I don't own digimon.

Story 74

New Old Friends Pt 2

Narrator Switch: Architect to Librarian

A drow woman's eyes open up and a sigh of relief escapes her lips.

Deep in meditation, the room around her is covered in approximations of Aldia's night skies. The closest thing to the place she once called home in the place that served as her current abode. The floor is done up in simple panels, likely cut right here.

Beyond that, handbuilt shelves and containers have been lovingly constructed to her exact specifications. Filled to the brim with scrolls and maps, I don't recognize the places shown. Perhaps that's for the best. Would be rude of me to snoop. Right, Melody?

"It's been too long, Mister." she coos, staring up to the ceiling. There, her partner Lumosmon slumbers in a makeshift lantern cage. Or at least, tries to slumber next to the feathered scorpion digimon beside it. How they manage to get up there without their evolved form is beyond me. Yet, Melody does not care. Letting out a low whistle, that's all Lumosmon needs to come down. Floating down, a variety of colors flash across their sides. If I had to guess, it's their attempt to say hello to me. Hello Lumosmon. "Uh… whatever was allowing you to communicate with all of us before no longer works."

Boo. Not even Rantha or your former companions?

Melody shakes her head. Walking over to a rack with a golden kimono hanging from it, she wastes little time in getting dressed. Slipping on the sandals that go with it, she walks over to a hatch near the front of the circular room. Pulling it open, she gingerly brings her foot down onto the first rung. Once she feels her foot touch, Melody motions for Lumosmon to descend ahead of her. Exactly what the lantern moth digimon does, providing the perfect vantage point from the outskirts of Aldia into the town proper. Five years ago, the town was damn near leveled by way of a massive drake. Thankfully, said drake was eventually shown the error of his ideals and they were able to make amends. Sadly, the power of friendship is not enough to repair buildings. How the 'pretty cure' and their contemporaries did it is beyond me. Even still, what had once been a town attempting to break free from its past is now a place its residents could proudly call home. Or at least, I hope they can call it home.

"To answer your question, it's probably some kind of illusion to trick people." Melody announced as she climbed down the ladder. Reaching the bottom, there was yet another hatch to go through. Melody opens that up as well, revealing what looked to be a workshop. Workbenches, saw horses and tool racks have been set up in places to allow for people to work on the various projects that they might have. Free of charge, of course. Just need to bring your materials. Yet, there looks to be nothing in the way of a person helping with the use of said tools. Unless he's purposely hiding for one reason or another.

"I have nothing to hide here." a voice announces, bringing with it a tanned man. Scar across his cheek, wrinkled skin on full display. Yet, it was somehow framed perfectly by way of a set of pale brown eyes and short locks of grayish brown hair. Dressed in a gray tunic and tan pants, it fit him quite nicely. Couldn't forget about the loafers on his feet and the makeshift digivice bracelet around his left wrist. "If anything, you're the one who decided to hide from all of us."

Stepping down, Melody's attention turned to the man. Leaning into him, time is taken to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning, Rantha." she coos and Rantha's face goes even redder. Mumblings about something or other escape his lips, but they are well outside of my hearing range. Nice to see that you're both doing well.

Rantha rolled his eyes, using up a lot of control to not flip off the ceiling. Shifting his attention to Lumosmon, the lantern moth digimon flashes red and pink a couple times. Not even stopping in the face of the glare they get.

"I'm five years harm free. Are you happy now?" the artisan announces as he stares up at the ceiling for just a moment. To answer your question, I am ver- Yes, your food is over there. I'll play with you in a moment.

"Oh my. Your little one has become quite a handful, haven't they?" Rantha jokes as Melody heads for the door. Lumosmon follows right behind, taking a moment to shine a variety of colors as the mystic approaches the door. To answer your question, Rantha, I am proud of you. I trust there haven't been any incidents? "You could say that. Though, I suspect you're not popping in to see how we're doing. Are you?"

Guilty as charged. But this is something that is meant for Melody and company. So my lips are sealed at the moment.

"Boo." Rantha answers as he looks up to the hatch. Reaching up, he looks to see if his partner is ready to make the journey down. Finding them to not be, he chooses to leave the hatch open. Then it's a short walk over to Melody. "Have a good day, dear."

Kissing her right on the lips, Melody's cheeks turned a bright shade of lavender. Something something turnabout. Nonetheless, she pushes the door open. Stepping through, Lumosmon floats behind her. Outside, the outskirts of Aldia shine in the early morning light. Good to know as the pair make their way in the direction of what I can only assume to be Blaze and Dave's abode.

"Did you ever finish burying all the bodies?" Melody inquires and silence takes hold. Part of me wants to say yes. They're all in the ground… and yet, it's not even close. Only a fraction of them have been given their last rites and an even smaller amount have truly been laid to rest. It's highly likely I'll die before I'm able to finish my mission. I'll get what I can done and pass on peacefully. "Fair enough. You're one person with a feline digimon. The fact that you've gotten so much done is quite incredible."

Uh… thank you. The compliments help.

"I'm happy to hear that." Melody answers as Blaze and Dave's abode comes into view. Rebuilt and expanded to house two people, an area for people to practice appears to have been added recently. There, we find a man twirling about. Dressed in a bright red bunny girl outfit, the burns that once lined his hands have healed. Yet, the damage done still remains. His grip on the bar, while solid, does look as if it could give way at any moment. But I trust that our dancer is aware of that fact. But that's judging by the chakrams at his side. Off to the side, a red snake with fancy eyebrows has curled up and is attempting to get a little bit more sleep in.

"Hi Melody, what brings you to my abode?" Blazes greets his companion, waiting a moment for Balamon to wake up and slither over to the dancer. For now, his gaze focuses on the mystic. Melody lets out a deep breath, getting her thoughts in order.

"Mister is finally back." she answers and gets a look from Blaze. Looking up to the sky, he waited a moment to get a response. I'm here. I just don't know if you can hear me here.

"I'll take your word for it." Blaze answers and bends down to pet Balamon. The fire snake digimon accepts the gesture. Then it's back over to Melody and Lumosmon. "Does that mean that Bubbles has finally made it back to the Digital World?"

My lips are sealed. You'll just need to gather everyone up before I'll say anything.

"Mister isn't saying yet." Melody answers and looks up at the sky. Shooting me a look, I take it in stride. Or at least, in as stride as one can when you're not visible to your audience.

"Hi Melody!" a voice greets and Dave approaches. Dressed in his maid dress, the last five years have only made him slightly more muscular. Coming up beside Blaze, a moment is taken to slip a wedding ring onto Blaze's ring finger. Nice to know that you two have finally gotten a room. "Blaze, is there anything that I can do for you today?"

Blaze looked to his husband, cheeks ablaze. Words sputter out, their meanings refusing to come together here.

"I'm good, Dave." Blaze answers, Balamon taking the opportunity to slither his way up to the dancer's arm. Wrapping around, Blaze paid him no attention. Instead, his attention shifts to Melody. "Do you want me to go grab a table or do you want me to come with you?"

Melody raises a finger to her chin.

"Go ahead. I shouldn't be too long getting Maddie and Ella." Melody answers and Blaze heads off. Giving a wave, Melody waves back. Afterwards, her attention turns to the path ahead. Cobblestones, you can still see the damage done in a couple places. Between the ice spikes, plants, fire and even massive storms, it is honestly amazing that any part of that path is still intact. "You have Rantha to thank for that."

Good to know as we head in the direction of the Black Cat Inn and in turn - the town square. Oddly a circle, that fact could be easily looked past in favor of other things. Like seeing all the things that have changed in my time away. The vegetation appears to have regrown in places and in others, it somehow looks worse. I can look no further for proof of that in the form of the ruins of the Black Cat Inn. Part of me was kind of hoping that it would be rebuilt. Yet, the damage done down by the explosion and other disasters seemed to prevent such an outcome from ever occur-

The sound of footsteps is enough to cut that thought off. Four sets of footsteps, no less. Melody's gaze shot over to the path. There, an androgynous halfling dressed in their finest black suit was leading the way. A whip hangs at their side, making the relatively thin locks of white hair all the more obvious. A pair of brown eyes have already found Melody. Not that their partner, a mole who's fur looked to be in a constant state of being windswept, had put two and two together yet. Bringing up the rear, was a dwarven woman. Brown trenchcoat met that of tanned skin, adding further to the reddish orange hair and amber eyes examining the area. Pulling a large suitcase behind her, a labrador with feline features follows right behind.

"Morning, Maddie, Ella. Is something the matter?" Melody greets as her audience comes to a stop. Looking up to the sky, mutterings of 'where the fuck you've been' and 'we've missed you' echo to the ground. I wish that I could accept them… but I can't. I have no answer for why I just stopped. Part of me wants to say that this is the result of me sending stuff off, but I lost my journal some time after Bubbles got stuck on the Distant Harmony ship. Okay. Deep breaths. That's in the past now. Nothing I can do about it now. Need to keep going forward and hope for the best.

"The door opened a whole bunch of times, but we couldn't get through. Did something happen in the digital world?" Ella announces as Melody joins them in looking up into the sky. While I can technically answer that one, it would be far better if you waited for everyone to get together in order to tell you properly. Okay?

"You're going to need to wait. Whatever Mister needs to communicate to us, it's no doubt big." Melody answers and gets a shrug from Maddie. Meeting their gaze, a chuckle followed.

"Like, bigger than this mess already is?" Kollmon announces and gets a shrug from Cinemon. Shooting the feline dog digimon a look, it's back over to Melody and Lumosmon. I honestly wouldn't go that far. More a case of the mess being redistributed about. If that helps.

"Not really?" Melody answers as her attention turns in the direction of the Shakey Walls Cafe. Heading that way, Maddie, Ella and their partners follow right behind. Taking a moment to look around, they don't see anything in particular. Beyond the graveyard, of course. Slightly larger than it was five years ago, it's perfectly understandable. People die all the time. They have to go somewhere. An expansion to the graveyard is a perfectly understandable addition to any town and/or city.

"I trust that you already sent Blaze ahead?" Maddie inquires and Melody nods. Taking a moment to ensure that Lumosmon was still behind, the moth lantern digimon was. Shining green for just a second, it was met with a chuckle from the mystic. Then she's right back to looking ahead. Their destination was in view and with it, Marilyn of all people. Out of everyone here, she doesn't look to have aged a day. To be expected. Even if that did bring the question of Yvonne to the forefront.

"Morning, Marulyn." Ella greets and waves her hand towards the inventor. Marulyn waves back, the arm of a large green automaton attempting to get in on the fun. "I trust that a table for everyone is ready for us?"

Marulyn pokes her head in for a couple seconds, pulling it out right after. A thumbs-up follows.

"Go on ahead." Marulyn answers and watches the group approach. Making their entrance, the cafe looks to be in relatively the same shape as it had been the last time everyone had gathered. Had to have been while dealing with Dagon. Time certainly flies, even when you're not having fun.

"Oh my." a voice announces, bringing with it a large armored automaton. Done up to look like an orc woman to the best of their creator's abilities, a khakkhara hanging to her back. Two glowing yellow eyes stare out at Melody, while a ghost monkey crossed with a succubus sits on their shoulder.

"Been too long, Yvonne." Melody greets, making her way over to a table where Blaze was sitting at. Balamon was still coiled around his arm, doing his best to get some more sleep. Sadly, his slumber was going to be interrupted by me, of all people.

"Mister finally decided to show back up again?" Yvonne inquired as she headed over to take a seat at the table. Setting her hands down, the glow of what I can only assume to be magic leaks out.

"Pretty much." Melody answered as she sat down as well. Looking over to Maddie and Wlla, they too took their seats at the table. Normally, this would be where Mary Gold and her beloved would come and bring the menus. But, they look to be on their honeymoon. Instead, Melody, do you think you could link everyone up?

Melody nods and closes her eyes. Extending her reach out to her companions, she can feel their thoughts and emotions. Connecting to her mind, their bodies are projected in a circle. Around them, a large field appears. Burial mounds litter the entire area, making the glacial statue of a succubus an odd addition. Especially with the man before them. Relatively thin, his sparkly white hair has been kept short, even in the face of a lack of anyone who could easily judge him. A set of faint blue eyes stare not at the rest of the group, but instead the book in his hands. Relatively ornate, it's closer to a book one might find in the digital world than that of Aldia or the projected place. In comparison, the cardigan with the jacket over it and the pair of pants for the lower half isn't as memora- Oh wait. That's me. Uh… sorry about that.

"It's alright. Do you need a moment or are you good to go?" Yvonne inquires, watching my head bob about. Attempting eye contact, the results aren't pretty. Guess that's what I get for spending all my time with dead bodies. I'm ready.

"I'm happy to hear that, even if you did leave us for a couple years." Maddie announces as they focus on me. Yeah. That wasn't my smoothest moment. Especially after I found out a good chunk of what I recorded was lost into the void, never to be seen or read by anyone. Oh well. That's in the past. Beyond that, the reason I stepped away was because I thought that Polias was going to do something big that needed time to prepare. So I thought you all could use a break. Sadly, it didn't turn out to be the case at all. Polias took the coward's way out and escaped across dimensions.

Gasps echoed across the circle, gazes aimed among each other. Eventually settling back on me, it takes everything in my power to hold it together.

"Do you have good news at least?" Blaze asks and takes a moment to smooth out his fishnets. Maintaining eye contact with me, I nod. Yes, Bubbles has arrived in the Digital World. While there was an incident with a kitsune who managed to 'fix' the time conversion.

"Did our present get to DM?" Ella inquires as she reaches out to Melody. Grabbing hold, the rogue gave her a squeeze. Then it's back to looking at me. Yes. Bubbles very much reached DM. I just don't have an estimate on when they'll be ready.

"Uh… is he still small?" Maddie asks, only for silence to take hold. On one hand, I'm tempted to tell you. On the other hand, I kind of want to keep it a secret. You know. Don't want to ruin the surprise of seeing him for the first time after fifteen ebyssian years. "So… no then. I guess that's to be expected."

After saying that, Maddie still takes the time to shoot me a look. Fair enough, I suppose.

"Anything else that we need to know or is that all?" Melody asks and I shake my head. That's it. Once I have a clearer picture on when Bubbles and DM are all good to go, I'll let you know.

Nods all around as the link ends.

"That was… kind of helpful." Yvonne announces as the group looks among each other. You could say that. I know that probably wasn't the news you were hoping to get, but it's better than no news at all.

"At least he remembered to check in." Ella adds and looks over to a nearby table. There, a man dressed in a dark trenchcoat and fedora of all hats sits. Flicking one of those lighters you might find

Trying his hardest to not look conspicuous, Ella's gaze is all it takes to get him to teleport to fuck knows where. Oh well. Knowing our luck, we'll run into him aga-

Narrator Switch: Librarian to Harlequin