I don't own digimon.

Story 82

Insured

Narrator Switch: Trinity to Harlequin

MetalPhantomon floated about the ruins of what they could only assume to be buildings. If not that, then they could only assume that they were in a field. Though, it didn't look like anything was growing here. No matter. This was perhaps best for everyone here.

"She always said that I should be a farmer." they thought and twirled their scythe around. Doing their best to avoid hitting anything that might be valuable and/or could be salvaged. "I wonder how she would feel about an insurance agent."

Shoving the thought away for just a second, MetalPhantomon took a moment to connect to the digital world. Not to this digital world, mind you. No, they were focusing on a parallel digital world. More specifically, some sub-world called 'Despair High'. I don't recognize the name, but I have a feeling that I know what's on it. Nothing good. At the same time, an odd choice of subworlds. Perhaps someone will be able to seek it out. Wishful thinking, but that's all Harlequin has here.

Scanning the horizon for anything of note, what looked to be a town came into view. Floating over, the reaper digimon took care to avoid accidentally hitting anything else after their little scythe performance. Nothing in the way of people to see it though. Were they all hiding because they looked like the grim reaper or had something of the magnitude of that invasion from a couple years ago occurred again. A supposed once in a lifetime event, one that brought with it an uptick of life and possession insurance. Definitely for the best. Heck, the other agents were likely having a field day here. Not that they needed to make any more sales. They had gotten everyone who had needed him. A shame that none of his clients were here to check in and maybe touch base. That would go a long way in figuring out what was going on here as he reached a proper road. Or at least, the shredded remains of one. This had to be the work of a massive digimon. But who or what had a vendetta with a small backwater town like this?

"Great. Now the grim reaper is here. Can I just play a game of chess or something to prevent you from reaping my soul?" a voice announced and MetalPhantomon stopped. Looking around for the source of the talking, they were treated to the sight of an older man. Dressed for colder weather, his cane was pointed right at MetalPhantomon. Quite an intricate piece of oak, stained black with what looked to be ducks of all things carved into it. Moving up to the face, well-used green eyes met that of wrinkled skin.

"Uh sir, I must admit that I'm not the grim reaper nor am I particularly good at chess. I'm in fact a digimon insurance agent. By any chance have you seen a woman by the name of Dahlia? I was sent back down without an inkling of where she might be." MetalPhantomon announced and watched the man freeze. Tuning out the background of screams specific to that of the digital world (which oddly included nuclear hellfire for some reason), he floated down to meet his audience's gaze.

"Digimon insurance agent? What do you cover? The theft of food?" the man joked, MetalPhantomon holding themselves back from attacking this man and/or responding with a less than pleasant retort.

"We offer Life Insurance, Wills, Next-of-Life and Corruption Insurance among many other services in the face of the ever-changing nature of the Digital World." MetalPhantomon announced, catching the man by complete surprise. Was it really that odd of a thing? There had been two massive incidents involving the supposed 'Chosen Children/Digidestined' in the last couple years. Heck, it almost looked like a third had occurred right before they had gotten here. If anything, it paid to be insured in this day and age.

"That's great and all, but wouldn't fraud be common?" the man countered and MetalPhantomon shook their head. As much as they could easily explain how the digital world worked to prevent that, there was simply not enough time in the day. No, both parties needed to get on their way.

"Not really. But by any chance could you maybe direct me in the direction of Dahlia? She doesn't know I'm back and I don't want to worry her any longer." MetalPhantomon continued, only to be treated to a shrug from the man. Looking away, a deep breath escaped his lips. So much for this lead. Still a chance to get something more out of this. "Okay. could you maybe tell me what occurred here?"

The man sighed.

"All the evil in the digital world appeared a couple days ago. For a few hours, they ran amok. The fact that there are parts of the town still standing is a miracle unto itself. If you're looking for Dahlia, you might want to head further in. You'll have a better chance of finding her." the man explained and MetalPhantomon nodded. That was as good of a lead as any here. Taking the time to wave, MetalPhantomon headed off. Scanning the area for anything of note, they had to agree with the man. A good chunk of the buildings did look like someone had come through and bulldozed them. Better yet, why had all the evil of the Digital World poured out into this one? All that would accomplish was messing with the balance and… making more digimon appear on this side. Homeostasis would likely force them back. But that could be part of this as well. How exactly and to what end, remained to be seen. Not that MetalPhantomon was particularly expecting an answer here. No, they would just be happy with the fact that they had deciphered that from the little information that had been provided. That was quite an accomplishment in his book. Even if it was likely not to everyone else.

"What kind of coverage would that even fall under?" MetalPhantomon thought and shrugged. Probably disaster insurance if they had to guess. Though, this would be something they and their fellow insurers would likely have a meeting for. Probably what was occurring right now. Honestly, that makes sense. That would likely be what the Branakan Government would consider it. Doesn't matter. "Dahlia, where are you?"

Silence. Not the pleasant, comforting sort. Instead, this was more of a deafening, depressed silence. The sort left behind the dead whose lives were ended before they got a chance to achieve the things that they were destin-

"Mister, are you an insurance agent?" a voice called out and MetalPhantomon stopped. Scanning the area, he found a numemon of all digimon hanging out by some rocks. Bending down to meet the turd pokemon's gaze.

"Yes. I assume you would like to be reimbursed for the damages that occurred?" MetalPhantomon inquired as they pulled out a clipboard. Pointing it at the numemon, he watched their policies come up. While normally something done in an office or similar venue, they didn't have that luxury. No, they would be conducting business here.

"Here we go. I sadly can only pay you in Digi here. I trust you know of a place where you can have it traded over to dollars?" MetalPhantomon inquired and handed a slip over. Watching the numemon accept it, they then proceeded to hop off and leave MetalPhantomon to their own devices. By no means the worst thing in the world, it was a nice reminder of the state of things at the moment. Letting out a sigh, they took the time to calm themselves. The last action the reaper digimon wished to do was accidentally destroy something. Ironic, considering what they're listening too. Is there not a better channel you could tune into here? Because Harlequin like to think there's a version that doesn't involve a family member getting corrupted and being far too inclined to commit acts of genocide. Said acts pulling in me, my husband and my daughter. No thank you. There's the nuke again. I swore that knight only had one of those fucking things. That or it's a loop. Never mind. I don't have any way of proving it or disproving it right now. Unless that AI thing decided to interact with whatever digital world that is. Then I'll have the answer. I can wait of course.

Thankfully, MetalPhantomon decided now was a good time to head on before I decided to dig myself further into this hole. Passing by partially destroyed houses, the gazes of their tenants stare out. Try as the reaper digimon might to catch a gaze of them, they found themselves unable to do so. Kind of annoying right now. The last thing he needed was this kind of behavior. Couldn't they see he was just trying to find his partner? No, all they saw was the grim reaper on the loose. Not that they even knew what death itself truly looked like. Ironic, isn't it. I always thought the grim reaper would take on the form of a friend. Make the process much easier. Rather than some girl dressed like she's late to a beach outing. Sorry. Needed to get that out of my system after that meeting. Wasn't half bad, just weird having your boss show up out of the blue. That girl he had with him is trouble though. Less human and more machine, her magic is probably something that is best left in that other parallel reality. Doesn't matter. Until it does.

"I'm looking for someone by the name of Dahlia. By any chance could you direct me to where I might find her?" MetalPhantomon inquired and was pelted with cans. Ignoring the projectiles to the best of their abilities, the reaper digimon looked for anyone to actually answer this question. Instead, they got treated to an angry mob. Probably mad at their current rates or the fact that something that looks like the embodiment of death itself is wandering the streets. Yeah. That's probably it. Would also explain the rocks and bats that they were holding. "Hey, could we maybe talk this out?"

Sadly, MetalPhantomon's words fell on deaf ears. Even if they had listened, they were already riled up. A show of power might be in order here. But what exactly? Taking a moment to think it over, an idea came to MetalPhantomon. Raising their scythe up into the air, they twirl it about for everyone to see. While scary, the background track of what sounds like a digimon spin kicking a person to death could just be heard. That… certainly was new. Can't really do anything with it right now. Just keep it in my back pocket. If you know what I'm saying.

"Cool trick. But show us something that death himself couldn't do!" one of the mob members announced and MetalPhantomon raised an eyebrow. How exactly does one even answer a question like that? It flew in the face of everything they knew.

"Uh… I'm an insurance agent. Not the grim reaper. I just look like what most people think of them as." MetalPhantomon answered, not quite what the crowd was looking for here. Not that they knew in the first place what the answer was. Even if they did, giving the answer wasn't enough. No, they would've asked for more here. No answer was good enough he-

"As in regular insurance or digimon insurance?" a different part of the crowd announced, bringing with it the murmurs of the crowd arguing about something. Not that MetalPhantomon could hear what was being said here. Even if they could, it didn't matter. They would just need to wait for them al to quiet down.

"Digimon insurance. By any chance some of you have a partner who's policy needs to be cashed out?" MetalPhantomon inquired and watched a couple people's gazes lock onto them. Forming a line of sorts, the reaper digimon could tell what they were asking for. Not that they blamed them for giving it away so easily.

"Let me see here. Aw. Here we go." MetalPhantomon announced and looked down at their clipboard. Pulling the slips off, they took care in handing them off. By no means something that would help in the short-term, the reaper digimon could only hope that the converted money would go far enough to begin the rebuilding process.

"Will this guarantee that we get our partners back?" one of the people inquired and MetalPhantomon shook their head. That was the worst part of the job. Nothing like when it happens in the digital world.

"You'll likely need to wait for that. I sadly cannot make the process faster, nor can I inadvertently slow it down." MetalPhantomon explained, their statement bringing forth tears among the people who had accepted the slips. By no means their intentions, it couldn't be helped. They were looking for hope and… they couldn't deliver. Just the nature of the roller coaster that was life. "Were your partners hurt by someone still here?"

Raised hands went up. Not what MetalPhantomon was expecting here, but it was certainly an explanation. Which was going to lead them nicely into their next question.

"Did someone try to go after that digimon?" MetalPhantomon continued, watching the crowd nod. A good chunk of it dispersed, but a couple of them took the time to point in a northeastern direction. Giving a nod, MetalPhantomon headed on. They were afraid of this. Leave it to Dahlia to rush headfirst into a situation like this. Perhaps those claims of becoming a firefighter or something had worked out. If not, then they were likely to be sweeping up the remains of bones and flesh. Not ideal in any sense of the word. Nonetheless, the reaper digimon took a moment to calm themselves. No use in dwelling on the possibilities. Instead, they needed to find their partner and figure out what the heck they had gotten themselves into this time. No doubt, trouble. That went without saying.

"Dahlia, I'm coming your way!" MetalPhantomon announced as they headed in the direction that the crowd had pointed too. The scent of fire was just on the tip of the nose, bringing with it smoke and heat. Those were always the worst smells around. Didn't matter which world it was from, still sucked either way.

Ignoring it for now, MetalPhantomon picked up their pace. Shoving out any thought that might get in the way here, the reaper digimon finally caught a glimpse of what looked to be a firefighter of all people. Clad in their heavy gear, there was no doubt. Even though they had noticed her, she had likely not noticed them in turn. But how to go about changing that fact? Racking their mind for an answer, they found themselves coming up short. So they went with the natural solution here. Charge headfirst into danger. Ironic, considering their occupation. Dahlia would no doubt get a chuckle out of that. For now, they shove those thoughts away. Funny as they no doubt were, they had to be looked past right now.

Coming to a stop right after, MetalPhantomon stared over the situation. At the moment, a Cerberumon was trying its hardest to spew forth flames in the hopes of creating an environment that it could actually live in. All the while Dahlia did her best to keep the fire contained. Which mostly took the form of breaking up flammable materials.

"Insuro agent, could you do a rival company a favor and convince this lady to stop bothering me?" the cerberumon announced and MetalPhantomon brought a hand to their face. Trying their hardest not to laugh, it still came through. Quite clearly, no less.

"Hi Dahlia. Sorry about this." MetalPhantomon called out and got a wave from their partner. Then it's back to breaking down materials. As for them, they turned their attention to the three-headed dog digimon. "As for you, I would suggest going back to the digital world where you belong, okay?"

Cerberumon rolled all three sets of eyes. Of course they wouldn't be getting help here.

"I was here first. How dare the humans destroy my home!" Cerberumon announced and charged for his opponent. The nerve of this stupid reaper. Once he was done with them, it should be a breeze to deal with that la-

Grave Scream!

Swinging their scythe in Cerberumon's direction, an eerie sound echoed forth. Reaping Cerberumon's soul in the process, one could only hope that they had gotten the proper insurance to make the process of returning to their own company all the easier. For now though, MetalPhantomon floated over to their partner. Descending slightly and putting away their scythe, they watched Dahlia pull off their helmet. The face of a tired, almost frustrated woman stared back. Yet, a happy expression hung to her face. Pulling the reaper digimon in close, MetalPhantomon accepted the gesture…

Harlequin's Notes:

Nice of an end that it was, I do hope that background data track isn't a sign of trouble ahead...