(Author's notes: Here it is, off the back end of Tropical Storm Arthur. Enjoy!)
Chapter 20: The Daydream of a Digicore
Dukemon leaned on the railing of one of the castle balconies, gazing off into the distance. He watched as the sun rose in the morning, sending light across the grey sky. The crisp refreshing breeze blew across his scales, sweeping his long, white hair behind him gently.
Beside him sat Grani, who watched the sunrise with Dukemon before he went to begin his scouting duties. Ever since Omegamon had been captured, Grani and his scouts had been working extremely hard to try to locate either the Royal Knight or his captors.
The two stood in silence, completely at ease in the other's presence as they watched the day begin.
They initially didn't notice a third Digimon walk out onto the balcony. Grani heard some shifting and glanced behind him to see Alphamon walking over.
"Alphamon?" he asked. "Have you come to join us in watching the sunrise?"
"If you don't mind," Alphamon responded, walking over to Dukemon's side.
Dukemon arched a brow and looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure you should be up, Alphamon?" he asked him. He offered a playful grin. "I don't need to get Duskmon up here, do I?"
Alphamon responded with a small, faint smile as he leaned forwards on the railing. "No, I'm feeling better today, thank you," he told him.
Grani glanced between the two Digimon. His large body then moved when he stood up straight on the railing. "I think I'll get started on my scouting duties. There's a lot to do. Much to organize."
"Alright," Alphamon replied, glancing over at the sizeable Zero ARMS.
"Huh? Oh, sure," Dukemon said, looking at his friend as well. "Good luck, Grani."
Grani would have nodded, but his head didn't allow for a lot of movement, so he responded with a 'thank you'. The two Royal Knights watched as the red dragon-bird took off from the balcony and swooped down towards the ground before veering left and disappearing around the side of the building.
When he was gone, Dukemon went back to staring off into the distance.
Alphamon looked over at the crimson knight. "Are you thinking about Omegamon?" he asked him.
"Yeah…" Dukemon admitted. "What do you think DarkKnightmon wants with him?"
"Probably not for information. If he wanted to use him as bait to lure us into a trap, we would have gotten at least a clue to Omegamon's whereabouts by now," Alphamon figured. "I think he wants to hurt me. That's why he revealed what he did about OuRyuumon when he did."
"But he doesn't know that you and OuRyuumon were together, does he?" Dukemon asked.
Alphamon sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. It was still strange for him to hear somebody else talking about him and OuRyuumon in that way. "No… I highly doubt it. I didn't even know that OuRyuumon was gay back when DarkKnightmon was around."
"Ah… Well, you're not going to let him get to you, right?" Dukemon questioned, looking over at him.
Alphamon smiled a bit. "No… I have been for the past week, but… not anymore. I'm the Lord of the Empty Seat."
Dukemon smiled as well. "And you've got your Royal Knights around you to support you, remember."
"I know…" Alphamon replied, locking eyes with Dukemon. He stalled for a few moments. "Dukemon… Are you sure you're fine with me being… the way I am? 'Bisexual', if you want to call it something."
Dukemon turned to look at him. "Again, yeah… I'll be honest, though, it came as a massive shock and I was a little annoyed that you only just told me yesterday, but… I can understand why. It really doesn't change anything about you in my eyes. You're still you, even if you like guys as well as girls, just like I'm still me, even if I have the Digital Hazard, right?"
Alphamon smiled at him gratefully. "Right… Thank you."
"Anyways… Have you changed your mind about OuRyuumon, by any chance?"
A frown grew on Alphamon's face as he considered Dukemon's question. "…I don't know. I'm not going to say I won't change my mind, but… I think it's better if he and I are apart for awhile. Maybe I'll feel differently after some time... Besides, I can't think about him right now. We need to focus on rescuing Omegamon."
"Well, okay…" Dukemon said uncertainly. He grinned slightly. "From a strategic standpoint, it'd be good if you could still go Ouryuken with him."
"I think a lot of mending is needed until we're able to do that again…" Alphamon answered somberly.
Dukemon looked at Alphamon with a concerned expression. "The argument was that bad, huh…?"
"We both said some things that struck deep," Alphamon explained, wincing a bit.
"Oh…" Dukemon put his hand on Alphamon's shoulder and rubbed. "I'm sure you'll both feel differently when you see each other again."
"We'll see…" the black knight answered, looking towards the sunrise. He turned around and faced the entrance from the balcony into the main building. "Anyways, I have to get started."
"So soon?" Dukemon asked, withdrawing his hand. "Have you even showered yet?"
"I need to send communiqués to the states of the Free Area, asking them for possible information on Omegamon, DarkKnightmon, MirageGaogamon, or Dorbickmon. Chances are that somebody has seen something. We should also start printing 'wanted' posters offering a reward for useful information about DarkKnightmon."
"Want me to ask Dynasmon to call the Warrior Ten and ask AtlurKabuterimon to draw up the portraits?" Dukemon asked.
"If you can drag him out of bed," Alphamon replied with a small smile, nodding at Dukemon and heading inside.
Dukemon looked over his shoulder. "By the way… Don't worry about OuRyuumon either. Despite the way he acts sometimes, he can take care of himself."
Alphamon stopped and nodded. "One other thing… Have you seen Examon? Nobody's seen him since yesterday and his bed doesn't look like it's been slept in. He and Sleipmon are supposed to have military command lessons later this morning."
"Can't say I have… Maybe he got up early to train or do something else productive," Dukemon replied.
"I'll look around," Alphamon said. "I'm going to call a meeting at around noon about what to do about Omegamon and what happened with OuRyuumon."
"I'm guessing you won't be telling them the whole story," Dukemon supposed, looking over at Alphamon.
"Not now…" he replied. He paused. "But eventually. I've seen what happens when a secret is discovered rather than admitted. Now's just… not the right time for that."
"I understand," Dukemon told him. "Don't worry. I'll back you up."
Alphamon nodded. "Thank you... For being so supportive," he said sincerely.
Dukemon grinned and nodded.
"I'll see you in a few hours, then," Alphamon told him, turning towards the door and disappearing inside the castle.
MirageGaogamon walked down a stone corridor on the second level of the town hall, where his new residence was.
He had a rough sleep. He still wasn't used to the unusually comfortable bed after sleeping in a prison cot for years, and he had a bad dream that he couldn't shake. He didn't have anything to do that afternoon, as DarkKnightmon was busy here and Dorbickmon went off somewhere, so he had decided to have a nap, but that was cut short by what sounded like a yell of pain. MirageGaogamon assumed it had been another dream, so he ignored it.
He made his way down to the great hall to see if DarkKnightmon was still watching Omegamon. As soon as he passed through the door to the back end of the great hall, he stopped. The spot where Omegamon was bound was empty and the Royal Knight was gone. He began to dash in, but noticed something out of the corners of his eyes as soon as he did. MirageGaogamon swerved to his right and saw Omegamon's form standing nearby. However, he noticed that Omegamon's armoured body was now coated black and he had somehow regained his weapons. MirageGaogamon tensed up. He must have evolved or mode changed to break free.
MirageGaogamon acted. His body became an azure blur as he darted across the floor, poising his claw gauntlets.
Omegamon Zwart whirled around just as MirageGaogamon closed in on him, his weapons raised.
MirageGaogamon pressed his claws against Omegamon's neck, but his eyes widened upon feeling and seeing the black knight's Grey Sword against his neck as well. He looked into Omegamon Zwart's cold, fearsome, red eyes and felt a chill down his spine at how different they seemed compared to Omegamon's usual look.
"MirageGaogamon! Omegamon Zwart! Lower your weapons," DarkKnightmon told them, striding over to the two.
"W-What?" MirageGaogamon asked in a voice that required an answer.
Omegamon Zwart's eyes narrowed at MirageGaogamon, but he withdrew his blade. He then swatted MirageGaogamon's clawed hand aside with the muzzle of his Garuru Cannon.
"You two are on the same side," DarkKnightmon explained. He looked at MirageGaogamon. "Omegamon – or 'Omegamon Zwart', now – is with us."
"But… But how?" MirageGaogamon asked, taking a step back. "He was so obstinate before."
"I had a bit of help," DarkKnightmon said, turning and looking over at the dark rift indicatively. "That crack between our plane of the Digital World and the Dark Area, while not enough for hard mass to pass through, is leaking dark data. However, within some of that data are secretions of a substance called Black Digitron. It's incredibly rare in the Digital World, but it's easier to find in the Dark Area. Within it is an agent that allows for the creation of dark subspecies of certain Digimon. That, along with the dark data, has allowed me to turn Omegamon into the loyal follower of our cause that you see before you: Omegamon Zwart."
Omegamon Zwart observed MirageGaogamon carefully. "MirageGaogamon. Former Captain of the Royal Knights' Defence Forces."
MirageGaogamon looked at DarkKnightmon. "He retains his memories?" he asked. "Then how can we trust him?"
"The dark data brings out the darkness in Digimons' hearts as well as physically corrupts their digicores. He still has Omegamon's loyalty from before, but he's expressed his scorn for the Royal Knights to me. That loyalty is now mine," DarkKnightmon explained, turning to Omegamon Zwart and nodding.
"But how can we be sure that—"
The sounds of the front doors creaking open interrupted him, and the three turned towards the noise, always somewhat wary that it was somebody other than Dorbickmon or the mayor, who was reluctantly complying with Dorbickmon out of fear. This worry was somewhat eased by the fact that only those two had the keys to the town hall.
After locking the front doors behind him, Dorbickmon strode into the great hall and looked up to see Omegamon Zwart standing with DarkKnightmon and MirageGaogamon, with his Garuru Cannon trained on him.
"Woah, what the-" Dorbickmon's eyes widened and he suddenly became defensive, sneering. "What the hell's going on here?!"
"Oh. It's you," Omegamon Zwart spoke, lowering his cannon.
"Dorbickmon, meet our new ally," DarkKnightmon said, motioning to Omegamon. "Omegamon Zwart."
"Omegamon Zwart…" Dorbickmon said, arching an eyebrow. He walked over to them and looked the pitch black knight up and down. "What'd you do? Use that rift I couldn't close?"
"Yes, that's right," DarkKnightmon answered. "Astute guess."
MirageGaogamon grunted quietly and folded his arms. "Where did you sneak off to, Dorbickmon?" he asked him suspiciously.
"I had some business to attend to," Dorbickmon cryptically replied, eyeing MirageGaogamon with a contentious grin.
"What, exactly?" MirageGaogamon pressed, narrowing his eyes.
Dorbickmon chuckled and sighed, folding his arms. "Okay, fine… I went to see one of my mercenary pals. I told some of them to keep an eye out the Royal Knights and other members of the Order. He contacted me around noon with some information." He looked at DarkKnightmon with a dark grin. "You might find this interesting. He saw an old friend of yours flying north towards the Free Area's border, all by himself."
DarkKnightmon looked at Dorbickmon pensively. "Who?"
"OuRyuumon," Dorbickmon informed him.
A dark shadow seemed to fall over DarkKnightmon's face as he looked down in thought. The knight turned to Omegamon Zwart, who was glaring intensely at the name.
DarkKnightmon nodded and closed his eyes. "…That's good to know."
Dorbickmon grinned as he thought to himself. "And there's something else I found too…"
OuRyuumon soared through the warmth and humidity of the late afternoon. It was one of those uncomfortably warm days that either preceded or followed a rainstorm. The humidity made his armour cling to his scales and his hands sweat inside the violet, leather, fingerless gloves that he wore. He hated the feeling. It made the flight even more irritating than it was already.
He flew over the grasslands and the multitude of trees that stood across the landscape, whose blue and red leaves rustled in the soft breeze. The sun was beginning to slowly descend towards the horizon, off to his left. Its rays still shone into his eyes and sparkled off the scimitars dangling from his belt. That annoyed him as well, even if he usually liked sunny days. It was like everything grated on his nerves since DarkKnightmon revealed what he did. Things had just kept getting worse for him from that point on.
He didn't believe in Yggdrasil. Or Fanglongmon, for that matter. Or God, unlike many of the Angel Digimon who followed that smaller, less known offshoot of the Yggdrasil faith. However, he couldn't help but feel like he was being punished. OuRyuumon always knew that it was too good to be true, that he had gotten away with what he tried to do. Now, he had lost everything.
OuRyuumon wondered what he would do when he got back to New Terminal. What lie he would tell his parents about why he wasn't part of the Order anymore, and what about Alphamon. Some lie, he guessed. He was already used to lying to them about himself. However, he was beginning to realize that some lies don't last forever.
He wondered if he should even bother going back to New Terminal; he didn't know what he would do there for a living. He supposed he could work for his father at his smithy, but he never really had that much interest in that. He considered not returning and going off to join a mercenary company or guild. That was where his skills lay, and that way he could keep fighting. However, he doubted that option too; he couldn't bear potentially going up against Alphamon and the Royal Knights one day. The shame and guilt would be too much.
The gold dragon sighed and he grimly looked over his shoulder, checking the landscape behind him. "There's no going back now…" he muttered to himself. "Almost out of this damn Free Area…"
He suddenly stopped as he neared the rushing river that acted as the border separating that Free Area province with the end of the Free Area's territory. His eyes narrowed defiantly and he suddenly closed his fists tightly. "No…" he hissed out of his draconic mouth. "I'm not about to give up and slink away in the night like I'm the bad guy. It was DarkKnightmon who put his poisonous words into Alphamon's ear. He was trying to do this to us and I'm not about to let him get away with it! If I can find him and take him down, then Alphamon will have to realize that I'm worth keeping around! I'll show— Huh?"
OuRyuumon stopped the motivational speech, filled with new found resolve, when he heard a noise behind him. His heart sank when he saw a bright blue energy orb rushing towards him at incredible speeds.
His hands instinctively went for the Gairyu swords in his belt. He was fast enough to close his claws around their hilts, but he didn't have enough time to draw them to defend himself or even dodge the sudden attack. Just as he began to pull them out, the blast detonated against his body, throwing him out of the sky violently. OuRyuumon let out a cry of pain as his body was concussed with frigid power and he fell to the ground like a falling brick. He hit the ground, his wings and back colliding with the grass first before the rest of him followed.
OuRyuumon grimaced with pain and lay there for a few seconds, growling between winded coughs. Although dazed, he tried his best to look around, trying to locate his attacker. His eyes narrowed when he located something: there was a black figure standing out against the sky. That was all he could make out before another blast, fired from the figure's arm, obstructed his view of the Digimon. The attack soared towards OuRyuumon's downed form.
Not about to take this lying down, OuRyuumon jumped to his feet and drew the Gairyu swords, twirling the scimitars in front of him for a moment before flapping his wings and darting to the side just as the attack closed in. The beam hit the ground with a large explosion and shards of ice pelted OuRyuumon's armour and scales as he flew away from the blast.
"You picked the wrong guy on the wrong day, bastard!" OuRyuumon shouted angrily, circling around and looking over to where the Digimon was. It was then that he noticed that the Digimon had moved already. He looked around fervently, searching and listening. He couldn't see it anywhere.
It was then that he noticed the sound of fluttering of cloth coming from above him. OuRyuumon looked up and gripped his swords tightly; the black figure was descending on him. OuRyuumon immediately dove downwards into frontal loop to put distance between himself and the Digimon so that he could counterattack. As soon as he reached the lowest point of the dive, where he began to circle back up again, OuRyuumon heard a deep voice harmonize with the sound of something being fired.
"Garuru Cannon!"
"Garuru Cannon?" OuRyuumon couldn't help but think to himself.
However, that thought quickly vanished when he saw the attack descending on him. OuRyuumon sneered briefly and crossed his long, jagged swords in front of him as his body began to glow gold. "Ouga- AH!"
The attack was too fast. The ball of compressed power broke through his defence and exploded against his chest. Apart from the pain, a sense of dread flooded through OuRyuumon when he felt the Gairyu Sadaijin fly away from his left hand as his body was concussed by the blast. He slammed into the ground violently, his long body arching in pain as he collided with the grass.
Not two seconds after hitting the ground was OuRyuumon already trying to move, but to his amazement, another attack was already falling upon him, followed by another and another.
The blasts pounded OuRyuumon's body mercilessly. His long, serpentine form was hammered and lambasted by the explosions, and forced further into the deepening crater around him. All he could feel was a cold, high-pressure, painful sensation all over his body as the attacks continued. He wasn't allowed a single moment of respite. The dragon grimaced when he felt himself lose his grip on the Gairyu Udaijin, which was torn away from his hand and blasted out of his reach.
After two more painful blasts, the bombardment finally stopped. OuRyuumon lay in the bottom of the crater, his body steaming and ice coating his form in some places. His whole body was wracked with pain and his movements were slow and sluggish as he tried to do something in defiance. He looked up and into the sky and saw a caped, sable knight descending on him.
As the armoured warrior landed on top of OuRyuumon, the dragon instinctively reached for one of his scimitars, which lay a meter away. The knight slammed his heel down on OuRyuumon's wrist and wound his right arm back.
OuRyuumon gritted his teeth and looked up at his attacker. He looked into the Digimon's sharp, crimson eyes and black, helmeted face. He recognized him. "Omega… mon…?"
Omegamon Zwart threw his arm forwards and slammed the heavy muzzle of the Garuru Cannon into OuRyuumon's face.
OuRyuumon saw a painful flash of red before darkness overtook him.
Examon lugged the Ambrosius over his spiked shoulders as he flew through the heavy, humid air. He could see that the storm clouds in the distance were creeping closer. It looked like it was going to rain in the evening – possibly all through the night.
He headed back towards the Royal Knights' territory after his unsuccessful, self-appointed mission to bring OuRyuumon back. He supposed he could have handled it better and not gotten so defensive and contentious during their argument, but he wasn't sure that it would have made any difference. Examon wondered if he should be truthful about his absence when he returned back to the headquarters; he didn't want Alphamon getting angry at him for insubordination after Alphamon had made the decision to throw OuRyuumon out of the Order. Then again, Examon wasn't sure if lying would be much better, especially since he wasn't very good at it. It wasn't like Examon knew OuRyuumon had been thrown out until he talked to the dragon himself.
His Caledfwlch wings floated on the warm air currents and he sailed through the air at a moderate speed.
He often wondered about the United Dramonic Coalition and how it was doing. He was sure that they would have heard something if there had been any trouble, but he still couldn't help but think about it. It had been a big change, going from living there and being its protector to only going there every so often as a Royal Knight. However, he was still glad that he made the decision to join the Royal Knights. It was extremely gratifying, and he even felt like he made a few friends here. That wasn't something that he could say about protecting the UDC.
The broad, armoured wings flapped in front of Examon, stopping his flight when he noticed something in the distance. Far up ahead, lying in the grass, was a Digimon. The Digimon turned to see Examon and called out to him, hailing with a wave of his arm.
Examon frowned and drew closer, descending down towards the Digimon. The Digimon was a red dragon Digimon like himself, more draconic than humanoid, it seemed.
"Hey!" the Digimon called out.
Examon flew down and landed in the grass. "Hello?" he asked, the Digimon, unaware that the species was a Dorbickmon.
"You're one of the Royal Knights, right?" Dorbickmon asked, bent forwards and clutching his leg with a grimace on his face.
"Yes, I'm Examon," Examon replied, looking him over with a frown.
There was a slight, fleeting change in Dorbickmon's expression. "Thank the Sovereigns!" Dorbickmon explained with a breath of relief. "I sprained my ankle and I can't walk very well. Can you give me a helping claw?"
Examon nodded. "Of course," he told him, sticking the Ambrosius into the ground so that he could go and help the wounded Digimon up. He bent down and took Dorbickmon's hand in his, their claws locking firmly. With a grunt of effort, he heaved the large, bulky dragon to his feet and slung his arm over his back and neck to help Dorbickmon stand. "This okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, thanks," Dorbickmon asked, balancing on one leg while turning and looking at Examon with an expressionless face. "You're a real lifesaver…"
"I'm just doing what a Royal Knight should do," Examon assured him.
Dorbickmon released a soft but sharp exhale from his nostrils. "Really."
"How did you hurt your leg?" Examon asked, readjusting Dorbickmon's arm slightly for comfort.
"I was climbing a tree for some fruit but one of the damn branches broke. I landed on my feet but I must have landed weird, so I twisted my ankle," Dorbickmon explained.
Examon nodded. He looked over at Dorbickmon. "Where should I take you? Where are you from?" he questioned.
There was a glint in Dorbickmon's yellow and violet eyes. "I'm from the UDC actually…" he admitted to Examon. He looked at the draconic Royal Knight to see his reaction. "Wyrm's Edge."
Examon looked at Dorbickmon with surprise. "R-Really…" he spoke, trying to maintain his composition. He gave a miniscule wince and looked away. "I am too, actually…"
"Fancy that…" Dorbickmon murmured, not taking his eyes off of Examon. "'Course… I don't live there now. Too many bad memories…"
Violet flames began to grow within the palm of Dorbickmon's hand - the one that rested at his side, away from Examon.
"…I see…" Examon spoke, still wincing somewhat. That was something that they had in common.
"You see… my best friend tried to kill me as a teenager," Dorbickmon told him.
Examon's whole body tightened and his heart felt like it skipped several beats. He slowly turned his head towards Dorbickmon, his eyes wide. He stared into Dorbickmon's eyes, which leered into his green ones with a kind of compressed excitement. Dorbickmon's eyes narrowed, his purple irises fixing on Examon's pupils, the yellow hue surrounding them making the violet colour stand out. That look… the way he looked at him… it felt familiar to Examon.
"Strike… dramon…?" he whispered. His calm, composed voice was gone. Instead, it was that of absolute shock and horror at the prospect of facing him.
Dorbickmon's eyes hardened passionately. He pulled his arm away roughly and stood on his own two feet, revealing that he had been feigning injury. He gritted his teeth and glared darkly into Examon's eyes. "Coredramon…" Dorbickmon wound his arm back. "You fucking HYPOCRITE!" he roared. He threw his clawed fist forwards, flames streaming out from within his closed palm, hard into the end of Examon's snout.
Examon let out a shout of pain and surprise as the blow sent him crashing onto his winged back. He felt the tips of his horns dig into the grass slightly, along with a numb, throbbing pain in his snout. A metallic taste made his tongue curdle as blood oozed from where his jagged teeth dug into the inside of his lips.
He winced and sat up, rubbing his snout and spitting out some bloody saliva from his swelling lip. "Strikedramon…" he said, looking up at him with a guilty grimace.
"It's 'Dorbickmon' now, 'Examon'," Dorbickmon hissed, clenching his large hands tightly. "I bet you thought you finished me off for good, didn't you?!"
"You don't understand!" Examon pleaded, standing to his feet. "I didn't mean for that to happen!"
"Oh, sure," Dorbickmon scoffed, a bit of fire leaking from his maw as he spoke. "Just like you didn't mean to leave me for dead and run off before you could be arrested, right?"
Examon looked down at the ground with tightened, guilt-filled eyes. "That was…" he spoke lowly. "A huge mistake…"
"I'll bet it was," Dorbickmon snarled, breaths of fire drifting from his maw with every word. "You're wishing you finished the job right then and there! Well, here's your chance, you traitorous bastard. Kill me, if you can! Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!"
Examon's eyes widened as the flames flew towards him. Despite his surprise, Examon's wings acted on their own and cloaked in front of his body to act as a chrome digizoid shield. The flames heated the metal intensely but harmlessly washed along their metal coating, unable to get through to Examon's scales.
The Caledfwlch wings swept out strongly and blasted the fire away with a powerful gust of wind, turning the inferno into embers which were quickly snuffed out. "Strikedramon! What are you doing?! Let's talk about this!"
"It's 'Dorbickmon', damnit!" he growled, flames still swathing from his mouth.
"Dorbickmon…" Examon muttered, thinking that the name sounded familiar. His eyes widened with realization. Alphamon mentioned that a Dorbickmon attacked him and Omegamon. "You're the one helping DarkKnightmon?!"
"I'm the one who freed him!" Dorbickmon explained. He held his hands in front of him and summoned the Tyrant Collbrande in a tempestuous burst of fire. Dorbickmon gripped the flaming sword tightly in his claws and took on a combat stance, sneering at Examon.
"But why?!" Examon demanded.
"To get to you!" Dorbickmon spat. He scowled at him darkly. "You were my best friend. You turned on me… Tried to kill me… That changes the way that a young, carefree Digimon looks at the world."
"I'm sorry about that, Dorbickmon," Examon told him animatedly, clenching his claws tightly. "Believe me!"
"Hollow words," Dorbickmon snarled. "What did I get from what you did? I nearly got reformatted if it weren't for the town physician. I got scars, burns, and the way I look at the world changed forever. What did you get? You got rewarded. You became a Royal Knight; one of the heroes of the Digital World. You make me sick."
Examon grimaced. "Let me explain… You don't have to forgive me, but at least hear—"
"You've had fifteen years to explain!" Dorbickmon shouted, slashing the Tyrant Collbrande outwards, a few embers flying off with the angry swipe. "What I want now is action!"
Before Examon could respond, two jets of fire streamed from Dorbickmon's chest towards him. Examon gritted his teeth and acted on instinct. He swerved to the side, angling one of his wings in front of his body to shield against the attack. He let out a grunt of pain as the streams of flames exploded on contact with his wings, creating a fulgurating blast that buffeted his wing painfully.
"Dorbickmon!" Examon shouted out over the roars of the flames.
"Let's see if you've got the skills of a Royal Knight!" Dorbickmon exclaimed, charging at Examon. He lunged into the air and swiped the flaming sword downwards powerfully.
Examon moved his wing and saw Dorbickmon descending on him with the Tyrant Collbrande. He dashed out of the way and made a dive for the Ambrosius lance, sticking in the ground several meters away. His claws clasped the hilt of the lance and pulled it from the ground just as Dorbickmon landed nearby with a mighty crash that sent heat flying out and dirt shooting up from around him.
Examon spun around and held the Ambrosius defensively. He narrowed his eyes at Dorbickmon as the aggressive dragon turned to glare at him. "I don't want to fight you, Dorbickmon," he told him. "I know how angry you must be, and you have every right to be, but—"
"Damn right, I do," Dorbickmon grunted, dragging his sword out of the ground with a cascade of grass and dirt. "You're a Royal Knight, right? Isn't it your duty to fight me since I helped capture one of your comrades?"
Examon grimaced at his words. He decided not to answer, as he was torn about what to do. "Omegamon… How is he?" he asked him.
"He's okay… He's got a new look," Dorbickmon said with an enigmatic smirk. The grin disappeared. "Now stop dragging your feet. You've never had a problem fighting me before."
Examon frowned. "If that's the only way I can get you to listen to me…"
"Good…" Dorbickmon adjusted his burning blade in his claws. "Don't hold back; I'm sure not going to."
A draconic growl escaped OuRyuumon's throat as he began to slip out of the holds of unconsciousness. The growl turned into a groan as he felt a throbbing pain in his face, back, and body. His hearing was slightly muffled, but he was sure that he heard the voices of Digimon talking nearby.
OuRyuumon gritted his teeth, tasting the sharp bitterness of blood on his tongue as he began to open his eyes. Through the blur of his eyes, he could see two dark figures and one blue one standing in front of him. He was indoors and the room seemed pretty dark, from what he could tell.
The next thing he noticed was the tight strain he felt in his shoulders and wrists. It became apparent to him that he wasn't lying down, but barely standing. His feet dragged against the ground and he was held up by something around his wrists. OuRyuumon grimaced and slowly pressed the soles of his clawed feet against the cold, stone floor, standing on his own to reduce the strain on his arms.
"The hell…?" he muttered to himself, still a bit groggy. OuRyuumon tried to move his arms, but he found that he was unable. Wincing, the gold dragon Digimon looked up to see what the problem was. To his shock, he saw that his arms were suspended above his head. His wrists were crossed over the other and bound tightly by chains, which lead up to the ceiling of the room. "What the fu-…?! Hey! What the hell is this?!"
The next thing that he noticed was that he couldn't move his wings along with his arms. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the chains around his wrists led down and bound his wings together, preventing him from using the Gaiba Daimeijin for flight. OuRyuumon tried to spread his bladed wings out to cut against the bonds, but saw that they held firm. He began to realize that his Gairyu swords were missing, as was the blade that usually sat on the tip of his tail. The dragon snarled, struggling to wrench his hands free. He turned and glared at the three Digimon in front of him, who turned towards him now that he was awake.
In front of him was DarkKnightmon, MirageGaogamon, and…
OuRyuumon squinted his eyes to get a good look at the third Digimon. It was the one who had attacked him. He wore black armour but he looked exactly like Omegamon. "What…?" he whispered to himself.
"So, you're awake…" DarkKnightmon observed, folding his arms.
"DarkKnightmon…" OuRyuumon hissed, a fire in his violet eyes as he glared at him balefully. "You… bastard…"
DarkKnightmon grunted. "You don't change, do you?"
"Neither do you… You're still a treacherous little eel," OuRyuumon said to him. "Release me right now so we can settle this once and for all! Or are you scared?"
DarkKnightmon looked at his prisoner calmly. "There's a fine line between courage and stupidity. You're the living proof of that," he dryly responded. "I think I'll leave you the way you are, if you don't mind."
OuRyuumon narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to MirageGaogamon. "So… You're free," he said, making the disdain in his voice clear. "Ex-Captain."
MirageGaogamon returned the stare. "Quite the reversal, isn't it? …Ex-Captain," he made sure to add.
"Don't know what you're talking about," OuRyuumon defiantly said, sneering. He turned and looked at the Digimon who looked like Omegamon. "And what the hell is this? Some bad Omegamon impersonator?"
"I was Omegamon," the black armoured Digimon explained in a cold voice. "I am now Omegamon Zwart."
OuRyuumon narrowed his eyes at his words. "…You expect me to believe that?"
"You'd believe me if I revealed your and Alphamon's secret," Omegamon Zwart threatened.
OuRyuumon's eyes widened. There was only one secret that that could be. He didn't want to believe it, but now he was sure; that Digimon was Omegamon. OuRyuumon felt a pressure in his chest. What had happened to him? Had Omegamon betrayed them? Had he been brainwashed? Was there some sort of strange Digimon's spell over him?
"Omegamon…? What… What the hell happened to you?!" he demanded, looking between Omegamon Zwart and DarkKnightmon. "What did you do to him, you bastard?!"
"That's none of your concern," DarkKnightmon countered. "Moreover, I don't have to explain myself to prisoners."
OuRyuumon struggled hard against his metal restraints and snarled, glaring at DarkKnightmon. "Whatever you did to him, let him go!" he told him. "And let me go too, you damn coward!"
Omegamon Zwart narrowed his eyes and raised his arm swiftly, pointing the Garuru Cannon at OuRyuumon's face, showing him the flickers of blue energy igniting within the muzzle. "Watch your mouth for once, OuRyuumon. Or I'll see to it that you're unable to speak," he warned him.
OuRyuumon gritted his teeth and sneered, his eye brows furrowed furiously. "Omegamon… Damn it…"
"It's alright," DarkKnightmon said to them. "I can handle him alone from here."
"Are you sure, Sir?" MirageGaogamon asked, looking at OuRyuumon suspiciously. "You know how volatile he is."
"He's restrained, so all I have to concern myself with is his big mouth," DarkKnightmon explained. "I've handled it before and I can handle it now. I'd just like some privacy, please."
"Of course…" MirageGaogamon said, nodding, although somewhat apprehensively. He turned and headed for the door to the room.
"Very well…" Omegamon Zwart replied, lowering his cannon and giving OuRyuumon a final glare before following.
As soon as DarkKnightmon's two allies were out of the room, DarkKnightmon went over and closed the door.
As he did this, OuRyuumon glared defiantly at him. He covered most of his worry about being a prisoner up with anger towards DarkKnightmon. "What the hell did you do to Omegamon? Tell me!" he demanded.
DarkKnightmon made sure that the door was completely shut and then turned around. He walked back to the restrained serpent dragon in the middle of the room. "You have always thought that you were owed things that you didn't deserve, haven't you?" DarkKnightmon asked him in response.
"What?" OuRyuumon questioned, confused and annoyed.
"An answer to your question," DarkKnightmon explained. "A place in the Royal Knights… Special treatment because you and Alphamon were childhood friends."
The gold dragon sneered deeply. "I never asked for something that I thought I didn't deserve!" he countered. "Unlike you, who stabbed us in the back because you couldn't have your own way with the Free Area!"
"Leave it to you to bring everybody else down to your own, petty level," DarkKnightmon replied, narrowing his gold eyes. "To this day, I have no idea how Alphamon stuck by you for so long…"
OuRyuumon couldn't help but grimace and look away, the cheek of his snout pressing against one of his biceps as he did. He clenched his bound hands with anger and emotion.
DarkKnightmon grinned behind his helmet, picking up on his body language. "Or maybe he finally showed you the exit… Was it because I told him the truth about what happened? Is that why you were flying north when Omegamon Zwart went after you? Because Alphamon kicked you out of the Order?"
"Fuck you," OuRyuumon muttered, refusing to look him in the eyes and give him the satisfaction.
Despite this, DarkKnightmon was satisfied. "Your mouth has always been bigger than your brain, hasn't it?"
"And your mouth has always been bigger than your dick," OuRyuumon fired back.
DarkKnightmon calmly observed him. "If I were an insecure teenager, I might just have found that offensive."
OuRyuumon rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you going to do anyways?" he asked angrily. "If I have been kicked out of the Order, I'm no good as bait. Or maybe you're planning to do to me what you did to Omegamon."
"I would, but your heart is already dark. Anybody with half a brain can see that," DarkKnightmon insulted him, eliciting a glare from OuRyuumon. "I doubt you'd have listened to me anyways."
"You're damn right I wouldn't! You're the evil one here!" OuRyuumon fired back.
"And yet it was harder for Alphamon to dismiss me from the Order than it was for him to dismiss you," DarkKnightmon responded.
OuRyuumon couldn't help but wince. "You don't know that."
"No, but you do," DarkKnightmon said to him with a small smirk.
The gold dragon growled and sneered at him deeply. "Enough of your talk," he snarled. "What the hell do you want with me?"
DarkKnightmon levelled his yellow eyes with OuRyuumon's narrow glare and toothy sneer. "I'm not a petty Digimon, OuRyuumon…" he explained to him. He raised his hand and pressed his finger against a large cut above OuRyuumon's left eye, from which dried blood caked down his face. This caused OuRyuumon to wince and hiss as pain shot through his forehead. "But, for you, I'll make an exception."
"I'll make it easy for you, then," OuRyuumon told him. He leaned his head back and then spat onto DarkKnightmon.
DarkKnightmon remained expressionless as his face and chest were sprayed by blood and saliva. He raised his hand and slowly wiped some of the mixture from off of his face. His eyes suddenly narrowed and he swept his arm outwards, backhanding OuRyuumon across his face, causing his head to jerk into his raised arm.
OuRyuumon winced at the numb pain in his cheek but defiantly turned his gaze back to DarkKnightmon. "You hit like a little girl."
DarkKnightmon grabbed OuRyuumon's head by his violet hair and forced the dragon to look at him directly. "I'm not beating you because you're goading me into it, lizard; I'm beating you because this is long overdue payback. Rather, this is what you deserve - a rash, petulant, bloodthirsty Digimon like yourself…"
"You hypocrite…" OuRyuumon snarled. "You're always acting like you're so morally superior to everybody else. At least admit to yourself that you're doing this because you hate me, not because you're trying to do something good for the universe." He clenched his claws and pulled down hard on the chains leading to the ceiling, hoping he might be able to pull himself free. "In fact… admit that you don't actually care about stopping crime and brigandage or creating a peaceful world; you just want to control everybody for your own damn ego!"
At that, DarkKnightmon's eyes narrowed sharply into an angry glare. He reeled his arm back and then drove his fist into OuRyuumon's chest, hard enough to make the serpent's back arch. OuRyuumon's eyes widened and he let out a pained gasp as all the air in his lungs, along with a few drops of saliva, shot out of his mouth from the painful blow. He couldn't help but double over as much as the chains binding his wrists would allow, nearly collapsing onto DarkKnightmon's fist.
"You're right; that was cathartic," DarkKnightmon responded, slowly withdrawing his hand from where he drilled his fist into OuRyuumon's chest scales. "That's where your solar plexus is located, isn't it?"
OuRyuumon couldn't respond. He sagged forwards a bit, coughing violently and gasping for breath as much as he could. OuRyuumon whipped his tail around and tried to strike DarkKnightmon with it.
DarkKnightmon caught his tail and twisted it painfully, eliciting a garbled sound of pain from the winded dragon Digimon. "I knew we should have restrained this somehow," DarkKnightmon said, leering at the tail in his hand before moving forwards to deliver a painful uppercut to OuRyuumon's chin.
The dragon's head jolted up at the strong collision. Wincing with pain, OuRyuumon began to catch his breath again. However, he soon felt DarkKnightmon's fist drive into a lower part of his body, tearing a sharp grunt of anguish from his throat. Although grimacing with agony, OuRyuumon tried to continue standing on his feet.
"Didn't… f-feel… a thing…" OuRyuumon spat, glaring at DarkKnightmon and trying to wrench his tail free from DarkKnightmon's other hand.
"Then I'm not trying hard enough," DarkKnightmon replied. He narrowed his eyes and pulled his fist back. "Don't worry; I'll only make you feel like you've been thrown off of a tower…"
He cracked his fist across OuRyuumon's snout, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. Next, he drove it into OuRyuumon's gut.
The dragon Digimon heaved and lurched forwards, spitting blood out onto the floor with a groan. He snarled and glared up at DarkKnightmon with a pained grin. "Gonna… kill… you…" he rumbled between staggered breaths.
"You had your chance for that, I'm afraid," DarkKnightmon replied, driving his knee into OuRyuumon's lower body. "Now, accept the justice you're owed."
With that, DarkKnightmon continued laying into OuRyuumon, pounding him and striking him until he felt satisfied.
OuRyuumon grimaced with every twinge of pain that shot through his body, though only allowing himself to grunt for all but the incredibly painful blows. He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as more blood trickled out of his mouth and he felt DarkKnightmon's fist collide with the tip of his snout, causing the crimson liquid to flood out of his nostrils. He felt a sharp burning sensation in his eyes as they began to water, but he refused to open them in case DarkKnightmon mistook them for tears
He clenched his bound claws and tried to distract himself through the pain.
"Alphamon…" he thought to himself, flinching as he felt his long, serpentine body throb and spasm after another solid blow to his chest. "I'm sorry… I need you… All my… fault…"
Examon sneered and flew sharply to the right as he dodged the massive, flaming Tyrant Collbrande, which Dorbickmon swiped at him from the ground as he flew forty feet into the air.
"The reach he has with that…" Examon thought to himself, gripping the Ambrosius tightly with his claw on the trigged as he aimed at Dorbickmon. "Pendragon's Glory!"
A linear beam ripped from Examon's lance and tore across the ground in front of Dorbickmon, narrowly missing the wingless dragon as he stepped to the side. Dust and smoke exploded up from the impact, but Dorbickmon tore through the smoke, he jumped high into the air and slashed the elongated sword at Examon with a roar.
Examon gritted his teeth and swooped under the swing. He felt the heat of the blade against the Caledfwlch as they took him down and then began to climb through the air again. His body was already showing signs of wear and tear from the ongoing battle. There were cuts across his arms and legs, not to mention burns from Dorbickmon's fiery attacks. Dorbickmon was stronger than he expected and he had a burning intensity to go along with it. The dragon grimaced and looked over his shoulder.
"He's a close-to-mid range attacker, so I should keep my distance from him and just fire from the sky, but I need to convince him to stop and talk," Examon thought to himself, swinging around and flapping his wings.
"Flying won't be enough to help you!" Dorbickmon called up. He slashed his sword along the ground, tapping into the dragon veins, and summoning huge columns of rock from the ground to use as a staircase. He pulled the Tyrant Collbrande back up and allowed the fiery blade to shrink to its normal size again. Dorbickmon dashed up the makeshift stairs and lunged off at the top. He hurdled into Examon in a full body tackle, shifting his body to narrowly avoid getting struck by the Ambrosius' tip.
Dorbickmon grabbed hold of Examon's face as they fell through the air, pushing him down and pressing his blade against Examon's armoured chest.
Examon grunted as he fell through the air, unable to right himself or support Dorbickmon's weight. The Royal Knight crashed into the grass in a cascade of dirt and fire, landing hard on his winged back.
His assailant grinned, having made Examon take the brunt of the impact, and sat on his chest. Dorbickmon drove his clawed fist repeatedly into Examon's face. "I wonder… how long… it'll take… for you… to rage out… again…" he mused between punches.
Examon grimaced as his head was forced into the ground; Dorbickmon's jagged fists drew blood all over his face and snout as the punches pummelled his head. He tried to use the Ambrosius to retaliate, but he couldn't manoeuvre it at such a close range. He just ended firing off a blind shot behind Dorbickmon, which ripped across the grass harmlessly. Examon dropped the lance and reached his claws up to catch Dorbickmon's fist before it could hit him again. He sneered at Dorbickmon, looking up at him with one eye, as the other one was closed from pain and blood trickling over it. He held Dorbickmon's hand tightly, pushing against his might.
"That… was an accident…" Examon told him, panting. "I never meant… to hurt you…"
Dorbickmon scowled and drilled his other fist into Examon's armoured stomach, punching hard enough into the chrome digizoid for him to still feel it. The Royal Knight momentarily seized up at the painful blow, letting go of Dorbickmon's other hand.
"Well, I've got news for you, bastard! You did!" Dorbickmon snarled, grabbing Examon's throat and squeezing, his sharp claws digging into his scales slightly. "You really think I'm dumb enough to believe any excuses you thought up? If you didn't mean to hurt me, you would've gotten help! Anyways, I don't care anymore. I just care about kicking your sorry knight ass."
Examon grimaced and gasped for air, grabbing Dorbickmon's wrist and trying to pull his hand off. After seeing that Dorbickmon was physically stronger than him, Examon knew that he had to act. He moved his long tail swiftly and lashed at Dorbickmon's back like a whip, causing him to cry out and arch his back in pain. Feeling the grip loosen around his neck, Examon knocked Dorbickmon's arm away and drilled his bony claws across Dorbickmon's face, knocking the bulky dragon off of him.
Dorbickmon crashed to the ground and spat blood out onto the grass. He sneered when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Examon pull away and aim the Ambrosius. Dorbickmon quickly acted. He grabbed the shaft of Examon's lance and pointed it upwards as it fired, causing it to miss him. He then assailed Examon, lunging onto his body.
Examon grunted as Dorbickmon threw himself at him. He raised his free hand to try to defend himself. "Dorbickmon, st-!" He was crushed to the ground by another punch to his face.
The fiery Digimon then summoned the Tyrant Collbrande once again. Dorbickmon snarled and stabbed the burning blade straight through Examon's wing with enough strength to puncture the chrome digizoid. The Tyrant Collbrande pierced through the sail-like appendage and stabbed deep into the ground. Examon released a resounding howl of agony.
"Ha hah!" Dorbickmon laughed triumphantly, leering down at Examon as he kept his hand on his sword and he pinned Examon's arms down using his knees. "There it is! The first real emotion that I've heard from you today! You can only hide yourself behind that fake, professional, knightly demeanour for so long!"
Examon cringed in absolute pain. In desperation, he drove his knee up to hit Dorbickmon's back end. This caused Dorbickmon to lose his balance and begin to stagger forwards, allowing Examon to free one of his arms. He tore his arm away and drilled his fist into Dorbickmon's side before slashing at it with his claws.
Dorbickmon rumbled with pain and anger and proceeded to cuff Examon across his face and strike him in the collar. The dragon man then stood to his feet over him. "Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!" he roared.
Amethyst flames spewed from Dorbickmon's draconic maw and washed over Examon's body, searing him all over with ultra-hot flames.
Examon roared out at the burning anguish, but the roar soon faded away with exhaustion. The flames petered out and Examon lay on the ground, his body smoking, bruised, and bloodied.
Dorbickmon smirked with satisfaction as he stood over his old friend. He raised his arm and wiped the blood trickling from his mouth before licking his lips and leaning over Examon, who was too pained and tired to move. His claws reached down and gripped Examon's nose horn so that he could pull him off the ground slightly. Dorbickmon looked down into Examon's eyes with a victorious gleam.
"Looks like I won this time, Examon…" he told him. "DarkKnightmon'll be happy… Now he'll have two captains and two Royal Knights…"
"What…?" Examon weakly whispered, looking up at him.
Dorbickmon let go of Examon's horn and let him drop back to the ground. He picked up the Ambrosius and threw it aside just in case Examon found enough strength to try and use it. He then stepped off of Examon and stood at his side, looking down at the dragon. "Now… How to carry you with your big ass wings…?" he mused.
"Shining V Force!" a voice resounded from the distance.
Dorbickmon turned towards the sound and he took on expression of shock and rage. He barely had enough time to bring his arms up to defend himself as a v-shaped ray of light slammed into his upper body, blasting him away. The next thing he knew, a cobalt blur was shooting towards him.
Examon watched with weary surprise as a familiar dragon knight rammed his shoulder into Dorbickmon's form at high speed, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying through the air until he hit the grass many meters away.
UlforceVeedramon landed in front of Examon, holding the Ulforce Sabre extending from his V-Bracelet up in front of him. "As somebody with 'big ass wings', I take offence to that!" he grinningly remarked.
"Ul…force…" Examon said, looking up at him.
"Not looking too sharp, Ex-sama," UlforceVeedramon said, glancing over his shoulder at him swiftly before turning his attention back to Dorbickmon, who rose to his feet.
"D-Damn it…" Dorbickmon snarled, glaring furiously at UlforceVeedramon. "You interfering, pink-winged ponce!"
"You've got a thing about wings, haven't you? You keep mentioning them," UlforceVeedramon asked him, tilting his head with a mocking grin. "Feeling jealous?"
Dorbickmon grunted and summoned the Tyrant Collbrande in his hands. "Okay, it looks like I'll be taking two Royal Knights back as my prize! I ought to get a big reward for that," he said, glaring as the flickering flames of his sword caused his facial shadows to tremble.
"You'll have to defeat me first," the azure knight told him.
"And the rest of them," another voice added.
Dorbickmon and Examon turned their heads and saw a crimson dragon bird swoop down beside UlforceVeedramon.
"Grani?" Examon said, surprised to see him there as well.
"The others will be here soon," Grani explained, hovering beside UlforceVeedramon and looking at Dorbickmon.
"Others?" Dorbickmon asked through gritted teeth. He swore under his breath.
UlforceVeedramon frowned and looked at Grani with a questioning gaze. He gave UlforceVeedramon a quick glance.
Dorbickmon scowled and stabbed his blade into the ground. "Burning the Dragon!" he shouted. The earth shook and trembled beneath the blue dragon knight's feet. The land began to shoot up in front of them in earthy explosions as pillars and spikes of rock burst from the grass.
"UlforceVeedramon!" Grani exclaimed, flying into the air to avoid the morphing terrain.
UlforceVeedramon sneered and turned off his beam blade, quickly swerving around and taking Examon into his arms in an awkward carry. He flew into the air to meet with Grani as the blasts of ground continued, the bursting of pillars from the terra getting further and further away from them.
"He's retreating," Grani observed calmly, watching as the rock formations burst from the ground in the distance. "He's covering his escape."
"Take Examon," UlforceVeedramon told the Zero ARMS. "I'll pursue him."
Grani frowned. "I don't wish to speak out of turn, UlforceVeedramon, but I think that would be ill-advised."
UlforceVeedramon glanced sideways at Grani as he clung onto Examon. "Yeah, I'm kind of sensing that," he said. "Why did you say that the other Royal Knights were coming?"
"Because I was bluffing. Dorbickmon looks to be a powerful individual. He already defeated Examon; there's no guarantee that you would win on your own," Grani explained.
"I'm a way better close range fighter than Examon is," UlforceVeedramon responded. "No offence, Ex-sama."
Examon gave a weak grunt, although he couldn't help but feel like the way he was being carried was rather undignified. This always seemed to happen whenever UlforceVeedramon showed up to help him.
"Besides," UlforceVeedramon continued. "He was already worn down from their fight."
"Even so, we can't gauge how much fight he has left in him. Our main priority here is rescuing Examon, and getting into an avoidable fight might jeopardize that," Grani responded. "It would also have been a messy fight, and Examon may have been hurt in the process."
"It seems like a wasted opportunity, if we let one of DarkKnightmon's allies escape…" UlforceVeedramon said. He sighed. "I guess you have a point though."
"Shall I take Examon?" Grani asked him.
"Please," UlforceVeedramon said with a light chuckle. "That Dorbickmon guy had a point; I don't know how to carry this big jumble of limbs." He flew over and lay Examon down on Grani's back. "I'll go get your weapon. Just give me a few seconds."
Examon nodded and watched UlforceVeedramon fly down quickly.
"What happened, Examon?" Grani asked, glancing up at his passenger.
"He pretended to be hurt," Examon replied. He reached over and put his hand on the hole in his wing. He grimaced at the sensitive contact and withdrew his claws. "How did you two…?"
"Luckily, UlforceVeedramon was helping me scout the area for traces of either Omegamon or DarkKnightmon's group," Grani explained. "We saw the lights of battle in the distance and UlforceVeedramon went to investigate."
UlforceVeedramon returned with the Ambrosius resting on his shoulder. "Okay, I've got it," he explained. "Let's head back to headquarters; you can tell us all about it after to have a nice, long visit with Dusky."
Examon gave a weak nod and lay back on Grani, too exhausted and pained to do much else. He felt Grani begin to fly and saw UlforceVeedramon escorting them from the side. The red dragon knight closed his eyes and released a sigh.
"Strikedramon… I can't believe… that I did this to you…"
