Digital Survival Matrix - We Exist to Serve Your Purpose (Digimon IC)

[fibericon]

Yoshii suddenly stops. Ariko asked for something... so he's going to do it. He just doesn't know if he can make Nyaromon stop. And if Nyaromon doesn't stop, well, that's it. For him, anyway.

"Wait, Nyaromon. Ariko is right."

Or she's not. It doesn't actually matter from his point of view.

"If the others got hurt, they need our help. And Gobblemon over there seems pretty confident with taking on the threat by himself, so we should let him."

[aturtledoesbite]

Sistermon Noir shakes her head in response to Ariko. "I...I could never... I'm not strong enough to fight against LadyDevimon... I just hope the other Chosen will be safe..."

[Elfbird]

Even with her head in the cloud, Nyaromon instinctively responds to Yoshii's command. She stops, turns back, and listens, even while naggingly aware that Grizzlymon is marching into danger without waiting.

Master Yoshii definitely understands the situation, so he doesn't intend to let Grizzlymon go alone. There's some other purpose to this, and he's relying on me to see it and carry it out... I won't let you down, Master!!

He's making a show... and needs the audience to believe something in particular... Grizzlymon is getting far away, but it could be to assert authority? Master Yoshii gives orders, he doesn't follow nobody unless he makes them lead? No... that may be a secondary goal, but he's looking at Ms. Ariko. Oh! Could she be... like Moonmon is to me? Of course! I would hate to leave them if they were right beside me, and I wouldn't want them to think I want to leave them at all. So with the nyacessity of the situation... it's up to me as an uninvolved party to make her let him go!

Nyaromon bounces up to Ariko's feet and fixes her with an imploring, heartfelt gaze.

"Miss-- Mistress Ariko! I knyow how you feel! Moonmon is out there too, with Ms. Kuroshi and Mr. Eiji! I don't knyow if they're okay or not, or what struggles they're facing without me, and I'd never want to let them leave my side or face danger alone... But!! I believe in them! I believe in us! None of us are alone, because we have our partnyers and each other now! And I knyow that no matter how much we want to run to each other's side... We have a duty that we're always facing together, however far apart we may seem! Right now... Grizzlymon needs the holy power to support him and his troops, even if he's scared to rely on something besides his own strength. And maybe Moonmon and the others need our help just as much, or maybe they're okay and as worried about us as we are about them..."

Nyaromon bounces high, first to tap the digivice in Ariko's pocket with her tail, then higher to tap Ariko's heart.

"Trust in yourself! Trust in your friends and loved ones! Trust in the holy power that chose you because of who you are! We can do this - helping our friends and helping those who need us - if we work together by going separately to where we're needed most! The holy power is something that unites: it brought all of you to our world together, it brought us closer to the Digimon that LadyDevimon corrupted, and it'll bring us all back together when the time is right! Now, no more hesitation! Let's do what we need to do to make sure we can face the people we love with no regrets when we meet them for the victory party! Get it nyow~~?"

She bounces away from Ariko, initially wanting to lead Master Yoshii back in Grizzlymon's direction... but instead, she suddenly bounces sideways into Yoshii's arms! After all, she's only his tool, so he has the right to take these next steps on his own!
...And also she wants praise for doing a good job carrying out his plan to convince Ms. Ariko to let him go, so that it wouldn't look like he was just callously leaving her! Headpats and belly rubs! Give!

Moonmon... I'll definitely show you something good, so keep fighting until we meet again!!!

[Volthawk]

The flood of memories and thoughts distracts Eiji somewhat after he pulls the Monochromon out of the hole, enough that he only somewhat listens to what Sen is saying. What was that? Sure, he'd approached the problem with the same belief in his strength that he always did, but none of what he just did was normal. He hadn't really thought about what he'd achieved since arriving here, but now he was forced to by...what just happened, he didn't have any clue what was happening. Somehow, though, he didn't feel worried about it. Whatever it was, it was helping him, and that was enough for now. Sometimes not thinking too much about things had its strong points.

"Uh, yeah. I did it...I guess.." Sen's suggestion about the other Monochromon snaps him out of it, though. "Wait, what? What? You can't just...kill the guy!"

----------

Babydmon snorts derisively at Nyaromon's speech, then turns to look at Ariko. "Belief? Duty? What nonsense. What we need is power, and we don't have enough yet. Even if Grizzlymon has his seven, they aren't like us. We can get stronger, and much more quickly than they ever could, and we need that power if we are to succeed. Nyaromon is naive, coddled by that mentor of hers, and Grizzlymon is blinded by his pride and ego."

He pauses, those last few words causing a rare and brief moment of introspection, which he quickly dismisses. He can't let that vision distract from what's important. "We are strong, yes, and have unique powers, but we have to face the realities of the situation. You do not march off to fight a dangerous enemy without any though and without all the force you have available - and despite their flaws, the others are part of that force. That is a lesson you learn quickly out here. You can't let some vague belief in what's right guide you against the reality of the world you live in. We should not charge off mindlessly to fight LadyDevimon yet."

[aturtledoesbite]

Sistermon Noir timidly speaks up. "The red dragon digimon is right. She's...far too powerful."

She turns to Nyaromon. "You... your Child could be killed, if he goes off to fight her alone. If you care about him at all, you shouldn't push him to his inevitable death."

[Syless]

It's on Ariko next. Nyaromon has been... chastized. "Nyaromon. You've heard what they have to say. But Nyaromon, Yoshii... we need to stay together. Work as a team. I know you're confident in his abilities- but then imagine what the four of us can do together. Would you really want him to risk his own death rather than face LadyDevimon with his friends by his side? But as long as you're listening to him..." Ariko looks up at Yoshii, then offers a hand. "Let's go." She turns to the cat-nun. "You're free to come too, but we may end up in danger anyway."

---

Moonmon looks up at Eiji, then back to Sen. They don't want to hurt Monochromon, so hopefully Master Kuroshi will listen to Eiji, but if she orders it again... they'll do what they have to.

[fibericon]

Yoshii probably could have said or done something clever, right up until Ariko offered her hand. His ability to think goes to static, and everything seems really bright - a side effect of his pupils dilating. He offers his (probably sweaty) hand.

"Yeah... the team is important..."

His voice is probably in the wrong octave.

[Syless]

Ariko smiles as Yoshii takes her hand, then pulls out her digivice to find the others. "Come on, let's go. Babydmon, Nyaromon, Gigimon... we need to come together as one, and plan. We need to know everything that's going on here, and if LadyDevimon is as evil as she seems, we need to look for a weakness before we rush blindly in. And we need to be together." Still holding Yoshii's hand in one hand and her digivice in the other, Ariko sets off.

[Vrock_Summoner]

Spoiler: smolkids

Show

Gigimon is in a situation it hasn't been in before. These humans are bringing in a unique perspective, different from the denizens of the Digital World. Or so it thought, but... Then Babydmon agreed. It seems like everyone but Salamon sees the logic of leaving this group behind to its fate.

... Well, that's not entirely true. Gigimon doesn't get it either.

"W-wait!" Gigimon bounds forward before faceplanting and rolling into Ariko's leg. It rights itself with a bounce and stares up at her. "I don't think this adds up!"

It wiggles an ear. Then the other. "One... Two..." Each leg. "Six..." And its nubby tail. "Seven. And we've got... four, who aren't even Champions yet, but who the Digivice might or might not make such in time. Do we really have a better chance than they do?"

This prompts an annoyed response from one of the Geckomon. "Hey, we're Champion level too! That'd make six Champions!"

"You don't count," Gigimon notes dryly. "No offense, but considering what happened with Mikemon, you're probably closer in strength to me than to the others..."

Then Gigimon turns back to Ariko. "You said we don't know enough. But with how little information Grizzlymon seems to be going off of, and him coming from Gate Castle, Leomon might not know anything, either. We need to scout. One of us playing backup duty with them would let us do that without risking the party. The Digivices can be used to talk to each other, right? And as long as a person has one, they can't get lost from the other members of the team." Then it bounces up, softly headbutting Ariko's pocket before stumbling back as it lands on the ground. "And right now, let's be honest... That device and I aren't helping you guys any. I can't fight, without a partner... but I can push buttons. So wouldn't the best use of resources be sending me there to help them?"

[Elfbird]

From where she's nestled in Yoshii's arms, Nyaromon looks at each subsequent speaker as they deliver their rebuttals.

I failed.

Each one feels like a spike driven through her.

I failed.

She can't answer them. She can't think of anything to say at all. She gave her speech everything and she failed.

And now Master Yoshii can't leave Mistress Ariko and Grizzlymon is going to be corrupted and come after them and the masterless one fulfilled Master Yoshii's plan better than she did when he was counting on her.

I failed.

The dam breaks. Her wails pierce the trees and her enormous tears quickly saturate Yoshii's clothes.

IfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedI failedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIf ailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfa iledIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfai ledIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfail edIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfaile dIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailed IfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedIfailedI fail

"I-I-I'm sobby, Mabber Yobii! Yoo bere couding on me and I coulbn'd do i-i-id! Yoo'll be bebber obb widoud sub an un-un-un-re-ri-a-bre pardner!"

She leaps out of Yoshii's arms to land close beside Gigimon.

"Gigimon, led'z gow! I'll proteb yoo zo yoo can uze da h-h-h-holy power! Id'z da bezt I can do!"

Without even waiting for Gigimon's assent, she hurries off to catch up to Grizzlymon's group.

"Mazder Yozhii! I hobe I'll be wordy of yoo in my negzd liiiibe!"

...She's fast, but her continued sobbing makes her easy to track if you try. Something like this would start rumors of a haunted forest...

---

Sen puts her hands up in surrender at Eiji's response. It takes a force of will to remind herself to keep her voice down.
"Geeze, chili. I don't know what these digithings do to each other. I don't hazelnut care, but if Twinkie here wants to let sleeping dragonfruit lie, let's get some fraiche distance, yeah?"

[fibericon]

Yoshii has no context for Nyaromon's supposed failure. He hasn't the foggiest idea why it thinks it failed, why it decided to run off...

No, wait. He knows.

Mother.

****er.

He leans over to Ariko and lowers his voice. "I know this is gonna sound dumb, but I think Grizzlymon can affect the minds of other digimon. We're not gonna survive here without our partners. I need to follow and keep Nyaromon safe. I'll find a way to deal with Grizzlymon myself."

Running off toward Nyaromon, he shouts, "Hey! You convinced me! Wait up!"

You play with my life when you play with my partner. You're playing around, but this will be the last time that you think something's funny.

[Syless]

Ariko is exceptionally nervous at this point- Nyaromon's recklessness has lured off Yoshii... so she guesses she's going off on her own. She crouches next to Gigimon and hands them the spare digivice. "Here... look after Yoshii, okay? Don't let Nyaromon drag him into anything reckless?"

[Vrock_Summoner]

Gigimon takes hold of the Digivice between its teeth and nods aggressively. "R'aye r'aye, cap'rn! Bre safe!" Then it bounces off down the road after Yoshii and Nyaromon.

The three of them catch up to Grizzlymon after a short while, since Grizzlymon wasn't moving in a particular hurry. He looks back, surprised, then grins at you. "So you've decided to come along? Didn't expect you to be so brave, but I guess it's fitting for Chosen. Welcome aboard, kids. Looking forward to working with you." He says this largely without regard to Nyaromon's ongoing sniffling and sobbing.

[Syless]

A bit downtrodden, Ariko turns to Babydmon as she starts to look for digivice readings on hers. "That... was the right decision, right? He'll be safe until we can catch up with them?"

[Volthawk]

Babydmon just sighs in reaction to what just happened. "They are fools. A naive coward, a madman and a... Gigimon is just a plain idiot. I know that we will do just fine alone, but I can give no guarantees about them. From what I've seen, I am not optimistic, but they made their insane choice. Do not go with them."

[Syless]

Ariko nods. "I wasn't planning on it... I just don't want to leave Yoshii to them. Let's go... we need to find Sen and Eiji." With one last look over her shoulder, she turns towards the indicator on her digivice, and walks off.

[Elfbird]

Nyaromon's blubbering gradually reduces to intermittent sobs, then sniffles and hiccups, until it finally subsides. Even after Yoshii caught up, she didn't respond - either she didn't notice, or... something else.

Once her composure returns, she sidles up to Yoshii as they continue moving forward, pressing into his leg with every step and hop. The end of her tail curls around his shin, lightly enough to not restrict movement.

"You came for me..." she murmurs softly, for his ears alone.
"I wonder if this was your plan all along, or if you merely cleaned up my mess...? Either way, you're a better master than I deserve. I promise I'll reward your devotion one day, so please continue being patient with me until I become someone worthy of your faith. I am... yours. Always."

Her tail squeezes once, then she breaks away a short distance and raises her voice to her usual energetic pitch.

"So what's our plan, Master Yoshii? I bet it'll be a good one! Or... Oh! Maybe you have to keep it secret, so as not to show up Sir Grizzlymon until the last moment?!"

She's either unconscious or unconcerned by the fact that Grizzlymon and his troops probably heard that just as well as Yoshii.

[fibericon]

Yoshii forces a chuckle. He feigns a whisper for Nyaromon's benefit, but speaks clearly enough to be heard by all. "Don't worry! I'll share some of it! I have to do some information gathering first, so I can see what Gizzardmon is best at! Everybody's good at something, right? And if you do everything yourself, you'll get tired, so you need to get help from people doing what they're good at!"