Digimon: Symbiosis (Remastered)

by Dragon Champion Zero

Everything changed the night the sky lit up. Now, with everything in two worlds laying on the line, they'll have to join together to survive and overcome - in the most literal sense possible.

19. Chapter 19: City In Chaos

A bit late this time, on account of summer being busy. But here we are with the next chapter.

---

Chapter 19 - City In Chaos

—

"Holy hell…"

"Good lord…"

"That…is a LOT of creatures…"

Emil, Elliott, and Rudy were all at Rudy's computer, feeling a creeping unease at the many dots of red up on the scanner. Not just the number but the spread was disconcerting - they were all across the city, in the air and on land and even in the Militke River. About as wide a range as you could get while still being within the city limits, and they knew full well that there weren't enough defenders to cover that much space.

"Do you think they can handle them all?" Emil asked nervously.

"Even if they have the raw strength, the numbers are a serious problem," muttered Elliot. "They can't be everywhere at once…who knows how much damage will be done before all is said and done?"

"And some of them look so BIG…" trembled Rudy. "If they get away from the fracas and start going on a rampage…"

It certainly felt like a daunting scenario…until a voice spoke up from behind them all. "Uh, sirs?" They all turned to see Commandramon; he was sitting on the bench again, looking tired but better than he had been. "I know it looks bad and all, but I think you should worry more about Zetta Unit than the buildings…"

"We're plenty concerned about them, I assure you," Elliot stated a bit brusquely. "We can worry about both at the same time."

"But they aren't here for buildings. They're here for Zetta Unit."

"…You think this entire force is out there just to hunt down our defenders?" Emil questioned. "There's no way. They have to be planning more than that."

Commandramon nodded. "They...well, someone's planning more, for sure. But…listen, I was…I was pretending to be on their side so they would send me here and I could warn people. I got to hear a lot of the twisted things they were saying…this is supposed to be a show of power and a way to establish themselves in this world. But all the digimon who were going to be sent over there…what they wanted more than anything was to be the one to prove themselves superior to the 'tainted ones.' They aren't thinking about anything else but Zetta Team until they've taken them down…"

"…So they probably aren't going to split off, they're going to focus in on them…" suggested Rudy. And Emil and Elliot exchanged a look, not sure that that new knowledge was actually the reassurance that they might have hoped for. There was a lot riding on a very small number of heroes…and they could only hope that they were up to the task.

—

Two of the symbiotes, at least, had a good idea of just what they were up against. Ionfalkemon and Jetdramon could both see quite a bit from up in the air…the problem was, they were going to have their hands full with how many of them were up there with them.

"There's gotta be fifty or sixty of these guys!" Jetdramon bemoaned as they watched their enemies manifest in front of them in blurs of light. "How the heck are we gonna take all of these out?!"

"One at a time, if we have to," replied Ionfalkemon steely, taking her spear in hand; Jetdramon followed suit with his polearm, still looking dubious. "Though if we can do a little better than that, it'll probably be a good thing. And preferably take them out in the air, we don't want any big bodies dropping on any buildings down there."

"You say that like it's gonna be so easy…" muttered the dragon as he scanned over their challengers. A mess of flying digimon were up there to make their lives miserable…a flock of mixed Birdramon and Saberdramon, a swarm of smaller insectoid digimon - Flybeemon, Honeybeemon, and Butterflymon, led by a pair of Flymon that brought some less-than-lovely memories back - and a few larger insectoid digimon in Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon, multiple Harpymon, and the huge and imposing figure of a Megadramon manifesting behind them all. "If I see ANY Galedramon pop up I'm gonna go haywire."

"Keep yourself in check, we can't let them get the better of us in any way, that includes our tempers." Easier for Ionfalkemon to say than do, not with the unpleasant number of birds and bugs, each of which repelled one of her halves pretty fiercely. "Don't let them get settled in! Strike while they're trying to get their bearings!"

"Right!" The two broke off, swinging out wide and splitting apart to try to keep from getting penned in. Jetdramon swung high, unleashing a Jet Stream at one of the Flymon, wiping it out before it even had a chance to wonder what hit it. That got the swarm of bugs scattering, they were in disarray but they still had one Flymon to rally them, he knew he couldn't settle in with that as his only victory…unfortunately, there were far too many to draw his attention, and he had to rush away from the electric attack of a Kabuterimon that came from his side. He countered with another Jet Stream but the big bug managed to swing out of the way, and Jetdramon was forced to zip out of the fray and try to regroup, now with plenty of pursuers.

It wasn't going much better for Ionfalkemon, who was getting more of the attention of the Harpymon and mixed firebirds. A wide-spreading Dervish Bolt hit several of them, but it wasn't nearly enough to take any one of them down - the wide spread reduced the raw impact. She had to flap away to avoid their counterattacks, with several fireballs being launched in her direction - she flew above them to try to direct most of them up into the air, though she could see a couple sailing towards the ground. There was no chance they'd be able to avoid all damage, but she hoped those wouldn't do much…worse, though, was that she was drawing the attention of Megadramon, and there was a maliciousness in those eyes that sent shivers down her spine. He's the biggest threat here…and he knows it. He wants us dead, by his hand, but he'll gladly let us wear ourselves down before he goes in for the kill. And we can't do anything about it but play into his plot!

She had to keep drawing the attention of that one…well, either her or Jetdramon would. And they were doing a darn good job of it, with all of the fliers zeroing in on one of them. We're the first focus for their invasion…they want us out of the way before they turn the city to dust. Our only asset, and some asset that is! She pumped her wings hard, trying to keep in front of all her pursuers as she flung Charge Fields in her wake, zapping some of them and throwing them off. It kept them from approaching too close too quickly, but she knew that that was just inviting them to try to flank her. Already this was off to a bad start…they needed something else, and fast. But what else was there?

—

Blazereptimon was ready for just about anything. A potato was, admittedly, lower on the list than most.

The Yakiimon engaging him didn't care what he was ready for, though - despite her bizarre appearance, that of a potato with arms and legs partly wrapped in some kind of paper or foil, she was clearly giving it her all. "Beniazuma Uppercut!" The smaller digimon flung herself into a high-rising uppercut, which Blazereptimon flung himself back from in a backflip, planting his hands on the ground to draw himself into the landing. As Yakiimon tried to recover, he surged forward and slammed his fist into her, sending her flying back and tumbling onto the ground. "Yowch! No fair, you can't hit harder than I can!"

"Go ahead and ask me how much I care about 'fair'," growled Blazereptimon. He rushed forward, but Yakiimon was on her feet quickly enough to force him to pull his attack, as she flung herself into another punch that he blocked - but it was definitely stronger than it looked like it should have been. He managed to shove her back again, but she wasn't about to quit, flinging herself into a Beniazuma Straight that required the reptile to duck and roll. He saw her tumble at the end of the attack, and something clicked. She's throwing everything she has into those blows. Overdoing every one of them…unleashing more power at the cost of control. I can use that.

"You're going down, lizard thing!" Yakiimon yelled as she charged forward again, steam billowing off of her as she flung herself into another furious flying fist. "Beniazuma Straight, HA!" Blazereptimon didn't try to dodge this time, instead taking the hit and trying to block it…he managed to keep the blast from hitting anything other than his hands, but the raw force at the end kicked him back and off-balance. He could see the glint in Yakiimon's eye as she noticed that, and she barely landed before she flung herself into a Beniazuma Uppercut, intent on clocking that reptilian jaw with a vicious blow.

Just as Blazereptimon had hoped. The exaggerated off-balance pose was a ruse, maybe the only good thing he'd picked up out of that Asuramon fight - his tail kept him up exactly as he wanted. He swayed back just outside the range of that uppercut…and now it was Yakiimon's turn to see the glint in his eye as her vulnerable body was an easy target. "Inferno Claw!" he roared out as he swung upwards, blazing claws tearing through Yakiimon's body in one quick motion. She was flung backwards, disappearing into a cloud of data before she hit the ground.

"Tch…like I'm gonna let some baked potato be the death of me." Blazereptimon smirked a bit. "Then again, I guess she wasn't really baked until I got to her." Something in the back of his head poked at him as he said that…he ignored it entirely as he turned and hurried down the road, trying to pick up on the next enemy. The Yakiimon had been number five, and he was certainly glad they were more spread out down here than they were up in the air like Ionfalkemon and Jetdramon had to deal with. Wish there was more I could do to help them, but best thing I can do now is make sure that no one down here makes things worse for them.

The sound of something hot sizzling in the air reached his ears…he might not have had the hearing Ebonvargmon did, but he could pick up the sound of fire anywhere. He hurried towards it, hoping that someone hadn't gotten bored and started torching houses while they were waiting for him…

Instead, he found himself forced to admit that he was not, in fact, ready for absolutely everything.

"G-get away from me! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"The fact that you live is the only thing that's wrong! Death to the Frigid Souls!"

"Aagh!" The well-chilled body of an icy dragon was almost steaming from a clearly unwanted application of heat, unhelpfully provided by means of a flame-maned mammalian digimon. And Burnreptimon was momentarily thrown by the sight of the Flaremon trying to hunt down the Paledramon, with almost no concern. Wait…they're…fighting each other?

Paledramon was the first to notice the new arrival, but it only seemed to make him more frightened. "Aagh! Th-they're here, they're here!"

"What?" Flaremon paused momentarily, casting a sidelong glance at Blazereptimon. Then, to the reptile's continued surprise, a wicked grin formed on that muzzle. "Well, well…perfect timing. And just the one I hoped for! You, fire lizard! Prove yourself against this heretic and maybe you'll have a chance to do something worthy with your life!"

"The hell're you talking about?" growled Blazereptimon.

"The ice is unworthy of life! They do nothing but torment the fire! And the Frigid Souls are the enemy of all fire-kind, intent on sending the digital world into an endless ice age! We of the Order of the Flame are the ones who will destroy them all, and end all ice to preserve the heat forevermore! Show your allegiance and maybe you'll convince me that you're worth keeping alive!"

The Order of the Flame…uh-oh… The name twigged a vague memory from one part of him…he didn't know much about them, except that they were an order of Fire-elemental digimon located in the Dzempher Caldera in Northern Tetraquaz, and that there was talk of them starting to get a little nuts. Maybe more than a little, if this sort of fanaticism was on display…as if anyone in Emperius was lacking for fanaticism to begin with. "I think you're going to have to convince ME of that for YOU…if you're that keen on murdering your own teammate, I don't think it'd be a wise idea to be the next one in line."

"That wretch? Pah!" spat Flaremon. "Useless, worthless ice digimon shouldn't be on Emperius anyway, they aren't worthy! YOU would be worthy, if you proved you were one with the flame!"

"H-he's crazy!" stammered Paledramon, who'd scrambled back against a tree. "I didn't even do anything to him!"

"Your existence is offense enough! Perish in the flames! Guren Juu-ARGH!" Flaremon's attempt to loose a vicious fire attack on Paledramon was cut off by Blazereptimon shoulder-checking him hard, sending him tumbling along the ground. He still didn't know what all was going on around here, but two things stuck out to him - Flaremon sounded like a real nasty sort that needed to be taken care of NOW, and Paledramon didn't sound like the kind of aggressive digimon that he expected to see in this kind of fracas. And whatever questions arose from that second matter, the first commanded immediate action.

"Grragh! How dare you!" Flaremon was panting a bit as he rose up, but the fire was flaring on his body. "Striking one of your fellow fire-bearers instead of the true enemy! You're not one with the flame at all! That human taint has caused you to turn your back on your kind!"

"Yeah, you just keep talking, pissing me off is gonna end REAL well for you." Blazereptimon's eyes were garnering that red glow again. "I don't care if you're fiery, I've got enough power in these fists and claws to put an end to you!"

"Worthless scum! You'll fall easily to a true master of fire! Guren Juuouha!" This time Flaremon got off the intended attack, a fiery projectile that looked like a lion's head fired straight at Blazereptimon. The reptile countered with his Solar Wave, meeting the attack in mid-air and neutralizing it, though it ate up his own attack. Not that that was a huge deal as far as he was concerned, Flaremon wouldn't react much to it anyway.

"Rrrgh…fine, you want to play that way, let's dance!" roared Flaremon. "Red Lion Dance!" He came out swinging, fists and claws and feet flung at Blazereptimon, who raced to block each one before they could do real damage to him. It was not easy, Flaremon was definitely a hard hitter, and one of those claw swipes opening furrows in his shoulder was more than enough for him to know he couldn't let that happen again. He kicked out himself as Flaremon's attack paused, catching the mammal in the muzzle and drawing some blood of his own. "AGH! Miserable creature!"

"Oh, I'll make YOU miserable, that's for sure," snarled Blazereptimon, brandishing his claws as he charged in swinging. "Inferno Claw!" Now Flaremon was on the defensive, trying to parry with his own claws; but although he was no slouch, he was also no Asuramon, and the workout that Blazereptimon had gotten against a superior opponent was giving him the edge here. Orange fur went flying here and there as gashes formed in Flaremon's arms and chest, and some of that mane was clipped by one errant swing before Blazereptimon caught a foot to the gut and got flung backwards. He rolled his hit into a backroll, getting his balance in an instant, ready for Flaremon's follow-up…which didn't come as Flaremon saw the opening slam shut.

Both of them were bloodied and bruised, but Flaremon looked the worse for wear. "How dare you…betraying your element like this…it will be an honor to end your worthless life here…"

"Pah, that was gonna be MY line," spat Blazereptimon. "Except I'm the one who can actually pull it off."

"Cocky lizard! You don't look like you're that far ahead here!"

"Sure, I don't. But you've been putting everything you have into your attacks." Blazereptimon raised his arm, flame swirling around it as his body glowed. "While I'm just going to start with that! Blaze Stoker!" Clenching his fist shut, he sent that energizing power through him, flaring up a bit with heat that Flaremon wasn't ready for and was putting him at unease. Blazereptimon didn't give him a chance to recover mentally, surging forward with speed the beast wasn't ready for and delivering a straight shot right to the nose, making him roar out in pain…and drop his guard.

And Blazereptimon wasted no time going in for the kill. A forceful right jab to the gut, getting through that light armor to wind Flaremon, a left stab with his Inferno Claw into Flaremon's chest following by a forceful tearing, and then an uppercut with his right to the beast's jaw, cracking his head back and exposing his neck, which Blazereptimon suddenly lunged for with blazing jaws. Flaremon tried to stop him, but he clamped down hard and then pushed with all his might away, jerking his head back and tearing out Flaremon's throat. The creature's eyes glazed over as he crashed back, finally disappearing into a cloud of data.

Blazereptimon spat a bit, letting the piece of Flaremon he'd kept in his jaws join the rest of him before turning back to the other creature in his vicinity. Paledramon was latched onto a tree, looking wide-eyed at him, trembling at the sight of the bloodied form and glowing red eyes, the latter at least fading away as Blazereptimon settled back down. "Right, then…you didn't try to backstab me while I was busy with that asshole, so that's a point in your favor. But you still came here with Emperius's strike force, and I don't have time to play games while my city is under attack. Make your defense QUICK."

"Nnh! D-don't hurt me, please! I…this wasn't my idea! I didn't want to be here! The general ordered me…I didn't have a choice!"

"General…hmph. One of those ones who sealed us…" Blazereptimon's eyes narrowed at Paledramon; he certainly didn't look much like a fighter, at least at first glance, but if he was with the Frigid Souls…that was another name part of him knew at least in passing, and if the Order of the Flame was sinking into fanaticism, the Frigid Souls were thoroughly mired there - nutty as Flaremon's ramblings were, he was right about what the Frigid Souls' ambitions were. "You. Are you with the Frigid Souls?"

"I…I…n-not…I mean…"

"Truth only. Lies won't help you."

Paledramon went plenty pale at that vague threat. "I…I was sent to Emperius by Zerodramon, the Frigid Souls' leader…b-but I'm not…I was never part of them, never wanted to be…he…he sent me to punish my sister…she's his b-biggest opposition on the Kalarnos Glacier, and…and he wanted to…to use the fact that I was with them to underm-mine her support there…"

It was a story he couldn't verify, but…Blazereptimon was finding it believable. As much because Paledramon's fear was coming off as entirely genuine to him. "Fine. You get a pass. Get back to the digital world and get away from Emperius and we'll call it even."

"…I…I can't…"

"Why not? Don't tell me they didn't give you some way to, I know they can."

Paledramon shook his head. "They…they said…they wouldn't do that. That they wouldn't risk anyone…c-cutting and running. That we would…do what we came here for or not come back at all. And…wh-when she…put me with Flaremon…I…I heard that…they were trying to…get rid of some, some people they thought were dead weight…"

Blazereptimon let out a growl that shut Paledramon up, even though it wasn't directed at him. Of course. He's clearly not the right mold…they knew what they were doing putting him with a member of the Order of the Flame. And they must know we were showing mercy and letting people back if they didn't go back to Emperius, they wouldn't want that to happen with their real attack. "Right, of course, can't ever be easy…you go hide somewhere and lay low until we figure out how to get you back there. I have things to do and I can't be babysitting you all day."

"O-okay…" Paledramon slowly got to his feet, still trembling a bit. "S-sorry about all this…"

"You're one of the few people I've met today who hasn't been trying to kill me, you don't even fall on my trouble list right now. Don't do anything that'll get you on there." Blazereptimon didn't wait for a response this time, leaving Paledramon as he started off down the next road, looking for his next foe. There was an outside chance he was making a terrible mistake, but he didn't think that was likely…not with someone who hadn't even made the feeblest attempt to attack him. Trust is in short supply here, but I'm giving a little to him…let's hope he doesn't abuse it.

—

"Saur Blaster!" A beam of energy ripped from Mecharexmon's cannon, slamming into the Troopmon he had been targeting. It fell backwards onto the ground and dissipated without a sound, and Mecharexmon didn't even pause to acknowledge it as he tromped towards the Glikke Field area. Never liked the mindless version of those things…mass-produced undead soldiers should never be a thing, it makes it too easy to think of others the same way.

He hadn't gotten too many digimon so far, but that sort of volume wasn't his focus - it was a different type of volume, that being one of single containers. And now he was facing down two such oversized containers - DarkTyranomon and Vajramon. Outnumbered and outsized was not a good position to be in, but he didn't really have a choice here. Both of them were clearly waiting for him, as well…he could see their grins as they saw he was alone. "Oh, this is rich, a lone tainted one thinks he can best TWO of us?" rumbled DarkTyranomon with derisive mirth.

"You'll be a crushed can under our feet before you know it," huffed Vajramon as he drew his sword. "Flat as the rest of this pathetic city once we've done our duty, and the rest of this world once Emperius has claimed it for glory!"

"You're not the first to underestimate me, and you won't be the last," growled Mecharexmon as he charged up his cannon. "Take this! Saur Blaster!" He fired off his charged blast, but of course the two of them got out of the way of it before it could really do any damage…but it did accomplish what Mecharexmon wanted to do, separating them a little bit and allowing him to run for in between them, activating his speed program - finally working, though of course only for a limited time. But hopefully it would be for long enough to take care of these two.

Vajramon was the first to counterattack. "Pathetic! Fall to my Deva Blade!" He swung and unleashed an energy wave at Mecharexmon, who ducked and rolled under it, the pavement tearing up behind him from the attack. He fired off at Vajramon's head, trying to peg his eyes, but not getting them as the bull brought his blades up to protect himself. Mecharexmon couldn't keep up the pressure as DarkTyranomon belched a Fire Blast attack at him, catching him with the fiery salvo until a burst of cannon fire to the mouth forced him to cut it off. Not pleasant, but Mecharexmon had had far worse.

Vajramon seemed intent on changing that. "Terra Blade!" Slamming his swords into the ground, he projected spires of earth up from the ground, throwing Mecharexmon down even if he avoided the brunt of the attack. DarkTyranomon tried to catch him unaware again, but Mecharexmon didn't give him the chance, unloading his Swarm Missiles at the dinosaur, forcing him to back off and cover his face. He lowered his arms just in time to see Mecharexmon unleash his charged shot, and didn't move out of the way fast enough, getting a large wound opened up in his left leg as he let out a pained roar.

"Step it up, you useless lizard!" Vajramon roared, slamming his swords down to try to hit Mecharexmon directly, the symbiote vacating the earthen protrusions just in time as one of them was cut down. Vajramon wasn't waiting for him to catch his breath, though, leaping forward and rearing up to try to stomp down on him just as promised. Mecharexmon steeled himself and took a chance, activating his defense program and his claw arm and lifting it up as those hooves crashed down on him…

The impact was NOT fun, sending a surge of pain through his body and a warning through his head…but his body held out, and accomplished what he wanted to do, essentially being a rather sizable caltrop that had speared right through Vajramon's hoof with his Plasma Claw. The bull roared and staggered back, clearly limping as its right front foot was damaged badly. If only the rest of him was, but Mecharexmon couldn't rest, and returned to arm cannon form and started firing at Vajramon's head again. This time he hit success, catching the bull's right eye and making him bellow out in point as he was partly blinded.

He couldn't follow up, though, as DarkTyranomon tried to swing down at him with one huge claw, requiring another roll away. His speed boost wasn't going to last much longer, and he couldn't re-up it now, it needed a bit of time to recharge. Both his enemies were hobbled, moving more slowly than they would have, but they were still more than able to cause trouble for him…

…But if I play this right, I can have them make trouble for each other.

He kept just in DarkTyranomon's range, goading the dinosaur to come at him with his claws. DarkTyranomon threw a bit of a curveball at him by trying to swing around and launch an Iron Tail attack at him instead, but the range on that wasn't much better than his claw attack, especially with how much more time it offered Mecharexmon to react. All this while he had to keep Vajramon's attacks in mind as well, as another Deva Blade came at him whole he was herding DarkTyranomon…the bigger reptile didn't seem to pay much attention to how close he was to being hit, though, a good sign for the cyborg as he led the big lug closer to Vajramon.

Of course, the bull was trying to distract him more, thinking they were getting the edge. Mecharexmon was unloading Swarm Missiles and Saur Blasters continuously, and was starting to get warnings about energy drain. I'd best pull this off fast, or I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble… He slowed a bit as he got to a point between the two, feigning exhaustion, making himself look like an easy target, hoping that both of them were a bit too tunnel-visioned to pay attention to what was going on around them…

He almost miscalculated, expecting DarkTyranomon's Iron Tail first but Vajramon's sword was actually the first to come down over him. He dove fast, his tail getting clipped by the sword but not thankfully not entirely severed as the blade plunked into the ground. But his ruse met with success - DarkTyranomon's tail slammed into Vajramon, and then into the sword, and that one DID get fully severed, making DarkTyranomon overrotate and stagger, an earsplitting roar of agony tearing from his throat. And that wide-open maw was a wide-open target, which Mecharexmon took advantage of and fired his charged Saur Blaster into. It pierced out the back of DarkTyranomon's skull moments before the reptile burst into data.

"What…dammit, no!" Vajramon was struggling to get up, charging another Deva Blade as he struggled to right himself. But it was too late for him, as Mecharexmon's charged blaster was ready before he was.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Saur Blaster!" The deadly beam crashed right through Vajramon's lower chest between his forelegs, traveling most of the way through his upper chest, obliterating him from the inside out. He let out a howl as he crashed back to the ground and disappeared into data. Finally, Mecharexmon could lower his cannon, panting and whirring as he tried to dispel the fatigue…that had been a lot, even for him, and he'd nearly had a couple of major disasters.

I gotta get better…I can't risk faltering here. Even if this was a bad situation, I still could have done that a lot better…I need to think faster and act faster. Shaking his head, he brought up his internal scanners, frowning at just how much still seemed to be around. And it's not getting much easier from here…oh, jeez. The river. Guess that's where I'm going next, they aren't gonna be able to handle it like I can…I hope I can afford a few minutes to recharge at least, because I don't wanna go in half-armed.

—

At first, things had been going well for Ebonvargmon. He'd put a couple of Ninjamon in their place, dueled a Shurimon to his victory, and caught an Ogremon by surprise and cleaned him up before he had a chance to do much of anything. But now it was his turn to be ambushed, and he wasn't exactly enjoying being on the receiving end…especially given the number of foes.

BlackGargomon and Gorillamon were on his left, one on front and one behind him. DarkLizamon and Hyougamon were to his right, again one in front and one behind. Covering all four corners, leaving him very little space to escape. I'm getting a little bit tired of being teamed up on today. Who would have thought that nasty general would be the only cooperative one…

"Better not move, wolf-boy, or you're gonna eat bullets!" BlackGargomon guffawed.

"…Surely you can do better than wolf-boy. Descriptivist insults are among the weakest." Ebonvargmon's response brought an unexpected snicker from the Hyougamon, which caused Blackgargomon to glare at him.

"Oh, you think you're a smart one, huh?" Gorillamon snorted. "You're gonna get to see what we do to smarties like you!"

"I dare say I won't be threatened by blank stares and grunts of confusion, but you're more than willing to try."

"Huh?" Gorillamon stared blankly at the wolfman. DarkLizamon cackled, making the monkey growl and glare like Blackgargomon had. Ebonvargmon was starting to get the feeling that these were not Emperius's finest…but dumb idiots could still be dangerous. However, that didn't mean they had to be necessarily dangerous to him…

"You know, I've noticed a distinct lack of my agonizing death, despite the fact that I'm outnumbered badly here," he remarked, trying to sound as casual as he could. "Has Emperius truly fallen so weak that they can't even handle me by my lonesome? Truly, any notion that you were superior to humanity is entirely a fiction, if this is the best you can muster."

"How dare you! Eat gun, asshole!" Blackgargomon and Gorillamon both fired, trying to catch Ebonvargmon and prevent him from escaping…they were not ready for the wolf to jump UP, catching a tree branch and swinging from it over the group to land down on the road several yards away. They also weren't ready for their shots to sail through the air right at their comrades, Hyougamon getting the brunt of Gorillamon's blast and DarkLizamon getting peppered with BlackGargomon's shots.

"HEY!" hissed DarkLizamon angrily. "The hell'er ya doing?! You're supposed to fire at the dog, not at me!"

"Well, maybe get out of the way, moron!" fired back Blackgargomon. "You wouldn't know common sense if it shot you in the chest!"

"Idiot monkey!" Hyougamon snapped angrily as he picked himself up off the ground. "How'd a dummy like you ever get into Emperius? You're not superior to a loaf of bread!"

"Says the guy who didn't even move outta the way!" bellowed back Gorillamon. "You're dumber than all the Ogremon knockoffs put together!"

Words soon became blows, as the quartet began squabbling between each other and throwing out punches, kicks, and the occasional attack. Ebonvargmon seemed to have been completely forgotten…and he was perfectly happy about that, retreating to the side to stay well out of the fracas as long as he could. He had to at least remain close enough to take action if they calmed down, since they could still be dangerous…though, they were not quite the most dangerous folks he'd seen on their side. I might find this a bit more amusing if the situation wasn't so dreadful…

"Oh, dang, are they doing their job for us?" Ebonvargmon started a bit as he heard an unfamiliar voice from behind him. Cursing his inattentiveness, he whipped around to see a pair of digimon coming through the yard of the nearest house - a Strikedramon with a wide and carefree grin, and a Leomon with a stern and determined expression. And he was considering himself lucky that he wasn't already walking wounded trying to play defense - the commotion had drowned out the sounds of their already less-than-noisy footsteps. "Easy there, fuzzball. Dark-types shouldn't be jumping at shadows, yanno!"

"I daresay you two are considerably more solid than shadows," replied the canine, keeping his guard up but lowering his sword. "And I'm disinclined to be too congenial with an army of invaders coming for me and my home."

"And we relate to that entirely too well," said Leomon tensely. "You have nothing to fear from us - we are on your side."

"Those idiots aren't, of course, but they won't be anyone's problem soon enough," chuckled Strikedramon. "We'll mop up whatever's left after they've torn each other apart."

Ebonvargmon was still wary - could he simply just trust these folks? On the one hand, they had come with the Emperius strike force…on the other hand, they could have gotten the drop on him but didn't. "You'll have to forgive me for questioning your allegiances…I'm well aware that precious few allies could be counted among the ranks of Emperius, and fewer still would have the means to arrive independent of them."

"Your skepticism is warranted, but rest assured, every part of this campaign is a vicious offense to all honor," growled Leomon. "As it always has been with them…we never wanted to be here in the first place. They assaulted our peaceful village two years ago, and forced us all to serve them or be destroyed. I would have fought to the last, but too many others gave in…I could not conscience having to kill them or forcing them to kill me. There has been precious little avenue for escape since then, but even when there has been, we have been shuttling out others instead, to try to rescue as many unwilling conscripts as we can…yet, there are always more."

"And I think someone cottoned on, since they sent us out here," added Strikedramon. "Probably a couple dozen or so of us they sent to get us out of the way, expecting us to cark it to you guys - or maybe giving orders to someone to finish us off if we didn't. Those four clowns were definitely in that group as well, but obviously for different reasons."

It could have been a story, but Ebonvargmon was used to hearing stories…this didn't sound at all false to him. Especially the way Leomon carried himself, he definitely had that 'honor above all things' air about him, something Emperius really wasn't all that concerned with in general. "I see…unexpected allies are always more welcome than the alternative. Goodness knows the numbers are unpleasant enough as it is."

"Don't worry, we've been thinning the herd a bit," Strikedramon cackled. "Amazing how many of them think just because they've seen us there for a while that we're totally on board. Must've been probably a dozen or so we've cut down already, feels REALLY good to get that drop on them and get some payback for all the crap they've spat at us and everyone else." Ebonvargmon's eyes widened a bit - they HAD been busy! Then again, they probably had more opportunities than he had, with most of the forces having scattered about by the time he could engage. But if that was cutting down the number of enemies HE had to deal with, he'd take it no matter how, or how many. "Course, Leo here's slower because he's gotta say it to their faces and all."

"I will not stoop to stabbing them in the back rather than facing them honorably, whether they deserve it or not," huffed Leomon. "I fight with pride, unlike them."

"Y'see, that's why you need me, 'cuz I'm not all hung up on this 'pride' business. Then again, I guess a lion WOULD be…uh?" Strikedramon suddenly looked over at the fracas, getting everyone else's eyes towards it as well. The fighting had suddenly came to a perilous pause, everyone looking in terror at Gorillamon's cannon, which was scorched with telltale dark fire marks from DarkLizamon…including on the inside…

The blast nearly knocked Ebonvargmon off his feet, forcing him to brace himself as he weathered the shockwave - probably the most impact any foe had had on him so far, despite being apparently entirely accidental. When the light and dust finally cleared, there was a fairly blown-out spot in the road, and no sign of any of the four of them, though the glitter of fading data in the air told enough of the story of their fates.

"Well, dang. I was almost looking forward to getting rid of 'em," remarked Strikedramon with a shrug. "Ah, well. Emperius will mourn their loss…almost a shame to miss that party, too, but something tells me we wouldn't be invited anyway."

"I'll take fewer of them no matter how it comes about," stated Leomon.

"Entirely relatable," agreed Ebonvargmon. "Your assistance is most appreciated…stay safe out there, and I hope we have the chance to meet again."

"Likewise. You carry yourself with honor…it would be welcome to have a chance to duel with you."

"Oh, jeez, the warrior's duel thing again…" groaned Strikedramon. "Can't you find some way to bond with people that doesn't involve swinging deadly blades at each other?"

Now it was Leomon's turn to shrug. "Clearly he doesn't understand."

"Quite clearly," agreed Ebonvargmon, with a slight grin at the annoyed dragon.

—

It was too much. Even for a situation where everything seemed to be too much, this was TOO MUCH.

Jetdramon's flying was even starting to get HIM turned around, but he couldn't relax for even a moment. The insectoid digimon were focusing on him, and they were pretty quick in their own right - but the problem was that they were so NUMEROUS, probably a good three dozen in total between them all. And blind swipes with his voulge weren't cutting it…he wanted to use his more potent ranged attacks but he was too worried about flinging them off in dangerous directions and creating a risk below them, and when they were in position he wasn't ready.

And they weren't letting up on the pressure, they clearly knew they had the advantage. A Flybeemon flung himself into Jetrdamon's face, unleashing a Lightning Sting attack that forced him to shoot upwards…right into the face of a Honeybeemon that tried to jab him with its Paralyze Sting, forcing him to scramble around and get out of the way…right into the waiting path of a Kabuterimon whose Electroshocker winged him. And it was far from the first attack that had even somewhat connected…and that wasn't even counting the multitudes of noxious toxins being spread all over, which he was having to drive away with his Psycho Squall, and hope that it thinned out or dissipated before it caused the ground to become contaminated. All of this left him very little time to counterattack, and he'd maybe downed three of them at most since the first Flymon. Not nearly enough, not nearly fast enough.

Ionfalkemon wasn't faring much better. Her antagonists numbered about a third of Jetdramon's, but she had only gotten one down so far, and even she would have chalked that up more to luck than anything - an errant throw of her Shock Spear had somehow lodged in the eye of a Birdramon, despite being meant to deter a Harpymon. She wasn't as fast or evasive a flier, and though the attacks being launched at her weren't as precise, they didn't give her a moment's rest as she swooped and weaved around them. Several fires had already started below from errant shots, thankfully they didn't seem to be spreading too far but the fire crews couldn't come out while things were still as chaotic as they were.

A Harpymon suddenly kicked at her, trying to skewer her with his deadly talons. She twisted away from it, just barely avoiding him, only to find herself right in the path of his fellow Harpymon, who barraged her with a Wind Seeker attack, drawing blood as she felt multiple small cuts get made in her body, making her screech out. She tried to fly up more, but the two were doggedly following her, weaving around her Dervish Bolt…they flanked her again, and she was caught in between them and a Saberdramon readying a Meteor Wing, it seemed like she couldn't escape…

And then a loud screech from the first Harpymon rang out, and it burst into data. The second Harpymon and the Saberdramon both cut off their attacks, flying back in panic, while Ionfalkemon whipped around in equal confusion. What the hell? What just happened?!

—

"You've NEVER used one of those in active combat before?!"

"No. But I've done some practice with them. It's not too difficult, so long as you have a steady hand, good aim, knowledge about bullet trajectories and wind patterns, some predictive modeling about behavioral and movement patterns…"

Rudy was staring dumbfounded at Commandramon, who pulled the trigger and let out another shot from the sniper rifle. "And you just KNOW all that?!"

"Well, I'd better, if I'm going to defend my Ace Marksmon credential! Good aim is so important, particularly when you have a weapon that has a high rate of fire - those shots can go all over the place, you know! This'd probably be even easier if I had my armor on, I have extra modules built in that would help…"

"Not until you have a clean bill of health! I still need to make sure those repair algorithms are doing their job so you don't start falling apart on us, quite literally."

"I'll be even better if I know that I can help them out up there." Commandramon pulled the trigger once again, as thankful as ever that Ceramon had brought in a weapon that allowed him to do just that. Elliot sending someone out on weapon collection duty was a stroke of brilliance. He'd already pegged a couple on the ground, but the skies seemed a little bit hairier at the moment…all he needed to do, though, was give the Zettas a chance to turn the tide.

—

The skies were suddenly a chaotic mess, as a Honeybeemon was the next to get wiped out randomly. Suddenly the aerial assault was in disarray, as they tried to figure out the source of the anonymous attacker.

Which allowed Jetdramon to get closer to Ionfalkemon so they could regroup. They couldn't rest too easy, as Megadramon was still tracking them and letting loose Darkside Attacks their direction, but those were easier to pay attention to when they weren't under a constant swarm. "Bolty! What the hell is going on up here?!"

"I don't know, but I'll take it, it's got them completely flummoxed! We need a different plan, though, this isn't working!"

"Tell me something I don't know! I don't know how much more I can handle up here! You got any brilliant ideas, though?"

Ionfalkemon had to pause to bolt another Darkside Attack out of the air, while Jetdramon let out a Jet Stream to push the Megadramon to retreat. "We need something big, something that'll hit a lot of them at once. Neither of us has the spread for that, or the power…"

"What, do we need a cruise missile or something? I think Rexy's a bit too occupied for that!" Jetdramon's words were almost starting to run together in his frenzy.

"No, but…" An idea came to her suddenly. "Skyder! Combine your power with mine!"

"Huh? You mean like with Aquilamon?"

"Yes! Quickly, before they catch on!"

"All right…" Jetdramon wasn't totally sure, but he went for it, flying over her and trying to project his energy towards the avian…and then yelping a bit as he felt that electric surge hit him as well. "Yow! What the hell is this?!"

"That's what I was talking about before! The combined attack!"

"Whoa…you think this'll do the trick?"

"It can't hurt to try!" The glow around the two intensified as their respective powers swirled wickedly around them. "Give it your all, Skyder!"

"Hah! I'll give it all I got and then some!" cackled the dragon, feeling keyed up by the rush. The bugs and the birds were taking notice of them again, and they were trying to rush towards the two, but it was too late now, they were only putting themselves in the crosshairs.

"Synchro Strike! Surge Storm!" A furious horizontal cyclone erupted from where Jetdramon and Ionfalkemon were flying, enveloping the majority of their enemies; even those who weren't in the direct path were sucked in by the vicious whirlwind. And once inside, they were not only buffeted by relentless cutting winds, but fierce bolts of electricity that jumped from one side of the cyclone to the other, tearing through bodies with ruthless abandon. Clouds of data were being scattered every which way as their enemies were defeated by the brutal attack, shredding the sky force far more efficiently than their previous efforts.

They were forced to break it off as Megadramon launched missiles their way, but the damage was largely done - a couple of Birdramon and a couple of Kuwagamon had managed to survive, but they weren't looking to be in good shape, and the numbers were a far more even match. Weapons in hand, the two air fighters rushed back into the much less chaotic fray, the fatigue not gone from their bodies but the balance of battle pushing them to shunt it aside, with an end now in sight - and with a private thank-you reserved for whatever it was that gave them the chance in the first place.

—

Mecharexmon had his sensors tuned to scan the river, but he didn't need them to see what the biggest problem was - the MarineDevimon stuck out like a sore thumb. On the one hand, it's not exactly hiding…on the other hand, I'm getting tired of all the big guys. With his water module equipped, he dove in, and started jetting towards the oversized threat, which was currently marching towards the upstream bridge. If it gets that down, it's going to make a real mess of things…not as bad as the downstream one, at least, but I don't doubt it'll go for both of them if it gets a chance.

The problem, though, was that there were plenty of other signals in the water as well. And they were all zeroing on him as he tried to zip up the river…three Piranimon, a Huankunmon, two Ebidramon, two Dragomon, and two Seahomon, all lining up to track him. And in charge of all of them was a MarinKimeramon, clacking its pincer claw threateningly as it led the charge towards Mecharexmon. "Death to the tainted one! Show him that dry-land machines are no match for the power of the oceans!"

We're not even in an ocean…I don't think that matters to it, though. Mecharexmon turned up the jets, but he was fighting the current, and his pursuers were gaining ground on him. He banked as an attack came his way, an Ice Crash from the Huankunmon that tried to trace him for a bit before cutting off. Dang it, this is NOT as good as Lake Idle…they're at full speed and strength, and they're not gonna come at me one-on-one. But if I stop to try to take care of them, that bridge is all but toast, MarineDevimon needs to be distracted before he gets there!

"Take this! Aqua Viper!" A furious beam shot out from MarinKimeramon's horn, forcing Mecharexmon to dodge hurriedly again…every movement out of the way was slowing him down, they were barely a dozen meters behind now. And it was only getting worse, as he saw another signal circling MarineDevimon. Some kind of defender? Great, he's probably going to come at me so I can't reach that big lummox…

Of course, as soon as he thought it, it shot off in his direction. He banked low, trying to approach lower than the enemy would, hoping that it would just rush over him and join with the rest of the pursuit, which was getting annoyingly close…a burst of Swarm Missiles made them back off a bit, but Mecharexmon needed to be judicious with them, he hadn't fully recovered from the first battle. As the new signal approached, he braced himself, readying for it to meet with him even after his evasive tactics…

At first, it seemed like he was lucky - the figure shot over him, too fast for him to identify. What Mecharexmon really wasn't ready for was a roar from one of the Dragomon, followed by the telltale sound of a deletion. MarinKimeramon roared out angrily. "What the hell are you doing?! Surfimon! You hit the wrong target!"

"Gonna have to dispute you there, 'chief'," came a somewhat growly and metallic reply. "I hit exactly what I was aimed for."

"Y-you! Traitor!"

"Traitor? Hah, that would require me to be on your side in the first place." Mecharexmon gasped - that voice! That wasn't a strange voice at all…Surfimon was one of theirs! A KOL fighter, with them for almost three years…he'd been on the Elite Force, he must have been one of the many of them captured in their failed attempt to put an end to Emperius. And while he remembered Salmandmon's words of warning about trusting anyone who came through, so far Surfimon was making quite a good case for himself.

"No! You turned! You turned on them! You pledged yourself to us!"

"Ain'tcha ever heard the phrase 'talk is cheap?' Have some action instead! Lightning Cutter!" Surfimon surged through the aquatic assault force once again, shredding through one of the Piranimon. He came up even with Mecharexmon, tapping into a deeper comm link. "Datacarnomon! Or whatever it is you are now, I'll get the full story later! I can handle the small fry just fine, but that big lug is gonna cause some damage, and I'm not built for that kinda skirmish!"

"Right! Go get 'em, Surfimon!" Mecharexmon shot off towards MarineDevimon again, readying his weapons systems. One big guy was a lot easier to deal with than a whole swarm on top of that, but Surfimon was FAR speedier, he had the edge there.

"Gragh! All of you destroy that traitor! I'll handle the tainted one!" Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be completely one on one, as MarinKimeramon broke away and kept following Mecharexmon. But at this point the cyborg at least had enough distance to engage MarineDevimon before he could be reached - and he did so with an emphatic burst of his Saur Blaster, pelting MarineDevimon with potent shots that opened some small wounds in him. A screech from the demon was the sign of his success, as it slowly turned to engage him, forgetting about the nearby bridge.

Unfortunately, that was all he could do for the moment as MarinKimeramon struck again, this time with a whirling vortex that started to suck Mecharexmon back. "Poseidon Vortex!" The waters sucked and swirled, throwing Mecharexmon off - the natural current from the river was being disrupted, but not completely, throwing him for a loop as he frantically tried to correct, keep his distance from MarinKimeramon, and NOT shoot too close to MarineDevimon. Clenching his jaw, he chanced another burst of Swarm Missiles, which split between back and forth, halving the impacts to each enemy but at least throwing off MarinKimeramon and stopping the vortex. But an internal warning told him that he was very low on charges for that attack…he would be lucky to have enough energy for two more in short order. I need to take one down so I can focus on the other…and mostly with my Saur Blaster. Great.

He dove down a bit, then shot forward as he sensed movement from behind him - not a moment too soon, as one of MarineDevimon's tentacles slammed down into the water where he had just been. This propelled him right into MarinKimeramon, and he hurriedly shifted to his claw arm and slashed as he zipped past. The blow was parried by the chimera's spear, but it at least forced MarinKimeramon onto the defensive, giving Mecharexmon a bit of breathing room. "Rragh! How hard can one idiot robot be to destroy?! He's tainted, he's impure, a worthless amalgamation!"

"You're one to talk, buster," growled back Mecharexmon as he switched back to cannon mode, then fired another chaingun burst at MarinKimeramon. The foe flung itself through the water to avoid the shots, taking a few with a growl but mostly staying ahead. This was starting to get to be a problem, and worse, he could see MarineDevimon turning back towards the bridge. Another volley of fire at the demon got his attention again, but he had nothing he could afford to use against MarinKimeramon, and he was forced to break fire as another Aqua Viper winged him, sending a searing pain through his left arm and side. Fatigue was creeping up on him, if he didn't end this fast it would be HIS end.

MarineDevimon was trying to make that happen as fast as possible, unleashing a Dark Deluge from his mouth right at Mecharexmon. The cyborg braced himself, and…paused, as the soaking ink came down over him, obscuring him from view.

"YES! Finally! Taste death, land-dweller!" MarinKimeramon surged forward, lunging with its spear to skewer Mecharexmon while he was covered in the ink and unable to see it. The spear sailed into the ink…and then smashed into something with a potent electric crackle. MarinKimeramon roared out as its arm seized from the force of the impact, it was like slamming into a lead wall, and it dropped its spear and grabbed its arm, which was starting to get numb.

Too late, it realized the fatal error, as Mecharexmon shot out from the ink with a roar. "Plasma Claw!" The claws stabbed directly into MarinKimeramon's chest, making its eyes bug out as it was viciously skewered. A sharp cry was cut off as it burst into data, ending its days as a threat.

Not a victory Mecharexmon could revel in yet, though, as MarineDevimon was turned back towards the bridge. And while his quick-thinking shield program had protected him from the worst of the Dark Deluge, the burst out at the end had required him to expose himself, so his movements were more sluggish than he liked. He jetted towards MarineDevimon, firing off again, but one of those tentacles crashed into the bridge before he got the creature's attention again, taking a chunk out of the side. Growling, Mecharexmon unleashed one more charge of Swarm Missiles, adding his Saur Blaster to the barrage to get MarineDevimon off of his target…but it wasn't working this time, the creature seemed to be single-mindedly fixated on the destruction now, as tentacles bashed the bridge again.

There was no helping it, he had to take a chance. Mecharexmon pulled his cannon in front of him and charged up his deadly laser. Please don't fall on the bridge, please don't fall on the bridge, please don't fall on the bridge… With that mantra running through his head, he closed his eyes and fired, the beam driving right through MarineDevimon's head, making him seize up with a screech. He started to topple, forward into the structure…and then his body dissolved, dissipating before his weight could come down on the bridge. It was in far from pristine shape, parts of the wall were taken off, but none of the load-bearing parts seemed to have been hit.

Still…any damage felt like a faint victory for Mecharexmon. I should've done something different…maybe I could've kept the bridge from being damaged at all if I'd been more efficient at this fight. Ugh…they paid for my trick to get MarinKimeramon down. If I'd been more precise with the Plasma Claw the first time and tried going right for him, maybe it would've been enough…

A buzz from behind him made him whip around, raising his gun defensively. But he quickly lowered it as he saw Surfimon bank and slow in front of him. "Whoof, it's been a LONG time since I tried to take on numbers like that! You okay, sir?"

"I'm…fine. Bridge isn't as fine as I'd've liked, though."

"Looks like it's still standing to me, that's about as much victory as you can hope for sometimes. Hey, you ARE Datacarnomon, right? And one of those humans? They mentioned something about combining, but maybe I'm way off-base?"

Mecharexmon shook his head. "No, you've got it right. Call me Mecharexmon…I'll get you up to speed on more later. Right now, I need to get out of this river and take a LONG rest, if I can afford it, because I'm running on empty."

"Yeah, you look like you've been through hell, I can almost hear your systems wheezing." Surfimon gave Mecharexmon a salute. "Don't worry about a thing, sir! I'll scout the river and make sure no one escaped to cause more trouble! The waters'll be in safe hands with me!"

"You have NO idea how much I appreciate hearing that. Stay safe, Surfimon." Mecharexmon fired up his jets and headed for the riverbank, hoping that other areas were just as under control - because for the moment, he was going to have to withdraw from the fight. And try to get the sting of even a partial failure out of his head, if he could…he'd just have to figure out how he could be better.

—

"Petra Fire!" The Kokatorimon launched her dangerous attack at Ebonvargmon, who leapt over it hastily. Dammit, I hate these guys. Turning to stone is NOT something I can afford here.

He landed to the side, and acted before Kokatorimon could turn back towards him. "Nether Blow!" The ground under the big chicken glowed with an ominous darkness, but Kokatorimon felt it and flapped back out of the way before it erupted around her. Ebonvargmon was already prepared, though, the follow-up was the same either way. "Shadow Bolt!" The quartet of projectiles lanced into Kokatorimon, making her screech out painfully. The distraction was enough for Ebonvargmon, who leapt into the air and came down with his sword through the bird's head, snapping the blade and deleting her in rapid fashion.

Panting a bit, Ebonvargmon got his footing and banished his blade back into the darkness - a couple minutes in the shadow and it would be good as new. How many more are there? I've taken down well over a dozen now…the force can't be that much more considerable at this point. We may have to hunt down the remainder in more thorough fashion…

A terrified wail made his ears twitch. A voice in peril - and it sounded unexpectedly familiar. Is that Reggie's voice? What on earth would he be doing outside at this time in this danger?! He didn't have time to dwell on that, rocketing off in the direction he heard it from, hoping that he'd be in time to prevent a nasty fate…

The haste, as it seemed, wasn't entirely warranted. Ebonvargmon skidded to a halt at the scene laid out in front of him: a Sepikmon standing blankly in front of Grits and Reggie. The latter was doing the somewhat more sensible thing and cowering back defensively. Not so Grits, whose voice was slurred and ornery as he jabbed a finger towards the Sepikmon. "I don't wanna hear a word outta you, monkey man! You jus' take yer weird little tribal mask thing'r whatever and git! I got bigger things ta worry about!"

"…Huh?" Sepikmon looked entirely confused, maybe over the fact that a human wasn't even remotely cowed by his appearance.

No, Grits, no do you NOT. Sighing, Ebonvargmon approached with caution but resolve. "All right, that's enough. Sepikmon, I'm going to give you one warning: touch them once and you'll find yourself in a world of pain."

"…What in the world are you?" Sepikmon took a step back as Ebonvargmon approached, raising his boomerang defensively. "They said there were weird digimon-like creatures here but you don't feel like one at all!"

"There may be reasons for that." Ebonvargmon looked over at Grits, who was staring at him. "And you…what on earth are you doing out here? Did you somehow not notice the massive amounts of calamity going on?"

Grits didn't reply immediately, staring at Ebonvargmon, perhaps futilely trying to blink away the drunkenness. After several seconds of silence, he suddenly burst out into a roaring laugh. "Oy, lookit that! Werewolf's finally gone and revealed his fur! Goddamn, took ya long enough!"

Now it was Ebonvargmon's turn to be stunned. …How? I mean, I know he has paranoia perception, but he barely needed to THINK about it. He looked over at Reggie, who was staring wide-eyed, but with the same sense of recognition in his eyes…either he'd already picked up on it or he bought in completely when Grits mentioned it. Oy…well, we're technically not hiding it anymore, I guess. "Sure, let's go with that. That doesn't answer my question."

"I told 'im not to!" Reggie didn't seem entirely all there either, though more than Ebonvargmon would have expected. "All sortsa nasty big ugly creatures out here, an' those soldiers and all, but he wouldn't listen ta me!"

"PAH! Who carezabout a buncha yahoo monsters an' nitwit army dogs?" snapped Grits irritably. "I'm outta my GOOD booze, I need my GOOD booze!"

Oh, for crying out loud… Ebonvargmon facepalmed; clearly he was just the unfortunate one to run into CHARACTERS today. "Grits, the liquor stores are closed anyway, you're not getting anything from anywhere."

"Closed?! It's the middle of the day!"

"It's the middle of a day with a goddamned military invasion and MONSTER INVASION."

"Tch! Excuses! They'll be there, I'll be able ta get my good booze, you'll see!"

I am NOT playing escort for his futile beer run. Ebonvargmon turned his attention back to Sepikmon, who had been inching away. "You can leave any time, you know."

"No way, I'm not running from some weird creature, they'll have my hide!" countered Sepikmon, though he didn't sound as bold as he wanted those words to make the wolf believe.

"I can be the first to take it, believe me."

"Just try! Spirit Boomerang!" Sepikmon hurled his boomerang at Ebonlupimon, and by extension at Grits, who toppled over just in time - whether by intent or in an uncoordinated stumble from his soused state was anyone's guess. Ebonvargmon leapt over it and flung himself into a kick at Sepikmon's face, bouncing off of the mask and disorienting the simian, then landing and ducking just in time to let the boomerang come back and collide with the monkey, knocking him over. "Yeow!"

"You'd think a boomerang user would know how they work," snarked Ebonvargmon. "That was literally the least effort I could put in. You don't want to see more of it."

"Hnnngg…" Sepikmon looked very torn between not wanting to give up and not wanting to keep going. Ebonvargmon got the impression that he wasn't exactly one of Emperius's most fervent stalwarts. Finally he stood up and reluctantly stepped back. "Don't think you're not going to get it eventually…you're nothing compared to what Emperius has to offer. They've got power like you wouldn't believe."

"I happen to have enough familiarity with that not to underestimate them on balance. GO." Ebonvargmon's eyes narrowed at Sepikmon, who flinched and then started to walk away. …Wait, walk away? He should be leaving this world entirely. This isn't nearly good enough.

He opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance. Without warning, a much bigger primate digimon with rocky protrusions on his face and limbs suddenly slammed down in front of Sepikmon, snatching him up by the head as he howled in agony. "Pathetic! I knew you were useless! Emperius has no need for cowards!"

"Baboongamon! No! Don't-" Sepikmon's plea would never be realized, as Baboongamon lifted him up high and then savagely slammed him headfirst into the pavement, crushing his head under his mask. The Sepikmon's data flew off in a rush after the impact, leaving behind bloody cracks in the ground. Ebonvargmon's stomach turned. Not even a thought towards mercy…such hideous savagery!

"Hah…ready to be the next one to meet that fate, mutt?" Baboongamon turned a sneer on Ebonvargmon. "It'll be justice to our world to take one of you tainted ones out…abominations like you don't deserve life! Mount Rock!" He swung his hand forward, hurling jagged rocks at Ebonvargmon, who was forced to duck and roll out of the way. He couldn't go too far, though, because Grits and Reggie were still sitting ducks…unfavorable as it was going up against such a heavyweight enemy without a solid strategy, he couldn't afford to waste time. He needed his sword, but he needed just a little more time for that…

"Hah, this was what they were so afraid of? You're useless! Meet your fate, tainted one! Glide Rocks!" Baboongamon rushed forward, swinging his heavy rocky tail around dangerously at Ebonvargmon. He had to get quite low to avoid it, but the wild move had Baboongamon off-balance, and he saw his chance. With a burst, he rushed forward, unleashing a noxious energy around his little-used claws and slashing upwards at the ape's arm.

"Necro Claw!"

Blood and fur flew as the claws met flesh, getting a furious pained howl out of Baboongamon. He whipped his arm back, smacking Ebonvargmon and sending him tumbling painfully across the pavement. The canine's head was spinning and vision blurring a bit as he righted himself, needing to get back on track to deal with Baboongamon's ire. "You mangy cur! How dare you! I'll crush you! Mount R-AGH!" The attack was cut off as Baboongamon seized up, grabbing his wounded arm. "What…what the hell?!"

"Mmph…I wouldn't count on using that arm much for a bit…or ever, as it might well be." Ebonvargmon couldn't have hoped for better…the fell energy of the Necro Claw was meant to cause persistent debilitation and constant damage. And Baboongamon wasn't quite strong enough to blunt that effect, it seemed. Even better, he was able to summon his sword to his hand once again, giving him the weapon he needed to truly put a quick end to this. "You might want to say a prayer, Baboongamon, if there's an equally odiferous simian deity you worship."

"Ragh! How dare you call me a smelly ape! Mount Rocks!" Baboongamon had one working arm still, and used that one to launch the attack, but this time Ebonvargmon was ready, charging up a Shadow Bolt attack as he slunk under the attack, and launching it right at the ape's face. All four shots hit square, making Baboongamon stagger back and lose focus, teetering back wildly and leaving his body open for a strike…and Ebonvargmon didn't waste a moment launching forward and slashing multiple times with his Alux Blade, the last one going right through Baboongamon's neck. He wasn't even able to cry out as he burst into data, leaving nothing behind but a slightly earthen foul odor.

Rubbing his aching head, Ebonvargmon turned back towards Grits and Reggie; both of them were wide-eyed at him, and he got the sense that they had both sobered up in quite a hurry. "Right…I'm not saying this more than once. INSIDE. NOW. And don't come out for ANYTHING until someone gives you the all-clear. Because next time, no one might be around to conveniently protect you."

Nothing but hurried nods from the two of them, and Ebonvargmon wasn't interested in waiting around for anything more, turning on his heel and rushing back to business. Although, not all of that ire was reserved for the drunken fool…his thoughts were just as much on Sepikmon. How many others have we granted mercy to who didn't get long to enjoy it? Emperius's foulness seems almost boundless…there's nothing we can do but try to end them as soon as possible, so they can claim no more lives, even among their own.

—

Even the energy of fire had its limits without fuel, and Blazereptimon was certainly feeling the drain as he trudged the roads of Braun looking for more enemies. His conservative pace was only justified by the fact that things were definitely quieting down - the chaos in the sky was dimming down, he was pretty sure Mecharexmon had been responsible for the commotion off in the direction of the river, and he'd taken down a significant number of Emperius goons on his own, with varying degrees of difficulty. But he didn't trust that they were done yet, and he needed to make sure he had enough to take on whatever stragglers he managed to encounter…eating it right at the very end would be such an enormous waste of all that effort, on top of everything else.

Still, there were things keeping him wary. Why do I feel like the numbers are thinner than they should be? Is someone else offing some of these guys? Commandramon did mention they had a few people trying to pretend at being on their side…but they can't have gotten THAT many, could they? Unless they're a lot stronger than they let on…

That train of thought never arrived at its destination, though, as a scent in the air caught Blazereptimon off-guard. Slightly sweet, airy, a little 'fuzzy', the way a thickly-pelted animal might smell…but what caught him most was that it was familiar. And there weren't too many that should have been familiar in the first place, but this one was distinctively so. He let himself follow it, trying to track it down, despite not quite having the sniffer that Ebonvargmon had. Fortunately, it wasn't a hard trail to follow - almost like someone was hoping he would find it.

Soon enough, he saw her - a luxuriously-pelted bipedal feline digimon with ribbons off of her pelt and a scorpion-like tail. She had a demure smile on her face, one that almost radiated peace and calm, and stood peacefully with her arms behind her. "Oh, my…I heard that there had been some unusual things going on, but this wasn't one I expected…you must be Zetta Commander, aren't you?"

"…Meicrackmon? Is that really you?"

"In the flesh. It's been a hard time getting here…I ended up pretending to go turncoat in order to get over here. Having to play the role of Emperius lackey has been enormously stressful. But that's over now…I've finally made my escape. They can't keep their grubby claws in me over here." Meicrackmon gave a slight bow, one arm in front of her and the left arm behind. "By the way…I love the new look. It suits you well, Zetta Commander."

Blazereptimon cocked his head. Commandramon's words were on his mind - he had said that she had turned, and he didn't think the soldier was being false - at least, not about what he thought he was seeing. But Commandramon had been playing the facade himself…could Meicrackmon have just been doing it better? "It…does? Do you know how I got it?"

"Oh, yes, they say you've been…combining with a human. I never thought such a thing could happen, myself…but I suppose a new world means new surprises. And it looks like you've been putting yourself through the wringer…I've been taking care of what I can, but they weren't sparing much effort here. I'm impressed, though, you and the rest of Zetta Unit doing all this all by yourselves…it's small wonder you're the ace of aces among the KOL, I don't think I could have managed. To take on so many digimon foes all on your own…"

"You don't know the half of it. It's good to see a familiar face…I've been fighting all day long, and it hasn't gone well every time. Emperius is trying to run us ragged."

"Well, soon we'll be able to get you the help you need. I'm going to bring some data back to the KOL and help them upgrade their PTM…I don't know how Emperius got theirs working better than ours, but we'll catch up with them very soon. In the meantime, though, let me help you out, we'll hunt them down together…I'll lend you some of my energy so you can get charged up." Meicrackmon held out her right hand, beckoning to Blazereptimon.

"That sounds good…I could use some of that." Blazereptimon stepped forward towards her. His weary body certainly could have used a pick-me-up, and Meicrackmon had often offered to assist them in that way in the past. As he got close to her, he raised his hand up to meet hers…

And then raised it higher, right towards her face, the readied Solar Wave going off before she could react. Meicrackmon yowled and recoiled, instinctively bringing her left arm out to protect herself - and revealing the glittering black-and-purple dagger she'd been hiding. She suddenly lunged, trying to catch Blazereptimon off-guard through the flames, but he'd already seen that trick today and caught her as she reached him, kneeing her in the gut and then slamming her arm down on his leg, making her drop the dagger. He then shoved her back and whipped around, slamming his tail into her and sending her sprawling.

"…It really is good to see a familiar face today. It's just a shame that that's not YOUR face I'm talking about." Blazereptimon picked up the dagger. "A degradation virus? Trying to ensure I couldn't effectively fight back even if I survived your stab…clever, and also cruel."

"Grrrr…" Meicrackmon was getting back to her feet, and she was no longer looking like the demure figure she had before - she had entered Vicious Mode, red claws extending off the backs of her hands and her ribbons and tail emitting dangerous dark wisps. "How…how did you know?! I had everything perfect, I practiced that for ages!"

"You practiced too much. It didn't sound natural, it sounded like you were reciting it. That, and I already know the KOL was compromised."

"…That scum-sucking gun lizard," Meicrackmon hissed murderously. "I KNEW he couldn't be trusted! Fine, we'll have to do this the HARD way. I would've given you a quick death, but now it's going to be long and messy! Berserk Thinking!" She leapt at Blazereptimon, swinging her claws in a cross at him and forcing him to leap back. He was keeping a hold of the dagger, not wanting to let her get her hands on it - the last thing she needed was another weapon, she had plenty of them already.

He unleashed another Solar Wave at her as she was caught in her motion, making her yowl again, her fine fur getting badly singed. "Hard to believe you of all people turned on us. You were one of the ones all over me after I put Craniummon in the dirt."

"Well, you and the KOL had to go and ruin it by trying to protect these worthless humans!" fired back Meicrackmon and she charged again, slashing rapidly at Blazereptimon and keeping the pressure up as he quickly danced away from each swing. "Turning your back on our kind by putting their lives on the same level as ours?! I joined them just to put these useless creatures in their proper PLACE! All those fools who looked up to you, and you betray them like they meant nothing! I'll show them who REALLY cares about them!"

She swung again, clipping Blazereptimon's chest and drawing some blood from the light gashes. But she paid for it with a fist right to the muzzle, making her yelp as she staggered back and grabbed her face. Blazereptimon's eyes were getting that glow again as he snarled at her. "You're PATHETIC. You act like I'M betraying our kind, when you turned your back on them just because you couldn't give up your idiotic hatred of humans? If you can throw all that supposed goodness away just to cling to hate, the hate was all you really cared about in the first place."

"Shut up! You're the pretenders, acting you care SO MUCH about digimon when you're really just interested in putting us second to a world we never should've found!" Blazereptimon ducked and rolled quickly as those ribbons suddenly fired at him, and then again as the stinger on that tail tried to lance into his chest. "Emperius may be full of assholes, but they know who to put first! And they've changed for the better, while your stupid cult just gets worse! Die already!"

"That's my line! Incendiary Ring!" Blazereptimon channeled the energy of his fire into those rings that compressed around Meicrackmon and burst out, sending her flying backwards. She slowly stood, looking haggard and taking raspy breaths, though still looking no less incensed. "Did you really think this slapdash rushdown garbage was going to be enough? Or were you just hoping that disabling me would make up for the fact that you couldn't even make it to the Elite Force? I have no patience for those who choose hate when they can turn away from it. Last chance - renounce your evil or I'll make your death quick."

"Screw you! Cursed Claw!" Meicrackmon ran at Blazereptimon, ready to try to dice him to ribbons once more. She only got one swing in before freezing as Blazereptimon planted the dagger in her chest. The weapon quickly dissolved into data that was drawn into her, making her seize up and yowl in pain as the nasty virus rushed through her. Blazereptimon didn't let it linger, ending her with an Inferno Claw before the effect could fully permeate; it was only accelerating the inevitable, as there was no doubt he'd hit something vital.

He felt little joy from that victory, though, as the red faded from his eyes. …Even our own aren't immune from this foolishness. We fought side-by-side for years, trying to do the right thing…and she threw it all away just because she couldn't accept humans. The wages of hate are death, one way or another…bad enough in humans, digimon rarely have the chance to redeem themselves before they destroy themselves with it. Sighing, he turned away and walked back towards the road, almost hoping for another fight to take his mind off of this one.

—

The last Kuwagamon in the air vanished with an agonized cry as Jetdramon's Shear Claw ran through it. He couldn't waste time celebrating, though, as he banked hard to try to avoid the Darkside Attack missile homing in on him, which was a lot more persistent than those airplane missiles earlier had been. Megadramon was far from done, swooping around and trying to engage more directly now, slashing with his claws as he got close to either Jetdramon or Ionfalkemon, harassing them beyond the barrages of missiles he was sending out. It was clear by this point that he'd been holding back - perhaps expecting to be playing clean-up after the rest of the air force wore the two of them down to their limits.

And that wasn't the only problem.

"Dervish Bolt!" Ionfalkemon had just enough time to launch the attack before she had to break and fly off, taking out a couple of stray missiles in the air - but the brunt of the impact was meant to be on Megadramon, and the big dragon shrugged it off like it was nothing. Cursing, she pumped her wings to get some speed and get away from the threats, even though at this point it felt more like they wanted to fall off than cooperate. Come on, he's the last one up here, we can't falter now…

But even as she thought that, she was getting frustrated. Her Dervish Bolt did nothing, the Charge Fields she was laying did nothing, and like hell she was going to try to get in for a Lightning Talon. It seemed likely that he was strongly electroresistant - bad news for her attempts to attack. And she didn't have a lot of other options available to her…

Not that Jetdramon was faring much better. "Jet Stream!" he roared out as he flung his all into the attack, the beam of wind energy scoring a direct hit on Megadramon's hide - yet, for all the good it did, it might as well have been a tickle. Only the trailing missiles caught in the crossfire blew up, and that wasn't going to get them any closer to victory. "Come on, what the hell?"

"Hrrhrrhrr…Just fall already, tainted ones. You can't defeat me." Megadramon sounded pretty cocky, but at this point Ionfalkemon wasn't sure he didn't have reason to be - neither of their attacks were doing much of anything. At this point, it seemed like only a matter of outlasting them, and Megadramon had been proving he could. While Jetdramon was drawing the dragon's attention, she put up her Static Arc and let the trailing missiles hit against it and blow to smithereens - though she could still feel some of the blast, it was at least dulled. If only the shooter were as easily blown up as these missiles…how're we gonna get out of this one?

The answer came to her in a flash. Wait…the missiles! He generates them in his arms, and shoots them out at us…but there's a moment where his arms are open where they could be destroyed from within! Even if his body resists our attacks, the missiles blow up without any trouble…all of them stored in there would be severely damaging if they went off! But how to get him to not realize that we're targeting that? He's always keeping those ports closed when we're on the offensive, he waits until we're retreating to fire the missiles…

Still, it was something, and she needed to get Jetdramon in on it. Easier said than done, Megadramon wasn't letting up on him, and despite being a speedy flier he had to contend with the missiles intruding on his airspace. She sailed back into the fray, unleashing a wide-spreading Dervish Bolt to try to hit both Megadramon and as many missiles as she could, hopefully without hitting Jetdramon in the process. It did clear out the air a little, but it also had the unfortunate effect of getting Megadramon's attention on her - and it was a lot harder for HER to evade him. She flapped away as he swung his claws at her, trying to take her out of the air in one fell swoop. As she got away, she heard a deep growled "Darkside Attack!" and cursed, of course he wasn't going to make this easy…

"Psycho Squall!" Suddenly the wind around Ionfalkemon shifted, making her squawk in surprise as she was buffeted by a powerful gale. It took her a few seconds to escape from being thrown for that loop, and she got her bearings just as she heard several explosions and an angry roar. As she swung around, she saw Megadramon trying to carefully rub at his eyes, where dark smoke was wafting up.

"Woo! I didn't know if that was gonna work!" Jetdramon swung in, cackling a bit. "Guess those missiles need to work on getting some wind resistance like their shooter, huh?"

"You could have WARNED me," grumbled Ionfalkemon.

"Sorry, no time! Needed to get that off before big ugly realized what I was doing! Maybe we oughta see about getting him to smack himself with a few more of those, eh?"

"I think we need to make this LESS work. We need to wreck them as they deploying! If they blow in his arms, he'll definitely be history, but if we have to fly around like idiots trying to goad them into him, he's gonna catch on in a hurry!"

"…Ohhh. Yeah, that's a way better idea! But I think he knows that's a weak point already, he doesn't let us target them."

"Yeah, I know! We need to figure out how to do that…" Ionfalkemon trailed off as she saw a devious smile form on Jetdramon's face. "…What are you doing? What are you thinking?"

"Oh, I think I've got an idea…"

"Is it one that's going to end in our messy deaths?"

"Maybe! C'mon, follow me!" Without giving Ionfalkemon a chance to protest, he jetted towards Megadramon, forcing the avian to trail behind with the weight of her many reservations. Megadramon's vision still seemed to be blurry, he was trying to follow them but couldn't, and that was getting him quite pissed off, his growls getting louder and more vicious.

Just what Jetdramon was hoping for. As he swung around behind, and saw Ionfalkemon getting there as well, he went in for the kill. "Oy, you big dummy, behind you! Whatta clown, who fails at shooting friggin' HOMING missiles? You couldn't hit the broad side of a Shakkoumon if you had fifty of 'em!"

"What the HELL are you doing?!" squawked Ionfalkemon.

But Megadramon went for the bait, roaring angrily. "You want fifty?! I'll give you insects a HUNDRED!" He raised his arms, opening them to unleash his payload - either forgetting or not realizing the danger in letting those vulnerable points be exposed. Neither one wasted time, Ionfalkemon hurling her Shock Spear and Jetdramon unleashing a Jet Stream right at those open ports as the missiles started to emerge. They passed right through the first ones coming out and went deep into those arms, meeting the near-hundred left that Megadramon had promised…

The combined explosion tore straight through Megadramon's arms and a good chunk of his body, making him screech in agony just before he dissipated into a cloud of data. The energy from the blast sent a shockwave out that knocked both hybrids for a loop in the air, though they were at least far enough from the blast zone that it was merely disorienting rather than damaging - though, Ionfalkemon's head was spinning a bit more from having gotten disoriented multiple times recently. "Ugh…and here I thought the air was supposed to be STABLE…"

"Dang…it's actually over…" panted Jetdramon. "The skies are clear again! We finally took them all out! Man, I wasn't sure we could actually do it…"

"It was definitely not the best battle situation we could've had," agreed Ionfalkemon. "Next time we have to deal with a mob, we definitely need a better strategy going in…at least we made it through. And hopefully the ruckus on the ground is getting to its end, too."

"We should probably help, huh?"

"…Yeah, we should, but…I think we should also check and make sure things are okay back at the base. Why don't I do that, and you scout around and provide some help for the others if they need it? You can zoom around a lot faster than I can, it'll probably be more effective if you do it."

Jetdramon nodded. "A'right, I'll take care of that! Hopefully they don't pull any more Megadramons out, though, I'm not in shape for that."

"I think we'd already know if there were any others out there. Watch for the smaller guys, and see if you can get a bead on the others and have them join in if you see anything…it's about time we had the numbers advantage again, I think."

"Can't argue with that! I'm off!" Jetdramon's wing jets fired up and he zoomed off over the city, allowing Ionfalkemon to break off and head back towards the BICI. Leaving behind them a blessed silence in the air, with the fight finally having settled down in their favor - teamwork, ingenuity, and a little luck securing their skies once more, and hopefully for a decent while.

—

Ionfalkemon would have liked to have pretended she only had noble intentions for heading inside…the truth was a lot less convenient. Weary as she was, she was looking forward to getting a bit of a break. Sure, it was probably true that Jetdramon was run down, too, but he still WAS the better one to scout at the moment. She'd make it up to him if she had to.

Inside, the main office area was kind of a mess - it was clear there had been a lot of activity there. All of it old, though, she remembered it being like that when they came in prior to the digimon intruding. She wouldn't have minded someone coming to greet her, just for the little bit of reassurance that would provide, but they were probably all busy as well…she decided the best thing she could do was head up to Rudy's lab and at least do a cursory check of the state of things outside.

And it turned out she wasn't the only one who had the idea of ducking out, as Mecharexmon was already in there. He was checking on Commandramon, who'd been convinced away from the window now that the airborne threats were gone. "You still need to take it easy, your body's still fighting that crap. The algorithm's keeping up but I'm not sure it will if you keep exerting yourself."

"I was just sniping from the window, I wasn't doing THAT much," protested Commandramon.

"Still more moving around than you were supposed to be doing."

"Nnngh…I want to help SOMEHOW."

"You did," Ionfalkemon noted as she stepped towards him. "That was you plugging those jerks up there? We were toast if you didn't jump in there. You did a great job, I can see why you got the Ace Marksmon badge."

Mecharexmon looked up in annoyance. "Really, Bolt? I'm trying to keep him in check here and you're encouraging him?"

"Truth is truth whether you like it or not, and maybe hearing that he HAS been a help will help settle him down. Especially because I think we've pretty much cleared things out out there, so you can afford to take a break now, Commandramon."

"I'm…just glad that I could help." Commandramon sounded much more happy about that than the words let on…though, there was a definite fatigue in there, he clearly wasn't all the way better yet.

The lab door opened, and Rudy scuttled by, making a beeline for the computer. "How does he look, Rex?" he asked without even looking in the cyborg's direction.

"Still hanging in there." Mecharexmon made no note of this behavior, something Ionfalkemon thought would have been far harder for her. She certainly hoped Rudy had been watching over Commandramon better than this while they were out. "We need to make sure he rests a bit, though. I don't want to push him harder than we have to."

"At least maybe we'll have a moment for that now…though I'd like to verify that before I say anything for certain, since they've been pretty good at being inconvenient. This scanner module really is something, I never would have thought it would be possible to detect life-forms like this without a whole rig of hardware and a dedicated facility! We could learn a whole lot about efficiency from digimon, for sure!"

"That's something we can focus on when we're not under the threat of imminent death. You picking up on anything?"

"Ummm…" Rudy hesitated, and Ionfalkemon could see why. The screen was showing up some kind of error message - she didn't know what from her angle, but it certainly didn't look like what they were looking for.

"Looks like you were too quick to sing its praises, huh?"

"I don't understand, I didn't change anything and it was working fine earlier…but now it's saying signal interference?"

"…Ohhhh. Yeah, that makes sense."

Rudy looked over at Ionfalkemon quizzically. "It does?"

"Yeah. It's because of all the digimon we eliminated out there. Their data's interfering with the signals."

"Wh…that's…that's a thing that can happen?"

"Yup," confirmed Mecharexmon with a sigh. "When digimon perish, their data dissipates into the air. In our world…er, in the digital world, that is, the data gets pulled into the grand data cycle, which recycles it into material that gets drawn up by other life forms. Very little data ever actually disappears, and what fraction of it does is outpaced by the amount of new generation there is, though both of those are on very small scales comparatively - on the ten-thousandths of percentage points. So yeah, there's a standard reuptake process that occurs, drawing the data back into the cycle over time."

"But when a LOT of digimon die in a concentrated area and a compressed period of time, that process gets bogged down, and the air gets saturated with chaff data," added Ionfalkemon. "Especially if they're larger digimon, and there were a few of those out there. That causes a lot of signal disruption, and there's nothing we can do about it - they've been trying at CA, but no dice. It'll clear out as reuptake happens, or as the data gets spread over the wind. There's not really a definite timeline for that, but the wind'll probably be faster than anything else, so…20, 30 minutes?"

"Oh…" Rudy didn't sound totally easy with that. "That's a long time to not know what else is out there…"

"That's why more than half our group is currently still out there, scoping things out. Though Jetdramon's the only one who probably KNOWS he's specifically on scout duty, but details."

"I see…uh…what's going to happen to the data of digimon over here? I don't even know if we have a 'grand data cycle' or anything…"

"Someone's going to have to look into that, if we get to that point," replied Mecharexmon. "Could be lots of things…could end up staying in the atmosphere indefinitely because there's nothing to pull it out. There could be a force that DOES pull it out, and basically starts up a data cycle of its own, though with so little material that it might not even be practical. Or, it's possible it could find its way back to our world through some inscrutable process. I'm not even going to pretend I have any idea, or that I care enough about it at the moment to spend processing cycles on it."

"I guess it's well down on the list of priorities…but is it going to affect your guys's cycles at all, losing that data?"

"Not remotely. We've barely dented the mass of available data in the cycle - no estimate is over 5%, and this is with a pretty well-established population and advanced society. The cycle wouldn't risk being strained until at least 50% saturation, and I'm not even sure it's possible for us to get to that point without running into much more granular resource limitations. To put it another way, if every single digimon on our world died over here, it wouldn't have any appreciable effect on the data cycle…though, some divine beings would be pretty pissed off at having to rebuild things."

"Tangenting on hypotheticals, Rex?" chuckled Ionfalkemon.

"My mind is not at its most focused right now. I need a break." As if to emphasize that point, Mecharexmon retreated to his base form and then split apart into Isaac and Datacarnomon. Ionfalkemon took that as as good an excuse as any to follow suit, separating back into her component beings as well. The fatigue hit like a truck as soon as they got their senses back - if their first unmerging had felt wearying, this was about an order of magnitude worse, and with far less guarantee of time to recover.

"Ugh…one of those times I wish I had a good way of replenishing my energy," groaned Datacarnomon. "I guess I just have to hope we have time to re-energize for a bit."

"I could probably stand to eat something, but I think the pizza got totally wiped out, and I doubt anyone else's busy bringing anything in," Isaac sighed. "Might have to hit the vending machines…ugh, I do NOT want to go to my parents for cash…what's with you?" That was directed at Iris and Shockavimon, who were looking at Isaac with very strange expressions.

"…Isaac…what's going on with your arm?"

Iris pointed to Isaac's right arm, and the boy looked down and started at the sight - what had, only hours before, been a normal arm was now no longer. The entire arm from the wrist almost all the way to the elbow appeared to be covered in some kind of metal, mostly smooth but with little blocky protrusions here and there. "What…what the hell's going on?!"

"Did something go wrong with our separation?" Datacarnomon asked in a panicky voice. "That's never happened before! Nothing felt any different!"

"Not to me either…Rudy! Scan me!"

"Right away!" affirmed Rudy, hurriedly getting the computer set up while Isaac practically dived into the scanner. Data got the table situated while Iris and Shockavimon could only look on nervously. This wasn't like anything that had happened to any of them before, sure they had had changes from the merging but never something that OVERT. It had them anxious about whether they were playing with some kind of fire every time they did this, like Iris could wake up with feathers one day without warning…

Isaac was plenty nervous as well, though for different reasons - namely, this was something that he could definitely NOT hide from his parents. And while the cover was blown after today anyway, they would no doubt be peppering him with questions about it, and probably not ones he wanted to answer. But even weirder was the fact that he hadn't even noticed until it had been pointed out to him - it felt as completely normal to him as his regular arm had been before. Though it wasn't feeling as normal now as there was a slight buzz through it from the scanner…but it wasn't isolated to there, either, he felt a little weirdly tingly all over. Not helping matters was hearing Rudy's gasps and ejaculations every now and then even over the din of the scanner - whatever was going on, it was certainly getting a response out of him.

Finally the table slid out, and Isaac got to sitting up again. "Do I want to know what you've found out?" he asked guardedly.

"I think you will, and I think you'll take it better than you think!" exclaimed Rudy, his eyes practically glowing. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing in these scan results! Isaac, that alteration is only the physical manifestation of a much more dramatic physical modulation that extends over the entirety of your body!"

"You're not starting off putting me at ease, Rudy!"

"It's not what you think, though! This doesn't appear to be an error of some sort - rather, a significant adjustment to your very being! The scanner was able to identify other adjustments on a deeper level - the presence of superconducting metals in your nervous system, organosynthetic structural integrity enhancements to your bones and musculature, and the presence of unusual sensory nodules! And where this band of metal is in your arm, there's innate connections to your hand, along with the presence of a structural modification system that allows for large-scale physical revisions!"

"In other words, Ike…" Datacarnomon said a bit nervously. "You're, uh, kinda a cyborg now."

"…What."

"I mean, not as, uh, visually distinctive a one as Andrexmon or anything, but you've got some machinery under the surface. Definitely the merging thing has something to do with it…but, uh…I think it's probably something along the same lines as the others getting their own, uh, natural abilities."

"Because, in typical Isaac fashion, he just HAS to be late," cracked Iris.

It was starting to finally sink in for Isaac. "Wait…are…hang on, are you telling me…" He stopped, rubbing over the metal on his arm. He focused a thought into it, and he could almost FEEL the reaction…before their eyes, the boy's hand glowed and twisted, pulling in as metal clacked around the end of the arm, forming into a different shape within seconds - and soon they were looking the barrel of a glowing cannon, not dissimilar in principle from Andrexmon's, if not looking to be quite as heavy-duty. Stars were in Isaac's eyes as he gaped at his own change. "Jesus hell…"

"He's got a shiny new toy to play with, how worried should I be?" asked Shockavimon.

"Considering he IS the shiny new toy to play with, I think we should be VERY worried," replied Iris.

"I had no idea a change of this magnitude could be taking place…" Datacarnomon didn't sound quite as excited. "The effect we're having on you is a lot bigger than I thought…what might be going on with the rest of you that we haven't had reason to look into yet?"

"As reasonable as your concern is, Data, at this point I think we need to just be glad Isaac's naturally armed more than anything. Except when he's POINTING it at us!" she snapped, making Isaac jerk a bit and pull his arm to safety. "PLEASE be careful with that, we've been targeted enough as it is!"

"Sorry, sorry! I'll try to be careful." Isaac shifted back to a normal hand, the process going even faster than the first time. "That is WAY cool…wait, if I can do all this stuff, can I write my own programs? Maybe I can adapt some of this stuff I've been working on for Rex into myself! Oh, man, there's a million things I can think of already that I want to do, I gotta figure out how much capacity I have!"

Shackavimon shook her head. "Data, your partner's nerding out. Get a grip on him, will you?"

"That might be too tall an order for the moment," admitted the robot. "Not sure what it'd take to break him out of that…wait, did you guys hear something?"

"Hear…what?" Almost as soon as Iris had said it, she heard something as well - a thudding from down below. "Is that…what's going on?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out!" There was one thing that could pull Isaac out of the trance, and that was imminent danger. He hurried out of the room, the others following quickly behind - fatigued or not, they had to push themselves for this. Down the stairs they went to the main office area, which was slightly more populated than before - Emil and Elliot were there, and so was Ceramon, laid out on the ground with a couple weapons scattered near where he fell.

"What the heck's he doing with all those guns?" asked Shockavimon.

"I asked him to go out collecting scattered weapons that we could use if we needed to," explained Elliot. "He's been running back and forth for a while now, but he's never come back like this."

"We're in trouble, we're in so much trouble…" Ceramon looked like he was going to pass out, much more emotionally scattered than physically wounded.

"Just settle down, let's try to figure this all out…" started Emil.

"There's no time!" Ceramon picked himself up, shaking off the fall but not the panic. "There's a whole bunch of those soldier guys marching on this place! From at least three directions, they've got us surrounded! And they know WE'RE here as well, I heard them talking about taking out the 'new monsters' as well! I just barely got in in time, they were shooting at me!"

"Damnation!" snarled Elliot. "They were laying in wait for us, like ambush predators waiting to strike when we were vulnerable. We should've been ready for that…"

"They'll tear this place apart looking for digimon," Emil gulped nervously. "And who knows what kind of nuts we're looking at, they probably wouldn't hesitate to turn their guns on anyone if they thought it'd help them…"

"We have to fight back!" Isaac exclaimed.

"No!" Datacarnomon countered harshly. "We can't do that here! Andrexmon's attacks aren't quick enough to take on a mob like that, and Mecharexmon's more likely to take the entire building down! We'd be putting them at more risk by fighting than they'd be just by being attacked!"

"Not to mention we're way too exposed," agreed Shockavimon. "Ionfalkemon might knock out all the lights and electrical systems, but even if they're shooting blind, they're going to hit us with SOMETHING. Unless we can get outside, we're just going to get ourselves killed!"

"But…but we can't just do nothing!" exclaimed Iris desperately.

"We can't let them just run roughshod over our families, and the digimon who helped protect them!" demanded Isaac. "We're not abandoning them!"

"No one said abandon them!" fired back Datacarnomon. "But if we do what you want, we put them in just as much danger ourselves!" Isaac flinched and backed off, still looking unwilling to totally abandon his position but unable to convincingly argue against that.

"…There's a better way." All eyes looked towards Elliot. "If they can't find you, they can't attack you. There's a protective custody room on the 14th floor. It's the most secure room in the entire building, under a special passkey to enter. You can protect yourselves there…and some others. Gather up every under the age of 21 and all the digimon, and bring them inside there. This siege can't last forever, someone's going to be able to intervene, maybe the others who are still outside. We'll try to stall them as long as possible…if they manage to pin you down anyway, you'll be able to fight back without bringing the whole building down on you. Go now!"

The two humans and three digimon didn't need telling twice, tearing off for the stairwell. Their time was short, the threat was real, and they had no idea what was happening with the others…all they knew was that things were getting as bad as they'd ever been, and there were far too many innocents caught in the crossfire.

---

Aside from stitching back together the pieces of what remained after the scenes from the previous chapter were taken out of the old one, we have a few new scenes here, and a few new characters. Since the time I wrote the original, a rather significant number of new digimon have been added to canon, giving me more to work with. So why not incorporate a few of them in here and there?

I'm treating Surfimon as an Ultimate-level here, rather than a Mega as he is in the database. For the simple reason that, uh, I committed to using him without noticing that he WAS a Mega. Whoops. That felt like too much power for this, so I've nerfed him a bit. Sorry, Surfimon.

There was a bit of scene shuffling around with the fire and dark ends. The dingus squadron ended up going to Ebonvargmon instead of Blazereptimon, because I wanted to work in some stuff from the Order of the Flame which would have relevance later. And then Meicrackmon...I'd originally wanted her to go up against Ebonvargmon, because I felt like it was a little too easy for Blazereptimon to see through it after getting warned, but I also had the scene with Grits and Reggie that required him, so I just bit the bullet and went with it. In the end, the interplay worked out well enough that I was satisfied.