I don't own digimon.

Chapter 22

Would you like to trade?

When Blaze danced, he preferred to do it in his leotard. That way, he wouldn't risk getting his clothes soaked in sweat. This was not how he preferred to do this. Especially when it involved someone like the Artisan. But that wouldn't stop the fighter from putting on a good show for his limited audience.

"I have to admit, you're quite impressive." Rantha remarked, watching patiently as Blaze's scimitar slammed into Carinamon. "Though, I'm not sure why you're referred to as 'the fighter'."

That's his base class. As far as I can tell, there's no real 'dancer' class. Sure, there may have been one in times long before, but not now. Though, you might be looking more towards bards than a fighter. But I don't really see an aptitude for music. Outside of rhythm of course. Haven't forgotten about that.

"What are you even talking about?" Blaze remarked, confused by the question he had just been asked. He had never been referred to such a thing as a 'fighter'. Dancer, yes. But he never saw that as an actual title. More of a job that he made money on. More than enough to pay for his house and keep himself fed. Anything else he usually let people keep. No use being greedy when it comes to this. "Better yet, who the heck are you talking too?"

Rantha looked away, muttering something to the floor at the moment. How does one go about explaining the strange voice in your head is an actual person and not some strange delusion he had been suffering from for the last couple days. Heck, even if you could explain it, how would the other person react? Would they think you were already more crazy than you already seem? Freak out on you? Understand? Or do you just continue

"The magical voice in my head that just won't show it's stupid mouth." Rantha announced, the potion slime going in for a swing - this time aiming for the dancer. Dodging out of the way, Blaze went for a swing. While the scimitar did connect with the target, I doubt any damage was actually done here. Possibly healed the thing knowing our luck.

Rattle!

Balamon shook his tail, bringing Carinamon's attention over. The scorpion digimon took a swing, smashing his tail into the floor. That's going to leave a mark.

Bite!

With his opponent now stuck, Balamon slammed his mouth down. That can't be that tasty. Even if it was, you need to deal with the stinger. Probably just cut it off and use it for something. Maybe as a poison for your blade? Yeah, I can see that. Though, that tail swing didn't quite have the desired effect. Could just be the snake digimon forgetting that Carinamon had claws. Yeah. That's what I'm going with for the moment.

"You stupid snake." Carinamon announced, snarling towards his opponent. "If that master of yours wasn't such a bonehead, none of this would have happened."

Balamon shot him a look. While sure, Blaze may have said something that had triggered the Artisan in the first place. But without knowing what the dancer had said and what had been brought back up in the first place, they wouldn't get anywhere.

"Okay…" Blaze countered, twirling around to face the Artisan. "So what was it that I said?"

His opponent looked away, whispering something to the floor. Real helpful. If a guess needed to be made, probably something he said at the start of the spiel.

Yet, he came to a stop and put a hand on Rantha's shoulder. Letting out a deep breath, their gazes met.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" he chimed, trying his best to be kind. "Any particular dance I c-"

Yet, Rantha took this opportunity as his one and only chance to slam Blaze into the ground. After, he smashed his foot into his chest. Just for good measure. Fuck. Had to go there. That guy was just trying to help and what do you do? Take his kindness and throw it back.

Especially now that Bubbles and Phusitmon were on their way over to Blaze for the moment. Though Balamon was now on his partner for the moment. Which to be fair, he was kind of useless without being infused. No offense to him, of course. Doesn't looked crushed.

"Artisan!" Dave screeched, gaze fixed on Rantha. This wasn't his battle, but this sure as hell wasn't right. So he turned his attention to Bubbles for the moment. "Any way that I can help you?"

Being the little dragon that he was, Bubbles had nothing. So Dave watched him do his work, bracing for any possible retaliation to come.

"Oh. So I should just walk over you as well?" the Artisan barked, jagged smile on his face. "Because that's what people like to do. Sure they claim that they care, but they never do."
Dude, calm down. I get that you weren't expecting to be having those strange memory flashback dream things, but this is just overkill. No harm was meant. You just need to tell them that you're hurt. They're willing to listen. Heck, I'm willing to listen. Give us a signal and we'll be good. Not this.

"You don't think I somehow forgotten that?!" the Artisan screeched, another vial already in hand. Carinamon's gaze shot on over, the scorpion digimon's body trembling. Any cockiness had exited his body in an instant, fear replacing it. So he scuttled on over, getting ready to bring forth a whirlwind just in case. Might want to do that like, now. Rather than later.

"Rantha, I need you to calm down." Carinamon barked, getting a look from his boss. Boot meets scorpion, the result is crystal clear. "Rantha, you've gone too far…"

His partner didn't care at the moment. No, he was insistent on driving the point home. If took another dozen stomps, then that's what it took.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Rantha screeched, pulling his foot up in preparation for the coming stomp. So you can imagine his surprise when Blaze got up and Bubbles running over. "Oh. So you still have some fight left in you."

Giving Dave a look, Blaze took a deep breath. His whole body felt as if was on fire. Medical attention was going to be needed after this. Adrenaline pumped through his body. By no means on Yvonne's level, he was just as driven right now.

"Infuse!" he announced, red outline appearing around him. "Ember!"

Scimitar heating up, the dancer turned his attention to the potion slime. A deep breath left his lips as he . Sure, this little thing probably was oblivious to what was even going on.

"Hey. I'm sorry about this." Blaze whispered, focusing as best he can on his strange thing. "Is there anything that I do to help?"

The potion slime shook its head. Well, it's whole body. This answer is definitely not what the Artisan is expecting. Far from it in fact. Especially as his other companion is currently trying to struggle out of the arms of Bubbles currently.

"Stupid waste of goop." he muttered, second potion vial at the ready. Looks like some kind of crystal. Which could mean anything. "Let me guess, you want to spare it for some unimaginable reason?"

Blaze nodded, scimitar pointing in the direction of the Artisan. Ignoring the possibility of the whole place burning down (accident or not), that was his goal. Would like absolutely for dancer to be killing people. Especially without any good reason to do so in the first place. Something something compassion. Yeah, that.

"He's just here to cause trouble for me and get in the way of dancing, somehow." Blaze continued, taking a step forward. Part of him was shouting not to get any closer. Which is great and all if he was carrying something like I don't… a bow and arrow and not, a blade of all things. You know, the epitome of close-quarters. "Why do you want to see me dance?"

He got no answer to that question, because the vial dropped down. You couldn't have squeaked out a monologue of some kind before dropping it? I get that you're pissed, but we're all left at a lo-

"What part of shut the fuck up don't you get?" Rantha screamed, ice glazing over the entire shop. Like seriously, this isn't some thin layer of slippery stuff. You could seriously carve a nice sculpture if you were persistent enough. On top of having the right tool. I guess it's ha- "Dude, what part of this don't you understand?"

All of it. Just makes for an awful story if it's just dialogue. Without real context of what's going down, this sort of story wouldn't work.

"Rantha, you need to calm down." Carinamon mumbled, Bubble's hug getting that much more tighter in that moment. So he turned his attention to the dragon. "Can you please let go of me? He's clearly in pain."

Bubbles's gaze shifted over to the scorpion digimon. While possibly true, that would just make Blaze's job even harder. So he made his way over to Dave. Easier said than done with the icy floor under his feet and the less-than cooperative scorpion at the moment. The first step forward was possibly the worst. His little feet were trapped under the ice. So he tapped the ice with his healing touch thing. No dice. What exactly made him think that would work? I can only assume that his body heat might be enough, but that's unlikely.

"Let me help you out there." Blaze remarked, stepping slowly across the floor. So much for facing Rantha head-on at the moment. Tapping the blade against the ice, fire won this battle. The little water puddle was an added plus to boot. "Better?"

Bubbles nodded, a small twinge of pain echoing through his body. So he used his healing touch to reach that particular spot. Then he's back on Dave. Sure, Droplet would do the job. But was their a different option at the moment.

Bubbles initiated an Infusion Trade with Carinamon

Do you Accept?

No/Yes

Okay… Was not expecting to have a touchable illusion to appear from his D-Venture when he thought about. Wait. That means they're not bound to their initial element? Oh. I can already see the stuff that can come out of this. Sure, this is probably a fluke brought about by the little dragon, that doesn't change how it cool it is.

"Darn it." Carinamon muttered, struggling to reach for the 'No' option. "You idiot!"

But Bubbles wasn't listening. Whether by accident or sheer disobedience, he pushed Carinamon's stinger over to the 'Yes'.

Trade Initiated - Terms: Temporary.

Bubbles looked over to Dave, purple outline forming on his body. Phusitmon was not real amused, but a slight pet seemed to calm him down. Slightly. Enough for Bubbles not get a scolding from

"Fuse!" he announced, feeling different at the moment. Not bad different per say, but different in turn of effects. "Toxin!"

Three gazes shot over to Bubbles in that moment. As far as they could tell, he had just done something impossible. Debating the meaning of such a word is absolutely pointless at the moment, mostly because we don't know the extent of this at the moment. Throwing a small kick, Bubbles slid forward. Engulfed in this purple goop, he was one-dragon ball of destruction. Against ice at least. Which is perfect for this situation. Anything else, we'll have to wait and see in that regard.

"Daav!" he shouted, the maid grabbing hold of both him and Carinamon. A deep breath followed, gaze on Blaze.

"Thanks." Blaze chimed and focused on the one behind this madness. Can't have nice things. Always something to break when you're around. You ever notice that? "Now, let's dance."

His first move was a jump into a split, melting a now-ruined stack of shirts. Those were replaceable. There was probably a stack of them in the back not covered in frost at the moment.

What couldn't be so easily replaced was the things already done. The memories - both good and bad. They're a part of yourself. Like it or not, you're going to have life with the less than great parts of you.

A twirl followed as Rantha pulled out a retractable stick. But something isn't right at the moment.

Everything was becoming a blur, the world twisting and distorting right in front of him. He was certain he had taken the time to have a bite to eat and something to drink. Well, that was what the Artisan had thought at least. In between his sessions of playing with Melody, had our villain forgotten the necessity of… hydration? Had to be. Why else would this be happening?

"Fine then." Rantha muttered, teleporting away. Without Carinamon of all people. Though this is the perfect chance to grill him for all his secrets. Then maybe do something absolutely humiliating with his body. Possibilities are endless in that regard.

Yet, Blaze made his way over to the shopkeeper. Currently standing by her table, she was in the middle of counting the gold.

"Sorry about this." the dancer whispered, getting a chuckle from the seller. Not sure if a sense of humor is good at the moment. Especially considering that the entire shop is covered in an absurd layer of ice. "You can take it all you want."

The shopkeeper gave the bag a slight shake, a couple of coins jingling out. Huh. Not what I was expecting here.

"It wasn't your intention, Blaze." she explained, her gaze turning to Dave at the moment. "You did tell him, right?"

A deep breath, which came more of a sigh towards the end of it. No use running away from it to an extent. Especially with each day bringing their return ever so closer. Time's definitely not on your side here. But with the way things are going, is that truly what you want?

"I keep pushing it to the backburner." Blaze answered, gaze joining the shopkeeper's for the moment. "Some day, I'm going to have to make a choice, but he's entered my world and thrown it on my head."

He got a chuckle. Not that this was stopping him from collecting his money.

"I like it better that way."

After saying that, Blaze felt his heart beat just a little faster. Aww… Now, to just go on some dates and really get to know each other.

Bubbles walked up right after, Phusitmon and Carinamon on him currently. Thankfully, Blaze noticed the dragon and put him on the counter. Then he was off to rescue his boyfriend from his icy space.

"Hi!" Bubbles greeted, getting a head pat at the moment. After, the shopkeeper brought out a little box. Somehow not surrounded in a block of ice. I'll let it slide.

"You were such a big help with that mean man." the shopkeeper cooed, opening the box up. "Normally, I reserve these for little kids who don't make a fuss when their mommies and daddies bring them in."

Bubbles stared into the box. There, he was treated to an assortment of little doll clothes. All of which the right size for Phusitmon and hopefully Carinamon.

"You're playing with fire, bucko." Carinamon muttered, his warning getting ignored as Bubbles dug into the assortment of doll clothes. Out came a little dress perfect for a lady-in-waiting and one for a servant. Though, I'm surprised he went for that after the encounter with the maids. "Oh for fuck sake."

What followed, was what you expected. A scorpion trying to put up a fight, but was in fact quite tired from all the stuff. Which made the dress-up quite easy.

"I guess I can make this work." Phusitmon remarked, smoothing out his garb. As for Carinamon, he had reluctantly accepted his fate. Especially as the sound of pounding pierced through from the outside. Eventually, what looked to be a warhammer pierced through the door.

"Hey." Yvonne announced and pulled the door open. Dressed in what looked to be Marulyn's robes, she looked like a complete mess. Sweat and grime peeked through from the few places that were exposed on her body. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Blaze took a deep breath.

"Sure." he answered, heading out. His companions followed right behind.

Notes:

This was interesting chapter to write with the biggest challenge being the introduction of 'Infusion Trade' and getting all our characters on board. Though, I don't think that should be hard.

Outside of that, remember to eat. It could save your life.

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Next time: Man. A mouth to match that of his master's.