Monkey Business
Scene: The Digi-Destined have broken into three groups and gone their separate ways. Having decided that Mimi and Joe have the least protection (Megas being a part of the other groups) Benjamon has tagged along with them. After Metaletemon's meteor impacted the Digi-world, things were all shook up and prompted the two humans and three Rookie Digimon to investigate.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it, Gomamon!" Benjamon angrily declared, eyes flashing. "I'm just going to say that being Berserkermon is not something I ever want to experience again!"
"Why not?" the seal asked, looking up as he walked alongside the sullen rookie who had tried to destroy the Digi-world after mistakenly thinking the Digi-Destined destroyed by Puppetmon.
"Because... No, nice try, but you're not going to get me to say anything about it."
"You had power; you totaled Wargreymon."
"No control. Anyway, it wasn't me fighting." Benjamon snorted. "Invincibility tends to give one an unfair edge."
They walked into a small clearing in the woods. An unusual pile of brush, broken tree limbs and dirt covered something green and still. The shape of the pile seemed to show hints of white, a most unusual color in the midst of all the emerald and russet tones of the forest.
"There's someone under there!" Mimi exclaimed, quickly recognizing the general shape.
Benjamon blinked and raced Palmon to the heap to begin clearing away the fallen wood.
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon's tendrils extended, yanking a large branch away, revealing a face that would send orthodontists into throes of ecstatic joy. "It's Ogremon!" she gasped, dropping the branch.
"So?" Benjamon asked, still clearing away the pile. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing..." Joe said, holding Mimi's arm. "Except HE TRIED TO KILL US!"
"Oh." Benjamon paused, then shrugged and continued. "Well, he needs help, and I'm sure we can deal with him."
Mimi looked Joe in the face and nodded firmly, her mouth set in a line. "Yes, Joe. Ogremon's hurt and needs help, no matter what he did in the past."
Joe shook his head, giving up. "Fine." He sighed. "But if he kills us, I'll never forgive you."
Benjamon winked at Mimi and chuckled warmly as he pushed away the last of the branches.
"Urrrrr..." Ogremon groaned as he tried to rise. A stain of blood ran over his face and into the green Champion's mouth. Ogremon fell back to the ground, and Mimi shrugged free of Joe's grip to run to his side just as Ogremon raised his head again. His blue eyes met the brown of Mimi's, and widened suddenly. "Hey... You're one of the Digi-Destined!" he rumbled, attempting to rise again.
"At least you don't have amnesia." Mimi commented. "Don't try to move, Ogremon."
"Joe, could you...?" Benjamon began.
"Yeah, I know. My dad's a doctor and..." Joe replied.
"I wasn't finished, but you've got part of it right. I wanted to know if you found any of the medical supplies that I brought from the Analog world in my now useless backpack. I should have had some antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide, sterile gauze, ace bandages..." Benjamon rattled off a list of supplies, and Joe sheepishly pulled out most of the mentioned items.
"How'd you know I'd pick them up?" Joe asked, taking out a triangle bandage. "I might have just left them there, along with the roses, but Mimi insisted on those..."
"Because you're trustworthy and reliable." Benjamon grinned. "Well, Ogremon, Let's see about that gash on your forehead." Picking up the hydrogen peroxide and a pad of gauze, Benjamon poured the liquid onto the white cloth. "This might sting, so don't get upset." He said, patting Ogremon's right arm tenderly before wiping the gauze over the cut. "Mimi," He said, "How's his arm? I've got basic first aid knowledge, but I must admit I'm rusty on broken bones." The clear liquid turned white wherever it touched blood, fizzing to clean the wound.
"I think it is broken." Mimi said. "And I don't know anything about setting bones either."
Joe smiled. "At least one person here knows what to do. Your supplies are sized to humans, Benjamon. Good thing I brought something to improvise with..." Out of his duffel bag, Joe pulled a white roll of paper.
Benjamon chuckled. "You're in good hands, Ogremon. Joe, it's up to you." He gave the vicious Champion virus Digimon another gentle pat on the shoulder, and walked off to scout for trouble.
"What's with that guy?" Ogremon growled. "In fact, why are any of you helping me at all?"
"We were always told to help people in trouble, even if they were trying to kill us before." Mimi ad-libbed, her sincerity nearly blinding.
"Benjamon!" Gomamon said as Benjamon strode past. "Your glasses are glowing!"
"What?" Benjamon blinked. "What do you mean?" He pulled off his eyewear, and held them in the palm of his hand.
"I guess your crest activated..." Palmon piped up. "How do you feel?"
"About the same...No, wait..." he suddenly shivered. "Something doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but when I put them back on... I feel cold...There's something evil coming this way."
"You sure?" Gomamon asked, "Maybe it was something you ate."
"Quiet!"
"Hey, I thought I killed you!" Puppetmon appeared suddenly on a branch overhead, glaring down at the group with beady red eyes.
Benjamon hissed angrily. "It'ssss a sssshame I couldn't delete you assss Berssserkermon." He shook his head violently. "And I don't go down so easily..." he said, his voice back to the usual tone and precisely clipped accentless one that he frequently used.
"Puppetmon!" the others yelled in surprise.
"I destroyed you once, I'll do it again!" Puppetmon shouted, his nasal, whining voice grating at the ears. "And I'll take the rest of your friends out with you, so you won't be lonely!" Shifting his grip on his mallet, the Dark Master fired his multi-shot attack at the group.
"Like Hades you will! CHAIN BLASTER!" Pointing his hands to Puppetmon, Benjamon blasted away with his own multiple attack, intercepting the yellow energy with his starlight orbs and detonating them before they reached their target.
"OW! My eyes!" Ogremon shaded his blue eyes with his club as the clearing exploded with intense flashes of light that threw everything into shadows and brilliant white light, all color obliterated in the blinding effects of the cancellation.
"You're no good, Puppetmon." Benjamon growled, still staring directly at the Dark Master after the glaring brightness vanished. "I'm going to give you such a thrashing, you'll wish I'd just tossed you in a wood chipper!"
"Izzat so?" Puppetmon sneered.
"Yeah, bark-for-brains!" Gomamon interjected, running up to Benjamon's side. Running, of course, is not the correct term for the rapid motion of a quadruped seal, but it'll have to do.
"Gomamon Digivolve to... IKAKKUMON!"
"HARPOON TORPEDO!" The great white walrus launched his conical horn at Puppetmon, the ebony case falling away as a red and green missile rushed on.
Puppetmon jumped off the branch and floated above the blast that left only a smoldering broken trunk below his rectangular wood feet. Cackling madly, the pint-size Mega drifted back down and stuck out his tongue.
"Ikkakumon Digivolve to... ZUDOMON!"
"Zudomon, don't take him on!" Benjamon shouted at the ultimate Digimon so oft described as a turtle/dog/walrus mix. Too late. Zudomon and Puppetmon were already charging with hammers raised, intent on pulverizing each other.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
"VULCAN'S HAMMER!"
"MORONSSS!" Benjamon yelled as he rolled out of the way.
As the rookie predicted, Zudomon wasn't in the same league of swingers as Puppetmon. A burst of light as the mallets explosively smashed together sent Zudomon's massive claw hammer spinning away as he, looking even grayer than usual, collapsed heavily and returned to Gomamon as Puppetmon's fire burst burned at the hapless Ultimate. "Poor little fool." Benjamon murmured, pulling the stunned rookie in white fur back to the others. "Joe, why'd you let him do that?"
"I didn't! Gomamon's doing what he thinks best." Joe knelt by his friend, holding Gomamon's flipper gently, and stroking his fur.
"That it? Is playtime over already?" Puppetmon whined, drawing up his hammer for a final attack on the group.
"OOooooAAAaaooooh!" A Tarzan-esqe yell echoed through the forest, reverberating off of trees to mingle harmoniously in the clearing. Coinciding with these calls of the wild, the seeming source of sound, a shady shape, a silhouette, slid sonorously and swiftly swinging side-to-side above shrubbery on the forest floor.
"What now?" Puppetmon shouted, irritated at the interruption.
With a final yell, the shade swung onto an overhanging branch to reveal itself. A large humanoid, make that a Monkeyoid, with a long, whip-like tail, golden teeth, a large disco style gold amulet and chain around his neck, a pair of stylish sunglasses, an elvician* curl in his hair, and two red ideograms proclaiming 'Metaletemon is the strongest!' on large pectorals that just begged to be oiled. With 10W 30, or, if he were on a budget, WD-40. The monkey was entirely metal, with Phillips head screws on his knuckles and left shoulder, even one as an earring, glistening as he posed dramatically and flexed. "Get Digi with it! Metaletemon's in da house!" he proclaimed.
Benjamon blinked and whispered to Ogremon... "Did he say what I think he just said?" he snorted. "Whatever this guy can do, he sure can't be very original..."
"Don't think he looks all that tough." Ogremon rumbled back as Metaletemon continued to speak, clapping his hands. Benjamon wasn't paying attention. "Come on, the guy has a teddy bear on his waist!" Ogremon continued, "Bet you he got it from his Mommy!"
"Didn't know we Digimon HAD mothers." Benjamon grinned.
"You know what I mean."
"...Thank you, thank you very much!" Metaletemon drawled, and again Benjamon had to control his incredulity.
"Ksssshk! Copy that, Houston, we've got an Elvis impersonator on radar. Ksssshk!" Benjamon muttered into his hand.
"What was that, Benjamon?" Gomamon said, getting to his feet... er. Flippers.
"Nothing."
"I could've sworn I heard you making a joke."
"And you couldn't bear to miss it?"
"Pardon me for having a good sense of humor." Gomamon said huffily, frowning a little.
"There's many ways to describe your sense of humor, but I'm not sure 'good' is one of them."
"You're mean sometimes."
"Thanks, I'm trying to be average. And I knew you couldn't resist hearing a joke of any kind. Feeling better?"
"Yeah... HEY!"
The clearing was dead silent, and when Gomamon and Benjamon looked up, Puppetmon was tapping his foot impatiently, Mimi, Joe and Palmon were staring at them, Ogremon was cleaning his teeth and tusks with his fingers, and Metaletemon had folded his arms across his chest. "If y'all are finished, this rock superstar is gonna tell yah a story!"
Benjamon nodded, and promptly ignored him. Instead he focused on something that was flashing in the upper right corner of his... glasses? He looked at it, and the flashing box came down into a HUD overlay. A set of targeting crosshairs roved around his field of vision until they came to rest on the monkey who was happily telling the boring story of how he became a Mega. Data began to appear in front of Benjamon's eyes.
Digimon Analyzer Version 3.0
Metaletemon
Level: Mega
Type: Virus
Classification: Android Digimon
Attacks:
Metal Punch: Threat Level Low. Simple straight punch.
Banana Slip: TL Variable. Can be used as explosive projectile, or remove friction.
DANGER! Possible third attack, electrical energy, TL HIGH!
Description:
Made of approximately one and a half-centimeter thick Chrome Digizoid metal.
//
Cross-reference Chrome Digizoid: Hardest metal known to Digital Structural science as of last update. Known Chrome Digizoid Items: Metaletemon, Zudomon's hammer, Psisauromon's facemask, metalform crests of Honor, Justice, and Compassion.
//
Arrogant, vain, convinced of being the best singer in the Digital and Analog worlds. Agile, but delusions of invincibility make him stay to take blows he could easily avoid. Strong; however, prefers to flex and threaten for a while before actually fighting. Possibility of self-esteem issues, analysis shows that behavior is really a front for something much darker and brooding. Effective taunting may lie in not responding, else, a great deal of insults and slights focusing on singing and fighting ability will be required.
"Weird." Benjamon murmured then did a double take as he watched Puppetmon run up along side the Digi-Destined group and yell at Metaletemon.
"That's enough!" he whined angrily.
"Ah just got started there, you oversized footstool!" Metaletemon declared, hopping down to the face the Dark Master.
"Who are you calling 'oversized'?" Puppetmon shot back.
Benjamon smiled widely.
"Watch yo' step! BANANA SLIP!" Metaletemon threw a banana peel under Puppetmon's feet, and the pint-size wood Mega went down with a yelp.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!" Still sitting on the grass, Puppetmon's mallet whacked Metaletemon on the shin, making the monkey ring like a bell.
"Beeeeeautiful! A stellar performance!" Benjamon crowed quietly, grabbing Mimi's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here while those two are discussing their differences." He whispered to the others.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Joe agreed, taking Mimi from Benjamon and rushing off, Palmon and Gomamon close behind.
"Come on, Ogremon!" Benjamon reached up and tapped his latest comrade-in-arms on the shoulder. "We're not up to facing both of those guys... Let 'em wreck each other for us."
Ogremon snorted, then followed, his club held high. "Hey, I know a good place to rest and hide from those two." he growled, pointing off into the forest with the bone cudgel.
"Let's go, then!" Palmon cried, roots pounding the ground as she ran to keep up with Mimi. Benjamon lagged behind, and happily watched the two Mega Digimon beat on each other a few moments longer.
Directing the two Digi-Destined to a large cavity under a tree, Ogremon leaned his club against the wall and sat down. He beckoned for his benefactors to do the same. Once all four were seated, he leaned back and got comfortable, ebony horns scratching gouges in the tree.
"Does it hurt?" Mimi began...
Outside, Benjamon had gotten lost... His heightened Reptoid sense of smell gave only general clues to the direction that the Digi-Destined had taken, and even those were fading quickly as a sudden summer breeze played through the forest. "Of all the STUPID things I could do," he grumbled to himself, "I decide to abandon Joe and Mimi!" he spat at an unoffending vine. "How am I going to find them without being so obvious as to risk revealing them?"
In silent answer, the crest of Compassion flickered in the upper right corner of his field of view. The HUD popped up, reading "Infrared detection activated" as a scarlet tinge cast over the entire scene, plants dark, his own body verging on white. In the IR spectrum, a few leaves and bushes were brighter than the surroundings, and... There! Faint patches of lighter red, regularly spaced and displaying four different foot sizes, as well as dimmer shades where Palmon had stepped on the other prints.
"Take a look around, I am the wanderer no more!" he declared, swiftly tracing their path to the cavernous space under an elephantine vine-covered tree.
"Well, if the fight's over, you wouldn't have a rival anymore." Mimi was saying to Ogremon as Benjamon drew near. The red field in his eyes vanished, and the crest was inert once more.
"Of course I would!" came Ogremon's gravelly response. "He and I are like two old warriors, fighting a war that has no beginning and no end. Why, the only reason I exist at all is to defeat Leomon. If he were gone..." Ogremon's voice faltered. "I'm so confused."
Benjamon crept closer, not wanting to interrupt the precious moment. Ogremon was living in what he considered paradise, where a worthy foe always existed to test one's mettle. A life of combat, where the rest of existence is a sideshow to the battle.
"You've got to have more of a purpose in life than just to defeat Leomon." Mimi said in her gentle, flowing way.
"Silly girl..." Benjamon grunted. "The purpose of life is different for everyone. For the warriors, defeating a rival can be the singular driving interest of existence. I only wish my life were so simple." He sighed. "But I'm here to protect, to sacrifice my existence for something I had no part in deciding. My purpose might even conflict with the completion of the prophecy of the Digi-Destined. I cannot abandon them, yet my mere association with them could doom them all. I walk a line that is an atom's width, yet is the barrier between the light and dark... Which way do I fall in serving them?" This entire monologue ran through his mind instantly, and he nearly missed the sudden warning on his glasses in his melancholy introspective. Something was swinging through the trees. A grim smile boiled up out of the sudden depression, and Benjamon used the targeting abilities of the crest of Compassion to carefully aim. "Chain Blaster!" he whispered, shooting not at Metaletemon, but at the vine he clung to. The shot whizzed off and severed the vine; it was with great pleasure that his golden eyes beheld the monkey tumble through the air and crash into a tree. "Gotcha."
"Leave me alone!" Ogremon snapped. "You can't possibly understand, this rivalry is as old as time itself. I don't care what happens, I'll think about it after I defeat Leomon!"
Joe said something about blood pressure as Benjamon stuck his head in. "Pardon me for breaking in like this, but I'd recommend getting out of here."
"Where were you?" Palmon asked in surprise, first to respond.
"Why?" Gomamon then inquired.
"Outside, and Metaletemon's found us. I can delay him, but find someplace else to hide. Lay down under leaves if you have to, but just get moving."
Joe looked at the big rookie quizzically "You can delay that Mega?" he asked with doubt oozing from his pores.
"Delay isn't the same as defeat, and I'm well suited to guerrilla gorilla warfare." Was the punned reply.
"Benjamon, that's awful!" Mimi groaned.
"I know, that's why I enjoyed it so much. Just get going, please, for your own safety. I'll give that dumb ape a run around of the jungle."
Ogremon rose and grasped his bludgeon firmly. "If a little pipsqueak like you can slow that ape, then I'll..." he rumbled.
"Why is everyone still here? And how are you going to fight Leomon if a metallic figurine defeats you?"
"Ah found you!" said a voice from above.
"Fantastic, the options have just narrowed dramatically. I'll go out alone, okay, Ogremon?" Benjamon said pointedly, glaring at the champion. "This isn't your fight. Now, I'll try to lead him off. Soon as it gets quiet, make a break for it. Nice and simple, unless the big dork knows you're in here." He stepped out of the cavity. "So you did, you tone-deaf pea-brained tin can!" he shouted. "I thought you wouldn't be able to find, fight, or sing your way out of an open paper bag! If you want a fan other than the one you use to cool off after lifting a marshmallow, you gotta convince me that you can carry a tune without using a bucket!" Piling on the abuse, he leapt up the side of the tree, punching his claws and spikes into the wood to hold position while he climbed.
"I'm starting to see why Matt can't stand him." Mimi growled, surprising Palmon, Gomamon, and most of all, Joe.
"He is a little... abrasive..." Joe murmured in her ear, her long hair cascading over one lens of his glasses as she shook her head.
"Like 10 grit sandpaper!" Gomamon butted in with his usual cheek.
"Why, Ah oughta pound ya to the same consistency as the polish Ah use on my blue suede shoes!" Metaletemon cried angrily.
"Ah, Ah, Ah'm so sceeered, Ah'm a' shakin' in muh bouts!" Benjamon mocked mercilessly. "Whatever shall Ah dew? Theys a beg talkin' ape a-threatenin' me!"
"Just for that, Ah'll make sure the beat goes on until you're gone!"
"Gotta catch me first, and even a preschool education like yours should understand you can't hurt what you can't hit! Come on, Bubbles!"
"METAL PUNCH!" Metaletemon roared, leaping to Benjamon's branch and lunging.
"Too slow, Chimpy!" Benjamon taunted, dropping off the branch and swinging round to push Metaletemon off.
The Chrome Digizoid Mega was unhurt by the fall, getting back up instantly and vaulting into the trees. "Ah'm here to destroy the Digi-Destined, but a miserable hound dog like you deserves my valuable attentions first!"
"Over here, weakling!" was the last thing the Digi-Destined heard as Benjamon jumped away with Metaletemon in close pursuit.
"There they go." Joe whispered. "Let's get out of here."
"If you think about it, we really don't need to, now." Palmon was saying when a low growl interrupted them.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest...
"BANANA SLIP!"
Benjamon vanished into the brush as the peel flew by and exploded and felled an old-growth red cedar instantly.
"You can't hide from the King of Swing!" the silvery monkey yelled as he took to vine.
"Well, It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" Benjamon shouted back. "CHAIN BLASTER!" again the vine was cut when the starlight orb burst on the vegetative strand.
Metaletemon rolled, repelled off a tree, and rocketed at Benjamon. "So you're the one who made me get stuck in a knot hole!" he shouted. "METAL PUNCH!"
Benjamon rolled out from under the jab and disappeared as he kept moving to keep from being pulped. "Who died and made you king, anyway?" he sneered as he moved behind another large tree.
"Benjamon Digivolve to... PSISAUROMON!))
"Where'd you go? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Metaletemon called into the silent forest.
Psisauromon dug, his hands big as shovels, quickly creating a large divot as he kept his fires as low and dim as possible. It wouldn't work for long, even the shaded Metaletemon would be able to see the difference in lighting.
((PSI SHIELD!)) The black right eye turned white as the divot filled with psychic energy. Psisauromon kicked the dirt and turf back over the glowing barrier and stepped back just as the Virus Mega moved out of the brush.
"Who're you?" Metaletemon demanded, walking closer. "Didja see a runt about this tall with glasses?" he asked, putting his hand about chest high. He stepped on the divot, and then into the center...
Psisauromon slowly nodded the solar fire about his head shining off the Chrome Digizoid plate that covered three fourths of his face and head. He pointed down with one thick finger.
"Wha..." Metaletemon began as Psisauromon's empty eye filled the area with white light and the Psi Shield rose into the air swiftly, accelerating until Metaletemon was pinned under forces over twenty times gravity. Spinning up above the treetops, the angle of ascension changed, the white barrier vanished, and Metaletemon was hurled to the far edge of the forest.
((PSI SHIELD!))
Psisauromon created his psychic barrier and hopped on, guiding the platform by thought as he sailed through the jungle, the ever-present solar inferno covering his outermost appendages trailing back in the direction he came from.
Grabbing the edge of the board in his scaly green fist, Psisauromon knelt on wall of mind power in much the same way a surfer would shoot the curl of a collapsing wave. Commanding the board to veer upward until flying perpendicular to the forest floor, however, was something no conventional surf and turf wave rider could ever do.
Of course, surfing the air was a human impossibility to begin with; but, the move was impressive as the large humanoid reptile corkscrewed upward around the branches, bursting through the dense canopy into a pristine azure sky.
He looked out over the land and saw the interface between forest and ruined city. Black water ran in a small meandering river through both areas, snaking off out over the horizon. By sight alone, searching out the Digi-Destined was a daunting task, but Psisauromon had an advantage; his mind could vaguely feel Joe and Mimi's thoughts from the west, in the ruins. Knifing the shield in a tight curve and sharp dive, he felt the mental presence of the two Digi-Destined becoming more distinct as he sailed toward a squat circular building near the forest edge. Psisauromon spiraled down slowly, and when he was about halfway to the ground, a shiny dot appeared, also heading for the building.
((Metaletemon again? I thought I tossed him far enough to keep him away for several hours! That monkey's faster than I thought...))
Clutching the barrier's edge, the green champion dropped like a stone, making small adjustments to direction as he bore down upon the expanding gleam.
CRACK! The stones under Metaletemon's feet shattered explosively as the kinetic energy of Psisauromon's dive transferred through the Chrome Digizoid body and blasted out a crater around the Mega monkey's feet.
Psisauromon had jumped off just before the collision, now standing between the marauding metallic monkey and the building where the Digi-Destined hid. Adopting the tiger stance as he faced his powerful opponent, Psisauromon burned silently, one ham-sized fist cocked at chest height, the other arched over his head to line up with the first.
Metaletemon smiled with his pearly-gold teeth glinting just as much as his body. "Sorry, but that don't impress me much." He gloated, slowly lashing his tail.
Psisauromon shrugged, waiting.
Puzzled by the lack of response, the Mega hesitated. "Aren't you going to cry 'help'?"
Again, the mute Psisauromon was silent.
"Well, Lizzy, You're in my way to that ol' greasy spoon, and a superstar like me don't take kindly to road blocks. Uh huh! METAL PUNCH!" Metaletemon swung at Psisauromon, overextending as the champion slid to the left and delivered a chop to the throat, a swift kick to the monkey's thigh, and finishing by grabbing Metaletemon's waist and hauling him head first into the pavement in a suplex.
The gleaming ape stood up, unscratched. "Nice work, if you can get it." He said, smiling and flexing. "But as you can see, this metal marvel can't be hurt!"
A flame-sheathed hand grabbed the Mega's flexed arm, pulling while a foot sweep knocked the feet out from under the monkey, sending him to the cobbles with a clatter.
Metaletemon rose again, dusting himself off dramatically. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"
((You talk too much.))
"Ah can't let the world be deprived of such a beautiful voice!"
((You're so vain. CORONA FLARE!))
The solar fires of Psisauromon burned higher and more hotly as they spiraled out to focus in a ray of inferno heat and intensity that engulfed Metaletemon in its fury. After letting the monkey bake for half a minute, Psisauromon let the fiery attack burn out and settle down to the normal flames that covered his head, hands, and feet.
Within the residual blaze, an irritatingly smug laugh rang out. "You're hot, but I'm already on fire, baby!" Metaletemon's shadow darkened in the fire as he walked out, still smiling and swinging his thin tail. "Maybe once I destroy the Digi-Destined, you'll join me on my comeback tour!" he sneered, "As a part of the freak show!"
((You give yourself far more credit than you're due! CORONA FLARE!))
Psisauromon wrapped himself in an aura of incandescent solar fire and charged, every running step melting the stones of the ruined city underfoot.
"Neither you nor the critics can burn a star!" Metaletemon grinned, "Especially when you're footloose! BANANA SLIP!"
"Say, what's that light outside?" Ogremon asked, flicking open the blinds with two green fingers. "Too early for sunset..."
"Sunlight?" Palmon asked curiously.
"Yeah, really bright." Ogremon rumbled, shading his eyes with the bone club he carries.
"Psisauromon, then." Gomamon shrugged, raising his flippers 'palm' up. "He's on our side, too."
"Really?" Ogremon said, "Never heard of him."
Metaletemon threw a banana peel under Psisauromon's feet, causing an instance loss of control. The champion's mass was not averted from the direction of the charge, keeping him sliding helplessly at Metaletemon.
"You're lucky!" the Mega grinned. "You're gonna help me bring down the house! METAL PUNCH!"
Unable to dodge, Psisauromon slid directly into the swing of Metaletemon's fist and caught the full force of the blow on his solar plexus.
Leomon's ear twitched as he heard something approaching the doors. "Hmm? It's Metaletemon!"
Psisauromon crashed through the doors, ripping them off the hinges and continuing over the heads of Gekomon, Palmon, and Gomamon.
((Company's here!))
Psisauromon sailed over the counter and slammed into the far wall. Green ichor oozed slowly from the nostril holes of his mask, a dark blemish on the otherwise gleaming metal headgear. Muted fires, barely lifting off his scales, burned slowly through the wooden doors.
"Amateur." Ogremon growled, surprisingly supported in this opinion by a nod from Leomon.
((Hey, I heard that!)) Psisauromon protested. ((I'm a far better fighter than that tin monkey, but he's a Mega! I think I did very well.)) His triangular eyes narrowed as he darkly added... ((Soon as that arm heals I'll show you just how good I am.))
"You? Hah!" Ogremon casually shattered four chairs and a table with a single swing of his club. "My Pummel Whack'll level you, scaly!"
((You think so, ugly?)) Psisauromon struggled to raise his head, and blew apart the bar with telekinesis as his empty eye flared white. ((I won't even use any attribute attacks to send you packing!))
"Metal head!"
((Fang face!))
"ENOUGH!" Leomon roared, staring down the two green champions as he placed his hand on his sword hilt. "There are enough problems without you two starting a new rivalry."
Metaletemon jumped in through the empty doorframe, flexing so he appeared to entirely fill the doorway. "That snake in the glass tried to pull the wool over my eyes, so Ah made it that the only thing he'll knit for a while is bones! Now let me lay it on the line, 'cause I'm so fine.
Leomon stepped forward, completely obscuring Psisauromon's sight. "Face me, then we shall see who is fine!" he growled. The room filled with light...
"Leomon Digivolve to... SABERLEOMON!"
The wire mesh over Psisauromon's left eye flashed into the analyzer screen.
Digimon Analyzer 3.0
Saberleomon
Level: Mega
Type: Data
Classification: Ancient Beast Digimon
Attacks:
Twin Fang: TL Medium. Mane fires needles: fast, difficult to avoid.
Howling Crusher: TL HIGH! Hybrid Energy/physical attack; uses steel paws to crush, quick and vicious.
Description:
This large cat possesses superior speed and agility. Attack strength is high, but current level of experience prevents full potential from being used. Digivolution unstable, amount of time Saberleomon is able to remain in Mega form varies. Very loyal, a noble and just warrior.
Saberleomon leapt through the wall of the old diner, his bristling mane swaying as he landed, waiting to spread Metaletemon's data over light years, into to the intergalactic void. Metaletemon came out through the door, flexing again and boasting about his power.
Inside, Psisauromon shakily rose to his feet. ((Ooh. Tender. Guess you broke a few ribs, you music mangler. Such an injury, however, will not stop me from fighting you.))
"Yes it will!" Mimi declared, rushing to Psisauromon's side. "You've done your part, now let someone fresh fight."
((But Mimi...))
"No buts!" Mimi said sternly, fearlessly grasping his burning hand and pulling the twelve-foot lizard to the side. "You're staying right here!"
Psisauromon sighed, a gust of air hissing from his nostrils. ((Yes, Mimi.)) He thought meekly.
Gomamon and Ogremon burst out laughing as Mimi bossed a champion more than three times bigger than herself to sit by the stairs of the dilapidated restaurant.
Glaring at the two, Psisauromon thought ((If you say ANYTHING, I'll Psi Shield you into next week!))
"Psisauromon, that's not nice!" Palmon said, shaking her head.
"Run, children!" Saberleomon growled, "Run before it's too late!"
"No, stay, and spare me the trouble of huntin' y'all down!" Metaletemon sneered, admiring his biceps.
"HOWLING CRUSHER!" Saberleomon pounced on Metaletemon, his paws shimmering like segmented rainbows.
"BANANA SLIP!" Metaletemon countered, throwing a peel into the glowing forefoot.
The Digital world seemed to come to a stop as the attacks met, a sort of a universal breath being held before a rapidly expanding white sphere of energy that blasted outward, whirling dust and smoke. The force tossed Saberleomon back to the stairs of the restaurant, and blew Metaletemon backwards, the metal monkey tucking and rolling, landing on his feet triumphantly. "The new style you can't beat me!" he taunted, laughing.
"I'm not gonna sit here and watch this!" Gomamon exclaimed. "Hey guys, wait for me!"
"Gomamon Digivolve to... IKAKKUMON!"
The huge shaggy walrus with red toenails took up a position flanking the Digi-Destined on the stairs.
Palmon put her tendrils on Mimi's shoulder. "Mimi, please let me fight with them!" she pleaded, looking with her fluid green eyes at her Digi-Destined. Mimi looked down at the Digivice she held in her brown glove, eyes full of fear for her friend Palmon. "Well? They need me! What should I do?"
"HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikakkumon bellowed.
"Wait!" Joe exclaimed, running up to Ikkakumon.
"What do you mean, wait?" Ikkakumon said, confused. "We've gotta help him out!"
"But don't you think we should leave, like he told us to?"
"But, Joe!" the champion protested. Psisauromon decided to tune out the rest of that conversation, as he wouldn't run. Not this time, when he had a choice. He could protect Mimi and Joe here, or run away and protect them from Metaletemon later on, if Saberleomon fell.
"TWIN FANG!" Saberleomon roared as he send multitudes of needles flying from his orange mane towards the arrogant Virus, who grinned inanely when the attack bounced harmlessly off him.
'Saberleomon can't stop Metaletemon unless he can use Howling Crusher.' Psisauromon thought to himself, getting to his feet and wincing as broken ribs shot pain into his brain.
Metaletemon laughed each little noise grating on Psisauromon's ear canals. "Is that your best shot?" he guffawed as he cracked his knuckles. "METAL PUNCH!" Running up, the monkey hopped and spun, slamming Saberleomon to the pavement with his butt, flattening the noble cat.
((Come on, I could've dodged that! Focus, mon, focus!))
"SHUT UP!" Ogremon snarled, turning to the gloating ape. "If you want a REAL challenge, it's right here!"
"Ogremon, don't be a fool!" Saberleomon said as he got back to his paws. "You're no match for him!"
"Hey, don't you tell me what to do! I can take on this tin can if I want to!"
A sudden pink streak and Mimi was at Ogremon's side, taking his hand. "You're in no shape to fight!" she said firmly. "Now stop this and stop trying to be a hero!"
((She's very gentle and caring, but not very realistic... Joe, maybe you could help her with that...)) Psisauromon widened his stance as he thought this directly to Joe and got ready to launch himself into round two.
"What?" came the brilliant response.
"Hey, everyone's welcome! When ya get together, it's easier to get y'all! In fact, little darlin', today Ah'm offering a group discount!" Metaletemon raised his finger in the air. "It saves me time to destroy alla you at once!"
The wire mesh on Psisauromon's faceplate went nuts as it spewed warnings about energy buildup directly into his optic nerve. ((LOOK OUT!))
Still grinning inanely, Metaletemon summoned a bolt of black electricity from the cloudless sky. From this point, events accelerated dramatically. Mimi looked up, saw the attack bearing down on her, and screamed in terror, stumbling backward.
"MIMI! NO!" Saberleomon jumped over the frightened girl to cover her from the attack in the fashion of a true hero.
Psisauromon, however, has different talents at his disposal. ((I got you, babe!))
((PSI SHIELD!))
The psychic barrier flashed into existence and roughly swept Mimi out from under the black bolt, but the big cat Digimon still caught the full blast in his sacrificial attempt to save the compassionate Digi-Destined. Saberleomon screamed as the ebony energy took its fatal toll on his program, a scream of pure agony that opened his mind to any telepath with the torment he felt. ((No... Saberleomon... There wasn't any need...)) The black bolt hung the valiant Mega in the air for several seconds until the very end of the attack, then let him fall heavily on his side.
On the mirror-bright faceplate, Psisauromon's final crest, the crest of Justice, began to glow...
"That does it!" Joe yelled, pulling out his Digivice.
"Ikkakumon Digivolve to... ZUDOMON!"
((I agree!)) Psisauromon thought, eyes blazing.
((Psisauromon Digivolve too...
The three crests engraved in Psisauromon's mask shone like spotlights as the faceplate separates into the component crests, now revealed as the elongated octagons that the rest of the Digi-Destined wear. They fly outward of their own initiative, circling about Psisauromon in the points of an equilateral triangle that hover just above the ground.
The silver Digivice leapt off the Reptoid's waistband and flew over his head.
"Level two, upgrade initialize." An unknown feminine voice calmly intoned as three rays of light emerged from the Digivice and struck the three crests, in turn re-emitting the beams as multicolored energy that bathe Psisauromon in rainbow hues. The shifting colors formed into a triangular pyramid that spun about the champion, focusing power.
Psisauromon's face is exactly the same as the mask that covered it. No mouth, only two nostrils between the large scales of the reptilian face. The fires that normally covered him extinguished suddenly with the narrowing of his eyes then burst out between his shoulder blades, flaring out like wings, fiery phoenix wings that turned into large masses of bone and membrane.
Psisauromon grew, brown pants bulging and ripping at the seams as his body expanded to immensity. Neck and head stretched out as if taffy, a mouth splitting the blank face, and filling with nasty, pointed metal teeth. The elongated head tapered to a rounded point; out of the back of the skull grew a bone frill. The eerily empty right eye was replaced by one of brilliant silver, the other remaining gleaming gold.
Starting from the back of the neck and moving down the swelling back, a single row of curved spines emerged among the thickening scales. A long, flat, serrated and segmented tail flows out behind the Digivolving shape, lashing at the earth and leaving deep gouges. Rearing up on sturdy hind legs and balancing on his tail, Psisauromon reveals an underbelly of pale yellow serpentine scutes that outline an impressively muscular human-like torso. Hands and feet morph into claw-tipped appendages that flex in anticipation of battle as the new Digimon roars, unleashing a great gout of flame that illuminates the heavens.
The pyramid of crests and Digivice fly apart, the crests changing shape again, growing as they streak toward Benjamon's ultimate, striking wings and chest. Flowing like mercury across the extended wings, the crests of Honor and Justice coat the delicate-seeming structures with armor; on his chest, the crest of Compassion forms bands of Chrome Digizoid plating that clank into place along the scutes, then moves to cover the outer appendages with living metal. The field of rainbow color vanishes, revealing the blood red scales and silver armor of...
"DRAGUDRAMON!"
Towering a full sixty feet above the battlefield, the Dramon grinned toothily at Metaletemon, who momentarily had a thought about the mortality of any substance, even the sturdy Chrome Digizoid.
Digimon Analyzer
Dragudramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Classification: Sun Dragon Digimon
This is what I locked away by honor, justice, and compassion. Benjamon had to become worthy of the power Dragudramon possesses, for, like Altoids, it is curiously strong. The Bio-mechanical armor responds to thought, amplifying strength, speed, and durability. This is especially important on the undercarriage, where the scales are weaker and could be prone to the 'Smaug' effect. The line of Benjamon's Digivolutions are the guardians of light; solar energy again burns hotly in his attacks, and 'Dragon Slicer' uses talons and tail to cleave away an opponent's life.
-Drowzee1
"Check me out! I'm HUGE!" Dragudramon chortled, bending down and snatching Metaletemon in his scimitar claws. "You wanted me to join your show, Superfreak? Here's my answer! DRAGON INFERNO!" The red dragon strafed the city with a wave of fire from his mouth, turning several blocks into molten rubble. He smashed the struggling Mega into the concrete and brought his head down until the large silver eye looked straight into the shades. "You feelin' hot, hot, hot?"
"Saberleomon!" Mimi cried, putting her head next to that of the fallen cat. "Say something! Please tell me you're all right!"
"Grrr... That damn dirty ape!" Zudomon growled, hefting his hammer as the monkey applied a Metal Punch to the giant Dramon's jaw that merely made the head recoil on the lengthy neck.
"VULCAN'S HAMMER!" Smashing his mallet to the ground, Zudomon generated a force ray that the arrogant Metaletemon took between the ideograms on his chest, not even shaking the hideous gold medallion that hung from his neck.
"That didn't even phase me! You see, my body's made of Chrome Digizoid, the absolute strongest metal there is!" Metaletemon strutted slowly toward the fallen Saberleomon. "What's new, pussy cat? Don't bother with dirty looks, Ah don't have a guilty conscience about sendin' you to that great cat box in the sky!"
"Question. What is your obsession with destroying the Digi-Destined?" Dragudramon interrupted as he popped his jaw back into place. "Given that you're the minority, and this is your eve of destruction, perhaps you could give me something for your epitaph."
The ape stopped in his tracks, thrilled to have the chance to hear his own voice. "Why not? Doesn't really matter when Ah destroy you, and you can't get the best of me; Ah suppose Ah could tell about myself again." He enthusiastically launched into a second poorly sung explanation of his defeat by Metalgreymon and subsequent rebirth as the mighty Metaletemon. Meanwhile, Dragudramon slowly bent down put his hands about the Mega. "And that's why Ah am the way Ah am!" Metaletemon triumphantly concluded, ignoring the look of extreme boredom on Ogremon's mug.
"Really..." Dragudramon tried to stifle a yawn. "Oh, one more thing. We haven't been properly introduced. So... Hello, goodbye!" he slammed his hands around Metaletemon, but the ape jumped out just before his palms crashed together!
"Ha, ha! U can't touch this!" Metaletemon crowed, running a hand over his metal hair. "Was that your last resort, you pathetic losers?"
"DRAGON SLICER!" Dragudramon spun rapidly, his bladed tail blurring. It cut through the ruins, tearing up old buildings and foundations like wet tissue paper. Sparks coruscated from the sudden contact between tail and Metaletemon's ankles, knocking the feet out from under the vicious virus with a metallic scream.
"Why you...you ruined my finish!" Metaletemon shouted, jumping back to his feet, his tail lashing furiously.
"Yeah, I got a line on you... By the way, Mmmbop!" Dragudramon's right foot came down on Metaletemon, pushing the Mega into the ground. "Since you'll never surrender, you're life's goal will remain incomplete."
"Ah'm far too tough to be defeated!" the Elvis impersonator retorted, pushing back up against the weighty load.
"What are you doing?!" Joe demanded, his voice quaking with rage. "Don't play with him! He's a killer!"
"Yeah, and of all the small things he did, taking down Saberleomon puts me into a mood to BREAK THINGS!" Ogremon bellowed, ducking in under the huge foot. "Leomon's MY RIVAL! PUMMEL WHACK! PUMMEL WHACK! PUMMEL WHACK!" even injured, Ogremon's fighting spirit and rage were undiminished as he delivered slam after vicious slam with his club. Metaletemon's body rang like a bell with each savage stroke, but the Chrome Digizoid Mega didn't even scratch!
"Disappointed?" Metaletemon said, holding up Dragudramon's foot with all of his strength. "Ah am a tower of power! Nothing you do can really hurt this beautiful Chrome Digizoid!"
"Well, let me try, then!" Zudomon grinned under his orange facial hair. "VULCAN'S HAMMER!" rather than using his claw hammer to make the force beam, Zudomon hurled his heavy weapon at the trapped monkey. The mallet spun in under the pressing foot and impacted Metaletemon between the pectoral muscles with the point of the claw. The sudden stress broke through the Chrome Digizoid, a network of cracks forming in Metaletemon's chest as the hammer bounced out and flew back to Zudomon's hand.
Looking down, Metaletemon gaped dumbly at the rapidly expanding fissures in his once flawless body. "No! It's impossible! Why does this keep happening to me?" he cried in fear.
"Because my hammer is also made of Chrome Digizoid!" This time it was the Digi-Destined's time to gloat, and gloat Zudomon did; this was surprising, given the seemingly limited range of emotions and expressions that composed his repertoire.
"And now, just like an aluminum can can be stood on until you dent the sides..." Dragudramon chuckled and set his full weight on Metaletemon's stressed structure. The cracks widened dramatically, and pieces began to fall out. The more Metaletemon struggled to get free, the faster his end came. "And I think being ground into the dirt is entirely appropriate for you, who sought to place yourself as the best Digimon; whose ascension was made by stepping on the backs of others, and who tried to live up to the enormous ego made in the process..."
"You can't destroy me!"
"Oh, but we can! Karma, karma...Or, what goes around, comes around, bigger, nastier, and with teeth you wouldn't believe!" Metaletemon broke apart, legs and torso crumbling under the draconic pressure and torsion Dragudramon exerted, twisting his foot as one would do when thoroughly crushing an ant or other undesirable creature. Finally, only the head remained of the once-mighty Mega, and Dragudramon pulled back his foot to look at the shattered visage. "Well..."
"Ah swear Ah'll kill you! Ah swear..."
"HOWLING CRUSHER!" A glowing paw wrapped about the head, and smashed it into data dust that swirled away on the winds. Saberleomon shone brilliantly, and then returned to Leomon.
"He did it!" Joe exclaimed, as Leomon went from standing to falling flat on his muzzle without even buckling at the knees, a sudden collapse from extreme exhaustion and damage.
Mimi began to cry, sparkling tears flowing down her smooth cheeks as she ran to Leomon's side, hair flying back behind her. "Leomon!"
Zudomon returned to Gomamon, and Dragudramon to Benjamon. "He fought with all his heart... Maybe we should do him the honor of getting him face up?" Gomamon said somberly, too depressed by the impending loss of a friend to make up a joke.
Ogremon set down his club. "Let me. None of you guys has the strength to pick up this sack of cat hair." The usual edge to his voice was gone, and his blue eyes were soft, looking oddly like Mimi's. He grabbed Leomon's limp arm, and hauled his age-old foe up to his shoulder. Together, the rivals moved slowly to the stairs of the diner, Ogremon growling at anyone who tried to help. Finally, Ogremon set Leomon down gently so that the lion could see everyone...
"Leomon? It's me, Mimi!" "Come on!" "Yeah, wake up!" A crowd of voices vying for the fallen champion's attention.
Joe, however, looked forlornly at his dufflebag, tears brimming behind his glasses. "Ace bandages and toilet paper won't help this time!" he moaned, lifting the bag and hurling it down the stairs. Benjamon vanished from Leomon's side; his hand guards a silver streak as he moved and caught the bag before it touched the ground.
"Baka Joe!" Benjamon barked. "You don't know how right you are... The only reason Leomon's still holding together is sheer willpower. He's got nothing else left!"
"How do you know?"
"These glasses don't lie!" Benjamon reached into the bag, and took out a carefully wrapped package. "These smell right. Anyway, we've got a wild card. Peacemon's roses seem to be a universal elixir, and Leomon has shown himself to be worthy of saving." He gingerly removed a light pink rose and placed it on Leomon's chest.
"That little rose can keep Leomon alive?" Ogremon tapped the delicate blossom with a gnarled green finger.
"Put me back together after I got smashed by Puppetmon."
"Huh."
On exhausted muscles, the rose bloomed, petals unfolding and spreading out. Pollen spread around Leomon smelling of summer days, cantaloupe, and the combined scent of thousands of pink roses and carnations.
Incoming Message.
"What now?" Benjamon wondered silently as Peacemon, the cannabis plant smoking a joint, appeared on his lenses like they were a television screen.
"Hey, mon! What's the deal with using a rose on a Digimon past help?" the image transmitted text directly to the lens.
"Past help? I was in far worse condition when you healed me!"
Mimi looked up from the rose. "Who are you talking to?"
"He's burned inside, lotta black energy trashed this cat. I can only do the good mojo if I've got something to work on!" Peacemon answered.
"Just a moment, Mimi! Leomon's sticking around through force of mind, can't you use that?"
"It's not just will power, it's destiny!"
"What?"
"Benjamon!" this time, Joe was looking at him. "Nothing's happening!"
"Hold on! I'm trying to think or something! Peacemon, he's destined to reconfigure here?"
"Mon, it's like... Fate over mind over matter. Far out."
"Listen, pipsqueak! You saying that Leomon's dying even with this miracle flower mumbo jumbo?" Ogremon's club came uncomfortably close to Benjamon's head.
"What? No! I mean, yes! Peacemon, can't you do anything? A suggestion, even!"
"I can suggest something, sure."
"What is it?
"PUMMEL WHACK!"
"DUCK, MON!"
Benjamon dropped to his knees as Ogremon's bone club whistled overhead.
"Do I have your attention now, kid?" the virus snarled. "What's going on?"
"Ye...yes." Benjamon answered to the looming green champion. "Peacemon says that the rose can't help because Leomon's been fried on the inside."
"Bah! I knew this wouldn't work!" Grabbing the rose, Ogremon shredded the gentle flower and threw the mangled pulp away.
Mimi started to cry again, and Joe's eyes lost hope.
"Peacemon!" Benjamon started to say, but the image was gone.
Leomon's chest rose... "The forest..." he rasped. "The forest is disappearing!"
Everyone looked back towards the woods, which were now sliding away with a low rumble as the forest disappeared to be reconfigured.
"It's a sign something positive has happened." Leomon quietly continued. "Your friends must have defeated Puppetmon. That's good... I expected that they would."
Benjamon returned the three remaining roses to Joe's bag and set it gently by the steps. He walked off, staring as the last of the forest vanished on Infinity Mountain. He was upset about the loss of Leomon, but if this was part of the Destiny he had tried to interfere with... He again thought of the line of balance between the light and the dark. His attempt to use the rose was rejected by Destiny; clearly this fight, saving Mimi, and what Leomon was saying now had been the purpose of the Lion by Fate, the rest of his life was only a buildup to this point. Ogremon, too, was manipulated. By forcing Leomon to fight again and again, Ogremon was Destiny's tool to make the lion strong enough to save Mimi at that single point in time. Benjamon was no longer needed here; he was, in fact, no longer needed anywhere. Again, he was an outside chance, a roll of the dice that could result in success or failure for the Digi-Destined, and more likely, Life and Death.
Did he really think that he could force Fate's hand to the desired outcome of saving the Digi-Destined and defeating the Dark Masters? A single tear that burned like fire emerged from his eye, scalding its way down his face. "I don't belong." He whispered quietly. "And I don't want to die... I don't want them to die, either... I guess I just need to get away from them, go somewhere where I won't be a danger to whatever Destiny wants from them."
"Hey! Benjamon!" Gomamon called. "We're going!"
Benjamon shook his head slowly. "No." he murmured, not turning to look.
"Come on!" Palmon added. "We're going to find Allies to help fight the Dark Masters!"
"Benjamon Digivolve to... PSISAUROMON!))
"That's the spirit!" Joe said. "Shouldn't you save your strength, though?"
((I'm not coming with you.)) Psisauromon turned to face the expectant faces, which suddenly fell off with a nearly audible crash.
"Why? After you say you're pledged to protect us, you abandon us?" Mimi said, her voice as trembling as a bird song.
((I don't want to...))
"Then let's go!" Ogremon snapped. "Or do I have to beat you until you agree?"
((I have to go. I'm a danger to you all. I tried to fool myself into thinking that I can only be helpful, but now that Leomon's dead because of your Destiny...))
"WHAT?"
((I realize that my help could just as easily be your destruction. What if I'd hit Saberleomon with that Psi Shield, and deleted him on the spot? My crest wouldn't have glowed, and Zudomon would have had to face Metaletemon alone! Your Destiny as the Digi-Destined is powerful, but if I bump things the wrong way...))
"But you'd..." Mimi began.
Psisauromon held up a burning hand. ((Please, don't. I must say good bye here, because at least we're all still alive to hear it. Keep the roses, and remember me from time to time. I'm going to find the others and tell them the same; I want to see you all... One last time.)) ((PSI SHIELD!))
When the psychic platform appeared, Psisauromon stepped onto it lightly, and began to rise. ((One more thing. Ogremon?))
"Whadda you want, traitor?"
((I'll ignore that. But if you let Joe or Mimi come to harm, I'll hunt you down and cut their pain out of your hide. Consider that a friendly little warning.))
With that, Psisauromon flew out of sight, just a spirit in the sky.
*elvician: adj. Pertaining to, reminiscent of, or relating to Elvis.
-Drowzee1's book O' new words
Scene: The Digi-Destined have broken into three groups and gone their separate ways. Having decided that Mimi and Joe have the least protection (Megas being a part of the other groups) Benjamon has tagged along with them. After Metaletemon's meteor impacted the Digi-world, things were all shook up and prompted the two humans and three Rookie Digimon to investigate.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it, Gomamon!" Benjamon angrily declared, eyes flashing. "I'm just going to say that being Berserkermon is not something I ever want to experience again!"
"Why not?" the seal asked, looking up as he walked alongside the sullen rookie who had tried to destroy the Digi-world after mistakenly thinking the Digi-Destined destroyed by Puppetmon.
"Because... No, nice try, but you're not going to get me to say anything about it."
"You had power; you totaled Wargreymon."
"No control. Anyway, it wasn't me fighting." Benjamon snorted. "Invincibility tends to give one an unfair edge."
They walked into a small clearing in the woods. An unusual pile of brush, broken tree limbs and dirt covered something green and still. The shape of the pile seemed to show hints of white, a most unusual color in the midst of all the emerald and russet tones of the forest.
"There's someone under there!" Mimi exclaimed, quickly recognizing the general shape.
Benjamon blinked and raced Palmon to the heap to begin clearing away the fallen wood.
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon's tendrils extended, yanking a large branch away, revealing a face that would send orthodontists into throes of ecstatic joy. "It's Ogremon!" she gasped, dropping the branch.
"So?" Benjamon asked, still clearing away the pile. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing..." Joe said, holding Mimi's arm. "Except HE TRIED TO KILL US!"
"Oh." Benjamon paused, then shrugged and continued. "Well, he needs help, and I'm sure we can deal with him."
Mimi looked Joe in the face and nodded firmly, her mouth set in a line. "Yes, Joe. Ogremon's hurt and needs help, no matter what he did in the past."
Joe shook his head, giving up. "Fine." He sighed. "But if he kills us, I'll never forgive you."
Benjamon winked at Mimi and chuckled warmly as he pushed away the last of the branches.
"Urrrrr..." Ogremon groaned as he tried to rise. A stain of blood ran over his face and into the green Champion's mouth. Ogremon fell back to the ground, and Mimi shrugged free of Joe's grip to run to his side just as Ogremon raised his head again. His blue eyes met the brown of Mimi's, and widened suddenly. "Hey... You're one of the Digi-Destined!" he rumbled, attempting to rise again.
"At least you don't have amnesia." Mimi commented. "Don't try to move, Ogremon."
"Joe, could you...?" Benjamon began.
"Yeah, I know. My dad's a doctor and..." Joe replied.
"I wasn't finished, but you've got part of it right. I wanted to know if you found any of the medical supplies that I brought from the Analog world in my now useless backpack. I should have had some antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide, sterile gauze, ace bandages..." Benjamon rattled off a list of supplies, and Joe sheepishly pulled out most of the mentioned items.
"How'd you know I'd pick them up?" Joe asked, taking out a triangle bandage. "I might have just left them there, along with the roses, but Mimi insisted on those..."
"Because you're trustworthy and reliable." Benjamon grinned. "Well, Ogremon, Let's see about that gash on your forehead." Picking up the hydrogen peroxide and a pad of gauze, Benjamon poured the liquid onto the white cloth. "This might sting, so don't get upset." He said, patting Ogremon's right arm tenderly before wiping the gauze over the cut. "Mimi," He said, "How's his arm? I've got basic first aid knowledge, but I must admit I'm rusty on broken bones." The clear liquid turned white wherever it touched blood, fizzing to clean the wound.
"I think it is broken." Mimi said. "And I don't know anything about setting bones either."
Joe smiled. "At least one person here knows what to do. Your supplies are sized to humans, Benjamon. Good thing I brought something to improvise with..." Out of his duffel bag, Joe pulled a white roll of paper.
Benjamon chuckled. "You're in good hands, Ogremon. Joe, it's up to you." He gave the vicious Champion virus Digimon another gentle pat on the shoulder, and walked off to scout for trouble.
"What's with that guy?" Ogremon growled. "In fact, why are any of you helping me at all?"
"We were always told to help people in trouble, even if they were trying to kill us before." Mimi ad-libbed, her sincerity nearly blinding.
"Benjamon!" Gomamon said as Benjamon strode past. "Your glasses are glowing!"
"What?" Benjamon blinked. "What do you mean?" He pulled off his eyewear, and held them in the palm of his hand.
"I guess your crest activated..." Palmon piped up. "How do you feel?"
"About the same...No, wait..." he suddenly shivered. "Something doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but when I put them back on... I feel cold...There's something evil coming this way."
"You sure?" Gomamon asked, "Maybe it was something you ate."
"Quiet!"
"Hey, I thought I killed you!" Puppetmon appeared suddenly on a branch overhead, glaring down at the group with beady red eyes.
Benjamon hissed angrily. "It'ssss a sssshame I couldn't delete you assss Berssserkermon." He shook his head violently. "And I don't go down so easily..." he said, his voice back to the usual tone and precisely clipped accentless one that he frequently used.
"Puppetmon!" the others yelled in surprise.
"I destroyed you once, I'll do it again!" Puppetmon shouted, his nasal, whining voice grating at the ears. "And I'll take the rest of your friends out with you, so you won't be lonely!" Shifting his grip on his mallet, the Dark Master fired his multi-shot attack at the group.
"Like Hades you will! CHAIN BLASTER!" Pointing his hands to Puppetmon, Benjamon blasted away with his own multiple attack, intercepting the yellow energy with his starlight orbs and detonating them before they reached their target.
"OW! My eyes!" Ogremon shaded his blue eyes with his club as the clearing exploded with intense flashes of light that threw everything into shadows and brilliant white light, all color obliterated in the blinding effects of the cancellation.
"You're no good, Puppetmon." Benjamon growled, still staring directly at the Dark Master after the glaring brightness vanished. "I'm going to give you such a thrashing, you'll wish I'd just tossed you in a wood chipper!"
"Izzat so?" Puppetmon sneered.
"Yeah, bark-for-brains!" Gomamon interjected, running up to Benjamon's side. Running, of course, is not the correct term for the rapid motion of a quadruped seal, but it'll have to do.
"Gomamon Digivolve to... IKAKKUMON!"
"HARPOON TORPEDO!" The great white walrus launched his conical horn at Puppetmon, the ebony case falling away as a red and green missile rushed on.
Puppetmon jumped off the branch and floated above the blast that left only a smoldering broken trunk below his rectangular wood feet. Cackling madly, the pint-size Mega drifted back down and stuck out his tongue.
"Ikkakumon Digivolve to... ZUDOMON!"
"Zudomon, don't take him on!" Benjamon shouted at the ultimate Digimon so oft described as a turtle/dog/walrus mix. Too late. Zudomon and Puppetmon were already charging with hammers raised, intent on pulverizing each other.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
"VULCAN'S HAMMER!"
"MORONSSS!" Benjamon yelled as he rolled out of the way.
As the rookie predicted, Zudomon wasn't in the same league of swingers as Puppetmon. A burst of light as the mallets explosively smashed together sent Zudomon's massive claw hammer spinning away as he, looking even grayer than usual, collapsed heavily and returned to Gomamon as Puppetmon's fire burst burned at the hapless Ultimate. "Poor little fool." Benjamon murmured, pulling the stunned rookie in white fur back to the others. "Joe, why'd you let him do that?"
"I didn't! Gomamon's doing what he thinks best." Joe knelt by his friend, holding Gomamon's flipper gently, and stroking his fur.
"That it? Is playtime over already?" Puppetmon whined, drawing up his hammer for a final attack on the group.
"OOooooAAAaaooooh!" A Tarzan-esqe yell echoed through the forest, reverberating off of trees to mingle harmoniously in the clearing. Coinciding with these calls of the wild, the seeming source of sound, a shady shape, a silhouette, slid sonorously and swiftly swinging side-to-side above shrubbery on the forest floor.
"What now?" Puppetmon shouted, irritated at the interruption.
With a final yell, the shade swung onto an overhanging branch to reveal itself. A large humanoid, make that a Monkeyoid, with a long, whip-like tail, golden teeth, a large disco style gold amulet and chain around his neck, a pair of stylish sunglasses, an elvician* curl in his hair, and two red ideograms proclaiming 'Metaletemon is the strongest!' on large pectorals that just begged to be oiled. With 10W 30, or, if he were on a budget, WD-40. The monkey was entirely metal, with Phillips head screws on his knuckles and left shoulder, even one as an earring, glistening as he posed dramatically and flexed. "Get Digi with it! Metaletemon's in da house!" he proclaimed.
Benjamon blinked and whispered to Ogremon... "Did he say what I think he just said?" he snorted. "Whatever this guy can do, he sure can't be very original..."
"Don't think he looks all that tough." Ogremon rumbled back as Metaletemon continued to speak, clapping his hands. Benjamon wasn't paying attention. "Come on, the guy has a teddy bear on his waist!" Ogremon continued, "Bet you he got it from his Mommy!"
"Didn't know we Digimon HAD mothers." Benjamon grinned.
"You know what I mean."
"...Thank you, thank you very much!" Metaletemon drawled, and again Benjamon had to control his incredulity.
"Ksssshk! Copy that, Houston, we've got an Elvis impersonator on radar. Ksssshk!" Benjamon muttered into his hand.
"What was that, Benjamon?" Gomamon said, getting to his feet... er. Flippers.
"Nothing."
"I could've sworn I heard you making a joke."
"And you couldn't bear to miss it?"
"Pardon me for having a good sense of humor." Gomamon said huffily, frowning a little.
"There's many ways to describe your sense of humor, but I'm not sure 'good' is one of them."
"You're mean sometimes."
"Thanks, I'm trying to be average. And I knew you couldn't resist hearing a joke of any kind. Feeling better?"
"Yeah... HEY!"
The clearing was dead silent, and when Gomamon and Benjamon looked up, Puppetmon was tapping his foot impatiently, Mimi, Joe and Palmon were staring at them, Ogremon was cleaning his teeth and tusks with his fingers, and Metaletemon had folded his arms across his chest. "If y'all are finished, this rock superstar is gonna tell yah a story!"
Benjamon nodded, and promptly ignored him. Instead he focused on something that was flashing in the upper right corner of his... glasses? He looked at it, and the flashing box came down into a HUD overlay. A set of targeting crosshairs roved around his field of vision until they came to rest on the monkey who was happily telling the boring story of how he became a Mega. Data began to appear in front of Benjamon's eyes.
Digimon Analyzer Version 3.0
Metaletemon
Level: Mega
Type: Virus
Classification: Android Digimon
Attacks:
Metal Punch: Threat Level Low. Simple straight punch.
Banana Slip: TL Variable. Can be used as explosive projectile, or remove friction.
DANGER! Possible third attack, electrical energy, TL HIGH!
Description:
Made of approximately one and a half-centimeter thick Chrome Digizoid metal.
//
Cross-reference Chrome Digizoid: Hardest metal known to Digital Structural science as of last update. Known Chrome Digizoid Items: Metaletemon, Zudomon's hammer, Psisauromon's facemask, metalform crests of Honor, Justice, and Compassion.
//
Arrogant, vain, convinced of being the best singer in the Digital and Analog worlds. Agile, but delusions of invincibility make him stay to take blows he could easily avoid. Strong; however, prefers to flex and threaten for a while before actually fighting. Possibility of self-esteem issues, analysis shows that behavior is really a front for something much darker and brooding. Effective taunting may lie in not responding, else, a great deal of insults and slights focusing on singing and fighting ability will be required.
"Weird." Benjamon murmured then did a double take as he watched Puppetmon run up along side the Digi-Destined group and yell at Metaletemon.
"That's enough!" he whined angrily.
"Ah just got started there, you oversized footstool!" Metaletemon declared, hopping down to the face the Dark Master.
"Who are you calling 'oversized'?" Puppetmon shot back.
Benjamon smiled widely.
"Watch yo' step! BANANA SLIP!" Metaletemon threw a banana peel under Puppetmon's feet, and the pint-size wood Mega went down with a yelp.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!" Still sitting on the grass, Puppetmon's mallet whacked Metaletemon on the shin, making the monkey ring like a bell.
"Beeeeeautiful! A stellar performance!" Benjamon crowed quietly, grabbing Mimi's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here while those two are discussing their differences." He whispered to the others.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Joe agreed, taking Mimi from Benjamon and rushing off, Palmon and Gomamon close behind.
"Come on, Ogremon!" Benjamon reached up and tapped his latest comrade-in-arms on the shoulder. "We're not up to facing both of those guys... Let 'em wreck each other for us."
Ogremon snorted, then followed, his club held high. "Hey, I know a good place to rest and hide from those two." he growled, pointing off into the forest with the bone cudgel.
"Let's go, then!" Palmon cried, roots pounding the ground as she ran to keep up with Mimi. Benjamon lagged behind, and happily watched the two Mega Digimon beat on each other a few moments longer.
Directing the two Digi-Destined to a large cavity under a tree, Ogremon leaned his club against the wall and sat down. He beckoned for his benefactors to do the same. Once all four were seated, he leaned back and got comfortable, ebony horns scratching gouges in the tree.
"Does it hurt?" Mimi began...
Outside, Benjamon had gotten lost... His heightened Reptoid sense of smell gave only general clues to the direction that the Digi-Destined had taken, and even those were fading quickly as a sudden summer breeze played through the forest. "Of all the STUPID things I could do," he grumbled to himself, "I decide to abandon Joe and Mimi!" he spat at an unoffending vine. "How am I going to find them without being so obvious as to risk revealing them?"
In silent answer, the crest of Compassion flickered in the upper right corner of his field of view. The HUD popped up, reading "Infrared detection activated" as a scarlet tinge cast over the entire scene, plants dark, his own body verging on white. In the IR spectrum, a few leaves and bushes were brighter than the surroundings, and... There! Faint patches of lighter red, regularly spaced and displaying four different foot sizes, as well as dimmer shades where Palmon had stepped on the other prints.
"Take a look around, I am the wanderer no more!" he declared, swiftly tracing their path to the cavernous space under an elephantine vine-covered tree.
"Well, if the fight's over, you wouldn't have a rival anymore." Mimi was saying to Ogremon as Benjamon drew near. The red field in his eyes vanished, and the crest was inert once more.
"Of course I would!" came Ogremon's gravelly response. "He and I are like two old warriors, fighting a war that has no beginning and no end. Why, the only reason I exist at all is to defeat Leomon. If he were gone..." Ogremon's voice faltered. "I'm so confused."
Benjamon crept closer, not wanting to interrupt the precious moment. Ogremon was living in what he considered paradise, where a worthy foe always existed to test one's mettle. A life of combat, where the rest of existence is a sideshow to the battle.
"You've got to have more of a purpose in life than just to defeat Leomon." Mimi said in her gentle, flowing way.
"Silly girl..." Benjamon grunted. "The purpose of life is different for everyone. For the warriors, defeating a rival can be the singular driving interest of existence. I only wish my life were so simple." He sighed. "But I'm here to protect, to sacrifice my existence for something I had no part in deciding. My purpose might even conflict with the completion of the prophecy of the Digi-Destined. I cannot abandon them, yet my mere association with them could doom them all. I walk a line that is an atom's width, yet is the barrier between the light and dark... Which way do I fall in serving them?" This entire monologue ran through his mind instantly, and he nearly missed the sudden warning on his glasses in his melancholy introspective. Something was swinging through the trees. A grim smile boiled up out of the sudden depression, and Benjamon used the targeting abilities of the crest of Compassion to carefully aim. "Chain Blaster!" he whispered, shooting not at Metaletemon, but at the vine he clung to. The shot whizzed off and severed the vine; it was with great pleasure that his golden eyes beheld the monkey tumble through the air and crash into a tree. "Gotcha."
"Leave me alone!" Ogremon snapped. "You can't possibly understand, this rivalry is as old as time itself. I don't care what happens, I'll think about it after I defeat Leomon!"
Joe said something about blood pressure as Benjamon stuck his head in. "Pardon me for breaking in like this, but I'd recommend getting out of here."
"Where were you?" Palmon asked in surprise, first to respond.
"Why?" Gomamon then inquired.
"Outside, and Metaletemon's found us. I can delay him, but find someplace else to hide. Lay down under leaves if you have to, but just get moving."
Joe looked at the big rookie quizzically "You can delay that Mega?" he asked with doubt oozing from his pores.
"Delay isn't the same as defeat, and I'm well suited to guerrilla gorilla warfare." Was the punned reply.
"Benjamon, that's awful!" Mimi groaned.
"I know, that's why I enjoyed it so much. Just get going, please, for your own safety. I'll give that dumb ape a run around of the jungle."
Ogremon rose and grasped his bludgeon firmly. "If a little pipsqueak like you can slow that ape, then I'll..." he rumbled.
"Why is everyone still here? And how are you going to fight Leomon if a metallic figurine defeats you?"
"Ah found you!" said a voice from above.
"Fantastic, the options have just narrowed dramatically. I'll go out alone, okay, Ogremon?" Benjamon said pointedly, glaring at the champion. "This isn't your fight. Now, I'll try to lead him off. Soon as it gets quiet, make a break for it. Nice and simple, unless the big dork knows you're in here." He stepped out of the cavity. "So you did, you tone-deaf pea-brained tin can!" he shouted. "I thought you wouldn't be able to find, fight, or sing your way out of an open paper bag! If you want a fan other than the one you use to cool off after lifting a marshmallow, you gotta convince me that you can carry a tune without using a bucket!" Piling on the abuse, he leapt up the side of the tree, punching his claws and spikes into the wood to hold position while he climbed.
"I'm starting to see why Matt can't stand him." Mimi growled, surprising Palmon, Gomamon, and most of all, Joe.
"He is a little... abrasive..." Joe murmured in her ear, her long hair cascading over one lens of his glasses as she shook her head.
"Like 10 grit sandpaper!" Gomamon butted in with his usual cheek.
"Why, Ah oughta pound ya to the same consistency as the polish Ah use on my blue suede shoes!" Metaletemon cried angrily.
"Ah, Ah, Ah'm so sceeered, Ah'm a' shakin' in muh bouts!" Benjamon mocked mercilessly. "Whatever shall Ah dew? Theys a beg talkin' ape a-threatenin' me!"
"Just for that, Ah'll make sure the beat goes on until you're gone!"
"Gotta catch me first, and even a preschool education like yours should understand you can't hurt what you can't hit! Come on, Bubbles!"
"METAL PUNCH!" Metaletemon roared, leaping to Benjamon's branch and lunging.
"Too slow, Chimpy!" Benjamon taunted, dropping off the branch and swinging round to push Metaletemon off.
The Chrome Digizoid Mega was unhurt by the fall, getting back up instantly and vaulting into the trees. "Ah'm here to destroy the Digi-Destined, but a miserable hound dog like you deserves my valuable attentions first!"
"Over here, weakling!" was the last thing the Digi-Destined heard as Benjamon jumped away with Metaletemon in close pursuit.
"There they go." Joe whispered. "Let's get out of here."
"If you think about it, we really don't need to, now." Palmon was saying when a low growl interrupted them.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest...
"BANANA SLIP!"
Benjamon vanished into the brush as the peel flew by and exploded and felled an old-growth red cedar instantly.
"You can't hide from the King of Swing!" the silvery monkey yelled as he took to vine.
"Well, It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" Benjamon shouted back. "CHAIN BLASTER!" again the vine was cut when the starlight orb burst on the vegetative strand.
Metaletemon rolled, repelled off a tree, and rocketed at Benjamon. "So you're the one who made me get stuck in a knot hole!" he shouted. "METAL PUNCH!"
Benjamon rolled out from under the jab and disappeared as he kept moving to keep from being pulped. "Who died and made you king, anyway?" he sneered as he moved behind another large tree.
"Benjamon Digivolve to... PSISAUROMON!))
"Where'd you go? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Metaletemon called into the silent forest.
Psisauromon dug, his hands big as shovels, quickly creating a large divot as he kept his fires as low and dim as possible. It wouldn't work for long, even the shaded Metaletemon would be able to see the difference in lighting.
((PSI SHIELD!)) The black right eye turned white as the divot filled with psychic energy. Psisauromon kicked the dirt and turf back over the glowing barrier and stepped back just as the Virus Mega moved out of the brush.
"Who're you?" Metaletemon demanded, walking closer. "Didja see a runt about this tall with glasses?" he asked, putting his hand about chest high. He stepped on the divot, and then into the center...
Psisauromon slowly nodded the solar fire about his head shining off the Chrome Digizoid plate that covered three fourths of his face and head. He pointed down with one thick finger.
"Wha..." Metaletemon began as Psisauromon's empty eye filled the area with white light and the Psi Shield rose into the air swiftly, accelerating until Metaletemon was pinned under forces over twenty times gravity. Spinning up above the treetops, the angle of ascension changed, the white barrier vanished, and Metaletemon was hurled to the far edge of the forest.
((PSI SHIELD!))
Psisauromon created his psychic barrier and hopped on, guiding the platform by thought as he sailed through the jungle, the ever-present solar inferno covering his outermost appendages trailing back in the direction he came from.
Grabbing the edge of the board in his scaly green fist, Psisauromon knelt on wall of mind power in much the same way a surfer would shoot the curl of a collapsing wave. Commanding the board to veer upward until flying perpendicular to the forest floor, however, was something no conventional surf and turf wave rider could ever do.
Of course, surfing the air was a human impossibility to begin with; but, the move was impressive as the large humanoid reptile corkscrewed upward around the branches, bursting through the dense canopy into a pristine azure sky.
He looked out over the land and saw the interface between forest and ruined city. Black water ran in a small meandering river through both areas, snaking off out over the horizon. By sight alone, searching out the Digi-Destined was a daunting task, but Psisauromon had an advantage; his mind could vaguely feel Joe and Mimi's thoughts from the west, in the ruins. Knifing the shield in a tight curve and sharp dive, he felt the mental presence of the two Digi-Destined becoming more distinct as he sailed toward a squat circular building near the forest edge. Psisauromon spiraled down slowly, and when he was about halfway to the ground, a shiny dot appeared, also heading for the building.
((Metaletemon again? I thought I tossed him far enough to keep him away for several hours! That monkey's faster than I thought...))
Clutching the barrier's edge, the green champion dropped like a stone, making small adjustments to direction as he bore down upon the expanding gleam.
CRACK! The stones under Metaletemon's feet shattered explosively as the kinetic energy of Psisauromon's dive transferred through the Chrome Digizoid body and blasted out a crater around the Mega monkey's feet.
Psisauromon had jumped off just before the collision, now standing between the marauding metallic monkey and the building where the Digi-Destined hid. Adopting the tiger stance as he faced his powerful opponent, Psisauromon burned silently, one ham-sized fist cocked at chest height, the other arched over his head to line up with the first.
Metaletemon smiled with his pearly-gold teeth glinting just as much as his body. "Sorry, but that don't impress me much." He gloated, slowly lashing his tail.
Psisauromon shrugged, waiting.
Puzzled by the lack of response, the Mega hesitated. "Aren't you going to cry 'help'?"
Again, the mute Psisauromon was silent.
"Well, Lizzy, You're in my way to that ol' greasy spoon, and a superstar like me don't take kindly to road blocks. Uh huh! METAL PUNCH!" Metaletemon swung at Psisauromon, overextending as the champion slid to the left and delivered a chop to the throat, a swift kick to the monkey's thigh, and finishing by grabbing Metaletemon's waist and hauling him head first into the pavement in a suplex.
The gleaming ape stood up, unscratched. "Nice work, if you can get it." He said, smiling and flexing. "But as you can see, this metal marvel can't be hurt!"
A flame-sheathed hand grabbed the Mega's flexed arm, pulling while a foot sweep knocked the feet out from under the monkey, sending him to the cobbles with a clatter.
Metaletemon rose again, dusting himself off dramatically. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"
((You talk too much.))
"Ah can't let the world be deprived of such a beautiful voice!"
((You're so vain. CORONA FLARE!))
The solar fires of Psisauromon burned higher and more hotly as they spiraled out to focus in a ray of inferno heat and intensity that engulfed Metaletemon in its fury. After letting the monkey bake for half a minute, Psisauromon let the fiery attack burn out and settle down to the normal flames that covered his head, hands, and feet.
Within the residual blaze, an irritatingly smug laugh rang out. "You're hot, but I'm already on fire, baby!" Metaletemon's shadow darkened in the fire as he walked out, still smiling and swinging his thin tail. "Maybe once I destroy the Digi-Destined, you'll join me on my comeback tour!" he sneered, "As a part of the freak show!"
((You give yourself far more credit than you're due! CORONA FLARE!))
Psisauromon wrapped himself in an aura of incandescent solar fire and charged, every running step melting the stones of the ruined city underfoot.
"Neither you nor the critics can burn a star!" Metaletemon grinned, "Especially when you're footloose! BANANA SLIP!"
"Say, what's that light outside?" Ogremon asked, flicking open the blinds with two green fingers. "Too early for sunset..."
"Sunlight?" Palmon asked curiously.
"Yeah, really bright." Ogremon rumbled, shading his eyes with the bone club he carries.
"Psisauromon, then." Gomamon shrugged, raising his flippers 'palm' up. "He's on our side, too."
"Really?" Ogremon said, "Never heard of him."
Metaletemon threw a banana peel under Psisauromon's feet, causing an instance loss of control. The champion's mass was not averted from the direction of the charge, keeping him sliding helplessly at Metaletemon.
"You're lucky!" the Mega grinned. "You're gonna help me bring down the house! METAL PUNCH!"
Unable to dodge, Psisauromon slid directly into the swing of Metaletemon's fist and caught the full force of the blow on his solar plexus.
Leomon's ear twitched as he heard something approaching the doors. "Hmm? It's Metaletemon!"
Psisauromon crashed through the doors, ripping them off the hinges and continuing over the heads of Gekomon, Palmon, and Gomamon.
((Company's here!))
Psisauromon sailed over the counter and slammed into the far wall. Green ichor oozed slowly from the nostril holes of his mask, a dark blemish on the otherwise gleaming metal headgear. Muted fires, barely lifting off his scales, burned slowly through the wooden doors.
"Amateur." Ogremon growled, surprisingly supported in this opinion by a nod from Leomon.
((Hey, I heard that!)) Psisauromon protested. ((I'm a far better fighter than that tin monkey, but he's a Mega! I think I did very well.)) His triangular eyes narrowed as he darkly added... ((Soon as that arm heals I'll show you just how good I am.))
"You? Hah!" Ogremon casually shattered four chairs and a table with a single swing of his club. "My Pummel Whack'll level you, scaly!"
((You think so, ugly?)) Psisauromon struggled to raise his head, and blew apart the bar with telekinesis as his empty eye flared white. ((I won't even use any attribute attacks to send you packing!))
"Metal head!"
((Fang face!))
"ENOUGH!" Leomon roared, staring down the two green champions as he placed his hand on his sword hilt. "There are enough problems without you two starting a new rivalry."
Metaletemon jumped in through the empty doorframe, flexing so he appeared to entirely fill the doorway. "That snake in the glass tried to pull the wool over my eyes, so Ah made it that the only thing he'll knit for a while is bones! Now let me lay it on the line, 'cause I'm so fine.
Leomon stepped forward, completely obscuring Psisauromon's sight. "Face me, then we shall see who is fine!" he growled. The room filled with light...
"Leomon Digivolve to... SABERLEOMON!"
The wire mesh over Psisauromon's left eye flashed into the analyzer screen.
Digimon Analyzer 3.0
Saberleomon
Level: Mega
Type: Data
Classification: Ancient Beast Digimon
Attacks:
Twin Fang: TL Medium. Mane fires needles: fast, difficult to avoid.
Howling Crusher: TL HIGH! Hybrid Energy/physical attack; uses steel paws to crush, quick and vicious.
Description:
This large cat possesses superior speed and agility. Attack strength is high, but current level of experience prevents full potential from being used. Digivolution unstable, amount of time Saberleomon is able to remain in Mega form varies. Very loyal, a noble and just warrior.
Saberleomon leapt through the wall of the old diner, his bristling mane swaying as he landed, waiting to spread Metaletemon's data over light years, into to the intergalactic void. Metaletemon came out through the door, flexing again and boasting about his power.
Inside, Psisauromon shakily rose to his feet. ((Ooh. Tender. Guess you broke a few ribs, you music mangler. Such an injury, however, will not stop me from fighting you.))
"Yes it will!" Mimi declared, rushing to Psisauromon's side. "You've done your part, now let someone fresh fight."
((But Mimi...))
"No buts!" Mimi said sternly, fearlessly grasping his burning hand and pulling the twelve-foot lizard to the side. "You're staying right here!"
Psisauromon sighed, a gust of air hissing from his nostrils. ((Yes, Mimi.)) He thought meekly.
Gomamon and Ogremon burst out laughing as Mimi bossed a champion more than three times bigger than herself to sit by the stairs of the dilapidated restaurant.
Glaring at the two, Psisauromon thought ((If you say ANYTHING, I'll Psi Shield you into next week!))
"Psisauromon, that's not nice!" Palmon said, shaking her head.
"Run, children!" Saberleomon growled, "Run before it's too late!"
"No, stay, and spare me the trouble of huntin' y'all down!" Metaletemon sneered, admiring his biceps.
"HOWLING CRUSHER!" Saberleomon pounced on Metaletemon, his paws shimmering like segmented rainbows.
"BANANA SLIP!" Metaletemon countered, throwing a peel into the glowing forefoot.
The Digital world seemed to come to a stop as the attacks met, a sort of a universal breath being held before a rapidly expanding white sphere of energy that blasted outward, whirling dust and smoke. The force tossed Saberleomon back to the stairs of the restaurant, and blew Metaletemon backwards, the metal monkey tucking and rolling, landing on his feet triumphantly. "The new style you can't beat me!" he taunted, laughing.
"I'm not gonna sit here and watch this!" Gomamon exclaimed. "Hey guys, wait for me!"
"Gomamon Digivolve to... IKAKKUMON!"
The huge shaggy walrus with red toenails took up a position flanking the Digi-Destined on the stairs.
Palmon put her tendrils on Mimi's shoulder. "Mimi, please let me fight with them!" she pleaded, looking with her fluid green eyes at her Digi-Destined. Mimi looked down at the Digivice she held in her brown glove, eyes full of fear for her friend Palmon. "Well? They need me! What should I do?"
"HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikakkumon bellowed.
"Wait!" Joe exclaimed, running up to Ikkakumon.
"What do you mean, wait?" Ikkakumon said, confused. "We've gotta help him out!"
"But don't you think we should leave, like he told us to?"
"But, Joe!" the champion protested. Psisauromon decided to tune out the rest of that conversation, as he wouldn't run. Not this time, when he had a choice. He could protect Mimi and Joe here, or run away and protect them from Metaletemon later on, if Saberleomon fell.
"TWIN FANG!" Saberleomon roared as he send multitudes of needles flying from his orange mane towards the arrogant Virus, who grinned inanely when the attack bounced harmlessly off him.
'Saberleomon can't stop Metaletemon unless he can use Howling Crusher.' Psisauromon thought to himself, getting to his feet and wincing as broken ribs shot pain into his brain.
Metaletemon laughed each little noise grating on Psisauromon's ear canals. "Is that your best shot?" he guffawed as he cracked his knuckles. "METAL PUNCH!" Running up, the monkey hopped and spun, slamming Saberleomon to the pavement with his butt, flattening the noble cat.
((Come on, I could've dodged that! Focus, mon, focus!))
"SHUT UP!" Ogremon snarled, turning to the gloating ape. "If you want a REAL challenge, it's right here!"
"Ogremon, don't be a fool!" Saberleomon said as he got back to his paws. "You're no match for him!"
"Hey, don't you tell me what to do! I can take on this tin can if I want to!"
A sudden pink streak and Mimi was at Ogremon's side, taking his hand. "You're in no shape to fight!" she said firmly. "Now stop this and stop trying to be a hero!"
((She's very gentle and caring, but not very realistic... Joe, maybe you could help her with that...)) Psisauromon widened his stance as he thought this directly to Joe and got ready to launch himself into round two.
"What?" came the brilliant response.
"Hey, everyone's welcome! When ya get together, it's easier to get y'all! In fact, little darlin', today Ah'm offering a group discount!" Metaletemon raised his finger in the air. "It saves me time to destroy alla you at once!"
The wire mesh on Psisauromon's faceplate went nuts as it spewed warnings about energy buildup directly into his optic nerve. ((LOOK OUT!))
Still grinning inanely, Metaletemon summoned a bolt of black electricity from the cloudless sky. From this point, events accelerated dramatically. Mimi looked up, saw the attack bearing down on her, and screamed in terror, stumbling backward.
"MIMI! NO!" Saberleomon jumped over the frightened girl to cover her from the attack in the fashion of a true hero.
Psisauromon, however, has different talents at his disposal. ((I got you, babe!))
((PSI SHIELD!))
The psychic barrier flashed into existence and roughly swept Mimi out from under the black bolt, but the big cat Digimon still caught the full blast in his sacrificial attempt to save the compassionate Digi-Destined. Saberleomon screamed as the ebony energy took its fatal toll on his program, a scream of pure agony that opened his mind to any telepath with the torment he felt. ((No... Saberleomon... There wasn't any need...)) The black bolt hung the valiant Mega in the air for several seconds until the very end of the attack, then let him fall heavily on his side.
On the mirror-bright faceplate, Psisauromon's final crest, the crest of Justice, began to glow...
"That does it!" Joe yelled, pulling out his Digivice.
"Ikkakumon Digivolve to... ZUDOMON!"
((I agree!)) Psisauromon thought, eyes blazing.
((Psisauromon Digivolve too...
The three crests engraved in Psisauromon's mask shone like spotlights as the faceplate separates into the component crests, now revealed as the elongated octagons that the rest of the Digi-Destined wear. They fly outward of their own initiative, circling about Psisauromon in the points of an equilateral triangle that hover just above the ground.
The silver Digivice leapt off the Reptoid's waistband and flew over his head.
"Level two, upgrade initialize." An unknown feminine voice calmly intoned as three rays of light emerged from the Digivice and struck the three crests, in turn re-emitting the beams as multicolored energy that bathe Psisauromon in rainbow hues. The shifting colors formed into a triangular pyramid that spun about the champion, focusing power.
Psisauromon's face is exactly the same as the mask that covered it. No mouth, only two nostrils between the large scales of the reptilian face. The fires that normally covered him extinguished suddenly with the narrowing of his eyes then burst out between his shoulder blades, flaring out like wings, fiery phoenix wings that turned into large masses of bone and membrane.
Psisauromon grew, brown pants bulging and ripping at the seams as his body expanded to immensity. Neck and head stretched out as if taffy, a mouth splitting the blank face, and filling with nasty, pointed metal teeth. The elongated head tapered to a rounded point; out of the back of the skull grew a bone frill. The eerily empty right eye was replaced by one of brilliant silver, the other remaining gleaming gold.
Starting from the back of the neck and moving down the swelling back, a single row of curved spines emerged among the thickening scales. A long, flat, serrated and segmented tail flows out behind the Digivolving shape, lashing at the earth and leaving deep gouges. Rearing up on sturdy hind legs and balancing on his tail, Psisauromon reveals an underbelly of pale yellow serpentine scutes that outline an impressively muscular human-like torso. Hands and feet morph into claw-tipped appendages that flex in anticipation of battle as the new Digimon roars, unleashing a great gout of flame that illuminates the heavens.
The pyramid of crests and Digivice fly apart, the crests changing shape again, growing as they streak toward Benjamon's ultimate, striking wings and chest. Flowing like mercury across the extended wings, the crests of Honor and Justice coat the delicate-seeming structures with armor; on his chest, the crest of Compassion forms bands of Chrome Digizoid plating that clank into place along the scutes, then moves to cover the outer appendages with living metal. The field of rainbow color vanishes, revealing the blood red scales and silver armor of...
"DRAGUDRAMON!"
Towering a full sixty feet above the battlefield, the Dramon grinned toothily at Metaletemon, who momentarily had a thought about the mortality of any substance, even the sturdy Chrome Digizoid.
Digimon Analyzer
Dragudramon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Classification: Sun Dragon Digimon
This is what I locked away by honor, justice, and compassion. Benjamon had to become worthy of the power Dragudramon possesses, for, like Altoids, it is curiously strong. The Bio-mechanical armor responds to thought, amplifying strength, speed, and durability. This is especially important on the undercarriage, where the scales are weaker and could be prone to the 'Smaug' effect. The line of Benjamon's Digivolutions are the guardians of light; solar energy again burns hotly in his attacks, and 'Dragon Slicer' uses talons and tail to cleave away an opponent's life.
-Drowzee1
"Check me out! I'm HUGE!" Dragudramon chortled, bending down and snatching Metaletemon in his scimitar claws. "You wanted me to join your show, Superfreak? Here's my answer! DRAGON INFERNO!" The red dragon strafed the city with a wave of fire from his mouth, turning several blocks into molten rubble. He smashed the struggling Mega into the concrete and brought his head down until the large silver eye looked straight into the shades. "You feelin' hot, hot, hot?"
"Saberleomon!" Mimi cried, putting her head next to that of the fallen cat. "Say something! Please tell me you're all right!"
"Grrr... That damn dirty ape!" Zudomon growled, hefting his hammer as the monkey applied a Metal Punch to the giant Dramon's jaw that merely made the head recoil on the lengthy neck.
"VULCAN'S HAMMER!" Smashing his mallet to the ground, Zudomon generated a force ray that the arrogant Metaletemon took between the ideograms on his chest, not even shaking the hideous gold medallion that hung from his neck.
"That didn't even phase me! You see, my body's made of Chrome Digizoid, the absolute strongest metal there is!" Metaletemon strutted slowly toward the fallen Saberleomon. "What's new, pussy cat? Don't bother with dirty looks, Ah don't have a guilty conscience about sendin' you to that great cat box in the sky!"
"Question. What is your obsession with destroying the Digi-Destined?" Dragudramon interrupted as he popped his jaw back into place. "Given that you're the minority, and this is your eve of destruction, perhaps you could give me something for your epitaph."
The ape stopped in his tracks, thrilled to have the chance to hear his own voice. "Why not? Doesn't really matter when Ah destroy you, and you can't get the best of me; Ah suppose Ah could tell about myself again." He enthusiastically launched into a second poorly sung explanation of his defeat by Metalgreymon and subsequent rebirth as the mighty Metaletemon. Meanwhile, Dragudramon slowly bent down put his hands about the Mega. "And that's why Ah am the way Ah am!" Metaletemon triumphantly concluded, ignoring the look of extreme boredom on Ogremon's mug.
"Really..." Dragudramon tried to stifle a yawn. "Oh, one more thing. We haven't been properly introduced. So... Hello, goodbye!" he slammed his hands around Metaletemon, but the ape jumped out just before his palms crashed together!
"Ha, ha! U can't touch this!" Metaletemon crowed, running a hand over his metal hair. "Was that your last resort, you pathetic losers?"
"DRAGON SLICER!" Dragudramon spun rapidly, his bladed tail blurring. It cut through the ruins, tearing up old buildings and foundations like wet tissue paper. Sparks coruscated from the sudden contact between tail and Metaletemon's ankles, knocking the feet out from under the vicious virus with a metallic scream.
"Why you...you ruined my finish!" Metaletemon shouted, jumping back to his feet, his tail lashing furiously.
"Yeah, I got a line on you... By the way, Mmmbop!" Dragudramon's right foot came down on Metaletemon, pushing the Mega into the ground. "Since you'll never surrender, you're life's goal will remain incomplete."
"Ah'm far too tough to be defeated!" the Elvis impersonator retorted, pushing back up against the weighty load.
"What are you doing?!" Joe demanded, his voice quaking with rage. "Don't play with him! He's a killer!"
"Yeah, and of all the small things he did, taking down Saberleomon puts me into a mood to BREAK THINGS!" Ogremon bellowed, ducking in under the huge foot. "Leomon's MY RIVAL! PUMMEL WHACK! PUMMEL WHACK! PUMMEL WHACK!" even injured, Ogremon's fighting spirit and rage were undiminished as he delivered slam after vicious slam with his club. Metaletemon's body rang like a bell with each savage stroke, but the Chrome Digizoid Mega didn't even scratch!
"Disappointed?" Metaletemon said, holding up Dragudramon's foot with all of his strength. "Ah am a tower of power! Nothing you do can really hurt this beautiful Chrome Digizoid!"
"Well, let me try, then!" Zudomon grinned under his orange facial hair. "VULCAN'S HAMMER!" rather than using his claw hammer to make the force beam, Zudomon hurled his heavy weapon at the trapped monkey. The mallet spun in under the pressing foot and impacted Metaletemon between the pectoral muscles with the point of the claw. The sudden stress broke through the Chrome Digizoid, a network of cracks forming in Metaletemon's chest as the hammer bounced out and flew back to Zudomon's hand.
Looking down, Metaletemon gaped dumbly at the rapidly expanding fissures in his once flawless body. "No! It's impossible! Why does this keep happening to me?" he cried in fear.
"Because my hammer is also made of Chrome Digizoid!" This time it was the Digi-Destined's time to gloat, and gloat Zudomon did; this was surprising, given the seemingly limited range of emotions and expressions that composed his repertoire.
"And now, just like an aluminum can can be stood on until you dent the sides..." Dragudramon chuckled and set his full weight on Metaletemon's stressed structure. The cracks widened dramatically, and pieces began to fall out. The more Metaletemon struggled to get free, the faster his end came. "And I think being ground into the dirt is entirely appropriate for you, who sought to place yourself as the best Digimon; whose ascension was made by stepping on the backs of others, and who tried to live up to the enormous ego made in the process..."
"You can't destroy me!"
"Oh, but we can! Karma, karma...Or, what goes around, comes around, bigger, nastier, and with teeth you wouldn't believe!" Metaletemon broke apart, legs and torso crumbling under the draconic pressure and torsion Dragudramon exerted, twisting his foot as one would do when thoroughly crushing an ant or other undesirable creature. Finally, only the head remained of the once-mighty Mega, and Dragudramon pulled back his foot to look at the shattered visage. "Well..."
"Ah swear Ah'll kill you! Ah swear..."
"HOWLING CRUSHER!" A glowing paw wrapped about the head, and smashed it into data dust that swirled away on the winds. Saberleomon shone brilliantly, and then returned to Leomon.
"He did it!" Joe exclaimed, as Leomon went from standing to falling flat on his muzzle without even buckling at the knees, a sudden collapse from extreme exhaustion and damage.
Mimi began to cry, sparkling tears flowing down her smooth cheeks as she ran to Leomon's side, hair flying back behind her. "Leomon!"
Zudomon returned to Gomamon, and Dragudramon to Benjamon. "He fought with all his heart... Maybe we should do him the honor of getting him face up?" Gomamon said somberly, too depressed by the impending loss of a friend to make up a joke.
Ogremon set down his club. "Let me. None of you guys has the strength to pick up this sack of cat hair." The usual edge to his voice was gone, and his blue eyes were soft, looking oddly like Mimi's. He grabbed Leomon's limp arm, and hauled his age-old foe up to his shoulder. Together, the rivals moved slowly to the stairs of the diner, Ogremon growling at anyone who tried to help. Finally, Ogremon set Leomon down gently so that the lion could see everyone...
"Leomon? It's me, Mimi!" "Come on!" "Yeah, wake up!" A crowd of voices vying for the fallen champion's attention.
Joe, however, looked forlornly at his dufflebag, tears brimming behind his glasses. "Ace bandages and toilet paper won't help this time!" he moaned, lifting the bag and hurling it down the stairs. Benjamon vanished from Leomon's side; his hand guards a silver streak as he moved and caught the bag before it touched the ground.
"Baka Joe!" Benjamon barked. "You don't know how right you are... The only reason Leomon's still holding together is sheer willpower. He's got nothing else left!"
"How do you know?"
"These glasses don't lie!" Benjamon reached into the bag, and took out a carefully wrapped package. "These smell right. Anyway, we've got a wild card. Peacemon's roses seem to be a universal elixir, and Leomon has shown himself to be worthy of saving." He gingerly removed a light pink rose and placed it on Leomon's chest.
"That little rose can keep Leomon alive?" Ogremon tapped the delicate blossom with a gnarled green finger.
"Put me back together after I got smashed by Puppetmon."
"Huh."
On exhausted muscles, the rose bloomed, petals unfolding and spreading out. Pollen spread around Leomon smelling of summer days, cantaloupe, and the combined scent of thousands of pink roses and carnations.
Incoming Message.
"What now?" Benjamon wondered silently as Peacemon, the cannabis plant smoking a joint, appeared on his lenses like they were a television screen.
"Hey, mon! What's the deal with using a rose on a Digimon past help?" the image transmitted text directly to the lens.
"Past help? I was in far worse condition when you healed me!"
Mimi looked up from the rose. "Who are you talking to?"
"He's burned inside, lotta black energy trashed this cat. I can only do the good mojo if I've got something to work on!" Peacemon answered.
"Just a moment, Mimi! Leomon's sticking around through force of mind, can't you use that?"
"It's not just will power, it's destiny!"
"What?"
"Benjamon!" this time, Joe was looking at him. "Nothing's happening!"
"Hold on! I'm trying to think or something! Peacemon, he's destined to reconfigure here?"
"Mon, it's like... Fate over mind over matter. Far out."
"Listen, pipsqueak! You saying that Leomon's dying even with this miracle flower mumbo jumbo?" Ogremon's club came uncomfortably close to Benjamon's head.
"What? No! I mean, yes! Peacemon, can't you do anything? A suggestion, even!"
"I can suggest something, sure."
"What is it?
"PUMMEL WHACK!"
"DUCK, MON!"
Benjamon dropped to his knees as Ogremon's bone club whistled overhead.
"Do I have your attention now, kid?" the virus snarled. "What's going on?"
"Ye...yes." Benjamon answered to the looming green champion. "Peacemon says that the rose can't help because Leomon's been fried on the inside."
"Bah! I knew this wouldn't work!" Grabbing the rose, Ogremon shredded the gentle flower and threw the mangled pulp away.
Mimi started to cry again, and Joe's eyes lost hope.
"Peacemon!" Benjamon started to say, but the image was gone.
Leomon's chest rose... "The forest..." he rasped. "The forest is disappearing!"
Everyone looked back towards the woods, which were now sliding away with a low rumble as the forest disappeared to be reconfigured.
"It's a sign something positive has happened." Leomon quietly continued. "Your friends must have defeated Puppetmon. That's good... I expected that they would."
Benjamon returned the three remaining roses to Joe's bag and set it gently by the steps. He walked off, staring as the last of the forest vanished on Infinity Mountain. He was upset about the loss of Leomon, but if this was part of the Destiny he had tried to interfere with... He again thought of the line of balance between the light and the dark. His attempt to use the rose was rejected by Destiny; clearly this fight, saving Mimi, and what Leomon was saying now had been the purpose of the Lion by Fate, the rest of his life was only a buildup to this point. Ogremon, too, was manipulated. By forcing Leomon to fight again and again, Ogremon was Destiny's tool to make the lion strong enough to save Mimi at that single point in time. Benjamon was no longer needed here; he was, in fact, no longer needed anywhere. Again, he was an outside chance, a roll of the dice that could result in success or failure for the Digi-Destined, and more likely, Life and Death.
Did he really think that he could force Fate's hand to the desired outcome of saving the Digi-Destined and defeating the Dark Masters? A single tear that burned like fire emerged from his eye, scalding its way down his face. "I don't belong." He whispered quietly. "And I don't want to die... I don't want them to die, either... I guess I just need to get away from them, go somewhere where I won't be a danger to whatever Destiny wants from them."
"Hey! Benjamon!" Gomamon called. "We're going!"
Benjamon shook his head slowly. "No." he murmured, not turning to look.
"Come on!" Palmon added. "We're going to find Allies to help fight the Dark Masters!"
"Benjamon Digivolve to... PSISAUROMON!))
"That's the spirit!" Joe said. "Shouldn't you save your strength, though?"
((I'm not coming with you.)) Psisauromon turned to face the expectant faces, which suddenly fell off with a nearly audible crash.
"Why? After you say you're pledged to protect us, you abandon us?" Mimi said, her voice as trembling as a bird song.
((I don't want to...))
"Then let's go!" Ogremon snapped. "Or do I have to beat you until you agree?"
((I have to go. I'm a danger to you all. I tried to fool myself into thinking that I can only be helpful, but now that Leomon's dead because of your Destiny...))
"WHAT?"
((I realize that my help could just as easily be your destruction. What if I'd hit Saberleomon with that Psi Shield, and deleted him on the spot? My crest wouldn't have glowed, and Zudomon would have had to face Metaletemon alone! Your Destiny as the Digi-Destined is powerful, but if I bump things the wrong way...))
"But you'd..." Mimi began.
Psisauromon held up a burning hand. ((Please, don't. I must say good bye here, because at least we're all still alive to hear it. Keep the roses, and remember me from time to time. I'm going to find the others and tell them the same; I want to see you all... One last time.)) ((PSI SHIELD!))
When the psychic platform appeared, Psisauromon stepped onto it lightly, and began to rise. ((One more thing. Ogremon?))
"Whadda you want, traitor?"
((I'll ignore that. But if you let Joe or Mimi come to harm, I'll hunt you down and cut their pain out of your hide. Consider that a friendly little warning.))
With that, Psisauromon flew out of sight, just a spirit in the sky.
*elvician: adj. Pertaining to, reminiscent of, or relating to Elvis.
-Drowzee1's book O' new words