digitaldatacenter | Clearwater Gorge

Clearwater Gorge

[ Meanwhile, in the desert, the capital of the desert kingdom, Clearwater Gorge, is bustling with excitement. People have shown up--the summoning their leader, their "sheriff", did was successful. Maybe, just maybe, they'll be saved. Either way, the bustling little town looks straight out of a wild west movie, complete with a saloon, a graveyard outside town and all the amenities one could need in the badlands. The eponymous gorge is within walking distance, and a beautiful, clear river cuts its path through it, gentle and serene--the main source of water for the town. But uh. Welcome to Clearwater Gorge, there's a gold mine in the plateau nearby and the town seems to be running together quite peacefully despite the setting. ]

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[ Sitting outside the saloon, arms crossed over his chest as he contemplates things, is Takuto. Next to him is a Solarmon, who seems to be following him around, though right now Takuto is sitting on a hilariously misplaced bus stop. Because it's the digital world and stuff like that happens. ]

...It's not Zero Time, because that was destroyed... And I also can't call Tauburn... But then...

[ ...A deep breath. ]

What the hell's going on anymore!?

[ There is a pair of legs flailing wildly in the sand, and a tiny noodle-shaped Digimon desperately trying to pull them out. Seems a freak sandstorm buried the poor person.

Uh.

Help? ]

Eh?

[ ...That sure is a thing. When it registers what's going on, Takuto gets up and runs over to help, Solarmon right behind him. All he can really do is grab those legs and pull, hoping to pull him out. ]

[ With all of them helping, he's out in no time, though the sand is pouring out of his shorts and everywhere else, and he's coughing and hacking. Short guy with white hair and a blindfold. He's dusting the sand out of his hair as his partner breathes a sigh of relief. ]

Ack--uh... thanks.

[ He spits some out. Cough. ]

Wait. Uh... is this part of the simulation too?

[ Ha ha, denial. ]

These retrofits for the Pods sure are weird.

... Yeah, I gave up trying to convince him a little while ago. Heyah. Thanks for the help!

[ Takuto just kind of nods along, but in that way he does when he clearly... Doesn't understand at all. Just. Staring at this kid. Uuuuh. Simulation? Sure. ]

Eh?

Huh?

[ Wow they're off to a great start. ]

Sorry, but I think you lost me there.

[ But... Hm. Time to turn this around. Takuto sports a big grin. ]

Tsunashi Takuto! You just got here, too, right?

Uh... if this is real, then I think I did. I assumed it was a training sim, but I haven't heard anything from my Operator about it since I got here, so... I went looking to gather some intel, and then got stuck in that weird sandstorm.

[ He rubs the back of his neck. ]

YoRHa No. 9 Type S. I'm a Scanning Unit. You can call me 9S, or Nines, if that's easier. I kinda... wait. You can't be uh, human, can you?

[ He's about to ask 9S what else he'd be but then remembers Sarina and VP. ]

Yeah. Are you not?

Huh? No, of course not. I was made to help fight the machine menace so the humans on the moon could come back. Uh... eventually. I hope, but--wait.

[ Sheepish. Pause. He staaaares. It's hard to tell because blindfold but his eyes are big as dinner plates. ]

Wait, you're--for real, really human?!

Machine... Menace...?

[ ...He cannot wrap his brain around this. ]

Do you mean the Cybodies...?

Wait, is that what you call the machines?

[ He blinks. ]

Nah, they're kinda like...

[ He makes a ball shape, and his partner sort of fits neatly into his hands to emphasize the point. ]

... Yeah sorta like that, thanks.

I'm good at makin' shapes!

Wow... I never thought I'd actually get to meet a real, flesh-and-blood human! I have so many questions I don't even know where to start--

[ SAND. DESERT. ]

... Maybe we should find a town. Again.

It's right behind you, don't worry about that.

[ He's going to gently spin Nines around. ]

Also I'm starting to think we're from different worlds... Do you know what Zero Time is?

It's not a concept I'm familiar with... unless you're using it to reference hacking, maybe?

[ Wait, town. ]

... Oh, right. Uh...

Kudamon.

So you're NOT a Pod?

Nopers!

Well, my job is to protect humanity, so I should probably take this seriously... ugh, this is such a drag. Where did my weapons go?

[ He attempts the official YoRHa salute. ]

For the Glory of Mankind. And uh, all of that.

Zero Time is basically a space that existed outside of time in its own space, and it's the only place that Cybodies could function.

[ Trying to ignore the salute. Reminds him a little too much of Kiraboshi. ]

Cybodies are... Well, were mechs from another planet that might have been people at one point, and were largely sealed in Zero Time because of Samek, the Emperor Cybody, who was going to drain the planet of libido if Zero Time was destroyed and he was set free.

Oh, aliens again, huh? Man, they're always causing problems. First the machine advancement, that stuff... if we are from different places, though, sounds like you got the short end of the stick. No YoRHa to help you out.

[ He's trying to check his internal logic systems and all that. But he's... not getting anything... so weird. It feels like someone went in and admin-disabled most of his functions... ]

... It's a little weird. I can't seem to get a read on anything here. It's like my system is totally messed up.

[ Pause. ]

... How do you drain libido from a planet? Can a planet even experience that kind of thing?

I'm not the one to ask that from, but Sarina isn't here...

[ She's the one who'd know GIVEN SHE WAS AN ALIEN. ]

And we managed just fine! Me and Tauburn held our own together!

... Humans are more capable than command tells us, huh?

[ He's a little excited to hear that. Okay, march. He will try not to fall into the sand again. ... He'll just carry Kudamon, poor thing looks tired, and even he's not (hah) heartless. ]

I have to admit, I'm kinda shocked. They're always so cagey about what you're like...

I'm not sure what you're talking about... But the Cybodies make it a little easier. Not that it matters anymore--when I fought Samek, Tauburn was lost, too. But I think she earned her rest, so...

[ He's babbling. ]

[ He's so curious... ]

Is that the name of your weapon? I have a few with names I've picked up. ... I really don't know the first thing about humans, sorry. I mostly just see the ruins of their old cities and stuff.

Tauburn? No. She's a Cybody. They're... They're big mechs. Like from anime!

[ LISTEN YOU CAN'T TELL ME TAKUTO WOULDN'T WATCH ANIME. ]

I was Tauburn's pilot, but the Cybodies were also alive, so it was more like we were partners working in tandem.

Oh, so like my flight unit, sort of? We have man-operated vehicles, and I've got my Pod--well, not right now. I dunno where it went, actually...

[ He sighs. Kudamon wiggles. ]

It's okay. Ya got me!

... Well, you're kinda cute, I'll give you a pass.

[ Kudamon is very proud of itself. It becomes further spaghetti. ]

Edited 2022-08-07 17:02 (UTC)

I guess?

[ He's never seen your flight unit ]

Tauburn wasn't the biggest of them. But they're uh... I'd fit into a sphere in her chest.

[ He's going to crudely draw in the sand as best he can before it gets blown away, to give an idea of how big it was. ]

... That's definitely bigger than our standard aerial vehicles, but not bigger than some of the more advanced combat weapons I guess?

[ Here, he makes a crude drawing of what I can only describe as looking like a gundam with a stick figure inside it. ]

Of course, us androids don't have to worry about being destroyed ourselves, y'know? Just our black box data. If it isn't backed up, that's troublesome.

[ Whatever fun demeanor Takuto had a moment before drops. He's suddenly very serious. ]

Never talk like your life is something easily thrown away. Even if you can come back from it, you should always take care of yourself so you don't have to. People who care about you won't like to see you treating your life as disposable. No one is.

H-huh?

[ He's taken aback. ]

But self-destruction protocols are... regulation. I could get in a lot of trouble for turning that sort of stuff off if an Op goes south.

[There's voices coming up a rise not far away.]

I *told* you I don't need help! As soon as I find a place I can replace my weapons-

Which won't do much against anything that strong here-

I've heard that before.

[There's a heavy sigh from the metallic crab following along behind the redhead.]

Where is this anyway? I have something very important I need to be doing and if it isn't done soon...

[ Takuto hers Nines, but gets distracted by... Other person. Another person. ]

...Guess we weren't the only people brought here. Hey!

[ He'll wave her over. ]

I'm Tsunashi Takuto! You get dragged here, too?

Whoa. Hang on now. There's no need to be so quick on the draw. They don't SEEM actively hostile, like most machines.

[ Nervous. His scans aren't showing anything, but he can pick up on her agitation pretty easily... ]

Er... ma'am? ... It would probably be prudent to try to gather information first. Weapons can't help us if we don't know the enemy.

[Aloy gives them an expression of combined confusion and migraine face, nodding to Takuto.]

Aloy, and yes. As for my weapons, I'd like to at least have them since they're the hardest part of my gear to replace, and right now, I'd have to rig snares just to hunt game ... [She pauses, hand on the device on the side of her head as the light on it glows; she spends a second looking around.] ...If there even is any here...

[Crabmon just shrugs in confusion at that.]

[ Takuto's about to say something when a huge dust cloud blows in over the horizon and skids into town. They're left choking on sand for a moment after the cloud stops, skidding to a halt on the packed-down sand used for a road. And there, one the motorcycle, is what clearly has to be the sheriff. She at least looks in charge, and she'll get off, dusting herself off before noticing them. ]

Shit.

[ She clearly didn't mean to blow sand at them. ]

Sorry. I was in a hurry. BelleStarmon, and I run the desert. You guys want an explanation or do you want to figure it out for yourself?

[ He holds his arms over Kudamon who is coughing and tries to cover them. ]

Cool bike, I guess, but you really didn't need to choke them. Is there uh, a faster way to get through this place?

I don't know about anyone else but I definitely want an explanation. [Aloy's folded her arms in front of her, clearly unhappy and not at all afraid of the weird three-eyed not-human lady - in fact, while she's not actually likely to do it, she looks about ready to throw hands.]

[Crabmon is just...standing tiredly next to her, ready to grab her ankle if she does do anything stupid - they don't THINK she's going to, but...]

Listen, you guys were called here because we tried to fix our problem and couldn't. In fact, it's just gotten worse.

[ She'll toss a disc down on the ground and it'll give a hologram map of the huge island they're all on. And she'll gesture to the area that's glitching. ]

That? That's all turning into glass. It spreads like some kinda fungal infection, infecting one of us and then finding civilization and blowing up. The area becomes glass, and everyone's frozen and shit. Time works differently here, before you get worried, it'll be like minutes at most passin' when you get back. You and your partners are special, you get it. Listen, I'm exhausted, and I'm not as good at this kinda stuff as my little sister's old lady. Angewomon knows how to talk for long periods and could probably make this a lot more clear. But this thing's spreading into my turf and I've got people to worry about protectin'.

Fix your... wait. Glass? How hot is this stuff getting? Sand can be blown into glass, but this is... unnatural.

[ Says the android. ]

Also wait, this place has some kind of time dilation field?! What kind of battle have you dragged us into...?

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Clearwater Gorge

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