Digital Inference 3

Chapter 3:  Entrance
<<<Lisa Wilbourn>>>

“So, we haven’t found anything that could serve as an access to the city in the sky,” Lisa stated with a nod, “So, find a digimon with wings, and ask for a lift?”

“I don’t think the Kuwagamon around would help us…” Viximon replied, sounding down. The red bugs were rather… killy.

“Yeah,” Lisa said, scratching her nose, “So what? Just… swim up somehow?” She didn’t know the logic this world ran on, but that sounded stupid in the extreme. But… water flowing up like that?

Did gravity as she knew it even exist in this place?

{Held up by forces unknown.}

“Ok, so it’s just magic then, great…” At least the search had gotten them more berries and Viximon time to heal a bit. “Actually, are there any digimon around that normally start fires?” It was worth a shot, and the sun was going down, which meant… probably even more bug digimon, if they were anything like real bugs.

“Surrounded by bug monsters, and not a Skitter in sight…” She thought, though she wasn’t sure if her friend’s power would even work on digital bugs.

It would still be nice to have her around, someone else she could plan with if nothing else.

“Mmm, no! There aren’t,” Viximon replied, “why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m assuming bug digimon are especially active at night… and was hoping a fire and smoke would make them avoid us.” Lisa said, “Not my best idea, but… honestly, I’m not sure what to do. I’m a city girl, I’ve never camped before,” She admitted.

“Oh! And maybe the people in the city will see it too!” Viximon started, “We can do smoke signals! And Morse Code with the light!”

Lisa just smiled, “I… hadn’t considered that actually.” {Lie. You did you just want Viximon to feel included.} She completely ignored her powers as she gave Viximon some scratches being their ear. “Wait, you know Morse Code?”

Viximon nodded. “Sometimes I just know things. I don’t know why,” She admitted before waddling towards a log to start getting materials for a fire together. “Do you know it?”

“... Honestly, no,” Lisa replied with a blink, “You might need to walk me through it.” And that wasn’t a lie, stupid power.

“Ok!” Viximon said, joy on her features. {Still feels guilty about not being able to protect you.}

She was going to have to sit down with Viximon and talk about this guilt of hers, though it had been only a day, so maybe she didn’t? Maybe if she still felt guilty after a few days, maybe?

Lisa shook her head and started to help get a fire together. She was the only one who could actually start it off of the two of them anyway. “What type of digimon are up there, anyway?” She asked to help pass the time.

“Oh, that’s easy!” Viximon started, “Dragons are up there! They’re so cool!”

“... Of course…” Wasn’t it usually knights and princesses in castles? Shaking her head, she just smiled, “You know anything specific about the city?” She asked curiously.

“Nope!” She replied, “I’ve just seen them fly in and out sometimes… but it’s been a while since any have left… or entered…”

Well, it was a long shot anyway… but that is mildly concerning. What if the city is abandoned and just a giant ghost town now? If only a bug were willing to actually talk instead of killing them!

“Well, here’s hoping there’s someone up there who notices our smoke signals.” Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was sort of still somewhat chilly from the river crossing, she’d think she was dreaming.

Honestly, it would’ve been a cool dream if it was. Anything other than the anxiety-induced Coil Nightmares. The bastard may have learned how to work around her powers, but not completely and there were moments her powers suggested things that just added onto her nightmares in general.

If they were true or not, that’s the question. Her power, from her understanding, was functionally Garbage In, Garbage out. Bad information led to Bad conclusions…

“Huh, I’m not this introspective normally… though I suppose nothing makes a person reevaluate like a near-death experience.” She mused as she and Viximon got a fire ready.

It took far less work than she’d expected it to, her emergency lighter even setting wetter wood aflame with a touch. “... Alright, didn’t see that coming,” She admitted easily, taking a large leaf from Viximon, “So just, uh, tell me when to cover the fire and when not to, I guess?”

“Okay!” Viximon said with a beaming smile, overjoyed to be helping which just made Lisa want to scoop her up and cuddle her.

The timing was… a bit rough, she had to admit. She was not Taylor and did not have her ability to just move perfectly; she blamed her bugs, and so needed to be corrected by Viximon a few times. Not that she minded, she needed a lot of practice with her gun before she got any good with it, too.

“You know? I have a friend that would’ve done this near perfectly,” Lisa commented, “Though she’s a cheating cheater. Stupid overpowered bug control power…” Honestly, it still amused her that Taylor still thought her bug control wasn’t impressive!

Girl, you are a neurotic walking, talking Biblical Plague for god sake!

“That’s cool!” Viximon said, “I wanna meet your friends lots!”

Lisa laughed at that, “Want to know more about them?” She asked with a smile.

“Sure! Tell me more about the bug lady!” Lisa snickered at that.

“Well, Skitter is very awkward and, honestly? She tries way too hard for her own good,” Lisa admitted with a smile. “She joined our little gang after she unwittingly saved us from a man that can turn into a Rage Dragon. But once you get past her very valid trust issues and paranoia, she’s a good person. Better than me…” She added, trailing off slightly at that.

“No! You seem really nice!” Viximon admonished, “... What do you mean, gang? What’s a gang?”

“A gang is people that gather together for mutual protection,” Lisa answered, “And I’ve done things I’m not proud of.” How many times had she completely discarded her morals in the name of surviving her employment with Coil?

How she was manipulating Taylor into a weapon against Coil… even as she grew to like her…

“Well, that just means you have something to judge your improvement off of!” Viximon stated, voice serious. “Just because you start in a bad place doesn’t make you bad as long as you’re trying to get better!”

Lisa just smiled and shook her head, “Has anyone told you, you’re too sweet for your own good?” She asked.

“Nope!” She replied, “You’re my first friend! And my partner!”

“Well, we’ll have to get you some more friends,” She said with a chuckle, “Maybe even my gang if I find a way back.”

“You will!” Viximon said with conviction, “I’ll make sure we get back to your home!”

Eventually after Lisa sent a SOS to the castle, she and Viximon settled in close to the fire. The human particularly enjoyed the heat as it let her costume dry.

Then, just as they got ready to sleep, a great cracking sound began to echo into the night, like an iceberg moving to crush them.

The water was freezing.

{Not freezing. Becoming a spiral staircase. You are being invited inside.}

“That’s… one way of welcoming someone into a castle,” Lisa said, though for the strangest reason she felt like a fly about to enter the spider’s lair, and she didn’t mean Taylor’s.

“So cool!” Viximon whispered, climbing onto Lisa’s back and curling around her neck. “Let’s go!”

Lisa wished she shared Viximon’s enthusiasm, but living in the Cape Capital of America, she’d seen all sorts of powers. And this blew anything she’d seen out of the water. With some hesitation, she got up from the fire and made her way to the spiral staircase.

“Oh, whoever did this included handrails, that’s decent of them…” She was sarcastic when she was nervous, sue her.

It felt like walking on a waterbed and took all of her focus not to fall off. She wasn’t sure if she’d survive the fall… a second time. “We’re really high up,” Viximon noted, “I can see my house from here!”

“... You have a house?” Lisa asked with a frown, “Why didn’t we just go there then?”

“Um… it’s just something you say when you’re this high up, isn’t it?” She asked, “I don’t really have a house…”

“... That’s fair,” Lisa admitted, “I’d probably say the same back on Earth if I was this high up,” She added with a faint smile, though it was mostly to hide her anxiety.

She had a very small fear of heights after all.

Great doors greeted them at the top, already opened for them. The stone structures could have stopped Alexandria for a bit, she was pretty sure.

“Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly…” Lisa muttered absentmindedly, man she had Taylor on the brain.

Though in her defense, that girl had a subconscious death wish and didn’t seem to have any self-preservation instincts. So she was justified in worrying about her.

“... I’ve never seen this place so dark,” Viximon whispered, “Normally it lights up the sky…” Even the bright Digimon that was her partner was scared. But she couldn’t have that.

“I’m sure it’s fine. If there’s a villain up here, we could run. Or I could convince them to let us go…” Lisa replied while thinking, “Well, that isn’t foreshadowing in the slightest…”

“Maybe they’re setting up a surprise?” Viximon suggested, “To welcome you as a digidestined?”

“Um, I should’ve asked this earlier, but… are Digidestined a big deal?” Lisa asked as she looked around, squinting her eyes.

“Yup!” She replied, “You’re super important!”

{You are being watched.}

The sudden closing of the doors behind them and the sconces suddenly bursting into crimson flames implied that her power was a bit late on the draw.

“Oh goddamn it,” Lisa groaned, “If this is a dramatic villain, I swear I’m done.”

“Hello, digidestined!” A woman called out, “We welcome you to our city! Come, come!” Her clothes were red and a touch… jesterlike. Or capelike. “We’re sorry that the dragons weren’t here to meet you, but we were asked to hold the fort until they returned!”

A few spider and bug digimon were flanking her and lined the walls as the woman smiled at her.

“Ah, thanks…” Maybe she’s just being paranoid? She didn’t sound overly threatening, just dramatic, “I just arrived today and if Viximon didn’t find me I’d either be bug food or lost.” Still it wasn’t wise to try and deceive an unknown.

{You are not being paranoid. She is not a human.}

“Oh, how sad!” She replied, slowly walking down a great set of stairs towards her, “That’s just terrible, it’s a shame the dragons weren’t around; they’d have seen you in an instant and rescued you both!”

Something told her the dragons didn’t exactly ask her to hold down the fort…

“But you’re here now, and that’s all that matters!” She continued, “Why don’t I lead you to a place to sleep? It’s quite late now, and your day must have been hard…”

{Wants to lead you to a trap. Isn’t going to eat you.}

“You don’t even know half of it…” Lisa said, “Ah, I don’t think I introduced myself? Lisa Wilburne. And you are?”

“I’m Taylor,” She replied with a smile, “It’s lovely to meet you, Lisa. I’ve never met a digidestined before, it’s good to know that the dragons here weren’t wrong about where you’d appear.”

Why did that feel menacing? “Taylor? I have a friend by that name.” Lisa said, deciding to keep the bug control to herself… and if she mentioned it, it would tell her she was aware of Lisa and Viximon for the past few hours.

“A fascinating coincidence,” ‘Taylor’ replied with another smile, “Perhaps she shall join us, someday?”

{Name not her own. She learned it from you.}

“Fucking called it,” She thought, “Maybe, but honestly I think I’d rather get home. But I think she’d love to visit.” Honestly, she was really curious if her power would even work on bug digimon.

“Of course! Though… we can’t help you get home until the darkness is defeated…” The woman replied, looking disappointed, “It shrouds the world and its masters would seek to stop you.”

{Isn’t lying.}

“Darkness? Well, I’d love to hear more about it. But it’s been a very long day and I desperately need rest.” The fact she was holding up as well as she is just surprised the hell out of her.

“Of course, of course!” They replied, gesturing down a nearby path as she walked towards it, “There’s a nice bedroom this way, the second room down. Do you want your Viximon partner to have her own room, or would you prefer to be together for tonight?”

“Together please,” Lisa said, she is woman enough to acknowledge that she was going to have nightmares after everything.

{Isn’t disappointed. Believes she’ll win regardless.}

“Of course, of course,” She replied with a bowing nod, “Make yourself at home, dear Lisa.”

Lisa was just too damn tired to try to figure out this digimon-in-human disguise angle. If anything she was more concerned for Viximon who’d been silent for the entire walk.

{Room is filled with spider webs.}

She’d wondered what that soft brushing sensation on her face was, and it did feel like a web, but she couldn’t really see anything…

“It smells like spiders…” Viximon whispered, “I think you were right. This is a trap… I don’t think we can sleep here tonight.”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Lisa said, “My powers say she doesn’t want to eat us at least. Let me just get rid of the spiderwebs.”

“We can sneak out the window and find the actual ruler?” Viximon suggested, “Not being eaten doesn’t mean she isn’t going to do something else evil…”

“Vixi, I’m not sure if anyone is here…” Lisa said.

“I didn’t hear a fight!” Viximon replied, “And there wasn’t any damage! The digimon that rules the dragons here is super strong! I heard they’re a Mega, and that means they’re the strongest level of digimon! If they were attacked and eaten, the city wouldn’t be here anymore.”

“I’m not going to get any rest am I?” She thought as she withheld a sigh, “Fine, but where would we even begin looking?” She asked quietly.

“... Maybe they’ll be in the dungeon?” Viximon suggested, “Or the throneroom!”

Lisa actually sighed now, rubbing her face, “Alright… I guess I’ll be a villain for a little while longer, jailbreak it is. Or overthrowing a queen, one of the two.”

Viximon cheered.