Something shines down on my face from above, gently coaxing me from slumber.
Mmm... morning already...?
Slowly opening my eyes, I find myself gazing up at a distant circle of soft, sparkling blue light. Its rays fall upon me like the gentlest of feathers, yet it ripples like the surface of a struck pond, casting hypnotic-looking patterns on all that lies below.
Thinking it rather beautiful, I smile, feeling as though everything is right with the world.
I don't think I've ever been so comfortable before. It's as though I'm floating on air, cushioned on all sides by a miniature cloud. However I fell asleep last night, I want to make sure I'm positioned exactly like this every night from here on out.
Far too relaxed to even think about getting up right now, I shut my eyes again and sigh lightly in contentment, feeling a few small bubbles escape my mouth as I do.
...wait. Bubbles?
A tinge of confusion breaks past my blissful drowsiness, whereupon I realize I don't usually wake up to this much light. Also, I can't actually be floating on air right now. Even were that not impossible, whatever is truly supporting me at the moment is too dense, and all-encompassing, and... wet.
Am I underwater?!
My eyes fly back open as I snap into full awareness, my belated recognition and confusion at not being in my bed nigh-instantly shoved aside by my panic at the thought of drowning in the crystal clear liquid all around me. How in the hell-?!
Spurring my limbs into half-hysteric motion, I swim up towards the circle of light above, which I now realize is actually the water's semi-reticulated underside. A few seconds that feel like a few minutes later, my head breaks the surface, and I gasp in relief, my breaths coming fast and heavy for want of air.
...or, not? My breathing is pretty even, actually. The only strain I can feel on my lungs right now is fairly minor, seeming more like it's from the sudden frenzy I just sent myself into than from any genuine lack of oxygen. Huh...?
Blinking the water from my eyes, I look around, and realize that I'm in a pool. A tiny, perfectly circular swimming pool, barely large enough for one to even swim in. Its walls are made of smooth, near-white stone, and are illuminated from below by some unknown light source, strong enough to make the surface of the water literally glow.
...oh, and it's somehow been carved directly into the floor of a cave.
My mouth falls open of its own accord, my surroundings only growing stranger the longer I stare at them. I can't actually see the entirety of the cavern, as the only apparent source of light in here is the tinted teal glow being emitted by the pool — or maybe that's actually the water itself, given the several independently-glowing puddles of it pooling on the floor around the edge — but it's still enough to make out the numerous huge, pitch-black holes scattered across the ceiling, each one more than large enough for a person to fall through, and uncomfortably reminiscent of the hollows of a skull. Most of the holes in question are clustered around numerous tree-trunk-like columns of rock dispersed all throughout the cavern's interior, connecting the floor to the roof like a hundred stalagmites and stalactites grown together.
What... is this...?
My perplexment at my apparent location lasts up until my eyes happen to drift south, at which point I realize I have bigger questions to answer. Namely, why it is my fingers currently appear to be a rather fetching shade of green, and are poking out of a pair of bulky, oddly-shaped gauntlets, which extend all the way up to my similarly green elbows. There's also something on top of my head that definitely isn't hair, and I can feel several tiny trickles of water slowly dripping from the tips of my ears... nearly half a foot further from my head than they should be.
Teetering on the verge of complete mental disarray, I whirl around, only to spot a computer of all things sitting near the edge of the pool. Like everything else I've woken up to, it's fairly bizarre-looking, featuring a pair of fin-like decorations jutting from the sides of its casing, a snorkel-like antenna sprouting from the top of the monitor, and a keyboard in possession of way too few keys to be functional, none of which seem to bear any actual letters — but at the moment, I don't care about any of that.
All I care about are the large, slit-pupil red eyes looking back at me from my reflection in the computer's darkened screen, set within a familiar, yet equally unfamiliar face.
Ranamon...?
Glancing down at myself proper for the first time since I awoke, I find myself staring at a considerably sleeker, curvier body than the one I normally possess, clothed in a form-fitting sky blue swimsuit. Despite technically going down past my knees, the suit is actually rather revealing, large panels of fabric having been cut away to expose teardop-shaped stretches of aquamarine skin, as well as to leave room for the literal fins sticking out of me just above my hips. Which, glancing back at the computer screen, appear quite similar to the ones now growing out of my head, having seemingly replaced my ears entirely.
Reaching up with one gauntlet-covered hand, I gingerly pinch the tip of one of my ear... fins between my fingers. It twitches beneath my touch, sensory input coming through clearly from both ends. I continue my brief inspection with the pair positioned over my hips, finding them just as tangible and attached to me as the ones on my head, then let my hands drop back down.
...I'm not dreaming, am I. I thought for a moment there that I might be, but with how real everything feels... no.
Somehow, some way, some why, I'm Ranamon now.
And this is the lair of the five evil Legendary Warriors, from Digimon Frontier.
...oh HELL no.
I clutch at the sides of my head, fingers pressing into what I now recognize as Ranamon's helmet-like swim cap. Setting aside all questions as to why I'm both here and her for the moment (not that doing so is particularly easy, because just... what?!), if this truly is the world of Digimon Frontier, then this is really, really bad. The last time I watched the show was probably a solid decade ago, if not longer, so my memories of it are more than a little vague, but I definitely still remember that this is the season where the primary villain isn't just a literal fallen angel, but one whose overall goal unexaggeratedly entails tearing the planet apart. Cherubimon is almost stereotypically evil in both appearance and methodology, but given that the Digital World in Frontier had continent-sized chunks of itself missing before the series proper even started, I'd say he was doing a pretty good job of it regardless.
My grip on my swim cap tightens further, a continuous stream of curses running through my mind. Just suddenly finding myself in a world undergoing an active, if gradual apocalypse would be bad enough on its own, but no — Ranamon, AKA me, somehow, is under Cherubimon's direct command, being one of the "legendary spirit" Digimon that he subverted into working for him after said fall. They're his primary attendants; the five highest underlings through which the tainted angel carries out his will, and each one is, or at least acts fanatically loyal to him, so devoted to their lord and master's cause are they.
...and as such, they will almost certainly have no compunctions about killing me, should they find out that "Ranamon" suddenly isn't.
My breath quickens. I- I can't stay here. I need to leave, and leave now, before anyone realizes that something's wrong-!
Panic flowing through me anew, I hoist myself out of the water, stepping up and into the cavern proper — only to immediately cringe at the sensation of cold, unforgiving stone floor beneath my utterly bare feet.
"Ugh..." I wince, glancing down again, "couldn't I have at least woken up as something with shoes-"
I pause for a moment upon hearing my own voice. Yeah, that's Ranamon alright, albeit without the ridiculous 'Southern Belle' accent the English version of the show gave her. I suppose I should be thankful I'm at least not stuck embodying that aspect of her being as well... small mercies.
Shoving that subject to the mental back-burner, I resume frantically looking around for an exit. Unfortunately, beyond the tiny portion of the cavern within the pool's immediate vicinity, I can barely see any of it. Why are there no lights in here?!
"Gotta calm down..." I whisper to myself, desperately trying to regain some measure of composure. "I don't actually know this is Frontier... maybe it's some other continuity...?"
While it's a nice thought for all of the moment it lasts, I can't really bring myself to believe it. My surroundings seem like fairly damning evidence on their own, and if this isn't Frontier, then why would I have woken up as Ranamon of all Digimon, who pretty much only exists for the purpose of fulfilling her role as a mid-tier villain in said season's plot? Even if she was ever featured anywhere else, I'll bet she didn't sound like this.
Unable to find any openings in the portion of the cave I can actually see, I suck in a breath, place my hand on the nearest wall, and carefully walk into the darkness, praying that there aren't any holes in the floor like the ones in the ceiling, lest I end up falling even deeper into this cavern. To my surprise however, as I leave the light of the pool behind, the seven large red gems scattered across my "outfit" begin to brighten, illuminating the blackness in my immediate vicinity with a dim, crimson incandescence.
Apparently I now glow in the dark. Lucky me — and all for the low, low price of changing bodies, species, and universes with zero apparent warning or reason.
I shake my head. Still, while it's not much, and the almost blood-red coloration of the light is honestly pretty creepy in the darkness, at least I can see where I'm stepping now.
"There has to be a way out of here..." I mutter under my breath, still trying to reassure myself as I carefully continue forward. "There has to be..."
God I hope so at least, because the more I think about this situation as I'm assuming it to be, the worse it somehow gets. Ranamon is the owner of the Human Spirit of Water, which is supposed to eventually be taken by Zoe, the sole female member of Digimon Frontier's five main characters. That would be fine, since all that normally does is let someone turn into Ranamon, and it's not like I have any particular aspirations of staying like this for any longer than I absolutely have to — except, unlike the show's human protagonists, Ranamon doesn't have anything "underneath" her outward appearance. When one of the kids uses a spirit, they essentially just become armored in it, gaining all its power while remaining human at their core. Ranamon, however, was never human, being more akin to the spirit itself made flesh... which, I suspect, I now am too. Meaning, having said spirit taken from me and "purified" would likely just equate to straight-up death.
I pause. Well, maybe not? I suppose it is technically possible that my human body still exists beneath my presently fishy, feminine exterior. That is the central conceit of this season after all, what with the main characters — the "Digidestined", even if I don't think these ones ever actually call themselves that — not having partner Digimon, but instead turning into Digimon themselves to fight.
And if so, then perhaps...
Stopping for a moment to lean against the nearest wall, I close my eyes and concentrate, attempting to forcibly "de-digivolve" myself. If I'm capable of doing so at all, then this should be fairly simple — so far as I recall, it was never really a problem for anyone in this season, even the normally human kids, who wouldn't have naturally had any idea how to do so. Just need to find and flip that mental switch...
Come on... come ON...!
…
...nothing.
I can't form a proper fist with these gauntlets on, but my fingers still do their best to curl into something roughly approximating such as I reopen my eyes and scowl into the darkness.
"Figures."
Guess that's not happening then. Not that I didn't already kind of assume as much, given all evidence at the moment seems to point to this being the original Ranamon's body, with the only real difference being who's driving it. My own body most likely isn't part of this equation at all. Might be for the best that didn't work anyways — I don't remember exactly how this lair was constructed, but I'm fairly certain Ranamon wasn't the only one living in it, and like hell would I have wanted to find out I can become human again in a place where merely existing as one would likely be tantamount to suicide.
Sighing, I resume making my way around the cave, doing my best to avoid any errant rocks.
Seriously, what could even cause this, and why like this? Digimon as a franchise isn't exactly a stranger to the idea of tossing people into other worlds, but this definitely isn't the norm in any way, shape, or form. Even in this season, the kids still arrived in the Digital World as themselves; they weren't just shoved into Digimon bodies on arrival, especially not ones that were already in use. Which isn't even addressing how Digimon just in general is supposed to be, you know, fictitious. Granted, just being where I am right now makes for some pretty strong evidence that isn't entirely the case, but that really only makes this even more-
My train of thought slows to a halt as I abruptly realize that the light from my gems is fading away, their luster rapidly dimming back down to normal — because the floor in front of me is already lit up, bathed in the bright blue glow of the water.
...I'm back at the pool. I just circumnavigated this entire cavern, and somehow, in spite of all logic, there's no exit to this place.
I'm trapped.
"Damn it," I snarl, forgetting myself for a moment, "this isn't fair! I don't know what's responsible for this, but you could at least give me a chance of making it out of this alive-"
"Wilt thou kindly quiet down?"
I stiffen in place as a resonant, metallic-sounding voice sounds out from above me — one that I unfortunately recognize.
Turning towards one of the nearby pillars, I watch in semi-resigned horror as a green, almost robotic-looking being drops through one of the holes in the ceiling, slowly floating downwards as though descending in an invisible elevator. His upper half is shaped like an upside-down crossguard, and a pair of rounded mirrors are attached to each of his arms, contrasting with the stadium-shaped one set into his stomach. Where his head should be, there's nothing but yet another small, rounded mirror, bearing no indication of facial features beyond a pair of lip-like markings painted onto its polished surface.
Mercurymon. The Warrior of Steel... and possibly the worst of the bunch to have gotten caught by.
"Tis awfully noisy down here." he says as his feet come to rest on the floor. "Pray tell, what has our precipitous princess in such a snit?"
My heart — or whatever Ranamon has in place of one — skips a beat. He could hear me? Damn it, I knew I might not be alone in here, why the hell was I talking to myself?! Even if he didn't hear anything immediately incriminating, given that he's talking like a renaissance fair reject, he's probably wondering why "Ranamon" doesn't exactly sound like herself right now... though, maybe he didn't hear any of it particularly clearly? I mean, if he actually heard anything *immediately* incriminating then surely he'd have just led with that-
"Well?" Mercurymon speaks again.
Belatedly realizing that he's expecting an actual response, I frantically wrack my brain for something appropriate to say. Unfortunately, I don't exactly recall that much about how Ranamon typically interacted with the other evil warriors. All I really remember is that she was usually presented as excessively prideful and vain, thinking rather highly of herself in spite of never really accomplishing anything of note.
...I suppose I'll just have to aim for something in the general ballpark of that, and pray that my impression is somehow good enough.
"A- ah hardly see why it's any a' your business." I say, now actually wishing Ranamon's accent was inherent as I hurriedly slap on my best approximation of it and cross my arms in faked irritation. "Ah'll talk to myself if ah want to."
"Thy pacing and prattle can be heard from two floors up." Mercurymon intones, thankfully seeming to buy my imitation for the moment. "Hence it hath become my business."
A shiver runs down my spine. By all rights, the fact that Mercurymon speaks like this, on top of having no actual attacks of his own beyond reflecting those of others, should make him fairly unintimidating. Right now however, I'm finding those factors to be severely mitigated by how he quite literally stands head and shoulders above me. My eyes are only level with his torso mirror — though, I'm trying not to look at it, as seeing the fear undoubtedly resting in my gaze right now reflected back at me would likely only make it worse.
"That's not- ah ain't..."
I trail off without really saying anything, causing Mercurymon's painted lips to quirk up in apparent amusement.
"How rare to see milady so tongue-tied. Perhaps she hath finally admitted the truth of mine words?"
I blink. Words? What words? Damn it, I have no idea what the context of that statement is- though, maybe if I say it right...
"And what words might those be?" I testily reply, trying my best to both look and sound irritated.
Mercurymon frowns.
"Hast our prior conversation somehow slipped thy mind? I refer, of course, to the relative paltriness of thy capabilities, owing to thine interminable lack of a beast spirit."
If I was actually Ranamon, that would probably greatly offend my pride. I'm not, but I'm still stuck playing the part for the moment, and thus plant my hands on my hips and glare.
"My 'lack of a beast spirit' ain't gonna stop me from kickin' you around this cave if ya don't take that back."
An empty threat, and Mercurymon clearly knows it, as his fake lips curl upwards again.
"Such bold words from one so hesitant mere moments prior." he chides, wagging a finger back and forth. "Didst thou not just freely admit thy chances of surviving against, let alone defeating those children remain slim to none at present?"
"A- ah said no such thing!" I sputter, genuinely unsure what Mercurymon is even referring to. Something Ranamon said before I got here...?
Mercurymon scoffs. "You fool none with such blatant lies. Regardless, I fear thy pleas for 'fairness' shall go unanswered."
...oh. So, he did actually hear my complaint about "making it out of this alive", but misinterpreted its meaning? I'll take it; that's way better than the alternative.
"Tis almost a pity." the Warrior of Steel continues to mock me. "In truth, I had expected thy future efforts to prove at least slightly more skillful than Grumblemon's brutish bumblings, but if thou art truly this unsure underneath thy constant boasting, then it seems I thought too much of you."
I growl in faux-offense, though internally I'm just growing increasingly desperate to end this conversation, before I go too far with this act and either slip up, or genuinely piss Mercurymon off.
"Don't you dare compare me to that oaf." I snap, spinning on my heel as if in a huff and starting to walk away. "Now if ya don't mind, ah got better things to do than stand around here listenin' to 'prattle', as you ya'self put it."
"Hmmph." Mercurymon hums indifferently. "Very well. Continue to prance and parade thine imaginary competence to thy heart's content. Simply keep such errant tantrums somewhat quieter in the future, and we shan't have further issue."
Mercurymon snaps his fingers, and I can't help but startle as he abruptly winks out of existence, gone in the blink of an eye.