Man, tests are brutally annoying. They cramp my creative style, all this studying. I only hope that I handled the fight scene well. There is a lot happening quickly, so it switches view often and overlaps in parts. As always, fight scenes are generally my weaker part, but I've been working on this when I could. This, hopefully, will be a fun chapter.
On a note about gender, I never liked the idea that digimon supposedly don't have one. Renamon says at one point in the show that digimon don't have genders, but that seems a little odd when you see Sakuyamon or Beelzemon, who obviously are female and male respectively in appearance and voices. I subscribe to the interpretation that they digimon have genders, in that their personality, voices, and general appearance can fall under a specific gender (after all, there was Jijimon and Babamon who were represented as a married couple), but they cannot sexually reproduce (thus, Jijimon and Babamon would never have kids). Besides with names like Angewoman, there is evidence that some types of digimon are automatically a specific gender while others could be either gender, like male and female Lopmon. So, that is my interpretation. If you have a problem with that, then write your own version. Mine works for me.
"Shield of the Just!" called Gallantmon, aiming for the white creature.
The strange mega stood still until the attack nearly reached him before displaying Valkyrimon's incredible speed and reflexes. The knight didn't even see him move. One instant, the avian digimon was in the path of the threat, and the next, he was standing beside Gallantmon. His golden falcon flew overhead, having taken flight as his master moved.
"All that armor makes you slow," remarked Valkyrimon before dodging the Biomerged mega's next attempted strike. "How did you manage to combine with that human anyway? Or a better question, why would you allow yourself to suffer this fate?"
Gallantmon tried to bring his lance into play, but the speedy data type was already gone from view. Then, he felt a force slam into his back. When he looked, Sakuyamon was climbing to her feet.
"So you like to play rough," the shaman growled at her chosen opponent. "That won't be a problem. Spirit Strike!"
In the precious few seconds that Gallantmon was distracted by his team mate, Valkyrimon announced, "Laser Javelin!"
The weapon launched at the virus type struck in the right shoulder. It would have struck his chest, but Gallantmon jerked sideways in an attempt to dodge the blow. Grunting from the impact, the knight brought his shield up in case the digimon tried again. Takato, within his mental bubble, grimaced. Not only was he facing a mega with amazing reflexes, but he was doing it in front of Tai. He couldn't lose just because the digimon was quick.
"Why would you betray your own kind?" Valkyrimon asked, tilting his head. "Humans are dangerous beings. They will lead to our destruction."
"Rapid Fire!" shouted Rapidmon, startling the white mega enough to actually strike him.
Gallantmon took advantage of Rapidmon't assistance to announce, "Lightning Joust!"
The avian digimon flinched at the ultimate's attack but withstood the metallic rabbit's assault. The virus' dealt real damage, however, knocking Valkyrimon flying. After sliding to a halt, he raised his head to study his attackers.
"I'm impressed," the feathered mega commented calmly. "Even if you align yourselves with such destructive creatures and become slaves to their twisted wills, you have not lost your edge."
Rapidmon rolled his eyes, "Please tell me we're not about to hear the same old 'humanity is evil' routine again. I got sick and tired of it when Zhuq's and his buddies were spouting it."
"We are only going to explain this once," growled Gallantmon. "Humans and digimon can co-exist. We're equals, not master and slave. And every time one of you tries to convince us otherwise only serves to demonstrate why we must stay together."
Valkyrimon grinned slightly in response, "Blind fools. This is for the good of all, even if you do not believe it now. Punishing Storm!"
He flung his small shield off is arm and towards the pair. As it spun, it sped up and formed a growing tornado. Unfortunately, the virus type and vaccine were pulled into it.
Marsmon looked slightly disappointed, "A female? Where is the challenge in battling such an opponent? The knight or the winged warrior would be better." He glanced at where Leomon and the others waited uneasily in reserve. "Even the champion appears to be a far more worthy opponent."
"That sounds fairly sexist considering your ally, Dianamon, is also a girl," growled Rika from within her Biomerged form.
"She is a complicated individual who excels at physical combat and mental attacks. Though she is of the more delicate gender, her appearance and abilities demonstrate her combative ability exceeds that generally gifted to females," he explained coolly. "You may wear armor, but your chosen weapon is a stick."
Sakuyamon pointed out, "And yet you are unarmed. Do not underestimate us because of our appearance."
"And do not assume that because I carry no blade upon my person," he replied, "that I am weaponless. My body is my weapon."
The muscular mega then performed a roundhouse kick, catching Sakuyamon in the face. He followed through with a hard punch to her stomach. The twin blows caught the golden-yellow fox unprepared and the force flung her into Gallantmon. Frustrated that she'd been hit so easily, she pulled herself upright and glared beneath her mask.
"So you like to play rough," she growled. "That won't be a problem. Spirit Strike!"
Four colorful fox-like spirits raced towards Marsmon, but he began back-handing them with apparent indifference. His arrogance seemed to know no bounds. In a mocking fashion, he gave a yawn after dispatching her attack.
"I thought that the only reason a digimon might align themselves with a human, to betray their own kind, would be to at least gain some power. But thus far, I've seen nothing impressive."
The fox-lady shaman smiled, "Teamwork does give power. Not just physical strength like you demonstrate, but emotional power of knowing you can depend on another to stand by you." Rika inwardly groaned as she realized that she must be hanging around Takato too much, but continued. "Friends, partners, are what give the greatest strength."
"We shall see," smirked the vaccine smugly. "Corona Sanctions!"
Spreading his midnight wings, Fatemon took the air. Inwardly, his digimon portion was wondering why Mako had to ruin his remark by adding that girls were "icky." Impmon cared about his munchkins, but they were not the best at witty comments. He'd work on that as they got older. Ensuring that they didn't end up like Goggle-head (or worse, Kazu) was part of his job as their partner.
His blue-and-white armored opponent was, honestly, kind of pretty in her own way. True, she looked deadly and all you could really see of her beyond her metal protection was her blue eyes, but she still wasn't a bad looking chick. She seemed to have a thing about the moon and crescent-moon shapes. His green eyes met her sapphire ones.
"Please tell me that not all of you are as great of fools about humans," she purred. "I cannot believe that you can't be reasonable. You must realize that those organic creatures are simply trouble. Why would you lower yourself to serving such beings?"
Her voice was sympathetic and soothing, but the words made him growl. But his answer was chosen to be the pinnacle of diplomacy and sensitivity.
"Wow, you are one wacked-up chick, aren't you? First off, I don't serve anyone. Second, you were the completely insane digimon who shot the arrow-cicle and you're trying to talk 'logic' after that? Did you miss a few classes of your 'how to negotiate' course? Don't waste your time, toots. No one here is buying your worn out pitch about the evils of mankind."
Her blue eyes, so much like level-headed Renamon's, blinked slowly at his harsh words. She just seemed too nice and calm. Then, something changed. Her expression darkened and became hostile. Her sapphire eyes glared angrily at the virus type, hard and ruthless.
"Then die with your pathetic ideals of 'loyalty' to the murderous race of man," she snarled venomously. "Arrow of Artemis!"
The frozen projectile, plucked from her back, flew towards Fatemon with deadly accuracy. He brought his sword up to deflect her attack, knock it to the side before swinging it around for his own strike.
"Blade of Destiny!"
His glowing weapon was met by her dual-bladed tool. She reversed her grip to bring the opposite edge back towards her winged adversary. The virus jerked back to avoid the weapon.
"She's grumpy," commented Ai. "But we'll win, right?"
"Of course, munchkin. She's just another crazed creep with a mega ego," he grinned. "She doesn't stand a chance."
"Really?" Dianamon sighed sadly. "You combine your very data with those terrible beings and call me 'crazy'? You could still turn back and help your own kind. A war is coming to determine the fate of our world. Are you sure you are on the right side?"
Fatemon gave the impression of thinking. Nearby, he could see a whirlwind forming near the feather duster, Valkyrimon. Beyond that, Sakuyamon battled her chosen foe, a pillar of fire erupting near her. As for as he could tell, the fights were fairly well-matched. His opponent was a little creepy, switching between her sweet voice and her psychotically angry one. But his appearance of thought was crucial for his next move.
Inwardly, he instructed, "Munchkins, watch and learn. This is how you talk to opponents." Out-loud, he answered," Funny, I didn't think I ever claimed to be gullible. Why do you think I am, toots? Because only someone brain-less would agree to help you."
Her growl of anger and the giggles from the twins rewarded his efforts. The data type swung her crescent-bladed weapon towards his head. He parried with his sword before punching her in the face. She gave an indignified gasp as he shook his fist. Punching metal armor does not feel good.
"Vile traitor," hissed Dianamon.
The Biomerged mega shrugged, "I've been one before. And honestly, I wasn't on your side this time. How can I betray those I don't even know?"
"You shall help our cause," growled the armored beauty. "Whether you with to or not. Crescent Hook!"
"Shouldn't we help?" wondered Veemon.
Jeri, who'd been asking herself the same thing, sighed, "If something else shows up, we need to have some digimon still able to defend. But it doesn't make it easier."
"What exactly did they do? Did they actually DNA digivolve with…?" Ken began.
"Biomerging," interrupted Henry, flickering through his deck while his partner flew towards Valkyrimon. "The digimon and their partner become so close that they can join as one and fight together."
"Izzy will freak out about this. He loves analyzing the logic in the strangest things," commented Tai.
"That is so cool," smiled Davis, watching the battle waged by Gallantmon and Rapidmon. "Why didn't you…?"
Henry answered quickly, "We're too big."
Pulling a card from her own deck, Jeri watched the three separate fights uneasily. She often felt that she wasn't cut out for combat. Leomon, before they met, was a warrior. Still, she'd seen him fall in battle. She'd watch him vanish. She didn't blame Impmon anymore nor did she allow those dark days of loss to haunt her present. But she wondered if it was a sign, that the proud warrior fell while partnered with her, that her ability as a tamer to help in a fight was limited. One Biomergence and the battle with Polydromon seemed to suggest she was qualified to stand by Leomon's side. But she found herself on the sidelines once more. Maybe she wasn't really a fighter, lion heart or not. Maybe she wasn't that strong in the end.
She studied the image on the rectangle: Taomon. If anything tried to harm the group, the tamer would activate the card and Leomon would raise a shield. She may not be combative, but she could protect. Leomon may be a warrior, but she made a better guardian.
A tornado is bad. Flames splitting the sky, courtesy of Marsmon, is also bad. Having both at the same time is extremely bad. Together, a flaming whirlwind could lay waste to the landscape and those in the surrounding area. Unless, of course, a certain shaman prevented the fire to do anything. Rather than forming a shield around herself, Sakuyamon enclosed the flaming pillar with her power.
Panting with the effort of containing the attack, Rika remarked, "Top that."
"Perhaps you are not as delicate as you appear," Marsmon admitted, stepping around his contained flaming attack. "But you are still a female. There is only one possible outcome."
Chuckling, Sakuyamon explained, "We may not possess your brute strength. But we have greater finesse."
Then, she opened her shield a crack. Whenever anything is contained with extreme pressure, it will explode out through the path of least resistance. The force of the flames burst out of the opening she created. The original producer of the fire could only gape as the redirected attack struck him. Before the vaccine could recover, the golden mega pole-vaulted towards him with her staff and her heels connected with his face.
"I'm going to be sick!" Rapidmon declared, his body spinning like a top.
Takato briefly wondered why Terriermon wasn't bothered by his "Terrier Tornado" attacks before grabbing the ultimate. "Hang on."
"To what?" asked the rabbit before Gallantmon hurled him out of the whirlwind.
Valkyrimon tilted his head, "That's an unusual strategy: tossing your allies around."
"Rapid Fire!" shouted the metallic vaccine, but his shots missed the speedster.
Gallantmon, digging his lance into the ground, managed to force his body out of the twister. Inwardly, Guilmon wondered why the world was spinning.
"Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed Activate!" announced Henry.
"About time," Rapidmon laughed, flying after the avian mega. "Miracle Missile!"
The card-enhanced ultimate's assault actually reached Valkyrimon. The explosions caused the metallic rabbit to cackle hysterically. As the smoke cleared, his moment of triumph proved premature. The mega was frowning, his body showing scratches and other evidence of battle, but nowhere near defeat.
"I wish that you had not chosen this path," he sighed. "You might have been a valuable asset to our cause. Seems so unfortunate that all this talent is being wasted."
"Lightning Joust!"Gallantmon shouted, striking the feathered creature.
As Valkyrimmon flew from the force, both knight and rabbit followed closely. When he came to rest, they were already on top of him. Unfortunately, they weren't prepared for the speed of his recovery.
"Feral Sword!"
"Ah! Brain freeze!" screamed Rapidmon as the avian digimon's weapon formed ice on the metallic rabbit.
"Shield of the Just!" shouted Gallantmon at the same moment, catching Valkyrimon directly in the chest.
Something was not right. Fatemon could tell this immediately. But what might be off, he couldn't tell immediately. The world just seemed a lot fuzzier. He took a quick survey of his surroundings.
Right in front of him was Sakuyamon, her staff held defensively. Nearby, it seemed that Dianamon and Valkyrimon just knocked Gallantmon flying across the landscape. Even further off, he spotted Rapidmon being kicked in the face by Marsmon.
"Our friends are in trouble," gasped Mako inwardly. "We need to help them."
Ai, however, asked, "How'd the moon-lady get over there so fast?"
That was it! Dianamon had been right in front of him a few moments before. Now, Fox-face was the closest. It didn't add up. The positions of the enemies and allies were wrong. Part of him wanted to ignore this oddness and go after the opponents he could see, the part of him that was being influenced by her "Crescent Hook". But his young tamer's question made him pause.
Her last attack was messing with his head. The identities were being mixed so he couldn't tell friend or foe. Likely, Sakuyamon wasn't really her, but he couldn't tell for sure. Fatemon had approximately five seconds to recognize a target before someone attacked. And he couldn't risk striking out blindly.
Anyone who was asked to describe his current form always made a comparison to Beelzemon. True, he'd exchanged guns for a sword and a leather jacket for armor. Granted, his head now wore a helm. But in general outline, body build, and many other crucial details were identical to his other winged mega form. Specifically, both possessed three emerald eyes.
Fatemon closed his two regular ones in order to use the third one, hoping that it could do the same sort of tricks it could as Beelzemon. He could easily pick out the large group of kids, rookies, and a pair of champions. Next, he started picking out the others. While Dianamon's attack targeted his sight, it had no influence on the perspective of his third eye, his inner vision. Effortlessly, he could pick out the Biomerged pair and the ultimate from the three strange megas. And all she'd done was switch his friends with hers, as he suspected.
"Wow," gasped his impressed tamers. "That's really cool."
"Balanced Reality!" Fatemon shouted, the twin balls of light and darkness striking the stunned data type. "I don't appreciate messing with my head. I've dealt with enough of that already."
After catching her breath, the Sakuyamon/Dianamon figure waved her hand. All the digimon regained their normal appearance in his eyes. She tilted her head and gave a sympathetic sigh.
"Poor thing, someone else playing with your mind," she soothed, her words soft and kind. Then, her sapphire eyes hardened. "Let me put you out of your misery! Arrow of Artemis!"
"Why do I get stuck with the emotionally insane one?" muttered the virus type, swinging his sword around. "Blade of Destiny!"
He deflected the icy arrow before bringing his sword to meet her descending weapon. Growling with frustration, she tried to apply more pressure to her duel-edged blade, but Fatemon forced her back before bringing his boot around to connect with the side of her head. She went limp and fell to the ground. After a second, she began to move, demonstrating she was down and not out. At least, for the moment. He raised his sword.
"Wait!"
Okay, cliffhanger-ish. In case you couldn't guess, when Dianamon changed his perspective, he saw his friends as foes and vice versa. Specifically, he saw Dianamon as Sakuyamon, Marsmon as Rapidmon, Valkyrimon as Gallantmon, Sakuyamon as Marsmon, Gallantmon as Dianamon, and Rapidmon as Valkyrimon. But the specifics aren't exactly important for the story beyond Dianamon looked like Sakuyamon and was close to him.
I based the three megas' personalities vaguely off the descriptions on Digimon Wikipedia and my own interpretations. Thus, I decided to make Dianamon… moody. She switches between a "light" personality of sympathy and kindness and a "dark" personality of hatred and fury. And before you ask, they aren't evil. Not really. Just misguided. I'll update when I get caught up with the school stuff.