(Here it is. To celebrate the release of Digimon Adventure Tri: Part 3: Confession, have a BIG, fast-paced chapter of my fic. I hope you enjoy it. I'm in a very Digimon mood right now. Anyways, enjoy!)
Chapter 23: Chaos
As the battle raged on, Suijinmon was stuck in the locked hanger outside of the Haganemame City. He lay in the dark, using only the slim rays of light that shone into the warehouse as a light source. Suijinmon grunted and struggled against the chains around his arms and legs, trying his best to wiggle out of them or break them. He had been trying all morning, but he wasn't having much luck.
The longer he took, the more desperate he became. Suijinmon knew that the battle was progressing without him. He wondered how the D-Brigade was doing. He wondered if Fujinmon had made his move yet. He wondered if he was too late. The thought of it caused fear to grip his insides. He hated that he had no control over what was going on in the battle. He had no control over what would happen to his friends or his soldiers. It only fueled his anger and worry.
His lack of progress in escaping caused him frustration, and this feeling was only compounded by his worries. He just wanted to get to the battlefield as quickly as possible.
However, the chains binding his Accel Arms and his legs held firm. They didn't seem like they were going to break no matter what he did. As his desperation grew, he began to imagine the worst. He began to picture Fujinmon and Raijinmon being crushed between the deadly might of the Royal Knights and Chaosdramon.
This ignited the anger that had been building up inside of him for the past few hours. It manifested in a shout of anger. Suijinmon slammed his tail against the floor and jerked his Accel Arms that were folded behind his back. He sharply and violently pulled against the chains. To his surprise, he heard the sound of a metallic crack.
Suijinmon suddenly stopped and panted. As he lay on the floor, he lifted his head and tried to look behind him. At first, he thought he damaged one of his arms from the sudden movement. However, his mechanical arms still seemed functional, even if he couldn't activate their powers. He was still able to move his fingers. This told him that he managed to break one of the chain links.
He was unable to break free. He had only succeeded in breaking one of the chain links in half.
Suijinmon released a calming sigh. "Enough, Suijinmon… Calm down. Becoming agitated and panicked won't solve your problem. Think about this logically…" he told himself. The Waterfall Commander tried to remain calm and put his brain to use to think of a way out of his predicament. He closed his red eyes and concentrated.
After a few moments of thought, he decided to move his tail towards his back and start rubbing the tip along the chain links. He used the tail to explore the chains until he found the broken chain link. After a minute, the end of his tail pressed against the sharp edge of a broken chain link near the wrist of his left hand. "Put pressure on the weak link. It is simple structural physics, he thought to himself.
He wrapped the end of his tail around the chain and began to concentrate his immense strength on his left wrist, arching his arm as much as possible to try and bend that one broken link. He slowly put more and more strength into the bending action, grunting as he did so. The chain link began to bend down the middle as both of its ends were stretched down in response to the pressure coming from the other links attached to it.
Suijinmon grunted and used his tail to pull the metal further. "Just a little… more…!" With a growl, he put one final push into his arm.
Finally, the links slipped off of the fractured one and came shooting out as the tension was released from the bonds. Suijinmon exhaled when he felt the pressure around his arms begin to loosen. He began to get to work untying the chains from his forearms.
After a minute, Suijinmon freed his forearms and pulled them from behind his back. He then ripped off the chains around his upper body before reaching down to break the chains around his ankles.
Once free, Suijinmon slowly stood to his four feet. His legs were still wobbly from the sedative and from lying around, but he remained steady. He walked towards the hanger doors with determination.
As he walked, he examined his Accel Arms. It seemed as though Fujinmon had tampered with their wiring to keep him from using their shockwave abilities. Nevertheless, as he approached the door, he raised his arms and slammed them down. The swing hammered the door and shattered the lock on the other side. He pushed the doors open mightily and squinted as the light of the grey morning greeted his sensitive eyes.
Fujinmon didn't seem to leave any guards behind. Justimon must have gone with him. This was fortunate for the Waterfall Commander. Suijinmon walked out of the D-Brigade hanger and began to head towards Haganemame City, which was just down the road.
"I'm free… Now I just have to get my Accel Arms fixed as swiftly as possible. Then I can head to the battle…" he thought to himself, beginning to head down the road.
"I just hope I'm not too late…"
Back on the battlefield, the battle was still raging on.
Duftmon hovered in the air, his narrowed, green eyes scanning the battlefield and taking stock of the situation.
On the Royal Knights' left flank, Sleipmon and Examon began sniping D-Brigade soldiers from the hill that they had captured. The Aerial Strike Forces consolidated their position on the southern hill and they now traded fire with the D-Brigade's strengthened right flank. Meanwhile, in the center, Omegamon, Gankoomon, Dynasmon, and Craniamon led the Ground Strike Forces and the Saversburg army against the D-Brigade center. This was where the most intense fighting was focused. Over on the Royal Knights' right flank, Alphamon, Dukemon, and RhodoKnightmon led the Defence Forces and the Republic of Node's battalion. They contended with the D-Brigade's left flank, doing their best to outflank them.
However, things were no longer that simple. Thanks to Chaosdramon's heavy bombardment of the battlefield, dark rifts were beginning to open all over the place. The negative effects of which were already beginning to have an effect.
Duftmon stared over to the northern part of the battlefield with narrowed eyes. He watched as the SaintGalgomon D-Brigade officer rose to his feet, corrupted into a BlackSaintGalgomon by the dark data of the rifts.
The tactician's grip around the Shoumetsu no Tsurugi's hilt tightened. He did not need this kind of chaos adding a whole new dimension to what was already a difficult battle. He closed his eyes and released a scoff, remembering Alphamon's words to him.
"'Variables', hmm…?" he thought to himself. "I guess it is my duty to deal with this chaotic situation regardless. I am the Royal Knights' strategist, after all…"
"Duftmon," a familiar voice spoke with a serious tone.
Duftmon opened his eyes. He turned his blond head to see Magnamon and UlforceVeedramon hovering in front of him. He quickly noticed the looks of determination on their faces. "...Yes?" he asked them, although he already knew what they wanted to say.
"It's time that we've made our move," Magnamon explained, nodding over his shoulder towards the battlefield.
"Yeah. We can't wait in the wings any longer. Things are getting out of hand and the others need us," UlforceVeedramon agreed, frowning with resolve.
Duftmon looked at the two Royal Knights, thinking carefully. "Very well," he replied, nodding to himself. "Although I have a feeling that you weren't asking for permission…"
UlforceVeedramon glanced at Magnamon and smiled. "We weren't," he admitted.
Magnamon looked at Duftmon with passionate, crimson eyes. "Where do you want us?" he asked the Royal Knights' tactician.
"Magnamon, you reinforce the right flank. There will be trouble there, now that the BlackSaintGalgomon has been corrupted," Duftmon stated. The leopard tactician turned to UlforceVeedramon next and stared at him with a serious, profession gaze. "UlforceVeedramon, you take Grani's Reconnaissance Forces and begin supporting the center using hit-and-run tactics. We are taking casualties there. We need to make sure that we can break through their center line in order to get to Chaosdramon and his bombardment group."
"Roger that," UlforceVeedramon responded light-heartedly, casually flashing the V-sign.
Duftmon sighed and shook his head at his unprofessional demeanour. "Go. And hurry," he told them. "Time is of the essence. I may even be forced to join in at this rate."
"Keep in contact," Magnamon said to him urgently. The turbines in dragon man's shoulder armour spun rapidly and emitted a faint, golden energy. As Magnamon flew higher into the air, he nodded at Duftmon and UlforceVeedramon before turning around and shooting off towards Alphamon and the right flank.
UlforceVeedramon looked at Duftmon. "Watch our backs, Duftmon. We're counting on you," he said to him with a gaze of camaraderie.
"Of course. I will not fail," Duftmon answered back with cool professionalism.
UlforceVeedramon shot Duftmon a twinkling grin. The cobalt knight then turned towards the battlefield. When he did, the playful look in his bright, red eyes faded and became replaced with a hardened, serious glare. "Time to end this," UlforceVeedramon breathed, clenching his fists and activating the beam sabres from his V Bracelets.
All it took was a blink from Duftmon and the dragon knight had disappeared in a flash. An azure afterimage was left in the wake of his lightning fast flight. UlforceVeedramon flew off to collect the Recon Forces and lead them into the thick of the action.
Duftmon looked across the battlefield. He was tempted to follow UlforceVeedramon and Magnamon's examples and go to fight directly. However, he knew that he had a duty to oversee the flow of the battle from the rear and command the various parts accordingly. He had to keep his own emotions out of it. Duftmon was a little surprised that he felt so tempted to give into his impulses.
The Royal Knight released a calming breath and looked over to the right flank. He eyed the BlackSaintGalgomon and hoped that the corrupted Digimon wouldn't pose too much of a problem for them.
Meanwhile, Dukemon watched as the BlackSaintGalgomon in question rose to his feet and prepared to fire his ridiculous amount of ordnance. The black cyborg towered over most of the Digimon around the area. His eyes were dark and absent of any emotion except for empty anger.
BlackSaintGalgomon turned his vacant glare towards Dukemon.
Dukemon narrowed his gaze and gripped the Gram and Aegis a bit more tightly. He adjusted his footing on Grani's back in order to prepare for swift, evasive movements. "Be ready, Grani," Dukemon said to the crimson Zero ARMS.
"Affirmative," Zero ARMS: Grani responded cautiously, floating backwards.
BlackSaintGalgomon took a step towards them and raised his right arm, aiming his hand. The cannons on the tips of his fingers pointed at Dukemon.
"Easy there, big guy…" Dukemon urged him. "Try to think clearly. You've been taken over by dark data."
"Burst Shot," BlackSaintGalgomon spoke, not heeding his words. Five, green laser shot out of the fingers of his right hand, aiming erratically towards Dukemon and Grani.
Grani veered to the left as a laser skimmed by him. One laser cut through the ranks of the Shield Guards and the Republic's army. Another slammed into Dukemon's shield, burning across the face of the Aegis. Dukemon grimaced as he held against the powerful laser; he felt the metal of the Aegis heating up considerably. As the beam strained against his defence, he positioned the Gram around the shield and aimed it at the giant cyborg Digimon.
"Royal Sabre!" he yelled out, sending a beam surging from the Gram into the BlackSaintGalgomon's chest.
There was an explosion of light against the black metal, which sent the corrupted D-Brigade officer staggering back a couple steps. He stopped firing lasers from his hand and suddenly lowered his arm. BlackSaintGalgomon began to slowly turn when something caught his eye. He looked over at Raijinmon, who was trading beams with Alphamon in the sky.
"Commander…" BlackSaintGalgomon spoke, his voice strained and haggard, as it trying to fight the darkness corrupting him. "Must… follow Commander's orders… Must… commence… Plan Theta… Commander…!"
To Dukemon's surprise, BlackSaintGalgomon turned away from him completely. Instead, the giant Digimon turned his back to the Royal Knights' forces and pivoted towards the D-Brigade.
BlackSaintGalgomon's red eyes gazed into the distance, staring at Chaosdramon. The Metal Empire's ruler stood with his bombardments troops behind the D-Brigade's center. His cannons were cooling down after unleashing a dark beam through the Saversburg aerial troops.
Raijinmon fired a burst of beams at Alphamon, who dodged them with skill. Raijinmon took the opportunity to pull away from the black knight, putting some space between them. He used the moment to look towards Suijinmon's junior officer after having been addressed by him. To the Thunderclap Commander's shock, SaintGalgomon was not his usual green colour. Instead, he was pitch-black. He wondered if he performed some sort of mode change. Before he could think about it much longer, he was shocked to see BlackSaintGalgomon facing away from the enemy forces. Instead, he was looking straight at Emperor Chaosdramon.
It didn't look good. Fujinmon hadn't given the signal yet. He was sure of it.
"Junior Commander! SaintGalgomon! What are you doing?!" Raijinmon called out to him urgently.
Alphamon glanced at the BlackSaintGalgomon and then back at Raijinmon. "He's been corrupted, Raijinmon," Alphamon warned the golden commander. "That was a dark evolution!"
Raijinmon frowned at this. "What?" he asked, half-dismissively. He turned away from Alphamon. "SaintGalgomon! Keep attacking the Royal Knights! It's not time! What are you doing?!"
BlackSaintGalgomon remained still, as if Raijinmon's words were going in one ear and out the other. "…Following your orders, Sir," he replied. "Must… commence Plan Theta… Commander needs me to… kill. …Commencing… operation…" The giant arms platform began aiming his shoulder cannons towards the D-Brigade center. "Preparing bombardment."
Raijinmon's heart dropped at his words. He wasn't listening to him at all. It was too soon.
The golden Thunderclap Commander shot through the air towards him, with lightning snapping at his feet as he flew. "Junior Commander SaintGalgomon, stop it immediately!" Raijinmon ordered him. He bolted through the sky and came to a sudden stop in his line of sight. He halted directly in the air in front of BlackSaintGalgomon. "Stop it right now. That is a direct order! It's not time yet!"
"Raijinmon, don't!" Alphamon warned him, flying after him.
BlackSaintGalgomon gazed at Raijinmon, unfazed. "…Must commence Plan Theta for Commander Suijinmon…" he responded. His eyes hardened with subdued rage as he stared at Raijinmon. "Commander… is betraying the plan? …Commander is the enemy… Commencing Plan Theta."
"Giant Missile."
Raijinmon's calm eyes widened when the two massive shoulder missiles began hissing with steam as they launched from the ports on BlackSaintGalgomon's shoulders. The two missiles soared towards Raijinmon, threatening to blow him out of the sky if he didn't move.
"What…?" Raijinmon spoke, stunned that the officer would even consider firing at him.
"Look out!" Alphamon shouted. He performed a full body tackle right into Raijinmon, slamming him out of the way right as the missiles streamed towards him.
They flew to the side and the massive missiles continued shooting towards their intended target: Chaosdramon.
"It's too soon… Why did he fire at me?" Raijinmon asked, bewildered.
"He's been corrupted by the dark data seeping from those dark rifts," Alphamon explained, releasing Raijinmon and pointing at the grass where SaintGalgomon had fallen. "He isn't himself anymore. He's been consumed with hatred."
"Dark rifts…?" Raijinmon questioned, looking over at the black fissure in the grass. "There wasn't anything like that when he scouted this place prior to the battle."
"That's because Chaosdramon is creating them with every attack that he makes," Alphamon responded. He looked at Raijinmon questioningly. "You have no idea about this, do you?"
Raijinmon shook his head. "Why would Chaosdramon be doing that?" he wondered.
"I don't know. He may be consciously doing it, but it may also be happening unconsciously. I don't know. What I do know is that these dark rifts will cause problems not only for both of our armies, but the entire Digital World. It has to stop," Alphamon insisted.
"…It seems that our goals are one and the same, Alphamon," Raijinmon spoke, hovering in the air beside Alphamon as the battle raged around them.
Alphamon shot Raijinmon a suspicious look. "What is going on, Raijinmon? Tell me," he urged the Thunderclap Commander.
It was these words that brought Raijinmon back down to earth. He remembered the missiles that BlackSaintGalgomon had fired. He initiated Plan Theta too early: the plan to turn on Chaosdramon.
Raijinmon swung around and watched with wide eyes as the massive missiles soared over the D-Brigade's lines and descended towards Chaosdramon.
"There's no going back now…" Raijinmon murmured. He turned towards Alphamon with a beseeching gaze. "…I need your help, Alphamon."
"Hyper Mugen Cannon."
Chaosdramon fired a pair of crushing beams from his shoulder-mounted cannons. The glowing, dark energy roared like a tempestuous storm as it hurdled through the air towards the coalition army. The beams slammed into the ranks of the center, sweeping through the aerial Digimon and leaving smoke and data in their wake.
As the beams surged from his cannons, the dark fissures around Chaosdramon opened wider and elongated. Little did he know, there were foot-wide chasms opening up a dozen meters behind him. When the thick pillars of energy faded, his cannons breathed out smoke, steam, and plasma vapour.
Chaosdramon stood up straighter from his hunched firing position. He turned his head towards his Mugendramon subordinate to his left. "Mugendramon. Shift your fire over towards the left—" Chaosdramon trailed off as soon as he turned his head.
To his shock, he saw BlackSaintGalgomon in the distance. Two giant missiles steamed from his shoulder cannons and flew directly towards them. At first, he thought it was a mistake, but upon a few more milliseconds of processing, he determined that what he was seeing was exactly what it looked like.
"What…?" he whispered incredulously.
The missiles were nearly as large as Chaosdramon's head. They sailed through the air, streaking towards him at high speeds. The ordnance screeched and whistled ominously as they closed in on him. After a few seconds, they began to reach their mark.
One of the missiles veered to the right and descended onto the Mugendramon officer to Chaosdramon's left. The missile slammed into the Mugendramon's chest and exploded. The blast tore through his metal body and obliterated him in a massive explosion that sent heat and chunks of metal washing over Chaosdramon's form.
Chaosdramon narrowed his eyes as the second missile flew towards him on a collision course. The emperor quickly raised his right hand and opened up his vice-like fingers, aiming the cannon port on his palm. "Destroyed Hook!" he shouted, unleashing an organic missile from his hand.
The missile flew forwards and collided with the large missile that BlackSaintGalgomon fired. They both detonated in front of Chaosdramon, unleashing a swell of flames that engulfed the front of his body. Luckily for the cyborg, he wore the highly durable red digizoid plating over most of his body. This red digizoid was more than enough to protect him from the massive explosion.
When the flames faded, Chaosdramon's body smoked with residual embers and melting shrapnel. There was an enraged look in his cold, red eyes. He glared across the battlefield to BlackSaintGalgomon who had been so bold and treasonous as to shoot at him.
"That SaintGalgomon…" he murmured, anger welling in his hollow, mechanical voice. "He is Suijinmon's subordinate…"
He tightened the smoking vice of his right hand with immense pressure. "Suijinmon's subordinate attacked me…" he spoke in a whispered echo. "…They were against me all along… Suijinmon has not only abandoned me, but he turned his soldiers against me… He is a traitor… They are all traitors. It's a conspiracy. They seek to turn against me…"
Chaosdramon turned towards the left flank where the BlackSaintGalgomon had fired at him from. He adjusted the trajectory of his cannons and began pouring dark energy into his backpack, straight from the Dark Area. He slowly angled his cannons towards BlackSaintGalgomon and the troops under Raijinmon's command. "Treason… Treason… TREASON!"
The Emperor snarled as his cannons filled with dark energy. He jerked his head to the side, looking past the crater where Mugendramon once stood, and glared at a RustTyrannomon. "RustTyrannomon! You are in command of the bombardment troops now! Take over for Mugendramon!" he shouted. After a moment, he reigned in his anger and took on his usual methodical, stoic demeanour. "…Your new objective is to exterminate that BlackSaintGalgomon and Suijinmon's supporters."
RustTyrannomon stared at Chaosdramon in stunned silence. "But… Emperor…!" he protested, unable to believe the order that he was hearing.
Chaosdramon turned his head to face him directly. His blood red eyes were vacant of all emotion. "Have you turned against me as well…?" he questioned in an eerie, soulless drone.
"No, Emperor! But—"
"Suijinmon is a traitor. His troops have turned against me. They are enemies of the Metal Empire," Chaosdramon explained methodically. "Fire. That is an order from your Emperor."
"Y… Yes, Your Majesty…" the RustTyrannomon reluctantly complied. He turned his head and nodded at the MetalGarurumon X-Antibody, Cannondramon, and Deckerdramon nearby.
"Fire at will… Hyper Mugen Cannon."
The dark rifts across the battlefield expanded as Chaosdramon sent dark energy pouring out of his cannons, straight towards the corrupted BlackSaintGalgomon and his own troops.
Fujinmon watched incredulously as BlackSaintGalgomon's missiles streamed through the air towards Chaosdramon. The green Hurricane Commander hovered in the air and looked on with an irate expression as the missile barrage exploded ineffectually around Chaosdramon. He knew that it didn't do any real damage to him. The foolish act infuriated him.
He wasn't ready to turn on Chaosdramon this early in the battlefield, but now his hand was forced.
About twenty meters away, Darkdramon, Suijinmon's sub-commander, plunged his Gigastick Lance through a Garudamon and then flew back. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the aftermath of the explosions around "Commander Fujinmon!" he called out, flying over to the emerald cyborg Digimon.
Fujinmon grunted and unleashed a blast of wind through the ranks of the Strike Forces, blowing several of the attacking Digimon back in one fell swoop. He briefly looked at Darkdramon. "It's begun," he told him.
"I didn't see you give the signal," Darkdramon responded, stopping beside Fujinmon.
"I didn't. Your subordinate jumped the gun," Fujinmon spoke, nodding over to BlackSaintGalgomon, who had been leading a bunch of Suijinmon's bombardment troops to aid Raijinmon's flank before he was corrupted.
Darkdramon looked over and stared with disbelief. "What?! What happened to him? He's black!" he exclaimed. He gritted his teeth and looked at Fujinmon. "What do we do?"
"There is nothing else we can do; we have to turn against Chaosdramon now," Fujinmon replied. "I wanted to get the Royal Knights on our side first, but we'll just have to do that at the same time."
"Do you think we can under the circ—"
Darkdramon trailed off when Chaosdramon fired his Hyper Mugen Cannon attack. Both he and Fujinmon turned and watched as the two beams streamed across the battlefield towards the northern edge of the plain. They were stunned when they saw what happened next.
Chaosdramon's two beam attacks swept towards BlackSaintGalgomon. The corrupted cyborg unleashed a storm of missiles from the various ports on his body in response. However, as the beams closed in, they enveloped most of the missiles and detonated them within their folds. The BlackSaintGalgomon brought his arms up to brace himself, but the two beams slammed into him and caused his armour to crumple under their immense pressure. The energy swallowed BlackSaintGalgomon completely. A massive explosion followed with him at the epicenter, and he was obliterated. The explosion then swept out and engulfed friend and foe alike in a devastating blast.
"What…? The Emperor killed him… Just like that," Darkdramon spoke, his jaw hanging open with incredulous shock. "He hit D-Brigade soldiers too. Without even thinking about it. I don't believe it…"
Fujinmon's stunned and horrified expression soon morphed into a soft smirk. This was just the excuse that he needed.
Over on the north of the battlefield, Alphamon looked at Raijinmon questioningly. "You need my help…?" he asked, unable to help but feel a little suspicious. "Explain yourself, Raijinmon."
Raijinmon lowered his Blitz Arms and nodded. "It's Chaosdramon…" he spoke. "There is a plan in place…" He stared at Alphamon meaningfully. "Fujinmon and I are going to turn on him in this battle."
Alphamon's eyes widened with disbelief. "What?" he demanded.
Just as Raijinmon was about to say more, there was a deep, roaring sound nearby that was growing louder. Both he and Alphamon turned to see Chaosdramon firing two beams towards the BlackSaintGalgomon and anybody else who was in the way.
"Alphamon, look out!" a voice called out.
Magnamon shot through the sky and veered towards him. Right when the beams impacted and enveloped the BlackSaintGalgomon, Magnamon tackled Alphamon through the air to get him out of the blast radius.
Alphamon acted on instinct and reached out to grab Raijinmon's wrist, pulling him along with them. The beams annihilated the BlackSaintGalgomon and the resulting explosion was powerful enough to sweep through the ranks of both sides. Dozens of Digimon were obliterated instantly within the dark explosion of Chaosdramon's energy attack.
Raijinmon watched on, stunned, as several of his own soldiers were killed in the explosion.
Magnamon flew them away from the blast, but they were still struck by the shockwave. They were far away enough to be out of any danger, but it was still strong enough to slam into their backs and send them soaring faster in the air. After a few moments, Magnamon caught himself and spun them around. He increased the output of the turbine engines underneath his shoulder armour, effectively slowing them to a stop.
Once they halted in the air, Magnamon flew back a meter and looked between Alphamon and Raijinmon curiously. "Alphamon… What's going on?" he asked his friend with a confused, inquisitive expression.
"Alphamon!" Dukemon shouted, flying over while atop Grani. He flew down beside the three and glanced briefly at Raijinmon. "It was Chaosdramon who fired those beams."
Alphamon looked at Raijinmon, who was staring at the smoking crater where the BlackSaintGalgomon and several other D-Brigade Digimon had stood. "…You were telling me something, weren't you?" he spoke, looking at Raijinmon meaningfully.
Raijinmon snapped back to attention. He released a calming breath and nodded. His gaze hardened and he turned back towards Alphamon. "Yes, he did… It is unforgiveable…" he spoke with a new found determination in his voice. "It is time to get rid of him. Before he does any more damage."
Magnamon's blinked in shock. "Get rid of him?" he questioned, his bewilderment clear in his voice.
Dukemon's eyes widened. "You don't seriously mean… You want to overthrow Chaosdramon?" he asked incredulously.
Raijinmon nodded affirmatively. "Yes… That is what Fujinmon and I have planned. And we require your help, Royal Knights…"
Meanwhile, the Royal Knights in the center were making a heavy push forward.
"Tekken Seisai!" Gankoomon shouted. He dashed forwards and lashed out with a punch strong enough to lift a Tankdramon off of his treads. When the armoured Digimon was sent crashing into the soldiers behind him, Gankoomon looked around for his next target.
Craniamon jumped through the air and landed beside Gankoomon. He spun around and slashed the Claiohm Solais through a Boltmon. Within the spreading cloud of data, the violet Royal Knight raised the Avalon shield and blocked a missile that came streaming towards himself and Gankoomon. The munition exploded, but the Avalon was sturdy enough to withstand the concussive blast.
Craniamon turned towards Gankoomon with a smirk. He panted with exertion, and there was a look of both adrenaline and satisfaction in his red eyes. "You're welcome," he stated smugly.
"I didn't need you to do that, for the record," Gankoomon insisted, grinning at his comrade.
"What were you going to do? Punch it?" Craniamon flatly asked. He was about to turn, but the explosion on the northern edge of the battlefield caught his attention. Craniamon narrowed his eyes at the image of mass destruction. "Damn… That Chaosdramon just roasted a lot of his own troops…" he explained with a cold edge to his voice.
Gankoomon growled and spun around to see the smoky cloud that erupted in the blast's aftermath. They were both greeted by a blast of wind from the explosion. "Unbelievable…! Who the hell is this guy?!" Gankoomon demanded, clenching his fists as his jacket rippled from the gust of air. He turned his head and looked into the distance, glaring through his visor at the giant, crimson, cyborg dragon.
"He needs to be stopped," Craniamon spoke, gripping his spear tightly.
"You are exactly right, Craniamon," a voice spoke from nearby.
Craniamon and Gankoomon whirled around to see Fujinmon gently floating on the breeze towards them. They both narrowed their eyes and took on fighting stances.
"Fujinmon!" a voice called out from behind them.
Omegamon soared forwards alongside Dynasmon. Both Omegamon and Dynasmon stopped beside Craniamon and Gankoomon, flying in place in front of Fujinmon. Their defensive guards remained up, not willing to trust Fujinmon as he approached.
Fujinmon nodded calmly and politely. "Good, Omegamon, Dynasmon. I've been meaning to speak with you all," he explained.
"Do you have a screw loose?" Dynasmon demanded, glaring at the Hurricane Commander suspiciously. "What game are you playing?!"
The slender, green commander shook his head. "I have a proposition for you all. For your whole Order and your allies…" Fujinmon explained.
"What is this proposition, Fujinmon?" Omegamon asked him, remembering that he said something similar to him earlier.
"Quite bluntly… Chaosdramon is a mad tyrant who needs to be stopped," Fujinmon explained. "This is the one time that he is vulnerable. Raijinmon, other top D-Brigade officers who are loyal to us, and myself plan to defeat Chaosdramon in this battle. We wish to join forces with your armies and turn our focus away from each other and towards Chaosdramon."
"What?! Is this a joke?!" Gankoomon demanded. "You expect us to believe that after you've been killing our troops for the past hours?!"
"It is the truth," Fujinmon assured them, his demeanour completely calm and collected. "We had to play along with the battle or else Chaosdramon would become suspicious. Furthermore, not all of the D-Brigade soldiers are privy to this information – only the trusted ones who are loyal to the Storm Commanders. There are divided loyalties among the D-Brigade, so we couldn't risk an information leak. Raijinmon and I are putting ourselves in immense danger right now, so we have had to be careful. We have no reason to lie to you about this."
Craniamon wasn't convinced. "And where's that Suijinmon guy?" he asked suspiciously.
"He is sitting out of the battle. The loyal Digimon that he is, what we are doing goes against his conscience," Fujinmon explained, bending the truth. "However, he agrees that we are doing the right thing. Surely you just witnessed Chaosdramon destroying D-Brigade soldiers… He is a menace to the Metal Empire and to the Digital World. The only reason that we followed him was out of fear."
"Can we really believe that?" Dynasmon asked. "Maybe you're just an opportunist who'll be worse than Chaosdramon once he's overthrown."
Fujinmon closed his eyes and shook his head. "…Not at all, Royal Knights," he answered. "We are reformists… We hate what Chaosdramon has done to the Metal Empire. We hate the oppression, the fear… I have had to play along as his loyal commander for all of these years since the Rust Purge. However, I have always been loyal to JumboGamemon, a Digimon who ruled with his heart instead of just cold pragmatism and security. The day has come to bring light into the Metal Empire once again. …However, we can't do it alone. We need your help. We can't fight both the Royal Knights and Chaosdramon at the same time."
Omegamon frowned and looked at the three Royal Knights around him. "What do you think?" he asked them.
Gankoomon leered at Fujinmon carefully, as if reading into his soul. "…I believe him. He's speaking with his heart. He means what he says," Gankoomon stated.
"You think so, huh?" Dynasmon asked, glancing at Gankoomon. "Well…" He turned back to Fujinmon. "If you and the Digimon like you really are a subversive group in the Metal Empire, then it's our duty to help you."
Craniamon grunted and folded his arms. "…I guess our interests are the same…" he pointed out. "Chaosdramon is damaging the barrier to the Dark Area. We need to stop him, and it'll be easier if the D-Brigade helps."
Omegamon nodded. "I agree…" he spoke. He looked at Fujinmon directly. "We are trusting you, Fujinmon. Do not betray that trust."
Fujinmon smiled and nodded. "I won't… Thank you," he responded gratefully.
"If you pull a fast one on us, you'll have us to answer to," Craniamon made sure to warn him.
Omegamon raised his arm, bringing the LRAC on his forearm up to his face. "I will have to contact Alphamon and the others," he explained. "We cannot act unless we agree, but if what you are saying is true…"
Fujinmon nodded. "Raijinmon should be telling the same thing to your friends," he stated. He flew back in the air. "I have to go sort out the troops. I will try to get them to stop attacking your forces, but there will be chaos. It is unavoidable. Please bear with us."
"I understand…" Omegamon complied.
Dynasmon looked at Gankoomon. "Let's get ready to tell our troops," he stated. He turned and looked at Omegamon. "Make sure that Tactimon and Gaioumon know too."
Omegamon nodded and prepared to contact Alphamon's LRAC. "Alphamon, do you read me? It's Omegamon. There is something you need to know…" he spoke.
A minute passed. Alphamon listened to what Omegamon was saying, nodding and replying into the long range communicator above the black and gold ring on his wrist.
"Omegamon, yes, I understand. Raijinmon has told us the same thing," Alphamon explained to the white Royal Knight. "Yes, you have permission; we have come to the same conclusion. I will tell Duftmon, Gaioumon, and the others."
Dukemon, Magnamon, and RhodoKnightmon watched as the Aloof Hermit agreed to the plan.
"It is a risky move, trusting them," RhodoKnightmon observed, eyeing him with folded arms.
"I don't think they're trying to lull us into a false sense of security," Dukemon responded. "This could be our best chance to take down Chaosdramon once and for all."
Magnamon nodded and gazed around the battlefield. "We need to finish this battle fast. Just look at the dark rifts…" he pointed out, observing the dozens of slender cracks that were emerging in the grass.
"I suppose…" RhodoKnightmon agreed, floating in place. He turned his head and looked over at Raijinmon, who was quickly talking with his sub-commanders in preparation for the move.
Raijinmon spoke with a MagnaGarurumon and a MailBirdramon. "You saw what Chaosdramon did to our soldiers," he spoke firmly. "It's time to stop him before he does it again. I'll address the soldiers personally. It's your job to enforce my orders."
"Yes, Sir," his direct subordinates agreed.
Raijinmon turned and gave Alphamon and the Royal Knights a nod. He flew up in the air and sent lightning shooting out of his form, attracting attention to himself.
"Listen up, loyal soldiers of the D-Brigade!" Raijinmon boomed like thunder, his voice gathering the attention of the D-Brigade soldiers, dishevelled and confused after the Chaosdramon's attack on them.
He floated high in the air and folded his Blitz Arms behind his back. He was the picture of authority, and his deep, firm voice resonated in the hearts of the D-Brigade. He gazed down at the expectant eyes looking up at him.
"The Emperor's attack on us just now was no accident…"
As Raijinmon began to rouse the troops, Fujinmon began to do the same. He soared through the air and stopped over the lines of the D-Brigade center. The ground troops and aerial troops were launching attacks into the Order-Saversburg coalition's lines. Fujinmon elongated the beam blades of his Critical Arms and waved over to his two sub-commanders, Justimon and WarGreymon X-Antibody.
The cyborg and the dragon warrior flew over with swift obedience and stopped beside Fujinmon. "Commander," they both greeted.
Fujinmon nodded at them. "It's time. It's time to turn the D-Brigade against Chaosdramon," he explained to them, the severity of the situation reflected in his narrow, red eyes. "WarGreymon, go and tell Darkdramon to work on Suijinmon's troops. Justimon, we'll focus on our troops."
The WarGreymon X-Antibody saluted and shot off, knowing that time was of the essence.
Fujinmon took a deep breath and turned around, looking across the ranks of the D-Brigade. "…Formations A, B, C, F, and G! Cease fire at once! Stop attacking!" he shouted out.
The patter of bullets, the screech of missiles and the deep resonance of cannon blasts began to fade. The attacks began to become more intermittent, but there were many looks of confusion across the D-Brigade Digimon.
"Commander?" a Tankdramon called out questioningly. "What are your orders?"
As the D-Brigade attacks stalled, the blasts from the Royal Knights' side began to lessen as well, as Dynasmon and Gankoomon explained the situation to Generals Tactimon and Blastmon, and Leftenant Grademon of the Strike Forces.
The lull in the attacks at the center drew Chaosdramon's attention. He turned his red eyes away from the northern flank and towards the center. He was confused and suspicious when he saw Fujinmon floating in the air, addressing the troops. "What is going on there…?" he whispered distrustfully.
"Your orders are to stop attacking the Royal Knights and their allies! They are not our enemy! Our true enemy is none other than the bloodstained tyrant, Chaosdramon!" Fujinmon announced, sweeping his Critical Arm outwards dramatically.
Despite the din of battle still happening on the flanks, a stunned silence swept across the middle of the battlefield.
"S-…Sir?!" a confused soldier asked in disbelief.
"Emperor Chaosdramon?!" another chimed in for confirmation.
Fujinmon spun around and pointed his beam sword towards the northern flank, where BlackSaintGalgomon and many other D-Brigade soldiers had been destroyed. "Chaosdramon has attacked us! He has destroyed your comrades for no reason other than his own suspicions! You have just witnessed his brutality for yourselves!" Fujinmon announced passionately. He looked down across the different Formations. "I witnessed with my own eyes his arbitrary tyranny! He arrested Commander Suijinmon for treason, and he intends to execute him!"
Gasps and stunned murmurs began to echo across the D-Brigade's ranks.
Following up on this, Fujinmon turned towards Suijinmon's stunned troops. "Yes, that's right! Commander Suijinmon – my closest and most loyal friend – has been arrested last night without charge. Chaosdramon states that Suijinmon was plotting against him, but Suijinmon is too loyal and kind-hearted to ever do something so devious! Isn't that right?!"
"Yeah, the Commander would never do that!" one of Suijinmon's soldiers shouted, his rage overcoming his professionalism.
"What is Chaosdramon thinking?! How dare he do that to Commander Suijinmon!" another spoke up, emboldened by the first.
Fujinmon smirked and nodded. "All of you know as well as I do know that Suijinmon wouldn't do that, and yet he is being treated like a common criminal! This shows the extent of Chaosdramon's unhinged paranoia and arbitrary tyranny! If he can do that to Suijinmon – your caring and faithful commander – who could he do it to next?! The truth of the matter is that he wanted Suijinmon out of the way in order to control all of you! I, for one, am not about to let Suijinmon suffer such a dishonorable and unwarranted fate! Are you?!"
"No, we have to do something!" one of Fujinmon's loyal soldiers in the D-Brigade – a Cyberdramon - spoke up to help whip Suijinmon's troops into a frenzy of indignation. "Chaosdramon has to be stopped!"
"Yeah, we need to rescue Suijinmon! He's a better commander than Chaosdramon could ever be! We can't stand by and let him rust away in a cell or worse!" one of Suijinmon's soldiers spoke up in agreement.
"Yes, I agree! We are with you, Commander Fujinmon!" another yelled in support.
However, not all of the D-Brigade soldiers were convinced. There were many Chaosdramon loyalists, and there were even more D-Brigade soldiers who were conflicted on what to do. They were being torn between their commanders and their emperor. Normally, the D-Brigade acted in unison. It was easy to be loyal to the empire, as they just had to do what their emperor and commanders told them to do. But now, they were being forced to make a choice – a choice of loyalty and morality. Most D-Brigade soldiers weren't used to this. Somebody usually chose for them – an officer, a commander, somebody of higher rank. However, now their loyalty was being tested. Their own personal free will was being tested. They had to decide if they were more loyal to their commanders or to their emperor.
"B-But, he's our emperor!" one Digimon spoke up.
"All of this talk is crazy! We can't betray Emperor Chaosdramon!" another soldier protested.
Fujinmon pivoted in the air and outstretched his arm towards the rear of the D-Brigade's lines, directly at Chaosdramon. "He has already attacked us! He[i/] has betrayed us! He has oppressed us for decades! It is finally time to stand up and tell him 'no'! No longer will our courage give way to fear! The time has come to remove Chaosdramon's iron fist! Let us remove these shackles! No longer will we be restrained, marginalized, or threatened into blind obedience! This is our time! The time of tyranny is over!"
Chaosdramon narrowed his eyes at Fujinmon. His suspicions and paranoia were going into overdrive now. "Fujinmon… What are you thinking…?" he murmured, once again beginning to draw power from the Dark Area. "You treacherous cog…"
As Fujinmon passionately spoke – something previously unheard of from the calm and disciplined commander 0 there was an array of cheers from the ranks of the D-Brigade. They clamoured in support of Fujinmon, and, particularly, Suijinmon. The echoing of the soldiers supporting him – of the soldiers standing up for themselves – brought a surge of warmth to Fujinmon's heart.
"The Commander is right! The Emperor has to go!"
"He won't get away with deleting our comrades!"
However, amidst the cheers, there was also still a lot of uneasy silence. There was even several boos and those expressing vocal protest among the D-Brigade.
"Turning against Chaosdramon is treason!" one Chaosdramon loyalist shouted ardently.
"How can we expect to defeat Chaosdramon?!" another sceptical and fearful soldier called out. "He'll kill us!"
"Raijinmon and the formations under his command are with us as well. I have also spoken with the Royal Knights and they have agreed to aid us in taking down Chaosdramon," Fujinmon explained. "We will join forces and take down Chaosdramon once and for all!"
"The Royal Knights?! We've been fighting them all this time!" a Sealsdramon protested.
"The Royal Knights? So it was Fujinmon who is betraying the Metal Empire!" a Tankmon loyal to Chaosdramon declared suspiciously. "Somebody has to tell Chaosdramon!"
"Don't you dare!" a Gigadramon spoke, aiming his arm cannon down at him threateningly. "Fujinmon isn't the monster here! It's Chaosdramon!"
Darkdramon flew forwards in the air, making his presence known. "We are doing this for the good of Suijinmon and the Metal Empire. All junior officers are expected to respect the chain of command and follow my orders! Those who refuse will be dismissed on the spot!" Suijinmon's sub-commander stated firmly.
Many D-Brigade soldiers who were on the fence felt themselves instinctively drifting back towards the familiar. They would follow the military chain of command under their Commanders and superior officers, even if it meant turning against their emperor. They had chain of command beaten into them since joining the D-Brigade, so it was easy to just revert to following it rather than having to make a difficult morality choice on their own.
"We're with you, Commander!"
"We have to save the Commander!"
"The Emperor has to be removed if the D-Brigade is to survive!"
Fujinmon smiled and nodded at these calls of support. "Thank you…" he answered gratefully. He glanced towards the north and saw that Raijinmon was addressing his soldiers as well. It seemed to be going similar to how he was going. Despite most of the soldiers agreeing, there were still many hold-outs. It would be difficult, but they needed to make their move now, no matter the consequences. Those who wouldn't support them would be swept aside. It was necessary in order to achieve their goals.
Fujinmon extended his sword towards Chaosdramon. "Attack! Advance in a scattered formation! Do not attack our new allies! The Royal Knights are vital to our effort!" the Hurricane Commander ordered.
Chaosdramon's eyes widened with rage as he saw Fujinmon lock eyes with him. He watched as many of the D-Brigade soldiers turned around, away from the enemy and towards him and his cadre. "I knew it… The Storm Commanders were in on the conspiracy together… They plan to betray me…"
"We won't let you betray the Emperor!" one D-Brigade Tankdramon shouted from within the D-Brigade's ranks. He aimed his cannons towards Fujinmon and aimed his chain guns at his fellow soldiers. "Striver Cannon!" he shouted, firing two shells towards Fujinmon.
Other D-Brigade soldiers who were firmly loyal to Chaosdramon followed suit and began opening fire and unleashing attacks on their fellow soldiers.
Fujinmon saw this and narrowed his eyes. "Disable those who oppose us! Attack Chaosdramon! Marut Cyclone!" he shouted, sweeping the shells away in a gust of wind and hurling them back in Chaosdramon's direction.
Chaosdramon angled his shoulder-mounted cannons towards Fujinmon and the rebellious soldiers. The cannons brimmed with dark, otherworldly power. "Hyper Mugen Cannon!" he growled
Fujinmon flew up into the sky as he saw the two beams launch from Chaosdramon's cannons. They hurdled towards the soldiers on the ground. He rarely ever saw Chaosdramon in action, but he could tell the sheer destructive capabilities of the emperor. He knew that getting hit by those beams was a quick passage to deletion. The Hurricane Commander flew up and out of their path, and quickly looked down at his troops.
"Aerial Formations, pitch: vertical, yaw: ninety degrees outwards! Ground formations, get into column formation C! Hurry!" Fujinmon ordered, hoping to minimize the damage of the incoming beams.
Despite his orders and the disciplined manoeuvres of the D-Brigade, not all of the Digimon were able to get out of the way of the beams. The dual pillars of dark energy ripped across the ground and swept through the D-Brigade's ranks. Fifteen D-Brigade soldiers were annihilated in an instant. The beams proceeded to slam into the twenty meter gap between the D-Brigade and the Order-Saversburg army, creating a massive explosion between them.
Fujinmon glowered and looked down at the damage. There were two, smoking trenches across the field. Too many of his soldiers had been deleted by the attack. He needed every one possible in order to defeat Chaosdramon. "See, everyone?!" he called out to the soldiers. "He has no qualms about killing us, and we didn't even attack him once! Now, aerial formations, suppress Chaosdramon by laying down a heavy bombardment! Ground formations, advance!"
For emphasis, Fujinmon began shooting through the air, leading the charge towards Chaosdramon.
Chaosdramon glared at Fujinmon as he speeded towards him. "Fujinmon… I always knew you were a traitor… When I overthrew JumboGamemon, I could have killed you… You were nothing… I made you something. I kept you close to co-opt JumboGamemon's supporters. I saw your worth…" he growled, raising his right arm towards the Hurricane Commander. "But I was mistaken. You are nothing but a treacherous fool… Now, perish… Destroyed Hook."
Fujinmon skimmed through the sky towards Chaosdramon. He swerved to the side as the giant cyborg unleashed a massive, organic missile towards him. The ordnance brushed by his lithe, metal body and exploded in the air behind the commander. Meanwhile, missiles from his own soldiers streaked over Fujinmon's head as they descended on Chaosdramon.
Explosions erupted around Chaosdramon, sending dirt blasting upwards and buffeting his sturdy, metal body with fire, energy, shrapnel, and pressure. However, the red digizoid served him well, protecting his body from the explosions. He swept his left claw out, sweeping the flames of the explosions away in one broad stroke.
Through the flames, his crimson eyes glared at Fujinmon. "Fujinmon… You insect…" he spoke as he aimed his claw at the Hurricane Commander.
Fujinmon narrowed his eyes as he cut through the sky towards his foe, a strong gale following him as he flew. "Chaosdramon…!"
"Spread out!" Raijinmon ordered as he unleashed an arc of electricity from his hands. The bolts of lightning pierced through the air, detonating a storm of missiles that rained down on the combined forces of Raijinmon's and a large division of Suijinmon's soldiers. The missiles that he was able to hit exploded in a chain of mid-air explosions, but many still flew down and bombarded the landscape.
RhodoKnightmon flew beside Alphamon, Magnamon, and Dukemon, watching as the D-Brigade troops of the left flank turned around and began to advance towards Chaosdramon and the soldiers still loyal to him.
The rose Royal Knight looked at Alphamon questioningly. "Are you sure about this, Alphamon?" he asked him. "We were just fighting them a few minutes ago, and now we are fighting alongside them? This is highly unconventional. Can we trust them?"
"I'm sure, RhodoKnightmon," Alphamon replied. "We have the same objectives. In war, 'yesterday's enemy is today's ally'. I believe that we need to keep an open mind and react accordingly from there."
"Very well. I trust you," RhodoKnightmon responded. He looked across the battlefield to the center. "It appears that Omegamon and the others have already begun their new attack anyways."
As they spoke, Magnamon was talking to Duftmon over the LRAC on his wrist. "I see, so that's the situation at the center," he said in response to Duftmon.
"Yes. If Dukemon is with you, have him and Grani head over to the center to help Omegamon and Fujinmon break through to Mugendramon," Duftmon responded. "I need you all to meet up with Raijinmon and Gaioumon in order to coordinate the right flank."
"Got it," Magnamon spoke. "Dukemon? Alphamon?"
"Yeah, I heard him," Dukemon answered. He looked down at Grani, whose back he continued to stand on. "Are you ready, Grani?"
"Whenever you are," Grani replied.
Alphamon nodded at the crimson Royal Knight. "Good luck, Dukemon."
"You too, guys," Dukemon answered, nodding. "Let's finish this and finally put a stop to Chaosdramon."
Dukemon and Grani broke off from the Royal Knights and began heading south, towards the center of the battlefield.
As they flew away, Alphamon, Magnamon, and RhodoKnightmon flew through the air and ducked under a powerful beam that soared overhead and slammed into the river in a steamy, watery explosion. They evaded the various attacks thrown towards the northern flank from Chaosdramon and his soldiers.
"He's attacking them so readily," Magnamon spoke with a frown as they flew across the Defence Force's lines, over to where the Republic of Node's army was positioned. "Chaosdramon is ruthless…"
"Not only that, but now he's a threat to the security of the whole Digital World," Alphamon agreed, spreading his golden wings and making a beeline to where he saw Raijinmon and Gaioumon. "He has to be stopped before it's too late." The Aloof Hermit raised his wrist to his face and spoke into the audio communicator. "Duftmon, I need you to send a messenger into Saversburg. Tell Imperialdramon: Paladin Mode what's going on out here."
"Roger that," Duftmon answered.
The three Royal Knights landed on a patch of burnt grass near the riverbank. Raijinmon and Gaioumon were talking, quickly going over their tactics.
Raijinmon looked over when the three Royal Knights approached. "Good, Alphamon," he spoke.
"What's the situation?" Alphamon asked them.
"We are planning our attack on Chaosdramon's rear lines," Gaioumon explained.
Raijinmon nodded. "I was able to speak with Fujinmon over the hidden frequency on our transceiver. All of the D-Brigade soldiers here on the northern flank will obey me, probably thanks to the fact that Chaosdramon has been hammering us for the past ten minutes. About seventy percent of the remaining D-Brigade troops located in the center are loyal to us. They are advancing on Chaosdramon with the support of Omegamon and his forces. However, the remaining thirty percent are either loyal to Chaosdramon or are in a state of panic. Also loyal to Chaosdramon are the troops gathered near the hill on the southern flank, and Chaosdramon's rear guard – his bodyguards and his bombardment troops. They are among the strongest, so we still have our work cut out for us," Raijinmon explained.
Gaioumon nodded. "We would like the Defence Forces to provide cover for our flank, as you have been doing before," he explained. "Now, just consider the D-Brigade soldiers with us as allies."
"My troops are highly disciplined," Raijinmon added. "They will follow any command, and they shouldn't have qualms about working beside you."
"Very well," Alphamon agreed. "How does that sound to you, Duftmon?"
"Acceptable," was the tactician's response. "Do not heavily concentrate your forces – spread out. I will tell Sleipmon, Examon, and the Aerial Strike Forces to keep pressure on Chaosdramon's formations to the south."
"Understood, Sir Duftmon," Raijinmon answered, loud enough for Alphamon's LRAC to pick it up. "And do not worry; I will help to ensure Alphamon's safety for you as well."
"…Very well…?" Duftmon replied, arching an eyebrow curiously.
Alphamon exchanged confused looks with Magnamon and RhodoKnightmon. "Thank you, but that isn't necessary, Raijinmon."
Raijinmon looked at Alphamon and nodded. "Of course," he spoke before turning away. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must go lead my soldiers. I will have them flag the dark rifts in order to avoid further corruptions."
"Thank you. We will lead the attack," Alphamon told him.
"I look forward to it," Raijinmon replied. He jumped into the air and began flying through the sky to the head of his army.
Alphamon nodded at Magnamon and RhodoKnightmon, and the three flew off to link of with the Defence Forces to tell them the plan.
Meanwhile, Dukemon flew south from atop Grani. He made his way from the northern flank towards the center, where the heaviest fighting was going on. He could see Chaosdramon and his supporters launching attacks at the coalition forces. Beams streaked through the air, and missiles and shells seemed to fly towards anything that moved.
This included Dukemon and Grani. The pair dipped suddenly in the sky as a ZekeGreymon released a high-powered Hyper Launcher laser towards them. The bright, burning beam cut overhead, just narrowly missing them.
Dukemon narrowed his eyes and tried to keep balanced on Grani. He looked over to watch out for more attacks headed their way. "It's madness," he said to Grani. "A coup in the middle of a battle… Dark rifts everywhere… It's chaotic."
"All the more reason why we have to stay sharp," Grani advised as they made it to the center of the battlefield.
"Yeah…" Dukemon muttered. His golden eyes gazed across the chaotic battle and observed Chaosdramon. He watched as Chaosdramon poured two beams out of his cannons, which washed over the D-Brigade lines and annihilated every Digimon that they enveloped. Dukemon grimaced and clenched the Gram and Aegis. "We have to stop him, Grani…"
Grani nodded and glanced over as well. He was about to reply, but his eyes widened. "Dukemon, look out!" he shouted.
Dukemon blinked and looked above them. He could see a dozen missiles raining down on them from the sky. "Damn!" Dukemon shouted, raising the Aegis over his head.
Grani began accelerating and swerving to the side erratically in a hasty attempt to evade them. Three missiles whizzed by his body, narrowly missing them. However, the fourth and fifth missiles didn't miss. They slammed down on Dukemon's shield and exploded violently.
Dukemon began to fell backwards, losing his balance from the blast in conjunction with Grani's aerial manoeuvres. As he waved his arms out to try and regain balance, a sixth missile came sailing down and exploded against Dukemon's armoured chest. The Royal Knight let out a winded grunt as the explosion blew him off of Grani's back.
"Dukemon!" Grani shouted, feeling Dukemon get thrown off of his back by the blast. He began to nosedive in an attempt to circle around and catch Dukemon, but he wasn't sure if he could make a sharp enough turn.
Dukemon dropped like a brick towards the ground. Still shaken by the blast and the sudden plummet, he was unable to right himself in the air in time. He could see the Strike Forces and Saversburg's army advancing below him. He hoped he didn't fall on them, but he didn't think there was anything he could do to prevent it. He tried to pitch his body forwards to try and catch himself, but he couldn't manage to keep himself afloat. It was hard for him to fly when he was in a sudden freefall. The ground became ever closer as he plummeted. Dukemon shut his eyes and prepared for what he knew would be a painful landing.
"Oof!" Dukemon grunted, feeling himself finally make contact with something solid. To his surprise, he had impacted faster than he thought, and it wasn't nearly as painful as he expected, although he still felt twinges of numb pain in his back and legs.
It then dawned on Dukemon that he was actually being suspended in the air. He opened his eyes to see what he had hit.
To his surprise, he found Omegamon looking down at him, holding Dukemon in his outstretched arms. Dukemon blinked and looked around; it seemed like Omegamon has caught him in mid-air. His Grey Arm supported Dukemon's back and his Garuru Arm supported the knight's knees, and they floated several dozen feet above the ground.
Dukemon put his lance-bearing arm over Omegamon's shoulder to keep himself steady. He grinned up at him with a relieved smile. "Hey, nice catch, Omegamon. You're a lot softer than the ground," Dukemon said with a relieved, teasing tone. "Thanks for the save."
Omegamon blushed and looked away sheepishly, kind of wishing that he had caught Dukemon in a less embarrassing way. "Y-You're welcome, Dukemon…" he mumbled in response, his dual voice belying sheepishness.
Grani circled around and flew over to them. "Dukemon… Thank goodness," he said, sighing with relief.
"I'm fine, Grani," Dukemon said to him, waving at him with the Aegis shield. "This is my stop anyways."
"What?" Grani asked. "Are you sure?"
Dukemon nodded. "Yeah, I'll fight on the land," he told the Zero ARMS. He nodded over towards the south, where he could see UlforceVeedramon flying through the sky with the Order's scouts. "You should go lead your scouts."
"Very well," Grani agreed. "Be careful. Look after him, Omegamon."
Omegamon's cheeks turned a deeper shade but he nodded. "I will, Grani," he responded with resolve.
"Hey, hey! I don't need looking after!" Dukemon protested. After a moment, he then realised his current situation and looked up at Omegamon with an awkward grin. "…Hey, do you mind putting me down, Omegamon? This is kind of embarrassing."
"O-Of course," Omegamon stammered, quickly flying down to the ground with Dukemon still in his arms.
Grani chuckled and then zoomed off towards the south to meet up with UlforceVeedramon and his scouts, who were linking up with Examon, Sleipmon, and the Aerial Strike Forces.
Once they were on the ground, Dukemon jumped down from Omegamon's arms and adjusted the Gram and Aegis over his arms. He looked across the battlefield towards Chaosdramon and then stared at Omegamon with a look of determination in his golden eyes. "Shall we, Omegamon?" he asked him.
Omegamon nodded and ejected the Grey Sword and the Garuru Cannon from his arms. The two Royal Knights dashed forwards side-by-side, shooting across the ground towards their enemy. They flew over the ranks of the Strike Forces, who pushed forwards along the flank of Fujinmon's forces.
They could see Craniamon, Dynasmon, and Gankoomon near the front of the fighting. Omegamon's insides stiffened as he flew forwards; he could see multiple dark rifts surrounding Chaosdramon. However, he steeled his resolve and pressed forward, aiming his cannon arm towards the crimson tyrant.
He narrowed his sky blue eyes and took careful aim at Chaosdramon. The cannon's bore glowed with blue energy. "…Garuru Cannon!"
Chaosdramon watched as Omegamon's attack soared towards him. He quickly raised up his massive, left arm and blocked the frozen blast with the outer, red digizoid plating. Frost and ice traced the surface of the metal, but the blast was unable to break through the durable metal.
The emperor's eyes narrowed with frozen hatred. He pointed his left arm towards Omegamon, who flew to the front of the army. "Royal Knights…" he began murmuring. He launched his ejectable claws towards Omegamon, intending to skewer the Royal Knight through.
Omegamon came to a skidding stop when he saw the giant set of claws shooting towards him. He enlarged the Brave Shield Omega on his shoulder just in time to block the powerful impact. The claws screeched against the shield and hit him with enough brute force to send Omegamon flying off of his feet.
Omegamon flipped backwards in the air and caught himself, skidding along the ground and ignoring the immediate bruising in his shoulder. He poised the Grey Sword and dashed forwards to attack Chaosdramon again.
Chaosdramon retracted his claws back into his arm and then slashed them down on Omegamon with a mighty swipe, forcing Omegamon to raise his blade to block the attack.
Seeing an opportunity, Fujinmon shot towards Chaosdramon from the right, hoping to stab him while he was focused on Omegamon. "Critical Arm!"
While contending with Omegamon, Chaosdramon outstretched his right arm towards Fujinmon. His opportunism didn't go unnoticed. "Fujinmon…" he growled. He fired an organic missile from his right hand, which soared towards Fujinmon and homed in on him.
Fujinmon scowled when he saw the giant missile shooting towards him, following his movement. "Marut Cyclone!" he shouted, crossing his dual beam swords in front of his body before swiping them outwards. A super-condensed blade of wind swept forward and slammed into the missile right as it closed in on him. The explosive detonated in front of Fujinmon, blasting him back through the air.
Chaosdramon then pulled his claws away from Omegamon and spun around, slamming his muscular tail into the white knight.
Omegamon was thrown through the air from the heavy blow, but he flew upwards and quickly corrected himself.
Chaosdramon turned to face the advancing D-Brigade, Saversburg, and Order soldiers. He gazed across the opposition to his authority, the D-Brigade forces who had betrayed him. His rage bubbled beneath his cold, calculating exterior.
The dark fissures in the field around him suddenly began to break open, causing torrents of dark energy to come pouring out. The earth quaked as the ground was split, and the rifts grew as wide as several meters. They vented out dark data and black Digitron, all of which began to waft into Chaosdramon's backpack. His calm façade fractured and he aimed his shoulder mounted cannons and his right hand.
Omegamon's blue eyes widened as he saw the dark rifts fracture and grow dangerously. He watched as the black clouds of data began to drift towards Chaosdramon. "No…!"
"You… All of you… Royal Knights… Fujinmon… Traitors…" he spoke, his mechanical voice brimming with fury. Suddenly, he unleashed a savage roar. "DISAPPEAR! HYPER MUGEN CANNON!"
Chaosdramon began unloading his cannons indiscriminately into the Digimon advancing on him. Beams streaked across the grass, swallowing Digimon up and crushing them into data. Explosions erupted into the sky like a hellish display of fireworks. He then fired again and again. Two more beams slammed into the D-Brigade's soldiers, and he launched a missile into the aerial ranks of the Saversburg army, creating an explosion that corrupted the surrounding Digimon with a crippling virus. They fell to the ground and writhed in indescribable agony.
"Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!" Chaosdramon shouted. He fired beams from his cannons into a crowd of Digimon and then fired the pair of cannons again. He took in dark data from the rifts around him at an excessive rate. This constant energy supply left him with an inexhaustible power source. It also completely eliminated the cool-down period between his blasts, allowing him to fire his Hyper Mugen Cannons again after only ten seconds.
"BURN! Hyper Mugen Cannon!" Chaosdramon roared.
His cannons unleashed blast after blast across the battlefield. Nowhere was spared. He blasted from the northern flank, to the field in front of him, to the southern hill. Explosions erupted all across the battlefield, annihilating Digimon indiscriminately.
Chaosdramon's rage, paranoia, and power were fuelled by the dark data that he absorbed into his body. As the emperor slipped further towards madness, the battlefield burned.
The image of Chaosdramon firing beams haphazardly and continuously could be clearly seen. He launched dark blasts into the united armies. Opponents could only try to shield themselves from the blasts, or try to evade them.
The more that Chaosdramon fired his Hyper Mugen Cannon, the more energy that he needed from the Dark Area. It was an addictive source of power. As he drew more and more power from the Dark Area, the greater the dark rifts grew. The larger the rifts became, the weaker the barrier between the Digital World and the Dark Area. Chaosdramon unwittingly made this happen as he focused single-mindedly on destroying all those who opposed him.
All of these images of destruction flashed before a crimson eye.
Far removed from the battlefield, a single Digimon silently observed its progress.
The room was dark. There were no candles lit, and there were no windows for light to pour through from the outside. The only flicker of light inside the black interior was the glowing, red eye.
Suddenly, the sound of knocking interrupted the Digimon's concentration. The Digimon looked up towards the door of the small, wooden hut.
"Enter," a deep, male voice spoke.
The front door of the hut creaked open and the bright, midday light flooded in from the outside. In the doorway was the short silhouette of a cloaked humanoid Digimon, immediately recognizable by the wizard hat on his head.
Wizardmon wiped his boots on the entrance rug and walked into the dark, unlit hut. "Excuse me…" he spoke politely. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It is no problem at all," the deep voice calmly answered with a hint of warmth to the low, male voice.
Suddenly, the Digimon waved his hand in the air and summoned an orb of light. The wisp of luminescence illuminated the interior of the small, humble hut. The inside of the dwelling could be seen, revealing a basic interior with minimal furniture. Along the walls were bookcases loaded with books, scrolls, and journals.
Sitting at a table, facing the front door was a Digimon whose form was half-revealed by the light that he created. It shone across the white, angelic, left side of his body, while his skeletal, demonic, right side was faintly obscured by his own shadow.
Bagramon raised his head from his deep thought. He gazed across the hut to Wizardmon, who bowed his head politely.
"How did the meeting with Black Pincer Company go?" Bagramon asked him curiously, turning his head so that his remaining eye could gaze at Wizardmon. In his hollow, right eye socket was a crimson ruby that glowed ominously. It seemed to glisten and sparkle as images of the distant battle raced across its flawless surface.
"It didn't, I'm afraid…" Wizardmon sheepishly admitted. "The Royal Knights noticed me, so I couldn't speak to them. However, I told them that I would meet them in Shroud in a couple days."
Bagramon closed his left eye thoughtfully. "GrandisKuwagamon has been captured. Time will tell if Blitzmon and Bolgmon will continue on without him," he explained in a sage-like voice. "I would prefer to continue to use them as agents for the coming days… but if not, then I suppose they have done their job well enough," he explained matter-of-factly. Bagramon turned his head and stared into the floating aureole that lit up his hut. "They have successfully precipitated a war between the Metal Empire and the Royal Knights. I am impressed with their results despite being such a small mercenary group. …It proves that even the smallest bug has the ability to shift the course of the entire Digital World, if given the right circumstances…"
Wizardmon nodded quietly, mulling on the sage's words. "…The battle that you wanted is going on right now, isn't it?" the magician asked, looking over at Bagramon. "How is it progressing?"
"As I hoped," Bagramon responded with a small smile. His red eye gleamed; the ruby contained his all-seeing Invisible Snake Eyes, which he used to watch the battle from his hut. He continued to observe Chaosdramon blasting away, drawing continuous power from the Dark Area as he fired. "Just as I thought, Emperor Chaosdramon can't help himself… He is playing his role well. All I needed him to do was step onto the battlefield against a powerful foe and then let loose his powers. His strongest attack uses energy directly from the Dark Area, and now that he has gotten a taste for it, he will continue to use it until he is destroyed."
Bagramon slowly stood to his feet and clenched his giant, wooden fist. "At this rate, the barrier to the Dark Area will be damaged enough for us to make our move," he explained. "This is the critical moment… Once the barrier has large enough gaps to fit their data size, we will need to act quickly, Wizardmon. That is where I will need your expertise of the dark rifts most of all."
Wizardmon frowned and nodded. "I understand…"
Bagramon walked around the table and approached the open door, staring out of the hut and into the sunlight. "…After decades of hiding in the shadows and all the years of preparation, the time has finally come…"
He smiled and tilted his head up, gazing towards the cloudy sky.
"When the Seven Great Demon Lords are free, I will finally be able to act..."
Bagramon closed his eye and turned around. He stepped away from the grey light of the sky and walked back into the darkness of his hut.
"The Digital World will finally know true justice…"