themainframe | [Text] - Future Dated to 1/4

[ It was several hours of running, jogging, exploring, riding and resting before Roze finally arrived at the conclusion Ed was on one of the refueling islands through talking to the few harried Digimon struggling to keep things tidy and running without too many hiccups.

She argued and barked and demanded and loomed, but none of it really got any answers. They were simply too busy to immediately remember faces. They did insist, however, that if Ed had been on the Trailmon lines and not made it to Folder, he had gotten off somewhere between it. So she got on the line, and headed in, falling asleep on the ride and only waking when it was announced they were arriving at the first refueling point.

She was watching the land pass her by when she finally flipped open her terminal, worn to the bone. ]

Hey hey. Good morning. Or evening or whatever it is now. You there? [ She asked, yawning widely and scrubbing at her eyes with the heel of her free hand. She looked a haggard mess, hair bunched up on one side from falling asleep, creases in her cheek. ]

I'm comin' up on the first stop. Do you know how many you hand and when you got off?

[While Roze had been busy, Ed had been wandering around. By retracing his (Or more specifcially, Guilmon's very distinctive) footsteps and using some Fox tail inferno to light the path, he was able to find his way back to the rails. He still had no clue which direction the actual stop was in, but any port in a storm was better than none, right?]

[Rather than answer immediately he just leans forward, clearly worried. Then he answers.]

Um... I got off on the third stop. It was really dark--actually it's still really dark.

Are you okay? You look tired...

Shadow Island! Haha, well then. That explains the rest I guess. It was about time for me to try heading for HospiTown anyways. I can rescue you on the way! [ She smiled, large ears perking, furry tufts exposed. They lowered slightly at the question, green eyes apologetic. ]

I don't have any of my things. I haven't actually, uh...had a chance to clean up or change. I'm still in the dress I wore to the dance. Or what's left of it. I've been more concerned with helping the stragglers off the continent.

[Oh yeah, there was a dance going on when all of this happened, huh...]

I'd appreciate the pickup. If I even knew which direction to go in to get to the Trailmon, I should be able to figure things out from there... but even then, it's always nice to have company, and you seem like a really good person!

S-sorry about losing all your clothes in an outfit that's not really built for this stuff, though. That can be really rough--but it's amazing that you kept on helping even despite it. [That meant she could probably run in heels! An incredible feat, to be sure.]

[ She laughs, arching a brow at the screen and shaking her head. Leaning away a moment, she spoke to the Digimon accompanying her, who in turn spoke to the Trailmon about stopping on Shadow Island long enough to find Ed. ]

Hm. I'm an alright person. I wouldn't exactly consider myself all that good. I'm pretty selfish sometimes. [ She tilts her head, eyes flicking back and forth, up and down the screen, inspecting what she could see of Ed. ]

You look like you made it alright though. That's a relief. Some people...hm. Well...Primary Village is going to be busy.

You're definitely a good person! I can tell! [SAID WITH UTMOST CERTAINTY.]

[He does visibly relax from his momentary determined declaration after a few seconds, though. Ed seems to have been dirtied up and he's not without a couple of scrapes, but outside of an incredibly fluffy mess having been made of his hair (A thing largely indistinguishable from its natural state) he did indeed seem entirely fine.]

I have a little bit of experience with dealing with crisis situations. Ryudamon and Guilmon helped out a lot, too. We stayed together, cleared rubble... you know how it is, right? As for everyone else... [Sigh.]

Yeah. Not everyone was nearly as lucky, I'll bet.

I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that death isn't exactly a surety in a place like this. Even if something happens to use or our partners.

[ The familiar screech of a Trailmon pulling in for a stop resounds, Roze leaning to look around before shrugging it off. She had no intention of moving more than she had to until she got to Ed. Bone-tired barely scraped the surface of how she felt. ]

I'm glad you and your partners are alright. Julie almost didn't make it. Though she's blaming me for that. Its my fault she can't Digivolve, evidently. [ She smiles fondly, arching a brow and shaking her head, looking up obviously at the digimon sulking somewhere else. ]

It goes beyond not being a surety. We're flat-out immune to it... at least for right now. We just glitch out for six hours or so. [He gives a quick nod before following the subject change.]

As far as digivolving goes, that's part determination, part feel, and part knowing how to use your energy. With Guilmon, it took a few tries to get to Ultimate the first time... but once I got used to the feeling I was able to get her back again no problem. The same with Ryudamon--I just remembered how it felt when Guilmon turned into Kyubimon, and just did that again only I redirected the energy with this D-stream thingy.

You'll get it before too long, I'm sure. Don't worry.

You say we're immune, but there's always the chance. I mean, I've considered that the glitches responsible for the strange occurrences affecting us personally might be mere accident, or they could be the machinations of someone trying to find a way to corrupt the programming...delete us for good. Its not a real death, since we're out there somewhere else, but its as good as killing us since without us here to fight whatever we can, the worlds will collide and poof.

No more us.

[ She shrugs, apparently having accepted that none of it was good no matter how you looked at it. ]

I know about the Digivolving. She's just grumpy because she doesn't have the same kind of bond with me that Musashi does. We haven't reached that point and she blames me, for disappearing.

I think it's related to the loss of our powers... call it a wild guess, but I think if we ever get those back, we'll be running the risk of death.

[As far as the digivolving, though...] ...But... you didn't disappear, did you? [Wait. No. No I'm doing the thing where I try to fix everyone for everything and make it worse again.]

Ahh--well... I'm sure that she'll get over it! So, you named your digimon Musashi and Julie, right?

[ She considered his words, nodding in understanding and maybe agreement. There was no way to know for sure, but it was just as likely as anything else. ]

Hm? I did for a while. I ended up back home. [ She replied with a faint smile, not the least put off by what he said or did so far. The Trailmon started moving again, drawing her attention briefly, but she turned her focus back to Ed with a broad smile. ]

Yes. After two of my favorite people in history. I dunno if you're where I'm from or not but its Miyamoto Musashi and Julie d'Aubigny. Pretty cool people, to me anyways.

Oh... like Donnie did that one time. And then you came back here later, huh.

Well, at least you came back! That's what matters in the end! [He beams brightly.]

And I know who Musashi is... but...who's Julie d'Aubigny? Was she a hero too?

Depends on who you ask! [ She laughed, prodding Julie with her foot lightly before looking back at the screen. ]

She was a singer and swordswoman, punched people in broad daylight that insulted her, fought duels in her own honor, dressed like a man, joined a convent to help her female lover escape, fought bunch of guys all at once, stabbed one in the shoulder and later became lovers with him. She was tried as a man in court once, though she never showed up of course. Even weaseled out of it with help and got a royal pardon.

...Oh...

[Not sure if a hero or a villain.]

[Hmm. AHA. There's a simple way to determine if she's a role model or not!]

Did she do it for friendship, or because she was selfish?

Nobody really knows why. It wasa different time where women were expected to behave a certain way. She never did what other people said she had to just because she was a girl. She didn't let men fight her fights for her and she proved she could do anything a man could do, and probably better. At the same time, still had men that loved her and would do anything for her, despite her being pretty much nothing like what men were supposed to look for in a girl.

Even if she did it for selfish reasons, she should be a pretty big inspiration to any girl that's ever been told she can't do something just because she's a girl.

Oh...

I can see that, yeah. I-I mean, a girl who can hold her own in a fight is always a plus, right? It means they don't ever have to be the damsel in distress! And on top of that, you always have a sparring partner, right?

[ She blinked several times, staring at the screen before breaking into a grin with a light laugh and nodding. ] Yeah, there's definitely that.

Women are tough, too. But hey, I mean, I can stomp most guys I know in a heartbeat, but that doesn't mean I don't wanna be saved once in a while. Sometimes its not about a fight. Sometimes its just stepping in to a social event and pulling me out of a conversation I didn't want to have.

Sparring partners are definitely important though. Especially when you lead a high octane life. If I don't stay sharp...I could be in bad shape.

Why, you fight? [ She perked, smiling with surprisingly sharp teeth. ] Want to fight, Ed?

[UM.]

W-well, I mean... I used to fight. A lot. I don't really fight seriously ever, though, and I mean I-I-I-I kind of prefer using magic to anything else, so right now you'd probably completely kick my butt... but.. um... I mean... [No that's not right you are going to make her sad you should not be making people sad!]

I-I guess maybe a quick round or two won't hurt things t-too much?

[ She wouldn't have been sad at all. She's grown out of that phase - even learned to pick her battles better! ]

It might! Haha, could hurt you. [ She points out with a shark smile. ] I'm not a small girl, sweetheart. If you're a magic user, I gotta respect that. You finger-wiggling types tend to be a little squishy. We just met. Its not very nice to break someone on the first date.

Squishy... Haha... [Inside of Ed's mind, he is flashing back to every time he's been beaten to a bloody pulp and kept going because DETERMINATION!!!]

[...]

[It's a lot of times.] Well, if I ever get my powers back, I'll let you know so that we can waaaaaaaaaaaaait you said date.

I. A date? Wha? Weeh?! [You've got him flailing in front of the D-terminal, Roze. Congratulations.] Wh-wh-where did that come from?!

What, isn't meeting a girl alone somewhere dark and secret a date? [ She asked, smiling cheerily and cocking a brow his way. ]

Sounds like a date to me. [ She's messing with you so hard, Ed. You're goin' at it like koi to catfood. She's tickled. You're trapped. ]

Wha?! Buh--BUH...

[Ed status: Totally messed with.]

B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-but this totally shoudln't be a date or anything, I mean! I just met you, and this is crazy! And, and, a-a-and I mean this isn't the sort of thing someone should just rush into I mean dating someone is a commitment and also we won't be alone somewhere dark and secret I mean our digimon will b-be here too so it's not--

If it's for a date, I don't mind distracting Guilmon for you, Master.

RYUDAMON. THAT IS NOT HELPING. BUT I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHT.

Sweetheart, dating isn't a commitment. Dating is something you do for fun. A date is just going out, potentially with romantic interest. If you like each other, then you go on more dates.

What.

Am I not good enough for you to date? [ She asks, putting a little edge into her tone, bright green eyes glittering as she leans closer to the screen. ] My digimon don't tell me what I can and can't do and neither do yours. Don't use them as an excuse...

But... I always thought... I mean... [Dating is totally a commitment that you make with a person you like to go out and see if you like each other more so that's a Big Deal right?]

W-w-w-w-w-well I mean it's not like you're not good enough or anything, it just seems like a r-r-really big deal to... uhh... me?

So then let it be a big deal? I don't mind. [ She shrugs, leaning back in her seat and looking at her nails, picking nonexistent grime from beneath them. ]

Ed, Ed, Ed. Sweetie. Baby. Buttercup. calm down. Take a deep breath. Its just a man and a woman, having a nice time together. I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm not the marrying type.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject