Backalley Brawl

[Kano Elden & Wrylia]

As Wrylia got up onto her feet, she'd sway slightly - her tail lashing to find balance, before she'd settle into a somewhat wide stance. She continued to breathe heavily, eyes casting about to figure out who to take a swing at next, but... From the looks of things, most of the others were beginning to settle down - and the Pipsqueak, too, was starting to back down in response to such. Tch... She was confident that she could keep going..!

... But whether that was a good idea was another question - the low ache of fatigue making itself known, as the collective adrenaline began to die down. She'd wordlessly growl in her throat in response to Toki suggesting that they continue this fight another time - though it was half-hearted, as her body's request for rest warred with her own battlehappy nature. As it turned out, spending all night picking fights with humans tended to tucker you out.

Wrylia blinked a bit at the martial artist's bow, seemingly not expecting the gesture - though with a bit of hesitance, her stance would begin to relax. She wouldn't admit it, but maybe the humans had the right idea of things, to call it here. "... Hmph. Got a little bit of a sweat out of me, at least." The Aegiomon remarked pridefully, stepping back to lean against one of the walls of the alleyway and yawning. She wasn't afraid to play down the fight, to save at least a little bit of face. "Mm... Maybe you humans can make for a half-decent fight after all."

Seeing Isaac readied to act to protect everyone else got an amused chuckle out of the dragoness, as Wrylia mused to herself over the irony of the smallest of the four still being ready to fight. "What's the matter, Pipsqueak? You still raring to go?" She'd question him with a wide grin, her tail twitching briefly - though by now, she was prepared to simply sit back rather than resume the fight. Maybe she could even go look for a bite to eat, once she loses interest in these humans.

Which, speaking of interest, David would mention the strange lights that flared up amongst the others over the course of the fight - to which Wrylia shrugged a shoulder. "I saw em, sure - but hell if I know what the deals with the lightshows are." She admitted, glancing between Toki, Taiyou, and Isaac briefly. "It sure made it look and feel a bit like I was getting hit by another digimon, though." Wrylia added.

It was the closest way to describe it all off the top of her head - even if it wasn't 100% exact, given that an actual digimon would've probably hit harder than any of them could. It had still given them an edge and fighting chance against her, though - which was more than she could say about most other things humans seemed to like using in their fights.

But still... What was the deal with the lights, really?

[taiyou]

She said that as if it's true, dammit, Taiyou thought inside his mind. He's really salty that despite the obvious four against one they still can't beat this one. Not to mention, whatever power that was, it already left him for the day. Is he able to use it another time? Who knows, but... even so, the other topic sprang to his mind.

....one that David pointed out oh so smugly. "...I want to kick your face now," he pointed out. Not that he really would, unless David keeps pushing that button.

"...I dunno, you tell me," he shot back at David. "Why are you even putting on shades in area like this anyway? It's dark, it's night, and you're putting on shades. I dunno, sounds like you're trying to be bat-blind if you ask me. Also, you should really lay down or something. There's no need to act tough if your rib really got cracked," he addressed Isaac. "...Should I actually call hospital or something?"

...He suddenly got an idea. He'll say that he missed his stop, seen someone fighting, called ambulance and stayed with them for a bit. Yeah! Sounded good! He'll be free from his parents' probing easier! He can also say that he tossed in some kicks to defend them! Although that one probably gonna make his parents displeased and his mother probably gonna lecture him that if he wanted to still play soccer. Although so, that's not the most important thing to him at the moment personally.

"...I guess it's because this?" he pointed at his shoes. It's defintiely too showy, definitely not looking like most of shoes out there.

"I dunno, but... the phone referred something as 'Digisoul'. It says how the Digisoul is weaker because I'm not partnered yet. I guess that's why I'm more tired using it compared to the other? Either way, I think it's related to your will to fight or emotions... Dunno, I can't use it anymore today. That's just my guesses anyway. It sure makes me able to run much faster, jump much higher and kick much stronger. Ain't no way I can kick that trash can that strongly normally."

[Toki Akiyama]

Toki chuckled wearily at Wrylia's response, though was glad she had decided to end the fight here before people actually got too hurt. At the very least she was somewhat satisfied with the battle if what she said about humans was any indication. He wondered where she would go from here once they all went their separate ways. She spoke and taunted a bit more, specifically towards Isaac, though thankfully it was more playful barbs than actually trying to continue the fight.

She also answered David's question about the lights that surrounded parts of their body the best she could. He made his own theories on it "...it felt like you were being hit by another Digimon...? Maybe whatever this light is has the same properties of other Digimon? That's my only guess. It doesn't explain why we were suddenly able to just use it unconsciously like we did." That was something he would want to look into someday. When he wasn't on the verge of collapse, that is.

Then Taiyou mentioned something "Your phone called it Digisoul? Why would your phone have that kind of information? What exactly does it mean by...partnered?" He brushed his chin thoughtfully. "This is all incredibly strange...very, very interesting, but strange..." Deep down he worried what would happen in the future regarding the relationship between humans and these Digimon. He didn't know enough to draw any conclusions, though. "Honestly I just hope you're not too hurt after getting involved in this."

He walked over to Isaac and offered him a shoulder to lean on if he needed it "Hey...are you alright? You took the worst of it...do you need any help getting home?" He would ask, concerned over his wellbeing. "You're a quick thinker...and you held your own pretty well. You may want to take it easy the next couple of days though. I know I will." He said with a small smile.

Lastly he would look at Wrylia again and ask "Are there more Digimon out there? Here in the city I mean. Do you know...how or why you got here? I want to understand them more so I can help them, or help people who get involved with them at least."

Deep down, Toki was glad tonight happened. It was something exciting and new. He felt like he had stumbled upon some kind of purpose entirely by accident. He wanted to learn everything he could about these Digimon and use that knowledge to help people. Aside from that, he hoped that he would meet up with everyone here again someday under less stressful circumstances.

[photog and protag]

Taiyou threatened to kick David in the face and for a moment all the journalist could think of was what shutterspeed he would need. He should, perhaps, consider other important factors like how to make sure his camera remained safe or nobody actually collided during said theoretical shoot and then he gave his head a shake. He was clearly getting tired if that was where his brain wandered.

"It's a fashion statement, brat." He responded archly and raised a brow high enough it was visible over said sunglasses. The glasses also helped cut down on glare from the overabundance of LED lights in the city but he wasn't going to mention that.

The talk about the weird lights - Digisoul apparently - was far more interesting after all. "Hmm, well Digisoul and Digimon are both Digital in nature..." He trailed off as he considered the possible ends for that sentence. Was that something he could put in his article about the incidents? Even the tabloids would reject it for nonsense. "Apparently you need to stick to fighting people with Digisoul if you want an actual fight, mx Digimon. Regular humans just won't be able to keep up."

He couldn't help but be amused at the positioning of the trash thrower between the rest of the group and their opponent. There was someone who had been able to keep up. Nor had he been the only one. The other two gathered around the trash-thrower and David smiled a thin smile. He could compose the shot in his head: one on either side, the three smiling but triumphant while they emerged from the end of the alley. His fingers itched and sighed and scratched at the back of his neck.

"They're right y'know. If your chest still hurts that bad after a couple hours you should go to the ER. Fighting on with broken bones is something only cartoon characters and drunks can get away with." He remarked blandly as he sauntered back over to his camera bag and swung the strap up over his shouler then settled the bag on his hip. "Or you can not do that and possibly enjoy a storm-warning system more accurate then Lumen City's top-of-the-line weater station for the low low price of forever feeling a twinge."

[Isaac Sunderland]

The Digimon eagerly spoiled for the fight to continue, but her body language said otherwise. The humans all seemed happy to keep standing down. With that, Isaac was content. He let the last bits of tension roll out of his shoulders as he turned to face the Digimon. "Just making sure nobody's starting shit while anyone's back's turned," he said. Frankly, whether it would be humans or Digimon striking first, he was not in the mood to see this fight flare back to life. Or the physical condition, for that matter. Maybe when his ribs felt like they were settled back in the right spot, he'd be in more of a fighting spirit, but for the time being he was just glad to hear the closing bell ring.

That said, the others seemed just as worried about him as vice-versa. The kid told him to check out a hospital if he still felt like he was in that much pain, and the martial artist offered him a shoulder to lean on and some words of advice. Even the weirdo cameraman was trying to check on him. This wouldn't do at all. Isaac did his best to straighten his posture, waving everyone off with the usual cocky grin spreading back across his face. "Hey, hey, no need to worry. I'm fine," he said. "But, uh . . . thanks for that. You were all doing a heck of a job out there too. Even if, gonna be real with you all, I've got no clue what any of you guys are talking about."

Seriously. What was a Digisoul? Some kind of power from whatever digital world this Digimon was from? Did she bring the power to them, in search of a fight? No, no. That didn't make any sense. Otherwise she would've had her fill long before this. Maybe the kid was right, and it had to do with the items they found. The difference in Isaac's power before and after he slapped on those weird, form-fitting gloves was worryingly noticeable. But what were the odds that he'd find a perfect defense system in the trash like that? Especially the one time he wasn't scrambling to find something useful inside of one of the many, many garbage cans he'd raided? And how did they fit him so perfectly? They looked like they were the wrong size up until the moment he slipped them on.

The word "fate" popped into the back of his head. Nope. Not even entertaining that one.

Instead, he propped himself up against a wall, curiously eyeing the ongoing conversation. He didn't know nearly enough to ask questions about what was going on, but part of him didn't want to head home until he'd heard everything the group had to say. Tonight felt . . . big. Unexpectedly so. Something told Isaac that if he staggered home now as he'd planned, he'd be marching off to war unarmed and unarmored. Knowledge was power. And clearly, power was shaping up to become the law of the land.

Kano Elden & Wrylia

[Kano Elden & Wrylia]

"Tch. You take me for a backstabbing coward, Pipsqueak?" Wrylia responded with a hint of offense, though she didn't feel like acting upon it - instead briefly curling her lip in a half-snarl. "And here I thought that might be more your style."

Afterwards though, the Aegiomon was - for the most part - quiet, leaning against the wall as she listened to the other humans discuss amongst themselves about the oddities of tonight. As far as whatever the hell Digisoul might be, it was safe to say that Wrylia didn't have much of a clue; really, all she cared was that humans with digisoul could actually give her a decent fight! And when David said as much, she'd simply briefly nod to the journalist with a "Hmm." in response - yeah, she figured that much already.

Toki would soon ask her about other digimon in the city, and in how she got here - to which she'd nod. "Yeah, but I ain't assed to keep tabs on what other 'mons are doing every waking moment." She'd respond, continuing "I crossed over with a couple randoms, cause I was looking for something new. Something exciting." She shrugged a shoulder, disinterested in just belting out her life story or whatever.

Really though, deep down, Wrylia did recognize that there was a hell of a lot going on - especially for local humans. This was a whole other world that she and other fellow Digimon were ending up in, after all - and more likely than not, there would be a lot of shit going down as time went on as a result. But the dragonness, frankly, didn't have much interest in worrying about that sort of thing. All she cared about at the moment was looking for opportunities to fight and get stronger, which had brought her to this other plane of existence in the first place. But, perhaps...

... Quietly, her halflidded gaze would drift over each of the four.

Shades had a quick tongue and some smarts about him, but he was probably the weakest of the four, given his seeming lack of 'digisoul' (though, the potential might be there nonetheless.) The notion that lingered in her head of the camera did pique her curiosity somewhat, but she wasn't exactly sure if she was keen about him plastering images or videos of herself wherever he desired.

Rival - on the other hand - was strong, and seemed as though he had experience under his belt. However, he was softhearted, and seemed to lack the same pride or drive to fight that she had. She would absolutely come and seek him out for more fights in the future, though - she wanted to see more of what he might have to offer, and to figure him out.

Pipsqueak had some strength as well, despite his small stature - as well as a fiery spirit that she could appreciate. He had a quick tongue and wits like Shades, too - which had led to some interesting - albeit also irritating - schemes and banter. She'd like to see him in a fight again, too, to say the least.

But Kicks, well... He might only be a kid, but he was the only one out of the four that had one of those devices. Those same devices that other digimon traded rumors over - in partnership, in finding strength and power from it...

... Of the four, he also seemed to be the only one who was in need of a partner. And he was pretty scrappy, too - so perhaps...?

"... Hey, Kicks." Wrylia would eventually speak up, addressing Taiyou. "If you need a partner to get stronger, then how about me?" Ignoring the low ache in her limbs, she would stand as tall and as pridefully as she could as she approached him - a wide grin, chest puffed, and her tail swishing behind her idly. He wouldn't have been her first pick, if the others had had such devices too. But he wouldn't have been her last, either.

"You make me strong, and I'll make you strong as well - simple as." She stated - her desires plain to see. She wasn't really looking for companionship or bonds or any such relationship in this - no, she saw this more as a business transaction. Just one that they'd both benefit from. "We both win out of a deal like that, right?"

[taiyou]

Taiyou just shrugged at the question Toki asked. "Who knows... it starting to get malfunctioning lately. The GPS leads me over here and all... I don't get it either what it meant by partnered. I guess there's some significance of bonding with a specific Digimon? I mean... this device said that my synch rate with her is like... low?"

What's even a Digisoul he wondered... He looked at his hand, trying to summon that sort of strength again. Unfortunately as he was exhausted, only a spark appeared on his hand. "...I guess it really wasn't some fever dream after all."

Fashion statement though... "Well that fashion statement is dumb if it cuts the lights when there's almost no light to speak of to be cut," Taiyou shot back. "At least get something more functioning, like those glasses with automatic light adjuster. Small wonder you looked like some shady tv producer."

Well, the other kid seem to be fine, but seriously, it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if someone younger than him get their bone broken or something. Growth plate broken is scary as frick. Anyway, uh... he suddenly felt a gaze on him and a chill ran down his spine. He slowly looked back toward the source, which... confirmed to be Wrylia.

"..."

The word she spoke is as scary as the possible future that would happen! Like, he's not like Toki who could handle the fight himself! He's probably gonna go down quite fast compared to the rest! But... at the same time he guess it's quite interesting prospect. How would it feel to be partnered with a Digimon? What sort of partnership this relationship implies? There's so many question... question that would be answered by the phone, or perhaps, one that will only yield more question.

<Suggestion: A partnership simply for the sake of getting stronger without forming an actual partnership sych-bond would be beneficial. However, we suggest against forming actual bond of partnership with the subject: Aegiomon, Wrylia.
Reason: Synchronicity rate might have increased to 27%; however, soul frequency did not match.
Subject Akashi Taiyou is suggested to have higher synchronicity rate with Nightmare Soldiers Digimon who originated from Dark Area.>

"...What's that supposed to mean?" he asked his phone. Yet, the phone did not deign him with any answer. It remained silent. "Oi seriously? Don't just talk when you feel like it and ignore me like that!"

[Toki Akiyama]

David theorized that ordinary humans wouldn't be able to keep up with Digimon...what exactly made him and the others different? That much he wanted to understand more, but it seemed those answers wouldn't be found here. He stretched a bit, feeling sore, but not in too much pain. He would be fine, though David was right in warning the others that if the pain persisted for too long that they may want to go to the hospital.

There was still a pretty noticeable tension in the air but it was slowly but surely beginning to lessen. Isaac seemed to most confused out of everyone here, which he couldn't blame him for. A lot's happened so fast. Toki walked over to him "I can't really blame you for being confused. I don't even know what's going on here...not completely, but I definitely want to understand it considering how...impossible it all seems. It feels right out of fantasy or sci-fi. Either way, you were doing pretty good yourself. There's no such thing as a fair fight on the streets, so you have to use what you can." He said with a slight chuckle "Trust me, as a martial artist, I know how dangerous a fight can be. It's why we're taught to avoid starting one above all else. I really hope you're okay though...you took a few bad hits there."

Toki crossed his arms and pondered what Taiyou had said. Low sync rate. Personality compatibility perhaps? "Whatever it was it happened to a few of us here. It was absolutely for real." He sighed at the banter between Taiyou and David "Come on, let's not. Please. Not after all that." Either way, Taiyou got some kind of message, but didn't know what it all meant "I'm sure answers will come to us eventually. At this point, without knowing what's ahead, all we can do is wait."

Wrylia mentioned others have crossed over "So there are more out there...hm.." He was curious. Extremely curious. Wrylia wanted excitement and something new...what about the others? He'd probably stick around until the rest were ready to leave, just so he'd be there to help if he had to.

[photog and protag]

There was some theorizing, an offer of partnership, and a mild scolding from the martial artist which was fair. David acknowledged with a brief wave of his hand that he would drop the subject. He personally found bantering refreshing, but he could recognize not everyone would nor would they even enjoy it. Especially not in a group like this when he had known them only briefly.

"...Maybe don't plug your phone directly into your computer when you get home if you want it to stay helpful and useful. At least not until you find out if that can spread to different devices." David remarked as Kicks attempted to get his recalcitrant device to explain itself. There was a lot to take in from the blurb it had rattled - what was a Nightmare Soldier Digimon? what and where was the Dark Area? was it where the Cosplayer had 'crossed over' from? - but that was the kind of thinking he did better with a pad of paper and a pencil. Or maybe he should invest in some yarn and a corkboard.

The corner of his mouth curved up at the thought of Cosplayer's phrasing. She sure wasn't an angel but demon felt a little on the nose, and she was way too solid to be a ghost or spirit. And then there was the fact that she probably didn't know about use of crossed over as a euphemism but it did give him an idea for the article he was suppose to write for this. Which he was suppose to have on the editor's desk by nine in the morning.

And then there was the mystery of this, of the Digimon that supposedly existed in the city after travelling from somewhere else. 'Nightmare Soldiers from the Dark Area' sounded like a line straight out of a video game, and the digi- prefix could possibly be lengthened out to 'digital' so maybe the Neoscape was the next place to look for clues? Cosplayer, well she wasn't a cosplayer but her appearance wouldn't look at all out of place for a convention for the same. He definately had some searching to do tonight to see if he could turn up any clues.

There was the matter of partnership that Wrylia had offered Kicks, and the fact that his phone had turned her down flat. He covered his grin by rubbing his hand over his lower face. Turned down on behalf of someone else by an inanimate object, what a way to go.

Before the situation could deteriorate (hopefully) David clapped his hands together noisly to get everyone else's attention and spoke cheerfully. "As much fun and as interesting as this is I want a hot shower and a pain pill before I start digging into the mystery more. Maybe some medical attention too. If there are more 'digimon' out there then I wouldn't be surprised if it popped up on the city's local forum. If you run into one personally I'd love to hear it." With that he would dig into a side pocket on his camera bag and pull out his personal use business cards with his name, cell number, and email address and fan them out before holding them out. If no one took one that was fine, and if anyone grabbed one he'd offer a nod of acknowledgement but not comment further than that. He would gather them back up then shuffle them back into the pocket. "If none of you need help walking or need a cab called then I'll be on my way."

And he would. With a sharp turn on his heel he would leaave the alleyway, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and the bits of information that threatened to give him a headache later.

[Isaac Sunderland]

"If I wanted to be a backstabbing coward, we wouldn't be having this conversation face to face, would we?" Isaac asked. Whereas the Digimon looked offended, Isaac simply smirked at her assessment of him. After all, she wasn't wrong. She wasn't right, either. But she wasn't wrong. "Nah. I just wanted to make sure we all know it's over." His posture and facial expression were a lot easier now that he had gotten through the worst of the fight, but brief twitches of pain cut through each. He may have been among the less honorable half of the competitors, but at the very least his intentions seemed genuine.

As the oldest and youngest of the group squabbled away, the martial artist seemed willing to help him through his confusion. "Sheesh, you're not kidding. It's like something out of those holocomics my little sib won't stop reading," Isaac said. "Half expecting some kinda small, squeaky animal to tell me I'm a magical girl. Or a martian. Or both. Though with any luck, after some friggin sleep, I'll be able to forget this all happened." Clearly, he was a lot less curious than the martial artist was about trying to decipher the mysteries of what just went on.

Nevertheless, having his dirty tactics approved by Mr. Honorable himself got a small smirk back on his face. "Heh. Y'know, shouldn't be a surprise you get it, with how much you know about fights," Isaac said. "But I'm pretty sure if I could kick like that, I wouldn't need to turn to whatever-I-can-pull-out-of-some-guy's-trash-fu. Nice moves."

The guy asked about his injuries again. Dangit, why did people have to get so concerned? Didn't they have more important things to handle? "Nothing a bit of rest can't take care of," Isaac said. "Some bruising, some "you shoulda seen the other guy." You know. All that usual crud." At the very least, for someone that had taken such a walloping, Isaac was in pretty good spirits. How much was that truly being the case, and how much was just him trying to put on a brave face? Frankly, it was hard to tell.

Maybe that good mood was why he decided to take a business card from the weirdo, despite his prior-expressed disinterest in figuring anything about this mystery out. "Yeah, okay, sure. Next time there are a bunch of weird, dangerous monsters running around, I'll make sure to prioritize calling you before anything else," he said. Was his sarcasm carrying over properly? He wasn't sure if he was laying it on thick enough. "Right after Agent Mulder, I guess." With that, exit weirdo, stage right. "Hey, you're going the wrong way! You parked the Mystery Machine over there!" he teased, pointing to the other side of the alley.

With that, he turned to the others, smirking. "Well, you know what happens when one guy leaves a party," he said. He, too, turned to walk away, throwing a quick wave over his shoulder. "It's been . . . well, it's certainly been something. Get home safe, y'hear? Even you, Horns."

Kano Elden & Wrylia