Old Ones Return (VII)

Cyberdramon grabs Hideki and flies to find somewhere safe to set him down while Angemon flies to catch Hitomi & Gatomon.

*Kylie scans Aero Wing, and Lunamon uses them to catch Biyomon before heading down to the ground. Crusadermon moves around the Gizumon as fast as they can, attacking with Fist of Fear. Cameron screams at the Azuma and Hitomi*

Cameron:<Feel united with your partners or some shit! We need you to biomerge right about now!>

*Surprisingly, the fires on Ceresmon's back soon go out, fresh plant life growing out of the charred husks left behind. Ceresmon Medium's voice seems to whisper on the wind as Thiera & DemiDevimon Biomerge again.*

Medium<Tell your human friends to use their weapon & flee as far as possible. I can create a new Ceresmon.>

<Did you hear that?!>

Yamaki<Yes. Please hurry. I'm starting the program & you'll have only minutes to get clear.>

*So Ophanimon grabs the Monitamon & hops to the sky, using the Sefirot to try to knock as many of the fireballs off-course as possible. Daemon & Megidramon fly past her. At 1st they try attacking the defenseless, but Ophanimon grabs Megidramon's tail & spins her into Daemon, at which point they start firing on her. Euryale helps Agumon & Taiyo get on Kyubimon's back. Agumon points to the river.*

A<There! If we get to the river, we can use the data packets to heal & re-Digivolve!>

E"Until Kurata gets the same idea & dams it up!>

*The Gizumon are destroyed, but in their place, out of the ground, emerge a number of small-to-mid sized D-Reaper Agents, the Bubbles immediately firing on Crusadermon as the Pendulum Feet close in. In the distance, they can see the fires on the coastline, as Zhuquaiomn & Baihumon lead the pirate ships, now steel plated with steam stacks, into battle.*

Doing what they've been doing as that is how partnerships isn't doing them any favors, so instead of screaming Cameron could be doing anything else, but that's none of my business.

As that plan is no longer a thing, Cyberdramon ditches the idea of finding somewhere to put Hideki down, attacking the D-Reaper Agents with Darkness Wave once the card has been activated.

Not being the time or place to gripe about her phobia, Kyubimon gets into the water to find data packets.

*Biyomon heads to the river to find data packets, while Lunamon goes back to help Cameron and Kylie to the river. Seeing Cyberdramon attacking the D Reaper Agents, Crusadermon flies away from the attacks aimed at them, then dives at Daemon, using Spiral Masquerade*

*A number of Pendulum Feet come up to try to stop Crusadermon, but are promptly slashed apart.*

Daemon<Activate Program: Super Speed!>

*Daemon darts aside in a blur & fires on Crusadermon. Ophanimon clashes with Megidramon's claws & tail, using an energy javelin to push her away, then makes a beeline for the river, swooping down to snatch up Cameron & Lunamon. Once in her arm, Monitamon, with Yamaki's frowning face, waves at them.*

O<"Follow me! And help me get them!">

*More portals open up about halfway to the river, Gizumon emerging & attacking Kyubimon. After Cyberdramon destroys the D-Reaper agents, the ground breaks further, an enormous Optimizer emerging. It takes a swipe at him as the Bubbles agents fire on him.*

Taiyo uses Inflation Space!! Making everyone's favorite canine enormous which promptly launches a salvo of fireballs at the Gizumon & D-Reaper Agents.

Cyberdramon dodges and weaves, blasting the Bubbles.

*Crusadermon uses Fist of Fear to reappear behind Daemon and aims for his back. Presumably, Kylie is being carried as well, or she's left by herself. Biyomon continues to the river*

*No, she's not being carried, because Ophanimon can only lift so much, & Crusadermon chose to ignore the explicit instructions. So now she finds herself menaced by Pendulum Feet that erupted from the ground, slashing at her. Daemon is still faster, evading & firing back, not to mention Crusadermon is also being fired upon by Megidramon. Biyomon catches up with Kyubimon, who is able to repel the Gizumon, but not destroy them. Agumon assists with blasts of lightning. The Optimizer again tries to squash Cyberdramon, this time between its hands. It also employs the scout agents to copy his Darkness Wave. Meanwhile, a rumbling dust cloud & what looks like a forested island approach from the northern horizon.*

Cyberdramon flies low and charges the D-Reaper Agent, attacking with Desolation Claw.

OOC: Crusadermon isn't female, but that was my fault for not reading carefully enough.

*Crusadermon soars towards Kylie, avoiding as many of the shots as they can, slashing at the Pendulum Feet with their blades. Upon arriving near Kylie, they grab her and fly off after Ophanimon. Biyomon continues towards the river*

*Cyberdramon destroys several of the smaller agents, but of course they soon catch onto his presence. Not only do the Bubbles shoot at him, but large green motherfuckers rise up out of the ground to bar his path. Meanwhile, Ophanimon stops & turns to Crusadermon, holding out Monitamon & Friends.*

<Here, take them, someone needs to go help Hideki & Cyberdramon.>

*Spotting Daemon tearing after them, wreathed in fire, she fires a series of Sefirot Crystals to force him to evade & hang back.*

A<Kyubimon, we need to keep moving!>

*For emphasis, he points to where Biyomon waddles towards the forest. Having noticed him, the Gizumon turn & extend their arms, weaving them together in an effort to capture him in a kind of cage.*

Cyberdramon slashes at them with Desolation Claw.

Stomping through the river, Kyubimon launches a salvo of fireballs at the Gizumon.

*Biyomon runs back towards Kyubimon, trying to avoid the cage.

*Crusadermon shakes their head, and sets Kylie on the ground next to Ophanimon*

<You protect them, I'll go get Cyberdramon and Hideki*

*They take off back towards them*

*Kyubimon finally reaches the river, at which point Euryale & Agumon slide down, wading into the water to retrieve data packets.*

E"There are barely any in here, Kurata must've dammed the river up already!"

A<They'll have to do for now, we just need to decide who to give them to!>

*Megidramon elects to fly overhead, dropping fireballs on the forest in an attempt to smoke them out. The burning plants move away from the rest as Ceresmon Medium rises out of the water, trailing a vine net full of data orbs. The Bacchae can be seen rallying on the opposite bank.*

<"But I can't hold them all!">

*Either way, she is now in a duel with Daemon. The Gizumon electrocute the cage to prevent Biyomon from escaping, but find themselves flash-frozen by Zudomon as he flees from D-Reaper Agents, which counterattack Cyberdramon, knocking him back to the point where he can barely hold his form together. Meanwhile, something jumps on Angemon from behind & begins tearing at him with teeth & claws--the converted MadLeomon, the ambush team having finally caught up with them.*

*Biyomon tries to use his fire to break out of the cage. Kylie runs over to Ophanimon, Lunamon and Cameron waving at her*

Cameron:<If you fly low and we all hold on tight, I think we can make it work!>

*Crusadermon uses Spiral Masquerade on Daemon, trying to move towards Cyberdramon*

Carrying two humans and a cat, Angemon has trouble keeping airborne. Gatomon positions herself to blast MadLeomon with Cat Laser.

Kyubimon blasts the Gizumon with fireballs while Cyberdramon tries to find somewhere to put Hideki.

E"Well...right now, only Ophanimon & Crusadermon can retain Mega form, but I don't know how long that will last."

*A few pieces of the frozen Gizumon are broken off by Kyubimon's flames, allowing Biyomon to escape. Zudomon uses his ice wave to stop the fire, only for Megidramon to dive bomb him, breaking his hammer arm with her tail, chewing through his horn with her acidic saliva, & tearing at his chest with flaming claws.*

<"I am very skeptical of this plan, particularly because every time Crusadermon moves away, Daemon attacks us.>

*Sure enough, she's forced to go into Burst Mode to counter a wave of fire from him--though his cloak has been ripped apart & he has a few minor incisions on his arms & wings--just as the ground beneath them begins to crack, red chaos bubbling up. One of the various playsets may be safe to put Hideki on--for now--but in the meantime, the D-Reaper agents continue blasting him. Ebonwumon & SaberLeomon's army finally come into view, but a series of vines emerge to trap them--they seem to be burrowing into Ebonwumon--as the empty shell of Ceresmon is converted with D-Reaper data & rises into the sky.*

*Crusadermon continues to fly towards Cyberdramon, dive bombing the agents attacking him and using Spiral Masquerade*

<Go to the river with the others!>

*Biyomon hurries towards the river*

Cyberdramon flies to the river, the lot of good it'll do when the world is falling to pieces.

*This creates a hole for Cyberdramon to escape through, though now Crusadermon finds agents swarming over him to try to hold him down as he's blasted & also attacked from above by the larger "mid-boss" agents. Daemon eventually catches Ophanimon's lance, twists her arm around, & impales her with it. With a pained grunt, the Burst Aura fades & she tries to attack with Sefirot, only for Daemon to break through the crystals as they form & blast her away with a wave of fire, where she degenerates into a frazzled-looking Thiera & LadyDevimon. Daemon stands over Cameron & the others with a twisted grin, raising a flaming claw. At this point, the ground is too broken up to flee from him, & the last footholds are being expunged by the chaos.*

Daemon<I told you there was no escaping me.>

*Meanwhile, Ceresmon Medium pulls Megidramon off of Zudomon with vines as the latter degenerates into Ikkakumon, Tsune falling painfully to the ground. The trees begin pelting Megidramon with fruit that explodes in a gas that smothers the flames, & tries to encase her in more vines. MadLeomon Orochi Mode leaps at the angel & cat again, exhaling poison from its various heads.*

SaberLeomon<Lord Ebonwumon, what's wrong, what are you doing?!>

*For Ebonwumon had begun stomping on the army under his command, & also raining Black Crystals down on them. Reasoning that the vines must be controlling him, SaberLeomon claws a few, only to be pelted by fruit which leaks chaos, dissolving chunks of his data. BanchoLeomon throws his coat over his comrade, weaving through the attacks to cut the vines. The other lion rises weakly to his feet, hardening his mane & firing at the Ceresmon, paralyzing it & causing it to fall to the ground. Also, storms surge overhead as Azulongmon regains consciousness & slowly, painfully, slithers back into the sky.*

*Cameron and Biyomon put themselves in front of Kylie and Lunamon*

Cameron:<A little help over here!>

*Assuming Cyberdramon will take the opening, Crusadermon slices through the agent on their way back to stab Daemon in the back*

Cyberdramon blasts the Agents with a Darkness Wave while making their towards the river as getting in a heated melee bout isn't a good option at the time.

Angemon moves to avoid the poison, trying to ignore Gatomon's claws sticking in him while she shoots lasers at the undead lion thing.

*Fairly heedless of the lasers, MadLeomon leaps at them, trying to wrap its snakey parts around them. Crusadermon escapes the agents, but is pretty banged up. They move to follow Cyberdramon to the river, where Euryale is pulling on her hair & shaking. Meanwhile, Agumon, holding his stomach as if in pain, assists Ceresmon Medium by blasting the trapped Megidramon with lightning.*

E"I--I don't think there's anything we can do. How are we supposed to fight off all of this?!"

*Meanwhile, still under control, Ebonwumon fires dark blasts out of each of his mouths at the Leomon, forcing them to leap back. Straining, LadyDevimon rises to her hands & feet, half-leaping & half-flying across the chasm of chaos. Putting herself in front of Cameron, Biyomon, Kylie, & Lunamon, she rather casually throws them across to where Thiera stares at her, tearing up. When Daemon attacks, she counters with a claw wreathed in darkness. She also shoots lasers into Daemon's eyes, but though he grunts & closes them in pain, he presses the attack, increasing the fire. LadyDevimon glances back.*

D<Sorry. Guess I lied when I said I'd stay with you 'til the end.>

*As a weakened Ultimate is hardly a match for a Bio-Hybridized Mega, her form flickers with static, changing to Wizardmon, now using both hands to hold the fire back with a shield of blue energy. Sensing the approaching end, she speaks as quickly as possible.*

D<Don't change. Don't worry. Just do me a favor-->

*The shield finally shatters, fire spilling over Wizardmon & stripping away her data until she turns back to DemiDevimon. They don't hear whatever the favor is over the roar of the flames as they can see the outline of DemiDevimon being disintegrated, Daemon absorbing the data. He opens his eyes weakly, squinting vaguely in the general direction of the Tamers as Thiera opens her mouth in a scream that catches in her throat & comes out instead as a gurgle.*

Daemon<You should thank your friend--for being kind enough to show you your fate.>

Yamaki<Get out of there! I'll launch the Juggernaut!>

*Looking like she's making every movement with hot coals in her shoes, Thiera tears her eyes away from Daemon, grabs the Monitamon, & runs past the frozen Gizumon to the river. The Gizumon are starting to break free, but she pays them no notice. Euryale stares, mouth & eyes wide, so shocked that she's stopped shaking.*

E"Thiera...I'm so sor--"

Th"For what?! There's nothing to worry about, it was just a magic trick! She had to fool Daemon! You'll see!"

*She speaks in an oddly manic, giddy, high-pitched tone, giggling slightly. Ikkakumon & Tsune back in after her, Ikkakumon firing Harpoon Torpedoes at the Gizumon, both glancing at Thiera, opening & closing their mouths as if searching for something to say. Eventually, Megidramon chews through her bindings, launching at Ceresmon Medium, wrapping around her & mauling her with flaming claws & teeth.*

Attempting to cover their escape, should they be trying to escape, Kyubimon continues her attacks.

Hitomi uses the Cocytus Breath card which Gatomon attacks MadLeomon with while Azuma uses the High-Speed Plug In, so Angemon can get the hell out of there.