2416/No Mon's Land

No Mon's Land
Date of Scene:	08 June 2015
Location:	Desert Mountains
Synopsis:	Duke goes after Gaonoir to get some answers to what is going on.
Cast of Characters:	Duke, Gaonoir

---

Duke has posed:
The hot sun beat down on the desert, there was a few ruined building here and there, but Duke attention placed himself away from the shadows. The only shadow cast on the moving sands blown by the winds from time to time, was the one created by his own shadow and oddly enough-- his cape was missing.

He chose this location for obvious reasons. The hot desert sun would shine light on the area not only making it now a choir of stamina to survive here but also to keep Gaonoir from using his shadow abilities with ease to give him the advantage.

The Medieval Dukemon meanwhile stood with the Halberd lance at his side at ready and those gold eyes looking out to the Warp Gate. He would fight Gaonoir-- he would get his answers. He would start to figure out the mystery that was about himself.

No more hiding. No more running. It was time to start to figure this out before more of /them/ came... and even if no more of Yggdrasil's followers would show up, it was a chance he could no longer take.

Gaonoir has posed:
Watch the warpgate all you want. You're not going to see anything. Gaonoir knew better than to come right out in front of the enemy sights, even if he doubted his intending foe would be the sort to partake of such an ambush. Or at least he didn't think he'd pissed Duke off -that- much yet. Enough to call him out and thus save him the trouble and time of tracking him down, sure.

No, instead the first herald of arrival is the sonic thoom that rings through the desert skies as a dark streak hurtles out of them, descending rapidly towards the sands below. With enough speed that the impact of landing kicks up a brief but thick cloud of sand. It crashes down around Gaonoir's form in a three-point crouchs on the ground already in Perfect form, the intensity having actually glassed the desert surface beneath the one gauntlet that struck it. Exhaust briefly hisses from his narcels to cool off before retracting against his back again.

One foot shifts just enough to step on the glass to pull his fist free and the Black Machgaogamon pushes himself up onto his feet, peering over his visor at the flat and mostly shadowless terrain. "I see that muddled little brain of yours is finally regrasping some tactics."

The hot desert breeze briefly catchs the ends of his aviator scarf, causing it to flutter for a few moments off to one side.

Duke has posed:
The former Royal Knight holds his ground even as the sonic boom irrupts from the skies and Goanoir makes his entrance. He does not move, he does not waver. "Some things are starting to return to me as I continue to progress."

The Halberd easily twirls in his finger as he readies it. The light glistening of the edge of the metal surface. "Other things still remain shrouded in darkness." Those gold eyes stare at the visor shades of the Canine Aviator Digimon before him. "You spoke to me a few times at subtle hints that you know more then what you say. You had a chance to kill me, but avoided it. You should have taken my core... but something prevented you from that."

His stance shifts gently. "I want to know why Yggdrasil hasn't told you to finish the job he started with when he cast me out. Why, I Dukemon was cast aside and now one of his agents has yet to finish it." His eyes flicker for a moment with a blue light. "You will give me the answers I seek. I will remember it all."

Gaoanoir may have a moment to speak, but only a moment, before Duke shoves off the ground and charges at the Shadowbender. As he pushes off with his foot he twirls his body around and sends out a wave of fire right for where Gaonoir stands.

Gaonoir has posed:
A dark, anything but humorous chuckle emits from the humanoid canine. "So you do finally remember some more... And with that you should already know the answer." But they're not here to discuss just with words, mechanical gauntlents making an audible grinding as he clenches them into fists again. "If you're -finally- putting the clues together...."

Desert sunlight flashes across his visor as Gaonoir cants his head forward just enough to show him grinning with only the corners of his mouth which lets his fangs show. "What victory is there in taking a core that is -broken- and -incomplete-, hmmmm?"

He says nothing to neither confirm or deny the other speculations, but that may be partially because Duke rushes in and starts flinging attacks as well. Digging his feet into the sand to brace himself Gaonoir emits a snarling sound that echos with the blastwave of black energy that projects from his opened maw, cancelling out the knight's attack with one of his own almost equally.

Even though he's an evolution stage lower.

Duke has posed:
The attack is canceled, but Duke doesn't hold back. Instead when they are canceled and the smoke rises, he dashes into that haze, then through it. He swings the tip of the halberd lance blade to try and catch Gaonoir in a moment of unexpectedness.

"My data may be broken, but my heart is not!" The dragon knight hisses out as his foot steps down and he goes to slide himself around for another swing, "I am tired of ignoring my heart!" Those eyes flickering blue again as he lets those words escape at the same time, trying to ignore the voices he can hear. His own voice of a time he doesn't really remember.

'This is wrong'
'How do you know it will make us not better then them?'
'Did you enjoy it? Killing the innocents?'
'I can no longer do this... it is wrong! We are digimon... They are digimon!'

Gaonoir has posed:
There's a resounding clash of metal against metal as Gaonoir uses one gauntlet to deflect the halberd swing. "Yeah, listen to your heart... Oh, wait, that's what almost got you nulled in the first pla--Oof!"

The second swing however catchs him in the side while he was being a jackass, knocking him off his footing thanks to how loose and gritty the sand is. A small cloud of it kicks up as he promptly flips himself over and back onto his feet, settling into a crouch almost instinctually. "On the other hand..."

Even without the shadows to manipulate Black MachGaogamon was hardly a slow digimon, bionic legs launching him off the ground with ease. "That'll make it more fun if I decide to pick apart all your little friends first!" He doesn't need his jets to launch a flying plate reinforced knee at Duke's face... helmet... you know what I mean.

Duke has posed:
Duke readies himself and his gold eyes narrow sharply. "You will leave them out of this! They have nothing to do with the old world!" He roars out as Gaonoir comes in. He goes to move his lance's staff to act as shield to the impact, but is to slow.

The knee slams into the helm and sends him head over heel, rolling across the hot sand, before he rolls himself back up to a crouch on one knee. "Rrrgaah!" Duke yells out, as he spins the lance hard in the sand, kicking up a cloud of it. Using it as a curtain of distraction, as he then suddenly the sand shifts before a massive wind wall comes rushing out from the sand straight for Gaonoir.

Duke leaps out as the wind wall flies and then lands just for a moment on his feet to kicking up more dust around him.

Gaonoir has posed:
"No, but they have -everything- to do with you," Gaonoir retorts without missing a beat. The guy really knows how to get under your skin doesn't he?

The jet narcels extend out fully, turbines spinning up to speed until a fiery glow emits from them. The rocket blast launchs him forward just as the wind wall hurtles out of the sand cloud. The two opposing forces slam together, making a rather weird display because there is no way normal air could actually stop him like that. Scarf flaps about wildly behind him until Gaonoir kicks up his legs and tips back, letting the windblast buffet him fully and be pushed back before the reorientation sends him shooting up into the air.

Tch. Duke at least had some idea what he was doing. None of the dust clouds being stirred up cause big enough shadows for him to actually use. The location he chose was smart, Gaonoir had to give him that much.

He backflips over and dives back towards the ground. "And you were worried about me relying on tricks..." But he doesn't dive right into the cloud, instead skimming the side and backing to curve around it. The circling motion with his considerable speed starts to turn the dust cloud into a sort of sandstorm twister, compressing the spiral inward towards the other digimon.

Duke has posed:
The Mach Gaogomon starts to use Duke's own tricks against him and the Dragon Knight tsks softly. "If you hurt any of them. It is your core I'll be sending back to Yggdrasil with my lance meeting his cold heart!" Those eyes spark blue as he suddenly leaps out of the funnel as the dust slams together, "I will kill him for what he did! He had NO RIGHT!!" As he is up in the air he actually throws the Halberd at Gaonoir which the edges ignites into flames as he speed down for the Perfect Digimon.

Duke though lands back down roughly, losing his footing both by the lose sand and his sheer weight. He rolls along the ground, before he manages to get himself to stand back up. "Project Ark-- Project X. I remember there names. I remember they were the /end/ of everything. Yggdrasil is using you, Gaonoir! Even if you are following dead orders-- you are being used by a god who has never cared about his children!"

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir breaks away as Duke leaps out of the sand cyclone, leaving it to collapse back to the ground in the sands it originally was. He spins around to plant his feet in the ground as his jets cut, just in time to see Duke throw his flaming halberd at him. Mechanical toes dig in the best they can as he braces himself.

And catchs the halberd with his gauntlets. Which saves him from being shiskabobbed by the bladed stick. It doesn't stop the flames from washing off the weapon and across his form, burning into the bionic flightsuit that covers the majority of his body as a sort of lightweight armor. Some of it starts to break and fragment off as is tendant to do when Digimon are injured.

The thing is that it's just void of blackness underneath thanks to the Dark Digitron permutating his code instead of the vage digital lines one would normally see.

"The Demon Lords were going to destroy it anyways. Yggdrasil had no choice but to purge the weakened and corrupted world that allowed them to come to power..." With one metallic hand he grabs the end of his scarf to smother out some lingering flame, then straightens out his visor. "Even for those that may of survived, it broke their base of power... For remembering so much, you still have a lot to learn..." He almost throws the lance away.. Then seems to realize something.

That tossing it aside means his foe could retrieve it.

Which whould be why instead he launchs himself at Duke, gripping the polearm and grinning vilely as he charges in and swings, intent on beating down the knight with his own weapon.

Duke has posed:
Duke notices the damage and he pulls back his head slightly in confusion. "...what... are you?" Is all the former Royal Knight can ask at the odd display of damage. There was now another question to be solved in this great mystery. Gaonoir--- was far from normal, which was a concern, but this only added to the furthering of this realization.

When Gaonoir does come in with Duke's own weapon, Duke moves his hands around to generate up a fire ball between his finger tips. He times he step with Gaonoir's swing which to to blast the fire ball into the Mach Gaogamon's face. The downside is that his own weapon cuts across his own armor, tearing into his side with ease.

Duke rolls with the cut and staggers back, before he places his hand to the sides and starts to general a fire spin that starts to move around his form, the heat starting to glass the sand around him. "We could have stopped the Demon Lords without the need of the Projects. We were all to blind to see it, but I saw it-- that much is clear or I wouldn't now be outside of the circle, now would I?"

"Yggdrasil couldn't have someone in his ranks out of his control, now could he?" Duke asks. While his voice sounded sure on the words he speaks, his heart as well, there was a part of his logic that questioned it, because while he could speculate and determine things, without the dots properly connected---

-- It was all theories.

Gaonoir has posed:
There is something uniquely satisfying in ripping someone with their own weapon. Maybe because it's hard to do with Digimon when even the ones that do carry weaponry of some sort tend to have it built into their bodies. But it's entirely worth the cost of getting a fireball in the face for the trouble, even if the blast of flame at close range is enough to make Gaonoir drop the polearm as he staggers backwards from the counter attack. The dark dog slumps for a moment, but then pushes himself back onto his feet, head tilting to the side as Duke prattles some more. To the point that he ignores his own damage for the moment, he's been through more than enough fights to disregard pain for a time.

Then throws his head back with a booming, barking laugh. "Do you really think a god would destroy his own world without a means to save itself? What would the point in -that- be?" Followed by one gauntlet resting at his side as he taps his chin with the other. "Was that giving away too much, I wonder..." But it's clear by his tone of voice that he's purposely doing it, throwing out more tempting little bits without giving any complete answers.

"Oh well. It seems to not matter, as you already seem to have figured me out." He shifts back into a fight ready pose, reclenching his fists, but still smiling that smug smirky grin. "I'm not just a shadow of the past..."

A burst of motion surges forward, scooping an arm down low just briefly enough to make his swing take a rising arc, gauntlet building with the same dark essense as what was visible rippling beneath his wounds in a heavy hitting uppercut.

"I'm the shadow of a GOD."

Duke has posed:
Duke rolls for his halberd that now lays on the ground. His fingers clasping around it with ease as he listens to Gaonoir talk about the fact that Yggdrasil is still alive-- somewhere-- good. Then he listens to him speak about that he is not only the shadow of the past, but also under Yggdrasil.

The former Royal Knight goes to deflect the blow, but to slow, as the dark essence uppercut slams him square in the jaw. The armor cracks and splinters from the impact as the dark essence surges around his face.

It flips Duke off his feet and right up into the air, before he slides back and falls onto his backside. Sliding backwards across the sand before he grunts and lays there in the hot sand. He lays there, seeming to take his time to recover.

Gaonoir has posed:
Sand crunchs lightly as Gaonoir as he walks up. Though instead of trying to make any sort attack, much like last time he stops and crouchs down nearby instead of any sort of finishing moves. Or he could just be being wary that it could be a trick and getting too close could be potentially dangerous.

"It's funny really. So many answers, and yet, at the same time, you're so wrond about things. The knight has fallen, far and hard."

There's a pause, and again the cocky, snide grin curls his lips.

"The question will be if he ever gets back up." Again it's all in the tone in the voice, that makes its clear he's not talking about getting up from the fight here.

Duke has posed:
Duke continues to lay there, listening to Gaonoir for a bit long before there is a glow in his hand. "I guess you will have to wait and see!" He then flips around and slams his fist into the ground. As he does so, the ground then explodes in a chain of blasts.

The former knight uses these to head for the Warp Gate before he spins around looks back at Gaonoir as the warp gate opens. "You answered enough. The real battle between us will come and that is when we are both under the proper battlefield."

Then Duke quickly steps through the Warp Gate...

Gaonoir has posed:
"You have answers, but how many more questions lie beneath?" Though it's hard to tell if he doesn't flinch at the chain of blasts, or the visor just hides it well. While being more of a diversion than an actual attack they do encircle him for a short time, long enough for Duke to get back towards the warp gate.

There is the fact that he's standing there the entire time, still grinning that toothy smirk in the middle of it.

"Oh, but of course. When you are the proper prey finally...."

The haunting laugh that follows is the last thing Duke would hear as he disappears through the gateway...