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Thanks for reading and please enjoy

Humon?

-Chapter 36-

-Last Time-

"Playmates?" Naruto repeated in confusion, which only made Etemon chuckle before the ape digimon clapped his hands, causing the ground to start rumbling. Immediately on edge, the foxy ninja jumped back just as several holes opened up in the sandy ground, revealing one hidden staircases from which a plethora of Monochromon, Gazimon, and huge hulking dino digimon the blonde hadn't seen before came stomping out. "Ooooooh fuck."

"Sic him boys." Etemon said with a coy smirk while pointing right at Naruto, prompting the horde to charge.

-And Now, Within Etemon's Hideout-

Yelling and screaming echoed out as explosion after explosion rang out in near constant succession, shaking the entire pyramid and causing the group of digidestined within to stumble slightly.

"Ah crap, looks like the front door is no go," Sora said nervously while glancing down the corridor they'd come from, where she could hear the sounds of a certain singing simian swearing angrily as he got closer. "Please tell me there's another way out of this place."

"Fortunately yes, there's a hidden passage that cuts straight to a secondary exit just this… way…" Izzy trailed off when he noticed something amiss once he looked up from his computer. "Uh guys, where is Tai and Agumon?"

"What are talking about, they're right-huh?" Biyomon blinked in shock when she turned to where said duo had just been standing a moment ago and was greeted to nothing but empty space.

Looking around the room in confusion, the remaining four of the group found neither hair nor scale of their missing companions…

"What are guys doing just standing there? Let's go! That server isn't gonna crash itself!" At least until Tai's upper half popped out through the firewall as he made a 'come on' motion with his hand.

"What are you talking about? We need to get out of here, or have you forgotten who's currently on his way?" Sora asked sarcastically while gesturing to the ceiling as it shook once again.

"Which is all the more reason we need to get moving! This'll probably be the last chance we have now to get the job done." The goggle-headed teen retorted before ducking back through the firewall, causing the helmeted redhead to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, we don't have time for this."

"No we don't, however Tai does have a valid point," Izzy stated with a frown while tucking his laptop under his arm and walking up to the hidden gap in the firewall. "Etemon will no doubt significantly increase his security after this incursion, especially if he figures out what we were going after. Or in other words…"

"We go for it now or we aren't getting it ever," Sora finished with a sigh before raising a hand to her ear. "Naruto, you aren't gonna like this but-"

-Outside-

"We're still going forward with the plan."

"You're WHAT!?" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs while simultaneously smashing a Monochromon's face in with his elbow, launching the large digimon straight into the trio of Tyrannomon that had been charging. Not even a second later, Naruto blasted all four of them, along with several unfortunate nearby Gazimon, to pieces with his Diamond Storm. "Have you lost your fucking minds?!"

"I know, it's a really stupid idea but-"

"You're damn right it's stupid!" Naruto cut the redhead off while charging at a pair of Monochromon in his way, power sliding under the first before grabbing the second by the tail. With a grunt, the whiskered blonde hoisted the entire digimon into the air and swung it like a flail into the other rhino-like digimon, sending them both skipping away like a stone until they crashed into several of their comrades…

*BOOM* And were then promptly enveloped by a huge blast, curtesy of the explosive tag Naruto had slapped onto the first Monochromon's stomach on his way past.

"Needle Spray!" "Howling Blaster!" "Harpoon Torpedo!" "Boom Bubble!" Over on the other side of the dunes the rest of the digidestined digimon charged into the fray, causing the horde of Etemon's minions to fall into complete disarray at the unexpected two sided assault.

"Mubōna honō!" Back with Naruto, the foxy teen built up as much fox fire as he could before unleashing it all at once in a maelstrom of purple and white flames, completely incinerating everything around him. More importantly though, it cleared a path for him straight to the pyramid which he wasted no time bolting into. "Etemon is headed straight for you guys as we speak and everyone else is busy dealing with his goons. I'll try to slow him down but you need to get out of here right now, got it?"

…

"Sora…"

…

"Sora, answer me."

…

"Izzy, Tai, somebody say something dammit!"

A vein bulged on Naruto's forehead when he was met with nothing but silence for several moments before a low growl escaped his lips when a trio of faint static sounds echoed through his earpiece.

"That's it! You guys better have some rings ready because if we get out of here my foot is going to marry your asses!" He yelled while darting through the narrow hallways at top speed, the blonde's head snapped from one direction not another in search of his simian opponent or wayward companions.

…Unfortunately, due to both the blonde's growing anger and how much of a rush he was in he never noticed as the data corruption across his body had stopped receding.

-Meanwhile-

"You know you're going to regret that, right?" Biyomon asked rhetorically when her partner turn her earpiece off, with Izzy and Tai doing the same a few moments later as they hurried through yet another hallway.

"Yes Biyomon, yes I do."

"Just making sure."

"Alright, the main server should be right here." Izzy said as the group rounded one last corner as the corridor opened up to a large chamber, the walls made entirely of metal and lined with a mix of modern tech and old school machinery.

The main eye catcher though was the large inverted pyramid in the middle of the room seemingly made of glass with a smaller pyramid inside and a strange four-legged robot digimon inside both.

"Ah, you've made it!" Said robot stated in a synthesized male voice upon seeing them, seemingly sounding excited although it was difficult for any of the group to tell for sure. "I'll admit I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."

"Well we did and here we are," Tai said as he walked up to the imprisoned digimon. "Now hold on a sec while we get you out of there."

"Please make haste, my scans say that Etemon shall be upon us at any moment."

"We're quite aware, Tai get to that switch over there and wait for my mark, Sora same with those levers," Izzy pointed to separate areas of the room, getting nods from the aforementioned pair as they hurried over to said controls, while he typed away at his computer at an incredible pace. Once they both were in place though, the redhead backed up suddenly and plugged a cord into a nearby input port before grabbing onto a nearby railing. "Now everybody hold on tight, I'm about to buy us a few more minutes."

"Uh, what do you mean by-*click*-hey what was thaaaaaAAAH!" Agumon started to ask only to first be interrupted by an ominous clicking sound that echoed out all around and then by everything violently shaking. This was soon followed by the rumbling echo of stone grating against stone as the room spun and lurched, sending most of the room's occupants tumbling off their feet.

Thankfully the shaking stopped just as quickly as it started, leaving a groaning mess of confused and dazed kids and digimon on the ground.

"What the hell was that Izzy?!" Confusion that Sora was all too willing to voice as she pulled herself back up to her feet with Biyomon clinging onto her waist, both of them nursing large welts atop their heads.

"That was my back up plan," The computer whizz retorted bluntly while shaking off the dust from himself and his computer. "I created a virus based on the coding for procedural generation to infect the entire Pyramid and randomize its layout."

"That's genius Izzy!" Tentomon buzzed out happily, totally unaffected from the previous quake since he was flying at the time.

"Indeed that was most clever, but do not dally, Etemon will not be dissuaded for very long." Datamon added from his cell.

"Yeah, fantastic and all but just a quick suggestion…" Letting go of her partner and walking up to the redhead as she spoke, Biyomon raised a wing and smacked him across the back of the head hard enough to intimately introduce him to the floor. "Maybe say a bit more than 'hold on tight' next time you decide to do something crazy like that!"

"…Duly noted…"

'Hopefully Naruto didn't have any trouble with that mess as well.' Sora thought whilst Izzy peeled himself off the floor, shivering slightly as the cold feeling of dread ran down her spine.

The last thing they needed was even more reasons for Naruto to be pissed at them.

-Meanwhile-

All was surprisingly quiet in the halls of Etemon's base as it settled into its new configuration, the dust gradually settling and-

*Bang*

…Ehem, the dust gradually-

*Bang*

…the dust-

*BOOM*

The walls burst into a thousand pieces to reveal a VERY annoyed looking Naruto, his eyebrow twitching wildly as he stepped out of his stone prison and shook off the dust and mortar clinging to him.

"I am going to punch whoever did that." The whiskered teen muttered darkly with his foxfire flaring up around him before he bolted down the halls once more, leaving a literal trail of violet and blue flaming footprints in his wake.

-And Back-

"Sora, are you even listening?" Izzy's voice snapped Sora out of her thoughts, getting the helmeted pre-teen to finally notice that everyone was staring at her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh for the love of… this is not time to be day dreaming Sora," The computer whizz said sternly before gesturing to the trio of levers she was standing beside. "I said you need to pull the second lever all the way down and the first one two thirds of the way down then pull up the third one up halfway. Got it?"

"Got it." She said with a nod while doing just that, carefully following every instruction to the letter. As soon as she was done, Izzy motioned towards Tai whom promptly flipped a large switch, causing a soft buzzing hum to fill the air.

This was followed by a sharp hissing of escaping air as the pyramids of Datamon's prison split apart, dividing up into individual segments that floated into the air.

"Ah, sweet freedom at last," The little machine digimon said happily once he was free, hopping down to the floor and quickly walking around the room a bit in apparent jubilation. "How nice it is to be able to move around on my own once more."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself and all but why don't we save the celebrating for after we're out of here." Sora suggested rhetorically, getting Datamon to stop as his gaze snapped towards her.

"Ah yes… there is still much work to be done after all."

"Just give me a moment to connect to the main server and I should be able to-GRK!" Izzy started to say as he stepped toward the platform that Datamon had been trapped on, only to be abruptly cut off when one of the prison panels smashed him and Tentomon to the wall.

"GAh!" "OOF!" Tai and Agumon were swiftly met with the same treatment, knocking the duo out cold in an instant as they were smooshed up against the cold steel by the glass-like barrier.

"Izzy! Tai!" Sora cried out in shock as she and Biyomon moved to help…

*Thunk* "EEP!" "Yikes!" Only to be cut off when yet another barrier cut them off, almost literally, as it slammed down right between them.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*

Following the sound, both girl and digimon's eyes widened in horror as barrier after barrier slammed down around them on all sides. With an audible hiss the glass like barriers sealed tight together, before abruptly doubling in thickness and several translucent chains shot forth to bind Biyomon.

"Shit," Sora couldn't help but swear softly while trying to help Biyomon get free before noticing how Datamon walked over to them completely undeterred as the remaining panels idly floating around him. "You did this didn't you?"

"Most astute of you, my apologies if the accommodations aren't to your liking, although they are certainly an improvement to what I had originally planned," He said while slowly walking around the imprisoned duo. "I truly must thank that friend of yours, his little scrambling virus has allowed me to take complete control of every part of this structure."

"I'm sure he'd be pleased to know one of Etemon's goons made use of his work." The helmeted girl said sarcastically with a glare.

However, to Sora's confusion, the little machine digimon made an unmistakable scoffing sound as it stopped pacing finally. "As if I'd ever work for that miserable ape, in fact you are the last thing I needed in order to get rid of Etemon once and for all."

"Then why did you trap us in here you jerk!?" Biyomon demanded as she pulled at her restraints with all her might to no avail. 'Ugh, it's no good, this stuff is too strong and it's way too cramped to digivolve in here.'

"All will be made clear in due time," Datamon said cryptically before the see-through pyramid and its occupants suddenly began sinking into the floor. At the same time, several small holes popped open beneath the trapped duo and began releasing plumes of thick greenish smoke that slowly plumed upwards. "For now why don't you and your friend just relax and take a-"

"Kitsune no ken!" A thankfully very familiar voice suddenly cut in as a fist covered in purple and white flames slammed into Datamon's head, launching the digimon across the room before he could even utter a sound and embedding him deep into the opposing wall.

"Hey guys, about time I found you." Naruto stated bluntly as he turned his attention to the captured pair, with a few clones popping into existence around him as he spoke. Some went to go help the boys, scooping up their unconscious forms and fleeing from the room, whilst the rest clamped onto the sinking pyramid to hold it in place.

"Naruto! Oh thank god you came!" Sora exclaimed happily upon seeing the whiskered blonde only to quickly end up flinching when he glowered at her intensely, the data corruption spread across his form making it all the more menacing. "So yeah… turns out we shouldn't have kept going after all."

"I can see that."

"Uh guys… *Cough* could we please do this later *cough* preferably not when we're not in the midst of peril," Biyomon breaking into a coughing fit as she was enveloped by the smoke. "Oh man… *cough cough* this stuff is… is…"

That was all the pink bird was able to get out before succumbing to the sedative substance, falling completely limp in her bindings. Her eyes widening in alarm, Sora stood up as best she could to get away from the stuff and did her best to cover her mouth.

"Give me second and I'll get you guys out!" Naruto said while cocking his arm back as a Rasengan formed in his hand and promptly slammed it against the barrier, causing sparks to fly out in all directions. At first nothing seemed to happen aside from that and Sora began to start hyperventilate as the gas rose higher and higher.

Thankfully though, her fears were somewhat assuaged when several distinct cracks finally started to form and rapidly spread out across the glass like surface.

"Monkey Kick!"

"Grk!"

Unfortunately, it came crashing back almost twice as strong when none other than Etemon abruptly burst into the room and kneed Naruto in the chest, tackling the blonde to the ground and proceeding to start laying a beat down.

"I've had it with you punk, nobody messes with my crib like this, ya hear!?" He shouted whilst punching Naruto right in the face several times consecutively before the whiskered teen managed to catch his fist.

Instead of trying to push away like one would expect however, Naruto actually pulled the ape digimon closer…

*Chomp* "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" …And bit him right on the nose as hard as he could.

Stunned and in no small amount of pain by the unorthodox move, Etemon never saw the follow up right hook that sent him into the wall, coincidentally right on top of Datamon before both digimon collapsed onto the floor in a heap.

"Don't have time for your bullshit right now, keep those morons busy." Naruto stated as he created more clones that immediately attacked the stunned duo while he hurried back over to Sora and Biyomon.

"Naruto… *cough* please… hurry…" The helmeted girl wheezed out between coughs as she tried to wave away the sleeping gas billowing up towards her, her movements already growing sluggish and her head drooping a bit.

"Kitsune no Ken!" Charging straight ahead, Naruto charged up as much power and flames as he could into his fist before slamming it into the weakened spot he'd made, managing to literally punch a hole clean through the glass like material and letting some of the smog vent out. He then proceeded to start ripping out chunks as quick as he could, not even flinching as the sharp edges of the broken barrier sliced into his arms and hands.

"Ouch!" Unlike Sora who immediately recoiled after accidentally impaling her palm on a point when she tried to help. Stumbling back groggily, the helmeted pre-teen tripped over her own feet and almost fell until Naruto caught the front of her shirt.

"Hold on, I got you guys." He said as he started to pull her free-

"Digital Bomb!"

*BOOM*

"Gah!" Only to be interrupted yet again, this time by Datamon when said digimon fired several angry looking missiles from his fingers that struck Etemon, Naruto, and all of Naruto's clones at the same time. The sudden blast was more than enough to knock him away, causing the redhead to slip from his grasp and into the smog below whilst Naruto was knocked back down to his Kitsumon form.

And with his clones destroyed, there was nothing to stop the transparent pyramid as it phased the rest of the way through the floor at a much faster pace.

"No, Sora! Biyomon!" Shaking off his daze, Naruto scrambled back as quickly as he could and tried to reach her, either not caring or noticing that he'd devolved. Sadly, by the time he'd made it back again, the gap he'd created had already vanished into the floor, leaving him unable to do anything but watch as his friends vanished into the ground. "NOOO!"

"I do believe that is my cue to leave as well, until next time Etemon." Datamon stated as he hopped backwards and somehow phased through the wall behind himself in a similar manner.

"Ugh, great, he got away," The orange ape grumbled as he dusted himself off before snapping his head to the side when a cloud of smoke burst out from where Naruto had been to see that the blonde had vanished, leaving a wooden log in his place. "Grrr… and so did that little bastard. Man today has just not been my day, has it?"

-End Chapter-