I don't own digimon.

Chapter 12

Maid this way

To Bubbles, just getting to see Madame's true abode was unlike anything that he had seen before. Sure, there had been large places in his stories. Nothing on the scale that the thief's home really could hold a candle to those.

Towering up towards the vibrant orange sky, spires and windows lined with bars taunt all below. The walls appear to be carved from stone. They painted it all yellow for some reason. Not sure on the reasoning for that. Maybe to flaunt their wealth in some strange way? Perhaps to scare away intruders? No, that's just silly. Could be a mix of both here.

Finishing off the look of the property is a perimeter of iron bars with pointed tips with a gate. I can understand the concern for safety, but something here isn't quite adding up. But what? Oops. Need to get out of the habit of trying to solve things when I'm just a narrator. Sorry if I just ruined your immersion. Not my intention.

"Big!" he announced, feeling Madame's grip shift. She looked away, letting whispers fall out from her mouth. Most of this place was for decoration. A show of power against the citizens of Aldia - a prison for it's sole defining star.

"Yeah…" they whispered back, leading the little dragon and company towards the gate. Digging into her dress pockets, a key comes out. Slipping it into the door, a slight twist followed. Madame pushed the gate open and allowed for the pair to slip in. A garden awaits on the other side. Well, it looks like this is supposed to be one. Everything here is either overgrown or just dead. Not a pretty state to see an area in. "Maybe uh… later, we can water everything!"

Phusitmon shot the thief a glance. While the plush rabbit could see where this was going, he was really hoping they wouldn't go with the obvious solution. His hands were already full just keeping track of Bubbles. Being used as someone's watering can was not in the card. Or at least he liked to believe it was not.

"I'm not even sure what would give you such wicked thoughts." Madame countered, ignoring the chuckle from Kollmon. They were tempted to just ignore it, but she would have none of it. A regal lady such as herself should be followed by a partner who held up those same standards and went beyond them. "Must you speak like your head is full of air?"

Kollmon stared at the dirt. Why was this lady so adamant in acting the way that she did? Sure, she wasn't perfect. That didn't mean she got stuck and insistent on making things worse in a self-destructive fashion. Okay, maybe once or twice. Nothing that major. Well, major to her.

"That's like, part of me." she announced, attention on Madame. "If anything, you're a total stuck-up brat!"

Attempting to pull her claw back, Kollmon found herself wrapped in a hug from Bubbles. The mole accepted the gesture. Even if it did feel slightly tight, on top of messing with her hair. They break away, a hug for Madame following. The gesture, while accepted, was not what the thief had in mind at the moment. She had hoped for more of a chat. One where both parties could state their case. Or a shouting match. Either option worked for her in that moment. 'They' could just suck it. At least for the moment. Maybe later their chance would come around and get to shine as bright as her.

"Ready to head in?" she continued, stepping out of the embrace and making a beeline towards the door. Her companions follow right behind, coming upon the door. A large piece of what I can only assume is oak has been carved with the utmost of care. Wrought iron twisted into large decorative flowers hangs in front of it, constricting any who attempt to enter. The more I hear about this place, the less I want to have anything with this place. Yet, Bubbles is unfazed by it all. Envy the little dragon to an extent. Not all of us can be so happy and carefree. Life has a way of just kicking your ass when things start to be going 'well'. Like that potion goop, for example.

Pulling the wrought iron decor away with a push, it's just a matter of Madame inserting the key and twisting the knob. For a place with such high security, having a single doesn't make much sense.

"Welcome to my manor." she explained, stepping on through. The inside is… interesting. Sure, the marble floors are nice and compliment the tan walls. A grand staircase kept clean connected the bottom floor to the top. Doesn't seem to get use, really. Or everyone's a light step.

But I don't think the maids hanging from the ceiling are part of this. Dried puddles litter the area, an odor of death the cherry on top of this strange situation

"Friends?" Bubbles inquired, trying to get off the ground. Try as he might, no flight is achieved. Does get him boosted up by Madame.

"Get down here this instant!" the thief announced, whip pulled back. Swinging it forward, she slammed the weapon against the floor.

"Crap. She figured it out!" one of the maids announced, wiggling about from her rope. Okay. Not expecting that. What the fuck is up with this place? None of this adding up one bit.

One by one, the maids drop down. All are dressed in the typical maid outfit. You know, the black and white minidress, frilly headband and of course those strange-looking leggings. Heels look a bit higher than normal, nor do the proportions quite match properly. A sculptor's work, tarnished by the heat of their kiln. Or perhaps worse, sabotage of a fellow sculptor. Even some other variable I can't think of at the moment.

"Ma- I mean mistress, what are your orders?" one of the maids chimed, watching Madame's whip return to her garment. "Who is that thing by you?"

Bubbles slowly approached the group of strange maids. Nice enough on the surface, the whole 'hanging on the ceiling' greeting was not something people normally did. But they were Madame's 'friends'.

So the little dragon gave them a chance - for now. Even if the looks they were giving him suggested they were in a cautious, yet grabby sort of mood.

"What a cutie!" a maid announced, picking Bubbles up and began spinning him around. Phusitmon fell off, choosing this opportunity to make a break for it. Fair enough, except for the fact that he was leaving his partner behind. "Where did you find him, Madame?"

The thief didn't answer. Instead, they choose to just look more towards the ground. After all that had happened today, maybe it was better to just lie to their servants and leave it all hush-hush. But right now, a little truth couldn't hurt anyone. Right?

"I met him after a job." Madame explained. "Safehouse was compromised, though. So I'll need you gals to grab everything tonight and move it about."

A confused glance, then a nod. Just left one question. Kind of an honest, yet necessary one to be asked.

"Anything that you want to do with this little guy?" a different maid added, Madame taking a second to debate her options. On one hand, Bubbles was a guest. But he possibly knew her secret to an extent that was dangerous to her legacy.

'He's young.' they shout in her head, she not even listening. Why did this have to be such a battle? Neither had wanted this fate, but this choice still remained. "There's no way he'll actually tell

'She' takes a deep breath. Hopefully, this wouldn't bite her in the ass down the road.

"He likes princesses. You can dress him up with one of my dresses." Madame explained, watching her friend perk up. Opening his bag, Hilda and Blance coming out and getting held within another hug.

"Aww…" a maid cooed, giving a nod in return to their mistress's suggestion. "We'll make this quick."

The servants headed off, Bubbles watching as Madame motioning his friends to stay. Trusting as he was of her, why couldn't they go with him for the makeover?

Nonetheless, his focus shifted to the maids. Steps in rhythm, an oppressed air surrounded them. No one really spoke, nor did they look too happy after the initial greeting.

"Madame's friends?" he inquired, snickering serving as the one consistent answer between the maids. At the top, they took a left. The walls continued the color from the lower floor, but the marble had given away to carpet. Sky blue, a fancy border lining the edges. Paintings line the walls. They display a woman dressed in a poofy dress. Some are orcs, a couple humans, a dwarf or two, then a handful of halflings. All of which led to an empty frame.

"Madame?" Bubbles inquired, a maid's gaze fall to the carpet. A slap followed, knocking the dragon off.

"Don't you dare mention that whore's name again!" the maid screeched, Bubbles pulling himself up. Checking his dolls, he stared towards the now irate maid. A light green glow covered his left claw. "You're nothing but trouble, aren't you?"

A kick followed, Hilda and Blance getting lodged into the wall. Bubbles tried to reach out to them. Just out of reach. So he tried once more. Still nothing. His third attempt was a complete failure, no closer to his precious princesses.

"Madame's friend." he whispered, pulling himself back up. "Please?"

Tears began to roll down. Why were they so rude to Madame? Sure, Madame was by no means the nicest friend of his. But 'she' should have the same chance as everyone else. So the dragon made himself as big as can be. He held his hand out, rushing forward towards the irate maid. The sizzle that follows is not what either party expects to happen. Nor is the dropping of an arm.

"Sorry…" Bubbles whispered, pulling his claw back. The sound of three sets of footprints running up the stairs echoed behind him. "Madame!"

The cracking of a whip rang out, slamming the weapon right at the maid's feet. After, the thief approached her teammate.

"Bubbles, are you alright?" Madame shouted, each words filled with frustration and fury. Bubbles nodded, watching his friend's gaze shift to their servants. He wanted to sneak a hug in, but it didn't seem like a good time. Maybe later.

Once more, the whip gets pulled back. "He is our guest. You will treat him as such."

They get no answer. Well, if you don't count the middle finger as a proper one. Especially with the even 'Deader' maid lays on the floor. It's as if they mean nothing. Maybe they had a life that didn't involve this place. Can't really tell it now.

"Why should we listen to you?" a different maid remarked, pulling their foot back for a kick.

Bubble!

As moves go, this one is pretty hard to take seriously. Does do the job nicely in freaking out what I can only assume are zombie maids. Might want to decide on a different name for it though. Don't want to get your partner mixed up with your attack.

"Get it away from me!" a maid announced, bolting it down the stairs. Phusitmon stared down towards himself, which made this Kollmon's time to shine.

Claw!

Not as scary as Phusitmon's attack, the effect was still the same. Or would've, if not for one of the maids kicking the mole back towards Madame.

"Like, not cool." Kollmon muttered, getting a shrug from their companion. "Like Madame, why did you hire these totally uncool maids?"

Madame's gaze now sat comfortably on the carpet. Trying to find the words, none came out to help her. Why couldn't she remember when they were all hired. The portraits hanging on the wall taunt them, mocking her existence with all their might. Why hadn't she gotten rid of these in the first place? Humility? Trust? No. A reminder of what they all supposedly were - the lie they had all kept. Lies can't last forever though. Eventually, the truth will make itself known. One way or another.

Pulling her whip back, she makes a general guess of her targets. Probably off, that didn't matter right now. The weapon springs forward and something falls down.

"Thank you!"

Madame's gaze shifts back up. Hilda and Blance now laid on the floor. Unharmed from their excursion, Bubbles scooping them up and slipping them back into his bag. Then it's back to the maids. Unamused by this act, knives come out. Guessing this is their last day, so why not go out with a bang? Well, I guess there's worse ways to leave a job.

"Bring it." a maid announced, watching a seafoam green outline form around Madame's small body. A single word exiting the thief's mouth. Kind of cheaty, but what would you expect from a thief? Playing fair?

"Gale." they announced, a gust of wind sweeping across their petticoats. Looked kind of refreshing. Up against that nasty smell and the lack of any outside air piercing through the closed windows of the manor. Probably should get that fixed.

"Infuse!" Kollmon added, a gray outline surrounding her body. "Shade!"

Joining the thief is an elongated shadow. I guess it's supposed to hide her? Maybe it would work better on someone who's actually, I don't know, stealthy? Yeah. That. Eh. She fits the role for the moment. Really, that's the only thing that matters. Especially as a second gust wind tore into their opponents.

Shade Claw!

Seizing on this opportunity, Kollmon charged forward. Taking swipes at the maids, their attention shifted to the afterimage. Knives thrown into the floor, one or two ending up in the backs of other maids. If their fighting skills are anywhere as bad as their cleaning and pranking skills, I don't have much hope for them to get rehired. Which isn't even counting lodging Bubble's princess dolls into the wall and the awful treatment of the dragon earlier. Which does leave the obvious question - why? Is this some sort of long con that went horribly wrong and this how they've been repenting? Doubt it. What was that saying? Two jumps forward, one gust back? Yeah, that.

"Bubbles?" Phusitmon inquired, watching his partner focus on him for the moment. "Do you think you can help us finish this out?"

Bubbles looked towards the maid, then back to Phusitmon. A nod, with the green outline coming right after.

"Fuse!" the little dragon announced, forgetting what his power did exactly. This is going to go one of two ways. Either he manages to actually hit one of the maids, or he's sent somewhere by accident. "Druplet!"

Thankfully, Bubbles made sure to wait for his partner to power up. Don't even want to think about if he had decided to just charge off.

"Infuse!" Phusitmon announced, feeling the green outline around his plush body. "Mending!"

Mending Bubble!

The second round of water spheres was a lot more effective. Mostly by way of the healing factor. Which also means its now Bubbles's turn. A single maid remains. Don't really feel sorry for her. Especially when compared to the one who tried to make a break for it.

"Friends?" the little dragon inquired, getting a screech from his sole opponent. They charged forward, going for a kick. Bubbles past on through. I think you can guess how this bout went. After, his attention turned to Madame. "Princess dress?"

Madame let out a sigh. Carefully picking the dragon up, she led her group into the presumed destination. But not before reaching a junction. The passageways to the left and right have been boarded up. Proof of something messed up? Nevertheless, Madame shot both hallways a glance.

"Like, what was up with those maids?"

The words roll right on out of Kollmon's mouth, her partner looking away. Try as they might, the dots refuse to connect. Had they ever put any thought into why these strange servants lived here? Sure, it's kind of hard to ask the deceased these questions. Were they even maids to begin with? Sure, they looked the part. But what if they… weren't? Add in the paintings, what exactly was her family doing exactly in Aldia? Better yet, could she no, they break free. Okay, maybe the last one was already technically answered. Attention back on the door, she pulled it open. Inside, it looked like a full-on closet lined with little dresses. A rainbow of various shades, there was even little cubbies for flats, heels and the gloves. Can't forget about those parts of a princess's outfit.

"Any color in particular that you would like?" the thief inquired, watching her friend gaze over his options. Eventually, he stopped upon one princess dress in particular. An ice blue one, looking to be around the dragon's size. "Okay. Let me help you into it."

Pulling the dress off of its hangar, Madame helped the little dragon with his new garment. Totally worth it though.

"Thank you!" Bubbles announced, getting a curtsy from his friend. He tried his best to copy her. It took a few attempts, but he got there.

"You'll get it eventually." Madame whispered, shooting the paintings a glance. Some time later down this road of hers, she would destroy them and the rest of this place - start anew. But that's for another day. Right now, they could celebrate this victory.

Notes:

Sorry about the longer update time. Some stuff happened.

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Next Time: Wrapping up these trips home with some... interesting conversations.