(A/N: Ok, I know it's past the right date but, Happy New Year everyone! 2020 was a pretty rough year for everyone, but hopeful this year will be better. Let's be honest though, that's really not that high of a bar to beat. But let's kick off the new year with a new chapter. Last time, ChaosGallantmon used a ChronoCore to Digivolve and the Machine Mercenaries returned. Time for a big epic battle that I know will please many of you by the end of it.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 155: Ice and Thunder
"Dark Hazard!" ChaosGallantmon C cried, and fired a burst of darkness from his shield.
"That darkness will paralyze you!" OmniShoutmon shouted in warning.
"I got it," Ophanimon C cried, rushing in front of them. "Unicorn Shield!"
The beam of darkness struck her barrier. Ophanimon C grit her teeth as she held the attack back. Gallantmon and OmniShoutmon flew forward, and the dragon Digimon kicked outward with his Doom Drillpress. ChaosGallantmon C blocked with his shield while simultaneously using his lance to catch Gallantmon's Dash Blutgang. He spun around, causing the two of them to crash into each other, then raised his lance and used his Chaos Slash, a trail of chaotic energy following his swipe.
Both OmniShoutmon and Gallantmon were knocked away, but before ChaosGallantmon C could follow up with another attack, he was struck by a fireball that erupted into a pillar of fire. Ophanimon C was flying towards him, repeatedly using her Volcano Napalm. ChaosGallantmon C began knocking the fireballs away with his lance and shield before flying towards her. Ophanimon C flew towards him as well, and they collided together, her javelin striking against his shield and his lance against hers. They simultaneously let out a burst of hot and cold, and the contradicting temperatures meeting caused a burst of pressure that sent them both flying back.
"Air Sefirot Crystal!" Ophanimon C cried as she was knocked back.
ChaosGallantmon C grunted as he was blasted backwards, then unleashed his Crazy Ice Blast. Ophanimon C blocked with her Unicorn Shield, then used her Call Dramon. But as her dragon manifested, ChaosGallantmon C just laughed.
"Nice pet. I have one too. Call Leo!"
Like Ophanimon C's dragon, a giant lion made of ice appeared. The dragon opened its mouth to breath fire, but the lion was faster, slashing at the dragon with its claws. The stream of fire the dragon unleashed went off target, and the lion pounced at it. The two beasts grappled for a few moments before the two opposing temperatures of their bodies caused them to erupt.
Ophanimon C let out an irritable grunt, but was suddenly surprised as Gallantmon came flying at her, using his Invincible Sword. She managed to block the attack in time, but gave the knight Digimon a shocked look. "What are you doing!?"
Gallantmon blinked, looking confused. "I'm attacking… Wait, who am I fighting again?"
"Him!" Ophanimon C cried, motioning to ChaosGallantmon C, who looked on in amusement.
"It's the affects of ChaosGallantmon's Chaos Slash!" OmniShoutmon called from on the ground. "It causes confusion." Crouching on his hands and knees, he slammed his head down on the ground hard enough to crack it. "Clear your head!"
Gallantmon blinked a few more times, still looking confused, then slapped his face a couple times. "My thoughts are all mixed up."
"Look out!" Ophanimon C cried, and shoved him aside.
ChaosGallantmon C had charged forward and attempted to impale Gallantmon from behind. His lance instead hit Ophanimon C's shield, and she let her flame erupt around her. ChaosGallantmon C pulled back from the flames as she glared at him from behind her helmet.
"This icy form of yours may have provided you with a power boost," she told him, "but ice is a major weakness against me."
ChaosGallantmon C chuckled at that. "You think so? Allow me to remedy that. AT Change!"
He briefly glowed in a kaleidoscope of colors. Ophanimon C let out a growl. She knew what that ability did, for she possessed the same one. Typically, all Digimon had their own series of attacks exclusive to them, but it seemed that this one was shared between the two of them, presumably having inherited it from the ChronoCore.
AT Change, she knew, swapped the user's strengths and weaknesses. Meaning that rather than being weak against fire, ChaosGallantmon C was now strong against it. Of course, that now meant that whatever he had been strong against before, he was now weak to, but she didn't know what that was.
OmniShoutmon and Gallantmon flew over to her, now looking more clear-headed. Ophanimon C continued to let her flame burn wildly, but now, knowing that the Chaos General was resistant to fire, that seemed far less intimidating.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" ChaosGallantmon C asked mockingly. "Aren't you going to combine your power and team up against me?"
Gallantmon glared at him. "Mock us all you want, but our teamwork is what brought us this far, including destroying five of you Chaos Generals and four Demon Lords."
The humor visibly left ChaosGallantmon C. "And for that, you will die!"
He flew forward, stabbing with his lance. Gallantmon brought his spears together, catching it, then unleashed a lightning blast with his Royal Saber. ChaosGallantmon C was blown back, and OmniShoutmon flew at him with his Omni Torpedo. ChaosGallantmon C knocked him away with his shield, then flew at Ophanimon C and used his Chaos Slash. She countered with her Holy Slash, a trail of holy energy following her javelin as chaos power followed ChaosGallantmon C's lance. Their weapons collided, and the colliding energy threw them both backwards.
"Crazy Ice Blast!" ChaosGallantmon C cried, firing a series of ice arrows at the angel Digimon.
Gallantmon flew in front of Ophanimon C and began spinning his spear, knocking the ice arrows away. OmniShoutmon then came up behind the Chaos General and fired his Hard Rock Spirit. Ophanimon C fired her Shining Laser III, and the Chaos General was pinned between the two beams.
"Crimson Light!" Gallantmon cried, throwing his spear into the air. A beam of light came down on ChaosGallantmon C, knocking him to the ground, and the three DigiDestined landed at the base of the beam while they waited for the attack to stop.
When it did, a crater was left behind, and ChaosGallantmon C stood up, glaring at the three of them furiously.
"Is that the teamwork you wanted?" Gallantmon asked.
The Chaos General's eyes flashed violently and he fired his Dark Hazard at them. They countered with their Final Justice, Air Sefirot Crystal, and Omni Core Fusion. Their attacks pushed their way through ChaosGallantmon C's and collided with the Chaos General, resulting in a blast. A large cloud of smoke rose up, covering the area.
A second blast followed, only this was an explosion of ice, bursting out from the cloud of smoke. The ice almost appeared sentient, growing outward like tentacles extending and reaching for the DigiDestined. They took to the air again, but the ice continued to grow, branching out to follow after them. Lethal-looking icicles burst out from the ice, nearly impaling them when the ice got too close.
A large pillar of ice rose out of the mass, upon which ChaosGallantmon C was at the top of. He used his Call Leo attack, and the giant ice lion appeared. It leapt at Gallantmon, but he swerved to avoid it. Another ice pillar burst out for the lion to land on, and it jumped back at Gallantmon again. This time, he slashed at it with his Invincible Sword, cutting it in half, and the lion shattered into ice shards.
Turning to ChaosGallantmon C, he changed his sword into a spear and used his Gungir, throwing his spear at ChaosGallantmon C. An ice wall suddenly rose up in front of the Chaos General, shielding him from Gallantmon's attack, which he then leapt over and pointed his shield at the knight Digimon. "Crazy Ice Blast!"
He fired a barrage of ice arrows from his shield. Gallantmon was down a spear, but began batting the ice arrows away. There were far too many of them though, and one of the arrows pierced him. This caused Gallantmon to wince, and he was hit by another, and then another, until he was hit by several dozen. Where each arrow hit, he froze over in ice, until he was completely encased in a block of ice.
Gallantmon's frozen form fell from the sky. OmniShoutmon quickly flew over and caught him. Two more pillars of ice suddenly rose up on either side of them and came together, crushing the dragon and knight Digimon in a sandwich. ChaosGallantmon C laughed and pointed his shield at them. "Dark Hazard!"
The beam flew at the two of them, but Ophanimon C flew in its path. She used her Air Sefirot Crystal to counter ChaosGallantmon C's attack, resulting in an explosion. She then glanced back at the crushed OmniShoutmon and frozen Gallantmon. "Stay very still."
She unleashed her fire with the same intensity that ChaosGallantmon C had unleashed his ice. The fire flowed all around, melting the mass of ice the Chaos General had created, and freeing Gallantmon. ChaosGallantmon C held his ground as his icy fortress melted around him, but was clearly aggravated.
"You may now be resistant to fire," Ophanimon C told him, "but it still doesn't change the fact that your ice will always melt against my fire."
An angry snarl escaped ChaosGallantmon C. But then he glanced over to the other battle with Raidenmon, and a light chuckle escaped him. "Maybe so, but it's enough to prevent you from saving your friends."
And it seemed that indeed they were in need of help. Raidenmon was just as powerful as they remembered, and his defenses were just as impenetrable.
"Imperial Crusher!" Imperialdramon cried, stabbing with his electrified claw.
Raidenmon's hands came up, grabbing the dragon Digimon's wrist, and held it back, avoiding the electric claw. Omnimon flew in while the machine Digimon was preoccupied and slashed with his Dash Grey Sword. It clanged against Raidenmon's hard, armored body, leaving only a scuffmark, while Omnimon was left vibrating.
Spinning around, Raidenmon threw Imperialdramon into Omnimon, then turned to grab EmperorGreymon before the dragon Digimon could slash him with his sword, and slammed him to the ground. He was then hit in the side by Seraphimon's Strike of the Seven Stars. He fired his Big Charge Bomb at the angel Digimon, and Seraphimon sliced it in half with his Excalibur. However, the two halves of the bomb exploded, and Seraphimon went flying backwards.
Still pinned down, EmperorGreymon managed to stab his sword into the ground and used his Pyro Dragons. Raidenmon glanced down as the trails of fire stretched out around him and the streams of fire emerged. They coiled around the machine Digimon, holding him in place, and the ground beneath him and EmperorGreymon exploded, launching them both into the air.
EmperorGreymon broke free of the machine Digimon's hold and used his Soaring Nine Headed Dragon Force. The giant flame dragon spirit appeared and plowed into Raidenmon, bringing him back down to erupt in a fiery explosion.
"Nice one," said Imperialdramon. "I'm glad we have you here this time." He hesitated. "Wait, were you EmperorGreymon the last time we fought Raidenmon, or were you still AncientGreymon? I forget."
"Not important right now," Omnimon told him. "We know that wasn't enough to beat him. Get ready to fire as soon as you see him."
They prepared to attack, waiting for the smoke to die down so they could see their target. But once they could, they noticed that electricity was flowing over his body.
"Oh crap," EmperorGreymon remarked, realizing what was about to happen.
"Kirlian Brand!" Raidenmon cried.
Bolts of electricity began flying from his body, tearing the ground apart as it struck. The DigiDestined scattered, flying about to try and avoid the bolts that seemed to be coming from all different directions.
"Hallowed Ascension!" cried Seraphimon, bringing down lightning.
"Omni Blast!" Omnimon cried, unleashing a blast of lightning from his sword.
Their lightning attacks canceled out the bolts that came for them. Raidenmon noticed this and zoomed forward. He leapt up into the air and tackled Seraphimon. The two crashed to the ground with the angel Digimon on the bottom, and Seraphimon cried out as he was crushed by Raidenmon's weight.
The machine Digimon ignored him though as he took aim with his tail and fired his Big Charge Bomb up at Omnimon. The knight Digimon saw the attack coming and fired his Supreme Cannon. The two attacks met in mid-air and exploded.
"Dragon Kick!" Imperialdramon cried, flying towards Raidenmon and driving his knee into him. The machine Digimon tipped over onto his side, off Seraphimon, and Imperialdramon scooped up the angel Digimon and flew away with him.
Omnimon swooped down, coming to a stop beside Raidenmon as the machine Digimon tried to upright himself, aimed at his underside, and began repeatedly firing his Supreme Cannon. The blasts, at the very least, kept Raidenmon from righting himself, as he was knocked back down every time he tried to get up.
Raising his own cannon arm, Raidenmon blasted Omnimon away. As he began to get up again, EmperorGreymon flew over and began slashing wildly with his Purgatory Sword Dance.
"This guy's defenses are ridiculous!" he shouted as he slashed away, doing little more than creating scratches and dents in his armor. Raidenmon then spun around, backhanding the dragon Digimon and sending him flying.
"He's a literal tank," Imperialdramon stated. "What did you expect?"
"Maybe we just need to hit him in the right spot," Seraphimon suggested.
He flew out of the dragon Digimon's arms and down to Raidenmon. Using his Excalibur, he stabbed into a crease in Raidenmon's armor that looked like it might be a weak spot. In response, Raidenmon's hand shot out, grabbed Seraphimon, held his cannon hand up to him, and blasted him away.
Imperialdramon dropped from the sky with his Dragon Kick, doing a flip and bringing his heel down on Raidenmon's back. The ground cracked apart beneath the machine Digimon, but Raidenmon swung his tail up and fired his Big Charge Bomb, and Imperialdramon went flying.
"Damn this guy," Omnimon growled, and began firing his Supreme Cannon.
Raidenmon turned to the knight Digimon and began slowly heading in his direction. Omnimon kept firing, knowing that the machine Digimon's slow approach was a deliberate scare tactic. He stood his ground and kept firing, knowing that Raidenmon was indeed taking damage, even if his armored body was protecting him.
Raidenmon came to a stop directly in front of him as Omnimon refused to budge. He suddenly unleashed his Kirlian Brand, making the knight Digimon regret putting up a brave front as the electric attack blasted him away.
"Dragon Soul Sword!" EmperorGreymon cried, flying towards Raidenmon.
The machine Digimon's hand shot out, catching the sword. He pulled it out of EmperorGreymon's hand and smacked him away with it. Lightning from Seraphimon's Hallowed Ascension drew his attention to the angel Digimon as Raidenmon was struck. He threw EmperorGreymon's sword, and it flew up towards the angel Digimon at top speed. Seraphimon swerved to avoid it, but the sword sliced one of his wings.
Imperialdramon stumbled back over. "I'm so sick of this guy. These guys. The stupid Machine Mercenaries. Whatever. The guy just better not heal himself."
Almost as if Raidenmon had heard him, the machine Digimon began to use Gilead Plant. Imperialdramon swore as Raidenmon began to glow and fired his Giga Crusher. The attack struck Raidenmon, resulting in an explosion, leaving Imperialdramon hoping that he had interrupted the machine Digimon's healing.
From out of the blast, Raidenmon came charging at Imperialdramon. Based on the dents and scratches still present in his armor it seemed that his healing had indeed been interrupted, but that didn't stop him from plowing into the dragon Digimon, taking him off his feet and pushing him back until he slammed into the fortress. Imperialdramon grunted as Raidenmon pulled back and slid to the ground. Raidenmon pointed his cannon hand at him and prepared to fire, but was suddenly grabbed from behind. EmperorGreymon had a hold of him, and he was lifted onto the air and thrown across the battlefield.
"Happy landings, buddy," the dragon Digimon mocked.
Seraphimon flew down beside him. "I think this is yours."
EmperorGreymon took his sword back from the angel Digimon. "Thanks. Now let's get this guy."
They fired their Dragonfire Crossbow and Strike of the Seven Stars. Raidenmon was just getting up when the attacks hit him. A snarl of aggravation left the machine Digimon, the first sign he gave of showing genuine frustration, and he charged at the two Digimon. They charged him as well, and when they met, Raidenmon's arms shot out. He grabbed hold of EmperorGreymon and jabbed his cannon-hand into Seraphimon, slamming them both into the ground. He kept moving, dragging them along, the angel and dragon Digimon leaving deep grooves in the hard ground as they tore through it.
"Let them go!" Omnimon shouted.
He charged in with his Omega Sword. This at least managed to pierce his armor, but it was still far from the type of damage Omnimon was used to delivering other opponents. It did make Raidenmon stop though. He tossed Seraphimon aside and used EmperorGreymon to knock Omnimon away. The knight Digimon stumbled back, but then raised his arms and fired his Double Shot into Raidenmon's face.
Shaking his head, Raidenmon reached out. His hand grabbed Omnimon's arm and his cannon-hand wrapped around his other arm. Lifting the knight Digimon into the air, he began to pull his arms in opposite directions. Omnimon howled as his limbs were yanked, but couldn't break out of the machine Digimon's hold, and his friends were either still dazed from Raidenmon's assault on them or preoccupied with the fight with ChaosGallanton C.
An agonized scream escaped Omnimon as his arms were suddenly torn out of their sockets. He dropped to the ground as his arms dissolved in Raidenmon's hold, and the machine Digimon rose up and came down on Omnimon, crushing him.
Rising up again, Raidenmon came down on Omnimon again, earning another cry of pain from the knight Digimon. He rose up again and came down, this time only getting a grunt from Omnimon. He did it a fourth time, but this time Omnimon was silent as Raidenmon came down on him.
Raidenmon rose a fifth time, but this time Seraphimon slammed into his underside, pushing him away from Omnimon. Using his Excalibur, he began repeatedly stabbing into the machine Digimon, despite knowing that it was doing little damage against Raidenmon's armor.
The machine Digimon lashed out with his tail. It coiled around Seraphimon, yanking him out from underneath him, and Raidenmon came down, a distance away from Omnimon. Seraphimon used his Justice Genome to amplify his Light attacks, and then proceeded to punch balls of light at the machine Digimon with his Hallowed Knuckle. Raidenmon pointed his cannon at the angel Digimon, but was suddenly hit with and pushed back by EmperorGreymon's Soaring Nine Headed Dragon Force, causing him to drop Seraphimon.
EmperorGreymon flew over to Seraphimon's side. "You ok?"
"I've been better."
EmperorGreymon looked at the motionless, armless knight Digimon on the ground. "Omnimon's in bad shape. He's probably on the verge of reverted back to his human form. You need to heal him now."
Seraphimon nodded. "I'll get right on it."
Before he could make a move though, Raidenmon unleashed his Kirlian Brand, sending bolts of lightning flying everywhere, preventing Seraphimon from getting to Omnimon. One of the bolts got close to the battle with ChaosGallantmon C. It shot past OmniShoutmon, who skidded to a halt in mid-air and looked back at where it came from.
He saw Omnimon damaged on the ground as Seraphimon and EmperorGreymon tried to avoid Raidenmon's attack. He looked around some more and saw Imperialdramon a short distance away, collapsed against the fortress. Looking back to his own battle, he watched as Gallantmon and Ophanimon C continued to fight with ChaosGallantmon C.
A growl escaped him. "No choice. At this rate, we're going to lose." He held out his hand, and AncientWisemon's Fractal Code emerged. "We'll have to use this for a power boost."
"Don't!"
OmniShoutmon's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked down at Imperialdramon. "What?"
Grunting, Imperialdramon sat up. "AncientWisemon said that we must save it for after the battle no matter what."
OmniShoutmon considered this, and looked back at the Fractal Code. "But this could be our only chance to win."
"It doesn't matter," Imperialdramon replied. "AncientWisemon said that we must not use it yet. Last time I ignored his advice, I paid for it big time. I should have known better than to think that I was smarter than someone much older and wiser than me. But I've learned my lesson, and I'm going to take his advice. Advice he spent his last breath giving. Hold onto that data."
Jumping up, he sped back towards Raidemon. The machine Digimon's electric attack had ended at this point, and Imperialdramon used his Splendor Blade on him. It did little more than leave a scratch as Raidenmon turned and drove his fist into the dragon Digimon's gut, knocking him away. EmperorGreymon then came flying in with his Soaring Flame Edge, but Raidenmon fired off his Big Charge Bomb at him. EmperorGreymon attempted to knock it away with his sword, but the bomb exploded upon contact.
Out of the corner of his eye, Raidenmon spotted Seraphimon flying towards Omnimon. Taking aim with his cannon-hand, he fired, blasting the angel Digimon away before he could reach his target.
Hands suddenly grabbed Raidenmon from up above as Imperialdramon seized him, and he began to lift the machine Digimon into the air. Raidenmon unleashed his Kirlian Brand attack, and Imperialdramon cried out as he was electrocuted. Raidenmon then reached back, grabbed the dragon Digimon, and flipped him over his shoulder, throwing him away. Imperialdramon bounced across the ground, sliding into Omnimon. The knight Digimon grunted in pain at the impact.
"Sorry," Imperialdramon told him.
"Not your fault," Omnimon replied, trying and failing to sit up.
Groaning, Imperialdramon forced himself to get up, his body smoking. "You look horrible."
"I hurt all over."
Which only made Imperialdramon feel even worse for crashing into him. "Just hang in there. Seraphimon is trying to get to you to heal you."
A deep sigh escaped Omnimon. "Don't bother, I doubt he has enough energy to heal all this damage. Even if he did, it'll leave him too depleted. No, I think I'm done here."
Imperialdramon didn't like the sound of that. "But we need you. You're one of the strongest of us. We need your power."
Omnimon shook his head. "Sorry, I can't fight anymore, and you know I wouldn't call it quits unless it was true." With great effort, he attempted to sit up, and Imperialdramon moved to support him. "But I can still contribute. Imperialdramon, I'm giving you my power. Everything I have, all my strength, it's yours."
Imperialdramon's eyes widened. "Are you sure you want to give it to me." He looked at their friends. "Seraphimon and EmperorGreymon are stronger than I am. You should give it to them."
A chuckle escaped Omnimon. "Don't worry, I trust you. Make these guys pay."
He closed his eyes and began to glow, much as they would when they reverted to human form. This time though, Omnimon's body shrank into a sword, leaving Tai behind on the ground.
Imperialdramon looked at the sword, then back at Seraphimon and EmperorGreymon as they fought with Raidenmon. Eyes narrowing in determination, he reached out and grabbed hold of the sword.
Power far greater than he had thought possible filled him, and Imperialdramon gasped in astonishment. He looked at Tai in surprise, realizing that this must be the level of power that Omnimon possessed. He embraced it fully, taking it into himself, and he too began to glow brightly.
"Imperialdramon Mode Change to… Imperialdramon Paladin Mode!"
(A/N: It's finally happened. You knew it was going to at some point, and it finally has. Imperialdramon Paladin Mode is in the house. I was saving him for this moment, but I won't tell you why. You'll see soon enough though. Our heroes may be down Omnimon, but they now have the strongest for of Imperialdramon. Will it be enough to turn the tides against Raidenmon and ChaosGallantmon C, find out in just two weeks time.)
Imperialdramon Paladin Mode's attacks:
Omni Sword – Cuts or stabs an opponent with the Omni Sword, causing their data resetting and clearing their configuration data.
Hyper Prominence – Fires a ball of black energy from chest, to cause a massive explosion.
Supreme Positron Laser – A stronger version of Positron Laser that fires a beam of positronic energy from the cannon on his arm.
Giga Crusher – Materializes a giant cannon that fires a destructive energy wave.
Splendor Blade – Manifests a sword of light from the gauntlet on his arm and slashes his opponent.
Imperial Claw – Slashes with his claws.
Imperial Kick – Delivers a mid-air kick.
Heaven's Light – Shines light of others to heal them.
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New Digimon that appear. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Imperialdramon_Paladin_Mode
