Scene #3766: A friendly visit

Owner	Pose
Taro	Neo Arcadia can be a little overwhelming to visitors not accustomed to the decidely 'ultra' edge of technology. Some of that's out of necessity - the wastelands on the other side of the barrier wall and forcescreen is unhospitable to organic life and unkind to machinekind as well, an enemy that must be kept at bay. Inside the walls, however, is quite pleasant. While it's true that there are police-type 'bots on constant patrol, they seem to be there to reassure rather than oppress. Or at least that's how the locals seem to treat them, at least. Because it can be overwhelming, Taro would have gone to pick up his visitor himself. He may be the first digimon visitor to the city, and so likely to get curious stares along the way from the warpgate portal to the semi-private tower that the clergy of SHODAN's church enjoy. Lots of metal and tchnology and a possibly surprising amount of greenery along the way...
Alden	Maybe the digimon is used to odd places, or is simply too awed by the ultra technology to be scared at first, so he was busy admiring the multiple machines, and even peeking at the police bots before he notices Taro signalling him to approach. "Your home is amazing." he chirps to the humanoid, the petite, chubby lizard digimon moving quickly and trying to keep up with him, "Thanks for inviting me." he says happily. For the most part, he keeps distracted enjoying the view as they travel.
Taro	"Thank you." Taro acknowledges the compliment with a deep nod. "We do our best to keep the city as pleasant as we can. The people here have already suffered enough." He tends to walk with purpose, but not so quickly that it's hard to keep up...and if he notices Alden lagging behind to look at something, he'll slow until his guest's curiosity is satisfied. "I've booked one of our practice rooms for the evening - a physical one, rather than a virtual one."
Alden	Alden smiles and wags his lizardish tail faster, "I can tell, it truly looks great." he says, trying his best to keep up, even with his short legs. He seems to manage for the most part, except when he spots any moving machine nearby, then he stops to admire it. Still, he does not like to make his friends wait!, and thus resumes walking close enough, "I take your world is also... suffering badly?" he says softly, before looking up, "Practice room? sounds nice."
Taro	"Decades of warfare have taken its toll on the planet," Taro gestures toward the horizon, his brow lightly furrowing. "Before this world Unified, this was the last safe haven for humanity. Now..." He gives a mild, graceful shrug. "Well. It is still far too dangerous to venture out without the proper precautions. But I remain optomistic that with time, our efforts, and the grace of the CyberGoddess, we'll be able to restore some of it to what it had been." Then, while he doesn't exactly smile, he attempts to lighen his mood. "But the city's history is not a topic for such a fine day." He gestures again, this time ahead of them. "It isn't too much further." A few moving sidewalks and skybridge bring them to their destination, and after passing through the entranceway, the sounds of the city are shut out with the sliding doors. It's hardly silent inside the tower, but certainly much quieter. The hallways are wide and ceilings fairly tall, and while the pictures and icons hung on the walls are likely not familiar, it has the slight feelings of a monastery. A monastery with a gym, apparently. "Here we are," Taro says as he stops in front of one of the doorways, which opens with a wave of his hand. On the other side is a practice room that at a glance looks to be part targeting range and part dojo, with some basic practice weapons on racks along the walls.
Alden	Alden nods slowly, "I hope that... my world can survive and become unified." he says softly, smiling, "If you are curious, I can tell you about it." he says happily, admiring the amazing architecture and the devices... how nice everything looks like!. He makes sure to check ahead when he spots the gym, gasping for a moment, "It's really, really nice." he says softly, walking inside at the targets.
Taro	Taro follows Alden in, the door whispering shut behind them. "Thank you." With a dash of humor, he adds, "While those of the clergy have taken vows, Asceticism isn't among them." He reaches into one of the puches on his belt to pull out an elastic hair tie. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to practice or train in?"
Alden	Alden smiles and moves closer, admiring the training weapons, "There are several things... need to have more... endurance... train so i can handle the strain of my stronger forms for longer while doing things..." he begins, watching the hair tie, "Also wanting to learn some basics on using some weapons, like a sword or something like that." he says softly. "And just practice my aim... just because I have computers helping me target... does not mean I am good at picking priorities, or keeping my focus on them sometimes." he begins. Alden blinks and rubs the back of his head, "Oh, right!" he says, "I figure I should... prepare first." he begins, reaching for the D-Ark, and fishing into the card box besides it for some card, finding it after a few moments. "Ok, let's see." he muses. He stands a few feet away from Taro, and holds on the D-Ark in one paw, the card in the other, sliding teh card, which had the picture of a computer chip of some sort, and text. "Digi Modify, Super Evolution chip P." he says outloud. As soon as the card passes teh reader, the digimon's body glows brightly. If Taro has a way to resist the burst of light, he might notice that the form of the digimon seems to break appart into voxels, before reaggruping in something quite different. "Were Garurumon!". he barks, the now fully furred, bipedal creature wagging his tail. "Better."
Taro	Taro's hair isn't all that long, just enough to pull into a short stub of a ponytail. "Stronger form?" he echoes, his tone turning it into a question. A question that's quickly answered as Alden makes his own preparations. If he'd been more prepared, Taro likely could have better shielded his optics with something other than a raised hand, but this took him by surprise. "Ah!" Once the light fades, though, he lowers his hand...and what he sees afterward certainly ranks the raised brows. "Interesting..."
Alden	Alden smiles softly and rubs the back of his head, "Ta dah?" he says, feeling a bti silly, before he punches the air a few times. The new form is tall, taller than most people for certain!, and it looks fierce, at least until he scratches his left ear. "It's not the only thing I can do." he says softly, gazing back at the targets, and at the fake weapons. "It's not my strongest form, but it's the strongest with hands." he says, smiling. "So i can use more cards." he explains, shuffling throuhg the cards. "I can make things appear for a limited time with some cards too." he says, picking one. "Let's see, just for show...". He swipes a new card, "Digi Modify, Magna Angemon, Excalibur!" Something appears on his left arm, oddly, it looks like a metal wristband/armlet with a large device attached to it. An instant after it 'realizes' a purple blade surges from the device, raising to be almost as long as his arm. The blade is shaped like a regular blade, but obviously there is something odd about it, perhaps it is made of energy?. http://wikimon.net/images/thumb/c/ce/Excalibur.JPG/200px-Excalibur.JPG
Taro	"Capable of modifying your own from with data...remarkable." Taro rubs his chin as he regards his guest. "Remarkable indeed..." He pauses for a moment, considering his next question before speaking it. "Is this a natural ability for you and your kind, or is it a result of your link to your D-Arc?"
Alden	The weregarurumon waves the weapon in the air, admiring it a bit, before focusing on the question, "I... know we can evolve on our own, and some can create their own weapons and ammo... but not quite to the degree me adn other digimon with Tamers can do it, so it is due to the D-Arc."
Taro	"I see. Very interesting." Training seems to have for the moment been forgotten - the engineer in him rather than the former general is at the forefront now. How could it not be? Taro moves closer, though not so close as to be within the arc of Alden's blade, and begins to circle him. "From what you said earlier, may I presume that this shift in forms is merely temporary? Or can you change forms at will using those data cards of yours?"
Alden	Alden is a rookie, but he is not that dumb to keep swinging the blade, trying to stand still and observe the humanoid circling around him, blushing lightly, "It is temporary... I am not strong like other digimons... normally... for non... damaged ones, eventually they are able to... change and retain the form permanently." he says, "I... can't... doing this is already a strain... I noticed I can... train to resist longer." he says, "It takes energy to shift forms, create things... but some cards help me recover, in general... it is not so much at will as saying, if I have the energy to do such."
Taro	For all that his circling might suggest it, Taro's expression is not quite predatory. He's genuinely intrigued by Alden and his abilities, yet he does his best to remain polite during his line of questioning. "I see...the energy drain would make sense, but where do you draw this energy from?" The tone makes that question almost rhetorical, yet there's enough of a pause for the digimon to get a word in if he chooses to. "You have the capacity to gain endurance for holding this form, you say? How long can you hold it now?"
Alden	Alden tries to be at ease, but feels a bit embarassed, his tail, long and whiplike, twitches behind him, smiling to the examining Taro, "Well, not sure the term... I just get tired... and hungry." he says softly, rubbing the back of his head, "Very hungry, if I work myself dry... and tired... like if I had been awake for too long." he explains. The question about how long makes him rub his chin, "Hmm, if I don't want to end too drained... and if I don't do too much effort, I can safely stay ten minutes or fifteen, and still have energy to do more... I am wanting to test... how long I can hold while spending energy... work to resist longer."
Taro	"I see...ah, right. You were eating organic food at Zarenna's picnic, if I recall." Which, aside from the tea, he himself didn't partake in. Taro begins another question, but then he catches himself with a shake of his head before the first word forms. "My apologies," is what he says instead. "I am first and foremost an engineer, and your abilities are radically different from reploids, or shinki, or other electronic persons with whom I normally interact. My own shells and armor are restricted to what I can physically construct, and while cyber-elves can modify my armor somewhat, this is nothing by comparison to you." A pause. "I suspect my methods of recharging are more efficient, however."
Alden	Alden smiles and nods, "I was!." he says, listening curiously, "No worries, I don't mind questions." he says softly, streetching a bit, "I guess they might be because I am made of data, rather than a machine, or... say other organic people?" he says softly. He seems to think of something, "You know, let me show you this." he says, "I'm going to change forms again." he warns, listening curiously to the cyber elves, "That sounds a bit like my cards." he muses, even as he fishes a new card, this one all blue, "Cover your eyes." he growls, before sliding it!. "Matrix Evolution." he mumbles, his form glowing, and like before, bursting into voxels. This time, the form that appears is quadruped, almost as tall as Taro, and unlike the previous one, this one seems... either some kind of cyborg, or robot. Almost all of him is covered in metallic armor, his tail replaced by an odd 'blade', and he even has weapon mounts on his shoulders, small missile pods (think that might be the term!), odd things folded besides said launchers.
Taro	"I suspect that you are closer to a cyber-elf in terms of physiology," Taro theorises aloud, "though until I invented the ORBIT system, cyber-elves could not interact with the physical world as easily as you do." This time, he's warned, and he dutifully shields his optics with his hand as Alden shifts to another form. "...remarkable," are his first words when he looks again.
Alden	The metallic, at least partially robotic digimon pads around a bit, moving silently, "I think in this form I must have something... computer related in my eyes, or brain, because I can see text and i can help tag targets, with the laser pointers on my muzzle.". He raises one paw to point at the dots marked on it, where perhaps normally whiskers might grow on a real canine. "Can I destroy a target?" he asks curiously, and if given yes, he decides to show off a bit. He moves to face the target, shifts his legs a bit and focuses, the launchers on his shoulders burst into life, a single missile each, the projectiles zooming, and landing on the target with a loud 'boom'. Oddly, rather than leaving... well, ashes or debris, the aree affected by the small explosion seems to be filled with ice, including the target that seems fairly abused, but not enterily destroyed. The spent spots on his launchers get filled up quickly. "I can... shoot a lot more projectiles at the same time... got a couple hidden weapon pods. (aka, pretty much all of him)
Taro	Taro waves his hand in an obvious granting of permission to blast a target - that's their purpose, after all - then turns to observe. He seems to not be disappointed. "Remarkable..." His eyes remain on the frozen target, to see whether the ice does in fact melt, or if it simply vanishes like a digital effect might. "It seems you were designed for combat, if I may say so."
Alden	Alden seems proud at the words, turning to face Taro, "I also have a more... normal projectile, explosion, not really ice... and a freeze beam." he says casually, before nodding, "Yeah, i think that's correct, as far as I know." he muses, sitting on his haunches nad itching his left ear like... well, a dog. "This form is certainly for combat!, and I think, if I had the proper cards... and a set of hands to help me, I might even get stronger." he says. "But for now, just sitting here is a definite strain of my energy."
Taro	It's tempting to ask to see more. But when his guest admits the strain he's already under, Taro does not press. "Then do not hold this form solely on my account, Alden," he replies, making a dismissive gesture. "If you've already overtaxed yourself..."
Alden	Alden smiles and shakes his head, "Nah, i can hold for a few more minutes, can show off the other attacks, or let you ask questions, can even let you examine a bit, just... don't break anything." he says with a chuckle.
Taro	"I will be careful," Taro assures. This time, he does not circle, but he does remove his gloves, which he tucks into his belt. "These cards you use, does someone manufacture or print them?" Then, he reaches out toward Alden, though he politely asks "May I?" before going as far as actually touching him.
Alden	The Metal Garurumon nods, "Yes, they are... my Tamer told me they are just cards from a card game back on earth, they also work with a computer digimon game... until the digimon started to appear to tamers, apparently we were all just... fantasy, part of a game." he says softly. The digimon tilts his head for a moment, before nodding, "Go ahead." he says.
Taro	"Mm. Interesting. Did you exist before this game was compiled, or do you know?" Taro moves to run his hands along Alden's back and sides, and after giving him a chance to answer the question, he explains, "I built additional tactile sensors into my hands. Quite useful in my profession." He certainly feels solid enough...Just what -is- this digimon made of, anyway?
Alden	Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Alden quite enjoy being petted, so he is more than ok with the curious stroke along his back and sides, pressing into them with a soft rumble. The metal looking parts do feel like metal, smooth, cold metal, and the areas of his back with fur, do feel fuzzy and more organic. Still, clearly there is something else, at least in his inner workings, given how natural his movements are despite the joints displayed.
Taro	Interesting. Very interesting... "Does the same group that prints the cards also make the D-Arcs?" Taro asks, still polite. If they had been created from a game, or perhaps for a game, it stands to reason.
Alden	The Metal Garurumon does not need to think about that, he just shakes his head, "No, not at all, not sure where the D-Arcs come from... another Tamer said that the card reader that came with the game just... transformed into a D-Arc when he met his partner, but my Tamer told me that they are not part of any digimon game or anything, they seemed to be created just.. when needed."
Taro	Taro's brow knits at that answer. "I see..." Just what he makes of it he does not share, but he seems to be leaning more towards skeptical rather than dismissive. Finding this 'digital world' is moving higher on his list of priorities. The android draws back, hands dropping to rest at his sides. "This is all very intriguing. Thank you for sharing this with me."
Alden	Alden tilts his head ever so slightly to the side by the tone, and when the hands pull away he sits on his haunches again, "You are welcome, thanks for inviting me here." he says with a soft rumble. "Let me... revert." he says, his form 'shattering' into voxels, returning to the previous, biped wolf, who was now sitting down as well. "Anytime."
Taro	Taro takes a couple of steps back to give Alden room to shift into another of his forms, and raises his hand again to keep from being blinded. Perhaps he should consider installing better optical filters. "Have you depleted yourself with all of this?"