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Warm Rebooting (Mandrake)
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 26, 2020 9:21:08 GMT
It had been nine months. Nine months! Scientifically speaking, that was enough time for a small human to be created. No, Yuko hadn’t gotten pregnant - eww, gross! What she had done was go through an extended depressive phase that made her regress into some of her old bad habits. It came to a point that she decided that enough was enough; She could no longer let herself wallow in self-pity and stare at pictures of friends that had long moved to different cities. She had to get her life back on track somehow… By going back to the place that had almost killed her!
Backpack? Check. Tennis racket for self-defense? Check. Clunky early 2000’s toy with semi-magical powers? Check. Her D-Arc had located her partner’s signal somewhere in the western part of the Digital World, in a place called the ‘Spears of Megiddo’. With a name like that, what could possibly go wrong? Once the young delinquent stepped out of the Digi-Port, she found herself on a volcanic island, with many other volcanic islands visible in the distance. “So, it’s like Hawaii… on steroids!” She calmly mused to herself, as she started walking along the coast, in a beach filled with black sand. She was conveniently wearing a white tank top and jean shorts, so the blazing sun wasn’t a huge issue. It still was hot out there, though, especially when she had to carry a backpack. Now, Yuko had traveled to Hawaii with her father back in the day, and she knew that volcanic eruptions rarely threatened the locals back there, since they were usually relatively gentle. The Digital World tended to mirror the human world to a degree, so this place should abide to the same logic, right? It’s not like a volcano could suddenly explo-- KABOOM!!!“ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!” The girl yelled at the top of her lungs, while trying to run for cover. Only problem was there was no cover to be found on this beach, and nowhere to hide from the huge, burning chunks of rock that started falling from the sky. A tennis racket couldn’t defend her against those either.
Uuuh… Help?
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 26, 2020 9:43:09 GMT
The Spears of Megiddo was a hot place Mandrake hadn't enjoyed the first time he was here and it wasn't just the heat. Fortunately he and Lothar weren't anywhere near where they were abducted when they visited the region the first time. As they walked along the black sand of the beach thoughts involving recent events came to the Wizardmon's mind. Lothar was just as deep in thought as he was and Mandrake wouldn't blame his Leomon friend. Since being rescued from an evil digimon seemingly made of the shadows themselves, Mandrake was surprised to learn that Lothar also had feelings for him that went beyond simple friendship.
It was quiet which gave the two plenty of time to reflect on past events but considering the explosive power of this volcanic area it wasn't guaranteed to stay that way. Soon the two of them spotted a human shortly before a volcano erupted raining fiery rocks from the sky. Of course it had to be one of those days. Lothar grabbed Mandrake and sprinted for the human female. Luckily Mandrake's added weight didn't slow him down as he scooped up the girl in his free arm and ran until the were clear of the raining rocks before setting Mandrake and the human girl down. Mandrake released the grip on his hat that he took when Lothar grabbed him so he wouldn't lose it and said "That was a close one. Are you alright?"
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 26, 2020 10:33:55 GMT
Seventeen years of life flashed before Yuko’s eyes, and while some of those memories were pleasant, she didn’t need to be reminded of the first time she tried to go potty. Just when she thought she was a goner for sure, she felt something large, beefy, slightly hairy and covered in bulging veins wrapping itself around her. It was an arm!
By the time she processed what was actually happening, she had been moved to safety by two friendly Digimon that had happened to be passing by. One was a rather short, humanoid Digimon wearing a traditional wizard’s robe and pointy hat, as well as a pale yellow jumpsuit filled with sinister zippers. The other was a huge, shirtless, bipedal, bodybuilding lion!
“Ophelia…?” Yuko muttered, confused at first, having only seen the whiter, colder climate variant of a Leomon before. Upon closer inspection, though, this was definitely not Ophelia. The young Tamer nodded at the Wizardmon’s question. “Yeah, I’m alright. Thanks… Wait, you’re not wild Digimon, are you?” She asked somewhat warily. They didn’t look hostile, and they had just saved her life, but from past experience one could never be too careful in the brutal Digital World.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 26, 2020 11:45:05 GMT
The teens confusion as well as her wariness made sense considering how suddenly she was snatched from the falling rocks but the name Ophelia caused both Mandrake and Lothar to look at each other briefly in confusion. Considering she was looking at Lothar when she said that it seemed she mistook the Leomon for someone she knew.
When asked if they were wild digimon neither Mandrake or Lothar blamed her for her wariness considering not all digimon were friendly though, to be fair, the same thing could be said about humans based on some previous experiences Mandrake had. Still it was best to be honest with her so Mandrake said "Yes we are wild digimon but we mean you no harm." As usual Lothar was silent around her since he didn't talk much around strangers or, at least not at first anyway. "What would a human be doing in these rough parts without a digimon partner or are you a Spirit Wielder?" Mandrake asked.
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 26, 2020 14:08:32 GMT
Phew, it seemed those Digimon hadn’t rescued her just so they could have her as lunch. That was a genuine relief. Now Yuko could stop worrying about the nitty-gritty stuff and focus on the fact that anthropomorphic lions with medieval weapons were the most badass thing in existence! If Ophelia could destroy an entire island with a single swing of her axe, she wondered what this one could do. For the time being, the Leomon just stood there all silent and mysterious.
The Wizardmon did all the talking, asking her why she was there without a partner or if she was a Spirit Wielder. The pierce-faced girl shook her head at that. “No, I’m Himura Yuko, a Tamer. My partner and I… we kinda sorta broke up… several months ago. Crap, it must have been even longer in Digital World time!” She cursed under her breath, clearly feeling very regretful of her actions.
Yuko sighed and stood up, running a hand through her colorful hair. “He must be somewhere around this area. I thought that I could go look for him on my own, but… I was mistaken, obviously.” She glanced at the still burning rocks that had fallen all over the beach, crushing everything in their wake. Had those nice Digimon arrived a second too late, that could have been her.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 26, 2020 21:25:19 GMT
So she was not a spirit wielder but a tamer by the name of Yuko. Mandrake wondered if he and Lothar were what one were considered as dating. He supposed it didn't matter at this point since he figured no matter what the two of them were still close friends. "Nice to meet you, Yuko. My name is Mandrake and the Leomon with me is my childhood friend, Lothar. It is true time passes different in the Digital World than your world so who knows where your partner has gotten to or even if he is still alive." Mandrake said but even though he didn't want to upset her, he knew it was best she knew the truth of the situation at hand.
When she said he must be around this area somewhere, Mandrake's blue eyes gained a confused look before he said "Does this area have a significant meaning to the two of you? Or did he contact you and tell you to meet him here? This isn't really a good place for a meeting considering the volcanoes."
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 27, 2020 7:57:10 GMT
“Mandrake and Lothar. Nice to meet you too.” Yuko nodded, while internally wondering why Digimon always used such exotic-sounding names. It made it easier to tell them apart, she supposed, especially when so many of them looked the same only with slight palette changes.
“I’m pretty sure my partner is alive. My Digivice wouldn’t have been able to locate his signature if he wasn’t, but thanks for letting me know that there’s a small chance he might be dead. That’s exactly the thing I needed to hear right now.” The young hooligan said sarcastically. Perhaps she shouldn’t be too hard on them, though. After all, they were only trying to help.
Pulling out her purple and red D-Arc, whose screen was flickering, Yuko perused the beach once again, carefully navigating her way around the fallen rocks. “I guess we’re close enough for my Digivice to detect him, but not close enough to contact him with the Human-Digimon Comm. Argh! Why can’t this ancient thing have a GPS installed!” The colorful-haired teen groaned in her frustration.
Ah, the throes of a millennial.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 27, 2020 8:14:57 GMT
It was easy to pick up on the Yuko's sarcasm but neither Mandrake or Lothar were upset by it. She was just upset that she couldn't find her partner. Both of them knew how that felt considering how lonely it was when they were searching for each other. It seemed a long time ago but by human standards it was most likely only roughly a few months at most. "When you and your partner broke up, were you two angry with each other? That could be one reason you can't find him and if you aren't able to reach your partner by comm it is unlikely that I'll be able to reach him with my telepathy."
Yuko's frustration was now directed to her digivice while she moved around the fallen rocks. Mandrake and Lothar followed her while Mandrake opened up his mind so he could hopefully find her partner's presence. Maybe for the moment it was unwise to interrupt her.
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 27, 2020 8:47:55 GMT
The teenage Tamer shook her head at Mandrake’s question. “No, we weren’t angry at each other. At least I hope we weren’t. We just kinda… stopped communicating for a while. He went back to the Digital World to do his usual antics, while I stayed in the human world. Before you knew it, the days turned into months, my friends moved out of town, and I grew a year older and needed to figure out what to do with my life. It was all around a weird phase for me… Heck, it still is!”
Sighing again, the Himura girl glanced back at the volcano, where a stream of chunky lava was still flowing into the ocean. For a moment, it made her ponder how beautiful nature was and stuff, even though this was only a simulation made by a computer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you guys with my teenage drama… I doubt telepathy would work anyway. Jokah is really good at countering magic. He’s also very particular about NOT letting other people get inside his head.”
Eventually, another volcanic island became visible in the distance, with Yuko’s Digivice reacting strongly to it. The only problem was that there was a whole lot of ocean separating them from that new island. “I think this is it! How do we get there, though… Does anyone of you have a raft readily available?” She asked Mandrake and his silent companion.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 27, 2020 9:06:37 GMT
Yuko may have had a rough year but Mandrake's last few months had been what one would call crazy. Between getting two digimentals, getting captured by multiple evil digimon, getting afflicted with amnesia, and learning he and Lothar had feelings for each other it seemed being a magnet for trouble was an understatement.
Yuko then mentioned that her partner was resistant to magic and resistant to telepathy. "Even if he's resistant to telepathy, I think I should at least be able to sense him. If not, perhaps Lothar would be able to pick up his scent if we can get close enough." Mandrake said as he turned his gaze out at the ocean as well. "As for a raft, neither Lothar or myself have one but I am capable of armor digivolving into Coelamon if I revert to my rookie stage." Sure it was his armor champion form but at least it should of been able to get to the island seen in the distance.
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 27, 2020 9:22:16 GMT
“Catching his scent, huh? I guess that would be an option…” Yuko placed a finger on her chin, trying to recall what her partner even smelled like. In all honesty, she had never bothered to check. Sniffing people was just weird. This is where having an item that belonged to him might have been helpful, but unfortunately she did not. Perhaps Lothar’s trusty nose could sense the unbearable malice emanating from most Virus types? That was a thought for later.
As for getting to the other island, Mandrake proposed using his Armored form to swim across. “Koalamon…? I’m not sure what that one is, but sure, go for it.” The pierce-faced teenager nodded, and stepped back so that the little magician could work his magic, as it were. Real-life koalas were the single most useless species on Earth, so she really wasn’t sure how the Digimon version of one could be helpful in a situation like this. She would just have to wait and see. Maybe koalas were secretly really good swimmers, but nobody had bothered throwing them into the water to find out. Who knew.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 27, 2020 18:40:59 GMT
Catching an unfamiliar scent in theory would be a simple matter they just had to get there first. Mandrake walked a bit closer to the water before returning to his rookie form of Impmon. "Digi Armor Energize! Impmon armor digivolve to Coelamon!" he said and when the glow created by his armor digivolution finished what looked like a prehistoric armored fish now lay on the beach. His front flippers were large and strong with some similarities to arms and his back fins were short and stubby. It looked as if this form could maneuver on land but probably not very well. He had three black claws on each of his flippers with the ones on his front flippers being much longer. The only thing Yuko would likely recognize at first glance was the scarf Mandrake seemed to wear in all his forms from rookie on up. In this case it was tied around his head fin. He was certainly no Koala by any stretch of the word.
Using his powerful front fins, Mandrake vaulted himself into the water waiting for Lothar and Yuko in the shallows. Lothar stepped into the water and firmly grabbed ahold of Mandrake's top fin. "Grab on, Yuko and we can get to that island."
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 27, 2020 19:48:49 GMT
“Wow, I certainly wasn’t expecting that!” The young delinquent wolf-whistled. A Halloween wizard turning into a prehistoric fish was very strange, but it was an accepted fact at this point that Armor Digivolution was weird and rarely made much sense. Conveniently enough, this fish was massive enough for a Leomon to sit on its back without any trouble. A dainty Japanese girl shouldn’t add much more weight.
Yuko took her shoes off so that they wouldn’t get wet, storing them inside her backpack. She then walked into the shallow water - which was actually quite cool for being this close to a volcano - and climbed on top of the Coelamon’s back, noting how its scales were hard as steel. “Thanks for helping me. I really owe you one.” She said, holding tightly onto the lower fin.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I can use magical trading cards that amplify a Digimon’s stats, so there’s that.” The Tamer offered. Granted, she had only ever tried using those cards on her own partner, but she was pretty sure that one of the add-ons allowed her to use them on allied Digimon too.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 27, 2020 20:02:22 GMT
Her surprise was logical. After all, who would think that an Imp child could turn into a prehistoric armored fish. Boy would she be surprised if he used his second digimental that's for sure. With Lothar hanging onto his front dorsal fin where his scarf was tied and Yuko on his back, Mandrake began swimming swiftly to the island. When she mention cards that modified digimon, Mandrake said "Those sound like modify cards. Digimon without human partners have the potential to use these cards too."
Soon the group got to the island with Mandrake returning to being Impmon when Yuko got off him and Lothar let go of his dorsal fin. "Impmon digivolve to Wizardmon." Mandrake said returning to his champion form before he then said "Now let's see if we can find your partner, Yuko." Lothar then began sniffing as he tried to catch the scent of an unfamiliar digimon.
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Post by Yuko Himura on Aug 27, 2020 20:45:18 GMT
Well, it looked like the use of cards wouldn’t be necessary after all. Coelamon was a pretty fast swimmer without needing any outside help, proving it by getting to that other island in record time. Riding the waves at such high speeds was quite the adrenaline rush for the human, really. Once they had reached the island, Mandrake shifted back into his Wizardmon stage, while Lother put his capable nose to work, sniffing the surroundings for any traces of Digimon activity. Yuko followed them, while walking barefoot on the wet sand. “Hopefully we’re on the right island. It would suck if it turned out otherwise.” She mused. Their search was soon interrupted by a loud howling coming from the distance. “WOO! COWABUNGA!!!”
Riding on an enormous wave was an equally gargantuan monstrosity; A demon of the deep clad in a navy blue diving suit and copious amounts of leather belts. “MarineDevimon!” Yuko’s eyes widened, recognizing the creature. “Yo, dude! Over here!” She yelled and waved her arms in the air to get its attention. Noticing her, the aquatic Digimon smiled widely with its sharp teeth and waved one of its long tentacles at her. It jumped into the ocean and swam closer to the group, easily towering over them with its impressive size even while being halfway submerged in water. “Yuko, it really is you! For a moment, I thought I was having the most TUBULAR dream! This is so AWESOOOME!”The young hooligan covered her ears in order to withstand the loud yelling. “Yeah… It’s good to see you again.” She replied, smiling back. “Are Jokah and IceDevimon on this island too?”MarineDevimon happily nodded. “You know it! Jokah-sama has turned this TOTALLY RADICAL island into his holiday resort!” He then turned to Mandrake and Lothar with a confused look. “Are these friends of yours? They look kinda gnarly.”
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