Prologue: No Place I'd Rather Bee

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ ENTER KATSURO ]

"Buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz..." The FlyBeemon chided idly to himself as he spread his wings and hovered no more than four feet above the ground for no apparent purpose. The Vale Highlands in summer were a sight to be beheld; the hills rolled for miles, bearing that delectable emerald grass which swayed gently in the soft winds of the digital south.

There he stood for a short while and pondered, casting his vigilant gaze there out over the hills and down toward the rising horizon brimming over the visible inches of coast. It was an early, crisp, summer morning, and warmer than he expected it to be, at that. He stood there, and for a minute, in his own mind, became the only of nature's sentinels present; the only one in existence, as far as he was concerned.

There he stood; Katsuro Hachi, in his sprite hybrid form, the superhero Osuzumebachi watching over the world, alone; if only for but a fraction of a moment.

[Gallatin]

Taking in the sun of the disgusting Digital World, a titan in crippled armor walked up the hill. His cape blood red, his armor rusted, his existence terrifying. And as he walked, three more figures appeared next to him from the ether. At first, they silently strode across the plains, but then they stopped. Happy Digimon playing, not a care in the world. His announcement appeared to have had no impact here. Rustmon raised a clawed, armored hand and pointed it, palm open, at the disgusting happy cretins. "Destroy them." With that simple command, the three armored duplicates of himself nodded and quickly jumped to action.


In one disgusting action, the trio launched a barrage of black orbs into the air. The orbs spun around momentarily, allowing those about to be massacred to view a glorious dance of lights before they would be snuffed out from existence. And, in one foul shot, all of the orbs slammed into the hills, showering down like a bloody meteor storm and eradicating some of the Digimon and causing the others to flee in fear. Bits and pieces of Digimon flew into the air before disappearing into bursts of data like they had never existed in the first place. The panic, the terror, the horrifying sight, all granted to the pleasure of Rustmon, who laughed manically as this light show ended. "Good. Let the survivors learn their place. Soon they will kneel to me..."

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ TROUBLE! ]

His silent vigil lasted but a moment; a dull thud resonated throughout this particular slice of the highlands, and there was a particularly shrill scream which split the open morning. "That sounds like a minor to moderate infraction of the law!" Katsuro thought to himself, taking to the winds with immediate urgency.

The apparent crisis had only resonated from a short distance away; and by the time Katsuro was even halfway there, the screams had faded into silence. He arrived atop the hill, a small, silver-tipped figure in red armour, a worn crest of knowledge upon his steel visor. There were four of them; three, clearly subordinate in their apparent fealty, but all were wrought of crumbling black armor. The stench of desecration was upon the air; a red cape billowed out behind the ringleader. There was obvious evil here.

"Where did those screams come from?!" Katsuro shouted with an undertone of accusations. Hopefully these were the criminals at large.

[Gallatin]

Rustmon basked in the destruction momentarily, breathing in the stench of postmortem decay immediately after death. Such a lovely stench. His arms spread out as the burnt land stopped smoking, granting him a small chuckle. A dark humor, he found, in the waste he had created. And then his peace was interrupted by a literal run of an insect. He turned around, glaring through his armor at the fly that decided to partake on the gory glory. "I see we have a survivor that decided to remain... You're weak... Not worthy of my time. However, I commend your courage. I will entertain you." Rustmon snapped his fingers, prompting one of his offshoots to stand between himself and Katsuro. With a short chuckle, Rustmon turned around and began to head toward the direction of the nearest town. "Make sure to bring me proof of this one's death. Always turn the courageous ones into a trophy, it keeps others from following suit." 

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ THERE WILL BE... VIOLENCE ]

"Shit." He murmured,It was only a moment before Katsuro realised the apparent gravity of his situation. There were four of them; they were all substantially larger than himself, and, from what he could blindly divine from the integrated D-Tector scanner, Champion-level. The Code of the Osuzumebachi he agreed to in the spiritual contract was still fresh in his mind.

"You there," He pointed at the one quivering giant who was standing between himself at the ringleader. He would deal with the other three later, he had concluded. This infraction would have to take precedence. "You and your cohorts have one chance to cease your... evil-doings... for good and give yourselves up, or there will be... violence!" The Osuzumebachi thrust an accusatory and clearly inexperienced insectoid digit towards the offshoot as the other three began to disappear over the nearest hilll.

"Will you take this offer of mercy?" His voice rung youthful but unwavering.

[Gallatin]

The enigma stood there a moment longer, staring down the armored bee with a gaze cast forth from the damned. And then, in one swift motion, it jumped, knee outstretched, toward the bee, landing just before it before sidestepping behind it. With one palm outstretched toward the back of its head, the offshoot declared "Rust Cannon!" From the palm of its hand, a black orb began to form, one that radiated with power, one exactly like the others that appeared just moments before. Without even a secondary thought, the offshoot launched the ball of destructive power at the bee's head.

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ THE SWARM RISES ]

Katsuro was ready to continue his tirade towards the ringleader when one of his subordinates expressed that it would be enough, leaping through the air in a single, fluid motion to land before him. Pre-empting an immediate melee strike instead of a sidestep, he launched his body weight downwards off the crest of the hill, trying to skid out of melee range.

The FlyBeemon form, however, was agile; and smaller than Katsuro's own human form, with less of the cumbersome bothers of unnecessary flesh and limbs. FlyBeemon was fluid, mobile, and aerodynamic, whereas Katsuro was clunky, heavy, and fleshy in comparison. That said, he was still not accustomed to the movement particulars of this newfound embodiment; and his erstwhile evasion resulted in him sliding down the hill with great acceleration.

The Rust Cannon attack skimmed past him as this begun, the orb grazing his shoulder and sending lances of hot, awful pain through his silvery pauldrons and leaving ashen marks behind. Katsuro gritted his teeth and cast his arms upwards towards the offshoot as he fell.

"SWARM!" He buzzed; and from his otherwise-sleek armour, compartments began to rise, letting loose his horde of silvery nanoinsects upon the decoy. In moments they unified, a wave-like lance flowing through the air at great speed, electricity crackling and arcing between them. Within moments, they surrounded the evildoer, ready to inflict damage and impede his movement, perhaps at a lesser degree than Katsuro was used to thanks to the nature of the decoy as being a Champion-level mirage.

At the bottom of the slope, the FlyBeemon skidded to a halt on level turf and regained his foothold on the hill's bank.

ATTACKS USED: SWARM
HIVEMIND STACKS: 4

[Gallatin]

The offshoot stood in place as the bees surrounded it, allowing them to chip away at it as a piece of its armor fell off of its chest, revealing a hallow darkness. It quickly grabbed the armor piece and declared "Inverted Sword..." The armor piece glowed for a brief moment before reshaping itself as a black sword. He slashed a single time at the electronic insects, just enough to clear some space for him to be able to begin his slow walk toward his target. "Ye who have defied the word of Lord Rustmon... Ye guilty..." it chanted, speaking those words repeatedly as it walked toward Katsuro, its movement being impeded by the insects he had unleashed. "For those who know not true terror simply have not faced His wrath. For His wrath is holy, His word is just, and His belief is true. All who disobey Lord Rustmon by not removing their lives from this world are simply waiting for the inevitable."




INVERTED SWORD: 2 ATTACKS LEFT

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIFYING ]

"All who disobey Lord Rustmon by not removing their lives from this world are simply waiting for the inevitable."

It was advancing. Rustmon; was that their leader? For a simple subordinate, this particular mook looked quite a lot like the ringleader. Katsuro felt something a little more foul than he had further anticipated at play here; there was something rotten in the air, a stenchless and invisible sense of foreboding. The Digital World was ever-shifting.

"Nothing is inevitable, and everything can be changed," The FlyBeemon buzzed angrily in response; his philosophical reply was less-than-impressive, and not nearly as grandiose and fortuitous a speech as the Rustmon-decoy had been. But the dynamics of the battle were, as far as he could tell, on his side -- the Swarm was still slowing the titan mouthpiece down, sword or no sword, and there was a great big armourless hole where the nanomachines had started doing his work for him. Katsuro shot upwards into the air, hovering for stature.

"Everybody, all across this land," Katsuro had obviously felt like a single line of his speech wouldn't be enough as a retort. "We all possess the absolute freedom, or beedom, to do exactly as we please. And you are nobody to take that digital right away from us, you buzzkill!" He began to prepare an attack plan mentally. The decoy was moving slowly, advancing in a straight line, impeded by the nanite horde. "And I, the fearless Osuzumebachi, will see to it that your ploys and schemes and... such... end right here, right now!" He shot forwards without any further warning, carving through the air above the slope, thrumming like a chainsaw gilded red-and-silver.

"LIGHTNING STINGER!" The strength of the Spirit of the Hive was growing in him; he could feel it. He was moving faster, his armour grew tighter and stronger around him. He blasted in a strafing run over the rust-lackey unleashing a barrage of electrically-charge stinger tips not unlike automatic fire, peppering the general area with dozens. Several of them, even, were on target. Katsuro felt an iota of pride swell within. He was getting more accurate.

He ground his acceleration to a halt and pivoted mid-air, his wingbeats timed and precise as he watched the lumbering titan beneath the firestorm he had unleashed.

ATTACKS USED: LIGHTNING STINGER
HIVEMIND STACKS: 5

[Gallatin]

As the dust settled, one would have thought that the offshoot had been destroyed in the attack. But, no. It walked out of the remaining dust cloud, more pieces of its armor breaking off and revealing the nothingness within. It grabbed another piece of fallen armor and made the same declaration, "Inverted Sword..." The second piece of armor transformed into the same black sword, giving the armored titan two weapons. It glared at the flying insect, red eyes that could shatter Satan's soul with a gaze that calmed a child's constantly ignited fear. "Rust Armor Reformation!" it hissed as a chunk of the armor on the ground turned into data, which was promptly absorbed by the offshoot, sprouting into new armor on its body. Once more, it walked toward Katsuro, this time pointing its two swords at the young wannabee hero. "Your fate has been handed down to you by providence. It is your destiny to die here by my hand. Be grateful to Lord Rustmon that your death will be a quick one if you surrender now."


The offshoot knelt down for a quick moment before jumping toward the insect-clad being, flipping his swords to their bladed sides. It slashed at the young whelp with both blades, trying to use jumping power to negate the speed debuff cast down onto it. "SURRENDER!" it decreed with a hiss.



INVERTED SWORD 1: 1 ATTACK LEFT
INVERTED SWORD 2: 2 ATTACKS LEFT
RUST ARMOR REFORMATION: 4 TURNS LEFT

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ THE SHOW MUST GO ON ]

It was damaged; he could see that much as it stepped out of the dust and smog, the hill now torn, shredded, and littered with pieces of rusting armour, a testament to just the beginning phases of their battle. Katsuro grunted to himself, before raising an eyebrow as it shouted something concerning a reformation and began, apparently, reabsorbing discarded data. This was going to be even less easy than he had thought.

"SURRENDER!" It cried, launching itself upwards to slash at him with no warning; as agile and well-defended as the Spirit of the Hive had left him, this time, the decoy's attack caught Katsuro by surprise and landed. With all the strength of a Champion-level clone it caught the insectoid's thorax, launching him across the southern pastures at great speed and knocking him into a bank opposite. The earth tore open once more in a small, FlyBeemon-shaped crater, the cloud of silt fading as he began to slide down the other hill. Their battle was spreading as it scarred the Highlands.

He was disoriented and in pain, struggling to get to his feet; all the reflexes and agility in the world would not have saved him from a surprise attack like that. Katsuro doubled over in the makeshift valley between the two. After a direct hit like that, the additional boon of resilience the spirit had granted him was all, he would have wagered, that left him standing. He teetered and stumbled, his vision blurry, the clone a distant black stick on the horizon.

"N-no chance, buzz," His sight stabilized after a few moments, but the implications were clear. Another strike like that, and he would be done for. The Osuzumebachi had bitten off a real chunk this time, and it was proving far harder than he had anticipated to chew. He tried to take to the wind, managing just to hover and aim his body towards the enemy. "L...Lightning Stinger!" He could fire only one this time, its charge potent enough and his aim steady and true; but after that, his wings buckled and his body gave way, sending Katsuro back down to the ground once more.

Things were looking bleak.

ATTACKS USED: LIGHTNING STINGER
HIVEMIND STACKS: 6

[Gallatin]

"O, Lord Rustmon. Forgive me, for I have forsaken you and acted in a way that is shameful to your name," the offshoot spoke as the bee's attack took off his shoulder armor. The armor hit the ground, only to be turned to data, reabsorbed, and reformed. The walking armor began its forward movement toward the falling insect, all the while crying out due to sheer shame. "I have taken too long to eradicate this feeble life. It is entirely my sin to bear, for I knowingly and with great disgust have wasted so much time that could have been better spent SLAUGHTERING THE MASSES!" With that decree, the offshoot jumped, aiming its weakened sword at the FlyBeemon's head. The sword shattered like glass, the sheer force of the swing slamming the armor-clad youth to the ground with enough power to bring his conscious state into question. "For it is I, your lamb, your servant, A MERE SHADOW TO YOUR EXCELLENCE!" Raising both hands up to the sky dramatically, the offshoot knelt down near Katsuro's seemingly unconscious body. "IT IS I WHO, THROUGH THIS SACRIFICE, BEG FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS! HELP ME, NOBLE ONE, TO RESTORE MY PRIDE! MY DISGUSTING, GLUTTONOUS PRIDE! I BESEECH THEE!" The offshot cried out to the heavens, begging an invisible force to end its suffering, offering its prey as martyr.



INVERTED SWORD: 2 ATTACKS LEFT

RUST ARMOR REFORMATION: 3 TURNS LEFT

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ 110110001001 ]

When he saw the decoy advancing, at first, his vision was woozy; he saw the stinger bounce off, taking another armour plate with it that regenerated immediately. There was no chance, then, he would be able to defend himself, when his only warning of the offshoot's advance was swiftly-loudening gothic ramblings before he landed directly in front of him, the impact alone nearly toppling Katsuro. By the time he felt the brittle old metal of the blade shatter against his head, it was all too late.

Katsuro fell.

"IT IS I... SACRIFICE... FORGIVENESS..." The words were fading in and out. Glimpses of blue, white clouds amid them. He felt himself autonomously raise a hand and tried to snatch for them. They looked so peaceful. "...HELP... ONE... PRIDE..." Katsuro wondered what it would be like, if just for a moment, to be a cloud. "...GLUTTONOUS PRIDE!" That was all he could muster before his vision failed a final time, and all he let out was a single, weak buzz as the offshoot's prayer reached full circle. "I BESEECH THEE!" Oblivion took him.

The warmth rising from his core, he assumed, was just a slow descent into defeat, rebirth, and possible deletion. If he died in this form, would he be returned as a human, having failed whatever quest he had been blessed with these powers for? Or would he just simply die, and slip into the afterlife, forgotten, as he had been now? The warmth was rising, almost lashing out at the pain and exhaustion in his limbs. It made him wary, and almost become aware of some kind of... burst of awakening surging through him.

His eyes fluttered open. A bright light began to shine.

1100100010101010110100110001011

ARMOR DIGIVOLUTION

00100011110010101110101110101

He felt himself forced to his feet, momentarily ignorant of and invincible against the rusting titan he had been set upon by. He felt his limbs extend, his spine arch and crack as it was broken and reform. His hands grew weighty; his head began to contort and extend, the armour giving way around his mouth to reveal an insectoid snout without pincers or proboscis. His wings move, shifted aflame, and he felt the colour of his scales and his armour brighten, as if they were being licked at by a rising flame -- the same kind of heat that had risen within him not moments ago.

A renewed sense of fire; within, something wakening alongside. A renewed sense of vigilance. He knew himself this form's new name and it fell upon his tongue without his own control.

"Shadramon." The light faded. His wings twitched, the supple black musculature of his shoulders folding seamlessly into those great, paper-thin stretches of flaming sinew. "I'm sorry," He rose one of the cracked edges of his gauntlet, nonchalantly picking at his scalp. "I think I interrupted you, there."

ATTACKS USED:
HIVEMIND STACKS: 7

[Gallatin]

The offshoot turned around while Katsuro transformed, ignorant of the sudden evolution going on behind him. "I HAVE BEEN CURSED BY MY SIN, PLEASE FREE ME-" As his speech began anew, it was promptly interrupted by a voice behind him. Once more, the accursed armor turned around, this time face-to-face with a different Digimon. The corpse of the other one had disappeared. "You... Where is my sacrifice to Lord Rustmon? WHERE IS IT?! IF I DON'T PRESENT AN OFFERING TO LORD RUSTMON, I WILL BE PUNISHED! WHERE IS IT?!" The offshoot began going berserk, its hard breathing coming out raspy from its armor. It began flailing its free hand, roaring with a rage that one would confuse for Santa Claus coming out two days late to deliver presents after a weekend of binge watching "Friends" and eating shitty pizza.

"YOU STOLE MY PREY, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!" the offspring declared, jumping away from Shadramon and pointing its palm at the burning moth. "I'll have you get a taste of the RUST CANNON!" With that declaration, a dark blast shot out from the offspring's palm, aiming for Shadramon's head at great speed.

[Katsuro Hachi]

[ I AM THE HUNGRY SHARK ]

"IF I DON'T PRESENT AN OFFERING TO LORD RUSTMON, I WILL BE PUNISHED! WHERE IS IT?!" Punished? What was he talking about? The more and more this mook spoke, the more and more Katsuro found himself confused by this entire Rustmon affair. Did it go deeper, further than he had anticipated? Certainly seemed that way. "YOU STOLE MY PREY, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!" It was enraged now; roaring, flailing.

All of a sudden the chinks in its armour had been revealed, now he had become rejuvenated. These... creatures, offspring or vanguards of this 'Rustmon' -- he was getting some kind of other signal from them than a normal Digimon's metadata -- whilst they were formidable offensively, they had a weakness: their very subordination. Exploiting the relationship between master and servant, even inadvertently, had driven this decoy into a rage. And rage, Katsuro knew, rage like this, he could exploit. "I'll have you get a taste of the RUST CANNON!"

It gave little warning, but warning enough; he felt the Hive flutter at his back, the greater alacrity it had provided him with a boon to his reflexes, a twitch, a signal to move far earlier than he would have normally had. He darted to the left and the blast skimmed past him, shaving an inch or two off his newly-grown torso armour, singing it as it went. He winced for a moment.

"I did not steal your prey, you fool," There was venom in his voice now, a poison, a sting, an edge that had not been there before as FlyBeemon. With no further ado, Shadramon launched himself upwards into the sky with extraordinary swiftness, and began beating his wings. "I am your prey." He hovered, now; but they continued to flap behind him, solid turning to a blur, the wicked burning patterns almost seeming to turn to liquid flame upon the wind. "But you will have no more prey," A light begun to shine underneath the beating sun, the combination of both hopefully dazzling the offshoot. "And I will not leave you alive to return to be punished!"

[ INITIATE BATTLE THEME ]

"ULTRASOUND MIMICRY!" When the Shadramon emerged from beneath the sunlight, he was not one, but five; they dispersed, equidistant, and landed at their five points around the Rustmon, forming a pentagon. Four were false; but the images were perfect, and they could shift, move, and dodge, as Katsuro could, with the same deft speed -- as far as anyone could tell, they were all indistinct from one another.

"For it is my..." The words spilled forth unto wind from five different mouths. "...duty today..." Left... "...to be..." Right... "...the one..." In front... "...who punishes." Behind.

ATTACKS USED: ULTRASOUND MIMICRY
HIVEMIND STACKS: 9