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Post by thal on Sept 25, 2011 16:52:10 GMT -5
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ WON'T LET YOU SLIP THROUGH MY FINGERS
Yagami wasn't one to make idle threats, it seemed. The voice outside belonged to Renamon, and if she was here, then doubtless the blonde bastard wouldn't be too far behind. The most likely explanation for how this had happened was that they'd been following him after all. They were infuriatingly persistent!
Shion stood up to go out and socialize with their new guests, and following her example, Valus stood up too. He turned around and made a beeline straight for the area marked as Staff Only and quickly opened the door, Modoki staying close to his heels and slipping in after him just as he quietly closed it, taking great care not to make any sudden or clumsy movements.
"Damn prick!" Valus hissed, his voice more of a whine than a snarl. "Why did he have to come here now?" Nodding slowly, Modoki's smile had been replaced by a wistful look, part of her wishing that there was a way they might be able to reconcile still, so that she could get to know Renee a bit better. Both felt as though their moment of relaxation had been prematurely ruined, and Valus in particular felt more sorrowful than angry that his mistakes were catching up with him too quickly for comfort.
"In the kitchen, quick like. Shion ought' hold em' for a few, out back we can go!" Gesturing further down the hallway with her fin, she scurried along, Valus following now. Arriving in a pristine white kitchen with pink floral wallpaper and not a single sharp edge in sight - the heart of the bakery - immediately the human rushed over to one of the large sinks and plugged it up. "Valoos? What'cha doin' over by there? C'mon and get movin' lad!" She berated him urgently, keeping her voice hushed all the while.
Twisting the taps until there was a steady flow of cold water, before long it was overflowing, spilling out over the sides and forming a pool around Valus' shoes. Spreading outwards rapidly over the floor tiles. Darting after Modoki now, the pair made their way over towards a set of stairs which took them above the reach of the expanding water. Valus pausing to lean over and knock over a rabbit-shaped toaster on his way there, which started to crackle and spark as soon as the water touched it.
"There. Hopefully that will get at least one of them." Valus sneered with a small smile, admiring his improvised trap from a safe distance. Most of the room was now an electric hazard, and the water was still spreading, despite being only shallow. "Modoki, can't you speed this up?" he asked, somewhat impatient. The thought that Renamon was close made him anxious and eager to eliminate any chance of pursuit.
And if he could be rid of them permanently? So much the better.
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Post by stormecho on Sept 25, 2011 17:44:10 GMT -5
Two Digimon and a human - she recognized neither of the Digimon but that was hardly an astonishing fact. She smiled, undeterred by the taller fox-like one's odd speech pattern, though she noted it. Given they were apparently made from data, could this be due to some sort of corruption or damage? Did damage to data reflect as physical or mental?
This... really wasn't the time to be pondering it, though. She might have said another inanity, pressed a cookie upon the pair behind this Digimon, but -
She froze.
The question had been asked gently, but that didn't stop her from remembering grief and pain and things that hadn't happened, they didn't matter and everyone was dead and she had moved on....
People weren't supposed to have holes in their memories, just like they weren't supposed to be empty shells and liars like her. People didn't do the things she did, didn't think the same way, and she just kept making shields and masks until she was all alone and she couldn't put them aside. She knew that her smile slipped, and for a heartbeat she could only stare and hear her own thoughts chase each other in circles. She wasn't even afraid, just alarmed and suddenly remembering things she had wanted to forget. Like her name; like wandering alone in the hospital corridors; blood and that unearthly chill and so much pain.
The moment passed and she pushed the remnants of her past and present away. She was supposed to be Shion - she was lying but maybe the others would miss it, miss that sudden gap in her words and actions. People usually avoided what they thought was odd, ignored it or let themselves be soothed by platitudes.
BlackGabumon had moved forward, she realized, as if to protect her. She waved him away, but the gesture was a bit too flippant, and he didn't budge. "Sorry, I - wow, that's just such a weird question! I mean, I don't even know your name - I've never seen a Digimon like you before... sorry!" But suddenly she couldn't say her name, felt the words wither and die in her throat because she knew what she was doing and this was wrong -
She needed to get out of here. Leave, find some quiet place to sit alone and think.
Alone - without her partner, without Valus or any of these people, before things broke and she betrayed herself again. Almost unthinkingly, she tried to edge around the Digimon, but then stopped herself. They would suspect -
If they hadn't already, given they were not blind, deaf, or unintelligent.
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Post by yagami on Sept 25, 2011 19:05:18 GMT -5
Letting Renamon take the lead with negotiations, Ryusuke's mind only paid a small amount of attention to what was being said. He was aware of every word, but as his mind wandered his sight began to as well, taking in their surroundings for the first time since actually arriving. When they'd first entered the town he'd been paying more attention to what stood out rather than what blended in with the hope of spotting some electronics that might lead back home, and he hadn't actually looked at the architecture itself. As he did he had to admit it wasn't all that bad a place to go through, even if they didn't find a portal or whatever it was Renamon was looking for. If anything, it merely renewed his sense of purpose in finding a way home - the simplicity and arrangement of the buildings were similar enough to the suburbs he grew up in to act as a reminder, and he wondered once again whether or not anyone had noticed his absence yet after nearly a week. The girl only drew his attention when she began acting flustered, which while somewhat understandable had it been from the start was a bit out of proportion to Renamon's question - sure, it was a strange one, but nothing that warranted that kind of response or that kind of discomfort. It was in directing his attention back to the girl that his line of sight just happened to pass over the storefront windows of the building next to them, with a very familiar face popping up over one of the counters.
"HEY!" Ryusuke shouted, darting into motion as he ran in through the shop door, nimbly vaulting over the counters and passing through the door that Valus seemed to think he'd passed through unnoticed. Seeing the other human turn a corner as Ryusuke entered the hallway, the teen dashed down to the doorway, confused by the sudden presence of water as he entered the room but undeterred by it - at least until he saw Valus about to knock over the toaster. Acting quickly, Ryusuke immediately moved for one of the large, wooden tables used for breadmaking and slid on top of it, pulling his feet up and out of the pooling water just as the toaster hit the surface and began sparking.
"What the hell, are you trying to kill me?!" Ryusuke shouted up after the man as he fled upstairs. Teeth gritted in frustration, Ryusuke pulled his feet up onto the table and crossed his legs, pulling his left boot off and examining the foot of his prosthetic, pleased to see that there wasn't any wetness on it - at least one good thing. They were durable and didn't rust, but he had no idea how long he was going to be stuck in the digital world and didn't want to take any chances with something he didn't know how to fix beyond the most basic repairs. Returning his attention to the stairs and the room in general, Ryusuke also noted with some relief that there weren't any back windows or doors, another good sign - hopefully that meant that this building was just as tightly packed with its neighbors as the other houses, meaning Valus would have no where to go except right out to the street again. Still, that didn't do Ryusuke any good at the moment, either - he was just as trapped as Valus was. As he sat fuming on the table, left boot in one hand, Monodramon arrived in the doorway, stopping just short of touching the water and eyeing the liquid warily.
"Valus, where did he run to?" Monodramon said, carefully looking around as much of the room as he could from where he was, catching a glimpse of Ryusuke's red coat.
"Bastard flooded the room and ran upstairs before I could reach him. Can you do anything about that toaster?" Ryusuke said, leaning forward slightly to get a better view of the doorway but unwilling to get his hopes too high.
"What's a toaster?"
"Fine, forget that. Do you know what a fuse box is?" Ryusuke said, irritation rising again.
"A box that fuses things?"
"Forget I said anything, just go out front and make sure you're there if he tries to get out that way." Ryusuke said, wiping down the front of his face with a gloved hand as Monodramon hurried to return to the street, dashing out of the front door and stopping several feet in front of the building, staring up as he watched the second story windows.
Meanwhile, Ryusuke remained on the table. Think, there had to be a way to at least disable the toaster. It was too late to drain the water in time even if he could reach the sink, but when there was a will there was a way. Maybe he could break it? No, he couldn't even reach it, the thing was over by the stairs, and Ryusuke couldn't leave the room to shut off the power as he'd been thinking with Monodramon. As he stared at the wet electronic on the floor for several more seconds his mind began to wander until the power cord caught his attention, his eyes following the thin black cable up until he found the plug on the wall, several feet closer to him but still just out of reach. Or was it? Suddenly aware of the boot in his hand, Ryusuke began thinking again, staring at the plug for several more seconds until an idea popped into his head.
Eyes still locked on the plug, Ryusuke placed he boot he'd been holding next to him on the table and shucked off his crimson coat, testing the weight of the red bundle in his hands for a moment before wrapping the top end around the boot, pocketing it with the coat's hood and tieing the sleeves around it to keep the boot in place. Testing the weight and balance in his hands again, Ryusuke rose into a crouch atop the table, and after a few seconds of gauging the distance between himself and the plug he gripped the bottom end of the coat and swung, the weighted end striking the wall above the plug but failing to hit it. Giving the coat a sharrp tug to yank it back without touching the water, Ryusuke made another attempt, this time succeeding as the plug was knocked loose from its socket, rendering the water safe to touch again. Grinning at the small success, Ryusuke yanked the coat back again and pulled the boot loose, replacing it on his left foot before dropping down off of the table and dashing to the stairs, slipping the coat back on as he began climbing them. The thing had already proven to be a nuisance once or twice already, so it was nice to know it proved useful every now and then.
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Post by observer on Sept 26, 2011 7:38:47 GMT -5
Renamon's face suddenly became worried, and she took a step back in amazement, her palms in front of her, as the girl suddenly twitched, the smiley face disappearing, showing something very akin to ... pain... Fear. It was a reaction the fox did not expect, did she say something wrong? Scrolling back through all that she said, she did not spot any insults, both hidden or direct, so ... it must have been something else. Miscommunication?
- Sorry ... sorry... Offend ... not want... - she apologized profusely, as the girl quickly regained her composure, though it was obvious she was still very shaken. True reasons, of course, were unknown to her, but the reply was not very satisfying regardless. The girl did not know anything... Anything at all. Again, an empty shot. A sad frown appeared on the renamon's face. She would get over it soon though, not first time.
- ... Unfortunate ... is. Inconvenience ... apology ... offer I. No memory... All lost. - she said, her finger tracing across the big scar over her own face in explanation. She was not asking all this just to annoy people, she just ... needed help. - Remember ... nothing. Try find. Ask people. Nobody ... knows. Empty... - she said, knocking at her head, dull sounds coming from the skull. She may have not been very good with words, but she compensated with jests more than enough.
- And ... name. You ask. Renamon ... is. - she added in conclusion, figuring out that she never had a chance to introduce herself properly, did she? This human did not seem mean like Valus was, so she would probably get along with the girl well, and names were the first step! But ... she remembered about Valus again. And Modoki. The fox worried about the digimon. It was because of her the renamon and Ryusuke found out about the misfortune that befell her... What if she were to be punished for it? She did not want to think about that, but ... she did remember how Modoki called her before being separated...
- Or ... Renee. Given name... Someone ... else by. Please ... question. More. One. No more ... trouble you will... - her tongue ached from spatting out these words, she was talking too much for her own liking, but had to. Practice after all, and besides... what she was about to ask was just as important. Finding herself was her main goal. But recently she wanted to find someone else too...
- A human... seek. Boy. This tall. - she said, showing approximate height; - Black clothes... Mean eyes... Valus... name. Bad, evil human... - she said and let out a sigh, it was obvious she did not like him, or talking about him, though she would be eager to meet him ... alone.
- Capture ... digimon. Force... servitude... Slavery. Chip in head... Painful. Digimon. Small ... ModokiBetamon. Loud mouth ... but ... nice, good. At heart. Escaped me ... he did. Find him ... I wish. We shall be ... enslaved, by ... no one. - the last proposition was a statement, full of determination, but ... their discussion was soon rudely interrupted.
Yagami. That boy was up to something again. As he was yelling something and messing with the water and kitchen appliances, the fox silently moved herself to one of the windows, to see what was inside. She did not see anything though, aside from the midget boy storming up the stairs, clearly agitated. What got into him? She did not have a chance to ask, but instead turned to the girl again, saying:
- Something ... happened? Go ... see?
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Post by thal on Sept 26, 2011 16:19:45 GMT -5
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ WON'T LET YOU SLIP THROUGH MY FINGERS
Yagami’s voice interrupted Valus, forcing him to abandon his efforts to make the situation worse and turn around, retreating hastily up the stairs with Modoki in tow. Before he left however, he got a good look at his enemy’s leg, watching at first with curiosity as he removed his boot, and then reacting with disbelief upon learning that the one he’d been running from this whole time was in fact a cripple.
This whole time and he hadn’t taken the care to notice? Not only was he being harried by someone younger and stronger than he was, not to mention braver, but his opponent was also the one with a physical disadvantage. He was incomplete, and technically inferior! Worthy only of contempt, not fear! But why did he fear him then? He feared him in a different way to how he feared Renamon. She was savage and ruthless, a wild animal that hunted him vengefully. Yagami hadn’t tried to kill him, he’d even saved his life. But there was something just as scary about him as there was about Renee - Modoki’s pet name for the beast. Something about his words… his repeated accusations...
It made him question against his will, sometimes. Was what he was doing right?
“Wha’ way now Valoos?” Modoki asked him as the rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, finding themselves in a rectangular hallway with a door on each wall. The one directly across from them was the bathroom, and on the left and right were a bedroom and a closet respectively. Hoping to escape out through the bedroom window, Valus turned inside and crossed over the plush carpet to reach the curtains, grasping them roughly and tearing them open. Reaching for the window lock, something on the ground outside caught his eye, and he realized that it was Yagami’s partner Monodramon.
Frightened that he would be fired upon should he expose his position, Valus quickly closed the drapes, doubling back into the hallway. The sound of approaching footsteps an indication that Yagami was coming upstairs. “Bloody ‘ell lad! Make up yer mind!” Cornered, he ran over to the bathroom door, opened it, and slammed it once both he and Modoki were inside. Bolting the door into a locked position and throwing his weight against it.
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach... he knew he was trapped.
"There's no way home in here Yagami!" He shouted, feeling bitter and defeated again, putting a particular sneering emphasis on the other human's name. "So just leave me alone! Turn a blind eye for once and get lost!" Banging his fist three times into the door, Valus felt relieved at least that there was something between his pursuer and himself so that no-one save Modoki could see the look of shame on his face. Cowering inside a toilet, of all things! If there was anything left of his pride by now, it was in tatters.
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Post by stormecho on Sept 26, 2011 18:48:46 GMT -5
The fox began to speak again, but Avari found it hard to focus on her - the broken speech pattern didn't help. Still, her meaning was easy enough to grasp, and she kept the smile up, all too aware of how fragile it was now. She didn't even want to do this but if she didn't they would know and even if this was a Digimon she would never see again, BlackGabumon could not be allowed to see -
To see who destiny had apparently chosen for him, a ghost attached to a name and memories best forgotten.
The... Renamon, as she introduced herself, explained that she had amnesia, and then made a weak joke about her head being empty of memories - a choice of words that made her have to stifle an involuntary flinch. Despite the tone, despite it being a joke, it was like an accusation to her.
How had she let things happen, had let it go this far? It had been a way out, and then another way out, and there had been no other option - but surely there had been a choice at some point? A time where she could have done something differently? She couldn't even remember - she had done this so many times, used different names depending on cities and people and always being so careful.... There was no way to move back, anyways. The only solution was to go forward - no looking back, just stepping into a future. Even if the journey made it meaningless.
She had been quiet for too long, and Renamon was still talking - she forced a look of attentiveness and uncurled her hands from the fists she had been unconsciously making. She barely needed to fake her shock as the other Digimon described Valus - and then explained why she was looking for him.
Digimon could be... enslaved? She had never thought of it, and it sounded repugnant - after all, they could speak, had feelings and so forth - but she supposed if someone managed to wander in without being "chosen", however that worked, having a slave to protect you would be useful. "You mean, cute little Modoki - that's... terrible! I can't believe... Valus sort of helped me out, though he wasn't exactly friendly. To think that he would do such a thing!" A Digimon that was bound by a chip that caused pain... no, she didn't like that idea, even as an abstract. She had always been fond of freedom - and though she could hardly declare herself willing to fight for freedom being the right of all sentient beings, it still... bothered her.
"I... I didn't know that was possible. Thank you, uh... Renee, right?" There was a commotion in the building, one that she had managed to ignore earlier, and she almost found herself going with the suggestion. But she should leave -
But of course, suddenly fleeing would be just as odd as her pause before.
"Shion?" BlackGabumon asked, as if genuinely somewhat concerned. She straightened and turned around, peering through the window that Renee had chosen to look through.
"Yeah, if Valus is causing trouble or something maybe I should take a look," she answered, wondering why she just kept digging herself into a hole like this. She edged closer to the stairs, BlackGabumon following her a lot more closely than usual - when she stopped, he bumped into her before taking a step back. "What's going on?" she called out, wondering idly if this modicum of curiosity would satisfy everyone so she could make a less suspicious exit.
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Post by yagami on Sept 27, 2011 14:16:32 GMT -5
Stuffing his arm down the second sleeve and shrugging once as he ran to let the coat fall comfortably into place, Ryusuke reached the top of the stairs, pausing for a moment as he did so. He may had pegged Valus as an ass and a moral black hole when they first met based on how he treated others, but what the guy had tried downstairs was borderline premeditated murder, or at the very least manslaughter - a digimon probably could have survived it no problem, but if Ryusuke had stepped in that water it would have been the end of things right there and then, intentional or not. Either way, it warranted the exercise of additional caution, and that was what lost Ryusuke his chance to grab Valus before the guy made a run for it again.
As Ryusuke stood at the top of the stairs he watched the cieling, floor, and walls, noting any open doors, including both the one for the room that seemed to lead to the street as well as the bathroom at the far end of the hallway. Seeing no immediate threat, Ryusuke slowly lifted his foot from the top step and place it on the floor of the hallway, fully expecting something to happen but pleasantly surprised when nothing came - hopefully Valus was getting sloppy, was in too much of a rush, or the incident downstairs was merely an attempt to deter him gone overboard. Standing still again as he listened to his surroundings, it wasn't until Valus exited the side room and made a run for the bathromm that Ryusuke abandoned his caution in return for expediency, normally a bad idea but well worth the risk in this case, at least in Ryusuke's mind. Still, the fact that Valus had a several feet head start on him and had a destination in mind gave him enough time to reach the bathroom, closing and locking the door just as Ryusuke reached it.
"Dammit! You're at least persistant, you know that?" Ryusuke said, stopping himself just short of colliding with the door before looking it over and attempting to open it the normal way - no such luck, it was locked. Valus may have been many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Looking over the door again, Ryusuke immediately discarded the idea of attempting to break through it for a number of reasons before he heard Valus speak to him from the other side of the door.
"I don't get where your delusions come from, but while we're here I should at least set the record straight. First of all, the comment back on the other side of the desert - when the hell did I ever say I was special? You slapped that label on me yourself. And second, don't even go there - I would have been gone days ago, having gone seperate ways and headed back home if you hadn't decided to screw with us rather than simply offer information that would have cost you nothing." Ryusuke said, eye twitching slightly at the second comment as irritation clearly leaked into his voice, the teen giving the door another look over as he spoke and still seeing no way in. Ryusuke knew he could always simply sit there and wait, but that would take time he would rather have avoided spending on something that wasn't guaranteed to work. As Ryusuke heard the girl from the street yell up the stairs, asking for an explanation of what was going on, Ryusuke simply called back, not moving or looking away from the door as he did so.
"Your friend's got himself locked in a room and is refusing to get his ass out here to talk like a civilized person. Don't suppose you'd be willing to help get him out?"
As Ryusuke, Avari and Renamon all began entering the building, Monodramon alone remained outside, conflicted as to whether or not he should bother going in himself or continue to stay out front. While he was itching to see what was going on and wanted to help, he'd already seen Valus try and get out the front just as Ryusuke had said he might, and if Monodramon left there'd be no one there to stop him if he did. Irritated himself but patient, Monodramon stretched his arms but stayed where he was, watching the window and doors for any sign of movement.
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Post by observer on Sept 28, 2011 2:05:38 GMT -5
The renamon sighed heavily as she resigned from her questions. She was not dim, she figured she was doing something wrong - the girl just remained in her shocked state even before she mentioned Valus. Was her story really that shocking? Or was there something else? If something else, then what? The fox did not know, but ... if the girl was uncomfortable with her, she decided not to press the issue... for now.
Especially in the light of her recent words, and events that followed. More loud yelling came from inside the house, the context of the words not making much sense to the fox, since Yagami never mentioned the name of the person he was shouting at... Until Shion, yes, that's how BlackGabumon called the girl, mentioned a name...
- Valus... - the tone of her voice changed a tad bit towards more cold and insensitive one.
So the boy was here. Hiding. From them. And being one step ahead of of them it seemed. But not for now, since they caught up with them. On the fox's face, there appeared ... a smirk. The boy was here, within reach... that was a good news, now wasn't it? Well, it was bad news for Valus though.
- Thank you ... Shion. I ... I am sorry... Made ... awkward ... feel you... Somehow. Apologize ... I do. But now... - steely notes in her voice were heard again, as she opened the window she was looking through, and hopped inside. Ryusuke seemed to have some sort of trouble, judging by the amount of screaming and banging against something... Well, guess it was time for her to do something... Gladly. This couldn't be ignored much longer...
Slowly rising up the stairs, the renamon found herself on the second floor, with Ryusuke knocking hard against the door without much success of opening. Of course Valus won't open! He'd know better. The door looked sturdy enough as well, one would think they'd put a weaker door to a toilet. Still, it was not much of an obstacle. For her.
- Allow ... me.
With that, one of her paws slowly caught ablaze with ghastly fox fire. Wisteria punch. She did not know if there was any room behind that door, and she did know now what they needed out of the boy first - information. Which they wouldn't get if she busts the door out and kills him with it. Plus, Modoki was with him in there, she did not want to harm the little thing. No, there was another way.
A very strong punch then befell on the door, making the door and the walls near it tremble a tad bit. A a nasty sound of cracking wood after wards. Renamon's hand ... it made a hole. In the door, her fiery arm inside the toilet room. Success, this was what she wanted to do. Groping at the knob from the inside, she found a lock, and pulled the bolt open, before pulling her arm back, tearing away a bit of the door, enough to throw a glance inside, and meet Valus' frightened eyes.
- Hello ... Valus. Missed ... me?
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Post by thal on Sept 28, 2011 5:29:37 GMT -5
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ WON'T LET YOU SLIP THROUGH MY FINGERS
Holding his breath as he heard the sound of Yagami moving on the other side of the door, berating him for his persistence, Valus breathed a heavy sigh of relief once he was safe in the knowledge that his pursuer could not get at him directly now. He was in a position of safety, for the moment. But that didn't comfort him all that much, not as much as it should have.
"Screw with you?" he sneered in objection, "You're the one who wanted me to do things your way and not mine!" Gritting his teeth just thinking about it, Valus turned around so that he was now facing the door directly. Modoki relocating to the toilet seat and hopping up onto it, looking miserable since she felt excluded from the conversation. "I'll use my time in this world how I please. Same as what you're doing here now, really." Trying to slowly turn Yagami's argument back against him, as Valus paused for breath, he heard voices on the other side of the door... quieter ones. Leaning in forwards to listen, he pressed his ear up against the wooden surface of the door.
thump... thump... th-THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP
Terror. Renamon's flaming fist had avoided his face by only a few centimeters, and there was now an arm sticking through his side of the door. Shuffling out to the side like a startled crab, Valus watched from his place on the ground as the door slowly pivoted open, looking fearfully into the same eyes as the predator from last time.
"RENEE! C'mere love, I've missed you like!"
Valus lifted his arms and covered his hears to muffle the sound of Modoki's enthusiastic squeal, the frilled amphibian Digimon leaping off the toilet seat and charging towards Renamon. Stopping close to her feet and swaying left and right, flapping her fin through the air in an awkward display of greeting.
"Tis' nice to see you, so it be! An' Shion! I spy you back there, c'mere too! Settle things we should, but no more fightin' please?" Smiling gently as she made her appeal, Modoki glanced over from Renee, to Shion, and then lingered on Yagami. "I dun think tha' be yer want anyway, my lad. Savin' Valoos like that wasn't needed like, but it spared me the trouble. Grateful to ye I am, most rightly." Giving him a cheerful nod, back over in the toilet Valus cringed at the unpleasant reminder, still reluctant to emerge with Renamon standing in the doorway.
Noticing, Modoki nudged the leg of her Renee and nodded, as if to gesture that she would move. "Would you mind, politely like? This hallway is right crowded now! Could ye take us downstairs? I'm tired o' runnin' everyplace. An' I think Valoos is too." Opening his mouth as if to protest, Valus slowly closed it again, realizing that his words would likely only make things worse for himself. Having Modoki take the lead was certainly not a comfortable situation, but right now, he was more frightened of what Renamon might do to him if people weren't watching.
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Post by stormecho on Sept 28, 2011 18:53:01 GMT -5
So Valus had... taken a defensive approach to being tracked down by people who abhorred slavery. It wasn't as if she cared - they were hardly the friends that the other boy labelled them. She was about to tell him that when Renee apologized, her whole behaviour changing to something far colder and harsher. An interesting development, but the Digimon bothered her - she wasn't about to stick around, especially if the fox said something else that unnerved her.
Even now, there were still small holes in her memory, and if she thought about it, she would prod and remember everything about who she was and what had happened and how much it had hurt. She couldn't let her guard down again now just because Renee was clearly occupied with threatening Valus. If she asked another question like that, it would be even more obvious than before, and then.... No chance of hiding.
She would have ignored the proceedings completely - though Renee's strength was clearly something to be wary of - if not for ModokiBetamon's clarion voice calling her forward. Shion wasn't supposed to be outright rude - obnoxious and chatty, perhaps, but not rude - and she tried to make her expression less brittle before she went up the stairs, waving at Modoki. Valus got a look of slight surprise, and then she hastily looked away - surely he would be used to similar reactions if others knew about his status.
"Fighting here would make a really big mess, wouldn't it? And people would be hurt - I'm glad you're all alright," she chimed in, easing a little as she spotted Valus and his talkative partner. They had no idea, they had seen nothing. Good. It made things easier for her now. She was content to just stand there, smiling faintly and knowing that she had no true place here except as someone in the background. That was good - a safe role, and until Modoki started addressing her again, she would probably have some time to compose herself.
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Post by yagami on Sept 29, 2011 5:45:31 GMT -5
Normally Ryusuke was a very, very tolerant individual, not one to tell others what to think, do or say unless it happened to cross multiple lines of morality, but at this point Valus was really getting on his nerves and threatening to drive him off of the proverbial deep end with irritation, and had it not been for Ryusuke's bullheaded, stubborn attitude, he would have succeeded. Gritting his teeth as he suppressed a small roar of frustration, Ryusuke instead settled for punching the wall to his left with his real arm, leaving a large dent in the surface and immediately regretting it as soreness became instantly present as his fist struck the wall.
"Okay, first of all, I never said anything of the sort. I never pretended I liked the idea of you forcing the frog to stay with you, I'd be a hypocrite if I did, but those words never left my mouth, stop trying to put them there. And second, we've gone over this already, I never chose to stay here. The original idea was to come here, drop off Monodramon where he belonged, and then be back home all within five minutes, on to live a normal life. What I'm doing here is a matter of necessity, not choice, and don't you ever try to lump in my reasons with yours." Ryusuke said, slowly and deliberately speaking to avoid losing control again but still not managing to keep the irritation from his voice. This was ridiculous - the only human who actually professed to knowing a way out of this world and back to his own, and he had to be a complete asshole, and deluded with a very selective, imaginative memory on top of it. "I get it that you don't like me, and I don't like you, but we have two choices. Option 'A' is that I can sit here and wait indefinately thanks to the food and water downstairs for you to quit throwing a tantrum and come out, or option 'B' is you can come out on your own and lead me to the nearest way out and be rid of me for good."
It was a long shot, but given how difficult and dangerous breaking the door down would be, reasoning with the bastard would prove easiest in the long run, especially since the guy wanted Ryusuke gone, and Ryusuke himself wanted to go home - all in all, pretty much the same thing. Waiting for Valus' response, Ryusuke remained standing directly in front of the door for several moments until he heard footsteps on the stairs behind him, growing uneasy as he saw Renamon reach the top of the stairs and begin walking towards the end of the hallway - not good. If Ryusuke was going to have any chance of convincing the guy to lead Ryusuke home of his accord, it likely wasn't going to happen with a six foot tall digimon that had proven quite muderous towards Valus in their last encounter standing out there with him. As Renamon's eyes seemed to focus on the door rather than Ryusuke, the teen's unease grew even more as the two words left her mouth.
"Hey, wait, hold on a sec. There's no need to break it down, we can just outwait him." Ryusuke said nervously and raising his hands n a placating manner, turning 180 degrees away from the door to face Renamon as she closed the distance between her and the door to stand right in front of Ryusuke. His words apparently fell on deaf ears as blue fire suddenly danced around one of her hands, with Ryusuke jumping sideways and pressing himself against the wall to place as much distance between himself and her arms as he could, her flame enhanced fist punching a hole in the door with ease. Ryusuke feared for the worst until she unlocked the door from the other side and opened it to reveal a very appropriately frightened Valus and his rather chatty digimon, the teen leaning forward from the wall he was pressed against to peer into the room from under Renamon's arm.
"Of course, there's always option 'C'."
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Post by observer on Sept 30, 2011 10:35:30 GMT -5
- Mo...doki-san...
The thoughts of pure, unadulterated violence written on her face was immediately batted away by a very cheerful and familiar voice heard from down below. The unexpectedness and the emotion behind it threw her into the state of confusion, forcing a meaner part of her back to reach for the gentler... softer one. Her eyes mellowed as she looked down at the small digimon on the floor, and knelt down as well, petting the frog slightly.
- Missed ... too. So I did. That ... human... something he regret... didn't do? - she asked, giving Valus a sharp glare. She did not really care about him right now, being much more happy about seeing the digimon again. Poor thing, she was just in front of her, so close... And yet she was bound somehow to that ... vile, wretched boy. Oh how she would like to crush his throat in her hands and rip out his guts, bathing in his blood as her foot cracks his skull to the floor, planting into his brains...
Wait... For a second, that rang in her head... And made her ... afraid of what she just thought about. She ... she didn't want to do all that? Did she? Fortunately nobody else knew of this ... internal struggle. This just felt weird... Sure she was angry, but ... where did such murderous thoughts come from? She did not know, and really did not want to find out... Petting Modoki some more, she picked her up, cradling the smaller digi in her arms.
- If ... you say. Talk ... we will. Though ... Ryusuke. You talk. I ... unsure myself... Bad thoughts ... head in. Uncontrollable... - she tried describing what happened to her ... only to fail, and stepped away, to let the "convict" a way out. Following behind, her eyes drilled into the boy, watching out so he won't try escaping. Information, they needed from him ... for now...
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Post by thal on Oct 2, 2011 11:37:43 GMT -5
- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ WON'T LET YOU SLIP THROUGH MY FINGERS Modoki seemed apprehensive for a moment as Renamon crouched down, spooked a little by her words, but once in the fox's arms she let herself relax and cuddled into the fur around her. Feeling safe and protected, she grinned happily and nodded over at Valus. It was a pleasing conclusion to the chase for her, all the more pleasing because it was so unexpected.
"C'mon Valoos! Come outta' there now, there's a good lad!"
Seeing Modoki nestled in the arms of someone who clearly wanted to do him harm, and patronizing him on top of that? There was no doubt in Valus' mind that his situation was hopeless. He had no protection and no allies. And yet... he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. Yagami had saved his life once already, but no matter how he tried to look at it, he couldn't understand why. He was used to people hating him by now... he even expected it.
"I'm coming now."
He stepped out through the doorway, closing the broken door behind him as if to acknowledge that there was no retreat. There was no pity in the eyes of those who watched him, and he felt condemned by their stares, like he was being judged by them. That feeling... he hated it with all his passion! He couldn't understand their reasoning, and that ignorance encouraged his hatred even more.
Should their roles someday be reversed? He knew exactly what he would do.
He avoided their eyes though. Unable to look at them while thinking such vile thoughts out of shame, his desire to get even with them conflicting with the belief that he hadn't done anything wrong. Part of him wanted to hurt them back for this shame, while another part of him, the guilty part, wanted to prove them all wrong.
"Lead the way. I won't do anything, promise."
If he could, he would have. Maybe. Yagami's stupid words wouldn't get out of his head, and that damn fox was staring at him and holding his Digimon in her arms and... Shion was here too. He didn't want her to hate him as much as these two did. Things had been... alright with her before. It had been the highlight of his day.
He'd keep this promise to them. He'd behave himself.
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Post by stormecho on Oct 2, 2011 12:07:28 GMT -5
Watching Renee interact with Modoki was... surreal. Renee reminded her of herself, due to the amnesia, but she handled it... so differently.
Though she appeared to have been quite angry with Valus, she... obviously felt no need to hide her feelings. She was warm and comforting to Modoki, and yet - she had been more vulnerable, certainly, if she had lost all her memory. Trying to imagine what it must have been like for her was like struggling through a fog, when she had tried so hard to leave behind her own past.
Things seemed to be taking a turn for the better, with Valus agreeing to go back down to talk - she supposed not having to fight was good. In the end, though, the argument hadn't concerned her. Renee only disturbed her due to a slight similarity, and reminding her of the past, of what it had been like to forget so much and feel the wrongness of it when she tried to reach for something she once knew.
The others... she couldn't care less about them. If they didn't question her brief moment of dismay, if they just let her leave...
Valus wouldn't be a problem, even if she saw him again. He had missed the moment, he was safe to be around, as long as she didn't let herself be surprised like that again.
It was the easiest thing to do, to smile shakily and fade into the background - their problem was with Valus, not with her. They would focus on him.
She was so close to being safe.
"You never said... about Modoki. But you didn't lie either," she said slowly, knowing full well how hypocritical this statement was. "If you say you're not going to try anything... then I believe you. And you helped me out before, so..." As if she was one to judge on whether he was a good person or not.
At least, the slight debt of escorting her was being fulfilled.
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Post by yagami on Oct 2, 2011 13:34:33 GMT -5
As Renamon and ModokiBetamon began chatting just as they had last time, Ryusuke's gaze shifted back over to Valus, wondering once again what he'd done to make the other guy dislike him so much. Sure, running away he could understand, even insulting for differences in opinion since Ryusuke knew better than anyone that a lot of the time people just plain didn't agree with each other, but what he'd attempted to do downstairs with the toaster went far beyond the pale, and yet at the same time it did not match with the person he saw in front of him. As Renamon spoke again, this time to Ryusuke himself, the teen at least felt relieved that the digimon recognized that she'd lost control last time and was committed to not allowing it to happen again, or at least Ryusuke hoped. The fact that she was putting effort into preventing it comforted him, but he wasn't sure if she was doing it for his sake, or because she agreed with the premise that hurting others simply because it felt right at the time was in fact wrong - either way, Ryusuke would still keep an eye on her until the situation here was resolved. As they'd proven at the factory, Modoki and Valus were bonded, and when he felt pain so did she - Ryusuke had no idea what would happen to her if Valus died at Renamon's hands if he'd almost done before, and without knowing of a concrete method of safely severing that bond the best thing they could do was agree to disagree and go their own seperate ways. It might've been wrong in the extreme, but there was little to be done about it now.
"As long as you don't try and fry me with another toaster again, I'm happy." Ryusuke said, shrugging while giving Valus a quick look of both confusion and concern at his sudden change in attitude before moving away from his place against the wall to follow Valus out. While he didn't completely trust the guy, Ryusuke had to admit he saw little point to struggling if he were in Valus' position - then again, Ryusuke knew he was stubborn to a fault, and would go down kicking and biting if need be. Still, the kind of resignation Valus was showing seemed to be completely out of proportion to the cause. What the girl at the end of the hall said did surprise Ryusuke, however, at least for a moment until he recounted what had happened at the factory - while Valus had been somewhat unfriendly upon meeting them, he hadn't been outright hostile until things had spiralled out of control upon the revelation of his and Modoki's relationship. It was entirely possible that Valus had intended on at least helping him that far, only to change his mind in the face of such a lack of acceptance.
"I don't know how else to say this, but I'll just be frank. I don't like the fact that ModokiBetamon's bound to you against her will, and you don't like the fact that I think it's wrong to force someone to do something against their will. That being said, there's not much either of us can do about either one, so let's just agree to disagree. You know the lay of the land better than I do, and probably know of more than one way back to our world, and I'm more than willing to bet there's a way out here in this town. All I'm asking is for you to point us in the right direction, or even better lead us there. Once that's done and over with we'll each go our own way and can never see each other again. Does that sound fair to you?" Ryusuke said, voice steady as he watched the back of Valus' head, following the other human down the hall. As his dad often said, you catch more bees with honey than vinegar, and so far all that had happened between the two of them had definately qualified as the later. Ryusuke might not have been as well versed in politics as his father, but he'd learned enough from the man to know when his current way of approaching a problem wasn't working and when stubborness would only make things worse. Normally he wouldn't have given in, but to be honest with himself Ryusuke was getting somewhat desperate - that, however, was something that he did not let show. If Valus knew how badly Ryusuke wanted something from him, he would very likely attempt to hold it back in exchange for a way out, and that was the last thing Ryusuke would let happen.
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