Taking Up The Black - Demon Lords 2F

It sure was a good thing that the party chose this time to disengage. What started out as a boring bureaucratic meeting was mere steps away from dissolving into Wrestlemania.

Surprisingly enough, it was Vulcanusmon who threw the first punch. He looked away from the battlefield, whistling innocently as he launched a dart from one of his mechanical arms toward Titamon's muscular neck. He then sat back, taking notes on the chaos that was sure to ensue. Steam spilled from Titamon's nose as he lunged forward, punching Zanbamon hard enough to send him flying across the room. The have-nots of Wrath's entourage were quick to follow in his footsteps. The amassed demons, undead, and nightcrawlers charged at Zanbamon's elite patrol, their higher-level counterparts sliding into their usual battle formations. They waited for the rabble to come at them, superior strikes holding them at bay even as their lack of numbers forced them to start falling back.

Zanbamon himself paid his troops little mind, leaping over their battle lines to smash Titamon into the ground. His thundering hooves forced Titamon to a knee, but they didn't land cleanly: just before impact, Titamon's thick green hands wrapped around each leg, bringing the two towards a stalemate. Zanbamon's humanoid upper half rained blows against Titamon's knuckles with both blades, but Titamon refused to lessen his grip. In fact, he met the blows head on, rearing back to give the Zanbamon's horse head a vicious headbutt. This dazed both "horse" and "rider" halves of the Digimon, and Titamon was able to fling him to the ground with ease. He drew his own blade, pointing it at the downed horseman.

A Reapermon stumbled past this standoff, seemingly wreathed in black flames. In actuality, they were the bodies of about ten DarkRizamon that had swarmed around him. All eleven of these unfortunate Digimon were promptly reduced to data, caught in the crossfire as Zanbamon and Titamon swung for each other. And judging by the pixels thickening the air, they were far from the only casualties. In this fervor, nobody was paying attention to the trio of invisible rookies.

Yet soon they would stop paying attention to the fervor, too. A massive portal opened in the middle of the room, flooding it in a blood red light. Through this portal stepped Daemon, adjusting his cowl and smoothing the creases out of his robes. His eyes were half lidded, and he seemed to be nursing . . . a cup of coffee? Huh. Who would've figured him the type? He didn't seem to notice what was going on in the room, idly stretching out his wings and arms. Titamon and Zanbamon sure noticed, however. They froze up, swords still locked, before slowly yet surely lowering their arms. So, too, did what remained of their fighting forces. Nobody wanted to be caught with their hands in this cookie jar.

"Is the morning report finished yet, Titamon?" Daemon asked. He didn't even look at the titanic ogre.

"Oh, uh . . . yeah! Yep!" Titamon stammered. "All finished here! Look at all these satisfied little monsters." He wrapped his thick, meaty arms around the two nearest Digimon, pulling them so closely to him that he nearly crushed them to death. The smiles on their face were as huge as they were fake.

"Excellent. And Zanbamon, the patrols?"

"Not a maggot in sight! And we even worked in some training on the side, too," Zanbamon boasted, running up to a completely non-reacting Daemon. It was as if he was already in a rush to out-brownnose Titamon. "You should see the battle scars on the boys. There's no way they won't learn something from this."

"Good to know." Daemon sighed, folding his arms closely around himself. "Oh, and one more thing?"

Both Titamon and Zanbamon leaned in closer, as if trying to hear what Daemon had to say. In response he wheeled around, grabbing them both by their throats. Despite being dwarfed by the two massive Digimon he lifted them effortlessly, hovering into the air so he could hold them over the ground. Their eyes widened in shock at Daemon's sudden perceptiveness. Titamon coughed and sputtered, while Zanbamon tried to stammer out excuses and explanations. "I don't have the time to deal with your nonsense. Understood?" Both of the former Wraths nodded, faces turning colors and tears burning at the corners of their eyes.

"Good," Daemon said, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. His grip slackened for a second, only for him to smash Zanbamon and Titamon together with all of his might. This single blow was all it took, the two Digimon erupting into data. Daemon released his grip, allowing the duo's hollow wireframes to clatter to the ground, as their component data swirled into a single nexus around him. It coalesced into a single Digitama, looking for all the world like a shimmering crystal. "Remember that when you emerge, or you won't be getting another chance," he muttered, before picking up his coffee in his other hand. Despite the fresh smoke rising from the top, he downed it in a single gulp.

The room was dead silent, and the Digimon crowded around him were as still as statues. If Archon, Carrie, and Hasenya hadn't already made it out, there would be nothing stopping their escape now. Yet this opportune moment to flee wouldn't last. It would barely be a minute before Daemon turned over his shoulder, eyes smoldering hatefully. "Now quit staring! Waste my time again and I'll remind you what sin this wing is named after!" he shouted, sending the Digimon scattering in every which way. A Diaboromon slid into Titamon's desk, frantically taking notes with his giant pencil. A Meramon picked up the sword Zanbamon left behind, promptly falling into step behind Zanbamon's former patrol. Vulcanusmon exited the scene coolly, folding a few books into the tanks on his back. Noise, hustle, and bustle had returned to the fortress.

Hearing all this, Daemon sighed and turned to walk away. "There's just no good help these days, I swear," he muttered, setting a hand on his temple.

The hallway that Archon, Carrie, and Mae fled down was empty. But was that really a surprise? Daemon himself had descended into Titamon's quarters to set this mess out. If the swift way he dispatched of his misbehaving generals was any indication, any Digimon who didn't know their place would face a similar fate. For the first time since their arrival, the halls of Wrath fell silent around the trio. There was nobody to distract them. Nobody to monitor them. And nobody, absolutely nobody, who could stop them.

If Carrie feared her Digi Port would face interference from the Icon of Sin, she would be in luck. Any attempt on her end to open up a portal would go off without a hitch. Sure, the portal would look a little jittery. Maybe a few pixels of data would even bleed off of it. Yet if it was the route they opted, to take the portal would hold firm just long enough to get them home.

The only complication was the quiet sound of wings flapping. It was a subtle sound, barely audible through the fortress' thick walls, but each flap sounded ever-so-slightly louder than the last. Would the party even notice the sound? Would they pay it any mind? Or would they be confident enough in their escape plan to execute it before it could hit any snags?

Fwoosh! Archon's Shadow Flame was right on the mark, sending the strange being pursuing them spiraling to the ground. A Tsukaimon went spiraling down to the ground, face covered in comical amounts of soot from the flaming attack. It opened its mouth in shock, smoke rolling out in a great, big cloud. It laid there for the moment, dazed and confused but saying nothing. If Archon chose to follow after Hasenya, he'd have more than enough time to make his way through the portal. This Tsukaimon was clearly taking its sweet time getting back up!

Nevertheless, get up it eventually did. It swayed unsteadily on its nubby forepaws, ears spread wide to help it catch its balance. Finally, it shook its head, blinking a few times to confirm that its internal equilibrium had been restored. It seemed rather nonchalant about being blasted in the face. Once the initial shock had passed, it was content to stretch back and yawn as if nothing had happened. It looked around, curious, before its eyes set back down on Carrie in her D'Arcmon form.

If Archon was still there, the Tsukaimon would hop right up to him. If not, it would default to hopping up to the D'arcmon. However, in any case, its tactic was the same: with a big grin on its face, it would chirp out a cheery "Hi!" as it approached. "You guys see the rock lady? I wanted to tell her something, but she's all gone now." It puffed out its cheeks in disappointment, before looking back up at the duo expectantly. Would they know anything?