The Seal Man, and Other Tales, with Barry and Cisco

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Jyou's located a short walk away -- a little way south-east, over a bridge to another one of the islands that make up Odaiba, past a construction site repairing some light damage from a Digimon battle, and to the southernmost tip of one of the islands.

But he's there, sat on a bench with a textbook in hand and a white, orange-mohawked sea lion slumped around his shoulders like a scarf.

"Hope we didn't keep you waiting," Yamato says, as Jyou looks up at them and flicks down his glasses.

Comments

[run_barry]

When the ears vanish Barry reaches over to ruffle Yamato's hair in the spot where they used to be.

"You're about as kind to footwear as I am," he notes, nodding down at Yamato's bare feet.

"Whatever you say, man," Barry says with an amused eye roll that shows just how not not-weird flying cyborg dinosaurs are.

As said flying cyborg dino gets closer, Barry raises his hand in greeting.

"What's up, guys?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Well, we were stuck in the Digital World at the time. Not like any of us had the option of staying out of fights."

MetalGreymon lands in the middle of the carpark, lowering his head to rest against the ground, although it's still a ten foot climb to get down. Taichi just slides down instead of climbing, letting friction do the work of slowing him down.

"We ready?" He asks Yamato.

Yamato, who had briefly nudged his head against Barry's hand at that hair ruffle, but probably wouldn't admit it, gives a quick nod, pulling his digivice from his belt.

"Everyone," he says, tapping his earpiece, "get ready to open the Gate again."

He and Taichi hold up their digivices, and there's a faint glow of blue and orange from their screens. Up in the sky, symbols start appearing one by one: Taichi's eight-pointed sun first, then Yamato's two-pronged moon, then a heart, two circles, a teardrop, a cross, a half sun over a mountain, and finally an eight-pointed star. The sky splits open between them, opening wider and wider, until the edges of the Gate can't be seen at all and there's just the Digital World floating above them, hanging in the sky.

MadLeomon vanishes into a streak of light, racing up towards the floating planet, and before long there are more streaks of light flying towards it. When the last one lands somewhere around a large desert, the Gate shuts again, the normal blue sky folding over it before everything settles back to normal once again.

[run_barry]

Barry looks up and watches as the sky lights up and the portal opens. He glances down at MadLeomon and watches him dissolve and then fly skyward as a beam of light, followed by others from around the city.

"Woah," he says, astonished and impressed as the sky returns to normal.

[makes_the_toys]

Cisco watches the light show from atop MetalGreymon, raising his phone up above his head to capture pictures of the open portal in the sky.

When it's over he takes a picture of Yamato, Barry and Taichi below, then shouts out, "Hey! A little help?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"We still haven't figured out how Gennai can open Gates so deftly," Taichi admits, with a wry smile. "So we just have to open them with brute force. Without Ken and his dark digivice here, it takes all eight of us just to prise open the Odaiba Gate."

Yamato glances up at Cisco, cocking his head. "Wait there!"

He climbs up the side of MetalGreymon's helmet like some kind of monkey or spider to join Cisco up there, tilting his head to the side again. "So, do I carry you down or just push you off?"

[run_barry]

"I guess it's better that it's hard to do, otherwise more people might try it," Barry says, looking around at the destruction in the city.

"What's gonna happen now?" he asks.

[makes_the_toys]

"You push me I'll shrink ray you," Cisco threatens.

Leaning forward carefully, Cisco looks down over the edge of MetalGreymon's helmet.

"Why am I always just luggage to my friends?" he sighs. "Yeah, carry me. If I jump I'm definitely breaking both of my ankles."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Mr. Nishijima and the Bureau will come, any injured will be taken to hospital, and once the Bureau's taken stock of the damage, they'll organise a rebuilding effort," Taichi says. "It won't take long. They're good at cutting through red tape, at least."

He angles his head towards the sky, and adds: "But we can't let the Ironworks Company do this again. I'll go and try to negotiate a deal, see if we can't get them to agree to back off. If they won't budge, I'll send Yamato in."

Up on MetalGreymon's helmet, Yamato plucks Cisco up, then skids down the entirely vertical side of the helmet on his heels, neatly jumping and landing on his feet just before he would crash into the ground.

"Here you go."

[run_barry]

Barry doesn't quite pull a face at the mention of the Bureau, but it's a very near thing.

"The Bureau, right," he says with a nod.

Barry looks up at the sky where the portal was, then glances at Yamato before looking back at Taichi.

"Anything I can do to help?"

[makes_the_toys]

Swept off his feet, Cisco grabs onto Yamato and holds on tight as Yamato takes them down from MetalGreymon.

On the ground, Cisco plants his feet and hangs onto Yamato a moment to make sure he's steady.

"Geez, how does anyone get used to that?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Not unless you want to join me on a diplomatic trip," Taichi says wryly. "But it'll probably devolve into hours of discussions on labour costs, ore rights, and territory boundaries. Assuming things go well."

"Well, this is why we usually use Birdramon if we want to fly anywhere," Yamato says easily, as MetalGreymon flickers orange and shrinks, until he's a child-sized, orange dinosaur instead of a cyborg behemoth.

[run_barry]

"Probably best if I leave that to you guys," Barry replies with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm not really up to speed on Digimon politics."

[makes_the_toys]

Cisco watches MetalGreymon shrink down and grins.

"Regardless, that is cool," he says, then gives a nod to Agumon. "Thanks for the lift, bud."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I figured," Taichi laughs. He slaps the back of his hand against Barry's shoulder, adding: "Thanks for helping out today, though. Yama'll probably balance it on whatever running spreadsheet of debts and favours he keeps in his head, but if there's anything you want from me, I'll see what I can do. But, er, I'm a poor student, so unless it's coffee, tips on beating up Yama, or a dinosaur I might struggle."

Agumon flashes a brief grin at Cisco, while Yamato ducks his head and angles a companionable headbutt against Cisco's shoulder.

More Chosen are arriving now, one by one, at the edge of the square. Takeru arrives first, on a golden pegasus that quickly shrinks down to Patamon, then Mimi riding a giant cactus' boxing glove, grass erupting from between the concrete as she hops down.

[run_barry]

"No problem, happy to," Barry replies with a smile. "I actually owe Yamato for helping me out a few times."

Barry throws a nod Yamato's way, then turns and watches the others arrive.

"Hey guys," Barry says, throwing a wave.

[makes_the_toys]

Cisco nudges Yamato when Yamato bonks into him, then raises his phone to snap pics of the golden pegasus and giant cactus.

"Our world would be so much cooler with partners," he sighs.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"He probably never bothered marking those times on his mental spreadsheet. Yama's great at keeping track of how many times over he owes other people, less good at keeping track of when they owe him," Taichi remarks wryly.

More Chosen arrive in short order: Sora, riding the talon of a towering red birdman, and then the buzzing of a massive, dark red rhinoceros beetle alighting on top of a nearby building as a boy who's probably Koushiro arrives. No sign of Jyou, but then it might be too far inland for his partner.

"You can make your world one with partners if you have some papier-mache and the power of imagination," Yamato says wryly, as Garurumon bounds down from out of sight to pad around him.

Yamato heads over to Barry, while Garurumon nudges his face up against Cisco's, flicking his tongue out like he's juuuust preparing to lick him.

"I take it you don't need medical attention from Jyou, with your speed healing," Yamato notes, knocking a foot against Barry's leg. "Better to avoid that if at all possible."

[run_barry]

"Oh, I know," Barry says with a smile, "but I'm not about to forget."

He greets everyone as they arrive with a raised hand, with an extra nod and wave aimed at Garurumon when he arrives.

Barry winces just a little, and laughs as he shakes his head at Yamato, "No, I'm good. But I still don't believe he's as bad as you say."

[makes_the_toys]

Cisco rolls his eyes as he snaps more pictures.

"Papier-mache? Please, like I couldn't make myself a robot flying wolf-dinosaur if I really wanted to."

Cisco rocks with the nudge and is already squinting and making a face in anticipation of a face lick.

"Don't muss my hair," he warns.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"In the Digital World, he's represented by a seal, aniki. If you've looked into the eyes of a seal, you know there's nothing there but hate and rage," Yamato says firmly, as Taichi nods somberly.

There's a few flickers of light as the various partners shrink, except Garurumon, who very deliberately and carefully licks Cisco's face, careful not to touch his hair, with as much delicacy as a wolf the size of a truck can. His tongue is icy cold and metallic.

Yamato flicks a hand, and the other Chosen, bar Taichi, start migrating back towards the western end of the island, just in time for a twenty-something man in a suit to arrive on the scene.

"And there's Agent Nishijima," Yamato says, beckoning Barry and Cisco. "C'mon, may as well introduce you before we head back."

[makes_the_toys]

Cisco squinches his face as he's licked then reaches up a hand and rubs his palm against his cheek rapidly, trying to work warmth back into it after that icy lick.

"Brr! Dude, you're tongue is cold enough to give brain freeze," he laughs, giving Garurumon's snout a pat.

[run_barry]

"Can't say that I've ever stared into the soul of a seal," Barry admits, amused.

Barry quirks an eyebrow in question at Yamato when he notices the man in a suit approaching, then nods when Yamato identifies the agent and walks with Yamato to meet the man while Cisco follows after them.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Garurumon gives a low rumble at that, scraping one massive, metal-furred cheek against Cisco's shoulder.

"So," Yamato murmurs to Barry as they walk. "How was your first battle?"

Not his first fight, obviously, because -- so, so many metahuman criminals, but his first siege of a city by an invading force.

[makes_the_toys]

"You big, metal, softie," Cisco teases, stumbling a little with the nudge.

[run_barry]

Barry immediately gets what Yamato means. Barry has faced threats before, but this was definitely something else, something bigger.

"Intense," Barry replies after taking a moment to consider. "I don't usually deal with city-wide threats like this, and in this case there's no way I could have. I had my hands full with just MadLeomon. Odaiba is lucky it has you and your team protecting it."