Hey everyone! Welcome back to another Digital Story!
It's been a bit since the last chapter, but don't worry, this one is extra meaty just for the ones of you that were patient.
Not as meaty as the last chapter mind you, but still pretty big.
Hope you enjoy!
Grimm Eclipse
"Okay, remind me again WHY you didn't think to tell us about the part we had a video game, especially considering we're on our way to the start of said events," Weiss sighed as currently team RWGBY and their partners were in the forest on their way to repair a few security network nodes that had been malfunctioning recently. It had been a little over a week since the Breach, and life was going on as normal.
"To be fair, it was originally a fanmade game, so we weren't sure if it would actually become part of the story or not," Gyro sighed.
"Well, guess it is," Agumon shrugged.
"So… was the game any good?" Yang asked curiously.
"Oh yeah, pretty good for such a short game, it had about 10 to 12 missions if I remember, starting in the Emerald Forest, then Mountain Glenn, then some catacombs, then Forever Fall, then an island, and then a lab on said island… it's been a while since I played so I might get some details wrong, but, anyway, the game, when it released, let players choose any one member of Team RWBY and pair up with 3 other players online to go through the story, later on they released a DLC that lets you play as the members of team JNPR as well. Personally the character I was most comfortable playing as was actually Jaune, it was actually possible to wrack up a 100 hits combo as him pretty easy." Gyro explained with a chuckle.
"Huh, considering how Jaune was in the story before you showed up, that's pretty impressive," Blake couldn't help but say.
"Well, at least we'll know what to expect. Though...do we have to sneak onto a crate?" Tentomon asked.
"That's the only way I can think of for us to get to Merlot's island and lab, so yeah," Gyro sighed. "It's not like Remnant has been fully explored in the show. Heck, I've never seen Vacuo or Atlas until I came here save for a few shots and those were mainly in the Schnee Manor."
"Huh, you'd think people who make these stories would make a clearer image first," Palmon mused.
"To be fair, I don't think anyone expected it to become as popular as it did," Gyro sighed.
Any further conversation was cut short when Ruby's scroll rang, revealing it to be a call from Professor Port. "Nice work, students! As you know we've been having some trouble with the security network in this area. We need boots on the ground to investigate. That means you, team RWGBY! Onward!"
The moment he ended the call, the group reached what could be described as a circular stone area...to which a number of Beowolves and Creepers emerged from the shadows. "Looks like the welcome wagon is here," Biyomon frowned.
"Let's clear them out and keep going," Yang grinned.
"Somehow I don't think that's gonna be an issue," Patamon chuckled lightly. True enough, it wasn't an issue. Between the larger group than in the game, the Digimon having grown much stronger over the time they'd been together, the fact that these were weaker Grimm, and they had Chrome Digizoid coating...yeah, the Grimm didn't even put up a fight seeing as the armor didn't even SLOW the strikes from their weapons.
"Well that was mildly disappointing." Weiss said with a raised eyebrow as she rested her blade.
"Well, to be fair, I think we're kind of OVER prepared for anything Remnant has to throw at us at this point." Ruby said with a shrug.
"Highly possible." Blake said in deadpan.
"Well, even though we're over prepared for Remnant, there's no telling when trouble might pop up in the Digital World again." Yang said seriously.
"Yeah, so that's why we need to keep getting stronger, just in case more trouble pops up over there." Gyro said with a nod.
"Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't escalate too far," Agumon sighed.
"Yeah, the Dark Masters were bad enough. I just hope the darkness that made them is the worst we'll have to face," Palmon agreed.
The group soon continued onward with the path that had been set for them, killing any Grimm that got in their way with ease. The group soon went up a hill and approached a bridge that lead into a cave.
"So, first one is in there, right?" Biyomon asked.
"Yes, the first of the security nodes, the next is further beyond." Weiss said, looking up a map on her scroll.
"Ok, so… what IS the problem anyway?" Yang asked, turning to Gyro.
"Someone Ozpin knows is trying to get attention, no, it's not HER, this one is one of the reasons Mountain Glenn fell, his name is Merlot, he's a crazy scientist." Gyro said, cutting them off when they almost jumped to the conclusion of Salem.
"Merlot… I THINK I heard the name before… possibly a former business partner for my father that quickly fell through. He might have mentioned it here and there." Weiss said in thought.
"It's possible, he had his own company, Merlot Industries. Though it quickly fell through before any of us were born apparently." Gyro said, earning a nod from the heiress.
Before long the group found the first node inside the cave. And it was surrounded by Grimm.
"Well, here we go," Ruby frowned. "We'll keep the Grimm busy. Weiss, you try and get to node to start working again."
"Right," Weiss nodded, before the rest of her teammates charged forward, clearing an opening for her. When the path was cleared, Weiss went straight for the node, and started getting to work. The first thing she noticed was a little red box that was on the node, and upon closer examination, it was causing the node to malfunction. "It's just as you said Gyro, Merlot's the one responsible for the malfunction!" she reported as she started working to counter the device and restart the node. While that was happening, the rest of team RWGBY was buying her time...which wasn't hard since only weak Grimm were showing up so far. Even the Alpha Beowolves and… well, they didn't have a name for them, but the Alpha style of Creeps weren't that difficult to fight off.
Between the lack of any real danger, and Weiss having developed an aptitude for programming due to her time in the Digital World, the situation was dealt with fairly easily. They soon received another call from Port. "Well done team, we've just received confirmation that the security in that area is back to normal," he said. "What was the problem?"
"This," Tentomon said, pressing on the camera app to take and send a picture of the device that had been causing the security device to malfunction.
"Hm...that is troubling. Furthermore, I feel I've seen that symbol before. I'll be sure to let you know if we find anything. For now, please continue to the next security network," Port said, before ending the call.
Once they were out of the cave, the team made their way towards some ruins within the forest "You know, we REALLY should try to explore more of the forest sometimes." Yang said, whistling a bit as she looked at what appeared to be some sort of temple remains.
"It would certainly make for some interesting sightseeing." Blake agreed with an amused smile.
"Already made a note of this location," Ruby chuckled, showing that she'd marked the coordinates for later use. The group continued through the path, and came across more sections of the ruins, including a part that held a rather breathtaking view of the forest (Weiss snapped a photo along the way). The only problem was the Grimm around the area, this time including several Boarbatusk on top of the Beowolves and Creepers but...those weren't an issue either. The group soon came across a bridge that had been pulled back, leaving a gap and a gear next to it...but Gyro wasn't in the mood for attracting more Grimm, so he just used his wind to help everyone get across.
"This is turning from a hack and slash to a beat em up," Yang sighed as they made short work of another group of Grimm waiting on the other side after they continued further. Honestly, after the Digital World, hunting Grimm was...easy…
"Let's just take it as a being glad they're not able to put up much of a fight," Patamon said as he hit another Grimm with an Air Shot, knocking it into a couple more.
The group continued to mow down any Grimm in their way till they found the second Control Center in another section of the ruins, once again the red box was present, and once again the Grimm seemed attracted to it.
This time though, they also found cages.
"Is he… trying to catch Grimm?" Ruby asked incredulously.
"Yeahp, reason why though… I'll let that one surprise you a bit, I want to see your faces." Gyro said with a grin, the girls all rolling their eyes, but they supposed they could allow this one since he sort of technically warned them.
The group did the same routine as before. Weiss fixed the Control Center, while everyone else beat up Grimm. The pace was honestly so straight forward, Agumon decided to evolve into Greymon out of boredom and proceeded to play stomp with several Grimm, causing the smarter ones to decide this was NOT worth it and run away, leaving the stupid ones to die.
"If Gomamon were here, he'd probably go Perfect just to play Whack-a-Grimm," Biyomon couldn't help but say with a laugh.
Eventually….
"Done," Weiss said, having finished undoing the damage done by Merlot's device.
"Excellent work," Port said from the scroll as he confirmed the next control center that had been fixed. "Also, we've confirmed the logo you've seen belonged to Merlot Industries. However, it should have fallen along with Mount Glenn long before your time," He frowned. "Now the question is...what is technology from them doing here and now?"
"Maybe we should look into any surviving records? The building is probably still standing, right?" Gyro asked the professor, even though he knew this is what was GOING to happen.
Port hummed in thought "Yes… yes, good idea, I'll send someone to pick you up and bring you over there, I'll also try to find Bart so he can help you out, since this is more his area of expertise."
With that the call was ended.
"...what are the odds they'll actually find something so we don't HAVE to go to Mount Glenn again?" Blake asked flatly.
Everyone looked at each other, considered their luck on these things, and came to the same conclusion. "Zilch."
"Mount Glenn….its as dead and dreary as it always is," Agumon sighed as the group found themselves in the very same abandoned city they'd been in not too long ago, and already they were being attacked by Grimm...which they were beating down without TOO much difficulty.
"What were we looking for again?" Palmon asked.
"The Merlot Industries main building," Blake reminded.
"It's the huge one that can see from here." Gyro said, pointing at the last remaining skyscraper of the city.
"Well that's easy then." Ruby said.
"Too easy if you ask me." Weiss shot back skeptically.
"Yeah… our path there isn't exactly standard, we'll have to cut through the old water system. Though, we might want to check up on Junk Town while we're here, just see how things are with less Grimm to worry about after the breach." the gogglehead suggested.
"Good idea, hopefully things are doing better for them." Blake said with a hopeful smile.
The group kept going and soon found the town...and they noted something else too. "Were they attacked recently?" Yang frowned, as true enough, the walls had been rather badly damaged, and were being quickly repaired. Not just that, they also noticed a Digimon they hadn't seen before overseeing the defenses.
Said Digimon looked to be a robot build out of bronze colored parts, with a valve on his chest, his design looking rather steampunk inspired.
"Be careful with that section, one of those big ones crashed into it, so it might be a bit more unstable than the others." the Digimon called up to a Meramon that was handling some of the repairs, the flaming Digimon sending back a thumbs up while working.
"Uh, excuse us…" Biyomon trailed off unsurely as the group went up to the Digimon, who turned to them and seemed to be happy.
"Ah, Chosen Children, nice to see you again." the Digimon greeted them as if he knew them.
"Um… not to be rude, but have we met?" Tentomon asked in confusion.
The Digimon blinked, before realising something "Oh yes, you've never met me in this form. I am Guardromon, the Adult Level of Andromon."
Digimon Analyzer: Guardromon
Guardromon. Vaccine Type. An Adult Level Machine Digimon. A Digimon that acts as protector for defensive walls within computer networks, it is always vigilant for intruders. Though it has been said that sometimes Guardromon are easily hacked by others to turn them into personal bodyguards. Its special attack is Destruction Grenade, firing missiles from its wrists.
The eyes of the Chosen widened at this "Wait, Andromon?! What happened to you?" Agumon asked in shock.
Guardromon looked slightly sheepish "We were suddenly attacked by some rather ferocious Grimm a bit after you left the other day, and they had a… well I don't know the name, but it looked like a Mammothmon. It started just attacking wildly for some reason and trashing the place, and while it got me good, I did manage to destroy it, though I ended up regressing to my Adult Level."
"A Goliath? Must have been a young one, those are usually smart enough to stay away from cities." Yang mused with a frown.
"Unless they're absolutely sure they'll live, but yeah," Gyro mused, remembering the Goliaths that started showing up in the Battle of Beacon, and later after Beacon was totalled...he made a mental note to destroy any Grimm Ruby froze in the future just in case they attracted more smaller Grimm like the Wyvern does.
"Well, glad the place is okay at least," Patamon said, to which Guardromon nodded.
"Regressing was admittedly annoying, but it was a small price to pay overall," he said. "But enough about that. What brings you all here and is there something we could assist with?"
"Well, we were mostly just coming to check in on you all after we had our mission the other day, it ended with lots of big Grimm attacking Vale. So since we had another mission in this area, we stopped by." Weiss explained.
"I see, thank you for that then, and we're doing fine as you can see." Guardromon told them, and they got the feeling he was smiling.
"Well, nonetheless, how about we drop a call to Vale to have them send you guys a few supplies? No doubt that Grimm attack set you back a bit." Ruby suggested with a smile.
"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much." Guardromon nodded at the idea happily.
After exchanging a few more words, the group continued on their mission (though not before doing the call, with Oobleck promising to give the message and keep them updated on the status, even if he doubted it would be an issue). The group followed a map they'd been provided...but found that a key bridge was blocked...and they simply bypassed it using Kabuterimon to fly them over it. In fact…
"You know...I just realized," Ruby said. "Why don't we just fly straight to the building like this?"
The group looked at her...and collectively facepalmed at not realizing the easy way they could have taken.
With Kabuterimon, they made the trip quickly, any Nevermores trying to get in their way quickly dealt with using the Mega Blaster move. It wasn't long before they reached the Merlot Industries building and landed, Kabuterimon reverting to Tentomon. Right as he did...several more Grimm showed up.
"Don't you just hate annoying timing," Gyro said flatly, before they started fighting.
"Honestly...I'm starting to think it doesn't really matter anymore when Grimm like these are involved," Agumon said as he torched another Beowolf. After all the fights they'd been through, their powers at Child Level now could fight an Adult to a standstill and even beat some of the weaker ones. Grimm like these...weren't even an issue anymore. Even with the Ursas showing up...it was a slaughter.
"And that's the last one," Tentomon said with a small sigh. "What happens next?"
"Well...there was the cave in…" Gyro mused, and as if someone upstairs was feeling nasty, right as he said that...the area began to shake violently. "Of course…" he sighed, right before the building caved in and made the area cave in as well, sending them all down to the lower levels of the city.
Once they all recovered from the sudden fall…
"It really feels like the universe wants us to be its chewing toy at times." Blake said in deadpan.
"Tell me about it, doesn't help when it likes to pull stuff like that one the ONE moment where it shouldn't happen." Patamon added dryly.
"Let's just get through the undergrounds, who knows, maybe we'll find some basement levels for Merlot Industries." Ruby suggested, the others nodding as they went to exploring.
"So… when do things even get interesting?" Yang asked after a few minutes of them walking, going through an old part of the city with a railway system they were following.
"Should be right about now actually, thread carefully and quietly, we're about to see our first curveball." Gyro told them seriously, the others all slowing down in their steps and being more quiet as they went onwards, eventually finding what LOOKED like a Creep, but… different.
Instead of the usual red highlights on its body with glowing orange eyes, said colors had been replaced by shades of green and blue, along with glowing spikes of that same color on their back.
"I'm gonna guess THIS is the surprise you warned us about," Biyomon said flatly.
"Yeahp, don't get close to it, shoot it from afar and you'll see what it does." Gyro told them, Ruby nodding as she readied her rifle and aimed, firing a few shots after a second, and they watched as the Creep seemed to become bloated for a second… before blowing up… and spewing acid everywhere.
They all stared silently at the sight, before looking to Gyro "Suicide bombers? Seriously?" Weiss asked incredulously.
"Yeah, thankfully that's only the Creeps that are affected in that way, but yeah, don't stick close to them, make sure you strike from afar as it's the safest option." he told them, earning nods all around.
With that bit of info...the fight was once again a slaughter. Heck, Gyro even used his wind to group a few Creepers together...with everyone else opening fire, causing a chain reaction. Before long they'd cleared out the area. "They're definitely different...but once you know the trick they're not much of a challenge," Weiss frowned.
"Sorry it was either that or let everyone else find out by experience. I figured you'd all prefer it if I warned you about the surprise first," Gyro chuckled.
"Yeah, thanks for not waiting for us to have Grimm explode in our faces," Blake deadpanned.
"Well anyway, let's keep going," Gyro said. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing else for us to worry about other than Grimm."
5 minutes later….
"Nothing else to worry about, huh?" Tentomon asked dryly as they were staring at a BOMB sitting on the tracks.
"Yeah...I forgot about that one…" Gyro admitted.
"How long since you played that game?" Yang asked him.
"2 years." was the quick answer.
"Fair enough then." she shot back, two years was plenty of time to forget about this kind of stuff after all, especially when you thought it wouldn't be relevant.
"Besides, its cool. I remember the details now. No direct tampering or it'll go boom. Load it up with Dust Crystals and it'll follow the tracks right off a broken bridge," Gyro reassured. "There's plenty of Dust Crystal dispensers around here, we just have to worry about the Grimm coming for us though…"
"...is it weird that that thought doesn't even phase us anymore?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.
"Our sanity has been dead since we came back from the Digital World, and the fact we STILL haven't gotten therapy probably isn't helping," Weiss said dryly.
"We really SHOULD look into that." Palmon muttered.
"Once the Digital World is open again, that's the first thing we're doing," Gyro nodded. "But first things first. Bomb."
"Right," the group nodded.
"Let's split into two teams. Digimon guard the bomb, huntsmen get the Dust," Ruby said, earning more nods as they went to work. Once again, the group was hounded by the Grimm, along with a few of the mutants...all of which didn't last long. Seriously, it was VERY hard not to feel boredom when their weapons cut through the bone as if they were made of paper. Regardless, they successfully powered the cart enough that it soon drove itself off of the broken bridge where it exploded harmlessly deep down below.
"That's that," Patamon sighed in relief. "What now?"
"We call the teachers, and the next level is Forever Falls," Gyro said simply. "Guess we didn't find any underground archives after all though…"
"Well, at least we know where to head next." Ruby said before she contacted Oobleck, relaying what had happened while the group took a path upwards, light starting to pour in from the tunnel they were taking, until, finally, they were surrounded by falling leaves.
"Good to know there was a path to this place from the caverns." Yang sighed.
"Alright, so, obviously we have to follow a path here… probably beyond one of these doors." Weiss said, looking at a large pair of doors.
"Yeah, they both go to the same spot right after opening, and the key is nearby, should only take us a minute or two to find it if we look." Gyro told them, earning nods as they looked for the key in the immediate area.
After just a minute of searching… "Found it!" Biyomon said as she held up a cube shaped object, perfectly sized to fit into the hole on one of the doors.
Placing the object in one of the doors, once it had lowered, they were met with… Team JNPPR?
"Huh… guess you were right Pierce." Veemon said after a moment.
"Told you that was today." Pierce grinned before looking back to Team RWGBY "Hey guys, so, on to Level 5 huh?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, what are you guys doing out here though?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We took a small mission to clear out some Grimm in Forever Falls, even encountered some mutated Creeps that almost blew up in our faces." Jaune explained.
"Yeah, I remembered just fast enough to tell them to get far back from those things." Pierce said sheepishly.
"Well, since we're all on the same page, we might as well team up," Ren suggested.
"Probably a good idea if these are just the FIRST of the Mutated Grimm we'll be fighting," Gabumon agreed.
"Kinda funny how no matter what happens, we always end up forming our one big group." Nora chuckled a bit.
"Who knows, maybe it's like some sort of destiny to never be split up." Salamon added with her own laugh.
"That's the kind of destiny I can like." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Considering these guys," Pierce said, holding up his D-Crest to which the Crest of Miracles appeared. "I think it's safe to say we ARE destined to stay together."
"Not that anyone is complaining," Veemon added with a laugh.
"Anyway, let's keep going," Weiss said, though she had a smile on her face. The group continued onward, and soon found some train tracks that seemed to be headed upward a hill.
"Let me guess. Follow the tracks?" Gomamon chuckled, already seeing where this was going.
"Eeeyup," Gyro and Pierce nodded. With that the group continued onward, fighting through Grimm...and a few mutated Creepers.
"You know, the exploding bit was a BIT scary, but once you get used to it, it's REALLY not that big an issue…" Jaune mused as a few quick shots from the members who had ranged weapons made them explode, taking out their own allies with them.
"That's kinda how it feels for most players," Gyro said simply. "Just like fighting Dead Hand."
"You mean that creepy boss from Ocarina of Time?" Agumon shivered. He was not ashamed to admit he screamed when that thing suddenly showed up.
"That's the one," Pierce nodded as the group continued their path of carnage on any Grimm who were too stupid to realize they were running to their deaths, while the smarter ones quickly vacated the location after seeing their brethren cut down without mercy.
"It's kind of funny that instead of being worried about the Grimm we're mostly just enjoying the scenery." Wormmon said as he tied up a Beowolf before Ren cut its head off.
"This reminds me of the recent Tales of games that have DLC, they ALWAYS have some DLC that lets you get about 40 free level ups, so this is like if we'd used those to suddenly jump WAY above the required level, while ALREADY being overleveled." Pierce said, laughing a bit at the analogy.
"In short, we're freakishly overleveled right now," Yang laughed.
"And thus, we are absolutely NOT scared of any run of the mill Grimm." Gomamon added with a chuckle.
"Just don't let your guard down," Blake reminded. "We only kill them easily. They can still do the same to us."
"Blake's right, but it's still fun just being able to kill them without any issues," Nora laughed, swinging her hammer and casually caving in the skull of another stupid Grimm.
The group continued on through the ruins till they reached a circular area, and waiting for them were more Grimm...and a few Beowolves that were glowing green. More mutants.
"Okay, what does this one do?" Patamon asked.
"Slams the ground and sends a wave of crystals/spikes at us. Just side step it," Gyro said without missing a beat, and to emphasize it, he surged forward, easily side stepping the attack, and beheaded the Beowolf. Once again, a slaughter ensued, and between the 20 of them fighting...yeah…
"Next," the group shared a small laugh.
Eventually they reached a point where they couldn't see any visible train tracks.
"Ok, so what now?" Gabumon asked.
"We just need to keep on heading forward, we'll end up finding Merlot's ship soon enough and we'll need to sneak onto it." Pierce said, earning nods as the group continued on, decimating any Grimm stupid enough to get in their way, eventually reaching a spot where they caught a glimpse of the ship in question, along with some shipping crates that were being loaded onto it, all by automated machinery from the looks of it.
"Alright, so, should we just fly over to that spot?" Biyomon asked, ready to evolve.
"No, a bit too risky, he probably has some kind of security camera that would alert him to that." Ruby mused.
"Yeah, we suspected that as well, but there's a path we can use by cutting through some ruins, we won't be spotted through there." Gyro said, the group just having to search a bit before getting into said ruins, spotting more cages with some Grimm actually being held captive within… of course, with them being so close, the Grimm started acting up.
"Yeah, yeah, just keep barking ya mutt." Gomamon said in deadpan as he looked up at Beowolf that was snarling at him and trying to claw through the cage.
"These things don't break out of the cage right? Not that I'm actually worried," Tentomon asked.
"Eh...nope. Merlot built the cages well, we'll give him that much," Pierce shrugged.
"Ok, so… just keep going then I guess." Jaune said with a shrug as they walked through the small ruins, breaking open a rather weak wall to get out and end up sneaking into the loading area of Merlot's ship.
"Ok, so we just have to find an open container now." Weiss said quietly, just in case Merlot's possible cameras had audio.
"I see one over there." Ren pointed off in a direction of the area, the rest of the group following him until they reached the container and closed the door once everyone was in, Pyrrha using her semblance to lock it from inside.
"Uhhh…" a voice that DIDN'T belong to the group trailed off, making everyone turn on the flashlights in their scrolls… and see Takato and Guilmon in the container with them.
Everyone was quiet for several moments, until Blake broke it "Just… how?"
"Guilmon dragged me here when he sniffed something out." Takato said sheepishly.
"Oh all the days for us to not have the other D-Ark users around the keep you grouped up with." Yang muttered, as originally, the team had actually been planning on asking Ilia if she wanted to come with them, but she actually had to help Azure with something for the day.
"Well… you know that the least you gotta do is stick close to us, right?" Nora asked the boy, earning a nod, and then shrugging "Then I think he'll be fine, and I mean, Guilmon will maul everything that gets close to him, right?"
"Not like we can do anything about it at this point," Gyro said with a sigh. "So get comfortable. I don't actually know how long this is gonna take, but it's gonna be a while. With that in mind…" he pulled out a Nintendo Switch screen, and hooked it up to an expanded scroll. "Anyone want to build up frustration so we can take it out on the Grimm that are no doubt waiting?" he punctuated that by holding out a dreaded title. Mario Party.
"...eh, sure," Jaune shrugged. Not like they had anything actually better to do.
The crate was set in the unloading area of it's destination, sitting there for a few minutes, until a red robot came up to the crate, and was reaching towards the do-
BANG!
The door went flying off its hinges and crashed into the robot, sending it flying until it was crushed into a stone wall by the door, while back at the crate, Yang was seething, her eyes red, and her fist extended "We're never playing Mario Party again."
"Agreed." everyone else said, seething just as much as she was as they all stepped out, Takato hanging back a bit and looking nervous.
"Suddenly I regret having super luck at video games." he muttered to Guilmon, who just looked at him in confusion. Takato decided to wait for a bit longer, and when he came out...well...he couldn't help but gulp a little at the sheer carnage the teenagers had wrought on the unsuspecting androids, what with all the parts littering the ground, the torn apart bodies, and a few Grimm who had showed up only to be brutally killed.
"Ah...I feel MUCH better," came Yang's voice as the boy and his Digimon ventured out to see the Huntsmen busy cutting a figurative bloody swath, all of them looking MUCH happier than before.
"Uh…" Takato sounded out, a bit afraid of the carnage as he hid behind Guilmon.
"Relax kid, we hate how you kept winning, but we aren't going to hurt you, just never play Mario Party with you… ever." Gyro said simply.
"I didn't even know what Mario Party was until today honestly and I kind of wish it had stayed that way." Takato admitted.
"Sorry kid, it was really just the best way to ramp up our adrenaline for a bloody entrance and show the jerk who owns this place we mean business." Pierce said sheepishly.
"Anyway…" Ruby trailed off, holding up her scroll, getting nothing but static on the other end "We really need to fix this, I'm guessing the towers are our best bet?"
"Yeah, we can use those to boost the signal." Gyro nodded "Also, be ready, there's no telling WHAT we'll find on the island with how much the world has changed from how it originally was." he said, honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if they ran into new kinds of mutants.
As if on cue, several more Grimm appeared, all of them glowing green and with a few oddities with their bodies. There were the Creeps and Beowolves they had encountered so far, but now they could also see some Ursa with large green claws and huge spikes on their shoulders, Boarbatusks with straight up goring horns made for impaling people, and human sized Nevermore with bladed feathers.
"Huh. The universe didn't waste time to prove me right," Gyro said flatly.
"Well, glad we got SOMETHING new to fight." Yang said with a grin as she punched her fists together.
As for how they handled these new variations…
With the Ursa, it was a matter of avoiding it's now longer reach before countering them.
For the Boarbatusk, really, they just had to flip them on their belly still, it was just now a bit more dangerous to attempt thanks to the sharper tusks and the fact that when they went into a spin dash they essentially turned into a buzzsaw.
And for the Nevermore… just shoot them quickly honestly, don't let them fire their new feathers at you, or get close enough they can swipe at you with them, just SHOOT.
Once the Grimm were dealt with, they finally reached the first of the towers, activating it to boost the radio signal.
"Whatever you did… keep doing… The Radio… somewhere else… must make… and then…" was all they got from the signal, earring some short snippets of Oobleck's voice.
"So… that means we're on the right track, right?" Takato asked after a moment.
"Yeah, I can see another tower from here as well." Biyomon said as she was flying up.
"And I think there's another even further." Patamon added.
"Let's head towards them then." Ren said with a nod.
Once again, they had to fight a few Grimm on the way towards the next tower, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle as they reached the second tower and activated it.
"It's working! The signal seems better but… a little more and I can pinpoint… Nevertheless, keep it up!" they once again heard Oobleck's voice, though there was less static than last time.
"Well, we're on the right track, just one more should do it." Pyrrha said with a nod.
"Well then let's not take longer than necessary," Ren said as they continued onward, cutting down literally anything that tried to get in their way be it android or Grimm mutated or otherwise.
As such it wasn't long before they reached the third tower and soon activated it. However, instead of one of their teachers...someone else was contacting them.
"Ahh, that's better. Sorry, but the reception is always so bad all the way out here. I do hope you're enjoying your stay on the island. You're the first visitors I've had in, well, you ARE the first." the new voice said.
"Alright, who are we dealing with here?" Gyro sighed, playing dumb so Ozpin, who was likely listening, wouldn't catch onto anything.
"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Merlot. You might not know me, but I most CERTAINLY know who you are." Merlot introduced himself, and it sounded like he was trying to be intimidating, and if they didn't already know about him, well… he might have been. "Nevertheless, I'm thrilled to have you here. You might be just what I need for a certain… experiment." Right as he said that, the group all heard an unlocking mechanism, as some hidden doors built into the various stone walls opened up, and mutated Grimm fell out of them "For such excellent students like yourselves, I'm sure this will be a simple test."
The group charged, fought the Grimm which they'd been fighting all day already, thus knowing exactly how to fight them...and the fight was over in like...less than a minute.
"...oh my…" was the only thing Merlot could say at the sight of the mutated Grimm defeated so easily. "I must say...this generation is quite impressive." he was heard saying… before more Grimm came pouring in "But that doesn't mean the test is over."
"I shouldn't be surprised." Gyro sighed, before holding up his scroll "Professor Ozpin, you're listening right? Think you can do… something?"
"Ozpin?" Merlot said in surprise.
"It's been a long time Merlot." Ozpin responded. "I thought you had perished in the Mountain Glenn disaster, a tragedy you played no small part in."
"Twas a mere speedbump on the superhighway of scientific progress. You couldn't possibly imagine the ramifications of my latest research." Merlot shot back.
"The world was a much safer place without you, Merlot." Ozpin answered simply.
"You're calling ME the reckless one? Sending your students out on an excursion like this?" Merlot asked incredulously.
"THESE students are more than a match for your mindless machines and your mutant Grimm. What you're doing here is wrong Merlot." Ozpin said, and the two teams couldn't help but feel bashful at the compliment.
"Trying to make the world a better place is wrong?" Merlot scoffed "Say what you will about me, but it won't change the fact you're powerless to stop me."
"You'll botch this somehow… you always do." Ozpin said, the smirk audible in his tone.
"Well, let's agree to disagree. I tell you Oz, it has TRULY been a pleasure catching up, but unfortunately, I have work to get back to. Farewell old chum." Merlot said, his tone of voice grave as he cut the connection, leaving only Ozpin on the line as the group finally finished up the last of the Grimm that just kept pouring in.
"Students, we're attempting to locate Merlot's island. We're coordinating with the Atlas Military to do so. I need you to keep exploring the island and inform me of any important details that might help us ascertain its location." Ozpin informed the group.
"If it helps, we were in a shipping container for about 2 hours, so that should tell you how far we went, and we started from Forever Fall." Weiss informed the headmaster.
"That does help narrow down the area yes, thank you, keep me informed of anything else." Ozpin said, before the line went silent.
"Right, well, no point in wasting time here, let's move on and hope we find something good." Jaune said, the group nodding as they trekked on, evening slowly turning into night, as they came upon a certain area.
"So, looks like we found the mutagen." Ruby said, looking at the puddle of green goo, before activating her scroll "Professor, we've found some green goo, we think it's the mutagen Merlot's been using on the Grimm to power them up."
"I see, then that would mean the substance comes up naturally on this island if he's harvesting it." Ozpin mused.
"Yeah, we can see some pipes sucking some of the stuff up." Nora confirmed.
"Keep up exploring students, and remember, be careful." Ozpin told them before the line was once more silent.
"So… think we should expect some actual difficult stuff soon?" Blake asked the twins with a raised eyebrow.
"Possibly, we're not sure yet." Pierce said.
"In any case, like Ozpin said, we have to be careful." Pyrrha said with a frown.
With that, the group pressed on, following the pipelines through the area, fighting more and more mutant Grimm along the way.
"Your students are proving to be quite annoying Oz." Merlot's voice was eventually heard.
"I know several people who would say the same about you. After all, your obsession with experimenting with Grimm was part of the reason that Mountain Glenn fell, and it will eventually lead to your own downfall." Ozpin shot back.
"The Grimm are the perfect test subjects! Raw, unbridled aggression, and a need for destruction. They are the perfect vessel." Merlot said, before chuckling ominously "Though… I can just about say the same for Remnant's new arrivals."
THAT set off warning bells in the minds of the chosen "Oh that can't be good." Agumon summed up what they were all thinking.
"What did you do Merlot?!" Ozpin asked, the anger clearly audible in his tone.
Merlot simply laughed "I'm sure you'll see in time old chum."
"Students, hurry, I have a bad feeling about this." Ozpin urged the group on.
"You and me both Oz." Gyro muttered as the group started running towards Merlot's lab, eventually reaching a large door which was most likely the entrance… and was being guarded by several of Merlot's robot along with mutated Grimm.
"Ugh, this is honestly getting annoying," Nora frowned.
"Let's not take longer than we have to!" Agumon agreed. "Let's Evolve!"
"Hold on, with this many, going too big will just make you a bigger target. Only the ones with smaller or faster frames should evolve," Ruby said.
"Good point," Wormmon nodded, before he, Salamon, and Patamon jumped forward.
"Wormmon, Evolution! Stingmon!"
"Salamon, Evolution! Gatomon!"
"Patamon, Evolution! Angemon!"
The group immediately charged forward, Stingmon firing several spikes to thin the herd a bit, while Angemon used his Heaven's Knuckle to blast away a good chunk of the mutants. Gatomon also zipped through them, knocking them away at high speed, throwing them into confusion and thus allowing the others to take out the Grimm in large numbers.
The androids were a bit harder to distract, but they weren't that much stronger than the Grimm and thus were soon torn apart again, though there was the annoying part of a few of the androids having grenade launchers, but they could still be handled.
"Well now… I do believe it's time for your final exam." Merlot said ominously, before the door to his lab slowly opened up, revealing… something, to be standing behind it.
Once the door fully opened though, they were able to get a good look.
It was a Beringel… a BIG Beringel… a Big Beringel with huge bulging muscles that had glowing green veins on its body, what appeared to be a tank of mutagen strapped to its back while a few tubes went from it into his spinal cord, feeding the mutagen directly into its body.
"...its Bane...Grimm edition…" was all Pierce could say at the sight of the monster before them.
"Yeah...that is a very apt description…" Gyro gulped. "Now let's get moving before it smashes us!"
The group didn't need to be told twice as the Mutant Beringel lunged for them, forcing them all to scatter, and where it hit the ground, it cracked and actual shockwaves hit them, sending them tumbling back.
"Okay...this guy might be a bit stronger than the others," Yang frowned. "So what's the plan?"
"First we need to determine what we're up against. Mighty Glacier or Lightning Bruiser," Gyro said.
"I'd say that thing is a bit too fast for a Glacier," Weiss said flatly.
"...okay, so first things first, don't get hit," Ruby frowned. "Anything else?"
"Those cords feeding it mutagen," Blake said. "That's got to be a weak point."
"True, but I don't think just cutting them is gonna be enough," Jaune frowned.
"What if we shoved Dust into them? Wouldn't Dust going off inside cause a lot of damage?" Gatomon suggested.
"...that works," was the general response, before they soon went to try and implement it. Easier said than done as the Beringel was fast and strong, but with so many of them, it was hard for it to choose a target.
The group noticed that and made sure to confuse it, each of them quickly taking some of their Dust ammo or crystals. They needed just one chance. Just one was all they needed at this point. The opening soon came when the Beringel made the mistake of targeting Angemon, who dodged, and using a Heaven's Knuckle, blew off its arm, albeit with some effort. The moment he did, they jumped on the Beringel, stuffing several bits of Dust which soon started to react...badly with the Mutagen.
"Its gonna blow!" Gomamon shouted, the group getting away before the Dust and Mutagen caused a chain reaction which well….left the Beringel missing everything from the waist up.
"Ew…" was all some of them could say before the Beringel fell over and dissolved.
"Is it over?" Takato asked, having stayed on the scaffolding when the others jumped down.
"Yeah, we're done here for now," Agumon sighed a bit.
"Still, that was pretty intense," Gyro mused. "Definitely wasn't expecting that."
"Then we'd better be extra careful moving forward," Palmon frowned.
"Right," everyone nodded and quickly continued onward, soon finding their way into the laboratory.
"Huh… he's actually got a half decent looking lobby for an evil scientist." Pierce said in mild surprise as he looked around the lobby that had chairs to sit on, some potted plants, and even a receptionist desk.
"Not gonna lie, didn't see that coming." Veemon admitted before Gyro went up to a panel and pressed a few buttons on it, a large door in the lobby sliding up, while an automated message from Merlot started up on the large TVs that were hanging from the ceiling, being able to tell it wasn't a live feed due to the Merlot on the screen not having a cybernetic arm nor a glowing eye.
"Yadda yadda, no one cares." Yang said dismissively as the group walked through the corridors.
"Students, try to keep an eye open for any maps, schematics, or even access terminals that would allow us into Merlot's network." Ozpin advised them.
"Will do professor." Ruby answered simply as they reached an elevator and went down a floor.
"Ah, I see you're all making yourselves quite at home." Merlot, the real one this time, said from the screens "I can't say I mind too much, but I wonder if my security team feels the same way?" he mused with a grin.
"Whatever, just send those stupid robots of yours so we can smash them again." Nora said as she hefted her hammer.
Merlot though, to their surprise, laughed "Oh, my dear girl, who ever said anything about robots?" he asked as a door in the room slid up, revealing…
"What… the hell?" Jaune said slowly as he and everyone else looked at two Digimon, at least, they all THOUGHT those were Digimon.
Said Digimon LOOKED like Greymon and Garurumon, the Greymon look alike having a more muscular body while his stomach was a more pale color, three white horns coming out the back of his helmet, two more on the sides, and a final horn on the snout, while the Garurumon look alike was a bit smaller, with just a few blue markings on its forehead, metal bracers on its legs, just above the paws, and 6 large iron blades on its back.
"Allow me to introduce my own PERSONAL brand of Digimon that I've been working on recently. I call them, Digimon X." Merlot introduced his creations with a cruel smile.
"That's...not good at all," Pierce frowned. "Not that I expect it, but...anything?" he asked Weiss, who shook her head.
"Nothing whatsoever. Whatever he did, he's created a new subspecies!" she said.
"And looks like we get the 'honor' of being the first to fight them," Salamon frowned.
"Well then, anyone up for a mirror match?" Gyro said, earning a nod from Agumon and Gabumon.
"Agumon, Evolution! Greymon!"
"Gabumon, Evolution! Garurumon!"
"And of course we're helping." Pyrrha said as she stepped up with her spear.
"Obviously." Gyro chuckled as he drew his swords.
The two Digimon X roared and charged forward, meeting their original species head on. Greymon and Garurumon grunted at the impact, but they held their ground, albeit slowly being pushed back. "Whoa, these two are really strong!" Garurumon growled.
"If they weren't I'd say that kinda beats the point of being a subspecies," Greymon grunted.
"Well stronger or not, they've got all of us to deal with!" Pyrrha frowned as she threw her shield like a discus, aiming for Garurumon X's head...but the Digimon X noticed it, stopped its assault and immediately evaded, in a way that caused Garurumon to stumble forward and accidentally get knocked on the side of the head. "Okay, and it looks like this one is smarter too," Pyrrha blinked, surprised at the sudden shift, while Garurumon just shook his head. The shield didn't hurt much, but it was still a surprise.
"This one seems to be more aggressive!" Gyro reported, having managed to land several strikes on Greymon X...but the Digimon seemed to barely be feeling his attacks despite the data leaking out of it.
"Okay, we're not gonna win this going head on!" Greymon growled, before shifting his weight, causing Greymon X to lose some balance, followed by a tail strike, knocking Greymon X into Garurumon X.
"Fox Fire!" Garurumon called out, sending the flames into the two Digimon X, who roared in pain but quickly regained their balance, damaged but still very much able to fight. "Okay, so he improved the sturdiness. Starting to wonder if we aren't biting off more than we can chew here."
"I'd say its more than just that," Merlot chuckled. "I took these Digimon and made them more than they were, I made them better, just as I will do to the Grimm and turn them to something more productive."
"Have we told you that you're a sick and twisted man?" Gyro said in annoyance.
"You haven't, but many already have." Merlot answered with a shrug.
"Well then, how about we stop holding back," Greymon suggested.
"Yeah, let's wipe the smirk off of his face," Garurumon agreed, to which Gyro and Pyrrha pulled out their Digivices.
"Greymon, Super Evolution! MetalGreymon!"
"Garurumon, Super Evolution! WereGarurumon!"
Merlot's eyes widened as the Digimon evolved, and before he could enter orders for his Digimon X into his computer… the two were quickly deleted by the freshly evolved Chosen Digimon. "Impossible! How could my creations lose so easily?!" he gasped. Those two alone had easily decimated hundreds of Grimm.
"There's a lot of secrets about Digimon you don't know, and you're not going to unlock any of them by treating them like tools," Gyro said, glaring at the closest screen.
"And we're going to make sure you never hurt another person or Digimon ever again," Pyrrha agreed, both of them earning roars of agreement from their partners who began smashing apart any androids that had been released.
Merlot growled "You…" it was easy to see that he was angry, especially when he started tapping away at his computer, and more doors were opened, as more of his Digimon X appeared, some of them the same Digimon they were partnered with in various stages, all of course slightly different in appearance, though all only in Child and Adult level.
"Guys! Go all out!" Ruby shouted as she and everyone else held up their Digivices, Takato scanning his blue card.
"Palmon, Blast Evolution! Lillymon!"
"Biyomon, Blast Evolution! Garudamon!"
"Tentomon, Blast Evolution! AtlurKabuterimon!"
"Patamon, Blast Evolution! HolyAngemon!"
"Gomamon, Blast Evolution! Zudomon!"
"Veemon, Blast Evolution! AeroVeedramon!"
"Salamon, Blast Evolution! Angewomon!"
"Wormmon, Blast Evolution! Jewelbeemon!"
"Guilmon, Evolution! Growlmon! Growlmon, Matrix Evolution! MegaloGrowlmon!"
"Break everything!" Pierce shouted, as everyone started doing just that, rushing through the whole complex and destroying everything in their path.
Computers? Crushed. Mutagen tanks? Destroyed. Androids? Broken. Mutant Grimm? Annihilated. Digimon X? Deleted.
Merlot was glaring at the screens in rage as these meddling children were literally tearing his life's work apart...and they seemed to be having fun too judging by how the girl with the hammer just used an android head as a golf ball. "Fine then, I'll release my finest creation!" he growled, hitting a button, as a large cage was opened, and out came a Mutated Deathstalker...which promptly met its end when MegaloGrowlmon casually slashed it with one of his arm blades, cutting it in half without so much as stalling the blade. It literally didn't last 10 seconds. Merlot's jaw was understandably hanging open at that. "This...this can't be…!" he gasped, backing off and accidentally pressing a button. It released what appeared to be a holding area with a few DigiEggs and a vat of mutagen and what appeared to be black goo. Of course, with the carnage going on, nobody noticed them (they'd conveniently opened BEHIND them) until the vibration caused stuff to fall, the eggs falling into the mutagen and the goo dropping into it as well, causing a bizarre reaction, the instruments in Merlot's control room suddenly going crazy as they picked up on a bizarre energy reaction from the accidental mix.
"Uh...guys? Is it just me or does that vat look like it wants to explode?" Jaune asked, having idly looked behind and noticed the vat.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure it is going to explode," Ren said flatly, past experience with Nora teaching him that much.
"...hit the deck!" Yang shouted, as everyone dove for cover or braced themselves, as the vat exploded, destroying sections of the wall it was near.
When they looked back, the thing that was there was… huge.
It was avian in appearance, with 6 large wings of black feathers, some that glowed green. Its talons had 5 claws each, said claws looking like serrated blades that were, again, glowing green. Various bone plates littered its body in an almost random pattern, the plate on its chest looking asymmetric. Finally, it's head was covered in a white bone mask with glowing green eyes and four large green horns coming out the back of it, the creature letting out a loud roar that rattled the whole complex.
"Ok… that's… new." Pyrrha summed up.
"The hell is that thing supposed to be though?!" Yang asked in shock.
"Weiss?" Blake turned to their expert, whom was currently looking through the Analyzer.
"Well… it's not something we've fought before, but it looks like something called Valdurmon… except grimmified and mutated." she said with an unsure frown.
"So, I guess this thing would be GrimmValdurmon X if we go by what we know." Jaune summed up.
Where he was, Merlot was laughing. "Magnificent! Simply magnificent!" he laughed. "Yes, this is truly my masterpiece!" he said before going on the comms. "Now my creation, I order you to destroy them!"
GrimmValdurmon X looked to the source of the voice, before opening its mouth, energy gathering and firing. Merlot barely had time to widen his eyes before the blast ate through the walls and hit the room he was in, incinerating him completely.
The group gulped a bit at the sight of what just happened.
"Ok, so what info do we have on normal Valdurmon?" Ruby asked, sounding just a little bit nervous.
"An Ultimate level Digimon, Vaccine, it's a Holy Bird, existed since the dawn of the Digital World… it has enough power to blow up a STAR." Weiss summed up the important bits, citing the last one incredulously.
"Well… change this one to Virus and Devil Bird and the information is probably similar." Pierce quipped with a nervous laugh.
"Full power people! Now!" Gyro shouted, everyone snapping out of it and grabbing their D-Crests, which quickly started glowing.
"MetalGreymon, Ultimate Evolution! WarGreymon!"
"Lillymon, Ultimate Evolution! Rosemon!"
"Jewelbeemon, Ultimate Evolution! GrandisKuwagamon!"
"Garudamon, Ultimate Evolution! Phoenixmon!"
"Zudomon, Ultimate Evolution! Vikemon!"
"AtlurKabuterimon, Ultimate Evolution! HerculesKabuterimon!"
"Angewomon, Ultimate Evolution! Mastemon!"
"HolyAngemon, Ultimate Evolution! Seraphimon!"
"WereGarurumon, Ultimate Evolution! MetalGarurumon!"
"AeroVeedramon, Ultimate Evolution! UlforceVeedramon!"
With all the Ultimates gathered, the lab was getting packed, and with a burst of energy, the roof was blown open, allowing the combatants to move to a more...open area.
"So… since when can you guys do that?" Takato asked from MegaloGrowlmon's shoulder as he flew next to Vikemon… who was doing jumps in the air to keep himself afloat… and the bottom of the maces on his back were acting like rockets.
"Eh… a while honestly, we've just been keeping it secret for a good reason." Jaune said.
"A VERY good reason." Vikemon added with a sigh.
"Yeah, we could level a city by accident if we're not careful in these forms," Rosemon nodded.
"Not that we have to worry about that out here," MetalGarurumon smirked a little.
The GrimmValdurmon X roared as it began to be wrapped in a dark aura.
"Dunno what that is, but I'm not waiting to get hit. Blast it!" WarGreymon instructed, to which everyone did just that. The attacks flew, but mid-flight, the burst of dark energy was released, the attacks hitting the GrimmValdurmon X, but only knocking it back. At the same time all of them felt like someone had just poured a bucket of cold water on them.
"The hell?" GrandisKuwagamon shivered.
"I feel… weaker." Mastemon groaned.
"Is it… restraining our power?" Seraphimon hazarded a guess.
"Well… the normal Valdurmon can nullify attacks coming towards it… so… maybe this one can weaken us just by being close." Weiss said in worry.
"That… is VERY bad." HerculesKabuterimon summed up simply.
"How do we fight it?!" Takato gasped.
"Keep hitting it till it falls. It may be weakening us, but we're still causing damage," Blake said.
"About the only thing we can do," Phoenixmon frowned.
With that the group began their assault, keeping their distance while taking shots anytime they could. The attacks hit their mark, but with the monster constantly releasing its aura, the attacks were doing lower damage.
MegaloGrowlmon had it worse though, being only a Perfect level up against the beast, his attacks were barely doing any damage against it.
It was when he tried to attack it from below, hoping to catch it off guard that things started going… wrong.
Obviously, GrimmValdurmon X had noticed him, and ended up firing a simple ball of energy at him, MegaloGrowlmon blocking it, but it knocked him back, and caused Takato to fall off of him.
"Darn it, what is it with me and landing on my butt?" Takato groaned, before looking up, and paling at what he saw.
GrimmValdurmon X looking directly doing at HIM and charging the same attack he had used to destroy Merlot earlier.
"Wait, no!" Gyro shouted when he and the others finally noticed, WarGreymon trying to fly down fast enough to get in the way of the beam and block it with his Brave Shield, but it was too late, as GrimmValdurmon X fired it down on Takato.
Takato closed his eyes right when the beam was about to hit him… except it didn't.
He felt pain… but only in his arms.
Hesitantly, he opened his eyes, looking up and seeing his partner trying to block the beam, guarding against it with his arms, the armor on them slowly cracking. "Takato, run!" MegaloGrowlmon grunted, trying to hold the blast back, the force generating shockwaves which made it harder for the others to get close, and by the time they WOULD reach them, it'd be far too late.
"No! I'm not gonna leave you behind!" Takato shouted, going for his D-Ark and started randomly pressing. "Come on come on! There's gotta be something ANYTHING that can help!" he said in desperation. At that moment, the D-Ark started to glow, and time stood still.
"What?" Takato blinked, remembering this, right before the Blue Card floated out of his pocket, spinning in the air for a moment, before it flew at the surprised boy, and cut him in the back of his hand. "Ouch!" he shouted, holding the hand which had a small trail of blood, blood that was now on the edge of the card as it floated before him.
"Are you prepared?" Yggdrasil's voice was heard. "Are you prepared to live and die with your partner? To fight alongside him to the bitter end?"
Takato was understandably more than a little afraid but… "I will! Guilmon is my friend and I won't leave him no matter what!" he shouted, a shout from the bottom of his heart. Whether the boy fully understood or not, the fact remained...he had the resolve that was needed.
"Very well then. Take your new power, and seal this coven between you and your partner," Yggdrasil's voice said, before the bit of blood spread along the Blue Card, and before long, it had turned a bright red in color.
Takato looked in wonder as he touched the card, grasped it and brought it to his D-Ark.
Back outside, it felt like it had only been a second or two, the chosen struggling to get through, but suddenly a light started to shine from where MegaloGrowlmon and Takato were...followed by an explosion as the beam seemingly finally overpowered the cyborg Digimon.
"NO!" Blake shouted in despair, not wanting to see her friend's child dead.
However, a beam of energy lanced out of the dust, hitting GrimmValdurmon X in the chest, causing it to reel back as it hadn't been able to defend against the sudden attack. Once the dust settled, instead of a crater, stood a brand new Digimon.
It appeared to be a knight, wearing shining white armor with several gold highlights on the edges of some armor pieces, the ankles, knees and shoulders having red armor, while a long red cape flowed from his back. A pair of red belts were tightly wrapped at his waist, and just above on his chest, the Digital Hazard was visible. His helmet was white for the most part, with a small red piece that looked vaguely like Guilmon's head, bat shaped ears included, as a long white plume fell down his back, yellow eyes visible beneath the helmet. In his right hand, he held a large jousting lance, while in his left, he held a large shield with a red triangular symbol on it.
"What the…?" Ren trailed off in confusion.
"What IS that Digimon?" Ruby wondered.
Weiss was in awe for a moment, before looking through her analyzer, her eyes going wide "That's… Dukemon… MegaloGrowlmon's Ultimate Level."
Digimon Analyzer: Dukemon
Dukemon. Virus Type. An Ultimate Level Holy Knight Digimon. One of the thirteen Royal Knights said to uphold order in the Digital World, Dukemon wields the holy lance Gram and divine shield Aegis in the battle against dark forces. It is a living contradiction, existing as both a Virus Type and a guardian of the Digital World, with a risk of becoming a destructive being should its power ever go out of control. His special attacks are Royal Saber, firing a beam from Gram, and Final Elysion, firing a holy beam from Aegis.
"An Ultimate?! How the heck did he go Ultimate?!" Yang couldn't help but ask. Last they checked, the Blue Card was made to only ever be able to reach Perfect...not that they were complaining right now.
"That aside, where's Takato?" Ruby said, as true enough...Takato was nowhere to be found. They didn't get long to ponder, as Dukemon suddenly surged forward like lightning, and kicked GrimmValdurmon X in the side of the head, knocking the monster aside, followed by a rapid barrage of lance thrusts, causing it to roar in pain ending with… "Royal Saber!" Dukemon called out, firing and slashing with the beam from his lance, knocking GrimmValdurmon X against a nearby rock face.
"He's got some serious power," GrandisKuwagamon whistled.
"But something's not right," UlforceVeedramon added, as true enough, Dukemon had suddenly stopped and dropped to a knee, his body suddenly glitching with static.
GrimmValdurmon X saw that and moved to counter, managing to slash at Dukemon with one of his wings, throwing the knight back, while leaving an injury on his right arm, data leaking out of it. The monster looked ready to continue the assault but… "Brave Tornado!" WarGreymon shouted, drilling into his side, causing the monster to roar in pain and get some distance.
With the shockwave gone, the group continued their assault. Heck, with the aura temporarily down, they were now able to cause more damage, whittling away at the monster with their various attacks.
Down on the ground, Dukemon had managed to focus through the glitches, and aimed his shield, which glowed brightly. "Final Elysion!" he called out, firing a beam from his shield, the beam lanced upward, hitting GrimmValdurmon X in the chest...before soon breaking right through, leaving a gaping hole where the attack hit, weakening it greatly.
"Now let's finish this! Grace Cross Freezer!" MetalGarurumon called out, firing the missiles from his body and covering GrimmValdurmon X in ice. "Hit him hard!"
"Way ahead of you! Grandis Scissors!" GrandisKuwagamon called out, cutting the monster into four.
"And this is for good measure! Viking Flail!" Vikemon added, firing his morningstars, shattering the pieces further, which soon fell to the ground and slowly dissolved much like how Grimm die.
With the fight over, the group let out a sigh of relief, while Dukemon fell to a knee again and soon glowed, before shrinking...and separating.
"What the heck?!" Pierce gasped as they got closer, the light dissipating to reveal Takato and a small red blob-like Digimon...with Guilmon's signature bat-like ears.
"What just happened?" Nora just questioned.
"I… I think they were fused. Look at Takato's arm." Jaune pointed as they got right next to the boy, his right arm bleeding in the same spot as Dukemon had been hit in.
"Wait, so, that means that for a D-Ark user to reach Ultimate, they FUSE with their Digimon?" Yang asked in surprise.
"That would appear to be the case." Weiss said as Blake took one of her spare ribbons she carried for Gambol Shroud and used it to stop Takato's bleeding.
"Anyway, let's get him back home." Blake said as she lifted the boy up, carrying him, while Yang picked up his Fresh form partner.
"Should we just wait for evac?" Pierce wondered.
"No, I think it's best we try to get rid of this island as much as possible, we don't want to risk any of its data falling into the wrong hands. We can just say Merlot activated an island wide self destruct." Gyro said with a shake of his head.
"Let's make sure to destroy all the Mutagen. As far as I know, this island is the main source of it, so hopefully we destroy this place and nobody is gonna make anymore mutants. Ever," Pierce said.
"We'll help," Patamon said. "Just give me a bit of time to regain my energy, and we'll throw all the mutagen into the Heaven's Gate."
"Alright. Let's go everyone. Time to wipe Merlot's work off the planet," Ruby said, earning sounds of agreement.
And that's that!
Yeah, we covered all of Grimm Eclipse in one chapter this time, as opposed to the last time.
Anyway, as you saw, we did something big with this arc.
Yes, Digimon X exist because of Mutagen, and yes, GrimmValdurmon X has been planned for a while.
The way Dukemon happened kept changing a few times, till eventually we settled on this.
We hope you enjoyed the way we went about it people, good night!
