2254/Swords Without Cause

Swords Without Cause
Date of Scene:	15 May 2015
Location:	The Foothills
Synopsis:	Gaonoir makes a deal with a Digimon and that Digimon decides to carry out the deal for the sake of his people. Only he will learn the hard way, that you should never make a deal with the devil dog.
Cast of Characters:	Crys Gattz, 132, 399, 695, 699, 701, 707, Duke, Gaonoir, 768, 782

---

Duke has posed:
    BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsTC_CPVx1Y

The open plains were quiet this evening as the sun was starting to set. The dark clouds loomed over the skies as thunder roared from the distance. As the evening continued to creep over the area, the rains started to come...

Children were ushered inside their houses and store signs rattled against the wind. With a crackle of lightning a figure suddenly stood out on the roadway. It was humanoid in shape, with golden brown feathery wings that the water gently roared off of. A damped red red cloth armor laid over his body with gold trim. Clawed humanoid fingers were at ready to draw one of his Katana from the scabbard that sat at his right hip, another was on his left side.

His bird beak easy to see past the Ronin like straw hat he wore and one gold eye gleaming out from a cut edge of the hat. As another strike of lightning roared across the sky, he lowered his head as water ran down the side. "You." His voice was calm, trained, and echoed one who has seen much of combat; much hardship.

His gaze was drawn to a small fuzzy purple wolf dragon, known as a Dorumon, trying to hide in a near by alley. His attempts foiled it would seem. "It is you I must kill."

        -- NOW --

While it has been slightly moved outside of the main town area, the battle has got the attention of the locals. The bird humanoid, a Buraimon, quickly stays on the Child Digimon. The sword strikes were swift, precise-- all marks of a well trained warrior.

Even as the Dorumon attempted to blast out metal explosive pelts from its maw, they were quickly cut in half by the bird humanoid, Digimon before he flips back in the air, with his wings out stretching, and then dives in with a hard kick to knock the other Digimon back.

As he brought the blade around, with the tip of it pointed toward the child, his steps started to slow down. "I do this with no joy in my heart... but I must make right by my lord... to return my honor once again."

His visible gold eye showed a depth of sadness in it. "...So understand that your sacrifice is for the good of us all and I will give you a quick, painless, death."

Doran (695) has posed:
Doran was just hunting around for stuff. Slinking around in alleyways, scavenging food and disposed items, is nothing new for him, and he could always sell off anything that looks valuable later. It's a way to keep himself busy, at least.

The incoming storm gets an ear-twitch, and he holds close a messenger bag slung over his chest and one shoulder. "Should probably go now," he murmurs to himself, padding towards the exit of the alleyway... only to see the lightning-illuminated form of a Buraimon standing in the roadway just beyond the alley.

He presses against the building, trying to hide himself in the shadows, but even before the Buraimon speaks he knows he'd been spotted. Kill...? Doran doesn't wait for the tengu-like Digimon to move, whirling around and racing away as fast as his legs will take him. Away from buildings, roads, the town center.

This is only partially successful. Doran bobs and weaves, bouncing off of items and surfaces to avoid getting sliced by the Buraimon's blade. He whirls in mid-air at one point, firing a Metal Cannon shot that is easily countered, and gets shoulder-tackled for his trouble. The Child-level Digimon bounces on the ground once, spins, and heavily lands at a pained crouch. The messenger bag seems undamaged for the moment.

"You don't understand what you're doing!" He shouts over the sound of the storm, teeth bared and tail thrashing, but he does not attack. He's outmatched in this form, but he doesn't want to Digivolve -- not here, not in this kind of situation. "Buraimon, there's no going back!"

Circe (701) has posed:
    'The net' is a funny thing. Actually, somewhat repulsive. Fascinating despite how much Caster finds it revolting, the Servant occasionally makes use of both computers and television. She has a knowledge of what they are for the most part, and how to operate them, but she does not care to know anything deeper than that. It is magic that truly holds her attention. Even so, she becomes aware of something involving a dragon.

    "Ah! A dragon! How exciting!" The red-haired woman quickly made preparations to depart from her room within Psalm's enclave. Through the usage of dematerialization and Warp Gates, it should not take too terribly long before red motes of energy, like embers, come swirling together in a shimmer of crimson light, materializing into the form of Caster. She drifts several feet above the air, disgusted by the wet terrain beneath her. She isn't too pleased by the rain pelting her either. Where is this fight going on?

    The spirit summoned from the past holds up an arm to shield her red eyes. Her senses are all heightened several times on account of being a Servant, so it shouldn't be TOO hard to track the sound or sight of battle to its origin. And when she detects such... She'll fly towards it!

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     After two days of being stuck in a barn while fixing Behemoth, Beelzebumon just HAD to get out of the house.

     With the excuse of checking to make sure that the demonic motorcycle was repaired properly, the still injured Demon Lord rumbles down the streets, his one arm still in a sling and bandages taping his ribcage up. No matching bandages on his knee though, since that's supposedly healed up enough to not need it... but Beelzebumon could have just been lying through his teeth so he wouldn't be cooped up any longer.

     This demon lord does NOT handle being glued to one spot very well.

Gaonoir has posed:
The town was not large, but it still provided plenty of shadows. Especially with the stormy weather rolling overhead.

But some of these shadows were not just being cast by the darkened skies above and street lamps below.

Hidden at the fringes of the fight, a pair of narrow golden eyes watched. As much watching Buraimon as the wolf-raptor that was attempting to stop him. Harsh and judging of both warriors. That creepy feeling of being watched, but nothing to be seen if one tried to look.

Not to mention diverting ones attention to potential specters in the dark would be a terrible and potentially lethal mistake to make....

Taro (399) has posed:
    The ameteur vidstreamer might get a bit of a surprise at the tail end of his video stream. The screen shimmers, then wavers, and then a twinkling blue-purple light emerges from its surface with a 'plink!' No words, only a bit of digital warble that might be an apology before it winks through the window and is gone.
    The video stream is currently trending on multiple sites. That makes it interesting enough for Taro to send one of his cyber-elves ahead as a scout.
    The little orb of living data zips through the rain, seemingly unbothered by the weather as she rushes to the battlefield. 'I'm arriving now,' she warbles softly, and presumbably her boss can hear. 'I think there's going to be a mess...oh!' She flits upward as Beelzebumon roars past her. 'It looks like that fight-crazy demon person is here, too. There's definitely going to be a mess.'

Golden (782) has posed:
    "Oh come on..." Golden says as he catches the tail end of the beginning of the fight, seeing two Digimon face off then zip off to the outskirts of town. He chases after them, bounding along the ground like some kind of super bounce ball. A flash of lightning disrupts the MetalMamemon briefly, blurring out his form with pixels in a rough parody of computerized censorship and sending him skidding along the grass and mud into a roll. He comes to a sudden stop at Buraimon's feet, a pained grunt marking the halt of his small round form.
    There's a moment where Golden just wants to lie there face down in the dirt and grass. A moment he lets the rain spatter across his back. This is undignified, but it's what he is now. After that moment, he picks himself up and spits out a mouthful of mud and says "Don't you think there's been enough death and destruction already, buddy?" to the Buraimon, "I mean, the end of the world happened. I'm alive, you're alive..." Golden squints at Doran through the rain. "... Whatever he is is also alive. It's over, time to call it a day and rebuild."

Cory (768) has posed:
    Familiar with the internet, though not a fanatic, Cory picks up on the news through Union heads-ups. It's enough to get her interest, that's for sure.

    The young Saiyan rockets from a warp gate, carried aloft by stream of compressed Ki thick enough to be seen - it's a hazy white 'flame' surrounding her and left in her wake.

    This fantastic display ends with a *CRACK* as she comes to a halt above the battlefield and simply... hovers there, gazing on with intense curiosity. Just what's HAPPENING down there? Time to find out.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz has often faded in and out of Elite adcitivies it was her way keep out of the affairs of command and just do her thing. It was best givne the things she'd seein her life. Then again as far as newmen were she was getting a bit on the old side the more she thought about it. However her thought had been disrupted by the attack. She now comes on to the scene likely from a warp gate and visually might seem to have more in common with a Digimon than a human.

She'd arrived and narrows her eyes a bit even as she summoned. She'd already was moving in but has not summoned a weapon yet, just what was going on here?

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
In the course of surfing the Multiversal Internet for hints on a certain boss fight that's been driving her nuts, Xiaomu happened upon the stream from that cell phone ... and after a moment's research to confirm where the stream originated, and get a mental map fix on how to get there, she set off. She can't fly or teleport, but she can walk - and when she has to, she can run. Those two factors make warpgates a great option for getting around the Multiverse, so that's how she reaches the town where all of this is going on.

She's not entirely sure which side is which between the two Digimon, but it's clear enough that the 'ninja'-esque Digimon is picking on the weaker one - whether the smaller one *can't* take on a stronger form, or just doesn't want to, it's still pretty obvious that the fight is awfully one-sided. And that's about all the reason Xiaomu needs to try and interfere, if she can get there fast enough - and once she gets her bearings within the town, she's running.

Agent Smith (699) has posed:
     For programs, information is as easy to find as air is to breathe. For viruses, it is as easily abused. The program Smith isn't so much concerned about the fight as he is the opportunities it presents. For one, there's an opportunity to learn about his new playground, the Multiverse. Allegiances may be made, obstacles may be studied, weaknesses may be observed. It's an easy matter to find a land line in a rural setting like this--not that he's limited to traveling that way anymore. Perhaps it's familiarity, or convenience, or perhaps it's nostalgia. He stands before a stunned homeowner after materializing. "Wrong number," he says with a grin.

     A lieutenant of the town guard stands waylaid by a man in a black suit. The same man, twice, actually. It's more than a little unnerving. This man stands unfettered in the heavy rain, bothered neither by the weather nor by the guard's brusque demeanor. "This is outside of your jurisdiction, Lieutenant," says the man in black. He calmly obstructs the local constable, raising a single hand. "Besides, these criminals are... above your capabilities. We wouldn't want for you to come to any undue harm." His voice is businesslike, but there's a tiny, barbed bit of menace hiding inside of it. The man in black smiles. "If you'd still like to assist in apprehending them, there is something you can do for us."

     "Oh, yeah?" The provincial policeman looks unconvinced, challenging, even. He crosses his arms. "And what might that be, Mr. Federal Agent?"

     Smith smirks, his brow furrowing as he inclines his head. Spoken as if offering up a secret, he says, "You can stand still." The program thrusts his hand violently into the guard's chest, forcibly converting his very essence--corrupting it. The virus replicates itself after about ten seconds of agony for the former guard. The metallic miasma recedes, revealing a perfect copy of Smith to a terrified onlooker. All three Smiths slowly turn their heads towards their witness, glancing at one another with eery, identical smiles. The lead Smith (?) speaks up. "We'll need a few more deputies..."

     By the time Smith deigns to approach the battleground, he's duplicated himself roughly a dozen times--it should be more than enough to handle whatever his new acquaintances throw at him. The swarm pauses, as one of their number observe's the little messenger bag. That looks interesting.

Duke has posed:
The Ronin Digimon is aware that people beyond these who are in the town are coming. He can hear it in the wind, feel it on the earth below his bestial feet. He approach toward the small Child Digimon does not stop, though his hat does lower as water continues to run down it.

His beak opens to say something, before he grimaces. He does not want to kill the child-- not in his heart of hearts. The Lightning flickers again as the reflection dances off the surface of the DigiChrome blade. "There is a home, We heard my lord's voice. A core is all I need... and it is your core that will be the key for us to return home." Us? We? There was more then just him.

His sword then was drawn back as the blade slide along his finger claw in preparation for the impale. "Forgive me, child."

However his blade was held, as a voice speaks up to him. His eyes narrowing behind the brim of his hat. His heart wasn't into this and anyone knew of the Buraimon culture, be they child up to Ultimate-- they were an honorable digimon people. Closest kin to them was the Samuari in some worlds that had a Japan. Their swords were a reflection of their heart... and one could say if their heart was not behind the act of the sword, the sword would not move.

A rain droplet slid down the edge of the metal, he did not change his position, no he held where he was, threatening the Dorumon perhaps to make a move to change the tide of his sword to strike. "We have been away from home for many years and away from the glorious mountains our Lord gave onto us. My brother knows not such beauty, to young to remember--- even if I am to die here... he at least will know home and the true way of our people." The Digimon says to the other, the Metal Mamemon.

There was a flinch of his body, his eyes narrowed sharply as the thunder roared and lightning crackled once more. "Yggdrasil! Accept us once more!" He roars out as his blade goes to strike down with a swift impale...

Also unaware of Agent Smiths-- or is aware, but focused on the objective for the moment.

Gaonoir has posed:
Others were coming. It was inevitable. This was one of the first things Gaonoir had learned about this 'Multiverse', the tendancy of all sorts to flock at the first sign of danger. Regardless if they intended to capitalize on it or defend against it.

... Some of these new arrivals were digital, or electronic, but not Digimon themselves. This gets a curious tilt of unseen head. The Cyber-Elf is noted, and the almost viral-like replication of the black suited man (program?) is noted as well.

The Demon Lord is here too? Heh. Not a surprise. Beelzebumon had never known for being idle, especially when a fight was brewing, regardless of injury.

But it is the other Digimon that almost literally rolls onto the scene that gets his attention back to the matter at hand. Golden eyes narrow at the Metal Mamemon... noting it's odd color... and that his senses can pick up on the... 'smell' for lack of better phrasing that organics would understand, of the X-Program still lingering around him.

This was an unexpected curiosity....

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     For a brief moment, Beelzebumon lets go of Behemoth's handlebar (not as dangerous as one would think, seeing as Behemoth can drive around without Beelzebumon's help) in order to brush the unexpedted Cyber-elf from his face like one would a bug, then turns to glance behind him, "Damn, the fireflies around here are the size of tennis balls..." Then he turns his eyes to the skies as a brilliant comet of aura soars past, "What the, a Saiyan? What's a Saiyan doing around here?"

     His curiousity aroused, Beelzebumon takes off in pursuit, only to turn the corner and come across the ongoing drama already in progress.

     Gently, he brings Behemoth to a stop, then swings his leg over the bike and stands up. Then he looks at Golden, then towards the Buraimon, and finally his eyes settle on Dorumon with a snort.

     "Can't stay out of trouble, can you fuzzbutt?" Then he looks back at the bird samurai and places his one good hand on his hip, "I wouldn't be so quick to go running back into the arms of our 'loving' god. He did after all unleashed the apocalypse upon us all and left us for dead."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!"

The shout is accompanied by a jangling noise - and more importantly, by gunfire, as Xiaomu switches her staff to her left hand, no longer trying to keep it quiet, and draws a handgun out from under her vest, squeezing off a series of four shots - all aimed at Buraimon's sword; if she can't blast it out of the Digimon's hands, she can at least (hopefully) jar it enough to get his attention.

The sage fox slows to a walk once she's close enough to talk without shouting. "I don't know what you're picking on this little guy for -" She may not have realized just who that 'little guy' is yet. "- but slaughtering an innocent should be against everything a samurai stands for, with *or* without a master! Explain yourself, or you'll taste *my* steel!"

(No, her bullets were not steel-jacketed ...)

Taro (399) has posed:
    Fwip fwip fwip...the poor 'elf tumbles end over end in midair before finally managing to right herself after that too-close meeting with Beelzebumon 'H-hey!' She zips along after him...though she stays a resepectful distance behind the digital demon so as to not be run into again.
    It appears that the streaming video has a attracted quite a bit of attention, from both locals and from farther afield. Being a far lesser power, the cyber-elf flits up higher and hopefully mostly out of the way of the others. Once she can sort out just who or what the threat is here, she'll call for her master-figure. But for now, she forms a little purple digital umbrella over her head and observes.

Cory (768) has posed:
    Ordinarily Cory'd be pretty focused on the bullying that appears to be happening below her. Ordinarily.

    But there's so many weird presences around...

    In fact, 12 really weird ones. Weird for that the fact that they're all giving her the chills, and ALL IDENTICAL.

    Cory shudders in the air, spine tingling with the willies... it's enough to her her shaking her head in a bid to clear it, but then...

    FWOOOOOSH!

    Off she goes again, to land ... right in the path of the approaching Smith(s).

    "What the HELL are you?!"

    ... Straight to the point, at least.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz unaware of Agent Smith action and now she gets an idea of what' going on as the Samurai like being is going after a Child? She does not know why but she takes a moment to summon a blade that looks much like a japanese Katana in hand. It's a replica of a famous sword on her wrld but its still a live weapon she moves in and calls out to them.

"That's enough."

The one eyed and pointy eared woman clearly has issue with the death of this child.

Xiaomu moves in Crys falls in to hack her up and in her off hand a ball of fire forms and is held ready.

Golden (782) has posed:
    Golden does the one thing he can immediately think of to protect Doran, and that is to jump between the fuzzy dragon and the blade and hope that the chrome digizoid holds up to a blow from the sword. The crest on his mask begins to glow a dull orange when he does this, an invisible wash of strange data beginning to emanate from the weird little MetalMamemon, as though something was trying to unpack itself. He may not have had to jump since Xiaomu is also on the scene and taking care of business. But it's a glimpse of Golden's true nature poking through the facade.
    "There has been enough death." the MetalMamemon states flatly when he lands, placing himself between Buraimon and Doran, raindrops spattering and falling off his mask. He'll even ignore the Demon Lord for now, there'll be time to settle that score later. He's glad there's others here that share his sentiment though.

Doran (695) has posed:
Doran tilts his head in obvious confusion when the damaged MetalMamemon rolls in and speaks up to the Buraimon. He'd never seen a MetalMamemon of that coloration. "A Dorumon," he quietly asides in clarification. Now if only he can get rid of this uneasy feeling, like someone lurking unseen in the immediate vicinity...

The messenger bag is just that -- a battered messenger bag, threadbare around the edges and the perfect size for the 4-foot-tall wolf-raptor. Doran pulls the strap to twist the bag around his torso so it is safely protected between his tiny wings.

Doran stays still as the Buraimon approaches, golden eyes glancing from one side to another as if searching for escape. His fur rustles in the wind as a faint golden light traces around his form, his eyes solely focused on the upraised sword as it's held aloft to impale him -- and then, Xiaomu and Golden interrupt!

Doran ducks and hops further back from Golden, baring pointy teeth at Beelzebumon as the golden 'light' around him dies. "Not my fault!" A quick glance around notes Cory confronting the Agent Smith group with almost everyone else focused on the current situation. His attention returns to the Buraimon, his ears flattening. "He won't," he states grimly, surprisingly mature for a child-like voice. "My DigiCore or not -- /He/ never will."

Agent Smith (699) has posed:
     The Smiths look amongst one another, smirking at the question. One of them speaks up, straightening his tie. "A concerned citizen," he says politely. "Agent Smith." While that Smith speaks to Cory, the others scan their surroundings. It looks like the samurai is on the losing side. Trying to steal the messenger bag from the child would therefore be a losing battle without more numbers. The information is shared amongst the crowd, and the speaking Smith speaks once more, offering a slight grimace to Cory.

     "It is at this point irrelevant what I am. I'm me, nothing more, nothing less. I happened to catch wind of this... engagement and decided to intervene, for the child's safety, of course." His words drip with such sachharine sweetness that he couldn't possibly be telling the truth--it's almost as if he's daring the Saiyan to call him on his bluff. "What conscientious person wouldn't?" He looks to his duplicates for approval, receiving smiles and nods. His benevolent expression slowly fades, like so much chalk washed away by the rain. What remains is a businesslike frown--the disappointed manager, the stern policeman. "Things appear to be well in order, but appearances can be... deceiving." He tilts his head, as if to cast suspicion on her without doing so in as many words.

Duke has posed:
Everyone was moving in closer, the sword drawing in, until the four shots knocked aside the blade. Those eyes shifted off the child, before swinging himself around to draw out the secondary sword. "There is no innocents left after the war. All of our hands are stained." The Ronin Digimon says calmly. "We will never know peace until we are cleansed by Yggdrasil."

His gold eyes only gaze to the Demon Lord, but gives him no statement in return. Stubborn Buraimon really; This one perhaps even more so. His foot sliding along the mud as he was preparing himself. Both blades seeming to gleam for a moment.

Even as the Metal Mamemon has now stepped in. The Crest noted, but it did not seem to discourage. He then watches the woman dive down to intercept the duplicate brothers. Maybe it was a program thing--- given all Digimon could look alike, beyond little things that gave them away-- though they always knew who was who... so the idea of 12 identical individuals came across much like 12 well trained Knightmon-- which in itself was a compliment to be compared too if one knew the Ronin was thinking such.

Even as the other Katana is drawn and she lets it be known she also disapproves. That does not seem to hold back his blade or the tensing of his body for battle. The mind of the warrior was made and as his duty to his lord.

While Agent Smith and Cory talk, with Smith trying to be 'concerned'-- but not really-- those who can sense data shifting my pick it up in the swords. After all, Digimon are living data. Everything about them was alive and they could be injured, they had 'bones' and could 'bleed'-- but each type different and some a different generation to the other. Different types, families, and attributes.

However the time of noticing the shift in data was short, as the Buraimon leaped back into the air, as rain and wind leaped around him, his swords crossed together as they burned like the moonlight, then with a twist of his body in a flip and swinging out both blades he roared out, "SWALLOW DUET REVERSE!!"

With an explosion from his swords swing, a massive wave in an X form carried out across the field, ripping apart the signs as if a blade had passed through them and heading for the group below and ahead. It was aimed perfectly really to barely touch the edges of the buildings-- to protect the people inside, while dealing with those outside.

The Ronin land down with a splash of mud around his feet and then charged into battle, knowing the counter attacks would come. Knowing this battle had now become perhaps his last--- may his brother forgive him for failing him. May his brother live on not in vain... but in happiness...

Taro (399) has posed:
    All this talk of Yggdrasil and apocolypses and gods is more or less going right over the cyber-elf's tiny head. That most of the others have joined in on the side of the little furrysaur with the messenger bag is pretty clear, however, which means that he (and whatever he's carrying, if it's important) will likely be safe, or at least survive this scrap. No reason to intervene there, or at least that what Taro opins to her.
    Thus, she turns away from that to flit over to where the Saiyan and team of Smiths have met, coming to a halt just out of arm's reach and somewhat above Cory's head. 'Is she being a problem?' she warbles in her obviously electronic voice. Presumably to the Smiths.

Cory (768) has posed:
    Saiyan or human, being faced with a multitude of identical faces and expressions from such an eerie presence is enough to get ANYONE jittery. Cory's standing sturdily on the streets with fists at her side, but her expression briefly flickers with fright and indecision. The instinctive realization that what she's facing is unnatural and awful...

    And is probably best avoided.

    Lips peeling back, she faces Agent Smith with clenched teeth.

    "Yeah... I'm agreeing. Probably not the way you're thinking. Chikorri, Saiyan warrior. Why don't you just... turn around. We've got this handled."

    At the words 'turn around' she clenches both fists tightly, taking a defiant stance. A freakish wind kicks up around her and the pavement cracks. Soon chunks of it rise up, lifted up within a swirl of white Ki erupting around her like a storm!

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     "Yggdrasil's hands are the most stained of us all," Beelzebumon replies as he steps forward, "The blood of an entire world is crusted upon his fingers. The only cleansing he knows how to do is that of flame. You will go to him looking for redemption and he will give you death instead."

     And then the Demon Lord gives a twisted smirk as his own feet dig into the ground.

     "That's if I don't give it to you FIRST!"

     Then with a surge of motion, he charges forward, not bothering to dodge the cross slash as he barrels through, all so that he can draw back his one good fist, and letting fly with a strong right straight.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Oh come on -" Xiaomu starts, then braces her staff in front of her, focusing to try and brace against the Swallow Duet Reverse attack. She probably still gets hurt by it, but she wasn't leaving herself completely open, either. That's the thing about calling attacks at range, if someone's paying attention, they can usually react defensively.

And then Beelzebumon is charging into hand-to-hand with Roninmon. The sage fox grimaces, holsters her handgun again, and sprints forward, coming up beside Doran and interposing herself between the Dorumon and Buraimon. "You okay?" she asks the littler Digimon, ready to go on the attack again if the 'ronin' gets into her melee range.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz looks at Agent Smith for a moment there's a feeling of Dejavu but she cna't place it, government agent sorts seem to blurr together really. She is more focuysed on the attack here. She looks to the attacker as the Ronin makes his choice.

"So you say, sorry I'm not about to allow this! FOIE!"

She now brings up her hand and will let the burst of fire lose at the Samurai like being but she's force to leap high into the air to avoid the incomming attack least she get caught in the powerful move.

Golden (782) has posed:
    Golden does his best to simply endure the blast and shield Doran with his tiny little body, the crest growing brighter as he does, the data trying to unpack itself more.
    When it's over, the MetalMamemon's form sizzles as the rain hits it, a small steam cloud rising up from him. Yikes, that hurt in this degenerate form.
    He calls out again to the Buraimon, on a guess. "My master wouldn't approve of this, buraimon! There's no way Jupitermon would want you just throwing your life away!" He jumps for the Buraimon's head, trying his best to obscure the other digimon's vision and really mess up the guy's ability to fight. "Sometimes the honorable thing is to live! And avenge the people you protected!" But not actually trying to injure the Buraimon. "There's enclaves in hiding that need people like you!"

Agent Smith (699) has posed:
     Smith grins as his barbs sink in. He offers some of his sickeningly sweet discourse to the cyber-elf. "Why yes--" He's interrupted by the annoying matter of the gigantic X flying towards him. Cory /is/ being a problem, yes, but she is at the moment not his primary concern. The Smiths spread out in a star pattern and attempt to avoid the attack. One of them is hit and goes flying, only to slam into a tree and splinter the wood. The remaining Smiths all scowl, some of them clenching their fists, others rolling their necks. "That wasn't very nice," says one of them. He was going to walk away, perhaps try and goad the Saiyan into attacking first. No longer.

     All eleven remaining Smiths, in one synchronized action, reach into their blazers. Eleven right hands draw eleven .50AE Desert Eagle handguns.

     BLAM BLAM BLAMBLAMBLAM

     The firing of the enormous pistols fades into a dull roar, each duplicate firing one-handed with inhuman precision. Each duplicate goes out of his way to avoid Beelzebumon, Xiamu, and Doran, not out of concern for their well-being, but out of sheer, focused spite for Buraimon.

     The chorus of gunshots is brief, but intense, and just as quickly as it began... Click-click-click. "I'm empty."

     "Me too."

Doran (695) has posed:
Golden's attempt to shield Doran from the Buraimon's attack almost works, keeping the attack from being a killing blow, but the smaller Perfect couldn't stop it all. Doran shrieks as an edge of the X-shaped blast catches him in the right side as it passes. This leaves a deep, wide gash in his side from shoulder to hip.

Instead of bleeding, the wound exposes a bluish-white digital wire-frame mesh on a black background. The attack also severs the messenger bag's strap, dropping the satchel on the ground and scattering its contents around the Dorumon's feet. Doesn't seem to be anything noteworthy or valuable -- mere trinkets, mostly.

Favoring his injured side, he nods to Xiaomu as she takes Golden's place as bodyguard/shield. "I'm okay," he replies, though the strain in his voice indicates otherwise. He seems to have forgotten all about the bag, though, and his eyes narrow as he watches some of the assembled Elites confront the Buraimon directly. "I knew some Exiles are homesick, but to do /this/..."

Duke has posed:
The Ronin Digimon comes racing into the attacks, but he does not strike out for those who do not attack him for now. His focus on his attackers, but noting where the defenders have gone and whom is not attacking at all.

As Beelzebumon moves in, the Adult Digimon meets the Ultimate with a heavy shift in his weight using both swords to block the fist and redirect it away. However the force was enough to slide him to the side and where he was to do quick foot work to not fall over into the mud.

As the fire comes in, its races across his form, steam rushing off his wet clothing and burning parts of the cloth data, however it does not slow him down beyond a mild grimace over his face. Which he flicks the sword, before sending out a wave slash for Beelzebumon and then an upward wave slash for the Samurai as a counter strike.

The Metal Mamemon comes leaping out for Buraimon and he lets out a squawk like sound in protest as the Digimon tries to get on his face. There was a sneer on his beak, before he uses the hilt of his blades to actually knock the hat off his head and thus remove the Metal Mamemon from his presence of vision. Yet as he was getting ready to explain himself, he sees the weapons all draw and his gold eyes go wide on that bird like humanoid face.

This is when the Ronin actually gets in the way of Metal Mamemon, actually defending the other digimon as if in instinct. Those Katana blades moving swiftly as precisely as the elven Agent smiths are aiming and firing.

BAM BAM BAM go the weapons, the thunder crackles above and the thunder roars shortly after as the DigiChrome Katana swords go to parry each shot, cutting one, then another. The blade droplets running along the edges of the blade--- but that is bullet after bullet and the pace the Adult Digimon can not keep up-- he can't keep up with that many weapons-- and he was no Neo.

The bullets win in the end, and several of them strike into the Digimon, bits of blood can actually be seen escaping from the impact point, following by pixelated data going out the other side. His eyes go wide in pain, before the close tightly and he almost staggers a bit. His body shudders from the pain, but in defiance he opens one eye and tries to stand tall again.

Then with a defiant roar, he slams both blades down and sends another shockwave for the Agent Smiths. This is followed shortly after with him steping around a bit, before staggering a step back. "I have... my reasons for what I do... they are none of your--" However his words are interrupted as a young voice cries out for him from the ally.

"Brother!" It cries out. A small chick with a small Practice katana on its backside and only partly out of an egg shell comes running along the muddy ally with rain covering his body. Tears in those child-like eyes.

"Haruki! Stay Back!" The Buraimon barks out toward the smaller child Digimon who apparently wasn't even suppose to be here. Things maybe just got complicated, though because of the injury taken the Adult was already going down on one knee as he winces again. "...stay back... Haruki..."

Gaonoir has posed:
All the pieces were moving into place.

This time when something moves in the shadows, it's noticable. Xiaomu might pick up on a distinctly unnatural feeling to a presence in motion, almost as if it was stepping from shadow to shadow like a series of doors.

Doran would feel that familiar buzzing in his head, like dozens of needles being jabbed into his interface. The Cyber-Elf would surely feel the strange digital disturbance, as would possibly Smith do to his being a viral program. Golden might even feel the eeriness of it due to being a highly mechanical Digimon.

At the same time it looks almost as if Buraimon's own shadow is rising behind the ronin birdmon. Though as golden eyes open upon it the shadows quickly congeal into the form of a hulking bear-like canine that Doran and Beelzebumon certainly reconize.

Here I am to play, a quick sick game to ruin your useless days...

The claw-like blades on the ends of the beast's scarf flash as they plunge into the samurai's back. A low, sinister tone rolls from the creature's grinning lips. "The Master accepts your sacrifices... but in order to return, the corruption of form must be purged."

I can hurt you more, than anything this cruel world has in store...

The claws partially emerge from Buraimon's chest, visibly wrapping around a glowing spherical shape as the rest of the Digimon begins to break apart, dissolving into motes of data fluttering in the wind like cherry blossom petals. An imagery he would of certainly appreciated if he was still consienous enough to do so.

Gaonoir bears a vile toothy grin across his muzzle. "Unlike these heathens, the purity of your digicore, in the eyes of our Master, can be regenerated."

Haruki is, thankfully, completely ignored for the time being. The Child is probably going to have nightmares as it is.

Cory (768) has posed:
    "What the--" With a huge X wave going down the street, Cory breaks her attention away from Smith in order to backflip over it... and this leaves her vulnerable to the hailstorm of bullets that follows. They peg her mid-somersault, entering through her back and into her legs and arms. One even strikes through the side.

    It's enough bullets to fell any human woman! Consequently, Cory blunders the landing and goes tumbling a few rolls only to SPLAT down onto her face and belly, tail twitching. "Uuurgh...."

    There's no mistaking how much she's bleeding from that single assault. GUNS being a THREAT is still so unusual to her that this took her by surprise, before she could raise her defenses properly. "Ghhu..."

    Grunting and groaning, she nevertheless trudges upright, waist-wraps her tail, and clenches a fist at the paused Smiths. Can she still be a threat with that many HOLES in her? Losing that much blood?

    Why yes.

    "KAIOKEN... TIMES.... TEN!"

    As crimson power erupts around Cory, the Saiyan's already wounded body bulges weirdly in places, pumping up with a SURGE of power that ripples through her muscles. This can't be AT ALL good for those wounds. All logic says those should hurt something fierce but she's toughing through it anyways.

    But there's no doubting how much POWER she's calling forth this time. the pavement utterly SHATTERS when she kicks off faster than the eye can see, driving an elbow for one Smith's gut, aiming to roundhouse kick another in the head, double-handed slam another into the ground and assault a final one with a barrage of lightning-speed gutpunches!

    "Wrong way. Fine, lemme show you the way OUTTA HERE!"

    If any of them DO go flying, well, it's at each other, in the middle of the street.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     Again, the wave slash lashes out at Beelzebumon, and again for some strange reason, he doesn't bother to dodge. Instead, he throws up his one arm to guard himself with as the wave strikes, sending him skidding back several meters as a cut tears open on his mask.

     For a moment, Beelzebumon stands there, eyes locked with the Buraimon... and then the shadow moves behind the samurai.

     In that moment, he moves to act, seeking to charge forward again.

     Whether this is to save the samurai, stop Gaonoir from stealing his kill, or to simply kill the avian himself before Gaonoir can is unknown, because in that moment, Beelzebumon's still injured body betrays him, and his one knee gives out as he sinks down to the ground, "God /damnit/! Blasted knee!"

     In a fit of irritation, Beelzebumon instead snatches up his shotgun from its holster and snaps the weapon up to take aim at Gaonoir, "Fucking killstealer!"

     And then he opens fire on Gaonoir.

     Right through the mortally wounded Buraimon.

     Because Beelzebumon is an /ass/.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Compared to the Buraimon and the Saiyan, the little cyber-elf if naught but a puffball of digital energy. She's swept up and buffetted by the sword-crashing shockwave intended for the Smiths, only to be caught up again within the wake that Cory creates when she launches herself at the digital bogeymen. She makes a high-pitched 'Eeeeek!' sound as she is summarily flung into the closest building.
    'Owww...' she warbles as she rubs her head. 'I think this is too much a mess for me to take on, Em Taro...'

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
The passing of the shadow sends a chill down Xiaomu's spine, and she tenses up, ready to react as soon as she has a clean target.

But the target doesn't present itself until it's already too late: Buraimon's torso is ripped open, and the sage fox's lips peel back from her teeth. "'Sacrifice,' my *ass,*" she spits. "Whoever your 'Master' is, you'll go back to him in as many pieces as we can cut you into!!"

The rings atop her staff jangle as she jabs its butt end into the ground next to her, her left hand grasping the staff near its top; her right hand comes up, an eldritch glow illuminating her palm. "XIAOMU WAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!!" she calls out - and a magic circle appears on the ground, a barrier sphere attempting to trap BlackGaogamon inside it - motionless and helpless - while her allies-of-the-moment go to town on the murderous Digimon and his delusions of religious fervor.

Doran (695) has posed:
Doran hisses as his left front paw rises to the red gem on his forehead. He knows this feeling, this static-laced headache that sets his teeth on edge. But where--?

His eyes turn towards the Buraimon, widening in horror as the birdman Digimon's shadow comes to life. "LOOK--!" His warning dies in his throat as Buraimon disintegrates, save for the glowing orb in Gaonoir's scarf-claws. A DigiCore.

His eyes shift to the Hyokomon, Haruki, and his horror immediately hardens into grim determination. Heedless of the gash in his side or the danger, he dashes out from behind Xiaomu's protection towards the smaller chick-like Digimon. The others can deal with the shadow pup to their heart's content -- there's still an innocent on the field.

Golden (782) has posed:
    Golden is shocked as the Buraimon is callously killed, and dives as Beelzebumon fires shots over him through the dying Buraimon at Gaonoir.
    "I knew somebody who looked a lot like you once; a MachGaogamon named Katsushiro. He died so others could live." Golden says darkly, voice warbling in and out of phase, sometimes a deeper shade and other times his more normal voice. The crest is glowing with a searing white light, burning the symbol of Courage into the eyes.
    "Time to pay, black dog!" And the little guy launches himself at the BlackGaomon, claw hand first, trying to hook into a shoulder, launch himself around the back of the dark digimon so he can launch a barrage of energy bombs at it. If Beelz is in the way, that's just fine by him.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Well the Ronin Digimon is no weakling that much is clear his honor to her ins in question however. Crys has managed to not get hit but she's also not been able to do much to him. She's got to wonder how to get in close to someone like this? She does not move to attack again as she comes in for a landing she wonders just what they are planning to do at this point. There seem to be a child connected to him.

She is howeer closing in with her blade ready to strike.

"So care to explain your self and stop this madness warrior?"

Agent Smith (699) has posed:
     A Saiyan--she's got to be one, since her abilities directly correspond with the files he's seen. So very gracious of the Confederacy to share. Two Smiths do indeed go flying, both of them caught off guard by the sudden increase in speed and power. They slam into eachother, tumbling over one another as they attempt to right themselves. They each rise to their feet and dust their suits off, with one straightening the other's tie. "Thank you."

     "My pleasure."

     Smiths are, like Saiyans, more than human. Where Saiyans are simply stronger as a result of different physiology, Agents were purposely designed to be superior. When Cory attempts her third attack, there's no other way of putting it, other than to say Smith simply isn't there. He's everywhere /but/ near her punches, moving so quickly that the space around him populates with afterimages. Ever spiteful, the suited man offers the Saiyan a taste of her own medicine. It's a hell of a thing to watch a man in a 9 to 5 suit throw a roundhouse kick at someone--and all without any discomfort. Smith's features have gone from disturbing smile to hateful scowl. "Attacking something because it's different," says one Smith.

     Another leaps towards Cory in a flying tackle. "How very like a Saiyan!"

     But not all of the Smiths are focused on Cory--some are watching the fluctuations of data between Beelzebumon, Golden, and the likely very dead Buraimon.

Duke has posed:
The Bird child Digimon can only watch in horror as the one who had been taking care of him since they leaped through the portals as the world broke apart was murdered before his very little eyes. The small child could only stare in the horror as the Buraimon starts to break down.

And all the Buraimon can do is grit his teeth of his beak as he feels his life ending, his gold eyes peering to the younger Hyokomon stared in horror. His word were weak on the wind, as he form started to peel away in digital light. "...I just wanted... you to know peace...little... one... forgive me.." His last words only hushed on the winds before he was gone. Hushed on the finals winds that were blasted by Beelzebumon who /made/ sure that the Ronin warrior was /dead/, using the dieing form to mask his own bullets.

Something else arrives on the scene, then scrapping of claws against roof tiles and the lightning strikes gives away the form of a large six foot four beast, with white mane of hair and long spike eye ridges. There was a sneer of those teeth as the battle unfolds below.

After the thunder roars and the lightning strikes near the beast, it lets out a loud roar which shakes the area and shatters the windows around the buildings near by. A particular Growlmon X was /not/ happy and his gold eyes go over to Doran as he watches his old friend protect the two foot chick from harm.

Haruki can only continue to stand in horror, frozen really, that was until Doran shows up in front of him. Tears stream down his face, before he tries to run past, he little feathered hands trying to reach out toward the remaining fluttering data.

To only stumble over and into Doran which he cries against and buries himself into the fur of.

Cory (768) has posed:
    "How are you that fast in THAT OUTFIT?!" Cory yells in-between attempts to belt her final target with wild fists. There isn't a lot of style to her assault - it's hardly refined - but the ridiculous speed and strength would topple any normal warrior. She's so frustrated by the lack of any satisfying impacts that the roundhouse kick ALMOST catches her off-guard.

    ALmost, but not quite.

    WHAM! It strikes against her quickly upraised guard, HARD.

    Hard enough that SOMETHING's heard cracking, and Cory's left hissing instead of screaming in pain like she ought to.

    Yeah, her forearm's got some fractures and prooooobably shouldn't be used, but does she seem to care?

    Noooooo.

    Instead, ignoring the pain, she GRABS onto the leg that she just barely stopped with her OTHER hand and-- "Who shot FIRST, you freak?! HUUUAHH!!!"

    Putting all the leverage she has into it, she tries to HURL Kicking-Smith into Tackling-Smith and turn the tables on that assault!

Gaonoir has posed:
Leave it to Beelzebumon to be pissed over someone taking his 'kill' rather than the fact that Gaonoir just pulled out what was essentially the Digimon's core of exsistance. Though that does leave the question of how he did so, when the MetalGarurumon-X spared no such thing when she perished.

Fortunately the guy is in no shape to feel any more pain as the shotgun blasts pass through what little remains of his dematerializing form to dig into the Black Gaogamon's chest. Unfortunately since his scarf-like limbs are preoccupied with protectively wrapping around the digicore he can use them to swat any of his attackers away. Instead he turns his gaze towards the tiny chick-mon even as Doran moves to protect him. "You will have your peace." Pause. Smarmy fang filled grin following. "For today, at least."

Then he starts to back up. Only for the fox-woman to cast her magic, briefly freezing him in place. It's long enough for several of the energy balls to explode against the shadow beast's form, staggering him backwards even farther. Some of those gawkers probably want to move if they don't want a bear sized huskie to trip and fall on them.

"Oh look who else is here." That vile tone of voice doesn't leave once, even though he doesn't bother looking in the Growlmon's direction. "Alas. Being -too late- seems to be a thing for those -fallen from grace-."

"Fortunately the Shadow Beast doesn't have that little issue." All the same, there's way too many enemies here for him to fight and try to keep his little prize safe at the same time. "But a pity. I don't have time to stay and play. But do give the Fanbeemon Gaonoir's regards.... I'll be back for THEM some day too." Shadows seem to warp in his vicinity, making it difficult to tell which direction he takes off in as he prehaps wisely dashes away. Leaving only the echo of a mocking, howling laugh in his wake.

Taro (399) has posed:
    The cyber-elf picks herself up, dusts herself off, and takes stock of everything going on around her. Namely that digital monsters, most of which she or her master-figure don't know (and the one they do they aren't inclined to help) are fighting to the death over there. Closer, a digital monster of a different sort who is on their side is locked in combat with a Saiyan. She could possibly help Agent Smith(s)...but he is frightening and he might accidentally eat her in the process.
    Discretion seems to be the better part of valor here, and so the 'elf zips off to find a computer linked to cyberspace, and from there, back to the safety of Neo Arcadia.
    She will at least be helpful in that she leaves the digital equivelent of an open door and an 'ESCAPE ROUTE HERE' sign in cyberspace for Smith, should he need one.

Doran (695) has posed:
The Hyokomon is only about the size of Golden -- about a foot-and-a-half tall -- so Doran's easily able to pick up the chick-like Digimon in his short front arms. The fact that Haruki has buried himself against his chest bawling only helps in this.

His head turns as the Growlmon-X appears on a nearby rooftop and relief floods his expression. "Duke." His relief is short-lived as Gaonoir seems content to taunt and fade back into the shadows.

Though the BlackGaogamon certainly tries to mask his direction of escape, Doran can still pick up on that maddening familiarity that has nothing to do with his buzzing headache. The gem on his forehead flickers as his wings flutter, then he snaps his head around as his eyes constrict to cat-like slits. "METAL SHOOT!" He spits a blast of energy from his mouth right after Gaonoir.

With that little bit of vengance accompished, he simply plops down on the road while still holding Haruki close. The Dorumon looks somewhere between angry and shellshocked, like he can't quite make sense of anything right now, and seems to have forgotten about that ugly gash in his side.

Beelzebumon (132) has posed:
     "Feh, so we finally got a name..." Beelzebumon says as he holsters his weapon once more, then grimages as he forces himself to stand up on his bum leg. Then he horks up some flegm and spits it at the spot where Gaonoir vanished to.

     "I'll remember it for when I carve our your tomestone, mutt."

     Then he turns his gaze up towards Duke and stares at him for several moments, before tearing his eyes away and limping back towards here Behemoth is parked, "You guys deal with the kid. I'm going back to the ranch to take care of this fucking knee."

Golden (782) has posed:
    Golden grumbles, the crest's glow dying down as Gaonoir makes his escape. "He took the Buraimon's digicore. Why would he want something that important?" The MetalMamemon glances at Beelzebumon, the Growlmon X, Doran, and the young digimon.
    "You know what? I don't care. I'm going to find a nice quiet spot and heal up. Next time he turns up near me and wants to keep the war going, I'll show him the war." Golden grumbles. "You and me still have business to settle, Demon Lord." Golden starts walking off back in the direction of the town.
    "Tired of all this fighting crap. Nobody wants to just kick back and enjoy being alive. Survive the freaking Apocalypse, but no, still gotta carry on like nothing changed." Golden can be heard muttering as he departs.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu snarls under her breath, lowering her arm as Gaonoir evacuates the area. "Hope you get DDOSed when you least expect it, you eight-bit bundle of fake difficulty," she grumbles at where Gaonoir was ...

Then she slowly takes a deep breath, lets it out again just as slowly, and turns to look at the others. "Everyone okay ... apart from the MIB Squad over there?" she asks casually, glancing at the Smith Company that Cory is dealing with. The dozen-or-so duplicates are a form of 'unnatural' *she* has no experience with, so she's happy to let the Saiyan girl focus on them.

Duke has posed:
Gaonoir goes to bug out and those pupils of the Dinosaur Digimon become fine slits for that moment as he blasts a fireball at one of the shadows, which explodes the ground around it. However it seems the be the wrong shadow and a heavy snort, escapes from the nostrils of Duke's Growlmon X form.

Duke narrows his gold eyes as he snarled softly. "DigiCore." Duke said down to Doran in his rough predatory voice. "Problem." It was simple, but it was understandable if you were a Digimon. Given what the DigiCore represented and the fact that Gaonoir, as he introduced himself, just made off it with. Made off with something that should have been destroyed with the death blow. None of it was right. His eyes also trailed over to Beelzebumon and then lowered his head slowly with a low rumble.

With a flick of his tail, he doesn't stick around, using the darkness as well to take his leave. If Doran or even Beelzebumon wanted to coax him to come home, it doesn't seem Duke has any plans to stick around for the 'attempting' part.

The little Hyokomon just cries and cries-- until he falls asleep in the Dorumon's arms. Perhaps the only comfort he has right now, given he just lost the one who has been caring for him ever since the Digital World started to fall apart, the one he called older brother.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz looks as it all plays it was far too late. She looks about to Xia and nods a bit.

"I'm all right as far as can be expected."

She watches the Syain girl brawl and she's got to admit she likes her style but she's not sure about getting intot he mix now she might get into the Sayain's way she doesn't know how she fights to risk getting into the melee.

Agent Smith (699) has posed:
     Freak? Interesting choice of word--and telling. The virus would smile, if he weren't pre-occupied with exterminating Cory. Well, and if some of his duplicates weren't already smiling at the scene playing out before them. Fun time is over. Tree-Smith is gone. Perhaps he took the escape route Taro's helper laid out, or perhaps he slinked away somewhere else. Either way, there's no longer a slumped body near the splintered tree.

     The Smith that attempted to kick her is swung around by his leg and thrown. The Smith attempting to tackle her is helpless to evade him, given he already had substantial momentum. But, there are nine Smiths left unaccounted for, and all of them have decided that the Saiyan needs to be knocked down a peg. Granted, he felt that way from the start, and feels that way about anything non digital or electronic, but still. All nine of them surround her, each one attacking from a different angle--but instead of punching or kicking, every last one goes for a clinch.

     The two remaining Smiths get up and join the fray again, both of them attempting to dogpile Cory. "The samurai did, of course," replies Smith through clenched teeth. "Naturally, I retaliated... But your savage instinct naturally found a fight /for/ you--or do you think your reflexes made you jump in front of me?" Another Smith speaks up. "How much will you destroy trying to destroy me, Miss Chikorri?" Then another. "Everything around you? Or just yourself?"

     There is nothing left to gain by remaining here--he's learned all he can from this little encounter, and found a new toy. Just when he has the Saiyan surrounded, the virus deletes his extra copies--it'd be too much trouble to smuggle them out with so many Elites here, even though he's confident he could break her. His image retreats from each remaining duplicate, revealing the unconscious bodies of several innocent bystanders he overwrote in his journey. They go slack and fall in a circle around the Saiyan.

Doran (695) has posed:
Duke's voice seems to snap Doran out of the semi-shellshocked disconnect, and he nods up at the Growlmon-X. "Yeah, a big one." He looks concerned when Duke moves to leave, but doesn't try to stop him this time around. Duke's clearly doing well for himself, that's enough for him. Golden's muttering as the MetalMamemon takes his leave does draw a dry smirk, but the strangely-colored Digimon is gone before Doran can say so much as a 'thank you'.

He shrugs his left shoulder when Xiaomu when she asks if everyone's OK. "I guess so." He tilts his head to look down at the Hyokomon in his arms. His head and muzzle has become an unintentional umbrella against the rain falling around them, but he doesn't seem to care about that. "We're still alive, at least. That's something... right?"

He growls under his breath as he gathers his feet under him and stands up. "But taking a DigiCore... that's our soul. What makes a Digimon more than just code. I can almost understand my DigiCore being targeted, but the Buraimon..."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu scowls even harder at Doran's passing explanation of what a DigiCore is. "So those two were trying to steal Digimon souls for whatever Yggdrasil is from your world? That's all kinds of messed up ..."

Granted, the whole idea of stealing a person's soul isn't entirely unknown to Xiaomu. It just rubs her COMPLETELY the wrong way.

Cory (768) has posed:
    "Oh $#^* you!" Is Cory's response to Smith's smart-alec response. Crass, blunt, and straightforward... nope, there's nothing at all fair about this Saiyan woman.

    Even though the group has gotten a grip on her that she's struggling to escape, even as her body screams in protest against the Ki surge that's ripping it apart from within...

    "Who said I was gonna TRY?! You ARE going down-- KAIOKEN... TIMES... TWE--"

    Well it might be a good thing that Smith chose to withdraw, because Cory's intensifying aura and agonized expression both dwindle to nothing before they've had a chance to climax. The powerup is aborted as bodies drop around her, and NOT the bodies she was expecting.

    "... The hell... IS that guy... they're different...?" Is this a trick?

    Understandably wary of the unconscious hmans, she backflips away from them but screws up the landing and stumbles to a knee.

    She might've done more damage to herself than the Agent, in a few ways... "Running away...?! ... I don't sense him anymore. Rgh."

    And she's hurting so much that that might be a good thing...

Doran (695) has posed:
Doran nods to Xiaomu again. "I think that's exactly what's going on. I don't think Gaonoir intended for Buraimon to ever get back home, either. Used him like a tool and took his own core when he'd outlived his usefulness."

He shakes his head, padding over to his abandoned satchel in the middle of the road. "I don't have the first idea /why/ Yggdrasil wants DigiCores, though. Our last experiences focused on wiping us out of existance, down to the last bit and byte. I just don't get it."