Hunter and the Hunted [Mission]

As it was, the three members of the group handled themselves quite differently in the Orochimon's presence:

The Sangloupmon, at least from Orochimon's perspective, took the Ultimate's warning at face value. She did not dare to approach the serpent, which made her earn the careful gaze of just one of the serpent's remaining puppet heads. The questions that she gave stood, for the moment, in open air.

Carlos, and by extension, the Devidramon, attempted to follow behind Cassandra as she made her way to the Orochimon. His approach, and the overtly defensive stance of the demon, immediately earned the ire of the serpent, two of its heads hissing aggressively in his direction: it was clear that if either of them took a step forward, they were liable to be lashed out and struck by one of the serpent's several heads. Injured as it was, this was still a perfect class Digimon, able to give everyone here a run for their money.

Curiously, however, Cassandra did not receive the same treatment - in fact, the manner of which she approached was quite well practiced. Approaching with the palms facing forward as such was a recognized sign of pacifism, and her tone was quite calm, gentle, and practiced. The main head looked at her curiously, while ushering more direct, small, sharp hisses to her two partners. Provided they heeded the serpent's warning and simply backed off, the twin tamer alone would be able to approach.

There would be a moment of silence, before the serpent relented, lowering its head off to the side.

---

Of course, saying that one could treat the wounds and actually performing the feat was another task entirely. Whether through card or physical effort, the red tinge (definitely that of the Reaper) of the wounds would prove stubborn and difficult to clear out - though the damage itself could be carefully remedied, given enough time.

Realistically, though, Cassandra would not have all the time in the world to treat this serpent's wounds. At a certain time, perhaps five minutes later, he'd give a cautious hiss to the tamer. He would finally answer K's question:

"Two hoursss...." The hiss rolled out of the seprent's main head, a nod given to the Sangloupmon. "I ssspotted it. A red-eyed cat. Caught it in these fangsss." He raised a puppet head, the strong-plated ceramic of it blown through from the top, red coloration charring the edges.

"It hasss not left. Watches thisss lake. I watch it." The Orochimon had brought the target to a standstill? One of the remaining heads gave a nod to the group, and gave a light nudge to the right, motioning to a path leading away from the farm, towards a gnarled underbrush.

"I cannot ressst. You have come for it?" With a mere hiss, he'd pull away, and slither back towards the pond - once more starting to slip below the surface. Despite the size, the movement remained smooth - soon all they would see would be one or two of the puppet heads, scanning the surroundings from the surface.

The serpent was a tense one, but at the very least, the group would have one chance to prepare before heading off the path.

It was through Cassandra's efforts that the two were able to get any information out of the serpent at all. Past that, her further kindness and care for the serpent, even after he addressed the group, earned a curious tilt from the head by the Orochimon. With the effect of the card still radiating over his scales, the perfect level simply gave a low, and careful, nod to the human. Would he take her up on the offer? It wasn't entirely certain, but at the very least he wouldn't attack her blindly.

Soon enough, he'd retreat to the lake, and the three would be left to make their plans. K and Dio used this time to take their own ultimate forms - Shutmon and NeoDevimon - respectively, and in the presence of the serpent itself, there was no reaction from the woods. But would even that much have already given them away?

...

Apparently, it would. There would be a quick rustle high up in the trees, in the vague direction that the Orochimon had referenced. In their small interlude, perhaps even still discussing the matter at hand, a creature had been drawn to their position. A good twenty feet up and ten yards away from the group as a whole, half-concealed in the canopy and half shrouded in darkness, their target (X) had finally made herself known. From this distance, it would be hard to tell her level of infection - though the normal 'green' of the eyes had taken a bright red color.

From this rather defensive position, the feline didn't risk charging forward or even a proper ranged attack, lest she draw the ire of the serpent again. Instead, from her position, she let out a scream, the effects of which would rattle inside the ears of any who heard it. Though physically it would do little more than pierce through the ears, each Digimon who heard it would see a strange vision, faintly as if a mirage in front of their eyes:

Each of their forms rookie and above, even their current one, would flicker before their eyes.

Shortly after this, though, the 'Hunter' wouldn't stay. Provided she'd get a chance, the feline would turn, and attempt to move back in the thick of the woods. Which begged the question:

If she had the chance to ambush, why would she use such a passive technique?

Unsurprisingly, in response to the Hunter's sudden presence, the group let forth a full barrage of ranged attacks towards the perched Meicoomon. With Cassandra's twins a little slower on the draw, as they were lost in the throes of their own memory before Cassandra snapped them out of their stupor, it would be K and Dio's attacks that would careen out first, both focused beams careening directly for the Meicoomon's position.

For the Hunter, such an effort was easy enough to dodge: tensing her legs, she slipped towards the back side of the branch, and moved to kick back into the forest. Dio's beam continued at an upward angle, piercing right through the canopy as it carried up through the canopy. K's own blast would be ducked by that same motion, but with the addition of the explosion?

"Nyah!" A small cry of pain echoed right on through, as the feline was blasted from her position! With the Hunter now hidden in the foliage, 'Rain of Stars' simply shredded into leaves and tree trunks in the general area of the target, and 'Touch of Death' careened past the Meicoomon's side, likely unseen by the group, careening into and withering away an elder tree of the forest.

If these three wanted to get in close, they'd have to pursue - but at that, the feline gave a harsh flick of her tail. Three metal balls were flung, landing at the edge of the clearing between the group and the Meicoomon, the cat Digimon then moving to further increase her distance.

A moment later, these metal spheres would start to glow - on contact, or after a few seconds (timed well if any of the group tried to simply dash forward), each would explode outward in a red blast, leaving the area and all in the range of the explosion caked in the D-Reaper's red mass!