Lastation Ghost Game
A Hyperdimension Neptunia & Digimon Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Episode 7: Fishing for Sal(a)mon
*Lastation General Hospital*
Sistermon Blanc lay in her hospital bed, looking at the ceiling aimlessly, despondent... while the bandage on her nose had been removed, it did little to ease the pain in her heart, from her and her sisters' utter failure... She heard a knock at the door, lifting her head up to see her older sisters enter the room. "Oh, hi... are you getting out soon?"
"Yes, but we wanted to see you first," Ciel said with a gentle smile. "We've got good news, Blanc. Kyoko Kuremi was rescued by Hackmon and Batman."
"She was?! Really?" Blanc immediately shot up to a sitting position. "Is she okay...?"
"Other than Lilithmon, um, playing with her a bit, she's fine," Noir said. "If it's any consolation, they said that Merlin probably didn't to anything to her himself..."
"But, how did they get past Lilithmon?" Blanc inquired.
"They didn't. She wasn't there at the time, thankfully," Ciel replied. "From what I heard, Kyoko said that Lilithmon had to chase after DinoBeemon when it fled from Merlin's supervision..."
"Huh?! I thought you and Hackmon beat that guy!" Blanc said, perplexed.
"Apparently not. That Merlin must've teleported him away at the last moment, to make it look like he was defeated," Noir shook her head. "But if that one's been recruited, then we're going to have to seriously step up our game. Ciel's the only one who can digivolve to Ultimate right now... I should at least try to learn that 'Awakening' trick she does. I think I managed to do something similar once, but I couldn't maintain it..."
"All right, I'll train you on how to do that. It's relatively simple once you get the hang of it," Ciel stated. "But you should focus on getting better right now, Blanc. There's no point in training if you re-injure yourself..."
"I understand," Blanc nodded. "But when you see Miss Kyoko, tell her I'm sorry I couldn't do anything..."
"You won't be the only one saying that," Noir pointed out...
*Lastation Guild HQ*
Hackmon was watching the TV in one of the Guild break rooms, but not for entertainment... the news was about to come on, and he wanted to see the report on Kyoko's rescue, as well as see if there were any potential crimes for the Guild to investigate...
"Police are stumped by what appears to be some childish prank spread across several stores in the city," the reporter stated. "In the past few days, somebody has been destroying the fish sections, or parts of them for seemingly no reason. There is no indication that any of the fish has been eaten, leading the police to wonder what the suspect's motives might be..." There was a clip of a policeman talking, saying something along the lines of the suspect possibly being mentally disturbed, then a few shots of destroyed fish displays...
(Wait, did that one say 'salmon'?) Hackmon realized. (Salmon... sal-mon... could it be? But this would only be something like a Grape-level crime- not in the Guild's... what did they call it? Jur-is-dic-tion?) He shook his head in frustration... then an idea came to him. (Wait, I got it! Maybe she could...) He promptly dashed out of the break room, heading for the exit...
*Kuremi Detective Agency*
Kyoko looked up from her desk, setting down her coffee as she heard an odd thumping at the door. (Is somebody knocking, or...?) Retrieving a gun from the top desk drawer just in case, she got up and walked up to said door, pulling it open- but seeing nothing. Realizing something, she looked down-
-and sure enough, there he was. "Oh, it's you... Hackmon, was it? Wait, are you by yourself?" Hackmon nodded in response. "I'm surprised they let you go around without supervision... please, come in. And don't mind the gun, I just didn't want to take chances after what happened last time..." Hackmon made a whining noise as he walked in, Kyoko shutting the door behind him. "Okay, you can speak now, this room is fairly soundproof."
"Okay," Hackmon spoke up. "Um, yeah, so... you're okay after what that Lilithmon did to you?"
"Other than an... intense dream that forced me to take a cold shower," Kyoko replied. "Oh, and my shoulder's bandaged where that demon lord pierced my skin with her claw... but the tox-screens came back negative, so I was discharged with a recommendation to take it easy. But seeing as I don't have much income, I can't really afford to take a day off..."
"Oh, right," Hackmon bowed his head. "Um, I don't have any money, but, I did see something on TV I thought you could help with... it's not something the Guild would do, so..."
"I understand. After you helped rescue me, I'm willing to hear you out," Kyoko assured him with a gentle smile. "So what was on the television that caught your attention, Royal Knight in training?"
"J-just Hackmon's fine," the Digimon blushed a little. "(ahem) Well, I saw this news report about a bunch of fish stands getting trashed in stores all over the city... and I saw that one of them was labeled 'sal-mon'..."
"The correct pronunciation is 'sammin'," Kyoko interjected. "Why is that interesting to you? Do you like salmon?"
"That's not it..." Hackmon ducked his head. "Look, where I come from, almost everybody's name ends in 'mon', see? So I thought, what if it was a Digimon that was smashing the fish stands, thinking it was another Digimon or something? I know there's a species called 'Salamon'..."
"Ah, I understand now," Kyoko nodded. "Perhaps the one who is destroying the fish displays is looking for their friend Salamon; perhaps having gotten lost and separated after going through that portal from the Digital World. Very well, I'll take the case."
"You will? Thank you!" Hackmon jumped and did a flip in joy.
"Careful now, your tail almost cut my couch open," Kyoko gently chastised. "As far as payment... seeing as Miss Noire is doing her best to stop errant Digimon from wreaking havoc, perhaps I could send the bill to the Basilicom... but we can discuss that later. First things first, though..." She went back to her desk and sat down, beginning to type away at the computer. "Let's see if we can find all the locations that have been hit so far..."
"How will that help?" Hackmon asked.
"Pattern recognition. If we know where they've been, we can deduce where they're going, and in doing so, possibly catch them in the act," the detective explained as she worked.
"Oh, I get it! I think I heard some people at the Guild saying stuff like that," Hackmon recalled.
"Right," Kyoko smiled. "Well, this might take a few minutes, so be patient..." Hackmon nodded at this, heading over to the carpet to lay down, making sure to avoid the couch. A short while later, Kyoko spoke up, "All right, I think I've got it." Hackmon promptly jumped to his feet and went back over to the desk, seeing Kyoko point at a map on the monitor. "This is one of the few stores that hasn't been attacked yet, and the most likely next target of our mystery saboteur, Digimon or otherwise."
"Okay, so we hide in there until tonight and catch 'em red-handed!" Hackmon exclaimed.
"I won't be doing that, given my condition at the moment..." Kyoko shook her head. "Speaking of which, have the Sistermons recovered yet?"
"Um, I think Noir and Ciel were getting out today," Hackmon tried to recall. "You're saying I should ask one of them to help stake out that store?"
"If they feel up to it. In fact, that might be preferable," the detective mused. "Being confronted by fellow Digimon instead of humans might make them less likely to lash out... assuming, of course, that a Digimon is indeed responsible."
"Makes sense," Hackmon nodded. "Okay, I'll go check with them. Thanks!" He promptly turned and dashed away- only to smash into the hardwood door, embedding his horn into it a little. "...Ouch."
Kyoko couldn't help but chuckle as she rose to get the door open...
*And so, that night...*
The store in question was not open 24/7, so the doors were locked and the lights were currently out. However, one window was left slightly ajar, as bait. Nearby the fish section was a modern day cash register/computer that was linked to the Internep.
There was a scratching sound nearby the window, a creature about the size of a beagle managing to push said window open, popping out the screen and tumbling into the store proper. Shaking its head to regain its senses, the critter started making its way through the store's aisles...
"Salamon, Salamon..." he muttered to himself as he trotted down an aisle on all fours... the creature seemed to have no fur, with large doglike ears that pointed straight upward, and several small jagged tails on his rear end. reaching the back of the store, he sniffed a bit before making a turn to the right, eventually coming upon the fish section. "Ah, found it!" Standing on his rear feet, the creature proceeded to start slashing at the fish with his small claws, sending several pieces all over the floor.
"Stop in the name of the Royal Knights!" The LCD screen of the register started glowing, before Hackmon literally leapt out of it to confront the intruder! "Ah-ha! An Elecmon! Just as I thought!"
"Oh no!" the Elecmon cried in panic. "Sparkling Thunder!" the Digimon intoned, shooting an electric bolt at Hackmon, who cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor! Elecmon then made a break for the exit, only to be disoriented as the lights suddenly kicked on. "Gah-! My eyes!" He stopped to rub them, blinking to get rid of the spots...
...which cleared to show Sistermon Noir standing over him, pointing a gun in his face! "I'd give up if I were you, vandal... or make my day!"
"No, don't shoot! I'm so very sorry!" Elecmon wailed as he bowed his head to the floor in surrender. "I-I was just trying to find my friend...!"
"Well, you gotta funny way of doing it," Hackmon grunted as he came up from behind. "I'm guessing your friend's a Salamon?"
"Y-yeah, that's right!" Elecmon dared to lift his head back up. "I know that sal-mon wasn't the same thing, but I thought maybe I could get his attention or something...!"
"Given how many fish stands you've destroyed with no results, your idea clearly isn't working," Noir deadpanned, lowering her gun slightly.
"But I don't know what else to do! This city is so big, I've got no idea where to start looking...!" Elecmon cried, tears at the corners of his eyes. "He can't really defend himself, I'm so worried...!"
"Okay, okay, take it easy," Hackmon said as he walked around to look Elecmon in the eye. "Look, we only came after you for messing up the fish stands... if you need help finding your friend, we know someone who can help! Right, Noir?"
"Yes, that's right," Noir nodded as she relaxed completely. "But in return, you and your friend will have to leave this city and never come back. Don't worry, we'll show you the way out."
"Y... you'll help me? Really?" Elecmon said in mild disbelief.
"Sure! Master always said to never ignore someone in need!" Hackmon asserted with a nod. "We'll contact Miss Kuremi in the morning, I'm sure she can help..."
"But you're staying under our strict supervision, understand? No running off on your own!" Noir asserted.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Elecmon bowed again in gratitude. "And I promise, no more wrecking sal-mon displays!"
"It's 'sammin'," Hackmon muttered.
*The next morning*
"I see... so this is the culprit, is it?" Kyoko said as she looked down at Elecmon, flanked by Hackmon and Sister Noir. "So you were just trying to find your friend Salamon, like Hackmon thought?"
"Yeah, that's right! Can you help me find him?" Elecmon pleaded.
"Well, first, I need to know what this Salamon looks like," Kyoko requested.
"Um, well... he's small, white, and cute," Elecmon responded. "Big blue eyes and floppy ears... oh, and a big golden collar!"
"It looks like a puppy, if that helps," Noir supplied.
"All right, let me check the security camera footage nearby the portal... Oracle Jinguji gave me an uplink to it, just in case," kyoko said, heading over to the computer and sitting down, typing away at the computer. "How long ago did you arrive?"
"Uh, about four... maybe five days ago?" Elecmon guessed.
"Okay, let me check the footage from five days ago..." Kyoko muttered as she brought up the camera footage, beginning to fast-forward through it... "Nothing yet... wait, here we go." She stopped and rewound a bit, Noir and Elecmon coming around the desk to look. "Here we go. Ah, you arrived at night, no wonder you were disoriented..."
"Yeah, and then someone yelled at us, so we ran for it... in different directions," Elecmon sighed.
"Yes, I can see that," Kyoko nodded as she stopped the footage, pointing to a small white creature. "Is this your friend?"
"Yeah, that's him!" Elecmon nodded vigorously. "But how can you figure out where he is now?"
"Well, if he ran off in that direction... let me see," Kyoko muttered as she backed out of the footage and began typing away again. "Let's see if there's any cameras in that general direction... here we go." she brought up another camera feed, showing an empty side street. "Let's see if your friend went this way..." Jumping to the night of arrival, she began to fast forward... "Ah, wait." She stopped and rewound a little before playing at normal speed, showing Salamon cowering before a dark-skinned gang member, before said gangster kneeled down, hesitating for a moment... then he picked up Salamon and walked off to the left, the little Digimon struggling to no avail.
"He kidnapped my friend!" Elecmon cried in distress. "But why?!"
"Well, he probably thought Salamon was just a stray puppy," Noir pointed out. "Even scum like him have a soft spot for cute critters, it seems..."
"He probably wanted to keep Salamon as a pet," Kyoko added. "Which means there's a good chance he's still alive..."
"We gotta go save him!" Elecmon yelled impatiently.
"Now, now, don't you worry, we will," Noir waved at him in a 'down, boy' motion. "But we have to careful... these fools have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. I'm certain that I'm faster on the draw, but even so..."
"Those guns don't do much to me," Hackmon spoke up. "How about Elecmon stays here while we go ask those punks about any puppies they've found?"
"You should probably let Sistermon Ciel and Miss Noire know, see if they can help you out," Kyoko suggested.
"We'll give them a call before we head out," Noir concurred. "Mind if we borrow your phone?"
*Later, in the alleys...*
Sistermon Noir walked down a back street, trying to look casual, but keeping her eyes peeled for any gangsters... rounding a corner, she saw a group of three hanging out by an abandoned storefront. "Hello, there~!" she called sweetly. "I've lost my dear little puppy, perhaps you gentlemen can help me?"
"Hubba, hubba," one of gangsters looked over Noir lustfully, he and his buddies standing up straight.
"Oh, we could help you... for a price," the second gangster grinned knowingly.
"My body is not for sale," Noir said disdainfully... only to gasp as the third gangster suddenly pulled out a gun.
"You sure about that, lady?" the armed gangster taunted. But then he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning- and getting slammed in the face by Ciel's sheathed sword!
"What the hell?!" the other gangsters gasped as they turned to the new arrival- but then Bao Hackmon tackled the first one from behind, while Noir used her gun to shoot the second, causing him to fall to the street holding his leg!
"Now then..." Noir smiled dangerously as she walked up to the thug she'd shot, pointing her gun in his face. "I'll ask you again- have you or your friends seen any small white puppies come through here around 4-5 days ago?"
"I don't know nothin'!" the thug insisted despite his pain.
"Ah, wait!" the first gangster yelled. "Jack said he found a puppy-!"
"Hackmon, ease up," Noir ordered, her fellow Digimon backing off a little but keeping the man's legs pinned. "What did your friend Jack do with this puppy?"
"He said somethin' 'bout giving it to his girlfriend," the first thug grunted. "But then they went an' broke up two days ago! I don't know what happened with the dog...!"
"So where's Jack now?" Noir pressed.
"Probably in his apartment! Bar don't open 'til 4, or else he'd be drownin' his sorrows! Two blocks west of here...!"
"Thank you," Noir said curtly, before kicking the man in the face to knock him out, Ciel doing the same with the second thug. "Looks like we didn't need Steamax after all."
"Yet," Ciel corrected. "Let's hurry and find this Jack, and hope he didn't give Salamon away already..."
So the party headed off to the block in question, finding a run-down apartment building. Outside the door, they saw a depressed gangster sitting on the sidewalk with a half-empty bottle of booze in hand. "Mr. Jack?" Noir ventured hesitantly.
"Huh? Aw, no..." the black man groaned, his head rolling around. "Come on, I know you're not my girl (hic) she left me and (hic) ain't comin' back..."
"...I don't think he's going to be much help," Noir sweat-dropped.
"He's drunk out of his mind," Steamax spoke up, causing Ciel to jump a little. "Sorry, Sister."
"I-it's fine, it's fine, I knew you were with us," Ciel sighed with a hand to her chest. "Listen, perhaps you could sneak in and look for you-know-who... Noir and I will keep this man occupied. Hackmon, you keep a lookout for any sober gangsters."
"Got it. They won't get past my sniffer!" Hackmon nodded.
"But what will we do?" Noir asked her twin.
"Make him think he's seeing a drunk vision," Ciel lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just do a silly dance or something..." Noir nodded in assent, the two beginning to jump and twirl around...
"Aw, c'mon (hic) go away!" Jack groaned, hurling the bottle at the sisters, Noir nimbly dodging it as it smashed apart on the street, spilling its contents all over. "Man, (hic) I wanna rather see th' pink elephants (hic) than this..."
By this time, Steamax was already gone...
*Inside the apartment*
The cyborg ninja checked through every door that wasn't locked, banking on the assumption that the gangster was too drunk to lock up anything... When he opened the fourth door on the right, he hit pay dirt. There, in a tiny cage, was a small white puppy with a golden collar, seemingly asleep. (Found him. Now, where's the latch...?) Approaching the cage, he saw the latch on the other side, against the wall... (He must have tried to escape before,) Steamax mused. Gently pulling the cage away from the wall, he pulled the latch open, then the cage door... "Come on, wake up," he said quietly, gently shaking the cage.
"I don't wanna go..." Salamon groaned as he slowly roused. The puppy Digimon's eyes slowly blinked open, looking up at Steamax... "AAAAAAHHH! It's gonna kill me!" In a panic he scrambled out of the cage, jumping up and through the window before Steamax could grab him!
"Wait!" Steamax called after the puppy to no avail. Realizing he couldn't fit through said window in his armor, he went back into the hallway and shouted toward the entrance, "I found him, but he got spooked and went out the window!"
"Wha- HEY! Who the (bleep)'s in my hou-OOF!" Before Jack could do anything, both Ciel and Noir had tackled him to the pavement! "What the (bleep)?! You're real?!"
"Hackmon! Go after Salamon!" Noir ordered. "We'll keep this guy pinned!"
"I'm on it!" Hackmon yelled as he took off, dashing down the street. Seeing no sign of Salamon, he made a right- and saw a white blur vanish around a corner! (There he is!) But then he heard barking, three big dogs also giving chase! (Oh, crud, not good!) "Digivolve to Bao Hackmon!" he cried, transforming in a flash of light, pouring on the speed...
"Oh, no!" Salamon cried as he realized he was being chased. Maiking a quick left, he found himself running into fence too high for him to climb! "No!" He tried to hide himself behind a trash can as the feral dogs closed in...
But then a silver blur leapt between the dogs and Salamon, resolving into Bao Hackmon, who growled at the dogs menacingly... the dogs didn't take kindly to the interruption, growling back before suddenly dogpiling on the interloper! Fortunately their claws and bites couldn't penetrate Bao Hackmon's tough hide, the Champion retaliating with several bites on one dog's leg. After a few more seconds of struggle he managed to get free of the dogpile long enough to smack a dog with his front claws, causing it to smash into a trash can, the dog wailing as it ran off, having had enough.
Now with only two dogs to contend with, Bao Hackmon fended one off with his tail blade while biting and clawing at the other. The dog at the rear tried to punce on him, but Hackmon shifted his weight and threw it onto the other one, before drawing blood from both with his claws! The two dogs finally realized they were outmatched, getting to their feet and turning tail, Bao Hackmon chasing them a short distance to ensure they weren't coming back. "Serves you right, jerks!" he yelled after them, before turning back and walking towards Salamon. "Hey, you okay?"
"Nooo! Don't eat me!" Salamon squeaked in terror.
"Oh, come on..." Hackmon sighed, reverting to his Rookie form. "Here, see? I'm not so scary now, am I? Calm down already!"
Salamon didn't look entirely convinced. "B-but why were you chasing me...?"
"I'm here on behalf of your friend Elecmon. He's been looking all over for you, you know," Hackmon replied.
"Elecmon?!" Salamon gasped. "You found him? Where is he?!"
"Ah... he's locked up at the Basilicom," Hackmon averted his gaze. "See, he caused a lot of trouble by destroying fish stands with what he thought was your name on them, except it's actually a type of fish around here..."
"But... even if I wasn't locked up, I can't read!" Salamon shook his head. Just then, he saw Ciel jogging up, rearing back a little... "Behind you!"
"Huh?" Hackmon turned his head to look. "Aw, it's okay, she's one of us. What happened with that Jack guy?"
"Noir managed to knock him out, she's keeping an eye on him just in case," the nun responded. "Oh, you found Salamon! Hello, I'm Sistermon Ciel. Are you okay, little one?"
"Yeah... this Hackmon fought off some big creatures that were gonna eat me!" Salamon said, briefly shaking with fear of what might have happened otherwise. "Are you going to take me to Elecmon?"
"Yes, we will, and then we'll get you two back home, all right?" Ciel said in a soothing voice.
"Yeah, but... isn't Blanc still in the hospital?" Hackmon pointed out. "How are we gonna open the portal without her?"
"Oh, phooey, I knew I was forgetting something..." Ciel lamented, putting a hand to her head. "...Well, we can probably take care of these two for a few days, until she gets discharged..."
"Who's Blanc?" Salamon asked.
"My little sister. She got beat up when we were ambushed by a really bad Digimon," Ciel explained. "That's another reason we were looking for you- so the bad Digimon didn't get you first."
"Yeah, you're lucky that gangster caught you instead," Hackmon nodded. "Anyway, we should get out of here before that guy's buddies or more hungry dogs show up..."
"I can carry you if you're still tired," Ciel offered.
"Okay, sure," Salamon agreed, letting the Sistermon pick him up...
*Lastation Basilicom*
"SALAMON!" Elecmon cried upon seeing his friend being carried in, Ciel setting the puppy Digimon down so Elecmon could hug him in gratitude. "Are you okay? I looked all over for you..."
"I'm fine... ew, Elecmon, you smell like fish!" Salamon wrinkled his nose, eliciting chuckles from Hackmon and Noir. "You need a bath!"
"Uh-uh, no way! I hate baths!" Elecmon exclaimed as he let go. "I always zap myself in the water!"
"Well, just be glad you're not a toaster, then!" Noir quipped, doubling over with laughter.
"Um, what's a toaster?" Salamon asked, utterly confused.
"I apologize for my sister's bad joke," Ciel said as she put a hand over her face in embarrassment.
"The point is that dropping a toaster in a bath can kill a person," Hackmon elaborated.
"That's not funny!" both Salamon and Elecmon cried in unison.
"Why do you think I apologized?" Ciel sighed. "Anyway, we'll see if we can find a way to ground you, Elecmon, so we can clean you without getting shocked."
"Ground me? I hope you don't mean burying me in the ground!" Elecmon said.
"Of course not! That would make you even dirtier!" Salamon pointed out.
"Pfffft, now that's funny!" Hackmon couldn't help but chuckle.
A short distance away, Noire was watching the scene with Kei and Kyoko. "Well, glad it's all's well that ends well this time," she mused. "Good thing Hackmon caught that news broadcast; who knows what might have happened to that little puppy otherwise..."
"Indeed, and smart of him to consult you for assistance, Miss Kuremi," Kei said to the detective. "I do believe that we'll be calling upon your services in the future."
"I appreciate that, Oracle, Miss Noire," Kyoko nodded. "Ah, not to be rude, but I don't work for free, you know..."
"I have already prepared a payment for you," Kei stated, pulling a box from seemingly nowhere. "It's not money, but this should serve you well, regardless."
"Well, thank you..." Kyoko said with uncertainty as she accepted the box, opening it... "What the... bras?"
"A set of seven, one for each day of the week," Kei said stoically. "I made certain to get as close to your cup size as possible. You did mention to Sister Ciel that you could not afford these, correct?"
"If it were anyone other than you, Kei, I'd think this was a sarcastic joke of some sort," Noire sweat-dropped.
"Well, regardless, I believe that this joke has officially run it's course," Kyoko sighed and shook her head.
And so another day passed in Lastation...
*Episode 7- End*