I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains one minor reference of Transphobia in 'flashback' form. Just thought I would warn you.

Chapter 57

Talking with each other

Her words roll right on out, Yvonne looking away. A million different thoughts swirled about the knight's head at the moment. Quite a coincidence to end up back in Aldia on a special day as this. Though, I would personally prefer to at least show up a couple days. Makes life a lot easier.

"Is the weird talking voice with you?" Marulyn continued, referring to me of all people. Unless there's somehow a different talking voice you've been hearing lately. Hi there Marulyn Gold. I'm Mister Lore Mage. Yes, Mister is my first name. Long story.

"Yeah." Yvonne remarked and took a deep breath. Sure, this wasn't entirely how she had imagined her day going. A welcome surprise in her books. Yet, her mind was already drifting to something else - the conversation when she went to pick up Munbimon after Rantha had frozen up that clothing store. That one. Doesn't feel that long ago, but it very much was a couple months ago when that particular conversation had even happened. Sure, she hoped that Marulyn had taken some time to evaluate their relationship. In between the mess that had been Rantha and Carinamon's, DM and everything else that had happened, Yvonne had somehow come up with what she felt to be a satisfying answer to this conundrum. Well, she had hoped it would at least be satisfying. Everyone was going through something different, making it a touch hard to trade notes and find similar solutions to the stuff they were going through. "I did some thinking and I still want to be your armor."

Her words ring out, Munbimon taking the time to jump off. Don't really blame her, this is a big moment. The last thing you want is for this to be blown by some outside factor.

"You still have quite a number of years ahe-" Marulyn started, Yvonne now standing behind her. Arms carefully wrapping around her girlfriend's waist, a hug following. The elven mage accepted the gesture.

"I'm nearing the end of my prime anyhow." Yvonne countered, carefully squeezing her girlfriend for the moment. The words are right there. While the worst possible solution, she needed to say them. "In a couple of years, I'll need to either take up leadership as chieftain or… be dead."

Oh. Orcs don't have long lifespans. Most fall in battle from either their wounds or getting caught by adventurers and killed right then and there. What few orc students we did get usually made arrangements for their belongings to just be given to their classmates. Easier that way they would tell us. Doesn't make telling those related to them that their family has passed by way of a freak mandrake accident or due to a summon who wasn't quite under control as they let on. Even worse is having to go in person. Of the few messengers that do make it back, some have reported that the entire tribe was dead. If by some miracle the tribe is still alive, they're usually keen on just eating the messenger.

Wait. That would explain why the orcs here 'took up arms' with succubi of all creatures - who can live theoretically forever and would have been able to remember any past plans that the orcs had made. Whether that actually works remains to be seen in practice. But I digress. Just something to keep in mind for the moment.

"Outside of getting a new set of gauntlets ready…" Marulyn remarked, Yvonne finally letting go of her and taking a small step back. Just enough so that the elven mage could have some space for the moment. "Why don't I treat you to dinner?"

Yvonne looked away and motioned for Munbimon to glide back on over. Taking a seat on her partner's shoulder, it's right back to looking at Marulyn.

"Would you mind if I brought along some friends?" Yvonne remarked, Marulyn just nodding for the moment. To be fair, it has been a while since any of you had gotten an actual meal. No, the rations don't count. If anything, those things looked to be the farthest one can get from a proper meal.

"That bad?" Marulyn remarked, Yvonne carefully pulling some ration tins out from her purse. We never did find a place to dispose of them. Those tins are all metal, so maybe you can find some use in them for the gauntlets at least?

The elven mage nodded, accepting the gift and making a beeline for her little base. Yvonne followed right behind, keeping to just holding her girlfriend's hand at the moment as what remained of the alleyways came into view finally.

For what had once been an enclosed area full of walls was now an open area with houses galore. Just one small problem at the moment - a lot of those houses aren't quite ready for their inhabitants. Most of the foundation had been put up and what appears to be walls are already in place. But beyond that, there isn't much in the way of actual structures to provide a roof over one's head. Still, it's better than the way things were when our heroes left Aldia to chase after Rantha and his bird scorpion thing.

"Even then, it's was more Carinamon than it was Rantha." Yvonne remarked, Marulyn's forge/workshop coming into view. Though, her remark did get a look from the elven mage. Yeah… As it turned out, he had his memories overwritten and was going off a whole bunch of false stuff. Lots of self-harm too. That's probably more worrying than the false memories. Sure, he might be doing better now. We're going to need to keep an eye on him so that he keeps on the straight and narrow.

"I'm guessing you have some experience with that?" Yvonne remarked and I took a deep breath. Of course, this is the moment that Salamon decides to jump on my lap. I'm okay, bud. I'm just telling them about some memories I had. Nothing wrong with that. By any chance do you remember anything before you were sent down to me?

The hairless dog digimon does not answer my question. No, they've decided to just take a nap in my lap. While that sounds nice, I'll wait till you guys head to bed and then do the same. Though, by any chance do you know where Melody and Rantha are? I'm surprised I haven't seen either of them around here. Would assume the latter to at least be here if his words are to be true… or something along those lines. Though, we still need to find a place for Melody to stay. At least till more permanent lodging becomes available once more. Just one more thing to add to the long list of stuff you need to do.

Yvonne's gaze shot back up to the sky. Oh. Did something happen in the short period of time when I got Salamon or something? I shouldn't have been out for that is this a case of something else entirely at the moment?

"Rantha said something about going to grab his stuff with Melody. Hopefully, they aren't using this as an opportunity to really double cross us." the knight remarked, gaze shifting away from the clouds and back down to regular heights. I find that unlikely they would actually go through with something like that. If anything, they might be looking for DM. Didn't the other day Melody say something about them running into some purple haired girl?

"Hold up." Marulyn announced, stopping right in front of the door. Now, it was her turn to look up at the sky. Though this was more on the roof than the clouds above. Hm… where the hell do I even start in regards to this coming question? While the answer doesn't really change to an extent, just something to keep in mind before you ask your question. A lot of stuff happened in that other world. Some of which we don't quite have answers for at the exact moment in time. "Okay… who is this DM person?"

Less of a person, more of an entity. They are for lack of a better word - in charge of the place. Least to keep it up and running. A deity, if you really want to push it. Except not really.

"Initially, they were less than helpful." Yvonne continued, Marulyn pulling the door open. Heading inside, things had mostly been cleaned out. All the creepy stuff had been put away, with what appears to be blueprints taking the place of that stuff. I would say that's an improvement for the place. That's just me, though. "But after one of their subordinates turned on her and attempted to assassinate them. Kind of successful on that front."

Marulyn nodded, taking the time to set the gifts down on a table. Looks kind of crowded there, in between the scrolls and other miscellaneous junk. Once she's done, it's back outside.

"Then what?" the elven mage remarked as she closed the door behind herself. To continue with our story, DM became our ally. Though, they are also in the middle of rebuilding themselves and now have a small hairless dog digimon… without anything in the way of arms or hands for that matter. I do hope she's alright. "Gotcha."

With that, our pair began the journey back out of the former alleyways and for Blaze's place. Quite an upgrade he got.

"Yeah." Munbimon remarked, carefully climbing up to Yvonne's head. Taking a seat there, her gaze looked over the surroundings. In between all the structures going up, there seemed to be a lot of people around here. Not just orcs and succubi. A handful of elves, halflings and even succubi look to be helping in the rebuilding process. Even the grunts that had got dumped onto this place were pitching in. Easier said than done at the moment, more than enough at this current moment. Especially with how much there's still left to go on rebuilding this place. "Yvonne, what do you normally do for your birthday?"

Yvonne looked away, Marulyn letting out a chuckle in response to that. Oh dear. In that case, I'll go first to break the ice.

This year was the first time I had my birthday while working. So, some of my coworkers thought it would be really cute to summon a celestial of all things.

"A celestial?" Munbimon remarked, gaze shifting up towards the sky. "As in Ophanimon, Seraphimon and Cherubimon?"

Uh… not quite? Think more along those lines of an angel. They come in all sorts of varieties. We have Aasimars, Solars, even Ki-Rin. But that's beyond the point. Mostly because these idiots instead managed to summon a Marilith of all creatures. Imagine a snake crossed with a woman with many arms. Pretty good sport about it too. Said something about this is normal for her to happen. Did seem to like her tea with a lot of pepper in it. Not sure that's quite normal, even for a denizen of more infernal realms. Outside of that, the dinner was quite nice.

While I was telling my story, we've reached Blaze and Dave's abode. Passing right by their little garden, Yvonne knocked on their door.

"Give us a minute!" Blaze shouted, our knight taking a step back for the moment. Don't want to get hit by the door at the moment. Not that a piece of wood would actually do anything to Yvonne. More just common courtesy on her part. Especially since it took both our dancer and his maid a couple minutes to get changed back into their regular outfits. Doubt anyone really wants to see Blaze dressed up as a bunny girl. At all.

"Yeah…" Yvonne added as the pair in question make their exit. For this outing, Blaze had gone for a regular t-shirt and pants. The heels and legging did stay on. The rest of his outfit was thankfully a different set from those worn in the digital world. Dave on the other hand, decided to just remain in his maid outfit. Fair enough, even if it does look a touch out of place among everyone else's outfits. Not that Marulyn or Yvonne mind at the moment. Speaking of which, do you want me to continue with my story about birthdays or do you want to take your turn?

"I'll go next." Marulyn announced, our group heading forward at the moment. I would imagine with so many succubi, birthday parties are probably quite interesting. Yet, all I get is a chuckle. Guess it's the opposite then? "Compared to what?"

Fair point. I guess in regards to birthday parties here in Aldia. I should've phrased that far better than I did. Sorry about that.

Marulyn nodded, gaze returning to her girlfriend of all people. What sounds like whispering followed. A touch heated, but nothing major to really disrupt the relationship the pair had. Oh right. Blaze, Dave, we're talking about birthday parties and the weird stuff that our friends did to celebrate such an occasion. Got any particular fond memories in that regard?

Dave looked away, tears beginning to roll down his face. Crap. I forgot about that. My bad. Not my intention to bring up such nasty memories at the moment. Or did this bring forth something else entirely worse in the process of bringing that

A nod, followed by the maid grabbing hold of his boyfriend's wrist. A very careful squeeze followed. Blaze's gaze shifted over to Dave, a deep breath following.

"Mister Lore Mage didn't intend to bring up those bad memories. Especially after all you told me the other day." the dancer remarked, feeling the grip on his wrist tighten slightly. "There has to be some happy birthday memories… right?"

Dave's gaze shifted back to Blaze for the moment as we passed by the ruins of the Black Cat Inn. Taking a deep breath, the tears stopped.

"I met you." Dave answered, gaze still focused on his boyfriend at the moment. By this point, both Marulyn and Yvonne had noticed. Not they were saying anything at the moment. More just making sure things were alright. "Wait… Am I allowed to pretend the day I met you is my birthday?"

Blaze nodded. I personally see no problem with that. This is a world with magic, technology and weird conspiracies. Changing your birthday isn't that weird. If anything, that's the least weird thing one can do in a place like this.

"Better?" Yvonne remarked, getting a nod from Dave as Ella, Melody and Bubbles make their way over to them. Bringing up the rear is Cinemon with Kollmon on his back. Phusitmon is of course hanging onto his partner's back.

For the moment, our trio appear to be focused on the destruction of the Inn rather than the rest of the group. Fair enough. We kind of left town before really getting into the extent of the damages. Even if it's now a couple months later and the rubble has had a chance to shift about as a result of all kinds of factors. Weather, rain, even other peo-

Madame and Ella's gaze shot up to the sky for the moment. Yeah. I kind of found out right after I jumped over to Blaze and Dave. Did the tea get any better, at least?

Madame shook her head, getting a look from their girlfriend.

"She's not much of a tea drinker." Madame added and returned to focusing on the ruins of this once profitable building. Ella's gaze followed right after. Kind of hard to believe that this used to be a place where people used to spend the night. If they were feeling adventurous, maybe even

"It wasn't always an Inn at first." Ella whispered, gaze shifting to the area that had once been her room. Now, it was just a bunch of charred ashes. Charred ashes that will need to be torn down and rebuilt to an extent. "Was a bar at one point. The owners were the sort that seemed to think that 'brewing while you eat' would be a huge attraction and put everything on that."

Uh… even with magic, wouldn't there still need to be some time for the drinks to at least ferment and hopefully cool down? Which is on top of the mess that I would assume the machinery needed for brewing such drinks would inevitably create a mess for both the servers and the customers.

"Yeah… they didn't last long." Ella continued, Madame's turn to give her a look. "What? I would assume that you of all people would know about the place."

Madame looked away, Kollmon choosing now of all times to run up to join her partner. Still carrying that journal, I'm guessing some discovery was made within the pages. Or something else entirely.

"Like, Kinda…" Kollmon answered, flipping through the pages. Passages of all lengths fluttered past and some that didn't, the pages eventually stopping on one in particular.

6/13/06

(Kollmon, you better not be doodling in this again!)

Dear Diary,

So today has been weird. For starters, I swore I saw some chick doing battle against a large monster right outside of the clinic. Kind of anticlimactic, especially after the girl disappeared.

Adding onto the weirdness is the report of someone getting their asses kicked outside one of the headquarters of Izumi Tech Solutions. Name was Marcus Damon or something. Fairly severe injuries, didn't make it. Not entirely sure why all the news outlets were making such a big deal out of this guy. He looks like a delinquent. Kind of surprising that's newsworthy.

Outside of that, in the process of getting approved for hormones. Of course, Kollmon took it absolutely wonderfully. One of these days, she'll understand. Hopefully.

Crud. The one time it would be handy to talk to DM at the moment. Oh well. We'll have to ask them about it the next time that we're in the digital world.

"Yeah." Kollmon remarked, closing the journal for the moment. "Wait. Aren't those Izumi Technology Solutions the ones who are in that analyzer thing?"

Our heroes' gazes shifted to the mole digimon. That's quite a find you got there. Sure, we can't really investigate it currently. Just something to keep in mind going forward.

"Yeah." Ella remarked, grabbing hold of her girlfriend's hand. Then it was just a matter of leading them back to the rest of the group. Not that I think Madame really needs that help. The thief doesn't mind though. Especially with their destination not being that far away.

Notes:

A nice, 'short' chapter for once as our breather continues.

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Next Time: We have a meal and talk strategy.