I don't own digimon.

Chapter 4

Dragon Bonds

Bubbles's gaze flicked about his surroundings, searching for whatever dared to disturb his playtime. While having just started mere moments ago, he might put it on hold if this continued. Deep in imaginative play with a pair of cloth dolls, I can make out scales. Red scales. Hmm… this wasn't quite what I was expecting here. Everything so far would not suggest a dragon. Or the universe is playing a cruel joke on me for some reason. Probably the former.

Modeled after princesses from stories told to children, the waters of the sewer did little wonders for their bodies. Not that the dragon minded. Friends till the end, no matter the circumstances or events that transpired in these stories. There was also a happy ever after. Such as one we find right now.

"Of course Princess Hilda, I would be happy to marry you." the little dragon announced, pushing one doll into the other. Both dressed like princesses, they are in relatively decent shape. The one on the left (who I assume to be Princess Hilda) appears to be a blonde, while their companion is a brunette. Would be nice to know

The embrace that follows is alright, with the dolls being walked down the 'aisle' to an audience of rocks. I think those are rocks. The light down here makes it hard to tell. Kind of impressive that Bubbles is even able to manage to live in an environment like this.

On the other hand, it's really hard to not compare this to one of those necromancer performance shows. Yes, necromancer puppet shows. Probably not the first thing you were thinking when you read that. Everyone thinks - 'hey, I'll just raise an army from the dead and take over the world'. But that's far from the case. A lot of the necromancers I know really get into their work. They take the time to find period-appropriate attire and learn much of the slang from the deceased's time for their shows. They're much like lore mages in that regard. The other day one of the school's wild childs (no connection to wild magic, sadly) came in dressed like a lady from the 'mainland'. She had explained that this was how both men and women wore in the deceased's day. The whole getup was a ballroom gown decked out with an absurd number of petticoats and frills. Caked in makeup and jewelry, her appearance was actually presentable for once. Even got a pair of heels (my co-workers and I gave her permission for the usually forbidden footwear) that matched.

Not that anyone said anything during her show. We were all impressed that she had managed to not destroy the dress post her assignment. She's soon to graduate. I believe. Me? I'm already . Oh. I got off track, didn't I? Not my intention, but you at least got to know a bit more about me - Mister Lore Mage. Yes, Mister is my actual first name. You can blame that on the idiots making a racket right outside my parent's home when I was born. Yeah. I don't like it that much.

Back to the scene itself, our little dragon is hard at work brainstorming a new story. Or perhaps a continuation of sorts to the story that had just finished. Maybe the honeymoon for the married princesses? Maybe this was the afterparty for the wedding. You know, with dancing and maybe some kind of band playing music. Though, that's based on all the stories I've heard from co-workers. Take that for what you will.

'Hello? Is there anyone there?'

Bubbles looked about his tiny enclosure. Try as he might to find whoever or perhaps what was the source of that voice, it's source eluded him at every turn.

"Nighty nighty, Hilda and Blance." the dragon cooed, time being taken to carefully put both princesses in a bag of all things. I guess that could technically count as a bed if you wanted to argue schematics. Making sure to hold on, he charged forward.

Effort was put in to avoid smashing directly into the wall, stopping just before the destination - an ornate shrine. It's unlike any religious altar I've ever seen in my life. There's no real defining feature to any of this. An egg sits in the middle of the structure. From the little light piercing through the dark of these tunnels, I can make out… drawings. Figures of some kind, they all appear to be friendly to each other. Not really a clue to what sort of shrine someone dedicated too. Almost as if such an answer wants to elude me. Not that religion is really something most people

"Hi!" Bubbles greeted, awaiting a response from this unknown figure. None came, so the little dragon put a hand on the egg. What's that going to do? "Anyone here?"

Silence was all the egg had on offer right now. Even more so when Bubbles wrapped his little talons around it. Relatively short for a dragon, probably quite young. Or maybe he has good nail care.

'Not at all. You must be some weird passerby that just happened to come upon me. Just shoo, or at least direct me to an actual humanoid being!'

Bubbles sat himself down and let go of the egg. While the message that had just coursed through his head told him to go away, he didn't want to. If anything, the little dragon wanted to find out what was inside.

"I hear you!" Bubbles announced, a groan echoed through the dragon's mind. Unpleasant in nature, it didn't register in their mind to the extent that the speaker wanted it too. If anything, that was just pushing them further on this unknown path. Oops. Definitely not the intention here.

'Fine. What is it that you want, great awful beast?'

Bubbles stared at the egg for a moment, trying his hardest to come to an answer. So he opened his bag. Princess dolls came out and were set down to face the egg. Bubbles whispered something to them. Even with neither of them saying anything, his attention was already shifting to the egg.

"Princesses!" the dragon announced, the egg looking just about ready to fall over. Phenomenal balance, by the way. Oh right. You can't hear me. "With them, together forever."

The answer sounds bizzaro, an argument born from a creature with ideals different from most humanoids. In Bubbles's defense, this is seen as a normal want for a dragon. Even drakes as young as him. Just one those weird mysteries of the universe that have no easy answer and are nearly impossible to test on a scale to get reproducible results.

'Is that your dream?'

Bubbles nodded, closing his eyes as he placed a talon right on the egg. Green light erupted forth from the shell and illuminated the area. I can see the mural a heck of a lot better now. People and creatures of all sorts, joined by a common goal. A genderless construct of energy appeared to have gathered these people here. Why were they abandoned? Did they do something so bad to their own worshippers that they decided to entomb her? Regardless of the war that is brewing across the realms, that doesn't stop worshippers from their time of prayer. Even if that just puts them at further risk of being consumed and never being heard from again. Just the thought alone is absolutely fucked up. Occasionally, you'll hear a story from someone claiming to survive such an encounter. Part of me wants to believe them, but part of me is fairly certain they're just making stuff for the sake of having a story to tell their family and friends.

As for the mural, a mystery for another time. A breadcrumb trail for us to follow? Some kind of red herring? I don't even know.

Whatever the case, cracks began to form on the shell. Bubbles took a step back and opened his eyes, watching the light dissipate. A little rabbit plush has taken the place of the egg, confused and terrified at the moment. Their body is covered in patches of fabric with a blue beach theme of sorts to boot. I can see the idea. The execution is alright. Maybe a different creature next time? Yeah. Though, I highly doubt whoever created this creature can actually hear my various thoughts on the matter.

"Hello!" Bubbles greeted, flashing a wide smile in the direction of the creature. Looks quite nice for someone who's diet consists of whatever they can find down in these tunnels. "Do you have a name?"

The rabbit plush stepped back and found their back touching a wall. Not quite the situation they were expecting to be in at the moment. Perhaps they had thought that their chosen master/mistress would be something more on the humanoid side. But beggars can't be choosers in that case. Which was made all the more worse when their dragon captor made his approach. They took it remarkably slow by dragon standards. Possibly because he too is just as confused as the little rabbit at the moment.

"Are we friends?" he whispered, arms held out for an embrace. The rabbit digimon just balled their body up, making their patchwork body even more visible at the moment. This is actually kind of cute to an extent. Even if it in no way actually answers the question our little dragon posed in the first place. At all.

Bubbles's gaze fell to the sewer floor. He had made quite an effort to approach this unknown creature with an offer of friendship. Why was it so adamant on refusing such an offer? Did he need to take a step back and give the creature space? That was worth a shot.

Taking a step back, the little dragon waited. If he gave this strange stuffed animal enough time, maybe they would warm up to him. Or be more receptive to at least talking to him.

"Why are you even down here?" they muttered, oblivious to the confused look Bubbles was currently giving them. Maybe that was for the best. It's clear to me that these creatures were intended for more humanoids rather than something like a dragon. Guess it takes their data some time to figure this all out. Or maybe not. I could be very much wrong in that assumption and have no way of knowing till it's too late.

"To stay with mommy."

The rabbit listens to the words dump out and try to hold back their laughter. It's quite an unsuccessful attempt, all things considered. Absolutely rude and insensitive too. Crazy as this situation might look, maybe there's truth to that.

"There's no way that your mother is even down here, kid." the rabbit plush remarked, finding Bubbles approaching the altar. The dragon comes to a stop at the altar and knelt down. So they cautiously join their unlikely companion. With nothing really to lose, they made their way over to their companion and knelt down beside them.

"Oh mommy, Bubbles found a friend today!" the dragon announced, lifting the rabbit plush creature up for an imaginary audience to see. Well, everyone with some sort of omnipotent viewpoint or something along those lines. Which boils down to me and this unknown deity. If you're out there, give me a sign. Gets kind of lonely being the only one who's doing this job. But that's beyond the point.

Sadly, only static comes through for the pair. Not even the good peaceful static. This static sounds more like someone beating creatures up in another room and you have no way of knowing what's going on. Just the worst of both worlds, especially if you're mixing voice transmissions into the mix. Thankfully, the static comes to a stop and both worshippers get back up onto two legs. Or would that be claws in Bubbles's case? Not completely sure on this particular front.

"Mommy currently gone, oh well." Bubbles muttered, letting his focus be on the rabbit plush for the moment. So much for that process. Maybe he should try something else here. "Bubbles. You?"

A smile formed on his face and their 'friend' took a deep breath. At this point, any information gained was to their gain. Just a name shouldn't hurt anyone. Hopefully. Unless it's one of those power word spells. That's a whole different can of worms, though.

"Phusitmon." the rabbit plush whispered, getting caught up in an embrace of sorts from the dragon. It actually felt nice. Quite a surprise for Phusitmon. "I guess that makes us partners then."

Bubbles nodded, the sound of boots running across the cobblestones embedded in the ground choosing now to invade the area. Within the limited vision afforded to the pair, four figures could be seen making their approach.

So the dragon turned his attention to the altar, kneeling down once more. Lost in thought, only a matter of waiting to see what he'll say next.

"Pledge myself to you, mommy." Bubbles whispered, right claw now on the altar. Focused on the altar, I can only speculate on the nature of this deity. Rare as it is to find a dragon who is religious (beyond the main two), but this has a different feeling to it. Try as I might to describe it, I can't seem to find the words here. Absolutely frustrating. "Bubbles will spread blessing to surface."

The grunts grow closer as a holy symbol of all things appears around Bubbles's neck. Of note, was the large metal circle inserted into the middle of the normal ankh shape. Huh. I guess there wasn't enough space for the arm… maybe? Or perhaps whoever that's giving these out wanted a challenge.

"There he is!" a grunt announced, strange cackling stick out and ready. I wonder what they're using to power that. "Oh. A dragon. This should be interesting."

A grin twisted into place, perfect to punch off if you had a set of hands. Sadly, this is not the case. Nonetheless, the pair held their ground. Well, they made an attempt at least. By 'attempt', I mean that one of the grunts smashed a boot into Bubbles before he even had a chance to respond with… anything.

"Does the little dragon want their mommy?" a different grunt called out and watched their opponent perk up. I don't like where this is going. This isn't even a fair fight to begin with. What purpose could they achieve with this?

Another kick, with Bubbles carefully clutching to the holy symbol to the best of his abilities. He didn't understand why they were so insistent on beating him up. What unthinkable things did they see that he didn't?

Turning to his partner, the little dragon looked to them for an answer. Or at least, some kind of explanation to explain why they were so insistent on beating him up. Whichever came first in this strange situation that he was very much unsuited for.

"Leave him alone, you big bullies!" Phusitmon announced, puffing up their cheeks as much as the plush rabbit digimon could manage. Surprisingly quite large for something no bigger than that of his partner. "Bubbles, put a hand on your necklace."

Bubbles nodded, placing a claw on the holy symbol. More specifically, the large metal circle part of the necklace.

"Now shout, 'Infuse'."

Bubbles nodded and tightened his grip on the pendant. Care taken to not accidentally crush the necklace, the last thing he needed was to anger this unknown deity mere moments after being gifted something from them.

"Fuse!" the dragon announced, watching as a blue outline formed around his body. While that happened, Phusitmon announced something similar, a pastel green outline forming "Druplet!"

His body felt lighter, movement smoothing for a lack of a better word. He held a claw out, watching it bend back and forth.

"Mending!"

Unlike some of the other powers granted to our heroes so far, something different coursed through Phusitmon's body. Like a mysterious lever flipped, empathy brought forth to the surface. A desire to keep things healthy. Well, as healthy as you can be in this situation.

"I'll heal, you do your best to deal with these bozos." the rabbit whispered, getting a nod from his partner. After, Bubbles went in for a strike towards the nearest grunt. The blow connected, only to teleport him into the nearby stream. It came as quite a shock for the young dragon. At least he took it in stride, splashing about in the water for a second or two. Then it was right back to fighting, teleporting about the stream and hitting the grunts. For someone who just learned how to do that,

"Have a little taste of your own medicine." a grunt announced and placed their now activated stick into the water. Electricity now coursed through the gentle gush of water, Bubbles's body dancing about in excruciating pain. "Yes, dance for the destruction your kind has caused! Dance for me! Dance!"

Fuck. That's complete and utter overkill on the highest level. While I can only speculate what could make someone hate dragons that much, that can't be an isolated case… right? Whoever is so intent on

Mending Bubble!

Phusitmon puffed their face up as much as they can manage, gazing in the direction of Bubbles. If they aimed the projectile just right, the chance of winning would be in their grasp. Aimed wrong and victory would just be whisked away, a world of hurt awaiting. Thrown into the endless void of what if's and never-evers. So he shot the bubble, catching the attention of his partner. Who in turn, gave it a tap. Free from the electricity, he felt the damage done… reversed. Great and all, but that stream is still electrified.

So Bubbles carefully unlatched his bag and dug in. While rude to disturb the slumber of a royal lady, duty calls in this situation.

"Hilda, assist!" he announced and pulled Hilda out. A throw followed, the princess doll connecting with the rod and knocking it over to a nearby wall. Bubbles made sure to put Hilda back into the bag right after. He did ignore the grunt who scrambled over to grab his rod, instead focusing in on the rest. "Friends?"

Running towards the crowd of grunts, a hug was on offer for all of them. Sadly, none of the grunts wanted a hug. They left their weaponless companion to their opponents, making a beeline for the way that they came from.

"Friend?" Bubbles inquired, only for the grunt to wave his stick at them. So he picked Phusitmon up and placed the plush rabbit digimon on his shoulder. A punch followed, connecting with the grunt and knocking him into the water and warping the pair up onto the cobblestones streets above. All alone, Bubbles took the time to hug his partner. For now, Phusitmon accepted it. Even as Blaze and Yvonne made their approach, something told him things would work out.

.

The Black Cat Inn was known by many in Aldia as a gathering spot for the weird. Today was no exception to that rule. Would be odd if it were to somehow be the case here.

"Almost showtime." a dwarven artificer muttered, finding her way over to her vanity. As rest went, the concept had a sadistic tendency for beating it into her. Today was no exception. "Should be a normal show. Maybe two if I do it right."

Understatement of the century, if you ask me. There is no such thing as a normal 'anything'. If one were to believe that, there probably wouldn't be magic to think of.

She gave her briefcase one final look. It shakes a tiny bit. Not that our artificer is really paying attention to them currently. Or perhaps this wasn't quite as important as whatever they were doing in this current moment.

"I'm sorry that this has to wait." the artificer continued and picked up an egg-shaped rock from the vanity. "This is the first time in quite a while I've gotten to do my show. Once I finish out my day, I'll get to you."

The suitcase does one more shake, unaware that the one they were talking too has already made their exit.

Notes:

This was one of the harder chapters of Digital Dungeons to write so far. Unlike Blaze and Yvonne, Bubbles is not a humanoid. He's a young dragon. The usual rules of wants for his kind are similar to humans, but not quite the same. In this case, princesses were the way to go.

Outside of that, how the deity was going to be represented kind of changed as I was writing this. At first, I had wanted the deity to appear in some form. But as I was working out the kinks in Phusitmon and Bubbles's relationship, they took on more of a passive role. For the best, especially if what is happening on Mister Lore Mage's end does approach him.

Edit: Not a bad chapter to edit, but still a challenge. Mostly because of the general tone changes and the smoothing out where Mister Lore Mage is from.

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Next Time: Do you want to see a magic trick?