After taking a minute to calm down from the nail-biting performance I was just forced to put on, I find myself staring up apprehensively at the pitch-black holes in the ceiling. AKA, my way out.
...in theory.
I swallow. While Mercurymon's interruption thankfully at least demonstrated to me how one enters and exits this cavern, I don't particularly want to go up there and potentially run into him again. Unfortunately, escaping this place just became even more important, and this appears to be the bottom floor, making the ceiling shafts the only apparent way to go anywhere at all.
I think I'm just going to have to risk it.
Slowly, hesitantly, I make my way over to the shaft that Mercurymon descended from. Stepping underneath it, I brace myself and wait for it to lift me aloft.
Nothing happens.
I wait another ten seconds or so before disbelief begins to overtake my nerves. Oh come on, the effect surely can't only work one way, right? I'm pretty sure Mercurymon can't just float around at will, so that can't have been his doing. Is there some sort of secret evil password I'm not using? Do I need to swipe a membership card somewhere? Come on already, just LET ME UP-!
My body lifts off the ground, gravity abruptly seeming to simply fall away. I flounder in the air for a moment, caught off guard, before ceasing my flailing as I find myself being steadily carried towards the hole in the ceiling.
...okay, so the effect is thought-activated. Good to know.
Floating upwards under no power of my own, I'm tempted for a moment to question how or why this works. But this is the Digital World — an artificial dimension connected with, but separate from the human world, where the physics and logic governing any given location can sometimes be loose at best. I'll need to try and keep that in mind from here on out.
As my head passes through the hole in the roof, my vision is briefly obscured by an intangible fog of deepest black, causing my gems to flare with light. The murk vanishes just a scant moment later, and I find myself rising into a large, open cavern that's... really quite similar to the one I just came from, honestly. The only immediately obvious differences are that there's no similar pool of water present, yet I can now actually see the sanguine red shade of the rock all around me, as the space is considerably better lit.
...specifically by a large, wide open gap in the nearest wall, the light streaming in from outside all but blinding after my time in the dark.
Hope spiking at the prospect of escape, I hop out of the gravity effect and quickly make for the gap in question, raising an arm to shield my eyes as I step outside-
"Yeeeep-!"
-and barely manage to stifle the shriek that escapes my lips as my foot sets down on nothing at all. Luckily still close enough to the wall to catch myself on it, I throw myself backwards in sheer panic, just as my vision finally adjusts enough to the light to see what lies beyond it.
Turns out, I definitely wasn't wrong in thinking that I don't remember much about the evil warriors' lair. At the very least, I've forgotten some rather crucial bits of information, since I most certainly do not remember this structure being suspended what has to be more than a thousand feet off the ground, to the point that I'd wager it easily outsizes most skyscrapers. What the hell...
Exercising considerably more caution than before, I poke my head back through the yawning gap in the wall, gazing down at what lies below. The surrounding scenery is actually rather picturesque, particularly the dark green mountain rising in the distance, surrounded by a massive profusion of fluffy white clouds. A carpet of vibrant trees extends outwards from the mountain's base, the greenery spreading as far as the eye can see... at least, up until it reaches the enormous pseudo-canyon this structure seems to be situated in, at which point the green abruptly dies off in favor of yellowish-brown rock and a field of drifting mist.
All but digging my fingers into the edge of the wall to keep myself anchored in place, I carefully twist my neck around to look up at the lair's sloped, towering exterior. It's roughly the same color on the outside as it is inside, and is covered in numerous large holes, much like the one I'm currently peeking out of. With the way it narrows near the top, it almost looks like some sort of giant mushroom — an impression only helped along by the equally giant red "roots" that seem to be holding the structure aloft, the entwined tentacular growths cascading upwards into the sky like Jack's proverbial beanstalk.
Slowly backing away from the edge, I let out a small, quiet sigh of relief at having avoided walking to my doom — though it turns rather forlorn halfway through. Unless I want to risk what amounts to climbing down a near-vertical mountain without handholds, safety equipment, or shoes, this is not a viable way to leave. There has to be some other way to get down from here...
Guess it's time to go exploring, and simply pray that no one else is home.
As I walk around the rest of the cavern in search of literally anything else of interest, my thoughts turn inward again, concerns still running wild through my mind. Honestly, is escaping this place even a viable plan? All things considered, it seems rather unlikely that Cherubimon would let one of his valuable spirit warriors simply cut and run. At the very least, he'd presumably send the other four after me, and not only are all of them doubtless a lot more familiar with this world than I am, but as Mercurymon so recently reminded me, one of them can literally teleport. Realistically, the likelihood of my finding somewhere I can actually, permanently hide from them is slim to none.
My jaw clenches, but I force it to relax a moment later. No, stop that. Surely there are places in this world even Mercurymon can't reach — or, better yet, perhaps somewhere outside of it entirely? Pretty much every version of the Digital World I know of contains at least one naturally occurring method to cross over to the human one, after all. This season even has one of the easiest to access, since you can get to and from this world simply by boarding a Trailmon, which are practically everywhere on this side of things...
I scowl. But then again, if this really is the show, a Trailmon on that route would just ferry me to the version of Earth that the main characters came from, not my own. Plus, I'd still be Ranamon — maybe even a downgraded version of her, given what happened to Takuya when he tried something similar — so my appearance would undoubtedly draw massive unwanted attention at best, and get me shot on sight at worst. Not that it wouldn't potentially still be preferable to dealing with the situation here, but leaving the Digital World behind entirely would also mean giving up any chance of figuring out what brought me here, or of ever reversing the process — which, given I have relatively little desire to be stuck as a scantily-clad fish woman for the rest of my life, I very much do want to do.
Having determined this floor is somehow even emptier than the one below, I move beneath another ceiling hole and have it pull me up to the next level... which turns out to be just as spartan and barren as the last one, and nigh-identical in structure, beyond the specific position of the holes in the wall. Starting to sense a pattern here.
I glance around, fins twitching anxiously at my sides. Mercurymon implied he was on this floor earlier, and I was kind of expecting him to have returned to it when he left, but I don't see him anywhere. Maybe he went out? Given how little this place seems to have in way of amenities, I certainly wouldn't blame him.
Once I've determined to my satisfaction that I'm indeed still alone and begun my increasingly-cursory floor inspection, I sigh, suck in a breath, and firm my resolve.
Alright then. If I can't run, can't hide, and can't leave, then what exactly do I need to do to survive this world while I'm here?
...well, since Cherubimon never actually leaves the Continent of Darkness, I suppose in the short term I just need to not get myself killed by any of the other evil warriors. If I'm shelving my escape plans for the moment however, then my only real alternative is keeping up the charade of actually being Ranamon long enough for the chosen children to remove my various "coworkers" from the picture. Which doesn't really feel like an ideal plan itself, given it's dependent on my questionable acting skills managing to fool the other four warriors for an extended period of time.
I raise a teal-tinted finger to my cheek. Then again, two of those four aren't exactly all that bright. Mercurymon is arguably the savviest of the group, and if he didn't think anything was off enough to act on it even after overhearing me, I genuinely doubt the others will either — if I just keep my head down and make sure the accent doesn't slip, that might actually work. Ranamon isn't the last of her group to go down in canon though, so even assuming events proceed exactly as expected, I don't want to just move in lockstep with them... is there anything I can do to facilitate a more rapid removal of the other evil warriors from the picture? Besides trying to get on the heroes' good side at least, which would also be helpful in avoiding my own "scheduled" death at their hands...
I frown. Not that I have any guarantee I'll even have the chance to meet said heroes before then, given I have no idea where they currently are, or when in the timeline I even am. Mercurymon mentioned Grumblemon's "efforts" with respect to the kids, and I apparently don't have my beast spirit yet, so I suppose I have to be at least fairly early on in the plot? It's been so long since I watched Frontier that I'm not sure I'm even remembering events in the right order though, and from what I do remember, the progression of time wasn't always all that clear to begin with. I'm pretty sure that Ranamon's final moments occur inside of one of Sakkakumon's miniature worlds or something, and that won't happen until after the kids reach the Continent of Darkness, but that in turn could take place anywhere from days, to weeks, to months from now...
I shake myself. Whatever the case, I still need to find a way out of this place, because Mercurymon wasn't actually wrong — no matter what I do next, finding Ranamon's beast spirit almost certainly should be my highest priority. Not only is it the perfect excuse to not be around while not breaking cover, but obtaining a second spirit is likely the best precautionary measure I can currently take, since it means I won't necessarily just die if someone swipes the only one I have right now. I certainly wouldn't say no to the general power up it offers either, considering how outmatched Ranamon is by just about everyone who might want to kill me in the near or far future. Can't say I remember exactly where said spirit was, but I know it was somewhere near a tropical island where a group of Toucanmon live, which seems like a pretty solid starting point.
...though, with the entire Digital World to search, I might be overestimating how helpful that actually is.
Doubt begins to creep back in. This plan is seeming less and less feasible with every little detail I add to it. Wouldn't it be simpler to just, find the kids and flat out "defect" to their side, then rely on them to protect me from reprisals...?
I toss that thought around in my head for maybe half a minute, only to discard it as I float up to the fourth floor. As convenient as that concept sounds in theory, actually following through on it would be a terrible idea, because the protagonists of this season actually lose with a startling degree of regularity. First they lose to Grumblemon just on his own, then to four of the evil warriors working together, and then especially to-
I round a pillar, and abruptly freeze as I find myself staring at the back of a figure dressed in black, skull-like armor. Staring out of one of the structure's exterior holes, he silently looks out at the cloud-filled sky, his long blonde hair swaying in a passing breeze.
Duskmon... or rather, Koichi Kimura. The only actual "human" among the five evil warriors, albeit an amnesiac one, and by far the most powerful of the group. Unlike me however, he was Duskmon from the very start, in that Cherubimon literally created him by corrupting the Human Spirit of Darkness and merging it with Koichi's lost, dying soul — which is perhaps why Duskmon is also the most loyal of Cherubimon's servants. And on a team where all five of its members are constantly clamoring to prove themselves to their master, or at least paying massive lip service to the idea, that's really saying something.
I immediately start to retreat- then pause. Come to think of it, if I could remind Koichi of his true, human self earlier than it would otherwise happen and get him out from under Cherubimon's thumb, he'd be an absolutely incredible ally to have. With a walking juggernaut like him on my side, I could probably ditch all this tenuous planning entirely... except that I don't have even the slightest idea how I'd pull that off without potentially getting a sword shoved through my throat in the process. Human at heart or not, this is still the guy who ultimately kills Arbormon, his ally, simply because he eventually decides that said ally is useless. I don't know if I even dare approach him.
...in fact, I don't think I do dare. From what I recall, Duskmon is essentially a walking mess of complexes, and is probably too volatile for me to even risk approaching, much less attempt un-subverting. This idea has no legs; I'll just have to let the heroes sort him out themselves.
Doing a quick about face, I quietly tiptoe away-
"Did you want something?"
I flinch worse than if someone just slid a full tray of ice down the back of my swimsuit. Slowly turning back around, I find that Duskmon doesn't actually seem to have moved, or even turned around himself — yet he still very clearly knows I'm here.
"N-no, not really..." I shakily reply, hastily throwing Ranamon's accent on again. "Ah was just headin' out, actually-"
"You were staring."
The enormous eyeballs embedded in Duskmon's shoulder armor swivel around to face me, causing me to shudder even as I silently curse myself. Of course he noticed I was here, he's got eyes all over his body!
"Why?" he intones.
"Ah... suppose ah was just wonderin' what you were lookin' at?" I hazard, babbling out the first thing to come to mind. "There's nothin' to really see out there, so are ya just... cloud watchin'?"
Duskmon's head turns fractionally in my direction.
"I know not the answer to that myself."
...what the heck is that supposed to- no, don't ask, don't engage, just leave.
"Ah see." I hastily reply. "Well, ah'll uh... leave you to it then. Ah'm gonna go see if ah can't find my beast spirit-"
"Oh?" Duskmon interrupts, nearly monotone. "Remind me. How long have you now been searching for that spirit?"
It takes everything I have not to bolt, knowing that won't help me. This guy basically never talked to any of his teammates in the show proper, why has he suddenly decided he's feeling chatty?!
"A... a while. Ah've been tryin' my hardest-"
"Have you? Truly?"
As terrifying as that implicit accusation is given who it's coming from, a flash of irritation still runs through me upon hearing Duskmon dismiss me so completely.
"It's not as if ah'm not-"
"If so, I find myself forced to question your ability to follow through with anything else you claim to be capable of."
...would it kill him to let me finish one sentence?
"Look, ah-"
"Cherubimon may tolerate the excessive time and resources you've spent on this endeavor..."
"Could ya just-"
"...but you are now falling behind human children."
"Now wait a second-"
"Time and patience both wear thin. However elusive your beast spirit may be, I suggest that you obtain it soon, else-"
"Then MAYBE let me go find it already!" I snap. "It's not like you have your beast spirit yet either!"
The moment the words leave my throat, I regret them a thousandfold. What the hell is wrong with me?! Am I seriously that short-tempered?! I already know this guy will murder for less reason than I just gave him and has more than enough power to easily do so; why am I seemingly incapable of shutting my damn mouth?!
Before I can even attempt to hastily apologize, not that it would likely do me any good, Duskmon speaks again.
"...I suppose that much is true."
Silence falls. I'm left waiting on tenterhooks, but Duskmon doesn't move, nor say anything further.
Am I... really going to get away with that...?
"R- right." I stutter. "Well then... like ah said, ah'm headin' out."
I start to turn back around-
"Would it not be easier to do so from your own quarters?"
I scream internally. Would you just let me LEAVE ALREA-
Wait, from my own quarters?
"Oh, ah... just thought ah might get some air first," I reply, not daring to contradict him again, "but you're right. Ah'll be headin' back down now."
To my relief, Duskmon just nods this time, finally allowing me to escape the conversation as I all but throw myself back down the nearest hole in the floor. The anti-gravity effect helpfully kicks in automatically to slow my descent, preventing me from snapping my legs on stone as I furiously berate myself.
Great job, me. Just stick around and "keep my head down" — that lasted all of, what, five minutes? Thank goodness Duskmon didn't take that as poorly as he could have; that was at least thrice as stressful as my chat with Mercurymon was before my mouth decided to play eyeball roulette.
I shudder. Note to self: do not approach, be seen by, or speak to the unstable ultra-powerful maniac ever again if at all possible. This may not be my body, but I'd still vastly prefer that it remain in a whole, un-skewered state whilst I'm stuck occupying it.
My gaze moves towards the floor. I've also been tacitly sent back to the "room" I just came from, but perhaps that's actually for the best. Even if I have no idea how leaving from there is even possible, given its previously noted lack of exits, Duskmon presumably had something in mind. Maybe I need to give Ranamon's living space a second look? I'm not sure what there even is to double check though, other than maybe her computer, and of course...
Hmm...