I don't own digimon.

Chapter 49

Stabbed through the heart

Compared to the first floor, the second had gone more something that's less of a makeshift torture chamber. For starters, we actually have windows to peer out of. Sure, there isn't really much to view (mostly Malibu and the river below), but it's at least an improvement over the lack of anything really unique on the first floor.

"What about those bats?" Melody inquired, sickle bouncing about it's compartment in her kimono for the moment. Uh… I guess those could count to the room itself, except those were part of the puzzle rather than a static decoration. Unless we're supposed to count that as a piece of the room. That would also depend on whether the bats were actually in the room to begin with or were brought forth from somewhere else. If it's the former, then yes we would count it as part of the room. Should it turn out to be the latter, then we just leave it out of our calculations for the room. Oops. I got very off-topic there. Not that was my intention, mind you. "Uh… good to know?"

From this particular, the stairs are on full display at the far end of the floor. As for the room that surrounds it, what looks to be literal paperwalls section parts of the area off. That doesn't explain the various suits of armor with no real theme to them. Sure, they all look cool and stuff. But nothing like the suit that adorns Yvonne for the moment. As for the floor, it looks to be some kind of mat. Makes the strange lanterns hanging everywhere all the more noticeable. Made of paper of all materials, they come in all sorts of colors. Too many to really list out here. Quite a stark change from the drab stone walls we had just one floor below. Or would that be two floors now?

"I would say one." Munbimon announced as she gazed up towards the ceiling. For the moment, we find the ghost monkey digimon sitting on Yvonne's head. Which is really weird to see without the helmet (both look nice for her). "If the illusory floor had something different to it, then yes. But since there were no real differences that could be made out, no."

Understood. One small problem though. There looks to be a group of armored thugs of all people. Wait. Maybe we can find that legendary armored bird lady that Billie mentioned the other day? Would make for the perfect opportunity to get your hands on a new weapon or something.

"True." Yvonne remarked, gaze shifting away from the room and over to Madame for the moment. Currently, we find the thief taking a couple deep breaths and holding Ella's hand for the moment. Which isn't going to stop Yvonne from making her way over to them to talk. "Are you going to be alright?"

Madame rolled their eyes, hand gripping that of their girlfriend's for the moment. Did get them a look from Kollmon. Not sure that's quite justified, even if it's coming from you.

"I've had worse moments. Especially in these last couple days." Madame answered, which I'm not sure if I really believe you. Just a couple minutes ago, you were describing something that would definitely qualify as an extreme torture method for most people. You, this was a daily part of your life from childhood up until just a couple days ago. That's not something you should take lightly. At all. On top of that, you were crying a couple moments ago. "Yes, but I'll man-"

"Princess?" Bubbles called out as he made his way over to his mother, not even letting them finish their sentence. A hug followed. Aww… The love of a family at work, I tell you. "Famly?"

Yeah. A group of people who you know really well who have your best interests in mind. Or something along those lines. Though, that's also a way to describe a team, so I'm not entirely sure what the main difference is. I am fairly certain that you can have both at the same time though. Always a plus. That's beyond the point though.

"Anything else?" Madame remarked, breaking this embrace to focus on Yvonne currently. The barbarian shook her head and focused back on the armored grunts at the far end of the room. Taking a deep breath, she began her walk towards them. The rest of the group followed right behind. Though, a couple people (Blaze, Ella and Balamon) were making sure to look behind themselves. Just in case some of those bats or something else decided that they were going to sneak up on them and try to take them out. Though with so many of you, that would be quite a challenge. Not impossible, but you would definitely notice the lack of members and investigate their disappearances.

"Rantha?" Ella called out, the artisan's gaze shifting over to her for the moment. Coming to a stop, the pair's gaze turns to a suit of armor. Reminiscent of the suit of plate armor adorning Yvonne currently, this one was covered in a coat of silver. It doesn't look too good for the moment. The details are all there, but that doesn't change the fact that this armor has been ruined with awful paint covering up all of the details. Details that probably took the smith some time to put in all that stuff for someone to hopefully appreciate. "Do you go recognize this suit of armor by some unlikely chance?"

Rantha stared towards the plate armor and began messing with the various pieces. Shifting the gauntlets up and down, a head shake followed.

"No, but I wouldn't wear a suit like this into battle." Rantha muttered, turning his attention back to Ella. But not before setting the gauntlet back into its natural position. "Something about it seems flimsy and would just shatter if you breathed on it."

That's not good. On the other hand, the stairs are finally coming into view. We sadly have no signs of this legendary bird lady though. Instead, we have a woman decked out in black, purple and gold with a weird fox-shaped mask. What's strange is her weapon of choice. While a staff covered in some kind of gold, they've attached a circle with a bunch of octagons clinging about. Which is on top of the other ornamentation on the weapon. Quite impressive, even if I'm not entirely sure how exactly this translates into usability for combat.

"Uh… you're talking about me?" the woman called out, gaze on Yvonne for the moment. Yes, I need to describe what you look like so that the reader has a good idea on what's going on currently. Though if you don't mind, could you possibly tell me the name of that strange staff? "Oh. That's a Khakharra, my weapon of choice."

Uh… I kind of regret asking that. Is there an easier name to remember this weapon by, as unlikely as that possibly sounds.

The woman's companion let a chuckle out. Doesn't explain why they are decked in a pink set of plate armor. Unless you're in a place where it's perpetually sunset or everything is pink, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Even then, I'm not quite sure if that shield is quite big enough to really protect you from attacks.

"It's not that funny, Crusadermon." the woman muttered, shooting a look towards her companion. Then it's right back to Yvonne. "I'm Sakuyamon. I suspect you wish to go up these stairs. Sadly, we can't let you do that as proud pupils of AncientKazemon."

Enabling Scanner…

Izumi Tech Scanner enabled.

A picture of Sakuyamon appeared before us, a wall of text following. Thank you for that, DM.

Loading information…

Sakuyamon

Mega, Data

Special Moves: Izuna, Kongoukai Mandara, Kudagitsune

Yvonne: AncientKazemon?

Sakuyamon: Yes. She's a large bird lady. What about it?

Yvonne: I heard about her from a friend.

Sakuyamon: A friend, huh? We are under no circumstances to tell you peop-

Before she could finish her sentence, this 'khakharra' fell to the ground and Yvonne picked the 'weapon' up. I guess Sakuyamon wasn't holding it while her analyzer screen was up? That has to be it. Unless we're being tested at the moment. I'm not entirely sure why we're being tested in the first place.

I would continue babbling on that particular thought, if not for the fact that this 'Crusadermon' got their own screen. Right opposite of that of their companion. Because you know, we can't have nice things.

Loading Information…

Crusadermon

Mega, Virus

Special Moves: Urgent Fear, Spiral Masquerade

.

Blaze: Those are some… interesting attacks.

Crusadermon: I beg your pardon?

Blaze: I'm not entirely sure how exactly making fear urgent is really useful.

Rantha: Eh. Looks like my kind of type.

Finished loading. Now closing Analyzer screen.

Both screens disappeared, our attention returning to this strange pair. Yet, there's something different to them. I'm not sure what exactly it is. It is as if a switch has been flipped and the world has turned upside down. Except we were still all standing rightside up. Forget it. That analogy was absolutely awful and isn't getting my point across. Though, those murderous eyes on Sakuyamon are a cause for concern.

"Uh… would you like this back?" Yvonne inquired and held the khakharra out. Sakuyamon snatched it away, stance shifting slightly in front of the stairs. At the very least, tell us why you're so keen on guarding this set of stairs. This is the second floor. There's no way what's on the floors above is really that secretive and amazing to justify two people guarding the only way up. Especially with the only source of real food looking to be those bats of all things and we kind of used them up for a puzzle. So may it would be better to just let us thro-

"Disembodied voice, I suggest you shut up." Sakuyamon announced, gaze shooting up towards the ceiling of all places. Hi there. I'm the narrator. It's really hard to shut me up. If at all. Just bear with us for a little bit. That's all we're asking for here. "I really don't care."

Thank you for telling me that… I think.

"What would we need to do for you two to let us pass?" Yvonne remarked, Crusadermon looking her way. But not before shooting their partner a look. Or, an attempt at a look. The helmet really makes it hard to tell.

"Beat us in combat, of course." Crusadermon explained, getting a glare from everyone else in the room. "Oh. Have you had a long, rough journey today? That's truly sad to hear. But I can offer no sympathy. Face us, or just go die in a ho-"

Yvonne's fist slammed into this stupid knight's face, knocking him back a couple feet. Which was more than enough time for our shorter party members and digimon to squeeze on through.

"We'll wait." Madame announced, whip at the ready. As for their girlfriend, they had gotten to work getting their turret back out. Which just left Bubbles to sit pretty and watch. Which, fair enough for the moment. Maybe the next floor will have something of note for you to do. What form exactly that will take is beyond me. Maybe something in regards to your clerical duties? That would be a nice change of pace.

"If you're so keen on punching my beloved, then you must die." Sakuyamon announced, shoving Crusadermon aside just to get closer to Yvonne. Defeats the whole purpose of sticking up to your spouse. If these two ever were married or had some kind of relationship to begin with. Something else is going on here. Not sure what exactly though.

Izuna!

Four strange balls of light shoot forth from Sakuyamon's staff. Heading right towards the barbarian, not enough time to dodge it. While a direct hit, it's pathetically… weak. Which doesn't bode too well in corroborating the validity of this AncientKazemon person. While Billie made her out to be powerful, this is underwhelming. Unless neither of them have actually gotten into a scrap before.

"It's possible." Yvonne whispered, taking the full force of the blow and countering with a kick. I'm not an expert when it comes to armor, but I feel like making your stuff out of the same material as one uses for currency might not be the best idea. "Maybe her's is designed to be more ornamental, like the sort used in rituals?"

That's a possibility. Even if such magics rarely have an associated staff to them. Though, maybe it could work in place of your warhammer?

"You want to use my special, super-powerful staff as a tool too hit people?" Sakuyamon shouted, free hand shaking her fist towards Yvonne. Not really an effective taunt, kind of cute. Especially with the way that armor glistens in the light of the paper lanterns. Was this floor always like this or did you two decorate it yourself? "Why does it matter? I'm here to punch this stupid demon and go about my day."

Yvonne shot her opponent a look, rolling her eyes in the process. While 'demon' wasn't the worst thing she had been called, that's not even close to what she even was. Especially as Munbimon jumped off her head and glided over to a nearby set of armor. Sitting on the helmet, she kept a close eye on Sakuyamon. Just in case the armored mega pulled something fishy.

"I'm an orc." Yvonne countered as she went for a kick to the groin. While her opponent could have dodged that, she was expecting an entirely different move - probably a jab, maybe an uppercut. Not a direct hit to the private parts of the body. Stumbling back, her grip on that staff begins to slip about. So she slammed said weapon into Yvonne's stomach and twisted it around. Ow. Marulyn is not going to like that at all. "My people are not demons, even if people did do things that could make them seem like those creat-"

Yvonne isn't even allowed to finish her sentence, mostly because Sakuyamon knocked her onto the floor. The staff still hung in the stomach area of the armor and held the barbarian in place. A kick to her privates followed - retaliation for Yvonne's previous move.

Kongoukai Mandara!

Tapping the other end of the staff on the ground, what looks to be… petals. A bright pink color, but I don't think those are petals. Especially as light erupted forth around the pair.

"May the foul monsters you brought upon this world be purged forth from this world." Sakuyamon announced, Munbimon trying her best to glide over to this armored woman. As she glided within range, the ghost monkey digimon was sent flying back into one of the thin walls. Slamming back first, it's quite an impressive hit. "Begone!"

The light intensifies, ready to blind everyone in the room. Yet, there is no purging of demons. Not of Yvonne, not of Sakuyamon, not of anyone in the surrounding area. If anything, this strange spell brought our trio on the stairs closer to our slugfest.

"You little…" Madame announced, letting their whip slam into Sakuyamon's armor. Attention shifting over to the thief, what looks like a one finger salute is the response given. "Could at least fight fairly."

As they say that, their attention turned to Yvonne. The staff is still impaled into her chest, but the armor is doing the job of preventing this stupid staff from going any further. But with Sakuyamon distracted by Madame, maybe… just maybe there was a chance to turn this whole situation around. Just need the right move here.

"Why would I want to do that?" Sakuyamon countered and found her staff now shaking about. Gazing back that way, the fist of the barbarian slammed in her face. Yvonne stood back up, a kick following. Khakarra knocked out, she took the time to crack her knuckles. A million different thoughts slammed about her mind. Possibility of death, the amount of adrenaline surging through her body as a result of this predicament and of course, Marulyn. Sure, they hadn't left completely on the best terms. Right now, she just wanted her girlfriend. Sure, Marulyn would absolutely have her ass for ruining her armor even more than she already had. Especially now with a hole in the full plate. That's going to be really hard to explain to her. If at all. Maybe once this whole deal with the tower was all said and done, she could go to her girlfriend and explain what happened. Hopefully the elven mage would be understanding. Maybe even get it all repaired in a timely manner. "Impossible…"

Yvonne rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of the staff. Her opponent put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough for Sakuyamon to hold on. No, this strange digimon's weapon would be her's now. That only seemed far in this situation. Especially after your sudden change of heart.

"Impossible would imply it couldn't happen." the barba-, no that title doesn't work here…. Knight. Yeah. Why didn't I think of that before? Probably came to mind at least once, but something else took precedence over it. Has a nice ring to it. Crud. That's technically a pun of sorts. While I should slap myself for it, I'll let it pass for now. Especially as Yvonne got on the offensive, going for a sharp swing of the staff. There is something awesome about watching her go too town on this woman. Even with the weight difference between her warhammer and this staff, Yvonne isn't even missing a beat - matching blow for blow with Sakuyamon.

Izuna!

Once more, Sakuyamon called forth her fox spirits. Unlike the previous occasion, these came directly from her hands of all places. So the staff isn't needed. This is turning into an even better win-win of a situation if I've ever seen one. Not for Sakuyamon, of course. Especially as those fox spirits of hers swirl around the mega's body. Uh… You alright there?

"No, you fuckwit!" Sakuyamon screamed and attempted to grab her staff back. Close as her hand may've gotten to Yvonne's in that short window of time, her opponent managed to get theirs out of the way in time. Which made the scratches on their armor even more visible. Scratches? Wait. Those weren't there before. Or have I not been paying the best attention? No, this is a case of the former. Speaking of which, how's Crusadermon holding up? Haven't heard anything for a bit from him. Hopefully he's al-

Urgent Fear!

Of course now he chooses this as the opportunity to attack. His partner-in-crime is already at the end of the line. So let's shoot off beams of something or other from his shield. Wait. Why doesn't he have a sword or something? That would make sense considering his getup.

You would think that, but reality is *cackle* harsh that way.

Thanks for the reminder, DM. I'll keep that in mind. Especially as Yvonne jumped backwards to dodge at least one of the lasers and tank the rest. Though, this does provide a good opportunity to look over that stab wound on our knight. Right in the middle of the stomach, it looks repairable. Nothing like the 'shattering' that Rantha mentioned earlier. Doesn't explain why a bunch of 'fluff' now sits on the floor. Wait. That stupid plush. Forget the state of the armor, I doubt Marulyn would be happy to find someone skewered her plush. A plush that she entrusted to you to keep safe and eventually give back to her for one reason or another. I do hope you know some method to sew that stuffed animal back together. If not, you might want a good apology of sorts to make up for it.

"Sorta." Yvonne answered, gaze on the ceiling for the briefest of moments. Not long enough for either Sakuyamon or Crusadermon to take advantage of this opportunity and get one more hit in. Though, I doubt the former can really go on for much longer. "I'm willing to let you pass to the lower floors if you let us through."

Sakuyamon rolled her eyes and charged forward. Taking one more stab at grabbing the staff away, it's no better than the last attempt. Especially as she gets flung into a nearby wall and slammed into a set of armor. This time, we have a spectacular crashing of a material that I'm not entirely sure what it is. That's the least of our concerns.

"Maybe a date one of these days?" Rantha called out, Crusadermon looking his way. What looks like a deep breath followed.

"Sure." Crusadermon answered and got a look from his partner as our heroes charged up to the next floor. "So what if I want to have a nice date with a dude? You're not in charge of my life."

Sakuyamon didn't answer, choosing instead to stare towards Yvonne. Next, she was going to get her. The armored mega just knew it.

[Tower at the edge of the world F3]

Notes:

As things to encounter in a dungeon go, a Sakuyamon might seem a bit out of place. And it kind of is. But at the same time, not - mostly by way of the early systems (1e and 3.5) having a fascination with the 'Oriental'.

Starting with the original Oriental Adventures all the way back in 1985, bringing with it non-weapon profiencies (basically Skills) and the setting of Kara-Tur. Which took cues from Korea, Japan and China among other Asian Cultures. Getting a total of eight adventures across 4 years, it missed out on all of 2e.

While that was all happening, a company by the name of the Alderac Entertainment Group decided to take a crack at an Asian-influenced... CCG in 1995. That CCG? Legends of the Five Rings. This is very important. With it came the setting of Rokugan. Two years later and spinning off a company called Five Ringers Publishing (I'm not joking) for better funding, the first edition of Legend of the Five Rings the RPG came out. Not sure where the 's' at the end of Legend went.

Right around that same time, TSR (the company behind Dungeon & Dragons) was having some financial issues. So the Alderac Entertainment Group negotiated the rights to purchase the company. Which they then passed onto Wizards of the Coast.

Come 2000, Alderac Entertainment Group's licence fpr Legend of the Five Rings the RPG ended. While Wizards of the Coast would give them back the rights to their baby, a new 'competitor' joined the field - Oriental Adventures.

Named after the original from all those years, Oriental Adventures seeked to bring the Asian influences of Kara-Tur to a new generation of fans. While it did win an Ennie Award (an annual fan-based award for roleplaying games and companies), an actual general reception for the sourcebook I was not able to find. Though, that isn't where this story ends.

For the entirety of Legend of the Five Rings the RPG's second edition, there were two different sets of game mechanics. I am not making this up. It was only after Oriental Adventures went out of print did they move to just one system for the RPG's third edition.

Phew. That was quite a lot.

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Next Time: Bubbles helps complete a wedding and does something unexpected.