I don't own digimon.

Chapter 18

How I met my girlfriend

As ways to start one's day, giant plants are definitely not the best. Especially when you add in the arrival of these strange succubus automatons and Madame for Yvonne at the moment.

"So let me get this straight," the barbarian announced, swinging her warhammer into one of the plants. Smashing right through the one, two more sprouted up to take the place of it. "You took my helmet, enchanted it and then out comes these succubi things?"

Marulyn nodded, attention split between her girlfriend and her golems. She had hoped to keep this a surprise of sorts, brought up when the pair went on their first actual date. Life sometimes doesn't work out that way. A shame, but an understandable one at the moment.

"Yeah." she remarked. "There kind of a work in progress."

Yvonne let out a sigh, trying her best to not let her frustration get the better of her in that moment. What was with Marulyn and trying to make things 'easier'? The need for war had long since quelled from the hearts of her tribe. By and large, most incidents she could handle without any trouble. The few times that she did need assistance, she knew who exactly to grab. It was the job her parents had given to her as the one sole responsibility to these people. Sure, training Marulyn was an extension of that job, but it was still the same job. Stuff like the teddy bear and the enchanted armor seemed like nice gestures, but they always seemed to backfire on her. Case in point, that teddy bear. Soothing the emotions of a single child was good enough, but somehow managing to stay out of its original owner's hands for well over a year was just silly. Even trying to give it to her mom had been a bust. That should've been a proper solution to this absurd puzzle she found herself trapped in. The solution was absolutely obvious (throw the teddy bear at her girlfriend), but that felt rude. Even in this situation. So she let her attention turn to Munbimon for the briefest of moments. A nod from the ghost monkey. Then she's back on the targets - the vines.

"Infuse." Yvonne announced, the gray outline forming once more around her body. "Spirit!"

Once more, her warhammer took on a weightless quality. In any other situation this would be a cause for concern. Not here.

Instead, Yvonne slammed the weapon's head into the street. Multiple vines were pulled together… only to fuse into a singular humongous, poisonous plant. 'Teeth' sprouted out from the top of the vines, sharp and definitely toxic if contact is made. Large spiky leaves erupted from the sides, ready to slice part anything nearby. Multiple laws in regards to sentient plants have been violated in this one particular moment. This is the work of a dungeon builder, not a simple shopkeeper.

"So what?" the Artisan announced, he and carinamon letting out a laugh. If one didn't know any better, you probably would've thought they were a pair of clowns with that sound. Not a pair of villains. Though, that weird finger that you're flashing is really not helping with this situation. "Does it really matter? Maybe I got it off some stupid adventurer?! How about that?"

His gaze shifted to the ground, mutterings of something following right after. Even here, it still wasn't good enough. While were they always so insistent on having the highest strength of health potion? Didn't they understand that creating such potions required training, of which cost a fortune in the first place? Then, his offers of free pieces of aged cheeses would always go unanswered. Not even the rats (small or humanoid) would take a piece. Sure, his cheese making process was a bit volatile. But he had gotten better. Now, the cheese was at least edible. Huge step-up from blowing up in your mouth (which begs even more questions than it's worth at the moment).

Yet, Yvonne gave her opponent little mind. She hadn't even noticed his breakdown. Considering that there's a giant poisonous plant running amok at the moment, that was her main priority. Fair enough. We're not all omnipotent voices projecting from another world.

"Get back!" she shouted, catching a brief glimpse of an orc making the right call and booking it somewhere safe. Hopefully. After, the barbarian motioned for Madame and Marulyn. The mage made her approach, while the thief decided not too for the moment. Which in turn, got her a nice dose of mage hand.

"Need some help?" Marulyn remarked, grabbing hold of Madame from her spectral hand thing. Never think I can get used to that. Yes, I understand all the practical uses of the spell and the versatility of having a disembodied hand floating about. But that's the thing, the whole floating hand. Yes, I know how weird it is. It's just the thing just materializes out of thin air. How the heck are you supposed to be certain that it isn't someone else's hand that's just disappeared off of them? That, and it doesn't work with any of the tools I use in my narration. Kind of a waste on my end.

Back with our trio, Munbimon was currently in the process of gliding circles around the plant. The suits of armor had sadly past. Definitely going to need some tweaks of sorts. Maybe have an actual soul of some kind to serve as an operator and then as a buddy for those handful of times you actually wear the suit. No sign of Yvonne's helmet though. Must still be up on one of the rooftops. Unless Marulyn has done something special in regards to enhancing it. Wouldn't be too surprising.

"Marulyn, I need you to get everyone out of the alleyways for the moment." Yvonne barked, getting a nod from her girlfriend in return. Focusing in on Madame, the barbarian took a deep breath. While she didn't entirely trust the thief, she was all she had with her at the moment. That, and she was bound to be agile. Hopefully. "Can I trust you to help her out?"

Madame muttered something under her breath, gaze not even on Yvonne at the moment. So much for being refined at the moment. Probably the result of the plants going all crazy at the moment. On top of the stress she was no doubt under at the moment, dead bodies and all that junk. Eventually, her gaze returned to Yvonne. A sigh followed. Says it all.

"Fine. I'll help your girlfriend out." Madame muttered, taking the time to whack the Artisan with her whip.

"It's not your turn yet!" her 'opponent' screeched, getting an eye roll in return. Yeah. You're not winning that battle, bucko. "That's it. The day after tomorrow, I'm dealing with you!"

Putting her whip away, Madame pulled out a book of sorts and a pencil. Opening it up, she began looking it over.

"How does midday sound to you?" the thief remarked, watching the Artisan pull out a book and pencil of his own.

"Yeah. I can fit you into my schedule." he remarked, getting a look from Yvonne. What? You don't schedule your fights? You must be a normal person. Though, that goes without saying to an extent. Of course not.

Yvonne let out a cough,. Marulyn and Madame heading off to warn everyone. As the sun begins to rise upon the day, an idea came to the barbarian. Letting go of her warhammer, she found it just sitting there.

"Guess it truly is weightless." Munbimon chimed, taking a seat on Yvonne's shoulder. She watched her wiped some sweat away and then pull a fist back. The jab that followed seemed to bring the head of the plan forward. All for it to retaliate with a swing from one of the leaves. The taste of warhammer to follow is quite quick, especially since she's just back to punching at the moment. An uppercut to the head, with the plant going for a low sweep. Then a headbutt.

"Stupid plant." Yvonne muttered, grabbing hold of her warhammer and pulling the weapon behind her. The swing reached high, hitting both the head of the plant and the leaves. Though, the actual damage was surprisingly minimal.

.

As honors went, getting to adventure alongside was kind of a mixed bag for Marulyn. Sure, both of her mothers would be throwing a complete fit. Not that she was any better with her experiments and long term plans. That was something to throw an actual fit over.

"You're not going to talk my ear about I'm a fake and that I'm not really her?" Madame chimed, Marulyn forcing herself to kneel down to at least be on the thief's level for the moment. She didn't get either of her parents need to bring that up like it was one huge mystery. Maybe it had something to do with their age.

"Is there anything else I can talk to you about?" Marulyn continued, getting a shrug from Madame in return. Most of the orcs had gotten the initial message, which made their mission a tiny bit of a waste. The nature of the alleyways made for far too many hiding spots, meaning that every corner and passage needed to be checked. Don't want the one time you forgot to check the middle corner and it turned out there was some young orc or succubus hanging about in there. Even worse if they were somehow harmed in this whole fiasco.

"There is, actually." Madame remarked, trying their best to decide on something to ask about. Then something came to them. "How did you meet Yvonne? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Marulyn looked away. She hadn't expected to be put on the spot by Madame von Strauss of all people. While the stories the mage had heard were less than pleasant, why exactly would she want to know about this of all things. There was bound to be better ways of finding out. Like I don't know, maybe asking Yvonne directly. You're her teammate after all, Madame. This isn't mad science we're talking about in this moment. Just simple relationship prying. Nothing big, you could lie to an extent. Oh right. They can't hear me.

"I met her when I was fifteen." Marulyn remarked, shooting the large plant out in the distance a quick glance. While Yvonne was making considerable progress at the moment. She was nowhere close to being done and to some extent, looking to be on the receiving end of a couple of nasty bruises. Hopefully nothing poi-

"How about we kick this up a notch?!"

What sounds like a jar of something awful being flung echoed throughout the alleyways. Yep. That idiot just made this fight harder because he could. What an asshole. There's already enough shit going on at the moment without more getting added right on top of it. Guess we can't have nice things in that regard. Goes without saying.

"As you were saying, dear?" Madame inquired, the pair turning a corner at the moment. Still no o-

"Help!"

So much for continuing the conversation at the moment, since we finally have someone in need of rescuing at the moment - an orc trapped under a large rock. Foot wasn't able to get out in time when the vines were all rambling about.

"Are you alright?" Marulyn called out, getting a thumbs up of sorts in return. Bringing forth her hand, she carefully maneuvered it over to the man. "Madame, would you kindly?"

A groan, followed by the whip grabbing hold of the orc. While the hand pushed the rock upward, Madame pulled the unlucky guy over.

"Thank you…" the orc mumbled, making a beeline for the exit. Hopefully, avoiding the large monstrous plant intent on killing everyone. Actually, maybe it just wants to leave but can't. That would be different. Or the usual 'take over the world'. Because that makes a lot of sense for a plant to want in that moment. Not.

"It was kind of an accident that I met her." Marulyn explained, surveying the nearby area. "I had supposedly gotten out from somewhere and was running around the alleyways. At some point, I kind of, sort of ran into her."

Madame gave a nod, giving Marulyn a quick once over. While she couldn't be certain on that math per say, the mage looked to be around Yvonne's height. As weird as that sounded. While her proportions outside of that were slightly less than the barbarian's, it probably meant she was around Yvonne's age. Among other things.

"Does she ever give you piggyback rides?"

Marulyn looked away, muttering something under her breath. Didn't catch, but Madame definitely did. Can only wonder what it is. Something naughty? Maybe. Morbid? Perhaps.

"That can't be right." Madame thought, the other part already scheming. While such information I can only assume is valuable, that doesn't change how secretive this all is. Guess I'll make a note of it for later and then throw down ideas in my book. Probably come back later as some sort of flashback.

Right now though, there were more people to save. As in, more rocks to be moved. No sounds of struggle at the moment. Good. Idiot has already done enough trouble and it isn't even time for breakfast yet. Now I want some as well. Didn't have a snack last night so I'm kind of running on empty. After this, I'll eat something and maybe take a short nap.

This time, it was more a matter of brute strength than magical prowess. Both women working together to rescue the stranded group of orcs and succubi.

"Madame von Strauss!" one of the orcs announced, catching the thief by complete surprise. While fans of her/their work were common, to see it here in the stomping ground of her 'nemesis' felt kind of good. Joyful to an extent. "Why aren't you helping Yvonne and her strange monkey thing with the large plant?"

Scratch that. Now she was just pissed. Sure, it isn't her fault that Yvonne sent her off to help with finding people.

"Sorry about this." Marulyn remarked, getting a nod from the orc. She followed right behind the thief, mage hand at the ready. "Madame, come back here!"

With each step, the giant plant monster grew closer. With it, the sound of punching and metal slamming into plant fiber growing louder. Yvonne had to be nearing the end of her stamina and to some extent, the end of the plant's strength. Both the Artisan and Carinamon had taken to sitting on the ground, idling their thumbs as the two forces went to battle. Not very productive in regards to this whole 'evil' thing. Not even an insult? You were full of those less than a day or so.

"Shut it." the Artisan muttered, shooting both arrivals a glance. Then he's right back on the large plant creature. "It's already bad enough to accidentally douse yourself in your own potion. Rubbing it in is just salting that wound."

All three women turned and gave him a look. Not the reaction you expect to get out of here. Begs even more questions.

Madame ran up to Yvonne, giving her a slight tap. Turning around, the barbarian didn't even take the time to get on her level.

"Yes?" she remarked, getting ready to grab hold of her warhammer once more. The crack of a whip brought a swift end to that, on top of vanquishing this strange floral beast in one rather simple sweep.

"You should probably keep an eye on your girlfriend." Madame muttered, getting a look from her teammate. While Yvonne knew that to an extent, what did the thief know that she didn't? Whatever it was, that could be deciphered some other day. Right now, her focus was squarely on the Artisan at the moment. Or would've been, if not for the fact that he and Carinamon were waving at them. So she focused on the state of the alleyways. While a considerable effort would need to be made, the repairs looked to be mostly decorative with only a few places structurally that needed to be repaired.

Nonetheless, she turned to face Marulyn and Madame. Okay, just Marulyn. Since Madame decided to book it for the moment.

"Thank you." she remarked, watching her girlfriend perk up. But there was something off. The mage had that look to her. While it had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, that was all the more cause for concern.

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Back on the Distant Harmony base, things were relatively peaceful. Though, it would seem that girl from the other day is in better spirits. Well, drow to be exact. Though, the long flowing golden kimono decorated with a spiderweb theme is quite beautiful on its own.

"Uh… Would you like to play a round of Magia Scramble, Mr Ra- Artisan, sir?" she greets, shifting what appeared to be a strange-looking demon mask back on. A sigh seemed to be her answer, followed by the Artisan taking a seat.

"It's just Rantha here, Melody." he remarked, mask coming off and revealing the face of this broken man. Brown eyes and wrinkled skin on full display. "Sure, I'll play a round with you."

Melody perked up, controller handed over.

Notes:

This was quite fun to write. Mostly by way of giving me an excuse to have a scene with pure attacks. No shouting, just actions. If that makes sense. Outside of that, the scene with Melody was added after the fact.

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Next Time: Blaze and Dave try to go shopping, but life has other plans.