impressive, his ability to talk so much and be able to say so little. To say nothing of the comparisons she didn't really understand all to well. Why was he using such niche references? Klara frowned slightly, mulling over everything. No, no, she still couldn't say she liked anything he was saying. Well, if what he was saying was true it sounded bad, but maybe it was just her naturally more distrustful nature that she didn't really care to take anything he was saying at face value.

The other digimons explanation was much more simple.

Lucemon wanted to destroy their world, or at least was going to inadvertently do great harm to it.

What cliched demon lord plot was that?

Klara looked at the digivice, turning it over in her hands. An intriguing device, if nothing else. Perhaps she could figure out how it worked...

"Hm?"

regardless of her own trust, though, it seemed like things were going to take a rougher turn where she was going to have to put her lot in with these guys for now, regardless. Some weird looking fish thing came out of the sea, clearly hostile.

"Nyahaha, teamwork? Puh-leeze. WE can handle this ourselves, right, partner?"

"...Teamwork, right. What can you even do? Your the size of a small cat."

"Weh! I'm perfectly sized for...for whatever! Hmph, just watch and learn!" It would plant its feet firmly on the ground in front of Klara. A ball of fire ignited over Tsukaimon's head. "Time for some friendly fire! Get grilled, fishpaste!"

The ball of fire was lobbed towards the Coelamon, Klara watching with only mild curiosity.

Dustin

Dustin examined the "Digivice" thrown to him, fiddling with it as much as possible (which is to say, hardly at all) before concluding the thing wasn't meant to be manually operated much at this stage. He could look up a couple of details on Cardmon, but only Cardmon, and there wasn't much about it to find. The "evolution" tab had a lot of implications, but it only showed Cardmon and its previous forms, of which there were apparently two, both labeled babies, which is saying something considering how babyish Cardmon was already. Cardmon's only "skill" was listed as "Card Curse", though skills didn't seem to have a description of any kind. He pulled out the six cards he had pulled from the booster pack Cardmon gave him and eyed them warily. Magic is real, so superstition logically required reexamination.

"These cards wouldn't happen to be cursed, would they, Cardmon?"

"Nooooo?" Cardmon answers in a tone of voice that Dustin can't discern as being either genuine confusion or the denial of a child caught red-handed.

Before the interrogation can continue, however, a freakish fish monster emerges and greets them with a poorly-aimed jet of water. Its arrival certainly came as a surprise, but it was perhaps more surprising that it was allegedly intelligent, or at least intelligent enough to be interested in the bounty Dorumon mentioned off-handedly, while still thinking that attacking now was a good idea. Despite the cognitive ability to act independently, it seemed to think going toe to toe with the ten or so digimon here all at once was just fine, so either the gap in power is outstanding or the fish is just an idiot. Either way, it was rather captivating to see a super-powered monster in action. There's a lot of exotic animals on Earth capable of bizarre feats, but that jet of water couldn't have realistically been bodily fluids or stored sea water.

Klara and her bean-shaped purple flying gecko were the first to launch an attack, and, belatedly, he realized that it was still possible that their numbers advantage would mean nothing when they were all so new to human-digimon partnerships. The power to produce ambiguously cursed trading cards when no one was looking wasn't quite as... well, flashy, let's say. Still, based on what he's been told, Cardmon is supposed to fight for him, using his emotional energy, and if it's at all possible, he should at least try to understand what he's working with here. Thinking to give it a try, he clutched his digivice, and in turn, couldn't shake the feeling that it was responding to him... Probably. Looking at Cardmon, the spherical tyke didn't seem to notice the attempted effort, its attention fixed on the fish monster as it began to fidget in place, its spinning card rotating a bit more erratically.

"So, Cardmon, as a Digimon, you can fight, right?" He felt the need to ask.

Cardmon turned to look at him, his face betraying his lack of confidence, but seeing Dustin's ever-stoic expression, he steeled his nerves before answering, "Yes! I can fight. If there's one thing Cardmon are known fow, it's our curses!"

...Not their cards?

Not hearing Dustin's thoughts, Cardmon floated up a bit higher off the ground before reeling back, then launching the card atop its head with a surprisingly violent spin. The card is launched away after a couple of rotations as if it were an olympic discus, flying off towards the fishy creature like a missile, coated in an inexplicable ominous aura.

"Card Curse!"

---

@Mike Dracopyra @TopGrail @TheRealGhost @Spydorking

Field of Cars, File Island, Digital World

Not even Elecmon chose to help Dorumon; that's how much the latter flubbed up, and so Dorumon had to leap back from the jet of water launched at him, which hit the sand beneath where he was standing and caused a spray of sandy water to rain down on every one of the group.

Andrew instinctively grimaced at that, and said, "My Clothes!," before his next thoughts turned to Joel and his new Digimon Partner.

"Joel, are you okay?," he asked, trying to be gentle. "Don't worry, it's my first time fighting too; as that rude guy said, people shouldn't be forcing kids to fight against monsters."

He backhandedly admitted that 'Rude Guy' had a point, and that Dorumon was really very suspicious. He then turned towards Elecmon and said, "All right, I'm in. Now let's protect the other kids and Joel, okay?"

Coelamon was ignoring the scattered attacks on its sides, not helped by the fact that not all the Digimon were attacking. Rude Guy's attempt at a punch didn't work either... except as a distraction; Pulsemon's attack, however, did cause the foe to wince because it came from somewhere so close... It was also a few inches short of hitting its left lower eyelid.

Having a sudden flash of creative insight, Andrew turned to Elecmon and said, "Your strongest attack at its right eye, now!"

"On it!," was the response, and Elecmon's tails crackled with electricity as he said, "Super Thunder Strike!", and bolts of lightning were launched at the enemy Digimon's eye. Direct hit.

It howled in rage, almost deafening the Human members of the party, before shouting, "Elecmon, you traitor! You would gamble everything on such measly fools?! Iron Scale!"

This time, it was targeting Andrew and Joel, launching small scales of sharpened metal from its skin that would pierce holes through a normal human if they hit -

"Metal Cannon!," Dorumon intervened as he shot a metal sphere from his maw that grew in size as it flew, batting aside the bladed iron scales before crashing against Coelamon, staggering the foe back several steps.

Andrew felt it; Dorumon was giving them a chance to win, to strike the final blow... while making it clear that he was holding back, that he was strong enough to take care of this - And them - singlehandedly if he wanted to.

"Now!," the boy felt as though he needed to set an example, "Elecmon, we need your strongest attack again! Joel, you and your Digimon, coordinate with me and Elecmon and hit the same spot Elecmon hits! Everyone else, aim for the eyes!"

One more round, one more round and we can finish this... thanks to Dorumon. Then what?

@Ryik@Aku the Samurai@TopGrail@Rune_Alchemist@Letter Bee@Duthguy@Crimson Flame@The Jest@Mike Dracopyra

"Tatl, wait!" Danny ran after Tatl, looking over the Digivice. Maybe there is something in here that will help. Danny thought to himself. He found a section that told him about Tatl. Apparently she used a lot of status effects, mostly poison based ones, which he wasn't sure would help against this behemoth. Danny caught up to Tatl, but nearly got hit in the process as Dorumon sent a Metal Cannon attack past them to protect the others.

"Danny! Stay back! You're gonna get hurt if you get too close!" Tatl scolded Danny. Her wings were dimming as she said this, feeling fear for her new friend. She quickly flew up to Coelamon, and struck him in the eye with her spear. "Speed Nightmare!" She yelled, as her poisoned spear hit Coelamon. The attack seemed to do little more than annoy Coelamon though, who quickly reached to slap her away, so Tatl flapped her wings "Fairy Powder!" unleashing her powder at him. She hoped the powder would at least irritate his eye enough to let her get away, but before she could even see if it had an effect, Coelamon succeeded in slapping her towards the ground.

Due to his training, Danny knew it was dumb, but he took his eyes off of Coelamon to devote himself entirely to catching Tatl, so he also did not see if the powder had an effect. He leaped towards Tatl, to catch her, then landed with a roll, to further their distance from Coelamon, ending up close to the teens (Andrew and Joel) that Dorumon saved.

"Ow." Tatl managed to groan, before panicking at being held.

"Hey. It's okay Tatl. I have you. Just rest for a moment. I'm sure the others can finish this." Danny reassured her.

"Thank you." Tatl smiled, and her wings brightened a little.

@Letter Bee@Crimson Flame

Sashia and Krystal

"Well, this was certainly unexpected” Sashia though as the battle against Coalmon began, Krystal acted to defend those that weren’t attack while also trying to protect Sashia, though she quickly notice Sashia didn’t need to be protected as much since Sashia had quick reflex of her own.

While not as strategic as her older brother, Sashia was able to think on her feet quickly, deducing Dorumon was more powerful then he stated and taking note that he seemed to be taking a step back to allow the humans and their partner to get better acquainted in battle. Sashia didn’t trust Dorumon but she suspected that they would have to rely on him to truly understand.

Sashia signaled Krystal to return to her and she did once she knew Danny and Tatl were safe, She then heard Andrew command and looked at Sashia who nodded. “The pretty boy right, coordinated attacks of the same target is more likely to do damage to the bigger enemy,” Sashia said, folding her arms, before nodding and directing Krystal to use Diamond Storm into both of Coalmon's eyes.

Mike and Wolfy

Mike listened to Lucemon's explanation and then Ty clearing up a few things, Wolfy offered Mikes digivice to him having already confirmed the two were destined to be partners, a soft glow came from it a symbol of their bond, though it also gave Mike an idea. He noticed a slight modification that had happened to his laptop which hadn’t been there before. Mike noticed it seemed to be the right size to insert his digivice into.

There was silence before a whirl and Mike read the data that came with it, before nodding “Digidex installed". He would send the link to the other members of this digidestined to allow them to link up so they would all be kept informed about all the digimon they would encounter, exceptionally helpful now since Lucemon seemed to be determined to get them to fight his subordinates.

With Mike in his tech role, he check Wolfy stats and compared them to the two new digimon taking note that the two digimon fell under the champion rank, Wolfy seemed to be Rookie rank. He would have to ask Wolfy about that later but for now the focus was to deal with the two foes. Wolfly walked up to the two digimon cracking his knuckles and growling softly as blue flames began to gather in his mouth before he jump up and used Petite Fire (Blue Fire) on Wizardmon.

---

Kari couldn't help it, the explosion of water made her flinch and duck down behind the nearest vehicle, her still hurting hands held just above the ground. Her breathing was becoming ragged, her pulse was quickening, and she could tell she was on the verge of panic. With the distance between her and the water she'd managed to not get hit, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it could happen again, and she might not be so lucky next time. Glancing towards her new bird friend for just an instant, she saw that the avian wasn't looking her way anymore. Instead it was staring at the source of the wave.

"Coelamon..." Hyokomon's voice trailed off. In a battle against an aquatic digimon, she didn't have many options. The sea was not a place for a samurai to fight comfortably in. Unsure of what to do, she turned towards the weird digimon she'd sparred with only to find that it was no longer next to her. Hyokomon's head whipped back and forth as she searched the field for it, and after a few seconds she saw the end of one of the bags Kari was carrying sticking out from behind one of the strange boxes, much farther away from the sea than the two had started at.

Hyokomon ran over to check on the trembling human. In the few seconds since the water explosion, Kari had ran to the other side of the field and hunched down behind a pickup truck that had its front end buried in the ground, standing as a vertical shield for her. She'd just finished switching her gloves for new ones, her now 'clean' hands folded over her head. She jumped slightly when she saw Hyokomon come into view.

"Are you okay?" Hyokomon asked, genuine concern in her voice. This kind of reaction wasn't normal. It was even less normal when she considered what she knew about her new Shogun. After all, she was certain that one who had gone unscathed in the sparring match was a Champion [Adult] level, if not higher... Aha! Hyokomon's eyes lit up with recognition from her sudden epiphany. Her Shogun must have a weakness to water! Even an Ultimate [Perfect] stage would have trouble against a digimon that wielded their weakness, to the point that a battle could be decided by affinity despite a stage difference. Hyokomon reasoned that she could be forgiven for not knowing, since she didn't notice any fire anywhere on her Shogun. But that left a difficult situation. If her Shogun couldn't fight, and she herself was at a disadvantage in the water...

Hyokomon glanced back toward the beach, where she saw several other digimon battling Coelamon. Though... some of them looked like her Shogun. Were they the same species? If they were all weak to water, then it would be up to the others. Based on their size, she had to assume that all of the digimon who weren't the same species as her Shogun were Rookie [Child] stage like herself. She wasn't sure what stage Coelamon was, just that it was beyond her own. Her head turned to look once more at Kari. She began to say something when she was struck by a splash of sandy water. Not enough to do any damage, in fact there wasn't much at all given the distance away from the impact, but it was enough for Kari to see Hyokomon getting hit by, enough to slightly dirty her left wing.

The human gasped as she saw it. If that had hit me... If I wasn't behind this, then... Her mind began to slowly spiral until Hyokomon spoke.

"Shogun, if you're weak to water, that's fine. As your samurai, I'll fight for you." The bird digimon unsheathed her blade, looking back to the battle. Coelamon seemed to be on land now. Why had it left it advantageous habitat when it could attack at range? The reason didin't matter. What mattered was that Hyokomon could assist now. But first... "Just give me permission to leave your side and fight. If that's okay, I'll do my best to win so you don't have to hide anymore."

Kari didn't move a muscle. Hyokomon's words were enough to snap her out of her anxiety, if only for a moment. The bird was serious about that Shogun thing? Really? Her eyes moved upwards to look in Hyokomon's directly. Something like it, whatever it was, that could have killed her in a single blow when it wasn't even fighting seriously, and it wanted to give her that kind of authority? If that was the case, then...

"Get 'em."

Hyokomon smiled, and her response was brimming with joy. "Right!"

The samurai began towards Coelamon as quickly as it could, taking stock of the battle as she moved. The others were all attacking Coelamon's eyes, except for two who were trying to pierce its scales. She had a few options, but she decided on one just as she entered fighting range, jumping into the air.

"Cleaving Cut!" A two-handed swing downwards at Coelamon's right eye. Not perfectly executed, it began its contact above the eye that she targeted, and would end below it. But if it didn't move in time, it would also deeply cut the eyeball itself.

Klara Langston

---

"Nyeheh, how do ya like that!" Tsukaimon laughed as the fireballs hurled towards the fish looking digimon. It...was honestly not super impressive looking. It was probably a water type or something right? SO fire maybe wasn't as effective, perhaps? Hm, she wasn't still sure how all this worked but it seemed like they had the upper hand regardless. The others seemed to have had this and she didn't think there was much more for her to contribute.

"Hm. Sure, impressively dull." Klara responded taciturnly. "Heeeh, seriously all this fighting isn't really my thing." She'd grumble lightly, grabbing Tsukaimon and holding them like one might a plushie in her arms. "So, are we going to be expected to fight things like that more?" She'd inquire of her apparent benefactors.

Tsukaimon didn't seem to mind being held. For now.

Dustin

"Wook upon my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

Dustin gave Cardmon an unimpressed look. He raised a single eyebrow as he examined the Coelamon and failed to discern any mark made on its body at the point where Cardmon's card had bounced off of it.

"I'm 'wooking' alright, but I'm afraid I'm not seeing anything."

Cardmon looked genuinely hurt, but quickly snapped out of it, wearing an affronted look that was hard to interpret as anger on his big-eyed chibi-ish face. "Wook harder! It doesn't matter how stwong the enemy is, Cardmon Curses will always take effect." He then turned to look at Coelamon itself, oddly giving off the impression that he was pointing at the mutant fish, despite not actually doing so in any conceivable way. "Cardmon curses make digimon slower, weaker, or more fragile. Maybe he's weaker now?" Cardmon began fidgeting a bit as if unsure himself.

Dustin grimaced. Why was he asking him about his own curse? In any case, if Cardmon believed he accomplished something, he might as well keep at it. "Well, if what you say is true, you might as well go ahead and keep laying curses. They can stack, right?"

"Yes!" That, at least, was good news. "Maybe Coewlamon is just too stwong for it to be obvious. I'll keep trying."

Dustin simply nodded towards Cardmon. "Good luck, then. I think I will be examining this car more closely. Rest assured, I am very good at splitting my focus. My..." he paused, unsure of the wording. "...emotional energies should remain at your disposal. It's best we test this out now while we can still do so relatively safely."

Cardmon clearly didn't like what he was hearing but still nodded before psyching itself up and heading back to pelt the Coelamon with his card curse. If Cardmon had heard the earlier directive to aim at Coelamon's eye, it didn't seem to show it, but if he was to be believed, his main contributions shouldn't really be direct damage anyway.

As for the vehicle, he popped the hood one more time, keeping one eye on Cardmon but otherwise taking another gander at the hitherto incomprehensible symbols combined with a mess of numbers.

0001878935900001641111000000000001001001001000250

It was a dense wall of symbols lacking any apparent formatting, presumably to save space. They were mostly glowing in rainbow colors, as if the coding (if it could be called that) was written in a thick gel pen and subsequently animated. When he reached out to touch the substance, he found that the ink seemed to come off readily, and would just as readily leave his fingertips on further contact with the black surface it was written on. The rainbow ink would move along the surface itself, neatly conforming to the symbol or number already there, as if repairing the smudge he had made to begin with if no greater change is made. It was a bizarre phenomenon, but at least he didn't have to worry about messing it up too easily.

Through trial and error, he found that some of the coding couldn't be altered, changing back to its previous state immediately as if sucking the ink off his fingers. Still, most numbers seemed to accept changes even if the ink immediately changed back to 0 with nothing apparently happening. The 0s were suspiciously like binary flags, so he started by picking a random one further down and changing it to a 1, just to see what would happen. This got him the nice result of the passenger-side door making a quiet thunk as the door locked, and changing it back to a 0 unlocked it. Excited by the progress, he went back towards the 0s on the top row and changed one of them into a 1, only to find that the car he was just leaning over immediately jumped, hitting him in the stomach with surprising force and causing him to fall over backwards as it landed on its tires, making a pretty loud noise but otherwise looking no worse for wear.

He caught some weird looks from some of the other humans, some of the digimon including Cardmon, and even Coelamon sent a confused glare his way, but he ignored them, standing up and brushing himself off. Right, maybe trial and error with what may just be the fundamental forces of this new reality wasn't such a good idea, but it was still pretty tempting.

He pondered this while also pondering what Cardmon was actually doing in the fight against Coelamon, because it kind of looked like it had started gently petting the fish mutant with its card. Is it applying curses? Do those count as attacks, somehow? What is it even doing?

Field of Cars, File Island, Digital World

Coelamon screamed in rage as the attacks struck its eyes, then began laughing uncontrollably as Cardmon flew over to touch its snout, saying, "That Tickles! That Tickles! Stop!"

Trying to shrug off the attacks once more, but weakened by Cardmon's curses, the silver-scaled piscine Digimon turned around, still laughing and choking as it shuffled back into the water it came from, barely able to say, "You'll all pay for this!," before disappearing into the sea, the bubbles that flew up from the water being the only indication that it was still laughing.

"We've won!" said Elecmon to Andrew, before he heard Klara's question and replied to her for the entire party's benefit, "Yes. Or rather, we're supposed to fight while you pump emotional energy into us. Dorumon, can you explain further?"

Dorumon was shaking his head, his purple tail with a white tip wagging along with him. His next words were rough, "No; we're wasting time. I have to protect the Digi-Eggs in your village, Elecmon. Now get our cast of characters introducing themselves and get them to the Mansion at the foot of Spiral Mountain; they'd prefer that to any campsite."

Elecmon's eyebrow spiked as he glared at Dorumon in accusation; was his friend ordering him around? He grunted and said to him, "All right, Dorumon."

Andrew, meanwhile, forced himself to listen to the entire suspicious exchange. As Joel was quiet, and so were many of the Isekai'd folk, now traumatized, he decided to take the initiative. Clearing his throat, the redhead said:

"Hey, guys! My name is Andrew, Andrew Starling. And yes, I am the pop star of that same name, if any of you have listened to my music. I sing about roses, teenage life, and how cool life is when you just let go of your worries and relax. So, Elecmon is taking us to a mansion once we introduce ourselves, so why not do so as fast as we can?"

Angemon’s Mansion, File Island, Digital World

The journey to the base of Spiral Mountain was long, boring, and filled with people asking Elecmon why they were going there to begin with.

“Oh!,” said Elecmon, “Spiral Mountain is where the person who ordered us to be hunted down, ClavisAngemon, is living, and we are… convincing him to stop sending Digimon to attack us. And we’re going to do that by demonstrating that not only can your bonds with your Digimon strengthen them, but also evolve them. You see Coelamon, the Digimon who attacked you? Well all Digimon can have an Adult Form like he does but you can, using your Digivices, ‘Digivolve’ your Digimon to that form at will once you master it!”

Even if some of the chosen didn’t like the situation, they had little in the way of other options, especially when the digital world was apparently full of bounty hunters and there was supposedly only one way for them to get back home. Not all of the chosen were cut out for a long hike, but thankfully, they didn’t encounter any hostile digimon on the way there.

When they finally reached the mansion in question, most of the chosen were tired enough that it only made sense to take a break, and it was late enough in the day that they would have to set up camp soon anyway.

The mansion itself was large and made of marble instead of wood or painted stone, with Greek columns and statues on the pathway leading up to the square oaken doors at its front.

Upon being approached, those doors opened on their own, leading to a warm and cozy lobby with red velvet sofas that had golden lacework at their edges and bottoms; one can notice that the golden lacework was actual gold, and some of the patterns were made of the 'Digimojis' that Dustin had seen before.

There was also a fireplace, and a table with actual fresh fruits; some of these were ‘normal’ fruits that can be bought on Earth, others were… strange, with some having purple skin with lime-green polka dots and others being lime green with purple stars.

That, and a pitcher of milk and several empty glasses, showed that they were expected. This was confirmed by the fluttering of wings from a spiral staircase up ahead, and an Angel, or someone who looked the part, flew down from its top, not bothering to use the steps.

“Angemon!” Elecmon greeted his old friend. “How’s progress getting the Bounties on me and the Humans removed?”

The Angelic Digimon smiled benevolently, its ebony, statuesque upper body reflecting the firelight’s glow as it said, “Patience. Right now, you and the others are guests; you will not be harmed under my hospitality.”

It/He then turned towards the group and introduced himself, “My name is Angemon; one of the last of my Species after Elecmon was wounded and rendered unable to Digivolve. I am the Vizier of ClavisAngemon, ruler of File Island, and trying to get the bounties on you all removed so that the Demon Lords, our true enemy, can be fought. Now, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow…”

He chuckled, then shook his head a little before saying, “Just a little joke. Please rest, my guests…”

@Ryik@Aku the Samurai@TopGrail@Rune_Alchemist@Letter Bee@Crimson Flame@The Jest@Mike Dracopyra

Joel hadn’t said much since the fight. He wasn’t sure if that was normal, or just him. His sketchbook was still pressed to his chest. Salamon walked quietly at his side the entire way to the mansion, never pushing him to talk, just… being there.

He appreciated that more than he could say.

Everything after Coelamon felt like a blur. He remembered the chaos, Andrew’s voice cutting through the noise, the Digivice pulsing in his hand, Salamon’s light slicing through the air. He remembered the sound the monster made when it laughed through the pain. And then… it left.

They had won. Apparently.

Joel hadn’t cheered. He’d just stood there in the aftermath, heart pounding, unsure whether it was adrenaline or disbelief.

Then came the explanation… or rather, two explanations, back to back. First, Dorumon spoke about magic and machines and emotional energy being harvested, which made Joel’s stomach twist. The way he talked about it all… like they were resources, not people, only added to the anxiety of this whole situation. And then Elecmon cut in, softer, clearer, still overwhelming but at least… kinder. More human.

Joel liked Elecmon more than he liked Dorumon. That much was certain.

He didn’t mind Andrew stepping up to introduce himself. It made sense. Joel wouldn’t have known he was famous if he hadn’t said anything, and honestly? It didn’t change much. The version of Andrew he’d met was loud, but not fake. That mattered more.

⸻

Now they were here.

The mansion was gorgeous in a way that felt wrong somehow. Too grand for a bunch of scared kids covered in sand and fear. But the couches were warm, and the fire was real, and for the first time since waking up in this strange world, Joel let himself sit down. Salamon curled up beside his feet.

He looked around at the others. Some were talking. Some were still shell-shocked. Joel didn’t blame them. He felt like his soul had been dropped into a blender, shaken, and poured out.

He hadn’t introduced himself. Not yet. But that was okay.He would. Just… maybe after fruit. And milk. And five minutes where no one was being hunted or digitized or turned into a battery for a war between angels and devils. Joel reached for a lime green fruit with purple stars, then paused. He looked down at Salamon. “You think this one’s safe?”

She looked at it. “No idea. But it looks fun.”

Joel gave a tiny, tired laugh. “Good enough for me.” He took a bite. It was weird. It was sweet. And for a second, it made everything feel normal.

Klara Langston

---

Klara almost thought about wandering off and not going with them. This was getting increasingly absurd and truthfully she wasn't a fan of the company present. Still, heading off by herself...well, she didnt have any money if such a thing existed here, she had no idea where she was, no idea how to get back, and she didn't fancy running into trouble alone. What did get both her attention and interest, though, is what Dustin was doing. Shed idly watch as he messed with the...code of the car? It was intriguing, and she couldn't help but to let out a muffled laugh when he managed to somehow make a car effectively do a somersault without landing back on its feet.

"Wow, didn't know you were a mechanic, huh." Klara snickered as she'd walk back over to Dustin, listening halfheartedly to the others introducing themselves. She hadn't a clue who this idol was, certainly likely didn't play any kind of music she listened too. Tsukaimon would take a moment to go inspect the car himself, poking the seemingly inanimate object with one of their paws. It was...not moving right? Definitely not.

"Klara." She'd introduce herself simply, not really needing or wanting to explain further. She wasnt anyone important, really, and didn't want to be the center of any attention. She was far too focused on what the immediate future seemed to hold. "Are...we going to have to do walking? Ugh, nature...my mortal enemy..."

---

"Why...can't we take the EAGLES." She was not built for hiking. She was built for staying inside on a bed all day, lounging around and doing anything that didn't involve physical exertion. By the time they had reached the manor, Klara was thoroughly winded, while Tsukaimon had an easy time of it, deciding to use Klara's jacket pockets as their personal bedroom for now considering how big they were. To say nothing of lugging her laptop around. It wasn't exactly the lightest thing in the world considering its age and bulk.

At least the inside of this place looked cozy. Klara would find the nearest sofa, drape herself over it with her legs laying over one of the arm rests with her back laying against the cushions under her.

"So let me get this straight," Klara waved a hand dismissively as she'd catch her breath a little. "We're walking right into the place of the guy that wants us dead?" Tsukaimon wiggled out of her pockets.

"Are we here? Oi, why didn't you tell me! I'm gonna stuff myself!" Noticing the food, Tsukaimon, ignoring everyone else decided that it would definitely all belong to them.

"Does anyone else think that is a terrible idea?" Klara stretched. "Shouldn't we, I don't know, avoid the guy, go on a training montage so we can beat him up?" Maybe she was being too mistrustful, but they hadn't given her any reason to trust them yet, to say nothing of the fact being dragged here against her will still left a sour taste in her mouth. "Heeey, Tsuki share please."

"Nyuh-uh, get your own!

"Awww, come on Tsuki I'm dying here. You don't want your partner to starve, do you?"

"Fiiine, if it'll shut up your whining." Tsukaimon scurried over, a few of the fruits in its claws before it'd plop itself down on Klara's stomach and roll a few over to her.

"Thanks partner." It was probably fine to eat this stuff, right?

If this was a digital world they probably couldn't get sick.

....

"Haa, whatever. Im along for the ride at this point I guess." She'd grumble lightly before biting into the fruit.

---

Hyokomon began to chase the fleeing fish, but stopped after a few steps. Coelamon was too far in the water which made chasing it as a non-aquatic digimon very difficult. Going further would be dangerous for her, and she didn't want to leave her new Shogun right after finding them. Speaking of, what even was it? She still didn't know what species these weird digimon were. After having missed the earlier explanation and being in the process of missing the current explanation that Andrew (though she didn't catch the name) was giving as she walked past him, Hyokomon had no idea what was going on.

When she returned to Kari, she found the human peeking around the vehicle she had used as a shield. To Kari, this was both a dream and a nightmare. Going to a new world, something she had to assume had happened given the existence of the monsters she'd seen, was something she'd fantasized about often. The problem, or rather problems, were that she didn't get freed of her mental shackles, and she doubted that this world was the magic and clean space that she always wished for. Not to mention that there were various monsters that had already proven themselves capable of killing her with ease. The best news was that she somehow managed to find one monster that wanted to... befriend her? Ally with her? She still wasn't sure what the bird had intended by calling her a "Shogun."

These thoughts and the fear of the fish monster returning filled up her mental RAM, making her miss most of Andrew's introduction. She caught the words "relax" and "mansion," and the two received mixed reviews from the young woman. Relaxing was hard enough in the other world, and she wasn't exactly the type to like people who could afford mansions... But soon those thoughts left, as Hyokomon had returned to her side.

"It ran away. I'm sorry I couldn't win." Hyokomon's voice sounded like a scolded child's. But as far as Kari was concerned, driving it off was a victory.

"Oh, uh... That's okay. If it ran away, that is a win. You survive to fight another day." Having said what she hoped was an adequate response, Kari slowly stood up to her full height and looked around. It looked like all the humans there were the ones from the ballroom. Which implied that this was all premeditated. Again, two conflicting emotions rose in her. Was she angry or glad that it had happened? She didn't know.

"I'll win next time." Confidence was brimming in Hyokomon's voice, totally replacing the former defeated tone. Kari smiled back at her and nodded.


---

As the other duos began to leave for the mansion, Kari hesitated, but quickly decided to follow behind them. Not close enough to worry about making physical contact, not far enough to worry about losing them from sight around a corner. Some of them had introduced themselves, but she'd kept to herself instead. No reason to make them dislike her right away, she figured.

When she finally got there, the sight of an actual, literal angel stunned her for a moment. Then came the talk of 'Demon Lords.' Really? This new world worked on that level of cliche? Or was this the source of the beliefs in her world? It didn't matter, really. All she knew for sure was that she was absolutely not going to eat food without knowing where it'd been. Sora had no such reservations, and quickly grabbed a fruit to begin snacking on.

Dustin

"We did it! We won!"
Cardmon was doing a little dance that, due to the lack of limbs, just looked like he was spinning in place.

"Congratulations." He gave Cardmon a small smile while pondering if this world worked like an RPG and if there were experience points or any other tangible measure of progression.

As if to answer his thoughts, Cardmon began focusing, which kind of just looked like he was constipated, and soon enough a bright rectangular light emerged from the circle on his card, which quickly faded... into another card pack. "Wew!" Cardmon swiped his own card over his spherical forehead as if to wipe the nonexistent sweat off his nonexistent brow. "Victories always feels so energizing! It's way easier to make cards when it happens."

Dustin's eye twitched. Surely Cardmon isn't funneling the additional power it develops into these cards, right?

Right?

...In either case, the card pack has already been made. Might as well open it.

Coelamon, Gomamon, Salamon, Protect Armor, Syakomon, and Mushroomon.

Rather funny that he'd pull a Coelamon right after the fight with one. He'd have to investigate if there was a correlation between Cardmon's opponents and the cards Cardmon produced. Notably, Coelamon was marked as a Champion instead of a rookie, and one of the cards wasn't a digimon. Protect Armor didn't have stats, and its rank was labeled as "Program". The bottom of the card had a small text box that read "HP +10 to Digimon." That was it.

He'd have to ask Cardmon how people are actually expected to play with the cards, because despite his best efforts, rubbing the Protect Armor card on Cardmon's face, Cardmon's Card, and Cardmon's Digivice all did nothing. Surprisingly, the card remained unbent, at least.

---

After a long, grueling walk towards the mountain in the distance while listening to Cardmon yap about the intricacies of a card game where you basically drew 6 cards out of a deck of 40 and then slapped them down to see who had the higher numbers, they arrived at Angemon's mansion. By then, he was too tired to question the angel man or the circumstances in general and just sat himself down on a couch lined with more numbers and symbols. As he cooled down in the... is this place air conditioned? -As he cooled down, he decided to take more pictures of the symbols, because at the least, he might recognize some patterns if not their actual meaning. He eventually noticed that more than just the couch had symbols, and after grabbing something to eat with one hand - until that hand was needed, he found himself taking pictures of just about every trinket he could find. Some of the objects just raised questions as to why anyone would go through the trouble of inscribing symbols on them. Only rarely did he actually find a random decoration that had no symbols to speak of.

He wonders if Angemon would be down to let him pocket one of these.

Danny cradled Tatl in his arms. I should have done more. Danny thought to himself. He was so focused on Tatl that he was startled by the sudden announcement from Andrew Starling.

"Well okay then. I'm Daniel Pender, but I go by Danny. I practice and compete in weapons based martial arts." Danny paused for a brief moment to look at Tatl. "Hey Tatl. Do you want to introduce yourself?" Danny asked her.

"Might as well." Tatl sat up on Danny's arms, her legs hanging off of them. As she did so, her wings dimmed a little, as she didn't like the spotlight on her. "I'm Tinkermon, but everyone calls me Tatl Tael, T-a-t-l space T-a-e-l. Though Danny just calls me Tatl for short."

Danny wasn't sure, but he thought he noticed a pattern with Tatl's wings' brightness. He decided to test this out. "Alright, someone else's turn now." Danny motioned for them to continue, then turned slightly to hide Tatl a bit from view. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot." Danny whispered to Tatl.

Tatl smiled, leaned over, and hugged Danny's arm. As she did so, her wings brightened again, confirming Danny's suspicion that the brightness was tied to her emotions. "It's okay Danny. You don't need to apologize for that."

Danny carefully pressed his hand on Tatl, to return the hug, and smiled back.



Danny didn't care for the walk to the mansion. Not because he couldn't handle it, but well... "Are we there yet?" Tatl asked, poking her head out of Danny's jacket pocket.

"No." He answered. She ducked back in.

A few minutes passed by, and this repeated. Again and again.

Danny couldn't blame her. She didn't really seem to like talking to or around the other Digimon, especially Elecmon and Renamon, so she was probably bored.

When they finally got there, Danny was glad the walk was over. "We're here, Tatl."

"Finally!" Tatl flew out of Danny's pocket and looked around the mansion, before flying back to Danny when Angemon came out. She sat on Danny's shoulder this time.

Danny listened to Angemon. For some reason, he didn't trust the Digimon. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but at the end of the day, he couldn't really do anything about it, and so decided to just relax. He walked over to the table, and ate some of the food, and drank some of the milk. Tatl sat on the table next to his plate and joined in eating and drinking. After eating, Danny decided to move further from the group, and look in his crossbody bag. Abby seemed to be okay.

"What's that?" Tatl asked, looking in the bag out of curiosity.

"A doll my mom owned." Danny answered.

"What's a mom? And can I see it?" Tatl made a puzzled face before reaching for the doll.

"No!" Danny whisper yelled, quickly closing the bag. Tatl looked hurt. "I'm sorry. It's just this doll is very important to me. I don't let anyone touch her. As for a mom, a mom is a type of parent, a usually fully grown human that takes care of one or more young humans. I'm not sure if I can easily explain it if you don't have those here."

Tatl thought about it for a moment, when she looked over at Renamon, and something seemed to click in her mind. "Oh, like the guardians of the Viximons that chased m-. Um. Nevermind." Tatl looked away and ducked into Danny's jacket like she had done when they first met, ashamed of what she had done, and not wanting to talk about that.

"I'm going to assume this is like your scar, and you don't want to talk about it." Tatl didn't answer. "Well. Whatever it is, you don't have to talk about it until you're ready."

Tatl came back out, flew up, and hugged Danny around the neck, still not really meeting his gaze. "Thank you."

Danny returned the hug by gently placing his hand around her. "Of course. Let's go mingle some." Tatl sat back on Danny's shoulder, as he walked back to the group.

Sashia and Renamon

As the battle was over and everything seemed to be calming down, Sashia took a proper look at the other people she was with, of course she had already met Danny, now she was learning the names of the other people. The pretty boy was Andrew Starling, one of the other girls was called Klara, then there was Joel and Dustin, and the other girl was Kari, Sashia nodded to herself as she recorded those names, though when Andrew said they had to walk somewhere she put her hand up and said “Hold up pretty boy, unlike you and the others who were dressed for exploration i’m not. I don’t think a bikini and a skirt would be good exploration gear, so you can wait a bit while I see if these car boots have anything in them that I can wear”.

Sashia and Krystal took a few minutes to search each car for a outfit, eventually Sashia settled of an almost cowgirl like outfit with a coat tied round her waist, denim shorts, boots, a blackish tube top and a hat to finish the look though she had just used her hat from her outfit. She found a backpack as well, where she stored her outfit and noticed a kimono that looked really beautiful which she grabbed as well. With that, she nodded and said “Alright, now I’m ready to go, Oh and I’m Sashia Fertar, you may have seen my drawing around the internet under the moniker Queen of the Foxes, I also do thumbnails for the V-tubers sometimes”

Castle:

Sashia whistled as she inspected the castle, quite an impressive place she had to admit, though when a literal angel appeared and began sprouting about a demon king she crossed her arms under her chest and sighed “Great so its an Iskai then? Let me guess, whether the pretty boy or the nicest guy is going to be the MC? Us ladies are either the eye candy of the show or something for the MC to enjoy at his leisure?”. 

“What's an Iskai?  Or actually what are most of those things you said?” Krystal asked, confused. “Iskai is a japanese animation style where a regular joe from the real world is transported into a fantasy world to become the hero of said world, though it not always an average joe, sometime its a rebirth etc, normally they end up marrying princess or have the entire female cast lusting after them” Sashia explained to Krystal though keeping the part about the entire female cast lusting after the hero low enough so only she could hear.

---

Kai did not fight.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to fight, but there was only so much he could do without any weaponstools on hand. And, he wasn’t exactly transported here with his arsenal or anything. He had to make that stuff all over again. Again. It definitely wasn’t because he slept through most of the action, or anything like that. Of course not. Why would anyone even think that?

That was stupid.

Anyway.

While he didn’t get to fight the whatevertheheckthatwas, he did, however, manage to scrap some stuff from the car junkyard and stuff it into his bag while no one was looking. Flawlessly. 10/10. Sneak level 100. He was the best. No contest. Hold the applause. And like, sure, it was absolutely useless to carry around any of that stuff without any way to use it, but that wouldn’t stop him. He was a genius lunatic and had the power of determinationhyperactive hyperfixation on his side. All he needed was time. And caffeine, just to see if it would actually make his heart explode. Probably a hat, too. To complete the look.

... Well, first he had to find a look. A thought for later.

Through it all, Agumon watched his ‘partner’ with a mix of curiosity and concern as he buzzed from place to place without any noticeable rhyme or reason. He wasn’t sure what Kai was doing, and he had a sinking feeling that was going to become a common occurrence.

---

The walk to the mountain was boring. Or, it would have been, if Kai didn’t have a talking dinosaur to talk to. Well, interact with. He was never one for much talking. That was for boring people. Ugh. Just the mere thought of that made him shudder.

At the mansion, however, Kai was nowhere to be found while the others were being welcomed. Buildings meant rooms. Rooms meant stuff. Stuff that didn’t belong to him. Yet.

He had to rectify that.

So, naturally, he had abandoned Agumon with the others the moment they actually got to the mansion. Not before snatching some of the strange fruits, of course. Nutrition was important. Almost as important as consuming strange foods from stranger people.... monsters? Things? Whatever.

Point is, accepting food from strangers was stupid.

He took a bite of one of the fruits anyway.

Hm. Crunchy.

Kai sat cross-legged and turned his attention back to his radio, laid out on the floor in an empty room he found. He flicked open his multi-tool and tinkered with its insides for a moment. Kind of like a surgeon. An uncertified one, sure, but whatever.

He closed up the radio and then turned it on, waiting eagerly for a reaction.

It crackled for a few seconds before sputtering out.

Hm. That didn’t work.

Not that he expected it to. He had no idea how anything in this world worked—Yet!—so, of course, that was a bust. Too bad it didn’t blow up.... well, actually, that would be bad. It wasn’t like he could get another one anytime soon.... or could he? He absentmindedly took another bite of the fruit.

Well, at least that failed attempt told him one thing. This place was freakier than he thought...

Nice.

Now, time to make a mess of things.

Angemon Mansion, Digital World

Everyone but Kai

Andrew was... tired. Physically tired. He wanted to talk more with Joel, but it was all he could do to drink his milk, eat a bit of fruit, and sit beside Joel and Salamon on the red-gold sofa while listening to the other Isekai'ers. A few had not listened to the explanations given; he could tell that much.

But right now, he had no energy to clear up misunderstandings or assert any form of leadership. Instead, he subconsciously leaned against Joel, saying, "You're warm... Is it okay if I stay close like this? Please?"

Yes, he did the puppy dog eyes.

Elecmon looked at him to make sure he was safe, then wandered off to where Kari and Hyokomon were, surprised that the two didn't listen last time. He then said, again, "You two... As we're safe now, I'll give you guys a remedial lesson; Humans are not Digimon - They are another type of being. Human Souls have emotional energy that can make Digimon more powerful if they feel strong emotions, but that's mostly if the Human has a Digivice; you did get one of the Digivices that Dorumon handed over to you guys, right?"

Dustin, meanwhile, under Angemon’s conspicuous gaze, would be able to pocket a few items of his choice without comment; knick-knacks not easily missed. Angemon would glance at him and Cardmon from time to time, his helmet hiding his eyes and half of his expression, although he seemed to be... smiling?

The Angelic digimon reminded everyone that he was still there by walking towards Danny and Tatl, saying to the two, "You seem to be doing well; tell me if you and the rest of the group require more... sustenance. After all, you had a battle, and a long walk after that, right?"

Then he addressed each of them in turn, first Danny with, "Your world; tell me about it. It provides the computer data that has merged with this dimension’s supernatural energy and allows Digimon to exist. Our worlds are linked because of that; you provide us data so we can have forms, emotional energy so we can have power, and in turn… We can become material beings, should we go to your world. Quite frankly, it's a link that the Seven Demon Lords would try and exploit; can you imagine how powerful they can become with an entire planet of emotional souls whose negative feelings feed them directly?"

And then to Tatl, "I am glad you have chosen to be on our side; it shows you are truly earnest about turning your back on... A certain mutual acquaintance. Do not worry about the records already written down; your service will balance that out."

The rest of them were free to interrupt, eavesdrop, or ignore. Some of them were in a position to notice Kai's lone Augmon, sitting alone.

@TopGrail@Rune_Alchemist@Letter Bee@Crimson Flame@The Jest@Mike Dracopyra@Ryik