Let's reach 250 Power Stones for an extra chapter
***
The bomb timer blinked relentlessly. 00:10:00 shifted to 00:09:59 amid the substation's incessant humming grids. Transformers whined overhead, sparks cascading like erratic fireworks.
Kyubimon crouched low. Blue flames crackled fiercely along her fur. Her nine tails fanned wide, whipping heat into swirling eddies.
Apemon reared up suddenly. It snarled with primal fury, bone club hoisted high overhead.
Both beasts lunged simultaneously.
Kyubimon spun into Dragon Wheel. A fiery vortex erupted around her body. Flames roared outward in a blazing cyclone.
Apemon swung its Mega Bone Stick downward. The massive club descended like a falling monolith.
CRASH.
Their attacks collided mid-air. The shockwave rippled violently through the substation. Struts shook loose from the ceiling. Concrete chunks plummeted, shattering on the grated floor below.
Gwen darted toward the bomb panel. Her Digi-Boots gripped the catwalks securely. Metal screeched under her boots as she vaulted a railing.
Marcus intercepted her path abruptly. He lunged from the shadows, tactical knife drawn swiftly. His scarred face twisted in grim determination beneath the hood.
Gwen twisted mid-stride. She blocked his strike with her forearm. Pain flared hot through her arm, but she countered with a sharp elbow to his ribs.
Marcus grunted. He pressed forward relentlessly, shoving her back against a humming console. Sparks bit at their clothes.
Apemon bellowed again. It charged Kyubimon anew, club dragging furrows in the floor.
Kyubimon leaped aside gracefully. Her tails lashed Onibidama fireballs. They detonated against Apemon's flank, scorching golden fur black.
The timer ticked mercilessly. 00:09:42. Grids overloaded nearby, lights flickering wildly. Loose struts groaned, threatening collapse.
Gwen kneed Marcus hard in the gut. He staggered, but gripped her Digivice arm tightly. The parallel threats ignited fully—beasts clashing in spectacle, bomb counting down doom.
Marcus whirled from the shadows. His tactical mask remained impassive. He drew the concealed pistol with fluid precision.
Bullets spat toward Gwen. They ricocheted off struts violently. PING-PING-PING.
She dove desperately behind transformer housing. Sparks erupted from near-misses, scorching the air sharply.
"Stay back," Marcus warned curtly. His voice cut through the din like ice.
Gwen peeked out defiantly. "I won't let you blow it."
He advanced methodically, boots clanging on metal grates. The timer blinked 00:09:15. Kyubimon's flames roared distantly, clashing against Apemon's bone strikes.
Gwen scanned her surroundings quickly. She yanked a loose conduit free. Electricity arced wildly as she hurled it toward him.
Marcus sidestepped nimbly. The live wire whipped across his path, forcing him to flatten against a panel. Blue arcs danced menacingly.
She exploited the gap boldly. Gwen lunged forward, Digi-Boots gripping slick catwalks. Her fingers brushed the bomb panel.
Apemon's roar shook the structure violently. Struts groaned overhead. Marcus recovered swiftly, pistol rising again.
Gwen isolated now, heart pounding fiercely. The predator closed in relentlessly.
Gwen's eyes darted across the sparking panels and tangled cables overhead. She yanked a loose conduit free with both hands. Electricity crackled along its length as she whipped it toward Marcus's gun hand.
The pistol flew from his grip. It clattered into the shadows below the catwalk.
She surged forward aggressively. Her NYPD-trained jab snapped at his jaw. The hook followed sharply to his ribs. She drove an elbow toward his throat.
Marcus parried with military fluidity. His forearm blocked the jab cleanly. He twisted inside her hook and caught her elbow mid-strike.
"You hit like a rookie," Gwen taunted breathlessly. "Scared of a girl?"
"I've crushed skulls in worse spots than this, kid." Marcus growled low. His free hand clamped her wrist like iron.
He yanked her off-balance roughly. Gwen stumbled, her shoulder slamming into a console. Pain flared hot through her arm.
She twisted free desperately and fired a knee upward. Marcus absorbed it against his thigh. He countered with a brutal palm strike to her chest.
Air exploded from her lungs. Gwen reeled back, gasping against the railing. The timer blinked 00:08:47. Marcus loomed closer, pinning her advantage.
Kyubimon leaped onto a transformer housing. Her tails lashed wildly, summoning Onibidama. Blue-fire orbs hurtled forward in a blazing barrage.
The orbs detonated against Apemon's golden fur. Explosions ripped through the air with thunderous cracks. Sparks showered downward in metallic ricochets, scorching the grated floor beneath.
Apemon roared ferociously, fur hardening into jagged spikes. It unleashed Angry Spike. A barrage of metallic quills shredded nearby struts violently.
Debris rained in heavy cascades. Transformers whined in protest, their casings buckling under the assault.
Kyubimon growled deeply, coiling for the counterstrike. She spun into Dragon Wheel, flames erupting into a roaring fiery dragon that engulfed Apemon completely.
The beast bellowed in rage. Apemon shattered the inferno with Bone Strike. Its club pulverized a central pillar in a deafening crash.
Ceiling chunks plummeted chaotically. Shadows danced wildly amid the collapsing steel.
Sirens pierced the fury suddenly. Police cruisers screeched into the perimeter, floodlights sweeping the chaos. Officers piled out, weapons drawn, swinging the tide as Apemon whirled toward the new threat.
NYPD cruisers screeched to a halt outside the substation. Sirens wailed piercingly through the night, bathing the chaos in pulsing red and blue.
"Target the monkey! Open fire!" the lead officer bellowed from his door, pistol raised high.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.
Bullets peppered Apemon's metallic fur. They pinged harmlessly off its hardened spikes, drawing only shallow scratches. The beast recoiled slightly, snarling in irritation as officers flanked from behind lines, harassing its flanks relentlessly.
Kyubimon seized the moment. Her nine tails whipped forward in a blazing lash. Blue flames erupted, slamming into Apemon's chest with explosive force.
BOOM.
Apemon staggered backward heavily, club scraping sparks across the grated floor. The opportunistic strike bought precious seconds amid the frenzy.
"Hostiles down—keep suppressing!" an officer radioed sharply, voice crackling over comms.
"Copy—more units inbound!"
Apemon shook off the barrage defiantly. Its red eyes locked back on Kyubimon, ignoring the human pests. It charged anew, bone club raised for a crushing overhead swing.
Gwen glimpsed the shift from her pinned spot. Marcus pressed harder, knife glinting dangerously close. The timer blinked 00:08:22. External pressure mounted, but the villains adapted swiftly, complicating every desperate move.
Apemon's fur hardened instantly into a spiked shield. Jagged barbs gleamed under flickering lights as it braced squarely.
Kyubimon unleashed Koenryū. She spun rapidly, blue flames coiling into a roaring dragon that surged forward hungrily.
ROARRR!
The flame-dragon slammed against the shield viciously. Sparks exploded outward in blinding cascades. Heat warped nearby struts, but Apemon held firm, unscathed.
"Grraaah!" Apemon bellowed triumphantly.
It retaliated with Magical Monkey Punch. Fists blurred into a feral barrage, cratering the platform beneath Kyubimon deeply. Concrete shattered violently, fissures racing toward the bomb console.
Kyubimon flipped evasively, tails whipping a cluster of Onibidama. Fire orbs bombed the air relentlessly, forcing Apemon to leap high. Its smash-quake upon landing buckled the catwalk further, hurling debris at Gwen and Marcus.
Marcus shoved Gwen aside roughly. "Not yet!"
Kyubimon rode a blue-flame vortex, circling Apemon predatorily. The beast snatched her tail mid-spin, yanking savagely. Kyubimon crashed into a overhead strut with bone-jarring force.
CRASH!
CRUNCH.
Struts groaned perilously, the timer flashing 00:08:05. Sparks rained like deadly confetti, igniting fuel puddles below.
Marcus pinned Gwen against the sparking panel. His iron grapple twisted her arm behind her back viciously. A precise knee hammered her ribs, military training overwhelming her frantic blocks.
She struggled fiercely. An elbow counter glanced off his shoulder. Her boot stamped his instep hard.
Bruises darkened her skin instantly. Breath rasped ragged from her throat.
"You're finished," Marcus growled dominantly.
"Not yet," Gwen gasped defiantly.
Gwen's desperation ignited raw fury. She clenched her fists tightly. Digital energy surged into her Digi-Gloves, humming with volatile power that vibrated through her veins.
[DIGI-GLOVES: FULL CHARGE]
She twisted sharply against Marcus's iron grip. Her right glove slammed into his chest squarely. Digital force erupted outward in a blinding shockwave.
CRASH!
Marcus hurtled backward violently. He cratered through the concrete wall in a rubble explosion, shards flying like shrapnel. He crashed amid twisted metal panels, stunned and winded, chest heaving raggedly.
"Yes!" Gwen shouted triumphantly, surging forward with heroic fire in her eyes.
***
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