Dual World Daybreak

Lyra:<A ghost or a fragment of the dark power that was once here.>

*Euryale kneels beside Agumon, who wipes his brow.*

E"Are you okay?"

A<I'll be fine. But are you sure you want to stay here? We could always talk to Regulumon some other time.>

*She shakes her head.*

E"I don't want to keep living in fear. I want to find the darkness, stare it straight in the face, & tell it I'm not afraid of it anymore. That it can't keep me away from the things I enjoy any longer."

Ts"That's great, but we don't know if these things are actually dangerous, or even what they are."

*Gomamon scampers back over to her, at which point she quickly uncrosses her arms long enough to scoop him up & hold on to him like a life line.*

G<I got a better look at it than I'd like--it was definitely made of data, but not very solid. I think it was a memory. Maybe corrupted data falls down here eventually?>

Lunamon:<So...not dangerous then? Just scary?>

Azuma: "You're not implying you want to making coming here a regular thing, are you?"

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*Agumon shrugs at Lunamon as Euryale looks over.*

E"What? No, of course not. I just don't want to be afraid to come here."

*Thiera starts wandering down the hall, poking around with the light on her D-Power.*

*Seeing as having light sounds like a good idea, everyone else turns on their D-Power lights as well, then wander after Thiera*

While totally a bad idea as was coming into the long dark in the first place, they all follow as someone doesn't believe in radical freedom.

*As they continue on, they hear a rasping voice echoing through the hall.*

???<If want money, you've come to the wrong place. As you can see, I don't have much of anything. You can kill me if you must. I don't have much time left anyway.>

*They follow it, but stop dead once they hear the next speaker.*

Senthose<I haven't come to rob OR kill you. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'm here to offer you an opportunity. A new chance at living, & to pay back the monsters that did all of this.>

*The girls & their Digimon slowly, anxiously peer around the doorway, seeing a man who looks like he's 150 sitting at a table. The apparition of Senthose picks up a picture of a smiling little girl with blond hair.*

S<What would she want, do you think? What would she say to you right now if she knew you could stop this from happening to anyone else? After all....>

*He turns, placing the portrait in front of him so that it looks like it's his own head.*

S<Can you really say "no" to this face?>

???<...And what do you get out of it?>

*Ghosthose puts the picture down.*

S<Well, I've been contracted to exterminate these creatures.>

???<That's it?>

S<That's it. Nothing personal. It's what I've always done, as far as I can remember. Far earlier than my first pet or book, there was always some tribal leader who needed some enemy destroyed. See, the business of death has the ultimate job security. You never run out of the stuff.>

???<Couldn't you get a real life now?>

S<What I described IS the real world. What you had was the fake, & you've seen how easily that illusion can be stripped from you.>

???<...You never have any second thoughts? Any guilt?>

S<Hahahaha! Their fault for not hiring me first, isn't it?>

Lunamon:<(Hey look, it's that guy! The first leader of Sekmet. What was his name again?)>

Biyomon:<Senthose, I believe.>

Azuma: "Did he always sound like someone with a poor idea of what social darwinism is?"

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*The air erupts in both visual & auditory static as the "elderly" man changes into Kurata. This time, Senthose is sitting across from him.*

Kurata<I found our entryway into the depths of Hypnos. I would like you to welcome him into your flock.>

S<So who is he?>

Kurata<Nobody. That's what makes him the perfect candidate. He's a simple-minded peon, resentful that he's not getting the recognition he feels he deserves, & will do anything to get it.>

S<I meant his name.>

*Kurata adjusts his glasses.*

Kurata<What was it again? Something like Hord--Hood--ah, yes. I believe it was Hod.>

Th"I see. So that is what this is. The Sekhmet members who died in this world must have decomposed into data. These so-called 'ghosts' are actually memories being replayed."

A<I knew that creepy girl felt familiar! That musta been Barbatos as a child!>

Ts"I guess that explains a lot about why they were so messed up. No wonder the Digimon can't wait to exorcise them."

*As they are talking, the scene begins to shift again. Gomamon shivers in Tsune's grasp as Euryale remains staring at Spectrethose, gulping & fiddling with her D-Power to try to keep her hands steady.*

Taiyo who should be holding Euryale's hand instead puts an arm around her waist.

Azuma: "So why don't we give them a hand?"

Lunamon:<How do you exorcise digital ghosts anyway?>

*Their question is answered as enormous jaws appear out of darkness, crunching down on the figments, which fall apart as if made of glass. They then noisily slurp up the data as Plutomon rises from the ground. Agumon jumps back as all of this is not really an improvement to the atmosphere.*

Plutomon<I did not expect to find the lot of you here. Have you come to aid in banishing this abominable junk data to oblivion?>

Kylie:<Hi Plutomon! Yep, we're here to help!>

Patamon: "I'm not eating that!"

Azuma: "Pretty sure they're not eating it....right?"

*Plutomon silently stares at them before turning. The girls start to follow.*

E"Uh, actually, I was hoping to see Regulumon."

Plutomon<Soon enough.>

This does nothing to alleviate Patamon's worries while Salamon thinks Patamon is dumb.

They follow.

*Everyone follows*

*They walk past an old, dusty table with only a few chairs that remain unbroken & into a narrow hall, with markings that suggest there was once paintings hanging on the walls. The longer they walk, the more they can hear roaring & clanging noises.*

Plutomon<...Why did you not cleanse that filth the instant you laid eyes upon it?>

E"Oh--well--I dunno about everyone else, but I--guess I wanted to know what it was."

Plutomon<And why should that matter?>

Azuma: "That is a good question."

Patamon: "How did you do that anyways? You didn't-"

Salamon: "Plutomon didn't eat it."

Lunamon:<I guess everyone thought it was kinda interesting.>

*Agumon falls back to keep pace with Euryale as Tsune bends down to whisper into Salamon's ear.*

Ts"(Are you sure? Do we know where those mouths lead?)"

Pluto<Sympathy with the enemy is ill-advised. I would not wish to have to judge you as well.>

*He leads them into what looks like it used to be a bedroom before Regulumon started swinging his sword around. It's lit by candles set into the walls, but that is less relevant now that the ceiling has caved in, leaving a pile of rubble on the floor. Regulumon waves away some last bits of data floating around & stabs his sword into the ground, squatting.*

Reg<Di'n't expect to see you kids here. What're ya arguin' about?>

Pluto<They were observing the condemned data as it unfolded. They say they found it "interesting.">

Reg<That right? Hey, whatever floats your boat. I don't really get it, if you're not fightin' it, what's the point?>

Th"You never wonder why they attacked the Digital World?"

*Regulumon scratches his head.*

Reg<Not really...why? Should I have?>

Salamon: "That stuff cannot be good for anyone."

Azuma: "Probably not. They're gone and we're all better for it."

Biyomon:<Kurata paid them. Some people will do anything for money.>