And here it FINALLY is, the TRUE Chapter 100 people!
I won't waste your time up here, let's dive right on in!
All-Out! Spectacular Battle Festival!
A scream tore through the early morning mist, birds scattering away in fright as a fireball was thrown against one of the trees nearby.
"That traitor! Who does he think he is to run away from me?! ME! Of all people!" Cinder's voice raged as she tossed fireball after fireball.
"Personally, I can't say I blame him." Watts said lowly to himself as he watched her from nearby, Marie standing silently as usual.
Normally Cinder would have probably responded to that…well…not well, but certainly with some semblance of restraint. Right now though… she all but shouted in rage, and before Watts could react, she'd grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a nearby tree.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!" she practically roared in his face.
Watts gasped a bit, but once he regained his bearings, he glared at her, sick and tired of dealing with her himself. "Well now, let's look at the facts. Outside of obtaining the Maiden Powers, everything you've done has been a smashing FAILURE!" he said. "You failed to bring down Vale OR Beacon, you were completely out matched by a group of children, and even now all you can care about is your idiotic revenge when we have much more important matters to attend to!" he shouted at the end.
Cinder's eye widened…before they burned with rage and with a roar she created a sword made out of what may as well have been molten rock and she would have driven it right through Watts then and there…if not for a sudden and strong burning sensation going through her entire body. She screamed and shouted in pain, letting go of Watts, to which he fell to the ground, coughing a little, while looking rather surprised at the sudden turn of events…all the while Marie looked on with an empty expression, seemingly not caring the least about what was happening in front of her.
The burning lasted for a few moments, before it eventually stopped, leaving Cinder to fall to her knees, gasping for breath. Eventually she raised her head…and noticed the Seer floating not far away from them, something Watts realized as well, and quickly picked himself up. Marie looked at the Grimm, slightly tenser than before as she registered it as a potential threat. Cinder herself eventually got to her feet, her attention firmly on the Seer which drew closer to them, as the image of Salem appeared on the Seer.
"I must say, with all that's been happening lately, I had hoped you would at least be showing better results," Salem said, her tone calm, but it was clear that she was anything but pleased, the undertone causing both Cinder and Watts to tense a little. "Things are…deviating…from what I'd originally planned," Salem said, keeping her voice level but once again her irritation was clear.
"Because of the Digimon?" Watts asked, having an idea about how she meant.
"Among other things." Salem said "Tyrian and Hazel have both disappeared since I sent them on their missions."
"Where was Tyrian sent? Perhaps there's something we can do?" Watts said. Oh he had no love for the mad faunus, but he was unquestionably fanatically loyal to Salem. Therefore he would never betray her, so if he disappeared, then it would be with very good reason. Hazel on the other hand…he honestly never COULD get a read on that one.
Salem frowned, as if considering if she would answer the question or not, but ultimately she did. "I'd sent him to both eliminate a few annoyances…and retrieve a…sample," Salem said. "Those children from Beacon. I felt it would serve us well to make an example out of them."
Cinder… did not take that well "NO!" she all but roared as she snapped in her anger, except she didn't get to say much else before the Seer lashed out and she was suddenly struggling to breathe, trying to pull off the tentacle.
"I assume this is you being angry that I was going to have him take your chance at revenge away?" Salem said knowingly.
Cinder struggled for a moment, but right before she was starting to suffocate, the Seer let her go, leaving her to fall to her knees, hacking and coughing. Once she stopped, she slowly got up, the anger she felt before was much more…tempered…Cinder realizing that she would dearly regret another outburst. "F-forgive me, I was out of line," she said, keeping her head bowed even as her eye burned with anger still.
The Seer and by extension Salem seemed to look at her for a moment, before Salem seemingly accepted the apology. "Very well, but I expect to not repeat this again," Salem frowned. "That anger may fuel you, but it's making you careless. That is exactly why I did not send you to face them," she said.
"Well if Tyrian was sent to make an example of them, then perhaps-" Watts started but Salem cut him off.
"Tyrian is no longer with us," Salem frowned. "It seems these children are more…ruthless…than we thought," she said.
Watts was… definitely surprised at that "They killed him?"
"Indeed. And they made some kind of barrier to stop me from getting close it seems… all I could see was a massive explosion of flame. But I certainly found his charred remains." Salem answered "What's more… it seems they've done the same to Adam Taurus, and captured Hazel if what I was able to see was correct. The last I saw, Adam's corpse was being tossed into an incinerator, and Hazel was tied up and being led into their vehicle."
Watts…actually had a rather worried look at that. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. The attack on Beacon was supposed to be the first step to them destroying the current order and creating the new world order…but not only was it a failure, but the White Fang was now no longer an option, and two of the inner circle were lost, one dead, and one captured. This…didn't bode well.
Cinder however… "Then this is even more reason we must destroy them," she hissed, trying to keep her voice at a level that wouldn't invite another strangulation. "If we leave them alone-!"
"They will be dealt with…in time," Salem said firmly, her voice completely cutting off Cinder. "For now, you have your task. Do your tasks and the plan will still be in motion," Salem said, before her image vanished, effectively hanging up on them as the Seer floated away, leaving the group to mull over their next move.
"Well…that's just all the more suspicious," Ruby frowned. It had been a few days after Gankoomon's visit, the Royal Knight having returned to the Digital World, but it was pretty clear he'd be visiting again in the future.
During the time they'd opted to look into what Lionheart was doing, seeing as the repairs in the Digital World were progressing at a pace that they didn't need to help at the moment. As agreed, Qrow was the first to try and see if he could talk to Lionheart, who so far hadn't tried to do anything else, either because he didn't want to draw attention to himself if more Hunters were to nearly meet their end at missions he'd assigned, or Salem hadn't given him more orders. Either way, Qrow tried to talk with Lionheart on pretense of being official business, but even then he was turned away, being told that Lionheart was very busy.
Undeterred, he'd tried finding a way in via turning into a crow, but it seemed Lionheart had closed all his windows and the like, ensuring he couldn't find a way in short of breaking a window and that would be…counterproductive. As such he was forced to return and report what happened.
"You're telling me," Qrow sighed. "Leo is DEFINITELY up to something if he's going this far," he frowned, before turning to Oren who was busy with something. "Any luck?"
Oren frowned before shaking his head. "No dice. Whatever he's working on it seems like he's doing it on an individual server. Sure, there's some tidbits from when he HAD to use the CCT, but what exactly he's up to…it's somehow on something that isn't connected to the CCT at all," Oren frowned.
"What, did he make himself an old, outdated computer that doesn't connect to any networks?" Nora asked with a snort.
"I mean… maybe?" Terriermon said, looking over his partner's shoulder at the screen.
"The only thing we know is he looked up museums at one point, but that's it." Lopmon added.
"Other than that, he DID place an order for a shipment of old electronics, so…" Weiss trailed off.
Nora blinked a few times, before hitting her head to the table "I was JOKING."
"Eitherway, the fact he's looking up museums… maybe Salem is starting to get desperate in finding ways to get the Relics?" Aile suggested.
"I mean… maybe?" Emerald mused with a hum "From what I got, she definitely knows that the Maidens are needed to open the vaults in the schools, but that's it. She did think that maybe there might be more security… is there?" she turned to Oscar at that, the farm boy's posture changing as Ozpin took over.
"Originally, there was, but I later, rather stupidly I'll admit, removed them, thinking she wouldn't get so far. The only thing I'm glad I did was that the Vale vault requires all four sets of powers to open it." Ozpin admitted with a sigh.
"...well, that's even more reason for us to get to the Relic of Knowledge and then tossing it into the Digital World. Gennai will make sure nobody gets their hands on it then," Agumon sweat dropped.
"And then we do the same to Relic of Creation in Atlas, yes?" Norn asked curiously.
"Yeah, since as long as the current Winter Maiden's alive, she can at least open the vault for us so we can grab it and toss it in." Gyro said with a nod.
And that's when Penny suddenly gasped… and her eyes suddenly gained the same kind of aura effect as oh fuck-
"Penny, are you okay?!" Monodramon gasped in shock as he was immediately by his partner's side.
"What. The. Hell?" Pierce bit out, as they instantly recognized that… Penny had just suddenly gotten the powers of a Maiden.
"What? How?!" Yang was the first to articulate, because this should NOT have happened. There was no reason whatsoever for Fria to die NOW. Butterfly effects shouldn't have an effect on how long a person has left, especially considering the medical technology of Atlas.
"Wait, hold on! IS it Fria though? I mean, for all we know, these are the Summer Maiden powers." Qrow said suddenly, in a tone that was practically BEGGING for him to be right on this.
"No… no it's Fria." Penny said sadly, looking up at the others, and they knew if her body could, she'd be crying at the moment "She was able to send a mental imprint of the last thing she saw, along with a message." she said, before her eyes flashed and she projected an image onto a wall.
The room matched what they'd seen of Fria's room, and the person standing over her…
Dressed in an Atlas military uniform, probably to infiltrate, and…
"... she… kind of looks a bit like me." Yang noted, seeing as the young woman had long blonde hair and lavender purple eyes like her, though the woman in the image had softer looking features to her own fierce ones, bar the smirk present on her painted lips. The kind of smirk you'd expect from thinking you'd had a job well done.
"A tiny bit I guess. She's a lot paler than you though. You only jumped on thinking she looks like you because she's blonde and has the same eye color." her partner pointed out with a wave of her wing, earning a nod from Yang.
"Yeah… yeah fair point. Guess it's just weird to see it on someone else." Yang admitted, before a cough got her attention, making her look to Jaune… who was pointing between himself and Gyro with a raised eyebrow.
"Dork knight has a point." Gyro said with a snort "But that aside…" and his face lost his amusement immediately "This just got VERY serious."
"Wait, look down at the bottom." Agumon pointed.
"Is that… hair?" Gabumon said, narrowing his eyes a bit.
"Someone was in there with that woman." Pyrrha realised.
"What was her last message?" Ruby asked Penny with a frown.
"She said… 'Beware Atlas's Shadow'." Penny said after a moment.
"A bit cryptic… but maybe she's talking about something broader." Blake said thoughtfully "Like… a group working in the dark in Atlas that we don't know about."
Gyro frowned as he took this all in, before soon letting out a sigh "Right… guess this means we need to change up some plans." he said, before turning to Emerald "At this point… I can honestly say I trust you Emerald. You've done nothing but show you want to help and to make things better. We're going to let you in on all the big secrets now, so we can actually plan for this more efficiently without having to do double-speak or leave you out of the planning."
Emerald was shocked at this, and despite the seriousness of the moment, she managed to smile a bit, especially as Morphomon patted her arm with a proud look "Thanks… means a lot to hear you say it."
Gyro nodded, smiling a bit himself as Penny turned off the projection for now, the gogglehead turning to Weiss "So, about those slides I asked you to make for when we'd do this…?"
"They're finished." the heiress said simply, booting up a program on her scroll and projecting it onto the wall.
"Right." Gyro nodded, turning to the former thief "Alright, so it all starts with Earth…"
Several minutes later…
"... and that's pretty much it." he finished, Weiss turning off the projection as he did.
Emerald… both her, Morphomon and Norn were left staring with wide eyes "Uh… ok, WOW." she finally managed to say "Talk about one hell of a bomb… no wonder Cinder's just a joke to you if you've seen everything she's planning. Definitely explains how you were able to plan for everything too."
"Yeah, that's the main perk of future knowledge…which due to recent events are very much obsolete," Pierce said frowning a bit at the end.
"Well, we knew it was going to happen eventually…" Gyro sighed.
"We've changed so much, we're a different timeline now," Veemon mused.
"We were on a different timeline the moment we saw Greymon fighting Parrotmon all those years ago," Blake snorted. "And frankly, I'm glad we are."
"Don't blame you. Is it just me or were the versions of you in that 'original timeline' kind of…situationally intelligent?" Emerald frowned.
"Oh they absolutely were." Ren said with a nod "We're all ashamed of our 'canon' selves honestly."
"Which is why it's good canon never got to happen." Pyrrha said with a nod.
"Yeah." Emerald said, before wincing as she looked at Pyrrha and Penny "Look, about the Vytal Festival-"
"It's alright." Penny said, coming up to Emerald, and, in a surprise to the former thief, hugged her "I've already forgiven you for what your old self did. You're not her anymore."
"Ah…" Emerald's brain… short circuited for a moment at that "Um… thanks." she finally managed to say after several moments, when she finally returned the hug "It… means a lot coming from you Penny," she smiled, a few tears of joy falling from her face…and her Crest under her clothes glowing softly.
The group smiled, everyone enjoying the touching moment…before the alarm went off completely ruining it.
"...Oren, if it's your brother again, I'm going to go old me on his ass when we get our hands on him," Emerald growled in annoyance at the timing.
"I'll hold him down for you if you'd like," Oren said flatly.
"We'll help!" Terriermon added as the group quickly went to check the situation. What they found…
"Jesus christ he's hitting HOW many places at once?!" Pierce said in shock seeing 14 distress signals all coming from different locations in Server.
"There's… one for each of us." Rusty realized with a narrowed gaze.
"Either he just wants to annoy us, or he's trying something here." Gyro said with a frown "Either way, we aren't ignoring this."
"Should we come with some of you?" Keenan asked as he, Penny, Oscar and their partners stepped up.
"No, you guys stay here in case he decides to try something on this side while we're gone. We can never be too sure." Ruby said with a shake of her head "Besides, Penny should try to get used to suddenly being a Maiden first."
"That's… a very good point." the android admitted with a sigh, knowing she might be a liability right now.
"But yeah, for now stay here. We need you to be ready in case Nero goes for the real world, or backup is needed. You never know what Nero might pull. That's the problem when fighting his type," Jaune sighed.
"Right. We'll be there if you need us," Qrow nodded, seeing the logic. With that, the group soon entered the Digital World, going for the locations on the map.
Gyro and Agumon were the first to arrive at their target location from the entry point that they'd emerged at. The location was a sizable town in what appeared to be a canyon area. However, what immediately got their attention was the Digimon that was currently playing Kaiju in the town, smashing up parts of it. It was… well, it looked to be an Allomon, but DIFFERENT, it's head piece looking even more like a stereotypical indian chieftain one now as it went all the way down his tail, while the general posture of his body was more leaned forwards than it had been before.
"It looks… a bit off." Gyro noted with a frown, even as he ran in.
"Yeah… something's not quite right here." Agumon added "We'll have to figure it out after though."
(Theme: Out of the Box from Guilty Gear Strive)
"Agreed." Gyro said with a nod, before his Digivice glowed, and on their next step, Greymon lunged forward, tackling the other dinosaur away from a building he was about to smash through.
"Try to hold him off while I help with the evacuations!" Gyro said.
"Got it, but no problems if I beat him anyway, yeah?" Greymon nodded, before adding with a slight smirk.
"What do you think?" Gyro snorted in mild amusement before quickly going to help with evacuations, his Semblance helping him greatly in moving quickly to help direct Digimon who were trying to escape the town, or at least get to a safer location.
Greymon didn't waste time and confronted the Allomon. "Don't know what your problem is, but I'm not letting you go any further!" he said. However the Allomon didn't say anything, not even a roar as it charged forward, Greymon quickly bracing and catching the Allomon's charge…and to his surprise he was being pushed back. "Tch! Strong one, huh?" he growled as he managed to stop the charge and start pushing back, the Allomon proving capable of matching his strength.
That in itself was a surprise, because with all the training and the experience they'd racked up, he was confident he SHOULD have been able to match a low to mid-tier Perfect in his current form…which meant this Allomon was at the same level. Of course, Greymon wasn't in any place to try thinking about those specifics as the Allomon opened its mouth and he could tell an attack was coming. Eyes widening, he immediately did his best to adjust their positions, at the very least so that Allomon WOULDN'T shoot towards the Digimon evacuating. He managed to turn them just in time for the first shot, which narrowly missed his head, and hit a section of the town which thankfully had been evacuated, but still causing more damage. Oh and the Allomon was charging up more attacks too.
Greymon growled as he was forced to once again try to keep Allomon from shooting the town, managing to make a few more shots miss, some even going nice and wide, before he finally had enough, and during one more shot, he slammed his head into the Allomon…in a way that forced its mouth shut at just the right time, causing the attack building in its mouth to misfire while inside. The smoke coming out of its mouth caused it to reel back, an opening that Greymon used to smash his skull into the Allomon, sending it tumbling back.
Greymon was more than ready to charge at the Allomon to capitalize on the opening, before a shift in the wind told him his partner had managed to finish helping with the evacuation… which was made even more obvious as Gyro suddenly slammed down onto the Allomon's snout, jumping off and landing next to Greymon "I just got a call from Oren, apparently, he's fighting those same Greymon and Garurumon variants we fought at Merlot's Lab."
Greymon narrowed his eyes at that "The mutagen… Nero HAS to be involved for sure now if we're fighting X Digimon."
"My thoughts exactly. Guess that just means we really can't afford to hold back." he said, spinning his blades a bit, before getting into a ready stance "Let's go!"
The two charged forward, right as the Allomon X recovered. It was ready to fire another shot, but this time Gyro and Greymon were more than ready. "Mega Flame!" Greymon called out, firing his attack right into a wind tunnel that Gyro created, amplifying the flame, allowing it to break right through the Allomon X's attack, the larger fireball smashing right into it, sending it skidding back. It tried to regain its balance…but Greymon charged through the smoke, and rammed it with his horns, before lifting it over his head and with a roar, sent it flying backwards. Taking advantage of its position, Gyro immediately went after it, using Greymon's shoulder as a boost to launch himself forward with his wind, going straight for the Allomon X's neck, and in a moment that reminded him of the Initiation…he cut right through the vulnerable neck, his Chrome Digizoid weapons breaking through. The severed parts revealed the same black material that the Golemon from before was made of before the Allomon X was deleted, Gyro landing on the ground with his wind, before he and Greymon looked at the place where their opponent had just been deleted.
"That's one down," Greymon frowned.
"And I'm sure the others can handle theirs too," Gyro nodded.
(Theme: What do you Fight for from Guilty Gear Strive)
The small farming village was once an idyllic little place. Right now, it was anything but as the residents were in the middle of evacuating while in the town (and thankfully not too near the fields) Garurumon was moving quickly, trying to keep his opponent from being able to have a clear target before firing back with a well placed Fox Fire or two to continue keeping his opponent off balance. The opponent in question was a Tyranomon, albeit one that looked much more feral, with even larger back spikes that almost looked like they were glowing.
Considering the mass call his partner (and everyone else) had received from Oren just as they entered the small village, it was safe to say this was Tyranomon X.
Tyranomon X was certainly proving to be stronger than a normal Tyranomon seeing as it was taking several hits from Garurumon and was still standing. Fortunately Garurumon in a bid to keep it busy, was more focused on confusing it thus evading most if not all of its attacks, though he had to shoot down any which were aimed at where the evacuations were being done. Fortunately while Tyranomon X was stronger than a normal Tyranomon, this one didn't seem particularly bright as it just followed him around wherever he led it, as it had seen him as the bigger threat.
As Garurumon was keeping Tyranomon X busy, Pyrrha was helping with the evacuation, using her Semblance to get anyone who got caught in wreckages out…at least when the wreckage had metal. Otherwise she either helped with good old elbow grease, or used her weapons to cut and/or break through the stuff obstructing the evacuation attempts. The Digimon who lived here were understandably scared, but her presence greatly helped in keeping them calm, knowing that one of the Chosen Children was here for them. The evacuations proceeded…smoothly wasn't quite right, but at least it progressed, though Pyrrha couldn't help but look at Garurumon every now and then, making sure her partner was alright.
Fortunately Garurumon's hit and run tactics were serving him well and while Tyranomon X was firing attacks that were comparable to his Fox Fire, he wasn't taking any damage…even if the tactic resulted in more collateral damage than they'd like. She made a mental note to plan to help repair the damages later. Much to her relief, the evacuations were soon complete, and with that she quickly went to help her partner…while reaching with her semblance to grab as much metal debris as she could, before lifting it into the air and readying herself.
"Hey Tyranomon! Here's some more iron for your diet!" she shouted as she hurled the metal forward. Her shout alerting the two Digimon…but only one of them was fast enough to avoid the attack and it wasn't Tyranomon X. Tyranomon X was pelted by the metal pieces, before one flew and hit it right in the mouth. While said mouth was open. That led to the rather comical image of Tyranomon X now staggering around as it tried to get the piece of metal that was now serving as the biggest and probably hardest ball gag ever, out of its mouth.
Garurumon couldn't help but chuckle at the comical sight before quickly rejoining his partner. "Iron for your diet?" he couldn't help but ask, quirking an eyebrow.
Pyrrha blushed, looking a little bashful. "Sorry, I've been spending too much time with Yang, and that was the first thing that came to me," she said.
Garurumon chuckled. "Nah, I think its fine," he said. "So, double team this guy?"
"Of course," Pyrrha smiled before she quickly got on Garurumon's back as they charged back into the fight.
Tyranomon X was still trying to get the metal out of its mouth, which made for an opening for Pyrrha to shift into spear mode as Garurumon upped his speed, so that when they got close, Pyrrha thrusted forward, her spear stabbing into the side of the rampaging Digimon and the momentum allowed her to carve a large gash in its side, causing it to lose balance from the sudden damage and fall to the ground.
Garurumon skidded to a halt as they turned and looked at Tyranomon X who was still alive, getting up to reveal that their attack had broke through its skin, revealing the black substance underneath, one which was notably cracked, and very clearly of the same material as what the Golemon was made of. "So Nero IS behind these things," Pyrrha frowned.
"Even less reason for us to hold back then," Garurumon growled.
"We're going to hit it hard. I just need a clear shot," Pyrrha said, readying her spear, and Garurumon knew what to do.
"Fox Fire!" he called out, firing his attack which pelted Tyranomon X, causing it to reel back…and leave its torso wide open as Pyrrha hurled her weapon like a javelin, enhancing it with her semblance, which caused the weapon to fly and spear the enemy right in the chest, the force causing the spear to be embedded in while cracks started to spread. Tyranomon X had just BARELY started to regain its bearings…before Garurumon charged forward and without hesitation, rammed right into its chest, driving the spear into it further before Pyrrha gave it one final magnetic push, which caused it to break right through, spearing the ground nearby, and leaving a hole right through Tyranomon X, while the cracks spread till they covered its entire body, and to add insult to injury, Garurumon lightly flicked it with his tail, causing it to fall apart.
"Glad he's dealt with." Pyrrha sighed.
"Nero was smart, sending these things into populated areas. Going Perfect would be overkill while fighting them off." Garurumon said with a frown.
"Let's hope the others aren't having too much trouble." Pyrrha added with a frown of her own.
(Theme: N.S.F.W. from Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2)
The sound of crashing filled the air as a tree fell over and with it, some of the homes that had been built into the trees of the forest village. The perpetrator was a Rhinomon with much sharper looking armor, along with a front horn that was more of a large sword, his tail ending in much the same shape. Its attention was focused on the sky, as in the air, Birdramon was flying, Yang by her side as the blonde used her Maiden Powers to keep herself aloft. "He really is a rhino, huh?" Yang joked a bit.
"Yeah, let's deal with him before he knocks over more things," Birdramon agreed, before spreading her wings. "Meteor Wing!" she called out, firing her attack, while Yang mentally reached out to two nearby trees using her powers, and as she punched her fists towards Rhinomon X… the trees mimicked her movement, slamming into him hard.
And the Meteor Wing found their mark just a moment after the trees pulled back and covered Rhinomon X in flames. "Did that get it?" Birdramon asked.
"Hang on, let's not celebrate too soon," Yang frowned, bringing her hands together, twisting the trees around the flames to form a sort of barrier, just in case. True enough, the flames cleared to reveal Rhinomon X just fine, covered in a glowing barrier, completely unharmed. "Knew it seemed too easy," Yang frowned, a frown that grew deeper when Rhinomon X struck at the trees boxing it in, and they disintegrated before the barrier vanished.
"What's the plan now? We definitely can't get close, but if this keeps up, there might not be a village to save," Birdramon growled.
"First things first, we need to get him out of here!" Yang growled before she quickly landed on Birdramon, because she knew she would want full focus for this one, and keeping herself aloft would make that harder. With that done, she reached out with her powers and the forest around Rhinomon X practically came to life, as the trees grew a myriad of vines which lashed out. Rhinomon X wasn't making it easy though as it thrashed and struggled, cutting and breaking several vines and bringing down a few trees too, but eventually Yang managed to find an opening and the vines wrapped around Rhinomon X, and without a moment's hesitation, she manipulated the trees…and hurled Rhinomon X out of the village area and managed to make it land on the edge of the forest. "There, that should make things a little easier!"
"Yeah, at least we won't have to worry about hitting the village too," Birdramon agreed as she went after Rhinomon X, and then fired her Meteor Wing once she was close, pelting Rhinomon who didn't have time to bring up its barrier at first, but the thing managed to bring up its defenses again, cutting off the rest of the attack. "That barrier is really annoying!" Birdramon frowned. However, when the barrier went down, they noticed that the initial attack had caused parts of the outer layer to break off, revealing the same substance that made up the Golemon.
"So it really was another fake," Yang frowned, thinking quickly. The shield kept the Rhinomon X from taking damage…but if she looked closer some of the metal seemed to be glowing a bit before going back to its usual dark coloration. At that, she had a small eureka moment. "Birdramon, keep hitting it with Meteor Wing. Don't worry about hitting it per say, just surround it in fire!"
Birdramon blinked, before she got it. "Nice idea, if it worked on MetalEtemon, then it'll work for this!" she said before she fired Meteor Wing after Meteor Wing, forcing Rhinomon X to bring up its defenses as it was pelted by the attack, the area around it surrounded in flames. As Birdramon was heating it up, Yang was focusing on preparing her own attack. She waited for a few minutes as Rhinomon was all but covered in flames despite the barrier keeping it from taking damage, and when she was sure it was long enough, she signaled for Birdramon to stop, and then fired a powerful blast of cold, putting out the fire and covering Rhinomon X in ice. She kept up the pressure till it was in a nice thick slab of ice which didn't move for a moment, before cracking as Rhinomon X struggled inside, the creature breaking out, but in the process losing its entire outer layer.
Despite that, it didn't seem deterred and stepped forward to continue the fight…before Yang created a small sheet of ice under it, causing it to slip, hit the ground, and break apart as its body had become very brittle from being superheated and then abruptly cooled. Birdramon and Yang shared a small chuckle before Birdramon fired one last Meteor Wing, which hit and completely destroyed the counterfeit Digimon for good measure. "That's a wrap," Yang snorted a bit.
(Theme: The Town Inside Me from Guilty Gear Strive)
"Okay, this is a bit of a problem," Ruby gulped as she and Togemon were forced to evade the falling bits of the ceiling. The area they'd ended up in was an underground mining village, one that was under attack by a Monochromon with darker colored skin… huge claws, a blade on his tail… and his horn that was on his snout had been replaced by a massive sword.
"There's some kind of crude joke here, but I'm pretty sure it's beneath me." Togemon said with a sigh, before punching forwards, her fist meeting Monochromon X's blade and stopping it in its tracks. The clash created a bit of a shockwave, kicking up a bit of dust. Even so Monochromon X continued to push, Togemon seemingly not budging, before she quickly jumped out of the way when Monochromon X tried to strike at her with his sword-horn.
Ruby was going around, using her Semblance to move quickly while taking shots at Monochromon X. Monochromon X didn't take kindly to the shots, and broke away from Togemon to charge at her, only to miss completely. However, even as it ran into a wall, the impact caused the area to shake again, causing more chunks from the roof to fall.
"Was this cave ever actually stable?!" Ruby couldn't help but ask as she and Togemon were once again evading the falling bits.
Monochromon X in the meantime pulled itself out of the wall and turned to face them, before opening its mouth and firing a series of fireballs at them. Ruby acted quickly and swapped her ammo for Ice Dust and started shooting at the fireballs, Togemon helping with her needles, the wind pressure caused by the rapidly flying needles helping to put out the flames, the two managing to defend against the attack. "We need a plan here," Togemon frowned.
"Working on it," Ruby said quickly, her mind racing as she thought of how to fight. Monochromon X was definitely strong, but it wasn't particularly maneuverable, as the fastest it moved was when it was charging…and it clearly wasn't good at stopping either. That big horn sure didn't help it much. With that in mind, the answer was clear. "We're not gonna win in a head on fight. We gotta out pace it and outsmart it," Ruby said.
Togemon blinked before her expression became a bit of a smirk. "I'll do the outpacing, you do the outsmarting?" she checked.
"You know it," Ruby chuckled before they immediately went different ways. Ruby moved quickly and fired shots at the Monochromon X, annoying it and making it set its sights on her, but before it could target her, Togemon got close and punched it in the face, causing it to reel back a bit from the sudden impact. Taking full advantage, Togemon kept up the pressure with a series of Mach Punches, forcing Monochromon X to reel back further. However, Monochromon X wasn't about to take this lying down…or it would have if whenever it looked like it was about to try and counter attack, Ruby would take aim and shoot a myriad of Dust Bullets, causing various effects, from freezing its legs to stop its movements to using gravity Dust to knock its horn off course.
The whole time as well, Ruby was carefully maneuvering herself around Monochromon X, all the while she and Togemon were working together to keep Monochromon X completely off balance, and throughout the fight and near constant hammering, bits of Monochromon X's skin broke off, revealing the same black substance as Golemon. This just affirmed the plan they were going for, till Ruby was positioned a distance behind Monochromon X, readying her weapon.
The moment Togemon confirmed Ruby was in position, she reared back and… "Coconuts Punch!" Togemon called out, rapidly punching Monochromon X, beating it silly before ending with a double punch to the face, sending it off its feet and flying back…right as Ruby fired a Gravity Dust bullet, propelling her forward, and shifting into a ready position, she met Monochromon X mid-way, catching it by the neck on Crescent Rose X's blade…and pulled the trigger. Repeatedly. The shots kept pushing her forward, and after the third shot or so, her blade cut right through, beheading the counterfeit Digimon, Ruby spinning through the air, with Togemon managing to catch her as Monochromon X fell to the ground, its body quickly breaking down.
"Well… glad that's done with." Togemon said, before brushing off her shoulders a bit "Maybe we can get out of here now, I need some sunlight."
"Same here. Hope the others weren't in positions as bad as ours." Ruby said with a sigh.
(Theme: Rock Parade from Guilty Gear Strive)
A battle was raging inside a rather…odd…location. It was a wooden colosseum located in a jungle, a few Digimon having made it their home in light of the large space, making a small town. Said space was now ironically being used for its intended use as in the air above the main arena, two Digimon were clashing in mid-air. On one side was Kabuterimon with Weiss riding on his back, the girl supporting with the use of her Glyphs and even a few summons. Their opponent was… Kuwagamon X.
"I know we've more or less gotten over it, but what is it with a Kuwagamon causing us trouble?" Weiss grumbled. "And why did WE get stuck fighting it?"
"Eh, probably not a question we should think about too much," Kabuterimon sighed. True enough, the Kuwagamon X immediately went after them again, the creature particularly vicious.
Kabuterimon didn't stand idly by as he immediately fired a Mega Blaster, which Kuwagamon X evaded…to which Weiss quickly summoned the arm of the Arma Gigas when it got close, using the flat side of the blade to swat Kuwagamon X aside. Kuwagamon X quickly regained balance and charged forward, going straight for the sword, which it grabbed hold of and to Weiss's surprise, shattered it without much difficulty.
"...okay, not gonna get hit by that," Kabuterimon said dryly before quickly firing a Mega Blaster, managing to hit Kuwagamon X, sending it tumbling a bit, but quickly regaining its balance before coming at them again, Kabuterimon making a point to avoid getting hit by its claws as their aerial duel became something of an aerial dogfight.
"We need a plan," Weiss frowned as they narrowly avoided another strike. "Kuwagamon X is faster and stronger than a normal Kuwagamon, but its not the worst we've faced," she said as she was quickly looking at their opponent, thinking quickly and realized…a very simple truth that made her almost want to facepalm for not realizing it sooner. Now the only problem was making it work. "Okay I have an idea. Only one problem."
"Oh boy," Kabuterimon sighed, because when Weiss said it was a problem. It was a problem. True enough…
"I'm gonna need to get on its back," Weiss said.
"You know that's a bad idea, right?" Kabuterimon groaned as he evaded another attack.
"Oh definitely," Weiss sighed, clearly not liking the idea either as Kabuterimon had to do a quick barrel roll to avoid Kuwagamon X's next attack.
"But its going to all but guarantee us winning?" Kabuterimon reconfirmed, firing a Mega Blaster to keep Kuwagamon X away.
"Assuming it goes as planned? Yes," Weiss nodded.
"...alright, let's do it," Kabuterimon sighed, before going on the offensive, trying to keep Kuwagamon X pinned down on some level, which was easier said than done, but after several misses and near hits, he managed to catch Kuwagamon X in a lock that gave Weiss the opening she needed to jump onto Kuwagamon X's back.
The moment she was on, Weiss didn't hesitate. Selecting Ice Dust she jammed her weapon between the wings of Kuwagamon X, and with her upgraded weapon, penetrated the carapace. Of course that wasn't her goal. Her real goal was the ice that was rapidly spreading, and soon spread to Kuwagamon X's wings. As one would expect, the insect became unable to maintain its flight, and before long began falling out of the sky as Weiss jumped off, using her glyphs as platforms to get her back to her partner.
"Bad idea or not, if it works, it works," Kabuterimon smirked a bit before charging up his attack, while Weiss summoned the blade of the Arma Gigas again, and hurled it at the tumbling Kuwagamon X, right as Kabuterimon opened fire with one more Mega Blaster.
Kuwagamon X had no defense as the Arma Gigas's heavy sword hit it right in the chest, skewering it, right as the Mega Blaster hit, electrocuting it thoroughly, leaving it to hit the ground and shatter into data.
"There we go." Weiss sighed "Honestly… Nero just doesn't learn to give up, does he?"
"Yeah, it'd be almost inspiring if he wasn't a total jerkass." Kabuterimon added with a chuckle.
"That's true," Weiss snorted a bit as well.
(Theme: Trigger from Guilty Gear Strive)
"Huh. I don't know if that's creepy or kinda comical," Jaune couldn't help but say as he and Ikkakumon were in a harbor town, the harbor area being attacked by, well… it was without a doubt a Gesomon, but one that looked a bit different from normal, its mouth looking rather creepy… and its two main tentacles also had mouths on them. Definitely another X variant like what Oren said he was fighting.
"Weird or not, it's causing a real mess," Ikkakumon said.
"I'll make sure everyone's evacuated, you keep it busy, or better yet, get it away from the harbor!" Jaune said, earning a quick nod from his partner as he quickly moved to intercept Gesomon X. "Harpoon Vulcan!" Ikkakumon called out, not wasting time in firing his attack, Gesomon X noticing it just in time to get pelted by the missiles, pushing it back, right before Ikkakumon moved as fast as he could and managed to ram into Gesomon X, pushing it back towards the water.
Gesomon X didn't take kindly to that and lashed out with its tentacles, with Ikkakumon tanking the blows, wincing a bit, but not stopping in his efforts to keep pushing Gesomon X back. The struggle was more of a back and forth between the two as both Digimon were…less than suited for fighting on land. Even so Ikkakumon kept pushing, ramming his horn repeatedly into Gesomon X, pushing the squid back bit by bit. Gesomon X did its best to make this job harder for him, but once he saw they had a clear shot of the ocean, he pushed his horn at Gesomon X again before… "Harpoon Vulcan!" he called out, firing at near point blank, the attack hitting Gesomon X dead on and pushing it back till it was off the harbor and into the water.
"That'll keep collateral damage down," Ikkakumon said before he soon dove into the water, the two Digimon continuing their battle in the water. Unlike on the land, both were able to move much faster than before as they darted through the water, Gesomon X firing shots of ink, but Ikkakumon was able to evade them before countering with his Harpoon Vulcans, which had much better range in the water than in the air, allowing the two to match each other in the water.
The fight was fierce, but ultimately was at a stalemate as Ikkakumon maintained his distance to avoid the poisonous ink, while Gesomon X was able to evade his Harpoon Vulcans whenever he fired them. Ikkakumon was in the middle of wondering how he should adjust his strategy when he suddenly heard Jaune talking.
"Sorry for the wait, but I just got the best plan we can ask for right now!" he heard his partner's voice from… somewhere.
"Jaune? Wait, how are you- Oh! The Digivice can even do that?" Ikkakumon suddenly realized.
"Yeah. Can't believe we never thought to try this. Anyway, here's what we're gonna do." Jaune said, speaking in a slightly lower tone of voice as Ikkakumon listened, nodding along, before finally grinning at the end.
"Got it, let's do it!" he said, ready to put the plan into motion. With that said, he started firing more Harpoon Vulcans while swimming around Gesomon X. Gesomon X however fired back with its ink, while also evading the attacks. Even so, Ikkakumon continued his attack, keeping Gesomon X semi-boxed in.
Up on land, Jaune was sitting on what could only be described as a spear gun turret. Easily finding the spot where the fighting was going on based on the churning of the waters, he slowly adjusted the aim of the turret till he had a good shot. "Okay, I'm in position. Get ready get out of there in 3…2…1!" he shouted into his Digivice, which was the signal for Ikkakumon to get out of the way as he pulled the trigger, the turret firing a large harpoon into the water, which speared the Gesomon X, causing it to start to struggle and fight to get free, but Jaune immediately triggered the reeling mechanism, pulling the Gesomon X back, and towards the turret. Knowing full well that when Gesomon emerged it probably wouldn't be too happy, Jaune quickly got off the turret, right as Gesomon X was pulled out of the water, thrashing as its tentacles flailed wildly.
"That's enough out of you!" Ikkakumon shouted as he broke the surface, and quickly took aim. "Harpoon Vulcan!" he called out, firing his attacks in succession, right as the turret lifted Gesomon X up in a way that left the counterfeit beating against the turret near frantically…but it was no good as the attacks impacted it, causing severe damage, right before Jaune came up to it, his weapon in its bastard sword mode…and with a small roar, he plunged his weapon right into the head of the Gesomon X, which caused serious damage, as it finally stopped struggling and broke apart into black data.
"Glad that's over," Jaune sighed.
"Nice idea with the harpoon gun," Ikkakumon said with a grin.
"Thanks. Good thing the residents let me borrow it," Jaune chuckled, though inwardly he frowned, realizing that had he jumped into the water, he probably wouldn't have been able to do much. Maybe it was time for him to update his gear again…
(Theme: Roar of the Spark from Guilty Gear Strive)
The desert town was silent, yet it was a calm before the storm. The residents who'd escaped the town watched in apprehension from a nearby hill. At the town center there was a mexican standoff going on. On one side was Blake and Angemon, Blake loading up a Dust Cartridge into Gambol Shroud X in its gun mode, while Angemon was in a ready position. Their opponent was what looked to be a Growlmon… but more on the lean side, with larger claws, a more fierce looking head, and a complete lack of the Digital Hazard mark on him.
The two sides looked at each other, Growlmon X strangely calm for what was almost definitely a counterfeit Digimon, before a tumbleweed rolled through the area…and at an unseen signal, both sides moved.
Growlmon X suddenly manifested Plasma Blades on its arms as it charged forward. The moment it did, Blake and Angemon moved. Angemon took the lead, and with quick movements, knocked aside one of Growlmon X's strikes with his Holy Rod, before quickly blocking the second strike as well. At the same time Blake took the opening to get into a good position and opened fire on Growlmon X's unprotected belly, the bullets impacting and forcing the dinosaur back.
Growlmon X staggered back but quickly regained its bearings and fired a powerful blast from its mouth, but Blake suddenly leaped forward into the way of the attack…and created an ice clone using her Semblance and Ice Dust which exploded on contact with the attack, releasing a burst of cold that negated the fireball and created a cloud of steam, blinding Growlmon X…before Angemon emerged from the steam and…
"Heaven's Knuckle!" Angemon called out as he slammed his fist into Growlmon X's torso and let loose his attack, a beam of holy energy shooting out and going straight through Growlmon X's body, leaving a gaping hole which revealed the black artificial insides. Growlmon X stood there for a moment…before shattering into black data.
"That was easy," Blake chuckled. "Good thing your abilities are REALLY effective against dark attributes," she said.
"And undoubtedly the others are having similar results," Angemon nodded.
(Theme: Perfection Can't Please Me from Guilty Gear Strive)
"If the universe has a sense of humor, then it definitely likes irony," Nora said as she opened fire with her grenades as their opponent deftly evaded the explosive projectiles.
"Just don't say any jokes about cats and dogs!" Gatomon said before she charged forward and was soon having a clash of speed as her claws met her opponents, the two clashing a few times before Gatomon kicked her opponent in the face, regaining some range while her opponent landed on the ground and skidded away a bit.
The Digimon they were facing was quite obviously a Dobermon, albeit one that had two huge blades sticking out of his torso, his collar having even bigger spikes on it, and the blades on his heels being even longer.
"Still though, these powered up versions are really annoying," Gatomon frowned, glancing around the sports field they were in, having managed to stop Dobermon X before he actually got into the town itself.
"Then we'll just have to break their legs even harder!" Nora said as she shifted Magnhild X into its hammer mode.
"Ok, seriously though, what's up with that?" Gatomon couldn't help but ask.
Nora frowned at that, before lifting her hammer up, and bringing it down HARD on Dobermon X who had opted to charge forward, dazing the artificial Digimon for a good while.
(Pause Theme)
"Alright… quick version, Break their Legs is basically my own version of Kick their Ass. It… kind of started years ago, because of the Grimm that killed Ren's family. The thing has a horse lower half, and if you break a horse's legs, it becomes useless." Nora explained, leaning on her hammer with a sigh.
"Right… ok, that makes sense… while we're on the subject though… can you explain why you used to be…" Gatomon trailed off, trying to think of a nice way to word it.
"A cloud cuckoolander?" Nora said with a smirk, earning a reluctant nod from her partner "It was literally on purpose. Ignoring everything I didn't want to dwell on and acting insane was the easiest way to just be happy for a long while. Ren let me do it because he knew it was the only way I could cope for a while, at least until I finally came to terms with everything when you evolved into Angewomon."
"So everything after that is…" Gatomon chuckled a bit.
"Force of habit, yeah," Nora chuckled. "Now that we've cleared that up, let's deal with this thing and then deal with the jerk who almost definitely sent it," she said as Dobermon X had regained its bearings by now.
(Resume Theme)
Dobermon X didn't seem to appreciate the migraine Nora gave it and let out a roar which caused both Nora and Gatomon to wince as they felt the pressure from the attack. However, as the attack hit, Nora's crest started to shine on her arm, the light countering the effects of the attack, and with a burst, sent Dobermon X reeling back.
Gatomon took advantage of the opening and charged forward. "Neko Punch!" she called out delivering rapid strikes and slashes on Dobermon X who was forced to step back as strike after strike landed, but eventually it regained its balance and tried to strike at her with its blades, but she was faster, managed to evade and even kick off its head to jump back…and landed right on Magnhild X. She and Nora shared a look and nodded before Nora spun and with a shout, swung Magnhild X, launching Gatomon forward, straight back at Dobermon X, and with a flash, she passed it, landing on her feet and skidding to a halt.
Dobermon X stopped…before lines appeared on it and it fell to the ground in pieces, shattering into data shortly after.
"Sorry pup, but the two of us are invincible together," Gatomon chuckled, while Nora snorted in amusement.
(Theme: Coming Home from Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-)
"Don't you just love when even the location is out to get you?" came Stingmon's sarcastic voice as he floated in the air a bit… not too far from a river of lava that was flowing down from a nearby FIELD of volcanoes. Yes, plural.
"We're getting in the water once we get back." Ren added with an annoyed sigh, leaning away from a fire ball tossed his way, glaring at their opponent a little, while being glad the village nearby was evacuating on its own once they stopped the enemy outside of it.
It was a Meramon… but one that somehow looked like he was LESS on fire than a regular one, seeing as his flames were concentrated on his upper chest, the top of his head, the back of his hands, his thighs, and the top of his feet.
"Guess our luck isn't the best today," Ren frowned. "Won't stop us though."
"Never said it would," Stingmon chuckled a bit. "What's the plan?"
"First things first, let's see what this thing can do," Ren said, to which Stingmon readied his attack.
"Moon Shooter!" he called out as he fired the needles at Meramon X. The needles flew through the air, but right as they were approaching Meramon X, it suddenly reared back, its flames seemingly getting stronger than prior before swinging the arm forward, releasing a blast of flame that incinerated the needles, and still had enough strength to nearly hit the two, forcing them to evade, Stingmon moving through the air…and also watching out for the blasts of volcanic vapors and the volcanic rocks that flew out of the many volcanoes, Ren doing the same added with the extra effort of making sure to avoid the lava as well. In contrast Meramon X was chasing after them without any worries, clearly not affected in the least by the terrain, while any shots Ren tried to use to get it to back off did nothing against the flames around Meramon.
"Okay, we need to do something about those flames," Ren frowned, quickly jumping to evade a fireball, to which Stingmon caught him so that they were both at least now able to use the air to keep their distance.
"Putting them out won't be easy. This area gives him a major advantage," Stingmon noted. "Think Ice or Water Dust will work?"
"Maybe, but we'd need a lot of it. Way more than I'm carrying at least," Ren frowned as they continued to evade Meramon X's attacks. As Stingmon continued to evade the attacks, Ren racked his brains to think of a plan. His first instinct was to drop Meramon X into the lava…but with how little regard Meramon X had for the area, it was a safe bet that that wouldn't work. Ice and Water were an obvious option but there wasn't enough of either and even if they DID try, odds are the heat from the area they were in would ruin that idea. If only there was some way to instantly put out…
"...I got an idea," Ren said before he rummaged through his ammo and pulled out a grenade. A notably pink grenade.
"...that's one of Nora's isn't it?" Stingmon said dryly.
"Yes," Ren nodded. "But we need this to go off at practically point blank," he said.
"...alright, what do you have in mind?" Stingmon asked after a moment.
"We'll use what Ice Dust we have to make sure Meramon X doesn't suspect a thing. Keep its attention so I can use the grenade as a trap. And after the grenade goes off…be ready to take it down in one hit," Ren said.
"Okay, I trust you," Stingmon said as he found a good spot and let Ren go, allowing Ren to land on the ground to which he quickly swapped his ammo for Ice Dust cartridges and aimed at Meramon X, opening fire without a word. The bullets flew through the air, but Meramon X released its flames again, causing most of the bullets to be destroyed mid-flight, though a few did hit, the ice briefly causing Meramon X to recoil before it quickly turned into vapor as Meramon X's flames and the nearby heat won out quickly.
Meramon X clearly didn't care much for the ice though and soon threw more fireballs at Ren, but when it did, Stingmon fired more of his Moon Shooters, pelting Meramon X even as the flames stopped most of the damage. Either way Meramon X didn't like it at all and began firing at both of them, even as both of them were moving in different directions to keep Meramon X's attention divided. Taking advantage of its confusion, Ren placed the grenade under a few rocks, and once it was secured, he opened fire again, while also shooting a bit into the air.
The moment Stingmon saw that, he flew towards Ren, which led to Meramon X gunning for both of them together, charging forward. However, when Meramon X was on top of the grenade, Ren moved quickly and fired at the grenade, triggering it and causing a large explosion to go off, engulfing Meramon X completely.
"Do it now!" Ren shouted as Stingmon was ready.
"Spiking finish!" he called out, charging straight for the smoke, which cleared for a moment to reveal Meramon X…lacking its flames as the explosion had burned up all the oxygen in the immediate area, thus putting out the flames for a moment. That single moment was all Stingmon needed to ram his Spiking Finish right through the enemy's chest, leaving a gaping hole after he pulled it back out.
Meramon X slowly fell to its knees at that, before its body broke apart, leaving no traces of it behind.
"Well, that's ours dealt with." Stingmon said in relief, landing next to Ren.
Ren nodded, before sighing, wiping some sweat off his forehead "What do you say we go find some cooler climate now?"
"I'm all for it." Stingmon said, before he picked up his partner and the two flew away.
(Theme: Play the Hero from Guilty Gear Strive)
"Man we really got one of the worst places possible huh?" Pierce said, standing on a thankfully solid bridge that was connecting two ledges together… among many other ledges and bridges, built into the side of a mountain, where a village was located. Right after he said that though, he had to duck underneath the swing of a weapon.
"Tell me about it. I hope the others had more luck than we did." Veedramon said from right behind Pierce, before firing a V Breath Arrow at their opponent when he had a chance… only for the attack to get batted away by a weapon.
Said weapon was an electric guitar with a saw blade built into the underside… and an axe blade attached to the side of it, being held like an actual axe instead of like a guitar in the hands of what looked to be a modified Ogremon, his body covered in scars that glowed red, his horns even longer, and his face… it reminded Pierce far too much of a certain symbiote what with the stupidly long tongue and the large eyes that were completely white, black markings around them, while a streak of red went through his white hair.
"Okay, no matter how you splice it we really can't afford to let this drag on too long," Pierce growled.
"Yeah, but first let's not fight on the spot that we're likely to fall off of…or will be a serious problem if its destroyed," Veedramon frowned as the two were forced to make a tactical retreat to one of the ledge areas which while not exactly spacious, was at least a bit better for them to work with. Fortunately as well, Ogremon X had its sights fixated on them and quickly pursued them.
Seeing it coming, Veedramon fired another V Breath Arrow, but once again Ogremon X was able to knock the attack aside with its weapon. "Okay, we're not getting anywhere as long as it can keep blocking your attacks," Pierce frowned as he shifted Pandora X into rifle mode and opened fire, to which Ogremon X was once again blocking. "Here's the plan, I'll keep it busy. You find a good spot to land a good hit, and when the time comes I'll make sure it can't stop you from hitting it," Pierce said quickly.
"Can't say I like that plan, but it's the best we got," Veedramon frowned. At that, Pierce loaded a special Dust Bullet into his rifle and fired it. Ogremon X once again blocked it, but this time it exploded into a smokescreen on impact, disorienting the counterfeit Digimon, and allowing Veedramon to slink away while Pierce broke through the smokescreen and shifted his weapon back to its naginata mode, sending rapid thrusts at Ogremon X who was caught off guard and took damage from the strikes, forcing it to back away. However, Ogremon X quickly regained its balance and lashed out with its weapon.
"Whoa there!" Pierce couldn't help but say as he quickly backed off, evading the saw blade while being mindful of where he was going. Aura or not, he didn't feel like testing his durability…especially when the one wielding said weapon was a Digimon. Even so, Pierce wasn't purely on the defensive, as while he wasn't as strong as Ogremon X, he was able to move faster, weaving around Ogremon X's attacks with a mix of his own speed and using the rocky terrain and evading a strike, shifted Pandora into a stun gun, and managed to land a hit on Ogremon X, the strong shock causing it to spasm a bit, before Pierce was able to get a bit of distance, shifting his weapon to rifle mode again and shooting at Ogremon X, landing several good hits which forced the Digimon back a bit, before Pierce quickly grabbed another special bullet and fired it at his opponent's weapon. The bullet hit the blade, and out from it came a thick gel which quickly started to gum up the weapon, stopping it from being able to spin.
Ogremon X looked at the new addition to its weapon and tried to get it to work, but nothing happened much to its confusion. "No dice there, that's fire retardant gel!" Pierce smirked…right as he noticed something not too far away. "But since I messed that up for you, here's something else!" he added, quickly pulling out something and throwing it at Ogremon X before covering his eyes. Said something was revealed to be a flash bang which blew up not far away from Ogremon X, blinding and deafening the counterfeit Digimon briefly. It also served as a signal, as from where he'd found a good spot to shoot, Veedramon fired a V Breath Arrow that hit Ogremon X dead on, sending it off its feet and off the edge of the nearby ledge, just BARELY able to stop from falling off the mountain by virtue of its weapon managing to catch a bit of the ledge. However, before it could pull itself up, Veedramon had soon joined Pierce again, both of them looking down at their opponent. "Sorry, but we REALLY don't want to deal with you more than we have to," Veedramon said.
"Yep, so see ya next fall," Pierce said, before both of them hit the weapon, sending Ogremon X falling off the mountain…oh hey, there were sharp rocks at the bottom of this ledge.
"And…" Veedramon trailed off, before wincing as Ogremon X shattered into data shards "Yep, he's gone now."
"This thing was a total pain." Pierce said with a sigh, cracking his neck a bit "Let's head back, hopefully the others had it easy."
(Theme: Find Your One Way from Guilty Gear Strive)
"The setting is ALMOST perfect." Rusty mused, spinning one of his pistols on his finger as he reloaded it.
"So close to recreating that ONE scene… just need some gravestones around." Snatchmon agreed with a nod, the two standing next to a large oasis in the middle of the desert, plenty of palm trees growing around it, a town having been built around the area.
"Yeah, but I'm no Glint Southwood, even though I try." Rusty smirked, before dodging out of the way of a volley of needles from the opponent, which was…
Well, a Togemon, albeit one wearing a poncho and a sombrero hat on its head.
"These variants are kinda weird sometimes," Snatchmon couldn't help but say, right before they had to evade another spray of needles from Togemon X. "Definitely stronger though!" he added as the stuff that was behind them got turned into pincushions. Yes, even the random rocks that just crumbled from the sheer number of needles going through them.
"First things first, we need to do something about these needles. We're not going to win if we can't even hit it!" Rusty frowned, before readying his weapons, both he and Snatchmon hiding behind a rock…that just got turned into a pincushion and was quickly starting to crumble. Neither of them had time to fully make a plan, but they knew their immediate step. The moment the rock broke apart, they got out from behind it and Rusty opened fire on Togemon X, the enemy Digimon countering with more needles, but Rusty used his Semblance to quickly see the needles that would actually hit him, and in quick succession started shooting deliberately aiming for them, knocking them out of the air as he managed to match Togemon X's rate of fire.
At the same time, Snatchmon found several needles going for him, even if most were aimed at Rusty. Moving quickly, he readied his tail. "Tooth Spear!" he called out, lashing out with his tail, knocking needles out of the air. A few managed to graze him, but he paid it no mind. He'd avoided the worst damage, and this wouldn't stop him in the least.
Togemon X seemed to notice something was wrong, but proceeded to spray more needles, but the first round had given the two some practice, allowing the two to defend against the needles better than before, and this time Rusty managed to break through the rate of fire, several of his bullets impacting Togemon X, causing the counterfeit Digimon to recoil…and giving Snatchmon the chance to close the distance, hitting it several times with his tail.
Togemon X was forced back, but quickly regained its footing, and countered with its fists, forcing Snatchmon to block, which even then he was sent flying back a good distance before managing to flip in the air and land on his feet. "Packs quite a punch," he winced, shaking off the pain in his arms.
"Considering its a powered up version, I guess we shouldn't be surprised," Rusty frowned, right as the Togemon X lunged forward, aiming for both of them with its punches. Both of them were ready, but their opponents fast punches forced them to go on the defensive as it rapidly punched at them, not giving them a chance to fight back with ranged weapons, though Snatchmon was able to use Tooth Spear to do a few cross counters, forcing Togemon X to break off its assault, creating a pause in the fight.
"Right, if it wants to fight short range now, let's see how he deals with a bit of electrical persuasion then." Rusty said, before flipping his weapons in his hands, shifting them into their baton modes, the tips sparking as he did.
"Been some months since you used those." Snatchmon noted "You sure you won't shock yourself?" he asked jokingly.
Rusty chuckled "Oh, pretty sure, after all…"
Rusty dashed ahead suddenly, before he snapped one baton into Togemon X's arm to knock away the fist, driving the other into its face, sending it skidding away as he gained a more feral grin, his tail rattling "I've been practicing."
"Then let's show them the results of your practice," Snatchmon chuckled as Rusty quickly closed the distance. Togemon X meeting him and trying to punch him, but to its frustration, Rusty was able to weave through the attacks, while blocking or batting punches that got too close away, the sudden shock that accompanied each strike causing the Togemon X to lose momentum, and giving Rusty the opening to close in and strike repeatedly at its body, shocking it silly.
Togemon X stumbled back and looked ready to fire its needles again, but Snatchmon interrupted. "Ruin Laser!" he called out, hitting Togemon X, interrupting it. "Nah ah, you're facing my partner mano a mono," he smirked, right as Rusty took advantage of the opening and jabbed both his weapons into Togemon X, shocking it silly again, causing it to teeter back further, looking more than a little dazed.
"Granted that last attack wasn't exactly fair but…we're not exactly in an arena, are we?" Rusty smirked a bit before shifting his weapons back to normal and then joining them together to form their rifle mode. "Coup de grace?"
"Coup de grace," Snatchmon smirked before he fired more Ruin Lasers at the same time Rusty opened fire, the two pelting Togemon X more and more with the attacks as it was forced to back away further, cracks starting to appear all over its body, before Snatchmon dashed forward. "Snatch Claw!" he called out, lashing out with his signature attack, which plowed into a notable crack and going through Togemon X, who soon shattered into data not long after.
Snatchmon analyzed the bits of data left on his fingers from his attack, before letting it go "Yeah, something was definitely done to a Black Tower. Guess this fits with what the others told us about their fight with Merlot, how he modified some Digimon with his mutagen."
"Then this has to absolutely confirm Nero's involved." Rusty said "The others are definitely gonna come to the same conclusion. I reckon we should head back for now, and hope things are dandy everywhere else."
(Theme: Love the Subhuman Self from Guilty Gear Strive)
"Well, this feels almost fitting." Aile said with a frown, her weapons floating next to her, before she flexed her fingers to put them in front of her, blocking a thunder ball with them. She stood in the middle of an old, almost medieval looking village, an old castle even rising in the distance.
"At the very least, our enemy doesn't have any sort of advantage being here. Outside of matching the theme I suppose." Aquilamon said from up in the air, firing a Blast Laser down at their opponent, which was blocked by a gale of wind.
Their opponent almost looked calm and at ease, at least if they forgot its most likely origin, being a Wizardmon, though like the other Digimon their friends were facing, it had several differences in its appearance, notably, a lack of a staff, X shaped gems being embedded in its palms from which it fired its spells, another one present over where its right eye would be… and there was even an X on its pants and another on the skull shaped emblem on its hat.
Dear readers, if this wasn't Wizardmon X, then this narrator will eat their own shoes.
Wizardmon X wasn't wasting time, keeping up the offensive, sending a variety of spells at its flying opponent, deeming Aquilamon the bigger threat right now.
"Don't keep your eyes off either of us!" Aile shouted, sending her chakrams flying at Wizardmon X who quickly reacted, used magic to knock her chakrams away, before shooting a fireball at her, the fireball seemingly making contact with her…before her body suddenly broke apart into white feathers, causing Wizardmon X to flinch in surprise at the sudden shift…and thus unable to react when the chakrams came back and slashed into its side, breaking its concentration.
Aquilamon saw the opening his partner made and took the opening. "Blast Laser!" he called out, opening fire and hitting Wizardmon X, sending it tumbling back before it regained its footing, looking up at Aquilamon, parts of its face cracking and breaking off to reveal the black material underneath.
"Guess you really are another fake," Aile's voice said, causing Wizardmon X to turn to the source, hand sparking with electricity…before promptly stumbling forward awkwardly as one of the chakrams had turned into their Kunai form and jabbed into its back…while Aile reappeared in front of it and slashed at it with the other kunai, knocking it back, before calling the kunai still buried in Wizardmon X's back back to her hand as she moved to regain some distance.
Wizardmon X didn't take kindly to this and summoned a strong gust before Aile could get away, sending her flying back…but Aquilamon was faster and managed to catch his partner quickly, the girl grabbing on to his leg, before they quickly got some air superiority over Wizardmon X who was wildly firing its spells at them.
"Thanks for the save," Aile said as she quickly climbed onto Aquilamon's back.
"Nice trick with your Semblance," Aquilamon chuckled as he quickly evaded another lightning bolt.
"Not quite enough though. We probably should have gone for killing blows when we had the chance," Aile frowned.
"No matter, live and learn. We made one opening, surely we can make another," Aquilamon reassured.
Aile nodded at that, before she looked around…and had an idea. "Okay I think I just figured out how we'll be making another opening," she said and quickly whispered her plan to her partner.
"...that idea is more reckless than I'd care for…but it could work. Alright, if you're sure you can pull it off, I will do my part," Aquilamon said after a moment.
"I can do it," Aile said, earning a nod from Aquilamon before she jumped off of him and was soon sky diving right at Wizardmon X, her chakrams spinning rapidly in place. Wizardmon X saw her coming and on instinct, fired a bolt of lightning at her, but the moment it hit, once again she turned into a mass of feathers and seemingly vanished. Worse, the feathers spread rapidly, momentarily blocking Wizardmon X's vision, before a shape flew out from behind the feathers, Wizardmon X instinctively shifting focus onto the object which revealed to be Aquilamon…who promptly flew into a position that he had the sun at his back, the light blinding Wizardmon X briefly who held up its hands to try and block the light.
However, right as it did that, a buzzing sound was heard, like something rapidly flying through the air…which revealed to be Samsara X which flew at full speed and cut right through the arms blocking the light, literally disarming Wizardmon X.
"It's all yours Aquilamon!"Aile shouted from where she'd landed on one of the nearby buildings.
"Understood!" Aquilamon said before flying down at full speed. "Glide Horn!" he called out before Wizardmon X was impaled on one of his horns, the fake Digimon seemingly gasping before shattering moments later.
Aile smiled a bit in relief "Well, glad that's taken care of. And it let me get some extra practice in with my semblance."
Aquilamon landed next to her a moment later "Indeed. Although it reminds me of some of your spars with the others when they were first trying to understand how it worked, thinking it was a regular illusion."
Aile chuckled "Yeah, but leaving a feather clone and me going invisible is even more confusing."
Aquilamon chuckled as well "Indeed. Now then, let's regroup with the others, they'll want to hear about this for sure."
Aile nodded in agreement, before she climbed up onto her partner's back, the two taking off and heading back to meet up with the rest of their group.
(Theme: Necessary Discrepancy from Guilty Gear Strive)
"You know, I was hoping the first thing I'd get to do after the others actually accept me in full is get to know them better, but this right here is just pissing me off!" Emerald said with a growl, spinning the blades of her weapons around her, ready to throw them towards her opponent after she avoided an attack.
"Tell me about it. And this guy just can't seem to appreciate some beautiful scenery too!" Hudiemon added with a frown, twisting away from a sword strike that cut down several bamboo shoots, their fight taking place in an oriental looking town completely surrounded in bamboo, and several springs nearby as well.
Their opponent was a Leomon, one with a more… realistic looking face, a red cape trailing behind it, and rather than the normal single short sword… it was wielding a long sword, along with a more normal sized blade.
"Well whatever the case, if this guy is looking for trouble, then I guess he's going to be who I take my frustrations out on right now," Emerald said, the unspoken understanding that this was likely a counterfeit Digimon being what let her be more crass with her choice of words.
"Let's deal with this guy quickly so we can deal with the likely ringmaster," Hudiemon agreed.
Leomon X however didn't seem intent on letting them start the next attack. With a roar, it charged forward, swinging its long sword, cleaving through some of the bamboo in the area, while Emerald and Hudiemon quickly jumped back to evade. Reacting quickly, Emerald shifted Thief's Respite X into gun mode and opened fire, but Leomon X was fast and quickly raised its normal sword to block the shots, though a few got through, leaving a few scratches on its body.
Leomon X lowered its weapons a bit to see its opponents…just in time to see that Hudiemon had taken advantage of the momentary block to close the distance and well…Leomon X was suddenly kissing the sole of Hudiemon's foot. Which just plowed into its face. Leomon X was thrown back by the force, its fall only stopped by landing into some of the bamboo, the plants managing to support its weight somewhat…but all that did was give Emerald an immediate target to open fire again with her guns.
Leomon X glared as it got back up, but Emerald was already on the move, keeping up her shots as she went. Even so Leomon X readied its weapons and charged right at her, and as it so happened her shots suddenly stalled, giving it a perfect chance…only for it to run face first into a mass of bamboo that wasn't there before, stopping its charge dead in its tracks.
"Ooops, you should watch where you're going," Hudiemon chuckled.
"Because in a place like this, I've got PLENTY to work with," Emerald smirked a bit, right before Hudiemon hit the still reeling Leomon X with an Infinity Dream, causing further problems for it as its body became hard to move. Even so, it pulled itself out of the bamboo and looked determined to keep fighting…and was met with the blades of Thief's Respite X's Kusarigama mode which Emerald went straight for its legs, causing it to stumble forward again, giving Hudiemon the perfect opening to land a series of Flying Kicks to its chest, ending with one that hit it on the side of its head, sending it tumbling into a rock.
Growling, Leomon X got up again, but the two weren't letting up, evident by how the world seemed to suddenly shift and become out of focus, making it hard to maintain balance. Even so it seemingly found a moment of clarity, and saw what appeared to be Emerald and Hudiemon walking towards it and with a roar, it charged at them again…only to lose its footing as it abruptly fell into one of the springs.
"You REALLY don't learn, huh?" Emerald snorted, before switching her ammo and opening fire into the pool…which lit up with electricity, which in turn lit up Leomon X like a christmas tree.
"Okay, as funny as this is becoming, think we should finish this sooner than later?" Hudiemon snorted.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Emerald shrugged as by now the Leomon X had just barely pulled itself out of the electrified water, hands barely able to hold on to its swords…something Emerald too full advantage of as she fired her kusarigama blades, which wrapped around the said swords and with a tug, she pulled them away from Leomon X, leaving them to stab into random stuff in the area. At the same time Hudiemon flew into the air while Emerald quickly retracted her blades and fired them again, this time wrapping around Leomon X as she once again casted an illusion designed to give it vertigo.
Leomon X struggled to get free, but between the strong chains and the sheer vertigo it was experiencing…that was impossible as Hudiemon reached a good height, and with that…flew down quickly before pulling into an axe kick. "Flying Kick!" she called out as she brought her leg down right on Leomon X's head, hard enough that there was an audible 'CLANG' as Leomon X stiffened, a vibration going through it…before a crack developed from its head and all the way down through its body…before it crumbled into pieces before dissolving into data.
Hudiemon chuckled a bit, dusting her hands, before humming in thought "Hey… do you also feel like we just did some kind of achievement?"
Emerald hummed, tilting her head "Kinda? Bit weird but it feels like this was supposed to happen or something… really strange." she said, before shaking her head "Anyway, let's head back. Everyone else is probably done… and I kind of want to go back to that feeling of being surrounded by friends." she admitted with a soft smile.
Hudiemon chuckled a bit, before flying down and starting to walk next to Emerald "You already were, they just didn't know it yet themselves."
"Okay, this is just unfair," Gargomon grumbled.
"How so?" Turuiemon sighed a bit.
"The part where we're on the wrong end of a monster movie!" Gargomon shouted…right before the three of them had to move to evade a foot coming down on where they had been.
"Okay…you might have a point there. Still at least we're not dealing with full blown Kaiju," Oren sweat dropped a bit, as the three of them were currently inside of a sizable city, as this was the only point that had 2 apparent sightings, thus it was an obvious choice for him and his partners to deal with the situation. Of course, when they arrived, they soon found that they were facing a Greymon and a Garurumon, both of which matched the description of the ones the others had fought in their encounter with Doctor Merlot, so a Greymon X and a Garurumon X.
(Theme: Armor-clad Faith from Guilty Gear Strive)
"If we were dealing with full blown Kaiju I don't think we'd be staying at Adult level," Turuiemon pointed out a bit dryly as he quickly moved to evade Garurumon X's Fox Fire, using the buildings to wall jump and quickly get some height from his opponent.
Greymon X was also going after Gargomon, slamming its tail down, forcing Gargomon to block with his guns, grunting a bit before opening fire to force the tail back. "Still feels like a hard fight though!" Gargomon said, before evading another stomp.
"Digimon X…they're certainly living up to the idea of a powered up version of Digimon," Oren frowned, having ducked into an alleyway to avoid some of the rubble kicked up. Even so he was thinking quickly how to beat them. Power wise he'd estimate that the two enemy Digimon had a bit of an edge compared to his partners, and their size would make fighting a bit more problematic. Even so, their attacks weren't what he'd call particularly clever. Both of them were just attacking their targets without any notable strategy in mind.
That would in theory be their key to winning. "Keep the two busy for now. I think I can come up with a plan!" Oren said quickly.
"Got it!" Gargomon said as he opened fire while moving, aiming to draw Greymon X's attention.
"We'll hold them off as long as you need!" Turuiemon nodded as he made full use of the terrain and his mobility to evade Garurumon X's attacks, while using Gantoretto to land rapid hits whenever an opening presented itself.
As the two were fighting, Oren quickly hacked into a nearby system, accessing the data of the city. From there he was able to access a map of the city, and looking through it quickly, he formulated his plan, and found something he could use. "Alright, here's the plan. We need to lead them to this park further East of where we are. There should be a large fountain in that area. We'll be able to use it to remain within the same area while the water should block them from seeing and thus assisting each other," Oren explained quickly.
"So we'll need to get them to the area separately then?" Turuiemon said as he ducked under a Fox Fire and managed to kick Garurumon X right in the chin, getting a confirmation from Oren.
"Great, so who's going to bring their giant monster first?!" Gargomon shouted as he narrowly avoided a Mega Flame from Greymon X before returning fire with his Gatling Arms.
"Turuiemon, you go first. I'll assist Gargomon till you reach the spot!" Oren said quickly, earning a nod from Turuiemon who managed to jump off of Garurumon X's head again.
"Hey furball, try and catch me if you can!" Turuiemon shouted before running into the direction he needed, Garurumon X quickly running after him.
At the same time, Oren got out of his hiding spot and lashed out with Clever Scales, slapping the back of Greymon X's neck a few times, making the counterfeit Digimon turn to face him and giving Gargomon a bit of breathing room.
"How long do we have to hold this guy off?!" Gargomon asked as he opened fire, both of them working to keep Greymon X busy
"Give Turuiemon a 5 minute head start, then we can start moving!" Oren said.
"Eh, that sounds fair," Gargomon nodded, knowing that when it came to speed and evasion, his brother had him beat. With that said, he continued go keep going around Greymon X, firing on the enemy Digimon, and while his bullets didn't do quite as much damage as they should, it still continued to annoy the Greymon X who was stuck shifting focus between the two of them as they took advantage of their numbers while maintaining some range, even if Oren was always ready to avoid the tail seeing as he needed to get somewhat closer to use Clever Scales on Greymon X.
Greymon X was getting increasingly angry, and with a roar, fired a continuous stream of fire into the street, hoping to get these two annoyances, but when the fire came, both of them quickly ducked into the nearest alleyways and up the nearest fire escapes to well…escape the fire. "Attack Pattern Y!" Oren said quickly.
Gargomon had a…less than pleased expression. "Y me?!" he shouted but didn't argue as he leaped off the building he was on, going straight for Greymon X. "Dumdum Upper!" he called out, slamming his guns right into Greymon X and opening fire, doing some notable damage, and even opening cracks to reveal the black material underneath. At the same time, Oren lashed out with his whip sword which wrapped around Gargomon, pulling Gargomon back a bit…before gravity reasserted itself and Gargomon was soon delivering Dumdum Uppers onto Greymon X like some demented yo-yo of pain.
Greymon X tried to snap at Gargomon but Oren was faster and able to manipulate his weapon enough to keep his partner more or less safe before going in for another attack. Eventually Greymon X got fed up and started charging up another Mega Flame, to which Oren pulled Gargomon back, and the two were soon running on the roof tops, Gargomon shooting as they ran, Greymon X chasing after them angrily.
"Okay, can we go now?" Gargomon asked.
"Yes, let's lead it to where we need to go!" Oren said as they were soon leading Greymon X towards their destination.
At the same time, Turuiemon was in the middle of jumping and weaving around Garurumon X, having reached the destination, a sizable park with a big garden and most of all, a massive fountain in the middle. He didn't feel nice about the potential collateral damage, but they didn't exactly have many options right now, so not much could be done beyond trying to finish this quickly. With that in mind, he led Garurumon X into a spot around the fountain, keeping the fight more or less locked there as he continued to move around quickly.
He was pleased to hear the sound of heavy stomping not long after as no doubt Oren and Gargomon were leading Greymon X towards the location and they could begin the next phase of Oren's plan.
"Okay, we're here! So what's the next part of the plan?!" Gargomon asked as he and Oren had arrived, Greymon X not far behind as they dodged another Mega Flame.
"We're at our best if we work together, but normally that would just let the two work together. For now keep it busy, but when I give the signal, lead it to attacking the fountain, preferably at where I'm sending the signal," Oren said quickly.
"Friendly fire?" Gargomon checked.
"Friendly fire," Oren affirmed.
"Okay this plan I can really get behind," Gargomon smirked a bit, before opening fire on Greymon X, once again drawing attention away from his partner.
With Greymon X once again distracted, Oren quickly made his way around the fountain, and saw Turuiemon was doing his best to keep Garurumon X busy, the wolf angrily snapping at him, but the rabbit was fast enough to keep evading and even striking back with a few hits of his own. Oren had no intention of breaking Turuiemon's focus, so instead he used Clever Scales to whip Garurumon X when an opening presented itself, making the counterfeit Digimon stumble from the sudden attack, and giving Turuiemon some breathing room.
"Took you both long enough. What's the plan?" Turuiemon said.
"Friendly fire. When I give the signal, try and bait Garurumon X into shooting at where I give the signal," Oren said quickly.
"Right, I'll continue keeping it busy until then," Turuiemon nodded as he rushed at Garurumon X and delivered a rapid series of punches and kicks again.
With both of his partners keeping the enemy Digimon busy, Oren didn't waste any time. Getting a good estimate of where the two sides were…he quickly got on the fountain. Doing the math rapidly in his head, he kept a close eye on both sides and when he was sure now was a good time, he raised his Digivice and tapping into it, shot forth a beam of light, the clear signal for both of his partners.
The moment they saw the light, they immediately went into action. Gargomon stopped playing at range and pushing himself, managed to leap at Greymon X, before climbing up to its face, and using a Dumdum Upper right into its face, launching him back. Greymon X didn't take kindly to that and fired a Mega Flame, which Gargomon used his guns recoil to try and adjust his position, just NARROWLY avoiding the big fireball. At the same time, Turuiemon slammed his gauntlets into Garurumon X before jumping away, provoking a Fox Fire that Turuiemon had to twist in the air to just barely evade.
Both fire attacks having missed their targets, continued to fly, heading in Oren's direction. Not wasting time, he quickly jumped off the fountain, causing both attacks to miss completely. At first they flew through the air, but eventually gravity reasserted itself and the two attacks descended…hitting a new target. The two Digimon X.
Both attacks hit dead on, and while they'd fizzled out a little, the impact still did notable damage to both. However, both were still in the fight, and Oren was already on the move. "Attack Pattern Delta! Target Greymon X!" he shouted, before immediately going for Greymon X.
"Roger!" both Gargomon and Turuiemon nodded as Gargomon opened fire again, and Turuiemon went through the fountain and straight for Greymon X. No words were exchanged as Oren lashed out with his whip sword, catching Gargomon again, before with a grunt, he spun Gargomon around and threw him at Greymon X, just as Turuiemon jumped onto Gargomon, the two of them flying at a fast speed, and landing a double team of Dumdum Upper and Gantoretto…hitting Greymon X right in the neck, the force strong enough to finally break through the hard material…and they inadvertently beheaded the counterfeit Digimon.
The three didn't pause to celebrate defeating the first of their opponents, as they immediately turned to the fountain, with Garurumon X soon coming through it, having had time to regain its balance. Too bad it was only in time for its own demise.
The moment they saw it, Gargomon opened fire on Garurumon X while Turuiemon quickly closed the distance, and between the two of them, Garurumon X had little to no breathing room, which got even worse when Oren took the chance to get to its side, and wrap his whip sword around Garurumon X, holding it in place abruptly. Garurumon X tried to break free, before charging up a Fox Fire…but by the time it had, Gargomon and Turuiemon had already gotten to opposite sides and surged forward, before slamming their respective attacks into Garurumon X's side, the combined force causing massive internal and external damage that resulted in Garurumon X cracking and exploding into black bits which soon vanished.
Oren let out a sigh as Garurumon X disappeared "Dear Oum… that was a lot more difficult than it should have been."
"I doubt the others had this much trouble." Turuiemon agreed with a nod as he came up to him.
"Tell me about it. They all had one guy to fight, we had two." Gargomon complained with a groan as he joined them.
Turuiemon turned to his brother, raising an eyebrow at him "What has you in such a mood dear brother?"
"Plan Y." Gargomon told him in deadpan.
"Ah… so we finally found a use for that one did we?" Turuiemon said with a surprised blink.
Gargomon grumbled at that, while Oren let out an awkward chuckle "Well… let's head back, we should reconvene with the others and compare notes, even though I think we all agree."
"This has Nero written all over it." Turuiemon nodded with a frown.
"Dang, was hoping at least one of them would win," the man in blue grumbled as the last signal went dead.
"Well it was to be expected. It'd be highly unlikely for any of these to have successfully defeated any of them. They've faced stronger after all," the woman in red sighed, playing with her hair a bit. "At least we've confirmed that the Dark Tower Digimon are stable."
"Indeed, and thus the experiment is a success," Nero smirked. "We set them all up in areas that that group would be unwilling to go all out in, and the fact that they managed to hold up at all against them is proof that all we need now is to make them stronger."
"Just need to be able to sneak around to a place that has more than one tower to do that." the man in blue said, earning a nod from the woman in red.
"And they're all still none the wiser to what we're truly doing… though I wouldn't be surprised if they figured out HOW we made our Digimon. Loathe as I am to admit it, they are not naive, and they'll pick up on several towers going missing and nobody having knocked them down." Nero said, tapping a finger on his arm as he looked at the computer screen, his mini spy drones having captured all the footage of the various battles.
"About our actual objective though… we still don't have any leads." the woman in red told him, though he waved it off with a shrug.
"They'll pop up in time. For now… let's just keep seeing how we can improve our arsenal." he said with a smirk, before his eyes snapped over to his egg when he saw it move.
All of them stilled as they looked at the egg, which started shaking from left to right, rocking around slowly… and slowly starting to gain cracks in it.
Nero's face slowly turned into a grin as he got closer, watching in anticipation at the moment he'd been waiting for so long.
Finally, it happened.
The shell of the egg broke open… and two yellow eyes met his, before turning up in delight as the owner of the eyes started rocking around in the egg more and broke open the rest of the shell, revealing a Botamon that hopped towards Nero with a happy look on its face.
Nero's grin brightened at the sight, before he picked up Botamon, holding him up, while his D-Necron let off a small glow, as if further cementing the truth to him.
"Nice to finally meet you again… Partner."
And... well, a LOT happened here for this special Chapter 100.
So... yeah, the immediate consequences of Mercury bailing, and then... well the massive surprise that nobody expected... Fria being assassinated... by a character that some of you might recognize, or not, depends on if you're savvy enough.
Either way, yeah, plans need to be changed now, because the Chosen just found out they have an enemy in Atlas, hiding in the shadows.
And, of course, the fights, which we went all out in making them as detailed as we could... and gave everyone a theme for the fight as well, and I made sure to stick to Guilty Gear for all of them because... well, Guilty Gear is badass, you know?
Also, Emerald is truly part of the Chosen now, so their group will be even more cohesive from now on.
And... yeah.
Nero's partner hatched.
Time for the nightmares people, because...
The Adventure Evolves