digitaldatacenter | The Grand Entrance

With one exception, his words are as mine would have been. I can fight, but what level of desperate must you be to bring us here without even asking?

[The devil is a librarian. This, then, can not be some sort of demon, can not be a monster. And this is a place of such beauty that he can't believe anything evil could inhabit it without beginning to burn up... he can panic later. For now, the high-society manners have to come out.]

I don't know that I have much else to add to the questions, aside from what you're up against and what we would be able to do that your people haven't.

[He's...pretty sure that's one of those beings that's a bit Bigger than "normal mortal entity", albeit way less threatening than the ones he's used to, even if he's sure she COULD be dangerous if she chose to be.]

We are Mastemon. We do not choose who comes to us as our saviors. That is simply the will of the world and a decree of Fate. The four of you... We lay our hopes on you. As for that which you battle...

[ A projection covers the room. Like they're suddenly in the middle of a town. ]

You are in what is known as the Digital World. We have been invaded by a virus. You have a concept similar. It infects us, from its source. None have seen the source and been able to tell the tale. But it takes over, and while they seem normal at first, one day...

[ A random mon just suddenly stops their shopping, then walks to the center of town and stops in their tracks and explodes into light. When the light clears, the entire town is glass. Frozen and pristine, beautiful and reflective. ]

...This has covered a good portion of our world by now. We have sent soldiers to the stronghold of this threat, but... None have returned. Our people are cut off from the other Lords of the Land, our sister and brother. And meanwhile, many have been turned to glass. What scans we have managed have determined that the glass is safe once it has come into existence, but... We will eventually run out of places to hide. Even now, our power dwindles. We cannot shield this place forever. ...We do not wish to see our people suffer. That is why we need you.

Non-Digimon have a unique power when partnered with our kind, through predestined bonds. They can, together, become stronger than anything. There are many legends about this, and they all end favorably. We have tried to fight this war ourselves, but... We no longer can. It is taking all we have to keep the lands not glass safe, and the people therein free.

[ He doesn't mean to be cold, he understands. It's not that it doesn't tug at his heartstrings. Truly, it does.

However... he's got shit to do back home. It's frustrating; looking at her, he sees no eyes. No way for his Geass to penetrate. How can he use his power on something that he can't assess properly? ]

... While I find your situation tragic, yours is not the only country at war. I realize I may seem as though I am not very busy, being a high school student, but that is simply not the case.

I must return at once.

I -

[It is glass. It isn't salt. It is glass, it is not salt, but the comparison has drawn itself and how closely did God look to see if there were ten among that city, how closely did He look, were Lot and his family only nine?

Outwardly, Eric only looks pale. He is proud that he isn't shaking.]

I -

If it is to stop the death of innocents, I am bound by honor and my family's duty to stay....

[It isn't the same effect as what he's used to seeing - light and crystal where the Komar would be leaving crumbling ash and blackened waste, but...]

[Prior experience with mass destruction doesn't make it any more pleasant.]

Will we have some way to ensure that - affairs in our own worlds will not fall apart in our absence?

[He does trust the people he's been staying with to take care of things in his absence, but if some upstart warlord or his father notices that he's not there overseeing...]

When you play a game, does the time in the game not move differently? You can accomplish weeks of tasks in a game within only an hour. That is how it is here. Minutes may only pass while you are gone, while you may be here for a year or more.

[ She waves her hand and the crystal overhead changes color, darkening, pulsing, and they can see it. The code that swims through everything like lifeblood. Even the people. Lines of data and code and it's all everything is. ]

We are data, but we are nonetheless alive, Digidestined. And we need your help. Nay, we beg for it.

[ He is quiet for a moment. He observes this, looks at those around him, and then...

he laughs.

These people are strangers. From other worlds. They have no idea who he is. His identity could hardly be compromised, and if it is, he'll erase their memories. Easy enough. Fine. Is it a war they want? Then they've a tactician.

... But he's not like to give up his secrets so easily. ]

... I see. So our time here is inconsequential.

[ A beat. ]

And what, pray tell, do you expect an unarmed high school student to do for you in a situation like this?

I don't understand half of this.

[More than half, if he's honest. Most of it. And he doesn't want the parts he thinks he does understand to be real.]

The only comparison that comes to mind is of being spirited away to a fairy court, but time operates the opposite way there....

[This is something John would throw himself into with the sort of enthusiasm only an American could. It's that knowledge ~~and a photograph-sharp memory of the way John would smile, grim and stubborn, before flinging himself into a fight for someone else's sake, God, why was he like that~~ which drags Eric's voice into trailing off - that, and a sudden fierce stab of what he can only call homesickness, lacking any better word; a longing and a wish like a knife to the chest that he was here, too.

But - and this is a vitally important "but" - John isn't here. This is his work to take up.

And yet - ]

Is there truly no way of bringing another from... [home] from where we came from?

[The whole idea is fascinating - moreso that this apparently exists independently of any intentional creation by a programmer or individual; a reality unto itself.]

[He nods to the other two - and the common thread in the question.] I believe the main question is, how have you chosen who was brought?

There are ancient artifacts called Crests. Once they were physical, their forms are long destroyed. But they are still strong, and flow through all. We called upon those who might exemplify the Crests in their paths.

[ The crystal changes with a wave again, and four symbols appear over the four Digidestined. ]

Hope.

[ The Crest over Lelouch pulses with golden light a moment. ]

Courage.

[ Over Eric, the symbol pulses with a warm, orange light. ]

Love.

[ Over Sylvain, who scoffs a bit, the symbol gives a pulse of red light. ]

...And Kindness.

[ And over Lotor, a pink-purple symbol pulses with lavender light. ]

You have potential to grow into these symbols, and as you do, so will you and your partners strengthen. You were the ones who shone brightest with this potential at this time. But come. You still have yet to meet your partners.

[ She floats up as the projections from the crystal fade, toward another hallway. ]

Follow us. We would introduce you ourselves.

[ ... Well, then they're not alone?

But.

"Hope". Well, what was Zero, if not the hope of all Japan? No, the hope of all numbered. It had, perhaps, gone beyond simply Japan at this point. In a certain sense, he can understand the association. He brings hope to people. That is his job. To rekindle the people's faith.

... Haaah. Funny. Someone had really done their homework. But he'll go wherever he's led he... supposes? ]

... Partners. I assume this is the reason you refuse to give us actual weapons?

Courage...

[Eric is most definitely not aware he repeated that out loud - and most definitely not speaking whatever language it might've been overheard in, "el Valor" simply doesn't look like "courage" when spoken.

For the second time, the reed-thin stranger asks a question he would have, if he'd figured out a way to state it that wouldn't sound too much like a frightened child was doing the asking. He can be brave, indeed he'd insist he is as a default state of being, but he knows there's a difference between seeking fights as he has fallen into the habit of doing and being willing to help in a situation without much hope of victory. In that - well, she said "potential", true, but - she said potential, as if he hadn't proven himself even once!

His face feels like it's on fire, and the knowledge that he's blushing only makes it deepen, and in turn that makes him scowl.]

This is a cruel joke. It is even his favorite color, this can't be - you would surely be better served by someone who has more than potential!

[Lotor actually isn't sure why "partners" would mean "not getting weapons" and does look a little confused at Lelouch making that connection there.]

Perhaps whatever the - powers that guide these work on has more to do with the future and who will best act in that manner in this situation as it develops than those who display it in their current context now.

[He's very much avoiding commenting on his own. He tries, really, is trying, but he's well aware that the only way it won't get read as "weakness" is if he can prove there's practical, concrete results before the ideological tirade starts.]

Correct. You must have potential, as you and your partners must grow together. If one who already is at the peak were to try and grow their partner, it wouldn't work. As for weapons...

[ ...Well, in the hallway, you're going to get to see guard training. They uh. Sure are able to do all sorts of things. She's gesturing at it. There's lasers, magic, all kinds of things flung around. ]

Our kind can take these kinds of blows. We were led to believe your kind were far more fragile. There is a smith in town if you wish to have a weapon, but we would advise you to be careful.

... Smith. So I take it your people are incapable of crafting firearms?

[ He asks, of course, because. Well. DOES HE LOOK LIKE HE CAN HOLD A SWORD?

Also he filed the rest of that bit about partners and whatnot away. He has another question. ]

These partners of ours. Are they obedient to us absolutely, or is it a case of a working relationship? I would like to know what exactly I'm getting into. I cannot give orders or strategize if others do not believe they should follow what I have to tell them.

[Her words mollify him somewhat... but not much.]

Not so fragile.

[It takes a little more of a push than he is used to, but with a few words murmured in Latin and a flick of his wrist, Eric holds a small fireball cupped in his right hand. It's smaller than he wanted - definitely unimpressive next to what the locals are tossing around - and the way it wavers has him frowning at it, but he's able to hold it for long enough that he can play off its vanishing without being released as something he did command.

At least, he hopes he managed to do that. He's always wondered if the power he can wield alongside the Spear is solely God's, or if it is at least partially his own... finding it difficult in a different world doesn't wholly answer the question, and the frown he'd aimed at the fireball doesn't leave his face.]

In any case, if I cannot obtain a spear I am going to be in more danger. It wastes time in a fight to reach for something you no longer have. If you have smiths... I would assist in its making, if I could.

I am more accustomed to fighting my own battles and then some, but I suppose we should meet them and see more of what we're up against. At worst I'm sure we can assist to some degree, beyond whatever impact these crests have on their power.

[He DOES get the whole idea of connections like that amplifying one or both parties, at least - not a new concept, even if most of what he knows of Voltron is from legends and passed down stories and fragments of records his father hadn't purged. He caught enough to know the Paladins weren't helpless but there was still a point where a giant mechanical god-beast is going to be able to do a lot more than you can.]

You are free to fight, if you desire. We will not stop you. We simply urge you to exercise caution. You will have time to more properly explore the village soon.

[ And she will guide the way into another crystalized chamber. There, four digimon wait. The Digidestined will be able to sense their connection to their partner, as do the partners, who all look up from where they're waiting. ...By the way this is a dining hall, and they've basically been waiting for you to come eat with them. They all have a seat next to them. ]

We also urge you to eat your fill. The forest is bountiful in what it gives us, and as it remains safe, we have plenty.

[ Lelouch has a lot he thinks, and could say, but he's stopped in his tracks by the sight of the angelic-looking creature that he's caught eyes with. She's staring back at him.

There's a moment. He senses it; this is his partner, so to speak.

Big brother!

... His mind halts right there, and he remembers exactly what he's desperately missing in this moment so badly. What is out of his grasp, because of that horrible man. Because of someone he thought was his friend. There's. A series of emotions. Pain. Anguish. Despair. Anger.

Most of them don't cross his face; he's careful to TRY to keep them off it. But he can't hide that he looks at least a little distressed. When she speaks it's even worse. ]

Um, you must my partner! I'm Lucemon.

...

[ He sucks in a breath. And kind of ends up rooted to the spot. ]

A-are you okay?

[ ... Right. They're... all going to stare, aren't they. ]

... I'm fine. You just... remind me of someone.

[ He'll. Find somewhere to sit. ]

... Lelouch Lamperouge.

Nice to meet you, Lelouch Lamperouge!

Just... Lelouch is fine.

O-oh... please excuse me.

[ She picks up a large fruit and offers it to him. Then motions to the others. ]

Come sit. You must be hungry!

[There is something vaguely ironic about an angel offering fruit to humans, but while under any other circumstances Eric might be revving into a terrified, well-trained-to-guilt-by-Catholic-schools nervous collapse at the sight, too much of his mind is occupied with recognition. He has never seen this cloaked creature before, and yet -

He is beckoned to, with a claw, and spoken to, and all thought screeches to a halt then.]

C'mon, you look like you ain't eaten in a month.

[Oh, that accent is entirely too much. Less Texas than... further west, but where specifically... probably doesn't match up in any case. It's a very shaky smile Eric shoots his partner, and he less sits down than falls into the open seat next to this... dragon?]

I - hello there, I'm... it feels like we should know each other's names already, doesn't it?

[God and Heaven help him, it - he, he knows somehow - sounds like an impossibly young Quincy Morris when he laughs.]

Sure does, but I sure don't! I'm Hackmon.

I'm Eric. Eric Lecarde, son of Xavier and Elena.

[It's more for everyone else's benefit that he names his parents. He can't say anything else, he's terrified he'll burst into tears if he does, and he couldn't explain why if he had all the time in the world....]

[Lotor's aware of the stories of the way Alteans could communicate and bond with other beings; that doesn't make the sense of connection any less new and baffling as Dorumon bounces over.]

HI!

[And bowls him over with a pounce-tackle because this is not what he expected at all.]

I'm Dorumon, what's your name? You've got neat armor, are you some kind of knight, I've never heard of a human being purple before!

[Dorumon's still going. Lotor...might need a hand, he's too busy blinking and trying to process.]

[ Sylvain is going to lounge at the table and laugh a little. ]

Friendly kid, aren't they?

[ --And then there's suddenly a flower crown on his head. ]

Here! I wanted to make you a present! I'm BlackAgumon!

[ Uh. Well now he's just embarrassed. ]

Th-Thanks, kid. Anyway, I guess we should all eat. Looks like they made a feast for us, and I wouldn't want it to go to waste.

[ Ignoring. The flower crown. ]

Oh, right. Sylvain Gautier. Just call me Sylvain for short.

[ Mastemon seems pleased with all of this and returns down the hallway. They're now free to eat and then explore. ]

[ Yeah he's... refusing to eat on principal. But Lucemon is noticing that. ]

You should eat something. You'll need your strength.

Some of this food is a bit strange. I'd rather not, if it's all the same.

[ ... He doesn't trust it. He doesn't trust any of them, really. ]

Would it help if I ate it first?

... You might not have the same intolerances to some of these foreign... things as a human would.

... Oh.

[ She deflates a little. Sorry guys he's just a very paranoid ex-Prince. ]

The Grand Entrance

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YOU TOLD ME DESERT, I KIND OF COULDN'T NOT GO HERE

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