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Mercenary Memory [MPC #40][Spire]
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Post by Marshal North on May 7, 2017 8:35:50 GMT
(This story takes place in a time long before Marshal and Coronamon were partnered with each other.)
This was one of those times that Coronamon felt like the flame tattoo on his shoulder was heavier than normal. He was just on another job, but this job felt more ominous and dangerous than usual. Of course, as a mercenary, he had already some some crazy shit.
Alongside Coronamon was his partner, Leomon. The two had been on many jobs together. For some reason, the two of them had only been put together since nobody else wanted to work with Leomon. Something about potential emotional damage. Coronamon decided to pay it no mind.
"Man, we've been travelling forever," the little lion complained. "They'd better be compensating us for this."
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 9, 2017 0:30:18 GMT
Leomon simply loved this job. While of course he had strict conditions for the bounty hunter missions that he accepted (namely that he refused to go on any where the mark was an innocent or someone who had not done anything evil), he loved making the digital world a better place. And what better way to do so than to get some bad digimon off it?
Leomon wore his 'uniform' proudly. As well as the tough leather trousers he normally wore, he bore a large leather pauldron on his left shoulder, decorated with a golden fleur-de-lis decoration. And on his right shoulder was the same tattoo that Coronamon had, indicating that they would always be brothers-in-arms. Leomon was proud of his friend. Even if he liked to walk around in his rookie form, they had gone on many successful adventures together so far.
"I assume they will pay us handsomely for it" he said as Coronamon complained about the time they had spent travelling. "This particular mark sounds like a bad one... they've been going around killing lots of digimon. And what's worse, they don't seem to have a reason to do so other than 'get stronger'" he frowned.
Well then. That would change today. This... "spirit wielder". Whatever he was. He'd be going down. "Although I'm concerned..." Leomon confessed. "I mean, I don't think I've ever fought a Spirit Wielder before".
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Post by Marshal North on May 9, 2017 1:24:45 GMT
"You're right," Coronamon agreed. "Of all the targets we've come across, I don't think any of them have ever been...human." He shuddered at the thought. Humans were still a relatively new thing to him, and for the most part they seemed pretty harmless to him. However, a job was a job, and if they had to take out a human, Spirit Wielder or no, he was contractually obligated to try.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," Coronamon muttered under his breath. This was probably mostly random complaining on his part, but he had been in this business for a while. Truth be told, he had been considering retiring and doing something else with his life. Perhaps he'd open a restaurant! He had always had a passion for cooking, slightly more than he had for fighting others.
Coronamon's daydreaming made the trip seem quicker, as he didn't even realize the two of them had made it to the jungle. He waited for Leomon's directions, as he was the more tactically inclined of the two.
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 9, 2017 5:47:43 GMT
Leomon took note that Coronamon seemed a little uncomfortable about their mark being human. And he could understand. He was surprised at this mark, thinking that humans were mostly friendly, intelligent, curious beings that he enjoyed dealing with. But the idea of one just going around killing digimon? Well... they had to be stopped. One way or the other.
He chuckled at Coronamon's comment. "You and me both, little friend" he said, patting his back. "Perhaps we should attempt a change of career after this one? Go exploring some ruins or travel the world sometime?"
The humidity increased and the greenery around them became thicker as they approached the jungle. Before long they were in it. However, Leomon's gait did not slow down. Their mark was deep within the forest - where the canopy was so thick that sunlight struggled to get through.
"Watch out for hazards here, Coronamon" Leomon advised. The ground was very wet and the sickly sweet smell of plant nectar was rich in the air. He didn't want either of them to fall for something like encountering poisonous plants or pits of quicksand. While he had never seen them, he had heard of those hazards in the jungle, and didn't really want to see if the rumours were true.
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Post by Marshal North on May 9, 2017 6:05:25 GMT
Coronamon nodded silently and stayed behind Leomon as the two traversed the jungle. This place had always been a bit strange to him, as if there was something here that called to him. That seemed a little odd, though, as he had no ties to the jungle in any way, shape or form. Perhaps he would find out one day.
In any case, the two of them traveled deeper and deeper in. The humidity became nearly unbearable for even the hot-blooded lion Rookie to bear. "How do we know this guy is even here?" he asked his partner. "This guy could probably move wherever he wanted at this point."
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 9, 2017 12:19:03 GMT
Coronamon raised a good point as they proceeded deeper into the jugle. Leomon found himself panting a little as the humidity was growing a little too much for him.
"He may have moved, but, when one has sunk as low as him, he would find that he has limited places to hide" Leomon explained. "If he decided to hide in a village where he hurt someone, he would be pointed out quickly. If he tries to find a new hiding space in a region elsewhere, he could overlook landmarks and routes that the digimon that already live there would know".
So that just left him with the jungle. Leomon continued forward. He noticed a patch in the ground where it seemed a little shinier than others so he broke a branch off a nearby tree and poked it into the ground, making sure Coronamon had halted too.
As he feared, the branch when poked down sunk deep into the earth. This was a patch of quicksand alright. Deep enough to completely submerge him in his champion form in fact.
"We'd best move around this" he advised his friend. All the while, he kept his wits about him, listening for anything unusual. After all, this could easily be a trap, even if they hadn't walked into it.
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Post by Marshal North on May 9, 2017 20:53:10 GMT
Coronamon nearly tripped as the two of them came to a quick stop. Leomon had uncovered a pit of quicksand. "That was pretty close," he sighed. "Good call." He took point again and slowly creeped around the quicksand. It was a good thing Leomon was such a good partner. If he hadn't been there, Coronamon probably would have drowned in quicksand by now.
This caused him to think about the relationship between the two of them. They had been partners for quite a while and did nearly everything together. Coronamon wasn't sure he had ever met anyone he cared about as much as Leomon. He wondered if his partner shared these feelings with him, but the two of them still had to maintain some air of professionalism. After all, they were well on their way to being one of the top 10 mercenary teams in all of the Digital World!
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 9, 2017 23:38:14 GMT
Leomon did rather care for Coronamon. He enjoyed having the fire lion digimon around, completing jobs and helping out people. He thought of him as his best friend. However, the stoic Leomon was thus far unaware that there could be further affection. If he had known, well, he would have likely returned these feelings, given that they had been friends for so long.
After that hazard, they continued through the jungle. By now the branches overhead were growing thicker, casting a dark green shadow over them as they proceeded deeper into the forest. They encountered some more hazards, including those poisonous plants that Leomon had warned about earlier, but Leomon cast them aside with his sword and Fist of the Beast King attack.
"Our mark is close, Coronamon" Leomon advised his partner. They proceeded further, then, as they entered a wide clearing, Leomon felt an ominous chill rise up his back.
Ahead, they could see a human figure. Shoulder length brown hair on his head, wearing a green sweater and brown trousers. Leomon saw the device in his hand.
"You there!" Leomon called, drawing his sword. "Are you the spirit wielder that's been doing all of these crimes?"
"I don't know what you're talking about..." the human said, turning around slowly. Leomon got chills looking at the expression on his face. He was smiling so widely that his eyes were contorted slightly. Was this a mistake? Then a ring of data appeared around his hand as he held his device up to it.
"What I have been doing... is NOT a crime!" the human announced. Leomon instinctively interposed himself in front of Coronamon, not wanting him to be hurt by this power.
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Post by Marshal North on May 10, 2017 3:36:07 GMT
Coronamon nearly froze when they found their mark. He had never had to fight a human on their own before. However, business was business. As Leomon stood between them, Coronamon shook his head and walked up to his partner's side. "You're still trying to protect me?" He almost laughed. "You're too much sometimes, Leomon. Let me show you how far I've come." He took a moment to focus his data before beginning to glow. With a mighty roar, Coronamon began to Digivolve.  "Coronamon Super Digivolve to...Flaremon!"Suddenly, the once-tiny Rookie now stood taller than even Leomon. This form had been recently achieved by Coronamon while training on his own to carry his weight on the team better. He had hoped that this would impress Leomon, though the situation called for them to be serious. |
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 10, 2017 5:45:32 GMT
Leomon's jaw dropped as Coronamon proved that he needed no protecting, by immediately evolving to Flaremon. "Since when could you do that?!" he asked. Wow, this was... something. Leomon was impressed.
But he looked back at their mark. He was definitely growing. Transforming even. What power was this?! Since when could humans digivolve? It was then that Leomon felt a feeling of dread rise in his stomach. There was too much power in front of him. Far too much for him to handle...
The light of the evolution faded, the fractal code dissipating. And before them was a digimon.
Grandracmon.
"Well then..." the Grandracmon said in a silky voice. "I believe this is the part of the story where a Leomon dies. Black Requiem!"
At once he raised his hand, sending a burst of black energy down at the ground between Leomon and Flaremon. The explosion was immense. As dirt and smoke filled the area, it wasn't clear what the damage was. Was Leomon still there...?
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Post by Marshal North on May 10, 2017 6:39:30 GMT
Flaremon barely had time to react as he brought his hands up in a blocking stance. "Flare Block!" An orb of flame had surrounded him just in time before the mysterious GranDracmon's attack would've connected. However, this only served to block the single attack before the orb completely shattered.
Flaremon couldn't see through the dust and smoke, so he had no idea where he was looking or what had become of Leomon. He wanted so badly to yell out to make sure his partner was ok, but this chance for cover was too big to pass up. This guy was way out of their league.
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 10, 2017 7:05:36 GMT
As the smoke and dust cleared, Leomon slowly became visible at the edge of the clearing. He was on one knee, clutching his chest with a pained expression. Data was rising from him. He was holding a clearly fatal wound. "And so that is that" said GranDracmon, smugly. "Shame. I thought you'd put up more of a fight than that" he grinned. "You're a joke, Leomon. As I thought you'd be".His words angered Leomon deeply. He glared at him with cold ferocity. "No" he said. "Not yet..." he spoke through clenched teeth, forcing himself to stand. " This won't be like those others. Yes, I've heard the stories, the jokes. That I am destined to simply die. But... that will NOT happen here!" He turned to his friend. "Flaremon believes in me. He has been with me through thick and thin. And I refuse to let him down by dying!"By now Leomon was glowing brightly. "So this is NOT going to go like that, do you hear me?! Human... GranDracmon... whatever you are!" by now the light of evolution surrounded him. "I, LEOMON... WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN!"At once a rush of energy surrounded him. He grew in size. Armor plating formed on his body, and his sword transformed into a blazing purple tongue of energy. "Leomon... warp-digivolve to...!"His new form took a step forward, making GranDracmon nervously take a step backward.  "...Duftmon""How... is that possible?!" GranDracmon asked, horrified. Duftmon smiled under his helmet. "You're going to have to try a little harder than THAT!" he said, preparing to attack. |
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Post by Marshal North on May 11, 2017 2:26:41 GMT
The first thing Flaremon saw when the dust cleared was Leomon clutching his chest. His hand wasn't even enough to cover up the gigantic wound that the GranDracmon had created. The amount of emotions running through Flaremon were about to reach a boiling point until he witnessed his partner suddenly Digivolve to an unknown form. So much for showing off.
That being said, this meant that he was horribly outclassed in this fight, so he decided to hang back and wait for an opportunity to strike.
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Post by Sophie & Lantis on May 11, 2017 5:44:19 GMT
Duftmon turned to look at Flaremon. Seeing that he was alright was comforting somehow. If only that was the same for Duftmon.
He felt a strange, trembling feeling in his chest. While yes, he had digivolved, he felt unstable somehow. Like, he only had a small amount of time to do this. Well, whatever. He had the power now and he was going to remove GranDracmon from existence.
"Eine Billion!" Duftmon roared, raising his sword in the air. And at once, seemingly thousands of blue blades of energy surrounded GranDracmon. Bit by bit they flew at him. He attempted to block most of them, but some got through, causing more and more damage as they did so.
It seemed Duftmon had this individual outclassed. However, he didn't want Flaremon to feel left out.
"Flaremon, my friend..." he said. As he spoke, his data began to glitch a little. "It would be an honor to have you fight by my side... one last time". Of course he didn't want Flaremon to take full damage from attacks coming from this Spirit user, he didn't want him to remain in the sidelines. Undoubtedly the phrasing of his words would cause some questioning.
"You bastard!" GranDracmon snarled, looking like there was some genuine fear in his face. "You will NOT beat me so easily!"
He counter-attacked with his Dead Scream attack, the two dragon heads on his torso filling the jungle with a horrible screeching noise. This time Duftmon did stand in front of Flaremon to protect him from the worst of it. Perhaps Flaremon could in turn stop it with a carefully placed attack in response?
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Post by Marshal North on May 11, 2017 6:24:51 GMT
Something was wrong. Though Leomon was suddenly Duftmon now, and giving GranDracmon a serious run for his money, he seemed to be holding onto his last bit of energy. Flaremon wasn't entirely sure what that would mean, but for the moment, he was too focused on the fight to catch Leomon's meaning.
For the moment, he decided to fight alongside his friend. "Crimson Beast-King Wave!" While behind Duftmon, Flaremon released an attack entirely inspired by his partner's signature attack. Even though it looked that it would be a direct hit, Flaremon's special knack for not burning his friends would cause the attack to go straight through his partner and right toward GranDracmon.
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