When Beasts Walk as Men - Part 2

As Sophie stepped through the portal, the familiarity of Terminus returned to her. It was still amazing how much it resembled Tokyo though, just with lots of digimon instead of humans. Most thankfully in their Rookie and Champion forms though. Order was kept by the city guards it seemed, Sophie watched them as they passed.

Well, as the portal closed behind her, she too raised her digivice. "Realize, Lantis and Enkidu".

The two digimon reappeared in a burst of light, the BlackGaomon with a neutral expression, while Lantis seemed more excited to get into action. The two then turned as Tadayoshi deployed and summoned his small army. Sophie held back a gasp as six Missimon flew around her head. Then they revealed their little quirk.

'Ugh, I think I'm going to get such a headache around these guys' she thought. Trying to hear a sentence from six different directions would be a challenge to be sure. "Hello then" she said to them. Furthermore, Tadayoshi had eight MetalKoromon, who apparently communicated only through his Xros Loader via signals. "Nice to meet you too then" she said, giving a polite bow.

"Indeed, you've amassed quite a following there" Lantis remarked, impressed. Then, Renamon appeared, stating she was expecting them to take the train.

"Well, we like to move around a little quicker than that" Sophie said, realizing she should have probably said that earlier. Besides, AEGIS agents travelling on the Trailmon would probably be a recipe for trouble, especially if they were expected.

"Now then. Enkidu, where is the location we're headed?" Sophie asked the BlackGaomon.

"That way, in the slums near the entrance to Old Terminus" Enkidu replied, pointing toward a part of the city where the buildings were less flashy, more plain, with a faded feel to them. "Best travel through the backstreets, don't want their lookouts to know we're coming too early, otherwise they'll escape".

"Right, so stealth is imperative" Sophie concluded. Well, making the way in the general direction that Enkidu headed, they stopped in what they hoped was a hidden spot.

"Our first step is intelligence gathering" Sophie said, then looked at Enkidu. "How far away are we from the target?" she asked him.

"About 800, 900 meters" Enkidu answered. "They're not that advanced or control enough territory to have lookouts beyond 300".

"Alright. So, we know exactly where they are, now we need to know what they're doing and what their defenses are" Lantis said, speaking with a quiet, yet clear voice. "Enkidu, estimates?"

"Well, like I said, 1 Ultimate, 3 Champions, 6 rookies". Enkidu said. "They hold shifts irregularly, but, at least 2 or 3 of them keep an eye out at any one time. Never the Ultimate though, but any sign of trouble and he'll be there".

"What digimon are we talking about here?" Sophie asked.

"The rookies are a mixed bunch. A Bearmon and a Hawkmon; then there's the Impmon twins, then a Monodramon, and a Koemon. Champions, they have Aegiomon, Wendigomon and Tuwarmon, and the Ultimate is a Karatenmon".

"Alright, thank you" Sophie said to their informant. "One last question, Enkidu, do they know that you've defected?"

"Not yet, I volunteered to go first to spy out targets on Earth, so they think I'm still doing that" Enkidu asked, looking a little uncomfortable. "They'd expect me to report once I return though, then once they have their targets, they plan on moving out. They also all have holosuits".

"Hm, alright" Sophie mulled over this, then turned to Tadayoshi. "Does your army have the capability of scouting around the target to find which digimon are keeping watch without being seen?" she asked him. It was imperative that they did this the right way.

Sophie didn't think of the MetalKoromon as objects, they seemed to be digimon and thus sentient, at least in her eyes. Their positive reaction seemed to confirm it.

Tadayoshi then asked why they had to be stealthy if Enkidu was still in his good graces. The BlackGaomon had considered it, but shook his head at the idea. "Too risky. If I approach, they'll be too excited and might gather around us so that I'd tell them where the target is".

"Can't you tell them that Sophie and Tadayoshi are also holosuited digimon and that we're all here to join in on their troublemaking?" Lantis asked.

"No good. Bearmon and Monodramon can smell through holosuits easily, so they'd know they're humans right away" Enkidu answered. "Plus, if we do it that way, well... I guess we'd succeed in getting most of them in the one place? But unless you have a way of trapping them all without letting them escape...".

Lantis admitted that he did not have such an ability. Enkidu nodded and remained silent along with Sophie and Lantis as Tadayoshi issued orders to his Xros Army. They were impressed with his tactics indeed. They just hoped he was sound with strategy too. And indeed, that they were as well.

Finished with his preparations, Tadayoshi then asked what was left for them to do. Sophie raised an eyebrow and grinned slightly from that arrogance. "What's left for us? Our position will be the vanguard. Using the intelligence from your army, we will attack at their weak point where we can neutralize and apprehend as much of the foe as possible. So, for the moment, Tadayoshi, the stage is yours to direct".

From the Missimon scouting, Donnie and Lonnie would see a Koemon to the west of the enemy compound, accompanied by a Bearmon. From the east, Tawny and Sid would spot a Tuwarmon also standing watch, both of them relatively immobile, looking a little bored.

Meanwhile, in their flyover, Bonnie and Ronnie would spot little directly overhead, but if they looked into the windows of the building in mind, on the top floor they would see Karatenmon pacing impatiently, attended by an Aegiomon, Monodramon and Hawkmon. What they would make of that intelligence remained to be seen.

Sophie, Lantis and Enkidu watched Tadayoshi and his team do their work. They noted how well they worked together, identifying a vast majority of their opponents. However, three remained unaccounted for. The Impmon twins and Wendigomon.

Tadayoshi would then order two Missimon to keep an eye on the North and South of the building, then for the rest to regroup. He then asked Enkidu whether or not it would be reasonable to assume the twins were absent here.

"Hmm. It's hard to say with those two" Enkidu admitted. "They can be pretty sneaky, oftentimes they showed up out of seemingly nowhere, although I doubt they can teleport. And they also tend to hang around Wendigomon, so that they've got her muscle to back up their magic abilities".

Sophie chose not to comment on the fact Tadayoshi overlooked Wendigomon for now. Instead, she too joined in the questioning.

"Would there be any chance they're still in the building that simply can't be viewed through the windows?" she asked.

"I don't know why they would be, not like the place is on high alert..." Enkidu admitted. "They could be asleep, away on their own operation, we can't discount the fact that they're there somewhere".

Sophie didn't like that they couldn't pinpoint 3 of their ten targets, but, that they had so far pinpointed seven, that could be enough. Still though, she wanted a second opinion on this.

"Do you agree that we've gathered enough intelligence here, Tadayoshi? Or should we do a second sweep to find the remaining three?" she asked. She was then curious about their capabilities. "Would you have thermal imaging capabilities?"

"Indeed, Impmon and Wendigomon would leave a heat signature" Lantis mused. "But not if they're hiding themselves, Impmons can use Ice techniques as well".

"Which we have no reason to believe that they are" Enkidu concluded. They'd then await Tadayoshi's opinion.

"Very impressive" Sophie said, smiling at Tadayoshi and the resourcefulness of his team. With thermal imaging, they would be able to identify things through the walls of the building. Scopemon would thus be able to verify the heat signatures of the seven targets he had spotted so far, and, if he looked carefully, would find three more in the lower part of the building, alongside another shapeless signature. It would appear that they were currently cooking something.

Indeed, that was the case. In the run-down kitchen, the Impmon twins as well as Wendigomon were cooking up a meal to serve for the others. Both the rookies were kinda disgruntled at being asked to do it, but, eh, better than going hungry, right? Plus the kitchen had no windows, hence them being unable to be tracked by sight.

"Any luck so far?" Sophie would ask, not out of impatience, just she was eager to see if they were able to identify all ten of their known targets before proceeding in. As to how she would do that, depending on where the remaining ones were, she could have Lantis sneak in through an unguarded door, or fly up to the floor with the main enemy to take them by surprise. As BanchoLeomon he could do so very quickly.

"Good, that's the lot of them accounted for" Sophie remarked. The 11th signature concerned her a little, but, well, there was no way of knowing for certain what it was. They listened as Tadayoshi made his recommendations.

"Yes, I agree, a sudden assault would be best if we wish to take them alive" Lantis said. "If not, no matter, they can think about what they've done at the village of beginnings".

Still, Sophie hoped to get at least one of them alive, at least to keep as a warning to other digimon thinking they might want to do the same - mess with Earth and you mess with AEGIS. With that, she turned to Enkidu.

"What are the entrances to the building?" she asked him.

"Well, there's a front entrance to the south, a side entrance near the kitchen, and a fire escape running down the east side" Enkidu answered. "The fliers might try and escape by air, but hopefully they can be dealt with first".

"Agreed" Sophie said, then once Lantis was ready, the BanchouLeomon prepared to move out.

"I will aim for the Karatenmon first, and aim to knock him out" he stated. "Then I will deal with the others in the room, then make my way down through the building to get what digimon I can manage".

"Alright. Tadayoshi, your army can watch the entrances, and aim to take down any digimon that try to escape" she said. "Also, that Tuwarmon seems to be alone... that's interesting". Two rookies watched the other side meanwhile.

When all was ready, Lantis would make his move. He drew his sword, ready to strike.

Sophie would wait for Tadayoshi's team to get in place. While she was waiting, and as Lantis would prepare his approach, she turned to the other digimon among them.

"Are you holding up alright, Enkidu?" Sophie asked the BlackGaomon.

"...to be honest, no" Enkidu replied. "Those... digimon were like family to me, now... I'm ratting them out. I mean... it's the right thing to do, they were going too far, just... I don't want any of them to die, ma'am".

Sophie looked at him with sympathy. The black furred digimon looked like he was close to tears, but was thankfully holding himself together as best as he could.

"Lan will do his best to take them all alive, if they surrender quickly" Sophie said. "And even then, the worst that's going to be done to them is that they'll be turned over to the Terminus authorities". She paused, before adding what she hoped would be helpful. "It would've been worse if you didn't let us know" she said. "We would've been much more heavy handed with them... plus, we don't know if digimon that die on Earth come back. If anything, you've saved them".

Enkidu sighed, looking a little more relaxed, but still didn't smile. "I still feel like trash though".

Sophie would simply have to leave it be for now, for Tadayoshi had given the all clear, he was ready. With that, Sophie would wave a signal down to Lantis to approach.

As for Lantis, he had approached the building as stealthily as possible, keeping to the shadows. Then, exhaling, he would leap up the whole four storeys, and burst in through the window to Karatenmon's room. The shock of the criminal digimon was so great that in five seconds, in a flurry of steel and a flashy punch, Lantis had disarmed Karatenmon and knocked him down cold on the floor, Hawkmon and Aegiomon had been reduced to their baby levels, while Monodramon stared at him in shock, paws raised in surrender.

"W-what do you want?!" Monodramon asked, horrified.

"This is a raid, you're under arrest for planning an illegal incursion to Earth" Lantis responded, coldly.

"Oh... no... you're AEGIS?!" Monodramon asked, horrified. "M-mega level?!"

"Indeed. Do not resist or attempt to escape, or you will be destroyed. Now then... lay face down on the floor and put your paws behind your back", he reached into his pocket, removing high strength zip-ties that he would use to hold the dragon in place. For good measure, he did the same to the unconscious Karatenmon. He simply let the babies be for the moment. It was then that he was distracted by commotion from the corridor within the building. At the other end, he saw two digimon approach - the Bearmon and Koemon.

"Guys! Don't! RUN!" Monodramon shouted at them, but it was too late. Lantis watched with a bemused expression as they both attacked. Oh dear, what foolish rookies. But, given that he was three full levels higher than them, he'd have to go easy on them.

"Bear Roll!" the Bearmon yelled, curling into a ball then rolled at Lantis rapidly.

"Pachinko Shot!" the Koemon snapped, drawing a steel ball with his slingshot and let it fly. Lantis merely ducked, but that was a good shot, it would've hit where is eye had been. And as for the Bearmon, Lantis grabbed at him at the last second by the belt he wore over his back, holding the little brown mammal digimon up, then, deftly ziptied all four paws together, holding him in the ball he was in.

"Hey! Stop! Let me go!" the Bearmon wailed, struggling.

"Alright then" Lantis said, then rolled him straight back at the Koemon, who was too busy preparing a second shot to react in time. Bearmon slammed into his face, and the monkey digimon was knocked down.

"Damn it Lan, stop being such a showoff..." Sophie muttered, watching this through her binoculars. The BanchoLeomon thus binded Koemon securely as well, then looked at the stairway, wondering whether to go up to deal with the Tuwarmon, or down to deal with the Impmon twins and Wendigomon.

However, Tuwarmon would not come down that way. Silently, the yellow warrior digimon made his way across the roof to the window, silently lowering himself down. He was looking in to aim where Lantis's back was turned, but, was in clear range of Scorpmon if he chose to attack here.

When Sophie heard Enkidu's troubles, on the outside, she tried to accommodate him, but on the inside, she was troubled. Of course, the reasons why he felt so bad were understandable, standing here with the people he had turned in his "family" to while they responded with Mega level force, that must be uncomfortable. Still though, it was a little disturbing, and she would pay more attention to the BlackGaomon while he was with them.

Yet, she didn't feel any immediate threat. Enkidu hadn't said this unprompted, she asked him a question, he answered honestly, and that was that. Sophie imagined she'd have similar feelings if she was in a position of having to apprehend Colin and his partners like this. But thankfully that wouldn't occur.

Enkidu listened to Tadayoshi's words meanwhile, then gave a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement. "Thanks... that... really clears it up a lot" he said. These digimon may be his "family", but they were also planning evil, and needed to be stopped. That they would not be erased as far as AEGIS could help it, that was reassuring.

Meanwhile, as the operation was underway, Lantis whipped around as he heard the sound from the window. It was faint, but, for a moment, he thought he might have been in danger. That thought was rendered obsolete when he realized what he had heard. That was merely a grunt of pain from Tuwarmon, who had apparently planned to attack him from behind, but, somehow, the guardian digimon had suffered an injury that rendered him neutralized, and he'd merely fall to the ground below. What little control of his body he had left cushioned his fall, but he was for the moment immobilized from Scorpmon's shot.

Meanwhile, Sophie paid attention to Tadayoshi, then nodded, speaking into her digivice. "Lantis, head downstairs, they've got the last digimon here pinned down" she said, as Scorpmon shot a piercing round through the wall that struck Wendigomon.


"Do you know what digimon I am?" he asked them as he approached. The two Impmon whimpered as they retreated.

"B-banchoLeomon" the girl replied. Lantis noticed the faces on their chests differed. The girl's was sad, while the boy's was laughing. Tragedy and Comedy. Heh, fortunate he had evolved to this level, these might have been a tricky duo at a lower level. The Wendigomon behind them was virtually immobilized from Scorpmon's shot, so she was unable to intervene.

"How many levels above Rookie is Mega then?" Lantis continued, stepping further, until the Impmons had their backs to the kitchen wall.

"T-three" the male Impmon replied.

"Correct" Lantis said, then, with a deft movement, grabbed them both by their tails, hurled them to the ground, then, with minimal force, smacked both of their bottoms with the flat of his sword blade repeatedly. "THIS is WHAT you GET for FUCKING aROUND with ilLEGAL inCURSIONS to EARTH!" he snapped, both of them yelping and flinching at each strike, humiliated, but not critically hurt. With no more to say, Lantis proceeded to ziptie them, as well as the Wendigomon. Well, that was all 10 digimon accounted for. Lantis returned the communication to Sophie.

"The building's secure, we can move in now" he told her. Sophie gave an exhalation of relief, turning to Tadayoshi.

"Guess that's that then, as long as you confirm" she said. If so, they would approach the building to gather the captive digimon to formally turn them over to the Terminus authorities, which would be contacted as soon as Tadayoshi confirmed that all was well in the vicinity.