Private/Closed Bootleg Bros. Ultimate - The Sumeragi Campaign

[Psymallard]

The Ones from Sonic the Fighters
The pay bonus caught Nack's attention. He usually shot to kill, but if he was paid extra, maybe if he shot them in the knees...

"OHMYGOD! Boss! Think of how many SHINIES we could buy with that Christmas bonus!"

Nack's thoughts were interrupted by Bean, who had began aggressively shaking the weasel in excitement.

"Ack- get OFF me, you mental case! What are you even talking about?!?!"

Nack shrugged the green fowl off, who fell back into his chair, cackling madly. Dermerzel had mentioned that the team was to split up. They had talked about the possibility before, and agreed that it was fine. They were each strong enough to do their own tasks, given they also receive direct support from Sumeragi. At least, that was Nack's decision. If they were covering more ground, that means they got more pay, and the sniper was more than happy for that.

Bark was less sure of this. He really wasn't comfortable with being sent out on his own. The polar bear knew they were much more effective as a team, but couldn't hope to stand up to the aggressive assertiveness of the team's leader. Bark looked over to Bean, who had a similarly solemn look. The melodramatic duck had began tearing up as he gingerly mouthed the words, 'I'll find you,' as if it were a romance flick. Bark gave a sad smile in response to his friend's antics.

Nack went back to stewing in his own hatred of Magneto as the human haughtily left the room. He didn't know it, but he shared many of the same ideas as the other assassin of the Kestrels. Unfortunately, the mercenary had made up his mind about hating Ghiaccio already, and that wasn't likely to change unless it could earn him some cash. As Ghiaccio asked his question, Nack sneered, and some of the weasel's disdain seeped out of his mouth:

"Weren't you listening? We're getting dossiers later."

The Team Hooligan leader didn't exactly know what a "dossier" was, but he could use context clues- plus it sounded fancy. It took Nack a great deal of effort to not call his fellow Kestrel a rude name. Bark was proud of him.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Ghiaccio

The ice assassin snapped towards Nack, staring down at the weasel with fury. For a moment, it looked like Ghiaccio was about to start yelling at his fellow Kestrel. But like with Magneto, the hitman managed to swallow his rage. Going off on Nack would have usually been fine, but just not in front of his employer...
"I heard." Ghiaccio growled through gritted teeth. It was taking a great deal of his willpower to not call Nack a giant walking rat. At this rate, V1 might be the only Kestrel worth trying to work with. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

 

[ArmedBlue]

Sumeragi Building 13 – Conference Room
​

"QUITE SO." Demerzel agreed upon Magneto's words. Despite the mutant essentially calling off the meeting before the AI did, he didn't seem particularly bothered by it.

Ghiaccio asked about any additional information, and was quickly told off by Nack. The growing disdain between the two could be felt, and it was Blade who stepped in to offer at least some further insight.

"The targets are vehemently opposed to the truth of our superiority. Do not expect them to comply with orders or give in easily. Hold nothing back."

"STRUGGLE AS THEY MIGHT, THEY WILL SOON SURRENDER BEFORE US. THIS MEETING IS OFFICIALLY CONCLUDED. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, YOUR MISSIONS SHOULD BE YOUR UTMOST PRIORITY. CARRY THEM OUT ACCORDINGLY."

With those words, Demerzel's holographic form vanished, the device producing his image deactivating. The Falcons at the table soon left their seats, stepping out of the room to get some rest for the night before working on their tasks first thing tomorrow.

Only Blade remained standing atop the balcony, glaring down at the conference table as the others left, before her cold gaze shifted toward the city below.

Silence fell over the room.
​

A Place to Call Home
​

Morning came – albeit it was difficult to tell.

As some of the group began to get up and move around, the automatic lights on the ceiling gradually activated to illuminate the room. Things around them were, of course, just as they'd left them last night, and fortunately, the hideout's location blocked out the noise of whatever Sumeragi squads had been passing overhead while they slept. Put simply, it was a serviceable place to get some rest.

A bit of noise came from the main room downstairs, akin to metallic items clanging together or some tools shifting around. If one were to move closer to the door connecting to the hall, they would find a small piece of paper that had been slipped underneath. A closer look revealed it was a note with fairly neat handwriting, which read:

"Good morning! Hope you slept well! Jin and I are prepping some stuff up for you guys. Feel free to come down whenever, no rush!"​

– Kohaku​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


"...mmm..."

The creature stirred. The hatless hero blinked his eyes open, looking around the room they had been so graciously provided. Part of him wished he would have woken up back on the ship, the past day being just a dream. Wishful thinking at it's finest he gathered.

Snagging his orange cap he left on a makeshift nightstand made of crates, he fit it snugly backwards atop his head. Best not to waste any more time lying around here while a war was on.

Making his way to the door, he was about to push against it when he found a piece of parchment right under it. Arching a brow, he picked it up, scanning it's contents.

A chuckle escaped his lips. They were good kids, welcoming them and willing to share supposedly food with them despite being in dire straits themselves. Those are the people that need protecting.

"Hey, everyone! Let's get a move on, I think the kids are waiting for us!"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Tracy Rinehart​

The automatic lights woke Tracy. Pulling the blankets closer, she stared up at the ceiling of this strange place. Sleep hadn't come easily to her, in a strange location with strange people, but eventually it had. She was here, in the safehouse. Not the Ra Yellow dorm, or the Slifer Red dorm. Still stuck in this strange world. Tracy took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. Sleeping in normal clothes wasn't a comfortable experience, and sleeping in her school uniform was even worse. God, how was she going to get clothes? Was she really going to be fighting in a resistance in a skirt and sleeveless top?

Another concern to bring up for later. Now it was a new day, with a new outlook. This situation she was in was really happening. No amount of denial would change that. She would have to face this head on. Tracy sat up in her bed, pulling a notebook and pen from her bag. She pulled her math notes out of her notebook, and began writing furiously.

Spoiler: Tracy's Notebook

Questions I can worry about

• Location: How did I get here? Where is here? How can I get back home? How is it 2134? Did I time travel?
• What are Adepts? What are Minos? What differentiates them?
• How was the masked woman able to shoot lightning and fly?
• Who are Sumeragi? How did they become so powerful?
• What are they doing with that big laser?
• If this is the future, then why am I able to summon actual spirits and use actual spells?
• Clothes. I don't want to be fighting in my school uniform.

Tactics

• I can summon monsters and use spells and traps here, but enemies don’t use duel disks. I need to go through my cards and modify my deck for this. Enemies aren’t summoning allies, so those cards are probably ineffective. I need to focus on destroying enemies, swarming my own field with monsters, and focusing my own defenses…

Allies

• Boboiboy
  • Boboiboy: How many fam-splits are there? How was he able to split into two? Is Boboiboy the dominant one? Are they multiple personalities, or distinct spirits? How does his powers work? Does he have any powers by himself?
  • Thorn: How does his plant powers work? How are some of his plants also beasts?
  • Fire? Who is this guy?
  • Lightning? Who is this guy?!?
• Frisk
  • What is the extent of their powers? Energy constructs, energy blasts, shields, walls, barriers, healing magic? Why did the Sumeragi troops let her in the wall? What did she find there?
• Mr. Miracle
  • This guy does real magic, but it looks like show magic? How?
• Magic dog
  • Can this dog understand me?
• Blindfold guy & Tempura
  • Friends with Frisk? They know each other?
  • Tempura: She can speak, what is she? Frisk had mentioned there were monsters in her world, is Tempura one of them? What’s the deal with the construction paper?
• Officer Howard
  • She can summon monsters, but doesn’t seem to have a Duel Disk or Duel Vest? And she’s a police officer? She said she was from a place where robots were going crazy. That doesn’t sound like anything I know about.
• Medieval Archer man
  • Who is this guy? Was he able to calm people, or did I just imagine that?
• V2
  • Why did he tell Officer Howard humanity was better off dead? Even so... I hope he’s okay…

Questions I can’t worry about

• Is everyone back home okay?
• Do my parents know I’m gone?
• I hope Goule isn't getting in trouble from me disappearing from the occult clubroom...

"Hey, everyone! Let's get a move on, I think the kids are waiting for us!" Boboiboy's announcement brought Tracy out of her concentrated notetaking, and she nodded. She put her notebook back into her backpack and packed up her Duel Disk as well. Taking a quick moment to make her bed, she put on her backpack and walked to Boboiboy.

The duelist paused a moment as she recalled her breakdown the day previous. She rubbed her neck, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Ah... Hello Boboiboy. How are you feeling?" She asked.

 

[comic]

FRISK DREEMURR and TERRENCE BOOM​

(Perms granted by Mok)​

The book wasn’t all that old, considering. It was written in 2109, and if the current year truly was 2134 (if those faded newspapers were even up-to-date) that made this book cover events that happened about 25 years ago. Still... a lot can happen in 25 years.

Frisk had spent a good few hours reading it, summoning her own SOUL as a source of limited light before the overhead ones had returned. She hadn’t slept much, not as much as she knew she needed to, but her mind was far too active to properly indulge. That, and... she didn’t really like spending all those hours in her head. Too many bad experiences.

Frisk flipped over to the next page, her gaze following the lines of text. This chapter was covering Sumeragi’s gradual takeover of the Japanese government in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Frisk had gathered early on that the author of this book wasn’t a fan of the Sumeragi. They were often pretty critical of the institute, and Frisk felt that their bias might have sometimes made their reporting be a little more skewed. However, given what Sumeragi was currently up to, Frisk didn’t exactly mind.

“Wassat?”

Frisk glanced to her right to see Terrence leaning over on his side. He’d slept soundly on the collection of pillows that Tempura had assembled for him last night, and the temmie herself was curled up between the both of them. From the bean bag Frisk sat on, she placed a finger on the line she was reading and looked at her friend. “An Overview of Ongoing Adept-Human Relations.”

“Oh yeah...” Terrence grunted, sniffing. “I’m not kidding when I tell you this is the best thing I’ve slept on in... dude... so long...”

“Were you sleeping on rocks?” Frisk asked.

“Sometimes. Learn anything cool?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘cool’ exactly,” Frisk pursed her lips, stretching out her legs and placing a ripped envelope in the book to mark her place before she closed it. “Want the TL;DR?”

“Yeah...” Terrence sat, placing his arm underneath him to make himself appear more attentive. “Yeah, lay it on me.”

“So, Sumeragi’s pretty old. Not Messiah old, more like Asgore old.”

“Still pretty old,” Terrence said.

“They were basically fortune tellers for hundreds of years, working with shamans and mystics and stuff. But then, some visionaries took advantage of Japan’s economy and infrastructure during the recovery after World War 2, started buying up land, businesses, transportation... they made a monopoly, and filled the pockets of any politicians opposed to them. Or took them out. Whichever was most convenient.”

“Huh, pretty cut-throat,” Terrence frowned. “So they went from comparing horoscopes to running a shadow government?”

“Basically,” Frisk shrugged. “Then Adepts started to appear. The world didn’t like that, pretty much every country declared it a matter of national security, set up concentration camps, internment camps, any other horrible camp you can think of.”

“The kind without marshmallows...” Terrence wrinkled his nose in disgust, now turning himself so he was properly sitting up. “And Sumeragi?”

“They did the same, coupled with other classic dictatorship moves, like inhumane experimentation, weaponizing the press, you name it.”

“We sure these guys aren’t tied to the Messiah somehow?” Terrence asked. “I mean, they sound damn identical.”

“Difference is, Sumeragi won,” Frisk said. “Resistance groups came and went. The book talks about one called Q.U.I.L.L. that actually almost took down Sumeragi, or at least one of its members did. Not much else on it, but after Q.U.I.L.L. disappeared, It appeared.”

“It?” Terrence raised his eyebrows. “What’s ‘It?’”

“Sumeragi’s leader, as far as I can tell. Q.U.I.L.L. took out the top brass, nearly toppled the whole empire, but then some artificial intelligence popped up out of nowhere and course corrected it all. This book only goes up to 25 years ago, and the A.I. is still in charge of it in this. I doubt it’s been replaced since then.”

“Okay, so the A.I. probably took out Q.U.I.L.L. What’s it got against humans, then?”

“Not really sure,” Frisk admitted. Terrence was asking her all the right questions, and he probably knew he was doing that, keeping their conversation interactive and engaged. She’d missed talking with him, even if it was about something like this. “But It renamed the company to the ‘Sumeragi Institute of Human Evolution.’ Also deemed all non-Adepts as Minos.”

“I’m guessing ‘Minos’ isn’t short for ‘Minotaur.’”

Frisk shook her head seriously. “Minority.”

Terrence was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking. “So my guess is, this A.I. saw Adepts as the natural evolution of humans, so just... what, went about trying to accelerate a replacement?”

“That’d be my guess. Whole world looks like it got toppled by the Adepts, and Sumeragi went from ruling Japan to ruling Asia to ruling everything.” Frisk agreed.

“That’s some X-Men level stuff,” T sighed, leaning back and stretching some. “We got a name to put on this A.I.?”

“Demerzel. Runs everything, apparently. Nobody seems to go against it. Trust is pretty implicit.”

“After fighting Blade...” Terrence winced slightly. “Yeah, I don’t doubt it.”

Their conversation was cut short when Boboiboy hollered toward everyone from the front door: "Hey, everyone! Let's get a move on, I think the kids are waiting for us!"

“Those kids could fill in any gaps of knowledge we have,” Terrence suggested as he rose to a stand. “Really helpful stuff, though. Good find.”

“It’s their book,” Frisk shrugged. T offered her his hand, and she grabbed it. He lifted her to her feet, and she did a small stretch of her own as Tempura began to stir. She had the urge to keep her hold of Terrence’s hand, but quickly let go. Now wasn’t the time for... whatever was going on between them. They’d be able to talk about their relationship later. “But thanks.”

Terrence still had his blindfold on, but Frisk was pretty sure he’d just winked at her before he walked by. Tempura was already bounding at his heels with rejuvenated energy (“tEmPURa alLL slEEPiED Up!!!”)

Frisk set the book aside and followed after them as they all three approached Tracy and Bo at the door.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


it looked liked Tracy was the first one to get moving, putting away a school notepad of some kind and that device she wore on her arm the other day...the duel disk was it called? Maybe he should take Yaya's advice and be more frequent with personal log entries, though those were usually for when he had some privacy.

She approached him, Terrence and Frisk getting the drill as well, packing up what they were doing. Asking him what how he was feeling, he cleared his throat, shrugging at the question.

"I'm feeling alright, sure yesterday I wasn't exactly the king of first impressions...but this today is a chance for a whole new spin on things."

He nodded his head in his resolve before his eyes danced around Tracy, obviously avoiding direct eye contact as he tried to find the words to approach the subject. His eyes eventually drifting to set on hers, he gestured to with a palm to her.

"More importantly, how are you feeling?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Tracy Rinehart

It seemed like she wasn't the only one feeling nervous about interacting with everyone. She gave Boboiboy and encouraging smile.
"Yeah. I wasn't exactly on top of my best game yesterday either, but with the circumstances... I'm sure everyone will, uh... understand." Tracy trailed off awkwardly. There was a silence for a moment, then Boboiboy asked how she was feeling. Tracy looked at her own hand, then nodded.

"I'm feeling... better." Tracy said finally. "I don't like this situation I'm in. But I'm coming to terms with it. I've got to. I can't afford to get overwhelmed like yesterday."
Tracy clenched her fist, and looked to Boboiboy with a newfound determination. An expression that quickly went back to slightly embarrassed as she remembered the day earlier, crying and hugging Thorn.
"Oh, I'm... sorry for freaking out yesterday. And, uh..." Could Boboiboy see what his fam-splits did? He seemed aware of Thorn, Fire-Boi, and Lightning-Boi did in battle.
"Thanks again." Tracy said gratefully.

Frisk and the blindfold teen approached with Tempura in tow, something to distract Tracy.
"Good morning Frisk. Hello, Tempura." Tracy said as the trio approached. She looked to Terrance. The blindfold he wore was dark, obscuring his eyes completely. Even so, Tracy had the feeling he could somehow see her. He certainly hadn't moved like a blind person yesterday.
"I don't think we've formally met." Tracy said to Terrance. "Hello. I'm Tracy."
She looked Terrance up and down curiously, trying to recall what she had seen in the chaos of the battle. He had also been creating constructs of energy, like Frisk, right? Along with some sort of Light Laser sword? Tracy looked from Frisk to Terrance.
"Do you two already know each other?" Tracy asked the pair.

 

[comic]

FRISK and TERRENCE​

(Auto perms granted by Mok)​

When the trio reached the conversing Bo and Tracy, the girl seemed to wrap things up to extend a greeting towards Terrence before asking if he and Frisk knew one another. “No, uh uh, what gave you that impression?” The blonde claimed without skipping a beat, appearing as though he were dead serious. “I’m friendly with every stranger, Trace, din’t ya know?”

Frisk rolled her eyes, humored. “We go to the same high school,” she elaborated, drawing in a short breath to explain further, but she stopped, having been about to bring up the fact they were on-again off-again boyfriend and girlfriend, currently on the ‘off’ part.

Probably best to just keep that to herself for right now.

“We also eat at the same table,” Terrence pointed out. “Attend some of the same classes, go to the same places after school, and we even invite each other to our houses on our birthdays.”

He was now grinning, betraying the joke now of he and Frisk being unfamiliar with one another. “Tracy’s a cool name. I’m Terrence, so as you can imagine, it’s a pretty cool name to have, too, considering it starts with a ‘T’ and consists of two syllables.”

“tEmPUrA hAV FIVEE!!”

“Yeah, what she said.”​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Underground Hideout
​

The group checked up on each other, gradually making conversation, before Boboiboy pushed the door open and they moved into the hall beyond. A slight scent of meat was immediately apparent as they walked, becoming stronger the closer they grew to the staircase.

Once they reached it, the main room came into view. The clutter atop two of the tables from last night had been mostly cleared out, and they were now placed together to form one big table with numerous chairs around it. Toward the edges of the table were a series of empty plates and cutlery, while at the center sat a couple more plates and bowls with a few types of food, each having a respective spoon to serve with. The current selection had tuna, rice, and dried fruits, along with a water pitcher and some plastic cups.

The noise from earlier had been coming from a fairly visible offshoot across from the staircase, which appeared to be a small kitchen space. Jin walked out from there at that moment with a bowl of jerky in hand, and as he noticed the group, he offered a soft smile.

"Oh, good morning, everyone. I trust you all slept well?" he waved with his free hand, setting the jerky at the table. Kohaku rushed out to greet them shortly afterward, holding a bowl of diced tomatoes, which she almost tipped over as she tripped in her excitement, a grin on her face.

"Mornin', guys! A big group's gotta have a good meal, so we brought out a buncha stuff for breakfast today! Can't do much on an empty stomach, right?"

She set her own bowl at the table, wiping her brow.

"Though, I guess I should've asked if anyone had any allergies or preferences," she chuckled slightly. "So hopefully what we've got is fine with everyone!"​

 

[Psymallard]

Akira Howard had imagined it would be hard for her to sleep last night, but it turned out that she was exhausted. The officer slept like a rock, and was asleep while the others woke. The talking had caused her to stir, but she remained in her rest area, mostly asleep. Her brain hadn't tuned into the conversation, just logging it as ambience, but when the talking stopped, it noticed. Akira woke up, sat up, and stretched. Her body was a little sore- figured, after yesterday's conflict.

...And the memories came back. The legionnaire frowned. She looked around the room, seeing some empty bedspots. Right. The others had gotten up and started their days. Akira was currently in a button-down shirt, which she usually wore under her jacket. She looked down to see it wrinkled and pursed her lips, being reminded of her own hygiene. The agent wished there were a shower here.

Yet despite whatever dreams she may have had last night, she now had to face reality. Some reality this was. Groggily, Akira pulled her knees to her chest and sat there, lamenting on her situation again.

 

[Fraseandchico]

The Bard

Fluttering awake, Kiwi had rested rather well considering the circumstances. Which wasn't particulary unusual, not for the bard, though perhaps strange from any outside perspective.

Also the fact that they seemed to change into their normal outfit almost that they sat up, as if like magic or something in a movie, that might also be a little odd from an outside perspective. While the others talked, Kiwi sat and listened (Though not overly so - Eavesdropping on more private parts seemed rather mean!), letting them introduce one another as the bard kept a mental note on everyone's names.
Before long, though, those of the group that had woken up left the storage room, heading over to the stairs to start the day - Kiwi among their number, humming a small tune behind the group with a smile.

Seeing the wide table cleared up, Kiwi was rather amazed by the food gathered. Easily impressed? Maybe, but it wasn't like Kiwi ate all that much, and given the environment... Greeting the kids with a smile and a wave, Kiwi took some time before sitting down at the table.

"Thanks, you guys got so much!" The Bard said, voicing their surprise. "I didn't see anywhere around here where you could get food - How'd did you manage this?" She decided not to talk about how they didn't really eat meat or fish - It wasn't needed, plus it was possible to just avoid it.

The singer made a mental note to make sure that there'd be plenty of food for those who hadn't arrived yet - Such as that nice Officer Howard who helped him so much yesterday.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


Hearing Tracy's newfound resolve, the orange clad boy smiled, nodding along. A big change from yesterday, holding her head up high despite the circumstances they all found themselves in. This was in stark contrast to Terrence and Frisk who didn't seem bothered much at all, namely the latter. She didn't seem like she had concern at all from what he noticed...almost as if she didn't fear the consequences to her actions? Fighting Blade alone, and the V2 debacle? Was where she and Terrence from constantly in war? Is that what lead to that attitude? Whatever it was, he doubted they'd be forthright about it.

In the meantime he assembled down with their house-hosts, arriving at the table with more food than he would have figured considering the state of the city and ongoing conflict. Bard had quietly gone to his own seat, complementing them about the food, yet also expressing some concerns on how they got it. Nodding in agreement, Boboiboy got to his own chair, gesturing to the spread.

"Yeah, I could only imagine how risky it would be to get food here, especially this much of it."

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Tracy Rinehart

Tracy giggled at Terrance's humorous replies. It was clear that Frisk and Terrance had a good, familiar relationship.
"It's nice to meet you, Terrance." Tracy said. She looked to the trio, Terrance, Frisk, and Tempura. "I hope we have time to talk later. I don't think I've seen people do the things either of you can do, I'd like to know more about it."

As she walked and talked, Frisk and Terrance's relationship put off little alarm bells in the back of Tracy's head. Not towards Terrance and Frisk, but towards her own friends. Terrance hadn't been there when she woke up with Frisk and Mr. Miracle. If Terrance and Frisk, two people from the same world, same location, and same time, were here... What if some of her own classmates were here? Dahlia, Bob, Bix, Braxer, Goule... What if they were out here? Gods, what if these Sumeragi people found them before they could?! What if...?!

Tracy caught herself. Another thing she couldn't afford to think about, not right now. Focus on what she could worry about, and do. Like eat food. Tracy could feel her stomach growl. When had she eaten last? Lunch, yesterday? No, she had skipped that to study. Breakfast? She entered the main room with the rest of the group, and looked over the meal prepared for them. It was very simple. Rice, dried meats, dried fruits. It reminded Tracy a lot of the meals served at the Slifer Red Dorms. Simple meals, but hardy and good for you. And importantly, filling.

Like Bard and Boboiboy, Tracy was concerned about the kid's food situation. But the others were already asking about that, so there was no need for her to echo their questions.
"Thank you, this looks wonderful." Tracy said to Kohaku and Jin. She sat down next to Boboiboy, nodding to the kids. While she could feel her stomach growling, she waited for all the others to arrive.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Underground Hideout
​

Kohaku rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as the others' commented on their food situation.

"It's no problem, heheh. To be fair, we managed to grow some of this at home, but you get pretty good at scavenging the other stuff once you've been doing this for a while. Stores and malls tend to have some preserved food, but we've even found some at ruined homes and the like. Granted, with Sumeragi troops all over the place, it's gotten more and more dangerous to get supplies, and some places were already way too risky to begin with. We've been trying to stock up as much as possible because of that."

She looked down for a moment, her smile fading slightly – though she was back to her usual self just as quickly.

"B-But you guys don't have to worry about that! Even if we can't do a big feast all the time, feel free to grab as much as you need. We just want to help you in any way we can!"

Kohaku slid into a seat opposite from Tracy and Boboiboy, scooping up some jerky and diced tomatoes into a plate of her own, grabbing a cup of water as well.

"Oh, that reminds me," Jin said, having been about to do the same, before he walked over toward the back of the room, where the computer sat. He unplugged a small device that was connected to the case, then quickly moved back to the table, approaching Frisk in particular. After looking the item over, he offered it to the teen. It was her phone, its screen lit.

"I believe this is yours."​

 

[comic]

FRISK DREEMURR and TERRENCE BOOM​

(Auto-perms granted by Mok)​

Food was indeed ready. Frisk’s stomach gave a low rumble—she was hungrier than she’d realized. All that magic usage yesterday had worked up an appetite she had yet to sate. That, and the fact she hadn’t eaten in a good while now. Before appearing here, she’d made sure to eat her fill as she’d been expecting to go on quite the adventure, hunting down Demon once and for all, and all that...

She wondered how that would have turned out. Maybe this experience was a good thing. She could continue to grow in knowledge and power, stack the odds even further in her favor.

The food stuffs that was available was... honestly, not much of anything. Frisk was a little spoiled in that regard. Her father liked to cook, she liked to cook, and she’d spent some time in a mansion with access to all sorts of rich food. Needless to say, she’d developed a refined palette, she felt.

Not that she was going to complain, or turn her nose up. Food was food at the end of the day - or the beginning, in this case. Beef jerky, tuna, rice, diced tomatoes, dried fruits, and a pitcher of water. It was sad to look at, and totally understandable in the given circumstances. There was something missing, though... something not yet added to the table...

Kohaku mentioned something about allergies and preferences. There seemed to be a tinge of embarrassment in her voice. Frisk shook her head lightly, deciding not to mention the fact she was a practicing vegetarian. Or vegan. Ugh, honestly she didn’t know anymore, it’s not like she even committed to the lifestyle. Seemed to be a running theme for her. “It’s okay, we appreciate it.”

As how the food was attained was explained, Frisk sauntered over to the cabinets and carefully browsed through them for a moment, searching for that particular something to bring the various foods together. Maybe a salad... no, that would need to be fresh, no way was looted salad that fresh. So... tortilla shells? Whatever variety, it didn’t matter. These kids were thin, too, they could do with some proper protein, jerky wasn’t going to cut it.

Frisk closed the last cabinet, biting the inside of her cheek for a moment. Options were really limited. The slums just didn’t have much available food to loot, evidently. Sumeragi would, however.

Getting an idea, Frisk moved her way to the table and took a seat beside Tracy, sandwiching her with Bo, while Terrence slipped in on Frisk’s other side. “Huh?” Frisk looked up Jin, who was holding her phone out to her. She’d been caught up in her thoughts. “Oh! Thanks!”

Accepting the device, Frisk checked the battery. Damn near full. She wouldn’t need it a whole lot, so she was quick to enter the setting and set it to power saving mode, spare whatever charge she could. “I can’t believe you got it working again, I thought for sure it was fried... thank you, seriously.”

Terrence reached over and filled a plate with a mix of pretty much all the food into a mismatched salad.

Frisk entered her gallery app, and to her relief, she found the pictures she’d taken yesterday were all intact. Swiping through each one, she made sure they were presentable.

Terrence grabbed a second plate and filled it, before he slid it to Frisk. “Didn’t wanna leave you out,” he said.

“Thanks, T,” Frisk drew in a sharp breath, giving herself a slow nod before she tucked the phone away. She directed her next words to everyone currently present. “Once everyone’s here, and once we’ve all eaten, we should look at the intel I got. It could help us figure out our next move, where to go from here, and how to fight back.”

Frisk looked toward Jin. “Unless you already managed to look at the pictures I captured?”​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Underground Hideout
​

Frisk took the phone back, thanking Jin, who gave her a smile as he went to sit beside Kohaku. "It's no problem at all. Kohaku's the one who did the repairing, really."

"Just on the hardware side, though," the girl noted. "You restoring the data and making sure the system worked was just as important!"

Jin chuckled slightly as he grabbed a plate, filling it with tuna, rice, and some dried fruits. He and Kohaku nodded in response to Frisk's following words, though when she looked straight toward him, asking if he'd already seen the obtained pictures, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of the boy's face.

"Um, yes, actually..." he admitted. "I hope that's alright. Having heard you'd gotten info straight from a Sumeragi computer in such a dangerous place yesterday, I couldn't help but look for those as soon as the phone was in working order. If I'm not mistaken, there was a map with several Sumeragi-guarded locations, plus a list of some elite Adepts, correct? It might be a bit confusing, so we'll try to clear things up as much as we can."

Jin was slightly eager to get into the subject, even over breakfast – probably natural curiosity on his part.​

 

[comic]

FRISK DREEMURR​

His curiosity got the better of him, but that was hardly a surprise. Frisk would have done the exact same thing in his position. Despite what she’d just said, about eating first... the dialogue had already been opened. “Three pictures,” she said. “Like you said: Sumeragi points-of-interest, the Falcons, and also details about that machine on top of the building.”

Frisk glanced around at those present. “That’s why I was up there, when the rest of you joined me. I wanted to see the device, the ‘Magnetic Arts Septima.’ And I wanted to see if I could hinder or even stop their progress on it. This device, it wasn’t even finished. It wasn’t in a complete state and it still managed to do what it did. The Sumeragi intend to use it to destroy their opposition across long distances.”

She’d been stewing over this off and on again all night, waking up at intermediary periods. The three images she’d captured were the foundation for a resistance, she knew it, she could feel it. Now, she could finally discuss it.

“At first I thought it meant destroying minos from the comfort of their walls with the push of a button, but it seems like total overkill to me, especially if they first need to locate survivors, like this hideout here. I have a theory that Sumeragi isn’t alone here, and that whatever extends beyond their borders of control is what this device is for. To wipe out not what they consider scum, but what they consider opposition. Actually, if I’m not mistaken...”

She glanced at the corresponding image for a brief second to confirm. “Opposition is the exact word they use for the target of the Magnetic Arts Septima.”

Sliding her finger over the page, she swiped to the next. “And of course, there’s the Falcons. Blade, the woman we fought? She’s the highest-ranking member of Sumeragi next to Demerzel himself.”

She was really putting everything she’d learned so far to the test, glancing over at Kohaku and Jin periodically to see if they were going to correct her on anything she was saying, if she’d come to wrong conclusions. So far, they didn’t yet intrude.

“Sumeragi experimented a lot with a special kind of septima, one centered around lightning, based upon the first recorded adept. I believe Blade is a result of that. Below her are five other adepts, called Falcons, called this because uh...”

She squinted at the image. “Well, it says they’re given falcon quills to hold to signify this. Apparently the quills also unlock a Falcon’s full potential. I’m betting if we nab a quill off of one of them, they’ll become a lot more manageable. And finally...”

She went back to the first image. “Locations Sumeragi cares about. Only four of them are like, in reasonable range of us, outside of Sumeragi’s walls. The rest just aren’t options right now, not yet, so we can discuss those later. Two are Sumeragi operated, and two are places they’re investigating.”

She pinched the screen and spread her fingers, zooming in to get a better look. “The first location is some kind of factory, or assembly. Auto-Fabrication and transportation of energy products, it says, so... weapon production, maybe? Second place is all about the development, production, and assembly of ‘gear and machinery’ so that obviously means their vehicles and mechs. Third P.O.I. is a crash site they intend to investigate, not sure if they have yet, and finally the fourth location is an abandoned data center they intend to seize.”

Frisk drew in a breath, having drawn on for a little too long as she lowered her phones and looked around at everyone. “I don’t know what everyone’s plans are. I don’t even know if we could be considered a team. But I’m taking the fight to Sumeragi, and this is how it starts. If you don’t want to, then this place is a good and safe space to remain in the meantime, out of harm’s way. I don’t want to drag anyone into a fight they don’t want to take part in. But if you want to help me, I’ll gladly accept it.”

She pursed her lips. “And I don’t think we can collectively target one location at a time. Taking out their armaments and machines would be great, but this crash site could have allies, or answers we need. I’m personally interested primarily in the abandoned data center. If they haven’t already seized it, that could give me—us—so much more information to work with, potentially. That’s where I intend to go as soon as possible.”

Frisk gave each person one last glance around the room. “And I intend to work with Veetoo. Keep that in mind when you make your decision.” That could potentially make or break things, but if Frisk was faced with a foe that HAD to be killed... she wanted somebody on her side who had no problems doing such a thing. Of course, she needed to speak with the robot first.

She didn’t voice it, but she really wanted to find some better food for these friendly kids while she was out, too.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Boboiboy


So she was gathering intel before they found her fighting Blade? Well that was good news! They had some leads to go off of. Examining the presented data, his focus naturally went to the abandoned crash site. Was a long shot. But could it be a piece of his ship or the ship itself? If so, he could help his crew out and get a great boon in their circle.

"I'm going to go to this crash site then, if we are sure about splitting up. While I don't know what crashed there, innocents could be at risk, and they have a short timeframe if Sumeragi has already taken an interest. Even if it's not a civilian craft and it military instead, we don't want Sumeragi to get a hold of any ordinance."

The idea of that space pirate faction's deadly tech getting into the hands of Sumeragi was greatly worrying, considering how grand scale their ship designs were. If this were a piece of that ship...Sumeragi would have access to even greater ways of taking out their foes.

 

[comic]

TERRENCE ANOMA​

(Auto-perms granted by Mok)​

His head aimed straight ahead, Terrence tapped a finger in thought on the table as Frisk spoke. When she paused, he scooped some food into his mouth. It wasn’t the best or most flavorful combination in the world. Actually, it was pretty awful, he shouldn’t have included tuna in the mish-mash. It might have gone bad, too...

Struggling to swallow, Terrence shuddered as the food went down his gullet, and he took a deep breath when Boboiboy spoke up. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together, politely pushing his plate away. He’d need to gather his strength for another bite like that.

Tempura bounded onto the table and began to nibble at the food, anyway. She seemed to be going for the tuna exclusively. What a life saver.

“I get the feeling the crash site and the data center are time sensitive,” the blonde teen spoke up, facing forward still. “They have to be top priorities, but we can’t all go lumbering around in a big unit, or even halved into two. We’d be smart to keep it lighter. In and out if things get a little hairy. We can’t risk another confrontation like last night... we were lucky to get away, no ifs ands or buts about it.”

Terrence leaned back, tapping his foot on the floor in a semi-anxious manner. “Some of us should stay here and hold down the fort. A few of us to the crash site, a few of us to the data center... and another team to scout out those factories. I don’t think attacking them outright, right now, is the greatest idea considering we’re already splitting up, but getting a bearing on what we’re dealing with? I can do that, and anyone’s free to come with me. Just some recon, a little stealth...”

“You make it sound like we’re a team,” Frisk said.

Terrence chuckled, turning his head to face her. “We are. All of us. It wasn’t pretty last night, we were a bit of an incoherent mess, but you guys know what I saw? Pun not intended. I saw potential, a lot of it. We still don’t know why we’re here, but we do know what threatens us and the innocent people who live here, and we can do something about that. So yeah, I think we’re already a team, and we’re only gonna get better. We work hard, we get along, we stay focused... we’ll have Sumeragi on the run in a week. Tops.”​

 

[DevVoid]

???
In the land of waking dreams and looming nightmares, a strapping young magician flew on through. Returned to his early days, the pint-sized would-be Mr. Miracle dreamt of a landscape that blended the familarity of the same showstage he'd performed on so many times with the forgotten remnants of his home, originating from his youthful memories. The ones that remained at least. It was a pleasant reprieve to have, a nice little pit stop between all the chaos of the recent going-ons that have been happening in his life. The scenery, as ever-changing as it was, flashed between moments of his life like a home-recorded movie stuck in fast forward. There was little structure or logic to their order, only that it seemed to echo some kind of nostalgia into Hagen's mind.

" Terry.. Terry..! "

The swirling vortex of memories stopped, as time seemed to freeze the environment solid, stealing all motion. Disembodied voices called out - first one, then many more joined the last one. The cacophony of words was incomprehensible to the miraculous magician, though they all sounded strangely like people he'd met before. The dreamscape of his mind's machinations faded to black, before a burst of color sprang forth and painted a new picture. Lights spread into the distance before stopping, illuminating the background in the pattern of a cosmos and its many scattered stars. Unlike the typical whites though, each one appeared flashing a different prismatic loop, their colors each cycling in a unique pattern. Before Hagen's eyes, an octagonal roundtable seemed to appear, each of its eight colors representative of the colors of a prism. Miracle himself was sat on the side that gleamed a pure white with sublte iridescence. Though blurred beyond detail, Terry could spot seven other figures joining their own respective seats at the table, their figures obscured by a glowing energy respective to their own sides.

"Ah, you've made it. Good, then we can finally begin.."

The figure sitting on the opposite side of Miracle spoke up, even though its voice seemed to ring around the confined space of Terry's dream. Based on the vague outlines he could witness and now the voices speaking one at a time, Hagen could not believe what he was witnessing. These.. colors, the shapes of the shadow's bodies, their familiar voices.. these were his siblings. Relatives born in short succession before him, some after him. Their various heights, those recognizable hairstyles.. it was unmistakeable. Before he could get a word in, another voice spoke up - this one a lighter, more feminine tone, belonging to the humanoid shade located behind the indigo side of the roundtable.

"It's a bit hard to explain, but to put it simply.. no, we are not your relatives. We are you, Terry. Figments of your imagination, our shape derived from your memory. But that's not to say we hold no ties to your siblings, either."

The voice seemed to ring in his mind as, though its head was too obscured by the magical presence covering its entire figure, the head of the shadow seemed to turn and stare down Terry himself. This entire thing was getting a bit unorthodox for the magician, even for someone as eccentric and dramatic such as himself. But it's not like he could just.. wake up spontaneously. And well.. there had to have been a reason for him to be called to this.. bizarre meeting, right?

"You are correct in your assumption,"

Another voice rung out, belonging to a shorter, masculine shadow, representative of violet. Evidently, this one took up the vague shape of one of his younger siblings, but it still left a question in his mind's mind. Putting aside the fact it knew what he was thinking of (which, considering he was dreaming and these specters did state they were figments of his imagination, explained itself), it was his curiosity to have the one burning question answered.. why was this?

"..and we will explain in due time. As we know it for now, it seems this magic that you and your brothers and sisters have been born with hold a deep connection. We cannot guess the source of this connection, but what we can know is that we've been formed out of this kinship. We are just as much part of your mind as your own thoughts are, but it seems whatever has granted you your magical source was the same origin of your siblings' magical powers."

Time seemed to suddenly speed up, as the colors of the stars in the background - and of the roundtable - begun to fade back into a hollow blackness. The humanoid figures sparkled and flickered, starting to lose form as it was soon time for Miracle to awaken again. But before his eyes could swing open and reality could take hold of his physical presence again, the red shadow let his voice ring one last time. Fittingly, for one who got the first word in, it had one last statement to make.

"We are here because you are away, Terry. Your presence is an anomaly, for this distance between your magic and those of your relatives appears to be a rogue variable. We're.. not quite sure what this will mean, but what we do know is that we'll be here, for the next time your mind drifts again. Until the next night.."

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

Unfortunately for this magician, it was not a miracle that happened to bring him out of his slumber. Quite the opposite, as his body rolled around in his sleep and unceremoniously flopped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The resulting pain of slamming onto the ground caused Terry to be shot awake, snapping upright in an instance as if he'd just found out he had overslept a very important meeting with his manager. And, fittingly so, Hagen did not even waste time trying to pull any kind of morning routine as his brain kicked into overdrive, rushing with a sprint out of the room wasn't familiar with, still thinking he was back home.

"ohgodohgodohgodOHGODdonttellme-!"

It was when he'd realised where he was,and the people chatting in the room he'd just entered in, that his brain finally booted up properly and his memories kicked in again. Teleporting to some graveyard of a subway, losing his coffee (an irrecoverable financial loss for sure), those sci-fi soldiers.. that stupid wall and the nuke that almost obliterated him and his new allies in one fell swoop. Oh, great.. so the whole past of yesterday's wasn't just some kind of strange nightmare he'd endured after passing out in the middle of his home.

"..oh.."

Hagen was so out of the loop from that bizarre dream he'd experienced, he barely even registered the fact that he had still been in the same civilian clothing as he had manifested into this horrible place before. They were cozy, sure, but they were hardly something he'd prefer to wear in public when it came to having to do his whole hero shtick.. then again, he'd also make the safe assumption that hardly anyone here has even heard of his alter ego's reputation, sooo.. sighing in relief with reality setting in again, Terry joined the table without a word. Still rubbing the sand out of his eyes with one hand, the other already begun to perform magic tricks.

And by magic tricks, it was, of course, the action of making his own breakfast appear out of completely nowhere. With a flick of his right wrist, a towel seemed to just shoot out of the magician's sleeve, having landed softly in front of him on the table's top. Hagen's next course of action had been to grab the cloth from above, raising it just enough so it would cover the empty space underneath from all sides.. and then raise it and slide it back into his sleeve, exchanging its place for two plastic-wrapped cups of Mr. Miracle-branded Instant Noodles. Seemed like that one trip to Japan and the resulting collaboration with a local manufacturer was starting to pay off.. discounting actual monetary gains made in the past from sales. It was in his drowsy state that the performer froze up, sobered up fully.. and realised he had no hot water available. Making things appear from thin air could only go so far.. which meant that now, Terry had to awkwardly raise his head and look to all the people present in order to speak his mind.

"..uh, does anyone know where one can grab some hot water here..?"

 

[Psymallard]

Akira Howard
-Early Morning, Strikers Hideout-
When Akira had worked up the will to get up, get dressed, and join the others, the group was already talking about their missions and... V2. They were talking about splitting up, which meant Akira wouldn't be able to keep an eye on all of them... but the officer wasn't in the mindset to think about this right now. Instead, she homed in on the food.

Sure, it didn't look appealing, but it was food. A slight smile crept across her lips as it reminded her of the food they served at the police academy's cafeteria. She sat down with her meal and dug in, clearly unbothered by what others may find unsavory. Howard ate for a minute until she worked up an interjection.

"I'll head to the crash site."

 

[Fraseandchico]

The Bard

Wow, they were already getting down to business? This group really was motivated...
Kiwi wasn't aware of the tech stuff Frisk got her information from, but figured it best to trust it and listened in.

...Splitting up, huh? The point was kinda worrying even if Kiwi mostly understood it. They just wished they could find a way to ask the others to not kill even outside her own group. But perhaps that was besides the points (Maybe in the worlds these guys came from death was easier to deal with? Kiwi wasn't sure...)
Still, there were a few options given to the group in full, making the Bard try and decide.

But the talking provided a small sigh of relief to Kiwi - What was said cemented in the bard's mind that there would be zero connection between Blade and Audrey - Though perhaps the demeanor and hair color should have tipped him off on that in hindsight.
"So...if we take one of the Falcon's 'quills'," Kiwi pondered out loud. "We might be able to get them to stop fighting entirely?"

As for the actual planning phase...
"I can go with Terrence on that stealth mission." It took Kiwi a moment to decide - but this was the mission that seemed to involve not having to fight so much. "I'd obviously like to help find people at the Crash Site...but I think I can trust you," A line directed to Boboiboy. "To handle it, right?" Was that naive? Would these people think differently of Kiwi for trusting so quickly? Regardless, Kiwi wouldn't let that sort of thing stop them. "But, Frisk, you said some of these factories are making weapons, right? That seems like a good place to start to stop them from hurting people."
Something told Kiwi this wasn't going to be like the one back in Chismest - Where they were able to convince the owner of the factory to stop running it (Though the experience had cemented that places like factories would just have an Off-button). Keeping a hand to their chin, Kiwi presented their decision happily, leaning on the table.

After that, though, Mr. Miracle and Officer Howard both arrived, prompting Kiwi to give some short greetings and waves.
"Good morning!" He said, giving them both a small smile. "Uh...sorry, I don't know how to get warm water around here..." He added for Hagen, but also heard Akira's note on which mission she'd go and gave a nod.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Tracy Rinehart

Tracy observed the momentary change in Kohaku as she talked about the food. As she suspected. Despite Kohaku's cheerfulness, food was a concern here. Just another thing to make a note of. Scavenging from stores and malls also interested Tracy. If they didn't have any spare clothes her size here, she could probably find some there. Kohaku began to serve herself food, and Tracy took it as a cue that she could do the same.

"I'd like to help you too." Tracy said to Kohaku. "But honestly, I'm still feeling just as disoriented as I did yesterday. I was really hoping for some kind of, uh... Orientation, today."
Jin returned Frisk's phone, and as the rest of the otherworlders filtered into the dining area, Frisk went over the intelligence she had uncovered from within the wall. She seemed to be taking more of a leadership role Everyone seemed to be splitting up, taking the threats in groups. Tracy knew she had to help, but what group to join? The mission to the Data Center could shed some light on how they got here, and other intel on Sumeragi.

"If this Data Center is important to Sumeragi, then why was it abandoned in the first place? This place seems very technologically advanced too. Wouldn't they have a way to get the information from the Data Center remotely?" Tracy wondered.

The duelist considered her options some more. As much as she wanted to go with Frisk, or Bo, it seemed like they were expecting a fight. Tracy wasn't sure she wanted to get back in a fight so soon, at least until she was able to figure out these new rules of this world.
"... I guess I'll go with Terrence." Tracy said. She looked to the blindfolded teen. "If that's okay with you, I mean."

Just then, Tracy noticed Mr. Miracle's trick. She stared, eyes wide, at the instant noodles he had pulled from nowhere.
"How'd you do that?" Tracy asked Miracle in awe.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Underground Hideout
​

With the conversation having turned to the obtained intel, Frisk quickly proceeded to break down what she had learned: details on the machine atop Sumeragi's district wall, the highest ranking members of the organization, and the points of interest located within the slums. As they dug into their breakfast, Kohaku and Jin both looked on in awe while Frisk explained, closing her analysis by assuring she wanted to help take down Sumeragi – something the rest of the group gradually agreed on.

"R-Really? You guys..." Kohaku muttered. "Thank you."

"It goes without saying that it won't be easy, but..." Jin commented. "If anyone can do it, it's people like you. Us Minos can't really do much against Sumeragi, so we're incredibly grateful that you're willing to take on the burden."

"Maybe us meeting was meant to be, right? Terrence said it – if we work together, no one's gonna be able to stop us!"

Even hiding underground and over a subpar meal, there was an air of hope about the room.

"Plus, it's not like we can't help you out at all. We should be able to lead you to those places you're looking for." Kohaku added. "We've actually also got a few weapons and ammo that the adults left behind, just gotta tune 'em up a bit. They won't really hold up out there, but it should be enough for us to hold things down if a few Sumeragi bad guys show up here."

Tracy had voiced her feelings of disorientation just as the discussion, which prompted Jin to bow slightly. "Sorry, Tracy. Guess we got a bit carried away with figuring out what to do next. I did promise to explain as much as possible, right? Maybe part of that's been answered now, but still... what would you like to know?"

Meanwhile, Miracle had mysteriously conjured a couple cups of branded instant noodles. Kohaku watched in surprise, much like Tracy, and then spoke up when he asked how to get some hot water.

"I... can get you some, yeah! Lemme take those from you and we'll have some noodles ready in no time!"

Kohaku's eyes were practically glued to the noodles as she spoke.

"Also, can you by any chance... do that, like, again and again? Maybe with different kinds of food, even?"​