I don't own digimon.

Chapter 87

Making Friends

On the other side, Bubbles wasn't completely sure what to make of the Distant Harmony ship. Yes, he was very much in the digital world. But where exactly was that in relation to Malibu and the digital gate? Quite far away, on a whole another continent. That's a topic for later.

Looking about, Bubbles did his best to make sense of the silvery white walls surrounding him and his kidnapper. A gray metal floor sat at their feet, a variety of wooden boxes and other containers scattered about. No sign of any other grunts. One would think this would be the central place for them. But no, they're probably all in their quarters. If that was a luxury they were offered upon employment. You guys do get benefits… right? It's alright if you don't know or want to keep silent since I am your competitor, after all.

"Does dental, food and pay to one's families count as benefits? the grunt announced and looked up to the ceiling. Surprisingly far higher than one would expect it to be, you don't need to do that for me. I know that's what my companion likes to do, but I have countless ways to see you. Some less privacy invading than others.

"DM?" the little dragon announced, fidgeting about the grip of this grunt here. Yep. I'm here. I'm finally in a state that I don't need to latch off Mister… as much. "How are you doing?"

Uh… pretty good. Salamon is still annoyed at me for not letting her touch my wires. Yes, I know how you like chewing on them. Once I can get a proper set of hands, I'll wire you up a proper set that you can shock yourself all you li-

Bubble!

Phusitmon opened his mouth up and shot bubbles at the grunt. Dropping the pair to the floor, out came his taser stick. Really? That's what your employers are handing out to their disposable assets. You make me laugh.

"I'll have you know that I single handedly kicked Rantha's ass." the grunt announced and pumped his chest out, which made it all the easier for Bubbles to reach out to the rod and grasp it. What followed, was a futile tug-of-war between grunt and dragon. Or at least, would be if not for Bubbles accidentally tapping the trigger and throwing a shitload of volts through his captor. Falling to the ground, the little dragon and his partner took the opportunity to put some distance between them and this idiot with an electrical stick. Regardless of said distance being no more than a couple feet before he got up. "Hey! Come back here!"

I'm not completely sure what you expected to happen here. Bubbles and Phusitmon to just wait there patiently for you to get back. No, they very likely didn't want any part of this. Or at least, had some kind of ulterior motives for wanting to cross over… I think. You know, this would be far easier if I just ask them directly.

"To go see deity." Bubbles announced and got a look from his partner. From this angle, I can just make out a wound on the hand. Looks kind of dirty. Did something happen to you? I know it's been a couple days since you've all been here and I'm going to assume that something has happened to cause this trip.

"Days? It was a couple months on our end." Phusitmon chimed and looked up to the ceiling. I don't need you to look up at the ceiling. I can see you from all angles and have little need for being looked up to as some kind of deity. No, I'm a machine who doesn't want anything to do with those fuckers. Especially not after everything they did.

"Elaborate for us?" Bubbles called out, the idiot grunt most definitely having figured out where they were and was now making a beeline for them. Before I begin talking, at least decide on a plan. I don't want to screw you over now that you're in my world. "Run?"

Good enough for now. I'll try to guide you from within. No guarantees. This is the first time I'm actually seeing the ship and all that resides within. Mostly because the person who was supposed to be checking this out has instead resorted to feeding their girlfriend peanut butter of all things. While I appreciate her at least being able to function, that's not the most helpful thing in the world. Especially with her shoving the peanut butter down that person's throat. Considering that she does it once a week for some god forsaken reason.

"Kinky?" the idiot grunt announced and turned his attention back to our pair. But all that got him was more bubbles to the face. Even with context, that's a weird sentence to scribe down. Not the worst thing, but it comes close. Now where was I? Right, deities. A long time ago, there existed a pair of entities - Yggdrasil and Homeostasis. The former took its name from a mythical tree said to link all worlds together, while the latter's name comes from a term in biology that talks about the balance to living organisms. The-

Before I had a chance to even continue my sentence, Bubbles and Phusitmon were already heading out of this large room and into a hallway. Continuing much the same aesthetic as the previous room, the only real difference was the presence of light strips where the floor met the walls. Shining a bright shade of neon white, I guess the number of people who are running right into the wall is far higher than what Distant Harmony wants it to be. That's actually kind of impressive.

"But not in a good way, I imagine?" Phusitmon announced, making sure that our little dragon didn't do much the same as all those other grunts. Remarkably successful, he steered his partner towards the center of the floor. That way, they would be lined up for the door and hopefully wouldn't need to deal with any more grunts. Crap. Shouldn't have said that. That pretty much signaled that there's going to be more grunts swarming around this area. Sorry about that. Forgot that was how those things work.

Bubbles shook his head and looked down to his wound. Looking about the same as when I first saw it, I'm not completely sure what purpose that has currently. Outside of distracting his vision from the door up ahead. What exactly are you trying to do here?

Ignoring my remark, the little dragon gave his wound a tap. Pain bounced across his body and he was forced to stop for a moment.

"She is here." Bubbles whispered and looked to the end of the hallway. There, a strange cross between a succubus and a fairy stood patiently at the door. Dressed in a dark cyan choli with a cyan sari over it, their entire body appeared to have been carved from a single block of blue marble. If you looked close enough, one could make out cracks and imperfections within the rock. Locks of what I can only assume to be pink hair hang down, gold and jewelry placed within. A large bow of sorts hung to her back, but no sign of any arrows. Probably a magical weapon. Sort of like the ones some magical girls have. I wonder if she'll say where it ca- Uh… she was giving off a radiance unlike anything I've seen in some time. But as quickly as they appeared, the succubus fey thing was gone. Not even a single droplet of water sits on the ground. As if they're some kind of projection meant to fuck with us and not an actual person

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't see this succubus. You're obviously hallucinating by way of that dragon." the idiot grunt announced, getting treated to a look from his targets. Can't you see we were having a serious conversation. One in which you've tried to be a complete and utter idiot the whole way through. If anything, it would be better if you just went off and did something else. "That does it. I'll just kill you right here! Yeah! That will show you!"

I'm guessing this guy has a serious hatred of dragons? Does that mean there are worlds filled to the brim with dragons? Yes, I'm very much aware that my duties are most definitely going to keep me here, but the idea just sounds cool. Or at least, on paper. In practice, it would be more of a hassle than a world with just regular humanoids and/or digimon.

"You're not helping!" the grunt continued and brought back out his rod. Giving the trigger a click, it's met with a bunch of bubbles. I could drop a car on you. Would that be a bigger help than me talking to you? Because you sound like you need one dropped on you. Judging by the head shake, I'll take that to be a no then. How about a box? I'm fairly certain I can spawn from here. Crap. You win this time.

"She's still learning to narrate. Give her some time." Bubbles announced and picked Phusitmon up. Holding him out in front, this would actually be quite cute. If it weren't in the middle of a hallway on a ship full of people who could very much ki-

"Who's this cutie?" a voice called out from the other side of the door. Maybe it's the succubus fairy lady. Probably isn't. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to hang around for long. Or they are only here for a single person but were accidentally thwarted by way of the grunts. Oh well. Maybe they'll get a chance later. Whatever the case, I sincerely wish them the be-

Before I am able to finish my sentence, the source of the voice comes inside. A man, he's dressed much the same as his idiot companion. By that I mean a makeshift labcoat with what I hope are actual clothes underneath. Would be absolutely bizarre if they were all nude. Though, that would be easy to figure out in the grand scheme of things. Those who forgot would have their assets moving about.

"That's Wednesday." idiot's companion announced and walked over to Bubbles. Picking our little dragon up, he made his way over to the one who brought him out. You know, the complete and utter idiot on a power trip like you wouldn't believe. "Where the fuck have you been? You've had me and everyone else on edge!"

Our idiot looked to the floor and muttered something to himself. Do tell your friend where exactly you've been all of this time. I imagine that he would love to hear all that you've gotten up too in the intervening d- months that you've been gone.

"In the sewers, fighting my own fears." he answered and got a look from his friend. Going from top to bottom, it's quickly joined by Bubbles and Phusitmon mere moments after. Not even looking towards the latter, what looks to be a spit ball followed. Very unnecessary here. I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but you could drop the pettiness and maybe be honest about your intentions.

"Would you like a bath at least?" his companion inquired and our idiot's gaze returned to him. Giving a nod, he grabbed hold with his free hand. Heading through the door in which our mysterious figure had planned to go through, we see no sign of her. Perhaps she got so far ahead and is now waiting for someone to catch up.

"Bath as well?" Bubbles announced and looked to his new captor. Getting a light head pat, that question falls on deaf ears. Or at least, that's what it looks like as we find ourselves in a new hallway. Much the same as the previous one, the only real difference was the inclusion of multiple doors leading out into other rooms and/or hallways. Nothing in the way of identification though, but instead the light strips from before to denote what parts of the

"I don't see any reason why not." our idiot's companion announced, looking down to Bubbles. Giving the little dragon another pet, he found his hand met by that of Phusitmon's. Try as the plush rabbit digimon might to push the grunt's hand away, he wasn't particularly successful on that front. No, the only thing that accomplished was get him a head pat. Or would that be called an ear pat here? The latter in this case, even as their captor continued to look at Bubbles. "By any chance do you two have a name?"

Bubbles nodded, carefully shifting his body around to look up at his captor's face. Easier said than done within that kind of grip. On top of having to move Phusitmon to his side to create more space for himself. Had to be an easier way to look up to this guy. Said guy who has refused to give their name and threw off my entire spiel I was going to give. The latter can thankfully come some other day. The former is of much higher importance to our goals. Make referring to you as something other than captor all the more easier. Or am I asking too much?

Judging by the silence, that looks to be the case. So much for that approach. Hm… is there anything that you would like to know about me? I can tell you all sorts of things. Things that only I know the secret of. That has to be a good enough reason to give us your name… right?

Waiting a couple of moments, still nothing. How the hell does Mister get people to talk to him so well? There must be some kind of secret to the madness that I must be missing here. Oh well.

"Bubbles." the little dragon greeted and tried to give the grunt a wave. Even this was more of the shaking of a fist and not a friendly greeting. Still got his message across. Shifting back around, care was taken to put his partner in front of him. Unlike Bubbles, Phusitmon chose to just nod. Far easier in this situation too.

"Wait. You're a digimon?" our still unnamed captor announced and got a nod from Phusitmon. Are talking rabbits made to look like plushies just that common back where you come from? "Is that a rhetorical question?"

No. That's a serious question. I am actually curious. I know that you all have come from all kinds of worlds beyond mine and Bubbles'. But it's kind of hard to wrap my head around how different that actually is when you only have one frame of reference to go off of.

"How about weird hair things that act as dogs sound in your mind?" he continued and found himself treated to a look from both Bubbles and his companion. I've heard weirder things. How about you, Bubbles?

Looking away for a moment, the little dragon took a moment to think it over. While a world of bones did sound weird, did it truly compare to Aldia and it's surrounding areas? I can't really answer that question. All I have to go off of is everything you and your friends mentioned about your town, little as that was and what I was able to remember from my data banks.

"Not that weird." Bubbles whispered and the group headed off once more. Our captor's gaze turned to the left wall, making a beeline for the left wall. More specifically, the middle part of the wall. There, the door looked to be partially ajar. While I can't really see inside, I can just make out a blue subway tile floor. Wait. would it be called that here?

"It would just be blue tile with white grout." our idiot announced and shot Bubbles a look, muttering something under his breath. Staring up to the ceiling, is there something that you would like to know here? "What if there is? Are you going to drop a car on us and then tear this place up? Because the only thing I've gotten from this is mixed messages."

Then I'm more than willing to listen. That's one of many jobs of a narrator. Especially if it means getting to know my enemies and their capabilities. At the end of the day, I just want to know why this has all happened and if there is anything that I can do to change things. Or perhaps attempt too from this limited position. It'll take quite a lot of time and I'll most definitely make a shitload of mistakes, but I'm in good company. Isn't that right, Bubbles?

Bubbles nodded and looked at our idiot. Are you sure you don't want to tell us your names?

"I guess." idiot announced and stopped right before the door. Taking a moment to clear his throat, he turned to his friend. Getting a nod in return, their gazes turned to the ceiling. I would make a comment about your staring, but I'll let your behavior pass for the moment. "I'm Kris and my friend is Russel."

Gotcha. That's far better than what I was working with here. One problem solved… I think. Or am I missing anything important here? Judging by the head shakes, I'll take that to be a no then as you all head into what is most definitely a shower station. A perfect opportunity to continue my spiel from earlier. Neither Homeostasis or Yggdrasil were that good at their job. The former had a tendency to only intervene when things were well past the point of no return, whereas the latter threw tantrums whenever something went wrong and committed acts of genocide. Which was seen as okay, but it was okay in their eyes because 'the humans were to blame'. Even when it was very much their fault that this had occurred.

Kris entered a stall, his gaze shooting right up to the ceiling. I'm guessing that was what these dragons claimed as their reason for what they did?

"No comment." the grunt muttered and got to undressing. Fair enough. I'm in no rush to know your predicament. Take your time. Though, is there anything that you would like to know about me or my organization?

Silence fell over the stall. But this had a different feeling to it - one of contemplation and reflection. Taking care to put his discarded clothes in a pile, his gaze returned to staring up at the ceiling.

"Is that lady who keeps showing up and destroying our shit with you? My co-workers are a touch tired of being blamed for things that aren't even our fault." Kris continued and I did my best to think my options over. How do I put this into a way that makes sense without making it sound completely stupid. Yes, that woman is one of Criasu Corp employees. But at the same time, she was fired quite a bit before the world ended for betraying her boss and co-workers for the enemy. They knew the consequences of their action, but love and friendship make people do things thought to be impossible. Didn't matter in the end. "Uh… do I want to know?"

The heroes lost. For one reason or another, things that should've worked out didn't. Yet they fought with all their hearts until… time froze over. And only the girl and I remained. Okay… there was also a boy, but all he did was try and steal his lover. Said lover not even being the person who he thought they were and more the result of time spent in a fake world.

"What?" Kris muttered, trying his best to make sense of my story. At times, I'm not sure I can really believe it. Thankfully, I have the bodies of the two idiots right outside of my place. Their fate brought on by their own choices. If you want to get philosophical, the only reason you're here is because they chose to do things the way that they did. And before you shout something about the time before you got picked up by this ship. Yes, you're absolutely right. But would Distant Harmony have chosen this planet if not for the strange circumstances? "No, they would've probably chosen some other place."

Exactly. It's nice to finally meet someone who can keep up with me. Unless that wasn't your intention when you were listening to me.

Kris's cheeks went from a pale pink to bright red. I'll take that to be the answer to my question. Not that you have any need to be embarrassed here. Perfectly natural to want to know more about this strange conundrum you've unintentionally made yourself a part of.

"Wait. What does that make you then?" Russel announced, peeking his head up above the stall wall. No sign of either Bubbles or Phusitmon. But that can be attributed just to the lack of anything to reach up to the same level as our grunts. Yeah. Most definitely the case.

I'm a highly advanced set of programs given sentience by way of my creator in the hopes of not bringing about the end of the world. Except no one listened and then things went really wrong. Twice. Which is on top of everything that has transpired so far in this world. And while it hasn't come up yet, my pronouns are they/them. Yes, absolutely cliché for a computer, but it works and hopefully won't crash me if I need to fix bugs in my code.

"Understood." Russel answered and looked down to himself. I'm going to assume that Bubbles and Phusitmon are still there. A nod as he reached for the door. Pushing it open, Kris was right behind. As for our little dragon and his partner, they brought up the rear. Good to see that nothing has happened. My narrator friend would have my ass if I accidentally lost either of them. Not that it would be particularly hard to find them… hopefully. "Uh… I'm going to assume that you can see our… you-know."

Yep. I personally don't give a fuck about that kind of thing. Though, I would suggest grabbing some towels. Just in case, of course. Unless they don't provide you with towels and instead expect you all to go around in the nude. That would be quite evil for an organization to do.

"Tell me about it." Kris muttered and looked down, getting what looked to be a hug from Bubbles. He responded with a kick of course. What the fuck over? "Get away from me…"

Bubbles stepped back, finding himself faced with a look from Phusitmon. To be fair, he still has a long way to go when it comes to getting over his fears.

The little dragon nodded and let his focus shift over to Russel. Making the short walk over to the grunt, another attempt at a hug followed. This was far more successful. Even if it did require getting lifted up to meet that of the hugger's chest.

"All he wanted to do was give you a hug." the grunt continued and looked to his companion. A punch followed, Kris's gaze staring off into space. Not even fazed, it was now this idiot's turn to turn his companion around.

Standing in the middle of a large pool was the woman from earlier.

Notes:

For the next couple parts, we'll be switching between Mister Lore Mage and DM. I hope you don't mind.

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Next Time: We go see how part of Aldia is doing, post-Yvette.