UPDATE: Made some corrections in grammar and added some extra dialogue.
Last chapter, Nepgear and Uzume were captured by Goblimon and Aruruamon, two goons who were working with Linda, a.k.a. Underling, a former member of ASIC. Meanwhile, the CPUs and their Digimon followed Dorumon's nose in the search for their missing friends.
Then Nisa, The Heroine Of Justice, came along and bailed out the two CPUs from their predicament and managed to hold off Linda and her two Digimon goons until back up finally arrived. But now things have taken a turn for the worse as a new Digimon called SkullSatamon shows up out of nowhere, and boy does he look bad to the bone. How will the CPUs and their Digimon face this foe? Let's find out!
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Hyperdimension Neptunia. Both franchises belong to their respective companies.
Chapter 12: The Dark Angel
Everyone looked at the new arrival with surprise and shock as he looked back at them. The creature known as SkullSatamon had appeared before them all just when they had surrounded Linda and her two Digimon goons Goblimon and Aruruamon. His features and appearance looked menacing to the CPUs and their Digimon allies. There was a sickening dark aura around him that they did not like. It was as if they were looking at the face of death itself. None of them knew who he was, where he came from, or what he was capable of, but one thing was for sure, they believed that they were in for a tough fight. Linda looked the most horrified when she gazed upon him.
"S-S-SkullSatamon, sir! W-What are y-you doing here?", the grey skinned girl stuttered in terror.
"You can't even do a simple job right. Now it seems I'll have to take things into my own hands", said SkullSatamon.
Everyone got a sudden chill over their shoulders as he suddenly started to move towards the group. They braced themselves for whatever the skeletal Digimon had in store. SkullSatamon then looked down at the CPUs and their Digimon partners, who just stared back at him nervously. Dorumon growled at him when he got closer to the Digimon. The skeletal Digimon then cackled.
"So, these are the ones giving ya a run for your money? I've seen worse", said SkullSatamon.
Suddenly, he swings his staff down right in front of the group of Digimon. The force of the impact was enough to blow them back to the CPUs, who watched on in shock.
"Dorumon! Are you okay there?!", Neptune inquired.
"Just a scratch. Though I think he intended worse", said the purple Digimon.
"What strength... Only a single swing of that staff and it was enough to blow away our Digimon", said Noire nervously.
"I don't think I like where this is going...", said Blanc.
"Agreed. This won't be an easy fight", added Vert.
Linda took this chance to run behind SkullSatamon, not wanting to get caught in the line of fire. Goblimon and Aruruamon ran over to him.
"Please, SkullSatamon! We tried to get the CPUs! But they just slipped out of our hands!", Goblimon pleaded.
"Yeah! Just give us another chance! We can beat them!", added Aruruamon.
"Sorry, but when you work with a Digimon of my reputation, you know what happens when you fail to do your job...", SkullSatamon said ominously.
Then, without warning, he outstretched his hand and grabbed Goblimon by the neck, cutting off his air supply. The goblin Digimon choked as he tried to break free from SkullSatamon's grasp.
" Gack! P-Please! Mercy!", Goblimon cried out.
"You are worthless to me now. Get out of my sight!", said the skeletal Digimon.
Suddenly, SkullSatamon gripped his hand tighter and tighter. After a few seconds, Goblimon exploded into particles of zeros and ones. Everyone gasped as they watched what had happened. Even Linda looked on with shock.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!", Aruruamon screaming as he tried to run away from the skeletal Digimon.
SkullSatamon turned and raised his staff up. The yellow orb on the staff started to glow as dark energy swarmed around it. He then pointed it at the plant Digimon who was running for his life.
"Nail Bone!", he yelled as a dark light shot out of the orb and towards Aruruamon.
The light hit the plant Digimon, who yelled in pain in response. An explosion soon occurred and everyone looked on in shock when the dust cleared. Nothing but drifting particles of zeros and ones was all that was left of Aruruamon. SkullSatamon then outstretched his hand and then the particles from both Goblimon and Aruruamon went straight to him. His hand then absorbed the particles and soon there was nothing left but thin air.
"Ahhh, that felt refreshing", SkullSatamon said, feeling very pleased with what he did.
Then he looked at Linda, who flinched when he turned towards her direction.
"Take a good look, girl. This is what happens to those who dare fail me. Remember that the next time you think about running away", he said.
"Y-Yes sir, SkullSatamon sir...", said Linda as she nodded nervously.
Everyone were so shocked at what they just witnessed. Never before had they seen such cruelty from a monster, let alone a Digimon from another world. Usually they never had a problem with killing a normal monster in their world, but this was different. They had just witnessed a sentient creature destroy another one of it's own kind without any form of mercy or remorse. They all now had a sick feeling in their stomachs, like they were about to collapse, but they had to stand their ground.
"So, uhhh, you guys just saw that, right?", Neptune asked nervously.
"Saw? More like felt it... This guy is insane...", said Noire.
"Even I'm not that cruel when it comes to killing monsters...", added Blanc.
"Indeed. He's more than just a mere monster. He's a monster of monsters", stated Vert.
"Scary...", whimpered Rom as she started to shake like a leaf.
"It's okay, Rom. I'll protect you from that big bully", Ram said as she tried to comfort her twin.
"Guys, he may look tough, but we're tougher. You with me?", Uzume called out to everyone.
Neptune looked at the Candidates, who looked more frightened than everyone else. She then looked at Uzume and Nisa, who both kept a straight face, but even Neptune could tell how they really feel. The CPUs knew that Uzume, Nisa, and their sisters didn't have Digimon to fight with them. And even though they all had SkullSatamon outnumbered, he still had a wicked aura around him that made their skin crawl. Even so, they know that they can't back down.
"Well, we got this far. We can't turn back now. It's boss fighting time!", said Neptune.
All of the CPUs suddenly started to glow brightly as they began their transformation into their respective Goddess forms. Their hair and eye colors changed, their dresses changed into their respective colored suits, their wings and armor pieces appeared around them, and their respective weapons formed in their hands. Soon the Goddesses had finished their transformations.
"Your turn guys! Digivolve!", exclaimed Purple Heart.
The four CPUs then raised their Digivices and soon they all shouted the code phrase.
"Digivolve!", they yelled.
Then a light shined from them and towards the Goddesses respective partners. Their Digivolution sequence would begin.
"Dorumon, Digivolve to...!", Dorumon exclaimed
His body, tail, and wings grew larger, his claws a light red color, and his colors turning into a darker shade of purple.
"Dorugamon!", he said as he finished his Digivolution.
"Dracomon, Digivolve to...!", said the small dragon Digimon.
His body soon grew bigger, his wings and tail became larger, his claws sharpened, his horn grew, and his scales changed from cyan to a blue color.
"Coredramon!", the blue dragon Digimon shouted as his Digivolution had concluded.
"Blucomon, Digivolve to...!", said the icy Digimon.
Soon his body started growing bigger, and he gained two metal bracelets on his icy arms, two wings made of ice appeared on his back, and he had three white straps wrapped around each leg. There were also three white hexagon marks on his white pelt.
"Paledramon!", said the ice Digimon as his finished his Digivolution.
"Lalamon, Digivolve to...!", the little plant Digimon exclaimed.
Her small body turned into a large green shape. She had a tail with a few green thorns on it, her arms were longer, and her face looked like that of a flower with yellow petals and a light red triangle mark on the forehead.
"Sunflowmon!", the flower Digimon shouted as her Digivolution finished.
All of the CPUs and their Digimon were now ready for battle as they stared down SkullSatamon. But they noticed that he was smirking, unfazed by their transformation.
"You really think that'll help you? I've seen Tyrannomon scarier than you", the skeletal Digimon said before cackling.
"Be careful, everyone. I don't think he'll hesitate to take us all out the same way he did to those other two Digimon", Purple Heart cautioned the group.
SkullSatamon laughed before he started to charge towards the group. Everyone moved out of the way before the skeletal Digimon could swipe them with his staff.
"Yaaah!", Black Heart yelled as she dropped down towards SkullSatamon with her longsword weapon.
But the skeletal Digimon saw this and quickly blocked the attack with his staff, then knocked her back with a quick swipe of his weapon.
"Huh?!", Black Heart stuttered in confusion
She rushed at him again before SkullSatamon shoveed her back once more, then he quickly moved towards her.
"My turn! Skull Hammer!", the skeletal Digimon shouted.
He then swung his staff down at Black Heart. She screamed as the force of the impact caused her to plummet into the ground with a hard thud. The Lastation CPU groaned as she started to get back up.
"Argh! What the...?!", Black Heart stammered.
"Noire, are you alright?!", Purple Heart called out.
"I'll be fine...", the white haired Goddess said as she got back up.
Coredramon, now wanting payback for what SkullSatamon did to his friend, growled at the skeletal Digimon.
"You'll pay for that! Blue Flare Breath!", Coredramon exclaimed as he fired a blast of blue flames from his mouth.
But when the flames approached SkullSatamon, the skeletal Digimon only smiled and raised his right hand towards the fire blast coming towards him. Suddenly, the moment the flames reached his hand, they were deflected right back at Coredramon. The blue dragon saw this, but he couldn't react in time and was hit by his own attack. He quickly recovered as he got his footing, but was very surprised by what had happened.
"You okay, Coredramon?", Black Heart asked.
"Yeah, but that creep deflected my attack like it was nothing!", Coredramon stated.
Nisa and Orange Heart went in to attack, rearing their fists for a punch, but SkullSatamon suddenly disappeared from their sight. They looked all over, but couldn't see anything. Then the skeletal Digimon appeared behind them and bashed them with his staff. The two yelped in pain as they hit a tree. The pair groaned as they got back up.
"This guy is tough...", said Nisa.
"Yeah, but we gotta beat him!", added Orange Heart.
Paledramon then moved forward to the skeletal Digimon, preparing to unleash his own attack once again. Purple Sister and Black Sister were right beside him as they prepared their own attacks.
"Ice Age!", Paledramon exclaimed, breathing out a wind of freezing ice and snow at SkullSatamon.
The cold air from Paledramon started freeze SkullSatamon's lower body, preventing him from moving. The two CPU Candidates took this opportunity to hit the skeletal Digimon with everything they had.
"M.P.B.L.! Fire!", Purple Sister exclaimed as she blasted a lilac beam of energy from her laser lance.
"EX Multi Blaster! Fire!", shouted Black Sister as a light blue beam shot out from her long energy rifle.
Both attacks were heading towards the skeletal Digimon. However, SkullSatamon didn't seem to be worried. Suddenly, the ice that covered his lower half had started to crack and crumble. Soon enough, his frozen prison had shattered into pieces. With his legs now freed, he then jumped into the air, causing both attacks launched from the two CPU Candidates to miss their target.
"Oh no! It didn't work!", Purple Sister exclaimed.
"Skull Hammer!", SkullSatamon shouted from above the pair.
He swiped his staff down on the two CPU Candidates, knocking them back and into a nearby rock that Linda was hiding behind. The grey skinned girl fled, trying to find another spot to hide in.
"You'll regret that!", called Paledramon as he charged at SkullSatamon and bite down on his staff.
But as he gripped the skeletal Digimon's weapon, he was suddenly being lifted off the ground. SkullSatamon then started shaking his staff, trying to pry off the ice dragon Digimon from his weapon. At last he slammed Paledramon into the ground with tremendous force, causing the ice dragon Digimon to yelp in pain.
"Oww..." he groaned.
The White Sisters moved over to their fallen friend and helped him back up on his feet, then looked back at SkullSatamon, who just stood there daring the group to strike at him again. The twins, readying their staffs, moved in to attack him.
"Ice Coffin!", they both yelled, launching a huge chunk of ice at the skeletal Digimon.
But SkullSatamon suddenly side stepped out of the way, and their attack missed as a result. The twins were shocked by his speed.
"Sorry, but I don't really like cold weather", the skeletal Digimon mocked before quickly charging at the twins, swinging his staff at the pair.
They could not react in time and were bashed into the ground. They groaned in pain. They felt that they were hurting all over. White Heart saw this and was angered by the sight.
"You leave my sisters alone, you asshole!", she yelled.
The Lowee CPU then charged at the skeletal Digimon and then started swinging her axe at him. He blocked her attacks with ease using his staff, however, but the enraged Goddess would not give up.
"Hold on! I'm coming to help!", Green Heart shouted as she charged at SkullSatamon with her spear.
The two CPUs were now striking away at the skeletal Digimon, but they weren't making a scratch on him. He just kept on parrying their attacks with his staff. He was proving to be more than a match for them and the others.
"Is that all you've got? Hahahaha!", laughed SkullSatamon, taunting the two CPUs.
Then he saw an opening and swiped away at the two Goddesses with his staff. They could not react in time and took the full blunt of his attack. Sunflowmon saw this and rushed in to help them.
"Take this, you creep! Sunshine Beam!", the flower Digimon shouted as she blasted a ray of focused light at SkullSatamon's direction.
The skeletal Digimon turned around and raised his staff, and the yellow orb glowed brightly. He then pointed it at Sunflowmon's direction, ready to deliver his own attack.
"Nail Bone!", he exclaimed as a dark light shot out from his staff.
Both attacks hit each other with equal force, a power struggle now taking place. Sunflowmon tried to power more energy into her attack, but the force of SkullSatamon's Nail Bone proved too much and overtook the flower Digimon's attack. She took the hit head on, yelling in pain and falling to the ground. She struggled to move, but found that she couldn't.
Purple Heart and Dorugamon both looked on in horror. One by one, their comrades were being picked apart by SkullSatamon. Whatever damage they tried to inflict on him didn't seem to phase the skeletal Digimon one bit. The Planeptune CPU was now worried that she and her comrades may have made a mistake in challenging him. She wanted to help out, but the purple haired Goddess didn't know what to do against such a foe that was clearly more powerful than everyone combined. Still, she was determined to find a way to win somehow. Dorugamon seemed to feel the same way, as he stared down the skeletal Digimon.
"This isn't looking good. At this rate, we'll get wiped out", she said.
"We gotta keep trying! We have to stop him!", Dorugamon replied as he charged towards SkullSatamon.
Purple Heart looked on before deciding to go on the offensive herself, charging alongside her Digimon partner. SkullSatamon laughed at this and prepared to strike at the two. Suddenly, they split up just as he swings his staff down. He was surprised by this and looked behind him. Purple Heart then rushed at him, swinging her purple katana at the fiend. The skeletal Digimon reacted quickly and blocked her attack with his staff, then making a swing of his own at the purple Goddess. While the two were duking it out, Dorugamon stood by and started to charge his own attack. He would strike at SkullSatamon while Purple Heart would keep him busy.
"Power Metal!", Dorugamon exclaimed as he fired a large iron sphere from his mouth.
SkullSatamon swiped his staff at Purple Heart again, but she saw his attack coming and jumped into the air away from him. Confused by this, he suddenly realized what was going on. He turned around, but could not react in time as Dorugamon's attack hit the skeletal Digimon directly. This barely damaged him, however, as he quickly got back up, but not before grunting in pain for a bit.
"Alright, that looked like it hurt!", Dorugamon cheered.
"We're making progress, at least", said Purple Heart.
But as they were planning to make their next move, SkullSatamon started laughing again. The pair looked on in surprise. Even with their surprise attack, it seemed to do little to no damage whatsoever.
"I don't believe it!", Dorugamon exclaimed.
"How is that possible?", Purple Heart inquired.
"You're powers are useless against me! I cannot be harmed by such weak attacks!", said SkullSatamon.
He then raised his staff again, the yellow orb at the end glowing once more. Purple Heart and Dorugamon braced themselves for the force of the attack.
"Nail Bone!", SkullSatamon shouted before blasting a dark light from his staff towards the pair.
The force of the blast proved too much for the pair as it knocked them off their feet. They yelled in pain as they hit the ground hard, their bodies unable to move. SkullSatamon laughed maniacally as he started to move towards them. Everyone else tried to get up, but they were too weakened by SkullSatamon's attacks to assist. They could hardly move at all and could only watch as the skeletal Digimon moved closer to Purple Heart and Dorugamon.
"He's just too strong...", Purple Heart groaned.
"There's gotta be something we can do... Ugh...", Dorugamon said as he tried to get up, but to no avail.
SkullSatamon stopped right in front of the pair, smirking with triumph. He towered over them as he prepared to finish them off for good.
"Well, it's been fun, but now I've grown tired of toying around with you lot. It's time for you to fry", the skeletal Digimon said as he pointed his staff at them.
Purple Heart and Dorugamon braced themselves for the inevitable, unable to move away. Everyone looked on in horror. They thought they were going to lose two of their friends. They wanted to stop him, but their battered bodies were too hurt to launch a last-minute save. As SkullSatamon prepared to charge his attack, however, a sudden pain in his head caused him to stop. He groaned and yelled, gripping his head as he stepped back from the purple pair. The CPUs and their Digimon partners looked on in confusion, not knowing what was going on.
"No! M-Master, I didn't mean to overstep my bounds! Arrrggghhh! Y-Yes, I understand!", he said.
Nobody knew what he was doing or who he was talking to, which only added to their confusion. When she took notice that the skeletal Digimon was distracted, Black Heart saw an opportunity to attack. But as she started to reach for her longsword, she stopped herself, hesitating to move another muscle. She wanted to help both Purple Heart and Dorugamon get away, but after witnessing what SkullSatamon did to everyone else, the Lastation CPU decided against the idea of attacking him again. Soon the skeletal Digimon let go of his head, the pain now going away.
"You all got lucky. My master beckons me to return to him at once. You get to live, for now. Come, Linda", he said as he walked away.
Linda, who was hiding behind a bush the entire time, ran towards the skeletal Digimon. She nervously stood beside him as he raised his staff up.
"We will meet again. And next time you won't be as fortunate", said SkullSatamon.
The yellow orb in his staff glowed and then, both he and Linda were surrounded by a black veil of darkness. When the dark veil vanished, SkullSatamon and Linda were nowhere to be seen. Everyone just stared in surprise. SkullSatamon had the upper hand. He could've destroyed them all if he wished. He was merely toying with them all. And yet something had compelled him to not go through with the finishing blow. Whatever the reason, they were lucky to still be alive.
Soon the CPUs all transformed back into their human forms and their Digimon partners De-Digivolved back to their prior evolutions. They were all tired and hurt. They all check each other and their Digimon allies, hoping that they were alright. When everyone found that all of their injuries weren't life threatening, they sighed in relief.
"Man, that was too close...", said Uzume.
"I'll say. Goodness...", added Nepgear.
"Are you kidding me?! As the protag of protags, I demand a do over! Someone hit the restart button or something!", Neptune ranted.
"Calm down, Neptune! We were no match for him from the beginning", said Noire.
"He was just too much for us to handle. Sorry if I let you down, Nep...", Dorumon apologized.
Neptune looked at her partner and just smiled, even patting him on the head.
"Hey, it's okay pal. I'm sure we'll get him next time", she replied.
"If there is a next time. That creep mopped the floor with us. Just look at what he did to Rom", said Blanc as she gestured to her sister.
"Owie...", said Rom, limping in pain as she struggled to move.
"It's okay, Rom. I got you", Ram comforted, helping her twin up.
Uni looked at Noire with concern. She had never seen her sister take such a beating like that since the days of ASIC., nor has she seen her sister more frustrated from losing such a fight.
"So, what are we gonna do, Noire? Even with our powers combined, how can we beat that Digimon?", the black haired Candidate inquired.
"I don't know, Uni... All I can say is that we have to get stronger", said Noire.
"Yeah, we just need to level up some more, come back and beat up the boss. Simple as that!", Neptune rambled.
"We will need a strategy, of course. We can't face SkullSatamon again without a plan of attack", said Vert.
Nepgear nodded at this. She then looked over at Nisa, who was walking away from the group. Surprised by this, Nepgear walked over to her.
"Nisa, where are you going?", she asked the heroine.
"I must go and patch myself up. I can't fight evil like this..", said Nisa.
"Are you sure? We can get Compa to help you with that", Nepgear offered.
"I appreciate it, but I must go alone on this", the heroine replied. "I will need to train myself as well. I must grow stronger if I ever hope to stand a chance against someone as powerful as what we faced today."
"Okay then. Be careful, Nisa. See you later", said the lilac haired Candidate.
Nisa nodded in reply and went on her way to parts unknown. Nepgear looked on, hoping that Nisa will recover soon. The group soon saw that the sun was setting. It was now getting late. In all of the commotion with trying to survive against the skeletal Digimon, they had lost track of time during the battle.
"Well, we better get back to Histoire and report what happened", Noire stated.
"I hope she won't be mad that we were gone for so long", Neptune said.
"I'll give Compa a call. We'll need to get our injuries treated once we get back", said Nepgear.
With that said, the group went on home to the Planetune Basilicom. It would be some time before they can recover and come up with a plan of attack the next time they have to face SkullSatamon again.
Somewhere in a dark room, SkullSatamon and Linda were standing around. They had just returned from their battle with the CPUs and were now contemplating on what to do next.
"You know, I didn't really need your help. I could've taken the CPUs by myself", said Linda.
"The way you were fighting, you wouldn't have lasted 5 more minutes. You should've brought those CPUs to me when you had them in your custody", SkullSatamon stated.
"I was gonna do that until that blue haired chick showed up out of nowhere and ruined everything!", the grey skinned girl defended.
"And you were supposed to be the elite of your former organization? You couldn't even beat one CPU, much less an ordinary human", the skeletal Digimon retorted.
"Why I oughta...!", growled Linda as she raised a fist.
"Enough fooling around you two", said a voice.
The pair turned to face a pair of yellow glowing eyes peer from the darkness. Linda and SkullSatamon stopped themselves from making a scene. They looked upon the eyes that stared back at them.
"SkullSatamon, I gave you an order not to kill the CPUs. And instead you choose to fight them", said the voice.
"C'mon, Underling here was in trouble, and I was angsty for some action", SkullSatamon explained.
"I told you, I had it under control!", Linda exclaimed.
"Like hell you did. You-", SkullSatamon said before being cut off by the voice again.
"SILENCE!", the voice boomed loudly.
This outburst made both Linda and SkullSatamon shut up immediately. They knelt their heads down in fear, not wanting to anger the dark being before them any further.
"The CPUs time will come. But not yet. Our master wants the satisfaction of destroying them personally. Until that time arrives, however, we shall keep sending more Digimon to stall them until our plan is ready. Until then, you must be patient. And you will do as you are told or you will be destroyed. Those are your only options. Is that understood?", said the voice.
SkullSatamon and Linda nodded in silence, understanding their situation completely. The glowing eyes then turned their attention to Linda, who squiredmed when she felt their gaze upon her.
"In the meantime, Linda. I now have a new job for you", said the voice.
Linda gulped, now anxious to hear what her new orders were. She could only hope that wouldn't have to place herself at risk when she receives her new job...
Woah, tough luck for our heroes, eh? Just goes to show that you can't win them all. Still, a battle you can walk away from is a battle won nonetheless. At least for now...
What will the CPUs and their Digimon next plan be the next time they have to face SkullSatamon? How is Linda involved with the Digimon as well? And just who is the one giving orders to those two? All these questions and more will be answered in the future. For now, however, we'll have to wait until next chapter for the CPUs to recover from their endeavor.
I don't really know how well I made the fight in this chapter, as I don't have much experience writing a battle scene with so many characters in one spot. Hopefully it's not that bad. But let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review. And don't forget to follow this story for more if you already haven't.
Until next time. Stay safe everyone and look forward to the next chapter!