Need for Speed [Luke]

"You'd think so, but there was so much of a storm blowing around it was hard to make anything out anyway. And by the time it was all sorted, everything was put back into place - didn't really get any time to see much of it." Sheesh, that story fell flat on its face, didn't it? Still, it all worked out in the end...

... And the bike was far more interesting at the moment, anyway! It seemed Amelie wasn't much for speed, but could at least appreciate the purpose: "Well, there's portals if you're just in a hurry, but where's the fun in that, right?" And yes, Luke wanted to kick this thing into gear as soon as he could - perhaps a ride while Amelie was getting used to her own vehicle? It was one thing to get a license in the human world, but these vehicles were monsters in their own right!

Physics aside - and Amelie seemed far more interested than Luke first expected - it didn't take long to exchange numbers. Giving a nod, he'd pull out his own D-Terminal and hand it to Amelie, adding his own info to the spirit wielder's D-Terminal. For good measure, when he got his back, he sent his own message, just saying 'Test' to make sure that everything was working both ways.

"Alright, that handles that." Putting the device away, it seemed they both had a little time to kill before the bikes would be ready. Though, it seemed Iko had his fill of the cars, the wolf giving a wave as he made his way back out to the garage. "Got bored in there?"

"Hardly - Sealsdramon thought I was looking to buy that little blue 'buggy' thing. I just gave him the runaround and got my way back here." Seeing both the vehicles in the shop, Iko gave his first proper wave to the spirit wielder.

"Hope this guy hasn't been too much trouble. Heck, he's been bugging me about this all week..."

"Heh, I guess! Though a portal lacks any of the 'thrill'. And besides, its not like I have to blast it at full throttle all the time." That much was true, and it was probably much easier to handle when it wasn't racing near its capacity! "And that'll be nice too, though a car won't be able to be used everywhere. Well, better to get to the point from where you'll have to hoof it, I guess." It was a good enough reason for Luke as well - and heck, Amelie could even take another one along for the ride.

Numbers handled and store horror stories taken care of, it seemed that the three were set to wait for a bit - and, unfortunately, it would be about another twenty minutes before either vehicle was ready. Off in the background, for both the bike and the car, various parts were swapped out, worked on, or tidied up, giving the three at least a bit of a 'show' to look at while they were waiting. And, as Luke expected - and to Iko's disappointment - it would be Amelie's car that would be ready to go first!

The Andromon, the head mechanic, walked up to the spirit wielder as the car rolled up, offering her the keys to the vehicle. "This'll go right with the Digivice, and the compress system will install itself shortly after. You'll see the rest of the papers on the dash. Congratulations, miss!" As she took the keys, they'd step back, and roll open the entrance to the garage, Luke giving a small chuckle.

"Well, they don't beat around the bush here, do they?"

"Well, its a trade-off. I can have Iko tag along in Rookie, but its not as if I could easily get two people on the bike - and go at full speed, anyway." Meanwhile, Amelie could have any other passenger she wanted - and heck, enough room to actually pack for a trip, or even just extras like emergency fuel. There was definitely a merit to having a four-wheeler, even if there weren't a lot of places to park it!

Still, the light in Amelie's eyes couldn't be denied - and at the note of waiting for Luke's ride to be ready, he gave a chuckle and a nod. "Alright, shouldn't be much longer myself - I'll see you in ten minutes or so?" Letting Amelie head out first, he proceeded to wait, Iko giving a sigh: "You could have just swung a ride with/i] her, you know."

"Eh. Kinda want to see how she handles on the road. These things are much more powerful than ones on our side..."

---

True enough, but it wasn't as if there was much traffic on this side, either. Another ten or so minutes, and the garage door would open up again - and this time, Luke's vehicle was finally ready, the hover bike easily pulling out onto the dusty flatlands. Helmet and visor affixed, he'd pull up next to Amelie, and give a short wave.

"Just checkin' these out for now, right? Where to?"

Ignorance, likely not, but the sheer power behind these vehicles made them feel quite different between cruising them and putting the pedal to the metal. Granted, there was rarely a need for the latter case, and at least for this initial 'test', Luke had no intent to push the machine that far.

As for where to go? Honestly, Luke didn't have a particular area in mind, nor did he really know the spacing between any two major locations in the Digital World. Giving it a shrug, he gave a simple suggestion: "Two or three times around the city should do. We could break off on the last lap and check out that plateau off to the West, or something."

May as well, right? Whatever Amelie decided (so long as it was in the area), Luke would be for it. And once that was decided, Luke would rev his engine, give a kick off, and feel that engine purr. As it was set up, this entire vehicle was built for speed - and even at the brisk pace he started off at, everything just felt perfect. The weight, the feel, the handling - it all seemed to just 'click' into place. The only downside, he could figure, was the sand being kicked up by the hover.

Thankfully, he realized this before he moved too far. Letting Amelie lead - so as to not damage that fresh paint - he'd follow right along in pace.

Really, driving cars in the Digital World? This was the last thing Luke expected to do out here!

Well, a car definitely had a similar balance to its counterpart in the human world, but Luke never tried piloting a hoverbike before! And the experience was 'easier than it could have been, but harder than one would have liked'. It would have been difficult to tell on just a simple track or even from an outside view, but balance was a little tricky to figure out - at least for the first lap or so.

By the second, Luke was trusting himself more on the turns, and by the third, he more or less had a handle on it! Quickly learning to trust the machine and the careful balance this custom vehicle had put into it, Luke gave a grin under his helmet... only to see Amelie take off towards the sky! Well, that was one thing his own bike couldn't quite pull off...

... But, heck, it gave Luke time to try something else. He didn't quite hit the nitro just yet, but it was time to put that specialized engine to the test: giving a full rev, that motor roared out from below, and quickly tore its way across the road, quite the dust trail left behind him as he blazed his way up the hill! It definitely wasn't as direct - but Amelie would only have to wait two minutes before the bike would finally pull itself around.

That said, it left the vivid scenery below a bit of a dust-bowl, Luke giving a laugh as he pulled himself off the bike! "Maybe I took it a bit too hard there - but boy, can that bike go." He gave a chuckle - as Iko, a bit dazed, climbed as a squirrel up onto his shoulder.

"We'll have to find a better seating arrangement than the right cargo hold if you have to go that fast." Giving a huff, Iko looked away, as Luke gave a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry about that..." Taking off his helmet, he gave a grin back towards Amelie. "Heh. We'll have to do this again sometime - maybe with more of a destination in mind?"

Right - taking Iko along for the ride likely wasn't going to be something that would happen more than once. Even as Amelie made her rather obvious statement, the squirrel shot a glare back towards the tamer, from the corner of his eye. A solution for this? "A V-Pet upgrade should do the trick..."

"Well. Lesser of two evils, I guess." That problem more-or-less solved, it seemed that this was the start of something, even if Luke, Iko, nor Amelie knew quite what that was yet. "Well, that's just a matter of finding it... or making it up as we go along, right?" Still, Luke couldn't hang around her forever: "But we'll keep in touch. Unfortunately, we were just trying to squeeze this in. I do need to get back to the 'other side' in an hour or so - need to normalize myself to time in the real world before I hit the books. I'll see you around!"

He'd offer a handshake - and shortly after, he'd reach for his Digivice, to both recall the vehicle and open a portal, back to Shibuya.

"... Then why did we need a bike at all?"