[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[WriggleRid3r]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Gensokyo

---

After quite a lot of shock, heartwarming redemption, and tears of joy, Yuuka's house turned from a mourning ground to that of a festival. Yuuka, joyous that she evaded death yet once again, cracked open some of her finest wine for the visitors to enjoy. No Youkai hunted humans, and no humans exterminated Youkai for this day, where the balance of Gensokyo returns to normal.

"Hello, John." Kanako greeted John, holding two wine glasses. She handed one to John and took a sip from her own. "Some party, huh?"

[Kristia]

Dreamworld

"The world of living is a privilege you know?" a voice said

"Many would do everything to have that chance" another one spoke

"And you have crossed the line between it and ours many times" a third and more sinister voice growled

"You may be a being of the spirit kind, but know that there are beings here who want you dead" and with that, the figure of a similar creature appeared before her eyes

"I have waited enough time and your world shall face me again" the white haired being spoke as her pixelated and distorted face looked dead on her as a flash of light covered everything

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Gensokyo

Nera was taking care of the unconscious Renamon while everyone was enjoying the resurrection of Yuuka, she noticed that the fox was fidgeting on what could be a nightmare ("Thatīs odd, It is really unusual for her to have nightmares") the lucario thought.

Suddenly fox woke up gasping, the face Nera saw was of something she had never seen on her partner, it was one of.. fear

Renamon looked around processing that she was on the real world in Gensokyo, yet she was looking at nothingness too. the only this she said in her trance was "D-Reaper"

[S121]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Gensokyo | Dusk

"Yea. Much better than earlier. Thank you.", John said to Kanako as he held his his hand out and grabbed the drink.

As soon as John grabbed the drink, it almost fell out of his hand, but he kept a good hold on it. Based on how his hand was visibly shaking to the point where he almost spilled the drink all over himself, it was still pretty evident that John was still struggling to recover. The spell he cast to restore Yuuka took a massive toll on him. The only reason he didn't pass out was because he willed himself to remain conscious, something he learned to do back when he was a child and training to be a SPARTAN. Even with all that training and with all the augmentations that made him capable of things well beyond any normal human couldn't save him from the aftereffects of casting such a powerful spell. On the bright side, John was feeling much better than before. He actually needed someone to carry him out of Yuuka's room and guide him into the seat he was now sitting in.

"Looks like it took a lot more out of me than I thought. I'm not sure Renamon's faring any better though.", John said to Kanako before carefully raising the drink towards his mouth and taking a sip.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Garden

---

"Yeah, it takes a lot out of you to help one of us, huh?" Kanako said, contemplating. She obviously has something in her mind. "It's been 40 years since I came here, and some of the Youkais here still confuse me. There are unknown forces lurking in the shadows of this land, and you must keep vigilant if you want to survive... To be honest, other than Yuuka and Yukari, and maybe Ran and Chen, you don't know the residents here that well, do you?"

[Kristia]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun

Finally out of her trance, Renamon got back to reality. She looked that everything was ok and there was no threat so she managed to sigh in relief

Nera on the other hand was worried "What did you see in the other side?" she asked looking at the fox

"Canīt hide anything from you right?" at the shake of the jackalīs response, the fox spoke "It happens when Im too tired and manage to cross that line, and no Im not dead at that time"

"You digimons have many strange traits if you ask me" the lucario couldnīt help but smirk

Getting on her feet, Renamon had to hold the couchīs arm rest to stay up "Says the one who can actually rip someoneīs soul if angered, but back on track. I saw someone who is a real danger, I donīt know if it can reach the same power or become more stronger than the devourer event, but she is preparing for something"

"If even you showed fear, then it is something important" Nera spoke and looked at the people celebrating "But letīs leave that for later, now it is time to relax"

Seeing that the jackal still had a sling on her arm, Renamon nodded and they walked into the main room

[S121]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Gensokyo | Dusk

John was a little confused by the question, and it showed on his face. John was sure that he knew more people than just the people Kanako listed. After all, he had been in Gensokyo for over four months. Of course, as soon as John began to think about it, small seeds of doubt began to grow.

"Maybe.", John said in a somewhat unsure and slightly confused tone of voice.

"I've met a lot of people ever since the first time we came to Gensokyo, back when The Border fell. I could even name off everyone I met, and everything that happened when I met them, but.. I guess I really don't know that many people that well, other than Rumia, Komachi, Shikieiki, and Daiyousei...", John said as he continued to deeply think about everyone that he truly knew in Gensokyo, all while staring at his drink.

The more John thought about it, the more he could see that he really didn't know that many people in Gensokyo. Sure, he met many of them either in passing, or during the Devourer Incident, but he really didn't know them. John never really thought about this kind of thing before. If anything, he considered knowing their names to be enough. After all, that was pretty much what it was like in his universe. Back in his universe, simply knowing a person's name was enough to say that he knew the person, but here, people were a little bit closer than that. Sure, he knew Rumia, Komachi, Shikieiki, and Daiyousei. He would even consider them to be friends, including Kanako, Aya, Utsuho, and everyone else he's met, but that was simply because he knew more about them than just their names. Of course, he still barely knew them, and only knew a little more than just their names. To be honest, John found the revelation to be a little surprising.

"... But even though I know more about them than all the others, I actually don't know that much about them.", John finished.

"Huh... You're right. I suppose I don't.", John said to Kanako as he looked back to her with a hint of surprise on his face and in his voice.

In a split second, barely perceivable by a normal human, John then mulled over why Kanako asked him the question. Based on what Kanako said before asking the question, she might have been thinking about how he was so willing to help everyone here, to constantly put his life on the line and do everything in his power to help them, even though he didn't know them. How strange she might think it to be that John would put his life on the line so easily for a bunch of strangers, and for nothing in return. To be honest, John felt that maybe his motivation was a little deeper than just a sense of duty. Even back in his universe, he would care a little bit more about the people he was fighting for than all the others, even going so far as to voluntarily watch the planets he failed to protect get glassed by The Covenant, watch as the people he swore to protect down below burned from the intense heat of the glassing.

Of course, maybe she simply thought that John should meet more people instead of spending his days training, killing, and remaining at home. Of course, that was all John could do, Even before he met Yuuka. He would simply train to become better at his job, use his skills to their fullest extent, and go home to take care of all of his essential needs; sleeping and eating. John had to admit, he did have a relatively dull lifestyle in the past, and even now, it was not much better. He still had a lot of things to do, so many responsibilities that he could barely keep up with them, even when he spent all of his time trying to fulfill these perceived obligations. It made John begin to think. Was he stretching himself too thin? It was a silly thought to have, especially considering that he was the best Humanity could make him. A SPARTAN-II reaching their limit and being stretched thin was a stupid thought for a SPARTAN to have, but then again, he had been more busy today than he had been back in his universe. Just today's activities would have counted as 4 or 5 missions. Not only that, he still needed to check Yukari's condition, check to see who Ran was talking to, and kill The Auditor before he could say that his day was finished, and John was already so exhausted that he could barely move. With that in mind, John was tempted to will himself back to a stand and finish what he needed to do, but how long would that last? John was simply in no condition to keep going, not right now at least. Perhaps he was stretching himself too thin, and maybe that was why Kanako was asking this question, to find a way to move him from his life of constant work.

These were both interesting, deep trains of thought, but they were still nothing more than just speculation. Sure, John could make educated guesses based on her body language, what words she spoke, and how she spoke them, but it wasn't like John could read Kanako's mind. In the end, he would need to ask her why.

"Why do you ask?", John then asked Kanako in a curious tone.

[Koishi]

Jigsaw Valley

---

"What tipped you off, Watson?" HP said jokingly as they approached the elevator, as the island fully collapsed behind them.

"Gremlins will fix it. They always do." HP explained.

[S121]

Jigsaw Valley

When The Higher Power said that there was no need to try and fix the island, Takoizu eased her focus off of the island and quickly entered the elevator with him.

"You say it like this happens all the time. Does this happen often?", Takoizu asked The Higher Power in a slightly curious tone.

[Koishi]

Jigsaw Valley

---

"Happens more than you think. Gremlins sometimes purposesfully demolish a place so they can build another." HP explained as the elevator dropped down. "Half the time I never understand why. Damn Crimson Order are a weird bunch."

[S121]

Jigsaw Valley

"The Crimson Order? I take it they're the ones who run the planet, correct?", Takoizu asked The Higher Power as the elevator continued to descend.

[Luna Pixu]

Central Chamber - Prometheus Labs - London | Dawn

---

Stepping out of the office, the duo noticed how lively the labs were. SPARTANs, scientists, and guards moving from one area to another. Each of them with their own job and line of work to do around the labs. And then there was Cole and Flandre. A man who had spent of most of his time in the real world locked away and a vampire who had connections to other people and strange powers. Both of which had nothing to do and yet were obviously using military space for their own selfish purposes. Cole was still surprised that he was getting away with this. If he could do this, what other kinds of connections did this little vampire have?
Brushing the thought aside, Cole then thought about what to do about playing with Flandre. At that moment of pondering over this, Cole remembered something. That female SPARTAN from before... What was her name again? Alice-2... 5... 8...? If Cole recalled correctly, it would be that: Alice-258. An unusual way to identify units here. First name followed by a string of numbers. It made sense in the long run but these name were hard to remember. How did these people pull it off? How could they recall such names? Surely they had some system behind it. One that Cole wanted to find out.
Cole moved up to the nearest SPARTAN to try to ask about Alice-258's location.
"Erm... Hey, do you know where... err... Alice-258 is?" Cole hesitantly said. Despite knowing that the SPARTANs weren't hostile, Cole still couldn't be certain around them. He was technically intruding on their property and his only method of getting in was Flandre. Without her, Cole would have died at that gate.

[Koishi]

Clockworks

---

"Nah." HP explained. "Crimson Order manage the Clockworks. Insane group of Gremlins, who would rather kill each other than manage Gremlins. Actual supposed leader a fella by the name of King Tinkinzar. Guy who made this place a reality. Never seen him myself, though." HP explained.

[wonderweiss]

Yuuka's House

---

Just then, Jason walked -- or rather stumbled -- over Shulk. He had beer in his hand.

"Heeeaaay, man, some party, huh? Man, this was a freaking funeral at one point, then sh*t happened, more sh*t happened, now look at this place, it's all freakin'... f*ck yea!"

He rested his arm on Shulk's shoulder and swirled the beer in circles.

"Man, I tell ya, I haven't partied like this in, like... ages. Ever since that f*ck, Doug, sent us on a sky diving trip and screwed us all over, I... man, I'm beat. I'm not ready for that to happen again, I'm too tired... hey... you're not a spotter, are ya? You're not gonna send me to an island with pirates, are ya? Cause if you are a spotter, I'm gonna have stab the sh*t outta you, right? I hope you're not, 'cause that sonuva bitch Vaas thought he had the f*cking wheel, I jabbed him to death... And that bitch Hoyt, too."

[WriggleRid3r]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun - Gensokyo

---

"I'm asking this," Kanako answered rather bluntly. "Because you have a boring lifestyle."

"I mean, you've been here for four months now, but you've attended next to no social interactions in Gensokyo. I never see your face anymore. You may be a Spartan and that mindset may be engraved into your body, but know that you're not in constant war anymore."

"And try to know people better. I think I remember hearing from Yukari about how you're starting to become a hikkikomori."

Kanako walked away.

[Kristia]

Yuuka's Mansion - Garden of the Sun

As everyone was celevrating the event, Renamondecided to be at the sidelines to enjoy on her own way by relaxing and seeing everyone was ok.

On the other hand, Nera was having a drinking battle with Yuugi "Come on.. I heard you guys have livers of steel, or was it of brass?" she teased while taking another drink

The comment only fired up the oni "Oh you donīt know jackal, I still want that revenge from the war celebration so bring it on! she grinned wickedly

The fox looked at the conmotion and decided to interfere "Why donīt you let me deal with this one my partner, surely you got your share and the ones of an entire village" she spoke with a mischevious tone towards the lucario

"Fine by me, just donīt let my winning streak fall" Nera said sitting back and relaxing

Renamon looked at Yuugi and took her drink "Be prepared for this because we will be at heaven today, but tomorrow hell will be our place" she spoke drinking one bottle easily

Yuugi was smiling and enjoying the challenge "I see you like facing impossible things, you two are crazy, the crazy I love to share some good sake" the oni spoke as they started their challenge