Chapter 18 - The Battle of Codec Ruins

Dawn's early light brought with it soon after a great and fearsome march of every Digimon the Digidestined could name. Though the army of the Sovereign's was mighty, and crowded the hilltops of the ruins which they had been inhabiting, it soon became clear that Daemon's Army of the opportunistic and the unscrupulous dwarfed it in size. At first the army formed a horseshoe shape around the high ruins, and from the parapets of the decaying walls of their bastion The Digidestined watched as the evil Digimon below called and jeered and made threats, but otherwise refused to attack. From high in the sky, HippoGriffomon swooped down and landed next to Matt, who was sitting on MetalGarurumon's back.

"They have elected not to surround us sir- I suspect out of fear of spreading themselves too thin." Reported HippoGriffomon to Matt. Matt nodded and turned to SuperStarmon "Line our Digimon along the walls. Send the Devas to command the west wall along with Cody and Cannondramon and Yolei and Valkyrimon. Rosemon and Vikemon will defend the east wall, and the rest of us will stay here. Biyomon-" with that Matt turned and looked down at Sora' partner "You'll coordinate our air forces from above as Phoenixmon along with Megakabuterimon." Biyomon nodded stoutly, raising a wing in salute. "The rest of us will defend from the front. It will be a harsh ascent up these cliffs for their forces, so we stand the best chance if we stick together and work as one. Agreed?"

Matt's last word, rather than looking for affirmation from any of the rest of the Digidestined or tamers, seemed to be focused entirely on Tai, who up until this moment had been quiet. "If you say so Matt." Tai said. Matt only grimaced in response. Tai could tell he needed his full support in this moment, the complete faith of his friend, and so with a broad smile Tai clapped his hand on Matt's shoulder and said "It's a great plan dude, we're with you all the way." At this, Matt returned Tai's smile. Around them, the Digimon busied themselves assembling in their decided places. Before heading to the west wall, the Devas digivolved to prepare for battle.

"Leomon, digivolve to…Grapleomon!"

"Monzaemon, digivolve to…Shinmonzaemon!"

"Centarumon, digivolve to…Sagittarimon!"

"Ogremon, digivolve to…Rebellimon!"

In their new forms the four devas sped off along with Cannondramon and Valkyrimon to command the forces of the western wall. The Digidestined watched them leave and for a moment felt more confident of their chances, with such mighty allies at their side. It was then that a sharp and cold voice rung out from below. Though far away, the voice was magically magnified and rang in the ears of everyone assembled. Kari knew it all too well and shuddered involuntarily. TK took her hand.

Barbamon stood on a rocky outcropping far below, one bony hand clasped around his staff as always, while the other hung loosely at his side. "Children!" he roared to the Digidestined and tamers above. "You and your rabble assemble here in defiance of the one true lord and master of this world- the great Daemon! But though you insult him with your very presence, know that our master is a merciful one- withdraw at once from this place, and vow never to take arms against him again, and your lives will be spared. The so-called Digimon Sovereign will be destroyed and we, his most loyal servants, shall replace them as the rulers of this world. Agree now, and we swear that no harm shall come to any who surrender. But defy us- and you will all be destroyed!" with these last words Barbamon bashed his staff against the ground for emphasis, and with that the surrounding army of evil Digimon let loose a savage roar.

From behind the Digidestined, in the sanctum below the walls of the ruins, Azulongmon spoke. "Let it be known that any who wish to leave now may do so. We ask no one to be destroyed for our sake. But, if you will stay and fight alongside us, we will show those faithless fools below what true Digimon are made of!" with that the loyal Digimon of the Codec Ruins cheered as one, a cheer which transformed in mere moments to a loud and courageous battle-cry that echoed down to the hills below. Carried by the moment, the Digidestined joined in, raising their fists to Barbamon. Seemingly amused, the dastardly Digimon only said "Good. I would have been so disappointed if you had surrendered." Kicking off from the ground, he floated high into the air so that all of Daemon's forces could see him. Raising his staff to the Codec Ruins, he screamed a single word. "Attack!"

All at once Daemon's forces surged forward like a tidal wave. The smaller and less agile Digimon were quickly outpaced by the more impressively powerful of the horde, who began to ascend the sheer cliff-face towards the ruins. While Digimon like Dokugamon ascended quickly on their gravity-defying limbs, others such as Cerberusmon were forced to deftly leap from rock to rock as they went. Large lumbering DarkTyrannomon and Tuskmon dug their claws into the stone of the cliffs and began to climb upwards slowly, all the while craning their necks back to fire blasts of energy upwards towards their enemies. Many smaller Digimon such as groups of Goblimon clung onto the tails and backs of their stronger counterparts, hoping to make their way more quickly to the top.

From the parapet, Matt shouted "Now, return fire!" and around him the loyalist Digimon began to attempt to pick off the enemy army as they ascended. Next to Tai, a Meramon shot out bursts of flame towards an approaching group of Divermon. Four of the mass were consumed in flames and fell to their destruction, but one among them aimed his harpoon gun at Meramon and returned fire. Before Tai could even warn him, the harpoon struck Meramon through the chest and in a burst of data he was gone. The Divermon below then turned his harpoon on Tai. Before he could even fire though, Wargreymon swooped down from above and struck out with his gauntlet. The Divermon's body divided into three pieces before disappearing. Turning back, Wargreymon gestured to Tai who leapt from the north wall and onto his back. Speeding down, they began to make short work of the approaching monsters. With a spinning kick Wargreymon sent a Tuskmon flying off the wall, and striking the spot where he had just been with his fist- he sent an avalanche of rocks falling down on the ascending Digimon below. A Warumonzaemon leapt forward to strike at Tai and Wargeymon but was at the last moment flattened by a punch from Imperialdramon, who sent the evil teddy bear cascading down into a group of Goblimon below. Raising his cannon, the mega-level fired a volley of blasts at the approaching army, but for every Digimon they felled it seemed like twenty more were there to take their place. Ascending rapidly up the cliff, a MetalSeadreamon let loose it's with it's River of Power attack from his snout, but rather than targeting Wargreymon or Imperialdramon, the blast instead strafed along the length of the north wall. Tai turned back in shock and horror, just in time to see Ophanimon and MagnaAngemon rise into the air carrying Kari and TK. Though shaken by the sudden blast, they were unharmed. Many below had not been so lucky. Though the tamers had taken on their biomerged forms and were unharmed, most of the rank-and-file loyalist Digimon manning the north wall had been destroyed by that attack. Kari watched with tears streaming from her eyes as she watched a cracked and burned Digitamamon dragged a smouldering Elecmon out from under the rubble.

The tamers at this point sprang into action, with MegaGargomon leaping from the wall and bodily tackling MetalSeadramon by the face before he could get off another attack. From behind, Justimon and Sakuyamon swept forward into the melee and began incapacitating foes left and right. With a twirl of her staff Sakuyamon sent out a volley of spirits which burned away the webs of a Dokugamon and sent her falling onto the rocks below, while beside her Justimon slashed out with his beam sword at an approaching Diaboromon, cutting off one of the monstrous creatures' long arms. From either side, Tai could hear similar battles raging on the west and east walls. Looking back, Tai watched as Matt directed the battle from above, giving orders to Hippogriffomon and Superstarmon which they relayed down the line. Tai knew Matt was showing restraint by not joining the battle yet, keeping the power the Sovereign had given him in reserve until they really needed it. It was at this thought crossed his mind that everything turned upside down. From the western wall, a great and mighty explosion rocked the ruins. That entire side of the wall was engulfed in flame, and unfortunate burning loyalist Digimon fell from its great height.

All assembled turned to watch this in horror, but Tai and Wargeymon particularly did not have long to wonder at what could have caused it before two Digimon surged out of the flames and made a combined attack on Wargreymon. The first, an armoured black dragon with glowing red veins snaking along its muscular body lashed out with its spiked tail and sent both Tai and his partner flying away from the north wall. They lost altitude down at a still body of water roughly a quarter mile from the Codec Ruins in the surrounding forest but did not have long to recover before an armoured blue Digimon whose body resembled an anthropomorphic shark burst from the water and wrapped his spiked arms around Wargeymon, taking him into a crushing bearhug. With his opponent restrained, the Digimon took the opportunity to sink his many rows of razor-sharp teeth into Wargreymon's neck with a sickening bite. Wargreymon screamed in pain initially, but steeling himself he managed to break the enemies hold and lash out with his gauntlet, making the other Digimon retreat backwards a few feet. "Who are you?" Tai said, more buying time than anything. Below him, a winded Wargreymon was breathing heavily, and without a few moments rest Tai feared his friend was not going to recover. The armoured shark laughed, saying "Call me Carcaramon, and this-" In the sky above him the black dragon from before came into view, his great tattered wings beating in the air hard to keep his gigantic bulk flying. "-this is my friend DreadFlaremon. I hope you're both ready to die."

Tai was desperate to buy more time. Thinking fast, he shouted "I've never seen Digimon like you before, what gives?". From above, Dreadflaremon let out a low and rumbling guttural laugh, the sound of which thrummed in Tai's chest and filled him with a deep anxiety. "We were blessed by our master Barbamon- and not just us, our friends too! I imagine your friends are meeting them right now!" Far off in the distance Tai could see the battle raging on around the ruins, with flashes of fire and explosions radiating in the overcast sky. "Enough talk," spat Carcaramon, "Let's finish this!". Wargreymon needed to deal with these two quickly and get them back to their friends, Tai thought desperately. But how could he do that? His partner was already injured, and these two dark Digimon were insanely strong. Swallowing his fear and doubt, Tai shouted "You think we're scared of you? Wargreymon has fought guys way tougher than you!".

"Let's see about that!" shouted Carcaramon before charging forward with his razor-sharp claws bared. At the same time, Dreadflaremon let out a roar and flew directly at Tai and Wargreymon. In that moment, all Tai could do was reach down and place his hand on Wargreymon's neck. He could feel his partners quickened pulse beneath his warm skin. "You got this buddy." Tai said softly, and in that moment, they keenly felt the special connection that had always existed between them and their two hearts beat as one. The two dark mega-level's were within a few feet of them when a shining figure materialised in the air before them, stopping them in their tracks. The great-armoured warrior had moved so quickly that Tai's eyes had had trouble even registering his arrival, but now in a single moment he stood there as clear as day. Dreadflaremon was the first to break the silence, roaring "Who in the hells are you?" Yet again this new arrival moved at almost lightning speeds, summoning into his hands two curved golden great sword's, and spinning them in a wide arc before holding them in an offensive posture, ready for battle. "We are AncientGarurumon." Matt and MetalGarurumon's voices resonated out from beneath the helmeted face of this great and powerful warrior, and Tai watched with a mixture of shock and awe as he realised that this was truly Matt he was looking at. "Wow." Was all he could manage. With a small laugh, AncientGarurumon looked over his shoulder and said, "I know."

At this moment, Carcaramon launched himself at AncientGarurumon. His first strike glanced harmlessly off one of the ancient warrior's swords, but he followed it up with a slash that Matt had to wheel backwards to avoid. Despite being such a gigantic and heavily armoured Digimon, AncientGarurumon seemed to effortlessly defy gravity and move with the poise and grace of an expert dancer. His broad swords were both weapon and shield in his hands, and though Carcaramon attacked with a savage ferocity and near-infinite levels of stamina, none of his attacks could find a weak spot. It was as this close battle went on across the lake that Wargreymon and Dreadflaremon circled each other high in the sky above. Stretching out his neck, Dreadflaremon roared "Inferno Torrent!" and spewed out barrage of black fire from his maw. Wargreymon summoned his shield from his back and tanked the blast. From behind the shield, sitting on his friend's shoulder Tai could feel the terrible heat of Dreadflaremon's attack bounce off the Brave Shield, followed by the dragon's spiked tail which rocked Wargreymon backwards and sent him flying higher into the air. Sending his shield back to his back, Wargreymon was forced to dodge and weave through the air to avoid the snap of Dreadflaremon's jaw, as the dragon attempted again and again to take a bite of him.

Rallying, Wargreymon lashed out with his gauntlet's, forcing his opponent back and gaining the necessary room to call out "Terra Force!" summoning a huge ball of energy into his hands and chucking it directly at the dark dragon. "Abyssal Roar!" Dreadlfaremon shouted in return, sending out a powerful sonic shockwave which removed all of the Terra Force's momentum and caused it to explode in the air between them. Below them, Carcaramon and AncientGarurumon were creating a maelstrom of flying sparks as they duelled across the surface of the lake. Carcaramon lunged low and attempted to slice at AncientGarurumon's mid-section with his claws, but his opponent swung the blunt end of his blades around and formed a cross in the air, trapping the shark Digimon's arms. Pulling him in close, the wolf-warrior headbutted Carcaramon savagely, sending him falling backwards into the water below. The waters splashed for a moment as the mega-level sank and then all too quickly became disturbingly still.

AncientGarurumon raised his guard as he stared down at the murky waters below him, wondering from where his enemy was going to spring. The still lake waters gave no sense of the beast lurking beneath, and with every passing silent second Matt began to feel an increasing sense of dread, anticipating the attack to come. His attention was momentarily distracted by the fight above him, as he watched Wargreymon catch Dreadflaremon's tail and attempt to throw him down into the forest below. It was as this briefest change in his attention took place that Carcaramon burst out from the water behind AncientGarurumon. Matt attempted to turn but was not quick enough, as in that moment Carcaramon joined his armoured hands together and shouted "Thresher Barrage!". A bright blue beam of concentrated energy burst forth from his palms and collided with AncientGarurumon's back, forcing him down into the waters below. As he sank, Matt could feel a rising sense of panic. That had hurt. He sincerely hoped their friends were doing better than they were.

_XX_XX_XX_

On the ruins of the western wall, the four devas were holding the line amidst a column of smoke and flame which had consumed the centre of their forces and shattered a good portion of the wall, separating it in two with a huge rift and giving the enemy ample opportunity to ascend and enter the bastion of the Codec Ruins. Leomon had digivolved again into his mega-form Saberleomon and was making short work of any who got too far, with the help of a courageous Monochromon and Kokatorimon. High above them on the remaining sections of the wall, Saggatarimon sniped at any flying Digimon with his bow and arrow while ShinMonzaemon covered him, slapping away any who got too close. On the lower cliffs, Rebellimon was making a game of motoring along the sheer sides of the ascent and cutting any Digimon who attempted to get past him to pieces. From behind Saberleomon, Cannondramon laid down a barrage of fire which effortlessly swatted whole squads of Airdramon and Megadramon from the skies. His twin cannons sent out deafening bursts of fire almost ceaselessly, nearly drowning out the chaos of the battle. Cody sat on his partners back and directed this fire, while Yolei hid beneath Cannondramon's huge legs, her hands over her ears and her eyes screwed shut. On the other side the rift, Valkryimon was battling furiously with any who would dare challenge him. With his blade drawn he skewered a SkullMeramon through the chest before kicking him away, in the same movement brinigng his blade around in a wide figure eight to behead a passing Vilemon.

Though they were all beginning to tire, it seemed as if no enemy could even begin to assail their might, and that soon Daemon's forces would wear themselves out and begin to thin. Cody began to feel a small sense of hope that perhaps the day would be theirs. It was as this thought passed through his mind that he noticed two black shapes appear from out of the flames of the rift. The first appeared out from under a pair of large bat-like wings, a small and lithe creature with large ears, shaggy unkept fur and a fox-like face. Its legs were squat and muscular and it's arms by contract long and bony, but both ended in pointed digits bearing needle-like claws. From it's mid-back hung a long and thin tail which ended in a hooked red blade. Its partner was, as far as Cody could tell, a walking corpse. Little more than a skeleton trapped in floating armour of composed mostly of viscera and chains, except for it's three glowing eyes Cody would have doubted it was even animated at all. Instantly he knew these two presented danger- and said as much to Cannondramon, who for the first time ceased his barrage and aimed his two cannons directly at their new enemies.

In the ensuing silence, all assembled looked at these dark creatures with a mixture of curiosity and panic. The wisest among them knew the risks presented by attacking first, but unfortunately not all among them were truly wise. The Monochromon and Kokatorimon left Saberleomon's side and charged at the enemy, and before any could shout a warning it was too late. "Necroshademon…" the winged creature said, gesturing to the skeleton. Raising a chain-bound arm, Necroshademon's jaw hung open and spoke the words "Dread Decay…". In that moment, Monochromon and Kokatorimon froze where they stood. Everyone watched in horror as in a matter of seconds, the two Digimon's bodies began to grow grey and dusty, before beginning to fall apart and crumble into nothing. In another few moments, they were gone.

Saberleomon let out a roar of fury at this awful display and launched himself at the two Digimon. The two parted, and the lion deva spun in the air and followed the closer of the two, the winged creature. The creature for a moment seemed too slow to avoid Saberleomon's pursuit and soon found himself driven into a nearby wall, his two arms pinned down by Saberleomon's paws. "You'll both pay for that, now die!" Saberleomon roared, preparing to bite at his enemy's jugular. Yolei saw it before anyone else, indeed she bolted out from her hiding place beneath Cannondramon's legs to warn Saberleomon. For only she had noticed Nocturismon's thin and deft tail which had hung limply below him suddenly move seemingly with a mind of its own and position itself behind Saberleomon's back. But it was too late, for in the next moment that scythe-like scarlet hook penetrated between Saberleomon's shoulders and exited out of his chest. The lion deva let out a gasp of surprise, and then he was gone. Nocturismon laughed in triumph.

_XX_XX_XX_

On the east wall, Nocturismon and Necroshademon's other compatriot Moltenwrathmon was having the time of his life. He had ascended the wall easily and had since spent his time burning all Digimon who came anywhere near him, be they friend or foe. With every Digimon he burned, more molten rock would spew out of his body and cover to wall. That same molten magma was now cascading down either side of the wall and making it altogether difficult for anyone to get close to him. This was the problem presented to Rosemon and Vikemon, who along with Joe and Mimi had been forced back by this foe and now could not get close enough to put a stop to him. "Joe, just let me go, I can handle the heat!" Vikemon said impatiently. "I don't want to hear it Vikemon, this guy is too strong for you to take on your own.". Joe was right, the only thing that was keeping Moltenwrathmon from overwhelming the east wall was that Vikemon could sent out flurries of ice and snow to cool his magma, but while doing that he was completely open to attack. Rosemon had attempted to bind their enemy in tendrils and vines, but the fire Digimon had easily burnt through them every time. "Maybe we should fall back, we need help…" Joe said with a sigh. Mimi stamped her feet indignantly "No way Joe, our friends are relying on us!"

Spots of soot and ash marked Mimi's usually immaculate face and clothes, and turning she raised a fist and roared "We're not going to let you win, you big flaming jerk!". It was at this moment that a burst of electricity shot down from the sky and struck Moltenwrathmon, and for a moment Joe though Mimi's righteous anger had summoned the very lightning to their aid. But a moment later Megakabuterimon flew down from the sky with Izzy on his back. "Need a hand guys?" said Izzy. "Izzy, my hero!" Mimi said with a beaming smile. In response Izzy blushed slightly, before saying "Well, I don't know how much we can do, but we promise to try our best." Joe did not waste any time, saying "You're exactly what we need Izzy- when Vikemon freezes this guy's magma, you need to hit him with as many shocks as you can- you won't be able to hurt him much, but you might slow him down enough for us to reach him!". Nodding, MegaKabuterimon said "You're the boss Joe!". Turning, the three Digidestined and their partners set their sights on their enemy.

Vikemon raised his hammer and slammed it down on the ground before them, sending out a wave of bitterly cold ice which travelled along the wall, turning Moltenwrathmon's magma to stone in a single moment. Realising this, the flaming fiend shouted at the kids "It's going to take more than that to stifle my flame kids!" But as he prepared to send out another jet of flame he found himself struck with yet another bolt of electricity from MegaKabuterimon's horns. Though the ultimate-level Digimon was no match for him, the attack did enough to temporarily slow Moltenwrathmon. As he recovered, it was then that Rosemon lashed at him with her whip and sent another blast of cursed electricity through him. This continued, every time he attempted to recover and summon more flames another wave of electricity would hit him and make him freeze in place. It only delayed him for ten or fifteen seconds at most, but that was all the time it took for Vikemon to stampede across the eastern wall and close the distance between them. Moltenwrathmon could only watch with impending doom as Vikemon raised his hammer and struck with him the fury of a god. The molten Digimon was sent barrelling off the wall, jets of smoke following after him.

Mimi cheered as she watched their enemy fall. Turning, she hugged Joe before turning and jumping straight into Rosemon's arms and hugging her too. Despite the continuing battle, Joe and Izzy could not help but be cheered by their friend and shared a warm chuckle. The eastern wall was quiet now, but the sounds of battle could be heard close by. Here though the loudest noise was the beat of MegaKabuterimon's wings as he hovered high above the wall, Izzy still on his back. Joe called up to Izzy "We should go to the other walls and see how the guys are doing!". Izzy nodded and directed Megakabuterimon to do as such, but it was as the great red beetle was turning in the sky towards the northern wall that the unthinkable happened. Seemingly from nowhere, a colossal beam of crimson energy burst forth from below the wall and struck him in his chest. He let out a roar of terrible pain and his friends cried out in shock, but none were prepared for the moment that Megakabuterimon's body exploded, and in a second, he was no more. Izzy was thrown into the air from the blast and fell silently through the air. Mimi cried out in horror as she watched him fall, but Rosemon leapt high into the sky and caught the boy. Landing back at Mimi's side with Izzy in her arms, she presented him to Mimi. Izzy was unconscious and his clothes were smoking and burnt, a small trickle of blood was coming from a cut on his forehead. Mimi hugged him close, tears streaming down her face.

It was as Mimi and Joe watched over the fallen Izzy that Megakabuterimon's destroyer jumped over the lip of the wall and landed before them. Looking down at them with eyes that were now all but absent of mercy, kindness, or humanity- ChaosGallantmon raised his black lance and prepared for battle.

_XX_XX_XX_

That's Chapter 18- and hey, we have readers stats again so I can tell when people are reading this story. Thank you for reading, and please consider leaving a review, I'm dying to hear from you!