Old Ones Return (VI)

Kylie:<To fight the biohybrids?>

*She looks at Euryale*
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*Karatenmon Feather Flares the asshole*
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*Crusadermon regresses to Kotemon and Lyra*

Lyra:<You might want to dedigivolve first.>

MagnaAngemon stabs at one and fires lasers at the other.

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Hitomi: "That doesn't answer the question."

*This time, he destroys them both. Of course, he is also doused with acid along with Plesimon, Mermaimon, & Bastemon, which starts to melt his armor & blade. Plesiomon's aura protects from most of it, but when it starts to dim, she switches out of Burst Mode, at which point Calamarimon drills deeper into her & starts strangling her with its tentacles. The D-Reaper spots also start melting her flesh away at this point, & Tactimon is able to get up & start advancing towards them.*

Tactimon<It would be the simplest thing in the world right now to obliterate you all in a single shot, but I'd also rather not be crushed. Besides, Netzach & Gevurah should be along shortly, once they've dealt with your other allies.>
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*His carapace is hard enough to take it, so he starts squeezing Karatenmon & plunges them both into the ocean. He also opens his mouth & aims the gun at Karatenmon's face. At this point, I presume that Cameron has either fallen into the water somewhere or is being crushed along with Karatenmon.*
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Jupitermon<A great mass of Kurata's forces were seen converging upon Neptunemon's palace. We could send you there along with reinforcements, if you wish.>

*Euryale drops her eating utensils & stares at Jupitermon in shock.*

"That--that's where Taiyo is!"

Agu<Are you serious?!>

Lopmon<Weren't you listening when we had you split into groups?>

Agu<Look, it's a lot of stuff to keep track of, okay?>
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OOC: I still regret not knowing about Witchmon when I put together DemiDevimon's Digivolution line.

D<No way. If she's not going to let me ride on her head, I can at least float there on my staff.>

Impmon<Let's just get goin', toots.>

D<"...Toots?">

T"To where?"

Impmon<"To where," she says. Ain't it obvious?! We gotta find a safe place to use as a base, like a cave, or somethin'!>

MagnaAngemon heals himself and moves to get between Tactimon and the others.

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Hitomi: "That would be best."

*Karatenmon attempts to stab Infermon with one of his swords while Cameron scans Power Plug in and Mummymon's Snake Bandages as he treads water away from the fight. Karatenmon attempts to bind Infermon in the bandages*
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Lyra:<Do you know of any caves nearby?>
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Kylie:<Yeah, we need to go help them!>

*Tactimon draw-slashes diagonally up to MagnaAngemon's left shoulder. Mermaimon & Bastemon finally manage to tear some of Calamarimon's tentacles off, allowing Plesiomon to bite its head & gruesomely finish it off, but Plesiomon is forced to regress to Zudomon.*
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*With the increased power, Karatenmon is able to stab into him. However, he glows under the bandages, & then Diaboromon rips his way out from under them & blasts at Karatenmon with his chest cannon.*
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Jupitermon<Armadillomon, tell the army to prepare at once!>

*Armadillomon bows & heads out.*

Junomon<We can prepare a Blimpmon so that you can rest & gain your strength along the way.>

*Agumon tugs on Euryale's arm & whispers something in her ear. Junomon narrows her eyes.*
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Impmon<'Course not! Gotta figure out where we are first. Keep an eye out for some kinda landmark.>

*Wizardmon snaps her fingers, causing her staff to fly. She gets on the back, lifts Thiera up, & puts her in front of her.*

D<We've got room for one more.>

Impmon<Thanks, toots. Just keep going forward for now.>

*Impmon starts climbing up in front of Thiera.*

D<Seriously, stop calling me that.>

*Karatenmon attempts to dodge the blast before using Feather Flare on Diaboramon. Cameron looks around to see if they have room to biomerge*
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Kylie:<Thank you!>

MagnaAngemon blocks with his shield and counters with a swing from the Excalibur.

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Apparently they are going forward into the great unknown.

*Even without using one of his fancy techniques, Tactimon is still strong enough to push him back. He blocks an attack from Vulcan's Hammer with his sheath & then starts swinging his sword, whipping up a vortex. Meanwhile, Zudomon does his best to shield everything from a torrent of fire from behind them.*

Tactimon<What became of your targets?>

Daemon<They escaped. These children won't.>

G<I can't--last much longer!>

Ts"Just run, try to get past him!"

Mermaimon<The Renamon should be able to progress to at least Champion by now.>
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*They're underwater, which also slows the Feather Flare, but whatever they're going to do, they might want to do it quick, because a Whamon is approaching & opening its mouth wide, Diaboromon opting to swim away & keep firing energy blasts at them.*
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Jupitermon<We wish you luck, & may the hand of righteousness protect you.>

Junomon<Hawkmon, please lead them to their accommodations.>

*Hawkmon stows away its scroll & replaces its feather, then bows first at Jupitermon & Junomon, & then at the Tamers.*

Hawkmon<If you would please follow me.>
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Impmon<Okay, take a right at that row of pointy rocks that look like teeth.>

T"This place is creepy."

D<What are you talking about? It's just like home.>

*DemiDevimon follows instructions.*

*Cameron quickly uses MetalGarurumon's Blaster, which Karatenmon then uses on Diaboramon both heading for the surface*
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*Following*
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*Following*

MagnaAngemon backs off and opens Heaven's Gate. Renamon Digivolves, interupting Taiyo & Azuma's progress and launches a volley of fireballs at Demon.

*Tactimon grabs the walls of the Gate as he's sucked in.*

Tactimon<Fool! Don't think that this will be enough to get rid of me!>

*Zudomon assists with ice & they're just barely able to equal out Daemon's attack, but he's quickly overpowering them.*

G<Just run already!>

*So Mermaimon & Bastemon grab the humans closest to them & start running for the back of the prison.*
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*When they arrive at the cave, they find a Pumpkinmon crawling across the ground.*

Pumpkinmon<Help me!>

*As he reaches out to them, a Minervamon lands on him, running him through as though her sword was a pogo stick. She then slings her sword over her shoulder & waves as she loads the data, eyes closed & smiling broadly.*

<Hi there, dorks! Teehee!>
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*The surface is not much better. Waves are crashing into each other, whipped up on one side by Neptunemon & on the other by the infected Whamon. Atop the castle, Neptunemon & Ancient Mermaimon are conducting what forces they have left, Ancient Mermaimon shooting projectiles to keep the infected Digimon away from Neptunemon, while she in turn is protected by her Mermaimon. Diaboromon bobs up to the surface, missing his left arm, but Cameron & Karatenmon are unable to finish him off as the waves push them up towards the pier. Here, they can see Coelamon & Octomon defending the boats from infected Seadramon, Coelamon biting & slashing them in the water & Octomon clinging to the masts & shooting at the Seadramon. Though most of the pier & boats are lost, they eventually manage to destroy all of the enemies in this area.*
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*And so they exit the tower, climbing up a ramp onto a blimp.*

Hawkmon<Please, allow me to give you the grand tour.>

E"No thanks. That won't be necessary."

Hawkmon<Oh, it's no trouble at all.>

E"It is for us. We just want to rest."

Kyubimon follows after Taiyo while MagnaAngemon follows the group.

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Hideki steps back in horror. Monodramon growls.

*Karatenmon grabs Cameron and flies up to Neptunemon and AncientMermaimon*

<Where are the other tamers?>
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Lyra's grasp tightening on her digivice*

<Uh, hello?>
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Kylie:<We could use a nap.>

*I definitely should not allow this, but as he flies up, he sees Regulumon & Bancho Leomon jumping from one aerial Digimon to the next, using their blades to block attacks, firing back with projectiles, destroying the D-Reapermon with their weapon, & moving on. The Cannonbeemon are mostly firing lasers at the palace, but the Mermaimon are able to redirect some of the energy with their own.*

Neptunemon<I couldn't care less!>

AM<They're supposed to be out here, helping us defend our kingdom!>

Neptunemon<Cowards & traitors, the lot of them! They probably fled & left us to be destroyed! You should have kept the captive when you had the chance!>

*Neptunemon pants from the effort of trying to fight off the Whamon's waves. Since it takes them so long to generate one, he tries shooting a harpoon at one of them, but it doesn't even come close before it falls into the water. Meanwhile, over the ocean, the Gizumon join hands to open a Space Oscillation Rift, allowing various floating D-Reaper agents to come through.*
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Minervamon<Boy, you guys must be REALLY stupid!>

Impmon<Say that again, I DARE ya!>

Minervamon<Boy, you guys must be REALLY stupid!>

T"Please let me handle this. What do you want? Why did you kill that poor Pumpkinmon?"

Minervamon<Uh, DOOOI, he was part of a force sent by Bagramon to destroy you. He can see you anywhere you go with his ruby eye, y'know. That's how I knew you dorks would be here, I just followed Bagramon's flunkies!>
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*At the back of the prison is a hole leading to the dark sea.*

Ts"But we can't breathe underwater!"

Mermaimon<In the Digital World, you can!>

Daemon<Not that I will allow you!>

*Daemon flies after them, shooting fire to block their way. Meanwhile, Tactimon starts to crack the Heaven's Gate.*
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Hawkmon<...If you insist. I can take you to the quarters on the upper deck.>

*So he leads them up a flight of stairs.*

Hawkmon<There's a room for each color of the rainbow, as well as white & black. Each room has a window, a queen sized 4 poster curtain bed, & various furnishings. Each room is served by 1 of 3 bathrooms.>

*Kylie and Lunamon choose the purple room then lay down on the bed*
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Lyra:<So who do you work for?>
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Cameron:<They must still be inside!>

*Karatenmon looks around for a way into the castle and takes one if he finds it*

MagnaAngemon turns around, shield out to protect the group while Azuma slashes the Training Grips card to slow Demon down, putting them on its legs.

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Hitomi goes to the blue room.

*Euryale grabs Hitomi by the shoulders & starts dragging her to the purple room instead.*

E"Hang on, we should talk about what we're going to do when we land first."

A<That means without you, buddy.>

*He pokes Hawkmon.*

Hawkmon<...But wouldn't it be for the best if I relayed our strategy to the army?>

*Lopmon looks around at them, clearly confused.*
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*Zudomon smacks him with his hammer, causing him to hit Tactimon & both to fall into the Gate of Destiny. When it closes, he extinguishes the flames, allowing them to push ahead. By the time they reach the pool, however, Tactimon's sword smashes through the gates on the titular Gate of Heaven & the Bio-Hybrids begin climbing out. Mermaimon quickly dives with Tsune. Bastemon, who has Taiyo & Azuma, nervously dips her foot in the water.*
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*He enters a tower that takes him down a spiral staircase. Most of the stairs are broken off, as is the wall in several places. The structure sways & chunks fall off of the roof. It is clearly threatening to collapse. Of course, every landing contains an exit, but there's no clear marker of where the Hell he is in the castle.*
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Minervamon<Obviously Mervamon, dummy! EVERYone knows THAT!>

Impmon<So you came to make a peace offering?>

Minervamon<If you guys were any slower, you'd be snails. Are you almost caught up with the sitch-ee-ashun now?>

Azuma moves away from Bastemon.

Azuma: "We'll catch up."

He swipes the Hydro Pressure card, MagnaAngemon blasting the BioHybrids with a torrent of water to force them back in the gate.

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Hitomi pulls away from Euryale. It's nothing personal, she's just not keen on physical contact.

Karatenmon:<It's too dangerous to be in here!>

Cameron:<What about the others?>

*Karatenmon flies back out of the death trap that was the castle*
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Lyra:<Insulting us isn't the best way to make a peace offering.>

*Euryale pulls more earnestly on Hitomi.*

"(Grab 'im!)"

*Agumon leaps on Hakwmon, tackling him to the floor & using his headband to gag him.*

"Good work!"
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Minervamon<So...you'd PREFER Bagramon or MaloMyotismon? Well, I think they'll just kill you, but okay. See ya!>

*She whirls around & starts an exaggerated march back from whence she came.* 
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*The top of the tower falls onto the pile of rubble that was formerly the back half of the castle. How long the rest of it will stay up is unclear. The Mermaimon start falling to the blasts of the Digimon from above & D-Reaper Agents from below.*

AM<We can't win, m'lord!>

Neptunemon<Nonsense! Absorb the data of your crew!>

Mermaimon<You want us to delete them!?>

Neptunemon<The enemy will delete them anyway, at least this way their strength can be used FOR us, not against us!>

*The Mermaimon look to Ancient Mermaimon, who nods, but the point is rendered moot as a bigass wave comes & knocks them off of the castle. It also finally knocks that tower over.*
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*The gate vanishes, banishing the Bio-Hybrids, but for how long? Zudomon shoves Bastemon towards the hole, at which point she slings Taiyo onto her back, grabs ahold of the rim with all 4 limbs, & hisses at Zudomon.*

G<Come! On! Get! In!>

*Zudomon tries to push them in without crushing or stabbing Taiyo.*

G<Ow! She bit me!>

*Having had quite enough of this shit, he just uses his hammer to demolish part of the floor, causing her to fall into the water in a growling, hissing ball of rage. He keeps pushing her back in every time she tries to resurface & does his best to avoid the swipes from her claws.*

Kyubimon degenerates and while hesitant, Renamon jumps in followed by Azuma and Patamon.

Lyra:<No no we'd love to talk with your mistress.>
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*Kylie sticks her head outside*

<(What's going on?)>
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*Karatenmon flies over the wave then biomerges to Ornismon, who then attacks the agents with his big mouth laser*

E"We don't trust them. Jupitermon changed his mind WAY too quickly, given how dead set he was on destroying the Dark Area."

*Meanwhile, Agumon struggles to keep Hawkmon from reaching his new gag.*
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*Minervamon spins around & grabs Lyra's hand.*

<Great, let's go!>

*She then runs off, & Lyra might want to run as fast as she can if she doesn't want to end up dragged along the ground.*

Impmon<H--hey, wait up!>

*The others follow.*
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OOC: I feel like I should have had everyone come up with Biomerging & Matrix Digivolution sequences.

*They are just in time, as the ceiling crumbles, forcing even Bastemon to dive, & it's not long before they come out of the tunnel. The ocean is dark & cold, but looking up, they can see the silhouettes of the battle against the explosions.*

Ts"We can't win. You guys go. We'll use the last of Plesiomon's strength to find Cameron & Biyomon."

Mermaimon<I have to stay here until Ancient Mermaimon orders a retreat.>

*So they start swimming upwards, Tsune & Gomamon Bio-Merging. A group of Whamon & Mantaraymon spot them & head towards them, firing blasts.*
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*He is able to destroy several of the D-Reaper agents. The Cannonbeemon, of course, fire at his back as the remaining towers fall, one crashing into the pier, the other into the ocean.*

AM<Save the ships! Take whatever you can out to sea!>

*Neptunemon clashes on the beach with Diaboromon, who has regrown his arm, the spear literally biting at him. He dodges a blast from the cannon & swats him away with a pillar of water. Meanwhile, Ancient Mermaimon spins her trident above her head, gathering waves around her in a huge maelstrom.*

Azuma follows, Patamon Digivolving to MagnaAngemon who fires lasers at the Mantaraymon.

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Hideki & Monodramon follow reluctantly.