Hello everyone and welcome to the start of the next arc of the story!
Today you're all getting a double feature as I post the first two chapters of the arc instead of just one!
Hope you'll enjoy it, as well, the song for the new intro is Brave Shine, a suggestion from Timeless.
*Music*
The scene opens as a cloud of dust is blown away, showing several feet walking through a rocky and ruined path. The scene then shifts to show the Chosen and their Digimon, before they look upward, the scene focusing on Gyro and Agumon who frown deeply. The scene changes to show the sight they are looking at: Spiral Mountain that stretches far into the sky, as the title appears. "THOR Alter: Digital Story-Dark Masters Saga"
Hidari te ni kakushita negai wa negai no mama de samenai yume miteta
The scene changes to show a small gust of wind that is moving in tandem to a hand, revealing Gyro practicing his semblance, while Pierce gets up, Pandora at the ready, both of them inside a workshop of some kind with Agumon and Veemon, before the four walk out into the light.
migi te ni wa kara no kioku daremo shiranai sekai no hate yamanai ame ni utareteita
The scene changes to show team RWBY walking on the roof of a tall building in Vale, smiling as they overlook the city, the breeze flowing by them, before their partners suddenly land on their shoulders, all of them hugging the girls, much to their joy/amusement.
mamoritai mono o mamoreru tsuyosa
The scene changes to show a field as Salamon, Gabumon, Gomamon, and Wormmon are seen running through it with smiles on their faces, Nora soon joining them as the rest of their teammates follow after with amused looks, as the group soon stopped and looked out over the cliff they were on.
sore o shinjirarenakunaru yowasa
The scene then changes to show Gennai looking over various fragments of data salvaged from the Order, an apprehensive frown on his face as he looks out the doors of his home.
subete o ukeirete ashita o sagasu
The scene changes again to show several feet stepping onto a rocky path overlooking the ocean, before the scene shifts to show Leomon and standing alongside him were Andromon, Thundermon, Ogremon, Centarumon, Waspmon, Whamon (on the surface of the ocean), Piximon, Dorugamon, ZubaEagermon, Ginryumon (the three now permanently adults), Chuumon, Dinohyumon, Grizzmon, the Gekomon and Otamamon, and GrandLocomon. The scene then changes to show the four Dark Masters, before focusing on Piedmon who has a sadistic grin on his face.
Brave shine…!
The scene changes to show the 10 chosen children with determined looks before they all raise their Digivice Crests into the air which shine brightly.
Te wo nobaseba mada Stay the night!
The scene changes to show MetalSeadramon burst out of the water, before firing into the sky, revealing Phoenixmon with Yang on her back as the two evade the attack and countered, forcing MetalSeadramon to dodge, before Ruby and Rosemon entered the fray, Ruby raking Crescent Rose against his armor, while Rosemon struck with her vines.
Kizu darake no yoru, You save my life...
The scene changes to show a shot of Puppetmon upside down before he lands on top of Machinedramon as the two fire their attacks wildly. The scene then shifts to show UlforceVeedramon and GrandisKuwagamon evading the attacks, before cutting through several fragments of debris that were kicked up by the attacks, before charging forward and separating the two Dark Masters, followed by the scene panning to show HerculesKabuterimon and Vikemon with their attacks ready, before they launched them at the disoriented Dark Masters.
kazashita yaiba no saki ni
The scene changes again to show Piedmon fighting against WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, the two Digimon fighting on even grounds with him, before they manage to knock him back, Piedmon suddenly looking behind to see Seraphimon and Mastemon who launch their attacks, causing the scene to be covered in a white light.
omoi o kasaneta inori wa toki o koete
The scene changes again to show the various Chosen and their partners (all in Ultimate form) watching a sunset from various different scenes (a rocky area for Gyro, a lakeside for Pyrrha, a treetop for Yang, a hill for Weiss, a shallow pool of water for Jaune, a grassy field for Ruby, under a tree for Blake, a beaten path for Nora, a forest road for Ren, and a street for Pierce)
Your brave shine…
The final scene shows the Chosen standing together on top of a now destroyed spiral mountain, their D-Crests raised to the sky as the light breaks through the darkness and golden particles spread from the mountain to the rest of the world.
The Lords of Spiral Mountain! Dark Masters!
In an ominous castle atop a massive mountain, a figure was chuckling as he looked through a telescope. "Look at them, so full of fear, wishing for the return of peace and order that will never come," the figure chuckled as he used the Telescope to look at the human world, and their soon to be next conquest. "It is truly a wonderful sight."
"I disagree!" came another voice as a large form emerged from the water, revealing a large sea serpent covered in metallic yellow armor. "I say we should kill them all in one shot!" he thundered before diving back into the water.
"But time in their world flows differently than ours," a third voice said, this one sounding notably more childish than the previous two. "I say we should use it to pick them off slowly. One by one," he said, as he stepped into the light revealing a child-size wooden puppet with gears and cables. "Just like him," he said again, looking at a large mechanical creature that was saurian in design, bipedal with a pair of large claws and huge cannons on its back.
"Enough," the first voice said, getting out of his seat, revealing a humanoid being in clown-like garb with a black and white mask on his face, and a set of swords strapped to his back. "The Chosen Children will be arriving shortly. It is time for a break of our conquest, and on to an amusing distraction."
At that, the others looked at him, seemingly in excitement at that. "Now then...let us leave the dressing room, and enter the stage as the curtains rise! To the play called 'The end of the Chosen Children!" the clown laughed, as a series of spotlights illuminated the four of them.
"Okay….that was a bit rougher than last time," Gyro groaned as they'd all been deposited on the ground. "Is everyone here? Say 'aye'."
19 'ayes' were his answer, confirming that yes, everyone was indeed here.
"Well...this is a familiar sight," Weiss couldn't help but say at the sight of the vegetation that was that of the familiar forests they'd gone through a few times.
"At least that confirms we're here," Veemon sighed, rolling his neck a bit. "So, what horrible change has happened while we were gone?"
"Well...unless they blocked out the sun, I think either we arrived at night, or the trees here are just too thick for us to see," Biyomon said, not even batting an eye at how casually Veemon said that. Yeah, they'd all gotten TOO used to this shit.
However, before they could talk further, a rustling was heard in the tall grass. "Who's there?!" Everyone said in alarm, weapons ready, attacks prepped in the Digimon's case (and Koromon and Tsunomon quickly evolving back into Agumon and Gabumon). However, instead of a vicious monster trying to kill them (something they'd gotten waaaay too used to by now), all that came was a whimper of fear. THAT took the wind out of their sails quickly.
"Uh...okay, I think its safe to say that's not who we're here for," Ruby blinked as she put away Crescent Rose, and carefully approached. "Um...excuse me? Are you okay? Don't worry, we won't hurt you," she said.
When she got close enough, she could see that the Digimon who was clearly afraid was a small pink mouse, one which she vaguely remembered seeing on File.
"That's Chuumon." Tentomon noted quietly.
Digimon Analyzer: Chuumon
Chuumon. Virus Type. A Child Level Beast Digimon. A small Digimon who is best friends with Sukamon, acting as his conscience most of the time. It's not the strongest Digimon, and is rather cowardly, but it can be very cunning in the right situation. His special attack is Cheese Bomb, throwing a bomb hidden inside a piece of cheese… it is strangely efficient.
"Hey… are you ok?" she asked worriedly.
"A-Are you the Chosen Children?" Chuumon asked, fear clear in his voice.
"Yeah… can you tell us what's going on?" Ruby asked calmly, hoping that seeing everyone else calm would help the small Digimon.
At that Chuumon burst into tears and ran into her arms.
"Okay, I'm thinking it's gonna be REALLY bad…" Pierce couldn't help but say.
"After Myotismon disappeared from the Digital World about 15 years ago, my best friend Sukamon and I went back to File Island and decided to just go back to our lives of peace and tranquility. For the first few years it was just fun and games without having to worry about anything. But then… then THEY came. They ripped File and Server to pieces. So many Digimon died when they ripped it all apart, even Sukamon! Just so they could make their base." Chuumon explained, crying at the same time.
"There there," Ruby said, doing her best to sooth the distraught Digimon...about as well as she could considering the poor guy was no doubt reliving the horrifying event. "We came to stop the Dark Masters, and we promise we'll do what we can," she said.
"Actually...you said something about a base?" Ren checked that detail.
"Yeah, they plan to turn the entire Digital World into their personal domains, and to rule it more easily they're trying to add everything to Spiral Mountain!" Chuumon said. "They already turned all of Server into it, and they're trying to absorb the other continents and File! It's horrible! Even with the other Continents putting up a fight, it's only a matter of time before...before…!" by now Chuumon looked like he was ready to have an emotional breakdown, to which Gyro pulled out a tissue form his pouch, giving it to the mouse who blew really hard.
By the end of his story everyone's eyes had darkened. "So...who's in favor of tearing a mountain down?" Blake asked coldly.
"Aye!" was the answer from literally everyone else.
"Can you show us where it is?" Agumon asked.
"If… if you guys can really do it… yeah! Yeah, I'll help!" Chuumon said, his face showing determination despite his tears.
"...oookay, I know we said we'd tear this thing down, and we still plan to, but….that's a BIG mountain," Salamon couldn't help but say as they looked up and up and up at the strangest mountain they'd ever seen. True to its name, Spiral Mountain was...well...a big spiral, apparently made up of 4 bands of ocean, forest, city, and...wasteland respectively.
"I know this is weird, but then you have the sky as well." Wormmon idly noticed as they could even see Remnant in the sky.
"Points for efficiency, negative points for creativity," Gyro commented. "So let me guess, since there are 4 Dark Masters, they rule like one section of that spiral each, right?"
"And better yet, their base is at the top, isn't it?" Pierce added.
"Yeah, that's exactly right!" Chuumon nodded. "Wow, you guys are amazing to already know that!"
"Oh no, we didn't. Let's just say we've seen PLENTY of guys like these guys in the past...they kinda all followed a trend," Gyro sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"So….how do we start bringing this thing down?" Nora asked. "I didn't carry enough grenades."
"I don't think we can bring it down THAT way," was the deadpan response from several of the Digimon, including her own partner who were giving her dry looks.
"Well...seeing as so far it's been working in undoing damage, I say we go murder the guys who made this thing," Yang suggested.
"I don't know what's more disturbing. How much that makes sense or how easily we've come to accept that as our best answer," Weiss sighed.
"Probably somewhere along the lines of how it seems killing off the evil Digimon who did shenanigans seems to always undo said shenanigans," Tentomon deadpanned.
"Y-You're serious?!" Chuumon asked in alarm. "That's impossible! You can't beat them!" he said in fear.
The group looked at him before shrugging. "Eh, won't know unless we try," Palmon said.
"But you could die!" Chuumon countered.
"Would you rather live forever under their rule? Or die fighting for a better tomorrow?" Agumon countered. THAT shut the mouse up as he gained an introspective look.
However, before they could talk further, a sinister laughter filled the air. "Chosen Children, I've been waiting for you!" the voice said before a large form burst out of the ground.
"I-Its MetalSeadramon!" Chuumon shouted in fear as one of the Dark Masters emerged.
Digimon Analyzer: MetalSeadramon
MetalSeadramon. Data Type. An Ultimate Level Cyborg Digimon. The final form of the Seadramon species, with a body coated in Chrome Digizoid armor, granting him ultimate defense. Though it is a sea serpent, it can even more through the sky and earth, making him a capable fighter in all situations. His special attacks are Ultimate Stream, firing a powerful laser from the cannon mounted on his face, and Poseidon Divide, kicking up a tsunami to attack his foes.
"Ooookay, that was fast," Veemon blinked. Normally they had to fight through some minions and mooks first before one of the bosses showed up.
"And he's coming at us fast too. DUCK!" Pierce added as they all ducked for cover as the gigantic sea serpent dove for them, but narrowly missed them.
"A bit early, but we can work with this," Gabumon mused. "So what's the plan? Go Ultimate?"
"Hang on," Gyro said, stopping them. "Normally I'd be all for that, but keep in mind, when was the last time a big boss of any villain faction just waltzed right up to us without being absolutely sure they could win?"
"...never," Ren nodded, seeing the logic.
"Okay, you two are the video game buffs, what do you think is likely gonna happen next?" Patamon asked the twins.
"Their trying to either scare us, or gauge our strength, if it's the second, best we don't reveal all our aces just yet, because I think we won't actually have time to properly damage him, it's likely we'll meet the rest of them soon anyway." Pierce pointed out.
"Okay, so Perfects only for now," Jaune said...before he remembered the last fight with an Ultimate they had… "...we're about to be walking into a hopeless boss fight, aren't we?" he deadpanned. He'd been around the twins long enough to pick up their gaming hobby.
"Which is why we'll be using the Ultimate Technique first chance we get," Gyro nodded simply.
"...this is gonna suck…" everyone sighed, but pulled out their D-Cores (And D-Crests for Gyro and Pyrrha) as well as their Tags.
The Digivices and Crests shone brightly as everyone soon evolved to their Perfect stages, and began attacking the Dark Master before them.
"Giga Destroyer!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Shadow Wing!"
The three attacks were let loose and hit MetalSeadramon dead on...but he didn't even seem phased, before he rammed right through their ranks.
"No effect whatsoever," Ruby frowned, before checking her scroll. "Of course…" she sighed.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked.
"He's literally covered in Chrome Digizoid," Ruby deadpanned.
"...crap…" was all they could say to that tidbit, as their partners were soon thrown to the ground from a slap from the Dark Master's twin tails.
MetalSeadramon was laughing at this point. "Is that the best you can do? As if you could possibly defeat me with that power!"
"Are you SURE we can't just go Ultimate and waste this guy now?" MetalGreymon groaned.
"If more of them don't show up in the next few minutes, sure," Gyro frowned. However, it seemed MetalSeadramon was done playing with them for now.
"You're finished. Ultimate Stream!" MetalSeadramon called out, firing his best move from the blaster on his nose, which soon sent them all flying, but they'd been able to grab hold of each other in the explosion.
"Okay, first of all, oww...and second...is everyone okay...relatively speaking?" Pierce groaned as he got up, AeroVeedramon having cushioned the landing for him.
"Aside from feeling like we just got caught in a flood? Yeah," JewelBeemon said.
"But at least everyone is alright," HolyAngemon said as they all got up...before he tensed. "Something is here…" he said as currently the area they were in was full of mist.
"Careful, it's likely another one of them if our luck holds," Blake cautioned.
"Think it's another sneaky one?" MetalGreymon asked as he scanned through the mist, hoping to catch sight of anything out of place.
"I hope not, MetalSeadramon bursting out of the ground was sneaky enough already, we don't need another villain who uses fog." Angewomon ground out, some annoyance in her tone as she remembered Myotismon.
The group surveyed the mist...before HolyAngemon noticed a glint. "Over there!" he said, but just as he said that, a series of blasts came through the mist and hit him several times till he reverted to Patamon, Blake quickly catching him. "Everyone duck!" she shouted, but too late, as more shots were fired, knocking all the Perfects off their feet.
The source of the shots soon revealed itself. "Okay...that's obviously Machinedramon," Yang couldn't help but say at the mechanical dragon...dinosaur...thing...that was standing before them.
Digimon Analyzer: Machinedramon
Machinedramon. Virus Type. An Ultimate Level Machine Digimon. A Digimon made entirely out of mechanical parts without a shred of organic material within him. It's rumored that all Cyborg Digimon acted as prototypes for him, which explains why he shares some aspects with other Digimon, like having an arm from MetalGreymon. His special attacks are Infinity Cannon, firing powerful energy beams from his twin mounted cannons, and Catastrophe D, a desperation move that detonates his body to take out his opponents with him.
Machinedramon didn't say anything, instead continuing to pepper them with blast after blast.
"Huh, we went from chatty to a mime...and I'm oddly okay with that," AeroVeedramon commented...right before getting hit again. "Though those cannons I can do without…"
"As refreshing as a villain who's not out to talk our ears to death is, we're in DEEP trouble if we don't do something about those cannons!" Gyro shouted...right before the ground started cracking and breaking from the barrage. "...nevermind, we're already deep into it," he deadpanned before gravity asserted itself and they were soon screaming as they fell.
"Wait, can't most of you guys fly?!" Nora said, reminding about over half the team that yes, they COULD fly, to which they promptly made use of, slowing the descent, before they suddenly stopped...by themselves.
"...anyone get the feeling they've been deliberately herding us so we can meet and greet all of them?" Zudomon said flatly.
"Eeeeyup," was the deadpan response from everyone else.
"Well...bring on the next one. Not like my butt hasn't been kicked enough today," WereGarurumon deadpanned. Ask and ye shall receive, as not 2 seconds later, he quite literally felt something kick him in the butt. The surprise? The one who did it was Garudamon.
"Okay...what?" was his flat response to that...before his arm raised itself and promptly socked her in the face.
"Guys guys, not a good time to get physical in an argument," Yang said in alarm.
"Hey, we would like to stop too, but our bodies suddenly grew a mind of their own!" both Digimon said frantically.
"Uh...guys? I think mine did too!" Pyrrha suddenly said as she was doing some bizarre poses.
"Okay...why are we acting like we should be screaming weird stuff as Punching Ghosts fight for us?" Pierce couldn't help but ask as now they were all doing bizarre poses.
"This would be funny if it was anyone but us!" MetalGreymon said...having actually understood the reference.
"Strings! There are strings attached to us!" Weiss shouted in alarm.
"Took you long enough to notice," a new voice laughed, as they looked up and saw what appeared to be a wooden puppet.
"Okay, if you're not Puppetmon, I don't know who you are," Blake said flatly.
Digimon Analyzer: Puppetmon
Puppetmon. Virus Type. An Ultimate Level Puppet Digimon. A Digimon apparently built out of wood from a cursed tree, it has a cruel personality. While it has the appearance of a marionette, it can move of its own will, and enjoys spreading lies… which makes its nose grow longer. His special attacks are Bullet Hammer, packing gunpowder into the chambers on his revolver barrel styled hammer before bashing his enemies with it, making them blow up with each hit, and Flying Cross Cutter, throwing the cross on his back like a deadly boomerang.
"Heh, well I wish I could have played with you all more, but…" Puppetmon started, but…
"Stop! Let me guess. This is the part where you send us flying again, and no doubt next you're gonna be sending us to Piedmon. Am I right?" Gyro deadpanned.
Puppetmon stopped...before not so much throwing them as LAUNCHING them into wherever they were supposed to go next. "You can fly too! Bullet Hammer!" he called out, sending a barrage of shots at the Digimon, forcing them back to their Child forms before sending them flying after the screaming hunters.
"Gyro...the next time you think it's a good idea to go taunt a powerful evil Digimon who literally had us on the ropes...or rather strings...I'm kicking your butt," Weiss deadpanned from the pile they had found themselves in after their impromptu flight and collision on the hard ground.
"You mean you'll try." Gyro told her dryly, and Weiss grumbled, since she knew it would be easier said than done for her to actually beat Gyro in a fight.
"Can everyone move now...please…" Blake groaned as she was the one who had been the first to hit the ground, leaving her at the bottom of the pile...followed by another groan as several more weights were added to the pile, the Digimon landing on top of them...before the impromptu tower crumbled as everyone soon rolled off.
"Okay, we just had our butts kicked by 3 Dark Masters, so by that logic, next is the big boss himself," Jaune sighed.
"Yeah, so fill the next guy you see full of holes if you get the chance," Pierce said. True enough…
A clown, of all things, actually rolled into the area from behind a stone pillar, balancing perfectly atop a large ball.
"Really?" Gyro muttered dryly as he looked at the clown, savvy enough to know who it was.
"Hello there children, would any of you be interested in a story?" the clown asked, and his voice did not bring smiles.
"Not really?" Jaune answered awkwardly.
"Too bad, you get one anyway." the clown said, making everyone blink, not expecting that, as the clown pulled crude drawings out of… somewhere.
The drawings actually seemed to depict them, albeit as if they had been drawn by a child… possibly made by Puppetmon if the signature at the bottom was any hint since it depicted a long nose.
"Once upon a time there were 10 Chosen Children and their Digimon, they tried to climb to the top of Spiral Mountain to defeat the Dark Masters, but instead ended up dying. The End." the Clown said his story, smiling all the while.
The response to his story was… gunfire… and fire in general, as he moved out of the way, through the drawings weren't so lucky.
"Can you BE anymore obvious, Piedmon?" Pierce asked in complete deadpan. "And yes, we know its you. We just went through the other 3, so who else could it be but you."
"Also, next time you try to tell a story, try not to tell it using drawings that was probably made by Puppetmon," Weiss deadpanned.
The clown actually looked affronted for a second, before he soon regained his composure. "Well then, I suppose I can see why you managed to defeat Devimon, Etemon, and even Myotismon," the clown admitted before he revealed his true form as the leader of the Dark Masters...which still had a clown-like theme to it. "At least you're not completely stupid."
Digimon Analyzer: Piedmon
Piedmon. Virus Type. An Ultimate Level Demon Man Digimon. A Digimon with a low amount of information regarding him, save for the fact some refer to him as the Clown of Hell. He uses trickery to defeat his opponents, and likes to make a show of it at that. Special attacks are Trump Sword, throwing one of the four swords on his back, and Clown Trick, a multi-purpose attack that usually takes the form of a magic trick, such as using a white cloth to make an object disappear or change.
"We live in a world of bloody evolution, where you need to be able to fight to live to the next day. What were you expecting? A bunch of clueless kids who would fall for every trick you pull?" Yang shot back dryly.
Piedmon hummed in thought at that as he held his chin, nodding after a moment. "Yes, I see your point."
"So, what's the plan now?" Pyrrha whispered.
"I say we go all out on this one. Win or lose, this might be a chance for US to get a feel of how strong these guys are, and who better than the boss?" Gyro whispered back, to which they both nodded in agreement. "Stand back everyone, we're going Ultimate on this one."
Everyone blinked, before doing as they were told, while Agumon and Gabumon moved forward.
"Agumon, Warp Evolution! WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon, Warp Evolution! MetalGarurumon!"
It wasn't long before the two of them were in the air, Gyro and Pyrrha with them. "Okay, this guy is the leader of them, so it's safe to say he'll be stronger than the other three," Pyrrha said.
"So what do we do?" MetalGarurumon asked.
"We play smart is what," Gyro said. "Combo moves everyone!"
"You got it! Gaia Force!" WarGreymon said, throwing his attack.
"Cocytus Breath!" MetalGarurumon called out, firing his attack as well.
Piedmon smirked, before pulling out his swords and cutting through both attacks with ease. "Is that all? Well then, Trum-" Piedmon didn't get to finish, as suddenly a volley of missiles was fired from MetalGarurumon...who wasn't using his targeting system?
Piedmon evaded a few before chuckling. "Where are you aiming?" he laughed...right before the missiles suddenly turned around and were now aiming for him. "What the-?!" he blinked before jumping out of the way, but the missiles continued to chase him, forcing him to dodge.
"Nice trick with the swords. Now try THIS one!" Gyro smirked as he created a massive wind tunnel with his semblance, one that WarGreymon soon threw another Gaia Force through. The wind was pulled into the massive ball of flame and heat, making it bigger and stronger, till it was at a point that one would be hard pressed to dodge.
"Damn!" Piedmon growled, going for his swords again...but at that moment the missiles impacted, all of them aiming for the swords on his back the whole time, causing them to freeze and thus he couldn't pull them out in time as the next attack hit. "Graaah!" he growled in pain as he was sent flying from the attack, but at the critical moment, he stabilized himself in mid-air. "Clown Trick!" he called out, and suddenly the entire sky was blanketed in smoke, obscuring their vision, before a pair of swords went flying, forcing the two to evade, but not quite fast enough as they still got stabbed, forcing them both to revert to Child form, but fortunately Gyro managed to use his Semblance in time to slow and cushion their fall.
"Okay...he's strong...as we expected," Agumon groaned.
"But we at least managed to hurt him," Gabumon added, as true enough, when the smoke cleared, there was a panting Piedmon, nursing a frozen burn on his side.
"I'll admit, that one was actually pretty good. But not good enough," he frowned. "You may be on the same level, but it'll take more than a pair of inexperienced Ultimates to beat me."
"Called it…" Ren frowned. They'd long since realized that the longer each Digimon fought in a form, the better they'd fight overtime. In short, it was no different than a muscle that got stronger with training. And by that logic, they had considered the possibility that the Dark Masters may have THAT edge over them. It seemed they were right.
"So...I'm thinking now is a good time for us to use that Ultimate move?" Salamon checked.
"First chance we get yeah," Veemon nodded.
"Now then, I think its time we brought this play to a close," Piedmon said, regaining his confident smirk. "But first allow me to introduce our star players. MetalSeadramon!" he started, and at that MetalSeadramon emerged from the ground. "Machinedramon!" at that Machinedramon stepped into the arena, not saying a word. "Puppetmon!" Puppetmon suddenly appeared hanging upside down, letting out a laugh as he commented on how he'd love to have been able to 'play with them more'. "And finally myself, Piedmon!" he said, giving a dramatic bow.
"I knew it...it really is impossible..." Chuumon whimpered.
"Don't worry, we're not done yet. Not by a long shot," Ruby reassured.
"Now then, who shall be the first to die?" Piedmon smirked, looking through them...however much to his annoyance, not one of them had a look of fear on their faces. No, rather than fear, it was that infuriating look of one who would be defiant to the end. They'd all been soundly defeated, yet not even the smallest bit of hope and will had left them. However, it was when his eyes landed on Ruby did his expression change. "You…!" his eyes widened for a moment, the other Dark Masters with notable eyes soon doing the same. "Why are you here?" he growled.
"Huh?" Ruby blinked.
"No...you are not that infernal woman with that Taomon, but why do you look so much like her?!" Piedmon was actually angry now, as the memories of the seal that kept them at bay for so long was fresh in his mind.
"A woman with a Taomon? That can only be…!" Pyrrha's eyes widened when they all realized what Piedmon was going for.
"Mom…!" Ruby breathed. She knew that her mother and her partner had been involved in the seal, but from the way Piedmon was talking, it seemed they were more than just involved.
"Mom? I see...so that is your relation to her," Piedmon mused, before a cruel smirk crossed his face. "Very well then, you will be the first to die. Perhaps I should even bring your head to that woman the next time we find her again," he smirked as a knife suddenly appeared in his hand. "Now die!" he shouted as in a flash the knife was thrown.
Time slowed to a crawl at that point, as movements happened without anyone thinking. When the second was over, what happened was not Ruby getting a knife to the chest as Piedmon would have wanted...but what happened was Chuumon hitting the ground on the side, having been rammed by something, and what the knife hit...was Yang's right shoulder, the blade rather deeply embedded into her skin, drops of blood falling to the ground.
"Yang!" Ruby said in alarm, but Yang didn't respond, instead she grasped the handle of the knife, and with a pained groan, pulled it out, the now bloody knife clattering to the ground.
"No way," Yang growled. "If you want to get to my sister, you're gonna have to go through me!" she glared at the Dark Masters, her eyes red and hair ablaze, and for a moment, her Crest was starting to shine brightly.
"Yang, don't move your arm! It's bleeding!" Biyomon said in clear worry as she hovered up to her partner's shoulder.
"Chuumon, what happened?" Patamon said as he helped his fellow Child level to his feet.
"I… I tried to take the shot." Chuumon admitted, blushing a bit "Guess I didn't need to in the end."
"Fools," Piedmon frowned. "What use is there covering one another when you're all going to die. But if that is what you wish, then very well," he said, this time going for one of his swords. However….
"Bit Bomb!" came a familiar voice as the Dark Masters' view was suddenly obscured by a blinding light, followed by the Chosen, their Digimon, and Chuumon suddenly feeling themselves pulled into a barrier.
Inside the barrier which was now rapidly escaping…
"Piximon?!" the group said in surprise, before they grinned.
"Man, are you a sight for sore eyes! Guess that's another we owe you," Gomamon said in relief.
"Nice to see all of you again as well." Piximon spoke with a grin.
"Let me guess, you've been fighting against the Dark Masters since they got free with guerilla tactics until we got back?" Gyro asked knowingly.
"That's pretty much it yeah, there was some close moments over the last few years though, I can tell you that. I'm glad you're all here though, we have a chance now after all, but first, you'll need to become a bit stronger." Piximon said with a sigh.
"Yeah, we gave it a decent shot at least, we managed to hurt Piedmon a bit." Pierce said, looking for the positive.
"That's more than what anyone else has been able to do recently." Piximon said with a hopeful grin.
"Great, so now that we're all here, let's make a tactical retreat, then we'll come up with a counter-" Weiss started, before the barrier suddenly shook.
"There you are!" came MetalSeadramon's voice as the Dark Masters were in hot pursuit.
"I guess it WAS too much to hope they'd just let us get away…" Wormmon sighed.
"Can this barrier go any faster?" Palmon asked urgently.
"Sorry, this is more or less maximum speed," Piximon said, right as another hit rocked the barrier.
"Well, can this barrier let attacks out? Maybe they'll back off a bit if we fight back," Jaune suggested.
"No, we can't risk them getting to you. You all are our last hope," Piximon said. "That's why I'll hold them off."
"Wait what?!" came the response from the group.
"I know you're the poster boy for 'don't judge a book by its cover', but you're STILL one Perfect against 4 Ultimates who just wiped the floor with us more or less," Agumon gasped.
"But this is also the only way for you to escape. Once I'm outside, I'll be able to launch you well away from them. Take this chance to gather your strength, formulate a plan, and save this world!" Piximon said, before he exited the barrier. "One last time...STRIKE OF LOVE!" Piximon shouted as he slammed the barrier with his staff, sending it and its passengers careening into the distance.
"Well well well, if it isn't Piximon. Should have known you would be the one behind this," Piedmon smirked cruelly. "You know you can't win, right?"
"Maybe, but even if this is my end, I don't intend to go out without a fight!" Piximon snarled, before looking to the sky. "What I once willingly gave up, I ask to be returned. Master!" Piximon shouted, as from the sky what appeared to be a Holy Ring came flying towards Piximon, before it entered his body, his form glowing with power.
"W-What is this?!" the Dark Masters gasped in surprise, before Piximon roared as he charged right at them.
Far away in the barrier, all the Chosen could see was a bright light suddenly covering the arena, before it slowly died away…
"Dammit!" Yang growled, punching the side of the barrier, completely ignoring the pain that flared up in her shoulder. She was about to go for another punch, but Pierce and Biyomon stopped her.
"Yang, stop! You'll only make it worse!" Biyomon said.
"And hurting yourself isn't going to change anything!" Pierce added, before pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry. We'll get them back for this. We're gonna make sure every life lost to those monsters wasn't in vain."
"For now, let's get that patched up." Jaune said as he reached into his pouch, pulling out a roll of gauze, everyone giving him a look. "What? I picked up some medical stuff before we went to fight Myotismon."
"Huh...good thinking," Veemon said, as the barrier continued to speed off.
And there's the chapter!
Contrary to canon, Chuumon survived here, and as you all saw Piximon had something special going on for him, but it's a secret for now.
Also, yes, they managed to hurt Piedmon, by tricking him into thinking combo moves were just the Digimon attacking together, NOT that the hunters would enhance the attacks of their partners with their own abilities.
Anyway, for now, see you in a few minutes, because...
The Adventure Evolves.