I don't own digimon.

Chapter 50

Undying Bonds

Well... that was something. I'm not entirely sure how to describe the feeling within to be done with that mess. I guess… confused works well here. It feels as if this whole place is built around having no cohesive theme and just testing people. Which is an oddly specific thing to do with a dungeon - most are used to guard something or to get rid of people. Sometimes both.

"It's a definite possibility." Rantha muttered and let his gaze shift to the ceiling. Even as these stairs curve around the tower, the ceiling never really changes. Perhaps this is the one constant in this entire place, the one thing that the heroes of back then could count on as they made the treacherous climb up. Or perhaps they were unsure of whether or not they could actually make it through the next floor and would need to stop for the night. "I wouldn't quite go that far."

Though out of everyone in the party, you're bound to know the most about this strange place. Does this match up to any accounts given to you - false or otherwise?

"Kinda. Parts of it - the lack of any real encounters, the one-off challenges… But nothing after that." the artisan continued and let out a deep breath, eyes closing. Images of Carinamon bounced about within his head. Feels so long ago that the large murderous bird was once a weird-looking feathered scorpion. It's been just a couple of days. But when you don't have a solid clue on how much of your memories are actually real and which were fabricated by way of a choice made so many years ago.

"Maybe this was one of their first attempts at making a proper dungeon?" Blaze suggested as Balamon slithered down to his left arm. Looked to be a bit more comfortable there. "That could explain why this place seems like it was pulled from somewhere else."

That's one explanation. But this is only the third floor out of eight total. Who knows what else weird stuff awaits. Hopefully not something that wants to kill us.

Stepping up the last couple steps, we find ourselves in a room. Cream-colored walls with wooden accents surround us, the floor looking to be some kind of carpet - even if I'm not entirely certain what color that's supposed to be. Gray yet blue. Beyond the point. A couple chairs are set off to the side, with a door serving as our only other point of inter-

I'm not even allowed to finish my sentence, since the click of a lock cuts off my description of this strange room. Not entirely sure what we did to deserve that. As I was saying, our other point of interest is a plain wooden door. Not sure why someone cut into the bottom section of the door and installed a swing flap. Great and all, if not for the fact that I doubt most of us could actually slip through. Without breaking the door down, of course.

"What about Bubbles?" Phusitmon announced, the little dragon finding himself to be the center of attention. So he straightened out his dress and dusted any dirt that might've gotten on the garment as the result of the previous two floors. Can't really see any trace of either dirt or really water, but that could be the result of the bright light hanging above. Brighter than the sun, kind of annoying at the moment. Sure, those lanterns gave off a lot of light.

"Bubbles, we need you to do us a very big favor." Ella explained, Bubbles standing on his tippy toes to just be on the same level as his mother. Whatever she was going to ask, he would be willing to do it for her and 'Princess'. Well, within reason of course. "Could you go through that flap and see what's on the other side?"

The artificer's words roll out, Bubbles already focusing on that flap. Setting Phusitmon down, he headed over. Taking the time to wave towards his teammates, he got down onto his knees. Giving the flap a slight tap, he found it to open. While this would serve as a good time to give a wave, that sort of gesture doesn't cross his mind.

"Do you think Mr Bubbles we'll be able to do it?" Melody remarked, getting a look from both Ella and Madame for the moment. To be fair, you're putting a lot of trust in that little guy. Especially when we all have not a single clue on what to expect within.

"We'll just have to hope that whatever is waiting for him on the other side doesn't want to eat or kill him." Rantha announced and got the whack of a whip in return. You might have wanted to phrase that a hell of a lot better than you just did, dude.

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On the other side of the flap, Bubbles found himself in the main room of this particular floor. Well I assume this to be the main room. After all, why else would we find all these people frozen in time. Of note was the pair at the far side of the room. Posed in front of a large window, the one on the left appears to be decked out in white lace - kind of like an angel. Which made their similarly dressed companion an enigma. Guess they wanted to seal their bond - even if those around them looked ready to cut that dream short with knives and weird sticks. Wait. What are those cone things heading towards them? Sure, everything is frozen for the moment, but it's probably best to not to touch them.

The gray stone walls from the first floor have made their return here. Kind of a shame. I was kind of hoping that the second floor wasn't a fluke. But beggars can't be choosers. Beyond that, we have a bunch of benches lined in rows for people to sit in. Must be quite the place to gather. But that's judging by what few people are still actually sitting for the moment. Good to see that not everyone is an awful person in this room. Guess that means the plastic surgery place wasn't the only building to get picked up when that tower sprouted forth from the ground. Makes the fact that everyone is likely still in the same place they were before getting thrown up in the air all the more surprising. Or perhaps they've moved. Who can really say.

"We good people too." a voice announced, Bubbles trying his best to find the source. Didn't have too look that hard, what looks to be a goblin of all creatures casually walking on over to the pair. Club bouncing about, they look to be taller than Bubbles. Which isn't really saying much in regards to the little dragon. His companion though, was slightly more interesting.

An orc, he looked to be dressed casually for this occasion. Though, I do think slacks and long-sleeved shirts are a bit strange to wear in a place like this. Not that there's really a problem with dressing like that, not sure if this fits with our current surroundings.

"You're just impatient." the orc explained, kneeling down to be on Bubbles' level. Even then, that still meant having to look directly down on the little dragon. Even as the pair was given a curtsy. "By any chance could you help us with something?"

Bubbles looked up and tried his best to nod. Not half shabby, even if that made his holy symbol and D-venture bounce about.

"We in line to have little wedding for quite long time." the goblin continued, what looks to be a ring rolling in his palm. Is that a diamond I see? Has to be. Wonder where that came from. Far shinier than jewel done by a craftsman, there has to be someone missing one currently. Or at the very least, willing to let them borrow this. "We need priest to give vows. Them, then us."

Phusitmon's gaze shot over to the goblin. Yes, Bubbles is the 'cleric' of the party. That in no way makes him suitable as the one reading two people their wedding vows.

"What's in it for us?" Phusitmon inquired and watched the orc point to the staircase. A barricade has been set up, mostly to prevent anyone from coming in and ruining this ceremony.

"We'll let you through and unlock that door." the orc explained and got a look from the plush rabbit digimon in return. To be fair, I'm surprised no one has attempted to just bust the door down. Though, our luck would suggest that not really working here and instead any weapon used upon the door would probably bounce back hardly. Though, you could pick the lock with a knife or something. Always an option, except for the fact that Rantha is the only one with a knife. "How does that sound?"
Bubbles gave a thumbs-up, following it up with a nod. Uh… You might want to be more careful in the future.

"And these vows?" Phusitmon remarked, our couple-to-be pointing to a person at the far end of the room. Dressed in the garments of a cleric, a weird-looking stick stuck in his mouth. Frozen hands have pulled the trigger back, eyes filled with their entire life flashing by. Whatever strength they had, the good, the bad and everything in between - locked in place for eternity. Maybe check their body? Has to be something in his pockets.

Bubbles nodded and made his way over to the priest. Even up close, there's something creepy about him. Maybe it's the weird stick hanging from his mouth. Or perhaps that he's trying to end his life. Whether or not he actually went through it, he got 'lucky.' Can't really call it that.

Digging down into the pockets, Bubbles tried his hardest to grab hold of anything in this man's pockets. All that came out was a bit of fluff. With gloved hands, that probably felt weird. Though, that also means that you accidentally created a second piece.

"Vow?" the little dragon inquired, going in for another attempt at pulling something out from this man's pockets. The vows had to be in here. Why else would this person go to a better place without stashing them away? That would be silly. "Vow!"

Pulling his hand back out, what looks to be a piece of paper comes flying out. All folded up, what secrets could be held within that paper? Only one real way to find out - unfold it.

Bubbles grabbed hold of the paper and carefully pulled back with the help of Phusitmon. Slowly, the contents of the paper came into view.

To have and to hold, Till Death do us part

*Wait for a second*

Face the Groom/Bride

Do you take this person as your legal spouse?

*Wait for response*

Face the other party

Repeat what you just said.

You may now kiss.

I pronounce you spouse and spouse

Proceed to shoot them

Huh… I'm not sure if those are quite vows. More along the lines of instructions on how to conduct yourself when doing the ceremony. Which I'm fairly certain don't mean to 'shoot' the couple. That probably kills them. Unless… unless… That was the point of these ceremonies. To have one final moment before the world around them comes to a definite end. This couple wasn't fast enough in their execution, those weird cones not quite reaching their target. Kind of feel sorry for them. Still, that means that the ceremony must be finished so the next couple can have their turn. Maybe without the whole 'killing them' thing.

"I don't think the last part is even possible." Phusitmon whispered and knocked the fluff off of Bubbles's dress. After, he got to helping the little dragon fold this paper up in such a way that he wouldn't have much trouble reading from it when the time came. Good idea. But that's assuming that he actually understood anything on that paper.

"Have vows?" the goblin called out, Bubbles already making his way over to him and his friend. Phusitmon was right behind. Of course, he was holding the note for the moment. Doing quite a good job, well within the abilities of a plush rabbit digimon. "Good, you brought vows."

As for the orc, he took the time to bend back down once more. What looks to be a pat on Bubbles's head is the initial reward. Though, can I ask you two a question? If you don't mind, of course. This is to be your big day after all. You probably want everything to be perfect for both of you. I don't believe this was supposed to be part of your day.

"Go on ahead." the orc remarked and I took a deep breath. Uh… just how long have you two been together? We haven't really seen anyone else like you guys in the dungeon. Are they higher up or you're just the only ones in this entire tower.

The goblin stared up toward the ceiling, then down to his hands. That ring is absolutely glistening in what little light is offered in this room. Reacts weirdly with the sky frozen in time.

"Couple Decades. Staring." he muttered, getting a chuckle from his fiancee in return. Am I missing something important here? You didn't answer my question though. "Always out reach. Not now though. Away from them."

The orc looked over to his husband-to-be, mumblings of something followed. Then it's right back to Bubbles, who decided that this was the perfect opportunity to give him a hug. Except the little dragon reached for the leg of all things.

"He was the captain of the goblins." the orc answered and watched Bubbles let go for the moment. Then it's right back to standing by Phusitmon. "His patrols were usually heading for the floors below when I caught a sight of his beautiful face. Usually, he would escape by the skin of his teeth and notice me, some lowly orc grunt. There was no way that he would notice me. At some point, he did though. The next day, I find a little piece of rations with some scribbling. So I left a couple gold in return."

Bubbles' gaze turned to the goblin. While around the same level as him for the moment, that didn't change the fact that he looked too occupied for a hug. Just one wrong movement could spell the end of this happy moment for them. So Bubbles held his affection in for the moment. At least till an opening appeared. Unless…

"Hug?" Bubbles inquired and watched the goblin step towards him, the little dragon being the one hugged. Kind of a weird reversal of roles for the moment. The diamond still hung tightly in hand. "Ring? Finder, maybe?"

The goblin just chuckled and ended the embrace. After, his gaze turned to the ring itself. Carefully, he slid it onto the appropriate finger. Doesn't really work too well, but eventually… the ring does slip through.

"What beloved think?" the goblin continued, finding himself lifted up into the air and getting treated to a kiss.

"You look even better now." the orc answered and gave Bubbles one more head pat. Then, he motioned for the little dragon to head on over to the other couple. Phusitmon was right behind, making sure to pull the paper along with him.

"Ready to do this?" Phusitmon remarked, getting shook up and down by his partner. Taking that as a yes, he carefully handed over the paper. What follows, is the unfolding process. Heck of a lot easier this time around than their work a few minutes ago.

"To have an to hod." Bubbles began, waiting for some kind of response from his subjects. Of course, being frozen in time means they can't really respond in the first place. Though for the briefest of seconds, he swore one of them moved their heads slightly. Very, very slightly. "Till deth do you part."

Except they are supposed to be killed. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of saying 'till death do us part'? Has too in some regard. But for the moment, Bubbles looked towards the first groom.

"Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?" he continued, giving this man frozen in time a chance to respond. I'll take that as a yes for the moment. Then it's over to the other man for the moment. "Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?"

The same response as before. I'm not entirely sure if you should be expecting something different here.

"You may now kis the groom." Bubbles explained, both parties in his vision. But no touching of lips occured. The two men continued to stand like statues, blissfully unaware of anything transpiring. Hmm… There has to be something that you can do. Maybe the thing that happened with the purses will happen here as well?

The little dragon nodded and walked over to the rightmost groom. Grabbing hold of his white pants, he pulled back on the fabric with all of his strength. But instead of receiving a copy of this frozen man, the result was much more bizarre - a pile of dust and goo, twisting about with no real way to move. For the briefest of moments, an eyeball focused on the other man. Droplets streaked across its mass, already focusing on Bubbles and nodding.

"K?" the little dragon answered and turned to the man's partner. While he understood the task at hand, that didn't change the fact how weird this all was. Sure, there were a couple opportunities (Kollmon's former owner, the people in that store) to do this before. Yet, the idea hadn't come to any of them. But in this moment, he understood. Even if these people could be unfrozen, it was likely their state would be either that of a corpse or a blob of skin and whatever parts of the body were still somehow functioning.

Grabbing hold of the other groom's pant leg, he pulled back once more. The result is the same as the first - a blob of what remains of a human body post it getting frozen in time. The worst possible fate such a person could be treated too. Topping even that of the things inflicted to Madame in the pursuits of making them 'perfect'. Quite a long shot, now that I think about it.

Yet, our pair slid by Bubbles and let what remained of each other 'embrace'. Messily and sloppily, they get the job done.

"I pronounce you husband and husband." Bubbles finished, making one more glance to the sheet of paper. Sure, he gave the entire spiel - gestures and all. What part of that was missing from this? "Shut!"

Carefully picking Phusitmon up, the little dragon walked him over to the two blobs. Even if that did get him a major look from his digimon partner.

"Ahem." Phusitmon answered and found the paper shoved into his face. Giving it one more look, he tried his hardest to not catch a glance of the two blobs. "Oh. I understand."

Setting the paper down, now was the time to look at this strange couple.

Bubble!

Like the attack says, bubbles shot forth from Phusitmon's mouth. Harmless, they serve perfectly as the final step in this strange ceremony. The pair of blobs actually look quite happy for the moment. If I could actually touch things, I would give both of you a pat on the head.

Really? They just caused another error in the process of *crackle* solving this 'puzzle'. How exactly can you call that a 'good job'?

In their defense, DM, this is still a solution to the problem. Yes, I highly doubt this was the intention by whoever created this. Even then, what do you mean by 'error'?

A sigh echoed about our minds. Garbled and slightly hard on the ears, I get the feeling that DM is at the end of their energy.
Yoou wewawrent suppspefsed *hiss* tppp puthfjytll thty7ui6tc6uem ohtftj hfhtvut. Thdh ccdhe system *crackle* caaanban naact accounnt fuuur thuat.

Uh… sorry? If nothing else, get some rest, DM. We'll probably do the same once we finish with this floor. Should be good for the moment.

Nonetheless, Bubbles set Phusitmon down and made his way over to our other pair. While it was likely the goblin and his orc husband-to-be noticed the pair of blobs off at the far end of the room, not a peep had exited their mouths during the entire ceremony.

"Are you ready to do this?" the orc inquired, carefully pulling his fiancee back up to be right at his eye level. What appeared to be a nod was the answer given - more than enough to let both their focuses shift to the ring. Pretty thing, the sort most people probably spend a lot of money on to surprise the one person they care about with all their heart. Not that I'm really the sort of person interested. I'm not really interested in men, women or really... 'other'. Just never have been. Beyond the point.

"Yeah." the goblin answered and got set down for the moment. Which was his partner's cue to kneel down to sort of be on his level.

"To have an to hod." Bubbles began, nods serving as the response from both men. Phusitmon shot them a look as he came to a stop beside his partner. "Till deth do you part."

While there wasn't really a response to that, you could chalk it up more to the anticipation of the next part - the weird two-parter. Especially as Bubbles focused on the goblin to start things off.

"Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?" he continued, getting another nod from the goblin - an obvious answer to an obvious question.

"Yes."

With that, our little dragon shifted his attention away from the goblin and to the orc. Opening his mouth, he doesn't really get a chance to speak.

"Yes." the orc answered and pulled his husband in. At least wait until Bubbles says the last thing. Perfectly fine to be excited and all, but you at least need to follow the order of operations. At least a tiny bit.

Bubble!

With this change of steps, that left just the matter of just blowing spheres of water onto the couple in question. Not the weirdest thing we had to do today. Hopefully, the last that needs to be accomplished.

"Thank you." the orc answered and pulled a key out. Handing it too Bubbles, the little dragon made a beeline for the door. Just one small problem - the keyhole was quite a bit higher than he could reach for the moment. Uh… didn't quite think this one through. Doesn't stop him from jumping. A good effort, but not enough to really bridge the gap from the ground to the keyhole.

"Fuse!" Bubbles shouted as a blue outline formed around his body. Turning to Phusitmon, he pointed to the keyhole. The message carried through - loud and clear. "Druplet!"

Bubble!

Facing in the same direction as the door, the plush rabbit digimon shot a bubble out. The projectile headed right towards the keyhole - floating in place for a couple of moments. Long enough for the little dragon to warp over. Slipping the key in, Bubbles was twisted about. Dress doesn't look any worse for the wear and the door should open. Which brings with it the arrival of the rest of our heroes and our married couples making their exit. Good luck with the crazed woman on the floor below

"Princess!" Bubbles announced, making a beeline for Madame at the moment. In turn, the thief welcomed him back with open arms.

"Good job." Madame whispered, handing what looked to be Bubbles' purse back over. Guess that fell off when he went through the flap. "If nothing else, have dinner. Then you can set up your sleeping bag for the night. Maybe even tell us about what happened."

Bubbles nodded, finding himself handed off to Ella for the moment. Even in the artificer's arms, he got to eating his ration. Once he was let go, then it would be time to set up his sleeping bag and go to bed.

When morning came, he could tell everyone what had happened.

Notes:

Fiftieth chapter! Whoo! This was actually pretty enjoyable to write. Especially since this is a solo Bubbles chapter. Which I don't believe we've really had since the start of the fic. Dang. That's nearly a year ago (at the time of writing).

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Next Time: We do some exploring around the third floor.