Disclaimer: Although the severely warped and twisted imagination is my own, Digimon Xros Wars and its characters are the property of Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, Toei Animation, and TV Asahi.
Author's Notes: It's been quite awhile since I've touched this story. There are a lot of reasons why I had to put my writing on hold, but mainly it was the year or so I spent tending to our sick and dying old cat just trying to keep her comfortable until she passed away several months ago. Since then I've been trying to snap myself out of that emotional funk to hopefully regain a sense of normalcy. I just hope I haven't gotten too rusty.
| Digimon Xros Wars | Xtra | Part 24 |
Zapmon assumed a ready stance as Crystal began rotating the dial on her silver Xros Loader to input the selection of digimon she intended to use against Velgmon. "Zapmon, Gururumon, Lighdramon, Tiger Vespamon, Digi Xros!"
"Digi Xros!" The familiar shape of X-Zapdramon Fighter Mode emerged adorned with the black and yellow cyborg armor of Tiger Vespamon as well as the tattered red scarf that was typically worn around Tiger Vespamon's neck. The resulting digimon also wielded Tiger Vespamon's twin blades, Royal Meister. "X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode!"
"Alright, if this doesn't work, there's something else we can test out, but right now just concentrate on hitting Velgmon with everything you've got!" Crystal offered some encouragement before sending her newly Digi Xrossed digimon into battle.
"I'm liking this form you've given me so I'll try not to disappoint you!" X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode immediately took to the air with the Royal Meister blades crossed in front of her. As her upward charge toward Velgmon continued, electricity began to pulse around the twin blades. "Lightning Stinger XZ!" She struck Velgmon full in the chest with the electrified blades causing the giant avian digimon to reel back from the impact, stunning him momentarily with the sudden electrocution.
"Is it me or are you guys really getting into this?" Zenjirou was understandably surprised by how fired up Crystal and her team were getting considering they were usually pretty mellow.
"Don't get me wrong," Crystal responded without looking away from the battlefield. "I don't like to hurt anyone so I've always avoided getting into real fights, but ever since coming to this world I've realized that simply isn't an option here. Of course, it's probably a lucky break that I have a certain knack for these sort of battle conditions from all the mental energy I've wasted on over analyzing certain video games." She nodded to X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode. "Alright, now that he's stunned try to knock him down within range of X4K!"
"You've got it!" X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode circled around Velgmon so that she could swoop in from above to smack him with the Royal Meister blades at high speed. "Rapid Stinging Strike!" Because Velgmon was still stunned from the impact of her previous attack, it was easy for X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode to land a sharp blow between the giant avian digimon's wings causing him to plummet from the sky.
"Master of Darkness!" Velgmon managed to halt his downward momentum by firing a laser from his middle eye down at the scap metal that littered the pit in the factory floor to cushion his fall.
"So much for that idea," Shoutmon X4K sounded mildly disappointed since he had been ready to pulverize Velgmon once he fell within range.
"Don't count me out just yet," Crystal didn't really perceive this to be all that much of a setback. "After all, I did say there's something else we can test out. Or, to put it another way, Taiki has something we can use."
"You must mean a DigiMemory," Taiki realized. "But it sounds like you must mean one in particular."
"Holydramon should be able to hit Velgmon hard," Crystal nodded. "It's something I remember Slashmon mentioning to me once back at the Resort Zone. He told me that a digimon tied closely to the power of light can always be counted on to overcome the power of darkness."
"In that case, let's leave this to Holydramon," Taiki nodded in agreement as he rifled through his pockets attempting to find the corresponding DigiMemory. "Got it!" he announced once he successfully withdrew it from his pocket and finally inserted it into the proper slot of his Xros Loader. "DigiMemory! Holydramon's Holy Flame Activate!"
The transparent manifestation of the enormous pink-furred dragon took shape in the air above Velgmon before spewing out a powerful jet of flames from between its fang-filled jaws down upon him. As soon as the flames impacted with Velgmon they took on the funnel shape of a tornado pressing the giant avian digimon down onto the scrap metal beneath them.
"Now it's my turn," Shoutmon X4K readied his sword as he charged at the grounded form of Velgmon. "Burning Star Crusher!" Naturally, his blade struck Velgmon in conjunction with the steady vortex of flames being spewed down on the giant avian digimon by Holydramon. And yet, when the smoke cleared, there didn't seem to be a scratch on him. Indeed, as Holydramon faded from the battlefield Velgmon simply picked himself up from the factory floor and spread out his wings as if he hadn't felt it at all.
"You've got to be kidding me," Shoutmon X4K was understandably disturbed by this turn of events.
"It would have been too easy if he went down with just one blow," Crystal observed. "But now I think I've figured out what the problem is."
"The lighting inside this factory isn't very good so being in the dark is probably boosting his power," Taiki had figured it out as well.
"In which case we should probably blast the roof to let some more light in here," Crystal concluded. That being said, she held her Xros Loader up toward X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode. "Xros Open!" This caused X-Zapdramon Vespa Mode to split back into Zapmon, Gururumon, Lightdramon and the Fan Beemonz. Then Crystal spun the dial on her Xros Loader in order to highlight the Fan Beemonz once again. "Fan Beemonz, Digi Xros!"
"Cannon Beemonz!" the twenty-seven Fan Beemonz became three heavily armed Cannon Beemonz. As such, Zapmon, Gururumon and Lighdramon were able to land safely on top of them without falling all the way back to the scrap heap below. The giant cyborg digimon aimed their high-caliber laser cannons up at the ceiling of the factory before finally opening fire and blasting holes through it. "Nitro Stinger!"
By that point Velgmon had recovered enough to kick himself up off the scrap metal under his feet while beating his wings to lift himself into the air again. This was partly remedied by the fact that Shoutmon X4K had taken the liberty of jumping on top of Velgmon at the last minute so that the giant avian digimon couldn't really get away from him.
"And where do you think you're going?" Shoutmon X4K spoke up as he bashed Velgmon in the back of the head with his shield. Naturally, Velgmon reered back and began flying more erratically in an effort to try to shake Shoutmon X4K off of him. Of course, when it looked like Shoutmon X4K was actually about to be thrown off one of the Cannon Beemonz swooped in to provide him with a landing platform.
As sunlight began streaming down through the holes in the ceiling the factory became much better illuminated. It remained to be seen whether or not this would have any appreciable impact on Velgmon's apparent invulnerability, but at the very least being able to see him more clearly beneath the rays of sunlight would make him an easier target. The trio of Cannon Beemonz immediately redirected their laser fire onto Velgmon while the one carrying Shoutmon X4K attempted to move in closer to give him an opportunity to strike at close range. However, Shoutmon X4K was at a clear disadvantage being unable to fly on his own.
"I guess it's time to test out that combination," Crystal glanced down at the screen of her silver Xros Loader as she spun the dial to highlight the combination of digimon that were needed for the desired Digi Xros. Truth be told, it was something she had thought of after seeing the potential evolutionary branches of her team's digimon back at Temporal Tower as well as encountering her strange other self during that confrontation against the Chaos Generals. Even if the combination of digimon she had chosen didn't produce an identical result, it would most likely be similar enough to draw upon roughly the same capabilities. That was Crystal's hope at any rate.
"Enough with the suspense already," Zapmon called down from on top of one of the Cannon Beemonz. "Let's just get on with it then!"
"Right," Crystal nodded as she confirmed her selection. "Zapmon, Gururumon, Lighdramon, Yuki Agumon, Digi Xros!"
"Digi Xros!" The four digimon came together to form a new combination that looked more or less identical to X-Zapdramon Fighter Mode. There was, however, one distinct difference and it was that Yuki Agumon's inclusion in the Digi Xros had transformed the color of the armor inherited from Lighdramon from black to solid white. "X-Stormmon!"
X-Stormmon ascended from where Zapmon had been waiting atop one of the Cannon Beemonz in pursuit of Velgmon. The air surrounding the newly Digi Xrossed digimon seemed to grow colder as flakes of snow shimmered down off its wings. The trio of Cannon Beemonz instinctively spread out to give X-Stormmon plenty of room.
"Absolute Zero Laser!" The cold aura surrounding X-Stormmon's wings formed into an icy array as it was projected onto Velgmon once he was within range. The frigid array encased Velgmon's entire body in solid ice causing him to plummet back toward the jagged metal scrap heap down below as he lost the use of his dark avian wings within the ice. The impact alone would have likely caused a decent amount of damage to Velgmon's frozen form, but X-Stormmon wasn't taking any chances against such a dangerous enemy. "Temporal Drift!" X-Stormmon declared before vanishing from the battlefield entirely only to reappear directly in the path of Velgmon's plummeting form an instant later.
"Icicle Fist!" X-Stormmon didn't waste any time in sending a flurry of quick punches in the direction of her opponent producing a barrage of icicles to collide with Velgmon's frozen body. The barrage of icicles hit their mark producing an icy shockwave as the ice broke off from Velgmon's feathered body and completely shattered one his avian wings in the process. No longer frozen, Velgmon flapped his remaining wing helplessly as he continued to plummet downward unable to slow his descent. X-Stormmon quickly manuvered out of Velgmon's path to let him crash the rest of the way down on his own.
Velgmon cried out in painful agony as jagged sheets of metal punctured his already ravaged body and finally forced him to degenerate back into an exhausted Duskmon. Before anyone could reach him to deliver the killing blow, however, Duskmon was suddenly pulled into a rift into Digital Space to retreat for the time being.
"It figures the lousy bastard would disappear as soon as we're able to defeat him," Zapmon pouted mildly as the Digi Xros holding X-Stormmon together disassembled back into its constituents.
"At least we know now that he can be beaten," noted Gururumon with a low growl.
"It doesn't look like the Bagra Empire's army has any other soldiers stationed down here," observed Taiki as the team was regrouping after the battle.
"This building is just an abandoned scrap yard," noted Dorulumon. "If the Bagra Empire already has some idea of where they can locate the Code Crown for this Zone, then this location would be unimportant."
"And besides that," Crystal pointed out. "Duskmon was only after me. My guess is that he's probably serving under Lilithmon since she's probably still holding a grudge for my little stunt back at the beach. And if that's the case-"
"Don't even think about it," Akari immediately cut her off. "You're crazy enough to think that now that you've gotten Lilithmon's attention you'll probably make even more trouble for us and now you're thinking it might be a good time for you to split up with us to keep her busy on your own."
Crystal scratched behind her ear. "Am I really that transparent?"
"In some ways you're even worse than Taiki," Akari stated with exasperation evident in her tone.
Taiki glanced vaguely at Zenjirou. "Am I really that bad?"
Zenjirou simply shrugged. "I'm not sure I should be taking sides here."
"How am I worse?" Crystal made a dramatic show of feigning ignorance.
"Because you've actually taken the time to think things through, you know it's stupid and reckless, and you're probably still thinking you should do it anyway," Akari scowled back at her.
"Sounds about right," Zapmon chimed in. "But if she still wants to go through with it, then I don't see how you can really stop us. It might be the worst plan ever, but the only reason Crystal would go along with a crazy plan like that is because she must believe we might be able to pull it off."
"And there you have it," Crystal gestured approvingly toward Zapmon. "My team and I can handle Lilithmon and Duskmon if they come after us again. That'll hopefully buy you guys some more time to free other Zones from the control of the Bagra Empire. Keeping their forces thinned out is better for all of us."
"Whether we like it or not, it's a strategic choice," noted Dorulumon. "If Bagramon's forces have to chase down another general besides just Taiki that will give us a little more breathing room to search for Code Crowns."
"Not you too, Dorulumon!" Akari rounded on him in disbelief. "Are you really suggesting we should just let them go off on their own?"
"I'm saying that the girl is also a general and what she does with her army is her own decision," Dorulumon retorted. "We're really just lucky that she's not an enemy."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes For July 6, 2015: I can't believe how long this chapter has remained unfinished. I just couldn't decide how I wanted to end it. I've actually been struggling with this since Xros Wars transitioned into the Death Generals arc because after watching it I really didn't want to tamper with it too much. At any rate, this is the last time Team Epoch will encounter Xros Heart before Taiki, Akari, Zenjirou, and Shoutmon are sent back to the human world by Bagramon once all of the Code Crowns are collected. The time has come for them to have their own adventure.