((Please, I don't want anyone to mod a attack on me, I want this to start off as a normal greeting between characters, because I want to get the feel for the new atmosphere. Anyone, if they desire, can come and talk up a storm with Riley, but please, no attacks, I'm good with the DEP I've got, maybe some time later. Thanks! :^,^:))

A brisk wind played with Riley's long dirty blonde hair, chilling him peacefully. He pulled over his hood for warmth. He sniffed the air, breathing in the scent of the forest, and what mother nature's beauty held. His pace stayed soft and gentle, moving without a stop through the path. A soft sigh engulfed him as he leaned against a tree to take a break, and marvel at his surroundings.

DemiVeemon, Riley's newest addition to his crew, was perched on Riley's shoulder. The small creature yawned and rested it's head on Riley's for comfort. Soft, even and quiet breaths soothed the digimon, and he was now asleep. Elecmon, Riley's first partner, curled itself up and took a rest at the edge of the tree. Unlike DemiVeemon, Elecmon was still awake.

"Riley?" the small rabbit-like creature asked.

"Yes, Elecmon?" Riley responded, not glancing down at the digimon.

"What do you think is going to happen to us?" The Elecmon let out a sigh. "Or, the others? Like Seuss, Osaka, Megumi, Kate, and the others? You met up with Osaka and got DemiVeemon, but the others, after Lord of the Rings, it all went splatty." (Elecmon tends to use uncommon and unknown words to descrive things) The creature sighed, waiting for a response from Riley.

"Well..." Riley pondered what to say. "I can't say what we can do now. We can just try to look for them, and train you two. That way, when we come in contact with Insomnia again, we will fight against her."

He sniffed his nose, and looked down at Elecmon. He attempted a short grin, giving a sign of hope to the digimon. Elecmon nodded, and slowly put his head down, drifting off to a sleep. Nuzzling his head on his front arms, he drew into a quiet state, leaving Riley alone, and in a quiet peace. He took a glance around the forest, and then slowloy sat down, leaning his back against the tree. He put his right hand on Elecmon's back, calmly petting and soothing him, while he reached for DemiVeemon with his left, and put the digimon on his lap, and tried to rest, murmuring:

"It's all we can do, buddy, all we can do."

“Come ON, amigo! Just ONE little tree; is that too much to ask?”

“It is too much to ask. No way in hell am I going to be held responsible if you should happen to disturb some Digimon nesting in one of those trees and get your head ripped off for it. Digimon aren’t generally known for thinking things out rationally – much less wild ones. It’s for your own safety, I’ll have you know.”

“And to think I came to the Digital World to get away from this type of nagging. It’s as if my parents have come back to haunt me in the form of you.”

Nonetheless, the young olive-skinned Tamer continued to steadily pace down a footpath cutting through the seemingly endless labyrinth of foliage, undeterred by her partner’s refusal to let her indulge in climbing the many trees. Aw well, she mused silently – with so many of the things around, it’d probably take all day and night to check all of ‘em out. He pretty much did me a favour… and besides, I do have a punctured ab to think about. The arrow injury above her navel flared up slightly as her mind turned back to it.

“Even so,” said the blue-and-yellow Rookie, as if intending to take her mind off the pain, “it’s not like there’s no point in coming here without your reckless notions. A place like this is bound to be positively crawling with opponents tough enough to flaunt off the true power of the Digiegg of Cour-” Here he paused and scented the fresh forest air, for an intriguing scent had just captured his attention. “Irmã, do you smell that? Not far from here there’s a Rookie, a Trainee and -” The Gabumon stopped in mid sentence, unsure of the identity what the third odour, and ran toward the source of the scent. Zoë took the hint and quickly sped after him, the endorphins of running erasing her pain for the moment.

“…and a young man!” said Macio with a greatly excited tone, he and his partner both taking cover under the branches of a willow-like tree. Anyone with even the most basic knowledge of arborlogy would question what a willow was doing in the middle of a coniferous forest – but of course, Mother Nature had no say in the natural order of things in the Digital World.

“Um rapaz bonito…” murmured Zoë, a dopey smile and a hot flush washing over her face. She picked apart the stranger’s gold spikes of hair poking out from under a dark hood, the strong solid contours of his face and his lean, yet masculine form with her wide grey-green eyes - fairly normal behaviour for her upon encountering any remotely attractive human male between the ages of ten and eighteen. She barely acknowledged the tiny, squat blue beast on his shoulder or the colourful mammalian creature resting nearby.

“Now, let us not be too rash here,” Macio said sagely. “We don’t know a thing about this guy – except that he must be a strong one to have two partners. Therefore, the best course of action would be-”

But he hadn’t nearly finished his sentence before he witnessed his poor, naïve Tamer gingerly emerging from the branches and standing nervously before the teenager. She twiddled her thumbs and glanced at her sandals for a second before stomping her bout of shyness into the ground, holding her hand out in greeting and saying simply: “Ehm, hello – my name’s Soey. What’s yours?”

“-not even stopping to consider that he’s probably way too old for you,” Macio sarcastically continued from where he left off. He loved his human as much as the next Digimon, but why did he have to get stuck with someone so boy-crazy? She hadn’t even given so much as a “…and this is my Digimon partner, Macio” – way to stick by her only friend. As it was, all he could do was sit it out and hope irmã would eventually stumble upon her common sense.

((Not much to say here other than: it feels great to wear the pale green again, and that I’ve only just realised, after nearly 18 months since her “birth”, that Zoë would pronounce her name in the way above. :O.o: Portuguese: you never know when it’ll surprise you.))

Even the slightest touch can awake someone, but how they wake up depends on where they are being touched. When Riley felt a brisk, soft hand, part his hair, that alarmed him. He opened his eyes and looked up at the young girl. He blinked once, and once was enough. DemiVeemon, had awoke as well, feeling the presence of something and was immediately alarmed. The small digimon looked up, realizing it was no threat, but a small human girl. Sighing with relief, he shut his wide eyes, not realizing that the finding of another digidestined was quite abnormal and rare. Let alone, DemiVeemon had never really seen a human besides Riley.

Riley felt a small blush sweep over him. It was quite embarrassing to be greeted while almost sleeping. "Er...hello."

Elecmon, who was now fully awake, was up and sniffing the girl. He made sure she wasn't of bad scent and she brought bad deeds. He nodded towards Riley, telling him that she was not of dark, and one of Insomnia's followers. After they heard of Insomnia through Kate, Riley and Elecmon had made sure not to trust anyone.

"Wileyy! Wook! She's have a Wabumon!" DemiVeemon had awoke as well, and was already by the tamer's Gabumon, poking it and giggling.

"Wook Wiley! I make it tickled~" The small little creature was up and about, already in an attempt to annoy the poor Gabumon. Elecmon hushed the smaller digimon, beckoning for it with his tail. DemiVeemon sighed, and waddled over to Elecmon onto the digimon's back.

Riley, who was embarrased both by the greeting and DemiVeemon's irritating acts, scratched the back of his head. He stood up, and put out his hand for the girl.

"I'm Riley." He then looked down at his two partners at his side. "This is DemiVeemon and Elecmon, my digimon partners. Who might you two be?"

((Ah. It appears we both misunderstood each other’s posts somewhat: to “pick something apart with your eyes” is an expression I sort if coined, which means to examine something in excruciating detail. On the other hand, I failed to pick up that Riley was half asleep: so we’re even.
Once again: sorry for the delay.))

Zoë brushed off her simple navy blue t-shirt in a last ditch effort to neaten her somewhat scruffy appearance, then seized the hand of the handsome stranger now known as Riley and gave it a vigourous shake. “Good to meet ya. I’m Soey Embrulho, and the “Wabumon’s” name is Macio.”

“At your service!” said the Reptile Child, whom was by now at his Tamer’s side with a proud smile on his face, seemingly unfazed with the DemiVeemon’s playful antics.

Zoë was pleased with how the encounter had gone so far, but was unsure of how to proceed from thereon. Ever fidgety, she began to slowly pace around Riley in a circle, and attempted to produce a jumbled conversation.

“So, uuuuh… me and my partner, we got a method of Digivolution recently, so we kind of came out here seeking a fight of some kind. Only… neither of your partners exactly look strong--”

Argh! Open mouthed, insert foot – why do I always do this in front of guys? Zoë scolded herself silently.

“Don’t mind her,” Macio interrupted, addressing Elecmon and DemiVeemon, and generously attempting to clear his Tamer’s name. “I bet either of you could take me, no problem – in a tickling match, especially!”

“Yeah… but you know, I guess it would be a shame to spoil the tankil- how you say in English? Trankull- I mean seruminy- serinaddy- peaceful atomspear.” Macio rolled his eyes at her struggling so hard to pronounce “tranquillity” yet still mangling her final word. Oh well – typical Zoë, he guessed. “Even so, I built up so much excitement preparing to make climb the trees… and since Macio here deemed it “too dangerous” or some such nonsense, I gotta outlet that excitement somehow, right?”

“It’s true, you know,” the Gabumon concurred – he too was eager to wangle a friendly battle, but realised that tact was required in order to get it. “Refuse if you will, but be warned, for my Tamer hasn’t fought in nearly two days – and when she has pent-up energy, you do NOT want to be around when she lets it out!”

“Uh… I guess so,” said the young Tamer, unsure what to make of her Digimon’s friendly knock at her occasional hyperactivity. “It would really be nice to test our strength and build up some experience, but I’d be just as happy to just talk.” She edged as close as she could to Riley without her nerves getting the better of her and forcing her to back off. “What’s a good-looking guy like you doing out here, anyway?”

The phrase “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” sprang to Macio’s mind, and he wished Zoë could stop her thoughts from just leaking out like that, but decided not to voice his concern out loud.

Riley nodded, acknowleding Zoey and Macio. He drew back his dark green leather hood, and his cloak, revealing a simple outfit. When the cloak was draped over him, he looked different and more wild-like. But without it, he represented a 16 year old boy that had not the greatest sense of style. Baggy faded jeans, covered his legs and reached down to the ground, over the heel and tongue of his dirty gray sneakers. The jeans had a slight rip in them, just across the knee, showing a little of Riley's bare skin. Over his torso was two shirts. One, was pure white, and was a tad bit bigger than the shirt over itself, showing the white under the other along his sleeves, neck, and waist. His main shirt, however, was chocolate brown, with a hint of red, along with a dark gold logo that stretched across the front of his shirt, labeled on the top, "The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus," Riley's favorite band.

"Oh, er...yeah. Digivolution. We've only did it once. From Tsunomon to Elecmon. Not much yet. DemiVeemon has yet to evolve as well, so we are a little behind schedule." Riley gave a weak smile, embarrassed by his appearence. His blonde hair had failed to cover the dirt showings across his face. He had yet to have a time to head back to his apartment to shower, as he had a great deal of adventures over the past month or so.

Elecmon and DemiVeemon however, were even more embarrassed than Riley. Macio had straight out insulted them, and both of them together could not think of one thing to say back (They had failed to hear Zoey's remark, which was good, because they would have became even more frustrated).

"Oh. You wanna wess wit wuss?!" DemiVeemon threw an imaginary punch at the air, trying to show his toughness. However, he appeared to slip and fell on his back while attemping to show his strength.

"Hmph." Elecmon stepped in front of DemiVeemon, showing that he wasn't going to let Macio joke him around.

"You wanna tickling match? I'll give you a tickling match! Super Thunder Stri-"

"Elecmon, NO!" Riley yelled at Elecmon, hearing the attack. But it was too late, Elecmon sent the Super Thunder Strike attack at Macio, and now a huge thunder bolt was heading in Macio's way.

((Oh, shoot. I didn't realize that. Gahh. My bad. Er...well. Yeah, I was going to keep the conversation with Zoey going on, but I thought getting to the battle would be best))

The electric attack came as a surprise to Macio, considering his comment had actually been intended as a complement toward DemiVeemon’s tickling skills – but it was fortunate that Elecmon’s attack name was slightly longer than most, giving him an adequate warning a couple of seconds ahead of the blast, therefore he only just dodged it – he might not have been very physically fast, but his reflexes were.

A mild rush of disappointment that she would no longer be able get to know Riley personally washed over Zoë, but it was quickly replaced by the joy of knowing she’d finally engaged the fight she craved. “So I guess… we’re on now, right?” she said, a broad grin exposing her braces to the world. “Awesome. What do you fancy: one Rookie on one Rookie, a Rookie and a Trainee on a Rookie… or if you’re up for a challenge, how about a Rookie and a Trainee on an Armor?” Here she raised her right arm, accentuating her D-ban, and signifying readiness to give it her all.

“But you have our word: in any case, we won’t even think about deleting either of these guys,” Macio added in, addressing the human male, sincerity in his voice.

Without waiting for Riley’s response, the Gabumon cried ”Torção Azul!” and launched his body spinning toward Elecmon as rapidly as he could manage. He figured that whichever of Zoë’s options he picked, he’d be taking on the red-and-purple Mammal, considering he was clearly the main fighter of the trio.

Elecmon was expecting an attack from the Gabumon. When Macio unleahed his anger, a few of the icy flames hit him, but didn't do that much. He felt a slight sting, and managed to get out of the way of Macio's twirl. Breathing heavily, he wanted more, and was ready to pounce back.

"Or..."

Riley held up his D-Ban as well, showing he was ready to give his all. Elecmon didn't mind that Macio dodged the attack. After all, he was just standing up for DemiVeemon.

"I'll go up to champion level.."

Elecmon grinned, ready to take on Macio in a duel. His claws were out, and he anxiously grabbed the hard grass, shredding it until he found the dirt surface. DemiVeemon was behind him, ready to go if he had to, though he wasn't ready, and hadn't even let out a simple attack yet in his life.

"...only if your up for the challenge."

Elecmon snarled at Macio, feeling the urge to digivolve into his stronger form. Before Macio could react, Riley's D-Ban shined bright, exhibiting a golden, pale light, that shot at Elecmon. Elecmon felt the light as a burst of exertition from him. His structure changed from that of a rabbit, to a more human-like mammal.

"Elecmon digivolve to..."

The small digimon erupted into sparks of electricity, and with a large thunder boom, there stood a new digimon. He was much taller than Riley, about 7'10", and had a large muscular build. He wore torn up dark green pants that ended at the knee. On the back of his waist was a small dagger, barely visible. The lion-man's mane was gold, reaching down to the middle of his back. A large beaded necklace with a sun emblem was along his neck. Black lining surrounded his eyes, and a big black snout was there instead of Elecmon's small nose.

"...Leomon!"

The beast had a much deeper voice and looked quite mercenary. Although his appearence was different than Elecmon's, his mind and spirit were quite the same. Riley marveled his partners champion form, but didn't have enough time to stare. He turned to Zoe and Macio.

"Can you top this?"

Macio couldn’t deny he was intimidated by the transformation, but instead of panicking as much as he wanted, decided to swallow his nervousness and put on a brave façade for the sake of his Tamer. “We can sure as hell try,” he said with mock confidence.

Zoë, actually more impressed than daunted by Elecmon’s evolution, reached for the buttons of her D-ban – but, aware of what she planned, the Gabumon held out his hand to stop her and said calmly: “Not yet, irmã. We’ll give it a try with just the cards at first, and only go with the Digimental as a last resort. I beat one Champion in this form, and I can beat another, easy as pie.” These were his words, but a far cry from his inner thoughts.

Luckily, Zoë’s common sense had decided to kick into gear. Though disappointed at not being able to allow her new artefact of courage to strut its stuff, she refused to let that dampen her determination. She fished about five cards from her pocket, intently stared at them for a moment and, after forming a decent strategy in her head, she scanned the first one and cried out: “Cartão Modifique! Shadowsnap Activate!”

It was a cue for what resembled a discarded, but still sharp arrowhead to instantly materialise in Macio’s hand, which he proceeded to hurl not at his leonine opponent, but rather behind him: into his shadow. Confident that the opponent was supernaturally pinned for the time being, the Gabumon lowered his head and charged dramatically in the direction of Leomon’s left shin, intent on creating as deep a stab wound as he could with his small-but-sharp horn.

-------------------------

Shadowsnap
A Digimon throws a sharp object into the opponent's shadow, stopping him/her in place for one turn.

((I can tell this battle is going to be especially fun/interesting considering I don’t know exactly what cards you have :-_l:))

((Yeah, it will be. ^__^ BTW-I actually just edited my card list into my profile awhile ago, if you wanna check it out to see what cards I gotz.))

"Digi-Modify! Zero Hour activate!"

Zero Hour
The opposing digimon cannot attack offensively for three posts.

Riley reacted quickly, using one of his cards to defend Leomon. The card halted Macio's attack, and wouldn't allow him to try to assault Leomon. Leomon was no longer anchored to the floor, and free to do whatever he pleased.

DemiVeemon didn't want to disturb the peace, and quickly bolted on his fours and suppressed behind Riley's leg. Riley felt a surge of adrenaline sweep over him and he gripped his deck of cards tightly.

Leomon felt no guilt or pity for Macio, even if he was in his rookie form. He stepped to the side, staring gloomily at Macio. A low growl rolled under his throat. He took a step forward, and narrowed his eyes down at the Gabumon.

"This won't be a easy fight, kid. I'm giving it my all."

With those few words, he leaped forward. In the air he threw his fist back and bellowed out a roar. His fist bursted into flames, and when he landed on the ground, he shot his punch at Macio, simulating his signature attack.

"Fist of the Beast King!"

A large fire sphere headed toward the Gabumon, flames spouting from it's behind. At the face of the ball was a lion's head, roaring in terror at Macio. Leomon was not going to give any sign of forgiveness for this battle, sure he didn't want to hurt Macio that bad, but he wasn't going to let someone mess with him or DemiVeemon, regardless of whether they were joking or not.

((Eh...kinda short. >.>))

“Cartão Modifique! Bomba Ninho!” Before the attack could hit Macio, he found a mass of straw, twigs and feathers clinging to his limbs, chest, tail, face and back, and was puzzled by this for a second – but, when the nest materials solidified into hard metal plating, he realised what his ever-trusty Tamer was up to. He tensed his muscles and allowed the fiery lion’s head to hit him – though he took the attack full-on, the armour did a lot to cushion the blow.

“Okay, there’s Strike One! Two more strikes and out comes the Armor!” said Zoë in a surprisingly cheery tone, seemingly addressing everyone involved in the fight, and by “strikes” meaning attacks from her partner that failed to damage Leomon. The Gabumon nodded calmly, and taking the strategy into his own hands, crawled underneath the densest-looking bush he could find, hiding from Zoë’s sight, and hopefully Leomon and Riley’s as well.

He might not be able to attack for a while, but at least that would allow him to focus on avoiding his opponent’s attacks, and for Zoë to focus on formulating further tactics. As the saying went, both were making lemonade from the lemon life had handed them.

((I know this post is sickeningly short, but I didn’t really feel like I needed to say anything else IC. Oh well, might as well pad it out with the following OOC note:

Nest Bomb: Digimon is covered in pieces of straw and other nest materials, which hardens into a metallic plating, protecting it from all attacks from Adult-levels and below. When the Digimon inside wishes to leave the metal nest (it can be used for up to two turns), it will break apart almost like an egg cracking. The metal pieces will then shoot away from the Digimon at all angles, like shrapnel. The pieces can cause 5 points of damage each and have at least one guaranteed hit.))

Riley was too busy marveling Zoe's language to notice Macio's absence.. He believed it to be Spanish, as he doesn't have much knowledge of foreign countrys. Leomon was too frustrated to find Macio, and DemiVeemon had the most of his attention on a berry hanging from a bush that he couldn't seem to reach.

"Er..." Riley shuffled through his cards, desperately trying to find one that would work to try to get back Macio.

Leomon realized the Gabumon was gone, and quickly darted his eyes in every direction for hope of catching Macio or seeing where he was. No luck. He growled under his breath and snorted.

"...Coward."

Riley now found the perfect card to use. Or, slightly, one that might be able to work. He quickly held it up and sliced it through his D-Watch.

"Digi-Modify! Poisonous Shuriken Activate!"

------
Poisonous Shuriken
10 shuriken covered in poison are given to Digimon to throw whenever
desired.
------

Leomon instantly had 10 shurikens covered with poison that did not effect him, but would effect Macio if one had hit him. He quickly released each one at different angles around him, careful to not hit Riley, DemiVeemon, or Zoe, as his main target was Macio. He threw the shurikens at the bushes and tree stumps in his way, thinking with common-sense that Macio had no time to climb up a tree without someone seeing him.

"Take that, Macio!"

Riley captivated his cards close to him, and his eyes open in case he found Macio movingaround. Knowing Macio couldn't attack for a period of time, he tried to think of all possibilities. He wanted to make sure he was ready enough to get the rookie when he had the chance, and wipe him out before he digivolved to Armor where the odds would slightly start to even out.

((It's a battle, I'm not expecting you or me to post very long, 'cause there isn't much to say besides a card description and what our digimon do. ^_^ ...gosh I use that smiley alot.))

((Oh, if you think you use it often, wait ‘till you get to know ME. ^_^))

A single shuriken struck Macio in the armour plate on his back, causing a vertical fracture to appear in it before it split in two and fell to the ground, along with the weapon – but leaving the wearer unharmed. He sighed in relief and began to crawl to the next bush as quietly as he could – normally the branches and leaves would be extremely scratchy and painful, but the armour, as well as his thick fur coat, protected him.

Zoë, meanwhile, was almost oblivious to the battle unfolding before her as she furiously leafed though the cards in her hand (roughly half of her total deck, the other half still in her pocket), desperate to find something that would, somehow, allow her to get around Zero Hour’s effect – until one card in particular caught her eye. Macio might not be able to attack, she thought as the corners of her mouth perked slightly upward, but maybe I can.

Unsure if the plan would work, but as prepared as ever to give it a try, Zoë wordlessly swiped two cards, one after the other, through her D-ban.

As the first took effect, two holographic Macios – complete with holo-armour – materialised within the bushes, forming a triangle around the clearing together with the real one (who, by that time, was huddled tightly in the bush he had previously been crawling into). The one on Leomon’s right casually peeked its head out of the leaves, making no effort whatsoever to remain out of sight. Were the Gabumon himself in his opponent’s situation, he would have no trouble identifying the doppelganger as just that due to its lack of a scent, and he and his Tamer counted on Leomon employing the same tactic – but then again, a feline’s sense of smell is nothing compared to a canine’s.

Seconds later, the second card activated, and Zoë found a slim, sharp arrow in her left hand - which she then drew back and, with all her might and focus, hurled like a javelin in the direction of the lion-man’s muscular back. Granted, her aim wasn’t the best, but she had faith that the card’s boasting of the weapon’s accuracy would not lie.

----

Data Duplication
Up to three holographic clones of the affected Digimon appear. These copies are for confusion purposes only, and have no physical form (meaning they cannot use attacks or take any damage).

Rapid Arrow
An arrow that never misses its target shoots the affected opponent Digimon for 20 points of damage.

'Uh..." Riley franctically searched through his cards as the arrow sped toward Leomon.

"Gotcha! Digi-Modify! Golden Shield activate!"

------
Golden Shield
WarGreymon's shield is very powerful and not easily broken.
------

Riley intended the cards purpose for himself, as Zoe used the arrow card for herself as well. Riley quickly jumped in front of Leomon, and shielded the giant digimon with his shield. The arrow hit the shield, destroying the shield, but protecting Leomon in the act. Riley quickly grabbed two more cards, ready to scan them.

"That's it little digimon!" Leomon's voice sounded like a roar, himself being frustrated and ready to ferociously attack the little rookie.

Riley nodded at his partner digimon and wanted to end this as well. He patiently waited for Leomon to regain himself, and then activated the two cards in his hand.

"Digi-Modify! Power Modify and Trinity Attack activate!"

------
Power Modify
Your digimon will digivolve up one level for 3 posts then return to
normal.

Trinity Attack
A Digimon's attack power is tripled.
-----

"Leomon digivolve to..."

Leomon once again shined bright, exhibiting a new form, this one slightly bigger, covered with hi-tech metal armor around his whole body, and a helmet over his head, having room to see his face.

"...GrapLeomon."

The larger, ultimate-level beast, turned to face his right. He roared in terror and unleashed a powerful attack, one that would destroy the Macio clones in the bushes, and injure Macio himself if he hit him.

"Cyclonic Turbine!"

A large large tornado-like fire hit the bushes, almost obliterating each bush and quickly dissolving, sure to not cause a forest fire. GrapLeomon turned to his left, and attacked again with Cyclonic Turbine doing the same to the left side as he did to the right. The ultimate didn't pity Macio, or take it easy on him. When the time comes to actually fight for a purpose, he won't have to worry about hoow not to go easy on his opponent.

Riley and DemiVeemon shielded themselves from the attack. Riley still gripped his deck close to him, because he wanted to be able to use his cards to parry every attack from Zoe.

((I just remembered this now, but would that be possible to digivolve to the ultimate level without a crest, card, or digisoul? I just realized that, and I didn't want to go edit my post until I got a response from someone. Wups. T_T))

((Yes: I’m pretty sure Power Modify works regardless of DEP/Crest/Blue Card/DigiSoul. It would kinda defeat the point otherwise.))

There was no way Macio would’ve been able to avoid the attack unscathed, even with the protection granted by his armour. True, it reduced the damage, but only slightly – he felt his health sagging substantially as the wave of heat energy seared over his whole body. But, for the sake of his irmã, he wasn’t prepared to go down just yet.

“N…n-nice shot there, Simba,” he weakly taunted after staggering out of what had been the bush, to face GrappLeomon. “I guess you win this round… but before you *pant* celebrate your victory, get it through your mane that I’m not completely out of juice yet…”

With that, the armour (which had already been badly cracked from the Cyclonic Turbine) burst into at least a hundred tiny, razor-sharp fragments, shooting outward at every conceivable angle. “FOR IRMAAAAAAAA!!!” yelled the Gabumon with the last of his energy, thrusting his arms horizontally outward to add impact (both physically and emotionally) to the blast. As soon as his battle cry was over, Macio exhaustedly collapsed on his belly, clearly overpowered.

Zoë, meanwhile, was far too busy admiring her partner’s display of breathtaking persistence and honour to avoid the shards flying her way, and consequently took three scratches from them: one on the left arm, one on the right hip, and one flying past her neck, taking out a wisp of tea-coloured hair (it was fortunate it didn’t hit her glasses instead). She gave an alarmed squeal after each blow – but her surprise was very quickly overpowered by anger. After a few seconds of allowing her defeat to sink in, she confidently strode toward her fellow Tamer, exuding an aura more authoritative than one would ever guess she was capable of by looking at her.

“ALRIGHT, mister – stop the music!” she exploded in Riley’s face. “Losing to a Champion, I could’ve handled easily – but Digivolving the guy a second time when you could VERY easily have won anyway? I’ve done some reckless things in my time, but NO Tamer with even an ounce of honour would ever THINK of using cards JUST for the sake of showing off his own power – at least, that’s the impression I got. Don’t think I’m angry because I lost: I’m angry because you pumped up your oversized kitty there WAY more than necessary and you hurt an innocent Digimon in the process. What is Leomão to you, anyway? Some kind of weapon with no feelings that you can strut your stuff with? I know Macio is a HELL of a lot more to ME than THAT.” She paused to regain breath for a second, then gave Riley a violent poke in the collarbone with her index finger. “That, good sir, was really, REALLY low. Okay, so I lost, and I’m fine with that – but mark my words, pulling off a stunt like that makes me SICK.” She visibly snarled, her face distorted with outrage, and turned away into the forest, arms crossed, eyes closed and mouth resolutely frowning, clearly not going to move from that spot any time soon.

In her anger, Zoë managed to completely overlook her partner, now reverted to a helpless Tsunomon, sitting on the ground upon which he’d collapsed – crying a cascade of silent, but genuine tears, weeping for the first time he’d ever let his irmã down, and convinced beyond reason that it was all his fault.

((You make me an amazing sig banner, and I repay you by throwing an IC hissy fit in your face. Because my social skills suck like that. Anyway… you get +0.1 DEP for beating Macio.))

Riley didn't say anything to Zoe, but just glared down at her. GrapLeomon had protected Riley and DemiVeemon with his metal armor from the spikes of Gabumon's armor. The Ultimate level beast de-digivolved to Elecmon. DemiVeemon hurried on over to Macio. Elecmon hurried over as well, seeing Tsunomon.

Riley didn't pay attention to Zoe, and could really care less about what she said. He picked out a card in his deck, and quickly sliced it through his D-Watch.

"Digi-Modify."

------
Miracle Ruby
One Digimon's health can be completely restored.
------

Macio's health was completely restored, back to normal. Elecmon stretched himself against Riley's leg and purred softly. DemiVeemon crawled up his right shoulder and looked back at Zoe and smiled. Riley picked up his cloak and threw it over his left shoulder.

"Sometimes, Zoe, you've got to give it your all. I've been through a lot in this world. I know what it's like. Don't get too carried away with yourself. Fight for what's worth it in your life, and fight with your whole heart. I'm sorry for hurting Macio, but I want to make sure Elecmon is strong enough to face the darkness that lies ahead of us. Tamers, like you and me, have to band together, and help this world. Something's wrong." Riley looked back at Zoe and gave a half-hearted grin.

"Whatever you do, stay away from Insomnia. Ever hear the name, try to find me. That's whom I'm looking for. I'm trying to resolve the peace in this world, with Elecmon and DemiVeemon. And no, Elecmon is not some kind of weapon of mine. He means the world to me, along with DemiVeemon. Without them, I would be lost. You and Macio go pursue your dreams, and don't ever let anyone bring you two down. You've guys have a strong bond, so don't break it."

He nodded to her, and the small Tsunomon. Maybe they would meet again, maybe they wouldn't. He just hoped the two will be able to help with the problems in the digital world as well, and fight for it.

"See ya's around."

And with that, he left.

((Lol, don't worry about it.))

Zoë spent a couple of seconds feeling deeply moved by Riley’s words, their firm but kind tone lifting the rage from her. As soon as those couple of seconds were over, she snapped to her senses and scooped her weakened partner up in her arms. “Macio! Are you okay? You’re…”

“A failure? Not fit to fight along side you after all you’ve done for me?” sobbed the Tsunomon. Riley’s little speech had also offered him emotional healing, it seemed, therefore his tears had stopped – but his shame after the first loss in his short life remained.

“Not at all, amigo. I used to get all stressy like that when I lost a soccer match or whatever, too – but ever since I came to this world, I’ve taught myself to be calmer in the face of defeat… although I didn’t exactly put that into practice today, huh? My point is: I think you’ve made me a better person, not just a better fighter. But still… you sure you’re gonna be all right?”

The girl’s kind words light a bright light within Macio’s heart, and he smiled after a brief moment of wondering if he’d ever be able to do so again. “I can Digivolve back as soon as you give the word… don’t worry about it.”

Zoë expressed her joy and relief not with words, but by gently wiping away her partner's remaining tears with one index finger, followed by a warm hug. Macio was pleased that since her first evening in the Digital World, she’d mastered the art of showing affection without half suffocating him. “But don’t be concerned about Digivolving just yet,” she said, suddenly serious. “There’s something I myself must do in this forest before I’ll be completely satisfied.”

With that, she inhaled deeply, then took off at a swift sprint through the twisting path of trees and ferns, in the direction she’d seen her opponent leave earlier. She’d made a bad decision in deciding to wear shorts that day (khaki brown ones, to be exact), and consequently her knees had to endure multiple scrapes and bruises as she clumsily loped through the woodlands, but just like it says in “Keep On,” she refused to give into the pain of skinned knees and kept on running without looking back, absolutely focused on her goal.

“Senhor Rhiley! I… sorry… need… know… wait up… please!” she managed to stammer out as she frantically pursued the older boy, clutching Tsunomon to her under-developed chest. Fortunately, her stamina and running speed were above average for her age and build, and it took roughly ten minutes for her to catch up to her quarry. “Des.. desu… desculpa… I, I…” she panted once she was within earshot of Riley, barely managing to hold her exhausted body upright.

Macio then took initiative, hopped out of Zoë’s arms closer to Riley, and said: “I think what my Tamer is trying to say is, she’s very sorry for losing it back there. However, I still doubt it was necessary to go to Ultimate against a Rookie… but it’s in the past now. And in the present, Zoë here has a few important questions to ask you, if you’d be kind enough to give her a moment of your time.”

“Insomnia… what you mean?” Zoë panted, her breath gradually returning. “I… must know… more of your… experiences in this world… please, Senhor Rhiley.” At that point, she collapsed and sat cross-legged on the soil, glad to give her weary legs a rest.

“Yeah – if you could tell us anything important you know about the Digital World that Zoë and I don’t, that would be very helpful,” added the Tsunomon. “Oh, and I forgot to mention… thanks for being so kind as to heal me yourself. And if you won’t or can’t tell us anything you know, please at least here this…” Here he looked directly into the eyes of the blue dragon baby, and a sincere tone washed over his voice. “I never truly meant to insult any of you. I was just joking around… I had no idea you’d take it the way you did… in fact, you might say I was complementing your tickling skills, DemiVeemon.” He turned his pupils toward the ground. “I’m sorry.”

((Faint hint of godmoderation here, I’m afraid. Also, “Riley” is misspelled on purpose.
Random observation of the day: have you ever noticed the great Digital Dreams cliché of damn near all Tamers going to the Training Fields, then the Grassy Plains, then the Forest in that order?))

Riley was only slightly surprised that Zoe and Macio came back after him. He didn't know what to say when he heard her coming, so he stopped and wore a confused look. Struggling to understand Zoe, he did his best to interpret it.

"Er..." Riley was still puzzled himself. "I should be the one saying sorry. I was kinda crude to evolve Elecmon, but heh, what can I say? I get intense in battles." He gave a weak laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, erm. Insomnia, is kind of this girl. My age, I believe. A tad bit older, I've never really seen her. Awhile ago, she attacked the city, mainly apartment B. My sister was there, with her Terriermon. I met up with her in the Lord of the Rings movie at the Theatre. I also met a few other tamers, like Seuss, Azarni, Megumi,Osaka, and a whole lot more, I think. Kinda a lot. At the end, we all were seperated in different places in the digital world. Osaka and I recieved our second eggs, where I got DemiVeemon..."

He sighed, remembering Kate and the other tamers. He forgot about them during the battle. How would he find them? Struggling to cope with it, Elecmon came in and tried to talk it out.

"After that, we went through the swamp and into the forest. Then, we were interuppted napping by you two," Elecmon threw a playful grin towards Macio and Zoe. "We battled, and now we are here!"

DemiVeemon also chirped into the talk. "Don't wention wit, Wacio! Wiley will wheal joo whenever joo want. We are wriends, aren't we? I wike jokes, so wits pwretty funny if joo wink about wit!" DemiVeemon, if you haven't noticed, tends to add a "w" into every word or so, due to his immaturity and young stage.

"It's fine, you guys. Don't mention anything. Again, sorry for going a tad bit hard on you." Riley smiled, and pulled his cloak over his shoulder tighter, for a better grip.

"We're heading back to the city, you guys coming?"

((Yeah...I have noticed that. xP))

"Er... I should be the one saying sorry. I was kinda crude to evolve Elecmon, but heh, what can I say? I get intense in battles."

“Hey… no hard feelings,” said Zoë, having caught at least some of her breath by now. “If you think… you get intense in battle, you’ve obviously never seen… me at the height of an adrenaline rush,” she chuckled self-effacingly.

"Well, erm. Insomnia, is kind of this girl. My age, I believe. A tad bit older, I've never really seen her. Awhile ago, she attacked the city, mainly apartment B. My sister was there, with her Terriermon. I met up with her in the Lord of the Rings movie at the Theatre. I also met a few other tamers, like Seuss, Azarni, Megumi,Osaka, and a whole lot more, I think. Kinda a lot. At the end, we all were seperated in different places in the digital world. Osaka and I recieved our second eggs, where I got DemiVeemon..."

Zoë blinked and stared blankly, paying attention to what the speaker had to say for once in her life. Did he say he’d met up with those other Tamers… actually in a movie?? But she said nothing, and merely assumed he meant ‘in the theatre at the time it was screening.’ Poor, foolish little girl – she might not know it, but how wrong she was.

"After that, we went through the swamp and into the forest. Then, we were interuppted napping by you two. We battled, and now we are here!"

“Uh, that makes sense,” the young girl lied. “Thanks for illuminating us.”

“The word you’re looking for is ‘enlightening,’” sighed the Tsunomon.

"Don't wention wit, Wacio! Wiley will wheal joo whenever joo want. We are wriends, aren't we? I wike jokes, so wits pwretty funny if joo wink about wit!"

A Digimon as naïve and good-natured as DemiVeemon might be on the irritating side in normal circumstances – but such a creature was incredibly refreshing to talk to after such an intense battle, Macio decided. Were he not currently lack in the way of hands, and were Riley not far too tall for him to reach his shoulder, he almost certainly would’ve given the Trainee a friendly tickle, but he merely contented himself with a calm smile and a friendly: “Glad you think so!”

"It's fine, you guys. Don't mention anything. Again, sorry for going a tad bit hard on you."

Zoë turned noticeably red as she rose to her feet, and grinned broadly with the satisfaction of making a new friend. If there was one thing she loved more than carbonated beverages, it was the warm, unique feeling that always seemed to come over one to comfort them after a bout of sadness. She scooped her Tsunomon up from the ground, and they gave each other an “all’s well that ends well”-type of look.

"We're heading back to the city, you guys coming?"

“Well, sure – we’re hardly going anywhere else today,” replied Zoë, heading in what she was fairly sure was the direction of the nearest Trailmon track. But as soon as her back was turned to Riley, she lifted Macio to her neck level and her confident air evaporated. “Help me, Mace! I’m so torn… d’ya think it’s worth asking him out??” she whispered, her tone overflowing with panic.

“W-ell, I may not be very clued up on human courtship… but let’s just say I’m certain you have the Digimental of Courage for a reason, meu irmã.”

Encouraged by her partner’s words, she gave her D-ban – and therefore, her Digimental – a passing glance, then turned back to Riley and called after him, just as the roar of a Trailmon began to sound in the distance, clearly headed for the two humans and three Digimon.

“Say, Rhiley… what do you say to catching a movie together this evening? Just… y’know, as friends?”

((Dun dun DUUUN!!!.. and just BTW, I’m gonna assume it’s roughly 2:30 PM in the Digital Forest by the time this little caper ends, and somewhere between 4:00 and 5:30 in the City when TLK starts. Because for some odd reason, I don’t like watching movies too late in the day. *shrug*
Finally: credit for pioneering the post format used above goes to Taz.))

"Er..."

Riley blushed at the fact of Zoe, asking him to go to the movies. He couldn't say no, and it was on his way home. The only fact that he feared, was, what would happen when he went there. He could meet more tamers, and hopefully convert them to fight against Insomnia, but he didn't want to make it such a selfish event. He tried for a weak smile.

"Sure."

Elecmon smiled at Macio and Zoe, then proceeded through the forest. DemiVeemon nodded at Macio, then spit out his tongue. Leaping off Riley's shoulder, he followed Elecmon through the digimon's path towards the nearest Trailmon.

"Um..." Riley was slightly puzzled on what to say. "I heard the Lion King's showing. It's on my way back home so we can see that."

He grinned, then headed through the path, following his two partners.

He stopped, remembring what happens in a movie.

"Er...you might want to be aware that these aren't movies where you watch. You kinda, well, actually, um..." He was puzzled on how to say this. "Go in the movie. You become part of the movie, your clothes, and you interact with the characters. So when we go, dont be scared when you see some lions and animals...."

"...anyway. Follow me, and we'll take a Trailmon to the city."

((Short, but I have to go. Do you mind just making a small topic in the Trailmon section and giving it a one sentance post saying we all get off the Trailmon? I'll respond in the theatre tonight. Tankies!))

Zoë cracked an amused smile, uncertain of whether or not to believe what Riley said about the theatre. Yes, it was by far the most absurd thing she’d heard in her four days spent in this world, and she had to make a real effort to suppress a chuckle – as did Macio, only he expressed it by stretching his face to the limit of a semi-serious expression, tears of laughter almost leaking from his brown eyes.

On the other hand, it was consistent with what the Mikemon had said about “strange happenings” in the movie theatre… and of course, “full of surprises” was a description that was often applied to the Digital World. “If you say so,” she sighed. “I’ll believe it when I see it… and if it’s true, I guess I will see it.”

Besides, getting to visit the world of the Lion King was a childhood dream of Zoë’s. Were it true, she’d be able to live that dream – were it not, she’d still get to watch the movie as planned. Either way, she’d be bound to have a fun evening. What was there to lose?

Without saying anything more, Zoë couldn’t help but take off at a sprint toward the railroad, her face and her heart both aglow. :¦D: The joy of having just made her first human friend in this new world – not only that, but she’d pulled off a stunt that could, with the right interpretation, pass as “asking a guy out,” even if their outing was only between friends – had now sunk in, and soon developed into unbridled excitement. How else could she vent that excitement than by running?

And of course, whenever a Tamer feels a strong bout of emotion, be it positive or negative, their Digimon is, generally, affected too, to some extent. Macio felt Zoë’s happiness flow into his small body – almost glad to have lost the match, for he was certain that had he won, he and his irmã never truly would’ve come out on top as they ultimately did that day.

When she arrived at the door of the Trailmon, she was quick to bounce upward into its sliding door, and beckon her newest ally. “C’mon, Rhiley, Eelecmão, I’m ready as soon as yous are!”

((Thanks for a great little adventure! Yes, I’ll get right on that post in the Station. Also, for the sake of the thread, allow me to indulge in some slight godmodding, and just assume Riley went on after her. Because I'm almost certain he would.))