Late late late late laaaaaate. The first full week of September kicked my ass back and forth, just one thing after another, and it left me with little time or energy to write. If I never have another week like that it'll be too soon. But I FINALLY got done with this, and I hope it's all right. Enjoy!
(By the way, feel free to point out errors, I moved some things around and I'm not sure I got all the formatting properly ironed out.)
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Chapter 51: General Threat
The belly of the beast...it seems so benign inside, just like a recently-built office building, functional but not quite pleasing to the eyes. They must've just finished it...or maybe not even. Maybe it was a rush job...that would be like them, thinking they could get away with that.
Thundergarudamon moved slowly, wary of any danger that might be coming her way. So far, it had been quiet; the entrance hadn't been guarded beyond the strange bubble weapon, and there hadn't been any digimon or other types of threats lying in wait. Though she got the feeling it could be because where she was didn't seem to have had a lot of traffic in the first place.
Maybe they just don't want anyone down here. I guess I'd be kind of concerned if it was easy to get access here, too...anyone could just come in and break the prisoners out. Just like I'm about to, so maybe it's a valid concern. But nothing automated? Maybe they just didn't get a chance to install them...
The path got darker as she got further inside. She felt herself picking up the pace despite her apprehension; though she had the shortest distance to her target, it was also the most dangerous, being the closest to the reactor without actually being at the reactor like Pyrekomodomon. And that meant if it went up, she was in the most likely place to be caught up in it. Without any way of telling where the others were or how much they had accomplished, she knew time was of the essence.
The passage she was going through was eerily small, too small for any digimon more than moderately sized to get through easily; she wondered if it wasn't to make it more difficult for anyone to get out. The poor lighting might also have helped that; she was more thankful than ever for her strong vision, unhampered by the dimness.
A clunk behind her caused her to whip around. Someone had jumped down onto the floor from above; she hadn't even realized there was something that could open up above her. Whatever it was was almost as dark as the surroundings, making it tough to identify her even with her good eyes. "Who's there?"
"Your doom." The figure straightened up and pointed at her. "You've gone far enough. I won't let you do any more damage to us."
"You say that like you have a choice." Thundergarudamon drew her spear and held it at her side, quickly trying to plan her course of attack in the narrow space she was allotted. "Once again, who are you?"
"My name is Kuzuhamon. I am one of the Generals under the command of our leader. And for his sake, I'm going to stop you right here."
"Yeah, you already said that. Since when does Emperius have generals?"
"Since our commander dictated that we did. He wanted the best of us to be at his side, capable of organizing Emperius better than ever. Under him, we have had greater success than ever...at least, until you miserable creatures started getting in our way."
Thundergarudamon's gaze hardened. "Should I shed a tear for you? You've made countless lives miserable, tried to take control of one world and sterilize another. You've hurt a lot of people in both worlds, including many people I care deeply for. If you thought we were just going to let you get away with that, you're even more ignorant than I thought."
"You've no right to talk about being hurt, bird. I've seen more pain and suffering than you'll ever know in your life."
"Much of it caused by yourself, no doubt. That's stopping now. My friends and I are going to bring this thing to the ground and make sure Emperius can't use it to do any more damage than they've already done."
Kuzuhamon laughed darkly. "You haven't a chance. Your little partners in crime? They're going to see their own deaths soon, if they haven't already. You shouldn't have interfered with us...now you're going to pay dearly for it!"
"Just like all those other times, right?"
"You may have beaten others, but I'm far above them! I'll show you personally!" She rushed at Thundergarudamon, swinging her staff down harshly at the avian. Thundergarudamon blocked it with her spear, straining under the force but not breaking down, and kicked out at Kuzuhamon to give herself some breathing room. A second strike was dodged rather than blocked, and she countered with a slashing swipe of her own, which Kuzuhamon likewise avoided by jumping well backwards. Instead of jumping ahead again, she readied a different attack, her staff starting to glow with energy.
Thundergarudamon saw this and knew she had to act, lest Kuzuhamon use an attack that couldn't be avoided in the small hallway. She sprinted towards the knight, her body crackling with electricity as she threw herself into a tackle. "Coulomb Blitz!" She slammed shoulder-first into Kuzuhamon, releasing a strong burst of electricity that drove itself into the General. With a cry she was tossed back, tumbling across the ground and getting up somewhat slowly. Thundergarudamon quickly pulled her spear back out and set it surging with electric power. "Charging Yari!" She hurled the weapon at Kuzuhamon, who set up to block it, then got a shock of a different kind when the yari suddenly split apart in midair, forming a cluster of several identical projectiles. She tried to avoid, but it wasn't enough, as one caught her on the arm, slicing it open and delivering a nice nasty shock to boot. The split spears landed and disappeared, reforming into a single one in Thundergarudamon's hand.
"Gah...damn you! You shouldn't be even close to my power!" Kuzuhamon was trying very hard to ignore the pain and blood in her arm as she steeled herself for another attack. "You should be on the ground begging me for mercy!"
"I'm just getting started, Kuzuhamon!" Thundergarudamon ran and jumped at Kuzuhamon and swung her spear again, this time successfully blocked by Kuzuhamon's staff. "You're going to have to do better than that to keep up!"
"Arrogant bird! You think you're so much better than you are!" Kuzuhamon desperately tried to whack Thunderagrudamon with her staff, the latter jumping back safely away from the blow.
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Who was it who was so insistent that they'd beat me before we started fighting?"
"At least I've reason to be confident! You've done nothing but peck at us, all you've done won't come to anything! Our victory might be impeded but never thwarted!" She leapt at Thundergarudamon again, and the staff met the spear again; almost immediately Thundergarudamon followed it up with a Fury Bolt, which hit Kuzuhamon full force and drove her back.
"I'm tired of hearing about your 'destined victory.' You're not that different from all the other idiots who've tried to wreck this world before, or the human world for that matter."
"You're wrong! We're different! We'll succeed where others failed! For too long, strong digimon have been looked down upon, treated like dirt just for existing! I won't allow that to continue! I'll use Emperius to carry out our revenge and bring us back to the status we deserve!"
"What in the world are you...wait, you're talking about dark-aligned digimon, aren't you?"
"Exactly! We've been denied our glory too long! Our commander knows this, he's one of us himself! He'll be all too eager to see my vision come to life! The strong ruling over the weak, as it should be!
Thundergarudamon let out a loud derisive laugh. "Are you kidding me? People hate and fear dark-aligned digimon for their history of terrorizing and killing them! You seriously think the best way to get back at them is to do exactly the same thing that's made them hate you in the first place?"
"If that's what they want out of me, then by the gods I'll give it to them! Our new world will be built on the bloody bodies of those who have hated us!" She raised her staff, which was beginning to glow ominously. "Starting with yours! Negative Spirit Strike!" With a flourish, she released a quartet of fox-like energy bursts, aligned with fire, wind, water, and thunder, all tinged with the dark energy of her essence. They crowded the hallway, leaving no room for Thundergarudamon to dodge all of them. Thinking fast, she waited until the last moment, then put herself right in front of the thunder-aligned one. It hit full-force, throwing her back slightly, but not gravely damaging her.
It was then that she realized she had been going about this battle all wrong. What am I doing? I can use the small space to my advantage as well! Dang it, I could've been done with this ages ago!
She unleashed a Fury Bolt, spreading it wide and ensuring that Kuzuhamon had nowhere to go to avoid taking it. Before her foe could recover, she followed it up with an Electron Web, putting it up right in front of her and barring her from getting close without suffering another nasty jolt. As Kuzuhamon tried to figure her way around it, Thundergarudamon took her chance, raising her hand and unleashing a Thunder Cross.
Had Kuzuhamon not gotten out of the way of the center of the attack, she might have been finished; as it was, she got winged by it and was still hit with enough force that she was thrown back and tossed against the ground roughly a second time. She tried to rise again, and found that her right arm refused to move. "Agh...no, not this, not now..."
"Not so confident now, are you?" Thundergarudamon taunted, charging a Lightning Bomb in one hand. "Don't worry, I'll finish this fast, so you don't have to dwell on it."
"Grr...you bitch, I'm not through yet!" She raised her staff with her one good arm as Thundergarudamon through the Lightning Bomb. "Obsidian Sphere!" A black crystalline barrier appeared around Kuzuhamon, blocking the Lightning Bomb and dissipating it harmlessly. Thundergarudamon scowled and readied another Lightning Bomb for when the barrier went down, but no sooner had it disappeared than Kuzuhamon jumped up, through the opening she had entered through. She tried throwing the Lightning Bomb anyway, but even with good aim she wasn't at an angle where she could get it more than a small ways through, and she knew it hadn't hit.
"Next time...next time, you won't be so lucky..." she heard quietly from above her.
She huffed quietly. You just keep thinking it was luck...you'll do about as well next time as you did this time. She turned and hurried down the hallway; the battle had taken a lot of time, and now she knew she had to hurry if she wanted to save the Libertius captives and herself from an explosive end.
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Quietly, quickly, Onyxvargmon slipped through the hallways, unseen by anyone or anything. The poor lighting of the corridors in this area was what had drawn him to the entrance he'd chosen in the first place; it was perfect for him, right in his element, and he relished every moment of it.
And it was working out for him quite well. Digimon were scrambling around the Weapon, trying to rally Emperius' defenses against the onslaught outside, and inevitably a few came cascading in his direction. With the distraction of the chaos and the limited range of vision, simply ducking off to the side and staying low kept him from being seen even as they passed within inches of him. He couldn't have asked for better.
It couldn't last, though, and as he got closer to a more traveled area the lighting improved drastically, preventing him from hiding away. All good things must come to an end, I suppose...perhaps the ones who passed by me unaware will consider themselves lucky that they didn't notice and try to fight.
He picked up the pace as he became more visible, trying to get as far along his path as he could before someone picked up on his presence and started putting up some obstacles in his way. He'd gone over the route he needed to take a thousand times in his mind, and the last thing he wanted was anything forcing him to divert from that course, where he would be traveling all but blind. Perhaps it would have been prudent to learn more than one route by heart...but there wasn't exactly much time to get everything squared away.
Soon he came to a large room, oblong in shape and possessed of a large, sturdy window from which a portion of the battle outside could be seen. Standing in front of the window was a knight garbed in dark, vaguely leopard-ish winged armor, who turned expectantly as Onyxvargmon entered the room. He pointed his rapier at the canine with an air of impatience. "That's enough. You'll go no further."
Onyxvargmon grinned, making a point of showing his fangs in a mild act of aggression. "Is that so? And I suppose you're the one with designs to stop me, Duftmon?"
"Tries and succeeds. I will not let our victory be waylaid any longer by you tainted ones."
"Tainted ones...you know, I was under the impression that Emperius valued strength no matter what the source. But I've heard that phrase uttered more than once from your ilk. Is that somehow untrue now?"
"Perhaps I'd be more willing to soften my tongue if you weren't so insistent on trying to get in our way. I don't have any patience for those who constantly try to undermine our glory and prevent our wonderful world from coming into existence."
"What a coincidence. My patience is likewise woefully short for idiots who subjugate and destroy anyone who doesn't follow them mindlessly."
"One could say you do the same thing."
Onyxvargmon's grin broadened at that response. "You're really going to try that line? Don't make me laugh. For one thing, we're hardly one to promote mindlessness. Can't blame us for the fact that a moment's real thought about what you stand for is enough to see the absurdity of it."
Duftmon's eyes narrowed at the canid. "I'll make you eat those words, dog."
"You sound stressed out. I take it things aren't going well for you on the outside?"
"Quiet! We've faced challenges before, and we've come out on top! This will be no different! And I'll make sure we make gains against your kind as well!" Duftmon ran forward, swinging down hard with his sword, a move which Onyxvargmon saw coming from far away and easily evaded, and then countered with three blows directly to Duftmon's chest, knocking him away.
"I recommend you compose yourself before attempting to engage me, Duftmon." His tone was somewhat taunting, as if trying to make that very accomplishment all the more difficult. "Such frenzied attacks are too predictable and serve only to make a quick end to the battle for the other side."
"I don't need any help from you, you menace!" snapped Duftmon. "I've had a blade in my hands longer than you or whatever you're made of has existed!"
Onyxvargmon simply smirked. "Then prove it."
"...You must have little fear of death, to call for it so openly."
"Oh, I have a healthy fear of death. You've simply given me no reason to think you can bring it."
"Then maybe this will satisfy you!" Duftmon lashed out again, this time more controlled as he tried to move around Onyxvargmon's defenses. The primary disadvantage quickly became clear as Onyxvargmon parryed with his left-hand sword, then struck out with his right, only barely sidestepped by Duftmon, who soon was forced back by repeated slices and slashes that he could barely make out for their speed. Soon Onyxvargmon scored a particularly fierce blow on the knight, who was knocked back, armor crackling as a protective energy desperately tried to blunt the blow.
Onyxvargmon chuckled approvingly as Duftmon quickly tried to right himself. "Protective enhancements...so your confidence doesn't outstrip your ability to think intelligently. You might be a modern miracle."
"Grh...shut up already! How can you be so fast? It doesn't seem possible!"
"Surely you're not conceding so quickly? I expected more from someone who calls himself a General of Emperius!"
"Of course not! I'll put an end to you yet!" He raised his sword straight out, forming a crackling black ball of energy at the tip. "Black Aura Blast!" The ball fired off the end at Onyxvargmon, who raised a hand to counter. "Sable Ray!"
The black beam fired, hitting the ball dead center. Both attacks stopped cold, diffusing quietly and harmlessly in the air between them. Onyxvargmon blinked in surprise. "Well...that was...markedly less impressive than I was expecting or hoping. I has aspirations of an explosive outcome."
"I suppose our energies are too attuned to each other to react like that. I shall...have to put you on the end of my blade then." Duftmon's voice had gained the sudden tint of someone who had just found out he was in for a lot more trouble than he had originally expected, a fact which did not get by Onyxvargmon.
"Something tells me you're not too sure of that happening."
"I will make it happen. I can't afford to lose here, not with so much riding on it!"
The two squared off again, and this time Onyxvargmon made the first move, rushing in and pushing Duftmon back with a few quick swings that were meant to intimidate more than damage. It worked, putting Duftmon on the defensive and giving him more time to ramp up the force and speed, working Duftmon into a corner. The knight realized his predictament only too late, and desperately tried to get around, forced to endure some clean blows from the blinding blades that were pushing his armor's defensive mechanisms to the limit. He stared down the canine, who was showed few signs of wear himself. "You're...I knew from reports that you were good, but I never expected this..."
"Hardly atypical. Most of Emperius has underestimated their opposition, be it Libertius, ourselves, or others."
"I suppose I have to admit that failing on our part. Why didn't you join us? When you had the chance? You would have easily been one of Emperius' generals, with your power."
"You already know my motivations." Onyxvargmon worked Duftmon yet again, soon getting him into another corner. Rather than try the same risky escape, Duftmon leapt up onto the wall and flipped over Onyxvargmon, parrying quickly as the canine tried to catch him on the landing.
"I suppose I know them, but I don't understand them. You could have not only made Emperius a force to be reckoned with, but been look up to, practically revered. And you don't want this at all?"
"Like I said, you already know where I stand. You seem desperate for me to say something else, though. What's the matter, starting to realize that it's not all about power?"
"Bite your tongue!"
Onyxvargmon stuck it out instead. "Caughtcha. You didn't deny it."
"Whatever doubts I may have will be dispelled after our victory!" He came at Onyxvargmon again, his swing easily parried and countered, the tip of the sword once again scratching against his armor. Onyxvargmon didn't let up, following up and driving him back into a corner again, where Duftmon once again made use of his own agility to get up and over. Onyxvargmon decided to speed things up a bit and re-engaged Duftmon, giving him no time to prepare himself.
"I think I'm too good for you, Duftmon."
"I refuse to accept that!"
"Shock and amazement. Tell me, why are you fighting for something you don't truly believe in? Doesn't seem satisfying to me."
Duftmon blocked a particularly fierce blow and stumbled back. "What do you care?"
Onyxvargmon slashed again, putting Duftmon on the run in an effort to avoid being cornered yet again. "Enough to ask the question, not enough to not kill you before I have the answer."
Duftmon had just a moment to sneak in with a swing, which Onyxvargmon quickly dodged. He tried to follow it up but the lupine was too fast, a quick parry and thrust forcing him back on the defensive. "Damn you and your speed..."
"Damn me all you want, it won't get you anywhere." He jumped in and knocked Duftmon's sword away, then stabbed hard into his chest. A blast sent him shooting backwards, landing hard on the ground several feet from Duftmon, who was on one knee, white sparks dancing around his armor, the protective enhancement having overloaded and failed. The knight scrambled to retrieve his sword as Onyxvargmon got to his feet. "I suppose you're done now?"
"No...I may be putting myself in more danger, but I still have to try to stop you."
"You believe this is worth your life?"
Duftmon stared down Onyxvargmon, clearly reluctant to engage again. "Tell me...have you ever looked at your life and realized that you had done nothing worth noting? That once you were gone, the sum of your actions would amount to nothing anyone would remember?"
Onyxvargmon raised an eyebrow. "I have to profess I've never felt that way."
"...It figures. Youth rarely does." He charged forward again, and was quickly repelled by another speedy sword assault from Onyxvargmon. "That's the reason I'm here. I cannot stand the thought of having done nothing, being invisible to history. I intend to leave my mark however I may! This is the opportunity that came to me, and though I may not be certain of the cause now, I am confident I will be vindicated!"
"You know that those who seek glory for glory's sake are rarely satisfied with the outcome, right?"
"Again, you're too young to understand. When the years have started to wear on you, you'll realize how I feel."
"Probably not." Onyxvargmon zipped ahead and landed a few solid blows on Duftmon, one slash finally cutting through the armor on Duftmon's sword arm and drawing blood. "At least in the human world, they're going to have a hard time forgetting us."
"They won't remember you if we have our way. You'll be nothing, insignificant to time!" Duftmon's swings were becoming slower, the pain in his arm making it difficult for him to maintain his tempo. Onyxvargmon took advantage, swooping in and nailing him with several quick swipes, Duftmon barely escaping from a final killing thrust. "Rgh...I can't believe this..."
"A familiar refrain from Emperius," Onyxvarmgon riposted. "I don't mean to be overconfident, but I have serious doubts that you are capable of overcoming me."
"...I'll accept that in this instance. But I refuse to let you make all we've worked for come to nothing. You'll see what we're capable of in time, dog, and then you'll be the one begging for mercy."
Duftmon scampered through the nearest doorway, Onyxvargmon quickly making chase. He had the speed on Duftmon, but the knight had just enough distance to get to an elevator and slam the doors shut before Onyxvargmon could reach him. Onyxvargmon growled at the missed opportunity, but quickly put it aside. I'll catch him afterwards. He's not in good shape,he won't get far. I guess bringing down the Weapon is what matters most right now.
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Pyrekomodomon was almost disappointed that no one had come to meet him when he got into the Weapon. All the chaos outside had gotten his fires burning, and he was anxious to release some of that energy. Where is everyone? Do they want me to just take out the reactor like nothing? C'mon, I wanna roast something!
He charged through an empty hallway, eyes darting around rapidly for any sign of anything hostile. Nothing came out at him, until he reached an intersection with a fork in the road. Recalling the plan they'd gone over, he immediately turned to the right, and got a faceful of weaponry, several different guns emerging from ports in the walls.
The sight of the new threat only brought a vicious grin to Pyrekomodomon's face. It's not living stuff, but hey, it'll do.
He jumped as the weapons opened fire, quickly slashing the nearest one and launching a fireball from his mouth at the next. He leapt onto the side wall, then the ceiling, and launched himself into a jump kick at the next nearest gun, knocking it clean off it's bearings. A Searing Wave along the wall cleaned off the remaining dangers on that side, leaving him with little to contend with to knock out the last two on the other.
Is that all? Guess they didn't concern themselves with the inside nearly as much as the outside.
He took off again, soon reaching a right turn in the path. He took it fast, then screeched to a halt as his eyes finally spotted something alive. A Blackwargreymon was standing at the opposite end of the hall, leaning forward in a battle-ready stance. "You! I'm gonna tear you to pieces, you piece of trash!"
"Gee, isn't that a nice welcome," Pyrekomodomon shot back brashly. "If you think you can take me on without getting hurt, go for it. Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you, though."
"Shut your trap! I'm no pushover! The commander made me one of his generals because of my power! I'll show you what you get when you mess with the best!"
"Generals? Never heard about Emperius having Generals before. Well, then, maybe if we cut off the head the rest of the body will die, too! Searing Wave!" He let loose a jet of fire through the hall, wide enough that there was no chance of Blackwargreymon evading it. He didn't bother, instead bringing forth his shield and charging headlong through the flames. Pyrekomodomon didn't see it until he got close, and only barely cut off the attack in time to take evasive action, ducking and rolling underneath the charge and trying to leap up and punch at the reptilian's head.
Blackwargreyon was ready; he turned on a dime, put away the shield, and raised a gauntlet to block the blow. At the last possible moment, Pyrekomodomon switched from a punch to a grab and hurled his body over Blackwargreymon's counterpunch, getting a knee to the dark warrior's head before he was tossed away. He flipped back to his feet and then jumped back quickly as Blackwargreymon punched down at him. Well, he wasn't kidding about being tougher than the others. Still, no way he's gonna stop me.
He surged forth, sweeping right by another punch from Blackwargreymon and hammering his chest plate with a leaping punch up, another down, and then a whirling kick that tossed his foe backwards. Blackwargreymon landed on his feet and skidded slightly, quickly regaining his bearings and charging forward for another counterattack. Again Pyrekomodomon tried to roast him with a Searing Wave, and again Blackwargreymon was quick enough on the draw to raise his shield up. The fire lizard didn't wait to see if it had worked, dropping the flames and bracing himself for the charge again. This time, however, Blackwargreymon had something different in mind, and formed an orb of energy in his hand. "Take this!"
He tossed the orb at Pyrekomodomon, who leapt over it and then was knocked forward as it exploded behind him, tossing him right into Blackwargreymon. He managed to get some control and twist to avoid a deadly slash from the reptile's gauntlets, but not the kick that followed. He went flying backwards this time, hitting the ground roughly and then popping back up again, eyes blazing. "Now you're pissing me off!"
"About time it was turned around! You've been in our way for too long! We never should have allowed you to live long enough to become a real threat to us!"
"What, you thought we'd just stand there while you sent everyone to their deaths? Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm the one who's finally going to be where I belong once we've destroyed you fools and taken our rightful place in the world! I will be the one true god and ruler of this pathetic world, as I should be!"
"Oh, I get it now. You're a complete psycho."
"Grah! You won't last long enough to regret that!" Blackwargreymon came at him again, and a third time Pyrekomodomon made with the flames. This time it was a bluff, and as Blackwargreymon raised his shield, Pyrekomodomon sprinted at him. Blackwargreymon lowered the shield and then quickly raised it again as he saw the lizard coming. He slammed his fist into the shield one, two, three, four, five times, then reared back and leveled a final blow hard enough to send Blackwargreymon flying again. "Ragh! Bastard, you'll pay for that!"
"What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of me kicking your ass."
Still the dark warrior wasn't about to quit, and he picked himself up yet again and threw another energy orb at Pyrekomodomon, who was rushing to follow up. With a quick one-armed redirect, he tossed himself out of the orb's way and leapt at Blackwargreymon, throwing himself into a flying punch which his foe blocked with his gauntlets. A moment later, the shockwave from the energy ball hit them both, tossing them down the hallway, still grappling with each other.
Blackwargreymon got the upper hand and walloped Pyrekomodomon into the ground, the fire lizard hitting hard and bouncing back up, getting enough control of himself to launch an Infernal Fang back at Blackwargreymon, who had no time to shield himself this time and roared in pain and rage as the flames seared him and turned his armor red-hot. Pyrekomodomon only had a few seconds to keep the attack up as he scrambled to land more safely, giving Blackwargreymon enough time to regain his own footing and send another energy ball his way. This time he took the evasive action, jumping back several times to get away from the brunt of the shockwave. With some distance between him and his enemy now, he took advantage of the opportune moment.
"Raging Wildfire!" A burst of energy ran through him as his body lit up in flames. The new energy, combined with the boost from the Fire Fragment, had his heart, mind, body all on the razor's edge, every movement and sense amplified multifold, and his temper at its hottest it had ever been. He had had enough of the battle, he had more important things to deal with, and Blackwargreymon was just another idiot getting in the way. He thinks he's a god? Well, let's see how this alleged god likes it when he comes face to face with the devil's inferno!
With a feral roar he tore towards Blackwargreymon, practically a blur of flame and fury. The dark reptile thought he was ready, and had barely a moment to be astonished as Pyrekomodomon slipped through his guard. A fist slammed into his chest with startling power, throwing him backwards. He slammed into the ground and bounced up, scarcely back in the air when Pyrekomodomon was on him again, hammering him back down with a heel drop which pushed the fire lizard up at the same time as it drove Blackwargreymon down. With a quick flip he inverted himself, got his feet on the ceiling, and impelled himself right down at the prone warrior, the third punch hitting hard enough to send deep cracks spidering through the armor. The force of the blow kept him going, and he somersaulted through the air and screeched to a halt, whipping around to see Blackwargreymon rising again. He was definitely the worse for wear, and clearly not ready to keep up the assault this time around.
"Gragh...damn you..." the heavy pants were underlined with definite pain. "How can you...be so frickin'...powerful?"
"Impressive. You're still not dead. Doesn't make you a god, though."
"Bastard! You...you know I'd wipe the floor with you...if we weren't in this tiny hallway! It's too...constrained, I hate fighting in small spaces!"
"Yeah, yeah, you just keep in yammering," Pyrekomodomon snapped back with absolutely no sympathy. "You want your death hot or cold?"
"Not today...I'll let you win this round, but I'm not going to let you take my life! Not when I'm this close to my deserved place in this world!" Blackwargreymon launched another energy orb, which Pyrekomodomon countered with his Searing Wave, causing it to explode early and only hit him with mild shockwaves. Once again, though, Blackwargreymon had ducked behind his shield, and by the time Pyrekomodomon could give pursuit, he had vanished around the far corner of the hallway.
He almost gave pursuit, but after a moment's thought, decided against it. Last thing I want is to get myself mucked up in some ambush...he knows this place better than I do, he'd be at an advantage even while weakened. Besides, he can't guard the reactor by going that way...if the explosion doesn't kill him, I'll have plenty of time to finish the job later.
With that in mind, he turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway, intent on clearing out anything that decided to be foolish enough to get in the way of his destination.
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Stormdramon was ready for anything, possibly excepting nothing at all. But nothing was what he got, and despite being constantly at the ready, no one seemed to be coming at him.
Weird, you'd think they'd have these places guarded! Either they're stupid or all their guards ate it outside and that's why they needed all that extra protection!
He zipped down a hatch and found himself in a rather small room that connected several hallways. At one end of the room was the first sign of life he'd seen inside the Weapon, and one glance at him told Stormdramon that he had been waiting for him. It was a rather large draconic digimon, with an angular head and short narrow snout, long Z-shaped horns, white and red body scales, digitigrade legs, a long tail, and colorful armor adorning his forearms and chest.
"You are the Stormdramon, yes?"
"Yep, I'm THE Stromdramon!" he cackled, fangs bared, as he stared down the larger dragon. "And you're the Zeedramon! I'm guessing you're here because you wanna 'mtryingtodo?"
"...You talk very fast. It is hard to understand you."
"Yeahyeahyeah, I get that a lot! If you don't wanna talk I can just put a blade through your chest and be done with it!"
Zeedramon cocked his head. "You are very eager one. You seem to think you can defeat me."
"We'll, I've come this far, I think I stand a pretty good shot!"
"Hm. I am intrigued by your confidence...I wish to see if it is supported by your ability." He motioned towards one of the hallways to his right. "Through there is the open sky, a battleground of perfection if ever there was one."
"Nuh-uh! Not happening! I've got a job to do, I'm stayin' right in here where I can do it! You wanna fight, let's do it right here, right now!"
"This is not good environment for battle between us-"
Stormdramon snarled. "Shut it! I promised I'd take this thing outta the sky, and you are NOT gonna make me break my promises!"
Zeedramon seemed startled by the sudden reaction from the other dragon. "...Very well. If so insisted, we shall engage in combat in here."
"Yeah, it's so insisted! Get ready for the smackdown!" With only that warning he blitzed Zeedramon, halberd in hand, leaping at the larger dragon in a reckless charge. Zeedramon was caught off-guard by the sudden assault and raised an arm protectively, the halberd smacking his armor with a loud TANG. With impressive force, the blue dragon launched himself forward using his momentum from the connection, flipping over Zeedramon and kicking him in the back of the head, causing him to stagger forward, slightly dazed.
"Hurricane Blast!" The speedy followup attack gave Zeedramon no quarter, buffeting him with strong whirling winds and throwing him off even more. Desperately he slashed out with his claws, preventing Stromdramon from rushing in again and giving him a moment to catch his breath. His initial charge frustrated, Stormdramon changed tack and launched a Storm Ray at the other dragon, hitting him square and throwing him across the room.
Zeedramon was on his feet again quickly, and this time he managed to get off an actual counterattack. "Crushing Blast!" A dozen basketball-sized orbs formed in the air around Zeedramon, and shot forth, exploding with considerable force over a wide area in front of the dragon. Stormdramon got low, taking some of the shockwave of the blasts but avoiding the brunt of the attack. That jerk! I know that's not the most he could put into that! He'd better not be taking me lightly!
He scrambled forward as soon as the attack let up, charging for another swipe with his halberd. Zeedramon was ready this time, as his left-hand claws suddenly glowed bright white. "Ferocity Claw!" He slashed down at Stormdramon, who leapt up and over and brought his halberd back to thrust at Zeedramon. Quickly, Zeedramon brought his hand back up to slam into Stormdramon, tossing him into the air safely away from himself. Stormdramon landed on his feet, panting but still energized. "C'mon! You can do more than that!"
"Too grave of risk of damaging the Weapon. I cannot afford to put forth my full power, not here."
"Bah, who cares? We're gonna be wiping it out anyway, let it get a little scuffed up!"
"There is not guarantee of that incidence occurring. I would show you much more out in the open skies, but you have denied that possibility already."
"Fine! Be that way! Cyclone Pillar!" With a flourish, Stormdramon launched a powerful whirlwind along the floor at Zeedramon, who managed to jump out of the way just in time. He raised his hand and formed a suspicious whirling orb above it. "Impact Sphere!" He fired the orb right at Stormdramon, who jumped into the air and used his jets to shoot himself away from the impact zone. The orb smashed into the ground and let loose an explosion of energy, only spreading a few meters out, far less than Stormdramon had expected. Aw, seriously?
Zeedramon was already forming another orb, no larger than the one before. He tossed it, seemingly half-heartedly, and Stormdramon easily skirted it and ran at him, slashing wildly with his halberd and sending blades of wind energy his way. These struck Zeedramon and forced him into a defensive position, while Stormdramon hammered him with slashes and more twisters until he managed to lash out and knock him back once more. The blue dragon went tumbling, but quickly picked himself back up yet again. "Hah! Whaddaya call that? That was nothing! Come on, come at me!"
Surprisingly, Zeedramon shook his head. "No. No more. I am done for now."
"You...what? Hey, wait a sec, the heck're you talkin' about?"
"You have quite some power within you, there is no question otherwise. But I sense you have not shown your full capability...you, too, are holding back, whether it is realized or not."
"Huh? Well, I guess I can't do as much in this tiny room, like you said. But I'm not leaving here just for the fight!"
"That was not exactly what I had in mind, but is not for any dispute." Zeedramon stood up, his body and armor revealing the toll of the battle and his demeanor as far from aggressive as possible. "It would be of great disappointment for this to be decided here, when neither of us can truly do what we should. I wish to part and prepare myself for our next encounter."
Stormdramon wasn't quite sure if this was a trick or not. "What...you know, you're kinda weird. Most of Emperius can't wait to take my head off, and you're sayin' you want to wait until I'm even stronger! What's the deal? I thought all you guys were about just showing off as the strongest of everything!"
Again, Zeedramon shook his head. "Such a mind is of faulty thought. Even our young leader grasps this understanding. He knows that the world does require more than pure power for its functions...it was his reasoning for us to be less of a force of chaos than to be of control and dominance. As to myself, I reject even that."
"Wait...you don't think that way? Then...why the heck are you here?"
"There exists not more for me in this world. Twice before I had belief of being of something of meaning and importance, to be working along to with others who were of the same mind. Twice, in which I was shown hopelessness in its essence...at Gradwen, watching all I had lived for and worked for to be taken away without remorse...at Nikia, in the South, where I had built of myself and others something to work for, and saw it ripped to pieces before me. Twice, fate deigns to take everything from me, yet failed to complete its course by taking myself as well." He gazed at Stormdramon, an odd mixture of sadness and stoicism in his features. "I am tired. There is such a thing as too much loss for a life. I am here, though I reject what it means, for what it provides despite that. The essence of victory, should it be in defiance of my belief, may keep me from the loss once more, but should it be like so many ghosts, I believe I shall finally be brought down with it, as it should be. If I am to have my final moments, I should wish them to be spectacular...one last awakening before I sleep. That is why I must wait. I know you will give me that awakening, and I believe, most likely, that sleep. But it will happen not here."
He turned and started towards one of the branching halls from the room. In front of the opening, he stopped again. "I expect it likely you know where you must want to go. I will oppose no more. Others are certain to do the opposite. Do not make me fear that my desires should go unfulfilled once more."
Stormdramon quickly shook off pallor over his mood. "Hey, if you're wanting someone to give you a hell of a battle, you can bet I'll do it! You've got a promise, Zeedramon, I'll give you the battle of a lifetime!"
"...And you do not break your promises."
"Never!"
"Then I shall put my reliance on that. Until we meet again." With that, Zeedramon marched off, his form fading into the darkness of the corridor in front of him. Stormdramon was left alone, still somewhat bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
"...Jeez. Way to make me actually feel sorry for someone in Emperius." He let out a long, forlorn sigh. I mean, he actually seems like a decent guy...then again, maybe it's because he's not one of those mindless hate machines like most of the others we've seen. I don't really get why he does this...well, if that's what he wants, he'll get it, and get it good.
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Stealth was out of the question as Cyberrexmon clanked through the hallways, ready to fire at anything that might come his way. He'd found it odd that the access point had been devoid of guards, but that was quickly rectified as various members of Emperius heard him make his way through the hallway. He'd blasted a few of them to kingdom come, but most had just taken off.
Guess my reputation precedes me. Or they're going for back-up. Either way, I'd better not dally.
After a while he came to the ned of the hallway, where a large, heavy gate with a computerized access panel stood on his right. He had seen this in the schematics, and while it was supposed to be quite secure, he was confident he could interface with it and get through without much trouble. However, before he could get started, his sensors alerted him to a powerful digimon coming towards him through the hallway. That was bad news; he wouldn't be able to crack the code quickly enough to escape, and that left him stuck at a dead end. Guess it's time for a battle. Hope this won't take too long, Pyrekomodomon's probably waiting for me...
He turned and stood ready as the digimon came into sight. Instantly his database brought up information on him; he recognized him as someone he'd seen on the battlefield before, but never engaged himself. "Carcharomon. Surprised you were able to restrain yourself from going after us this long."
The sharkman growled slightly, irritated that he'd lost the element of surprise. He was large, taller and broader even than Cyberrexmon and extremely muscular, with the familiar grayish-white coloring of the legendary great white. "Well, well, if it isn't a big hunk of metal with some flesh attached."
Cyberrexmon was nonplussed. "Was that supposed to be intimidating?"
"Doesn't matter if it was or not. You'll more than intimidated enough once I've kicked your ass into a tin can. I'm tired of you and your ilk getting in our way."
"Well, prepared to be more tired, then, because we're not stopping. You brought this on yourselves with your scorched-earth approach. Did you think the humans wouldn't fight back?"
"Of course they were going to fight back. They weren't supposed to do it effectively! And it's the same goddamn thing all over again, they don't even really fight!"
"Oh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Carcharomon snorted. "They hide behind their tools and their bombs, pretending like that makes them strong. Much the same as you...putting all that metal on you, trying to make it look like you're something when you're not! Real fighting is about your own strength and natural ability! Your own flesh and blood!"
Cyberrexmon snickered disdainfully. "Sounds like someone's just whining that he can't define the rules."
"Once we've taken our rightful place in the world, that's just what we'll do! Real strength is what will matter, not this artificial crap that everyone's trying to hide behind!"
The cyborg dino couldn't help a cheeky smirk. "And this behemoth?"
"Wasn't my idea in the slightest." Carcharomon's acrid tone could have eaten a hole in the wall. "The other generals overruled me. I suppose it's a matter of necessity, if they're going to hide behind their artificial power then we have to match it. Then our superior natural power will be the real trump card!"
"Emperius has generals now? Interesting, I'll have to remember that. Now, are you going to run along, or do I have to get painful?"
"Neither! I'm going to grind you into dust, and then find the rest of your little buddies and finish them off the same way, if the others haven't already done the deed! You shouldn't act so smarmy, you can't hold a candle to real power!"
"We'll see about that. I'm not in the habit of losing...I prefer to remain superior technology."
"Hah! Superior technology is NOTHING compared to superior biology! You've never seen a war machine like this before! Everything designed perfectly to obliterate all that stands in its path! It could destroy you before you even knew what was going on!"
"If you think that's the case, then bring it!" Cyberrexmon unleashed his Hailstorm Rail Gun, firing barrages of metal right at Carcharomon and hoping for a quick end to the interruption. In response, Carcharomon raised his arms in front of him and formed a barrier in the air. "Soul Barricade!" The bullets smashed against the screen and fell harmlessly to the ground, eliciting an irritated growl from Cyberrexmon.
Carcharomon lowered the barrier as soon as the fire let up and charged forward, fist raised to pound against the cyborg dino. "Hammer Drive!" Despite the close quarters, Cyberrexmon found space to duck to the side and let Carcharomon get past him, then blasted him from close range with his Tera Blaster. The shots pummeled against the sharkman, and he scrambled to get away, but found nowhere to go. Failing that, he swing around and raised an arm out at Cyberrexmon. "Oceanic Blow!" A burst of water flared out from the air and slammed into Cyberrexmon, driving him back and arresting his fire.
"Hyper Blast!" A fast-paced ball of pure energy followed up the watery strike, Cyberrexmon avoiding by bare millimeters as it pounded into the wall past him, leaving a glowing streak in its wake. He lit up the hall with his Tera Blaster once again, Carcharomon dancing through the attack and trying again to get up close to land a punch on him. The pace was getting faster and faster as Carcharomon edged ever closer, taking only a few glancing shots, until Cyberrexmon gained the upper hand by landing a direct hit and laying it on heavy until Carcharomon finally raised his Soul Barricade again. "Grrr...damned robot!"
"Oh, quit whining. What did you think was gonna happen?"
"You shut up! I'm only just starting here, you wanna see what I'm capable of, I won't make you wait much longer!"
"I'd rather not wait at all." He started firing again as Carcharomon cast away the shield and charged, managed to get close but not close enough as Cyberrexmon shifted away from his attack and once again fired at him as he went by. The sharkman did a better job of not getting pounded the second time around, but Cyberrexmon had a lock on him and was ready for something more. "Reptile Rockets!" The rockets emerged from his shoulder, trying to home in on Carcharomon. Thinking fast, he let loose a Hyper Blast right into the fray, blowing up a couple of the rockets and setting off a chain reaction thanks to their being clustered in the small area.
The exploding missiles left enough smoke to cloud Cyberrexmon's vision and enough dust to temporarily chaff his sensors, and he tensed up and backed away defensively, unsure where Carcharomon was. It took only a few minutes for him to get a bead on him; he was on one knee a ways away, breathing heavily. Cyberrexmon thought he had gotten the advantage for a moment, but then saw the sharkman's eyes open, sharply squaring on him, and he realized with dread that he was about to be in big trouble.
He didn't need his sensors to tell him what was happening this time; Carcharomon was putting himself into a berserker rage. Every muscle in his body had gotten tighter, coils compressed beyond their limit just waiting to be unleashed; his rational mind was ceding control to a feral, monstrous, primal state, mindless and with only one goal in mind, the destruction of its enemy. It was a feared state for anyone having to face him down; he'd seen powerful allies run scared from Carcharomon when he was like this.
And just my luck, I don't have anywhere to run.
He fired with his Tera Blaster again, and scored repeated direct hits with his cannon, but it didn't even slow Carcharomon; the rage state had bolstered his defenses and rendered him insensible to what damage he was taking. Without even so much as a token effort to avoid the barrage, he drove forward with a cry of "Hammer Drive!" and slammed Cyberrexmon back into the wall. He barely had time to register what had happened before the sharkman was on him again, giving him a good close-up of his wild eyes.
"Rage Slayer!" Now Carcharomon was really delivering a pounding, slamming his fists at top speed into Cyberrexmon, the cyborg enduring but starting to really feel the sting of the repeated blows. He's gonna overpower me if I don't turn the tide quickly! I can't lose to him, not with everyone counting on me! I've got to...wait, that's it! That might give me the edge!
He was barely able to hammer out a blow from the end of his gun to drive Carcharomon back, the sharkman speedily recovering and not breaking his rage for even a moment, trying to renew the assault on the battered dino. Cyberrexmon had but a second to act, and he took it. Rapidly his gun shifted, and he blasted a radiating wave over Carcharomon. The wave had more impact than he expected, stopping the sharkmon dead in his tracks and throwing him backwards. He staggered a few steps, then stumbled and fell to the ground, heaving.
Cyberrexmon held back, watching quietly, not sure whether Carcharomon was faking or his technique had gotten stronger. It soon seemed the latter was the case; the wave had drained Carcharomon, and he wasn't about to get up. Even the rage state he had been in had faded completely. "Wha...what the...hell did you...do to me, you metal...bastard?"
"I sealed your abilities."
"Wh-what?"
"You heard me. You won't be able to use them for a while. And it looks like it did a little more than that, too...guess that's from having advanced a stage since I wrote the program. You're not the first to experience it, I used that to help us wipe out Marsmon and Suijinmon."
"That...that's how you brought them down? Playing games...with your artificial tools? I wondered...how you could take out two Generals...should've known it was fakery..."
"Fakery? I don't think what you're experiencing right now is fakery. Complain all you want, but the facts are the facts. You're not gonna pose much more of a threat to me."
"Gah...you...damned machine! You're an insult to...anyone with real strength! No pride in yourself, in your real body..."
"And you have too much pride," Cyberrexmon shot back. "The world wasn't built on muscle alone. Strength is good, but it's not everything. You know this, you've taken advantage of it, and yet you still refuse to accept that simple truth. Why is that?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you. If you were truly strong, you'd already get it!"
"Tch. Guess you can still talk big. I'll put an end to that right now!" Cyberrexmon shifted to his claws and stabbed at the sharkman's head with his Titan Slicer. Unexpectedly, Carcharomon rolled away just in time, leaving Cyberrexmon's claws to embed in the floor. He pulled back and took a step back, defensively facing down Carcharomon, who was on his feet but was leaning heavily on the hall, looking half-dead, the last-second lifesaving move taking everything he had and then some. "You're still moving around? You Emperius guys just don't know when to die, do you?"
If looks could kill, Carcharomon probably would have sent everything in the Weapon to an untimely death with the unhinged glare he was giving Cyberrexmon. "You...you think you can win...with tools and trickery. I'll show you...that it's all for nothing! I'll make sure you see...what real strength is...and I'll make you pay for what you've made me do today!"
With that, Carcharomon broke into a stumbling run back down the hallway. Cyberrexmon quickly brought out his Tera Blaster and fired, but the sharkman managed to evade long enough to duck through a doorway. Cyberrexmon lowered his arm, not willing to give chase. I don't have time to waste hunting him down, and who knows what else might be lying in wait.
He went back to the gate, feeling his own soreness becoming more prominent. Oof...he really did a pretty good number on me...I'm glad I thought of that before he managed to do too much damage... With a quick flick of his wrist, a cable emerged and hooked up to the access panel. It took all of thirty seconds for the code to be cracked, and the gate began to slowly creak open. Guess not everything in here can be that much of a challenge.
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Hm, talk about being chatty during battle. That's what I get for using dialogue as a crutch, I guess. I'm trying to work on that, but all the extra circumstances made that more difficult than it should have been.
The Silent Insomniac mentioned that he wanted to see me focus on the emotive side of fighting rather than just descriptive. I don't know that I exactly succeeded here, but I tried to kind of split the difference, engaging some descriptiveness but also trying to get into the heads of the fighters at the same time. Feedback is welcome.
Now I just need the time to knock out the next chapter. Wish me luck, I need some of that lately.
