The digimon roared in obvious frustration, and Keramon wondered if it could even think. Maybe these 'infected', once they showed symptoms, were just too far gone and Foxsumon was doing a fool's errand. Then again, Sonia thought she saw sadness in its melting face, so it wasn't a thing Keramon could begrudge. Then the digimon's circle of flames shot up in an aura once more. Keramon saw Sonia draw back, and she could guess why: the digimon's skin was charring and bubbling in the heat. Keramon flew backwards and covered Sonia's eyes with one hand before dragging her backwards against her protests of concern for both Foxsumon and the digimon. 'Energy flow' never sounded like a good thing, and right now Keramon guessed it was a question of whether the digimon would explode or incinerate. Either way, she'd concede this one to Foxsumon. Sonia hadn't seen a digimon die yet; Keramon wanted to keep it that way.

And as Keramon dragged her partner out of the potential blast radius, the infected digimon shot off a blast of fire at Foxsumon with a loud gurgle.

Foxsumon sighed and said "Fine...have it your way" She held her blade up and the flames hit, shadows wrapping around her and her blade got longer and started glowing. The flames burst around her and then the shadows burst thru and pushed the flames away from her. She was panting, her fur smoked. She swung the blade around and said "Keramon...I need you to clear the area as much as you can...I'll try and contain the blast as much as I can..." She started building her shadows around herself and the infected Digimon.

"Can do!" Keramon cackled as she lifted her hand off of Sonia's face. Sonia shook her head and glanced to Foxsumon, rapidly vanishing from sight due to the rising barrier.

"Want me to help?" Sonia asked as she looked back to Keramon. Keramon wiggled her hand noncommittally before nodding.

"Take the north zide. I'll cover the zouth." It'd keep Sonia away from the fight at least, if something went wrong. Sonia beamed and raced to the watching crowd. Keramon darted past the fight and surveyed the area. To be honest, if reaching the south side of the road hadn't meant passing Foxsumon and the infected digimon, Keramon would've sent Sonia this way. The north side was filled with passing spectators from the festival, digimon who were planning to go elsewhere to eat, or digimon who were just flat-out done for the day - in short, quite a large crowd. Her human would have her work cut out for her. The south side, on the other hand, largely had latecomers and a handful of picnickers. Keramon could count them all on her fingers and tentacles. Oh well. Keramon raised her hands to the concerned, frightened, and downright angry digimon.

"Pleaze return in ten minutez, the road will be open by then. Go for a walk, check out our neighborz, whatever you like-" Keramon saw a Chakmon dart forward, apparently sick of waiting, and she spat a Crazy Giggle in retaliation. The attack landed right in the middle of the Chakmon's path with no damage but a startled digimon. "I do mean it." Her expression had darkened. "I don't know what'z going on either for zure, but one digimon iz probably going to die. Let'z not make it more." The few digimon didn't seem mollified by her words. Keramon waited to see who would respond next.

"Well, next town over does have a wonderful art collection in its town hall, I've heard. Maybe we could all go?" The digimon just out of sight to her left - where had he come from? Keramon had been sure no one was behind her. However, his words seemed to work. Even the frightened and annoyed Chakmon shrugged and nodded. Thank goodness. Keramon grinned and turned to express her gratitude.

She froze.

The digimon - the one closer to her, actually, of the two - tilted his head. "Well, good luck here." He began walking, the second and stranger digimon mutely following him. Keramon only managed a wave to the departing digimon. That... she needed to ask Foxsumon if infected digimon were capable of speech. That almost-Agumon reminded her of the 'Flamemon' far too much.
--
The infected digimon attempted sounds once more - now muffled and slurred as well - and struck at the rising shadows. The attack bounced off and it slid back. It turned to Foxsumon, its base still bubbling and charring, and lunged at her in what was clearly a last move of desperation.

It never made it.

Even as it got in range of her blade, the gelatinous substance making up its body fell apart. Gravity pulled the remains to earth in a green puddle of burning ooze. Fragments of two digicores - the hearts of digimon - floated on the surface.

And were promptly devoured by the next things that rose.

They were cables. As they spread out over the puddle like miniature serpents, there seemed to be half a dozen individually. On each, one end had a hook protruding over a hole that flexed and twitched every so often; the other end was a clean cut, the severing from their source. Five of the cables continued pulling in and absorbing the ooze surrounding them. One, however, stopped and coiled before leaping at Foxsumon from the ooze.

Foxsumon had been panting, raising a shadow barrier was no easy task. She watched in sadness the digimon die slowly. When the cords came up she ran forward, the barrier lowering as she pulled her blade and started to keep the cords from eating the two cores.

"Haven't you done enough!? Away with you!" Then the cord jumped at her and she cursed, falling to the ground as the cord tried to reach her chest. She caught it with her blade, barely able to keep it off of her in her drained state. She panted, her arms shaking with the pressure of the long cord.

"Can't...let it...touch me...great digimon give me some help here!"

Keramon turned at Foxsumon's shout. Oh boy. Her disquiet driven from her mind, Keramon flew at Foxsumon.

"Network Flapping!" As Keramon skidded to a halt, she slammed her tentacles down. There was a chance she'd stun Foxsumon in the process but hopefully first it'd stun... that. "What ARE thoze?" Were they part of the infection? ...maybe it wouldn't be too late to drag Sonia out of this though the odds wouldn't be in Keramon's favor once she saw the, ah, remains.

Foxsumon felt the attack hit and she went flying, the cords going flying as well. She landed hard a few feet away, her body screaming in pain. She fought to get up, seeing the cords moving to attack again. "Keramon....cut them down....fast...they strip...data codes...don't let them....touch you..." She fought to stay awake, her body shaking badly.

Well. To Keramon, that sounded like a horribly good way to stay dead forever. She didn't much fancy the idea. So time to try to avoid that while blasting the things to oblivion. She clamped her mouth shut, charging up as the cables seemed to recognize there was a prone - and thus vulnerable - digimon. Keramon could best compare their movements to a landlocked Octomon and, while their chosen style of movement was not particularly intimidating, she had already seen their effects. There was every reason to worry.

She spat the Crazy Giggle out. Though the attack wasn't homing, the slow speed of the cables and their attempts to converge on Foxsumon made them easy targets. Two were destroyed outright. Seemed like they were pretty weak outside of a digimon. The remaining three that hadn't been stunned by Keramon's initial assault writhed as the energy tore at them. Though Keramon was pleased to note the three were much shorter, only one was rendered too small to move anymore. One inched towards Keramon and the other to Foxsumon. Well, this still seemed easy enough. A Network Flapping shockwave was enough to destroy the too-short cable and the cable approaching herself. A final Crazy Giggle ended the fifth one, and Keramon exhaled a plume of smoke. "Well, that was zomething."

The sixth, stunned cable had begun to move and slither back to Foxsumon when-

"Got it!" A pink bubble formed about it mid-curling, trapping it in time. Sonia left the still-present crowd to pick up the bubble formed by her digivice. Unless she or another human willed it, it would never break. "...so-" She looked up to Foxsumon and Keramon, both plainly exhausted by their efforts (Foxsumon moreso). "-I think it's data? Maybe?"

Foxsumon got up slowly, holding her injured shoulder as she nodded. "More like adapts leach...that explains what was happening inside of that poor digimon..." She flinched, walking over to Sonia and looking at the cord inside.

"We haven't been able to get a piece of anything since this case started...the others might be able to get...something out of...it..." She had to go to one knee, breathing hard. Something more was wrong, she could sense it. But her focus wasn't holding as the other digimon came over

"Yiiikes..." Sonia eyed the bubble warily before tapping a different button on her digivice. The bubble and its contents vanished to be stored in the digivice; Sonia hoped the stasis would hold. With that taken care of, Sonia pocketed her digivice and ran over to help Foxsumon up as Keramon approached.

"The 'otherz'?" Keramon asked, managing to keep her focus after Foxsumon gave her theory on what the cable functioned as. "I prezume we'll have to deliver that thing perzonally to the 'otherz'?"

"We can talk about it later, I guess. You don't look too good." Sonia didn't sound like she was intending to insult Foxsumon, at least. "I think I can carry you back to Flawizardmon's, if you want. Or Keramon could get carryout?" Sonia missed Keramon's glare at the idea. "Either way, food's gotta help, right?"

Foxsumon shook her head, fighting to get to her feet once more. That's when the pair saw was what looked like bone or shell sticking out from her side, her fur wet with the water and now blood running down from the wound. The piece looked like it had come from when she had been hit protecting Sonia from the water attack from before. The wound around the shard was glowing as the guardian digimon said weakly "I will...find a safe way to transport the...piece...I've involved you more then my...liking..." She stumbled, feeling drained and dizzy as the world spun around her.

Foxsumon shuttered and fell to one knee again, panting. "I can't...move...what's wrong..."

"Whoa, hey!" Sonia reached forward, but didn't touch Foxsumon, in case the digimon fell over. Keramon flew over, eyeing up the fragment protruding from the fox digimon's skin.

"I think the problem iz obviouz." Keramon punctuated the statement with a chuckle clearly acting as a vocal tic instead of a sign of amusement. "It wouldn't be wize to pull it out until we know we can ztop the bleeding. But Taomon'z probably at the shrine ztill... hmmm..." Keramon seemed to be pondering their options. Sonia, however, looked like she had come up with a solution the moment Keramon said 'wise'.

"Hey, think Wizardmon could do it?" She looked down at the blood from the wound and grimaced. "Eesh." Keramon pondered.

"If not, you'll need to retrieve Taomon."

"Yeah, sure! Ready?" Sonia lifted her digivice and Keramon glowed, her outline obscured by the bright white light.

Keramon digivolve to - Wizardmon!

Wizardmon opened her eyes. "Right then." Digivolving seemed to do nothing for her odd tone or accent. "Let me zee then..." She knelt by Foxsumon's side, one hand developing a faint glow; if Foxsumon began bleeding, she could press her hand to the wound and at least superficially heal the wound. If there was internal damage, well, there would be trouble. Her other hand grabbed the fragment. "Thiz will be qu-" She didn't finish the sentence before she yanked out the piece and checked the injury.

Foxsumon howled in pain as the piece was pulled from her side, her paw going to the wound to stop bleeding. She panted, going to one knee and nodding.

"I think I'm alright...just need to wrap this up...and get that piece to Taomon...to be sure the sphere will hold it..." She cursed, sitting down as Wizardmon worked on her wound. "Must have happened when I got hit...with the water..."

The remaining crowd cringed at Foxsumon's howl, and even Sonia had to clap her hands over her ears. Wizardmon seemed unaffected as her glowing hand pressed above the wound, working on pushing Foxsumon's natural healing into overdrive and seal the torn data in seconds. It felt like a few things inside had gotten nicked by the deceptively small fragment, but nothing lethal.

"Not too bad. You'll be fine." When the wound magically sealed, Wizardmon pulled her hand away and allowed its glow to fade. "Zee? Fine." She stood and walked towards Sonia. About halfway over, her body glowed, and suddenly Keramon fell limp to the ground. "Eugh..." Though Sonia seemed dismayed by this development, she didn't look surprised.

"Right then....gonna get Taomon, be right back, just a sec-" Still rattling off reassurances, Sonia darted past the remaining digimon up to the north. Keramon managed to pushed herself onto her elbows, clearly fatigued by the effort.

"Digivolution..." She shook her head with a weak laugh and then looked to Foxsumon. "Hey, so you've seen other infecteez, right? Could any of them actually talk?" She remembered that strange digimon who had helped clear the side side of the battlefield.

Foxsumon rubbed her now healed wound and said "No...this one was closer to talking then the last two...but not much closer..." She sat down, breathing hard. "This one was the newest one I've run into...shortest life span I've seen too...these guys...something is going very wrong..." She looked around and sighed. "I have to stop this...before more digimon are hurt"

Well. That sounded nothing like the soft-spoken digimon who had helped disperse the others. And it sounded like things were getting worse too. So where did he fit into all this?

"I think I zaw the one who did, though." Even if she had no answer to that question yet, it couldn't hurt to mention it. "He juzt didn't feel like a real digimon. It waz like seeing a tree - not a Cherrymon or Woodmon, a tree - moving. He left, though-" Her eyes widened. "-with another group, heading zouth." Oh boy. Neither one seemed especially capable of a pursuit right now. Maybe if he was involved, he could only infect one digimon at a time? Keramon hoped so.