Old Ones Return (VII)

*As I specified that the Gizumon were on the other side of the barrier, the attacks fizzle uselessly against it. Good news, everyone's now in Ultimate form. Bad news, there are now 6 giant steel pestles flying at them from all sides as Vajramon hooks Zudomon's wrist with his crossed blades & fires an energy beam as he slices. Zudomon's hand is a mangled mess that can no longer support his hammer, but thanks to the timely swipe of a Brave Shield by Tsune, he's only knocked on his ass by the energy beam.*

Mr. R<Is--is this what you kids have to fight regularly?!>
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*Having dropped the 2 Digimon he was fighting to the ground, & angry at the cheap shot, Owryumon strafes above Karatenmon & fires a series of lightning strikes downward. Azulongmon quickly destroys the Gizumon, but is rammed on either side by the giant bugs, electrocuted, & blasted with darkness. He is forced to let go of the cloud, & as it dissipates, Gevurah begins falling & screaming. Ceresmon is also not out of the woods, the Medium barely able to deflect the Positron Laser fired at her & retaliate with tangling, exploding fruit. Greymon rolls onto her back.*

A<Even if I could Digivolve again, we'll never defeat 4 Megas. We have to get out of here!>

*Karatenmon flies away from the lightning before turning and using Feather Flare again*

Cameron:<I agree, Ceresmon, it's up to you!>
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*The human drop to the ground to avoid the pestles, while the digimon jump/fly over them. Kylie scans her High speed Plug In and Hyper Wing cards, then Crescemon flies towards Vajiramon and fires ice arrows at its eyes. Meanwhile, Lyra uses Thor's Hammer, which Knightmon uses in an attempt to squash Kumbhiramon*

Angewomon, Cyberdramon, and MagnaAngemon grab their partners and fly to avoid the projectiles while Taomon makes some weirdo shield to protect Taiyo.

Taiyo: "Yes."

*The forces of the pestles hitting the ground concuss those foolhardy enough to be laying nearby, while the relatively small size of the barrier mean the flying Digimon are all kind of tangled up. 2 of the pestles begin slicing up the ground & getting dangerously close to the humans while the remaining 3 rise up in an attempt to skewer the Digimon. A Kumbhiramon clone dissolves into data, but the barrier remains in-tact. Tsune gives Zudomon a pair of Aero Wings that he uses to enhance the strength of his blizzard attacks. Vajramon's fur starts to frost, but it's not enough to bring him down, as he slices rocks up to bash at Zudomon.*

Mr. R<Now I see...this is what Euryale didn't want us to know....>

*1 of the Kumbirhamon clones opens its mouth to speak, & a voice familiar to some, but not others, comes out.*

Kurata<Don't worry, your children won't have to fear for much longer. As you can see, I'm close to perfecting my anti-Digimon force, & now it's showtime!>
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*Outside of the barrier, they can see an enormous pig charging through the Chessmon lines. As the RookChessmon hold it at bay, QueenChessmon grabs her husband & takes to the sky, where they pepper it with swords & shadow warriors & the KnightChessmon stab it in the sides. It would probably be destroyed, were it not continually breathing in the data of its fallen "comrades."*
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*It's hard to tell, but Ceresmon & the Medium appear to be glaring at Karatenmon. Imperialdramon fires a ball of some kind of dark matter at them. Owryumon parries & fires more lightning without skipping a beat. Fortunately for Gevurah, Antylamon jumped up to grab him. However, unfortunately for her, Hercules Kabuterimon evades Beelzemon's blasts & fires a shitton of lightning at them. Meanwhile, Azulongmon coils around GranKuwagamon, trying to avoid the rifts he slashes into the sky, & suddenly darts forward, slashing its wing with his horn. The very sky seems to respond to their fight, storm clouds gathering around the enormous dragon.*

*Knightmon flies down to get Lyra and Kylie, then starts swinging his sword to send energy blades at various clones, starting with the one Kurata is using to talk. He remains as far away from the pestles as he can. Since she can see Kylie is out of direct danger, Crescemon continues trying to blind Vajramon*
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*Karatenmon doesn't have any idea why they are made at him, and Cameron is confused because he was obviously referring to the fact that are riding on Ceresmon. Anyway, he moves if he is in danger from anything, then scans MetalGarurumon's Blaster. Karatenmon flies away from the lightning and anything else coming at him before using the blaster on Owryumon. He continues to move back towards the others*
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*The parents are ether crying or trying stay strong for their respective children*

The three fly, Hideki using Darkness Wave so Cyberdramon can blast the pestles while Hitomi uses Cocytus Breath so Angewomon can do the same.

MagnaAngemon follows suit with Soul Banisher.

Taomon picks Taiyo up and throws talismans at the clones.

*Flying any higher would bring them into contact with an electric barrier, so now all of those Digimon, & any humans or Digimon near them, find themselves shocked. The pestles are blown off-target, & now only a single one remains as the real Kumbiramon reveals itself. The barrier collapses & he begins jumping around in a blur, trying to elude them as he directs the remaining pestle back to the humans.*

Kurata<Even if you destroy all of my Devas, it won't stop me. Every bit & byte of this army is now under my direct control. I will not hesitate to use my most powerful creations on you.>

*Now that the barrier is down, the Gizumon form a dome by linking their "arms" & begin shooting at the flying Digimon. Though Vajramon can't see, this doesn't stop him from swinging his swords at anything in the area, collapsing 50 foot swaths of ground wherever he strikes & throwing boulders up towards the Digimon attacking him. Exhausted & not wanting to get hit by this nonsense, Zudomon grabs Tsune & backs away, Monitamon climbing up his leg, though at this point what little ground is left begins to collapse under them.*

G<I--don't think--I can stay--Digi--volved--for much longer....>

*Fortunately for them, QueenChessmon twirls, the light from the ruby on her staff releasing a bunch of hearts that rejuvenate the wounds & energy of any who are tattooed by them.*
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*Owryumon continues strafing & Antylamon turns around to take Hercules Kabuterimon's attack at her back. She drops, unconscious & reverting to Lopmon. Beelzemon grabs her & whistles for his motorcycle, during which time Gevurah makes a run for it, Hercules Kabuterimon tearing off after him. Ceresmon is just barely able to drop out of the range of Imperialdramon's attack, which obliterates a mountain somewhere behind her in an enormous off-white explosion. She is just in time to get tackled by Imperialdrmon, who uses his Splendor Blades to try to tear apart the Medium. The various Digimon riding Ceresmon try to attack, but the attacks pretty much just bounce off of its armor. Gran Kuwagamon raises his claws for an attack, but Azulongmon demonstrates why he's a Sovereign by grabbing it from behind with his tail, slamming it into Hercules Kabuterimon, & obliterating them both with several enormous lightning bolts as they lie dazed on the ground.*

*Knightmon sends energy slashes at the Gizumon, hovering slightly over the ground. He stays away from the pestles. Crescemon turns and flies towards Kumbiramon, using Lunatic Dance to bring its guard down before slashing at it. She also remains far from the pestles*
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*Cameron grabs Thiera and pulls her away from Imperialdramon, and uses Mummymon's Snake Bandages. Karatenmon uses these to attempt to tie Imperialdramon up while avoiding the attacks coming his way*

MagnaAngemon opens up Heaven's Gate to take in the Gizumon's attack and nothing else as that would require it to be consistently effective as opposed to being at the mercy of chance.

Angewomon and the others direct their attacks on the Gizumon.

*The gate does indeed suck in the attacks, however the Gizumon prove difficult to damage, only the Garuru Cannon doing more than putting scratches in them. The surviving Gizumon inject wires into their mutilated brethren to keep them functioning & continue to close in on the Tamers & their partners.*

Mr. Aqua<What are these things, why are they so much stronger than you? Er...no offense.>

Hypnos<The same Digimon that attacked Shinjuku prior to the arrival of the D-Reaper. They were sent by the rulers of the Digital World to stop me from destroying its inhabitants. Truth be told, I'm no better than Kurata.>

*Riley takes off her visor, eyes misty. Even Tally looks a bit stunned to hear him say that.*

Riley<Sir...that's not true, you would never go as far as this. You DIDN'T go as far as this.>

Yamaki<But would I have, if no one had stopped me?>

Mr. R<Hey! Wallow in pity over something that happened ages ago some other time! Right now, we need you to focus on what's right in front of you, right now!>

Yamaki<Yes...you're right...in any case, the Devas seem to be much more powerful now, but also little more than shells for Kurata's signal to inhabit. The machines are artificial Digimon created by Kurata, who have the power to permanently delete whatever is destroyed by their lasers.>

*Meanwhile, Kumbirhamon hesitates for just a second & is knocked to the ground. Zudomon intercepts the pestle with his tail, then blasts Vajramon with Aero Wing when he tries to leap onto him. Tsune adds a Meramon's Fist to the mix, & the torrent finally puts some cracks in Vajramon's data as he falls to his side, smoking.*
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*Meanwhile, Queen Chessmon is beating the giant pig about the face with whirling strikes from her hammer, but it's pointless as long as it can keep absorbing fallen D-Reaper Hybrids. Eventually, it begins to overwhelm the Chessmon restraining it. The United Army has difficulty putting Kurata's forces down, due to cables snaking out of the ground, attempting to restrain & stab into Ebonwumon. Kurata has stopped attempting to drop bombs, as none of them are getting past Yuggoth.*
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*They stall Imperialdramon for less than a second before he snaps the bindings. Owryumon, Beelzemon, & Azulongmon are now racing after Gevurah. The grass begins to wither as vines inject data into the Medium & the other Digimon.*

A<We should be able to go a step further now! Digivolve to--!>

*The Light of Digivolution begins to form around him, but falls apart prematurely, & he still hasn't Digivolved. Meanwhile, Imperialdramon charges another Positron Laser.*

A<No good, I'm only getting weaker...Euryale, I need your help! I can't do this without you!>

E"Me?! But what am I supposed to do?"

Cameron:<You need to be strong for Agumon! Or something...Karatenmon!>

*Karatenmon dives at Imperialdramon from behind, firing off a Feather Flare and using the Garuru Cannon on it*
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*Crescemon slashes again to end Kumbiramon once and for all. Knightmon starts aiming his energy slashes at Vajramon as Harley's group is taking care of the Gizumon*
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Mr. Sorenson:<You didn't try and kill any kids though, right?>

They direct their attacks to sever the wires connecting the Gizumon together following with attacks towards the Gizumon themselves.

*At the last second, Imperialdramon swats Karatenmon with its tail, the chaos embedded within it burning him pretty badly. Greymon uses the momentum from Karatenmon's attacks to ram Imperialdramon, & with the help of the other Digimons' attacks, finally succeed in pushing Imperialdramon off, Ceresmon using her wings to force him down further. However, about 50 feet off of the ground, he stops, his armor shifting around. Ceresmon turns & high tails it out of there.*
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Yamaki<I am told that Digimon hatch from eggs. They must be someone's children.>

*Much the same results, only they're now severely weakened by the Gizumons' attacks, barely able to hold their data together. The upshot is that the converted Devas are destroyed--except for the pig--& Zudomon uses his wings to waft their data over to the Gizumon, whose armor begins to corrode.*

G<Into the ground!>

Ts"But what if there's more down there?!"

G<There's too many up here!>

*And so he jumps inside of a fissure.*

It is probably best they follow suit as unless they pull Securitrons out of their ass, there's nothing to be done. Or maybe Sentry Bot Siege Breaker's. Those son's of bitches look downright terrifying, but I'll never know for at least eight years when I'll probably play Fallout 4.

*Knightmon and Crescemon follow the others into the fissure*
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*Karatenmon follows Ceresmon as fast as he can*

*So they flee as fast as they can, but Imperialdramon Fighter Mode tears after them. They happen upon Gevurah lying unconscious on the ground as, above, Azulongmon battles Megidramon & Hercules Kabuterimon.*
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*Once down there, by the light of Monitamon & Tsune's Digivice, Zudomon finds his hammer, holding it up & causing it to emit electricity &, with it, light. It appears to just be an ordinary crack in the earth, though rather tight at the bottom.*

Zudomon<There's nothing here. I guess everything else must be off attacking the United Army...Tsune, should we really just hide down here? It feels wrong.>

Ts"Oh, right, like we're going to be any help if we go up there now! Look at you all, most of you can barely stand!"

Taiyo: "Will the others be okay?"

One must wonder why they're not being pursued especially when they're at such a disadvantage. Or even ambushed by some subterranean shit.

Hideki: "We can't do anything."

*Karatenmon darts down, grabs Gevurah, then keeps flying after Ceresmon*
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Crescemon:<They were with Azulongmon. I'm sure they're alright.>

Ts"Azulongmon was already beaten once."

Mr. R<What's an Azulongmon?>

Ts"Basically a Digimon god."

Mr. A<Computers have gods?>

*Red lights shining from up above indicate that the Gizumon are indeed searching for them. What's more, the tremor is shaking, probably unstable.*
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*The second he tries to pick up Gevurah, the charred remains fall to pieces. Meanwhile, Imperialdramon stops, the "dragon" on its face opening up & charging a bigass laser gun. Owryumon & Azulongmon coil around each other, dueling with lightning as Azulongmon tries to keep him from stabbing while his tail swats at Megidramon, emitting tiny storm clouds, which the dragon dodges before spitting fire at said tail. As always, the energy coming from her chest causes warps in the fabric of the Digital World. Not far away, they can see a battle raging on the forest, & an enormous fire bird speeding towards it from the coast.*

*Karatenmon soars off into the sky after Ceresmon, staying out of Imperialdramon's line of fire*
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Crescemon:<(Well, what do we do?)>

Azuma looks around as maybe there's something about that they could use if the Gizumon come a knockin' and they need to use their heads for once.

<Where'd everybody go? Are we playing hide & seek?>

*The parents look back as the door to the basement opens, Calamon flying down to come to rest on the table. Seeing everyone looking like shit & the Gizumon swarming into the cavern, he makes a sad little groan, tilts his head, & retracts his ears as the thing on his head glows.*
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*Imperialdramon fires an enormous laser at Ceresmon, as even if it moves out of the way at this point, said laser will strike Zuuqaiomon, who has come to a hover above the forest, carpet bombing the D-Reaper Hybrids. Meanwhile, being the stronger Digimon, Azulongmon eventually overpowers & destroys Owryumon, but by this point its tail is a useless charred husk. He turns to & fro, trying to get a bead on Megidramon, but the Bio-Hybrid is much less injured, & swiftly moves around to stay in his blind spot at all times, buffeting him with fireballs from her wings.*

Seeing Calamon is the only thing that has made Hitomi's day worthwhile. That'd be depressing if Calamon weren't damn awesome.

*Karatenmon is still flying towards the humans on Ceresmon*

Karatenmon:<You've got to get out of the way!>
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Crescemon:<Calumon! We could use your help to get to mega level right about now!>

*Tsune glares at the others, as they're being retarded. Bathed in the light coming from Calamon's head, she & Gomamon Biomerge, Plesiomon using its Sonic Blast to try to push the Gizumon back.*

Mrs. A<That's...is that...?>

Mr. A<Tsuney?>
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E"But if we move--the Digimon--& Taiyo's down there!"

*Saber Leomon hardens its hair & leaps onto Imperialdramon, paralyzing it & causing it to fall. The point-blank blast creates the largest explosion yet, blowing the other combatants off-course, destroying Saber Leomon, & heavily damaging Imperialdramon. Though it can't move, it starts absorbing Saber Leomon's data to try to regrow its armor, most of which has been blown to smithereens.*