INTRO EVENT: Dawn Of A New Age

[tamerunion]

The story which has begun to revolve at full speed
Dyes the earth red
The globe is an empty paradise
Let's save it with our hands...

A new day dawns in the Digital World. Technically, it's been a scant few since Tamers first appeared in the Digital World, but today... today is especially momentous. The reason for that is that today is the day that Tamer Union's mission fully begins in earnest. However, the path ahead will not be easy, and will be fraught with danger for human and Digimon alike.

But maybe, just maybe, these disparate people can work together to save their worlds.

Mission Start
The message is sent through on Tamers' digivices early in the morning. It comes from the leaders of Tamer Union, Sunflowmon and Nanomon, who give the directions to gather in the main assembly area of the HQ. When Tamers arrive, they'll find a group of allied Digimon there; essentially, TU's support staff, as well as Panjyamon, Mummymon, and Bitmon. The reason they give... is that it's time for Tamer Union's mission to begin in earnest.

Once everyone is assembled, it's Sunflowmon who speaks first. "Thank you for gathering here today, everyone," she said. "I apologize for the fact that it's taken this long to bring you all together, but we're ready to discuss Tamer Union's mission. Nanomon?"

Nanomon nods, and walks out in front of her. "Hello," he began. "You are all here because you chose to answer our call. All of your worlds are being plagued by some sort of phenomena, and we know that something in this world is the cause of it. We'd like to talk to you about what where we'd like to start focusing our attention."

He took a deep breath, and began explaining the matter of the strange phenomenon known as "Alias". A horrifying, frightful condition that drives Digimon to savagery, where they loose all sense of themselves and become ravenous monsters. He explains that the phenomenon first appeared on the mainland, and that Sunflowmon's master, Rosemon, sent her to restore Tamer Union in an attempt to solve what was truly behind Alias's sudden appearance.

Once Nanomon was finished, Sunflowmon stepped forward, and began to speak solemnly.

"Unfortunately, by the time we managed to bring you all here, Access Island lost contact with the mainland," she explained. "So our ability to pursue this mission is at present quite limited. What we can do right now is do our best to try and make sure that Alias doesn't spread and take over this island... which is why we need you Tamers to be vigilant and patrol the areas of the island that are open to us to determine if Alias has reached Access Island yet or not."

She frowned, and continued. "Furthermore... Tamers are not yet allowed into all areas of the island. The Digimon of each region aren't all sure they can trust you yet. For that reason, you may only be able to use the Trailmon to visit Panorama Plains, Material Jungle, and Pixel Coast.

"I'm sorry. I know after all this, you must all want to get down to business as quickly as we can. But right now, informing you and asking you to stay vigilant is all we can do. I would advise you all to also try and see what you can do to be helpful in the city... and if you want to try building a life here, you'll have our full support."

There looked to be so much more Sunflowmon wished to say. Unfortunately, she had run out of words, so she simply concluded with: "That's all we have for you. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them."

With that, the meeting was over. That left Tamers with a couple options: one, to approach Sunflowmon, or discuss the matter among themselves.

A Wonderful Day In Our Neighborhood
The inaugural meeting may have been somber, but the Tamers would find Access City bustling and ready to welcome them when they ventured out into the city proper. It turned out that there was something of an event going on, which seemed to be perfect for those still trying to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings: A massive sale in the business district.

All the shops were coordinating with one another. Stores had their wares at reduced prices, which would be a good way for one to spend the stipend they received from Tamer Union. Everything from food to furniture to entertainment was available, and best of all affordable. Others had free samples ready to give out, which were thankfully more palatable than the food served by Ebidramon at the welcome party.

That wasn't all. For those not concerned with buying up anything, there were shows being put on out in the streets by street performers: "human" pyramids, musicians, magicians, jugglers, just about anything you could imagine. And the Digimon putting it on? They would be quick to drag any observers into their performances, whether they technically agreed to it or not.

Even if the rest of the island wasn't ready to trust offworlders yet, it seemed Access City was more than willing to.

Rail Riders
Some time after the big meeting, Tamers would get yet another message on their Digivices, this time from Panjyamon:

Have you all taken a ride on the Trailmon yet? It's an ice way to get around!
Puns aside, he was right. The Trailmon of Console Station were more than willing to carry passengers to any of the available locations. Perhaps you want to get started on patrolling the island for signs of ALIAS. Or maybe you want to get the lay of the land. Or maybe you just want to go to the beach. In any case, your tickets are free, and the Digivice's version of the Handbook has more than enough information for you to read up on the areas before you go.

That being said, there's some goings on that might catch one's eye. A bunch of shifty looking Digimon are riding the Trailmon more than usual. Not only do they make a ruckus on the train, they're going in and out of cargo cars both prior to and upon exiting the train. Do they have permission to do that? And why are they off in such a hurry, and in such large groups?

In any case, this looks like an ample time to find out.

This prompt can be used one of two ways: players visiting the various areas to search for signs of Alias or just because they fancy doing so, or to pursue the Goblimon mystery. If you'd like to pursue the former, you can either NPC them yourself (the Goblimon would turn out to just be everyday troublemakers), or you can request an NPC below and possibly get involved with larger matters!

Comments

Takato and Guilmon

[dreamtamer]

Mission Start:
As the meeting ends, Takato looks over at Guilmon with worry. Something that made digimon lose control over themselves. Something that made them become monsters. That had happened once before, because he'd lost control over himself. If that happened to Guilmon again here...

"Guilmon..." he says worriedly. "You need to be careful, okay? I don't like the sound of this Alias thing.

Guilmon immediately leans into Takato and nudges him. "Takato always worries too much. Guilmon will be okay! Because we're together again now."

Access City
Even after the days they'd spend here, Takato still hadn't gotten used to how busy this Digital World was, compared to the one he'd known. There were whole cities here, and so many things to do.

He gets pulled by the crowd into the business district.... and immediately gets hopelessly lost. He looks down at Guilmon.

"Where do you think we should go?"

Guilmon tilts his head and considers the question seriously.

"Takato, Guilmon is hungry again. Do you think any of the stores have bread?"

Access City

[chalicejoker]

"There's a bakery over that way!" Cutemon is nosy. Cutemon has overheard that question. Cutemon is also indicating "that way" with a bit of wild flailing that could've meant anything.

And since Cutemon really doesn't need to be wandering around Access City unattended, Hajime's running after him and grabbing him. "Don't bother people."

"I wasn't bothering! I was helping!"

Re: Access City

[dreamtamer]

Guilmon immediately sniffs the air.

"Guilmon smells it! Takato! Can we go?"

"Well, I guess," Takato says a little uncertainly. He remembered the kinds of foods that had been served before.

He turns when he hears Hajime. "Its okay! He didn't bother us." He smiles. "I think he heard us wondering about directions."

[chalicejoker]

"He barely knows where he's going, let alone where anyone else is." Look, it's Hajime's duty to make sure his partner doesn't accidentally send anyone going off on a wild goose chase. Cutemon would feel very bad if he tricked someone like that, intentional or not.

"But I wanna help people!" Cutemon insists. "And I know I saw a bakery over there!" There's another wild bit of waving in a general direction that is an apparent attempt to point out a bakery.

[dreamtamer]

"Its really okay," Takato insists. "Guilmon is really good at figuring out where things are by smell." A short laugh. "Especially bread. But it still really helps having a direction to look. So thanks, Cutemon!"

Most of Guilmon's attention was on the smells. There were so many different smells in the marketplace. So many digimon and foods and things he didn't know. But he catches up in time to echo Takato.

"Thanks Cutemon." He pauses. "Do you want to come too?"

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah!" Cutemon is nothing if not enthusiastic about the possibility of making more friends. He looks up at Hajime. "Can we? Can we?"

There is really no resisting that cute little face. Hajime nods. "We could pick up something for dinner."

Mission Start!

[chainsthatbind]

Erichthonios has very little knowledge of Guilmons in general, and thus does not share Takato's creeping anxiety over things potentially going terribly awry. His concerns dwell entirely in the arena of 'contagions' and the lack of knowledge in how it operates.

"We'll all have to be careful," a voice suddenly adds, from ... above. Significantly so; it's quite possible that the towering young man can be mistaken outright for another digimon, as humans aren't generally well clear of fifteen feet tall, nor dressed head to toe in robes better suited to wizards than casual strolling about. "There may be some safety to be found in the bond between trainer and digimon, don't get too worried yet." Sure it's pure hypocrisy, because he's feeling NONE of the calm he's suggesting, but boy it sounds confident!

And there's a second Guilmon, of somewhat varied x-antibodyish appearance, currently wearing the hem of his robe like a shroud, half hidden beneath the ground-scraping black fabric.

[dreamtamer]

Takato looks up at the voice, and his eyes widen. He'd never seen a human that tall before. And another Guilmon?

But he shakes the surprise off and shakes his head.

"The bond is part of what I'm worried about. It doesn't go just one way, you know?" He was worrying already.

He looks down at Guilmon and gives him an attempt at a worried smile. "You're probably right. Its just... What if we can't stop it?"

[chainsthatbind]

"Is that so?" He glances down at his own Guilmon companion, who looks wayyy up back at him.

Their eyes are the same red. "Hm! But as we are not as instinctive as our new friends are, maybe that'll be the weight needed to keep the pendulum from swinging too far." He has no idea. Really he doesn't, all of this is completely new to him, and he's just making it up as he goes along, but he can sound like he knows pretty good!

After a long moment, Erichthonios sits right down on the ground. It puts them a little closer to the same height, and doesn't seem to disturb the hem-wearing any that's going on. "I'd like to think if we're brought here on purpose, it's because we can stop it. We just need to figure out how to. You've come across big problems before, right?"

[dreamtamer]

Takato nods. "I guess you could say that."

"We had to fight a lot!" Guilmon adds. "Some of it was really scary." He nudges Takato. "But Takato and Guilmon are strongest when we're together."

And that at last draws a smile to Takato's face.

"Yeah... you're right. If the D-Reaper couldn't stop us, we won't let this stop us either. We'll fight together, one more time."

Access City

[blue_ice]

"...what's bread?"

That's the voice of a small teal blob with tiny horns and wings, currently tucked in the arms of an exhausted teenager. He looks down at her, then over at the other Digimon and his Tamer.

"Bread is a soft food made of grains, flour, and sugar. It usually has a bland taste. People cut slices of it to pair with other foods and make a 'sandwich'. "

"So I could make a gem sandwich?" is Petitmon's helpful reply.

"...sure, why not" Kaiba sighs. He then turns to the pair. "I think the food staples are this way. But I'm not looking forward to eating the bizarre things with side effects again."

Re: Access City

[dreamtamer]

"Bread is the best thing ever!" Guilmon insists. "Especially the bread that Takato's parents make. They even made one just for Guilmon!"

Takato smiles fondly at his friend.

"He likes bread because its what I fed him when we first met," Takato explains to Petitmon. "My parents own a bakery."

He thinks a little about what Seto said. Takato wasn't too bothered by the food yet, because he figured that if the food here was really unedible to humans he could just convince himself that he didn't need to eat, like they'd done in the last Digital World.

Takato hadn't realized yet that some of the rules here were different.

"I'm sure it will be okay! Actually I thought some of the food they had before was funny."

[blue_ice]

"I had to peel Petitmon off the walls when she started bouncing from all that food," Seto grumps. Petitmon answers with a happy little giggle.

"But it was fun!"

"For you, maybe." He pats her head, then thinks on what he's just heard. "Mm. Would you recommend any specific bread from what we have here?"

[dreamtamer]

Takato just smiles fondly. "Digimon can be like that. You should see how much food Guilmon can eat at parties! Or Culumon after someone gave him sugar."

"All of it!" Guilmon immediately answers. He'd never found a kind of bread he didn't like.

Takato was slightly more reserved.

"Maybe the bread rolls?" Takato considers. "Those are easy to eat, and they should last a while."

Mission Start

[changingtheflavor]

"Does that mean we have to fight?" Was the first question that escapes Tohru's mouth as she looked over at her little friend Mokumon, who to most other Digimon they had encountered didn't seem to like them very much and it made her a little sad.

But that wasn't the point right now, the mission was and Tohru couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted.

"I mean... they are going savage, I guess but is there a way to not hurt them?" It was mostly speaking to herself as Mokumon was trying her best to at least be comforting.

"Whatever comes our way we can handle it Tohru-san~" She said happily but Tohru soon looked over slightly, still a little concerned, but deciding that right now maybe a focus elsewhere might be good.

"Can I ask waht you think about the whole thing?"

[dreamtamer]

Takato looks up from where he had lost himself in his worries.

"It sounds really bad, doesn't it?" His expression is troubled. "But... doing nothing isn't an option either. We can't just let the digimon here face this alone, if there's something we can do to help."

Beside him Guilmon nods decidedly. "Guilmon wants to help fight."

Takato copies his nod, although with some lingering uncertainty. "I think... If something like that happened to any of the digimon I know. They would want us to fight and stop them before anything worse happened."

[changingtheflavor]

Tohru herself was very much facing a dilemma. Her Digimon did say it would want to fight if needs be, but Tohru herself doesn't want her to because she doesn't ant her to get hurt. Did that mean she was being selfish for hoping there could be another way to go about it?

But what if it's the only way?

"I know we can't do nothing, I mean leaving it would be really, really bad. But I don't want anyone to get hurt either." Tohru may be mumbling a bit and the worry was clear in her voice. Mokumon herself was trying her darnest figure out how to help.

"Tohru is a very kind and gentle person, so I think she is struggling to understand that sometimes it's a good option. But I don't know how to word it."

Mokumon paused briefly as Tohru soon seemed to snap out of it before they could even try anything.

"Ah! I'm sorry... I guess I understand people wanting to help in fighting. I just... hoped there could be other ways. But you seem to have some better understanding than I do"

[dreamtamer]

"What if I make a mistake while we're fighting and my partner gets hurt? What if I'm not strong enough? I used to think like that a lot." His tone was kind. He still remembered what that felt like. "But... I realized that if Guilmon wanted to fight, then it was my job as his partner to be right by his side. I couldn't hold back because I was afraid."

Guilmon nods at this. "We're always strongest when we fight together. Guilmon likes fighting with Takato."

Takato smiles at his friend and rests a hand on his shoulder.

"One of my friends at home... He didn't like to fight either. He was always talking about how maybe the digimon had come to our world so they could do something else. But sometimes, there isn't any other choice. When its a fight for the right reasons."

Mission Start!

[lightingway]

“Takato…” Taiki frowned, and internally cursed himself. He hadn’t meant to overhear the boy’s conversation, but- well. Ears. He sighed. Too late to back out now. “I’m more than aware we’ve scarcely met, but still- you seem more worried than most, here. If there’s aught you feel it might help to discuss, I’m more than willing to lend a friendly ear.”

”Yeah, plus weren’t you just saying how there’s obviously some kinda great big monster behind it all, because there literally always is?”

Taiki snorted. “Not in so blunt words, but yes, in my experience that’s how these things have worked.”

Gazimon leaned up, prodding Takato’s arm with a clawtip. ”See? Real simple. Betcha bits to bagels we just gotta find the right great big nasty, and punch it in the face!”

“Fisticuffs? Me? Perish the thought. I think I can count the number of times I’ve had to go for a bare-knuckle brawl on one hand- I’m much more comfortable with a staff in my hand.”

[dreamtamer]

Takato makes an attempt at a smile.

"No, its okay. Really. I just... One time before I saw what can happen to digimon when you lose yourself to anger, and I don't ever want to see that happen again."

And now he was just fretting more. Because if there was a monster behind this, what if it was was much trouble as the D-Reaper had been? The others weren't here, and so many of the other people here were new to the Digital World.

"I don't know if it will be as easy as just punching something," he says worriedly. "If it was that easy, would they have needed to bring so many people in?"

If it was a problem that could be fixed through strength alone, why not just bring in the legendary heroes again?

[lightingway]

His ears perked up. That... seemed like something with a story behind it. "Do you... mind if I ask what happened? If it's so terrible, I'd certainly like to avoid it."

[dreamtamer]

Takato looks uncertain. He had never really talked to anyone about this. It had just never really come up, after. With everything else that had happened.

But when it came down to it, he wasn't really sure what to say.

But as always, Guilmon was able to find the words when he couldn't.

"One time someone we know did something really terrible. Takato got really angry and Guilmon got angry too. But even with that we weren't strong enough to stop him, so Takato asked Guilmon to evolve. But it went wrong.""

"His name was Megidramon," Takato says quietly. "And it was my fault, because I couldn't control my anger back then."

Mission Start

[songstressedout]

[ Though it wasn't intentional, she overheard Takato and Guilmon simply because she was nearby. Yeah, careful is definitely the name of the game now, huh? She can't say she's been with her partner as much as some others here, but she's gotten pretty attached to Lalamon already. She definitely doesn't wanna see Lalamon like that. ]

If we run into a Digimon affected by Alias, will we have to fight them...?

[ By the looks of it, they'll have to fight back even if the affected Digimon will apparently not become a Digi-Egg afterward... ]

[dreamtamer]

From the way it sounds, I don't know how much choice we'll have.

[They had to stop this Alias, no matter what it took. But what was the price going to be? ]

[songstressedout]

Nn...

[ Not that she hasn't fought before, but still... to think that she's still doing it now, and with Digimon instead of Duel Monsters. Though she can't really blame anyone for that, she wants to save the world, after all. She answered yes, and she's not about to take that back. ]

How awful... you're right that we probably won't have much of a choice, but...

[ She doesn't think it'll ever stick well with her... ]