"KILL HIM! I WANT HIM FOUND! I WANT HIM FOUND NOW AND HIS HEAD BROUGHT TO ME!" the 'other' Cecil screamed at the bridge crew, into the microphone, his voice reverberating around the entire ship. Blind panic was running rampant in his eyes to such an extent that he looked about to explode in psychotic fury. The digimon on the bridge were unfazed by this. They had been present for the wrath of their own Lord and knew his power, and they were servants of Pride, they would not break from their duty for the tantrums of Yersinimon's pet human.
"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME!?" he screamed, his digivice screeching in a painful note no human musician or torture expert could define. Black light flared about him and Hagurumon's gears spun in rapid excitement as monitors cracked and control panels sparked. "THAT...that man..." he fought down the volume in his voice, trying to calm himself, "That man is not an ordinary human. He is an unparalleled genius...TWO unparalleled geniuses it would seem. That he has pranced his way onto this ship and declared himself so brazenly can only mean we are all in severe danger. He has put himself in the prime place to bring this entire battleship down in flames! Keep only minimal gunnery teams on that walking gun-tower outside! Eight-Ball is the biggest threat to us at this very moment, AND HE HAS TO BE FOUND AND KILLED!"
Meanwhile, many twisting, winding, poorly sign-posted corridors away the target of this furious man-hunt was scheming and plotting, applying the deadly double genius he possessed to the single purpose of disabling the entire warship. The fruit of his mental-loins was to regress back to being a ten-year-old, leap upon Shademon's rather miniscule shoulders, and wrap the pair in the biggest boiler suit they could find.
"We are going to die," Shademon offered up his critique of the plan. "We are going to die and I will drag your insufferable soul down into the depths of deletion with me to forever remind you of your idiocy and to enjoy every moment of your torment."
"You know Shademon, I'm starting to think you don't like this plan." Eight responded. "It's because I get to be on top isn't it?"
"My concerns actually begin with the fact that we had to go back in order to get this confounded suit in the first place," Shademon retorted, waddling along under his partner's weight. "But given that there is no way anyone is going to be fooled by a boiler suit and a tinfoil hat, I stand by my original assessment. We are going to die."
"You forget, terrible disguises are a mainstay of the digimon franchise. They always work, and thus I predict this plan has a 100% chance of success." The hacker beamed from atop his partner's shoulders and from beneath his snack-wrapper hat. "Well, okay, I'll be modest and say 96%. But YOU try and find a comically oversized trench-coat at a moment's notice."
"Oy! You!" a voice suddenly cried out, causing Shademon to go rigid but Eight to turn about casually, his bundled up posture making him look like a sickeningly independent hunch-back.
"Yes sir!" he beamed jauntily at the digimon he could easily identify as the cyborg fish Coelamon, whose scarred, white armoured body horribly stretched his authority granting uniform.
"Commander Cecil is screaming about the human who made that broadcast earlier, what are you doing dawdling around here?"
"Well sir, with the ship working to confuse Beelzemon I lost track of the way to the bridge."
"I see..." Coelamon nodded, plodding closer to the disguised pair. "I guess I'll have to drag you both there."
Eight smiled in self satisfaction but beneath him Shademon tensed, and on reflex shunted his partner up into the air. And not a moment too soon.
"FOSSIL BITE!" the Coelamon barked the moment it was in range, pouncing at the partners and passing through the gap created by Shademon, shredding the boiler suit to pieces. As elegantly as possible, Shademon shed the remains of the boiler suit, letting Eight slam unceremoniously to the floor. Coelamon, for his part, remained completely oblivious. Gazing down the long hallway, claws still outstretched, the fossil-fish was lost in his own fantasy world of hyper-competency.
"You couldn't fool me," the ancient fish digimon smirked to himself. "The ship was only working against Beelzemon, it would have let any crew pass easily. Your lack of knowledge sealed your fate."
"Okay, so, let's say 90% chance of success and leave it at that," Eight conceded from his less than dignified position, snapping their assailant out of his reverie and forcing him to turn around.
"How did you split in two?" Coelamon gaped, completely shocked by his targets' survival.
"Please don't tell me you were actually fooled by that...effort," Shademon was careful with his word choice; 'plan' was giving it far too much credit.
"That was a disguise!?" the ancient fish digimon gaped even wider, looking as if his primordial mind had been blown.
"You cannot be serious..." Shademon buried his luminescent eyes in his hands.
"I should have known I could never pretend to be a flunky," Eight dusted himself off, and adjusting his tinfoil hat. "New plan! Shademon, beat him up and take his stuff!" With a deft flick of his wrist the hacker produced his digivice.
"This better go somewhere eventually..." the virus scowled, the light of evolution surrounding his body. "Shademon digivolve to..."
"Hey! Cecil's got one of those!"
"ECLIPSEMON!"
01000010
Chapter 51: The Morning Brings...part 3.
This rain is their tears! Let their golden bonds shine!
01000010
Within the confines of Gaiomon's castle another body fell, its data becoming particles on the wind as the Lord of Sincerity continued to fell one assailant after another. Since the assault on his city began, the majority of Pride's soldiers had flocked to him, for whatever had been used to subdue his men had no effect on him. Their efforts had only managed to waylay him but it was clear that this was the true intent. Lucemon only had so many men, however, and he was almost free to join the battle. Never before had it taken him so long to cross the gap between his chair and the window, but as he stepped onto the ledge, he realised it was going to take longer.
"Reveal yourself!" he called, turning and pointing one of his kikurin blades at a closed door, amber eye swivelling to focus on it.
"Tch...I'm impressed Gaiomon. Your senses are as sharp as I'd heard." Pushing against the door, Yersinimon stepped through into the main hall. His long coat made light swishing noises against the hardwood floor and he stroked one long finger against the long beak of his mask.
"I do not recognise you." Gaiomon turned from the windows to fully face the intruder. His posture shifted slightly, preparing himself. Whoever this was, he was strong. "You do not seem..." his eyes fixated completely on the figure before him, trying to work out exactly what it was about him that was so wrong.
"There is no need for you to question what I am." Yersinimon stepped to one side, clearing the door-way. "You will not live to know the answers."
"I can appreciate Lucemon trying to waylay me to gain an advantage. But I do not think that you are another of his minions."
"Tch, I'll grant you that. I am no servant of Lucemon's. But do not concern yourself with him; he will also not live much longer. But because of your... observational skills, I had to make sure you quite swiftly became a part of my tests."
"Tests?" Gaiomon's eyes widened slightly as two new figures entered the room. The first could almost have passed for a digimon with his wild dress, all fish nets and torn trousers, with a ridiculous clawed metal glove and a white mask bearing the digital-hazard, but Gaiomon could sense no power from him. He was human. The other...the other was a mismatch of creatures. The long blade ears of a Prairiemon lay sleek down his back, stemming from the top of his head, a head that belonged in part to Kabuterimon and Greymon, whose jaw bled into a matching body, but Garurumon legs. Kabuterimon claws and Gorillamon cannon, Birdramon and Airdramon wings...Gaiomon could name every body part but could give no name to this creature, this abomination who reeked of death and...and that same distortion the masked digimon seemed to emit.
"Tch, it is complex," Yersinimon waved him off. "And even for all that you are, you would have no hope of understanding the truth. Just die knowing you could have been a threat; it's more than the other Lords could hope to do. ExAiVee, we will begin phase one of the test."
"With pleasure!" the large chimera-like beast boomed, raising his Gorillamon arm and opening fire, Gaimon immediately moving, his swords parrying with such force that the shots dissipated before his blades.
'Stronger than most champions could summon, but still nowhere near the power of a mega...' Gaiomon analysed. 'However, neither of these beings feel right. I should end this fight as quickly as possible...but I don't want to risk getting close to that...thing...' his golden eyes drifted for a moment to Yersinimon, eerily silent and still. 'He simply is not...right.' Swirling his swords around, blue flames burning into life along the edge of the blades. "RINKAZAN!" he cried, rushing forward like a bolt of black lightening, the burning blue trailing in his wake. Rather than simply strike, he threw the blades to each side of him, leaping straight over the mix-and-match-monster, being wary of the masked-doctor-digimon.
"What are you..." the creature struggled to turn fast enough to track the Lord of Sincerity.
Landing, Gaiomon pivoted to catch his blades, the Kikurin spinning and curving through the air, landing within their owner's claws, the blue light now encircling the three intruders. "RINKAGEKI!" he called, pulling the burning blue together upon them, the light slicing through 'ExAiVee' but vanishing into nothingness upon contact with Yersinimon, who the human wisely hid behind.
"What are you?" Gaiomon's yellow eyes widened. Surviving his Rinkageki was certainly possible, but Yersinimon had been completely unaffected. He had not flinched or moved; his clothes were not ruffled let alone cut or burnt.
"I told you, chk...The knowledge will be of no use to you," Yersinimon's head tilted slightly to allow him to fix his gaze upon ExAiVee. "The damage you sustained was well within parameters. Switch parts and prepare for phase 2."
"Yesshhhh..." the creature slurred, its lower jaw having been obliterated by the last attack, before all damaged body parts began to shift and fade, replaced by fresh different ones.
"How is that..."
"Yes, yes...you're surprised and cannot comprehend our abilities," Yersinimon waved his hand in indication of his disinterest. "ExAiVee, H3, begin phase 2, chk."
With a silent nod, the masked human raised one hand, revealing the digivice embedded into his flesh. "You got it boss, kehhehehehehehehehehe!" he laughed, light seeming to flood through his veins and into the device before surrounding his body like an aura. The same blood red light began to dance over ExAiVee, whose body suddenly began to spasm wildly, hundreds of different voices began to sound at once.
"DIGIVOLUTION!"
...
"The data...it's acting weird..."
Sat upon the approximate collar bone of Panzermon, B.B did not seem perturbed by the gun-fire, explosions, rapid leaping and general mind-numbing terror he should quite rightly have been experiencing at this moment. Perhaps it was due to his experiences so far in the digital world, or perhaps it was that sheer faith in his partner kept him calm enough to observe, but whatever the case, he had noticed the streams of data flowing towards their battleship-class adversary.
"It's like it's devouring all of the data that breaks..." he pondered aloud. "Panzermon! Do you think it's absorbing all the data from the city?"
"Kaiser...I'm afraid I can't really talk just now," his partner managed a quick response before making a leaping strafe again, heavy gunfire ripping up the ground where he had once stood. None of his forms had ever exactly been the speedster type. Sure, he had occasionally relied on being a faster shot than his opponents, but speed of the draw was generally accompanied by the use of overwhelming fire-power. Quite frankly it felt absurd and rather offensive to his status as a 'living gunnery platform' to have to DODGE like this but he had the good sense to admit when he was out-classed and out-gunned. In fact, he was rather impressed that his partner had displayed enough foresight not to push for a full frontal assault. The boy was clearly growing up. It would have warmed his heart, but a mix of biological impossibilities and mortar shells kept him from appreciating it.
"GESCHOSSABLE!" he roared with his weapon fire, the bullets ripping through the air and into the mortars, filling the air with explosions.
"But Panzermon if it's eating the data...does that mean it's a digimon? Or is charging something up something else?"
"I'M A LITTLE BUSY KAISER!" his partner shouted over the roar of his own machine guns as the next wave of mortars and missiles were launched.
"Oh yeah..." B.B became fully aware of the situation again as explosions filled the sky, the force from his partner's leap blasting the air from his lungs and near slamming him down into Panzermon's armoured shoulder. "Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh hhhhhh!"
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"
"CROSS FIRE!"
"VALOUR BURST!"
Crying out in unison the hastily formed alliance opened up with their ranged attacks, bullets, fireballs and a burning stream of holy judgement hurtled towards the Lord of Pride intent upon ripping his body asunder. Having other ideas, Lucemon slammed one foot on the ground with enough force to not only send the flag stones flying but to rupture a gas pipe beneath the surface of the street. Spilling into the air the gas was immediately ignited by the fire attacks causing the entire line to explode, engulfing the street in flames.
"RUN!"
"LIZ!"
"VINCENT!"
As Beelzemon made a colossal leap into the air, ClayDrakemon and D-Greymon bolted to the side, towards where they had last seen their partners. The humans would have no chance of out-running the flames or surviving them, and every instinct in their bodies screamed to protect them. The fact that the alleyway was not built to accommodate a being of D-Greymon's size was no deterrent, the angelic dino tearing through the masonry in the rush to reach his partner. Spying the pair huddled together D-Greymon reached out with his massive grey hand and scooped them up, soaring into the sky with ClayDrakemon close by, the explosion chasing them for several feet.
"What the hell happened?" Liz cried out, looking down at the damage that had torn a crater in the city.
"Well, Beelzemon showed up to help, then Lucemon stomped his foot and this happened," her partner swiftly explained.
"He's THIS powerful?" Vincent gaped at the destruction. Whole buildings had been obliterated and the air was filling with trails of data from ruined surroundings and slain Digimon.
"Not quite..." ClayDrakemon admitted. "He kinda just used our attacks to ignite the gas..."
"I don't believe this..." Vincent sank his face into his hand as Liz gazed on in horror.
"Believe it," Lucemon's smug voice came from above, calling their attention upwards to see the fallen angel framed by the sun. His hands were clasped together and when he began to spread them open, ten burning spheres started to appear in cruciform before him, only to be swiftly and brutally interrupted.
"Dattebayo sucker!" a new female voice sang out as bullets hammered into the fallen angel's back, before Beelzemon completed his aerial drop and slammed his steel boot into the back of Lucemon's skull.
"Holy crap he can jump!" ClayDrakemon marvelled. Even without wings Beelzemon had travelled higher and faster than him. This was the terrifying gap between megas and ultimates.
"We can't keep fighting here," Vincent pierced his partner's reverie. "The death toll is only going to go up if we stay amongst the houses."
"This city doesn't have a lot of space in it," Liz fretted, looking out from her partner's palm. "If we could get him out of the walls it might help but..."
The air suddenly rushed around them as Paradise Lost and Dark Claw collided, the force of their attacks shuddering the world around them. The burning light of Lucemon's punch overwhelmed Beelzemon's open-palm, tossing the Lord of Gluttony to the ground.
"Guys, Beelzemon's starting to lose down there," D-Greymon interrupted, gesturing with his free hand to the streets below.
Berenjena shotguns strewn to either side of the street, Beelzemon was sprawled flat on his back, hands up about his face in a meagre effort to shield himself as Lucemon was knelt over him, pummelling the ironically slender Lord of Gluttony. A crater was forming beneath Beelzemon's head, cobblestones and dirt flying with each blow.
"Okay, you guys, you gotta get back in there," Liz announced, her eyes focusing on the bludgeoning.
There was no discussion, no need to explain why. It was not simply the need for Beelzemon to defeat Lucemon but their instinctive drive to defend any who counted as their comrades. The refusal to let Lucemon rampage whilst they sat thinking. ClayDrakemon immediately put himself into a dive, heading straight for the Lord of Pride whilst D-Greymon took a shallower course, skimming rooftops long enough to let the humans safely jump from his palm. He was going to need that massive claw after all.
"Brace yourself," Vincent's voice was almost deadpan. He wanted to think just now, come up with a plan, but he knew what was about to happen. All he could do was reaffirm his grip on his childhood friend and hold on, she doing the same to him.
In mere moments it hit. Their partners reached Lucemon and lashed out, striving to push him back from Beelzemon and were each met with a single savage counter blow that smashed them into the ground. The link between partners flared and the two humans found themselves holding back screams as they struggled to stay upright. It sucked. It was terrible. But all they could do was try and stay standing so their partners could keep going. Even if the ultimates could only stand for a moment at a time against the mega, that moment was all they needed.
"Darkness Claw!" Beelzemon roared, slamming his great talon bearing hand into Lucemon's face, a dark miasma seemed to burn around it. Lucemon screeched in pain as the black light seared his flesh, causing him to reel up and away from his prone opponent, hands clutching at his face.
"Catch!" ClayDrakemon hollered as he swept up one of the fallen shotguns and lobbed it over to its rightful owner…
…in a tragically clumsy toss that sailed right past said rightful-owner's outstretched claw.
"WHAT THE HELL!? WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO THROW!?"
"I'VE NEVER HAD A LOT OF CALL TO DO IT!"
"CROSS FIRE!"
Ethereal flames slammed into Lucemon, whose temporary blindness left him off balance enough to actually be toppled by D-Greymon's attack, letting Beelzemon scrabble free and reclaim the berejena himself.
"This is just gettin' humiliatin'..." he grumbled as he scurried, before swivelling around into a rather awkward seated position to take aim and fire. "DOUBLE IMPACT!" he cried, loosing bullets into D-Greymon's flames and Lucemon's body, taking over driving the Pride Lord back as the angelic dinosaur ran out of breath and his attack tapered out. "GRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! JUST FALL YOU SMUG SON OF A..."
*CLICK*
The sound of the berejena's hammer slamming on an empty chamber was an oddly loud and powerful sound. The whole battle seemed to halt as the bullets failed to emerge and all eyes seemed to move to the smoking barrels.
"Oh c'mon, are you powered by dramatic convenience or..."
"GRAND CROSS!" Lucemon snarled, spreading his arms out wide and summoning his cross of spheres once again, assured that this time his attack would not be interrupted. Leaping forward, ClayDrakemon and D-Greymon did their best to halt him, seizing his arms but simply found their clawed feet digging up the ground as they were effortlessly moved back.
"NO WAY!" ClayDrakemon cried out at his own helplessness, the ten spheres launching out and swirling into a single deadly spiral that ploughed into Beelzemon, who could only throw his arms over his face in a vague effort of defence. The attack did not stop at the demon lord, however, and continued on, pushing him through house after house, ripping up street after street, data swirling into the air as buildings and occupants expired into a stream of data.
"Now, where was I?" Lucemon looked between the ultimates in the middle of their failed grapple, the snarl still in his voice and his face slightly singed from Beelzemon's darkness claw. With a casual flick of each arm, Lucemon threw the Nightmare Soldiers off and into the burning trench where Beelzemon had once sat.
"Ah, that's right. I was hoping you could entertain me," a smirk seemed to try and sneak its way back onto Lucemon's face. "I'll admit, Beelzemon showing up was a little surprising, but I would have had to kill him eventually anyway." Winding back a hand he tightened it into a fist, the air around it seeming to hum with energy.
"Reminds me of when we fought Magnamon," ClayDrakemon did his best to smirk, trying to hide his concern with bravado.
"We lost horribly and almost died," D-Greymon looked down at his shorter comrade.
"We're a lot stronger now though."
Neither wanted to think about how they were also less: that they would never be all together again. Each could feel the same emotional shudder, that their partners were having the same thoughts. But this was not the time for such fears.
"Here we go," the winged dinosaur growled, the two springing forward.
Only to be forced to a dead stop as Lucemon leapt towards them, his palms slamming into their faces and knocking the pair flat on their backs. His fingers closed around ClayDrakemon's head, however, as he lifted the dragon knight into the air.
"Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that this is not going to happen," he sighed, before slamming the ultimate down into the ground. "Unless..." he pulled ClayDrakemon back-up, then swinging him down again. "I. MAKE. MY. OWN. FUN!" He punctuated each word by smashing the dragon knight back into the ground, his armour cracking, breaking and splintering with each impact.
"GET OFF OF..." D-Greymon began to roar, only for Lucemon to casually throw ClayDrakemon into the angel-dino's head, bowling him over.
"By seeing how long it takes for you to break," he grinned, stalking over to the pair as dark clouds rolled in, standing over the winged dinosaur, winding his arm back. "Paradise Lost..."
Away on the roof-tops Liz collapsed, bringing the unsteady Vincent down with her as pain erupted outward from her chest, all breath escaping her as Lucemon's fist fell. There was no time for Vincent to call out to her before similar pain and force rocketed through his body, Lucemon's powerful blows falling one after another upon their partners.
"V...Vincent..." she choked, awkwardly struggling to reach out to her friend.
"Liz..." he croaked, finding the simple action equally hard.
It felt like it was taking the all of their strength to cross the tiny distance, but relief swept through both as their fingers finally made contact and linked together, a smile briefly gracing their faces, the same thought sweeping through their minds: 'We won't be separated again'.
And then...
"PARADISE LOST PUNCH!"
Pain.
Ranamon's chest was burning, her legs were aching, and she felt like she was only two paces away from collapsing. But with every step she heard explosions and saw fire in the sky and her resolve strengthened and pushed her forward. Everyone else was fighting, struggling, putting their lives on the line...she could keep running!
There was no-one to stop her as she raced past the security desk, but that was hardly a surprise. She could think of only one way that she could help, but she would need water. Lots of water. The ringing of her bare-feet upon the metal stair-case began to drown out the far-off explosions as her nerves began to bubble up from her gut, blocking out even the burning in her chest. She could scarcely believe what she was about to try, hell, she could scarcely believe what she was doing at this very moment. It wasn't the first time her life was on the line, but before she would always run...hide...this was the first time she was going to stand up for herself...for her friends.
Reaching the top of the stairs she stood panting and gasping, readying herself for the task ahead. She had her doubts as to whether or not she could succeed, as to whether or not she could make it through this...
"But if everyone else can try...so can Ah...WHIPPIN' WAVES!"
Crying out she burled her arms around and around, reaching and seizing control of the water within the massive vat and swirling it around and around, turning the edges of it into a razor sharp blade. Whipped into a frenzy, the blade like water sawed through the steel top of the tower, prompting the frog digimon to swing her arms up, transforming the water into a fist of a wave, punching the top up and away, sending it sailing to the ground with a loud crash.
Watching the water settle back into a still mirror, Ranamon battled against a rising sense of panic. What she was about to try was INSANE, but it was the only way she could think to help...to save everyone...if not her.
"Komo-Komo...Tanya..." her blue hands tightened into fists. "Yah'll could do this, couldn't yah... No matter how scared..." sniffing, she found herself shaking. "You guys...Ah can do this...right? Ah can do this...and yah'll win... and we'll all be able to go on together... we'll...RAAAAAARGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Screaming out she slammed her hands down upon the lip of the tower and hopped over the edge, continuing with her heart stirring, yelling to drown out her fears.
"WE'LL WIN AND BE TOGETHER AHGAIN!"
Splashing down into the water she reached out to it, ALL of it. She had to grab as much of it as she could, not just what was in the tower but the pipes it connected to, the pipes that ran through the whole city. A strain began to pull on her mind as she pushed every limit she possessed, and when they were reached she kept going. She screwed her eyes shut so that she could not see the data particles that began to flake from her body as the strain of her endeavour began to literally tear her apart. When at last she felt she could reach no further she began her next Herculean task... pulling it all up and into the sky.
"DRAININ' RAIN!"
The water began to roar around her bubbling words, and she focused on pushing it up and on, her own scream becoming lost within the water's rush as her body struggled to hold, streams of data breaking off and being swept away into the sky.
In the sky a single, great, black, heavy cloud began to form. Blanketing the sky over Tsyunoinoichi and blotting out the sun, a great shadow was cast over the whole of the city until at last the rain began to fall.
As the great cloud gathered Liz and Vincent lay together upon the rooftop, fingers still tightly intertwined as they struggled to even breathe, whilst down below Lucemon surveyed his handy work.
"I'll admit, you've impressed me," he grinned at the beaten and broken forms of the Nightmare Soldiers. "I didn't think you'd survive this long."
The fire breathing pair could not even gasp in response, let alone glare or spit at their enemy. ClayDrakemon's armour was all but gone and his cape had been shredded, his sword snapped and his helmet crushed into his skull. D-Greymon's long arm was clearly broken in several places and his body sagged from where he had tried to withstand. And from both of their bodies data leaked into the air, the code that held them together could hold out no longer.
"Your resolve is truly remarkable. Any lesser being would have dropped down from ultimate by now, desperately trying to survive but not you two. No. Surviving isn't what you're after. You aren't even trying to stall me. You actually tried to beat me, ME!"
His foot connected with a sick crunching noise against ClayDrakemon's gut, toppling the beaten dragon onto his stomach. Coughing from the blow, he could only watch as the Demon Lord began to slowly walk away, whilst the first drops of rain descended from above.
"I think you've been resilient enough to earn my ire. To die slowly here in the streets. No blaze of glory. Only the misery of your deaths, your failures as you watch each other fade away to nothing. For while you are resilient," he paused, but did not look back at the ultimates, "your data is just not worth consuming."
He stopped short, however, when ClayDrakemon's claw lashed out and seized Lucemon's ankle. Surprised, Lucemon turned to look back at the dragon who a moment ago could barely breathe, and who now glared up at him with burning eyes.
"You...you don't get to walk away yet..." he growled. "This ain't about beating you; this is about crammin' your lies back down your ugly throat."
"Lies?"
"Rana-Rana ain't your servant. She's our friend." Beneath the remains of his armour his body stirred, muscles tensing.
"And where does this renewed conviction spring from?" Lucemon smirked, idly contemplating completely crushing his prone opponent's head beneath his boot.
"First...ain't no 'renewed' about it..." ClayDrakemon sucked in a deep breath. "Second...this ain't rain..." his other hand clenched, his claws scraping through the dirt as Lucemon's eyes widened the tiniest fraction in confusion before his broken opponent seemed to un-break himself. "IT'S RANAMON'S TEARS!"
Roaring, the dragon knight surged to his feet, his fist rising with him, aiming straight for Lucemon's head. The Demon Lord's surprise at his revival did not slow his reaction enough for it to hit, however, and he seized the scarlet claw in his own hand.
"HER HOPE!" ClayDrakemon was undisturbed by the block, his other arm rushed in only to be similarly intercepted.
"What are you..." Lucemon began to ask, only to be drowned up by a third roar.
"HER LOVE!" ClayDrakemon's head swung down, and Lucemon was out of hands, and his armoured head met Lucemon's.
The attack should have bounced off, done more harm to the beaten skull of the dragon knight, but the red light that had been growing around him surged briefly and Lucemon found himself staggered, his grip on Claydrakemon's fists held, but he found himself actually taking a step back.
And then he saw D-Greymon surge up, claw bright and swinging.
"GUILTY INNOCENCE!"
Upon the roof Liz and Vincent's found breathing getting easier, the strength returning to their legs. Leaning upon one another, they slowly made their way upright again.
"I can feel it too..." Vincent smiled softly. "All the pain and exhaustion..."
"It's being washed away..." Liz finished, holding a hand out and watching the rain splash down upon her palm. "Ranamon...how are you doing this?" she turned her eyes up to the sky, to the mass of black clouds that blanketed the sky. Something far, FAR, larger than the rookie should have been able to summon.
As with their partners, the flames of evolution began to dance around them once more. The orange and red auras sparkling in the gloom, Ranamon's rain not only relieving them of their suffering, but letting their own hope and resolve flow once more.
"Heh..." Vincent chuckled, holding his free hand out alongside Liz's, watching the way the light it produced shimmered through the falling water before joining her in looking at the cloud covered sky. "We're fighting Lucemon...and Ranamon blotted out the sun...leaving us as the brightest light around..."
"I think you're gonna have to explain that one to me..." Liz glowered in good humour.
"Heh...Long story short? Enough holding out against a God. Let's just beat this asshole down!" he beamed back, his aura growing as he did so.
"Now you're talking," Liz burst into a bright smile of her own, her orange flames licking at Vincent's red ones as her hand squeezed his.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Lucemon bellowed as D-Greymon hit him again, causing him to skid back down the street. Stronger. They were actually getting STRONGER! They had been at their weakest moments ago, but now he FELT their blows, and their force could move him. He did not feel he was in any REAL danger yet but was this the power that Yersinimon had been studying? The true depths of it?
"RAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!" ClayDrakmeon flew on tattered wings, the bright red flame burning around him as he lashed out with his fists, a few blows actually connecting with Lucemon's gut and chest, pushing him further back before the Demon Lord managed to regain his footing and swing down with his own mighty fist.
"DIE!" he shouted, a little of his concern slipping out before his eyes completely betrayed his shock as ClayDrakemon caught the fist in both hands and braced himself, holding his ground against a blow that moments ago had been used to pummel him into a crater. "How?"
"You're so obsessed with your own strength and satisfaction you can't feel Ranamon's wishes, even as they fall all around us..." ClayDrakemon explained, keeping a tight hold on Lucemon's fist. "How can you even BEGIN to comprehend 'HOW'?"
"I don't have to comprehend how!" Lucemon's face twisted into a psychotic smirk. "All I need to know is that your power defies all reason and to prove –" rather than try and free his arm from ClayDrakemon's grip, he swung upward, hefting the glowing knight into the air, "–I CAN CRUSH IT!"
As he swung down however, ClayDrakemon simply released his grip and transformed his cape back into wings, and soared away, letting Lucemon swing his barren fist down to crush empty street, keeping him off balance enough for D-Greymon to swoop down upon him. Brimming with power, the angel-dino clamped down on Lucemon's head with his massive jaws, biting down as hard as he could, delivering a somewhat muffled version of his attack call as his wings fanned out.
"CHOSS FAOH!"
Silver flames poured down upon the Demon Lord, burning away at his body and at some point amidst the bright light he realised he was screaming in pain. The flames were actually burning and hurting and searing his flesh. Howling, he reached up and seized each side of the Nightmare Soldier's jaws and began to prise the beast away from his body, pushing far enough that D-Greymon had to stop his attack, lest he choke on his own flames.
"I'll rip you in half!" he cheered, wrestling with the angelic jaws.
"No, I'll slice you in two!" ClayDrakemon dashed forward, his sword recovered and enveloped in the bright red glow of his body, growing more intense as he cried out his attack. "BRAVER!"
"Moron, telegraphing like that," Lucemon chided, swinging D-Greymon around by his jaws to toss him at his brother, only to find that rather than resist him, the holy-dino jumped with the throw. Keeping control of his own momentum, D-Greymon twisted as best he could, swinging his colossal claw up behind ClayDrakemon, who leapt up, letting himself be thrown towards the Demon Lord at even greater speeds.
"You...PARADISE LOST!" Light shone forth from his clenched fist. His instincts were screaming warnings they had not needed for years. Just using punches and kicks would not be enough; he would crush them with REAL attacks. "PUNCH!"
Like lightening his arm lunged forward, with a speed and power ClayDrakemon could not hope to match, but even without a long wind-up to broadcast it, the dragon knight found the attack to be all-together too predictable. For as that devastating arm began to fall, his cape wings twisted ever so briefly, changing his direction ever so slightly and letting him shoot right past the terrifying blow, whilst his blade rose up, under and through.
"Wh...wh...wh..." Lucemon gazed to his side, eyes wide with panic and confusion. He had expected entertainment, hoped for a challenge maybe...but this?
"I once saw Yasyamon injure two ultimates by turning their attacks against them," ClayDrakemon smiled, twirling his large sword as he turned back to face the Demon Lord. "I figured you aren't all that different from your bullying underlings, so..."
"You...you..." Just down from Lucemon's gaze was his arm, and nearer still was the stump it had once been attached to. Boosted or not, ClayDrakemon's Braver would likely never have cut deep, let alone straight through the Demon Lord, but the force of his Paradise Lost Punch had essentially pushed his own body right through the blade. As the fringes of the arms data began to break down and drift away, the Lord of Pride seemed to snap. "YYYOOOOUUU!"
"Hey, don't fixate," ClayDrakemon cautioned, pointing his blade over Lucemon's shoulder, prompting the Demon Lord to turn just in time to see D-Greymon's claw bearing down on him once more.
"GUILTY INNOCENCE!"
With his remaining arm Lucemon turned and caught the oversized claw, the ground cracking beneath his feet as he did because the force was so great. His gloved hand burned as his frantic eyes gazed up into D-Greymon's fierce ones, made all the more intense by the burning aura surrounding him.
"I warned you I'd tear you in half..." he growled.
"And you were just told not to fixate," D-Greymon gave the smuggest grin a dinosaur could.
"BRAVER!" ClayDrakemon raced forward once more. Lucemon struggled to lash out with a leg and kick him away, but the pressure exerted by D-Greymon was keeping him from having his balance. Unable to dodge or counter-attack, he gasped in pain and shock as ClayDrakemon's blade pierced deep into his chest.
"H...how...?" he stuttered, gazing at the implausible blade protruding from his body. Hadn't he just been thinking that the sword could never pierce him on its own?
"Heh...it's not only Ranamon's wishes you're blind to," ClayDrakemon chuckled.
"We're not the only ones wounded," D-Greymon picked up. "Were you so quick to forget Beelzemon?"
Looking back down, his breathing as frantic now as his eyes, Lucemon understood. ClayDrakemon's sword had lanced into a hole created by Beelzemon's berenja. Knowing that the Nightmare Soldier had taken advantage of work done by his fellow Demon Lord did not ease the seething rage that was beginning to hiss from between the Pride Lord's teeth.
"I told you, someone so obsessed with their own strength and satisfaction could never comprehend 'how'," ClayDrakemon smirked.
"Ultimately, we aren't all that strong," Liz smiled, looking down from the rooftop, Vincent's hand still tightly in her's. "But we're not just fighting for us."
"We're fighting with everyone's lives and wishes on our shoulders," Vincent picked up, his red aura now mingling with Liz's, the two blending together as he unconsciously squeezed her hand. "But because of that, those same lives and wishes hold us up and give us the strength to go on."
"In short," D-Greymon snorted, red now weaving through his aura as orange appeared in ClayDrakemon's. "We ain't got nothin' to prove, so we'll lean on each other as much as we have to."
"Sentimental...BABBLING!" Lucemon raged, light pouring into his hand. "PARADISE LOST..."
Before the attack could be completed, both Nightmare Soldiers leapt back, putting as much distance between themselves and the Pride Lord as they could. Their exhaustion and pain may have been washed away, their hope and bonds may have been pushing their strength to new heights, but they didn't want to take that hit at all, let alone at such close distance.
"Such nonsense...such babbling...I have crushed sentimental fools before and I will do it again! I destroyed the Lord of Friendship MYSELF! This trinket of Yersinimon's..." his hand slammed down upon his chest. "I don't need it! I'll end you here and now with my own power!" With only one hand now, he brought it up before him as if about to deliver a Buddhist prayer. The absence of a limb did not impede his intention though as ten burning spheres once again began to appear in cruciform before him. "I am a mega...I am the Demon Lord of Pride...I AM AS GOD BEFORE YOU!"
'Ranamon, Vincent, Liz, D-Greymon'
'ClayDrakemon, Liz, Vincent, Ranamon'
'Liz, ClayDrakemon, D-Greymon, Ranamon,'
'Vincent, D-Greymon, ClayDrakemon, Ranamon'
Names, thoughts, feelings, fear, hopes all poured through the gathered four. A single realisation was so apparent to them all in this moment. Lucemon was right; he was as God before them with his terrible power. But it didn't matter, they were together. To defy God was to do the impossible, and together, they KNEW they could do just that. Unnoticed by either human, a single word had appeared on both of their digivices.
'CONNECT'
And the red and orange flames became one, a single bright shining gold, and the feelings of strength within them magnified and burned hotter. The impossible could quite frankly go and delete itself.
"GRAND CROSS!" Lucemon bellowed, palm extending and prompting the ten miniature suns to fly forth at his enemies, their heat tore up anything remotely close as they converged into a swirling mini-galaxy of destruction.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Liz and Vincent roared in defiance, clinging to each other to remain standing, their clasped hands thrust out as they poured every last ounce of strength they could towards their partners. The mere presence of the other seemed to turn that 'every last ounce' into a bottomless well of resolve, fury, love, hope, courage, and all other things that were capable of breaking the impossible.
"GUILTY INNOCENCE!"
"BRAVER!"
Bursting forward, the golden light made the pair of digimon feel like they were made of lightening. Energy seemed to be surging through every bit of their code and their whole forms seemed golden as they raced on, the rain only making them brighter. As one they rushed straight for Lucemon's attack, knowing that through their souls were all more than willing, their bodies were near collapse. This was to be the final exchange, and where Ranamon had given them their chance by blotting out the sun, they would resolve it by piercing through ten. In a flash the two forces collided, causing an eruption of light that lit the whole of the city as stars met with soul and for a moment Lucemon smiled, sure of their annihilation. But then he realised that the roar of the explosion was over, that the suns had dimmed and been extinguished, and that the light that filled the city was no longer from the collision, but the burning aura of his attackers.
"No...NO! NOOOOO!" Lucemon cried out, swinging his fist around. He could overcome this, he WOULD overcome this! He was the Lord of Pride! His strength was absolute! He needed no-one and his own hands could shatter the heavens! He would KILL THEM!
And then sword, claw, and golden light were upon him.
01000010
Raven: Still alive! And with ice cream. No cake though, sorry.
So this chapter was a pain and a half to write, if the large amount of time we spent working on it was any indication. These next few chapters are going to be a little busy with all of the fighting going on, and it's hard to really get the pacing right. So... we are still here, and we are still working on this, but it is going to take us a while due to all of the business we have written ourselves into. Long story short, please bear with us. We are not leaving, and we love to know that people are still reading. It's just gonna take probably ten years to get this complete.
So all of that said...fighting happens! I'll let Keyo go into detail in this chapter, as he has had to suffer through writing it all these months.
Keyo: No, I'm not making excuses. I'll say sorry though, not as much as Rave though. I just need to write more.
So, quick catch up on the important things in my life that have happened since I last posted. I got engaged to L-O (our wonderful beta) and learned how to ride a motorbike. That's about it I guess. Oh, and I got three jobs. Who says it's a terrible economy?
The biggest thing I've learned from this chapter is to break down my massive fights more. Once I decided to focus the fight entirely on Lucemon it was just much smoother to write. That, and re-discovering my love for the 5Ds sound-track...that music really helped.
Now, before anyone flips their lid at one particular comment in this chapter...yes, Lucemon referred to himself as a Mega. Given he has never appeared in a series where levels matter, and the other Demon Lords are all Megas. So, like with Magnamon, consistency won out.
For my final note, the funniest fluff in this chapter was COMPLETELY neglecting Ranamon's accent. I honestly have no idea how I made that screw up.
