Butter-Fly Effect

The Akatorimon are a nonissue. Not least of which because Birdramon's preferred place to retreat to is in the sky, where they can't follow her. No, those chickens are a problem for Mimi's partner, and Lekismon.

This leaves Ogremon and Leomon. And while you're aware that swords are sharp, you don't particularly feel like messing around with the lion at the moment.

"Birdramon! Get Ogremon!" You declare. Either you knock him around enough to get the Gears out of him, or you fail. As though hearing your order, Kabuterimon immediately turns his attention to Leomon. He probably did, or Izzy's enjoying his access to the code of the world just the slightest bit too much, or both. Probably both.

You take this time to observe how the new Champions fight. Kabuterimon is filling the air with electricity- which can't be safe, really, but is as expected from a Digivolved form of Tentomon- and Mimi's partner- Togemon, you're pretty sure- is firing needles at everyone.

You hope they know what they're doing. This isn't like a game where you can just turn off friendly fire, after all.

"There's still too many of them," BlackGatomon comments, lazing on a rock nearby, her tail waving back and forth. "Why do you think I got out of there? It's not that I can't handle other Champions. It's that fighting multiple opponents is dangerous, even when I have Lynxmon and Mikemon with me. Without them? Not. A. Chance."

There's a number of annoyed squawks from the direction of the fight, and you turn back to see Birdramon picking up Ogremon, much to his irritation. Which is probably why he is currently flailing his club. Maybe. You don't claim to be an expert on Digimon psychology, when even interacting with humans still eludes you on occasion.

"Bring him over here!" You call, Digivice at the ready. It takes some time for her to actually do so- apparently, it's difficult to hold on to something that won't stop struggling- but she does, and you don't hesitate before blasting the other Champion, a number of gears exiting his body.

"Whu- huh? What happened?" Once you're entirely sure he's free, you nod to Birdramon, who drops the other Digimon on the ground.

"Um... you're Ogremon, right?"

"Yeah. And you're a human. But serious, what happened!? The last thing I remember is saving those Akatorimon!"

"A bunch of Black Gears, apparently," Izzy informs him, still not looking up from his laptop once. "They got Leomon, too, but he's putting up a bit of a better fight right now."

"Actually, he seems to be running away," Mimi points out, gesturing over at the apparently now former battlefield as the lion Digimon flees for the hills. "The Akatorimon seem to be okay, though!"

"Lekismon had to make them all fall asleep to get at the other Digimon," BlackGatomon states, still not moving from her spot on the rock.

"But they're not hurt, right?"

"I think we're sort of missing the point here," You sigh. "What matters is that Leomon's still being controlled, and he just leapt up Infinity Mountain!"

"Lekismon could probably do that," Izzy tells the rest of you. "And we could fly after using Kabuterimon and Birdramon. But that's not exactly in our job description."

Right, you're not the combat team... wherever they are. A quick glance at the Digivice shows that the other teams are a good deal closer to you than they used to be, in this case meaning 'not on the entire other side of Gear Savanna'.

However, from what you know about Black Gears, it's fairly apparent that Leomon's behavior is somewhat unusual- Digimon under the thrall of the Gears don't retreat.

Something is clearly wrong here.


Sora's DS: 394/400

Izzy's DS: 277/289

Mimi's DS: 165/182


[ ] Give chase using the flying Digimon. It's probably a trap, but you'll never know unless you try!

[ ] Send Lekismon ahead of the rest of you. She'll probably be fine.

[ ] Wait for another team to show up. You'll have to revert your partners, but it also means a good night's rest.

[ ] Don't just wait- go back to get the other teams. You've pretty much completed the main objective of your mission, after all- now, it's just cleanup.

All things considered, you know that this is a bad idea. After all, while it's been mostly glossed over, you recall that the Gears have a function other than turning Digimon completely feral, though given that you don't entirely remember it, it could be nothing to worry about.

It's probably something to worry about. Things that you ignore have a tendency of coming back to bite you at the worst possible moment, after all.

But no matter how much of a trap it may or may not be, you refuse to end this job until it's fully completed. You're stubborn like that. It's something that you've known for years- no matter the task, you'll always see it through to the end.

Even if you're sort of regretting it now, what with the high altitude and all.
(Sora has gained the skill: Aerial Combat at +7!)
"Do you see anything!?" You call over to Izzy, who still isn't fully used to Kabuterimon, and who you're not sure has ever been at this altitude before.

Honestly, you don't think you've ever been at this altitude before, that's how high this chase is taking you. Between the two of you, Leomon doesn't get very far out of your sight, and never for long, but there seems to be a purpose to his movements, and that's what stops you from swooping in. Also the fact that fighting in close quarters on a mountainside seems like a bad idea, but that's just common sense.

"I think I can see what he's aiming for! There's a large ruin on just a bit higher!" Izzy calls back. "Do you think we should try and get closer!?"

"That's sort of why we're here!" But you're going to try to be smart about this. If you're springing a trap, it's going to be in a way they don't suspect.

You're going around the back.

---

One of the best parts about being on a mountain, you're pretty sure, is the fact that there's plenty of cliffs and rocks to hide behind. You leave Birdramon, Kabuterimon, and Izzy nearby, pointing out that only one person really needs to scope things out, and you can always call for help if you need to.
(Sora's Stealth total: 45)
You try to stay as quiet as you possibly can. You do fairly well, getting to a point where you can easily make out the two Digimon standing on the ruin. One is, of course, Leomon.

The other one appears to be Angemon's dark counterpart.




Curious, you decide to move a little closer. That's probably not the best idea, because your foot knocks into a stone, which goes clattering off to the side. Immediately, the two Digimon look up, turning around to face you.

"Leomon," The demonic Digimon- most likely a Champion, given his similarities to Angemon- states in a dark tone. "I thought you said that you had evaded all of the children."

"I apologize, Master Devimon," The controlled Digimon speaks in a dull monotone. "Shall I remedy this situation?"

Okay, you knew that this was a trap. And you're regretting this even more than you were earlier, if that's possible. This was not a good idea.


Sora's DS: 391/ 462

Izzy's DS: 272/ 289


[ ] Call Izzy and the Digimon over. If it's a fight they want, that's what they're gonna get!

[ ] Run to Izzy and the Digimon. All things considered, you probably don't want to fight something on par with Angemon on his home turf.

[ ] Just run. There is no way you're defeating that thing.