I do not own anything.
Chapter Forty-Six-Your Fear is Here Pt.1
Raandaimon knew before the cocoon of data vanished that he'd lost. Still, that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
Within the ring of data Zudomon's body glowed with frosty, sub-zero energy that wrapped around him like a just cocoon. His shell broke apart in cracks of thunderous cracks revealing snow-white fur that stretched throughout his entire body. Stomping his feet he broke apart sending chunks of ice and bone-chilling water upwards. Throwing out both arms the changing beast let out a ferocious roar that resounded through the arctic landscape. As the whirlwind dissipated two enormous objects crashed into the ground at the creature's feet. Grabbing the twin weapons in hand the newly born Mega-level Digimon rose up to his full height, a towering fifteen feet that caste an all-consuming shadow over the shark-man who was literally shaking where he stood under the Beast Man's glare.
"Wh…what…"
"Vike…mon." He breathed releasing a cloud of sub-zero air.
Name: Vikemon
Level: Mega
Attribute: Free (Vaccine/Data)
Description: The Viking berserker who governs the Digital World's freezing lands with absolute force. With a body covered in icy fur said to be as strong as Chrome Digizoid and physical strength strong enough to move mountains few have possess the capability to challenge this fierce berserker. Those that do work up the courage usually end up on the wrong end of Vikemon's mountain-leveling Mjӧllnir hammers. In spite of the fearsome image he projects on the battlefield Vikemon has been known to lead his Ikkakumon and Zudomon brethren with honor and compassion.
There was no compassion in those eyes, not for Raandaimon at least. He'd faced giant enemies before, but this was different, this was something he knew in the depths of his digital heart he couldn't defeat. The cold steel-colored eyes of the Beast Man promised Raandaimon nothing but pain and agony, paralyzing him to the spot, him, the fiercest of Dagomon's enforcers.
"Y…Y…Y…Y-You! YOU! YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU! HUH! I FEAR NO ONE! INFINITY RI-"
What started as a snarl became a thunderous roar in the span of ten short seconds as one of Vikemon's arms to one of his morning stars. In a heartbeat he'd grasped the weapon and slammed its harder than titanium head against the blood thirsty Mega, breaking every digital bone in his bone and knocking ninety-percent of the teeth in his out. True to its legendary description the swing of the mighty weapon created a spatial distortion, a warp that twisted the area in front of it like a rubber band being pulled back. The snap came and instantly sending Raandaimon's broken body sailing across the battlefield, broken teeth and trails of data followed him into the forest he quickly disappeared into, and in some cases flattened with his sudden impact. Not long after and the distortion released all the pent up air acting as a giant wind cannon that blew away anything in its path like an almighty horizontal tornado.
More than a handful of the aerial battles stopped as the combatants took note of the frightening power exhibited by the newest arrival. The grayish-blue aura that surrounded the giant-sized Digimon chilled the air, bringing the already chilly temperature to near winter levels. The various puddles of water around him had frozen in record time and the ground had become thick with permafrost. Even the heavy rain that fell over the landscape like a giant blanket froze on contact with the arctic-level aura of ice Vikemon naturally radiated.
"So how are you feeling?" While everything else seemed to be slowly turning to clear white ice Joe remained perfectly untouched by the freezing chill. Perhaps as a result of his role as Vikemon's partner or may the Mega was simply that good at controlling his power. Either way, Joe was grateful.
"Like I can take on an army." Came the gruff answer that could have been mistaken for a laugh.
Joe chuckled a little himself as he pushed his glasses up. "That's good, because something tells me we're about to do just that."
His footsteps were like miniature earthquakes shaking the moisture-covered ground. Turning up he saw the flyers of both sides had given him their full attention, some looking at him with fear and others scorn. Within his digital blood Vikemon felt his berserker instincts flare to life, screaming at him. He didn't even try to fight back the savage urges, "ARE YOU GOING TO JUST SIT THERE ON YOUR ASSES OR DO YOU PLAN ON ACTUALLY THROWING A PUNCH!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SORRY LOT! TOO SCARED NOW THAT YOU'VE SEEN WHAT REAL POWER LOOKS LIKE!"
Vikemon's words did the trick in igniting a fire in the eyes of the enemy, both of them. Hatred flashed through the optical organs of every demon who'd heard his words, in the cases of some their fury manifesting as malevolent red auras that boiled the rain drops falling on them. In regards to the Deep Ones it was a mixture of anger and fear, anger at being mocked and fear thinking their lord truly was all-knowing. If he saw their cowardice on the battlefield then the consequences would be deadly, and that was putting things lightly. Either way, both sides knew a reaction was required.
There was to be only one response that would suffice.
Vikemon took hold of both his morning stars and spread his hands out in preparation for the coming swarm. "You've really changed Joe."
"How's that?"
"Heh, when we first met, it seemed like every time you heard a stone dropped you were scared there was going to be a rock slide. Every time someone got hurt you'd fuss like they'd need an amputation. Sometimes it was annoying as hell, and other times it was funny as hell." The fur-covered Digimon laughed.
Joe laughed with him, "Yeah, I guess I was a real worry rote back then huh? Sorry about making you put up with all of that."
"No, thanks for being one. Because you were one it reminded everyone to be careful, to be mindful of themselves and remind them if anything happened you'd be there for them. That's why you got the Crest of Reliability." The Mega smiled.
Again, Joe found himself laughing despite the hundreds of vicious glares being directed his way. "You know, you're making it sound like this is going to be our last stand. You know how angry Mimi and Palmon will be if we don't make it back."
"Hah! Sorry about that, I guess that's just the inner poet in me coming out."
The first shots bounced off the Mega like rubber balls on a brick wall, shattering the hopes of the incoming flyers. The closer they got the more of Vikemon's face they saw, a face that twisted into a feral snarl before an ear-splitting howl left his lips. When the twin morning stars were swung those smart enough to realize they were outmarched concluded it was already too late to stop.
Without Dagomon pulling the strings MadLeomon had no direction beside his instinctive urge to destroy everything around him. On the positive side it made him absolutely predictable, on the negative it turned him into a one-mon bulldozer they couldn't directly confront.
Unfortunately that also meant MadLeomon could come at them however he wanted, just as he was doing now. MadLeomon was fighting just like he did at Clooloo, a wild beast with no sense of direction or form, merely swinging at the general of direction of his enemies hoping a single hit would be enough to knock them down where he could then pulverize them to his nonexistent heart's content. Luckily, Jun and Onimon had come to expect, Jun had grown so used to it she no longer felt fear whenever MadLeomon came charging at her.
"The legs, that's it. She thought after rolling out of the way of what was probably the tenth time. Like any bipedal creature he needs his legs, if he loses them he'll be stuck crawling on the ground! Despite the power of his swings being enough to uproot trees Onimon was able to continuously parry his opponent, while minimal effort to boot. Through a combination of strength and skill he was able to keep his enemy locked in and focused on him instead of his human part and spectral ally. Which was exactly what Jun needed. "Harper, I'm going to for the legs."
"His data's pretty corrupted though, I don't think I've ever seen a case as bad as this one." The ghost noted with an amused chuckle. "Think if I try to get inside his head it'll drive me crazier?"
"I'm not sure that's possible, but by this point I'm sure anything's possible." Jun laughed moving into position and loading the specialized bullets. Rather or not they did real damage she'd just have to hope. Upon hearing the mag slipped in Harper went off, a moving shadow along the ground that completely escaped MadLeomon's attention. Her first shots went unnoticed, both figuratively and literally. Barely a handful of bullets made contact with MadLeomon's legs, and even those were only glancing blows that inflicted no real damage. From there it got harder as the heavy-weight Digimon's body simply kept moving to keep pace with Onimon. Jun felt her teeth continuously gnashing together as she kept realigning her scope to get a clear shot.
It was when she was feeling the urge to scream that Harper finally made his move. Powerful as MadLeomon's Poison Claw was it wasn't strong enough to break through Tetsuhono's Chrome Digizoid sturdiness, especially when enhanced by Onimon's natural strength. Countless bursts of air and poisonous globs of liquid exploded from the repeated clashes between the two dark-aligned Digimon. The exchange of blows was happening faster than the naked eye, but such a high level clash required the absolute focus of both combatants. Just the sort of thing Harper loved taking advantage of.
Phasing into MadLeomon's legs Harper was bombarded by a corrupt stream of data that had him clenching his head in agony. For a moment Harper felt tempted to give in and relinquish what remained of his humanity, almost.
The level-less Digimon couldn't understand why its legs suddenly refused to do as he instructed. It was a strange feeling that left the Undead Digimon frustrated and wide open to his opponent. Almost immediately he fought to regain control of his legs, pushing as hard as he could against the foreign entity that had invaded its digital make up.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
Of course Onimon wasn't going to just stand there and wait for that to happen. He gleefully took the opportunity to knock his enemy's teeth out without any hesitation.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Or stop his partner from emptying as many of her magazines as she could into his immobilized legs. Matter of fact, she seemed to be throwing everything she had at MadLeomon's legs. Now that she finally had a clear shot Jun held nothing back in pelting the zombified lion-man with her digital ammunition. Unlike before the damage was very real as evident by MadLeomon's continuous cries of pain. Holes in MadLeomon's thick legs were being torn open from which corrupted data leaked out like blood would on a living creature. Soon enough simply standing caused the mindless beast pain nearly bringing the digital creature to its knees.
"Onimon, hold him down!" Jun called drawing her knife and sprinting towards her target with the blade outstretched. Rather than question her the Ultimate-level Nightmare Soldier did as she asked, separating his prayer beads and using them to immobilize the target. Chaotic lightning jumped from the demonic orbs forming a closed net around MadLeomon's flailing upper body. Jun hung low to the ground as she came closer and closer to her target, eventually swinging her glimmering white blade with deadly precision.
SLIIIISH!
"RRRAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" Harper broke free giving MadLeomon control of what remained of his legs. Collapsing to his knees a puddle of distorted data all the wounded beast could do was howl in frustration.
"Heads up ugly!"
At the edge of MadLeomon's vision he saw a giant lump of jet-black metal spewing red hot flames; his first instinct was to parry, counter, block, anything to reduce the damage from the attack. In that instant MadLeomon was slower thus he wasn't able to do anything.
The ground beneath the Undead Digimon broke apart under the force of the downwards blow, a flurry of spider web cracks formed before fire consumed the stunned Digimon. A gasp and spray of digital blood left MadLeomon's lips as he began falling back from the attack. Quickly sliding into position Onimon hoisted his kanabō over his shoulders like a baseball bat.
"If there's something left of you in there Leomon, did don't get back up from this. Please."
TTTTHHHUUUUNNNKKK!
MadLeomon skipped along the ground like a pebble, one that broke the ground with each step of the way before tearing a path along the ground then disappearing into a faraway building.
The prayer beads formed up in a circle in front of Onimon who made various hand signs while his mouth muttered dark words. Each orb lit up with an ominous kanji while it became ignited in demonic energy. "Kimon Blast!"
Each orb created an explosion of its own, the next only adding to the growing supernatural conflagration. The continued explosions shook the ground and blew apart any structure nearby. The last orb was the crowning piece as with it the explosive column breached the rainclouds high above the ground. Heavy in the air was the smell of ash and burning flesh, putrid mix all three onlookers had grown rather uncomfortably used to.
"How long do you figure that'll keep him down?" Harper voiced.
Momentarily Jun's eyes flickered to the far right, a beaten and broken path that seemingly led back into the forest. "Maybe long enough for us to make a break for it, not that we'll get very far."
"Gee Jun, how encouraging." The ghost chuckled.
"Heads up you two." Onimon snarled. "He's back up."
An aura of malevolent energy exploded from the crash site snuffing out the flames. Only barely could the outlined form of MadLeomon be made out.
"Beast Blaster!"
The venomous blast was three meters in width and height, more than enough to frighten the average warrior. The distorted lion head roared all the way through on its journey to its three targets.
Onimon and Jun dodged to the right while Harper went to the right; he was the first to see the second blast and alerted the others. Grabbing Jun Onimon went to work in dodging the back-to-back attacks that exploded from the enraged undead lion-man. Each blast was just as large as the first, and just as fast making it near impossible for any of them to catch their breaths.
The surrounding buildings began to disappear in fierce explosions of venomous smoke and ash, each one vanished with the defining roar of a lion preluding the blast. From a bird's eye view it seemed as if the entire town had been lit up by ominous light, the brightest being the raging aura of bloodlust that was MadLeomon. The countless holes and tears in the Undead Digimon's body were already healing, sealing up preventing any more data from being leaked, but not stopping the internal damage that had already been done. It would take longer time for his legs to heal, but MadLeomon didn't need his legs, all he needed were his fangs and teeth.
Bellowing a savage war-cry he leaped at Onimon and Jun using just his arms. Saliva and blood flew from the open jaws that had revealed rows of rotten, sharp teeth, arms lay outstretched with poisonous claws ready to sink into unguarded flesh.
Onimon jumped back five feet, just out of range of his opponent's ferocious pounce that broke the ground a part. Upon realizing his prey had evaded him he lunged forth with the intention of biting off a piece of the Nightmare Soldier, what he got was another hard hit from Tetsuhono. Onimon swung again only to have his weapon caught in a vice-grip that was too strong to fight. Out of the corner of his eye Onimon saw his opponent setting up another Beast Blaster, acting on impulse he grabbed MadLeomon's fist in a death lock leaving both dark-aligned Digimon gridlocked in a contest of strength. Onimon's left hand screamed in pain as the zombie's toxic claws continued to bite into his flesh sending stinging jolts of pain through his nerve system. Despite the strain the Nightmare Soldier dug in as he had no intention of losing to this undead abomination.
If MadLeomon had any trace of intelligence or brainpower he would have noticed the human partner of the Virus-type had completely disappeared. He'd lost sight of perhaps the most dangerous of the three combatants, and that was about to cost him.
As she climbed his body Jun wasn't surprised to find MadLeomon's body gave off no heat, his skin was as cold as ice, maybe colder than that. Given he was a Frankenstein-like creature put together from corrupted and broken data she wasn't too shocked discovering there really was no trace of life in the Leomon-look alike. If anything it saddened her that she'd never get the chance to meet the Leomon her partner had spoken so highly of. At the least she could put what remained of his spirit to rest.
Plunging Elafris deep into his neck she felt a series of jolts of electricity run through MadLeomon's body, instinctive reactions to being mortally wounded with a holy weapon. Breaking off from Onimon the still regenerating Digimon angry swung its arms from left to right in wild flailing in an attempt to knock Jun off, but the human girl held firm around the beast's shoulders. Firmly gasping at the stark-white mane she held tight and continued plunging the white blade into the exposed flesh over and over again. Beneath her the zombie screamed bloody murder as the pain invading its nerve system was magnified.
An idea passed through the vacuum that was MadLeomon's mind, snarling it fell on its back hoping being sandwiched between the zombie and the cold ground would be enough to crush the mortal girl.
Jun was faster.
Breaking off she scurried up MadLeomon's body up to his chest seconds before he shook the ground with his fall. Acting quickly she swung Elafris in several deadly arcs leaving burning slash wounds across MadLeomon's chest. The penultimate wound came when she plunged the blade into the left side of his chest, directly where the heart would be for a normal human being. White light exploded from the wound making MadLeomon arch up in aching pain, his steel-shredding claws digging into the moist dirt beneath him.
SLISH!
Jun drew her knife back for one last slash, this one aimed at the zombie's neck. This would be it, the finishing blow to the nightmare that had plagued her partner for the last several days. She could taste the grim satisfaction on her lips before she could even swing the blade.
But it wasn't to be.
"Hellfire Banshee!"
"JUN!"
She didn't response, she just acted on instinct. Forcing her legs to move with all the strength she had the redhead only saw a flaming blur heading towards her. It just barely missed her by a hair's breath.
She came up in a crouch looking in the direction the attack had come from, a sudden heat wave had just rolled in.
Malthamon caught his axe with a single hand then planted it in the ground with a deep snarl escaping his mask. "Do you know how hard it is tracking down rats? Not to worry though, once caught they're quite easy to exterminate."
Onimon sneered at the newly arrived demon and his squadron of DeviKnightmon. "Rats? Really?"
"You have a more appropriate name?" he challenged.
Again, the Oni sneered reading his weapon. "Just know it was this 'rat' that sent you to-"
SNAP!
"POISON CLAW!"
"Hellfire Banshee!"
"Whirl Flame!"
Tosamon didn't want to admit it, she was loathed to admit it, but she was losing.
And worse yet, WarGreymon knew it.
She'd lost count of how many tentacles he'd cut off and she'd regrown, it was growing increasingly frustrating.
Her acid, which has been known to eat through Chrome Digizoid in a matter of seconds, had failed to do any sort of meaningful damage to the Dragon Man Digimon who was not only highly mobile, but also possessed some rather impressive defensive abilities. She'd blasted him with clouds of toxin large enough to suffocate a city block, yet all he had to do was whip out that accursed Brave Shield and it'd all be gone in a flash of light and embers, or he'd infuse so much energy into his claws cutting through the clouds and igniting them was little more than child's play.
"True Blue!"
"Brave Tornado!"
SSSLLLIIISSSHHH!
Tosamon dodged at the last second, a dangerous but ultimately effective move that gave her the opening she needed. Transforming her right arm into a barbed tentacle thrust the poisonous limb at her opponent point blank. To her shock WarGreymon immediately broke out of his attack, he was now free falling with her incoming attack in plain view.
SLISH!
"Violet Regret!" The Mutant Digimon screeched regenerating all of her lost limbs.
"War Driver!" Her opponent bellowed.
Metal and flesh repeatedly clashed against each other creating fierce shockwaves that reverberated through the air. Scraps of flesh and flames fell from the two in droves as WarGreymon slowly but surely began to take the advantage. Gnashing her teeth Tosamon lashed out with her right hand-tentacle, as expected WarGreymon countered with his left. The disgusting appendage wrapped itself tightly around the clawed gauntlet, she did the same to his other arm leaving the two Digimon arm-licked.
Hot anger fleshed through Tosamon's eyes before she impulsively threw her head forwards in a childish head-butt. Not one to deny royalty WarGreymon answered the princess in kind.
THUNK!
"Why won't you just die!?" Tosamon screamed through her bloody clenched teeth.
Freeing his arms WarGreymon formed a condensed sphere of raw heat and light between his palms. His cold green-eyes held no mercy for the winged creature in his crosshairs. "Terra Force!" Spreading his arms out he launched the explosive ball, the flaming sphere quadrupling in size in the span of seconds and traveling at the speed of a bullet.
Tosamon regained her balance fast enough to brace for the attack. Hardening right hand to the point the sharp-ended limp was more a spear than anything she waited until she could feel the heat cooking her skin before attacking. On contact with the superheated orb Tosamon felt her entire right arm explode in red-hot pain, and it only increased as she put more strength into her arm hoping to cut through the attack. Trails of blue and sickly green energy wrapped around her tentacle-arm, her left arm went to the other in a bid of support to overcome the attack. Behind Tosamon the sea water boiled and raged.
A feral scream erupted from the Deep One's lips as she made one last push, eventually cutting through the geothermal sphere leaving both halves to sail past her into the ocean. Barely a second later and both halves exploded throwing monstrous amounts of steaming sea water into the air.
Tosamon was still holding her greatly burned right arm when she felt a presence behind her. "SHIT! He's-"
"WAR DRIVER!"
SSSLLLIIISSSHHH!
The daughter of Dagomon did not fall into the water, she managed to hold onto enough strength to prevent that from happening, just enough to stay afloat with her back screaming in pain. "Damn you…to hell." She seethed clenching her shoulder while shooting a murderous glare in WarGreymon's direction. "I'll make you suffer for this."
"Yeah, we've heard that before, forgive us for not being worried." The Dragon Man snorted.
The draconic warrior braced himself for another round until he saw something change in the face of his opponent. Being able to read emotions fairly well he saw her cycle through shock, anger, and finally resolution. Bowing her head she shot one last venomous glare at her opponent.
"If you knew what awaited you, then you'd be begging for me to delete you right here and now. A pity I won't have that honor, lizard."
With that the wounded princess sank beneath the shadowy waves leaving WarGreymon and Tai contemplating her words.
"You got a bad feeling about this?" WarGreymon questioned his partner.
"So I'm not the only one." He answered looking at his Digivice. While they were countless little dots littering the map there wasn't anything large enough to cause concern. That worried Tai greatly. "Stay frosty, something's coming, something big, I can feel it."
It was far out in the sea, somewhat out of the Digivice's radar range that the new enemy manifested. At first its appearance went unnoticed, by one by one the various Deep Ones fighting realized a new, stronger being had arrived on the battlefield. All at once they began retreating shocking their demonic opponents; some decided to pursue them while others chose to sit back and watch. Those that chose the second of the two picked up on the unsettling aura that fell over the stormy area. Nowhere was this more evident than in the sea, which had dropped several levels in terms of coldness. Countless demons flew upwards, further away from the water sensing something amiss.
"DESPAIR OF AEGEAN!"
There was little to no time to react, to defend. All many could do was simply bleak in shock before deletion came for them in a fast and relatively painless manner.
Without warning the crashing waves swelled up into a spiraling twister that touched the storm clouds which funneled around it, forming a tornado on top of the watery vortex that had sprung up. Both were moving at speeds that turned the water and wind into sharpen blades that could have cut through anything, and that anything included the hundreds of demons who found themselves in the twister's path. The terrified shrieks of the demons were silenced by the howling winds that cut their digital bodies a part piece by piece until only the tightest of scraps remained, those scraps quickly being carried off into the raging tornado along with their data. Attempting to fly away did little to help as the twister was also a vacuum, sucking in everything within range and not letting go like a black hole.
"What!? What in Luemon's name is this!?" One of the commanders screeched ordering his flock to fall back before they fell into the tornado's range of effect. "Damn it! All forces are to abandon sea-"
Like the oceanic predator it was the sea serpent burst through the waves in a great show of ferocious strength and majesty. A set of jaws opening up to reveal a gapping mouth over eight meters in length leading into a darkness abyss swallowed up the sky commander and his entourage. There was no chewing required for the many Digimon might as well as have been droplets of liquid going down the beast's throat. Of course they all screamed when they realized what was happening to them. In a mad panic many made a rush for the exit in a blind attempt at survival.
It was a valiant, if pitiful effort, but a wasted one.
With a thunderous snap the jaws of the aquatic dragon closed shut, crushing the physical forms of the dozens of Digimon it's captured in its jaws. The sound resembled countless glass vases being broken at once, followed by the sickening gulp as the creature swallowed their data and DigiCores down its vile throat.
Fulfilling its hunger the dragon let out an ear-screeching roar that washed over the flooded city, terrifying anyone unfortunate enough to hear the horrid sound. The visible shockwaves traveled through the air and water rocking the already turbulent sea.
"Tai," WarGreymon muttered toughing out the sound waves. The level of power this new arrival gave off made Tosamon and all the other combatants seem like ants; it wasn't just a Mega-level Digimon, it was something more than that. Something that they were in no condition to fight.
"I know partner," He was shaking, no denial or bravado, he was honestly scared and it showed on his face. Holding up his Digivice he waited for the something useful something they could use to make a clean getaway. They'd passed the time limit, most of the civilians should have been evacuated by now so that meant there was no need for them to stick around and fight this…thing. A blinking light drew his eyes from the serpent down to his orange-colored Digivice.
Name: Viledramon
Level: Mega
Attribute: Virus
Description: A "greater serpent" that can only be controlled by Yigmon, and by proxy Dagomon. An ancient alpha predator that patrols the darkest depths of the Net Ocean feasting on corrupt data information about it is scarce at best. What few records exist claim in the past it wiped out entire cities and countries with is unimaginable power, the likes of which put it on the same level as a natural disaster. Actually, with its Despair of Aeagan and Abyss Breath is' capable of producing natural disasters of its own, the hurricane and ice storm kind.
"So, this must have been Dagomon's trump card." Tai muttered looking out the outline of the beast now tearing through the sea. Reaching into his pocket for his scope he attempted to get a better look at the dragon, what he saw didn't make his feelings of dread dissipate.
The scales were hard to make out with so little light, they seemed to be a mix of green and black, or perhaps some shade of dark blue. The underbelly was gray, a rather steel-colored variation that could probably deflect even the toughest of weapons. Even though what could be seen was probably only half of the main body the dragon already towered over the battlefield, its head nearly touching the storm clouds. When it roared Tai felt his heart skip a beat as he finally got a decent look at the face.
The best way to describe it would have been as a giant armored arrowhead, one with dreadlocks. There were four solid spikes jetting out towards the back, all jet black with red tipped ends. Between and below were what appeared to be hundreds of flailing…extensions, long enough to nearly touch the surface of the water. Their tips resembled notched spears, probably strong enough to pierce through entire buildings as if they were tissue paper. It was impossible to count them as the main head roared and wailed the lot of them flailed across the air, wildly lashing at anything in sight. The long needle-like noise seemed like it could be a weapon itself if Viledramon got angry enough to use it. Three silted eyes stared out on each side of the head, there was no intelligence in them, only primal fury demanding it to demolish everything around it.
There was a flash of lightning and Tai could have sworn he saw the dragon look directly at him. "OUT! WE'RE PULLING OUT!"
"Thought you'd never say that!" The Mega-level Digimon yelled jetting off in the opposite direction with near mach speed. Even if he was equipped with weapons designed for slaying dragons now wasn't the time, place, and he certainly didn't have the strength to go toe to toe with a monstrosity such as that, at least not without back up.
A mass of light and energy gathered in Viledramon's mouth as it reared its head before lunging forth. "Requiem of Mu!" A bestial voice sounded before the dragon's mouth opened wide allowing the energy to escape in the form a surprisingly focused violet-colored laser beam surrounded by cackling black lightning.
It all happened in less than a minute, the laser beam slicing through the ocean and landscape like the swing of a knife, even parting the clouds before Viledramon ceased the attack.
Violet explosions cloaked in black lightning erupted along the path of the laser destroying everything caught within the blast radius. Charged lightning ran through the water practically boiling anything alive within the electrical field.
Looking back Tai felt his heart sink deeper seeing the perfectly straight line of destruction. "Fighting this thing…is going to have to wait for another day." When that day came was anyone's guess, what he knew was to tackle such a beast would take manpower and resources they didn't have to spare at the moment. Calling up Joe took slightly longer than he expected, it sounded like the glasses-wearing teen was out of breath. "Joe, how are we doing?"
"Ninety percent done over! Things not looking good out on the sea?"
"Yeah, yeah, several different kinds of not looking good. Big uglier than MetalSeadramon kind of not looking good." He frantically spoke feeling the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to stand on end. He knew this feeling well-the feel of being targeted by something big, powerful, and absolutely homicidal. "We're heading back to the portal, be ready to bolt!"
"Tai, hold on!"
The teenager's eyes went wide seeing the laser beam again, this time from a rather up close perspective that nearly took his breath away. "Shit I knew it! It IS targeting us!"
"No doubt on Dagomon's personal orders, hang on!"
Another laser beam came in their direction, this one a tad bit closer than before. Despite its appearance the laser possessed no heat, none at all. When they were hit by the blow back of the explosions Tai could have sworn they'd been blasted with a wave of winter air rather than fiery heat. Feeling the chill in his bones he actually wondered if he'd preferred if the beast simply spewed fire instead.
"Is he still behind us? I can't sense him!"
Knowing the danger of a potential heart attack Tai did as he was asked.
Viledramon was gone, disappeared beneath the stormy waves where no one could see the draconic serpent. Despite not seeing it Tai knew the dragon was closing in on them. "UP!"
WarGreymon didn't question the orders, he just did so without hesitation. Again, acting on instinct he threw up his Brave Shield creating an orange-colored energy barrier around himself and his partner.
Fifty feet away from them Viledramon sprung up from the water like an emerging predator, its entire body glowing with onyx and icy-blue energy. "Abyss Breath!" The dual-colored aura condensed itself into Viledramon scales seconds before exploding outwards as a destructive wave of sub-zero energy. The water and air itself all seemed to freeze into jet-black ice, everything in them being subjected to the same fate. Death and deletion was instantaneous, a small boon for such a horrific fate.
Even with the barrier up WarGreymon and Tai still felt the cold shock hit them hard. Both Digimon and human screwed their mouths shut and huddled together as the intense wave traveled through the barrier.
In a flash the attack seemed to be over, yet WarGreymon refused to put away his shield. Looking out Tai wasn't shocked to find his breathing coming out as hazy cold clouds. There wasn't anything left in the sky around them, nothing had survived the arctic blast.
Grrrrrrrr! Raaaaaahhh!
Viledramon apparently wasn't happy its target alone had survived the omnidirectional attack and responded accordingly. The Dragon Man quickly found himself dodging from side to side to avoid the armor-piercing laser beam that Viledramon threw his way. The surviving demons seemed to take the hint and fall back further and further away leaving the Mega-level Digimon with increasingly little cover, it was extremely annoying and disheartening.
Seeing the laser beam wasn't cutting it Viledramon decided on a new attack, one that was incredibly widespread and hard hitting. "Trident Rain!" The dragon's multiple dreadlocks lit up with bluish-green light while sharpened tips became blood red. Fully animated by Viledramon's unholy will the dreadlocks lashed out like angry snakes.
The Courage symbol on the Brave Shield burned bright red as the flaming barrier reappeared fending off the countless arrowheads. The sound of their deflection greatly resembled metal clinging off of more metal, a continuous grinding sound that had both males granting their teeth in irritation. Fire and steam exploded from the sides where the dreadlocks were deflecting angering the dragon greatly. Roaring in outrage it lunged at the defensive warrior hoping to engulf it in its boat-destroying jaws.
"I don't think so!" WarGreymon yelled putting his shield away while zooming towards the oncoming dragon. Between his palms a cackling orb of geothermal energy began to take shape.
CHUMP!
Up close Viledramon's face was even uglier. The three right eyes of the beast glared holes into WarGreymon's being. "Terra Force!"
Even though the blast lacked enough raw power to do any real damage it was enough to get Viledramon's attention, as well as damage disorientate the eyes. Jerking to the opposite side the dragon roared in fury then counter attacked with yet another laser blast. Once again the Dragon Man found himself bobbing and weaving through the air to avoid the death laser.
"Trident Rain!"
As the dozens of energized extensions came at him WarGreymon felt his fighting spirit ignite. "Ultra Tornado!"
Fire and ice collided in multiple clashes that shook the sky, the sound of tearing and ripping echoing across the empty air like a colossal bell. The flaming twister proved stronger than Viledramon's tentacles as he tore through the lot of them one after another while at the same time doing his best to avoid them. Viledramon roared again calling forth more dreadlocks for him to cut through, forcing him to ascend higher and higher.
SSSSLLLIIISSSHHH!
With an almighty roar WarGreymon slashed apart the last of the dreadlocks only to find himself wide open before the gaping maw of his opponent. Upon seeing the building light he immediately deployed his Brave Shield.
Tai found himself put under hundreds of tons of pressure as his partner stood strong against the laser beam. Above and below them the off shots of the laser beam continuing off wards. He could hear his partner grunting in effort to maintain the shield under the strain, to reinforce him he clenched his Digivice and sent all the power he could into the orange-colored object. Fire and light gathered in front of the shield causing the sun-like symbol to blaze to life, in retaliation Viledramon increased the output of power.
BOOOOOOM!
WarGreymon came dangerously close to water before he finally gained control of his decent. "Tai, are you okay?" He huffed.
Tai felt like his entire body had been hit with a sledgehammer and afterwards had been tapped back together. "I'm…ready to go home now."
"Then get your asses out of here, you've overstayed your welcome anyway."
The cold female voice set a sharp shock through both males, their heads darted to the left to find the source. To say they were shocked would have been a massive understatement.
"Ch…Ch…Ch…C…Chiy…o?" Tai muttered not believing his eyes.
Cold indifference met the teen's gaze. "Yes, so your eyes still work, leave before you lose those too."
"B-B-But, how?!" WarGreymon echoed baffled as to how she was standing perfectly calm on top the water. There was something about her aura, something that put him one edge. "This aura, this…evil! It can't be!"
Snorting in their direction the girl's red-rimmed eyes narrowed. "This is mercy, perhaps the last I'll show. Take it."
WarGreymon didn't need to be told twice. Without waiting for Tai to give any kind of response he forced himself upwards and away from the still-moving girl. Despite his partner's shouting to stop he kept moving away, his instincts blocked out Tai's voice and forced him to keep moving.
It quickly became apparent he'd made the right decision as the water around Chiyo began to churn and rage. Looking at the raging dragon Chiyo threw out one of her hands then spoke in a commanding voice her old self had never knew. "SINK HIM TO THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA, DEVIWHAMON!"
A thousand pistons firing, a hundred gears turning, and one demonic bellow sounded from the water beneath Chiyo, slowly but steadily the teenager began to rise as a massive shadowy figure began to emerge from the water. The escaping WarGreymon sped up his pace as the figure became more massive by the second, almost creating a giant hole in the sea with its rising to the surface.
Once again Tai looked back to see what new horror it was they were leaving behind. The only way he could describe it was a mountain, a monstrous construction of glittering black steel and flesh that cast such a shadow over him he felt as if he and his partner were no more than ants.
When the unholy wail of the new arrived beast reached his ear he realized that's just what he'd become, an ant.
One that would be crushed underfoot if WarGreymon wasn't fast enough.
To be continued…
Not exactly on schedule, but I managed to at least get a chapter up for the month of June. Yes, Chiyo has made her long-awaited return and as I'm sure you can guess she's…gone through some changes, oh, and she's got a new friend to show everyone! Next chapter we'll see what Chiyo 2.0 can do and if Tai will be able to make it home with both arms intact, or even make it home at all.
