Sore Sports

[Zachary Scryer]

Another rogue opening in the digital field had landed Zachary and Panthermon in the most ghastly place. A place while they knew well of, was somewhere no one would willingly want to go. The Dark Area. The digital underworld where some of the most scary and grim digimon lived thrived in. Normally, Zachary wouldn't be there and would of gotten out asap-- but it was important to explore the digital world. At least he had company.

Panthermon was with him, and while he was indeed a unique digimon, he had forms affiliated with Nightmare Solidiers. As far as the Dark Area was concerned, as long as they stayed together, they were somewhat safe. Still, it was dangerous to let your guard down here.

As they reached the top of a hill overlooking the tar pits, they soon found something strange. "What is that?" Zachary asked, pointing to a towering shadow over the hill. It appeared to be some kind of fortress or castle, looking ominous and gothic in design.

It was a strange castule and place to explore to be sure. The two began to make their way towards it, hoping to understand what it was and perhaps get out of the open.

"Should we check it out. We don't have to go in if it seems too dangerous, but its worth checking out." The Panther said, urging Zachary to agree and check it out. And so they decided to investigate this strange new place in the digital world.

Little did Zachary or Panthermon knew that they were soon spotted by an old, and rather grim appearing rival.

Blight

[Blight]

Why Blight had ever decided to live in the sewers was something he would never understand. Why live in other people's filth when you could live in a motherfucking castle?! This was the perfect place for a (dis)noble person like himself. He was among villain royalty, after all. He had the look, the style, no one (ever) cheered for him. The Dark Area was a Hazardmon's natural territory, too. There was an odd sense of ease in this corner of the Digital World, likely because Blight's digicore fed off the chaos that the nether-realm produced. Whenever he walked up to a fuel pump, he didn't go with the usual 87, nevermind the 90 Super Clean. It was chaos. Chaos only. That's what ran this broken down vehicle, this shell of a Digimon. And he was a shell, with a barely traced allegiance and a trail of bodies behind him. Even so, 'I'm the king of the world!' his inner child screamed, all too gleefully.

Seated on the edge of the ramparts, Blight could see well into the distance. It was a cool spot. Isolated. Calm. Pretty, in a Hot Topic kind of way. An endless source of amusement, really. The murky mote below was fun as heck to throw rocks at. Soon as they hit, he'd listen for a deep splooshing sound and watch them disappear. Rinse. Repeat. He didn't take the time to think about who or what lived in that thing. For now, it was best to remain ignorant. If the first 15 rocks hadn't roused a response (he counted each one), then another 15 weren't going to raise the Cthulu.

"Oh hey! It's Kitty and...and...friend." Shit. He couldn't remember the guy's name. 'Z-Z-Z-zzzzzzuhhh let's not worry about it. He'll say it' he reminded himself. He waved to the duo below. He'd jump down if they wanted him to, or they could come up to the higher points on the castle and join him. It was a lovely day after all! The freezing winds and the roaring thunder were a wonderful compliment to the warren wasteland in front of them. Blight was actually in a good mood. As per usual, though, he looked like utter shit. The tournament had aged him somewhat. New scrapes and scars everywhere. Hadn't been to the drycleaner since.

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Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

The two reached the ominous castle-like structure. It was almost ghastly to look up at the towers, seeing how they vanished into the dark sky due to there was no real light in this part of the digital world. It was times like this Zachary wished he was home in the real world, with a night light. Even at a young child, he hated the dark. It was ironic, now that he thought of it, he made a digimon who used darkness in his powers. Perhaps it was his own way to face his fear by making a creature who was a protector from the shadows.

"What do you think this place is?" Zachary asked Panthermon beside him.

For now, they didn't notice the strange digimon's presence nearby. They were too focused on the building before them, and didn't hear anyone calling out to them. And if they did, there was a chance he might run

"Zachary, look at that?" Panthermon said with surprise, gesturing his head to the ground of the fortress. It was subtle, but Zachary looked till he soon noticed it-- the ground that divided the stairwell of the building to the actual ground was slowly moving. It was some kind of moving building. Though traveling at the speed of a snail, it was some kind of place that could actually travel. "This place may actually be alive in some form." the cat replied.

"Talk about a mobile home," Zachary half-joked, looking up at the towers and slowly seeing its movement among them. "Should we go inside? " he asked.

Panthermon pondered this. "It could be dangerous, even more so than this part of the digital world. Plus we wouldn't have any means of getting out, unless we are lucky enough to find a digital gate inside the castle." he said. Perhaps it was smart if they turned back...

Blight

[Blight]

Blight lowered himself from the ledge of the castle. Best not leave himself vulnerable in case there were any hard feelings, right? He got a bit excited, seeing as he now had someone to talk to. 'Friends, yay! Friends, friends, friends, friends, friends!' Some weird, childish tune played itself repeatedly in his head.

The Hazardmon veered around the corner so that he cold take the stairs to the outside. He leaped down a few steps at a time, skipping along so quickly he nearly fell and broke his neck. Blight was never all that concerned with his safety, though. He was terribly reckless, almost hilariously so. And he was excited! He couldn't contain himself. The small Digimon peered ahead, catching sight of Zachary and his partner through the doorway. He trotted on, a little more meticulously. Slowly, he creaked the castle door open, taking a quick glance outside. He'd linger there for a second, frozen as he looked the boy in his eye.

"Hiiiiiii!" he squeaked.

---

Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

Zachary soon was approaching the doors of the castle, attempting to open it. He had his hand on the handle and was going to pull it open-- which came open rather easily...

And then popped out the scary little digimon head wearing a type of mask!

"WHAAAA!!" Zachary screamed, falling backwards. He literally fell flat on his ass on the stairs, his hands going instinctively back to keep from falling further. The panther growled at the new digimon, popping up out of nowhere from the inside of the scary building!

"W-what the heck?" Zachary stammered as he looked at the door and the smaller digimon sticking his head through at them. "Don't scare me like that. Who are you anyway?" Zachary said as he pushed himself up.

Panthermon kept on his guard, afraid this digimon was hostile as well. For the moment, he wasn't that 'evil' sounding, but it was strange. Panthermon sensed something familiar about this strange digimon. And that bothered him.

The little digimon looked like he was wearing a hazmat suit and it just made this mysterious digimon a bit creepy, despite the chipper hello.

Zachary scrambled back to his feet and stood up, awaiting to hear who this digimon was and what was he doing to scare them like that.

Blight

[Blight]

Blight tilted his head. Didn't they recognize him? "I got you, didn't I? That's payback for slapping me around on that airplane!" he smirked victoriously. He didn't bother to give a proper introduction. In the moment he asked himself why they didn't know him, he realized that he met Zachary in a different form. Granted, his Champion stage, Venomon, wasn't all that different from his Rookie stage (same mask, same dumbass personality), so he was still partially suspended in disbelief.

Catching sight of Panthermon in the corner of his eye, he recoiled, slithering back into the darkness of the castle. From here, he'd lurch the door open further to give the duo some space. He knew a threatening Digimon when he saw one. Panthermon (his best buddy in the world, Kittymon) didn't trust him at all and his stance reflected that. Blight knew that he had a tendency to be a bastard and traitorous scum; that suspicion was totally warranted and didn't offend him in the slightest. "Anyway, come in. Check this place out. I'm not here to fight again, Kitty, rest assured. Unless you push my buttons. You know how it is" he went on. Blight winked through his mask like he was planning something devious. In truth, he was just trolling Zach and his partner, as he was apt to do. If either of them felt like putting him in his place, he'd deserve it. Some part of him liked to be mistreated. Perhaps all of his self-hatred had resulted in an awkward fetish. He smiled in an attempt to alleviate the tension. It was awful.

'Man, I'm really a fucked up dude. No wonder Zach looks so bloody creeped out. I wonder if he's chill with me calling him Zach? Also pondering if there's any hard feelings. Hope not. Maybe he wants to hear about how I got wrecked by a little girl. I'll...I'll wait it out.' Blight's internal dialogue: inspiring as always.

---

Tags: Zachary Scryer

OOC: Sorry for the wait, it's been a busy weekend between work & play.

[Zachary Scryer]

Blight

The surprise from the digimon was the least of things. However, Zachary soon began to put two and two together. Panthermon already seemed to know this digimon, sensing the same personality and aura from before! "I remember you. You were that poison digimon we fought in that arena. The one they called Venomon!" Panthermon declared with a concerned growl. "What are you doing there?"

Getting up, Zachary looked to Panthermon. "Wait?! HE IS Venomon?" Zachary asked. Curious, Zachary got out his digivice and had the scanner read his information. Soon Hazardmon's picture appeared and the data on him. "Ugh.. yep its him. Hazardmon's rookie form. Just as crafty and hazardous as his champion form it seems. "

Putting the D-Power away, Zachary looked as Hazardmon left the door and let it open, allowing them to go inside. Despite the fact they were once competitors and enemies, he now seemed to genuinely welcome them in. Panthermon and Zachary looked at one another. "Should we go in? Do you think we can trust him?" Panthermon asked. Zachary shrugged his shoulders, but still, he cautiously walked to the doorway and stepped inside. Not willing to let him go alone, Panthermon quickly hopped in after him.

Hazardmon's words were reassuring, so long as they didn't push buttons but there it was. He actually seemed somewhat friendly now. Perhaps it was all that negative energy in the tournament that made people crazy there. But that was all in the past.

They followed him, wondering where he was taking them as they went down the corridor. "So... you mean to tell me you live here, Hazardmon?" Zachary asked.

[Blight]

"Yesh, that is my Champion form. Cool it with the compliments, though. My ego can only handle so much love" he replied candidly. As usual, he had that wicked grin underneath his mask. Zachary and Panthermon could likely sense it, especially due to the smugness in his voice. It seemed the two were still a little tender after their battle. He didn't blame them. Something something gods above. Yeah, he was lucky that time that the judges dug his shit. Then again, they were stupid not to. He was awesome and would never need a reminder of that.

As the two debated his trustworthiness (which, in itself, gave him greater pleasure), he backed in further still, welcoming them into his makeshift home. Blight didn't actually live here; it was not his castle to claim. Those familiar with the Dark Area knew that calling dibs on anything was about the dumbest move one could make. Only those who rivalled the power of a Mega Digimon (or greater) dared to commandeer any part of the continent, let alone a pretty little fixture like the Apocryphal. He didn't honour Zachary or Panthermon with a response regarding his deceitful nature; they already knew about it. Plus, he didn't feel like doing anything too mean at the moment.

"Not my place, mate. I'm a hobo. What brings you here?" An honest question. He was curious. After all, not many digidestined types wandered here too often. It was much too dangerous. Of course, Blight knew firsthand how Zachary and his partner fought. They were certainly formidable and they knew how to make use of those damn modifier cards. 'I still gotta get me some of those. Cheap tricks. I'm all about cheap tricks' he pondered, rubbing his chin. In any case, he hoped they would entertain him. If things got dull, he was definitely going to bust out his Ultimate form. He needed to show somebody how explodiciously (in his own words) awesome Nukemon was.

---

Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

The digimon seemed oddly either touchy or flattered by the read out of his data. It was indeed a very odd digimon, and of course mysterious as they couldn't see its true face and the facial expressions it had. Perhaps it was one of the things that made this digimon so dangerous. Still, his demeanor was a bit nicer so it would of been rude to deny him.

Zachary and Panthermon continued to follow him into the building. All the while, Panthermon kept an eye out at the surrounding walls-- resembling more and more like a dungeon setting. It was no more darker in this area than anywhere else in the dark area, despite the torches on the walls.

When asked why they were here, Zachary spoke up without hesitation. "Well... we came here to explore. I am relatively new to the digital world, so we do mapping quests to explore and gain information on the different locations, so we can construct a map for others." Zachary said, Panthermon nodding in agreement. "Besides, I enjoy exploring new areas in the digital world. It is always changing before you know it. " he said.

Despite the relatively friendly demeanor of Hazardmon, Panthermon still kept his eyes on the masked digimon's behavior. He was just like any cat, always having his eyes on someone. Still, Panthermon kept his cool and didn't take any action. Hazardmon was apprantly being very social-able... for now.

Zachary, don't let his cheerful tune deceive you. Dark Area digimon are anything what they appear to be. Hope for the best, expect the worst. The cat said to Zachary through their telepathic link-- one of Panthermon's handy little abilities.

His advice was a bit harsh but Zachary regarded it all the same. Zachary wanted to make more friends than enemies by nature. He had enough with bullies in school and other bad digimon trying to cause trouble for others. But if Hazardmon was not as bad as he appeared to be, maybe they could be friends...

"Do you know alot about this place? I mean I know you don't live here, but have you been here long enough to know what it is?" Zachary asked, interested in this building and hoped it lead somewhere like a study or a place for them to rest.

Blight

[Blight]

"Exploring the Dark Area, eh? That's, uh, ballsy" Blight remarked. A tilted head illustrated his confusion. Then, he looked to Panthermon. "Dude, did you not warn him?" He was absolutely befuddled. Did they think the Dark Area was some kind of field trip? He admired their courage. All the same, it was plain stupid to come here for shits and giggs. Changing? Hah. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. This was especially true of the Digital World, which had been ruled by the same few Digimon for as long as he could remember. If it wasn't some rendition of the Seven Demon Lords in charge, it was the Olympos XII, or the Royal Knights. Or the computer core of the Digital World. When it felt like it, that thing had sentience. Sometimes called itself Yggdrasil. Either way, in a realm filled with millions of residents, it was only about 15 guys max at any given time calling the shots. Blight could see why Zachary was interested in the shifting landscapes, though. The bad guys liked nighttime a lot, and so there would be perpetual darkness when they took over. Whenever some light-in-the-loafers angel type ran the show, it was always sunny and any trace of evil (or poverty, or anything less than perfect) was scrubbed clean.

'Shit, I've really become a cynic.'

Blight sighed. Bloody hell. Better to clear his head of all this. If they decided not to give my a response on that last part, he wouldn't blame them. Still, they were messing around with a place they didn't understand. Charting the hidden corners of this place was...ill-advised. "It's been a legend for some time. No one's really sure who runs the Apocryphal - that's its name - or what it's for. Ghost tales, mostly. From what I heard, it's some kind of dark magic that keeps it moving. Likely Plutomon's property, if I'm to be honest. I've been around a long time. I may seem like an idiot, but I actually pay attention." Eh, a small history lesson. Hopefully they'd appreciate it. On another note, if this place did work on Plutomon's half, Blight prayed that he was not sullying its reputation by bringing a kid here.

---

Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

They soon entered a small room-- like a study with a few bookshelves, couches and a fire place. It was a quaint little room with creepy oil paintings on the wall and a dark chandler. As they walked Panthermon answered for Zachary, who scowled a bit at Hazardmon's warning about the dark area. "We are aware of the risks. Only reason I agreed is cause I am a Nightmare Soldier, no different than you. I know the risks as well as how to travel safely through this place-- at least I think I do." Panthermon said, a moment of uncertainty. Panthermon was unique digimon-- a digimon whose past life was one steep in darkness. He retained some memories but any information about himself back then were blank like an empty page. Panthermon's past aside, before becoming a digimon Zachary dreamed up, he was not afraid of the dark area. His properties were like that of those who dwelled in the dark area as well as the light.

"Besides, Zachary can be rather stubborn," The cat replied.

"Hey!" he retorted.

But soon it was told what this place was and that dark magic allowed the fortress to move about as it did. Perhaps it did have something to do with Plutomon or even the 7 demon lords. It still was wrapped in mystery. Still with each area they located, they could teleport and explore it later. "I see. Well, I'm not afraid of a little danger either. Besides, you can only be afraid of something you know nothing about." Zachary said, trying to keep his confidence up.

Either way, the fortress was an interesting maze of tunnels and felt like a dungeon-- in the adventurous sense of the word. "Speaking of, what do you know of the demon emperors? I mean I know of them, but there have been no sightings of them. What became of them?" Zachary asked, curious if they held an active presence in the digital world, outside of Plutomon.

There was still much he had to learn about the digital world, if he wanted to truly be a skilled digimon tamer for Panthermon.

Blight

[Blight]

"Hey! Dark Area, here" Blight interjected, pointing to his chest. Nightmare Soldiers? Noooooo. Having formerly been of the Dragon's Roar and Jungle Trooper family types, he took pride in the fact that his data corruption hadn't relegated him to simply 'Unknown.' He got to be a bit cooler than that. Ironically, the subject of their conversation, the Demon Lords, were also of this family type. The Dark Area group itself was very small, including the Deadly Sins and not much else, just a few perverted digivolutions. "I'm Free attribute too. The best result possible for a guy whose data got scrambled." Oops, maybe he said too much. Hopefully Panthermon wouldn't start asking questions about his past, nor Zachary. Blight, on his life, wouldn't share that history with anyone.

Realizing they'd been hanging in the foyer too long, Blight waved his arm, instructing that the duo follow him upstairs to continue their conversation. Hanging out in the hallway was fine but he preferred somewhere more comfortable to convene. There was an old chamber upstairs, something akin to a bedroom, with plenty of seating. The room itself was fairly dim, save for a few candles to keep it lit. There was still some light filtering from outside as a result of the realms rolling storms, though it did little to illuminate the chamber. Lightning wasn't exactly a mood-setter, either. A few pieces of ornate furniture were strewn about with plush, crimson cushions to accompany them. The whole thing was intensely gothic and looked like a villain's lair. In typical Hazardmon fashion, Blight ran straight for the biggest chair - one with an ottoman - and got himself comfortable. There was a small fireplace in the corner that he had kindled ahead of time, which would give the group some warm. Yay, story time!

"So, now that we're in a more appropriate setting, I can tell you about the Demon Lords. You're gonna wanna write some of this down, Zach. Y'know, just in case you see one." His instructions were clear and intentionally grave, as if he was trying to be spooky. This castle was totally hellish, wasn't it? The perfect atmosphere for tales of evil Digimon. "I'll name 'em all first. You have to get the party started with Lucemon. He's the big bad, one of the most powerful Digimon that ever lived. Looks like a cute kid sometimes. Other times, he takes on a dragon form. In that shape, he could practically swallow the Digital World whole. Those are the rumours, anyway. He's the sin of Pride. For you, human, he's our equivalent of Satan. Or so the story goes. Then you have Leviamon. He lives in the Net Ocean, so avoid any deep areas if you can. He's the sin of Envy. Daemon is the sin of Wrath. Shrewd guy, has a nasty mode change, so don't make him resort to that. Belphemon is the sin of Sloth. 99% of the time he's totally cute and cuddly, just don't wake him out of Sleep Mode. Then you have Beelzemon, the glutton. I'm not really sure why he's Gluttony. He's not particularly fat. He's pretty well-dressed, actually. Got that punk style going on. Lastly, there's Lilithmon, the sin of Lust. She's about as hot as you'd expect. Don't let her touch you or you'll literally melt. How's that for a metaphor?" A big ol' pile of info. Indeed, this would be a lot to take in. Blight didn't elaborate a whole lot, yet this spiel was enough to get them started on their studies. Understanding the Dark Area meant understanding its inhabitants and underlings. Blight supposed he fell into a 'underling' category even though he did not serve anyone directly. Not that anyone knew of, anyway.

---

Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

The fact they were all resting now was making it clear to both Panthermon and Zachary that they were among a decent guy to share the details. Even Panthermon became more at ease as he sat down on the carpet of the floor, and Zachary sat down near him in a chair. Hazardmon began to discuss the seven demon lords. Zachary knew of some of the names, but not that they were indeed the lords. It made Zachary want to get that upgrade to his digivice to earn the enhanced analyzer.

"I see. I knew of Lucemon and what he was about-- but I never expected him to be among the seven lords. THe rest I didn't know," Zachary said. As he finish mentioning the seven demon lords-- something did click for Zachary that he gasped.

The Pride Card. It couldn't be...?

Zachary reached into his pocket and took out his best cards-- cards he kept on hand at almost all times for using them to help Panthermon in battle. Taking out one, he looked at it. It was the pride card, a rare card from a certain powerful set he got from a contest. The card had indeed an ominous artwork-- with the sigil of Pride on it and conjured darkness when used. He then turned it to show to Hazardmon.

"Um, is this the symbol for the demon lord Lucemon by chance?" Zachary asked showing the card to him.

There was no way to tell what his reaction would be, but it would be interesting to show him he had a relic of one of those demon lords. Having one of the cards was pretty interesting as well relating to them.

There still was a tension in the air, or it could of been this mysterious place. Still, the fact was the two were slowly learning more about one another.


Blight

[Blight]

Blight knelt in close, getting a good look at the object in Zachary's hands. Man, did he ever want to jack that fancy card. He wasn't able to make use of cards, though, so it would be a fruitless effort. Not having money for a scanner was a sad reality for him. He wondered when the tournament would pay him for his participation; maybe then he could purchase a scanner and keep going. Irrespective of his impure thoughts on the matter, he recognized the runic symbols of Pride on the object. Pride was the easiest to identify because it was bright red and looked like a fork. Just staring at it made him hungry. "Yeah, that's it. That's Lucemon's. His symbol is simpler than the others. See the prongs? The colour red? That's his alright. I probably couldn't describe the other Demon Lords' symbols to you, but they all have their own colour, so it makes it a bit easier. Leviamon is light blue, Daemon is orange, Belphemon is, I guess I'd call it blurple? Probably the hardest to see. Barbamon is like, violet. Actual purple. Beelzemon is yellow, Lilithmon is green" Blight explained. He was curious as to how Zachary obtained such a card. Then again, he had no idea what it did. Probably the time to ask, since he'd been so generous with all of his information.

"What's it do?"

The small Digimon inched back into his chair a bit to keep his kleptomania in check. The curiosity was killing him. Maybe he was a bit power-hungry after all. How embarrassing. He'd have to tie his hands behind his back. There was a bit of jealousy there, too.

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Tags: Zachary Scryer

[Zachary Scryer]

Blight

(OOC: Sorry for the long wait. drama galore here on site ><)

Panthermon still was cautious to the little digimon. Zachary still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but the panther could sense the twinge of anxiety forming in Hazardmon's movements and tone.

Zachary looked at the Pride card in his hand. When he did use it, it created a coat of darkness around the battlefield. It gave them good cover and stealth surprises. It certainly screwed up the enemy's sense of direction and disoriented him. "Um... well it creates a darkness cloud that is impossible to see through. It seems to effect anyone really, regardless of level. Supposedly its a very rare and coveted card. " he said.

Unlike all his other digimon cards from the card game, this one didn't have the same back and the black logo of the card with the seal was creepy in of itself. However, Pride seemed to be a good 'theme' for Zachary and Panthermon. Even if they didn't know it. Pride it seems was the vice that Panthermon most related to.

(Short but just to kick things up again. Ty for waiting)