Episode Thirteen: Last Laugh

Azuma: "We don't know if that door will still be there if we go through without them. This whole place might just be like the maze."

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On fire, Piedmon drops and rolls. It probably isn't actually Piedmon who was seen by the others quoting Dante as well as mentioned being elsewhere in the manor talking to itself. But maybe there's more than one.

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Dorugamon gets the pleasure of feeling like it ran into a wall, the other Roatha unphased other than looking annoyed, a shimmer visible in front of it.

Mime!Roatha: "Do you know what this is? Of course you don't. It's why you and your partner never shared each other's feelings. Do you feel happy when he does? Sad? Angry? No. Do you know why that is? Because your bond is weak. The final confrontations draw closer and as you are now, the chains that bind you all together will break and as the weakest link, it'll be all your fault."

D<That's bullshit, we've been together since the beginning!>

R"We've basically never agreed on anything more than our desire to rip you to shreds!"
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A"I was suggesting that we try to find them, not leave without them."
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*After taking care of the swords, he turns & fires an Atomic Blaster at the downed Piedmon.*

Eve:<We are more likely to get lost looking for them. All of the paths seem to lead near eventually.>

Piedmon erupts in a pillar of flames, its face visible before dying out. In the remaining frame the Piedmon-looking thing has a good chuckle.

Piedmon?: "Congratulations, you single handedly defeated the last and strongest of the Dark Masters. Or maybe..."

It pulls at its barely attached face, Piedmon's actual face visible underneath.

Piedmon: "Or maybe you did nothing at all."

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Mime!Roatha: "As if that means anything--"

It reaches out to them, a shimmer like sunlight on water visible in the air, keeping it just ever so slightly out of reach.

Mime!Roatha: "When you can't even open yourself up to those around you. And when you try, what happens? They either leave you or you leave them. Do you even know or care if she's alive or dead? Your own time is short as I'm sure you haven't figured out."

The ivy creeps along the floor towards them, Roatha hears whispers growing louder as the plants approach. Dozens of voices all of them mocking him.

*They slash the frame.*
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R"I'm done arguing with crazy ghosts or hallucinations or whatever! Get out of the way or we will MAKE you get out of the way!"

*Doruwhatevermon nods vigorously.*
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A"But how long have we been waiting?! What if they need our help!?"

L<I don't know if it's such a good idea to just stand around in Piedmon's basement, waiting, with no idea what we're doing....>

Eve:<We won't be any help to them if we get ourselves lost in the maze. Plus, I doubt Piedmon would let us find them.>

*She pays Aroma's shoulder*

<I know how you feel. Euryale will be just fine.>

Between the banners, a door appears. Nothing fancy, just a plain white door.

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The ivy begins to creep up their legs, a clanging from the path they came from approaches.

Mime!Roatha: "You are the one who stands in your path."

The familiar voice of DarkKnightmon speaks as Craniummon enters the room, its eyes a crimson red and its body more blue than black.

VR-Craniummon: "You can escape anything, even the punishing hand of the Inquisitor...but you can't escape yourself."

Mime!Roatha: "Which will kill you first? The Knight or the poison?"

It raises the Avalon to run Roatha through.

*As Roatha is on Doruwhatevermon, said Digimon bats the lance out of the way, shooting a cannonball while Roatha tries to tear off the ivy.*
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*WarGrowlmon stands in front of Euryale & reluctantly opens the door.*
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"She's not the only one I'm worried about."

Eve:<That's not what I meant...I was trying to explain how I emphasize with you because Roatha's gone too->

*Terriermon interrupts her*

Terriermon:<Eve's sorry, that wasn't what she meant but she's bad at explaining it.>

As if on cue and probably feeling very out of breath, Euryale and WarGrowlmon appear out of nowhere, Taiyo tackling Euryale with a hug, probably not a good thing.

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Not being in good shape and being on the wrong end of a Mega-level that goes about as well as Reagan trying to tear down the Berlin Wall with his fists. Which is to say, it knocks him the fuck down, the ivy probably the only thing keep Roatha from falling on the floor.

Mime!Roatha: "Which do you think will kill you first, the poison or this imitation Knight?"

VR-Craniummon raises the Avalon to stab them both through.

*Suspecting another trick, WarGrowlmon pulls her off of Euryale, holding her up & squinting at her skeptically. Euryale is coughing because some bitch knocked the wind out of her. Assuming there is no trickery afoot, Aroma & Lalamon stare at her for several seconds, then start looking around.*
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*In desperation, Roatha starts smacking the vines with the Digivice. If that fails, he chucks it at the imitation of himself.*

*Eve moves hesitantly over towards Euryale. She looks past Euryale, hoping to see Roatha with her*

Eve:<Don't worry, everyone ends up here. It really is us. You haven't seen Roatha, have you?>

Taiyo backs away as a cyborg dinosaur thing is awfully intimidating.

Taiyo: "Sorry...."

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It's plain-ass ivy. Other than seemingly having a will of its own, it's nothing any sane person would fret over. Although due to not being sane, Roatha has every right to fret over it.

The Digivice smacks into the same barrier that keeps Mime!Roatha from touching others.

Mime!Roatha: "It didn't have to end this way."

VR-Craniummon brings the Avalon down on them.

*Hard to back away when you're 2 stories in the air, being held by a cyborg dinosaur thing. Reluctantly, he sets Taiyo down.*

G<How do we know you're not ALL illusions or something stupid like that?>

L<How do we know YOU'RE not the illusion?>

G<...What?>

*Euryale props herself up on her elbows, still trying to stabilize her breathing.*

E"No--didn't--run into--anyone else--in the maze...."

*Eve's face falls slightly*

<Then...I guess Roatha's still in there...>

Terriermon:<Glad you made it out ok though.>

Azuma: "We just have to trust each other."

The door Piedmon had entered previously opens up, the wooded hallway somewhat visible inside.

???: "Ladies and gentlemen, please come inside. The final guest is waiting for you."

*Euryale pulls herself to her feet & I guess she & Aroma cluster around Taiyo, Euryale taking her hand--her own is clammy & twitchy, & Euryale's lip is quivering almost unnoticably.*

A"I don't like this...why isn't he here with the rest of us?"

E"I don't know--but it's not like we have any other choice. If we tried to jump him right now, he'd probably see it coming."

*Eve's eyes are wide with fear as she steps forward. Terriermon sits on her head, ears drooping. Kylie, Cameron, and their partners get up as well*

Eve:<He's fine. He has to be fine...everyone else made it back, Roatha can too...>

*She shakes slightly, but moves away from Kylie and Cameron, who had come over. Kylie takes one of Cameron's hands*

Entering The Dark Wood of Error, the doors close behind them, and a haunting [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] begins to play with no visible source.

It's a lot like an orchard, but with broken portraits hanging from the dead trees like fruit although propped up against a tree like some kind of a welcoming sign is a large ornate portrait with what a recent looking image of all the Chosen Children together showing signs of advanced decomposition and Piedmon standing behind them like a fraternal figure. At the base of the frame are the words Family Goretrait.

Passed the portrait, they begin to hear a dripping sound like the faucet in your kitchen. It's loud enough for them to hear it, but subtle enough to not drown out the ambient music, growing louder and louder while still retaining its subtlety as they progress through the hall.

*Euryale puts her other arm around Taiyo's shoulders.*

G<Seems kinda pretendish to me.>

*Aroma lets out a barely audible squeak.*

Terriermon:<I know these portraits are supposed to be weird, but I think they're kinda cool! Like we all got our pictures taken an a zombie themed photo place.>

*He raises his ears and looks down at Eve, hoping for a positive reaction. There isn't one, and now Terriermon looks more depressed. Cameron keeps a tight grip on Kylie's hand*

At the center of the orchard is a large tree like it's supposed to be a monument of sorts at some park, some particularly large thing wrapped in ivy hanging from it.

They can kind of see Dorugamon's tail and wings, data drifting away from them as well as Roatha's arm hanging limp from the bundle, an enormous gash present on his hand like a worse-looking version of the bite that was on Kylie's leg with visible signs of infection. The dripping sound coming from the blood dripping down the arm and from the hand.

The ivy is probably the only thing keeping the two together as literally as that can be taken.

Taiyo: "Is that...?"

*Euryale gives an irritated sigh & actually rolls her eyes, all signs of fear washed away.*

E"This again? Really, don't you have ANYTHING else? Of course it's not them, this is about the 5th time he's tried this trick on me alone."

*She looks over to Taiyo & Aroma.*

E"Unless you have 9 lives, I'm pretty sure he was lying."

*Aroma goes ahead & faints anyway, Lalamon grabbing onto her arm & flailing to try to hold her up. Guilmon's support helps.*

*Eve takes a step forward, literally shaking*

Eve:<R-Roatha?>

*Kylie helps support Aroma*

Cameron:<Patamon, can you purify him like you did Kylie?>

Azuma: "Are you certain it isn't him?"

MagnaAngemon does his thing, but it doesn't make a visible difference. And they won't know if it is his or not until they cut the ivy.