(A/N: Uch, I've been sick. Don't worry, it's not THAT, it's just a cold. Doing better now though, so let's get to it. Not much else to say, so let's get to it. We're continuing the fight from last week. Let's see how OmniShoutmon fairs against Kimeramon of all Digimon.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 178: Free For All

"Heat Viper!" Kimeramon cried, firing a heat ray from his mouth.

OmniShoutmon swore and flew straight up. Kimeramon's gaze followed him and he fired another heat ray. OmniShoutmon dodged it and then launched himself at the composition Digimon with his Omni Torpedo, slamming into his head. Kimeramon stumbled back, but looked more irritated than harmed, and all four of his arms rose into the air.

"Scissor Claw!" he cried, and began rapidly slashing about with his arms.

OmniShoutmon swerved about in the air as Kimeramon's arms flew about. He wasn't able to avoid them for long though before he was struck and sent crashing to the ground. He let out a groan and then gasped as he saw Kimeramon's giant form coming down at him. He used his Omni Torpedo as a quick getaway to launch himself from under Kimeramon just before he would have been flattened by the composition Digimon's rear end.

"Yikes," Imperialdramon muttered. "OmniShoutmon almost faced 'the end'."

Susanoomon groaned. "Please, just don't…"

"Flame Cannon!" OmniShoutmon cried, firing a stream of flaming bolts from his chest. They blasted up against Kimeramon, who growled in response and rose to his feet before raising his arms again.

"Sizzling Viper!" he cried, firing four different heat waves from his hands.

OmniShoutmon flew straight up as the beams struck where he had been, unleashing a powerful shockwave. He attacked back with his Twin Fireball Strike, but the fireballs that exploded against Kimeramon barely seemed to bother him. He looked up at OmniShoutmon and fired his Heat Viper again. OmniShoutmon unleashed his Heavy Metal Vulcan, forming a wall of flames to protect himself. Kimeramon's attack blasted against it, and when the wall came down, the composition Digimon was flying up towards OmniShoutmon.

"Whoa!" the dragon Digimon exclaimed, flying backwards while firing his Hard Rock Spirit.

Kimeramon ignored the blasts of fire and lashed out with his Death Claw, his Devimon arms filling with dark energy before stretching out to slash at the dragon Digimon. OmniShoutmon used his Doom Drillpress and began doing spin-kicks, knocking away the hands as they made to grab him. Kimeramon snarled and used his Heat Viper, blasting OmniShoutmon out of the sky.

From the sidelines, the DigiDestined looked on in horror as they watched their friend fight futilely against the composition Digimon.

"This is hopeless," Gallantmon X exclaimed. "His attacks are barely fazing that thing."

"I know," Omnimon growled, and glared up at Boltboutamon. "I don't even think this so-called game was meant to kill us at all, just to get rid of."

Boltboutamon's head turned nearly 180 degrees as he looked at the knight Digimon and grinned. "You give me too much credit. I gave each of you powerful opponents with the same rules to follow. Why would I only target OmniShoutmon?"

"Because he's the Digimon King!" Ophanimon C shouted.

"And you said it yourself," Seraphimon added accusingly. "You said that this will allow you to achieve the death of OmniShoutmon."

The demon Digimon chuckled. "Because it will. But just because your friend isn't strong enough to defeat his opponent means that I targeted him specifically. Eosmon was stronger than you and Ophanimon as well, it doesn't mean I targeted the two of you. Honestly, if I just wanted to get rid of OmniShoutmon, I would have done it myself."

"Then why didn't you?" Imperialdramon demanded.

Boltboutamon smiled widely, as if he knew something they didn't, and looked back at the battle. "Because that's not part of the game."

"Sizzling Viper!" Kimeramon cried, firing heat rays from his hands.

OmniShoutmon flew low to the ground as the heat rays followed after him. He maneuvered around them when they got too close as Kimeramon flew after him at a slower pace. Soaring straight up, the dragon Digimon flew into the sky as Kimeramon directed his heat rays upward, and OmniShoutmon did a flip in the air to avoid them.

"Victorize Banking!"

The flaming V-shaped bolt exploded against Kimeramon's head, and the composition Digimon jolted back. He stopped firing and lashed out with his Death Claw attack. His Devimon arms stretched far up into the sky on either side of OmniShoutmon. They filled with dark energy and he clapped them together on the dragon Digimon.

OmniShoutmon held out his own hands, catching both of Kimeramon's so he wouldn't be crushed. He struggled against his opponent's strength, crying out as the dark energy began to flow over him.

Still pushing his hands together, Kimeramon came up level to OmniShoutmon and fired his Heat Viper. OmniShoutmon countered with his Omni Core Fusion, and the attacks exploded against each other. Kimeramon threw a punch with one of his other hands, punching OmniShoutmon out from between his other two. The dragon Digimon went spinning through the air, and Kimeramon fired his Sizzling Viper. OmniShoutmon managed to block with his Heavy Metal Vulcan, but the shockwave Kimeramon's attack unleashed knocked him back.

"Scissor Claw!" Kimeramon cried, flying at OmniShoutmon while he was dazed and slashing about wildly.

The dragon Digimon cried out as he was struck again and again, the final blow knocking him to the ground. Kimeramon came down right next to him and pinned him down with his SkullGreymon arm. The composition Digimon growled down at him as OmniShoutmon tried in vain to get up.

Gallantmon X's fists clenched as he watched OmniShoutmon be pinned down by Kimeramon. His eyes darted over to Boltboutamon, and then to Titamon before going back to the battle. They had already defeated Eosmon, RustTyranomon, and Rasenmon. With just these last few left, wouldn't they have the advantage with their numbers?

"The heck with this," he growled, and manifested a new shield before leaping into battle.

He flew up to Kimeramon and delivered a Saint Knuckle to the side of his head. The composition Digimon grunted and turned to him as Gallantmon X raised his shield and blasted him in the face with his Final Elysion, and Kimeramon stumbled away.

Gallantmon X landed beside OmniShoutmon. "You ok, pal?"

The dragon Digimon looked up at him. "What are you doing?"

Gallantmon X blinked. "Um, saving you. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I appreciate that, but you just-"

Boltboutamon was suddenly there, backhanding Gallantmon X so hard he knocked him off his feet. "Penalty. You broke the rules, Gallantmon. Naughty, naughty. That means the game is over," he licked his lips in anticipation, "and the brawl begins."

The other DigiDestined quickly landed beside Gallantmon X and OmniShoutmon. Kimeramon stalked back over to stand beside Boltboutamon as the demon Digimon grinned broadly.

"Why'd you interfere?" OmniShoutmon demanded, not taking his eyes off their enemies. "Now we have to fight them all at once."

"You needed help," Gallantmon X told him. "I wasn't about to let you die. Besides, we beat three of them already. I figured we could handle what was left of them if we fought together."

Boltboutamon threw his head back and laughed. "Such a foolish human. So ignorant and naïve. You really don't know what you're up against. Titamon!"

The shaman Digimon leapt over, landing beside him and Kimeramon with a mighty thud, and turned to the DigiDestined. He raised his arms, and the eye sockets in the skulls on his arms began to glow. "Dark Army Pact!"

Beams of light began shooting out of the skulls' eyes sockets. Each one manifested a shade, creating an entire army of undead phantom warriors that now stood between him and the DigiDestined.

Boltboutamon grinned at the looks on their faces as they stared at the phantom army. "Are the odds not quite as in your favor as you thought they'd be?"

"Drop dead," Gallantmon X snapped. He looked back at his friends. "We can take these things."

But OmniShoutmon shook his head. "No, we can't. These warriors can't be destroyed, they're immortal."

Imperialdramon's eyes widened as he looked at the phantom army. "Then how do we beat them?"

OmniShoutmon looked at the shaman Digimon that had created the army. "We have to defeat Titamon. It's the only way to get rid of them."

"Not a problem," Susanoomon replied, and manifested his ZERO-ARMS: Orochi. "We'll cut straight through that army. Celestial Blade!"

His massive blade burst from his weapon, and he swung it through the air. He began cutting through the phantom warriors, even as they charged at the blade. Titamon glanced at the blade coming at him, and his grip on his giant sword tightened. He dug his feet into the ground and let out a loud battle cry, raising his sword over his head. "Soul Core Attack!"

He brought the blade down on Susanoomon's Celestial Blade. His sword cut straight through it, and the Celestial Blade disappeared.

Susanoomon gasped. "He cut through my attack!"

"That's nothing," OmniShoutmon replied. "His Zanjinto… um, that's his sword's name, can cut through one's being, straight to their DigiCore."

"Well, that's just great," Seraphimon muttered. He looked at the phantom warriors Susanoomon had cut down. "And look, those guys are reviving."

Indeed, the phantom warriors were indeed pulling themselves back together, despite being cut in half, even regenerating the parts that had been disintegrated by Susanoomon's attack.

"Looks like they really are immortal," Ophanimon C noted.

"Then our goal will be to take out Titamon," said Omnimon. He looked at his friends and nodded. "Right then. Seraphimon, Ophanimon, you guys keep the army busy. You got the fire and lightning, use it to keep them down and away from Titamon. Imperialdramon, you got the sword and the size to challenge the big guy himself, you take him on. OmniShoutmon, you help him."

Imperialdramon raised his hand. "Just to be clear, the 'big guy' is Titamon, right? Because Kimeramon is big too."

Omnimon nodded. "Yes, him. He's the number one priority. We get rid of him, we get rid of his army. Susanoomon, you're the strongest of us, you keep Kimeramon busy. Gallantmon X, you and I will deal with Boltboutamon. Once we take care of him, we'll help fight Titamon. Get him out if the way, then it's just Kimeramon."

Boltboutamon laughed as he gave the knight Digimon a round of applause. "Well, well, it certainly seems like you've got this planned out. But do you really think it'll go as smoothly as that?"

Omnimon glared at him. "One way to find out."

He charged forward. Titamon's army rushed to meet him, but Seraphimon brought lightning down on them with his Hallowed Ascension. Omnimon flew over to them, maneuvering around the bolts of lightning as he went straight for Boltboutamon. The demon Digimon grinned as Omnimon came at him, side-stepping out of the way when Omnimon stabbed at him with his sword. Before he flew past, however, Boltboutamon brought up his hand and used his Curtain Call, snapping his fingers to create a shockwave that sent Omnimon flying.

The demon Digimon smirked, then jumped up at the last second, allowing Gallantmon X's beam from his Zeig Saber to pass by underneath him. The beam retracted into Gallantmon X's lance as he flew at Boltboutamon. The demon Digimon leapt up over him while pulling out his guns and pointing them at the knight Digimon. "Baleful Draw!"

He began firing. Gallantmon X lifted his shield to block, and the bullets left large dents in it, the impacts so strong that they actually bent the shield out if shape.

"Final Elysion!" Gallantmon X cried, firing a beam from his misshapen shield.

Before the beam hit, Boltboutamon used his Battlefield Remover to create a portal that he backed into, allowing him to avoid the attack. He appeared in the air behind Gallantmon X, using his Dark Rostrum to fire a bullet into the ground beneath the knight Digimon's feet, creating a magic circle that conjured up a tornado that surrounded Gallantmon X.

As Boltboutamon grinned, he was suddenly blasted from behind by Omnimon's Double Torrent. The knight Digimon lowered his arms as he waited for Boltboutamon to disappear. "One more copy down, and good riddance."

A light chuckle escaped the demon Digimon before he began laughing in amusement as he turned around to grin at Omnimon. "Who said I was just a copy?"

Omnimon's eyes widened. "Oh, shi-"

Boltboutamon pointed at him, and one of his rapiers shot at Omnimon, stabbing into his chest. The demon Digimon snickered at the look of pain and surprise on his face. "So you thought I was just another copy that you could quickly dispose of with one hit, allowing you to go help your friends. Does this throw off your little battle plan?"

Omnimon took a few deep breaths before glaring at Boltboutamon. "Not really."

He swung his sword, cutting through the rapier buried in his chest. Then he used his Fearsome Blade, whipping his energy blade at the demon Digimon. Boltboutamon hummed pleasantly as he danced around the whipping blade as if it were a simple game.

"Zeig Saber!" Gallantmon X cried, firing a beam from his lance that tore straight through the tornado he was trapped in.

Boltboutamon glanced at the incoming attack in surprise, pulling back while also trying to avoid Omnimon's energy blade. Gallantmon X's attack grazed him and he hissed, but he sounded more annoyed than hurt.

"Graceful Cannon!" Omnimon cried, raising his cannon and firing.

Boltboutamon turned back to him, but not soon enough to avoid the freezing, cutting beam that pushed him to the ground. Omnimon followed up with his Flame Sphere, sending flames at the demon Digimon that formed a magic circle around him, the huge flames rising up to consume him.

Gallantmon X used the opening his attack had created in the tornado to fly free before retracting his energy lance and flying over to Omnimon. "May he burn. You think he's down for good?"

Omnimon narrowed his eyes. "He never is."

From out of the flames, Boltboutamon casually walked out. He stopped a distance away from the two knight Digimon and grinned up at them. "You know, I realized something. Two against one isn't exactly a fair fight. So… Duplication!"

A second Boltboutamon suddenly stepped out from behind him, as if they had been playing mirror twins. They both chuckled at the guarded look on the two knight Digimon's faces.

"Now then," they said together, "where were we?"

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Susanoomon was managing to hold his own against Kimeramon. The composition Digimon was indeed incredibly powerful though, and Susanoomon almost swore at the injustice that he was only an Ultimate and still had this much power.

"I guess I can see why Millenniummon is so strong if he comes from you," he growled out. "Heaven's Thunder!"

Kimeramon looked up as clouds appeared over him and streams of lightning in the form of dragons came down and grabbed hold of him. Kimeramon roared and began thrashing about to try and get free. Susanoomon manifested his ZERO-ARMS: Orochi and unleashed his Celestial Blade, but as he swung it through the air, Kimeramon blasted him with his Heat Viper.

The giant golden blade of light vanished as Susanoomon went spinning backwards, and Kimeramon broke free of the lightning dragons. He flew at the god Digimon, firing his Sizzling Viper, and Susanoomon cried out as the four heat rays struck him and unleashed a shockwave that sent him crashing to the ground.

Roaring, Kimeramon came down right next to the god Digimon. Using his Death Claw, he raised his Devimon hand and brought it down. Susanoomon flew up as Kimeramon's claw shattered the ground, and his eyes followed after the god Digimon.

"Let me show you a real hit," Susanoomon told him. "Fist of the Gods!"

He began raining a rapid series of punches against Kimeramon's armored head. The composition Digimon roared and swiped at him, but Susanoomon pulled back. He struck again with his Texture Blow, punching Kimeramon in the nose, but it soon faded out. Kimeramon roared again and fired his Heat Viper.

Susanoomon countered with his Royal Slash attack, cutting through the heat ray with holy fire. Then he used his Heavy Tackle, slamming into the composition Digimon. Kimeramon jolted back, but then lunged at Susanoomon. The god Digimon used his Magna Thunder, caging Kimeramon in a prison of lightning, of which he bounced off of, and snarled angrily.

"Sizzling Viper!" he cried, firing heat rays from his hands at the cage of electricity, causing it to disperse.

He lunged at Susanoomon again, who struck him with a bolt of lightning from his Glory Thunder. Kimeramon forced his way through the attack and opened his mouth to fire his Heat Viper.

"Flash Punch!" Susanoomon cried, flying forward to deliver a glowing punch that knocked Kimeramon's head to the side, sending his Heat Viper firing off course.

Kimeramon went down and Susanoomon flew over, seizing the composition Digimon by his Monochromon tail. Despite Kimeramon's immensely larger size, Susanoomon swung him around and then threw him through the air.

He came down on a cluster of phantom warriors that Seraphimon had been about to blast. The angel Digimon blinked behind his helmet before glancing at Susanoomon and giving him an appreciative wave. "Thanks for that."

Kimeramon got to his feet again, roaring angrily, and flew back to Susanoomon. Seraphimon turned his attention back to the immortal army as Ophanimon C flew over them, throwing down her Volcano Napalm into the crowd, the fireballs erupting into pillars of fire that sent the warriors flying, if not reducing them to ash.

"Hallowed Ascension!" Seraphimon cried, bringing lightning down on the warriors, trying to cover as much ground as possible. The attack was affective, but the soldiers just got right back up again, regenerating any damage they obtained, and even the ones who had been reduced to ashes reformed. They charged at Seraphimon, and he began punching out balls of light with his Hallowed Knuckle, blasting them to bits, but they just pulled themselves together and kept coming.

Ophanimon C landed behind him so they were back-to-back and fired her Shining Laser II into the crowd. "How you holding up?"

Seraphimon continued punching out balls of light. "This is never-ending. These guys really are immortal; they recover from anything. Strike of the Seven Stars!"

Ophanimon C nodded in agreement as her fellow angel Digimon's attack tore its way through the crowd. "I know, it doesn't matter how much we attack them if they can't be destroyed and just come back good as new. We're essentially just wasting energy."

She used her Holy Slash, blasting away a group of warriors who had gotten too close. Seraphimon glanced back at her. "We could use some help. See if your dragon can assist us."

A smile spread across her face. "You just read my mind. Call Dramon!"

Her dragon manifested. It immediately went on the attack, breathing fire upon the phantom warriors. A portion of them turned their attention to the dragon and went on the attack, heedless of the flames it breathed.

Ophanimon C nodded. "That'll slow them down a little. Hopefully Imperialdramon and OmniShoutmon are making progress with Titamon."

The two dragon Digimon were in fact at a bit of a stalemate with the shaman Digimon. OmniShoutmon was flying about, firing attacks at Titamon, wary of Imperialdramon, who was engaged with the shaman Digimon in a clash of swords.

Imperialdramon was really struggling against Titanmon. The shaman Digimon's swipes were slow due to the massive size and weight of his sword, but his blows were so powerful that even though Imperialdramon was faster, the impact of their swords always knocked his to the side, and by the time he recovered from the hit, Titamon's giant blade was coming at him again.

"How about giving me an opening!" he shouted impatiently to OmniShoutmon.

A growl escaped his fellow dragon Digimon as he proceeded to blast their opponent with fireballs. "I'm trying, but he's not rising to the bait. Maybe a physical attack. Doom Drillpress!"

His legs turned into blades and he kicked at Titamon. The shaman Digimon raised a hand, blocking OmniShoutmon's attack with his gauntlet, then shoving him away. It gave Imperialdramon the opening he had been looking for though, and he lunged at Titamon, stabbing forward.

The shaman Digimon side-stepped him, avoiding the blade. His hand came up, striking Imperialdramon beneath his chin, knocking him off his feet, and the dragon Digimon went down.

"Soul Core Attack!" Titamon cried, raising his sword high over his head.

Imperialdramon's hands came up to shield himself, even though he knew it was futile. But as Titamon's blade came down, OmniShoutmon flew in front of him and used his Heavy Metal Vulcan. Titanmon's sword was deflected by the firewall, allowing Imperialdramon to get to his feet.

As the firewall burned out, Titamon's hand shot out, grabbing hold of OmniShoutmon. He threw the dragon Digimon to the ground, and OmniShoutmon got the wind knocked out of him as he landed on his stomach. Titamon then brought his large foot down on OmniShoutmon's lower body, making him cry out and pinning him there, then raised his sword to stab into him.

"No you don't!" Imperialdramon cried, lunging forward and swiping his sword.

His blade struck Titamon's, and it buried into the ground beside OmniShoutmon rather than into him. Imperialdramon then struck Titamon with an Imperial Claw, knocking him back off OmniShoutmon, then jumped up and hit him with an Imperial Kick, sending the shaman Digimon stumbling back further.

"Let's try two swords," Imperialdramon declared. "Splendor Blade!"

A blade of light appeared in his other hand and he charged at Titamon. He swiped his Splendor Blade, and Titamon swung his sword. It easily cut through the blade of light, but Imperialdramon was successful in his objective.

"Got you!" he declared, and swung his Omni Sword.

Titamon's hand came up, grabbing Imperialdramon's wrist, stopping his swing. He twisted, and Imperialdramon cried out and dropped his sword as he felt something in his wrist snap. Titamon then kicked out, his foot hitting Imperialdramon in the gut, knocking him back. He then picked up his sword, aiming to stab, and charged forward.

"Phantom Blade!" he cried, stabbing forward.

"No!" OmniShoutmon shouted. "Omni Core Fusion!"

His attack struck Titamon in the head, and he snarled, but kept charging forward. The attack did throw off his balance, causing him to stumble, and Imperialdramon attempted to dodge. A portion of the blade still cut into the dragon Digimon's side, making him cry out in pain, and OmniShoutmon gasped in horror.

Titamon glanced over his shoulder at Imperialdramon and grinned. "I got you."

The dragon Digimon in question narrowed his eyes. "Big deal. It's only a flesh wound. I've taken much worse."

Chuckling, Titamon turned back to him. "Just wait for it."

Imperialdramon retrieved his sword and pointed it at Titamon. "The only thing I'm waiting for is… is…"

He trailed off as his eyes glazed over. Suddenly, he saw countless Titamon all around him. They charged forward all at once, swords raised. Imperialdramon swung his own sword, but much to his surprise, it passed right through his target. The Titamon he had been aiming for stabbed forward with his own sword, stabbing it into Imperialdramon.

The dragon howled in pain as another Titamon moved in, stabbing him again. More followed, and the numerous Titamon proceeded to stab him over and over again as Imperialdramon cried out.

OmniShoutmon looked on helplessly as Imperialdramon fell prey to the hallucination, knowing there was nothing he could do. He flew over and shouted as loudly as he could in the hopes of getting through to him in some way at least a little bit.

"It's not real!" he exclaimed. "Titamon's Phantom Blade attack causes hallucinations of you being endlessly stabbed, but they're not real!"

Titamon chuckled as he approached. "Don't bother. You can tell him what he sees and what he feels all you want, it won't make a difference, not even if he believes you. He'll still see and feel everything as if it were real. He'll be plagued by these visions until his death."

"No!" OmniShoutmon cried.

"Yes," Titamon replied, standing before Imperialdramon and raising his sword. "Might as well put him out of his misery."

"Victorize Banking!"

OmniShoutmon's attack did nothing to slow down the descent of Titamon's sword. But then at the last possible moment, Imperialdramon's chest opened and he fired his Hyper Prominence. Titamon was blown off his feet and sent flying. Imperialdramon was blasted back by the shockwave as well, but he didn't even seem to notice as visions and sensations of numerous Titamon driving their swords into him repeatedly continued to plague him.

OmniShoutmon's sympathies went to the dragon Digimon. The hallucinations didn't harm him physically since they weren't real, but the pain he felt from them was. It seemed that he was still able to attack though, having gotten off that fortunate shot that had struck Titamon. However, the shaman Digimon was on his feet again and making his way over to Imperialdramon once more, the dragon Digimon's death in his eyes.

Flying over to Imperialdramon, OmniShoutmon landed by his head. "Listen, pal. I hope my words are getting through to you somehow. I know what you're going through must be horrible, but if you don't do what I say, you're going to die. My attacks aren't as strong enough to do any extensive damage to him, so I'm counting on you. Of you don't listen to me, you'll be a goner."

Imperialdramon gave no indication that he heard him as he continued to cry out as imaginary swords continued to stab him. Meanwhile, the real Titamon now stood over him, sword raised to make the killing blow.

"Time to die. Soul Core Attack!"

"Imperialdramon, if you can hear me, attack now!" OmniShoutmon bellowed.

Titamon brought his sword down. At that same moment, Imperialdramon sat up, stabbing out with his sword. The hilt of Titamon's sword struck the dragon Digimon's shoulder, but the blade itself went over him. As for Imperialdramon's own sword, it had stabbed directly into Titamon's face, the length of the blade going through the back of his head.

Imperialdramon collapsed once more, still caught up in his hallucination. Titamon remained standing for a few moments longer, emitting unpleasant grumbling noises, before he collapsed forward on top of Imperialdramon, and his body broke down into data.

A distance away, the phantom warriors that Seraphimon and Ophanimon C were fighting suddenly faded away, vanishing like a bad dream. The two angel Digimon looked around, finding no trace left of the immortal army.

"They're gone," said Seraphimon. "Imperialdramon and OmniShoutmon must have defeated Titamon."

"Look, there they are!" Ophanimon C exclaimed, pointing to the two dragon Digimon. "Let's go!"

They flew over, and OmniShoutmon looked up at them. "We have to help him."

Ophanimon C looked Imperialdramon over, not seeing any major or life-threatening injuries. "What's wrong with him?"

"Hurts…" Imperialdramon moaned. "Make them stop. It hurts…"

Seraphimon wasn't sure what he meant by 'them' since there was no one else around. "Hold on, buddy. I'll heal you right up. Perfect-"

"That won't work," OmniShoutmon interrupted. "He's caught in a hallucination. We need to get him to Susanoomon; he can cure status ailments.

Ophanimon C began to lift Imperialdramon, draping his enormous arm over her shoulder. "Then let's hurry."

Seraphimon helped support Imperialdramon as they flew over to the battle between Susanoomon and Kimeramon. OmniShoutmon flew ahead of them, whizzing past the god Digimon as he called out, "I'll keep him busy. Help them."

Susanoomon blinked at the interference and glanced over his shoulder, seeing Seraphimon and Ophanimon C dragging Imperialdramon, and he flew over to then. "What happened?"

"Something about being stuck in a hallucination," Seraphimon replied.

"OmniShoutmon said you can help him," Ophanimon C added. "With your status healing ability."

The god Digimon looked at Imperialdramon. "I'll give it a shot. Status Barrier!"

A flash of light flowed over the dragon Digimon, and he seemed to become encased in an outer layer multi-colored exoskeleton. It began cracking apart seconds later before shattering and disappearing.

Imperialdramon blinked, his eyes clearing up, and he looked around in confusion. Looking down at himself, he pulled his arms away from the two angel Digimon and began feeling himself all over before relaxing. "That may have been the most horrific experience of my entire life."

"What happened?" Susanoomon asked.

Imperialdramon looked up at him. "I was suddenly surrounded by an army of Titamon. My attacks didn't affect them at all. Then they started stabbing and slashing me with their swords over and over again, and I was helpless to stop them. I could actually feel the swords stabbing into me. But I didn't die. They just kept stabbing…"

Seraphimon shuddered. "That does sound bad."

"I don't think we have time to worry about that right now," Ophanimon C told them as she watched OmniShoutmon throw fireballs at Kimeramon as the composition Digimon swiped at him.

Susanoomon turned back to the battle. "Yes, good call. Can you guys get him to keep still?" If you can get him to stay in one place long enough, I can finish him off."

"Consider it done," Imperialdramon told him, and made to fly, but only ended up stumbling. He made an embarrassed noise before taking to the air with the two angel Digimon behind him.

"Heat Viper!" Kimeramon cried, firing a beam at OmniShoutmon.

The dragon Digimon pulled back, the beam passing by him just inches away. Suddenly, Imperialdramon came flying past him, followed shortly by Seraphimon and Ophanimon C as they sped towards Kimeramon.

"Hyper Prominence!" Imperialdramon cried, firing upon the composition Digimon.

Kimeramon was blasted back by the attack, but was then struck by Seraphimon and Ophanimon C's Strike of the Seven Stars and Air Sefirot Crystal, followed shortly by OmniShoutmon's Victorize Banking.

"Celestial Blade!" Susanoomon, swinging his ZERO-ARMS: Orcohi.

The enormous blade of light sliced through the air as it headed towards Kimeramon. The composition Digimon roared at it and fired his Sizzling Viper at Susanoomon, but his attack went off course as the blade sliced him in two.

As Kimeramon's roar echoed across the land, his lower body bursting into data, Susanoomon retracted his blade and pointed the weapon at him. "ZERO-ARMS: Orochi!"

His weapon fired, the purple ball of light flying into what was left of Kimeramon. He let out one final roar as the blast consumed him, and then he was gone.

"Take that, you Frankenstein chimera thing!" Imperialdramon shouted, punching the air. "Teach you to mess with us." His gaze shifted to Omnimon and Gallantmon X as they did battle with the two Boltboutamon. "Now let's finish this."

He sped towards the closest demon Digimon, his sword raised. He brought it down, but Boltboutamon's bladed tail came up and blocked Imperialdramon's much larger sword. His head turned completely around and he grinned at the dragon Digimon. "Helloooooo."

Imperialdramon's eyes narrowed as he pushed harder against Boltboutamon's tail, gaining no ground. "Hello nothing. You're going down. You and your copy are all that's left."

"Are we now?" the supposed copy in question asked, hovering over. "What are the odds of that?"

"Not in your favor," Susanoomon declared as the DigiDestined all surrounded the two demon Digimon.

With a shove of his tail, Boltboutamon pushed Imperialdramon away, then went to hover beside his duplicate. "Is that a fact?" they said together.

Exchanging a look, their grins widened, and suddenly each of them split into two more. The DigiDestined jolted back in surprise as they now stared at the six demon Digimon.

"How about now?" the six Boltboutamon asked together. "No? How about now?"

They split again, and there were now 12 of them. They chuckled in unison, setting the DigiDestined on edge. Then all the copies let out a simultaneous "Ha!" and split again into 24.

Seraphimon took a moment to compose himself, hoping his voice didn't tremble. "W-We can do this, guys. Remember, the copies go down with one hit."

The Boltboutamon all sneered. "I would certainly like to see that." Suddenly, one of them clapped, and all the others disappeared. "But a deal's a deal. You won the game."

Gallantmon X blinked. "Game? What?

Boltboutamon laughed. "I said this was a game, didn't I? You needed to defeat all your opponents. I only said that I'd step in and turn this into a free for all if you tried to help each other, I never said you had to defeat me."

Despite the relief he felt at not having to fight the demon Digimon anymore, Omnimon still glared at him. "You're despicable."

Boltboutamon sneered mockingly at him. "Now, now. Don't be such a wet blanket. After all, since you won our little game, you're getting a prize."

"We don't want anything from you!" Ophanimon C snapped.

"Trust me, you'll like this one," Boltboutamon assured her. "But I'm afraid I don't have it with me. You're going to have to pick it up yourselves… At Lucemon's castle."

As if having been timed, a loud roar came from in the distance from whatever commotion had been going on in the background as they had fought. Fire flowed across the sky, setting it ablaze. Boltboutamon just laughed as the sky burned, stepping into the portal that opened up behind him.

"I'll see you there!"

(A/N: Phew, that was close, but it looks like our heroes pulled it off. Or are they playing directly into Boltboutamon's hands? And what's this prize that's waiting for them at Lucemon's castle. And will there even be anything left to find after Lucemon and Daemon finish their battle? Speaking of which, what is going to happen between the two Demon Lords? Find out next time.)

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