United, We Flourish [Closed/Bone]

Whatever the human had done, it seemed like a rather bad idea. She drew a card and, as soon as she swiped it, seemed to disappear. Then the Sakuyamon that she was with lost its armor, leaving only a low-cut priestess' dress behind. It was almost as if the Digimon was begging to die, just a single strike through the sternum enough to end this little game. Its human wasn't even there to protect it with a card any more, either. By all accounts, this situation was perfect.

The somewhat changed Sakuyamon faced no fear, however. Instead it simply looked up at SkullMammothmon X, calmly uttering first its name and then the name of an attack. Judging by the crystalline ball that suddenly appeared around Sakuyamon, it was another shield. SkullMammothmon X continued his lunge uninhibited. Its signature technique was capable of cracking through most armor like eggshells, allowing SkullMammothmon X to feast off of an opponent's data directly and without any inhibition. What chance would a barrier stand, anyway?

Apparently a lot of chance, judging by the way Nose Fencing bounced off without making a single crack. The SkullMammothmon X stood before the orb, dumbfounded. It lifted a finger and tapped the orb with an almost uncharacteristic gingerness, as if waiting for its touch to simply cause the crystalline orb to detonate.

Then it went absolutely ballistic, smashing at the orb with both fists while shrieking like a being possessed. Despite the sheer strength behind its tantrum, it didn't even seem to be making an impact on the Crystalline Orb. The force behind its strikes was almost neutralized, the orb not even shaking from side to side no matter how hard and fast it swung. Despite being an undead automaton, SkullMammothmon X almost seemed out of breath from the exertion. Soon it was forced to stop, casting a baleful eye towards Sakuyamon.

It took a step back, flexing its rather sore claws, and then aimed both hands at the orb. Its Digicore began to pulse once more, heat pouring from every gap in its skeletal structure. After building energy in this manner for a few seconds it launched another burst of plasma at Sakuyamon, sparks leaping from its hands in a constant stream. It took a few shaky steps away from Sakuyamon as it did so, seemingly trying to burn both the shield and the Digimon that it protected to smithereens.

SkullMammothmon X's cascade of plasma was frankly quite impressive looking. Sparks were peeling off of his body in great, flamelike tongues, wrapping around every shred of bone and metal on his body. His eyes glowed like hellfire, and smoke poured from his mouth with each revenant-esque moan. A lesser Digimon, like the Assaultmon currently cowering an entire hallway down from here, would have probably lost all urge to resist just beholding this spectacle of an attack.

Maia and Kuu were not a lesser Digimon. In the face of such an assault, they didn't even seem to blink. They simply focused, not even raising a weapon, as a blue fox spilled out from their belt. It pounced towards the plasma, water dripping from its spiritual body all the while. It was such a humble attack, and SkullMammothmon X didn't even react to its presence.

Maybe it should have, though, because if it paid the slightest bit of attention it would notice that its attack hadn't even reached Sakuyamon. Instead, the plasma was being doused by just being around the watery fox's presence, steam rising in a towering trail where the attack once stood. What was once a deluge of superheated energy was now little more than a few pitiful sparks, the watery fox skillfully weaving around them as it made its way towards SkullMammothmon X. Its head may have been little more than an empty socket, but its eyes almost seemed to widen in shock as the fox leaped from the plasma surrounding its hands.

The fox slammed right into SkullMammothmon X's skull, and shards of golden metal splintered from the site of impact. In a panic it lunged for the ground, digging its hulking forearms into the ground to help brace itself on one knee. Despite being unable to emote, hatred seemed to radiate off of it as it rotated its head back towards Sakuyamon.

This time it wouldn't be taking any chances. It tore its chest open, leaving its core exposed but allowing its ribs to grow and sharpen to a terrifying size. Then it charged forward like a demon possessed, arms extended outwards. It was almost as if it was trying to seize Sakuyamon in a bear hug, except with less soft plush and more brutal, bone-tipped impalement.

Mere inches away from their face, Maia and Kuu would feel the force of bones snapping shut. The air rushed past with enough force to blow their silver hair back, but thankfully they would not feel the sting of a successful impalement. For whatever it was worth, the Purifying Fox Dance had made its mark. Where the mega once stood there was now only a towering inferno of blue, gnashing ribs occasionally snapping through the flames.

SkullMammothmon X's previously implacable advance had slowed to a stop. Now only the crackling of the fire echoed through the Dark Area facility, more silent than it had ever been since Maia's arrival. As the pile shifted and toppled over, a heavy metal claw sticking through it in a futile attempt at bracing itself, it seemed that this fight may have finally come to an end.

Then a heavy footstep, strong enough to send the whole room shaking, rang out. Slowly SkullMammothmon X had forced itself back onto its feet. With a heavy sweep of its arm it dispersed the flame that surrounded it, revealing that all of its bones had been charred an eerie looking dark teal. Hateful red embers glowed in the back of its eyes, and its head seemed to swivel a little too far for comfort as it locked eyes with Maia and Kuu.

It took another step, the room swaying in panic with this latest heavy thud. As it stepped a ragged sighing noise escaped from its trunk, as if breathing was impossible for the Digimon. Then it took another breath and another step, sending small cracks spreading across the metallic floor. What it had lost in speed, SkullMammothmon X now seemed to make up for in pure force. It continued its glacial advance, step by step, each causing more of a quake than the last. Even as it seemed to be falling apart before Maia and Kuu's eyes, it seemed insistent on continuing its pursuit.

Then it reared back, as if about to fall over. The mammoth paused in this fashion, the red orbs in its eyes narrowing hatefully as it glared at those who stood against it. Then, with all of its might, it brought both fists down against the floor. Metal not nearly designed to endure this much force let out a deep groan of protest, and then started to crumble away shard by shard. What was once a few small cracks was quickly turning into a cascade, and now neither SkullMammothmon X nor Maia and Kuu had much stable ground left to stand upon.

SkullMammothmon X stood its ground as Sakuyamon Miko Mode made her approach. The fox was fast. Frankly, faster than anything SkullMammothmon X had ever seen before. Nevertheless, the mutated mammoth's reflexes were better than they would seem for such a lumbering creature, and it sprang off of its back feet to lunge for the charging priestess with murder in its eyes. Its ribcage flared open again, and it let out a victorious bellow as Sakuyamon played it in a dangerous game of chicken.

Then its ribcage snapped shut like the blade of a guillotine, leaving the priestess locked within. Unstable red energy leaked from SkullMammothmon X's eye holes as it focused all of its power into its Digicore. The core swelled to an immense size, tendrils like lightning crackling from the gaps in its ribcage as SkullMammothmon X focused entirely on overloading itself. Its own rib bones started to crack and crumble away from core-induced backlash, but SkullMammothmon X couldn't bring itself to care. It was focused entirely on revenge against its hated enemy. Soon, content with the level of punishment that it had dealt out, SkullMammothmon X let the attack dropped. Its Digicore receded back down to a manageable size, leaving nothing but cinders behind.

Then SkullMammothmon X felt the golden plates on its skull shatter. All too late, SkullMammothmon X learned that the figure it snared was a mere illusion. The real Sakuyamon Miko Mode had leaped above him, gracefully smashing his skull inwards while he was focused on his own assault. The mammoth buckled down, and along with him so did the floor beneath his feet. The steel let out one last groan of protest, and then shattered to pieces.

SkullMammothmon X did not look good. His skull plate had been utterly shattered, leaving cracked bone barely holding itself together beneath. His ribs had been incinerated by his own overwhelming force, leaving his Digicore weakly flickering against the base of his spine. Smoke continued to rise from his body after several of Sakuyamon Miko Mode's flaming assaults. Even the dark shadows of his eyeholes seemed emptier than usual, probably due to the web of cracks spiraling out from them.

Nevertheless, it seemed even as SkullMammothmon X hurtled to the ground he refused to give up the ghost. In one last gasp of energy he thrust both of his hands outwards, groping furiously for Sakuyamon Miko Mode's ankles. If he was going down, he was taking the biomerged duo with him.

SkullMammothmon X, for all of his flaws, certainly was persistent. And he did not seem content with the idea of being a passive observer to Maia and Kuu's mental debate. He started straining against the force of Sakuyamon's flight, pumping his body up and down to try and throw off her balance. On one hand, it could not have been pleasant for Maia to look down and see the grisly scene, SkullMammothmon X's rending claws constantly swiping for her and missing. On the other hand, it was a testament to the awe-inspiring power of a biomerge. Despite the size and weight difference between these two, Sakuyamon was able to support the entirety of SkullMammothmon X's weight on nothing but her ankle. Were this a lighter, weaker Mega, such a gambit may not have even been successful.

Thankfully, Sakuyamon wasn't going to be very passive either. While originally tied up in her mental debate, her answer came not in words but in fire. Another spirit fox sprang forth from Sakuyamon's belt pouches, this one made of crackling flame. It shot towards SkullMammothmon X's claw like a bullet, soon lunging directly for the bone at the joints. Unlike the metal plating of the mammoth's head, this hand wasn't exactly the most flammable. For the first few precious seconds it seemed like nothing had happened, beyond the light of the fox illuminating the scars this this battle had etched into the bone.

Then some smoke started to rise up from the mammoth's knuckles. Sure enough, the bone was starting to blacken as the fox spirit's attacks intensified. Each dash, claw, and bite from the fox deepened the shade of black, sending almost charcoal-esque fragments tumbling down into the depths below. With an audible cracking sound the leftmost knuckle snapped, leaving only two of SkullMammothmon X's three claws actually wrapped around Sakuyamon's leg. It windmilled its free arm in a panic, trying to keep airborne, but the writing was on the wall.

With one more snap, echoing through the noiseless halls of the abandoned laboratory, SkullMammothmon X had lost its grip. It fell like a stone, bellowing hatefully and flailing desperately, but no amount of fire or fury could stop it from tumbling into the depths below. In the first five seconds it had faded out of sight, swallowed up by the darkness of floors left unlit. In the next ten, its horrid trumpeting had ceased its echo, leaving Maia and Kuu alone with their thoughts.

Only a single memoir left of SkullMammothmon X's presence; its claws and upper knuckles, wrapped around Sakuyamon's leg like half of a broken shackle.

The hysterical, tear-stained laughter of a broken woman would be disturbing in any other context. Here, the emptiness of the laboratory meant that Sakuyamon's gut-busting laughter and heart-wrenching crying would echo off of the walls, practically surrounding her with the sounds of her own madness. The flickering lights overhead almost made the biomerge look like a phantom, disappearing in and out of sight with each second. The cold, stagnant air, no longer heated up by the intensity of battle, started to settle around Sakuyamon like a clammy fog. While the fight may have ended in a decisive victory, the mood that was being set indicated anything but.

Why did Maia come here? Was it even worth it?

At least she was alone, with only Kuu and Gizumon here to judge her for her decisions. The purple ball, once the fight was finished, was now peeping out of the door it had hid behind to check on the victorious duo. Seeing that its friends came out the victors, Gizumon let out a happy little fanfare. It immediately scampered over to Kuu, leaping around him in circles and flinging what looked like confetti made out of shredded-up newspapers. Sure, the ice under its legs meant this hopping involved a lot of awkward scuttling and flailing, but Gizumon was really too happy to care.

Or it was until it turned to see Maia, its own eye widening to match hers. She looked like a mess, frankly, with how she covered her mouth as if hiding a deep, dark secret. Gizumon hesitantly waved, then toddled up to Maia in order to inspect her. First it ran a green scanning light over her, then decided to go with a more tried-and-true method. Namely, it walked up to her and started gently poking her with one of its spindly legs. That had to get a reaction out of her, right?

Who?

Gizumon let out a sad beeping noise, its eye trailing down to the floor and tracing a dejected line down the wall. The poor machine already lived in the middle of nowhere, with centaur riot cops and a gaggle of monstrosities its only companionship. What was it supposed to do now that its only human friend didn't even seem to remember it? The Gizumon started stumbling around, what was supposed to be calm intellectual pacing looking like the Ice Capades due to how frozen the metal floor was. Nevertheless, it had to inspire! How could it possibly get its human friend to remember it?

Then it perked up, having an idea come to mind. It promptly scuttled over to the corner of the room, hunkering down as its eye beam turned from a thin green line to a large blue projection. Soon, a memory from Gizumon's data banks would be played right on Cold Storage's northmost wall. The cracks and destruction all over the wall, as well as Gizumon's own twitchy eye, made the picture quite unclear. However, Gizumon's sound chip was putting in quite a bit of work to try and fill in the missing blanks, even if everyone sounded like they were speaking into a fan.

"H-hello," the holographic Maia said as it looked down at Gizumon, who had fallen on her boyfriend hard enough to knock him out. "Do you think you could... move a little? You're going to squish him."

"Oh. Your 'spider' friend," an older, more worn Maia had said. What would Maia think, seeing her fresh-faced and nervous self followed by Maia Quinn, Warrior Queen in the span of two video clips? It would be like looking into a time portal, if said time portal had been rendered in a broken copy of Windows Movie Maker. "Have you been stuck in there for a while?"

The replays promptly slid to a halt, Gizumon scratching its dome with the tip of his tail. Wait, was that seriously everything? Gizumon promptly realized that it had rather low standards for friends, considering that its interactions with Maia hadn't been very long in either the past or present. Nevertheless, it looked up expectantly at her, as if hoping not one but two recorded instances of interacting with it would end up jogging her memory.

What else could it do? Oh, more inspiration! Gizumon promptly scampered off back into its little storage nook, motioning for Maia to wait because it would be right back. Maybe this would give Maia some much needed solitude, finally apart from any and all of the denizens of this strange facility.