Wonderwall [Eva]

Relaxation was certainly on a certain cyborg digimon's mind too, and what better way of doing that than keeping in shape at the same time? Eva certainly thought so as she went for an evening swim. Sure, her arms and legs were cybernetic, they weren't going to change much, but swimming was good for all muscle groups, including the natural ones the digimon had left. The sun was starting to dip lower in the sky though, casting an orange haze upon sky and sea both. Soon, it would no doubt start to get colder, and with less natural bodymass to regulate heat that could become a real issue.

With those factors in mind, she headed for the shore, casually strolling out when the water became too shallow to effectively swim through as she stood up and ran her hands through her hair in at attempt to get the water away from her eyes. Not that it would have mattered too much, her eyes like the rest of her were designed to be able to operate in all environments, including underwater. The cybernetic digimon looked around as she made her way out of the water and up the beach, returning to her spot on the sand to retrieve her towel and dry off. Seemed most people had turned in for the night, leaving just a few small scattered groups. 

The voice did seem somewhat familiar, but, at least to start with Eva was not quite able to place it. She wasn't intimidated or nervous by this digimon's appearance in the slightest though. After all, she was easily the equivilant of an ultimate level herself with all her cybernetics, which were on clearly on show including the NanoWerx Industries logo emblazoned in orange in contrast to the black and dark grey materials used on her shoulder seeing as she was wearing a one piece swimsuit rather than her usual attire. After all, you wouldn't go swimming in jeans and a hoodie and Eva sure as hell wasn't one to go nude unlike most other digimon. 



"Eva! It's been far too long, you're looking much better than last I saw you!"


She raised a brow, still trying to place that voice in the awkward silence that followed.


"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. Your voice does sound familiar though."


"And I know this is probably hard to believe, but it's K."


"Oooooh. That's why your voice sounds familiar. You look different. Done something with your hair?" she gave a little chuckle at the jovial downnplay of K's change of appearance. Of course, this being the digital world that thing happened more often than one might think, but, such sudden and complete metamorphosis was something Eva was still not exactly used to. It didn't make much sense, at least, from a human world point of view.


"And yes, took some time but, I'm pretty much back to myself. What brings you out here? I was just going for a swim. Got to stay in shape, y'know."

Eva grabbed her towel, drying off her face, blinking a couple of times as the lenses in her eyes re-adjusted in their usual precise well engineered fashion. In fact, every little cybernetic component anywhere on her body was seemingly built up to the same precise standard, the still wet surfaces glinting subtly in the evening sun.There was a tagline below the NanoWerx Industries logo, and the writing of the company name itself. "Making the future less predictable".  



"That's good to hear, I was a mess for a good amount of time too. Well.... It's a bit of a story. But I was looking for a medical practitioner to move on out here, I put in my request earlier it's just a matter of waiting."


"A doctor? Don't you just run an inn? I guess if it's in the arse end of nowhere it would be useful to have someone on site with that capability I suppose."


She shrugged, thinking it over and seeing some logic in that decision. Would be expensive no doubt, but, this was the digital world. Sure, a bar fight back in Blighty could lead to someone getting glassed but in the digital world? People tended to pack a whole lot more firepower wherever they went.


"...Stay in shape? Ohhh Exercising and such, right I suppose we would yes. I ah.. Don't do it much as you can probably tell."

"It's been a right mess since we've last seen each other though. I haven't had a lick of time to unwind!"


"Inn's been that busy, huh? Hey suppose it's all good for business, right? I have to check that place out sometime."

"Certainly sounds like things have been busy, but hey, sure as hell better than it being quiet and getting no business. Also, a portal just randomly opened up?"

Eva thought about that for a second. That didn't make much sense to her, but, what did around here in the digital world? She knew NanoWerx Industries had been working on some sort of "quantum link technology". She wasn't even going to pretend that she knew the science behind it, but, what she did know is that it took some of the best scientific minds they had and several banks of supercomputers to just create a small and very temporary gate, big enough to send a small quadcopter drone or rover in to have a quick look around until it runs out of battery power and returns through an exit gate. The one advantage it had though, was precision. They could open it up anywhere they damn well pleased, which likely wouldn't be some random apartment in the middle of nowhere.

"Any idea where in the human world it led to? I didn't think they just sort of popped into existence like that. Figured something had to make them."


"Well you'd likely enjoy it. We'd finally be able to get those drinks."


"Yeah, if it has good drinks I probably will. Sounds like a plan. I got pretty sick of taking the train, so, I got my own way of getting about."

With that, she took out a set of keys, the Jaguar logo emblazoned on them and pressed a button on the fob. Out of seemingly just thin air and data, a sleek steel grey sports car assembled itself, almost as if it was pixel by pixel until the vehicle finally solidified, its xenon headlamps igniting and the five litre V8 burbling into life.

"I would say we could go now but ah..."

She looked up at the much taller digimon, wondering the best way of wording such a thing. In the end, she decided to just straight up come out and say it, as she pressed another button, the engine shutting off. No use wasting fuel after all.

"I don't think you'd well, fit."

Eva blinked a couple of times seeing the sudden transformation, something that she could never do and yet another thing that made no sense. It honestly hurt her a little inside. Standing in front of her was a digimon of her species the way a digimon was meant to be as opposed to her, coding torn apart and crudely modified by beings who didn't even understand what they were doing. She couldn't blame NanoWerx Industries, she couldn't blame humanity, they were just trying to advance technology, trying to save lives. Their goals were noble, they just jumped in before they had really looked at the consequences. She couldn't blame anyone. She couldn't even stand the sight of herself in the mirror most days, and here yet again was a "mirror" image of how she was meant to be. Nonetheless, she felt no ill will, no hostility. Keeping those feelings tightly locked up inside was something the cyborg had gotten good at over the years and besides, K seemed like a good person. Not someone Eva could easily get angry at especially for something that no one could be blamed for.

She took a deep breath. Depression was an easy trap to fall into.

"Right. Well, that's one way of solving the problem. I'm not going to drive... however far it is, dressed in swimwear though. Give me a moment."

Just like before, Eva disappeared into a shimmer of orange light, the only evidence of her being there, her bag moving slightly as she quickly got changed under the cover of the light distorting cloaking field.

Her situation wasn't all bad. Eva couldn't even count how many times her augmentations had saved her from an early grave, not to mention the implanted special forces training, both directly uploaded to her mind and honed in simulated realities. She doubted that she would still even be breathing if faced with the same circumstances and not almost literally armed to the teeth.

When she re-appeared, the digimon was wearing more ordinary attire. A white T-shirt and some tan cargo pants, and was holding the car keys in her hand. She pressed a button on the fob, the powerful engine rumbling into life once more as the bright headlights shone through the growing evening darkness, the sky now turned from amber to a deep red as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

"So. Where even is this place?"

"Sure. Let's get moving then. Whole lot of distance to cover but..." Eva quickly glanced at the fuel gauge before realising, hey, this was the digital world. Vehicles weren't constricted by the normal laws of physics. "but we should be able to make good time here". Eva's Jaguar was probably a pretty strange sight in the digital world. A little piece of Earth driving through an alien landscape.

The digital world may have had established roads in the cities, but, it was not nearly as urbanised all over as the human world, leading the two to have to take dirt trails for most of the journey, twisting through the forests and wildlands. Eva didn't seem to mind though, in fact if anything she was enjoying it. She was a good driver, the scenery was nice, and the vehicle was performing exactly as it should. She even had the opportunity on a few of the gravel trails to open up the taps a little, picking up pace considerably.

"So, what made you want to open an inn?" Eva said, between gear changes, shifting down for a tight left hander as the exhaust popped and crackled, spitting out a lick of flame from the large twin pipes. "Guessing by the way you handled yourself when we were fighting those... whatever the hell they were, you're not exactly a stranger to combat. Former career?"

"There are actually a few stable naturally occurring portals. That's how I arrived in the digital world in the first place. Some stick around for days, weeks, even theoretically years. Been tracking some of their locations for quick access. Takes some investigation to find them but it means you don't have to waste time travelling there by rail. You just step through, and you're there."

The interior of the car was indeed very tastefully upholstered and appointed. The seats and door armrest were a light tan coloured leather, the rest of the cabin clad in a mix of high quality feeling plastics and metal trim. A large touchscreen dominated the centre of the dash with options for climate control, radio, and for making adjustments to the suspension, engine response and even exhaust note.


"It was a place I was comfortable being and.. well. I wanted to help travellers. I just.. really didn't have the energy to go around for a rather.. Long time."


Eva nodded at the other Renamon's explanation, however, could certain feel that there was something more to it than that. She looked to her for a moment, judging her reaction and raising a brow before setting her concentration back onto the road ahead. It was fully dark by now, but, Eva didn't simply activate her night vision. The headlights would have staright up dazzled her if she did that, and if she turned them off? There would be nothing to warn any incoming vehicles of their presence.

K admitting that she was in some sort of military force did confirm some suspicions. It was just the way she acted, the way she handled that prior combat situation. Sure, most if not all digimon know how to fight, but that mostly came from instinct, rather than formal training. K's next question though certainly made Eva pause to think about it, and the right way to even respond to such a query.


"There were a handful of times I feel like I should of been stronger though. What about you? You're.. much different than any renamon I've met. Considering how you had more ease taking care of well... Those creatures."


"Been more than a handful of times, and I would hardly call it "ease" in regarding to those things. My cybernetics were simply not designed for the digital world. They were designed for human military and police use. Human combat situations are a whole other type of warfare altogether, requiring different equipment. Although..." she shrugged "...a good rifle seems to still do the job just fine."