Digimon Inheritance: A Heroic Lion's Turbulent Times (Finished)

The first thing you notice is the noise… or rather the lack thereof. Instead of ear-wrenching squealing, your ears are greeted with mild chatter. When your eyes readjust, they're met not with the sight of a gloomy hall, but the familiar blasted and scarred wasteland. The surviving division members are still around and above you, having kept their relative positions through the *journey*.

Hmm, that was teleportation. Interesting I did not feel a thing.

You rear up and look around for any familiar landmarks, only to be met with the sight of a Gloaming basecamp. Dozens of tents rise up across the blistered land, with a resting MegaSeadramon splitting in it twain. The monumental size of said dramon makes you do a double-take, its head alone is larger than your entire body.

Indeed the numerous Ogremon, BlackVeedramon and Growlmon unloading supplies from its back look positively tiny in comparison. Your senses peg its general level of power as something exceeding even that of your master. Given the Ultimate's size and the fact that its species has natural flight, defeating it would be exceedingly difficult.

Suddenly your sister's confidence in allowing enemy soldiers near her camp makes sense. If she has that monstrous creature under command… then there's little Taomon's forces could do to hinder her. You're not sure where they managed to get such a thing… until the reports of MetalTyrannomon's *transportation* float back to the forefront of your mind.

But how would Dagomon's cult have tamed that beast? Spirits below! I despise this.

Your internal rant is cut off as *DinoKnightmon* and his fellows plop out of the Wisemon's book and hit the ground.

"There. Succour has been granted." He grunts, still not looking in your direction. "Now make way before the truce ends."

"A moment." Taomon objects, raising her brush questioningly at the knight. "What did your lady gain by saving us?" Your enemy doesn't reply, however the Sorcerer seems happy to respond for him.

"None of us really know what she was thinking, but there was no way we were going against the boss lady's orders." The strangely familiar mon answers with another shrug. "I'm sure she has some reason for it that's bad for you *Choir Boys* in the long run, but we're not uh, privy to it." Taomon wrinkles her nose again, but can't seem to find anything in his words to pick apart. After a second's pause she whirls about and orders the division to rest and break for a short rest.

No she… I do not believe that. She helped us because it was the right thing to do.

Doumon shuffled closer to her uniquely colored friend and nudges his arm with her elbow. On the third prod he tenses up, then finally turns his attention back to you.

"Gryzmon." The warrior doesn't-quite growl out the greeting.

"Knightmon." You nod back warily, not sure where this is going.

"You...." His eyes snaps shut, fists shaking as if he's forcing himself to do something. Instinctively you tense up, ready to block in case he breaks the truce. Only, instead of attacking, he forcibly lowers his head. "You are not the beast I imagined you to be. I am…. Rgh…. I am sorry for my behaviour towards you."

… come again?

"Wait, what?!" Sparks yelps, stumbling back from the apology. "You're apologizing? Now this ain't right, shouldn't ya be like… shoutin' about beasts and wizards?"

"Yes." He retorts without a moments pause, eye snapping open to glare at your closest friend. "And make no mistake wizard, your torture of my lord has not been forgotten." The knight takes a couple deep breathes before continuing. "But I am not my anger and allowing it to control me is unbecoming of a knight. If we meet again on the battlefield I will treat you both as any other enemy, my duty can permit nothing else."

I see… that is well said.

"Wow." Sparks murmurs. "And here I was lookin' forward to exercisin' my new body. Guess you're really not up for a fight huh?"

"No. There are more important matters that need dealt with." *DinoKnightmon* responds motioning towards the campsite. "That wretched temple's surviving victims need attended." Doumon gives his arm another little nudge, causing him to take in a deep breath that looks almost painful. "And yes, saving the innocent holds more importance than pursuing vengeance."

Is… that what he believes? Do... Do I believe that?

Silence is your only answer.

=

Through lunch you continue to watch Luna's basecamp, looking for any sign of your sister. While she never ends up appearing, this does allow you to see *DinoKnightmon* in *action*.

To your surprise, he and Doumon end up following behind an extraordinary tall, one-legged Sorcerymon as they heal a number of listless rookies and champions. Only the very latter healer uses any sort of magic, though still in a very limited capacity. Mostly they just apply what looks like various salves and bandages to the dozens of obscenely wounded digimon. You spot burns, crudely attached cybernetics missing digits and even one more Agumon whose very skin has been peeled away.

Such cruelty reminds you of the torturer Pit slayed back in the Vortex Isle war, but to think the temple's inhabitants were going to such lengths… your sister wanting it destroyed makes perfect sense.

What you're morbidly curious about is just why they would have done such a thing. Surely it couldn't have served any practical purpose to torture others like this so why… your memory flashes back to Chimairamon and the other abominable presences located in the now destroyed temple's lower levels.

Were… they attempting to force dark evolutions?

There's still too much you don't know about the situation.

Still, you ask Taomon about why a Sorcerymon would be helping the Gloaming out and the answer is surprising. According to her, judging by the mon's condition and more importantly his collar he must be a prisoner of some sort. Naturally your first reaction is to ask about saving him, however the beast-womon just shakes her head. Even if the truce wasn't still in effect, freeing him would be untenable simply because of the enemy's assembled forces and the tired state of her own. Between their powerful champions, Ultimates and that MegaSeadramon any attempt would be futile at best. More than that however, their Wisemon could still teleport in more reinforcements. Fighting now would just be playing into their hands.

In fact, once the rest is over your division is going to spend the next fifty minutes fleeing as to avoid potentially being dragged back into battle. For now, your division's main goal to link up with the other survivors and retreat to the nearest base to give a report. Her words are… sensible, but you're still left with a feeling of guilt over the decision. At least he seems to be treated well given how Knightmon and Doumon are paying him deference on healing matters.

So much as you'd like to stick around and ask about how Luna is doing, retreating is sadly the more prudent option. And given your size, it only makes sense for you to carry the most tired members of Taomon's forces. The angel digimons surprised moans of "so fluffy" do manage to cheer you up a little though.

… even if Sparks does spend the next few minutes complaining about "Lazy friggen' freeloaders".

=== How does Verge feel about *DinoKnightmon's* words?

[] Regretful: You can't afford to put saving others in front of your vengeance on Repulsa, Count and their followers. Ending their reign of terror and destruction is more important.

[] Agreeable: What he said was correct, putting saving innocent lives in front of ones own revenge is more important in the grand scheme of things.

===




You first feel the oncoming presence forty minutes into the sprint a faint whisper of promised annihilation that digs deep into your very core. The roiling, inherently wrong aura stops you in place, catapulting the resting angel digimon off your back.

Several shouts of surprise and indigination rise up from the Darcmon, but they mean nothing in the face of what's coming.

A wave of oppressively overwhelming darkness bites at your senses, followed by an almost tangible sense of hunger.

Tempered Bone, Darkness, Destruction Incarnate.

Your nose recoils at the putrid stench of pure, unfettered evil. Whatever's coming might not possess the same titanic power you felt from Megas, but nonetheless its a deep, and unfathomable abyss.

"Bellator Verge." The onyx-armored figure shimmers into existence in front of you, appearing from within the shadow of a HippoGriffomon. One crimson-blade extends out from his skull-shaped gauntlet, pointing directly towards your remaining eye.

"I have business with thee."
===AN: Alright! After separating the update twice I'm finally done! Also *Quietly chuckles to himself.* I don't think any of yall expected this last stinger!