I do not own anything except the OCs.


Chapter Thirty-Three- The Wolves at Our Heels

It was always that sudden silence that came after the monster or killer was supposedly defeated that the heroes always held their breath along with the audience. Depending on the directors this was usually when the antagonist came back for one last scare or the heroes realized it was really over. That was exactly what the assembled DigiDestined felt like they were experiencing as they all remained huddled together amongst the sea of wreckage and disaster that once was Shinjuku. For as far as the eye could see fires raged and smoke stacks connected the war-stained land to the early morning sky. Pale rays of sunlight broke through sheets of retreating gray and black casting eerie light over patches of the ruined city. Those that had survived looked up to the morning light with teary and broken eyes for many of them thought they'd never see the light of day after the literal nightmare they'd just endured.

Those on the ground wouldn't know of the devastation that had befell the Shinjuku Ward until they saw it on the news. Those that were watching it on their TVs, phones, and listening to it on the radio saw it, the whole world saw it. They were fittingly stunned and horrified at what they saw. Save for the Tochō building there wasn't anything recognizable among the sea of metal and fire. Kabukichō, Golden Gai, Totsuka, and all the others looked like they'd been the epicenter of countless meteor impacts. The destruction seemed to start in a certain area that spread out, changing from evidence of a natural disaster to wartime damages. Barely any skyscrapers stood tall especially given that Ythomon's Eldritch Edge seemed capable of traveling a good distance before fizzling out. The cuts were truly clean, as if rather than being cut or thorn a portion of them had simply been erased leaving the top portions to either collapse or topple to the ground. Entire roads were obscured or no longer existent, holes the size of baseball fields had been blown in the roads giving one a view to the collapsed subway below, and whole fields of stone and metal lay outstretched for as far as the eye could see.

Government officials in not just Japan but word over knew recovery would take years, decades even based on what they would be getting in the coming hours. The DigiDestined would be receiving similar reports as well. It went without saying that as news of Shinjuku would spread guilt and horror would grip the hundreds of children and teenagers working around the clock in the Digital World.

Such a thing would start with the ground team still huddled together amidst the shadows of the destruction. No one moved or even attempted to speak. Countless eyes darted from one end of the field to another. Each set took in every detail of the scenery looking for anything that might have been out of place. Even when they found nothing they didn't dare to speak up for fear of fate ripping the rug out from under them. It was quite how amazing-even when all the shooting was over with fear still held some strangle hold over all the combatants.

As it was often said fear made one do strange and dangerous things. It was fear that drove one of their own from the safety of group huddle. He had no business rummaging through the rubble, but he did so anyway. Though his body hurt with each move he grabbed and overturned slaps of steel and rock.

"Davis! Davis! Davis!"

Just as the light was fading from his eyes his hearing was rapidly growing weaker and weaker. "Gotta…sa…find…her…can't lose…" Davis felt the strength in his legs leaving him making his inevitable fall that much closer. What little reason he had left berated him for attempting such a stupid feat such as digging a person who may or may not have been dead. That side of his brain had been shut out all night in favor of the emotional maelstrom inside him. Every time he closed his eyes or blinked dropping himself into the darkness he saw the faces of his family. The guilt kept getting stronger and stronger all leading to this moment- his hands were black and bleeding, his arms weak and throbbing, and his heart desperately crying like a newborn. "I can't…lose…lose…any…one…else. I just…. can't." He managed to finish before the strength in his legs finally ran out taking him to the ground, and after that the darkness completely overtook his vision.


It hit her like a sniper's bullet, sharp, fast, and powerful. For maximum impact it seemed to hit her in the spine and at the back of her head at once practically yanking her out of her deep slumber. "Davis." Her brother's name rolled off her lips like a boulder over a cliff side. Without a trace of the former pain that had impeded her before Jun sat bolt up in her makeshift bed, a feeling of shock and dread spreading through her heart. The problem was, half of it wasn't her own. She felt as if she were watching a dam burst allowing an overflow to consume her and everything behind her. The sheer cold and bitterness of the water registered as only one thing. "Of God Davis, what have you gotten yourself into?" Jun shivered feeling the coldness race up her body causing her to wrap her arms tightly around herself.

"Someone looks like they just had a bad dream."

"Harper," Jun identified letting her surroundings sink in. They were in one of the little huts formed by tree branches. Onimon had done the hard task of protecting her while she recovered from Tosamon's tetrodotoxin. She wasn't completely sure what had happened but she knew her partner had gone the extra mile in protecting her as evident by his still healing wounds. Their ghostly ally had gone scouting to see what latest obstacle the Dark Ocean would throw at them next. Based on the look on his face Jun had a feeling it wasn't going to be pretty. "Bad?"

"Hm, no." The faceless ghost replied then continued before Jun could get her hopes up. "Bad doesn't describe what's going on out there. Matter of fact bad would be preferable to what's happening outside." Though he had no face the seriousness in his voice more than conveyed the grim aura surrounding Harper's report. "Something happened on the other side, something major Jun." A pocket formed in his ectoplasmic body from which he pulled out a collection of what she believed to be newspapers. Wordlessly he handed them over to her.

They were all in different languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, French, Portuguese, Indian, Spanish, dialects of African, Russian, and so forth, but she could perfectly understand what they were all saying. Disaster had struck her home world while she had been away. "Oh Christ." She mouthed looking over the countless articles detailing disaster after disaster. Between city-destroying tidal waves, earthquakes, and random outbreaks of violence Dagomon and Daemon had taken their war to Earth were the fallout was ripping the world apart. Entire cities such as San Francisco, Rio, Miami, Venice, and countless other coastline cities had been sunken by mammoth waves not since in thousands of years. Those areas that weren't near the coast were being overrun by Digimon of both sides fighting each other down to the last mon. Page after page showed images of Control Spires at the heart of the chaos. "So…" she started feeling numbness overtaking her body with every image her eyes found. "Who's winning?"

"I wouldn't answer that based on those. They're dated." Harper answered shaking his head. "Close your eyes and listen, once you do you may just consider staying here and eating a bullet when all's said and done."

Jun didn't know if the ghost was trying to be funny or not; it didn't matter as she did what he said anyway. Her blooming sixth sense seemed to have gotten stronger since her time under. She heard a myriad of sounds, explosions, the ground being torn asunder, thunder, trees falling hundreds of creatures screaming at once. Call it a gut feeling but Jun knew it was Dagomon's followers. The fear in their voices was unreal and haunting to say the least. A tremor shook their hut but it didn't stop Jun from focusing her senses on the outside world. The smell of smoke and ash was so thick she could almost taste it on her lips. A wildfire, a big one. The redhead realized immediately forming a picture of Daemon. She'd long concluded flames were the hallmark of the Daemon Corps; with as much smoke as she was smelling she came to the conclusion they must have started some kind of wildfire. With every second that passed the smell seemed to grow stronger and stronger. "How long as Daemon had the lead?"

"Don't know, my guess he's made headway on the Human World and possibly the Digital World because Dagomon's called all his forces back. He's losing too much ground to that Satan-knockoff."

Jun didn't realize she was laughing until Harper joined her. It was a sick, sick feeling that she was finally sharing a laugh with the clearly insane ghost but she couldn't help it. After everything Dagomon had put her through any bad news for him made her feel like she was walking on air. Once her laughter subsided she found her voice again. "How's it look? Can we still make it to Innsmouth if we stay the course?"

"Oh all depends." The ghost continued to cackle now bobbing his head back and forth. "Do you mind valleys as deep as deep as ocean trenches, crazed Deep Ones, monsters, demons on a power trip, overflowing rivers, and shit falling from the sky. Long story short do you mind a little stroll through hell?"

"Harper," Jun started crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "We're already in hell."

The ghosts head fell to the left in a moment of thought."…That's a good point. Hahahahahah!" He went throwing his head back in another feat of insane laughter.

The DigiDestined was faintly aware of a tick mark forming on her partner's forehead as he sat against the wall trying to recover. Though she'd grown used to the ghost's sudden bursts of laughter she was increasingly beginning to question their purpose. In the back of her head a theory had formed, one whose basis was built on the belief that Harper had been in the Dark Ocean far longer than he'd claimed. Half a century maybe? Is that long enough to drive a person laughing mad? If I can't escape am I going to end up like that? Was a silent thought that crossed her mind. She tried not to picture herself in Harper's condition for fear it would shake her resolve. It had taken her too much physical and emotional trauma to make it as strong as it was now. "Harper, I think maybe-"

His ethereal hand was clapped over her mouth in a heartbeat. The feeling was strange and surreal but Jun clearly got the message behind the action. Just as he'd done to her he put a finger to his lip while turning to Onimon, who had been half awake throughout their whole talk. The Demon Man's breathing came to a near total halt while his body went still as a statue like theirs. Jun did her best to slow her breathing and heart rate with Harper's help, whatever strange substance that made up his being flowed into her slowing her bodily functions.

Outside they heard bestial barking and snarling, the sounds of beasts whose presence was akin to that of wolves and hunting hounds. Gruff voices yelled at each other and the sound of dirt and rock being overturned was common. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were searching for something. The dogs barked and snarled at each other as if one of their own was to blame for the lack of findings. No one felt up to testing if the beasts' sense of hearing was as bad as their noises. Riding along the heavy breathing of their guests was their unprecedented amount of murderous intent. Each of the three could have sworn they were hearing the thoughts of the unknown occupants just by taking in the sheer darkness and killing intent that rolled off of them. It went without saying what would happen to the three of them if the beasts and their masters caught them.

An eternity seemed to pass before the barking and snarling began to move away from them causing the human, Digimon, and ghost to release a collective sigh of relief. Just as much time seemed to pass until at last they could no longer be heard.

"Something…pretty big must have happened for Daemon to start using hunting dogs for us." Was the first thing Jun said to break the silence.

"Hm, you think Jun?" Harper sneered.

"Either he wants us dead or he needs us as bargaining pieces." The redhead clarified now that she had Harper and Onimon's attention. "If Daemon's gained the upper hand than he wants us off the board because either a-we're a possible threat, b-he needs us to ensure he keeps the lead, or c…Davis and the others did something to piss him off enough he's coming for us."

"Interesting last choice." Onimon rumbled not at all happy about any of the options being true. "It could be a combination of the first two. Daemon's many things but stupid he isn't, he probably wants us so Dagomon can't use us for bartering points."

"…Jun, Onimon," Harper began without any of the previous humor in his voice. "We can't stay here much longer. Not if we, you guys expect to make to Innsmouth alive."

With a sigh Jun felt like lying back down but instead spread her hands out to the side to lean back a little. Her eyes stared at the stone ceiling that obscured an unknown sky from her vision. It was a coin toss rather she even wanted to see what the sky looked like after all the things she'd heard. "You're right, but it looks like outside it's a warzone."

"That's not a problem for me. You see Jun, I'm used to war-the panic, terror, and flames that love chewing the scenery." Though he held no eyes one could see Harper was no longer speaking to the teenager but in the direction of some far off person. His posture and voice reminded Jun of grizzled war veterans recalling their days as soldiers. "I kind of like fire you see. It reminds me of…of…my old life."

"How much of it do you remember?"

"Little bits and pieces, sometimes a whole lot and other times nothing at all. This place tends to play with your memories when you start thinking about home."

"It's still better to remember something than nothing at all." Came Onimon's voice.

"Heh, I thought you'd gone back to sleep big guy."

"Doesn't mean I couldn't hear. Jun, how are you feeling? Is the toxin out of your system yet?"

"Almost Onimon. My body's still a little weak but if I get a little more rest that should take care of it. What about you?"

"Same story." The Ultimate-level Virus type replied. "We'll stay here to rest up for another few hours then we'll get moving."

"In that case I guess I'll go back to charting out our lovely walk through hell's beach." Harper added turning his back to them.

"No you're not." Jun sternly countered causing the ghost to face her. "If it's as bad as you said it us out there then you've got no business getting yourself…deleted, killed, exorcised, gah-whatever! You've already done enough for us Harper, get some…rest now while we…got the chance." Were the last words the redhead spoke before she fell back asleep on her makeshift bed leaving the ghost to continue staring dumbly at her sleeping form.

"…She does know I'm a ghost right? Hey Onimon? To his surprise the eight-foot Demon Man was peacefully slumbering just like his partner. The faceless creature stared at the two of them dumbfounded at how peacefully they could sleep away while outside hell unfolded in all its war-like glory. Unknowingly Harper found himself holding something metallic in his hands, only when he moved them did their jiggle reach his nonsexist ears. "How…many years has it been huh?" He asked as if the dog tags in his hands were able to magically answer him. Countless years and he'd never been able to focus on the name engraved on the aged metal save for the last portion, Harper. This was all he had left to remind him he once had a life, that once was human and not some nameless apparition formed from leftover data and memories. And those were the times he was sure the dog tags were his and not something he'd ripped off of some corpse he'd stumbled across. At least looking at them stirred up memories he was mostly sure were his. He saw four men in front of him advancing through a dense jungle under a scorching hot sun that seemed intent on cooking them until their skin sizzled like meat on a burger. No matter what he always saw the brief flashes of gunfire, their briefness turned into drawn out fireworks as a battle suddenly erupted without cause or warning. Harper never could recall the language their enemies spoke, after so long they might as well have been talking Chinese for all he cared. "Wish I had some stories I could tell you guys." He chuckled in the direction of the pair. For better or for worse he'd grown to like the two of them. Why he had no idea but whatever sick charm they had worked on him. Moving closer to Jun's shadow he faded into it, happy to be back in the darkness he'd grown so used to. "Like I said, I'll throw my lot in with you guys and see where it goes."


By the time they woke up the smell of smoke and burning wood was impossible to ignore, it did the job of waking Jun and Onimon on its own. Seeing the trails of black and gray moving across their little hut was all they needed to get them on their feet and moving out. Jun grabbed her weapons and gear before dashing through the exit.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me." Was all the seventeen year-old managed to say taking in the new landscape before her.

"That…I'll be honest seeing this kind of brings back memories." Onimon stated shock clearly written over his demonic face.

On general principal skyscrapers and trees didn't go together, nor did they with fire. Anytime one was mentioned with fire it was usually bad. Now all three together…Jun was pretty sure she was the only person to ever seen skyscrapers that belonged in Shinjuku shadowing the burning tree tops of the Dark Ocean. Oh and a good portion of the skyscrapers were on fire too, many of them actually beginning to collapse leaving nothing but towering skeletons behind.

Jun knew most of the buildings literally being dropped into the forest; it was heart-stopping to see half of the Shinjuku skyline dropped into the black and white world she'd been trapped in. Each building created an earthquake that knocked her off her feet, since they kept coming back to back all she could do was huddle close to the ground with Onimon standing guard over her. Being a ghost Harper didn't have to worry about the constant quakes, but that didn't mean he wasn't caught off guard by the sight of buildings literally being dropped out of the sky like raindrops.

What little section of her brain that was still functioning registered some of the buildings as belonging to the Red Light District. Too many pieces of the scenery she was seeing made her think the entire area had literally been ripped out of Tokyo period and dropped into the dark world. It didn't at all help that almost all of them looked like they'd been hit by a tornado before they were dropped into the forest. Countless buildings that were barely holding themselves together broke apart once they made contact with the ground showering the area with debris. As if that weren't enough looking to the skies the three saw it wasn't just buildings coming through the jet black clouds, it everything.

"Oh well, I don't think I've seen that happen before." Harper stated in a deadpan voice while hundreds of thousands of people screamed in terror on their way down. "I do believe it's rained many things here: men, people, Digimon, crap, and even money if you can believe it, but never all at once."

Seeing the contents of an entire district rain down from the sky was enough to leave both severely shaken. Their shock didn't last long as Onimon suddenly roared out in sheer anger. Jun's sixth sense clued her in to what had incurred her partner's ire. Grabbing onto him with Harper fading into his shadow she watched as half a nightclub squashed the hut they'd been taking refuge in kicking up rock, dirt, and water hundreds of feet into the air. Onimon didn't stop running as he knew what they'd just avoided was only the beginning of what was going to be another rain of destruction.

Soon enough flames joined the growing list of "shit falling from the sky" much to the trio's chagrin. Fireballs, flaming wreckage, full on streams of fire, and flame encased projectiles greedily tore chunks out of the ground at random, sometimes taking living creatures with them. The further they ran the more things and people they encountered-shell shocked people and pieces of debris that belonged on city streets such as cars, benches, vending machines, street lambs, and traffic lights. Onimon barreled his way through them all the same knowing if they stopped for one thing, stopped for one person, they'd be dead in a second (or deadier in Harper's case).

The dying and horrified screams of the Dark Ocean's newest arrivals didn't last long as many met their in via the hellish flame of the demons overhead. While riding on her partner Jun looked to the black and gray skies to see the Daemon Corps had taken the air despite the nonstop rain of debris. She growled low in her throat clearly angry the demons were using the catastrophe to their advantage. Wildly firing the aerial unit cared not who or what they hit just as long as they were able to sow chaos and confusion amongst those clinging to the ground. As they ran they saw people take notice of them; men and women of all walks who'd literally just been plucked out of their worlds just like her.

Knowing that made it all the more painfully to ignore their desperate pleas for help in favor of saving their own skins.

It's not like we can do anything to help them. What? What the hell can we do to help these people? Give them a ride to the nearest cave where they can huddle in shock and fear? She ridiculed herself. It was a good thing Onimon was moving so fast their faces were little more than momentary blurs.

AAAWWWWWWOOOOHHHHHLLLLLL!

"That doesn't sound good." Harper piped in while Jun instinctively hugged her partner tighter. "There goes those hunting dogs we avoided earlier. Either of you got any doggy treats on you?"

"Harper shut up!" Onimon yelled increasing his overalls speed, beads of sweat beginning to slowly trickle down his forehead. "The distance between us is a hundred meters, we keep going as fast as we are now we'll be able to keep it that way!"

As it turned out they weren't able to do that, partly because the "dogs" pursuing them were actually the Digital World's equivalent of hellhounds. Red eyes attached to black bodies were steadily moving towards them at break neck speeds. Every few seconds Jun caught a flesh of bone-like white or gleam of black armor that sent a silent bolt of fear through her heart. It was hard to identify what they were but they pounced on anything that moved with the ferocity of a starving predator. A new chorus overtook the sound of a city falling from the sky-the sound of flesh being torn apart and hundreds of people screaming their lungs out. The collection of meat shredders melded together with the rising howls of the hellhounds spilling onto the battlefield.

"As if things couldn't get much worse." Jun muttered only to be proved wrong seconds later.

"Portals of Darkness!"

"Deadly Vapor!"

It was amazing how much power the Ultimate-level Demon Man could put into one foot that lifted them almost twenty-feet off the ground. The mass of SkullBaluchimon and Cerberumon howled angrily as their jaws closed in on nothing but empty air and dirt.

Name: Cerberumon

Level: Ultimate

Attribute: Virus

Description: You better hope you never run into Cerberumon because they call him the "Watchdog of Hell" for a good reason. With claws that can shred even Chrome Digizoid and a sentient suit of armor that repair any damage few Digimon can claim they escaped Cerberumon's hellish pursuit. Both of its head-like shoulder guards are capable of sensing incoming attacks making wounding this hellhound even more of a challenge. Maybe after he's done hunting you down with his Portals of Darkness move he'll end your existence with his Emerald Blaze or Styx Killer moves.

"You avoided our first attack but that won't be the case this time!" An animalistic voice snarled from all around Jun and Onimon.

"Damn it!" The Oni cursed reaching for his kanabo as five dark portals opened on all sides. "Jun, Harper hold on! Whirl Flame!" The exhaust vents on the weapon sprung up just as Onimon began his circular spin thus creating a veil of roaring flames that met the four Cerberumon pouncing on them. The extra force generated a whirlwind that was just barely strong enough to push them away giving him enough time to drop back down to the ground. He didn't stay long as the dark vapor gathering at his feet materialized into two SkullBaluchimon that quickly snapped at his ankles.

"Gave Bone!" They collectively cried charging Onimon all at once.

The prayer beads around the demon's neck blazed to life before shooting off to meet each of the Undead Digimon. Some of them actually penetrated the Nightmare Soldiers' bodies while others were merely pushed back giving Onimon enough time to make a break for it.

"You won't escape!" A Cerberumon keeping pace with him howled, murder burning in his eyes. "No matter where you go or rock you hide under we will find you! Styx Killer!" Ebony energy coated the claws of the demonic hound as did traces of it encase their razor-sharp teeth. In a heartbeat the Cerberumon was no longer running alongside Onimon but lunging at him intent on tearing a chunk out of his throat.

To the Demon Man's opposite side was another Cerberumon about to do the same. Onimon was a second away from performing another Whirl Flame when the sound of a gun cocking reached his superhuman ears. Heh, I guess you're no longer the same scared girl that wondered into this hellhole eh Jun?

BANG!

Jun knew a simple glancing shot that hit Cerberumon's armor wouldn't have done any good, now one that went straight through the center head's brain was an entirely different story. A fountain of satisfaction welled up inside Jun as she watched the Dark Animal Digimon drop dead to the ground. Following this the sound of bones breaking reverberated through her skull. "You run I'll shoot?" She shouted over the wind rushing past them. "Sound like a plan?"

She could tell by his voice he was grinning. "Just don't miss."

"What about me?" Harper called from the duo's combined shadow. Based on his voice the ghost was practically buzzing with enthusiasm at the prospect of watching the duo try to outrun the pack of hellhounds on their tail. "What do you want me to do? Provide Commentary?"

"How about shut up and try not to trip me up?" Came the Digimon's reply.

"Slow 'em down!" Jun ordered already squeezing down the trigger of her rifle. Her first shot was pure luck and if she expected to keep their trail free she was going to need the ghost's help.

"Aye Captain!" Was the specter's all too happy reply.

Though her eyes stayed on the scope of her M16 rifle June was always able to tell Harper was doing as instructed. The Cerberumon and SkullBaluchimon were relentless in their chasing of the group, vaulting over vehicles, debris and people in order to keep pace with them. Those that were assigned to hunt them paid zero mind to the scared straight civilians still dropping into the forest. On sight many screeched in horror or backed out of their path for fear they'd turn their attention to them. Those that weren't fast enough were either trampled or slashed to pieces as the Cerberumon had little issue with cutting through whatever obstacle stood in their path. Every once in a while their bodies would freeze and their images would become blurry almost like a TV losing the signal. It was moments like that Jun took the chance to fire upon their pursuers, her Chrome Digizoid bullets coming in handier than ever.

Keeping a clear line of sight wasn't easy as Onimon was forced to continuously move from side to side, to jump and slide over a wider range of obstacles that were falling with increased velocity towards the ground. The smoke was also starting to become a problem for Jun. In retaliation for her constant firing the Cerberumon were doing their best to fry her with their Emerald Blaze attack. She knew she wouldn't have liked the stream of scorching hot flames any more if they'd been their trademark color rather than the world's uniform gray and black. Onimon was fast enough to avoid them but every so often the redhead could feel the searing heat rub against her skin making her heart race. No matter how far they ran they couldn't break out of the range of the Cerberumon's attacks, and even if they did then they merely used their Portals of Darkness to remedy that.

Onimon's sudden evasions came without warning completely catching Jun off guard. Ammo clips slipped from her grasp with her weapons almost following suit. If he hadn't saved her life each time he'd done so Jun might have had something snappy to say.

On the positive side since guns were no longer viable Jun got to try out the Greek-style knife she received from Abakumon. Harper and Onimon jokingly asked her not to lose her arm as she began wildly slashing at the attacking Digimon. Cerberumon's organic armor may have been able to regenerate from normal wounds but not from ones inflicted by a holy weapon such as her dagger.

SSSLLLIIIISSSSHHH!

It was stunning how easily Elafris was able to cut through the attacking packs' digital flesh and armor. When they came back down many of the Cerberumon and SkullBaluchimon were huddled on the ground in bleeding humps. It was a grim joy that blinded Jun to the fact rather than getting up and following them their pursuers were beginning to whimper in pain. Looking back she saw them coughing and hacking their digital guts out. That's not Elafris. The teenager realized feeling a cold fear spreading over her body.

Hehehehehe.

"ONIMON MOVE IT NOW!"

"I KNOW DAMN IT!"

The prayer beads broke apart to form a tight circle around them about five feet in diameter. Each glowed with a different kanji as it erected a black barrier that repelled the oncoming attackers. Bestial looks of fury crossed their faces before their pupils suddenly dilated. Their bodies staggered then fell to the ground, saliva and digital blood spilling from their gasping mouths. Following this a thick mist rolled over the area only being stopped by the barrier the prayer beads had set up.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you two alive and well. Jun, if you'd died back there the game would have been over before it could really get started and that wouldn't have been any funny." Came a female voice that sent a silent shiver up the teenager's spine. Her footsteps reverberated in both Jun and Onimon's ears while Harper wisely fled into the shadows to keep himself from being seen. Calmly walking through the mist with her misshaped body splattered with blood was Tosamon, an unsettling smile plastered over her face. "Not the best places for reunions but I guess I can make it work." Opening her mouth she sucked in all the mist leaving Jun and Onimon alone in the middle of burn outlines and disappearing corpses. The barrier still hadn't come down. "Oh you relax, there's no toxin in the air."

"And we're supposed to believe you?" Onimon snarled readying Tetsuhono.

"Now why on earth would I lie to you?" She cried opening her arms out.

"Because right now you need a game changer." Jun affirmed noting the slight change in her opponent's posture. Clearly she'd struck a nerve. "Shit's falling from the sky, burning shit which I'm guessing isn't good for the local freak life. On our way here we've been seeing your people dying like flies which can only mean they got their asses kicked in whatever battle just ended." It was stupid to let her rising confidence show on her face but Jun couldn't help it. As far as she was concerned this…thing was owed some kind of payback for nearly killing her. "How bad was it?" She baited almost sliding down from Onimon's shoulder. "I mean the fight must have been pretty lopsided from all your people to be this terrified or for your big ugly dad having to call everyone home. Did you Aqua Man rejects finally bite off more than you could chew?"

With every word Tosamon's face had changed from emotionless to one of contained fury. Her tentacles silently lashed at the ground carving up chunks of grass and dirt as proof of her growing anger. She was a hair's breath away from releasing her tetrodotoxin on them when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her tentacle arm shot out to the left like a spear, a loud thunk and a painfully cry followed. "Unless you like the feeling of having your lungs freeze up while you choke on the air itself I'd advise you stop talking."

"Why? Do you really have time to go after us when you're losing your own home to some prick in a bath robe?" Jun challenged.

Tosamon took a ten-second breath before responding which was exactly what Onimon wanted. "Kimon Blast!"

It was far from his strongest attack but it was so unexpected it actually worked. Tosamon guarded herself with one arm against the demonic energy being blasted at her in the form of countless prayer beads. After a minute or two of struggling she roared to the sky scattering the prayer beads. Just as she was preparing to dash after the two she felt the ground shaking beneath her feet. "What the hell is…NOOOOO!"

CCCCCRRRRRAAAAACCCCKKKK!

By a fraction of a second Tosamon managed to avoid being impaled the Control Spire's sudden birth. With crossed eyes she watched the jet black obelisk grow like a tree until it seemed its peak was touching the torn sky.

"Violet Regret!"

Ordinarily the black object would have been falling to the ground with the wind trailing behind it, but instead Tosamon was hissing in minor pain as her tentacles were deflected by the invisible barrier around it. Blood-colored lightning and flames cackled around the object turning into a thick aura that ran all the way up to the tip. A red light flashed at the pyramid-like tip then exploded outward. The wave of light looked more like rolling scores of flames fanning out of furnace the closer Tosamon looked. Similarly designed markings appeared on the side of the Control Spire radiating a hellish heat that made even Tosamon's moist skin sizzle.

"How's it feel to be on the losing end of the spectrum fishy?" Snarled a demonic voice that sounded like a cross between a man's and a beast's. "You ready to go crying to daddy yet?"

The daughter of Dagomon reminded on guard as the heavy footsteps announced the presence of a new hellhound, one far larger and more dangerous than the Cerberumon or SkullBaluchimon. Standing at little over seven feet in height its jet-black fur was lined with volcanic-like cracks from which fans of flames and embers constantly escaped. Jagged black spikes and rocky plates formed some sort of armor around its main body and legs; if Tosamon had to guess they didn't impede the demon dog's movements in the slightest bit. Some of the plates formed something of a spiked collar around the neck with multiple broken chains hanging off of it. In the center a crimson crest in the shape of a skull burned with a fiery light. Each of its footsteps left burning imprints in the earth and its saliva melted everything it touched as if it were acid.

The searing eyes of the hellhound fell on the tensed Tosamon resulting in an ear-to-ear grin that revealed rows of sharpen teeth. "Of course if you don't want to go run to daddy you can always stay here with me. I promise you Tosamon I can be much more fun than the other members of the Daemon Corps!" The beast cackled at her with its four red eyes narrowed into slits.


AAAAAHHHHOOOOWWWWRRRRAAAAA!

It was a bad sign when Jun, Onimon, and Harper all froze at the haunting howl that filled the air. It wasn't like the howls of the Dark Ocean's residents which were more towards the strange and alien side, what they heard was a savage sound that would have put even the mightiest of creatures' to shame. All three had heard many terrible sounds since coming to his place but what they heard in that instance took the cake as far as fear-inducing went. Collectively their heads went in the direction the sound came from, all of them just a little scared of what it was they'd find.

Proudly standing at the top of a burning skyscraper was an eight-foot four figure that held its arms out as it laughed at the chaos consuming the Dark Ocean. Only Onimon could make out the finer details of the figure but what he saw wasn't exactly what he wanted to relay to his compatriots. It was a…werewolf, a full blown werewolf with a military leader's coat bellowing in the raging wind. Onimon saw this creature was cut from a different cloth than WereGarurumon-this humanoid beast was a killer machine compared to the thuggish anti-heroic looking Ultimate-level blue and white wolf. Scars adorned a muscular that was on par with Onimon's own impressive physique. Perhaps what unsettled Onimon most of all was the article of clothing on top of the Werewolf's head-a peaked cap.

A werewolf with a bellowing coat and a peak cap, an aura of violence and anger hanging around him like a bad odor, and a howl that can make even the bravest of the brave freeze up in fear. Yeah, there's no doubt about it, it's him. "Jun, Harper," Onimon whispered dropping into a crouch amidst the burning grass. "No matter what happens keep your voices down, don't make a scene, and no matter what, do not think about people who you may hate or despise."

The two would have argued with him if they didn't see the serious fear etched on his face. Or if they heard the multitude of howls that greeted the first one. It was as if the first was a call and all those following was an answer. It was impossible to tell how many there were but an estimate of a "couple dozen" might have been good enough.

"Someone remind, who was who said "let slip the dogs of war"?" Harper questioned actually feeling a tiny bit if fear worming its way into his nonsexist heart.

"Mark Anthony in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar." Jun answered him with a twitching eye and shaking arms. For once in her life she actually wished she was back in her literature class trying to avoid falling asleep to the sound of five century old melodramas.

Clasping his hands together Onimon's mouth moved in ways neither Jun nor Harper could understand. His prayer beads appeared around him rotating at faster speeds than usual. Their cool light bathed the human and ghost just as the various kanji began to appear over Onimon's body. Several of them suddenly locked in place ending the prayer beads' rotation allowing them to return to their place around Onimon's neck.

"We're cloaked for just a little while so we need to move now."

"You know I don't recall you ever saying anything about those prayer beads being a Swiss Army knife." Harper bemoaned jumping back into their shadows.

"I am more than muscle you know." Came the Digimon's snarky reply.

"Boys," Jun hissed. "Focus now, so we don't end up getting torn limb from limb by Cujo's evil cousins."

As it turned out those supposed evil cousins had been empowered by the werewolf's howl because they couldn't be seen they could damn well see the countless Cerberumon and SkullBaluchimon literally attacking anything that moved.

They literally passed massacres and flat out executions on their way through the burning maze. They couldn't look anywhere without seeing fires raging or people screaming in horror at what was happening around them. Soldiers and Yakuza were the only ones that even tried to fight back, no matter how pointless it seemed. Like the rest they were killed without mercy leaving the others in a state of sheer hopelessness before death claimed them too. If it was at all possible it seemed like the demonic beasts were too caught up in their slaughter to even notice the moving distortion on the smoky air.

Jun kept her head buried in Onimon's shoulder so she didn't have to look at the slaughter unfolding before her. One she was powerless to prevent.

Harper couldn't place exactly what he was feeling watching the slaughter around him. After a while he'd pinned the feeling down as deju vu. I've seen all of this before. He kept telling himself feeling more confident each time he did. Of course it was also unsettling because whatever shred of morality or humanity he had left was shrieking in horror at what he was seeing. Watching the blood splattered brought back so many vivid images of a past he'd lost some time ago. Gunfire, yeah I'm sure it was gunfire instead of dogs. And the buzzing overhead, that's the same too. The innocent people…I'm sure they were there too. He never felt the blood splattered that landed on the duo's fleeing shadows, and that's what made the ghost feel even sadder.

While the ghost and human were wrestling with their own bitter emotions Onimon was trying not to knowing he had to keep his mind on the prize. What's the endgame here? What in the hell does Daemon gain from murdering these people? Sure he's depriving Dagomon of possible manpower but this is overkill. There's also the Control Spires, they're probably too powerful for Dagomon's warriors to destroy. Knowing it might cost him Onimon turned his attention to the flame-covered skies were debris was still falling. In his viral heart he knew he needed to get a bird's eye view of the landscape. Whatever happened on the other side's changed the entire game in Daemon's favor. Yggdrasil, I'm hoping like hell they haven't released another Demon Lord. If they have then…

"Emerald Blaze!"

Three streams of flames came at Onimon at once. Acting quickly he kicked off his heel launching himself into the air to avoid the combined attack.

"Portals of Darkness!"

The Cerberumon came charging out of the dark portal tackling Onimon back down to the earth. His impact shook the ground while the Cerberumon nimbly landed on all fours with a snarl. The cloaking spell surrounding Jun and Onimon cackled then fizzled out leaving them exposed to the pack. As expected their revealed presence drew a majority of attention from the other humans to them.

"That was a good plan Onimon, it lasted what? Ten minutes maybe? Hey we might have made it to safety if our luck had been just a little better." Harper cackled still hiding in their shadows.

"Harper, do me a favor will you?" Onimon snarled getting into a fighting position. "Unless you've got something useful to say just keep your mouth shut."

The expressionless smile came up instantly. "Would if I had one big guy."

GA-THUNK!

What appeared to be a tank slammed into the ground barely eight feet from the trio' location. Stepping over it was Cerberumon with fresh blood rolling down its jaws. The Watchdog of Hell's eyes traced every inch of Jun and Onimon before its lips pulled back into a twisted smile. "Maim but don't kill, the master wants them alive!" He barked.

And like that it was three against a dozen.


For reasons that will be made clear in coming chapters this is what I call the Breakdown Arc. As the title clearly points out a lot of things are going to get broken: people, Digimon, rules, wills, and sanity. Basically this is NOT going to be a fun arc for anyone, including the villains.

I'm glad I got this chapter out before E3, I always tend to slack off whenever that time of the year comes around, video games and summer, two of my favorite things in the world. Ah, enough of that, the Dark Ocean is burning! Yes ladies and gentlemen, the once quiet sleepy little hellhole has now become a raging hot warzone with the Daemon Corps going on the full offensive. Given how little we saw of the actually thing in canon I'm hoping my additions will add a little more spice to things. Whereas before Jun's story bits can be liken to old school Resident Evil and Silent Hill during this arc it's going to be a bit more mixed with typical horror and action, hope you guys are looking for to it as much as I am!

Please leave a Review and take care readers!