The mechanical soldiers' concentrated fire turned the waves of charging Woodmon into mulch. Missiles and lasers rained down in sheets—far more than Woodmon could ever withstand. In short order, only a handful remained, and those began to flee.
In the Digital World, filth-type Digimon are usually considered the weakest—but the sudden-variant Digimon Garbagemon, born when trash on a desktop somehow gained life and evolved, rewrote that rule. Unlike Sukamon, which mutates from residual data, Garbagemon is literal garbage. Its trash can is like a black hole; anything it sucks in vanishes from the Digital World without a trace. Its signature finisher is the nastiest of barrages—"Dogshit Rocket"—fired from a rocket launcher jury-rigged out of empty cans. Disgusting, but undeniably effective.
Rank upon rank, the Garbagemon leveled their launchers and lobbed steaming salvos at Lillymon and the others. The attacks weren't all that strong—but the gross-out factor alone made them a nightmare. Lillymon's squad dared not even try to block and could only weave away; get spattered, and… ugh.
Angewomon and MagnaAngemon were fine—they could fly. Zudomon, though, couldn't. With that huge frame and no wings, he was the perfect sitting target. When the Garbagemon realized they couldn't tag the angels, they shifted all fire to Zudomon.
Boom—boom—
Zudomon watched the "Dogshit Rockets" splat across his armor and couldn't dodge. That did it.
"Hammer Spark!" He swung his great hammer in a furious arc, smashing into the Garbagemon mob. A swath went down on the spot; the rest broke ranks and scattered in a panic. Still fuming, Zudomon charged after them, while Angewomon and the others pounced.
"Heaven's Arrow!" "Flower Cannon!" "Excalibur!"
The remaining Garbagemon fell one after another, dissolving into data. One survivor popped up from inside its can, flipped it to face the fliers, and the bin began to howl—sucking air like a vortex. Angewomon and the others tensed into the gale, barely holding position. Zudomon, with his bulk, could still plant his feet. But tiny, feather-light Lillymon spun helplessly toward the opening.
The Garbagemon cackled, angling the can. "Die! This baby's bottomless!"
"Heaven's Arrow!" Angewomon fired the instant she saw Lillymon about to be swallowed—but the hurricane tugged the arrow off course and dragged it straight into the can, where it vanished without a trace.
"Ah—!" Lillymon shrieked as she pinwheeled closer.
"Lillymon!" Mimi cried, watching her partner getting sucked in.
"Shadow Wing!" A keening rush split the air behind the Garbagemon. It staggered, the can's suction cutting off as it slipped from numb fingers. The Garbagemon's body split and burst into data; the fallen can winked out too. Lillymon snapped her wings, shot skyward, and only then patted her modest chest with a shaky sigh of relief.
Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon had finished off Cherrymon and spotted Lillymon in trouble; they'd arrived just in time.
Elsewhere, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon had engaged Puppetmon's giant wooden effigy. Puppetmon hid inside the contraption, directing it as it traded blows with the two Megas.
Panels opened across WarGreymon's frame, exposing dark launch ports—"Firestorm!" MetalGarurumon's bays popped as well, and he unleashed "Grace Cross Freezer!"
The wooden colossus lived the phrase "from fire into ice." WarGreymon's Firestorm hammered it—and then MetalGarurumon's Grace Cross Freezer flash-froze it solid.
"Move! I said move!" Puppetmon pounded the console, but the iced-over machine couldn't respond.
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon shared a glance and nodded. "Tyranno Sword!" "Garuru Blade!" Blade and blade bit deep, carving two gouges into the effigy. But the construct felt no pain; unless a joint was hit, damage barely affected its motion.
Creak—crack— The ice sloughed from its mechanisms. With a grinding heave, the giant wrenched free; shards rained down, and it began to move again.
The moment it did, its right fist pistoned for WarGreymon. WarGreymon flared the Brave Shield on his left forearm and met the blow head-on. The impact hurled him back through tree after tree before he tumbled to a stop. The colossus raised its left foot and stamped down. WarGreymon crossed both arms and caught it—but the sheer weight bore him down, the strain threatening to crush his guard.
"Garuru Cannon!" A shell from MetalGarurumon cracked against the wooden head; the jolt made the giant stagger back a few steps. WarGreymon took the opening and sprang free.
The thing's defense was absurd. Even if they hurt it, unless they clipped a joint the effect was negligible.
It swung both arms at the fliers. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon split to either side. WarGreymon dove low, slipped past a sweeping arm, and slashed the right knee joint with the Tyranno Sword. The giant dropped to one knee—and couldn't make the leg respond. "Up! Get up!" Puppetmon hammered the controls, but the effigy only shuddered and failed to rise. MetalGarurumon seized the chance and cleaved the other knee joint with the Garuru Blade. The giant pitched forward. It caught itself on both hands, but standing was out of the question.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Puppetmon raged, powerless to change the situation.
"Garuru Cannon!" "Tyranno Flame Burst!" The shell from MetalGarurumon's left arm and the mouth-blast from WarGreymon met and fused into a two-tone sphere that detonated across the effigy's back. Flames whooshed up; the wooden giant went up like a bonfire.
Soot-streaked, Puppetmon scrambled out, only to see WarGreymon waiting—and MetalGarurumon landing behind him.
"Take this! Exploding Hammer!" Puppetmon swung the hammer down at MetalGarurumon. The Garuru Blade flashed up and caught the haft—Puppetmon's grin twisted wide. "Gotcha." Light burst from the head; a spray of rounds punched into MetalGarurumon at point-blank range. The Chrome Digizoid blunted the damage, but the shockwave still flung him through a line of trees.
"Tyranno Flame Burst!" WarGreymon's shot slammed Puppetmon and sent him skidding. Then "Firestorm" rolled in, saturating the area in fire.
But amid the wall of flame, a thread of blackness twined. MetalGarurumon, limping back, stared into the blaze. Slowly, the fire was swallowed by the black. A figure stood, roared, and the flames blew out in a single breath. From the smoke strode a Digimon clad in green armor, six arrows bristling from its shoulders, a massive flight bolt rigged across its abdomen like a cannon.
Izzy's fingers rattled over his keyboard. "That's Zamielmon."
Known as "Zamielmon of the Wood," he ruled Honey Land—General of the "Great Death Star" Crossbow Corps. He could merge with grasslands and great forests to camouflage himself, commanding legions of fairy- and plant-type Digimon. Calm and methodical, he advanced situations with surgical precision—pincer attacks, mop-ups, feints, blitzes, guerrilla actions—he prosecuted any operation he wished, annihilating his foes. For such plans to succeed, he enforced an iron code of discipline, sniping disobedient subordinates in any circumstance without hesitation. He believed the key to victory lay in his own actions: while riding the front, he would perform "Headshot Snipe," blowing out enemy skulls; thrust "Arrow Stab" from the "Yatoh" in his hands; cleave with "Bow Slash" using the blades mounted to his abdomen; and use "Foot Shot" with deceptive kicks, switching between close and ranged with fluid skill. When surrounded, he unleashed "Turbulent Arrow Barrage," slashing up close with Bow Slash while filling the distance with unfailing volleys to mow foes down. Against strong or enormous enemies, he loaded the huge bolt "Indra" set in his belly and charged it to core-piercing levels—his super technique, "World Bullet."
The sight of Zamielmon emerging from fire prickled the danger sense of both WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. They fell into fighting stances.
"You two pests—time for a lesson! Turbulent Arrow Barrage!" Zamielmon bellowed. The shoulder quivers spewed shafts; every bow-limb on his body spat arrows in a relentless storm at the two Megas. WarGreymon snapped the Brave Shield wide; MetalGarurumon whirled the Garuru Blade to cut and deflect.
Zamielmon roared again, green light pouring off him and into the earth, rippling outward from his feet. Wherever the glow flowed under trees, they seemed to awaken—creaking to life and surging toward the angels who were racing in to help. The living barricade sealed the route. The trees had been flimsy before; now, fed by that green light, their trunks were iron-hard. Angewomon's Heaven's Arrow pierced one—and lodged there, unable to pass through the next. The animated trees could only lash out with lengthening branches, and the partners could still shatter a tree with a single blow—but there were too many. Fell one, and another rushed in. Endless.
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon steadied themselves and split wide, trying to flank Zamielmon.
That was when a voice rang out from afar. "Oo–oo—! Hey, DigiDestined, I'm baaaack!" The kids turned toward the sound—toward a shadow swinging through the canopy on trailing vines.
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