A/N: Ah, yeah. More Digimon Fusion Kai. Enjoy.
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Digimon Fusion Kai
Season 1, Act 2: Spira
Episode 21: Protect the Digicores! Spira's Offensive!
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Planet Spira/Eastern Region/Village of Seiryuu/August 3, 1999 (Digital World/Real World Times Unsynchronized)
Keke, Sam, Tike, Kara, and David landed on a hilltop near the Village of Seiryuu. They set down their friends - TK, Patamon, Kari, Gatomon, and Biyomon - and leaned against the face of the hill. Situated the other side of the hill was the village and Burizalor's contingent.
"We're finally here," Sora whispered.
Keke nodded as she glanced at her digital human colleagues. "We have to suppress our ki completely, guys." With that, she masked her energy and crawled across the grass.
Soon, everyone else followed Keke.
TK giggled under his breath. "Heh, you know I feel like an infant again crawling like this."
Kari smiled. "I know. Me, too."
"Will you two pipe down?" Tike snapped.
"Shhh! You're the one who's loud, idiot!" Kara hissed.
David shook his head. "Oh, man… c'mon guys."
"You guys keep it down," Sam whispered. "Burizalor and his contingent are over on the other side of that cliff."
Tike tried, as hard as he could, to simmer down. "Ease down, Tike. Don't get too anxious about fighting this guy."
"Yeah, he'd rip you apart limb by limb," Keke interjected.
Sora sweat-dropped. "He doesn't have any self control, does he?"
As the group crawled up the hill, they stopped and slowly poked their heads a few inches to peek at the village. To their dismay, they spotted the tyrant and his contingent situated outside Village of Seiryuu's entry gate. It looked similar to the Village of Suzaku except that there was a monument of a large Chinese dragon standing at the center complex. The village stood next to a beautiful fresh water lake and a waterfall in the background. The air was moist unlike the arid landscape around the Village of Suzaku.
Moreover, there was lively activity in the village.
However, the evil soldiers were seen rounding up a group of villagers.
TK gasped silently as Patamon covered his mouth. "That... That's a digimon village."
Kari added. "And those poor digimon are being rounded up."
Keke gulped as her eyes narrowed at Burizalor. "And there's the bastard himself." She quickly noticed a red Digicore tucked under Phelesmon's right arm. "And there's the Digicore they've taken." Great, just our luck. There's no way we can take that Digicore and escape alive!
"I see," Sam said, turning toward Phelesmon's direction. "That's Phelesmon, one of Burizalor's top men."
Then, Biyomon shifted her gaze onto Machinedramon. "Look at that big one over there."
"That's Machinedramon, one of the four Dark Masters," David pointed out.
Patamon reclined backward. "Um, yeah. I don't think I'm ready to fight these guys. I'm way out of their league."
"Gee, you think?" Gatomon quipped. "Just do what Keke says, keep quiet and stay low."
"Those other guys really don't matter as much to be honest," Keke informed everyone. "Sure, they're strong, but Burizalor is a force to be reckoned with. We can't possibly fight him at his point. Besides, our top priority as I said before is to snare those Digicores."
"It's a shame. This is going to be a lot harder than previously planned," Sora said, digging her fingers deep into the dirt.
Tike blinked as he listened to a conversation being carried out from the village. "Hey, I can hear them talk."
"What are they saying?" Kara inquired.
"Keep it down and maybe we'll find out," David said.
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Suddenly, Machinedramon's scanners probed activity toward the hills. He turned around, finding no signs of the Digi-Destined. The Digital Humans and the digimon quickly suppressed their energies, keeping themselves out of their scanners' reach.
"Hmmm..."
Burizalor noticed Machinedramon's distress. "What's the matter, Machinedramon?"
"I detected a very tiny, insignificant power reading. It's gone now. Humph, it must have been a tiny, insignificant digimon."
"Well, that shouldn't let that bother you."
The metallic demon affirmed. "Yes, my lord."
Just then, soldiers of the contingent led villagers through the front gates. Amongst the villagers was yet another Pandamon. There was also a short digimon wearing a green scarf, a head of a jack-o-lantern with an axe through the top of its head. This was a Pumpkinmon. Another was digimon with a body shaped as a star with a red gem embedded at the center of its forehead. A pair of skinny legs and arms extended from the sides of his star body. This was Starmon.
The first to walk out of the villager crowd was the elder himself. He wore green robes with a red cape blowing behind his back. He wore brown boots - in addition to brown gloves - and a blue demonic mask with red lips. In addition to the red lips, long yellow fangs displayed as well as a pair of golden horns extending out at the top of the mask. The eyebrows of the mask were orange. Flowing out from the back of his head was red spiked hair and a white mane extending across the back. This digimon was Baronmon.
Standing beside Baronmon was short bipedal bird digimon. Its body was covered in dark brown feathers. Red markings covered the sides of his face. Jutting over the top of his forehead were purple-tipped protrusions - almost shaped like brows. His eyes were tiny and yellow. At the center of his face was an orange, toothless beak. Extending from his limbs were three purple feather claws. Protruding from his back were six red feathers. His feet were naked and yellow with a pair of red claws extended out from the ends. Covering the bird's chest was a purple vest with a star on stitched on the side and shuriken markings at the top portion of the outfit. This tiny child digimon was Falcomon.
"Lord Burizalor, we've gathered these villagers first," a soldier, a red-skinned bipedal alien garbed in green armor, addressed the tyrant. "There will be more coming. We will capture others who may have fled the scene."
This brought a smile across Burizalor's lips as his men continued rounding up surviving villagers.
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The group, hiding behind the hill, peeked over to see what was transpiring
"What are they planning to do to those digimon?" Kari asked.
Gatomon hissed at the scene. "Kari. I don't think I want to find out."
"Those... bastards," Tike gritted his teeth, anger became evident.
David closed his fists. "To think these guys would even stoop this low."
Keke observed everything taking place and remained silent.
Biyomon asked, feeling the tension in the air. "What are they going to do with those poor digimon?"
Sora frowned. "I don't want to find out."
Sam, too, kept to himself and watched the invaders raiding the village.
The Child of Love spoke up. "Yeah. I remember Neo Devimon said that they exterminate the natives of worlds and sell them for profit. I still can't believe Matt was actually in league with these scumbags. To be honest, I much rather have Matt with the four Digicores than Burizalor."
"At least, my brother wouldn't hurt poor innocent digimon," TK said, anger boiling up inside of him.
Kari concurred with TK, sharing her disgust for Burizalor's actions. "Well said, TK."
Matt, I wonder where you are on this world now. Keke thought, closing her eyes.
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The digimon of the Village of Seiryuu faced the merciless band of men. Dust settled in between the two parties as Baronmon eyed the red mystical orb in Phelesmon's possession. Baronmon gritted his teeth in anger.
(Cue Digimon Adventure OST - Yami kara no Mezamase)
"Good day, dear villagers of this beautiful, fertile land. I am known throughout the Digiverse as Lord Burizalor," the tyrant addressed to the natives. "You see. My men and I arrive on your planet to collect the four mystical Digicores you have safeguarded for the Holy Beasts. I'm within days of collecting all four items. Right now, as you may notice, my men have confiscated one Digicore from the Village of Suzaku. Now, the question I have for you is: Where are the other Digicores?"
The villagers stood their ground as they kept to themselves and did not move an inch.
"Are you planning to give me the silent treatment? Tsk, tsk, that mannerism simply annoys me. I'm afraid we will have to kill you if you do not cooperate."
Baronmon spoke up, uttering in his native tongue. "Yuuga oop Kanouey."
The tyrant merely scoffed in response. "No. You aren't speaking the universal language. I know you can speak our tongue."
"You don't have to be so pushy," Baronmon snorted as he stared into Burizalor's crimson eyes. "All right, the others went out to work in the fields. The only ones here in this village are the elderly, the mothers, and the children."
A cruel smile curled over Burizalor's black lips. "See? That wasn't so hard to speak. As long as you don't bring us any trouble, you will be perfectly fine. Now, on with other questions."
"Proceed."
"Where is the second Digicore? I know that there is one here."
"What? I don't know wh-what you're talking about? I don't know of such a thing..." the elder of the village stuttered.
"Machinedramon, do you remember what the other villagers told us?" Burizalor shifted his eyes toward the mechanical giant.
"Yes. They are known to only hand the Digicores to great, legendary warriors. Those with good intentions."
"Oh, yes. I remember now. They were quite stubborn and refused to cooperate with us. So, we slaughtered them all to teach them a lesson. The men, the women, the children, and the elderly. It was wonderful. The screams of agony were simply music to my ears. Don't you agree, Phelesmon?"
Phelesmon chuckled jubilantly. "Their final act was simply beautiful, my lord. Beautiful. A real tear-jerker."
The villagers were in shock over this horrifying revelation. Baronmon held Falcomon back with another child digimon, Gotsumon. The elder couldn't believe that he was confronted by a group of murderous men especially considering how long Spira has endured a long period of tranquility since the Great Catastrophe.
"Of course, they did tell us many other things. I heard that a powerful sage was among those who helped collect and upgrade the Digicores after the four Holy Beasts sent their cores to him. Of course, I don't know where I can find this elder. Now, I'm not going to rest until I have all four Digicores. You seem to understand this. I tried to persuade the elder from the Village of Suzaku. Of course, he and his villagers wouldn't cooperate. They would never hand me their Digicore. So my men and I executed them. It was quite troublesome, but it all paid off in the end. Their Digicore was ours for the taking."
Phelesmon smiled as he held the red Digicore. "And here's all the proof you need to know!"
Baronmon scowled angrily as he closed his fists. "How... How... How could you commit such a horrible act? You murderers!"
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Elsewhere on the northern continent, Metal Garurumon and Matt hid inside a cavern. The blonde teen listened to Burizalor's exchange with Baronmon via radio transmitter on his scouter.
"We've obtained one Digicore easily! They were nice enough to hand them over in the end."
Matt cocked a grin. "Hmmm. I see. So, that's how it is."
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"You killed them! Either way you put it!" Baronmon shouted as he accused the tyrant of murder.
Starmon snapped. "The other elder digimon would never hand them over to the likes of you or your men!"
Burizalor chuckled calmly. "No, really. They obliged quickly when we did this." He turned his view toward Phelesmon, smiling. "Mr. Phelesmon, please demonstrate for these ignorant fools."
"With pleasure, my lord!" Phelesmon complied as he phased out of the villagers' view.
(End theme)
In an instant, Phelesmon appeared above Starmon and thrust his pitchfork through Starmon's forehead. Pulling his pitchfork out, Starmon fell on the ground dead. The demonic warrior dropped down and kicked Starmon's corpse away. The villagers gasped in sheer horror at the loss of one of their own.
"You monster!" Pandamon roared, charging toward Phelesmon enraged.
Baronmon called out to his fellow villager. "PANDAMON! NO!"
"Panda Pummel!" yelled Pandamon, charging at Phelesmon with reckless abandon.
Phelesmon saw him coming and sidestepped the charging Pandamon. As Pandamon turned, he threw out a punch.
"Bamboo Punch!"
As Phelesmon jumped up, Pandamon's attack impacted a Soulmon and deleted Burizalor's lower henchman. Pandamon growled and shifted his attention above him. Phelesmon opened his left mouth and screamed a wave of energy at the villager.
"Demon's Shout!"
As the attack impacted Pandamon, it engulfed him completely and deleted him. Phelesmon hopped down and walked back toward Burizalor with the Digicore still tucked under his arm.
"Nicely done, Mr. Phelesmon."
"Thank you, Lord Burizalor."
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The mood of the Digi-Destined was a mixture of dread and resentment.
And rightfully so.
They had just witnessed two digimon slaughtered before their very own eyes.
"I... I can't believe those monsters!" TK growled, closing his fists.
Kari covered her eyes. "Those poor digimon!"
Sam growled. "No different from the Warlord's henchmen!"
Keke tried to control her temper. "That... that... bastard!"
However, Tike tried containing his anger. His eyes were fueled with anger and hatred for the tyrant. "Keke, you had better let me get my hands around that bastard's neck! He's all mine when it's all said and done!"
"No! I understand you're pissed. I'm pissed, too, but you'd be doing something stupid if you go out there right now!" Keke scolded the enraged child. "Now, calm yourself!"
Sora looked away from the scene. "Even I can't take this anymore."
Keke sighed as she shifted back to the horrifying situation. I don't blame you guys. I want to beat the living hell out of these heartless pieces of scum. X, you weren't lying about what Burizalor was truly capable of doing. He's hell bent on obtaining those four Digicores. Burizalor can't be allowed to gain all four Digicores… he's no different from the Warlord!
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"So, what do you think?" Burizalor offered. "Do you wish to oblige now?"
Baronmon slowly backed away with Falcomon and Gotsumon behind him. "But, why do you seek for the Digicores? What do you want from them?"
"Oh, a simple request. I want to wish for eternal life and power."
"No, I can not give away the Digicore. I will never hand it over to a creature like you. Even if it means my own life…"
Burizalor chuckled in cruel amusement. "So, you have chosen death rather than make me happy? The natives of Spira are very stubborn, but would you remain stubborn when faced with the deaths of those small fry children?" The evil one shifted his eyes onto Falcomon and Gotsumon.
Baronmon and the villagers horrified by the evil one's cruel threats.
"No! Surely not even you! You will never attempt to murder the little ones!" the elder exclaimed, glaring at the tyrant.
Just then, Machinedramon's scanners traced five energy signals from another direction. He looked back, catching a glimpse of five digimon. The five-team assembly comprised of two Olympian Guardians and three Spira soldiers.
Apollomon.
Dianamon.
Three Spira Knightmon. These warriors were sleek, wore silver armor, and carried large swords on their backs. The symbols of 'Hope' emblazoned on their chests in fine gold.
Machinedramon confirmed, uttering a demonic growl. "I sense combat power from that trio."
"Look at this, Lord Burizalor," Phelesmon pointed out.
The villagers were now relieved and were now beginning to be optimistic for their survival.
"Yes! You've come!" Baronmon cried out. "Our prayers have been answered! Thank goodness you've came... Guardians of Spira!"
Apollomon, Dianamon, and the three Spira Knightmon descended near the villagers and the invaders. They faced the band of evil men and assumed battle stances.
"Lord Burizalor, your campaign ends here," Apollomon glared at the tyrant.
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The Digi-Destined were stunned by the arrival of Spira's Olympian Guardians. Much relief came from the team as they realized that they would not be needed for this battle.
"Wow! Just who are these guys?" TK was excited to see where this would lead.
Keke blinked. "Spira's Olympian Guardians."
Tike overheard her. "Olympian Guardians...?"
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"Thanks goodness our guardians have arrived to rid Spira of this menace!" Pumpkinmon exclaimed from the background.
Baronmon stared at both sides and backed away with Falcomon standing behind him. Gulping nervously, he did not want to get involved in what could escalate into a battle at any moment.
All it would need to take is one side to be provoked and that'll ignite the entire conflict into a bloodbath.
A bloodbath that Baronmon hoped would never arise in front of Falcomon and the other child digimon, or his fellow villagers for that matter.
"Baronmon. Are you and the villagers ok?" Apollomon asked the elder.
The older digimon nodded. "We are, but we've lost two of our most loved villagers! Pandamon and Starmon were just slain by these madmen! They intend to take the Digicore we've long protected!"
Shifting her furious glare toward Burizalor and his men, Dianamon tried restraining herself from engaging the invaders.
"It is as we feared," Apollomon stated, stepping forward beside Dianamon and the Spira Knightmon.
"Take a look, Apollomon!" Dianamon pointed toward Phelesmon's direction. Her finger was directly pointed to the red orb tucked under Phelesmon's right arm. "It's the Digicore they've taken from the Village of Suzaku!"
"Indeed and we must take it back from these lowlife scum."
The Spira Knightmon trio stepped forward as they held their swords out in front. Zenomon and the other contingent members directly confronted them.
"It's time we serve these pieces of trash justice, Sir Apollomon," the middle Spira Knightmon said, gripping his sword's hilt.
"A bunch of insects," Burizalor snorted out of sheer disappointment as he referred to the Spira Knightmon trio. "Just when we had persuaded them to fetch the Digicore for us. You five just had to play the heroics and waste our time killing these lowly villagers."
"So, it's true," the left Spira Knightmon growled underneath his helmet. "The rumors of Digicore thieves invading villages are indeed true."
The right Spira Knightmon replied to his partner. "And they've taken the Digicore from the Villa of Suzaku."
"You lowly men will regret disrupting the peace of Spira!" Apollomon roared as a burst of flames surrounded him. Quickly assuming a battle stance, the Olympian was ready to avenge the deaths of the digimon murdered by Burizalor's soldiers.
"Be careful, guardians! Their power is unimaginable!" Baronmon warned the Olympians and the Spira Knightmon. "We pray for your grand victory!"
"You plan to challenge us then? This should prove to be quite a treat!" Burizalor shifted his eyes to Machinedramon. "What sort of combat power do they have, Machinedramon?"
"I will confirm for you, my lord."
With that, Machinedramon activated his scanners and calculated the power readings from the Olympian pair and the Spira Knightmon trio. As six seconds passed, the nightmarish machine read the official number calculations and chuckled in amusement.
The mechanical demon faced Burizalor's direction. "Heh, you're going to be in for quite the disappointment, Lord Burizalor."
"What are their power readings, Machinedramon?" Phelesmon inquired.
"The Spira Knightmon trio doesn't even register any higher than 1,000. The two Olympians only have a power of 1,000 each. Isn't that simply amusing, my lord? Not even worth our time."
"Oh, you've got to be joking? Surely these supposed guardians ought to be stronger than they appear!" Phelesmon laughed out amusedly. "Well, it's like the old saying goes... Ah, I'll cut back on the clichés just this once!"
Baronmon intuitively observed the scouter devices utilized by Burizalor's contingent. So that's how they've been able to find the few villages scattered over Spira then! Those small devices read the energy of digimon alike! Yet, the giant mechanical beast seems to be able to trace the energy of those with a device implanted inside his own head.
Burizalor's soldiers laughed amongst themselves over the disappointing reading Machinedramon confirmed from the so-called champions of Spira. On the other hand, Apollomon, Dianamon and the three Spira Knightmon stood their ground without saying a word.
"You're willing to face Lord Burizalor with pathetic battle powers like that?" a Blue Meramon laughed. "What a laugh! 1,000 each?"
Zenomon scoffed. "Yeah, no kidding."
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"They're idiots," Sam scoffed as he kept a watchful eye over the entire situation. "Can't they figure out that those warriors are masking their true power?"
Tike concurred. "Yeah, I already knew that once they got there."
"Ditto," Kara and David added.
"How strong you think these two are?" Sora asked Keke.
"No telling, but these Olympians are the guardians of Spira," Keke said. "So, I suspect they're stronger than we are."
The baffled Child of Hope blinked. "Whoa! Are you really serious? They're stronger than even our digimon and you guys?"
"I'm not surprised," Sam replied. "I suspected there are stronger warriors across the Digiverse. Maybe they can handle Burizalor and his men for us?"
Kara sighed. "Well, as long as they can take back that Digicore. That'll save us the trouble."
Gatomon whispered to the crew. "Quiet, everyone! Something's about to happen!"
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"Let's kill them!" three members of the contingent roared out as they charged at the Olympians.
Zenomon followed alongside his fellow soldiers to carefully observe their opposition. He quickly turned on his scouter to read the warriors' battle powers.
"ATTACK!" Apollomon yelled as he led the charge out against the enemies.
Dianamon quickly summoned a long fifteen-long staff, which was actually a long white bow with ends shaped like half moon crescents. An invisible string was attached. She quickly raced across to join Apollomon and the Spira Knightmon trio.
Balling up his right fist, Apollomon lunged at the Blue Meramon grunt. Before the Nightmare Soldier could fire, Apollomon's fist collided with the soldier's chest blasted him with a burst of flaming energy. "Phoebos Blow!"
Blue Meramon howled as he exploded into a cloud of data.
Machinedramon and Phelesmon watched carefully as one of their Nightmare Soldiers was eliminated before their very own eyes.
Zenomon back flipped from out of Apollomon's reach and gasped upon reading the battle power calculation. "Hey, wait a second."
The second Nightmare Soldier was a bipedal warrior crow garbed in purple body armor sections around his chest and limbs. This was a Tengu ninja warrior named Karatenmon. He came directing an attack on Dianamon with his laser sword. He tried delivering an overhead slash to decapitate the Olympian. Dianamon read through his movement and backhanded him across the face.
Dianamon back flipped away and pulled out an arrow from her back. She placed the arrow on her bow, pulled back and released it at the Karatenmon. "Arrow of Artemis!"
As the ice arrow pierced through Karatenmon's chest, the ninja warrior screeched before he exploded into data.
The three Spira Knightmon held off a Fuugamon as they each impaled his body with their swords. The red ogre digimon roared before he dropped down and exploded into data fragments.
Zenomon quickly intervened to pull away from the fight and twirled around to face Phelesmon's direction. "Lord Phelesmon! I regret to inform you that those battle powers Machinedramon calculated are inaccurate!"
"Yes! We're already catching on!" Phelesmon called out, reading his scouter. The demon gritted his teeth, scowling. "Curse them!"
"Lord Machinedramon! Those two Olympians don't have an individual power of 1,000 each! Your scanner is wrong!" Zenomon called out to the larger Dark Master. "They're true battle powers are..."
"Those two have a battle power of 20,000 each."
Phelesmon snapped. "They're awfully close to your level, Machinedramon!"
"I don't understand this, but those other three are no threat. Their battle powers are each 3,000."
"Then, those three can be eliminated without difficulty. It's those two we should keep an close eye on!" The demon evilly smiled. Making sure the Digicore was tucked under his arm, Phelesmon watched Apollomon and Dianamon from the corner of his eye. "Zenomon, those three I'm sure you can deal with yourself?"
"That I can, Lord Phelesmon!" the higher-ranked soldier responded.
The seated tyrant watched the events unfold before his red eyes and did not budge an inch. Not even the magnificent display by the two Olympians irked Burizalor.
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"Wow, look at them go!" TK whispered, thinking out loud. "Those two Olympians are kick butt!"
Keke smirked. "Just as I expected, those two have a higher battle power than any of us."
"Hey! It looks like they're about to attack again!" Sora observed what was going to occur next.
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Phelesmon smirked devilishly like the fiend he was. "Well, this is quite a plot twist."
"Those two warriors must be able to control their combat power at will. Very clever but expected from veterans," Machinedramon growled, slowly pacing forward. Each forward step he made, the ground would slightly tremble. The weight of his feet pressed through the ground and his tail smashed a small hut standing in his way.
Baronmon backed away as Falcomon and Gotsumon stood behind him. Every other villager watched in horror as Machinedramon's terrifying presence sent chills down their spines.
"Certain digimon have been known to master such a deceiving trick. Heh, well they cannot fool me anymore!"
Zenomon walked toward the Spira Knightmon trio and popped his knuckles. "Oh, yeah. You three are going down! You shouldn't have messed with us or Lord Burizalor!"
Baronmon thought as he observed Burizalor, Machinedramon, Phelesmon, and Zenomon. Hmmm. Only four of their devices have been left unbroken.
"Elder Baronmon! What should we do?" Gotsumon cried out, hiding behind the elder of the Seiryuu Village.
"Children, just stand back from me! You, too, Falcomon!"
"Yes, elder!" Falcomon obeyed as he hid behind Baronmon and trembled in fear at the scene of violence that was about to erupt soon.
Surveying the village and its inhabitants, Machinedramon and Zenomon confronted their adversaries. The villagers backed away to stay out of the situation. Though, the two Olympian Guardians and the three Spira Knightmon didn't back off from the invaders.
Zenomon cocked a grin. "Lord Machinedramon, I'll take care of the Spira Knightmon trash. This way you can concrete solely on those two Olympians."
"These two vermin are mine. May I eliminate them, Lord Burizalor?"
The tyrant nodded in approval. "As you wish."
"Excellent."
Suddenly, Baronmon activated the red gem embedded on his forehead as he implemented his own attack.
"Storming Knives!"
Four golden knives shot toward at the four villains. Baronmon's main targets: the four scouters - well at least the three scouters and Machinedramon's head. Zenomon, Phelesmon, and Burizalor were caught off guard as the knives shattered their scouters. The fourth knife entered through Machinedramon's left eye and completely destroyed the scanner implanted inside his head.
"GAH! What in the Digiworlds was that?" Zenomon exclaimed as he shot at glance toward the villagers.
Phelesmon gritted his teeth as looked at the broken scouter lying on the ground. "The scouters!" He immediately turned toward Baronmon, scowling angrily. "Yes, it was him! He was after our scouters this whole time!"
"What? No! Those were the only scouters we had!" Zenomon shouted.
Machinedramon threw his head up and roared out a terrifying cry for all to hear. "NO! THESE VILLAGERS FOR DIE FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" The giant shut his mouth, glaring angrily and intently at the natives with his black, soulless eyes.
"Elder Baronmon! Just what do you think you're doing?" Dianamon exclaimed, baffled by the elder's actions.
Apollomon noticed the broken scouters scattered across the invaders' feet. "I see. So, these devices of theirs were able to trace the location of the villages?"
"It appears so," one of the Spira Knightmon spoke.
"And I could have sworn to have heard them mention about reading battle powers? Can they actually read the numerical calculation of our power rankings?" Apollomon wondered as he kept an eye on the contingent. "Dianamon, brace yourself! We have a fight in our hands with that giant!"
"I'm ready for anything!" Dianamon waited for Machinedramon to mount his first attack. "But the safety of the villagers and securing the Digicore are our first top priorities! Spira Knightmon, get ready!"
"Yes, Lady Dianamon!" Spira Knightmon exclaimed at once.
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The Digiteam were stunned by Baronmon's bold act. They realized just how far the elder would go to defend his village from these lowly invaders.
"Now that takes courage!" Kari said as she watched Baronmon.
"I'll say," TK nodded.
Patamon happily chirped. "The devices of theirs are broken! Those were some nice shots the elder made!"
"That villager managed to use the force his knives to take those scouters out of commission," Keke stated with closed fists. "Damn, but I don't know if that was a wise move even if it was a smart one."
"Then again, it makes harder for them to trace energies now," Sora said. "And they won't be able to find us without those things."
"That's right!" David said.
"Yeah," Kara agreed.
Sam bit his lip and noted. "Right, it wasn't that they knew about the location of the Digicores. The scouters enabled them to find the villagers and to take the first Digicore! That old timer managed to figure it out and took that problem out of the equation."
Gatomon had her doubts. "I hope you're right."
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"I shall exterminate them all!" Machinedramon roared as he lumbered toward the Olympians and the Spira Knightmon. "I'll wipe out every single one of them!"
With that, Machinedramon charged toward Baronmon with murderous intent. The elder closed his eyes as he set himself as a sacrificial lamb for the sake of his villagers. Apollomon, Dianamon, and the Spira Knightmon dashed forward to counter Machinedramon's assault.
Jus then, the tyrant called to the enraged Dark Master. "Wait, Machinedramon! I have a better idea!"
The cybernetic terror stopped his charge and turned. "And that is, my lord?"
"Killing the old man would not be wise as he will retrieve the second Digicore for us. So, he will be useful. However..." Burizalor pivoted his eyes at the two Olympians and the three Spira Knightmon. "You still have a job to do, Machinedramon. Kill those two guardians. Zenomon, stand aside and let Machinedramon handle all five of them."
"You want me to stand aside?" Zenomon blinked as he looked toward Machinedramon and the opposition. Nodding his head, he didn't further question the warlord's authority and obeyed. "They're all yours, Lord Machinedramon."
"Oh, yes. Five kills at once. I love it!"
Baronmon backed away even further with Falcomon and Gotsumon standing behind him. The villagers remained silent during the whole ordeal.
Machinedramon faced the two Olympians Guardians and the Spira Knightmon trio. In his view, this would be a simple task as he was in full blood lusted mode. Whenever he's fully bloodlust, his rage and thirst to kill could not be controlled. Only a command from Burizalor could stop him.
The mechanical dragon charged forward as his eyes locked onto his five targets. He snickered and raised his claws up. The large cannons mounted on his back were starting to charge up and gather up intense energy. He locked on all five targets at once.
Zenomon stepped back and gulped. "This is not going to be pretty."
Machinedramon chuckled manically. "Just give me ten seconds with these insects."
"What? You alone against us five?" Apollomon exclaimed, insulted by the Dark Master's decree. "You're no match for the five of us!"
Dianamon had a terrible feeling about this. "Apollomon, brace yourself!"
"Heh? A match, huh? We'll see about that."
Just as the Spira Knightmon trio was about to make their move, Machinedramon instantly launched himself at the first Spira Knightmon but only to spin around the knight digimon. The Dark Master stabbed his left hand drill through this Spira Knightmon's chest and dropped him like he was nothing but disposable refuse.
"Dragon Fire!"
As the second Spira Knightmon came charging forward, Machinedramon snatched him up with his right hand and crushed him while in deleting him in the process.
"Infinity Hand!"
The third Spira Knightmon stopped as he started backing away in terror. Machinedramon turned and fired bursts of energy blasts from his cannon.
"Giga Cannon!"
BA-BOOM!
Spira Knightmon was caught within the explosive blast as he was deleted in the process. In the warrior's place was nothing but a large crater in the ground. Apollomon and Dianamon were left standing, horrified with the end results.
The villagers became terrified by the mechanical terror's powerful display and were in stunned silence.
Now, Machinedramon focused his next attack on the two Olympian digimon. Dianamon and Apollomon assumed battle stances, preparing for the Dark Master's relentless assault.
"This should prove to be amusing. These two will learn their lesson the hard way. Never cross the Buriza Empire," Phelesmon laughed jubilantly.
Zenomon nodded. "Indeed, Lord Phelesmon!"
The mechanical giant slowly approached the two Olympians and snickered. "Now, which one of you wants to die first?"
"We can't turn away, Dianamon! This monster has to be stopped if we are to confront his comrades!" Apollomon said.
Dianamon replied. "Perhaps we should have had the others join us. Together, I have no doubt we could defeat this behemoth!"
"We can manage," insisted Apollomon. "We're here and we must fight!"
Machinedramon stopped his advancement and glared at the duo. "Yes, embrace death, warriors! I, Machinedramon, will grant you... DEATH!"
With that, Machinedramon charged toward Apollomon and Dianamon. They quickly sidestepped Machinedramon's path. Dianamon back flipped on the right hand side while Apollomon slid across the left side. They aimed to attack the Dark Master simultaneously with their most effective attacks.
Dianamon phased from out of Machinedramon's perception and reappeared above the giant's head. Spinning her bow in hand, Dianamon called out one of her mystical spells.
"Crescent Haken!"
As Dianamon casted her spell, her body split up into five other copy replicas. This tactic enabled her to delude her enemies by creating illusions using the mystic power of the moon. She would then confuse her enemy and throw them off their guard.
This would work with any normal enemy.
However, Machinedramon was not fooled so easily. Since he was a machine type, he was not fooled by her trick and quickly spotted the real Dianamon on his left hand side. He quickly backhanded the female Olympian and cancelled out her attack.
"Nice try, but it was a futile attempt, warrior!"
Dianamon managed to dodge out of Machinedramon's reach as her five illusions disappeared. She quickly dropped down and delivered a slash with the sharp end of her bow. The bladed end collided with Machinedramon's head but only managed to bounce right off. Dianamon flew back and fired repeated Ki blasts from her hands out of desperation.
"Hold on, Dianamon!" Apollomon called out as he gathered enough solar energy from the attachment on his back. "Over here, you monster!"
As Machinedramon turned away, he watched as six sun balls were launched at his direction.
"Sol Blaster!"
BA-BOOM!
The six massive solar balls collided with Machinedramon as the Dark Master was caught in an explosive blast. Dianamon glided away to avoid the widening explosion. The villagers retreated behind the front gates while watching the magnificent display of power demonstrated by the Olympian.
"Yes! He got that monster!" Pumpkinmon cheered.
Baronmon smiled with relief. "Yes! They've managed to slay that horrible creature!"
"Way to go, Apollomon! Now, that's hitting him with all you've got!" Dianamon called out.
Apollomon snickered as he took a deep breath. "Yes, but that did take a lot out of me."
xxxxx
Tike's mouth widened in shock. "Good god... Did he just defeat that giant by himself?"
"It... looks that way," Sora replied.
TK, Kari, Patamon, and Gatomon were also shocked needless to say.
Sam watched the astounding power display by Apollomon and gripped the ground under her hands.
"So, I was right. Those two are stronger than even us," Keke observed the series of events. Thank goodness. These… wait... Suddenly, she gasped as she noticed the dust cloud settling. "No!"
"What's wrong, Keke?" TK asked as he noticed the girl's dismayed look.
Kara looked back at the village grounds and frowned. "Damn it, but I thought..."
xxxxx
Dianamon and Apollomon turned as they watched in dismay. Machinedramon emerged from the smoke cloud with his Chrome Digizoid armor still intact and no scratches on his body. The Dark Master roared and stopped momentarily.
"Ah, I was just beginning to get worried for a moment. Nothing to fear," Phelesmon grinned.
Zenomon was astounded. "Even now, I'm still surprised he was able to take all of those blasts from that warrior and walk out with little damage to his armor!"
"Machinedramon will not be defeated by their parlor tricks," Burizalor promptly stated. "That Chrome Digizoid armor is ever so resistant to even the hottest types of heat energy. That warrior's attack merely fizzled out once hitting Machinedramon's metallic hide."
Phelesmon narrated the scene for his own amusement. "So much for that warrior's effort."
"How... how could he still be standing?" Apollomon exclaimed. "I hit him with all I had!"
Dianamon paled at the terrifying sight of the mechanical demon. "It... it can't be possible!"
Machinedramon's eyes gleamed and beamed out white light. At the sametime, the cannons were charging up for yet another attack with his Giga Cannon.
"I must applaud you, warriors. You have fought well but this is where your graves will be laid!"
With that, Machinedramon stomped and charged at the Olympian pair. Apollomon flew forward as he released fiery arrows continuously from the two jewels on his hands.
"Arrow of Apollo!"
The titan still pushed through the incoming fire arrow blasts much to Apollomon's dismay.
Dianamon quickly followed up with her attempt and fired her ice arrows. "Arrow of Artemis!"
Again, Machinedramon plowed through the ice arrow shards and continued powering his cannons up.
"Dianamon! Look out!" Apollomon shouted to his colleague and flew out to push her away.
Click.
"Giga Cannon!"
SHOOM!
The explosive bursts shot from Machinedramon's cannons and collided against the ground near where the two Olympians stood. The powerful blast impacted Apollomon and Dianamon, sending them both sailing 20 feet back.
Spira Knightmon went head-to-head with Machinedramon and readied his sword. Machinedramon quickly turned, thrusting his claw toward Spira Knightmon's chest. Spira Knightmon was sent flying back, but he jumped back and fired two beams through his hands.
Machinedramon took the beams head-on, letting the explosive blast impact him. The smoke cleared and all that was left was a large crater. Spira Knightmon stood while catching his breathe. He gasped as he saw Machinedramon crawling out without a single scratch. Machinedramon launched two blasts, which engulfed and deleted the Spira Knightmon from the spot.
Dianamon dropped to the ground and rolled across the dirt, recovering from Machinedramon's attack.
As for Apollomon, his body collided with the face of a boulder. Then, shooting out toward the defeated Olympian, Machinedramon slammed his right fist into Apollomon's body and pulled him out of the wall. The defeated Olympian fell face first on the ground and was left a near crippled mess.
Baronmon and the villagers were stunned by the events. In on successive assault, the Dark Master humbled heir two beloved champions.
"Heh, that takes care of these vermin."
Phelesmon scoffed. "But, they're still alive."
"I'll kill them once we have the second Digicore in our possession. My lord, you may carry on."
"Thank you, Machinedramon," Burizalor glanced at Baronmon and smirked. "As you can see, my right hand man was easily able to crush your two Olympians with ease. If he could do that, just imagine what I would have done."
"Curse you..." Baronmon snarled.
"It is quite useless to resist or flee, elder. So, why don't you give up?"
Baronmon sighed and nodded his head in surrender.
"Yes, much better. That's the way I like it," the cold tyrant smirked. "You destroyed our scouters. You have no idea how long it'll take for new scouters to arrive here. I suggest you hand us your Digicore as an apology. You've just seen how we handle certain situations. If you continue to resist, the children will die next."
"First, promise me that you won't do anything to the children!" Baronmon retorted as he was visibly trembling before Burizalor's presence.
"All right, you should have said so in the beginning and we wouldn't have gone through this nonsense."
xxxxx
"Those heartless monsters!" Biyomon frowned in disgust.
TK couldn't believe at what he had just seen. "Those two... I HATE THEM!"
Tike, too, couldn't keep his anger suppressed. "They tried defending the village and it ended up costing them! They… they won't get away with this!"
Keke paled at the sight and bit her lip once again. X, this Machinedramon seems more powerful than the one we faced. Looks like we'll need to Magna Digivolve if we stand a chance… we no longer have access to our ascendant forms and it'll be a while before we regain the gold.
"I can't believe how there are digimon this cruel!" Sora was appalled.
"Wait until I get my hands on them!" Kara growled.
"Me, too! I don't think I can take it anymore!" Tike nodded as he trembled with anger.
"Cool it you two. If we go in there now, we're dead meat!" Keke snapped, trying to prevent the duo from doing anything drastic.
"Don't get any crazy ideas, you two," Sam warned Tike and Kara. "These are not guys we should be going up against. Not with our powers stunted back to our pre-ascendant levels."
"He's right!" David said.
"Hey, I can share the same disgust," Gatomon hissed. "They're just as vile as Myotismon."
"Still, I just can't stand by and let all of this happen! Not to these poor digimon!" Tike clenched his fists.
"Calm down, you two," Sora tried to console the twins.
Kari clenched her fists. "Those… those monsters!"
xxxxx
Baronmon walked out from the gates with the Digicore - which was a crystallized blue color and shimmering with a light blue aura. Its magnificent glow brought a smile out of the evil one. He handed it over to Pumpkinmon, who then turned and placed down in front of Burizalor's hovering pod.
"Ah, thank you, kind sir."
"That makes two for us. Two more to go," Phelesmon confirmed.
Zenomon walked over to pick up the blue Digicore. "Though, it'll be difficult without our scouters. I'm sure we'll somehow manage."
"Yes, now while you're at it, could you also tell me where I might find the last two Digicores?" Burizalor asked the elder.
Baronmon scowled in response and resisted the tyrant. "Never! I will never betray the Villages of Genbu and Byakko! They will not be invaded by the likes of you! Not even if you kill us all! You promised..."
"Oh yes, the promise," Burizalor sighed in disappointment. "Well, since you and everyone on Spira are so terribly stubborn, I'm afraid to say that you and the children will have to die after all. Such a shame."
Baronmon and the villagers gasped at the response from the tyrant as everyone started to flee back to the village.
"NO! YOU PROMISED!"
Before he had a chance to react, Zenomon launched forward and delivered an elbow to the elder's face. Baronmon fell back with his face bursted open and bleeding.
"Sorry, old man, but I had to shut you up," Zenomon muttered as he turned away.
Machinedramon stalked toward the fallen elder and the children - Gotsumon and Falcomon. Baronmon barely could move as he had left the children vulnerable and left open for Burizalor's men to target.
xxxxx
"Hey! There's two child digimon there!" Tike exclaimed. "Why aren't they getting the hell out of there?"
Kari gasped in horror. "Someone should go in there and save them!"
TK bit his lip. "No! They couldn't..."
The fighters and the digimon were on the brink of throwing themselves into the dire situation. Even though Keke had ordered everyone to stay behind, that is likely to change at any given moment.
xxxxx
Baronmon slowly picked himself off the ground and shot an angry glare at the tyrant. The young digimon stood by and were terrified over the slaughter they had just witnessed.
"You... gave your... word! I gave you the Digicore! Now leave us in peace!" the elder yelled at the tyrant.
"Yes, but the Digicores are worthless until I have all four of them. You destroyed the scouters we relied on to find the villages. So you must tell us where the Villages of Genbu and Byakko are."
"Like I said, I would never betray the fellow elders of Spira! Even if it means my death!"
"Oh, it will. I guarantee that it will," Burizalor smirked.
Zenomon inquired out of curiosity. "Lord Burizalor, will we be able to find the last Digicore without the scouters?"
"There are two left. We'll find them eventually if we search for other villages. Oh, one more thing," the icy tyrant pointed to the elder and the two children. "These three vermin. You may kill all three of them, Machinedramon."
"It would be my pleasure."
xxxxx
"Oh, like hell it will happen!" Tike growled as he slowly started to get up.
Kara nodded. "I'm with ya, bro!"
"You idiots! Get down!" Keke barked.
"Sorry… but now I'm already to that point!" David retorted, clenching his fists. "We can't allow them to get away with more murder!"
Sora frowned. "I have to agree with them, Keke. I'm not going to sit by and do nothing."
"Hold it! You guys aren't thinking!" Gatomon looked at everyone. "If Keke says we..."
Keke sighed. "No, how could I be so stupid? Even, I can't sit by and watch them kill children. That's where I put my foot down!"
TK and Kari nodded at once as they watched Machinedramon approaching the child digimon.
xxxxx
"Run, children! Run away!" Baronmon cried out and ordered the child digimon.
"Yes! We understand!" Gotsumon responded as he grabbed Falcomon's left wing. "Let's go, Falcomon!"
As soon as the child digimon fled, Baronmon stood in front with his arms spread out and provided as a shield to cover the children.
"I will show the honor of the villagers!"
Viiii.
Just then, Burizalor blinked at Baronmon's direction as a purple beam shot out of one of his fingertips. The beam glided past Baronmon's shoulder and merely missed him by a margin. The beam went straight and pierced through Gotsumon's head.
BOOM!
As if time suddenly paused, Gotsumon froze stiff and exploded into a data. Falcomon gasped in horror as his friend was killed before his very own eyes. Baronmon turned with a horrified expression
Whatever was left of Gotsumon was lost data floating away.
Once Baronmon turned, Machinedramon shot his right hand forward and snatched the elder in his grasp. Crushing him like he did with one of the Spira Knightmon earlier, he snapped his claw shut and crushed Baronmon with ease.
The elder's body exploded into fragments of data dispersed into mid-air.
"NO! GOTSUMON! ELDER BARONMON!" Falcomon screamed out as tears formed in his eyes. The child quickly raced off to join the other villagers.
"Yes and you died. That's some honor, old timer," Machinedramon chortled whilst pivoted his attentive view toward Falcomon. "You're next to join them, brat."
xxxxx
"No! Not the kids!" Kari gasped in horror
TK frowned as he couldn't stand watching anymore of this. "We have to save him!"
Patamon and Gatomon nodded together.
Tike and Kara cried out. "About time!"
Keke looked over to Sam, nodding. "Let's move!"
"Here we come!" Gatomon exclaimed.
xxxxx
Next chapter: Machinedramon's Terrifying Pursuit! Unleash Magna Evolution!
xxxxx
A/N: Business is about to pick up next time! Let's see how they'll handle Machinedramon.