I don't own digimon.

Chapter 33

Anything that you can do

After what seemed like an eternity of being in the city of Aldia and everything it had to offer its residents, I'm almost disappointed in the scenery that surrounds us for the moment. Melody told us what waited on the other side but I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't be the case. Was hoping there would be a heck of a lot more color to this area. Everything seems to be under a gray hue, which is on top of the thick fog ahead. What's more of a concern is that I'm above them. Somehow. I think I'm invisible. Not that we should be testing that for the moment.

As for our heroes, they were laying down on what looks to be sand of all things. Behind them, the water has been frozen in place. Low tide, with the door they came through still standing tall. No sign of other people. Probably closer to land for the moment. Maybe you could take Bubbles here to play in the water and just relax. Of course, after this whole mess has finally done with or something/

"Like, this feels like I'm home." Kollmon announced, helping Madame up and brushing the sand off their dress. "Though I'm not entirely sure why exactly."

Madame looked over to her, just shrugging. For once, this was something concrete - a piece of the puzzle. But to what exactly? A person? A place? Possibly both? Or perhaps nothing at all.

"Does this place have a name at least?" Ella inquired and watched Kollmon just bolt off towards the fog. Didn't even wait for anyone else to get up out of the sand. Hey. Can you hear me, by any chance? "Oh. It's you."

Yeah. Not sure what happened when you we- Wait you can hear me. That means… Yeah.

"So I'm guessing you're the one who Melody linked us through earlier?" Yvonne announced and pulled herself up. Guess your armor is a bit heavier than first glances suggest. Munbimon climbed up right after, taking a seat on the barbarian's shoulder. "Nice to meet you. For real, kinda."

Yeah. It's quite… interesting. Most jobs I've taken haven't been this intense on the narration. Though, all of those were apprenticeships in places that couldn't kill me. Well, I don't think they could kill me. Or perhaps that was weeded out by the apprentice before me. Eh.

"If you don't mind us asking," Balamon added, finding himself getting pulled out of the sand by Cinemon for the moment. "What exactly do you do?"
I narrate stories - providing the background elements, the details and all the little things that make up the world and its people. Everything that you've done up to this point has been recorded to be viewed by… someone. I don't really have a clue who's actually viewing this. Doesn't really matter though. You guys have someone you need to catch up too at the moment.

As I said that, our heroes shot off. Well, more of they jogged after their friend. Even if Kollmon knew her way around the city, that's still not a reason to run off on your friends. None of you are likely to know your way around this strange maze of stone streets with all these landmarks. Hey, is that a sign by any chance? Can't quite make it out from here. From the looksie, Melody is making her way over. Lumosmon is providing some light at the moment. Not entirely sure if that is completely necessary. The lettering looks to be quite intact, even if the color seems to have faded with everything else. Was kind of expecting something bigger. Like from the top of a hill or something.

"Welcome to Malibu Beach." she remarked, looking it over once more for good measure. "What's a Malibu?"

That's a place… I think. Guess this was once Kollmon's stomping grounds or something at one point. Wait. This changes things immensely.

That means at some point, people were just given these 'digimon' by some sort of entity. But what the heck happened that made everything go to shit? That sort of thing doesn't happen in a day. Probably two at the sheer stupidity that seems to go on. But I digress. Fighting skeletons kind of does that to me at times.

"You were fighting skeletons?" Blaze inquired, my wish for some way to visualize this stuff growing intensely. To answer your question, yes. The place that I worked at was attacked, so we hid in the catacombs. Which were filled with reanimated skeletons. Who were pissed or something. Because of course they were. "Gotcha. You alright?"

Yeah. Lore Magic gives you a tool for most situations. Kind of like your infusions. Even if it doesn't seem that way at times. Especially as you head for the fog. Oops. I'm supposed to be commentating on the action, not talking to you guys. Just ignore me for the moment.

It's here we find Kollmon, waiting patiently. How nice of her. Unless there's somehow no way that you can pass through without everyone. Yet, the mole digimon's gaze turned to her teammates. Especially Madame for the moment. Here we go again.

"Don't even like start." Kollmon muttered and got a look from her partner. A sigh following right after. Sounds about right. "You were doing this all the time."

Madame opened their mouth, but nothing came out. While something smart shouted back might help in the short-term, the long-term not as much. So they bit their tongue and got to thinking. Some other clue had to exist that was overlooked. Wait. There was that strange moment in the graveyard yesterday. That had to be it. Right?

"If nothing else, we need to know what you're looking for." Yvonne announced, Kollmon's gaze split between her and our thief. Kind of impressive, now that I think about it.

"I'm looking for her." she muttered, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments. There was a hope - as tiny as it might possibly be, that something would come back to her much like in the graveyard. But the only thing the mole digimon found was emptiness for the moment. As if life was trying to taunt her with no real way to throw it back at whatever entity life actually was. Opening her eyes, the gaze is back on Madame. And a bit of Ella too for good measure. "She (well, I think they were a she at least) ran a clinic of some kind. If I can find that, maybe I can find her."

Slowly, Bubbles made his way over to our distressed mole and gave her a hug. Dress doesn't look to be too sandy, even if that does mean the end of the clean dress period. Was bound to happen eventually. The fact that our little dragon has done so well is quite impressive.

"Yay?" Bubbles called out and got a head pat from both his mommies. Which makes the nonexistent height difference all the more crazy at the moment. If anything, Kollmon is the shortest. But only by a centimeter or two tops. But that's just me eyeballing it.

After saying that, the fog faded away. Only to appear right behind our heroes for the moment. Absolutely rude. Maybe someone else was in that area and needed that visibility. What would happen then?

"Yes indeed." a voice muttered, Rantha making his entrance. Damage done earlier today has been repaired in whatever capacity their possibly superior tech allows for. Even then, our artisan looks disoriented, "It's actually the next day, you dumb fuck."

Uh… good to know. Even if the sky shows little sign of changing to suggest such a change. So I'll take your word until I have definite proof. That work with you?

Rantha doesn't answer, Carinamon scrambling down his leg and taking a seat at his feet. Okay, I guess we're going to have to fight. You would think he would at least have a comment for seeing his fo-

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Rantha announced, gaze turning to Melody. Oh dear. I get the feeling that alcohol is running through his veins right now. "Come on. Let's go!"
The mystic took a step back and let her sickle show itself. While she liked to think of Mr Rantha as a friend, moments such as this were testing that. Especially as her 'friend' snatched Kollmon off of the ground.

"Mr Rantha, I understand you're frustrated." she started and looked Rantha right in the eye. "But this is not the best way to deal with those feelings."

But Rantha wasn't listening. No, he decided that it was best to take a swing with one of his newly healed hands. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, as if someone wanted to drag this out before the inevitable escape. Let's be real. It's going to happen.

"I could freeze him." Melody thought as she looked over her opponent, then over to Kollmon. Who was being held in such a way to make it hard to get a clear shot on our Artisan without getting both in the process. "But I need another option. Maybe some way that I can separate them..."

Closing her eyes, she let her head fixate on someone, anyone. A matter of connecting...

Melody initiated an Infusion Trade with Madame

Do you Accept?

No/Yes

Eyes opening back up for our mystic, the box hanging there in front of our thief. Quite impressive.

"I guess." Madame muttered and tapping 'Yes' icon button thing. A gray outline formed around our mystic, even if I'm not sure if that's quite what she had in mind. Works for now.

Terms Initiated: Temporary

"Infuse!" Melody announced and Rantha bolted off with Kollmon. Coward! At least wait till she's done. That's the nice thing to do here in these battles. But no honor among thieves or something. "Shade!"

The mystic's body went transparent, which isn't quite the desired effect for the moment. Maybe you should've grabbed Gale from Kollmon before Rantha bolted off? Or even something like Dust from Yvonne? Both are good options at the moment. Even with the random draw you used.

"He would've just made a run for it even sooner." Melody muttered and shot forward, her partner and teammates trying their best to follow right behind. You're right. Though I suspect you'll be able to catch up in some capacity. "It's not a problem."

Good. I know I'm supposed to be impartial and not get attached, but you guys are such fun to watch that I sometimes forget that.

Nonetheless, our chase has kicked off. Be quite interesting to see how Madame's power is going to factor one small problem. Our mystic's eyes were still somehow closed. How the heck she hasn't slammed into a wall is bey-

Having now pointed that out, we have ourselves a collision with a nearby wall. Considering this area is filled with buildings and other hazards, this is going to be quite a mess. Though, I can only assume that speed boost can only be kept while concentrating. Good to know. Then we're off once again. Eyes are still closed. But we do have some hand movement.

"Left!" Blaze announced, ducking under a thrown object of some kind. It would seem he and Cinemon were right behind our mystic. Yvonne was keeping good pace in her armor, with Madame and Ella making up the rear. Quite an equal matchup by way of the lack of knowledge of this 'Malibu' place. Not counting Kollmon of course. But that is probably stretching it.

"Like, let go of me!" Kollmon announced, slashing down at Rantha's hands. What was with this asshat and his ability to be a complete and utter asshole?

Scratch!

Connecting with Carinamon at the moment, the scorpion responded with a tail swing of his own. Even then, unleashing a carina gale at the moment runs the risk of blowing the trio away.

"You just have to taunt the hand that feeds you now, don't you?!" Rantha screeched and came to a stop. Melody and co were right behind, Still no clue on what shade could do here. "Fine then! Let me show you!"

Rantha forces a trade with Kollmon

Do you accept?

Yes/Yes

"Crud." Madame muttered, gaze swiveling over to Yvonne. Already, the barbarian had her warhammer at the ready. So our thief got her whip out. That doesn't stop our Artisan from forcing his captive to press 'Yes'.

Trade Conditions: Forced

An outline of seafoam green goop surrounds his body. Oh dear. What was that one phrase? Right. Anything that you can do, I can do better? Yeah, that's the one. Though here I think this is not the case. Just because someone does something doesn't mean you should do it in the hopes of topping them. That's an easy way to get yourself into a situation that spirals out of control. Such as this one.

"Corruption!" Rantha announced, giggling like an idiot after saying that. Because we need more reasons to hate your guts at the moment. "Hurricane!"

The wind seemed to pick up, swirling around our artisan for the moment. Definitely not what I was expecting to happen.

Yet, Melody pulled her sickle back. One chance to get this right. If not, this isn't going to be a pretty fight. Flinging the weapon towards Rantha, this looks to be the latter. Especially as our mystic was warped over to her weapon. Huh… That's actually kind of impressive. Similar to droplet, but that could be the result of the lack of weapon used by our little dragon.

"It's alright." Yvonne remarked, light gray outline already appearing around her body. Guess this is no longer a solo battle. "Infuse, Spirit!"

Slamming her weapon into the road, we have our mystic getting pulled towards Yvonne's 'vortex' but also getting pulled away by Rantha's gusts for the moment. Even more so as Melody tried to throw her sickle out. Though, it's kind of hard to focus when the wind could just tear you apart at any moment. She closed her eyes, putting all her energy into concentrating.

"Mr Bubbles, could you come over?" she called out, hoping to god that Bubbles was listening for the moment. Throwing the sickle out, the mystic waited a moment. Then another, with the thud of Yvonne's warhammer slamming down once more. That's odd. I would think you should've been telepor-

For a brief moment, what looks to be the mystic's body floats about the wind, the next she's nearly crushing our little dragon. Though, it does look like Bubbles managed to grab hold.

"Thank you." Melody remarked and rolled off our little dragon. A little head pat followed. Bubbles gave her a hug in return. She accepted the gesture.

"Infuse!" Madame announced, feeling what looks to be a light cyan outline form around them. Okay. Was not expecting that to actually work. Time to see this element in action. "Frost!"

The air around Madame's whip grows cold, condensing into a layer of frost. Swinging the weapon out, we have powdered ice now covering the opposing trio. Even if some of it was also being flung back towards our heroes by the wind.

"Crap." Ella muttered, both Cinemon and Munbimon bringing forth their respective infusion powers. Not that our artificer is really focused on them and their attacks for the moment. No, her focus is on her girlfriend. "You just had to push your luck on that, didn't you?"

Madame rolled their eyes, letting a chuckle serve as their answer. Which just makes the glare coming their way even more intense.

"If I didn't push things, you and I probably wouldn't have ever met." they counter, the other part of them just letting out a mental sigh. Did have a point though. For better or worse. Not that you need to point that out. Yet, Ella deployed her turret.

"We still have a long way to go in that regard." the artificer muttered, turning her attention to Kollmon. A sigh followed. The winds were beginning to pick up and heading right their way. Even with the powdered ice, that was doing little to slow down this assault.

Dust Kiss!

Munbimon blew a kiss, the dirt blown up colliding with the powdered ice coming their way. Cancelling each other out, it's a solution.

Arcane Mewl!

Much like the previous attack sent out, this strange sound brought down more of the powdered snow. Which was actually quite effective. Possibly too effective in that regard, but oh well.

With that particular threat dealt with, our heroes attention turned to the massive wind gusts. Which you would think they would be on for this whole battle, but you would be wrong. That would be Kollmon. Not that I blame them.

"Infuse!" Blaze shouted, red outline already forming around his body. "Ember!"

Looking towards Yvonne, the dancer got a nod. Running head-on for Rantha, effort was taken to not collide with the turret fire. Though I'm not sure if melting all that powdered ice is a good idea. If anything, you're wrecking the one advantage you gave right now.

Or would've, since Madame was continuing her whipping for the moment. Her aim was rapidly improving. Kind of impressive at the moment.

"That should be good enough." the thief remarked and watched her teammate's scimitar make contact. About dang time. Yvonne was right behind, with the turret fire somehow following in such a way. Which just left her and Melody to bring up the rear. "Give her back. Maybe then this won't be so painful."

Even against these gusts of winds, her words pierced through - crystal clear. Even more as Yvonne's warhammer pushed into Rantha's chest. Ow. Even if they are trying to not hurt him or Kollmon, that got to leave a mark. Even more so as the turret fire collided with our Artisan. Melody came next in this assault, going for a single of

Trade ended. Returning elements to their respective owners.

Guess that's the end of that. Knowing our luck, the same can't be said about Rantha's attempt at one-upping you guys. Let's not repeat that.

"Oh screw you." Rantha announced and flipped the bird. "Go do whatever the fuck you need to do. I'll be waiting."

That remark got him a look from everyone. Even me for that matter. I'm very much I'm aware you're not alright, Rantha. If you have something you need to talk about, these guys are willing to listen to you. No need to hold back.

"What? Shouldn't you have some magical notes that tell you everyth-" Rantha screeched, collapsing before being able to finish his sentence. The world begins to shake, buildings beginning to sprout forth from the ground. That's not supposed to happen.

"Could be some dwarvish society." Ella suggested, our heroes doing their best to get out of the way of this new threat. While I'm tempted to agree with you here, that doesn't explain the ring of mountains that are now jutting out in the immediate area. Whatever this place is, someone fucked up majorly. Yet, Madame turned their attention to Kollmon.

"Is your home near here?" they inquired, getting a nod in return and headed off. Our heroes were able to keep up this time. Which is definitely a plus, even if the actual destination was a couple of buildings away.

"Here we are." the mole digimon explained and took a deep breath. The door before them is plain and uninteresting, which can make one wonder what awaits on the other side.

Jabbing a paw into the keyhole, a slight twist follows. Then, a click as the door opened up.

Inside, a dead body of what can only be described as a voluptuous blonde lays on the floor. What looks to be a wound to the neck appears to be the cause of death.

Notes:

Yeah. This was fun to write. Especially the end part. Mostly because I don't usually get to do these large battles that have nearly everyone in them.

Due to me returning to college at the time of writing this, chapters might take a bit longer to come out.

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Next Time: We have ourselves a dead bo- Wait. They're still alive!