missiondeterminant | [Open Post]

[ Another world. That's where Maki finds herself when she comes to, when despair drags her into its depths and she hits rock bottom and... crashes through, she guesses.

She knows the protocol, so to speak, so she gets to it, an automatic thing she barely even thinks about as she explores, listless, hollow. This is what she gets for her desperate choices, for sacrificing the new kids' bonds for the sake of recovering hers. A world as empty as she is.

Maybe... maybe he's here, the Tapirmon that remembers her. Or maybe this is where she meets her end.

Honestly, she's so tired of hoping, trying, failing.

The man who speaks up disproves that she's all alone here. She isn't sure how she feels about that. In any case, she doesn't smile, but she doesn't respond with the usual strength and certainty she carries herself with. ]

No. Not beyond "another world." [ Helpful. She knows. ] I'm Maki Himekawa.

[He's relieved to encounter another (another? does he count now?) person, and one that doesn't seem hostile; he can tell she's human, though, and so he should keep up appearances as one himself for now.

He nods politely at her name, but focuses instead on her question.]

How do you know we're in another world?

[ For what it's worth, she doesn't realize he's not human. She's... a little bit mired in her own misery, still. ]

Because I don't recognize it. [ A statement. Just like that. ] I'm from a world where the existence of other universes is known. Sometimes they cross paths or affect each other.

[ She exhales softly -- it'd be a sigh from anyone else, but even the Dark Ocean can't completely destroy her self-control now that she's not actively out of her mind. ]

The trick will be getting back.

[ Her Digivice, long since useless and broken, can't possibly help her here. ]

[He looks very human, at least while the LED on his temple is covered by his hat, so it would be very difficult to tell even if she knew to be suspicious. Connor can only tell she's human for sure, instead of an android herself, because his scanners are made to determine between them.

However, his scanners should also identify her, which they don't. That indicates maybe she's right; if he can't access the worldwide databases, maybe that means they're somewhere very far from the world? But how would that have happened?]

How do you normally return?

[He asks it while glancing around their surroundings again; it's dark but not too dark to see, flat ground extending in all directions, and a faint mistiness in the distance that's difficult to tell if is fog or actual precipitation. He hasn't seen anything else in the time he's been wandering, and never reaches the fog itself.

The whole thing is unsettling, and he really doesn't appreciate that he can feel that it's unsettling in the first place.]

[ Hahaha well... ]

Sometimes you don't get to choose. [ Sometimes, someone makes the choice for you. ] We didn't choose to be here, did we? I didn't.

[ ...it occurs to her now that her clothes and hair are dry, and that she can still feel the weight of her Digivice in her pocket. It doesn't seem like the water of the Dark Ocean changed it like it did Ken Ichijouji's. Another hope, fleeting though it was, dashed. ]

For those of us who are just pawns, we can't do anything about it without help.

[ And damnit if that doesn't make her miss Tapirmon more, him and Daigo and Bearmon in the others. They'd just been kids then. Imagine what they could do now. This place wouldn't stand a chance. ]

[Those sorts of comments shouldn't resonate with him. They shouldn't mean anything, and he certainly shouldn't relate, but he does. This is all so confusing, and he isn't too happy about feeling that either.

His gaze lowers thoughtfully as he considers all of that, deciding that he likes Maki so far; she seems lost, and not just in the obvious sense of things. But he's less convinced there's nothing they can do, and looks back at her determinedly.]

Sometimes you truly don't get to choose, and sometimes you just don't know that you can.

[It still feels kind of like heresy to say something like that, but he brushes it off to continue.]

We should find out everything we can about where we are. Then we can consider our options.

[ If she were at all judging him as more than a potential ally, she might arrive at a similar assessment. And she'd agree with calling it 'heresy' to think like this. All this notion of chosen ones, being destined... children shouldn't become pawns for fate, and they certainly shouldn't be crushed by the hands of a heartless god. She shouldn't have pushed for the reboot, considering what it would mean for all the other DigiDestined, but Tapirmon, and defying Homeostasis, had been so important.

Or so it had felt at the time. Now, she sees what she should have seen from the start. ]

You're right. [ After all this time, having someone else take charge is still reassuring. It makes her feel less alone, though this time she'll be careful not to get attached. ] I came from over there. Nothing of note. This place is desolate, but it can't be all there is.

[Having a mission is comforting for him, and although he's fine working alone he does prefer being a part of a team, even if it's just one other person. So he nods, feeling more confident, taking a moment to scan their surroundings again just in case anything changed... But nothing. It's still flat and featureless, with nothing to indicate a way to go.

But if there's nothing in the direction Maki came from, and nothing in the direction he can from, then they can split the difference and take another route. A momentary calculation and he turns their new direction, though he doesn't start walking just yet and instead glances back at Maki.]

Let's look in this direction. You're right; this can't be all there is, although any changes in our surroundings may be more subtle than we would expect. We should pay careful attention as we walk.

[ She glances up at Connor -- tall people, honestly -- and nods before turning in the direction. ]

You seem like you have experience with putting puzzles together. [ Figuratively speakinf, of course. ] Are you some kind of an investigator?

[ She starts walking now, slowly, being sure to look around for clues. ]

Edited (pyzzles?? lmao pls) 2018-06-13 19:17 (UTC)

I-

[He stops, having to catch himself before he goes into the 'Android sent by Cyberlife to assist in the investigation' spiel that's second nature at this point. Instead, after a moment of thought--]

I work with the Detroit Police Department, assisting in analyzing crime scene evidence.

[So yes, he's kind of an investigator, even though he's not actually an employee of the police department. He continues to scan their surrounds as he talks.]

What do you do?

[ You should trade titles with Daigo one say if the universes align and you two ever meet, Connor. As it stands, that answer is good enough for Maki. ]

I'm a government agent. We investigate occurrences pertaining to a world that exists close to ours.

[He would love to ramble titles at Daigo; they'd probably get along. But alas.

That's an interesting response, though, and draws Connor's attention back to Maki briefly.]

So instances like this, then?

[ Cheer up. When Maki's more chill, she can ramble titles with you. ]

It's more when that other world tries to overtake our world. The situation we're in isn't unheard of, though. And from what I can tell, this world isn't that world, but it still could be hostile.

[Emotions are very confusing!!! Cheering up is difficult.]

So far it seems unnaturally devoid of life or landscape features.

[So he definitely doesn't think this is a good place, and he wonders if they're really actually physically there at all. Maybe this is all in their minds, and they're connected somehow; he's not sure how that would work with a human, but it would at least make sense. For now, anything sounds better than nothing.]

What were you doing before you found yourself here?

Edited 2018-06-13 22:37 (UTC)

[ Honestly she feels that. ]

I agree. Even the most desolate locations in the worlds I've been in have features to them.

[ It's crossed her mind that this could be a new part od the Digital World-- an offshoot of the Dark Ocean, or a server that's firewalled off from the rest of existence. A quarantine zone serving Homeostasis's designs. Maybe this is where it wants to send King Drasil.

In a less dire situation, that question would visibly faze her, but Maki is in work mode. ]

Swimming in the ocean. [ Cool as a cucumber. ] You?

I was on an abandoned freighter.

[It's equally calm and equally vague, but it does give a link; they were both near water, apparently. Not a huge connection and entirely likely to be a coincidence, but still.]

I wonder if there is any connection there, in that we were both near water.

[ You know what, she's just gonna say it. ]

The connection would be stronger if you were dying. I drowned, or was about to.

[ Look this is in the interest of figuring out what's going on okay. ]

[Connor stops walking at that, turning to look at her more fully, not at all sure how to respond to that. He isn't even sure how to answer in terms of the facts; he wasn't dying, because he isn't alive (or is he?) but in a more metaphorical sense, maybe. Or maybe he just doesn't remember being destroyed; maybe Markus or North shot him, maybe the attack on Jericho caught him up in it.

But it isn't just his uncertainty about his own situation making him hesitate; he feels... Something, for Maki, and wants to say the right thing to help but just doesn't know what it is. So, finally--]

I don't think there's a connection there.

[He pauses a moment.]

Are you alright now?

[At the very least, hopefully she isn't having any health problems, although emotionally he doubts she's doing as well.]

[ She hadn't quite expected that reaction, though it's hard to expect much of anything when the memory of having your last hope shattered is heavy in your mind. Maki stops and faces him, glad for having so much practice at being calm under pressure that it's just second nature to be so now. ]

I've been through worse. [ Even as an adult, she recoils at the memory of watching the Dark Masters' defeat. ] I won't be a drag on our investigation here, if that's what you're worried about.

[That isn't what concerns me is the first response that runs through his mind, which feels strange to him, and he brushes it off in favor of just nodding, taking that answer as it is.

He looks forward again, ready to continue, and this time his scan picks something up; there's a change in the scenery, not above the horizon line but below it. He heads that direction without a word, jogging the short distance to the anomaly he picked up and looking down at it, realizing what it is.

It's the opening to a cave, dark and foreboding, not exactly a gaping chasm but more like a large crevice that slops down into the earth. They wouldn't be able to walk upright through it, but there might be enough room to crawl and Connor's scanners indicate that a little way into the passage it opens up into a larger cave.]

I found something.

[His voice gives away that, although he's pleased to have discovered something, he may not be super enthusiastic about what he did find.]

[ That, at least, she's used to hearing. With the perspective granted to her by absolute failure, Maki sees now that she was a constant source of worry for Daigo, who did his damnedest to watch over her. Ever the leader, while she played at knowing what she was doing, all while being played by powers greater than her.

But Connor is a stranger, so she's glad he doesn't voice his concern. She just keeos looking for something, following him when he finds something first.

She frowns at the small cave, thinning her lips. ] Looks cozy.

[ Or: thanks I hate it. ]

All right. I'll go first. I'm smaller and faster. If it gets too narrow for you, I'll keep going. Hopefully we won't be crawling into a den of hungry monsters.

[ Listen man there are some messed up Digimon out there.

If he agrees, she'll start crawling in. If not, she'll argue about it. Hers is the more practical choice, she believes. ]

[AND ARGUE HE WILL.]

I'm more durable than you are, and I'm also armed. I should go first.

[Neither are things he wanted to admit right away, especially since they'll probably lead to further questions, but he also can't just let her go into danger first.

That and he also wants to be do the exploring, but that's a more minor reason.]

How could you possibly know that? [ It's in bad taste to bring up her near drowning, so she won't, but! ] I have a gun.

[ Soooo badass, Maki!! ]

Just cover me. Someone could be waiting to attack us when our backs are turned.

[Connor considers that for a moment, before deciding arguing is pointless. However, instead of that meaning he backs off, he just... Dives for the cave opening, pulling himself inside before any further protests can happen.]

I can also see in the dark.

[Which, he realizes, he probably should've lead with. The tunnel is already dark, and unless Maki has a flashlight somewhere, they'll have to rely on his scanner after only a very short distance.]

[ Um, okay?????? That's one way to handle it???

She can't really argue with that, so she follows after him, a sour look on her face. No, she doesn't have a flashlight, but her Digivice could've done something maybe... maybe. ]

Should I even ask how you can see in the dark, or is it some secret Detroit Police thing?

hello i am here with lowkey suicidal ideation maki y r u like this

it's okay we expect it from her

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MAKI PLS

MAKI

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