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

"Ready yourselves, past this checkpoint is where The Flux zone truly begins." PileVolcamon announces, from his position standing atop the vacant outpost's watchtower.

"Verily sir Volcamon! We shalt be ready!" Fonte replies, but is ignored as the Mega turns his attention to Sparks' slouching form.

"Wisemon, we'll need Galgomon for this."

"Eh, sure. Why the frig not." Sparks mumbles, before sloppily *snapping* his fingers. You throw the Wisemon a worried look, this is the first time that gesture has made such a… pathetic sound. With that the book hovering beside him opens up to disgorge the gun-toting Champion.

"Hiya guys! Are we there already?" The Champion asks, whirling around the small fort in wonder. "We are! Nice ta see us makin' a good pace."

"Mm, lead on."

"Sure thing!" The hunter exclaims hopping up over the gate. A moment later both of his ears make curling gestures towards the rest of your group. "This way!" You give a short nod, then step after him. The champion hops ahead from snowball to snowbank at… what you can only describe as a glacially slow pace. He's clearly leaping with all his might but… you could honestly shoot right past him with a brisk walk.

"I can't see why we're following a champion." The Pandamon in your group complains as he vaults the barrier. "Would it not be wiser to let our Mega take the lead."

"Power is not everything." The Panjyamon responds landing beside him. "He is wise, and knows this land well." You throw the fellow Leomon a scathinglook for his ignorance. Causing both him and the toy digimon to nearly stumble over the snow-caked ground.

After shaking your head from the annoyance fueled by Panjyamon's detestable ignorance, you focus on Sparks. The Ultimate floats listlessly forward, his normally sharp eyes glazed over in deep thought.

"My friend, are you well?"

"Wha-oh. Yeah, sure Verge. I'm fine. Just dandy in all this friggen' cold. Heh." He waves you off, but the laugh has none of his fervor. It just sounds… sad.

"That is a lie. You are… not as usual."

"Tch, how could ya tell? Didya smell it or something'?"

"No, I gleaned it from your posture, voice and-"

"Bah, yeah I get it jackass! Your good at seein' this sort of thing. Well what happened between me an' Weddinmon' ain't your business, got it?"

"... I did not mention her. Is she the reason for your... " Unable to come up with the proper word, you raise a hand helpless towards his hunched body.

"Heh, ya mean me bein' down?" Sparks finishes, a thread of humour working its way back into his tone.

"Our current position is far higher than normal, you're not *down*, you're… hmm. Mayhaps… sad?"

"Hah! Sure, let's go with that!" He cackles, straightening back up. "Listen, ya dont' need to worry about me, I'll work it out."

"I see… are you sure?"

"Yeah, just-" His words are cut off as yet another earthquake tears through the zone, spraying a wall of snow into the air. Suddenly the ground underneath your feet begins to shift, tilting to the left as a mighty crack booms through the air. You step up into safety just as the ever expanding crack snakes its way up to the rock formation's very peak, and then in a cacophony of noise, splits the enormous mountain in twain.

The makeshift fort behind you crumbles apart as its foundation is shattered, just becoming one more part of an avalanche. Thousands, of tons worth of snow, foliage and broken rock tumble down into the unfathomable gorges below.

Again? Spirits below, we've only been in this zone for a half hour!

You'd been surprised and alarmed the first time a mountain has fallen. However this makes the fifth one you'd seen crumble away since arriving. It's not particularly surprising or noteworthy anymore.

Even Galgomon, the group's sole present champion simply glides over to the remaining half and continues hopping forward. At the moment you're not entirely sure why he's here either, after all it's not exactly like Flux Voclano is hard to see. In fact that particular land formation stood out from the moment you entered, reaching up seemingly infinitely into the distant sky itself… and you've already seen clouds wafting about your current elevation. The implications of how absolutely massive it must be are staggering. So you try not to think too hard on it.

What was I… oh yes Galgomon! He must possess some sort of purpose, or else Leopardmon would not have assigned him, but what?

Three seconds of musing later, you shrug it off and walk across the air back to Sparks.

"As I was sayin' before that friggen' mountain fell. I got it handled, don't worry."

"Very well Sparks, I… understand. If you need assistance."

"Hehe, who the heck do ya think I am?" He grins, flashing you a quick thumbs up. "Won't let that get me down anymore. Ya can believe it."

That is good.

=

The path Galgomon is taking… it is not logical.

Again the champion makes a sharp turn, avoiding a large section of light and fluffy snow and gliding towards the mountain's far side. Pile Volcamon follows him at a steady walk, as does the rest of your party… except for Thresh. Instead the BlackWarGrowlmon gives an annoyed snort and charges forward.

Something odd, or rather two odd things happen as he crosses the threshold between packed snow and the high patch of soft precipitation. Between steps, your sibling changes pace, suddenly moving as if…

Is… is he moving slowly on purpose?

You blink as Thresh starts more or less swimming through the air at one tenth his previous pace. And what's more, his very next step launches him up into the air, as if his weight had… changed…

Spirits below! He entered a gravity field!... which Galgomon avoided… ah, that is why he is here.

Before you can rescue Thresh, PileVolcamon flashes over, reaches on arm into the field and silently yanks him back by the tail. Transitioning from light gravity to normal is just as odd, with his body suddenly dropping as if something had spiked it down.

"Gragh… what's... head hurts."

"Follow Galgomon." PileVolcamon commands, uncaring of your brother's disorientation and pain.

"Urgh… sure." Thresh mumbles, before rubbing his head with a claw. Your leader doesn't so much as nod, he just flashes away again. Naturally, you move to help Thresh up, however your brother jerks himself back up the moment you get close and throws out a warning glare.

… so be it.

From that point on, you make it a point to examine the sections of land Galgomon winds his way around, looking for signs of disturbances. There's more sections where the snow has not been properly compressed, but they always vary in scale. On the opposite scale are *dips* in the land, where the cold precipitation is packed down to look as ice. In fact, there are even areas of mountain range that look to be just be covered in ice itself.

Indeed, you're so focused on observing the ground, that you nearly miss out on the incoming wall of rolling white. Distant, ever-rising pillars in the distance vanish, replaced by glimmering, torrential snow and screeching winds. The ice-storm rumbles forward at a dazzling pace, rushing over from the horizon and enveloping row after row of mountains.

Spirits below, at that speed… mayhaps it shall overcome us in a minute?

Initially your thoughts go to whether it would be possible to simply ignore the incoming blizzard and continue on, but considering how thick it looks… any navigation would be impossible once inside.

More than that however, avoidance… well it doesn't look possible either barring running straight up into the air and hoping for the best. Considering the storm's sheer width, stretching out as far as you can see, trying to go around might as well be impossible even for a mon with your speed. Outrunning it might be possible, however with all the gravity distortions around that may in fact be a poor idea.

As it draws ever closer, you sigh and drop to the mountainside, ready to just wait it out. However a thought comes to your mind. While you won't have trouble surviving whatever it is that's coming, there's a champion in your group that's not nearly so hardy.

However upon glancing towards Galgomon, you fin the champion mysteriously missing… and In his place is a large hole with two outlines that look suspiciously like his ears.

"Oi! Shouldn't ya be orderin' us to do something?!" Sparks demands waving his arm at PileVolcamon. "Hey! Beltbuckle I'm talkin' to ya!"

But the onyx cyborg ignores his cries entirely, merely throwing him a cursory glance before striding confidently forward.

"Wisemon! Cease prattling and find cover!" Fonte bellows, yanking your friend back by his hood. Sparks grunts unhappily, but nonethless follows her command… by flying behind you. Not all that unexpected now that you think about it.



"When the path is lost!' PileVolcamon suddenly proclaims, pointing up towards the encroaching storm.

Is he... attempting to converse with it?

"When the winter is dire!" PileVolcamon continues, forcefully crossing his arms into an *X* shape. It's only then that you notice his aura surging, like the cyborg's spirit is boiling inside his body. "Then frost shall taste my..." With that the deadly blizzard washes over him, hiding him from sight… but not from your spirit sense. In that single moment before the avalanche of weather washes over the rest of you, his power surges.

"Volcanic Driver!" And just like that, the world explodes.

PileVolcamon's aura becomes all encompassing, all consuming. Your eye slams shut as the sheer brightness becomes overwhelming, your body shakes, not from emotion, but from the force being exerted upon the server.

When your eyes open again, it's to the sight of two slanted titanic pillars of fire extending from the Mega, conjoining at his shoulders to form a *V* shape. Of the blizzard you see no sign.

He… d-deleted it? The storm?

Even as you watch, one of the slowly fading blasts crashes through mountain after mountain… boring a hole straight through each of them and growing slightly smaller with each hit. You count twenty-six in total before the fire finally fades.

"Hey Verge."

"... yes Sparks."

"Let's not piss him off, ya got it?"

"Mhrm. That sounds… wise."

That is the power of a Mega… By the Great Tree! And he's weaker than Leopardmon… can… can you gain that much power Verge? Yes, you will. And more.

=

Traveling is… quieter after that. After seeing PileVolcamon kill a storm like that even Thresh seems more contemplative than normal. Galgomon continues the lead the column forward, dodging fields of gravity, until finally the sun dips below the horizon.

"Let's not move in darkness yeah? Would be stupid ta lose one of ya in the lava."

"There's lava/friggen' lava here?!" Sparks and Pandamon shout, earning a nod from the champion.

"Happens in the night yeah? Ya think all those mountains just grew themselves?"

Interesting.

"Where are we making camp?" PileVolcamon questions expectantly.

"Let's see…" Galgomon pauses to scan the surroundings, then perks up. "Right here! This one's pretty new, ya can tall cause'a tha plants." He explains, lightly prodding a sapling with his left gun-arm. "They don't always hold up yeah? So be careful when ya sleep."

As he finishes explaining, another explosion rocks the air, and not from PileVolcamon. Whirling around towards the sound, you're met by the sight of… what looks like red and black goo rising up over the remains of yet another destroyed mountain. More and more such *lava* formations rise with every moment, lighting up the night in a constant ruckus of noise and color.

Ah, yes. Mayhaps making camp would be wise, I'm unsure if the others could survive falling into one of those.

===That night: (Choose One)

[] Do some more (light) Sparring with Fonte, dueling Thresh is still out of the picture here, so at least this way you further hone your skills before sleep. (Stat+Skill Gain)

[] Now that you've camped out, this could be the perfect time to delve deeper into what happened between Sparks and Weddingmon… from the latter's side.

[] You've still got one spell left to study. Holy Barrier Enclose can at least going by the description, stop Mega-Level attacks if you feed it enough power. Which could be useful.

[] The trio of Panjyamon, Pandamon and BlueMeramon are a mystery, you're curious as to why they're here with you.

=AN: As a note: PileVolcamon is a bit of a showoff.