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Digimon: Devil's Ascent (RPG Thread)

storymasterb

Knight of RPGs
Caradoc strained, trying to escape Barachiel's hold, but the angelic insect had him in a lock he couldn't escape, and he was choking...

Fists tensed, and then opened, rubies glowing on his palms, burning with fiery power. Barachiel glanced down, disturbed by the blood-red radiance.

"Dragon... Thrower...!" Caradoc choked out.

Power lanced from his palms, spearing Barachiel and hurling the TigerVespamon flying back, the golden and black-armored knight crashing down, smoke rising from the charred and burned sections of his armor as Caradoc gasped down deep breaths, ripping the Royal Meister from his boots and crushing their beam generators in his hands, instantly disabling the plasma blades. He knew that Barachiel could recreate them later, but for now combat priority was to remove the TigerVespamon's weapon advantage from the equation.

He twisted and surged towards the charging Barachiel, aura blazing around his form. They met in mid-air, Caradoc guarding against his foe's kicks and punches before reacting in turn, catching one of the TigerVespamon's kicks and knocking his opponent off-balance with a slight gesture, but Barachiel pushed off the ground with a hand, flipping back to deliver a blow at the Dynasmon X's face, which he narrowly evaded, twisting and shoulder-shoving the insect knight away, into range of the spiraling Dragon Thrower which blazed from the rubies set into his palms.

The twin beams decked Barachiel, though he was on his feet in but a second, Caradoc used the time to charge, and twisted, hurling a savage roundhouse kick into his foe's abdomen, knocking him back before somersaulting and dealing a bicycle kick right to Barachiel's jaw. If the TigerVespamon hadn't twisted back, the impact would likely have broken his jawbone right there, as it was the blow knocked him reeling as Caradoc landed neatly, wings spreading as he burst forwards again.

The Dynasmon X hurled a savage punch at Barachiel's face, but the TigerVespamon twisted away, rapidly jabbing his fingers into specific points along Caradoc's arm. The Dynasmon X howled as pain shot through him due to the impacts on pressure points, but focused enough to hurl a punch with the other arm which struck Barachiel in the chest and knocked him back several feet.

"Die by the will of Hecatondies," Barachiel pronounced, streaking forwards and delivering a stunning roundhouse kick to his opponent's face, before jabbing with his fingers at Caradoc's neck, only to be stopped by the Dynasmon's claws backhanding him away as a dangerous, crimson fire lit around the draconic knight.

"Breath of Wyvern!" he howled, rocketing forwards as draconic fire screamed towards Barachiel, plowing into the TigerVespamon and decking him flat before Caradoc snatched him up and shoulder-slammed him against the hive wall, the substance catching alight from the fires around the dragon's form, before stepping back and hammering Barachiel back into the wall with a blow so strong it caused the sticky barrier to collapse under the force, sending Barachiel flying back into the outside corridor amidst the debris of the shattered wall.

Caradoc stalked forwards, but Barachiel wasn't yet done, he leapt to his feet and streaked to his opponent, leaping up and delivering a harsh kick into the Dynasmon's face, using the force to leap back out of his foe's retaliatory range.

"Give up, Barachiel, and break free!" Caradoc snapped, rushing forwards and hurling blows at the TigerVespamon, who simply evaded. Blows hammered past the TigerVespamon at high speed as a frustrated and angry Caradoc took out that anger, trying to knock his fellow Peacemaker unconscious, but every blow missed its mark as Barachiel ducked and weaved around the blows, before finally striking with both arms, fingers hammering into pressure points, causing Caradoc to howl in pain as his arms were agonizingly immobilized. Barachiel glared up into the dragon knight's eyes, and his fingers pressed deeper, causing another roar of agony.

"For the glory of Hecatondies," he said calmly and quietly...

-

"Flash Bancho Punch!"

"Dragon Crusher!"

Burning claws met blazing fist in a burst of sparks, as Vritra fought Lily, the WarGreymon X and BanchoLeomon Biomerge fighting each other to a standstill.

"Lion Slash!" Lily roared, slashing with her Dankon, but Vritra blocked with her free claws, straining, before sliding her hand to reach her other hand, flame cracking between them as a spark ignited.

"Terra Force ZERO!" the goddess howled, incensed, and fire exploded into Lily's face and chest, hurling the BanchoLeomon flying. Vritra lit her vernier boosters, erupting forwards and ripping her claws across the Biomerge Mega's back, knocking her to her knees, before hurling her to the floor with a vicious kick. She stalked forwards, snatching the leonine warrior up by the neck and drawing back her claws to end it...

-

Sparks flew as Victor and Guinier clashed beam-blade on claws and blades, the UlforceVeedramon facing the Megidramon in a heated Duel.

"Megiddo Flame!"

"Ray of Victory!"

Power and light surged from Victor, as darkness and hellfire roared from Guinier's maw, the forces meeting in mid-air, detonating fierily.

"X-Evolution!" Guinier called, cobalt force flashing around her body as she shrunk down, transforming. "UlforceVeedramon X!"

She rocketed from the evolution as a more streamlined UlforceVeedramon, drawing her beam-blades. Victor erupted towards her, and their blades met in mid-air, cutting a dazzling array of light upon the air as blades met blade and shield in wondrous art of light, the two bursting apart and painting the air azure with their Rays of Victory, before colliding again in sparks of cobalt and gold, now equal in speed with Guinier's X-Evolution making her fast enough to compete with Victor's Biomerge-augmented powers.

"Stop this!" she cried. "Mephistopheles is only using you!"

"You know nothing!" With that, the human-Digimon fusion angrily attacked, striking with a feral rage that forced Guinier to the defensive, before she was able to regain control with a fierce kick to Victor's chest, cutting his momentum short before he could press his edge. They clashed again, Victor's eyes now dark with rage as he attacked fiercely, blade painting dark streaks of azure upon the air...
 

TheSequelReturns

Faithful Crusader
"Solo Roar!"

The Gryphonmon known as Ava launched a powerful supersonic wave from its mouth towards Lucia. The Peacemaker held up her sword to block, managing to avoid the brunt of the attack. "Ow, my ears..."

Ava grinned, her four eyes scanning the area, no doubt for her next direction of attack. With a single flap of her wings, the Gryphonmon took to the air. Lucia watched carefully, sword at the ready, waiting for her chance to counter attack.

"Legendary Claw!" Ava called as she dove towards Lucia from the left. Lucia parried, her blade locking against Ava's huge claws in a stand-off. "You're pretty strong..."

Ava's response was a glaring look from all four eyes as her claws pressed down harder against Lucia's blade. Lucia felt her feet start to sink into the floor from the pressure. "Not one for conversation I see. How about this then?"

Lucia quickly stopped pressing against Ava's attack, instead rolling forward. One of Ava's claws slashed her back, but it would be worth it if this attack pulled off the way she wanted it. Unfortunately, it didn't. Lucia's rolling slash came up short, Ava had rolled forward in the air as Lucia had, so her sword hit nothing but air.

Lucia turned quickly, only to find the Gryphonmon bearing down on her with its claws again. "Dominion Blade!"

Lucia launched a white wave of energy with a slash of her sword, but Ava rolled out of the way. Lucia went for another and managed to clip the Gryphonmon's wing, but Ava barreled down on Lucia, slamming her hard into the slightly waxy ground. A silent gasp of air was forced from her throat as she hit the ground, Ava's clawed front leg pressing down on her chest. With her sword arm pinned, Lucia brought up her shield arm, slamming the pointed metal part of her shield against Ava's face, nailing her right in one of her lower eyes. Ava roared and lessened her grip, allowing Lucia to squeeze out from under her opponent's grip.

Lucia slashed at Ava with her sword, landing a few clean hits before Ava struck back with a powerful headbutt that nearly knocked Lucia's blade from her grip. Before Lucia could counter again, Ava took back to the air. "Solo Roar!"

Lucia covered her ears this time, but was still forced back by the powerful sonic blast from Ava. "Jeeze, this one's gonna be tough..."

Her opponent grinned and dove again, preparing for another strike. Lucia raised her blade and charged her opponent, their battle just getting started.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucia had charged into her own battle with a smile, and Duo knew that she'd only get mad at him if he rushed in after her. She was headstrong and stubborn alright, but Duo couldn't say that he didn't like that side of her. Either way, Lucia would want him to find another opponent, and from the looks of things there was actually one of their own who might be in need of a hand.

With the SkullMeramon's attention on Ivy, it was easy for Duo to get a good hit in to start of the battle, the rest might be a bit more difficult.

"Gaia Reactor!"

The sphere of energy detonated just behind Damien, nearly knocking him off balance. "What the..." he said as he turned around to face Duo. His eyes narrowed with anger as he began swinging one of his chains. "Heat Chain!"

The flaming chain came arcing towards Duo, and Duo was quick to counter. "Rinkazan!" His twin blades took on an eerie, ghostly glow and with a flourish he spun his blades down at the incoming chain, but to his surprise the blades failed to cut through and merely parried the flaming chain.

Damien gave the chain a whirl and sent it flying back at Duo in a single motion, forcing Duo to dodge to the side, the flaming chain soaring right over his head.

"This might be harder than I though..." Duo said to himself. The most he could do right now was to hold Damien's attention on himself until he though of a counter. Perhaps his Rinkageki? Either way, Damien's attention was on him now, that would give Ivy a chance to land a good hit, and then Duo would go in for a solid follow-up...
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
Barachiel's fingers dug further into Caradoc's pressure points, sending searing pain coursing through his arms. The sheer pain was beginning to impair his vision. It was so extreme that Caradoc could barely concentrate. The Dynasmon could hardly control the agonized growls escaping his throat.

However, through his pain, Caradoc managed to act in a desperate action to release himself from Barachiel's neutralizing hold. He drove the tip of his foot into Barachiel's leg, pushing the insect digimon back slightly. Now with added space, Caradoc raised both of his feet and planted their soles into the TigerVespamon's gut, forcing Barachiel to be thrown back and subsequently release Caradoc's arms.

The Dynasmon X landed on his back as well and lay there for a moment, drawing breaths rapidly. Knowing that he had no time to waste, the dragon knight rose, and readied himself. Barachiel bore his gaze into Caradoc and managed a fighting stance as well. The pendant hanging around Barachiel's neck, given to him by Hadrael no more than three days ago, already looked like it had been worn for many years through countless battles.

The angelic insect looked past Caradoc. Lying on the floor, behind the Dynasmon X, were his damaged Royal Meisters. He knew that he wouldn't be able to reach them without difficulty and, even if he could, he wouldn't be able to repair them in time.

Barachiel charged Caradoc head-on in a seemingly suicidal assault upon his larger foe. The mighty fist of the dragon knight tore towards the TigerVespamon as he dashed towards him. The bipedal insect seemed to be expecting this, however. Barachiel swooped under the powerful punch and, ducking under Caradoc's arm, swerved around behind him.

The mind-controlled digimon lunged surgically towards Caradoc from the rear, hoping to get another hold on his opponent like he had done before. This time, the Dynasmon X was prepared. Caradoc threw his leg backwards, striking Barachiel in the upper body. He then used the momentum of the kick to swing around to face his comrade, bringing his hand down on Barachiel's face with the motion.

Barachiel slid across the floor, coming to a stop not far from his disabled Royal Meisters. As the pained Caradoc stalked towards him, hoping to finally get in a knock-out strike, Barachiel crawled to his weapons and picked them up. He then staggered to his feet and held the swords in his hands. Even with the beam deacticated, the two Royal Meisters could still be used as thrusting swords and Barachiel was precise enough to be able to attack them effectively.

"Barachiel," Caradoc growled, his fervant eyes bearing into Barachiel's. "I know you're in there. Free yourself! Hecadonties is your true enemy!"

"Hecatondies is my king. My true enemy is whomever he says it is... and that is you," Barachiel responded softly, showing no signs of giving up.

Caradoc snarled in frustration. His anger was rising from the fight. Anger from being forced to fight his ally, from being unable to free Barachiel, from burning up all this energy, and from being unable to go and assist Guinier, to name a few...

Barachiel charged, his two broken beam sabres poised to stab his fellow Peacemaker. Caradoc narrowed his eyes, glowering, and raised his hands.

"Dragon Thrower!"
 
Aeria watched in surprise and in awe at the fiery dragoness that had saved her from nearly losing her head. She stared, not knowing what she should do and captivated by the fierce fighting style that the WarGreymon X displayed. And it struck a cord with her. It was that very kind of fighting that she feared: savage, berserk, aggressive to the point of being called more than just mere rage. It wasn’t until she witnessed the tornado of flames from Vritra’s attack, the heat strong on against her face, that she blinked away her thoughts.

“I…I have to help her,” she told herself despite her misgivings. She didn’t really know if she could help. The way Vritra fought made her wonder if she might get in the way more than being of any help to the WarGreymon X.

But…if she could make a difference. If she could help her at all, then it would be worth it. Because it was what he would have wanted her to do…she believed in that enough to get her to act.

She concentrated her energies in her hands. It wasn’t like the normal one; she was controlling the input. She never could output and use as much power as the normal WarGreymon, but that meant she had a lot more control than the average one. That was one of the reasons why she sometimes won in her sparring sessions long before. Because she was a bit unique.

In each of her palms were small, orange spheres, radiating heat and energy. The glowed brightly in her hands as she watched the WarGreymon X bring the BanchouLeomon into the air by the neck. She widened her eyes as the feline Digimon’s fists started glowing.

Otokogi!” Lily yelled, her form suddenly bursting with bright orange energy that blasted the WarGreymon X away with incredible force.

“Vritra!” Aeria called out, rushing to her ally’s aid. She quickly lost one of the spheres in her palms, using her free palm to grab at the WarGreymon X’s hand.

Her other palm, meanwhile, was facing towards Lily. “Terra Force!” she called out as the small sphere in her palm grew in size before blasting towards the BanchoLeomon.

----------------------------------------------------

The two glared at each other from behind their identical shades, and Justin was the first to break the stare-off. He turned towards his ally. "Shoon, are you alright?"

“Woah! How’d you know my name’s Alryght? ” Shoon replied with surprise, leaning against the wall that he crashed against. “Am I famous already?” he asked, his eyes sparkling.

He didn’t get to hear the reply since Justin had been sucker punched by Marcus right in front of Shoon’s face.

“Hey, I was talking to him!” the Mamemon X blustered, shaking a fist in the air. His annoyance grew with the further ignoring of him by the two fighting SuperStarmons. “Are you even listening to me?” he called out. The reply, or lack thereof, pretty much summed up the answer for him. His eyes suddenly narrowed.

“So you wanna play that way, huh?” he asked, folding his arms. “I’ll make you pay attention to me if it’s the last thing I do! Smiley Bomb: Version Rain” he declared as he took out one of his smiley bombs and threw it right over the fighting SuperStarmon.

In a large, loud and bright explosion, the altered Smiley Bomb burst, sending small pebble shaped objects all around, raining down on both Justin and Marcus before settling on the ground harmlessly. The burst made a shockwave which passed over them harmlessly, albeit they had to brace themselves to stop from getting blown away. The explosion was too high up to cause any damage. Marcus raised a non-existent eyebrow, wondering why Shoon still looked smug.

“Hey, Justin!” Shoon called out. “You might wanna get out of there!” he said, still smiling smugly.

“What are you smiling ab-“

His question was cut off as one of the tiny pebbles near one of his feet shined brightly before bursting loudly, causing him to jump to his side. While the explosion wasn’t nearly as powerful as the initial one, it would have been enough to cause a minor injury. Multiple mini-explosions at the same time, however…

All of the pebbles started to shine one by one, prompting the DarkSuperStarmon to get back on his feet quickly and start to run for safety where none of the mini-bombs reached. He was many moments too late to realize that the chain had already started, however, and his path was soon blocked by explosion upon explosion, the frenzied blasts causing shockwave to strengthen the rest that came after it. The explosions caused dark smoke to gather, making a suddenly dark screen that began to shroud a good portion of the battlefield, the smokescreen focused in the area that Shoon, Justin and Marcus were in fighting in.

The side-effect made Shoon think a bit. He hadn’t considered that his altered bomb would cause a smokescreen, which made him wonder if he could replicate the effect without having to resort to explosions. He was oblivious to the fact that his very own sight began to get covered by the smoke…until he heard someone’s voice.

“I admit,” a dark voice echoed from somewhere in the smoke that surrounded the Mamemon X. “I didn’t expect you to be able to do this.” Shoon recognized it as the voice that belonged to the DarkSuperStarmon, and his eyes widened.

“W-w-where are you!?” he called out, raising his fists in front of him.

“Tut tut. Didn’t think this through, did you? A big mistake,” the voice said, getting closer. Shoon began to tremble, noticing a distinct outline in the shadow in front of him. “And I’ll make it your last.”

“Gwaaah! No way!” And then Shoon screamed, his form suddenly taking light. The light broke through the smoke, causing a wave of energy to shove the smoke away and giving the Mamemon X’s vision a better view.

With the smoke out of the way, the outline revealed itself to be Justin, momentarily relieving Shoon until it hit him that it meant he didn’t know where Marcus was. His body still glowing, he spun, and his yell grew when he realized that Marcus was right there, preparing to hit him with a dark ball. And he grew as bright as the bombs that he threw.

Alter! MetalMamemon X!

Marcus suddenly found his gut being pressed against a large club-shaped appendage that extended from the digivolved Shoon.

“Get away from me! Energy Laser Bomb!” Shoon yelled as his cannon arm started making the loud sounds that a machine was capable of. Marcus snarled.

Dark-“

Before the DarkSuperStarmon could finish his attack, he found himself blasted away, pain concentrated on his centre. He was close enough on the ground, however, to push against it and quickly upright himself. Marcus’s feet landed on the wall of the room, and he bounded off of it to land safely back on the floor, his eyes flaring hard at his opponent.

Shoon, meanwhile, once again found himself flying in the air, the pure force that his attack causing him to go airborne. “Waaaah! Justin, Justin!” he called out at the Starmon that he was flying towards. “Catch meeeeeee!”
 

Kamotz

God of Monsters
Samael roared in pain as Khep's claws pierced through his tail. He swore viciously, but his curses were cut off as Khep latched his hand around his throat and started to pound him with tremendous blows. He felt his bones shaking under the force of Khep's strikes. Samael suddenly threw his head to the side and Khep's fist slammed into the wall behind him, embedding itself in the thick wood of the hive-tree.

The fallen angel knew he had to act quickly. He drew his shotguns, placed them against Khep's chest and face, and fired the heavy shells. They hammered into Khep's body and blasted him to the other side of the tree.

"What the hell?" Samael growled as he ripped Khep's claws from his tail. "Kheppy was never this good. What happened to-?" He suddenly remembered Khep's ordeal with Pyra and how the GrandisKuwagamon tapped into the once-dormant energies of his X-Antibody. "That explains it." He glanced across the massive, empty hollow of the hive-tree to the other side where Khep was quickly recovering. "Well then you certainly can't blame me for this. X-Evolution!"

Samael's body twisted and wretched as the X-Antibody fused with his demonic power. He let out a red-hot roar as hellfire splashed from his eyes and mouth and red lightning danced across his skin. His eyes burned with demonic fever.

"Okay, Kheppy-boy," Samael sneered. "Let's do this."

He launched himself through the air and out into the hollow and Kheprius rushed to meet him. They collided in the center, ripping and tearing at one another as they plummeted down the length of the tree. Samael slashed at Khep with his own Gran-Killer, smashing him across the face and torso with the heavy gauntlet and its claws.

Kheprius reeled from the force of the blows as he fell further, but recovered quickly and corrected himself. He readied his wings and raced back up towards the still-falling Samael and tackled the fallen angel back up through the massive hollow. He hurled Samael against the truck wall again and dove at him with his remaining Gran-Killer.

This time, however, Samael was ready, and with the X-Antibody's power at his disposal he was able to keep from being overwhelmed by Khep's speed. He leapt at Khep, nimbly dodging his strike and driving his fist into the bug's massive eye. Khep was thrown back to the center hollow, hovering there as he grasped his face in pain. Samael, however, continued on his flight path, flipping to the other side once again. As he landed, he drew his shotguns and prepared them with specialized ammunition. He fired indiscriminately, pounding Khep with bullets. The shells were a special combination of rare Digizoid metals: heavy Red Digizoid bullets held an explosive Gold Digizoid core, and it was all encased in a Blue Digizoid outer layer that gave a massive increase in the speed of the shells.

They slammed into Khep; the Blue Digizoid broke away on impact, sending the Red Digizoid hammering into his body alongside an explosion of gold. Round after round of specialized ammunition struck the insect Digimon and blasted him into the side of the tree. His thick armor offered some protection, but even that wouldn't hold up for long. Already the glossy, black carapace began to crack and break under the relentless assault. Khep seemed to sense this and made a break for it, circling around the winding pathway towards Samael. The fallen angel attempted to follow, but Khep managed to stay a half-step away from his blasts.

Khep suddenly switched directions and launched straight at Samael. Acting quickly, the fallen angel holstered his weapons and leaped away through the air. He landed against the trunk wall and bunched his legs beneath him. Khep charged him again, and Samael met his strike. He drew his twin scimitars and slashed them against Khep's claws as the insect struck, sending a shower of sparks flashing over them.

The force of the colliding blows, however, broke the bindings on Khep's remaining gauntlet and knocked it through the air. Samael, sensing his advantage, raised his weapons for another strike, but Khep latched his pincers around Samael's ankle and hurled him through the air and against the trunk of the tree. In the collision, Samael lost hold of his scimitars and they dropped down to the dark, unseen depths at the tree's base.

Samael glowered his red-hot glare and let out a savage roar as he met Kheprius once again and they plummeted down the hollow trunk of the hive tree.

===

Hecatondies slashed with his massive claws; energy and force bled from them and crashed against Bedivere's swords. The force of the blow sent the dragon knight tumbling back. Hecatondies hoped to buy himself a moment of reprieve, but Thor was upon him in the next instant. The White Sword came down in a ripping arc and collided with Hecatondies's claws. Force rolled through the insect king and knocked him to the ground. Thor stood over him with the White Sword raised high. He fought himself for a moment, wondering if there was another way to release Khep, Barachiel, and Gigas from Hecatondies's control.

"Grisly Wing!"

Thor turned to the source of the cry as a barrage of darkness crashed into him and hurled him from Hecatondies. Within the darkness were dozens of deadly bat-like creatures, and they bit and clawed at him as they slammed him into the nearby wall. But a burst of blinding white power was more than enough to vaporize the bats and dispel the darkness.

"You," Thor growled upon finding the source of the attack. A regal Myotismon slowly rose from the darkness and shadows of the throne room. "Tepes. I should have guessed you and Mephistopheles would be involved."

"You flatter me with recognition, King of Asgard," Dracula laughed. "Mephistopheles knows it would take more than the savage brute force of these other..." he motioned to the rest of the room, "pawns to defeat you. That's why he sent me." Two crackling red whips appeared in his hands. "Shall we?"

"If you desire death so," Thor said as he raised the White Sword.

"Crimson Lightning!"

===

As Duo and Ivy fought against Damien, they seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The SkullMeramon's greatest physical threat was from Duo, but having to contend with Ivy as well often left him open to Duo's assaults.

A sudden crack sounded from above the three battling Digimon, and a metallic form crashed down between the two Peacemakers and Damien. The Andromon Sigma 018 spun and drilled Duo with a chrome-plated kick to the sternum. As the Gaiomon stumbled back, Sigma pressed his attack. He summoned his spinning Lightning Blade and tore after the Peacemaker, leaving Ivy alone against Damien Ghostrider.
 

storymasterb

Knight of RPGs
Bedivere snarled as he was hurled away by Hecatondies' attack, and Thor surged to take his place, dealing a heavy blow to the insect king, before being removed from the battle by a Myotismon who he addressed as 'Tepes'.

In any case, now the dragon knight stood alone against the TyrantKabuterimon, and he burned with power as he rose to challenge his foe, shining with ruby force...

"Behold the holy light born of exalted wings. I summon the strength of the Dragon Kings. Beware our hopes transformed to light. Let injustice beware, an Exalted Knight! Exalted Evolution! Examon!"

He roared into the sky, spreading his wings as he readied the Ambrosius. Shells locked into place with metallic thuds, before he gave a roar, "Pendragon's Glory!" Shells roared from the lance towards Hecatondies, who raised a hand.

"Bee Cyclone," he spoke, the wall of bees forming before him to block the shells, which detonated in a flash of liquid nitrogen, freezing the wall solid. It crashed down and shattered into a pool of ice and decidedly-dead bees as Hecatondies stared on in horror.

"Pendragon's Glory!" Bedivere roared again, unleashing a hail of lasers and incendiary shells which speared the king and detonated in a howling blaze, causing him to roar in pain as the Examon began to burn with draconic power. "Dragonic Impact!" He burst downward, a burning meteor which plowed into Hecatondies in a blazing explosion which ripped through the hive floor and ceiling, sending a pillar of flame into the heavens. Hecatondies crashed down, charred and battered, but he rose, anger burning in his distant eyes.

"Horn Buster Kai!" he roared, bursting forwards swathed in electrical charge. He plowed into Bedivere, exploding with the power of the storm, which howled across the Examon's form. Bedivere roared in pain as he was tossed away by the discharge and Hecatondies spread his wings, exploding towards him and beginning to spiral, claws crackling with power as he readied them like blades. "Grand Death Screw!"

He plowed into Bedivere as the Caledfwlch guarded, blocking the attack with solid Red Digizoid, but despite the claws scraping off of the sentient wings, lightning still pierced them and struck Bedivere, hurling him away in a burning discharge. The Examon erupted his wings open, revealing the Ambrosius glowing with power, emerald in hue, forming a second lance around the weapon, a cone of shining emerald.

"I won't let you win," he snarled. "I won't let Mephistopheles win. And with the hand of my predecessor guiding me, his power burning in my veins, I will prevail here. If you stand between me and victory, then I will destroy you and all others who would do the same. Digitalize... of... Soul!"

The lance of power tore from the Ambrosius, spearing into Hecatondies' chest and detonating in a blast of emerald which ripped across the TyrantKabuterimon's form, shattering through his chitinous carapace and hurling him away in a burning explosion. He crashed down, but still rose with a roar of anger and pain as Bedivere stood in mid-air, wings spread, like an angel of the very Apocalypse he sought to prevent...
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
"Kaiser Phoenix!" Max screeched, swooping down to tackle Pyra to the ground using his metallic, avian body. He pecked and clawed at her exposed underbelly, causing the Imperialdramon to snarl lowly in pain.

Pyra thrashed her limbs back at the Eaglemon in response, slashing her arm spikes across his golden chest in retaliation. Sparks showered over her from the clashing of her metal against his. The dragon unleashed an exerted growl as she whipped her tail around and slammed it into Max's side with enough force to knock him to the floor beside her.

The biomerge's opponent then scrambled to her four feet and opened her mouth wide. "Giga Crusher!" From deep in her body surged a blast of dark matter, shooting from her maw and enveloping the Eaglemon.

The armoured eagle trilled in agony and was knocked backwards, forced to dig his claws into the waxy floor to stop himself. Max sneered and flapped his wings, shooting upwards until he reached the peak of his ascent. He then dove into a nose dive in Pyra's direction.

"Positron Laser!" Pyra angled her cannon to match Max's descent angle. A beam of annihilating positrons then burst from her dorsal cannon and sailed towards the diving Eaglemon.

Max flapped his wings and spiralled on a wide axis, managing to dip below the beam before it could hit him. Pyra sneered and burst into the air to meet him. Just before they collided, Pyra ducked her head down and then brought it up again, headbutting Max in the underbelly and then throwing him over her head.

He managed to catch himself before hitting the ground from his thwarted charge. Pyra spun around in time to see him flying at her once again. "Mystic Beak!" he squawked, releasing a blinding beam towards Pyra.

"Positron Laser!" Pyra responded, firing her beam in turn. However, Max's bright attack severely impaired her sight as she fired, causing her beam to only clip his wing. Max took advantage of this and tackled Pyra, driving both of them into the floor.
 
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storymasterb

Knight of RPGs
Beams of power ripped from Caradoc's hands and plowed Barachiel flat, as the Dynasmon X erupted forward, trailing power and fire in his wake. He grabbed Barachiel up and hurled him forwards, hammering him to the wall of the corridor with a punch that broke him through the surface in a spray of fiery sparks from the impact of fiery fist on armor.

"Enough, Barachiel!" he roared.

"No," Barachiel replied, ripping forwards and delivering elegant strikes of his Royal Meister, which Caradoc blocked with his bracers. "My king has not decreed it enough. Not until you die."

"This is enough!" Caradoc snarled, hurling a devastating roundhouse kick which knocked the TigerVespamon aside, followed by a haymaker which knocked him flat. Power collected in his hands and he opened his fists, rubies shining like stars. "Dragon Thrower!" Power ripped from his palms and crushed Barachiel flat, the energies detonating in a burning blast which hurled Caradoc back, the Dynasmon spreading his wings to stop himself.

Still Barachiel rose, battered, bruised and charred, charging with the Royal Meister raised and ready to impale Caradoc, but the Dynasmon X burst forwards, leaping over the TigerVespamon, flame burning around his form. As he landed, he spoke, "Breath of Wyvern!" Burning flame tore forwards like a wyvern and engulfed Barachiel, crushing the TigerVespamon flat once more.

He struggled to stand, but Caradoc erupted forwards and hammered a karate chop with the flat edge of his claws into the angelic insect's skull, knocking Barachiel down once more. This time, he did not rise.

-

Vritra felt a stab of irritation at Aeria's intervention, she didn't need help.

"Go, fight someone else," she said to the other WarGreymon. "This is my fight. You'll only get hurt here." With that, she lit her boosters and erupted forwards, trailing embers in her wake as she hammered into Lily, striking with flame-augmented Dragon Crushers that ripped open gashes across the BanchoLeomon's fur and struck off of the gakuran. Then Terra Force ZERO spoke and Lily was hurled away, caught in a burning embrace from the flames and crushed into the wall by their power.

Vritra charged again, spinning into Great Tornado and Lily barely brought up her katana to defend, claws and blade sparking from one another as the BanchoLeomon strained to hold back the WarGreymon X. Vritra stopped, holding the lock while drawing back the other Dramon Destroyer, flames burning in her hand. "Terra Force!"

Fire ripped from the burning blow she hammered into Lily's chest, augmenting the punch and hurling the Biomerge Digimon. Giving her foe no time to recover, Vritra tore forwards and hammered at Lily with claws and flames, which the BanchoLeomon strained to defend again with her katana, before managing to hurl a kick into Vritra's abdomen, knocking the WarGreymon X off-guard.

"Flash Bancho Punch!" A shining fist hammered into Vritra's helmet, knocking her down, but as Lily swung to make a fatal blow, Vritra's booster ignited and she hurled herself upwards, shoulder-slamming Lily back into the wall with great forced, eliciting a cry of pain from the BanchoLeomon as she was crushed between her opponent and the wall...

-

Sparks tore across the air as Guinier's blades met Victor's sword and shield, the two UlforceVeedramon fighting at a fevered pitch, too fast for any onlookers to even register their blows, only the trails of light their attacks left in their wake as the two knights fought at speeds incredible to comprehend.

Guinier hurled a Ray of Victory at her opponent, who guarded with his shield against both the beam and the blades that followed in its wake, sparks flying, before he stabbed around at Guinier, who evaded narrowly in a somersault, hurling a bicycle kick into Victor's chest before righting herself and rushing towards him, but he recovered near-instantly and met her attack with a shield-rush, slamming her back and striking with a slash of his blade which ripped across her shoulder-plate. Ray of Victory sang forth and hurled Guinier away, swathing her in burning azure, slamming her into the wall, a cry of pain escaping her as she slumped to the floor, weakly standing. Victor charged once more, and she barely brought up her blades to guard in time, unused to fighting at such speeds. She needed to be faster, and stronger to compete with him, her UlforceVeedramon X form could only match his power and experience.

She shoved him away with a shoulder-slam, raising one hand as a sphere of azure power formed in her grip, shining rays washing over her form and causing her armor to light with brilliant azure which faded to white...

"I uphold Fate's silent decree. Behold the path sworn unto me. This is the light of the very Fates! With Ulforce bright, I open future gates! Future Evolution... UlforceVeedramon Future Mode!"

The sphere broke, releasing a burst of azure which soaked into her, revealing her Mode Change form, armor sharper and more streamlined, beam-sabers elongated and glowing with greater power. A constant radiance shone from her form, the power of the future.

She ripped towards Victor and delivered a volley of blade strikes which he barely blocked or evaded with his sword and shield combination...

-

"Pendragon's Glory!" A hail of shells blasted from the Ambrosius towards Hecatondies, who crackled with the power of the storm, of thunder and of lightning.

"Mega Electro Shocker!" Power upon lightning tore from the king's form, ripping across the shells and detonating them before spearing Bedivere, hurling the Examon away in a flare of electrical discharge. Using his wings, the Lord of the Empty Seat arrested his flight, gathering emerald force to the Ambrosius.

"Digitalize of Soul!" Bolts of power tore from the lance and hammered into Hecatondies, crushing him back with their force as Bedivere rocketed towards the TyrantKabuterimon. "Avalon's Gate!" He thrust his lance forwards to impale Hecatondies, but he caught the lance in his claws, gripping it tightly before a shell fired from it on Bedivere's command, detonating in a fiery blaze that hurled the two colossal Digimon apart.

Hecatondies recovered first, spreading gossamer wings and charging for Bedivere, who guarded against the tyrant's claws with his shielding wings, before shoving against the obsidian insect, hurling Hecatondies away as he aimed the Ambrosius.

"Pendragon's Glory!" Shells rocketed from the lance, detonating around the stricken Hecatondies in a burning blaze which consumed the insect king, as the Lord of the Empty Seat burst forth. Hecatondies howled from the flames, ripping free, and he grappled with Bedivere, the dragon fighting the insect king for supremacy, claws scraping on Digizoid from both sides. Bedivere was hindered slightly by the Ambrosius, but had the benefit of his strong, muscular legs, something which Hecatondies did not possess.

He strained against Hecatondies, guarding with his arms and wings against the TyrantKabuterimon's claws and mandibles, while using his legs to kick and scrape against his foe, trying to gain leverage to access Avalon's Gate.

Power crackled around Hecatondies, and he spoke, "Horn Buster Kai!" Power and thunder boomed from his horns, crushing against Bedivere and hurling him away in a burning discharge. Pressing his edge, Hecatondies charged, raising one clawed fist to hammer Bedivere, but the Examon's wings spread and he erupted forwards, slamming into Hecatondies as he burned with power, which detonated and hurled the TyrantKabuterimon like a storm-tossed leaf. The Examon angled his lance, firing off a barrage of explosives which detonated around the insect king, battering his armor and disorienting him as Bedivere tore forwards, drawing back the Ambrosius.

"Avalon's Gate!" he howled, stabbing forwards in a single almighty blow which broke Hecatondies' armored shell, the lance piercing into the king's flesh before Bedivere unleashed its payload in a burning blaze which detonated within the insect king, fracturing off more of his shell and sending fire spilling from his mouth and eyes as he howled in agony.

Bedivere pulled back, soaring up to the zenith of the chamber as draconic flame burned around his form, glaring down at the stricken Hecatondies balefully as his wings snapped open and he erupted downwards...

"DRAGONIC IMPACT!"

He crushed into Hecatondies, shattering the hive floor with the impact and sending both himself and the TyrantKabuterimon into the abyss, his burning form propelling the helpless king downwards until they hit the floor and the power around the Examon exploded in a burning force that ripped through the tree, fracturing and tearing the bark with its power. When the attack ended, Hecatondies collapsed, stricken and broken by Bedivere's ruthless power, and he broke apart, data fireflies soaring towards the sky...
 

Kamotz

God of Monsters
Kheprius and Samael crashed down to the bottom of the hollow trunk of the hive-tree. The impact jarred them and threw them from one another. They sprang to attention once more, preparing fists and claws to tear into each other yet again. They collided, shaking each other with crushing blows. Far above them, however, Bedivere dealt the finishing blow to Hecatondies, and his death sent a psychic backlash coursing through the three enthralled Peacemakers. Khep dropped his guard as he screamed in pain and clutched his head in agony. Samael didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew when to capitalize on a situation.

"Night-night, Kheppy!" Samael said. He drilled the unprepared Khep across the face with a vicious haymaker and drove the GrandisKuwagamon to the floor. He shook his hand as the blow sent pain ripping up his arm. "Damnit the guy's got a tough noggin'." He turned around to leave, but a low groan bubbled up behind him from Khep. "Seriously? You're still up?" He stalked over to Khep and shifted seamlessly into his Blast Mode. He raised his great cannon over his head as unholy power built in its mouth. "Time to lie down."

"Wait, Sam," Khep groaned.

"Lights out!" Samael shouted, and hammered down on Khep with a modified Corona Blaster. His cannon slammed into the insect Digimon and pummeled him with Samael's unholy power. Demonic energies flooded the trunk of the tree, bathing the two combatants with its malevolent light before shrinking back into the cannon.

Samael straightened and regarded the fallen and unconscious Khep with mild amusement. He smirked, high on his ability to overcome his friendly rival; he didn't so much mind that he had to take him down in a moment when he couldn't defend himself. In Samael's mind, it showed weakness on Khep's part; Khep shouldn't have let himself get into that predicament in the first place.

The sounds of battle still echoed down the hollow trunk of the hive-tree from above, and Samael sighed. He was absolutely exhausted; he'd sustained several severe injuries in his battle with Khep, injuries that would have crippled a Digimon of lesser constitution. Still, the others might need his help. He groaned as his battered body protested his movements, but he moved anyway.

Samael grabbed Khep by the back of his collar, spread his wings, and shot up the length of the trunk. He carried Khep back towards the hive and dropped him off in a secluded corner of the hive before heading back to the rest of the fighting. Behind him, Khep stirred.

"Oy, Kheppy! You're awake," Samael laughed. "You did a number on my tail, jack*ss. Now wait here while I go save the day."

Samael shed his Blast Mode and slowly made his way into the center of the hive. There he saw the rest of the Peacemakers struggling with Mephistopheles's soldiers and children. Most of the Peacemakers were handling their opponents quite well, or at least keeping an even footing with them.

All but Ivy. She hadn't managed to Digivolve, and was currently bound by the fiery whips of her SkullMeramon opponent. In hindsight, it probably wasn't a great idea to send a vegetation-based Digimon against a fire-based one.

"Looks like Gigas'll owe me big-time," Samael said with a smirk, realizing that having a giant bug owing you a favor was a pretty handy thing. He shot forward, though slower than usual because of his ordeal with Khep, and drove his fist into Damien's face, freeing Ivy from his chains.

"I've been looking forward to this, Cain," Damien laughed. He swirled his fiery chains and quickly snared them around Samael.

"Hey, metal-mouth!" Ivy shouted. Damien turned his head to come face-to-face with the end of her blaster. "Flower Cannon!"

BOOM! The blast sent Damien tumbling across the room and tore Samael from his chains. He came skidding to a stop and raged back to his feet.

"Big mistake, girly," Damien snarled, igniting his chains once more.

"Not as big as the one you just made," Ivy said, pointing behind Damien.

"Wha-?"

"Corona Blaster!" Samael roared. Power howled from the mouth of the Bane of the Divine and drove itself into Damien. It ripped him off his feet and slammed him through the walls of the hive with explosive force. "Score," Samael muttered, and then dropped to his knees.

===

Lucian dragged his claws over Michael's back, drawing a cry of pain from the archangel. He spun around to deliver a quick kick, but Michael grabbed his leg in midflight and hurled him to the ground.

"Where is Mephistopheles?" Michael demanded, holding the Excalibur to the wolf-man's throat.

"He'll find you when he wants to," Lucian snarled. "And he'll stake your wings as he nails you to a cross."

Michael let out a roar as he drew his hand high over his head. He gathered the power of Fate within it and slammed it down onto Lucian, blasting and pummeling the wolf with a barrage of holy light.

===

A flash of power from the White Sword sent Dracula's Alpha Bats scurrying away from the thunder god. Thor raised his weapon once more and attacked, but Dracula was ready with his Crimson Lightning and managed to knock Thor back before he was close enough to strike. His whips did little more than irritate the thunder god, but they kept him from delivering an efficient blow.

"Enough of this!" Thor growled. He slashed again with the White Sword, but Dracula dissipated into a swarm of bats, flew around the strike, and appeared behind Thor. He lashed his lightning whips around the thunder god and pulled them tighter.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you, Thunderer?" he chuckled.

Thor snarled and launched himself backwards. He slammed into Dracula and drove them both through and out the walls of the hive. They ripped into the open air, and a hiss rose from Dracula as the setting sun scorched his skin. Then they crashed through the trunk of the hive-tree and punched through into the hollow. Dracula angrily yanked on the lightning whips and hurled Thor down through the trunk.

"Fool," he snarled, giving chase through the pitch blackness. "Here in the dark I am more powerful than ever! You've signed over your life, King of Asgard! Grisly Wing!"

Thor felt the rush of air as dozens of blood-thirsty bats swathed in shadow descended to meet him as he fell. Dracula was indeed more powerful in the darkness, but Thor knew this. And in the hollow of the tree, he was far more confined. There in the darkness of the hive-tree, a bright light would be all the more damaging. Thor felt the Alpha Bats tear into him and felt the shadowy force slam through his body, and he knew Dracula was not far behind, waiting to strike once more.

"Omni Sword!" Thor shouted, thrusting his blade high. His sword pulsed and burst with light, exploding into the confines of the hive-tree's hollow and bathing everything within with its radiant power. The Alpha Bats were atomized by the power, and sheer overwhelming brightness seared Dracula's skin. He too dissolved, though he transfigured himself into hundreds of Alpha Bats and retreated back to the darkness above to heal.

Thor slammed into the ground as his fall through the trunk of the tree came to an end. Around him, the holy light of his sword continued to flicker in the bark of the hive-tree. With Dracula momentarily incapacitated, Mephistopheles's soldiers would be at a definite disadvantage, especially--Thor knew--if he came ripping onto the scene with lightning flashing in his eyes and thunder in his voice.

He spread his mighty wings and took to the air, ripping up the base of the hive-tree with furious intent. His body flashed with power as he tore through the trunk and smashed through the walls of the hive held securely in the tree's branches. Lightning flashed around him and his battle cry shook the foundations of the honeycomb structure.

"Damnit," Victor hissed as he continued to defend against Guinier's evolutions. "Everyone fall back!"

"What?!" Max demanded. "We can beat them."

"No," Victor insisted. "Not like this. We've done our part. The blight has spread, the seal is broken. There's nothing more for us here."

"They won't exactly let us leave," Ava pointed out.

"Of course not," Dracula's voice echoed. "That's why Mephistopheles sent me."

The room was suddenly swathed in darkness and shadow. Thor and Michael both raised their swords and sent light piercing through the veil, but as the pitch dissipated, it became clear that Mephistopheles's soldiers and children had vanished.

"Damn," Samael growled from where he sat hunched over. "And I was just about to get up and beat each and every one of them and make them tell us where Mephistopheles is. Maybe next time, eh?"

Thor looked around the room to the tired and battered Peacemakers. They couldn't keep rushing around the Digital World like this; they needed a break or they'd be killed next time.

"We should probably leave here," Thor said, glancing around the hive. "Soon Hecatondies's subjects will return and they won't exactly be happy with what we've done. There's a plateau several miles to the east. I suggest we make camp there for the night."
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
"Oy, Kheppy! You're awake," Samael laughed. "You did a number on my tail, jack*ss. Now wait here while I go save the day."

"Prick," Khep managed to heave just as the demon flew off. He groaned and rustled on the slime-clad hive floor. The insect's head was searing in blinding, indescribable pain as he was finally freed from Hecadonties' control. Not only his head, but his whole body ached from his scuffle with Samael.

He could hardly move from the pain. Khep was forced to watch the others do battle until he regained his strength. The first thing he saw was Gunnar in his Burst Mode, clashing with the DoruGoramon. Frankly the ShineGreymon's need to make a spectacle of himself in everything he did made it hard for Khep not to notice him.

However, it soon appeared to him that the biomerge humans were talking to each other as they battled. The hive soon went pitch black.

"Terrific," Khep thought to himself, still sucking in too much oxygen to allow himself to speak aloud.

The darkness soon vanished and the only ones remaining in the hive were the Peacemakers.

"Yeah, you better run!" Gunnar hollared after them, brandishing his Corona Blaze Sword by swinging it in front of him smugly. He soon cast a grin to the nearest digimon to him, who happened to be Sha. "That DoruGoramon? Fights like a girl."

Barachiel awoke with a start, brought around by the excruciating pain in his head. He gasped and tensed up upon feeling the stabbing feeling throughout his body. Luckily for him, the pain in his skull began to subside.

"Am... I free?" he asked, groaning and flipping over onto his arms and knees.

His vision began to focus and he saw his necklace hanging from his neck, swaying slightly, towards the hive floor. The memories of his mind and actions being controlled by Hecadonties resurfaced. Barachiel grimaced and firmly clasped the two pendants in his hand. "Forgive me," he whispered.

Meanwhile, Pyra reverted back to her Paildramon form and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. In the corner nearby, she noticed Kheprius lying on his back, trying desperately to stand up on his own. She walked over to him and looked down at the battered insect.

"Are you back to your normal self now?" she questioned.

"Bite me," he replied in irritation.

"I guess so..." she mused. Pyra bent down and took Kheprius' arm. "Are you okay?"

"Only if you tell me that that damn Hecadonties guy died a slow, torturous death," he answered. Pyra gave a small smirk while she attempted to help him stand and support him. Kheprius pushed her back and stood on his own. "I don't need your help," he snapped, glaring and still panting heavily. "I can take care of myself just fine."

"Just trying to help," Pyra said, giving a half shrug and walking away from him.

"Thanks, but I didn't need it. I'm in control of myself," he replied, limping after her.

Pyra stopped and looked back upon hearing that one word: 'Control'. She remembered back when Kheprius had betrayed them. When he was explaining to her his motives for doing so, that word kept coming up... He had lost his parents and brother to an attack and couldn't do anything about it. He said that he never wanted to be in that situation again.

Of course, Pyra couldn't blame him for a second. She felt the same way when she was told that her brother had died. And she still cringed everytime she remembered her BlackImperialdramon rampage. Pyra understood why Khep was so stirred up over Hecadonties controlling him...

Kheprius passed Pyra, muttering to himself. "That son of a- BAH!" Khep suddenly shouted in pain, collapsing to a knee. Pyra dashed forwards and helped him up, slinging his arm around her neck.

"Dammit, Pyra, I'm fi-- Ah, screw it; you're not going to listen," he grumbled as the Paildramon helped him walk. He took this opportunity to check out his wounds. Dents, gashes, gunpowder burns... Definately the handiwork of Samael. His eye then trailed to the side, towards Pyra and her figure. "Hey, Pyra, maybe this isn't so bad after all. It's not often that you and me get to be so close and intimate," he said, managing a smirk despite his pain.

Pyra sighed. "Don't get too used to it..."

The two walked back to where the others were gathered. Gunnar landed on the ground and his wings of flames died down. He closed his eyes and reverted back to his regular ShineGreymon form. Upon doing so, however, he dropped to a knee and clutched his head.

"Nuts," he muttered, feeling a drastic decrease in energy as breaking the Burst Mode sapped his strength. "That Burst Mode still takes so much outta me. If we were attacked right now, I'd be about as helpful as an Agumon. All my adrenaline's gone."

Despite his Burst Mode's side-effect, he still fared better than his insect comrades, so he walked over to Barachiel and helped him up. "Glad to have ya back on the winning team," he said, clasping the TigerVespamon's hand and hoisting him upwards.

"Thank you..." Barachiel said calmly. He then cast a momentary glance to Caradoc before looking down.

"We should probably leave here," Thor said, glancing around the hive. "Soon Hecatondies's subjects will return and they won't exactly be happy with what we've done. There's a plateau several miles to the east. I suggest we make camp there for the night."

"I agree. We should get moving," the TigerVespamon said evenly from Gunnar's side. Even after the beating that Caradoc laid upon him, he still managed to retain his celestial habits. Gunnar started moving, but Barachiel stood firm for a moment, urging him to halt. He looked around to the other Peacemakers. "I... apologize to you all. My will wasn't strong enough..."

"Oh, get over yourself, Terrak," Kheprius spat. "I'm betting my will was twice yours. It didn't make a difference. That bastard could control any bug digimon at the drop of a hat. Hell, maybe he even could have been able to control that AncientBeetlemon of the Great Ten. At any rate, good riddance to that guy."

Barachiel acknowledged him with an even stare and then proceeded to nod to Gunnar to start moving out of the hive along with the other Peacemakers.

As Pyra helped Kheprius fly, she thought to herself, trying to figure out something from what the GrandisKuwagamon said. "'Terrak'... Where have I heard that name before?"

They then followed the Peacemakers as they left the battle-damaged hive and left, en-route to the plateau that Thor mentioned. Pyra flew with Kheprius still beside her. The bug digimon broke off from her hold temporarily to have a chat with a digimon that he knew well.

Khep flew up beside Samael and have him a 'friendly' punch on the bicep. "You're one lucky bastard, Sammy. Really lucky. If I had been in control of myself and if Heca-whatever didn't get himself killed when he did, you would be missing those pretty, little Blast Mode wings of yours right now," he said, glaring at the three-eyed demon.

The GrandisKuwagamon then broke a smirk and gestured to the long blade-wound in his carapace. "You did have me here though; your blade-work betrays you. You got all warm and soft on me, didn't you? That wound could have easily been deeper, but you went for a flesh wound so that you didn't hit any of my vitals!" Khep then let out a laugh and slapped the demon's back. "Why, Sammy, I'm embarrassed! I didn't know you cared so much!" he teased, still tittering.

He then stopped and looked back up at the demon. "Seriously though, I want a rematch when we're out of Mikey's smiting distance."

His wings then began moving slower and more unevenly. "And no hard feelings for the whole mind-controlled thrashing we gave each other, I hope... Now excuse me, I'm about to face-plant..."

Khep's wings indeed failed him and he ended up recieving a mud-facial in the ground below. Pyra sighed and quickly retrieved him.

-

Gunnar flew with Barachiel still in his grip. While he felt exhausted from his Burst Mode, he could still manage to fly. He just hoped his teammates weren't early risers in the morning; he needed the sleep.

Barachiel, however, found himself looking over at Caradoc, who was flying not far from where he was. He then looked back at Gunnar. "...Gunnar, would you mind if I flew on my own for a few minutes? I need to speak with someone in private."

Gunnar gave him an affirmative thumbs up with his free hand. "Don't take too long, though. You look like you'll drop out of the sky if something as small as a gust of wind hits ya."

The TigerVespamon agreed and flew independantly once Gunnar released him. He flew over to Caradoc and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Caradoc..." he said, maintaining his ethereal tone. "Thank you for knocking me out before I could do any more harm to you or the others..."

Barachiel looked up at the stars for a brief moment before looking back at the Peacemaker. He looked into his eyes to emphasize his sincerity. "I... err... also wanted to apologize to you formally. I am genuinely sorry for fighting you back there. I tried to fight his control, but..." he trailed off and bowed his head deeply.

"Please forgive my weakness of will," he said with a still-bowed head. "I want you to hit me. I deserve it and you deserve to be the one to do it, Caradoc. I promise I will not hold it against you. It won't make up for what I did, but..." Barachiel raised his bowed head slightly to look at Caradoc. "Please."
 
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Hotshot

Well-Known Member
Nocchi collapsed onto his back, panting breathlessly. He was relieved (very much so) that Hecatondies had been defeated. Gigas stood over him, rubbing his head, bewildered. The massive HerculesKabuterimon peered down at his Puppetmon friend, wearing a confused look on his face.

"Nocchi?" Gigas mumbled, still in a daze. "Why are all three of you on the ground?"

The Puppetmon sat up and rolled his eyes. "There ain't three of me, ya big lug! You just got yer butt handed to ya on a silver platter by yours truly!"

Nocchi's nose, as expected extended several inches past his face. The Puppetmon quickly clamped his hands around it in frustration. "Nyaaaah! You just stay back there, ya freakin' traitor!"

Gigas chuckled for a second, and then stopped. "Wait...seriously...what happened?"

==========

Ivy dropped to her knees in exhaustion. She wasn't built for this sort of thing, and it took an awful lot out of her. If Samael hadn't shown up, she would have been long dead. She glanced over in the Beelzemon's direction. Slowly rising to her feet, she called out, "Samael! Samael, thanks...for earlier. I was about to be toast for sure."

She turned away and approached her husband and Nocchi, both of whom stood not far off.

==========

"That DoruGoramon? Fights like a girl."

Sha glanced at Gunnar and grinned. "Cha-haw! If he fights like a girl, what do you fight like?"

He quickly ducked to avoid an irritated ShineGreymon's punch and then scampered off behind Gigas; the one Digimon nobody ever tried to punch.
 

PeeGee

ROAWR!
Kole felt his body freeze up. The voice was back, he thought it was gone!

Yes I am back, but now is not the time to freak out about it. If you remember there is that little thing known as BlackWarGreymon getting ready to attack you. So deal with me later!

Kole paused, the voice did have a point. Taking a deep breath he decided to freak out after this battle was done.

"Terra Destroyer!"

Snapped back into reality, the Apocalymon found himself hit in the abdomen by Gaul's attack.

"Total Annihilation!" screamed Kole, his eyes glowing red.

The familiar balls of darkness started to build up in his claws, and once they had all managed to get to a decent size, Kole fired them at Gaul. The BlackWarGreymon stared at the oncoming darkness and lifted his arms.

"Black Tornado!"

The digimon started to spin, forming a tornado again, and shot off towards the balls. The darkness battered against the tornado protecting him, but essentially he tore through the attack.

"Is that all you have?" asked Gaul with a smirk on his face, "I would have expected an Apocalymon to be more powerful."

"Oh you haven't even started to see my power," said Kole, "Darkness Zone!"

Another black ball burst from Kole's claws, and this time it made its way to Gaul. The BlackWarGreymon's smirk was wiped off once he discovered that he couldn't move properly.

"Know isn't that a little bit more fun?" asked Kole, breaking into laughter. "Total Annihilation!"

I missed this fun, you shouldn't have kept yourself from digivolving into me

Gaul tried form his tornado again, but found that due to the Darkness Zone he wasn't able to. This time the Total Annihilations slammed into Gaul, resulting in large explosions.

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

"Thanks for saving me back there," thanked Tia, "Vampire Dance!"

Tia slashed forwards and the energy arcs burst from her claws and made their way to Jake's face. The JumboGamemon covered his face with his hands, his cannons taking the brunt of the attack.

"Nail Crusher!"

Hira charged at Jake, his claws glowing and jumped at the JumboGamemon. As he brought his claws down, Hira found himself blasted backwards by a burst of water.

"How dare you!" screamed the SaberLeomon as he regained his footing. "Infinity Arrow!"

The lion's mane glowed white, and suddenly many of his hairs burst from his mane and flung themselves towards the digimon. The turtle laughed as the hairs made their way to him and withdrew into his shell, the hairs bouncing off harmlessly. Suddenly the call to fall back was issued, and Jake disappeared.

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

"Tia, its back!" Kole, back to Piedmon, yelled running over to Tia.

"What's back?" asked the Bastemon.

"The voice!"

"What voice?" asked Hira, who had also dedigivolved.

"Its none of your business!" snapped the harlequin. "Tia I need you to come over in and talk with me in private."

As the two walked away, Hira made note to tell Michael, Thor or Bedivere about what Kole had said. Though at the moment he was more interested in getting out of the hive.
 
"Go, fight someone else," she said to the other WarGreymon. "This is my fight. You'll only get hurt here."

Aeria bit her lower lip, flinching back self-consciously as Vritra basically just told her that she really was getting in the way. When she opened back her eyes, Vritra had already dashed off to continue the fight that Aeria herself hadn’t been unable to.

“I just wanted to help,” the WarGreymon whispered, despite having been doubtful of being able to be of a benefit to the fight. Her unconfident self berated her, mimicking what Vritra had told her, only this time, it repeated over and over in her head, squashing the little self-confidence she had mustered to keep herself from being a sitting duck targeted by a barrage of homing missiles.

She let out a squeak when the room was suddenly completely cloaked in shadows. Her vision was practically smothered in darkness. Panic began to set in once more; the immediate darkness, the sounds of surprise and battle, and the speeding of her heart beat paralleled the moments where her consciousness would fail her, leaving…whatever was inside her to take control.

Before she could panic even further, a loud shrill shriek blasted through the room. It sounded…a lot more hysterical than she thought she ever felt. She could, however, place it to a similar scream that she had begun to hear quite frequently ever since she joined up.

Shoon.

The next thing she knew, the darkness disappeared, and her vision was replaced once more with the battle-torn and barely recognizable room that they had entered.

And then she realized that, sometime during the short time that the black veil had covered the room, she had fallen on her knees, sitting on her heels with her arms enclosed around herself tightly. It took her a little bit of effort to pry her fingers from her arms. She rubbed her eyes to blink away the last of the circles of light that invaded her eyesight when the darkness disappeared. She stood stiff when she felt wetness on her face; tears had fallen from her eyes during the darkness. Flushing lightly, she scrambled to her feet, trying to wipe the wetness away.

When she felt that she had done enough to save face, she looked around, wondering what had happened to their opponents that had then disappeared from the scene. It made her worry.

And then she saw someone on the ground near her. “Oh,” she said, running over to Ivy. “Are you alright?” she asked the flower Digimon as she began to walk away, only to realize where the Rosemon X was heading.

“Um…nevermind,” she whispered, looking away and rubbing her arm self-consciouslly. She had turned to a huge, lumbering bug Digimon that looked like he was coming to. “I think your, um, husband has regained his senses,” she said, turning back to Ivy.

She gave the Rosemon X one more nod before walking away. She bit her lip once more, trying to wrench away the cords that wrapped around her heart and constricted tightly enough for a few more tears to fall down from her eyes.

She obliviously passed by Shoon, who had then dedigivolved back into his Mamemon X form. Somehow, through the darkness, he had been able to grab hold onto something. That something was a leg, which happened to belong to Duo.

Shoon, however, hadn’t noticed and was still holding tightly against the leg, his eyes scrunched tight. “I-hate-the-dark-I-hate-the-dark-I-hate-the-dark,” he repeated in record speed, apparently ignorant that he was holding onto someone’s leg.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Flying towards the plateau where Thor said they were going to rest at, Aeria lagged behind. Her insecurities were once more getting the better of her, and she wondered if maybe she didn’t belong there. It may have been the first fight, technically, but…it made her wonder what she would have been able to do.

“I’m useless here…with them. A liability,” she said in a level tone, closing her eyes, not really speaking to anyone but herself.

And then there was that other side that she was worried about. If there was anything that nagged at her more than being useless, it was being a danger to them. And she felt her eyes begin to sting as once more, tears began to fight their way to her eyes.

“Maybe I should quit now before I hurt someone else…”
 

storymasterb

Knight of RPGs
"Thor is right," Bedivere said, shedding his Examon form in a flare of data which shone like fireflies before shattering into dying sparks, leaving his Slayerdramon base behind. "Let's move out, get some rest and get back to the chase."

"Chase?" Guinier asked, the light of Future Mode fading from her form as she released that power, returning to her own base form.

"Haven't you seen it?" Caradoc said, landing beside her and shedding his Dynasmon X evolution into data. "We've faced only the results of seals being broken, Guinier. The rising of the Witnesses. The blinding of the Old Gods. The blight of the land. All three, we arrived too late to stop him from breaking them. We've faced only the consequences. Now was the first time we even confronted anyone even slightly related to Mephistopheles. We still haven't had even a glimpse of the mon himself."

"Exactly," Bedivere said. "Those humans, and those Digimon... they were powerful as it was. They might not even be the slightest of the forces Mephistopheles can call upon."

"How...?"

"He's a demon," Bedivere continued. "In the months since we defeated Amatsu-Mikaboshi, my role has had responsibilities, one of which is to be ready and organized against any threat to this world as a whole. One such threat involved the Nightmare Soldiers. They're all the Digimon damned by a demon's deal, all the Digimon who had their debt collected on and therefore now serve demons. As time passes, more deals are made and the Nightmare Soldiers grow ever-greater in size. If Mephistopheles can call on the Nightmare Soldiers, then those Digimon, BlackWarGreymon, DarkSuperStarmon, ShadowWereGarurumon... they may just be the beginning."

"Which leads to the main point, if Mephistopheles has the services of such numbers... we know he made a deal with Hecatondies specifically to organize the events to break this seal," Caradoc continued, "a blight shall cover the land. Mephistopheles did a deal with an insect king, one who could control all insects, creating the blight. I imagine one of the terms was that when ordered, Hecatondies would unleash the blight, breaking the seal. For all we know, he has made deals with others to organize events breaking the other seals. He could be a dozen seals ahead by now, and we'd be none the wiser until their effects show."

"This talk isn't getting us anywhere," Bedivere murmured. "We'll continue it once we've made camp. Let's move." With that he took flight, the Peacemakers following...

-

He flew over to Caradoc and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Caradoc..." he said, maintaining his ethereal tone. "Thank you for knocking me out before I could do anymore harm to you or the others..."

Barachiel looked up at the skies for a brief moment before looking back at the Peacemaker. He looked into his eyes to emphasize his sincerity. "I... err... also wanted to apologize to you formally. I am genuinely sorry for fighting you back there. I tried to fight his control, but..." he trailed off and bowed his head deeply.

"Please forgive my weakness of will," he said with a still-bowed head. "I want you to hit me. I deserve it and you deserve to be the one to do it, Caradoc. I promise I will not hold it against you. It won't make up for what I did, but..." Barachiel raised his bowed head slightly to look at Caradoc. "Please."

Caradoc looked at the angelic insect long and hard, recalling how the TigerVespamon had fanatically attacked, proclaiming the name of Hecatondies, the effort it had taken to stop him.

He raised a hand, still staring with violet eyes, and he drew back the hand to strike Barachiel around the face. And he swung...

Gently tapping the TigerVespamon's cheek.

"You weren't yourself," he said with a soft smile, lowering his hand. "If Hecatondies could make Gigas attack his friends... well, then I imagine no-one could have fought it. Gigas would sooner fast for a month than lay as much as a finger on Nocchi or Sha. I don't blame you for this, Barachiel."

He glanced to the sun on the horizon. "Besides... it meant I got to experience my new evolution. Phoenixmon isn't something I've exactly tried and tested... and I don't have the benefits of experience I did when I took my Dynasmon form. I need to learn how to use that form to its best ability."

He glanced back to Barachiel, narrowing his eyes against the reflected sunbeams that bounced from the TigerVespamon's helm. "The Holy Host teach to forgive, don't they? I forgive you, Barachiel. It was never your fault to begin with." He laid a hand on his comrade's shoulder and smiled. "Though, I was wondering... why does Khep call you 'Terrak'?"

-

“Maybe I should quit now before I hurt someone else…”

"I didn't mean that." Vritra's voice was cold and bitter as she flew beside Aeria, having shed her evolution. "I didn't tell you to step aside because I thought you weren't capable of fighting. I told you to step aside because that's how I fight - alone."

She glanced at her fellow Greymon. "It's not you. I tell everyone the same. And those who know about me obey, and those who don't are pulled away by those who do. Everyone comes to know me in the end. I ensure they can never forget."

She looked to the sun, to that great broiling furnace, and its heat on her face resonated with her, reminding her of her own aspects, drought, heat, the fires of destruction. Her wings lit with greater intensity for an instant, casting a burning glare across her blood-red armor and Aeria's vibrant gold-orange plate.

"They're not the problem," Vritra continued. "I am. When I fight, I burn. I burn away all the control, all the restraint. I let go. And everything burns with me. Because that's what I am. I am the fire from which only ash endures. I am the heat that reduces men to crippled wrecks. I am the drought that kills whole nations under its shadow. And that is the blessing I bear, and the curse I am shackled with."

She glanced back to Aeria. "So understand, and understand well, I don't dismiss allies out of contempt. I dismiss them so they don't suffer by my hand."
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
The morning sun shone down on Tiwaz, irritating his eyes and forcing him to squint. The AncientGreymon stood unevenly before a crowd of people from Tiwheim and even abroad as well. His pounding head and the acidic taste in his mouth made him regret all the drinking he and his descendant did the previous night.

Standing before Tiwaz, facing him, was Hoenir, who was also trying to hide his hangover. "You are sure you want to leave now?"

Tiwaz nodded. "Yes, Hoenir. I speak the truth when I say it's nothing personal, but Tyr and I need to move on. Besides, Tiwheim is well-protected in you and your suboordinates' capable hands."

Hoenir smiled. "Will you come back for a visit sometime?"

"Hah, of course. Just so long as you start carrying more of Hymir's Finest in your tavern. That is a damn fine drink," said the AncientGreymon before catching himself and looking out to the citizens. "...But don't drink until you're old enough, kids; 'drinkers aren't thinkers' and all that."

Tiwaz grinned and looked back to Hoenir. "Besides, it would be pretty rude if I didn't, seeing as you have a reletively accurate statue of me just outside town.

Hoenir grinned as well and nodded. Something soon caught his attention, however.

"Tiwaz, sir! Tiwaz, sir!" a voice called out.

Tiwaz turned around and saw a Halsemon flying at top speeds towards him. The avian digimon landed in front of him and panted, looking like he was going to drop dead from exhaustion. "Thank the Sovereigns I caught you," he managed between heaves.

Tiwaz arched an eyebrow and stared down at the Halsemon. He couldn't help but remember the last time a Halsemon sent for him. "What's this about?" he asked bluntly.

"The Anatolian Council... sent for you... heard you were here from a traveller..." he panted.

"Deep breaths," Tiwaz told him.

"The Anatolian Council?" Tyr mused. "Is that the new Avalon Council?"

"I assume so," replied Tiwaz. The AncientGreymon looked back at the Halsemon who had over-exerted himself. "Well? What do they want?"

The Halsemon took one final, prolonged inhale before answering. "Your comrades, the Peacemakers, have gathered again."

"What?" Tiwaz proclaimed, shocked underneath his calm exterior. "Why? Tell me."

The avian digimon nodded, but glanced nervously towards the citizens of Tiwheim. He looked up at Tiwaz and craned his head to gesture away from the others. The AncientGreymon nodded and followed him off to the side. "Well..." he began, now satisfied with the proximity. "There have been some disturbances recently. There were rumours about ghosts in Avalon, the bug digimon fell into some kind of deep trance last night and they gathered and began laying waste to the forests until they suddenly stopped like nothing had happened. Also, I recieved a report that the Red Chessmon kingdom suddenly rose up out of nothing during the Chessmon War and overthrew both the White and Black sides," he explained.

"...Excuse me, what? There was a Chessmon War?!" Tiwaz exclaimed, shocked and angered. "Tyr, why didn't you tell me about this?!"

"I'm sorry. It's been going on for so long that people start to take it for granted," he replied guiltily.

"It has been going on for-- nevermind that, sir. The important thing right now is that the Peacemakers are gathered."

"Why are they gathered?" Tiwaz asked. "These seem like isolated incidents. Are they planning to investigate each of them? That seems awfully interventionistic for them... it doesn't sound like them at all, especially if Fenrir's there."

"He's not there. And the Council has reason to believe that these events are actually interconnected. Saint Michael believes that a demon known as Mephistopheles is behind this. The Peacemakers are trying to stop him before things become catastrophic."

"Fen's not there? What a shocking surprise..." he muttered sarcastically. Tiwaz then nodded to the Halsemon and closed his eyes. "Well, Tyr? It looks like we should check into this with the others. What do you think?"

Tyr grimaced. "I'm not sure... Are they still saying that they're the new Royal Knights?"

"Tyr, they just want to do the right thing, just like we do. Now I say we at least go see what the situation is with them. If they need our help, then we'll help."

Tyr sighed, agreeing reluctantly. "Because that's what it means to be a hero?"

"Exactly." Tiwaz opened his eyes, adjusted his goggles and looked at the Halsemon. "Tell your superiors that Tiwaz the Valiant is on the job."

The Halsemon nodded. "They were last in Avalon, heading towards the Sovereign's royal palace."

"Then that's where we'll start," Tiwaz added internally.

He then turned away from him and walked back to Hoenir and the citizens of Tiwheim. "Before I leave, Tyr and I would like to thank you all for your generous hospitality. I am truly glad I was able to save this town..." he said, glancing down slightly as applause erupted. Tiwaz then turned to Hoenir, managing a pose. "And my descendant... If you ever need help, just send for me and you will have it. I know that this whole area will be safe in your capable hands. We will have to have a drinking match sometime."

Hoenir grinned and bowed his head. "Thank you. And good luck."

Tiwaz turned, looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Likewise."

With that, he flapped his mighty, fire-laced wings and rocketed into the sky.

-

He raised a hand, still staring with violet eyes, and he drew back the hand to strike Barachiel around the face. And he swung...

Gently tapping the TigerVespamon's cheek.

"You weren't yourself," he said with a soft smile, lowering his hand. "If Hecatondies could make Gigas attack his friends... well, then I imagine no-one could have fought it. Gigas would sooner fast for a month than lay as much as a finger on Nocchi or Sha. I don't blame you for this, Barachiel."

Barachiel regarded Caradoc with surprise. "...Thank you, Caradoc," he said, his muscles relaxing after having been poised to withstand the blow that he expected.

He glanced to the sun on the horizon. "Besides... it meant I got to experience my new evolution. Phoenixmon isn't something I've exactly tried and tested... and I don't have the benefits of experience I did when I took my Dynasmon form. I need to learn how to use that form to its best ability."

"Then I am glad some good came from that unfortunate ordeal," the celestial insect replied. "I admit, that was the first time I laid eyes on a Phoenixmon. It was magnificient to behold."

Caradoc glanced back to Barachiel, narrowing his eyes against the reflected sunbeams that bounced from the TigerVespamon's helm. "The Holy Host teach to forgive, don't they? I forgive you, Barachiel. It was never your fault to begin with." He laid a hand on his comrade's shoulder and smiled. "Though, I was wondering... why does Khep call you 'Terrak'?"

Barachiel nodded in deep gratitude. "Thank you. That means a lot... And yes, they do."

The TigerVespamon couldn't help but cringe slightly at Caradoc's last question. "Kheprius," he thought with annoyance. He knew this would happen if Khep kept calling him by that name.

Barachiel found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. He wasn't keen on disclosing the truth of the matter to anybody, but at the same time, he couldn't possibly bring himself to lie. Barachiel was taught never to lie needlessly and he especially couldn't be deceitful to the digimon who forgave him so readily after he had almost killed him.

A soft exhale escaped the TigerVespamon. "Kheprius knows me," he admitted resignedly. "...From long ago."

For a split second, Barachiel allowed himself to be sucked back into the days where he lived happily with Khep, when he was still known by the name 'Terrak'. He subconsciously readjusted the red scarf around his neck while looking forwards, ahead of him.

He knew that the reply he gave didn't answer Caradoc's inquiry. Barachiel considered leaving it at that, but his guilt set in. He owed Caradoc an answer.

"There was a time when I was called by that name..." the TigerVespamon explained. "But something horrible took place and things changed. ...I dropped the heavy chains of my past and started anew... I was reborn."

He turned back to Caradoc and stared into the Valkyrimon's violet eyes steadily. "I needed to start anew or else my past would have consumed me like it did my brother, who is still chained to that slowly sinking rock." For no more than three, maybe four, milliseconds, Barachiel glanced in Khep's direction with a look of pity and contempt on his face.

The insect knight sighed and focused back on his comrade. "Have you ever wanted to break free from something in your past, Caradoc?"

-

Gunnar flew along over the ground, swerving around various trees. He was sure to keep a close eye on Barachiel while he did.

"Yo, Shades," Gunnar hailed, swinging up beside Justin. "How are ya doin'? Keeping up okay?" he asked, grinning.

"I couldn't help but notice you try to hang around Lucia a lot. D'you have a thing for her? I mean, I don't blame you if you do, she's pretty hot if I do say so myself, but isn't she with Duo?"

-

Hours later after he left, Tiwaz landed in front of the great marble palace and placed his feet on the steps. The morning sun still sat in the sky, not yet reaching its apex. It was partly due to Tiwaz's fast flying and his change in time zones that he got here before morning had passed.

His body froze and he raised his head high, sniffing the air. "Something smells off... but the Peacemakers were definately here. I have a few of their scents..."

He made his way up the steps and towards the front entrance. Before he could take step inside, the large, lapine form of an Antylamon leapt in front of him, blocking him from entering.

"Who- Who goes there?" he asked, his voice weak and guarded.

"Tyr! A rabbit!" Tiwaz said excitedly, a smile appearing on his face as he stared at the digimon. The smile quickly disappeared. "Err, I mean, 'It is me.'"

The Antylamon looked up at him. "Identify yourself! Who are-- ...Tiwaz?" he asked, his guard lowering.

"Yes. I'm Tiwaz Koenig," he said. "I'm looking for my comrades."

The rabbit deva grimaced. "They're not here. And it's best if you don't come in..."

"Why not?" Tiwaz asked, looking up from him and looking into the entrance hall. From inside he heard groans.

"Mephistopheles beat them here... He beat us down and blinded our masters, the Sovereigns," the Antylamon explained grimly.

"What?!" Tiwaz roared in outrage. This prompted the snake and dragon deva to look down the hall cautiously, briefly stopping their tending to the wounded Sovereigns. The Antylamon turned to them and nodded, signalling that everything was fine.

"I know... We failed as their royal guards," the Antylamon said with regret in his voice. "

"No, the true villain here is that damn Mephis-whatever guy," Tiwaz snarled, momentarily placing one of his foreclaws on the rabbit digimon's shoulder. "Do you know what happened to the others?"

The Antylamon nodded. "I was just regaining consciousness as they left. The bug digimon among them were in terrible pain. I remember hearing them saying that they were going to meet with the insect king Hecadonties. He must have been the one behind what happened to the bug digimon."

"Hecadonties..." Tiwaz mused. "...Bunny rabbit, do you know where his palace is?"

The Antylamon arched an eyebrow at the name, but nodded. "Yes, I know where his hive-palace is..."

"Good. Get a map and show me."
 

storymasterb

Knight of RPGs
Barachiel regarded Caradoc with surprise. "...Thank you, Caradoc," he said, his muscles relaxing after having been poised to withstand the blow that he expected.

"You had no choice," the Valkyrimon said. "I can't blame you for something that you didn't do out of your own will."

"Then I am glad some good came from that unfortunate ordeal," the celestial insect replied. "I admit, that was the first time I laid eyes on a Phoenixmon. It was magnificent to behold."

"It was an interesting form... different," Caradoc murmured, staring at his black-gloved hand. "For so long I languished in shadows, believing myself unworthy of light... now I feel lighter... free. Taking that form was a release. Fire and light, as opposed to the shadow and storm of Ravemon."

Then Barachiel answered his other question, and Caradoc understood in part, but also felt that Barachiel was holding back something.

"So you know Khep?" he asked. "Where from? How did you meet?" He glanced at the obsidian insect. "Knowing him, I can't imagine it was in good circumstances..."

"There was a time when I was called by that name..." the TigerVespamon explained. "But something horrible took place and things changed. ...I dropped the heavy chains of my past and started anew... I was reborn."

He turned back to Caradoc and stared into the Valkyrimon's violet eyes steadily. "I needed to start anew or else my past would have consumed me like it did my brother, who is still chained to that slowly sinking rock." For no more than three, maybe four, milliseconds, Barachiel glanced in Khep's direction with a look of pity and contempt on his face.

The insect knight sighed and focused back on his comrade. "Have you ever wanted to break free from something in your past, Caradoc?"

Caradoc caught the glance to Khep as Barachiel spoke, and was slightly puzzled, but shrugged off the feeling. "So you let go of what held you down as well... like I did..."

He looked full into the angelic insect's eyes. "Yes. I have wanted to break free of my past for so long... and with Guinier, I think I've broken free... but then there's the chain of memories forever binding me to that past." He paused for a moment. "There was another with my name, an elder Caradoc Stern. And he was a noble, who served under Odin." He sighed. "Odin was in battle, and he sent a plea for aid to that man, the closest of his vassals."

His eyes narrowed in bitterness at the words. "The elder ignored him, cowardly and afraid for his own life and lands. He refused to get involved, and had the Royal Knights not intervened, Odin might have died there. The servants heard the message, and they gossiped, as they always do. The news spread through the estate, and the town, and then throughout the country. The elder was shamed, given dirty looks and insults. Foul, hateful insults hurled at his face, knives stabbed into the door, once a preacher came and nailed the words 'coward' to his door."

Caradoc sighed, recalling watching the Flamedramon angrily hammering the iron-forged letters into the door to the cheers and amusement of the crowd. "So when the elder's wife gave to him a son... there was only one purpose for that child... redemption."

He stared deep into Barachiel's eyes. "I am that son, Barachiel. My life was spent being a tool to break down my family's shame... and I accomplished that. I went to visit my home once, just once, when I knew my father wasn't there. I walked the halls where once I spent hour on hour in mock battle. I sat once again at the desk where I studied combat texts for so long. I lay on the bed that once was my own." He sighed. "I found the letters the preacher nailed to the door. Father took them away and with the help of the townspeople melted them down along with other idols to his shame, and with the iron they made a statue for the grounds. A statue of me."

He looked toward the setting sun. "I met him... he came back earlier than I thought he would. But after all this time... even when he sung my praises they were empty. It was never about how I fought, how I shed blood and sweat and tears for so many years to win his approval." His voice was cold and bitter now, full of the pain of the past, and he wanted to stop, but he wanted Barachiel to know what he had only ever told Guinier, the words whispered only to her in the lateness of night as they lay close and talked.

"It was all about him and how I had erased his shame. About the family honor. He never understood how I struggled under his burdens for those years. He never cared how much weight he laid on my shoulders, only that I held it up and eventually got rid of it for good. But only to him. Me... I still hold that burden. The past doesn't die in one action... it chains us all. Tell me, Barachiel... that cursed past that made you abandon your name... has it really gone? Or does it still haunt you, like my father haunts me, the monster of my dreams?"

He looked back at Guinier. "Do we ever leave the chains of the past behind in the darkness for good? Or do we live in a light ever-edged by those shadows, a light which flickers and may even die? That is what I've wondered ever since I found another path with Guinier..."
 

Griff4815

No. 1 Grovyle Fan
"So you know Khep?" he asked. "Where from? How did you meet?" He glanced at the obsidian insect. "Knowing him, I can't imagine it was in good circumstances..."

Barachiel observed Caradoc with some apprehension. He knew that if he told Caradoc the full truth, countless more questions would arise. The TigerVespamon wasn't against talking to him, but he didn't want to burden him with the answers to the questions. Not at this moment anyways.

"Yes, I know Kheprius... We both lived in the same village as children. We were close..." he answered. A soft, barely noticable smile appeared on Barachiel's face. "You would be surprised, actually. Back then, Kheprius was different... Very different." His smile disappeared.

"I wasn't the only one who changed..."

He looked full into the angelic insect's eyes. "Yes. I have wanted to break free of my past for so long... and with Guinier, I think I've broken free... but then there's the chain of memories forever binding me to that past." He paused for a moment. "There was another with my name, an elder Caradoc Stern. And he was a noble, who served under Odin." He sighed. "Odin was in battle, and he sent a plea for aid to that man, the closest of his vassals."

His eyes narrowed in bitterness at the words. "The elder ignored him, cowardly and afraid for his own life and lands. He refused to get involved, and had the Royal Knights not intervened, Odin might have died there. The servants heard the message, and they gossiped, as they always do. The news spread through the estate, and the town, and then throughout the country. The elder was shamed, given dirty looks and insults. Foul, hateful insults hurled at his face, knives stabbed into the door, once a preacher came and nailed the words 'coward' to his door."

Caradoc sighed, recalling watching the Flamedramon angrily hammering the iron-forged letters into the door to the cheers and amusement of the crowd. "So when the elder's wife gave to him a son... there was only one purpose for that child... redemption."

He stared deep into Barachiel's eyes. "I am that son, Barachiel. My life was spent being a tool to break down my family's shame... and I accomplished that. I went to visit my home once, just once, when I knew my father wasn't there. I walked the halls where once I spent hour on hour in mock battle. I sat once again at the desk where I studied combat texts for so long. I lay on the bed that once was my own." He sighed. "I found the letters the preacher nailed to the door. Father took them away and with the help of the townspeople melted them down along with other idols to his shame, and with the iron they made a statue for the grounds. A statue of me."

He looked toward the setting sun. "I met him... he came back earlier than I thought he would. But after all this time... even when he sung my praises they were empty. It was never about how I fought, how I shed blood and sweat and tears for so many years to win his approval." His voice was cold and bitter now, full of the pain of the past, and he wanted to stop, but he wanted Barachiel to know what he had only ever told Guinier, the words whispered only to her in the lateness of night as they lay close and talked.

"It was all about him and how I had erased his shame. About the family honor. He never understood how I struggled under his burdens for those years. He never cared how much weight he laid on my shoulders, only that I held it up and eventually got rid of it for good. But only to him. Me... I still hold that burden. The past doesn't die in one action... it chains us all. Tell me, Barachiel... that cursed past that made you abandon your name... has it really gone? Or does it still haunt you, like my father haunts me, the monster of my dreams?"

Barachiel stared carefully at Caradoc, deep into his eyes. It surprised him how much the Valkyrimon revealed about himself to him. He could see the pain still present in Caradoc just by a glance. He looked at his comrade with sympathy.

"Caradoc, I..." he begun in shock, but stopped, unsure of what to say. The TigerVespamon raised his hand and placed it gently on Caradoc's shoulder. "I am sorry... That must have been terrible for you... You didn't deserve that," Barachiel replied solemnly. He realized that that was a grave understatement, but the insect digimon could not readily think of a word to try to describe how Caradoc must have felt. "What is most important is that you are who you are now: Caradoc Stern. Not a tool, but a fine warrior and a just digimon pure of heart."

"No... it still remains," he admitted, looking back at Caradoc, answering his question. "It still follows me around to this day..." Little did Caradoc know, Barachiel spoke literally as well as figuratively.

The TigerVespamon looked down at the pendant his father gave him. "No, Caradoc... Each night, after I pray and before I fall asleep, I remember my past. I remember the times as they were and the event that changed them," he explained carefully. "The memories will always remain, but whether we are bound by them is our choice... Instead of dwelling on the bad, I learned to cherish the good. I learned to feel blessed that I was able to have the life and family that I did..."

Barachiel trailed off and grimaced. He realized that, by the way that Caradoc recounted his life, that the Valkrimon may not have had many good memories. He must have sounded like he was braggng and attempting to rub his nose in it. "I... I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean it like that."

Caradoc had opened up so much to him, yet he revealed as little as he could. Barachiel sighed. It was only fair...

"Caradoc, my family... my village... was slaughtered by raiders when I was young," he explained, deep in thought. Barachiel grabbed his red scarf with a finger and pulled it down slightly, revealing a long scar running up the exoskeleton of his neck. "I survived somehow and was taken care of by a monk of the Holy Host: an Angemon by the name of Hadrael Aker. He raised me and helped me through the grief that I suffered. After the attack, I was so sad... so angry. Hadrael was patient with me and helped me to temper my anger. It was because of him and his teachings that I was able to let go and finally move on from the attack."

Barachiel gazed over to Kheprius. "As you can probably deduce, that was also Kheprius' village and he also survived... I didn't find out until several years ago, when Kheprius was a wanted criminal," he said with disdain. The TigerVespamon looked up at Caradoc with a hard, meaningful stare. "...He is what happens when you don't let go of your baggage."

He then tore his eyes away from the Valkyrimon, looking back up at the stars, which grew in numbers as the sun set further in the distance. "Caradoc, you are the first person I told that to aside from Hadrael... Please, can you keep it between us? You have my word that I won't repeat what you told me either. It seems we both carry heavy burdens don't we...?"

He turned back to Caradoc, but something caught his eye: a small, white, foreign and strange device hanging from his belt. "Forgive me for asking, but what is that?"
 
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Galic waved goodbye to his visitors with his good arm. He smiled, although his mind was slightly worried. He hoped that the information he had passed onto them were correct. Sure, the nomads were great at information collecting and gathering, but the few months of peace and leisure meant that they were slightly rusty. Still, he hoped that the few scouts that he asked to monitor the Peacemakers’ movements were as competent as they were during the Unholy Crusade.

He turned back, beginning to walk back to his home. He walked through the door and greeted by the many children that frequented his house to hear his stories. Somewhere along the way, his house had becoming a mini-playground, although Galic didn’t mind. He liked being around the kids; they livened up his house and certainly brightened up his day.

“Come now, settle down,” he told them, rubbing the head of a Gabumon that was hugging his side and looking at him with wide red eyes and a smile. “Where’s Alaynna?” he asked him as the other children went off to continue what they were doing before Galic arrived.

The young Gabumon let go of him and turned his body away, pointing to the corridor that lead to the part of his house that held the kitchen. Galic smiled to the hooded lizard Digimon, thanking him as he lightly pushed the Gabumon back to his friends.

“Alaynna?” he called out, walking towards the kitchen.

“I’m just finishing up, Galic,” was the reply that came from the counter.

Galic smiled at the female MachGaogamon that wore an apron around her neck. “Thank you again,” he told her as he walked to where she was and helped her carry one of the wooden tray that small sandwiches for the children were on.

“You never seem to stop saying that even when I tell you to, do you?” Alaynna replied, although she was smiling back at him. “Without Shoon around to help you and your arm still out of commission, you need all the help you can get,” she told him knowingly as she carried the other tray. Galic nodded silently, understanding that she was talking about his arm.

“So how did it go?” she asked him as they re-entered the room full of children, most of which gathered around them the moment they could see that they were carrying food.

Putting the tray that he carried on a table where the children could simply get the sandwich for themselves, Galic said, “They’re on their way to the large tree that is home to many of the insect Digimon. At least, that’s where one of the scouts mentioned seeing them go last.”

“I don’t mean that,” Alaynna said, doing the same and then walking to stand in front of the MachGaogamon with the lame arm. “After six months, I would have thought that you would have wanted to do a lot more than just give him directions,” she told him, a knowing glint in her eye.

Galic gave her a small smile. “As much as we would have wanted to catch up, there simply isn’t enough time to,” he said simply, his smile slightly morose. He closed his eyes. “He’s…changed a lot since I last saw him. He’s grown up a bit more. And he’s even learned how to use a sword, something I never thought he would do or even think about trying. He still has a long way to go, but I would be blind if I didn’t see that he’s grown as a warrior and as a man. He doesn’t need me anymore.”

“You know that isn’t true. You still important to him, and I’m sure he still values your knowledge.”

Galic gave a deep chuckle. “Perhaps. I just wish that I could do more than show him the way,” he muttered, looking down at the arm that he couldn’t move. It still hadn’t shown any signs of recovering in the least. He looked back up when a blue hand reached and held it. He looked up to see Alaynna smiling at him.

“You’ve done a lot. For him. For his brother. And for all of us,” she said, gesturing to the happily eating children in the room. “Besides, I made his companion promise to make him come back when they’re done so that you can talk with him as long as you want. I still think he could have spared a few more hours, though.”

Galic returned her smile with a laugh. “Thank you, Alaynna, but I didn’t want to keep them here any longer than needed.” A mischievous glint suddenly appeared in his eye. “And all things considered, I can think of one more reason why he’d want to catch up with them soon,” he added, chuckling.

A thoughtful look crossed Alaynna’s face. “Oh, you mean that reason,” she said, mirthful. “I guess I can’t really blame him then.” Her thoughtful look grew. “Does he know that Shoon is with them.”

Galic blinked. “I…believe I forgot to tell him…”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Without any means for transport, Shoon had once again asked Gunnar for help…

…which was why Shoon was holding onto Gunnar’s tail for dear life, his eyes scrunched tight to keep himself from looking down at the ground. The wind that passed them by was roaring in his ears, which hindered his hearing. He wasn’t built to be airborne, let alone high up in the sky. His frequent attempts at doing so and then crashing proved that to him long ago.

He squinted his eyes open once he heard Gunnar’s voice speak. He saw Justin beside them. Due to the wind, however, he couldn’t completely hear what Gunnar had said. He tried to concentrate beyond the sound to hear what the ShineGreymon was saying, but he didn’t hear the whole thing.

"I couldn't help...try to hang around...have a thing for… mean, I don't blame you…pretty hot if I do say so myself, but…Duo?" was what he heard.

Shoon’s eye began to twitch. Did he just hear that right? No, he couldn’t possibly. The wind in his ears had probably messed up too much of what he could hear, and Galic always told him that assuming would get him into trouble. But…there was that slight chance…

Shoon looked up at the two, particularly Gunnar. One of his eyes twitched.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"I didn't mean that."

Surprised that someone was listening to her previously thought private words, Aeria almost fell from the skies. And is she had to admit, it was also because the tone that the speaker used felt like it was piercing her to the core. She turned to her side, seeing Vritra flying beside her.

"I didn't tell you to step aside because I thought you weren't capable of fighting. I told you to step aside because that's how I fight - alone."

Aeria looked down, biting her lip. “I’m…sorry for getting in your way…”

"It's not you. I tell everyone the same. And those who know about me obey, and those who don't are pulled away by those who do. Everyone comes to know me in the end. I ensure they can never forget."

Aeria looked back at Vritra. Well, one thing was for sure: she wasn’t going to forget the BurningGreymon anytime soon…if at all.

"They're not the problem," Vritra continued. "I am. When I fight, I burn. I burn away all the control, all the restraint. I let go. And everything burns with me. Because that's what I am. I am the fire from which only ash endures. I am the heat that reduces men to crippled wrecks. I am the drought that kills whole nations under its shadow. And that is the blessing I bear, and the curse I am shackled with."

She glanced back to Aeria. "So understand, and understand well, I don't dismiss allies out of contempt. I dismiss them so they don't suffer by my hand."

“That sounds…” Aeria started, looking down at the ground many miles below them. “Sad,” she finished, frowning. There was a slight undertone of resignation in her voice mixed in with her strong and determined voice. She could hear it…just as easily as Aeria herself had resigned herself to the dark clouds that hung over her head.

“I mean,” she quickly corrected, glancing at Vritra nervously. “I’m not saying you’re sad, it’s just…”

It doesn’t sound like a blessing at all,’ the WarGreymon thought, going back to Vritra’s words, but she didn’t have the courage to say it like that.

“You sound like you have to fight like that. That that’s the only way you let yourself fight,” Aeria continued, voicing out what she thought.

And the only way you know how to fight,’ she added mentally.

“If you…if you let yourself go…if you let that power that you have control you…is it, well, really yours? Or do you belong to it?” she wondered, thinking about her the side of herself that she didn’t know or understand. “For as strong as it might be…how much use can it be if yours isn’t the hand that guides it…?” she whispered.

Her father had said long ago that she had a powerful latent power within her. She didn’t really mind much about it. Back then, she thought she would grow into it. Now, though…it was something that she feared. She didn’t know what it meant for her anymore. And what scared her the most was that maybe her other side was the one with that power.

She bit her lip, wondering if she had already said too much. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I said too much…I won’t get in your way again,” she finished, looking away.
 

TheSequelReturns

Faithful Crusader
As quickly as they had appeared, the assorted enemy digimon of various origin vanished.

The battle over for the time being and with the insect "god" defeated, the Peacemakers were left with little choice but to find a place to rest and lick their wounds. Duo and Lucia stuck with each other, with Justin trailing behind, as the group made their way to their campsite for the moment.

"Yo, Shades," Gunnar hailed, swinging up beside Justin. "How are ya doin'? Keeping up okay?" he asked, grinning.

"I couldn't help but notice you try to hang around Lucia a lot. D'you have a thing for her? I mean, I don't blame you if you do, she's pretty hot if I do say so myself, but isn't she with Duo?"

"Well, its good to see that you're still up and kicking as well Sparkles." Justin said. He cast his gaze ahead, to Where Duo and Lucia were walking side by side. "Don't get the wrong idea now, its not like I'm trying to steal her away or anything. Its just that- and believe me it pains me to have to say this- but I just feel a little... You know what, I'm not gonna bother explaining. Why should I tell you my feelings anyway?"

Justin brushed his shoulder. "But you've got me on the issue. Its obvious that they're into each other, but if you ask me, I think that Duo's too scared or nervous to make a move, and Lucia's waiting on him to move first."

Justin gave a nod, as if praising himself for his insight. "So, what about you Sparkles? You sure seem to have you eyes on that dragon chick, and I think you know the one I'm referring too."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's wrong?" Duo asked, "Were you injured in the battle earlier?"

Lucia shook her head. "No, its nothing like that. I'm tougher than I look you know."

Duo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. But then what's bothering you?"

"I can't hide anything from you can I?" She scratched her head. "I don't really know what it is, I've just got a bad feeling. Its like something bad has happened somewhere."

"I hate to say it, but it probably has. Mephistopheles and his goons are still out there going after more seals."

"You're right, but it just keeps bugging me. It feels like its something important, something I'm forgetting."

Duo placed a hand on her shoulder. "You just need some rest. We all need some rest, it seems like forever since I slept soundly."

Lucia turned her gaze backwards, towards the third member of their little trio. "It looks like Justin's starting to open up a bit at least. To be honest, I was worried about him."

"I try not to." Duo said. He knew that she was changing the subject on purpose, but he didn't press the issue. He was sure she had her reasons, whatever they may be.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in the mountains...

That headache of his was finally gone. He could think clearly again, but he couldn't help but wonder what exactly had caused the strange sensation. It had been pretty painful, like a bad hangover or something, and he was pretty sure that he had traveled some distance since the pain took over. Trowa had no idea what had caused the incident, but he was certain that it had something to do with the Peacemakers.

His eyes traveled to the sky, and he couldn't help but wonder where Duo and Lucia were, and just what their old compatriots were up to. Something was definitely up, and judging by the rumors he'd heard along the way, Lucia wasn't going to be happy when she found out what had happened in her old hometown. But he wasn't ready to go seeking them out, not now. He had made a promise, and he was going to keep it, even if it was a promise made only in his mind. There was something that needed to be done before he could go back, before he he could see those who he wanted to see now, after so long traveling solo.

"Don't go dying on me while I'm gone you hear?" Trowa said to no one. He ignited his jets and took to the skies again, jetting off towards the horizon.
 

Kamotz

God of Monsters
Night fell over the Peacemaker camp, and the weary warriors settled down to get some much-needed rest. Several campfires lit the area, and the Peacemakers took to gathering around them. Michael took the moment of relaxation to quietly assess the situation they were in. He could read their frustrations; they were sick of being led around by Mephistopheles and forced to respond reactively to his machinations. At this rate he'd surely break the necessary seals and open the Inferno. They'd have to change their strategy if they wanted to succeed.

Michael called Bedivere and Thor over. "Sit," he said, as he himself took a seat by a small fire. "We can't keep going about this the same way." He glanced to the others. "How many seals have broken already? Those that we're aware of. Mephistopheles could have broken several others whose effects we might never feel."

"So what is our course of action?" Thor asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was pleased with the fact that Michael was finally calming down and not leaping from place to place in the hunt for the demon. Michael needed to keep his mind clear and focused. "Commiserating gets us nowhere."

"During my fight with Lucian I extracted a certain piece of information," Michael answered. His fists tightened and his brow furrowed at the memory. "I suppose he meant it more as a taunt, but it gives us something to follow. Mephistopheles seeks to call forth the Four Horsemen, and this is not a good thing. Their assembling itself will break at least one more seal, and they are very powerful."

"Can we stop him from gathering them?" Thor asked.

"I don't know," Michael answered. "But as with the seals, there is no telling where Mephistopheles might take these Horsemen from. Unfortunately I am not as well-versed in the theology of the Host as others might be. I spent most of my life as a warrior and a soldier; I never bothered with scripture. But perhaps that is what we need now."

"Where would we go?"

"There is a temple not far from here, about half a day's journey," Michael answered. "It is one of the Host's Missions, watched over by the angel Hadrael."

"I thought the Host wasn't offering any support," Thor said. "That's why you came to us."

"Hopefully the events of the day will have convinced them to do otherwise," Michael said bitterly. "But I believe Hadrael will aid us regardless." He glanced to Barachiel. "He and Barachiel are close. We leave at first light."

Thor looked to Bedivere and nodded, but then a shining sliver in the distant sky caught his attention. A Pegasusmon galloped through the air and came to a skidding stop by the Peacemakers' camp. The group was instantly on their guard, but as a white PawnChessmon leaped off the flying horse and rushed over to them, the appearance of such a small and harmless Digimon wasn't enough to raise a real alarm. Samael didn't even get up when the Digimon landed; he just groaned and rolled over.

"Peacemakers!" the PawnChessmon shouted, collapsing to his knees in front of the group. "I've been looking everywhere for you. It's horrible! Terrible! No good! Extremely bad!"

"Calm down," said Thor, his voice rumbling like thunder in his chest. "What's wrong? Speak slowly."

"War!" the PawnChessmon said, crying out dramatically and clutching his chest. "War has come to the Chess Kingdom."

"Ain't exactly news," Samael muttered from where he lay. "They're fightin' all the freakin' time. You woke me up for this crap?"

"It's more than that," the PawnChessmon protested. "The White and Black Chess Kingdoms have fallen! Never to rise again! The kings are murdered! Our queens and princesses held captive! Loyalists are being hunted down like dogs! The Eternal Game is over and no more! The Red Queen has risen! The Blood Queen, Elizabeth Balthory! Gods of Chess curse her!"

"Why come to us?" Thor asked, though the news of such a bloody uprising disturbed him.

"Our White Queen often spoke of Lady Lucia," the PawnChessmon said. "She was spoken of proudly. Especially with her involvement with the Peacemakers. My Queen sent me on this mission to find her and beg her to come to our aid. Please, you must tell me where she is."

Thor glanced over to Lucia, the Minervamon was watching the unfolding scene intently.

"That's not Lady Lucia," the PawnChessmon said. "She's a Minervamon."

"I guarantee you this is Lucia," Thor said.

"Then you must help me!" the PawnChessmon cried. "Queen Balthory is mad! She's a monster!"

Thor frowned; the Chess Kingdom was a long way from their camp, and in the completely opposite direction that Michael had indicated the Mission was located. It would take at least a full day to travel there, and once there they'd be embroiled in the unusual politics of the Chess Kingdoms.

"What do we do, Michael?" Thor said, though his gaze lingered on Lucia. He could only imagine what she was going through at the moment.

"It's a tragedy, but not unheard of," Michael said, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes hard. "That's the way of the Chess Kingdom, unless I'm mistaken. And we have-"

"No!" the PawnChessmon shouted. "We clash in an endless game, but never for the sake of wholesale slaughter! The Red Chess Army leaves a path of blood in its wake! Something must be done!"

"We have greater concerns," Michael said firmly. "If Mephistopheles is successful, the entire world will burn."

Thor certainly couldn't argue, but the plight of another kingdom worried him. He led the archangel to the side to speak privately.

"Michael, I cannot allow an entire kingdom to suffer in good conscience," Thor said softly. "I made a promise that Asgard would be shining beacon for this world to aspire to. As its king I cannot abandon those who cry out for help."

"You abandoned Asgard, Thor," Michael snapped. "We don't have time to play peacemakers."
 
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