And we're back after thankfully not TOO long this time, continuing Pierce's adventure through the game.
As for what happens in this chapter, well, let's take a look and see, shall we?
Miralce Quest - Part 4
"How long have we been on Floor 20 again?" Pierce sighed, leaning against a lamp post after they stepped out of their house.
"Over a month at least." Annette said with a frown "It's been roughly two months since the death game started… I'm starting to think he might have somehow upgraded the size of the floor."
"That takes a lot of coding to do… guy's either a genius or we're gonna run into buggy areas… I don't know which would be better." Veemon said with a wince.
"Yeah… I just know I hate this." Pierce sighed "Fuck… two months… have the others beaten Cinder up yet? Have they caught Lionheart? Managed to stop BlackWarGreymon's rampage?"
"Well… on the bright side, and don't give me that look, there is one!" Annette said, cutting off Pierce's look when he gave her a look that screamed 'what fucking bright side?' "On the bright side, we found the Digimental temple last night finally, it was just too late to clear it. So how about for today, we relax a bit, do some prep, then go tackle it so you two can piss off Akiyoshi some more huh? I know that can cheer you up."
"I mean… I guess… but I still worry about the others… god… do they think I'm dead?" he said sadly.
"With how crazy the Digital World can get, I get the feeling they wouldn't think we're dead," Veemon said. "I mean…that sounds just way too…normal…for our usual fare," he sweat dropped at the end.
"Listen to your partner on this one." Annette told him, grinning a bit "I'm sure they all think you're still alive, and they're waiting for you to come back, and I bet your girlfriend's gonna plant a big ol wet one once she grabs onto you." she said, nudging him with her elbow as she winked playfully.
Despite himself Pierce couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that one. "Yeah, she would do something like that," he said. "Thanks, Annette, that really helped."
"Anytime. Thanks for helping keep all of us alive AND getting us out of here faster," Annette chuckled. "So, what should we do for our impromptu holiday?"
"Well…there's plenty of stuff to do in a forest town so…wanna go on some of those ziplines we saw when we got here?" Veemon suggested.
"I mean, we fly regularly… but ziplines are still pretty cool." Pierce admitted with a smile after thinking about it a bit.
"Alright, let's go and actually have some fun for once!" Annette cheered, earning laughs from Pierce and Veemon.
Taking a day to just explore the forest town and have fun for once seemed to be just what Pierce needed if you asked her.
They went down a few ziplines dotted around the town, went up a few rock climbing walls, both natural and man-made style ones, ran through some wooden obstacle courses, had a bit of a jog, and even relaxed with some fishing, even though the fish WERE all programs, they could still cook them.
Though by the afternoon, she could see the two had a bit of a forlorn look in their eyes "Something wrong guys?"
"Ah, just… reminds me a bit of when we were on File Island early on." Pierce said with a smile.
"Crazy times… but good memories." Veemon said with a chuckle.
"And I'm sure you'll be able to make even more soon," Annette chuckled.
"Yeah, we will," Pierce nodded. "What about you? What are you planning on doing once you get out of here?"
"Believe it or not? At this point I kind of look forward to going back to a normal day, the 9 to 5 included," Annette snorted. "Turns out the whole life or death situation that some people think is better than a boring day job? They REALLY don't know what they're talking about," she said, though idly adding, "Now if only I could get a freaking boyfriend too, I'd be gold."
"Why's that matter? I mean, you know, besides icky human things." Veemon asked, barely reacting when Pierce bopped him on top of the head.
"Let's just say the folks asking me if I've found someone gets old. Fast," Annette deadpanned.
"I'm gonna guess that happens often?" Pierce winced.
"Not TOO often, but often enough," Annette shrugged. "Well, even so I'm not rushing. I'd rather endure that than hook up with some guy who turns out to be a jerk."
"Probably the best way to go about it," Pierce nodded.
"Speaking of family, what about you? I got the bit of your brother being one of the other Chosen Children, but since we're talking about family, how are your parents? Got any other siblings?" Annette asked.
"Well, parents died over a decade ago, like, I barely have any memories of them." Pierce said with a shrug "My twin and I were raised by our older brother, who was a teen already when we were born. He started working jobs early to look after us."
"Oh…" Annette said, surprise clear on her face "I… sorry, didn't think you guys were orphans."
"Eh, it's fine. Besides, like I said, I barely have any memories of my parents." he said, waving off her concerns. "Besides, we found a new family in a way," he grinned.
Annette smiled a bit at that. "Found family IS always sweet," she said, remembering the various found family stories she'd read in the past.
"What about you?" Veemon asked. "I know you said you have your parents, but you have any siblings?"
"Nah, I'm an only child. Its kind of why my folks worry about me so much," Annette chuckled. "I don't DISLIKE it, since its just proof they care, but as I said, it can get old fast."
"But you care for them like they care for you all the same," Pierce said, earning an amused chuckle from Annette.
The next day found the trio standing in front of a huge tree with the Crests of Love and Purity carved into the bark on each side "So, I gotta ask… does the game have all the Digimentals?" Pierce wondered, looking up at how tall the tree was.
"Well, all the ones that showed up in the anime from what most players assume." Annette said "From what one dataminer said during the beta, the game has the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope and Light. The data for Miracles didn't seem to be present during the beta phase, but if it is now, it'll probably be on a very high floor."
"What about the Digimentals of Determination, Compassion, Redemption and Fate? Or, heck, even just the Digimental of Kindness." Veemon asked.
"I've… never heard of the first four, though Fate sounds like it might be the same as the movie and card game exclusive one, though I think they called it Destiny, and yes, I know, basically the same thing." Annette said.
"I mean, we kind of flip flop on what we call Oren's crest." Pierce shrugged "Fate and Destiny are basically the same concept and can be used as interchangeable words, so really we just say whichever word pops into our head first."
"Right. As for Kindness… well, the evolutions it canonically gives are… not the best." Annette said with a wince.
"What are you talking about? When Wormmon uses it he turns into Tetermon, and he's great." Veemon asked her in confusion.
Annette blinked at that "Wait, so… he doesn't turn into Bucchiemon?"
Pierce rose an eyebrow at that, looking up said Digimon on his analyzer and frowning in confusion "Not at all… I don't even see how that one would make sense, it doesn't look like a Wormmon wearing armor at all."
"Yeah tell that to the designers." she sighed "Still… the fact you guys got something different… and I guess Prairiemon and Chamelemon aren't too bad as evolutions… maybe he added it to the game, who knows?" she said with a shrug.
"Guess we'll find out as we climb the floors then." Pierce said, looking back at the temple, "Well, let's focus on getting Yang and Ruby's ones for now then."
With that, the three of them walked forward, heading up into the temple proper, though Veemon squinted a bit as he looked further up the stairs "Looks like there's other people here too."
"Makes sense. We unlocked the temple's waypoint the other day, so people have probably been coming here since yesterday to get their own Digimental." Annette figured.
"Speaking of that actually, last time you saved your Digimental until you found something that could evolve into Thunderbirmon, what about here though?" Pierce asked her curiously.
"I got a Digimon prepped for this one a while back actually." Annette said with a grin "I already know which Digimental I'm grabbing."
"Well, that'll make things faster then," Pierce chuckled. With that said, the group soon made their way to the Temple, the other players already present soon noticing them. Of course…
"Hey, isn't that Pierce?" one of them spoke up when they noticed them.
"Wait, seriously? He's here?!" another gasped.
"I thought he'd have already cleared this Temple by now," a third gasped, and well…yeah. They were quickly swarmed by curious Players.
"You'd think I'd be used to being famous by now." Pierce said with a sweat drop.
"Since you're here, which of the Digimentals are you aiming for?" one of the players asked.
"One of them? I bet he's gonna get both of them," another said. "How did you do that anyway?"
"Forget that, how did you get so high leveled so quickly?" a third one asked.
Pierce weighed his options here… before he decided on what he was going to do "Honestly? I hacked. Akiyoshi doesn't deserve that we play by his rules as soon as he decided to make this a death game. I'll take a penalty once he's arrested and the game falls into better hands if it means I get to save as many people as possible."
Annette nodded in approval of his decision, knowing he was lying, but also knowing it was for the best to tell the people this and just let them think everything was a deadly game rather than a multiversal clusterfuck.
There were a few murmurs, but generally the players seemed to agree with the sentiment, and she could have sworn she heard someone mutter 'Why didn't I think of that?'.
"How'd you hack the system? And how can WE do the same?" one of the players quickly asked.
"Eh…technically I had outside help. A few of my friends are hacking geniuses and they assisted me in breaking the game open from the outside before the bastard managed to patch my communications with them out." he said, which technically wasn't fully wrong.
Weiss and Oren were basically master hackers when they worked together in regards to the Digital World.
"Darn," the player who asked snapped their fingers. "Well, if you're here, then go right ahead first. Better you get the Digimentals sooner than later…just as soon as the group already in is finished," they said, seeing as the temple was still closed off to show someone else was in there already.
"Eh… might not be a good idea for me to go in before you guys. From what we heard it took like a week before the Courage and Friendship Digimentals popped back up in Floor 10, right?" Pierce said "Tell you what, how about we all go in together and you all pick yours first before I grab mine?"
There were a few murmurs but ultimately those of agreement, as indeed, it seemed the game needed to compensate for the part of both Digimentals being taken away. Either way, for now they had some time, so Pierce continued to humor the players who were asking him questions. However, a small oddity soon came in the form of a particular player coming up to him.
It was an older woman, one with fair skin and short black hair, wearing some heavy looking armor over her clothes. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you," she said with a small smile. "I'm Lindsey, from Safe Haven."
"Safe Haven? As in the Guild that's basically been responsible for keeping a LOT of players alive?" Annette couldn't help but ask.
"The very same," Lindsey chuckled. "First I'd like to offer our gratitude. Your actions have helped us a lot in setting up areas for players to take refuge, as well as allow us to progress much faster. That's also why I'd like to extend an invitation to join our Guild," she said.
The murmurs from the other players picked up at that, talking about how if Pierce joined the guild it would become an unstoppable force, though he just sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, uh… I don't think so. I'm fine working with you guys, but right now we've got a good fast pace going, it's just this dang floor that's being a pain, so better if me and Annette keep being a small party rushing through things." he said, and noticed that Veemon was shrugging up at him with a 'what can you do?' look, making him smile a bit at his partner.
Lindsey blinked a bit but ultimately nodded. "Fair enough. Even if our main concern is keeping as many people alive as possible, we still get bogged down from time to time. Still, the offer is open for whenever you change your mind, though I'll assume that'll be once we hit the later floors."
"We'll keep it in mind, thanks," Pierce nodded. Right as he said that, the temple doors opened, the previous players walking out, all looking proud of themselves.
"Looks like that's our cue, let's go people!" Pierce said, walking ahead with Veemon and Annette and gesturing to the large group to follow him, to which the large group did.
As they explored through the temple, they, obviously, ended up triggering several traps with such a large group, ranging from darts fired from the walls, spears coming up from the ground, trap doors leading into spiked pits, and everything else of the sort, until they reached a large chamber… where nothing happened.
"Huh… that's weird… this should be the boss chamber." Annette said in confusion "We're supposed to fight a Birdramon and Togemon here, but… they aren't showing up."
"That's rather suspicious yes." Lindsey frowned, pulling a heavy looking mace out of her inventory while also summoning a Digimon, a Golemon.
Veemon frowned, looking around carefully, before nudging Pierce, making him look down to see Veemon talking to him in sign language, saying 'No other Digimon around.' making him nod "I think we're clear for now, but stay on your guards everyone." he spoke up to all the others.
He and Veemon had decided to practice their sign language over the last month they'd been here, just in case they needed to talk while others were around, so he was glad they'd gotten the hang of it.
With that, the group silently moved across the boss area, heading for the door in the back and pushing them open, and there in the final room were two altars where the Digimentals of Love and Purity were sitting.
"Finally." one of the players said, before the majority of the group ran ahead and started picking out which Digimental they wanted, some discussing with others because of them wanting to do tag team effects apparently.
"So, which one you picking?" Pierce asked Annette curiously as they hanged back, even watching Lindsey pick up a Purity Digimental.
In response, Annette grinned, before she went up to the pedestals once a few of the players cleared away, picking up a Love Digimental as she walked back towards Pierce "This one here, as for the lucky mon that gets to use it…" she trailed off, activating her Digivice before a Patamon appeared floating next to her.
"That is… really uncanny." Veemon muttered, looking up at the fake Patamon.
"Oh, right, one of your group has this one." Annette blinked, remembering them talking about Blake, before she shook her head "Anyway, watch what happens." she said, before letting the Patamon absorb the Digimental of Love, before a bright flash of evolution later, and there stood a weird, four legged bat creature with several hooks on its body.
"The heck is this thing?" Pierce asked with a bemused look.
"Pipismon, Patamon's Love Armor Evo, his special attack is Crazy Sonic, letting him rupture the enemy's sensory organs with a high pitched shriek." Annette explained with a grin.
"So… basically you can use him to confuse and disorient enemies, nice." Pierce understood with a smirk.
"Hey, I think that's everyone." Veemon suddenly whispered, making Pierce pause as he looked to the large group, before he nodded, he and Veemon stepping up, him going to the Digimental of Love, while Veemon grabbed onto the Digimental of Purity.
He smiled a bit as he looked down at it, thinking of Yang "I'll be home one day, don't you worry." he whispered, before he grabbed onto it, and pulled it off the pedestal at the same time Veemon did his, the two Digimentals soon turning into light and flying into his Scroll.
There were a few murmurs at that, most notably some of the players saying 'so THAT'S what happened on Floor 10' and other such things, making Pierce chuckle a bit while Veemon smirked slightly. With that done, the group soon made their way back to the exit, but as they entered the room where they had expected to fight the Bosses, suddenly the room sealed them in. "Oh, so this time the Bosses come AFTER we get the Digimentals," Pierce mused.
"Not the usual bosses though." Annette said in worry as she looked up, prompting all other players to do the same and gasp as they saw a Garudamon and Lillymon flying down.
"Of course he stepped up the difficulty." Pierce sighed in annoyance, even as he pulled his Scroll out "Well, let's not give them too many chance, let's go Veemon!" he shouted as he ran ahead with his partner, the two grinning as Pierce pressed the icon for the Digimental of Purity "Digimental Up!"
(Play "Break Up!")
The Crest of Purity manifested in the void as it spun, followed by Veemon and the Digimental of Purity entered, the three forming a triangular formation. "Veemon, Armor Evolution!" Veemon called out as the three came together, and a burst of light and grass/petals came forth as Veemon was covered in a flurry of plant petals which took on a rough shape while behind him a faded image of Palmon appeared, followed by Togemon, then Lilymon, and finally Rosemon. A burst of wind ensued as the petals were dispersed, revealing his new form. A white cloth top with the crest of Purity printed on the back, with what looked like hakama pants made out of leaves over his legs with his tail coming out the top part, his clawed feet bare, a leaf mask covering the upper half of his face with his ears a lot longer and hanging down, with shoulder guards made out of more leaves hanging off his shoulders, and resting at his hip was a katana with a cross guard shaped like a four pointed shuriken, which he soon drew, giving a few practice swings and settling in a ready stance. "Wandering Purity! Roninmon!"
Digimon Analyzer: Roninmon
Roninmon. Data Type. An Armor Level Warrior Digimon. A Veemon that evolved through the power of the Digimental of Purity, gaining enhanced control over plants thanks to it. Digimon that don the power of this Digimental will obtain power over nature itself, as well as the ability to generate natural bladed weaponry in the form of blades of various types and throwing stars. Special attacks are Sky Cutter, where the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi he carries extends as far as he wills it to strike the enemy, and Storm Blade, creating a storm of grass blades all around himself and his opponents, before cutting through it all.
Roninmon wasted no time as he dashed forward, closing the distance quickly and leaped at the two enemy Digimon. "This still feels kind of weird," he couldn't help but say, but ultimately reminded himself these weren't his friends as he readied his blade "Storm Blade!" as a blizzard of grass blades suddenly emerged from his sleeves, hiding himself, Garudamon and Lillymon from view… before a huge slash suddenly cut through it all, causing the grass to disperse as the two bosses both reeled back from the sudden damage.
The two of them however quickly recovered and countered with their own attacks, but Roninmon quickly zipped around the attacks, his light armor allowing him to quickly evade the attacks, and closing the distance to strike at them again, quickly jumping on Garudamon, landing a few strikes, before leaping off of it and nailing Lilymon with a passing strike.
"Woah… that's really cool!" one of the players said in awe.
"It's kinda weird though, I mean, shouldn't have Veemon evolved into Yaksamon? Sure, this Roninmon guy is cool as heck, but… it's not what's normally supposed to happen." another player said thoughtfully.
"Meh, who cares about that, this is cooler than Yaksamon, plus he's actually wearing parts of the Digimental! Now I'm kinda hoping Pierce's Veemon is some kind of weird hacker gift from his friends that they made OC Digimon for." a third player grinned.
Pierce heard them and couldn't help but chuckle a bit, but ultimately didn't say anything as he readied Pandora X and soon joined in, firing on the two without hesitation, causing their agro to become split between him and Roninmon. However, as was their programming, they soon put more focus on Pierce, prioritizing the Tamers over the Digimon. Exactly what they were hoping as that gave Roninmon the opening to hit them from behind. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to follow Bushido," Pierce joked.
"I never signed anything official," Roninmon snorted, right as he used Garudamon as a springboard to get back to Pierce. "But if it's such a problem, I could always change uniform," he said.
Pierce chuckled at that "Let's do it. Since you clearly got something different from Yaksamon, time to see what's different from Sethmon." Pierce said as Roninmon turned back to Veemon, before he triggered the Digimental of Love "Digimental Up!"
The void manifested again, now with the Crest of Love, Veemon and the Digimental of Love soon joining as well. "Veemon, Armor Evolution!" Veemon called out as the three came together. A burst of pink light and wind came forth as Veemon's form was covered in a thick veil of wind, creating an outline. Behind him an image of Biyomon appeared, followed by Birdramon, then Garudamon, and finally Phoenixmon. Another burst of light occurred as the winds dispersed, a form flying through the air in a spin before coming to a stop, revealing his new form. His body had gotten a lot taller and more lean, his arms encased in the silver armor of the digimental and now being a pair of large, metallic wings, a small chest plate with the crest of love on his upper chest, a silver helmet covering his head, with his ears encased in smaller metallic wings, a small horn on his now metallic snout, silver knee pads protecting his kneecaps, and his tail now being much longer as well "Soaring Love! Wyvernmon!"
Digimon Analyzer: Wyvernmon
Wyvernmon. Vaccine Type. An Armor Level Dragon Digimon. A Veemon that evolved through the power of the Digimental of Love, gaining power over wind thanks to this Digimental. Digimon that don the power of this Digimental will gain the power to soar across the skies for days on end, never stopping the chase for the wicked. Special attacks are Typhoon Buster, firing a whirlwind blast from his mouth, and Blade Wing, flying rapidly and cutting the enemy apart with his sharp wings.
Pierce didn't need any prompting and got on Wyvernmon's back, the two immediately taking to the air, Pandora X raised high as they soon charged straight at the two enemy Digimon.
"Oh damn, I HAVE to take a screenshot," one player said as they did just that, capturing the sight of a warrior riding on a wyvern while wielding a spear. Either way the battle was quickly resumed as Wyvernmon proved to be even faster than Roninmon, quickly flying circles around Lilymon and Garudamon could barely keep up.
"Blade Wing!" Wyvernmon called out as his wings seemed to gain a gleam as he weaved in and out of the two enemies, dealing damage each time his wings struck. At the same time, Pierce shifted Pandora X and opened fire every chance he did, the two enemy Digimon trying and failing to hit their target. Eventually after whittling away at their health, the two positioned themselves where they could have a clear shot and… "Typhoon Buster!" Wyvernmon called out, firing the powerful blast of wind, right as Pierce opened fire with a flamethrower, the two attacks mixing…and quite literally roasting the two enemy Digimon who couldn't take it anymore and burst into data.
(End song)
"And that's that." Pierce said with a grin as he and Wyvernmon landed back on the ground, before his partner reverted back to normal and the two of them high-fived.
Everyone present paused for a moment, before cheers erupted at the sight. It wasn't so much a fight as a one sided victory for Pierce. As that was happening, Annette couldn't help but smile a bit, happy to see the rise in morale, as well as the sight of Pierce and Veemon growing stronger.
If there was one thing the group as a whole felt, it was a roaring feeling of hope. Hope that they could make it through this.
"I know you gave us your answer, but are you SURE you don't want to join Safe Haven at the moment?" Lindsey asked again as everyone had exited the Temple.
"Pretty sure. Like I said, we'll definitely keep Safe Haven in mind, but right now we're just a lot faster acting on our own," Pierce nodded, as behind him Annette was on Wyvernmon's back.
"Very well then. Keep up the good work, I think its not an exaggeration to say you're the hope for a LOT of Players," Lindsey nodded.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything stupid," Pierce chuckled as he soon got on Wyvernmon as well. "See ya," he said before the were soon soaring through the air, ready to find their next target… which ended up being rather soon as an alert went out the boss arena was found, and the three of them let out a loud "FINALLY!" as they zoomed off towards it.
Time for them to really kick this game's ass.
And there!
Yeahp, rather than the canon evolutions, Veemon is going to get our very own personally made ones that make a bit more sense in terms of how his body changes for it.
Namely, here we get Roninmon for Purity, and Wyvernmon for Love.
As well, we're establishing the game a bit more, and people are starting to group up more, kind of like in SAO... except here nobody's gonna get mad at someone hacking when they're just trying to save people.
Seriously, that's one thing that was really dumb about SAO.
But I'm not here to complain, instead, please, enjoy and look forward to the next chapter, because...
The Adventure Evolves.