A/N: The battle begins! The Chosen have met MetalSeadramon, what will happen I wonder? Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon.
Exit Stage Left
With an almighty crash, the three megas collided with one another. The winds from the clash surged through the forest, causing the trees nearby to bend and buckle. The chosen thre themselved against the ground in defence of the vicious blowback.
MetalSeadramon surged forward, his progress barely hindered from the attack as the other two smaller digimon were thrown high into the air.
Quickly steadying themselves, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon turned to face the Dark Master, who was already turning round to ram them again. Like lightning they shot further up into the sky, high amongst the clouds, forcing the metallic serpent to follow after them. There was a crash like thunder and then all was silent in the crumbling forest below.
Far below the rest of the digidestined stared up in awe at the blind speed of the huge mega.
"So fast..." Angemon muttered, staring at where the megas had vanished into the sky, "... I couldn't even react."
"What just happened?" Sora asked, staring wide-eyed up at the clouds above them.
"Tha-that was MetalSeadramon!" Chuumon screamed, tears in his eyes. "Your friends are dead! The Dark Masters know we're here! We're all gonna die!"
Mimi tried to hush the hysterical digimon while Izzy fished out his laptop.
"The final form of the Seadramon-species digimon," he read with growing horror. "This mega level, data-type digimon has his entire body coated in Chrome Digizoid, making him immune to virtually any attack. In addition to this, MetalSeadramon is the fastest aquatic digimon in existence."
The others stared open mouthed.
"We'd better digivolve now, quickly, while it's distracted," Joe reasoned, looking at his partner.
"Tai and Matt will be alright, won't they?" Kari asked worriedly, looking nervously up at Sora.
The girl settled for giving the eight year old a smile she hoped was encouraging, but instead came out more as a grimace.
"I'm sure they'll both be alright. If anyone can take down that thing, it will be those two!"
"I hope you're right," Tk muttered.
"We should prepare for the worst," Izzy stated harshly. "Everyone has to be ready, in case we're targeted as a distraction."
A veritable rainbow of colours glowed from the digimon as they all evolved into their ultimate forms. Overhead, the constant crashes of what sounded like thunder continued, making a few of them wince.
Soon all six ultimates stood ready, surrounding the children in case of an attack.
"Good idea, Izzy," Mimi complemented from next to Lilymon. "I feel safer already."
"Shouldn't we send them help?" Joe asked, looking nervously up at the sky. "Some of the digimon can fly; they might be able to help."
"Like we were a help against MaloMyotismon?" Sora countered rather bitterly. "We'd probably just get in their way."
"Don't underestimate our strength," MagnaAngemon chided serenly; he too was staring up at the sky with worry. "In a fair fight it's true we wouldn't stand a chance against a mega digimon."
Angewomon smirked at the insinuation.
"So we have absolutely no desire to fight fairly," she said proudly.
The other ultimate digimon all exchanged grins. When it came to protecting their partners, no tactics were too dirty.
"For now though, all we can do is hope that WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon make it out alright," Garudamon stated.
MetalGarurumon shot to the side at a blistering pace, still just barely avoiding the large body of MetalSeadramon. WarGreymon charged forwards, raking his claws against MetalSeadramon's hide.
Sparks shot outwards as WarGreymon desperately tried to keep up the pressure. The next instant, MetalSeadramon was already gone; flying through the air as if it was water. He curled around the air, before heading back towards the two.
"Split up!" WarGreymon ordered. "He can't ram us both!"
The two quickly parted in opposite directions from the oncoming mega's charge. As MetalSeadramon flew between them, they both attacked.
"Terra Force!"
"Metal Wolf Claw!"
The two attacks on either side of the serpent shot towards him. Extreme heat and extreme cold together.
With a laugh, his body effortlessly weaved between both attacks which exploded too far off to do any damage. He turned around to face them, his cannon-like nose glowing.
"River of Power!"
Out shot a beam of pure cyan. Throwing his head to the side the beam swept by the two megas, both of whom were barely able to dodge in time. Clouds were dispersed and even vanished completely as the beam passed near and through them.
"Aaaargh!" screamed WarGreymon, charging in for another melee attack.
His charge met the oncoming MetalSeadramon and this time actually managed to deflect it's momentum upwards. His claws once again scraped against the metal that made up MetalSeadramon's hide, to no avail.
"My claws can't get through!" he yelled in frustration as MetalSeadramon flew off once again. "What's he made of?"
The Dark Master laughed, curling around itself like a snake, hovering in the sky.
"My armour is made of pure Chrome Digizoid!" he declared proudly. "It's practically indestrutible! You should just surrender yourselves right now, I might not even tear you apart!"
With another dark laugh, the monster charged towards WarGreymon again.
"Grace Cross Freezer!" MetalGarurumon roared, missiles erupting from his body by the hundreds.
Instantly changing course, the huge mega flew over the missiles, which made a spirited attempt to home in on him.
"River of Power!"
The huge sweeping beam caught most of the missiles in a single swipe. With a laugh, the mega whipped his tail and with a mighty crash sent MetalGarurumon careening through the air.
Charging again, WarGreymon managed to catch his claws on the behemoth's armour. Sparks flew as his claws ground painfully against the armour, yet still it held strong with nothing more than scratches to show for his effort.
'This isn't working,' Tai thought to himself. 'I thought if we split up, one of us could at least land a hit when he was distracted with the other. But even still, he's just too quick! We need to come up with a new plan.'
Tai was unused to seeing the enemies abilities at such a close hand. Normally he could analyse a technique and come up with ways to counter or work around it after only seeing it once. But when it was actually him who was fighting for his life, things became much more challenging.
WarGreymon flew towards MetalGarurumon, getting as close as he dared.
"This isn't working, we need a new tactic!" the dinosaur said, glancing to MetalSeadramon who was coming right for them again.
"River of Power!"
The two were forced to dodge as the beam shot through the air they had been occupying. Angling his course, MetalSeadramon turned and rammed the two megas with his metal tail, sending them hurtling through the air in pain.
By the time they had regained their senses, he was charging once again. They were forced to dodge in different directions so the Dark Master wouldn't be able to hit them.
"As if I'd let you two plan anything!" the monster cried, circling around them close enough to hear any words they might say to the other.
The two megas went back to back, eyeing the monster warily as he flew lazily around them. The monster eyed them back, eyes like that of a butcher observing a slab of meat, as if deciding where to make the first cut.
WarGreymon took the time to compose himself and observed MetalSeadramon's armour. It was no use. Every inch of him was covered in that metal, the only exceptions being his eyes, mouth and cannon nose. And the chances of him leaving any of them undefended was close to zero.
But what about his claws? WarGreymon clenched his gauntlets tightly. They were supposedly made of Chrome Digizoid also, yet they had made nothing more than meagre scratches against MetalSeadramon's armour.
MetalSeadramon was a powerful foe. Tai could see how four megas of his strength could have so easily conquered the digital world.
MetalSeadramon. Hideto's words floated past him.
"The claws on a WarGreymon; they're called Dramon Destroyers because they do extreme amounts of damage to digimon with -dramon in their name."
WarGreymon stared at his claws. If they could do incredible amounts of damage, then he needed to find a way past all that armour. Although they'd done nothing more than scratch the beast so far.
Maybe... maybe he just wasn't hitting hard enough with them? If they had the potential to kill MetalSeadramon, then he would just need to hit hard enough with them to do so. The only question was how? The only way he could hit harder would be to use the brave tornado; with that WarGreymon was sure he could end the fight, if he could actually nail the slippery serpent with it.
Of course the attack wasn't anywhere near maneuverable enough to actually hit. It moved quickly in a straight line and he could turn it somewhat, but all that spinning interfered with accuracy.
He needed a different way to penetrate the monster's armour.
Tai wracked his mind, trying to think of a way. As MetalSeadramon slowly curled round them, he saw the small scratches and tiny dents his claws had made in the armour.
What would happen if he hit the same spot over and over again? Those little scratches would add up eventually and MetalSeadramon was simply too fast for his armour to be that thick. If he kept hitting the same spot...
With what was beginning to look like a plan, WarGreymon smirked. Unfortunately he couldn't tell MetalGarurumon anything without the Dark Master overhearing; the only way he would get the chance to hit MetalSeadramon would be when the monster attacked him directly, which led to the possibility of a counterattack. It would be a bit of a stretch, but it was all he could think of right now.
WarGreymon inclined his head to meet MetalGarurumon's eye. Hoping to convery his intentions as best he could, he nodded then shot like a bullet towards MetalSeadramon. He just managed to rake his claw down the side of the megas armour before his huge tail knocked him away.
MetalSeadramon dodged MetalGarurumon's follow up missile barrage and shot a River of Power at the digimon, who flew higher to avoid it's deadly sweep. The Dark Master shot after him, unwilling to let him get away so easily.
WarGreymon managed to recover in time to shoot back towards MetalSeadramon before he could collide with MetalGarurumon. Aiming carefully, WarGreymon struck the same spot that he had done so before, creating a deeper gouge in the armour.
The tail then whipped across his face, sending the warrior spinning uncontrollably through the air.
'I have to be more careful,' WarGreymon thought to himself, watching as MetalGarurumon gained some distance and fired another Grace Cross Freezer at MetalSeadramon. 'He can counterattack me so easily.'
MetalSeadramon once again weaved through the missiles to bodyslam the smaller mega.
'Now!'
With a noise like thunder, WarGreymon shot forwards like a missile and drove his claws to the very hilt into the small gashes he'd created in the armour. MetalSeadramon gave a suprised roar of pain before accelerating at an unprecedented rate.
WarGreymon flew off of his metal hide, small pieces of metal accompanying him.
MetalGarurumon flew next to him.
"About bloody time," he said, rather annoyed. "I was hoping you had an idea."
"So you tried to give me an opening," WarGreymon realised, not keeping his eyes off the Dark Master, who was watching them warily. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for."
"Shut up."
MetalSeadramon finished examining the wound and turned back towards the two megas. Both of them were clearly exhausted. WarGreymon's shoulders were slumped, his head more forward than it was when the fight began. MetalGarurumon was panting as well, his movements and attacks had slowed severley.
But even so, they had managed to actually wound him. Wound him and create an opening for a further assault. His eyes narrowed. It was time to stop messing around and end this fight.
He uncoiled himself, ready to attack once more.
The two smaller megas got back into battle stances, ready to move at the slightest twitch.
But the mega didn't move towards them; instead he headed straight down.
"What?" WarGreymon muttered, confused for a split second before his brain caught up with him. "Shit!"
The two megas shot after him, desperately trying to get ahead, but unable to. MetalSeadramon was simply too fast, none of their attacks could catch up to him with the lead he had. They could only hope the others had their wits about them...
"MOVE!" MagnaAngemon yelled, quickly grabbing Tk and soaring into the sky.
"Why what's going on?!" Joe panicked, before Zudomon grabbed him and quickly made his way away from the area without delay.
Lilymon, although she was confused, grabbed Mimi by the waist and carefully lifted her into the air.
"What's going on, Lilymon?" she asked her partner.
"I'm not sure, but MagnaAngemon clearly thought he saw something," the ultimate answered.
Suddenly the clouds parted, and like a demonic meteor with teeth, MetalSeadramon shot towards the ground they had been standing on. There wasn't even time to blink before he impacted the ground, sending shockwaves through the area. Large swaths of land crumbled and fell into the Dark Area as whole forests were bent over by the shockwave, before standing tall again.
Many of the smaller ultimates who were flying were blown around by the force, barely holding on to their partners.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Izzy cried above the din, being held in his partner's arms.
"METALSEADRAMON!" MegaKabuterimon replied, confused. "I THINK HE WAS TARGETING US!"
"YA THINK?!"
As the noise died down and the chosen's ears stopped ringing, a haggard looking WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon suddenly appeared. The two looked exhausted; their armour had numerous dents and pieces missing, their eyes seemed duller than when they left, and not to mention the general air of exhaustion that hung about them.
It was clear that they weren't going to last much longer on their own.
"Is everyone alright?!" WarGreymon asked desperately, looking around in sheer panic until he spotted Angewomon with Kari.
"I think so," Izzy stated, looking around. "We all seem to be accounted for, except for Joe."
"WE'RE ALRIGHT!" a loud deep voice erupted from the treeline.
They stared down to see an orange-furred face staring up at them.
"We're both alright, just a little winded!" he joked. "Ha! Get it?!"
"How can he be making jokes at a time like this?" Sora muttered derisively.
The two megas stared at the hole in contemplation.
"Why did he do that?" MetalGarurumon wondered, trying to peer into the darkness. "That had to have hurt, even with his armour."
WarGreymon was silent, his mind runnning a mile a minute.
"Stay alert," he ordered. "I have a very bad feeling."
MetalGarurumon turned to look at him.
"You think he's going to come back ou-"
The ground exploded beneath them as a brgh beam of energy shot through the space they were occupying. The two megas screamed as the attack ripped through them, knocking them high into the air, followed by an emerging MetalSeadramon.
He lashed out, scooping up WarGreymon in his mouth; his tail then lashed out at MetalGarurumon, slamming him painfully into the ground hard enough for the ground to shake. MegaKabuterimon, Zudomon and Garudamon were the nearest ultimates and retaliated immediately.
"Horn Buster!"
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
"Wing Blade!"
A violent explosion of electricity mingled with intense flames enveloped the upper half of MetalSeadramon, who didn't even bother to dodge. The attacks faded to show that not even the hair on his head had been scorched. The mega lifted his tail, revealing MetalGarurumon lying there, indented into the ground.
WarGreymon was wedged in his mouth, arms up pushing desperately at the large serpent's teeth. The Dark Master eyed the other for a split second before diving back into the earth and vanishing. WarGreymon struggled against the crushing jaw of MetalSeadramon as the mega went deeper and deeper underground.
Countless tons of earth and rock constantly hit his back with enough force to make his armour buckle. He would have screamed had he actually been able to do so. Instead all of his concentration was on simply keeping those sharp teeth from ripping into him.
He couldn't tell for how long MetalSeadramon held him in his grasp like that, before a sudden light nearly blinded him. They surfaced just in time for MetalSeadramon to throw him down to the ground near MetalGarurumon.
WarGreymon lay there silently, exhausted.
The Dark Master grinned at the remaining ultimates.
"For that little stunt earlier, guess who's next?" MetalSeadramon taunted, before diving back into the ground.
The remaining digidestined stared, wide-eyed in horror for a few more seconds, processing what had just happened.
"TAICHI!" Kari screamed in Angewomon's arms.
"MATT, NO!" Tk similarly yelled, MagnaAngemon struggling to keep ahold of him.
"Calm down, there's nothing we can do right now," the angel said, trying to calm the child down. "I know it's hard but we need to prepare for when MetalSeadramon attacks again."
"Everyone!" Sora called out. "We need to get away from the ground! We're too close right now!"
"Someone take Joe!" Zudomon called out. "I can't fly!"
They scrambled to get everyone together. Eventually they decided that MegaKabuterimon could carry everyone, since his main strength was in ranged attacks anyway he could stay a safe distance away from the fight and still help.
The other five remained closer to the ground, watching, waiting for any indication of MetalSeadramon's return. Already they were preparing their attacks. Flames covered Garudamon's fists, Lilymon's cannon was out, Angewomon had strung her bow, MagnaAngemon's sword was ready and on the ground Zudomon gripped his hammer with two hands, ready to strike.
There was a deep rumbling, the trees shook violently.
"Get ready," MagnaAngmon ordered, his sword Excalibur gleaming.
A bright light shot out of the ground encompassing MagnaAngemon completely before anyone could react. The beam tore through the powerful ultimate, reducing him back into Tokomon in an instant.
There wasn't even time to scream before MetalSeadramon emerged from the earth like it was water, laughing maniacally.
"Flower Cannon!" Lilymon cried, the powerful attack doing absolutely no damage whatsoever.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon roared, shooting a volley of arrows at the passing mega.
Each one simply bounced off his inpenetrable armour as he dove for Zudomon. The ultimate wasn't willing to come quietly however.
He readied his hammer. As MetalSeadramon shot towards him he gathered all his strength and swung.
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
The intense beam of yellow energy simply bounced off, but the hammer blow nailed MetalSeadramon in the face, knocking him off course. He buried into the ground next to Zudomon, vanishing in a flash.
The ultimate breathed heavily, his hands numb from the exchange. The hammer was still ringing from the force of the blow.
"I hit him at least," he said to himself.
Lilymon carried Tokomon up to MegaKabuterimon where Tk clutched at him tightly.
"He's taking them out one by one," Izzy surmised. "He's not allowing us any chance to properly retaliate."
"Not that we can really hurt him that much anyway," MegaKabuterimon said worriedly, staring down at the ground far below them. "Zudomon at least affected him somewhat."
"Then he's his next target!" Izzy realised, before turning to Lilymon. "Tell the others to use that! He's going to target Zudomon next!"
Lilymon nodded before rushing down as quickly as she could to relay the news.
Soon her, Garudamon and Angewomon all stood around Zudomon, charging their attacks and ready for any sign of movement. In an instant they could unleash their most powerful attacks and at the very least injure the monster before he could take down Zudomon.
The ultimate in question had his ear to the ground trying to tell through the vibrations when MetalSeadramon would be coming up. All was quiet as they waited. There was no movement but the slight swaying of the trees covering the area.
The wind howled through the branches as they waited, their eyes darting about nervously.
Zudomon frowned before gripping his hammer tightly with both hands. His ear was still pressed to the ground.
There was no sound but the wind.
There was the sound of a twig snapping and Zudomon turned around...
... to see MetalSeadramon's shark-like grin peering out of the undergrowth.
"River of Power."
Groaning, WarGreymon slowly opened an eye. Absolutely everything hurt. It was a pain to even stay conscious. Struggling to even get up, he managed a sitting position. Wincing, he focused on doing nothing but breathing. Great shuddering breaths came out, which even in his barely lucid state he could tell wasn't good.
To the side, MetalGarurumon wasn't faring any better. He had no arms, and so couldn't even pull himself into a sitting position. He lay there on the ground, his eyes hazy and brain fuzzy.
"You there?" WarGreymon murmured.
"Yeah..." the wolf moaned. "Just barely."
There was silence as the two did nothing but slowly breathe. Far away they could tell something was happening, but they just couldn't muster the energy to care, let alone move.
"We lost," MetalGarurumon muttered, taking a shuddering breath. "We couldn't even injure him."
WarGreymon's eyes narrowed.
"Like... hell it's over," he said, staggering a little as he stood up. "We just need... one good hit on him."
He groaned, fighting back the pain as another explosion occured somewhere nearby.
WarGreymon shook his head, forcing himself to focus. He would never give up! MetalSeadramon would regret not making sure they were dead before attacking the others. Hell, MaloMyotismon hit harder this guy!
He forced himself forwards and took to the air.
"Rest for a moment," he told MetalGarurumon. "We haven't dedigivolved so we're not out of energy just yet."
He then flew off towards the battle.
Lilymon dived as fast as her wings could carry her and scooped up Bukamon into her arms. MetalSeadramon had surprsied them all by surfacing silently underneath the cover of the trees and attacking Zudomon from the side instead of from below.
That just left her, Garudamon and Angewomon as all that stood between their partners and death by serpent.
Garudamon roared, her fists aflame as she decended upon MetalSeadramon. She hit him right in the head, creating a crater beneath him.
"Is that all?" he asked, her fist still imbedded into his metal face. "Tell me, what exactly were you planning on doing after this, huh?"
His grin became feral at the look on Garudamon's face.
"This," Angewomon stated suddenly, appearing at his side. "Celestial Arrow!"
He looked towards her, just in time for the attack to enter his eye. Garudamon shot into the air as the monster howled in pain, thrashing about wildly on the ground and uprooting many trees.
"Wing Blade!" she cried, capitalising on the distraction.
"Arggh!" MetalSeadramon roared, charging towards her.
He met the fire attack halfway and simply ploughed through it, his anger forcing him forward. Garudamon had no time to move as the sharp horn on top of his head impaled her.
She couldn't even scream in pain, so instead Sora did that for her. There was a red glow and Yokomon fell to the ground, too small to be of consideration to the Dark Master.
He turned towards Angewomon, who strung her bow once more.
"Now it's your turn," he said, his body beginning to serpentine towards her.
She cursed, flying upwards to avoid his attack. He simply curled around himself and took aim.
"River of Pow-"
"Brave Tornado!"
Before the mega could react a literal hurricane of claws shot towards him, scraping against his armour and reducing it to scrap. MetalSeadramon roared in shock and pain as blood flowed out of the first genuine wound he'd received this fight.
WarGreymon stopped spinning and hovered in the air near Angewomon; she barely had time to register how bad he looked before he turned to her.
"Get the others, I'll deal with him," he said.
"Don't be an idiot you can't even fight!" the angel protested, looking at him.
"Just trust me," he responded, in a tone that held no room for argument. "Just go!"
Angewomon gritted her teeth and glared, but nonetheless did what he said. Lilymon, who had grabbed Yokomon, followed after her back to the others. Glancing worriedly at WarGreymon who was staring furiously at MetalSeadramon.
"You actually managed to hurt me," the serpent stated in astonishment. "I have to admit that I'm impressed. No one has managed something like that for years."
"I plan on doing a lot more," WarGreymon said, his eyes hard.
MetalSeadramon chuckled.
"Your words are brave, but hollow. We both know who's winning this fight. Even with the help of another mega and group of ultimates you could still only barely wound me."
WarGreymon clenched his fists at the truth in that statement.
"You're the only one left who is able to fight me. Once you're dead they'll all fall, your life having provided nothing but a few worthless seconds," he continued. "Honestly, if you surrender now, I might even kill them quickly. Except for the one that hit my eye though; she'll pay dearly."
WarGreymon was trembling with anger. He was so tired and so sick of it all! These constant threats to the digital world, the dangers they posed to all his friends; he just wanted to destroy them all!
"For all your strength, you couldn't even beat me," MetalSeadramon taunted. "How did you think you'd fight the rest of the Dark Masters? The strong rule while the weak perish, and you? You're nothing but trash."
WarGreymon lowered his head as MetalSeadramon move in for the kill.
"You're nothing but trash," Neo said, smirking as he deleted his own partner.
"Some trash tamer and his mutt digimon."
"The strong will rule while the weak will die," Daemon roared. "That is the law of monsters!"
'I'm so sick of it!' Tai thought.
"He was weak so he deserved to die," Neo said matter-of-factly.
'That whole idea.'
"How long will you let humans control you?!" Daemon screamed to the sky. "We are the superior ones; the stronger ones! We deserve to rule!"
'That one who is strong is automatically right.'
MetalSeadramon was coming closer.
'I'm so sick of all the death, the suffering...'
"I can't I'm too scared!" the Biyomon yelled amongst the bodies of his best friends. "I'll die if I fight back!"
"Why Neo? Why..." MetalGreyon muttered as he was reduced to ones and zeroes.
Myotismon's sadistic face as he was struck again.
'I'll crush them,' Tai thought. 'Anyone who threatens those I care about.'
Myotismon leering over Kari.
Daemon smashing Zero into the ground.
His grandpa's smiling face...
MetalSeadramon roared triumphantly.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" WarGreymon roared, his eyes slitted. "SCREAMING DARKNESS!"
A beam of intense flames unexpectedly shot out of his arm. There was no time for MetalSeadramon to dodge; the intense flames covered his entire head, causing him to scream in agony. His charge missed WarGreymon completely, driving himself hard into the forest, where he screamed and rolled around, his face melting.
WarGreymon suddenly came back to reality, the beam vanishing instantly as he did so. He stared in horror at his hand and at the burning, writhing figure of MetalSeadramon not too far away.
"Wha-?"
"Grace Cross Freezer!"
In a surprise attack, hundreds of MetalGarurumon's missiles shot towards the Dark Master, exploding all across his body and extinguishing the flames.
"No!" MetalSeadramon yelled in desperation, finding his movements slowing from the ice appearing all along his body. "Help me! WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING ME?!"
WarGreymon stared in horror at the Dark Master's face, where the flames had inflicted severe burns. Small parts of his armour had melted giving the creature a deformed, undead look. MetalSeadramon's long black hair, which had survived several attacks from the ultimates, was now completely gone; reduced to ashes by the severe blaze.
"NOW WARGREYMON!" MetalGarurumon screamed, as even now MetalSeadramon was slowly breaking out of the ice.
Clapping his gauntlets together, WarGreymon began to spin.
"Brave Tornado!" he yelled, diving towards the downed mega.
"NO!" MetalSeadramon screamed, suddenly hysterical. "I CAN'T DIE HERE, NOT YET! RIVER OF POWER!"
The intense beam shot towards WarGreymon's form. The Brave Tornado drilled through the energy beam, zeroing in on MetalSeadramon's head like twisting spiral of death.
In an instant, WarGreymon had shot into MetalSeadramon's nose, through his body and out the opening in his armour. There was a splash of blood as the titan's form was still for a brief moment, as if unable to believe what had just happened, before it crumpled like a tin can.
MetalSeadramon's body fell lifeless onto the forest below.
WarGreymon stopped spinning and stared down at the mighty digimon below with something akin to horror. The small amounts of blood on his armour began to turn into data, along with the rest of the corpse far beneath him.
MetalGarurumon flew up next to him with some effort, even after his short rest he was still injured.
"What the hell was that?!" he demanded.
"I-I don't know," WarGreymon answered, looking at his hands in shock. "It-it just happened! I wasn't thinking about it!"
"That was MaloMyotismon's attack!" MetalGarurumon said, looking WarGreymon in the eye. "How did you use it?! Is he controlling you somehow?! What's going on, WarGreymon?!"
WarGreymon breathed heavily, forcibly calming himself down.
"I don't know how I used it," he said honestly. "For that moment, it all just got to me; I was so angry I wasn't even thinking. And no, Myotismon is dead; of that I have no doubt."
He stared back at MetalGarurumon for a few seconds, before the other mega seemed satisfied.
"I guess I can understand that."
"Well done guys!" Lilymon flew towards them along with Angewomon and MegaKabuterimon.
"That was some good planning," Angewomon complemented. "Using the ice to slow him down was a good idea."
'Did they not realise what happened?' WarGreymon wondered silently to himself. 'They must have been too far away to hear, all they know is I hit him with an attack and that did it.'
"Thanks, that's one Dark Master down then I guess," he said out loud, looking at the astonished Chuumon, still in Mimi's arms. "Just three left then?"
Chuumon ignored him. Instead he was staring at the ground where what little that was left of MetalSeadramon's corpse disappeared into data and floated into the sky.
"You- you actually killed one of them," he muttered in awe. "It's- it's actually possible! They can be killed!"
"Well done you two," Sora complimented.
"Look!" Mimi yelled, pointing.
They followed her finger to stare up at the colossal Spiral Mountain. To their astonishment, the blue part of the mountain was disappearing into data creating a large gap and leaving three other strips winding round one another.
"That was MetalSeadramon's territory!" Chuumon explained, tears of happiness shining in his eyes. "You killed him and now his entire kingdom is vanishing!"
"Woah..." Tk muttered in awe, holding onto Tokomon and staring up at the vanishing oceans along with everyone else.
"This sight is unreal," Izzy muttered. "Just think about it, no other human in history has ever seen anything like this!"
"Yeah, I feel so special," MetalGarurumon responded, groaning a little in pain. "Can we change back now? At this rate I think Matt'll forget how to walk on two legs if I don't."
"Well we seem safe for now," Izzy observed. "I guess it would be-"
"Giga Cannon."
Before anyone could react, two balls of energy struck the two megas in the back. The explosion knocked the others away, who screamed as they were thrown back by the shockwave.
Lilymon recovered first, and consequently was the first to see the two megas falling through the smoke towards the forest below. Her eyes widened in horror at what she could see.
There, far below them now stood a large metal monster with two huge cannons over it's shoulders. It stared up at the remaining digidestined, it's empty eyes seeming to pierce Lilymon's very soul.
The two megas crashed hard into the forest below, leaving small craters where they collided with the ground.
"Land quickly!" Izzy ordered. "We're sitting ducks out here!"
"Escape is impossible," the monster said coldly, before firing it's cannon again. "Giga Cannon."
The large shell of energy shot towards MegaKabuterimon, who was unable to move out the way. Angewomon dived in front of the attack, shielding the children with her body.
"ANGEWOMON!" Kari screamed, as her partner was shredded by the attack.
There was a flash of light and an exhausted Salamon was caught by Lilymon, who promptly placed herself in front of the descending MegaKabuterimon. Izzy already had his laptop out and was typing furiously.
"Machinedramon," he read with a growing horror. "A mega-level, virus type digimon. Made of the toughest parts of many metal digimon; it is thought by many to be among the strongest digimon in the world."
MegaKabuterimon landed near the two downed megas, before standing protectively in front of the children. Chuumon was trembling, his face in Mimi's shirt and scared tears falling from his face.
"He-he's another Dark Master!" Chuumon stammered, barely able to look at the digmon in front of them. "We have to run! We can't win!"
"No, Matt!" Tk suddenly yelled, his face horror-stricken.
The others followed his gaze to where the two megas lay; except now there was only one mega. MetalGarurumon was now two people once more; Matt and Gabumon both lay there on the ground unmoving.
WarGreymon coughed painfully before he stirred. He turned his head to look at his defenceless friend in horror as Machinedramon slowly approached them.
"I failed to account for the shield on your back," the metallic voice whispered. "I will not make the same error twice."
The internal barrels of his cannons began to glow with energy. With a truly herculean effort, WarGreymon managed to stand up but he was still too injured to get out of the way.
"Flower Cannon!"
Lilymon's attack shot past him to hit right in front of the mega, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
"Let's go, come on!" Lilymon yelled, picking up both Matt and Gabumon as tenderly as she could before shooting back towards the others.
WarGreymon moved to follow her.
"Giga Cannon."
Unhooking the shield from his back and bringing the two halves together, WarGreymon jumped in front of the attack to protect Lilymon. The sheer power of the assault nearly knocked him over, yet it did enough. The energy ball went sailing into the air far above the chosen's heads, where it detonated harmlessly.
The smoke cleared to show Machinedramon staring silently at the WarGreymon. The much smaller mega was now in front of the other chosen, ready to protect them with his shield.
"Calculating..." Machinedramon breathed menacingly, his soulless eyes flickering between WarGreymon and the others.
"I'll buy you guys some time," WarGreymon shouted back to them, not taking his eys off the latest Dark Master. "Just run!"
"We won't leave you!" Sora yelled back.
"I'll buy you guys some time, just get out of here!" WarGreymon roared angrily.
"Stop trying to sacrifice yourself, you idiot!" Izzy yelled. "We won't let you!"
"We'll never abandon you, Tai!" Kari shouted, holding Salamon tightly to her chest.
"It's our job to save the digital world!" Joe yelled, joining the others. "It's either all of us, or none of us!"
"Idiots! I'll-"
"Dragon's Claw."
Machinedramon's left arm suddenly shot out on a long cable, imbedding itself deeply into WarGreymon's outstretched shield before he could blink.
"What the-"
"Giga Cannon."
WarGreymon tried to move, but the claw held him in place. The attack sailed over his head where it struck MegaKabuterimon before he could react. Izzy screamed as there was a purple glow and Motimon hit the ground hard.
Wth a roar of rage, WarGreymon threw his shield, with the claw still embedded to the side, and charged Machinedramon with his claws. Machinedramon simply moved his left arm, retracting his claw and slammed into the side of the charging mega.
WarGreymon crashed through a couple of trees before coming to a stop. He let out a hacking cough, before shakily standing up again.
Machinedramon was still silent, staring only at WarGreymon now.
The mega slumped a little before slowly staggering towards Machinedramon. Everything hurt, he could barely even think. All he knew was that he had to stop this monster.
Showing no mercy, Machinedramon casually grabbed the injured mega by his head and slammed him into the ground hard enough to bury him in rock. He lifted him out again before throwing him towards the other chosen children.
"Your interference is nuisance," he stated, advancing menacingly. "You will all be terminated here."
WarGreymon slowly, ever so slowly, stood up, despite the protests of the others.
"I... won't... let you," he coughed, still between Machinedramon and the others.
"Your opinion is irrelevant," Machinedramon responded.
"I... won't let you!" WarGreymon roared, charging with all his strength; his claws catching the light of the sun...
...only to stop dead before even moving two feet.
"What- I can't move!" he cried, trying to strain against some invisible bonds.
A menacing giggling erupted from the forest. The chosen turned to see what looked like a large wooden puppet sitting on the higher branches of a nearby tree.
"Course you can't move!" he cackled. "I'm not letting ya!"
A series of strings, so small they could barely be seen, extended from his fingers to hook onto WarGreymon's limbs.
"Who's that?!" Mimi cried.
"Puppetmon!" Chuumon wailed in despair.
"Another mega digimon," Izzy answered, trying to quell the panic he was feeling. "A virus type, supposedly made from the cursed wood of an evil Cherrymon."
"This is really bad," Joe said, stating the obvious. "How are we supposed to get away from two of them?!"
"Why are you here, Puppetmon?" Machinedramon questioned.
The mega giggled, wiggling his fingers to make WarGreymon dance.
"The boss is coming!" he laughed, his red eyes staring down at WarGreymon. "And he isn't very happy with yoouuuu!"
He cackled some more, before turning his eyes to the other children.
"Awww, is this it?" he asked, sounding disappointed. "This is the digidestined? I thought they'd be more interesting! Hmm, maybe I'll play with a few of them first? The small ones look like they'll break more easily..."
WarGreymon's struggles intensified at that, before Puppetmon ended them by slamming the mega on the floor.
"Ah, ah, ah," he said, waggling his finger. "For that, you can watch."
"You presume much, Puppetmon," a high, cold voice suddenly spoke.
"Lord Piedmon," Machinedramon said suddenly, deferring to his superior.
"Well isn't this interesting?" the clown said, looking at the chosen, along with WarGreymon who was on the floor, staring up at Piedmon's face. "Can someone please explain to me why it is that MetalSeadramon is now dead, hmm? Please explain to me, Machinedramon, why did you not help him before he was killed?"
There was silence as Machinedramon and Piedmon seemingly stared one another down.
"Please answer soon, and for your sake I hope that it is a good one."
"As per your orders, we were to allow the previous user the discrepancy to play with the digidestined in anyway he wished, until they were finished," Machinedramon began, his voice showing no signs of intimidation or fear. "By not interfering, I was following your orders as you commanded me to do so."
There was another silence, Piedmon's left hand idly stroked the handle of one of his blades.
The clown smirked.
"Good answer," he said, before turning round to face the digidestined.
He dramatically put his hand to his face.
"Honestly this is so embarassing," he said with mock humility. "My production hasn't come out the way I planned at all! But of course, the show must go on! This production can still be salvaged from the horrible mess it's in. Puppetmon, let him up!"
The mega released WarGreymon, allowing him to move again.
Piedmon smirked.
"He'll be first."
WarGreymon managed to stand up before Piedmon moved.
"Trump Sword!" he yelled, throwing two of his swords at WarGreymon.
They pierced him through the chest.
"TAI!" Sora cried out in horror.
He stood there for a second or two, staring in shock at the two blades embedded deeply in his chest before reality caught up with him. There was a flash of light as the swords hit the ground and Tai and Agumon appeared lying on the ground some ways away from Piedmon.
The sudden appearance of the two seemed to shock the Dark Masters. Piedmon raised an eyebrow, while Puppetmon stared agape in exaggerated shock.
Machinedramon stepped forward, his cannons charging pointing at the two, ready to finish off his most persistent enemy. Piedmon instead held out a hand to stop him.
"Hold on, don't kill them," he ordered, craning his head to get a good look at the two.
The mega reached outwards and withdrew his swords from where they had embedded themselves in the ground. He put them back in their sheathes and took a closer look at the two.
"Hmm, well that was unexpected," he stated, looking curiously at Tai and Agumon before his eyes settled on Tai specifically.
He smirked, before chuckling nastily.
"Well, well, well," he said, walking forward casually.
The other chosen were powerless to help him. Only Lilymon stood between them and three megas; Tai and Agumon didn't even have that much. The remaining ultimate knew there was no chance she'd be able to get anywhere near the two while those three megas were there. It was only a matter of time before they turned their attention towards the rest of the group. That would be the end of them.
"Don't you touch him!" Mimi yelled as well, before Joe quickly put a hand over her mouth.
Piedmon stopped and stared at Mimi for a moment. Mimi, along with the other chosen, glared right back, refusing to lower their gaze. The clown smirked at their bravery, before kneeling down next to a near unconscious Taichi.
"Well now," Piedmon said to Tai, eyeing the goggles, cloak and blue shirt. "It's certainly you alright; that explains the loyalty."
Tai's eyes widened. It couldn't be...
"Neo realised my skills and accepted me into the Alias III," Sigma's voice synthesiser said, staring coldly down at Tai, Rei and Gabo. "I built the world of Masks Square with Piedmon. Here, we are invincible!"
"I'll tear off your mask and make you talk, Sigma!" Tai yelled, Zeromaru flying into battle behind him.
"Hmm, that hipocrisy you call friendship is also a mask; allow us to tear it from you!" the synthesiser said, as Piedmon charged Zero with his swords...
"STOP!" Sigma yelled out, the world of Masks Square crumbling around them.
Zero halted, his final attack inches from an injured Piedmon's face.
"Please... don't hurt him... I lost..."
Tai's eyes were glued to Piedmon's face. The memories of the past conflicting with the present.
"He killed him!" Sigma yelled, tears pouring out of the cracks of his mask. "Arkadimon ate him! He ate my partner, absorbed his data!"
"You..." Tai coughed. "You can't be..."
Piedmon raised a delicate eyebrow before leaning in.
"To be honest, I was expecting more from you of all people," Piedmon whispered. "All this time and all you could do was kill one of us. One measley little mega; that was it! That was the limit of your strength. Against the rest of us you lasted no time at all. How far have you fallen, hmm?"
Here Piedmon leaned in even closer, his lips almost brushing Tai's ear.
"All those powerful opponents you faced, all those challenges you conquered... yet now all you are is nothing but trash. Unable to save yourself, let alone the ones you care about. They're all going to die here and there's nothing you can do about it. How does that make you feel, hmm?"
Tai was silent, staring silently up at the mega. Piedmon stood up, looking at Tai with a measure of disgust.
"How the mighty have fallen," he said with contempt.
Tai's vision was going blurry, he couldn't think anymore and his cheeks were wet for some reason. The last thing he saw before everything went dark was Piedmon's sneering face.
Piedmon turned towards the other megas just as Lilymon lunged. Scooping up Tai and Agumon as best she could she darted back towards the others, ready to defend them all to the death.
Piedmon just chuckled.
"Fine, fine," he said, dismissively waving his hand in their direction. "I was going to make a performance of it, but I probably shouldn't risk it. You can all die together. Machinedramon?"
The massive mega immediately had his cannons trained on the chosen.
"Pixie-Bomb!"
Several explosions rocketed across the Dark Master's position, kicking up loads of dust. Before the digidestined knew what was happening, they were encased in an energy bubble and speeding away from the confrontation.
"Hello there!" Piximon said with forced cheer to the astonished digidestined. "Remember me?"
"Piximon!" they cried.
"You saved us!" Izzy yelled out in amazement.
"Have I ever told you you're one of my favourite digimon?" Joe said.
"That's nice, but we haven't much time," Piximon stated, looking around. "You have to take down the Dark Masters, they are the primary agents of the ultimate evil that has been threatening the digital world!"
"Wait, they aren't the ultimate evil?!" Sora asked in horror.
"Are you kidding?!" Mimi screamed.
"They are his primary servants, and were with him when he defeated and sealed the Sovereign," Piximon explained. "The Sovereign can't be destroyed like normal digimon, but they can be beaten. By doing so the Dark Masters have taken control over the digital world from them, resulting in Spiral Mountain. Once you've beaten the Dark Masters, the barriers will be weak enough for you all to cross over into the Sovereign's domain."
"The what?" Izzy questioned.
There was a rumble as the sphere shook violently.
Piximon cursed, before quickly answering.
"Where the Sovereign once lived, but now is where the evil resides! You must beat them! Rest and grow strong; we're all counting on you!"
"Digidestined found," a cold metallic voice stated.
They all turned to see Machinedramon ploughing through the forest at a terrifying rate towards them.
Piximon gritted his teeth.
"GO! I'll hold them off!" he yelled before jumping out of the bubble.
"No, you'll be killed!" Lilymon yelled.
"I know that, but if you all escape it'll be worth it!" Piximon responded as they zoomed past him.
He stood in front of Machinedramon, blocking his path. Piedmon and Puppetmon both sat on the behemoth's shoulders, eyeing the ultimate with amusement.
"What exactly are you planning on doing, hmm?" Piemdon chuckled. "Machinedramon, shoot them down."
"Calculating..." Machinedramon muttered, taking careful aim at the flying energy sphere.
"NO!" Piximon yelled, before finding himself immobilised by Puppetmon's strings.
"HAHAHA!" he hollered. "The look on your face!"
Machinedramon's eyes glinted.
"Giga Cannon."
A single blast shot over their heads and towards the energy sphere. It impacted it, tearing right thorugh it and splitting it in half. Now two spheres, each with half the chosen children in them, shot off in different directions towards Spiral Mountain.
"What?!" Piedmon yelled.
"You really think I'd make it that easy?" Piximon cackled. "I'm tougher than that, ya creep!"
With a grunt of annoyance, Piedmon skewered the little digimon, causing him to vanish into data. Machinedramon instead stared into the distance where the two specks that were the chosen children were heading rapidly towards two certain sections of the mountain.
Piedmon seemingly calmed himself.
"Perhaps it's for the best," he reasoned. "No need to end the small amount of fun we've had since conquering this world."
He turned towards the other two.
"Return to your posts, maybe I won't cancel the production after all," Piedmon chuckled. "We'll make it a contest. If they're in your territory then it's fair game! They're yours to play with!"
Puppetmon cheered like a demented little kid while Machinedramon was silent, still staring off at the mountain.
"Yes, Lord Piedmon," he responded eventually. "I already have plans on how to deal with them."
Piedmon smirked evilly.
"Good to know, now places people! We have a schedule to run!" he said, flying off back towards his palace at the top of the mountain.
Puppetmon giggled, running back into the undergrowth to return to his base to prepare for any new guests.
Machinedramon instead continued to stare upwards, thinking.
"Calculations complete; awaiting results..."
Mimi was now doubly glad that she'd prepared for the trip and even pilfered from the first aid kit in her parents' shop. She continued to treat Tai's injuries as best she could while Lilymon looked out for any nearby hostiles. She'd already had to delete a couple of demon-like digimon who had tried to run away upon sighting them.
She, Kari, Izzy and Tai had all landed in what appeared to be the most terrifying place she had ever seen. There was no wildlife or trees as far as she could see. Instead there was just dead wasteland, interspaced with small pools of muddy water and the occasional dark cliffs.
The sky was overcast with black clouds, with no indication of whether it was day or night. Occasional cracks of thunder could be heard in the distance and for a moment Mimi could have sworn she'd seen red lightning. The memories had made her squeal.
The ground looked almost exactly like the no-man's land from World War One that was depicted in her history books: all lifeless and rocky.
At least Izzy was making himself at home. The boy sat on a nearby rock along with an unconscious Motimon, typing rapidly on his computer doing god-knows-what.
Kari was with her, along with Salamon, trying to do whatever she could to keep Tai comfortable. Mimi gritted her teeth and continued to treat his injuries. She couldn't believe she ever wanted to come back to this rotten place!
Chuumon sat down next to the unconscious Tai; gripping his own knees together and rocking gently. She wanted to comfort him, but he seemed to be in his own little world at the moment.
"Is he going to be alright?" Agumon asked, looking worriedly at the dark bruises on Tai's face.
"He'll be fine, Agumon," Kari said automatically, although the eight year old couldn't hide her own anxiety from Mimi.
Despite only having met her recently, Mimi could read the little girl like an open book. She knew what the kid needed right now.
"Here Kari," she said, handing the girl a roll of bandages. "Could you wrap his arm for me?"
The little girl nodded despondently, grabbing the roll from Mimi's outstretched hand and getting to work. It might not be much, but the feeling that she was helping her big brother would alleviate her anxiety somewhat.
"We should get moving soon," Izzy said, walking over to them.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Mimi asked, rather irritated. "Tai's injured! We can't move him too much or he'll just get worse!"
"I know that," Izzy said, his eyes darting briefly over Tai's form before returning. "It's just that we're not exactly in the safest position right now. I've been trying to contact Gennai, but he's been strangely silent. I hope he's alright."
"Why not try worrying about us, before Gennai," Mimi responded harshly. "Tai's the one who's injured!"
"I-I know that," Izzy said. "I've just... got a bad feeling..."
At least they would have plenty of food, Joe thought to himself whilst looking around at all the fruit trees around them. They had landed in a forest that was completely unlike the last one they'd been in.
Whilst the last one had been somewhat dark, this one was bathed in a deep morning glow that seemed to make the forest come alive. Not literally, thank goodness, but metaphorically.
He, Sora, Tk and Matt, aong with their partners were all now stranded here with no idea where the others were. It was maddening. Tk hovered worriedly over Matt while Sora did what she could for him.
Joe once again cursed for not stocking up on medical supplies before leaving. He had been in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to think. As soon as his brother had appeared he'd panicked and forgotten.
He growled at his own uselessness. He was supposed to have changed from the useless Joe that only held the team back, but it seemed he was only deluding himself. He and Zudomon hadn't been able to help at all in that last battle. They'd been nothing but an extra body for MetalSeadramon to tear through.
At least that monster was dead. Joe had had enough of Seadramon to last a lifetime. Just the memory of the pain as that attack had washed over his partner was enough to give him shivers. For a moment, he'd barely even been able to think through it.
Shaking himself out of the memory, Joe walked over to the others.
"How is he?" he asked, looking at the unconscious Matt.
"He seems fine," Sora responded, looking worried. "I think he just needs rest," she added loudly for Tk's benefit, who smiled a little.
Gabumon sat nearby, having woken up a few minuted earlier. He seemed rather contemplative, looking over occasionally at Matt before glancing away as if he'd been caught doing something bad.
It was truly odd.
Joe groaned.
"I hear ya," Sora agreed. "It looks like it's just gonna be us four for the forseeable future."
"We can make it," Joe decided. "As long as we stick together and don't go running off anyway."
Sora looked worriedly over at Matt, many of his injuries bandaged with large leaves and vines, along with the occasional torn piece of spare clothing.
"We can only hope..."
A/N: So now, please tell me what you guys and gals thought. What are your theories, your thoughts on what happened? What worked for you and what didn't?
We're almost at 500 reviews now! Wahoo! Well done everyone!
Questions:
PauloPT90:I'm not worried about the whole VictoryGreymon thing, don't worry. The seven demon lords sounds interesting, but I already have plans for them. Milleniumon might be something worth investigating though. (Although Ryo won't make an appearance.) As for romance, not for season one. There won't be anything more serious than crushes or slight feelings in the first season. The second season though, there will be some romance.
DalekDavros:I think it was implied in tamers that the Biomerging produces stronger megas than normal. They were able to fight pretty evenly with a Sovereign twice after all. Plus it's fun to write big battle scenes.
fanakatsuki:It's entirely possible that Omnimon may appear earlier, Milleniumon might make something of an appearance later in 02.
treeofsakuras:Yes, 02 will be quite different, though there will be similarities. Tai and the older group will be involved more, and that includes the tamers.
Mcv:At the moment I doubt a team-up will happen. The movie I'm planning on putting in as well, don't worry. It will be quite different to the actual one, since quite a bit has changed.
Element-OverLord:I don't have any current plans for Tai to go to the tamers or frontier dimensions, or the generation event in Xros wars.
ultima-owner:You'll have to judge that for yourself, though all will be revealed later.
Rales Mckoy:Biomerging will affect War Games and 02. I'm still working things out though, so no worries.
Anon:Some of the others will be getting mega forms yes, good observation about the prophecy line! Just because he can become WarGreymon doesn't mean he can't be the leader and tactician anyway. Just wait...
draXmon:No I won't be including wonderswan, sorry if that disapoints you. I might intorduce elements from it, but not the actual events themselves. I never played the actual games and I prefer to have a good handle on the source material I'm using. Not to mention when you involved time travel, things get... complicated very quickly.
Massive thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love to hear what you guys think.
Hope you all enjoyed.
Updates next monday!
EDIT: Fixed grammer mistakes thanks to Captain Nice Hardrive!