Cavecat:
Barbamon's appearance is basically that of a miser, a greedy old man, which Michael Barbera pretty much was. In Beelzemon's case, absorbing data pretty much meant that he "ate" his victims. Daemon is a fire Digimon, so that's why Wrath/Anger fits him so well.
I'll give you some hints as to the other Demon Lords:
Envy: It poisons your very being and you become so entwined with another person that you cease being yourself. For this reason, Envy is very serpentine/reptilian in nature.
Sloth: It's associated with goats.
Lust: The only female Demon Lord, as Duo said, she is Lilithmon. She's also a partner to a Guard Tamer in my other fics.
Pride: The Warriors have killed this Digimon in the past. He wants payback.
Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon, and Nintendo owns Pokemon. Some Digimon used in this fic belong to me. Some reviewers have contributed the following characters.
Metal Devidramon - Ninetalesuk
Skyemon - Gijinka Renamon
Socramon - Cavecat
By: RB3
Chapter 17: A Tale of Two Riots, part 2
The head officer received orders from the bureaucrat at the head of the police force. "This has gone on for long enough. Send the SWAT teams in now!"
"...But sir, we haven't heard the demands of the Digimon yet. I can't send..." objected the head officer.
"I don't care what those Digimon want. Send the teams in now! That's an order!" commanded the bureaucrat.
The SWAT teams assembled outside of the gate to the ANN studios in preparation to storm it. The men sawed the lock off of the front gate and proceeded to swarm onto the grounds of the ANN studios. From a window on the top floor of the ANN office building, Kazemon spotted the black-clad men taking firing positions. Kazemon used her Spirits' powers to warn the others through telepathy. The Warrior of Wind cast a glance at the ANN workers frozen to the wall of the room. With them trapped like that, she had no worries about interference as she went outside to engage the SWAT teams.
The SWAT teams captured the unoccupied visitors' centre and proceeded to the other buildings from there. The other Warriors and Digimon, left with no choice but to act, took to the outside to meet the SWAT teams. The black-clad men spotted Lobomon as he exited the door to studio two. "Drop your weapon, punk!"
Lobomon said nothing as he dared the SWATs to attack with a crook of his hand. The SWATs took the bait and opened fire on him with their assault rifles. In a burst of preternatural speed, Lobomon somersaulted backwards onto the roof of studio two. As he shot into the sky, Lobomon picked off three of the SWATs with Howling Laser bolts. The SWATs soon realized what had happened and adjusted their aim, only to have two more of their men picked off as Lobomon returned to the ground.
As he advanced, he bobbed and weaved his way around the bullets while deflecting others with his double-bladed sword. Once in close quarters, Lobomon sliced off the barrel of an assault rifle before slashing the owner across the chest. The Warrior of Light kicked a second man with the speed of his element before spinning around, stabbing a third in the stomach and somersaulting onto studio two's roof. The last two SWATs opened fire as Lobomon, cartwheeled out of harm's way and leapt, tagging the last two in midair.
Agunimon ambushed some hapless SWATs as they crossed by the facade of studio one. He dropped from the studio's roof behind the last man in the chain and promptly took him out with one chop to the back of the neck. The second last SWAT noticed his buddy fall but Agunimon had already pounced on him, sending him flying backwards like a ball shot out of a cannon. The others saw the human projectile as he crashed into the ground and regrouped to fight the Warrior of Fire. True to his namesake, Agunimon tossed a fist full of flame which ignited their clothes and terrified them into running around in a panic.
With the SWATs scattering around in panic, Agunimon easily cut each of them down. He delivered a splendid display of martial arts prowess and finished the last man with a flying kick to the head. Everywhere on the studio grounds, the SWATs were being slaughtered by the Warriors and the Digimon in both the proverbial and literal sense. The police barricading the studios soon realized this as Agunimon came into view as he fought SWAT officers. The furious Warrior kicked one of the men so hard that it sent him flying towards the barricades.
The police vacated their car as the SWAT crashed into it with a thud. The window cracked under the pressure and the door now sported a permanent, man-shaped dent thanks to the human cannonball. "Holy shit!" commented one of the officers as he examined the scene.
Surprisingly, the SWAT was still alive, but severely injured and in need of medical attention. As the police set out to help him, the battle raged on. A sniper on the fifth floor of the overlooking building managed to get the Warrior of Wind, Kazemon, in his sights. The sniper squeezed off a shot aimed for her head, but Kazemon suddenly moved her head out of the way. The sniper aimed a second round which Kazemon dodged by banking right. In retaliation, she fired a Hurricane Wave which smashed through the building and overwhelmed the sniper.
After pummelling the sniper with kicks, Kazemon's finished by punting the man out of the window. Below, the paramedics were in the middle of taking the wounded SWAT away on a stretcher. The sniper landed on top of the same squad car that broke the first SWAT's flight. The sniper hit the car with a thud, cracking the windshield and making a dent on the roof. The cops were surprised and terrified at the same time as they watched their comrade groan in pain on the roof. Fortunately for him, the roof actually saved him by breaking his fall. More paramedics rushed onto the scene to tend to the newly wounded man.
As the Warriors kept the police at bay, Chakkumon and Betsumon were preparing Demi Wisemon's footage for the whole world to see. They played the footage of the incident at the Central Bank inauguration, right until the ending where Barbamon was exposed and attacked the Warriors. The footage ended there, as Demi Wisemon had to send the reporter away in light of the dangers posed in fighting Barbamon. Betsumon added a few touches of his own to hammer the message into the minds of the world. He added scrolling blurbs on the bottom.
They stated who Michael Barbera really was, as well as his crimes. After the footage, Betsumon displayed copies of documents he had secretly acquired as damning proof. The first was a loan contract for a hundred billion dollars in funding for war against the Digital World. The signatories were Michael Barbera and US President Walker. Following the loan document were a series of documents, bugged conversations, and communiqués between Walker and various people, including the head of the National Bureau of Extra-dimensional Investigation or NBEI.
NBEI was a newly created agency to investigate and deal with threats that originated from beyond the known world. In its inception, the agency had assimilated the research team that had created the first dimensional gate. In particular, it was created to deal with threats that came from the Digital World after its undisclosed discovery by those investigating Lucemon's attempt to enter the Real World. In the communiqué, the Walker government ordered the NBEI to leave portals open, in effect, allowing Digimon to enter the world freely.
His evidence was corroborated by a taped conversation where Walker promised Barbera that he would allow Digimon in to attack the US. Since Barbera knew about the open portals and was a powerful Digimon, it was easy for his underlings to come through and attack the US. The President had, in effect, admitted his complicity in this crime with his promise to open the portals. Betsumon looped the evidence over and over as Chakkumon watched it scroll by on TV for the fourth and then a fifth time. The longer this evidence played out on national TV, the more Americans would see it and become outraged.
Betsumon punched in some commands on his console. "I'm leaving this on permanent loop. We've done our bit here. It's time to leave!"
Chakkumon nodded before contacting the others. "Okay guys, we're done. Let's go home!"
Agunimon chimed in through the Spirits of Ice. "Yeah, on my way. Meet you back at the Rose Morning Star!"
The situation in the Digital World had deteriorated rapidly in the last few days. Everywhere, Digimon were maiming and killing American soldiers by the dozen. The American Coalition was rapidly losing ground to Digimon resistance and it was only a matter of time before the Digimon drove the Americans out completely. Many marines had died and American morale was plummeting like a rock. After seeing how fiercely the Digimon fought to defend their homes, it had sown an undercurrent of doubt. The realization dawned on the Americans that they were not here to stop invaders, but were the invaders themselves.
An American marine came home to his quarters in an American military base. This marine, James Layfield, was the son of Nelson Layfield. He was a lightly muscular blond that was barely out of his teens. He wore the mottled green camouflage uniform of the American marines and had a crew cut which was covered by a cap. This young man approached his cot, which had a trunk decorated by several American flags. He dumped his cap on the cot and sat down to rest. It was a hard day and the Digimon were getting ever more ferocious as time went on.
At the other end of the room, other marines were crowded around one of the techies for his unit. James walked over. "What's going on here?"
"Look at this!" said the techie.
James Layfield turned his sights to the laptop on the techie's lap, which had displayed Betsumon's ANN video. The video had spread across the internet like a virus mere hours after being displayed on TV. It was nothing compared to the bitterness and rage that had swept across the US. Everywhere, protests sprang up in opposition to the President and the war in the Digital World. In the nation's capital, hundreds and thousands of furious people marched to the White House in protest. At first a peaceful demonstration, things soon took an ugly turn.
Riot police began their march on the protesters, brandishing their batons threateningly as they kept their shields ready. The protesters met the police head on as neither side was willing to back down. Chaos filled the streets as the confrontation escalated into all-out violence. The people took to throwing whatever objects they could find as a measure of resistance. Stones and Molotov cocktails rained on the police as they hid behind their shields for fear of injury. Those on the immediate front lines took whatever they could find and used them as crude weapons to bludgeon the police.
On and on the battle went with seemingly no end in sight. More than fifteen minutes into the riot, a limo sped out of the White House with its unknown occupants. The people spotted their officials fleeing from retribution and gave pursuit. Stones pinged the chassis of the armoured limo which the occupants could clearly hear from within. Molotov cocktails shattered on the roof, spilling their flaming concoction and igniting a small fire. The limo soon outran its attackers, who continued to throw objects its way. The rioters screamed every curse and profanity known to man as the limo sped away to safety.
As similar riots consumed the once glorious USA, the conspirators continued their plotting. Somewhere hidden in the Real World, a dark, golden aura of light appeared in a darkened meeting room. This golden aura was Barbamon's projection, and within minutes, it was joined by a green, red, orange, light blue, and dark blue aura of light. These auras represented each of the Demon Lords. Barbamon had some heavy explaining to do to his peers after the incident at Michael Barbera's inauguration.
"Barbamon, you are a moron!" screamed the red aura, Daemon. "This is all your fault!"
"It wasn't my fault! Those damn Warriors ruined everything!" cried Barbamon.
"No excuses! If I didn't need you to revive Lord Lucemon, I'd have killed you long ago!"
"If you want to start something, Daemon, be my guest!" cried Barbamon in return.
"Boys, boys, behave now," interjected a sultry female voice which came from the light blue aura.
"Don't patronize me, Lilithmon!" retorted Daemon. "If you spent more time helping us instead of spreading your legs, Lord Lucemon would have returned long ago!"
"Tsk, tsk, Daemon, you should know that a bad temper leads to excess wrinkles..." said Lilithmon. "When Lord Lucemon makes his new world, I'll be the one who ensures that it's filled by those loyal to him."
"Enough you two! What is the condition of our Lord?" asked a serpentine voice from the green aura.
As though on cue, a spotlight shined on a small, robotic Digimon. The Digimon was no taller than the height of a human's knee. His body was shaped like a pill with one half being a clear dome that housed circuitry within. The other half was both the Digimon's grotesque face and body. His face had a mouth with jagged teeth and a cracked opening for a fleshy, organic left eye. The Digimon had metal cables for limbs and mechanical hands and feet. This creature was Datamon, the one who had freed his master Barbamon from imprisonment in another Digital World.
"Lord Lucemon's new body will be ready within three weeks' time," announced Datamon. "As a stopgap measure, we've found a human child who could hold our..."
"That will be enough, Datamon," interjected a new voice, which resounded as though two individuals spoke in synchronization.
The speaker walked into the room and the darkness seemed to part to reveal his face. He was Ash Ketchum, but not the Ash everyone knew and loved. Ash now sported a distinguished cloth jumpsuit that was white on its right half and black and its left half with matching boots. On his chest was a Pokeball emblem that followed the pattern of his uniform, only the colours were reversed. Draped over his shoulder was a violet cloak and his belt had a set of six black and white Pokeballs containing unknown Pokemon. The most telling difference was in his eyes. Instead of childish exuberance, it showed timeless knowledge mixed with endless arrogance.
The Demon Lords recognized the voice of their master, Lucemon, intermingled with Ash's. "Hail Lord Lucemon!"
"My Lord, I hope you are well," said the dark blue aura in a lethargic, deferential tone.
"I am well, Belphemon," replied Ash/Lucemon. "What is the status of our operations?"
"My lord, my deepest apologies but the situation has grown worse," admitted Beelzemon. "Due to Barbamon's incompetence, he has been exposed on national TV. Riots are breaking out everywhere in the United States and our pawns are losing control."
"Incompetence? I didn't see any of you lifting a finger to help me stop the Warriors! I had to do it all myself!" retorted Barbamon. "That's beside the point. I clearly remember a certain pair of Digimon having the Warriors in their grasp, yet still failed to eliminate them..."
"Barbamon if you say anymore, I swear I will kill you!" screamed Daemon.
"Enough!" screamed Ash/Lucemon.
The room fell silent before the green aura decided to introduce an idea. "This turmoil may help us more than we realize. Why don't we take advantage of it?"
After their daring exposure of Michael Barbera on TV, the Warriors took a rare opportunity to rest in preparation for the road ahead. It was a welcome opportunity to relax as the Digimon and the American people began to fight to take control of the struggle against the Demon Lords. The Warriors gathered in the Rose Morning Star's mess hall for lunch. The mess hall was well lit by the rose-coloured hue cast by the Rose Morning Star. The smells from the kitchen filled the air, as did the intermingled chatter from local Digimon patrons.
Takuya sat at one table with Zoe, Shinya, and JP. "Hey Zoe, would you like some chocolate for dessert?" asked JP.
"Oh hey, that would be nice!" replied Zoe, as she took JP's chocolate bar and placed it on her table. She returned to eating her lasagne.
JP saw this as his chance. "You know what else would be nice? You and me going to that sushi bar near where my house, say, after we're done in the Digital World..."
"Blech, you're actually asking a girl out?" asked Shinya offhandedly. "What's so interesting about girls anyway?"
Zoe was livid. "It's just like you immature boys to say that!"
"Well, what do you say?" asked JP.
"Sounds nice, but I have other plans..." replied Zoe.
Shinya chuckled. "See, what I mean. I don't know what you see in girls, JP..."
"You know, when you're older, you'll find girls very interesting too," said Takuya.
"Nah, not going to happen," said Shinya. "All they do is play with their little dollies. What's there to like about them?"
"Oh, I'm sure there's a lot to like in a girl..." said Takuya as he glanced over to Zoe. "Right Zoe?"
Zoe turned beat red from embarrassment. "Uh yeah, right..."
At another table nearby, the trainers ate their food with their Pokemon, as well as Misty and Tommy. Their table was the most densely populated due to the number of Pokemon that all the trainers carried around. They had to occupy a second table in order to have enough room to accommodate everyone. Each of the Pokemon happily ate a dish filled with morsels of Brock's own special Pokemon food. Unlike the Pokemon, Misty was quite depressed and pensive.
"It's Ash isn't it?" asked Brock.
"Yeah," replied Misty. "Just when I finally make my move, they come along and ruin everything..." Misty glanced at Pikachu who had the same sentiments as his caretaker.
"Don't be sad," said Tommy, who popped a morsel of food into Pikachu's mouth. The electric mouse seemed to light up with joy. "All of us want to find him just as much as you do. We'll find Ash. The Demon Lords can't hide him forever." Misty smiled faintly and nodded silently.
"Hey Tommy, I've always wondered... Is the Tommy burger named after you?" asked May.
"Yeah it is," admitted Tommy. "I'm sort of embarrassed that they named a burger after me. I guess I'm sort of famous because of that."
"Cool!" remarked May. "How did you get the burger named after you?"
"We helped some Burgermon whose father was kidnapped by Petal Dramon's Chamelemon," replied Tommy.
"Petal Dramon? Chamelemon?" asked May.
"It wasn't you May, it was the last Digimon who had the Spirits of Wood. The Chamelemon are lizard Digimon that can blend in with their surroundings. We had to make a new burger to rescue the Burgermon's father. I came up with the best flavour, but it was sort of by accident."
"By accident?" asked Max.
"Yeah, I dropped my onions into Zoe's salad dressing. When I went to taste them, that's how I discovered the new flavour," admitted Tommy.
"Makes sense, these burgers do taste like salad dressing mixed with onions," said Max.
"Did you rescue the Burgermon's father?" asked May.
"Oh yeah, we did," replied Tommy. "He was so happy that he named the burger after me."
"Wow, that's so awesome!" chimed May. "You and the other Warriors must have had so many adventures together!"
"Yeah, we did a lot of things that none of us ever dreamed we would do," replied Tommy.
An announcement speaker ringed as it came on. "Warriors, please come to my chamber as soon as lunch is over!" requested Cherubimon.
"Sounds like something important," commented Max.
After lunch, the Warriors and trainers gathered at Cherubimon's audience chamber. "Warriors, I have the results of the tests that my followers took on the new creatures. They're just like the Goldman. They were once humans before they turned into monsters."
"Well that wasn't a surprise," admitted Max.
Cherubimon proceeded to narrate some basic information on the creatures. The lizard woman was known as a "Green-Eyed Monster," a creatures that grew from the sin of Envy. The Green-Eyed Monster would be correctly called a chimera as it was made from the parts of different humans. Primarily dependent on agility in battle, she was also as adept in the water as she was on land. The Green-Eyed Monster used acidic poison as her main weapon from a distance. In close quarters, this creature could bite with her snake heads and slash with her claws. This creature had a great vulnerability to electricity.
The ashes and demonic bones came from a creature known as a Ragefire, a human who was cursed by the sin of Wrath. This creature was arguably the most vicious and violent of all the Sinners. He was a creature that was wreathed in flames, making it very dangerous to touch and engage in hand-to-hand combat. The Ragefire used its claws as its primary weapons, which were enhanced by its flaming body. Ragefires could also breathe fire over longer distances. Once in battle Ragefires will continue to attack until they kill their enemies or they die. This creature hated water and ice more than anything else as they could extinguish its flames.
The last creature was the human with a plant growing from his body. The creature was known as a Sleepwalker literally, as the plant growing on the body controlled the sleeping human like a puppet. Sleepwalkers were humans cursed by the sin of Sloth. They attacked by lashing out with thorny vines and shooting thorns like bullets. Sleepwalkers had great regenerative powers and could restore severed limbs in a matter of seconds. Despite these strengths, Sleepwalkers were vulnerable to extremes in temperature and were highly flammable.
"Hmm," mumbled Max. "If we ever bump into these guys again, we'll know how to beat them."
"I also bring very bad news," said Cherubimon. "The Demon Lords have unleashed their servants upon the United States of America. They are destroying in their path. Betsumon has more details, I'll put him on."
Betsumon's image appeared before the assembly. "Hey guys, nice to see ya. I hope you're all alright because America is now becoming one big hell hole. Have a look."
The riots across the United States had turned into a full blown rebellion in some parts of the country. Night had fallen and came to life in cities far from the capital. Many young men and women took to the streets on their way the various local clubs and bars. The people enjoyed their city's nightlife unaware of what was about to happen. All seemed fine until an obese Caucasian man made his way to a bar called the "Brass Tankard." He sat before the bartender and ordered a round of beer for himself.
In a few moments, a new chaos was about to arise from that of the people's revolt. At that moment, the man froze as though having received a command from a higher power. He grew to enormous proportions; far larger and more obese than any normal human could ever be. His skin became bronzed and his face rounded and turned to that of a pig. The man began to drool uncontrollably, covering his body in filth. The porcine creature magically created a massive bloody meat cleaver in his hands and turned to the other patrons with hungry eyes.
"Mmmm, fresh!" said the creature with a squealing, inhuman voice, before it began the slaughter.
Panic set into the patrons who immediately fled as quickly as their legs could carry them. The porcine demon snatched the slower men and women and proceeded to pop them into his mouth as though they were food. This demon, this Cannibal, stuffed his face with anything he could grab. He smashed through the facade of the bar, dripping puddles of goo on his way out. It threw a terrified woman into his mouth and swallowed her whole. The bystanders outside panicked and fled once the Cannibal advanced on them. It caught a man who had tripped and proceeded to throw him into its mouth and swallow.
Elsewhere in town, further horrors were about to be unleashed. A pair of women walked down the street on their way home from a shopping trip when they met a male friend and stopped for conversation. "Oh, hi Tim!" said the first woman.
"Hi, Becky," replied Tim. "Taking Marie out for some shopping?"
"Yeah, shop 'til you drop!" replied Becky.
Marie smiled and put her arm around Becky. The mousy Marie moved behind and put her hands on Becky's jeans, feeling her hips through them. "Mmm, Becky you have very nice genes..."
"Uh, thanks Marie..." said Becky who was discomforted by Marie's odd behaviour.
Marie purred. "Your genes are so great. You need to spread them around," said Marie in a husky, breathless voice.
Becky was perplexed by Marie's words. During this time, Marie moved her hands to Becky's zipper and began to undo it. As she reached into the opening to feel Becky's most private areas, Marie began to fondle Becky's breasts with her free hand. Becky was paralyzed by shock. Once she regained her composure, she slapped her friend's hand from her breasts and yanked the other hand out her pants. She broke free of her friend's wandering hands and closed her fly as she backed away. She gasped upon seeing what her friend Marie truly looked like.
Instead of a normal woman, Becky saw something totally different. Marie had always been known as a petit woman, a woman with a flat chest and a shy countenance. Now, Marie was the opposite; totally uninhibited as she paraded around on a public street with nary a shred of clothing on. She now had a curvaceous body with full breasts that were impossible for any male, or female, to ignore. She had gained inhuman features as well. A pair of devilish wings flapped from her back and her fingers had sharp claws instead of nails. Marie's face had a sly smile that barely hid the most impure desires.
Becky became frightened and tried to back away as Marie advanced on her. Marie purred contently. "Becky, don't try to fight me. I can fulfill your deepest, darkest desires."
"NO!" screamed Becky. "Stay away!"
Becky suddenly bumped into Tim who grabbed her and began to fondle her breasts. Becky froze in shock as Tim continued to violate her by tweaking and cupping them in his hands. Becky broke out of her friend's grasp and turned to face him. Tim was just like Marie, a monster with devilish wings, claws, and a fiendish glint in his eyes. Becky was terrified upon realizing she was trapped between two demonic predators. Becky tried to escape only to have Marie tackle her to the ground from behind. Marie proceeded to rip off the jeans off of her victim.
As the jeans came free, Becky was left in her underwear and tried to escape. Once again, Marie swooped on her prey, knocking her to the ground once again. She grabbed Becky's blouse and began to rip it open, exposing her bra and skin to the cold night air. Marie forced her prey onto her back with a tug of her hair. Despite having her hair being pulled out at its roots, Becky could make out other people. They were being attacked by demons much like Marie and Tim.
"She's all yours Tim! I'll just sit here and watch until it's my turn."
Tim smiled. "Ooh yeah!"
Elsewhere in the US, demons of a different kind were about to awaken and terrorize the city. An elegant blonde in an expensive mink coat walked down the street. Her name was Melissa, and she was a clothing model who posed for the camera in the latest fashion designs. Like all models, she was a gorgeous woman. She was the woman every man wanted to be with and every woman wanted to be. Melissa continued on her way, unaware that she was being observed by another woman, who watched her like a predator stalking its prey.
The nameless woman snuck her way behind her quarry. She immediately changed into a monster that was both human and not. Her hair turned a brilliant green and her skin turned scaly like that of a serpent. A pair of boa constrictors grew out of her back and made a barely audible hiss at their prey. Though these features would immediately identify that something was not right, her eyes were the most telling feature of all. They were a glowing emerald green in colour and were filled with a covetousness and hunger unknown to the natural world.
The stalker grabbed Melissa from behind and held her mouth shut. Melissa tried to break free but her strength was nothing compared to her captor's. The boas wound around to Melissa's front and bared their fangs as they hissed. Melissa tried to scream but her voice was muffled by her attacker's hand. As they turned, she was horrified to see her attacker's reflection on a glass window. Melissa renewed her struggled her assailant proved to be as strong as ever. The stalker pressed Melissa against a reflective window and stroked her face.
"Melissa, you have a very beautiful face," hissed the stalker. "Your skin is so perfect; I must have skin as beautiful as yours!" The Green-Eyed Monster smiled as it saw the fear in Melissa's eyes. She leapt into the air with her victim and disappeared.
In a Californian city, a teenaged couple walked down street on their way home from the beach. They were the stereotypical Californian couple; a muscular blond surfer dude going out with the blonde bathing beauty. A group of screaming people ran by and the girl pointed to the source of their fear. Down the street were what looked like thorny vines growing out of people advancing slowly as though in a hypnotic trance. The flowering portion of the plant grew on the chest of their victims and revealed a large, toothy maw. The plants moved about by working their hostages like a puppeteer working a marionette.
The boy, Craig, grabbed his girlfriend by the hand. "Come on, Amy! Let's get out of here!"
They took a side road and ran into the city's SWAT teams, who were preparing for a retaliation. After reporting the zombie-like Sleepwalkers to the SWAT commander, the young couple received a free ride to safety courtesy of the SWATs. Eventually, the Sleepwalkers made their way into the officers' sights. The commander ordered the attack, prompting his men to unload hundreds of bullets into the enemy. Their muzzles flashed like flickering stars. One of the zombies shuddered with each bullet that hit it until it fell into a heap. Moments later, the slumbering monstrosity rose again and continued on its way forward.
Every one of the Sleepwalkers' wounds closed as though sealed by a magical force. They moved dangerously closer to the position of the SWAT team, who had made no progress in stopping the enemy's advance. One of the men lobbed a grenade, which blew a large swath through the ranks of the Sleepwalkers. Though a few of them stayed down, the others started searching for their missing pieces and began to reattach them! The SWAT morale broke completely as the Sleepwalkers cut them down one by one.
Elsewhere, more of the Demon Lords' followers made their presence known to the world. The police had caught a dangerous murderer. Two of their best men had the criminal pinned onto the ground. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."
"AAAAAAAAH!" screamed the officers as the murderer's body burst into flame unexpectedly. The officers released the murderer to douse the flames on their uniforms.
The murderer broke out of his handcuffs and turned to the hated police. They could see that their man was no longer a mere man at all. Though his body was wreathed in roaring flames, they could see his features. The man now had an inhuman skull for a head with horns jutting from it. His body was red and bony. His hands were clawed, as well as his feet. The look in the demon's eyes was the most terrifying thing of all. In his eyes was the look of purest hatred and rage that seemed to manifest as flickering flames.
The police were terrified of this hell-spawned creature. "HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed the creature, the demonic Ragefire.
The creature suddenly sprayed a massive blast of scorching flame. Those caught in its path were burnt to cinders while the others flailed around with their clothes on fire. The police opened fire on the creature only to have the bullets melt into metal goo from the sheer heat of its body. The creature sprayed its flames onto a nearby police car, pushing it away through sheer force and melting its chassis. The heat became so strong that the fuel tank ignited with deafening force. The Ragefire raised the wreckage over his head and hurled at the police, who wisely dove for cover.
A black officer hidden behind his car pulled out a radio. "HQ, do you read? We need back up! We have several men down and fires burning everywhere. Send back up immediately! I repeat, send..."
The Ragefire flamed a second car, which exploded into a violent ball of flame. "HA HA HA HA HA!"
"I repeat, send back up immediately!" cried the officer. The Ragefire blasted a third car which flipped into the air as it exploded. The monster laughed evilly once again. "Hurry!"
The Warriors watched the destruction wrought by the Sinners in wide-eyed horror. In the last segment, the camera panned to an image of the ruins of an American city. It was like a scene from the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The skies were a rusty red and the clouds seemed to churn in a vortex. The buildings of the city were burnt and crumbling from war and neglect. No one dared to walk down the streets of the city as demons of all kinds roamed free. Strewn along the ground were human bones that had been charred beyond recognition.
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick..." said Zoe as she rubbed her stomach.
"What the hell happened there?" asked Koji.
"Hell is right," replied Betsumon. "The Demon Lords have turned America into their personal Hell. Demons are everywhere and the people are being herded into ghettos across the nation. You don't want to know what the Demon Lords are doing to them."
"I think I'll take my chances," said JP. "Tell us what they're doing there."
Betsumon sighed. "Okay, just don't say I didn't warn you. I've seen humans being stripped of their internal, and external, organs then dumped like garbage. Some are used in eugenic experiments. Others are being force fed to fatten them up as food for the fatter demons."
The Warriors were sickened by the depravity of the Demon Lords. "Now, I'm really going to be sick, ohhhhh..." said Zoe before covering her mouth.
"I told you didn't want to know what they were doing..." lamented Betsumon.
"Is there anything else to report?" asked Cherubimon.
"Yes, Lord Cherubimon... Each of the Demon Lords has staked a claim to an American City as their chief stronghold. Our old friend, Barbamon, has New York City. Daemon has Detroit and Beelzemon has Oklahoma City. The other Demon Lords have Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, DC. If you want to free the US, you have to attack each of their bases and kill the Demon Lord."
"Now Warriors, after your last battle, it is clear that the Demon Lords are very powerful. I recommend that you focus on one or two of them at a time. Who do you want to fight first?"
"I want Barbamon!" announced Misty.
"Forget Barbamon. Give me Daemon!" demanded Shinya.
"What about Beelzemon? He lied to us and used us to do his dirty work!" said Tommy.
The Warriors continued to argue, forcing Cherubimon to settle the matter. "How about this; Misty, why don't you and your group finish off what you started with Barbamon? While they do that, the rest of you can eliminate Beelzemon as payback for starting the Human-Beast war. How's that sound?"
"That's great!" replied Misty.
"What about us?" asked Brock.
"As your last battle has demonstrated, your Pokemon are no match for a Demon Lord. It is too risky for you to go out with the Warriors this time. I do have something you can do though..."