Primary Village Investigation 2

Beeku: Faith wrote in a very neat and curvy script before handing the book over for Emily to read."He's been in a foul mood since we found nothing. The attacks on Primary Village spooked him. I've been told that something like this wasn't normal. The only other times eggs have been targeted were by the Dark Masters- and even then the eggs of the chosen Digimon were not kept here at the village. Thoughts?" The book Faith was using seemed to have other pages filled in, and the hardcover was worn considerably and covered in bite marks. Clearly this wasn't the first time Lapis had gotten into a disagreement with her.

 

Lapis paced around in a circle getting restless. His ears were ever on alert- just in case Crocutamon wanted to sucker punch him or something. Leave it to his traitorous human to cripple him and leave him vulnerable to everyone else. She was probably long gone by now! Fortunately Electmon had moved the curious in training and fresh digimon from the area. If any of them had gotten under his paw he would have punted them to relieve some stress.

 

VelkynKarma: Thoughts, Emily can do and do well. She nods enthusiastically now that they're onto some sort of puzzle and borrows the writing implement and book to scribble in somewhat eccentric and rushed, but legible, handwriting.

 

There isn't much documentation about it in any of Izzy's notes, or other historical channels I've found--until the Digidestined disappeared. There have been more indications of corruption since then. Remember the dark ocean? Ghouldramon was able to use that world to temporarily possess Crocutamon when we got dragged there, and it harmed Ken and Wormmon. Additionally, for Primary Village, there's been a pattern: they always attack in spring. That's why I stopped by to check if everything was okay.

 

Crocutamon doesn't seem interested in the text-talk, and instead settles down at Emily's feet, still watching Lapis pace around. He'd really like to sucker bite that guy while he's blind and teach him who's a coward and not to attack humans, but Emily doesn't want him to and Faith seems okay at least, so he reluctantly keeps his distance.

 

Beeku: Faith wrinkled her nose. She had a feeling something might be happening- though her tamer cousins chalked it up to her extreme paranoia that something was about to go wrong. The only one who believed her gut feeling was sadly the pacing blue digimon who was ready to snap at her.

 

"I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the Dark Ocean. Lapis had gone aggressive on me as well, though I counted that as his usual behavior. I'm not sure if he's immune to the effects of that area, he didn't seem to 'get worst' as other tamers I've spoken to would say. Lapis is a proud digimon though, so if he felt depowered or weakened he would never say it to my face."

 

Faith tapped her chin thoughtfully. There were a lot of variables that were unknown to her. Lapis was mutated, his data so painstaking manipulated and altered that he wouldn't have been considered 'natural' in any sense of the word. There were some things that affected regular digimon that wouldn't apply to Lapis- Mushrooms of Forgetfulness came immediately to her mind.

 

"I feel we didn't get too much information or clues. If anyone found anything they aren't broadcasting that information. How were the eggs infected? Was the infection spread able? Did it apply to eggs only or would it have actually affected hatched digimon like our partners? Since humans become data in this world would we have been hit as well? Is there a way to track things? I'm getting too ahead of myself. Lapis and I were coming here to find answers, but I feel the biggest roadblock to this mystery is Lapis' impatience and demand for results" Faith doodled an image of her chibi head with a sweat drop hovering over it.

 

Lapis finally forced open his eyes, hissing as the bright light assaulted his vision. He paid it no mind as everything came into focus. "YOU!" So that's what Faith had done. "Sittin' on yer ass ain't gunna save you!" Lapis bared his nightmare inducing fangs. It made no sense, but he had multiple rows of teeth- like a Tokomon.

"Bloody hell" Faith squeaked as she jumped up to dodge an incoming charge from her partner. She gripped her large flashlight in her hand- it wasn't much but if he did catch her at least she'd be able to defend herself with it- briefly....

 

VelkynKarma: Emily nods in agreement as she watches Faith write down a number of good questions. She also notices an unusual difference--when they went to the Dark Ocean, Boudamon--Crocutamon's champion form--became rabidly aggressive towards Ghouldramon, not her. He'd been unable to hear her as he relentlessly threw himself at the opponent and harmed himself in the process, instead of taking her strategic advice the way he usually did in serious fights. Perhaps it was a hint as to how the corruption worked, or to a more malicious, intelligent power behind it?

 

She looks like she's about to borrow the notebook again and make note of her own observations, but that's when Lapis realizes where they are, and she automatically freezes and stares over at him in surprise.

 

Crocutamon is not nearly so hesitant, and as soon as Lapis starts yelling again he immediately leaps forward two paces and plants himself squarely between the humans and the other Digimon. "Back off, pal," he snarls warningly, showing his own teeth, his entire body bristling and crouched like a guard animal ready to spring. "You try to hurt your human or mine and I'll kick your ass."

 

Beeku: "It ain't any of yer business what I do with mah human. Who are ya ta tell me otherwise?"

 

"That barmy digimon sounds like a very disturbed abuser" Faith was trembling and couldn't keep a proper grip on her notebook.

 

"Let meh tell ya somthin'. Just cuz nice-ness and the promise of belly rubs work fer some lowly digimon, dun mean it's da only option. I'd much rather just seize da day then ta degrade mahself ta some pet of a HUMAN of all things" Lapis sneered. "And what are ya to dem humans? A loyal guard dog?"

 

"Lapis" Faith hissed finally getting irritated. "can you please stop starting fights? You're absolutely off your rockers if you forget that Emily and her partner can achieve the same amount of power as you do. Also, I'm not going to bail you out"

"Ya dun need to" Lapis' eyes flashed menacingly "A human battery dun need permission if I need ta sap ya dry fer energy"

"Pretty sure that's not how it works...right?" Faith looked at Emily as if the girl knew the answer. Faith gave a frustrated moan. Of course Emily wouldn't know! No one else in the whole bloody campus or organization had a digimon so opposed to working with them! Of all the rotten luck, if she had a problem, literally no one would be able to help her!

 

VelkynKarma: "You don't even deserve a partner," Crocutamon growls back at Lapis. "You protect your partner, you don't treat them like a minion. You sound just like all the evil digimon overlords the old Digidestined had to beat up! Viruses like you give viruses like me a bad name!" His ears go as flat back as they can and he shows every one of his teeth, and his pupils narrow to vicious slits as he finishes with a vicious-sounding snarl, "And I am NOT A DOG you stupid pussy-cat!"

 

"Don't start a fight again, Crocutamon," Emily warns. Then to Faith she confirms seriously, "But…he really can't drain your energy…not if he really is your partner digimon, anyway," she adds, sounding a little doubtful on that last part.

 

"All the research I've conducted shows pretty clearly that in a Tamer-Digimon bond, the energy required to evolve to a higher level before a Digimon naturally would is derived from the human's most powerful trait--that's whatever your shard sign is--and triggered by the human displaying it significantly, or by the human being in danger and needing protection that the Digimon provides." She frowns. "Humans failing to display their signs usually result in stagnant evolution or devolution. And when Digidestined in the past tried to force evolutions unnaturally or against their signs, it ends in corrupted results that hurt the Digimon. It's only theory, but I suspect if Lapis tried to force his own evolution by draining you, he'd corrupt and hurt himself."

 

Beeku: "I never claimed I wanted a human ball and chain draggin' meh down. Who ever heard such a ridiculous thing as needing permission to grow stronger anyways?" Lapis scoffed. "And I'm only HALF cat- rocks fer brainz" Crocutamon wasn't too far off when he loudly claimed that Lapis was no better than the evil digimon the original digidestined had faced. He was made for that purpose. He was merely a tool for a greater evil overlord to control and use, to be sacrificed if need be. Lapis snarled and pounced first.

 

"Oh good, for a while I was taking the monster part of his title literally." Faith replied as calmly as she could while forcing a smile on her face. "So theoretically if I were to act like a troll and generally be the opposite of light, it would weaken Lapis?" She spoke in such a sweet tone of voice while looking to her partner.

 

"!!" Lapis got the implication. "You wouldn't-"

"Oh please, I'd have learned it from the best" Faith sighed "You think you'd be able to take Corcutamon in your in training form? If I were truly as monstrous as you I may get you back into your fresh form~"

"Human! How dare you put ideas in her head" Lapis screamed at Emily

"-still a theory though, but the idea makes me feel safer" Faith finally got off of the block she was standing on. "Personally I'd put money on that gamble though"

"You'd trust another freakin' digimon?! Just look at dat jackal! He's like one step away from Ed in Lion King! Brain dead!"

 

Faith turned to Emily while ignoring her partner "I don't know about you, but I feel I could use your help- a lot. You and your partner. Sorry if it seems like I'm too incompetent to really help you out."

 

VelkynKarma: "Half cat, all pathetic," Crocutamon snaps back.

 

Emily looks back and forth between Faith and Lapis as they argue, looking more uncomfortable by the second. "I, uh, wouldn't advise it," she starts to say, when Faith comments on acting like the opposite of Light to make Lapis weaker. "I mean, it might make him weaker, but in some of the records it also really, er, hurts them, a lot…" She trails off when they keep arguing with each other, but starts back a pace when Lapis actually yells at her.

 

"Don't you dare yell at Emily!" Crocutamon snarls, twitching another step forward and still showing his teeth. "You hurt her and I'll Digivolve and eat you!" He twitches his nose in disgust and adds with another growl, "And that stupid movie has hyenas all wrong too, moron. Hyenas are badass."

 

Emily keeps a wary eye on Lapis, but at Faith's request looks back over to her. "Oh--well, I mean, sure. I'm always ready to help other Tamers if they need it. Um…what did you need help with?" When she asks that last one, she glances at Lapis again, as if to say, it's not him, is it?

 

Beeku: "Really? Cuz ya came all at meh like a wet paper towel" Lapis scoffed. "Barely felt a thing from ya. Wuz like ya weren't even tryin' ta delete meh" Lapis rolled his eyes. "All bark and no bite is wut y'all are" He wanted to get right back in there and shut Crocutamon up for good- but he knew that can of pepper spray Faith had was nowhere close to being empty. He also knew his nervous wreck of a human kept spares JUST IN CASE. Lapis eyed the hyena digimon trying to weigh out his options. He concluded that even if he would be able to get a few good bruises and perhaps a black eye, it wasn't going to leave a lasting message to the mutt. Not before his human got in the way again. He scoffed and went to retrieve Faith's tossed article of clothing for her. She won this time, but Emily had to leave her alone with him sometime.

 

"It was a what-if scenario" Faith sighed "I really don't have it in me to really be catty towards anyone- human digimon or whatever else is out there." Faith shifted her weight between her legs as her digimon backed off and got her stuff. She knew it wasn't the last they would fight. The glares he was shooting her as he was doing her this tiny favour sent chills down her spine.

 

"Lapis and I are just interested in what happened to the eggs. Something disturbingly similar happened a while back- and apparently Lapis was an end result of a bad egg" Faith skimmed over a lot of key details, but it wasn't like she needed to bleed out Lapis' biography or go on a whole speech about coming to Japan. "We feel that whomever or whatever was behind the attack is closely related to the digimon who experimented on Lapis as a kid. Not that I had met my partner back then mind you, we didn't cross paths until after the fact"

 

VelkynKarma: "Wet paper towel?!" Crocutamon nearly shrieks.

 

"Crocutamon," Emily hisses warningly. "Do not start another fight, we don't have time for this!"

 

Crocutamon looks like he'd really like to launch himself forward and teach the other Digimon a lesson, but restrains himself with a great deal of effort. Although he can't quite hold back from sniping, "Tch, like you were any better. You're way bigger than me and you still couldn't take me down, it's like you don't even know how to fight." He puts his nose up and adds with an air of superiority, "And I didn't try to delete you 'cause Emily doesn't like it when I do that, and it'd be mean to Faith, and at least I think about your partner."

 

While Lapis is over retrieving Faith's boots, Emily murmurs low enough that he hopefully won't hear, "It…doesn't necessarily take actively working against your crest to mess it up. Izzy almost lost his through ignorance, and Mimi through selfishness. If you lose sight of your trait or just turn your back on it, even if you're not actively trying to be cruel…" She frowns. "Though, I've never heard of a case of actively trying to deactivate one's shard…"

 

She speaks normally once Lapis starts approaching again. "That's unusual…I wonder if it is connected. Most of the cases of corruption, or turning any kind of non-virus or benin-virus classification Digimon into a Virus, tend to be temporary. At least, the ones I've seen or read about…dark evolutions, gears and spirals, temporary possession, induced over-aggressive behavior, it all passes eventually or can be purified. But if it happens at birth--set into the very eggs themselves and a Digimon's core data--then perhaps it gains permanence?" She regards Lapis curiously. "At any rate, it seems your shard and digivice haven't affected him any, so…" She considers, looking thoughtful.

 

Beeku: Lapis sat on his haunches. Humans and their human businesses and their human thoughts. Honestly he didn't quite see how all this blabbering was going to get him what he wanted. His only other option was talking to the big brown stain on primary village. "Geez" He glared at the other lapdog of humans. "Ya just take orders like dat? Whiiiiiped"

 

Faith flushed red with embarrassment. Of course she was the odd one. If anything she was probably a failure of a tamer if her digimon was so....irregular. "I just don't think I'm suited for this..." she admitted while biting her lower lip. "I certainly didn't imagine myself if Japan of all places when I was in high school writing about where I'd see myself in ten years." She sighed, it was just difficult that even if she went to the largest concentration of tamers that someone would be able to explain what it meant to be a tamer. What was it that would be able to help her deal with Lapis? Hell if he were a normal animal he may have been put down already for being a danger to humans!

 

"Ya know wut it was like?" Lapis' ears perked when Emily went on a tangent about turning something into a virus type. "I remember hatchin' in a lab, in a box. "Batch 3" it wuz written on dat glass dome I wuz kept in. None of da other eggs moved, not even a peep" He described in a chillingly cold voice. "I wuz just hatched, but even den I knew dat something had gone horribly wrong in meh. Da good Datamon found meh, and ya know? He had dis special tool" Lapis stalked up to Crocutamon, not particularly caring if Crocutamon was going to bite. "Little knife. Just jabs it in meh like dis" He then poked Crocutamon forcefully between the eyes. "Splits me up, doesn't delete meh, only exposes mah data core. Yer smart, can ya figure out what it means fer a digi ta have an exposed core?"

 

VelkynKarma: Crocutamon sneers right back at Lapis. "You just do what you want? You got no control. Like a big baby. One day throwing stupid tantrums isn't gonna win you a fight, and then you'll be sorry."

 

"Don't feel too bad," Emily hastens to reassure. "I mean, nobody really knows what it's like at first either, right? None of the Digidestined did, they had to figure it out. Not all of them got along with their partners at first either--look at Kari and Gatomon, or Ken and Wormmon. It happens. It might be you just…haven't really figured out what connects you yet?"

 

Emily tries to keep making connections and theoretical discoveries like any good Knowledge holder, but freezes when Lapis starts describing some of his initial hatching memories. She goes a little tense when Lapis stalks up to Crocutamon, and the hyena digimon does snap at Lapis' paw when it gets too close, but he doesn't attack further if Lapis doesn't start it (although it's clear he really wants to).

 

But once she processes what he said, her expression goes a little more sad and troubled. "I'm sorry to hear all that," she says, a little uncomfortably, but it's obvious she means it even if she's not the best at showing it. "None of that sounds pleasant or fair…" She frowns at his question, and adds, "And I can only assume it's like exposing a human brain or heart…not good."

 

Beeku: "It ain't pleasant, it was more like a mindfuck" Lapis grew quiet as he respectfully stepped back from Crocutamon. "Whatever he did ta meh, it feels like mah everythin' is freezin' up fast. Da only thing that keeps meh from going stone cold like a statue is fightin'. Makes everythin' not numb." Lapis flexed the digits on his paws. "Dat's reality. Someone gets the short end of da stick. Some just aren't plain normal" Lapis rolled his eyes. "It ain't a thing I would want even da worst of mah enemies feelin' " What do you know he did have a heart. "If dem eggs went through dat, well I dun think they'd survive as I did. They can't live normal. Dey'd never fit into normal lives. Ya think Fai's got it bad? Da hell do ya think I feel? Bein' a peace lovin' idiot feels like I'm bein' ripped apart like salad leaves" Lapis hissed. "Literally I'm failin' mah function, I can't- well work. I dun wanna 'take a gamble' on mah life as Fai would say"

 

"Well whatever happened to the eggs, they seem fine now" Faith concluded "Whatever happened, Lapis and I were mainly hoping it would help with his...not dying condition. For all I know the digimon who did that to my partner could have just planted a bomb in him. At this rate I wouldn't find something like that too out of the ordinary." Faith tucked a hair behind her ear. "There isn't too much I know for sure, and this is the best theory I have"

 

"Also she dun wanna have meh deletin' everyone" Lapis gave a feral grin "So it's chase a slim chance or just let meh do what I do best- cuz there ain't no way I'm lettin' mahself fade to dust"

 

VelkynKarma: Crocutamon is actually legitimately surprised when Lapis steps back without starting another brawl, enough that he keeps his own distance once Lapis does move away. He cocks his head when Lapis speaks, still distrustful but also getting a little curious now that Lapis' mentality seems to have switched away from blind rage.

 

Emily listens closely and respectfully, still frowning as Lapis describes some of the 'symptoms' of his corruption. "That…is very difficult," she says slowly, after thinking on it for a bit. "It sounds almost like…your core function was altered, to be something it's not supposed to be. That's just…wrong. And a lot deeper than anything else I've read about so far…black spirals or dark evolutions are dangerous and can alter a Digimon's mentality, but it's reversible or superficial in nature."

 

Her frown grows deeper. "Although if whoever was responsible for that is still trying it would certainly explain why they'd be targeting eggs…it would be much more difficult to alter a grown Digimon's core data, both because it's more established and because they'd be better at defending themselves. Though you're right…for the moment it seems like the village is fine. Although maybe it would be good to keep an eye on it just in case. Maybe notify the leaders?"

 

She regards Faith and Lapis curiously before murmuring almost idly, "I wonder if you could shift the function…

 

Beeku: Lapis rubbed the bridge on his nose with a large chunky digit. Whatever, he already had a fight today, it should keep him functioning for today. He closed his eyes just to check something other digimon had no clue about. It was as if his creator had given him a way to see the timer that ticked down slowly to zero when he wasn't in a blood rage. The numbers had gone up, which was comforting. He would have liked it more if Crocutamon scuffed him up a bit more- it would have probably given him more than a new day to look forward to. It was clear though that this puppet digimon wasn't going to fight, no matter how hard he prodded.

 

Faith cast a small look on her digimon. She knew what he was thinking, they had been together long enough for her to come to terms that Lapis wasn't able to be a law abiding citizen. "Yes I would say it's wrong, but the fact that it's doable is more frightening. I just wish the knowledge of digimon weren't so hush hush" She crossed her arms and sighed. "I'm sure if I was able to go post about this, there's be a whole Wikipedia article within minutes or messages to my email about things I could try." Being this powerless to help her partner put her in a state of self loathing that was probably as self destructive as Lapis' rages.

 

"Ya mentioned blue haired kiddo we got da meds fer did stuff like dis?" Lapis inquired. "Scrawny twig with squishy Minnomon?" Lapis wrinkled his nose. "Meh it ain't da best but it's sum news" Lapis grit his teeth. Still too much room for errors and not enough to find the next course of action. This waiting isn't good. Time wasn't on his side. Though if he wanted to buy time, bluffing Crocutamon into fighting him was an option. All he would have to do is pretend to crush Faith's wrist. Maybe bite her a little if he REALLY wanted to piss Crocutamon off. Attacking Emily though wasn't something he would consider.

 

"Shift his function?" Faith gave a sheepish chuckle "Is there a step by step instruction manual for me to use? I doubt it, and I don't really want to mess with something I don't really understand. If this was a video game sure, the worst is that I create a glitch that deletes my save file, but you know and I know that it isn't really the case." Faith chewed her lips. "Perhaps Lapis and I should try to find the dark ocean again."

 

"Ehhh I liked it dere better" Lapis nodded "Feels just like home"

 

VelkynKarma: "That it's doable at all is scary, but it's not surprising…digimon can take flesh and blood forms but they fundamentally come from digital properties, and digital code is easier to alter than genetic code if you understand the language. Even Izzy was able to accidentally stumble into his partner's coding, and that was when the original Digidestined had no idea where they even were." Emily bites her lip. "I wish I could help more on that front, but I'm better with history and theory than computers. If we still had Izzy, he might know what to do, but…" She sighs and shrugs.

 

She blinks at Lapis' inquiry. "Ken? Yeah, he…at one point he was trying to take over the Digital world, with these collars that let him control and corrupt Digimon. His Wormmon kept trying to talk him out of it, but it was the other Digidestined that succeeded."

 

Her eyes widen as she recalls an extra piece of information. "Though, now that I think about it, Ken wasn't really as much at fault as it first appeared--according to the records there was this…dark spore…that was created in the Digital world, but when embedded in a human it corrupted them while making them stronger and smarter. He was under the influence of one for years, but it's the first case of humans being corrupted by digital properties that I've ever heard of…I wonder if there's a connection?"

 

She looks thoughtful before addressing Faith's other question. "Well…I mean I'm working on theory, and obviously it would be really cruel and dangerous to try and literally alter his code. But…it sounds like this thing is fuelled by a need to fight, or cause harm. But what if there was a way to redirect it…choose something else, a different passion or condition, to fulfill that need? By itself it could be impossible, but…I mean, all of the Digivices are capable of purification and helping to restructure corruption to some degree. They completely destroyed Dark Gears, and the Digidestined even used them to bind Myotismon. And the Light crest seems to be stronger at it than most--it physically hurt Myotismon by itself, it helped enemies grow into allies, and it's generally associated with miracles. If anything could assist with that…" She shrugs, letting it hang. "I don't know. It's a lot of theory."

 

"Better than that ocean. I can't believe you like that place," Crocutamon mutters to Lapis. "I mean it wasn't scary but it wasn't cool either. And Ghouldramon was a jerk. And it was boring. Gimme a place with ice cream and comic books any day."

 

Beeku: "If only Izzy was still around" Faith echoed with a disappointing sigh. "A lot of things would be easier. Perhaps I would know for sure, and Lapis could probably learn to control whatever blood lust he has. Perhaps I'd be able to focus more on having Lapis find a normal hobby other than offering blood to the blood gods" The last part was more of a sarcastic comment. "Perhaps some college IT professor could have a look at him"

"Dun even. Imma neuter the human who tries ta open meh up. Dat shit's painful. I'd much rather put mah paw in Crocutamon's mouth and see how hard dat mutt bites"

 

"Oh so human CAN be infected with digital world conditions or infection or diseases. Not something I'd like to hear, but at least know I know I can't be all too reckless" not that Faith was one to be reckless to begin with. "I doubt whatever it was that afflicted Ken is the same- not to the T anyways" Faith gestured to her digimon "You said it made Ken smarter" Lapis was probably not the poster child of intelligence. "It could be something similar, I can't discount that, but it's not what Ken had. I guess it's like the same genus? Like king mushrooms, enokis and button mushrooms are all mushrooms, but they're all different still?"

 

"Oh yes, I mean in theory. Of course anything I say here is in theory. I highly doubt my partner would allow me to simply come at him like that" Faith grinned good naturally. "I just don't want to say this is something he's got to live with all his life. If there's a way to do this to Lapis, then there's a way to undo this. I just want to make sure it's safe for my partner. I don't need him to haunt me if anything goes wrong. I've heard ghost stories of Wizardmon after all. I don't think Lapis would be as benevolent."

 

_{"Dark ocean dun have numbers counting' ta zero"} Lapis murmured under his breath. "And of course Ghouldramon was a jerk ya nitwit! Whad'ya think was gunna happen when he sucked in mass amounts of humans and tamers!? A frilly little tea party? Oh wait maybeh we should'a asked him fer snacks. I'm sure tacos are in full supply in da DARK OCEAN of places. It ain't a place fer people's sanity dat's fer sure"

VelkynKarma: "You might be able to find somebody else skilled at programming on the campuses," Emily offers. "They wouldn't have to actually do anything to Lapis in order to suggest how to reroute code, not if there's a certain theory to it. And they'd understand Digimon better than an IT professor, if they have a partner themselves."

 

Crocutamon shows teeth again. "I'm not a mutt! I'll show you just how hard I can bite and let me tell you, it's hard!"

 

"Hyenas are actually more closely related to cats than dogs," Emily points out helpfully. "They also have the highest bite force amongst mammals in the animal kingdom and I think he inherited that. It gets stronger when he uses his attack, too, so thanks for not using Mean Bite on him," she finishes, giving Crocutamon a look. The hyena digimon looks like he's regretting not using it.

 

"You're probably right," Emily agrees a moment later, turning back to Faith. "There seems to be all manner of corruptive strains. They're not the same thing, and don't always show the same symptoms, but that's almost what makes them more dangerous. But finding the solutions to one might help with finding solutions to others. Ken was able to weaken the effects of the spore possessing him when he felt regretful for his actions, and later when he attempted to make amends and befriend the other Digidestined. Maybe some sort of emotional reaction or meditation or call to action could help in Lapis' case, too? But I totally agree with you on that last part. Whatever the solution is, it needs to be safe for him, and a choice he makes."

 

Crocutamon has pretty sharp hearing (his ears are quite big after all) but the numbers comment confuses him. He's about to respond with snark when Lapis keeps going, and he scowls. "Takes a jerk to know a jerk," he snaps. "And he fought extra dirty, so that's why I hate him!"

 

Beeku: "I learn something new every day~" Faith hummed light heartedly when Emily explained about hyenas. "But thank you. I'll look into finding someone in the campus for Lapis' condition. We Morrigans are known for not giving up" Faith spoke with a small amount of pride when she mentioned her family name.

 

Lapis on the other hand completely ignored Emily and Faith's conversation. "Pfffft. Pfffft" Lapis scoffed twice just to piss off Crocutamon. "Yeah yeah ya bite hard. So wut?" Lapis leaned his face close to Crocutamon, invading any personal space the digimon may have had. "Shhh it's ok, dem adults are talking" Lapis licked the pads of his paw before using the icky hand to hold Crocutamon's muzzle shut.

 

"Lapis that's- uggg" Faith groaned. "Is there nothing sacred to you?"

 

VelkynKarma: "Morrigans…like the goddess from Irish mythos?" Emily asks curiously.

 

Crocutamon's eyes narrow and he automatically nips at Lapis when he gets inside Crocutamon's personal space. When Lapis holds his mouth shut though, he makes a snarling, muffled noise…before flames start leaking out of his mouth between his bared (but held together) teeth. Crocutamon is immune to his own Spell Embers, so they don't burn him, but they'll certainly scald anything in the vicinity…like paws holding his mouth shut.

 

Beeku: "Yes, though some people in my clan just like to speculate other things about the name origin" Faith shrugged. "Kid stories, stories that my elders swear was true when their grandfathers told them. You'd be surprised how many different theories pop up from name etymology alone" Faith smiled "We also have a naming tradition for children. Females of the family are named after virtues or emotions~ I actually have a cousin whose name matches her crest."

 

Lapis yowled in pain loudly when he felt his skin get singed. He wasn't one to flail his injury around and hope it got better though. Instincts to act like that never got him far in life. Remembering what Emily said about hyenas being closely related to cats, Lapis grabbed Crocutamon by the scruff of his hoping this would cause the other digimon to freeze up like a normal feline would. He then lifted Crocutamon up over his head then tossing the snarling digimon at his own tamer. Unfortunately, Crocutamon wasn't exactly light, not ball shaped enough to be aimed at a human. "Ya mangy flea ridden useless waste of space!" His eyes were flashing red again as if the switch for his aggressive behavior was suddenly switched again. "Try dat again I dares ya!" he snarled.

 

Faith cursed under her breath. "Hey let's not be too hasty here"

"Did I say you can talk?" Lapis snapped at his tamer.

 

VelkynKarma: Emily's eyes light up when Faith starts explaining about her family name and traditions. History is, of course, her favorite subject, and it's always great when she gets to hear about other traditions, families, and cultures. "That's fascinating," she says, genuinely meaning it. "I'd love to hear some of the stories. My family hasn't got anything like that, we're American mutts through and through. I wonder--"

 

She's cut off when Crocutamon thuds into her, thanks to Lapis' underestimating throw. The hyena had smirked smugly when Lapis was singed and yowled aloud, but it turned to cursing when the catlike digimon tried to pick him up, as he clawed at Lapis with his forepaws. Since he was heavier than anticipated he doesn't go all that far when thrown, but he does stumble and roll into Emily, before leaping immediately to his feet and baring his teeth again.

 

"Keep your paws to yourself and you won't get burned, you raggedy stupid-ass bunny-cat," Crocutamon snarls back. "You started it!"

 

Emily yelps when Crocutamon stumbles into her and then immediately puts a hand around Crocutamon's collar. "No, no, no, we are not doing this again!" she says firmly, in what sounds very much like a mother lecturing her kid. "The two of you just…stay apart from now on, okay?!"

 

Beeku: "Come on Lapis" Faith tried to calm him down by being the voice of reason. "If you keep acting out like this, sooner or later someone is going to report us to the leaders. What then? They can evolve to mega. They have more experience than us. And honestly? If you keep making enemies they won't come after you with a warrior’s code and challenge you to fisticuffs. They will come at you with everyone else! I don't know about you but I would NOT want to get the next mission update on my phone be a task about having to attack you" Faith enunciated her words just so it would sink into Lapis' thick skull.

 

"..."

"Lapis, you were made to be some kind of super digimon that is powerful. I'm not saying you're incompetent or incapable. What I'm saying is, when it's you against the world, it'll be inevitable that at some point you'll slip up. If you keep being a hostile bugger then I can't help you- and believe me I do want to help"

 

Lapis snarled, but restrained himself. "I ain't the type ta let 'em live if I needs ta silence people" He spoke through gritted teeth. "It's always come ta bite meh in da ass. No one sane would keep meh around. Da hell were Kari and Gatomon thinkin sparin meh?" Lapis punched the ground frustrated, but flinched when he irritated his burned paw. "Dey shoulda just deleted meh"

 

"I see" Faith hated to have to cut this short, but she could see that forcing Lapis to play nice with Crocutamon was probably not going to happen. "Emily I would love to speak with you again, perhaps another time when the digimon won't be forced to stand so close to each other." Faith picked up her notebook and quickly wrote her contact information and address. "Here, this is how you can get to my 'house' from the campuses and my number." Faith ripped one of the pages out and handed it to Emily.

 

VelkynKarma: Emily keeps one hand firmly wrapped around Crocutamon's collar just in case, and watches the back and forth between Lapis and Faith with interest. She has possibly half a dozen ways to answer Lapis' inquiry regarding Kari and Gatomon, based on the notes she's recorded in the past, but despite her love of volunteering information even she knows better than to speak up at this point.

 

She does nod a little when Faith writes down her address and contact info, though, and shifts to take it with her free hand. "Yeah," she admits, a little sadly at having to cut it short. "I suppose it's for the best. I'd love to keep discussing things with you, but both of our Digimon--" she pauses here to give Crocutamon's collar a little shake, to indicate that he's not exactly innocent in this either-- "don't seem to like the thought of that."

 

Crocutamon's ears flatten at that, but he says nothing, just keeps glaring in Lapis' direction.

 

Beeku: "Lapis" Faith didn't want to touch her partner knowing he'd try to bite her. "We should get back. There's nothing left for us here"

"....tch" Lapis scoffed but didn't seem to argue. "Fine, imma carry you, git on mah back"

"This isn't a trick for me to digivolve you and you'll attack Crocutamon?"

"Nah, ain't worth. If I wanna delete dat weakmon imma do it he's at his best"

"..." Faith blinked as Lapis turned to speak with Emily.

"Seriously. If ya learn anythin' call Fai. I'll even behave when you two get together fer a tea party in da library" He sent a scathing look at Crocutamon. "If ya touch mah stuff though it's grounds fer me ta gouge out yer eye"

 

"...odd cabbit. At any rate Emily, I'd appreciate it if you called before you visit. I'll have lunch prepared for us, you too Crocutamon if you'd still like to come over."

 

VelkynKarma: "Tch, like you could beat me even if you Digivolved," Crocutamon grumbles under his breath. "No way you'd ever be able to delete me."

 

Emily blinks when Lapis addresses her, and then offers him a weak smile (since it's so hard to judge with his personality flip-flopping, but she tries to be friendly, at least). "Certainly. I'm Knowledge, so I've always got an ear and an eye out for new information. If I think I find anything that could be of use to you guys, I'll let you know." She looks back and forth between Faith and Lapis as she speaks, and then says more directly to Faith, "And I'll be sure to call first, promise."

 

She nudges Crocutamon with one foot, and the hyena (still watching Lapis) blinks and looks up at Faith. "Lunch sounds awesome," he agrees, brightening a little. "And I can be good if he is." He glances over at Lapis again.

 

"He won't touch your things," Emily promises to Lapis, since Crocutamon doesn't say anything about that part of the 'agreement.' "I'll make sure of it."