Potemking

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

Hurray! More friends.

I'm really excited for this, looking forward to seeing how things go IC.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

I'll poke my head in here, PMD is a very fun setting. And especially with freeform combat in the mix, that'll be joyous to write.

World of Light

LOCATION:The Maw
WORD COUNT:1,126(+2 EXP)
MENTIONS: Sakura, Rika, Bowser, Junior, Kamek

---

Mirage was both glad and concerned when Larry plucked Bella from her place above the flames. They had to move, and now. Unfortunately as they got closer to the butcher, Mirage realized his lack of weaponry meant piercing the boots the man wore would be impossible. But, between the chaos around them, another factor added in: Larry seemed to be surprised by something. Looking up, a familiar tail was visible and a clear indication for their attack to start now rather than later, as Bella seemed awake! Was it all a trick on her end? The girls wept to get him to take her down? They were crazy, but it worked so he couldn't argue too much with it.

He winced at the blows Link and Geralt delivered, watching Larry tumble helplessly. Rushing forward as Bella was dragged off the table above, the pathetic sight of Larry now that the tables had turned wasn't going to get much in the way of mercy from him. Stabs, choking, and being shot were all fair game. He'd approach with the others, try to finish things so they could get the others down. Though, a certain piece of brutality he wasn't expecting came up that changed his plans.

Bella's tail digging into Larry spouted blood as the lights flickered, Mirage finding his face covered in splatter. Considering he experienced more than his fair share of close-combat situations, this wasn't anything new. But there was an odd feeling lurking in his mind, and causing a tremble straight from his gut. His hand slowly raised up to wipe a finger across his own face, observing the blood with wide and dilated eyes. His tongue slightly slipped out from between his lips, swiping to the left and catching a hint of Larry's blood into his mouth. It wasn't the same copper taste of blood, it was oddly more enjoyable. Tempting, even. Though Larry, despite his durability, seemed nothing more than human.

His eyes darted between Bella and the blood on his finger. The taste ran through his mind, as the temptation to follow after her rang out in his thoughts. But, the humanity in Mirage, as well as the horror he felt in regards to the knowledge he'd come across already, brought him to panic instead of act on these urges. He shook, as if a newfound addiction was being forced away, but tried to stand strong as the only person who could stop it was himself. And if he felt this way, something had to have changed. The food, perhaps? Regret filled his mind, he should've just trusted the others about not eating.

The only one who had the opportunity to stop Mirage at this point was himself.

Gripping the dart gun, he braced himself as he swung the pistol at his own head with full force, pain rattling through his skull upon contact. "Hell no!" His shouts became less cohesive upon each swing despite being weaker than the initial one, the boy literally beating himself backwards until he was against one of the legs of the table Larry used for his butchering duties. He slid down to a sitting position, feeling dazed from his own strikes, trying to center his thoughts. He wasn't going to go that far: Something like that was beyond human, and a line he'd try and kill himself over before partaking in. He had to organize, focus on something else. Anything else. He couldn't even bring himself to look back towards Larry to see how the others reacted, or explain. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't feel like he had a choice. He had to pull away before he made a horrible mistake.

Slowly, he shifted away. Pushing himself up, he was stumbling but conscious. He looked up towards Sakura, and Rika. That was it, the distraction he needed to stay away from the ordeal. To keep that new developed urge from going further. It wasn't a good view of Mirage for the girls, considering he made no real attempt to wipe the blood from his face due to the previous shock. But he had a focus now, at least. Away from the human being he was quickly beginning to identify as just 'meat'.

But how the hell was he going to get them down? Scouting revealed no sinks on this floor, and he couldn't get liquid from the lower floor all the way up here. Shaking his aching head, he needed to find something and fast. "Don't worry--" Yeah, with the stuff going on with the fat guy, like that'd do a lot of good? "I-I'll find a way to get that fire put out!"

Keeping faced away from the gruesome display, Mirage darted off towards the explosion's source. Whoever caused it, he figured it had to be one of them, right? The door was the locked one, and apparently it was also barricaded if the site of the explosion was any indication. Any chance to avoid that terrifying hunger was ideal, and considering some of the others had partaken in food... Maybe setting another objective was a good idea, until after Larry was a Spirit. The horrific scene going on behind Mirage as his bloody-faced self ran up to try and make progress on their rescue wasn't pleasant, but he seemed more relieved to be away from the scene than bothered by the mess he currently was. "Oh man! Do you guys have perfect timing." He sighed, unsure who's idea it was for the explosive, but considering Kamek's usual caution he was ruled out pretty fast. Speaking of fast, Mirage decided to throw down a quick explanation of what exactly the hell was going on.

"Everyone's alive, but there's a fire beneath the girls. We'll need to put that out before we can get them down, the chef up here is..." Mirage didn't look back, but his expression did display some discomfort. "Being taken care of. So no worries, there."

To get back on track, he'd have to ask: "You guys see a sink or anything on your end? If we can douse that fire the rescue is done at least, the only water source on this side is downstairs." Hopefully they didn't end up in a dead-end scenario from lack of water, which would be absurdly painful considering they were both on a boat, and just got done dealing with a flooded area prior. "Which currently sounds like a warzone. I'm guessing the others decided to make some noise down there."

When things were less of a panic, perhaps telling Kamek about the assumed side-effects of the food would be a good idea. But knowing Bowser and Junior had chowed down, getting them on the water effort seemed safer than them maybe falling into the interests of the Maw's live meat.

World of Light

LOCATION:The Maw
WORD COUNT:577(+1 EXP)
MENTIONS: Geralt

---

Through hardship, Mirage was satisfied with being off the sausage chain and instead onto solid ground. Taking a peek to see the situation, the butcher seemed busy enough for him to scamper up. He was smart for going for such an odd choice, he thought. Nobody expected the worst routes to be the ones traveled, especially when at a larger size, they seemed physically impossible. He'd have to be called the Sau-sage based on that move.

Pausing for the briefest of moments, he scratched that off the board. Thank goodness he didn't say it out loud, or that'd be embarrassing. This moment of relief was quickly broken, as all hell seemed to break loose in quick succession. First thing was first, Mirage scrambled for the nearest space he could crawl under to avoid Larry's detection. The smell was putrid, but he was at least somewhat prepared from the nasty sausages. What he wasn't prepared for, was hearing Sakura and Rika. Eyes widening, he caught view of the girls dangling above a flame, smoke brushing up to them which would cause obvious health concerns. But, why they were crying was what got Mirage more worried. Bella, compared to the other two, was completely unmoving. "Over there." He pointed for Geralt, quickly trying to disarm the anger he knew the guy was going to start busting out from how he was acting earlier. 'Whoresons this' and 'Whoresons that'.

"The smoke inhalation probably has her unconscious," He noted to at least keep him from thinking Bella was dead. "remember how that jackass taunted us when he took the girls? He said he'd take time with fresh meat, right?" He eyed Larry, before adding: "With the others throwing a fit, he might panic that his 'game' is deceased. Might let her go and bring her to his work station."

Slowly, he began to navigate around the area, keeping opposite of the girls while routing towards Larry's own position. "If he does... When he sets her down, we have to make a move." Mirage insisted. "You take that nail, stab it into one of his ankles. I'll..." He didn't have any weapons. So, uh... "Guess I'll bite the other. I've been bitten by a kid before-- Stuff hurts. Especially from pearly whites like mine!" They couldn't spring up into that fire to free Bella, but if she was brought to the table, they could definitely buy her time with violence.

As he planned to lash out against Larry, things got loud downstairs. More yelling, not the arguing chefs kind. And... An explosion, too close sounding for comfort. Worse than any grenade he'd ever heard, Christ. What the hell were the others up to right now? He had to think of an alternative, if Larry ended up running downstairs. They couldn't just leave the girls up there until he came back. He eyed the area, wondering if there was a sink up here. If they hurried, they could probably grab a container laying around and start trying to put out the fire with water if the butcher went to investigate. Some teamwork along with darts for easier climbing shouldn't of made that too overly difficult.

"Sh-Sheesh-- Plan B, if he rushes off." Mirage spoke quick, trying to keep their options open. "If he rushes off to investigate that explosion, we find a water source up here and transfer some over to put that fire out. We'd have to put it out to get the girls anyhow, even if he takes one of them down."

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Dakota Rhett

_{November 29th? - Entertainment Hall}

---

Dakota looked back at Vincent for a moment, pupils dilating from the idea of being chased by a giant bird. "You _think?" He muttered, another gust of rage-filled wind nearly toppling him over. That being said, this was all his idea anyways. And he chose to come here... So it was only right to be the bait, yeah? As fucked up as it sounded, he nodded along. "Yeah, I've got it. Just don't take too long!" He insisted, turning back to the creature in front of them.

Nick went off too, and for that moment, the creature took pride in the scrambling students. "You can't escape, you'll be stuck running in fear until I finally pin you down!" It remarked, a flap of it's wings blowing the curtains up for a moment in a violent gust. It barely got a look at the others, though, instead becoming distracted as a loud voice interrupted his taunting through the form of a still-functioning microphone.

"We're not done yet!" Dakota insisted, feeling a chill go down his spine as he caught the creature's attention. This thing knew a lot about him, and while he hated that, it could be useful here. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this bought Nick enough time to get back. To which Dakota nodded back to him, giving him a few cautious words away from the mic. "Let's try to not stay too close together, might swat us both." He quickly stepped closer to the end of the stage, deciding to play his part as bait first and foremost. The last thing he wanted was to see anyone hurt, after all. Especially considering their conditions already. What were the right words? What would piss it off in particular? He had to think quickly.

"You act like singing's the only quality I ever had," He commented, catching the creature's glare. "What happened to looking after bandmates? Other people? It's not selfishness, it's genuine!"

"Bullshit!" The creature's voice echoed, talon swiping across the outer area of the stage, possibly needing Nick to back away, but Dakota himself had to panic and roll off to dodge, a few of his dyed hairs getting cut from the narrow escape. They fell in front of his face at the front of the stage, bringing concern, but he couldn't hesitate now or he was definitely dead. "We're genuine, alright! Genuinely angry, with those bandmates, and the world! When we turned down Micki, do you think that was kindness? We're spiteful and wanted him to just get lost, or suffer." This brought Dakota pause, but as the shadow of a looming talon brought him back to reality, he quickly began scrambling down the straight path in front of the stage. as it crashed down, swiping down the narrow alley after him. "Why would they need OUR help? We're the ones that got fucked over! That was the first time we let our true self out in a long time...! That moment was what gave me the chance to sift through the cracks and bring us to this point! Where the facade will die, and we'll live as we truly should!"

Dakota's attempt to flee was met with a slash across his back, causing him to cry out and trip, shoulder smacking against the stage before he crashed down to the floor. Thankfully it was clear this creature's size was a hinderance, has it had struck him at the last possible moment, and now had to shift itself on stage to get a grab at him again. It laughed, confident it could just pluck him up and finish him off. Though, his voice brought momentary pause to the beast.

"I'm fine!" He'd call to inform the others, though his voice was shaky. A form of bravado, perhaps. He was trembling as he pulled himself up, scrambling farther along to make the creature turn further. Giving Vincent time for his plan, at whatever cost was necessary. "Yeah, I didn't help him when he asked..." Dakota admitted through his pain, unsure if the tears welling in his eyes were from the pain or the fact this thing made sense in a sick way. "I can't help everyone. I have to look after myself, too! I'm not entirely selfless." He genuinely couldn't do it, but, if it spited someone who he felt betrayed him...? Was that a justification for not being able to? Such frustration had brought him momentary relief, and that made him angry. Thinking he might have something in common with this beast after all.

A change of pace happened in the form of the turning creature stretching it's head out, attempting to tear at Dakota's flesh with it's large and threatening beak. He barely skimmed out of the way, but heard the voice of the creature behind him. "That's right! We're not selfless at all. We're not heroes, we're just filled with spite! Accept this, and die already! And then your true self can be unleashed!"

Dakota stopped in his tracks. His head turned to glare back at the eagle-head of the monster who took his name, gritting his teeth with one clear emotion: Anger, just what the thing wanted. Gripping the mic stand in his hands, he lifted it as he turned, feeling pent up stress from this whole ordeal peaking. "How's this for spite?!" His words rang out as he thrusted the makeshift weapon forward with both hands, stabbing the beast in the eye. An ear-piercing screech filled the entire room as it recoiled, stomping the stage as a black substance poured from it's eye socket onto the stage, wriggling but seemingly doing nothing else of note. During this, something was more obviously revealed: There was a marking of some sort, on the lower stomach area of the beast. It almost looked like a comically obvious weakspot, but after it's rant about physical issues beforehand, it might've made a bit of sense to Nick that it was there. It practically oozed with the same substance that leaked from it's now empty eye-socket, the mush of it's eye falling into that shadowy muck, bubbling alongside it.

"You..." The anger in it's voice filled the room, it's front talons stomping as it was now fully dedicated to stamping Dakota into nothing but paste. "I'll tear you apart!" Each crash was destructive, crashing the stage and bringing holes and craters to the surrounding area, shaking the area up. The very foundation of the stage was becoming damaged, and the lights above shook violently. If Vincent was to make a move, now seemed as good a time as any.

Dakota, figuring he'd have to run into the seats now to keep away, quickly found it was no longer an option. A large wing swept in front of the stairs, sweeping him back and nearly slamming him into the stage again. Thankfully, by gripping the creature's wing, he managed to pull himself up enough to roll onto the stage, even if it did cost him his microphone. This left Dakota with little room to run, but he made use of what he could: Scrambling backwards to avoid the large talons of the beast, it's cries of violence making it clear it's full attention stood on him. Where it had toyed with it's food before, now being injured it realized that Dakota's swift death was necessary to ensure things went as planned. This meant that as a distraction, Dakota was actually doing pretty damn good! The beast was fully turned in the opposite direction, too. Meaning the others were, at least Dakota hoped, safe.

Without help, however, his little cat and mouse game would come to an end very soon, as his amount of space to avoid the approaching violent stomps was quickly dwindling.

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

FINISH HACKER'S MEMORY.
GO. NOW.
IT'S SO GOOD. IT'S. SO. GOOD.

@WaywardK

Eventually.

Right now I have a pretty busy log of stuff to get through. Finishing Yakuza 5, then playing 6, then Like A Dragon will take up a bit more time. Then I still want to do a run of Terraria on 1.4 as well, and before all of that is even done, SMT V will be released. And by the time I'm done with THAT, Elden Ring will be out.

So it will be a long, long while before I get around to it lmfao

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

I never ended up finishing Hacker's Memory, I had a decent time with the first game though. Just ended up a bit tiresome after awhile.

Now if only Digimon Survive would get an actual release date rather than remaining in development hell. That'd be nice!

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

There we are, done at last~ I'm pretty excited to have these two start interacting with the others~

@Digizel

Intellectual is just a fancy word for N E R D.

I do love Abigail and Hideaki though, I think this is gonna be a fun little group. Maybe we'll even round up a few more for the trip. Still have one sheet coming at least

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

Reina Morhau

Bio:

19
She/Her
Delivery Gal _{(Under The Table)}, Mixed Martial-Arts Student, Street Brawler

Appearance:

Standing at 5'10" and weighing in at 168lbs, Reina is a rugged looking individual. Her beige skin is usually a bit dirty, she walks with somewhat bad posture seeming to prefer to slump forward slightly as she walks. Brown eyes hide behind a messy head of black hair that goes down to her shoulders, mostly covered up by a beanie she's almost always wearing around her head. Freckles are sprawled across her cheeks, bordering both sides of her medium-sized nose, which has a slight but visible leftward tilt. Her resting face is quite neutral, mouth practically being a flat line across her features. Though through amusement or anger she tends to express herself with sharp-toothed grins or teeth-gritted glares.

Having a preference for darker colors, Reina tends to sport black tank tops with the old reliable blue jeans, torn and revealing her knees. Somewhat old, but reliable enough sneakers of gray/white cover her feet. Over her shirt is a black drawstring waist jacket, typically unbuttoned. A silver stud in her left ear, as well as a small chain hanging from her neck, are her only accessories. Though not visible with her jacket on, she does have a small tattoo on the back of her left shoulder: Simple lettering, "K + M", a few small hearts around them.

For colder weather, she'd sport bulkier jackets over her usual tank top, though when it's too chilly she'll switch to a sweater. She has a pair of boots she tends to only use during the snowy season as well, but aside from those, and some changes in color, she tends to keep to the same wardrobe aside from specific instances like swimming.

Digivolution/Form-Change Method(s)

D.N.A Charge, evoking digivolution through the tamer's emotions. Being an aggressive and physical individual, Reina doesn't express herself well with love or kindness. Instead finding her way through physical actions, specifically attacking opponents, appearing as a violet-colored aura. Willingness to defend herself and others, standing up in the face of opposition, bravery and courage to do what's right. These features fuel her strength with her partner. However, falling to rage, vengeance seeking, and unjustified acts of violence can spark the negative aspects of D.N.A Charge.

Personality:

• + Courageous, stands up for those who can't do it for themselves.
• + Loyal, to those she warms up to, or respects.
• + Boyish, not a soft wallflower in the slightest.
• + Maternal, mainly towards animals.
• ~ Aggressive, about getting things done or against someone on her bad side.
• ~ Menacing, persuades through fear. Causes accidental scares.
• - Snarky, towards whoever's a convenient enough target.
• - Brash, using her head first. To headbutt something, usually.
• - Tactless, lacking a filter and acting her own way.
• - Shortsighted, usually thinking of now, and not later.

Dream(s):

• Has dreams to find herself in a professional fighting environment someday. Mostly stuck with mock-matches in gyms and back-alley fights, she finds fighting to be a stress reliver and net her a little more money in her pocket occasionally. Winning boosts her ego, helps her feel better about herself, while losses she can grin and bear, though depending on the opponent, can be quite distressed by. Often expresses competitive traits, willingness to accept a fight, and pride to not back down.
• Companionship is a heavy influencer in her life. Not being the easiest to approach person, she appreciates the bonds she can manage to build and strives to maintain them. Doesn't hesitate to get reckless for the sake of someone close, pinning herself into a bad situation even at her own potential expense. Can bring out self-sacrificial traits, cause rash decisions when presented with someone in peril, and cause anger spikes when she feels the need to set someone straight.

Nightmare(s):

• Experienced a bad breakup, that left her somewhat fearful of close relationships. Uncertain if she actually wants another relationship, or if she's trying to patch a hole that she isn't ready to fix. Effects her regular friendships as well, making her a bit harder to approach than others. Leads to being stoic at times around other individuals, uncertainty regarding her own self-worth, general distrust and skepticism of people trying to approach her to begin with. Also leads to a fear of losing others, causing insistence towards certain options, trying to handle things so others don't have to, and attempting to seem dependable.
• Though she lives a pretty low-standard life, she doesn't appreciate it being pointed out to her. Having had enough people call her 'trashy' or 'gutter girl' in her life, it's a high point of frustration for her. Even though it's valid to say she doesn't strive towards goals like she should, it's clear that it'd take a lot to actually get her to shift her attitude towards her own life, seeming to not having a high amount of drive aside from living in the moment. Shows disregard for her own safety, a lack of patience with people insulting her appearance or way of living, extra distrust in the 'pompous' or 'regal' types, not having much to say to those that think they're always on top of the world.

Sample: Fists Versus Quills, With The Sound Of The Ocean

An abrupt snort came with Reina waking up, eyes barely opening enough to get more than a blurred look at her surroundings. Everything was surprisingly green, which seemed odd, but she didn't put her surroundings into question until she let out an obnoxiously loud yawn, tongue lightly sweeping her dry lips as she sat up to rub an arm across her eyes to see a bit better. Catching the smell of grass was odd, causing her to lower her arm and glance down at it, noticing multiple blades of green on her arm, stuck like she'd been pressed into it for awhile. 'Did I fall asleep in the park?' Was her first thought, view shifting upward to take a look at the supposed park she thought she was in.

Instead, she was met with what looked like a forest. Green, green, and more green, with seemingly no particular signage or path to follow back home. She lived in a big city, woods like this were nowhere around! Just where the hell had she fallen asleep? Or ended up, for that matter? Her first instinct was to stand up, and pull out her phone, search for any sort of GPS location. But as she patted her pockets, she found that she was lacking in both her phone, and her wallet. "That's great." Her voice practically growled, not caring to brush off the grass on her back, even thought it left her a bit itchy.

The woods were quiet, which was at least giving her some peace of mind. No animals, like a bear or something, seemed to be around to rip her apart. But considering there could be bears, she wanted to find a more open space. One of the noises she could pick up on was the ocean, which seemed like a good indicator of where to go if she wanted out of these woods. It was perhaps too early to think of strange things like survival, but if she could reach water, that'd help ease her mind a little. This was all so bizarre, she almost believed it to absolutely be a dream. So she tried to not worry too much yet, even if a self-aware dream like this was kind of out of her usual sleeping patterns.

What didn't help ease her mind, was sudden rustling from behind her. Her body shifted to face the sound, musing in her mind 'So much for quiet,' before her hands tightened into fists. She could still see the brush moving, whatever it was, it was getting closer. Didn't seem terribly large, however, so she felt less fear and more curiosity. This was a dream, so she might as well make the most of it and see what the hell was messing with her head. She slowly approached the bushes, waiting for an opportunity with it getting close. She saw a red claw of some sort stick out, and without hesitation she lifted her foot, bringing it back before delivering a strong punt: Which struck the creature as it tried to come out of the bush, causing it to cry out as it flew out the back of the brush.

Figuring it might be the only food she gets for awhile, she quickly followed after it. Though, as she stepped past the bushes, she heard shouting from direction of the creature she kicked. A cry of "Lightning Quills!" was followed by dart-sized projectiles shooting her way, blasting through the bush and nearly her. Some of them stabbed into a nearby tree, trickling with electricity, which caused a drop of sweat to slowly go down her forehead along with a feeling of hesitation to step forward. Her mouth was left agape as a reaction, uncertain of what she'd just witnessed, but at least knew it wasn't normal. "What the hell was that?!" She quickly questioned. No real animal could do that, right? This was a dream? A dream where animals weaponized themselves like that?! That was a little too crazy.

"What the heck are YOU?" A somewhat high-pitched voice responded, sounding a little nasally. "I get shipped off on a boat, wake up in a forest, then get kicked in the face?!" Reina could hear it's foot stomping on the ground, very clearly upset despite being out of view. "This day just keeps getting worse!"

Reina laughed, though it was barely more than a scoff. Not able to believe this was real, not after that attack she witnessed, she felt surprisingly more relaxed. "Maybe I overreacted?" She asked, bearing a toothy grin as she carefully listened for the creature. The last thing she expected it to do was talk, but with how upset it was, there was a doubt words would get her far. Not that she was good with them, anyway. Drawing it's location out through it's words, now that seemed ideal. Then she could actually see what she was against.

"Lightning Quills!"

If she learned anything, that was at least a sign more of those projectiles were coming. It didn't know her location, rather, it was simply seeming to fire off in her general direction. Which to it's credit, as the sound of the trickling electric quills filled the air, she panicked in her movements and found herself moving fast, and very audibly. She wasn't used to things like this, what a vivid imagination she decided to have to make a scenario like this, fighting talking animals. Just what did this thing look like?

She quickly got an answer, as she heard something new this time. "Needle-Point Dive!"

The little bastard had the same plan she did! Before she knew it, a speeding ball of white and yellow came her way, covered in spiky quills. She attempted to make a hard dive to the side, but to her surprise the rolling creature bounced upward, catching the back of her leg mid-air and causing a scratch that went past clothing and skin. She hissed as she fell, head turning back to see what it was doing next. It ramped up a nearby tree, leaping off of it before uncurling to reveal it's full form. It was like some sort of mutant hedgehog, large, maybe not far below her belt? Bipedal too, and with red claws for feet and hands. It dove straight towards her, seeming to plan on landing on her back.

"Give up, and I might be merciful--" An attempt to boast, which was met with Reina's unharmed leg digging a foot straight into it's stomach from her position on the ground, causing it to smack against the tree it had just launched off of. It slid down to a sitting position, as Reina turned to face it, though in a similar sitting position because of her leg. "How about you give up, instead?" She spat back, amused by the result of her strike.

The creature picked itself up, although stumbling a little. "Not a chance!" It retorted loudly, brushing a claw against it's fur. Reina pulled herself up as well, leg shaking but she wasn't about to stay down. This dream was just getting exciting! She clearly wasn't ready to wake up yet, and this thing was giving her a bit more trouble than a normal fight. It was... Exotic? Only something your imagination could spur. Which was honestly starting to become a lot of fun.

There was back-and-forth, in blows and in words. Insults flew as much as hands, and neither was exactly sure of how long they'd been tumbling around in the woods. It was getting dark, an evening sun bringing barely any light to the woodland area as the two were barely stumbling along, both scratched, bruised, and generally in bad condition. But, that wasn't an indication to stop. Either they were dramatic about it, or seriously wanting to win after all the time they felt was spent, but they both charged again.

The creature's claw swiped out, but growing impatient and too tired for the dodging game, she instead let it connect with her torso, despite the pain it caused. This caused confusion to the creature in front of her, up until it looked up to see her face. Her glare caused a moment of hesitation, which was fully taken advantage of as she grabbed him by the fluff on his cheeks, yanking him upward as she reeled her head back. "Wait, what're you doing?!" It questioned in a panic.

"Just keep your eyes right here!" She responded, her head swinging forward and bashing right into the creature's forehead. As the impact happened, she fully let go of the creature, falling back from the impact of the headbutt. The creature crashed onto the ground, laid out on it's back and breathing heavily. The strike knocked them both senseless, leaving the two to just lay there, beaten up in a draw.

"You're not half-bad," Reina huffed, rolling onto her side. If this was a dream, she sure felt like she should've woken up by now. The pain coursing through her body was pretty severe, and nothing like this... Thing she fought, could possibly be real. That being said, Reina found an odd attachment to it. You learned to respect someone you fought, and that fight seemed to take most of a day, at least in dreamland. "Whatever the hell you are."

The creature groaned, claws scratching at it's sore forehead. "I'm a hero. A strong hero!" He winced, either from pain, or a memory that made him include; "Well, exiled hero. For now."

She would've tilted her head, if her neck wasn't so sore. "Shouldn't a hero not be cutting into people's skin with claws? Hell, I can see why you were exiled."

"You attacked ME!" It reminded her loudly, causing an erupt of laughter on her end. "Oh, right." She brushed it off as nothing serious, but the weird creature was definitely steaming from the disregard. "Okay, 'hero'. Shouldn't you be out saving folks? Why're you sneaking around in the bushes?"

A deep sigh escaped the creature. "You didn't listen to a thing I said earlier!"

"Totally didn't." She admitted with flat honesty.

The creature rolled it's eyes, but seemed to disregard the rude yet truthful remark. "I woke up in these woods! Off of my ship! I was wandering around, when suddenly I walk out of some brush and get kicked in my face!" It was annoyed, but seemingly more at the weird situation than Reina at this point.

"You too?" She questioned, pushing herself up to a sitting position with a groan of disapproval. "Hey, I just thought this was a dumb dream. But two people can't have the same dream, right? Isn't that weird?"

Also managing to sit upright, the creature scratched the back of it's head. "That is strange! Maybe we're not enemies after all." It mused, thinking on the situation. Clacking it's claws together, it tried to make sense of the situation, but failed. "Oh! I know!" it sparked an idea, a great one. They were both great fighters, put in a similar situation? It had an idea of what to offer her. "If we're not enemies, then why don't we team up? You look weird, but you're also tough. I bet we'd make a great team!"

Reina's gaze fixated on the creature. Team up? She was mildly insulted by being called 'weird looking', but really, if this was some real scenario, She wouldn't quite mind teaming up with this little guy. Why not, right? He was a good fighter, and they'd figured each other out a bit more through this struggle. Most of the people she fought held grudges, this felt oddly different. So her answer, the right answer to give was...

---

A sudden cold feeling startled Reina awake, causing her to shoot up from her seat. "Wha?!" She mumbled, feeling the cold splotch on her shirt. Water, probably. Looking up, she noticed a rather angry-looking man, that was, in fact, her boss. Had she fallen asleep waiting for a delivery? Ah, shit.

"Ya don't get paid to sit down and nap!" He snapped.

She crossed her arms, deciding to snap back. "I wouldn't fall asleep if ya actually had business, y'know?!"

"Whatever!" Instant conversation ender, though she did get a pizza bag shoved into her hands. "Address is on the receipt, I expect it there in twenty minutes or less! Haul ass outta here!"

Disappointment crossed her features, feeling a little saddened by the fact that the whole fight she'd been through was just a dream. But making friends with some cartoon-animal that could fight was a little unrealistic, wasn't it? She decided to leave it well enough alone, to try and forget and move on. Though that dream was definitely a difficult one to repress. It'd be bothering her for awhile, yet.

Herissmon

Bio:

Adolescent
He/Him

Typical Digivolution Path:

Pusumon > Pusurimon > Herissmon > Filmon > Stiffilmon > Rasenmon

Origin:

Have you ever heard the story of Herissmon, The Village Hero? Of course you haven't, only a select few know the tale of his heroics. A scrappy digimon that often fought for the sake of protecting his own village, said to even 'be involved' with defeating a Champion-level digimon... Which, in reality, was just him curling up and the digimon accidentally stepping on his spikes, leaving an opening for the stronger villagers to take care of it. Not to undersell his own efforts, he'd done his fair share to help his village and was regarded as helpful, at least until it all started going to his head.

Ever prideful, with an ego as wide as the sky, he always thought of himself as legendary. A protector, boasting about his deeds and rewarding himself to food because of it. For awhile, the village put up with it because he was useful. But during a rather peaceful period, they grew tired of him still overeating and boasting, and devised a plan to get rid of him.

During a nap, he was grabbed by his fellow villagers, and tied up in a small boat. Given a small amount of supplies before they shoved him off to sail into the Net Ocean. Where he'd end up, he had no idea. But it was very clear that his village didn't want a hero anymore! So he'd take himself elsewhere. Somewhere, on the big open waters. He didn't entirely believe in fate (Unless it favored him) which he hoped it would. Fate could drag him somewhere safe, right? Or at least with food?

Personality

• + Intuitive, acts off instinct, easily perceives situations to adapt.
• + Cocky, in his own abilities, shows confidence in getting things done.
• + Gallant, has heroic qualities despite his lesser habits. Some showings of selflessness.
• - Egotistical, has high faith in self, tendency to anger when position is insulted.
• - Gluttonous, eating twice of what he'd need to at any opportunity. Snack time is all the time.
• - Profiteering, likes to be rewarded or rewards himself for a good deed. Loves treasure.

The Sea-Fairing Hero

"Alright, that should keep him for awhile."

A voice caught Herissmon's attention, stirring him from his heroic nap. Annoyed, one eye slowly opened as he tried to take in the sight of who it was, only to see KoDokugumon. The spider-like digimon was supposed to be working on a new, silky cape in his honor! What was he doing out here, waking him up? Actually, now that Herissmon got a chance to look, a lot of villagers were gathered. About eight in total, if he counted right. Considering his one open eye, and being bad at math, it was probably wrong. Not that it truly mattered to him. "What are you doing? I'm trying to work up an appetite--" He paused, realizing how bad that sounded. Quickly he shifted it to: "--Eh, sleepin' off a stomach ache!"

Attempting to move was futile, he soon came to find. Glancing down, he saw he was wrapped in KoDokugumon's webbing. He also noticed the boat, and the water it was atop. "The heck's this?!" He questioned, disregarding his complaint to instead state confusion. "Oi! KoDokugumon! Lemme out, what's the big deal?!"

The spider-digimon shook his head, which pretty much involved shaking most of his body along with it. "No can do. You've been eating everything, and not doing your part in harvesting at all!" Tone obviously upset, he made sure to add: "There's plenty of mouths to feed, and you're not helping!"

"Hmph!" An insulted huff came from Herissmon. "Hey, I keep the village safe! Isn't that deserving of a snack once in awhile?" He tried to reason, but found himself wincing as one of the villagers remarked that "You snack ALL the time! The pantry is practically just dust!"

Tilting his head to look upwards, he tried to think his way out of that one. "I gotta keep my energy up! Or else we won't be safe if there IS an attack!" He remarked, nodding his head as he looked back at the group. "The price of safety, you know? C'mon, you can't do this to me! Exiling me to the ocean?!"

"You haven't stopped despite people asking, so I don't see much in the way of options." Cut in a bird-man digimon, Buraimon. A stronger protector than Herissmon, most knew. And who's presence left him unsure of what to say. "You have plenty of food in that bag, if you conserve it. The bindings will loosen after a few hours." Without skipping a beat, he spread his wings, causing a small shriek of panic from Herissmon.

"Hold on! You don't have to do this! We can talk this out--" He didn't even get a response, instead Buraimon flapped his wings with extreme force, the gusts of wind sending the boat out, with a screaming and struggling digimon aboard. "--Uwaaah! You traitors!" He yelled, growling at the uncomfortable position he was in. "I won't forget this!"

All he saw was the slowly shrinking forms of those on land walking back towards the village. His screaming could be heard for a little while, until he eventually gave in and started to doze off again.

---

After an uncertain amount of time sailing out into the ocean, the bindings around Herissmon loosened enough for him to bust out. He fell onto the deck of the small boat, head bonking and causing him to wake up from a dream he was having that had been quite odd. He was having a fight with a weird creature, with hair over it's eyes. They ended in a draw, and he offered to team up. But just as he did, reality brought him back. Was that some sort of coping mechanism? He wasn't sure, but momentarily decided to disregard it.

Grumbling, he looked over the ship, realizing this was a real situation. It was... Definitely a boat, shoddily built now that he looked it over. They must've built it recently and in a hurry, he figured. As for the supplies, he dug into the bag provided to take a look. By his standards, this food would barely last him a few days. He could at least row in a constant direction with the shoddy oars beneath said bag, but where would he go? The way the boat drifted during his slumber, he wasn't quite sure of even which way was back to land. "I'm gonna starve out here!" he exclaimed in a moment of panic, taking a look at the sea around him.

Realizing he was entirely alone, he narrowed his eyes. No. No he wouldn't! He might've been an exile, but he was still a hero! He could find land, somewhere, somehow! An island filled with delicious food, maybe? That dream was maybe a sign, a sign he was destined for greatness... With a sidekick, maybe! Call him delusional, but he decided to put his bet on being able to find something. He didn't have much in his life, aside from that weird dream. So he'd grasp onto it and use it for motivation!

He shook off his anger, trying to instead fuel himself to success. "Bah! Who needs them, anyway?" He grumbled, attempting to put the oars to use. Difficult with his claws, but he'd still try. He sat down to get ready to row, figuring he'd just pick a direction and roll with it. His heroic intuition never let him down! This gave him plenty of time to think on important things, like a theme song! Something to keep him sane on the waters.

Laughing to himself, he began to try and hum some sort of tune to his liking. He'd do what he had to in order to reach land again, and maybe he'd find something even greater than the big meals back home. Of course, that'd only be shiny treasures... Or bigger meals! Or bigger meals, topped with treasure!

This whole sailing thing was going to be easier than he could've imagined.

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

Another update: Just working on writing samples now. Should be done tonight once I have the time to finish up.