Part 4

Tai and Christine had just entered the manor and were about to head toward Tai's quarters when the ground shook. Mere seconds later, the alarm sounded.

"An attack?!" Christine asked, shocked. "And they're already in the city?! How is that possible?!"

Tai frowned, thinking about it for a second. It didn't take long for him to figure it out. It also didn't take long for him to figure out who was attacking. "They must have teleported in!" His Katana appeared around his waist at that realization. With no time to figure out how that was possible, he pulled it out. "Guard the mansion!" he ordered. "I'm going to go find Sora and the others!"

There was no jealousy in Christine's eyes as she nodded. She quickly pulled a blade from a nearby display (Mel liked having weapons as decorations) before kissing him passionately. "Go find your girl."

Tai nodded before turning around and heading out of the door. If anything had happened to her, there would be hell to pay.

Christine sighed as she placed herself in the center of the room, blade ready. "Sora, you had better be alive," she muttered. "Otherwise, Tai is going to be so upset."

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It was the screams of terror that woke her up.

Groaning, Sora pushed herself to a sitting position, looking around dazedly. And, despite her current lack of clarity, she could see that things had changed substantially.

Chaos reined. Civilians were either running away or trying to clear debris off their friends and family. Guards were already engaging with the intruders, who she guessed were warriors of the Vile Tribe. To her right, she saw Jessica healing Fleur's arm, sporting a rather large bruise. And where the building once was… well, there wasn't a building there any longer.

Staggering to her feet, she made her way over to the others. "What was that?!" she demanded.

"Rune teleport mine!" Jessica replied as she finished up. "They are slow to charge but difficult to spot if placed just right! They require a week to absorb enough energy to become active, but once they do, they detonate, creating a teleport field in the process!" She turned to Sora, letting her healing magic caress the brunette's head. (Sora realized that she had had a concussion at that point.) "But the Vile Tribe shouldn't have that kind of spell! Their magic is incompatible with runes!"

"We can worry about that later!" Sora went over to Fleur, helping her up. "Right now, we need to get as many civilians off the streets as we can!"

"What about Ramus' shop?" Fleur asked. "We're pretty close to it, and it may be the safest place in the area!"

The other two nodded in agreement as they began to help those closest to them, pointing them in the direction of the shop. There wasn't a lot they could do until they could acquire some weapons, but they would help where they could.

Sora prayed that it would be enough.

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The second the explosion occurred, Bara knew that her mission to observe the Digi-Destined was a sham. Her brief flicker of hope was just that; brief.

This wasn't Racc's plan, of course. He wouldn't have had a clue that she would talk to Ramus. Besides, his actual 'lessons' were far more direct and far more brutal. He didn't have the patience to come up with something like this.

No, this was all Xenobia's doing. She had, through dumb luck, created a loyalty test for the conflicted Uruk-Hai. If she chose to fight against her brethren, she would violate the oath she had sworn (was forced to swear,) and she would be executed on the spot. She would lose her only chance to earn Taichi's trust if she stood by her oath. And if she did nothing… then both sides would come for her. She would never be free.

She turned, catching sight of Ramus. He caught her gaze and held it, most likely wondering if she had been lying to him. The sense of hopelessness overwhelmed her, and she felt her eyes grow wet.

But her vision didn't blur, which wasn't a good thing. She pulled out a throwing knife, took aim, and let loose.

The knife flew by Ramus's head by a centimeter, hitting the runic spell on the side of his building just as he turned around to follow the trajectory. The pattern was broken and slowly dimmed as the energy drained.

Bara didn't wait to see if someone else had seen her. She simply shrouded, making her escape, hoping that she had made the right choice.

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Ramus wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he knew when someone wasn't responsible for this attack. And that woman wasn't. The sheer look of despair on her face was more than enough for him.

And the woman had just saved his business, employees, and life from what he could only assume was an explosive. If that wasn't enough for anyone else, he didn't know what would be. He turned back around to thank her, only to find she had already vanished.

But he could worry about that later. Instead, seeing a group of people heading in his direction, he urged them toward his shop. "Quick, inside!" he shouted, opening the door to let them in. He quickly followed. "Dross, get out all of our weapon's inventory! Fifty percent discount on all of it! Free healing items and armor!"

Dross didn't argue. He just went, getting one of the shop clerks to come with him. It would most likely be financial suicide, selling the weapons at such a cheap cost and just giving the rest away for free. But there was a war going on outside.

But in his mind, Ramus was thinking quite long term. Not only would he have created some new customers, but he would also be arming anyone with combat experience so they could get out there and help Meribia's most-likely strained forces. All-in-all, it was a pretty good income.

And as those new customers began to do just that, he smiled in relief. Those demons were about to get their sorry carcasses handed to them, that was for sure.

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Frontier

"Our scout has sent his report," the messenger stated. "Royce's Sight has come through again. The two Digimon are outside the city."

Xenobia's grin was smug, almost malicious. "Well, we'll just make sure that they can't get back inside to help, won't we?" she replied. "Send in our tank. It's time to see if we can remove two irritants."

"Yes, my Queen."

From the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows, Royce and Phacia looked at each other, a look of disgust on the former's, worry in the latter's. And it was for the same reason.

If the tank was who they thought it was, then there was good chance there would be quite a bit of death and destruction.

"Did you tell her how it will end?" Phacia whispered.

Royce shook her head. "In this case, I don't think she cares," she replied. "The end result was all she cared about. Everything else is meaningless to her." She looked at Xenobia as she went over a report, waiting for the right moment to enter the battle. "Sheyra would have listened. She would have tried to find a less costly way to achieve our goal."

"And she wouldn't have formed an alliance with such… monsters." Phacia didn't really care for Devimon or most of the Digimon that had come with him. Nor was she a huge fan of the Negaverse and their leaders. They were more concerned about conquest or gathering energy for their 'God' than helping the Vile Tribe achieve justice.

The attack on Meribia served no purpose other than to remove a possible threat to their plans, but Hell Mel was no longer in a position to threaten those plans. He had Meribia to protect and thus couldn't leave. And despite his skill, he was the last of the Four Heroes who could do anything.

Especially since Ghaleon had joined them, betraying his Goddess and friends for… what, exactly?

Neither of the two sisters knew, but they did know this. Whatever it was, it wasn't for the Tribe's benefit. And once he had achieved his goal, their Tribe would be of no use to him.

"We're going to have to betray our Oath to save our people," Phacia whispered sadly.

"We will." Royce sighed. "But we will have to wait until the right moment to do that." She smiled. "Bara has already done just that. I need to find her before Racc learns of her treachery, because I will not be telling him."

Phacia nodded. "I'll observe our warriors. See where they stand with this whole thing. ...And no, you can't use your usual methods to sway people to our cause."

"Oh, dear."

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Greymon was not a jumper. His body just wasn't designed for it. His Rookie-level form had better jumping capability. And climbing up the wall was out of the question. It just wasn't strong enough to hold his weight. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to think of a solution to the problem.

"Birdramon!" he called out. "You're gonna have to grab me and carry me over the wall!"

"I would love to, but we have one little problem!" Birdramon replied. "We're about to have our own problems to deal with!"

His attention was back on the surround immediately, focusing on the cloud of dirt and smoke that was most definitely not there half a minute ago. A form was only just visible within. Greymon tensed, waiting to see what it was.

And then it stepped forward, making the ground tremble. And he suddenly wished he hadn't. What was coming in their direction was straight out of his nightmares.

The Ultimate-level Digimon lumbered forward, almost creaking with each step. The missile on its back looked rather menacingly, especially from an outside perspective. His jaw seemed nearly unhinged, but that might have been because of the lack of flesh to speak of.

Skullgreymon.

Oh, Greymon knew this one well. He had spent a brief period of time in that particular form. During their trip through the Server's desert, he had accidentally digivolved into Skullgreymon after an attempt to supercharge him. Not Tai's smartest idea, as he had gone on a rampage, tossing both friend and foe around like rag dolls. Thankfully, he had run out of power after only a brief period of time, but it would be months before they tried again, this time to a better outcome.

Now, here he was, about to face off against that monster himself. A monster whose rage and lust for battle was unparalleled. A monster who was three times his size a quadruple his power. He would be lucky if he lasted three seconds.

Speed was the only advantage he and Birdramon had. That and their smaller size gave them a level of maneuverability he simply didn't possess. Combined, this gave them a chance at victory. A victory forged through attrition, but a victory nonetheless.

At least… he hoped that was what happened.

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Tai burst into the business district, taking in the chaos all around him. Buildings were little more than rubble by this point, fires raging within the debris.. Meribian and Vile Tribe soldiers were fighting all over, bodies littering the ground. It was a massive difference from that very morning, where children were playing in the the streets and citizens were going about their daily lives. Now it was a war zone.

And then Tai found himself as one of those combatants in that war zone, as three demons charged at him, swinging large ball-and-chains. He quickly recognized them as Shadow Lords, burly fighters who threw those weapons like feathers. He saw Gargoyles flying about in the background, obviously fighting those on the wall, but that was not something he could do about that. He leaped back, narrowly avoiding his right foot being squashed. He charged forward while avoiding that first attacker. He leaped over the second one, Katana swinging down to cut through the third's chain. The ball flew away a bit, landing in a pile of debris.

The other two were too slow to react as Tai turned around, blade slashing upward and at an angle. He caught one across the chest and the other across his arm. The first one dropped to the ground while the second one grabbed his arm, trying to stop the flow of blood.

The third one launched himself right at Tai, grabbing him from behind in an effort to bring him down. Unfortunately for him, the human had a good foot over him, fifty pounds of muscle, and superior balance. His hand grasped the back of the Shadow Lord's head and, with nary any effort, threw his opponent over his shoulder and into the one with the injured arm. A swift stab through both at once ended the fight very efficiently. Then, taking mercy on the one who was slowly bleeding out, he stabbed him as well.

"Excellent form, Taichi!" the sword's spirit rumbled.

"Yeah. Too bad it had to be done." Taking the briefest moments to mourn, he continued searching for Sora.

It wouldn't be the last time he would have to fight that day, but such was war.

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Sora and her small group managed to make it to Ramus' shop, panting from exhaustion. Getting as many people as possible in was not easy, but it was worth it in the end. It certainly gave the guards some more breathing room when it came to fighting the enemy.

Of course, seeing Ramus selling weapons at a discounted price to those who could fight was a tad surprising, but he was giving away the armor and healing herbs for free, so he was obviously thinking ahead to keep his store running.

"Girls!" Ramus went over to them, gaze intense. "How bad is it?"

"It's gone way past horrific!" Sora replied. "Black Rose Street has been blocked off, and the business district is halfway through a spontaneous demolition! How're things here?"

"I've sent those who can't fight down to the sewer system. And as you can see, the rest are getting ready to get back out there! Speaking of…" He quickly pulled two daggers out of a nearby display case, handing them to her. "I got the feeling you left yours at the manor!"

Sora smiled as she took the weapons, twirling them around for a second. "Thanks, Ramus."

Jessica quickly grabbed a mace, giving it a few swings. "Not quite what I'm used to, but it'll do." She quickly pulled her money bag out, tossing it to him. "That should cover the costs. What about you, Fleur?"

Fleur pulled her wand out, gaze hard. "I'll make do with this. The only weapon I'm good with is a staff." She sighed. "Once more unto the breach," she muttered, as the three charged back into the fray.

Outside, they were immediately attacked from all directions. Five Rooks with their lances out, backed by three Guardians. A small squadron for achieving maximum casualties in a short period of time. Sadly, this time, they bit off more than they could chew.

Why? Because the three girls were pissed!

Sora slid under the jab of a Rook, darting past him as she went at a Guardian. The Rook, covered in heavy armor, tried to turn around, but wasn't able to move fast enough.

Jessica's mace, which was a little heavier than what she was used to, smashed into the side of his head, crushing his skull in despite his helmet. She immediately went for the other one, blocking his downward, then retaliating with a kick in a particular spot. The Rook dropped, his ability to procreate severely hampered.

Fleur fired several Stunners at the other, hitting the other two Guardians before they could do anything while she charged at a third Rook. Not that she was going to try and tackle him. He had a good foot and hundred pounds over her, not to mention the fact that he was in heavy armor. And unlike Jessica, she wasn't much stronger than the average human.

Luckily, she acquired something else from her Veela heritage besides the Allure.

As she approached her opponent, fire began to collect in her free hand. And, before he could do anything to stop her, she released it right at his face. The Rook screamed as the flames made it past his helmet, scorching the skin within. Her wand slid right into the opening of the helmet, a full powered Stunner unleashed. And at that close range, it was as lethal as any other spell. He was dead before he hit the ground, his brain practically shut down. Not taking any time to dwell on that, she turned toward her next target. Sora, by contrast, had kicked one of the Guardians Fleur had hit, to make sure it had stayed down, while weaving and dodging around the spells the third one was throwing at her. The training she had been undergoing was serving her well, and she was going to take full advantage of it.

The Guardian floated forward, shooting energy spheres at her at a rapid pace. He was trying to hit her before he ran out of power, but couldn't quite do that. Not that it would matter, as Sora wasn't going to wait that long. Avoiding the last Rook's spear strike (though that was by sheer luck. She hadn't even noticed him approaching her blind spot. A bit of an oversight she would have to correct later,) she brought a dagger up, embedding into the Guardian's chest and pulling out. He weaved in the air for a second before becoming a dead weight, hitting the ground, barely shifting for a second before going still. A perfect strike to his heart. She whirled around, noticing the Rook twirling his lance around for another attempt at her.

Another attempt that was halted when Jessica slammed her mace into the back of his knee, causing him to buckle. And before he could recover, Sora's daggers slid into the sides of his neck, almost severing his head from his body. As soon as she removed them, he dropped to the ground, trying to reach his neck before he died of blood loss feebly. Unfortunately for him, he didn't quite make it.

Sora sucked in some much-needed air while trying not to vomit from the stress. Images of Vane were bubbling under the surface, trying to emerge, but she ruthlessly tamped them down. She couldn't afford to lose control right now. Not in the middle of a battle.

Jessica noticed her turmoil, and went over to her while Fleur bound the surviving demons. "Sora, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Sora replied after a moment. "Just need a moment to collect myself." Her stomach settled so she could right herself. "Okay, let's go find Tai."

The other two nodded, understanding her viewpoint. Better to stay together rather than apart and worrying. Once the remaining conquered were secure, they ran.

D:SSSC

Being Skullgreymon and fighting Skullgreymon were two very different things, Greymon quickly discovered.

He found out just how much it hurt!

The massive Digimon had promptly smacked him into the wall the second he had gotten into range. They were forty feet from the city at that point, so it was an accurate display of its power.

Thankfully, the last few months on Lunar had toughened him up so he didn't de-digvolve on impact. He slowly stood up, wincing as his muscles protested every single movement.

Birdramon, having had prior experience dealing with the monstrosity, decided to maintain a good distance away, peppering him with Meteor Wings so he would focus on her, giving Greymon time to recover. He was swinging at her, trying to swat her away like she was an annoying flea. So far, he wasn't successful.

"Are you alright, Greymon?" one of the guards called out.

"I'll live!" Greymon replied. "We'll try and keep him busy. Help those in the city!" How was the question, but they would figure it out on the way. He started running toward the battle again.

Thankfully, Skullgreymon wasn't in a hurry. His forward momentum was more akin to a tank, one step at a time. Part of it was due to Birdramon, but regardless, it gave them some time. Thankfully, he had a good idea of what to do.

Skullgreymon was powerful, more so than almost any other Ultimate Digimon. However, he was more akin to a one-shot cannon. Once he fired the missile on his back, it would only be a matter of time before he reverted back to an Agumon. All they had to do was just that without hitting the city. That was easier said than done. The move he had in mind would need a lot of luck to pull it off.

'Lucky for me. Luck just happens to be on my side,' Greymon thought humorously. 'Not to mention I've got Birdramon here to help.'

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Tai was making good time. It was definitely helped by the fact that Meribia's forces were beginning to consolidate and fight back more effectively, and that all he had to deal with were groups of two. His efforts were proving fruitful, though he didn't emerge unscathed. His ribs were bruised from a lucky shot, and he had a few cuts dotting his body from attacks he had not seen coming. He was getting better, but he wasn't perfect. Never would be. He was just grateful his pants hadn't been compromised. That would have been both embarrassing and potentially lethal.

But finally, through the fire, smoke, and blood, he saw that the girls had the same idea as him: to find him. And judging by the looks of relief on their faces, it had been a harrowing, if short search. "You girls alright?" he asked, resisting the urge to hug Sora as he gave her a look over. Despite the blood on her face, she didn't look like she was seriously injured. On the other hand, her gaze was stone cold, like she had emotionally shut down. It was probably the only way she could function at the moment.

"We're fine," Sora replied, that gaze softening from stone to putty for an instant. "Are you?"

"I'll live. And it looks like we will beat the Vile Tribe back today. So there's some good news." He grinned, only to see Jessica's expression. "What am I missing?"

Fleur sighed. "Jessica recognized the means with which they gained entry," she replied sadly. "It's basically a combination bomb/teleportation spell. A Lunarian spell in design, as the runes needed are apparently not compatible with demon magic."

It didn't take long for Tai to put the pieces together. "Someone gave them the spell," he concluded. "Someone who was sympathetic to the Vile Tribe's cause, and high enough up the ladder in Vane to have access to the spell."

"Which means there's a traitor in the Magic Guild." Jessica groaned. "Or that fake bitch Xenobia stole the spell when she left."

"Yeah, let's pray for the second option being right."

Sora gestured. "Well, we can't do anything about that, so let's focus on the here and now! We need to get to our Digimon and fast!"

"Mister Kamiya!"

The four turned as one toward the voice, seeing a messenger heading in their direction. He was looking positively panicked for some reason, but there were over a dozen such reasons right now so it was understandable. "What is it?" Tai asked.

The messenger paused to catch his breath for a second. "Word from the wall, Sir," he reported. "Greymon and Birdramon are currently engaged with a powerful creature they are calling Skullgreymon! And from what we have witnessed, it is far more powerful than they are!"

Tai and Sora paled at the report, understanding all too well who he was talking about. Skullgreymon was all ID, all anger and aggression. His only weakness was his limited energy reserves, which wasn't a problem when he could quickly demolish his enemies. Sora's assessment had never been more accurate.

"Let's go!" he shouted, charging for the gate, the three girls right behind him. There wasn't any time to lose.

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It was a crazy plan, a flat-out stupid one, but it was also the only plan they had.

Birdramon quickly disengaged from her attack and flew over to Greymon, picking up the lizard in her talons. Skullgreymon, no longer being hounded by an annoying flea, focused his attention on his main target: the city of Meribia. Taking two steps forward, he leaned forward, bringing the missile on his back to bear. He didn't need to aim. The target was big enough not to miss.

"DARK SHOT!"

Just as the missile began to activate, Birdramon and Greymon suddenly came up from underneath, shooting upward. With a bellow of defiance and a swift double kick to the jaw, they were able to knock him back into an upright position. The missile fired, but its position was higher than before. As in, straight up and no longer a threat to anyone. It shot up into the air, detonating in spectacular fashion. It was a reminder of what could have happened if the missile had hit the wall.

Enraged, Skullgreymon reached out for them, hoping to destroy them, but they were already out of range of its claws. And he wasn't moving forward, meaning he couldn't really do anything else. Greymon was relieved. The Ultimate-level Digimon had expended most of his power as they hoped. Meanwhile, they still possessed most of their strength. Now all they had to do was wait.

Birdramon set her friend down, panting a little. "I'd forgotten just how powerful he is!" she gasped.

Gryemon shook his head, now having a good idea what they had dealt with during his brief time in that form. "I never did apologize to any of you for that, did I?" he asked.

"Tai apologized. It wasn't your fault… hey, shouldn't he have reverted by now?"

"Huh? ...He's starting to move again."

Indeed, Skullgreymon was moving forward again, power seemingly returning to him. His eyes were blazing with an unholy light.

"I'm getting the sneaky suspicion that this one has been improved in some way," Greymon noted, now very concerned. There is no other way the Ultimate-level Digimon should not be able to do that. What was Ladydevimon doing to them?

"And he looks pissed!" Birdramon took off again, getting ready for another sweep. At least another missile hadn't formed yet, but that was of small comfort.

Greymon got ready to dodge. Even if he wasn't at full power yet, he was still strong enough to kick both of their butts with power to spare.

"Greymon, digivolve!" a most welcome voice suddenly shouted out from the entrance.

"Thank you, Tai! GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TO… METALGREYMON!"

Skullgreymon glared as one of his nuisances suddenly became larger and more powerful. It went from an irritation to an actual battle. While he loved battle, he enjoyed destruction far more.

Tai would be the first to admit that he could see the somewhat fitting circumstances of this situation. Here stood Metalgreymon, ready to face off against a literal ghost of his own past, a monster that lived only to destroy. His own personal demon.

Sora took the moment of peace to pull her digivice out. She needed to help even out the playing field somehow, and Garudamon was the way to do that. So, summoning her love for her partner, she prepared to call out.

Suddenly, a shock of pain went through her chest, and she dropped to her knees, surprised. Looking down, she saw… nothing. Nothing whatsoever. She hadn't been hit by anything. So what happened?

Birdramon felt the pain through their connection and was confused. It almost felt like a backlash or a feedback loop of some kind. It was almost as if Sora's love had been rejected. But why? What had changed?

Tai immediately got in front of Sora while Jessica checked her over. For whatever reason, his friend wasn't going to be able to help here. He even had a clue as to why, but now wasn't the time to talk about it, if ever.

Fleur watched the giant monsters for some time, a little confused. There was still fighting within the walls, so why the outward attack? It made no logical sense. In fact, it was almost like they were trying to keep them occupied from…

The answer shot through her like a well-placed stunner. The attacks were a distraction. All of them were being forced to face off against a more immediate threat so they couldn't protect the real target. The target who was most likely trying to get out into the city to help in its defense.

"Jessica, your father!" she shouted. "They're going after your father!"

Jessica's eyes widened in horror before whirling around, tearing back into the city. The others were quick to follow save for Metalgreymon, who was bracing himself for Skullgreymon's charge.

Besides, he would have crushed Mel's Manor if he tried to help now.

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Here is Part 4. The last part will be the end of the battle and find Alex and company finally arriving.