Old Ones Return (VII)

Azuma: "Beyond that is the end, right?"

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Kurata<You could say that, yes.>

*The Royal Knights take their shots, but the pair of Gizumon flanking him move to protect him. As they are dissolved, Kurata presses some buttons. A series of explosions rocks the caverns, most notably from mines beneath their feet, though one would hope that at this point they had Biomerged & this wouldn't be much of an issue.*

Kurata<Losing my custom Digimon won't set me back too far. Now that I've locked on to Hypnos's signal, once you're gone I can deal with them & the filthy Digimon at my leisure. Until then, it's showtime! I hope it's everything you kids have been waiting for!>

*He spreads his arms & proceeds to Digivolve. As the hulking form of Belphemon emerges, he easily slashes through the collapsing ceiling with a swipe of his claw & takes to the sky. During Kurata's little speech, UlforceVeedramon extended his barrier to protect them from falling debris as Examon loaded another shot. He promptly pursues Kurata. Meanwhile, Thiera comes in from the other direction, holding her arms overhead as she desperately flees Megiddramon's snapping jaws. But the serpentine dragon's pursuit is soon arrested as her tail is pinned by falling debris.*
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*Meanwhile, realizing the entire cavern is collapsing, WarGreymo shouts to follow her & uses Great Tornado to bore through the ceiling. Tsune biomerges, then she & the Royal Knights follow along, adding in their own attacks to widen the tunnel. Of course, also climbing out of the ruins of the base are the last remainig Deva, Gizumon, & the Royal Knights who were left behind.*

*Lyra and Kotemon had indeed biomerged, then Crusadermon leaps forward to snatch Thiera up before Megidramon can get free. They then take to the sky after Belphemon*
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*Kylie and Cameron both biomerge with their respective partners, then take to the sky after the other, attacking the ceiling to widen the gap*

While Magnadramon flies in pursuit of Belphemon, SlashAngemon attacks Megidramon with Heaven's Ripper as the damn thing can still spit hot fire making it not a non-issue.

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Let's assume Talisman Sphere works in many ways while Justimon shoots lightning.

Th"Th--thanks."

*Thiera hugs Crusadermon, who notices that she's pretty heavily bruised, complete with a swollen black eye & torn, bloody clothes. Examon's wings & lance glow, allowing it to rocket into the sky past Belphemon. He then takes aim from the exosphere, firing a burning red laser down to the ground below. Belphemon opens his mouth, creating a portal to absorb it, then spits it back. After being struck on the shoulder by a V-shaped laser from below, he glances back & swings a chain wreathed in black flames at his other pursuers, which tears up the concrete debris like tissue paper as it flies towards them.*
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*Leopardmon begins shifting like a transformer, its arms & legs opening to reveal claws, its wings & armor shifting, until it enters Leopard Mode, allowing it to leap around, shredding the Gizumon with its teeth & claws. Craniamon contributes with a supersonic wave from its spear, eliminating a crowd of a dozen. Gankoomon contributes by throwing debris at them. Magnamon by opening its armor & firing dozens of missiles, which each destroy a Gizumon. There are still dozens of Gizumon left, which move together, contorting their limbs & melding into a kind of giant spider creature with 4 Gizumon-style wings & masses of wiry tendrils all over its body. It fires a massive laser, which eats through the spherical Omni Shield that Craniamon emits, forcing him to dodge. It then smashes Dynasmon with its foot, knocking him out. Leopardmon begins circling the beast, emitting mines of ball lightning from its tail. Now free, Huckmon tries to distract it with a Baby Flame to the face, Sistermon Black assisting with shots from her pistols as Sistermon White uses the Cross Barbie to try to pry its foot off of Dynasmon.*
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*Shredded by the attack, Megiddramon dissolves, leaving only Vanessa behind. She screams & vainly covers her head as another boulder falls towards her.*
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*Caturamon leaps towards Sakuyamon, roaring to shatter the Talisman Sphere, but before it can sink its jaws into her, WarGreymon comes from seemingly out of nowhere to slice it. As it falls to the ground, leaking data from its wounds, it turns back into a hammer. Slamming on the ground, it causes an earth quake, prompting a tidal wave of debris to fall towards them. Meanwhile, Indramon pulls out its horn & puts it to its lips, Makuramon on the giant's shoulders. Plesiomon responds by spitting a wave of water at them, though Makuramon blocks it by charging a 2-handed Primal Sphere, tossing it to create a remotely controlled barrier.*

*Crusadermon weaves around the blocks of concrete, firing a few more shots at Belphemon's face*

Crusadermon:<...We will never repay our debt to you. We must find a way to get you out of here.>
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*Dianamon flies forward, then uses Goodnight Moon on Makuramon and Indramon. Ornismon flaps his wings, using Tempest to send the debris back at Caturamon*

SlashAngemon cleaves the boulder in two as there's no way Vanessa is getting off that easy. And to prove a point to someone even more moralistic than Azuma.

Magnadramon spits hot fire at Belphemon.

============================

Sakuyamon uses their staff to pelt debris away from themself while Justimon moves about, shooting lightning at the canine Deva.

*Vanessa is shocked & eyes Slash Angemon warily as she tries to dislodge her feet from the rubble. Caturamon's feet slip in the shifting debris, preventing him from dodging the lightning. He is promptly destroyed & absorbed by the other Deva who are only briefly rendered sluggish. Indramon swings the hammer at Dianamon, while Greymon gets behind them & starts charging a Terra Force, only to be struck from behind by a bomb. Similar blasts force the Royal Knights to abandon their attack & fortunately hit Belphemon, knocking his attack off-course. Because it would've fucking killed Thiera. Plesiomon evades a Primal Orb.*

Ts<"That must be the regular military! They think we're some monster army invading the human world!">

*Gizumon-Spider sights the nearest mountain encampment that is shooting at them & fires its laser, fortunately being knocked off-course by a shoulder slam from Gankoomon. The beast retaliates by wrapping the Knight in its tentacles, electrocuting him. Magnamon burns through the tendrils with a wave of light before being slapped down by a claw, the 3rd Royal Knight it knocked out. Sistermon White tries to protect them with a shield of golden-white light as Huckmon moves in front of them, growling & Digivolving to Champion, a similar reaction occurring in Kudamon as it flies from the glitching God-King's shoulders. Craniamon & Reppamon join him as Leopardmon throws debris at it.*

K<"I swear you nosy, moralizing types swarm like cockroaches, & you're just as hard to kill!">

*He opens his mouth to absorb the attacks & fire them back. As he does, he notices a red-hot meteor falling from the sky; Examon, now down a wing. After being slammed into the ground with a shockwave that flattens the debris around him, Kurata snaps the Caledfwlch & binds the Knight in chains before biting him, draining his data to heal his wounds. UlforceVeedramon tries to approach, but is beaten down as orbs of shadow rain down on him.*

*Dianamon dives away from the hammer and the bombs, retaliating with an arrow aimed at Indramon's eyes. Crusadermon does their best to shield Thiera from any incoming attacks/rumble, flying fast towards Ornismon. When they arrive, they gently place Thiera on his back*

Crusadermon:<Ornismon can protect you better than I can!>

*After that's over with, Crusadermon returns to the fight, flying around any attacks headed in their direction before firing on the chains attaching Kurata to Examon. Meanwhile, Ornismon flaps his wings, roaring as he fires on Gizumon-spider*

SlashAngemon flies to join in on the conflict, avoiding fire from the military much like everyone else, Justimon shooting lightning at Indramon.

*WarGreymon turns around, charging a Terra Force to absorb most of the missiles. When Makuramon tries to attack her, she kicks the monkey off. He catches himself with his tail, but when their attacks destroy Indramon, Plesiomon destroys him with a well-aimed tail swipe, turning to fire a sonic scream at Kurata.*

Kurata<Oh yes, you did such a great job protecting her by dragging her into that world of disgusting, dangerous beasts!>

*Deftly avoiding Plesiomon's attack, he unwraps the chains from the now thoroughly unconscious Examon, whipping them out in an attempt to ensnare all of his attackers. Meanwhile, the Gizumon-spider is knocked down. The trio jump all over it, attacking in a whirling blur of blades & flames, but they are unable to pierce its shell. The beast flares its wings, knocking them all back. It stomps on Craniamon, knocking him out as it turns its head to Ornismon & charges its laser. Reppamon & BaoHuckmon attack with an invisible blade of wind & a burst of fire, respectively, but do not seem to phase it. The Sistermon begin dragging the downed combatants to safety as Leopardmon jumps forward, attempting its mine attack again.*

Ornismon:<Hold on tight, Thiera!>

*Ornismon flaps his wings, taking to the air. He soars around behind Gizumon, firing on its head with his own laser. Crusadermon weaves their way around the chains, cutting through any that get too close, then uses Spiral Masquerade on Belphemon's head. Dianamon flies out of any attacks coming her way, then fires an arrow at Gizumon's eye*

Sakuyamon uses their staff to deflect the chains coming towards them and presumably WarGreymon while the other three move to avoid the attack, attacking however possible.

*Thiera grips those feathers for dear life & they catch a glimpse of Vanessa huddling in the rubble, erecting a shield with her Digivice in hopes of not being destroyed by all of the bombardments & of a War Growlmon shielding King Drasil & the cameo human man. The Gizumon's eye is destroyed, as it remains a weak point, but it proceeds to open several other ports along its body, revealing more of the eyes.*

Leopardmon<Oh, that's not g-->

*It fires several normal-sized lasers, destroying all of the mines. One of them strikes Leopardmon, causing him to dissolve. BaoHuckmon & Reppamon scream for him, then Digivolve to SaviorHuckmon & Chrinmon respectively, while the monster tries to absorb the data, only for it to suddenly be surrounded by a force field, Sistermon White holding her staff thing in a defensive position.*

Sistermon White<No! You will slay no more Digimon, you abomination!>

*Chirinmon shifts its foot & suddenly dozens of after-images surround the machine, which keeps uselessly shooting its lasers through them, though the lasers seem to curve to seek them out. SaviorHuckmon then darts forward, using the confusion to slice at its limbs with a rapid flailing motion using all of its blades, spitting fire shots as it does so. As it is not powerful enough to cut through them completely, Chirinmon assists by firing an electric aura blast from its wings.*

E<"Bad news, guys, I think the military is starting to use stronger bombs! As soon as Sakuyamon's barrier lifts, I'm going to try to convince them to stop firing before we find out if Japan has nukes!">

*As she says this, a bomb explodes over them, showering more explosives over the entire battlefield. After receiving some nasty cuts that leave Belphemon's face full of binary scars, Kurata flies to avoid them. Sakuyamon's barrier shrinks as the chains wrap around it & absorb data from it, Crusadermon discovering that they can't be cut so easily. He opens his mouth, roaring & releasing a space time rip that races towards his pursuers.*

*Dianamon darts forward, using her scythe to assist SaviorHuckmon in cutting through Gizumon's legs. Ornismon soars away from the incoming attacks, doing his best to keep Thiera out of harm's way. He fires on the Gizumon again. Crusadermon darts away from Belphemon's attack, then uses Fist of Fear to teleport behind his head before executing the attack*

The three move to avoid the attack, Magnadramon flying to hit the chains around Sakuyamon with Hermit Fog while SlashAngemon and Justimon attack Belphemon.

*The chains are pushed away from Sakuyamon & Belphemon crashes to the ground, heavily damaged from the attacks. At the same time, Gizumon-Spider falls, twitching as all of its limbs are severed. Its eyes glow, preparing to fire, but Belphemon opens his mouth in a roar that obliterates it & begins absorbing the data & healing his wounds. He is assisted by the fact that the Digimon are all struck by the aforementioned bombs & knocked down.*

K<"I'll let you in on a little secret: I've been working on a special weapon with data I've gathered from all over the Digital World. It isn't quite ready yet, but the show must go on, & I've had excellent fortune so far, so why not roll the dice again? If I can't activate it safely, I'll just have to activate it dangerously!>

*Belphemon's eyes glow & the monitors in the base begin flashing, text scrolling across them. WarGrowlmon has the sense to get King Drasil, his human partner, & Vanessa to safety as a digital fog sweeps over the scene, spilling around them & rapidly filling the entire area of the base. The wires of the base grow red hot as the pods containing the D-Reaper goop break & it coalesces near Kurata. Finally, the electronics shatter & the ground begins to rise as a mass of frothing, electrified red & gold breaks through, absorbing the electronics as it joins with the rest of the goop. But just as Kurata takes flight & begins cackling, he is cut short as a mass of D-Reaper tentacles darts out, wrapping around & stabbing into him from all sides.*

K<"Wh--what's going on?! No! NO! You're just a tool, I am your master! Obey me! OBEY ME!">

*A series of 8 eyes & a wide, toothy grin emerge on the blob, which keeps expanding & seems to sprout horns. Belphemon turns to the Tamers, a bulbous mass forming on its chest as Kurata's face emerges like a tumor, looking frantic as he is dragged towards the mass, opening its mouth with a gluttonous expression.*

K<"The neural signal isn't getting through! I can't control it, I have no idea what it'll do! Please, take pity on me! Help me! Please!">

*Crusadermon flies back to the other tamers, watching the scene unfold. Dianamon notches an arrow, then turns to look back at the others*

Dianamon:<What's our plan?>

Justimon: "Stop that thing."

*WarGreymon makes a weak attempt to cut the tentacles with a Dragon Crusher, but as soon as a few are shaved off, they quickly regrow, wrapping more completely around Belphemon until he's practically mummified. Plesiomon instead decides to enter Burst Mode & fire a torrent of water in an attempt to destroy them both, but the Blob Monster ignores this as it finally silences Kurata's lingering, muffled cry of "HELP MEEEE!" by pulling him into its mass & chomping down. The gold in the blob hardens into scales as the creature rises on stout legs, partially those of Belphemon's flesh & partially covered in golden scales. A long, golden tail ending in huge spikes extends far behind the behemoth as its face emerges from a long neck, half Belphemon & half many-eyed golden dragon. Belphemon's wings shoot out from the scales, along with vast Gizumon wings that blot out the sun, golden spikes & Digi-Cores shooting up above them.

The chains of burning darkness draped over its body snake through the city, along with the mass of red & silver wires extending from its belly, seeping growing masses of red goo as they go. The fully formed beast towers over the city, easily bigger than the Digimon Sovereign combined. The missiles harmlessly explode over a translucent golden barrier that forms around it. With a roar, it sends blasts of lightning from the barrier at the missile silos, eliminating them in flaming mushroom clouds while its tail sweeps out behind it, causing a tremor that effortlessly shaves a canyon-sized chunk of the island into the ocean. Plesiomon flies around it, beckoning a wave with her tail in an attempt to bring it crashing down on the beast while War Greymon shakily rises to her feet & takes to the sky, charging Terra Force. SaviorHuckmon & Chirinmon add their own attacks, to no effect.*

*Ornismon fires his energy beam at the creature's head, while Dianamon and Crusadermon both attempt to cut the chains snaking through the city*

Ornismon:<Hypnos took care of the de-reaper last time, right? Could they do the same thing again?>

Magnadramon and SlashAngemon set to deal with the chains while Sakuyamon expands the barrier to push them away before dispelling it, so WarGreymon can try to not get everyone blown up as much of a relief that would be.

Justimon shoots lightning at the monster.

Th"Even if they could do it again, it isn't going to happen."

*She points to Monitamon, who is displaying nothing but static. Justimon's attack explodes harmlessly against the monster's shield &, when WarGreymon sees the chains & wires leaping up to try to bind their attackers as they did with Kurata, she hurls her Terra Force early, as a series of flaming orbs that cut burn through the offending lines. D-Reaper Agents rise up from the cords to swarm them & it opens its mouth, charging a huge orb of golden energy. By this point, the red globs have consumed several of the buildings, as other buildings begin to sink or float, breaking apart & disappearing into enormous holes of light or darkness. Fortunately, by this point, the entire city is abandoned. Unfortunately, it won't matter if this monster gets past them.*

E<"There's no way we can possibly beat this thing...this is the end....">

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] as Cherubimon flies overhead & Beelzemon rides up on his motorcycle, doing a u-turn & parking to face them. Calamon waves at them from behind him, grinning like he doesn't realize it's the apocalypse.*

B<Sorry I'm late! Had to stop to pick up a few friends & give them directions!>

*As if on cue, the Digital Fog is stripped away, the result of the Sovereign each launching an attack from their respective cardinal direction. The Mermaimon Fleet appears on the horizon, firing canons at the monster while the sea Digimon add their own attacks. Ceresmon flies overhead, pelting it with rocks as the rest of the Olympus XII ride on her back, & down from her jump the remaining Leomon & Mervamon, who looks at them & smiles.*

Merv<I took what you said about my potential to heart, & wanted to show you personally just what I've achieved.>

*With that, she Digivolves, wings of light & darkness tearing through the egg as Mastamon takes to the sky, suddenly appearing everywhere at once & firing beams of light & darkness into the monster. The Leomons add their attacks, as do a line of white & black Chessmon who appear behind them as backup. The shield holds steady until Calamon's head triangle starts to glow, soon bathing the whole area with white light.*

Calamon<SHINING DIGIVOLUTION!>

*Kentaurusmon shoots arrows of light at the monster & Alphamon flies to the sky, creating a complex magic circle that probably looks like something from Fullmetal Alchemist stretching across the sky, which blasts the shield with green light. The newly revived Gallantmon adds in Final Elysium & under all of the pressure, the shield shatters. However, the monster seems to ignore the attacks, turning its head to fire its attack, sweeping its vast energy beam across the ocean, causing it to erupt in a wall of steam. The Agents begin to push back by copying the attacks & shooting their own blasts, which are briefly held back by Ceresmon grabbing as much debris as she can with her vines & pulling them together to form a shield. Jesmon & his flaming things dart forward, trying to slash as many apart with melee attacks as possible.*

Ts<"It's still not enough, we won't beat this thing unless we have a plan!">

T"The unarmored flesh is probably weaker, but the way it's disassembling everything around it, I don't think it's safe to approach!"

Drasil<Reboot progress at 97% completion...98%...99%...critical functions restored! Initiating diagnostics...no damage found. Launching...ready!>

*King Drasil stops glitching out & surveys the scene around him, looking grim. By this point, they can see other scenes in some of the larger holes. Mostly swaths of desert, ocean, or thick jungle, but also the ruins of Etemon's coliseum, Venusmon's abandoned sanctuary, the realm of the Sovereign, the fallen trees from the battle in the Dark Area, & other areas just starting to appear.*

Drasil<What did you do while I was frozen?! If this thing keeps up, it will destroy both this world & the Digital World! At minimum!>

*Crusadermon lands near Drasil, quickly bowing before him*

Crusadermon:<Our attacks do not seem to phase it, my lord. We badly need your assistance.>

Ornismon:<We'll give it a try. We should probably all enter Burst Mode too!>

*Ornismon tries firing an energy beam at the unarmored part of the monster. Meanwhile, Dianamon weaves around laser blast, using arrows to dispatch some agents*

The four add their own ranged attacks to the the mess, aiming at the fleshy parts.