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

Something something light and light

[lightingway]

Taiki had, unfortunately, been surrounded by them. Something about a man trying to teach a gazimon how to stitch seemed, somehow, to attract the attention of the small-minded and the predatory.

He raised his hands in a universal gesture of peace- though he seemed more annoyed, than anything. "Oh, not to worry, I was really just hoping to handle this without anyone getting hurt."

The goblimon nearest him sneered. "Yeh? Don't see how you've got any say in it. You an' girly over there don't look like much, an' from the way your pet keeps 'iding behind you, I'd say he ain't much of a fighter, neither. So there's three of us an' maybe one decent fighter between the four of you. I like them odds, me."

There was a chorus of jeers from the two remaining, and the viera sighed. "I really... was not talking about us. You are outnumbered, and I can't really explain to you how outmatched you are." He glanced up at the young lady who'd just entered the car, smiling amicably. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to lend a hand? I doubt the drivers would take kindly to my starting fires in here."

[thechosenslight]

Hikari didn't really know what to make about the comment about starting fires in the train, but yeah, that would probably be pretty bad. Still, she wasn't the one who was going to be physically fighting, so rather than say anything she let Tailmon answer.

Tailmon raised her paws, showing off her claws. "Yep, we'll definitely help. I'm more than a match for them."

Sure, Tailmon might have been stuck at child-level power at the moment, but it's not like the Goblimon were stronger than that and Tailmon had years of experience with fighting at this point. So Hikari wasn't worried.

"You guys really should listen to her." Hikari said after Tailmon spoke. Would they actually do so and would they get out of this situation without a fight? Probably not, but Hikari can still hope, right?

[lightingway]

Taiki smiled brightly. "There, you see? At least two people absolutely unwilling to simply roll over and let a trio of bullies like yourselves just get away with it. I don't suppose I could convince you all to simply have a seat and enjoy the ride like the rest of us? I was in the middle of something-"

This, it seemed, was all the goblimon could take. "Will you shut up- Gobli Rush!" A snarl loosed as the green digimon swung, wooden club impacting the seat Taiki had occupied only a second before, the viera jumping to the side and narrowly avoiding the strike. The black robe was swiftly replaced in a blur of light, red and white taking its place as a staff like a living branch leapt into his hand. The offender was summarily blasted away by a gust of wind.

"Shame. Would you like to join the fray, Gazimon?"

His partner, having narrowly avoided being struck by a wooden club as large as he was, did not seem enthused by the prospect. "Not really?!"

The third, meanwhile, was being proactive about things, instead deciding to lob a fireball at Tailmon in an effort to, perhaps, scare her off.

[thechosenslight]

Sorry Goblimon, but Tailmon was more than used to dealing with having fireballs thrown at her. Or trying to whack at her head with a club for that matter. So instead of being scared off, Tailmon just ducked and weaved through the train aisle a little, the ball of fire slamming against the floor harmlessly.

Hikari made sure to move back and stay out of the way of the action as Tailmon leapt up into the air, pulling her paw back. "Cat Punch!"

One paw colliding with face later, and the Goblimon that was trying to attack Tailmon was... well, on the ground and very, very knocked out.

"Please stop this..." she said, looking over at the remaining not knocked out Goblimon while Tailmon got ready to send out another punch if she needed to.

[lightingway]

This, it seemed, was going rather poorly. The Goblimon Taiki had blasted away had used the opportunity to take off running into another car, and as for the third, suddenly alone...

He was backed into a metaphorical corner now, grimacing, now outnumbered two to one, glanced for the briefest moment at Hikari, before conjuring another orb of fire in one hand-

Taiki was moving already, interposing himself between assailant and assailed, but it turned out to be an unnecessary gesture. From behind, Goblimon found quite suddenly he had a gray-furred, sharp-clawed, thoroughly panicked hanger-on clinging to him from behind. The sudden weight (and, no doubt, pain from having his face clawed off) jerked his head backwards, the fireball bursting harmlessly against the ceiling. The pair of them toppled backwards, a flailing tangle of limbs, punctuated largely by shouting and an impressive demonstration of knowledge of profanity from both.

[thechosenslight]

...Well, Hikari had been getting ready to duck out of the way of the fireball, but turns out she didn't need to worry about that. So instead she just looked at the digimon pile on the floor and shook her head. Before quickly moving over to them and kneeling down to get a closer look at them.

"So, are you done with this now, Goblimon?" she asked as Tailmon moved closer to her. Just in case the answer was no. Not that Tailmon thought it was really going to be a problem, but still.

Before even waiting for an answer though, Hikari turns her attention back to Taiki. "Thanks for helping with all of this."

[lightingway]

The goblimon, alone, on the floor, wounded, and surrounded... finally seemed to think it was time to throw in the towel. "Alright! Alright, just- get the furry pincushion off my face-"

Gazimon was all too happy to oblige, extricating himself and retreating, fur frizzed out and panting like he'd just run a marathon.

"Are you alright, Gazimon? You're not hurt?"

"Hhhhaaaaah. That was dumb. That was not smart. Fine! Fine. All good. Nothing broken, never let me do that again-"

Frowning, Taiki laid a hand on his partner's shoulder, glancing back at Hikari and Tailmon. "It's quite alright. I don't much like having to resort to violent means, but well- sometimes it can't be helped."

[thechosenslight]

Tailmon shrugged at Taiki's words. "Yeah. We've been in that situation a lot, unfortunately."

Hikari nodded at that. At least the situation here was mostly tame compared to some of the other situations where, well, violence was necessary. "Yeah. That just... happens in the Digital World sometimes." She paused after saying that, then shook her heard. "Or a lot of the time, actually."

[lightingway]

His ears perked up, at that, and he smiled. "Oh? Have you previous experience, then? I've run into one or two others who've seen this particular show before, but it's always a pleasure to hear another adventurer's perspective on things!"

[thechosenslight]

"Well, like those others, we don't have experience with this Digital World in particular," Hikari admitted. "But Tailmon and I have been having to deal with Digital World related stuff since I was eight."

"We're pretty lucky this time. The first time Hikari visited the Digital World we weren't given an apartment or anything like that," Tailmon added, which just made Hikari giggle.

"Well, it's not like we were staying in one place that time. Even if there were anything like the Tamer Union around to set something like that up it would've been pretty pointless."

[lightingway]

"Eight," he said, quietly, eyes widening. "That's... I am sorry, Hikari. Truly. This sort of thing is difficult to handle for hardened soldiers, let alone children so young. That must have been terrifying."

"Yeah, startin' to notice a trend, here. Big question is, how come this time all the Chosen are grown-ass adults? Except, like. Takato."

"I couldn't begin to tell you. The youngest of my companions were sixteen, and I'd still have felt that was far too young had they not showed us all time and again their capability... I hope you didn't have to deal with such things with just the pair of you."

[thechosenslight]

Hikari nodded. "It's alright. I mean, you're right and it was difficult. But even with all of that I wouldn't have changed anything."

Tailmon didn't say anything for a moment before answering Gazimon. "I don't know why all the Tamers are older this time around, but it's probably a good thing." And with that said, Tailmon went and moved over to sit on Hikari's lap after she went to finally sit down.

"We weren't alone," Hikari said once she sat down near Taiki. "All of us were kids back then, and the first time there were eight of us. Then there were six of us the next time a major thing with the Digital World happened."

[lightingway]

"Eight and... four more? Unless you aren't counting your partners. Either way, that's a substantial group. I'm glad you had that. Though..."

Gazimon groaned. "Here we go."

"Oh, shut it. I confess I've always loved a good story. Tales of high adventure and derring-do, the like- mayhap we could exchange tales some time?" Taiki beamed. "Even if such a journey would've had its moments of stress, I'm sure there's plenty joy and excitement to go around!"

[thechosenslight]

Hikari nodded. "Right, I was counting us as pairs with our partners," she said, blushing a little bit. "But yeah, from what I can tell, our group was pretty large compared to others that I've heard about."

"Well, there's more tamers who were brought here," Tailmon said, a small smirk on her lips which made Hikari giggle. Though then Taiki mentioned something about a story and her giggle got a little more pronounced.

"If only Takeru-kun were here with us. He's actually working on a book about what we went through back then. But, well, everything we've been through is a long story. Or I guess a lot of long stories."

[lightingway]

Taiki did a quick bit of mental arithmetic. "Twenty-two, then. Why, that's just one pair short of a full detachment! I haven't often worked with so large a group, but then nobody can be everywhere at once. Some tasks require many hands."

He smiled, at the mention of a book. "An aspiring author? How wonderful. Last I spoke with her, my friend Y'shtola was working on a chronicle of our journey, as well. Not that others haven't tried it before, but I'm sure you know how people love to exaggerate. To hear the bards tell it, I'm ten feet tall and ride into battle atop a great wyrm."

"A great... worm? Like a wormmon? Why?"

"Oh! No, it's an older word for dragonkind. But! This Takeru-kun. Good friend, is he, brave and true to the last?"

[thechosenslight]

Hikari smiled at Taiki's comment. "Well, there wasn't really a lot of times that all of us were dealing with something at the same time. But you're right about there being a lot of us back home. There's actually a lot more than that all over my world now, but Tailmon and I aren't really working with them on a regular basis."

She pauses for a moment, thinking about how to describe Takeru. "Yeah. He's as brave as the rest of us. Well, most of the rest of us. My brother and Daisuke-kun are a bit more brave than the rest of us." Of course, considering her brother's Crest of Courage and Daisuke having the Digimental of Courage, it would be pretty weird if they weren't the bravest of them. "And people exaggerating is part of why he's writing it himself, I think. At the very least no one really knows enough about what happened with us besides us to write anything accurate."

[lightingway]

He nodded. "Ah, that's often the way of it. The hard, dirty work is often done in the dark, where there's no-one to see. Not just the life-or-death bits, but some of the most important moments in the tale are the ones where there's nobody around at all to see... Words in private with comrades, struggles with yourself as often as with any enemy. The 'you' that people think of when they hear your adventures so rarely matches with who you are, and only those who were there with you know the full story." There was a soft, sad smile as he thought, for a moment. "But, I think, having people who know the story, know the 'real' you, is important. I can't imagine I'd be here today if I didn't have people around me every step of the way, whom I loved dearly."

[thechosenslight]

"Well, most of it was stuff that most people back home weren't even able to see," Tailmon pointed out. "Most of the adventures we had were in the digital world."

Hikari smiled and giggled at her partner's comment. "Yeah, Tailmon has a good point there too. There was stuff that happened in the 'real' world, but it was mostly a small part of it. So even if it wasn't him writing it whoever else was would still need to talk to all of us anyway."