Any questions for COFC, let me know in a review! Thanks!
Dolph Ziggler sighs as he presses his face into the soft grass that he's laying on, enjoying the cool feel of the dew on his face, contrasting nicely with the warm sun beating down on his skin. Except that it feels weird, his senses calling out to him that something's watching him. When whatever it is rustles, he sits up and grabs the thing, startled by the warmth of the flesh under his palms- the soft fur... the wild green eyes poring into his. He stares at him for a long moment, shaking his head. "Wha- what are you?" he croaks, dropping him with little warning.
The creature huffs and glares up at him, dusting off his purple body before standing at his full height- which barely comes up to Dolph's knee. "I'm Impmon," he says proudly. "And I am your Digimon partner."
It's been about a week now since that first, memorable meeting, and, despite the constant weight of the Digivice in Dolph's pocket, he still can't help but feel like it was all a dream, something his many concussions had caused him to hallucinate. Until, that is, the device begins to vibrate against his thigh and he gasps, glancing around to find that no one's paying him much mind so he pulls the strange thing out and looks down at it, somehow not that surprised when a hologram of Luke lights up in a column from the Digivice.
The man stares at him for a moment before beginning to speak, his voice echoing ever so slightly. "Dolph Ziggler," he greets him. "The Vaccine sector has need of your assistance. Please return to the Digiworld. I have temporarily connected the port on my end with the monitors before you."
Dolph swallows, glancing up at the mentioned monitors before venturing towards them, holding the ridged thing towards them. There's a split second of nothing and then light bursts out from every side, a loud humming accompanying it as Dolph is absorbed into the screen. He lands with a stumbling foward leap, gasping as entrances similar to his occur on all sides, the other wrestler Digidestined appearing around him. They all land a bit breathless and off-balanced, but Seth Rollins has it the worst- the beatdown from fourteen men on Raw is still affecting him, clearly, as he lurches forward and only just catches himself on a nearby outcrop of rock, his arms trembling from the sudden strain. His eyes narrow as Heath Slater, Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio smirk and mutter amongst themselves, three of the men involved in the melee against The Shield as ordered by the Authority...
Unfortunately this isn't the time for such things as Luke appears before them, distracting all of the competitors from their lingering issues. "It is good to see you," he greets them briskly, barely giving them a chance to answer before he begins to explain what's going on. "Since the reported issue is on this sector, you won't need to use the Digiport to get to it, but you will have to travel a short distance." Dolph glances over his shoulder at a pale, struggling Seth, not sure how this is going to work out, when the man begins to speak again. "I have provided a map on your Digivices, it will direct you where to go."
When Dolph checks it, the space indicated with a red arrow isn't that far away, but considering how Seth is looking at the moment, any distance is perhaps too far. Sighing, he holds his Digivice out and says the first words that come to mind. "Hold, deactivated." Impmon reappears at his feet in a spiral of lights, shaking himself out once he's freed to do as he wishes. "Hey."
"Took you long enough," the snarky Digimon shoots back, staring up at him. "What's going on?" Dolph explains what little Gennai had told them, showing him the map on his Digivice, and Impmon frowns. "I know that place..."
"Oh?" Dolph expects him to say something else but he remains silent even as the others release their partners and the walk begins, Seth limping pretty badly but keeping his thoughts to himself, no matter how often Dolph looks over his shoulder at him. He keeps up with them all fairly well, no matter how much he grimaces and struggles, Betamon staying close to his side as they progress closer and closer to the dot flashing on the small screen.
It's clear when they approach, cries of pain echoing around them. Strange particles float in the air around them and a strange, morose feeling creeps down Dolph's spine as he stares at them, reaching out to touch them as they pass him, dancing in the breeze before they disappear. "Data," Impmon says in disturbed awe as he examines the shimmering pieces. "Many Digimon have been destroyed here recently." This causes Dolph to freeze, his fingers brushing against one of the clusters, staring down at his partner in disbelief.
"What?" But he doesn't get a chance- more cries of pain followed by data filling the air and all of them pause as a small orange dinosaur Digimon with pained green eyes races towards them just to collapse at their feet, unable to catch his breath or do much of anything else.
Dolph gapes down at him as he struggles to breathe, speak, anything. "He's killed us all," he finally chokes out, green eyes that are almost the exact opposite of Impmon's- wide, and youthful, with innocence and hope to spare- bores into Ziggler's. "Run before he does the same to you..." Before the young Digimon could say or do anything else, a blade suddenly stabs through where he's laying, causing him to shatter into more of the pieces floating in the wind.
The group of Digidestined stand, numb and in shock at what they'd just seen, that level of callous brutality even hard to stomach for the seasoned wrestlers, but they have no time to compartmentalize any of it as the culprit stands at his full height, examining the group with dark eyes only just visible over the rim of a straw hat. He has some features like a bird, a beak and feathers spreading out from his throat all that Dolph can see at first, until he looks down and notices the lengthy talons that comprise his feet. He swallows harshly, taking in two massive swords- one sheathed at his side and one held tightly in a fist. Despite having the arms of a muscular man, burnt gold wings are twitching against his shoulders, adding to his mistique.
"Weakness," he intones in a dull voice, shaking his sword in agitation. "It is all weakness." Before anything could be said or done in response to this, his eyes drop on Seth as he fights just to keep on his feet, still in agony from all he had endured earlier in the week. "It is my duty to extinguish it. The fittest will survive." His sword flashes in the bright sunlight, startling all of them as he flies over them and lands sharply in front of Rollins, who staggers back and collapses against the ground, staring up at the Digimon with a grimace on his pale face. "I will end your misery, human."
It happens so fast, none of them have a chance to respond or even think, when he slashes downwards, time ticking by terribly slowly when... there's a squeech like a bird squawking as Ricardo's partner, Veemon, impacts against the side of the warrior in an unexpected headbutt, sending him skidding a few feet away from the downed Digidestined. Thankfully Seth looks shaken but no more injured than two minutes earlier. "Bada boom!" Impmon suddenly cries out, flames circling the sword-wielding creature as he kicks wildly at him, holding him at bay until Seth finds the strength to drag himself away, Betamon making sure he's ok before joining the fray, their attacks combining and dancing against their opponent's flesh until he swipes at them both with his sword, only just grazing them and sending them flying.
"Impmon!"
"No!" Seth exclaims, his voice breathless and weak as Dolph rushes over to his partner. This, unfortunately, draws the warrior's focus back onto him, eyes narrowing as he takes him in, propped up on his elbows as he tries to focus on what's going on in front of him. He cringes as soon as he realizes, staring up into the face of his to-be killer, swallowing harshly.
"Justice," the Digimon says lowly, realization dawning across his face. "You are a warrior as well. This is truly tragic, but needs to be done. You won't survive this world, not as you are. Humans are inherently weak, the injured ones more so. I am doing you a service... but it is my belief that a true warrior deserves to know the name of the owner of the blade that ends their life. I am Buraimon." Their dark eyes lock and Seth holds his breath, in too much pain to move or try to protect himself. Betamon struggles from feet away, his eyes fluttering as his instincts to save his partner scream at him, despite his own painful injuries.
The cool blade has just pressed against his chest, the tall Digimon preparing to swipe up and then down in one final strike, when a voice calls out, "Now!"
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon cries out, large, thick vines whipping out from the tips of her hands, snaking around Buraimon while he's distracted, tangling around his hands and pinning his arms to his sides as he struggles against the unexpected attack. However this fails as his limbs quickly become heavy and unresponsive in response, her tendrils including a fun little toxin that enters every inch of skin that it touches. "Go!" she orders, pressing back on the offensive, holding him even tighter as the other Digimon regroup as well, not wanting their best chance at bringing an end to this madness to disappear.
"Blue Blaster," Gabumon calls out, thick blue flames pouring from his jaws, Patamon floating nearby.
"Boom Bubble," he recites, his small body expanding before he expells a large bubble of air that strikes the murderous Digimon at the same time as the flames, causing an explosion.
As Buraimon growls and grips his side in pain, more flames issuing from Impmon mix in with Renamon's diamond shards, burning into his flesh even further. He struggles, shaking his head dazedly, startled to find that he is now the weak one, this seeming to snap him out of the bloodthirsty haze he had been haunted by. "No," he breathes, struggling just to stay upright as he presses his sword into the ground. The Digidestined all hesitate, on high alert, as he turns to look at them, pain and exhaustion etched in his face. "This world," he tells him wearily. "It was not always this way. I was not always this way." He looks down at Seth, still slumped at his feet. "We have been diseased by evil, by cruelty." His data begins to destabilize, his form fading in and out before their eyes. "Digimon are instructed not to trust humans... not to believe... in inate goodness... but I sense now that... you are different. You won't allow this world to fall into ruin. I trust that you will find your justice."
And just like that, he's gone, his data floating as the Agumon's had minutes before, leaving the Digidestined staring on in subdued horror. "He'll be reconstructed," Impmon finally offers weakly, staring around at his partner and the others. "Reborn with a fresh start, probably without any memory of this."
"He was one of the corrupted Digimon Luke mentioned when we first arrived here," Seth says vaguely, all eyes turning to him as he struggles once more to stand, wanting to collect Betamon and make sure he's ok too.
"Yes," Impmon confirms, watching as his Digidestined partner kneels down and helps Seth to his feet, staring at him as he breathes heavily, somehow keeping his balance despite the latest attack he's had to endure. "I've heard of Buraimon, he was a wandering warrior with impressive swordskills, but would never ordinarily do such things as we saw here today." All eyes lock on the scorched earth before them where Agumon had once laid, many others like him probably meeting the same fate in this area.
"Hopefully he is reborn into a peaceful existence," Dolph says, lurking near Seth just in case he needs further support as they make their way slowly back towards Luke and the Digivice to take them home.
