Old Ones Return (VI)

Justimon cuts Bagramon so bad it'd wish it hadn't been cut so bad.

*With Beelzemon shooting it & those other assholes cutting it, Bagramon finally succumbs, dissolving into data.*

Craniamon<I wouldn't recommend absorbing it. Apocalymon contains D-Reaper data, which no doubt have been passed to all that it & Bagramon infected.>

*He turns, blasting Gulfmon & GranDracmon with a tornado, knocking them off-balance. This is a good thing, because their attacks eventually overwhelmed Crusadermon's, Crusadermon losing Burst Mode. King Drasil flies up to engage Apocalymon.*
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*Ceresmon descends, the flapping of its wings causing thunder. Ikkkakumon scrabbles away from the flying rocks & gale force winds. When she lands, she shakes the earth enough that part of Jupitermon's mountain range collapses.*

Azuma: "Or maybe it's a mountain that looks like a bird."

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Justimon flies at GranDracmon, firing energy shots at it.

*Crusadermon uses Spiral Masquerade on Gulfmon*
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Cameron:<God, I hope it's friendly.>

*Gulfmon & GranDracmon find themselves deleted. Examon crashes to the ground, unconscious, as Apocalymon lowers itself from the fissure, reabsorbing the data.*

<WE ARE THE ULTIMATE EVIL, COMPLETE WITH HOT & COLD RUNNING WATER!>

*King Drasil starts blasting him, but he manages to snake a claw behind him. Once King Drasil is grabbed, data is sucked from him. By the time Craniamon uses his whirlwind to destroy the arm & free him, King Drasil has falls back to the ground, unconscious in his cracked human shell.*

<ARE YOU REPULSED BY OUR APPEARANCE? DON'T BE AFRAID TO HURT OUR FEELINGS. THEY'RE ALREADY HURT. YOU SEE, WE WERE CREATED FROM ALL THAT WAS LOST DURING THE DIGIVOLVING PROCESS.>

T"So when Barbamon & Yesod said that Kurata disrupted the data reconfiguring process-->

<SILENCE! WHO'S THE ONE TELLING THIS STORY ANYWAY, US OR YOU!? IN ANY CASE, THE ONE CALLED KURATA ONLY ACCELERATED OUR COMING! WE ARE ETERNAL. WE SLUMBER UNTIL WE ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO PLUNGE THIS WORLD INTO DARKNESS, SO WE WON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE IN OUR MISERY ANYMORE!>
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*Agumon starts to walk to the edge of the birdmountain. He looks back at Euryale, who is staring at her feet.*

Agu<You can't run forever. Eventually you're going to have to find out what happened. And why are you so sure you're going to get bad news anyway?>

E"Because it's always bad news. It has been since before we came to the Digital World."
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G<Uh...hi?>

*Ceresmon flaps her jaw slightly, answering with what may just be the rumbling of the earth.*

Ceresmon<COME.>

Taiyo gives Renamon wings and the two fly up to the mountain bird, Patamon Digivolving to carry Azuma up top.

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Justimon: "You didn't have to be alone."

*Kylie and Lunamon run to the edge, Kylie grasping Euryale's hand*

Kylie:<Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine!>
---
*Cameron and Biyomon climb up*
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*Crusadermon flies down in front of King Drasil*

<Misery sure loves company.>

<LIAR! NOBODY CAME FOR US, NO SOVEREIGN, NO DRASIL...AS WE SAT ALONE IN THE COLD, MISERABLE DARKNESS OF OUR WORLD, WE WATCHED ALL OF YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE LAUGHING AND HAVING FUN IN THE LIGHT, WELL, NOW IT'S OUR TURN... TO SHINE!!!>

Th"I'm sorry about everything that happened to you--"

<SURE, RUB IT IN!>

Th"But enslaving all of these Digimon isn't the answer, it's not right!"

*Though they can barely see it, his humanoid body points at her.*

<DO YOU THINK IT'S FAIR THAT WE SHOULD HAVE TO LIVE WITH ALL THIS AGONY? WHY SHOULD YOU GET TO LAUGH WHILE WE ARE FORCED TO CRY? WHY DO YOU GET TO TASTE THE BEST THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER, WHILE ALL WE DO IS CHOKE ON ITS LEFTOVERS?! ANSWER US THIS:>

*Apocalymon's humanoid portion looks to the sky & raises his arms rather dramatically.*

<WHY DO ALL OF YOU GET THE PIZZA, WHILE WE GET THE CRUSTS?!?!>

Beelzemon<Believe me, I know a thing or 2 about bein' alone. You can always make friends, but destroyin' 'em & makin' enemies, you don't get to just undo that!>

Craniamon<Why are you attempting to reason with the abomination? It's infused with the D-Reaper's data, even if it does listen to you, it can only destroy our world & everything in it!>
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*Lopmon grabs Euryale's other hand to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about her. She smiles weakly at both of them. When the others fly up, her smile fades into an expression of shock & disbelief, her voice choked & hollow.*

E"...Taiyo? H-hi...."

*Moments later, Ikkakumon climbs up, Tsune riding on his head.*

Ts"Well--here she is, like you wanted."

Crusadermon:<You know, I have to agree with Craniamon on this.>
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*Kylie runs over to hug Cameron and Biyomom, then smiles at Taiyo and Renamon*

<I told Euryale you were ok! I just knew it!>

Taiyo damn near falls on her face as she runs over to Euryale, throwing her arms around her. Azuma just falls on his face as he moves away from Angemon.

Hitomi: "Are you--"

Azuma: "Of course."

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Justimon: "Did you try to make friends?"

Th"Please, just wait, I think we can find another solution."

<THERE WAS ONE. BAGRAMON WHISPERED TO US THROUGH A HOLE IN THE DARKNESS. WE CONSPIRED TO END OUR LONELINESS BY JOINING TOGETHER, & TO SPREAD THAT TO THE WORLD.>

Th"You don't need to do that! Now that you're here, you can just stay in the Digital World, & find Digimon like Bagramon who will willingly be your friends!>

<LIKE BAGRAMON? YOU MEAN DIGIMON THAT YOU WILL ATTEMPT TO DESTROY? WE SEE THROUGH YOUR LIES! YOU PERSECUTE US OUT OF HATRED & SELFISHNESS, & ONLY SPEAK OF PEACE WHEN YOUR WEAKNESS IS EXPOSED! BUT YOU BAGRAMON IS NOT DEAD. BAGRAMON IS ONE OF US NOW. YOU'VE FAILED. YOU'LL NEVER KILL AGAIN, & WE WILL NEVER BE ALONE ANYMORE!>

*From all sides, Apocalymon's many arms reach out for them.*

<YOU WILL JOIN US! SUBMIT TO THE GREAT DARKNESS!>
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*With hesitation, Euryale puts her arms around Taiyo's waist. She shifts her right foot slightly back & anyone behind her can see that she's not really looking at Taiyo, just staring blankly into the night with her eyes wide & her mouth slightly agape. Agumon turns to watch.*

Agu<I don't feel relieved. Just...afraid.>

Taiyo: "What's wrong?"

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Justimon flies to avoid that nonsense.

Justimon: "This will not relieve your loneliness. Hatred creates nothing."

*Crusadermon slashes at any arms that come near them or King Drasil*
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Kylie:<So, what happened to you guys?>

Cameron:<Neptunemon's forces were basically destroyed.>

*Euryale shakes her head.*

E"I...I don't know...."

Ts"Neptunemon is dead, but we managed to cut a deal with his wife."
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*Crusadermon & Beelzemon also slice the claws.*

<WHO ARE YOU TO SPEAK OF HATRED? HOW MANY DIGIMON HAVE YOU SLAIN?>

*It drops a bunch of Virus Grenades & also draws back its remaining arms to blast them from afar with copied Sodom & Gomorrah.*

Taiyo: "What?"

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Justimon: "Too many."

Cameron:<We gave them a bunch of Hypnos stuff.>
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*Crusadermon does their best to avoid the shots while protecting Drasil, then fires some sonic booms at it*

*Craniamon stands over Examon, protecting him & Justimon with the whirlwind attack. Beelzemon stands back-to-back with Crusadermon, leaning around to fire a Corona Blaster that just gets slapped away.*

Minervamon<Hey...absorb my data.>

Th"No, I'm not going to destroy y--"

Minervamon<I didn't mean all of it, ya psycho! We can't both stay Digivolved, but this way, at least one of us can.>

Beelzemon<You might wanna follow that same advice there, Pinky. We're both gettin' pretty weak.>

Craniamon<Justimon, I shielded you from Apocalymon's attack, but I won't keep doing so if you don't fight. We need to win.>

<YOUR SCHEMES WILL NOT DEFEAT US!>

*Apocalymon repeats his attack.*
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E"When you were gone, I kept thinking about how could you have survived that blast. Then we saw the recording, & I wondered what would happen if I wasn't there to save you from the Mermaimon. I thought I'd be relieved if you came back, but I'm more anxious than ever."

Taiyo: "I'm here now in one piece. And so are you."

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Reluctantly, Justimon takes to the skies, blasting energy shots at Apocalymon.

Hideki: How do you do it, Monodramon? How do you keep fighting?

Monodramon: I never forget why I fight. I fight to protect you, my home, and those around me.

*Crusadermon nods and starts to do that while attempting to avoid getting hit*
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Cameron:<Have you heard from the the Dark Area group?>

<AND NOW HERE'S A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM AN OLD FRIEND: WHO'S THE TINY ONE NOW, BOGANS?>

*One of his claws shifts shape to resemble Astamon, firing a series of blasts at them with its machinegun. Impmon reverts to Beelzemon & Minervamon to Black Gatomon as their data enters Crusadermon & DemiDevimon, respectively. Upon Biomerging, Ophanimon goes straight into Burst Mode. Strafing, she fires Sefirot Shots at Apocalymon's arms. With Apocalymon's attacks all dodged & his arms removed, nothing stands in Justimon's way, he's able to blast Apocalymon's upper body. It tries to shield itself with its hands, but promptly reverts to data, which is absorbed by the enormous ball it's attached to. Said ball falls to the ground, stabbing deep into the Chaos Area soil.*

<YOU MAY THINK THAT YOU'VE WON, BUT WHAT YOU DESTROYED WAS ONLY A PART OF OUR BODY, THOUGH ADMITTEDLY AN IMPORTANT ONE. IF WE CAN'T EXIST IN THIS WORLD, THEN WE'LL SIMPLY TAKE IT WITH US!>

*The joints in the ball start glowing, but at that moment, branches like the one Bagramon's arm was made of emerge from the void. With the help of Craniamon, they wrench the object free & drag it upward.*

<WHAT IS THIS?! NO! YOU CAN'T RUIN OUR REVENGE!> 

*In the hole in the sky, they can see the rest of Apocalymon explode in a brilliant blast of blue-white light just before another mass of branches tangles up, sealing the hole in the sky.*

<YOU HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED A THING! AS LONG AS THERE IS STRIFE IN THIS WORLD, we will continue to be reborn! We will have our revenge...yet even if...it takes us...years......what a......waste.....of......ti.....>

BG<I think he's gone.>

<"For now at least. But look at the damage he's caused.">

*As King Drasil & Examon stir, she points to the crater from where he stabbed into the ground, which is coated with D-Reaper chaos. She also points to the cracks in the sky, & the arcs of lightning they're firing off.*

BG<Plus, Big Sis is still missing. You don't think they ate her, did you?!>

<"I don't know...but even if it did, they aren't gone for good, right?! Apocalymon even said that it would be back!" So...technically, nobody died!>
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Ts"No. How'd things go with Jupitermon?"

*Euryale shakes her head, looking increasingly horrified.*

E"But that didn't stop you from going missing in the first place! It didn't stop everything you went through, & when I couldn't save you, I vowed to destroy Jupitermon for costing us that chance--but now that you're okay--oh gods, I destroyed those Digimon for no reason! I didn't even stop them from going to the Dark Area, & who knows what they did there!"

*She lets go of Taiyo, taking several steps back & grabbing her hair. She seems to be looking in Taiyo's direction, but somehow through her. Tsune & Gomamon have now taken to staring, dumbfounded, at her breakdown. Agumon sits down, holding his head & stomach & generally looking sick. Ceresmon Medium heads off somewhere as if she wants no part of this drama.*

E"On top of that, I had to tell your parents that I couldn't keep you safe! I--I tried to keep going, but even when I wasn't moping around, I was just making everything worse!"

*She starts tearing up.*

E"I shouldn't have abandoned you to fight Jupitermon! You deserve so much better than me, nothing I did could ever be forgiven!"

Azuma: "That's enough! You did what you thought was best. Whatever's going on in the Dark Area, the others can and will handle it. You have no reason to beat yourself up over anything that was out of your control. Isn't what really matters is that we're all still alive and in one piece?"

Taiyo: "I don't want anyone else. I want you. I want to be there with you regardless of the outcome of what happens."

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Justimon: "We'll find Mervamon."

Crusadermon:<I will come with you.>

*They look down at King Drasil*

<My lord, are you alright?>
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Kylie:<You did what you thought was right and went when you were needed! Taiyo understands that and she loves you!>

*Ophanimon places a hand on her head, breathing a steadying sigh.*

<"Okay...if Mervamon is safe, she would most likely be in the catacombs.">

*She looks up the destroyed hill.*

<"Which are...currently buried....">

*Meanwhile, King Drasil stands up.*

Drasil<I'm fine. I had to reboot, but I was able to access my Server Tree & use it to pull Apocalymon back into the trash file that it emerged from.>
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*Euryale loses her battle to not cry, placing a hand over her eyes.*

E"I don't know--how you can all--all forgive me--so easily...."

*Now Agumon also has the sniffles.*

A<I'm not sure we'll be much help against Jupitermon....>

Taiyo hugs Euryale as that's all she can do.

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Justimon: "Then we dig them out."

*Lunamon comes over and hugs Euryale's leg*

Lunamon:<Why wouldn't we?>
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Crusadermon:<Are there any digimon more adapt to dig left?>